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By PTI: Bhubaneswar, Jun 11 (PTI) With the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police taking into custody a chitfund company chairman who also produced four Odia films, opposition BJP today demanded the arrest of four actor-turned-politicians of the ruling BJD allegedly "associated" with the ponzi firm.

Lok Sabha MP from Berhampur Siddhant Mahapatra, Rajya Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty, MLA Akash Das Nayak and Papu Pom Pom had reportedly acted in the films produced by Oscar Group chairman Prabhas Rout, BJP state vice-president Sameer Mohanty said here.

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Rout was arrested by sleuths yesterday from Delhi on the charge of duping people of Rs 230 crore.

"The actors had promoted the chit fund company owing to which the general public and small investors were influenced to invest in the firm. Rout had looted these investments," Mohanty alleged, adding they should be brought under the purview of investigation and arrested.

The close association of these leaders with the chit fund company showed that the ruling party was actively promoting the firm, he alleged, adding, "If someone is involved directly or indirectly with a thief then he or she will be termed as thief. Wont he?"

Countering this, BJD spokesperson Amar Prasad Satapathy said it was "unfair" to drag the party into the issue and asked, "How would an actor know about the source of money of a film producer?"

Asserting that he had not acted in any film under the Oscar Group banner, Das Nayak said, "As Sameer Mohanty has raked up my name, he should tell which movie I have done with the company. He should not level such allegation without any proper information."

"As far as actors are concerned, how would they know that the money invested in the films are black or white?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Crime Branch sleuths began interrogating Routh today. Two investigating officers of the EOW are interrogating him in the presence of an expert chartered accountant about the investment of Rs 230 crore in the eight Oscar Group companies. PTI AAM KK NSD

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Mumbai, Jun 11 (PTI) CBI has arrested Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member Virendrasing Tawde in connection with the murder of noted rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013, the first in the case by the agency.

He was arrested late last night from Panvel near here and will be produced before a special court in Pune this afternoon.

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The Samiti is linked to Goa-based radical Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha, which had come under the scanner for the murder of another rationalist Govind Pansare in February 2015.

"CBI has arrested Virendra Singh Tawde in an ongoing investigation of a case related to murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar.

"He will be produced today around 3 PM in designated court, Pune. Investigation is continuing," CBI Spokesperson Devpreet Singh said today.

It is the first arrest in the case after the Mumbai High court in May 2014 handed over the probe to the CBI in the fatal shooting of Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, in broad daylight on August 20, 2013.

The killings had sparked outrage in the country with several eminent writers and other personalities returning their awards over "rising intolerance".

The agency had recovered some material during its earlier searches in connection with the murder case which brought the needle of suspicion on Tawde, believed to be an ENT surgeon and an alleged follower of Sanatan Sanstha activist Sarang Akolkar, against whom Red Corner Notice was issued by Interpol in July 2012 in connection with the 2009 Goa blast case on NIA request, CBI sources said.

The sources said CBI had questioned him, in different sessions, since June 2 when his residence was searched.

The residences of Tawde and Akolkar were searched by the agency which recovered several SIM cards, cell phones and data from computer, they said.

They said the two were investigated after the agency found some "cyber forensic evidence" about their alleged role in the murder case of Dabholkar.

34-year-old Akolkar is suspected to be one of the key conspirators in the murder of Dabholkar. He has been on the run ever since his name cropped up during NIA investigations in the Goa blast case.

NIA had secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him in 2012 but security agencies are yet to track him down. PTI ABS RT

--- ENDS ---

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The Central Vigilance Commission, tasked with fighting corruption in the central government, has invited bids to enlist an expert agency or consultant to design the index and its basic tenets, such as parameters and long-term dynamics.

This is the first time that PSUs will be judged for their integrity.

By Siddhartha Rai: India will for the first time rate its central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), banks and government departments, 25 to begin with, on a scale of transparency in an Integrity Index being compiled by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION



The commission, tasked with fighting corruption in the central government, has invited bids to enlist an expert agency or consultant to design the index and its basic tenets, such as parameters and long-term dynamics. A commission document declares that the CVC is trying to "adopt a strategy which will ensure transparent, accountable and efficient governance".

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The move comes against the backdrop of Transparency International data this year showing the country has not made much progress in combating corruption. India scored 38 on a scale of 100 in 2015, same as the previous year. Zero on the scale means "highly corrupt," while 100 means "very clean".

The CVC says its index "will be based on bench-marking of governance processes by internal and external stakeholders." The mechanism is being adopted as the commission "believes that integrity, long-term sustainability and profitability are all closely linked".

However, the CVC avoided commenting on the matter despite repeated attempts to reach several officers and emails being sent to them.

CORRUPTION ERODES TRUST IN GOVT



Experts say corruption erodes trust in government, which led to the Congress party's crushing defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls following a flurry of scandals when it was in power.

DIFFERENT SECTORS IDENTIFIED FOR INDEX

Different departments, CPSEs and public sector banks have been identified across 11 fields for the index. From the oil and gas sector, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) have been picked. IOCL- India's flagship national oil company- is the country's largest commercial enterprise. ONGC is India's largest oil and gas exploration and production company.

In the power sector, National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) have been chosen to be rated on the index. NTPC is the lead power producer of India and a Maharatna company, one of only four. NTPC was ranked 400th in the "2016, Forbes Global 2000" ranking of the world's biggest companies. PGCIL is also a "Navaratna" CPSE and India's largest electric power transmission utility.

In the coal sector two companies, Western and Eastern Coalfields, have been selected.



Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) will represent the steel sector. SAIL is the largest steel-making company in India and one of the seven Maharatnas of the country's CPSEs.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) and the Syndicate Bank have been selected for the index from the banking sector. In the transport segment, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Mumbai Port Trust and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), under the Ministry of Railways, have been picked to be audited for transparency.

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In the mining sector, Navaratna PSU National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) under the Ministry of Steel has been selected along with National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco). NMDC is the single largest producer of iron ore in the country.

Even the defence sector PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has been included in the list of the companies to be rated for transparency.

The Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) has also been included with its power plant equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), along with Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) under the commerce and textile segment.

The embattled Food Corporation of India (FCI) that has been in the middle of several rows over procurement and storage has been selected for being marked on the index under the category of social sector along with Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and Medical Council of India (MCI).

In the communication sector, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) will make it to the index.

Delhi urban bodies DDA and South MCD will be scored on corruption parameters as would the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the financial sector.

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INTEGRITY TEST BY CVC



The main objectives of the index, according to CVC documents, would be to define what constitutes integrity in public organisations, to identify the different factors of the integrity and their inter-linkages and to create an internal and external ecosystem that promotes working with integrity where public organisations lead the way.

One of the bidders for developing the index, Transparency International-India (TII), says integrity for PSUs would lie in dealing with internal and external stakeholders, in a meritbased allocation of works and tenders and full financial disclosure for the public.

"There are several factors that can be taken into account. Some fathomable can be the recruitment policy, the promotion policy, the auction and procurement policy, a whistle-blower policy or its absence, a code of conduct for internal and external stakeholders and a CSR policy which is transparent for the people to see into," said Ramnath Jha of TII.

ALSO READ:

India Today Impact: Eknath Khadse resigns amid charges of corruption, links with Dawood Ibrahim



--- ENDS ---
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is not a happy man. As an ally in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), he has held himself back from taking on the Centre for what he sees as its failure to give the state its due - special category status and other financial incentives - after the state split in two. It is still to get what was promised in discussions before the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act (APROA), 2014, which came into force in the last days of UPA-II.

The state believes it began with a disadvantage. While its 13 districts accounted for 58.3 per cent of the population of the undivided state, revenue from the region was only 47 per cent. It also lost Hyderabad, which brought 19 per cent of revenue. Andhra was to have got a headstart through special financial assistance for backward tracts (seven districts) and grants to build a new capital as also funds from the 14th Finance Commission (FFC) recommendations. But what the state has got so far is measly: Rs 13,000 crore instead of the promised Rs 49,000 crore, excluding what it is to get in the long term for the Polavaram project.

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Two years on, the discontent runs deep. At the three-day annual Telugu Desam Party mahanadu (conclave) in Tirupati (May 27-29), partymen complained about broken APROA promises. It may make or mar the TDP's future (though elections are still three years away). So even though state BJP leaders claim their government in Delhi was giving Andhra special treatment, the conclave adopted a resolution demanding special category status and a special financial package.

After the division, hand-holding the nascent state was to be the Centre's responsibility, going by APROA. But constitutional provisions and the restraints imposed by the FFC recommendations prevent Delhi from granting the largesse Naidu is demanding TDP leader Kalva Srinivasulu says: "We want a world-class capital city and to build it, liberal funds are required. If the Modi government gives us special status, in three years, the state can create wonders, and in a decade, become the best in the country."

With two years gone, TDP workers, like many others in the state, want Naidu to be a bit more confrontational. The CM says he does not want "any confrontation", he just wants to offer an argument. "Eleven states were given special status," he says, "and none of them is still fully developed. Which is why Andhra Pradesh is demanding that along with special status, the Centre give a special package so that it grows faster."

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley has ruled out any special status, though he says the Centre will be "unflinching" in financial aid. Union urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu scoffs at Naidu's ambition to have a Singapore-style capital in Amaravati. "We need a Raj Bhavan, a Secretariat and an Assembly. The Centre will fund these and it is already doing so."

"The Centre should honour its commitments," says Loksatta president Dr Jayaprakash Narayan. At the same time, he believes the state is confused about what it wants. "Asking for a larger financial package unrelated to the revenue deficit attributable to the partition, and the demand for tax exemptions in the new capital region instead of backward regions will only be counter-productive."

Incidentally, the state has already procured 34,481 acres from farmers under a land pooling system and is seeking an additional 5,571 acres to meet the growing needs of theRs 52,000 crore "world-class capital".

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An excessive reliance on Amaravati as the engine of growth, neglecting the long coastline and mineral wealth of Rayalaseema, lack of focus on improving outcomes in education and healthcare and the marginalisation of local governments are casting doubt on Naidu's growth strategy. "The state has a great opportunity to reshape governance and focus on its natural strengths," says Narayan. "But excessive centralisation, an unsustainable growth model, based on real estate and speculation, caste polarisation and fiscal pressures, compounded by reckless freebies, are formidable threats."

The state BJP, while not inimical to Naidu's efforts, is looking to widen its own base. The emergence of Naidu's sister-in-law, D. Purandeswari, as a combative BJP leader since 2014 has helped to an extent. Still, analysts feel, the BJP is unlikely to make a dent unless there is a change in the caste calculus in the run-up to 2019. Political commentator C. Narasimha Rao is even expecting "the TDP to break its alliance with the BJP just before or after the elections in Uttar Pradesh".

The TDP too is witnessing a churn. At the Tirupati conclave, Naidu waved the welfare wand-promising Anna canteens (like the Amma canteens in Tamil Nadu) and a quota for the numerically strong Kapus. As Narayan put it, "The TDP is now a replica of what the Congress was and [still] is-a competitor for power as an end." No dressed-up reforms or multi-crore capitals can camouflage this greed.

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Follow the writer on Twitter @AmarnathKMenon

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: From K J M Varma

Beijing, Jun 11 (PTI) For the first time, China and Nepal have been connected with an optical fibre network via Tibet as infrastructure between the two countries is being firmed up to extend high-speed Internet services to Nepal and end its "sole dependence" on India, Chinese state media reported today.

China has extended its optical fibre network to Nepal via Geelong(Keyrong)-Rasuwgadhi border point, "which has ended Nepals sole dependence on India", Xinhua news agency reported.

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State-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) said its optical fibre network has been connected to China Telecom Corporation Limited.

"After establishing connection, we conducted technical test about two weeks ago," Dilliram Adhikari, joint spokesperson of NT was quoted as saying in the report.

Adhikari said NT would start commercial use of the fibre cable soon.

As a result of this Nepal now can be directly linked with Hong Kong Data Centre, which is one of the two biggest global date centres in Asia, through the Chinese mainland, he said.

"The use of the Chinese route to connect with Hong Kong Data Centre will help enhancing quality of internet services in Nepal because of shorter distance," he said.

Following the setting up of the Chinese optical fibre, Nepal can now purchase Internet bandwith from Chinese firms.

The fibre network brings Nepal Internet services under the ambit of Chinese telecom networks.

At present, Nepals Internet service providers purchase bandwith from companies from India and other countries.

"This will create a competitive environment for purchasing internet services which could reduce the cost of Internet service here," Adhikari said.

China has been ramping up its rail and road connectivity with Nepal and backing Prime Minister KP Olis government in dealing with the Madhesis, largely of Indian-origin, who have been protesting against the new Constitution claiming a raw deal for them.

Their nmonths-long protests, blocking Nepal-India border trade points had created a severe crunch of essential supplies in the landlocked Himalayan nation.

Besides restarting previously damaged roads to Nepal via Tibet, China in a strategic move last month opened combined road-and-rail services to Kathmandu to speed up supplies.

The two have also beefed up their military relations.

Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of Chinas Central Military Commission, and Chief of Army Staff of the Nepalese Army Rajendra Chhetri discussed military-to-military and bilateral ties during Suns visit to Kathmandu two days ago. PTI KJV ABH

--- ENDS ---
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is a veteran of many a political battle, but the one currently brewing in the state has the potential to dent the broad social coalition he has built over the years, one that has ensured a third term for him as CM.

On April 30, a division bench of the MP High Court, in response to a PIL, struck down the MP Public Services (Promotion) Rules, 2002, a provision that allowed reservation in promotions for government employees from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The state government was also asked to reverse all promotions granted under the rules since 2002.

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For a BJP already battling the perception of being anti-Dalit-starting with the Centre's handling of the Rohith Vemula suicide and RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat's remark on reviewing reservation on the eve of the Bihar assembly polls-the political ramifications of the ruling were not lost on the chief minister. Two corruption-tainted IAS officers in the state, Ramesh Thete and Shashi Karnawat, have been waging a campaign saying vigilance agencies are persecuting them for being Dalit.

To combat this image ahead of a crucial 2017 assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has been wooing Dalits at a national level. At the Simhastha celebrations in Ujjain last month, BJP president Amit Shah was to take a holy dip with 'valmiki sadhus', but the plans had to be modified and the dip made a more inclusive affair after other sadhus took exception to the original format. State BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan has been dining with Dalit families regularly as part of the Vikas Parv Yatra the state government is organising to celebrate two years of the Narendra Modi government. On April 14, Bhimrao Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary was celebrated with great fanfare at his birthplace Mhow, with Prime Minister Modi as chief guest at the function. "The MP government's stand on the reservation issue is in keeping with the BJP's larger strategy at the national level vis-a-vis the Dalit vote. In such a situation, the BJP government had no option but to appear to be opposing the HC order with all its legal muscle," said a senior BJP state leader, requesting anonymity.

The day the high court delivered the judgement, the CM and his advisors went into a huddle. Reacting to allegations that the state government had not argued its case well, Chouhan, in his first statement after the ruling, said the state government was committed to the idea of reservation in promotions, and would oppose the HC ruling in the Supreme Court. The CM also said he would get Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to argue the government's case, acceding to the demand by the Anusuchit Jati Janjati Adhikari Karmachari Sangh (AJJAKS), an organisation that espouses the cause of Dalit and tribal employees. He also announced there would be no demotions, at least not immediately.

On May 12, the Supreme Court rejected the MP state government demand for a stay on the HC ruling. Instead, the apex court asked the state government to maintain status quo. That was to say there would be no more promotions for SC/ST employees on the basis of quota, but those already promoted would not be demoted either. The next hearing has been fixed for September 23.

There is talk of bringing in an ordinance in case things don't go the MP government's way in court. The Congress is watching Chouhan's tightrope walk from the sidelines, willing him, as it were, to falter. "The BJP-led state government did not reply to the points raised by the HC, which suggests they may deliberately want to lose this case," says state Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi. "When the RSS chief has spoken against reservation, how can the CM be expected to support it?"

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Anti-reservation protest in Bhopal on May 10

The state is also staring at an administrative nightmare in case the apex court upholds the HC verdict. "Promotions based on reservations have been carried out for almost three decades," says a senior official of the general administration department (GAD), "and there are thousands, if not lakhs, of beneficiaries. Reverting to original positions as per the HC ruling will be a mammoth task, and not only because of the numbers. Many of the employees and officers who benefited from promotion have since superannuated. Will financial recoveries be ordered as well?"

The quota issue has deeply divided the nearly 7.5 lakh-strong employee/officer community under the MP government. Reservation in promotions for SCs and STs in MP began in 1997 (see timeline: The Road to Affirmative Action). However, while an employee could move up from Class IV to III, from Class III to II and from Class II to I on the basis of reservation, once in Class I, reservation would cease. The 2002 notification changed that. The rules came along with a clutch of other initiatives by former CM Digvijaya Singh around the time his second term as CM was ending. Broadly called the Dalit agenda, the stated objective of the initiatives was to empower Dalits, but the political aim was to prevent the transfer of the traditional SC/ST vote from the Congress to the BJP and BSP.

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The SCs constitute 15 per cent of the state's population and STs almost 21 per cent. Together, they constitute 36 per cent of the state's electorate. There are 35 seats reserved for SCs and 47 seats for STs in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly. In the 2013 assembly elections, the BJP bagged 28 of the 35 SC reserved seats, the Congress 4 and the BSP 3. Among the reserved seats for STs, the BJP won 31, the Congress 15, an independent another while byelections are due in one seat.

Having successfully cornered the SC/ST votebank in 2013, the BJP will spare no effort to retain it. And it can ill afford to alienate them before the next election.

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A section of the BJP state leadership downplays the possible impact a withdrawal of quota might have. "The party that brought in the concept, the Congress, has been abandoned by the Dalits and tribals. If the court does uphold the HC verdict and reservation in promotions goes, the BJP will not suffer," says a general secretary of the state unit. It's possible he is underestimating the wrath the BJP will face for being in power when the provision is withdrawn. It could even outweigh the advantage the party that introduced it ever got.



--- ENDS ---
Dallas police in a written description of the incident said the suspect, whom they identified as Shawn Diamond, 29, had according to witnesses told the officer, "You're going to have to shoot me."

The baggage claim area remains shut down due to the shooting at Dallas Love Field airport. A police officer shot and injured a man who was involved in a domestic disturbance outside a baggage claim area at the airport. (Photo: AP)

By AP: A police officer shot and wounded a man on Friday outside a Dallas airport after the man attacked a woman believed to be the mother of his children and then threatened the officer with large rocks, police said.

Police Chief David Brown said Shawn Nicholas Diamond, 29, of Edgewood, Maryland, advanced menacingly with a rock in each hand toward an officer who had his gun drawn outside the Dallas Love Field terminal Friday, telling the officer, "You're going to have to shoot."

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Diamond was in stable condition at a Dallas hospital, Brown said at a news conference.

The chief said Diamond's ex-girlfriend was driving him to the airport for a flight home when he hit her. After arriving at the airport terminal, he said, Diamond was pulling his luggage from the woman's car when he grabbed a traffic cone, smashed the car's windshield with it, then began picking up large landscaping rocks nearby and hurling them through the car's windows.



THE SHOOTING



Silent surveillance video showed a police officer intervening and aiming his handgun at Diamond when he began advancing menacingly with a rock in each hand. When Diamond darted around the officer, the officer shot him and ordered him to stay down, Brown said.

The officer fired several more shots when Diamond got up and began running. Another officer is seen on the video brandishing a stun gun but apparently never fired it.

This photo released by the Carrollton Police Department shows Shawn Nicholas Diamond. Police say Diamond was shot by an officer after making a threatening move toward him with a rock in each hand at Dallas Love Field told the officer,

The officer who shot Diamond has been removed from patrol duty pending an internal review of the shooting, Brown said. However, "the video is pretty telling," the chief said.

Diamond had left his job in Maryland on Monday and flown to Dallas to visit his ex-girlfriend. He was arrested Thursday in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton and charged with criminal mischief after destroying city-owned trees valued at $3,700 by driving recklessly, Carrollton police spokeswoman Jolene DeVito said. Diamond was booked into Denton County Jail and released on bond Friday.

A video posted by Instagram user @flashyfilms- and credited to Bryan Armstrong also shows the commotion on the curb outside baggage claim at Dallas Love Field. Amid the sound of nine gunshots and an officer's shouts to "get down," some people scramble while others stand watching before officers order them back inside. Toward the end of the video, one officer is seen pointing his gun at someone near the glass exterior of the airport.

Officials said one bullet hit an exterior glass wall and the rest hit the suspect. Dallas police Sgt. Mike Beattie, who is stationed at Love Field, says that the bullet that hit the glass wall outside the airport's baggage claim area didn't penetrate it because of the protective film. One officer at the scene, who would not be named, said he was told that the victim "absorbed" all the other bullets.

Travellers wait in line to go through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Dallas Love Field airport. (Photo: AP) Travellers wait in line to go through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Dallas Love Field airport. (Photo: AP)

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Beattie said airport police receive specific training to be attentive to suspicious-looking travelers and that the Dallas Police Department provides "crowded-environment training" to all its officers every two years. Beattie said the officer who fired the shots is a Dallas police veteran, but he would not identify him.

Some airport operations were temporarily disrupted, but the airport remained open. Spokesman Jose Torres said that some people after hearing shots ran through security so everyone had to be rescreened.

Security checkpoint operations were back to normal Friday afternoon, airport officials said. Flights were departing but with many delays.

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT

Traveler Lucinda Fonseca told WFAA-TV that she and her husband were coming out of the baggage claim area when they saw police approaching the man throwing rocks and one of the officers drew a gun.

The Transportation Security Administration checkpoint reopens following an officer involved shooting, as travels wait in line at Dallas Love Field airport. (Photo: AP)

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"The man was yelling at the cops, basically saying 'shoot me shoot me, I dare you,' something to that effect," Fonseca said, adding she then heard gunfire.

"I crouched down on the ground," she said. "I didn't know where the bullets were going."

Southwest Airlines, the dominant airline at Love Field, said in a statement that they were working with air traffic controllers nationwide to manage inbound flights. According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware, at least eight flights operated by Southwest and one by Virgin America were diverted to other airports.

Beattie said this is the first shooting in the 89-year history of Love Field, located a few miles from downtown.



--- ENDS ---
The forensic tests conducted in India produced similar results to the forensic investigation carried out by the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

By Sneha Agrawal: DNA and other forensic evidence, including the medical report of a 52-year-old Danish rape survivor led to the conviction of five accused on Friday. A Delhi court sentenced them to life imprisonment after considering the evidences. The court observed that the involvement of the accused was proved beyond reasonable doubt through the scientific evidence.

DNA PROFILE MATCHED



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The forensic tests conducted in India produced similar results to the forensic investigation carried out by the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. "The DNA profile was generated from the clothes of the victim which was seized from the spot on the night of the incident itself. The DNA profile from the clothes matched the profile generated from the samples of the accused. Thus, it is clear that the accused persons are the offenders who committed the offence," observed the court in its 69-page judgment.

The court observed that the most vital evidence to connect all the accused with the crime was the DNA report. DNA is an individual characteristic of each individual and is the most important constituent in determining the identity of an individual, the court said.

COURT VERDICT



The five convicts sentenced are Mahender alias Ganja (25), Mohd Raja (23), Raju (23), Arjun (21) and Raju Chakka (30). The court also imposed a fine of Rs 81,000 each on Raju and Raju Chakka, Rs 91,000 each on Mahender and Mohd Raja and Rs 1,01,000 on Arjun respectively.

The judge said it was essential for the court to ensure that adequate and just punishment, befitting the crime, is meted out to the convicts, keeping in view the atrocity of the crime, the manner in which it was committed and the defenceless state of the victim.

The DNA profile was generated from clothing of the victim which was seized from the spot in the night of incident itself and those DNA profile matched with the DNA profile generated from the samples of accused persons. Thus, it is clear that accused persons are the offenders who committed the offence, the court said in its 69-page judgement.

It observed that the most vital evidence to connect all these accused with the commission of crime was the DNA report.

The DNA is a individual characteristic of each individual and is most important thing for identity of an individual, it said adding the DNA profile generated from the clothes of the victim had matched with the DNA profile generated from the sample of the accused persons.

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CONVICTS LURED DANISH WOMAN



The Danish tourist was walking through an area of narrow lanes near Delhi's Paharganj district, a tourist area packed with backpacker hotels, on the evening of January 14, 2014, when she asked a group of men for directions to her hotel.

The men then lured the woman to an area near New Delhi railway station where they raped her and robbed her at knife-point, the prosecution said in its chargesheet.

ALSO READ: Monster caretaker of Delhi children's home arrested for molesting, raping girls



--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: As the excitement over telly's hottest couple aka Divyanka Tripathi and Vivek Dahiya's wedding continues to build-up, new details about the couple's impending nuptials have emerged.

In a report published on The Times of India, Vivek Dahiya revealed the name of the designer who'll be taking care of his wedding trousseau. He said, "All my wedding costumes will be by Tisa, a designer based in Vile Parle. In fact, they have been styling me for various events as well. I was recently introduced to them."

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Also read: Divyanka Tripathi-Vivek Dahiya's honeymoon plans revealed!

While the actor didn't divulge many details about Divyanka's wedding wardrobe he did add, that his to-be wife is purchasing her clothing from different designers. He added, "Divyanka and my mom are co-ordinating on all the dresses. We aim to be colour coordinated for the wedding. I am letting her decide on the colours, I'll match mine with a pocket square, tie or some other accessories."

On the work front, the actor is rather busy, as he will soon be seen in Colors TV's new supernatural offering Kawach, co-starring Mahek Chahal and Mona Singh. That's also the reason his involvement in the D-day prep is limited. In fact he's been relying on messenger service Whatsapp, for his wedding prep. In the same report the actor was quoted saying, "I have very limited responsibilities. My family understands that I am bound with Kawach completely at the moment. Everything is happening on Whatsapp. We have a Whatsapp group and all the planning and approvals are done there. Be it the music, decoration, costumes, venue all of that happens there. It will be a close affair. We are going by the book. It will be a traditional wedding as Divyanka wanted the baraat to come and receive her, which is why the wedding will be in Bhopal. Both our families are on same page."

Also read: Wedding date fixed! All you want to know about Divyanka Tripathi-Vivek Dahiya's wedding

While last minute jitters before the big day are a common phenomenon, the actor is worried because of its lack thereof. "We have heard so much about getting cold feet, but I am worried for not being worried at all. I haven't had much time to think about the wedding because of my busy schedule."

Well we believe, that the couple's so comfortable with each other that there's no space for any jitters!





--- ENDS ---
ED also approached the court seeking that Mr. Mallya be declared a Proclaimed Offender.

By India Today Web Desk: The Enforcement Directorate has attached properties worth Rs 1411 crore of former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya & United Breweries Group Ltd under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Kingfisher Airlines IDBI Bank case.

THE RECOVERY IS ON



"We have now recovered the proceed of crime of Rs 1412 cr, including IDBI bank loan amount," said the Enforcement Directorate.

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The properties include two flats in Bengaluru and Mumbai, 4.5 acre of industrial plot in Chennai, coffee plantation land in Coorg, spread across 27 acre, and residential and commercial constructed area at UB CITY and Kingfisher Tower in Bengaluru.



ED attaches properties worth Rs1411 Crores(Market Value) of Vijay Mallya & UB (Holding) Ltd under PMLA in Kingfisher Airlines IDBI Bank case; ED (@dir_ed) June 11, 2016

ED also approached the court seeking that Mallya be declared a Proclaimed Offender.

Mallya failed to appear before court despite several notices and has flown out of the country.

This came after ED registered a money laundering case against Mallya.

KING OF BAD TIMES



Mallya is under the scanner of investigating agencies for defaulting loans from a consortium of banks, led by the State Bank of India.

Based on the findings of SBI's forensic audit of the Rs 7,000 crore loan, the finance ministry said that last year, Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) diverted a part of the loan.

A major chunk of the loans, to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore, extended to KFA by public sector banks, which are now under CBI probe, were suspected to have been diverted to countries like Cayman Island and Mauritius, considered to be tax haven territories.

Mallay, however, has denied charges against him and claimed that he is making efforts to reach a 'one-time settlement' with banks through additional payments to the lenders. He also denied "personally" being a "borrower or judgement defaulter" and said that a "disinformation campaign" was being played to make him a "poster boy" of all bad loans.

Also read:

CBI forms SIT to investigate VVIP chopper scam and Mallya fraud

ED moves court seeking to declare Mallya proclaimed offender



--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Mumbai, June 10 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse, who stepped down recently as Revenue Minister following a string of allegations, today made a futile bid to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval as well as senior party leaders in New Delhi.

Khadse is also facing a probe by ATS in connection with his mobile number purportedly figuring in the call records of the landline number of underworld don Dawood Ibrahims residence in Karachi.

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However, barring Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, other senior party leaders declined the audience with the heavyweight politician from North Maharashtra who went to Delhi today with the documents to present his case before the party leadership.

A Maharashtra BJP leader said here that Khadse tried to meet Modi who has returned from his five-nation tour, but without success.

"The party has already begun to groom Khadses arch rival in Jalgaon district and state Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan to head the party in the district," he said.

BJP is more concerned now to ensure the partys victory in upcoming elections to Zill Parishad, Municipal Councils and Panchayat Samitis in Jalgaon district.

The party has a sizable support among the dominant Leva Patil community in Chopda, Yaval, Faizpur, Savda and Raver municipal councils, in Jalgaon Zilla Parishad and across panchayat samitis in the region.

According to the BJP leader, the major worry for the saffron party is the clout enjoyed by Khadse in the region which was reflected in the recent move by 14 corporators from Jalgaon Municipal Corporation who threatened to resign in protest against Khadses unceremonious exit as minister.

"In order to replace Khadse, a OBC leader from the region, we have directed Mahajan to be proactive in the party matters in Jalgaon district," he said.

The first indication that Mahajan is being directed to fill the vacuum in Khadses absence came early this week when he was dispatched to state BJP headquarters near Mantralaya to deal with a motley group of Khadses supporters who had come to protest against their leaders ouster.

Khadse resigned last week, days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis submitted a detailed report to BJP president Amit Shah on the controversies surrounding the minister and also met Modi in the national capital.

Earlier, he had deputed his daughter-in-law and BJP MP from Raver, Raksha Khadse who had met Modi to argue the case on his behalf. PTI MM NSK GVS PTP

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For much of Pakistan and the East, he was a flamboyant James Bond-like figure, a superspook who built the bomb that the Islamic world coveted. For India and the West he was a Dr No, the nuclear spy who stole secrets and operated in the shadowy nuclear blackmarket to assemble Pakistan's nuclear option "by hook or by crook". Till last month, in his own country, Abdul Qadeer Khan was a hero.... In March 1990 when he was given the nation's second-highest civilian award, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the citation said: "The name of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan will be inscribed in gold letters in the annals of the national history of Pakistan." Last week, those gold letters were repainted in scarlet as 67-year-old Khan not only brought disgrace to himself and his country but put the world at grave risk of loose nukes and dirty bombs finding their way into wrong hands. It was a chain reaction of international exposs that forced the Pakistan govt. to launch a four-month long investigation into the activities of Khan and his close associates. As one by one key scientists were "taken in for debriefing" sessions, a euphemistic phrase for arrests, the investigating agencies came up with some shocking truths. Their findings confirmed that for years, using a host of front companies located in Dubai, Malaysia and other countries, Khan had been peddling vital nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea, Libya.... Were these nuclear transfers authorised by the Pakistan government, including the army, that has complete control over the nuclear establishment?

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by Raj Chengappa February 2004

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Victim, Mahi (21), at present residing in U-block of DLF phase 3, came to meet two of her friends, Poonam and Khushi, at a dhaba at Shankar Chowk when they were attacked by another group led by Pooja, a bar girl and three of her friends.

Gurugram police have arrested a bar girl named Pooja and three of her friends on the charges of murder.

By Ajay Kumar: A bar girl was allegedly thrashed to death in Gurugram on Friday after a face-off with a colleague turned ugly.

VICTIM ATTACKED IN FULL PUBLIC VIEW



Four youths, including a woman, were arrested after the incident took place in the wee hours of Friday outside an eatery. It is alleged that the victim Mahi was attacked with iron rods near cyber city area in the presence of a fairly large crowd of call centre employees, who work there.

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The incident occurred around 1 am, when the victim, Mahi (21), a native of Uttar Pradesh - at present residing in U-block of DLF phase 3 - came to meet two of her friends, Poonam and Khushi, at a dhaba at Shankar Chowk.

They were attacked by another group led by Pooja, a bar girl and three of her friends.

The accused have been identified as Mohit, Pooja, Ghirish and Akash. The men are the residents of Nathupur village while Pooja, is a native of West Bengal.

NO OFFICIAL CONTRACT WITH BARS



The pubs in and around MG Road are known for their notorious late-night drunken brawls, involving bar girls. The bar girls of Gurugram work as entertainers for guests and charge them according to the services they want, claim police sources.

"They have a mutual understanding with night club operators and hence are entitled to hop from one pub to another without having to sign any official contract," a source said.

HOW IT HAPPENED



According to Gurugram Police spokesperson, ACP Hawa Singh, Pooja was travelling by a three-wheeler along MG road three days ago, when it turned turtle. Right after, Poonam and her male companion came riding on a bike and cornered their vehicle.

Pooja received minor injuries. A day later, Pooja again got into an altercation with Poonam in one of the night clubs of Sahara mall.

On Friday, while Poonam along with Khushi and Mahi were having dinner at the dhaba, Pooja and her boyfriend Mohit, along with two of the latter's friends - Akash and Ghirish - reached the spot and started hurling abuses at Poonam and her friends.

"When Mahi objected to the abusive language, Pooja and her three friends pulled out iron rods and batons from the car and attacked her, beating her up brutally. She received multiple injuries on the head and chest and collapsed right outside the dhaba," Hawa Singh said.

Her friends rushed her to hospital but she succumbed to her injuries.

ACCUSED ARRESTED, SENT TO COURT



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"Sensing the seriousness of Mahi's condition, the accused fled from the spot. Pooja has submitted her complaint in this regard to DLF Phase 2 Police Station.

The accused were arrested from their house on Friday morning," Singh added.

All the four accused were produced in Gurugram civil court, which has sent them to judicial custody.

ALSO READ: Brutal murder of Faridabad businessman caught on camera



--- ENDS ---
By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Jun 11 (PTI) Cadres of a hardline Maoist group in Nepal today set on fire five towers of a private telecommunication company across the country.

As some leaflets, published by the Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN-Maoist, were recovered from some sites, police suspected that the party made the multiple attacks on the telecom company.

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According to the Nepal Police Headquarters, the towers in Shivasatakshi of Jhapa, Kubhinde Daha of Salyan, Laxmipur of Dang, Ashrang of Gorkha and Yangsila of Morang districts were set on fire by the Maoist cadres.

Equipment worth thousands of rupees were destroyed in the arson attacks, police said.

The Ncell has recently come under attack from various corners for refusing to pay the capital gains taxit owed to the government whenTeliaSonera sold Ncell for Rs 143 billion equivalent to 1.40 billion US Dollar to Axiata Group.

An investigation has been launched into the incident. PTI SBP PMS

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Actor Hrithik Roshan says that Udta Punjab has brought 'unfortunate conditions to films and filmmakers' and that he's proud of the film.

By India Today Web Desk: Udta Punjab controversy has been making headlines since the Central Board Of Film Certification(CBFC) decided to certify the film with a 'A' certificate and demanded the makers to chop 94 scenes from the film.



ALSO READ: Udta Punjab vs Censor Board: Bombay HC asks CBFC for reasons for cuts

ALSO READ: Bollywood unites to save Udta Punjab from Pahlaj Nihalani, demands Censor Board chief be removed



The latest news that is surfacing on the internet is that actor Hrithik Roshan has come in support for Udta Punjab, who says that the film has brought 'unfortunate conditions to films and filmmakers' and that he's proud of how strangers have united to show their support for the movie.

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The Mohenjo Daro actor expressed his concern over the issue on Twitter.



#UdtaPunjab brings out d unfortunate condition suffered by films.But fortunately reveals that strangers can stand up n unite 4 justice.Proud Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) June 10, 2016

Udta Punjab, which is based on the drugs menace in Punjab is co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, whose tiff with the CBFC seems to be never-ending.



The CBFC had a problem with the content of the film and the board asked to clear over the references to Punjab.



However, the Bombay High Court on Friday, pulled up the censor board on censoring films instead of certifying them.



The verdict of the film is expected on June 13. The film which stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh in pivotal roles is slated to release on June 17.



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Paul Ryan, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, sees a lot of potential in the Indo-US ties, especially in the global common seas.

By Press Trust of India: The Indian government is going to be America's "great ally" and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.

In a major foreign policy speech here in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obama's policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.

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POTENTIAL OF INDO-US RELATIONSHIP

"I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modi's leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length on Friday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas," Ryan said.

He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.

MODI SHINES

Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryan's speakership.

On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the Prime Minister's address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader.

A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi.

"I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. That's one thing that we need to nurture and grow," Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.

"And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, he's a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. He's bringing needed reform to the country," Ryan said, according to the remarks released by his office.

"That's the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon. That stands in stark contrast, I would argue, to the Obama foreign policy of the last eight years where we have neglected our allies and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries," said the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

WHY OBAMA'S FOREIGN POLICY DOESN'T WORK FOR US SPEAKER



Except for his comments on India, Ryan slammed Obama's foreign policy.

"We know that this new Obama foreign policy concept, leading from behind, can now be declared an unambiguous failure. It is making us unprepared. It is reducing our military capability and strength," he alleged.

--- ENDS ---

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A number of countries, which were initially opposed to India's bid on the ground that it was yet to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), eased their positions and were ready to work out a compromise.

By Press Trust of India: India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is expected to be deliberated upon by the atomic trading club at its plenary later this month in Seoul as a meeting here on India's bid remained inconclusive.

Though the US was strongly pushing India's case and most member countries supported it, it was China which opposed it arguing that the NSG should not relax specific criteria for new applicants. The NSG controls access to sensitive nuclear technology.

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A number of countries, which were initially opposed to India's bid on the ground that it was yet to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), eased their positions and were ready to work out a compromise. However, China stuck to its position.

In the meeting, China did not openly oppose India's membership directly but linked it to signing of NPT.

The NSG works under the principle of unanimity and even one country's vote against India will scuttle India's bid.

Besides China, the member countries in the 48-nation group which were opposed to India's membership were New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria.

Sources here said chair of the NSG has taken note of views expressed by member countries and will list the matter for further discussion at NSG plenary scheduled to be held in Seoul on June 24.

It is understood India was hopeful of getting support from China as it had supported India's case in 2008 when India got a waiver from the NSG to allow US nuclear trade with India.

India has asserted that being a signatory to the NPT was not essential for joining the NSG as there has been a precedent in this regard, citing the case of France.

Mexico yesterday backed India's NSG bid during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi there. The Mexican support followed that of the US and Switzerland. Japan too has expressed its support for India's inclusion in the grouping.

The NSG looks after critical issues relating to nuclear sector and its members are allowed to trade in and export nuclear technology. Membership of the grouping will help India significantly expand its atomic energy sector.

The US has been pushing for India's membership.

Ahead of the meeting here, US Secretary of State John Kerry had written a letter to the NSG member countries which are not supportive of India's bid, saying they should "agree not to block consensus on Indian admission".

A joint statement issued after talks between Modi and Obama said the US called on NSG participating governments to support India's application when it comes up at the NSG plenary later this month.

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Also Read

US-led push for India joining NSG gains ground, China remains defiant

After Switzerland, US backs India's NSG bid



--- ENDS ---
The traffickers allegedly trand employed them in local houses here as maids.

By Press Trust of India: Five minor girls from Andhra Pradesh have been rescued after Kerala police busted an inter-state racket of child trafficking.

The traffickers allegedly bought children from their parents for money and employed them in local houses here as maids.

Here are the Highlights The girls, aged between seven and 16 years, were rescued from four houses where they were employed at Chokli in the district yesterday. Based on a tip off by volunteers of Childline, an NGO, a raid was carried out in these houses and the girls were rescued, police said. Six persons, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, have been arrested in this regard so far, they said. 56-year-old Sherif, believed to be the kingpin of the racket, was held from a fringe area in Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border. He is believed to be the main agent who buys under-aged children from various states by offering money to their parents, police said. "The rescued girls are aged between 7 and 16 years. We are trying to collect details about their whereabouts and trace their near ones," Chokli Sub Inspector E V Shibu said. The girls are now housed at a state-run rescue shelter in Thalassery in the district, he said.

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The Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir assured that the government would take measures to address the harassment of Kashmiri youth outside the state.

By Shuja-ul-Haq : In what seems like a very important step, the Jammu and Kashmir government is mulling to take several corrective measures to instill confidence among Kashmiri students studying in various outside states.

Following reports of many attacks on Kashmiri students in past months, the deputy Chief Minister J&K, Dr. Nirmal Singh, on Saturday informed the assembly that that government was taking series of measures in this direction.

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WHAT IS GOVERNMENT DOING



He explained that government was thinking to visit all the states for this purpose. "We are planning to visit all the states and have a meeting with concerned governments for the safety of our Students," he said.

He was responding to the question of National Conference leader and Leader of Opposition, Omar Abdullah, in the Legislative Assembly. The Deputy Chief Minister assured that the government would take measures to address the harassment of J&K youth outside the state. He said the Government is proposing to send group of ministers to all the States, where the students from J&K are studying.



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Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep confirmed the receipt of report but refused to disclose any details.

A sedition case was registered against JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and two other students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya. Photo: PTI

By India Today Web Desk: The raw video clipping of the controversial event held inside JNU campus on February 9 was found to be authentic by the CBI forensic lab, police said today. A case of sedition was registered against JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and two other students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya.

'DOCTORED' VIDEO IS 'AUTHENTIC'



The clipping, which was obtained from a news channel on a CD, was sent to the CBI forensic lab for examination. A camera, memory card, a CD containing the clip, wires and other equipment were also sent.

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"The CBI lab sent a report to Delhi Police's Special Cell on June 8 saying the raw footage was authentic," a police source said.

Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep confirmed the receipt of report but refused to disclose any details.

Earlier, Delhi Police had sent four video clips of the event to Gandhinagar-based Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) which in its report, in May, had said that they were genuine.

However, the government later launched a probe and sent a set of seven video clippings to a Hyderabad-based Truth Labs, where it was found that two of the clips were indeed manipulated.

FIR REGISTERED



According to the police, a group of students, led by JNU student Umar Khalid, could be seen chanting anti-India slogans. The police also maintained that the FIR against the trio was registered on the basis of the raw footage and not on the clippings which were aired on television channels.

Kanhaiya, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested in February and later granted bail in the case, which is now being probed by Delhi Police's anti-terrorism unit Special Cell.

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: of non-deliverance: Gowda

Bengaluru, Jun 11 (PTI) Taking potshots at Arvind Kejriwal, Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda today saidthe AAP chiefs complaint to President Pranab Mukherjee over alleged increasing attacks on Dalits and minorities under the Modi government was nothing but an outburst from a Chief Minister who has failed to deliver on poll promises.

"He (Kejriwal) is very much upset and frustratedbecause he is not able to deliver on promises made to thepeople of Delhi, and hence he is making such baseless commentsof increasing attacks on Dalits and minorities," he told PTI.

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Kejriwal is also upset over some of his leaders being involved in criminal cases and some others sent to jail, he said.

"Hisown party people have indulged in so many criminal cases. Theyhave been sent to jail," he said.

The Delhi Chief Minister had yesterday called on the President and had sought his intervention on the issues of "increasing attacks on Dalits and minorities".

Gowda said people holding responsible positions should express their views with documentary evidence.

"Persons who are holding some responsible positionsshould express their views in such a way that it should bebacked with documentary evidence," he said.

Quoting from the recently released National CrimeBureau report, Gowda said in the last two years, attacks onDalits and minorities has dwindled considerably, and Kejriwalcannot give his own accounts, which has become his habit.

"From past two years, atrocities against minoritiesand Dalits has gone down to a considerable level. He(Kejriwal) should speak on the basis of records available inthe public domain. He cant simply have his own accounts. This has become a habit," he said.

Asked about Rahul Gandhis visit to Punjab to raisedrug menace issue in the state, Gowda said his visit would only prove to be the "death knell" for Congress, for wherever he has visited his party has lost elections, including in the just concluded Kerala, Assam and West Bengal assembly polls.

"People have the right to judge all these things (drug menace), and wherever Rahul has gone, he has come out as a zero-achiever, including in the recently concluded polls of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal," he said.

"The people of Punjab will certainly give the final blow to Rahul Gandhi, and if at all he is made party president, Congress can count on last days of survival," he said. MORE PTI BDN RA APR SMJ

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A day ahead of the most-awaited audio launch of Kabali, a portion of a song and a dialogue promo from the film are doing the rounds on social media.

By India Today Web Desk: A day ahead of the most-awaited audio launch of Kabali, the makers of the film are struck by shocking leaks of a portion of a song and a dialogue promo from the film which is doing the rounds on social media.

ALSO READ: Kabali track list is out and it's captivating!

ALSO READ: Kabali has raked in Rs 200 cr even before its release (this is not a Rajinikanth joke)



Think Music, who had acquired the audio rights of Kabali, have been pulling out the pirated versions that has been surfacing all over the internet since last night.

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The dialogue promo is believed to be an important portion of the film where Superstar Rajinikanth explains the return of the don, Kabali.

The soundtrack composed by Santhosh Narayanan was supposed to release on June 12.

Music director Santhosh Narayanan, expressed his concern over the issue on Twitter.





Entire albums of the biggest artists have leaked before.It won't change the love we have for our favourites.#keepcalmandlovekabali :) Santhosh Narayanan (@Music_Santhosh) June 10, 2016

However, the leaks have already gone viral on Whatsapp and Soundcloud and, countless number of memes are inundating the online platform.



It's a tough task for the makers to curb the spreading of leaked promos since it's already out on various internet platforms.

Ever since the teaser was out, expectations from Kabali has been escalating.

With the audio release happening tomorrow, this is an upsetting news for the makers and actor Rajinikanth, who is currently in the US, spending the vacation with his family and reportedly undergoing makeup tests for his upcoming mega-budgeted Endhiran 2.0.

Also, sources say that the makers of the film are planning to release a 35 second teaser along with the audio.



--- ENDS ---
Director Vijay might helm the Tamil remake of Charlie, which is about a girl in search of an eccentric personality, who previously lived in her apartment.

By India Today Web Desk: Charlie, starring Dulquer Salmaan and Parvathi Menon in the lead roles, was pleased both audience and critics alike. The film went on to win several Kerala State Government awards under various categories.

Now, rumours state that the film might be remade in Tamil. Madhavan, who is basking in the success of Irudhi Suttru, will reprise the role of Dulquer Salmaan in the upcoming Tamil remake.

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Director Vijay is one of the many directors contending to direct the film.

Charlie follows the story of the quest of a girl, who is in search of an eccentric personality named Charlie, who previously lived in her apartment.

However, no official statements have been by the makers or the actor regarding the film remake.

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By PTI: Srinagar, Jun 11 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today launched her campaign for the by-poll to Anantnag assembly seat saying she will carry forward the mission of her late father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to usher an era of peace, stability and prosperity in the state.

"PDP has established clear political priorities and we would continue our struggle to seek resolution of the multiple problems faced by Jammu and Kashmir on political, economic, developmental, administrative and financial fronts," Mehbooba said addressing a series of roadside public meetings during the day-long campaign.

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Mehbooba said PDP began its journey in 1999 under the leadership of Sayeed to transform the monopolistic political course in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The party established clear political priorities for itself and focused on them relentlessly to pull the state out of the morass of instabilities and uncertainties plaguing it for the past more than six decades," she said, adding that with the unflinching support of the people, PDP has emerged as a premier regional political force within a short span of 16 years.

Mehbooba said the driving force for PDPs emergence as a robust regional force is the public support it has got for its pro-people policies.

"We will continue to work towards accomplishing the vision of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to create a space of dignity, opportunity and prosperity for the people of Jammu and Kashmir," she said.

She said like other parts of the state, Sayeed wanted to restore the historic glory of Anantnag which has faced huge development deficit due to political neglect in the past.

"I will try to realize my fathers dream of addressing the developmental concerns of the people in every part of the state including Anantnag," she said.

"I have come to seek your vote and support to carry forward the mission of my father which couldnt be accomplished because of his demise," she added.

The by-election to Anantnag assembly segment, necessitated due to the demise of Sayeed, is slated to be held on June 22.

Eight candidates, including Mehbooba, are in the fray in a multicornered contest. PTI MIJ MNG RG MNG

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Tawde was arrested on Friday night from Panvel in Mumbai and will be produced before a special court in Pune on Saturday afternoon.

By India Today Web Desk: CBI on Saturday arrested Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member Virendrasing Tawde in connection with Maharashtra based rationalist Narendra Dabholkar's murder.

Tawde was arrested on Friday night from Panvel in Mumbai and will be produced before a special court in Pune on Saturday afternoon.

WHAT IS JANAJAGRUTI SAMITI

Janajagruti Samiti is linked to Goa-based radical Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha. Sanatan Sanstha had come under the scanner for the murder of another rationalist Govind Pansare in February 2015.

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CBI'S STATEMENT

"CBI has arrested Virendra Singh Tawde in an ongoing investigation of a case related to murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar. He will be produced today around 3 PM in designated court, Pune. Investigation is continuing," CBI Spokesperson Devpreet Singh said.

NARENDRA DABHOLKAR'S MURDER

Dawde's arrest is the first in the case after the Mumbai High cour handed over the probe to the CBI in May 2014.

Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, was shot dead in broad daylight on August 20, 2013.

KILLINGS OF THE RATIONALISTS

Murders of these rationalists had sparked a huge controversy across the country with writers returning their awards over intolerance

WHO IS TAWDE

Tawde is believed to be an ENT surgeon and an alleged follower of 'Sanatan Sanstha' activist Sarang Akolkar. A Red Corner Notice was issued by Interpol against Akolkar in July 2012 in connection with the 2009 Goa blast case on NIA's request, CBI sources said.

The residences of Tawde and Akolkar were searched by the agency which recovered several SIM cards, cell phones and data from computer.

They said the two were investigated after the agency found some "cyber forensic evidence" about their alleged role in Dabholkar's murder case.

WHO IS SARANG AKOLKAR

34-year-old Akolkar is suspected to be one of the key conspirators in the murder of Dabholkar. He has been on the run ever since his name cropped up during NIA investigations in the Goa blast case.

NIA had secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him in 2012 but security agencies are yet to track him down.

Also Read

Anti-superstition campaigner Narendra Dabholkar shot dead in Pune





--- ENDS ---
By PTI: CPI

New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) Taking strong objections to India-US joint statement, CPI today accused the NDA government of bringing about a "total right-wing shift" in countrys foreign policy and expressed apprehensions that the same will have "immense negative" impact on its ties with other countries.

"... the (joint) statement has proved that a total right-wing shift has taken place in our (Indias) foreign policy undermining its long-standing position of independence from any military alliance," the CPI noted in a statement.

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The Left party stated that India agreeing to Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which allows each military to avail logistics support facilities, with the US poses risk of New Delhi being accused of supporting Washingtons aggressions on other countries, particularly, in West Asia and Asia-Pacific region.

"It will have immense negative consequences on Indias bilateral relations with other countries and its declared objective of Look East Policy," the CPI said.

The Left party observed that the civil nuclear co-operation started under Congress-led UPA government has reached its "logical conclusion" during current NDA regime.

With the joint statement describing New Delhi as a "major defence partner" of Washington and the Narendra Modi government agreeing to purchase six "useless and defective" nuclear reactors from US firm Westinghouse, CPI charged the BJP government of going furthermore to "please US".

"As a result, India will be dependent more on US-Israel clique for defence and nuclear development," it said, demanding all the issues be discussed in Parliament.

The joint statement was issued during Modis recent visit to US, with the latter describing India as its "major defence partner" in US defence technology transfer and a "priority partner" in Asia-Pacific. PTI ENM IKA RG IKA

--- ENDS ---
The Civil Aviation ministry has come up with a host of proposed measures that will empower passengers travelling by air like cap cancellation charges not exceeding the basic fare, decrease the free baggage limit etc.

By Anindya Banerjee: The Civil Aviation ministry has come up with a host of proposed measures today that, if implemented, will empower passengers travelling by air.

To begin with the ministry proposes cap cancellation charges not exceeding the basic fare. So next time you have to cancel your flight, don't worry about the huge cancellation fees. So much so that the Airport development fees levied in many airport like Delhi's IGI Airport has to be returned to the passenger as well in event of cancellations.



THAT'S NOT ALL



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The ministry has also come down hard on airlines when passengers are denied boarding despite having valid tickets due to overbooking. In such instances if the airline fails to organise another flight in next one hour, the airline will have to compensate the passenger with a whopping 200% of one way basic fare and airline fuel charge. And if the erring airline fails to arrange an alternate flight within 24 hours the compensation charge will be an even steeper 400%.

Minister Gajapathi Raju told reporters, "These measures are passenger centric. We have kept passenger welfare in mind while coming up with these proposals".

EXTRA BAGGAGE

Another grey area has been extra baggage. There has been lobbying by the airlines to decrease the free baggage limit or worse abolish it. But the ministry has kept a mandatory 15 kg free baggage that a passenger can carry. And if the baggage is anything between 15 to 20 kgs, the passenger will only have to shell out a mere Rs 100 per extra kg. Though after 20 kgs of baggage, airline is free to charge the way they want. Aviation Secretary Rajeev Choubey termed this rule as 'vital' since a lot of passengers used to end up paying a hefty amount for just a kilo of two extra.

BAD WEATHER/ TECHNICAL GLITCH



So what about flight delays due to technical glitch or weather? Minister of State Dr Mahesh Sharma explains, 'What is force majeure is clearly explained by DGCA. If delays are not due to reasons as stipulated, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has its mechanism to verify and act'.

Airlines are also expected to be disabled friendly and accommodating to person with reduced mobility. If a person can't sit on a airline seat and makes a request 48 hours before the scheduled flight, provisions of stretchers should mandatorily be made available. The procedure to make such advance request should also be made available by airlines and adequately displayed on their websites, says the new rule.

So what it essentially means is that once cleared passengers like you and I will have a reference point and if there is any violations the airline can be dragged to consumer court which earlier wasn't possible.

The minister assured it will be put for public scrutiny and in a month's time his ministry expects to bring the amendments. Though it's not clear whether foreign airlines will be bound by these new rules. But there's no denying that it will bring huge respite to troubled passengers at a time when allegation of 'unsatisfactory service' has been rampant against airlines.



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The buddy-buddy relations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama were evident at the Oval Office on June 7-their seventh meeting in two years. But the ghost of Pakistan hovered in the room like a Betaal, as an Indian official put it, likening our north-western neighbour to the irksome character in the ancient fable. India had recently lobbied successfully to get the US Congress to put a temporary hold on the sale of eight nuclear-capable F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan by refusing to subsidise their cost.

The more alarming concern for India, the US and the rest of the world, however, is Pakistan's development of a new generation of nuclear-tipped missiles that threaten to lower the nuclear threshold and make the sub-continent, as a US official put it, "the most dangerous place in the world to live in". Pakistan has reportedly inducted these 'tactical' nuclear weapons as part of its artillery arsenal to pulverise any advancing Indian army division in the event of a war.

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Prior to this, both India and Pakistan had developed a panoply of 'strategic' nuclear weapons designed to strike terror among civilian populations in metros, or to knock out major military targets some distance away from the border. India's Agni V, for instance, can strike targets over 5,000 km away and can be launched from as far south as Chennai to strike Islamabad or Beijing. Pakistan, too, has developed the Ghauri and Shaheen to strike anywhere in India, and has lately extended their range to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, where India has an important tri-service base. But never before were nuclear weapons meant to be used as a tactical manoeuvre on the battlefield to thwart an advancing army corps.

The Nasr, as the midget red-and white nuclear-tipped missile has been christened, is a slim pencil-shaped rocket with fins, which can traverse a distance of 60 km, or little more than the range of an artillery gun. In its current configuration, shown during Pakistan's Military Day parade last year, the Nasr was housed in a multibarrel launch vehicle that could fire four of them simultaneously. Unlike conventional munitions, whose lethality comes from their explosive force and shrapnel, a nuclear-tipped missile doesn't only kill or immobilise enemy troops with the force of the blast. The extreme heat it produces, followed by the radiation it emits, can lead to debilitating sickness or kill a large number of troops within minutes of a strike.

Click here to Enlarge Graphic by Nilanjan Das

Though they had been in the works for the past five years, the first official confirmation that Pakistan had deployed tactical nuclear weapons to thwart an Indian aggression was made by the country's foreign secretary, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, at a press briefing before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's bilateral meeting with Obama last October. The timing of Chaudhry's announcement was significant and clearly meant to warn both the US and India. For months, there was speculation that Pakistan had requested the US to give it a civil nuclear deal similar to the one India signed in 2005. In return, the US was forcing Pakistan to roll back its nuclear weapons programme, including stopping the development of tactical nuclear weapons and agreeing to sign the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) that would further limit its nuclear capability.

When The Washington Post's David Ignatius leaked the details in what he termed 'a diplomatic blockbuster' just weeks before Sharif's visit to the US, Islamabad went into overdrive to deny the report. The Pakistan army, which controls the country's nuclear arsenal, was reportedly furious with the civilian establishment for trying to dilute its nuclear deterrence against India. Sharif was forced to say, en route to the US: "We will protect the national interests of Pakistan during my meetings with the US leadership." He added, for good measure, that "we should not forget who the prime minister was in 1998 when we became a nuclear power", reminding his country that the tests had happened during his watch.

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It was also a significant message to India. At that point, relations between the neighbours had touched a new nadir. A planned meeting of the national security advisors (NSAs) of both countries in Delhi had ended in a fiasco and had to be called off. There was growing suspicion and fear in Pakistan that Modi's 'blow hot, blow cold' policy was a cover for the new 'offensive defence' doctrine advocated by Ajit Doval, his hawkish NSA. Doval had always maintained that the only answer to Pakistan's repeated terror strikes was for India to develop the capability to strike at Pakistan's vital interests without escalating it to an all-out war. By flaunting Nasr, as an expert put it, Pakistan was "showing India its nuclear middle finger and telling Doval to dare".

Experts now see the Pakistan army's belligerence, and its continued backing of terrorist groups targeting India, as an emboldening because of the development and deployment of tactical nuclear weapons. There is no let-up on terror strikes against India, as demonstrated by the Pathankot attack in December and the recent strikes in Jammu & Kashmir. The Pakistan army appears smug in the belief that India will now think thrice before contemplating an 'offensive defence' attack. The threat that Pakistan is sending is that it will quickly escalate any retaliation to a nuclear dimension, spooking the world and getting major powers to hold India back. It is also being seen as the reason why, while Sharif makes conciliatory gestures towards Modi, the army appears against normalising relations.

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Chinese President Xi Jingping with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Photo: Getty images

Pakistan justifies the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as a response to India's Cold Start doctrine. Though India officially denies the existence of such a doctrine, it was first enunciated by the Indian army after the Kargil War in 1999 and the terror attack on Parliament in 2001. Policy experts had complained that it took months for the Indian army to ready its strike corps for a counter-attack on Pakistan. Since then, India is supposed to have developed a proactive strategy to mobilise major formations at short notice to launch a surprise strike.

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To counter such a strike, Lt Gen (retd) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, advisor to Pakistan's National Command Authority (NCA), which controls its nuclear weapons, asserted that Pakistan had to develop tactical nuclear weapons that could thwart a surprise thrust by Indian troops on its border. In March this year, Kidwai told a gathering at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad: "We are not apologetic about the development of tactical weapons. They are here to stay. Pakistan will not cap or curb its nuclear weapons programme or accept any restrictions."

It was Kidwai who, as director-general of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), the operational wing of Pakistan's NCA, in 2002, had listed four conditions that would elicit a Pakistani nuclear riposte. These were: if India conquers a large swathe of Pakistani territory; if it destroys a large part of its armed forces; if it strangulates the Pakistani economy; or if it causes political destabilisation. Pakistan also retained the option of striking first and its nuclear threshold is deliberately ambiguous so as to generate uncertainty in the minds of Indian leaders. In contrast, India has a No First Use (NFU) nuclear doctrine but reserves the right to massively retaliate if Indian forces, populace or territory suffer a nuclear, biological or chemical strike.

Feroz Hassan Khan, author of Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistan Bomb, believes that Pakistan's new deterrence strategy is based on risk manipulation. "Tactical weapons create a high level of uncertainty that India could not proceed with a conventional war for fear of the unknown," he says. India's counter is to call Pakistan's 'nuclear bluff', and punish it for waging proxy war. If Pakistan resorts to using tactical nuclear weapons, a top official in India's NCA, told India Today, "We will retaliate so massively that Pakistan, as we know it, will cease to exist."

The worry for US nuclear experts such as Michael Krepon, co-founder of the Stimson Center, is that "neither side believes that the other's stated nuclear use doctrine is credible and that, by itself, creates a dangerous uncertainty." Worse, Pakistan is now the fastestgrowing nuclear weapons power in the world and has overtaken India's arsenal in size. Krepon points out that Pakistan is playing the "catch-up game" and, in the last decade, has constructed four reactors that can produce 25 to 50 kilogram of weapons-grade plutonium-four times the amount India is producing. When added to its stockpile of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU), which can also be used to make bombs, Pakistan can produce as many as 14 to 27 nuclear weapons every year, as compared with the two to five nukes that India can build. Pakistan is now said to have 120 nuclear bombs as compared with India's 110.

In spite of this, India remains committed to its doctrine of 'credible minimum deterrence'. A former top NCA official says, "Tactical nukes are as dated as the Cold War between Soviet Union and the US. There is a meaningless distinction between 'tactical' and 'strategic' because the distances in the subcontinent are short as compared with Moscow and Washington DC. If Pakistan hits us with a tactical nuke, we are going to hit it hard with everything we have."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with president Barack Obama at the Oval office on June 7. Photo: Getty images

Despite Pakistan's suspicions, India denies it has tactical nuclear weapons in its arsenal. The official reveals that, after Nasr's development, the issue was reviewed three times by the NCA in meetings chaired by the prime minister, and each time the armed forces said there was no need to develop a counter or alter India's No First Use doctrine. As he points out, "We have never treated India's nuclear capability as part of our offensive arsenal. We developed it only for defence and to deter anyone planning a nuclear strike against us." Instead, the Indian army has now prepared itself to absorb a tactical nuclear strike by equipping its troops with suits that can withstand such attacks and evolving other strategies.

While India has not altered its nuclear course, it has used every occasion to highlight the dangers of Pakistan's tactical nuclear weapons, particularly to the US. Ashley Tellis, who has written several defining books on India's nuclear programme, believes that Pakistan is wrong in its belief that it has 'checkmated' India by developing tactical weapons. He points out that even the US has all but abandoned tactical nukes because they are not effective war-fighting instruments. Tellis points out that it would take "300 to 400 Hiroshima-sized weapons, not tactical weapons, to stop an armoured corps". He says that Pakistan just doesn't have the numbers to sustain such a nuclear battle.

Other experts point to the inherent dangers of maintaining an arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons because the chances of misuse and accidental use rise manifold. Jeffrey D. McCausland of the Stimson Center, pointed out in an in-depth study last year that Pakistan's military planners would find battlefield nuclear weapons a logistical nightmare, calling such an induction "dangerous and problematic". For one, it would require a pre-delegation of authority to field military commanders, which increases the risk of miscalculations and weapons falling into the wrong hands. Also, because of the proximity of the borders to large towns such as Lahore, there is a danger of radioactive clouds being blown back to Pakistan and affecting its own people.

So what do India and the world do with Pakistan's renegade nuclear plans? There is a limit to the pressure India can put on the US and other major powers as New Delhi is first seeking clarity on its own global nuclear status. With its imminent acceptance as a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) coupled with its bid to be a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), India hopes to sit on the high table of nuclear decisionmaking. It could then use the forums to put pressure on Pakistan to restrain its nuclear ambitions. George Perkovich, another US expert who has written a seminal book on India's nuclear programme, believes that "for India to put boots on the ground and battle Pakistan would be a mistake. It needs to develop zero-cost methods to put pressure on Pakistan and further isolate it."

Click here to Enlarge Graphic by Tanmoy Chakraborty

Noted Pakistan expert Stephen Cohen of the Brookings Institution has advocated a US civil nuclear agreement for Pakistan in a bid to 'mainstream' its role. He views it as a prerequisite for Pakistan to achieve strategic stability and normalise relations with India. Krepon believes the US should make such an offer only if Pakistan undertakes nuclear-related initiatives such as committing to a recessed deterrence posture and cutting down on tactical nuclear missiles, apart from joining the FMCT negotiations and signing the CTBT. And, like India, it should agree to separate its civilian and nuclear facilities.

India is appalled by such an offer to mainstream Pakistan and believes that Islamabad has to demonstrate far greater nuclear restraint and responsibility before any concessions are made. India constantly reminds other nations of how physicist A.Q. Khan sold Pakistan's nuclear secrets to a number of countries including North Korea and Iran and that its non-proliferation record remains suspect.

Pakistani experts such as Feroz Hassan Khan, who once served in the nuclear establishment, advocate a more moderate and nuanced nuclear posture by Pakistan. As he points out in a recent paper, "Ultimately nuclear weapons only make strong states stronger; they do not make weak states impregnably secure. They can be diversions of the precious resources that weak states possess. Nuclear weapons are an ineradicable part of Pakistan and it does need a credible nuclear deterrent. Yet, for Pakistan to achieve real security, it must focus on some long-term societal, economic and social problems that nuclear weapons cannot address." Sensible words. If only the leaders and generals in Pakistan would listen.

Follow the writer on Twitter @rajchengappa

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By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jun 11 (PTI) Expressing concern over the security situation in Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama has approved broader role for his troops stationed in the war-torn country to help Afghan forces effectively carry out anti-terrorism operations.

"What these authorities will allow is it will allow US forces to engage in similar efforts to accompany conventional Afghan security forces when they undertake operations," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

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"What this would allow is the US forces to be more proactive in supporting conventional Afghan forces as they take the fight to the Taliban.And this means, in some cases, offering close air support, or it means, in some cases, accompanying Afghan forces on the ground or in the air," Earnest explained.

Noting that to this point, US forces and NATO partners have, in some situations, been accompanying Afghan special operators, Earnest said this authority would allow the American forces to accompany conventional Afghan forces in certain situations, but when theyre accompanying them, they continue remain focused on the advice-and-assist mission that theyve been carrying out now for almost two years.

The US, he said, continues to be concerned about the security situation in Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan is a dangerous country.It has been for some time now, and it still is today," he said.

"I dont think anybody, from the President on down, was under the illusion that after a couple of years of being responsible for the security situation of their own country, that the Afghan government and Afghan security forces would eliminate entirely the threat from the Taliban or any other extremists in that country," Earnest said.

The White House Press Secretary praised the Afghan security forces for a remarkable willingness to fight for their country.The forces are resilient, even in those situations where they do encounter operational or even strategic setbacks, he asserted.

"Theres been a willingness on the part of the Afghan forces to reorganise and take the fight back to their adversaries.Some of that is evidence of a successful effort on the part of the United States and our NATO partners to train Afghan forces, but some of that is also the built-in national pride of Afghan security forces to fight for their country and to counter the threat from extremists," Earnest said. MORE PTI LKJ KIS

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By PTI: From Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Jun 11 (PTI) Pakistans powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the US to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.

General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson here yesterday.

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In a late night statement, the army said Gen Raheel demanded targeting of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.

"Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, COAS reiterated Pakistan?s resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies? efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism," it said.

It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on May 21.

The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.

"Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistans sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb," it said.

Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.

He said all stakeholders need to understand Pakistans challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.

"Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate," he said.

He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.

Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Ministers Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated. PTI SH ZH

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By PTI: Allahabad, Jun 11 (PTI) Ahead of BJPs national executive meeting here, rival parties have announced plans for protests in the city though AAP has been denied permission for it, prompting it to move high court.

Congress said it will observe June 12, the day of commencement of the Prime Ministers visit, as Pol Khol Diwas (Day of Expose) while its youth wing has announced a city bandh tomorrow.

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BJPs rivals are hoping to take the sheen off the high-profile event being held by the saffron party here as it gears up for the Assembly elections which are less than a year away.

UPCC General Secretary Mukund Tiwari said, "We will hold meetings in all the 12 assembly segments of the district to expose the claims made by the Modi government which has failed to fulfill the promises made during the last general elections".

Congress youth wing and its students body NSUI have given a call for a city-wide "bandh" tomorrow.

Queried on calling a bandh on Sunday when most establishments are close, NSUI District President Jitesh Mishra said, "Many commercial establishments remain open on Sundays.

"Also, our stress is not on disrupting business but on making the common people aware as to how they are being cheated by the Modi government".

Aam Aadmi Party sought "permission" for staging a demonstration and waving black flags from a "safe distance" to protest the Prime Minister Narendra Modis maiden visit here.

On June 6, a letter jointly signed by Sanjay Singh, member of the Political Affairs Committee of AAP, and Shimla Shri, the partys national executive member, was submitted to District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar.

The DM replied in a letter that no permission could be granted for any type of protest demonstration during the PMs visit.

Unfazed by the refusal, Shri, who was also the partys candidate from Phulpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, has shot off another letter to the DM claiming that their stir was "in no way aimed at creating any hurdles in the way of the Prime Minister" and requesting for a "review" of the decision.

A petition has also been filed by the AAP leader in the Allahabad High Court challenging the district administrations refusal to grant permission for staging a demonstration.

However, the matter is not likely to be taken up by the High Court before Monday when the national executive meeting would be over, followed by Modis public rally, after which he will depart from the city. (MORE) PTI NAC GVS RT GVS

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By PTI: Bhubaneswar, Jun 10 (PTI) The Project Monitoring Group (PMG) of the Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) today expressed its satisfaction over implementation of at least 32 projects across sectors like steel, power, coal mining and railways.

"There has been substantial progress in implementation of projects. State machinery has acted very proactively and resolved issues raised by the project implementing agencies. We are quite satisfied with the progress made in Odisha," said Arun Goel, Additional Secretary, PMG at the Prime Ministers Office.

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Goel said this after taking stock of different projects at a meeting held here under the chairmanship of Odisha Chief Secretary A P Padhi.

"We have mainly reviewed infrastructure based investment projects. Around 32 projects in railway, national highway, water pipeline, coal block development, coal transportation corridor and power sectors were discussed and resolved. This joint exercise has been helpful for expediting the projects," Padhi said.

The major projects reviewed included Khurdha-Bolangir new broad gauge railway link being implemented at a cost of Rs 3,550 crore, doubling of Sambalpur-Bamur railway line with project cost of Rs 1,111 crore, doubling of Sambalpur-Titilagarh railway link at a cost of Rs 1,078 crore, Hardaspur-Paradeep rail link project, Talcher-Bimilagarh new rail line project with an estimated cost of Rs 810 crore and Angul-Sukinda new rail line project with an estimated cost of Rs 638.5 crore.

Among the NH projects reviewed were Tileibani-Sambalpur section of NH-6 at an estimated cost of Rs 752 crore, Binhjabahal-Teleibani section of NH-6 at estimated cost of Rs 1,057 crore, Baharagora-Singara section of NH-6 at an estimated cost of Rs 734 crore, 6-laning of Bhubnaneswar-Chandikhol section of NH-5 at an estimated cost of Rs 1047 crore and others.

The meeting also reviewed progress of coal and power projects like the SMC power generation project, Telengiri Irrigation project, Coal mine projects of MCL, Jharsuguda-Barpali coal transportation railway line and others.

Issues relating to rehabilitation, award of compensation, forest clearance, evacuation of encroachment from acquired land, forest clearance, environmental clearances, tree cutting permission, DGPS survey, compensatory afforestation were discussed and resolved, Padhi said.

Padhi also set timelines for various phases of each project and directed the NH officials and engineers to keep all roads in motorable conditions before the Monsoons. PTI AAM DKB MKJ

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The cops were forced to arrest the accused after netizens launched a social media campaign calling for justice for the old man.

As the pictures of Gokal Das showing his torture marks went viral on social media, IG Sindh AD Khawaja ordered that justice must be served to the Hindu labourer. (Photo courtesy: Dawn.com)

By India Today Web Desk: A police constable in Pakistan's Ghotki district was arrested today for torturing an aged Hindu man for selling edibles before Iftar, the Dawn.com reported. The incident took place on Friday.

NETIZENS DEMAND JUSTICE

The cops were forced to arrest accused Ali Hassan after netizens launched a social media campaign calling for justice for Gokal Das. As the pictures of Das showing his torture marks went viral on social media, Inspector General Sindh AD Khawaja took notice of the incident and ordered that justice must be served to the Hindu labourer.

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Constable Hassan posted in Ghotki district's Hayat Pitafi town was arrested on the charges of torturing and injuring Gokal Das, the police said.

Constable Ali Hassan was arrested on the charges of torturing and injuring Gokal Das. (Photo courtesy: Dawn.com)

FIR REGISTERED

Masood Bangash, SSP, Ghotki, said an FIR has been registered in Jarwar police station under Sections 337, 504 and 506/2 of Pakistan Penal Code against the policeman for assaulting the senior citizen.

The complainant in the case is Vindod Kumar, grandson of victim Gokal Das.

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By PTI: New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) President Pranab Mukherjee will be presented National Order of the Republic of Ivory Coast, the highest award of the West African country where he will be on a two day visit starting June 14.

It will be the first ever high level visit from India to Ivory Coast. Mukherjee has been invited by Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.

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Mukherjee will have one-to-one with Ouattara followed by delegation level talks.

The President would also be handed the key to the city of Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, a statement from External Affairs Ministry said.

"India and Cote dIvoire enjoy warm and friendly relations sharing common values of democracy, development and secularism. The bilateral relations are marked by mutual respect and understanding on various bilateral and multilateral issues. India and Cote dIvoire bilateral trade grew from USD 344.99 million in 2010-11 to USD 841.85 million in 2014-15," it said. PTI ABS RCJ PAL RCJ

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By PTI: Chennai, Jun 11 (PTI) Several pro-Tamil outfits and political parties took out a rally here demanding release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination who have completed 25 years in jail today.

Led by Arputhammal, mother of one of the convict Perarivalan, leaders of various political parties, film personalities, activists and supporters participated in the march.

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PMK Youth wing leader and Dharmapuri MP Anbumani Ramadoss, film actors Nasser, Ponvannan and Satyaraj and director Vikaraman were among those who participated in the rally.

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber at nearby Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991 and seven persons--Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Nalini, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran--were convicted in the case.

Nalinis death sentence was commuted to life in 2000 following a cabinet recommendation and appeal by Rajivs wife, Sonia Gandhi.

Supreme Court had commuted the death sentence of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan in February 2014 following delay in a decision on their mercy plea.

Tamil Nadu government had in March this year decided to remit the sentences of all the seven convicts and release them. It had sought the Centres views on the matter.

The Centre had, however, rejected the proposal.

The matter is since pending in the Supreme Court. PTI SA APR SMJ KK

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By PTI: Pune, Jun 11 (PTI) The Salma Dam, also known as the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, which was recently inaugurated in Herat province of Afghanistan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and their President Ashraf Ghani, has a Pune connection.

Pune-based Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) has claimed that the central institute, which caters to research and development needs for design of water resource structures such as bridges dams, ports, and hydropower generation in the country has played a pivotal role while providing structural and design related recommendations to ensure safety and security of the dam during its construction.

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"During construction of the dam, CWPRS researchers had recommended several structural and design related changes for irs safety and security, which were incorporated," said Varsha Bhosekar, one of the scientists at CWPRS, who was working on Hydraulic model for Salma Dam Spillway project.

Situated on the upper reaches of Hari Rud River in Herat province, Salma Dam is a landmark infrastructure fully aided by Indian government for irrigation, power generation and other benefits to the people of Afghanistan.

Bhosekar said that Central Water Commission designed the dam and during its construction, recommendations from CWPRS researchers pertaining to its safety and stability, were incorporated.

"In order to provide the suggestions for dam?s safety, we even prepared a model of Salma Dam here on CWPRS campus and our researchers studied the model from all angles before giving our recommendations," she said.

While talking about what changes they recommended, she said that adequacy of spillway capacity to pass design discharge was ensured and construction of training walls was suggested on the upstream.

Similarly, approach flow conditions were improved by provision of guide walls and improvement of flow conditions downstream of spillway by incorporation of deflector on the right side of ski jump bucket was recommended, she said.

CWPRS is completing 100 years on June 14 and in order to celebrate the centenary year, the central institute has unveiled series of activities which include an Open Day where common people will be exposed to various models of water resource structures such as bridges dams, ports, and hydropower generation in the country. PTI SPK DK ANP JMF

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By PTI: Nagpur, Jun 11 (PTI) In an extremely rare case, a baby girl with a severe congenital disorder and near-total missing external body skin, was born at a city hospital in the wee hours today.

In medical parlance, this condition is called Harelquin Ichthyosis.

A young woman gave birth to the baby girl at the Lata Mangeshkar Medical College and Hospital around 12.30 AM. A team of doctors, including Dr Yash Banait, Dr Prachi Dixit, Dr Meenakshi and Dr Nilofar Mujawar, were involved in the delivery.

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"The infant was born with a congenital disorder, which occurs because of mutation in the genes. The overall incidence of Harlequin Ichthyosis is one in three lakh births," noted obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Avinash Banait, told PTI when contacted.

"Harlequin ichthyosis is a very rare severe genetic skin disease, which causes thickening of the stratum corneum of the epidermis. In such cases, the childs whole body is encased in an armour of thick white plates of skin, separated with deep cracks. In addition, the eyes, ears, private parts and the appendages may be abnormally contracted," he said.

Because of resultant cracked skin in locations where normal skin would fold, it is easily pregnable by bacteria and other contaminants, which can result in serious risk of fatal infection, Dr Banait added.

The baby, born after a Caesarean operation performed by Dr Dixit, has now been kept under observation as constant care is required to moisturise and protect the skin.

"Doctors will be undertaking a 2D Echo investigation to ascertain the cardiac deformities or anomalies if any. The baby requires proper moisturisation and petroleum jelly and coconut oil serves good for this. Nutritional rehabilitation has to be undertaken regularly. But this baby is not finding any difficulty in breathing," he said.

According to Dr Banait, the disease can be diagnosed in the uterus by way of fetal skin biopsy or by morphologic analysis of amniotic fluid cells obtained by amniocentesis.

Doctors can now usually recognise common features of the disease through ultrasound and follow up with 3D ultrasound to diagnose the condition.

"Ultrasound can reveal abnormal facial features with ectropion, eclabium, short foot length, incurved toes, clenched fists, poor delineation of nostrils, and polyhydramnios," he said. PTI JOE NP PVI PTP

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In a series of posters released on social media, Shiv Sena is questioning Modi and BJP's performance in the last two years.

By Sahil Joshi: Escalating its turf war against the BJP government, Shiv Sena released a series of posters on the social media questioning Modi and BJP's performance in the last two years.

The posters doing rounds on Facebook and WhatsApp in Maharashtra are depicting how the Union government had failed on many fronts like rise of crime against women, Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan, etc have been made which show the statistics different than that claimed by the government.

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While the first poster questions the slogan 'desh badal raha hai ' saying 'kya sach main desh badal raha hai?, another one talks about farmers and how government has ignored farmers who have been forced to commit suicide.

Other posters challenge government's claim with their own statistics on job creation, petrol prices and unrest on university campuses.

Shiv Sena's public relation wing head says that these are not released by Shiv Sena. "Shivsainiks seem to have put them up as a reaction to the propaganda being spread on social media by the BJP".

Even though Shiv Sena has not officially taken the responsibility for these posters but the posters are in line with Shiv Sena's criticism of Modi government's performance in its mouthpiece Saamana.

Even though the BJP is choosing to ignore this anti campaign by alliance partner but it's likely that Shiv Sena will get some reaction on social media by BJP.



This social media war has made it clear that both alliance partners are going to be diehard opponents in upcoming municipal corporations elections in Maharashtra due in February 2017

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According to sources, the idea to support lawyer RK Anand had caused resentment among the Congress lawmakers in the state but the high command decided to overrule them keeping in mind the larger strategic objective against the BJP.

By Amit Agnihotri: Congress president Sonia Gandhi overruled the Haryana Congress and decided to support lawyer RK Anand's bid for the Rajya Sabha in order to keep BJP-backed media baron Subhash Chandra at bay.

CONGRESS LAWMAKERS MIFFED



According to sources, the idea to support Anand had caused resentment among the Congress lawmakers in the state but the high command decided to overrule them keeping in mind the larger strategic objective against the BJP.

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"Congress MLAs will support RK Anand to keep the BJP at bay," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the issue was critically debated between AICC general secretary BK Hari Prasad and the 17 Congress lawmakers in Haryana.

CONTESTED 2014 LS POLLS ON INLD TICKET



Sonia opted to go with Anand after weighing the pros and cons of the issue along with her advisers. Fearing backlash in the state, the Haryana Congress was opposed to the idea of supporting RK Anand as he was earlier with the Grand Old Party but had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Faridabad on an INLD ticket.

In 2009, an embarrassed Congress had virtually discarded Anand after the top court had found him guilty in the infamous BMW hit-andrun case following a sting operation by a private news channel. Explaining the Congress decision, Tewari said Anand had sought support from the party and expressed faith in the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and the party's policies.

ANAND VOWS TO SUPPORT CONGRESS



"?nand has said that he will support the Congress both inside and outside of the house," said Tewari. Sources said the Congress decision could make things difficult for independent nominee Subhash Chandra, who has the BJP's backing. They also said the party lawmakers will have to placated over the move as they are the ones who fight the rival INLD in the state.

"He is after all an INLD member. The decision will be difficult to swallow for the MLAs," said a state leader. Sources acknowledged that Anand's association with INLD on state issues and with Congress on national matters would present an awkward situation.

However, the third candidate in the fray, Union rural development minister Birender Singh, is all set to sail through.

ALSO READ:

Rajya Sabha elections: Independent Karnataka MLA switches loyalty to Congress



--- ENDS ---
By PTI: London, Jun 11 (PTI) Southern Europe may be at risk of Zika outbreaks - a deadly virus that has been linked to serious birth defects - between June and August this year, a new study has warned.

Established Aedes-mosquito population could spread the Zika virus in Europe this summer if infected travellers introduce the virus, researchers said.

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"We know warm climates create the kind of conditions suitable for mosquito-borne illnesses to spread," said Joacim Rocklov, researcher at Umea University in Sweden.

An analysis of temperatures, vectorial capacity, basic reproductive number (R0), and air traveller flows suggests parts of Southern Europe may be at risk for Zika outbreaks between June and August.

"Vectorial capacity depends on a number of parameters but in general, warmer temperatures increase the rate in which the female mosquitoes bite, the mosquito virus reproduction, and their virus transmission risk," Rocklov said.

"The presence of established Aedes mosquito populations, the warmer climate and the coinciding peak flow of air travellers into Europe, is a triage making Southern Europe fertile ground for Zika," he added.

Following a similar epidemiological study conducted on the similar dengue virus, researchers used a temperature dependent computer model to predict Zika virus infection risks for Europe.

In the analysis, the researchers overlaid data on monthly flows of airline travellers arriving in European cities from Zika-affected areas, data on month-by-month estimates of virus infection reproduction capabilities of Aedes-mosquito populations in Europe, and human population data within the areas where mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus could be possible.

The researchers found that the risk of mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus is estimated to peak between June and August in parts of Southern Europe.

The peak flow of air travellers from regions of the Americas affected by the Zika virus coincides with the peak in the Aedes-mosquitoes capacity to transmit the virus, researchers said.

The findings could help European public health officials to identify locations and times where the risk for Zika is heightened.

The risk assessment assumes that European Aedes-mosquitoes have the same potential to spread the Zika virus as their South-, Middle- and North American counterparts.

Earlier research has shown that increasing temperatures will enlarge Europes seasonal window for the potential spread of mosquito-borne viral disease and expand the geographic areas at risk for epidemics to include large parts of Europe.

The threat includes tropical and sub-tropical viruses such as Zika and dengue, the researchers said.

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The study was published in the journal EBioMedicine. PTI MHN MRJ

--- ENDS ---
Sultan will see Randeep Hooda play Salman Khan's MMA trainer, as the latter tries to make a comeback as a washed out wrestler.

By India Today Web Desk: Randeep Hooda has been around for ages, but he's finally making progress by leading projects and then working with stars like Salman Khan. Hooda, who earlier worked with Salman Khan in Kick, knows the importance of being in the Jai Ho-star's good books. Working with Salman again in Yashraj's Sultan, the actor was all praises for the Bollywood superstar.



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ALSO READ: Do Lafzon Ki Kahaani movie review



"This is Salmans best performance so far, based on what I have seen. He is growing as an actor. Bajrangi Bhaijaan was a big step, and he is just moving ahead. I have really enjoy working with Salman. Our good rapport filtered through into our scenes in Kick, and they have also come through in Sultan," he said to HT.

The film will see Hooda play an MMA-trainer to Salman's character, who is trying to make a comeback after having been a wrestler earlier in his life. Sultan will hit the screens on July 6.

--- ENDS ---
At 600 days, Swachh Bharat is making progress but civic sense awareness and municipal engagement and effectiveness remain a critical challenge LocalCircles, which conducted the online survey of over 40,000 citizens, said.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Fifty-two per cent of citizens find their city cleaner 600 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched tbe Swachh Bharat (Clean India) initiative, a countrywide survery has found.

"At 600 days, Swachh Bharat is making progress but civic sense awareness and municipal engagement and effectiveness remain a critical challenge," LocalCircles, which conducted the online survey of over 40,000 citizens, said.

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Interestingly, only 21 per cent citizens had found their city cleaner one year after the initiative was launched.

Twenty-three percent of citizens said availability of public toilets had improved, against only 12 per cent who had found an improvement a year after the drive began.

Fifty-percent felt civic sense awareness was the most important driver for improving cleanliness, while 40 per cent felt municipal engagement and effectiveness was needed for better cleanliness.

Responding to the question: How is your city since the launch of Swachh Bharat on October 2, 2014, 11 per cent said it was much cleaner while 41 per cent said it was somewhat cleaner. However, 40 per cent said there was no change while eight per cent said things had gotten worse.

Responding to the question on the availability of public toilets, a whopping 64 per cent said there had been no change, while 13 per cent took the can't say route.

Suggestions and intitatives on how Swachch Bharat can be improved Quarterly city-level events following a common structure and led by the local municipal commissioner and mayor should be organized engaging citizens, NGOs, local celebrities, corporates, and community organizations in every city. The objective of these events should be to take up key city challenges (not individual grievances) in the area of waste management, public toilets, open defecation. Municipalities should outline their annual plan, money available for Swachh Bharat, challenges and seek citizen inputs on how to overcome them online and via quarterly events. All municipal commissioners should join their city's respective Swachh Bharat citizen circle to remain connected with citizens and should have a dedicated social media focal. A Swachh Bharat ambassador (an appointed one or a local celebrity) should be part of the quarterly review. As appropriate, a local advisory board, including active citizens, may be formed for Swachh Bharat in every city which may meet monthly or more often. Garbage pickers and municipal workers with exceptional delivery in the previous quarter must be nominated through a process and felicitated in the quarterly meeting. Any RWAs that have done good cleanliness work in last quarter must also be recognized with some civic incentives like trees planted, park renovation and the like. Civic sense awareness drives must be planned for the year with citizen participation and scheduled for every month. Every street consisting of not more than 100 houses should be asked to form one Swachh Bharat team and should maintain their streets along with municipality officials with potential competition between localities. A citizen rating system can also be rolled out where citizens rate their municipality and the municipality, state and central Swachh Bharat Directorate has access to all ratings at all times. A system could also be announced where a municipality that has received Swachh Bharat funds and continues to have a low rating on delivery metrics in six months is liable for action. Year-wise targets could be fixed by the Mission Directorate, for municipalities and monetary awards should be given as incentive to those who fulfil the targets.

LocalCircles (localcircles.com) is a citizen engagement platform that connects citizens at local, city and national level to participate in governance and make their urban life better. It claims it has more than 1,000,000 citizens connected on it across the country.

Also Read: Modi plans to reboot Swachh Bharat Mission, Ganga Rejuvenation





--- ENDS ---
While 30 of the total 57 seats in the current round of biennial elections to the Upper House have already been decided without a contest, the fate of candidates for the remaining 27 seats will be decided by today evening when the results will be announced.

By India Today Web Desk: Polling has begun in the crucial election to 27 Rajya Sabha seats in seven states, with a keen contest on cards in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana. Polling began at Assembly premises in the state capitals at 9 am and will continue till 4 am.

While 30 of the total 57 seats in the current round of biennial elections to the Upper House have already been decided without a contest, the fate of candidates for the remaining 27 seats will be decided by today evening when the results will be announced.

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Here are the highlights from the seven states

HARYANA

In Haryana, where polling is being held for two seats, Union Minister Birender Singh from BJP is assured of a comfortable win. Independent candidate R K Anand has got the backing of Congress and its rival INLD, making it an uphill task for media baron and BJP-backed Independent candidate Subhash Chandra.

UTTAR PRADESH

In Uttar Pradesh, where elections are being held to 11 seats, interest is centred around a fight between former union minister Kapil Sibal and BJP-backed independent socialite Preeti Mahapatra. Sibal will need the support of BSP, which has 12 votes more than necessary for the success of its own candidates Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth.

BSP supremo Mayawati has maintained suspense over her party's support in Uttar Pradesh. But Sibal can draw heart from the fact that she has already extended backing for a Congress candidate in Madhya Pradesh by promising one vote required for senior Supreme Court lawyer Vivek Tankha, fielded by Congress.

Congress has 29 MLAs and needs the backing of five more to see Sibal through.

The ruling SP has fielded seven candidates including Amar Singh and Beni Prasad Verma, who both rejoined the party recently, and Reoti Raman Singh. Its seventh candidate is, however, short of 9 first preference votes. SP has been promised backing by Ajit Singh-led RLD which has 8 MLAs.

The BJP has fielded Shiv Pratap Shukla, who is sure to get elected on its own 41 MLAs, and has offered 7 surplus votes to Mahapatra.



KARNATAKA

Karnataka, where four seats are up for grab, is poised to witness a battle between the ruling Congress and the JD(S). Union Minister Nirmala Seetharaman of BJP, who needs just one vote more than the party's strength of 44, and former union ministers Jairam Ramesh and Oscar Fernandes of Congress are sure of victory.

With 122 members, Congress has a surplus of 33 votes after ensuring the victory of Ramesh and Fernandes. It has fielded former senior IPS officer K C Ramamurthy as its third candidate for which it requires 12 more votes.

With 40 members, dissidence-hit JDS is in an unenviable position as five MLAs have virtually raised a banner of revolt amid reports that they might indulge in cross voting to help Congress.

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JDS needs five more votes for its candidate B M Farooq, a corporate personality, to sail through but is struggling to keep the herd together.

Allegations of bribing JD(S) and Independent MLAs marred the polls in Karnataka though the Election Commission rejected demands for cancelling them.

MADHYA PRADESH

In Madhya Pradesh, while ruling BJP, which has 164 votes, is assured of victory of its candidates M J Akbar and Anil Dave, a fight is on for its third candidate Vinod Gotia, who faces a tough challenge from Vivek Tankha of Congress, as he needs 10 more than the 48 surplus votes his party has.

A candidate in Madhya Pradesh needs 58 votes for victory. Tankha, whose party Congress has 57 votes, appears comfortably placed after BSP announced the backing of its four MLAs.

RAJASTHAN

Rajasthan is another state where Congress, with 24 MLAs, has forced a contest by backing an Independent candidate Kamal Morarka. A candidate needs 41 votes to win.

With 160 members in Rajasthan Assembly, the BJP is certain of victory of Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, its Vice President Om Prakash Mathur, former RBI official Ram Kumar Sharma and Harsh Vardhan Singh, a member of the erstwhile Dungarpur royal family.

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The fourth BJP candidate needs only four more votes to sail through, which the party expects to get from two MLAs of National Unionist Zamindara Party and three Independents.

JHARKHAND

In Jharkhand also, a close contest is possible where a united opposition can upset the ruling BJP's calculations. But its first candidate and Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is sure of victory.

The BJP has 43 MLAs on its own and enjoys the support of six more MLAs of its allies.

JMM supremo Shibu Soren's son Basant is pitted against BJP's Mahesh Poddar. However, if Congress (6), RJD and rest of the opposition come together and back the JMM candidate, Basant can look at victory.

UTTARAKHAND

Uttaraand, where election is only for one seat, Congress nominee Pradeep Tamta is set to sail through needing just two additional votes apart from his party's 26 and ally PDF's six.

Also Read:

India Today sting on Rajya Sabha seats for sale: Election Commission asks for CBI probe



--- ENDS ---
Two years of drought may have reminded the nation that we are living with a chronic water crisis, but the welcome advent of a good monsoon may see a return to collective amnesia - until the next rude awakening.

Two years of drought may have reminded the nation that we are living with a chronic water crisis, but the welcome advent of a good monsoon may see a return to collective amnesia - until the next rude awakening. Meanwhile, all across the country many wiser individuals have immersed themselves in the task of addressing this national crisis - and its often local solutions. Their efforts remind us that we may need to 'be like water', flexible, adaptable and relentless. Here's a glimpse of a few that have taken very different paths in the same cause. Six distinctive individuals who have made a difference. May their tribe increase.

The art of water warfare

The struggle for water is actually a struggle for land. A struggle the tribes of the Chhota Nagpur plateau in eastern India have known for generations. The list of tribal leaders w ho fought and died protecting their land and forest from the British colonial rule is long. Tilkha Majhi (1772), Sidhu and Kanu (1855) and Birsa Munda (1900) are among their prominent martyrs.

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Soma Munda, 79 years old now, follows in that illustrious line, but with three crucial exceptions. One: his struggle is non-violent. Two: it is not against colonial rulers but the Indian government. Three: he's been successful.

Munda is the head of the Koel Karo Jan Sangathan, a tribal collective formed in the 1970s to oppose a hydroelectric project in Ranchi district. Proposed in the 1950s and firmed up in 1973, the project envisages the construction of two dams across the nearby Koel and Karo rivers, submerging several villages and forest lands, displacing the tribals and other residents. The villagers began opposing the project in 1974.

The Koel-Karo protests became part of the larger movement for a separate state that acknowledged the tribal ethos. In 2000, Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, but it did not include tribal-majority parts of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, as had been demanded by the Jharkhand campaigners. Babulal Marandi of the BJP became its first tribal chief minister.

One year after the creation of Jharkhand, the Marandi government decided to go ahead with the Koel-Karo project. Land surveyors arrived with police protection. The villagers protested. Eight people died in the police firing on February 2, 2001, at Tapkara village, the same place where in 1946 five people had died in firing while demanding a separate tribal state. (Jharkhand means, literally, a 'unit of trees').

Over four decades, several governments have pushed the Koel-Karo project. The residents of the area in the Torpa block of Ranchi district, however, have stood firm under Soma Munda's leadership. He has insisted on the tribal community's rights over their land and forest, an ideal protected under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India.

Munda has had to walk a fine line. It does not take much for tribal protests to be branded as 'Maoist', anti-development and anti-national. But it works to Munda's advantage that he is a retired soldier. He enlisted in the army in 1955, and took part in the 1962 China war and the 1971 Pakistan war. When the Indian army liberated Goa from the Portuguese in 1961, he was there. Training and the duties of defending the country took him from Joshimath to Secunderabad, from Bareilly to Jabalpur, from Goa to Arunachal Pradesh.

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He retired in 1976 and came home, only to find his village Lohajimi facing the threat of the Koel-Karo project. Civilian life called for a different war. Munda insisted on non-violent means; his authority and credibility have reined in any members of his community who had other ideas. When state repression got unbearable, Munda thought of creative ways to resist. Munda says when policemen and officials were camped in and around their villages, the people used tribal religious customs to restrict their movement and access. No government has been able to displace them and forge ahead with the project, though there are reports of its revival every now and then.

Leaders from across the political divide supported them when they were in opposition. "But once they get elected, they behave no different from the British colonial rulers," Munda says. It is a testament to his leadership that the Koel and Karo rivers flow freely, undammed, even today. Munda has no hope in electoral politics, but is confident that the younger leaders of the tribes will conti-nue to defend their community interests and constitutional rights, in the spirit of ancestors like Birsa Munda.

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Over generations, time can defend a space, nurture a river.

By Sopan Joshi

The rain man

It was the '90s and Vishwanath S. was sitting at home in Bengaluru watching the rains lash the city while at the same time waiting for a private water tanker to fill up the sump. "It was a Eureka moment for me?I was wondering, why am I waiting for the private tanker while rainwater is draining from the rooftop? I managed to build a rainwater harvesting system that yielded considerable output. Since then, I have made it a mission to ensure that people adopt rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharging," he says.

Vishwanath S- Changing people's mindsets is the biggest challenge. Photo: Bandeep Singh

For a city that gets rainfall almost eight months a year, it's a travesty that Bengalureans still face water shortages every summer. And it's not because water resources are dwindling (the Cauvery river is the only reliable source for the city), but because of the city administrators, especially the Bengaluru Water Supply & Sewerage Board (BWSSB). "Unfortunately, there is not a single institution in the city, not even from the government's side, that focuses on effective water management or promoting water conservation. The focus of the government agencies has only been on balancing the demand-supply gap in the city," suggests Vishwanath. But things are changing. India's IT capital now has the second highest number of houses and buildings (150,000) that have adopted rainwater harvesting or groundwater recharging techniques, next only to Chennai.

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He was also on the committee that recommended making it mandatory for people constructing houses to adopt rainwater harvesting in Bengaluru. "One of the biggest challenges we face is changing people's mindset. It makes ecological and financial sense not to waste a pure natural resource available in large quantity on one's roof. In the case of a home builder who's in the initial stages of construction, investments in time, design and money are minimal for adopting roof rainwater harvesting. It's cost-effective too (Rs 10,000 for new homes and Rs 25,000 for retro-fitting)," he says.

Having worked for the Union government three decades ago, Vishwanath has first-hand knowledge of the water crisis across the country, especially in north India. Way back in 1995, he started www.rainwaterclub.org, which hosted useful statistics and literature relating to rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharging. Two decades later, it remains one of the most visited sites on these topics. His Twitter handle @zenrainman has many followers while his 490+ educational videos on YouTube have been viewed over 2 million times!

He has trained so many people in the past three decades that in the next few years, Karnataka will have more than one million recharged wells through the network of specialists.

By Aravind Gowda

River runner

I have just been repairing the water connection to the house from the mineral spring nearby,"says Emmanuel Theophilus, 57, smiling as he steps into his hillside cottage in Munsiyari, a small town that faces the dramatic snows of the Panchachuli massif. 'Theo', as most locals know him, has lived here for a quarter of a century. A little over a year ago he completed an epic journey from the source of the Gori Ganga at the Milam glacier to Gangasagar island, where India's most iconic river empties into the Bay of Bengal. The 90-day journey was certainly an adventure but behind it lay a passionate intent to test the waters of the imperiled Ganga-for signs of life.

Emmanuel Theophilus- Water bodies are habitat areas, just like forests. Photo: Sandeep Sahdev

Theophilus is a veteran campaigner for the protection of India's rivers, particularly in the mountains he loves. Last year, he won a national award for his "untiring efforts to safeguard the integrity of the Mahakali river". But 'Nadisutra' was a voyage of discovery."I wanted to write an ecological history of the river," Theo says. So he sought out conversations with people whose existence was defined by the river and listened to their tales. "It was about fishermen telling me how different the river was earlier, even in their own lifetimes. The Ganga has changed most dramatically in the past 50 years," he says. "We tend to forget that water bodies are habitat areas, just like forests," he continues. "Thanks to the Farakka barrage in West Bengal, long-distance migrating fish have stopped coming. Earlier, the hilsa, the freshwater shrimp, the Ganga stingray and the Ganga shark used to migrate upriver, some as far as Faizabad in UP. Now they have all been blocked by the barrage."

But have his findings left Theophilus with hope? "I'll say it on record-the Ganga is dying," is his verdict. But don't mistake that for an obituary. The Nadisutra experience has left a deep impact on Theo, blessed as it was with moments of wonder and almost indescribable beauty: "Being tossed about on a small fishing boat by winds and high waves on a dark moonless night, the sparkling flashes of bioluminescent plankton in the sea, like a splash of diamonds...." He's telling us the Ganga is worth saving.

By Sukant Deepak





Be like water

Human greed should not direct the flow of rivers," says Lama Lobsang Gyatso, 36, the monk who's been leading an impassioned protest against the construction of mega hydropower projects in the far reaches of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. The stocky, bullet-headed lama from the Gelugpa or 'yellow hat' order is already a public figure of some consequence, with a reputation for fearlessly confronting political and ecclesiastical authority figures. Gyatso heads the Save Mon Region Federation (SMRF), an organisation mainly of monks, taking on the consortium of private and public sector corporations-and their political allies-who led the grandiose, and initially lucrative, rush to construct some 160 mega hydropower projects in the lush hills of the northeastern state.

Lama Lobsang Gyatso- The monks will not allow the defiling of sacred lands

Just last month, on May 2, Gyatso was at the heart of a tragic confrontation that began when he was arrested for criticising the head abbot of the 400-year-old Tawang monastery over his prevarication on the dams issue. As hundreds of Gyatso's supporters thronged the police station where he was being held, the authorities opened fire, leaving two people, including a 17-year-old monk, dead. Gyatso was soon released and the abbot, Guru Tulu Rimpoche, has since resigned. But the incident has hardened local opposition to the dams.

In fact, the signs say many of the state's grand hydroelectric schemes are already in trouble, with private players pulling out of many MoUs."These projects in the Northeast have not come up to address local needs but are for export-and they affect the local populations. Now the demand for even thermal power projects is down, so financial viability is a big issue," says Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. Earlier this year, Gyatso's SMRF intervened to bring another project, the 780 megawatt Nyamjang Chhu hydroelectric project in Zemithang, promoted by the Bhilwara group, to a halt. Its environmental clearance was withdrawn after the monks established that it would destroy a wintering site of black-necked cranes, a protected species which also has great religious significance in Tawang.

"These rivers are pilgrimage sites for us, blessed by Guru Padmasambhava. The confluences of these rivers are sacred places where we traditionally perform the last rites." As the movement mourns its martyrs, its leader is confident that the dam builders will be defeated. He's certainly not short on faith.

By Tongam Rina

Watershed moment

Back in the late 1980s, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), with its opposition to big dams in Madhya Pradesh, attracted a large number of educated youth from across the country. A group of such youngsters, out of universities some years ago with backgrounds in myriad fields, liked the idea but also found it to be a 'negative campaign'. The youngsters felt that while the NBA opposed big dams, it provided no solutions to the problems of water or electricity scarcity.

Mihir Shah- The SPS showed an alternative way. Photo: Vikram Sharma

Coupled with the idea of working with communities, particularly marginalised tribals, this group set out to address this 'gap' by showcasing an alternative to the NBA. And they wanted to do so in the Narmada valley itself. The group finally fixed on Bagli town in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh, where they set up their Samaj Pragati Sahyog (SPS) in 1990. The grassroots initiative was started by 10 people, including Dr Mihir Shah, P.S. Vijay Shankar, Rangu Rao, Pramathesh Ambasta (all economists), Nivedita Banerji, who was from a literature background, Jyotsna Jain, a geographer, Dr Mridula Banerji, a professor of psychology and Dr Debashish Banerji, a botanical scientist.

A core activity of the SPS is their watershed programme under which rainwater is harvested on private and public lands and used for irrigation or domestic consumption. In the past 23 years, it has taken up watershed programmes in 112,000 acres spread over 81 villages in the Khargone and Dewas districts, creating 25 million cubic metres of water storage capacity and generating 1.2 million man-days of employment. "Earlier, I could only expect one kharif crop, as our agriculture was dependent on rain. Now many farmers like me can rely on both kharif and rabi crops," says Badrilal, 50, resident of Neemkheda village. Such stories are the reward for the founders of SPS."The result is that in the past almost 25 years of our work, there have been rainfall-deficient years, but it has not affected livelihoods," says Dr Shah. Perhaps the most significant result of their intervention: an 80 per cent reduction in distress migration over the years.

By Rahul Noronha

Desert spring

For Farhad Contractor, it all started when he came across Rajasthan ki Rajat Boondein by Anupam Mishra of the Gandhi Peace Foundation in Delhi, a book that described in detail the sophisticated rainwater harvesting systems the desert people had evolved. "I realised that these systems of building ponds, wells, tanks and other similar structures were hundreds of years old," Contractor says.

Farhad Contractor- One book started the journey. Photo: Shailesh Raval

Inspired, he started travelling through western Rajasthan, heart of the Thar desert, looking for people who might be interested in reviving their remarkable methods of water security in a region that gets the least rainfall in India.

Now with Sambhaav too, he looks to motivate people do "work that lasts, which comes out of lasting relationships". "In the Rajasthan villages where we work," Contractor says, "the residents don't know the name of our organisation. They know our people, who are mostly from the same region, speak the same language and know the area intimately." With villagers bearing 75 per cent of the cost, Sambhaav has helped revive some 9,000 water harvesting projects. But their most lauded effort has been the revival of a 22 km stretch of the river Nanduwali, Rajgarh block, Alwar district.

A monsoonal stream, it was dry most of the year, causing much distress migration. Consistent water harvesting efforts have ensured it now has water round the year.

By Sopan Joshi

--- ENDS ---
In a shocking expose it has been revealed that the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs officials, who were in Pakistan for the talks on November 25, 2008, were made to extend their trip.

By India Today Web Desk: The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks came just a day after the Home Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan concluded in Islamabad.

In a shocking expose it has been revealed that the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs officials, who were in Pakistan for the talks on November 25, 2008, were made to extend their trip.

THE ISI TRICKERY

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On November 26, 2008, when 10 members of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba launched a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's top security officials were 'holidaying' in Murree, a hill station near the Pakistani capital.

The three MHA officials who were enjoying the Pakistani hospitality in Muree were; Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, Additional Secretary (Border Management) Anwar Ahsan Ahmad, joint secretary (internal security) Diptivilasa, along with three other officials internal security/

Former Under Secretary in ministry of Home Affairs RVS Mani said, "Those days, talks were taking place alternately in India and Pakistan. In 2006, it took place in Pakistan; in 2007, it took place in India at Le Meridian hotel in Delhi; while in 2008, it was to be held in Pakistan.

November 25 was decided for the talks, following which an approach paper was prepared and cleared. Our delegation left on November 24. I was in Lucknow on November 25 for some court case. I remember that when I returned on November 26, I came to know that their visit was extended by a day, and then what happened in the night of 26th we all know."

According to Mani, holding the officials back in Islamabad for a day was a ploy of Pakistan. "Pakistan knew the terrorists' design, despite that it insisted them to stay there for a day (by delaying talks). Thus, there was no negligence on the part of officers. The decision about their visit and the approach paper were cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security. The RTI reply shown by some channels that there was 'negligence' is not true. As when the delegation reached there, the date for talk was extended from November 25 to 26. I was not part of that delegation, hence only a delegation member could say what had happened there (in Islamabad)," he added.

When asked if MHA officials tried to contact them in Pakistan after the attack, Mani said, "Deputy commandant-level officers of paramilitary such as BSF, ITBP and CRPF were in the control room. They kept on trying to contact the Indian counterterrorism officers in Islamabad but were unable to reach them. It could be a Pakistan's ploy to make them stay at a place where there is mobile network issue. When they finally succeeded, I can't say. Later JS (police) [Joint Secretary-police] decided to deploy National Security Guards (NSG). Other JSes also extended their support."

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When asked about the then Home Minister and the delay in the decision-making in the absence of top Internal Security officers, Mani said, " Home Minister Shivraj Patil's role was limited, though he flew to Mumbai. There are standard operative procedures in place at the MHA, which the officers have to ensure. A very solid system is in place, but implementation of the system was required a leadership, which was missing (officers were stuck in Pakistan).

26/11 Mumbai attack: Never seen photos of NSG operation



REACTIONS

Shivraj Patil (The then Home Minister)

Those who are alleging a conspiracy must prove it. People have to realise that Law & order is a state subject. Bombay police was handling it (26/11) yet we sent forces quickly. NSG was ready in one hour but there was no aircraft. It had to come from Chandigarh, then pilot had to check the aircraft.



Those who r saying there was a conspiracy to delay them in Murree, there has to be proof, I can't say: Shivraj Patil pic.twitter.com/ASoijKLWau ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

Our delegation level talks happened in cordial atmosphere. There was no out of the way talks. They said that they have prepared our stay in Muree. We went there and our program was to go by the mid day next day. There was no scene of any holiday. We thought it as odd but we still went and we did not take it very seriously.



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It is a no signal area that is said but it is not true. A call came to me about a serious attack in Bombay. So I switched on my TV and heard the news after which we talked to senior level people just immediately after we got the news.

Don't know what purpose it will serve to ask 8 yrs later if we wr deliberately sent to Murree:Madhukar Gupta frmr HS pic.twitter.com/t4JaAX7DM9 ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

This is duplicate role of Pakistan which is clear.

The extension of one day happened regarding the talks which was logical so we did not think that any incident like this could happen. This is a hind sight speculative matter.



RVS Mani (Former Under Secretary in Ministry of Home Affairs)

There is a scheme from Pakistan's side. They stopped our officials there as per their scheme. This is clear that the officials were stopped there. They call it home secretary talks. It took place many times but for two years it was stopped. It takes place every alternative years in India and Pakistan.

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RTI has come clean on this information. Everything is in public domain.

Kirit Somaiya (BJP)

It's shocking, a home secretary was enjoying at a hill station in Pakistan while Mumbai was burning. It was careless behavior the of Congress government.

Qamar Agha (Defence expert)

The things that happened around 26/11 were already planned. They deliberately took the officials to a remote place where there was no communication.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS



Eight years after the attack and with this latest shocking revelation, there remain many questions. Why did Pakistan offer Indian officials to stay back Why at a location like Muree with no connectivity Why did the Indian officials accept the offer Was it to delay the responses at the Indian front in combating the 10 LeT terrorists Did Pakistan intentionally delay the talks

The attacks which began on November 26, 2008 lasted until November 29, 2008, killing 164 people and wounding at least 308.







Also Read:

26/11 attack trial: Pakistan asks India to send witnesses to record statement

Headley confesses Pakistan's ISI, Army's hand in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks: Report



--- ENDS ---
In a recent speech, Khamenei declared, Those who say the future is in negotiations, not in missiles, are either ignorant or traitors. Such aggressive commentary underscores the Iranian threat. These tests are a crucial component in developing the capability to send nuclear warheads over long distances, at targets even thousands of miles away.

Earlier this month, the commander of the regimes Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned, Our missiles that have become more precise and more destructive [and they] will be multiplied more than before.

Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, defended the tests by saying in essence that Iran has the right to defend itself. Khamenei took the same line, saying, If the Islamic Republic seeks negotiations but has no defensive power, it would have to back down in the face of threats from any weak country.

Their embellishment misrepresents the restrictions the Security Council has sought to impose on nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Zarif neglected to mention that the phrase Israel must be wiped out was scrawled on the most recently tested missiles.

But what about the recent parliamentary elections, and the resounding victory for moderates reported by the Western press? Unfortunately, those moderates are the same politicians who preside over Irans ballistic missile program, who were instrumental in deceiving nuclear inspectors and who continue to wreak havoc across the region.

If these are the moderates, were in deep trouble.

Both before the nuclear deal and since, Irans essential character and behavior have remained unchanged. This was underscored by Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the outgoing commander of U.S. Central Command, in remarks before the Congress on March 9: Since the nuclear deal, Iran has not yet changed its acts in the region  Iran is the biggest factor of instability in the region.

This is true in Iraq, where it sponsors violent sectarian militias; in Syria, where it fuels the atrocities of the Assad regime; and in Yemen, where it instigated a rebellion, catapulting the country into chaos and bloodshed. Iran continues to arm rebel forces, as evidenced by the recent French and U.S. capture of ships carrying weapons for the Houthi fighters.

We will continue to support the survival of the Syrian government, said Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, on April 5. Days later, Ali Akbar Velayati, a confidant of Khamenei, said, The removal of Assad is a red line for us, hinting at Tehrans commitment to bolstering the Syrian dictator.

Even farther abroad, on Bulgarian soil, Iran was responsible for a bus bombing in 2012 that killed scores of civilians, just as in Argentina it was responsible for killing hundreds of Jews in the 1990s.

At home, the regime continues to execute opponents by hanging them from cranes, and to jail and torture minorities and anyone perceived as an opponent. Nearly 1,000 were hanged in 2015, according to Amnesty International.

This sickening practice of using construction cranes to murder people is in ironic contrast with other countries, where cranes symbolize progress, new building projects, economic growth and hopefully, improving living standards.

Those who advocate genuine change in Iran  and have not been killed for it  must live either under constant threat of violence, or in exile. Every summer, more than 100,000 exiled Iranian political activists assemble near Paris to demonstrate that this has not stopped the Iranian people and opposition groups from pursuing an end to Irans religious dictatorship.

The United States and its European allies must abandon their policy of appeasement because Irans extremists clearly have not changed. What is needed is quite simply a policy that recognizes the facts: There are no moderates in the Tehran regime, which is holding tight to its policy of terror at home and abroad.

The western response need not include direct military action against Iran, but it does need to be based on action, not simply harsh words, much less willful ignorance.

Iran has strong opposition forces. As opposition leader Maryam Rajavi has said, women play a crucial and central role in such activism. The movement that she leads foresees a transparent, modern Iranian democracy, a vision none of todays theocratic moderates would dare to even mention.

The Iranian people want their future democratic government to be secular, nuclear-free and respectful of human rights. They want a government that would reintegrate as a peaceful member of the international community. They do not want a regime that is reviled as the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism in the world.

So why are the people not receiving the support they deserve?

Americas next president must confront the true face of the Iranian regimes malevolent ambitions. That would be a good first step to really knowing who are friends and who are sworn enemies of freedom.

Safavi is a member of the foreign affairs committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran .

 See more at: http://www.rollcall.com/news/opinion/true-face-iran-ambitions-nuclear-deal-usa-president-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-mohammad-javad-zarif#sthash.85cvSAbI.dpuf
Those elections were widely reported to be major victories for the faction associated with the current president and his colleague and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. But commentators have expressed widely divergent assessments of what that victory means for the Islamic Republic of Iran and for its relations with the rest of the world. Some Western policymakers have attributed moderate political views to Rouhani, and many of these same people have expressed optimism that the recent elections have bolstered those trends and could lead to even more positive outcomes if Rouhani is reelected in 2017.

While these claims of moderation were arguably bolstered by the conclusion of nuclear negotiations with the US and five other world powers last summer, numerous other factors have been cited by Rouhanis foreign critics and reformist opponents to dispute this narrative of moderation. These factors include both domestic conditions such as the rising level of executions, and also various instances of anti-Western propaganda and provocative foreign policy activities, which highlight the limited effects of the nuclear deal on Iranian-Western relations.

The Newsweek article appears to strike some degree of balance between the two perspectives. It acknowledges that Rouhanis administration represents a substantively different approach to foreign policy, compared to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other hardliners. However, it stops fall short of describing this as evidence of moderation, or of anything other than an alternative strategy in service of some of the same basic objectives.

In fact, Newsweek concludes by saying that a key reason [Rouhani] is not generating more substantial opposition in Tehran is that he simply is not threatening the establishment. This contributes to Newsweeks conclusion that Rouhanis prospects for reelection in the coming year are quite good at the moment, although they may still be negatively affected by organized support for a hardline challenger who prefers to set severe limits on Irans integration into global systems. But the article emphasizes that even if such a challenge does not materialize, Western policymakers should not expect Rouhanis reelection to result in significant long-term changes.

This comparatively pessimistic outlook has garnered additional support in the wake of last months revelations about the Obama administrations efforts to sell the Iran nuclear deal to Congress and the American people. This information has led to broader acceptance of the notion that the narrative of Rouhanis moderation was constructed for the sake of political ends and never reflected realistic prospects for the future relationship between the Islamic Republic and the world community.

While the primary evidence of that conclusion remains a New York Times profile of White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, other pieces of information have since been highlighted alongside it, including the apparent fact that the Obama administration concealed details of a January incident in which the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps seized 10 American sailors who had strayed into Iranian territorial waters.

On Friday, Fox News published an editorial regarding the classification of the official account of that incident. The article argues that in absence of a clear national security related rationale for such classification, it represents an abuse of power by the White House and a likely effort to suppress information that contradicts the narrative of Iranian moderation, a major selling point for the Iran nuclear deal.

Persons who have seen the full account of the incident have suggested that the extent of the mistreatment of US soldiers would shock the nation. The Fox News editorial points out that many are already shocked by what is publicly known, including the fact that the IRGC surrounded the sailors with automatic weapons and took photos of them kneeling with their hands behind their heads. These photos were repeatedly broadcast via Iranian media along with video of the sailors crying or being made to apologize. The propaganda use of these materials led some Western commentators to note that similar behavior during wartime would have constituted violations of the Geneva conventions.

This incident reflects an apparent general increase in anti-Western propaganda and deliberate provocations in the time since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations between the Rouhani and Obama governments. Other examples of the same include numerous interrogations and arrests of persons with dual citizenship or alleged connections to Western countries. Earlier this week it was widely reported that an Iranian-Canadian anthropology professor named Homa Hoodfar had joined the ranks of these arrestees. And on Friday the BBC issued an updated report on the case of Nazanin Zaghiri-Radcliffe, who was arrested in April while visiting family with her daughter.

The report emphasizes that the child recently had her second birthday while stranded in Iran in the care of her grandparents. Her mother remains in detention and has reportedly been made to sign a confession under duress, although no charges have actually been levied against her. The childs passport was confiscated at the time of the arrest and her father remains in the United Kingdom, coordinating a campaign in which thousands of people sent birthday cards to the two year old Gabriella via their countrys Iranian embassies.

As these sorts of incidents continue to bolster criticism of the moderation narrative, they also encourage the purveyors of that criticism to suggest that recent Western policy toward Iran has actually had the effect of enabling more confrontational Iranian behavior. For example, the New York Post published an article on Friday saying that the Iranian military had been indirectly financed not only by unfrozen assets under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, but also by actual US taxpayer dollars.

The article points out that 1.7 billion dollars were given to the Islamic Republic in January as settlement of debts predating the Islamic Republic. Some accounts of this payment alleged that it actually served as a sort of ransom payment for American political prisoners who were released from Iran as part of a prisoner swap that same month. In any event, the New York Post says that it was initially unclear what would become of that money once in Iranian hands, but that the question was apparently answered when the regime directed the Central Bank of Iran to pay an identical sum to the Iranian military.

This sum contributed to a 90 percent increase in Irans defense spending between 2015 and 2016. The current years budget calls for 19 million dollars, which many Western critics clearly expect to facilitate ongoing aggression toward Western countries and their citizens inside the Islamic Republic.
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William Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy and well-crafted for clowning, shtick and pratfalls.

Within a couple of months, Lincoln audiences have seen two different productions of the play: Nebraska Wesleyans, which was performed in tandem with Kiss Me Kate, the musical version of the play; and Flatwater Shakespeares, currently at The Stables at Wyuka and then touring in several local parks.

The Flatwater production, directed by Bob Bonaventura, is the more interesting, and entertaining, of the two.

Bonaventura has shaped his effort in homage to the American Conservatory Theatres William Balls classic version of the piece, utilizing a commedia dellarte approach in costumes, physical action and a festive atmosphere reflected in a festooned-poles-and-carnival-tent feeling.

There is a feeling of almost none-stop action with plenty of uninhibited capering and ribald comedy. What is especially pleasing is the obvious enjoyment the Flatwater cast gets from playing with Shakespeares language. Their pacing and execution is teasing and jestful. They know how to milk everything for the comedy.

Cale T. Yates as the robust Petruchio and Angeline Dal as the acid-tongued Kate deliver performances in which it is hard to find any fault. In Petruchios efforts to tame the spirited Kate, the shaggy-haired, bare-chested Yates at times almost takes on an animalistic fervor.

And Dals Kate aptly demonstrates a verve for vitriol whether spewed forth in her line delivery or supported by her wonderfully exhibited, spiteful facial and physical reactions.

But the quality performances do not stop there. And in fact, that is what makes Flatwaters Shrew so darn good. There is nary a weak performance to be found.

From minor roles to supporting roles to the chorus, the entire cast buys into Bonaventuras concept and delivers. Quite simply, they are a ball to watch and it is that unity and commitment between the cast that makes the comedy such a satisfying experience.

Special notice goes out to Kalon Plas Silmon as Lucentio, Jordan Deffenbaugh as Tranio, James Hamrick as Hortensio (he played the same character in the Wesleyan version, his current is much better) and Keith Hale as the lecherous old Gremio.

Flatwaters The Taming of the Shrew is a perfect outdoor summer evening escape. Youll laugh a lot, what could be better?
The death penalty has survived not in spite of Christians, but because of them, according to Shane Claiborne, social activist, author and pioneer in the New Monasticism Movement.

For a long time, Claiborne believed that scripture supported the death penalty: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth 

But his gut told him something else.

He believed it was not as simple as good versus evil, right versus wrong and life versus death.

I went back to study Scripture, and I saw how complex it is, Claiborne said during a recent visit from Philadelphia to Lincoln and Omaha, as part of Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and Retain a Just Nebraska -- both efforts to retain a state law abolishing the death penalty.

More than 200 people attended Claibornes June 7 presentations, which coincided with the release of his newest book, Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why Its Killing Us. The book examines the death penalty from all angles: religious, moral, just and practical. Many Nebraska stories are included in the 300-page book.

Claibornes appearance was the first in a series of guests invited to Nebraska over the coming months to help convince voters to uphold LB268 which calls for abolishing capital punishment in the state, said Dan Parsons, spokesman for Retain a Just Nebraska.

For Christians, faith and the belief that no one is beyond redemption are reasons to end the death penalty.

But beyond Jesus teachings and Scripture, Claiborne argues that capital punishment is also costly, fallible, unjust and offers false promises of "closure" to the the families of victims. In fact, he said capital punishment often is treated as a sacred cow, in which the voices of victims who oppose it are squelched and in some cases punished by the courts for speaking out.

A native of Tennessee, Claiborne said he grew up in the Bible Belt.

The Bible Belt is the death belt, he said, noting that more than 85 percent of state executions over the last 38 years occurred in the South and Middle West, where strictly conservative Christian beliefs often prevail.

Death penalty defenders often point to Old Testament law given to Moses indicating which crimes deserve death. But as Claiborne notes, Moses himself killed, but was not put to death. Same for David and Saul of Tarsus -- killers who were punished by God, but not executed.

The Bible is a love story -- its about a God who so loved the world that he sent Jesus to save it -- not condemn it to hell, Claiborne writes in his book.

Put simply, Claiborne said: We can do better than the death penalty.

Why is it a crime for individuals to kill, and it is just for the government to kill? he asked. The story of Gods grace is that no one is beyond redemption.

That is not to say there is no such thing as evil, Claiborne said.

Evil exists.

Evil deeds should be punished, he said.

But we dont rape those who rape," Claiborne said. "We dont maim those who maim. So why kill those who kill?

There is no doubt that we have to protect society from dangerous people. But it has become so clear there are other and better ways of protecting society than saying weve got to kill someone."

For his book, Claiborne interviewed dozens of people -- families of murder victims, families of murderers, killers and executioners.

The stunning thing I discovered as I did my research was hearing from many murder victims families  who have not found that execution fulfilled the promise of closure and justice, Claiborne said.

In fact, many families and executioners have said they are haunted by the murder of the killer.

Most murderers are not born killers. They are made that way, Claiborne noted. Some are mentally ill. Many have grown up amid horrendous trauma. They are broken, abused, addicted and lost.

And for the most part they are minority and poor, according to Claiborne.

To this day, even though African-Americans make up only 13 percent of the nations population, 42 percent of death row inmates are black, and 34 percent of those executed since 1976 have been black, Claiborne writes in his book.

The justice system is far from infallible -- 160 people on death row in 26 states have been proven innocent, Claiborne said. Together, they served 1,800 years for crimes they did not commit.

For every nine people executed, one has been exonerated, Claiborne said.

We are not killing the worst of the worst, Claiborne aid. We are killing the poorest of the poor.

Claiborne recalled his interview with Ron McAndrew, a former warden and executioner in Florida. McAndrew is a strong believer in do the crime, do the time, but overseeing executions took a toll, Claiborne said.

The men I killed sat on the edge of my bed and haunted me, McAndrew told Claiborne.

McAndrew was in charge of Pedro Medinas electric chair execution. The chair malfunctioned. Medina caught fire. It took 30 minutes for him to die.

Later, McAndrew worked to replace the electric chair with lethal injection. But in the end, that was no better for him, Claiborne said.

He is convinced there is no good way to kill someone.  We have to have consequences, but execution is cruel and unusual punishment,  Claiborne said.

Putting an end to the death penalty is not just about following the teachings of Jesus, its about putting an end to a broken system, he said.

To take a life is wrong," Claiborne said. "Yet, we reinforce the very thing we are trying to rid the world of by doing legal homicide.
Lincoln Community Playhouse will present the Penguin Projects production of Disneys "Beauty and the Beast" this weekend as well as June 17-19.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Tickets are $15 with reserved seating in the mainstage theater. For reservations, go to lincolnplayhouse.com or call 402-489-7529. Children under the age of 2 are not permitted at performances.

The Penguin Project, sponsored by Alexis Verzal Childrens Rehabilitation Hospital, has all the roles played by children with special needs who are partnered with peer mentors.
Burt Searcey, the plainspoken, white-haired Gage County Sheriff's deputy in a striped polo and tan slacks on the witness stand, usually is the one asking questions.

But in a U.S. District courtroom in Lincoln on Friday, the interrogator found himself on the other end of the interrogation, defending an investigation he led 27 years ago that sent six people to prison for the 1985 killing of Helen Wilson.

Together, Joseph White, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Tom Winslow, James Dean, Kathy Gonzalez and Debra Shelden spent more than 75 years in prison before the DNA testing White fought for identified Bruce Allen Smith as the man who raped and killed the 68-year-old widow in her Beatrice apartment.

By then, Smith had died in an Oklahoma prison. White's conviction was overturned and his case dismissed. Others were pardoned.

In 2009, the six sued Gage County, Sheriff Jerry DeWitt, who since has died, Searcey and Wayne Price, a psychologist and part-time deputy, for an investigation so reckless it "shocked the conscience" or for fabricating evidence or conspiring with someone who did.

The first trial ended with a hung jury.

This week the second trial started, and on Thursday afternoon and all day Friday it was Searcey's turn to be pelted with questions, his turn to be defendant, albeit in a civil, not criminal, trial. The trial continues Monday, and Searcey will be back on the stand then.

Friday, Jeffry Patterson, an attorney for the Beatrice 6, went line by line through arrest affidavits and transcripts of interrogations noting all the details Searcey left out or ignored that didn't add up.

Chief among them: Wilson's attacker had Type B blood and White did not.

"That certainly wasn't something you put in your affidavit, was it?" Patterson asked.

"No, it wasn't," Searcey said.

"And you went and arrested him anyway?" Patterson asked.

"Due to my investigation, yes," he answered.

Yet someone had to be responsible for the blood found at the scene, Patterson said.

Unwilling to concede the point, Searcey said that was only a part of what they were trying to find.

"There were seven people involved," he said, a reference to the fact he still believes the six were with Smith the day Wilson was killed despite the fact that only DNA from Smith and the victim was found on 43 pieces of evidence from the scene that were tested.

The affidavit Searcey wrote to get arrest warrants for White and Taylor also left out the fact that his informant, a 17-year-old girl, had claimed Taylor told her at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 6, 1985, after seeing lots of police cars at an apartment building, that she and White had killed an older lady there.

But that was two hours before the killing was discovered.

"If you had actually put that in your report it would be in conflict with the police reports," Patterson said.

Put that way, Searcey said, yes.

A second informant with significant mental problems said Taylor had come home to the apartment they shared saying she thought she had been involved in a murder.

But Beatrice police records show they were evicted from the apartment a day before the killing.

Then there were all the ways Taylor's first statement to law enforcement in North Carolina was wrong. She said it happened in a house, that White had stabbed the woman, that it happened at dusk.

"I haven't found one statement that would have anything to do with Mrs. Wilson's murder," Patterson said. "Have you found anything?"

No, Searcey said.

When he interrogated Taylor a day after White's arrest in Alabama in 1989, she first said she didn't remember being there and told him she had mental health issues. But he said he wasn't concerned when what she said didn't match the physical evidence.

"I don't know what she seen," Searcey said. "I wasn't there. I'm letting her tell me what she remembered."

By the end of March 1989, he had arrested three people, none of whom had Type B blood. Ultimately, each of the three would serve nearly 20 years in prison before they were released. The other three served shorter terms.

Patterson asked if Searcey and the sheriff stopped to reevaluate whether they had arrested the right people.

"No," he said.
The search for two escaped prison inmates and surveillance in downtown Lincoln continues into the night.

Friday evening, Lincoln police spent hours around the established perimeter from G to J and 16th to 19th streets, blocking roads and alleys, with a State Patrol helicopter hovering overhead.

Law enforcement will surround the area throughout the night to ensure the safety of residents.

Police last saw the inmates after they stole a pickup and crashed it near 18th and F streets Friday morning. Capt. Ben Houchin said they are not aware if the two are still together.

Armon Dixon, 37, and Timothy Clausen, 52, are both considered dangerous, and anyone who sees them should call 911 immediately.

Police said people in south Lincoln -- specifically near 18th and G streets -- who see any evidence their homes may have been entered should call police immediately. Look for cut screens, damaged doors, etc.

"DO NOT ENTER," Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood said in an email. "Instead, call 911 immediately. With the search underway for the two escaped inmates, its possible they may have taken shelter at an unoccupied home in the area."

Both men are believed to be wearing tan pants and gray, long-sleeved shirts.

Friday afternoon, authorities spent hours searching near U.S. 77 and Saltillo Road after someone reported seeing two people who matched descriptions of the inmates running through a cornfield nearby.

At one point, staff at Camp Sonshine near Roca were told to keep campers inside until parents arrived to pick them up. One sheriff's deputy stayed at the camp until all children were gone.

Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said federal, state, county and local law enforcement are working together to find the men and to figure out how they got away from the Lincoln Correctional Center.

A former Correctional Center employee said he thinks its clear how they got out of the prison near Pioneers Park.

The biggest issue that I can see is an extreme lack of staff, said the employee, who has been with Corrections for five years and still works for the department. If you dont have proper staff, it allows inmates to pay attention to details, to see what were not accomplishing as far as security goes on a regular basis, and then take advantage of it.

Dixon is black, 5-foot-9, 152 pounds with brown eyes. He is serving 158 to 278 years for charges including first-degree sexual assault, robbery, first-degree assault, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, robbery, theft by receiving and possession of a controlled substance, according to the state Department of Correctional Services.

Clausen is black, 5-foot-8, 160 pounds with brown eyes. He is serving 50 to 55 years for first-degree sexual assault of a child and tampering with a juror, according to the Corrections Department.

At 9:30 Friday morning, a witness told police she saw two men in what looked like prison inmate uniforms acting suspiciously near U.S. 77 and Warlick Boulevard. She said the men were running and looked like they were panicked.

Soon after, a pickup was stolen from the Christ's Place Church, 1111 Old Cheney Road, Lancaster County Sheriff's Capt. Ben Houchin said.

Nebraska State Patrol troopers saw the stolen pickup in the area and chased it, picking up help from sheriff's deputies, Houchin said.

The pursuit continued for about six minutes until the patrol ended it near 13th and F streets when speeds hit about 65 mph. The stolen pickup crashed into a parked SUV and two men ran from the scene a few minutes later, about 10:30 a.m., at 18th and F streets, Houchin said.

At a Friday afternoon news conference, Bliemeister said authorities have confirmed that the two men who ran from the wreck are the two escaped inmates.

"We believe both of these individuals are dangerous," Bliemeister said. "We believe they are a threat to public safety."

When asked about noon if prison officials knew about an escape, Corrections Department spokesman Andrew Nystrom said they were doing a head count then. Officials confirmed at 1:40 p.m. that Clausen and Dixon were missing from the Correctional Center. Bliemeister said law enforcement were notified about 12:30 p.m. about the escapees.

Nystrom couldn't immediately say what time the inmate count began or how long afterward they confirmed two were missing.

The former Correctional Center employee said staff there stopped doing an 11 a.m. head count in February or March. Before that, they counted at 5 and 11 a.m. and at 4 and 9 p.m. every day. He said he thinks the 11 a.m. count was eliminated after the Tecumseh riot happened and state Corrections administrators began working to cut down on the amount of time inmates are confined to their cells each day.

The prison worker, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said inmates at LCC have been acting out since the Mothers Day 2015 riot at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution that left two people dead and parts of the prison in ruins. Plus, he said, a number of inmates at LCC have been transferred there from Tecumseh since the riot.

Thats why staff is quitting, why they cant retain good staff, he said. If you would have proper staff paying attention to the things these two were doing, they probably would not have been able to escape.

That housing unit (where Dixon and Clausen lived) is so out of control that caseworkers are calling in sick on a day-to-day basis because we have no authority to punish the inmates or disrupt the activity that is going on.

We are outnumbered. We are not going to risk our lives to go into a hostile environment, when the inmates have control and the administration isnt there to back us up.

Prison spokesman Nystrom said he didn't know how much overcapacity LCC is at or what the staffing level is.

In August, the prison designed to hold 308 men housed 520, making it 68.83 percent overcapacity, according to Corrections records.

The former LCC employee said that to his knowledge, neither Dixon nor Clausen had a regular prison work assignment.

Dixon is serving what amounts to two life sentences for the 2009 home-invasion rape of a stranger in her Lincoln apartment and for raping and robbing a convenience store clerk the same year.

The crimes left women in north Lincoln on edge.

"It is very difficult to imagine more serious and more terrorizing and more awful crimes," Lancaster County District Judge Jodi Nelson said in 2012 when she sentenced him for the break-in rape.

In that case, Dixon got 80 to 140 years for raping a woman at knife point and holding her hostage for nearly 10 hours. She said he pushed his way into her apartment, pulled a gun on her and her 3-year-old son, then raped her with her son in a room down the hall, at one point holding a knife to both of them. Then, she said, he left with bedding and condoms after forcing her to bathe and clean the bathroom with bleach.

Dixon also got 70 to 120 years for raping a woman outside of a convenience store near 55th and Superior streets as she arrived at work early on March 21, 2009.

At trial, she testified that a man in a ski mask approached her outside the store just before 5 a.m., pinned her against a propane tank cage, whispered that he'd been watching her and then forced her behind the store and raped her. He then took her inside to get money from the safe before hog-tying her with a belt and plastic bags. After he fled, a police dog led officers to a condom with Dixon's and the victim's DNA on it.

Clausen, originally from Omaha, spent time in jail for burglary and attempted escape beginning when he was 18 years old. He was released in 1991.

According to a post on its website, the Omaha Police Officers Association said Clausen raped and killed a disabled man he met in a Council Bluffs bar in 1992. The Nebraska Supreme Court overturned his conviction due to ineffective counsel, and he pleaded guilty to manslaughter to avoid a retrial. He was also convicted of felony escape from the Douglas County Correctional Center while awaiting trial. He was sentenced to 13-39 years in 1995.

In 2012 he was granted parole and, according to court documents, shortly after that he began sexually assaulting a girl younger than 12. After he was arrested, he tried to tamper with witnesses. He pleaded guilty to witness tampering and a reduced charge of attempted first-degree assault of a child and was sentenced in 2013 to 51-55 years.
Law enforcement have deployed a robot in the culverts leading from Dead Man's Run in northeast Lincoln, near where two women were reportedly assaulted at an apartment complex.

The call came in after 11 a.m. that a man with a hammer wrapped in a T-shirt had assaulted the two women in an apartment on the 5900 block of Norfolk Drive, across Dead Man's Run from Lincoln Lutheran High School.

Witnesses later reported seeing a man run into a culvert along Deadman's Run near 48th Street.

There is no confirmation that the assault involved one of the two inmates who escaped from the Lincoln Correctional Center on Friday, but the intense police response indicated a possible link.

Authorities called a news conference for 2 p.m. at the Lincoln Police Department to provide more information on the search.

Officers with dogs worked along the drainage ditch, while others were posted at several intersections and at storm drains and manhole covers in the area, many with guns drawn. A Nebraska State Patrol helicopter circled overhead.

The Parks and Recreation department shut down the pool at Uni Place Park for the day. There are indications the storm drainage system connecting to Dead Man's Run leads through that area.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln police sent an alert describing the person police are looking for as a black male with curly hair, dark shorts and no shirt. Dead Man's Run flows near UNL's East Campus.

The two escapees, Armon Dixon, 37, and Timothy Clausen, 52, are both considered dangerous, and anyone who sees them should call 911 immediately.

Dixon is black, 5-foot-9, 152 pounds with brown eyes. He is serving 158 to 278 years for charges including first-degree sexual assault, robbery, first-degree assault, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, robbery, theft by receiving and possession of a controlled substance, according to the state Department of Correctional Services.

Clausen is black, 5-foot-8, 160 pounds with brown eyes. He is serving 50 to 55 years for first-degree sexual assault of a child and tampering with a juror, according to the Corrections Department.

Radio traffic indicated the two women were taken to the hospital for treatment.

This is a developing story. Stay with JournalStar.com for updates.
Cindy Lange-Kubick Columnist Cindy Lange-Kubick has loved writing columns about life in her hometown since 1994. She had hoped to become a people person by now, nonetheless she would love to hear your tales of fascinating neighbors and interesting places. Follow Cindy Lange-Kubick Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

After November, we might well have a woman in the White House, and its been taking me a while to rev up the gender joy.

Its not that Im a Hillary Hater.

I respect the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and her ambition. I think Hillary Rodham Clinton would be an intelligent, thoughtful, reasoned leader. She has my vote.

So why arent I clicking my heels?

Maybe its that despite the history of the moment, the hate has been running so high it eclipses everything else in its path.

Maybe its feeling like this should have happened decades ago, the same way the wage gap should have been zipped shut and forgotten, and violence against women should have disappeared -- and cleavage shouldnt be selling cars -- and female scientists shouldnt have to deal with sexism in the lab and everything marketed to women and girls shouldnt cost more (or come in pink).

And so, yeah, its about time, Baby.

Time that president of the United States isnt synonymous with mister, any more than doctors and lawyers and soldiers and firefighters and police officers and lawmakers and Supreme Court justices used to be.

And that if our daughters and sisters and mothers dont care for the prospect of this female president, theres another one waiting in their parties' wings.

It is exciting that its the first time a woman has broken through the barriers, said Cathy Martinez, a pro-life Republican from Lincoln. Do I wish it had been another woman? Yes.

Everyone who knows me, knows Im a card-carrying Republican, echoed Karla Cooper, pastor at Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. But this is exciting, because my gender trumps my partisan politics.

Cooper, who supported presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, sees the biblical in Hillarys nomination.

As a womanist theologian, seeing a woman make herstory is incredibly amazing and our time to exercise wisdom.

And yeah, shes joyful about the prospect.

So is Janet Stewart, a retired attorney in Fremont, who has been active in Nebraska Democratic politics.

After you called and I thought about it, what I really feel is joyful, also triumphant. I think this is a triumph for women.

Stewart is a member of Clintons generation and part of the fight for womens rights that, for her, began in 1973 when Nebraska refused to ratify the ERA.

And no, she doesnt agree with the candidate on every issue.

There are issues Im probably less moderate about than she is, but when you vote for people, you vote for the whole package.

Glynne Ihms, 99, says bring on Election Day, already.

I think its time for a woman to be president, said the former Lincoln resident who now lives in Wyoming. A number of other countries have women running their countries, and are doing quite well.

Which is why Jo Tetherow doesnt see the Clinton nomination as a big deal.

It doesnt impress me one bit, said Tetherow, known as Mama Jo during Occupy Lincoln four years ago.

And shes offended by being told she should vote for Clinton because shes a woman, an idea espoused by the candidates supporters.

Thats anti-feminism. Im a woman and theyre telling me I cant think for myself?

What the former New Yorker thinks is this: I dont like Clinton. Period.

And Clinton as the countrys leader wouldnt change the misogyny and patriarchal underpinnings of society, Tetherow says.

Because shes part of all that.

True, Clinton is an extremely privileged white woman, says Audrey Nance, 21, who thinks the idea that her accomplishment opens the door to all women is disingenuous.

I think its important to remember that not everybodys daughter can be president, but I dont think it should diminish the victory this is, and the step in the right direction.

And the Sanders supporter will cast her first presidential vote for her in November.

Shes no Bernie Sanders, but shes certainly no Donald Trump, either.

The election is still five months off, but from the time the race for the 2016 White House began, Jane Kleebs 8-year-old daughter knew she wanted a girl president.

For Maya to see a woman on stage leading our country is a significant shift that none of us can even quantify, the founder of Bold Nebraska wrote in an email.

Im ready for the shift.

Cooper, the Republican pastor, envisions it this way: A woman with her hands on her hips, tired of all the polarity and the partisan bickering.

Saying to everyone, Stop it!

And as a bonus, with a woman at the top, wed get to cheer for a First Man in the West Wing, too.

Hey, First Man, go head up a cause.

Hey, First Man, cut a ribbon.

Hey, First Man, get used to it.

The way we did for First Women, for far too long.
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The violence and hatred we are witnessing from the Clinton and Sanders supporters is sickening. I hope the scenes of innocent people minding their own business, engaging in peaceful political rallies, and being beaten for their efforts, aren't examples of what the future holds for the rest of us if one of the Democratic candidates manages to win in November. Their tactics against their political opponents remind me of pre-World War II Germany and the Brownshirts who ran roughshod there. Neither Clinton nor Sanders have condemned this increasingly violent behavior in their supporters harshly enough, and in fact have blamed those being beaten, an ominous, telling display of their lack of character. Are these violent people connected to their campaigns?
Dear Amy: I am thinking about going back to school in the fall. I haven't attended a "traditional" college for a while. When I last attended, I had some serious issues with a faculty member.

Let's just say that things did not end well, and I ended up with a disciplinary record. Since that time, I have gone to counseling and take medication to control my anger. I now understand what caused the issues with the professor.

Fortunately, I have found that there are schools that are willing to accept students, despite their past mistakes. However, I live in a small area, where college faculty members tend to know each other, even if they are not employed by the same school.

I am concerned that the professor may divulge information about what happened at the other school and I may get a negative reputation.

If this issue comes up, how should I approach it? I don't want to be seen as a "crazy" or "difficult" student. -- Wondering Woman in PA

Dear Wondering: The faculty member you had the problem with is not likely to know your application status at another school. Your disciplinary record at the previous college may surface, but your previous school should not share the details of this record without you knowing about it.

The answer for you is to own the reality of your choices and behavior. If this issue comes up, you should be truthful, without violating your own privacy by divulging details regarding your treatment or medication. You can simply say, "I behaved terribly. I have accepted the consequences, and now I am excited to get started on a new beginning."

Once you have become established at the new school, you might want to contact the previous professor, apologize, and ask for a clean slate.

Dear Amy: I have a casual friend I have known for almost 20 years. We socialize without spouses, usually meeting for lunch, wine, walks or movies. I truly enjoy her company when we get together every few months.

Her husband is known by most of her friends and acquaintances to be -- to put it bluntly -- a jerk. He does not spend time with her and does not seem to have a real job, but is a big talker and self-promoter. They have always had money problems.

My problem is that when we are together she shares things about her husband that make me uncomfortable. I think it must help her to unburden to someone, but I don't ever reciprocate, and wish she would not do this.

I am beginning to dread getting together, because I know I will hear more things about her husband that I feel should be private. If I stop our get-togethers, I don't know how to avoid telling her why. I want her to know that I care about her, but I don't want to hear about this jerk. -- Torn

Dear Torn: I don't know from personal experience how men handle this sort of intimate disclosure concerning their spouses, but I do know that women seem to fall into two camps: Those that dish on their partners, and those that don't.

The problem with disclosing intimate details is exactly what you are currently experiencing: If all you know is what an obnoxious jerk the partner is, then you are going to form an impression that the person is, in fact, an obnoxious jerk.

You need to discuss this with your friend. Tell her how uncomfortable it makes you to hear these negative things and yet not feel free to pass a negative judgment. Ask her what her intent is when she tells you these things about her husband. Is she asking for help or advice? Is she venting? Does she want you to know what a jerk her husband is? If that is the case, tell her, "Message received."

Dear Amy: I would like to weigh in on your terrible advice in response to "No More Letters," whose parents read letters she had written to her grandmother (after the grandmother's death). That is like reading a diary! It is a terrible breach of privacy. -- Appalled

Dear Appalled: Actually, it is not like reading a diary. A letter sent to someone becomes the recipient's property. I agree with you (and others) that the parents should not have read these letters, but unlike others, I understand the impulse to do this. I'm glad the parents returned the letters to their daughter.
YORKVILLE  A sea of gleaming red tractors will blanket the Racine County Fairgrounds this month, the first time this massive, national tractor show will come to Racine County.

The 27th Annual Red Power Round Up  a collectors show for all things International Harvester  is expected to draw between 12,000 and 15,000 visitors, said event co-chairman Randy Graf, 59, of Yorkville. The International Harvesters Collectors Club show is scheduled for June 16-18 at the fairgrounds, 19805 Durand Ave.

Its never been in Racine County. This is the first (time), said Graf, president of Chapter 4 of the International Harvesters Collectors Club of Wisconsin. We are featuring everything International Harvester ever made.

Until the 1980s, that included trucks. In the 1950s, that included refrigerators and kitchen accoutrements, he explained.

In 2009, the event was hosted in Madison, Graf said.

Approximately 600 to 700 tractors will be on display, he said, along with a host of activities including a tractor parade at the grandstand, various presentations and workshops, an auction and a restored tractor will be raffled. Aside from the tractor and truck parades, one presentation in particular is geared toward youngsters: Tractor Mac, a character in a series of childrens books.

The kids will go nuts, Graf said. Theyll see all the trucks and tractors out there  that sea of red  and just go nuts.

A consignment area will be available at the fairgrounds for anyone wishing to sell their International Harvester memorabilia. Chapter 4 will take a 10 percent cut of those sales, he added.

A big deal

Ralph Malicki, who owns two Malickis Piggly Wiggly stores, said hes looking forward to attending the show, but he wont have any of his tractors on display.

For a national event to come to Racine County is a big deal, said Malicki, who collects and restores vintage tractors.

Malicki, of Raymond, said he bought two Farmall tractors in 1996, one of which he purchased with his father. His dad died before that tractor was fully restored. One tractor, a Farmall cub, has been restored twice, Malicki said. After the first restoration, it sat outside in the elements and deteriorated, so he restored it again just this past winter, Malicki explained. A 1954 Farmall tractor is a staple in the annual Fourth of July parades.

Hes restoring an Allis-Chalmers currently, and recently bought a Case tractor.

Im a hometown guy and I want a hometown tractor, he added.

Case bought International Harvester in 1985, said Graf, president of the Southeast Wisconsin Antique Power & Collectibles Society.

The local Case International Harvester has donated  a 1935 F12 tractor. Were restoring that tractor in the three days of the show, Graf said.

It then will be donated to the companys museum, which he said is being built in Burr Ridge, Ill.

This is the event. We have people coming from France. We have people coming from New Zealand, Graf said.

The feature for this years show is letter series tractors in the Farmall line, such as As, Bs, Cs, Hs and Ms.

Parking is free. Admission costs $10 per day, or $25 per person for all three days. There is no charge for children ages 12 and younger.
MOUNT PLEASANT  A Racine man faces a sexual assault charge after he allegedly touched a 15-year-old girl inappropriately at Barnes and Noble on Thursday.

Victor N. Little, 29, of the 1300 block of Grand Avenue, claimed he was merely trying to steal the girls cellphone, according to the criminal complaint. State criminal records show that Little is a registered sex offender.

Little made his initial appearance in court on Friday, according to court records; his bond was set at $15,000 cash. Little remained in custody as of Friday afternoon at the Racine County Jail, online jail records showed.

According to the criminal complaint, Mount Pleasant Police responded to the Barnes and Noble, 2710 S. Green Bay Road, for a report of a sexual assault Thursday. Police said they met with the girl, her mother and another woman who reportedly witnessed the incident.

The witness had apparently slapped Little and alerted security to his presence before Little fled the store, according to the complaint. The woman told police that she witnessed Little approach the girl from behind and touch her inappropriately without her consent, police said.

Police located Little a short time later near the store and arrested him. Little claimed he was trying to pickpocket people and tried to steal the girls phone, according to the complaint.

Online court records show Little has been convicted of two sex offender registry violations, as well as fourth-degree sexual assault in the past. Little has been assigned a preliminary hearing on June 16, according to court records.
RACINE  A Racine man faces 10 felony child pornography charges after a search warrant was served at his home in November.

Daniel Wortman, 58, of the 1400 block of Cleveland Avenue, was arrested Tuesday and charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography on Thursday. Racine Police investigators began investigating the incident  in which the explicit materials were sent to the United Kingdom  in September.

Wortman made his initial appearance in court Thursday and had his bond set at $50,000 cash, according to court records. Records show that as a condition of that bond, Wortman cannot access the internet or make contact with anyone younger than 18 without the presence of an adult.

According to the criminal complaint, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported to the Wisconsin Department of Justice that video images of suspected child pornography were sent to the UK from Wortmans Racine address. The Racine Police Department was notified Sept. 14 and filed a subpoena for records with Time Warner Cable before serving the search warrant on Nov. 9, police said.

Police said they seized evidence such a flash drives and laptops from the home and specifically Wortmans room during the search. They found the videos that were sent to the UK, along with documents and writings of explicit nature, according to the criminal complaint.

Wortman, who has no criminal convictions according to the complaint and court records, will next appear in court on June 15 for his preliminary hearing.
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SOMERS  Following approval of the University of Wisconsin System budget, which raises several costs for students, the UW-Parkside chancellor says advocates must keep pushing for more state investment in UW schools.

The $6.2 billion UW System budget approved Thursday increases student fees and students costs for housing and food. The budget comes as the Board of Regents grapples with how to raise money in the face of a tuition freeze and a $250 million cut in the 2015-17 state budget.

With a limited use of fund balances, the 2016-2017 annual budget allows each campus to manage inside the constraints of the current state biennial budget, which includes a historic reduction in financial support and a mandated tuition freeze, UW-Parkside Chancellor Debbie Ford said in a statement.

Under the budget, student fees will rise by $26 for Parkside students. Room rates will stay flat, while food costs will increase $86. More student cost increases could be on the way after a Regents Finance Committee proposal raising students application fees, which at Parkside would go up $6 from $44 to $50.

Ford said Parkside will continue to offer an educational experience that is second to none in our state, and one that prepares students to successfully lead Wisconsin for decades to come.

She also said it was important the UW Systems upcoming state budget request supports the opportunity for academic growth and addresses the challenge of compensation for faculty and staff.

We must work with legislators, the governor, and community stakeholders to advocate for increased investment in UW-Parkside and the entire UW System, she said. As leaders in Wisconsin public higher education, we will continue a legacy as respectful and accountable stewards of our financial resources.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, has said his goal is no further reduction to the university system and is open to reforms making the system more efficient.
MADISON  The state elections agency on Friday unanimously allowed a Republican challenger to House Speaker Paul Ryan to stay on the ballot for the August primary election.

The Government Accountability Board met Friday to consider the challenge to Paul Nehlen along with challenges targeting nine other candidates across the state.

Nehlens nomination papers were challenged by a conservative activist who said Nehlen should not be allowed on the Aug. 9 primary ballot for the 1st Congressional District race because he listed an incorrect address on his filing papers. The 1st District includes Racine County.

Orville Seymer argued the longshot challenger to Ryan should not be on the ballot because Nehlen had incorrect home and voting addresses on his declaration of candidacy and nomination papers.

On one form, Nehlen listed his home address as Country Drive, instead of Countryside Drive. And on two forms, he incorrectly said he voted in the City of Delavan, when he actually votes in the Town of Delavan in Walworth County.

Wisconsin state law does not require candidates like Nehlen for a federal office to even include the address information that was being challenged on the declaration of candidacy papers, Nehlen attorney Tom Grieve argued. Additionally, he said, checking the city box instead of town box for his mailing address on his nomination papers was not a substantial violation.

The board staff agreed, describing the errors as minor discrepancies and saying Nehlens paperwork substantially complies with requirements under the law. The board voted unanimously to allow Nehlen to be on the ballot without discussion.

A spokeswoman for Nehlen did not return a message Friday afternoon seeking comment.

The GAB Friday also voted to deny ballot access to two state Assembly candidates and a 7th Congressional District candidate for not having enough valid signatures.
CALEDONIA  For the past 16 years, like clockwork, Carla Larson-Struss has found some way, something  anything  to help the annual Racine Relay For Life for cancer research.

She does it not to memorialize her late husband, Rod, who died of cancer in 2000, but because he survived cancer for 16 years.

I dont help because he died, she said. I do it because he lived.

On Friday, Larson-Struss once again was at Relay For Life, this time at its new location at Caledonia-Mount Pleasant Memorial Park, 9614 Northwestern Ave. The overnight walk-a-thon attracted 68 relay teams and 800 participants who were to take turns pacing around a track outlined in the parks parking lot until 8 a.m. Saturday.

The event is one of the biggest fundraisers for the American Cancer Society. Last year, the event raised $254,375 for the cause, making it the second highest ranked Relay For Life fundraiser in the ASCs Midwest division, which includes Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota.

Racine was not only ranked No. 2 in the Midwest, but also ranked 76th in the nation, said Julie Schumann, a community manager with the ACS Relay For Life.

As of Friday, the 2016 event had raised almost $168,000, even though there were about 25 fewer relay teams than last year, officials said.

We continue to raise a lot of money, said Vicki Siefert, the events team ambassador for the past 12 years. Cancer affects everyone. Aunts, uncles, family and friends. People start teams to honor the loved ones they might have lost.

After her husband died, Larson-Struss joined a relay team at Modine Manufacturing. Then she created an angels-wings tribute for caregivers, held a yearly garage sale to benefit the event, and organized the relays glow tent.

At the glow tent, Larson-Struss buys the items, which all glow in the dark  they get popular once the sun goes down  and gives 100 percent of the money earned to Relay for Life.

When Rod was fighting cancer, we werent really doing anything for cancer research, a lot of other people were doing that, she said. Now its my turn to do it for someone else.

Keys to a successful event

Larson-Struss and Siefert are among a strong core of veteran volunteers that the Racine a successful event, Schumann said.

Racine has a very committed volunteer base, Schumann said. Many of them have been with us for almost 20 years. We couldnt do this without them.

This is the 23rd Relay for Life in Racine, said Siefert, who lost a niece to cervical cancer 12 years ago. The niece was only 29 when Siefert died. That prompted her start a relay team.

I did that for two years and I felt like I had to do more, Siefert said. For many years I would drive past signs that talked about Relay For Life and I always thought they didnt pertain to me. But this is something that touches all of us. The good part is all of us can help.
Legal experts say the antics of a Wisconsin man accused of killing six people by driving his SUV through a Christmas parade last year won't help him win an appeal. Darrell Brooks faces 76 charges in the parade crash Nov. 21 in Waukesha, including six homicide counts. He's representing himself at trial. Every day he argues with Judge Jennifer Dorow, refuses to recognize his own name or the state's jurisdiction, and mutters that the proceedings are unfair. Legal observers say if he's convicted none of it will help him on appeal. Closing arguments are scheduled for today.
10th ECAN education fair kicks off in Capital

The 10th Education Consultancy Association (ECAN) Education Fair kicked off in the Capital on Friday.
A crisis of care

Most schools do not have a culture of professional development that pushes teachers thinking and exposes them to new ideas
Birds of a feather

Kalo Pothi is beautiful to look at, features some stellar performances, and is anchored by the kind of powerful, truthful storytelling that proves a real testament to director Min Bahadur Bhams skill and conscience
CIAA directs govt to seize land above ceiling

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has directed the government to seize land owned by individuals, breaching the land ceiling. The anti-graft body asked the Ministry of Land Reform and Management to implement the directives immediately.
Crime partner killed in greed of Rs 10,000 loot

Police on Thursday arrested a person who had killed his friend last year following a dispute over splitting Rs10,000 they had looted.
Gawker files for bankruptcy after losing $140m case

Online news site Gawker has filed for bankruptcy after losing a $140m (97m) privacy case earlier this year.
Govt moves to revive plan to make biodiesel

The government has formed a committee to study the possibility of making biodiesel from jatropha seeds.
Inside the prisoners world

Charles Allens book on Brian Hodgson, the multi-lingual, polymath Orientalist, ethnographer and naturalist, delves deep into the life of the British resident in Nepal to explore the times he lived in
Local Governance and Community Development Programme gets additional Rs 700 million

Denmark and Norway have provided additional Rs 700 million financial support to Local Governance and Community Development Programme.
MoneyGram, Chaudhary rebuild schools

Global money transfer company MoneyGram Foundation and the Chaudhary Foundation, a philanthropic arm of the Chaudhary Group, have completed rebuilding 10 primary schools in areas devastated by last years earthquake.
Nepal fourth in malware infection index list: Microsoft

Microsoft has ranked Nepal as the fourth most malware infection prone country in Asia Pacific region.
Peru elections: Keiko Fujimori concedes to Kuczynski

Peruvian presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori has conceded to rival Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in run-off elections.
Questions over revised Bafias significance

As the bill on Banks and Financial Institutions Act (Bafia) awaits the Parliaments endorsement, serious questions have been raised over its significance after key provisions included in initial draft to ensure good corporate governance were removed under the influence of lawmakers who are also bank promoters.
SC objects to politicians' comments over its cases

The Supreme Court (SC) has objected to the comments of top politicians over its prioritisation of cases saying that it was an internal matter.
Seven held for 'proselytising school kids

Seven people, including two school headmasters, have been arrested by Dolakha police on charge of coercing children into joining Christian faith.
Solar Impulse 2 to make New York fly-over

A plane powered entirely by the sun is flying to New York City.
D.Satter. How Putin Became President

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBD3LzbGrYU



In the summer of 1999, the Yeltsin era was coming to an end and those at the pinnacle of power feared for their freedom and even their lives. There were the first signs of an economic recovery, but ordinary citizens were still living in poverty and waiting months to be paid. The Yeltsin entourage, which was widely hated for its role in pillaging the country, was increasingly isolated. According to Russians and Westerners with access to the Kremlin leadership, the leading members of the Yeltsin familyTatyana Dyachenko, the Presidents daughter, Boris Berezovsky, the countrys richest man and her close adviser, and Valentin Yumashev, a member of the Security Council and Dyachenkos future husbandlived in fear of a cruel reckoning. Many ordinary citizens were convinced they would never surrender power.



During the 12 days from September 4-16, however, everything changed. Four Russian apartment buildings were blown up in Moscow, Buinaksk, and Volgodonsk. The controversies that wracked the country over corruption and privatization were suddenly forgotten. Eight years of post-Soviet Russian history was telescoped into the shocking images of bodies being carried out of the rubble of bombed apartment buildings.



Putin, the newly appointed Prime Minister, expressed perfectly the desire of the country for revenge. On September 24, Putin said, We will pursue the terrorists everywhere. If they are in an airport, then in an airport, and, forgive me, if we catch them in the toilet, then well rub them out (mochit) in the toilet. The question is closed once and for all.



Russian officials said there was a Chechen trail in the bombings. The wording was unusual, not proof but a trail. The Chechens insisted that they had nothing to do with the bombings and no proof of their involvement was ever adduced. But Russian forces were already fighting Chechen rebels in Dagestan, and the country was looking desperately for someone to blame. Russians were opposed to further involvement in Chechnya but, in the wake of the apartment bombings, they were now ready for a new Chechen war.



But were the bombings what they were depicted to be? In fact, the mystery of who bombed the Russian apartment houses in 1999 has not been solved to this day. And to the extent that there is evidence as to the perpetrators, it points not to Chechen terrorists but to the Kremlin leadership and the FSB.



Russia in the spring of 1999 was a nation traumatized by impoverishment and criminalization under Yeltsin and far from certain that the presidential elections set for June 2000 would take place. Yeltsins popularity rating stood at 2 percent, that of his newly appointed Prime Minister and heir apparent, Vladimir Putin, was also 2 percent. It was regarded as nearly inconceivable that anyone connected with Yeltsin could win a free election. But there was a widespread fear that Yeltsin would find a pretext for declaring a state of emergency so that the elections would not take place.



On June 6, Jan Blomgren, the Moscow correspondent for the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet,



During this fateful summer when Moscow was awash with rumors, I was friendly with a Russian political operative who was well connected to the higher levels of Russian power. When I met him, he told me about the growing fear in the Kremlin about the possibility of losing power and the indications that Moscow would be the scene of a huge provocation. He said that the issue was the security of Yeltsin and his family in the case of a handover of power. He said that if there was no agreement on terms, they will blow up half of Moscow.



I sensed the uneasiness but did not know how to assess the prediction of my friend. I had no illusions about Yeltsin and his cronies but it was hard to imagine that a man who came to power as a result of a peaceful anti-communist revolution with massive public support would be willing to murder his own people to hold onto power. Developing events, however, were to change my mind.



At 9:40 p.m. on September 4, a truck bomb exploded in Buinaksk, Dagestans second-largest city. It destroyed a five story apartment building, which housed soldiers from the 136th Motor Rifle Brigade.

The events in Buinaksk, although major, did not stun the nation because Dagestan was a war zone. On September 9, however, the terrorists struck again, this time in Moscow. Shortly after midnight, a bomb exploded in the basement of a building at 19 Guryanova Street in a working class area in the southeast part of the city. The central section of the building was obliterated, leaving the left and right stairwells standing on each side of a gaping hole. Fires raged for hours under the rubble. Its like hell underneath,



On September 13, four days after the explosion on Guryanov Street, there was an explosion at five oclock in the morning at 6 Kashirskoye Highway in Moscow that flattened a nine-story brick apartment building, transforming it into a pile of rubble. The explosion took place at a time when almost all of the residents were asleep. Muscovites awoke to graphic television footage showing emergency workers feverishly going through the debris. The death toll was eventually established at 119 with 200 injured.

The Russian capital was now seized by fear. Every one of the citys 30,000 residential building was ordered to be checked for explosives and residents organized round-the-clock patrols. There were thousands of calls to the police reporting suspicious activity.



On September 16, the terror spread. With the funerals of the Moscow victims still going on, a truck bomb exploded in Volgodonsk in southern Russia. The blast ripped off the facade of a nine-story apartment building. The dead bodies of 18 persons, including two children, were pulled from the rubble. Eighty-nine persons were hospitalized. The explosion, like that on Kashirskoye Highway, took place at five in the morning. The psychological shock was so great that afterward hundreds of people were unwilling to sleep in their homes and insisted on spending the night outdoors. The bomb left a crater 3.5 meters in depth and 13-15 meters in diameter. Parts of the GAZ-53 vehicle that carried the bomb were dispersed over a radius of 1.5 kilometers.



The Volgodonsk bombing appeared to mean that there would now be attempts to bomb apartment buildings in cities outside of Moscow. This expectation was soon borne out, but with surprising consequences. At 8:30 p.m., on September 22, Alexei Kartofelnikov returned home to his apartment in Ryazan, a city 120 miles southeast of Moscow after a weekend at his dacha. He noticed a white Lada parked in front of the building at 14/16 Novoselov Street with a male passenger in the back seat. The last two numbers on the cars license plates were covered with pieces of paper that had 62, the code for Ryazan, written on them. Kartofelnikov went up to his apartment and called the police. His daughter, Yulia, a 23-year-old medical intern, went out onto the balcony and watched as a man emerged from the basement, checked his watch and got into the car where there were two persons.



When the police arrived, Yulia insisted that they check the basement. The basement had been used as a toilet by local derelicts so they were far from enthusiastic. But the police finally went down the steps. They ran back up shouting, Theres a bomb. The building was soon engulfed in chaos. Police began going door to door telling residents to leave. People took babies out of bathtub, grabbed documents and threw on overcoats. Those too ill or weak to leave the building were left behind.



As residents watched on the street, the police, including Yuri Tkachenko, the head of the local bomb squad, entered the basement. Tkachenko, disconnected a detonator and timing device and then tested three sacks of a white crystalline substance with an MO-2 portable gas analyzer. The contents of the sacks tested positive for hexogen, the same substance used in the previous apartment bombings. There now was no question but that someone had tried to blow up the building.



The sacks were taken out of the basement at around 1:30 a.m. and driven away by the FSB. The FSB agents forgot to take away the highly professional military detonator, however, which was left in the hands of the bomb squad. They photographed it the next day.



On the basis of descriptions by Kartofelnikov, his daughter and a neighbor, the police prepared identi-kit portraits of the suspects. In the meantime, the railroad stations and airport were cordoned off and roads leading out of the city were blocked.



As morning broke, the white Lada was found abandoned in a parking lot. A short time later, a call to Moscow was made from a public telephone in Ryazan, and the operator, who connected the call, caught a fragment of the conversation. The caller said there was no way to get out of town undetected. The voice on the other end replied, Split up and each of you make your own way out. The operator reported the call to the police and they traced the number. To their surprise, the number belonged not to Chechen terrorists but to the FSB. The terrorists were soon arrested and to the stupefaction of the police, produced FSBidentification. The FSB called and ordered them released.



The FSB now had no choice but to offer some type of explanation. On Friday, September 24, the FSB director Nikolai Patrushev came out of a Kremlin meeting and announced that the evacuation of the building had been part of a training exercise.



Patrushevs statement was in direct contradiction to what the authorities had been saying for two days. On the morning of September 24, Alexander Sergeev, the head of the Ryazan FSB, appeared on television and congratulated residents on being saved from a terrorist attack. Vladimir Rushailo, the Interior Minister, announced on national television that an attempted terrorist act had been foiled. But now Patrushev said the incident was a test. The sacks found by the bomb squad contained sugar and the reading that indicated that they contained hexogen was an error. Patrushev said that there were similar exercises in other cities but only in Ryazan did the people react promptly. He complimented the residents on their vigilance.



The strange training exercise provoked anger in Ryazan where people had spent the night on the street. Journalists now raised the possibility that all the bombingsthe four successful bombings and the failed bombing in Ryazanhad been the work of the FSB. Society, however, proved incapable of reacting in an organized fashion. The day after the supposedly fake bomb in Ryazan was discovered, Russian aircraft began bombing the Grozny Airport, and on October 1 Russian troops moved across the border launching the second Chechen war.



Russians refer to Hitlers treacherous attack on the Soviet Union, and it was anger over the treachery that helped to mobilize the population in the first days of World War II. The apartment bombings played a similar role. For the vast majority of Russians, the Chechens, by bombing the buildings in Buinaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk, had carried the war to the Russian people and now had to be made to pay a price. The Ryazan episode was disturbing but it slipped from consciousness, temporarily forgotten amid the rush of fast moving events.



Five years earlier, the first Chechen war had begun with the slaughter of Russian troops trapped in their tanks in the narrow streets of Grozny on New Years night, 199495. This time, the invasion of Chechnya was carried out methodically and seemingly with success. In the wake of the apparently successful Russian revenge attack, Putins popularity soared. In August, 2 percent of the population favored Putin for the presidency. By September, his popularity was 4 percent. In October, it reached 21 percent. In November, Putin was favored for the presidency by 45 percent of the population, far more than any other candidate. It was now clear that there would be no need to introduce emergency rule and postpone the elections. Putin would be able to win the election on his own with the help of a new war.



On September 14, the day after first Moscow bombing, Putin said that the security services were certain of the participation of Osama Bin Laden in the bombings. Nikolai Patrushev, the director of the FSB, said that the organizers of the bombings were international terrorists dug in in Chechnya with the connivance of the official powers in Grozny These statements had some effect in leading the West to tie the apartment bombings to international Islamic terrorists.



More important, however, was the sheer difficulty of accepting the idea that any regime would murder hundreds of its own citizens to terrify the nation and hold on to power. This refusal to believe the unbelievable, however, came at a cost. It crippled Western and in particular U.S. policy toward Russia, rendering it naive and ineffectual. From the moment Putin took power the West was dealing with Russia on the basis of a picture of the country that had no relation to reality.



In December 1999, Russia held parliamentary elections and the groundswell of support for Putin and the new war in Chechnya transformed the political landscape. The Unity Party, which was created on the advice of Berezovsky and had no platform besides support for Putin, achieved a striking political success. If, under Yeltsin, a powerful President was confronted by an oppositional parliament, now the pro-Putin forces achieved a firm majority in Parliament and there was no longer a political base for opposition.

On New Years Eve, Yeltsin resigned and Putin, who only months before had been almost completely unknown, was appointed acting President in a Kremlin ceremony and given the nuclear codes. Putin then issued a decree granting Yeltsin lifelong immunity from prosecution.



With the help of the September bombings, the anger of the population was redirected from the criminal oligarchy that had pillaged the country to the Chechens. The election took place on March 26, 2000. Putin eschewed serious campaigning and avoided even explaining where he stood on the major issues facing the country. Despite this, he won with 54 percent of the vote.



The strange events that made possible Putins rise to power were not an anomaly. In fact, the bombings were the logical culmination of the history of the previous eight years. Russias transition from communism to capitalism in the 1990s led to an upheaval that destroyed the moral orientation of the population. Under communism, Russia was organized on the basis of false values, but a moral code of sorts did exist. In the post-Soviet era, the idea that there was such a thing as right and wrong was all but jettisoned, and a new hierarchy emerged in which the gangster was king.



The criminal takeover of Russia under Yeltsin unfolded with a seemingly tragic inevitability. The transformation of economic structures was dramatic but it took place without the most important pre-condition for civilized capitalism: the rule of law.



On January 2, 1992, the reform government led by Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar abruptly freed prices. In ten months, prices rose 25 to 30 times. By April, almost all the money in peoples savings accountsmoney saved for decadeshad disappeared.



Officially, privatization started in 1992 with the distribution to the population of vouchers. Each voucher, denominated at 10,000 rubles, supposedly represented a citizens share of the national wealth. Factories were converted into joint stock companies and citizens were invited to exchange their vouchers for shares in any enterprise



By some estimates, a third of Russias industry passed into their hands for vouchers worth $1.2 billion. As for the rest of the population, in most cases their investments in voucher funds or shares of their own factory produced nothing



The prices for which enterprises were sold stunned Russian society; 324 factories were sold at an average price of less than $4 million each. The Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Combine went for $3.73 million. The Murmansk Trawler Fleet, which consisted of a hundred ships, was sold for $2.5 million. On September 9, 1994, the bulletin, Independent Strategy, wrote:



The greater part of the basic productive funds of Russia are being sold for somewhere around $5 billion. Even if one considers that in Russia the price of the basic means of production is equal to her gross domestic product [in the West, it usually is at least 2.6 times higher]  in effect, 300 to 400 billion dollars; the sum realized in privatization is minimal. For this reason, the agency recommends English investors not to miss the chance and to take part in the purchase of Russian enterprises. 4



In late 1994, the Russian government launched the loans for shares program which made possible the creation in Russia of companies comparable in size to the largest American corporations.



Under the program, the government mortgaged shares in the most desirable non-privatized enterprises in return for loans. Once an enterprise had been mortgaged, the proprietary bank was free to exploit it, and when the government failed to repay the bank loans, which given the states revenue shortage was always the case, the enterprise became the property of the bank that provided the original loan.



The loans for shares auctions resembled a play. A previously unknown firm would offer a bid that was almost identical to the starting price set by the bank that organized the bidding. The organizing bank could then, after ruling out other bids on various pretexts, offer a bid that was slightly higher than that of its competitor. The organizing bank thereby effectively set the price at which the enterprise it was buying would be sold.



Loans for shares completed the process of creating a class of super-rich oligarchs by allowing them to acquire the nations assets at almost no cost. The scheme, however, provided very little in badly needed revenue to the government. In 1995, for example, the total revenue from the mortgage auctions of 21 of Russias most profitable enterprises was $691.4 million and 400 billion rubles, a fraction of the real value of what had been the crown jewels of the Soviet economy



The economic disaster was accompanied by a demographic catastrophe. In the years 199094 male life expectancy fell by more than six years. In 1998, it was 57 years, the lowest in the industrial world. Female life expectancy fell from 76 to 70. Child mortality doubled. The almost vertical rise in the death rate was nearly unprecedented for a country that was not at . At first, Western demographers did not believe the figures. During the 1990s, the Russian population overall fell by 750,000 a year.



The government during these years, having received very little from privatization, regularly spent more than it had. In a bid to narrow the deficit, it began issuing short term government obligations (GKOs). These were denominated in rubles and usually had a three- to six-month term. The market grew from $3 billion at the end of 1994 to $47.6 billion in 1996 and $64.7 billion in 1997. As the governments financial position worsened, however, the rate of interest rose, sometimes exceeding 200 per cent. By mid-1998, the government was spending $1 billion a week simply to pay on its obligations. Faced with an overwhelming financial crisis, on August 17, the government devalued the currency, defaulted on $40 billion worth of treasury bills and halted the repayment of commercial debt. Prices rose sharply and the nascent middle class was destroyed.



The 1998 collapse was a shock for Russian society. People returned from summer vacations to find that the cash machines of their banks were locked. Currency exchange points posted new ruble-dollar exchange rates every hour. People began to scoop up everything in the stores, including salt, sugar, matches, and flour. Many small businesses collapsed, and there was a rash of contract killings of borrowers who could not repay their debts. Living standards fell by an estimated 40 percent.



In 1998, in the wake of the Russian financial crisis, Yeltsin nominated Yevgeny Primakov, the former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, to be Prime Minister. The crisis had destroyed much of the support Yeltsin still had, and the appointment of Primakov was a compromise with the political opposition after the Duma twice voted down Yeltsins attempt to reappoint the former Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, to the post, causing a sharp decline in the economy. Primakov, however, was not content with the political status quo. Once appointed, he authorized an investigation of the Yeltsin family and of some of the oligarchs, starting with Berezovsky.



In the fall of 1997, Carla del Ponte, the Swiss Prosecutor General, was given police reports showing that Russian organized crime controlled more than 300 firms in Switzerland and that a Swiss businessman of Albanian origin, Behgjet Pacolli, who headed Mabetex, the construction company that was doing reconstruction work on the Kremlin, was providing unexplained funds to Yeltsin and his daughters. In September 1998, these documents were forwarded to Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov. On January 22, 1999, the office of Mabetex was raided in Lugano, and records were discovered that showed payments of $600,000 on the credit cards of Yeltsins daughters. It also seemed that Pacolli had paid kickbacks to Pavel Borodin, the director of the presidential administration, for the contracts to work on the Kremlin. Skuratov, meanwhile, intensified his investigation into the activities of Berezovsky. On February 2 and 4, heavily armed FSB agents raided Aeroflot and the private security firm Atoll, which was also associated with Berezovsky.



The investigation of Dyachenko and Berezovsky was a direct challenge to the regime. It came, moreover, at a time when Yeltsin was reportedly suffering blackouts and periods of disorientation and many important decisions were being made by Dyachenko.



The Yeltsin entourage was not slow to react. The FSB under then-Director Vladimir Putin secretly filmed Skuratov in a sauna engaging in sex with two prostitutes. The film was shown on the state television channel, RTR in primetime, and Skuratov was forced to resign. An arrest order against Berezovsky was revoked.



The elimination of Skuratov, however, could not eliminate the long-term threat to the Yeltsin family, in the event of a future loss of power. Yeltsins health was deteriorating rapidly. Sensing Yeltsins weakness, the opposition in the State Duma scheduled a vote on impeachment. For months, Yeltsin had absented himself from the daily political struggle and avoided decisions. On May 12, the day before the opening of the hearings, however, he fired Primakov and installed the Interior Minister, Sergei Stepashin, as acting Premier. Yeltsins readiness to fire Primakov, the most popular politician in the country, was taken as a sign to the deputies that, his health notwithstanding, in the event of impeachment he was ready to suppress the parliament by force.



The impeachment vote failed, but Yuri Luzhkov began to organize opposition to Yeltsin in anticipation of the 2000 elections. He recruited Primakov for his Fatherland-All Russia movement and said that if Primakov ran for President, he would support him.



At first, members of the Yeltsin entourage hoped that Stepashin would be able to defeat Primakov in an election. It soon became clear, however, that Stepashin did not relish attacking Yeltsins opponents, and there were reports that he rejected schemes for introducing a state of emergency and cancelling the Presidential elections out of fear of igniting a civil war. Among the schemes being discussed by insiders was Storm in Moscow, which was reported by Moskovskaya Pravda. On August 5, however, with the political crisis at its peak, a Chechen Islamist force invaded Dagestan.



The invasion of Dagestan was suspicious from the start. In late spring, with an attack expected, the authorities withdrew Russian internal troops that were stationed on the border. A high-ranking Russian police official later said that if the internal forces had not been withdrawn, the invasion would not have been possible.



When a force of 1,200 armed men commanded by the Chechen leader Shamil Basaev entered Dagestan from Chechnya, they encountered no serious resistance. On August 23, they withdrew, again without encountering resistance. A Russian commander told a reporter for Timemagazine that he had Basaev in his sights but was ordered to hold his fire. We could have wiped him out then and there, he said, but the bosses in Moscow wanted him alive.



On August 9, Stepashin was dismissed and Putin was named the new Prime Minister. The prospects of the all but unknown Putin, like those of anyone associated with Yeltsin, appeared negligible. But between September 416, the apartment buildings in Moscow, Buinaksk, and Volgodonsk were blown up, completely changing the course of political events.

http://www.hudson.org/research/12507-how-putin-became-president

In the summer of 1999, the Yeltsin era was coming to an end and those at the pinnacle of power feared for their freedom and even their lives. There were the first signs of an economic recovery, but ordinary citizens were still living in poverty and waiting months to be paid. The Yeltsin entourage, which was widely hated for its role in pillaging the country, was increasingly isolated. According to Russians and Westerners with access to the Kremlin leadership, the leading members of the Yeltsin familyTatyana Dyachenko, the Presidents daughter, Boris Berezovsky, the countrys richest man and her close adviser, and Valentin Yumashev, a member of the Security Council and Dyachenkos future husbandlived in fear of a cruel reckoning. Many ordinary citizens were convinced they would never surrender power. During the 12 days from September 4-16, however, everything changed. Four Russian apartment buildings were blown up in Moscow, Buinaksk, and Volgodonsk. The controversies that wracked the country over corruption and privatization were suddenly forgotten. Eight years of post-Soviet Russian history was telescoped into the shocking images of bodies being carried out of the rubble of bombed apartment buildings.Putin, the newly appointed Prime Minister, expressed perfectly the desire of the country for revenge. On September 24, Putin said, We will pursue the terrorists everywhere. If they are in an airport, then in an airport, and, forgive me, if we catch them in the toilet, then well rub them out (mochit) in the toilet. The question is closed once and for all.Russian officials said there was a Chechen trail in the bombings. The wording was unusual, not proof but a trail. The Chechens insisted that they had nothing to do with the bombings and no proof of their involvement was ever adduced. But Russian forces were already fighting Chechen rebels in Dagestan, and the country was looking desperately for someone to blame. Russians were opposed to further involvement in Chechnya but, in the wake of the apartment bombings, they were now ready for a new Chechen war.But were the bombings what they were depicted to be? In fact, the mystery of who bombed the Russian apartment houses in 1999 has not been solved to this day. And to the extent that there is evidence as to the perpetrators, it points not to Chechen terrorists but to the Kremlin leadership and the FSB.Russia in the spring of 1999 was a nation traumatized by impoverishment and criminalization under Yeltsin and far from certain that the presidential elections set for June 2000 would take place. Yeltsins popularity rating stood at 2 percent, that of his newly appointed Prime Minister and heir apparent, Vladimir Putin, was also 2 percent. It was regarded as nearly inconceivable that anyone connected with Yeltsin could win a free election. But there was a widespread fear that Yeltsin would find a pretext for declaring a state of emergency so that the elections would not take place.On June 6, Jan Blomgren, the Moscow correspondent for the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, reported that a faction in the Kremlin was seriously weighing terror bombings that could be blamed on the Chechens. 1 On July 22, Alexander Zhilin, a military journalist, in the July 22 issue of Moskovskaya Pravda, quoted trustworthy sources in the Kremlin, that persons close to Dyachenko were planning to use terror attacks in Moscow to discredit Yuri Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow, who had emerged as one of Yeltsins most serious political opponents. The plan was referred to as Storm in Moscow and was to include attacks on the headquarters of the FSB, MVD and Federation Council, kidnappings by Chechen rebels and a war between criminal gangs. All of this was intended to create the impression that Luzhkov had lost control over the city. 2 During this fateful summer when Moscow was awash with rumors, I was friendly with a Russian political operative who was well connected to the higher levels of Russian power. When I met him, he told me about the growing fear in the Kremlin about the possibility of losing power and the indications that Moscow would be the scene of a huge provocation. He said that the issue was the security of Yeltsin and his family in the case of a handover of power. He said that if there was no agreement on terms, they will blow up half of Moscow.I sensed the uneasiness but did not know how to assess the prediction of my friend. I had no illusions about Yeltsin and his cronies but it was hard to imagine that a man who came to power as a result of a peaceful anti-communist revolution with massive public support would be willing to murder his own people to hold onto power. Developing events, however, were to change my mind.At 9:40 p.m. on September 4, a truck bomb exploded in Buinaksk, Dagestans second-largest city. It destroyed a five story apartment building, which housed soldiers from the 136th Motor Rifle Brigade.The events in Buinaksk, although major, did not stun the nation because Dagestan was a war zone. On September 9, however, the terrorists struck again, this time in Moscow. Shortly after midnight, a bomb exploded in the basement of a building at 19 Guryanova Street in a working class area in the southeast part of the city. The central section of the building was obliterated, leaving the left and right stairwells standing on each side of a gaping hole. Fires raged for hours under the rubble. Its like hell underneath, one rescuer said . Even if they survived the blast, they would have been burned alive. 3 In the end 94 persons were killed and 164 injured. Russian officials blamed the bombing on Chechen terrorists seeking revenge for their defeat in Dagestan. The Moscow FSB announced that items removed from the scene showed traces of TNT and hexogen, a powerful military explosive.On September 13, four days after the explosion on Guryanov Street, there was an explosion at five oclock in the morning at 6 Kashirskoye Highway in Moscow that flattened a nine-story brick apartment building, transforming it into a pile of rubble. The explosion took place at a time when almost all of the residents were asleep. Muscovites awoke to graphic television footage showing emergency workers feverishly going through the debris. The death toll was eventually established at 119 with 200 injured.The Russian capital was now seized by fear. Every one of the citys 30,000 residential building was ordered to be checked for explosives and residents organized round-the-clock patrols. There were thousands of calls to the police reporting suspicious activity.On September 16, the terror spread. With the funerals of the Moscow victims still going on, a truck bomb exploded in Volgodonsk in southern Russia. The blast ripped off the facade of a nine-story apartment building. The dead bodies of 18 persons, including two children, were pulled from the rubble. Eighty-nine persons were hospitalized. The explosion, like that on Kashirskoye Highway, took place at five in the morning. The psychological shock was so great that afterward hundreds of people were unwilling to sleep in their homes and insisted on spending the night outdoors. The bomb left a crater 3.5 meters in depth and 13-15 meters in diameter. Parts of the GAZ-53 vehicle that carried the bomb were dispersed over a radius of 1.5 kilometers.The Volgodonsk bombing appeared to mean that there would now be attempts to bomb apartment buildings in cities outside of Moscow. This expectation was soon borne out, but with surprising consequences. At 8:30 p.m., on September 22, Alexei Kartofelnikov returned home to his apartment in Ryazan, a city 120 miles southeast of Moscow after a weekend at his dacha. He noticed a white Lada parked in front of the building at 14/16 Novoselov Street with a male passenger in the back seat. The last two numbers on the cars license plates were covered with pieces of paper that had 62, the code for Ryazan, written on them. Kartofelnikov went up to his apartment and called the police. His daughter, Yulia, a 23-year-old medical intern, went out onto the balcony and watched as a man emerged from the basement, checked his watch and got into the car where there were two persons.When the police arrived, Yulia insisted that they check the basement. The basement had been used as a toilet by local derelicts so they were far from enthusiastic. But the police finally went down the steps. They ran back up shouting, Theres a bomb. The building was soon engulfed in chaos. Police began going door to door telling residents to leave. People took babies out of bathtub, grabbed documents and threw on overcoats. Those too ill or weak to leave the building were left behind.As residents watched on the street, the police, including Yuri Tkachenko, the head of the local bomb squad, entered the basement. Tkachenko, disconnected a detonator and timing device and then tested three sacks of a white crystalline substance with an MO-2 portable gas analyzer. The contents of the sacks tested positive for hexogen, the same substance used in the previous apartment bombings. There now was no question but that someone had tried to blow up the building.The sacks were taken out of the basement at around 1:30 a.m. and driven away by the FSB. The FSB agents forgot to take away the highly professional military detonator, however, which was left in the hands of the bomb squad. They photographed it the next day.On the basis of descriptions by Kartofelnikov, his daughter and a neighbor, the police prepared identi-kit portraits of the suspects. In the meantime, the railroad stations and airport were cordoned off and roads leading out of the city were blocked.As morning broke, the white Lada was found abandoned in a parking lot. A short time later, a call to Moscow was made from a public telephone in Ryazan, and the operator, who connected the call, caught a fragment of the conversation. The caller said there was no way to get out of town undetected. The voice on the other end replied, Split up and each of you make your own way out. The operator reported the call to the police and they traced the number. To their surprise, the number belonged not to Chechen terrorists but to the FSB. The terrorists were soon arrested and to the stupefaction of the police, produced FSBidentification. The FSB called and ordered them released.The FSB now had no choice but to offer some type of explanation. On Friday, September 24, the FSB director Nikolai Patrushev came out of a Kremlin meeting and announced that the evacuation of the building had been part of a training exercise.Patrushevs statement was in direct contradiction to what the authorities had been saying for two days. On the morning of September 24, Alexander Sergeev, the head of the Ryazan FSB, appeared on television and congratulated residents on being saved from a terrorist attack. Vladimir Rushailo, the Interior Minister, announced on national television that an attempted terrorist act had been foiled. But now Patrushev said the incident was a test. The sacks found by the bomb squad contained sugar and the reading that indicated that they contained hexogen was an error. Patrushev said that there were similar exercises in other cities but only in Ryazan did the people react promptly. He complimented the residents on their vigilance.The strange training exercise provoked anger in Ryazan where people had spent the night on the street. Journalists now raised the possibility that all the bombingsthe four successful bombings and the failed bombing in Ryazanhad been the work of the FSB. Society, however, proved incapable of reacting in an organized fashion. The day after the supposedly fake bomb in Ryazan was discovered, Russian aircraft began bombing the Grozny Airport, and on October 1 Russian troops moved across the border launching the second Chechen war.Russians refer to Hitlers treacherous attack on the Soviet Union, and it was anger over the treachery that helped to mobilize the population in the first days of World War II. The apartment bombings played a similar role. For the vast majority of Russians, the Chechens, by bombing the buildings in Buinaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk, had carried the war to the Russian people and now had to be made to pay a price. The Ryazan episode was disturbing but it slipped from consciousness, temporarily forgotten amid the rush of fast moving events.Five years earlier, the first Chechen war had begun with the slaughter of Russian troops trapped in their tanks in the narrow streets of Grozny on New Years night, 199495. This time, the invasion of Chechnya was carried out methodically and seemingly with success. In the wake of the apparently successful Russian revenge attack, Putins popularity soared. In August, 2 percent of the population favored Putin for the presidency. By September, his popularity was 4 percent. In October, it reached 21 percent. In November, Putin was favored for the presidency by 45 percent of the population, far more than any other candidate. It was now clear that there would be no need to introduce emergency rule and postpone the elections. Putin would be able to win the election on his own with the help of a new war.On September 14, the day after first Moscow bombing, Putin said that the security services were certain of the participation of Osama Bin Laden in the bombings. Nikolai Patrushev, the director of the FSB, said that the organizers of the bombings were international terrorists dug in in Chechnya with the connivance of the official powers in Grozny These statements had some effect in leading the West to tie the apartment bombings to international Islamic terrorists.More important, however, was the sheer difficulty of accepting the idea that any regime would murder hundreds of its own citizens to terrify the nation and hold on to power. This refusal to believe the unbelievable, however, came at a cost. It crippled Western and in particular U.S. policy toward Russia, rendering it naive and ineffectual. From the moment Putin took power the West was dealing with Russia on the basis of a picture of the country that had no relation to reality.In December 1999, Russia held parliamentary elections and the groundswell of support for Putin and the new war in Chechnya transformed the political landscape. The Unity Party, which was created on the advice of Berezovsky and had no platform besides support for Putin, achieved a striking political success. If, under Yeltsin, a powerful President was confronted by an oppositional parliament, now the pro-Putin forces achieved a firm majority in Parliament and there was no longer a political base for opposition.On New Years Eve, Yeltsin resigned and Putin, who only months before had been almost completely unknown, was appointed acting President in a Kremlin ceremony and given the nuclear codes. Putin then issued a decree granting Yeltsin lifelong immunity from prosecution.With the help of the September bombings, the anger of the population was redirected from the criminal oligarchy that had pillaged the country to the Chechens. The election took place on March 26, 2000. Putin eschewed serious campaigning and avoided even explaining where he stood on the major issues facing the country. Despite this, he won with 54 percent of the vote.The strange events that made possible Putins rise to power were not an anomaly. In fact, the bombings were the logical culmination of the history of the previous eight years. Russias transition from communism to capitalism in the 1990s led to an upheaval that destroyed the moral orientation of the population. Under communism, Russia was organized on the basis of false values, but a moral code of sorts did exist. In the post-Soviet era, the idea that there was such a thing as right and wrong was all but jettisoned, and a new hierarchy emerged in which the gangster was king.The criminal takeover of Russia under Yeltsin unfolded with a seemingly tragic inevitability. The transformation of economic structures was dramatic but it took place without the most important pre-condition for civilized capitalism: the rule of law.On January 2, 1992, the reform government led by Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar abruptly freed prices. In ten months, prices rose 25 to 30 times. By April, almost all the money in peoples savings accountsmoney saved for decadeshad disappeared.Officially, privatization started in 1992 with the distribution to the population of vouchers. Each voucher, denominated at 10,000 rubles, supposedly represented a citizens share of the national wealth. Factories were converted into joint stock companies and citizens were invited to exchange their vouchers for shares in any enterpriseBy some estimates, a third of Russias industry passed into their hands for vouchers worth $1.2 billion. As for the rest of the population, in most cases their investments in voucher funds or shares of their own factory produced nothingThe prices for which enterprises were sold stunned Russian society; 324 factories were sold at an average price of less than $4 million each. The Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Combine went for $3.73 million. The Murmansk Trawler Fleet, which consisted of a hundred ships, was sold for $2.5 million. On September 9, 1994, the bulletin, Independent Strategy, wrote:In late 1994, the Russian government launched the loans for shares program which made possible the creation in Russia of companies comparable in size to the largest American corporations.Under the program, the government mortgaged shares in the most desirable non-privatized enterprises in return for loans. Once an enterprise had been mortgaged, the proprietary bank was free to exploit it, and when the government failed to repay the bank loans, which given the states revenue shortage was always the case, the enterprise became the property of the bank that provided the original loan.The loans for shares auctions resembled a play. A previously unknown firm would offer a bid that was almost identical to the starting price set by the bank that organized the bidding. The organizing bank could then, after ruling out other bids on various pretexts, offer a bid that was slightly higher than that of its competitor. The organizing bank thereby effectively set the price at which the enterprise it was buying would be sold.Loans for shares completed the process of creating a class of super-rich oligarchs by allowing them to acquire the nations assets at almost no cost. The scheme, however, provided very little in badly needed revenue to the government. In 1995, for example, the total revenue from the mortgage auctions of 21 of Russias most profitable enterprises was $691.4 million and 400 billion rubles, a fraction of the real value of what had been the crown jewels of the Soviet economyThe economic disaster was accompanied by a demographic catastrophe. In the years 199094 male life expectancy fell by more than six years. In 1998, it was 57 years, the lowest in the industrial world. Female life expectancy fell from 76 to 70. Child mortality doubled. The almost vertical rise in the death rate was nearly unprecedented for a country that was not at . At first, Western demographers did not believe the figures. During the 1990s, the Russian population overall fell by 750,000 a year.The government during these years, having received very little from privatization, regularly spent more than it had. In a bid to narrow the deficit, it began issuing short term government obligations (GKOs). These were denominated in rubles and usually had a three- to six-month term. The market grew from $3 billion at the end of 1994 to $47.6 billion in 1996 and $64.7 billion in 1997. As the governments financial position worsened, however, the rate of interest rose, sometimes exceeding 200 per cent. By mid-1998, the government was spending $1 billion a week simply to pay on its obligations. Faced with an overwhelming financial crisis, on August 17, the government devalued the currency, defaulted on $40 billion worth of treasury bills and halted the repayment of commercial debt. Prices rose sharply and the nascent middle class was destroyed.The 1998 collapse was a shock for Russian society. People returned from summer vacations to find that the cash machines of their banks were locked. Currency exchange points posted new ruble-dollar exchange rates every hour. People began to scoop up everything in the stores, including salt, sugar, matches, and flour. Many small businesses collapsed, and there was a rash of contract killings of borrowers who could not repay their debts. Living standards fell by an estimated 40 percent.In 1998, in the wake of the Russian financial crisis, Yeltsin nominated Yevgeny Primakov, the former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, to be Prime Minister. The crisis had destroyed much of the support Yeltsin still had, and the appointment of Primakov was a compromise with the political opposition after the Duma twice voted down Yeltsins attempt to reappoint the former Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, to the post, causing a sharp decline in the economy. Primakov, however, was not content with the political status quo. Once appointed, he authorized an investigation of the Yeltsin family and of some of the oligarchs, starting with Berezovsky.In the fall of 1997, Carla del Ponte, the Swiss Prosecutor General, was given police reports showing that Russian organized crime controlled more than 300 firms in Switzerland and that a Swiss businessman of Albanian origin, Behgjet Pacolli, who headed Mabetex, the construction company that was doing reconstruction work on the Kremlin, was providing unexplained funds to Yeltsin and his daughters. In September 1998, these documents were forwarded to Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov. On January 22, 1999, the office of Mabetex was raided in Lugano, and records were discovered that showed payments of $600,000 on the credit cards of Yeltsins daughters. It also seemed that Pacolli had paid kickbacks to Pavel Borodin, the director of the presidential administration, for the contracts to work on the Kremlin. Skuratov, meanwhile, intensified his investigation into the activities of Berezovsky. On February 2 and 4, heavily armed FSB agents raided Aeroflot and the private security firm Atoll, which was also associated with Berezovsky.The investigation of Dyachenko and Berezovsky was a direct challenge to the regime. It came, moreover, at a time when Yeltsin was reportedly suffering blackouts and periods of disorientation and many important decisions were being made by Dyachenko.The Yeltsin entourage was not slow to react. The FSB under then-Director Vladimir Putin secretly filmed Skuratov in a sauna engaging in sex with two prostitutes. The film was shown on the state television channel, RTR in primetime, and Skuratov was forced to resign. An arrest order against Berezovsky was revoked.The elimination of Skuratov, however, could not eliminate the long-term threat to the Yeltsin family, in the event of a future loss of power. Yeltsins health was deteriorating rapidly. Sensing Yeltsins weakness, the opposition in the State Duma scheduled a vote on impeachment. For months, Yeltsin had absented himself from the daily political struggle and avoided decisions. On May 12, the day before the opening of the hearings, however, he fired Primakov and installed the Interior Minister, Sergei Stepashin, as acting Premier. Yeltsins readiness to fire Primakov, the most popular politician in the country, was taken as a sign to the deputies that, his health notwithstanding, in the event of impeachment he was ready to suppress the parliament by force.The impeachment vote failed, but Yuri Luzhkov began to organize opposition to Yeltsin in anticipation of the 2000 elections. He recruited Primakov for his Fatherland-All Russia movement and said that if Primakov ran for President, he would support him.At first, members of the Yeltsin entourage hoped that Stepashin would be able to defeat Primakov in an election. It soon became clear, however, that Stepashin did not relish attacking Yeltsins opponents, and there were reports that he rejected schemes for introducing a state of emergency and cancelling the Presidential elections out of fear of igniting a civil war. Among the schemes being discussed by insiders was Storm in Moscow, which was reported by Moskovskaya Pravda. On August 5, however, with the political crisis at its peak, a Chechen Islamist force invaded Dagestan.The invasion of Dagestan was suspicious from the start. In late spring, with an attack expected, the authorities withdrew Russian internal troops that were stationed on the border. A high-ranking Russian police official later said that if the internal forces had not been withdrawn, the invasion would not have been possible.When a force of 1,200 armed men commanded by the Chechen leader Shamil Basaev entered Dagestan from Chechnya, they encountered no serious resistance. On August 23, they withdrew, again without encountering resistance. A Russian commander told a reporter for Timemagazine that he had Basaev in his sights but was ordered to hold his fire. We could have wiped him out then and there, he said, but the bosses in Moscow wanted him alive.On August 9, Stepashin was dismissed and Putin was named the new Prime Minister. The prospects of the all but unknown Putin, like those of anyone associated with Yeltsin, appeared negligible. But between September 416, the apartment buildings in Moscow, Buinaksk, and Volgodonsk were blown up, completely changing the course of political events. Tags: , , , , , , 


Syria conflict: 'Barrel bombs dropped on Darayya' after aid delivery

The Syrian government bombarded the besieged Damascus suburb of Darayya hours after the arrival of its first food aid since 2012, residents said.
Thapa, Swaraj dwell on politics in Nepal

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa and Indias Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Friday discussed Nepals political situation, protests by the Madhes-based parties and other bilateral issues.
The lost decade

While half the country thinks Krazy Pompous Oli has gone mad, the other half wants to believe in him
Transitional justice: Plaints against 2 Valley district police chiefs

A complaint has been filed against Lalitpur police chief SSP Pitambar Adhikari at the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons.
Venezuela recall referendum: Voters told to confirm identities

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) has ruled that 1.3 million people who signed a petition for a referendum to oust President Nicolas Maduro will need to turn up at regional electoral offices to confirm their identity.
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

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Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Becoming partly cloudy after some morning rain. Morning high of 61F with temps falling to near 50. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low 32F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
Two new wind projects could give a substantial boost to the renewable energy supply in Wisconsin.

Dairyland Power Cooperative, based in La Crosse, will buy power from a 98-megawatt wind farm to be built in southwest Wisconsin.

WPPI Energy, Sun Prairie, wants to add 100 megawatts of electricity from wind power or another renewable resource.

Dairyland has signed an agreement with EDP Renewables North America, which will develop and operate the planned Quilt Block Wind Farm, 20 miles southeast of Platteville in Lafayette County.

Forty-nine turbines will be erected, providing up to 98 megawatts of electricity, enough for more than 25,000 homes, Dairyland said.

Construction is expected to begin in 2017 and the turbines should start operating near the end of 2017. EDP Renewables North America is based in Houston, and its majority owner is Energias de Portugal, an energy company in Lisbon.

Dairyland provides electricity to 25 cooperatives and 17 municipal utilities that serve more than 500,000 customers in four states.

WPPI, which provides electricity to 51 not-for-profit utilities, said it is issuing a request for 100 megawatts of electricity from wind or other renewable sources.

WPPI already has about 173 megawatts, or 14 percent, of its supply of electricity generated from renewable sources, with 162 megawatts of that from wind.

With the recent extension of federal renewable energy tax credits, we anticipate that bidders might be able to offer renewables to cost-effectively fill our need for future power supply resources, said Pat Connors, WPPI senior vice president of power supply.

WPPI said it would like to have the new wind energy available sometime between mid-2018 and late 2020, with a 20-year agreement to buy the power  enough for meet the needs of about 40,000 homes. The company said it will give preference to projects in Wisconsin, where most of its member utilities are located.

WPPIs members provide electricity to more than 200,000 customers in Wisconsin, Michigans Upper Peninsula and Iowa.

RENEW Wisconsin said the two projects will be a big boost to the states renewable energy capabilities.

As weve known, certainly its viable and cost-effective to develop wind energy in Wisconsin. Were very happy to see Dairyland Power make this investment and also to see WPPIs interest in expanding wind here in Wisconsin, RENEW executive director Tyler Huebner said.

Huebner said the Dairyland-EDP project will be the first utility-scale wind farm built in Wisconsin since 2011.
GERMANTOWN, Wis.  Carolyn Clara Bayer, 91, left this world June 5, 2016, after a short illness. She recently said Its time for me to go home.

She was born March 3, 1925, on a farm, near La Crosse, to Susan Kemp Schams and Karl Schams. Carolyn graduated from Aquinas High School, and went on to graduate from St. Francis School of Nursing. She married her high school sweetheart, Fredrick Bayer, after he returned from World War II. They had six children, and raised them primarily in southern California.

She worked as a nurse in many hospitals over the years, but retired at age 69, from nursing, at Riverside Juvenile Detention Center.

Carolyn spent her retirement years in Riverside, Calif., and Laguna Woods, Calif. She spent much of that time traveling the world, visiting family, volunteering, and playing bridge at least three times a week. She loved it all!

She spent the last five years of her life in Wisconsin, near her daughters Jane and Christine.

Carolyn is survived by her six children, Jane (Dave) Renly, Mike (Kathy), Kitty Maxwell, Barb (Joelle), Christine (Merlin) Hemp, and Fred (Denise); as well as 12 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband; and all of her siblings, Walter, Kathryn (Hundt), Bernard, Evelyn, David, and Karl.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday, June 29, at St. Peters Church, Middle Ridge, Wis. Visitation will be 10:30 a.m. Mass will be 11 a.m. celebrated by her nephew, Monsignor Robert Hundt, with luncheon to follow, at Ridge History Park.

Mother was an ardent Catholic. She was a participant at daily Mass for many years, was a Eucharistic Minister, at St. Catherines Parish, Riverside, and made many rosaries for the missions, and frequent donations to many Catholic charities. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Catholic charity of your choice.

Feerick Funeral Home, Shorewood, Wis., is serving the family.
Barbara Wilsons final message to her daughter was thank you.

Wilson had planned to leave her husband the next day, and Melissa Ische texted her mother to say shed help move her out. She never got the chance.

I got the last text from her at 8:29 p.m. telling me thank you, Ische recalled. He called me at 9:09 p.m. and told me, Dont bother coming to pick up your mom. Just call the morgue.

Delbert Wilson, 56, killed her in their Mankato, Minn., home before turning the gun on himself. Barbara Wilson, 54, left behind 13 grandchildren, four children and nine siblings.

She was one of at least nine women killed by domestic violence in Minnesota this year. That includes five in the past two months. Among them was Trisha Nelson, who died in a busy Plymouth intersection after her fiance shot and ran her over; Courtney Monson, shot by her husband while hiding in the basement with three of her children; and Tasha Hanson, found dead in the woods near Lewiston after her boyfriend strangled and beat her.

Experts say it will take more than law enforcement to make it stop. In several cases this year, police never heard from the victim.

Its difficult to understand sometimes how it can happen or why it can happen, said Ramsey Police Chief Jeff Katers. I think were always looking for the why. Why did this happen? And sometimes we dont always have the answers.

About 80 percent of all female homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner or ex-spouse. About 20 to 30 Minnesotans a year have died in domestic violence over the past decade, according to the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women.

The data make it clear intervention happens too late, said Liz Richards, the coalitions executive director.

There is sort of an assumption out there that what needs to happen is people should call law enforcement and thats going to solve the problem, she said. But as we say, were never going to stop domestic violence if we focus only on the intervention that happens after violence occurs.

There are often signs of trouble, and everyone in contact with potential victims should look out for those signs, she said. Threats are a big red flag. Significant criminal history is another.

Early intervention outside of the criminal justice system is also key. One program showing promise starts the conversation in health care settings.

The project tested how teenage girls perception of domestic violence changed overtime after talking about it with their medical providers.

Not all 136 teens in the program saw a benefit. But a University of Minnesota evaluation of the program found a significantly lower percentage of teens reported being in abusive relationships a few months after visiting the clinics  17 percent at the start of the program and 11 percent after.

More teens also learned about available resources and almost half the girls left an older boyfriend by the end of the study.

Its easy to fall into hopelessness when seeing stagnant homicide numbers, and its going take significant commitment across all levels of service to prevent future deaths, Richards said.

What are we doing within our schools? How do we deal with this within our health clinics? What are we doing in terms of what messages we provide within families and communities in terms of the expected roles people play, she asked. How do you deal with conflict?

Ische said her mom was good at making things seem OK even when they werent. She said she wishes there was something she couldve done sooner and recalled not believing at first that Delbert Wilson had killed her mother.

I just thought it was a dry threat, maybe he was just trying to scare us into not coming to get her, she said, her voice trying to hold back tears. Getting that news that she didnt make it was really, really hard.
BARABOO  Here in Wisconsin, where sausage is a sign of celebration, its hard to understand links being used as political weapons.

But thats what happened last week in the nation of Georgia, where protesters turned a vegan cafe in Tbilisi into a real sausage fest. Far-right extremists wearing sausages around their necks attacked the Kiwi Cafe, throwing meat on patrons plates and inciting a brawl. Theres no better way to say up yours than to befoul an enemys lunch of zucchini with chickpea and mushroom stuffing.

Cafe staff described the incident as an anti-vegan provocative action, linking the attack to neo Nazis who support fascist ideas. The clash spilled into the street after the attackers were asked to leave, The Guardian reported. Some involved suffered minor injuries, but the perpetrators  some of whom carried slabs of meat on skewers  fled before police could grill them.

The use of sausage for anything but merriment elicits head-scratching in Wisconsin, where friends and family gather to watch brats fry. Theres something about the smell of sizzling sausage that can bring anyone  labor and management, paper and plastic, Donald and Hillary  together in a spirit of goodwill.

Not so in Georgia, where theres strife even meat cant cure. The cafes attackers pulled out grilled meat, sausages and fish and started eating them and throwing them at us, a statement from the cafe read. They were just trying to provoke our friends and disrespect us. Throwing masticated meat at ones political adversaries? The Lincoln-Douglas debates it was not.

The cafe has been targeted before, as the sausage swarm has been casing the joint. According to the statement, the meatheads had come a month earlier to ask whether foreigners or members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community frequented the cafe. Those people, as opposed to troublemakers wearing meat necklaces, are to be viewed with suspicion.

The sausage attack generated concern because it came just three days after a march by right-wing nationalists. Some fear the incident could mark the emergence of organized action by Georgian ultra-nationalists. Give them sausages or give them death.

It remains unclear whether the meat assault was merely a prank that turned violent, or an organized political action by Georgian nationalists spurred on by recent Independence Day celebrations.

What is clear is that Georgians use of sausage in marking Independence Day is quite different from what were used to in the U.S. Here, bratwurst and Polish sausage bring people together over a July Fourth barbecue. We may have our differences, but for meat, well meet partway.

But in Georgia, meat has become a political wedge. Dont expect the Kiwi Cafes regulars and the marauding meat mongers to break bread anytime soon. The cafe has pledged to stay open and remain ready to accept all customers regardless of their nationality, race, appearance, age, gender, sexual orientation, or religious views.

This is sure to fire up the sausage slingers, who dont want foreigners, homosexuals or vegans around. To be frank, further unrest seems likely.

Were fortunate to enjoy peace these days in Wisconsin, but we had our dark times a few years back when labor and management were getting along about as well as paper and plastic.

No matter where you are, politics can be an ugly animal. You know what they say: Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made  or to see them being chewed up and thrown at you while youre enjoying zucchini with chickpea and mushroom stuffing.
The UW System Board of Regents approved the systems annual operating budget Thursday at UW-Milwaukee.

The annual budget that University of Wisconsin System officials refused to release to the public earlier this week because they claimed it was not yet completed had actually been finished and sent to members of the systems governing board several days prior.

Those members also discussed the budget in detail with UW staff members during private meetings while the document was still under wraps, a UW spokesman acknowledged Friday.

Rather than post the $6.2 billion operating budget online in the days before the systems Board of Regents met  as UW generally does with budgets and other materials on the boards agenda  officials refused to release the document until just before the Regents approved it Thursday afternoon.

The budget had been public for only about 90 minutes by the time the board voted after a brief discussion during their meeting at UW-Milwaukee.

The spending plan raises student fees by an average of $59 per student throughout the system, and further spends down UWs controversial reserve funds.

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders said he did not understand why UW would keep the budget under wraps and claim staff members were still working on the document when it was actually finished.

Its baffling that the UW made efforts to conceal this document until virtually the last minute, Lueders said. What good could possibly come from that?

Claim that budget was being finalized

The UW Systems spokesman, Alex Hummel, claimed in an email to reporters on Wednesday that the budget was not being released in advance because system officials were still working to finalize the budget information leading into (Thursdays) meetings and full-board presentation.

But Tony Evers, the state superintendent of public instruction and a member of the board, said he received the completed budget on June 3, six days before the Regents meeting and five before Hummels statement that the budget was not finished.

The budget itself also indicates it was ready on June 3  the meta data of a PDF file of the budget states it was last modified that afternoon. Regents approved the budget without any modifications.

Hummel did not immediately respond Friday afternoon to an email asking why he told reporters the budget was not yet finished when it had already been provided to Regents.

Once they received the budget, Regents met with UW staff in briefings that were held in person or on the phone, according to Hummel. The meetings involved a couple of Regents at a time, Hummel said  not enough to constitute a quorum of the board, which would have required the meeting be open to the public.

They are not new, Hummel said of the meetings.

Regents could keep other proposals under wraps

On Thursday, Hummel said the decision not to release the budget was made by Regent President Regina Millner and the boards office.

Millner, who was re-elected Friday to her position as board president, did not immediately respond to interview requests by phone or through Hummel.

Millner told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Friday that although the budget document had been finished, staff were still working on a presentation by the systems interim vice president of finance, Julie Gordon. Millner said she did not want UWs budget  which has been hotly debated by state lawmakers  to be presented to the public without an explanation from staff.

She also hinted that UW could make withholding documents from the public a common practice.

When we have other important issues in the future, this may be the routine, Millner told the Journal Sentinel.

Lueders said he found that possibility terribly concerning.

If UW pursues that strategy, media and other organizations could challenge it in court, Lueders said. He predicted the system would lose, and wind up wasting money fighting for secrecy that they dont deserve and that violates the law.

Open government advocates say there is no legal requirement that government agencies such as the Board of Regents post their meeting materials online, though doing so has been the boards practice and that of other public bodies.

But Lueders said the budget document that was shared with the Regents was a public record, and should have been provided to anyone who requested it under Wisconsins open records law.

The State Journal requested the documents on Wednesday; a UW official acknowledged the request, but did not provide the records, stating she was busy preparing for the Regents meeting.
BENTON, Kentucky (AP)  Pastor Richie Clendenen stepped away from the pulpit, microphone in hand. He walked the aisles of the Christian Fellowship Church, his voice rising to describe the perils believers face in 21st-century America.

The Bible says in this life you will have troubles, you will have persecutions. And Jesus takes it a step further: Youll be hated by all nations for my names sake, he said.

Let me tell you, the minister said, that time is here.

The faithful in the pews needed little convincing. Even in this deeply religious swath of western Kentucky  a state where about half the residents are evangelical  conservative Christians feel under siege.

For decades, they say, they have been steadily pushed to the sidelines of American life and have come under attack for their most deeply held beliefs, born of their reading of Scripture and their religious mandate to evangelize. The 1960s ban on prayer in public schools is still a fresh wound. Every legal challenge to a public Nativity scene or Ten Commandments display is another marginalization. Theyve been steamrolled, they say, and misunderstood.

Religious conservatives could once count on their neighbors to at least share their view of marriage. Those days are gone. Public opinion on same-sex relationships turned against conservatives even before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide.

Now, many evangelicals say liberals want to seal their cultural victory by silencing the church. Liberals call this paranoid. But evangelicals see evidence of the threat in every new uproar over someone asserting a right to refuse recognition of same-sex marriages  whether it be a baker, a government clerk, or the leaders of religious charities and schools.

At a time when Americas divisions  right-left, urban-rural, black-white and more  spill daily into peoples lives, many Christian conservatives find themselves on the other side of the divide between us and them.

Theres nobody hated more in this nation than Christians, Clendenen preached on a recent Sunday. Welcome to Americas most wanted: You.

Evangelicals like those at Christian Fellowship are wrestling with their declining clout in public life.

The U.S. remains solidly religious and Christian, and evangelicals are still a formidable bloc in the Republican Party. But a series of losses in church membership and in public policy battles, along with Americas changing demographics, are weakening evangelical influence, even in some of the most conservative regions of the country.

Nobody would have guessed the pace of change. Thats why so many people are yelling we have to take our country back, said Ed Stetzer, executive director of Lifeway Research, an evangelical consulting firm in Nashville.

The Protestant majority that dominated American culture through U.S. history has dipped below 50 percent.

Liberal-leaning Protestant groups started shrinking earlier, but some evangelical churches are now in decline. The conservative Southern Baptist Convention lost 200,000 from its ranks in 2014 alone, dropping to 15.5 million, its smallest number in more than two decades.

At the same time, the Bible Belt, as a cultural force, is collapsing, said the Rev. Russell Moore, head of the Southern Baptist public policy agency.

Nearly a quarter of Americans say they no longer affiliate with a faith tradition. Its the highest share ever recorded in surveys, indicating the stigma for not being religious has eased  even in heavily evangelical areas. Americans who say they have no ties to organized religion now make up about 23 percent of the population, just behind evangelicals, who comprise about 25 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.

People dont have to be culturally identified with evangelical Christianity in order to be seen as good people, good neighbors or good Americans, Moore said.

Politically, old guard religious right organizations such as the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition are greatly diminished or gone, and no broadly unifying leader or organization has replaced them. In this years presidential race, the social policy issues championed by Christian conservatives are not central, even amid the furor over bathroom access for transgender people.

White evangelical voters remain very influential in early primaries, and they turn out at high rates in general elections. But they cant match the growth rate of groups that tend to support Democrats  Latinos, younger people and Americans with no religious affiliation.

No issue has more starkly illuminated conservative Christians waning influence than the struggle over same-sex marriage.

Evangelicals were all in with their opposition to gay rights starting back with the Moral Majority in the 1980s, said Robert Jones, author of The End of White Christian America. In the 2004 election, Americans appeared to be on the same page, approving bans on same-sex marriage in all 11 states where the measures were on the ballot. But by 2011, more than five in 10 Americans supported gay marriage. And now the business wing of the Republican Party is deserting social conservatives on the issue, largely backing anti-discrimination policies. Younger Americans, including younger evangelicals, are especially accepting of same-sex relationships, which means evangelicals have lost a generation on this issue, Jones said.

This issue is so prominent and so symbolic, said Jones, chief executive of Public Religion Research Institute, which specializes in surveys about religion and public life. It was such a decisive loss, not only in the actual courts, the legal courts, but also in the court of public opinion. Clendenen saw a lot of fear, a lot of anger in his church after the Supreme Court ruling.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump uses rhetoric that has resonance for Christian conservatives who fear their teachings on marriage will soon be outlawed as hate speech.

Were going to protect Christianity, and I can say that, Trump has said. I dont have to be politically correct.

If culture wars once felt remote amid the soybean and tobacco farms here, change is now obvious to Clendenens congregants.

In Rowan County, on the other side of Kentucky, clerk Kim Davis spent five days in jail last year for refusing on religious grounds to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In New Mexico and Oregon, a photographer and a baker were fined under nondiscrimination laws after refusing work for same-sex ceremonies.

The problem, many religious conservatives say, is that government is growing more coercive in many areas bearing on their beliefs.

Some faith-based nonprofits with government contracts have shuttered adoption programs because of new rules in some states that say agencies with taxpayer funding cant refuse placements with same-sex couples.

And religious leaders worry that Christian schools and colleges will lose accreditation or tax-exempt status over their codes of conduct barring same-sex relationships.

How to navigate this new reality?

Some conservative Christians are determined to even more fiercely wage the culture wars, while others plan to withdraw as much as possible into their own communities.

There is, however, a segment that advocates confidently upholding their beliefs, but doing so in a gentler way that rejects the aggressive tone of the old religious right and takes up other issues, such as ending human trafficking, that can cross ideological lines.

Clendenen is cut from this mold. Now 38, he came of age when the religious right was at its apex, and he concluded any mix of partisan politics with Christianity was toxic for the church. He said evangelicals are partly responsible for the backlash against them because of the hateful language some used in the marriage debates. I dont see the LGBT community as my enemy, he said.

Still, he uses the word persecution to describe what Christians are facing in the U.S., even though he feels strange doing so.

Preaching, Clendenen urged congregants to hold fast to their positions in a country that has grown hostile to them.

Dont give up, he said. Dont let your light go out.

Nobody would have guessed the pace of change. Thats why so many people are yelling we have to take our country back. Ed Stetzer, executive director of evangelical consulting firm Lifeway Research
Wisconsin Republicans won an elusive victory Friday as the Department of Natural Resources quietly agreed to narrow its oversight of high-capacity wells that have been blamed for drying up rivers and shrinking lakes.

Following guidance provided by state Attorney General Brad Schimel in an opinion issued May 10, the agency will no longer consider the cumulative impact of nearby wells on the aquifer or surface water when deciding whether to permit a well, and it will no longer impose monitoring requirements on well operators.

And the department said well operators could seek reconsideration of conditions placed on permits issued since June 8, 2011, the date a state statute was enacted sharply reducing the power of state agencies to decide how to implement laws.

High-capacity wells are defined as being able to extract at least 100,000 gallons of water per day.

They became a battleground in Wisconsin because of their ability to dry up public waters and the desire of farmers, food processors and others to drill more of them.

Several court decisions in lawsuits over DNR actions had indicated that the department could and should consider cumulative impact as part of the states constitutional duty to protect lakes and streams for the use of the public.

After the state Supreme Court in a 2011 ruling told the DNR it had a responsibility to consider cumulative impact of high-capacity, the agency began including that consideration in its review of well permit applications.

Businesses were frustrated by the agencys stance. Republicans who took over state government in the 2010 elections made significant changes to natural resources protections, but they werent able to muster the votes for proposed laws that would have sped well permitting.

The change in DNR policy could be seen on an agency web page for business operators seeking to drill the wells. The page included a notation that it was updated on Thursday, but a DNR spokesman said the change was made Friday.

The Attorney General is the chief legal advisor for state government and its agencies and represents the department in legal matters before the courts, DNR spokesman Jim Dick said in the statement. Historically, the DNR has followed all formal legal opinions issued by an Attorney General, as we are doing in this case.

Clean Wisconsin, a conservation group that spotted the change and sent out a press release to news organizations, questioned why the DNR didnt issue any announcement given the high level of public interest in the issue.

By adopting this opinion, DNR will no longer be evaluating these large well applications to determine the collective impact they will have on our waters, said Clean Wisconsins Elizabeth Wheeler. This is in direct opposition to decades of court decisions and legal interpretation that established DNRs constitutional duty to protect our waters for everyone, not just the few.

Wheeler said the DNRs move means an estimated 161 high-capacity well applications that have been awaiting agency review will not receive the scrutiny called for by several court decisions and precautions included in permits issued since 2011 could be thrown out.

This will certainly have disastrous impacts on peoples access to safe and plentiful groundwater and drinking water, Wheeler said.

In the last two years, scientific reviews by the DNR led to withdrawal of several permit applications because the reviews found that the proposed wells would affect waterways, Wheeler said.

Not only does the DNRs adoption of the Attorney Generals opinion remove sound science from the process, it makes finding meaningful legislative solutions that balance the needs of all water users in Wisconsin nearly impossible, Wheeler said. Moving forward, this guarantees that the issue will continue to be fought in the courts.

Schimel issued a formal opinion on high-capacity wells on May 10 at the request of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and the Republican majority that controls the Assemblys organization committee. Vos complained about delays in state permits for the wells.

Schimel, also a Republican, said a 2011 state law rolled back DNR authority on high-capacity wells by prohibiting state agencies from setting or enforcing any environmental standard that isnt explicitly spelled out in statutes.

High capacity wells are defined as those that can pump at least 100,000 gallons per day. They are regulated through a permitting system because of their potential to affect the use other people make of ground water and surface water.

In 2013, state Senate Republicans introduced a bill to address some industry complaints about well permitting, but even with GOP majorities controlling both houses of the state Legislature, it failed to pass. The bill was introduced at a time when small streams and lakes in central Wisconsin, including the Little Plover River and Long Lake, had been drying up.

That year, DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp asked then-Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen for an opinion clarifying the DNRs authority in light of the 2012 law. Van Hollen said his office couldnt because it was representing the DNR in cases involving questions about its authority to regulate high-capacity wells.

In February, Schimels office conceded that his attorneys were also involved in such cases, but his spokeswoman said the offices conflict-of-interest guidelines are not binding.

This year a bill to ease replacement of high capacity wells was introduced but it wasnt put to a vote before the legislative session ended.

A series of court decisions over the years had expanded state authority to protect public waters.

The question of whether monitoring should occur and whether cumulative impact should be considered was a common dispute between those who wanted wells  large farms, food processers and frac sand mines are among them  and opponents such as lakefront property owners.
Western-backed forces encircle key town in northern Syria  BEIRUT  Kurdish-led fighters completed their encirclement Friday of a key town held by the Islamic State group in northern Syria, part of a Western-backed offensive that could see a major strategic victory over the militants. The advance on Manbij, near the Turkish border, coincided with a Syrian army offensive supported by Russian airstrikes that brought troops closer to the city of Raqqa, the IS extremists de facto capital.

Panel: Polands new police law allows privacy infringement  WARSAW, Poland  An international human rights commission has criticized Polands new law regulating police surveillance powers as leaving too much room for breaching the privacy of individuals. The Venice Commission, the Council of Europes body of constitutional law experts, said that safeguards included in the law that took effect in February to increase police surveillance powers are insufficient to prevent excessive use and unjustified interference with individual privacy.

Uganda to withdraw troops from Central African Republic  KAMPALA, Uganda  Uganda plans to withdraw all of its 2,500 troops from a mission in Central African Republic whose goal is to hunt down members of the Lords Resistance Army rebel group, a military official said Friday. Ugandan military spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said the rebel group no longer poses a threat to Uganda, where the rebels presence once forced millions of people to live in camps for the displaced.

Hindu holy man hacked to death in Bangladesh  DHAKA, Bangladesh  Assailants hacked a Hindu holy man to death Friday in northern Bangladesh and fled without anyone witnessing the attack, which police suspect was carried out by Islamist militants who have waged a violent campaign targeting the countrys secular writers, gay rights activists and religious minorities. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing of 60-year-old Nitya Ranjan Pandey.
Over the past several weeks, the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin hosted community discussions about local transportation concerns. We held sessions in La Crosse, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Janesville and Wausau.

Businesses, farmers, health care providers and local government officials across the state showed up and had stories to tell and perspectives to share about how transportation affects their regions.

While each part of Wisconsin has its own characteristics, economic drivers and set of issues, what we heard was remarkably consistent:

Reliability of the system is key to businesses competitiveness.

It is not an either-or. Wisconsins transportation system is a network  each component is essential.

Our transportation infrastructure is in disrepair.

Local governments are forced to do work arounds, which are not ideal, due to insufficient state funding.

It may be intuitive that transportation affects businesses bottom line, but hearing specific examples from company representatives brought the point home. Kwik Trip has had to implement shorter intervals between maintenance on their vehicles due to road problems. The I-39/90 corridor was called Van Galder Bus lines lifeline. Frito Lays sales are jeopardized if they fail to hit a one-hour window with their deliveries. The gentleman from Blains Farm & Fleet said the safety of his drivers keeps him up at night.

Farmers repeatedly shared stories of having their routes increased significantly due to bridges and roads that are now weight restricted. Timber producers are facing similar challenges.

Story after story confirmed what we learned in a recent report from TRIP, a national transportation research group that found Wisconsin roads are in tough shape. Its also why the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance gave our roads a D  the lowest grade on their 2015 report card.

From local government officials, we heard an all-too-consistent story as well. Due to a lack of state funding, many have increased their reliance on bonding to simply try and keep up. If it wasnt increasing bonding, it was increasing the property tax or in some cases a local wheel tax. A city of Marshfield official discussed an upcoming referendum to exceed the property tax limit and increase property taxes by over 10 percent to try and address several specific road projects. A town of Lisbon official shared a story about how residents showed up at the annual meeting and voted for the most aggressive option, which included bonding for $8 million in road repairs over the next two years. That $8 million is approximately twice the towns $4.5 million operating budget.

The other theme that was consistent was frustration. We heard business leaders and local government officials say, It shouldnt be this hard.

Other states have come to agreement on a solution to their transportation challenges. Over 20 states in the last several years have passed sustainable statewide transportation packages. Our neighbors in Michigan and Iowa are two of the more recent examples.

Listening to stories of Wisconsin businesses hampered because of our deteriorating transportation infrastructure was difficult. Hearing local officials talk about the piecemeal solutions they are forced to come up with wasnt any better.

In Wisconsin, we pay significantly less in our transportation user fees  meaning our combined vehicle registration fees and gas taxes  than any of our neighboring states. After listening to the effects on our business community and our citizens, the old adage of penny wise and pound foolish comes to mind.

Its time to Just Fix It Wisconsin.

Craig Thompson is executive director of the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin.
MADISON  Major changes to Wisconsins long-term care programs that would have moved away from nonprofit providers to for-profit insurance companies are being shelved after broad and forceful opposition from state lawmakers, consumers and other advocates.

State Department of Health Services Secretary Kitty Rhoades notified the co-chairs of the Legislatures budget-writing committee on Thursday that the planned changes were being withdrawn.

The surprise announcement from Gov. Scott Walkers administration came after the DHS in March notified lawmakers of its proposed changes to Family Care and the IRIS program, which stands for Include, Respect I Self-Direct. The programs are designed to keep more than 55,000 elderly and disabled out of nursing homes by offering long-term care in their homes.

Under the shelved proposal, insurance companies would oversee both a patients medical care and long-term help with things such as bathing, cleaning and cooking. Walkers administration said it would save money, but opponents said it would lead to fewer services and more hassles for participants.

The department had already delayed the implementation date for the changes to at least January 2018. But the withdrawal of its proposal could delay any changes even later, if they happen at all.

We are currently working through next steps and we will be working with members of the Legislature, advocates, and stakeholders to continue to make progress towards this goal and improve the quality, coordination, and cost-effectiveness of Medicaid services, said DHS spokeswoman Claire Yunker in an email.

Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said the administration would continue to work on improving Medicaid services in a cost effective way and that details would be released in the next two-year state budget proposal early next year.

Republican Rep. John Nygren, co-chair of the budget committee, called the decision unfortunate.

I firmly believe that we are missing an important opportunity to implement reform and bolster sustainability for health care for Wisconsins elderly and disabled, he said in a statement.

Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, who opposes the plan, said the news was bittersweet for people who have fought the changes for more than a year.

I wish I could say it is a victory for them but it just feels like Governor Walker and the department ran them through the ringer unnecessarily, Erpenbach said. There are some things in government that do not deserve to be measured with private company profit margin; care for the elderly and disabled is one of them.

The Family Care program currently operates through eight regional nonprofit managed care organizations. IRIS provides participants with money to pay for their own care. The programs are offered in all but eight of the states 72 counties.

The Walker administration wants to reorganize the system so that medical care and long-term care would both be overseen by insurance companies who apply to become integrated health agencies, or IHAs. The state would be divided into three zones, and each zone would be served by three IHAs selected through a competitive bidding process.

Walkers administration said the changes would save $300 million over six years, savings that are needed as the states population ages and demand for services increases.

Tom Frazier, who leads the Wisconsin Long-Term Care Coalition which is opposed to the changes, called the withdrawal a surprise but he expects a new proposal to come next year.

It was pretty clear this was not ready for prime time, Frazier said. It almost seemed like the more information the department put out, the more it drew opposition.

Fraziers group includes more than 60 groups representing consumers, advocates, managed care organizations and others.
Two flags will be removed from two separate stained glass windows at the Washington National Cathedral, cathedral representatives said recently.

The flags are stained glass reproductions of the flag of the Confederate States of America. They will be replaced with plain glass on windows honoring two Confederate generals: Thomas Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.

The Confederacy was a group of 11 southern states. They withdrew from the Union after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860.

At the time, the southern United States was largely agricultural, and depended on slave labor. Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery. The federal government rejected the claims of the southern states. The conflict led to the civil war, which lasted from 1861 to 1865.

Today, many Americans say the Confederate flag represents racism, slavery and rebellion. But others see the flag as a sign of the South, one that honors the areas history.

The removal of the stained-glass flags from the Washington National Cathedral is meant to start a discussion on racism and the legacy of slavery, says the Reverend Kelly Brown Douglas. She is a member of the task force that proposed the removal of the flags. The group will consider what to do with the windows in the next two years.

The public display of the Confederate flag has been subject to debates since the June 2015 killing of nine blacks at a church in South Carolina. The white man charged in the attack had his picture taken with a Confederate battle flag before the shootings.

Recently, the states of South Carolina and Alabama stopped displaying and flying the Confederate flag on public grounds. And some businesses have stopped selling the flag at their stores.

Im Dorothy Gundy.

This story first appeared on VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

What do you think about the removal of Confederate States of America symbols? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

stained  adj. of or relating to use of special liquid to change the color of something

legacy  n. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past

display  v. to put something where people can see it

institution  n. an established organization


How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Cant Change is the latest movie from filmmaker and climate activist Josh Fox.

The movie is the third film in a three-part series about climate change.

In 2010, Americas Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated Foxs documentary Gasland for its highest award -- an Oscar. Gasland explored fracking, the hotly debated process of removing natural gas from the ground. He examined the subject again in Gasland II, the second film in his climate change series.

Fox was in Washington, D.C. recently to present his third film. He was arrested during a protest against a new fuel pipeline. The arrest was evidence of his opposition to traditional fossil fuels and support of renewable energy.

In the film, Fox says pollution from fossil fuels must be reduced. Without limits, he says, there will be more extreme weather, like severe storms and dry weather, rising sea levels and shortages of food and water.

Its going to change in some of the most difficult and dangerous ways that we can imagine. When you really encounter that head on, it causes an incredible crisis. I think you go deep into some kind of despair and I think you ping-pong back and forth between that despair and, and denial.

Fox notes there are some things that climate cannot change.

And those are the things that are inside of us. Those are our value structure and that is what the film starts to define. If we start to really emphasize building community, building human rights, building democracy and the things that are inside -- courage, love, generosity, innovation, creativity. And I think those are some of the hallmarks or the pillars of what we talk about when we talk about activism, when we talk about a response to climate change.

In the new film, Fox travels through a sunless forest in the Amazon with local activists to measure oil spills. He goes to a village in Ecuador to learn how people there stopped a pipeline from being built. He joins young people in Australia to stop barges from entering the port of Newcastle -- the largest coal export center in the world.

(Islanders yelling We are not drowning, we are fighting! We are not drowning, we are fighting!)

Before I say anything else about this sequence, you should probably know that the downside of what were about to do was, you know, this is the short list: drowning, arrest, run over by boats, all kinds of sharks, jellyfish, any kind of sea creatures, drifting away in currents out into the Pacific Ocean, cultural disrespect, big waves -- well, you get the idea!

The port at Newcastle was forced to close for just one day. But Fox says that was a major victory.

I think that protest was incredibly effective. But what it also did was, it was a win internally for these folks and for all of us that we can celebrate. Then we realize resilience is one of the most important things going forward and these people exhibit so much resilience.

Also in the film, Fox talks to Ella Zhou, an energy expert with the U.S. Department of Energy. She works in China. She met him at the Great Wall to explain the importance of what she calls moral imagination.

I think that the moral imagination forces us to get out of our box of thinking about, for instance, what is being successful. The moral imagination allows us to think outside of this box, having a moral value about what you want as a person, as an individual, what you want out of your own humanity. What do you want to do for the world for yourself?

If there was any idea that could rocket you off into the stratosphere this was it. The moral imagination wrote The Bill of Rights, came up with the idea of democracy. -- Josh Fox

Fox is visiting 100 cities with his new film to try to bring attention to the efforts being made to fight climate change. His film will be shown on the television cable channel HBO soon.

Im Christopher Jones-Cruise.

VOA Science Correspondent Rosanne Skirble reported this story for VOANews.com. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted her report 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

encounter  v. to have or experience (problems, difficulties, etc.)

head on  adv. in a very direct way

despair  n. the feeling of no longer having any hope

ping-pong  expression alternating between two emotions

generosity  n. the quality of being kind, understanding and not selfish; the quality of being generous

hallmark  n. a quality, ability, etc., that is typical of a particular person or thing

response  n. something that is done as a reaction to something else

sequence  n. a series of scenes from a movie or television program; a part of a movie, television show, etc., that deals with one subject, action or idea

downside  n. a part of something that you do not want or like; a drawback or disadvantage

drift  v. to move slowly on water, wind, etc.

incredibly  adv. very

effective  adj. producing a result that is wanted; having an intended effect

internally  adv. referring to or describing something existing or occurring within your mind

resilience  n. the ability to become strong, healthy or successful again after something bad happens

exhibit  v. (somewhat formal) to show or reveal (something)

rocket you off into the stratosphere  expression give you great inspiration


The Philippine president-elect has a new program to fight crime.

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said people should go after drug dealers themselves.

In a speech, he said people with guns should shoot and kill drug dealers who refuse to be taken to a police station. The same is true, he said, if drug dealers threaten people with a gun or a knife.

"Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have a gun ... you have my support," Duterte said. "Shoot him, and I'll give you a medal."

His speech was reported on by the Associated Press.

Duterte won the May 9 presidential election on a promise to end crime and corruption within six months of taking office.

But his tough talk during and immediately after the presidential election has alarmed some. Human rights groups said that citizens could use the presidents words to kill people they dont like by saying they were drug dealers.

Rafendi Djamin is Amnesty Internationals Director for South East Asia and the Pacific. As leader of the Philippines, the president-elect must protect and uphold human rights, not reject them, he said. That includes the right to life, due process and fair trial."

As the longtime mayor of Davao City, Duterte put in tough penalties for crime. But Human Rights Watch said he went too far, using death squads to kill more than 1,000 people.

I'm Bruce Alpert.

Bruce Alpert wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on a story from the Associated Press and statements by Amnesty International. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section, and share your views on our Facebook Page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

medal  n. a piece of metal often in the form of a coin with designs and words in honor of a special event, a person, or an achievement want to hear from you.

alarm  v. to worry someone

uphold  v. to support or defend something or someone

squad  n. a part of a police force that deals with a specific type of crime


Hundreds of places across the U.S. use the word squaw, including Squaw Creek, Squaw Flat, Squaw Meadows and Squaw Springs, for example. In 1960, the Winter Olympics took place in a ski area called Squaw Valley, California.

But some people find the word offensive. It is an old word for an American Indian woman or wife. Many dictionaries note that the word is considered insulting. Few people use it in conversation anymore.

Now, some lawmakers and volunteers are trying to change place names that include the word squaw, and other demeaning words, with names that are currently more acceptable.

A history of racial and ethnic insults

Place names such as Squaw Valley are historic, but they are also signs of a time when racial and ethnic insults were a common part of American society.

Other places that include racial and ethnic labels are Negro Ben Mountain, Jew Valley, Chinamans Hat, and Redman Creek.

VOA generally does not broadcast these names or other, more-offensive names, or put them on our website, unless they are part of a news story. But many people continue to use these names. And they often still appear on maps and signs.

Lawmakers in six states have already approved bills to force or suggest changing controversial place names in their states. Committees must decide whether to keep a historical name even if some people may be insulted by it.

More than 30 offensive names

The state of Washington, in the northwest corner of the United States, is one of the places that is considering its place names carefully.

Pramila Jayapal is a Washington state senator. She convinced Washingtons Department of Natural Resources to create a list of insulting place names. She then published the departments report.

The agency found 36 names. They include Jim Crow Point and Jim Crow Creek.

In American English, the name Jim Crow was originally an insulting term for a black man. The term came to be used to describe laws that enforced racial separation in the United States from the 1870s -- after the Civil War -- to the 1950s and 1960s, when federal civil rights laws were passed that banned racial segregation.

Some people believe Jim Crow Point and Jim Crow Creek were named for a black man who deserted from the Navy and settled in the area in the 19th century.

But some area residents have different beliefs. One source says the name comes from a kind of bird -- called crows -- that lived in trees near a local river.

Another person who lives nearby, Joe Budnick, says Jim Crow Point and Jim Crow Creek were named after an Indian chief.

Budnick is a retired fisherman and truck driver. He says local people did not like state officials telling them to make changes to local place names.

The inference was that we were racists and that we were stupid and didnt know we were offending people and all this other stuff -- when were not, he complained.

Despite his objections to the political pressure, Budnick suggested some alternative names. He says Jim Crow Point could be named Brookfield Point because a town called Brookfield once existed in the area.

And, he says Jim Crow Creek could be named Harlows Creek, and Jim Crow Hill could be named Beare Hill, to honor a family that settled in the area long ago.

The state committee that reviews name suggestions liked Budnicks ideas. Committee members approved them for final consideration.

Political correctness? Or generally offensive?

Another targeted name in Washington is Squaw Bay in the states San Juan Islands.

Some islanders support changing the name. But others say doing so would be giving in to political correctness and would wipe away our history.

Jon Shannon lives on one of the islands. He says he would never call someone a squaw. But, he says, there is a difference between making it personal and the history that goes along with the place names that have been assigned historically. I guess I just dont see anything wrong with that.

Mike Iyall is a representative of the Cowlitz Native American tribe. He is also a member of the Washington State Committee on Geographic Names. He wants the word squaw to be removed from maps. Iyall says it is a generally offensive name for native people.

It doesnt have to be that everyone is offended, Iyall notes. If it is known to be offensive to some, that should be reason enough to change it.

A slow process

Changing a place name is usually a slow process. In most states, members of geographic names committees are volunteers. The committees may meet only twice a year.

Kyle Blum works at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. His agency is trying to make the name changing process faster.

Usually, Blum says, the agency just waits for suggestions. But now, his group is organizing public meetings to tell people they can change place names in their areas.

The first meeting will be in King County, where Coon Creek is located. It is not known if the name was given as a racial insult against a black settler, or because raccoons lived nearby.

Mike Iyall of the state Committee on Geographic Names says either way, the name could be changed.

In the case of coon, he says, if it is the animal, then it should be raccoon. If its a family name, then perhaps the gentlemans first name could be attached as well. Then, both become clear what were talking about.

Iyall is clear that any new name ideas must come from the people who live in the area. His committee only reviews suggestions.

I guess maybe somewhere down the road 200 years from now, somebody will go along and clean up our work, too, Iyall says with a laugh.

Im Christopher Jones-Cruise.

Correspondent Tom Banse reported this story from Olympia, Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly 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

place name  adj. the name of a city, town, lake, country, etc.

demean  v. to cause (someone or something) to seem less important or less worthy of respect

controversial  adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement or argument; likely to produce controversy

segregation  n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separate from each other

desert  v. to leave the military without permission and without intending to return

inference  n. a conclusion or opinion that is formed because of known facts or evidence

stuff  n. informal used to speak in a general way about something that is talked about, written about, etc.

alternative  adj. offering or expressing a choice

politically correct  expression the idea that people are sometimes overly or unnecessarily careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend a particular group of people

wipe away  v. expression eliminate; remove

assign  v. to give a particular value, identity, etc., to something

located  adj. in a specified place in or at that place

raccoon  n. a small North American animal with grayish-brown fur that has black fur around its eyes and black rings around its tail

attach  v. to associate or connect one thing with another; to add
Vacations are supposed to be fun and relaxing, but in these cases they were the exact opposite.
Deuel County Deputy Mike Hutchinsons fight to regain his county-provided health insurance continues.

County commissioners took no action Tuesday at their meeting inChappell,Nebraska, on a request fromHutchinson that the county pay for the insurance while he continues to recover from four gunshot wounds suffered while serving an arrest warrant in December. The county droppedHutchinson from its group plan May 31.

The matter is now on the boards agenda for its June 21 meeting.

Im really disappointed in guys I believed in,Hutchinson said afterward. I made a commitment to them and to the people ofDeuelCounty and they didnt stand by their commitment to me. They treated me like a hero, yet now Im being penalized because I did my job. I was injured in the line of duty.

Attorney Randy Fair of Ogallala representedHutchinson at the meeting. Fair also is theKeithCounty attorney.

Fair encouraged the board to provide health insurance for Hutchinson and his wife, Karyl, until Hutchinson can return to work by paying for either temporary group coverage known as COBRA or coverage through the federal marketplace.

I know there can be concerns about legal obligations or contractual obligations to provide it, but sometimes you have to do whats right, Fair said afterward. Hes still an employee. Hed work if he could. When youve been shot four times, its a long road to recovery.

Hutchinson received letters in late May from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska inOmaha and the Nebraska Association of County Officials stating that his coverage would be terminated at the end of the month, at the request of his employer.Hutchinsons reduction in hours of employment triggered the termination, according to the Nebraska Association of County Officials, which provides the countys group health plan.

Deuel County Attorney Joel Jay said he didnt know whether the commissioners would be able to do anything about the situation, according toHutchinson and Fair. Jay didnt respond to phone messages seeking comment.

Most ofHutchinsons medical bills and many other expenses related to the Dec. 3, 2015, shooting continue to be covered by workers compensation insurance.Hutchinsons wife has taken a leave from her job to care for her husband at home.
WASHINGTON  Bob Kerrey says he will not abandon his role as board chairman of a new university in Vietnam, despite a backlash among some in that country over his role in killing women and children during the war.

A recent New York Times story quoted several Vietnamese upset about Kerreys involvement, given his war record.

I cannot look at his face, Pham Thuy Huong, 40, of Hanoi, wrote on Facebook, according to the Times story. All the gruesome details of that genocide are still there.

On the other hand, the story also quoted Vietnamese who called for forgiveness and acceptance.

And Kerrey, a former Nebraska governor and U.S. senator, told The World-Herald that prevailing public opinion in Vietnam favors his participation in the project. He said there has been an outpouring of support from military and civilian leaders in Vietnam since the Times story was first published.

I do think that, in part, they want to have a conversation about what really happened in the war, Kerrey said.

Last month during a visit there, President Barack Obama highlighted the American-backed Fulbright University Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. It will be the first independent, private university in Vietnam.

Kerrey, a Democrat, pushed for legislation as a senator that laid the foundation for the school and sought to bring the U.S.and Vietnam closer.

But news of his position on the university board has prompted some harsh reactions stemming from Kerreys acknowledgment 15 years ago that his squad lied about a Feb. 25, 1969, raid on the village of Thanh Phong.

Squad members claimed to have killed 21 enemy soldiers, and Kerrey was awarded the Bronze Star.

In reality, however, the raiders killed civilians, including women and children, said Kerrey, a 25-year-old Navy SEAL lieutenant at the time. He has said he was haunted by that night.

Several of the villagers were killed to avoid giving away the squads position, while the rest were gunned down in what Kerrey has characterized as a confusing crossfire after someone shot at the SEALs.

He disputes an account from another member of the squad who said the women and children were rounded up and deliberately killed.

In a letter to the Times this week, Ton Nu Thi Ninh, Vietnams former ambassador to the European Union, noted that Kerrey has acknowledged the killing of women and children.

We cannot obliterate such facts by invoking the need to look to the future, he wrote in the letter. While Mr. Kerrey has expressed remorse over his role in the Thanh Phong massacre, a leadership position at a university with the status and ambitions of FUV, a joint American-Vietnamese venture set to start up in the fall of 2017, should not be viewed as an opportunity to atone for past wrongdoings.

Kerrey, who lost a leg on a later mission in Vietnam, said his work with the university is no quest for redemption.

I dont believe that you undo bad deeds with good works, he said. You either want to do good works or you dont.

He said the United States and Vietnam have a special relationship, one he has worked to foster for many years.

Theyre trying to build a country, and I think they like Americans, even those who fought in the war, he said.

Kerrey was president of the New School in New York from 2001 to 2010 and continues to be involved in the Minerva Project, a startup university that aims to disrupt traditional models of higher education.

Although he has ideas about how to structure the school in Vietnam, Kerrey is not sure how much hell be involved in those decisions. Rather, his primary role is likely to focus on raising money.

In any case, he has no plans to step aside. Doing so now, he said, would put the project at risk.

War has a tendency to draw people into living in the past, he said, and thats a mistake.

You cant change the past, he said. You can change the future, but you can only change the future if you dont live in the past.
There were a few days to go for the release of NH10  Anushka Sharmas debut film as a producer. In the corridors of the preview theatre where the movie was being screened for members of the Central Board of Film Certification, a tense Anurag Kashyap (co-producer) was pacing up and down. Along with him were waiting Anushka, NH10s director Navdeep Singh and the other co-producers  Madhu Mantena, Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane and Karnesh Sharma.

The door to the preview theatre opened and out strode Pahlaj Nihalani, the CBFCs chairperson. The NH10 team rushed to him, he muttered something, their faces fell, and then he walked out. As Nihalani got into his car, Mantena held his car door open.

Anurag refused to comment on what had happened  his Rs 120-crore magnum opus, Bombay Velvet, was due to release within a couple of months. It wouldnt do to get on the wrong side of Nihalani.

Theres just one word to describe how the NH10 team looked at that time: scared. Their films release had been delayed by a week; the revised guidelines of the CBFC were the reason. Finally, the film was cleared  but with an A certificate and nine cuts that Anushka and Navdeep were clearly unhappy about. The others, including Anurag, handled it more diplomatically.

Anurag may not have known at the time that just over a year later, he would be locking horns with Nihalani once again, this time, for his film Udta Punjab, about widespread drug addiction in the state of Punjab. After a well-publicised tussle between Phanton Films (co-producers of Udta Punjab, along with Balaji Motion Pictures) and the CBFC, which has asked for numerous cuts in the film, Anurag approached the Bombay High Court, which is due to pronounce its verdict on 13 June, Monday.

Their run-ns with the Censor Board as the CFC is commonly called may not have taken on the vociferous tones that the Udta Punjab fight has, but most filmmakers have their own tales to tell of clashes with Nihalani.

Bobby Khan, the director of Sunny Leone starrer Ek Paheli Leela, tells us that he was worried indeed when his film went in for certification, right after the NH10 issue.

I was very scared when I sent my film to the censors for the simple reason that if this could happen to Anushkas film then what about my film, which had Sunny Leone in the lead. I was tense  what if the film got stuck, or pushed ahead? Then the whole budget, promotions, strategically planned release date, getting theatres...everything would go for a toss. Just having Sunny in the film would have got it an A certificate, even I had shown her performing a puja. My film did get the A rating, but with no cuts. Its just the mindset. If my film had Kangana Ranaut or any other actress, I would have probably got a U/A, Bobby says.

National Award winning director Hansal Mehta still regrets accepting the cuts that he did for his film Aligarh, based on the story of Prof Ramchandra Siras. The trailer of his film  lauded everywhere for its deft handling of a sensitive theme  was given an A certificate. The CBFC also asked Mehta to delete a few scenes and what Mehta is particularly upset by, is that he had to spend time that could have been invested in publicising his film in resolving issue with the censors instead.

We had only one month before the films release. It is an important film which talks about loneliness, relationships and a homophobic society. The censor behaved exactly like those people who suspended Professor Siras. They (the board) are behaving like a homophobic society. You are breaking the back of a smaller film and making us run from pillar to post, Mehta had said.

He also admitted to feeling angry with himself for buckling under the CBFCs pressure  although he says that this experience will not stop him from making the kinds of films he wants to.

I am definitely not a careful director. If I have to say something, I will say it through my film. But yes, I have to be sensitive towards who is funding and financing my film. I have to do the balancing act. But then, yes, I was forced to sacrifice for Aligarh, said Mehta, calling for an end to the CBFCs current avatar and asking that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Arun Jaitley step in and bring about a long overdue revamp.

Fortunately the Bombay High Court has been scathing in its criticism of CBFC in the battle for the certification of Udta Punjab, Mehta adds.

Another producer, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, said that the release of his film (an adult comedy) was delayed by almost a year due to censorship issues. He suffered huge financial losses in the interim.

It affected us very badly. But I will continue to make films that I want to make, he said, adding that he wished to stay anonymous because Nihalani has the unmitigated gall of coming after everybody who speaks against him.

The whole process is so rough. He is dictatorial, power-hungry, politically skewed. The government is shooting from his (Nihalanis) shoulder, the producer added.

Inconsistencies and discrepancies prevail even in the application of censorship rules  sometimes the chairman is said to break his own rules and allow certain films to include cuss words, and giving them a U/A certificate.

One recent big release had cuss words like kameena, haraami, haraam khor, then another film showed women in poor light. There was violence against women and impolite references towards them in yet another film...all of this Nihalani had himself banned, but instead he's deleting words like 'saala' from other films. He keeps contradicting himself, a source from the CBFC told us. Small time producers are being harassed. The release of their films is getting postponed by 1-2 months and they cant take any action or go to court due to lack of resources. It's possible for the producers of Udta Punjab to fight and take the battle to court, but it's impossible for many others.

NH10's director Navdeep Singh told us the censor issues NH10 ran into were deeply upsetting "because the language used in the film reflected reality and chopping dialogues affected it". "If you are giving an adult certificate then whats the problem?," Singh says. "Let an adult rated film have adult content, why demand so many cuts and mutilate the film? It is unfair. We had Omkara way back in 2006...let us progress to another stage. After all, art reflects life and the films language should reflect real life. The State cant be nagging us  not everybody can make romantic films, or comedies. It is like punishment by process. Not everybody can fight in court, we need money and time for all that.
She's long been dogged by pregnancy rumours, but Kareena Kapoor Khan confirmed on Friday that she and husband Saif Ali Khan are not expecting a child at present.

Speaking with The Indian Express, Kareena laughed off the reports that she was in London with Saif as she wanted to keep her impending motherhood under wraps.

"Right now, there is nothing to say about it," Kareena said, when asked if she was expecting a baby. "God willing, hopefully (sometime). I am a woman."

Speculation that Saif and Kareena were to become parents reached fever pitch when the much-loved up couple took off for a long vacation in London. Some reports claimed that a baby bump could be spotted on the lissome actress in her jaunts about town.

There were even rumours that Kareena had chosen to freeze her eggs.

The actress addressed these rumours in a conversation with India Today. "What are these rumours? I am not pregnant. I am not planning to have a baby for the next two years. What rubbish people talk! I have not even gone anywhere. And when I decide to have a child, I will have it the natural way. I don't believe in freezing my eggs," Kareena said.
By Deepika Sarma

Film director Nagraj Manjules ex-wife Sunita has accused him of domestic abuse.

The woman who says that she now works as domestic help alleges that he forced her to have an abortion three times, hit her when she tried to resist, left her to cook and clean for his family while he pursued a film career, and when they divorced in 2014 after 15 years, he gave her only Rs 7 lakh, promising more when he was more successful, but never made good on it.

Consider this: Nagraj Manjule is the same man who, in an interview, said: I am tired of this world created by men, ruined by men. I want a woman now to build the world or mess it up. Manjule is being celebrated right now for his latest film Sairat  feted not just for its portrayal of an inter-caste couple in love and the reality of caste violence, but for its sensitive depiction of its female protagonist. Sairat is Archies story. The hero, Parshya, is secondary, Manjule said in the interview.

How do we reconcile Manjule, the sensitive filmmaker who seems to say all the right stuff, with Manjule, the man who allegedly put his wife through physical and emotional torture? When men whose progressive politics we think we know turn out to be no different from abusers who do not claim the distinction of being sympathetic to women, why are we so keen to overlook their transgressions in favour of their creative genius?

I ask this question because Manjule, if guilty, is by no means the first of his kind. No one has so far come forward to defend him publicly in the English media, but it would not be cynical to expect this. Recent history has thrown up Tarun Tejpal  journalist, writer, Tehelka founder, accused of raping a junior woman colleague. Aside from the many influential individuals who have sided with Tejpal on the case, a tabloid columnist recently referred to Tejpals raping as a grave error  not a criminal activity  and went on to ask, [W]as there really need for such a vociferous dragging through the coals? The writer lamented that Tejpal wasnt able to fight the good fight as a result of his vilification, but predicted a comeback, nevertheless.

Its terrifying how allegations of assault draw sympathy for abusers instead of the abused. Think of Woody Allen, who directed movies like Annie Hall and Blue Jasmine with women at their centre, and who is accused of sexually assaulting his daughter Dylan Farrow as a young girl. His daughters allegations have had little impact on his career, and many in the industry continue to work with him, either supporting him or choosing to separate his personal life  the realm in which they think allegations of assault belong  from his professional life.

When I think of these men Im reminded of the word brocialist: one writers term for the kind of man with righteous politics but a dodgy attitude to girls. In their company Id place Mahmood Farooqui  artist, Dastangoi storyteller, Peepli Live co-director  accused of raping an American research scholar who he and his wife were friends with, at his home. Lower on the scale, Id also place celebrated filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who on one hand made a short film about violence against women and on the other, supports Tarun Tejpal and pronounced with certainty after viewing illegally obtained CCTV footage that none of what the girl [allegedly raped in the Tehelka case] says about Tarun Tejpal is true.

Last month, Hollywood actor Amber Heard alleged domestic violence by her husband, superstar Johnny Depp. Depps former long-term partner Vanessa Paradis jumped up in his defence to say he was a sensitive and loving man, and could never do such a thing. But its hard to argue with photographs of Heards bruised face. No doubt Depps career will go on, as it has for many men before him, his artistic genius privileged over the fact that he may have beaten and wounded women in his life.

It isnt just men in the arts who are easily forgiven  take the case of the Stanford swimmer, Brock Turner, convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. Unlike other criminals, his mugshot was not released for months, and despite being convicted on multiple accounts, was given a measly sentence of six months as the judge was worried about the severe impact a longer sentence might have on the young, promising swimmer, never mind the impact of the assualt on the woman herself. Turner will likely only serve three months of his sentence.

In another interview after Sairats release, Manjule, who is Dalit, spoke of his struggles coming from a lower caste, and how he had to work as a watchman, man a telephone booth and iron clothes in order to fund his film career. But there is no mention of the woman he left behind to care for his family while he moved in dedicated pursuit of his career. Free of an allegedly oppressive and abusive husband, could Sunita Manjule have followed her dreams, forged an illustrious career of her own? And what of Tejpals victim, and Farooquis, who have had to take time out of their lives and careers to deal with police, with the judicial system and a probing media, not to mention the mental trauma they may always carry with them? If only we worried about preserving their creative genius instead of those of their abusers. If only we acknowledged that these women are fighting the good fight.

The Ladies Finger is a leading online womens magazine.
New Delhi - Mobile operators have committed to invest about Rs 12,000 crore to install about 60,000 towers to check call drops in India, telecom secretary J.S. Deepak said on Friday, but appeared dismissive of penal powers to regulator Trai saying it cannot be "one and final solution" to this menace.

To check call drops, Trai has demanded more teeth, including for imposing fine of up to Rs 10 crore on operators and jail term of up to two years for their executives, prompting the companies to term such powers as 'draconian'.

Responding to Trai's demand, Deepak said, "Business as usual cannot happen. I am not sure penal power will be one and final solution to this. In my personal opinion I do not agree that for every call drop a person has to be sent to jail.

That's my personal view. It is more sophisticated and more difficult. But we will take a view on what Trai has said."

The secretary said that mobile operators have committed to install 60,000 towers to improve service quality.

"Government believes in the telecom sector. The quality of service must improve and industry has responsibility. They have committed 60,000 towers. Each tower cost about Rs 20 lakh which is around Rs 12,000 crore. The industry will make this investment in next three months," Deepak told reporters after his first industry review meeting.

Each operator presented his 100-day plan for improving service quality and raised issues hampering improvement in the networks.

Most of the mobile service providers have frequently failed in quarterly sample call drop tests conducted by Trai but telecom operators have contested the results saying that they comply with benchmark set by the regulator.

To check the call drop menace, Trai had earlier directed operators to compensate their subscribers for dropped calls.

The order, however, quashed by the Supreme Court of India.

After analysing the apex court order, Trai has proposed amendments in laws to allow it to impose penalty of up to Rs 10 crore on mobile operators and jail term of up to two years on their executives for any violation of regulatory framework.
New Delhi - Denied boarding by an airline though you had reached the airport in time? Flight cancelled at the last minute, wrecking your work schedule or a family holiday? Help is at hand.

The DGCA on Saturday prosposed a slew of passenger-centric initiatives which will be implemented within a month. Compensation may be increased in case of denied boarding, flight cancellation, flight delays. Also, cancelling tickets booked through an agent will now be easier for the passengers.

But one welcome initiative which will be applicable from next week (all the others will take some industry consultation before becoming applicable) is a cut in charges for extra baggage on domestic flights. Now, if your check-in bag is over 15 kg but less than 20kg, extra charge has been capped at Rs 100 instead of up to Rs 300 earlier.

At present, domestic airlines, except national carrier Air India, allow passengers to carry 15 kg luggage free of cost. Air India allows passengers to check in with 25-kg bags without any cost. IndiGo, GoAir, AirAsia India and Air India charge passengers Rs 250 for carrying each kg extra baggage. SpiceJet charges Rs 300 a kg , Jet Airways Rs 350 a kg and Vistara Rs 320 a kg for economy class.

Though passengers will be pleased with lower extra baggage charges, this move will hit airlines' revenues. Many ultra low-cost carriers internationally do not allow any free bags, they charge for every kg being carried on a flight.

Charging for every bag, food, seat selection etc on board is a common practice by airlines since it helps lower fares for those passengers who do not chose to avail of one or all of these services. WIth DGCA proposing an increase in free baggage allowance for domestic sectors, airlines will be none too happy. Anywhere between 5-10 per cent of an airlines revenue in India comes from such ancillary services.

In other proposals, the DGCA has also mooted one which bars airlines from charging a ticket cancellation fee more than the base fare (outside of taxes and fuel surcharge) of a ticket. This is another bitter pill for airlines, which have recently hiked cancellation charges on all sectors.

Then, DGCA has also proposed that in case you bought your ticket from an agent and not from the airline directly, the airline will now need to ensure a refund in case of cancellation within 15 days for domestic travel and within 30 for international travel. As of now, airlines are not involved in such cases on refunds and agents give passengers a hard time.

In case your flight has been overbooked and you are denied boarding despite reaching in time, up to Rs 10,000 will be given as compensation by the airline if an alternate flight is not offered by the airline within one hour. Upto Rs 20,000 will be given by the airline in case you were scheduled to travel on a flight owith block time of over two hours and the alternate flight is available after 24 hours. Similarly, increased compensation is also proposed in case an airline cancels a flight but does not inform passengers in time.

This could mean up to Rs 10,000 in compensation in case your flight is over two-hours' duration and has been cancelled.

DGCA M Sathiawathy said the airlines have already been consulted on all these measures and they have agreed to the poposals. But with major changes in cancellation fees, excess baggage allowance charges and other payouts, the airlines are suret to oppose these moves in the consultation process which has now begun.
Liberty House Group, which wants to buy the British assets of Tata Steel , has its eye on other steel plants in the United States, Africa and India if the Tata deal doesn't happen, Executive Chairman Sanjeev Gupta told Reuters.

Liberty and other companies belonging to the Gupta Family Group (GFG) are looking for acquisitions and GFG plans to list part of its assets to expose itself to the rigorous governance demanded of public companies, Gupta, who is co-owner of the group, said on Friday.

"We are discussing various alternatives but something within the group will be listed within the next 12-18 months," he said.

"Its ambitious but thats what were going to try to do," he said.

He did not say where the group planned to list. GFG companies are particularly interested in turnaround assets, Gupta said.

"Whatever we have bought so far has been cheap and weve managed to turn them around," he said. "Every single one of our peers is out there trying to deleverage, dumping high-quality assets into a market that doesnt want to buy them," Chief Investment Officer Jay Hambro said.

Liberty is one of a number of companies that have put forward offers to buy Tata Steel's loss-making UK operations and save thousands of jobs in Britain, whose steel industry has been hit by cheap Chinese imports, high energy costs and a global supply glut.

"If it happens then for the short to medium term we would be focussed on the UK. But if it doesnt happen then we have a few options in the US, in Africa, again India where we are looking at opportunities," Gupta said, referring specifically to steel plants.

Liberty and its sister company SIMEC each have assets worth about $400 million, with no long-term debt, and the group also includes an investments arm worth a further $200 million, Gupta said.

GFG agreed late last year to buy Britain's Tungsten Bank for about 30 million pounds (USD43 million).

"Its somewhat of a distressed asset that we will completely reinvigorate and launch as a specialist trade finance bank," said Hambro.

SIMEC, which has energy, mining and infrastructure assets, is also looking at coking coal assets in Australia, Gupta said.

SIMEC is planning a major expansion of its European trading operations with a new Geneva office and new hire Ugur Hekimoglu as head of oil, it said in a statement.

The company is building a depot in Britain to store and distribute oil products, and in principle it would be interested in upstream and downstream assets as well, such as mid-sized oil refineries in areas where the firm already has a strong presence, Gupta said.

"The UK and Europe is the first place - but its not the only place. Wed look at Asia, Middle East, Africa, even America," he said.

The GFG group, owned by Gupta, his father PK Gupta and family trusts, aims to raise earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to $300 million in 2020 from $140 million this year, with net assets rising to $1.75 billion from $1 billion. Gupta did not provide a profit figure but he said the group had almost no depreciation or interest expenses.
In response to a Times Now report that said top MHA officials were partying in Pakistans Murree during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told ANI I don't know why reports are saying that we were holidaying in Murree hill station. All the MHA officials stayed at Murree for a few hours because the hosts (Pakistan) had made arrangements.

Don't know y reports say we wr holidaying in Murree, we stayed few hours coz hosts made arrangements: Madhukar Gupta pic.twitter.com/mamagT2vsz  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

On Thursday, Times Now had reported that a team of top intel officials who were visiting Pakistan for talks were asked to extend their stay. Pakistan Government ensured they stayed back and were taken to Murree, a hill station close to Islamabad. They were taken to a no network zone which meant they were out of reach. Two top officials have confirmed that Pakistan tricked India into ensuring MHA top brass stayed back while the attacks were on.

A former MHA official told The Times of India, Pakistan had insisted they meet the Interior Minister and that's the reason for their extended stay. However, Gupta did accept that they found the gesture of the Pakistan government of accommodating Indian officials in Murree odd.

Madhukar Gupta former Home Sec on Indian delegation extending stay in Pakistan 2008: We did find it odd about Murree pic.twitter.com/ta8RQEoTs8  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

"Though we had been staying in Islamabad for two days, the host country made special plans to shift us to a nearby hill resort in Murree. In retrospect, it leads us to suspect if the real motive was to delay or weaken the response of Indian security brass to the 26/11 strikes," said a former bureaucrat told The Times of India.

Dismissing reports that there was no television signal in Murree, Gupta said that he got a call from India and immediately switched the TV on. When he saw the attack in Mumbai, he contacted the senior leadership.

Also inaccurate that no signal in Murree, I got a call from India, switched on TV, saw the attack in Mumbai: M.Gupta pic.twitter.com/9m9DXp1fHt  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

Gupta further said, As soon as we saw the terror strike, we spoke to whoever had to be spoken. Nobody knew 26/11 would happen. He termed it a mere speculation that their stay was extended because Pakistan knew about 26/11.

Also inaccurate that no signal in Murree, I got a call from India, switched on TV, saw the attack in Mumbai: M.Gupta pic.twitter.com/9m9DXp1fHt  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

However, he did blame Pakistan and its duplicitous role in the Mumbai terror attacks. Gupta also rejected the claim that the absence of top officers of internal security at the MHA during the attacks delayed the decision-making process, according to a report by Zee News. An Under-Secretary from Home Ministry said control room was not manned. Then this was corrected. Information was conveyed that day, he said.

Duplicitous role of Pakistan is absolutely clear, its not the first time: Madhukar Gupta, former Home Secy pic.twitter.com/scJptM1JkM  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

Gupta further questioned how his physical presence would have changed things during the 26/11 attacks and what purpose would it serve to investigate eight years later.

All kinds of things were said eg NSG arrived late. How could that have changed with my physical presence? : M.Gupta pic.twitter.com/E2TFx4emcK  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

Shivraj Patil, former Home Minister wants a proof from the people who are claiming that there was a conspiracy to delay Indian officials in Murree.

Those who r saying there was a conspiracy to delay them in Murree, there has to be proof, I can't say: Shivraj Patil pic.twitter.com/ASoijKLWau  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

Responding to reports that the NSG arrived late, Patil said that it was ready within an hour but there was no aircraft. Claiming that law and order is a state subject and the Mumbai police was handling the attacks, he said that they still sent their forces quickly.
Haryana Education Department has issued a ruling banning elementary and middle school teachers from wearing jeans at work. The directive, issued on 4 June, is to ensure that teachers "set an example" for the students by dressing in formal and appropriate clothes.

The Tribune quotes PK Das, Additional Chief Secretary, School Education Department, as saying, Besides banning jeans, we will ensure they do not come in flashy clothes, such as a red shirt or a loud printed one. Also, all the shirt buttons should be fastened, he said. The orders would be applicable for teachers in secondary schools too."

Take a look at some of the craziest dress codes that have been imposed in our country:

No jeans, only salwar kameez or sarees

In 2012, Haryana's Women and Child Development Department had given a directive to its women employees to be dressed in salwar kameez or sarees and avoid wearing jeans and T- shirts to work. The decision was withdrawn later.

Ruling since 1975

Adarsh Women College in Haryana has a dress code since 1975 that mandates girls to wear white salwar kameez on Mondays and on the other days they can wear salwar kameez of their choice. The dress code extends even to the staff. In 2012, they fined four girls for wearing jeans with T-shirts. The justification? "With the changing time, we have allowed the girls to wear jeans paired with long kurta, but these girls were wearing T-shirts," says the college principal.

Entry only with ivory- green striped shirts

Another bizarre order came from the Surat Municipal Corporation. Their dress code mandated male teachers to wear ivory-green striped shirts with dark green trousers and the female teachers to wear sarees.

Say no to "immodest dress, sleeveless blouses"

Last year, Nadakkavu, a women's college in Kozhikode, run by the Muslim Educational Society (MES) put a ban on jeans, leggings and purdahs, allowing the girls only to wear chudidar and overcoat on campus. The circular stated the girls shall not wear immodest dress, sleeveless blouses, short skirts and short tops.

Dress codes for temples

The Madras High Court mandated a dress code for temples in Tamil Nadu from 1 January, 2016. Banning jeans for both men and women, the court directed men to wear dhoti and shirt or pyjama 'with upper cloth' and women to wear saree or half-saree or churidhar 'with upper cloth'.

Can you beat this?

A college in Tamil Nadu, Sri Sairam College of Engineering, can take the prize for the strangest rules on dress codes. A circular titled 'Big NOs For Girls', goes into intricate details like 'No banyan top type pant', 'No big size stud or ring', 'No very high heels or fancy slippers' and to the extent of mentioning 'Two sides of dupatta should be compulsorily pinned up'.

Dress code for parents!

Another engineering college in Tamil Nadu, RMD College of Engineering, has a ban on jeans. Not only for students and teachers, but even for the parents! When a blogger came to the college, dressed in denims, to give a guest lecture, he was turned back and asked to change into formal clothing before entering the campus.
It was perhaps the most candid outline of what lies ahead for the solar power sector in India. Upendra Tripathy, secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, spoke of the big plans that lie ahead for this sector. He said this while delivering the keynote address at the FPJ-IMC Forum on Solar Energy: The Agony and the Ecstasy.

Tripathy began by pointing out the problem he had with the theme. I did not understand the theme. . . . We find no agony in any of this. And then began outlining the factors that make his ministry and his government quite exuberant about this sector.

True, he admitted, there was a period when nothing made sense. Nobody in the ministry knew how it would meet a target of 100 GW of solar power. Even today, with under 20 GW of capacity in the solar power sector over the past seven years, there were questions about the governments ability to set up another 80 GW of capacity within the next six years. There was also the question about money. Who would finance the 80GW of solar capacity? At a cost of Rs 5 crore per MW of installed capacity, the total funding required could be as much as Rs 4 lakh crore.

But things began looking brighter when the ministry decided to hold a meeting with potential investors and seek out their interests. By the time the exercise was over, the ministry had commitments for 277,000 megawatts (277 GW). As Tripathy put it, [We were now confronted with] a second challenge because what you do with 277,000 megawatt. You need only 100,000 megawatts.

Then, there was a third challenge, How do we tackle [the issue of] land?

But what the investor meet did was, It brought in a number of companies together and they feel safe to participate in the process, explained Tripathy. And just three days ago, we got signed documents for commitment of the banks to give 77,000 megawatt financing. And we had a meeting with the chiefs of the banks, some 28 public sector banks, and we are so happy to say that the banks have met their objective. They have kept their promise. Some 20 percent of the money almost  that day Rs 88,000 crore they had given to the renewable energy sector.

These developments have given the ministry tremendous confidence.

As for land, We brought experts, we got you know agencies which said land is not going to be a problem. And we said fine if land is going to be an issue 40,000 megawatt of this we'll take out and put it in the rooftop which requires no land and that is how the finance minister is very comfortable with this idea that 40,000 megawatt out of 100,000 megawatt won't require land, said Tripathy.

This was the first time that the MNRE had announced that there would be no requirement of land for at least 40,000 (40 GW) of solar power!

Then came the issue of capital, how do you get money? You can't issue  we don't have a very bond friendly market. There are no green bonds. There are no payment security mechanisms in place, explained Tripathy. But we have got brilliant support from the private sector banks. We have got excellent support from the public sector banks, he said with a smile.

Then state governments came forward with their commitments. I am proud to say that Karnataka today has some 2,000 megawatts, almost 10,000 acres of land, they have got through a society, which is leased out to the developers of the solar power system in there. And nothing was acquired or notified to that extent. It is just a farmers society they made, and they leased out the land to the park. Indian jugaad (innovation) was at work. And one by one each problem was being knocked down.

The next problem on the anvil was manpower. Do you have sufficient engineers? Do you have IPPs? Do you have the ECPs and do you have the trained mechanics, who can actually attend to whether your rooftop or solar part requirements?, were the questions that Tripathys team came up with. After all, unlike the West, India has the problem of dust. Every alternate day or at least once a week you have to wash the equipment.

Another vexatious issue was the anti-dumping duty of 45 percent which had already been notified. The ministry knew that with the imposition of this duty, the achievement of 100 GW would become quite difficult. After all, India imports 73 percent from China and some 17 percent from Malaysia. The MNRE is working to get this waived.

And the biggest challenge was an internal milestone the ministry had set for itself. Although the Prime Minister had promised the nation that his government would move towards installing 100 GW of solar power by 2022, the ministry wanted to do this by 2020.

That was when the ministry came up with a plan to train 50,000 mechanics under a scheme called Surya Mitra. To get his service, the ministry would release an app which would allow you to call an engineer who would charge you Rs 150.

The ministry was also rewarded with an increase in its budget from Rs 1500 crore to Rs 9,000 crore  a six times' increase within two years.

More good news followed. Carbon cess collections in India went up from Rs 50 crore to Rs 400 crore. Then the RBI allowed Rs 1,500 crore to be disbursed to this industry as priority sector lending. Thus, an investment of Rs 10 lakh for rooftop solar will be treated as priority sector lending.

Thus, while household rooftops will enjoy a subsidy, commercial and industrial rooftops wont. This is because, as Tripathy explains, the tariff benefits for industry and the commercial sectors are immense. Hence, Delhi Metro has informed the MNRE that for every unit of solar energy we take, we save around Rs 4. It is now planning to produce 500 MW Madhya Pradesh and bring it to Delhi for the use of its metro services. Meanwhile the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court too has plans to source 100 percent of the court's power requirement through solar power. The MNRE is working to extend this concept to all government buildings as well.

We are now working on a scheme to finance 10,000 unemployed graduates, which would enable each to set up 1 MW of solar capacity. We want to make them solar entrepreneurs, added Tripathy. Today, he is certain that his ministry has the confidence to set up 100 GW of power in eight months time  technically speaking. A lot will depend on how fast states will also move. This is because much of the new solar installations will come up as decentralised cluster power generation stations for remote and unconnected villages. This way, the state governments save costs on laying down transmission lines, reduce theft, and most importantly provide power to all before the turn of this decade.

There could be a small problem with urban or industrial rooftops, however. Unlike the US or Germany where household tariff is almost four to five times that of industrial tariffs (industry is subsidised), India has tariffs that work the other way. Industrial and household tariffs are higher than for farmer and economically weaker sections. If households and industry were to take up (cheaper) solar power, the state would lose its most lucrative customers which help it subsidise power for farmers and for economically weaker sections.

But with battery/storage costs plummeting, and solar panel costs going down, the era of decentralised, off-grid power is not far away. What happened to the telecom sector when mobile phones made copper wires redundant could happen to the power sector as well.

Moreover, as Tripathy says, For every megawatt of solar that you put, you know, 50 vehicles go out of the road, 2 percent (of population) dont die premature deaths, who otherwise die of (poor) air quality. So if you are an active partner; either a company, or a consultant, or anything that you are playing a role now in the solar revolution you should be feeling very proud of it.
Newly-elected village panchayat head of Harnaut village in Nalanda district was shot dead by unknown assailants. Reports suggested political vendetta could be the reason behind the attack.

Poonam Devi, the newly-elected panchayat head and a resident of Hasanpur, was on her way to the Harnaut market on a bike, when reportedly three unknown bike-borne men came and shot five rounds at her from close range, ANI reported. Devi was riding pillion on the bike.

Nalanda (Bihar): Newly elected 'mukhiya' Poonam Devi shot dead in Nalanda, locals block roads in protest last night pic.twitter.com/HZexIpEa99  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

According to an Aaj Tak report, Poonam Devi died on spot, but the bike rider with her escaped unscathed. The assailants immediately fled from the spot. In the wake of the attack, local residents surrounded Poonam's body and blocked roads protesting against the brutal attack against the local leader.

Following, Poonam Devi's murder, the members of the Bihar's NDA launched a protest in Patna against the worsening law and order situation in the state.

Patna: NDA leaders and workers protest against law and order situation in Bihar pic.twitter.com/wX3pokoMRo

Crime rates in Bihar have been on the high, often giving the Opposition parties the chance to brand Nitish government as the return of the 'Jungle Raj'. Within two months of Nitish Kumar coming to power for the second term, over 570 cases of murders were reported, according to a Zee News report.

Earlier in May, a senior journalist with the Hindi daily Hindustan, was shot dead in broad daylight in Siwan district, drawing much flak to the Bihar government. Lok Janshakti Party leader Sudesh Paswan was also murdered along with his cousin in the same month. Earlier in February, two other such political murders of LJP leader Baijnath Singh and BJP leader Vishweshwar Ojha  raked up the Jungle Raj debate once again.
Mumbai: CBI has arrested Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member Virendrasing Tawde in connection with the murder of noted rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013, the first in the case by the agency.

He was arrested late on Friday night from Panvel near Mumbai and will be produced before a special court in Pune this afternoon.

The Samiti is linked to Goa-based radical Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha, which had come under the scanner for the murder of another rationalist Govind Pansare in February 2015.

"CBI has arrested Virendra Singh Tawde in an ongoing investigation of a case related to murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar.

"He will be produced around 3 pm in designated court on Saturday, Pune. Investigation is continuing," CBI Spokesperson Devpreet Singh said on Saturday.

It is the first arrest in the case after the Mumbai High court in May 2014 handed over the probe to the CBI in the fatal shooting of Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, in broad daylight on 20 August, 2013.

The killings had sparked outrage in the country with several eminent writers and other personalities returning their awards over "rising intolerance".

The agency had recovered some material during its earlier searches in connection with the murder case which brought the needle of suspicion on Tawde, believed to be an ENT surgeon and an alleged follower of 'Sanatan Sanstha' activist Sarang Akolkar, against whom Red Corner Notice was issued by Interpol in July 2012 in connection with the 2009 Goa blast case on NIA request, CBI sources said.

The sources said CBI had questioned him, in different sessions, since 2 June when his residence was searched.

The residences of Tawde and Akolkar were searched by the agency which recovered several SIM cards, cell phones and data from computer, they said.

They said the two were investigated after the agency found some "cyber forensic evidence" about their alleged role in the murder case of Dabholkar.

34-year-old Akolkar is suspected to be one of the key conspirators in the murder of Dabholkar. He has been on the run ever since his name cropped up during NIA investigations in the Goa blast case.

NIA had secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him in 2012 but security agencies are yet to track him down.

Meanwhile, Dabholkar's son Hameed termed the arrest of Tawde as the "first big" step by CBI in the "right direction". He, however, added that had this action been taken immediately after Dabholkar's murder, subsequent deaths of Pansare and Kannada scholar M M Kalburgi could have been avoided.

Arrested person is from Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, had this been done before my father would be alive-Hamid Dabholkar pic.twitter.com/LoxR1KbGTV  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

"Though, the action has come very late, it is still a big step in the right direction by CBI. Hope the investigators reach the main perpetrators with this arrest and also arrest other suspect Sarang Akolkar," he said.

We demand from CBI that the mastermind behind his murder should be brought to justice asap: Hamid Dabholkar (Son, Narendra Dabholkar)  ANI (@ANI_news) June 11, 2016

Medha Pansare, daughter-in-law of Govind Pansare said, "Since the role of such extremist outfits has been exposed in Pansare and now in Dr Dabholkars case, we demand that government should take stern action against such outfits."

She also demanded that the CBI team, investigating Dabholkar's murder and Special Investigation team, working in Pansare's case, should co-ordinate with each other to look for similar links as in both cases the same outfit is allegedly involved.

Sanatan Sanstha spokesperson Abhay Vartak termed the arrest of Tawde as part of a conspiracy to malign the organisation, which is doing social work. "A lot of our sadhaks are being targeted by the authorities for no fault of theirs. This is all a bi g conspiracy," Vartak told PTI.

Sanstha will hold a media briefing in Mumbai this evening, after Tawde is produced in a Pune court, Vartak said.

Meanwhile, Sanatan Sanstha lawyer told PTI in Pune that the arrest of Tawde, a qualified ENT surgeon, was "mysterious" and wondered whether the case against him would stand in the court.

He also alleged that investigating agencies were acting under "pressure" from the Dabhokar family which had been accused of "corruption" by the Sanstha members.
With the conclusion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-nation tour on Friday, the strategic objectives of Indian diplomacy seem to be getting a clearer focus in contrast to the ambivalence of the past.

This seems to be the dominant view of Indian diplomats, who play important roles in defining the terms of engagement with foreign countries. Apart from looking at Modis visit from the prism of his roaring reception in US, the Indian government is attaching equal significance to his visits to Afghanistan-Qatar and Switzerland-Mexico.

The Afghanistan-Qatar visit was primarily aimed at reassuring the Islamic block of nations about Indias readiness to engage with critical countries. This assumes significance in view of the fact that Modi undertook his second visit to Afghanistan to inaugurate infrastructure projects built with Indian help  including Salma dam, one of India's major reconstruction works in Afghanistan.

Similarly, the significance of Qatars role in the Middle East can hardly be undermined. That the relationship assumed a distinct profile was evident by the expressed bonhomie between PM Modi and the Qatars royal family. In a meeting with a business group, some members euphemistically offered blank cheques to invest in India.

Official sources in the government admit that though the Qatar-Afghanistan visit was intended to serve many strategic objectives  domestic and international  his Switzerland-Mexico engagement was focused on convincing two crucial members of the nuclear supplier group (NSG) of Indias credentials as a nuclear nation.

India has been facing stiff resistance from a small group of nations, particularly from China, on its entry into the elite NSG. Much of the resistance emanates from these nations reluctance to facilitate the entry of a country which is not a signatory to non-proliferation treaty (NPT). In Indias assessment, China has been deliberately using this pretext to advance Pakistans case for entry into the NSG.

In his five-nation tour, Modi seemed to have diplomatically convinced the international community about Indias credible credentials as nuclear power, and its track record on non-proliferation. Sources in the government say that Indias record on nuclear safety and non-proliferation was much appreciated in US, while the government chose not to broach the issue of Pakistans application for entry into the NSG.

Given Pakistans dubious record on proliferation and transfer of technology to North Korea, there is strong scepticism in US and Europe about allowing Pakistan into the elite club.

The Indian government, it seems, is not overtly optimistic about the possibility of China giving in to international pressure led by US to let India occupy a place in the NSG. Yet the government sources are downplaying China's role as they see a ray of hope of the possibility of a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the side-lines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting to be held on 23-24 June in Uzbekistan.

The biggest take away from the tour, however, is the unqualified commitment of US to set up nuclear reactors in India to fulfil green and clean energy requirements, and to allow liberal licensing in defence deals to help the governments 'Make in India' programme.

Sources say that the fear of nuclear liability was adequately dispelled and that there are signs to suggest that the foreign firms and Indias private sector will invest heavily in nuclear power projects. At the same time, Indias credentials as a credible nuclear nation have already enabled it to trade in nuclear items following the removal of waivers by US, after clinching the Indo-US nuclear deal during last phase of UPA-1 government.

The government is particularly enthused about the liberal licensing regime unique to India as it would help India to acquire defence manufacturing in a big way, and create large-scale employment opportunities. It is in this context that India defined US as an indispensable partner to promote skill development, build smart cities and help build digital and eco-friendly infrastructure in the country.

In the diplomatic circle, Modis visit is thus being interpreted as one that has brought about radical change in terms of engagement. Apparently in the context of Afghanistan, where US was often sceptical of Indias initiatives in the troubled region, there are now talks of much more cooperation.

Similarly, it was for the first time that an Indian prime minister candidly expressed his opinion in a joint session of the US Congress about terrorism being "incubated" in a country (Pakistan) and appreciated the US administration for desisting to reward the culprits.

He also talked about delinking religion from terrorism and cautioned against making a distinction between a good terrorist and a bad terrorist. Official sources say that the plain-talking was much required in the current political scenario of US, which is passing through a phase of uncertainty.

In sum total, official sources view the tour as a success in bringing Indias strategic objectives a lot more clarity than the past. Though they are still keeping their fingers crossed on the issue of Indias entry into the NSG. At the same time, they feel that Chinas obstacle is not as insurmountable as it is made out to be.
New Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday held discussions with industry representatives who presented their concerns and recommendations on strategic partnerships that the government plans to enter with private firms in critical sectors of defence manufacturing.

Parrikar met with the five-sub groups that were set up to have a focused discussion on the subject.

They gave their presentations before the minister and the ministry will now study the recommendations in detail before going in for more meetings, defence sources said.

The five sub-groups are focused on armoured fighting vehicles (AFV), aircraft and helicopters, submarines,

ammunition and macro process management of issues.

Former DRDO chief VK Aatre had earlier this year submitted a report to the defence ministry recommending guidelines for selecting domestic private firms for strategic partnership.

However, Indian private defence industry is divided over the issue with some big players batting for it while others pushing to delay it by at least next five years.

Parrikar has already held a round of talks with the industry chambers over the issue.

The feeling among several private industry players is that only the big firms will benefit out of this move.

However, many large firms are not open to the idea since they feel they would be restricted to just specific fields

and, therefore, their overall investment and plans will get affected.

PTI
Aligarh: Two policemen including an inspector were on Saturday suspended and a case was filed against them following suicide by a youth who was allegedly tortured during police interrogation in connection with a theft case here.

Anshul Mishra (21) ended his life on Friday triggering protests from local residents.

According to the complaint filed by the family of the deceased, he was picked up for interrogation by the police a day after an incident of chain snatching on 5 June. He was allegedly kept in police custody for three days and subjected to "third degree torture". He was released from police custody three days later after the complainant of the theft case clearly denied his involvement in the chain snatching case, the complaint said.

Two days ago, however, Anshul was again called up by the police for questioning. His family members said that after returning from police station he appeared highly disturbed and yesterday morning he reportedly consumed some poison and died shortly

after.

As news of the incident spread, a large group of protesters gathered outside his house in Ghanshyampuri and blocked the road till last night. The protesters, however, decided to call off their agitation after senior police officials assured them that action will be taken against the guilty policemen and all efforts will be made to provide financial aid to the Anshul's family.

Senior Superintendent of Police Luv Kumar told reporters today that Inspector Kamal Singh Yadav and an another policeman has been suspended and an inquiry instituted into the incident, which would be conducted by the SP (City) Atul Srivastava.
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The BJP's senior leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has won the Rajya Sabha election from Jharkhand. Also, MJ Akbar won the polls from Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile, all seven candidates from the Samajwadi Party won in Uttar Pradesh.

Wherever BJP is there, cross voting and horse trading happens; still we won crucial seats:GN Azad,Cong on RS results pic.twitter.com/Ux8Xo1tlfS

The ruling BJP clinched both Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand on Saturday as cross-voting helped the party to defeat the united opposition, reports IANS.

AS a RS MP from Jharkhand, all-round development of state & its people will be my priority.

"I want to thank the people of Rajasthan; and as an MP from the state I will try to work towards development of the state," Om Mathur told reporters.

In Rajasthan, there was jubilation in the BJP camp after declaration of the result, with party MLAs and workers setting off firecrackers and dancing.

Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati is the 13th descendant of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji. He was nominated to fill the vacancy of a nominated member, said an official statement.

The BJP made significant gains in the Rajya Sabha by winning 12 seats on Saturday, thus marginally narrowing the gap with the opposition Congress in the upper house where the ruling party is in a minority, IANS reported.

Voting for the three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh in which two BJP candidates senior journalist MJ Akbar and Anil Dave and Congress nominee Vivek Tankha are in the fray, began on Saturday with MLA Ramniwas Rawat casting the first ballot at the State legislative assembly here.

After Rawat who is the Congress chief whip in the State Assembly, BJP MLA Girish Gautam cast his vote. In the polling, 228 members of the House are expected to take part.

The election that began here at 9 am will end at 4 pm after which the counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 5 pm, Rajya Sabha returning officer in MP Bhagwandev Israni told PTI. Besides the three official candidates, a BJP leader Vinod Gotia openly backed by the saffron party too, as an Independent candidate is in the poll ring.

He has thrown his hat in the election arena as part of the BJP's bid to increase its tally in RS where it is in a minority and to defeat Tankha, who right now looks comfortable to sail through to the Upper House with the support of BSP's four MLAs. Each candidate need 58 votes to go to the Upper House of Parliament.

BJP official candidates Akbar and Dave are set to win elections as the saffron party has 164 votes in its kitty now following the death one of its MLAs Rajendra Dadu in a road accident on June 9. The apex court has restrained BJP law maker Rajendra Meshram to vote following a petition.

But Gotia's future looks bleak as even if the 48 surplus votes of BJP goes to Gotia, he won't scrape through given he needs 10 more ballots to reach the magic number. On the other hand, Congress was having 57 members in the 230 member House. It is short of just one vote.

But BSP chief Mayawati has already issued a whip to its four MLAs to salvage Tankha. Meanwhile, all eyes are set on the three Independent MLAs in MP. They have not yet opened their cards regarding which way they will go.

Amid charges and counter charges of horse trading, fierce contests are on the cards especially in Karnataka, where a sting by TV channels has indicated that parties have big stakes in the polls for the Rajya Sabha. In an effort to increase its own numerical strength in the Upper House, where the government lacks majority, the BJP has supported some independent candidates to ensure that the Congress is not able to win any extra seat. It has also fielded its candidates in some states to grab seats from others.

Allegations of bribing JD(S) and Independent MLAs have marred the polls in Karnataka but the Election Commission has rejected demands for cancelling them.

All eyes are on Uttar Pradesh, where elections are being held to 11 seats. Interest is centred around a fight between Sibal and a BJP-backed independent socialite Preeti Mahapatra. Sibal will need the support of BSP, which has 12 votes more than necessary for the success of its own candidates Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth.

BSP supremo Mayawati has maintained suspense over her party's support in Uttar Pradesh. But Sibal can draw heart from the fact that she has already extended backing for a Congress candidate in Madhya Pradesh by promising one vote required for senior Supreme Court lawyer Vivek Tankha, fielded by Congress. Congress has 29 MLAs and needs the backing of five more to see Sibal through.

The ruling SP has fielded seven candidates including Amar Singh and Beni Prasad Verma, who both rejoined the party recently, and Reoti Raman Singh. Its seventh candidate is, however, short of 9 first preference votes. SP has been promised backing by Ajit Singh-led RLD which has 8 MLAs.

The BJP has fielded Shiv Pratap Shukla, who is sure to get elected on its own 41 MLAs, and has offered 7 surplus votes to Mahapatra. (More) PTI Team PAL Karnataka, where four seats are up for grab, is poised to witness a battle between the ruling Congress and the JD(S). Union Minister Nirmala Seetharaman of BJP, who needs just one vote more than the party's strength of 44, and former union ministers Jairam Ramesh and Oscar Fernandes of Congress are sure of victory.

The BJP in Uttar Pradesh seems to be more keen to give a strong fight to Congress nominee Kapil Sibal, who also has the support of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). To checkmate BJP, which is sure of sending Union Minister Birender Singh to the Upper House, the Congress on Friday extended support the support of 17 MLAs to Anand, who also has the backing of INLD's 19 and Akali Dal's lone MLA.

"We will be indulging in strategic voting and will ensure defeat of Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party nominees," said BJP spokesman in Uttar Pradesh, Vijay Bahadur Pathak.

The Congress, however, remained confident of winning the seat for former union minister Sibal from Uttar Pradesh. "We remain confident that both in Karnataka as well as in UP the Congress party will triumph," party spokesman Manish Tewari said here.

Interestingly, the nomination of Preeti Mohapatra as independent candidate in Uttar Pradesh has been proposed by some BJP legislators making it clear that the saffron party does not want to give a cakewalk to Sibal.

In Uttar Pradesh, 12 candidates are in the fray for the vacant 11 seats where the ruling Samajwadi Party has fielded seven candidates while the Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded two. The BJP and the Congress have fielded one candidate each.

With support of Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal, SP is likely to easily win all the seven seats. The BSP's two and BJP's one candidate would also probably sail through easily.

In Karnataka, five nominees, including three from Congress and one each from the BJP and Janatal Dal-Secular (JD-S) are in the fray.

The candidates are Oscar Fernandes, Jairam Ramesh and K C Ramamurthy (all Congress), Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of BJP and B M Farooq of Janata Dal-Secular.

The contest in Karnataka is basically between Congress's third nominee Ramamurthy and JD-S' B.M. Farooq. While Ramamurthy will need 12 more votes, Farooq will need five more votes to win as his party has only 40 lawmakers in the house.

Polling for four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan was necessitated as no candidate withdrew their nomination. Four BJP candidates and one Independent candidate, supported by opposition Congress have filed nominations for the four seats.

Rajasthan is another state where Congress, with 24 MLAs, has forced a contest by backing an Independent candidate Kamal Morarka. A candidate needs 41 votes to win.

With 160 members in Raqjasthan Assembly, the BJP is certain to ensure the victory of Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, its Vice President Om Prakash Mathur, former RBI official Ram Kumar Sharma and Harsh Vardhan Singh, a member of the erstwhile Dungarpur royal family.

The fourth BJP candidate needs only four more votes to sail through, which the party expects to get from two MLAs of NUZP and three Independents.

Nomination by former Union minister and business tycoon Kamal Morarka on the last day has added more flavour to the contest.

Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, BJP national vice president Om Prakash Mathur, former RBI official Ramkumar Verma and member of the erstwhile Dungarpur royal family Harsh Vardhan Singh are the BJP nominees.



In Haryana, where the BJP does not have adequate numbers to get two candidates elected, the party has nominated Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh as its candidate. With extra votes in hand, the BJP has supported media baron Subhash Chandra, who has filed nomination as an Independent candidate.

Senior lawyer R K Anand has also filed nomination in Haryana as an Independent candidate and is banking on support of Congress and opposition Indian National Lok Dal.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has nominated Anil Madhav Dave and M J Akbar as its two candidates for the three vacant seats. With an eye to the third seat, BJP has fielded Vinod Gotiya, a state BJP office bearer, as an Independent candidate. This move of the BJP is seen as a ploy to thwart the election of Congress candidate Vivek Tankha, who is short of only one vote.

With eight votes short for Gotia's victory, the BJP is aiming to garner support of BSP and Independent members. In Jharkhand, where the BJP is assured of Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi being elected to the first seat, it has chosen its second nominee as Mahesh Poddar, an industrialist.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has fielded Basant Soren, son of its chief Shibu Soren. The Congress, which has not fielded any candidate has given support to Soren. Two of the six Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand are getting vacant this time with BJP's M J Akbar and Congress's Dheeraj Sahu completing their respective terms.

In Uttarakhand, where the BJP's move to dislodge the Harish Rawat government did not pay off, it has not nominated any candidate. However, its two leaders Gita Thakur and Anil Goel have filed nominations as Independents against Pradeep Tamta, the joint candidate of the Congress and PDF (Peoples Democratic Front).

Despite BJP's efforts to win extra seats in these polls, the Congress will continue to remain the single-largest party in the 245-member House. The biennial elections were necessitated as 55 members from 15 states are retiring between June and August. One seat each from Rajasthan and Karnataka have also been vacated  by Anand Sharma (Congress) and Vijay Mallya (Independent), respectively  and will also go for polls.

Thirty candidates from various political parties were already declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from their eight respective states in the absence of more contenders.

With inputs from PTI and IANS
Congress party off late has witnessed an exodus of some of its regional satraps, who have left the grand old party of India to either join other parties or form a new one. In the recently held assembly elections in five states, Congress won only in one.

Is Congress fading into oblivion? Narendra Modis dream of making India 'Congress-Mukt' is far-fetched. But, if the Congress has to revive, survive and get back to its glorious past, it ought to be a party of movement rather than ruling, asserted Aditya Mukherjee, author, historian and professor of Contemporary Indian History, Centre for Historical Studies.

Known as an authority on Congress history, he speaks at length on various issues related to the partys present and future in this interview with Debobrat Ghose of Firstpost.

Excerpts:

Q: On one hand, the Congress party is losing one state after another, on the other, the regional satraps are raising red flag against the Congress high command and leaving the party either to join other parties or float a new one and target the space that was occupied by Congress. Does this mean an end of the grand old party of India?

A: Its true that Congress party has got defeated in many states. But Congress due to its ideological Centre-Left position cant end just like that. Narendra Modis call for a Congress-Mukt Bharat is a far-fetched dream. Indian state is not a Hindu state. Its civil society and government apparatus are not governed by Hindutva. So, its not round the corner. In the recent past, those who have left Congress are more like rats abandoning a sinking ship. Some of them who left were bought by the BJP. However, the situation is alarming and Congress needs to genuinely introspect and re-invent itself truly fast.

Q: If it is so, when do you think in Independent India's history was the right time for the Congress to have re-invented itself, instead of waiting until now for the calamity to fall? Shouldnt it have adapted itself to the needs of a changing, new, Independent young India?

A: A lot of discourse has taken place on this subject in the public domain and the media, and it has been a reaction to BJPs propaganda. Itll be absurd to say that Congress didnt revive after Independence. Nehruvian effort to modernize and industrialize a newly-Independent India within the parameters of democracy in true sense was the first experiment of its kind in the world. No country, including the US and the then USSR, had done that.

In 1991, Congress re-invented and took India on the path of economic liberalisation and globalisation. Later, Sonia Gandhi as party president again re-invented the party and the Congress entered the era of coalition politics. But, now it has to again re-invent and revive. A paradigm change is needed in its policy and role.

Q: Do you think the seeds of the partys gradual decline were sown when it changed from a broad-based party to a family party?

A: No, not the way it has been made to believe. Since, 1991 no family member of Nehru-Gandhi family ruled this country. First it was PV Narasimha Rao as prime minister for five years (1991-96) and then Dr Manmohan Singh for 10 years (2004-14). Neither Jawaharlal Nehru became the PM due to family nor was Indira Gandhi chosen by her father for the post. It was only Rajiv Gandhi who was chosen by the Congress to be the PM, only after his mothers assassination. It was only during Indira Gandhi that the party as an organisation got destroyed. She centralised the power in her hands, which was again to safeguard herself, as many party leaders wanted to throw her out. But, this shift has caused a long-term damage to the party.

There are other factors that led to partys decline. Congress failed to project its success. MNREGA, Right to food, Right to work, RTI, etcall these were pro-people programmes. MNREGA was a success only due to rapid economic growth initiated by the Congress. Another problem with the Congress is that one wing of the party doesnt praise the other wing. All these have weakened the party.

Q: Many splinters tore off from the Congress fold even in the past. Had they stayed on, such as members of the Indian National Congress (Urs), Nationalistic Congress Party (NCP) or Trinamool Congress (TMC), would the fate of the party have been different?

A: Its not with Congress alone. It happened with other parties as well. In fact during national movement, socialist and communist leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, EMS Namboodiripad, etc were originally in Congress. Their leaving the Congress weakened the party. Like when Mamata Banerjee left and formed TMC, it had an adverse impact on Congress. But, as I said, at present those who are leaving Congress are more like rats abandoning a sinking ship.

Q: It's been more than a decade since Rahul Gandhi has been stated to be the next Congress president, eventually by default meaning that he would be the next PM too in case Congress ever comes back to power at the Centre. Do you think this factor along with his personality  whos seen more as a product of dynastic politics and less a go-getter, have miffed many regional heavy-weight leaders and contributed to Congress decline?

A: Change in waiting cant be for 10 long years! If Rahul Gandhi has to be the party president, it should happen at the earliest, but the Congress is unable to decide on it.

As far as change in leadership is concerned, there has always been the issue between the old Turks (or guards) and the younger ones. Some senior leaders may be upset. As far Rahuls image is concerned (that of Pappu), its completely a creation of rumour mills, RSS and a section of media. This same set of people, through propaganda turned Manmohan Singh, the once blue-eyed boy of corporate India, who was also hailed as a global leader, into a villain and dumped him. Congress shouldnt allow this to happen. But, Rahul also has to assert himself. When the Congress took big steps or decisions in the form of movement, no follow up happened. Its because the partys organisation is in a very bad shape.

Q: What do you think should be done for the Congress to salvage itself from the cliff of ultimate decline?

A: Thinking that the cause of Congress decline is Rahul Gandhi alone is foolish. The problem is elsewhere. The Congress party needs to be a party of movement rather than ruling. For revival, it should focus on movement mode. Congress is not fighting ideological battle today. It needs to do something big for the country, which is in a bad shape today. Earlier, people joined the party for movement and to sacrifice for a cause. Thats no longer the case. Besides, the party should stop playing soft Hindutva politics (as itll benefit the BJP), caste and communal politics (which will benefit the SP and BSP).

Whether its Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi  they need to take up issues firmly and boldly by leading from the front. Like Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal does. At present, they are not doing so, except on certain occasions. The Congress should get as many allies possible on board to create a national alliance.

Q: Mahatma Gandhi wanted to dissolve the Congress party. Given the present situation, do you think it should have been done?

A: Mahatma Gandhi said it immediately after India got Independence. He said, A party of movement cant be a party of government. The party that was formed for movement, if gets transformed for forming and running government, who would do the movement? Wholl fight for the causes like poverty, Dalit issues, social justice, etc. This part of Gandhi needs to be discussed. The Congress has to be a party of cause; it should fight for a cause or idea dear to people. Like, the RSS-BJP cadre fighting for a cause single-mindedly  Hindutva agenda. It may be a wrong cause, but they are at it doggedly, unlike Congress. Nobody is pushing nationalistic agenda in true sense.

Q: Finally, do you think if Congress gets Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on board, it is going to benefit the party?

A: Personally, I feel Priyanka has a brilliant political instinct and her entry may help the party. But, it wont solve the problem and cant take the party out of crisis. The 100-year long struggle of national leaders is at stake. There are bigger things at stake than doing experiments. No quick-fix solution will be of help. Congress party needs to focus differently to its problems and growing crisis within the organisation and address it.
Shimla: Himachal Pradesh BJP today insisted on its demand for Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's resignation on "moral grounds" and claimed the ongoing CBI and ED probe against him is "legally tenable and justified".

"Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who is facing serious charges of corruption, has no moral right to continue in office and the ongoing CBI and ED enquiry against him and his family members is legally tenable and justified," state BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti said.

"The Chief Minister is facing serious charges of corruption and the investigating agencies are grilling him. He should resign on moral grounds if even an iota of morality is left in him," he said.

Singh was questioned on Friday by CBI for the second consecutive day in connection with a case of alleged disproportionate assets against him.

Satti alleged that the Congress government in the state has nothing to do with development and Singh is consuming most of his time in "shuttling between Shimla and Delhi in connection with the cases against him".
New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday accused the Narendra Modi government of using money and muscle power to subvert the election process during the Rajya Sabha polls.

"The Modi government has used money and muscle power during the Rajya Sabha elections  just as they did to throttle democracy in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh," party spokesperson RPN Singh said while addressing a press conference.

The Congress reaction came after three of its MLAs were stopped from casting their votes in Jharkhand.

"Arrest warrants were issued against three of the Congress MLAs in Jharkhand and two of them were stopped from casting their vote," Singh said.

"The timing of issuing the warrant is important," he said, accusing the BJP of misusing its power to win the elections.

The BJP won both the Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand, while the lone Jharkhand Mukti Morcha candidate who was also supported by the Congress faced defeat.

"Congress has won all the Rajya Sabha seats it had contested during these elections," Singh informed the reporters.

All prominent Congress faces including P. Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Jairam Ramesh, Oscar Fernandes have registered victories.

With the election of these leaders, the party has strengthened itself in the Rajya Sabha despite dwindling numbers, political observers said.
New Delhi: The Congress is likely to seek explanation from former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who may face action after MLAs owing allegiance to him rebelled against the party's decision to back Independent RK Anand in the Rajya Sabha election in the state.

Sources said the party was shocked by the behaviour of the 14 MLAs who apparently got their votes invalid by marking the ballot with a wrong pen and would go into the entire issue and fix responsibility.

For the record, AICC General Secretary BK Hariprasad in-charge of Haryana said, "We have sought a report from the

PCC and the Independent candidate and we are going to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission about the way the election was conducted."

He also saw prima facie a conspiracy from the government's side and said the party will find out the truth. "We will fight it politically and legally."

Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid termed Anand's defeat by BJP-backed media baron and Independent candidate Subhash Chandra as a setback and disappointing and said it needs to be found out what really happened.

"It is certainly disappointing. What really went wrong needs to be found out. I am sure the general secretary concerned will look into the reasons of invalidity of the Congress votes," he said.

Congress spokesman RPN Singh accused the Modi government of using money and muscle power to win these elections.

"This Modi government is trying to throttle democracy exactly in the same manner what they did in Uttarakhand, what

they did in Arunachal Pradesh and we see that happening again today," he said.

The defeat of Anand came as a bolt from the blue for the Congress and its high command, which was confident that its strategy to trounce Chandra would succeed.

On Friday, the Congress Legislature Party at its meeting had authorised party chief Sonia Gandhi to decide on who to vote for and she had directed voting in favour of Anand.

A senior Congress leader, who declined to be identified, said it appeared a clear case of sabotage as one of the ballots was seen to be blank, while 12 others were marked by a wrong writing instrument.

Hooda, who had been at the helm of the state as Congress chief minister for 10 years, was apparently feeling uneasy ever since Ashok Tanwar was made state party chief by Rahul Gandhi.

He was reportedly pitching for the party abstaining from voting in favour of a candidate supported by INLD, a traditional arch rival of the Congress in the state.

At Friday's CLP meeting, Hooda and the dozen-odd MLAs supporting him, had arrived late.
Dehradun: Congresss Pradeep Tamta on Saturday defeated independent candidate Anil Goel to win the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand and become the first Dalit from the hill state to make it to the Upper House of Parliament.

A total of 58 members of the state Assembly cast their votes out of which 32 went to Tamta and 26 to Goel, Vidhan Sabha Secretary Jagdish Chandra said.

BJPs Bhimtal MLA Dan Singh Bhandari had resigned from the Assembly on Friday, bringing down the partys tally in the House to 26, while all 32 members of the Congress-PDF combine cast their votes. Congress has 26 MLAs and PDF six.

Though the victory of Tamta, a prominent Dalit leader from Kumaun region, was a foregone conclusion with the numbers heavily stacked in favour of the ruling combine, initial opposition to his candidature from within the partys state unit and the alliance had given rise to the possibility of last minute cross voting.

However, after the Congress high command intervened, Congress-PDF alliance put up a united face and threw their combined weight behind Tamta.

BJP tried to cash in on the sulk of a few leaders over Tamta's candidature but failed. Chief Minister Harish Rawat said though BJP was not contesting officially, it had fielded Anil Goel and Geeta Thakur, two known party leaders indirectly as independents. Thakur retired from contest at the eleventh hour leaving Goel in the ring to take on Tamta in a straight fight.

BJP's hopes of the independent backed by the party making a dent in the Congress-PDF combine came a cropper as the entire chunk of 32 votes of the alliance went to Tamta.

Tamta had represented the Almora seat in the 15th Lok Sabha.

The Congress' victory in the Rajya Sabha is being seen in political circles here as another setback to the BJP which is still smarting from the jolt of Harish Rawat's victory in the floor test on 10 May and reinstatement of his government.
Islamabad : Former president Asif Ali Zardari has asked the US to "trust" and "mend ties" with Pakistan to defeat terrorism, amid tension between the two countries over an American drone strike that killed the Afghan Taliban chief in Baluchistan.

Zardari, who served as president from 2008 to 2013, also challenged those US Congressmen who doubt the intention of Pakistan and its role and commitment to take action against the dreaded Haqqani network, which is blamed for a number of attacks against American interests in Afghanistan.

"I would challenge any faction in Congress that holds this view to come to Pakistan and bear witness to our solidarity and resolve," Zardari wrote in an article in Chicago Tribune.

He said in order to defeat terrorism the US and Pakistan should raise the trust level and mend ties.

"Doubters should know that Pakistan has lost nearly 5,000 troops and many thousands of civilians in this fight. These losses were sustained in offensives against terrorist networks in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas  a long-time US priority," The Nation quoted him as saying in the article.

The Pakistan People's Party leader also criticised the US for blocking the sale of eight F-16 jets to Pakistan and said the decision will be counter-productive and self-defeating.

The US Congress has blocked funding for the jets citing Pakistan's unsatisfactory actions against the Haqqani network.

Zardari said the US must play its role along with Pakistan to combat terrorism. "Pakistan is ready and willing to continue its role at the front lines of the war against terrorism. But the US has a part to play in assuring our ability to fight and win on the battlefield."

His comments came amid tension between Pakistan and the US following the 21 May drone strike that killed Mullah Akhtar Mansour deep inside Pakistan.

Prime minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday told a high-level US delegation in Islamabad that the drone attack "was not only a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and breach of the principles of the United Nation's Charter, but has also vitiated bilateral ties".

Pakistan-US ties are sliding down due to differences over handling of peace process in Afghanistan and US' growing defence ties with India, especially its support to India's membership for the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Zardari said as the talks between the delegation and the Pakistani government continue, the US should reaffirm sale of fighter aircraft and with it faith in an indispensable partnership in defence of civilisation. He said the war against terrorism has not only cost Pakistan human lives but has also taken the country towards economic crisis.

"Three decades of war has also meant slower economic growth and foreign direct investment than that of other developing countries whose borders are not active war zones. These are among the hidden opportunity costs of our commitment to fighting terrorism," he wrote.
Dhaka: Authorities have rounded up about 1,600 criminal suspects, including a few dozen believed to be Islamist radicals, in a nationwide crackdown aimed at halting a wave of brutal attacks on minorities and activists in Bangladesh, police said on Saturday.

The attacks  including two Hindus in the last week  have alarmed the international community and raised questions about whether Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government can maintain security for minorities in the Sunni Muslim-majority country.

Police and paramilitary soldiers fanned out across the country on Thursday night, raiding suspected militant hideouts and detaining about 1,600 people by Friday night, police said.

The majority of those detained, however, are described as petty criminals. Only 37 of them are suspected to be radical Islamist militants, according to police spokesman Kamrul Islam. Those include three charged with alleged membership in the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh.

None of those arrested is believed to be a high-level operator who might have organized or ordered attacks, police said. All the detainees are being held in jail.

Hasina's government has faced criticism for failing to prosecute suspects for at least 18 killings carried out over the past two years. Victims include atheist bloggers, foreign aid workers, university professors, gay rights activists and religious minorities including Hindus, Christians and Shiite Muslims.

Hasina had announced the anti-militancy campaign after the wife of a police superintendent was shot and stabbed to death on June 5 as she was waiting with her son at a bus stop. The victim had been an ardent campaigner against Islamist militants, and her murder stunned the country's establishment, many of whom considered the victim as one of their own.

Speaking to Parliament on Wednesday, Hasina vowed to root out radicals bent on spreading terror and violence in a bid to restore the country to Islamic rule.

"If they think they could turn Bangladesh upside down, they are wrong," she said. "They will be exposed to justice in the soil of Bangladesh and their patrons will also not be spared."

The attacks have followed a pattern: A group of young men wielding knives or machetes approach their victim as his or her guard is down, perhaps while strolling down the street or relaxing at home. The attackers spew hateful language, then hack and stab at the victim before disappearing, often without a trace. Many victims are killed with a machete blow to the back of the neck.

Authorities have arrested some suspects in some of the 18 attacks, mostly low-level operatives accused of following orders to carry out attacks, but none has been prosecuted. Police have said they are waiting until investigations are complete before taking any suspects to court.

Amnesty International has criticized the government for inaction, saying it is creating a culture of impunity. It also said authorities are failing to address increasing numbers of reports of people receiving threats.

"The brazen announcement by violent groups that they will continue targeting those they perceive as 'insulting Islam' should shake the Bangladeshi authorities out of their complacency," Champa Patel, the right's group's director in South Asia, said in a statement. "Ignoring the problem is not a solution. The authorities must categorically condemn these killings, carry out a prompt, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation, deliver justice for the victims, hold the perpetrators accountable, and protect those still under threat."

Nearly all the attacks have been claimed by transnational Islamist extremist groups, including the Islamic State group and various affiliates of Al-Qaeda. The killing Friday morning of a Hindu ashram worker in northern Bangladesh was also claimed by the IS group, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activity online and cited the Amaq News Agency.

Hasina's government, however, says transnational terror groups have no presence in the South Asian nation of 160 million. It blames the attacks on domestic groups aligned with political opposition parties, though it has presented no evidence of such a campaign and the opposition denies the allegations.

On Friday, the opposition BNP party said it was worried the government campaign against extremists would lead to efforts to suppress opposition parties.

"The crackdown is a strategy which the government earlier used to suppress the people's movement. We fear that they will again oppress the opposition in the name of conducting a crackdown," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.
Sao Paulo: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is suggesting she would hold a national referendum on her presidency if she survives an impeachment trial expected for August.

Rousseff said in an interview aired by state-run TV Brasil on Thursday night that Brazilians should be consulted on the future, even if the Senate does not permanently remove her from office.

Such a referendum could lead to a new presidential election.

Rousseff was impeached and suspended on 12 May. She is accused of using illegal accounting techniques to hide large federal budget deficits.

She has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

"Given the level of contradiction among different political actors in this country, it is necessary to appeal to the population," the suspended president said.

"I think it can be some sort of plebiscite. I won't give a full menu here, but this is something under intense discussion."

Lawmakers who support neither Rousseff nor acting President Michel Temer have called for new elections to resolve the nation's political crisis.

For that to happen, both would have to resign or be removed from office before the end of the year.

Otherwise, by law, Congress would choose a new president to serve out the second half of Rousseff's four-year term that ends in 2018.

"Only a popular consultation can wash away and rinse this mess that the Temer administration is," Rousseff said.

Allies of the interim president have rejected calls for new elections. Rousseff's suggestion comes as an increasing number of

senators say they have not decided how they will vote in the trial.

After just a month in charge, Temer has become as unpopular as Rousseff. He has been dogged by a series of damaging leaked audio recordings, the abrupt exit of two ministers due to corruption probes, allegations of graft involving other interim officials and criticism after he appointed a Cabinet of all white men.

Even before Temer took office, 58 percent of the population wanted his impeachment, according to a Datafolha poll in April. At that time 61 percent wanted Rousseff out too.

Anti-impeachment protests occurred in at least 18 states and Brazil's capital Brasilia yesterday, with thousands taking to the streets. In Sao Paulo demonstrators blocked the city's main road, Avenida Paulista.
The Hague: A 22-year-old Dutch woman is being held in Qatar on suspicion of adultery after she said she was raped while on holiday there, her lawyer and Dutch media said Saturday.

The woman says she was drugged in a hotel, and that she realised she had been raped when she woke up in an unfamiliar apartment.

"She was arrested in March on suspicion of adultery, which means having sex outside marriage," lawyer Brian Lokollo told Dutch radio NOS-Radio1.

A Dutch foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the arrest but said the young woman, whom she named as Laura, has not been charged.

Daphne Kerremans added that "the enquiry is ongoing" and that Dutch authorities are in regular contact with Laura.

The woman's lawyer said that the case concerns a trip his client made in March to a Qatar hotel where the consumption of alcohol is allowed.

"She went dancing but when she returned to the table after the first sip of her drink, she realised that" she had been drugged, Lokollo said.

"She felt very unwell," he added.

The young woman remembers nothing more until the following morning when she woke up in a totally unfamiliar apartment "and realised to her great horror, that she had been raped," he said.

The suspected rapist was also arrested but insisted that their night together had been consensual and that the woman had even asked for money.

"She completely denies these accusations," Lokollo said.

A court hearing is set to take place on Monday and the foreign ministry hopes a decision on whether to charge the Dutch woman will be taken.

A 24-year-old Norwegian woman who brought a rape complaint against her boss was jailed for 16 months in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates in 2013 for so-called indecent behaviour, perjury and alcohol consumption. She was later pardoned by the authorities.
SAN FRANCISCO The former Stanford University swimmer, whose sentence for sexual assault has been widely condemned as too lenient, spoke of drug and alcohol use before entering college, undermining his claims to a judge that he lacked experience with alcohol, court documents showed on Friday.

Brock Turner, 20, was sentenced by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky to six months in county jail after being convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. Prosecutors had sought a six-year jail term.

In a letter to the judge before his sentencing, Turner said he did not have experience with alcohol. "Coming from a small town in Ohio, I had never really experienced celebrating or partying that involved alcohol," according to court documents.

He said in the letter that when he arrived at Stanford, he was encouraged by older members of his swim team and friends to drink during social situations.

"I wish I had the ability to go back in time and never pick up a drink that night," he said in the letter.

Court officials released numerous text messages sent and received by Turner that referenced buying and using marijuana and drinking alcohol before he entered Stanford, the court records showed.

In June 2014, Turner texted his sister about "raging" the previous night after spending an hour and a half drinking, according to court documents. That April, he discussed pooling money to buy marijuana with a friend, court records showed.

Turner's lawyer, Mike Armstrong, sent a text message to Reuters declining comment on the documents.

Uproar over the sentence was partially fuelled by a letter from Turner's father to the judge that described the assault as "20 minutes of action," and a statement by the victim to the court detailing the January 2015 assault and its repercussions on her life. It is part of growing outrage over sexual assaults on U.S. college campuses.

At a Friday press briefing, when asked if President Barack Obama shared the anger expressed by Vice President Joe Biden in an open letter to the victim, White House spokesman Josh Earnest declined to comment on the case.

But, he said, "It is fair to say that the president feels strongly that every act of sexual assault and sexual violence and rape is wrong and one that deserves a forceful rebuke to make clear to everyone that we have certain principles and we have certain values in our country."

Officials have said Persky has received death threats since imposing the sentence, and he faces a possible recall effort led by a Stanford law professor.

Women's advocacy group UltraViolet said it would deliver on Friday a petition with more than 1 million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance, an independent state agency, calling for Persky's removal from the bench. The group said it has hired a plane to fly over Sunday's Stanford graduation pulling a banner that will read, "Protect Survivors. Not Rapists. #PerskyMustGo."

USA Swimming, the U.S. national governing body for the sport, said Turner is not a member and would not be eligible in the future given his conviction, USA Swimming spokesman Scott Leightman said in an email. Turner's membership expired at the end of 2014, Leightman said.

USA Swimming prohibits and has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct, Leightman said.

Turner is due to be released on September 2 from the Santa Clara County jail. He was booked on June 2.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner; Additional reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Ben Klayman, Toni Reinhold)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Tripoli: Forces allied with Libya's unity government said on Friday they had recaptured the port in the jihadist stronghold of Sirte from Islamic State group fighters who are now surrounded inside the city.

The fall of Sirte, the hometown of ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi, would be a major setback to the extremists who have also lost territory in Syria and Iraq where they have declared an Islamic "caliphate".

The Libyan forces also retook a residential area in the east of Sirte, the main Islamic State base in the North African country, a spokesman for the forces, Rida Issa, told AFP.

The jihadists are now encircled in an area of around five square kilometres inside the city, he said.

The rapid pace of the anti-Islamic State advance has surprised the Libyan authorities.

"The battle wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be," a Libyan government official said Friday.

Foreign intelligence services estimate the extremist group has 5,000 fighters in Libya, but its strength inside Sirte and the number of civilians living in the city are unclear.

Libya's unity government forces have fought fierce street battles with the jihadists around a sprawling Gaddafi-era conference centre which once hosted international summits but now houses an Islamic State command centre.

An AFP correspondent at the scene reported heavy street fighting on Friday about two kilometres from the Ouagadougou centre.

GNA forces used tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, the correspondent said, while the jihadists responded with machineguns, mortar rounds and sniper fire.

"We are fighting between houses, on the streets, and we won't back down before we eliminate them," said one GNA combatant, who declined to be named.

Warplanes have carried out air strikes around the conference centre and other Islamic State positions inside the city, according to social media accounts belonging to the anti- jihadist operation.

Eleven members of the forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) were killed and 45 wounded on Friday, mostly by sniper fire, Issa said.

Formed under a UN-backed power-sharing deal agreed by some Libyan lawmakers in December, the GNA has been working to assert its authority but has yet to receive the official endorsement of the country's recognised parliament.

The pro-GNA forces are mostly made up of militias from western cities, notably Misrata, and the guards of oil installations that IS has repeatedly tried to seize.

The forces said on Thursday they expected to announce the liberation of Sirte in "two or three days," after thrusting into the city centre.
hTripoli: Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have made rapid advances this week as they pressed a month-long offensive to retake Sirte from the Islamic State group.

Following are five things about the disparate groups battling to dislodge IS from its Libya stronghold facing the Mediterranean.

Who are the key forces?

Pro-GNA forces comprise a range of heavily armed militias from several western Libyan towns, particularly Misrata which lies half way between the capital Tripoli and Sirte.

The Misrata militiamen took part in the 2011 Nato-backed uprising that ousted and killed dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

They are among the best equipped, with an arsenal that includes MiG fighter jets and attack helicopters.

After the fall of Gaddafi, militias who fought in the uprising refused to lay down their arms.

A coalition of western Libyan militias led by the powerful Libya Dawn battled rival forces in August 2014, forcing the government to flee Tripoli to the remote east.

Libya descended further into chaos with two rival administrations vying for power.

Emily Estelle, a Middle East and North Africa specialist at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, estimates that about 2,000 fighters, primarily from Misrata, are engaged in the assault on Sirte that began on 12 May.

Who else is fighting?

Guards from Libya's key oil installations are also taking part in the offensive and are led by Ibrahim al-Jodran.

They attacked from the east, routing IS from several areas on the way to Sirte, Kadhafi's hometown, their spokesman said.

In January these forces repelled a major IS offensive aimed at seizing oil terminals.

They are mostly composed of tribesmen who have called for autonomy for their region within a federal government.

Libya's army is divided.

Some units that have pledged allegiance to the GNA are involved in the offensive, while others are loyal to General Khalifa Haftar who considers the unity government to be "illegitimate".

Is there a unified command?

The forces involved in the offensive report to a joint military command centre set up by the GNA in Misrata.

However, each militia also takes direct orders from its own commander.

Despite this, coordination between the militias in Sirte appears to be working.

"The forces involved in the counter-ISIS (IS) offensive are not under a unified command structure, and they do not share the same vision for a post-ISIS Libya," Estelle said.

Why are they advancing quickly?

After nearly a month on the offensive, pro-GNA forces entered the outskirts of Sirte on Wednesday after taking several IS positions.

By Friday they had managed to encircle the town and seize its port and several neighbourhoods.

The jihadists are now surrounded in a densely populated area of around five square kilometres (two square miles).

Foreign intelligence services estimate that IS has 5,000 fighters in Libya, but its strength inside Sirte remains unknown.

"We were expecting a fierce fight but in reality it's not been as difficult as some had imagined," a Libyan diplomatic source said, asking not to be named.

"Could we have exaggerated the number of jihadists there?"

According to Estelle, the forces from Misrata "have advanced so quickly because they are using their limited air power to neutralise the suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices that ISIS has deployed to attack at or behind" their frontlines.

She also suggested that "American and British advisers on the ground are likely helping" the Misratans.

There has been no immediate confirmation from the US or Britain, although Washington has said that small teams of US special operations forces are gathering intelligence in Libya.

What next?

A victory over IS would bolster the GNA's credibility both at home and abroad.

It could also prompt world powers to step up the delivery of weapons to the GNA in an attempt to help the government build a strong and united army.

The main challenge the GNA will continue to face as it strives to assert its authority over the oil-rich North African nation is disarming the militias.

"What will happen to all the forces mobilised against IS?" asked Mohamed Eljarh of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.

"And Haftar's forces? There is a risk that they turn against each other," he said
Washington: India and Pakistan need to pursue closer relationship with each other on the security front, the US has said.

"We need to pursue closer relations with India, with Pakistan, and they need to also pursue closer relations on the security front, certainly, with each other," State Department Deputy Spokesman, Mark Toner, told reporters at his daily news conference on Friday.

That's to the benefit of all of us, to be frank, and that includes Afghanistan as well, because there continue to be serious terrorist threats," he said in response to a question on Modi's remarks on terrorism during his address to the joint session of the Congress this week.

Toner said he agrees with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's views on terrorism. "And I do agree with him; there's no justification for terrorism, and we all need to work in a concerted and coordinated fashion to address it, and were trying to do so," the Deputy Spokesman said.

Responding to another question on Modi's remarks on the Congress being temple of democracy, he said: "We are only one form of democracy; there are many forms in the world. India is obviously the world's largest democracy. We believe it's the best political system out there, but we're not saying that our brand, so to speak, is the one for everyone. We're all working to create the perfect democracy."
BAGHDAD/BASRA, Iraq Iraq's powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr asked his followers to stop attacking offices of Iranian-backed Shi'ite political parties that he accuses of corruption, after authorities said they could resort to force to restore order.

Sadr's followers on Thursday and Friday stormed or attempted to storm offices of the Dawa party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) and the Badr Organization in five southern cities, according to the provincial authorities of Basra, Amara, Kut, Nassiriya and Najaf.

The provincial authorities did not report any casualties during the incidents.

Authorities "will stand up with force and firmness to deter the violators," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who belongs to Dawa, said in a statement on Friday evening.

"Pressure on the corrupt political parties has to be done in a peaceful manner," Sadr said in statement addressed to his followers, posted on his website Friday evening.

Dawa has led most governments formed after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, by a U.S.-led coalition in 2003, with major participation from ISCI and Badr.

While Sadr also had ministers in post-Saddam cabinets, including three in the current Abadi government, he has led protests over the last four months demanding Abadi replace politically affiliated ministers with independent technocrats.

The cleric also promised earlier this year to punish those suspected of abusing their official positions to get rich.

Iraq, a major OPEC exporter which sits on one of the world's largest oil reserves, ranks 161 out of 168 on Transparency International's Corruption Index.

The dispute within Iraq's majority Shi'ite community began turning violent when Sadrist protesters stormed Baghdad's heavily fortified government district, known as the Green Zone, for a second time, on May 20. Four demonstrators were killed.

Sadr's followers have been staging protests demanding anti-corruption reforms since February. His rivals see in the demonstrations an attempt by the cleric to dictate his views to the rest of the political class.

The Sadrists have not staged protests near the Green Zone since Abadi ordered an offensive on Falluja, the stronghold of Islamic State militants near Baghdad, on May 23. But they continued to demonstrate in other parts of the capital and in other provinces.

(Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Dominic Evans)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
KABUL Islamic State militants attacked a police compound in eastern Afghanistan early on Saturday, killing a police chief, government officials and insurgents said.

At around 2 a.m. militants attacked the police headquarters in Dih Bala district of Nangarhar province, said Attahullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Five police officers, including the district police chief, were killed and six wounded, he said. At least 13 militants were killed and 7 wounded, Khogyani said.

Islamic States Khorasan Province branch claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement online and said it killed the police chief and 13 officers.

Nangarhar, a volatile province that borders Pakistan, is where militants claiming allegiance to Islamic State have made their greatest inroads in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year American forces were given the green light to conduct more air strikes against Islamic State in Afghanistan, wading into a fight being waged by Afghan troops and Taliban insurgents competing for influence in the area.

(Ahmed Sultan reported from Nangarhar and Ahmed Aboulenein reported from Cairo, Egypt; Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Kabul: Afghan officials said six police officers, including a district police chief, have been killed by gunmen affiliated with the Islamic State group in the restive eastern Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, says that Islamic State-affiliated insurgents attacked the administrative headquarters in Haska Mina district at 2:00 am today. He says 15 Islamic State fighters were killed and seven wounded in the battle that followed.

Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal, spokesman for the Nangarhar police chief, says six police officers were wounded.

Nangarhar has long been plagued by insurgent groups. Last year militants there claimed allegiance to Islamic State and the Taliban sent fighters against them.

In recent months, government troops backed by air strikes have claimed success against IS fighters, who are believed to be former Taliban members.
New York: The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft landed in New York early Saturday, after flying by the Statue of Liberty at the end of the US portion of its bid to circle the globe using only solar power.

"It's absolutely incredible," Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg said over a live video feed as the iconic statue lit up the night below him. "It's a dream here."

The light, slow-moving aircraft later landed at New York's Kennedy Airport, completing the five hour flight from Lehigh Valley Airport in Pennsylvania.

Cameras in a boat in New York harbor captured the innovative solar powered aircraft as it flew over the Verrazano Bridge and headed toward the towering Lady Liberty.

It circled the statue and cruised along the Manhattan skyline before turning back south for the landing at Kennedy, one minute ahead of schedule at 3:59 am (0759 GMT).

Ending the US crossing at the Statue of Liberty "is a very strong moment for me", said Borschberg as he approached New York, calling it a "symbol of the freedom of enterprise, the freedom to innovate."

It was the 14th leg of an east-west journey that began 9 March, 2015 in Abu Dhabi, and has taken the aircraft across Asia and the Pacific to the United States.

From New York the Solar Impulse team will attempt to cross the Atlantic to Europe and on to the Middle East.

Borschberg has alternated with fellow Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, a doctor who made the first non-stop balloon flight around the world in 1999.

Their goal is to be the first to circumnavigate the Earth with the sun as their aircraft's only source of power.

The single-seat aircraft, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 747, is clad in 17,000 solar cells. During night flights like the one from Pennsylvania to New York, it runs on battery-stored power.

It typically travels at a mere 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour, although its flight speed can double when exposed to full sunlight.

Borschberg skimmed over Pennsylvania at an altitude of less than 3,000 feet (900 meters), descending to 1,500 feet (500 meters) as the plane crossed over the bays at the entrance to New York harbor.

Borschberg, who fielded phone calls from well-wishers and journalists during the flight, told one interviewer he could see the light grow denser and denser as he crossed out of Pennsylvania in the approach to New York.

The Swiss businessman was at the controls of Solar Impulse 2 on its most difficult segment of the trip, a 4,000-mile, 118-hour endurance run from Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii.

High tropical temperatures damaged the plane's batteries, forcing its crew to take several months off to make repairs.

Borschberg is no stranger to adventure  15 years ago he narrowly escaped an avalanche, and in 2013 he survived a helicopter crash with just minor injuries.
AMMAN U.S.-backed Syrian forces made new territorial gains against Islamic State on Saturday, moving closer to another of its major strongholds in northern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Observatory said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), bringing together Kurdish and Arab fighters, were now almost 17 km from the city of al-Bab, an Islamic State stronghold north east of Aleppo.

The SDF on Friday cut off the last route into the encircled town of Manbij from al-Bab after over a week of advances around that area, allowing it to lay siege to the large town from all directions, the monitor said..

The Observatory said nearly 160 Islamic State fighters had died in battles with the SDF around Manbij and more than 20 SDF fighters had been killed.

The SDF, supported by U.S.-led air strikes and American special forces, launched an advance earlier this month to seize Islamic State's last territory on the Syria-Turkey border and cut the self-declared caliphate off from the world.

The SDF has said it is holding back from an immediate assault to enter Manbij out of concern for civilians.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Mark Potter)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New Delhi: India is rejoicing over news that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brokered deals with US officials to bring New Delhi closer to its long-held dream of joining an elite group of nations allowed to control the global trade in nuclear materials, equipment and technology.

Newspapers have run daily front-page stories heralding progress on the nuclear front after President Barack Obama came out in support of Indian membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which led other nations including Mexico and Switzerland to suggest they, too, were on board. Diplomats in Vienna suggested Thursday that India is closer than ever to joining the NSG, despite never fulfilling the requirement of signing a global treaty aimed at preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons technology.

But would India's entry into the club make any difference? Some analysts say no, at least not from a technical standpoint.

India has already managed to secure access to nuclear fuel and technology to build power plants it says it needs to boost energy capacity and drive economic growth for the nation of 1.25 billion people.

Analysts say joining the NSG is chiefly a matter of pride and desire to be taken seriously by some of the world's most powerful nations. Since prompting international technology sanctions and limits on exports by conducting nuclear tests in 1998, India has been eager to gain legitimacy as a nuclear power.

"In practical terms, there is nothing extra that the NSG will give India other than a seat at the nuclear high table," said Rakesh Sood, a retired diplomat closely associated with India's nuclear negotiations over the past decade.

India already has deals with more than eight countries for supplies of uranium, and has signed agreements for reactors with France, Russia and the United States.

This week's reported nuclear breakthroughs were seen as a major point of progress for Modi, who has placed new urgency on India's nuclear ambitions with the aim of vastly expanding atomic power to account for about half of the country's total electricity supply by 2050.

Nuclear power is one way India, the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, could cut its emissions and reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants.

India scored a major victory in 2008, under Modi's predecessor, by securing a waiver from Washington allowing it access to nuclear technology and fuel despite its refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But progress in deals to build new nuclear plants since then has stalled.

For months, Indian officials have crisscrossed the globe to gather support for New Delhi's entry into the NSG, the 48-member group that controls access to technology used in making atomic weapons.

Ironically, the group was set up in response to India's own clandestine nuclear test in 1974, which made New Delhi something of a pariah in the West. Joining the club requires the unanimous approval of all members.

Analysts said Modi is anxious to secure NSG membership while Obama is still in office, after years of receiving support from his administration.

"It's a matter of timing. A crescendo is building up; now is the time to clinch it," said Sheel Kant Sharma, a former Indian ambassador to Vienna, Austria. "Tactically and strategically it's time for India to be on the side of those who control technology."

This week, Obama hailed India's membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime, a group that restricts the export of missiles and their delivery systems.

Officials also reported progress in resolving an impasse over an Indian liability law passed in 2010 that makes builders of nuclear plants in India financially responsible for any accidents that might occur, with efforts to negotiate a multimillion-dollar insurance fund to cover any accidents.

The workaround solution seems to be ameliorating concerns; the Toshiba-backed US energy giant Westinghouse Electric Company said this week it is finalizing a contract to build six nuclear reactors in southern India.

India continues to refuse to sign the nonproliferation treaty, arguing that it is discriminatory since it defines nuclear weapon states as those that tested nuclear devices before January 1967  which would disqualify India from ever becoming a member.

Nevertheless, Obama called on governments participating in the NSG to support India's application to the group when it meets later this month in Seoul, South Korea.

On Thursday, two diplomats at an NSG meeting in Vienna said resistance from New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria had softened, though China remained opposed. The diplomats demanded anonymity in exchange for speaking to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to talk about the substance of the closed session.

India's admission to the nuclear club is further complicated because Pakistan, its arch rival, also wants to join. On Thursday, The Dawn newspaper in Islamabad reported that the Pakistani government had formally asked the Obama administration and Congress for their support.

Indian analysts said China may be persuaded to ease its position if it is offered something in exchange, for example, being allowed to join the Missile Technology Control Regime. Its 2004 application for membership was denied on suspicion that some Chinese companies were secretly supplying missile technology to North Korea.

"It is possible China may now seek some kind of bargain, whereby it is given entry to the MTCR in return for letting India get into the NSG," Praveen Swami said in The Indian Express newspaper.
Washington: President Barack Obama marked a big milestone on Friday: His daughter Malia graduated from high school.

The soon-to-be 18-year-old collected her diploma from the private Sidwell Friends School in Northwest Washington during an outdoor ceremony warmed by sunshine. Her father, mother and other family members were on hand for the big moment. The White House barred any media coverage.

Malia was 10 and longing for the puppy her father had promised when her family moved to the White House. She's grown up in the public eye ever since, getting and shedding braces, being taught how to drive by Secret Service agents and spending short stints away from her parents and sister.

Obama has said it hasn't been easy watching "one of my best friends" grow up so fast, in front of the world.

"I do a lot of commencements around this time of year, which I love doing, although my older daughter is graduating this week and I will not be able to handle that well," he told donors at a New York fundraiser earlier this week.

Obama has blamed his emotions for declining an invitation to deliver Sidwell's commencement address as then-President Bill Clinton did in 1997 when his daughter, Chelsea, graduated from the same school. "I'm going to be sitting there with dark glasses, sobbing," he said in February.

Malia's younger sister, Sasha, who turned 15 today, attends Sidwell, too. After today's graduation ceremony, the Obama family celebrated over lunch at Cafe Milano in Georgetown.

What's next for Malia? She's taking a year off before enrolling at Harvard in the fall of 2017. The Obamas haven't disclosed Malia's plans for her "gap year," but delaying college could keep her close to her tight-knit family as it prepares for the end of Obama's presidency in January. The Obamas plan to stay in Washington for several years after he leaves office so Sasha can finish school at Sidwell.

Both parents often praise Malia and her sister for being normal, happy kids despite living lives that are anything but normal.

The Obama girls were the youngest kids to grow up at the White House since President John F Kennedy's children, Caroline and John Jr, more than a half century ago. Obama has joked it comforts him to know that his girls are being watched over by "men with guns" Secret Service agents.

Malia has traveled to Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean with her parents, and taken a school trip to Mexico. She's met celebrities and high-powered people, including two popes.
Ensconced in a long sofa at 58, South Avenue, a Congress MP address which also serves as a press back room station, a senior party leader with direct access to Rahul Gandhi, heaved a sigh of relief as he watched the news of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi announcing the formation of a new party. "We would have sacked him anyway. Rahul is determined to get rid of such rotten apples. The man is hand-in-glove with the BJP," said the leader on condition of anonymity.

Jogi vehemently denies such allegations. Careful not to attack the Congress high command, he emphatically states "that the main fight in Chhattisgarh today is between Ajit Jogi and Raman Singh (the BJP chief minister)". The 70-year-old's sudden announcement of a "non-Congress and non-BJP" formation in Kotmi village, Marwahi (son Amit Jogi's constituency), on June 6 has again caught the grand old party on the back foot, showing that political one-upmanship is a matter of right timing. With anti-incumbency against the Raman Singh government at a high and the Congress failing to emerge as a strong alternative, Jogi's rebel unit could emerge as the third alternative. "The purpose of forming the party is two-fold,"Jogi told India Today. "First, I want to resolve a paradox that Chhattisgarh suffers from-the state is rich in resources, yet its people are the poorest. Second, the people are tired of seeing their fate decided by Delhi. They want their decisions taken here in Chhattisgarh. This is an all-India trend, which is why we see the rise of regional forces."

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For the Congress party, Jogi's departure further highlights a pattern that puts a serious question on the leadership qualities of Rahul Gandhi. From the rebel leaders of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to Assam's Himanta Biswa Sarma, they all had one common grudge-the party vice-president did not address their grievances. Since January this year, Rahul had refused to meet the Chhattisgarh leader despite several requests. Ajit Jogi had been doing the rounds of Delhi to get his son Amit's expulsion from the party revoked. Amit was dismissed after a tape featuring him and Ajit Jogi fixing the Antagarh bypoll surfaced. The state unit demanded Jogi Sr's expulsion too for anti-party activities but the high command had not taken a decision.

His bitterness with Rahul is evident when he says, "Speaking to the central leadership was akin to bhains ke aage been bajana (playing a flute to a buffalo)." That said, the bureaucrat-turned-politician has refrained from making any direct comment on Rahul or Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "I am not concerned with Delhi anymore. My battle is local, here in Raipur, for the rights of the people of Chhattisgarh," he says.

Mineral-rich Chhattisgarh is also blessed with dense forests and fertile lands. Yet all its wealth and rich resources are being looted by "outside industrialists with the help of the BJP government", Jogi claims. As for the local Congress leadership, he alleges that it has "abjectly surrendered to the Raman Singh-led BJP government".

He's also in no mood to acknowledge the political stability and development brought in by the BJP government in the state. Ask him about the creation of Naya Raipur and pat comes the reply, "Naya Raipur was my creation as the first chief minister. I had identified the land, begun the entire process of land acquisition, laid out the master plan of the new capital. The Raman Singh administration only followed up on it."

There is no doubt that Jogi was the most acceptable Congress leader in the state. The bigger challenge now, for both the Congress and Jogi, would be to see which way the party's MLAs and ex-MLAs move. At the moment, Jogi has the support of less than half-a -dozen MLAs. He would need the support of 12 Congress MLAs to get recognised as a new party in the assembly.

Born into a converted Christian family in Bilaspur, his father was a Gond-Kanwar tribal, mother a Satnami. Unlike most of his state rivals, Jogi can speak half-a-dozen tribal dialects, including Chhattisgarhia and Surgujia. Given that the Scheduled Tribes form 30.6 per cent of the state's population and the SCs 12.8 per cent (largely Satnami), a mixed identity like his is a blessing in terms of creating a formidable vote-bank. Jogi, naturally, commands strong support from the Satnami community.

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An engineer by training, Jogi qualified as an IPS officer in 1968 and as an IAS officer in 1971. He served as district collector in several places in Madhya Pradesh, Sidhi, Shahdol, Raipur and even Indore. It was during his stint at Sidhi that he built his political contacts with the late Congress leader, Arjun Singh. Politics was the next natural step. In June 1986, he quit the civil service to enter Parliament as a Rajya Sabha member of the Congress. Jogi eventually became party general secretary as well as its spokesman. On November 1, 2000, when the new state of Chhattisgarh was carved out of MP, Jogi became its first chief minister.

Jogi's purported exit from the Congress is surely music to the ears of the Raman Singh-led BJP government in Chhattisgarh. For now, though, the chief minister doesn't even see the need to factor in Jogi for the next assembly polls. "It is very difficult for an individual to challenge an established political party. Even the late Congress leader Arjun Singh could not muster more than 7 per cent votes when he quit the party. It'll be difficult for Jogi to muster up more than 5-7 per cent in 2018," says Singh.

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The CM does not seem unduly worried and it is for a reason. Apart from the drama of both Jogi and the Congress accusing each other of being the B-team of the BJP, whichever camp leads in the state will only end up benefiting the BJP. In fact, given the Cube law in a first-past-the-post electoral system, in a typical three-cornered contest, the victor's vote percentage is likely to get exaggerated vis-a-vis the number of seats.

Chhattisgarh has traditionally witnessed tight contests with very little gap between the victor and the vanquished. In 2013, the BJP won 49 seats as against 39 for the Congress, but both parties had almost identical vote share-the BJP's 41 per cent to the Congress's 40 per cent. In a three-cornered contest, this difference is likely to get bigger with added advantage for the No. 1 player.

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Follow the writer on Twitter @Ajitarticle

--- ENDS ---
On a June evening in 2011, one of Maharashtra's topmost BJP leaders, Gopinath Munde, stunned party colleagues. In a hush-hush meeting at his residence, Munde said he was planning to defect to the Congress the next day because he was being ignored by the BJP. Eknath Khadse, leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly then, screamed betrayal. "Not only me, none of us will back you if you join the Congress," he declared. Munde backtracked.

Five years later, it's Khadse's summer of discontent. On June 4, he was forced to step down as revenue minister and de facto No. 2 in the Devendra Fadnavis government after conflict of interest charges in a land deal. But every state BJP minister, except Pankaja Munde and Girish Mahajan, and state BJP leader dropped in at Khadse's Malabar Hill bungalow Ramtek on June 6, a testimony to his clout in the party.

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Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, now tipped to be the new No. 2, calls Khadse a stickler for hierarchy. "(Bhau) was leader of opposition but always offered me his seat at meetings because I was state party president."

Khadse, 63, remains the party's most senior leader after state party president Raosaheb Danve and Pandurang Phundkar, and a significant OBC leader. "Our wishes are with him," says BJP MLA Devyani Farande. "He will bounce back."

Not anytime soon, though. On May 21, India Today television broke the story of a Vadodara-based hacker claiming that six phone calls from a landline number in Karachi, registered in the name of Dawood Ibrahim's wife Mehjabeen, had been made on Khadse's mobile number between September 2015 and April this year. "The ATS (Anti-Terrorism Squad) found no entry of any incoming or outgoing international call on my mobile number for the past year. If indeed I had relations with Dawood, wouldn't I have contacted him to use his influence and stop the media trial against me?" Khadse asked.

That media trial, he says, has cost him his job. Khadse's wife Mandakini and son-in-law Girish Choudhary had bought a three-acre plot on disputed land in the Bhosari industrial area near Pune on April 27. Worth over Rs 30 crore, they had paid just Rs 3.74 crore. The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) was to have acquired the land in 1968, but it did not do so. Nor did it compensate original owner, Kolkata resident Abbas Ukani, who demanded more compensation than the MIDC had fixed. Though the law says land acquisition lapses if not completed within 40 years, the MIDC mentioned itself as the owner in property documents. Khadse's family bought the land, allegedly anticipating a Rs 100 crore compensation windfall if the MIDC did indeed acquire the land. The conflict of interest arose because Khadse as revenue minister would have determined the amount of compensation.

In his defence, Khadse says it was a land transaction between two individuals. "We purchased the land from the owner. Can't my children buy land because I am a minister?" he asks. "The court will take a call on the compensation."

Khadse resigned alleging a media trial. "The opposition was quiet but the media chased me into my farm too," he said. "Some big person was using the media against me."

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Is it Chief Minister Fadnavis? "I won't blame anyone," Khadse says with a straight face. It was something Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray insinuated in party mouthpiece Saamna on June 5: "(Khadse) never realised that this kid (Fadnavis) was packing the firecracker with gunpowder."

Fadnavis has announced a retired judge will probe the Bhosari land case. A notification is yet to be issued. A BJP leader told India Today that the party has assured Khadse that the inquiry will be completed soon. "He resigned only after we assured him that the inquiry will not go on for more than six months," the leader said.

It is unlikely, however, that Khadse will return to the state cabinet even if he is cleared by an inquiry. "He was overconfident," one BJP leader says. "He thought the party would not touch him despite his misdeeds. The party tolerated him because of his seniority. He mistook it as his strength."

Born into a family of farmers, Khadse was elected an MLA on a BJP ticket from Jalgaon district in 1989. He became a local media sensation when he cornered the Congress over the 1991 Jalgaon sex scandal-the exploitation of local women by top politicians and businessmen.

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Khadse, it would seem, has fallen by the very sword he had wielded deftly as leader of the opposition between 2009 and 2014. He claimed to have unearthed 137 land scams, including one in which he implicated former CM Sharad Pawar's family. As CM in 1989, Pawar had allotted 3.26 acres to NGO Mukund Bhavan Trust (MBT) in Pune. In 2011, Khadse discovered that MBT had acquired 326 acres instead and that its trustees included Pawar's daughter Supriya, her husband Sadanand Sule as well as 2G scam-accused Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka. An FIR has been filed against them in this case.

Khadse was till recently Fadnavis's chief troubleshooter. Last year, when the Bombay High Court banned an Ekadshi gathering in Pandharpur, it was Khadse who pacified the hundreds of thousands of angry devotees gathered there. He juggled 10 portfolios-revenue, agriculture, minority welfare, excise, relief and rehabilitation, dairy development and fisheries. Unlike Fadnavis, who depends on the bureaucracy to make decisions, Khadse trusts his own judgement.

With power, however, came hubris, says Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut. Khadse's outbursts in cabinet meetings and allegations of high-handedness in administration began being talked about. His cold war with revenue secretary Manukumar Shrivastava displeased the CM.

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A close friend also talks of how Khadse keeps score of perceived slights. A state department protocol gaffe during the state cabinet swearing-in at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium in October 2014 left his wife Mandakini and daughter Rohini sitting on the ground as there weren't enough chairs. In six months, Khadse got them two chairs-Mandakini was appointed chairperson of Mahanand, the state cooperative milk federation, and Rohini was made chairperson of the Jalgaon district bank and the Muktai cooperative sugar mill in Khadse's constituency Muktainagar. When daughter-in-law Raksha (wife of son Nikhil, who committed suicide in 2014) was elected to the Lok Sabha, he could not shrug off charges of promoting dynastic politics.

Khadse may be seething now, but seems too deeply wedded to the party to break away from it. "I have given my hundred per cent to the party," he says, offering as evidence of this commitment the story of electioneering in Jalgaon after getting dialysis the previous night and campaigning for the party a month after undergoing heart surgery. "The party too has given me everything. I am satisfied," he says.

Follow the writer on Twitter @kirantare

--- ENDS ---
The letter is gut-wrenching and graphic, and it explains in stark terms all that was taken from that young woman as she lay unconscious behind a dumpster on the Stanford campus in 2015.

As such, I'm saving a letter written by the woman who was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner at Stanford University. I'll read it to my sons when their mother and I feel each is old enough.

I'll explain to my sons what happened, how a California jury found 20-year-old Turner guilty of three counts of sexual assault. How he wound up getting only six months in county jail and probation despite facing a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Brock Turner, right, attends court. Credit:AP

And I'll make sure they read, slowly and carefully, how the woman described the moment she read a news story about her assault: "I read and learned for the first time about how I was found unconscious, with my hair dishevelled, long necklace wrapped around my neck, bra pulled out of my dress, dress pulled off over my shoulders and pulled up above my waist, that I was butt naked all the way down to my boots, legs spread apart, and had been penetrated by a foreign object by someone I did not recognize."

I want my sons to read that, and I want them to understand what rape is and I want them to know, without a hint of doubt, that it is an unconscionable crime for which there is no excuse.

I'll show them the tone-deaf statement Turner's father made in court, asking the judge for leniency. The father said of his son: "This is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life."
Hunter New England Health has ordered an internal investigation and has disciplined staff after a female patient missing from her ward for nearly eight hours was found dead in a toilet just metres from her bed.

The Newcastle Herald has learnt John Hunter Hospital security was not alerted about concerns for the woman until four hours after she was last seen - and it took another three-and-a-half hours before a search of the hospital was conducted.

The hospital says it has ordered an investigation into the incident and has disciplined staff.

The woman, who was aged in her 40s and had presented to emergency three days earlier with abdominal pain, was found dead in the toilets of her ward within minutes of the search being ordered in the early hours of May 12.

Her body was taken back to her bed and police were contacted.
MARION, Ill.  One person died Friday afternoon in a plane crash at Williamson County Regional Airport.

Brian Burgess, Williamson County Fire Protection District battalion chief, confirmed Friday night one person died and another was airlifted to a hospital.

Burgess said the plane crashed around 4:38 p.m. Friday. The Williamson County Coroner declared the death on scene. He said the only two people on board the plane were its pilot and a passenger. He did not release the name of either person or any details about them.

Burgess said it was a single-engine plane and that it is unknown whether the plane was taking off or landing when it crashed. The aircraft was based out of Marion, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis.

The crash happened at the end of one of the two runways at the airport, Burgess said.

Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to arrive at the airport Friday night to investigate the crash. Federal Aviation Administration officials were expected to arrive Saturday.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the hacking death of a Hindu monastery worker in Bangladesh early Friday, according to a U.S. group that monitors militant activity online.

The death of Nityaranjan Pande, 62, was the latest in a string of brutal attacks against religious minorities throughout the country, police said. Pande was walking in the northwestern district of Pabna when unidentified hackers attacked and killed him.

Local police station chief Abdullah Al-Hasan told the French news agency AFP that Pande had worked at the monastery for about 40 years.

IS claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaq news service, the U.S-based Site Intelligence Group reported Saturday.

More than 40 people have been killed in similar attacks over the past three years, and the violence has escalated in the past few months.

Several attacks in a week

In the past week a Christian shopkeeper and a Hindu priest were hacked to death, and the wife of an anti-terrorism officer was shot and killed. IS claimed responsibility for those attacks as well.

Gay-rights activists, liberal professors and secular bloggers have also been among the victims of these killings.

Three Islamist militants were reportedly killed in a separate clash with police in the capital of Dhaka Tuesday, as national forces attempt to crack down on the militants blamed for these attacks.

Islamic State and an al-Qaida faction have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, but Bangladesh authorities continue to insist there are no foreign terror groups operating in the country. Instead, officials have blamed local militants or the political opposition.

Though officially a secular country, around 90 percent of Bangladeshis are Muslim.
U.S. President Barack Obama is urging the Senate to swiftly send him a bill to help Puerto Rico mange its staggering debt crisis.

He said Saturday in his weekly address the House of Representatives has already passed a bipartisan bill to address the crisis, and now the Senate must "move quickly to follow suit."

He said the island is facing another $2 billion debt payment that it cannot pay.

"There is only one way for Puerto Rico to pull itself out of this crisis," the president said, "and that's by restructuring its debt and finding a sustainable fiscal path toward growth and opportunity for its people."

Obama said only Congress can give Puerto Rico the tools it needs "to pull itself out of this crisis."

He noted that "Puerto Ricans are American citizens, just like folks in Maine or Oklahoma or New Mexico."

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated, organized territory of the U.S. with commonwealth status.
In the race to become U.S. president, if Republican candidate Donald Trump was coming off a bad week, it was hard to tell at a pair of political rallies Saturday where he thumped both Democrats and Republicans.

First at a convention center in Tampa, Florida, and then in an airport hangar outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the presumptive Republican nominee tore into fellow Republicans who have been slow to back him.

"I'd like to see Republican leadership be very strong, very smart, and you got to be cool,'' he said in Moon Township, Pa., saying Republicans risk losing seats in the House of Representatives and Senate.

"If not, I'm gonna win, but a lot of other people are not,'' Trump said. "We are going to win either way.''

In Tampa, where Trump hugged an American flag, he saved his most vicious broadsides for former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who, speaking Saturday at a Republican retreat in Utah, said in a race between presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Trump, "either choice is destructive.''

"Mitt Romney is a sad case. He choked,'' Trump said. "You know what a choke artist is? You know a guy who missed a kick  you get rid of him, right?''

Trump said he is expanding his slogan from "Make America Great Again" to "Make America Great Again for Everybody." He has been criticized for his original, nostalgic slogan because it evoked memories for some portions of the American population of a time when the country was not as inclusive as it attempts to be today.

Trump also revived "Crooked Hillary,'' his favorite moniker for Clinton, and called her a "maniac.'' He again went after another one of his vocal critics, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, calling her "Pocahontas,'' a reference to what she has said is her Native American ancestry.

"I said yes, I will apologize  to Pocahontas,'' he said in Tampa. "To Pocahontas I will apologize, because Pocahontas is insulted.''

The rhetoric came on the heels of a week that saw the billionaire candidate's poll numbers slipping.

Real Clear Politics' most current polling data showed Trump an average of 3.8 percentage points behind Clinton.

A Fox News poll had Clinton ahead by 3 points, while Reuters gave an 8-point advantage to the Democratic candidate.

Romney summit

Earlier Saturday, at his annual business-and-politics summit in Utah, Romney told about 300 businessmen and Republican donors that Trump was setting a dangerous example by promoting "trickle-down racism."

At one point, Romney blinked back tears. "I love this country," he said. "I love the founders. I love what this country is built upon, and its values. And seeing this is breaking my heart.''

Minutes after Romney spoke, Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus told the audience Trump would be an effective president and that he would win with or without their support.

Trump replied to Romney on Twitter Saturday:

Mitt Romney had his chance to beat a failed president, but he choked like a dog. Now he calls me a racist, but I am least racist person there is.

Ryan chastised

At a closed-door session of 300 major Republican donors and business leaders, House Speaker Paul Ryan faced tough questions, The Washington Post reported.

Although reporters were not allowed inside, three people anonymously told the paper the toughest question came from Meg Whitman, chief executive of Hewlett-Packard. She asked Ryan how he could endorse a candidate who, she contends, demonstrates poor character and leads a campaign based on personal attacks and division.

Ryan cited the increased pressure put on him by House members in districts where Republican voters strongly support Trump.

An attendee pleaded, Will you please run for president in 2020? The room burst into applause.

McConnell advises Trump

Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a BloombergPolitics podcast released Friday, said the likely Republican nominee would need to choose an experienced running mate and should change course on his rhetoric on ethnic groups.

He needs someone highly experienced and very knowledgeable because its pretty obvious he doesnt know a lot about the issues, McConnell said of Trump. ... Its why I have argued to him publicly and privately that he ought to use a script more often. There is nothing wrong with having prepared texts.

Yet, the Kentucky Republican senator said he is comfortable supporting Trump.

Democrats unite

While one party is divided, the other is beginning to coalesce.

To be great, we can't be small," Clinton recently told voters at a rally in Brooklyn.

Clinton made history last week as the first woman to become the presumptive nominee of a major political party. President Barack Obama endorsed her in a video put out by the Clinton campaign, saying she has the courage, the compassion to get the job done.

Vice President Joe Biden and progressive Senator Warren also signed onto Clinton's Im with her campaign.

The endorsements came after Obama held a one-hour Oval Office meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

The independent socialist, who caucuses with Senate Democrats, stopped short of conceding the nomination to Clinton. He told reporters of plans to meet with Clinton in the near future and called for the party to come together to face Trump.

"The American people will not vote for or tolerate a candidate who insults Mexicans and Latinos, who insults Muslims, who insults African-Americans and women, Sanders told reporters at the White House. I will do everything in my power, and I will work as hard as I can, to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president of the United States."

Sanders returned to his hometown of Burlington, Vermont, to spend a quiet weekend before returning to Washington, D.C., for the final contest of the primary campaign Tuesday.

In an email to supporters Saturday, he said, "I thank you for everything you've shared with me and all the support you've given our campaign. Now it's time to bring it home on Tuesday.''

At week's end, the Chicago Tribune's editorial board said the "obvious paradox" is that Trump is further isolating his campaign from much of America, and Clinton is "claiming triumph" as the first woman to lead a major party.

That demarcation between the Clinton and Trump candidacies  her message of inclusion, his embrace of exclusion  may thread through the candidates' upcoming speeches, ads, tweets and interviews. Or maybe Trump will realize how damaging his vitriol is to his Oval Office aspirations, the Tribune said.
Afghanistan's Taliban has condemned as futile new U.S. plans to increase airstrikes against the Islamist insurgency and to deploy of American soldiers to the battlefield when necessary.

U.S. President Barack Obama approved the wider role for the U.S. military after months of debate, to help Afghan security forces combat the Taliban.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Majahid, said the moves will not deter it or cause it to step back and give up the armed resistance. He said it will only lead to the waste of U.S. resources and more battlefield casualties.

We condemn the occupation and extension of the war. We want to tell the Americans the Afghan nation firmly resisted with grace your use of any force in the past 15 years. We remain resilient and will carry forward our jihad against your occupation, Mujahid said in a statement sent to VOA on Saturday.

He said that around 500,000 U.S.-trained Afghan soldiers, police, intelligence personnel and local militiamen suffer daily casualties and abandon areas on the battlefield at the hands of the Taliban.

And they now beg you again to fight alongside them, Mujahid said. He went on to claim the U.S. military had been unable to harm the Taliban with their modern weapons and more than 100,000 soldiers a few years ago.

Most U.S and NATO combat forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2014, leaving behind some 13,000 troops under the so-called Resolute Support mission to train, advise and assist local forces.

Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghanis unity government has welcomed the decision to broaden the role of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, saying it will help combat terrorism.

The expansion is in the interest of the stability in Afghanistan and the region, a presidential spokesman, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, told VOA, adding the bilateral security agreement between Kabul and Washington allows for such changes.

Asked if the U.S. position was taken based on an Afghan government request, Murtazawi told VOA's Afghan Service that the decision was made during a "quadrilateral" meeting of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China in mid-May. Pakistan has denied there was a decision to step up attacks on the Afghan Taliban at that meeting.

The conflict in Afghanistan has cost the U.S. around $700 billion and killed more than 2,200 American troops.

The war killed more than 3,500 Afghan civilians and wounded around 7,500 in 2015, according to the United Nations, which blames the Taliban for most of the casualties.

VOA Afghan Service contributed to this article
Registration Open for Science Vacation Bible School

HEYBURN  Basic elements, a science vacation bible school, will be held June 16 through 18 at Amazing Grace Fellowship Mini-Cassia, 711 21st St., in Heyburn. The event will be from 6 to 8 p.m. June 16 through June 17, and from 10 a.m. to noon June 18, followed by a barbecue and bounce house for the kids.

Vacation bible school is for children ages 4 through the fifth-grade. Parents can register at the door or by contacting Maribel Olmos at 208-219-0731.

Science Vacation Bible School Offered in Twin Falls

TWIN FALLS  Basic elements, a science vacation bible school, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. June 21 through June 24 at Amazing Grace Fellowship, 1061 Eastland Drive N., in Twin Falls. A family night June 24 will have hot dogs, sno-cones, a bounce house and a water slide.

Vacation bible school is for children ages 4 through fifth-grade. Parents can register online at agf.org. For more information, e-mail kidlink@agf.org or call 208-736-0727.

Burley Church Schedules Vacation Bible School

BURLEY  The theme of this years vacation bible school is Ocean Commotion, diving into Noahs Flood. The school is from 6 to 8 p.m. July 10 through July 14 at Calvary Baptist Church, 515 West 27th St., in Burley. Early registration will start at 5:30 p.m. July 10. For more information, call 208-647-0412.

Vacation Bible School Day Camp Scheduled

BURLEY  Zion Lutheran Church will hold a vacation bible school day camp from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 20 through June 23, and 9 a.m. to noon June 24 at 2410 Miller Ave. in Burley.

Vacation bible school is for all children in kindergarten through sixth-grade. There will be bible stories, games, crafts, singing and snacks. Children will need to bring a lunch Monday through Thursday. Morning and afternoon snacks will be provided. Information: 208-431-3671.

Ascension Welcomes the

Rev. Marilyn Butler

TWIN FALLS  The Rev. Marilyn Butler will be the guest celebrant for services of Holy Communion at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sunday. Butler was the community priest at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Buhl and continues to serve regularly.

Ascension Cafe, the adult discussion group, will meet from 9:10 to 9:55 a.m. led by Tim Dodd. Youth Sunday school is on summer break. There will be no nursery care for the month of June; children are welcome at worship services with their parents. A fellowship coffee hour will be held after the 10 a.m. worship service.

Wednesday Bible Study and worship service are both on summer break. Knit-Us-Together, the handwork group, meets from 1 to 3 pm. All are welcome for worship, study and fellowship at Ascension.

Ascension Episcopal Church, 371 Eastland Drive North, is handicapped accessible. For more information, go to episcopaltwinfalls.org or call 208-733-1248.

Rev. Robin Yim Farewell Worship

TWIN FALLS  The Rev. Robin Yim will conduct his farewell worship at 9:30 a.m. June 12, at Twin Falls First United Methodist Church, 360 Shoshone Street North. He will also preside over Holy Communion. After worship, a farewell reception for Yim and his wife, Nancy, will be held in the Friendship Room. After the reception, a brief financial meeting will be held at 10:45 a.m. at the Fireside Room for an update on finances and action on a request for the use of the Engle Fund.

The church office will be closed from June 14 to June 19 while the staff attends Annual Conference in Salem, Ore. Calls to the office will be forwarded to a pastor or staff at this time.

Annual All-night Yard Sale at Immanuel Lutheran

TWIN FALLS  The youth of Immanuel Lutheran Church have scheduled all-night yard sale starting at 3 p.m. June 17 and ending at 3 p.m. June 18 on the lawn of the church at 2055 Filer Ave. East in Twin Falls.

Local Refugees to Hold Presentation at Unitarian Service

TWIN FALLS  Unitarians will examine a sermon by Rev. Josh Pawelek of the Unitarian Universalist Society, of East Manchester, Conn., titled For What the Soul Hungers. Pawelek believes soul hunger for reconciliation is real.

Karen Fothergill will share a photography and a calligraphy project that has been used to create healing between groups that have been involved in fighting and war. A presentation by local refugees and a performance by the choir will also be a part of the service.

The Magic Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sunday meet at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the Vendor Blender and Event Center, 588 Addison Ave. West in Twin Falls.

Rupert Trinity Lutheran Church Day Camp

RUPERT  Trinity Lutheran Church is hosting Day Camp 2016 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 13 through June 17 at 909 Eighth St. in Rupert.

All children in kindergarten through sixth-grade are invited for a week of fun activities, arts, crafts, bible study, games and much more. A lunch will be provided. For more information, call 208-436-3413 or participants can sign up the first day of camp.

To submit information about church events and news. Contact Matt Gooch at mgooch@magicvalley.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday for publication on the Saturday religion page. Please insert Church News in the email subject line.
Idaho AG Settles with 2 Charged in PAC Investigation

BOISE  Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden says his office has finalized a settlement between two Republican officials accused of hiding the source of campaign contributions to a highly scrutinized political action committee.

Wasden announced Friday that he was dismissing the misdemeanor charges against former Bonneville GOP Chairman Doyle Beck and former congressional candidate M.C. Chick Heileson after the two both agreed to pay a $250 civil fine.

The settlement also includes Beck and Heileson requesting that the Integrity in Government PAC, based in northern Idaho, file an amended report with the Idaho Secretary of States office. The report would show that Heilesons $12,000 donation to the PAC in 2014 was made with a loan from Beck.

Wasdens office has been investigating the Integrity in Government PAC, based in northern Idaho, since February after multiple questions were raised about the groups contributions.

Boise Airport Screener Finds 2 Handguns Within an Hour

BOISE  A Transportation Security Administration officer at the Boise Airport detected two handguns within an hour at a security checkpoint.

TSA officials say the officer operating an X-ray screener at 11:15 a.m. Thursday spotted an unloaded Glock 9mm handgun in a carry-on bag belonging to a man traveling to Los Angeles International Airport.

A short time later the same officer spotted a loaded Charter Arms revolver belonging to a woman escorting a ticketed passenger who needed assistance.

Both individuals received citations, and TSA can levy a civil penalty up to $7,500 for bringing a dangerous weapon to a checkpoint.

Officials say thats seven firearms found this year at Boise Airport security checkpoints.

Lawyers fight appeal in Canyon County attempted murder case

BOISE  Attorneys for a Nampa man released from prison last year after being sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for a Canyon County assault are working to ensure he gets a new trial.

The Idaho Press-Tribune reports that John Wurdemanns lawyers have filed documents in court responding to the Idaho attorney generals request that the Supreme Court reverse the district courts decision to grant him a new trial. Attorney Elisa Massoth is asking the states high court to uphold the decision.

Wurdemann was sentenced after being convicted of attempted murder, kidnapping and other charges in the 2000 assault on Linda Lebrane. But a judge ruled in July 2015 that Wurdemann had received inadequate legal representation at his 2002 trial and he was ordered a new trial.
Advisors told them they needed to move to San Francisco. "And we said, 'No, were going to do this in Burley.'"
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TWIN FALLS  Officers responding to the report of a man sleeping inside a running car in a school parking lot Monday found drugs and evidence of a burglary inside the car, police said.

Aleksandar Rudy Kekerovic, 19, of Twin Falls was arraigned Tuesday in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court on felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and burglary.

Prosecutors say Kekerovic was snoring and slumped over in a Honda Pilot SUV early Monday outside Xavier Charter School with his foot hanging out the door. Kekerovic didnt immediately wake up when police arrived, and officers looking through the windows reported seeing several burglary tools like gloves and a flashlight in his lap, and a torch, a car battery and a crowbar on the backseat floor board.

Police also saw a bottle of alcohol in the backseat and a credit card with a womans name near Kekerovics foot, court documents said.

Kekerovic was confused about where he was when he woke up but later gave officers permission to search the SUV, which he said was his mothers, court documents said. In a backpack on the passenger seat, police found three small bags of methamphetamine and a glass pipe.

Police also found several items they believed were stolen, including a tablet worth $200, and more burglary tools like bolt cutters, a chain and a spring loaded punch for breaking windows, court documents said. They also found more credit cards with different names.

Officers traced the tablet back to Agri-Service, a farm equipment company at 2310 U.S. 30, and employees there said the business was burglarized sometime between May 28 and May 31. The tablet was returned to the business and police say theyre following up on the other credit cards.

Kekerovic was released from custody Tuesday on $1,000 bond and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 17.
HAILEY  A citizens group filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Blaine County School District over a $3,210 estimated fee to fill a public records request.

A petition was filed in Blaine County District Court by Pamela Plowman, Barbara Browning and the Coalition for Blaine County School District Accountability.

In the petition for judicial review, the group asks if the school district is allowed charge a fee to provide a copy of 704 emails and whether phone records maintained by the school districts service provider are public records.

In a Thursday statement, Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes said its the school districts desire to comply with the law.

We have demonstrated this through our timely response to public records requests and we value the publics right to all records that fit within the scope of the law, she said.

Plowman and Browning made six public record requests from Dec. 16, 2015 to Jan. 27. They claim the school district told them theyd have to pay a fee in order to receive hard copies of documents.

A breakdown from the school district shows fees of $1,080 to extract, organize, process and print the emails. Its a rate of $45 per hour for the work.

It also includes a $2,100 fee to review and redact confidential information, at $60 per hour. Estimated paper and printing costs total about $30.

They requested email correspondence among Blaine County prosecuting attorney Jim Thomas and Holmes, school district administrators, school board members and attorney Adam King from November 2015 to January 2016.

Other requests include cell and office phone records for Holmes, assistant superintendent John Blackman and spokeswoman Heather Crocker.

The questions to be resolved are whether or not the Blaine County School District is obligated to provide records from a phone service provider which it does not possess nor has ever possessed, according to the school districts statement.

Secondly, the lawsuit questions whether the estimated fees that are quoted for the provision of public records are reasonable.

Plowman wanted the documents in electronic format, according to the petition. But the school district wanted her to pay for hard copies, despite the fact that emails can simply be put on a computer disk at little expense.

Under Idaho law, an agency can charge a fee after the first two hours of labor or after copying 100 pages.

Fees cant exceed the actual cost to the agency of copying the record, according to the Idaho Attorney Generals public records law manual.

The manual adds: The concept of the law is that examination and copying of public records is part of the public business, already funded by taxpayers.
There was a time when I believed it was up to women to change the legal system. I said women had to keep reporting their rapes because reporting them was the only way to change a broken system. I was wrong.

Its never been the job of women to dismantle rape culture. Rape culture was created and perpetuated by men. It flourishes and thrives because it suits men. Rape culture is a man problem, and its up to men to solve it.

The Stanford sexual-assault case showed women that our bodies and our lives are meaningless. Brock Turners father echoed the chorus of voices who decry how Turners bright future was tarnished by 20 minutes of action. Turners sexual-assault conviction was unavoidable because two witnesses caught him in the act. But by giving Turner a six-month sentence (he will probably serve only three), the judge made sure the impact of his conviction was minimal.

The Stanford sexual-assault victim was forced to stand trial and recount in graphic detail the atrocities that were performed on her unconscious body. Instead of being able to focus on her own healing, she had to relive her trauma over and over again. Her words, her trauma and her experience carried only so much weight. Six months for a crime that will haunt Turners victim for a lifetime.

In a way, the Stanford sexual-assault victim was lucky. Most rapes and sexual assaults never go to trial. When they do go, they rarely result in a conviction. When women are raped or sexually assaulted, we are told its our duty to report it. Often, when we report it, we are called liars and whores and told we wanted it. When we decide not to report it, we are called liars and whores and are told were making it up for attention or revenge. We are asked to revictimize ourselves in the name of justice that rarely comes. I have reported my own sexual assault and chosen not to report the time I was raped. Both instances resulted in the same outcome for my assailants: no punishment at all.

Im not suggesting that women give up the fight. But I realize now that no woman can change how little our lives matter in this system. Its up to the men who created that system  and who dont see all rape as real and legitimate  to create a better system. Women are most at risk from men, and particularly the men they know and love. Men should be appalled by their complicity in a legal system that revictimizes their sisters, mothers and daughters. Men should be lining up in the streets to protest a system that prioritizes their futures over our lives.

There are men who are actively fighting against campus rape culture, but there arent nearly enough. Vice President Joe Biden penned a heartfelt open letter to the Stanford sexual assault victim that called for all of us to turn our anger into action. Sociology professor Michael Kimmel heads up Stony Brook Universitys Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities, where he is attempting to turn traditional notions of masculinity upside down. Kimmels efforts to prevent campus sexual assault include teaching college boys to party with consent, and a 2015 feature in the Atlantic referred to him as the bro whisperer. Other men such as former frat brother Matt Leibowitz have started their own organizations to fight back against campus rape culture. These mens efforts dont go unnoticed, but they remain few and far between. For every Biden, Kimmel or Leibowitz, there are many more Matt Walshs who blame women for their own sexual assaults.

Rape culture hasnt changed because most men dont want it to. Like Turner, men benefit from the presumption of their innocence. When rape culture tells men that violating an unconscious womans body is just another part of college life, it excuses them from those questionable moments in their own college memories. It whispers in their ear that those times she was too drunk, or said no, or tried to back away werent rape or sexual assault. Rape culture manufactures gray areas where none existed and hands the power to determine what constitutes rape to the perpetrators rather than the victims.

Most men would probably agree that Turners sentencing was too lenient. That allegiance breaks down when men are asked to take a stand against rape culture in their own lives. When men laugh at jokes about rape, call women sluts or push a hesitant woman to have sex with them, they are perpetuating rape culture. Ending it requires far more from men than simply shaking their heads in disgust when they read about guys like Turner; it requires them to actively and wholeheartedly commit to dismantling a system that prioritizes their desires over womens bodies. Even when it makes them uncomfortable. Especially when it makes them uncomfortable.

Being asked to speak out against rape culture makes men uncomfortable, and thats understandable. But the appropriate course of action isnt denial, anger and outrage at the victims; its partnering with women to replace a broken system with one that thrives.

Men dont have to give up their rights in order for women to have theirs, too. Rape victims dont have to be put on trial to protect the accuseds right to remain innocent until proven guilty. There are real solutions to tough problems, but well never find them if men continue to defend their misbehavior at the cost of womens lives. Progress requires men to give up some of their power in exchange for a legal system that holds everyone accountable for their actions, not just victims.

There is no reason for a woman to report her rape or sexual assault, and there is every reason for her to remain silent. Instead of demanding that women continue to martyr themselves in a broken system, men need to begin to change the system they created.
Cheer

Hats off to Sen. Mike Crapo, the Idaho Republican who this week assured that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will begin tracking cancer clusters, areas where there are higher-than-expected instances of people with the same cancers.

Trevors Law, as it is called, is named after Trevor Schaefer, who was diagnosed with brain cancer when he was 12. Now 26, Schaefer is convinced his brain cancer can be traced to water contamination in McCall, where other children developed the disease around the same time.

Crapo, himself a cancer survivor, has been fighting for Trevors Law since 2011, enlisting the help of prominent Democrats, including Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, and widely known activist Erin Brockovich.

By identifying clusters, scientists, medical professionals and the government will be able to better pinpoint the root causes. Its likely to save lives.

Trevors Law is part of a larger, bipartisan revamp of the Toxic Substances Control Act, which sailed through the House and Senate with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats alike. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law.

Jeer

Second chances come few and far between in life, but one was granted to Michael Leroy Carnes, a 23-year-old convicted of felony aggravated battery for fracturing a babys skull.

As a result of the injuries, the baby is now blind after spending 34 days in the hospital and enduring numerous surgeries.

Despite that, Carnes was sentenced to a rider, meaning he would avoid jail time if he stayed out of trouble.

He didnt. On Tuesday, a judge sentenced Carnes to five to 15 years in prison for violating his probation. Carnes was picked up for driving without privileges and buying and smoking marijuana.

Cheer

Congratulations to Will Brown, a Twin Falls resident wholl proudly represent the Magic Valley at this years Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Already one of the worlds top marksmen, Brown will compete in the air pistol event. Brown has medaled on the world stage in other shooting events, but this is his first Olympics.

He began dreaming about the Olympics in junior high school, said his father, Dan Brown. And now the dream is coming true.

Were proud of Brown, and wish him all the best in Rio. And were certain the entire Magic Valley will be cheering him on.
IVC Thanks Idaho Gives Donors

On behalf of Interlink Volunteer Caregivers board members, volunteers, staff and clients we thank all who donated during the 2016 Idaho Gives fundraising event! Your donations helped IVC finish in 1st place for dollars raised out of 78 participating Magic Valley non profits! Your donations during Idaho Gives allowed IVC to raise almost $11,000! Your support resulted in IVC finishing in 23rd place out of 330 other organizations in the Small Nonprofit division. What an accomplishment for a little, but mighty organization! Donations helped Idaho raise $1,053,681 for nonprofits all across our great state.

By stepping up with so many generous contributions, IVC donors have truly made an impact of the lives of so many people in our community. As we have done for 19 years, we will continue to provide our most vulnerable citizens with volunteers who will ensure they receive critical services at no charge, thereby allowing people to remain living in their home where they desire to be. Thanks to your donations, the people IVC serves will not be forced to move into care facilities! Your generosity has given many people the Gift of Home!

Edie Schab

Executive director, Interlink Volunteer Caregivers

School Thanks

Falls Brand

We would like to thank Falls Brand Independent Meat Co. for their very generous donation of hot dogs for our end of year lunch. We provide lunch for all 650 students and our staff. This is their reward for meeting Reading Minutes during the school year.

Thanks again, Falls Brand!

Cyndi Cooper, principal

Students and staff of Popplewell Elementary School

BuhlThe Letters of Thanks column will publish letters of up to 200 words from:

Organizations thanking contributors or supporters.

Individuals thanking public agencies and businesses for extraordinaryservice.

Send letters to letters@magicvalley.com. If you would like to purchase a classified ad to express gratitude of a personal rather than public nature, call The Times-News Customer Service department.
President of Libyas legitimate legislature Thursday called for a session on June 13 to vote on the UN-supported unity government and amendment of Political Accord signed in Morocco last year.

Angeela Salah reportedly summoned Prime Minister-designate of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Faiez Serraj, and his Presidential Council to attend the session in Tobruk and to present his cabinet, which has taken office in Tripoli after arriving in March.

This is the fourth time the Head of the House of Representatives (HoR) is calling for a session to decide on the GNA after previous calls failed.

The HoR per the Political Accord signed in Morocco in December should conduct a vote on the proposed GNA of Prime Minister Serraj.

Previous sessions held to proceed to the vote were disturbed by a minority of deputies who have been opposed to the GNA which enjoyed the support of a significant number of lawmakers [more than 100] who signed a declaration throwing the support behind Serraj and his cabinet.

The supporters rejected what they termed intimidation from others including Salah. They called for the HoR vote session to be held in a different location outside Tobruk. Salah slammed the call arguing that any decision taken outside Tobruk is nonbinding.

Over repeated postponements of the vote session and reluctance to approve the GNA, the EU and the U.S. have placed the HoR President on their blacklists. Salah has been deemed as political process spoiler by the two allies who have stood firmly behind the UN-backed GNA tasked with reuniting rival Libyans and address the many challenges that have plagued the North African country.

Despite overwhelming support from the international community the GNA is also facing opposition to assert its power in Tripoli and cross the country.

The HoR-backed government based in Beida has refused to bow to the Serraj-led team stressing that it is still the sole Libyan legitimate authority until the HoR endorses the GNA.
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Posted on: June 12, 2016



Guru Poornima Special Offering

(Daily Episode)



Part - 4



In 2006, eager to start a service which will help everyone to connect with Bhagawan's teachings on a daily basis, Radio Sai began 'Sai Inspires'. All who subscribed to this service, received an email from us which had a concise message of Baba accompanied with His image. This daily offering was received well, and soon the subscriptions grew. Today nearly 100,000 people from all corners of the world wait for this message to help them tide over their day with peace and ease. The power inherent in these discourse capsules is indeed tremendous. How much we benefit from it and how best we harness this energy depends purely on how seriously we ruminate over these words and how sincerely we put our learning into action. To help us in this noble and elevating exercise, Prof. G. Venkataraman has taken time out to elaborate on these messages. His reflections will not only give us a deeper understanding into what the Lord is communicating to us but also give us tips to translate them into our daily practical life with more ease. The best way to value the Master is to master His values. As we prepare to celebrate Guru Poornima (July 19), when we pay our respects and obeisance to the Divine Master, let us work to offer Him the tribute that the Lord loves the most from us - to make our lives His message, to make His love and wisdom shine in us. To aid us in this endeavour we have this series where Prof. Venkataraman for the next 26 days from June 9, 2016 shares his insights on select Sai Inspires messages. We hope this will help us to understand His teachings better and bolster our determination to walk on the sacred path.

Sai Inspires Message



PEACE CANNOT CO-EXIST WITH SELFISHNESS!

It is only when the individual is prepared to sacrifice his selfish desires and toil for the welfare of society, that the nation will prosper. Then only will the world have peace. That is why the Vedas proclaim that man can have peace only when he renounces selfish desires. The Vedas express disapproval of persons who accumulate wealth and who are ever immersed in activities that can add to their physical comfort. The man who gives, receives even while he gives, more than what he gives.



REFLECTIONS



This quote is a very important one for the simple reason that almost 99% of people all over the world would hardly connect world peace with removal of selfishness. If you dont accept that, you just have to look back at the famous Cold War period that lasted from about 1946 to 1991, that is to say, almost from the time World War II ended to the time when the huge erstwhile Soviet Union collapsed almost overnight and vanished into the dustbin of history. It was a period of tense eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between America on the one hand and Soviet Union on the other, each with about ten thousand deadly nuclear weapons, each with an explosive power somewhere between 50 to 100 Hiroshima-type atom bombs. It used to be said then the each of these two Super Powers could individually wipe out the whole of planet earth many times over.



It was an exceedingly tense period, especially since both Super Powers could shoot missiles that could travel across the planet in about 30 minutes. In other words, if nuclear war had broken out, it would all have been over in less than one hour, with hardly any real victor but lots of people simply wiped out, and 90% of the survivors exposed to deadly radiation and what not. Young people of today would hardly have any idea of what kind tension humanity went through. And let me tell you from personal experience that in the early sixties when we had the so-called Cuban crisis, no one knew what was going to happen. If ever the world was on the brink of disaster, that was it. Luckily, the Cuban crisis got resolved thanks to two wise leaders, President Kennedy on the American side and Chairman Nikita Khrushchev of USSR. However, I shall not go into all that. My main reason for bringing all that history to your notice was to draw attention to the so-called MAD principle on which peace was based by experts on both sides.

I guess most of you might not have heard about this MAD principle and so let me say a few words about it. Let me start with what MAD really meant; it was an acronym standing for Mutually Assured Destruction. In practical terms, the two sides maintained a tense peace by silently telling each other: Listen! Dont you dare any funny stuff! We have hundreds of missiles each equipped with many deadly bombs; and they can reach you in between 20 to 30 minutes. We can launch from land and from sea, all over the place. So, though you may hit us badly, you too would get the same treatment! This was the way the generals on the two sides warned each other. The politicians then took the soft approach and said, Look, we really cannot take things that far. So let us maintain some kind of peace, without going that far.



That about describes it; there was no real peace but just a tense situation; mercifully though, no bombs flying. Can that BP-raising situation be really called peace? Obviously not. What then would be real peace like? The answer to that lies in Swamis quote. So, let us try to go deeper into it. We start with conflict. Have you ever seriously wondered why at all a conflict arises? The answer is simple. Conflict usually arises between two people A and B say, when one of them tries to take away what both have. Or else, it could be that both A and B do not have the desired whatever it is, say a powerful political position, but are competing fiercely for it. For example, A and B could be two women, a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law, both competing to be the prime individual in the life of the man in the middle, husband to A and son to B. This of course is an old, old story, and is known all over the world. Though the time and place might vary, the cause of conflict is the same - a kind of selfishness.

In the familiar example just cited, the conflict is confined to the family. What Swami is referring to concerns selfishness of individuals impacting the entire country. Let me give a simple but powerful example. India has a big drug industry which makes all kinds of drugs. Indeed, where generic drugs are concerned, India has a strong reputation particularly, after President Clinton gave the lead in picking India as a leading supplier of generic drugs for treating HIV positive patients in Africa. At the same time, sad to say, we also have a huge fake drug industry. What I mean is that unscrupulous operators make packaging almost identical to that in which genuine drugs are packed. The fakers buy these duplicate, look-alike packaging and fill the bottles, ampoules or whatever with just plain liquid, tablet or powder as the case may be, and sell it to small scale drug dealers, like those you find in small towns, including Puttaparthi.



Now here is my point. Take a life-saving drug. A lady is having a serious medical condition and a doctor has been called. He examines the patient and says, I want this medicine immediately. It has to be administered at once. The son of this lady rushes to the nearest drug store and buys the medicine. Unfortunately, the drug he buys is a fake and as a result his mother dies. The fakers may make huge profits, and believe me, they in fact do. I have read somewhere that the WHO estimates that nearly 30% of the drugs sold in the Third World are spurious. Just imagine the large scale havoc caused. The magnitude of this bogus industry is so huge, and poor countries have so little infrastructure for checking the drugs sold, that ordinary people in hundreds of thousands are subject to unwanted suffering and even death, after paying for the drugs. This is an example of how selfishness and the greed to make money by hook or crook can cause national havoc.



Let us dig a bit deeper. How come these people who make fake drugs are so heartless? In part it probably is due to the fact they were not at all exposed to values at home or in school. In fact, there is a kind of feedback loop here. When children dont get exposed to values at home and school, can easily slip in later years, little realising how much harm he or she is doing. As the number of people who are indifferent to moral values increases, there comes a tipping point when society as a whole starts adopting an indifferent attitude. Thats when ripples turn into big waves.



Here is an example. India has a very large number of trucks, many of them owned by small and medium size trucking companies. They want to maximize profits and so the first thing they do is to use trucks that ought to have been junked a long time ago. The headlights hardly work, the brakes are not in order, the reflectors on the rear side have fallen off and so on. Next, they invariably overload the truck, that means they can easily trip over. As if this is not enough, they hire drivers who drive badly; some of them dont even have proper licenses. It is not as if there are no rules; but practically every rule on the book can be got around by paying a bribe somewhere or the other. Turning now to the drivers, they often drink while driving which they are not supposed to, and drive in the middle of the road instead of in the lane they are supposed to, and cross the speed limit. Also, they hardly ever dip their lights when traffic comes from the other side.



I guess you are seeing where I am going. What we have here is an entire chain of selfishness, and the net result is that in some places traffic accident is the number one killer. Can you imagine that? Not cancer, TB, heart attack and so but road accidents! And why do these accidents happen? Simply because of cumulative selfishness.



So you see if people decide to get selfish, then such selfishness would start growing without limits. Further, if selfishness starts spreading like a deadly virus, then it can affect large segments of society and cause harm on a large scale. This would somewhat be similar to a body in which cancer has spread; and you know what the end result of that is. Where society is concerned, it does not quite die but becomes very sick and in the extreme case fails. To become a failed state is the worst fate for a nation. Today, there is one universally acknowledged failed state, namely Somalia, with many others on the brink of tottering.



From a spiritual point of view, God sends the human being with a body, a Mind and the soul or Atma. As Krishna has said and Swami has explained in detail, it is the duty of the body and the Mind to safely take the Atma back to God. If the Mind and body gang up and act selfishly, then it means that humans have massively failed the purpose of life. Do we want to let down God that way, especially when we constantly proclaim, WE LOVE YOU SWAMI!? Think about it!



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Radio Sai Team


Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae bacteria, which infect the digestive system. Credit: Ronald Taylor, Tom Kirn, Louisa Howard/Wikipedia

In a milestone years in the making, a vaccine to prevent cholera, invented and developed by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Vaccine Development, was approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The vaccine, Vaxchora, is the only approved vaccine in the U.S. for protection against cholera. Its licensure allows for use in people traveling to regions in which cholera is common, including travelers, humanitarian aid workers, and the military.

PaxVax, a global biotechnology company based in California, received marketing approval from the FDA for Vaxchora, a single-dose oral, live attenuated cholera vaccine that is indicated for use in adults 18 to 64 years of age. Vaxchora is the only vaccine available in the U.S. for protection against cholera and the only single-dose vaccine for cholera currently licensed anywhere in the world.

The vaccine was invented in the 1980s at Center for Vaccine Development (CVD). Since 2009, CVD researchers have worked closely with PaxVax to develop the vaccine and secure FDA licensure approval.

"This important FDA decision is the culmination of years of dedicated work by many researchers," said Myron M. Levine, the Simon and Bessie Grollman Distinguished Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM). "For travelers to the many parts of the world where cholera transmission is occurring and poses a potential risk, this vaccine helps protect them from this disease. It is a wonderful example of how public-private partnerships can develop medicines from bench to bedside." Dr. Levine is co-inventor of the vaccine, along with James B. Kaper, Professor in the UM SOM Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Cholera is an acute intestinal diarrheal infection acquired by ingesting contaminated food or water. Globally, cholera cases have increased steadily since 2005 and, millions of people are affected by this disease each year. Cholera can cause severe dehydration and death in less than 24 hours, if left untreated. While some cholera cases are rarely acquired in the U.S. from ingestion of uncooked seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, the vast majority of cases of domestic cholera cases occur in travelers to areas with epidemic or endemic cholera (for example, parts of Africa, Asia, or the Caribbean). A report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that the true number of cholera cases in the U.S. is at least 30 times higher than observed by national surveillance systems. The currently recommended intervention to prevent infection is to avoid contaminated water and food. But studies have shown that 98 percent of travelers do not follow these precautions.

Vaxchora is expected to be commercially available later this year. The FDA approval is based on results from a phase 1 safety and immunogenicity trial, a phase 3 efficacy trial, and a phase 3 trial to test manufacturing consistency. The first two of these trials were led by Wilbur H. Chen, associate professor of medicine at UM SOM, and chief of the CVD's Adult Clinical Studies section. The pivotal efficacy trial, which demonstrated protection from cholera of more than 90 percent at 10 days and 80 percent at 3 months after vaccination, is the first instance the FDA has based the decision to approve a product on a human experimental challenge model. Therefore, the licensure of Vaxchora marks a significant regulatory milestone. The most common adverse reactions to Vaxchora in the clinical trials were tiredness, headache, abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, lack of appetite and diarrhea.

Cholera is chiefly a disease of poverty, poor sanitation, and lack of access to safe drinking water, so the global health burden of cholera rests on those populations residing in vulnerable developing countries. The World Health Organization estimates the burden of cholera to be between 1.4 and 4.3 million cases per year globally. Dr. Chen said that the next steps for this cholera vaccine are to explore formulations that could be developed into successful strategies to prevent and control cholera in countries where cholera is common. These future activities would involve immunizing young children in developing countries; this group has the highest risk of dying from cholera.

"The FDA approval of a new vaccine for a disease for which there has been no vaccine available is an extremely rare event. The approval of Vaxchora is an important milestone for PaxVax and we are proud to provide the only vaccine against cholera available in the U.S.," said Nima Farzan, chief executive officer and president of PaxVax. "We worked closely with the FDA on the development of Vaxchora and credit the agency's priority review program for accelerating the availability of this novel vaccine. In line with our social mission, we have also begun development programs focused on bringing this vaccine to additional populations such as children and people living in countries affected by cholera."

Explore further Cholera outbreak hits Zanzibar, kills at least 45
Dusk-tinted light filters in through the reed curtains covering the large windows of the birthing room. It casts long shadows on a large king-sized bed covered with a bright cotton bedspread. Multicoloured cushions are scattered across it and a small, ornate lamp on the adjacent table lends a warm glow to the wood-panelled walls of the room, giving it a homely, comforting aura.

At the foot of the bed is a sturdy birthing stool. The crescent shaped seat with its hollow centre lets you give birth while upright. A rope of knotted batik fabric slithers down from a hook affixed on the ceiling and performs a similar function.

Lying down on a bed with your legs in stirrups is the most commonly perceived position while giving birth," says Priyanka Idicula, co-founder and director at the BirthVillage in Vytilla, Kochi, and a certified professional midwife. BirthVillage utilizes gravity (squatting/standing) to help babies get into an optimal position to descend and come out."

Or you could opt for a water birth, she says, walking into an adjoining room and pointing to the cerulean, inflatable birth pool that occupies most of the space. Sitting in a warm tub of water helps a woman in labour to relax," she says, adding that it is also gentler on the baby, who has been in a fluid-filled, amniotic sac for nine months.

View Full Image A water birthing room. Photo: BirthVillage

Idiculas own birthing experience contributed to her decision to set up BirthVillage, south Indias first natural birthing centre, in 2010. I had a normal delivery, but I cannot say it was natural," she says. While normal refers to any vaginal birthinduced using drugs or manual techniques, assisted using forceps or a vacuum can also fall under normala natural birth is completely spontaneous and there is absolutely no invasive" intervention.

BirthVillage employs what is called The Midwifery Model of Care", in which a professional midwife leads the entire birth process from the time of discovery of pregnancy to the early nurturing and caring of the baby. This model works on the principle that pregnancy and birth are normal life processes and should be treated that way. It is a holistic approach, says Idicula, which calls for deep involvement with the parents-to-be at every step.

Services include prenatal and postnatal check-ups, fitness and Lamaze classes, nutrition counselling and baby-care training. Lamaze classes empower women by offering information and teaching them what to expect, thereby enabling them to take responsibility for their own health. A pregnant woman should be encouraged to eat healthy and be physically fit till the last day. She is not sick, after allshe is just carrying a baby," says Idicula.

View Full Image A Lamaze class in session. Photo: BirthVillage

Pavithra Atul Sarma, founder and CEO of Passion Earth, a fair-trade gifts business and a childbirth educator based out of the UK, agrees. Birth isnt a medical phenomenon unless it is made into one," says the mother of two, who has had both an obstetric and natural birthing experience.

Her first child was born via C-section (in retrospect, an unnecessary one, she says), while the second was a water birth at home assisted by two midwives. (Medical) interventions often impede the natural flow of hormones, whereas a wait-and-watch approach can work wonders," she says. You should trust your body to produce the cocktail of hormones required to ensure that the mind, body and baby are all in sync and doing what women have been doing for ages."

Idiculas simple block-printed kurta and ready smile are far removed from the scrub-clad, stethoscope-toting image one associates with a medical professional. And that infectious energy and warm presence is manifested in every corner of the BirthVillage: the space looks (and feels) different from an average maternity ward.

Tucked away on a narrow road bordered with white, bougainvillea-draped walls, the BirthVillage is easy to miss, except for the small white signboard that proclaims its presence in varicoloured letters.

Trees shade the red-roofed homestead inside. Posters with fun, spunky messages form a collage at the entrance. Photographs of babiesgrumpy babies, bawling babies, smiling babies, fat babies, slender babies, sleepy babiescover the walls in the waiting area, which smells faintly of incense, not disinfectant.

View Full Image Photo: BirthVillage

Unconventional as it may seem, Idiculas methods seem to be working, I have birthed over 200 babies here," she says, smiling. Her success rate so far has been around 97.8%, with only a few needing obstetric intervention at the time of labour.

A scalpel generation

In her autobiography My Story, the late Kamala Das describes the birth of her first child. When the labour began, I put old records on the gramophone and chatted courageously with my cousins who had come to watch me have a baby," writes the firebrand poet. All of them sat outside my door, leaning against the veranda wall. The most excited was my younger brother who kept asking me every minute or so if the baby was coming out."

Idicula says the culture of that time, which treated birth so matter-of-factly, has changed drastically over the past 40 years. My parents were born at home. They were a generation that grew up in farms and watched animals give birth," she says. We are all freaked out by birth today. Look at what grandparents do today. They pace up and down, they are nervous. A lot of it has to do with being cut off from nature."

The glut of information available on birthing today tends to exacerbate the fear associated with the birthing process, says Mumbai-based Lina Duncan. She is a trained midwife and co-founder of Birth India, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that seeks to support women through informed conception, pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.

Google is not a doctor," she says. Nowadays, we tend to hear a lot of horror stories (from labour wards) and everyone is online, full of anxiety and high expectations. It would be wonderful to hear our great-grandparents stories of their births instead, as it was a natural continuation of life, extension of family, a normal life process."

Unfortunately, it is hard to get people to see it that way, says Idicula. Families are nervous; they want the baby out quickly. This puts a lot of pressure on the health provider," she says.

Cynthia Alexander, a Chennai-based gynaecologist who has been in the profession for over 40 years, adds, I have parents telling me to go ahead with a C-section as they feel that their daughters cannot take the pain of labour. This generation has a far lower tolerance level." (Disclaimer: Dr Alexander is related to this reporter on her sisters side through marriage.)

According to a report published in The Economist on 15 August 2015, there has been a global rise in C-sections, one that is not driven by necessity but by the relative ease and time saved in the process, in addition to financial incentives for doctors.

My caesarean experience was absolutely not required," says Passion Earths Sarma, whose first child was born in London.

My husband and I felt bullied and coerced into having one with our pleas for information dismissed and ignored by the medical staff," she says, adding that she was depressed for almost a year after the experience.

Research does prove that women are more likely to suffer from post-partum depression, called baby-blues", after a C-section (vis-a-vis a normal delivery) but there are other physiological consequences including increased blood loss, infection, extended recovery time and higher incidence of endometriosis.

The World Health Organization believes that no more than 10-15% of the babies in a country need to be delivered via C-section. Yet, the number of women opting to deliver via surgery continues to riseand India isnt far behind either, going by this report published on 6 January. This threshold has been crossed in multiple states in India, says the report, indicating that the numbers go up to almost 50% in some private hospitals.

Economics could be one reason: While the costs vary considerably across healthcare units, a C-section is certainly a more expensive procedure, generating more revenue for hospitals and doctors. On an average, a caesarean in a public hospital is a couple of thousand rupees more than a normal delivery, while in a private hospital, the cost of the procedure could even cross Rs1 lakh.

Doctors, however, do not completely agree. It is possible that there is a monetary angle to the whole thing," says Uma Ram, director, Seethapathy Nursing Home and Clinic, Chennai. But I think it is more a function of convenience and risk-perception. Some people tend to panic if labour continues for a long time. People dont know if they can go through that sort of pain."

Superstition also is factor here, Dr Ram adds. People request for delivery on a specific day or time and that can only happen when you schedule a section."

Changes in our lifestyles have also altered the way we give birth, says Dr Alexander. We are sedentary, eat a lot of processed food and are more prone to health conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome, obesity, gestational diabetes," she says.

This impedes the chances of a normal delivery. If your sugar levels are high, the weight of the baby increases, which makes it harder for us to do a vaginal delivery," she says.

No one wants to take a risk when it comes to their baby, after all. I wanted to have a normal birth," says Ramya Thomas, a new mother who is currently on a break from work. But my baby passed meconium (faeces) and my cervix wasnt dilated so I had to be rushed into surgery."

Doctors would rather be safe than sorry, too. Look, things can go wrong if we wait for too long," says Dr Alexander. Today, with consumer protection laws being so strong, no doctor will want to take that chance."

Idicula is clear on one thingthe obstetric and midwifery model of care work in tandem with each other. In the UK, for instance, a midwife is the first point of contact, she says.

Only if you suffer from a pre-existing health condition and do not qualify in the midwife system do you get escalated to the obstetric system. BirthVillage is an option for healthy women only, which is around 80% of the population. We do not take on cases with pre-existing complication. In case of any deviation, prenatally or during labour, we ensure that the patient is transferred to the nearest hospital."

The midwifery model of care

Sarah Gamp, the fictional midwife in Charles Dickenss novel Martin Chuzzlewit, like most Dickensian parodies, treads the line between the grotesque and the comical.

The charactera dissolute, sloppy, drunkard with a sketchy medical background and described as, a fat old woman, this Mrs Gamp, with a husky voice and a moist eye, which she had a remarkable power of turning up, and only showing the white of it"was based on a real-life person, mentions Dickens in the preface to the novel.

Mrs. Sarah Gamp was, four-and-twenty years ago, a fair representation of the hired attendant on the poor in sickness," he writes.

Midwifery, thankfully, has come a long way since the days of Mrs Gamp. Today, it rests on reassuring principles: Monitoring the physical, psychological and social well-being of the mother all through the childbearing cycle; providing her with education, counselling and support from conception till early child care; minimizing external interventions as much as possible; and identifying women who require obstetrical attention.

A recently published Cochrane review that sought to compare midwife lead continuity models of care with others suggested that women who opted for a midwife experienced more spontaneous vaginal births, fewer early miscarriages and more birth satisfaction. If you look at countries where the infant and maternal mortality rate is goodlike Norway, Denmark, Swedenthe midwifery model of care is the predominant one," says Idicula.

Closer home, there is evidence that despite spending a smaller percentage of its GDP on health than most countries at the same income level, Sri Lanka has considerably reduced infant and maternal mortality over the last 50 years by increasing the number of trained midwives in the healthcare system. Malaysia and Indonesia have similar success stories.

A trained midwife is different from a traditional birth attendant or a dai, cautions Idicula. A midwife has gone through a specific college-based, medical education and is authorized to use life-saving drugs, administer intravenous medication, etc.," she says. A dai, though a common sight in rural India even today, relies on skills that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Unfortunately, there is a definite lack of trained midwives in India. We do not have a focused course for midwives here," says Idicula. It is simply a small part of the nursing course in India today", unlike in pre-Independence India, where it was a separate discipline.

According to a National Library of Health report, the Central Board of Nursing and Midwifery was established in India in 1902 by the British to regulate the training and services offered by midwives.

After Independence, midwifery, which till then was seen as a separate profession, was integrated into the nursing profession. This inevitably weakened the efficacy of the modelgreater emphasis was given to national health programmes, more funds were diverted to the medical colleges than the midwifery and nursing ones, and institutionalized births began to increase drastically.

It is my dream to see a midwifery model of care throughout India. This would take the workload off doctors and lessen the ongoing concern India has with a high rate of neonatal mortality," says Duncan, adding that the midwifery model of care is an effective one that provides compassionate, supportive and safe childbirth options.

While birthing centres like the BirthVillage in Kerala, Birthing Sanctuary in Goa and The Sanctum in Hyderabad have adapted this model of care, they are still outliers in the prevalent healthcare system.

Since we do not have a separate degree on midwifery alone, the resurgence is coming from people educated in schools abroad," says Idicula, the first Asian to win a dual scholarship from Lamaze International.

The reason it is seeing a revival, she believes, is that it addresses a special need that women want, which is another womans face and force, that has somehow been replaced by technological advances".

Childbirth is one field that has always been about women supporting other women and I believe it should stay that way," she says.

Comments are welcome at feedback@livemint.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Preeti Zachariah "Preeti Zachariah is a National Writer with Lounge and edits its health section. She holds a degree in journalism from Columbia University, New York. When she isn't reading fiction or worrying about her own writing, you will find her lifting weights, cuddling a cat, meandering through a park, obsessing over Leonard Cohen or catching up with friends over coffee (or ice cream, if feeling particularly decadent). " Read more from this author

Topics
At the end of a four-day trial this week, a Butte man was found not guilty of raping a woman in Missoula in June 2015.

After closing arguments in his trial on Thursday, a Missoula County District Court jury found Nicholas James Dolson not guilty of felony sexual intercourse without consent, as well as a lower alternative charge of misdemeanor sexual assault.

In his original charging documents, prosecutors alleged that Dolson went to a Missoula motel to meet a woman who had made an ad on Craigslist seeking sex. After the pair engaged in consensual vaginal intercourse, Dolson inserted himself into her rectum.

The woman told police that she had told him to stop but that he didnt. Dolson said he stopped and left when the woman told him to.

The day after their encounter, Dolson sent the woman a text message that said he had planned to have sex with her twice in this way and then leave.

Dolson said he did send the text message, and has met other women and had anal sex with them after vaginal sex, but that he believed what had happened between him and the woman had been consensual. Dolson said during the incident, he had asked the woman if he could do anything else to her and that she had said she didnt care. During the trial, the woman stated there had been no discussion.

Dolson, 26, was arrested in early October in Butte after a warrant was issued for him out of Missoula. Although he said he had been interviewed by police in relation to the June incident, Dolson said he had no idea he was going to be arrested and charged when he walked into the probation and parole office, which he was visiting as part of a deferred sentence on a prior theft conviction.

While filling out paperwork in a holding cell at the Butte jail, Dolson stabbed himself in the neck with a pencil, and was found lying on the floor near a pool of blood.

Dolson said at the time of his arrest he had been going to school for mechanical engineering at Montana Tech and that he had a job as an aerospace welder.

I had a lot of good things going for me. When all of this went down, I knew I was going to lose a lot of that, he said. Im one of the last people that would want to or be able to rape someone. I take stuff like that really personally.

He said he also thinks the woman in his case had a motivation for accusing him of a crime because she hadnt been paid for their encounter as the two of them had discussed.

Dolson was released after the trial and said he intends to return to living in Butte. He had been in the Missoula County Detention Facility since he was transported there shortly after his arrest. He said he wants his case to serve as a reminder that people are innocent until proven guilty.

Just because somebody is charged with something doesn't always mean they are guilty, he said.
A massive fire completely destroyed three apartments in the University Villages on South Avenue on Saturday afternoon, forcing the evacuation of dozens of University of Montana students and their families from several nearby complexes.

Firefighters responded to a call a little after 2:30 p.m. of huge flames leaping out of the second story of an apartment located within a building in Elliott Village that houses seven other units.

Were not sure how the fire started, but when I arrived, we had lots of fire going on the exterior, kind of on the breezeway on the deck, said Derek Mullins, a battalion chief with the Missoula Fire Department. The fire spread to both adjacent apartments on the second floor.

Crews got inside and used foam spray to quickly knock down the exterior flames. Once inside, they found that all the occupants were safely outside already.

There are no injuries that I know of so far, Mullins said. Its looking pretty good right now.

Firefighters had to use a crane and a large saw to cut vent holes in the roof because the fire got into the attic as well. The foam penetrates through the wood better and doesnt evaporate as quickly, Mullins said.

The occupants were out upon arrival, and I didnt get any information on whether they suffered any smoke inhalation injuries, he said. The ambulance is here and we didnt transport anyone to the hospital and they didnt look at anybody so far.

UM owns the student housing complex, which is exclusively for students and their families.

Cameron Poler, a junior at UM, lives next door to the first apartment that caught fire.

I heard people screaming and I ran outside and saw flames, he said. There was a little smoke in my apartment, but I think it was coming through the windows.

Poler frantically tried to throw as much of his belongings out the window as he could before he got out for good.

I threw out all of my clothes, a friggin laundry basket, some shirts, he said. It was insane.

Poler's dog made it out OK as well. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

***

Firefighters were busy Saturday. The Missoula Rural Fire District responded to a report of an unoccupied house and barn on fire near Kona Ranch Road on Saturday as well. Missoula firefighter crews also assisted the Missoula Police Department on Saturday afternoon after a crash at Brooks and Russell in midtown blocked traffic.
A 25-year-old British Columbia man has been cited for careless driving after he lost control of a semi-truck and trailer carrying cherries on Interstate 15-90 and overturned into Blacktail Creek early Friday in Butte.

Lakhwinder Sahota, a driver for Surrey-based NATT Freightways Inc., a male passenger and three people in a van that narrowly missed a collision with the semi-truck were in stable condition at St. James Healthcare as of early Friday afternoon, said Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Gail Keith Jr.

Sahota and Kuljid Beins, 41, also of Surrey, were eastbound shortly before 8:30 a.m. with about 45,000 pounds of cherries when Sahota reached for something on the cab floor.

As the rig crossed the median into the westbound lanes, an oncoming Chrysler minivan driven by Jerold Lafond of Butte swerved left to avoid the semi-truck and struck the trailers rear axle, Keith said.

The van with two female passengers, whose names were not released, crossed into the eastbound lanes and came to rest adjacent to the shoulder.

After the trailer was hit by the van, the semi-truck left the roadway, flipping into Blacktail Creek. The cab detached from the trailer, its roof lying in about 2 to 3 feet of water. The trooper said Sahotas feet were pinned, but he was conscious and able to react to responders.

Beins was asleep in the cabs sleeper when it crashed into the creek. He escaped from the semi-truck.

Butte-Silver Bow Fire Marshal Brian Doherty said rescuing Sahota was a very tricky, pretty intense extrication process with the added hazards of water, leaking fuel and the truck and trailer. The victims head was almost touching the water.

Undersheriff George Skuletich said pedestrians or passers-by on the walking trail near the KOA campground initially held Sahotas head above the water until emergency personnel arrived.

The semi-trucks fuel tanks were not ruptured; however, the fuel line had been snapped, according to Doherty, adding that the line was quickly clamped. Responders placed booms across the creek to absorb and contain the spilled diesel fuel.

Kristi Ponozzo, spokesperson for Department of Environmental Quality, said that about 50 gallons of diesel spilled into Blacktail Creek. The agency is expected to issue a violation to the trucking company because of the spill.

Dan Dennehy, Emergency Management director for Butte-Silver Bow, said NATT Enterprises Ltd. would be responsible for contracting with an environmental company to facilitate the cleanup.

Tammy Dobbs, 58, of Bentonville, Arkansas, got an eyeful Friday morning from her perch at the KOA campground after she heard a loud noise and ran toward the walking trail, where she saw the trailer flip into the creek.

Dobbs ran to the camper she shares with her husband and told him to call 911. At the crash site, she witnessed a person holding the trapped semi-truck drivers head out of the water. Minutes later emergency responders arrived.

Still feeling adrenaline course through her body as she watched workers from Baker Auto winch the semi-truck from the creek, the former emergency room nurse said she didnt expect to see survivors when she raced to the scene.

Ive never seen anything like this, Dobbs said.

Cory Kinman said it would take him and a Baker Auto co-worker about 10 hours to pull both the semi-truck and trailer from Blacktail Creek.

Its a pretty awful wreck, but its pretty standard, although the access made the job complicated, he said.

Doherty said response to the crash basically emptied both (fire) stations. He commended the fluid communication among the agencies and departments that responded to the scene, saying everybody was on the same page.

Skuletich also credited the team work of responders as well as the quick-thinking of the vans driver after he witnessed the semi-truck and trailer cross the interstate median and lurch toward oncoming traffic.

Its amazing that no one was killed, he said.
Topics will include land values and cash rent trends, cost of production, methods for determining a rental rate, legislative updates regarding leases, and communicating with tenants or landlords.

More than half of Iowas farmland is rented, and strong landlord/tenant relationships are important for the long-term viability of Iowas valuable farmland, said Alejandro Plastina, assistant professor of economics and extension economist at Iowa State University. Cash rent values across the state of Iowa have declined for the third consecutive year, dropping by 6.5 percent from 2015. Every crop reporting district in the state saw a decline in rental prices.

The three-hour workshop is designed to assist landowners, farm tenants and other agri-business professionals with current issues related to farmland ownership, management and leasing arrangements. Attendees will gain a better understanding of current cash rental rate surveys and factors driving next years rents such as market trends and input costs.

A 100-page workbook is compiled for the programs, with resources regarding land leasing agreements such as surveys, sample written lease agreements and termination forms, along with many other publications.

The leasing meetings being held across Iowa are facilitated by ISU Extension and Outreach farm management specialists.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  While scratching a heart with initials into wood can be an endearing testimony of love, it can cause damage and deface historical building sites such as the Pine Creek Mill at the Wildcat Den State Park.

As of now, almost the entire bottom of the north wall of the Pine Creek Grist Mill is covered with carvings of initials, names and the dates or years they were carved and other graffiti carvings.

Park Ranger Cody Brotherson was not pleased by the high amount of graffiti on the wall.

To me its disappointing because it takes away from the aesthetic, Brotherson said. It also hurts the integrity of the wood and a historical landmark.

Brotherson said the renovations will involve staining the wood on the mill to cover up some of the graffiti, replacing some siding by the creek that gets damaged during floods and placing some lights on the front of the mill to illuminate the area at night. There also was a sidewalk that was recently constructed that leads to the mill.

Brotherson said they dont know what the price total for the renovations will be, but he said the renovations will require the park to rent a lift truck, which can cost up to $500 per day.

While the park and Friends of the Pine Creek Mill are looking to do some renovations on the mill, the park management also have other projects, such as managing all the camping areas, keeping trails clear and many other duties.

The Pine Creek Grist Mill also hosts tours throughout the day. Friends of the Pine Creek Mill member Heather Shoppa gives tours and said the mill has been popular the past few weeks.

Weve had about 10 field trips come here, Shoppa said. Some of them come from as far as Ainsworth, Iowa.

The Pine Creek Grist Mill is open from June thru August and on Wed thru Sunday afternoons from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
5-9 p.m. Tuesday  The Fruitland Community Lion's Club will be hosting a fundraiser at Boonies on the Avenue, 214 Iowa Ave. The public is invited to join for food and fellowship.

6-8 p.m. Tuesday  Writers on the Avenue meets the second Tuesday of each month in the Student Center of Muscatine Community College. Join local writers as they share work and inspiration. Membership is $10 per year. The first meeting is free. Email wotamuscatine@gmail.com or call (563) 275-6343 for more information.
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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 []
Times Media has announced the results of its 12th annual Sunday Times Generation Next youth survey.

The opinions of 5,500 young urban South Africans (aged 822) were polled to establish which brands are the coolest of the cool in 2016.

Overall coolest brand was awarded to Nike, which also claimed top spot as the coolest clothing brand with the coolest brand slogan.

The Coolest Brand Overall winner is determined from the chi-square distances between the top three winners in eight categories.

They are: coolest cellphone, clothing store, clothing brand, motor vehicle, hi-tech gadget, computer brand, fast food, and cold drink.

A selection of the results related to tech and gadgets is given below.

Coolest cellphones

Rank Coolest Cellphones 2016 Coolest Cellphones 2015 1 Samsung Samsung 2 Apple iPhone Apple iPhone 3 Sony BlackBerry 4 Huawei Nokia 5 BlackBerry Huawei 6 Nokia Sony Ericsson 7 Windows Phone LG 8 LG Alcatel 9 Alcatel Motorola 10 Other Other

Coolest computers

Rank Coolest Computer Brands 2016 Coolest Computer Brands 2015 1 Samsung Samsung 2 Apple Mac Apple Mac 3 Sony Sony 4 LG LG 5 HP HP 6 Lenovo Lenovo 7 Acer Acer 8 Dell Dell 9 Toshiba Toshiba 10 Alienware Intel

Coolest hi-tech gadget

Rank Coolest Hi-Tech Gadgets 2016 Coolest Hi-Tech Gadgets 2015 1 iPhone Xbox 2 Xbox Samsung Galaxy Tablet 3 PlayStation iPhone 4 iPad Laptop 5 Samsung Galaxy tablet PlayStation 6 Laptop/Computer iPad 7 Cellphone 3D TV 8 Selfie stick Samsung Cellphone 9 Tablet iPod 10 Apple watch Samsung Galaxy Gear

Coolest brand overall

Rank Coolest Brand Overall 2016 Coolest Brand Overall 2015 1 Nike Nike 2 Samsung Coca-Cola 3 Apple Samsung 4 Coca-Cola Mercedes-Benz 5 BMW BMW 6 Mercedes-Benz adidas 7 adidas Apple 8 Mr Price Mr Price 9 McDonalds Xbox 10 Xbox KFC

The demographics of the study are summarised in the graphs below.

More on the coolest brands in South Africa

Huawei is taking the fight to Samsung in South Africa

The Samsung smartphone for R22,999

Apple has created an energy company

Apple to launch 5K monitor with built-in graphics card: report

The PlayStation 4K is real
Consumer Reports recently published its Top 10 Best Cars of the Year for 2016 list, detailing the top vehicles in the market.

The list was based on tests by Consumer Reports, rating vehicles performance, reliability, owner satisfaction, and safety.

The cars were selected from vehicles available in the American market, and were divided into categories.

We took the list and sourced prices from local dealers to see what South Africans have to pay to own a top 10 car.

The top cars and their local pricing are listed below.

Note: Certain cars which are not available in South Africa as new models were omitted from the list.

Top cars of 2016  SA pricing

Best Subcompact Car: Honda Fit (Jazz)

Entry-level  Jazz Trend : R198,300

Top-end  Jazz Dynamic Automatic: R290,300

Best Compact Car: Subaru Impreza

The new Subaru Impreza was not confimred for South Africa when it launched in March.

At the time of writing, only local pricing for the latest WRX and STI versions was available.

2.0 Turbo Manual WRX  R529,000

Best Small SUV: Subaru Forester

Entry-level  2.0X 6MT: R384,000

Top-end  2.0XT CVT: R590,000

Best Luxury SUV: Lexus RX

Entry-level  RX 350 EX: R851,600

Top-end  RX 450 SE: R1,074,800

Best Sports Car Under $40,000: Mazda MX-5

Mazda MX-5: R425,400

Best Midsized SUV: Kia Sorento

Entry-level  Sorento 2.4 LS: R443,995

Top-end  Sorento 2.2 CRDi: R699,995

More motoring news

Uber hikes prices in South Africa

The safest cars in the world
Samsung has been named the coolest cellphone and coolest computer brand in South Africa.

This is based on the results of the 12th annual Sunday Times Generation Next youth survey, which polled 5,500 young urban South Africans (aged 823) to establish which brands are the coolest of the cool in 2016.

Overall coolest brand was awarded to Nike, which also claimed top spot as the coolest clothing brand with the coolest brand slogan. Samsung, Xbox, and Apple made an appearance in the overall brand rankings.

As with its surveys from 2009 to 2015, the Coolest Brand Overall winner is determined from the chi-square distances between the top three winners in eight categories.

They are: coolest cellphone, clothing store, clothing brand, motor vehicle, hi-tech gadget, computer brand, fast food, and cold drink.

The results of coolest cellphone, computer, and overall brand is shown below.

Coolest cellphones

Rank Coolest Cellphones 2016 Coolest Cellphones 2015 1 Samsung Samsung 2 Apple iPhone Apple iPhone 3 Sony BlackBerry 4 Huawei Nokia 5 Blackberry Huawei 6 Nokia Sony Ericsson 7 Windows Phone LG 8 LG Alcatel 9 Alcatel Motorola 10 Other Other

Coolest computers

Rank Coolest Computer Brands 2016 Coolest Computer Brands 2015 1 Samsung Samsung 2 Apple Mac Apple Mac 3 Sony Sony 4 LG LG 5 HP HP 6 Lenovo Lenovo 7 Acer Acer 8 Dell Dell 9 Toshiba Toshiba 10 Alienware Intel

Coolest brand overall

Rank Coolest Brand Overall 2016 Coolest Brand Overall 2015 1 Nike Nike 2 Samsung Coca-Cola 3 Apple Samsung 4 Coca-Cola Mercedes-Benz 5 BMW BMW 6 Mercedes Benz adidas 7 adidas Apple 8 Mr Price Mr Price 9 McDonalds Xbox 10 Xbox KFC

More on Samsung

The South African pricing for this limited edition Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is an Injustice

Samsung unveils the smallest 512GB SSD in the world

Samsung announce South African SUHD TV prices
Current and former students, colleagues and employers find it difficult to limit their admiration of Professor Dean Ehlen, the Napa Valley College machine shop instructor who has turned students into top-notch machinists for 30 years.

Ehlen, 70, retired from teaching June 3, celebrating with colleagues who credit him as a motivator who created machinists, taught them ethics, helped them find jobs, changed their lives and improved the local economy.

Also retiring is his partner, Luke Roy, 81, the colleges machine tool repair technician for the past 25 years.

Ehlen doesnt like talking about himself, but he enjoys hearing what others have to say about his teaching style.

When he explains something, he makes sure you understand the concept of why it is the way it is, said second-year student Kayla Marie-Guffey, 21, of Fairfield.

He gave me motivation and got me a few job offers with Shell Oil and Tschida Engineering.

Bruce Tschida said his Napa company has hired several of Ehlens students over the past 25 years.

He is very dedicated, without a lot of fluff or bling, said Tschida.

What he tells you, you can take to the bank. He has character, dedication and passion; hes there for the students, to help them get through the trade.

Another of Ehlens success stories is Jim Ensele, a student in the 1990s, who has hired several NVC students as production supervisor for Benchmark Electronics of Concord.

One of the reasons Deans students made such good employees, is that he taught real-world lessons, said Ensele.

He would job out work so the students were making real-life production components, not just a vise or a clamp. The students came out of his program with a sense of accomplishment, and an understanding of what is expected of them in the workplace.

Between that and his years of experience, he created the perfect learning environment. It was an honor working with him, and learning from him all these years. A lot of the successes I have had are because of what I learned from Dean.

Will Wingard, senior recruiter for Shell Oil Co., said Napa Valley College is unique among the five California colleges he mines for new talent.

Its very difficult to find mechanical programs of the caliber that NVC produces, because most are computer- managed, said Wingard, who has been recruiting Ehlens top students for four years.

Its like art vs. science. Napa Valley will produce artists, who take raw pieces of metal and fabricate parts. Thats a dying breed of skill, and the way the economy is going that skill is in very high demand. So its hard to find people who are willing to teach because they could make gobs of money doing the work.

When I come looking for summer interns, Dean will give me the names of students who have the work ethic, skills, and the right mindset around teamwork and safety. The ones he recommends have been very good. They have the science, but also the art.

Michelangelo looked at a block of marble and flicked away everything but the art; Deans students do that with metal, said Wingard.

One of Ehlens former students, Alex Bindewald, works with York Machine Works in St. Helena.

In many areas, Dean went above and beyond what he was expected to do, because he cared and did everything he could to help his students and his community, said Bindewald. These were his students and his community  you could feel that he was not just there to pick up a paycheck.

One of his top students, Osiel Hererra Martinez, 28, went to work at Shell after completing his educational program with Ehlen in 2013. Martinez, a first-generation American, said Ehlen helped him realize his dreams.

Dean goes out and looks for jobs for people, Martinez said.

I never pictured having as much income as I do now. I actually bought a home one year ago, qualifying for a $450,000 house by myself. I owe him a lot.

Thomas Gray, a current student, said Ehlen teaches confidence.

Because he teaches foundation basics, he gives any student a way to progress in any company theyre placed in. He is a teacher of life, dedicated, with a good heart. Hes irreplaceable.

Gary Faulk, who credits Ehlen for training him and getting him a job 28 years ago at Tschida Engineering, said the ethics he learned in the NVC program served him for the rest of his life.

The main thing that I see in Deans people who work in the business, is that they have a good work ethic. That has got to start somewhere  it comes from what he does when people show up late. He says, You gotta be here. Employers need people who are on time and who want to work. It was great that he was able to instill that in his students.

To inspire students who doubt their ability to become machinists, Ehlen posted a framed photo in the shop classroom of David Haymond, a star student with a neuromuscular disease and a transplanted heart who required a ventilator 24 hours a day. Haymond died in January 2011, but his legacy lives on in Ehlens classroom.

Bindewald doubts anyone can replace Ehlen.

The vast majority of people could not stand up to the superlatives that are used to describe him. When I heard he was retiring, my first thought was that its not going to be the same.

Early this year, Shell Oils Work Force Development Specialist David Esquibel urged the college to recruit a new full-time training professor.

In May, the college announced it is seeking a full-time, tenure-track Machine Tool Technology Instructor. The application period is scheduled to close June 29.

Shells senior recruiter is pragmatic about finding someone like Ehlen, who worked in private industry long before joining NVC.

If you find someone with the skill to do this job, they will come from the industry, said Wingard.

If we want to keep the industry going we may have to supply the talent.
Saturday morning in American Canyon featured bright, clear skies and plenty of talk about vision and seeing the road ahead for high school graduates.

School officials and valedictorians at American Canyon High Schools 2016 commencement ceremony spent time talking about the future and how to get there.

Slowly envision your dream, envision your future, said Danielle Harris, one of 16 valedictorians to take the stage for a shared 20-minute speech. I see myself as a cutting- edge neurosurgeon.

Like the rest of the ACHS student population, the valedictorians were a mix of backgrounds and ethnicities, from white to black, Filipino to Hispanic, and more.

I see myself adding diversity and fresh perspective to a homogenous field, said Harris, who is black, shattering any suppositions that suggest a ceiling to my capabilities.

Harris was joined on stage by Heba Shanaa, who repeated her classmates chorus of I see my future

We have spent four years creating our vision, changing this vision, Shanaa said.

Valedictorian Jennifer Colcleaser credited ACHS for shaping their visions, saying they would do the same thing for the world theyre now entering.

The diversity of our visions will ultimately shape the society we live in, said Colcleaser. No matter what your ambitions in life are, whether you want to become a doctor, an architect, a musician or anything else you may want to be, just know your vision is what will guide you to your success.

Still another of ACHSs best of the best was Tyler Leary, who will begin training and learning at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 16 days to follow my dream of becoming a positive leader in the military.

Tyler not only talked about seeing the future, but also of the difficulty of keeping his eyes open.

There were times when I wanted to close my eyes and reject our dark, beautiful world, said Leary. It took courage for me to open my eyes to reality.

I urge you all to keep your eyes open because youll never be able to grab your dream if you cant see it, Leary said.

Napa Valley Unified School District Superintendent Patrick Sweeney provided his own vision metaphor as well as encouragement for American Canyon seniors to pursue their future goals.

If youve ever driven through fog, it can be scary, said Sweeney, who lived and worked in the Central Valley with its notorious Tule fog before coming to NVUSD. You know the road is there, but you cant see it clearly.

But if you turn on your headlights, go slowly and just keep going, keep moving forward, said Sweeney, you eventually get to the sunlight.

Life will have moments like driving through fog, he added, just keep going, trust in your vision, and youll be fine.
John Tuteur, Napa County registrar of voters, has rejected an initiative designed to protect watersheds in Napa County, because it does not meet the requirements of state law.

Unfortunately, county counsel has found the petition does not meet the requirements of state law, so as the (countys) elections official, it is my duty to reject the petition on that ground, Tuteur said.

I rejected it today at noon, Tuteur said Thursday evening. The proponents have the opportunity to ask a judge to overturn that rejection and that is mentioned in my message to them.

The rejection was based on what Tuteur calls a very technical issue. The text of the initiative cites other documents and county counsel believes those documents had to be included with the petition, and they werent.

On Friday afternoon, Angwins Mike Hackett, a spokesman for the Water, Forest and Oak Woodland Protection Initiative, said Napa County officials illegally blocked the initiative from the ballot, after certifying that it had enough signatures to qualify on Monday.

To say the least, we are shocked by this reversal of opinion, he said. County counsel had six weeks to review the initiative, and initially approved it without any reservations.

Tuteur said proponents turned in the petition with its 6,300 signatures on May 11. He added that he began checking the signatures and also forwarded the initiative petition to county counsel. On Tuesday, after Tuteur certified the petition  meaning the petition had enough valid signatures  county counsel found the problem with it.

Attorneys with Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, LLP, the law firm that wrote the initiative, plan to file suit on behalf of the Water, Forest and Oak Woodland Protection Committee next week, Hackett said. The same firm drafted and successfully defended Napa Countys Measure J through the appeals process, all the way to the California Supreme Court.

Robert Perl Perlmutter, attorney with Shute, Hihaly & Weinberger, said, We believe that county counsels opinion is dead wrong and that the county acted illegally. In our experience, the countys arguments are those that are typically made by special interest industry groups opposing land use measures and that the courts have rejected.

The proponents turned in 6,300 signatures, needing only 3,791 valid signatures.

Proponents argue that Napa County suffers from insufficient setbacks, called water quality buffer zones, along its creeks and other waterways. The initiative is aimed at keeping Napa Countys drinking water clear and abundant by protecting streams and creeks on hillsides and mandates protections for oak woodlands.

Tuteur said the only way the initiative will be on the Nov. 8 ballot is if a judge overturns his ruling, otherwise, proponents will have to start the whole process over.

The measure is opposed by Napa Valley Grapegrowers, Napa County Farm Bureau, Napa Valley Vintners and Winegrowers of Napa County.

No-kill animal shelter

Tuteur has certified the signatures for a second initiative petition dealing with the no-kill animal shelter. It will be at the board of supervisors (meeting) on June 14, he said Thursday evening.

On Tuesday, the board can adopt the ordinance at its June 21 meeting, can put it directly on the Nov. 8 ballot for a vote or it can ask for a 9111 report, which Tuteur said looks at the initiative and its possible impacts.

If the board requests that report, it needs to be completed within 30 days, so it could come back to the supervisors by its July 12 meeting, which he said is plenty of time to be put on the November ballot.

The initiative measure called Yes on Reducing Euthanasia at Napa County Animal Shelter would modify the Napa County Code in eight ways. According to the petition, The purpose and intent of this measure is to improve the quality of life for dogs, cats and rabbits and avoid their unnecessary destruction by improving the live release rate for the Napa County Animal Shelter to at least 90 percent.

Its proponents are Monica Stevens, founder of Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch (JARR) and Pam Ingalls, board president of Wine Country Animal Lovers (WCAL).
New details on the death of The Voice alum Christina Grimmie are now coming to light after police held a press conference in Orlando, Florida this morning.

According to the Orlando Police Departments Twitter, the still unnamed shooter was a 27-year-old male fan of Christina who traveled from his home in another Florida city in order to commit the murder. He planned to travel back home afterwards and was armed with two handguns, two additional loaded magazines, and a large hunting knife.

It appears that a white male, 27 years of age, approached Christina Grimmie This white male approached her and opened fire, striking her.

The police say they will release the mans name later today after his family is notified.

According to officers, the man was a fan and there was no indication that he knew Christina. They say that the venue where the shooting took place, The Plaza Live Orlando, does not have metal detectors but does employ security guards who check bags prior to fans entering the building. Plaza Live Orlando has canceled a Kidz Bop concert that scheduled for today.

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As reported earlier, 22-year-old Christina Grimmie, who placed 3rd during the 6th season of The Voice, was shot following a performance in Orlando on Friday. She was the opening act and was at a merchandise table signing autographs when the gunman opened fire. Her brother Marcus then tackled the gunman who ended up shooting and killing himself. Christina was rushed to the hospital where she later died.

My heart goes out to everyone involved. There really are no words to express how sad this whole story is.

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Suspect who shot @TheRealGrimmie is a 27yo WM. He is not local. He was armed with 2 handguns and a hunting knife. pic.twitter.com/fxvfXua7BM  Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016

Investigation: it appears suspect was alone, approached @TheRealGrimmie during meet & greet w/fans & opened fire. pic.twitter.com/3mjbZGQYrk  Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016

. @TheRealGrimmie died from those gunshot wounds. Her brother is a hero and possibly saved countless other lives. He is not injured.  Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016

. @ChiefJohnMina Christina Grimmies brother Marcus tackled the suspect & shortly after that suspect killed himself. pic.twitter.com/Z8CIb0k5TG  Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016

. @ChiefJohnMina There was security at the venue but they are not armed & there were no extra duty OPD officers pic.twitter.com/HKMPI80H8q  Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016

Detectives are looking at his phone and computer and hope to identify a motive. His name will be released later pic.twitter.com/FF7lNiNxY6  Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016

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[rps]
Israel president gives US intel on Iran UAVs in Ukraine

World oil prices falling

Armenia MPs approve several changes to laws

FM: Armenia has never lost its belief in humanity despite facing many challenges, calamities

Canada embassy to soon be opened in Armenia

Biden: Russia would be making serious mistake to use tactical nuclear weapon

Margarita Simonyan says she is banned from entering Armenia

Newspaper: Artsakh Public Council establishment causes concern in political arena

India fines Google for $113 million

Mass dedicated to peace in Armenia is celebrated at Vatican

Biden says Russia would make 'serious mistake' if it deploys tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Romania plans to intensify talks on Black Sea and military purchases

Karekin II and Aram I refuse to participate in World Armenian Forum

IMF Director: Ukraine's need for external financing could reach $5 billion month

Turkey continues to beat out gas discount from Russia and payment deferral from Gazprom

Alen Simonyan refuses to participate in fifth meeting of Russian-Armenian Lazarev Club

UN Security Council to meet at Russia's request over accusations that Iran is supplying drones to Russia

Leading Wall Street bankers warn of recession in US and Europe

Armenian FM tells Vatican secretary of state about Azerbaijani aggression

Secretary of Armenian Security Council holds telephone conversation with Biden's aide

IEA head: World still needs Russian oil to flow into the market

Norwegian police arrest man on suspicion of spying for Russia

Ambassador-at-Large meets with Personal Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office

EU to offer banks to offer mandatory instant payments in euros

Ambassador: Active efforts of Armenian authorities are registering regress in Armenian-Russian relations

Saudi minister: Saudi Arabia and US will overcome unjustified spat

Zatulin: My ban on entering Armenia coincides with trilateral meeting planned in Russia

Rishi Sunak vows to fix 'mistakes' of Liz Truss

MFA comments on information about meeting of special envoys of Armenia and Turkey

Daily Sabah: Armenian, Turkish special representatives next meeting planned in Turkey

The Telegraph: US President Biden mispronounces Rishi Sunak's name

Zelenskyy proposes creating platforms for the 'de-occupation' of Transnistria and Abkhazia

'Armenia' bloc deputy: Nikol Pashinyan and Suren Papikyan are lying

Dollar falls, euro rises

Stanislav Zass discusses with Lavrov situation in CSTO zone of responsibility

New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife are richer than royalty

Klaar: EU actively engaged in Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process at all levels

Nissan reveals updated Juke crossover

FM briefs Sovereign Order of Malta Grand Chancellor on Armenia position on normalizing relations with Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan prepares for peace with Armenia but dramatically increases military budget

North Korea completes preparations for nuclear test

Azerbaijan manipulates facts, creates information pretext to encroach on Lachin corridor

Azerbaijan military aggression against Armenia is discussed at Francophonie Parliamentary Assembly conference (PHOTOS)

Peskov says details of gas hub with Turkey were being worked out

Konstantin Zatulin on ban on his entry into Armenia: I see it as insulting move

Putin's spokesman says building wall on Russian-EU borders is nonsense

Turkey begins its part of work on gas hub agreement with Russia

Kremlin responds to Macron's appeal to Pope to negotiate with Putin

Millliyet: Turkish and Finnish delegations hold talks on NATO membership in Ankara

Zelenskiy: Ukraine receives not 'a single cent' on $17 billion rapid recovery plan

Rishi Sunak takes office as Prime Minister of Great Britain

Indonesian armed woman tries to break into presidential palace

Pashinyan's family newspaper writes that Konstantin Zatulin is forbidden to enter Armenia from now on

President Raisi accuses U.S. of information terrorism, organizing riots in Iran

AraratBank and 4090 Charity Foundation team up for the education of war participants

Ursula von der Leyen: EU to provide Kyiv with 1 billion for urgent restoration of energy supply

World Bank to provide Armenia with EUR 22.6 million of additional credit funds

Macron asks Pope to call Putin to solve Ukraine crisis

PM: Azerbaijan hinders search of Armenian soldiers' bodies in occupied territories

German president assures Ukraine of his full support

Armenia ruling force MP: Major powers have told us You should sign that agreement by the end of the year

WSJ: Saudi Prince Bin Salman mocks Biden in private talks

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

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

Armenia premier: Italy is friendly country, important partner for us

Pashinyan to Xi: We will succeed in qualitatively raising Armenian-Chinese political dialogue to new level

World Bank allocates Ukraine additional $500 million

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

Largest cruise liner in world 'Icon of the Seas' presented

U.S. police officers mistake pet cat for mountain lion

Joe Biden gets another Covid-19 booster shot

US imposes sanctions on Nicaragua's gold mining industry

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
Russia's share in the EU trade turnover has fallen from 10 to 6% in recent years, at the same time Brussels wants to keep access to the Russian market, EU Ambassador to Moscow Vygaudas Usackas said in interview to the Kaliningrad Pregel.me portal.

He noted that in the course of numerous trips from Kaliningrad to the Far East he met representatives of Russian business and the vast majority of Russian businessmen and investors believe that the EU is the main economic partner of Russia.

According to the diplomat, this is supported by the facts: 46% of Russia's trade turnover accounts for the EU, 75% of foreign investments arrive to Russia from the EU, 70% of the Russian hydrocarbons are on sale in the market of the EU.

Usackas said that Russia's dependence on the EU is quite obvious, as well as Unions desire to maintain its position in the Russian market of 140 million citizens and consumers. They want to keep access to Russias market. Though, he is to admit, in recent years, Russia's share in EU trade turnover has fallen from 10% to 6%.

He also added that he thinks that unfortunately, these four years in his biography and in EU-Russia relations will remain in history as a period of crisis management. He will go down in history as an ambassador for crisis. From this point of view, he builds his work understanding the scale of disagreements and recognizing that they should keep bridges of communication and cooperation where it is possible. Disagreements appear and disappear, while the work of the diplomat is to keep the best that is between them.

The issue of the extension of the EU sanctions is planned to be considered at the summit on June 28-29.
New circumstances on the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans visit to U.S. in order to attend the funeral of box legend Muhammad Ali have been revealed.

According to Turkish newspaper Cumuhuriyet, Erdogan wished to hand to the boxers family presents he had brought from Turkey, but he remained with the presents in his hands. The President then visited the museum opened in Alis honor to hand the presents to one of the sportsmans family members, but nobody approached him there. Thus, aggrieved Erdogan had to leave the place.

The Turkish President wanted to deliver a speech at Muhammad Alis funeral service, but Alis family turned him down. He also wanted to lay a cloth from the Kaaba on Alis coffin during the ceremony, but the family members refused this. Erdogan also wanted the head of Turkey's religious affairs directorate to recite part of the Koran, but this wish had also been refused



Following this, the Turkish President returned to Turkey without taking part in the funeral.
The Armenian Embassy in Russia has issued a statement in connection with the announcement of the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia, Polad Bulbuloglu, and the recently frequent statements in which the Ambassador recalls the well-known UN resolutions and threatens to restart the war.

There is no doubt in that the initiator of this aggression was Azerbaijan. In all the recent statements - in the form of interviews and announcements - the Azerbaijani Ambassador is doing his best to consign to oblivion his own words uttered a few hours after the launch of the large-scale military actions in the Karabakh conflict zone, which witnessed that exactly Azerbaijan initiated the military adventure. His ensuing claims are designed for the ignorant part of his compatriots.

We once again recall that the references to the Azerbaijani interpretations of the known UN Security Council resolutions and the selective commentaries on separate provisions of the key principles of the international legal settlement of the conflict in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group is the conscious distortion of the existing documents.

In this connection, we propose to the Azerbaijani Ambassador to study the detailed analysis of the patriarch of the Karabakh conflict settlement negotiation process, Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov, published Friday.

Such statements and commentaries of the Azerbaijani colleagues, which distort facts and reality, do not contribute to the current efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards the peaceful settlement of the conflict, which Azerbaijan allegedly strives for.

As to the subsequent mention on the possible military solution of the problem, we would like to note that after Azerbaijan asked Russia to be a ceasefire mediator in the Karabakh conflict zone in 1994, enough time has passed to make sure of the impossibility of the military option.

Even if someone fostered such hopes, they crumbled in the beginning of April. Thus, it is illogical to come up with such rhetoric in Russia, especially when the latter once again shows an initiative to continue the talks on the peaceful settlement of the conflict.
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Zardari's comments come amid tension between Pakistan and the US following Washington's backing to India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Zardari said the US appeared to doubt Pakistan's role in the war against terrorism.

In an article published in Chicago Tribune, Zardari said he can challenge those US Congressmen who doubted Pakistan's intentions.

"I would challenge any faction in Congress that holds this view to come to Pakistan and bear witness to our solidarity and resolve," he said.

He said Pakistan had lost nearly 5,000 troops and thousands of civilians in the war against terror.

The Pakistan People's Party leader said: "Pakistan has rooted out extremist safe havens, played a critical role in dismantling Al Qaeda's deeply entrenched networks and seized more than 160 tonnes of improvised explosive device precursors.

"In addition to the severe human costs, three decades of war has also meant slower economic growth and foreign direct investment than that of other developing countries whose borders are not active war zones."

He said Pakistan was ready and willing to continue its role in defeating terrorism, but the US has a part to play in assuring the country's ability to fight and win on the battlefield.

--IANS py/mr

( 230 Words)

2016-06-11-12:54:04 (IANS)
TMZ quoted Heard's lawyer Samantha Spector as saying that the 30-year-old actress is currently in New Jersey for a friend's engagement party and then will jet off to London for a fitting for Justice League and thereafter she will be available for a deposition.

Spector further said the actress will not return home until June 16 before the hearing on 17.

In the court documents, Depp's lawyer Laura Wasser has reportedly claimed that the 'Danish Girl' actress is purposely avoiding the deposition.

Furthermore, the actress' attorney has made a plea to push back the hearing as it requires more time to prepare Heard to present her case.

The deposition came at the request of Wasser, who asked the judge not to reschedule the hearing in order to avoid potential further public damage to his client's career. (ANI)
Justifying his 'stand' in the Delhi Assembly, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vijender Gupta on Saturday accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of hiding issues of corruption, adding when he was trying to expose the matter, his mike was put off, so he had to perch atop a desk to put forth his views. "The Chief Minister is trying to hide many issues of corruption. When I raised the issue in the House in the calling for attention motion, my mike was put off. We are two in the House, they are 67...their mike was on and they were shouting. They somehow wanted to suppress the matter," Gupta told ANI. He further stated that if issues of corruption are hidden, it would be injustice to the people of Delhi. "In order to make my stand clear, I had to stand on the bench," he added. Gupta yesterday created uproar in the House by perching himself atop a desk of the Assembly protesting against the opposition. Gupta was demanding that a fact-finding committee report on an alleged water tanker scam during Sheila Dikshit's tenure be made public and a calling attention motion on the matter, which Speaker Ram Niwas Goel rejected. Lashing out at Gupta, leader of opposition in the Assembly, Arvind Kejriwal demanded that the Delhi Government be given control over the ACB, which he said will ensure the jailing of the former's wife over her role in an alleged pension scam and also investigate the alleged tanker scam within a week. "BJP has no respect for democratic institutions like Legislative Assembly. Look at BJP's Leader of Oppn's conduct. Shocking. Absolutely shockin," Kejriwal tweeted. The second day of the special session was convened to discuss issues plaguing the municipal corporations, which also saw Kejriwal hitting out at the BJP-controlled MCDs saying that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be unable to get a balcony constructed at his residence without paying bribe to the civic bodies. (ANI)
The Maharashtra Government has decided to celebrate the 21st of every month as Yoga Day across all schools, colleges and universities in the state. Maharashtra School and Higher Education minister Vinod Tawde had recently held a meeting with yoga institutions like Shri Shri Ravishankar's Art of Living, Ramdev Baba's Patanjali Yog Samiti, Samarth Vyayam Mandir, Bharat Swabhiman Nyas and others to discuss on various ways to celebrate International Yoga Day on June 21 on a grand scale at district levels. The minister said that it has been decided that every district will have to set up a Yoga Day committee to plan 'Yoga Mahostav' (Yoga Festival) every year between January 12 and 21 and a separate committee at the state level will monitor and coordinate with these committees. (ANI)
The god-man had allegedly used to force the youngsters into performing rituals that were physically and mentally torturous.

Police inspector Sunaina Nate of the Samta Nagar Police Station said, "One of the children managed to inform his kin about the exploitation he was subjected to. The kin immediately informed police about the matter."

Acting on information, a team of the Samta Nagar Police raided the premises on Friday evening and rescued 28 youths, including 12 minors, mostly hailing from Uttar Pradesh, said Nate.

The inspector said the youngsters were subjected to exploitation in the name of religious rituals.

"Two people- Bhagwandas Tiwari and Devendra Manoj Dube - have been arrested in this connection and further investigation into the case is on," said inspector Nate. (ANI)
Police headquarters sources here said that yesterday, a group of armed Maoists set on fire these vehicles which were involved in construction work on the Chama-Mccluskieganj road.

The vehicles included couple of JCBs, five tractors, a hyva and a pick-up van. Police said the ultras poured diesel on the vehicles and set them ablaze after which they returned to the forest areas.

Upon receiving the information, police personnel reached the spot from where Maoists' pamphlets were also recovered.

Search operations have been launched in the area for the arrest of the Maoists, sources claimed.UNI AK SV RSA 1027

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: A ten-day economic blockade on all National Highways and ban on national projects by tribal bodies affected life in the state. The strike was called in protest against three Bills passed to protect indigenous people of Manipur. Strike supporters have been enforcing the ban and blockade since June 9 midnight. The stir was launched by JAC Against the Anti-Tribal Bills, Churachandpur , Outer Manipur Tribal Forum (OMTF) , United Naga Council (UNC) . Manipur Police, however, were trying to bring back vehicles stranded on the national highways by providing adequate security . Every year tribal organisations impose economic blockade in the months of June, July to put up their demands. There was no movement of trucks on the highways, except thivehicales with escorts. Meanwhile, various organisations and students' bodies have appealed to the business community not to hike prices of essential commodities. UNI NS PL JW RK1230 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-780216.Xml
A centre for frontline research onradioecology and environmentgal radioactivity has been set up in theMangalore University with financial support from the Department ofAtomic Energy, Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Director K N Vyas dedicatedthe Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Radioactivity(CARER) at the university campus. The Centre, a national facility, got financial support fromBoard of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) of Department of AtomicEnergy. Research would be carried out in collaboration with BRNS,BARC, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, and Nuclear PowerCorporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor K Byrappa said thatbesides research, the Centre will facilitate testing of spices,packaged water, pharmaceuticals and other food material meant forexport as well as for public consumption in the country. "Accordingto International standards, food and beverage products need to befree of radiation for exports, and CARER will give a certificateafter testing them," he said. He said that industries such as thermal power plants can use thecentre for testing their products for radioactivity. Mr Byrappa said that the Centre will also facilitate research byphysics, chemistry, geology, botany, bio-science, zoology andmicrobiology departments in the university. The research is carriedout in collaboration with Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences,BARC, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, and Nuclear PowerCorporation of India Ltd. CARER has the capability to measureradionuclides in the nuclear fuel cycle and has collaboration withNational and International laboratories. CARER, accredited by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, hascapability to measure radionuclides of interest in the entirenuclear fuel cycle and has collaboration with national andinternational laboratories. University Registrar T D Kemparaju said that the Centre hasundertaken consultancy projects of Rs 1.2 crore and it has usersfrom nearly 30 different institutions of India and serve researchneeds of various research groups of the country working onradioecology and environmental radioactivity. Mr Vyas said that "even the BARC has no such instruments that canmatch this centre," and asked the faculty and students to make useof it. UNI MSP CNR CS -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-780279.Xml
Relations between the two countries had spoiled after Nepal implemented a new controversial constitution in October, which resulted in a border blockade for up to five months and a crisis in Nepal.

The meeting between the two leaders was held yesterday and both agreed to bring all bilateral mechanisms back on track, including the foreign ministerial level and joint commission, and resolving all the differences.

It was the first top political meeting after Nepal abruptly recalled ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay from the Indian capital and cancelled President Bidhya Devi Bhandari's visit scheduled in early May.

"The meeting focused on resuming bilateral engagement in all fronts, including political, diplomatic, security and trade and investment sectors," a foreign ministry source privy to the talks told The Himalayan Times.

When asked about accusations that India tried to overturn Prime Minister KP Oli's government in Nepal, Thapa said facts were misrepresented and claimed that ambassador's recall was aimed at building "better ties with India".

During the meeting, the two countries agreed to start the meeting of Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on reviewing bilateral treaties early next month. The two sides also agreed to hold a joint military exercise in Nepal, later in the year.

Before meeting Swaraj, Thapa also spoke at Press Club of India in New Delhi and addressed a talks programme at Observer Research Foundation. He will attend the maiden convocation ceremony of South Asian University in New Delhi today.(ANI)
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) eastern zone bench Kolkata has slapped a fine of Rs 1.39 crore on 132 brick industries of Tripura for non compliance of the mandatory environment norms.The tribunal asked the state government to utilise the entire fund for development of the environment of Tripura, official sources said here today.After a long hearing on the complaint of a Kolkata based lawyer that 1000 brick kilns have been operating in the state, without consent of Tripura State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB), the tribunal bench passed the order recently.Following the complaint, the tribunal issued notice to TSPCB seeking reply.TSPCB scientist Dr M K Das said after getting notice from the tribunal, they had conducted census across 348 brick kilns. As many as 127 brick industries were found to have not renewed consent and five kilns have been functioning without any consent since beginning.NGT bench after hearing the case directed 127 industries to pay Rs one lakh each and five industries, which had never taken consent, have to pay Rs 1.5 lakh each.UNI BB PL JW RSA VP1335 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-780210.Xml
Nagaland Minister of Health and Family Welfare P. Longong, has said the illegal appointment procedure in the department has been recorrected. He made the statement in an apparent reference to the recent RTI revelation that there have been 319 appointments in Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) Department without any vacancy or approval of the Government. Speaking as chief invitee at the Nagaland in-service Doctors' Association (NIDA) annual general body meeting here yesterday, Mr Longon asserted that whatever was happening he would re-correct it and restore the prestige of the H&FW Department after doing justice at appropriate time. He said that the prestige of the department lay in the hands of the doctors, and also the good health of the citizens. "When the doctors' fraternity works together in good coordination, you will definitely transform the public health care system of our state," Longong said. Pointing out that lifestyle disease was increasing at an alarming rate among today's generation the minister said that empowering people with preventive medical knowledge was vital. The health minister stated that now the government was putting sincere effort to create a congenial atmosphere for doctors to work in remote areas of the state. "Place of posting is not a big question when you chose to dedicate service to mankind," he said. UNI AS PL JW RSA RK1400 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-780243.Xml
A combined team of Assam and Nagaland police have arrested four persons from Assam on charges of fraud. They were arrested on June 9. Official sources said, the accused were brought to Dimapur yesterday. The fraudsters would call up unsuspecting victims with offers of computers and mobile phones placed at nominal rates. Potential buyers were asked to join web community portals such as Whatsapp and Facebook groups administered by the accused. Online money transactions would then take place with the scammers assuring the buyers of the promised products. The police used call data and bank transaction analyses of the phone numbers and bank accounts to pinpoint the locations of the suspects in Assam. After narrowing down possible locations, the investigation team headed to Guwahati on June 8. A series of raids were then conducted the next day in the Hatigaon area of Guwahati and Pathshala in Barpeta district resulting in the arrest of the four, who were brought to Dimapur yesterday. The accused have been identified as Dipjyoti Talukdar, Animesh Goswami, Mantu Patgiri and Pinky Moni Das. UNI AS PL JW RSA RAI1307 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-780248.Xml
President Pranab Mukherjee is embarking on a six-day tour of three African nations, Ghana, Cote D'Ivore and Namibia, tomorrow as part of the continuing efforts by India to shore up relations with countries of the continent. The Presidential outreach to Africa, where China has already a strong foot print, comes close on the heels of Vice-President Hamid Ansari's visit to Morocco and Tunisia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to travel to Africa soon. India this year held the third India-Africa Summit which was incidentally initiated by the President when in 2008 he held charge of external affairs. This is the President's first visit to Ghana and Cote D'Ivore and second to Namibia, but as President he is visiting Namibia also for the first time. ''The visit, apart from consolidating bilateral interaction, will carry forward the momentum generated in India-Africa ties post - IAFS-III,'' the Ministry of External Affairs said here today. The President's first destination will be Ghana where he is going at the invitation of his counterpart of the country John Dramani Mahama. Mr Mukherjee will have one-to-one meeting with President Mahama followed by delegation-level talks. A number of agreements were expected to be signed, including setting up of a Joint Commission between India and Ghana and renewal of Cultural Exchange Programme. The two countries have seen steady growth in bilateral trade and investments. India's cumulative investments in Ghana till date have exceeded 1 billion dollars and bilateral trade crossed 3 billion dollar mark in 2015-16. NRIs, professionals have invested in IT, Pharmaceuticals and other areas. The bilateral trade has gone up nearly 3 times. Ghana's main trade consists of gold imports, it's nearly 80 per cent of total trade. Ghanaian gold is in great demand in India. India's exports to Ghana are close to around 700 million dollars on an average and consists of a range of products like pharma, plastics, steel products, textiles and to most of the African countries besides cereals including wheat and rice. On arrival in Ghana's capital Accra, the President will be received by Vice-President Amissah-Arthur. Besides talks with the President, Mr Mukherjee would be delivering an address at the Joint Business Forum and at the University of Ghana, and interacting with the Indian community at a reception organised in his honour by the Indian High Commission. During the visit, the President will unveil a statue of Mahatma Gandhi gifted by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations and also plant a sapling at the Flag Staff House (Ghanaian Presidential Complex), an iconic building built with the Indian assistance through a Line of credit. He will also pay floral tributes to Ghana's first President Kwame Nkrumah at his mausoleum in Accra. Besides, the President will visit the India-Ghana Kofi Annan Centre of ICT Excellence in Accra, set up with modest Indian assistance of US $ 2.86 million. An interaction with the India community is also included in his programme. A State Banquet will be held in the President's honour and accompanying delegation by his Ghanian counterpart. In Ghana, there is a very prosperous Indian community, or Indian origin community actually, roughly around 10,000 of which 7000 have Indian passports. The President will depart for Cote d'Ivoire on June 14 on the second leg of his visit.More UNI NAZ AE RJ 1557 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0091-780591.Xml
Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh today said the future of South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC) rests on the pillars of State investment, assistant, corporation, people-to-people contact and connectivity.Speaking at the South Asian University convocation here, Mr Singh said, "SAARC regions are united by history geography, custom and religion and they have a lot in common like sports, culture, cuisine and movies. Calling youth as the leader of tomorrow, the MoS urged the students to promote friendship among the people of the region.''During the 2014 summit, SAARC leaders agreed to promote regional corporation in the field of education and that's why India has decided to bear 100 per cent of capital cost to establish the Universities."Our endeavour was to build a culture of understanding and regional consciousness, nurture liberal right and leadership quality in our youth," he added. While congratulating and giving certificates to the graduating students, Deputy Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister of Nepal Kamal Thapa said, "South Asian region, with all its diversity, has common challenges, which should be the concern for all, the University was designed to ensure that we collectively garner those faculties and split of scientific inquiry, he added. Mr Thapa said the convocation is a sign that SAARC has arrived in the stage of declaratory, for which the decision was taken in Dhaka. South Asian region have achieved glory in the field of knowledge and have teachers like Chanakya, Ved Vyas, Valmiki, Gautam Budh.He said, "It is the demonstration of our willingness and the ability to work together across borders to achieve greatness, that we can set example of regional corporation with the world through this great institution. South Asia cannot just be seen as a place when there was poverty and backwardness, as the region has made significant strides in Economic, Social and technology development, he said. Around 450 students received degrees, while 31 were honored with SAU gold medals for excellence.SAU is an international varsity established, funded and maintained by the governments of the member nations of SAARC.UNI SHS RJ 1612 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-780524.Xml
Observing that Pakistan believes attacking India is its birthright, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said a befitting response is needed to change the mindset of Islamabad. "Pakistan believes that attacking India is their birthright, they consider India a potential enemy to them. We need to change its mindset. Hume eent ka jawab pathar se dena hoga (we need to pay them back in full)," Mr Parrikar said late last night. He was interacting with prominent representatives of Ghaziabad along with local MP and Union Minister Gen (retd) VK Singh on the completion of two years of the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre. "I can understand Pakistan's stand on Jammu and Kashmir, but I didn't understand the reason for Mumbai attacks," he said. The Defence Minister's tough stance against Pakistan comes at a time when Islamabad was again showing signs of dithering on the Pathankot airbase attack case. Asked why India hesitates to take the same strong stand against China, which time and again sends its troops inside the Indian territory, Mr Parrikar said both the countries were in dialogue to thrash out the border dispute. "Not a single bullet has been fired from either side in last many years," Mr Parrikar said, explaining that the border transgression takes place as the line of actual control is not demarcated. "Sometime they come to our side according their perception of border while in some cases our soldiers go to patrol which Chinese claims that it was their territory. Even these incidents of transgressions have come down by 30 to 40 per cent.'' UNI MK AE RP1610 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0377-780636.Xml
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik was today released after a court granted him bail in a 29-year-old case. However, there was no relief for chairman of hardline Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani and another senior separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah who remained under house arrest. A TADA court granted bail to Malik, who was later released in open court at Bemina, a spokesman for the JKLF told UNI. He said Malik was remanded to judicial custody till today by the TADA court. Malik was arrested on June 4 and later sent to Judicial custody by a TADA court in the 29-year-old case. The other accused in the case were Mr Geelani, Mirwaiz south Kashmir late Dr Qazi Nissar Ahmad and senior separatist leader late Abdul Gani Lone, father of Sajjad Gani Lone, a minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government. Malik was instrumental in bringing together all separatist organisations against the alleged proposal to construct colonies for sainiks and migrants to change the demography of the state. However, the government has time and again denied that there is any proposal for sainik and pandit colonies or allotting land to any non-state subject for setting up industries in the state. Spokesman for the hardine HC Aiyaz Akbar said there was no change in the situation and a large number of security forces and state police personnel remained deployed outside the Hyderpora residence of Mr Geelani who is not being allowed to move out. He said Mr Geelani was put under house arrest immediately after he returned from New Delhi last month. He General Secretary of the amalgam Shabir Shah also remained under the house arrest, he added. "Strongly condemn imposing restrictions on Mr Geelani and Mr Shah", Mr Aiyaz said, adding that they were not being allowed to offer Friday prayers in a mosque, even during this holy month of Ramadan. UNI BAS AE RJ BL1554 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-780381.Xml
Security forces have been deployed to prevent Abhinav Gupta Yatra to a cave in the central Kashmir district of Badgam, as government has already announced that no such yatra will be allowed to maintain peace. Official sources told UNI that an additional Company of Central Paramilitary Forces, besides state police personnel, had been deployed on roads leading to the cave in central Kashmir. Security forces had also been deployed in entire Beerwah town to foil the proposed Abhinav Gupt Yatra to a cave in the town by a New Delhi-based organisation. They said all entry points to the cave have been sealed and nobody was being allowed to go there. The district administration has taken all precautionary measures as there were apprehensions of law and order problem, they said, addingn that the government has directed the local administration to ensure nobody enters the cave area, Minister for Education Naeem Akhtar said, the government has already made it clear that no such yatra will be allowed. However, BJP Members yesterday raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly, before they were directed by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh to resume their seats. A New Delhi-based organisation, Acharya Abhinav Gupt Samaroh Samiti, has announced the first ever yatra to the cave in Beerwah as there was no such yatra in the past. Yatra organisors said that it was nothing to do with religion, since Abhinav Gupt was a Kashmir scholar. However, the separatist organisations have strongly opposed any such yatra and said this was being done only to disturb peace in the valley. When there was no such yatra in the past why now, they questioned.UNI BAS ASM RJ BL1522 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-780461.Xml
The World Trade Centre GOA, promoted by MVIRDC, in association with WTC Mumbai, Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Limited (MUDRA Bank), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and The International Centre of Goa (ICG), will organise a Make in India: 2nd in series programme on 'Microfinance: AGame Changer for Financial Inclusion' on June 24. According to a statement issued here today, MUDRA CEO Jiji Mammen, Jaikish, General Manager & Officer-in-Charge, RBI - Goa Regional Office and Manguirish Pai Raiker, MSME Board Member & Advisor, WTC Goa will speak on the occasion. The event will deliberate on the role of MFIs in realisation of Financial Inclusion and different schemes available with the financial institutions for the MSMEs. The event will benefit MSMEs, Clusters, Startups, Women Entrepreneurs, Social Entrepreneurs, NGOs and Self-help groups. MUDRA Bank (MB), a part of the 2015-16 Union Budget proposals announced by the Finance Minister, acts as a tool to 'fund the unfunded'. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play a significant role in promoting financial inclusion by catering to the financial needs of Microenterprises, Startups and Women Entrepreneurs. Although there are around 69 MFIs registered as Non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) with the Reserve Bank of India, the country still has 233 million people (more than 19 per cent of the population), who areunbanked or financially excluded. Therefore through this programme experts will be sharing their insights on Microfinance and policyinitiatives, which can benefit participants in availing finance. According to the PMMY Report from MUDRA bank, the amount sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (2015-2016) for Goa is Rs 399.33 crore of, which Rs 376.04 crore is disbursed. For the year 2016-2017 as on 03/06/2016 Rs 33.00 crore is already sanctioned. This shows that there is an imperative need to create awareness on the available monetary schemes.UNI AKM NV AW RJ BL1606 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-780536.Xml
Tension gripped the Gopiganj area of this district in Uttar Pradesh after two Muslim groups Barelvi and Devbandi clashed here. Police sources said here today that after the Namaz of Taraveeh, two groups started fighting over some arguments at Sarai Mohallah. Just after that, around 300 to 400 people gathered there and started pelting stone yesterday. In their clash, not even women and children were spared. Six people were admitted to the hospital after fighting. Police reached after the information and controlled the situation. Extra police forces were deployed as a precautionary measure.UNI XC-MB RJ BL1642 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-780683.Xml
The march, which began from J P rounabout near Gandhi Maidan, Patna,was stopped by the police deployed there, leading to a scuffle between NDA workers and the men in uniform.

Sensing the aggressive mood ofthe protestors, police allowed them to move ahead for some distance.

The march soon took a violent turn as the agitators forcibly removed the barricade and moved ahead, forcing the police to use mild force to prevent them.

Even water canon was used to discourage NDA workers from marching ahead.

Finally, top NDA leaders, including leader of Opposition in BiharAssembly Prem Kumar, former Bihar chief minister and president of Hindustani Awam Morcha(HAM) Jeetan Ram Manjhi, BJP MLA Arun Kumar Sinha, former MP Lovely Anand, LJP MP Ramchandra Paswan and RLSP MLASudhanshu Sekhar were taken into custody near the Dak bungalow crossing forviolating prohibitory order.MORE UNI KKS PL RJ RK1445

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Criminals stabbed a prominent businessman to death and looted Rs three lakh from him at Bairhna village under Barh police station area in the district last night. Police said here today that outlaws stabbed food grain shop owner Lakhshmi Narayan Singh (60), when he was asleep at his residence. Later, they made good their escape after looting Rs three lakh kept inside an almirah. Family members found his body lying in a pool of blood in his room this morning and informed the police about the incident. An FIR had been lodged at Barh police station in this connection. A manhunt has been launched to nab culprits.UNI DH PL RJ BL1502 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-780402.Xml
The Jammu and Kashmir government today said that it will Inquire and intervene into allegations that some Kashmiri youth, who are undergoing training under Udaan outside the state, are being harassed. The assurance by the government came after Leader of the Opposition Omar Abdullah said that he has been receiving phone calls since last night by Kashmiri youth alleging that they are being harassed. "The youth called me and informed me that they are undergoing training under Udaan at some MBD group. They said they are being harassed and even after taking up the issue with the local police nothing is being done to help them" he informed the state Assembly. "I request the government to take necessary steps to safeguard our youth," he added. Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh was quick to respond, saying that the issue will be taken up with the concerned state government and will be resolved. Dr Singh further added that he has spoken to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who has assured him that security of Kashmiri youth and businessmen outside the state will be ensured. "We are also devising a plan in which ministers will be sent to different state of the country. They will organise meetings between representatives of state governments and our youth. It will instill confidence to our youth," he said.UNI ABS AE RJ AS1520 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-780416.Xml
A three member unidentified gang robbed cash, two mobile phones from employees of a petrol bunk at knife point at Padamathur near Tirupachethi, here today. Police said the gang, which came on a motorcycle attacked the watchman Angamuthu (59) with stones. Later, they entered the petrol bunk cabin and threatened the sales man M Selvam (22) at knife point, robbed Rs 22,000 cash, besides two mobile phones and fled. The injured watchman was admitted to the government hospital. Poovanthi police have registered a case and are searching for the culprits. UNI GSM MVR ADB 2014 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0434-781250.Xml
Jammu and Kashmir police today arrested a person in Badgam district following his return from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) after about 26 years, official sources said here.They said during a routine vehicle checking at Chadoora in Badgam, police arrested one Mohammad Shafi Bhat, a resident of Hushroo.Bhat had crossed over to the PoK for receiving arms training in 90s. However, he had recently returned home via Nepal.It was not immediately clear whether he had also returned under the rehabilitation policy. He was being questioned, they said.UNI BAS RSD SW SB2118 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-781399.Xml
Jammu and Kashmir government today ordered an inquiry into the installation of street LED lights in the Srinagar city.An official spokesman said here this evening that Deputy Chief Minister, Nirmal Singh, who also holds Power portfolio, has ordered inquiry into the installation of street LED lights and the method adopted for identification of locations for installation by Srinagar Municipal Corporation.The step has been taken after Eidgah MLA Mubarak Gul raised a question about the methodology adopted in installing the street LED lights in Srinagar city in the legislative Assembly here today. He alleged that areas of only ruling party members and leaders are being provided LED lights.UNI BAS SW SB2120 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-781419.Xml
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who spoke at the maiden convocation ceremony of the South Asian University (SAU) today in the national capital, asserted the India remains committed to see the varsity progress as a flagship progress of the region. Congratulating the students for the successful completion of their academic programme, Sushma recalled how the University was a concept that India had proposed at the 13th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka. "Our collective mission was to establish a university dedicated to the region which will have the best in terms of facilities, faculty, academic input and research. Our endeavour was to build a culture of understanding and regional consciousness; nurture liberal, bright and quality leadership among our youth and build the capacity of the region in science, technology and other disciplines considered vital for improving the quality of life of our peoples. I am glad that with the first convocation at SAU, we have reached at a definitive stage towards its realization," Swaraj said. Highlighting that the establishment of the University is one of the most visible signs of transformation of SAARC from a declaratory phase to implementation phase, Swaraj added that quality education for all, adequately supported by physical, technical and other facilities, has remained a key focus area for SAARC leadership. She also reaffirmed that the Indian Government on its part will do everything needed for the proper functioning and further development of the University. "India is committed to bear 100% of the capital cost towards the establishment of the University. The Government has identified and allotted an area of about 100 acres of land. The construction of the campus has started, with the groundbreaking ceremony of the boundary wall taking place in the presence of Hon'ble External Affairs Minister last year. Construction of Phase 2 of the project is to start soon," she said. "India is committed to see that the University progresses as a flagship project of the region, and as a catalyst for progress in creation of knowledge pool. I understand that the University will be able to have its full-fledged courses in more disciplines once the campus is ready. We will ensure speedy completion of the project," Swaraj added. Stressing on the importance of SAARC as it embodies the aspirations of the people from the region, the Union Minister told the students that they have now become the ambassadors of the South Asia region and called on the to brace themselves to combat the challenges which the region faces. "Despite strong growth and huge advances in education, healthcare and rural development, our region still has significant number of people living below the poverty line. We continue to face challenges in delivering food security, health, nutrition and education to our peoples. We have to find ways and means to unleash the true potential of our collective strength for transforming the region through rapid economic growth," Swaraj said. "As fresh graduates from the region, you can not only contribute to this process, but shape it. Youth are our future and demography is our advantage. I would urge each of you to think about how exposure and skills gained at the University can be best utilized to find creative solutions to the challenges that we are facing today," she added. She also thanked Nepal Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa for being present and participate in the convocation. (ANI)
Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Saturday said that the government is willing to settle down genuine demands of the parties protesting the country's newly promulgated Constitution. Oli made the statement while laying foundation stone for the Tarini Prasad Koirala Media Village in Biratnagar of Morang district today. Many other prominent leaders also spoke at the function. The Himalayan Times quoted Oli, as saying "The government is ready to solve the problem through talks if the demands are genuine. As a democratic Constitution is already in effect, let us build the nation. Why are you discontent with the Constitution?" The Prime Minister said that the Constitution had ensured rights and protection of all the people of the country including Dalits, marginalised communities and backward regions. He, however, maintained that he could not condone any separatist or anti-nationalist remark as the government had always kept the unity of the nation at the top of its priorities. He further added that the government was moving ahead with a mission to let the residents of the country enjoy all basic needs and rights. Nepal has been in a crisis like situation ever since the new constitution has been implemented, as many ethnic groups and minorities claim that their welfare has been undermined in the constitution. (ANI)
Several thousand demonstrators formed a human chain along the perimeter of a US Air Force Base in southwest Germany on Saturday in protest against drone operations by the United States.The demonstration was organised by the alliance "Stop Ramstein - No Drone War", which says the Ramstein base transmits information between operators in the United States and unmanned drone aircraft in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Syria.Police estimated 3-4,000 people had formed the chain close to the base, which serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe. Organisers spoke of 5-7,000 people. No comment was available today from officials at Ramstein.The use of drones is highly controversial in Germany, where an aversion to military conflict has prevailed since World War Two. Organisers say allowing data for drone deployments to be routed through Ramstein goes against the German constitution and want the base's satellite relay station to be closed.Nearly 15 years after a drone first fired missiles in combat, the US military programme has expanded to become an everyday part of the war machine for carrying out surveillance and launching strikes.President Barack Obama last month approved a drone strike in a remote area of Pakistan that killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour. US officials said he had been overseeing plans for new attacks on US targets in Kabul.Critics say drones often miss their intended targets, can only partly relay what is happening on the ground and encourage warfare with impunity, waged by people at computer screens far from danger. REUTERS RSD PR2109 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-781391.Xml
German lawmakers of Turkish origin who have been threatened after parliament declared the 1915 massacre of Armenians a genocide have been warned not to travel to Turkey and will get increased police protection, media reported today.The resolution in Germany's parliament this month labeling the 1915 killings by Ottoman forces as genocide has added to tensions between Berlin and Ankara.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that the 11 lawmakers of Turkish origin who voted for the resolution should be given blood tests, and has accused them of having "tainted blood" and of being terrorists.The leader of Germany's Green party, Cem Oezdemir, who pushed for the resolution, has also received death threats.Der Spiegel said the Foreign Ministry had warned the lawmakers against travel to Turkey because their safety could not be guaranteed. The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment."It's unspeakable to know that it's not possible to fly there for now," Aydan Oezoguz, Germany's integration commissioner, was quoted by the magazine as saying.Other lawmakers with Turkish roots have also cancelled business trips to the country, Der Spiegel said.Separately, the Frankfurt Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported that the 11 lawmakers will now receive increased police protection and further security measures for both their professional and private activities."The threats against lawmakers of Turkish origin are unacceptable," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the paper. "Of course security measures will be adjusted if necessary."He stressed, however, that the majority of the 3.5 million people with Turkish roots who live in Germany were "good neighbours" and said the perpetrators were "isolated cases."Oezdemir told the FAS that he had received threats, reading: "At some point, your German friends will have forgotten that - we won't" and "We will find you everywhere."He also called on Turkish groups in Germany to condemn the death threats. On Thursday, the president of the Bundestag said threats against individual lawmaker were attacks on the entire parliament.REUTERS RSD PR2150 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-781504.Xml
BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The China Railway said on Friday that the Las Vegas-based XpressWest's unilateral cancellation of a high-speed railway contract with its subsidiary is "a mistake" and "irresponsible."

The U.S. private company said on Thursday that it had "terminated its joint venture activities with CRI (China Railway International U.S.A., Co.Ltd.) regarding high-speed passenger rail" between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

The China Railway said in a statement that the U.S. company had breached a cooperation agreement by unilaterally announcing the termination. It opposed the U.S. company's decision and has been dealing with the case according to law.

In September last year, XpressWest and CRI announced to establish a joint venture to build the Southwest Rail Network that will connect Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles in California.

The two sides planned to start construction on the 370-kilometer line in September 2016 with an initial investment of 100 million U.S. dollars.
YEREVAN, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Armenia's Cultural Minister Hasmik Poghosyan and Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Tian Erlong signed an agreement here Friday on a bilateral cultural cooperation program for 2017-2020.

The program blueprints cooperation aimed at the preservation of cultural traditions in the spheres of museums, theaters, music, dances, literature and cinema, as well as partnership in cultural events under the theme of the Silk Road, culture days, preservation of cultural heritage and also in the areas of maintenance and reconstruction of historic monuments.

The agreement follows a previous bilateral cultural program signed for 2012-2016.

Following the official ceremony, Hasmik Poghosyan and Tian Erlong held a joint press conference to talk about the current state of cultural cooperation between the two countries.

"Cultural cooperation is an integral part of the relations between the two countries as we both have ancient cultures. In recent years cultural relations between Armenia and China have been developing in all areas," said Tian, adding the third "Days of Chinese Culture in Armenia" event is held in Armenia from June 9 to 14.

"Cultural relations between Armenia and China keep on developing. The signing of this agreement is a testament to the fact that China is a country with whom we can trust and cooperate," said Hasmik Poghosyan.

He said that apart from the signed agreement, the institutionalization of the cultural relations was also important, referring to the Confucius Institute in Armenia and the recent opening of a new Chinese school in Armenia.

The concert of the China Song and Dance Ensemble of people with disabilities at the House of Opera and Ballet of Yerevan will mark the official opening ceremony of the event.

In the frameworks of this project, an exhibition of Chinese embroidery products dubbed "Elegant Chinese Embroidery" will also be held in the Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum.
KUNMING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Participants to the GMS (Greater Mekong Sub-region) Economic Corridor 2016 Governors Forum on Friday called for enhanced cooperation in face of economic, social and environmental challenges.

At the forum in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, the governors said a comprehensive transportation network should be constructed in the region, together with simplified customs clearing procedures, and the building of logistics information platform.

The GMS Economic Cooperation Program, launched in 1992 by six countries along the Mekong River -- Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, is aimed at pooling efforts to improve regional infrastructure, and to promote trade, investment and economic growth.

In the past 24 years, it helped boost infrastructure connection and trade between these countries, said Do Ngoc An, chairman of Lai Chau Province People's Committee of Vietnam.

Bouasone Vongsongkhone, vice governor of Champasak Province of Laos, however, said the countries are still faced with common challenges such as poverty, shortage of capital, lack of basic facilities and high transportation cost.

"This reminds us to deepen cooperation, and launch more projects to benefit the locals," the official said.

Boonsong Tachamanesatit, governor of Chiang Rai Province in Thailand, suggested that a land transportation agreement between China, Laos and Thailand must be drafted, and reform be carried out in port cities so that they adopt uniform standard.

"Today and in days to follow, countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region have same tasks of economic growth and improvement of people's livelihood," said Chen Hao, Governor of Yunnan. "That is why we need further cooperation," he said. Enditem
BRUSSELS, June 10, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi (L) and European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini address a joint press conference after the 6th round of China-EU high-level strategic dialogue in Brussels, Belgium, June 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

BRUSSELS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- China and the European Union (EU) held their sixth high-level strategic dialogue here Friday, with both sides pledging to further cooperation in various areas.

The event was co-chaired by visiting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

China sees the EU as a comprehensive strategic partner for mutual benefit, Yang said, adding that deepening China-EU relations was not only in line with both demands on economic and social development, but also conductive to global peace, stability and economic recovery.

The two sides agreed to implement the consensus reached by both leaders at the 17th China-EU Summit held in June last year that enhances synergy between their development strategies, and deepens cooperation on trade, investment, infrastructure connectivity, digitization, legal affairs, and facilitation of people-to-people exchanges, Yang said.

They also agreed to accelerate negotiations on bilateral investment agreements and to inject more vigor into cooperation on political security, technology innovation, maritime economy, ocean technology, and cultural tourism, he added.

The EU and China will enhance coordination and ensure the success of the 18th China-EU Summit scheduled in Beijing next month, Yang said. As well, they agreed to join efforts with relevant parties to make the upcoming G20 Summit produce positive outcome, he noted.

Mogherini said China is a key cooperative partner of the EU and the two sides conducted fruitful cooperation on a wide range of fields, bringing pragmatic benefit to both sides.

She praised China's constructive role in coping with global and regional challenges, saying strengthened EU-China dialogues and policy coordination would help generate more cooperative outcomes and solve international and regional hot issues.

Related:

China supports EU in playing constructive role in UN affairs

UNITED NATIONS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- China encourages and supports the European Union (EU) in continuously playing a constructive role in UN affairs, said a Chinese envoy to the UN on Monday.
HANGZHOU, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Police in east China's Zhejiang Province have captured a man who was suspected of murdering three people 13 years ago.

The police in Hangzhou city said on Friday that the suspect, surnamed Yu, was caught in Zhuji city on Thursday morning.

Yu was accused of killing the three in a villa in Hangzhou, on August 15, 2003, when he broke in the house for burglary.

Investigators did not cease their efforts to pursue the suspect over the past years and eventually caught Yu, who had admitted to the fact of the crime, the police said.
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation said Friday it has approved six domestic airlines to begin scheduled flights between five U.S. cities and Cuba as early as this fall.

"Last year, President Obama announced that it was time to 'begin a new journey' with the Cuban people," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement. "Today, we are delivering on his promise by re-launching scheduled air service to Cuba after more than half a century."

The carriers receiving the awards are American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines, said the statement.

The five U.S. cities that will receive new scheduled service to Cuba are Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Philadelphia.

The nine Cuban cities are Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba.

In February, Cuba and the United States signed an agreement to resume daily commercial flights between the two countries for the first time in more than 50 years.

Under the new arrangement, each country has the opportunity to operate up to 10 daily roundtrip flights between the U.S. and each of Cuba's nine international airports, other than Havana, for a total of 90 daily roundtrips.
TEHRAN, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran, Russia and Syria can activate their political capacities, along with military cooperation against terrorism, to achieve a comprehensive strategy to stop war and bloodshed in Syria, a senior Iranian security official said on Friday.

Ali Shamkhani, Iran's Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Syrian Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij.

Shamkhani reiterated Iran's decisive support for Syria until the complete eradication of terrorist groups in that country, saying that "today, Syria is the battlefield of dangers which if not be dealt with, will spread its roots to all over the world."

He hailed what he termed as the "successes" of the Syrian army and the people in liberating various parts of the country from the terrorist groups.

He further criticized the "unconstructive" approach of the United States and its western and regional allies toward the Syrian crisis, saying that the U.S. approach in Syria seeks the security and interests of Israel.

The Syrian defense minister, for his part, commended Iran's all-out support for Syria in the fight against terrorism, saying "the Syrian government and nation will continue their fight against terrorism with unswerving determination."

Al-Freij deemed the trilateral meeting of Iran-Russia-Syria on countering terrorism in Tehran on Thursday as "highly successful" and "decisive", adding "the close coordination between the three countries at different levels will continue within the framework of new plans for cooperation."

Moreover, Press TV quoted Shamkhani as saying on Friday that the results of a trilateral meeting of the defense ministers indicate that the three countries are determined in countering the terrorist groups.

Moreover, Shamkhani thanked "the courageous actions and policies of Russian President (Vladimir Putin) and his effective support in the comprehensive fight against terrorism in Syria," according to Press TV.

"The only way to put an end to the current crisis in Syria is to go ahead with the dialogue among Syrians in order to arrive at the political initiatives which all the political parties in the country agree on," Shamkhani said.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and Syrian Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij arrived in Iran's capital Tehran on Thursday to discuss further cooperation.

The meeting was aimed at exchanging views on the latest regional development and the ways to strengthen the fight against terrorism.

Iran and Russia have emerged as the major allies of the Syrian government in its struggle against the militant groups who are seeking the overthrow of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began, more than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and millions of the Syrians have been displaced from their homes. Enditem
NAIROBI, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has been selected to host the Eastern Africa Regional Collaborating Center of the Africa Centers for Disease Control (Africa CDC) to monitor public health and responses to capacity challenges, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

A statement from the ministry said Kenya was selected after a capacity assessment conducted by 15 experts from the African Union (AU), World Health Organization, U.S. CDC and China CDC.

"Africa CDC intends to use the center to monitor public health and responses to emergencies, and address complex health challenges to build capacity in the region consisting of Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South-Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda," the statement said.

The regional collaborating centers enable the Africa CDC to establish early warning and response surveillance platforms.

The chair of the Africa CDC will be based at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Egypt, Gabon, Nigeria and Zambia will host other regional collaborating centers of Africa CDC.

The statement said Kenya was awarded the hosting rights because of the strength of its disease surveillance systems and the role the country played in sending disease experts to Liberia and Sierra Leone following the Ebola outbreak.

"The award is expected to strengthen the country's health systems by enhancing disease surveillance capacity in terms of infrastructure and human resources, disease outbreak alert systems as well as lab capacity," it added. Enditem
LOS ANGELES, May 6, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gestures as she campaigns at East Los Angeles College in Los Angeles, the United States, May 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhao Hanrong, file photo)

By Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders' refusal to quit the race even after Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination could hurt Clinton's efforts to unify the party to win the presidential election, experts said.

Clinton earlier this week finally grabbed the number of delegates needed to officially win. Still, Sanders on Thursday vowed to continue to compete, and announced that he would run in the Washington D.C. primary next week.

At a White House meeting with President Barack Obama on Thursday, Sanders did not agree to drop out of the race.

He told a press conference afterwards that he could continue in his fight against the wealth gap, in which upper income individuals and corporations continue to increase their wealth while the middle class and others struggle to make ends meet.

The firebrand senator from the state of Vermont said that he wanted to prevent the country from becoming an oligarchy run by a few billionaires.

"Sanders wants to maintain his leverage over the platform, vice presidential selection, and future campaign rules," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

"He wants Democrats to take income inequality more seriously," West said.

Indeed, Sanders has run mainly on a platform that highlights the growing income inequality in the United States, where upper income people seem to be increasing their wealth while many middle-class people struggle to make ends meet.

"He feels that they provided an unfair advantage for Hillary Clinton and he wants to make sure that is not the case in 2020," West said.

While Clinton is a fellow Democrat, analysts noted that she represents everything that Sanders despises, as Clinton is a political insider whose celebrity has through the years allowed her to increase her personal wealth to the tune of millions of U.S. dollars.

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, said that Sanders' campaign "had a message, it was a movement to tackle problems which in his mind neither party wants to address."

"By staying in the race he maintains the capacity to keep the media and the party focused on these questions," Zelizer told Xinhua.

Still, there is a point at which Sanders will have to exit, or he will risk giving an advantage to Republican Party presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump.

"There is a tipping point where the party needs him to rally behind Clinton and more importantly to bring his supporters to her," Zelizer said.

West echoed those thoughts, saying that the longer Sanders remains in the race, the more difficult it is for Clinton to unify the Democratic Party.

"Many Sanders voters will support Clinton because they understand the threat posed by Donald Trump. But it is crucial that she brings the party together as soon as possible so she can focus full time on her Republican opponent," he said.

Zelizer said Sanders could be convinced to drop out, as there is really no chance for him to win at this late stage in the primary contests.
NAIROBI, June 10 (Xinhua) -- French telecom firm Orange says it has completed the sale of its entire 70 percent stake in Telkom Kenya to private equity firm, Helios Investment Partners.

A statement issued in Nairobi from Orange on Friday announced the finalization of the transaction, which it said was subjected to approval from relevant authorities including the Kenyan government.

"The Africa and Middle-East region remains a strategic priority for the Group. This divestment reflects Orange's constant focus on optimizing its portfolio of assets," the statement said.

Telkom Kenya is the country's incumbent fixed-line and the third largest player in the mobile market. The Kenyan government owns the remaining 30 percent of Telkom Kenya.

The company, which operates a high-quality mobile data network, had over four million mobile customers at the end of April, according to figures published by the regulator, Communications Authority of Kenya.

Orange is the latest international operator to quit Kenya, where Safaricom -- partly owned by Britain's Vodafone -- has the majority of subscribers.

The French telecom firm paid 390 million U.S. dollars for its stake in 2007, aiming to capitalize on what were fast growth rates in the sector.

An attempt by Orange in November 2014 to sell its majority shareholding in Telkom Kenya to Vietnamese telecom firm Viettel fell through.

Viettel reportedly pulled out of the deal after the Kenyan government rejected a number of its conditions for the deal. Enditem
BUJUMBURA, June 10 (Xinhua) -- As talks to settle the year-long crisis in Burundi is due later this month in Arusha, Tanzania, the Burundian government Friday reiterated its refusal to negotiate with what it calls "non-peaceful" actors.

Speaking in a live public program on local radio stations, Burundian Government Spokesman Philippe Nzobonariba said: "We cannot sit with the radical opposition in the context of the National Council for the Restoration of the Arusha Agreement and the Rule of Law in Burundi (CNARED) or armed groups."

"The inter-Burundian dialogue will only bring together peaceful stakeholders. We hope that the facilitator will not act in contradiction with Resolution 2248 of the UN Security Council that clearly stipulates that non-peaceful actors cannot participate in the dialogue," said Nzobonariba.

Stakeholders in the inter-Burundian dialogue participated in inter-Burundian consultations on May 21-24 in Arusha to try to end the year-long political crisis, but some members of the radical opposition boycotted the session.

The inter-Burundian dialogue at the external level had failed to resume in January when the Burundian government boycotted talks in Arusha, arguing that it could not sit "on the same table" with what it called "non-peaceful" stakeholders.

Burundi is facing a year-long political crisis that broke out since April 2015 following the announcement by President Pierre Nkurunziza that he would be seeking a third term.

His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted into a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup on May 13, 2015.

Over 451 persons are reported to have been killed since then, while some 270,000 citizens sought exile in neighboring countries. Enditem
LAGOS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government on Friday confirmed an attack on a crude pipeline operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company in its oil-rich southern state of Bayelsa.

State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) Desmond Agu said reports available to him indicated that Agip's Obi Obi-Brass crude export pipeline was vandalized in the early hours of Friday, but did not give details.

An earlier attack on Agip's crude export pipeline compelled the oil firm to shut down production of 65, 000 barrels of crude oil daily from the facility.

Militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, had in an online statement from its twitter handle, claimed responsibility for the incident.

The attack is in breach of the two-week ceasefire declared by the government to pave way for dialogue with the militants.

Agu advised aggrieved youths to shun violence and embrace peace in order to allow the Niger Delta region to attain its expected growth and development. Enditem
LAIKIPIA, Kenya, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's environment ministry, in partnership with conservation lobby groups, on Friday launched a 163 km electric fence project in Laikipia county to reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Both the county government of Laikipia and wildlife campaigners financed the construction of the electric fence at a cost of 875,000 U.S. dollars, mainly to keep elephants away from farms.

Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Judi Wakhungu, presided over the launch of the project in Laikipia county, which hosts a large number of wild animals outside protected areas in Kenya.

Wakhungu said the installation of the electric fence, which could prevent elephants from invading farms, marked a new milestone in conservation of iconic wildlife species.

"The electric fence is extremely important because it is going to mitigate human-wildlife conflict," she said.

She regretted that rapid population growth has led to the shrinking of wildlife habitat as farmers and herders encroach them for their livelihood.

"The declining space for wildlife could overtake poaching as a major threat to these species," said Wakhungu.

Elephants in the meantime cause economic losses to farmers when they step onto their farms, destroying their crops.

Kenya is trying to promote harmonious co-existence between humans and wildlife.

Wakhungu said the fencing project will not only boost wildlife protection but also transform rural livelihoods.

The money for the project was raised during the April 29 inaugural global ivory summit in Kenya that preceded the torching of 105 tons of elephant tusks and 1.3 tons of rhino horns led by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Laikipia county in northern Kenya has been an epicenter of human-wildlife conflict in Kenya for decades.

The county is home to an estimated 6,300 elephants and a significant population of carnivores, birds and rare plant species. Enditem
ULAN BATOR, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The 12th Asia-Europe Finance Ministers' Meeting was held in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, on Friday, which called for increased connectivity between the two continents.

The meeting was attended by the finance ministers and representatives from 43 ASEM member countries and high-ranking officials from various international organizations, including Jin Liqun, president of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Mongolian Prime Minister Saikhanbileg Chimed addressed the participants and stressed importance of the meeting for strengthening Asia-Europe connectivity and making the ASEM process more relevant for the peoples of the two regions.

Representatives conducted a comprehensive discussion on a range of issues of common interests based on the theme " Partnership for Prosperous Connectivity Between Asia and Europe" underlining the need for Asia and Europe to foster cooperation through an enhanced partnership with the ultimate goal of securing stronger, more sustainable and balanced global growth and promoting shared prosperity.

China's initiatives on building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st century Maritime Silk Road have caught much attention of representatives in the meeting.

In an open discussion of the meeting, Singapore's representative said that we should have more inter-regional connectivity initiatives, the "One Belt, One Road" is a good example of how connectivity between Europe and Asia can be strengthened.

Stressing the importance of China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, Jin Liqun said the program can boost ties between Europe and Asia.

"We would certainly highlight importance of this project, which will have positive spillover effect and impact on regional development. So there's natural overlap between AIIB and 'One Belt, One Road' program", said Jin.

Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, calls for using fiscal space and low funding cost environment to build needed and appropriate infrastructure that can connect Asia and Europe.

According to the meeting's communique, ministers reiterated their commitment to increased connectivity between their regions through promoting inter-regional investment and trade flows, rules-based multinational trading system and liberalization of trade in goods and services.

The next Asia-Europe Finance Ministers' Meeting will be held in Bulgaria in 2018. Enditem
BUCHAREST, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Romania's Social Democrats won 52.63 percent of mayoralties and also the largest number of elected seats in county and local councils, showed the final results released late Friday by the Central Electoral Bureau.

According to the final results of last Sunday's elections, Social Democrats'candidates won 1,677 mayoral races, as well as 579 seats, or 40.32 percent, in county councils and 16,648 positions, or 41.39 percent, in local councils.

It is worth mentioning that the Social Democrats' candidate Gabriela Firea secured around 42.97 percent of votes and became the first Social-Democrat and also the first woman to be the mayor of Bucharest, which is seen traditionally as a stronghold for the right-wing parties. The Social Democratic Party also won all the six districts in the capital city.

The Social Democrats were followed by the National Liberal Party, which has 1,081 mayors, 496 seats in county councils and 13,193 positions in local councils.

The Hungarian Democrat Union of Romania finished third, managing to get 195 mayor seats, 95 and 2,284 seats in county and local councils respectively, while the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats got 64 mayoralties, 76 county councilors and 2,504 local councilors.

As many as 48.27 percent of some 18 million voters cast their votes in Romania's local elections last Sunday.

Mayors were elected in a single round, with the candidate obtaining the highest number of votes declared the winner. Local and county councilors are elected based on party lists.

The local elections are widely regarded as a litmus test of parliamentary elections later this year and the victory of the Social Democrats put them in a strong position. Enditem
TORONTO, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Canada's main stock market in Toronto saw a massive triple-digit loss Friday in a broad decline led by resource companies as the benchmark crude price slipped.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index lost 202.48 point, or 1.42 percent, to close at 14,037.54 points. All of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were lower.

Oil prices retreated further Friday as data showed that the U.S. rig count increased for the second straight week. The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery dropped 1.49 U.S. dollars to settle at 49.07 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude for August delivery lost 1.41 dollars to close at 50.54 dollars a barrel.

TSX energy group was down 3.80 percent, metals & mining down 3.29 percent, while info tech gave away 1.85 percent.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited declined 3.86 percent to 36.61 Canadian dollars (28.70 U.S. dollars). The company and Cenovus Energy both said they had restarted operations at oil sands facilities in Alberta on Thursday after a wildfire threat dissipated.

Suncor Energy Inc. fell 2.27 percent to 34.38 Canadian dollars, and Baytex Energy Corp. plunged 9.61 percent to 7.71 Canadian dollars.

The financials group slipped 1.03 percent, with Royal Bank of Canada down 0.97 percent to 78.57 Canadian dollars and Toronto-Dominion Bank off 0.77 percent to 56.76 Canadian dollars.

Gold miners were among the biggest beneficiaries of a lower overall market for a second straight session, with the most influential gainers on the index including Barrick Gold, up 0.36 percent to 25.00 Canadian dollars.

U.S. auto manufacturer General Motors announced Friday to hire up to 1,000 software engineers in Canada at GM's Canadian Technical Centre in Oshawa, Ontario. They'll be tasked with developing the company's software for self-driving, autonomous connected cars.

On the economic beat, Canada's unemployment rate inched down to 6.9 percent in May, from 7.1 percent in April, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The jobless rate is now at its lowest rate since July 2015, after Canada's economy added better-than-expected 14,000 jobs in May.

The Canadian dollar traded lower at 0.7839 U.S. dollar, compared with Thursday's closing rate of 0.7866 U.S. dollar. Enditem
TIRANA, June 11(Xinhua) -- Albanian Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Friday signed an agreement for the construction of a yacht port in Shengjin, north of Albania with an investment worth 7 million dollars.

The agreement was signed between Transport Ministry and the "Adriatic" company, the winner of the tender.

Albanian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Edmond Haxhinasto said that this port with a capacity of 200 yachts will bring development to the area in terms of tourism and employment.

The minister said that the port is designed with the most modern technology of cruise ships anchoring and it should be operational within one year.

"This is a positive development for the tourist ports," said Haxhinasto, adding that "it is necessary that in addition to the construction of ports, develop relevant infrastructure should also be serving yacht marinas." Enditem
UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- A joint United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent truck convoy has delivered food, water, hygiene, sanitation and other supplies to thousands of people in besieged Daraya, Syria, a UN spokesman told reporters here Friday.

"This was the first food supply in Daraya in years," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here, quoting the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"At the same time, we continue to call for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to people in besieged and hard to reach areas," he said.

About 4.6 million people are currently living under those conditions in Syria, he said. "Daraya has now been provided with a one-month supply of humanitarian assistance, but a sustained access to the besieged people is necessary."

Daraya has been under siege since November 2012 and has witnessed some of the worst bombardment during Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year.

On June 2, inter-agency convoys delivered critical life-saving assistance to two besieged towns in Rural Damascus -- Daraya and Moadamiyeh. This was the first time that the UN has been able to deliver any assistance to Daraya since November 2012.

The Moadamiyeh convoy is the first of three planned convoys, bringing food for half of those in need, he said, adding that it is the fifth convoy to the town this year, but the first time the UN has had access since March.

In late May, Russia called for a 72-hour "regime of silence" in Eastern Ghouta and Daraya amid deadlocked efforts to turn a cessation of hostilities into a lasting peace in the war-torn Middle East country.

The United States and Russia are co-partners in the so-called Vienna diplomatic process of the International Support Group for Syria, which met last month in the Austrian capital but made no notable progress.

At least 280,000 people have been reportedly killed and more than half of Syria's population have fled their homes since the political crisis and subsequent armed conflict broke out in March 2011. Enditem
UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Friday said that 670 million U.S. dollars are needed in 2016 to help refugees stuck in Greece and the Balkans, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.

So far, some 329 million U.S. dollars have been received from donors, Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"Among refugees and migrants are many people with specific needs, such as unaccompanied or separated children, single women, pregnant or lactating women, the elderly, people with disabilities, as well as the sick and injured," he said.

The number of children among refugees has been on the rise, reaching 38 percent of the total arrivals from Turkey to Greece in 2016.

UNHCR added that although border closures and the European Union-Turkey agreement have cut the flow of refugees and migrants dramatically, those who have arrived in Europe still need help.

The latest appeal was intended to revise the regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP), which was launched in January 2016 following the large-scale population movements registered throughout Europe in 2015, when 1 million refugees and migrants undertook the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.

The vast majority crossed the Aegean Sea by boat from Turkey to Greece. Many lost their lives: in total, 3,771 people died or were reported missing in the Mediterranean Sea in 2015.

Despite worsening weather conditions brought on by the onset of winter, the movements did not subside during the first five months of 2016, with some 200,000 arrivals by sea from January to May 2016, including over 150,000 to Greece.

"These developments have had a significant impact on the numbers of refugees and migrants arriving, with a decrease in the number of people along the Western Balkans route and an increase in the number of people remaining in Greece," the UN agency said in a press release.

"While the measures adopted have significantly reduced the number of arrivals in Greece, over 57,000 refugees and migrants are currently dispersed across the country in several sites on the mainland and the islands."

"The financial requirements to implement the plan have been adjusted to reflect the change in circumstances," said the press release. "Unmet needs remain significant, as living conditions in the sites in Greece, both on the islands and the mainland, have deteriorated as a result of congestion and the rapid nature in which sites were established on the mainland." Enditem
UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday met Faustin Archange Touadera, president of the Central African Republic (CAR), to discuss the situation in the country, including the president's dialogue with representatives of the armed groups.

"The secretary-general noted that the country had turned a corner following the holding of democratic elections," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here after the meeting.

"He welcomed the president's outreach to the armed groups and his vision for a comprehensive process to address the underlying reasons that had driven them to take up arms."

Meanwhile, the secretary-general also welcomed the resolve of the president and his government to pursue this process in a spirit of national reconciliation and inclusiveness, guided by the principles and recommendations of the Bangui Forum, the spokesman said.

"The secretary-general urged the armed groups to seize the opportunity afforded by the president's initiative to bring peace and stability to the country by engaging in it in good faith," Dujarric said. "He stressed that the early restoration of state authority was critical for security and the country's socio-economic recovery."

The secretary-general emphasised the importance of the international community's support for the Central African Republic's efforts to tackle the root causes of the crisis and its backing for the country's recovery plan, the spokesman added.

Great efforts are underway in the CAR to bring peace and stability back to the war-torn country.

A civil war broke out on Dec. 10, 2012 between Seleka rebel coalition and government forces. Seleka took power from the then president Francois Bozize in March 2013 and the rebel's leader Michel Djotodia declared himself as president. Enditem
UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned the Thursday attack on Ethiopian troops at an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) base in Halgan, Somalia, and called on the Horn of African country to "remain resolute in the fight against Al Shabaab and extremism."

The secretary-general "expresses his condolences to the families of those killed and wishes a speedy recovery for the injured soldiers," said a statement issued by Ban's spokesman.

Ban expressed his solidarity with and pays tribute to the AMISOM and the Somali National Army forces for their professional and brave response in repelling the attackers and their steadfast commitment to restoring durable security and stability in Somalia, the statement said.

"The secretary-general calls on the people of Somalia and their government to remain resolute in the fight against Al Shabaab and extremism," it said.

"He reiterates the United Nations' unwavering support for their determined efforts to build a peaceful and stable Somalia."

Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its fighters have killed at least 60 Ethiopian soldiers at the military base.

AMISOM has denied the Al-Shabaab claim, saying its forces had driven back the attackers and were chasing them who were "on the run."

A cache of weapons has been captured as the joint forces of AMISOM and Somalia overpowered the attackers, it said.

AMISOM, comprising troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, has been helping the Somali government battle Al-Shabaab for years, driving the militants to rural areas in southern Somalia, but the group still stages periodic attacks in the country. Enditem
UNTIED NATIONS, June 11, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Liu Jieyi (C, front), China's permanent representative to the United Nations, addresses a Security Council debate on protecting civilians in the context of peacekeeping operations at the United Nations headquarters in New York, June 10, 2016. Advancing political settlement of hot-spot issues is the fundamental way to attain the goal of protecting civilians, said Liu Jieyi here on Friday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Advancing political settlement of hot-spot issues is the fundamental way to attain the goal of protecting civilians, said a Chinese envoy here on Friday.

Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks at a Security Council debate on protecting civilians in the context of peacekeeping operations.

Liu said UN peacekeeping operations should actively promote the peaceful settlement of disputes, work with the international community to seek political settlement of hot-spot issues, and create favorable conditions for advancing the political process.

Liu also noted that while implementing the mandate of protecting civilians, the peacekeeping operations should respect the ownership of the host countries and cannot replace the duties of host country government or parties to the conflict on civilian protection.

The debate was initiated by France, Security Council rotating president for June, to discuss the best approach for UN peacekeeping operations to implement its mandate to protect civilians.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council that protecting civilians is an over-arching responsibility for all the critical functions of the United Nations, including its peacekeeping operations.

In this regard, Ban urged the council to give precedence to political strategy and whole-of-mission approaches when considering peacekeeping mandates to protect civilians.

The Security Council is responsible for setting up a UN peacekeeping operation and has been given the authority to decide its mandate. Civilian protection is one of the topics being discussed among council members on the reform of UN peacekeeping.

Discussions on this issue involves how to ensure non-military tools like political engagement in fulfilling this mandate, how to protect civilians when the host country is not cooperating with the mission, and the use of force to protect civilians under attack.
File photo: An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2015 from a seaplane of Hainan Maritime Safety Administration shows the Yacheng 13-1 drilling rig during a patrol in the South China Sea. (Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)

HOUSTON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The heightened tension in the South China Sea is not an isolated incident, but the result of the U.S. "pivot to Asia" policy, University of Houston Downtown Associate Professor Peter Li told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"To the United States, East Asia in particular occupies a strategic position in American foreign policy. However, we have to understand that the U.S. foreign policy has always been based on a shrewd calculation of the American national interest," he said.

"For example, in 1947, it was the United States that assisted the Chinese government in its recovery of the South China Sea islands. Yet, today, the United States has apparently changed its position. The change of the position, based on a new understanding of the situation in East Asia and the rising strength of China, does send a clear message to countries having territorial disputes with China, such as the Philippines," he said.

The process of strengthening the existing relationships has apparently given Manila the signal that its actions in the South China Sea are backed by the United States.

Boosting its alliance with the allies in the region, strengthening new relations with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, and consolidating existing security ties serve Washington's strategic objective of neutralizing China's position in the region, Li said.

"To the United States, China could be pulled into extended conflicts. Resources would have to be diverted to military preparations, affecting people's livelihood," he said.

"In fact, the U.S. naval actions in the region have sent a clear message to the parties involved in the dispute that Washington has a position at odds with China. And in my opinion, the United States' taking sides in the conflict in the South China Sea both serves and undermines America's objectives," he said.

Li said the escalation of the conflict in the region, which will have a negative spillover effect, will poison the atmosphere needed for U.S.-China collaboration on a host of other issues vital to the maintenance of peace and stability in Asia and the world.

"The resulting tensions between Washington and Beijing can cause a stop to the many other critical areas of collaboration between the two countries. These include peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, non-proliferation, anti-terrorism, security cooperation, climate change, international financial stability and others," he said.

Li agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping's remarks that both China and the United States should take proactive steps to manage the crisis in a spirit of mutual respect so that the two countries can turn the Pacific Ocean into a platform for cooperation, peace and prosperity.

Moreover, he said that one should understand that there will always be differences between the United States and China, but both countries would have more to gain if they work for a common objective -- peace and stability in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea specifically.

Related:

Spotlight: Stop playing with fire in South China Sea, says Chinese diplomat

LONDON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Regarding the South China Sea issue, Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming has urged the Philippines to return to a negotiated solution and some countries from outside the region to "stop playing with fire."

Liu made the remarks in a signed article published by the Daily Telegraph on Friday. Full story

Executive Summary: The Tribunal's Award in the "South China Sea Arbitration" Initiated by the Philippines Is Null and Void

BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- On 10 June 2016, the Chinese Society of International Law (CSIL) released a paper entitled The Tribunal's Award in the "South China Sea Arbitration" Initiated by the Philippines Is Null and Void. The executive summary of the paper is as follows:

On 22 January 2013, the Philippines unilaterally initiated arbitration with respect to certain issues in the South China Sea ( "Arbitration" ). China has maintained its solemn position that it would neither accept nor participate in the Arbitration, having stated that the tribunal constituted at the unilateral request of the Philippines ( "Arbitral Tribunal" or "Tribunal" ) manifestly has no jurisdiction. Full story

Chinese Society of International Law releases paper on South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines

BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Society of International Law (CSIL) on Friday releases a paper under the title the Tribunal's Award in the "South China Sea Arbitration" Initiated by the Philippines is Null and Void, supporting the Chinese Government's position of neither accepting nor participating in the arbitration initiated by the Philippines.

From a legal point of view, the CSIL criticizes on errors the Arbitral Tribunal makes in its award on jurisdiction, and demonstrates that both this award and the pending award on merits are null and void. Full story

Spotlight: Experts say China's stance on South China Sea arbitration fully justified

BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' unilateral move to bring a maritime dispute with China to an international tribunal won't help resolve the problem and the right way forward is to seek settlement through bilateral talks, several foreign experts told Xinhua in recent interviews.

While expressing support for China's position of non-acceptance of and non-participation in the arbitration of the China-Philippine dispute over islands in the South China Sea, they said that Manila's arbitration act runs against the spirit of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reneges on its previous promises. Full story

Interview: Manila intensifies tension in South China Sea -- former diplomat

MANILA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government has been behind the intensifying tensions in the South China Sea, a former diplomat of the country told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Alberto Encomienda, former secretary-general of Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center of the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department, said: "China has been for the negotiations all along, but from the beginning we are not." Full story

How to Bridge the Divide Over the South China Sea

The differences between China and the U.S. over the South China Sea issue have become a matter of concern and even anxiety. But some of the perceptions in the U.S. and elsewhere about Chinas policy and intentions in the area are misplaced. A pressing task is to understand the facts and Chinas intentions correctly so as to avoid real danger and consequences as a result of misinterpretation and miscalculation. Full Story

China urges Philippines to immediately cease arbitral proceedings

BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday again urged the Philippines to stop its arbitral proceedings and return to the right track of settling relevant disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiation with China.
by Ahemd Shafiq, Wang Xue

CAIRO, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Widowed Egyptian Fatma Zaki from Cairo could not hide her happiness after she had a hot meal breaking the long day of fasting on Friday and received a box of foodstuff as a gift from Chinese companies operating in Egypt.

"I'm a mother of seven; three of them have chronic diseases. I really appreciate what the Chinese companies do to the needy here and I thank them for everything they gave to us," the 43-year-old said after she received a box stuffed with rice, cooking oil and dates.

The event was organized by the Chinese Embassy in Egypt and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, an umbrella group of Chinese firms working in Egypt, in cooperation with the Egyptian Society for Integrated Development to help the needy here during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Twenty-seven Chinese firms in Egypt donated around 260,000 Egyptian pounds (about 30,500 U.S. dollars) to carry out this charitable activity that will serve thousands of poor families during the Muslims' holiest month.

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and other activities in the day. Once the sun sets, fasting is broken with the iftar meal.

A few hours before the iftar time in Cairo's Maadi district, Chinese Ambassador to Cairo Song Aiguo and representatives from Chinese companies started to deliver the gift boxes to hundreds of people.

"I came here to spend the Ramadan with Egyptian people and help with the food and gift delivery. Chinese companies that provided money and labor for this activity are doing a good thing for the Egyptian society and its people, it is kind of social responsibility," Song told Xinhua.

Chinese companies in Egypt have been holding charity banquets during Ramadan since 2012.

The two nations enjoy deep-rooted and strong ties as Egypt was the first Arab and African country to recognize the People's Republic of China, and they have recently elevated their relations to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership.

"I love the Chinese people and this is the common feeling here in Egypt," Fawzi Abu Serei, a retired worker, told Xinhua during the event.

The man explained that the food gift would help his family a lot, adding that he hopes the friendship between the two nations will last forever.

Imam al-Sayyed, a construction worker in his 50s, told Xinhua that this aid is really necessary for a big family like his during the fasting month.

"I have eight children and I came here today to receive some food aid. I have a job but most of my siblings go to universities and schools. I'm very thankful for this support because it helps me a lot amid the tough economic conditions I go through," he said.

After distributing the gift boxes, the Chinese staff started to prepare the charity table and serve the iftar meals for guests.

This charity was so cordial that many Egyptians are motivated to join the Chinese team to assist the food distribution and prepare the iftar meals.

Ahmed, an Egyptian in his 20s, volunteered to carry out some kitchen work with the Chinese team.

"I have my own job, but after work I come here and help. My friends and I have organized a charity group and we mainly work in Maadi. We did not think twice when we heard that the organizers of the event need some volunteers," he said as he prepared the meals.

People help each other during Ramadan, the young man said, adding that he feels "very happy to be part of this charity work."
Pilgrims perform full body prostrations on the Barkhor Street in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

BEIJING June 11 (Xinhua) -- On the Tibetan plateau, Saga Dawa is one of the most important religious festivals, and one of the best times to visit if you're interested in Tibetan Buddhism and culture.

Believers gather in Jokhang Temple in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Pilgrims walk around the Jokhang Temple in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Photo taken on May 21, 2016 shows Jokhang Temple in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Saga Dawa falls on the full moon, or the 15th day, of the fourth month in Tibetan lunar calendar. It marks three important events of Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism: his birth, enlightenment and attaining nirvana.

Believers gather in Jokhang Temple in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

A Lama makes decoration in Jokhang Temple in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The whole month is actually considered sacred because of this auspicious day, so the celebrations run for the entire period.

Photo taken on May 21, 2016 shows incense smoke in front of a Buddha picture in the Jokhang Temple in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

It is believed that good deeds and prayers are multiplied a thousand-fold during this month. So many people are immersed in prayers and carrying holy beads.

Photo taken on May 21, 2016 shows a prayer wheel against the background a tower in the Jokhang Temple in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

All of Tibet is immersed in the festive and spiritual atmosphere. Events are held in many places on the plateau, but the Jokhang Temple, encircled by the thousand-year-old Barkhor Street in the old area of Lhasa, is the best place to see how Tibetans mark the festival. Visitors and believers are equally welcome.

Pilgrims walk around the Jokhang Temple in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

Walking around the temple or other sacred sites is a daily ritual, when pilgrims hold prayer wheels and walk clockwise around the temple from dawn to dark. Some have trekked thousands of miles to prostrate themselves before the sacred temple.

Pilgrims light butter lamps in the Jokhang Temple in the old area of Lhasa, capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi)

The smell of burning incense and butter lamps fills the air. During this month, people also refrain from killing animals and give alms to anyone who asks.
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. billionaire Bill Gates has launched a plan to help the extreme poor in sub-Saharan Africa by giving them 100,000 chickens.

The goal of the plan, initiated by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other charity organizations, was to eventually help 30 percent of the rural families in sub-Saharan Africa raise improved breeds of vaccinated chickens, up from just 5 percent.

"It's pretty clear to me that just about anyone who's living in extreme poverty is better off if they have chickens," the world's richest man said Tuesday on his website GatesNotes.com.

Suppose a new farmer starts with five hens. One of her neighbors owns a rooster to fertilize the hens' eggs. After three months, she can have a flock of 40 chicks. Eventually, with a sale of 5 dollars per chicken -- which is typical in West Africa -- she can earn more than 1,000 dollars a year, versus the extreme-poverty line of about 700 dollars a year, he said.

The philanthropist believes that chickens are easy and inexpensive to take care of, they help keep children healthy and they empower women.

"In fact, if I were in their shoes, that's what I would do -- I would raise chickens."

However, Matthew Davies, BBC Africa Business Report editor, said the plan throws up a few questions.

"As the chicken population increases, where is the feed going to come from? Will more arable land have to be given over to growing chicken feed? "

With more chickens on the market, simple demand and supply economics suggests the average price of a chicken would fall, he said.

There's also the issue of dumping, he added.

"The United States, the European Union and Brazil are accused of selling chickens into African markets at prices way below what local farmers can afford to sell them for," he said.
ASUNCION, June 10 (Xinhua) -- One guard and five prisoners were killed while 12 others were injured in a fire on Friday at Tacumbu Prison in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion, authorities said.

"We have carried out a complete search," said Pablo Lemir, forensic examiner of the Public Prosecutor's Office, while ruling out the presence of more victims from the fire which started in the early hours Friday.

The dead guard has been identified as Blas Gaona. He died while trying to rescue the inmates, reported local media.

"We highlight Blas Gaona's courage. He gave his life to serving the institution, the most vulnerable and his country," said Raul Caballero, vice minister for criminal policy.

The prisoners' burnt bodies were found later by firefighters, reports said.

Three inmates were hospitalized after the blaze and another nine were injured but were not admitted to hospital, authorities said.

The cause of the fire, which damaged part of the roof of the prison, is still unknown.

Caballero acknowledged that the prison system is currently in "intensive care," adding that the tragedy could have been worse considering some 130 prisoners were in the affected area during the fire.

"It's important to mention that all the protocols in terms of security were met," he said.

Family members of the inmates gathered outside the prison waiting to be informed about the situation.

Tacumbu Prison has a capacity for 1,000 inmates, but is jammed with around 3,000, and is regarded as one of the most populated prisons in Paraguay.
BRASILIA, May 9, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff reacts during a signing ceremony for new universities at Planalto Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil on May 9, 2016. The acting speaker of the lower house of Brazil's Congress announced Monday the decision to nullify the chamber's vote for an impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff and called for a new one. (Xinhua file photo/Wilton Junior/AGENCIA ESTADO)

by Bruna Gama

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Protests took place in almost all states throughout Brazil on Friday evening, gathering hundreds of thousands of supporters of suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

The protesters shared the view that the impeachment process against Rousseff is a coup and wanted to express their displeasure at interim President Michel Temer, who replaced Rousseff.

Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Rousseff's predecessor and political mentor, participated in the protest held in Sao Paulo, which also gathered student associations, trade unions, and other social movements. According to organizers, 100,000 people attended the protest.

"The most important thing for the social movements gathered here is stopping the impeachment, stopping the coup," said Vagner Freitas, head of Brazil's largest trade union CUT.

Attendance reached 20,000 people in Rio, organizers said, where prominent local politicians participated in the protest and citizens called for Rousseff's return to the office.

Other large protests occurred in major cities like Belo Horizonte, Brasilia and Recife.

Rousseff has been managing to get a lot of support from the streets. Protests in which people support her and oppose both Temer and the impeachment process have been sweeping the country since the month when Temer took office.

In addition, Rousseff's newest move -- attending an interview aired late Thursday in local governmental station TV Brasil -- may help her gather even more support.

In that interview, Rousseff said the impeachment process against her represents a breakage of the democratic pact.

If she manages to get back to office, she will consult the population about the path national politics should take, Rousseff added.

That declaration, according to analysts, may get more senators to her side in the final voting of the impeachment process, which is expected to take place in August.

In order to impeach Rousseff, it is necessary to have two thirds of the senators' votes -- 54 out of 81 votes. Abstention or absence counts as votes against the impeachment.

The impeachment process managed to open with 55 votes of support in the Senate. However, since Temer took office, his actions have displeased some senators who have voted for the impeachment process, which may work in Rousseff's favor.

Rousseff has been travelling across the country to meet with local leaders and participate in political rallies, and her presence is always very celebrated.

In Rio, a recent rally organized by feminist groups gathered thousands of women to support the female president.

Her travels have become more difficult as Temer suspended her use of official planes, alleging that she does not have official events to attend.

The Workers' Party, of which Rousseff is a member, then decided to charter a plane for her trips, but Rousseff said she would fly on commercial service or travel by land.

Related:

Rousseff meets with thousands of supporters in political rally

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Friday participated in a political rally and addressed her supporters in Porto Alegre in her home state of Rio Grande do Sul. Full story

Temer's interim government is damaging social security: Rousseff
PHNOM PENH, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 28,953 tons of dry rubber in the first quarter of 2016, down 8 percent from 31,476 tons over the same period last year, according to figures of the Ministry of Commerce out Saturday.

The Southeast Asian country earned a total revenue of 31 million U.S. dollars from dry rubber exports during the January-March period this year, down 26 percent from 42 million U.S. dollars over the same period last year, the figures said.

A ton of the best quality rubber goes for about 1,543 U.S. dollars on the international market this week, down 19 percent from 1,920 U.S. dollars at this time last year.

Cambodian rubber has been sold to Malaysia, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and some European countries.

According to an agricultural ministry report, by the end of 2015, Cambodia has planted rubber trees on the area of about 389,000 hectares in which some 111,232 hectares are old enough to be yielded.
Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte speaks during his victory party in Davao, the Philippines, June 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Stringer)

MANILA, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Philippine diplomats have urged President-elect Rodrigo Duterte's government to launch bilateral talks with China to settle the long-running South China Sea territorial dispute between the two sides.

The call came as the Chinse Foreign Ministry on Wednesday issued a statement on settling disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiations.

DISPUTE SHOULD BE SOLVED BY BILATERAL TALKS

"You can't resolve an issue without talking to each other," the Manila Times, one of Philippine's major newspapers, cited Lauro Baja, former Philippine foreign affairs undersecretary and ambassador to the United Nations, as reporting on Friday.

Tension between China and the Philippines have heightened in recent years over the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. In 2013, the Philippines unilaterally initiated an arbitration case against China over the dispute from an international tribunal in The Hague.

Rosario Manalo, Philippines' former foreign affairs undersecretary for international economic relations, said the best thing for both the Philippines and China is to "sit down and talk".

Manalo said that everything can be resolved through bilateral negotiations.

"We should start talking about how to share the fruits of the tree through exploration," the Manila Bulletin, Philippine's another major newspaper, quoted her as saying.

Baja noted that the questions of territorial integrity or maritime entitlement will not be solved solely on legal ground.

"What the department (foreign affairs) or the Philippines may have missed is that they relied too much on the legal ground," he said, adding "Second, we relied too much on the panel and we put all our eggs in the panel."

With Regard to the arbitration, he said he believed that it will not be a total victory for the Philippines nor a total loss for China.

"I think they will come to a decision where there will be opportunities for China and the Philippines to engage in bilateral talks," Baja said.

THE UNITED STATES SHOULD BE KEPT OUT

Manalo, who was the head of the High Level Task Force on ASEAN charter, said the only way to solve the dispute in the South China Sea is to diplomatically talk with China.

Manalo saw no need for the United States to join the negotiations as it doesn't have any claim in the disputed waters in the South China Sea.

"We can't pursue multilateral talks... What's the interest of the United States in us? Do they have any claim to the Philippines or China's territory? The problem is only between us and China," she said.

A U.S. expert suggested the other day that the Philippines could take its case to the United Nations Security Council if China will not abide by the court ruling.

Baja dismissed the recommendation by Ernest Bower, a senior adviser to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said that China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, will surely veto such a move.
by Larry Neild

LONDON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Deputy leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson has warned that Britain will face spending cuts and tax rises of around 26 billion U.S. dollars if Britons back leaving the European Union (EU).

The main opposition party, representing the working class and blue-collar workers in Britain, is officially in favor of remaining part of the 28-member bloc.

The "Leave" camp denounced Watson's claim as fanciful and ridiculous. Justice Secretary Michael Gove, a "Leave" supporter, described the claim as "Project Fear" from Labour which tried to scare people into voting to stay in the EU.

"Many of the people who say that we will suffer economically if we're outside the EU are the same people who said we had to be inside the euro. They were wrong then, they're wrong now," said Gove.

With a national referendum on June 23 now less than two weeks away, latest polls showed the "Leave" and "Remain" camps were running virtually neck-and-neck.

The WhatUKThinks website's average of the last six opinion polls put the "Remain" camp on 51 percent and the "Leave" campaign on 49 percent.

Leading figures in the Labour Party were given orders Friday to win over members that would vote for the country to quit the European Union (EU).

Andy Burnham, Labour's home affairs spokesman, urged Labour voters to back staying in the EU, saying there is a real possibility that Britain could vote for isolation.

Former Labour leader Ed Milliband urged Labour voters not to succumb to the temptation to see the EU referendum as a chance to unseat Prime Minister David Cameron. "This is no mid-term protest, this is the choice of a generation. To those who would say they'd like to see David Cameron to lose his job, so do I, but not through a Brexit."

Responding to Labour's charm offensive to persuade any dissenting members to back Remain, Labour MP and Brexit supporter John Mann said: "It's not that Labour's not getting its message across, it's that Labour voters are fundamentally disagreeing."

Another veteran Labour MP Frank Field warned the party would risk losing votes with its Remain policy.

"In trying to scare Labour voters to back Remain, our leadership is on course to lose another 1 million votes to UKIP (UK Independence Party), just as we did in 2015," said Field.

In other referendum news Friday, it emerged that almost half a million Britons registered to vote during a 48-hour extension to the registration deadline.

Professor John Curtice, polling analyst from Scotland's Strathclyde University, said Friday that the opinion polls are not shifting decisively.

"In fact, the polling shows that public opinion has remained extraordinary stable in recent months. Minds are not changing that much. The split is basically 50/50. The only question is which side of that Leave/Remain line the verdict will fall on June 23," he said.

Nigel Farage, leader of Britain's anti-immigration UKIP, said a vote to leave could see Denmark, Austria and Sweden also following Britain and leaving the EU.

Related:

German FinMin warns against Brexit

BERLIN, June 10 (Xinhua) -- German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Friday warned against a British exit from the European Union (EU).

"A Brexit would be tough for everyone, but above all for the UK," the minister said while attending a conference in Berlin. Full story

Former British PM warns of chaos in case of Brexit

LONDON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Conservative Prime Minister Sir John Major warned Sunday of chaos if Britain votes on June 23 to leave the European Union. Full story

British bookmakers see surge in bets backing Brexit
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- House Speaker in the U.S. state of Alabama, Mike Hubbard, was convicted Friday on 12 charges of violating the state ethics law after a jury spent seven hours deliberating whether he used his public position for personal gain, according to multi TV networks.

Prosecutors said Hubbard, 54, used the political positions as state House speaker and chairman of the Alabama Republican Party to improperly benefit his companies and clients, and try to obtain 2.3 million dollars worth of work, investments and financial favors from lobbyists and company owners, said a NBC News report.

"This is a good day for the rule of law in our state. This kind of result would never have been achieved had our office not put together the finest public corruption unit in the country. ... This should send a clear message that in Alabama we hold public officials accountable for their actions," Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said after the verdict was announced. His office started the investigation more than three years ago.

The conviction came after a 12-day trial in which Hubbard took the stand for three days in his own defense, arguing that the transactions were legal and within the bounds of the state ethics law.

Hubbard was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1998 in his first run for public office, then quickly rose to positions of leadership and was named chairman of the state Republican Party in 2007, a position he held until 2011.

Hubbard now faces up to 20 years in prison for each ethical count. Sentencing is set for July 28.
A fisherman works in his boat on the sea near Zhaoshu Island of Qilianyu Islands, Sansha City, south China's Hainan Province, April 30, 2016. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 10 (Xinhua) -- A Brazilian expert has said that the Philippines' claim in the South China Sea is groundless while questioning the legitimacy of a tribunal that admitted Manila's arbitration request.

Ronnie Lins, director of the Center of China-Brazil Research and Business, told Xinhua in a recent interview that historical records showed that China has owned this territory since around 2,000 years ago.

"From the late 19th century, a series of treaties established the western border of the Philippines," said Lins, a specialist in Chinese history and culture.

While the Nansha Islands were not included nor recorded in any of those treaties, the Philippines, however, began to claim part of the South China Sea in 1946, Lins said.

China and the Philippines issued a statement in 2011 pledging to resolve disputes in the South China Sea through negotiations and consultations.

However, in 2013, without informing China in advance, Manila initiated arbitration at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague regarding the South China Sea issue.

By doing so, the Philippines has violated its agreement with China as well as its own solemn commitment to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

"I do not know if a tribunal would have any legitimacy to discuss such a matter. We are talking about national sovereignty," Lins said, adding that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea explains that its court has no right to resolve such disputes.

The expert added that while China's position on the matter is not to recognize the arbitration results, this does not mean the country is flouting international law as it has shown its desire to sit down for dialogue.

A crew member takes part in a fire drill on China's largest and most advanced patrol vessel Haixun 01 on the South China Sea, April 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

While certain analysts may have expressed support for a ruling by the arbitration tribunal, Lins said: "We will have to see if any claims made are backed by proof and historical facts."

Lins said he believes that submitting the matter to an arbitration tribunal would only raise tensions between China and the Philippines while undermining regional stability.

"It seems very complicated to me to discuss issues of national sovereignty at an arbitration tribunal. Generally, these questions are resolved through dialogue," he said.

China on Wednesday again urged the Philippines to stop its arbitral proceedings and return to the right track of settling relevant disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiation with China.

"China urges the Philippines to immediately cease its wrongful conduct of pushing forward the arbitral proceedings, and return to the right path of settling the relevant disputes in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiation with China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

The door of China-Philippines bilateral negotiations is always open, he said. "China will remain committed to settling through negotiation the relevant disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international law."
BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Washington's decision to lift restrictions on U.S. forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan showed that the strategy of former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had failed, an expert said Friday.

The Obama administration has decided to give broader authority to the U.S. military commanders to "anticipate situations in which the Afghan security forces would benefit from our support," Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told a defense conference in Washington Friday, calling the expanded authority "a good use of the combat power that we have there."

"The debacle is yet another nail in the coffin of the Rumsfeld Doctrine with its reliance on air supremacy, high-tech weaponry, and light and nimble ground forces," Russian news agency Sputnik quoted foreign affairs expert Dan Lazare as saying.

The Rumsfeld Doctrine was applied in Afghanistan in 2001 and in Iraq in 2003, but in both cases the U.S. armed forces failed to send enough forces to ensure security in either country, opening the way for the Taliban, al-Qaida, and the Islamic State military group to launch insurgencies, Lazare said.

Lazare also dismissed the new U.S. support policy as a minor measure almost certain to fail.

"It's just another half-hearted measure aimed at ratcheting up the pressure and making it look (like) the U.S. military is getting somewhere, when it's not. The long-term effect will be nil," he concluded.
KATHMANDU, June 11 (Xinhua)-- China and Nepal are now connected with optical fiber network for the first time through the Geelong(Keyrong)-Rasuwgadhi border point, which has ended Nepal's sole dependence on India for connecting the Himalayan country with global telecom service.

State-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) announced Saturday that its optical fiber network has been connected with that of China Telecom Corporation Limited.

"After establishing connection, we conducted technical test about two weeks ago," Dilliram Adhikari, joint spokesperson of NT told Xinhua.

He said that the NT would start commercial use of connected fiber very soon.

The telecom giant announced last month that it had completed laying the optical fiber to the Rasuwagadhi border point and now fibers of the two countries have been connected.

The NT laid the optical fiber to Rasuwagadhi from capital Kathmandu via Galchhi of Dhading District and Dhunche of Rasuwa District, paving the way for interconnection with Chinese fiber network.

According to Adhikari, Nepal now can be directly linked with Hong Kong Data Center, which is one of the two biggest global date centers in Asia, through the Chinese mainland.

"The use of the Chinese route to connect with Hong Kong Data Center will help enhancing quality of internet services in Nepal because of shorter distance," said Adhikari.

In order to use the interconnection of optical fiber between the two countries, the NT has already delivered necessary equipment to Rasuwagadhi.

"They are now being transferred to Timure, about one and half kilometer inward Nepal, considering the risk of landslide in Rasuwagadhi ahead of the monsoon season," said Adhikari.

Following the connection with Chinese optical fiber, Nepal are also able to purchase internet bandwith with Chinese companies. Currently, Nepalese internet service providers have been purchasing bandwith with companies from India and other countries.

"This will create a competitive environment for purchasing internet services which could reduce cost of internet service here," said Adhikari.

The NT initially planned to connect its optical fiber with China through Tatopani-Zhangmu(Khasa) border point, and the optical fiber was being laid on both sides of border. However, the earthquake last year damaged the fibers laid on both sides, according to NT officials.

Given the fragile geographical condition of the area, the Chinese side asked NT for exploring an alternative route for fiber connectivity. "Then we decided to connect through Rasuwagadhi," said Adhikari.

Meanwhile, the NT said it has signed initial memorandum of understanding with China Unicom, another Chinese telecom operator, for further cross-border optical fiber connectivity.

Nepal and China had agreed to enhance connectivity during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's official visit to China from March 20 to 27.
NEW DELHI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- At least two people, including a sailor, were killed and two others injured after inhaling toxic fumes on board India's naval ship INS Vikramaditya, officials said Saturday.

The incident took place Friday evening when the Russian made aircraft carrier, according to Indian Navy, was undergoing repairs at Karwar in southwest state of Karnataka.

"The incident of gas leakage took place yesterday evening while the ship was undergoing maintenance repairs in the sewage treatment plant compartment," said a statement issued by Indian navy.

"Due to inhalation of the toxic fumes, two naval sailors and two civilian workers were evacuated to naval hospital at Karwar," it added.

Of the four hospitalized, two succumbed to gas inhalation, while the condition of the other two was stated to be stable.

The navy has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

INS Vikramaditya is considered to be India's largest naval ship, equipped with a variety of integral weapons and sensors.

According to India's state-run broadcaster - All India Radio, the ship has been undergoing maintenance repair since June 1.

In April this year three Indian navy personnel were wounded, one of them critically, in a blast aboard naval ship INS Nireekshak.
BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- For the first time, local Chinese brands are equal to international brands in a measurement index -- meaning they are now in many ways perceived as equally competitive, new research found.

According to advertising giant WPP and its market research unit Millward Brown, both multinationals and local Chinese brands score 100 on the metric of Brand Power -- the BrandZ measurement of brand equity.

But Chinese brands have the advantage of upward momentum, while international brands are weakening, it said. In 2010, multinationals scored 115, while Chinese brands scored only 89.

A decade ago, international brands were synonymous with quality in the minds of certain Chinese consumers. They offered status and bling, while local brands could only aspire to being "good enough".

Uncertainty consumers in China once felt toward domestic products is gone. Local brands are challenging and beating global competition and consumers increasingly believe they are comparable, according to Millward Brown.

The total value of BrandZ 2016 top 100 most valuable Chinese brands rose 13 percent in 2015, despite the economic slowdown, as consumers remain confident in their spending and optimistic about living a better life, it said.

Millward Brown said that Chinese brands are doing a better job than their global rivals, in providing quality and value and leveraging the right channels to make its products available to Chinese consumers.

As the information explosion in China makes people more sophisticated, they demand more choice as well as better quality and value. This presents an opportunity for new, niche brands to come onto the market -- and again, local brands are taking the lead, it said.

Chinese brands are also doing better in catching the speed of the mobile wave. China is the most dynamic market in the world in terms of mobile use. The use of cash and credit cards is already perceived as outdated.

In addition, Chinese brands invest more heavily in media than their international counterparts. The top 10 investors on the TV channel CCTV, for example, are all local brands apart from Coca-Cola.

Chinese companies are learning how to develop unique, innovative brands. If international brands can't speed up and change their approach they risk missing the wave, and being replaced, it added.
BANGKOK, June 11 (Xinhua)-- A van caught fire after it skidded and crashed into a concrete barrier Friday night, leaving 11 people dead and 4 others injured, local media reported Saturday.

The accident took place at about 9:00 p.m. local time. The van carrying teachers and other staff from a private elementary school in eastern Bangkok was on its way back to Bangkok from a seminar in Rayong province.

The van crashed into the barrier and overturned; 11 passengers were killed instantly. Four others were seriously hurt, including the woman driver and they all have been hospitalized.

The dead could be not recognized right now since their bodies were partly burnt. A autopsy report is under way.
TIRANA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will launch financial support for agribusiness in Albania in July, an official declared on Friday.

"The EBRD, in cooperation with commercial banks at the end of July, will launch the project of financial support to Albanian agribusiness," Christoph Denk, head of the EBRD office in Albania, was quoted by the Albanian Daily News as saying.

He said the development of agribusiness in Albania is a potential sector with great growth opportunities in economy.

"One of the sectors that we estimate has great potentials to develop is agribusiness, and we think that we should support all relevant networks in this sector, ranging from production, processing, and distribution up to sales," said the EBRD representative in Albania.

The EBRD is working with the Albanian government to facilitate access to financing for companies operating in the agribusiness sector, Denk added.

The project will not only include the EBRD contribution of 100 million euros and further funding from financial partners, but also benefit risk coverage for first losses funded by the government, he said.

Agriculture is a key sector in Albania. It provides employment for half of the population in rural areas and accounts for around 20 percent of the country's GDP.

However, this sector remains financially underserved with loans to agribusiness accounting for only 2 percent of total lending to the economy.
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Friday the U.S. military will play a bigger role in combating the Taliban in Afghanistan, signaling that Washington is going back on its commitment to end its campaign in the Central Asian country.

The new plan, approved by U.S. President Barack Obama, will allow U.S. military commanders to use air power against the Taliban when necessary and allow U.S. troops to accompany conventional Afghan forces into the field to advise and assist them.

Carter told a defense conference the expanded authority will let commanders "anticipate situations in which the Afghan security forces would benefit from our support," and is "a good use of the combat power that we have there."

The move, which would pave the way for U.S. forces to once again directly battle the Taliban under some circumstances, comes just seven months before Obama leaves office, contrasting sharply with his campaign promise of ending the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

Obama agreed to keep 9,800 American troops in Afghanistan after 2014 on the condition that the bulk of the force be focused on training and advising Afghan security forces. Under a plan he signed off last year, the U.S. forces there will be further reduced to 5,500 by January 2017, when he leaves office.

However, there is doubt that he could opt to keep a larger U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan since the country is growing perilously unstable.

Obama is expected to complete an Afghanistan plan to be handed over to his successor by July 8, when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit starts in Warsaw. The plan would decide on the number of American troops remaining in Afghanistan after he leaves office.

Though more than 14 years have passed since the United States launched the Afghanistan War, at least one-fifth of the country is controlled or contested by the Taliban, according to local media reports.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Four police and 13 Islamic State fighters were killed Saturday in a clash in the eastern Nangarhar province, said Ataullah Khogiani, spokesman for the provincial government.

"A group of Islamic State fighters attacked police headquarters in Deh Bala district early Saturday, triggering a gun battle which lasted for a couple of hours, during which 13 IS rebels and four police were killed," Khogiani told Xinhua.

Seven militants had been injured during the firefight, the official added.

The IS group, which has been fighting government forces in parts of Nangarhar province with Jalalabad as its capital 120 km east of Kabul, has yet to make comments.
SARIPUL, Afghanistan, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Villagers in Balkhab district of the northern Saripul province attacked and captured a Taliban key commander and shadow district governor on Thursday, provincial governor Mohammad Zahir Wahdat said Saturday.

"The Taliban key commander Hashimi Qaraish who had served as shadow district governor for Balkhab district was captured by villagers on Thursday while he was collecting taxes from the locals," Wahdat told reporters here.

He added that the arrested Taliban commander who was involved in anti-government activities in Saripul province over the past four years, has been handed over to local authorities and presently is in government custody.

Taliban militants haven't commented yet.
BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Ongoing excess capacity reduction in China will result in job losses, less consumption, slower growth and higher debt, UBS Securities said in a report.

The lengthy report, titled "The Economic and Financial Impacts of Excess Capacity Reduction," identified coal mining and iron & steel as the main excess capacity sectors, while cement, flat glass, aluminum smelting and ship building are also included.

The Chinese government made reducing excess capacity a top priority in late 2015 at the Central Economic Work Conference and put it at the center of the 13th Five-Year-Plan.

China plans to cut steel and coal capacities by about 10 percent -- as much as 150 million tonnes of steel and half a billion tonnes of coal --in the next few years with funds set aside to help displaced workers.

"We estimate that a 10-percent capacity reduction in six excess capacity industries may lead to job losses of 3 to 3.5 million people, a 0.2-percentage-point decline in consumption growth, and less than 0.5-percentage-point drop in GDP growth," said the report.

Overall, the effect on growth and employment will be manageable, but concentrated in a few provinces such as Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Shanxi. The concentrated nature of excess capacity means closures may be devastating for local economies, which will require central government support.

North China's Shanxi Province with 25 percent of China's coal capacity, plans to reduce coal production by 100 million tons and suspend approval of new mining projects by 2020. Neighboring Hebei Province, producer of 23 percent of China's steel, aims to cut steel capacity by 100 million tons by 2020.

However, the actual pace will depend on central and local government determination and financial support, UBS said.

The report estimated total liability of the six sectors at 10 trillion yuan (c.1.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2015.
DAMASCUS, June 11 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed and others wounded on Saturday, when twin bombings rocked a predominantly-Shiite district south of the capital Damascus, a military source told Xinhua.

The two explosions rattled the sprawling district of Sayyidah Zaynab in the southern countryside of the capital Damascus within a swift succession, said the source on condition of anonymity.

He added that the first blast was carried out by a car bomb that went off at the al-Tin street, while the second was implemented by a suicide bomber who donated himself near a checkpoint tens of meters from the site of the first blast.

Sayyidah Zaynab has seen several deadly exposition over the past few months, in which over 100 people were either killed or wounded.

The Sayyidah Zaynab contains a key Islamic Shiite tomb, which became a center of religious studies of the adherents of the Shiite sect of Islam and a destination of mass pilgrimage by Shiite Muslims from across the Muslim world.

Since mid-summer 2012, the district has been under frequent attacks and shelling by the ultra-radical rebels, who aim to attack the Shiite people due to their supportive stance on the Syrian government and their religious background about the Shiite-Sunni conflict.

As the district holds religious significance to the Shiite people, Hezbollah sent fighters to protect the shrine and manned checkpoints sounding it.
BUJUMBURA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Newly appointed Commissioner General Leonard Sentore assumed the office of the Burundi Revenue Authority (OBR) on Friday.

"I will do my best to improve the quality of services at the OBR and I will consolidate the OBR gains," said Sentore at the inauguration ceremony.

Former OBR Commissioner General Domitien Ndihokubwayo told Sentore to offer quality services for the OBR staff and tax payers. He also indicated that it remains a "big challenge" for the new chief to computerize the internal tax collection sector.

Sentore was the executive director at the African Development Bank before this appointment, and he has also served as the second vice-governor of Burundi's central bank.

Ndihokubwayo was appointed as the east African country's new finance, budget, development planning and privatization minister by President Pierre Nkurunziza on May 18, 2016.
PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Up to 15 militants had been killed and five others injured as government forces launched cleanup operations in parts of the northern Baghlan province on Friday, security official Nasratullah Jamshidi said Saturday.

The operations, according to the official, covered Sarkh Kotal, Dand-e-Shahabudin and Dand-e-Ghori districts and would last until militants are swept out from the areas.

Dand-e-Shahabudin and Dand-e-Ghori are regarded as Taliban bastions in the northern Baghlan province.

Taliban militants, who have challenged the government forces in the districts since February this year, are yet to make comments on the situation there.
Chinese Ambassador toZimbabwe Huang Ping (L, front) and Zimbabwe's Environment, Water and Climate Minister Oppah Muchinguri (R, front) exchange documents during a handover ceremony in Harare, Zimbabwe, June 9, 2016. Zimbabwe's state weather forecast department has tuned in to signals emitted from polar-orbiting Chinese satellites in a technological makeover aimed to improve the meteorological services of a country which relies on agriculture but has struggled to cope with irrationally changing weather patterns in recent years. (Xinhua/Xu Lingui)

HARARE, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's state weather forecast department has tuned in to signals emitted from polar-orbiting Chinese satellites in a technological makeover aimed to improve the meteorological services of a country which relies on agriculture but has struggled to cope with irrationally changing weather patterns in recent years.

The receiving and processing system to access data from China's Fengyun-3 series of satellites is part of a 1.6-million-U.S.-dollar donation China handed over to Zimbabwe on Thursday.

The southern African country's weather service was blamed for its slow response, inaccuracy, or in some cases, the lack of any information, particularly during last year's abnormal rainy season resulting in a one of the worst drought in decades.

A staff shows a set of automatic weather station as part of the Chinese donation handed over to Zimbabwe Meteorological Services Department in Harare, capital ofZimbabwe, June 9, 2016. China on Thursday donated state-of-art weather forecast equipment worth 1.6 million U.S. Dollars to Zimbabwe, enabling the country to access data from China's polar-orbiting satellites, conduct automated weather data collection, stream live weather broadcast signals among others. (Xinhua/Xu Lingui)

Zimbabwe's Meteorological Services Department Director Amos Makarau told Xinhua the equipment was "revolutionary" and would greatly enhance the capacity of the organization in delivering efficient and timely weather information.

According to Dennis Kapaso, a senior system engineer, the donation help Zimbabwe achieve the migration from analyzing data from only one geostationary satellite to a group of seven polar-orbit satellites, which provide more frequent weather updates and much higher image resolution.

The Fengyun-3 series, currently composed of three satellites, were launched between 2007 and 2013, to provide multi-spectral, tree-dimensional, quantitative and high precision data to be used in medium and long-range numerical weather forecast, climatic prediction, and natural disaster monitoring for droughts, fires, vegetation and water.

"It's going to help us monitor weather even at a smaller scale and with more detail, something which we were not able to do with the satellite images from the previous geostationary Eumetsat satellite. It's a revolution," Makarau said.

Other equipment handed over to Zimbabwe on Thursday includes three automatic weather stations, and a meteorological early warning radio system.

"Right now we have been having problems in making sure our weather forecasts get to all the people in Zimbabwe due to various communication problems. As long as there is a radio station in a neighborhood every person now can be able to be warned of any impending disaster," he said.

He said 1,600 radios will be distributed, one per each village to ensure direct dissemination of warnings and forecasts of extreme weather conditions to the villagers.

Chinese Ambassador toZimbabwe Huang Ping (1st R, front) and Zimbabwean Minister of Environment, Water, and Climate Oppah Muchinguri (C front) watch a mock weather forecast presentation in the news television studio donated to Zimbabwe Meteorological Services Department in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, June 9, 2016. China on Thursday donated state-of-art weather forecast equipment worth 1.6 million U.S. Dollars toZimbabwe, enabling the country to access data from China's polar-orbiting satellites, conduct automated weather data collection, stream live weather broadcast signals among others. (Xinhua/Xu Lingui)

Zimbabwe's economy is largely agriculture-based and more than 70 percent of the 13 million population live in rural areas. Without sufficient irrigation facilities, the Zimbabwean farmers are vulnerable to the change of rainfall patterns.

Environment, Water and Climate Minister Oppah Muchinguri said over the past few years, demand for accurate weather and climate information has increased due to the climate change and the frequent occurrence of extreme weather.

She said the country has not yet recovered from the averse effects of a prolong drought during the past rainy season, which reduced harvest and left millions of people in the country in need of foreign food aid.

She said the donated equipment would help Zimbabwe not only provide farmers with accurate weather information but also monitor forest fires, spot illegal gold panning, and other functions.

Photo taken on June 9, 2016 shows a Chinese-made disaster-warning radio presented as part of the Chinese donation handed over to Zimbabwe Meteorological Services Department in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe. China on Thursday donated state-of-art weather forecast equipment worth 1.6 million U.S. Dollars to Zimbabwe, enabling the country to access data from China's polar-orbiting satellites, conduct automated weather data collection, stream live weather broadcast signals among others. (Xinhua/Xu Lingui)

Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Huang Ping said the donation showed the importance that China attaches to meteorological cooperation with Zimbabwe and would help the country "better prepared to cope with climate change."

He also noted that the 24.6 million dollars worth of rice committed by Beijing as emergency food aid to drought-hit Zimbabwe will soon arrive as authorities finalize the logistics details.
Photo taken on May 8, 2015 shows an overlook of Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya. Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp in northeastern Kenya, currently houses some 350,000 people. For more than 20 years, it has been home to generations of Somalis who have fled their homeland wracked by conflicts. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

By Stephen Ingati and Fabian Mangera

GARISSA, Kenya, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A section of the more than 300,000 Somali refugees living in Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp in northeastern Kenya, have expressed fears the planned closure of the camp will have far reaching effects on their lives.

Kenya recently announced it will repatriate all Somalis in Dadaab and close the camp by December, citing a "very heavy economic, security and enviroment burden".

Some refugees told Xinhua on Thursday they were not willing to return home due to insecurity and harsh economic conditions in the Horn of Africa nation.

They instead called on the Kenya government to resolve the issues with the Somali government on how to best carry out the repatriation which is expected to begin soon.

Abdi Mohammed, a 60-year-old refugee who has been in the camp since 1995, said that the move by the Kenyan government came as a shock to him.

"I used to hear these threats to repatriate us as mere hard talk from the Kenyan administrators. But the stanch position by the government has really shocked most of us. We can't believe we are being sent back to a country that is still unstable and faced with security lapses," Abdi told Xinhua on Thursday.

Abdi has eight children, all of whom were born in Kenyan and have received education. He said his children were traumatized by the anticipated repatriation given that they are going to a country they have no idea about.

"What they know about Somalia is a country where Al-Shabaab roam freely and lawlessness is the order of the day," he said.

Refugees wait to welcome their President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed of Somalia when he visited Ifo Refugee Camp in Dadaab, Kenya, June 7, 2016. Hassan Sheikh Mohamed was at the refugee camp on Tuesday ahead of the planned repatriation exercise by the Kenyan government. (Xinhua/Stephen Ingati)

During his visit to Kenya this week, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited Dadaab and said Somalia was ready to receive Daddab refugees back home.

He assured the refugees the repatriation will be orderly, humane and dignified.

Dadaab was set up more than two decades ago to house people fleeing conflict in Somalia.

It is not yet clear when the closure will begin, but the Kenyan government has disbanded its Department of Refugee Affairs, which worked with humanitarian organizations for the welfare of the refugees.

For Amina Mohamed, another Dadaab refugee, the mention of closure of the camp "sends shivers down the spine of many mothers", who she said suffered most at times of war.

The mother of five said although she missed her home, she feared insecurity.

"If the Kenyan government has decided to return us back home, then it should ensure that wherever we go is secure and has at least basic humanitarian services," Mohamed said.

She however thanked Kenya for hosting them for the past 25 years.

Somalia was torn asunder by factional fighting since 1991, but has recently made progress towards stability.

The conflict has left some 1.1 million internally displaced people and over 1 million others living in exile in neighboring countries, mostly in Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen.

Sources in Dadaab say many refugees have started selling off their livestock, shops and other property at a throw away price following Kenya's repatriation decision. The price of a goat that normally goes for 50 U.S. dollars has dropped drastically to 10 dollars.

Local officials welcome Somalia President Hasssan Sheikh Mohamed (L) at the Dadaab airstrip, north-eastern Kenya, June 7, 2016. Hasssan Sheikh Mohamed on Tuesday visited the Dadaab Refugee Camp ahead of the planned repatriation exercise by the government of Kenya. (Xinhua/Ingati Stephen)

Kenya's Northeastern Regional Coordinator, Mohamud Saleh, told Xinhua the government had enhanced security along the Dadaab-Garissa-Nairobi road to ensure that no Dadaab refugees "sneak" out of the camp.

"We understand that some refugees might decide to sneak out of the refugee camps to our towns as they try to escape being repatriated to their home country. The police are extra alert to avoid such cases," he said.

During President Mohamud's impromptu visit to Dadaab on Monday, Kenya's Interior Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Nkaiserry, who was with him, said he was glad that the majority of the 350,000 Somali refugees were willing to go back home and rebuild their country despite challenges occasioned by prolonged clan wars and activities of Al-Shabaab.

Nkaisery said the Kenyan government was working closely with the international community to ensure the repatriation is carried out in a descent manner.
MOGADISHU, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and East African bloc IGAD have commended Ethiopian troops serving with AMISOM for repulsing an Al-Shabaab attack and inflicting heavy casualties on the militants on Thursday.

Al-Shabaab militants raided an AMISOM base run by the Ethiopian troops in Halgan in central Somalia but were pushed back.

AMISOM said its troops killed at least 110 Al-Shabaab militants.

"IGAD condemns this senseless act of violence and commends the heroic forces of the AMISOM who have repulsed the latest attack to ensure that the industrious and peace loving people of Somalia live in peace and stability after two decades of war and destruction," the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said in a statement received on Saturday.

Al-Shabaab claimed it killed 60 Ethiopian soldiers in the attack. AMISOM has not revealed whether there were casualties on its side.

AMISOM's acting force commander, Maj. Gen. Nakibus Lakara, visited the Halgan Forward Operation Base in Hiiraan region on Friday. He commended the troops for repulsing the attack and vowed to step up security to defeat the militants.

"Al-Shabaab has been exploiting AMISOM weaknesses but over time we have been able to learn lessons and share the experiences and this is evidence of the troops being able to pick those lessons from previous experiences," he said.

An AMISOM statement said a cache of arms seized from the militants was displayed during Lakara's visit and that the battlefield was still strewn with bodies of Al-Shabaab fighters.

AMISOM Sector Four deputy commander, Col. Ayenom Mesfin, said the fighting at the military base lasted more than four hours.

"We were attacked by about 400 enemies from four different fronts at dawn and the fight ended after 9:30 a.m.," Mesfin said.

AMISOM force spokesperson, Lt. Col Joe Kibet, dismissed Al-Shabaab's claim that its militants had overrun the camp. "It is pure propaganda to say that they overran this camp," he said.
DAMASCUS, June 11 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people were killed and many others wounded on Saturday, when twin bombings rocked a predominantly-Shiite district south of the capital Damascus, a military source told Xinhua.

The two explosions rattled the sprawling district of Sayyidah Zaynab in the southern countryside of the capital Damascus within a swift succession, said the source on condition of anonymity.

He added that the first blast was carried out by a car bomb that went off at the al-Tin street, while the second was implemented by a suicide bomber who donated himself near a checkpoint tens of meters from the site of the first blast.

Sayyidah Zaynab has seen several deadly exposition over the past few months, in which over 100 people were either killed or wounded.

The Sayyidah Zaynab contains a key Islamic Shiite tomb, which became a center of religious studies of the adherents of the Shiite sect of Islam and a destination of mass pilgrimage by Shiite Muslims from across the Muslim world.

Since mid-summer 2012, the district has been under frequent attacks and shelling by the ultra-radical rebels, who aim to attack the Shiite people due to their supportive stance on the Syrian government and their religious background about the Shiite-Sunni conflict.

As the district holds religious significance to the Shiite people, Hezbollah sent fighters to protect the shrine and manned checkpoints sounding it.
RAMALLAH, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces demolished a house in Hebron in West Bank, which belongs to a Palestinian accused of launching stabbing attack and killed an Israeli woman last January, Palestinian and Israeli sources on Saturday said Saturday.

Coordinator of National and Popular Committees against the Wall southern Hebron Rateb Al-Jbour, told Xinhua that Israeli troops raided Yatta village and demolished a house belonging to Murad Ide'is who was shot dead by Israeli soldiers.

Al-Jbour added that the two-storey building is home to ten family members, who were not notified of the demolition previously. He considered that the demolition is part of Israel's collective punishment against Palestinians.

The Islamic Hamas movement said in a statement that the house demolition is a war crime, calling upon the international community to undertake its responsibilities under international law.

"The policy of house demolitions will not succeed in breaking the will of the Palestinian people and that the intifada will continue," said the movement in its statement.

The Israeli public radio said that Ide'is carried out a stabbing attack near Onteil settlement in the west Bank last January, killing one woman.

In the same time, Israeli forces arrested 11 Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, particularly in Hebron.
ISTANBUL, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has been diligently working to expand its influence in Africa, a move to boost its ambitious strategy to emerge as a global actor in the region.

The increasing frequency of visits to Africa by top Turkish officials since the beginning of this year indicates the importance Turkey attaches to the continent.

As many as 10 African countries have been visited by top Turkish officials in recent months.

Turkey's interest in Africa is particularly fostered by the expectation that the continent will emerge, with its fast-growing economies and rich natural resources to be exploited, as a major global actor in the second half of this century.

During his recent visit to Uganda, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed Turkey's perception of Africa saying, "nobody has probably any doubts that Africa will occupy a central position in the 21st century."

"Particularly sub-Saharan Africa is one of the target markets for Turkey. It is not only a source for raw materials, but also a strategic partner that could serve to diversify Turkey's energy suppliers," said Ufuk Tepebas, a Turkish lecturer in the Centre for African Studies at University of Basel in Switzerland.

The Turkish president returned only last week from his Eastern Africa visit covering three countries -- Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was in Rwanda before joining Erdogan for the four-day visit.

In early March, Erdogan toured four countries in Western Africa -- Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Guinea, while Senegal is another spot the president visited earlier in the year.

Erdogan was accompanied by several cabinet ministers and around 150 business people during his visits to the eastern and western coasts of the continent.

Turkey's interest in Africa dates back to 1998 when it launched an open-up policy toward the continent, but things actually turned serious when Turkey adopted in 2003 a strategy to develop economic and trade ties with the continent.

Turkey then declared the year 2005 as the Africa Year in the country, which was followed by the organization of the first Turkey-Africa Cooperation summit in Istanbul in 2008.

The second cooperation summit was held in Equatorial Guinea in 2014.

In 2008, Turkey became a strategic partner to the African Union which comprises all the 54 countries of the continent.

Turkey has been a member of the African Development Bank since January 2013, a status which relatively raises Turkish companies' chances to take part in public tenders and infrastructure investments.

Turkey had embassies in only 12 African capitals in 2009. The current figure is 39 and Ankara is aiming to open missions in all the 54 countries in the continent.

In return, the number of resident African embassies in Turkey, which was as low as 10 some five years ago, has also increased to 32.

It is also quite revealing as far as Turkish interest in the continent is concerned that the Turkish Airlines, Turkey's national flag carrier, is the foreign company flying to the highest number of destinations in Africa. It currently flies to 48 destinations in 32 countries in the continent.

Boosting economic ties is a major motivation for Turkey's Africa initiative. As Erdogan indicated during his latest visit to the continent, Ankara is ready for joint ventures in a wide range of sectors from defense to agriculture, tourism, construction and infrastructure.

At present, Turkey's total direct investment in Africa is 6.2 billion U.S. dollars. Since 2003, Turkey's trade with the continent has increased sevenfold, with around 40 percent of the growth achieved in the past five years.

The total trade volume, which was around 20 billion dollars in 2015, is far from being satisfactory considering that Turkey's trade volume with Germany alone has reached almost 42 billion dollars.

With its growing population and poor infrastructure, Africa is hungry for investments and Turkey is seeking to have a largish share in a market where it competes against giants like China, India, Brazil and the European Union.

With the Turkish economy being beset for the past several years by sluggishness as well as problems in the country's traditional export markets due to deteriorating political ties and civil wars in the Middle East, the Ministry of Economy has declared the year 2016 as the Year of Africa.

"New markets are vitally important for the Turkish economy. Africa is an attractive market with its growing economies and the increase in the number of urban consumers," said Hasan Ozturk, an Africa analyst at the Istanbul-based think tank Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (Bilgesam).

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, who was with Erdogan during last week's visit, told the Sabah daily that he expects Turkey's construction and energy companies as well as exporters of various machinery may well get lucrative deals in Africa.

Noting that only 10 percent of the people in Africa have access to electricity, the minister was quoted as saying "I can't imagine the huge demand in investments in electricity when the (10 percent) ratio will go up to around 60-70 percent."

The continent, rich in minerals, human resources and agricultural land waiting to be exploited, also looks quite promising as far as oil and natural gas reserves are concerned.

Six out of the 10 economies with the biggest growth rates in the past 10 years are in Africa.

"It seems to me we will be talking about huge developments in Africa some 30-40 years from now," stated Tepebas, who worked earlier as coordinator for the African Institute at the Istanbul-based Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies.

Analysts agree that Turkish interest in Africa has also to do with the country's ambition to become a global actor, a global power if possible, as the discourses of some top government figures have revealed.

According to Ali Engin Oba, a former Turkish diplomat who served as ambassador to Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ambition to become an influential actor in global politics is the main reason for Turkey's interest.

In a display of Ankara's ambitions to become a global power, a Turkish naval task force composed of four warships and three helicopters toured around Africa in 2014.

During the 102-day campaign, the warships made port calls in 27 countries.

Good ties Turkey built with Africa until 2008 amply paid as Turkey got elected a temporary member of the UN Security Council. The support from African countries, which make up more than one fourth of the UN member countries, played a significant role in Turkey's election.

"Turkey's Africa policy is a success story," observed Oba, who is currently head of the Department of International Relations in Cag University.

Humanitarian aspect is also visible in Turkey's approach to the continent.

While expanding its influence, Turkey has been trying to win over hearts in Africa through aid and services provided by various humanitarian organizations and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

As Turkey's development aid agency, TIKA has offices in 14 countries and is providing aid and services in 28 countries in Africa.

African countries, with a good number of them being among the world's least developed countries (LDCs), are among the main beneficiaries of Turkey's development aid.

In the past five years, Turkey has provided LDCs with more than 1.6 billion dollars in development assistance.

Across Africa, TIKA has so far implemented projects in such areas as health, agriculture, animal husbandry, education and training, capacity-building, well-drilling and clean water provision.

TIKA, which has completed projects in around 40 countries in Africa, also built hospitals and schools.

"If TIKA did not have the capacity to extend to Africa, we wouldn't be able to make projects to win Africans' hearts," Ahmet Davutoglu said several years ago when he served as Turkey's minister of foreign affairs.

As education is another front of Turkey's Africa initiative, around 4,500 students from Africa are currently receiving education in Turkey through scholarships provided by the Turkish government.

In Turkey, the total number of university students from Africa is 12,057, while 135 African professors currently teach in Turkish universities.

In their efforts to knit closer ties with Africa, Turkish officials have usually highlighted, as Erdogan and Cavusoglu did in their latest visits, Europe's colonizing past in Africa while stressing

Turkey has never had such motives toward the continent.

Cavusoglu said in Rwanda, "we see Africans as genuine and dependable partners. Turkey has no imperialist ambitions."

Turkish efforts to be more influential in Africa, however, are not a complete success story.

Despite efforts, the trade volume seems to have stuck around 19-20 billion dollars in the past several years. Turkey hopes to increase bilateral trade volume with Africa to 50 billion dollars, a figure the country had actually expected, based on unrealistic expectations though, to achieve by 2015.

"Turkey has relatively regressed in Africa (in recent years) and failed to adequately counter initiatives here by the continent's other strategic partners," said Tepebas from University of Basel.

According to Cag University's Oba, a Turkish diaspora should be created in Africa for Turkey to have a significant influence in the continent.

"Turkey should encourage its citizens to get settled in Africa," he remarked.

For Bilgesam's Ozturk, Turkey's biggest deficiency as regards Africa is a lack of information.

"Turkey does not sufficiently know Africa. No African language is taught in a university in Turkey," he said.

Despite the government's readiness to boost ties with Africa, the number of think tanks with a focus on Africa in Turkey is quite limited, while those focusing on the continent lack funding to conduct researches on the ground.
BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A nationwide education drive will foster socialist core values in the run up to the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), according to a joint notice issued by seven organizations.

The campaign, "Loving Party, Country and Socialism," by the CPC Central Committee publicity department and Ministry of Education, among others, will showcase the sinicization of Marxism; new thoughts and strategies in state governance; and CPC practice in ruling the Party.

Stressing that the 95th anniversary of the CPC is a major event in the country's political life, the notice promised a campaign that would enhance confidence in the path, theory and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

China will celebrate the CPC anniversary on July 1.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the opening of a new Turkish embassy in Mogadishu on June 3, 2016. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has visited Somalia on the third and last leg of his East African tour to open Turkish sponsored projects including health facilities and the largest Turkish embassy in the world. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

ISTANBUL, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has been diligently working to expand its influence in Africa, a move to boost its ambitious strategy to emerge as a global actor in the region.

The increasing frequency of visits to Africa by top Turkish officials since the beginning of this year indicates the importance Turkey attaches to the continent.

As many as 10 African countries have been visited by top Turkish officials in recent months.

Turkey's interest in Africa is particularly fostered by the expectation that the continent will emerge, with its fast-growing economies and rich natural resources to be exploited, as a major global actor in the second half of this century.

During his recent visit to Uganda, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed Turkey's perception of Africa saying, "nobody has probably any doubts that Africa will occupy a central position in the 21st century."

"Particularly sub-Saharan Africa is one of the target markets for Turkey. It is not only a source for raw materials, but also a strategic partner that could serve to diversify Turkey's energy suppliers," said Ufuk Tepebas, a Turkish lecturer in the Centre for African Studies at University of Basel in Switzerland.

The Turkish president returned only last week from his Eastern Africa visit covering three countries -- Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was in Rwanda before joining Erdogan for the four-day visit.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud (C-R) stand in front of the new Turkish embassy in Mogadishu on June 3, 2016, following its opening. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

In early March, Erdogan toured four countries in Western Africa -- Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Guinea, while Senegal is another spot the president visited earlier in the year.

Erdogan was accompanied by several cabinet ministers and around 150 business people during his visits to the eastern and western coasts of the continent.

Turkey's interest in Africa dates back to 1998 when it launched an open-up policy toward the continent, but things actually turned serious when Turkey adopted in 2003 a strategy to develop economic and trade ties with the continent.

Turkey then declared the year 2005 as the Africa Year in the country, which was followed by the organization of the first Turkey-Africa Cooperation summit in Istanbul in 2008.

The second cooperation summit was held in Equatorial Guinea in 2014.

In 2008, Turkey became a strategic partner to the African Union which comprises all the 54 countries of the continent.

Turkey has been a member of the African Development Bank since January 2013, a status which relatively raises Turkish companies' chances to take part in public tenders and infrastructure investments.

Turkey had embassies in only 12 African capitals in 2009. The current figure is 39 and Ankara is aiming to open missions in all the 54 countries in the continent.

In return, the number of resident African embassies in Turkey, which was as low as 10 some five years ago, has also increased to 32.

It is also quite revealing as far as Turkish interest in the continent is concerned that the Turkish Airlines, Turkey's national flag carrier, is the foreign company flying to the highest number of destinations in Africa. It currently flies to 48 destinations in 32 countries in the continent.

Boosting economic ties is a major motivation for Turkey's Africa initiative. As Erdogan indicated during his latest visit to the continent, Ankara is ready for joint ventures in a wide range of sectors from defense to agriculture, tourism, construction and infrastructure.

At present, Turkey's total direct investment in Africa is 6.2 billion U.S. dollars. Since 2003, Turkey's trade with the continent has increased sevenfold, with around 40 percent of the growth achieved in the past five years.

The total trade volume, which was around 20 billion dollars in 2015, is far from being satisfactory considering that Turkey's trade volume with Germany alone has reached almost 42 billion dollars.

With its growing population and poor infrastructure, Africa is hungry for investments and Turkey is seeking to have a largish share in a market where it competes against giants like China, India, Brazil and the European Union.

With the Turkish economy being beset for the past several years by sluggishness as well as problems in the country's traditional export markets due to deteriorating political ties and civil wars in the Middle East, the Ministry of Economy has declared the year 2016 as the Year of Africa.

"New markets are vitally important for the Turkish economy. Africa is an attractive market with its growing economies and the increase in the number of urban consumers," said Hasan Ozturk, an Africa analyst at the Istanbul-based think tank Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (Bilgesam).

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, who was with Erdogan during last week's visit, told the Sabah daily that he expects Turkey's construction and energy companies as well as exporters of various machinery may well get lucrative deals in Africa.

Noting that only 10 percent of the people in Africa have access to electricity, the minister was quoted as saying "I can't imagine the huge demand in investments in electricity when the (10 percent) ratio will go up to around 60-70 percent."

The continent, rich in minerals, human resources and agricultural land waiting to be exploited, also looks quite promising as far as oil and natural gas reserves are concerned.

Six out of the 10 economies with the biggest growth rates in the past 10 years are in Africa.

"It seems to me we will be talking about huge developments in Africa some 30-40 years from now," stated Tepebas, who worked earlier as coordinator for the African Institute at the Istanbul-based Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies.

Analysts agree that Turkish interest in Africa has also to do with the country's ambition to become a global actor, a global power if possible, as the discourses of some top government figures have revealed.

According to Ali Engin Oba, a former Turkish diplomat who served as ambassador to Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ambition to become an influential actor in global politics is the main reason for Turkey's interest.

In a display of Ankara's ambitions to become a global power, a Turkish naval task force composed of four warships and three helicopters toured around Africa in 2014.

During the 102-day campaign, the warships made port calls in 27 countries.

Good ties Turkey built with Africa until 2008 amply paid as Turkey got elected a temporary member of the UN Security Council. The support from African countries, which make up more than one fourth of the UN member countries, played a significant role in Turkey's election.

"Turkey's Africa policy is a success story," observed Oba, who is currently head of the Department of International Relations in Cag University.

Humanitarian aspect is also visible in Turkey's approach to the continent.

While expanding its influence, Turkey has been trying to win over hearts in Africa through aid and services provided by various humanitarian organizations and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

As Turkey's development aid agency, TIKA has offices in 14 countries and is providing aid and services in 28 countries in Africa.

African countries, with a good number of them being among the world's least developed countries (LDCs), are among the main beneficiaries of Turkey's development aid.

In the past five years, Turkey has provided LDCs with more than 1.6 billion dollars in development assistance.

Across Africa, TIKA has so far implemented projects in such areas as health, agriculture, animal husbandry, education and training, capacity-building, well-drilling and clean water provision.

TIKA, which has completed projects in around 40 countries in Africa, also built hospitals and schools.

"If TIKA did not have the capacity to extend to Africa, we wouldn't be able to make projects to win Africans' hearts," Ahmet Davutoglu said several years ago when he served as Turkey's minister of foreign affairs.

As education is another front of Turkey's Africa initiative, around 4,500 students from Africa are currently receiving education in Turkey through scholarships provided by the Turkish government.

In Turkey, the total number of university students from Africa is 12,057, while 135 African professors currently teach in Turkish universities.

In their efforts to knit closer ties with Africa, Turkish officials have usually highlighted, as Erdogan and Cavusoglu did in their latest visits, Europe's colonizing past in Africa while stressing

Turkey has never had such motives toward the continent.

Cavusoglu said in Rwanda, "we see Africans as genuine and dependable partners. Turkey has no imperialist ambitions."

Turkish efforts to be more influential in Africa, however, are not a complete success story.

Despite efforts, the trade volume seems to have stuck around 19-20 billion dollars in the past several years. Turkey hopes to increase bilateral trade volume with Africa to 50 billion dollars, a figure the country had actually expected, based on unrealistic expectations though, to achieve by 2015.

"Turkey has relatively regressed in Africa (in recent years) and failed to adequately counter initiatives here by the continent's other strategic partners," said Tepebas from University of Basel.

According to Cag University's Oba, a Turkish diaspora should be created in Africa for Turkey to have a significant influence in the continent.

"Turkey should encourage its citizens to get settled in Africa," he remarked.

For Bilgesam's Ozturk, Turkey's biggest deficiency as regards Africa is a lack of information.

"Turkey does not sufficiently know Africa. No African language is taught in a university in Turkey," he said.

Despite the government's readiness to boost ties with Africa, the number of think tanks with a focus on Africa in Turkey is quite limited, while those focusing on the continent lack funding to conduct researches on the ground.
GUANGZHOU, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Four students celebrating the end of the college entrance exam were drowned in a reservoir in south China's Guangdong province, local authorities said on Saturday.

According to a Jieyang City official, six students went to the Nanlong Reservoir at about 2 p.m. Friday and fell from a floating wooden plank into the water.

Two of the students made it back to shore, but four of the teenagers, three boys and a girl, were found by rescuers and pronounced dead at the scene.

The college entrance exam, "Gaokao," fell on Tuesday and Wednesday this year, with a total of 9.4 million Chinese students competing for university admission.
COLOMBO, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government Saturday rejected claims that not much has been done to assist families affected by the 30-year war.

D. M. Swaminathan, minister of Prison Reform, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs said the current government, which took office in January last year, has paid special attention to the people who live in war-affected parts of the country.

The minister said funds have been allocated for the rehabilitation and resettlement of all the innocent people including resettled people in the north and east parts of the country, refugees repatriated from India and the war-affected majority Sinhala border villagers.

"Under the funding of my Ministry, 10,030 permanent houses are being newly built in 11 Districts. Steps have been taken to solve the drinking water problem of affected people by constructing public wells, renovating the existing public wells and providing water lines to houses," the minister said.
Dubai International Airport was forced to close for 69 minutes on Saturday due to trespassing of a done. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

DUBAI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Dubai International Airport (DXB) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was forced to close for 69 minutes on Saturday due to trespassing of an unidentified drone, Dubai daily Gulf news reported.

All flights between 11:36 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. local time (between 0736 GMT and 0845 GMT) were disrupted and dozens were delayed, the report said.

Flights scheduled to arrive at the airport were diverted to neighboring Al Maktoum International Airport, Sharjah International Airport in the north and Fujairah International Airport in the southeast of the UAE.

Dubai Airports, owner and manager of DXB, is working "to restore operations and minimize customer inconvenience," according to a DXB statement.

The statement also stressed that all unmanned aerial vehicle activities are strictly prohibited "in restricted areas including within five kilometers of any airport or landing area."

Nine other areas in the Gulf Arab emirate allow individuals or institutions using drones only on condition of required government approval.

78 million passengers arrived at and departed from DXB in 2015, making the airport the busiest in the world pertaining to international travelers.

Over 80 percent use it as a hub to journey on, making it the biggest civil aviation hub in the Middle East.
MANDERA, Kenya, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan authorities have said an improvised explosive device went off early Saturday in an area along the Somali border, some 2 km from the northeastern town of Mandera, but caused no casualties.

Mandera County Commissioner, Fredrick Shisia, said the incident, which took place at Border Point Three area near custom offices, had targeted security officers manning the border area.

Shisia said there were no casualties as police officers were far from the scene, noting the hole left after the explosion indicated the blast would have caused heavy casualties.

Shisia blamed Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants for the incident. "We will do anything within our means to disrupt Al-Shabaab attacks and will not leave anything for chance," he told journalists in Mandera.

He said Al-Shabaab was trying to stage attacks in Kenya during the month of Ramadan and that security agents in the region had increased patrols.

The latest incident comes barely a day after police chief Joseph Boinnet warned areas along the Kenya-Somalia border were at higher risk of Al-Shabaab terror attacks.

He said plans were underway to put up street lighting in the border area in order to uncover criminals hiding under the cover of darkness.

According to the country's anti-terror police unit, Al-Shabaab militants have improved the power of their improvised explosive devices by using heavy metallic elements.
ACCRA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Indian President Pranab Mukherjee will arrive here on Sunday at the start of a two-nation African tour, a release from the Ghanaian presidency said here on Saturday.

The visiting president, who will also visit Cote d'Ivoire, will hold discussions with President John Dramani Mahama while on Ghana-India relations.

After these discussions, a number of agreements will be signed between Ghana and India.

"President Mukherjee will also visit the University of Ghana, the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT and address a Business Forum," the release said.

The visiting president will also visit the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and plant a tree at the Flagstaff House to signify the strong bond of friendship between India and Ghana.

The Flagstaff House, the seat of Ghana's government was reconstructed with a grant from the Indian government, while the Indian Exim Bank also provided a grant of about 30 million U.S. dollars for the reconstruction of the Komenda Sugar factory near Cape Coast, about 144 km west of the capital.
CAPE TOWN, June 11 (Xinhua) -- South African President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday that he was "deeply saddened and shocked" by a house fire that killed nine people in Mitchell's Plein, Cape Town.

"I am deeply saddened and shocked by this tragedy that has befallen the community of Mitchell's Plein today," Zuma said in a statement.

Zuma extended his condolences to the families and relatives of the nine victims, including children, who died in the fire that took place on Saturday morning.

"I wish to extend my condolences and those of the whole government to the families and relatives of the deceased during this difficult time," Zuma said.

Police said at least seven of the victims are children aged between two and 17-year-old. Six other people were taken to hospital to be treated for burn wounds.

The cause of the fire remained unknown. The circumstance of the fire were immediately investigated, police said.

Police described the fire as one of the most tragic incidents they have attended to in many years.
KABUL, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan forces have obviously adopted an aggressive stance against Taliban in the northern region as more than three dozen armed militants have been killed since Friday, officials said Saturday.

To eliminate militants, the government troops launched major operations against Taliban in Sarkh Kotal, Dand-e-Shahabudin and Dand-e-Ghori districts of the northern Baghlan province on Friday, army spokesman in the province Ahmad Jawed Salim said Saturday.

According to Salim, 15 militants have been killed and nearly a dozen others wounded since the crackdown was launched on Friday.

Aimed at taking back Sarkh Kotal area, the operations would continue until the law and order were restored there, the official said.

The strategically important Sarkh Kotal was captured by Taliban fighters weeks ago and since then the militants could threaten a major highway connecting the capital of Kabul to eight northern provinces. The Kabul-Mazar highway passes through Chashma-e-Shir outside the Baghlan provincial capital of Pul-e-Khumri.

To demonstrate their control on the highway, Taliban militants ordered a passenger bus outside Chachma-e-Shir Friday night to stop for checking, but the driver defied the order and Taliban opened fire injuring four travelers, according to locals.

Local observers believed that controlling the Sarkh Kotal area would give Taliban an upper hand, who could disrupt the Kabul-Mazar highway at anytime.

Similar operations against Taliban which kicked off in Qaisar district of the northern Faryab province on Friday has left 22 Taliban fighters dead, Faryab's provincial governor Sayed Anwar Sadat told reporters on Saturday.

Meantime, eight Taliban militants have been injured as people in some villages of Yamgan district in the northern Badakhshan province made uprising against Taliban fighters on Friday, a senior police official Aziz Kamawal said Saturday.

Army spokesman in the northern region, Nasratullah Jamshidi, told Xinhua on Saturday that the security forces have been chasing the militants elsewhere and would spare no efforts to destroy their hideouts.
Afghan security force members take part in a military operation in Qaisar district of Faryab province, Afghanistan, June 10, 2016. (Xinhua Photo by Mohammad Jan Aria)

KABUL, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan forces have obviously adopted an aggressive stance against Taliban in the northern region as more than three dozen armed militants have been killed since Friday, officials said Saturday.

To eliminate militants, the government troops launched major operations against Taliban in Sarkh Kotal, Dand-e-Shahabudin and Dand-e-Ghori districts of the northern Baghlan province on Friday, army spokesman in the province Ahmad Jawed Salim said Saturday.

According to Salim, 15 militants have been killed and nearly a dozen others wounded since the crackdown was launched on Friday.

Aimed at taking back Sarkh Kotal area, the operations would continue until the law and order were restored there, the official said.

The strategically important Sarkh Kotal was captured by Taliban fighters weeks ago and since then the militants could threaten a major highway connecting the capital of Kabul to eight northern provinces. The Kabul-Mazar highway passes through Chashma-e-Shir outside the Baghlan provincial capital of Pul-e-Khumri.

To demonstrate their control on the highway, Taliban militants ordered a passenger bus outside Chachma-e-Shir Friday night to stop for checking, but the driver defied the order and Taliban opened fire injuring four travelers, according to locals.

Local observers believed that controlling the Sarkh Kotal area would give Taliban an upper hand, who could disrupt the Kabul-Mazar highway at anytime.

Similar operations against Taliban which kicked off in Qaisar district of the northern Faryab province on Friday has left 22 Taliban fighters dead, Faryab's provincial governor Sayed Anwar Sadat told reporters on Saturday.

Meantime, eight Taliban militants have been injured as people in some villages of Yamgan district in the northern Badakhshan province made uprising against Taliban fighters on Friday, a senior police official Aziz Kamawal said Saturday.

Army spokesman in the northern region, Nasratullah Jamshidi, told Xinhua on Saturday that the security forces have been chasing the militants elsewhere and would spare no efforts to destroy their hideouts.
Iraqi government forces and elite counterterrorism service patrol from the edge of Shuhada neighbourhood, south of Fallujah, during an operation to regain control of the area from the Islamic State (IS) group on June 10, 2016. (Xinhua/AFP)

FALLUJAH, Iraq, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Saturday tightened their grip around the city of Fallujah and freed some areas from Islamic State (IS) militants after fierce clashes, a security source said.

The troops, backed by U.S.-led coalition aircraft, carried out an operation in the early morning to recapture areas on the western side of Euphrates River, which flows on the edge of the western part of Fallujah, some 50 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Area of Falahat in west of Fallujah was recaptured after fierce clashes in which IS militants were forced to withdraw, the source said.

It added that the troops will continue their advance toward the militant-seized area of al-Halabsa in order to push further toward Fallujah from the western bank of Euphrates River.

Meanwhile, the security forces and allied paramilitary units, known as Hashd Shaabi, advanced in east of Fallujah and freed al-Subayhat area after heavy clashes with the extremist militants, killing at least 13 extremist militants and destroying four of their vehicles, including a suicide car bomb, said the source.

Smoke billows from Fallujah's southern Shuhada neighbourhood following shelling during an operation by Iraqi government forces, backed by air support from the US-led coalition, to regain control of the area from the Islamic State (IS) group on June 10, 2016. (Xinhua/AFP)

Saturday's operations came after the security forces managed on Wednesday to seize part of al-Shuhada district in south of Fallujah and raised the Iraqi flag over some buildings after fierce clashes with IS militants.

However, advance in southern Fallujah was slowed by IS militants resistance inside the city, with hundreds of hidden bombs believed to be planted by them.

The security forces are also avoiding heavy casualties among tens of thousands of civilians who are reportedly trapped inside Fallujah.

About 50,000 to 70,000 civilians are expected to remain in Fallujah Earlier, said Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, spokesman for the Joint Military Command.

Early in the month, the UN children fund warned that at least 20,000 Iraqi children remained trapped in Fallujah where Iraqi security forces are fighting to drive out the extremist IS militants from the city.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced on May 23 the launch of a major offensive to claim Fallujah and surrounding towns and areas.

Government troops and allied militias have currently been fighting for months to reclaim key cities and towns in Anbar from IS militants, who attempted to advance toward Baghdad after seizing most of Anbar province.

Iraq has been witnessing a wave of violence since the IS controlled parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.
XIAMEN, June 11, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Yu Zhengsheng (3rd L), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, talks to young entrepreneurs during a visit to the cross-Strait innovation and entrepreneurship base for youth located in Haicang district of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, June 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

XIAMEN, June 11 (Xinhua) - Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng has wished start-ups of young entrepreneurs from Taiwan a success in the Chinese mainland thanks to the supportive environment in the mainland.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks during a visit to a cross-Strait innovation and entrepreneurship base for youth located in Haicang district of southeastern city of Xiamen on Saturday.

After learning about the work of young Taiwan entrepreneurs, Yu, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, asked relevant government organs to try to solve their outstanding difficulties and problems.

Yu said young people are open-minded and have high aspiration, and the future of cross-Strait relations depend on the young generations.

Young people of the mainland and Taiwan have grown up in different environment, therefore, it is inevitable to think in different ways on some issues, Yu said, adding what is important is that they all hold the same wish of a happy and peaceful life, as well as a prosperous Chinese nation.

He urged creating more opportunities for young people from both sides of the Strait to communicate so that they understand each other better and become good friends, which is significant for the long term development of cross-Strait ties.

Yu also visited the RQ space, a drone and intelligent robot incubator, and the pavilion for Taiwan start-ups in the Haicang base.

Related:

Incubation platform for Taiwan start-ups launched in Xiamen

XIAMEN, June 11 (Xinhua) -- An incubation and coaching platform for start-ups from Taiwan was launched on Saturday at a cross-Strait innovation and entrepreneurship base located in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province.
UNITED NATIONS, June 11 (Xinhua) -- UN chief Ban Ki-moon is expected to meet in New York City with pilots and founders of a solar-powered airplane that is on a globe-circling voyage, UN officials said here Saturday.

Ban is scheduled to visit the Solar Impulse 2, the first solar plane capable of flying day and night without using a drop of fuel, on Monday afternoon at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport during the expedition's stopover in New York City, said the officials.

The Solar Impulse 2, the spindly, single-seat experimental aircraft of the size of a 747 with the weight of a car and the power of a small motorcycle, uses no fossil fuels and has no emissions.

The airplane landed at JFK airport in New York early Saturday morning. New York will be the 14th stop on its 35,000 kilometer (22,000-mile) round-the-world journey which began in Abu Dhabi in March 2015.

New York City is the final U.S. destination of the Solar Impulse 2 during its around-the-world journey. Its trip across the U.S. mainland began on April 24, when the Solar Impulse landed in San Francisco from Hawaii.

The secretary-general will meet with the pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, who have so far taken turns at piloting the craft over Asia, the Pacific, and North America, said the officials.

The plane took off from Lehigh Valley in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania around 11 p.m ET on Friday, arriving at JFK airport in New York nearly five hours later after a flight of 165 miles (some 265 km).

The Solar Impulse 2 was originally scheduled to arrive in New York on Tuesday, but the flight was put off due to bad weather. Enditem
NAIROBI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) says Kenya is well placed to lead the African continent in embracing green finance in order to ensure sustainable development.

Outgoing UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, told a finance forum in Nairobi on Saturday that Kenya had already developed a vibrant finance sector with a regulator that is internationally recognized for enabling financial inclusion.

"The next great step forward for Kenya is to become a global innovative center for green finance and sustainable finance," Steiner said during the CEO Roundtable on Sustainable Finance.

Steiner said Kenya was well positioned to be a country where the finance sector plays a leading role for the benefit of Kenya and the African continent.

Many of Kenya's financial institutions are active in markets across East Africa.

Steiner said the government can only be a catalyzer or trigger of the development of green finance, emphasizing the importance of the role that the private sector plays.

"It is the private sector that will put the kind of investment required to achieve a sustainable and a green financial industry," he said.

He said Kenya's green energy policy and infrastructure was the living proof of how quickly changes can happen.

"The country has transformed its energy sector in less than one decade and has managed to attract millions of U.S. dollars of private sector funds into the renewable energy sector," he said.

According to UNEP, renewable energy has now emerged as a short cut to access to energy in Africa.

Steiner called for an Africa where it no longer buys phased out factories from the rest of the world.

"Africa instead should be at the fore front of embracing a decarbonized development pathway," he said. Enditem
CHENGDU, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Death toll from a leisure boat capsizing in southwest China's Sichuan Province rose to 14 after more bodies were found, rescuers said on Saturday.

They are still searching for one person who remains missing.

The accident happened at about 2:40 p.m. on June 4, when a boat with 18 on board capsized in the Bailong Lake of Guangyuan city.

Four people were pulled out immediately after the accident, among whom a child died later in the hospital. As of 6:30 p.m. Saturday, rescuers have retrieved 13 bodies.

Authorities said strong gales were to blame for the accident.
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., June 10, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

By Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is taking heat yet again, this time for some controversial comments against a judge, as experts said this will hurt him in the presidential race.

The brash New York billionaire is embroiled in a lawsuit over Trump University, as some students claimed they did not get their money's worth.

Trump has sharply criticized Gonzalo P. Curiel for being biased against him because the judge is Mexican American and Trump plans to build a wall on the Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

Trump's provocative remarks created a firestorm last week as many Democratic and Republican politicians alike dismissed them as racist.

"This issue is hurting Trump," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

"He basically said that an American judge of Mexican heritage could not be fair due to political stances that Trump has taken," West said.

Indeed, other Republicans have also blasted Trump over the issue, including key Republican and 2012 contender for the Republican Party nomination Newt Gingrich.

West said it is unprecedented for a major American presidential candidate to criticize a judge based on that individual's ethnicity.

Indeed, such comments will do little to endear Trump to Hispanics, a key voting bloc in the U.S. that is usually in the tank for Democrats.

"On top of all the other things Trump has said, it is hard to envision him getting more than 20 percent of the Hispanic vote," West said.

As most Latinos find Trump offensive and disagree with him on immigration and border security, the vast majority of them will end up voting Democratic and there is little Trump can do to change that, West said.

Meanwhile, Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton is ramping up her game after clinching the nomination.

While the former secretary of state has often appeared to be stiff and unapproachable in public, Clinton earlier this month unleashed a blistering attack against Trump that grabbed media attention.

Clinton lambasted Trump in a foreign policy speech in the state of California, calling the New York mogul a "fraud" who is "temperamentally unfit" to be a president.

Observers said this was a departure from Clinton's usual stiff public persona, which has been a thor

n in her side in her efforts to portray herself as someone who understands the struggles of ordinary Americans.

West said that Clinton is displaying more passion in attacking Trump, and the recent scandal over Trump University gives Clinton an opening to characterize Trump as "a rich guy taking advantage of poor people, West said.

Trump's whirlwind entrance into the U.S. political scene last summer has sparked controversy nationwide and has led to a number of riots at political events, most of which saw violence by protesters against Trump supporters.

Last week, Trump supporters were attacked by a mob at a Trump rally in the state of California, with angry assailants hurling eggs and throwing punches at Trump supporters.

Some protesters in that and other anti-Trump riots were seen waving Mexican flags. Anti-Trump protesters also attacked police last month during a riot in California.
DAR ES SALAAM, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Saturday made his first mini-cabinet reshuffle as he appointed Mwigulu Nchemba as Minister for Home Affairs, replacing Charles Kitwanga who was sacked last month after he had turned up in parliament and answered questions while drunk.

President Magufuli also appointed Charles Tizeba as minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries replacing Nchemba. Tizeba was Deputy Minister for Transport under Kikwete's administration.

This was President Magufuli's first mini-cabinet reshuffle after he had appointed his cabinet in December last year, days after he succeeded former President Kikwete as the country's fifth president.

A statement from the Directorate of Presidential Communication at State House in Dar es Salaam said the newly appointed ministers will be sworn in on Monday.

President Magufuli, who took office in November, promised to tackle corruption and inefficiency in government.

He has sacked several senior officials for graft and cut spending he deemed wasteful by scrapping official Christmas cards and banning foreign travel by public officials. Enditem
KIGALI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda President Paul Kagame has assured private investors of a conducive business environment in Rwanda and called for more investments in the country.

He made the remarks on Saturday while officiating at the inauguration of the largest fuel depot-Societe Petroliere (SP) in the country.

The facility located in Gasabo District, in the outskirts of capital Kigali has the capacity to store 22 million litres of petroleum.

"We need to identify and overcome our shortcomings to ensure investors continue to see a benefit of investing in Rwanda. I can assure investors that Rwanda has laid favourable business investment conditions," said Kagame.

He cited the Kigali Special economic zone as one of the areas in the country that is geared towards promoting the investment opportunities in Rwanda.

The president pointed out that Rwanda has a variety of investment opportunities that allow both local and foreign investors to explore especially in areas of manufacturing, textile, ICT, agriculture, infrastructure and real estates, among others.

"This petroleum investment is an example of good public-private partnership. We have to build on this to go even further and faster," he noted.

"It is essential that the business community plays its rightful role while the government delivers on policy. The favourable business environment in Rwanda is a catalyst for establishment of private companies in the country," he said.

With massive oil reserves, the country would be in a position to mitigate the challenge of decline in commercial stocks that leads to increased fuel pump prices.

Rwanda has put in place a good business environment that is reducing the hours of registering a business hence attracting both local and foreign investors.

Rwanda has also opened strategic business offices in different countries like Turkey, Canada, UK, US, South Africa, Singapore and China, with the aim of promoting investments from those countries.

In 2014, Rwanda registered investments worth 549 million U.S. dollars, out of which, 213 million U.S. dollars was Foreign Direct Investments. Enditem
NEW DELHI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Police in India's eastern state of Bihar have sought an arrest warrant against former top official of state's exam board in "exam toppers" scam, officials said on Saturday.

The police department in the state is currently investigating a scam, where the toppers of school leaving exams were found to have resorted to cheating.

More than a million students sit for Bihar's Class 12 examinations (school leaving exams).

"A special investigation team of police has sought arrest warrant from Chief Judicial Magistrate against Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, former Chairman of Bihar School Examination Board and Bachcha Rai, Principal of Vishun Rai College, Hajipur in connection with examination merit scam," an official said. "Both of them are the main suspects in the case."

So far five people have been arrested in the case.

The cheating of toppers came under the spotlight after a viral video showed Arts student Ruby Rai saying political science was about cooking. Interview of the toppers was carried out by a local TV channel. Following the revelations, the board cancelled results of toppers and ordered a retest. However, Rai did not appear for the retest.

Last year, people were photographed climbing walls of examination center in an apparent bid to help their wards write exams by copying.

The revelations about cheating has come as an embarrassment to the Nitish Kumar-led government in the state that has directed officials to probe the matter as a criminal case. Enditem
Afghan security force members sit on a military vehicle during a military operation in Qaisar district of Faryab province, Afghanistan, June 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Mohammad Jan Aria)

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Friday the U.S. military will play a bigger role in combating the Taliban in Afghanistan, signaling that Washington is going back on its commitment to end its campaign in the Central Asian country.

The new plan, approved by U.S. President Barack Obama, will allow U.S. military commanders to use air power against the Taliban when necessary and allow U.S. troops to accompany conventional Afghan forces into the field to advise and assist them.

Carter told a defense conference the expanded authority will let commanders "anticipate situations in which the Afghan security forces would benefit from our support," and is "a good use of the combat power that we have there."

The move, which would pave the way for U.S. forces to once again directly battle the Taliban under some circumstances, comes just seven months before Obama leaves office, contrasting sharply with his campaign promise of ending the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

Obama agreed to keep 9,800 American troops in Afghanistan after 2014 on the condition that the bulk of the force be focused on training and advising Afghan security forces. Under a plan he signed off last year, the U.S. forces there will be further reduced to 5,500 by January 2017, when he leaves office.

Policemen stand near the body of a militant wearing a police uniform at the attack site in Ghazni City, capital of Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, June 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Sayed Mominzadah)

However, there is doubt that he could opt to keep a larger U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan since the country is growing perilously unstable.

Obama is expected to complete an Afghanistan plan to be handed over to his successor by July 8, when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit starts in Warsaw. The plan would decide on the number of American troops remaining in Afghanistan after he leaves office.

Though more than 14 years have passed since the United States launched the Afghanistan War, at least one-fifth of the country is controlled or contested by the Taliban, according to local media reports.
Solar Impulse 2, the solar airplane, piloted by Swiss adventurer Andre Borschberg, flies over the Statue of Libery in in New York, U.S. June 11, 2016 shortly before landing at John F. Kennedy airport. Leg 14 was the shortest so far on the planes trip around the globe. Andre Borschberg, Jean Revillard/SI2/Handout via Reuters

UNITED NATIONS, June 11 (Xinhua) -- UN chief Ban Ki-moon is expected to meet in New York City with pilots and founders of a solar-powered airplane that is on a globe-circling voyage, UN officials said here Saturday.

Ban is scheduled to visit the Solar Impulse 2, the first solar plane capable of flying day and night without using a drop of fuel, on Monday afternoon at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport during the expedition's stopover in New York City, said the officials.

The Solar Impulse 2, the spindly, single-seat experimental aircraft of the size of a 747 with the weight of a car and the power of a small motorcycle, uses no fossil fuels and has no emissions.

The airplane landed at JFK airport in New York early Saturday morning. New York will be the 14th stop on its 35,000 kilometer (22,000-mile) round-the-world journey which began in Abu Dhabi in March 2015.

New York City is the final U.S. destination of the Solar Impulse 2 during its around-the-world journey. Its trip across the U.S. mainland began on April 24, when the Solar Impulse landed in San Francisco from Hawaii.

Swiss scientist-adventurer and pilot Bertrand Piccard (R) and Solar Impulse CEO Andre Borschberg pose after they unveil the 'Solar Impulse' airplane during a ceremony on June 26, 2009 in Duebendorf near Zurich. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

The secretary-general will meet with the pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, who have so far taken turns at piloting the craft over Asia, the Pacific, and North America, said the officials.

The plane took off from Lehigh Valley in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania around 11 p.m ET on Friday, arriving at JFK airport in New York nearly five hours later after a flight of 165 miles (some 265 km).

The Solar Impulse 2 was originally scheduled to arrive in New York on Tuesday, but the flight was put off due to bad weather.
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., June 10, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

By Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is taking heat yet again, this time for some controversial comments against a judge, as experts said this will hurt him in the presidential race.

The brash New York billionaire is embroiled in a lawsuit over Trump University, as some students claimed they did not get their money's worth.

Trump has sharply criticized Gonzalo P. Curiel for being biased against him because the judge is Mexican American and Trump plans to build a wall on the Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

Trump's provocative remarks created a firestorm last week as many Democratic and Republican politicians alike dismissed them as racist.

"This issue is hurting Trump," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

"He basically said that an American judge of Mexican heritage could not be fair due to political stances that Trump has taken," West said.

Indeed, other Republicans have also blasted Trump over the issue, including key Republican and 2012 contender for the Republican Party nomination Newt Gingrich.

West said it is unprecedented for a major American presidential candidate to criticize a judge based on that individual's ethnicity.

Indeed, such comments will do little to endear Trump to Hispanics, a key voting bloc in the U.S. that is usually in the tank for Democrats.

"On top of all the other things Trump has said, it is hard to envision him getting more than 20 percent of the Hispanic vote," West said.

As most Latinos find Trump offensive and disagree with him on immigration and border security, the vast majority of them will end up voting Democratic and there is little Trump can do to change that, West said.

Meanwhile, Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton is ramping up her game after clinching the nomination.

While the former secretary of state has often appeared to be stiff and unapproachable in public, Clinton earlier this month unleashed a blistering attack against Trump that grabbed media attention.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses the Planned Parenthood Action Fund in Washington, U.S., June 10, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

Clinton lambasted Trump in a foreign policy speech in the state of California, calling the New York mogul a "fraud" who is "temperamentally unfit" to be a president.

Observers said this was a departure from Clinton's usual stiff public persona, which has been a thorn in her side in her efforts to portray herself as someone who understands the struggles of ordinary Americans.

West said that Clinton is displaying more passion in attacking Trump, and the recent scandal over Trump University gives Clinton an opening to characterize Trump as "a rich guy taking advantage of poor people, West said.

Trump's whirlwind entrance into the U.S. political scene last summer has sparked controversy nationwide and has led to a number of riots at political events, most of which saw violence by protesters against Trump supporters.

Last week, Trump supporters were attacked by a mob at a Trump rally in the state of California, with angry assailants hurling eggs and throwing punches at Trump supporters.

Some protesters in that and other anti-Trump riots were seen waving Mexican flags. Anti-Trump protesters also attacked police last month during a riot in California.
by Christine Lagat

NAIROBI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- While growing up in the idyllic plains of Samburu county in northern Kenya, Jennifer Nakouna marveled at the sight of elephants as they foraged near her parents' homestead.

The 56-year-old mother of nine was fascinated by the aura and confidence displayed by the giant mammals as they crisscrossed expansive plains in search of water and pasture.

Nakouna had no premonition that one day she would become unwitting victim of fury the gentle giants have lately vented on anyone standing in their path.

Soon after getting married several decades ago, Nakouna migrated to the wildlife-rich Laikipia county in northern Kenya, where she took up farming and livestock keeping as a fulltime occupation.

The amiable lady from the Turkana community was viciously attacked by a lone Jumbo in August last year near a stream where she had gone to fetch water.

In an interview with reporters this week ahead of the launch of a 163 kilometers fence project in Laikipia County to reduce human-wildlife conflicts, Nakouna narrated a blood curdling ordeal in the hands of an enraged jumbo. The 875,000-U.S. dollar project, luckily, was launched on Friday, however, authorities did not reveal a specific date of completion.

"It was a crisp morning in August last year when I went to the stream to fetch water only for an elephant that was grazing nearby to charge at me with a viciousness unknown to me previously," Nakouna said.

She revealed the jumbo pushed and shoved her to the ground and was unrelenting despite her loud screams.

When the elephant was through with its show of might to a human being who crossed its path, Nakouna was bleeding profusely and almost lost consciousness.

"The jumbo raised me up using its trunk and knocked me on the ground. It retreated and hit me again using its tusks. I bled profusely and lay unconscious until well wishers came to my rescue," said Nakouna.

Her feeble screams attracted the attention of her child who in turn raised the alarm to neighbors and passersby.

"My child spotted me as I raised my hand in despair while making faint screams. He immediately alerted neighbors who rushed to offer first aid and avert an imminent death," Nakouna told reporters.

The well wishers rushed her to a public health facility where she remained unconscious for three months while receiving treatment.

Nakouna was discharged from hospital in February this year, but the wounds she sustained have impaired her physical and emotional stamina.

"Since I left hospital in February this year, walking and performing minor tasks like grazing my goats has been a nightmare," said Nakouna, adding her children are a great source of financial and emotional support.

Her first born daughter, Margaret Tepi told reporters that memories of the tragic encounter with an elephant still haunted her mother to this date.

"My mother experiences nightmares at night whenever she hears loud bangs. Her health has deteriorated while the eyesight is blurred," Tepi told Xinhua, adding the loss of appetite and insomnia has also taken toll on her aging mother.

Besides the attack by the elephant, Nakouna, alongside her neighbours, has borne the brunt of elephants' incursion into their farms and homesteads in recent times.

She regretted that despite persistent outcry, both herders and farmers in Laikipia County continue to bear huge losses when jumbos invade their farms and destroy maturing crop.

"Elephants still intrude into our farms and regrettably, compensation from authorities usually takes too long. We appeal to the government and conservation lobby groups to assist victims of attacks by wildlife," Nakouna said.

Marauding elephants that occasionally invade Nakouna's one acre farm have not only depleted her savings but also undermined the capacity to feed her younger children.

Currently a single mother, Nakouna has struggled to educate her children on meager income accrued from sale of farm produce and goats.

She urged local authorities and wildlife lobbies to fast track erection of an electric fence to prevent elephants from invading her farm and destroying staple crops that happens to be her main source of income.

Nakouna is among a growing list of innocent victims of vicious battle for territory between humans and wildlife in northern Kenyan counties.

Joseph Njuguna, a 69-year-old father of nine, has also been an unenthusiastic guest to marauding jumbos in the last three decades since he bought a farm in Laikipia county.

Njuguna's three acre farm has been a prized destination for elephants who invade it to feast on maize, bananas, sugar cane and an assortment of fruits.

"There was a time elephants destroyed one acre of maize plantation on my farm in a single night. Hopefully, the erection of the new electric fence will end this menace," Njuguna said.
KHARTOUM, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Saturday expressed readiness to cooperate with South Sudan to develop minerals in the two countries under the great drop in the oil prices and the increasing rise in prices of minerals, namely gold.

South Sudan's Minister of Minerals Taban Deng on Saturday arrived in Khartoum on an official visit, leading a high-level delegation to get acquainted with Sudan's experience in filed of minerals.

"Sudan has become one of the pioneering countries in field of minerals via attracting a great number of international and local companies in addition to developing its experience of traditional mining," Sudan's Minister of Minerals Ahmed Mohamed Sadiq Al-Karuri told reporters today.

"The visit of South Sudan's minerals minister comes within the contest of cooperation between the two countries to establish common interests," he noted.

He said that "we are ready to develop the minerals in the two countries under the great drop in the oil prices and the great progress in the prices of minerals, particularly gold."

South Sudan's Minerals Minister Taban Deng, for his part, said that "this visit tends to strengthen the ties with Sudan and how it could contribute to developing the mining sector in South Sudan."

"We are one people, but circumstances wanted us to be in two countries, and therefore, we must make use of our presence in two countries by investing in our resources for the interests of the two peoples," he noted.

During 2016's first quarter, Sudan's gold production reached 22.3 tons, a three percent increase from the same period last year, where companies produced 3.4 tons against 18.8 tons for traditional mining.

The Sudanese government had previously anticipated the country's gold production to reach 100 tons in 2016, positioning Sudan as the second gold producing country in Africa and the ninth worldwide.

In February earlier this year, the United States drafted and introduced a resolution to the United Nations Security Council demanding sanctions be imposed on gold exports produced in Sudan.

However, the council postponed its examination of the drafted resolution. Enditem
The dragon dance was performed at the Chinese village in the Belgian city of Liege. (Xinhua/Wu Changrong)

BRUSSELS, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A "Chinese village", or a Chinatown, has opened to the public in the southeast Belgian city of Liege, as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Charter of Friendship between the Belgian province of Liege and the Chinese province of Fujian.

The village was set up on the Place Saint-Lambert in Liege city centre and included a market to discover the charms of the east as well as many activities which attracted local visitors, a Xinhua journalist reported on the scene.

Liege province spokesman Damien Dejardin said an estimated 200,000 visitors would come to the "Chinese village" in the four days that it is open.

Liege resident Didier Counotte told Xinhua: "I love Chinese cuisine, it's delicious, and I like watching the dragon dance. The martial arts demonstrations are impressive."

A delegation from Fujian, accompanied by more than 20 business leaders from the Chinese province, joined representatives from Liege province at the Chinatown inauguration on Thursday.

Visitors are walking in the Chinese village in the Belgian city of Liege. (Xinhua/Wu Changrong)

Katty Firquet, vice-president of Liege province in charge of external relations, said: "Until Sunday, Liege will have the chance to live a Mandarin way of life with cultural and sporting activities as well as food tastings."

Firquet has led two visits to China to strengthen links between China and Belgium, as part of the 30th anniversary of the partnership between the two provinces of the two sides.

She added: "This Chinatown is a showcase for Fujian province. A business forum will also be held to present the strengths of Liege province in terms of import and export, logistics and sustainable development."

Li Hong, head of the Chinese delegation and vice-director of Fujian province's external affairs bureau, said: "Fujian and Liege are 8,000 km apart, but such a distance does not stop us working together and cooperating with each other."

The four-day celebrations in the "Chinese village" feature products, concerts, cooking workshops, art exhibitions, parades in traditional costume and arts demonstrations.
ROVANIEMI, Finland, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The once tranquil European Arctic region has seen more and more tourists coming from other parts of the world.

Among the mysterious and romantic attractions are aurora borealis, polar bears, the Arctic Ocean, ice hotels, Santa Claus, indigenous culture, and various snow activities.

DRIVER OF GROWTH

The Finnish Lapland, for example, used to be inhabited only by Sami people who raise reindeer for a living. Nowadays, its capital city Rovaniemi has been packed with first class hotels and log cabin resorts.

Despite the thousands of beds in and around the town, said to be the authentic home of Santa Claus, it could be extremely difficult to find a place to stay overnight if one visitor comes at Christmas or New Year without booking accommodation in advance.

These years, another peak time has emerged as Chinese families begin to celebrate their traditional Spring Festival traveling abroad.

The Lapland area has suffered a lack of labor force as a result of great emigration. Today, local residents, including the Sami people, take up the new career either as a hotel manager, a safari operator, a craft designer, or a skidoo trainer.

Professional tourism courses are given in colleges and schools. Tourism has become one of the pillar industries in this "city right on the Arctic Circle".

While tourism has proved to be a driver of growth for the nations in the Arctic region, the tourist operators face common challenges as how to to maintain the steady flow of tourists throughout the year, how to get visitors to stay longer and how to encourage them to return, said Rauno Posio, member of the Arctic Economic Council.

Tourism businesses in the north are usually small in size, with very limited marketing resources, Posio said at the 4th China-Nordic Arctic Symposium in Rovaniemi earlier this week. Thus he led a project to find out ways to combine resources and facilitate greater visibility and awareness for the joint attractions of the region.

Posio believed by the year 2050, the number of international tourists will double, and the Arctic tourism is surely taking on a positive trend. However, things cannot be taken for granted, as sustainability remains a top concern, noted Posio.

BIGGER NUMBERS, GREATER RISKS

When a small number of tourists come to a remote Arctic village, they may bring new practices and new culture to the local community, said Daniela Tommasini, a senior lecturer at the Multidimensional Tourism Institute in Rovaniemi.

Tommasini conducted field research for years in Greenland, and found out how great the impact a cruise ship carrying hundreds of passengers could bring to the local community even if it stayed for only six to eight hours.

"They were so confused" and they might "not be willing to have tourists" any more, Tommasini told Xinhua.

Ilona Mettiainen, researcher of Arctic Centre of University of Lapland, said excessive growth of tourism may have adverse effects on the environment, such as its amenity values or biodiversity, or lead to competition on land-use between local residents' livelihoods and tourism facilities, or to crowding of some popular sites.

"One of the problems is taking pictures," said Tommasini. "Taking pictures all the time about the children, about the dogs, about this and that, and sometimes tourists are a bit too much invading into the private areas."

With the fast growth of Arctic tourism imminent, Tommasini voiced her concern.

"The bigger numbers of the tourists, the bigger problems," she said. Tommasini believed it is the capacity of the local community to say where the limit is.

"You have to foresee or plan a regulation," noted Tommasini. She reminded the best solution is to get local inhabitant involved.

However, such a regulation is not in place at least in the international level.

"It should be up to operators to self-regulate," said Johan Edelheim, director of Multidimensional Tourism Institute.

He said the operators should be provided with hard evidence of what negative impacts and irresponsible practice would have on their long-term business success. "It should be possible to convince most of them of the need to tread carefully."

Some regulations exist already at different places in the world, but only at places with local operators, Edelheim told Xinhua.
LONDON, June 11, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Members of the royal family view the fly-past on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Queen's 90th birthday celebrations in London, Britain on June 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

LONDON, June 11 (Xinhua)-- The townsfolk of what is reputed to be Britain's oldest town gathered in their market square Saturday to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth.

The small market town of 33,000 people, almost 100 km along the River Thames from central London, have found their own way of celebrating royal and major events.

From the roof of the county hall the Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames, Alice Badcock hurled the first of 4,500 currant buns into crowd below. It attracted townsfolk of all ages from very young to old.

Just as their ancestors gathered in 1761 to throw buns to mark the coronation of King George III, what is one of the quirkiest traditions in the country continues to this day.

Catching one of the buns, designed with a crown on the top, is one of the aims for the thousands gathered in the market square.

Bun throwing is a centuries old tradition unique to Abingdon and can only take place when the town council votes to hold one to mark a royal occasion. The council organises the bun-throwings which are held as a gesture of loyalty and goodwill to the monarch.

Usually it is for events marked to royal celebrations, but that tradition changed in 1856 when buns were thrown to celebrate the end of the Crimean War.

The last bun throwing ceremony was in 2012 to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee to celebrate her 60 years on the throne. A year earlier buns were thrown to celebrate the marriage of the Queen's grandson, Prince William to Princess Catherine Middleton.

Roads in the town center closed ahead of Saturday's ceremony with Abingdon Town Band and the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers both performing ahead of a procession led by Mayor Badcock to the town hall. Following the singing of the National Anthem the mayor threw the first bun.

After Mayor Badcock, in full ceremonial robes, threw the first bun, her town council colleagues and officials joined in the fun by throwing the buns into the crowd.

Mayor Badcock said: "Bun throwing is a major event for Abingdon. It does not take place every year and therefore people very much look forward to taking part when there is a royal event to celebrate."

The townsfolk will gather again Sunday when the town council holds a giant picnic party for all Abingdonians to celebrate the Queen's birthday.
An artist's rendition courtesy of the California High-Speed RailAuthority shows a high speed train passing through Mission Beach, California. REUTERS/California High-Speed RailAuthority/Handout

LOS ANGELES, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has said that XpressWest's termination of cooperation with a Chinese company has no impact on its project in which a Chinese team led by China Railway International (CRI) also expressed interest to participate.

"The news about XpressWest has no impact on the California High-Speed Rail Program," the CHSRA told Xinhua on Friday, two days after the private U.S. firm XpressWest unilaterally announced termination of its cooperation with CRI in building a high-speed rail between Las Vegas and Southern California.

A CRI manager responsible for the joint venture has told Xinhua that XpressWest was precipitate and irresponsible to make such a statement while its talks with the CRI were still going on, vowing to spare no effort in defending CRI's interests.

As for the California High-Speed Rail Program, the CHSRA said on Friday that approximately 119 miles (190.4 km) of construction were already underway in the Central Valley and a lot of progress was being made.

The Chinese High Speed Rail Delivery Team consisting of CRI and five other companies expressed their interest in participating in the California High-Speed Rail program last September.

CHSRA's CEO Jeff Morales told Xinhua last September that the high-speed rail construction in China during the past 10 years was impressive. He hoped the Chinese team will have a good performance in the fair competition to bid for the California High-Speed Rail project in the future.

The California High-Speed Rail aims to connect Sacramento with San Diego eventually, totaling 800 miles (1,280 km) with up to 24 stations along the line.

The line between the Silicon Valley and the Central Valley will be the first segment to construct and will be completed by 2024 and start operation in 2025.

CHSRA's Chairman of Board Dan Richard told Xinhua in February that the construction of the California high-speed rail was picking up pace.

The California government started to pursue the idea of a Southern California high-speed rail corridor in 1981. On Jan. 6, 2015, the CHSRA held a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Governor Jerry Brown in Fresno, a city in Central Valley, to start the construction of the nation's first high-speed rail system.

Compared with XpressWest, a private project, the California High-Speed Rail program is much bigger and got support from most of the public.

XpressWest's project, if connects Las Vegas with Victorville in Southern California, will have a length of about 300 km and cost around 8 billion dollars, while the Phase I only of California High-Speed Rail will extend about 800 km from San Francisco to Los Angeles and cost at least 68 billion.

In 2002, the California Senate passed a bill to authorize a 9.95-billion-dollar bond measure to finance the California High-Speed Rail system. In November 2008, the bond measure was approved by the state's voters, making it the nation's first ever voter-approved financing mechanism for high-speed rail.

In 2009, 8 billion dollars in federal funds were made available nationwide as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and California sought and successfully secured 3.3 billion of the funds.

Besides, a long-term, continuous funding will come from the California Cap-and-Trade program, as the amount for fiscal year 2014-2016 will be 650 million dollars.

The XpressWest is now facing more difficulties without cooperation with CRI. As the company has no background in transportation construction, it will have to look for new partner for the designing, developing and building of the high-speed rail.

The XpressWest intended to renew its request for the federal loan. Its request of 5.5 billion-dollar federal loan was indefinitely suspended by the Department of Transportation in 2013.
Sorry, this news has been deleted.
PoS losing out on Panama Canal possibilities

Addressing a news conference on the governments plans for the development of a maritime industry in this country yesterday, Gopee- Scoon said while the date for the completion of the expanded Canal had been well known, nothing had been done over the last five years in terms of preparing the port and this country had not made any investment in the upgrade of its maritime infrastructure in preparation for the opening of the expanded canal. She said that meanwhile many countries in the Caribbean had invested heavily in the development and upgrade of their maritime infrastructure. She said in anticipation of the launch of the expanded canal, Colombia had spent U.S. $600 million; Venezuela U.S.$920 million; Jamaica U.S. $780 million and Cuba US $900 million on upgrading their ports.

The US$5.3 billion expansion of the Panama Canal is scheduled to open on June 26, 2016.

Some Trinidad and Tobago businessmen who will at the time be on a four day trade mission led by the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce are expected to be on hand to watch the opening ceremony.

The expansion will create a second waterway allowing bigger ships - so called Post-Panamax vessels - to pass through the renovated 102-year-old waterway.

Gopee-Scoon said that in order to remain competitive, Trinidad and Tobago had to speed up the development and upgrade of its maritime infrastructure and also seek to benefit from inherent opportunities.

She said that over the years a number of studies had been conducted on the possibilities for developing a maritime industry in this country and based on a review of these studies and consultations with key maritime stakeholders, the opportunities that have been identified for further development are ship repair and dry docking; bunkering; open ship registry; transhipment; cold stacking in which ship owners berth idle ships in this countrys territorial waters; port operations, yachting infrastructure development and special economic zones/maritime logistics.

She said that because of the massive amount of projects, they had to be tackled on a phased basis over the short, medium and long term. Gopee- Scoon said that for this reason a Standing Committee for the Development of the Maritime Sector will be set up under the chairmanship of the Minister of Rural Development and Local Government, Franklin Khan, to direct the development and implementation of initiatives for the expansion of the industry. Experts predict that the expansion of the Panama Canal is likely to change international trade routes, allowing ships to reach Asia from the U.S. Gulf Coast more than two weeks faster than they would going east through the Suez Canal. The experts also estimate that the expanded canal will cut global maritime costs by some U.S. $8 billion a year and that trade through the canal will increase to 360 million tons in 2017. The expansion has spurred a series of port and infrastructure upgrades throughout the Caribbean and the U.S. East Coast as docks make room for bigger vessels.
CCJ dismisses Jamaican gays case

In 2013, Tomlinson sued the Governments of both countries for their ban on the entry of gays under immigration law.

In its judgement, the Court cautioned that Member States should strive to ensure that national laws, subsidiary legislation and administrative practices are consistent with, and transparent in their support of, the right of free movement of all CARICOM nationals. Tomlinson had indicated that the relative provisions in the laws of both countries were against the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas which provides for the free movement of Caricom nationals.

TTs Immigration Act in section 8(1)(e) bans the entry to TT of prostitutes, homosexuals, or persons living on the earnings of prostitutes or homosexuals, or persons reasonably suspected as coming to Trinidad and Tobago for these, or any other immoral purposes. The Court noted that despite the formal prohibition in section 8 of the Immigration Act, Tomlinson has never been and could never have been prejudiced in the enjoyment of his right to enter the State since its Immigration Department does not apply the prohibition to CARICOM nationals who are homosexual. This administrative practice appears to be the expression of an official policy, the Court noted. The Court stated that if Tomlinson enjoys a legal right of entry under the 1996 Act despite being a homosexual then it seems awkward that he could legally be denied entry under section 8 (1) (e) of the Immigration Act because he is a homosexual. According to the CCJ, Tomlinson expressed as his main concern that, especially in the absence of a published written document or instruction detailing the stated practice of the Immigration Department of Trinidad and Tobago, there is genuine uncertainty about the legality of this practice as immigration officers are under a duty to apply the law and run the risk of prosecution if they deliberately refuse to so do.

The Court rejected this view. It considered that the practice of admitting homosexuals of other CARICOM States is not a matter of discretion but is legally required by Article 9 RTC as this an appropriate measure within the meaning of that provision.
SRP fire-bombing isolated incident

The Minister was replying to an urgent question raised by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar in Parliament.

She asked whether the attack warranted further action to safeguard members of the protective services.

In recent weeks, three members of the protective services have been killed or subject to attack, excluding the incident involving Charles.

This Government is always concerned about the welfare and (safety) of members of the Defence Force and protective services, Dillon said. He said the Police Commissioner had indicated the investigations are ongoing.

As of now, the matter is treated as an isolated matter, the Minister said. In relation to the discovery of a hand grenade at Carli Bay, Couva, Dillon said no arrests had been made. I have been informed by the Commissioner of Police that no one has been arrested, the Minister said.

However, the police are continuing investigations into what is a very serious matter...

There continues to be patrols in the maritime environment. Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie questioned whether there had been difficulties in the initial response to the incident.

The Minister said the matter was still being investigated.

Questions were also raised as to when and how $4.2 billion in back-pay owed to members of the protective services would be paid. However, Finance Minister Colm Imbert was not able to complete his response to this question
3 bandits nabbed, stolen items recovered

He was robbed of cash and other valuables by the three bandits who then escaped in a blue cube vehicle.

A report was made to the police and officers of the Northern Division Task Force led by Sgt Peters and including PC Forde along with others responded and the vehicle was intercepted minutes in the St Joseph area.

Three suspects aged 17, of Malick; a 26-year-old from Laventille; and a 33-year-old man from Second Caledonia in Morvant were detained. Police recovered all the stolen items. The arrest of the three men and the recovery of the stolen items was carried out under the supervision of Senior Superintendent Simboonath Rajkumar and Assistant Commissioner of Police Surujdeen Persad.

The three men are to be placed on identification parade for other robberies in the Northern Division.
Cancer drug shortage

Robinson-Regis, the Acting Health Minister, was replying to an urgent question from Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar in Parliament. It is acknowledged that there has been an intermittent supply at the nations hospitals of some of the drugs used in the treatment of cancers, the Acting Health Minister said. In the circumstances, the Ministry of Health, through the regional health authorities has adopted the following measures to effectively manage patients. She said, the Ministry is operating with a therapeutic protocol that has standardised patient care nationally and has provided the framework for the just allocation of drugs in a cost-effective manner for patients requiring oncology care. She said, for the patients requiring drugs that are in short supply, alternative regimes have been utilised to allow for treatment without compromising patient care and to ensure that citizens continue to receive the appropriate levels of quality care. The Minister also said For all the drugs that are in short supply, there is an alternative regime of comparable therapeutic efficacy. She said the Ministry of Health continues to work with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the procurement of an appropriate supply of drugs for the public health system continues to remain in place. The Government Whip said just allocation meant all patients who require treatment are justly provided with the appropriate drugs and there is no preferential treatment for any patient. In relation to a report that a student had been diagnosed with tuberculosis at the Siparia West Secondary School, Robinson-Regis said the information provided to her indicated that a second test of the student at the Caura Hospital of the students sputum did not support this diagnosis. She said a Mantoux test was done.

The student, therefore, does not have tuberculosis, Robinson- Regis said. On the issue of a plea by Aaron Narines family for help for him to get drugs needed to maintain his health in the wake of a kidney transplant, the Minister was also asked to give an update. Firstly, I wish to apologise to the family of this young man for his personal records now being found in the public domain, said Robinson-Regis.

I have raised this issue with the relevant authorities and its a pity that his medical records are now open for national discussion. The Government Whip continued, Madam Speaker, that said, I wish to confirm that this patient continues to be a patient of the national organ transplant unit since 2010. The patient is dialysis independent and clinically stable.

All necessary treatment protocol has been continued and continues to be instituted to prevent organ rejection.

The national organ transplant unit continues to provide all the necessary information, advice and support to the patient and his family.
Deyalsingh addresses UN AIDS conference

The minister indicated that the National HIV/Aids Strategy prioritised five critical areas: prevention; treatment; care and support; advocacy and human rights.

The Minister also informed the General Assembly that TTs Government provided for universal access to health care, within which health facilities provided free treatment, along with care and support to all persons living with HIV/Aids.

This included antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for high-risk encounters such as post exposure scenarios as a result of gender- based or sexual violence.

Deyalsingh said despite the successes over the years which resulted in an 80 per cent decline in HIV/Aids and about 70 per cent decline in AIDS-related deaths, there must be greater assistance from among international partners to assist TT in tackling this public health problem in the light of this countrys economic challenges.

The meeting, which ended yesterday (Friday), brought together Heads of State and Governments, Ministers of Health and other officials over a three-day period to formulate measures geared towards addressing the more than three decades old HIV/ AIDS pandemic, in keeping with the goal to eliminate this global public health epidemic.

This was consistent with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which was adopted by the UN in September 2015. An important legacy development of the high level meeting was the adoption of a Political Declaration on HIV/Aids, On the Fast Track to Accelerate the Fight against HIV and To End the AIDS Epidemic by 2030. The declaration recognised that HIV/Aids continued to constitute a global emergency and posed one of the most formidable challenges to the development, progress and stability of societies and the world at large.

The fight against HIV/Aids required an exceptional and comprehensive global response, and also called for urgent action over the next five years to ensure that no one was left behind in the HIV/Aids response, and for an intensification of efforts through global solidarity, shared responsibility and political leadership.

Deyalsingh also addressed a meeting of Pan Caribbean Partnership (PANCAP) which brought together Ministers of Health, diplomats, other senior government officials, the Caricom Secretariat, and representatives of civil society aimed at the full implementation of the PANCAP Declaration entitled Getting to Zero Discrimination through Justice for All.
UWI, Shell sign scholarships MOU

The signing took place at the Office of the Campus Principal on June 3.

Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat, met with Mr Luis Prado, Country Chairman of Shell Trinidad Limited & Shell Venezuela and other Shell Trinidad Limited- affiliated persons to co-sign that Shell will be contributing to The UWI US$30,000 for three-year scholarships, with the possibility of extension.

Also present at the signing were Mr Mark Regis, Government Relations Advisor at Shell Trinidad and Tobago and the (English and Dutch) Caribbean; Ms Lauren Boodhoo, Business Development Manager, Office of Research Development and Knowledge Transfer; Professor Stephan Gift, Dean Faculty of Engineering; Professor Andrew Jupiter, Petroleum Geoscience Unit, Chemical Engineering and Professor Patricia Mohammed, Campus Coordinator  School for Graduate Studies and Research.
UWI Blood Donor Foundation celebrates World Blood Donor Day

Its goal, according to a UWI press release, is to promote VNRD (those who donate voluntarily to the national supply receiving no payment in cash or kind) through research, education and example.

Since its launch several surveys of what peoples knowledge, beliefs, fears and blood donation practice have been done in the community and in the medical school.

Most of the persons surveyed are willing to donate blood but need more information, mainly about who can and who should not donate.

Donors should be aged 18-65 (17 with parental consent) and weigh more than 110 pounds for their own safety. Persons with diabetes and hypertension may donate if their conditions are well controlled and they are not on insulin.

Many, including medical students believe that infections such as HIV could be caught from donating blood. This is, of course, untrue since sterile equipment is used and not reused in the blood donation process.

The UWIBDF has initiated a VNRD programme in collaboration with the North Central Health Authority since 2015.

Four sessions have been held at the Mount Hope donation centre collecting 15 then 22 then 69 then 73 units of blood for persons in need. Donors have included students, parents, laboratory workers, and voluntary groups.

Donations, the release added, are co-ordinated by an efficient appointment system and pre-event publicity by social media.

Our donors receive neither a chit for a specific person nor a credit to reclaim blood in the future. It is what our region needs and what PAHO has asked of us.
UNC ineffective as an Opposition

I do not believe that an organisation and its leadership can survive just by hoping that its competition fails and falls and they will be there sitting and waiting to take over. I think that it is the UNC strategy, Bharath said. The UNC was not challenging sufficiently and holding Government to account on mediocre answers that were devoid of substance, he said.

As an example, Bharath alluded to Finance Minister Colm Imberts answer in the Parliament that monies withdrawn from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund were to service the country for 2016. At the end of the day, Bharath said, the Opposition represents 340,000-odd people who voted for them. They must stand up in the Parliament and outside the Parliament and demand to know what those monies are being used for.

Bharath, who challenged UNC Political Leader Kamla Persad- Bissessars leadership last year and lost, said the party was now dysfunctional because there was no attempt to build any organisational structure or proper party institutions. As such, he said, decision-making continues to be adhoc, piecemeal and patchwork.

That does not bode well for any organisation that is trying to survive, Bharath added. Asked if he will assist the current leadership of the UNC to return to office, Bharath said, I will certainly consider returning, if there is a genuine willingness at the leadership level of the party to change the outlook of the organisation and make it stronger. Nobody worth his or her salt will want to be part of an organisation that continues to be weak unless you have the opportunity to help change it.

While he is a UNC lifetime member, Bharath said he is more committed to the country and people than to any particular political party. If there was a genuine willingness to actually form a progressive organisation that has the interest of the people, I would willingly become a part of that. He cannot spend time in an organisation, he said, that was dysfunctional, and its leaders were not willing to look inwardly to criticise themselves and understand where they went wrong and correct the errors. The party is never going to attract new and credible people, once they do not commit to doing that exercise, he said
Young: Full brunt of law for hoax callers

This is very irresponsible, mischievous wrong behaviour on behalf of those who would participate in those attempts, he declared. In light of these events (which included hoaxes near a school in Point Fortin and at the UWI St Augustine campus), Young said the ministry has put out now to make it very, very clear that such calls by persons are in breach of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Section 21 (3) of the Act states that people found guilty of making hoax calls are liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 15 years. Young declared, If sufficient evidence is found with respect to persons making those calls, they will be prosecuted with the full brunt of the law. There is no doubt about that. Calling on citizens to have an outcry now, Young said, The outcry isnt directed at the Government because were not the ones encouraging or supporting this irresponsible behaviour. He said that outcry must tell the ones who are doing it that they will feel the full brunt of the law when they are apprehended. Young stated this also spoke to the need for greater intelligence gathering and perhaps interception of communications with respect to these calls as they come in, so we will be able to gather the evidence to have a successful prosecution. He added that law enforcement agencies remain vigilant to all possible security threats and National Security Minister Edmund Dillon has said this countrys maritime patrols have been intensified to bolster TTs border security.

On the bomb hoax call to Trincity Mall last month, Young said, There is a continuing investigation.

Im hoping that they have a breakthrough with that investigation very soon to be able to apprehend the person who made the call from that phone. A suspect held in that matter was released after investigations revealed that another person used his cell phone to make the hoax call.

Reiterating that people engaging in hoax calls should immediately cease and desist, Young said the object found near the school in Point Fortin was a cigarette lighter which was shaped like a hand grenade. The minister said this of itself was illegal because it (cigarette lighter) resembles a grenade. Young also said the amended SSA Act will be proclaimed soon and that the Act has worked in the absence of regulations.
What you need to know about the Octagon Art Festival on Sunday in Ames

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OXIS Energy UK and Lithium Balance of Denmark have come together to build the first-ever prototype Lithium Sulfur E-scooter battery system primarily for the Chinese market. LiTHIUM BALANCE is a battery management expert who has supplied its BMS systems for Lithium-Ion based E-scooters for a decade.

The E-scooter itself will be manufactured in China. The volume of E-scooters in China is 30 million, of which 98% use lead acid with the remaining 2% using

Lithium-Ion. The current prototype battery has a capacity of 1.2kWh using 10Ah OXIS Long Life cells, weighs 60% less than the current lead acid battery and a significant increase in range.

The next stage is to build a 2nd prototype using an improved Long Life chemistry (up to 20Ah) which will increase battery capacity at a reduced weight. Crucially, production costs will be reduced to meet the demand of the Chinese market. The timescale for this second phase is 4th quarter of 2016.

According to the CEO of OXIS, Huw Hampson-Jones, The development of the 1st Lithium Sulfur Escooter battery system will allow Chinese manufacturers to circumvent the use of unsafe, toxic and environmentally damaging battery systems such as lead acid and Lithium-Ion. It will allow Chinese consumers to travel longer distances with a significantly greater degree of safety and flexibility and with a battery system thats 60% lighter  the latter being very important to Chinese commuters living in high rise city apartments.

In effect, the market of rechargeable lithium batteries will undergo a quantum leap forward in the adoption of state of the art renewable energy technology. This will contribute to cleaner air quality in the major urban areas of China.

LiTHIUM BALANCE CEO, Lars Barkler added, This project represents a technology breakthrough for LiTHIUM BALANCE. In cooperation with OXIS Energy we have implemented dedicated BMS algorithms that optimizes the performance of Lithium Sulfur batteries. This could not be achieved with an ordinary Lithium-Ion BMS.

OXIS and LiTHIUM BALANCE are on track to have their battery systems in China by Spring of 2018

Battery systems using metallic Lithium are known to offer the highest specific energy.

Sulfur represents a natural cathode partner for metallic Li and, in contrast with conventional lithium-ion cells, the chemicals processes include dissolution from the anode surface during discharge and reverse lithium plating to the anode while charging. As a consequence, Lithium-Sulfur allows for a theoretical specific energy in excess of 2700Wh per kg, which is nearly 5 times higher than that of Li-ion.

OXISs next generation lithium technology platform offers the highest energy density among lithium chemistry:

325 Wh per kg already achieved at cell level

400 Wh per kg forecast in 2016

450 to 500 Wh per kg forecast in 2018

OXIS Li-S cells have achieved an excellent cycle life: cells can be cycled approximately 1500 times (80% Beginning-of-Life). In the next 2 years, they expect this to reach 2500 cycles before the capacity reduces to 80% BoL.

SOURCES  Oxis
On Thursday, Hernandez reunited with his mother Maria Mancia after 21 years missing, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office confirmed to Complex.

Steven Hernandez, 22, left, laughs with his mother, Maria Mancia, right, of Rialto, his younger brother Daniel, 8, and Daniel's half-brother, David Martinez, 16, top, on Thursday, June 9, 2016 at the San Bernardino County District Attorney office in San Bernardino, Ca.

Instead of watching her son grow older, Maria Mancia was only able to see his photo age. Mancia said she always kept one picture of Hernandez with her, and said it was the only one she had left. However, the truth was much worse: the only things missing were her son's belongings, all of his photos - including his ultrasound - and any paperwork that could potentially identify the child.

Maria Mancia has come face-to-face with her son for the first time since 1995.

In February, Cragg and other investigators got a very credible tip that Steve Hernandez was in Puebla, Mexico, about 80 miles southeast of Mexico City. The father is missing and presumed dead.

"We didn't want to scare him off", Karen Cragg of the DA's child abduction unit told the New York Daily News. "With DNA analysis that match his mother, we knew we found Steve", San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos said. "They found Steven", Mancia, 42, tells the San Bernardino Sun. She added that she never stopped looking for him for 21 years. "But it's good. It's good".

"To never see the child and to be reunited after 21 years: It was just an fantastic, unbelievable moment", said Karen Cragg, a senior investigator with the district attorney's office.

As for Mancia, she told San Bernardino's KABC-TV, "Now this anguish I've carried is gone now that I have my son back".

Cragg then asked the Department of Justice if they could hurry on the test, knowing it could take several months. "She said she couldn't believe he was still alive". The boy she last saw when he was just 18 months old is now a man.

Her tears poured out: Her son was alive.

Cragg and her partner Michelle Faxon drove straight to Mancia's house.

As she held his hips and cried, he dabbed her eyes.

Although Hernandez is a USA citizen, he doesn't have a passport.

There is no hassle in bringing Steve back because he is an American citizen and the authorities in both countries did their best to make the reunion happen soon.

"We used a ruse to contact him".

Hernandez said what little he knew about his mother was what his father had told him - that she had abandoned the family. He said he plans to stay in the US and hopes to attend law school, which he already started in Mexico.

Thursday, the mother and son had a tearful reunion at the District Attorney's Office. She came home to their Rancho Cucamonga, California, home after work one day to find they had disappeared.
Paris landmarks including the Louvre and Orsay museums, the Grand Palace, Discovery Palace and the National Library were closed due to the floods.

People watch the flood water levels of Seine river from Pont de l'Alma bridge with the partially submerged statue "Le Zouave" in Paris, France, June 3, 2016.

(AP Photo/Francois Mori). Road signs emerge on the banks of the Seine river next to the Bir Hakeim bridge and the Eiffel Tower during floods in Paris, Saturday June 4, 2016.

In Paris, the level of the Seine at Austerlitz had fallen below 5.8m early today, having reached a peak of 6.1m in the early hours of Saturday.

Rescue workers from the French "Securite Civile" on small boats attend an evacuation operation for residents of the edge of the Seine river in Juvisy-sur-Orge, near Paris, France, June 3, 2016 after days of nearly non-stop rain caused flooding in the country.

The Orsay's website said it was likely to be shut "at least until Monday", while the Louvre did not give a reopening date.

Almost a week of heavy rain has led to serious flooding across parts of France, Germany, Romania and Belgium, leaving 16 people dead and others missing.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls stated that at-least 24 people have been injured in connection with the Paris flooding, after an emergency meeting at a government crisis center on Saturday.

He didn't give any more details about the additional death, which brings the total death toll across Europe from the flooding in recent days to 17.

Even though the Seine has started to recede, problems remained in Paris. In Paris several metro stations remained shut as a precaution.

Along the Seine, the Seine-et-Marne, Essonne, Yvelines, and Val dOise departments all remain on orange alert for floods; while the Cher, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, and Loire-et-Cher are also at the second-highest alert level. Although the rain has tapered off in some areas, possible floods were expected over the weekend downstream along the Seine in the region of Normandy.

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Mustafa, owner of a souvenir shop on the banks of the Seine, told local media that "in the seven years I have lived here, I have never seen a season like this". "(But) it's tricky to dock, because you need to follow the water flow.

Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet, Alex Turnbull and Mstyslav Chernov in Paris, John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels, David Rising in Berlin, Seth Borenstein from Washington, D.C. and Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Romania, contributed.
President Obama has approved broader authorities for the USA military in Afghanistan that will, on occasion, allow American forces to accompany conventional Afghan troops and possibly allow airstrikes in support of Afghan troops to help them seize a battlefield advantage, US military officials announced late Thursday.

Press secretary Josh Earnest says that the USA troops will be "more proactive" in their operation, and while the United States is still officially listing the troops engaged in the occupation as non-combat "advise and assist" troops, they will also engage in "occasional" combat operations alongside Afghan forces.

A senior administration official told AFP that US forces will more proactively support Afghans, and outlined plans to provide more close air support and accompany Afghan forces on the battlefield.

In addition to a planned increase in airstrikes, reported yesterday, the White House today confirmed plans to loosen restrictions on ground troops, particularly the special forces in occupied Afghanistan, with an eye toward increasingly their direct combat role.

As of now, the USA military broadly has authority to strike any targets on the ground under three scenarios: to protect US forces on ground; to go after the remnants of Al Qaeda; and to protect Afghan forces when they are facing imminent danger of being overrun by the Taliban.

The decision to grant USA troops in Afghanistan expanded authorities does not influence the pending decision to drawdown of troops in the country from the current level of 9,800 personnel to 5,500 by the end of the year, the White House said Friday.

Obama announced the end of combat operations in Afghanistan in 2014 and transitioned the remaining US forces there to train and advise Afghan security forces.

The shift in strategy stops short of completely "taking the gloves off", as advocated by former U.S. Central Command chief retired Gen. Davis Petraeus last month, but will result in more leeway in striking the Taliban from the air.

"The US forces will more proactively support Afghan conventional forces", the official said.

The White House Press Secretary praised the Afghan security forces for a remarkable willingness to fight for their country.

Obama came to office in 2008 promising to end one of America's longest ever wars. "It's a good use of the combat power that we have there", he said at a Defense One event. "Afghanistan is a risky country".

The Taliban are refocusing their attention mostly on the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan, according to US and Afghan military officials.

USA forces are mainly confined to ministries or bases.

Sending American advisers out more widely will be a boon for conventional Afghan army forces, whose skills and equipment don't compare to those of elite commando units that have been closely trained by the United States.

The results have been daunting: The U.N. says 3,545 Afghan civilians were killed and 7,457 wounded in 2015, a lot of them by the Taliban. In May, the Obama administration killed the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, by airstrike while he was in Pakistan.

Obama's latest Afghan decision would appear to push any brokered solution well beyond his presidency. But it could also significantly boost Afghan forces, who now have limited close air-support capacities.

In their current training mission, USA advisers train regular army units only down to the corps level.

"What we are doing now is taking a look at the battle space and making sure we provide the things we can", the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"What we have seen ... from the Afghan security forces is a remarkable willingness to fight for their country", Earnest said. "It's not just about a wide blanket to strike the Taliban whenever we want".
At the end of last year, Abadi said 2016 would be the year of the final victory over Islamic State, which declared a caliphate two years ago in territory it controls in Iraq and Syria.

The operation to retake the town from the extremist Islamic State group was officially announced late Sunday night.

The city is located 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad.

Falluja, which once had a population of 300,000, was the scene of two major battles during the Iraq War, witnessing some of the fiercest fighting between USA forces and insurgents.

Hundreds of people fled the Fallujah area Friday.

During the eight-year rule of prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was forced out in 2014, Sunnis were marginalised and persecuted. Clashes between Iraqi security forces and protesters killed dozens in Fallujah, with thousands of young men arrested.

The ISIS commander in Fallujah has reportedly been killed in coalition strikes supporting Iraqi forces in the city. Save the Children said up to 50,000 were being prevented from leaving Falluja.

The news comes five days after several news outlets reported that a local official said that airstrikes had killed the so-called "Wilayah Fallujah", Mr al-Bilawi, on 22 May, east of the city of Ramadi.

"We are still early in the Fallujah fight so it's unclear how long this battle will last", said Mr Warren during his last press briefing.

"We got our drinking water directly from the river".

Further south in the provincial capital of Raqqa city, it was reported that IS was blocking desperate civilians from fleeing.

Daesh "gave us food that only animals would eat", said a woman identified as Umm Omar, who fled Fallujah along with over 10 members of her family. "By liberating Karma, the entire eastern Fallujah area is now under the control of the government forces", he said.

Ahmed and other Fallujah residents say they most fear abuse at the hands of the Shiite militias. "Holding demonstrations is a right, but that would put pressure on our forces". That task will go to Iraq's elite counterterrorism forces, who say they will eventually clear it block by block.

Booby-trapped explosives and large numbers of civilians unable to escape were expected to complicate operations moving forward, al-Saadi said.

Falluja responded by rebelling under the banner of al-Qaeda and succumbing to its offshoot, Islamic State.

The coalition has confirmed carrying out air strikes near Ain al-Issa and Raqqa, but it uses a different definition of "strikes" which makes the tallies hard to compare.
"Men, women and children, everybody has fled Oporoza because the military invaded our village around 0145 this morning", said Eric Omare, spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council, which represents one of the largest ethnic groups in the region.

Following spates of militancy attacks on gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria's export of Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, has dropped to 22.3 percent.

The attacks come as Buhari's year-old government is weighed down by crises: shortages of electricity, fuel and foreign currency and an imminent devaluation of the naira currency caused by plunged oil prices, the ongoing Boko Haram Islamic extremist uprising in the northeast and ethnic unrest in central Nigeria.

"None of our strike team has been arrested", the group said.

Calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers, the main militant group claims that their fight is for the natives of the oil rich Niger Delta to get a bigger share of oil wealth.

But the militant attacks on installations appear themselves to be contributing to the very pollution which activists are trying to contain. "People can not even go fishing, the rivers where they drink from is contaminated".

The latest attack comes as President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to visit the Niger Delta region on Thursday for the first time since taking office a year ago.

This is the first time Mr. Buhari would visit the region after becoming the president previous year.

But the Nigerian Army has threatened a heavy crackdown on the militants.

In an emailed response to Rigzone last week, a Chevron spokesperson said that the company will not comment on the safety and security of its personnel and operations as a matter of long-standing policy.

Mr. Buhari's journey would take him to Ogoniland where he is expected to flag-off the cleanup of the area which has been polluted for decades as a result of oil exploration there. The NDA has frequently called for the release of pro-Biafra activist Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, who has been detained by Nigerian security forces since October 2015 on charges of treasonable felony, which he denies.

According to him, they sponsor their allies in the communities to continue to destroy pipelines in order to get more fix works. Human rights activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders were executed by a military government in 1995.

"To the worldwide oil companies and indigenous oil companies, it's going to be bloody this time around", the group said in a statement late on Monday.
The first United States troops arrived in Afghanistan 15 years ago, after the Taliban government refused to turn over Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and more than 2,000 USA personnel have died in the ensuing war. A USA defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the changes mean US troops can now embed with all Afghan troop units, not just their special forces.

The new plan, approved by President Barack Obama, will allow United States military commanders to use air power against the Taliban when necessary and allow its troops to accompany conventional Afghan forces into the field to advise and assist them.

This video includes clips from The White House, NATO, U.S. Army and U.S. Department of Defense.

The decision was one the Afghans have been pressing for since they took the lead role in the fight against the Taliban in early 2015 after most global troops were withdrawn.

The U.S. decision to start bombing the Taliban again was reportedly made after "months of debate" at the White House, according to AP, and reflects "a broad desire across the Obama administration to give the military greater ability to help the Afghans fight and win the war". Earnest said. He said the new authority to expand airstrikes would allow USA forces "to be more proactive in supporting conventional Afghan forces as they take the fight to the Taliban".

There are about 9,800 USA troops in Afghanistan. "In doing so, the USA forces will more proactively support Afghan conventional forces in two critical ways: One, with more American support, especially through close-air support; and two, by accompanying and advising Afghan conventional forces on the ground and in the air". "Our job is to help Afghanistan secure its own country, not to have our men and women in uniform engage in that fight for them". He said: 'In every step of our review of Afghanistan, the question of what's the best way to use our forces is something we're constantly looking at.

"It is a realisation that the policy that stressed on peace-making and political dialogues was premature and not framed according to ground realities", Omar Samad, a former Afghan ambassador to Canada and France, said in an e-mail.

The changes also allow more close air support, the reports say, which could lead to more airstrikes against the Taliban. More than 5,000 Afghan troops died previous year alone, prompting Obama to indefinitely postpone the withdrawal of US troops. But it could also significantly boost Afghan forces, who now have limited close air-support capacities. "It's not just about a wide blanket to strike the Taliban whenever we want".

The 9,800 troops in Afghanistan are operating in two missions. It's better for the USA to leave the country, us and the Afghan government alone.

"The president made a decision to enable the commander there to have some additional authority to act proactively - that is to anticipate situations in which the Afghan security forces would benefit from our support. rather than be simply reactive", Carter said Friday during a technology summit speech in Washington, D.C. "We remain resilient and will fight until all foreign forces leave the country".
Responding to a question about Pakistan's inclusion in NSG regime, he said that Islamabad has submitted the application last week, and every country is eligible to apply, further adding that Washington is now reviewing Pakistan's application.

The US backing came at a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday during which the two sides also inked agreements to boost security and defence cooperation.

Referring to an upcoming meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in Seoul, Mushahid said ground was being paved for India's elevation to the NSG.

"The balance of power has been disturbed in South Asia the way it was disturbed following India's nuclear tests in 1998", said Senator Javed Abbasi of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Both Pakistan and India have applied to be members of the 48-member NSG that regulates global nuclear commerce.

Senator Farhatullah Babar said that it was a need of hour to revisit the security policy. Even our immediate neighbours, like Afghanistan and Iran, have gone to India.

"Pakistan will convey its concerns to the United States over the latest issues in the bilateral ties", Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said, adding a high-level meeting is planned here between the two nations tomorrow.

Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz. We are fully capable to defend our people and territory.

The advisor said Pakistani scientists and experts constantly monitored and evaluated the strategic threats that Indian nuclear doctrine posed to Pakistan's security.

Pakistan has expressed serious concern over India's recent development of an anti-ballistic missile system, saying that it may give India a false sense of security, leading to unexpected complications which are contrary to its policy of a friendly neighbourhood.

On the diplomatic front, he said, Pakistan was planning to highlight at all relevant global fora "the risky implications of India's plan to nuclearise the Indian Ocean".

"One specific proposal under consideration was to move resolution in the next session of the UN General Assembly to declare the Indian Ocean nuclear free zone".

He said Pakistan's relations with the USA have improved since Mr Sharif took over but the main issue affecting the ties is American indifference towards security needs of Pakistan.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani suggested that if the members desired, the Senate could be converted into the committee of the whole house to prepare new "terms of engagements with the US".
The provided information reveals that the specialists from France, Great Britain and the US, who are now in the same Aleppo province, but in the other city, Manbij, are instructed to train the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces militias.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) completely surrounded the ISIL-held town of Manbij after a 10-day offensive, dealing another blow to the group as it comes under growing pressure on multiple fronts in Syria and Iraq. North of the city, the Obama administration has appealed to Russian Federation to respect - and make Assad observe - a civil war cease-fire.

The army's elite Counter Terrorism Service was battling on Friday in al-Shuhada, a southern district of Falluja, a Reuters photographer reported from the scene.

The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by US-led air strikes and United States special forces, seized control of the final road leading into Manbij and have encircled the city, the British-based Observatory said. Its forces are now close enough to target IS militants inside the town, but they are holding off storming it to avoid civilian casualties, the statement added.

Thousands of residents have fled Manbij, which has been held by ISIL since 2014, but extremist fighters who evacuated their families stayed to defend the town, the Observatory said. The French forces are with SDF fighters who are fighting IS, according to the official from French Defense Ministry. That provided the opening for administration and US military officials to push for an alternate plan, using Arab and Kurdish forces it had gathered and supported from earlier battles against the Islamic State in the east.

In Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi officials said on Friday they could not confirm a report by an Iraqi TV channel that Islamic State leader Baghdadi had been wounded in an air strike in the north of the country.

Last month, the SDF launched attacks on two fronts from the north of Raqa province towards Manbij and in direction of the IS-held town of Tabqa on the same vital supply line further south.

A French official has confirmed that French special forces are offering training and advice to fighters in northern Syria. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly.

The Syrian Arab Coalition is leading the operation and will be responsible for securing Manbij once it is freed. He did not provide other details.

"We are providing support through weapons supplies, air presence and advice", he told the Public Senate channel.

"Our forces are now on the outskirts of the city". At least 12 people were killed.

Foreign intelligence services estimate IS has 5,000 fighters in Libya but its strength inside Sirte and the number of civilians living in the city are unavailable. They were effectively in control of all highways into Manbij, it said.

To the west, the so-called Free Syrian Army - backed by Turkey and the Central Intelligence Agency - retook all the ground it had lost to Isis in the last week, capturing a string of villages east of Azaz and near the Turkish border.

He said dozens of bodies of IS fighters had been found on Thursday morning in small villages east of Manbij.
After the end of the USA mission in 2014, Obama kept almost 10,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan - but said they were limited to strictly training Afghan soldiers and performing advisory roles, except in cases of self-defense.

President Barack Obama has approved expanded authorities that will allow US troops to accompany and conduct offensive operations with Afghan forces under certain conditions, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced Friday.

Prior to the new authorities, commanders overseeing the dual training and counterterrorism mission were able to authorize airstrikes only in limited circumstances: to defend USA personnel, to protect Afghan forces facing serious danger, or to conduct counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida or the Islamic State.

Under the new authority, American forces will be able to accompany Afghan troops for more operations, including some that would put them in contact with the Taliban.

While he declined to comment on how many American troops he thinks should remain in Afghanistan, his new warning could increase the pressure on Obama to reconsider his timeline for reducing the US force in Afghanistan from about 9,800 today to 5,500 by the time he leaves office in January.

"With the U.S.'s new decision to broaden their military role against us, they'll only waste their money, and will suffer extremely with more deaths in the country", Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban's main spokesman, said by phone.

A group of retired generals and senior diplomats urged Obama last week to forgo those plans, warning they could undermine the fight against the Afghan Taliban, whose leader was killed in a USA drone strike in Pakistan last month. The changes mean USA troops can now work more closely with local fighters in striking the Taliban. But U.S. commanders say an effective air force is at least three years away.

 The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, will be empowered to deploy US troops in support of their Afghan allies "in those select instances in which their engagement can enable strategic effects on the battlefield", according to Reuters' unidentified source. He said their mission is still focused on counterterrorism operations and training the Afghan security forces.

However, in the last 18 months, a resurgence of Taliban violence and the arrival of Islamic State group affiliates in Afghanistan has kept the United States from withdrawing its remaining 9,800 forces.

The U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation formally ended their combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, but have continued to provide support and assistance.

The Defense Department had been expected to announce on Friday changes in the USA military operation in Afghanistan to increase the ability to attack Taliban targets, but it was canceled on Thursday according to several officials familiar with the effort.

That definition, however, left the US military postured to assist them in more defensive instances. He said: 'In every step of our review of Afghanistan, the question of what's the best way to use our forces is something we're constantly looking at. Officials stressed that this will not allow routine USA airstrikes against the Taliban, but just provide authority to strike when necessary.

The U.S. now has just under 10,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan, where it has been at war with Taliban insurgents since 2002. There are now 9,800 US service members across Afghanistan.

Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington DC, said the U.S. defence department had wanted to carry out the plan for months.

Nicholson's predecessor, Gen. John Campbell, made it known before he left Kabul in March that he believed Carter should consider expanding USA military authorities to take on the Taliban.
According to the Wyoming Department of Health, it is highly unlikely that Zika virus will take hold within or even near Wyoming as it is spread to people mostly through bites of certain types of infected mosquitoes that do not live in Wyoming due to the state's climate.

The Department said one case is a male Missouri resident who visited the Dominican Republic, the other, a male MA resident, traveled to Puerto Rico and visited Missouri after contracting the virus. The other involved a MA man who sought health care assistance during a visit to Missouri.

The doctor further advised that, "She travelled back to the Netherlands on 18 May and became ill again on 20 May with symptoms suggestive of a viral illness (fever, tiredness) and two days later she developed symptoms typical of the Zika virus which included soreness, muscle and eye pain, red eyes and a skin rash".

"As part of their pregnancy planning and counseling with their health care providers, some women and their partners residing in areas with active Zika virus transmission might decide to delay pregnancy", the agency said in a statement. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), babies with microcephaly often have smaller head sizes and brains that might not have developed properly. MRCU director Bill Petrie, in a recent interview, said the unit is ready to respond to any potential Zika outbreak and is working to keep mosquito populations under control so any potential virus is kept under control.

There is no available vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection and no specific treatment for Zika virus-related illness.

The dead birds are signs of virus activity and health officials say they indicate areas where mosquito control efforts should be concentrated.

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The Albany County Office confirms there is one case of Zika Virus in the county. And health officials in other countries where Zika is circulating, like Colombia and El Salvador, are urging women to avoid pregnancies. The CDC has confirmed the link between Zika and the developmental defect microcephaly, among others. The virus causes everything from mild, flu-like symptoms in the average person to severe birth defects in babies, if their mothers contract the virus during pregnancy.

LabCorp stressed the test has not been cleared or approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but it has been authorized by the FDA under an emergency-use authorization for use by high-complexity laboratories and qualified non-U.S. laboratories.

Dusk to Dawn - Avoid exposure during peak Culex mosquito feeding times, from dusk through dawn. Zika is also linked to an increase in Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disorder in which the body's own immune cells attack the nervous system. Wear long sleeves and trousers if you may be outdoors at those times or in those areas.

"As the case was diagnosed in the Netherlands, it will be reported as an imported case for the Netherlands and not the Cayman Islands".
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David Perdue.

Freshman Georgia senator David Perdue opened his remarks to the Faith and Freedom Coalition Friday morning with an ice-breaking joke  about imploring God to end the presidents life.

I think were called to pray for our country, for our leaders  and yes, even our president, Perdue said at the conservative Christian groups conference. But I think we need to be very specific about how we pray. We should pray for him like Psalms 109:8 says. It says: Let his days be few, and let another have his office!

For those who havent been to Bible study in a while, heres how that psalm continues.

Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Does David Perdue actually want Sasha and Malia to spend the rest of their lives as penniless vagabonds? Probably not. Was his primary motivation just to make a pun out of the phrase let another have his office? Possibly. But did he and his audience know how the rest of that psalm goes  and have a good old laugh about the Lord blotting out the next generation of Obamas?

This is not an original one-liner Perdues speechwriter stumbled upon while flipping through the ole King James version: Pray for Obama  Psalm 109:8 has adorned the car bumpers and Twitter accounts of god-fearing American patriots for seven years now. Perdue knows what he was winking at. He knows the kind of memes his voters like  Trump won Georgias GOP primary by 14 points. Purdue knows that he belongs to the party of birtherism, Muslim bans, and jokes about Michelle Obama becoming a homeless widow. He acts accordingly.



Senator Purdues office released a statement on Friday afternoon, extending his prayers to the American media.

Senator Perdue said we are called to pray for our country, for our leaders, and for our president. He in no way wishes harm towards our president and everyone in the room understood that. However, we should add the media to our prayer list because they are pushing a narrative to create controversy and that is exactly what the American people are tired of.

As of this writing, Purdue did not specify which psalm you should refer to when praying for bloggers.
Photo: Comedy Central

Its disheartening if you think about it  how many choices you make that are likely not conscious choices at all, but rather the results of some little, and often barely noticeable, changes in your surroundings. In a simple evening out, for example, studies in psychology have shown that youre less likely to order healthy food if you eat in a dimly lit restaurant; when youre ready to head home, youre more likely to request an Uber when the surge pricing hits 2.1 than when it hits 2.0.

It will likely not surprise you to hear that these little behavioral nudges also apply to the amount of alcohol you consume, according to a new paper in BMC Public Health, recently highlighted by Scientific American. Last spring and summer, a team of behavioral scientists at the University of Cambridge drew up a secret plan with a nearby bar. The resulting experiment went like so: Every two weeks, for four months, the bartenders would switch the wine glasses they served patrons, rotating between a typical 300-milliliter glass to one that was slightly smaller (250 milliliters) or one that was slightly bigger (370 milliliters). At the end of the four months, the bar handed over the receipts for the experimental period, and the researchers found something interesting: On the nights the bartenders used the big wine glasses, they sold more wine.

The same pour in three differently sized glasses.

Ten percent more, to be exact, according to their calculations after controlling for things like day of the week and holidays. This little barroom-as-laboratory experiment didnt test why people ordered more wine when they were served larger glasses, but Theresa Marteau, one of the studys co-authors, has a hunch. A rather obvious one, really: Pours just look smaller when the glass is larger, which could lead people to feel totally justified in ordering another. (This bar now, by the way, always serves wine in those larger glasses.)

In another weird wine study, incidentally, Brian Wansink at Cornells Food and Brand Lab found that when people serve themselves wine, they tend to pour 9 percent more white wine than they do red, likely for a similar reason as Marteaus hypothesis  its about perception. The red wine had a stronger contrast against the clear glass than the white, which made a heavy pour of white just a little less noticeable as compared to the red.

So, sure: The size of the glass, and the shade of the wine, are your new excuses for ordering another round tonight.
Have a glass of milk. Photo: ABC

The last time we saw Chad Johnson on The Bachelorette, he was looming, roseless and angry, outside the Pennsylvania resort where the contestants were staying Next stop: paradise! Bachelor in Paradise, that is.

Although there will probably be a smidge of Chad in the next episode of The Bachelorette, Chad is going to bring that charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent hes known for to the next season of Bachelor in Paradise. Boy, the cast so far is a doozy.

So far weve got a whole bunch of people from Ben Higginss season of The Bachelor: Jubilee Sharpe, an awesome Army vet with a tragic history; blond twins Emily and Haley Ferguson; Lace Morris, who got pretty crazy on the first few episodes before heading home of her own volition; saboteur Leah Block; Amanda Stanton; and Izzy Goodkind, who went home the first night. Other contestants include Jared Haibon, who fell hard for Kaitlyn Bristowe on The Bachelorette and then became quite the hot property himself on last seasons Bachelor in Paradise; Sarah Herron, from The Bachelor season 17 and Bachelor in Paradise; and Carly Waddell, from The Bachelor season 19 and Bachelor in Paradise.

If youre keeping track, thats a very low ratio of men to women  its even worse than dating in NYC. Which of JoJos cast-offs will be joining Chad in paradise? Stay tuned to find out.
Hillary Clinton. Photo: CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images

Hillary Clinton spoke to Planned Parenthood Action Fund this afternoon in Washington and warned that a Trump presidency would be disastrous for womens reproductive health.

Clinton mentioned early in her speech that access to affordable contraception and safe, legal abortion is a boon for both womens health and the economy. Being able to plan their families not only saved womens lives it also transformed them, because it meant that women were able to get educations, build careers, enter new fields, and rise as far as their talent will take them  all of the opportunities that follow when women are able to stay healthy and choose whether and when to become mothers.

Her opponent, Donald Trump, has said his Supreme Court nominee would be pro-life, that there should also be some form of punishment for abortion, and, even though Planned Parenthood helps millions and millions of women, hed still defund it because of the abortion factor.

Thats someone who doesnt hold women in high regard, because if he did, he would trust women to make the right decisions for ourselves, Clinton said in her first major policy address as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee (you can watch the whole speech at C-SPAN). After all, this is a man who has called women pigs, dogs, and disgusting animals. She added, Donald Trump has shown us who he is and we sure should believe him.

When Donald Trump says Lets make America great again, that is code for lets take America backward. Back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some, not all. Back to the days when abortion was illegal, women had far fewer options, and life for two many women and girls was limited, she said. Well, Donald, those days are over.

Clinton pointed out that, even now, Planned Parenthood is under attack by Republicans in Congress and state legislatures. There have been more than 400 abortion restrictions introduced by states in the first three months of 2016 and 11 states have defunded Planned Parenthood in the past year, cutting some women off from their only health care provider.

She came for anti-choicers of the Republican party, too. Have you ever noticed that the same politicians who are against sex education, birth control, and safe and legal abortion are also against policies that would make it easier to raise a child, like paid family leave? They are for limited government everywhere except when it comes to interfering with womens choices and rights  If right-wing politicians actually cared as much about protecting womens health as they say the do, theyd join me in calling for more federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Clinton also spoke about raising the minimum wage, equal pay, racism, and gun violence, which might seem slightly out of place in a speech about womens reproductive rights. All the issues that were talking about today are connected, they intersect  All these issues go straight to that fundamental question, whether we believe women and families of all races, and backgrounds, and income levels deserve an equal shot in life. Now thats what I believe, and you wont be surprised to hear that Donald Trump believes something very different.

Were in the middle of a concerted, persistent assault on womens health across the country. We have to ask ourselves, Do we want to put our health, our lives, and our futures in Donald Trumps hands?

Donald and pro-life Republicans: yaburnt.
hahahaahah, i love this in my hair it does smell amazing

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LMAO. People gonna be like "this frosting got too much egg in it"

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nnnnnnnn

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omg

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asdfghjkl



STOP LMAO

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lollll

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And using neutralizer to make it less sweet with the 'Just for Me' theme playing in the background

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I remember asking my mom if I could mix the activator and my relaxer together when I was younger because it reminded me of frosting LMAO

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nooooo dont give them ideas!

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Makes sense. I Use olive oil as hair care in a pinch.

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Olive oil is a great moisturizer and deep conditioner. It's the only moisturizer I use tbh.

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I use olive oil to jerk off. It's very soft to my penis

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Try coconut oil, it's a lot lot better than olive oil.

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use olive oil and a literal drop of silicone lube to jo. Your life will improve



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this totally changes the meaning of oil pulling

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pointlessly late but I second coconut oil as lube! This is coming from a girl mind you, so I can only attest to its greatness with a vag and all its parts. Make sure its virgin/unrefined. You can pretty much find it anywhere that has a market area I believe, I got mine at target. And a jar of that stuff really does last FOREVER. I think depending on the brand some smell more like coconut than not. Happy fapping~

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it was only one person right?



still, i don't know how you make that mistake unless the store misplaced the item



LMFAO

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it was only one person right?



NOPE.











Edited at 2016-06-11 02:15 am (UTC) NOPE.

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omg screaming @ "Madison told me my stuffed shells tasted like perfume a couple months ago"



Edited at 2016-06-11 02:15 am (UTC)

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I stand by my theory that the majority of human beings are stupid

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omfg 

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how do you not know yves rocher is a beauty brand lmfao I'm dead

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I can't

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tbf, it does say olive oil and people don't read anything.



But surely it was stocked in the hair care section of the supermarket?

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not according to that photo from Wal Mart

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The walmart by my house has it with the cooking oil even though i told them 3 times its in the wrong place.

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lol

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the one near me kept putting Kool Aid colored cleaning liquid in the same department as the snow cone syrup. I'm surprised nobody got poisoned

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OMGG XD

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omg

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Omfg

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how did they not burn their kitchen down ?

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that was the only question I really had. like wtf.

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wut

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I...



I'm dying.



Also black hair care post? I want to know what people's wash regimens are.

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I've been washing with deep conditioner lately. I honestly don't know why i guess i just don't feel like going through the extra step of shampooing. I see no difference tho im just lazy.



I've been using the same products for the past few years. Some kind of moroccan oil infused shampoo and conditioner or avocado conditioner. I deep condition with Alter Ego Garlic Deep Conditioner.

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is it argan oil? my Moroccan roommate lives and dies by argan oil shampoo



Edited at 2016-06-11 03:18 am (UTC)

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i use sally's new 'true by made beautiful' line and typically on sunday which is my major wash day, i'll use the cleansing shampoo once, and then i use the co-wash and use a denman brush to detangle (i deep condition twice a month too). then i do the LOC with the leave-in, some gleau oil and the hair butter and put on my sleep cap and let it air dry overnight. sometimes i'll use my flexirods, and my hair tends to be more moisturized for longer if i use my flexirods.



then i just co-wash in the mornings on tuesday, thursday and saturday and do it as a wash and go. i need to look into different products though because my hair gets SO dry. i like the true line because it has a co-wash, deep conditioner, leave-in and hair butter in one line, but i really need something to help my hair stay more moisturized.

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I let coconut oil sit in my hair for about an hour then I rinse it, wash it and then apply a mask or deep conditioner and let that soak in for about an hour. After I rinse, I wrap it up in a t-shirt to let it air dry halfway and then blow dry it. I wash every other week.

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I co-wash three weeks out of the month and then do a proper cleansing with a clarifying shampoo and apple cider vinegar, typically at the beginning of the month, along with hot oil treatments as pre-poos and deep conditioning after. My hair's never been healthier. I've been incorporating aloe vera juice to seal and holy shit it adds so much shine to my hair



Edited at 2016-06-11 02:34 am (UTC)

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I don't really have a regimen...but i use keracare's dandruff shampoo, followed by either pureology hydrate shampoo and conditioner or mizani moisturefusion shampoo and conditioner, deep condition (looking for a new product now), then I use aquage behave and a small amount of moroccanoil, then blowdry and flatiron

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Lately I've been using Aveda and loving it. I use the Scalp Benefits line after I take out a protective style and the Be Curly line when I wash my hair (currently every 3-4 days) and I alternate between using shampoo and conditioner and the cowash. I also deep condition my hair once a week with either ALfaparf or Shea Moisture masks. Then I rub some Argan oil mixed with rosemary and lavender in my hair, put a tshirt on it to soak up most of the water, then section and rub the Aveda brilliant universal styling creme in my hair before detangling and put a mixture of castor and emu oil in my scalp.

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I guess I should answer my own question lol. I wash my hair in twists or braids with Neutragena T-Gel for seborrehic dermatitis, then I follow that with a cheap clarifying shampoo (rn I'm using Suave). I air dry for a bit and then put plain extra virgin olive oil in my hair. Finally, I blow dry with a comb attachment, because my hair mats like crazy if it's not stretched. And when my hair starts drying out through the week, I just moisturize with a little more olive oil. Silk scarf it at night, too.



That's about it. I started out being a product junkie, but I couldn't afford it. This works very well for me.

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i cowash with shea moisture's jbco conditioner or tresemme naturals once a week.

i shampoo with shea moisture's shea butter or the yuca & plantain shampoo once a month.

i deep condition with either cantu's argan oil leave-in, the shea butter leave-in or sm's jbco leave-in, add coconut oil then put on a shower cap and wrap on for an hour. i do that about twice a month or more if i had something like gel, pomade or wax in my hair.



i work 65+ hours a week in a kitchen so my hair stays in a protective style and wrapped and it's been a blessing. sometimes i work the whole day conditioning my hair or baggying it and it just grows and grows.

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I think I finally found my hair porosity so I use the Shea Moisture Low Porosity line now.



I still can't have super moist hair like some natural vloggers ( I am forever jealous Naptural85 can wash her hair that's already moisturized, and come out with hair that is still moisturized right after! ) right after wash day, but I can at least get there now in 2 days instead of a week.

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I detangle with water and coconut oil at night and wash with whatever I have on hand in the morning. Lately I've been using Organix Argan Oil shampoo and I'm not crazy about it. Then I deep condition with ORS Hair Mayonnaise under a sitting dryer and then wash it out. I use Cantu Coconut Curling Cream as a leave-in and seal with a shea butter mixture that I make using Naptural85's recipe. Usually I put my hair in flat twists but sometimes I leave it as an afro, very rarely I will straighten it.

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I don't have a regimen, oops.



Like I have a routine obviously but it's nothing extensive. Wash with One N' Only Island Essentials Conditioning Rinse and apply raw shea butter to my hair right after. That's it.

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I wash my hair once a week but should do it twice a week because my hair gets dirty after 3 days. I use Kinky Curly Knot today and Organix serum as leave-ins, and then blow dry and curl. Most days I use coconut oil and Shea Moisture curl smoothie. I used to wet set but it hurts my neck and takes hours to dry. I get relaxers at least every 6 weeks. I started using Renpure conditioner and shampoo and I really like it.



Edited at 2016-06-11 04:05 am (UTC)

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i co-wash only

that's about it

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I have 4c hair and I wash it once a week with Shea Moisture's black soap shampoo. I used to make my own but I would get the oil ratios off all the tine and it cause the soap to build up on my hair. I also do oiling and it has improved the moisture retention in my hair a lot. I just took my hair down from crochet braids after six weeks expecting to have dry, brittle hair but it was moisturised as hell and that made washing it after a breeze. If you're starting out, spritz your hair before wash day and then put oil on your scalp and all the way through and let it sit overnight. Wash it, then do the same thing before you put on your leave in and cream. The rest of the days is just a LCO method. I also use naptural85's natural deep conditioner treatments. The one for protein sensitive hair saves my curls from being limp every time. Only con is that it drips a bunch and its sticky so leaving it in my hair for hours is tedious.



Co washing is a myth. There is no way you are getting the bacteria and dirt off your scalp with a conditioner. Ditto with any other methods - ACV rinses and the sort. A good ph balancing shampoo without sulphates, cones, etc shouldnt make your scalp dry and you dont really need to focus on the rest of your hair when cleansing.

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LOL omg do they not read the can? how could you not know that it's for hair especially after you smell it???

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also i love this stuff. it makes my hair so soft



Edited at 2016-06-11 02:31 am (UTC)

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I want to laugh but I had to smack my mother in law's hand when she went for my coconut oil pump (shit wasn't even in the kitchen? It was in the living room next to my wash day supplies? I'm not sure if she thought I was eating it while I twisted my hair or...) so. I mean. It's a thing.



And yes, it was a coconut oil anti-breakage thing, so it was a hair product.

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omg can they not read?? lmao



It says it's for dry thirsty hair, not dry thirsty chicken breasts omg

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lol

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lmao

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lmao. and you know they ain't season that shit before coating it with the sheen spray either

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dead

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LOL

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Lmao

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Nnnnn

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DONE

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nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

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LMAO

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lmao

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goodbye omg

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I can't even get past the first page lmao

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Lmao

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LOL

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oh my GOD

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lmao

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This entire post has me in stitches, but I think this thread just has me at "done."

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LOLLLL

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Lmao

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I haven't had a good laugh on ONTD in a while but this got me rolling. Read it about 5 times still laughing haha

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deceased

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i am done...smoking gun.

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lmaooooo, how did he not read the label. when i'm shopping for groceries, i have to re-read the labels of stuff i buy at least twice before putting it into the cart, even if it's something i've purchased before.

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Another piece of the puzzle 

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If she only had a gun this never would have happened.

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I mean... Where's that Rosamund Pike gif when you need it

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sadly, i've seen tweets like that. i've also seen a few "i blame obama for this!"

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what kind of cognitive dissonance...

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i'd love to see the mental gymnastics pro gunners would make about children who've died from gun violence. "if only kids had guns, this wouldn't have happened!!!"

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I saw some tweets like that. :(

Meanwhile, the Japanese pop star who got stubbed repeatedly by her stalker fan woke up after two weeks and without any brain damage.

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yeah, that totally stopped the planned parenthood shooter...I mean in Colorado Springs like everyone is packing heat, yet...

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I've already seen tweets saying just that. Ugh. :(

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who tweeted that on her account?

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Her management, probably.

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Why would someone representing her tweet that? That just sounds callous and not very heartfelt.

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I just read somewhere (either TMZ or JustJared) that the account was hacked and that's the origin of that post.

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The police gave a briefing where all these details were released

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i get what her team was trying to do with that tweet, but it comes off as weird to me, can't put my finger on it tho

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It is bizarre.

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it's super morbid

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its in poor taste

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ia

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yeah, it was bad idea

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Oh good I'm not the only one. I'm trying not to judge but its really unnecessary to me.

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it's fucked up.

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It's unsettling

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i think whoever wrote it is very much grieving and isn't necessarily aware of whether it's appropriate or not

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I understand that everyone involved is just grieving and probably super out of it but that tweet is kinda really morbid and creepy.

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Yeah it's very callous

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yeah its def an instance of knowing everyone grieves differently but being v uncomfortable w that

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it's a dark choice, rly

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I hope it's deleted by now

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scares the shit outta me

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I don't really see why her family needs a gofundme either

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she wasnt very famous or popular to where she made a lot of money

im sure they do need it

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funerals are expensive

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I'm betting they do need it. They took her to a hospital, that will cost them. The funeral will cost them. Why shouldn't people show compassion in whatever way they can?

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ugh shut up tbh

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she was probably not making much money at all as an opening act for a not particularly well-known band, and the gofundme goal was only a few thousand for the funeral, which is very expensive.



but I do think all her incredibly rich friends should be helping out the family too

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It's morbid

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The way her life was snuffed out was callous and morbid. Maybe her family/reps want a jarring message that highlights that.

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ITA



why not a 'goodbye' or a 'until next lifetime'

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I agree, it really rubs me the wrong way.

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agree, it's tacky



Edited at 2016-06-11 04:34 pm (UTC)

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it did make me feel super uncomfortable. i'm like you tho and don't know how to explain it

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they deleted it just now...

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it's a dumb ~last line~

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I kind of saw it as a fairytale "the end" rather than that creepy way

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its really weird

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Mte it rubbed me the wrong way

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It comes off very :\

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It was in very poor taste.

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that tweet from her account :( oh my god. i can't stop thinking about this it's so heartbreaking

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This is absolutely horrible.

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I feel so bad for her family. This is so fucking random and horrific.

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That is so scary.

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what the fuck.



Rest in peace to Christina, this is truly terrible :(

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This is so scary and sad.

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so morbid that her team would tweet and pin that on her account :/

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how much safer would this world be without men and guns... even the smallest feeling of safety is too much to ask for

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What a silly thing to say.

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nope

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If by silly you mean accurate.

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No. No its not.

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Not even silly just plain stupid. Talking about hypotheticals that'll never happen is just pointless and dismissive of real issues with society.

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The men part is dumb as fuck. Stop perpetuating this idea all men are bad. NO, many men are good, but society acts like men need to be fearless badasses every second and that emotions and feelings are evil, so men get pressured into acting a certain way for fear of being labeled weak. It's a vicious cycle and when we sit there and bash on an ENTIRE GENDER, we actually do more harm than good.

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IA

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considering men do the majority of the crime unbelievably safer

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Do we have to bash men in every fucking post? God. I'm so sick of that.

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Edgy. Did you meant to post this on tumblr?

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I doubt it. Maybe a tiny bit safer, but wouldn't be much of a difference.

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They certainly shouldn't be allowed to have guns, at the very least. Not until they learn how to behave like sensible adults.

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These responses....are we ignoring the fact that men DO commit significantly more violent crimes than women? Who does that help? You certainly aren't helping men when you ignore that they're not just at increased risk of being murderers, but of being murdered.



Men are not just dangerous to women, but to each other. So yeah...in a hypothetical situation where they (and guns) ceased to be...the world probably would be safer. Instead of whining about 'not all men' why not acknowledge the problem and work to deconstruct certain concepts of masculinity so maybe we can help prevent men from destroying each other, women and themselves.



Edited at 2016-06-11 07:12 pm (UTC)

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Some people on this site are a bit too extreme at times lol



Let's get OTTT and ILlogical!!!!11!!!

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I can't believe all the hoopla over this comment

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not all men are bad though.

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like did they get lost on the way to reddit or lol this comment really brought out the angry #notallmen crowdlike did they get lost on the way to reddit or

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I kind of understand the tweet and yet I think it's unnecessary at the same time but obviously I have no room to judge. Ofc it was man. It always is. But yes let's please keep our guns everyone. That is what is important. Who cares little kids and innocent people are getting killed everyday. We have our guns!



I see his name is going to be released. I wish news outlets would stop plastering these sick people's faces all over the media making them celebrities in a fucked up way. Like we don't need to see this sick fuck's face.

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That makes sense.

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Makes sense. I personally liked DJ AM's last tweet, it was something like "New York New York city of dreams but it isnt all what it seems". Obviously it was very coincidental to his overdose.

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dead @ the end.

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they're a known troll sis

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So sad. =(



It's so scary and sad that nowadays, any time there's an angry and "off" coworker/customer/whatever we have to worry about them coming back with a gun. I need to reread The Gift of Fear.

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yeah one of my coworkers left on a bad ending recently and i have had a fear of their return since they were so off

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yeah one of my coworkers was fired very recently and she had a bad temper and could be really irrational so i'm sort of paranoid :/

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a fried of mine had/has a manager like that. whenever he talks about him, he's like, "i'm terrified this guy would seriously bring a gun to work and harm us all. just off."

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I work in a govt office, and I worry more about my coworkers instead of an outsider doing something. Its fucked up when you basically have an escape route planned in case shit goes down.

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My company is restructuring right now and I can honestly tell you I've been waiting for the first violent outburst from someone who's been let go after 20 years. You just can't trust the people around you anymore.

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There was a heated argument on the light rail a few weeks ago and I seriously thought someone was going to pull out a gun so I switched cars. Luckily, the kid in the car (looked about 10) got off safe and I heard no gunshots. But I was literally googling California open carry laws :/

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Luckily, you have to have access passes for my work, so I feel decently safe. You have to scan your badge to get in the building, where a security guard is at all the times, then you have to scan your badge to get into your work area, and your badge only gets you into that area. So someone can't really go through the building on a shooting spree unless they have an all access badge, and I think very few people have one.

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I'm in Texas, where they recently allowed guns on college campuses. Every building I go I have to scope out to see how to manage during a shooting. :/

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my boyfriend used to work at a law office almost 10 years ago where a shooting happened because someone got fired. apparently the guy came in and started shooting and my boyfriend had to run out of the building. the guy who fired him wasn't there that day, but the man killed a receptionist who was retired but came in once in a while to help out. people are disgusting.

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we had a coworker break back into the building in the last 6 months right after they were let go. they walked right into a meeting full of upper management and started screaming. the police had to be called, we all had to lock the entrance doors to the office areas and move production staffers into a small conference room until he could be located and restrained. now we can't let anyone into the building without checking with hr.

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not just work, anything. like my high school boyfriend made like 8 facebook accounts after I blocked his first one because he was saying deranged things. I had to lock down my FB completely and not allow strangers to search for me or message me because he gave me crazed shooter vibes.



this country is so fucking heavily armed that it's like, there's no such thing as a safe place.

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Kwan told The Hollywood Reporter last year that when his book first came out, one movie producer wanted to turn the Asian-American heroine, Rachel Chu, into a white girl.

Awww hell no.

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My first thought was 'of course they did'.

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Mine too. JFC. How many thorough bashings do movies like Avatar, Gods Of Egypt, etc. have to get on racial issues before TPTB get a clue?

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it's called Crazy Rich ASIANS

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I want to find out who this movie producer is, and punch him/her in the face.

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Emma Stone! lol

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I rolled my eyes so hard.

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Rme at the main character becoming white.

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I hope they can maintain an all-Asian cast.

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99% Asian. She can have a 'token white friend' in America just as cardboard as the typical 'token black friend', 'token gay friend', etc. tropes.

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lol i would love this

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lol in the book the only white people that i can remember (with lines, barely any) were these shirtless italian bartender guys lmao. oh, and a total asshole in the beginning who gets his ass kicked.



Edited at 2016-06-12 01:56 am (UTC)

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smh it's not called crazy rich white people.



i love this book and i don't trust hollywood with their portrayals of asians. god forbid we get one thing

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The story is a comedy of manners about the lavish lifestyles of the ultra-wealthy in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai



Not many rich white people there. You're going to have to write that book yourself.

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He told The Hollywood Reporter last year that when his book first came out, one movie producer wanted to turn the Asian-American heroine, Rachel Chu, into a white girl.



They tried to do the same thing to Harold & Kumar twelve years ago.



Do these people never fucking learn?

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But the point of Harold & Kumar...



I shouldn't be surprised anymore.

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They thought making them (white) Jewish would be 'ethnic' enough, apparently.

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not only is turning Rachel into a white girl terrible in and of itself, but it would screw with the sequel, if we get one. She needs to be Chinese

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lmao exactly. like literally the whole point is that she's abc.

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is it really skeptical to think that's why they changed it, not actually outrage.

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I think Kwan didn't go with that producer in the end, but I'm sure it helped that he had a "plot reason" to make her Asian no matter what producer he went with...

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exactly. but also changes how the whole thing where they have a thing against apparent ABCs etc. what were they thinking?????

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I still don't understand why it's so hard for asians and native americans to be cast in movies. And I'm talking about good parts not the shitty side parts they usually give.

I think the last american movie that I really liked with an asian cast was The Joy Luck Club. I know there are probably others but it shouldn't be this hard for hollywood to accept different actors into different roles.



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"The complaining actually does a make difference. I'm in meetings now where those issues do come up, whereas five years ago if I brought it up, nobody would care."



Good.

I'm adding the book to my list bc I've never heard of it. But making the main character a white girl is sf dumb, I'm sure you can get a great Asian actress to play the role. Idk the age of the character but Constance Wu is amazing and I'd love to see her in cinema.





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It's super fun.

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The book is so much fun

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I was hoping for an Asian director who has done Asian romcom, like Ho Cheung Pang who did "Women Who Flirt." Oh well at least it's an Asian director.



Hoping they get some big name stars from HK and China for this.

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Maybe it just reflects the demographics of wherever it is you are seeing the outrage



POC doesn't seem to mean "people of every color" just one color

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"Model minorities" is probably why.

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I think it stems from a lot of things. A lot of Asians in Asia don't seem to see it as big of a deal as Asian Americans.Some other South Asian ontders have even commented here that it's seen almost like an honor to be played by white folk. So I can imagine Hollywood people using that as an excuse. Like so and so is actually Asian, and he doesn't care. That sort of deal.

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Its not, its just people are more vocal than ever before now

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I really do hope they'll be able to make the movie with an all Asian cast, I'd definitely support it if it does

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I couldn't read the book after a few chapters, hit too close to home with the parents even tho I'm not rich hahahah. Either way, good that Rachel's not white bc it def would not have worked out.



Was he the one who got Jay Chou into Now You See Me 2? If so, kudos.

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A movie based on this book would be so fun. The fashion for Astrid(haven't read the book in a while but I think that's her name) would be great

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Yeah I'm interested to see how they deal with Astrid.

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I hope they'd actually keep Astrid's fashion as it should be and not make her look like some Patricia Field reject.

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That's what I'm most looking forward to!

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It would probably be the most expensively costumed movie ever and I'd LOVE it.

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Seriously, I need to see Astrid's wardrobe and everything about the wedding faithfully reproduced. They've gotta be faithful to the title!

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Yeah it will be so incredible visually.

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I won this book at a trivia night a few months ago and I haven't read it yet, but I can literally see it on my bookshelf rn so I'm gonna pick it up and start right now so i can be ready 4 this movie

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It's so much fun if you're into fashion and gossip and food lol

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It's awesome tbh. The sequel not so much.

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It's a quick, fun read

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This looks like the perfect vehicle for Emma Stone.

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Idk the plot but if there's a prominent male character, that sounds like a job for Jim Sturgess.

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LOL

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 All eyes this week are also on Angolas swift moves clearly designed to pave the way for the succession of the first daughter, whose presidential father has appointed as head of the state-run oil behemoth, Sonangol. Whether qualified or not is besides the point here. Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angolan President Jose Eduardo

 The news is now flooded with the battle for Raqqa, but this isnt the real battleground in Syria. This is largely the Western media being sucked into the elections by politicians hoping to show a real (arm chair) victory in Syria. The real battle is for Aleppo and Palmyra. Right now, the Islamic State (ISIS) has positions in Aleppo and Raqqa, linked by the strategic town of Tabqa. The Syrian Kurds are hoping to take Raqqa, with a little help from the U.S., but they remain sorely outnumbered and out-gunned. In our opinion, they have little chance of taking Raqqa. They may make some inroads, but they dont have the support to hold it, especially not if the Turks interfere. What it tells us that Washington is hoping the Syrian Kurds can take Raqqa and that this can then be used as a base for new political entity in a divided Syria, managed by Washingtonpresumably as a bulwark against areas managed by Assad (and the Russians). The Turks continue to play a dangerous game here with jihadists as they attempt to keep the Kurds from advancing.

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict

 The news is now flooded with the battle for Raqqa, but this isnt the real battleground in Syria. This is largely the Western media being sucked into the elections by politicians hoping to show a real (arm chair) victory in Syria. The real battle is for Aleppo and Palmyra. Right now, the Islamic State (ISIS) has positions in Aleppo and Raqqa, linked by the strategic town of Tabqa. The Syrian Kurds are hoping to take Raqqa, with a little help from the U.S., but they remain sorely outnumbered and out-gunned. In our opinion, they have little chance of taking Raqqa. They may make some inroads, but they dont have the support to hold it, especially not if the Turks interfere. What it tells us that Washington is hoping the Syrian Kurds can take Raqqa and that this can then be used as a base for new political entity in a divided Syria, managed by Washingtonpresumably as a bulwark against areas managed by Assad (and the Russians). The Turks continue to play a dangerous game here with jihadists as they attempt to keep the Kurds from advancing.

 All eyes this week are also on Angolas swift moves clearly designed to pave the way for the succession of the first daughter, whose presidential father has appointed as head of the state-run oil behemoth, Sonangol. Whether qualified or not is besides the point here. Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, was appointed chairwoman of Sonangol after the entire board was dismissed last week. Angolas main opposition UNITA party has rejected the appointment, and said it would ask parliament to debate the decision. Santos powerful new role at the head of Sonangol is a way to ensure that the presidents dynasty can continue.

 Another attack in northern Iraq, near Kirkuk, has targeted a pipeline that carries oil from the Hayana field to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. This pipeline carries oil from the Iraqi National Oil Company, which had earlier this year halted exports through this northern pipeline, in its tit-for-tat with the Iraqi Kurds over exports and revenues. As such, the pipeline wasnt carrying any oil at the time of the attack.



Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions



 Dong Energythe largest offshore wind operator in the world, 50% owned by the Danish government, with a Goldman-controlled company owned 14.7%--is set to list its stock on the Nasdaq OMX in Copenhagen if the largest European IPO this year. Dong has sold 17.4% of its share so far to raise about $2.6 billion and push it to a $15-billion value.

?

 Australian Cooper Energy has signed an agreement with Canadas ACL International Ltd. and Singapore-based Lamara Energy Pte, to sell a 55% interest in the Tangai-Sukananti KSO, South Sumatra Basin in Indonesia. Cooper, which is refocusing on Australia, will receive US$4.3 million, including working capital, in total consideration. The sale still needs to be approved by regulators. ?

 French utility Engie SAs Brazilian unit is planning to sell its natural gas blocks in Bahia and Maranhao states as the company refocuses on renewable energy resources. The companys CEO has said that investments will be 100% in renewable energy, including hydro, solar and wind. As such, Engie Brazil will be gradually selling off exploration and production assets globally.

 Russian Russneft, a mid-sized oil producer majority owned by Mikhail Gutseriyev, is planning to sell new shares on the Moscow stock exchange in the fourth quarter. The company will sell a 25-49% stake in an IPO and is seeking to raise around $2 billion. Russneft produced 150,000 bpd last year. Gutseriyev's family and trader Glencore will remain its major shareholders after the IPO. Gutseriyevs family owns 54% of the shares, while Glencore owns 46%.



Company News



 Russian Rosneft reports first quarter net profits down by 75% over the same period last year, while Russian Lukoil reports a 50% loss on the same parameters. Rosneft sales fell by 21%, while it produced an average of 4.1 million bpda 1% decline year on year. According to Rosneft, the decline was the result of large investment to generate new production.

 ConocoPhillips Canada has restarted production at its Surmont oil sands project and suffering minor damage to infrastructure from the Fort McMurray wildfires. The company will ramp up production to around 60,000 bpd on a gradual basis. ConocoPhillips operates the project with a 50% interest, while Total E&P Canada Ltd. hold the remaining 50%. Suncor and Syncrude Canada Ltdalso shut down due to the wildfireswill restart later this month, eyeing a resumption of full production capacity by mid-July. ?

 Argentina's state oil company YPF has appointed for French Total SA executive Ricardo Darre as CEO, amid changes being made under the countrys new pro-business government. Darre will officially assume leadership on 1 July.



Discovery & Development



 Ghana's National Petroleum Corp. (GNPC) will see first production from its Sankofa offshore field in the second half of next year. The field is being developed by Italian giant Eni and Vitol. First gas production from the field will follow a year later.

?

 Chevron Corp.'s Unocal East China Sea will ramp up production in the Luojiazhai and Gunziping gas fields, following the first stage success of its Chuandongbei project. This is Chevrons largest investment in China. Unocal will use all three of its existing gas trains with a combined capacity of 258 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Production started with the first train in January. Development of the Luojiazhai and Gunziping gas fields are the first stage of this project, while the second stage entails building a gas processing plant.?

 Australian AWE Ltd. has reported a 93% increase in the reserves in its Waitsia natural gas field in the onshore North Perth basin. This is one of the biggest onshore gas discoveries ever in Western Australia. The upgrade follows the extensive evaluation of new core data acquired in 2015 from the two Waitsia wells. The project partner is Origin Energy Resources Ltd., with 50%. AWE will drill two more appraisal wells here next year. Private equity group Lone Start Fund bid to take over AWE last year for $310 million, which was rejected by the AWE board.

 Chinese state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), plans to boost announced its natural gas supply and transportation capacity over the next five years. The management said its pipeline network is expected to exceed 60,000 kilometers, with an annual gas transportation capacity of 6.4 Tcf by 2020. The company is also looking to add 12 gas-storage facilities and expand its LNG terminal receiving capacity from 13 million tons to 19 million tons.

Regulations & Litigation

 Chile's environmental regulator has launched an investigation into oil and gas explorer GeoPark Ltd. for alleged violations, including fracking without the necessary permits, faulty systems for avoiding soil erosion, mismanagement of hazardous spills and damaging archeological findings.

 Talks between employers and workers over collective pay in Norways oilfield services sector have collapsed. This was said to be the fourth and final round of talks, and now changes of a strike of some 6,000 workers looms large. Oil companies in Norway are expected to spend only $18.5 billion next year, down 7.6% from this years estimates. Oil investment in Norway is projected to drop again in 2017 for the third straight year. Labor disputes have tripled since oil prices began to slump in mid-2014. The Unite union is now balloting hundreds of workers for a strike vote for a strike that would affect eight North Sea oil and gas platforms run by Shell.



Licenses, Auctions & Tenders



 Equatorial Guinea has launched the countrys latest licensing round, offering up 32 blocks offshore West Africa and another 5 blocks onshore. Up for grabs will be Block A-12, from which Marathon Oil recently withdrew. Discovery success rates here are over 40%. Meanwhile, the government has accused Schlumberger of trying to monopolize an FLNG project with UKs Ophir. Schlumberger denies this. In January, Schlumberger and Ophir agreed that the US group would receive a 40% stake in the project, and would have reimbursed Ophir for half of its past costs. However, it withdrew from the project in late April. According to the government, the project, which is expected to produce 2.2 million tons per annum, will go ahead anyway, with the state-owned company taking an equity stake.

 Weatherford International Plc has opened a public offering of $1 billion in a series of senior notes due 2021 and a series of notes due 2023.
- Ahead of the OPEC meeting, speculators backed off trading, pausing to wait out the result. Both long and short positions fell to their lowest levels since January. - OPEC meetings typically see large speculative movements, as traders position themselves to find a margin and exploit an expected price movement following the result of the groups decision. - The calm ahead of the OPEC meeting on June 2 highlights the groups diminished importance for oil markets, as well as the market consensus that OPEC wont be able to agree on coordinated action. - Also, the decline in speculation has occurred at a time of lower oil price volatility (which is not a coincidence). Oil prices have firmed up, scaring away speculative bets. - "Its very clear that OPEC is less relevant than U.S. production data," Rob Thummel, a managing director and portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC, told Bloomberg. "Were going to trade near $50, plus or minus five bucks, for quite a while.

In the latest edition of the Numbers Report, well take a look at some of the most interesting figures put out this week in the energy sector. Each week well dig into some data and provide a bit of explanation on what drives the numbers.

Friday, June 10, 2016

In the latest edition of the Numbers Report, well take a look at some of the most interesting figures put out this week in the energy sector. Each week well dig into some data and provide a bit of explanation on what drives the numbers.

Lets take a look.

1. Speculators held their breath ahead of OPEC meeting

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- Ahead of the OPEC meeting, speculators backed off trading, pausing to wait out the result. Both long and short positions fell to their lowest levels since January.

- OPEC meetings typically see large speculative movements, as traders position themselves to find a margin and exploit an expected price movement following the result of the groups decision.

- The calm ahead of the OPEC meeting on June 2 highlights the groups diminished importance for oil markets, as well as the market consensus that OPEC wont be able to agree on coordinated action.

- Also, the decline in speculation has occurred at a time of lower oil price volatility (which is not a coincidence). Oil prices have firmed up, scaring away speculative bets.

- "Its very clear that OPEC is less relevant than U.S. production data," Rob Thummel, a managing director and portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC, told Bloomberg. "Were going to trade near $50, plus or minus five bucks, for quite a while.

2. Rig count bottomed out?

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- The U.S. oil rig count jumped by 9 for the week ending on June 3, the largest increase since December 2015.

- There is usually a three to four month lag between major movements in oil prices and the resulting effects on the rig count. The increase could be viewed as a response to the 85 percent rally in oil prices since February.

- But it was only when oil prices rose to the $40, $45, and $50 level that oil companies started to take notice. Citigroup calls oil trading at $50 to $70 a sweet spot, that is, high enough to stimulate new drilling while not necessarily leading to drilling bonanza that might subsequently kill off the price recovery.

- The Permian Basin saw an uptick of 5 rigs last week, as West Texas offers some of the most profitable drilling at todays prices.

- But more drilling wont halt the production declines underway. The U.S. has already lost nearly 1 million barrels per day in output.

3. DUCs still high

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- The backlog of drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) as of early 2016 was very high, particularly in Texas, where there were well over 1,000 DUCs. Earlier this year Bloomberg Intelligence put the figure at over 4,000 across the country.

- The rise in oil prices to $50 per barrel raises the prospect that those wells will now be completed, bringing new supplies back online.

- DUCs could add 400,000 barrels per day in new production this year. A U.S. State Department official believes it could be as high as 500,000 barrels per day.

- Citigroup estimates that the DUC backlog will begin to get worked through at $50 per barrel. And at $60 per barrel, new drilling will start to pick up in earnest.

- One major problem facing oil producers and fracking crews is that the workforce has somewhat been dismantled, which may delay completions.

4. Contango shrinking

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- A market contango, in which front month oil futures trade at lower prices than contracts further off into the future, reflects concerns about near-term oversupply. In other words, traders are not very enthusiastic about buying oil today, relative to the future, because there is too much oil floating around.

- The contango widened to very sharp depths when oil prices crashed to multiyear lows, corresponding to moments when the markets grew acutely concerned about the glut.

- But the contango has nearly disappeared since March and April as short-term supply disruptions in Canada and Nigeria erased the global supply overhang.

- As Reuters notes, the markets have arrived back into balance, and the small contango of roughly $2 per barrel witnessed today is consistent with a relatively balanced market. Between 2005 and 2014, the average contango was $1.50 per barrel for WTI.

5. Gasoline demand hits new peak in U.S.

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- U.S. gasoline demand is already at a record high for this time of year, and is likely going to hit a new record high this summer. On an annualized basis, gasoline demand will likely break new highs in 2016 as well.

- Gasoline demand will rise to 9.5 million barrels per day in the second and third quarters of this year.

- That comes despite a very strong rally over the past three months. Even with oil prices up 85 percent since February, gasoline prices are still projected to be at their lowest levels in twelve years this summer.

- The exploding demand for gasoline comes after a record year for miles driven in the United States. In 2015, American motorists drove 3.148 trillion miles, destroying the 2007 record of 3.003 trillion miles according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That is equivalent to 337 round trips from Earth to Pluto.

6. Iran offset by outages

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- Iran increased oil production by roughly 600,000 barrels per day since March, following the removal of international sanctions at the beginning of the year.

- If not for Irans huge supply additions, the estimated unplanned outages from OPEC would be at their highest levels in years.

- There are at least 2.5 mb/d of supply outages from OPEC, according to the EIA, but that figure likely understates the problem. Nigeria has lost more than 1 mb/d, not the 0.75 mb/d estimated by the EIA. The chart also doesnt account for Venezuelas depleting production, which may not technically be categorized as an outage, but is falling nonetheless. Venezuelas output is down by nearly a hundred thousand barrels per day, with more declines expected. Other countries are also seeing production decline.

- Other chronic outages come from Libya (~1 mb/d), while Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia each have several hundred thousand barrels per day offline.

- The outages come as Canada (not an OPEC country) lost more than 1 mb/d for several weeks.

- All told, the world has more than 3 mb/d of oil supply unexpected offline, which appears to be enough to zero out the global surplus. Canadas production is coming back online, but there is little prospect of any solution to the OPEC outages.

7. Natural gas breakeven prices have increased

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- The breakeven price for natural gas, unlike for oil, has climbed over the past two years.

- That largely comes down to the collapse in oil prices, which has cut the revenues for associated gas and natural gas liquids, such as ethane and liquid petroleum gas.

- Also, creditors have raised the cost of finance because of lower returns and the heightened risk of default. The most indebted companies have been entirely shut out of credit markets.

- Suppliers and oilfield service companies have cut their rates, however, helping natural gas economics.

- But altogether, the average breakeven price for a typical natural gas well in the northeast U.S. has jumped from $1 per million Btu in 2014 to above $2/MMBtu in 2016. That will improve as oil prices rise, but it is unclear if the economics will go back to the glory days of 2014.

Thats it for this weeks Numbers Report. Thanks for reading, and well see you next week.
Following the landmark nuclear arms deal Iran signed with key Western powers earlier this year, investors have been lining up to mend ties with the oil rich Middle Eastern country as it now re-enters the international stage.

India is the latest country to do so, announcing last month that it will build and operate the key Iranian port of Chabahar. The deal has huge ramifications for both Iran and Indias domestic economies, the regional economy, as well as relations between the states in the region  including India and Pakistan.

For Iran, the move is welcome news as President Hassan Rouhanis reform programme continues to bring Iran back into the world economy after years of painful international sanctions. Iran has already signed new trade deals with France, Italy, China and South Korea, so the latest deal is yet more investment for a country trying to jump start its $400 billion economy.

In a similar vein, the deal is also part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis plan to boost Indias economic and strategic ties on the international stage. The deal will allow India to open a transit route to Afghanistan and Central India for Indian goods and provide India with natural gas. The chance to improve relations with its 45 million Shia Muslim population is also a significantly boon. On both sides, then, the development is undoubtedly a positive move.

Economic consequences

The deal is a significant breakthrough for India and the region. As Indias Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari assesses, the port boosts the countrys trade ties not only with Iran, but also Afghanistan, other Central Asian nations and Russia.

The chance to move goods to Iran and then onwards to Afghanistan and Russia is a key element of the plan. This port will also give sea access to Afghanistan, a country Modi plans to visit this month in order to sign a trilateral trade agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran.

However, the deal could be met with opposition due to the involvement of China; Beijing has already pledged $70 billion worth of FDI for Irans petrochemical industry by 2025 and will be wary of the closer links being forged between New Delhi and Kabul. Related: Saudi Arabia To Tax Foreign Residence As Oil Crisis Continues

Conversely, India and China are economic rivals, and ties have frayed even further in recent years due to Chinas economic success. Given this, Irans significant deals with both India and China may cause some conflict down the road, with Tehran likely having to perform a delicate balancing act.

What does it mean for Pakistan?

Another significant neighbour the deal is likely to affect is Indias long-time adversary Pakistan. Indeed, one of Indias main motives behind the deal is to bypass the Pakistani port of Gwadar and the transport corridors linked to it. Related: Lebanon Losing The Levant Basin Battle By Default

There are three main reasons for this: firstly, China has invested heavily in the Pakistani port; secondly, the port is based in the unstable Balochistan region, where security risks are high due to the presence of the Taliban; and finally, any way to avoid giving money to Pakistan while still maintaining its economic transport goals is an advantageous move for India in the eyes of its leaders.

A boon for India, a risk for the region?

The deal will therefore help India avoid giving funds to both Pakistan and China while improving ties with Afghanistan. In multiple ways, this is a solid victory for India. Indeed, it is clear that the agreement for Chabahar between Iran and India is very beneficial for both economically, and will do well to increase ties between a number of countries in the region. In term of regional stability, however, the deal may raise tensions further and pit old foes against one another even more.

By Rayhan Chouglay via Globalriskinsights.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
As a Jewish Journalist, I've been victim to vicious anti-semitic attacks by leaders of the White Supremacy movement, including Edgar Steele , so I can absolutely relate to recent victims who have been attacked by Trump supporters for their coverage of Trump. Ironically, as a supporter for just treatment for Gazan and Palestinian civilians, and as a critic of extreme right wing Israelis like Israel's version of Dick Cheney, Benjamin Netanyahu, I've also been accused of being an anti-semite, often the same that I've been accused, by anti-semites of being a Zionist.

After I reached out to Andrew, I started to see more people doing it. I did a bit more digging and realized that people were doing with the triple parentheses what many did using the rainbow overlay on their facebook and Twitter icon/images, in solidarity with the LGBTQ community.

Andrew is co-founder and organizer of Personal Democracy Forum , my favorite conference, where brilliant leaders in tech, politics and activism come together to discuss technologies, issues, ideas and strategies for making government, the world, the civic universe and politics better and more effective. I was attending the 2016 meeting ( #PDF16 ) and saw his name with the triple parentheses. I'd read about how they were being used by neo-nazis, so I emailed him a link to this article on Triple Parentheses at Wikipedia on it. Here's the gist of the Wikipedia page:

Use of the markup was brought to mainstream attention by an article posted by Mic in June 2016. [2] The reports also led Google to pull a browser extension meant to automatically place the "echo" markup around Jewish names on web pages, [2] and the markup being classified as a form of hate speech by the Anti-Defamation League . [3] In the wake of these actions, some users, including Jews and non-Jews, have intentionally placed their own names within triple parentheses as a sign of solidarity. [4]

It turns out that a lot of search engines ignore characters like parentheses marks. Try a search for ((( and nothing comes up. Here's what shows up in a twitter search:

It turns out that white supremacist, Aryan American haters are using triple parentheses to identify people they believe are Jews, so they can be targeted for trolling and harassment.

Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect, connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media.

Check out his platform at RobKall.com

He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity

He's given talks and workshops to Fortune 500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful people on his Bottom Up Radio Show, and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and opinion sites, OpEdNews.com

more detailed bio:

Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, debillionairizing the planet (more...)


Reprinted from Campaign For America's Future

After having stated she is against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and opposes a lame-duck vote on that agreement after the election, President Obama on Thursday endorsed his former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in her bid for the presidency. Then the president, a few hours later, appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and did this

Yes, that's President Obama with Jimmy Fallon, using a "Slow-Jamming the News" segment to promote the TPP.

Jamming the TPP



An account of the segment is at Politico, "Obama slow-jams the news, swings at Trump":

"...Obama kept up the straight-man routine: 'But I believe that it is of the utmost importance to work alongside other world leaders. That's why I signed the Iran nuclear deal. That's why we reopened diplomatic ties with Cuba. And that's why I negotiated the new trade deal called Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.' "'Now, hold on there, Prez dispenser -- are you saying you're down with TPP?' Fallon asked. "'Yeah, you know me,' Obama responded, before explaining the trade deal's merits. 'Look, Jimmy, the TPP allows American businesses to sell their products both at home and abroad. The more we sell abroad, the more higher paying jobs we provide here at home. It's that simple.' "Fallon then asked, 'So what you're saying is, this trade deal will help put everyday Americans back to --' "'Work, work, work, work, work, work, work, he put us back to work, work, work, work, work, he put us back to,' sang Tariq, in the style of Rihanna. "Obama finished: 'Work, work, work, work, work.' "'...And that is how we slow jam the news,' Fallon concluded. "Obama finished with an 'oh, yeah.'"

Because We Don't Already?

"The TPP allows American businesses to sell their products both at home and abroad." Because apparently American companies don't already sell their products in throughout Asia, Europe, Australia and every other continent?
by Stephen Cooper

In a convoluted crackpot of a column called, To Stop Bad Prosecutors, Call the Feds (June 6), The New York Times proves that the ideas of journalists, however well-meaning, are not likely to ever be the panacea for meaningful and lasting criminal justice reform.

Bemoaning a lack of accountability around the country for repeated and outrageous instances where prosecutors have failed to comply with Brady v. Maryland  a seminal 1963 Supreme Court decision requiring the government, in a criminal case, to turn over favorable evidence material to the guilt or innocence of the accused (or to sentencing, in the event of a guilty verdict)  The New York Times Editorial Board calls upon the Justice Department to exercise federal oversight of [state] prosecutors offices that repeatedly ignore defendants legal and constitutional rights.

Not only would this proposed encroachment upon state prosecutor offices be doomed as a matter of law given states rights and the limits of federal power enshrined in our Constitution, but also, as The Times Editorial Board piece itself both frustratingly and plaintively concedes, theirs is a completely unworkable suggestion (Of course, many district attorneys offices will balk at being put under a federal microscope.).

Many?

Many is a gross low-ball of an understatement when its impossible to imagine a single state with even a solitary (and righteous) prosecutors office willing to have its internal (ethical) decision-making probed and policed by the feds.

Moreover, The New York Times wrongheaded and dead-on-delivery proposal is a bad idea to begin with  as it plainly ignores that federal prosecutors have a poor track record themselves of complying with Brady v. Maryland  a fact The Times own reporting shed light upon just last year (Ex-Justice Dept. Officials Argue Against Federal Prosecutors in Supreme Court Brief). The Times noted then with respect to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct on the part of federal prosecutors that there is a widespread feeling that there is a lot of hiding going on. As quoted by The Times, federal appellate judge Alex Kozinski put it a mite more bluntly: There is an epidemic of Brady violations abroad in the land, Kozinski wrote.

Judge Kozinskis blistering observation, which notably came as a result of a federal and not a state prosecutors malfeasance, was clearly directed as much, if not more, at the Department of Justices lawyers than it was at state prosecutors.

From infamous examples everyone knows about  like the bungled prosecution of now-deceased Alaskan senator Ted Stevens  to more pedestrian cases filling the federal criminal docket, federal prosecutors have not shown themselves to be shining stars of professional ethics.

This is indeed a sad state of affairs because the ideal, as Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland wrote over 80 years ago, and as The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia  the largest office of federal prosecutors in the country  rightly extols on its website: The United States Attorney is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all; and whose interest therefore, in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win the case, but that justice shall be done. Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88 (1935).

So, what can be done about this pernicious dearth of upstanding prosecutors nationwide, on both the state and federal level, prosecutors who, as Justice Sutherland put it, prosecute with earnestness and vigor but while strik[ing] hard blows [do not] strike foul ones?

There is no easy answer to this grave problem plaguing our countrys criminal justice system  on that The Times Editorial Board gets it absolutely right. But, as for its facile and feckless proposal to address the problem, it couldnt be more naive, and wrong.

Stephen Cooper is a former federal and D.C. public defender. He has contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers in the United States and overseas. He writes full-time and lives in Woodland Hills, California.
The Frozen Sea: 1536 La Playa's Hidden Past

by Woody LaBounty

The apartment building at 1536 La Playa is ugly, or, to be charitable, plain. Its flat facade of beige stucco is a massive dull square on the ocean-fronting streetscape, with nothing to offer in looks beyond rows of sliding aluminum-sash windows.

Pick your cliche: appearances can be deceiving, you can't judge a book by its cover, true beauty lies withinany and all apply to 1536 La Playa.

A few years ago, Frances Kniffen Larkin told me the building was once a fancy restaurant known as Mendel's. As a child in the 1930s she peeked in the front door and saw fine tables and chandeliers. Frances wondered why she hadn't heard anyone talk of Mendel's in regards to the history of Ocean Beach.

Then a resident of 1536 La Playa (the city-designated address, although the building appears to be on Great Highway) emailed me in the summer of 2010. She said there was a grand ballroom, decorated with wall moldings of shells and seahorses, hidden away between floors. My friend David Gallagher and I went to take a look, our cameras in hand. Like its exterior, the building's common halls are beyond nondescript with white walls and industrial stain-resistant carpets. Through a small hatch in one ceiling we could see some 1940s-era wallpaper and a couple of old light fixtures in a crawlspaceodd, but hardly magical. Our tipster didn't have the key for a similar ceiling hatch on the floor below. We made vague plans about coming back to investigate, but never followed up.

Then, in early November 2012, an amazing old photograph was posted for auction on eBay. Some 75 motorcyclists lined up in front of a dramatic backdrop: a handsome building with a second-floor open balcony, mullioned windows, and inset bookend towers topped by tall flagpoles. I guessed the photograph, mounted on a large card, was taken in the early 1910s.

Although this handsome structure looked nothing like the current version of 1536 La Playa, I recognized it instantly. I knew through some previous research that the Mendel's that Frances Larkin remembered had previously been operated as the Crest, and before that as the Breakers roadhouse. Here in the photograph the name Breakers and the address were clearly visible. And if that wasn't enough, the one-story carriage house on the right side of the image was still easily recognizable as the apartment building at 1540 La Playa. A nested-gabled house in the left background also still stands today on 48th Avenue.

Too beautiful and fascinating a photograph to pass up, my friend Glenn Koch and I pooled our funds to fight off determined motorcycle memorabilia fans and win the prize. Perhaps it was time to take another look inside the walls of the big ugly building at the beach.

Our former tenant tipster had moved out of state, but she put me in contact with the building manager, Clayton White, and on Saturday, January 12, 2013, David and I once again showed up with flashlights and cameras. Clayton met us carrying his own camera and flashlight, a ladder, and, most importantly, the key for the hatch door. My hope was perhaps we'd at least find some older wallpaper to photograph.

Clayton set up the ladder, unlocked and opened the hatch, flipped a light switch installed beside it, and climbed into the small square. His feet dangled a few inches from the top of the ladder before disappearing. I went next, carefully navigating my balance on the ladder while holding my gear and narrowing my shoulders to squeeze through.

When I lifted my head from my effort getting in, I turned to the right and found a large fish goggling at me, a chain hanging out of its open mouth. Already I knew we had something better than old wallpaper.

The fish, created out of molded plaster and wire, had brothers that encircled what appeared to be a chandelier collar about three feet in diameter. Each fish extended out from the fixture, each had a lamp chain dangling from its lips, and a few still had old electrical cord and bulb sockets attached to their chains. On the form between the larger fishI had decided they were carpwere ridges and undulations mimicking water and elaborated with smaller fish, seahorses, and vegetation.

We had a reasonably generous space to stand and walk hunched over. As David climbed in, I looked around to see cornice reliefs on the far wall, the tops of elaborate capitals poking between joists, and more chandelier collars matching the one beside the hatch. A beam extending the length of the building featured its own marine scenes. Amid more waves a turtle had his maw open, ready to catch some alarmed guppies. Starfish, coral, anemone, and crabs lined up beneath a course of sea horses and shells. Large rosettes punctuating the underside of the beam and ringing the capitals had their own light sockets.

Clayton explained that the building had experienced a number of fires over the years and the fire department had required retardant be sprayed through the crawlspace, making almost every molding and relief we saw a glossy gray. As we carefully made our way toward the back of the building, ducking beneath pipes, tiptoeing along narrow joists, stepping over boxes of rat poison, we noticed a couple of spots where the retardant missed. Along the south wall, where more large carp lined up disgorging their lamp chains, we could see the way these magnificent creatures were intended to be viewed. Instead of the industrial gray, here was a shocking gold and patches of iridescent bluish green with gilding.

We took what photos we could, our inadequate flashlights trying to illuminate what the flash on David's camera couldn't reach. Pieces of scenes had cracked and fallen off the wall. Some of the lamp fish looked as if a barracuda had taken a few bites out of them. The underwater world of plaster-and-wire marine life around us was a fragile one, surviving only due to the indifferent neglect of being barricaded away between floors, opened just occasionally over the decades to fix a pipe or run a new cable wire. Only a chance choice of renovation had preserved this magical space.

From 1904 to about 1940, the roadhouse known as the Breakers, the Crest, and, finally, Mendel's entertained guests who ate, drank, and danced underneath a fantastic fabric of garish, glimmering sea life. In the carriage house next door to the south, customers stabled their horses and parked their bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles. The upper floors provided rooms for card games, beds to sleep one off, and according to some tales passed down, cribs for working girls to entertain.

More research remains, but World War II seems to have put an end to 1536 La Playa's roadhouse days. Some people have told me that the military took over the building for office space during the war, and likely did most of the work carving out what would become apartments. The family that currently owns the building bought it in the early 1960s, along with the two structures to the south and at least another apartment house facing 48th Avenue. The stucco facade was applied in the early 1970s as part of a shallow front extension.

Generations of surfers, artists, and others drawn to the ocean's side have passed through the big building, unaware that while they looked out their windows to watch the waves roll in, beneath their floorboards a beautiful, if wholly imaginary, frozen sea lived on.

Our great thanks to the building owners and Clayton White for allowing us to document the reliefs. Thanks also to Cassandra Clark, Wanda Mazur, and Frances Larkin.

Contribute your own stories about western neighborhoods places!
Parkside School

Location: 25th Avenue and Vicente Street

Opened: 1923

Architect: John Reid, Jr.



Closed: 1975

Demolished: 2004

Rebuilt as the Dianne Feinstein Elementary School

After outgrowing its first school building, the Parkside District welcomed a large beautiful second Parkside School in 1922. Designed by city architect John Reid, Jr., the new building mixed Spanish Colonial and English Tudor styles. The spacious auditorium not only hosted decades of student assemblies and performances, but acted as a venue for flower shows, community group meetings, and town hall gatherings.

The red clay tiles of the roof and external woodwork were removed in 1970, victim of the Field Act to retrofit school buildings against earthquakes. The school stopped as a site of student instruction in 1975 in anticipation of reconstructive work funded by a voter-approved measure. This reconstruction was delayed and the building became a site for school district administrative offices over the next two decades.

Some neighbors lobbied for a new Parkside School building in the late 1990s and state money was secured to demolish the old structure and rebuild. School district mismanagement of the funds delayed the work and along the way other Parkside residents and alumni protested the demolition of what they considered a historic building. Further complicating the issue, district-wide enrollment declined and the forced closures of other elementary schools in 2006 made many question the construction of a new school building.

In the end, the old Parkside School was torn down in 2004, replaced by the Dianne Feinstein Elementary School. Some residents petitioned and won the addition of "at the Parkside Campus" to the school name in honor of Parkside schools of the past.
Pakistan called for adoption of global compact on refugees in UN

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has called for the adoption of a global compact at the upcoming U.N. summit on refugees and migrants, which would address as a matter of utmost priority, the pressing issue of recurring tragedies resulting from the previous shipwrecks in the Mediterranean as those desperately seeking asylum try to reach Europe.



The shockingly high number of fatalities in transit has been the most chilling aspect of the current refugee crisis, Pakistans Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said on Thursday in the course of negotiations on the outcome document of the summit on Large movements of Refugees and Migrants.



The top-level meeting will take place at UN Headquarters, in New York, on 19 September prior to the general debate of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly. In her remarks, Ambassador Lodhi also urged the international community not to ignore the worlds protracted refugee situations, while underscoring the need to find lasting solutions. Pakistan, she said, has been a host to nearly three million refugees for nearly four decades now. She regretted that the international community, however, had failed to find a lasting political solution to this problem while support for their assistance and repatriation had also dried up with the passage of time. This has not only increased economic burden on my country but also created complex social and political problems, the Pakistani envoy added.



Ambassador Lodhi expressed the hope that the Summits outcome document would focus on the protracted refugee situations while calling for an enhanced assistance for host governments and communities and greater international support for early and a sustainable repatriation of refugees in protracted situations.



Voicing concern at the rise in xenophobia, Ambassador Lodhi urged the world body to make an unequivocal pronouncement against all forms of xenophobia, particularly that directed against people desperately seeking protection and asylum.



The Summit, she said, must make it clear that any public rhetoric against refugees is against the principles, which were laid down in both 1951 Refugee Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Summit should clearly reaffirm the principle of equal treatment of refugees and migrants and reject discrimination on any basis or consideration, Ambassador Lodhi said.



Pakistan, she said, believes that the outcome document should be focused, crisp and comprehensive. It should address all the problems faced by refugees, both in acute and in protracted situations, while responding urgently and effectively to the pressing challenges at hand, she added.



In recognition of the current crisis, which is beyond the capacity of any one country, Pakistan supported the principle of regional and global burden sharing. However, Ambassador Lodhi said that it has to be borne in mind with regard to a global burden sharing, which has to be in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, and must also take into account other relevant factors such as geographical proximity.



Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, called in the recent report for the adoption of a global agreement on responsibility-sharing that collectively ensures the human rights, safety and dignity of all refugees and migrants. Away from the daily headlines and stark images, strains are quietly accumulating on refugees and migrants, as well as on countries and communities that receive them, sometimes for many years, he stressed in his report to the UN General Assembly, entitled In Safety and Dignity: addressing large movements of refugees and migrants. If one lesson can be drawn from the past few years, it is that individual countries cannot solve these issues on their own. International cooperation and action to address large movements of refugees and migrants must be strengthened, he added.
The massive infrastructural development, stability in the economy and thousands of jobs created throughout the country under the current administration shows that Ghana is moving forward in the right direction, President John Dramani Mahama has said.



Prez Mahama, speaking at the 24th anniversary of the formation of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the partys headquarters on Friday June 10, noted that every Ghanaian, whether old or young, deserves a decent life, hence, his quest to ensure that there is equitable distribution of the national cake to benefit everyone.



This is our belief: social democracy and that is why, notwithstanding the challenges of a lower-middle income economy in an area of global economic volatility, we have still striven to ensure massive infrastructural development, stabilised the economy, created many jobs and are still creating more through significant flagship programmes such as the Komenda Sugar factory, the business processing outsourcing centre near the Nkrumah Circle Interchange, among many others.



We have also endeavoured to connect to the people through transparent and accountable governance, and above all, we remain committed to our first pillar of putting the people first.



President Mahama said his governments achievements have received recognition beyond the shores of Ghana. All around us, we have witnessed the significant works we have done in education and health care and the other social sectors. This is recognised not only nationally, but globally and internationally. We are moving forward in the right direction and we are changing the lives of our people and we are transforming our country Ghana.



He used the occasion to thank all members of the NDC, whether alive or deceased, who contributed to the strengthening of the party since its formation.



To our founding members, who have been honoured here today, I say ayekoo. We are eternally grateful to you for initiating the process that has elevated the NDC to emerge as the party that on a standardised basis has constituted the most to the development of our dear nation Ghana. Some are old and weak, others have passed on to eternity, others are here today and have been honoured, but to all of you, posthumously or in life, we salute you and we are eternally grateful to you, he said.



He added: To my predecessors, President Jerry John Rawlings and President John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memor, I also say ayekoo, we salute you.

Source: classfmonline.com









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Audio Attachment: Listen to Ex-Prez Jerry John Rawlings

Today marks the 24th Anniversary of the formation of the National Democratic Congress.



The event attracted top functionaries of the party.



Founder of the NDC, former President, Flt Lt. Jerry John Rawlings took part in todays celebration and seized the opportunity to address the gathering on events that led to the formation of the party.



He also reminded executives of the party to stick to the core ideals of truth, justice, equality, transparency and accountability and not to gravitate from the ideals that necessitated its establishment.



Former President Rawlings shamed government appointees who are riding on political authority to push the boundaries of political decency instead of doing what is right.



According to him, the NDC was borne out of the toil and sweat of the ordinary people of Ghana, who spontaneously rose up on June 4, 1979 to put an end to the arrogance of power, massive corruption and the denigration of the people of Ghana for well over a decade.



Below is his full statement





REMARKS BY H.E JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS AT THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS FOUNDERS DAY EVENT NDC NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, FRIDAY JUNE 10, 2016



Mr. President,



Founding Members of the NDC,



Members of the Council of Elders,



The Chairman, General Secretary and National Executive Committee members,



Members of the NDC present,



Distinguished Guests,



Ladies and Gentlemen:







Today marks 24 years since the National Democratic Congress was registered as a political party.



The NDC was borne out of the toil and sweat of the ordinary people of Ghana, who spontaneously rose up on June 4, 1979 to put an end to the arrogance of power, massive corruption and the denigration of the people of Ghana for well over a decade.



I need not bore you with the history of the AFRC and the PNDC even though there are some here who actually need a few years of education on why some laid down their lives to bring them where they are today.



Meeting you all here today gives me mixed feelings. It is uplifting that the party is using today to recognize many of those who joined forces to establish the NDC.



We have lost many of such personalities along the journey and some are too weak to join us here today. It is nevertheless commendable that the party has thought it appropriate to honour these heroes and heroines for the role they played in setting up this formidable political force.



The party has seen significant changes and many of those who started the journey are no longer around. Their absence however does not mean we should gravitate from the ideals that necessitated its establishment  the core ideals of truth, justice, equality, transparency and accountability.



The NDC has returned to power since 2009 and undoubtedly faced some major challenges including the scourge of dumsor, a global economic downturn created by falling oil prices and an unfair world economic order.



We have to concede however that in spite of governments conscious efforts to ensure that we surmount these challenges some within the party and government have swayed from the core ideals of integrity and transparency and decided political authority offers them the opportunity to push the boundaries of political decency.



We need to offer ourselves multiple opportunities for intra-party soul-searching, where we can candidly look ourselves in the face and question our contribution to the success or otherwise of this political force.



It is commendable that the party has opened up the Electoral College for the selection of executives as well as parliamentary and presidential candidates.



As a party dedicated to grassroots participation, it is praiseworthy that registered members are now issued with biometric identity cards.



I call on leadership at all levels of the party to ensure that the list of registered members is widened to embrace millions of our supporters who are yet to appreciate what it means to register officially for the party.



Election of party leaders must be truly representative of the full strength of the party and membership registration should be made as simple and accessible as possible.



I implore party leaders at all levels to also endeavor to consult members on all decision-making processes to ensure true participatory democracy, the bedrock of the NDC.



2016 is an election year and the media is awash with political rhetoric.



Naturally the incumbent government must be feeling the heat of the criticism, being the party facing critical assessment from the electorate including me, and an opposition feeling justified and hungry to unseat the NDC.



Tempers may rise and angry words exchanged, but the NDC must not allow its desire to stay in power compel its leaders at various levels to descend into the gutters and contribute to an atmosphere of insecurity.



We have to accept criticism in good faith and recognize the fact that criticism is the best form of praise. It offers you an opportunity to assess your weakness and better appreciate how others perceive you.



Today it is not uncommon for there to be multiple and contradictory responses from government officials to allegations against the government or party. That is unpardonable.



Mr. President, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, the NDC will have to lead all in ensuring that this years election is conducted in an atmosphere of transparency.



Ensuring free and fair elections devoid of unfortunate incidents will be a huge credit to the NDC and we have a responsibility to direct all our operatives to comport themselves during the most trying moments of the campaign and election period.



We cannot win the trust of the people by putting up aggressive and abrasive behaviour. It will sour the electoral result and poison an already challenged political environment.



Thank you.

Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/ email: [email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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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.
Although it has become more popular in recent days, delta-8-THC isnt particularly new. It has been around for quite a
According to her, the various players in their training who include government, their families, care-givers, as well as their teachers, who cares about them have played their roles as expected of them and they now look forward to very good outcomes of the examinations.

Prof Opoku Agyeman, who delivered the goodwill message at a ceremony in Accra on Friday, encouraged all candidates to remain confident, firm, and conduct themselves in ways that is dignified and commendable as they go through the exams, which commences from Monday June 13 to Friday June 17.

The rules and regulations governing the examinations have all been explained to you; just follow them and entertain no plans of deviating from them, and there is nothing more important than success that comes through your own efforts, she said.

The Minister said she is confident in the ability of candidates to succeed, with the conviction that they have all applied themselves diligently to their studies and used their time prudently, and as a result prepared adequately for the examinations.

She urged the candidates to cooperate with their supervisors and invigilators to ensure that the needed serene atmosphere is created and maintained throughout the period of the examinations.
This is because adolescent girls and young women, aged 15 to 24 in Africa, are especially vulnerable to the epidemic that sadly continues to record new cases among adolescents.

Speaking at the Side Event of the UN High Level meeting on HIV and AIDS in New York, Mrs Mahama said every hour in Africa 26 adolescents, aged 10 to 19 years, were infected with HIV leading to an estimated 250,000 new HIV infections in Africa alone.

In high burden countries of sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls contribute a significant 30 per cent of all new HIV infections, Mrs Mahama said.

The Side Event, which was attended by all African first ladies forming the Organisation of African First Ladies Association (OAFLA) and other development partners including UNAIDS, UNFPA, Gates Foundation, and adolescent representatives, was on the theme: Breaking the Silos: Empowered Adolescent Girls at the Centre of the Response.

Mrs Mahama said in spite of the challenges great progress had been made in achieving our objective of universal services for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

As the President of OAFLA, Mrs Mahama welcomed the delegates to the meeting explaining that OAFLA advocates for effective strategies towards the elimination of HIV and AIDS, the reduction of maternal and child mortality, and the empowerment of women and children.

She said in all its activities, adolescent girls were at the heart of OAFLAs mission, because a more alarming statistic showed that adolescent girls and young women had up to eight times more infection and were likely to become HIV positive about five years earlier than their male peers.

Very sadly only 15 percent of young women and adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa know their HIV status, she said.

Overall, AIDS-related illnesses are the leading cause of deaths among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa and the second leading cause of death globally.

Clearly, Africas adolescents are seriously affected by this epidemic; and our adolescent girls and young women are very vulnerable to HIV infection and AIDS related deaths.

Although this vulnerability is not fully understood it is driven by lack of empowerment and compounded by other structural, social and biological factors including harmful gender norms such as early and forced marriage with its effects and engagement in age-disparate sex and oftentimes forced transactional sexual relationships, she said.

Other factors are gender based violence, increased genital inflammation, inability to negotiate monogamous relationships, condom use, and/or male circumcision, inability to take decisions on matters of their own health and well-being as well as inadequate access to comprehensive sexual education and reproductive health services.

There is also the experience of food insecurity and poverty; and we have a vicious cycle driven by dependence.

It is against this background that OAFLA has placed importance on adolescents, in its current strategic plan, 2014 to 2018, Mrs Mahama said.

That strategic plan would help in advocacy for the adoption of policies that promote services for adolescents to raise awareness and mobilise resources in support of programmes on adolescent reproductive health needs.

Mrs Mahama, therefore, urged her fellow first ladies to make conscious efforts and commitment to address adolescent needs, especially for girls, saying the SDGs have provided a clear framework for adolescent girls across sectors like education, health, gender equality, reducing inequalities, and partnership.
Prof. Botchwey was briefing senior media practitioners in Accra on the progress made by the NDPC with regards to the Long-Term National Development Plan for Ghana, which spans 2018 to 2057.

He said the Commission was preparing an indicative plan which would mean that Government would not only lead in setting broad or indicative goals, targets and indicators for national development, but also ensure that the implementation would be the responsibility of the state, the private sector and civil society.

This means that it would not also be a centralised plan where the state would be responsible for everything, which include needed investments, but would be flexible over time and the responsibility would be everybodys.

According to Prof. Botchway, although the plan would not tie the hands of political parties, it would make their work easier by creating a level playing field for all parties, whether in power or not, in the preparation of their manifestoes.

The plan, he said, would also provide the continuity needed for long-term national development and the flexibility of governmental change through elections, as well as force political party manifestoes to take a long-term view of national development that were beyond the electoral cycle, without losing their relevance.

Prof. Botchwey said the innovative approach of blending continuity and change in an evolving democratic environment had been applauded by the African Union (AU) and political observers both at home and abroad.

He said the Plan would be binding on all successive governments as the Constitution Review Commission had requested that it should be approved by Parliament and incorporated into the 1992 Constitution.

In addition to the goals and targets of the Plan, Prof. Botchwey said it would also be in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the AUs 50-year Development Framework Agenda which ends in 2063.

He said the Long-Term Development Plan was divided into 10 medium-term plans of four years duration starting from 2018 to 2057 when Ghana would celebrate her 100th independence anniversary.

Prof. Botchwey said the process would give every generation and government the opportunity to contribute to the transformation of the country in stages, as the 10-year-medium-term plans would also overlap 10 elections during the period.

This will allow each political party one year to prepare its manifesto in line with the vision and goals of the Long-Term Plan.

Dr Nii Moi Thompson, the Director-General of NDPC, who made a presentation on the Plan, said there had been a successful stakeholder engagement with institutions including academia, the private sector, youth and civil society organisations across the country to solicit their inputs.

He appealed for a massive public support, without which the achievement of the various policies and programmes outlined in the plan would be a mirage.
Celebrating Funkes renowned Nollywood character, Jenifa, the event saw hundreds of Funkes fans descend for a screening of episodes 1 and 2 of Season 4 of Jenifas Diary, as well as a Q&A on stage with Funke and DJ Abass.

As a special treat for her fans, Funke also showcased a word exclusive, much anticipated sneak peek of Jenifas Diary Season 5.

Funke looked radiant in a stunning orange gown on the red carpet, as she spent much of her time meeting and taking selfies with fans, and they loved every minute!

Also in attendance on the red carpet were DJ Abass, Ayo Shonaiya, Oyinbo Princess, Diana Yekinni, Falz theBahdGuy, Wisetola, Designer maze couture.

The night, hosted by iROKO World, and Lebara Play, was a huge celebration of all things Nollywood.

See stunning photos from the event in Pulse gallery above.
ALSO READ: Actress goes candid about not having a child yet

The 42-year-old Hollywood actress who is married to Dwyane Wade, took to Twitter to shut down pregnancy rumours which emerged after some photos of herself and her hubby at an event, hit social media.

The photos show her looking pretty pregnant but Union has attributed her look during the period to bloating as a result of her period.

MediaTakeOut reported that sources have revealed to them that Union is two and a half months gone.

Replying a tweet by Love & Hip Hop congratulating the pair on their upcoming baby, Union had a field day shutting down those reports.

Union took it a step further when she stepped out with Wade for the Ocean Drive Magazine party at the Nautilus 60 hotel in Miami Beach, flaunting her very flat tummy.

She rocked a cream bralet showing off her midriff, paired with a pair of calico pants with strips of cream along its slits on both sides as well as a silver clutch and heels.

See photos above.
Following Heard's domestic violence accusations against her estranged husband, the court granted her a restraining order against Depp, since she claimed concern for her well being.

Considering the fact that Heard took a restraining order against Depp first, one has to wonder why she would reject the spousal support she has been requesting for over a mutual restraining order which just works in her favour.

Although the pair's lawyers have been working on a settlement, Heard is reported to have refused to respond to Depp's offer of $50,000 for eight months since he also wants a restraining order which she has refused on the grounds that she is not the violent person in the equation.

Sources have revealed to TMZ that Heard is more concerned about staying safe, as she now sees herself as an advocate for other victims of domestic violence.

As earlier reported, under the California law, Heard is entitled to half of Depp's fortune which he made during the period of their marriage due to a lack of a prenuptial agreement.
The protest, which was organised on Thursday, June 9, 2016, was a peaceful demonstration calling on the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, to supply houses with the prepaid meter.

According to Punch, the protesters also took their protest to Sango, threatening to stop paying electrical bills if their request is not attended to.

They carried banners with the inscriptions No free prepaid meters, no payment, No more estimated bills and Yes to free prepaid meters for all.

Mr. Dayo Komolafe, the leader of the Electricity Consumer Protection Forum, in Ogun state accused the IBEDC of failing to fulfil the promise made to them to supply prepaid meters to all homes.

Komolafe said, On November 1, 2013, the distribution companies (Discos), including IBEDC, signed a privatisation MoU with the Federal Government, stipulating that within 18 months gestation period, every house would be metered.

We are now 13 months after the schedule. Till date, no prepaid meter has been given free to a single house in Ogun State.

A house is given a bill of N17,000 to N23,000 in a month for a consumption that is less than 40 units. We can no longer take this.

Meanwhile, those who are fortunate to buy the prepaid meter, which is supposed to be free, bought a card of N3,000 and in five months they have not exhausted it.

If there is no prepaid meter, we are not going to pay anymore.

Mr. Paul Peter, the Business Manager, IBEDC, in Joju, said the request of the protesters have been noted.
ALSO READ: Man sues police officers who strangled him for mug shot

The judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, passing the judgement on Thursday, June 9, 2016, reportedly gave the suspect, Mr John Okeke, the option of fine in the sum of N8000, and ordered that he be flogged six strokes of the cane.

Alhaji Kagarko also advised Mr Okeke to avoid criminal activities following the punishment for his crime.

Mr Okeke was reportedly arraigned on a three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass and theft.

According to Vanguard, the Prosecutor, Kufreabasi Ebong, disclosed to the court that one Friday Ahmed of Wumba Village, Abuja, was responsible for reporting the case at the Apo Police Station on May 27, 2016.

Ahmed is reported to have claimed that Mr Okeke conspired with one Onye, who is still at large, and criminally trespassed into his room and stole one Nokia telephone and one Itel telephone valued at N10, 000 and N7, 000, respectively.

Mr Ebong also revealed that the telephones have been recovered from Okeke during the police investigations, adding that Mr Okeke's offence contravened Sections 97, 348 and 288 of the Penal Code.

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A statement issued by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, on Saturday, June 11, said the approval was confirmed at the meeting of the council on Thursday.

Although Usman did not disclose the number of officers affected, he said their retirement was based on service exigencies.

"The Army wishes to inform the general public that quite a number of senior officers of the Nigerian Army were retired from service yesterday.

"Those retired were mainly some major-generals, brigadiers-general, colonels, lieutenant-colonels and a major.

"Their retirement was based on service exigencies, the statement said.

It recalled that not too long ago some officers were investigated for partisanship during the 2015 general elections.

He said some officers had already been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Sani stated this while expressing concern of the over drop in power supply, adding that the President should appoint an electrical engineer who is knowledgeable in the industry to man the affairs of the power sector.

We are in a state of paralysis, and there is urgent need to appoint a reputable electrical engineer to manage the affairs of power, independent of other responsibilities, he said.

The Senator said power stakeholders have no excuse to justice the hardships Nigerians are passing through, noting that private investors have sector have failed Nigeria.

Distribution Companies (DISCOs) were now distributing darkness despite increment in electricity tariff; private power investors have failed the nation by moving manageable power epilepsy to a complete paralysis, Sani said.

The Kaduna senator called for a review of the defunct Power Holdings Company of Nigeria assets, noting that privatisation of power regime has brought untold hardship to Nigerians.
The Governor had made several appeals to the workers, begging them to call off the strike but the union did not yield, insisting on payment of their arrears before they can get back to work.

I want to thank you for your patience, endurance so far in the face of this strike and our financial challenges, Fayose said during a statewide broadcast, according to his spokesman, Lere Olayinka.

He continued: It is rather unfortunate that we are in this kind of situation, I want you to remember that I have always made you proud, I have always paid wages, salaries on the 22nd /23rd of every month. I have always done that which you can always remember, the effort put in place by my administration during the first tenure.

I love you, its not my joy; its not my pleasure that you should continue on strike. It is not going to be in my interest for you to ask me for fish and I will give you stone, what I dont have, I cant give. I plead with you to see reasons and come back.

Some people said Fayose claims he is on strike, yes, I said so jocularly and you know it because you made me a comrade and it is in the character of comrades to strike and jokingly I said to you to identify with you that I am equally on strike.

Dont make a political statement out if it, what is important is the issue, the problem and we must deal with it, it is a different ball game if I have the money and I am not giving you. I plead with you to come back, I am still the same man you know. I will never sit on this seat and make you suffer.

Fayose, who described the strike as a political accused, his predecessor, Kayode Fayemi, of destroying the economy of the state.

The APC should close their face in shame, how can you rule for four years and you destroy a state, you destroy the whole economy of that state for 20 years? he said.

I am not one governor that will come and lie to you, as it is the state is in financial mess. It is not easy for this government financially and I have always said this, I did not hide it from you. I went round the local government with the labour leaders in July and we all agreed that we should use two allocations to pay one salary. If you are using two months to pay one starting from September/October, we used September/October to pay September, we used November/December to pay October, we used January/February to pay November, we used March/April to pay December.

The issue now is that as we were going on that journey, when we got to February the allocation dipped further, it was now ending in using three months allocation to pay one month salary, that made it impossible for us to pay certain levels of deductions in December. The question to ask the labour leaders is why did you wait till now to talk about these issues if you were not part of it.

We need certain level of integrity to show that we are leaders of the people than to back out when we actually know we are part of it. What are the issues? What are the problems in Ekiti? They are two. The first problem is the dwindling economy, the money coming from Abuja is no longer coming, Ekiti earns about the least in Nigeria and secondly the debt profile of Ekiti as a result of mal-administration by the last administration where almost N1.2 billion is deducted from source.

Parents are generally emotional, passionate about their children particularly their female wards but sometimes you are helpless as a father. Your daughter will be at home, she cannot go to school but you are helpless and I still want you to continue praying for Nigeria because in the next three months it may get tougher.

Its not about the governor, its about all of us, it is a selective solution we must look for. I am prepared to serve you, I am prepared to give my best, let us not be beclouded by our pains not to see the actual facts surrounding this state. Dont let anybody come in in the name of APC to deceive you. They have plunged this state into trouble, why should they take money beyond their administration?

The internally generated revenue of Ekiti is collected from various areas by 13 banks and on the 1st and 2nd of every new month, they sweep it into one bank and this is done electronically. The governor cannot say help me remove this, help me remove that. No responsible governor or government will say bank, help me manipulate, because of how much? The size of the state determines your IGR, can you take water out of a dry toilet roll?

Can you push the people beyond what they can do? I dont want to be here fooling Ekiti people, telling them the IGR is 600 million/700 million for reasons of arrogance and pride. No! These things are done electronically, there is freedom of information, you can Google it.
This was disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, June 11 by the Ministry of Finance.

According to the statement, the conditional Budget Support Facility is to help the qualified states overcome their financial challenges.

The Ministry said the states would only be able to access the facility if they meet a stringent 22-point reform agenda called the Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP), that was approved by state governments and the National Executive Council, in May 2016.

The FSP, the Ministry said, encompasses a framework of reform measures including the requirement for the states to publish audited financial statements and budgets, biometric and Bank Verification Number (BVN) payroll review exercises to sanitise payroll costs, as well as limits on recurrent expenditure levels.
The militants commander for general duties, General Akotebe Darikoro said We shall continue to engage in dialogue if our demands are met. Our representatives for the dialogue, especially the governors and others will not betray our demands with the federal government. Any betrayal on their own part shall be viewed as betrayal of the entire region and we shall go after them immediately as they know our mode of operation in which they will not escape from us.
Soldiers had stormed the community to arrest members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and Tompolo following the incessant attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region.

The NDA had claimed responsibilities for the bombing of oil facilities in the region and Tompolo had been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of corruption.

It is also believed that the ex-militant leader has connection with the Avengers group, even though he had disowned the group in previous statements.

According to the militant group, Tompolo has fled to Libya, but the former commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) refused to confirm or deny the allegation, he only advised the militant group to accept the amnesty offer of the Federal Government.

I wish to once again write the members of the Niger Delta Avengers to embrace the federal government dialogue option as a way out of the brewing crisis in the Niger Delta region. As I have said before now, I do not know you and how to reach you except through the mass media, therefore it is high time you stopped the bombing and destruction of crude oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, Tompolo said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Paul Bebenibo.

One thing you guys may not be aware of is that, you have not only succeeded in militarising the Niger Delta region now, but also succeeded in given birth to so many negotiators and political jobbers within the government circle, who are very serious rumour peddlers in the country now.

As for the people of Gbaramatu kingdom, they have not known peace since you guys started the bombing of oil facilities as they have been harassed, intimidated, violated and invaded on daily basis by the Nigerian Military under the guise of looking for members of your group (Niger Delta Avengers) and my humble self, who they have criminally and wickedly linked to the Niger Delta Avengers.

Presently all communities in Gbaramatu kingdom have been disserted by residents for fear of a repeat of the 2009 military invasion, which still leave the communities in shambles. Even till now, the military has not returned the symbol of authority they took away from the Egbesu Shrine and other valuables in Oporoza community during the May 28, 2016 invasion.

Tompolo stressed that neither him nor his close associates, who have also been wrongly linked to the Avengers, have connection to the group.

Another dangerous dimension my traducers have introduced into this issue is the allegation that some of my closest men are coordinators of the Niger Delta Avengers. And this is currently trending in the social media that Benji Ekeremor, Super and Owomor aka VIP are the coordinators of the Avengers.

The truth of the matter is that I can no longer endure these blackmails from my traducers, as I have seen that they are not resting in their oars, as they have vowed to implicate me by all means necessary. God forbid! To set the records straight, these are responsible men who had had skilled training under the Presidential Amnesty programme that are currently using their acquired skills to eke out a living.he said.
According to a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, the governor would swear-in the new appointees on Monday at the Banquet Hall of Lagos House, Ikeja.

The statement added that the sole administrators, after being sworn-in, would take charge of their various councils pending the conduct of local poll later this year.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ambode on Thursday approved the immediate dissolution of caretaker committees following the resolution of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

The dissolution relieved the Executive Secretaries of the 57 Local Governments Councils and Local Council Development Areas in the state of their responsibilities.
The group made the call on Saturday, June 11, in a statement to mark the 23rd anniversary of June 12.

In the statement, the ARG chairman, Olawale Oshun, said the President, as the beneficiary of a ballot revolution that mostly mirrored that of 1993, owed Nigerians the duty of declassifying the result, particularly now that 23 years had elapsed and the Official Secret Act could no longer be binding on the document.

The group said releasing the result would reverse the stigma occasioned by the foolish act of canceling that election, adjudged to be the most peaceful in the history of Nigeria.

It said releasing the result would also open up the hypocrisy of military rule and help project democracy as a better form of governance.

June 12 is no longer a struggle but now an obligation, the statement said.

The people have played their own part. It is now the obligation of the beneficiaries of that struggle to set the country on a truly democratic path by deliberately replacing every stamp of military rule on Nigerias nationhood, including the imposed governance structure and constitution, through democratic rights and tenets. There is no alternative way to deepen democracy in Nigeria.

Let nobody be deceived. Until the federal government takes conscious steps to restructure Nigeria, the country will continue to wobble from one crisis of nationhood.

ARG therefore called on President Buhari, as a former military ruler and now a self-confessed democrat, to see himself as best poised to help Nigeria make this transition. This can be his best legacy and the starting point, we dare say, is to release the June 12 presidential election result and its winner appropriately recognised and honoured, Afenifere said.
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Further highlighting that adequate meals for both Sahuur and Futuur cannot be guaranteed for the Muslim graduates who wishes to partake in the 2016 Ramadan fast.

Read the statement below;

It is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional for NYSC to hold camp at a time when its Muslim members will be deprived of their freedom of worship and the liberty to practice their creed without fear. This planned camp is exclusive, discriminatory and parochial. We do not want to believe that the shift was deliberately planned to coincide with the Ramadan season with a view to excluding prospective Muslim corpers. MURIC is not trying to indulge Muslim youths. Fasting is no joke and it certainly cannot be combined with the physical challenges which characterize the NYSC camp.

Firstly, morning drills in NYSC camps are known to be rigorous and the soldiers in charge will not take excuses. Dehydration sets in later in the day particularly in the hotter regions of Nigeria.

Secondly, adequate sahuur (early morning meal taken approximately between 4 am and 5.15 am) cannot be guaranteed in the NYSC camp. Neither can the futuur (meal taken at sunset to break fast ) be timely as camp schedules are bound to ignore and subsume this very important period.

Thirdly, attending orientation camp and partaking in the energy-sapping activities on empty stomach is an indubitable invitation to health crisis. NYSC may therefore be inviting Muslim corpers to step on landmines in the planned orientation camp if it holds as presently scheduled.
Known as the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the deal was signed off by EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom and trade ministers from Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa.

The EPA does gives the African nations access to the EU's single market of 500 million consumers.

"Under the EPA, it will also become easier for companies and consumers to source European products that are needed here," Malmstrom said.

The EPA takes account of the different levels of development of each partner. It guarantees Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Swaziland duty-free, quota-free access to the European market.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf last month ordered an inquiry into London AIM-listed Sable's unsuccessful attempt to acquire an iron ore concession in northern Liberia after the watchdog group Global Witness made accusations of wrong-doing.

"Andrew Groves was surprised to learn from media reports that a grand jury in Liberia appears to have indicted him on unspecified charges," Groves's public relations firm said, adding he had not been given a chance to respond to the charges.

Four people, including Parliament speaker Alex Tyler, chairman of Sirleaf's Unity Party Varney Sherman and deputy minister of Lands, Mines and Energy Ernest C.B. Jones, were indicted last month in that case along with Sable Mining.

"Mr Groves believes that these allegations are politically motivated ahead of the imminent presidential elections, and are specifically designed to undermine the candidacy of Varney Sherman ... and Alex Tyler," Grove's statement read.

Liberia will hold a presidential election next year to replace President Sirleaf, who cannot run again due to a constitutional term limit.

Sherman has acknowledged that his law firm was employed by Sable Mining.
State television showed debris, mangled cars and wrecked shops in a main commercial thoroughfare near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, in an area where at least three bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State have killed and wounded scores of people this year.

The ultra-hardline Sunni militants of IS, whose many foes are advancing on a number of fronts in both Syria and Iraq, are avowed enemies of Shi'ites, whom they consider a heretical group within Islam.

State media said at least eight people were killed. But the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll had risen to at least 20, including at least 13 civilians, with the other victims coming from pro-government militias. It said the number was expected to rise because many of the scores of wounded people were in critical condition.

Islamic State, also known as Daesh, said two of its suicide bombers had blown themselves up and operatives had detonated an explosives-laden car, according to the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Washington condemned the attack in the strongest terms.

"This terrorist act demonstrates once again the inhumanity and brutality of all that Daesh does and all it stands for," he said.
Despite the legalization of medical marijuana, Illinois has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to getting behind the wheel while impaired.

That may soon change, however.

Senate Bill 2228, now in front of Gov. Bruce Rauner, will set a standard for what legislators say is too high to drive, similar to the blood alcohol content limit already in place.

Rauner has 60 days to sign the bill, which he said he would probably feel comfortable doing.

The Senate passed the bill in April, and the House passed it in mid-May.

Rock Island County States Attorney John McGehee said last week that the law, if signed, will put the law enforcement and the legal system in unchartered waters.

Right now, you can have small amounts of alcohol and drive, he said. Small amounts of marijuana may not cause impairment, but we dont know where that line is at where you become an impaired driver. I believe at this point, were going to need to figure it out.

That could take years, he said, as cases make their way through the local court system and appellate courts.

Illinois State Police Trooper Jason Wilson said that under the current law, anyone who has any amount of marijuana in their system while operating a motor vehicle is considered impaired.

I think there might be a misconception that if there is a medical marijuana card, youre exempt from following the law, he said. There is still a great deal of restrictions that youre going to have to pay attention to after you receive a medical marijuana card.

The Illinois Department of Public Health, which grants medical marijuana cards to eligible patients and their caregivers, is working with the Secretary of State to develop a brochure to address motor vehicle laws related to medical cannabis and other substances that may impair driving, spokeswoman Melanie Arnold said. The department also is working on a brochure about medical cannabis-infused products, she said.

If signed, the law will set the limit at 5 nanograms of THC in the blood and 10 nanograms in other bodily fluids, such as saliva.

McGehee said the amount of THC in marijuana that causes impairment leaves the system usually within a couple hours. Traces of THC can stay in the body longer, he said.

One concern is that THC levels can vary in different products, he said. Candies and waxes, for example, have a much higher concentration of THC and could lead to impairment quickly.

In early May, the Illinois Department of Transportation was awarded a special grant to hold 10 Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, or ARIDE, classes across the state.

The program trains law enforcement officers to detect impairment caused by more than alcohol and helps officers identify drug-impaired drivers that otherwise could have been pulled over but not arrested because warning signs were missed.

Wilson said a big motivation for holding the training was the advent of medical marijuana, the legalization of marijuana in several states and the increase in prescription drug abuse across the country.

Like alcohol, marijuana can cause delayed reactions, lethargy and slurred speech, Wilson said.

During a traffic stop, an officer with a reasonable suspicion that someone is under the influence alcohol or drugs will conduct three field sobriety tests: the horizontal gaze nystagmus, the walk-and-turn and the one-leg stand.

If the motorist fails the test, the officer then can seek a blood or urine sample, Wilson said.

We want to make sure someone is safe to drive away from there, Wilson said

When asked whether he expects crashes to increase, Wilson said, We hope not.

Well continue just to react to what we can, he said. I would like to say no, but its kind of like anything else  the more availability there is, the greater chance of abuse.

If Rauner signs the bill, possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana would become a civil violation with a fine of up to $200. The violation would then be expunged after six months.

McGehee said that could open the door for the total legalization of marijuana, which is concerning to him.

Anytime you have recreational use being allowed, I think it does extend out and then starts to encompass other drugs, he said. I think theres a natural tendency and I think the research shows that there is a greater use of other drugs when you legalize marijuana.
Quad-City businessman Matt Stern saw Illinois medical marijuana program as a lucrative investment opportunity, but not much else.

Im not ashamed to say it, said Stern, who owns Natures Treatment of Illinois, one of 39 licensed dispensaries. I knew very little about medical cannabis when I got into this, but Im a firm believer in this now. It's helping people.

The cannabis retail shop opened in February to sluggish sales. But Stern said his business is gaining momentum and only has room to grow under new legislation that expands the states medical marijuana pilot program.

Gov. Bruce Rauner is expected to sign off on the extension of the program to July 2020. In addition to giving medical pot another two-and-a-half years, it adds two qualifying medical conditions and takes away responsibilities doctors have in the patient-registration process.

Change of plans

Former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's four-year pilot program for medical marijuana was to expire by the end of 2017, but supporters argued more time is needed to prove its potential for success.

Medical cannabis sales started in November 2015, and Stern's business, for example, has been open for just four months. Located next to his Budweiser distribution facility at 973 Tech Drive, Milan, Nature's Treatment became the 25th dispensary licensed by the state.

The Legislature last month approved the addition of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and terminal illnesses with a diagnosis of six months or less to the list of 39 qualifying diseases and conditions.

Other potentially significant changes to the law include:

 Physicians no longer would have to "recommend" cannabis, but only certify their relationship with a patient and confirm a patient's qualifying condition.

 Patient and caregiver authorization cards will be valid for three years, instead of one, and upon renewal, no repeat fingerprinting will be required for criminal background checks, as it is for initial approval.

 Patients younger than 18 can have two designated caregivers (parents/guardians) instead of one.

 The Medical Cannabis Advisory Board, which is composed of patients, doctors and other health professionals, will be reconstituted with a new procedure for accepting petitions to add more conditions to the program.

Rauner, a Republican, previously rejected recommendations from Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board to add conditions, including PTSD. He also has opposed extensions to the program.

But Rauner agreed to the compromise deal late last month  just days after the U.S. Senate and House approved bills that permit doctors with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to discuss medical marijuana and recommend it to their patients.

During a visit this month to the Quad-Cities, Rauner declined to comment on his turnaround on the issue. His office did not return several messages left last week by the Quad-City Times.

Signs of success

Joseph Wright, director of the state's pilot program, said dispensaries sold almost $2.3 million worth of marijuana to more than 5,100 patients in May alone. Last month's figures bring the total retail sales to $10.8 million since purchasing began seven months ago.

Were starting to see a critical mass form, said Wright, whose office is in Chicago.

As of June 1, 7,000 patients, including 52 under the age of 18, have been approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health to buy marijuana. The state began accepting applications in late 2014.

According to the agency's most recent progress report, 43 Rock Island County patients had been approved and 32 got the OK in Henry, Mercer and Knox counties combined.

Last week, Stern said his dispensary has 110 registered patients. His is the only one in Illinois State Police District 7, which includes Rock Island, Henry, Mercer and Knox counties.

On Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued its 39th license to The Dispensary in Fulton, located about 45 miles northeast of the Quad-Cities in Whiteside County.

The states consistent increase in sales, "which are not as important to me," Wright stressed, also reflect the health of the industry.

Chicago entrepreneur Ben Kovler co-owns Green Thumb Industries, or GTI, which opened the state's first grow house in Rock Island County. He said industry leaders, including himself and Stern, are responsible for the success of the program.

Given the recent news, I think this will be a viable business in Illinois, Kovler said. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic, and at the end of this rainbow, there are patients finding dramatic relief from this product in a safe, legal and regulated fashion.

GTI, which also runs a cultivation center in Oglesby and a dispensary in Mundelein, has harvested hundreds of pounds of cannabis since last July. The Rock Island operation, the company's "flagship," employs 30 people. The 45,000-square-foot warehouse is located off Andalusia Road, about seven miles from Stern's storefront.

Q-C hospitals remain hesitant

Wright said the slow but steady growth in patient numbers resembles the progression of medical marijuana programs in other states.

Medically legal in 21 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, recreational pot also has been legalized in four states. Meanwhile, marijuana use remains illegal under federal law.

Doctors and patients unfamiliarity with Illinois' program also could explain its slow start, Wright said.

Neither UnityPoint Health-Trinity nor Genesis Health System has amended policies on medical pot since January.

In a written statement, UnityPoint said its physicians do not prescribe or provide prescription oversight for medical marijuana recipients unless the physician is board-certified in pain management. According to its response, "When federal and state laws are not congruent, it is considered best practice to utilize the more conservative ruling, which we do."

Genesis' response indicates it does not place any restrictions on its physicians when it comes to "appropriate use of prescriptions," noting the American Academy of Family Physicians does not support the use of marijuana.

Stern thinks the new law could reverse the reluctance he has seen from Quad-City health-care providers.

I think that probably opens up about quadruple the amount of doctors who are going to be comfortable with this, he said, adding he has received several inquiries from "serious" physicians in the area. "It's such a quality-of-life issue for some of these patients. I think it'd be pretty hard for doctors to look them in the eye and tell them, No, I'm not going to let you try this.
Col. Elmer Speights Jr., the first military commander of the Rock Island Arsenal Garrison, turned over the reins of the installation Friday to a northeast Iowan and 34-year Army veteran, Col. Kenneth J. Tauke.

Under a hot sun, Speights passed the command flag to Tauke, 51, who grew up near Worthington, Iowa, in the northeast part of the state.

"Sir, the island is Rock Island right," Speights said at the conclusion of his remarks, using a phrase for which he is known.

Dozens of soldiers, Arsenal workers and visiting dignitaries attended the ceremony, a centuries-old tradition that is repeated periodically on the installation, this time on the grounds of Quarters One, with the Mississippi River as a backdrop.

During his three-year tenure as commander, Speights, a Florida native, oversaw several changes on the installation, including a new security regime, conversion of the island's century-old coal-fired plant to natural gas boilers and a host of infrastructure investments. He also implemented a $20 million annual budget. The garrison, essentially, runs the island's operations and interacts with dozens of tenants.

More recently, Speights has handled questions about the future of the 110-year-old Rock Island Arsenal Museum. The Army is in the midst of a reorganization of its nearly five dozen museums, which has caused some concern in the community.

In a brief interview after the ceremony, Tauke said he understands the facility's place in the area's history and expressed support.

"It's still here. We want it to remain here," Tauke said, adding that friends and family members were paying it a visit while in town for the change-of-command ceremony.

"I clearly understand the museum is a great centerpiece for the community, a great centerpiece of Rock Island and is important to the heritage of this community," he said.

Tauke, who said he is a distant relation to the former Iowa congressman, Tom Tauke, joined the Army in 1982 and became an officer in 1989. He has served in a variety of command and staff positions, most recently as I Corps Provost Marshal at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state. He also served in Afghanistan in 2012.

Tauke said he would conduct an assessment of the island with his team there, but he noted one of the upcoming tasks will be working to build new housing on the island.

The Arsenal has received approval for federal funding to build 71 units of housing.

Speights took command of the garrison in 2013, succeeding Joel Himsl, a civilian who had been garrison manager. At the time, Army officials said the growing number of military on the island prompted the change.
Seven members and one associate of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary will be honored June 26 for their years of service.

The Jubilee Celebrate includes a special Mass at 2 p.m. that day at Christ the King Chapel on the St. Ambrose University campus in Davenport. The Rev. Chuck Adams and Monsignor Frank Henricksen will preside.

A second celebration will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at Bishop Drumm Retirement Center, Our Lady of Peace Chapel, in Johnston, Iowa.

Celebrants:

 Sister Miriam Elizabath Anstey, 70 years.

A native of Cumberland, Iowa, Anstey entered the congregation in 1946 and made her first vows in 1949.

Anstey received a bachelors degree in music education from Marycrest College, Davenport, and a masters degree in music from the University of Notre Dame. She received a masters degree in counseling from St. Louis University and a doctorate from Southern Illinois University in administration and higher education.

Anstey used her ministry in music education in the Iowa schools of St. Alphonsus in Davenport, as well as in Des Moines, LeMars and Fort Madison. She also taught at St. Austins in Minneapolis.

She was the vice president of student affairs at Marycrest, director of Idyllwild at the University of Southern California, and the dean of continuing education and later the vice president of student services at Emerson College in Boston. Anstey was director at the Humility of Mary Center and was the music director of St. Anthony Parish in Davenport. She is retired and lives in Davenport where she volunteers in the Central City Ministry and is active in a ministry of prayer and witness.

 Sister Ann Therese Collins, 75 years.

Collins was born in 1920 in Des Moines and entered the congregation in 1942, making her first vows in 1944.

She earned an associate's degree in liberal arts from Ottumwa Heights College in Ottumwa, Iowa, a bachelor's degree from Marycrest College and an master's degree in education from Creighton University, Omaha.

Her ministry in education was at Iowa schools including Dunlap, Ottumwa, Fort Madison, Neola and Council Bluffs. She also was at Assumption High School, Davenport, and taught in Lewiston and Great Falls, Montana.

She was the first woman in Davenport to hold the position of Diocesan Superintendent of Schools, 1968-70. She served as the congregation's vice president from 1970-1976 and president from 1976-1984. Collins was also interim president of Marycrest College.

She has volunteered at the Center for Active Seniors, Listen to Me Read and high-school equivalency programs in Davenport. She lives at Bishop Drumm Retirement Center in Johnston and is active in a ministry of prayer and witness.

Sister Marie Vittetoe (Mary Bernard), 70 years.

Vittetoe was born in Keota, Iowa and entered the congregation in 1946. Her first vows were pronounced in 1949.

Vittetoe received a bachelors degree in medical technology from Marycrest College, a masters in medical technology education and a doctorate in higher education administration from West Virginia University in Morgantown. She worked as a medical technologist in St. Joseph Hospital in Ottumwa and also taught in the St. Joseph School of Nursing and in the Ottumwa School of Medical Technology.

She was assistant professor and division chair of the health occupations teacher education program at the University of Illinois from 1973-78. She was department chair and professor of clinical laboratory sciences at the University of Kentucky, 1978-94. She was a Project HOPE volunteer consultant for the University of Haiti Medical Technology Program in Port au Prince, and later to many Haitian and other Caribbean labs, especially in Milot, Haiti. Vittetoe lives in Iowa City where she is active in a communications ministry and Haitian advocacy.

 Sister Marilyn Jean Hagedorn, 60 years.

Born in Des Moines, Hagedorn entered the congregation 1956 with first vows professed in 1959.

She received a bachelors degree in education from Marycrest College and a masters in religious education from Seattle University. Her ministry of teaching in Iowa took her to Lourdes Memorial School in Bettendorf as well as St. Pius X, Rock Island. Others in Iowa were in Ottumwa, Marshalltown, Urbandale and Des Moines.

Hagedorn ministered in Des Moines in religious education administration for the diocese. In addition, she taught English as a Second Language at Des Moines Area Community College and served as the congregation's Peace and Justice coordinator. She is a member of the Leadership Team, is active in the Peace & Justice Ministry and the Des Moines Sisters Council. She lives in Des Moines.

 Sister Ramona Kaalberg, 60 years.

Born in Iowa City, Kaalberg entered the congregation in 1956 and made her first vows in 1959.

She received her associates degree from Ottumwa Heights College, a bachelors in social science from Marycrest College and a masters and a doctorate in education, with the concentration in psychology from George Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee. She used her education ministry to teach at Iowa schools: St. Alphonsus and at Marycrest in Davenport, as well as in Neola, Des Moines and Ottumwa.

She worked at Project Renewal in Davenport, was congregation president for four years, served in the Des Moines Diocese at St. Joseph Educational Center in adult religious education and spiritual formation, and as a pastoral minister for St. Anthonys Parish. As a member of the New Hope Community, she served as a Good Neighbor to people in the Riverbend Neighborhood of Des Moines. She lives at Bishop Drumm Retirement Center in Johnston and is active in a ministry of prayer and witness.

 Sister Irene Munoz (Mary Dona Rose), 60 years.

Irene Munoz was born in Des Moines and entered the congregation in 1957, making her first vows in 1959.

She received a degree in nursing from the St. Joseph School of Nursing in Ottumwa, a masters degree in pastoral ministry from St. Thomas Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado, and is a graduate of the Catholic Biblical School of the Archdiocese of Denver. She received her certification in Clinical Pastoral Education from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Her ministry of nursing in Iowa saw her serve in Ottumwa, Des Moines and at the Migrant Worker Center in Muscatine. Munoz also worked in Hispanic ministry in the Archdiocese of Denver. She was an appointed member by the Governor of Iowa to the Spanish-Speaking Commission of Iowa, was a member of the American-Health Delegation to China in 1973 and attended the International Womens Year Conference in Nairobi, Africa, as part of an NGO group in 1989. She is a lay preacher in the Davenport Diocese and a multicultural minister at St. Mary of the Visitation in Ottumwa, where she resides.

Sister Maria Luisa Munoz (Mary Timothy), 60 years.

A native of West Des Moines, Maria Luisa (Molly) Munoz entered the congregation in 1956 and made her first vows in 1959.

Munoz was a student of education at Ottumwa Heights College and received her nursing degree from Scott Community College. In Iowa, she was a nurse in Ottumwa and at the Migrant Worker Center in Muscatine. Her nursing ministry also found her at a clinic in Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico (where she served as a certified midwife) and St. John Hospice in Denver, Colorado. She also worked as a teacher and in pastoral care at San Agustin Palmar de Bravo in Tehuacan, Puebla. Munoz lives in Westminster, Colorado, and works in Hispanic pastoral ministry with migrant workers. Known as the Mother Teresa of the Mexicanos she serves a migrant population of more than 3,000 people.

Munoz has been highly recognized for her efforts: In 2005, she was honored with the Leadership Service Award from the City of Denver Cesar Chavez Peace and Justice Committee; awarded for outstanding service from the State Monitor Advocate for Workforce Programs in Colorado in 2007. Munoz received the Mary Ciancio Memorial Distinguished Service Award in 2015.

CHM Associate Diane Schlachter, 25 years.

Schlachter has been an associate of the congregation since 1991. She makes her home in Marietta, Georgia, and is an organizational development/management consultant. Prior to becoming an associate Schlachter conducted her doctoral research within the congregation. She often helps now as an organizational consultant.

Associates of the community are women and men, young and old, married or single who carry the congregation's spirit into their personal and professional lives and who enrich the community through their own gifts and talents. Associates are not vowed but are rooted in relationship to the community through bonds of friendship, service, prayer and mutual support.
Sometime over the next several years, the next U.S. president could confront a genuinely dangerous threat from a faraway place -- a North Korean missile that can hit U.S. territory with a nuclear warhead.

Led by an impulsive and brutal young man, North Korea may pose the most direct nuclear risk for the United States. Kim Jong Un is a weak leader in every respect but one -- he pushes ahead relentlessly on a program to build missiles that can reach Guam and other American targets carrying miniaturized nuclear warheads.

A nuclear North Korea, remote as it may seem, poses what Pentagon planners see as an urgent challenge for the United States. Officials say the situation requires close monitoring and contingency plans for how to respond to a range of scenarios in which a reckless or imploding Pyongyang might actually attack.

The Obama administration's strategy has been to work with China to contain Kim and seek a de-nuclearized North Korea. The U.S. lauded China's decision to support a U.N. Security Council resolution in March that condemned North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and imposed limited sanctions. China and the U.S. are working "cooperatively," notes a South Korean official, but he cautions that they are moving at a different "intensity and speed."

China wants to go slow on North Korea, as with most foreign policy issues. But U.S. planners wonder if they can afford that leisurely pace in dealing with a country that warned just three months ago that it might launch a "pre-emptive and offensive nuclear strike" against a joint U.S.-South-Korean military exercise.

"China needs to understand that this is not working," argues Kurt Campbell, a former assistant secretary of state for Asia and a key adviser to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. "China continues to take small steps," he says, but what's needed are much tougher sanctions of the kind that brought policy change in Iran and Myanmar. If China won't join in such punishing sanctions, he says, the U.S. may have to impose them unilaterally.

Japan and South Korea, which are already targeted by North Korean missiles, share the U.S. concern. Japanese analysts see some signs that China has been tightening its border with North Korea, in a demonstration of compliance with the U.N. resolution. South Korean analysts agree that China has taken some positive steps, but they note that China is still a big importer of North Korean coal.

Despite the growing international concern, North Korea keeps pushing ahead. Ignoring the March passage of the U.N. resolution, Pyongyang conducted three subsequent tests of its "Musudan" intermediate-range missile. U.S. analysts believe the Musudan is designed to target American territory in Guam, near-term, while the North Koreans develop bigger, intercontinental ballistic missiles that could strike Hawaii, Alaska or the U.S. mainland.

North Korean media have also shown Kim examining nose cones that could carry a nuclear warhead. South Korean analysts say that in every recent nuclear test, the North Koreans have focused on making a smaller, lighter weapon that could fit atop a missile.

The U.N. sanctions regime seems to have had no effect in curbing these provocative actions. The Security Council last week condemned the three recent missile tests as a "grave" and "flagrant" violation of its March resolution and called for countries to "strengthen enforcement." But the U.N. left open the question of how to get tougher.

North Korea is the biggest headache in an Asian security situation that, overall, may top the agenda for the next president. The other flashpoint is the South China Sea, where the Obama administration recently has been signaling new resolve against Chinese sovereignty claims.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned in Singapore last weekend that Chinese attempts to reclaim land on the disputed Scarborough Shoal would be "provocative and destabilizing" and would trigger unspecified U.S. "actions" in response. And Secretary of State John Kerry, during a recent visit to Mongolia, made a similar warning against any Chinese attempt to impose an "air defense identification zone" in the South China Sea.

China's response? Some Asian analysts think Beijing has gotten the message and slowed the pace of its expansion in the South China Sea, for now. But this week, Chinese jets buzzed a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance plane in the contested area, at what U.S. officials said was an "unsafe" speed.

The Middle East and Europe are on any new president's agenda. But next January, it may be North Korea and the surrounding Asian theater that deserve the most urgent look from the new commander in chief.
Efforts to raise money for the Black Hills State University Newman Center are making headway, but funds are still needed.

A little over half of the $4.25 million that is required for the entire project has been raised so far, which includes a $500,000 endowment for the continuing operations. Another $2 million is needed to meet the financial goal.

Were diligently working to finish our fundraising this year, and hopefully by February of next year, well have all of our funds pledged out so that we can go out for building contracts and then hopefully break ground in spring of (2017), said Kristin Thompson, development director of the project.

Once completed, the facility will serve as the first Newman Center located on BHSUs campus. The purpose of the facility is to provide an on-campus location for students, faculty and staff to practice their faith. Newman Centers are located on non-catholic, major universities around the world.

Currently, BHSU students meet at a small converted home offsite, near St. Josephs Catholic Church in Spearfish.

That center is located about a mile from campus near our church campus, not on the university campus," Thompson said. "And this new Newman Center will be located at the university, which is one of our biggest challenges because a lot of our students dont have their own cars or even drivers license, and so a mile is quite a ways in inclement weather and in the dark of the night."

Another challenge, according to Thompson, is the size of the current building, which accommodates only a few dozen people.

We have a daily mass that we have on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. and then because our chapel is so small  it only seats about 20 to 30 people  right now we hold our Sunday or weekend worship service ... at St. Josephs across the street from our Newman, Thompson said.

Theres just not room for everyone at that Sunday Mass, so its being actually held at our church on Sunday nights at 5:30, but once we have this new center, well be having our weekly mass at the Newman Center at the chapel there.

Though strides are being made with fundraising, more is needed, and because of separation of church and state, funds for the project are raised apart from the school.

All of the money is being raised independently by our church, through our diocese of Rapid City and then also through our parish and the alumni, Thompson said. Catholic alumni of the university are being asked to help, parents, students, faculty  anyone that is willing to help; were in the middle of a capital campaign to raise those funds.

To help raise money for the Newman Center, St. Josephs Catholic Church will hold its third annual Ride with the Bishop Rally and Poker Run on Sunday. The public is invited to join Bishop Robert Gruss on his motorcycle ride through the Black Hills followed by a barbecue dinner, raffle, and poker run. The day begins at 8:30 a.m. with mass. At 9:30 a.m., there will be a Blessing of the Bikes. The cost is $50 per person. For those who only want to attend the barbecue dinner, the cost is $10. Please RSVP to 605-642-2306 ext. 118.

Anyone is welcome, even those who don't have a motorcycle.

We want you to come no matter what your form of transportation is, Thompson said.
REDFIELD | Spink County commissioners are making known their opposition to a proposed drilling experiment that would assess whether nuclear waste can be stored deep underground.

The American News reports the commission is drafting a letter saying that four of five members oppose the project, which organizers had proposed to site in Spink County.

Project organizers haven't yet formally applied to move forward with the deep borehole field test, and still could.

Commissioner Cindy Schultz says she's received a lot of feedback asking her to oppose the experiment.

The U.S. Energy Department project is meant to help determine whether deep rock is suitable for nuclear waste disposal, but would not involve any actual waste.

Still, organizers have faced opposition. Before that, officials in Pierce County, North Dakota, voted to formally oppose allowing the experiment there.
Friday my wife and I headed over to St. Onge to get a photo of Roundup Chairman Justin Tupper and his wife Brooke to go with promotions for our Belle Fourche signature event.

Carla always enjoys watching a livestock sale. If nothing else, it brings up childhood memories of going to sales with her late father.

Of course, I'm the terrible tease who grins as he tells folks she'd never seen a cow before.

I've been to a cattle sale or two myself, and remember sitting high above the sale floor some 60 years ago with an uncle in an auction barn that was bigger than any around here  but long ago was crowded out by suburbia.

Thank heaven that's not so here.

Driving those few miles to St. Onge Livestock I kept thinking about the old open range days. I imagined unfenced cattle on the nice, green hillsides and crews of cowboys around chuckwagons as they went gathered cattle in the era before barbed wire. The skies are just as big and blue today.

It's not hard to bring up images of those days driving anywhere in the Tri-State area from Hulett and Alzada to St. Onge and east.

The high plains grass still grows green in the spring. The auction calls remain, as do private sales and electronic purchase offers. Nowadays, of course, the internet and cell phones replaced the telegraph, but the feeling of fast communication hasn't changed.

The rails that once carried cattle have been replaced by trucks. Both still run through St. Onge to Belle Fourche along with Highway 34. Both pretty much follow the one-time trail from Whitewood.

At St. Onge Livestock we enjoyed lunch with the auction call as background music.

Justin said he'd be busy most of the afternoon with the sale.

I think he and Brooke may have pushed a bit to take the time to walk outside for me to get a photo of the Roundup chairmanship couple while the sale was still running.

No problem for us. Watching a cattle sale beats Friday afternoon television or grocery shopping any day.

Anyway, that's just a part of the story.

As we walked from lunch to watch the sale, we sat down in front of a couple who were watching too.

It turns out he sold some really nice steers.

As we left the auction barn, the man turned to me and asked, "You're Mike's brother, aren't you?"

Huh?

"Well, I have a brother named Mike who retired from law enforcement a couple years, ago," I said.

It turns out the couple from Hill City had sold their steers at St. Onge.

They knew my brother. He was a Pennington County deputy sheriff for decades.

"How'd you know me?" I asked.

"We saw your picture in the paper," he said.

So then and there we met a neighbor we didn't know.

Exactly how they made the connection while sitting at St. Onge Livestock is beyond me.

Anyway, it made me reflect on how the Roundup is centered on the hub of the Northern Plains livestock business. That was true when it was started. It's true as they're putting final polish on plans for the 97th edition.

I have to mention the sheep folks too.

The very first Roundup celebration, by the way, featured a prize lamb fundraising auction for the Red Cross during World War I. It brought more than $5,000.

The community's charitable works during the Roundup nowadays are with the Chutes for Charity group that offers emergency aid for area families.

Sheep represent a less movie-like, but equally legendary aspect of the open range days that still lives today with sheep sales and Center of the Nation Wool in Belle Fourche.

In fact, Center of the Nation Wool is the largest wool warehouse in the U.S. It, and you can spell that as "we," send much of our region's wool overseas. That means export dollars for our area that a lot of town folks don't realize are important for local economy.

That trip to St. Onge Livestock made for a nice afternoon for an old newspaperman to put the blue sky and green grass into perspective.

It also brought a reminder that the prairie grass and livestock are as important a part of our daily lives as they were when the first Roundup celebration began some 97 years ago. It's just harder to see while driving the speed limit on paved highways.
Community members in Butte county rallied June 4 at the Nutz 'N' Buttz Poker Run to raise $765 for Terry Samples, Belle Fourhce, who is currently fighting colon cancer.

Samples and his wife, Dawn, were not present to accept the donation, because Terry is in Minnesota for treatment.

About 60 people rode for the fourth annual charity ride. Sue Kellogg took first place in the poker hand and donated her $200 prize back. Lisa Bartlett, Newell, took second.

Donations can still be dropped off at Farmers Insurance with Stephanie Lee Bartels in Belle Fourche until July 10. They also can be given to any member of the host group, Fire & Iron Motorcycle Club.

Those interested in joining the group can call Kip Marshall at 210-1049 or Rik Bartels at 645-9242. Current and retired firefighters can join.

The next ride on September 10 will benefit breast cancer.
A registered sex offender was formally charged in Rapid City federal court Friday with a new sex-related crime, a day after he appeared in state court on an associated offense.

Ryan L. Balster, 30, is facing a federal charge of enticement of a minor using the internet. In South Dakota's 7th Circuit Court, he was charged with soliciting a minor.

Balster pleaded guilty in 2009 to the federal offense of travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He was sentenced to 120 days in prison, in addition to the months he had already served in jail, and seven years supervised released.

He was arrested again in Rapid City last month after allegedly sending nude photos to the cell phone of a 15-year-old girl. He is accused of arranging a meeting for sex with a law enforcement agent posing as another 15-year-old girl.

I cant go through this again, the Minnesota man told arresting agents, according to a court document.

Besides bringing fresh charges against Balster, authorities also are asking the federal court to revoke his supervised release. If granted, he could spend up to life in prison, U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollman said at his hearing Friday.

Balster, who was accompanied in court by public defender Erin Bolinger, was visibly slow to answer the judges questions about his name and whether he understood his constitutional rights.

After conferring with Balster, Bollinger told the judge they would give the defendant a written copy of his rights. The provisions were a lot for him to remember, Bolinger said.

When Wollman asked if Balster understood the revocation process, which she had just spent about five minutes explaining, Balster could be heard telling his attorney: What was she trying to say to me?

Balster had waived his right to a preliminary hearing, but Wollman said she was uncomfortable allowing that because Balster did not seem to grasp the importance of that decision.

Balster is detained at the Pennington County Jail and is due back in court next week.
A former Rapid City teachers aide who faces multiple charges related to inappropriate conduct with a minor student pleaded not guilty to the offenses on Friday.

Michelle A. Felkey, 39, is charged with solicitation of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor and disseminating material harmful to minors. If found guilty of all counts, she could be jailed for up to 13 years, a 7th Circuit Court judge told her at the hearing.

Until mid-April, Felkey served as head paraprofessional of in-school suspension at Rapid City High School. She was arrested after being fired for allegedly sending naked images of herself to a 15-year-old boy at her school, as well as exchanging racy text messages with him and another student.

Felkey, who is expected to return to court next month, has been released from jail on a $10,000 bond.
All thats left is the formalities. Hillary Clinton will go into the history books as the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party.

A double-digit victory in the California primary gave Clinton more delegates than she needs to officially claim the title at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July.

Its a moment that deserves to be recognized and celebrated, regardless of whether one cheers and votes for or against her.

Take a look back at the long road to this point. It took 143 years before America decided to give women the right to vote.

On Aug. 2, 1919, Nebraska became the 14th state to ratify the 19th Amendment. South Dakota became the 21st state to ratify the amendment on Dec. 4 of that same year. A year later Tennessee became the 36th state to approve ratification, and the amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution.

Women didnt exactly flock to the polls with their new-found right. The New York Times reported that three women voted for every five men in the 1920 presidential election.

Today voter turnout rates are higher for women. The Center for American Women and Politics reported that in the last presidential election 63.7 percent of eligible women voters cast ballots, compared to 59.8 percent of men voters.

There have been many notable firsts along the path to the 2016 presidential race, and Nebraska has a share.

Most notably Nebraska was the first state in which two women battled as major party nominees to become governor. In 1986, Republican Kay Orr defeated Democrat Helen Boosalis to become the states first woman governor and the countrys first female Republican governor.

Its illuminating to look back at the reasons that were offered by an organization called Nebraska Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage on why women should not be allowed to vote.

Among them:

In political activities there is constant strife, turmoil, contention and bitterness, producing conditions from which every normal woman naturally shrinks.

The woman worker wants rest and quietude  not political excitement.

In 2016, those notions seem quaint, amusing and irksome. They certainly dont describe Clinton. Regardless of what one thinks of her political record, no one can doubt her ability to weather strife and contention.

Voter attitudes have evolved, too. Clintons gender has seldom been mentioned in the primary battles. It certainly was not a factor in Nebraska, where history will show that Nebraska Democrats by caucus chose Bernie Sanders as their preferred candidate, and Clinton claimed the most votes in the symbolic primary.

The 2016 presidential election is still a work in progress. There is certain to be more strife and excitement along this historic trail.

But this is a moment to pause, look back and reflect on the American journey.
Bitterroot Valley resident George G. Simmons left the valley when he was 18 years old.

He served in the U.S. Army in the Philippines during World War II and died at age 25 as a prisoner of war.

His remains have been identified and now he is coming home, 80 years after he left.

Army Cpl. George G. Simmons was assigned to Battery H, 60th Coast Artillery Regiment on the Philippine Island of Corregidor.

On Dec. 8, 1941, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines. Simmons and his unit engaged in intense fighting until May 6, 1942, when the U.S. fortress of Corregidor fell.

Thousands of American and Filipino service members were taken prisoner, including Simmons, who was taken by ship to Manila, then by train and eventually on foot to the Cabanatuan POW camp, said a press release. More than 2,800 POWs perished in this camp during the remaining years of the war. On Nov. 19, 1942, 14 Americans, including Simmons, were reported to have died and were buried by their fellow prisoners in Common Grave 717 in Cabanatuan Camp No. 3 Cemetery.

After World War II, American Graves Registration Service personnel exhumed those service members and relocated their remains to a temporary U.S. military cemetery near Manila.

In late 1947, the service again exhumed the remains in an attempt to identify them. The individual remains could not be identified due to the circumstances of the prisoners deaths and burials, the commingling and the limited identification technologies of the time. The service members were reburied as unknowns in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, a permanent American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery in the Philippines.

With advances in technology and the ability to match DNA, in 2014, the Secretary of the Army granted permission to exhume the 10 graves associated with Cabanatuan Common Grave 717, where Simmons was believed to have been buried. The remains were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory on Aug. 28, 2014.

The DNA was taken from two cousins to match and identify Simmons.

To identify Simmons remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used forensic identification tools, including mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat DNA analysis, which matched the DNA samples provided by two cousins; anthropological analysis; as well as historical and circumstantial evidence, the press release said.

Simmons remains are now being returned to his family for burial with full military honors on June 18 in Corvallis.

Don Thorson is the director of the Corvallis Cemetery.

It is a wonderful miracle when you think they are working to return these people to their families, Thorson said. Simmons was a survivor of the Bataan Death March, interred in a prison camp in a city on the east coast of the Philippines. Thats where he died.

Thorson said the Army identified the remains after they came to Corvallis and took a DNA sample from his cousin, Al Simmons, of Corvallis.

They thought they had found George in a mass grave in the Philippines, Thorson said. They did not have DNA testing at the time, but now there is a way to identify the soldiers.

Al Simmons, now 90 and a World War II veteran, said he remembers his cousin.

He was eight years older than I was but we werent buddy-buddy. He had his own friends, Al Simmons said. Eight years difference does not make for good playmates. He was drafted in 1941 and served in the Philippines and he died defending his country.

The Army press release issued Friday said, On Dec. 8, 1941 while Simmons was assigned to Battery H, 60th Coast Artillery Regiment on the Philippine Island of Corregidor, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines. Simmons and his unit engaged in intense fighting until May 6, 1942, when the U.S. fortress of Corregidor fell. Thousands of American and Filipino service members were taken prisoner, including Simmons, who was taken by ship to Manila, then by train and eventually on foot to the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,800 POWs perished in this camp during the remaining years of the war. On Nov. 19, 1942, 14 Americans, including Simmons, were reported to have died and were buried by their fellow prisoners in Common Grave 717 in Cabanatuan Camp No. 3 Cemetery.

Thorson said, Simmons is synonymous with the Chaffin name.

The Chaffin family came to the Bitterroot in 1864 and settled in Corvallis.

A Chaffin daughter married a Simmons, resulting in Simmons offspring, Thorson said. Two of them are living. Al, who lives in Corvallis, and Loyce Teller, who was the Corvallis school secretary for many years who is now 93 and lives in an assisted living home in Washington.

Al Simmons said a number of family members will come for the interment service that will be held in the Corvallis Cemetery at 11 a.m. on June 18.

Thorson said George Simmons will be buried beside his mother and father.

Fortuitously, his parents bought an extra grave, Thorson said. I presume they had hopes that someday, some way, he would come home.

For additional information on the Defense Departments mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or call 703-699-1420.
Free food for kids age 18 and younger is available at four locations in the Bitterroot Valley this summer.

The USDA funds these programs to ensure that children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. In 2015, Montana served 4,420,516 summertime meals and nationwide 163,666,982 summertime meals were served.

Grace Lutheran Church is serving lunch noon to 1 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, June 13 through Aug. 26 at The Outpost, 296 Marcus St. in Hamilton. The shady yard is within walking distance of the Bitterroot Aquatic Center.

Teresa Stricklin, The Outpost cook, said her church saw the need in the valley.

There are a lot of kids that qualify during the school year and we wanted to be sure they have a nutritious meal during the summer, Stricklin said. We are doing homemade meals like teriyaki chicken and rice, beef stroganoff and lemon chicken, plus well cook fun foods that kids love like tacos and spaghetti.

On Tuesday, the menu included grilled hamburgers, cheese, pickles, lettuce, baked beans, watermelon, chocolate milk and cookies.

This is the third year the Grace Lutheran Church has participated in the program.

Stricklin said they had 35 to 60 kids come for free lunch every day last year.

We plan for food to feed 60 kids, she said. You never want to be short.

Grace Lutheran Church Pastor Vern Sandersfeld said the church wants to make sure kids are fed.

We have the opportunity to share resources of people and funding for the food through the USDA so we should take advantage of the opportunity, he said.

Sandersfeld said that every week their church has 15 volunteers that work two hours each lunch. They welcome other helpers.

This year Grace Lutheran Church will have college helpers to do fun crafts with the kids after the noon meal.

If kids want to make crafts, that should be fun, Stricklin said.

Adults can purchase a meal for $3.75. For more information, call 406-363-1924.

Corvallis K-12 Schools, at 1049 Eastside Highway in Corvallis, will serve free food for three weeks in June and two weeks in August, for everyone age 18 and younger. For more information, call 406-961-3201 or 406-961-4211.

Kathy Martin, Corvallis food service manager, said it is their fifth year of providing this much-needed service.

Its a great opportunity for families to get help with their food budget, Martin said. For younger kids it is a great introduction to the bigger school. Families could make an affordable outing; they could eat lunch then go play at the Big Blue Park.

For anyone 18 and younger meals are free. Anyone can purchase a meal for $3.75. The school serves breakfast 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. In June, the meals are available Monday through Thursday, June 13-30. In August, the meals are available Monday through Friday Aug. 15-26.

Weve tied our dates to when there are other activities happening at the school, so we keep the program self-operating with a guaranteed number of participants so we know how much to cook, Martin said. In June, there is the afterschool programs and camps. In August, the high school starts their two-a-day practices.

Martin said this is the fifth year with the free food summer program that serves a community need.

We qualified for the program by one of our schools having 50 percent or more of our students meeting free and reduced standards, Martin said. That made us eligible, then we applied. There is a need in our community.

Martin said they will be serving kid-friendly foods.

The priority for the summer is getting some nutrition into kids, she said.

Two other locations in the Bitterroot Valley are involved in the free food program.

Darby K-12 Schools, 406-821-1314 at 209 School Dr. in Darby, serves meals 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday from June 13 through Aug. 12.

St. Marys Mission Parish, 406-546-8916, 333 Charlos St. in Stevensville, serves meals 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday June 13 through Aug. 19.

Rita Hall, food service manager and director of the program in Stevensville, said the program began the summer that the new middle school was built.

School closed a month early that year, Hall said. I knew we were in a low-income area and that families would be juggling an additional month of day care and their food budget, so we applied to be a food service site.

Hall said the church had a Vista volunteer that first summer to help with logistics and is now in year five or six of serving free summer meals.

Hall is the contact, meal planner and volunteer coordinator for the program.

Hall said everyone under age 18 is not charged for the meals.

Any kid that shows up, maybe they are visiting from out of the area, eats for free, she said. Our average daily participation is 33. Sometimes it is up to 60 or as low as 12. It depends on what kids are doing in town. Maybe it is the swimming pool or library. If they are in town, theyll take advantage of the meal. We have three volunteers a day at our site and are always looking for volunteers.

Contact the St. Marys Mission Parish 406-777-5257 to volunteer to serve.

Hall said more sources of information include the Montanan OPI website, Montana Food Bank Network and texting can get site information.

If people text FOOD to 877-877 theyll be able to find the location and times for local sites, Hall said. The free food program has been a neat relationship builder.
DOTI: An unidentified person shot dead a girl in Doti on Friday.

The deceased has been identified as Mina Saud (20) of Pachnali VDC-6 in the district.

According to a local, the incident took place when Saud was cooking noodles in her kitchen.

Saud, who was studying at Dhangadhi, had come home a week ago in vacation.

It has been learned that locals had rushed towards the house soon after hearing the sound of gunfire and found her collapsed in the kitchen.

Saud, who was critically injured after receiving a bullet to her right hand, breathed her last on the way to the Sujaung Hospital, Rajpur.

Her body has been kept at the Doti District Hospital for postmortem.

Police said that they are investigating into the case.RSS
Chairman of the CPN Maoist Centre Pushpa Kamal Dahal

Dhangadhi, Nepal: Chairman of the CPN Maoist Centre Pushpa Kamal Dahal reiterated his statement regarding the need of a national unity government for resolving the existing problems in the country.

Dahal, who is also the top leaders of the major ally of the incumbent government underlined the need of national unity government while talking to media persons here on Saturday.

As there is needed to implement the constitution, the post-earthquake reconstruction and seek solution of Madhes movements through consensus, only the national unity government can accomplish these the tasks, he said.
Biratnagar, Nepal: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government would not address the intangible demands raised by the agitating Federal Alliance (FA).

Inaugurating Tarini Prasad Koirala Smriti Sanchargram in Biratnagar on Saturday, Prime Minister Oli said that the government is ready to address the genuine demands raised by the agitating parties.

Prime Minister Oli, who is also the president of the CPN UML, however did not specified about the intangible demands raised by the agitating parties and that demands which can be addressed by the government.

I would like to repeat again that the government will address the demands of the agitating parties if they come to a dialogue with logical agendas; Prime Minister Oli had a saying.

It will be easier to the government to address the demands of the disgruntle parties if they come up with clear- cut demands mentioning the Articles of the Constitution, he said.

The agitating parties have been protesting the newly promulgated constitution but we see that there is no point to protest as Constitution of Nepal has not discriminated anyone in the country, he said.
Sketch curtsy: etc.usf.edu

Pokhara, Nepal: Leading plough revolution campaigner (Halo Kranti Aviyenta)- Mayanath Paudel, 86, committed suicide at his Duradanda-6 of Lamjung district based home.

It is said that Paudel killed himself by hanging from a wooden beam at his home on Friday.

Though the police have confirmed the death of Halo Kranti campaigner Poudel, the motive behind the self killing is not conformed yet.

He had led the Halo kranti against the prevailing discrimination in the society between the so-called lower and upper cast.

As there was a belief that Brahamin, which Poudel represent himself, should not plough while planning crops, Poudel had plough to begin revolution.
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The non-profit behind Burning Man just purchased a $6.5 million, 3,800-acre piece of land 21 miles north of Gerlach, Nevada. Located near the site of the annual temporary Black Rock City, the land, according to The Burning Man Journal, was purchased with the goal of setting up a year-round community that would apply the Burning Man ethos and attempt to expand the organization's cultural reach. Fly Ranch, as the land is called, might also just so happen to be a rad place to year-round party.

"As a year-round site, Fly Ranch has the potential to expand Burning Man Projects activities and existing programs, as well as amplify Burning Mans cultural impact into the wider world beyond Black Rock City," the Journal explains. "Fly Ranch opens the door to new possibilities, new cultural experiments, and art and innovation projects on a scale never before envisioned."

You may be confused as to what, exactly, that means  but that's OK, because so are the people who bought it. "Were a long way from defining exactly what will happen at Fly Ranch," the Journal reads, "but its not too early to begin dreaming of the potential."

In a Frequently Asked Questions section of the announcement, the organization makes it clear that this land was not purchased with ticket dollars  rather, with private donations. Oh, also, they want all the Burners out there to know that they will be allowed to visit  but just not yet. "Do not try to visit Fly Ranch during Burning Man 2016," the announcement page reads. "Seriously. Access will not be permitted."

"In the interest of personal safety, environmental protection, and liability, please stay in Black Rock City," the Journal continues, really making sure you got the message. "Were just not there yet, folks."

Which, considering how beautiful the land looks in the below embedded video, the message probably did bear repeating.

This announcement also explicitly squashes the rumor that Burning Man might relocate to Utah in response to moves by the Nevada state legislature to hit the non-profit with additional taxes.

The purchase of Fly Ranch has reportedly been in the works for some time, with New York Magazine last year writing that the festival's founders had for years made efforts to purchase the land.

"For the long-term survival of the culture, we are going to need a physical space," said co-founder Marian Goodell on the Positive Head podcast last year. "We will, as time goes by, find it hard to only be in the Black Rock Desert. We may need to find a place that would allow for infrastructure."

"Im certain thats in our future, Goodell added.

So, for all you hoping that the Burners of the world might go into the desert and never come back, you may eventually get your wish. Either way, any way you slice it, Burning Man just got a whole lot bigger.

Related: New Nevada Tax Means Burning Man Tickets Just Got Even More Expensive
A spokesperson for an auction house located in San Francisco's Design District issued a statement denying that the company intentionally sprays sleeping homeless with water from a rooftop sprinkler in an attempt to make them relocate. The Guardian reports that Bonhams, which sells items like antique sporting pistols and sabers, attracts a homeless population to its nearby sidewalk as it is wide and abuts a windowless wall.

The action to clean Bonhams building and perimeter sidewalks during non-business hours intermittently over a 48-hour period was not intended to disrespect the homeless or any visitor to our premises, company spokesperson Kristin Guiter told the paper.

And yet, it is hard to imagine how the people living there could take it as anything but a sign of disrespect. Video embedded below, filmed by one of the individuals claiming that Bonhams intentionally soaked both homeless residents and their belongings, shows water pouring off the company's roof and onto now-wet possessions in the middle of the night.

I just want to have a life, explained Angelique, who provided the video to the paper but declined to give her last name. I just want somewhere to live.

Questions of wasting water aside, the extremely inefficient "cleaning" depicted in the video casts some pretty serious doubts on the spokesperson's claims of best intentions.

The Guardian also highlights an Instagram video showing the company soaking homeless tents during the day.

Making it rain on the homeless #dickmove A video posted by Sarah Thibault (@sarah_thibault) on Jun 3, 2016 at 6:20pm PDT



This entire ordeal calls to mind the quick about-face the San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese was forced to pull when confronted with video showing their sprinkler system specifically designed to drive away the homeless.

It didn't go over so well in the public eye for the church, but there's no telling how, if at all, sellers of an $80,000 to $100,000 factory engraved Colt Model 1848 Baby Dragoon percussion revolver will respond to accusations that their tactics are inhumane.

Related: [Update] Evil Archbishop Now Dumping Water On Homeless People To Roust Them From Cathedral Doorways


The 380-unit project dubbed by critics and affordable housing activists the "Monster in the Mission" arrived again on the docket at the Planning Commission Thursday, setting off what will likely be a renewed round of protest, after the project was briefly stalled last year. As happens in SF, this project was first proposed in 2013 and has been wending its way through approvals ever since. Now comes the 937-page environmental impact report (don't download this enormous .pdf unless you're really interested), and as Mission Local reports, multiple speakers showed up for the public comment portion of the commission's meeting, most of them talking about gentrification in the neighborhood  something which isn't really a focus of an EIR, but is the main focus with this project nonetheless.

Chirag Bhakta, one of the activists leading the charge against the project, from the Mission SRO Collaborative, brought up the socioeconomic impact of nearby SRO's now renting to well-off tourists, and potentially displacing low-income residents.

Curbed notes that the project, which will include the demolition of the Walgreens, Burger King, and other surrounding buildings on the block, as well as the re-visioning of the BART plaza there, will amount to "a radical transformation of key blocks in the neighborhood."

At the center will be the 10-story tower pictured above, but the project actually extends all the way east to Capp Street, and includes three related buildings.

A second, 40-foot-tall structure where the Burger King currently sits can be seen below.





The project, largely because of its size and location, has garnered much media attention and protest, as it did again this week. As of last summer things weren't looking great for the project when one of the landowners, the Jang family, who own the building that houses the Burger King, suddenly wanted $13 million more for their property and let a negotiation deadline pass. But that issue appears to have been worked out.

Below, a site map that better explains the project, where the three buildings sit in relation to the BART plaza, and where there will be a second-story courtyard at the center.

The project is set to include 24 percent affordable units, 41 of those on-site, which the developer, Maximus Real Estate Partners, was pushed to include following about 100 community meetings. Activists as of last summer were still pushing the project to be 100-percent affordable.

Previously: 16th And Mission Developer Doubles Number Of Affordable Units
A female construction worker who has yet to be publicly identified was stabbed Friday while escorting a couple away from a job site on Shipley Street, an alley between Folsom and Harrison, near Fifth. ABC 7 reports that the incident happened just before 9:30 a.m.

According to KRON 4, via SFPD spokesperson Grace Gatpandan, there was an argument, and the woman the led the two suspects out of the construction area. When coworkers noticed she had not returned, they went out to the street to find her stabbed. They then chased down the two suspects, who were walking away, and called police.

The construction worker died shortly there after from her wounds.

Mayor Ed Lee issued a statement about the death, saying in part,

On behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, I extend my deepest condolences to the family of the victim who died after being stabbed. Our thoughts and prayers remain with her family, friends and colleagues during this time of mourning and sorrow. The victim was a 2013 graduate of the CityBuild program and a proud member of Laborers Local 261.

The suspects are detained and this is being investigated as a homicide.
DANBURY, Iowa | As a baby in the summer of 1960, Leon Venteicher sat up and stared above at the lights. His mother suspected something was wrong. Baby Leon didn't act like his six older siblings.

Mom was right. Doctors discovered the 3-month-old had malignant tumors on the retinas in both eyes. His right eye, which was the worst, was removed, allowing surgeons access to remove the tumors and treat the back of his left eye.

"With radiation and experimental medication, they treated it and saved my eye," Leon says.

The baby who doctors suspect was born blind has always been thankful for his sight. With glasses, he enjoys 20/45 vision in his left eye.

Leon grew up on the family farm east of Danbury, working alongside nine siblings, in a family that suffered setbacks with the tragic deaths of not one father, but two. Ray Venteicher, Leon's dad, was killed on Nov. 8, 1973, when a trailer full of corn pinned him at the edge of a field.

"We had five girls and five boys at the time," says Leon, who was 13. "He was run over by a load of corn. The ambulance arrived before I even got to him. Nobody saw it happen."

His mother Rita eventually married Joe Dirksen, a bachelor farmer and a friend of the Venteichers. Dirksen was killed when a tractor rolled on top of him on March 9, 1981, another awful reminder of how dangerous the work of a farmer can be.

Leon Venteicher began his farming career one year before Joe died. Leon says he struggled early on, "nearly broke," by 1983, when he took a job in the fabrication department at Midwest Industries in nearby Ida Grove, Iowa.

A job off the farm, he figured, might supplement his income, and allow him to remain as a grower of corn, soybeans, hay and livestock.

"I've been at Midwest for 33 years," Leon says, ever-grateful for the move. His wife Sandy, the mother of their four children, has worked at Midwest for 22 years.

Leon and Sandy still have the farm, where they raise corn, soybeans and hay, as well as 45 stock cows.

Leon enjoyed a 46-year respite from cancer until 2006 when his family doctor found three instances of melanoma on his chest and back.

"They took lymph node biopsies and, luckily, cancer wasn't there," says Leon, who still sees a dermatologist regularly.

All seemed fine until January 2014 when Leon was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Using a scope, a surgeon removed a malignant tumor from his bladder. Six weeks of flood treatments, by which a chemotherapy drug is put directly into the bladder, would follow.

"Oh, that was painful," Leon says with a slight shake of his head.

Doctors were not satisfied with the look of Leon's bladder subsequent to that chemotherapy regimen and a second round of flood treatments followed. According to Leon, the inside of the bladder is supposed to be white and pink in color.

"My bladder was spotted and the spots got bigger," he says.

By July 2015, doctors determined Leon's bladder must be removed. They did so during surgery last August.

"I healed up and endured 12 rounds of chemotherapy," he says. "And they did a CAT scan in March 2016, which showed suspect lymph nodes."

The lymph nodes in Leon's pelvis and near his spine showed signs of cancer. The oncologist ordered more rounds of chemotherapy, a cycle Leon does for one or two days every two weeks.

"They said I'd start losing my hair in 16 to 18 days, but I haven't," he says, claiming he's among a minute percentage to keep their hair in this chemotherapy treatment. "And I've been lucky because I haven't gotten sick. I lack energy on those days after the chemotherapy sessions."

Food lacks taste for a few days following chemo. Leon sleeps the bulk of the day immediately after his return home.

Otherwise, he feels good. He put up a load of hay on Tuesday. With help, he keeps tending to his stock cows. He planted corn and soybeans in early and mid-May, and both crops, nurtured by robust rains, look fantastic for early June.

Leon and Sandy also feel wonderful about the support they've been shown by their employer and their community. Midwest Industries raised more than $2,000 for the Venteichers during one recent lunchtime benefit.

"Midwest has been super understanding with both of us," says Sandy, who often has to miss work to get Leon to and from his treatments.

A second benefit held one week ago at St. Mary's Parish Hall adjacent to St. Mary's Catholic Church in Danbury overwhelmed the couple with nearly 500 attending and raising thousands of dollars for the family, the result of 149 live auction items and 130 silent auction goods.

"My family wanted to host a benefit for us last fall, but I turned them down," Leon says. "A man prides himself on taking care of his own business."

When Leon's cousins, Sharyl and Dave Bruning of Mapleton, Iowa, persisted in organizing a benefit this month, Leon and Sandy gave in. They showed up early to greet family members and friends, and a few strangers, who turned out.

"They did a bang-up job," Leon says. "We were humbled, big-time."

At least seven items were purchased by friends and then given right back to the Venteichers. The Brunings, for example, spent $300 on an Invecta watch. They bought it and gave it to Leon.

One of Leon's former supervisors from Midwest Industries couldn't attend the event. He made his presence felt, however, by handing Sharyl Bruning a blank check. The supervisor, who now resides in Omaha, Nebraska, ended up buying a John Deere wind chime and an elaborate clock. He spent $500 and gave both items to the Venteichers.

"The outpouring of goodwill was just unbelievable," Leon says. Again, he shakes his head.

The man who has survived cancer on three, if not four, occasions over a 56-year period doesn't see himself as a victim. There are down days and tough oncology reports to digest, sure. There are also well-wishers, medical advancements, prayer groups and supporters who have the man they call "The Cow Whisperer" taking stock of what he's got.

It certainly came into focus on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Danbury, as Leon Venteicher hugged and shook hands with a group of well-wishers that easily exceeded the population of his hometown, Danbury.

Leon shakes his head again, ever so slightly, hinting at the feeling of awe that wells inside. "You look around and you can't help but feel fortunate for what you have," he says.
SIOUX CITY | Health Plus owner Donna Luse called manager Marguerite Kuhl "the best advertisement" her Southern Square Shopping Center nutritional supplement store has ever had.

"Marguerite is healthier than a person half her age," Luse said while watching Kuhl ring up a sale. "It's hard to believe she's 92 years old."

Actually, Kuhl will soon be turning 93.

"I was born on July 6, 1923," she said, laughing. "I missed being a 'firecracker baby' by two days."

Kuhl -- Health Plus' manager for the past 15 years -- greets many of her customers by name.

"I can often guess what they need before they tell me," she explained. "The customers who walk through our doors are the greatest people in the world. You need to treat them well."

Kuhl knows a thing or two about customer service. After all, she has been in retail for more than 70 years.

A native of Randolph, Nebraska, she moved to Sioux City in 1942 and took a job in Montgomery Ward's women's clothing department.

"I was sort of biding my time since my fiance Homer was fighting in World War II," Kuhl recalled. "We planned on marrying when he returned."

Even after marrying in 1944, she continued working at the store.

"I guess I had a knack for (retail)," she said simply.

Still, Kuhl has an entrepreneurial streak in her. That led her to open Kuhl's, a popular dress shop in the Peters Park area in 1960.

"When you're a small business owner, customer service is key," she said. "That becomes your stock in trade."

Closing Kuhl's in 1995, she thought about retirement.

"I was taking care of my elderly parents and figured it was time to retire," Kuhl said, shaking her head. "But I never liked sitting around. I prefer staying active."

That's when she applied for a position at Health Plus.

"Was I worried about hiring a woman in her late 70s?" Luse asked. "Having known Marguerite for years, I realized I wasn't taking any chance at all. She was wonderful."

Working helped Kuhl come to terms with her husband's death in 2002 as well as the death of her daughter Joni in 2009.

"It shows you how fleeting time really is," she said. "If you have your health, you might as well do what you enjoy doing."

When she isn't working, Kuhl likes spending time with her daughter and son-in-law Julie and Rick Ferris, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

On Wednesday afternoon, Kuhl was greeted with a hug from Janet Witt, of Lawton, Iowa, a longtime customer.

"People like seeing that I'm still around," Kuhl said. "I told Donna that if I can still make it to the store, I'll keep working for her."

Luse, who happens to be 83 years old, said she know Kuhl's word is good.

"Marguerite's an inspiration for me and my customers," Luse said. "She makes us feel young."
LE MARS, Iowa | A Le Mars man was arrested Friday evening after authorities say he fired three rounds from a handgun to scare his juvenile son during an argument.

According to a Plymouth County Sheriff's Office news release, a juvenile male arrived at the county law enforcement center shortly before 7:30 p.m. Friday and told authorities his father had fired a handgun at him during an argument.

Deputies reported to the 16,000 block of Lake Avenue in Le Mars, where they set up a perimeter around the residence. Authorities determined that 54-year-old Bradley William Kass, who lives at the residence, had fired three rounds near his son with the intent of placing him in fear, the release said. Kass was the only one at the residence.

An Iowa State Patrol negotiator contacted Kass via phone and arranged for him to surrender to law enforcement. Kass was taken into custody at 8:45 p.m.

After executing a search warrant of the property, authorities located 12 guns and a large amount of ammunition, the release said. They then found three spent shell casings in the front yard. Authorities also found a small amount of what they believed to be marijuana edibles and hashish.

Kass was charged with going armed with intent, assault with a dangerous weapon and reckless use of a firearm. Drug charges are pending the outcome of lab results.

He is being held in the Plymouth County Jail on $5,000 bond.

The Le Mars and Merrill police departments, the Sioux County Sheriff's Office, the Iowa State Patrol and Le Mars Ambulance assisted at the scene.
The government must launch an impartial and independent investigation into the violence against demonstrating students this week where shots were fired injuring many. The investigations must be done with a promise that the recommended actions will be implemented.

TRANSPARENCY International and its chapter in Papua New Guinea are joined by 13 TI national chapters across the Asia Pacific region calling on the government of Papua New Guinea to guarantee the safety of anti-corruption activists and citizens and strongly condemn the shooting by the police of unarmed student protesters.

The tenth Transparency International - Papua New Guinea walk against corruption scheduled for today has been postponed to 19 June

The government has obstructed and interfered with investigations into alleged government corruption, said Srirak Plipat, Transparency International's Regional Director for Asia Pacific. This needs to stop.

The government must initiate a credible, effective and independent investigation on all corruption allegations.

Citizens have the right to protest peacefully and to call on their government for transparency and accountability. The government has the obligation to protect its citizens and ensure their safety.

Efforts to fight corruption in Papua New Guinea have been hindered by the governments refusal to answer questions related to alleged corruption by the prime minister Peter ONeill.

In May Transparency International PNG raised concerns about the police commissioners action to disband the National Fraud & Anti-Corruption Directorate following the Directorates investigation into senior police officers.

The situation in PNG is very worrying, said Lawrence Stephens, chair of TI-PNG. Citizens are angry that their government is not pursuing corruption allegations and instead are attacking the very institutions charged with investigating and prosecuting corruption cases.

This call is also supported by TI Australia, TI Bangladesh, TI Cambodia, TI Fiji, TI Indonesia, TI Malaysia, TI Nepal, TI New Zealand, TI Pakistan, TI Solomon Islands, TI Sri Lanka, Transparency Vanuatu and Towards Transparency Vietnam.
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SIOUX CITY | City officials say they remain on guard for an emerald ash borer outbreak that has the potential to devastate the city's roughly 55,800 ash trees.

The ash borer, an exotic invasive insect native to Asia, was recently discovered at a park in Omaha, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture confirmed Wednesday.

Nebraska is the 27th state where the pest has been confirmed since 2002. The list also includes Iowa and two other states on Nebraska's border, Kansas and Missouri.

In Iowa, the ash borer has been found in 32 counties, all in the eastern or central portions of the state. Boone and Montgomery counties are the closest to Woodbury County.

Omaha is even closer, about 100 miles south of Sioux City.

Sioux City Parks superintendent Kelly Bach said the ash borer travels at a rate of 2.5 to 5 miles per year. Given that rate, the insects could reach Sioux City in about 20 years. However, Bach said, it could be much sooner.

"Generally if it's just left to the ash borer itself, it's 2 miles a year," Bach said. "If it comes in on some nursery stock, on firewood, wood product or still live in a tree trunk, it can be here anytime."

In November, Bach provided an update to the City Council on the insect, which colonizes the top of ash trees (Fraxinus species) first, then moves down the tree.

Adults are small elongated oval beetles that are metallic green in color, according to Iowa State University Extension. The flattened, creamy white larval stage feeds below the bark and cuts off the living, water- and nutrient-conducting vessels, causing tree death typically within five years.

Last year, officials designated a quarantine in all 99 Iowa counties urging people not to transport firewood across county or state lines, an easy way for the insect to travel.

Other solutions to affected trees include injection of soil pesticides, tree removal or introducing woodpeckers into the environment.

Mayor Bob Scott said Thursday the prevention efforts before the ash borer is found in Sioux City would be very costly.

"Obviously, we're terribly concerned, but the problem is there's just not much you can do about it," Scott said. "What we gathered is prevention costs a whole lot more than the potential for loss of trees."

For example, city officials have estimated the cost to treat the city's trees would be about $1,000 per tree -- for a total of $11 million. The city would not treat affected trees on private property. Of the 164,230 trees in the city limits, 11,167 are on city-owned parcels.

The city department is diversifying its tree population so no more than one species represents more than 10 percent of the total tree population.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Memorial Day celebration in the Union Springs community depicted rural America in its finest hour! Our day began with a very solemn ceremony in the cemetery to honor the men and women who gave their lives for the freedoms we share today. The guests were welcomed, a prayer was said in honor of the fallen, the wreath was laid at the Soldiers Monument by the Junior Grange, three volleys of gunfire and then the beautiful playing of Taps near and far to help all remember why this day is so important.

The excitement began to build as the parade was about to begin. Then we heard the sound of the fire station siren. Someone needed help. The Union Springs Fire Department sent several of its vehicles to aid in the emergency. The Aurelius department left to help. The line-up was now set and the lights started to flash. The parade was led by the the New York State Police and Cayuga County Sheriff's Department. Thank you gentlemen for your assistance. The Color Guard followed with the antique/vintage cars carrying the many Legion dignitaries and members of various community groups. Wow those rides were special! Then the music played, thanks to the A.J. Smith Marching Band and the Community Band. Always a special entry is the rider-less horse led by Kailey Kalet with her sister Maddie helping. It was great to see the scouts and members of the Southern Cayuga Little League in the parade. We even had representatives from Buffalo Wild Wings walking in the parade greeting people along the route.

A huge thank you to the Frontenac Historical Society and Museum for riding in the parade. Union Springs Fire Department followed with the Cayuga Fire Department walkers and vehicle, then the Aurora Fire Department and Fleming No. 2 Fire Department closed out the fire department entries. The yachts from Trade-A-Yacht Inc. of Hibiscus Harbor and Frontenac Harbor in Union Springs finished the parade. Thank you!

The park service began with the Community Band playing the National Anthem. Then Commander Deb Johnson welcomed everyone. She read a poem as if the flag was talking. The flag asked all to show respect and never forget. She then spoke about the meaning for each step of folding the flag while it was being folded. When finished, the tri-corner flag was presented to Legion member Jim Willis in honor of his many years of service. We witnessed the burning of old flags, tossing of the wreath into the lake, the three volleys of gunfire and the playing of Taps to conclude the service. Special thanks to the Village of Union Springs and the Union Springs Central Schools for their help!

We must never forget! Thank you to all who made this day  A Day of Remembrance. See you in 2017!
The Arizona Board of Regents approved budgets for the upcoming year for the three state universities and highlighted expected increases in funding at its meeting this week at Northern Arizona University.

In the NAU budget summary, NAU officials said total enrollment at the university is projected to increase by 1,450 full-time students for the 2016-2017 school year, with more than half of the FTE growth coming online. Based on this increase, officials expect a 1.4 percent increase in per-student funding compared with the previous school year. That is still $2,400 less per student than in 2008.

As a result of the increased enrollment, NAU officials expected a $13.1 million increase in revenue from tuition and fees after subtracting $19.2 million in extra financial aid that the university plans to award in the upcoming year to accommodate the growth, according to university budget documents.

Tuition and fees remain the universitys single largest source of income, and are expected to bring the university about $350 million next school year before adjusting for financial aid provided by the university. Tuition revenues will be up 11 percent and fees up 22 percent.

State appropriation makes up about 19.3 percent of the 2017 budget, bringing in $106.3 million in combined funds for general appropriation and for research infrastructure.

Last month, the state Legislature approved a $32 million increase to state university funding. Out of that increase, NAU is to receive $1.5 million in ongoing funding and $4 million in one-time funds.

This state budget allows NAU to make continued progress to address our structural financial health, but I emphasize that the majority of the increase in (fiscal year 2017) funding is on a one-time basis, NAU President Rita Cheng said in a statement at the time of the budget passage.

The universitys total revenue from all sources is expected to increase 6 percent from the previous school year.

Statewide, $13 million of that increase are ongoing funds and $19 million is one-time money, ABOR President Eileen Klein said at the meeting.

NAU officials also reported that the universitys largest expense, salaries and wages, is expected to increase $1 million in the upcoming school year, totaling $241.1 million. In total, expenses are expected to increase 4.5 percent from last year.

Although Proposition 123 supporters main message was that the proposition would support K-12 funding, the three public universities are also beneficiaries of the state land trust, and will also see increased funding with the increased percentage appropriated from the fund.

Klein said universities expect to receive $64 million in 123 money over the course of the propositions 10-year lifespan. NAU would receive about 15 percent of those funds, according to projections presented by ABOR Director of Government Affairs Kody Kelleher.
The Coconino Center for the Arts and Pioneer Historical Museum will be grooving the weekend of June 18 and 19 when the 15th annual Flagstaff Folk Festival takes the stage. The fun starts at 10 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m. both days.

The festival promises two days of great folk music, workshops and more than 100 acts on five stages. The entrance fee is $5 per person per day or $15 per family per day. Music lovers are encouraged to bring their favorite instrument and join in one of the informal jam sessions that crop up between acts. There will also be food and craft vendors.

Some musicians and groups expected to be at the festival include: Brush Arbor Revival, Clearwater Creek and Ryan Biter and the Sunshine Girls. The workshops include: altered guitar tunings, flatpicking and humorous songwriting.

The festival is sponsored by the Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music, the Historical Museum and the Coconino Center for the Arts.

Film to premiere at Sedonas Mary D. Fisher Theater

"Almost Holy" starts after the collapse of the Soviet Union when the Ukraine's social and political institutions faced massive change. A number of the nation's youth wound up homeless and addicted.

In the early 2000s a pastor named Gennadiy Mokhnenko took up the fight against child homelessness by forcibly abducting street kids and bringing them to his Pilgrim Republic rehabilitation center. The film focuses on Mokhnenkos work that has made him a hero to some and a vigilante to others.

The film is showing one day only, June 16, at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theater, 2030 W. Highway 89A, West Sedona. Tickets are $12 for non-Sedona Film Festival members and $9 for members.
Building a successful business isnt about achieving success quickly. Its about building success that will actually last. To learn some strategies for building long-lasting business success, check out the tips from members of our small business community below.

Prioritize Tasks and Do Only the Work That Matters

No matter how successful you are in business, you cant do everything. And trying will only lead to burnout. This Process Street post by Benjamin Brandall discusses the importance of prioritizing tasks and doing only the work that really matters. BizSugar members also share thoughts on the post here.

Focus on Early Career Engagement for Long Term Commitment

When building your team, figuring out how to keep talent is just as important as recruiting. But especially when it comes to young employees, you need to create an environment where they can be engaged early on if you want to get them to stick around, according to this Marketing Innovators post by Brad Callahan.

Develop a Vision for Your Business

Creating a business plan is an important step for new entrepreneurs. But Don Purdum thinks you should actually skip it and work on creating a vision instead, as he outlines in this Unveil the Web post. You can also see discussion about the post over on BizSugar.

Reduce Costs for Your Small Business

Running a business inevitably comes with some costs. But if you can reduce those costs whenever possible, it can lead to more opportunity over the long run. This CorpNet post by Veronica Ramirez offers some suggestions for reducing business costs.

Create an Effective Go-To-Market Strategy

When delivering your products or services to customers, it helps to have a set strategy in place. In this post on the Right Mix Marketing blog, Charles Mburugu explains the importance of having a go-to-market strategy for your business, along with the essential pieces of such a strategy.

Dont Overlook These Critical Factors for Social Media Success

With the constant changes in social media marketing, it can be easy for businesses to overlook some of the critical factors that make up a successful social media strategy. Rachel Strella of Strella Social Media outlines some of those factors. And the BizSugar community responds.

Fix Leaky Sales Funnels With These Analytics Tools

Over the course of running your business, your sales funnels can help you make consistent sales. But if your funnels arent working as they should, your business could be missing out. Here, Neil Patel discusses some analytics tools you can use to fix any leaky sales funnels.

Use These Proven Methods of Attracting Traffic

Getting traffic to your website is a goal of many businesses. There are plenty of different tactics you can use to bring in short-term traffic. But if you want to build your online presence over the long run, its a good idea to use proven strategies like the ones outlined in this Noobpreneur post by Melissa Burns.

Achieve Blogging Success With These Tips

If youre looking to use a blog as part of your content marketing strategy, there are some tried and true methods you can use to build a blog that actually gets results. This post by Cendrine Marrouat includes some tips for blogging success. And BizSugar members discuss the post further.

Make Your Social Media Impact SEO

Social media isnt just a quick way to reach out to potential customers right now. When used correctly, it can actually impact your SEO over time. Check out this Marketing Land post by Dan Bagby for some tried and true methods to make social media impact SEO.

If youd like to suggest your favorite small business content to be considered for an upcoming community roundup, please send your news tips to: sbtips@gmail.com.
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
The Compassus program serving Flagstaff and the surrounding areas is will recognize Marie-Therese Billingsley during National Nursing Assistants Week, June 9-16, for providing the highest level of quality hospice care for patients and their families.

We are proud to recognize Marie-Therese for her tireless efforts to provide our patients and their families with superior hospice care that goes beyond fulfilling their medical and emotional needs, delivering a more meaningful end-of-life experience for our patients, said Susan Blanchard, executive director for Compassus  Flagstaff.

Nursing assistants provide as much as 90 percent of the direct long-term care delivered in the United States, interacting daily with an array of personalities, cultures, abilities and disabilities in nursing homes, home care, hospice, assisted living, and other long term care settings.
The bridge for the Twin Arrows traffic interchange on Interstate 40 will be closed for resurfacing work early next week.

Arizona Department of Transportation crews will be applying asphalt overlay on the bridge located at milepost 219 Tuesday, June 14, from midnight to 10 a.m. Access across the bridge will be closed during the roadwork but there will be detours for traffic.

Eastbound traffic on I-40 exiting north for Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort will travel east on I-40 past the Twin Arrows exit to Buffalo Range exit, located at milepost 225, then continue westbound on I-40 to the Twin Arrows exit at milepost 219.

Traffic exiting the casino to travel eastbound on I-40 will have to go westbound on I-40 to the Winona exit, located at milepost 211, and exit eastbound onto I-40 at that location.

Speed limits will be reduced during the road work. ADOT is urging drivers to allow for extra travel time.

To stay up-to-date with the latest highway conditions around the state, visit the ADOT Traveler Information Center at www.az511.gov or call 5-1-1.
It was a very '90s doctrine in keeping with just-in-time inventories, labor flexibility, and creative finance, he pointed out. But war is a long hard slog, and light and nimble just doesn't do the trick.

The move to increase US combat support for Afghan ground forces suggested that US military commanders were increasingly worried about the cohesion and survivability of the Afghan National Army, Lazare observed.

I strongly suspect that the Afghan Army is crumbling. After all, the war is going poorly, and Taliban power and influence are on the upswing, so everyone knows that the Kabul regime's days are numbered, he said.

Lazare also noted that US President Barack Obama approved the assassination of Taliban leader Mullah Mansour as a desperate move to try and force the Taliban to negotiate.

The assassination of Mullah Mansur a couple of weeks ago struck me as a bit pathetic. Obama expressed the hope that it would somehow persuade the Taliban to join the Afghan government in a reconciliation process that leads to lasting peace and stability, he recollected.

However, the assassination was more likely to backfire and make the Taliban more determined than ever, Lazare predicted.

The death of Mansour just makes them more ornery and more determined to continue with their long war to drive the United States out. Time is definitely on their side, he maintained.

Lazare dismissed the new US support policy as a minor measure almost certain to fail.

It's just another half-hearted measure aimed at ratcheting up the pressure and making it look the US military is getting somewhere, when it's not. The long-term effect will be nil, he summed up.

Middle East Institute Resident Scholar Marvin Weinbaum told Sputnik that the new US combat policy reflected a recognition that the US-supported Afghan national forces were on the defensive against the Taliban.

The policy shift reflects the reality that the ANDSF [Afghan National Defense and Security Forces] cannot at this time contain, much less roll back, Taliban military gains, he warned.

Until the United States was prepared to order air strikes to be freely used to attack the Taliban in Baluchistan and throughout Afghanistan, there could be no substantial improvement in the security situation, Weinbaum concluded.

Earlier on Friday, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest emphasized that US forces would not be in a combat role and the US mission in Afghanistan has not changed despite Obamas new change in policy.
Kenneth Ray Rumery was born December 19,1933 in Omaha, Nebraska to George Ray and Ethel Billings Rumery. After completing both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music at the University of Nebraska, he received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Colorado in 1971. He joined the Music Department of Northern Arizona University in 1971, from which he retired in 1999.

Ken Rumery was a consummate musician. He was principal French horn in the Flagstaff Symphony for 11 years, and was a member of the Arizona Woodwind Quintet, an ensemble of state musicians which performed at the Kennedy Center's celebration of the American Revolution Bicentennial.

Ken was an advocate of the integration of music and the arts. Two of his works, "Landscapes," and "Vistas: A Choral Triptych," were collaborations with Sedona artist Cynthia Bennett, whose grandiose paintings of the Grand Canyon gave incentive to music/art fusion.

Ken was an innovative and farsighted teacher. His research dealt with ways to open job opportunities for music majors beyond teaching and performing. His published Textbook, Introduction to Musical Design, uniquely integrated traditional music theory with performance practices. He was a pioneer in computer use and technology. He created and directed the NAU Office of Arts and Communication Studies from 1992-1996, and established the NAU Arts Technology Center (CMC) in 1994. In recognition of his compositions, horn performances, and application of computers to musical instruction, he was named Faculty Artist of the Year by the NAU chapter of Phi Kappa Phi in 1986. He received the Golden Key National Honor Society award for faculty achievement in 1993.

Ken was a Renaissance man. He enjoyed animated discussion, reading science fiction as well as scientific journals, collecting and repairing antique lanterns, and doing genealogy. He could see the humor in any situation. He was always available to help others. He will be missed by all who loved him, and whose lives were impacted by him.

Dr. Rumery is survived by his wife of 46 years, Leanne Rumery of Flagstaff, sons David of Flagstaff and Kevin of Denver, Colorado, daughter Gayle Rumery-Haar of Grand Island, Nebraska, grandchildren Josh and Beth Keller. He was preceded in death by his son Craig, brother Robert, and grandson Tyler Rumery.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, June 17 at 10:30 am at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, 423 N. Beaver, Flagstaff. A private committal will be at Citizens Cemetery following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family gratefully requests that any donations in Dr. Rumery's name be made to the organ fund at Epiphany Church. Memories and condolences can be shared with family at www.norvelowensmortuary.com
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  On Thursday, US media reported that the Obama administration would give US forces broader authority to advise conventional Afghan troops with missions the same way they have been assisting Afghan Special Forces personnel.

"The reason for the recent decision to escalate is obviously the political and military weakness of the US-supported Afghan government, which would not be able to survive on its own, combined with continued activity by Taliban and other insurgent forces, which show no sign of defeat," University of Arizona History Professor David Gibbs told Sputnik on Friday.

The most striking aspects of the war in Afghanistan, Gibbs noted, is the very protracted nature of the conflict and absence of any plausible termination point.
BANGKOK (Sputnik)  Fourteen school staff were returning to Bangkok on Friday night from Rayong Province when the tire of the minibus they were in burst and the driver lost control. The minibus overturned and caught on fire.

Only four women, including the driver who was a staff member of the school administration, survived the accident. They were able to get out of the minibus after breaking the window glass just when the fire was starting.

The survivors have been taken to the hospital in Chonburi Province, where the accident took place.
China is consolidating efforts for the development and construction of a deep-water platform in the South China Sea, Bloomberg reported.

According to the Chinese Science Ministry, the station will be located at a depth of more than 3 kilometers (9,800 feet) below the surface.

The goal is to help scientists hunt for minerals in the sea, Bloomberg said, not ruling out that Beijing may intend to use the platform for military purposes in the disputed waters.
Since February, a number of non-Muslim worshipers, including Hindus and Christians, as well as secular writers and liberal activists have been hacked, with the most recent incident took place on Friday, when a Hindu priest was almost decapitated.

According to the Sky News broadcaster, the nationwide anti-criminal operation was launched after country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vowed to capture every perpetrator of the killings.
"The US delegation [at the WTO] has asked to present our concerns in a written form," Rykov added.

US President Barack Obama introduced new seafood import regulations in 2014 in an effort to combat illegal fishing. According to the new rules, each supplier must present extensive information on the origins of the catch.

According to Rykov, Russia has tried to clarify an array of issues when discussions of the new regulations started in May.

"We worked a lot through the embassy channels, wrote a request through the [US] State Departmentbut so far no objective explanations have been provided to us," Rykov said.

In 2015, Obama and the US Congress ratified the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) that requires member states to collect certain information from foreign vessels before they are allowed to enter a port or sell their catch.

Earlier, in June 2014, the Obama administration announced its Presidential Task Force on Combating IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) Fishing and Seafood Fraud. In March 2015, the task force worked out a 15-point action plan that aims to increase the availability of information on the origins of seafood.

Fishing Giants to Lose Tens of Billions of Dollars Because of New US Regulations

The worlds major fishing nations will suffer losses of tens of billions of dollars because of new US seafood regulations, Rykov said.

"Starting from September, there will be a major collapse on the world seafood marketThe largest fishing nations are subject to this barrier  Norway, the Russian Federation, and first of all China that this is all aimed against."

US President Barack Obama introduced new seafood import regulations in 2014 in an effort to combat illegal fishing. According to the new rules, each supplier must present extensive information on the origins of the catch.

"The United States used to sell its [seafood] products to Japan, South-East Asia at higher prices. Cheaper fish was brought in to the US. As a result the share of imported seafood on the local market was 93 percentThey must have decided to do something about that and are going to impose the strictest control measures."

According to Rykov, major fishing states that the new US regulations target, such as Norway and Russia, have strict control over the industry and are not engaged in illegal fishing.

"It is estimated that illegal fishing accounts for $10-20 billion annual profits. But this is actually questionable. Developing countries in Africa and South-East Asia are engaged in illegal fishing, but not major fishing countries, such as Russia, Norway, the United States."


BAKU (Sputnik)The Rasht-Astara railway is part of a larger North-South Transport Corridor project, which aims to connect India, Russia, Iran, Europe and Central Asia. At the first stage, the Corridor is expected to transport up to 5 million tons of cargo per year. It will later increase its yearly transportation capacity to 10 million tons of cargo.

"Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev visited Iran in May, familiarized himself with the course of implementation of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway project and now we are discussing the cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan on construction of the Rasht-Astara section. The International Bank of Azerbaijan will issue a $500-million loan to this project," Noorzad said, as quoted by the Trend news agency.

According to the deputy minister, the generalities have been agreed, and the sides are currently discussing details and loan conditions.
China continues to suffer from capital flight and has been depleting its foreign currency reserves while other Asian countries have been accumulating foreign currency, Soros said in an e-mail to the newspaper. China is facing internal conflict within its political leadership, and over the coming year this will complicate its ability to deal with financial issues.

Therefore, the billionaire is concerned that continued weakness in China will exert deflationary pressure  a damaging spiral of falling wages and prices on the US and global economies.

Soros also argues that there remains a good chance the European Union will collapse under the weight of the migration crisis, continuing challenges in Greece and a potential exit by the United Kingdom from the EU.

If Britain leaves, it could unleash a general exodus, and the disintegration of the European Union will become practically unavoidable, the newspaper quotes him as saying.

What is more, the billionaire was followed by some of the worlds other richest businessmen.

Billionaires have certainly taken notice. They are dumping massive amounts of money into gold right now and seeing huge returns. They are now ahead of a game that has seen prices rise almost 14 percent this year  even with the recent correction, says an article in The Fiscal Times.
For the brave ones among us, if you like to eat food and like being naked, this restaurant is for you. It's intended to be the first naked restaurant dining experience, where clothing is optional, and you will have to leave your mobile phone in the cloak room, along with your cloak. Technology is not permitted in the dining area, for obvious reasons, and, for some, this may seem more extreme than being naked.

The Bunyadi will open in June and diners are granted access on a first-come-first-served basis. The wait list stands at over 40,000 and for those who wish to try the food without having to expose themselves, there will be a section for those who wish to keep their clothes on.

Foodies dont, in fact, like eating in restaurants with their clothes on. This 35,000-person wait-list is proof: https://t.co/6Sq1Q1hS41  Well and Good (@WellandGoodNYC) 10  2016 .

Charles Walker, one of the managers of the restaurant, believes people will buy into the concept. He suggested that even those who are prudish like the idea.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)France and Germany are in talks on launching a joint project to develop new-generation artillery, chairman of the French military-industrial firm Nexter Stephane Mayer said, as cited by media.

Today there is a political will to pursue common programs, with two projects under study  There is a review with the two defense ministries and chiefs of staff, and we will obviously make proposals, dialog with the ministries and take note of the requirements, Mayer said, as quoted by the Defense News newspaper.

The news come as Nexter and German defense technologies firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann teamed up to form a joint venture named KNDS. Berlin and Paris are also reportedly in talks on the planned replacement of their Leopard and Leclerc heavy tanks.
VILNIUS (Sputnik)  Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius on Saturday called for acceleration of visa-free regime introduction between Georgia and the European Union.

Earlier in month, the delegations of the EU member states have discussed the visa liberalization with the Caucasian nation and decided to suspend a final decision on the issue. Media reported that following this move, such EU members, as Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania urged Brussels to grant visa-free regime to Georgia.

"The issue of introduction a visa-free regime with Georgia has undeservedly come to a standstill," Linkevicius was quoted as saying by Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.
STOCKHOLM (Sputnik)  According to the statement, the majority of flights involving Swedish pilots will be canceled. On Saturday, the cancellation will concern 159 flights.

SAS is in final negotiations with the Swedish pilot union. Our firm intention is to reach an agreement. Read more: https://t.co/I294OlrTCI  SAS (@SAS) 10 June 2016

In Sweden, the pilots unions have been calling for a higher than the proposed 2.2-percent salary increase and greater job security.

Seriously, @SAS you go on strike and you treat your customers like it's our fault? What's wrong with you? #neveragain  Ken Stringfellow (@KenStringfellow) 11 June 2016

On Friday, some 400 pilots walked out in protest after talks between work unions and the SAS ended with no solution.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A Russian senator accused Moldova on Saturday of trying to shift the blame for Chisinaus delayed EU entry on Moscow after the Moldovan president claimed Russia was hindering the talks.

Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti urged Brussels on Friday to maintain sanctions on Russia, whose influence in the region was keeping Moldova from reabsorbing Transnistria and joining the European Union.

Sen. Franz Klintsevich, who co-chairs a defense committee at the upper-house Federation Council, lashed out at Chisinau, saying Moscow had never made a secret of its ambition in the post-Soviet area.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Ukrainian convict turned lawmaker Nadezhda Savchenko said Saturday she was open for prisoner swap talks with Ukraines breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions , in an interview with a local broadcaster.

Savchenko was convicted in Russia last month as an accessory to the murder of two journalists in eastern Ukraine and pardoned by President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine simultaneously released two Russian citizens sentenced to jail terms on terror-related charges.

"The opposing side has not agreed to this [direct talks] yet because they want to take the issue to the political arena," Savchenko told Radio Svoboda. "But I think its always easier to talk directly Im ready to talk to those I went up against on the battlefield."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The German Foreign Office warned lawmakers of Turkish origin against travelling to Turkey after a parliament vote on Armenia genocide drove a wedge between Berlin and Ankara, German media reported Saturday.

A resolution initiated by a cross-party group of lawmakers was passed nearly unanimously earlier in June. It labeled the 1915-1916 massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, angering the Turkish president who accused the 11 lawmakers of Turkish descent of having tainted blood.

"It is unspeakable to know that you cannot fly there anymore," Aydan Ozoguz, minister of state for migration, was quoted by Der Spiegel magazine as saying.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Italys Il Giornale daily newspaper shocked the nations Jewish community on Saturday with a publication that contained Adolf Hitlers work "Mein Kampf" as a supplementary.

Saturdays edition is the first in a series of publications on the rise and fall of the Third Reich. The annotated copy of "Mein Kampf," Hilters political manifesto, reissues a 1938 translation after a copyright held by Bavarian authorities expired in 2015.

The dailys editor-in-chief Alessandro Sallusti explained his decision in an article, saying "you need to understand where the roots of evil are so as not to repeat the fatal mistake."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Saturday called on the Scottish voters to vote at the forthcoming Brexit referendum not focusing on the possibility of another independence vote in the region

Earlier in the week, former UK Prime Minister John Major said that London's leaving the 28-nation bloc would be a mistake and could result in yet another referendum on the independence of Scotland, as Scottish politicians had appealed for.

"I think we should not get into that debate [on yet another independence referendum] at the present time, the important thing is to decide how you are going to vote on June 23 I hope people will vote for what they want on June 23, and decide whether they wish to be part of the European Union or not on the basis of solidarity with people across the continent," Corbyn was quoted as saying by ITV broadcaster.
The demonstrators formed a human chain near Ramstein, which was situated in the western Rhineland-Palatinate state, to protest against the fact that US drones were operated from the base, the German Deutschlandfunk radio station reported.

In April 2015, media reports revealed that a US military base in Germanys Ramstein was a center of the US drone program, which uses unmanned aerial vehicles for air strikes in the Middle East and Africa.
RIGA (Sputnik)  The Latvian stage of international military exercises dubbed Saber Strike held by NATO countries in the Baltic region began on Saturday, local media reported.

According to the Delfi news portal, the stage started with the tank exercises at the Adazi Military Base located near Latvia's capital of Riga.

The portal added that M1 Abrams main battle tanks used during the exercises had been delivered to Latvia from military supply depots in Norway by sea.
VIENNA (Sputnik)  Violence broke out after a march of a thousand "identitarian" movement members spontaneously changed the agreed route and clashed with a rival demonstration held by anti-fascists.

"A total of 13 people were wounded, including four police officers," Vienna police said in a press release.

@OnlineMagazin  Today in Vienna: Identitarian movement protest against open borders. pic.twitter.com/9hHwfudiPP  Onlinemagazin (@OnlineMagazin) June 11, 2016

One of the nationalists was charged under a 1947 law that prohibits denial of Holocaust and Nazi crimes, police said. Seven rival demonstrators were also arrested for hurling stones and bottles at the opposing camp.
During his interview for Die Zeit, Germany's Finance Minister defended his government's migration policy with somewhat outstanding argument.

"Isolation is what would ruin us, it would lead us into incest," he said. Literally.

"Muslims are an enrichment of our openness and our diversity," he continued. "Look at the third generation of [German] Turks, especially the women. That is an enormous innovation potential."
WASHINGTON  The likelihood that college students will make their way to the polls this November may have a lot to do with their major.

In a first-of-its-kind study released last week, the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University found that the voting rates of college students varied greatly according to their majors, or fields of study. Education majors had the highest voting rate in 2012s general election, with 55 percent; engineering and math students had the lowest rate, at 35 percent.

Voting is a matter of learning, Nancy Thomas, director of the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education, said in an interview. We see disparities in learning as evidenced by these numbers.

The analysis, labeled the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, encompassed 7.4 million students at almost 800 higher education institutions across the country. Released May 31, its the first time so many enrollment records have been acquired and matched with the relevant voting records, Thomas said. Although voting records are public, enrollment records are not. The National Student Clearinghouse, which maintains a database on behalf of education institutions, matched the student and voting records and shared that information with the researchers.

We are surprisingly archaic when it comes to the technology behind voting, Thomas said. Prior to 2012, (the study) wouldve been impossible given the sophistication and the comprehensiveness of the (voting) records.

While other students also voted above the average rate  with 49 percent of humanities majors and 47 percent of health majors casting votes in 2012  education majors were by far the most likely to head to the polls.

When it was election time, it was definitely a point of conversation among the peers in my program, said Jennifer Hollander, former president of the Future Educators Association at the University of Miami. The education major, who graduated this year, reported voting in the 2012 election, which means her records were among those analyzed in the study.

Potential explanations for this discrepancy are varied. One possible reason is education majors often go on to teach government and other social studies, so theyre more inclined to be politically active than other college students, some students speculated.

All my education-major friends were specializing in social studies, and they were most definitely more likely to vote, said Justin Child, an education major at participating institution Pennsylvania State University. He said hed also voted in the 2012 election.

Another potential explanation for the discrepancy is that education majors tend to be more inspired by issue advocacy campaigns, Mike Burns, national director of the Campus Vote Project, a campaign aimed at getting more college students to the polls, said in an interview. Affected more directly by federal- and state-level decisions concerning public school systems, its likely that teachers-to-be have a more personal stake when issues such as class size and teachers pay are on the ballot.

This echoes the experience of Washington State University graduate Carly Wesley. Graduating last month with a degree in education, she said that though she did not vote in the 2012 elections, her classmates investment in specific issues had inspired her to vote in 2014.

There were things that were going to be passed that I cared about, like establishing smaller class sizes, Wesley, who is now a teacher, said in an interview, noting that she and many other education majors she knew had campaigned on social media for various issues, changing their profile pictures in support of different initiatives.

Although the results remain uncertain, one takeaway is clear: Students in the science, technology, engineering and math fields must turn out to the polls in greater numbers or else risk long-term ramifications for their chosen careers and even the nation at large, Thomas said.

Theyre invisible to the policymakers because theyre not on the voter rolls, Thomas said. So by not voting, they get ignored.

A low voting rate may mean that lawmakers choose to sideline students in the STEM fields, Thomas said. It could also point to a sinking likelihood that those pursuing engineering and math degrees will go on to hold political positions.

As of the 2014 elections, just two of 535 members of Congress held doctorates in science fields. By comparison, two members of Congress list their previous occupations as almond orchard owners.

Voting is a gateway to all sorts of political engagement, including active policymaking, Thomas said. If you dont have people (in Congress) who understand the science behind things  that has clear implications for policy.

But its not only science and math majors. College students at large possess political engagement levels that are anemic at best, with an average voting rate of 35 percent  almost 20 points below the national average of 53.6 percent.

The big thing for us is there is still a lot to be done, Burns said. Were still leaving a ton of students not getting engaged.

Although this is nothing new, the study  and those touting it, such as Burns  are urging colleges now more than ever to impress on students the importance of civil engagement. Whether its through curricula tailored to teach the relevance of policy or campus political events addressing issues that affect every major, institutions are being asked to help their students to the polls this November.

There are almost 20 million college students, Thomas said. They could elect the next president. They dont, because they dont vote at high enough rates, but if they mobilized, and thought about it, theyre quite powerful.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The bodies of five men, four women (one eight-months pregnant) and two girls were taken to the city of Tehuacan in the state of Puebla for investigation, the attorney generals office said in a Friday statement as quoted by El Sol de Mexico.

According to the statement, the murder occurred early on Friday. Two children, both girls, survived the massacre and have been taken to a Tehuacan hospital.

According to El Sol de Mexico, a religious dispute between two families could be the reason behind the murder.
"To 'reach the Turkish border from Raqqa,' Daesh terrorists have to take a route that is more dangerous, because of the presence of Syrian troops and Russian air strikes," Press TV reports, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The city itself remains occupied by Daesh, but SDF forces are slowly closing in.

Since the Manbij offensive began, 130 Daesh militants have been killed, as well as 20 SDF fighters. Nearly 20,000 civilians are still living inside the city, though many have fled due to the fighting.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Most of the 30 people killed by Daesh in Fallujah on Friday were women and children, according to the spokesman.

"ISIS [Daesh] militants told men that if they want to leave the town, so they are free to do that, under one condition, not to take their families with them, and if they tried to do so they would kill them," an Iraqi military spokesman told NBC on Friday.
In an interview with Sputnik, Adnan Ebu Emced, commander of units of the Manbij Military Council, said that they are poised and ready to liberate Manbij, a Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) stronghold in the region along the Turkish border, at any minute.

The interview came a few days after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) encircled the city, effectively cutting off the supply roads used by the Daesh terrorists. The Manbij Military Council is a coalition formed by Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish fighters and affiliated with SDF.

Emced said that they have already managed to liberate three more villages and take control of several towns, as well as the Manbij-Aleppo and Raqqa-Manbij highways.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The death toll in the twin terrorist attacks that shook the Syrian Sayyidah Zaynab town south of Damascus has risen to nine, a source in the local security services told Sputnik on Saturday.

According to the source, 16 people have been injured due to the blasts.

The first of the two attacks was reportedly carried out by a suicide bomber at the entrance to the town early on Saturday. Later in the day, a car bomb exploded in Sayyidah Zaynab.


DAMASCUS (Sputnik)According to the source, four out of the five Daesh jihadist group members managed to blow themselves up.

"[The army] managed to detain the fifth suicide bomber, he is 13 years old. The other bombers were no older than 16," the source said.

Raqqa has been under control of the Daesh, a designated terror group outlawed in the United States and Russia among many other countries, since 2013.
"Critics say he may also have sounded the death knell for Turkeys secular democracy and set the stage for intensified armed conflict with Kurdish groups," Tisdall said.

He recalled that Erdogan's introduction of the law came amid "heightened violence between Turkeys security forces and militants belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its radical offshoots."

Separately, Tisdall referred to "the already shaking" migrant deal between Ankara and the EU, which he warned may affect Turkey's EU ambitions.

"If it collapses  and Turkey is threatening to scrap it  the EU will have even less incentive to advance accession negotiations. Leading EU countries such as France and Germany strongly oppose Turkish membership and have, in any case, indicated they could ultimately use their veto, if necessary, to prevent it," he pointed out.

#Farage knows Turkey wld only be allowed to join #EU if it respects law,human rights,democracy. Fat chance of that as Erdogan tightens grip  Philip C James (@PhilipCJames) 10  2016 .

Last week, the Turkish parliament approved the scrapping of theirown immunity to legal prosecution via a secret ballot, allowing the bill to be implemented without need for a public referendum.

Whilst Erdogan is in charge, Turkey will never meet the human rights requirements for EU entry. Once he's gone, and if they do, why not?  (((Paul Bernal))) (@PaulbernalUK) 8  2016 .

The law, which came amid repeated allegations of human right violations in Turkey, is ostensibly aimed against those Turkish lawmakers who support the Kurds and the PKK, which is seen by Erdogan's government as a terrorist organization.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)An Egyptian humanitarian aid convoy has arrived in the besieged Syrian town of Douma in the Eastern Ghouta province, Mohamed Tharwat, the charge daffaires of Egypts embassy in Damascus, said, as quoted by media.

"In cooperation with the United Nations and the Syrian Red Cross, Egypt succeeded in delivering the first batch of food aid, such as flour, halvah and readymade chicken in cans, to Douma," Tharwat said, as quoted by the Ahram news outlet.

According to Tharwat, the aid convoy that arrived Friday is the first of a number of Egypts planned humanitarian aid deliveries to besieged Syrian towns.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Israeli Defense Forces, in cooperation with Border Police and Civil Administration officials, have knocked down the house belonging to the family of 16-year-old Palestinian Morad Adis, convicted for terrorism after attacking and killing a woman in the West Bank, Israeli media reported.

The house was located in the village of Yata in the West Bank, just three kilometers (1.8 miles) away from the place where Adis killed his victim, the Times of Israel newspaper reported.

In January, Adis, stabbed to death Dafna Meir, the Israeli mother of three in front of her teenage daughter at the entrance to their home in the West Bank settlement of Otniel. Adais later confessed to killing the 38-year-old woman.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The ministry has also been alerted to terrorists gathering in nearby al-Eis and al-Hadher settlements in southern Aleppo in preparation for "acts of violence and active warfare."

"According to civilians, more than 100 terrorists of Jabhat al-Nusra [al-Nusra Front] with heavy armament have arrived in al-Barfoum and Iqarda," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  This week, Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain attempted to cut off any further purchase of the Russian engines, proposing US companies compete to provide the United States with a reliable, domestic space launch platform.

"We worked it out," Shelby said on Friday of the contentious debate over language in the 2017 defense spending bill to continue the use of the RD-180.

"The deal is 2022 and 18 rockets, similar to the House [defense bill]."
The initiative also aims to provide military service branches the discretion to temporarily defer promotions for officers who are pursue educational opportunities, advanced training, or time in the private sector, so that personnel are not forced to take a step back in their career while acquiring the preparation necessary to best perform their duties.

"If the services can allow those warriors temporarily to defer their promotion boards, it will help ensure that officers and their personnel managers who pursue less traditional career paths for them wont be harmed for it, and give them time to meet all of DOPMAs (Defense Officer Personnel Management Act) promotion requirements before theyre considered for promotion," said Carter.

The sweeping overhaul will also grant civilian defense personnel parental leave, comparable to concessions offered high-performing individuals in the private sector, which the Pentagon has long resisted offering its staff.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  At present, the Fredericton is deployed to the Mediterranean as part of Operation REASSURANCE to support NATO assurance measures in Central and Eastern Europe.

"We were strictly tracking and reporting the migrants," MacLean said on Friday. "We provided information to the Turkish coastguard and the Greek coastguard."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Pentagon told the newspaper that it conducted airstrikes around the Syrian town of Mara on May 27-28, but at the time it did not acknowledge that one of the US airstrikes hit the US-backed Mutasim Brigade that was fighting against Daesh on the ground.

"An investigation into this incident has been initiated. We will continue our support to counter-ISIL [Daesh] forces and will apply any lessons learned derived from the investigation to improve our operations in the future," Col. Patrick Ryder told The Wall Street Journal on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Under the new policy, confirmed by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Friday, US commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson will be able to decide when American troops may accompany regular Afghan troops into combat.

"The powers that be [in the Obama administration] have realized that either the United States become more actively engaged in Afghanistan or the entire 14-year enterprise will collapse due to Afghan Army and police inability to confront the challenge posed by the Taliban."

Giraldi said the policy change was necessitated by the poor condition of the regular Afghan military force.
Nicholson "could only ask for what he finally got  a bit more operational flexibility. But he has only a small force under his command. Good luck on winning a vast insurgency with less than 10,000 troops, and an Afghan army with at best a spotty combat record," Schirach explained.

The new policy was only a minor adjustment in US strategy and did not amount to any significant change in policy on Afghanistan, Schirach maintained.

"The announcement that from now on US forces in Afghanistan will be allowed to join the Afghan army in military operations does not indicate a major policy shift regarding US strategic objectives This change will make almost no difference in the long term."

But the announcement did reveal that the Obama administration recognized the war was going badly and the US needed to do more to prop up its Afghan allies, Schirach pointed out.

"It is certainly evidence that this never ending conflict is going badly and that for this very reason General Nicholson is trying to provide more significant US support to the Afghan army."
The poll, conducted by Morning Consult, suggests that 48% of Americans participating in the survey believe that the Vermont Senator should keep campaigning, whereas 36% believe he should step down and leave Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to slug it out.

The findings are consistent with recent public approval polls showing Clinton and Trump as the two least-popular politicians since pollsters first began gauging public opinion in presidential contests. The two are viewed negatively, by 55% for Clinton, and by 56% for Trump, a rate lower than the mid-20th-century segregationist George Wallace.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Iran began stepping up international trade and investment cooperation after reaching a historic deal on its nuclear program to ensure its peaceful nature in exchange for the suspension of international anti-Iran sanctions, in July 2015.

"Talks have started, yes, at the official level," Dion confirmed to CBC on Friday.
Various Western "sectarian" groups and "new-age" churches are pushing to get a foothold in Syria amid the ongoing war, Kadi noted.

While it does not seemingly spell trouble, there is a hidden agenda behind it.

"Firstly, I must put an umbrella label on those Western 'sectarian' groups you mentioned. They are Christian-Zionists; no more, and no less. Their recent and sudden attempts to attack and hide following the efforts that others and I made to expose them speak volumes," Kadi told Sputnik.

"Those "missionary evangelists" are trying to ride on the bandwagon of the anti-Daesh sentiment in order to 'prove' that their version of Christianity is better than Islam. I have reiterated several times in the past that only reform within Islam will keep Daesh at bay. Islam is a great religion of peace and wisdom when properly understood. It is only the fundamentalist and perverted interpretations that have given rise to violence in its name," the Syrian expert continued.

In his recent article for The Vineyard of the Saker, Ghassan Kadi pointed out that over the last few decades, "new-age" Western missionaries have tried to gain ground in the Levant by recruiting young followers.

According to the analyst, these religious conglomerates are upsetting the fragile ethnic and religious balance in the region.

The crux of the matter is that some such "sectarian" groups are alienating its raw recruits from their community. Some of them go even so far as to prohibit their members from voting, to donate blood, to join the military, to engage in political or religious activities, and to trust others outside their faith.

"As I explained in my most recent article on 'The Saker,' those "evangelists" will find it very hard to lure recruits from the Muslim community. They will therefore focus on the Syrian Orthodox community, as their 'colleagues' have done in the past in nearby Lebanon and several other places," Kadi noted.

"If the Syrian Orthodox Church is weakened, Syria will become much more vulnerable to future attempts at Jihadi takeovers. Furthermore, Syrian Orthodoxy is an essential part of Syria's cultural fabric and history. It is currently in grave danger, a stronger danger in my opinion than that of Daesh, because this danger lurks around in darkness, and it works more insidiously in peace time than Daesh does in wartime," the expert explained.
Neue Ostpolitik (German for "new eastern policy"), or Ostpolitik for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) beginning in 1969.

The matter will be raised once again at the latest in July as the anti-Russian sanctions are due to expire on July 31 this year in case of no renewal.

To ensure the unity within the EU regarding the sanctions, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier intends to suggest loosening of the hard front and sanctions relief in case there is any progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreement on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

We in every way support the position of the foreign minister. It should provide stimulus for both sides of the conflict, Russia and Ukraine, to ease the confrontation, Wolfgang Buchele said at the meeting of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations on Thursday.

The Committee is urging for the beginning of lifting the sanctions, says the statement on the official website of the Committee.

Buchele however added that currently it might apply more to lift-off of the travel ban for sanctioned Russian politicians rather than substantial relief of trade or financial sanctions.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  International organizations that protect freedom of speech condemn practice of shutting TV channels down, the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) Executive Secretary Nadezhda Azhgihina said Saturday.

Earlier in June, Argentina has decided to suspend the broadcast of RT Spanish that could be viewed via free transmission, but the channel would still be available as part of paid TV packages. Before the move, Argentinian authorities made the same decision for Telesur TV channel.

"All international professional organizations, all the organizations that protect freedom of speech, condemn the practice of shutting TV channels down," Azhgihina told RIA Novosti.
NATO has begun its largest war game since the end of the Cold War-era in Poland, involving 31,000 troops from 24 countries. The United States has provided 14,000 soldiers for Anaconda-2016 this year.

The move is aimed at demonstrating NATO's military might and readiness to Moscow.

However, there is hardly any sense in it. Does anyone really believe that Russia pose a threat to the US or Europe?
EDINBURGH (Sputnik)  EU sanctions against Russia are likely to remain in place, despite recent calls for the normalization of relations with Russia, until the West is satisfied with Russia meeting the terms of the Minsk Agreement, Former UK Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind told Sputnik Saturday.

In the past few weeks, both former UK Trade Minister Brian Wilson and EU Commissioner Phil Hogan called for the normalization of relations with Russia.

"EU and G9 states have made it clear that sanctions will continue until Russia fully complies with its obligations under the Minsk Agreement. I very much agree with that conclusion," Rifkind, who is currently a member of parliament from the Conservative party, said.
The website also calls attention to the fact that the project aimed at creating Russia's hypersonic air-launched cruise missiles has also entered its final phase. Reportedly, new hypersonic cruise missiles will be in many respects similar to the Yu-74.

Ostkraft underscores that the Yu-74 gliders would not only evade NATO's missile defense systems but will be also capable of penetrating through the US THAAD shield. It argues that while the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is effective in intercepting outdated R-17 Elbrus tactical ballistic missiles, it is potentially vulnerable to the threat posed by advanced missile systems.

The Russians are taking NATO's saber-rattling and muscle-flexing in Eastern Europe seriously, French journalist Victor Ayoli noted in his recent article for Agora Vox. Therefore, Moscow will do whatever it takes to secure Russia's borders to prevent a repeat of the Wehrmacht's Operation Barbarossa invasion in 1941,the journalist stressed.

"Russians are ordinary people. They are afraid of war and they really want to avoid it. The last one cost [the Soviets] more than twenty-eight million lives. But once lured into war, they fight it to the bitter end. This unique trait of the Russian national character the West has misunderstood countless times in the last 1,000 years," Ayoli emphasized.

The Washington Free Beacon reported about the successful launch of Russia's hypersonic glider on April 22, citing an unnamed defense official.

In his interview to the media outlet Mark Schneider, a former Pentagon strategic forces policymaker, noted that if the reports of the test are confirmed then it would be "a major threat development."

"Russia has an extensive program underway on hypersonic vehicles. This year the Russian state media is reporting that a hypersonic cruise missile is being developed for Russian naval vessels including the '5th generation' Husky missile submarine that is now under development," he stressed.
Shortly thereafter, Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short crowed to reporters that 'the White Houses admission that the FBI is investigating Hillary Clintons email server as a "criminal" matter shreds her dishonest claim that it is a routine "security inquiry". In fact, the DM goes on to note that  Clinton has been dogged for more than a year by charges that she exposed state secrets to hackers and foreign governments by keeping all her email correspondence on a private homebrew server while she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Depending on evidentiary nuances, that could violate the U.S. Espionage Act and subject Clinton to 10 years in prison, even if she put classified documents in an 'unsecured' location through simple negligence. In fact, the article goes on to note that  More than 2,000 such documents have been identified in State Department reviews of emails that Clinton turned over in late 2014  nearly two years after she was supposed to. She also deleted more than 32,000 messages, unilaterally deeming them 'personal' in nature.

Speaking of personal in nature, and jokes and digs and politics, one of the funniest exchanges on twitter took place last night, as Donald Trump tweeted  Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obama  but nobody else does! To which Hillary responded by saying  Delete your account. Responding to that, the Republican Party national chair said  If anyone knows how to use the delete key, its you. Adding to the one-2 punch, Trump asked  How long did it take your staff of 823 people to think that up  and where are your 33,000 emails that you deleted? And while Clinton has yet to respond, more than likely because she and her staff were off celebrating, giving each other high-fives over their clever and devastating retort to Trump, the internet was left shaking its collective head.

And what was the email that could bring down the house of Clinton, the billion dollar enterprise that has taken in hundreds of millions of dollars from some of the most brutal dictators and corrupt politicians around the world, purportedly in exchange for personal favors or a sympathetic ear inside DC? Flying robots that deal in death and destruction. Thats right. Drones. And not even drones in a declared war zone, because there arent any. Oops, thats right, the US Congress hasnt formally declared war in decades. They did declare a conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, but not a full blown war. And this email was about drones in Pakistan, which, of course, is not in Iraq, or Afghanistan.

The Wall Street Journal noted that  At the center of a criminal probe involving Hillary Clintons handling of classified information is a series of emails between American diplomats in Islamabad and their superiors in Washington about whether to oppose specific drone strikes in Pakistan. It continued by noting  They were written within the often-narrow time frame in which State Department officials had to decide whether or not to object to drone strikes before the CIA pulled the trigger. Putting that another way, Hillary had the power to save possibly innocent lives, but did she? That, more than likely, will forever remain a mystery. Why? Well, the WSJ goes on to write that  The CIA drone campaign, though widely reported in Pakistan, is treated as secret by the U.S. government.

Just as an FYI  if you havent been following along  the NYT back in early January of this year wrote  Whereas President George W. Bush authorized approximately 50 drone strikes that killed 296 terrorists and 195 civilians in Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia, Obama has authorized 506 strikes that have killed 3,040 terrorists and 391 civilians. In fact, the article was headlined  Obamas Embrace of Drone Strikes Will Be a Lasting Legacy. And speaking of legacy, will history also note that it took Obama, a Democrat Party insider, to erase the Clintons from the great conversation?

So, what do you think dear listeners  Was Obama being sarcastic when he endorsed Clinton?
The clock is ticking for the Syrian Arab Army to reestablish security and sovereignty over the occupied area, though, as the US-backed majority-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces are making a desperate rush for Raqqa, restless to win the race because its the only chance that they have to feasibly sustain their self-proclaimed federation.

At the same time, Syrian President Bashar Assad confidently promised during his recent speech to parliament that he will not allow his country to be divided into sectarian zones, let alone formalize this during the upcoming UNSC-mandated constitutional rewriting, in what is a clear reaffirmation of his unwavering commitment to keeping Syria sovereign and unitary.

Fyodor Voitolovsky, Deputy Director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Science (studio guest); Max Suchkov, member of the Russian International Affairs Council and columnist at Al-Monitor; and Alaa Ebrahim, syrian journalist (Damascus) joined our discussion.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Friday, right-wing Ukrainian nationalists organized a picket of the Russian Consulate General in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa.

"A large group of young people, about 100, assembled near the embassy building and started throwing various items, eggs, onto the embassy territory. Then they disappeared."

Police have not made any detentions, according to the source, as they were not notified of the incident.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Over 500 military personnel of the Russian Defense Ministrys Eastern Military District took part in the three-day inter-agency anti-terrorism exercises in the Amur region, the districts spokesman said Saturday.

"During three days, the military forces on duty, the general army stationed in the Amur region and the regional offices of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Interior Ministry, Ministry of Emergency Situations and the local administration on operations in crisis situations have been working out issues of cooperation," Alexander Gordeyev told reporters.

He added that during the last stage of the training, the participating troops successfully managed to liberate a military facility and hostages from simulated terrorists, following the scenario of the exercise.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard are the founders of the Solar Impulse project and both are taking turns piloting the single-seater SI-2 during the round-the-world flight, which started in March with the planes departure from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

"This flight will bring Solar Impulse over the Statue of Liberty to New York City, with a final landing at JFK [airport]. Over the past month, Solar Impulse 2 has crossed the United States, the land of pioneers  flying over the Golden Gate Bridge and now we will finally be flying over the Statue of Liberty," Solar Impulse said on its live broadcast and flight map page.

The plane departed for the 14th leg of its flight from Lehigh Valley in the US state of Pennsylvania late on Friday (03:18 GMT on Saturday).
Becerra argued that Trumps "racist comments" go beyond targeting Latinos, and include "his vulgar mocking of Americans with disabilities, his name-calling of women, his offensive references to African-Americans, you name it."

"I suspect by the time we get to November, he will have included other important Americans."

In the past week, a number of top Republican Party figures, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have distanced themselves from their partys presumptive nominee. The latest national polling average shows Trump trailing Clinton by about a 4 percent margin.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Tarar pointed out that his backing Trump, who has angered many Muslims by calling for a ban on Syrian refugees entering the United States, stems from the candidates willingness to say that radical Islam is a threat to Western civilization.

Muslims for Trump plans to participate in a fundraiser with another organization called the National Diversity Coalition for Trump, and has plans to establish its own chapters in at least 17 US states after the Democratic and Republican national conventions in July, Tarar added.

"You cannot blame them [the FBI] completely," Tarar stated on Friday. "Maybe they are taking precautions or something This is a very fine line. The whole thing seems fishy to me It is very upsetting to be honest with you."
"As long as Europe remains almost a political colony of America they can look forward to further austerity and further industrial shrinkage," he said.

Touching upon relations between the G-7 and Russia, Hudson also warned against Washington's influence on the group.

"The relations will not improve much, unless the G-7 is willing to make a break from the United States and NATO and as long as G-7 countries are basically letting their foreign policy being set by the military commanders put in charge by NATO," he said.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the German website Russlandkontrovers, Sigmar Gabriel called Russia an important global player and said that long-term exclusion of the country from the group would only deepen existing divisions and would not help achieve a political solution.

Gabriel also stressed that despite current tensions and problems, Russia remained an important economic partner for Germany. He added that it was particularly important to strengthen international bodies when there were differences to overcome.


YEREVAN (Sputnik)On June 6-10, the NATO Mobile Training Team visited Armenia and held a number of meetings with country's security agencies, including military police.

"During the meeting with the Chief of Military Police Samvel Ghukasyan [NATO representatives] discussed issues of mutual interest, prospects of further cooperation, as well as the importance of military police officers' additional training in the corresponding NATO structures," the statement said.

The statement added that the sides had also discussed involvement of Armenia's military police officers in international peacekeeping forces.
The Handelsblatt quoted Linde Group chief executive Wolfgang Buchel as saying that Moscow is strongly interested in maintaining a dialogue between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016 Programme is now available here https://t.co/MIfU6eCllv #SPIEF pic.twitter.com/ioup1vIY9H  Rus Embassy in RSA (@EmbassyofRussia) 20  2016 .



Buchel also welcomed the fact that "Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel was also in favor of this dialogue," which could eventually lead to the creation of a common economic space stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok.

"Merkel and Juncker want to court Moscow and with the help of one major decision to make corrections on the development of the conflict in Ukraine.This is an old recipe from Ostpolitik by Willy Brandt and Egon Bahr, which once led to the defusing of the East-West confrontation," the Handelsblatt said.

The EU will decide on the extension of the anti-Russian sanctions during its summit in late June. In a bid to ensure the EU's unity on the issue, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier plans to go ahead with easing sanctions in the event that there is progress in the implementation of the Minsk Agreements on Ukraine, according to the Handelsblatt.

The move should add to defusing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the newspaper said, citing Buchel as saying that the initiative is all about easing visa restrictions for Russian politicians rather than significantly weakening trade and financial sanctions.
Sweden's choice to participate in NATO 's Baltops maritime exercises is attributable to the country's fear of the so-called Russian military threat. Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist is among those who believe this "threat" does not exist, according to the newspaper Expressen

Expressen specifically noted that the drills are being held in response to "the alleged Russian aggression."

The official goal of the exercise is to coordinate the activity of large multinational military units, which together can provide for the stability and security of the regions around the Baltic Sea. There is no doubt as to who plays the role of the main enemy, according to Expressen.
BOGOTA (Sputnik)  The decision of Argentinas media authority to suspend free broadcasts of RT news channel is political, a Colombian analyst and broadcaster told Sputnik on Saturday.

Argentinas State Radio and Television Society (RTA SE) plans to exclude the international channel from free transmission starting in August but will keep it available in paid TV packages.

"It is more of a political message than a real [measure]," Francisco Bernate, professor at Del Rosario University in Bogota and analyst with Columbias Caracol Radio, said.
Summer has officially arrived in New Jersey and brought with it Saturday mornings (June 11) edition of Breakfast With The Babies at The Meadowlands featuring more than $4 million worth of Standardbreds competing in the dozen two-year-old events.

Things got underway at 9:30 a.m. on a partly cloudy morning with the track fast, temperatures in the low 70s and little wind to begin that gradually increased in force from the east as the day wore onand on.

The fastest of the freshmen today was pacing colt R J P who stormed home from well back with an individually-timed :26.3 end to the 1:54.4 mile for driver Marcus Miller in the eleventh race. Hes a sharp-looking Somebeachsomewhere colt from the freaky fast Vysoke Tatry who went through the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale for $40,000. Breeders David and John Prushnok have retained an interest in partnership with Dave Miller and Lawrence Means, the trainer is Erv Miller. Seriously Good set the fractions for Brett Miller and lasted for second over Whiskey Please and Ray Schnittker.

Trotting fillies opened the card and Ariana G, the baby sister to last seasons Breeders Crown winning All The Time, started the day off on a high note with a spectacular 1:59 romp for Yannick Gingras. Shes a homebred daughter of Muscle Hill trained by Jimmy Takter for Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld. Checkmate Time (Scott Zeron) rallied well into the fast final quarter to be second and One Class Act (Schnittker) hung in for third.

Ellerie Hanover converted a pocket trip provided by Dave Miller into an effortless 2:01.1 win, closing into the official :27.4 last quarter. Grand Idea set the fractions for Takter and held well to be second and Lexi Marie (Trond Smedshammer) third. Nancy Johansson trains the winner, a $270,000 Harrisburg Cantab Hall filly, for Lennart Agrens SRF Stable of Sweden.

That same owner-trainer-driver combination came right back with the $160,000 Lexington Select Sale Muscle Hill filly Southwind Avanti, who set all the fractions before sprinting home comfortably in :27.3 to complete the 1:59.3 mile. Takter was again second, this time with Stars Edge and Coolcreek Princess (Schnittker) third.

Rubio finally won something, unfortunately it was a baby race at The Meadowlands and not a presidential primary event. This Rubio is a Cantab Hall with French bloodlines on the dams side and he looked sharp today, scoring from the pocket for Gingras and Takter in 1:57.3 with a :28.1 final quarter. He was a $75,000 Lexington purchase by Christina Takter, John & Jim Fielding and Brixton Medical. An aggressive Southwind Segway (Tyler Raymer) cut the mile and held second while Zacks Zoomer (Marcus Miller) closed in the stretch for third.

The handsome and talented Lars Perry trotted home brilliantly in a sub-:28 final panel, winning the fifth race in 2:01.3 for Gingras and Takter. He sat kindly in the pocket until shown open road then went by willingly. The Muscle Hill colt from the accomplished race mare Southwind Wasabi was a $150,000 Lexington purchase by Christina Takter, John Fielding, Melby Gard and Bud Hatfield Stables. Eternal Patrol (Marcus Melander) flashed good foot late to get up for second and Party Hard (John Campbell) settled for third after cutting the early fractions.

After the break, Phi Alpha impressed for the second consecutive week, winning as driver Andy Miller pleased in in a front-stepping 1:59.4 mile. He sprinted to a large lead mid-stretch then coasted in with a final :57.2 half and :28.3 quarter. This Cantab Hall colt is a Bob Key homebred, the first foal from his $1.6 million champion mare Win Missy B. Trainer Andrew Harris has Phi Alpha in good form as he embarks on his racing career. You Cant Habit (Gingras) closed nicely to be second and Monteverdi also rallied well late for Campbell who got him to settle and sit in after being a bit anxious early.

Love Love Me Do was the winner of race seven for filly pacers for driver Marcus Miller. She set slow fractions, opened a clear lead mid-stretch and held safe with a :27.2 end to the 1:59.3 mile. The Rocknroll Hanover lass was bought in for $24,000 Lexington by trainer Erv Miller in partnership with Rocco Ruffalo and George Golemes. Perplexed (Zeron) had good late pace, closing the gap on the winner while World Apart and Planet Rock also flashed good late pace.

Linda Toscano has trained more than a few good horses for owner Ken Jacobs and Robin J is a filly that looks as though she may contribute to their roster of successes. Tim Tetrick settled her third along the rail as Lady Of Heaven took the field through three quarters in 1:32.1 then she flew through the stretch to get her nose on the wire first in 1:59.1 with her final quarter in :26.2. Ken bought the Roll With Joe filly at Harrisburg for $60,000 last fall. Idyllic Beach (Gingras) had the lead between stretch calls to be second while Lady In Heaven (Campbell) held up well for third.

Pacing colts took over in the ninth and Air Strike cut the mile to win in 1:57 with a wicked :26.2 final quarter for Corey Callahan. Hes another good looking Always A Virgin colt that trainer Joe Holloway paid $75,000 for in the interests of long time owners Val DOr Farms and Ted Gewertz in Lexington. The Wall, a beautiful Somebeachsomewhere colt, was absolutely airborne in the stretch for Gingras into the fast last quarter while Richard Hill (Tetrick) was also in the fray late.

Very Special Agent (D. Miller) looked special indeed today as he rallied from a stalking position into a :26.2 final quarter tracking down Beach Pro for the 1:57 win. Relative bargain colt Hurrikane King Kong ($10,000, Lexington Selected) closed along with the winner for Gingras to get up for second and Beach Pro (Tetrick) was a valiant third. The winner was sold at Harrisburg for $130,000 to the partnership of Katz and Libfeld and is trained in the Nancy Johansson stable.

Odds On Delray won the last of the two-year-old races, converting a pocket ride afforded him by Scott Zeron to inch past Machiavelli (D. Miller) in 1:55.1 with a :27.4 final panel. Hes a Somebeachsomewhere colt from the champion mare My Little Dragon, bought for $105,000 in Lexington as a yearling by trainer Tony Alagna on behalf of Odds On Racing. Brian J (Tetrick) made a nice close to be third.

A couple of top trotting colts from last season officially embarked on their Hambletonian trail this morning with Waitlifter K winning easily in 1:54.4 and Dog Gone Lucky a good third behind the Goldsmith Maid winning filly of last year Double Exposure in a sharp 1:53.2.

Live harness racing resumes tonight at 7:15 p.m. To view the charted results from Saturday's qualifying sessions, click one of the following links: Saturday Baby Races - Meadowlands -- Saturday Qualifiers - Meadowlands

(with files from The Meadowlands)
An Oregon mayor plans to ban camping on Portland streets in the next year and a half. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the aim is to gradually move people from street encampments to campsites designated by the city. Wheeler said his goal is to open at least three such sites, with the first opening within 18 months of securing funding. It's unclear when funding will be allocated. The sites will initially serve 125 people and provide access to basic services such as food and hygiene. The announcement comes as Portland grapples with a growing homelessness crisis. Wheeler said there are 700 homeless encampments across the city.
The tassel dangling from Harley Milbradts white graduation cap swayed in front of her face as she spoke eagerly about graduation.

Im ecstatic, she said, squirming with excitement. The Castle Rock grad stood among her classmates, waiting to head into the high schools stadium for Fridays commencement ceremony.

This gown means I accomplished school. I accomplished all the challenges school throws at you, she said, motioning to her white graduation gown.

The 17-year-old says she worked hard to earn her cap and gown. She admits she failed her freshman year of high school and had to take online classes during the summer in order to graduate on time.

But as she stood in her gown Friday, fidgeting with anticipation, a wide grin spread across her face.

Just because youre failing now doesnt mean youll fail forever, she said.

After college, Milbradt said she plans to train to become a police officer. She hopes to someday join the Longview Police Department. She was one of about 60 Castle Rock students Friday who spoke excitedly about post-high school plans.

Ryan Ricketts, 18, talked of his dream to someday create music for movies and television. In August, hell leave for San Francisco, where hell study at the Academy of Art University.

Im just excited, he said. Literally everything Ive done has led up to this, so its a pretty big moment, he said. Ever since preschool, this (graduation) has been the big moment. Its kind of unreal its happening.

During the ceremony, graduates were called from their seats one by one to accept their diplomas; the pitter-patter of falling rain couldnt drown out the joyous sounds of cheering parents and shrill air horns. Scholarships were announced, with the class receiving $320,000 in scholarship money in total.

After diplomas were passed out, Jacob Kimball, the valedictorian, spoke to his fellow graduates.

We made it, guys, he said, waving a fist in the air. The graduates erupted in cheers.

He turned toward the audience.

Its been quite a roller coaster ride to get here. Look at us now, he said.

Kimball spoke to his classmates about finding success in any career path they choose. He spoke of the class hard work and the students ability to succeed after graduation.

Excellence is never an accident. Its the result of hard work, he said to his classmates.

Get out there and make Castle Rock proud.
Landmarks relating to Longviews history pepper the city: Signs that read Welcome to Historic Downtown Longview. A sculpture of R.A. Long sitting on a bench at Broadway and Commerce. Information panels on the Chief Lelooska Totem Pole on Broadway. A sapling that grows in the shadow of the Monticello Convention memorial tree along Tennant Way.

At least some of the credit for these and many other tributes to the city goes to Bill Kasch, 80, who has spent decades of his life promoting Longview and preserving and celebrating is unique history.

Im not the sharpest blade in the ... book, Kasch said. But I keep pecking at things. I keep working on them.

After his stroke in December, theres one final project on Kaschs list  to complete two monuments in the Civic Circle honoring Longview war veterans.

Kasch is trying to raise money for the project, which would place a memorial to Longview soldiers who died in World War II and another for those who died in Americas conflicts since then. It will cost $10,000, he said. Kasch hopes the monuments will be ready by Veterans Day in November.

Other contributions from Kasch, though, go unnoticed. In his spare time he still fills boxes with weeds that have grown around his downtown signs.

The people of Longview are wonderful people, but they dont even bother to pick up a pop can, Kasch said. They just leave things the way they are.

Kasch was born in Longview but didnt grow up here. Before he moved to to the city permanently in his 50s, he traveled the world teaching history and physical education to middle schools on military bases. He lived in Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain and Turkey. He has traveled to many other nations during that time.

When his mother died, he returned to Longview to care for his failing stepfather. Kasch took over his family home on Nichols Boulevard after his stepfathers death.

His wife, Donna Kasch, said her husband compares his return here to salmon returning to the streams of their birth. She said when hes done with the veterans monuments, she expects him to come up with another project.

His mind is always working, Donna Kasch said. It never sleeps. Hes always looking for things to do and perfect.

She became his traveling mate after they began dating upon his move to Longview. Photos line the walls of their home: photos of them with the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, the Taj Mahal in India, Angkor Wat in Cambodia and  a photo that Donna said breaks my heart  the Palmyra temple in Syria, which the Islamic State destroyed last year.

His 13 passports are packed with customs stamps. His house is filled with mementos from his travels  Kurdish plates, Turkish rugs, ornaments that honored Chinese emperors or gods.

Kind of a strange, weird life we live, he said. I figure if one Gods good, theyre all good.

The couple hasnt traveled for years. Instead Kasch has poured his time into his city pursuits.

Im very happy to have lived in this town, he said.

He was an active member of the Longview Historic Preservation Commission until his stroke. Kasch spent years on many projects, often paying for some himself. As of 2013, contributions from him and his wife added up to more than $15,000,he estimates.

Im running out of steam, he said.

Mayor Don Jensen said for years Kasch would appear at City Hall almost every week to meet with him, often with project ideas he wished he would have thought of himself.

He can be really, really pushy at times actually, but in a good way, Jensen said. He is a tireless worker for the city.

And Kasch said he probably has a record for number of letters to the editor submitted to The Daily News.

For 23 years I never missed a month, he said.

On the morning of his stroke in late December, Kasch was reading the paper when he said, This doesnt make any sense. He told his wife the print looked like Chinese letters, an effect of the stroke.

Doctors prescribed speech therapy. As an alternative, Kasch has diligently read the paper out loud, his wife said. To her, one attribute about her husband stands out: perseverance.

Kasch, in fact, owns a framed quote from President Calvin Coolidge about persistence: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. ... Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan press on has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

I want to be remembered, he said, as the guy who got things done.
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After introduction of 'body worn Cameras' for traffic officers in Hyderabad two years ago, Cyberabad Traffic Police (CTP) Friday launched 'eye-worn cameras' for the first time in the country.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner C V Anand launched the initiative by issuing '7 eye worn cameras' for Traffic officers, which will be used during enforcement work under its 'Smart Policing' initiative.

These cameras are worn as goggles and are fixed to the right side of the frame and have the advantage of capturing pictures as they are seen by the eye of the traffic officer.

"This is the first time any police force is using eye worn cameras on duty. They are sturdy and have recording facility for both audio and video with a 32GB internal memory which can record upto 21 hours continuously," a release from Cyberabad Police said.

In addition to the 25 'body worn cameras' used by traffic cops, 75 more such cameras have been procured by Cyberabad Police to be used by enforcement officers while working to capture the interaction with public.

The footage is also recorded and fed into the police station computers every day and this will supplement the existing video and digital Cameras, it said. This camera is worn on the body and will prevent allegations of bad or suspicious behaviour on part of the police officers, apart from keeping a watch on conduct of the traffic violators, it said.

Already tabs have been distributed to all enforcement officers, the release said. Traffic Police personnel, who in their line of duty and constantly exposed to various elements of weather as well as pollution, were also handed over Kit Bags. Each Kit Bag contains shoe, water bottle, sunglass, nose mask, reflective jacket and rain coat which will help around 1,000 personnel under Cyberabad Police Commissionerate discharge their duty better at the same time offering some relief to them from the exposure, the release added.

PTI
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Gawker Media LLC, an online publishing pioneer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and put itself up for sale after a $140 million court judgment against it in a lawsuit brought by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan over a sex tape.

The move followed revelations that Hogan's lawsuit, along with several others against Gawker, were being bankrolled by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, an early backer of Facebook (FB.O) and a co-founder of PayPal. Thiel's involvement, which stemmed from his ire over Gawker's writings about him and his friends in Silicon Valley, raised alarm bells in U.S. media circles over the prospect of wealthy individuals using the courts to muzzle the press.

Gawker vowed to continue operating its seven websites during the bankruptcy process. Media company Ziff Davis LLC has entered an agreement to buy Gawker's assets for a little less than $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter, but that may be only the initial bid in a court-supervised auction likely to take place at the end of July.

"Even with his billions, Thiel will not silence our writers," Gawker founder and Chief Executive Nick Denton said on Twitter. "Our sites will thrive  under new ownership  and we'll win in court." Hogan's lawsuit accused Gawker, Denton and former Gawker editor A.J. Daulerio of violating his privacy by publishing a one minute, 41-second edited video clip featuring Hogan having sex with the wife of his then-best friend, the radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.

In March, a six-person jury awarded $60 million to Hogan, 62, for emotional distress and $55 million for economic damages. The jury then added another $25 million in punitive damages. Gawker has vowed to appeal the verdict, and legal experts believe the company has a good chance of eventually having the award thrown out or reduced. But at a post-trial hearing in St. Petersburg, Florida on Friday, Gawker said it had just $5.3 million in cash on hand and faced massive legal bills.

The judge agreed to postpone payment of the $140 million judgment while Gawker pursued its appeal, but required the defendants to put up their shares of the company as collateral to be held by Hogan's lawyers. Gawker objected to having Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, hold the collateral and proposed a different arrangement, which the judge rejected. The company then filed for bankruptcy.

Gawker filed a separate lawsuit in bankruptcy court on Friday asking the judge to extend the bankruptcy court protections to Denton, Daulerio and other former and current Gawker employees. The lawsuit states that Denton could be forced to file for personal bankruptcy if the lawsuits against him personally are allowed to proceed.

Denton owns about 30 percent of Gawker, according to the lawsuit. The company posted revenues of $49.9 million in 2015, according to the documents, and has grown at a compound annual rate of 24 percent over the past 3 years. Gawker and Denton were influential forces in the development of online media, developing a direct, conversational and sometimes-slashing style that dispensed with many journalistic conventions and was widely imitated. Its eagerness to dish salacious gossip was often condemned, but it was also one of the few early digital publishers to build a profitable independent business.

Along with its flagship Gawker site, Gawker Media also publishes consumer websites Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Kotaku, Jalopnik, Deadspin and Jezebel. Denton said in a prepared statement that he was "encouraged" by the agreement from Ziff Davis, which itself has a long and rocky history. Once a powerful technology trade publisher, the company went through bankruptcy of its own in 2008 and now produces consumer technology websites include AskMen, Computer Shopper and Geek.com.

"There's a tremendous fit between the two organizations, from brands to audience to monetization," said a spokesman for Ziff Davis. "We look forward to the possibility of adding these great brands -- and the talented people who support them -- to the Ziff Davis family." It was not clear on Friday what other bidders might emerge. Univision, which is expanding aggressively in digital media, had previously been cited as a possible suitor.

A spokesman for Peter Thiel declined to comment on Gawker's bankruptcy filing. David Houston, an attorney for Hogan, said: "We have every intention to continue to pursue our judgment against Gawker and to hold them accountable for violating Mr. Bollea's privacy whether it be in the bankruptcy court or any other court."

Reuters
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Telecom regulator Trai has floated a consultation paper seeking stakeholders' views on cloud computing-related issues such as data security, service quality and legal and regulatory frameworks.

In cloud computing, resources like computing power and infrastructure, application platforms and business processes are provided through the Internet in an on-demand fashion.

"Business enterprises are now increasingly seeking to reshape their business models to gain benefits from this new paradigm of resource sharing," Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said.

Trai has initiated this consultation paper to engage the industry and all stakeholders on the key issues referred by the Department of Telecom (DoT), it added.

The last date for sending written comments is July 8, while that for counter-comments is July 22, 2016.

Trai has sought views on the protocol required for cloud service providers (CSPs) to "submit to the territorial jurisdiction of India" for offering "lawful access of information".

"What should be the effective guidelines for and actions against those CSPs that are identified to be in possession of information related to commission of a breach of national security of India?," it added.

Also, the Authority sought views on policies, systems and processes that are needed for information governance framework in cloud, particularly if it is hosted in a different country.

This becomes relevant as laws of user's country may restrict cross-border transfer/disclosure of certain information.

"What is your view on providing licence or registration to CSPs so as to subject them to the obligations thereunder? Please comment with justification," the paper said. Cloud computing accounted for about 33 percent of the total IT expenditure in 2015 across the world. Analysts project that from 2013 to 2018, cloud computing market will grow 9.7 percent annually.

In India, verticals like retail, railways, manufacturing, banking, education and healthcare have started switching their on-premise applications to cloud services for optimised reach and performance as well as elasticity and scalability.

In India, the overall cloud computing market reached $1.08 billion (roughly Rs. 7,213 crores) by the end of 2015. IT/ITeS, telecom, BFSI, manufacturing and government sectors contributed the largest to the cloud market in India, with nearly 78 percent of the total market.

The paper also sought views on how the government can promote cloud computing in e-governance projects, establish data centres in India and boost Digital India and Smart Cities initiatives.

Besides, the paper also seeks to understand how economies of scale in the cloud can help cost reduction in IT budget of organisations and how these parameters differ for large business setups and small and medium enterprises.

"What provisions are required in order to facilitate billing and metering re-verification by the client of Cloud services. In case of any dispute, how is it proposed to be addressed/resolved?," it said.

PTI
Learning English

Joanne Jacobs :

Ocean animals was the theme in pre-kindergarten classes at a California school in early May. Some pre-K teachers introduced "octopus" and "tentacle," while others taught "pulpo" and "tentaculo." In all the pre-K classes, children acted out vocabulary words with hand movements, sang songs, and played a guess-the-ocean creature game. Then they moved to tables, where some of them painted paper octopuses, while others gingerly smelled, touched, and then dangled little octopuses from a local fish market.

Down the hall, kindergartners wrote about their favorite desert animals, talked with a partner about where cacti grow, and chanted about biomes:

Arid deserts drying

Luscious forests growing

Polar caps freezing

Green prairies growing 

First graders discussed a story their teacher had read aloud in which a grandfather remembers courting his wife. In Common-Core style, they cited "clues" from the text of the grandfather's feelings and learned words to describe emotions.

"How do you know he's happy?" asked Heidi Conti, the teacher.

"He 'winked' at the boy," answered a student.

"Good," responded Conti. "You made an inference."

Ninety-five percent of students at Redwood City's Hoover School, in San Mateo County, come from low-income and working-class Latino families, and nearly all start school as English language learners (ELLs). The elementary and middle school piloted the Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL) program in 2009 in hopes of raising reading and math scores and moving more students to the college track.

Programs like SEAL offer a fresh approach to educating English language learners. The focus in schools is shifting "from the language of instruction to the quality of instruction," says Kenji Hakuta, a Stanford professor who specializes in language learning. As a result, long-standing debates about whether English learners should be taught only in English or also in their native tongue feel increasingly obsolete. Close to 5 million U.S. students-about 9 percent of public school enrollment-are ELLs. Three-quarters of them were born in the U.S. and are the children-or grandchildren-of immigrants, according to a Migration Policy Institute analysis of 2013 U.S. Census data. Nearly 80 percent of ELLs come from Spanish-speaking homes, but the rest may speak Chinese, Vietnamese, French/Haitian Creole, Arabic, or any one of hundreds of other languages. In Maine, the most common language spoken by ELLs is Somali (see Figure 1). South Carolina's second most-common language, after Spanish, is Russian. Illinois schools enroll students from families that speak Arabic, Polish, Chinese, and Urdu.

ELLs usually learn "social" or "playground" English quickly, but many struggle to master the "academic" English vocabulary needed to read complex texts, write clearly, and understand concepts.

Pushed by No Child Left Behind's (NCLB) accountability measures and the college-for-all movement, educators nationwide have raised expectations for children from immigrant families. Despite moves to ease limits on bilingual education in California and Massachusetts, more ELLs are now learning in English, taught by teachers who use an array of strategies to reach nonfluent students.

Students need strong reading and writing skills in English to have any chance of success in college. Long-term ELLs-those who haven't reclassified after five years-often drop out of high school or graduate without the skills needed to train for a job or pass a community college class. Reaching English proficiency by middle school is critical for success in high school and beyond. Those who do are likely to take college-prep courses. Those who don't are not. Most educators would like students to be bilingual and bicultural, but college readiness comes first.

"We have kids who start school in kindergarten as English learners and they're still English learners 12 years later"-if they stay in school, says SEAL director Laurie Olsen. With funding from the Sobrato Family Foundation, Olsen designed SEAL to move students to English proficiency by 3rd grade. The pre-kindergarten to grade 3 program is aligned with the Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and social studies standards. Elementary schools without a pre-K work closely with feeder preschools.

Starting in pre-K, children talk, sing, chant, move, explore, experiment, and play in language-rich, text-rich, information-rich environments. They dictate stories to volunteers, write letters, keep journals, and see their writing "published" in bound books. SEAL teachers help students develop the sophisticated vocabulary they'll need to read, discuss, and write as they move through school.

English language development is taught in the context of thematic science and social studies units, broadening children's knowledge of the world. In all subjects, including math, teachers use "strong, powerful, complex" language.

Most new Hoover students start in bilingual classes, with parental waivers from California's English immersion policy.

Before SEAL, Hoover's ELLs showed little progress on the California English Language Development Test, says principal Amanda Rothengast. Many entered and left middle school as ELLs.

Whether they start in Spanish or English, "our SEAL kids are reclassifying as proficient in English by 4th grade," says Rothengast.

SEAL is spreading quickly in California, as schools seek ways to teach Common Core standards to all students. Sixty-five preschools and elementary schools will use SEAL this school year, says Olsen.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs receiving federal funds. The Bilingual Education Act of 1968, also known as Title VII, provided grants for programs to meet the "special educational needs" of young students with limited English skills. It encouraged but did not require bilingual instruction.

In the 1974 Lau decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that failing to provide services for students learning English violated the Civil Rights Act. Chinese families in San Francisco had challenged placement of children in mainstream classrooms with no help in learning English.

That same year, Congress passed the Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA), which required public schools to take "appropriate action" to help students overcome barriers to English fluency, ensure "access to the core curriculum," and integrate them with native English speakers, as much as possible.

That was perceived as a mandate for teaching children in their parents' language, writes Paul Peterson in Saving Schools. Furthermore, while bilingual education was sold as the best way to help students learn English, advocates also wanted to help children maintain their parents' language and culture. In the Nixon administration, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Elliot Richardson told Congress that districts must "recognize and value" minority children's "cultural environment" to develop their self-esteem.

"In other words," explains Peterson, "a Republican administration was endorsing bilingual education as an end in itself, not simply as a means for immigrants to become proficient in English."

Federal policy never mandated native-language instruction, but some states required it, if there were enough children speaking the same language at the same grade level. "In the 1970s and 1980s, policies and practice favored bilingual education, in which children were taught partially or entirely in their native language, and then transitioned at some point during the elementary grades to English-only instruction," wrote Johns Hopkins researcher Robert E. Slavin and colleagues in a study published in 2010.

Advocates of transitional bilingual education said children would develop their native-language skills and learn academic subjects, then make the switch to English. Students were expected to be bilingual and biliterate by the end of elementary school. But many were not proficient in either language. In some schools, bilingual classes separated children from the least-educated families from their peers and limited their access to native English speakers.

For many years, children from non-English-speaking families "were placed in separate classes with lower demands," says Carrie Hahnel, deputy director of research and policy analysis at Education Trust-West.

Rosa Torres left Redwood City in 1990 when Hoover's principal refused to transfer her daughter out of undemanding bilingual classes. In Cupertino, which had too much language diversity to offer native-language instruction, daughter Angelica worked hard to catch up, Torres told Glenn Garvin for a 1998 Reason magazine story, titled "Loco, Completamente Loco." A college graduate now, Angelica speaks little Spanish and her own daughter speaks none. Her granddaughter earns honors on every report card, says Rosa Torres proudly. In her mind, that's what counts.

"In the old model, expectations were very low," confirms Veronica Aguilar, director of English learner support in the California Department of Education.

English grammar and vocabulary were taught out of context, says Hakuta. Little time was spent on science or social studies, so students didn't build a strong, broad foundation of knowledge.

"When I was a bilingual teacher, there wasn't enough rigor," recalls Frances Teso, who taught in a San Jose elementary school before founding a charter school. "We called it the Pobrecito Syndrome. 'Those poor kids, their parents aren't educated. They have so many problems.' It's true, but what can we do here at school about it? We didn't use data to tell if kids had learned the lesson or not." Since bilingual teachers were in short supply, schools often hired aides to teach in Spanish or imported teachers from Spanish-speaking countries who spoke little English. "We never had the teachers to pull off bilingual education," says Michael Kirst, president of the California State Board of Education and a Stanford education professor emeritus.

The popular revolt against bilingual education started in California. Ron Unz, a software entrepreneur, read about a Los Angeles protest: immigrant parents were demanding their children be taught English. Unz wrote and financed an initiative requiring English immersion, unless parents sign a waiver requesting a bilingual alternative. Proposition 227, known as English for the Children, won a 61 percent majority in 1998. Arizona voters passed a similar measure in 2000, and Massachusetts followed suit in 2002. About one-third of ELLs nationwide live in those three states.

According to a U.S. Education Department (ED) analysis, from 1993 to 2003 the proportion of English learners receiving "some" or "significant" native-language instruction decreased from 53 percent to 29 percent.

After the passage of Proposition 227, the proportion of California ELLs in bilingual education classes dropped from 30 percent to 8 percent, according to a five-year follow-up study by American Institutes for Research and WestEd for the state education department.

Many California ELLs never met their district's criteria to exit the program, the report found. Less than 40 percent achieved "fluent English proficient" status after 10 years in California schools. After 227 passed, reclassification rates rose.

Achievement also rose for ELLs and other students over the period, the study reported. Other accountability-related reforms were implemented at the same time, however, and may have had an impact. The study found no clear advantage for English immersion or bilingual education. High-performing schools employed skilled teachers, who used data to assess teaching and learning and adjusted instruction based on their students' performance, the study found. These schools had "a well-defined, rigorously structured plan of instruction" for English learners.

"What matters most in the education of English language learners is the quality of instruction," Slavin and colleagues from Johns Hopkins concluded. To isolate the effect on student learning of the language of instruction, the researchers followed students who were all learning reading via the Success for All curriculum but were randomly assigned to structured English immersion or transitional bilingual education. The groups had similar English and Spanish reading skills by 4th grade, the study found.

"We used to think that what's good for all students is good for English learners, but now we think what's good for English learners is good for all students," says Robert Linquanti, who directs English learner evaluation and accountability support at WestEd.

The emphasis on the quality of instruction has "cooled off" the bilingual wars, says Stanford's Hakuta.

"When 227 passed, I thought it would be a disaster," says Teso. "Now I think it was a good thing in some ways. It eliminated a lot of low-quality bilingual programs and opened the door to better-quality programs." In 2007, Teso founded Voices College-Bound Language Academy, a high-performing K?8 charter school in San Jose that uses a modified dual-immersion model to teach English and Spanish.

Starting in pre-K, children at Hoover talk, sing, chant, move, explore, experiment, and play in language-rich, text-rich, and information-rich environments.

Starting in pre-K, children at Hoover talk, sing, chant, move, explore, experiment, and play in language-rich, text-rich, and information-rich environments.

As old-style bilingual programs are phased out, such "dual-immersion" or "two-way" bilingual schools are gaining in popularity. This model often mixes the children of English-speaking parents with ELLs, offering qualified teachers and a coherent, rigorous curriculum.

Houston is expanding dual-immersion schools, including a brand-new school where students will learn in Arabic for half the day. The programs have drawn white, Latino, and black students from English-speaking families, say school officials.

The push for bilingualism often comes from English-speaking parents. "Parents who live in affluent suburban communities want their children to learn a second language," says Hahnel at Education Trust-West.

Kate Menken, associate professor of linguistics at the City University of New York, says New York City parents "see dual immersion as an alternative to gifted and talented programs."

Miami-Dade superintendent Alberto Carvalho wants to stop teaching 30 minutes of Spanish a day in elementary school-nobody learns much-and offer a rigorous, intensive dual-immersion program for students with grade-level skills.

But Miami schools can't find enough teachers who are literate in Spanish, according to the Miami Herald. "When you go into the intermediate grades and you really have to teach grammar rulesyou can't do that just by having a Hispanic last name," says Beatriz Zarraluqui, Miami-Dade's director of bilingual education and world languages. It's likely that dual immersion will remain a popular and high-quality option, but the shortage of bilingual teachers will limit its reach.

English immersion remains controversial-with educators, if not with parents.

Arizona's ELL approach-intensive English instruction for newcomers-has survived a series of legal challenges. In June 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Arizona's approach doesn't segregate students illegally or deny access to academic content.

The Massachusetts legislature is considering Language Opportunities for Our Kids (LOOK), which would make it easier to offer bilingual programs.

Californians will vote in November 2016 on the Multilingual Education Act, which would repeal most of 227, allowing children to be placed in non-English instruction without parental waivers.

"I see no political or educational support," for a return to the old days, says Kirst.

Unz notes that polls show that Latino parents want their children taught in English. In Los Angeles, some Spanish-speaking parents lie on home-language surveys to keep their children from being classified as English learners, the Associated Press (AP) reported in 2014. They fear their children will be assigned to low-level classes or pulled out of class for tutoring.

Nieves Garcia, who came to Los Angeles from Mexico at the age of six, remained an ELL even after she mastered English. Garcia's husband doesn't speak English, but she lied on the survey to keep her daughter from being labeled. "I just said we spoke English, English, English, and English," Garcia told the AP.

Rising state standards and accountability initiatives have spotlighted the weak academic progress of many ELLs. No Child Left Behind required states to test most ELLs and report their subgroup scores. Schools faced increased pressure to move students to English fluency and raise reading and math scores. Around the time of the law's passage in 2001, test scores of Hispanic students in reading and math did begin to rise but remain well below those of their non-Hispanic white peers (see Figure 2).

"Since NCLB became law, every state has upgraded its monitoring of the academic performance of English language learners," said Don Soifer of the Lexington Institute, testifying before a congressional committee in 2006. "A common trend has been toward a single statewide method for identifying, assessing, and redesignating ELLs."

"NCLB was the instrument that, after decades of incursions on the original Bilingual Education Act of 1968, finally removed all references within the Department of Education to Bilingual Education," wrote Patricia Gandara and Gabriel Baca in the journal Language Policy in 2008. "The Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) became under NCLB, the Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students, popularly known as OELA."

NCLB could stand for "No Child Left Bilingual," say Menken and Cristian Solorza, an instructor at Bank Street College of Education. Despite New York's pro-bilingual law, New York City schools are replacing bilingual programs with English-only programs to meet accountability requirements, according to their research. Principals said they switched to English to improve test scores, which are used to judge schools' performance. If students are going to be tested in English, administrators want them taught in English. Widespread adoption of Common Core standards is also accelerating the move away from bilingual education, Menken and Solorza believe. Schools are teaching in English to prepare students for Core-aligned tests. In addition, it's hard for teachers to find high-quality Spanish-language curricula aligned to the Core.

The recent House and Senate revisions of No Child Left Behind retained both annual testing and the requirement that scores be reported separately for various subgroups of students within each school, including English language learners. As a result, it seems likely that ELLs' progress toward English proficiency will continue to be factored into school accountability measures under a new Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

"We see increased national attention to English learners," says Maria Millard, a policy analyst at Education Commission of the States (ECS). States are monitoring former ELLs' performance for longer. Washington State is tracking former ELLs through high school.

With better state data comes greater understanding of student differences. The 12-year-old refugee who's been out of school for several years has very different-and more expensive-needs than the five-year-old preschool graduate who speaks a mix of Spanish and English.

Much of the action is happening at the state level, where "states are scrambling to rethink funding formulas," says Micah Ann Wixom, an ECS policy analyst. Some are shifting to formulas that link dollars to students' needs.

At the federal level, funding hasn't kept pace with the growing number of students from non-English-speaking families. ED put money into competitive grants rather than categorical programs such as Title III, the main vehicle for federal ELL funding. Title III funding peaked at $750 million in 2010?11 and is estimated to be $737 million in 2015?16.

The department is offering NCLB waivers to states that agree to teach all students, including ELLs, to high-level "college and career-ready" standards, such as the Common Core and Next Generation Science standards. In the department's new framework, the top goal is to "ensure all English Learners are college and career ready for a global society by building on students' linguistic and cultural assets." Civil rights guidelines released this year also stress providing access to high-level curricula.

English learners have struggled to make it through high school. Now they're supposed to meet much more rigorous standards. How will they do in the new era?

"Common Core raises cognitive demands and expectations for all students," says Hahnel of Education Trust-West.

Teachers are worried, but there's also "real enthusiasm" for the standards, says WestEd's Linquanti. "These are brave and exciting times."

Back at Hoover in Redwood City, kindergartners look at Van Gogh's Sunflowers and draw their own still-life depictions of plants while learning vocabulary such as "germinate."

In 1st and 2nd grade, children can put on a lab coat at the "inquiry center" to be a geologist studying rocks or a paleontologist studying fossils. They write their findings in journals.

When a class studies insects, parents are asked to take them for a walk to see how many insects they can identify, then explain how they know that's an insect. On the classroom walls are visual aids such as charts, graphics, timelines, Venn diagrams, and photos to build comprehension.

Because of Common Core, "there's more focus on kids using language to explain their reasoning, construct an argument, and point out evidence in the text," says Hakuta.

Common Core math requires students to explain their answers, for example. "Scores will go down for those who've traditionally done well in math, especially for immigrants."

It's worth it, Hakuta believes. "We're getting real about what it means to be prepared for college."

(Joanne Jacobs, the author of Our School, is a freelance writer.)
Police official killed in road mishap

Chittagong Bureau :

An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police was killed as a goods truck ran over him at CEPZ intersection in the port city early yesterday. The deceased police man was identified as ASI Rupon Nath, 40.Chittagong Medical College Hospital police outpost nayek Abu Hamid confirmed the matter to media.He further said the truck knocked Rupon Nath in the area around 1:30am, leaving him injured critically.Local people rushed him to CMCH where on duty physician declared him dead on arrival, he added.
SYLHET: Shah Suhel Ahmed, General Secretary, South Surma Press Club speaking at a reception programme after attending an international conference on \'Global Media Forum\' in Germany recently.
Six-point: The stepping stone of Liberation Movement

Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque and Dr. M. Abul Kashem Mozumder :

The Awami League and its front organization organized rallies, seminars and other special programmes and reminisced about six point movement to commemorate its golden jubilee. Observance of the golden jubilee of the historic six-point day bears a special significance. For six-point movement was the stepping stone of the war of liberation the basis of which was Bengali nationalism. The movement was closely connected with the development of Bengali nationalism. The response from the common people to six-point demand was spontaneous. Continuous exploitation unleashed by the Pakistani rulers made Bengalese extremely agitated and frustrated. Bangabandhu floated six-point charter of demands sensing the pulse of the people. "The historic Six-Point Demand or the Six-Point Formula was a Bengali nationalist movement in East Pakistan spearheaded by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which eventually led to the liberation of Bangladesh. It has been widely credited as the "charter of freedom" in Bangladesh`s struggle for self-determination from Pakistan`s domination. Indeed, the six-point movement was the turning point in our quest for independence. The movement`s main agenda was to realize the six demands put forward by a coalition of Bengali nationalist political parties in 1966, to end the perceived exploitation of East Pakistan by the West Pakistani rulers. On June 7 in 1966 the Awami League called a countrywide hartal in the then East Pakistan to press home the six-point demands. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with many others was arrested. Since then 7th June is observed as the historic six-point day."Notwithstanding the deliberate distortions of our political history over a period of almost thirty years, the fact remains that the six-point movement is a milestone in the history of our struggle for independence. East Pakistanis were left to their fate, without military defence and security, while the Pakistani rulers kept themselves busy in defending the West Pakistani frontiers. In this backdrop, soon after the end of the War, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman raised the historic 6-point demand, a charter for the economic emancipation from the exploitative Pakistani colonial state-system."(Aminul Islam wwwrisingbd.com)

The movement for six-point was launched for "removing disparity between the two wings of Pakistan and to put an end to the internal colonial rule of West Pakistan in East Bengal. The Indo-Pak War of 1965 ended with the execution of Taskent Treaty. To the old grievances of economic disparity added the complain of negligence and indifference of central government towards the defence of East Pakistan. Bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman was vocal on this issue."

"The leaders of the opposition parties of West Pakistan convened a national convention at Lahore on 6 February 1966 with a view to ascertain the post-Taskent political trend. Bangabandhu reached Lahore on 4 February along with the top leaders of Awami League, and the day following he placed the Six-point charter of demand before the subject committee as the demands of the people of East Pakistan. He created pressure to include his proposal in the agenda of the conference. The subject committee rejected the proposal of Bangabandhu. On the day following, the newspapers of West Pakistan published reports on the Six-point Programme, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was projected as a separatist. Consequently Sheikh Mujib abandoned the conference. The Six-point Programme along with a proposal of movement for the realisation of the demands was placed before the meeting of the working committee of Awami League on 21 February 1966, and the proposal was carried out unanimously. A booklet on the Six-point Programme with introduction from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Tajuddin Ahmad was published. Another booklet titled Amader Banchar Dabi: 6-dafa Karmasuchi (Our demands for existence: 6-points Programme) was published in the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and was distributed in the council meeting of Awami League held on 18 March 1966."(Banglapedia).

The six point charter same as magma chater catalyzed massive popular support across the country , It was recognized as the definitive gambit for autonomy and rights of Bengalis. It was tetrmed by the radical leaders in the then pakistan as a veiled secession. Mujib was all out to conduct advocacy campaign for the movement mobilizing supports from all sections irrespective of religion , creed and caste. . The demand exclusively for the the people of East Bengal alienated West Pakistanis including non-Bengalis and Muslim fundamentalists.

Mujib was arrested by the army and after two years in jail, an official sedition trial in a military court opened. Widely known as the Agartala Conspiracy Case, Mujib and 34 Bengali military officers were accused by the government of colluding with Indian government agents in a scheme to divide Pakistan and threaten its unity, order and national security. The plot was alleged to have been planned in the city of Agartala in the Indian state of Tripura The outcry and unrest over Mujib's arrest and the charge of sedition against him destabilised East Pakistan amidst large protests and strikes. Various Bengali political and student groups added demands to address the issues of students, workers and the poor, forming a larger "11-point plan." The government caved to the mounting pressure, dropped the charges on February 22, 1969 and unconditionally released Mujib the following day. He returned to East Pakistan as a public hero.[ He was given a mass reception on February 23, at Racecourse ground and conferred with the title 'Bangabandhu', meaning 'Friend of the Bengal'.

Joining an all-parties conference convened by Ayub Khan in 1969, Mujib demanded the acceptance of his six points and the demands of other political parties and walked out following its rejection. On 5 December 1969 Mujib made a declaration at a public meeting held to observe the death anniversary of Suhrawardy that henceforth East Pakistan would be called "Bangladesh":

"Mujib's declaration heightened tensions across the country. The West Pakistani politicians and the military began to see him as a separatist leader. His assertion of Bengali cultural and ethnic identity also re-defined the debate over regional autonomy. Many scholars and observers believed the Bengali agitation emphasised the rejection of the Two-Nation Theory - the case upon which Pakistan had been created - by asserting the ethno-cultural identity of Bengalis as a nation. Mujib was able to galvanise support throughout East Pakistan, which was home to a majority of the national population, thus making him one of the most powerful political figures in the subcontinent. It was following his 6-point plan that Mujib was increasingly referred to by his supporters as "Bangabandhu

Six-point movement is observed as a milestone in our history of liberation. On this day srike was called to press home demand for provincial autonomy based on six and eleven points. East Pakistanis did not feel they had a proportional share of political power and economic benefits within Pakistan. East Pakistan was facing a critical situation after being subjected to continuous discrimination on a regional basis, year after year. As a result, the economist, intelligentsia and the politicians of East Pakistan started to raise questions about this discrimination, giving rise to the historic six point movement. The Bangabandhu placed his historic Sixpoint programme at a political conference in Lahore in 1966. This programme called for a federal state structure for Pakistan and full autonomy for Bangladesh with a parliamentary democratic system

The Army Junta of Pakistan threatened to use the language of weapons against the Six Point movement and the Bangabandhu was arrested under the Defense Rules on May 8, 1966. There was rising discount in East Pakistan over the atrocities by the Pakistan Armed Forces against Bengalis and the neglect of the issues and needs of East Pakistan by the ruling regime

On June 17, 1968 he was removed from Dhaka Central Jail to Kurmitola Cantonment and was charged with conspiring to make Bangladesh independent with the help of India. This case is known as the Agartala Conspiracy case. He was the No.1 accused in the case. While the trial was in progress in the court of a military tribunal the administration of the military junta collapsed as a consequence of a great mass upsurge in Bangladesh at the beginning of 1969.

However, Mujib was released together 'with all the other 'co accused." The Agartola case was withdrawn and the Bangabandhu was invited to attend a Round Table Conference at Islamadab. President Ayub Khan asked him to accept the the position of Prime Minister of Pakistan.. He declined to accept the offer remaining firm in his demand for accepting Six Point programme. Many observed that autonomy movement pointed to the rejection of the Two Nation Theory somewhat reflecting the 'ethno cultural identity of Bengalis as a nation' .

(Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque Professor of Public Administration Chittagong University, Dr. M. Abul Kashem Mozumder, Honourable Member PSC)
We don`t need useless universities for producing useless graduates

THE government has approved three more new private universities despite allegations of irregularities against many existing private universities and questions about standard of education at those universities.The new approvals took to 95 the number of private universities in Bangladesh while 40 per cent of the seats at the existing private universities remained vacant in the past five years, as per a report of a local daily.Seats remain vacant at the private universities, which do not offer quality education and lack the required infrastructure, said educationists. Of the new universities, Rabindra Srijanshil University will be set up at Keraniganj, Rupayan -- AKM Shamsujjoha University will be founded at Narayanganj and University of Global Village will be established in Barisal, Education Ministry official said. Education Ministry officials said that approval was given by the Prime Minister's Office last week.The country does not need more private universities, which aim to replenish the coffers of their patrons by charging high fees for low quality education, in general, but rather more high quality public universities which can be affordable to students from all strata of society. Quality rather than quantity must be maintained for the nation to progress in the future. When quality students fail to graduate then the future remains bleak --passing out of college by studying pass guides does not make for an educated populace.There are over 95 private universities -- yet the vast majority of them fail to provide any quality education -- rather they exist as degree mills -- if you enter and do the classes, you are ensured of a degree. Tales abound of teachers forced to give pass grades for the income of the university. So the university authorities cannot blame the teachers for their non-suitability. Universities must not be encouraged to teach students how to be corrupt and cheaters. Parents spend huge amounts of their hard earned money to send their children to such schools -- but if the return is meaningless or low then why should they? It represents a massive failure in the governance of such institutions, which should represent edifices of knowledge but instead represent hotbeds of corruption -- where it is possible to get a degree at a nominal price.Like politics, we should not make private universities places of business. If University Grants Commission cares many of the existing private universities would have been out of business. Many private universities have not enough qualified teachers yet they attract students for selling certificates. We cannot destroy the future of the young generation. Useless degree holders are a burden for themselves, not only useless for the country.
Do Lafzon Ki Kahani: A boring love story





Randeep Hooda plays a brooding street fighter who falls for a sightless Jenny, played by Kajal Agarwal-Photo: Special arrangement Banalities abound in this pedestrian romantic tale of a street fighter and a blind girl Randeep Hooda is getting into the habit of trying to stretch himself to the utmost as an actor. Unfortunately, in films that don't quite deserve it. No wonder the effort shows, and how. After getting emaciated in Sarbjit , Hooda breaks his lovely nose and disfigures his pretty face in Do Lafzon Ki Kahani . But, instead of gushing over his performance, you end up wondering: why the hell should he be trying so hard? In the second South Korean remake of the week - this one is based on a 2011 film, Always - you have Hooda play the brooding street fighter Sooraj, who is perennially bashing and getting bashed, giving and receiving blows, breaking bones, gushing blood. All of it is far from India, in Kuala Lumpur.

There he bumps into a sightless Jenny (Kajal Agarwal) who, in the time-honoured tradition of blind girls in Hindi films, has huge, round, beautiful, unblemished eyes, much like Kajol in Fanaa or Rameshwari in Sunayana . She has a father who looks Malay and a mother we see in a haze and are unable to figure out the nationality. But Jenny is quite a sanskari girl, obsessed with "desis" to the extent that she "watches" Indian TV serials and mopes along fetchingly.




Unplanned digging makes city life miserable

Kamruzzaman Bablu :

Unplanned road digging, footpath occupation, water-logging in several areas and traffic congestion have made city life suffer most with the beginning of the rainy season. There is no end to sufferings, even after the concerned departments took steps.

The city roads had an excessive pressure of vehicles from the second day of the holy month of Ramazan. Moreover, few service entities have been digging up roads at about 500 points for reform. As a result, even when there is shower, both drains and roads are over flooded causing immense sufferings to the city commuters and pedestrians.

According to Dhaka meteorological office, there may be regular rainfall during the whole month of Ramazan this year. It increases the sufferings manifold.

Earlier, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Haque said several times that the city authority had nothing to do about the water-logging issue nor to recover the lost canals. On the other hand, the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and the Dhaka South City Corporation are blaming each other regarding the sewerage management crisis.

Apart from this, illegal occupation of footpaths during Iftar and makeshift stalls push the pedestrians into the roads collapsing the traffic flow.

the two city corporations could not specify when the digging would conclude. Though the Mayor Annisul Haque reminded the service entities several times of completing the development works by May.

It s alleged that the contractors failed to finish their construction work within the given time," a DNCC official (Zone-4) wishing anonymity said. He also blamed Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) for their "careless and whimsical repairing initiatives."

Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) Architect Iqbal Habib said, inclination to mega projects of the city authorities was one of the main reasons for the public sufferings. He suggested more co-ordination and planning among the utility services.

"We now see traffic jam on the flyovers though the structures were built to minimize the traffic jam, due to digging up of roads."

When asked, Khan Mohammad Redwan, Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said, "The rush is due to the beginning of Ramazan as most of the people return from their offices to take part in Iftar with family members. The congestion would come down to a tolerable level soon, he hoped adding police were active to ensuring the safe return of the people.
IS claims killing of Hindu monastery in Pabna

Reuters :Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing of a Hindu monastery worker who was stabbed to death in Bangladesh, a monitoring service tracking militant online activity reported a day after the slaying.It was the third killing of a member of religious minorities in the mostly Muslim country that the group has taken responsibility for in the past week.The claim was carried by Islamic State's Amaq news agency, Site Intelligence Group, a US-based monitoring service, reported on Saturday. Police said unidentified assailants attacked Nitya Ranjan Pandey, 60, while he was walking in the northwestern district of Pabna early on Friday morning."He was found lying in a pool of blood," district police chief Alamgir Kabir said, adding that no one saw the attackers.
PM vows to contain secret killings

Killers to be dug out, she warns

UNB, Dhaka :

Renewing her allegation that the BNP-Jamaat clique is behind the recent killings in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said the government will do whatever is needed to stop the killings and it is just a matter of time. "We'll do whatever is needed to stop the secret killingsif the government can rein in the broad daylight killings by BNP-Jamaat during the first part of the last year, we can face these killings as well Inshallahit's just a matter of time," she said. The Prime Minister said this in her introductory speech at a meeting of Awami League Central Working Committee at her official residence Ganobhaban.

Terming the killings as part of a plot, Sheikh Hasina urged the people of the country to come up to resist the terrorists and militants as they did in 2015.

"The culprits are doing secret killings just to undermine the country and destroy its image," she said.

The Prime Minister said the government will track each and every person behind these secret killings and put them on trial. "Where will they go, we definitely dig them out," she asserted. Sheikh Hasina said, no one will be spared. "Bangladesh is a small land, but it has got a huge number of people. The people of this country know each other; it's not a tough job to find out the culpritsthey must face the punishment," she said.

Hasina, also the Awami League chief, came down heavily on a section of people who are making hue and cry after every killing saying the government has failed. "Their voice was not that much strong while the BNP-Jamaat clique was burning hundreds of people in the name of a movement," she recalled.

The Prime Minister suggested finding out the masterminds of these killings, their financiers and instigators, and the section of people who are seeing failure of the government after every killing.

Urging the people of the country to resist these terrorists and militants with united efforts, the Prime Minister made it clear that the government as well as the law enforcement agencies would provide all-out help to them.

Responding to BNP chief Khaleda Zia's allegation that the Awami League is involved in these killings, Sheikh Hasina said this is the habit of the BNP chief to kill people. "And I myself had faced the attempts of killing several times," she said. Hasina further alleged that BNP always patronises killing. "It's not our passion and profession, they are the sponsors of all the killings taken place in Bangladesh."

Reiterating that Islam is the religion of peace and it never allows killing anyone as the Almighty Allah is the only authority for any judgement. "But these people have taken over the charge on their own shoulder and this how they're violating the values of the religion. And Islam is suffering a lot for the misdeeds of a handful of people." She also mentioned that Bangladesh is a place of religious harmony where the people of all religions are performing their rituals without any hindrance. Describing various development activities of the government in the last seven years, the Prime Minister said when the government put the country on the track oo development and light, the BNP-Jamaat nexus wants to block the road of development.

"There will be no mercy to those who want to stop the wheel of development. We'll surely take actions against them, there'll be no room for terrorism and militancy in Bangladesh," Hasina said. She warned the people who are involved in the secret killings also have their own families, and they are putting their own families in danger.

The Prime Minister urged the guardians of these families to bring back their sons from the path of militancy, terrorism and killings to the right path.

At the beginning of the meeting, the central leaders of the ruling party presented a bouquet to the party chief marking the eighth anniversary of release of Sheikh Hasina from jail.

On this day in 2008, Sheikh Hasina was released from the special sub-jail set up on the premises of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban after remaining captive there for nearly 11 months.

The Awami League president was arrested from her Sudha Sadan residence at Dhanmondi on July 16, 2007 during the military-backed caretaker government, which assumed power in the political changeover of 1/11 in 2007. Conceding to the people's spontaneous and repeated demands and pressure from different quarters, the caretaker government was compelled to release Sheikh Hasina from jail.
Top suspect held, police claim

Staff Reporter :

The top suspect in connection with murder of police official's wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu has been arrested, police claimed on Saturday.

The arrested person has been identified as Mohammad Shah Zaman alias Robin, 28, son of Mohammad Shahjahan hailing from Laksham upazila of Comilla district. "After scanning the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage Shah Zaman alias Robin has been arrested from Shital Jhorna area under Bayezid Police Station," Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Iqbal Bahar told journalists in a press briefing at the port city police headquarters yesterday afternoon.

He said, the arrested youth was seen in the CCTV footage following Mahmuda Khanam Mitu before her murder. Wearing check shirt and blue jeans, he was seen talking over a mobile phone while following Mitu, added the CMP commissioner.

"We suspect that the detainee is the same person who was seen walking past a lamppost near the place where the CCTV was installed. He might be communicating with his accomplices over mobile phone," he said.

"We are verifying and examining in details about the arrested person," he further said.

Meanwhile, driver of a black microbus, who was detained on Wednesday, was freed as police did not find his any link with the murder through verification and interrogation, the police official added.

Meanwhile, five people have been arrested in connection with the murder of Mahmuda Khanam Mitu.

The law enforcer continued to carryout investigation following the CCTV camera footage that showed three people riding on a bike attacked her and took 40 to 50 seconds to complete the task. Police claimed that they have found similarities of this murder with the murders in the last two years, for which police have blamed Islamist radicals.

On June 5, three assailants reportedly stabbed and shot dead Mitu, 32, who left her Nizam Road residence on foot to drop her son at a school bus at GEC intersection in the port city around 6:45am.

The victim's husband Babul Aktar got promotion as superintendent of police recently and was posted at police headquarters in Dhaka. Earlier, he was additional deputy commissioner of detective branch of CMP.
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Jane Kleeb said Friday she wants to lead Nebraska's Democratic Party, pledging to harness the "progressive energy that is bringing more people to our party" and move forward to reshape Nebraska's current Republican landscape.

Kleeb, founder and leader of Bold Nebraska and an activist with a national profile, said this is the moment for "a new time in our state."

"For too many years, we let Republicans define the direction of our state," Kleeb said at an outdoor gathering in Lincoln where she announced she will seek the post of state party chair.

Now, she said, Democrats are ready to claim the future as "the party of the people" that responds to the demonstrated concerns of farmers, ranchers, native tribes, environmentalists, teachers, nurses, doctors, moms in North Omaha, gay people, union members, young Nebraskans.

This is a moment of "new people, new ideas, new passions and new resolve," Kleeb said.

"This new energy is inspired by the heroic campaign of Sen. (Bernie) Sanders that brought progressive issues and new voters into our politics," she said.

"This new energy is also inspired by the historic campaign of Secretary (Hillary) Clinton that showed every little girl in America the power of equality."

Kleeb introduced and endorsed Sanders at a rally in Lincoln two days before the Nebraska Democratic presidential caucus in March. Sanders won that statewide caucus; Clinton later won Nebraska's Democratic presidential primary in May.

Joining Kleeb at the gathering were Democratic State Chairman Vince Powers and former state Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha. Native American leader Frank LaMere, who had supported Clinton, introduced Kleeb.

Powers and Lathrop originally were members of a unity team of candidates for top party offices that fell apart in the face of criticism from an array of Democratic activists, some of whom support 2014 gubernatorial nominee Chuck Hassebrook for state chairman.

Other opposition was voiced by organized labor representatives and supporters who want to retain union leader Ron Kaminski as national committeeman. Lathrop had been pegged for that slot in the unity slate formed by Kleeb and Powers, but he withdrew in the face of labor's concerns.

Kleeb initially succeeded in convincing Powers to seek re-election while she learned the ropes as vice chair of the party, but Powers withdrew earlier this week in the face of criticism about the slate.

Hassebrook said he believes "the disarray and backroom deal" approach to party leadership demonstrated by formation of a unity slate should be a factor when delegates to the Democratic state convention in Kearney choose party leaders next week.

"I will work with a steadfast, focused commitment to bring together slate and non-slate candidates, as well as Clinton and Sanders supporters, to elect more candidates, grow our party, advance social justice and economic opportunity, protect the environment and foster respect for the diversity in our communities," Hassebrook said.

As the leader of Bold Nebraska, Kleeb successfully organized a grassroots campaign to prevent construction of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline across the state. That effort garnered national attention, including a New York Times Sunday Magazine cover profile of Kleeb.

Now, Kleeb said, she wants to hold Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts accountable.

"Governor Ricketts recently attempted to shame (state) senators of his own party because they dared to cross party lines for the good of our state," Kleeb said. The governor suggested he was keeping the process transparent and the politicians accountable, she noted.

"I look forward to every single moment as chair that I will keep him accountable for protecting big corporations over the people and for standing with his buddy (Donald) Trump who cannot get through a day without being a bully rather than a leader," Kleeb said.
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After my column appeared about Governor Ricketts trying to get his Republican legislative ducks in a row by calling out the names of the ones who didn't support him on all of his initiatives, a friend told me it was the senators' fault.

He went so far as to say there were a couple of term-limited senators from his neck of the woods who likely couldn't get re-elected if they could run because the people are so upset with them. The constituents are disillusioned because they don't feel they are being represented by the people they elected, he said.

OK. I get that. It happens every year and this year was no different. It has been happening for years. There have always been a small group of party loyalists who have waited for the governor's direction before taking a stand. This is not unique to the Ricketts' administration and goes back decades.

Nebraska's constitution clearly calls for a separation of powers among the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. More importantly, it calls for a non-partisan legislature. Yes, leave your party affiliation at the door, please and thank you, and vote for what you feel is the best thing for your constituents. Sounds simple enough. So what's gone wrong?

pol-i-tics: noun; "The activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power."

Power. When you voted for the person to represent you, did you think you were giving that person power to do much else than represent you? Did you ever think that your vote would represent an anointing of that person to rise to bigger and better things (read that higher office) on the backs of you and your fellow constituents?

Or did you vote for the person because you heard them say something that sounded like something you might say? Did you give them the opportunity to be away from friends and family for a whopping $12,000 a year so they could be your voice in the greater realm of government? I once had a rancher in southwest Nebraska tell me they voted for a longtime incumbent just to get him out of town.

Through the years I have had a number of state senators tell me that they headed to Lincoln with an agenda and the best intentions of their constituents in mind. They had high hopes that their best ideas would see the light of day and possibly become law.

Then they ran into politics and realized they first had to convince 48 colleagues and a governor before they could see the dream fulfilled. I never knew a state senator who finished the first few weeks in office with an assurance that things were going to go his or her way. Only the ignorant or the arrogant would see it otherwise.

Perhaps the biggest thing a senator has to get used to is the small role they each play in the ongoing daily grind of government. They are, at the end of the day, one green or red light on the unicameral tote board. That's not insignificant, but it does put things in perspective. Each snowflake is unique, but enough of them clumped together can close a road.

Each senator has a stand on an issue and a vote. If someone is manipulating that vote, they have surrendered their individual convictions and their commitment to their constituents.

Not voting the way of the governor is not a bad thing and it certainly isn't worth a public chastisement. Remember, the Nebraska Unicameral is a non-partisan legislative body. There is a reason it has worked that way for years and there is a reason it must remain that way.
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.
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  Mona Shehada opens one of the doors to her double-decker oven, pulling out the rack to check on the barbecue chicken, before closing that door and moving over to check voluminous pot of rice, before going to measure more rice for the next pot or checking on food in some of the multiple covered aluminum trays spread over the kitchen.

She's a constant flurry of activity, moving at that pace since she started cooking at 7:30 that morning, she said The time is just shy of 2 p.m., but Shehada predicts that in another two hours, she will have cooked all the food she needs to feed 150 adults and 20 children around 10 that night.

Shehada's meal will be eaten by some area Muslims who will come together and celebrate the breaking of this night's fast, on the fourth night of Ramadan; the observance marks the time that Muslims believe that the Koran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. The observance started Monday, June 6, and will end July 6.

During the month-long observance, observant Muslims do not eat or drink from sun up to sun down, and use the time to draw closer to God, as they focus on Him than during their five daily prayer times. Shehada and her husband get up around 3:30 a.m. to eat, finishing up by 4:17 a.m.  at the breaking of dawn, she said.

During a time when some observant Muslims are most conscious about food  about when to eat it and when not to eat it  it seems almost ironic that Shehada is surrounded by it: In both of her ovens, on the stove top; on the kitchen and island counters; the kitchen floor; to the dining room table.

Her kitchen provides a behind-the-scene look at how one Muslim household prepares to celebrate with others in a breaking of the daylong fast. Shehada will be sharing the food later on that night when close to 200 Muslims come together to break the fast at the Carterville Civic Center.

In another space in the kitchen are eight long aluminum pans filled with beef kabob, barbecue chicken or previously cooked bins of the rice. On the kitchen island countertop are another six aluminum trays filled with either beef-filled or spinach-filled pastries.

Another six dishes, appetizers, she calls them, are arrayed on the table in the living room: One is an eggplant dish, made from eggplant that was grilled, then smashed and mixed with yogurt; another, a dish with hummus turned white from mixing the chick peas with ice cubes, and garnished with spices and chick peas; and a third set, a tray with a pomegranate mix decorated with cucumber slices.

At least twice she summons over her husband, Dr. Issa Abedmahmoud, to hold the big cooking pot so the basmati rice sprinkled with green peas inside can fall into or be scooped into more waiting aluminum pans.

One of her twins, 17-year-old Kenan, emerges from somewhere in the house and walks into the kitchen area, peering intently into the tray of pastries, filled with either spinach or ground beef.

The momentary hunger and thirst pains that Muslims can feel serve to remind them of those who are hungry and cannot get food, and their prayers during that time serve to have them rely on God.

"The main part is to feel how the poor are feeling," Shehada said. "There is no better way (to experience this than to fast oneself). You know yourself you're going to break the fast; how about the people who don't?"

The time also helps Muslims to become more compassionate and helps build fellowship among each other.

"The more time you spend close to God, the more you are adapting (to) the way it should be," Dr. Abedmahmoud said.

Shehada said there is a procedure to breaking the fast.

They start by eating "little by little," so as not to exacerbate stomachs that have been empty for, sometimes, 16 hours that day. They will eat pastries and dates, in increments of one, three or five, for instance.

"It has to be an odd number," she said.

Then, they go into a prayer, which can last 5 to 10 minutes.

Then, the Imam, or the spiritual leader of that mosque will pray; after that, they are free to eat.

Shehada is sure she made enough food for those breaking the fast and is sure anything left over will go with those who will eat it, maybe as they rise before dawn to eat, or at the next night's fast-breaking.

"The idea is we want to appreciate what we have," she said. "At the same time, we don't want to waste food, because part of appreciating it is to use what you have, not waste."
MARION  One person died Friday afternoon in a plane crash at Williamson County Regional Airport.

Brian Burgess, Williamson County Fire Protection District battalion chief, confirmed Friday night one person died and another was airlifted to a level one trauma center.

Burgess said the plane crashed around 4:38 p.m. Friday. The Williamson County Coroner declared the death on scene Friday. He said two people were on board the plane  a pilot and passenger. He did not release the name of either person, nor did he give their ages or sexes.

Burgess said it was a single-engine plane, but other than that, he could not provide any more details about the plane. Burgess said it is unknown whether the plane was taking off or landing when the incident took place. The aircraft was based out of Marion.

The crash happened off the end of the north-south runway, one of two runways at the airport, Burgess said. The other runway is the east-west runway.

Burgess said officials from the National Transportation Safety Board are en route and are expected to arrive about 10 p.m. tonight. They will begin their investigation immediately upon arrival, he said. Federal Aviation Administration officials are expected to arrive tomorrow morning. It is standard protocol for the NTSB and FAA to investigate all plane crashes.

The airport is still open to incoming traffic. During Friday's investigation into the crash, authorities closed a section of Crenshaw Road bordering the airport; Crenshaw, from Bandyville Road to Cardinal Lane, is expected to be closed until further notice.

No other information is available at this time.

This story will be updated as more details become available.
SESSER  Fourteen years ago, Anna VanDeVeire picked out her final resting spot at Maple Hill Cemetery, right next to a plot reserved for her sister and close to where her parents and other family members have already been buried.

For $375, she purchased Block C, Row J, Grave 31. VanDeVeire, 83, who lives near Rockford, said that when she dies, the thing that is most important to her is being laid to rest near her family.

But about a year ago, VanDeVeire found out that someone else had accidentally been buried in her plot at the city-owned cemetery in Sesser. She has sued the city, alleging that officials failed to notify her of the mistake in a timely manner, or offer a suitable remedy.

VanDeVeire and her sister, Retha Daugherty, said Daugherty was informally notified of the mistake about a year ago by the city clerk in a private Facebook message.

The sisters had purchased side-by-side plots in 2002 in an area where several other family members are buried in the city-owned cemetery, they said.

VanDeVeire said that she was told by Sesser Mayor Jason Ashmore, who also is the cemetery sexton, that the best the city could do was offer VanDeVeire and Daugherty side-by-side plots elsewhere in the cemetery. But VanDeVeire said she wants to be buried in the plot she previously selected or one immediately nearby, close to her parents and other siblings.

VanDeVeire said that when talks between herself, her sister and the mayor went nowhere, she decided to find a lawyer and file a lawsuit.

I would love for this to be over, VanDeVeire said. I would have loved for this to never have happened to start with because I know how stressful it is also for the other family. I just would be so glad to get it settled.

VanDeVeire said this incident has caused her a great deal of stress. Daugherty claimed that Ashmore was rude to her when she called to see if a compromise respectful to all parties could be worked out, including the possibility of exhuming the body in her sisters grave and reburying it in its rightful place, or the city finding her sister another grave in the immediate vicinity.

Ashmore declined comment on Friday. But John Bigler, of the Bigler Law Office in Anna, the citys contracted attorney, said that he is confident that all parties involved  the city, VanDeVeire and the family of the young man who was buried in her plot  can come to a solution that is acceptable to all parties.

Bigler declined to comment on Ashmores conversations with VanDeVeire and Daugherty, saying only that the citys interest is finding a solution that honors the wishes of all parties to the extent possible.

This has been a very serious and a very emotional situation for all parties involved, including the city, Bigler said.

The city has admitted its error and really hates that the situation occurred, Bigler said. Bigler said that under the previous long-serving mayor, Ned Mitchell, who also was formerly a state senator, cemetery records were not kept as organized as they should have been.

He said this is one of a few examples where the city has had to deal with unfortunate clerical errors involving the cemetery. One involved the city, under the previous administration, selling the same plot to two different people on accident, he said.

Mayor Ashmore has worked hard in the last three years to get those files more organized and more efficient to deal with so mistakes dont occur as easily, Bigler said.

In response to the lawsuit filed on VanDeVeires behalf by Marshall Hilmes, an attorney from Caseyville, the city included an exhibit showing that Kenny Grob was supposed to have been buried in Block C, Row J, Grave 30 on July 8, 2003, but was instead buried in Block C, Row J, Grave 31, which VanDeVeire had purchased on Feb. 11, 2002.

Kenny Grob died July 4, 2003, in a single-vehicle accident on a rural road north of Buckner at the age of 20, according to newspaper archives. The family also owns several plots in the area where Grob is buried.

VanDeVeire said she holds no animosity at all toward the Grob family, and that she considers the Grob family just as much a victim of the citys mistake as she is. Hilmes, her attorney, said that everyone involved is sensitive to the fact that they do not want to disturb the resting place of Grob, but said that VanDeVeire also deserves her rightful place among family.

Not only does my client not have a place to be buried, but because she has to raise this issue and the city isnt taking care of it, the other family or people in town may have some animosity against her, he said. I dont like that she has to do that but they wouldnt correct it and she has to be the one to say Im not moving to the other side of the cemetery and I want my burial spot.'

The civil complaint was filed in Franklin County Circuit Court in late December. There was a hearing on Friday concerning Sessers motion to dismiss the lawsuit over claims that the statute of limitations had expired for VanDeVeire to file the lawsuit. The city argued that VanDeVeire had a year from the time of Grobs burial to contest, but VanDeVeire said she only found out recently about the mistake.

There was a lengthy conversation among the parties outside of the courtroom, and lawyers for both parties told the judge they may have reached a compromise. The case was continued for a later date, leaving open the possibility for an out-of-court settlement.
VILLA PARK  Six months ago doctors told Elise Boni that it could take years for her to relearn how to walk and talk after a devastating blood clot caused a traumatic seizure.

But her will to recover so she could help a bunch of fifth-graders finish what they started last year has been nothing short of a miracle, her doctors say.

Boni, a 26-year-old fifth-grade teacher at Villa Park's Ardmore Elementary School returned to her classroom on a part-time basis in April. At Ardmore, teachers work in a loop system, meaning Boni was with her students during both their fourth- and fifth-grade years.

"All of the support from my friends and family helped a lot during my recovery," Boni said. "But more than anything, I was determined not to give up. I had to get back here to see my kids finish what we started before they go on to middle school."

Boni had a seizure on Dec. 4, which was caused by a blood clot and bleeding in her brain. After a portion of her skull was removed to relieve pressure from the swelling, Boni spent nearly a month in Northwestern's neuro-critical intensive care unit.

She left there at the end of December and entered an acute rehabilitation center, where she was expected to stay for at least a month.

"Within three weeks she was feeding herself, beginning to talk and she walked out of the building," said Elise's mother, Barb Boni. "She's coming back faster than medical staff ever expressed to us."

Elise recently had the portion of her skull replaced and is recuperating.

"I'm about 95 percent back to normal. The last 5 percent is word-finding and memory," she said. "We've told the students to let me struggle to find or remember the appropriate words. I think they're enjoying that a little."

Boni will finish out the year on a part-time schedule, working 8 a.m. to noon every day before handing things off to a substitute.

"The return has gone really well," she said, "Our social worker kind of prepared the kids to see me with my head shaved and wearing a head scarf and we talked to them about gentle hugging. But it's all gone great. Everyone has been so sweet."

After next week, Boni will focus on final details for her July 16 wedding to Ryan Forner, a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools system. They'll be the first couple ever to be married on the field at Illinois State University's Hancock Stadium, near where Forner proposed.

She hopes to be able to return to her classroom, full-time, next school year. Her bosses do too.

"Elise is loved by everyone in the building and we're thrilled to have her back," said Ardmore Principal Michele Cummins. "Her kids have missed her."

Members of her Alpha Gamma Delta sorority created a YouCaring page to keep friends and family updated on her condition and give them an outlet to help pay her mounting medical bills. Boni, 26, was a member of the sorority when she attended Illinois State University.

And the Oakbrook Terrace Lions Club donated just more than $1,500 in proceeds from last Saturday's 28th annual pasta dinner.

"She's a great young lady," said Lions Treasurer Paul Zubinski. "And we're happy to help someone who contributes as much to the well-being of our children as she does."

Boni said the response from friends and strangers alike has been overwhelming.

"It's really incredible the amount of response that I got from everyone," she said, "So I just want to say, 'Thank you.'"
In 1828, Congress profoundly increased the punishing tariff on the South. It increased it from the rate adopted in 1824 (37%) to 50%. It was so severe that the South termed the Tariff of 1828 the "Tariff of Abominations." South Carolina threatened to leave the Union. In order to address the conflict created by the high tariff, Congress passed a new tariff bill in 1832, slightly lowering the rate. However, it was still deemed unsatisfactory by many in the South, especially in South Carolina.When Congress failed to adequately lower the high tariff in 1832, South Carolina knew it needed to take a stand against the government on this issue. And it would need to be a strong stand. John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, was Vice President at the time. So strongly did he feel about what South Carolina's response should be to the tariff that he resigned the vice presidency and sought election to the Senate, where he felt he could best represent his state. He easily won a Senate seat.Calhoun convinced his state that the proper remedy was the one that Thomas Jefferson and James Madison themselves had articulated clearly in 1798 - Nullification. Nullification is the right of a state to refuse to enforce a law that is enacted beyond the powers granted to the federal government in the Constitution. Although there had been talk of secession, Calhoun believed the proper remedy was nullification. So, in order to show its affection and continued loyalty to the union and its hope that Congress would reconsider its actions, it chose merely to refuse to pay the tariff. On November 24, 1832, South Carolina passed an Ordinance of Nullification which in effect stated that because the Congress over-stepped its constitutional authority with its power to establish tariffs, the state was under no obligation to obey the Tariff Bill of 1832.Senator John Calhoun of SC explained that the government created by the Constitution was tasked with only limited powers and ONLY when the government acts within those powers are the States constitutionally obligated to respect its laws and actions. Calhoun correctly explained that Congress was only tasked with the ability to raise tariffs for "revenue purposes" only and those tariffs must be imposed equally among the States. The high protective tariffs passed in 1824, then increased in 1828, and then renewed (although slightly decreased) in 1832, were not for revenue for the federal government but were merely a stream of revenue to temporarily pass through the government to the North where they directly benefited its industry and infrastructure. Wealth was funneled from the South to the North via federal legislation intended exactly for that purpose. It was a direct subsidization scheme.In 1835, explaining why South Carolina took the action it did, Calhoun said:."http://www.umsl.edu/virtualstl/phase2/1850/events/perspectives/documents/calhoun01.html83% of the money supporting the federal government was paid by the South through the various tariffs. The South paid the tariff (tax). It was not fair or legal - as the Constitution mandated that taxes must be collected equally among the States - but in a spirit of good will, the South agreed to it. At first the tariffs were low - 5% to 10%. But then the industrialized North and the greedy money seekers found a lucrative money supply.By 1824, the Northern-dominated Congress changed the tariff from a "revenue" tariff to a "protective" tariff in order to subsidize Northern factory owners and investors. Raising tariffs raised the price of European goods when they were imported which means that competition was essentially eliminated on Northern products. In order for Southerners to get the finished products that they once imported from Great Britain and France and Italy and other countries at an affordable price, they would have to buy from a Northern source. The products were inferior. Nonetheless, the market for Northern products thus increased. The North then spent the increased revenue on its own interests.The North further benefited from the disruption of the very lucrative 200-year-old trade relationship between the South and Europe. Because European products were taxed heavily in America, England and other European countries did the same to American raw materials (tobacco, sugar, cotton, grain, and rice - the major cash crop being cotton). The price of Southern goods in European markets dropped. And the South had to accept the low prices or not have a market for their goods. OR they could sell their raw materials to the North (also at prices lower than what they were used to before the tariff) and again enrich the North's position economically.The union was being ripped apart, but not because of slavery. The issue tearing the North and South apart was money and the crushing tariff and the abuse of Congressional power under the Constitution. Patrick Henry, John Tyler Sr., and Charles Pickney all predicted that the North's growing population advantage (it was even encouraging immigration to work the factories!) would give control of Congress to the Northern money party (which would become the "Whig" party and then the Republican party) which would enact tariff increases and other measures to force the South to subsidize the North. George Mason, who criticized the newly-drafted Constitution over various issues, including the lack of a Bill of Rights, encouraged Virginia and other Southern states not to ratify it. He warned: "The terms of this contract will deliver the Southern farmer, bound and tied, to the New England merchants." He and other Southern delegates to the Philadelphia Convention had tried to make it harder in Congress to pass a tariff - they wanted a 2/3 majority to pass trade (including tariff) bills. In the end, it was voted that a simple majority was all that would be necessary.John C. Calhoun has been vilified in history, and still is, for being a slave owner and supporter of slavery. President Andrew Jackson, father of the Democratic Party, the president who signed the 1828 and 1832 tariffs into law and who had Congress pass a Force Bill for his purposes, which he intended to use to send federal troops into South Carolina after he learned about the Ordinance of Nullification in order to forcibly collect the tariff revenue, was ALSO a slave owner and supporter of slavery.
NORWAY  Construction of the new Family Dollar store is progressing well, Mayor Ann Johnson said after the June meeting of Norway Town Council had to be canceled because of the lack of a quorum.

Johnson, however, did answer some questions posed by residents who showed up for the meeting, including the status of the new store. Before doing so, she said a special called council meeting would be scheduled and notices announcing the time and date of the meeting would be posted.

The mayor went on to say the opening of the Family Dollar is expected to be in mid-September.

Johnson also noted that she had received several inquiries concerning the placement of the towns new decorative banners.

Some people have asked why the banners were placed only on the east side of town on Highways 400 and 332 and not continued beyond the railroad tracks, she said.

I just want to say that the banners were placed in front of the Willow School and as far along Highway 400 as possible, Johnson added. We dont have any more flags with the correct brackets and ties.

The banners were paid for with money received from various individuals, the Orangeburg County Council and state Sen. Brad Hutto, the mayor said. No grant money was used to buy the banners, she said.

Johnson asked that anyone wishing to donate money for the purchase of additional banners, brackets and ties contact Norway Town Hall at 803-263-4300.
The court battle over the Environmental Protection Agencys breathtaking expansion of its powers with the Clean Power Plan also means a renewed spotlight on the Obama administrations tax and environmental policies and the chilling effect they will have on American jobs and growth. The CPP, the administrations signature climate change policy that regulates power plant carbon emissions, has been challenged by West Virginia and dozens of other states.

Although she subsequently disavowed her own statement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton best articulated the aim of that policy when she said, Were going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.

Forced to comment on the Clinton assessment, EPA chief Gina McCarthy declined to repudiate it, asserting awkwardly, Its certainly not good for anybody to be out of work in an economy.  I do not agree that anyone in the United States of America should go without a job.

Its a statement marinated in irony, considering McCarthy and the Obama administration advocate continuously for tax and environmental policies that will crush American energy industry jobs, inflate the already swollen ranks of the unemployed, and raise energy costs for the entire nation.

One needs look no further than President Obamas Fiscal Year 2017 budget to understand the presidents agenda. Its a laundry list of new energy taxes and other restrictive measures designed to punish, constrain and further burden the oil and gas industry. For example, Obamas budget includes the repeal of many business tax provisions  like the domestic manufacturing deduction  solely for oil and gas companies, even though they are used by virtually all manufacturers, in every sector.

The oil and gas sector lost hundreds of thousands of jobs all across the labor market and cut about half a percentage point off economic growth this past year, according to Moodys Analytics. A weak economy means taxpayers will be shortchanged from much-needed revenue and more unemployed workers mean higher spending on government programs.

The net loss to the industry itself  114,000 jobs  is just a small part of the story. Because the traditional energy sector in America is generally so vast and beneficial to communities all throughout the country, when it suffers, it does not do so alone.

Myriad industries are adversely affected, and exponentially. Moodys estimates that for every lost oil and gas job there are an additional 3.43 jobs lost in other sectors. Today 37 percent of them are directly affected by the energy industry, like in steel production and railcars for oil transportation, while the remaining 63 percent are attributable to laid off employees reduced spending on hotels, retail and health care.

All of which means that the 114,000 job losses wiped out an additional 391,000 jobs in other sectors last year and sliced economic growth to about 2.1 percent from 2.6 percent.

It is against this alarming backdrop that the Obama administration has pursued several tax and environmental policies that can only have one result: hindering growth in the energy sector.

The 2017 budget also proposed raising the federal oil tax by $10.25 per barrel, upping the price of gasoline by 25 cents a gallon, or approximately $5 more for every trip to the pump. This increased fuel price would directly affect working families, commuters, taxpayers and every single business (most) reliant on the steady flow of affordable fuel to run its operations. Margins will shrink or vanish, additional costs will be passed on to the consumer, and all Americans will suffer  the largest burden falling upon those who can least afford it.

On the heels of last years ozone rule  tagged as possibly one of the most expensive regulations in history  the administration is now pushing to implement methane emission regulations that would discourage the very shale revolution that lowered energy prices for all Americans and which helped reduce emissions in the first place. More recently, it was announced the administration would stop issuing Atlantic exploration leases, further hampering the industrys ability to satisfy demand with affordable inventory.

It seems the Obama administration is alone in not recognizing that Americas economy is barely sputtering along while working families continue to struggle. America is in need of tax policies that are fair and universally applied, not rhetoric in disguise that picks winners and losers in the marketplace. Taxpayers should not be punished because of misguided policies by this, or any other president.

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David Williams is the president of Taxpayers Protection Alliance (www.protectingtaxpayers.org). He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
The United States is viewed in the Middle East today as a declining power with a diminished ability to influence events and lead. The Arab states, Turkey and Israel are disturbed by U.S. policy in the Middle East  primarily Americas extended hand toward Iran, who has returned the favor by sparing no opportunity to humiliate the United States.

Sunni Muslim states watch with growing concern as their historic rivals  the Shiites and the Iranian mullah regime  gain momentum and expand their influence. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Iranian-backed Shiite militias, Afghan Shiite militias, Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite militias physically occupy parts of Iraq, Syria and Yemen; Lebanon has been taken hostage by Hezbollah in the service of Iran; Shiite militias conduct ethnic cleansing of Sunnis in Syria (with Russian support) and in Iraq.

The Iran Nuclear Deal, signed between the United States, the major European states, and Iran in July 2015 formally legitimized Irans nuclear program and positioned Iran as a leading regional superpower. Though formally expressing support for the agreement, the Arab states are furious and horrified. Their major concern, shared by Israel and Turkey, is that the lifting of sanctions on Iran and the hundreds of billions of dollars streaming to Iran's treasury will be used to increase Iran's influence inside the Arab states and beyond.

The Iranian aggressive expansion is taking place with the silent consent of the United States of America. Some Arab analysts argue that the current U.S. administration does not understand the Middle East. Others argue that the United States is actually implementing a policy that reflects a calculated, strategic change of direction stemming from the American assumption that the Arab world is a limping horse and that Iran can actually secure stability in the troubled Middle East, and can therefore be useful in successfully fighting militant Islamic groups such as ISIS, al-Qaida and other Sunni militant groups.

Others theorize that the United States deliberately encourages instability in Arab societies to justify the strengthening of its ties with Iran and, that U.S. policy is motivated by the eagerness of American and European companies to do business with Iran.

It is not surprising that U.S. policy in the Middle East is further alienating growing segments of the Sunni Muslim world. Arab leaders view President Barack Obama as irrelevant and are waiting for his second term to end. It appears that America is extending its hand to Iran partly based upon the hope that it will make the Iranian mullah regime moderate and become pragmatic. Reality proves, however, that this is wishful thinking.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter welcomed the Islamic revolution in Iran, believing that the mullah regime would become moderate. But Americas friendly gestures were quickly met with more than 60 private U.S. citizens, military personnel, diplomatic staff and government employees being held hostage by the Iranian mullah regime for more than a year.

In 2016, President Obamas extended hand toward Iran was reciprocated by the humiliating arrest of U.S. Navy personnel in the Gulf by Iran, and most recently with the reported Iranian ballistic missile test launch.

The behavior of the Iranian regime over the past generation demonstrates that the modus operandi of the regime is anything but moderate  and that the only pragmatic aspect of the Iranian regime is its increasingly aggressive regional policy.

The Iranian-Arab power struggle is primarily playing out in eight arenas  Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, three islands that are occupied by Iran in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Yemen, the Gaza Strip and the Iranian nuclear program.

In the United States there are those who argue that that the Middle East is of diminishing importance to U.S. strategic interests. This argument is short-sighted and ultimately counterproductive to American national interests. The United States must restore its influence and leadership. One way of achieving this is through active U.S. involvement in the shaping of a new Iranian-Arab balance of power in these eight arenas.

U.S. policy in the Middle East must be based on three elements: restraining Irans aggressive expansion, accurately assessing the negotiables and non-negotiables of the players involved, and the willingness to respond decisively if any clearly drawn U.S. red lines are crossed. Failing to restore the Iranian-Arab power balance will result in growing instability that will greatly undermine American influence and vital interests in the Middle East.

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Avi Melamed is an intelligence and Middle East Affairs fellow at the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College and author of the book Inside the Middle East: Making Sense of the Most Dangerous and Complicated Region on Earth. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Ivanpah is a 640,000 megawatt-hour solar farm in California that received $1.5 billion in taxpayer-funded federal loans. The project benefited from a loan-guarantee program where taxpayers bear the risks and the solar industry gets favorable rates to protect their profits.

The Ivanpah plant has failed to provide the energy, and thus the environmental benefits, it promised consumers. Unfortunately, this foundering is barely news. Despite decades of strong financial and popular support, government investments in solar power have yet to pay off.

Investments of the magnitude solar receives require huge returns to justify, but those returns have yet to appear. Research by the Institute for Energy Research shows solar power is subsidized in excess of 345 times more than generation from either coal or oil and natural gas. In fiscal year 2013 alone, the federal government spent $5.3 billion subsidizing solar energy, as reported by the Energy Information Administration. This funding, and the millions before it, has resulted in only 0.6 percent of total U.S. electricity coming from solar energy technologies in 2015.

Subsidizing the solar industry has resulted in a continual retreat of the goalposts without any of the promised benefits ever coming to fruition. The argument in favor of government funding for new technologies is that temporary public assistance helps protect investors and helps jumpstart the industry. But those receiving the support always forget about the temporary part of that argument. Each time a deadline looms and a program is about to expire, wind and solar trade agencies push for an extension for just a few more years.

Solar and wind were predicted to be competitive by 1990 if they were assisted by tax credits and federal funds for research and development, according to a 1983 study. With the help of current tax credits and subsidies, utility-scale solar photovoltaic facilities will become competitive by the end of this decade. according to a 2013 study. The 1983 study was not close to accurately predicting the renewable energy future and there is little chance the 2013 study will do any better as solar power remains one of the most expensive forms of generating electricity, according to estimates compiled by the Transparent Cost Database, an open source project of Open Energy Information.

When subsidies are removed, investments in solar power plummet because the technology is not economical. One major subsidy, the Investment Tax Credit, was set to expire in 2016 until lawmakers in Washington extended the life of the credit six more years, until 2022. Before the extension some solar developers determined they would probably not meet the deadline and withdrew from their projects.

BrightSource Energy, the company that also runs the controversial Ivanpah solar plant, canceled a utility-scale solar farm planned for California because of uncertainty about qualifying for the Investment Tax Credit. Now, however, with the tax credit ensured for a few more years, an increase in solar developments is expected.

The market for solar is clearly driven by the tax credits and protectionism procured through the political process, not by serving the energy needs of average people.

The direct beneficiaries of subsidizing solar power are not new innovators. The funding actually concentrates in the hands of large and established companies. Veronique de Rugy, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, shows that most of the funds for the Section 1705 Loan Guarantee Program, which passes the obligation for repayment of a loan on to the government if the borrower defaults, went to large, established companies rather than to startups. Of the programs approximately $30 billion, 64 percent was captured by just four companies.

Solar power manufacturers and investors benefit from massive government programs, but ultimately it is you and I who foot the bill through higher taxes. Our money ends up going straight to the bottom line of solar energy companies. For too long we have fruitlessly subsidized large solar industry favorites, and the time has come for solar energy producers to either prove their worth on their own, or exit the market.

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Randy T. Simmons is director of the Institute of Political Economy and professor of political economy at Utah State University. He also serves as president of Strata, a policy research center based in Logan, Utah. Josh Smith is a policy analyst at Strata. They wrote this for InsideSources.com.
In light of continued developments, primarily since 2008, there exists in these United States a Legal System which operates on a proved Two Tiered approach to justice rendered, which primarily benefits Democratic Elites and Woke Ideological Virtue Signalers, representing their co-dependent wards, to the expressed exclusion of normal hardworking American citizens: What is your suggestion in remedying this widespread injustice and, if not corrected, its existential outcome for our Constitutional Republic?

Complete overhaul the Department of Justice and their enforcers - the FBI - to reflect a far more honest justice system to keep patriots remaining calm.

Disband the FBI, and request that congress investigate all unethical and non patriotic practices to partially right the wrongs of a distrusted and politically weaponized "Department of Justice."
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YARAT Contemporary Art Space presents 300 Words on Resistance  a group exhibition including 7 emerging Azerbaijani artists: Farhad Farzaliyev, Ilkin Huseynov, Sitara Ibrahimova, Aida Mahmudova, Elturan Mammadov, Habib Saher, Zamir Suleymanov and 7 modern masters: Eldar Aghamalov, Anvar Asgarov, Rasim Babayev, Boyukagha Mirzazade, Tahir Salahov, Togrul Narimanbekov and Talat Shikhaliyev.





300 Words on Resistance draws from the belief that resistance is both personal and political. It is an essential social attitude in building civil society. Seven emerging Azerbaijani artists explore their perspective on resistance, introducing themes pre-occupying the youth of the country, such as gender relations, cultural stereotypes and socio-political uncertainty. The newly commissioned works explore both general and individual struggles facing the Azeri society today. These artists carry the voices of their generation, through times of economic turbulence and geo-political unrest, into the new century of capitalism and social awareness.





Throughout the exhibition, the new works are marked by and put into conversation with older works of the generation of artists from the 60s. The modern works, many of which have never been exhibited before, defined resistance during the Soviet era by going against the mainstream of Socialist-Realism and subverting propaganda art. These modern masters continue to act as a solid foundation and a source of inspiration for the younger generation of artists throughout the country.





Sitara Ibrahimova and Farhad Farzaliyev subvert the prevalent gender specific stereotypes through irony and humour in their video works, Reflector (2016) and What a Nice Place to Eat and Drink (2016). A similar urge to break free is expressed in a Non-Conformist painting by Talat Shihaliyev, Portrait of a Young Man (1961). These works are opposed by the seeming stillness of Tahir Salahovs Homage to the Mothers (1986). The passing of time in this work continues in Habib Sahers Waiting for Godot (2016), evoking a slow decay of traditional worldviews through art historical references.





Resistance takes a phenomenological turn in Aida Mahmudovas Untitled (2016). Her new work made predominantly with gauze fabric, is a material expression of a personal struggle, which is shared with the viewer through its out of scale presence in the space. The sheer physicality of the installation finds its historical counterpart in the Expressionist work of Rasim Babayev, The Earth is Rich with Oil (1976).





The idea of a private mental space breaking through into a public political realm manifests itself in the painting of Anvar Asgarov, To those Disappearing on the horizon (1985). The relation to public space finds contemporary commentary in the photographic works of Ilkin Huseynov, We Apologise for Temporary Inconvenience (2016), reflecting on the superficial facade of a city and society in continuous transition. The identity shifts evident in the architecture of Baku are mirrored in an ideological struggle explored in the work of Zamir Suleymanov, Claim (2016).





As an end point of the exhibition, an unidentified black mountain marks a conflict that has defined the political reality of Azerbaijan as a nation-state since its independence in 1991. Further supported by a randomly generated top 20 playlist from Nagorno-Karabakh, Elturan Mammadovs Unidentified Heights (2016) are controversially juxtaposed with a call for peace in Boyukagha Mirzazades 1945 (1976). This modern masterpiece suggests a timeless form of resistance  ???.





Another exhibition Little Lies is a journey through a network of white lies, disillusionment and fabricated histories. The exhibition confronts the two main political narratives of the 20th century, with the deception in everyday images, constructed personal stories and false metaphors. Little Lies belong to our everyday; they establish our understanding of a socio-political reality and influence our historical awareness. Through a selection of works of the two artists the exhibition considers the boundaries of our physical reality and how its representation can highlight social ambiguities.





This exhibition is a conversation of six works, three of which are continuously looped. Breathing Bird (2012), by David Claerbout, is a poetic and treacherous image that misleads and confuses the viewer. Its small scale is opposed to the monumentality of Oil Workers (from the Shell company of Nigeria) returning home from work, caught in torrential rain (2013). This work subjects the viewer to a soulless gaze, trapped in a constructed mise-en-scene. It questions an economic reality based largely on oil and its social impact on a population in-wait. The lifelessness of the Oil Workers is opposed by effortless vitality in In This Very Moment (Antoine) (2014), by Soren Thilo Funder. Here a young boy obliviously dances on rollerblades on a field in Verdun, a place known as a brutal battlefield of WWI. These works raise a political awareness, while evoking the endlessness and inescapability of time and memory.





Sequentially presented throughout the space, the three other works evoke a sense of history through make-belief. The works of Soren Thilo Funder employ cinematic tricks to suggest historical narratives. The Cosmonaut (I dont see any God up here) (2013) uses signifiers from the collective imaginary and deliberately subverts them through false constructions. The same tactics are further complicated in Swerve (Youre Gonna Die Up There) (2016) by adding an element of popular associations, through the history of cinema, while exposing the technical mechanisms behind his own storytelling. Funders works thereby force the viewer to recognise the white lies, which are continuously denied in favour of constructed images and stories.





Opposed to Funder, in Travel-1996-2013, David Claerbout allows the illusion to further expand and engulf the viewer. Made over a period of ten years, the work is a digital construction of an ever deepening and elusive forest. The full submersion of the senses is violently broken down as the camera pans out to reveal a plain sub-urban landscape. It voices a critique of a singular perspective, manifested through the inevitability of betrayal.





Little Lies enchants and disappoints. It draws from our need for confirmation and exposes our human vulnerability. In a society of false constructs it calls out to our senses and urges us to recognize the white lies embedded in our daily reality.





The exhibitions will be on view until October 9.




The sixth meeting of the Turkmen-Afghan intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation is planned to be held June 15 in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, said the Turkmen government in a message June 11.

Cooperation in trade, oil & gas sector, the energy industry, transportation and communications, and agriculture are on the meeting's agenda.

Preparations for the Turkmen-Afghan intergovernmental commission's meeting have been recently discussed by the Turkmen Cabinet of Ministers with participation of the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Addressing the meeting, Berdimuhamedov said his country consistently supports the provision of international assistance to the Afghan government, to help the effective integration of the neighboring country to regional and international economic processes.

Such large-scale projects as the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) railway prove that.

Turkmenistan is supplying electricity and liquefied gas at a discounted price to Afghanistan.

Turkmenistan is also building social facilities in Afghanistan, and assists in the training of the Afghan youth and specialists.
Azerbaijani Minister of Justice, Chairman of the Judicial-Legal Council Fikrat Mammadov has met with Russian counterpart Alexander Konovalov to discuss how to expand judicial relations between the two countries.





During the meeting, the sides said they attached great importance to strengthening collaboration between the justice authorities as part of the development of strategic partnership and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia.





Hailing the efficient, friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries, Fikrat Mammadov underlined the key role of the heads of state in developing these ties.





Fikrat Mammadov highlighted the large-scale judicial reforms carried out under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.





He provided an insight into what had been done to develop judicial, as well as the penitentiary system, improve legislation and expand the rights of convicts and accused persons.





Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Alexander Konovalov hailed the successful development of historical friendly ties between Azerbaijan and Russia in various areas, including political, economic and humanitarian spheres.





Underlining the broad prospects for the development of judicial relations, Alexander Konovalov stressed the importance of exchange of experience for both sides.





They also discussed future priorities of mutual cooperation, put forward proposals on areas of mutual interest.





Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin was also present at the meeting.





/By Azertac/




Cherokee County also had a quarter-cent sales tax referendum. It passed with 65 percent of the vote, but with a turnout of only 7 percent (1,088 for, 575 against).

The City of Lincolnton voted to lift restrictions on the sale of beer by small pubs and bars that don't sell a minimum amount of food. It passed with 80 percent of the vote and turnout of 5 percent (486 for, 120 against).

Ramseur voted to allow an ABC store (71 for, 50 against).

Seagrove voted to allow sales of unfortified wine (67 for, 40 against) and beer (65 for, 39 against).

Franklinville voted to allow sales of mixed beverages (43 for, 36 against), unfortified wine (47 for, 33 against), and beer (42 for, 36 against).

Voters in Jackson County went to the polls this week and voted pretty decisively - with 64 percent saying yes - to a local-option sales tax referendum.But that was 64 percent of those who voted. Tuesday was, of course, a weird second round of primaries due to the dispute over congressional district lines and the method of electing Supreme Court justices.There were very few races on the ballot. Most weren't big, exciting races that got a lot of media attention. As expected, turnout was low. In Jackson County, just 11 percent of voters turned out, which means that just 7 percent of registered voters cast ballots for the sales tax increase. (The actual tally was 1,795 for the tax hike and 1,030 against it.) One hundred percent of voters will pay for it.I'm forced to ask whether the county chose to hold the election this week precisely because officials knew turnout would be low. Statewide it was under 8 percent I took a look back at local-option sales tax referendums since 2007 . Most have been on the same ballot as a November general election. Smaller numbers have been on spring primary ballots. A very small number have been on these sorts of special election ballots.But those in the latter category have been far more successful than those on general election and primary ballots. I suspect that's because, in an election like this week's, the people most likely to get out and vote are members of that small group whose particular pet issue is on the ballot.Don't get me wrong. I'm not arguing the result is illegitimate. All eligible voters could have voted. They chose not to and thereby deferred to the few who went to the polls. That may be unfortunate, but it's absolutely legitimate.There were several other local issues on ballots. In similar fashion, all passed with very low turnout.And alcohol was also on the ballot all over Randolph County, where turnout was about 6 percent.Numbers like these always serve to remind me of the importance of local elections. Millions of people vote in presidential elections, making it pretty unlikely that my one vote is going to make much difference either way.But these local elections were tight, some coming down to just six or seven votes. Yet they impact thousands of people - anyone who wants to get a drink at a bar, entrepreneurs who want to start small businesses, and the people who pay sales tax day in and day out.The impact is direct and significant. Local elections matter.
The U.S. White House administration responded officially to the petition, which demands the withdrawal of Armenian troops occupying 20% of Azerbaijani territory and emphasizes the dramatic situation of hundreds of thousands of citizens threatened by a humanitarian catastrophe because of neglected Sarsang dam.





The White House stated that as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States is strongly committed to a peaceful and lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.





We have read Resolution 2085 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and, although the United States is not a member of PACE, we welcome opportunities to exchange views on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process with any interested interlocutor, the White House said in a statement on June 11.





The Obama Administration urges the sides to demonstrate restraint and enter into an immediate negotiation on a comprehensive settlement, which would include the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijans control and a determination of Nagorno-Karabakhs status.





As part of our ongoing dialogue with the sides, we have and will continue to facilitate discussions related to humanitarian issues. Management and maintenance of the Sarsang Reservoir is one such issue. We welcome a meeting between technical experts from the sides to discuss water management and dam inspections. The co-chairs are ready to facilitate such a meeting. Ultimately, a resolution of this longstanding conflict depends on the political will of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. As a Minsk Group co-chair country, we will continue our efforts to advance peace and prosperity in the region, said the statement.





This petition was signed by over 330,000 signatures, more than triple the number needed to secure a reply by the Obama administration. Few weeks ago the proponent of this petition, Elkan Suleymanov, the President of the Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan said: We welcome the U.S. Administrations position being not supportive of a separatist solution for Nagorno-Karabakh and not leaving possibility for illegal self-determination.





Elkhan Suleymanov said: The facts that Armenia is an aggressor, that Nagorno-Karabakh and other territories of Azerbaijan are under the control of Armenian armed forces, that humanitarian catastrophe due to Sarsang dam is imminent, were on the U.S. White House's official website for over two months. Millions of people from all over the world, being misinformed by biased international media for more than 20 years, have been visiting this website during more than two months. Therefore this petition was a very important and a significant activity on the way to the liberation of our territories from the occupation.




Al Salam Bank-Bahrain (ASBB) has announced that the BMI Offshore Bank Seychelles (BMIO) has been successfully handed over to shareholders after being placed under administration by the Central Bank of Seychelles in November 2014.



Following CBS handover, BMIO is resuming regular operations after being acquired by a new joint venture between ASBB and Seychelles Pension Fund (SPF).



At the behest of shareholders, CBS has approved the rebranding of the entity as Al Salam Bank-Seychelles (ASBS). Furthermore, the ASBS shareholders and board has approved the appointment of Hussein Mohammed Al Meeza as the new chairman of the bank.



ASBB is a leading full serviced commercial bank offering Sharia-compliant products headquartered in Bahrain. It was established in 2006 with a paid up capital of $318 million.



ASBBs board comprises highly qualified and internationally experienced professionals with proven expertise in key areas of banking, finance, treasury, investments and related fields.



ASBB witnessed substantial asset growth having completed two business combinations in a space of five years, first with Bahraini Saudi Bank in 2009 and the second with BMI Bank in 2014.



As of December 31, 2015, the total assets of ASBB stood at $4.4 billion with shareholders equity of $844 million.



Supported by two well established financial institutions, namely ASBB and SPF, ASBS is planning to launch a unique Sharia-compliant full-service commercial banking by offering world class financial solutions.



ASBS will aim at utilizing its strong foundations by introducing innovation and the latest technologies to Seychelles banking sector.

The bank will initially commence its operation as an offshore financial institution later expand by introducing domestic banking services with the aim of targeting various market segments and supporting local and regional SMEs and corporates, said the Bahraini bank in its statement.



ASBS will nurture the needs of Seychelles domestic market aimed to spur development and growth in the local economy by playing a key role in various sectors of the economy such as the education, fishing, health, and housing industries amongst others, it stated.



Using Seychelles as the launching pad to other regional markets, ASBS will aim to expand by penetrating the banking sector of neighboring countries and create a bridge between the GCC and the Indian Ocean Rim countries, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
UAE Exchange, a leading global remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions brand, said it has dedicated the month of June to reward customers for their loyalty to the brand.



As part of this, a Customer Loyalty Month campaign has been launched to appreciate and thank customers for their continued patronage.



Speaking on the occasion, CEO Promoth Manghat said: "The customers needs have evolved over the years. Today they are empowered with choice, making the market competitive. In such a dynamic economic landscape it is important to protect, retain and nurture the loyal customer base for the sustainability of an organisation."



"We, at UAE Exchange, have always invested and channelised our energies to enhance customer experience and they have encouraged us by exhibiting their loyalty to the brand. This initiative, across our operations globally, is our way of thanking and rewarding customers for their patronage and reinforcing our commitment to go that extra mile to improve our value addition to them," he explained.



Loyal customers are one of the primary elements that pave the path for the success of an organisation. To honour loyal customers, UAE Exchange will conduct various promotions and contests as part of the celebration that ends on June 30, he added.



Customers transacting during this period can avail special offers and also stand a chance to win exciting prizes.-TradeArabia News Service
The Saudi government is working on an ambitious plan to provide housing to 52 per cent of its citizens under the National Transformation Programme 2020 (NTP) within the next four years, said a report.



The ministry has set aside SR59 billion ($16 billion) for the implementation of 21 key initiatives in this regard, reported Saudi Gazette, citing the kingdom's housing minister.



Majed Al Hoqail was addressing a joint press conference along with Minister of Economy and Planning Adel Fakeih, Minister of Health Tawfiq Al Rabiah and Minister of Education Ahmed Al Isa to brief on the four ministries' roles in implementing the NTP.



Al Hoqail said the ministry's focus was on making real estate an attractive sector for all those concerned with it despite the challenges facing it, stated the report.



"The ministry will come out with plans and programmes in the areas of boosting house financing, saving and meeting the demand in the market," noted Al Hoqail.



"The ministry's strategic goals under NTP include improving the performance of the real estate sector and increasing its contribution to the gross domestic product, boosting real estate supply, and raise productivity so as to make available of affordable and quality housing products, in addition to enabling citizens to get housing financing," he added.
At least eight people were killed and scores wounded in twin suicide and car bomb blasts on Saturday in a Damascus suburb that contains Syria's holiest Shi'ite Muslim shrine, state television said.



State media, which flashed the news, did not give further details about the bombings in the Sayeda Zeinab area, where at least three bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State militants have killed and injured scores of people this year.



A Shi'ite religious cleric on the state-run Ikhbariyah TV channel said the car bomb blast was not far from the shrine area in the main al-Taen street.



The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll was at least nine. The heavily garrisoned area is a well known stronghold of Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite Hezbollah group, a major backer of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.



Thousands of Iraqi and Afghan Shi'ite militia recruits who volunteer to fight against the Sunni rebel groups trying to bring down Assad's government normally come to the area before being sent to frontlines across Syria.



They say they come to Syria to defend the Sayeda Zeinab shrine from radical Sunni extremists.-Reuters
Syria's government has freed prisoners on condition that they join the army upon their release, the president of the opposition Syrian National Coalition told Reuters on Friday, citing reports from Adra Central Prison near Damascus.



"Preliminary reports indicate that between 100-150 prisoners have been released under this arrangement but taken directly to the front lines in Aleppo and Qamishli. It is believed the regime is inclined to take those released to the front lines with ISIS in particular to minimize chances of defection," Anas al-Abdah said.



On Thursday, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said he had information from Russia and Syria that "some substantial number of fighters appeared to have been released".



He suggested the release could be timed to coincide with the holy month of Ramadan or as a unilateral gesture by the government, but he was seeking more information to confirm that those released were "genuine fighters, political prisoners".



His office had no more information 24 hours later, and referred Reuters back to his previous statement.



Al-Abdah said those reportedly released were not political prisoners but mostly criminal convicts, especially those jailed for drug crimes.



"The Syrian National Coalition is deeply concerned by those reports and calls on the international community, particularly the UN Special Envoy and his team, to take a firm stance of the regimes hideous manoeuvres and blackmail tactics it typically uses with regards to the issue of detainees," he said.



The Syrian opposition has long demanded the release of detainees, especially women and children, and de Mistura has appointed a former Red Cross official, Eva Svoboda, to take charge of the issue.



The main opposition negotiating group, the High Negotiations Committee, has a list of 150,000 detainees, its spokesman, Salim al-Muslat, told Reuters in April.  Reuters
Orange juice futures hit a four-year high after Tropical Storm Colin tore across Florida. June 1 marked the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season, and three named storms have already struck this year, worrying citrus growers in Americas most hurricane-prone state.

This week, Colin dumped heavy rains on citrus groves, damaging fruit and threatening to further crimp Floridas crop. Floridas groves are already being devastated by a tree-killing disease, and the USDA projects this years crop to be the smallest in over 50 years.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian orange crop is in trouble as well due to heavy rains. Brazil is the worlds largest orange grower and juice exporter. Other major Brazilian crops like coffee, sugar and soybeans are threatened by recent heavy rains, sending those crops to multi-year highs as well.

As a result, July frozen concentrated orange juice futures topped $1.72 per pound, the highest price since 2012.

USDA report

boosts soybeans

The US is seeing more demand for its soybeans, tightening supplies. Before this falls harvest comes in, soybean stockpiles will be only 375 million bushels, according to Friday mornings USDA report.

This tight supply and fear of more weather problems helped push beans to a 22-month high at $12.08 per bushel on Friday.

Natural gas rises

on AC demand

Natural gas prices leapt to an eight-month high this week at $2.63 per million British thermal units.

Prices jumped after a government report showed rising demand, primarily from natural gas burning power plants generating electricity to run air conditioning. Forecasts for hot temperatures in the next few weeks could help keep demand strong.

Additionally, the recent oil spike to over $50 per barrel has helped to make natural gas more attractive as a cheaper fuel alternative. Some traders also cited an active start to the hurricane season as a bullish factor since storms can knock out natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nonetheless, natural gas inventories are more than 20 percent higher than this time last year and threaten to swell to record levels before the winter heating season begins.
It conjures up images from the 1950s, giant systems of metal, blinking bulbs of white and red  large enough to fill a room, a building or a city block.

Given the normalcy of useful, pocket-sized technology, it may be difficult for the average citizen to understand the magnitude of the National Center for Atmospheric Research  Wyoming Supercomputing Center that proponents say is a boon to the states economy, university and industries.

But for researchers the abilities of the supercomputer, nicknamed Yellowstone, are critical.

Its massiveyou can think of it as roughly 70,000 PCs hooked together as one computer. You can think of it as a massive hard drive, said Bryan Shader, UWs special assistant to the vice president of research and economic development, and a professor of mathematics.

And the supercomputer is steadily helping the economy of Wyoming at a time when many are frustrated with the downsides of the states reliance on a few core industries, like oil, gas and coal.

The supercomputer is helping Wyoming diversify, creating a tech industry and providing crucial research for existing industries, Shader said.

Yellowstone is luring expertise, research and businesses to Wyoming. And locally, its increasing the interest Wyoming graduates have in staying in Wyoming after school. Areas like Laramie and Jackson are poised to build a tech industry comparable to Fort Collins or Boise, Shader said.

I think there is a really good potential for us as a state to go in that direction, he said. Its got to be nurtured. Its got to be aggressively pursued.

There has long been an interest from the business sector, the University of Wyoming and the governors office to utilize the supercomputer to advance and diversify the economy, he said.

But what has been steadily growing is a culture in education, where technology is blossoming into a worthwhile career path for those who want to stay in the state, he said.

The interest in upper level classes in advanced computation has gone up at UW, and the interest in K-12 is growing as well, Shader said.

I think this is helping develop in Wyoming a workforce that is technologically literate. It makes it more viable for companies to look at Wyoming, and say, we should locate here, he said. To have the kind of jobs that are associated with these tech companies available for our students is critical.

There is an indirect benefit to the economy of the state as well, as the research gives policy makers better information on how to address everything from wind energy to water regulations, Shader said.

For example, a study that is going on right now looking at how water flows in Wyoming. One of the teams goals is to develop something usable for lawmakers on a smart phone or tablet, where they can access the data that comes from the super computer, run scenarios and make policy decision that are based on scientific facts.

As the value of Yellowstone becomes more apparent, the benefits to the state of Wyoming will only grow, Shader said.

It just takes time.

This is one of the things that sort of feeds on itself. Until you get a critical mass, its hard to get companies to come in. but once they see other people doing it and see there is this culture, and this sharing of ideas then they jump in.

UW currently has seven projects utilizing Yellowstone. There are two smaller super computers based in Laramie  Mount Moran and Loren. Another supercomputer, named Cheyenne, is expected to be ready to use by 2017.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK  In a sagebrush-dotted field not far from where a grizzly bear fed on a bison carcass only two weeks earlier, Dave Haines settled in behind a spotting scope pointed at the forested hillside to the north.

Blacktail has two tree nests and a great ground squirrel population  probably the best in the park, he said without glancing up.

The tree nests he referred to were made by golden eagles, a raptor whose presence in Yellowstone National Park went unstudied until the creation of the Yellowstone Raptor Initiative in 2011. The big birds  which can weigh up to 14 pounds, measure almost 3 feet long with a wingspan of more than 6 feet  dont usually nest in trees. They prefer cliffs with expansive views overlooking their hunting area. But it appears that in Yellowstone, at least, the birds are willing to make exceptions when the conditions warrant.

Raptor knowledge

Spotting raptors nesting in trees is no easy task.

The hours these guys put in, if it wasnt for them we wouldnt know the eagles were here, said Doug Smith, Yellowstones senior wildlife biologist, in praising the work of Haines and others involved in the study.

Although the birds have never been tagged for tracking, their nests have been screened for important data.

I pulled seven to eight marmot skulls out of this nest, Haines said. Three out of five years theyve fledged chicks. Its probably the most productive golden eagle area.

Smith, who was straining to see this years eaglets in the tree canopy, could only shake his head at the encyclopedic knowledge Haines was carrying around in his bushy-haired head.

In case you havent noticed, Dave is a raptorholic, Smith joked.

Devotee

The 39-year-old Haines admits to being a bit obsessive at times about the variety of birds that hes studied  everything from peregrine falcons to ravens. Golden eagles are his latest passion.

When youre at the top of the food chain, theres a lot going on, he said.

His fixation has also been driven by the people involved in the work. He first got engrossed with the reintroduction of peregrine falcons after they had been listed as an endangered species following a large die-off thanks to human use of the pesticide DDT, which thinned the birds eggshells.

I was influenced by heroes who were faced with a species in peril (peregrine falcon) and went above and beyond to participate in one of the few wildlife success stories, he wrote in an email. I stand on their shoulders and never forget the opportunities they have given me. Basically they were cool dudes who I wanted to be like.

Now Haines is considered one of the best golden eagle catchers around, according to Smith.

Marginal habitat

As a species, golden eagles havent received near the attention of bald eagles, possibly because the bald eagle was adopted as a symbol for America. Thanks to the banning of DDT, bald eagles  like peregrines  have made a strong comeback after severe declines that left them on the edge of extinction. Smith said bald eagles are now so numerous in Yellowstone National Park that theyve become a predator on the young of some fragile bird species, including trumpeter swans and the largest isolated loon population in the Northwest.

Unlike their cousins, golden eagles are more often associated with the desert, grasslands or tundra regions  none of which Yellowstone has. So their presence in the park has become an area of great interest to researchers like Haines, Smith and others.

I think its safe to say they are associated with rocky dry habitats, Smith said. With palms up he gestured to the surrounding landscape of snowcapped and forested mountains and noted, This isnt that. It just doesnt fit.

Which may explain why a pair of goldens that occupy a flagship golden eagle territory in the northeast corner of the park seem to have a hard time reproducing, despite all of the nest building and courtship behavior Haines has observed. Usually a mating pair will have several nests in its territories. Nest building is part of the pairs bonding process.

I feel comfortable calling this a nonbreeding territory this year, Haines said.

Presidential sighting

Until this small cadre of scientists sought funding to study raptors, there was little baseline data in the park, although osprey, bald eagles and peregrine falcons were studied. Smith noted that one of the first and few recorded sightings of a golden eagle in Yellowstone was made by former President Theodore Roosevelt.

During a 1903 visit to the park, Roosevelt wrote to his friend and fellow conservationist Dr. C. Hart Merriam that he had seen a golden eagle attack a band of elk driving them in their fright toward him.

It separated a weak yearling from the herd and then hovered around his head  almost striking at it but evidently unable to quite make up its mind to the attack; finally it left and flew away, Roosevelt wrote.

In general, Haines said flying is so energy consumptive that golden eagles will wait for ideal conditions before launching to ensure they dont have to flap a lot.

On the right day they can fly for two hours and not flap once, he said.

Eagle draw

With spotting scopes set up within view of a park road, it was a given that tourists would soon stop at the spot to see what the raptor crew was looking at through their large spotting scopes  a grizzly bear or possibly a wolf?

I say birdwatching and they almost always leave, Smith said. One out of 20 will be a birdwatcher.

Most wont even get out of the car, Haines said. They just drive off.

But for Haines the pull of the graceful airborne predators is as strong as a summer afternoon updraft.

Every now and then youll show people a nest with chicks and its a jaw-dropping experience, he said.

Certainly for Smith and Haines golden eagles are topflight.

You talk about iconic bird species, golden eagles are it, Smith said. Its that mystery. Theyre not as visible as bald eagles.
Just a few weeks ago I expressed disappointment in this column following hubbub in the national news about tourists blunders in Yellowstone.

Im glad I did so at the time, because it would feel insensitive to raise the same points in the wake of a young mans death in the park only days ago.

By now youre certainly familiar with the 23-year-old who fell into a hot spring at the park during a trip celebrating his college graduation. By the time rangers reached the boiling, acidic waters, nothing remained of his body to recover.

The only thing more horrifying than this manner of death was the public response to it.

The problem with Wyoming is that idiots come out here and dont use common sense. People like these deserve to die, wrote one online commenter.

He got exactly what he was looking for, agreed a Facebook user. Other, more disturbing comments had to be removed.

As the person responsible for the newspapers website and social media accounts, Ive become reasonably numb to the ugliness of commenters casting stones, but this situation left me particularly unsettled.

At what point does ignoring a sign or wandering off a path warrant death?

In the past weeks, Ive made multiple trips to Pathfinder Reservoir to watch the high waters crashing over the spillway. During each visit Ive seen dozens of visitors scrambling perilously close to the canyons edge and past signs announcing Danger and Keep Back to lean out over the crashing waters.

I cant help but wonder how many of those people have since condemned the man who died in Yellowstone for his actions, which were little more foolish than their own. The only significant difference was that he had the misfortune of slipping on gravel.

Did a man ignore posted warnings intended to preserve his safety, along with the sensitive environment of the park that is Wyomings crown jewel? Yes.

Did he deserve his fate, or the judgment that followed it? No.
Wyomings mountains have always been a haven for cyclists. Trails wind through thick forests and open meadows, down rocky slopes and around smooth berms.

But not every trail system has been clearly developed. Some were rough and unmarked. Others werent really trails at all. And that has been changing.

Long, complex trails are being built across the state from Curt Gowdy State Park to Jackson to areas north of Gillette. The more mountain bikers interested and willing to help, the more defined and extended the trails become.

While access to information about trails online is increasing, it can still be tough for a visitor with a fat bike to find the best spots. To help, the Star-Tribune caught up with bike enthusiasts across the state to find their top rides. Plenty of others exist, to be sure. But if youre in the area, these are worth checking out.

Southeast

Glendo State Park: Dewey Gallegos, co-owner of the Pedal House in Laramie, didnt have to think for long before he listed his top riding spot in southeastern Wyoming. Explore more than 40 miles of professionally built trails for nearly every ability level. Gallegos recommends the Rattlesnake Rim Trail. Its a little techie and flowy at the same time, he said. Theres a little, oh my God on it, but then at the end you want to do it again. But leave your four-legged best friend at home in the summer as the mercury rises and rattlesnakes appear.

Curt Gowdy State Park: For those riders interested in a little something for everyone in the same, relatively small location, head to Curt Gowdy. If you go with people, everyone can be happy on the ride, Gallegos said. If you want a specific trail, he recommends Stone Temple for its flow and access to other trails.

Central

Casper Mountain: Once they dry from a winter of record snow fall, the trails at Casper Mountain Trails Center offer riders more than 20 miles of moderate to entry-level pedaling, said Tia Leschin, owner of Crazy Pedaler Bicycles in Casper. She recommends the Eadsville Trail for its miles of single track and fun mix of technical and beginner.

Squaw Creek: Theres stream crossings and mud holes and bridges and really fun downhills and uphills and tight turns, said Fat Fish Racing co-founder Leif Johansson as a description of Squaw Creek near Casper. The area isnt far from town, up Coates Road about a mile and a half. Once you get there, youll find miles of trails good for beginners up to advanced.

Northeast

Reuter Trail: Anyone wandering through the Black Hills should check out the Reuter network of trails near Sundance, said Jim Dutcher of The Bicycle Shop in Gillette. Find plenty of miles of double and single track, extra trails to peel off on and a decided lack of crowds.

Burnt Hollow Management Area: This new trail system north of Highway 59 isnt completely developed yet, but it is becoming a playground for those who want to explore something different, Dutcher said. Its about 18,000 acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and is nonmotorized. Bring a map and compass or GPS and plenty of your own water.

Northwest

Sinks Canyon: Depending on your skill level, Rio Rose, owner of the Bike Mill in Lander, recommends two trails near town. For advanced riders, check out the Sheeps Bridge Trail. Riders leave from Worthen Meadows outside Lander and ride down to Bruces Bridge at the bottom of the canyon. Its a rocky, difficult trail, but worth it. Those a little newer to their pedals should try Brewers Trail in Sinks Canyon. Its about 5 miles each way, and you can shuttle or go out and back. It flows mostly through trees, and is a well-established trail.

Johnny Behind the Rocks: Anyone looking for a close and easy place to ride can try Johnny Behind the Rocks off Highway 287 near Lander. For an average rider, Johnny Behind the Rocks will be the easiest place to go, navigate and have fun, Rose said. If I had to pick a trail, Id say Johnnys Draw to Red Ridge. It has a nice gradual climb, nice scenery, mellow trail surface and is a good, flowy trail. For maps or other information about Lander trails, go to thebikemill.com.
The Wyoming Wilderness Association is offering a series of free hikes throughout the summer. Each hike will be led by local experts and Wyoming Wilderness Association staff. Expect beautiful country and information about land policies, wilderness characteristics, potential threats and inventoried roadless areas.

Please register for the outings. Details such as meeting time and location will be emailed after registration. Hikes will vary in difficulty, and all trips are subject to change or cancellation due to health of the trip leader, weather and road conditions or lack of interest. Space is typically limited to 12 people, and no dogs are allowed.

To register, call 307-672-2751 or email heidi@wildwyo.org. For more information, go to www.wildwyo.org.

The seasons hikes until August are as follows:

June 18

Gros Ventre Invasive Weed Pull: Learn about the Musk Thistle and other invasive plant species in the native wilderness ecosystems on this 4-mile roundtrip hike. (Moderate)

June 18

Northern Red Desert Tour: Join this driving tour of wilderness study areas and lands with wilderness characteristics in the Northern Red Desert. The tour will also include cultural sites like the Boars Tusk and White Mountain Petroglyphs. Four-wheel drive is required. Hiking is optional with about 2 to 3 miles roundtrip. (Easy)

Flower Hike in the Rock Creek Recommended Wilderness: Enjoy wildflowers as Sheridan College Biology Professor, Ami Erickson, leads a 5-mile roundtrip hike through Firebox Park. (Strenuous)

June 25

Shell Canyon Natural Area Hike: Explore an area home to western tanagers and lazuli buntings, with ornithologist Jackie Canterbury, president of the Bighorn Audubon Society on this 4-mile roundtrip hike. (Moderate)

July 9

Dunoir Signing Project: Help Shoshone National Forest staff put up new Dunoir Special Management Unit signs at the front-country trailheads. Then walk 5 miles roundtrip to the top of Bonneville Pass where Dick Inberg and his mules will help build a portal sign. (Easy to moderate)

Yoga Hike at Buffalo Cave: Take a quiet hike past Red Canyon and into Buffalo Cave where yoga instructor Dawn Sopron will lead an hour of relaxation bear a babbling brook. Expect a few creek crossings on the 2-mile roundtrip hike. (All abilities)

July 16

Devils Playground Hike: Hike 5 to 6 miles in and around the Devils Playground Wilderness Study Area and Cedar Mountain with scenic views and abundant wildlife. (Moderate)

July 22

Hiking and Fly-Fishing in Shoal Creek: Explore the Shoal Creek Wilderness Study Area on a 10-mile roundtrip hike through rolling meadows and aspen groves. Bring fly-fishing gear. (Moderate)

July 30

Grizzly Bear Ecology Tour: Join retired U.S. Department of Interior ecologist Chuck Neal on a tour of grizzly bear country in the Shoshone National Forest. The popular annual adventure fills fast. Expect a fast, steep hike at the beginning of the 5-mile roundtrip journey. (Strenuous)
As Casper voters learn of friends and neighbors affected by the layoffs at Wyoming Medical Center, Democrats currently vying for political office may have an opportunity.

Fifty-eight employees lost their jobs at Caspers largest hospital Tuesday. Officials at WMC said that number would have been smaller had the majority-Republican state Legislature passed Medicaid expansion.

Currently, no Democrats represent Wyomings second-largest county in the Wyoming Legislature. The all-Republican delegation from Natrona County has consistently opposed extending the Obamacare program to 20,000 low-income adults.

The Democrats in Natrona County might have a better chance  more than ever with the layoffs from the Wyoming Medical Center and the failure to expand Medicaid, said Mariane Smith Orr, a 20-year lobbyist in Cheyenne. The Republican has lobbied for expansion in the Wyoming Legislature while representing Caspers Wyoming Behavioral Institute.

Wyoming Democratic Party Vice Chairman Bruce Palmer of Lander said he wants voters to know they have options on Nov. 8, the general election.

This is a long-term problem weve got with the current Legislature, and its time to change it, he said. We need to get some folks in there with different ideas. We need to get health care to folks who need it. This comes down to compassion and common sense.

Medicaid expansion is sure to be an important talking point for those campaigning.

Bob Ford is a Democrat running for Senate District 30 in Natrona County. His Republican opponent, Charlie Scott, has 40 years experience in the legislature and chairs the Senate's Labor, Health and Social Services Committee. He has used that position to continually block Medicaid expansion.

When asked about the role of government in protecting a nonprofit such as WMC, Ford was of two minds.

Nobody in government is in a position to tell them how to run their business, he said. There is going to be an obvious lack of expertise and an obvious lack of knowledge of the circumstances (from lawmakers). The government simply is not going to be able to resolve this.

But lawmakers can move to help alleviate the pressure on WMC while helping low-income people obtain health care, he said.

It is unconscionable that we have not to this point expanded Medicaid, he said adding that those in opposition to expansion were often benefiting from government subsidies themselves.

The people leading the charge against Medicaid  many are the recipients of government handouts that you could call welfare, he said, pointing out family rancher and Harvard graduate Scott as an example. Ranches that Scott had an ownership stake in have received agricultural subsidies in the past.

I dont mind that ranchers receive assistance, but if they do, they are not in a position to say Well, these other people that are wage earners and have jobs, they shouldnt be entitled to the kind of help I receive, he said.

Scott has said his ranches havent accepted federal money in a long time. He also contends the Medicaid program creates a disincentive to move up, while ag subsidies keep ranches going, he said.

Democrat Ryan Greene is also running for Lummis seat. He released a statement the day after WMCs layoffs were announced, capitalizing on the opportunity to criticize his opponents for killing Medicaid expansion.

Wyoming accepts over $2 billion in federal aid every year, but Tim (Stubson) and Leland (Christiansen) said no to hundreds of millions of Medicaid dollars  because the funds came from the federal government. If you ask me, thats pretty hypocritical, Greene said. These guys claim they stand with Wyoming  except our most vulnerable citizens that the Medicaid expansion would have helped.

Greene also said his opponents stance on Medicaid was reflective of how they would conduct themselves in Washington, concerning themselves with toeing the party line at the cost of Wyoming voters.
GILLETTE  Tucked away in a remote corner of northern Campbell County, the LX Bar ranch rests, its cut stone ranch house, barn and outbuildings seemingly immune to the forces of nature.

Those buildings have a new owner  one that comes without the fanfare that accompanied the prior two.

Built for the legendary John Kendrick, the buildings have the size and grandeur fit for a former Wyoming governor and one of the states early U.S. senators. By the end, the LX Bar was owned by another legend, Jim Guercio, a record producer best known for his work with 1960s and 1970s bands Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears, as well as a Colorado recording studio, Caribou Ranch.

The property transferred June 1 to the state of Wyoming as an eventual state historic site, and those gathered to mark the occasion talked about a new future for the site.

The 106-year-old buildings  remote, unique, historic as they are  themselves would become legendary.

How it happened

It started as a mission by a determined few to ensure that the LX Bar ranch was preserved.

Guercio bought the property in about 1992, after Kendricks vast holdings had been split and some feared the old stone buildings at the LX Bar would be dismantled and sold off to others.

They were threatened, but the original LX Bar headquarters was still intact.

He kept the original headquarters and I made a deal with him on that, Guercio said. He said, If youll save the senators house, Ill sell you the best part. . He said, Ill teach you the country and the cattle business if you save this house.

Guercio did just that for a number of years. But in 2010, he approached the state about the possibility of turning over the property for another use, said Milward Simpson, director of state Parks and Cultural Resources. That meeting was followed by a tour with state officials, state legislators and Micky Shober, a Campbell County native who had heard stories all his life about the famed LX Bar, and who has since championed efforts to preserve it.

The effort wasnt wasted.

It took two years to make it through a myriad of processes to be considered as a state historic site before it landed on the desks of legislators, who were asked to consider taking over the five buildings and 50 acres and maintaining them. A bill was approved in 2012, along with $280,000 to shore up the structures there and preserve them until more could be done in the future.

A key point in the legislation was that it required there be nothing that encumbers public access to the property. Since it had no public access, state officials had to work out an access easement with other ranchers in the area.

That led to the ceremony in which Guercio signed the deed over to the state of Wyoming.

Im very proud for the people of Wyoming and America because I think this is going to be the best existing ranch headquarters in the West, Guercio said.

He knows there is interest in the history  something reflected in the almost 20,000 visitors a year to the Trail End State Historic Site in Sheridan. That museum is also known as the Kendrick Mansion, where the successful cattleman and businessman lived.

Guercio expressed regret that the buildings at the LX Bar already hadnt been fully restored.

I thought we could subsidize a lot of this, he said. Thats what takes the courage of the Legislature  to hold, preserve it so that we can find a way to assist you in this mission.

Every moment I cherished there

One of those who fervently hoped that the deal would go through was Clif Ritchie, 82, who owns a nearby ranch.

I probably know more about the day-to-day history of the LX Bar than anybody in this room, and maybe in the state of Wyoming, he said. I had the honor  I mean the very distinct honor  of living at the LX Bar ranch buildings with my parents in 1951 and 1952.

The Kendrick family has sought out different people to look out for the ranch through the years and at that time, settled on Ritchies parents. Ritchie had just graduated from high school when he moved there with his mom and dad.

Every moment I cherished there. That is my psychological and emotional second home, he said.

I love the LX Bar, and if I ever hear anybody saying a cross word about the LX Bar, Ive got your butt, said Ritchie, a former highway patrolman.

Ritchie has led several tours through the buildings over the years and passes along stories of its craftsmanship and history. He also isnt above lecturing those now charged with maintaining it.

Theres some things that have to repaired at the LX Bar  starting tomorrow morning, he told them.

Simpson understands the connection to history, one that he expects others to make when the site can be opened.

This is such a crucial story for Wyoming. John Kendrick stood for and kind of exemplified so much of how we like to think of ourselves as Wyomingites, he said. He had some amazing adventures pushing cattle at the turn of the century when much of the land between Texas and here wasnt settled.

No one loved the Wyoming rancher more than Sen. Kendrick. He spent much of his career working to provide ways to help the rancher and help the farmer in this state, he said. What a great honor for us to be able to take this wonderful facility, this beautiful piece of property thats so well preserved and be able to tell his story and the story of agriculture in this state for generations to come.

The future

Turning the buildings over to the state of Wyoming is a first step, albeit a big one.

Simpson said Guercios effort was key.

The most impressive thing to me is when you have someone of great means who loves and cares about history so much that hes willing to make a gift and divest himself of a valuable piece of history because he believes so much in the heritage of the people and that its important to preserve that heritage, he said. That takes a tremendous act of trust and faith and a sense of public service.

The state hopes to build on that gift, perhaps eventually making it a full historic site that people can tour. But it wont come easily. Or cheaply. Full repairs and improvements at one time were estimated to be as much as $3 million.

But there is an interest nationally in cultural tourism that would bring people West to explore a variety of sites that show what life was like in the early days.

Thank heaven at least we have the chance to do it, Simpson said. If Jim hadnt made this gift, who knows what the fate of that part of our history would have been. Now at least we have a chance to bring it to its full potential.

Gregg Blikre, a former state representative from Gillette who championed the bill to get the LX Bar, said it will take private efforts to raise money to bring it to its full potential.

He likened the site to the Ponderosa in the classic TV series Bonanza.

This is what an early day 19th century really upscale ranch was like, he said, adding that it never had electricity or running water. Its still just like what it was then, except it needs to be fixed back up.

Were going to need to raise private money to help make this what it really can be. It can be a great place for people all across the world to learn what early day ranching in the West was really like, Blikre said. There is no other place just like this  anywhere.

Shober said the ultimate goal is for it to be a historical working ranch, but thats a long, long ways away.

He also said its the only historical ranch in Wyoming thats in public hands, thanks to Guercio and the Legislature.

The buildings represent the history of the region and deserve to be preserved. And in their past, Campbell County and Wyoming hope to find a future.
LARAMIE  A group of Albany County School District No. 1 students, University of Wyoming graduate students and teachers and faculty had a unique opportunity in May to visit Croatia and learn about international collaboration.

The ACSD No. 1 students spent May 18-21 at an international youth summit in Rijeka, Croatia, sponsored by the International Centre for Innovation in Education, joining students from Poland, Serbia, Japan, Germany and several other countries. Students participated in panels and specialized in topics such as social justice and activism, entrepreneurship, art and science, the Laramie Boomerang reported.

The participating students are members of the student group Force of Altruism, a club started in 2009 following a class unit where students looked at visible and invisible people in the Laramie community, UW Lab School teacher Meredith McLaughlin said.

I sometimes require an action step in my classes, so the action step they took was to start Force of Altruism  the student club that would just be available to be a force of helping to whoever needs it. . When I was asked to host this (opportunity), I had to figure out a place to host this, she said. I had to figure out a place for it. And it made sense for it to be this kind of self-selected group of kids who opted into this group already, who already had a commitment to helping and serving.

McLaughlin said she had the opportunity to travel to Croatia through a grant in 2015 and visited several schools in the country.

One of the schools they sent me to . their leader there, once she learned something about what our kids were doing as altruistic people at the Lab School and service learning-based learning, invited them to co-host an international youth summit to go along with this adult conference, she said.

The second half of the trip consisted of traveling throughout Croatia, including a trip to the capital, Zagreb, and a visit to the Center for Peace Studies. The group returned to Laramie this week.

Trista Ostrom, a UW masters student, said the students  12 Lab School students and one Laramie High School student  went through a selection process to join the trip.

They had to interview, and there was a selection committee who evaluated them. ... They didnt see their names; it was based on a rubric and their volunteerism and their community efforts and being involved and travel experience, and how they were going to pay it forward when we come home, she said. How can we pay this forward to other people in the community?

McLaughlin, Ostrom and the students were accompanied by several pre-service teachers in the UW College of Education, LHS band director Chris Olson and Tricia Johnson, an associate professor at UW.

The Lab School students raised money for the trip through taco sales, a paint party, and other fundraisers, as well as assistance from family members and GoFundMe, Ostrom said.

The trip was an opportunity to learn more about the world, she said.

Theyre getting to interact with kids all over the world, and they also have pen pals that theyve been involved with since January, about, that are from Croatia, she said. And so theyve gotten to know that culture a little bit more and be more prepared for this trip.

The Friday before they embarked on their trip, the students donned shirts stating believe there is good in the world, with another message embedded in the words  be the good  spelled out in white letters.

Eighth-grader Carmen Leon, who was part of a panel on social justice and racism in America, said the Croatia trip was her first time traveling abroad.

I cant wait to see everything, she said a few days before the group departed. Its going to be such a great experience for me.

Seventh-grader Katie Kvenild said she was inspired to apply for the trip after joining Force of Altruism.

As a member of the technology panel, she planned to talk about the school library and technology classes  specifically a Sphero robot the students use.

You can actually just drive it around and adjust the speed and color as you go, or you can make your own programs, she said. One of the simplest ones to do is make the robot go in a square, but if you want to do something more advanced, you can make it go into a circle or a shape thats harder to do, or play a game of hot potato with it. It really has different levels for age groups.

Katie said she was excited to visit Zagreb and meet her Croatian pen pal, who she had been communicating with via Facebook.

I feel like Ive really grown from where I was this summer with altruism and social justice, and Im really glad I did join and get to participate in this amazing experience, she said.
Checkers & Rallys, the value-centric drive-thru burger chain that several years ago had a presence in Tucson, is returning to the market possibly as early as next summer.

And over the next 10 years, the Tampa, Florida-based national chain hopes to have 22 restaurants operating in the Tucson area, mostly in middle- to lower-middle class neighborhoods, said Robert Bhagwandat, the companys director of franchise development.

Bhagwandat said he is not sure if Tucson will get Rallys or Checkers restaurants or both. Their menus are the same and both are drive-thru only, meaning there is no dining room and all food is basically served to-go.

Bhagwandat said Tucson is an ideal market for Checkers & Rallys given its strong blue-collar, working-class population. He said it fits the companys ideal demographic that is looking for value-driven dining options.

Those are hard-working people who value each dollar they make, and thats the consumer that really, really tends to gravitate towards Rallys and Checkers, he said.

Rallys started in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1985. A year later, the first Checkers drive-thru burger stand opened in Mobile, Alabama. The two served nearly identical menus of burgers, seasoned fries and milkshakes, which led to their merger in 1999.

Both also emphasized lower prices, with expanded dollar menus and meal-deal specials including their current advertised $4 for four, which includes a burger, fries, drink and snack-sized milkshake.

Its that person who understands what it is to make a dollar; thats who we are really going after, that middle-income, lower middle-income customer, Bhagwandat explained.

He said the company, which has franchised restaurants in Yuma and the Phoenix area, is shooting for summer or fall 2017 to open the first Tucson restaurant. No location has been identified, nor has the company named a franchise operator, he said.
Press Release:

Contact: Attila Nemecz

Attila Nemecz (252)-940-6387

Once the anxiety of finding a job is over, it is easy to settle into a position. If one can find a way to live off the income and manage the workload of their new job, it can be easy to stay in that position for years. Jo Linda Cooper had settled into a position at National Spinning.she said. She was able to make ends meet off and enjoyed the people that she worked with. Then one day National Spinning shut its doors. A 20-year career was suddenly over.Cooper met Clay Carter, an employee of Beaufort County Community College in charge of human resources development. Carter worked with displaced workers whose jobs had been moved overseas and trained them to engage with the workforce with a new set of skills. Starting at BCCC in 2004, she got a number of associate degrees, including Associate in General Education, Associate in Arts and Associate in Science.she said. Cooper had started college years ago at NC State thinking she wanted to go into teaching, but finances got in the way. During her career at National Spinning, as she helped her nieces apply for colleges and started to think about it as an option for herself. When the doors closed at the factory, her choice became clear.Online classes were new to her, but she took some deep breaths and met the challenge head-on. She met students along the way who were in her situation. Their reasons for returning to school aligned with hers. Referring to the difference between taking classes at this point in her life and when she was fresh out of high school, she said,It took her years to achieve these degrees, finishing up her Associate in Arts in 2011. During this time she started working at the college to help support her family while she attended classes. She began by working as an office assistant. When a position opened up at the main switchboard, she transferred there. She stepped up her involvement at the college when she was elected the president of the BCCC Staff Association, along with being a BCCC ambassador.Employees were also allowed to take a class for free so she plugged one last class in her schedule to achieve an Associate in Science degree. The Associate in Arts degree allowed her to transfer to Wesleyan College where she finished up her bachelor's degree. All of her credits transferred smoothly. At first her classes were seated classes, stretching into the evenings. Later they shifted to more online classes. The time she invested in her education paid off when she finished this spring with bachelor's degrees in business administration and psychology, earning Summa Cum Laude in both.Cooper is not the first in her family to work at the college. Her father had worked as a custodian in the building where she now works. Since 2006 Cooper has been the office manager for the Arts and Sciences Department.Having graduated from the college makes her an asset to current students. She can offer students help that they might not get from other employees.She tells students,She encourages students to ask questions and to communicate to instructors about any obstacles they are facing.Now, for people in Cooper's position, returning to college will be easier due to a new program at BCCC called "Yes! You Can." The program awards credit for prior learning to students who are returning to college or starting after spending time in the workforce. Previous training, certificates and veteran experience can count toward a degree. This means students can earn a degree faster and with less cost than before.Thinking back on her initial fears about returning to college, Cooper smiles and says, "Compared to live, school is a piece of cake.
PHOENIX  The FBI is investigating former state utility regulator Gary Pierce over election issues related to the 2014 bid by his son, Justin Pierce, for secretary of state.

The elder Pierce confirmed late Friday to Capitol Media Services that two agents showed up at his house earlier in the day with many questions. Pierce said their focus was that 2014 election, but said the federal agents asked him not to say more to others.

He described the conversation as cordial.

At the same time, a spokesman for Pinnacle West Capital Corp., Jim McDonald, said the U.S. Attorneys Office had been in contact with that firm. Pinnacle West is the parent company of Arizona Public Service, the states largest electric utility.

McDonald said he did not know who at the utility had been interviewed.

And a spokeswoman for the Arizona Corporation Commission said that agency had been contacted by the FBI and was cooperating fully.

The federal probe appears to be an outgrowth of an investigation originally started at the state Attorney Generals Office.

That included allegations that Pierce, while a regulator, had met secretly with Don Brandt, the chief executive officer of APS, and Don Robinson, his predecessor, while the utility was in the middle of a rate case before the regulatory agency. These were laid out in a letter from a whistleblower, later identified as a former commission staffer, to Attorney General Mark Brnovich and others.

That state investigation also was looking into the role that Scot Mussi, head of the Free Enterprise Club, played in the 2014 Republican primary race for secretary of state. Mussis organization spent more than $500,000 on behalf of the younger Pierce, who lost the primary election to Michele Reagan.

Wil Cardon, the third candidate in that campaign, charged during the race that the elder Pierce was using his position on the commission to get financial support for Justin Pierces campaign from companies that are regulated by the panel.

Both father and son denied the allegations.

Gary Pierce said Friday hes not worried. Ive not done anything wrong, he said.

He is not faulting federal officials for pursuing the issue. I think theyre just trying to get at the truth, he said. They dont know whether to believe me or not to believe me.

But Pierce said he suspects much of the inquiry is politically driven.
WHAT: When Palm Beach Modern Auctions sold 550 lots of modern design, art and decor recently, the $1 million-plus result was a first for the Florida auction house. Buyers from 16 countries battled in house, by phone and online for original mid-20th century design. The genre is certainly having a moment these days, worldwide.

MORE: Along with Picasso ceramics and art by Botello and Dubuffet, furniture was popular. A Contour model loveseat (with oil rubbed walnut frame) by designer Vladimir Kagan brought $7,500.

SMART COLLECTORS KNOW: Kagan designed furniture that appealed to young homeowners in the booming suburbs. Built low like most mid-century furniture, his work aimed for fluid lines and comfort. The curved spread legs on this seat are another Kagan signature.

HOT TIP: Originally sold with a white woven fabric cover, this version has apparently been re-covered at some point. Clean, original upholstery minus stains could have boosted the result. In mid-century, all-original is best. And, of course, purists want only original vintage pieces.
University of Arizona President Ann Weaver Hart will leave the schools top job when her contract expires in mid-2018, but she isnt going anywhere.

After a tumultuous school year in which her leadership drew criticism from around the state, Harts bosses announced Friday that she will not seek an extension to her presidents contract.

However, she intends to stay on as a faculty member at the school. Her contract includes a clause that gives her a job as a tenured professor in the College of Education when she steps down as the UAs leader.

The announcement came in the closing moments of an Arizona Board of Regents meeting in Flagstaff.

Hart, 67, who makes $665,000 a year in base pay as the UAs president, told the board she has decided to become a full-time teacher and scholar again.

It wasnt immediately clear Friday how much she would earn as a faculty member.

Hart holds bachelors and masters degrees in history and a Ph.D in educational administration, all from the University of Utah. One of her research interests is in leadership succession.

She said she intends to spend her last two years as president moving the university forward by implementing changes from the UAs strategic plan.

Regents board chairman Jay Heiler said Hart decided on her own to leave the top job, and he praised her commitment to the UA. He said the board would likely start the succession planning process this fall.

The decision not to seek an extension is hers, and true to her character she has made it in full consideration of both her personal aspirations and her institutional commitments, Heiler said.

Harts critics expressed disappointment and questioned why shes being allowed to stay on for another two years.

She should leave immediately. Two more years of her leadership is going to hurt the UA even more than it already has, said state Rep. Bruce Wheeler of Tucson.

The presidents supporters disagreed, saying Hart has made many needed improvements in her four years at the helm

I believe the university is better today than when she arrived. On balance, shes had a positive effect, said Lynn Nadel, chair of the faculty.

He cited the Banner Health deal  in which the money-losing former University Medical Center was acquired by a nonprofit corporation  as evidence of Harts effectiveness in dealing with complex problems.

Hart also deserves credit for picking a talented leadership team and for making a push this year to increase diversity on campus, he said.

Among faculty, there are mixed opinions about Harts leadership, Nadel acknowledged. I think if you took a poll some would be quite positive and others, quite negative.

Controversies

Hart, hired in 2012 as the schools first female president, has been the subject of several controversies that began not long after she arrived.

The biggest in terms of negative public reaction was her decision earlier this year to accept a paid position on the board of the for-profit education firm that runs DeVry University. The school is facing a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that claims DeVry routinely deceived students about their job prospects after graduation.

DeVry denies wrongdoing and Hart  who receives a $170,000 annual paycheck in salary and stock from DeVry  has expressed her confidence in the firm.

But hundreds of Arizonans, including UA donors, students and faculty members, have protested her side job. Critics say Hart should be devoting all her energies to her presidents job, and that shes tarnished the UAs reputation by having its president associated with a questionable corporation.

Many donors have said they wont give to the UA as long as Hart remains its leader, and the UAs new budget projects that private donations will decline by $8.7 million  a 9.6 percent drop  in the coming school year.

University officials couldnt be reached for comment on the cause of the downward trend.

More recently, the Arizona Medical Association made a public statement of no confidence in Harts leadership of the UA, and in particular its Phoenix medical school.

The doctors group passed a resolution at its recent annual meeting that asks regents to investigate after six deans at the Phoenix facility announced their departure. UA officials maintain that such turnover is normal in academic medicine.

Hard feelings also arose last year when Hart wrote a chapter for a book on leadership in which she publicly described the UA as an institution that was going downhill before she arrived.

Mixed reactions

Few students were on the campus Friday, but some of those who were had mixed reaction to news of Harts decision to step down.

She did some good work, like making the campus smoke-free, said Desiree Esquivel, 22, a senior in public health and Spanish.

Zack Williams, 27, a graduate student in geosciences, said he recently signed a petition asking Hart to resign after she joined the board of DeVry.

I thought it diminished the brand of the university, he said. To have her use our brand to help make some money seemed low.

Jacqueline Mwangi, 19, who just finished her junior year in accounting and management information systems, described Hart as an OK president, not the best.

Hart did a good job handling the demands from marginalized students, she said, but I think the whole DeVry thing is why shes resigning. She took a lot of flack for that.

The Board of Regents will conduct a nationwide search for Harts replacement, President Eileen Klein said.
The Arizona Daily Herald website reappeared Friday, this time being run by a former staff member of Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller.

Timothy DesJarlais announced he had purchased the website domain June 1, shortly after he said he resigned from Millers office.

DesJarlais and Miller reportedly filed complaints with the FBI last month about the Daily Herald, arguing someone named Jim Falken was sending emails to county supervisors and supervisor candidates requesting comment on Millers proposed road improvement plan as part of the online news site. The two previously said they hoped an investigation would determine the real identity of the person sending out the emails.

Media reports suggested the Herald website may have been set up and the emails sent by DesJarlais. He had repeatedly used the pseudonym Jim Falken in an online role-playing game. After reporters questioned whether he was involved, the website was taken down.

At the time, Miller said the fake news site was a political attack, designed to disrupt the business operations in her office and hurt her election chances.

Miller said now that she has concerns about DesJarlais previous involvement in the website, but that he is innocent until proven guilty. It is not looking good for Mr. DesJarlais, Miller said Friday.

Miller said she wanted to take her young staffers word at the time that he wasnt behind the emails, and warned him of the consequences when they filed an FBI report.

On Friday, Miller filed another report  this time with the Tucson Police Departments cyber-crime unit  in attempt to find the person who sent the emails. County leaders have also requested the sheriffs and county attorneys offices to look into the matter.

DesJarlais said he still doesnt know who was behind the first version of the website, but he has essentially ruled out everyone who has been publicly discussed, including a man named John Dalton.

All I do know is that it is not John Dalton or Jim Falken, he said. The real owner still is a mystery to me, although I dont necessarily share Supervisor Millers paranoid view about a conspiracy to destroy her office.

Registration information does show the site changed hands June 1, but the original registration information  an address in Canada  didnt change when DesJarlais reportedly purchased the website.

The new managing editor says he doesnt believe Miller had anything to do with the creation of the website.

Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller, to the best of my knowledge, has no involvement in the site whatsoever under its previous ownership, and to this day, she has no involvement in its content, creation or maintenance, said DesJarlais.

In his decision to quit, the recent Pima Community College graduate and candidate for the Marana district school board said he wanted to get back into journalism. He said that since he has resigned from Millers office he plans to use the Arizona Daily Herald to work on journalism and blogging.
PHOENIX  Already embattled Secretary of State Michele Reagan is facing new allegations that she is violating election laws.

The latest stems from the failure of her office  she admits intentionally  to issue a new election manual this year for county officials to follow. That manual covers everything from who is qualified to vote and campaign finance reporting by candidates to the technicalities of how to deal with problems at the polling place on election day.

Reagan spokesman Matt Roberts said his boss, who took office in January 2015, has been too busy to update the nearly 400-page manual, what with a presidential primary, a special election, a regular primary and the general election this year.

Anyway, Roberts said his boss reads the law to require only that there be an election procedures manual in place before each election, not a new or revised manual. And he said the 2014 manual, adopted by Ken Bennett, Reagans predecessor, remains in place with full legal effect.

But Chandler attorney Tom Ryan said thats not what the law says.

The statute says shall be issued prior to each election, Ryan wrote in his complaint to Attorney General Mark Brnovich.

Ryan said Reagan could conceivably conclude the 2014 manual is just fine and slap a new cover page on it.

But he pointed out that election laws have changed since the manual was last updated, citing for example the new prohibition against ballot harvesting, taking the early ballot of another voter to the polls. Yet there is no mention in the existing manual of what an election official is supposed to do if someone shows up with more than one ballot.

Roberts, however, said none of that requires a change in the manual. He said ballot harvesting is a criminal offense versus an election law violation.

Roberts said Reagan does not believe every change in election laws requires an update of the manual. He said his boss prefers to wait until next year to do a total rewrite.

An aide to Brnovich had no comment on Ryans request. But Ryan does have a record of being able to get the attorney generals attention.

It was Ryan who got Brnovich to take a closer look at the failure of Reagans office to mail out more than 200,000 brochures ahead of the May 17 special election with arguments for and against the two measures on the ballot. Brnovich has since appointed a special investigator to find out if any laws were broken and whether civil or criminal charges should be filed against Reagan.

Reagan also was named in a civil lawsuit following problems with the March presidential preference election when voters in Maricopa County stood in line for up to five hours because of the dearth of polling places. While Reagan has insisted she had no legal responsibility for that, attorneys for the plaintiffs cite section of election law they say undermine that.

There also are reasons to question her current claim she is not required to update the manual.

Bennett, who was secretary of state from 2009 to 2014, said he did three separate updates in that time ahead of each election, saying thats the way he read the law.

He acknowledged that the secretary of state can be busy during election years. But Bennett said thats why he and his staff did the rewrites in odd-numbered years, working with not only county and city officials but also outside groups like the League of Women Voters to ensure that the manual was up to date and all potential problems were addressed.

We were always finding upgrades or improvements, or changes required by court cases or law changes, he said. We always were submitting a new version.

Bennett said he never found a time when a prior manual was sufficiently updated to allow it to be used for a new election cycle. And even if there had been such a situation, Bennett said he still would have needed to follow the rest of what the law requires: submitting the manual to both the attorney general and the governor for their approval.

That goes to Ryans point about whats in the manual being more than simply what Reagan decides is appropriate and good enough.

The attorney general has the right to look at it and the duty to look at it because the attorney general has to make sure that it meets constitutional requirements and it meets minimum legal requirements, he said. If the laws have changed and the secretary of state is incorrect, then shes defeated the attorney generals right and frustrated his duty in reviewing and approving the elections manual.
Options for a new interstate in Arizona were presented to a packed audience Wednesday during the first public hearing on the proposed Interstate 11.

Project engineer Jay Van Echo said the goal of the I-11 corridor is access-controlled, north-south transportation that connects U.S. metropolitan areas with Mexico and Canada.

He said the final corridor could be one entirely new route or several new routes, connected to improved existing routes.

The maps unveiled Wednesday show alternatives for the interstate run west of Interstate 10 from Wickenburg south to Casa Grande. There, the southern options are east or west of I-10, connecting to Arizona 189 in Nogales with access to the international port.

An earlier proposal by Pima County had I-11 connecting to the existing Interstate 19 for southbound travel.

The Arizona Department of Transportation said no specific alignments are under consideration at this early stage.

The study area for the proposed route is about 280 miles long and between 5 and 25 miles wide.

Representatives from ADOT and the Federal Highway Administration were on hand at Wednesdays hearing in Casa Grande to answer questions from residents.

In order to record all concerns, comments were taken in writing or by a court reporter for those who preferred to verbally share their thoughts.

Id start it tomorrow, said Casa Grande resident Louis Wagner, who attended the meeting to see if land he owns would be impacted. Im open to it.

Mike Henderson, also from Casa Grande, called himself a big fan of north-south commerce.

He said he had advised officials to coordinate with parallel efforts along the corridor.

It fascinates me that some of these things go so slowly, Henderson said.

The hearing served as a kickoff to a three-year environmental study, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, ADOTs Van Echo said.

An Environmental Impact Statement will evaluate corridor alternatives, including segments that could be independent projects.

A no-build alternative also will be evaluated.

No funding for the project has been identified.

ADOT will collect data for the next year and come back to the public with specific route alternatives, Van Echo said.

Double-decking

still on table

I-11 began as the Canamex Corridor.

As defined by Congress in the 1995 National Highway Systems Designation Act, the corridor is a joint effort involving Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Montana.

It calls for the development of a continuous four-lane roadway from Mexico through the U.S. into Canada to facilitate trade among the three countries and minimize traffic and congestion.

The federal government has spent about $500 million on the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales and the Hoover Bypass Bridge in Northern Arizona. I-11 would be the connection between the two.

Proponents believe the interstate would expedite southbound exports to Mexico and  from the Port of Guaymas  to markets in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Northbound imports could avoid city traffic and connect from I-19 to the Port of Tucson or move to markets on the East Coast via I-10.

Opponents have said widening I-10 and double-decking parts in Pima County would serve the same purpose without additional infrastructure in the desert.

John Moffatt, Pima Countys director of strategic planning, said all ideas will be evaluated.

Its still on the table, he said of double-decking parts of I-10. He said the county continues to collect feedback from residents potentially affected by the new interstate and to work with tribal and state land officials to propose a route with minimum impact.

We are trying to be sensitive, Moffatt said.

I-10 Coalition formed

Meanwhile, in a separate east-west interstate project, ADOT and the transportation directors from California, New Mexico and Texas entered into an agreement earlier this week to create an I-10 Corridor Coalition to address the movement of goods between California ports and the Texas market.

For Arizona, the partnership is designed to remove what transportation officials refer to as friction  such as the variety of commercial vehicle permitting and inspection practices in each state along I-10  that makes the movement of goods less efficient than it could be, ADOT said in a statement announcing the partnership. If the four states were combined, the region would have the 10th largest economy in the world.

The coalition is modeled after a coalition involving 15 states that govern Interstate 95 between Florida and Maine.

We want to see the day when a truck or a noncommercial vehicle can travel the 1,700 miles between Los Angeles ports and Houston ports  safely, efficiently and without delay, said John Halikowski, ADOT director.

Someday we want the I-10 corridor to be filled with truck platoons and connected vehicles, weigh-in-motion sensors and automated truck parking lots.

In Pima County, officials hope to build a 26-mile connection between I-10 and I-19 as a bypass for northbound I-19 and westbound I-10 drivers, especially commercial vehicles.

The Sonoran Corridor would run roughly from Rita Road on the southeast side to about Pima Mine Road south of Tucson.
Help India!

By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net

It was all over by Sept 20th 1857. Indian forces had retreated from their positions. Mughal Royalty abandoned the Red Fort and people started leaving Delhi in large numbers to escape from looting by the British forces. Same day, last Emperor of India Bahadur Shah Zafar was arrested by the British forces, his three sons murdered in cold blood and their severed heads presented to the King. Delhi had fallen and with it any hope of keeping the foreign occupation out of India. Though some Indian forces continued fighting the occupying powers as late as 1859 it was not until 1947 that Indians will again take charge of their country.

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We have all read and heard about the great war of 1857, but unfortunately, most of it is British account or by Indians who wanted to please their British masters. Hardly any research has been done to present the Indian perspective of this war of 1857. Dr. Shamsul Islam, a professor of Political Science in Delhi University has spent more than a decade collecting materials that give detail information of day to day happenings in the Indian camp.

He has published a number of books in Hindi and English presenting original materials and shocking the readers with what he uncovers. A different image of 1857 and particularly the siege of Delhi appear as we read the letters written by spies and traitors present in Delhi but working for the British. These spies were put in service as soon as the native soldiers of British forces declared mutiny. These spies provided valuable information from within the city to the British forces on Delhi Ridge. These letters were translated by the British forces and preserved in different archives and collections which Prof. Shamsul Islam through his painstaking research has collected over the years. He has cross-checked the facts and events mentioned in these letters and now we have an alternate record of a very important part of the Indian history. When these letters are read along with letters and reports by the British forces they provide a valuable insight into how the great war of 1857 was lost by the Indian forces.







British Memorial of 1857 war at Delhi Ridge







In 1972, Government of India offers an amendment



British Forces

First reading the British accounts, we find that British forces were demoralized with lot of confusion and indiscipline among the ranks. Consider this, writing in early September 1857 one Officer writes We had been the Besieged and not the Besiegers. On Sept. 6th we find William Hodson, the intelligence chief ready to give up. He writes, If the campaign lasts very long I shall be forced to go home next year. Nevertheless British forces stormed Delhi by breaching Kashmiri Gate, a plaque commemorating the names of those who attacked it still stands at Kashmiri Gate but we dont know the names of those who defended the gate from attacks by the British forces. Though British were able to enter the city thanks to the breach but still they met strong resistance. British historian of this period, John William Kaye wrote, it was plain that we had received a severe check, he adds that the British troops, were much exhausted by fatigue, and much depressed by the mortality that surround them.

On Sept. 16th, Major General Archdale Wilson describes his and his forces condition:

Our Force is too weak for this street fighting, when we have to gain our way inch by inch, and of the Force we have, unfortunately, there is a large portion besides the Jummoo troops in whom I can place no confidence. I find myself getting weaker and weaker everyday, mind and body quite worn out We have a long and hard struggle before us.

On Sept 19th, a day before the Fall of Delhi, Hodson makes this observation: We are making slow progress in the city. The fact is, the troops are utterly demoralized For the first time in my life, I have had to see English soldiers refuse repeatedly to follow their officers. How this demoralized and indiscipline army able to win Delhi is what Prof. Islam uncovers in letters from spies working for the British.







British Memorial lists important battles of the Siege of Delhi



British Agents

These spies not only provided information about Indian troops preparations and movements to the British but also advised them how and when to attack. They also acted as agent provocateurs for the British masters. These British agents were everywhere in the city and some in the circles closest to Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Dr. Islam identifies three important British agents in Delhi- Rajab Ali, who was awarded Rs. 10,000 for his services during the siege; Jeewan Lal, whose family was always attached to the Mughals, in fact one of his forefather was prime minster of Aurangzeb, was made honorary Magistrate and a Municipal Commissioner for providing critical information to the British during the siege; Mirza Ilahi Bakhsh was very close to King Zafar, one of his daughters married Zafars son Mirza Fakhru. In reading through the letters we find Mirza Ilahi Bakhsh planning the fall of Delhi by other nobles of the city including queen Zeenat Mahal. He on one occasion saved the life of Jeewan Lal when rebels arrested him for spying for the British. He also successfully convinced Bahadur Shah Zafar not to leave the city with Indian forces and brought about the surrender of the King and the princes.

There were many other spies working overtime for the British forces and Hodson writes that they were employed to sow the seeds of dissension within Indian Forces, between Delhi residents and defenders of the city and also between Hindus and Muslims.







British marker at Kashmiri Gate



Indian Forces

Ironically, letters of British spies provide lot of information about activities in the Indian camps. We find Bahadur Shah Zafar actively involved in the civil and military arrangements in Delhi. We find Indian forces very well organized with proper command and control. Corrupt people being punished and grievances of the people redressed. We find Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and even Indians from South and some Whites fighting for the Indian cause. We find a proper Military Council that managed the affairs of the war and planned strategies. Military Council was also responsible for maintaining funds; 12 member Council had representation of a civilian Delhi resident as well. This council was democratic with representation of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs; Mirza Mughal who though had a seat in this council was not able to have influence in the debates since other members distrusted him for charges of funds embezzlement against him.







Bakht Khan Rohilla, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian forces (1857-1859)



Indian forces were divided in sections with doctors attached to each section and fighting organized so that each section gets proper rest without hindering the war effort. They made new advances in making ammunitions and also came up with a rocket gun which was personally inspected by the King on Sept. 6th and employed into the service the next day. Families of those who died in battles were given Rs. 3 monthly pension.

King Zafar seems to be in full command when he orders a ban on cow slaughter. He also removes some of the princes from collecting funds when they were found to be involved in embezzlement. Collection of funds was levied on all irrespective of caste and religion. Funds thus collected were distributed according to the discretion of a committee constituted for this purpose.







Memorials

British built a memorial on the Ridge that they occupied during the siege. This memorial still stand there today near University of Delhi campus honoring those who faught for the British cause, listing names of important British officers and counting wounded and dead both natives and British and a listing of battles during the siege that lasted from May 20th to Sept. 20th 1857. India is yet to built a memorial for the patriotic sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation. In 1972, Indian government put up a board there that says that what British inscriptions called enemy are actually brave Indian soldiers who fought for national liberation.







Indian soldiers are still called mutineers in official Red Fort museuem







And British version of events of 1857 war is still supreme in India. (Poster in Red Fort museum)





It is strange that more than 150 years since the Fall of Delhi and even after 60 years of Indias independence we are yet to identify Indian heroes and recognize their sacrifice. While we know that Major William Hodsons grave is maintained in La Martiniere College in Lucknow, we dont know what happened to Bakht Khan Rohilla, commander-in-chief of Indian forces who kept alive the resistance against British occupation forces till 1859.

Relevant books by Dr. Shamsul Islam:

English:

Rebel Sikhs of 1857, Vaani, Delhi, 2008.

Jeewan Lal: Traitor of Mutiny, Vaani, Delhi, 2008.

Letters of Spies: And Delhi was Lost, Vaani, Delhi, 2008.

Hindi:

1857 ke Baghi Sikh, Vaani, Delhi, 2008

Ghadar ka Dalal: Munshi Jeewan Lal, Vaani, Delhi, 2008.

Jasosoon ke Khatoot: Aur Dilli Haar Gayee, Vaani, Delhi, 2008.

1857 Kee Heratangez Dastanen, Vaani, Delhi, 2008.

[All photos by TwoCircles.net]


An official remake of Jeong Keun-seobs 2013 Korean Film Montage, TE3Nsurpasses the original in terms of building a taut atmosphere that keeps audiences at the edge of their seats. Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, TE3Nbrings Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui on the screen together for the first time.

Plot

For the past eight years, John Biswas (Amitabh Bachchan) has been restless, trying to deconstruct the mystery behind his 8-year-old granddaughters sudden disappearance that led to her death. The perpetrator, who kidnapped Johns granddaughter Angela, was never found.

The mysterious case has long been shut by the Kolkata police. However, Biswas holds himself accountable to seek justice, not revenge, for his deceased granddaughter.

Eight years later, things take a similar turn when another kidnapping incident, bearing uncanny resemblance to Angelas case, takes place in the crumbling environs of Kolkata. On the other hand, John gets a clue from a local Imambara to start a self-monitored investigation against the terrible tragedy that left his family devastated.

What happens next? How does John seek justice for his granddaughter?Youll have to visit a cinema near you to seethe mystery unfold itself.

Analysis

Dasguptas TE3Nserves a deliciously twisty plot with a standout performance by Vidya Balan.

However, Im not saying that its a completely profound cinematic experience. Im saying that TE3Nstays honest to its genreand this is the reason why it works really well, at least for three quarters. You know the extent of heightening tension when you see audiences biting their nails. The collective tension in the cinema hall escalates as the film unspools.

In the last hour, the story transcends into a Fincher-style expressionism to reveal the tiniest of details through flashbacks.

Bijesh Jayarajan and Suresh Nairhas screenplay sparkles with a natural beauty that is hyperreal like the glory of a dream. However, the film starts to derail in the last fifteen minutes, but Bachchan and Balans towering performances keep it all on the right track.

For this reason, TE3Nends up being a yes, but movie experience for me. Its a smartly-crafted film, but it stays on its polished surfaces only. Its intelligent, but not probing or risky enough to hit your conscience hard.

However, its the actors who make TE3Nsoar even when things start to get muddled. It's Vidya Balan who astonishes you the most. She plays a tough cop, with gestures and raised browsthat speak tall of her artistic abilities. Balan is as close to perfect as any actor has ever been onscreen in a role that defies all stereotypes. On the other hand, Amitabh Bachchan studies his character with a ferocious intelligence. Bachchans John faces the fateful turns of events throughout the runtime with poise.

Padmavati Rao, as Johns wife, is particularly tremendous. Her highly emotive face meticulously depicts the existence of people crippled by pain of losing a loved one. Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sabyasachi Chakrabarty are good, but their roles arent really well-etched.

Verdict

With spine-tingling suspense and utterly believable performances, TE3Nstands out to be a film that mesmerizes and shocks you in equal measure for most of its runtime. Balans rendition of a cop chasing a suspect on the railway tracks is perhaps the finest piece of self-contained acting Ive seen so far in the Hindi cinema this year. Tremendous!
Manila intensifies tension in South China Sea - former diplomat Updated: 2016-06-11 20:55 (Xinhua)

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]

MANILA - The Philippine government has been behind the intensifying tensions in the South China Sea, a former diplomat of the country told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Alberto Encomienda, former secretary-general of Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center of the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department, said: "China has been for the negotiations all along, but from the beginning we are not."

The Philippine Foreign Affairs Department said it has conducted over 50 consultations and negotiations with China from 1995 to 2012, which did not happen, said the diplomat, who was then in charge of the negotiation "before it exploded."

Encomienda noted that China "has been sending quiet feelers to improve relations."

"Prior to the 2005's APEC (forum summit), China sent two delegations to the Philippines, and invited delegations from the House of Representatives to Beijing. We never gave this much attention. After the summit, China sent feelers to the Philippines again, we never responded," he revealed.

The former Philippine maritime official also said that China should not be demonized in terms of the South China Sea issue, since it was the Philippines who first engaged in reclamation activities in South China Sea, building airstrips on China's Zhongye Island.

"We were the first to do reclamation in South China Sea. So we cannot demonize China for reclamation," he said, revealing that the airfield on Zhongye Island "was built on top of live coral reefs."

Encomienda also lashed out at the US for its mounting military presence in the South China Sea and its purpose to set the Philippines against China on this issue.

"The US is very against China's reclamation in South China Sea ... Look, how much China is spending to reclaim those reefs? Nothing compared to what the US spent on the Philippines for EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement). In short, China is reclaiming reefs, but America is reclaiming the Philippines," he said.

After President Benigno Aquino III's first state visit to the US in 2010, "everything that came up as the Philippines' South China Sea position has something to do with 'rule-based' and 'legal framework.' But these are rule basis determined by the US," said Encomienda.

The former diplomat emphasized that the Philippines "is in urgent need of an independent foreign policy."
Philippine diplomats urge incoming government to conduct bilateral talks with China Updated: 2016-06-11 20:58 (Xinhua)

Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte speaks during his victory party in Davao, the Philippines, June 4, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

MANILA - Philippine diplomats have urged President-elect Rodrigo Duterte's government to launch bilateral talks with China to settle the long-running South China Sea territorial dispute between the two sides.

The call came as the Chinse Foreign Ministry on Wednesday issued a statement on settling disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiations.

DISPUTE SHOULD BE SOLVED BY BILATERAL TALKS

"You can't resolve an issue without talking to each other," the Manila Times, one of Philippine's major newspapers, cited Lauro Baja, former Philippine foreign affairs undersecretary and ambassador to the United Nations, as reporting on Friday.

Tension between China and the Philippines have heightened in recent years over the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. In 2013, the Philippines unilaterally initiated an arbitration case against China over the dispute from an international tribunal in The Hague.

Rosario Manalo, Philippines' former foreign affairs undersecretary for international economic relations, said the best thing for both the Philippines and China is to "sit down and talk".

Manalo said that everything can be resolved through bilateral negotiations.

"We should start talking about how to share the fruits of the tree through exploration," the Manila Bulletin, Philippine's another major newspaper, quoted her as saying.

Baja noted that the questions of territorial integrity or maritime entitlement will not be solved solely on legal ground.

"What the department (foreign affairs) or the Philippines may have missed is that they relied too much on the legal ground," he said, adding "Second, we relied too much on the panel and we put all our eggs in the panel."

With Regard to the arbitration, he said he believed that it will not be a total victory for the Philippines nor a total loss for China.

"I think they will come to a decision where there will be opportunities for China and the Philippines to engage in bilateral talks," Baja said.

THE UNITED STATES SHOULD BE KEPT OUT

Manalo, who was the head of the High Level Task Force on ASEAN charter, said the only way to solve the dispute in the South China Sea is to diplomatically talk with China.

Manalo saw no need for the United States to join the negotiations as it doesn't have any claim in the disputed waters in the South China Sea.

"We can't pursue multilateral talks... What's the interest of the United States in us? Do they have any claim to the Philippines or China's territory? The problem is only between us and China," she said.

A US expert suggested the other day that the Philippines could take its case to the United Nations Security Council if China will not abide by the court ruling.

Baja dismissed the recommendation by Ernest Bower, a senior adviser to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said that China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, will surely veto such a move.
British pageantry on parade for Queen's official birthday Updated: 2016-06-11 21:18 By Chris Peterson in London(chinadaily.com.cn)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrive back at Buckingham Palace from Horseguards Parade after the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony in central London, Britain June 11, 2016. Trooping the Colour is a ceremony to honor Queen Elizabeth's official birthday. The Queen celebrates her 90th birthday this year. [Photo/Agencies]

All the pomp and pageantry of Britain was on display today for the annual ceremony of Trooping the Colour, a parade in central London held each year to honor the monarch's official birthday, timed to coincide with the better weather of May and June. This monarchs real birthday falls on April 21, the date on which she was born in 1926.

She has now ruled for 64 years, becoming Britain's longest reigning monarch, exceeding the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria.

Royal guardsmen in their distinctive bright red tunics and tall bearskin helmets, known as busbies, wheeled and marched on the Horse Guards Parade in the heart of London as Queen Elizabeth II, dressed in a striking neon green coat, dress and hat, took the salute.

Until 1987 the Queen, a keen horsewoman, would take the salute on horseback, riding sidesaddle and wearing the uniform of the Colonel-in-Chief of whatever Guards regiment was heading the parade on the day.

Tens of thousands of tourists, many from China, crowded the streets to watch the ceremonies, which involved 1,000 soldiers, 200 horses and 200 musicians, some of them mounted.

The ceremony dates back to 1760, when whichever regiment was guarding the monarch  it is done in rotation  presented its colours, or regimental flag. The ritual of presenting, or trooping, the flag, dates back to the various wars British soldiers were involved in in Europe, when at the start of each day each units flag was paraded in front of the troops so they would recognize them as a rallying point in the heat of battle.

A couple of things to note  the Queen always dresses in bright colours when attending official functions such as today's event to allow the crowd to spot her easily.

And the bearskin headgear worn by the Brigade of Guards, charged with protecting the Monarch and guarding her official residences, dates back to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, when British forces under the Duke of Wellington defeated the Grand Armee of Napoleon Bonaparte. They were originally part of the uniform in battle of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, many of whom perished in a desperate last minute charge against British lines.

The British guardsmen were so impressed by their bravery that they adopted the headgear as a tribute that lasts until today.

After today's display of marching and music, the Royal Air Force staged a flypast, with fighters, transport aircraft, helicopters and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which includes a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane, both of which saw service in World War II.
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Viet Nam and South Africa agreed to redouble efforts to raise bilateral trade revenues to US$3 billion by 2020.  Photo hanoimoi.vn

PRETORIA  Viet Nam and South Africa agreed to redouble efforts to raise bilateral trade revenues to US$3 billion by 2020.

The decision was made at the third meeting of their joint trade committee, convened earlier this week in South Africas capital, Pretoria.

Trade revenue hit approximately $1.15 billion in 2015, more than doubling the 2010 figure.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade o Thang Hai underscored South Africas role as the largest market for made-in-Viet Nam products in Africa.

Hai proposed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on trade promotion and mentioned trade liberalisation and the establishment of a distribution channel for Vietnamese goods in the host nation through direct links with local distributors as key measures to be adopted.

He asked the South African Government to facilitate the export of coal to Viet Nam and investments by local enterprises in thermo-power, wind-power and solar-power in Viet Nam.

He also said he expected local authorities to support Vietnamese investment in their coal mining activities in South Africa.

The Vietnamese official urged South African investors to invest in the export sector of Viet Nam, particularly in garment-textiles and food processing, capitalising on preferential tariffs brought about by free trade agreements.

All of Hais proposals were received with approval from South African Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Mzwandile Masina.

The South African official requested that Viet Nam create favourable conditions for the import of farm produce and processed food from his country and called for additional Vietnamese investment in South Africa.

Hai also held a meeting with South African Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Godfrey Oliphant, who agreed with his suggestions on mineral collaboration.

After the meeting, the two industry-trade ministries, together with the Vietnam Embassy in South Africa, held a trade conference.

The event brought together more than 50 local businesses that are interested in forming partnerships with Vietnamese firms, opening representative offices, making inroads into the retail sector in Viet Nam and exporting coal to the country.

On the occasion, Vietrade signed a co-operation pact with Swaziland Investment Promotion Agency to encourage further trade and investment in industry.  VNS
HA NOI  Three Vietnamese steel firms will pay zero tax after answering the anti-dumping questionnaire of the US Commerce Department (DOC). But other Vietnamese exporters of steel pipes will pay the maximum tax of 113 per cent.

The Viet Nam Competition Authority (VCA) said on Wednesday that the US had made its preliminary decision on anti-dumping investigations of carbon welded steel pipe imports into the US market.

Hoa Phat Steel Pipe Ltd. participated as a voluntary respondent in the investigation and was levied an individual tax rate of 0.38 per cent.

Two other respondents, Seah Steel Vina Corporation and Viet Nam Hai Phong Hongyuan Machinery Manufactory Ltd., were levied a tax rate of zero per cent and 1.19 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the anti-dumping duty levied nationwide on other exporters from Viet Nam who failed to respond to the DOC was 113.18 per cent, the highest among the countries affected by the decision.

On November 18, 2015, the DOC issued a notice initiating anti-dumping investigations into carbon steel pipe products of Viet Nam and four other countries.

On June 1, the DOC announced preliminary determinations in the anti-dumping (AD) duty investigations of imports of circular welded carbon quality steel pipe (CWP) from Oman (7.86 per cent), Pakistan (11.8 per cent), United Arab Emirates (6.1-7.86 per cent), and Viet Nam (113.18 per cent).

A final DOC ruling is expected within 135 days.

Under US tax law provisions, any rate lower than 2 per cent is implemented as a rate of zero per cent.

Viet Nams 2014 carbon welded steel pipe exports to the United State were valued at some US$60.6 million, the highest among the four countries probed, according to the VCA. -- VNS
The Ministry of Industry and Trade wants petroleum products from the Dung Quat Oil Refinery consumed domestically and not exported.  Photo hiephoixangdau.org

HCM CITY  The Ministry of Industry and Trade wants petroleum products from the Dung Quat Oil Refinery consumed domestically and not exported.

It has instructed the Binh Son Oil Refinery Company (BSR), which operates Viet Nams sole refinery, to give priority to selling Dung Quats products in the domestic market to limit the countrys dependence on fuel imports.

It instructed the company to negotiate with oil companies to sell the products and increase the refinerys capacity to boost its competitiveness.

The ministry promised to co-ordinate with the Ministry of Finance to address tax and other financial issues to help the refinery strengthen its competitiveness.

It plans to allow the company to export only when domestic demand is down and its safe storage limit is exceeded.

In the past BSR has complained that the tax rate it had to pay was much higher than the rates under Viet Nams free trade agreements with ASEAN members and South Korea.

This made its products more expensive than imports, it said.

The Ministry of Finance has written to relevant agencies and the Quang Ngai Province Peoples Committee, telling them to seek the Governments approval for amending the tax rates.  VNS
Special paintings from Australias Aboriginal people are on show in Viet Nam.

Some of them tell the story of how a long, long track along which cattle walked to market changed the lives of Aboriginal people.

European settlers to Australia built the track through Australias wide open spaces inland of the coast.

This area of Australia is known as the Outback.

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

GLOSSARY

Australian indigenous people are telling their stories through paintings on display for the first time in Viet Nam.

People who are indigenous to a place come from there and nowhere else.

Titled Canning Stock Route, the exhibition features paintings and portraits by the artists and showcases the process of creation.

A portrait is a picture of a person, usually just the head and shoulders.

To showcase means to display.

The process of creation means the process of how people came to exist on Earth, from a spiritual point of view.

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.

Pastoral means farming with animals.

A survey, in this case, means examining an area in order to create something, like a road or a track.

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.

Boundaries are borders.

This is the story of one such track, told from the perspectives of the Aboriginal people whose land it crossed.

Perspectives are points of view.

It is a story of contact with Europeans, of conflict and survival, of exodus and return.

Conflict means serious disagreement.

Exodus means departure.

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.

If something is unique there is none other like it.

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.

Contemporary means belonging to the present times.

Documentary means to do with recording facts.

Oral history is history passed on by word of mouth.

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.

An innovative idea is one that is different from most ideas.

Digitised means loaded on to a computer, with all the coding that is necessary.

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.

Utilise means use.

Legends are old, traditional stories.

The indigenous people live close to the waterholes, which are hallmarks in these paintings.

A hallmark is something that stands out in the paintings.

WORKSHEET

Find words that mean the following in the Word Search:

1. The country where the Aboriginal artists come from.

2. Hugh Borrowmans position.

3. The surname of the man who surveyed the stock route.

4. The number of artists who travelled along the Canning Stock Route.

5. The countryside in Western Australia where Aboriginals have lived for thousands of years.

j r m g a b i f a o i a s r i c a n n i n g y f i o e t i k l a t n r l x l p u r a a b c g a r t r o h r k t m o d e n y o o t a m a o c e o a g r s v r g d s r s t p e u o h b e l n a e s z a m b a s s a d o r l f c e n x o r s h i t i n

ANSWERS:

 Duncan Guy/Learn the News/ Viet Nam News 2016

1. Australia; 2. Ambassador; 3. Canning; 4. Sixty; 5. Desert
The Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) and central regions are expanding areas to breed livestock as well as other animals like sheep, ostriches, goats, honeybees and silkworms. Photo nongnghiep.vn

KHANH HOA  The Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) and central regions are expanding areas to breed livestock as well as other animals like sheep, ostriches, goats, honeybees and silkworms.

Hoang Thanh Van, head of the Animal Husbandry Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the central region accounted for the largest proportion of these kinds of animals.

Van spoke at a seminar held in central Khanh Hoa Province about the effects of drought and saltwater intrusion on animal husbandry in the south-central coastal region.

MARDs Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam, who also spoke at the seminar, has assigned the Animal Husbandry Department to assess the future of animal breeding during periods of prolonged heat waves and drought. The plan will also include new zones for animal husbandry.

Sheep output in the two central regions has reached 1,850 tonnes a year, accounting for more than 98 per cent of the countrys sheep output, according to MARDs Animal Husbandry Department.

Most sheep in the region are bred in the coastal provinces of Ninh Thuan and Khanh Hoa.

The breeding of sheep, ostriches, goats, honeybees and silkworms have helped increase farmers income, especially after losses of crops affected by drought and saltwater intrusion.

The Central Highlands area produces 9.3 tonnes of honey a year, accounting for 60 per cent of the countrys honey output.

In recent years, drought and freshwater shortage have seriously affected animal breeding in the central region, especially in Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and ak Lak provinces.

Tao Anh Tuan, deputy director of the Khanh Hoa Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the provinces animal quantity had not declined in recent years, but the impact of the ongoing drought had led to the death of many cattle in Cam Ranh City.

The drought has also reduced the amount of natural food for animals, he said.

In Khanh Hoa Province, officials are drafting a plan for its agricultural restructuring, with a focus on animal husbandry. It will give priority to develop animals that can survive drought conditions.

Both Khanh Hoa and the central region in general are facing a shortage of water as well as animal feed and drought-resistant breeding stock.

Hydro-meteorology forecasts have said that the south-central region would continue to be affected by severe drought, according to Nguyen Van Tinh, deputy head of MARDs Irrigation Department.

A shortage of fresh water for daily use as well as animal food is expected to occur in several provinces like Ninh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen and Binh inh.

Drought in the south-central region is forecast to continue until the end of August. -VNS
WARSAW  Vice President ang Thi Ngoc Thinh affirmed womens important role in national development in a speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the 26th Global Summit of Women in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday.

Themed Women: Building an Inclusive Economy in the Digital Age, the three-day event brought together nearly 1,000 delegates.

Though women are improving their positions, the number of women in management and leadership roles around the world remains low, around 24 per cent of the total, according to Thinh.

She talked about opportunities and challenges brought about by the digital age for women, especially for female entrepreneurs in global commercialisation.

Female entrepreneurs should exert more efforts to improve themselves and be more creative, Thinh suggested.

She also briefed participants on Viet Nams achievements on gender equality, as well as the countrys policies to raise the positions of women and encourage them to involve themselves in all fields.

Women should improve their knowledge and management and leadership capacity, as well as actively participating in national target programmes, especially those dedicated to women and girls, in order to contribute to implementing sustainable development goals, she added.

VN treasures relations with Poland

Viet Nam attaches importance to its time-honoured friendship and co-operation with Poland, said Thinh at her meeting with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo in Warsaw on the same day.

She thanked Poland for its preferential credit worth 250 million euros (US$226 million) for Viet Nam, expressing hope that the two countries will soon sign a framework agreement on financial co-operation in credit, so that specific projects can be implemented as soon as possible.

On the basis of the two countries fine traditional friendship, and as an active member of the EU, Poland will continue supporting the strengthening of Vietnam-EU co-operation and partnership, PM Szydlo said.

Both sides expressed their satisfaction with the growth of bilateral co-operation in numerous fields, with two-way trade reaching $760 million in 2015.

The two countries agreed to expand co-operation in agriculture, defence, health, pharmaceuticals, tourism, and culture.

The Polish leader emphasised the contributions of the Vietnamese community in Poland to the host countrys development.

She also expressed her view that the East Sea disputes must be settled by peaceful means on the basis of international law.  VNS
The start-up culture in Viet Nam has taken off in the last year, with more young people eager to start businesses as the government and local organisations have offered more favourable conditions.
HCM CITY Cardiovascular experts from Viet Nam and abroad are discussing the latest medical treatments at the 6th National Congress of Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery of Viet Nam in HCM City.

The two-day biennial congress, which opened yesterday in HCM City, has presented more than 150 scientific reports and discussions.

The congress is a forum for open, honest and compelling exchanges of experience and information in a collegial setting, said Professor Bui uc Phu, chairman of the association.

Topics discussed include atrial fibrillation, valve replacement, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, coronary artery bypass, endovascular intervention and vascular surgery.

The association, established in 2005, has around 400 members.

It connects cardiovascular and thoracic units nationwide and promotes international cooperation in the field.  VNS
NEW YORK  Viet Nams AIDS epidemic is under control, Deputy Prime Minister Vu uc am told the United Nations June 8-10 High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS.

am also declared that preventing and fighting AIDS is a priority of the his government.

He attributed the curtailing of the infection to the cooperation and support of the international community and sponsors, adding that HIV-infected patients do not face discrimination. Rather, they are viewed as people who need care and treatment.

According to the deputy PM, Viet Nam has continually increased resources for HIV/AIDS prevention and control and is the first Asia-Pacific country to respond to the UNs 90-90-90 targets.

At the New York event, a Vietnamese woman living with HIV urged the international community not to ignore HIV/AIDS victims.

On the sidelines of the event, am held meetings with Executive Director of the Joint UN Action Programme on HIV/AIDS, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, US Ambassador and Global AIDS Coordinator cum Director of the US Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

He thanked the international partners for their support to Viet Nam over the past years.

Dam said his colleagues praised Viet Nam as a model in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the region and the world, and pledged their support in helping Viet Nam achieve the 90-90-90 targets by 2020, with a goal of eliminating AIDS by 2030. - VNS
The citys Department of Natural Resources and Environment has decided to crack down on investors who delay the issuance of land use certificates, known as "red books", to home buyers.Photo vov.vn

HA NOI  The citys Department of Natural Resources and Environment has decided to crack down on investors who delay the issuance of land use certificates, known as "red books", to home buyers.

The department will call for the involvement of district peoples committees and inspectorates to deal with investors after two inspection teams reviewed the delay and proposed solutions, an official said.

The problem came to light when 45 households of in the Song a apartment building on Cau Giay Street complained that they had not been granted house ownership certificates.

According to regulation, the investor, Song a 1 company, is responsible for submitting the relevant documents for the residents red books.

La Thuy Phuong, a resident of the building, said she had lived there for 11 years and received promises from the investor - but had yet to receive any announcement that her red book had been issued.

Residents of the Meco Complex apartment building on Truong Chinh Street are also frustrated, having spent billions of dong to buy apartments and having their ownership rights delayed.

Nguyen Huu Nghia, deputy director of the Ha Noi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said that residents of about 50 buildings in the city are waiting for red books due to investor delays. The department has sent them many reminders, to no avail.

The department will now consider refusing permits to these investors to implement other projects if the delay continues.

Lawyer Bui Sinh Quyen, head of Phuc Tho Law Office, said that the investors might mortgage the red books, which seriously violates the law. House buyers might lose their apartments and all the money they paid for them.

The Construction Ministry is calling for comments on a draft proposal of administrative punishments in construction activities. Accordingly, investors who fail to submit documents for land-use certificates might be subject to a fine of up to VN1 billion (US$45,000).  VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is urging the media to serve as a bridge linking the countrys businesses and the State.  Photo VGP

HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is urging the media to serve as a bridge linking the countrys businesses and the State.

At a meeting in Ha Noi yesterday with journalists participating in a programme on the presss interaction with enterprises and business people, the Government leader said journalists enable Government and State agencies to learn about the views of businesses on various issues, including the implementation of policies and guidelines, thus helping improve State management.

The PM also emphasised the medias role in building brand names for enterprises, promoting their products and spurring their operations. By covering all socio-economic spheres, the press has significantly contributed to rooting out corruption and wastefulness, the leader added.

Other participants at the event said the media helped businesses overcome their limitations in terms of international economic integration, and underlined the need for the two sectors to increase their mutual support and understanding.

It is necessary for journalists to respect the law and steer firms towards lawful business practices, they said, calling on them to play a more active role in uncovering violations of the law committed by either State management agencies or businesses in order to create an equal and transparent climate.  VNS
The Secretary of HCM City Party Committee inh La Thang has asked the Department of Transport to adjust roads that have been built at levels higher than the ground floor of houses.  Photo plo.vn

HCM CITY  The Secretary of HCM City Party Committee inh La Thang has asked the Department of Transport to adjust roads that have been built at levels higher than the ground floor of houses.

Due to road upgrades to deal with flooding, thousands of residents houses had been affected, with their ground floors lower than the roads outside, Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the department, said.

The department will temporarily build pavements or ladders to connect residents houses and the street, Thang said.

This has occurred on Kinh Duong Vuong Street, the section in Binh Tan District, he added.

He explained that the section had been affected by floods for several years, and peak flooding had reached 1.68 metres.

The road is nearly one metre higher than the floor of the houses.

Cuong added: The city also has streets much lower than peoples houses, including Hong Ha, Pham Van ong, and Truong Son in Tan Binh and Go Vap Districts.

The roads were upgraded under the Tan Son Nhat  Binh Loi Outer Ring Road Project. The upgrade is to be completed in August.

Cuong said the projects investor had not provided enough information about the project to local residents.

The department would check affected areas and find ways to deal with the situation. VNS
For the past 20 years, has travelled through Canada, Egypt, East Africa and West Asia, whipping up sweet delights. However, when he decided to set up his chic French patisserie, Star Anise, in Mumbai last year, he couldn't help but recall the desserts of his childhood spent in Odisha. "I have been away from my homeland for a long time and have always longed for the culture, the people, the evenings spent with my childhood friends and the lip-smacking desserts," says Khan, who has cooked for personalities such as former US President Bill Clinton and actor Rowan Atkinson in the past. This yearning led him to embark on a road trip last month through the villages, remote hamlets and tribal areas of Odisha to find the most authentic desserts.
This morning, PM @narendramodi chaired three key meetings at South Block. pic.twitter.com/S1XxtTVPGm

Prime Minister trended for hours on social media getting a heros welcome as he returned home from the five-nation tour on Friday morning. #WorldWinnerModiReturns rocked the microblogging site Twitter with the PMs followers telling the world that Modi was attending back-to-back meetings at his South Block office soon after landing. Many even tweeted that this PM did not know what a jet lag was as he did not take a day off after a whirlwind tour.Top officials familiar with the working style of previous PM Manmohan Singh, however, pointed out that he, too, used to join work immediately after overseas trips. We never had jet lag and worked 24X7, an official who had worked with Singh told Business Standard.But, another former PMO official pointed out that most previous PMs foreign trips used to be at a more relaxed pace than Modis, perhaps.While Modi got down to business with meetings related to disaster risk reduction, crime and criminal tracking network and national intelligence grid, several central ministers including Venkaiah Naidu, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Narendra Tomar and Radha Mohan Singh got busy with their appreciation of the PMs efforts overseas and his non-stop work.Tomar, minister for labour, steel and mines, retweeted, PM Modi in action: lands at 6:30 and in office to chair 3 crucial meetings at South Block.Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, who sent the highest number of tweets on the subject, said: Congratulations to PM for winning hearts and bringing laurels to the country.Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had this to say: When you work for your country, you never feel tired.
INDEPENDENCE  An Independence couple have been arrested on arson and fraud charges after a lengthy investigation into a house fire in 2014.

Brandon W. Dorsey, 31, and Jessi K. Dorsey, 27, were charged Friday and arrested Saturday for second-degree arson (Class C felony) and insurance fraud-presenting false information (Class D felony).

They charges stem from a fire Sept. 22, 2014, at 302 Eighth Ave. N.E., in Independence. The fire was reported about 8:20 p.m. and fought by the Independence Fire Department.

The state Fire Marshals Office, Independence Police, Independence Fire Department and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assisted with the investigation, and after months of probing it was determined the fire to be incendiary in nature, intentionally set by the two.

The two are accused of filing an insurance claim after that fire.

The two were in the Buchanan County Jail Saturday evening on $25,000 cash-only bonds.
OSAGE -- An Osage woman has been charged with vehicular homicide and operating while intoxicated with a fatal accident in March.

Shannon Henaman, 42, was arrested on a warrant Wednesday by the Osage Police Department.

Henaman was the driver in a single-vehicle accident that took place at 3:19 a.m. on March 4 at the intersection of Kirkwood Avenue and 370th Street, according to Mitchell County Sheriff Greg Beaver.

Theodore McPhail, 50, Osage, a passenger in the vehicle, was pronounced dead after being taken to the Mitchell County Regional Health Center.

Beaver said alcohol was involved in the accident.

The accident was investigated by the Mitchell County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa State Patrol.

Henaman is being held in the Mitchell County Jail on $100,000 cash-only bond.

Vehicular homicide is a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
WATERLOO  Area transportation planners have unveiled plans for spending federal highway funds on local road, bridge and trail projects.

The Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments will hold a series of public open houses this month to show off the projects, dollar amounts and time frames for road work in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area and a six-county region.

The open houses are slated for 4:30 to 6 p.m. June 21 at Cedar Falls City Hall, 220 Clay St.; noon to 1 p.m. June 22 at INRCOG Center, 229 E. Park Ave., Waterloo; and 4:30 to 6 p.m. June 23 at St. Pauls United Methodist Church, 207 W. Louise St., Waterloo.

The Black Hawk County Metropolitan Area Transportation Policy Board and Iowa Northland Regional Transportation Authority are expected to hold formal hearings and vote on the plans July 14 and July 21, respectively.

The draft fiscal year 2017-20 transportation improvement program contains the projects expected to get federal aid in the next four federal fiscal years. It covers federal aid projects in Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Chickasaw and Grundy counties.

The metro area gets about $3.1 million in federal Surface Transportation Program funds annually, while counties and communities in the regional area divide up about $2.3 million per year.

The transportation improvement program also includes Iowa Department of Transportation projects slated to use federal aid in the planning region.

Major projects in the metro plan for the coming year include the reconstruction of U.S. Highway 63 from U.S. Highway 218 to Parker Street in Waterloo; a proposed interchange at Iowa Highway 58 and Viking Road in Cedar Falls; and the resurfacing of Iowa Highway 57, or First Street, in Cedar Falls.

The plan also shows a pending $28 million payment from the DOT to the city of Waterloo for the transfer of jurisdiction of University Avenue. The money would be used for the roads reconstruction, but plans for the project have yet to be developed.

The full plans are available for review on INRCOGs website at www.inrcog.org.
WATERLOO -- As part of its upcoming "Knock Out Cancer" performance, Nzuri Children's Dance Theater is asking Cedar Valley residents to submit names, birth dates and death dates of loved ones who have died from cancer.

The information will be included in a memorial scroll that will be unveiled during the the group's 6 p.m. June 30 performance at Petersen Town Hall at the Waterloo Center for the Arts

Information can be mailed to Terry Stevens at 1629 Ackermant ST. or e-mailed to Danceterryh2oloo@aol.com. Submission deadline is June 15.
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If youre 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.
Jun 11, 2016 | By Alec

3D printers are excellent making tools for users of all ages. Among the regular visitors of the Fablab Taipei is the 14-year-old Cai Fu Ming, who sees the workshop as a second form of school. A 3D printing genius, the teenager has already turned his hobby into a career, working as a part-time 3D printing consultant, reseller and nozzle designer, and is earning 20,000 Taiwan Dollars ($610 USD) a month already.

So how does a 14-year-old become such successful figure in the 3D printing industry? As the young man explains, his huge passion for 3D printing brought him to the local Fablab, and even led him to obsessively study 3D printing hardware and its exact functions. Quickly becoming famous in the local 3D printing scene for being such a young expert, people began approaching him for help and tips. Its why one 3D printer manufacturer contacted him to become a technical adviser and a material tester. We come to him because he is very good. Although we are a lot older than him, we ask him for help if we dont understand something, the manufacturer said.

But none of this wouldve been possible without the Fablab Taipei. Absolutely packed with 3D printers, CNC cutting machines and all manner of making tools, it is mostly frequented by adults that are anywhere from 25 to 40 years old. Cai Fu Ming, with his sneakers, shorts and huge backpack, stands out considerably. And yet, he is a very well-known maker in Taiwans 3D printing circles, and spends a lot of time at the Fablab. Hes not an ordinary junior high school student, we do not treat him as a child, one of the other Fablab users said of him.

Whats more, Cai Fu Mings business is growing quickly. About a year ago, he entered the 3D printer nozzle trading business. Working together with nozzle designers in Shenzhen, he worked to redesign a nozzle to make it more resistant to high temperatures. In return, he was given the ability to buy nozzles with a wholesale discount, and quickly set up a lucrative business in Taiwan selling the nozzles online for four times what he paid for them. With his monthly profits at about $610 USD, he is earning some serious pocket money. The nozzle is also very well received by users. Hong Kong's open source 3D printing startup TinyBoy has already ordered about 300 nozzles.

Cai Fu Ming is a bit proud of himself, but still feels that the success and reputation are unsurprising. I'm actually a little surprised to be able to earn so much money, because I do things that are too easy. I just place an order in Taobao, and when the goods arrive I check the inventory and then take them to convenience stores to mail to the buyer, he explains. However, he did add that making money wasnt his goal; he simply loves 3D printing and the rest comes naturally. The ambitious young man is currently working on a robot arm (with home-made 3D printed parts), which he plans to take to the Shenzhen Maker Faire exhibition.

All that is especially remarkable because Cai Fu Ming is still in high school, and it emphasizes just how successful you can be with an entrepreneurial spirit. As the ambitious teenager explains, his key to success is fully embracing the technology as a teaching tool. If something can teach you, then he or it is the teacher, the fourteen-year-old argues, and he is absolutely correct.

In contrast, he does not like his regular school, and does not get along well with teachers or fellow students. He loves Lego, computers and RC cars, but just doesnt care for the hobbies of his classmates, or for the result-oriented school system. I know what I want, I learned what is most important, so why should I have to get that piece of paper [diploma]? he wonders. Does a good score really mean that you know it? I'm not interested in school. Teachers judge us for results, and I learn nothing from other students. Compared to schools, the Fablab is more like a school, and I learn more things from people here than at school.

As hes not interested in the subjects taught at school and his scores are quite low, Cai Fu Mings teachers told him it would be difficult to find a job after graduating. But the student disagrees, and feels that his little career shows that finding a good job isnt everything in life. Fortunately, his mother Song Jialing supports him. When told that her sons grades needed to be improved, she told the teachers not to change anything for him. She also fully supports his love for 3D printing, which is giving her son a clear objective and is turning him into a clear thinker.

So whats next for the young man? Well he isnt quite sure, but he is ambitious. He might lose interest in 3D printing, saying he doesnt want to continue playing with it forever. Instead, he would prefer to become a boss somewhere. But even if Apple or Google want me to work for them, I still have to think about it. I do not just want to be a staff member, he says. While he still has years ahead of him before having to make a decision, Cai Fu Mings career certainly shows that theres more than one way to find success. A restrictive school system might not be for everyone, especially for early adopters of technologies that might not reach classrooms for years to come.

Posted in 3D Printer Company

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Tsai.Fu-Ming wrote at 6/12/2016 8:51:52 AM:Hello, I'm Tsai.Fu-Ming~ Thank you for your report, I was really happy when I saw this article!! It's my pleasure ^__^ Thank you so much




Rayyan Al-Shawaf at The LA Times:

The way to the springis blocked. At least thats the case for the Palestinians of Nabi Saleh, a small village northwest of Ramallah. The expansion-minded residents of a nearby Jewish settlement, with the aid of the Israeli army that occupies the West Bank, have taken over the towns water source, which Palestinian farmers depended on to irrigate their fields.

Ben Ehrenreich, an award-winning writer based in Los Angeles, discovered as much when he moved to the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in a war with its Arab neighbors in 1967. Ehrenreich, who lived in that troubled land intermittently between 2011 and 2014 (in part, reporting for Harpers and the New York Times Magazine), demonstrates that Nabi Saleh is no anomaly. The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine emerges as a sobering, iconoclastic collection of stories about resistance, and about people who resist, marred slightly by the authors unwillingness to subject Palestinian militant activity, which has often included terrorism, to moral scrutiny.

The spring is the face of the occupation, Bassem Tamimi of Nabi Saleh tells the author. Every Friday, the villagers, joined by international and Israeli solidarity activists, march toward it in a regularized act of protest. And every Friday Israeli soldiers beat them back with tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber-coated bullets, observes the author. Afterward, groups of male youths situated some distance away hurl stones at the soldiers, who are generally beyond their reach.

more here.
Anthony Gottlieb in the New York Times:

The physical world is largely illusory, an editorial in The New York Times announced on Nov. 25, 1944. Wishful thinking on a depressing day? No. Had The Times gone mad? Not quite. It was endorsing the ideas of Sir Arthur Eddington, an eminent British astronomer and popularizer of science, who had just died.

Eddington began his best-known book, The Nature of the Physical World, by explaining that he had written it at two tables, sitting on two chairs and with two pens. The first table was the familiar kind: It was colored, substantial and relatively long-lasting. The second was what he called a scientific table, a colorless cloud of evanescent electric charges that is mostly emptiness. Likewise the two chairs and two pens. Only the scientific objects were really there, according to Eddington. Hence the idea that our familiar world is a deception on a grand scale.

Coming to terms with science is not getting any easier. Todays popularizers face two challenges, both of which are admirably met by Sean Carroll, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology, in his new book, The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself. First, there is more to explain than ever before, as the sciences extend their embrace to a widening range of phenomena. Fortunately, Carroll is something of a polymath. His accounts of the latest thinking about microbiology or information theory are as adroit as his exploration of the links between entropy and time or his elucidation of Bayesian statistics.

The second challenge for todays explainers is that the theories are getting weirder. Einstein used to worry that, according to quantum mechanics, God seems to be playing dice with the universe. Now it appears that he has put a stage magician in charge of the casino.

More here.
Albuquerque police have recovered one of the Boston Terriers stolen in a brazen dognapping at an Albuquerque motel last month, but are still looking for the other dog as well as the suspect in the case.

A family bought Mona, a 9-year-old purebred, near Central and Atrisco in late May not knowing she was stolen. When they learned from news reports that two Boston Terriers had been stolen, they called police, according to Albuquerque police spokeswoman Celina Espinoza.

The dog was reunited with her owner.

But the other stolen dog, Sara, has not yet turned up.

Police believe Lawrence Chavez, 49, was staying at Motel 6 near Tramway and Central May 18 when he decided to take advantage of the dog owners unlocked car.

The dog owner, in town for a dog show, had packed up her car and ran inside to use the bathroom. Surveillance footage shows a man walking up to her car, opening one of the rear doors and stealing a dog crate.

Police later identified him as Chavez, and Espinoza asked anyone with tips on his whereabouts to call police at 242-COPS.
SANTA FE  The defense attorney for a 65-year-old Santa Fe man who is accused stabbing and beating his daughter to death says his client was too frail to carry out the violent crime.

In court Friday, William Kelley pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the January 2015 death of his daughter, 30-year-old Julieanne Kelley. William Kelley was arrested May 16 after a lengthy investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office.

Santa Fe District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer imposed a $100,000 cash or surety bond, meaning Kelley can gain release from the Santa Fe County jail with $10,000 cash. If he makes bond, Kelley must stay on electronic monitoring and can leave the house for appointment and groceries if he gives the electronic monitoring office enough notice if he bonds out of jail. Jury selection is scheduled for November. The jail website showed Kelley was still in jail late Friday afternoon.

William Kelley called 911 in the middle of the night Jan. 16, 2015 and said his daughter left the mobile home they shared on Callejon de Rita off Agua Fria after an argument and was missing.

Deputies later found Julieannes body in the southeast corner of the Kelley property surrounded by a large amount of blood. An autopsy revealed that she died from 30 to 35 stab and chop wounds and blunt force trauma. William Kelley was identified by the sheriffs office a person of interest early on, but he always denied any involvement.

Friday, Kelley was in a wheelchair for his arraignment and was never forced to stand by the judge. Kelleys attorney, Tony Scarborough, said Kelley was physically unable to deliver the kind of blows that killed Julieanne and said he only weighs about 130 pounds now. Hes very frail, and he was frail at the time this happened, Scarborough said.

Scarborough asked Marlowe Sommer to not give Kelley a bond higher than $10,000 so Kelley wouldnt have to sit in jail during the trial process. Deputy District Attorney Jim Cowan asked a for a $100,000 cash-only bond due to the severity of the alleged crime and implied that Kelley was a flight risk because he had planned to leave New Mexico, although he never did.

Brenda Catanach, who said shes related to Julieanne Kelley, argued for a high bond in court Friday. I am worried about the safety of my relatives and my community, she said. Im terrified this could happen to someone else.
WASHINGTON  The Senate is heading toward passage of a defense policy bill that would authorize $602 billion in military spending, prohibit the closing of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and require young women to register for a potential draft.

In a rare Friday session, the Senate voted 68-23 to proceed with the National Defense Authorization Act.

A vote had been scheduled for earlier this week as lawmakers sought to resolve differences over potential amendments to the bill. Among them are measures that would allow Afghan civilians who assisted the American-led coalition to resettle in the U.S., alter the military justice system to curb sexual assaults, and prohibit the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens.

The White House has threatened to veto the bill, objecting to the Guantanamo provision and others  including one that would limit the size of the presidents National Security Council staff.

Even as progress in the Senate loomed, a prominent conservative group on Friday called for the legislation to be rejected over the female draft registration requirement and a lack of funding to modernize the military after 15 years of non-stop demands.

Regardless of whatever merits the bill may have, it deserves to be defeated because lawmakers should not force young women into military services through the Selective Service, Heritage vice president Dan Holler said in an emailed statement.

A dispute that erupted late Thursday underscored divisions among Republicans, many of whom have called for the bill to be passed urgently.

A bipartisan group of senators is pushing to extend and expand a program that gives visas to Afghans who defied the Taliban and worked for the coalition as interpreters, firefighters and construction laborers. Without the option to leave, they and their families risk being harmed or killed by militants, the top American commander in Afghanistan has warned.

Despite broad backing, an amendment to keep the so-called special immigrant visa program from expiring bogged down after Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, objected to a vote being held.

Lee, who said he supports the Afghan visa program, demanded that senators also agree to a vote on his amendment that prevents the government from detaining indefinitely U.S. citizens apprehended on American soil for being suspected of supporting a terrorist group.
Sen. Tom Udalls role in passing the most sweeping environmental reform bill in decades officially began three years ago during a quiet dinner at an iconic Capitol Hill restaurant.

It was late summer 2013 when the New Mexico Democrat sat down with Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter at the Monocle, an old-school steakhouse near the Hart Senate Office Building.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, had fought for years to reform the nations 40-year-old chemical laws and had found an unlikely ally in Vitter, a staunch conservative who was deeply skeptical of government regulation but who also wanted reforms for the chemical industry so important to his state.

After failing to move separate partisan bills, Vitter and Lautenberg decided to grit their teeth and try to work together on new legislation.

But Lautenberg died of viral pneumonia in June 2013 after a long battle with cancer, leaving the fledgling bipartisan bill without a leader among Senate Democrats. Enter Udall.

After Lautenbergs death, Udall took over the late senators spot as chairman of the Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health subcommittee. The New Mexico Democrat was well aware of his colleagues chemical reform effort, but that night at the Monocle he and Vitter discussed the bill in deeper detail.

The two men couldnt have differed more politically, but they were both eager to tackle something big  to pass a bill that honored their late friend and produced something productive for the country. Udall signed on.

The main thing he brought was the key ingredient, which you always need, and thats just a commitment to getting it done, Vitter told me, describing Udalls role. He brought a doggedness and a commitment to getting it done. He was great to work with.

The resulting legislation  The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act  cleared the Senate with a near-unanimous vote last week, and President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

The bill updates the badly outdated Toxic Substances Control Act and requires the Environmental Protection Agency to review all new chemicals coming onto the market. The legislation also requires the EPA to assess a chemicals safety based strictly on its risk to public health and the environment, without regard for economics.

The bill scraps a least burdensome requirement for regulating chemicals, which has long prevented a ban on asbestos. It also forces the chemical industry to pitch in $25 million in annual fees to help pay for the heightened EPA scrutiny.

In this bill, before chemicals go on the market they have to be determined safe, Udall said. For the first time, in this bill, were tackling all of them.

While congressional consensus on the legislation was strong, and the chemical industry endorsed the bill, the response from the environmental community has been somewhat conflicted. Some organizations  such as the Environmental Working Group  contend that it doesnt go far enough in giving the EPA power to yank dangerous chemicals immediately.

But others  such as the Environmental Defense Fund  argue that it is a vast improvement over the status quo and the best anyone could hope for in a divided Congress.

I asked Vitter how he convinced his Republican colleagues to give the EPA more power at a time when many are still fuming over last summers EPA-caused Gold King Mine Spill in Colorado, some even calling to abolish the agency. He laughed.

That wasnt something I was looking to do, quite frankly, and particularly not with the current EPA, he said. The biggest hurdle to get over, including for me, was giving the EPA any more authority.

Bipartisan negotiations were intense and dragged on for months, but in the end, Vitter said Udall and the Democrats agreed to include specific language detailing the federal regulatory role while allowing states that already do their own chemical regulations (New Mexico doesnt) the option to continue.

We needed assurance that this would be a good sound federal playbook and states couldnt have rogue, different regulatory regimes, which would be unworkable for industry, he said.

I mentioned the rarity of major bipartisan reform bills these days.

Its more than rare  its basically unheard of in the environmental space in terms of major legislation, Vitter said.

When the Senate passed the bill on the floor last week, Sen. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, called it the most significant environmental law passed in this generation. Udall told me the legislation is among the most important achievements of his 18-year congressional career.

Major  this is a major accomplishment, Udall said.  For the first time on the new chemicals were doing a review and safety assessment before they go on the market, and its major because all of the stakeholders stayed at the table. Thats why we really got this done.

UpFront is a daily front page news and opinion column. Journal Washintgon Bureau chief Michael Coleman can be reached at mcoleman@abqjournal.com.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

It happened at the Cincinnati Zoo. Could it happen at the ABQ BioPark zoo?

A 3-year-old child recently fell into a gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo, forcing zoo officials to shoot and kill a large male silverback western lowland gorilla. While it is unlikely to happen here, zoo manager Lynn Tupa also acknowledged that anything is possible.

So we reassessed our exhibit, Tupa said, and decided to make one change. A slight gap between the ends of the exhibits railing and a rock wall will be modified with more bars  just in case.

Zoo officials in Albuquerque had already redesigned its two gorilla enclosures in the 1980s to eliminate, as much as possible, the chance of people getting in or gorillas getting out, Tupa said.

In addition, the zoo is prepared for a worse-case scenario with its animal escape response team that would spring into action if someone fell into an exhibit or if an animal escaped from one.

The team of 15 zoo employees trains in the use of lethal weapons, including shotguns and .30-06 rifles, as well as nonlethal means like the use of loud fire extinguishers and water hoses to distract and keep animals at bay, and guns that fire tranquilizer darts and beanbag rounds.

And then there is the training the gorillas themselves receive.

For a couple of years now, weve been training our gorillas on recall, so if someone were to fall in, we would open the shift door to the inside holding area, and the gorillas would hear the big metal door open and go in, Tupa said.

Typically, it works, but if they were to encounter something as exciting as a child in the moat, they may be too focused on that to immediately come in. Its like people with their dogs who will come 99 percent of the time when called. But if the dog sees a cat, it could get distracted. You just never know.

Secure enclosures

Each of the ABQ BioPark zoos quarter-acre gorilla habitats is fronted by a 42-inch-high metal railing, which at the top is cantilevered and angled up and out.

The horizontal bars of the railing are spaced about eight inches apart, making it difficult for even a small child to squeeze through. Beyond that is a 3-foot-wide buffer of short junipers growing to the edge of a 12-foot vertical drop into a dry moat.

The habitat slants downward toward the moat, so the gorillas do have access to it. Running horizontally just below the top of the vertical wall is an electrical hotwire, an extra precaution should a gorilla get a notion to try scale the barrier.

We did have one gorilla who stacked a couple toys up to try get out. Shes very smart, Tupa said. So now we limit the number of toys going into the outdoor habitat area so they cant stack anything, and then we added the hotwire.

Thus far, the two adjacent gorilla enclosures have been safe and secure. Still, if theres a will, theres a way, Tupa said, noting that if people are determined to get in they would climb over three fences, and they have done that at other zoos.

The ABQ BioPark zoo is not without those determined souls who dont think things through. Throughout the park, she regularly sees well-meaning parents holding small children atop railings so they can better see the animals. Outside the polar bear exhibit, and in plain view of signs warning people not to climb the rock wall, she sees people climbing the wall and leaning into a mesh barrier.

Keepers and security patrol the area, and when we see people acting inappropriately, we ask them not to do it and explain the reason why, Tupa said. People come to the zoo and think everything is safe, which it is in most cases if they follow the rules and if they keep in mind that these are wild animals, not pets.

There is no telling what was in the persons mind who, about six years ago, took one of our wooden benches and tried to smash in the observation window into the chimp habitat, she said.

The triple safety pane window, measuring about 10 feet high and 4 feet wide, remained intact but was badly damaged and had to be replaced at a cost approaching $10,000. No one was caught or arrested.

Chimps are every zoo persons nightmare if they got out, she said. Theyre aggressive, incredibly strong, very intelligent, and can get everywhere.

BioParks gorillas

Tupa said she would never second-guess the decision made by officials at the Cincinnati Zoo, who had to choose between saving a child and killing a gorilla. Further, she said, I dont ever want to be put in that situation having to make that difficult decision.

Tupa hand-raised one of the zoos gorillas from shortly after the animal was born until it was nearly a year old.

That female, Tulivu, is now 12 and is the youngest of the zoos eight gorillas  four males and four females. The oldest is a 42-year-old female named Huerfanita. The dominant silverback, Marcus, will be 31 in September. At 420 pounds, Marcus is about average for a male western lowland gorilla. Females are usually in the 200- to 250-pound range. In the wild they normally live into their 30s, while in captivity they can live into their 50s, Tupa said.

Temperamentally, gorillas, native to central Africa, can be aggressive when they need to be, but they are among the more calm species of great apes and not as ramped up as chimps, who are prone to displays and fighting, Tupa said. And while chimps will seek out and eat meat, gorillas are vegetarians.

The ABQ BioPark zoo is also home to a number of other apes. They include chimpanzees, also native to central Africa; orangutans, native to Borneo; and siamangs, a lesser ape that is native to Southeast Asia.
The state of Georgia wants Robert Stackowitz back. Now, it is up to the governor of Connecticut whether to extradite the 71-year-old convicted felon so he can serve the remainder of a 17-year prison sentence.

Fifty years ago, Stackowitz was a brash 21-year-old who, along with two buddies, committed a robbery by force. The trio burst into the home of Jimmy Moseley, held him at gunpoint, tied him up with the cord from a vacuum cleaner and robbed him of $9 and the keys to his truck.

After they tied me up, Moseley told a reporter, they intended to kill me because they said they never leave witnesses. The now-91-year-old says he still has nightmares and is still waiting for justice.

Stackowitz was sentenced to 17 years in prison for that crime, but he escaped after serving only two. An unattended prison vehicle offered a means of escape.

One morning, I just got in the truck and drove myself away, Stackowitz told the Hartford Courant. I got on a plane and I was back in Connecticut before they even knew I was gone.

For the past 48 years, Stackowitz laid low in his home state. He survived through his talents as a boat savant, servicing engines, cleaning out bilge pumps and restoring fuel lines for the locals, most recently in Sherman, Conn., adjacent to Candlewood Lake, the states largest freshwater lake.

Folks around the small hamlet knew Stackowitz by his alias, Bob Gordon, and he never told anyone about his past. Neighbors say he is a great guy and a credit to the community. A homeowner, taxpayer, a man with a longtime girlfriend who employed others in his business. He lived a law-abiding life. For almost five decades.

Then Stackowitz got sick with diabetes, heart and kidney disease and bladder cancer. To help pay for his medications he applied for Social Security benefits using his real name. That triggered a signal to law enforcement officers in Georgia who had never closed his case. Early one morning last month Stackowitz was arrested at his home by the U.S. Marshals Service. Friends arranged for his bond and he has been awaiting extradition back to Georgia ever since.

So, what does society do with a man like Stackowitz? He does not deny his role in the crime. He willingly surrendered when they came for him. He now attends court hearings in a wheelchair, wearing Bermuda shorts and black compression socks, his feet and legs obviously swollen from the effects of his various illnesses. Through his attorney, Stackowitz has asked the justice system for compassion, saying if he is sent back to prison it will certainly kill him.

Then again, it was Stackowitz who threatened to kill Jimmy Moseley all those years ago and terrorized him in his own home. Society certainly should not turn a blind eye to a victims suffering simply because a convict was wily enough to escape and hide undetected for nearly 50 years.

Application of justice is a fluid thing. In Palo Alto, Calif., a jury recently found a young man guilty of three felony counts of sexual assault in a now notorious case. The unnamed victim wrote such a powerful impact statement to the court that it has been viewed online more than 12 million times.

Brock Turner, 20, faced 14 years in prison, but Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to just six months because, a prison sentence would have a severe impact on the former Stanford University student athletes life. I think he will not be a danger to others, the judge said.

So is that the criteria other judges should follow? If a stint behind bars might have a severe impact on the criminal, if the judges gut feeling is the convict wont hurt anyone else, then they get a leniency?

This is a dangerous precedent set by a judge who seems to have been swayed by the plight of a privileged kid who attended his prestigious alma mater on a swimming scholarship and dreamed of going to the Olympics.

Robert Stackowitz enjoyed no such privilege in his life. Six months for Brock Turner versus the potential for 15 years for Robert Stackowitz. Neither sentence sits well with me.

DianeDimond.com; email to Diane@DianeDimond.com.
Cases of rape and lynching were in the courts of California, and in the news around the world, this week.

In one case, a student convicted of sexual assault was given a light sentence, while the statement that his victim read to the court went viral, read by millions of people around the globe.

In another case, a young African-American woman who founded a local branch of Black Lives Matter and had been charged with felony lynching was found guilty and sent to jail.

The two cases could not be more starkly different, nor could they, together, better illustrate the vast disparities across race and class lines in our system of justice.

Both cases stem from events that occurred in 2015. On Jan. 17 of that year, a young woman attended a Stanford University fraternity party with her sister. She drank too much alcohol and does not recall what happened to her.

Two graduate students saw her being sexually assaulted while unconscious behind a dumpster late that night. They called campus police, then chased after Brock Turner, a star of the Stanford swim team, tackling him. Turner was arrested.

The second case involves an organizer with Black Lives Matter, Jasmine Richards. She described her activism in her own words in a video posted online last year:

I started Black Lives Matter Pasadena in January of 2015.  I felt like we didnt have any community programs or anything happening in my community. And theres been a lot of youth that have been killed by the Pasadena police. Kendrec McDade is currently the youth that I am specifically doing all these actions around. Leroy Barnes, he was killed by the Pasadena police. Big homie named Big BA also killed by the Pasadena police. Our police have been notorious for bullying.

On Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015, Jasmine had organized a peaceful march to call attention to just that type of police bullying. And sure enough, after the march, as video documents, the police showed up and acted like bullies, overpowering a young African-American woman and dragging her off to be arrested.

Jasmine was charged with felony lynching for intervening and trying to de-arrest the young woman. Central to the Black Lives Matter movement is the premise that young people of color, at any time but certainly while being arrested or in police custody, might be killed or seriously injured.

Felony lynching was a law from 1933, drafted immediately after a notorious public lynching of two African-American men in San Jose, Calif. It was adopted to deter mobs from breaking into police stations and dragging prisoners out to lynch them.

After another Black Lives Matter organizer was threatened with felony lynching in 2015, legislators, who found the word lynching offensive in this context, had it stripped from the law. But Jasmine was charged before the name change took effect.

What you had were children on scooters and a couple of adults who were speaking up about state-sanctioned violence in Pasadena, about police murdering unarmed people in Pasadena, Nana Gyamfi, Jasmines attorney, told us on the Democracy Now! news hour. This is clearly a political persecution cooked up by the Pasadena District Attorneys Office  in what we are referring to as the attempted lynching of Jasmine Richards.

Back in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Judge Aaron Persky presided over the trial of Brock Turner, who was convicted of intent to commit rape, sexual penetration with a foreign object of an intoxicated person and sexual penetration with a foreign object of an unconscious person.

Turner faced up to 14 years in prison.

The victim read her deeply personal, 7,000-word statement in court.

But it seemed that Judge Persky was moved more by an appeal from Turners father, who wrote that he didnt think Brocks life should be ruined for 20 minutes of action.

Stating that a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him, Persky sentenced Turner to just six months jail time with probation.

Like Turner, Judge Persky was himself a star Stanford athlete. The judge is now facing a recall campaign organized by Stanford law professor Michele Landis Dauber.

Jasmine Richards was sentenced to 90 days and three years probation.

Brock Turner, despite his multiple felony convictions for sexual assault, will likely get credit for good behavior and serve about the same amount of time as Jasmine.

As for Brock Turners victim, her sentence is ongoing. As she said to Turner in court, reading her victims statement describing the impact of his attack, It stays with me, its part of my identity, it has forever changed the way I carry myself, the way I live the rest of my life.
Contrary to popular opinion, this presidential election is not all about choosing nominees; it is also about choosing a workable political philosophy AND a transparent and constitutionally defensible governance style.

If we use the current administration as an example, its operating philosophy is one of: Its far better to do what we want rather than ask for permission when legislation stands in the way of our objectives.

Translating that into actual daily operating management means that this president has decided that whenever he doesnt like an existing law he will try his utmost to circumvent it with an executive order and run out the clock until the Congress or an injured party takes his decision up the judicial ladder to the Supreme Court for a ruling on its constitutionality.

This strategy can be very effective because it gives the president time to substantially alter existing policy and procedures and redirect resources away from the area he is attacking  think the Dreamers deportation cessation, for example.

By doing so, he makes it more difficult and expensive to direct resources back after a negative court decision has come down. In short, the damage has been done and cannot be undone quickly.

In sports, thats like intentionally fouling someone to stop the clock or, better yet, falling on the ball. This is not a new strategy, however. Every president except one (William Henry Harrison with zero EOs) has issued executive orders in both peacetime and war.

The top five of all time were: Franklin Roosevelt (3,522), Woodrow Wilson (1,803), Calvin Coolidge (1,203), Theodore Roosevelt (1,081) and Herbert Hoover (968).

Of the most current presidents, the top five were: Ronald Reagan (381), Bill Clinton (364), George W. Bush (291), Barack Obama (224 and still going strong) and George H.W. Bush (166).

Of the top five EO-issuing presidents, two were Democrats and three were Republicans. Of the newest five, two were Democrats and three were Republicans.

That would lead many to believe that Republicans are the biggest users/abusers of the executive order privilege, but not all EOs are created equal. Some are useful and help streamline and clarify existing regulations.

Others, however, stand out like a carbuncle on Lady Libertys smooth alabaster face. For example, there was FDRs EO 6102 forbidding the hoarding of gold and EO 9066 which sent Japanese-Americans and German-Americans into internment camps.

A more benign but nonetheless controversial EO was Bill Clintons EO 13155, which mandated that when federal benefits were provided they had to be done in foreign languages. (This was later overturned.)

Though issuing relatively few EOs when compared to his predecessors, our current president has issued more sweeping EOs than many and has taken the EO to a higher, more dangerous level as they now affect nearly the entire U.S. population.

Immigration, health care and freedom of religion are just three areas where Barack Obama has shown that he is unwilling to ask or wait for permission, i.e. Congressional legislative action, but would rather risk crossing the constitutional line and let the lawsuits catch up with him.

Given past history, recent history and many statements made by all the candidates on both sides in this presidential race, there is every reason to believe and especially worry that the next president will continue on the hazardous path of interpreting, writing and rewriting existing legislation as a means to satisfy his/her ideological objectives, and that could throw us into a judicial and constitutional tailspin and hamstring the orderly process of governing our country. The last thing we need at this critical juncture is to make adherence to the law a victim of internecine governmental warfare.

Stephan Helgesen is a political strategist and author of 500 articles and six books on American politics, the economy and social trends. His latest book, with co-author and renowned pollster Lance Tarrance, is Breaking Republican, which is available on Amazon.com. He can be reached at: stephan@stephanhelgesen.com.
NEW YORK  If there is one explanation for Donald Trumps success it is this: Unlike most Republicans, he fights back. He may not have the late Muhammad Alis finesse, but he sees himself as more than capable of dealing a knockout punch to Hillary Clinton in November. That ought to be the goal of any GOP presidential nominee.

During an interview in his Trump Tower office Monday, I asked about his temperament, a subject often raised by critics. Hillary Clinton recently said he shouldnt be trusted with the nuclear codes and that he is so thin-skinned he might start a war.

Trump said, Shes the one who raised her hand for the war in Iraq, and Im the one who has been fighting it from the beginning  (Hillary) is the one who has a terrible temperament  shes weak  she has a hair trigger, and its just the opposite with me. I have a strong temperament.  I couldnt have built the strong companies Ive built if I didnt have a strong temperament.

Well, yes, and many considered Teddy Roosevelt just as brash and his likeness made it onto Mount Rushmore.

What about the references to race and ethnicity that have brought criticism from leading Republicans? I suggested that most Americans dont care about the civil lawsuit against Trump University (which alleges the university is a scam) or the ethnic background of U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over the case or whether Trump is being treated fairly.

What Americans care about are jobs, the economy and terrorist threats. Does Trump plan to pivot from such things and start focusing on what resonates with most voters?

Yes, he said, its starting very soon. In a statement released Tuesday, however, Trump addressed the Curiel issue one more time. It is unfortunate that my comments have been misconstrued as a categorical attack against people of Mexican heritage. I am friends with and employ thousands of people of Mexican and Hispanic descent.  I do not feel that ones heritage makes them incapable of being impartial

He then vowed not to speak about the matter again.

In our interview, Trump noted he has received more votes than Ronald Reagan. Yes, but primaries are but a small percentage of the larger number of people who will vote in November. A considerable number of them will vote for Hillary Clinton; some conservatives and Republicans will refuse to vote for Trump.

Trump says his formula for making America great again begins with putting the country first: I hate to use the word change, because Obama used to use that word  but (people) are hungry for real change; theyre hungry for making things right.

Hes right and both parties share the blame for the dysfunction.

Trumps plan for reforming Social Security and Medicare, the main drivers of our debt, consists of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse and growing the economy to a point where there will be sufficient money to sustain these programs for decades to come.

He promises that the list of judges provided to him by The Federalist Society and The Heritage Foundation will either be the ones he nominates to federal benches, or people exactly like them. In fact, Im going to expand the list by four.

Trump rejects the notion of a living Constitution, preferring the view of the late Justice Antonin Scalia that the document means what it says. He favors school choice, especially for minority children in failing public schools, a position he thinks will help get him African-American votes.

He says President Obama, not him, has divided the country, pitting rich against poor and blacks against whites. I had hoped Obama would be a good cheerleader for the country. Hes really brought the opposite in spirit to the country. Hes a very negative force. He adds, If we have four years of Hillary I dont know if we can ever come back.

If Donald Trump does adopt a positive view of America that is inclusive of all Americans, he might be able to resonate with a majority of voters. Will he? Were about to find out.

Email: tmseditors@tribune.com; copyright, Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
AT PAGE ONE: Local author Betsy James will read Roadsouls at 3 today. Roadsouls explores the power of art and creativity for transforming not only ones own life but also the world one lives in.

New Mexican author Desiree Mays will discuss the Santa Fe Operas 2016 season, Opera Unveiled 2016, at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 16.

The five operas include Romeo et Juliette by Gounod, Puccinis The Girl of the Golden West, Samuel Barbers Vanessa, Don Giovanni by Mozart, and Richard Strauss Capriccio.

Page One is at 5850 Eubank Blvd., Suite B-41, in the Mountain Run Center. Call 294-2026.

AT BOOKWORKS: New York Times best-selling author Michael McGarrity will discuss The Last Ranch, the final book in his American West trilogy, at 1 today. When Matthew Kerney returns to his ranch in the beautiful San Andres Mountains after serving in Sicily during World War II, he must fight to recover physically and emotionally from a devastating war injury.

Todd Wynward will sign Rewilding the Way: Break Free to Follow an Untamed God at 3 today.

Trek along with wilderness guide Todd Wynward.

Kathryn Lane will sign Barefoot Park at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 14.

Sharon Nir will discuss The Opposite of Comfortable: The Unlikely Choices of an Immigrant Career Woman at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 18.

Nir, a young mother and successful businesswoman, is faced with the most difficult decision of her life: Should she abandon her career and her place of birth, Tel Aviv, to follow her husband, who has been offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in New York City?

Bookworks is at 4022 Rio Grande Blvd. NW. Call 344-8139.

AT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC CULTURAL CENTER: Nicolasa Chavez will read and sign The Spirit of Flamenco: From Spain to New Mexico at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 18, in the History and Literary Arts Library.

The NHCC is at 1701 Fourth SW. Call 246-2261.

AT COLLECTED WORKS: Dan Flores will sign Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History and American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains at 6 p.m. Monday, June 13.

Hana Samek Norton will talk about The Serpents Crown: A Novel of Medieval Cyprus at 6 p.m. Friday, June 17.

Collected Works is located at 202 Galisteo St., Santa Fe, 505-988-4226.
Song, dance and more than 100 village residents are expected at a Sunday procession honoring San Antonio, patron saint of the Village of Placitas.

Organizer Bob Gajkowski said the feast day festivities begin with a 9:30 a.m. Mass at the Mission San Antonio de Padua in Placitas. The procession, which includes musicians, Matachines dancers, the Knights of Columbus, parishioners and villagers, will wind through the village and along gravel roads before returning to the mission for breakfast.

En route, it will stop at altars at nearby homes, where a priest will ask San Antonio for his aid with God on behalf of the villagers and the village as a whole, Gajkowski said.

Decades ago, when Placitas was primarily a farming community, the procession and feast day were used as an opportunity to ask San Antonio for bountiful harvests and healthy livestock.

There was always supplications to God for his aid in making those efforts fruitful, he said.

Gajkowski expects between 100 and 125 people to attend this years feast day celebration, though he hopes to see that number grow in coming years.

Once people participate in it, they really appreciate it, and realize how unique and wonderful it is, he said.

He said that the celebration is a tradition in the Village of Placitas, which he emphasized is different from the zip code of Placitas.

The Village of Placitas is, in my opinion, about as close to a historic Spanish, Hispanic mountain village as you can get in this proximity to Albuquerque, he said. The Village itself  not the zip code  is very traditional, very heavily Hispanic, and has customs and traditions, and this is one of those we felt it was important to bring back.

Gajkowski has lived in Placitas for the past two decades and helped to bring back the tradition about seven years ago.

When I learned this tradition had gone to sleep, so to speak, I thought, why dont we try to bring it back? he said. And people said, Yes, why did it ever go?'
Rio Rancho High School teacher Pete Savinelli projects a picture of pulsing neurons on a whiteboard, showing how the cells grow and develop through effort, even if you fail.

The power of trying is a key tenet at the Academic Youth Development Academy, a four-week summer program designed to help incoming ninth-graders tackle algebra  and gain self-confidence. Curriculum, developed at the University of Texas, mixes paper-and-pencil problems with discussion of concepts like brain plasticity, motivation and learning styles.

Savinelli began teaching AYD six years ago when the program launched in Rio Rancho and has seen it help students change their attitudes about math from This is hopeless to I can do it.

AYD gives students the opportunity to struggle, because that builds dendrites, he said. You have to be patient and there is the expectation that you build in spots of failure and what you do is give them an opportunity to learn from those and succeed from what they have learned.

The result is better test scores. Data from Rio Rancho Public Schools shows that AYD has helped lift many struggling kids from Ds and Fs in math during the last semester of eighth grade to Cs by their first semester of ninth grade. Percentages vary from year to year, but the increases in performance have ranged from 42 to 83 percent.

University of Texas researchers report that AYD is particularly helpful for low-income and minority students. Their statistics show successes across the country. In Cupertino, Calif., fewer than 10 percent of AYD students repeated Algebra I, compared with 24 percent of non-AYD students, according to a news release from the university.

AYD students in Evanston, Ill., had a 12-point improvement on the state assessment, and 85 percent met the districts growth target, compared to a 6-point increase on the assessment among students who had not taken the class, the University of Texas reported.

The program has garnered strong reviews from RRPS students each year and enrollment has grown steadily, rising to around 90 kids in three classrooms this summer. Two teachers handle one class, and they often step away from the whiteboard to work with the kids on problems or ask them questions like, Who was historys biggest failure? (Answer: Thomas Edison, who failed and failed and failed, but never gave up.)

Fourteen-year-old Breale McFarland said she appreciates AYDs fun, interactive approach to math.

The incoming Cleveland High School ninth-grader has struggled with everything about the subject since second grade, but AYD is helping her tackle the fundamentals.

Her classmate, Marcus Voss, agreed that math can be tough, particularly long division, and it takes work to get better.

Im looking forward to doing harder stuff, he said.
Sandoval County Treasurer Laura Montoya and state Sen. John Sapien fended off their respective Democratic challengers as nearly one-third of Sandoval Countys eligible voters cast votes in Tuesdays primary election.

Unofficial county results showed about 32 percent of the countys 70,248 eligible voters voiced their opinion, with 22,769 votes tallied.

According to county results posted on the New Mexico Secretary of State web site, Montoya of Rio Rancho outpaced newcomers James Baca and Eugene Rinaldi, both of Bernalillo, to win the Democratic nomination for treasurer. She had about 58 percent of the vote, compared to Bacas 20 percent and Rinaldis 22 percent.

Montoya said her victory indicates voters want honest government to represent them and are happy with the work shes done as treasurer.

They trust me to collect, protect and invest their hard-earned tax dollars, she said.

The Republican candidate for treasurer, Leroy Lovato of Bernalillo, was unopposed.

Dave Heil won the Republican nomination for the District 4 seat on the Sandoval County Commission, beating fellow Rio Ranchoan Issach Martinez by a 78-22 percent margin.

I think the effort we put forth getting out and getting with the people  visiting voters  made a big difference and I look forward to the next step in this journey, Heil said.

The Democratic candidate for the seat, Alexis Jimenez, had no primary opposition.

In the race for the county commission District 5 seat, F. Kenneth Eichwald of Cuba was the apparent winner over Anna Messer, also of Cuba, 56-44 percent, for the Democratic nomination. The GOP did not field a candidate for the post.

In the Republican primary for county clerk, Donald Lemm of Rio Rancho beat former county commissioner Pete Salazar. Lemm had about 58 percent of the vote to Salazars 42 percent. The Democratic candidate, incumbent Eileen Garbagni, was unopposed.

In one of the few local legislative races that had a contested primary, Senate District 9 incumbent Sapien of Corrales secured the Democratic nomination with a victory over Jodilynn Ortiz of Placitas. Sapien won with a 62-38 percent margin.

Its a decisive victory, Sapien said. Anything over 55 percent is going to get you a nod that your constituents want you back.

The Republican candidate in District 9, Diego Espinoza of Rio Rancho, was unopposed.

The primary winners will appear on the ballot in the November general election.
Less than eight hours before Rio Rancho police officer Gregg Nigel Benner was shot and killed, the man charged in his death was robbing a Taco Bell in southeast Albuquerque, according to prosecutors.

And just seven hours after Benner was shot, Andrew Romero was at it again, they said, this time robbing a Shell gas station on Rio Grande near Old Town.

A recently filed notice of intent asks state District Judge George Eichwald to allow prosecutors to present evidence of uncharged bad acts at Romeros murder trial, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 6. Those alleged acts include two robberies, an attempt to evade police after the shooting, threats to kill police officers and a probation violation.

The notice, signed by prosecutor Barbara Romo, alleges that surveillance video footage shows Romero robbing a Taco Bell on Gibson SE at 1 p.m. May 25, 2015. His accomplice waited outside in the same Dodge Durango that Benner stopped around 8 p.m. the same day. At 2:39 a.m. May 26, 2015, Romero robbed the Shell Giant gas station on Rio Grande, according to the document.

Romo reported that Romero committed a series of armed robberies in the Albuquerque area over a two-month span using the same modus operandi and sometimes the same Dodge Durango.

Romo argues that jurors should see evidence and hear testimony regarding the alleged robberies in order to establish his motive and intent.

Otherwise, the jury might be persuaded to believe that the defendant was in Rio Rancho for some innocent, noncriminal purpose, Romo wrote in the notice. Prosecutors hold that Romero was in Rio Rancho at that time to seek out locations to commit armed robberies.

Romero was on probation at the time and should not have been in Sandoval County, Romo writes in the notice.

Additionally, prosecutors want to present evidence that Romero eluded police by driving erratically through the metro area before abandoning the Durango and asking his cousin for a ride.

They also want jurors to hear testimony from corrections officers who reportedly heard Romero say that, if he were ever released from custody, he would kill as many APD pigs as he could. Romo argued that the statement shows a lack of accident or mistake in the killing of officer Benner.

Romeros attorney, Tom Clark, said he would file a motion to exclude prior bad acts.

The theory, of course, is if bad things about a defendant are allowed into evidence, a jury is more inclined to convict them in a present case based on their bad history, Clark said.

Lemuel Martinez, district attorney for the 13th Judicial District, said that Eichwald will likely hold a hearing at which prosecutors and defense attorneys will explain why the evidence should or should not be allowed.

Both sides will present their sides, he said. Why they want it in and why they dont want it in.

Eichwald will determine whats admissible and whats not. Martinez said the goal is to get decisions on what is or is not permitted beforehand to save time at the trial.
When K.E. Andrews (KEA), a tax and financial services firm focused on the energy industry, suffered a ransomware attack, it not only lost valuable data, but about a weeks worth of work that had to be restored. The incident made us realize we had to change how we were backing things up, said IT director Shane Bradford.

Previously the firm was relying on tape backup. The ransomware incident brought to light the fact that recovering data was too slow using tape, and it was time to upgrade to a system that could supply faster, more reliable data protection. K.E. Andrews purchased a cloud-based solution to back up their mission-critical data, as a layer of insurance, said Bradford.

K.E. Andrews event speaks to a hot business topic today: business continuity. Since accounting and financial services firms are charged with the protection of sensitive client data, achieving business continuity must include reliable data backup and recovery.

Disaster recovery in the cloud, and its advanced solution, disaster recovery-as-a-service, DRaaS is gaining adoption as the preferred method for ensuring business continuity. Moving backup and recovery to the cloud gives further assurance your data can be restored quickly after a disruptive event. DRaaS takes it one step further by offering the ability to restore not only data but also operations and applications in the cloud.

If you are a firm still dependent on legacy backup, and looking to move to a more advanced disaster recovery solution, here are key issues to consider:

1. Analyze cost versus benefit. Before running right out and purchasing a new backup and recovery solution, look at balancing the cost of the solution with what the business needs. A critical data point is how fast you need to be back in operation after a disruptive event. Firms may not need the mission-critical redundancy that a stock exchange has. Does a 15-minute restore from the cloud seem appropriate for your business, or would a two hour disaster recovery timeframe be acceptable? In terms of hard dollar costs and complexity, deciding a comfortable business continuity timeframe is an important first step.

2. Determining desired backup speed. Financial services and accounting firms are data-intensive businesses. As datasets continue to increase in size, youll want a solution that provides the backup speed you need. For example, if a disruptive event does occur, you want the most current data to be restored. This backup window is an important element in business continuity. A high-speed data transfer rate provides a much better shot at successful backup for large data sets to ensure systems and applications are backed up within a specified window with minimal disruption.

3. Prioritize recovery content. You want data backed up efficiently, but data is not a one-size-fits-all dynamic. For accounting firms, think about what data needs to be recovered in a disaster. Is it simply a copy of QuickBooks and backup of some files? Or is it a more complicated ERP/Great Plains type of deployment? Disaster recovery doesn't have to mean everything is exactly the same as before the disaster. You need to think about what data is essential to business continuity and plan for those files to be available in the cloud.

4. Spin up physical and virtual servers and applications in the cloud. Many firms now rely on both physical and virtual servers. When evaluating a disaster recovery solution, determine whether it can run both physical and virtual servers and applications from the cloud without interruption to workflow. This will help you continue on with business as usual following a larger site disaster.

5. Plan for your remote offices post-event. It is important to fully understand the needs of any remote offices should an event occur, and plan for how your solution will enable them, via the cloud, to resume operations. If you are currently using physical backup appliances that sit between your server and the cloud connection, you will need to replace the appliance when a disruptive event occurs. This will slow down business continuity and create costly downtime in your remote offices. This is where the cloud, and an appliance-free solution that enables spinning up servers, can make the difference in quickly restoring workflow.

For K.E. Andrews, moving their most important data to the cloud meant peace of mind and an assurance that important documents like audits and valuations could be retrieved without delay, should a disruptive event occur. They now have a business continuity solution in place to protect their data. As more firms move to the cloud, consider the competitive advantage of knowing you can retrieve your client files in the timeframe that is acceptable, and with the knowledge you have the most current data available and easy to restore.

Jeff Whitehead is CTO and co-founder of Zetta and an expert in cloud-based data protection, and online backup and disaster recovery.
With a view to bringing about positive change, The Tara Sharma Show is back to discuss topical family, parenting, women's and children's issues with people from all walks of life. In the show, Tara plays the role of an unbiased moderator as she and her guests discuss and debate various parenting and family related issues. Pepperfry presents The Tara Sharma Show, in association with Pampers, will premiere its 4th season on 12th June and air every Sunday at 11 AM on Star World & Star World HD.



After three successful seasons, the fourth edition of the show widens its format from parenting issues and includes topics pertaining to families, homes and therefore society at large. Each episode is structured around a specific theme like Womens Empowerment, Special Needs, Health and Fitness and many more. The show also makes an effort to raise awareness for various social causes and connect relevant Schools, NGOs, Hospitals etc. with those in need. Just like the previous seasons, the episodes will feature an interesting mix of elements including debates with well-informed speakers, inspirational feature stories, Taras personal anecdotes and intimate sneak peeks into the lives of Bollywood and other celebrities like Virat Kohli, Soha Ali Khan, John Abraham, Farah Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Prince Manvendra, Emraan Hashmi, Sonam Kapoor, Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh and more.





After three successful seasons, the fourth edition of the show widens its format from parenting issues and includes topics pertaining to families, homes and therefore society at large. Each episode is structured around a specific theme like Womens Empowerment, Special Needs, Health and Fitness and many more. The show also makes an effort to raise awareness for various social causes and connect relevant Schools, NGOs, Hospitals etc. with those in need. Just like the previous seasons, the episodes will feature an interesting mix of elements including debates with well-informed speakers, inspirational feature stories, Taras personal anecdotes and intimate sneak peeks into the lives of Bollywood and other celebrities like Virat Kohli, Soha Ali Khan, John Abraham, Farah Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Prince Manvendra, Emraan Hashmi, Sonam Kapoor, Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh and more.

Tara Sharma Saluja, Creator, Host & Co-producer of the show said, Our multi-platform show has been a great way for me to be with our kids and continue to work. Born out of my blog diary six years ago, the show is centered on topics relevant to children and families and so I often draw from real life experiences and research. This season, we have widened it to be a platform to discuss issues not just on mums and babies but also topical family and wider societal issues with a view to trying to bring about positive change and help those who are seeking help. I am overwhelmed by the inspirational stories I hear on the show and the positive response of our guests, celebrity and non celebrity, and our viewers. Pepperfry is synonymous with cheerful, bright happy furniture and happy homes and spaces, something that we hope the show will help ensure. And Pampers is synonymous with the best diapers for healthy happy babies all over the world, so both the brands are a great fit with our show. We are thrilled to be on Star World, a platform that will help us reach and impact the lives of many across the country. And our encouraging and interactive digital following and YouTube Channel helps take the show to a global audience too. Families and parenting being universal, and the language being English, we find viewers are often from all over the world, as are our guests. We hope you all like the show and it is a success touch wood!



Commenting on the show, a Star India spokesperson said, The Tara Sharma Show is a unique content proposition that caters to the parenting and family needs of our target audience. We hope that the show inspires parents by drawing from similar and positive experiences relayed through the content.



Mihir Kulkarni, AVP, Brand & Retention Marketing Pepperfry.com said, Pepperfry has been delighting Indians with its great range of furniture and home products. While we continue to form a strong bond with Indian families across the country we are also looking forward to bringing about a positive change in their lives. The Tara Sharma Show has been successfully focusing on various aspects of new age parenting and bringing up kids for the last three seasons. We feel that the way the show has evolved in the fourth season to address a larger audience through topical issues concerning families like women empowerment, health and fitness etc, it is positioned to make a larger impact. We are excited to partner with the show as the presenting sponsor, as we see a strong synergy with her show and our core audience in the fresh avatar.



A P&G Pampers spokesperson said, Every mother wants the best for her babys happy & healthy development. With our brand, Pampers; the number 1 choice of mothers worldwide, we are extremely delighted to encourage & celebrate the community of mothers who are doing so much to bring positive change in parenting. The Tara Sharma Show shares the same belief that we have which is that Mom Knows Best and we are proud to introduce Indias discerning moms to the softest diaper ever; with Pampers Premium Care, with the revolutionary wetness indicator. We strongly believe that together we can enable Mothers to nurture and care for their babies better.



"As the show evolves in its fourth season to focus more on deeper parental and family issues and inspirational people stories, we're delighted to partner with Pepperfry and Pampers, who really understand, in the most progressive manner, the value of content and creative integrity.









With Star World as our broadcast partner and an extensive digital presence including continuous engagement through exclusive content on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, our objective of creating a truly multi-platform property has been achieved with content quality and audience engagement that we're truly proud of, said the Co-producer of the show, Roopak Saluja, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, The 120 Media Collective and Sooperfly.

Catch Pepperfry Presents The Tara Sharma Show in Association with Pampers starting 12th June every Sunday at 11 AM on Star World and Star World HD. With repeats on Saturdays at 6 PM and on The Tara Sharma Show YouTube channel.



The Tara Sharma Show Season 4 Promo (short version)  https://youtu.be/Qjm8laEqi6Q
Today marks a major milestone in the drive towards a Northern Powerhouse, as the first ever direct scheduled flight from anywhere outside of London to mainland China, launches from Manchester Airport.

Above: The first ever direct, scheduled flight from Mainland China to the UK outside of London touches down at Manchester Airport from Beijing. Hainan Airlines will operate the route four times a week.



Also hailed as a significant moment for UK aviation, the Hainan Airlines service to Beijing takes off from Manchester Airport today (June 10).



Announced in October 2015 by the President of the Peoples Republic of China, His Excellency Xi Jinping, the four times a week route will link Manchester and Beijing, opening up a wealth of trade and tourism opportunities.



The flights will provide a direct connection for the first time, giving the 100,000 passengers travelling each year between the two cities the convenience of direct scheduled services.



The Manchester-Beijing route is worth at least 250 million in economic benefits to the UK over the next decade. Two-thirds of this will be felt directly in the Northern economy in terms of increased jobs, economic activity and tourism. By providing a non-stop service, the new route will also generate journey time savings worth 5 million every year for business passengers and avoid the inconvenience of changing planes at another airport.



It has been welcomed by businesses, universities and tourism bodies across the whole of the North (see case studies below).



Hainan Airlines is Chinas largest privately owned airline, and since 2011 it has won five consecutive global Skytrax five-star airline ratings. It is only one of only seven airlines in the world to currently have this accolade. Last year it was also rated as the Best Airline in China, by Skytrax.



Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: The new route between Manchester and Beijing is a testament to the strength of the Northern Powerhouse, opening up the North of England to investment while benefitting the many thousands of people who currently travel between the cities each year.



Not only will this add an estimated quarter of a billion pounds to the local economy over the next decade, it will open new opportunities for businesses in both countries, boost tourism between China and the UK and will encourage students in both countries to experience studying in a new and different culture. This is an exciting new development for Manchester, the North of England and the UK.





Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport John Whittingdale said: "This new route is a major breakthrough that will help boost tourism in the north of England. We want more Chinese tourists to enjoy the beauty and vibrant culture that can be enjoyed right across Britain.



China is a hugely important trading partner and more Chinese visitors coming to the UK is great news for the tourism industry and the whole economy."



Ken OToole, CEO of Manchester Airport said: Todays inaugural flight with Hainan Airlines is clear evidence of the vital economic role that Manchester Airport plays both nationally and regionally within the UK.



Providing a direct link between the two cities unlocks significant trade and investment opportunities, which will serve as a shot in the arm to efforts to create a reenergised Northern economy.



"This direct route will also have a significant impact on inbound tourism across the whole of the North.



And the early indications are good, with summer load factors currently averaging out at more than 80%.



"Finally, it will also deliver a boost to universities, both in terms of providing a vital service for Chinese students and their families, and when it comes to finding commercial applications for the world-leading research being carried out by these institutions.



Xie Haoming, President of Hainan Airlines, said: We are delighted to commence our direct scheduled service to Manchester. Beijing to Manchester's inaugural outbound and inbound flight load factors have reached over 90%, which is incredibly strong for a new route.



A great number of travel agencies expressed their strong interest in working with Hainan Airlines, based upon the new route, which is encouraging for future travel between the two cities.



With the Golden Age of travel starting between China and the UK, it is foreseeable that the market between the two countries is entering a prosperous period.



I am sure the route between Manchester and Beijing will be incredibly popular and we look forward to developing our relationship with the city.



Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "Manchester's first route to mainland China is a hugely significant development in our growing links with the world's fastest growing economy. The better connected Manchester is nationally and internationally, the better placed we will be to compete on a world stage, attracting jobs, investment and visitors. This route further strengthens Manchester Airport's status and Manchester's position as a global hub."



Rhys Whalley, Executive Director of the Manchester-China Forum, said: Todays launch of a direct route connecting Manchester and Beijing is a significant milestone for the entire region. Given its importance as a catalyst in boosting commercial, tourism, cultural and academic links, securing a direct route into Mainland China has been the Manchester China Forums number one priority; so to be able to celebrate the launch of a non-stop service to Beijing today is a proud moment.



Since the Forums establishment, relations between Manchester and China have strengthened significantly - as evidenced by President Xi Jinpings visit during last years State Visit. Todays route launch is another major milestone and will continue to drive investment into the city-region as well as open up trade opportunities to what is the world's most important emerging market.



Hainan Airlines decision to operate this scheduled route out of Manchester, the gateway to the North, is recognition of the scale of growing traffic and collaboration between our two regions and will be a huge boosts to businesses, students and tourists looking for a more convenient connections between Beijing and the North of England.



The four-weekly service departs on Friday, Saturday, Monday and Wednesday, and will be served by an Airbus A330-300. The cabin will have 32 business class seats and 260 in economy.
With the Central Bureau of Investigation arresting Virendra Tawade, a Sanatan Sanstha activist in connection with the sensational murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar nearly three years ago, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Saturday termed the move as the CBIs duty and demanded a logical end to the case.

I think CBI is doing its duty and they have come to a conclusion, they have a right and we certainly dont approve intolerant in this country nobody can take law into their own hands. CBI must take it to a logical end on how this Dabolkar was killed and who did it and punish those. So, it is a part of this process. So, I am happy that CBI is doing its work, said Swamy.

In a major breakthrough, the CBI had yesterday arrested Tawade for his alleged role in the murder of noted Pune-based rationalist Dabholkar in 2013.

Tawade would be produced before the sessions court in Pune today.

Tawades arrest was the first by the central agency since it took over the probe in May 2014 on the directions of the Bombay High Court based on a PIL alleging that pro-Hindutva activists were involved in the killing.

The arrest comes nine days after the CBI conducted searches at the residence of Tawade, who works as a medical officer for the Sanstha, and questioned him at the outfits ashram in Panvel.

Dabholkar was shot dead reportedly by two unidentified people near Balgandharva auditorium in Pune when he was out for a morning walk on August 20, 2013. The assailants fled on a two-wheeler.

The high court had transferred the probe to the CBI on May 9, 2014, after a PIL filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar, saying there was no headway even several months after the killing of Dabholkar.


For those readers of a certain age, this photo is likely to make you swoon and re-up your subscription to Tiger Beat. Donny Osmond watched VaXxed and met Dr. Andy Wakefield in Salt Lake City, Utah. Look at this photo. Not sure the pharma shills will be able tell us to "Go away little girl" much longer.... The Salt Lake City Tribune called VaXxed "reprehensible." Imagine their angst when SLC's favorite son had a clearly emotional moment with Dr. Wakefield?" More salt in their tears than the Great Lake itself, likely!



Enjoy this blast from the past. And let's hope for the future. I watched my oldest "graduate" out of school yesterday. When Donny and Marie were on TV the rate was fewer than 1 in 10,000. KIM
Birmingham Health Care's former chief financial officer, who last year pleaded guilty to stealing $1.7 million from the federally-funded center for the poor and homeless, refused to testify Friday at the fraud trial of Jonathan Dunning, the group's former CEO.

Terri Mollica, 50, dressed in a green jail uniform, on Friday afternoon was brought into the federal courtroom outside the presence of the jury to see if she would agree to testify at the request of defense attorneys. Her attorney had previously told prosecutors and defense attorneys she wouldn't.

Mollica, with her lawyer in the courtroom, told the judge she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to each of 48 questions that defense attorney Bill Athanas planned to ask.

Dunning's defense attorneys have pointed the finger at Mollica for fraud that occurred at BHC.

U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, who is specially appointed to hear the case, had earlier denied a request by Athanas to have Mollica invoke her Fifth Amendment right in front of the jury. Athanas argued that the jury might question why defense attorneys didn't call Mollica to the witness stand.

Rothstein instead asked Athanas and prosecutors to draft a statement she could read to jurors to explain Mollica's absence from the witness stand.

Athanas told the judge at the end of the day that the defense had no other witnesses. Dunning did not testify.

But Athanas said that he didn't want to say that the defense had rested their case, leaving open the possibility of another witness being called.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys are to meet Monday to discuss jury instructions and other matters with Rothstein. The judge told the jury to return Tuesday morning for closing statements, jury instructions and deliberations. But she didn't close the possibility of another witness being presented.

Mollica, who had served as CFO of both BHC and Central Alabama Comprehensive Health in Tuskegee, pleaded guilty last year in a plea deal with federal prosecutors related to fraud against the government -- six counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, eight counts of mail fraud affecting a financial institution and five counts of money laundering.

Mollica's sentencing on those charges is set for Aug. 9 before another judge so testifying may have been risky for her.

Prosecutors have said Mollica illegally obtained $1.7 million from her part in diverting $11 million from the federally qualified health centers, Birmingham Health Care and in Tuskegee.

Mollica is currently serving a 28-month sentence, handed down in October, for her guilty plea to charges that she mailed drugs - either as retribution or intimidation -- to a witness and the spouse of a prosecutor involved in the health care fraud investigation.

Prosecutors charged that Mollica in early 2015 had sent one package containing the statue of a dog that had 76 Valium, 38 Zolpidem (i.e. Ambien) and approximately 100 other as-yet-unidentified pills inside it, according to court records. Another package contained a desk-top clock with 49 Adderall, and 41 Ritalin tablets.

Dunning, the former nonprofit CEO of both BHC and Central Alabama Comprehensive Health Inc. (CACH) in Tuskegee, faces 112 fraud and conspiracy charges in connection with diverting to his own companies millions of dollars in federal grant money meant for treating the poor and homeless at BHC and CACH.

BHC and CACH, were among 1,400 federally-funded community health centers nationwide. BHC in January changed its name to Alabama Regional Medical Services.

Federal prosecutors allege Dunning diverted federal grant money for health care services into his own pockets by setting up companies, most of them with the name Synergy in them, to contract with BHC for services, including billing, and for lease agreements with BHC on buildings.

Audits

Jeffrey White, certified public accountant with Banks, Finley, White & Co., also testified Friday that BHC was incompliance with its federal programs in audits conducted during the time the firm worked for the center from about 2002 through 2013. His firm also performed audits for CACH during part of that time.

White testified that in all the years his firm audited BHC books they did not find any fraud connected to Dunning. He said they did find fraud, but it was related to former BHC and CACH bookkeeper Sheila Parker.

Grant money, the principal funding source for the two health centers, was used by Parker for her personal benefit, White said.

Parker, who testified at the trial, and her son, were charged in the theft of $116,000 from CACH, money they used for electronic fish finders, truck tires, cell phones and an adult website membership.

Sheila Parker is to be sentenced in October.

White, under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Atwood, said the management of an agency or company is responsible for detecting fraud and telling auditors.

Terry Burney, Birmingham Mayor William Bell's chief administrative analyst and a Birmingham Health Care board member since 1988, was called to the witness stand for a second time at the trial on Friday.

One of Dunning's attorneys, Charles Prueter, went over Birmingham Health Care's by-laws with Burney, who is treasurer of the board. BHC changed its name earlier this year. The by-laws show that the board is responsible for selecting the CEOs, the replacement of board members, and reviewing financial information.

At one point board members were not allowed to see their financial information packets outside the meetings because other, potential competitors were looking at setting up health clinics.

Witnesses throughout the trial have said that Dunning, even after leaving as CEO, was the person who controlled BHC and CACH operations and influenced the board. As he left, the BHC board approved contracts with Dunning companies to manage programs and services, including billing. The board also had approved the rental of property from Dunning's companies.

Dunning had bought BHC's building - prosecutors say for half of what it was worth - before leasing it back to the center.

Burney said Friday that BHC's board placed its trust in Dunning because of all the good work he had done since he came on with the agency in the mid 1990s. He said Dunning's history "played heavily with me" in making those board decisions.

Prueter also pointed to the minutes of one board meeting, which included the presence of a lawyer, with local law firm Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. The lawyer's name was redacted.

CACH

Macon County Commission Chairman Louis Maxwell, who had served as the CACH board chairman, testified Thursday that the Health Resources & Services Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources, had advised him in 2011 to "roll off" the board. He said HRSA also told CACH to terminate its management contract with BHC, which in turn had a management contract with Dunning.

HHS had previously approved Dunning having a dual role as CEO over both BHC and CACH before Dunning left in Nov. 2008, Maxwell said.

After Dunning left, Dunning was responsible for setting up a pharmacy at CACH and was involved in helping in the fight to keep an ambulance service in the county, Maxwell said..

Dunning at one point gave him a campaign contribution, Maxwell testified. Dunning's company, Synergy Medical Solutions, and CACH also had given $5,000 each for a county festival less than a week before CACH gave Synergy a check for $90,825.

But when asked by a defense attorney, Maxell denied the money for the festival and the campaign contribution was a bribe. He said he didn't have access to CACH checking accounts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Atwood objected to the question and said there were no allegations that a bribe had been offered.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tamarra Matthews-Johnson and John B, Ward also are prosecuting the case. Attorneys William H. Thomas, Jr., also represents Dunning.

The FBI, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, and Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigated the case.

AL.com reporter Mike Oliver contributed to this story
About 100 Alabama National Guard soldiers returned home Saturday from a year-long mission in Kuwait and other countries.

The Company A, 136 Expeditionary Signal Battalion, arrived at Signature Aviation at Huntsville International Airport Saturday morning and were greeted by family and friends with a welcome-home ceremony organized by the David Carney and sponsored by the Association of the U.S. Army.

The unit is based in Arab but has members from across Alabama and other states.
A Lee County jury today convicted Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard on 12 felony charges in his ethics case, removing Hubbard from office.

Hubbard, 54, was convicted after a jury spent seven hours deliberating whether he used his public position for personal gain.

Hubbard faces up to 20 years in prison for each ethics count. Sentencing is set for July 8.

Hubbard was immediately taken into custody and placed in the Lee County jail.

He was released on $160,000 bond Friday night and driven away by a bail bondsman, according to the Associated Press.

The conviction came after a 12-day trial in which Hubbard took the stand for three days in his own defense.

"We hope this verdict tonight will restore some of the confidence in the people in the state of Alabama that public officials at all levels in the state of Alabama will be held accountable for their actions," Acting Attorney General Van Davis said.

"Especially those who would betray their public trust and their position of public trust while in office from all levels, local, county and state."

Attorney General Luther Strange recused himself from the investigation and appointed Davis to oversee it in 2013.

Hubbard called the case a "political witch hunt" when he was indicted, and his lawyers accused prosecutors, especially special prosecutions division chief Matt Hart, of misconduct and leaking grand jury information.

"We were accused, but at every step along the way, the court never found any basis for those things," Hart said. "And this kind of prosecution, when you're investigating and prosecuting people at the highest levels of power in government, you're going to get that sort of tactic."

WSFA reported that Hubbard attorney David McKnight said they were "very disappointed" in the verdict and that the case would be appealed.

"We plan on appealing," McKnight said. "I feel like I let my client down. I feel confident that we'll prevail in the outcome."

Prosecutors said Hubbard used the power of his office to improperly benefit his companies and clients and to try to obtain $2.3 million worth of work, investments and financial favors.

Hubbard's defense argued that the transactions were legal and within the bounds of the ethics law and exemptions for normal business dealings and longstanding friendships.

Defense lawyer Bill Baxley told jurors that Hubbard took care not to run afoul of state ethics law and asked advice from the then-director of the Alabama Ethics Commission.

Prosecutor Hart depicted Hubbard as a conniving politician who seized at opportunities to make money through his political party work and elected office.

"This is a good day for the rule of law in our state," Attorney General Luther Strange announced after the verdict. "This kind of result would never have been achieved had our office not put together the finest public corruption unit in the country. I'm very proud of their work. This should send a clear message that in Alabama we hold public officials accountable for their actions."

The speaker's office released a statement saying that Rep. Victor Gaston, R-Mobile, the speaker pro tem, becomes acting speaker under state law and House rules.

"The Alabama House is not defined by the actions of any one member, it is defined by the motto that appears on the wall of our Chamber, 'Vox Populi,' which means 'Voice of the People,'" Gaston said in a statement. "This incident, no matter how regrettable, offers strong proof that the ethics reforms passed by the Legislature in 2010 remain among the toughest in the nation."

"I know that every House member, regardless of party, will keep Mike Hubbard and his family in our prayers as he begins this next, most difficult chapter in his life."

Of the 23 charges Hubbard faced, he was convicted of:

Voting on legislation with a conflict of interest that would benefit American Pharmacy Cooperative Inc., a consulting client.

Receiving money from a principal, American Pharmacy Cooperative Inc., through a consulting contract.

Receiving money from a principal, Edgenuity, through a consulting contract.

Using office for personal gain through a consulting contract with Capitol Cups, a business owned by Robert Abrams.

Lobbying the state Department of Commerce for consulting client Robert Abrams.

Lobbying the governor's office for consulting client Robert Abrams.

Using state personnel to benefit consulting client Robert Abrams.

Soliciting and receiving money from a principal, former Business Council of Alabama Chairman Will Brooke, a $150,000 investment in Craftmaster Printers.

Soliciting and receiving money from a principal, James Holbrook/Sterne Agee, a $150,000 investment in Craftmaster Printers.

Soliciting and receiving money from a principal, Great Southern Wood President Jimmy Rane, a $150,000 investment in Craftmaster Printers.

Soliciting and receiving money from a principal, Hoar Construction President Robert Burton, a $150,000 investment in Craftmaster Printers.

Soliciting and receiving a thing of value from a principal, former BCA Chairman Will Brooke, help obtaining clients for Auburn Network and financial advice for Craftmaster Printers.

Hubbard faced charges stemming from an investigation by the attorney general's office that started more than three years ago.

A Lee County grand jury indicted Hubbard in October 2014 on 23 felony ethics counts.

Hubbard had denied any wrongdoing.

Hubbard was first elected to the Legislature in 1998, in his first run for public office.

He quickly rose to positions of leadership and was named chairman of the state Republican Party in 2007, a position he held until 2011.

As party chairman, Hubbard helped lead an historic change, recruiting candidates, raising money and organizing an effort that in 2010 would result in Republicans taking control of the Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction.

The new Republican majority in the House elected Hubbard as speaker, a position he has held ever since.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Updated at 9:58 p.m. to add quotes from Van Davis and Matt Hart. Updated at 10:11 p.m. to say WSFA reported an appeal is planned. Updated at 11:12 p.m. to add quote from David McKnight and statement from Rep. Victor Gaston. Updated at 11:20 to add charge of taking $150,000 investment from Hoar Construction President Robert Burton to the list of convictions. Updated at 7:21 a.m. on June 11 to say that Hubbard was released on bond.


Donald Trump

In this May 26, 2016, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Rimrock Auto Arena, in Billings, Mont.

(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A Virginia crowd waiting nearly an hour to hear Donald Trump speak booed Trump's senior policy adviser -- and former spokesman for Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions -- when he took the stage in Richmond.

Stephen Miller, who left Sessions's office in January to work for Trump, was getting the crowd warmed up for the presumptive Republican nominee when the crowd booed him because they assumed it would be Trump taking the stage, tweeted Independent Journal reporter Joe Perticone.

The crowd just booed Stephen Miller because they thought it was gonna be Trump  Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) June 11, 2016

In addressing the crowd, Miller referenced criticisms of Trump from Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who Trump has dismissively called "Pocahontas" -- a reference to the controversy about Warren listing herself as being native American in her Harvard Law School directory.
accident graphic.jpg

An elderly man was killed in a single-vehicle crash Friday in Blount County, according to Alabama State Troopers.

Glen Morris Clements, 82, was driving a 1998 Ford F-150 around 11:40 a.m. Friday when he drove off the road and struck a ditch on Alabama 75 near Snead, Alabama State Trooper Chuck Daniel told AL.com.

Clements, of Rosa, was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

Alabama State troopers were continuing to investigate the incident.
The instant the verdict was announced Friday night that Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard had been convicted on state ethics charges, House minority leader Craig Ford was ready.

Ford, a state representative from Gadsden and the top-ranking Democrat in the Republican-controlled House, proclaimed Hubbard's conviction as a "dark day for Alabama" in an email statement to the state's media sent seconds after the verdict was read in an Opelika courtroom.

With Hubbard's conviction on 12 of the 23 counts he was facing, he is automatically removed from office.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Luther Strange -- whose office prosecuted Hubbard -- said in a statement that it was a "good day for the rule of law in our state."

Ford's full statement:

"This is a dark day for Alabama. Mike Hubbard led Republicans to a supermajority on a platform of cleaning up corruption in Montgomery. But instead of cleaning up corruption, Mike Hubbard and the Republican leadership in all three branches of our government have embraced corruption. They have forgotten they are supposed to serve the people, and not the other way around."

Ford referred to the investigation ongoing into Gov. Robert Bentley relating to his acknowledged inappropriate relationship with former adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason and suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who is under investigation by the state Court of the Judiciary for his handling of the legalization of gay marriage.

Like Hubbard, Bentley and Moore are Republicans.

"This is a good day for the rule of law in our state," Strange, a Republican, said in his statement. "This kind of result would never have been achieved had our office not put together the finest public corruption unit in the country. I'm very proud of their work.

"This should send a clear message that in Alabama we hold public officials accountable for their actions."

State Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, said on Facebook on Friday night that she is considering seeking the position of House speaker. Given the Republican super majority in the House, however, Todd -- or any Democrat -- would appear to be a longshot to be elected Speaker.

Hubbard found quilty of 12 counts. We will elect a new speaker. Time for new leadership with the people of Alabama as... Posted by Patricia Todd on Friday, June 10, 2016

State Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, who is chair of the House Rural Caucus, called on his fellow lawmakers to be more transparent and accountable to voters.

"Today, a jury of his peers found Mike Hubbard guilty of not only violating the public trust, but of violating the law of this state which he was sworn to uphold," Standridge said in a statement. "Men and women who serve in elected office should hold themselves to the highest of standards; I am saddened that Mr. Hubbard chose otherwise. Tonight, I am praying for our state, for Mike and for his family."

Hubbard's conviction is at once a bad day and a good day for Alabama, Standridge said.

"On one hand, today is a black mark on the history of our state; it is a day that speaks of corruption and self-centered power grabs," he sasid. "Yet, on the other hand, today is a bright day for our state, as the rule of law has prevailed. Today, all public servants in Alabama have been put on notice that nothing but the highest of ethical conduct will be acceptable.

"I for one, am ready to see this new age of transparency and accountability. I urge my colleagues in the House to join me in not only entering a deliberate process to choose our next Speaker, but to also join me in efforts to focus on restoring integrity, accountability and transparency to the people's house. We must change how things are done in Montgomery and we must be accountable to the people we represent."

Spencer Collier, the former head of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency fired in March by Bentley, took to Twitter late Friday night to criticize the governor. In advance of his firing, Collier was placed on medical leave in February because he refused to obey Bentley's order not to provide an affidavit to Hubbard prosecutors related to the case.

In firing Collier months later, Bentley said he made the move because of an internal investigation at ALEA concerning financial mismanagement by Collier. Collier has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly said he willing to put his hand on a Bible and testify he did nothing wrong.

Hubbard's conviction immediately became a national story on Friday night. The New York Times led its report by saying "Alabama's political crisis deepened" with Hubbard's conviction.

Michael Hubbard, Alabama House speaker, is convicted of 12 felony ethics charges https://t.co/LAWLz41cAr pic.twitter.com/AREeLYRAOy  The New York Times (@nytimes) June 11, 2016

House Speaker: guilty on 12 counts



Gov: facing impeachment.



Chief Justice: forced out on ethics charges.



Bad trifecta for one state...  Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) June 11, 2016

Alabama House speaker Mike Hubbard was convicted on ethics charges. https://t.co/iKipQYy2Y0 pic.twitter.com/4sRj2Ns9JM  USA TODAY (@USATODAY) June 11, 2016

In a statement Friday night, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey said she was praying for Hubbard and his family.

"The verdict reached by 12 Lee County jurors brings finality to a lengthy legal process that has impacted our state government and public trust," Ivey's statement said. "I pray that Mike, his wife Susan, and their sons will be strengthened and supported through the uncertainties of this difficult time. I respect the jury's hard work and accept their findings. It is not easy to sit in judgment and these jurors did their duty as citizens of Alabama.

"One of our basic founding principles is the safeguard that due process affords to protect individual freedoms when justice is administered. The rule of Law and the right to a trial by jury has helped maintain our democracy for more than two centuries. The consistency of our legal system in treating everyone as an equal before the Law will continue to sustain us now and in the future. I believe in the rule of law, Alabama and her people. I know that our best days are ahead of us."
Mike Hubbard is guilty. Guilty on 12 of 23 counts of violating Alabama's ethics law.

It is done. It is over. Hubbard is out as speaker of the House. He gave his belt to Lee County authorities. He walked in the courtroom the speaker of the house, and walked out a Lee County inmate.

For those who have paid attention to the evidence, it was, perhaps, a foregone conclusion. But now it seems yesterday's news.

So now what?

Now Alabama lawmakers have a choice. A real choice.

Not about who will replace Hubbard as speaker. That's just a shuffle and a slide. One guy goes out and another steps in. Just like we've seen time and time...

... and time again.

What happens next can't be about some guy. Not some guilty guy and not some new guy either. The choice - and it is a serious, desperate choice - is what lessons politicians in Montgomery will learn from Hubbard.

Will they try to be good? Or will they double down on bad?

Will they see that they can't expect their office to make them rich, and cannot accept those who do? Will they see that it's impossible to serve the people when your first goal is to serve yourself?

Or will they, as I fear, come to believe all those "groundbreaking" ethics reforms have become too dangerous and restrictive? Will they roll back reforms - as some have already tried to do -- in the name of "business" and "friendship?" Lawmakers wanted to make a statement when they passed a strongish ethics law in 2010. They just didn't count on the laws working.

It's clear from the way many politicians have behaved in Montgomery, from the way they rallied around a House Speaker who was not merely accused of crimes, but of countless obvious ethical lapses, that some already looked at the ethics law with buyers' remorse.

They have shaved and pushed and pulled and tried to weaken the laws. They have pestered the Ethics Commission for jobs and contracts that straddle the line of right and wrong. They have introduced legislation to consolidate investigative power with the powerful, ensuring their own invulnerability. They have cut funding the Attorney General and to district attorneys, robbing the state of resources to investigate corruption.

Mike , center, and Susan Hubbard walk to the Lee County Justice Center for closing arguments in the Alabama House Speaker's Trial on Friday, June 10, 2016, in Opelika, Ala. (Todd J. Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn News via AP, Pool)

With Hubbard under a shadow, they have threated the very people who are charged with holding the political elite to account.

Perhaps now that is yesterday's news.

So now what?

Now the Alabama legislature needs to stand up and be counted. Now the people of Alabama need to stand up and make sure the legislature knows who's counting.

The Legislature needs to apologize for unanimously selecting this man Hubbard as speaker of the house, for giving him pass as he violated both the law and every intent of the ethics reform they all claimed as their own.

The Alabama legislature needs to apologize for its cowardice. It needs to beg your forgiveness for prioritizing money and power and partisanship over fairness and ethics and honor. Its individual members need to prostrate themselves for being so scared of a powerful colleague that they forgot all about the principles they claimed to hold when campaigning.

They need to double down on good, and fall in shame for too long being nothing but apologists for bad.

In this trial there was testimony that several other legislators were involved in contracts similar to those of Hubbard. If so they should drop them. If so they should be investigated. If so they should be prosecuted, with all the weight and power of the Attorney General's office.

And the people.

Alabama has a choice.
Mike Hubbard

Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard answers questions from Deputy Attorney General Matt Hart during his trial, Thursday, June 9, 2016, in Opelika, Ala. Hubbard was convicted Friday, June 10 of 12 of 23 felony ethics charges accusing him of using his political positions to make money and seek financial favors, investments and employment from lobbyists and people with business before the Alabama Legislature. (Todd J. Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn News via AP, Pool)

(Todd J. Van Emst)

A jury in Lee County found Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard guilty of violating 12 counts of Alabama's ethics laws. From here on out, he didn't allegedly break the law. He's not accused of breaking the law. He's no longer presumed innocent.

He's guilty. He did it. He's a criminal.

With the jury's verdict, it's no longer a matter of opinion or conjecture. It's now a fact. The most powerful politician in Alabama used his office for personal gain.

Hubbard's a crook, but the blame doesn't stop with him.

Hubbard led a political revolution in Montgomery, executing a masterful plan to pick off Goat Hill Democrats and replace them with Republicans beholden to him. Leading up to the election, Hubbard blasted Democrats for tolerating a culture of corruption in Montgomery, especially in the administration of Gov. Don Siegelman who, like Hubbard, cried political prosecution.

"The only conspiracy that put Don Siegelman in prison is the one he created by accepting bribes for political favors," Hubbard wrote in an op-ed then. "By continuing to defend him, the Alabama Democratic Party is endorsing corruption, crime and cronyism at the highest levels of state government."

When Republicans took control of the Legislature, that cohort crowned Hubbard as their speaker. They hung an "Under New Managment Sign" in the shop window, but Hubbard kept the "For Sale" sign right where Democrats had left it.

Alabama lawmakers knew it, and they didn't do a damn thing to stop it.

Alabama law removes him from office immediately upon his conviction, which is a good thing for Alabama because, if the law didn't remove him, I'm not sure any of his colleagues in the Legislature would. Since the court unsealed the grand jury's indictment two years ago, Alabama lawmakers have proven to be little more than toadies, cronies, cowards and goons.

It's a sad fact of Alabama politics that, even when the good guys win, Alabama still loses. A lot of Alabama politicians tried to make sure the good guys lost, because if it weren't for Deputy Attorney General Matt Hart and the special prosecutions division scaring the hell out of them, God only knows what hell that crew could inflict on Alabama.

Prosecutors and investigators from the Alabama Attorney General's office swam against the political current for years to bring this case to trial, much less return a conviction. All along, Hubbard's allies in the legislature castigated the AG's office for holding a witch hunt. They called it a political prosecution.

They circled around their leader in support, standing with him during a press conference after his arrest in Auburn and reelecting him to the speaker's chair after the 2014 election -- when he was under indictment. Corruption in Montgomery is business as usual, and most lawmakers in the Alabama House showed they were OK with that -- Republicans and Democrats -- when they elected Hubbard to be speaker while under indictment.

Only Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, voted against Hubbard. A few have since said they regret their decision, but they had a choice and they made it. They had an opportunity to raise their voices when it mattered, though, and they stayed silent.

A few deserve a place in the Hall of Shame for their Hubbard support.

Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Huntsville, stood in that press conference with Hubbard. Not only that, but in the 2015 Legislative Session, he introduced legislation which would have put state prosecutors and investigators under the thumb of the Legislature with his so-called "star chamber" bill.

Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, was there, too. He sponsored a bill that would have allowed Hubbard to solicit donations from political backers to pay his legal fees.

Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, was in the room, and later he blasted the prosecutor, Hart, for selective prosecution of Hubbard.

Congressman Mike Rogers not only stood by Hubbard in that press conference, but he took the microphone to blast prosecutors for "Chicago-style gutter politics" because when Alabama politicians don't have anything meaningful to say, they try to bring it back to Obama.

No, sir. This wasn't Chicago-style politics. This was Alabama-style politics, and nobody was as good at it as Mike Hubbard.

And while Hubbard is heading for the pokey, all those who made him Alabama's political boss are still right here.
Defense lawyer Bill Baxley stood before the jury this week in the trial of his client, then-Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard. He said he was scared.

Frightened, that is, for the future.

"Every case sets a precedent," he said. "I'm afraid what will happen if the message is sent that a jury will convict without any evidence."

The jury listened intently, as it did all these weeks in Hubbard's corruption trial. Then it sent its message.

There was evidence, it found. And it was strong.

So Mike Hubbard, the self-proclaimed architect of the GOP takeover of the Statehouse, the consensus most powerful man in Alabama politics, the standout with his hand out, was convicted on 12 of 23 counts of using his office to fatten his own substantial wallet.

He's to be sentenced in July, and could face two to 20 years in state prison for each count. A state prison, one that get-tough-on-crime legislators have crammed to twice capacity, a state prison where fights are routine and rage simmers. It ain't Club Fed. It's real. Real prison. Real consequence. Real reason to be afraid.

And that sends a real message. As Baxley said, every case sets a precedent.

Alabama desperately needs that message. In the days leading up to Hubbard's conviction I heard scores of Alabamians swear Hubbard would walk, because they'd lost faith in the process. In the hours since the verdict I've heard scores more swear nothing will change, because they'd seen it all before.

And they have. We have. Gov. Guy Hunt was convicted of ethics charges, and nothing changed. Gov. Jim Folsom avoided conviction, but shot his political star by flying to the Caymans on bingo boss Milton McGregor's plane. Nothing changed. Gov. Don Siegelman went to prison and is still there. Gov. Bob Riley came through his administration smelling like a rose, but testimony and emails in Hubbard's trial raised questions about Riley's own calculating greed.

The people change, but not the poison.

Gov. Robert Bentley is hip-deep in his own sorta-sex scandal, facing the threat of impeachment and federal investigation. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore may get gaveled out of office for the second time, because his idea of "ethics" is disobeying the law. Dozens went down in the two-year college scandal and Jefferson County's sewer stench. Republicans stormed the Statehouse under the banner of ethics and honor -- in the midst of a Democratic vote-buying trial -- and dragged that flag through the mud.

The parties point at each other, and reveal only themselves.

Mike Hubbard looks at family and friends sitting in the courtroom as deputies wait to take Hubbard into custody on Friday, June 10, 2016 in Opelika, Ala. (Todd J. Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn News via AP, Pool)

Democrats were crooked and Republicans are crooked and it takes its toll on Alabama. It has done grave harm, and not just because of money and resources lost. It stole trust and confidence and belief. So Alabamians insist - with good reason - that nothing will change, that corruptors wait in the wings, ready to prey on the weak and the willing.

That's the real cost. The ethics law itself recognizes it:

"It is essential to the proper operation of democratic government that public officials be independent and impartial," it says. "It is important that there be public confidence in the integrity of government."

Without confidence, people check out. And when people check out, politicians like Hubbard make out. Like bandits. The cycle continues. Disaffected and disconnected Alabamians get the government they deserve. And Lord help us if we do.

Because partisanship wins. Tribalism wins. Corruption wins. And the people remain lost.

Bill Baxley (Todd J. Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn News via AP, Pool)

Which is why this jury's message is so very strong and important. No one - not even the most powerful and smug politician - is above the law.

Lobbyists, special interests and business owners with legislative concerns will have to think twice before handing out money to politicians. Politicians will have to admit to themselves that ethics is more than a campaign promise.

Alabama needs to thank this jury for ignoring Baxley.

Because every case does set a precedent. And this one, Alabama, is strong.
How one man and his tea house are trying to foster a sense of understanding and community in the US city of Cleveland.

Cleveland, US  Ayman Alkayali is no stranger to feeling like a foreigner.

Aymans parents were born in Palestine: his mother in Jaffa and his father in Ramla. During the nakba, the family was forced to leave its home land, moving to Syria. In time, Aymans family migrated to Kuwait and then to Tripoli in Libya, where his grandfather taught algebra, and Ayman was born. We were one of the first Palestinian families to move to Libya, he says.

But when Ayman was just 16, he left Libya to study German and architecture in Vienna, Austria.

Living alone in a foreign land was difficult. If you didnt fit, you were always a foreigner, he says. Even if they knew your name they called you a foreigner: Hey foreigner; open the door foreigner; good morning foreigner. I didnt like that at all.

His older cousin was across the globe, studying engineering in Cleveland, Ohio. Ayman asked him what the US was like and, enticed by what he heard, asked his fathers permission to move there.

Keeping up with the Joneses

Upon arriving in the US, Ayman brushed up on his English at a centre for immigrants and then enrolled in the biomedical engineering programme at Case Western University.

Like many of his peers, he was attending classes, looking for a career, and trying to make money. The usual  keeping up with the Joneses, he says.

His interest in biomedical engineering was short-lived, so he switched to electrical engineering and then to mechanical engineering, but the results were all the same. I wasnt feeling it, he says.

He had never been interested in art, but a girl he was dating encouraged him to explore painting. I couldnt stop, he says.

Then I took a ceramics class, and I fell in love. I absolutely fell in love and thought, Im gonna pursue art.

Aymans decision to leave university and become an artist did not sit well with his family. His father, a civil engineer, and his mother, who worked at the United Nations, had always stressed the importance of an education.

We are Palestinians, and as Palestinians, you know, we have faced hardships, and one of the defence mechanisms is to get an education and a very strong degree so you can always get a good job, Ayman explains. So everybody is an engineer, or a doctor, or a lawyer, you know, high-earning jobs.

But for Ayman, art felt like a form of therapy. I just wanted to express myself and release all that pressure, he says.

Still, his father continued to stress the importance of an education, so Ayman decided to take courses at a community college. I decided to go to business school, and be an artist, he says. Today, hes thankful for his fathers advice. He was right and I was wrong. Im glad that I did it; it gave me a sense of accomplishment, he says of his degree in business administration.

Ayman continued to create art. I used organic shapes, childlike art, you know, very colourful stuff. At that time Cleveland was very grey and brown; a dark-colour town.

In the 1990s my style wasnt popular at all. People liked it, but did not buy, he says.

Learning to see

To pay his bills, Ayman worked in construction and as a chef at an Italian restaurant in Clevelands Little Italy neighbourhood, where he also lived and rented a ceramics studio. Before then I was never thinking about that [cooking], but I loved it. I loved cooking.

Ayman left Little Italy in 1997 and moved to Tremont  today a trendy neighbourhood on Clevelands near west side, which was at that time much rougher. Nobody walked in Tremont after 5pm, he says.

In his new neighbourhood, Ayman developed a close friendship with a group of Irish-Americans. They showed me the whole blue-collar, union community, he says.

Ayman had never before been exposed to the struggles of working-class America. That was completely eye-opening to me. It was fascinating and I got to know this country in a much better fashion, and to appreciate the struggling man, the painter, the plumber, the union guys and their families. It was crazy; there is a part of this country that exists this way, a huge part of this country.

While his social life blossomed, Ayman continued to struggle to show and sell his work. So he came up with the idea of opening a coffee house. His initial plan was to create a space where he could show his work, serve coffee and some food, and have a studio in the basement where he would make custom furniture for clients. He was scouting locations in neighbourhoods he was familiar with when he happened upon a bike shop that was going out of business in Little Italy. It needed a lot of work; there was no gas or electricity. But I learned from the Irish guys how to deal with rough stuff. They were taking condemned houses and fixing them, so I had the vision. They showed me how to see, he says.

Ayman spent a year and eight months renovating his shop. Although he did much of the work himself, the renovations were expensive and just one month short of his grand opening, he found himself without enough money to purchase a cappuccino machine. So I couldnt open a coffee shop, he says.

A few friends suggested he sell tea instead. At The West Side Market, Clevelands oldest publicly owned market, which dates back to the 1840s, he met a woman who operated a tea stand. I went to check it out and she had this stand with beautiful herbs all over the place. There was South African tea, Fijian tea, Japanese tea  and the colours were gorgeous. I loved the colours. The owner made two kinds of tea for Ayman, and he was blown away. At that moment he had a realisation: I can afford hot water. It will be a tea house.

Beautiful religion I was born into Islam, but I saw the beauty of Islam in the United States, says Ayman.

In his youth, his parents were not practising Muslims. At that time, in the 1970s and 1980s, a lot of the Arab world started following the West. They started believing in secular religion and the division between church and state. A lot of them took on the thinking that they had to leave Islam, and Islam is backward.

But Ayman had started to grow restless with his lifestyle. I was living, you know, drinking and other stuff and being in the arts, but I needed to find myself. After you accomplish certain things in your life, like I wanted to be an artist, so I became an artist; I wanted to have a couple of write-ups in the newspapers and have recognition, I have that; I wanted to make a little bit of money and I made it; OK, whats next? These are my worldly desires and I got those. Of course there is room for growth, but what is next? There has to be something more.

Ayman began attending services at a local mosque and praying at the tea house.

Then, local converts to Islam began asking him to teach them Arabic so that they could understand the Quran. The convert community are very strong because, first, they have to study and study, and then make the decision  Im switching. So you have your family, your friends, your background, your history, and its Nope, Im going in a different direction. In order for them to do that they really have to come from serious research, he says.

Some of these guys came from civil rights backgrounds, so they went through the struggle of racism, apartheid, and lynching. I mean there are people who are very dear friends of mine, brothers, who stood at the back of the bus and used different bathrooms. These people are here, first-hand guys who were beaten up for no reason. These guys are strong, and they are American.

Inspired by their dedication and strength, Ayman began to view his faith in a new light. My religion is so beautiful. I dont know why I didnt study enough.

Life is not just love

As a father, Ayman takes the responsibility of installing an understanding of religion in his children seriously. But raising Muslim children in todays political and social climate creates unique challenges. It is a struggle for them because they have to fit in. There are parts of society that teach things that completely conflict with our beliefs, and you have to tell them that.

Ayman encourages his children to talk about what it is like to be a Muslim. It is hard for them, they have been called ISIS, or other kids stare at them when they pray, but it is good to see how they go through that  everyone has to go through struggles.

Not a Starbucks

Algebra Tea House opened its doors in August 2001. It was the first non-Italian establishment in the Little Italy neighbourhood.

Stepping inside is to take a stroll through Aymans imagination. The front door, tables and shelves were hand-crafted by Ayman, and his paintings cover the walls. The smell of Middle Eastern spices blends with citrus from the orange peel resting atop a wood burning stove. Plants line the front window, soaking up sunlight. There are shelves of books on everything from poetry to Islamic architecture or Palestinian cuisine.

In the early days of Algebras existence, Ayman faced great opposition. Many neighbourhood residents didnt want me to be here. There were offers to buy him out, a steady stream of inspectors scrutinised every detail of the shops renovation, and people shouted racial slurs as they drove by. I had my struggles and had to go through that for a tough three years in the beginning. Thankfully, there were residents who stood up for me; without them it would have been a much more difficult fight. I finally went to the mayor and pushed hard in the other direction. While the city was difficult at first, they ultimately became OK. I learned my rights: you push this far and Im going to go that far too. I took it to a legal perspective. Some people were understanding while some were not.

Two weeks after Algebra opened, the World Trade Center was attacked. That was rough. Financially it was a struggle because Algebra was not making any money in the beginning. After 9/11, business just died, and I wasnt hiding my Islam. I wasnt apologising, no, this is who I am and if you like it, you like it, and if this place does not go with your beliefs then I dont want you here. Algebra is not for everybody. This is not a Starbucks, this is for people who understand art, multi-culture, and handiwork, and people who are comfortable with discussing communism, capitalism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, you know, he says.

In order to pay the rent and his employees, Ayman worked outside the shop, on construction sites, cleaning garages, painting houses, Whatever it took to keep the doors open. For the first few years we were surviving month to month.

Fifteen years later, Ayman feels that Algebra is a strong part of the community. We have a very good reputation. We are part of the discussion if there are issues in the neighbourhood that need to be resolved. We are one of the oldest businesses in the neighbourhood; they accept us for who we are.

Algebra is really two things. It is us, the help, and then the customers, and this is what makes Algebra, Algebra. Without the customers we dont exist: The thinkers and the photographers, and the sculptors and the writers; the poets and the civil rights activists. You hear different languages here, and people are not afraid of discussion.

Ive been to many weddings where the couple met here. There are areas in Algebra where you have to sit next to somebody that you dont know. The counter is curved so it forces you to interact with the person next to you. There is a couch and when the place is full people sit next to each other; we dont even tell them any more. Sometimes they talk; sometimes they just do their work. This is a place where people are supposed to interact and discuss religion and politics and art and very sentimental and private matters.

Taking care of your neighbours

Over the years, Ayman has nurtured a politically active environment at Algebra. We were anti-war, flat out anti-Iraq war. Whenever there was a demonstration against the war people would come here after the rally.

RACE IN THE US: The colour of Cleveland

During the 2008 US presidential campaign Ayman hosted a town hall meeting at Algebra. We talked about the Palestinian issue, the Iraq war, green energy, revitalisation of the inner city  issues that were not discussed at the time, and we sent all of that to the White House. Of course, nothing came out of it, but we tried. We believed in it in the beginning. Ill be honest with you, a lot of people here believed in change back then, but after that it was status quo. Obama messed it up for a lot of people, he really did, because he sold the hope and change. He was a preacher singing that song.
Bethlehem, Occupied West Bank  Ghassan al-Azzeh was arrested by Israeli occupation forces and sent to prison when he was only 16 years old. As a young teen in an adult detention facility, al-Azzeh was lost until a group of older artists, also Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, took him in.

Al-Azzeh was interested in art before he was arrested, but did not take the craft seriously until it became his only reprieve from the daily life of prison.

They taught me so much about making art in prison. We didnt have real art materials, so they showed me how to make brown sugar packets into beautiful portraits, al-Azzeh said from his cramped backyard workshop in Beit Jibrin refugee camp.

This rock, he said, picking up a stone half the size of his calloused palm, would have been a treasure in the prison. The guys taught me how to make all of kinds of things from carving a rock like this.

Al-Azzeh was released from prison three years later, but did not forget his craft. Once back in the real world, the young man continued to make art from recycled material.

I like to take recycled things and make them into something new. Art can be a way of resistance  its my way of resistance, he said.

In addition to his political artwork, al-Azzeh has also taken to making polished furniture out of pallet wood found throughout the city.

His most recent project, a desk for one of his professors at Birzeit University, sat half finished on the back porch of his home. The dark stain and polished wood of the desk had been smoothed down so artfully it was difficult to imagine the piece was crafted from scrap pallets like those stacked up on the side of his narrow workshop.

Al-Azzeh commissions art by word-of-mouth as well as a Facebook group called Made in Camp. His work has been fruitful enough to help him pay the off his tuition fees for his completed bachelors degree and near-completed masters.

While he has almost completed his masters in Democracy and Human Rights, his love lies with his art: Im mostly getting these degrees for my mother, he laughed. She wants me to be educated and finish my studies, but my work and my passion is art.
Sudan is in urgent need of a fresh democratic transition, and for an inclusive peace to avert negative scenarios.

The Arab Spring that swept across the Middle East and succeeded in overthrowing three dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in 2011 was a pivotal point in the history of nations.

Despite the subsequent descent into the Arab Winter, the peaceful protests of young people were heroic. The movement demonstrated the power of the people against the status quo and the grip of repressive regimes.

After the initial but short-lived success of the Arab Spring, many observers asked: Why hasnt there been a Sudanese Spring? Sudans crisis had been no less severe, nor protracted than those of the Arab Spring countries.

In addition, two of the Arab Spring countries  Egypt and Libya  border Sudan. Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, was quick to answer the question claiming that his coup 27 years ago was Sudans version of the Arab Spring. Those who are waiting for the Arab Spring to come will be waiting for a while, he said.

He explained that the Arab Spring in Sudan had already occurred through a bloodless revolution that he led against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi on June 30, 1989. Bashirs claim had astonished many in Sudan and across the globe.

Pioneers of uprisings

While the Sudanese people admire the Arab Spring, they do not appreciate the question of why the Sudanese have not followed suit.

They proudly believe that they are the pioneers of the art of popular uprisings in the region.

The Sudanese succeeded in overthrowing two military dictatorships through popular uprisings: They threw out the regime of General Ibrahim Abboud in October 1964 and the regime of General Jaafar Nimeiri in April 1985.

A united Sudan is vital for the stability and security of the region. However, current policies and leadership in the country continue to dissatisfy the people of Sudan. by

As in the April 1985 uprising, students today are leading the way in building momentum. Last Aprils surge in student protests should be seen as a continuation of a successful revolt, not as random pockets of unrest, says Mastour Mohamed, the secretary-general of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP).

Indeed, the people of Sudan have made many efforts to break through the ceiling of a repressive regime.

In January 2011, anti-government protesters, inspired by the Arab Spring movements in Tunisia and Egypt demanded the departure of the regime.

Peaceful protesters were met with the regimes usual excessive use of force. Perhaps South Sudans secession overshadowed the protesters demands.

Demonstrations surged again in December of 2011, when students at the University of Khartoum staged a successful sit-in. Increasing economic and political fragility of whats left of Sudan, led the government to impose austerity measures.

OPINION: Bashir and the double standard of international justice

Public announcements of these austerity measures brought protesters back on to the streets in the summer of 2012.

Rising fuel prices throughout 2013 also increased public outrage. The September popular uprising of 2013 was one of the milestones in the Sudanese quest for freedom and dignity. The uprising started in Nyla City in Darfur, and then swept across the country.

Again, protesters were met with a heavy and bloody crackdown. The notorious National Intelligence Security Services (NISS) killed more than 200 peaceful demonstrators.

Puncturing the wall of fear

Sudan cannot heal the wounds of its evil past as long as those who have inflicted such injustice are permitted to do so with impunity  and with the broken or hollow promises of peace from the international community.

As the regimes same old tactics rot it from the inside, those outside the regime feel the deterioration.

Those who previously benefited from the inequitable policies of Bashirs regime are feeling the consequences of their dwindling prospects. They are gaining greater perspective and empathy for their former ethnic rivals.

A student from Khartoum University, and a leading activist against the so-called corruption dams, stated that the student activists are now fully aware of the regimes tactics and cannot be divided on racial or any other grounds.

Mohamed of the SCP argued that students have scaled the wall of fear. Risking their lives, students picked up tear gas canisters before they exploded and threw them back at the armed forces. Thus they fight back and do not quit, he said.

When asked why students have punctured the wall of fear, Adam Musa, one of the leaders of the Darfuri Student Leagues Coalition, said: We do not have another option. People are so bitter. The continuous excessive violence by the regime and our long accumulated trauma, has emboldened us to fight back.

Sudan shall not be failed

Sudan is geopolitically important for the region in the fight against terrorism, and in its efforts of humanitarian intervention for those migrating through Sudans porous borders.

A united Sudan is vital for the stability and security of the region. However, current policies and leadership in the country continue to dissatisfy the people of Sudan.

OPINION: The tension-ridden hydro-politics of the Nile

The Arab mainstream media have not given the same coverage to the aspirations and efforts of the Sudanese people as they have to the neighbouring Arab Spring countries.

Sudan is in urgent need of a fresh democratic transition, and for an inclusive peace to avert the negative scenarios of Libya and Syria.

Perhaps such media attention would provide powerful insights into how to avoid another Bashir-like dictatorship for the countries which have fallen into the chaos of Arab Winter.

The League of Arab States has failed to offer the Sudanese opposition forces and independent civil society any fair hearing, as they have been doing in Syria.

The league and its members should listen to Sudanese forces of change. The people of Sudan will eventually succeed in bringing about change in their country, as they did in 1964 and 1985.

The question is, what role will the Arab states play in the rebirth of this vital nation?

Ahmed H Adam is a visiting fellow at Cornell Universitys Institute for African Development, and a research fellow at the Department of Public Policy and Administration at the American University in Cairo.

Ashley D Robinson is a public policy and human rights expert. She obtained her masters degree from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Volunteers are working to restore the old theatre, closed for more than two decades, before Augusts grand reopening.

Nabatieh, Lebanon  Nabatieh, the sleepy city in southern Lebanon with a small-town feel, is going through a cinema renaissance.

Once a local cultural capital, Nabatieh has been without a theatre since Stars Cinema closed in 1990 amid the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. By the end of this year, however, the city will boast two cinemas.

One will be new: Empire Cinema, part of a multinational chain, is set to showcase big-budget Hollywood films. The other will be old: Stars Cinema, now derelict, is being renovated by a team of volunteers led by actor and theatre manager Kassem Istanbouli.

The theatre will hold its grand reopening in August, and plans to feature classic Arabic films alongside free theatre and photography training workshops.

WATCH: Syria underground theatre tells stories of hope

Istanbouli and his team of volunteers say they hope the reopening of Stars Cinema will revitalise the cultural life of the city, which has stagnated in recent years.

People have reached a state of mind here  theyre not interested in anything. They just want to sit on the street and smoke nargileh and talk about nothing, Kamel Jaber, a journalist and arts promoter in Nabatieh, told Al Jazeera. He believes the city has languished because of a lack of opportunities brought on by years of conflict  a stark contrast to the city of his youth.

In the late 1950s and 1960s, Jaber said, Nabatieh was a hotbed of education, progressive politics, literature and the arts. The citys first two cinemas, Rivoli and Capitol, opened during this era, showcasing films from Egypt, Europe and India.

There were shows from 9am to 11pm every day, Jaber recalled. Everyone used to go.

The cinemas also provided a space for visiting public intellectuals, including poets Nizar Qabbani from Syria and Muhammad al-Jawahiri from Iraq. The communist party was also very active here, Jaber added. Their meetings would be held in the cinemas too.

As the Israel-Lebanon conflict escalated in the 1970s, Israel levelled the Nabatieh Palestinian refugee camp. Throughout Nabatieh, there were bombs every day on a random basis, Jaber recalled. Rivoli and Capitol were both destroyed, many people fled the area, and others became afraid to venture outside, he said.

While Istanbouli hopes that a renovated Stars Cinema will start to bring back Nabatiehs lost cinematic era, he is realistic about the challenges it will face in gaining the attention of residents worn out by years of conflict, who may be more easily lured by the simplicity of typical Hollywood films.

People in Nabatieh need a cultural space, Istanbouli told Al Jazeera. Im trying to revitalise cinema and the arts, [to make them] important to the daily life of the people here. People say, I want to go to this or that restaurant; I want them to say, I want to go to the theatre. They should be of the same importance.

People in Nabatieh need a cultural space ... You need art in order to cancel out violence. by Kassem Istanbouli, theatre manager

Nabatiehs mayor, Ahmad Mahmoud Kaheel, told Al Jazeera that Stars Cinema, along with a new mall, was part of a wave of economic ascendancy sweeping the city.

This kind of arts centre will improve the cultural life of the city, which is just as important as the economic or educational side, Kaheel said. We will work alongside Istanbouli in order to achieve the goal of positively impacting the lives of our citizens, while respecting the religious environment of Nabatieh and the [cinemas] neighbours.

READ MORE: Reviving the art of cinema in Gaza City

On a recent afternoon, a crowd of curious children milled around Stars Cinema, trying to ascertain what all the activity was about. People show up whenever we come here to help clean up and restore the space, Istanbouli said, noting that the site had been used as a rubbish dump for more than two decades.

Hussein al-Abdullah, a theatre student at Beiruts Lebanese University who has been working as a volunteer to help prepare Stars Cinema for its August reopening, says he is excited to see how it could change the cultural landscape of Nabatieh.

To be a part of this theatre, its beautiful, Abdullah told Al Jazeera. Its important to open up a space like this for the people here, to do something for them. The wars have destroyed many important buildings and theatres in Lebanon  We want people to be able to breathe and enjoy life and see movies.

Its important for people who live in this pain to have access to the arts.

Additional reporting by Moe Jaber
Police say thousands detained in 24 hours in crackdown following attacks on secular figures and religious minorities.

Police in Bangladesh have arrested more than 3,000 people in a nationwide crackdown following a spate of violent attacks as the countrys prime minister vowed to catch each and every killer.

Over the the past 10 days, a Hindu monastery worker, an elderly Hindu priest, a Christian shopkeeper and the Muslim wife of a counterterrorism police officer have all been killed.

Secular bloggers, gay rights activists and followers of minority religions have also been targeted recently.





Those arrested include 37 suspected Islamist militants and hundreds of potential criminals who previously had warrants out against them, as well as several hundred ordinary arrests, Bangladeshi police said on Saturday.

We have arrested 3,155 people  as part of the special drive over the last 24 hours, A K M Shahidur Rahman, deputy police inspector general, told the AFP news agency.

The militants included 27 members of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh, he added, referring to one one of the main domestic outlawed groups blamed partly for the attacks by the Bangladeshi government.

None of those arrested as part of the crackdown is believed to be a high-level operator who might have organised or ordered attacks, police told the Associated Press news agency. All the detainees are being held in jail.

The sweeping crackdown came as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vowed to hunt down the killers.

Bangladesh: Extremism and shrinking space for dissent

It may take time, but God willing, we will be able to bring them under control, Hasina told a meeting of her ruling Awami League party on Saturday.

Where will the criminals hide? Each and every killer will be brought to book as we did after the 2015 mayhem, she said, referring to a deadly transport blockade last year organised by opposition parties.

Ordinary and innocent people

However, opposition parties immediately accused the police of using the crackdown to suppress political dissent.

Hundreds of opposition activists have been arrested in the police drive, Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), told AFP.

In the name of the crackdown against Islamist militants, many ordinary and innocent people are being detained.

Hasina has accused the BNP and the countrys largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, of orchestrating the attacks after they failed to topple the government in last years transport blockade.

READ MORE: Why are bloggers being killed in Bangladesh?

Nearly all the attacks have been claimed by transnational armed groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group and various affiliates of al-Qaeda.

The killing on Friday morning of a Hindu worker in northern Bangladesh was also claimed by ISIL, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a US-based monitoring group.

Hasinas government, however, says transnational armed groups have no presence in the majority-Muslim South Asian nation of 160 million.

It blames the attacks solely on domestic groups aligned with political opposition parties, though it has presented no evidence of such a campaign and the opposition denies the allegations.
Denmarks Supreme Court stripped the citizenship from Said Mansour, a Danish-Moroccan bookseller jailed for inciting terrorism, upholding the verdict of a lower court and potentially paving the way for his deportation to Morocco.

Mansour, also known as the Bookseller from Brnshj for his work in publishing controversial texts, is the first person to be stripped of Danish citizenship owing to a crime.

In 2013, he was arrested and put on trial for posting on Facebook texts and photos praising Osama bin Laden and calling on his followers to join the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front. He was also accused of helping to publish books by Abu Qatada, a Jordanian cleric who was deported from Britain for trial at home.

The 56-year-old bookseller moved to Denmark in 1983 and gained citizenship in 1988. He was previously convicted in another trial in 2007 on similar charges and served three-and-half-years in jail.

INTERACTIVE: Outsourcing terror

One of the witnesses against Mansour was Danish Muslim convert turned secret agent Morten Storm, who in 2012 revealed that he had been working with the Danish intelligence agency PET and the CIA.

A 2015 Al Jazeera investigation revealed the stories of three Danish Muslim men who alleged torture and imprisonment in Lebanon after refusing to work as informants for PET.

Storm was sent by the Danish intelligence to Lebanon around the time when two of the men were detained by the Lebanese authorities. Both Denmark and Lebanon denied the allegations.

Mansour to appeal

Mansour, who has retained his Moroccan citizenship, has argued that if he gets deported to Morocco, he will face torture and appealed against the decision of a lower court to strip him of his citizenship in 2015.

His defence lawyer told Danish television that Mansour would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

He [Mansour] has a big connection to Denmark due to his long residence in the country, and his children and grandchildren are in the country, the lawyer said.

And finally, he has been punished for mere statements, not actions.

Denmarks high court took the initial decision to strip Mansour of his Danish citizenship last July, in the first case of its kind in the country. He appealed against that ruling, arguing that he would face torture if returned to Morocco.

It was not immediately clear after the Supreme Courts ruling on Wednesday whether he would serve out the remainder of his jail term or be deported immediately to Morocco.

Denmark introduced the ability to strip Danish nationals of citizenship after the 9/11 attacks. The Nationality Act was amended to make it possible to deny convicted terrorists Danish citizenship.
Amid reports of arrests as part of police action, group reportedly claims responsibility for murder in Pabna district.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has claimed responsibility for the killing of a Hindu monastery worker in northeastern Bangladesh, according to a US-based monitoring service.

Fridays attack on Nitya Ranjan Pandey, 60, in Pabna district is the third murder of a member of Bangladeshs religious minorities for which ISIL has taken responsibility in the past week.

SITE Intelligence Group, the monitoring service, reported on Saturday that ISIL claimed responsibility online.

READ MORE: Bangladesh  Extremism and shrinking space for dissent

The killing comes as the police carry out a security crackdown in response to the ongoing wave of murders targeting secular Muslims and minorities across the South Asian nation.

A total of 1,800 people, including activists from the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladeshs largest Islamist political party, have been arrested so far, media reports say.

Several local drug dealers, drug users and other petty criminals were also arrested alongside militants during Fridays police raids, Bangladeshi media reported, citing police sources.

Pool of blood

Pandey, a volunteer at the Shri Shri Thakur Anukulchandra Ashram in Pabna, was attacked while taking a walk early on Friday morning.

He was found lying in a pool of blood, Alamgir Kabir, Pabnas police chief, said, adding that no one saw the attackers.

Abdullah al-Hasan, the local police station chief, said: As a diabetic, every day [Pandey] walked early in the morning. Today as he was walking, several attackers hacked him in the neck  He died on the spot.

He had been working at the monastery for around 40 years. In recent years he was the head of its office staff.

Since February last year, shadowy groups have killed more than 30 people in Bangladesh, including members of religious minorities, liberal bloggers and academics.

Hindus and Christians make up about 10 percent of Bangladeshs mainly Muslim 160 million population.

Governments perspective

ISIL has claimed responsibility for 21 of the attacks since its first claim in September last year, and al-Qaeda has claimed most of the rest, according to SITE.

The secular government of Sheikh Hasina denies that either group has a presence in Bangladesh and says domestic groups are responsible.

Two groups in particular have been been identified by the authorities as leading the fight against secularism: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and Ansarullah Bangla Team.

While both are considered possible suspects in the recent killings, neither has been alleged to have direct links to al-Qaeda and ISIL.

Last month, police announced 1.8 million taka ($23,000) in rewards for information leading to the arrest of six members of Ansarullah Bangla Team.

Five suspected members of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh have been killed in shootouts in recent days.

The group had laid low since six of its leaders were hanged in 2007 for attacks that included 500 bomb explosions on a single day in 2005.

Subsequent suicide attacks on courts killed 25 people and wounded hundreds.

Latest killings

In the course of the past 10 days, besides Pandey, an elderly Hindu priest, a Christian shopkeeper and the Muslim wife of a counterterrorism police officer have been killed.

Mahmuda Khanom was stabbed and shot in the head by three unidentified men as she walked her son to a school bus stop near her home in the coastal city of Chittagong on Sunday.

She was the wife of Babul Akter, who has led several prominent operations against outlawed groups.

On Thursday, A K M Shahidul Hoque, inspector-general of Bangladesh Police, pledged in an address to a meeting of senior police officers in the capital, Dhaka, that those involved in Khanoms killing would be brought to justice very soon.
Il Giornale, owned by former PM Silvio Berlusconis brother, is selling copies of Adolf Hitlers anti-Semitic manifesto.

An Italian newspaper owned by the brother of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is giving out copies of Adolf Hitlers anti-Semitic manifesto Mein Kampf, in a move which sparked both shock and condemnation in Italy.

For 11.90 euros ($13.40), on top of the regular newsstand price of 1.50 euros, readers of Il Giornale were offered on Saturday the option of buying the book, along with The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by US journalist and World War II correspondent William L Shirer.

Know it in order to reject it was the justification given by the conservative tabloid, which is owned by Paolo Berlusconi.

In a frontpage editorial headlined Understanding Mein Kampf so that it never returns, Il Giornale editor Alessandro Sallusti denied that his paper was being an apologist for Nazi ideology or was trying to boost circulation with a sly move.

Studying evil to prevent it from happening again, perhaps in new and deceptive guises. That is the real and only purpose of what we have done, Sallusti added.

The initiative, however, received widespread criticism, with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi writing on Twitter: I find it sordid that an Italian daily is giving away Hitlers Mein Kampf. I embrace the Jewish community with affection. #neveragain

READ MORE: Hitlers manifesto Mein Kampf back in bookstores

It was also denounced by Italys 30,000-strong Jewish community, which is one of the oldest in Europe.

Giving out copies of Mein Kampf is light years away from all logic of studying the Shoah [Holocaust] and the different factors that led the whole of humanity to sink into an abyss of unending hatred, death and violence, the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities Renzo Gattegna said in a statement.

Many Italians also expressed their anger about the newspapers decision on social media.

Italy's Il Giornale is giving away free copies of Hitler's Mein Kampf.don't even know how they're allowed to do it https://t.co/hDsQn6Eqes  Max Paradiso (@ma_paradiso) June 11, 2016



https://twitter.com/ale_columbu/status/741588563268096001

A national newspaper in Italy (Il Giornale) is giving a free copy of "Mein Kampf" today.

New lows in "journalism"https://t.co/AVLqTWs4P5  Gustavo Baratta (@gusbaratta) June 10, 2016

Alan Friedman, an American journalist who penned the first authorised biography of Silvio Berlusconi, branded Il Giornales campaign as Regrettable.

For reasons which remain unclear, an Italian newspaper has today, regrettably, given away free copies of Hitler's Mein Kampf. #Squalid  Alan Friedman (@alanfriedmanit) June 11, 2016

Partly autobiographical, Mein Kampf  which means My Struggle  outlines Hitlers ideology that formed the basis for Nazism. Written in 1924, it sets out his hatred of Jews which led to the Holocaust in which about six million of them were murdered at the hands of Nazi Germany.

For 70 years, the German state of Bavaria, which was handed copyright of the book in 1945, refused to allow it to be republished out of respect for the victims of the Nazis and to prevent incitement of hatred.

But Mein Kampf fell into the public domain on January 1 this year, when a special edition was published for the first time since World War II which included critical annotations by historians.

OPINION: Welcome to the world of Europes far-right

The version distributed by Il Giornale is a reprint of the first Italian translation, published in 1938, the year fascist Italy adopted anti-Semitic laws. It includes a modern critical introduction by an Italian historian, Professor Francesco Perfetti.

Known for its right-wing positions, notably over the question of immigration, Il Giornale has a circulation of around 200,000. Neither the paper nor its owners are suspected of harbouring anti-Semitic views.

Anything touching on national-socialism is particularly sensitive in Italy due to the alliance between the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and Hitler.
Former military ruler Hissene Habre was jailed for crimes against humanity last month by a special court in Senegal.

Court-appointed lawyers for former Chadian military ruler Hissene Habre said they have appealed against his life sentence for war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and sexual slavery handed down by a special court in Dakar last month.

We formally made the appeal yesterday, against the unfavourable verdict reached on May 30, Mbaye Sene, a lawyer on the defence team, said on Saturday.

The 73-year-old ex-leader, who had declined to address the tribunal throughout the 10-month trial and refused to recognise its authority, was not consulted but that would not hinder the appeal process, according to both Sene and a spokesman for the special tribunal, Marcel Mendy.

The lawyers commission have submitted the paperwork for Habres appeal, Mendy said.

OPINION: The long road to justice for Chads Hissene Habre

Last months verdict against Habre brought closure for relatives of up to 40,000 people killed and many more kidnapped, raped or tortured during his 1982-1990 term as president of Chad.





Habres case was heard by a special tribunal set up by the African Union under a deal with Senegal, and marked the first time a country has prosecuted a former leader of another nation for rights abuses.

The tribunal spokesman said the appeal process is not expected to conclude before April 2017, as the judges first have to decide on the question of civil compensation lawsuits filed on behalf of the victims relatives.

The decision is expected on July 31, so its after that decision that the judges who will sit on the appeals court will be designated, Mendy said.

Meanwhile, the lawyers chosen by Habre himself, who had boycotted the trial on his instructions, said they will hold a press conference in Dakar on Monday.

READ MORE: Chads long road to independence

Known as a skilled desert fighter and often dressed in combat fatigues to fit the role, Habre fled to Senegal after his 1990 ousting by Chads current President Idriss Deby.

For more than 20 years, Habre lived freely in an upmarket Dakar suburb with his wife and children. He was arrested in Senegals capital in July 2013, less than 72 hours after US President Barack Obama expressed his support for a trial during a visit to the West African country.

At his trial, witnesses recounted the horror of life in Chads prisons, describing in graphic detail abusive and often deadly punishments inflicted by Habres feared secret police.

Victims were subjected to electric shocks and waterboarding, while some had gas sprayed in their eyes or spice rubbed into their genitals, the court heard.
Unity government orders investigation into murders of the 12 men while its forces take on ISIL for control of Sirte.

The bodies of at least 12 loyalists to the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have been found in the countrys capital, Tripoli, only days after they were released from prison.

The victims were part of a group who had been held at the al-Ruwaimi prison, Tripolis general prosecutor confirmed.

Libyas internationally backed Government of National Accord (GNA) issued a statement condemning the murders and ordered an investigation into the deaths.

READ MORE: Libya  Gaddafi left behind a long, damaging legacy

Omar Turbi, a former adviser to the Libyan government, said it is not surprising that the murders had happened given the deteriorating situation in Libya.

Libya has become a rogue state. Theres no functioning security system, theres no effectively functioning legal system, Turbi told Al Jazeera.

It is a sad day in Libya to see people [killed who] have already been tried, and found to be clearly innocent. There is no evidence of anything they were accused of.

Although some Gaddafi loyalists were responsible for committing atrocities, he said, the manner in which the 12 men lost their lives was unjust.

Battle for Sirte

The report of the deaths comes against a background of fierce fighting for control of Gaddafis home city, Sirte.

Forces loyal to the GNA say they have recaptured both Sirtes port and airport from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), forcing the armed group, also known as ISIS, to retreat after more than two years.

Government forces say they have made a breakthrough after weeks of air strikes, shelling and street battles.





ISIL used to have their own strategy, but not any more. Now theyre very exhausted. Were dealing with ISIL the same way we dealt with the previous regime, Ali bin Gharbiya, a commander for GNA forces, told Al Jazeera.

Martin Kobler, the UN envoy to Libya, said on Saturday on Twitter that he was impressed by the rapid progress of the Libyan forces.

The fall of Sirte would be a major setback for ISIL, who have also lost territory in Syria and Iraq, where they have declared a caliphate.

We will liberate the city of Sirte from ISIL and its terrorism. We will clean up all of Libya and defeat anyone who opposes us in our country, Omar Rhaal, a fighter for the GNA, said.

Foreign intelligence services estimate ISIL has 5,000 fighters in Libya, but its strength inside Sirte, which ISIL has held since June 2015, is unclear.

A total of 137 UN-backed government forces have been killed and 500 wounded since the beginning of the operation to take back the city on May 12, according to a medical official in the western city of Misrata.

READ MORE: Can Libyas new government end the chaos?

George Joffe, a lecturer at the University of Cambridge, said ISILs retreat in Libya could result in the formation of a new Libyan army.

It means that the new government in Tripoli has acquired credibility, he told Al Jazeera.

We know that two other militias in the east have now decided to join up with the Misrata militia, and there, we are seeing a nucleus perhaps of a new Libyan army beginning to be formed.

The fall of Gaddafis regime in 2011 left Libya in disarray.

ISIL managed to flourish in a political and security vacuum. The GNA is trying to unite Libyas many factions.
Civilians suffer in Ramadan due to rising temperatures, erratic electricity supply and limited access to food and water.

Yemens civilians are facing an immeasurable crisis with the onset of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to the UN.

A ceasefire has improved humanitarian access, but some areas are still very hard to reach.

On Yemens Red Sea coast, temperatures often exceed 40C and erratic electricity supplies make observing the fast  where Muslims refrain from eating or drinking from dawn to dusk  particularly challenging.

Were suffering not only poverty, but frequent power cuts and lack of water, Abdu Abdullah Gharefah, a Hudeida resident, told Al Jazeera.





This is causing disease to spread among adults and children. Our life is difficult but were holding on.

The Yemen conflict has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since March last year.

Almost 14 million Yemenis need humanitarian assistance.

The UN says food, fuel and medicines are in short supply and that has pushed prices up.

This could be the worst year in the history of Yemen, especially with the start of the holy month of Ramadan, Abdesalam al-Mahtoury, an economic analyst, said.

No doubt prices have gone up as a result of the siege thats been imposed for more than 14 months.

The UN says imports are still restricted and many cargo ships cannot offload at Yemens ports. It is appealing for $1.8bn in aid for Yemen this year.

So far, it says, it has received just 17 percent of that.
Gathering in Brazil seeks to raise awareness and ensure increased funding for diseases affecting a billion people.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  About a billion people worldwide suffer from neglected diseases which receive little attention  or funding to cure or treat them.

Latin America, where 34 percent of people live in poverty, is particularly affected.

A group of doctors and patients met this week at a global conference in Rio de Janeiro to try to change the situation.

I had this for 26 years, waiting for a drug that works, Moacir Zini, a leishmaniasis patient, told Al Jazeera.

People havent faced what I have: discrimination. When I go out for lunch, a coffee or an ice-cream with my kids, people would look at me. I dont want people to go through what I did.

Only 4 percent of new drugs and vaccines manufactured from the year 2000 to 2010 were for neglected diseases, one of which is Chagas, a disease that can lead to heart failure.

Almost eight million people, mainly in Latin America, are infected by Chagas, according to the World Health Organization.
Double bombing in Sayeda Zeinab suburb of Syrian capital kills at least 12 people.

A double bomb attack near a Muslim shrine in a suburb of Syrias capital Damascus has killed at least 12 people, according to state media, in the latest in repeated deadly strikes on the site.

The official SANA news agency said on Saturday that a suicide bomber and a car bomb struck at the entrance to the Sayeda Zeinab district housing the shrine, which is revered by Shia Muslims around the world.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group claimed responsibility for the attacks via an online post.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a British-based monitoring group, reported a higher toll of at least 20 people killed and 30 wounded.

READ MORE: Syria faces fierce criticism over Daraya bombing

The shrine, about 10km south of the centre of Damascus, is heavily guarded by pro-government forces but has still been the target of several attacks, including those claimed by ISIL.

It contains the grave of Zeinab, a venerated granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad, and is notable for its glistening golden dome.

Syrias official Al Ikhbariya channel showed images from the scene of burned-out cars billowing with plumes of black smoke.

Firefighters battled to extinguish the flames as shop signs lay in the street.

Alaa Ebrahim, a journalist who visited the scene on Saturday, told Al Jazeera via Skype that having seen the extent of the damage, he expected the death toll to rise.

The last attack on Sayeda Zeinab on April 25 killed at least seven and wounded dozens.

In response to the bombings, there could be an escalation in attacks in areas controlled by rebels, Ebrahim said, adding that most Damascus residents were supportive of the Syrian government.

These [government-led military] operations are not viewed through the same eyes here as by those who are abroad.

A string of ISIL bombings near the shrine in February left 134 people dead, most of them civilians, according to the SOHR. And in January, another attack claimed by ISIL killed 70 people.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia group, cited the threat to Sayeda Zeinab as a principal reason for sending its fighters to Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.





ISIL route blocked

The Sayeda Zeinab attack near Damascus came a day after US-backed Arab-Kurdish fighters reportedly encircled a stronghold of ISIL fighters in northern Syria, cutting off a major supply route of the fighters.

ISIL lost control of a vital supply artery when the troops completely surrounded the town of Manbij, at the heart of the last stretch of territory along Turkeys border still under ISIL control.

ISIL has come under growing pressure on various fronts in Syria and Iraq, where it established its self-declared caliphate in 2014.

SOHR director Rami Abdel Rahman said tens of thousands of civilians were trapped inside the town and unable to leave as all the routes out were cut.

Bakeries in the town havent been open since Friday, and food is beginning to become rare, he said.
Western powers flay government for dropping barrel bombs on town shortly after delivery of first food aid in four years.

Western powers have criticised President Bashar al-Assads government, accusing its forces of dropping barrel bombs on the Syrian town of Daraya just hours after it received its first food aid in almost four years.

The military used the crude, unguided weapons known to kill indiscriminately multiple times on Friday.

A convoy of trucks carrying food arrived in Daraya late on Thursday, delivering rice, lentils, sugar, oil and wheat flour to civilians for the first time since the government laid siege to the town in late 2012.

Assads forces bombarded the town shortly after the delivery, according to a witness and human rights monitors, dropping the barrel bombs from helicopters as residents shared food.

Shadi Matar, a local council member, said aid had not yet been distributed because of the intensity of the raids.





Jean-Marc Ayrault, Frances foreign minister, accused Syria of extraordinary duplicity over the bombings, which came just as aid workers were beginning to distribute supplies to thousands of people.

Ayrault said he was outraged beyond words, declaring the end of an already shaky ceasefire and calling for world powers to meet.

Mark Toner, US state department spokesman, said such attacks are unacceptable in any circumstance, but in this case they also hampered the delivery and distribution of badly needed assistance.

Matthew Rycroft, the UKs ambassador to the UN, described the bombing as atrocious.

The international community is united around the obligations of the Assad regime, he said.

READ MORE: ISIL claims deadly attack on Sayeda Zeinab shrine near Damascus

Nearly 600,000 people live in besieged areas in Syria, most surrounded by government forces, and another four million in hard-to-reach areas, according to the UN.

Aid agencies said supplies also reached Douma on Friday  the first UN delivery since autumn 2013, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent said 39 trucks took food and non-food items including medicines into the besieged town.

But the UNs humanitarian agency was still awaiting Syrias approval to deliver aid to two more of Syrias besieged areas: Al-Waer in Homs province and Zabadani in rural Damascus.

UN-backed peace talks on ending Syrias civil war stalled in April when the opposition walked out over lack of humanitarian access.

The conflict has killed more than 280,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.
How one man and his tea house are trying to foster a sense of understanding and community in the US city of Cleveland.
Why do sci-fi fans across the globe celebrate May 4 and what should first time movie watchers expect?
Brazils former president discusses his support for embattled President Rousseff and why hed be PTs next candidate.

Editors note: This interview was conducted and first aired in June 2016.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the impoverished son of illiterate farmers, rose to become not just the president of the worlds seventh largest economy, but the man who catapulted Brazil onto the global stage as no one ever has.

US President Barack Obama called him the worlds most popular president. Newsweek, Le Monde and the Financial Times dubbed him the worlds most influential president.

What I'm telling Dilma is: Dilma, when you have economic problems, when the crisis is enormous, the only one thing that can save a country is the people of that country. And who will save Brazil's economy once again are the poor people of this country. by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil

The former trade union leader who lost a finger working at a metal factory at age 14, is the only Brazilian president to never have gone to university. Yet, even his adversaries recognise that his political skills are unparalleled.

Elected in 2003, the leader of Brazils left-wing Workers Party, or PT, embraced both George Bush and Hugo Chavez, determined to assert Brazils place in the Americas and beyond.

While he played by market rules during his two-term presidency, Lula da Silva catapulted tens of millions of impoverished Brazilians into the lower-middle and middle classes, through unprecedented social programmes that won him praise worldwide.

While corruption allegations dogged his party from the start, he left the presidency in 2010 with an historic 80 percent approval rating.

The trajectory of his chosen successor, his former cabinet chief, Dilma Rousseff, has been vastly different. Many said early on she didnt have the political skills of her predecessor.

She now faces an impeachment amid an unprecedented economic and political crisis.

Revelations of a billion-dollar corruption scheme in the state-owned oil company Petrobras while Lula da Silva was president have eroded the legacy of the so-called Teflon leader. In March, police detained him for interrogation on suspicion of money laundering, just one of several corruption allegations against him.

Al Jazeera visited Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at his Sao Paulo foundation, The Lula Institute, which focuses on social equality and economic development, furthering the policies he pursued during his presidency. Al Jazeeras Lucia Newman spoke to Brazils former president about his own legal battles and his key role in trying to save Rousseff from impeachment.

He discusses why the PT needs to return to its roots  as a party envisioned to reshape Brazilian politics  and the Petrobras corruption scandal and his connection to it.

I have peace of mind, and I doubt that any prosecutor or police delegate in this country is more honest or more ethical than me, he says.

Da Silva believes Rousseff is a victim of the elite, the right-wing of Brazil whose capabilities, he says, they underestimated.

There is widespread hatred for the Workers Party and the government, he says.

He takes stock of Rousseffs presidency, saying he wishes 2015 simply did not happen.

Looking back on the advice he has given Rousseff, da Silva says: I told Dilma that when I was elected president, I could not afford mistakes. Because if I did, no worker would ever become president again.

I told Dilma, You cant make mistakes. You have to do things right because you are the first woman president of Brazil. So, you have to show that women have more skills, that women can govern even better, that a woman knows how to be a politician.'

Da Silva says many of his fellow PT members and friends from other parties called it madness when he named Rousseff, who lacked political experience, as his successor. He says he told them: Shell learn.

Because politics is not more than building personal ties, talking to people, listening to them, knowing how to co-exist with your opponents. Thats democracy, living democratically in diversity.

In his opinion, the crisis has given Rousseff her best moment, because she has been forced to speak to people. He also believes that this is an advantageous political opportunity for Rousseff to avoid impeachment.

Because our society is beginning to understand that kicking her out was not democratic. People who took to the streets to criticise our president and government, are not out on the streets defending Temer. In opinion polls Temer has higher disapproval than Dilma. Temer has managed to put together a government thats very, very, very inferior to what his allies expected.

If she survives the impeachment, Lula da Silva says its imperative for Rousseff to change track and make new commitments to the Senate and to Brazilian society.

Da Silva, who is 70, is unequivocal when he says that he will not allow the social reforms realised under his presidency to be destroyed, and if necessary, he is willing to be the next PT presidential candidate.

If I am the person who can prevent them from destroying the social reforms achieved in this country, I wont think twice about running again. No doubt.

You can talk to Al Jazeera too. Join our Twitter conversation as we talk to world leaders and alternative voices shaping our times. You can also share your views and keep up to date with our latest interviews on Facebook.
Dr Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility which follows on the success of Nobody: Casualties of Americas War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
Daisy Ridley has made no secret of her skin problems in the past. In April, the Star Wars star got real about no-makeup selfies on Instagram (spoiler: she doesn't do them) and now she's taken to the platform again to start a discussion about endometriosis.

Instagram content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

"At 15 I was diagnosed with endometriosis," Ridley wrote in the caption of her photo. "One laparoscopy, many consultations and 8 years down the line, pain was back (more mild this time!) and my skin was THE WORST. I've tried everything: products, antibiotics, more products, more antibiotics) and all that did was left my body in a bit of a mess. Finally found out I have polycystic ovaries and that's why it's bad. I can safely say feeling so self conscious has left my confidence in tatters. I hate wearing make up but I currently don't want to leave the house without it on."

For those who don't have a medical degree, we'll let someone who does explain: "Endometriosis is a disorder where glands from the endometriumthe lining of the uterusgrow outside of the uterus," says Wendy Kuohung, the director of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Boston Medical Center. "Chronic pelvic pain during periods or pain deep in the pelvis during sexual intercourse are the classic findings of endometriosis," Kuohung adds. Though skin-related issues, like the acne Ridley has complained of in the past, are uncommon with endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is often associated with hormonal acne, especially on the cheeks and jawline.

Fortunately for Ridley, things are looking up, though not without a few sacrifices. "PROGRESS IS BEING MADE!" she wrote. "(With some help from a dermatologist and cutting out dairy (waah, except for spontaneous ice creams) and cutting down sugar (bigger waah but gotta do what you've gotta do))." This advice may be familiar to Ridley's fellow hormonal acne sufferers, as dairy products naturally contain hormones (yes, even the organic brands) called androgens, which can make acne worse. Several studies have also shown a link between acne and the ingestion of simple sugars, which trigger insulin and can magnify the effects of androgens on skin.




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]
On June 8, 2016 two young Palestinians from the town of Yatta, near Hebron in the West Bank entered Israel illegally and attacked a popular shopping center in Tel Aviv, close to Israels military headquarters, killing four civilians and seriously injuring nearly 20 others. Among the four murdered were an executive at Coca Colas Israel headquarters, and a sociologist teaching at Ben-Gurion University.

Responsible political leaders starting with French President Francois Hollande condemned the odious attack with the greatest strength, and said France will join Israels war against terror. But the less responsible Palestinian political activists expressed opposite feelings. It was Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who should not have surprised, but was shocked the leaders of Hamas have chosen to welcome this attack and some have chosen to celebrate it.

Indeed, the attack was greeted with fireworks, singing, and waving flags in some Palestinian camps. The leader of Hamas, Ismael Haniyeh, posted several tweets praising the attack and hailed the murderers as heroes with glory and salutation to the Hebronites. He was praying for the soul of the terrorist who was injured in the attack, and is now being cared for in an Israeli hospital. The ominous official Hamas statement reads, The Ramadan act of heroism in Tel Aviv is the first of the surprises that await the Zionist enemy.

On the social media, Palestinians created hash tags, one Carlo Bullet, the name of the submachine gun used in the Tel Aviv attack; the other Ramadan Operation.

The supposedly more moderate Fatah, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, now in the 11th year of his four-year term, issued a statement that Israel was reaping the repercussions of choosing violence against the Palestinian people.

Ban Ki-Moon, either optimistically or naively, asked the Palestinian leadership to live up to their responsibility to stand firmly against violence and the incitement that fuels it. That leadership had been silent over earlier attacks in Tel Aviv: on New Years Day 2016 when three Israelis were murdered; in March 2016 in an attack when one American was killed and seven Israelis were wounded; and a third, a week before the June 8 attack.

What made Ban Ki-Moon believe that leadership might behave differently? He might remember and reconsider two facts: the United Nations gives funds to Hamas in the Gaza Strip; and the two terrorists of June 8 will be given, awarded, a months salary by the Palestinian Authority.

Naturally, Israel is presently discussing a range of offensive and defensive steps by the police, military, and security services to try to stem the violence. They may include banning Palestinians from using Israels only international airport, Ben Gurion airport.

Contrary to some naysayers, there is no loss of moral compass on basic questions of security in Israeli society. Israeli actions may be justifiably criticized, but they are in almost all cases a dramatic contrast to the violence and murders by Palestinians. Paradoxically, on the very day of the June 8 attack, Israeli authorities announced that travel restrictions ought to be eased to allow a larger number of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to travel during the Muslim month of Ramadan. The measures were approved by the IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and Major General Yoav Mordechai who observes civilian movement between Israel and the Palestinian areas.

The measures would allow 500 Palestinians from Gaza to attend prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Hundreds of other Palestinians would be able to travel between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to visit families. The mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, said his administration was investing in improving the citys appearance and in producing cultural events in honor of Ramadan. In view of the terrorist attack, it is likely that the relaxations of travel restrictions for Palestinians may be postponed.

It is enlightening to appraise the Palestinian resort to violence and terrorism, rather than any commitment to peaceful negotiations with Israel, in the context of increasing violence, conflict, and the dramatic increase of refugees and displaced persons in the Middle East, including some friendly to Palestinians.

The Global Peace Index of 2016 issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace ranks nations by assessing the level of peace, security, level of conflict, and militarization the 163 nations studied. In 81 countries, peaceful conditions have improved, while in 79 they have worsened, with three unlisted. The gap between the most and the least peaceful countries is widening. Moreover, the size of the deteriorations was larger than the improvements, and therefore the global average has declined. The greatest destabilizing factors were terrorism, political turmoil, and the wars in the worst areas.

Travelers will be delighted that the most peaceful countries in the world are Iceland, followed by Denmark and Austria. Not surprisingly, the least peaceful are Syria, South Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. The most important factor in relation to the Palestinian terrorist activity is that most of the global deterioration is due to activities in the Middle East and Africa (MENA), already the least peaceful region in the world, and remaining even worse because of terrorism, deaths from conflicts, and the number of refugees and displaced persons.

The worst country is Syria. Three of the five largest declines in peace in the world are Yemen, Libya, and Bahrain. The situation there and in the Middle East has worsened because external parties have become increasingly involved in MENA internal conflicts. Disregarding the MENA area, the rest of the worlds average peace levels would be higher

The world community should note that the effects of violence, in humanitarian and economic terms, have increased. The 2016 Global Peace Index calculates that in 2015 a record 59.5 million people, one in every 122 in the world, are either refugees, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. In Syria, it is more than 60 per cent. Deaths resulting from terrorism increased by 80 per cent from last year.

Economically, the costs of the lack of peace are immense. The Index Report suggests that the cost of violence in 2015 was $13.6 trillion, about 13 percent of gross world product, or $1,876 per person.

The Global Peace Index Report issues a call for the international community to promote peace and just societies. The so-called international community must issue a similar specific call for Palestinians to stop terrorist activities and murders of innocent Israeli civilians. Terrorism must not be allowed to prevail. Instead, the Palestinian community must find leaders, of whom there are presently none, who are agreeable to starting peaceful negotiation with Israel.
Puerto Rico is the ring for the upcoming match between creditors and Congress over its debt crisis. The tiny commonwealth island of 3.5 million people has managed to rack up more than $72 billion in debt -- more than its governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla says it can pay back. Puerto Rico borrowed the money for its government to cover operating costs.

The Senate and House of Representatives are rushing to remedy the issue before July 1, when a $2 billion payment is due -- and all hell will probably break loose, because Puerto Rico simply does not have the money. If the debt is not restructured, Puerto Rico will default on its loans and its creditors may sue the island to pay its debt back at the cost of basic services. Schools, hospitals, and the police force would have to shut down.

How did Puerto Rico get into this dire situation?

Poor Mainland Tax Policy Started the Islands Woes

Its problems are rooted in an outdated tax policy. During the 1970s, Congress, wanting to bolster the islands industrialization process and fearing major firms would move overseas to avoid taxes, approved corporate tax incentives that allowed corporations to set up in Puerto Rico without having to pay any federal taxes. This created a manufacturing boom and companies raced to set up on the island. However, because foreign investment was made attractive artificially, it created a bubble that was bound to pop as soon as the U.S. tax code changed.

This is exactly what happened in the 1990s. Americans began to think of the previous tax code as a way for large companies to avoid paying taxes, and the U.S. government started cutting these tax breaks. After a 10-year period, Puerto Rico had the same corporate tax levels as the rest of the U.S., so it no longer had its previous advantage.

The island fell into a deep recession in the mid-2000s and has never recovered.

Puerto Rico is in a Financial Quagmire Because It Is Not a State

Even though Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, serve in the military, host four different military bases and pay federal taxes, it is not a U.S. state and is therefore barred from Chapter 9 protection in bankruptcy. This is different from personal or corporate bankruptcy in that Chapter 9 is reserved exclusively for municipalities to restructure their debts. Revising Chapter 9 to include Puerto Rico is politically unfavorable because it is likely to be seen as another bailout. Since it is not a sovereign nation, it cant get funds from the International Monetary Fund either.

So what can Puerto Rico do?

Puerto Rico Started the First VAT in the U.S.

Well, it implemented the first value-added tax (VAT) in the United States this April. VATs help governments increase revenues without having to increase retail sales taxes. Because they are implemented at the supply-chain level, they are hard to dodge out of even with shrewd accountants. This is likely to boost government coffers some, but its a drop in the bucket compared to Puerto Ricos overall debt.

Puerto Rico Has Undergone Austerity Measures at an Unfair Cost

Austerity is another option. Puerto Rico has cut social spending  including the shutdown of more than 100 schools -- in order to pay back its loans. It hiked the sales tax from 7 percent to 11.5 percent last year -- the highest in the U.S. Investors are calling for further action. However, this rightfully has caused massive outrage. Almost half of its residents are impoverished, and its unemployment level is more than twice the U.S. national average.

Investors bought Puerto Rican bonds that were particularly attractive due to their triple tax exempt status -- they are taxed neither by federal, state nor local governments -- even as it became clear that the islands financial sector was out of control. This massively drove up debt -- from 63.2 percent of GNP to 100.2 percent of GNP from 2000 to 2015. These now are referred to as vulture funds because of the huge advantage to investors, who are now insisting Puerto Rico shut down essential services for its impoverished residents so they can make their profits.

PROMESA Places an External Board to Restructure Debt

Congress is currently debating the PROMESA bill, designed to create a seven-member board to oversee the islands finances and restructure its debt.

Many Puerto Ricans are against the bill because Puerto Rico does not have the ability to elect Congressional members, and yet, they will be forced to pay for and submit to a board of Congresss choosing. The board can sell public assets. There are also sketchy clauses in the bill in which board members may accept gifts.

Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch told Bloomberg that House of Representative leaders feel very confident that the bill will pass. It must pass before the looming July 1 deadline for Puerto Ricos next debt payment. The bill is not ideal by any means, but it would definitely be better than Puerto Rico defaulting on its loans and being forced to shut down the island government. Congress isnt likely to let U.S. citizens be forced to live in third-world conditions.

So who will ultimately foot the bill for Puerto Rico? Even though its financial woes were born from tax policies that favored the wealthy and large corporations, its debt will likely come from the backs of the largely impoverished people of Puerto Rico.
For years, as the young nation was getting on its feet, fighting a civil war, establishing homesteads and state borders, wolves were considered a nuisance. They crept up on livestock, whisking away and making costly meals of farmers hard-won cattle and sheep, making the fragile lives of the pioneers harder than they already were. The homesteaders, ranchers, and farmers set out to poison, hunt, and eliminate the gray wolf, whose range included the northern states, and whose pelts were thick and prized and fetched a pretty coin.

The result was that gray wolves came to the very brink of extinction, with no one to speak for them, no PETA crazies to throw paint on women wearing coats made of their skins, or government regs to slow the predation and wholesale slaughter.

By the mid-1970s, few wolves were left, though the nations zoologists and animal researchers and wildlife conservationists were by now sophisticated enough to realize the tragedy of the endangered animal with exquisite fur and alert and clever eyes that bespoke remarkable intelligence. No one had thought to champion the wolf, because it roamed and hunted as its nature demanded, naturally coming into conflict with the owners of the prey successfully caught by the grays. City dwellers had little to do with the wolves, or the predation problem common on farms and ranches, so no one spoke for the wolf. He had no champion, and was the victim of a nonstop drumbeat of calumny by those who were recipients of their nocturnal snatch-and-grabs.

The quality of the vicious libels published endlessly was of a nastier and less compassionate sort than the recent to-do over the silverback gorilla, Harambe, sadly shot to save the life of a wayward 3-year-old who careered into the gorilla enclosure in the Cincinnati Zoo. What was misunderstood was that wolves were not declaring war on settlers and ranchers. They were, quite simply, obeying their own instincts, not being deliberately obnoxious -- and the ink poured against them never looked at the predation from the wolves point of view. The result was massive programs to exterminate them. These efforts almost succeeded. In the EU, wolves became extinct in the 20th century, the last one killed recorded as 1976. Species reintroduction never occurred, unlike the efforts now undertaken by our wildlife services.

For wolves in the Northern Rockies, the past years have been difficult. In 2009, Idaho and Montana offered the first wolf-hunting seasons in decades. Then in 2010, conservation groups won a federal case that restored protection for wolves in those states.

Laws were passed to call a halt to the predation. Most states abided by them, but not all. Particularly persuasive landowners and ranchers with mojo were still able to complain about livestock depletion and pernicious wild wolves.. Hunting gray wolves is still legal in Alaska -- but as the largest state is the 17th largest land mass on the globe by acreage, perhaps it is felt that the prey has a vast ground to inhabit, and humans do not intrude as much on the wolf habitat as they do in the lower 48.

The wolves hunted are gray wolves; a separate species, red wolves have not been the target of predation as have their ashen-colored cousins.

One point in favor of sage predator protection laws is compensation for cattle, sheep, or horses killed by wolves, bears, or cougars. (Though not for older women seeking younger male associates. No compensation there.). Compensation is one way to mollify angry residents, of course. The Department of Fish and Wildlife, for instance, compensates based on a variety of factors under its Rules for Depredation Incidents. Livestock or companion animals killed or injured by wolves are eligible for USDA compensation using state monies. The cost is minimal compared to the cumulative environmental cost of stripping the ecosystem of its valuable predators.

Farmers, ranchers, and others with slaughtered animals get some funding through the FWS Livestock Protection Act) MT  the Montana Livestock Loss Board. They approve of the compensation program. The phrase used in the sticks is paying for tolerance, and it is pretty widespread and entrenched.

We have come a long way from that view of these magnificent animals as varmints to be killed for bounty wherever they were encountered.

Ironically, killing wolves in a given area does not decrease the depredation of animals and livestock. In fact, losses to farmers go up. Kill just a few wolves, a new study finds, and livestock losses actually rise. The Idaho legislature this year created a Wolf Depredation Control Board, a move critics say is aimed at pushing conservation efforts... It actually works against them. Balance of nature is a tricky thing, the band-aid appliers have found. Apply this intricate system to the blunderbuss efforts of the current heedless administration, which fails to do the research on tertiary results of fast-punch gross efforts at the intelligence- and science-challenged notions of climate control.

A current video sent me by a friend in Boseman now making the rounds is a nearly magical corrective to the sorry misconception of these wild and beautiful canines.

The video describes what happened when, in an attempt to recolonize the wilds, 14 wolves were released in Yellowstone Park in 1915. A stunning turnaround occurred that left naturalists dumbfounded, and which has much to teach us about the miraculous power of Nature to heal, if permitted to do so. And without the folderol of officious broadsides from Washington ordering billions to be spent for ill-conceived and myopic programs of recovery.

The introduction of the pack of wolves soon took back the range from the uncontrolled overgrowth of deer, which had proliferated unmanageably in the absence of natural enemies to keep their numbers in check. The deer had overgrazed the land, budding trees and foliage such that the ground was rubble, riverbanks were unstable and given to collapse, and trees could not find purchase where the canopy and ground cover were compromised.

With the reappearance of their natural enemy, the deer shrank back to areas more protected, abandoning their strip-feeding, leaving vestigial flora to regenerate. Once the deer had been culled by the wolves, and retreated to niches and dales unvisited by their predators, the grasses, flora, and trees took a remarkable resurgent turn. Birds returned. Seeds dropped by the new arrivals further added to the growth of leafy underbrush and foliage. Smaller animals and beavers returned, making habitat for more species that had been discouraged from setting up shop in an inhospitable environment. The pathways and curvature of the rivers began to regularize, as banks no longer collapsed, and trees were more solidly rooted. The temperature, cooled by trees and clearer waters and a regulated balance of species and vegetation, became less punishing. Animals could shade under leafy trees that had been spindly and unrobust.

The ecosystem had righted Itself, left to its own, with but the addition of original species to the denuded mix.

After 100 years, the land is unrecognizable, restored to balance, and serviced by a wide biodiversity and biomass where once had been threadbare scree and scrub.

The homeostasis of the formerly barren and scrubby region was now in full flower, all by virtue of introducing back into a wildlife area a natural predator. No special foods, tricks, aircraft, or medical equipment. No massive government assignment or privileged stimulus apart from occasional monitoring and assessing the regrowth and regeneration of the area.

Although much was written in the wildlife and hunting literature decades ago, few not involved in direct contact with forests and streams were aware of what was happening to our precious species. With the advent of instantaneous dissemination of news and alerts, many millions can now comprehend and participate in the resurgence of wildlife.

Visiting Israels desertified areas one year, we choppered down to expanses that had once been drained, the wetlands having been considered a waste and not valuable for very much. Fifty years after the founding of the country, Israel realized the loss of these invaluable ranges, where species thrived, and the environment was in a significant balance of water, water-based plants, insects and fauna. Israel brought back the wetlands she had summarily drained. It is a lesson many nations still have not learned.

Sadly, as of April 2016, over 4,200 wolves had been slaughtered in just six states. In these states, Wolf management has swung full circle in just half a century from extermination to recovery, and now, back again. Protected no longer, more than 550 gray wolves were dispatched to death this season. An enlightened public can reverse this ill-considered turnaround, which is one reason to raise the profile of these creatures before we face their extinction once again, this time for eternity.

If we still keep up the killing of these animals, the question naturally arises: Did we bring them back from the dead just to kill them anew?

Extinction is forever. As stewards of the land, its flora and faunae, we are no longer so cavalier about wiping out whole species for the convenience of one farm or ranch.

Though there are still a few benighted states that have not rewritten their hunting/extermination protocols for wolves, most have joined the chorus of scientists and animal experts who treasure the de-extinctioning of this remarkably adaptive treasure.
Mitt Romney, the self-identified severe conservative, has adopted the values of the liberal cultural establishment. Following his pummeling in the 2012 election campaign as a racist and many other imaginary sins, he has now adopted the worldview and sympathies of his tormentors. This psychological phenomenon has been given the name Stockholm syndrome, as the Medical Dictionary website explains:

 it has been used to explain the behavior of such well-known kidnapping victims as Patty Hearst (1974) and Elizabeth Smart (2002). The term takes its name from a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 1973. The robber took four employees of the bank (three women and one man) into the vault with him and kept them hostage for 131 hours. After the employees were finally released, they appeared to have formed a paradoxical emotional bond with their captor; they told reporters that they saw the police as their enemy rather than the bank robber, and that they had positive feelings toward the criminal. The syndrome was first named by Nils Bejerot (19211988), a medical professor who specialized in addiction research and served as a psychiatric consultant to the Swedish police during the standoff at the bank. Stockholm syndrome is also known as Survival Identification Syndrome.

In his Patty Hearst Moment, yesterday, he appeared on CNN:

"I don't want to see trickle-down racism," Romney said in an interview here in a suite overlooking the Wasatch Mountains, where he is hosting his yearly ideas conference. "I don't want to see a president of the United States saying things which change the character of the generations of Americans that are following. Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation, and trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry, trickle-down misogyny, all these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America."

It is well worth 90 seconds to watch the whole thing:

What makes this psychological conversion so compelling is that for all his inartfulness, Trump was merely stating what the left has maintained for many years: that ethnic background can have a decisive influence on fairness. Witness Justice Sotomayor on the need for wise Latina judges, or the Obama administration Justice Department forcing an Iranian-American judge to recuse herself from all immigration cases involving Iranians.

Now, Mitt has fully assimilated the mindset of the neoprogs: it is unacceptable  racist!  for a Republican to say things that are applauded when heard from members of the left. By attacking Trump and in effect helping Hillary Clinton win, Mitt has gone over to the other side. Such is the power of his need for admiration and support on the part of the dominant forces in culture and the media, who hold so many of us hostage.
Has Google altered its search engine so that results favor Hillary Clinton? The controversy is about Google's "autofill" function that completes search terms automatically.

When compared to autofill results from other search engines, the suspicions become even more pronounced. Autofill is supposed to give the most weight to those terms searched for by the most people. But Google autofill appears to avoid negative search terms even if they are popular.

Washington Free Beacon has several startling examples:

Crime and indictment are not the only terms Google is keeping hidden from searches of Hillary Clinton, a Washington Free Beacon analysis finds. Common search terms associated with Clinton appear to have been scrubbed from Google as the tech giant has been accused of manipulating its autocomplete results to favor the Democratic presidential candidate. Matt Lieberman of SourceFed released a video showing examples of Google skewing its autocomplete results for Clinton, while other search engines simply display the most searched terms. While researching for a wrap-up on the June 7 Presidential Primaries, we discovered evidence that Google may be manipulating autocomplete recommendations in favor of Hillary Clinton, SourceFed wrote. If true, this would mean that Google Searches arent objectively reflecting what the majority of Internet searches are actually looking for, possibly violating Googles algorithm. For example, when searching Hillary Clinton cri, Google finishes the phrase as crime reform. On Yahoo, the result is criminal charges. On Googles own trend website, there were not enough searches for Hillary Clinton and crime reform to build a graph of the results. Typing Hillary Clinton and ind gives Google users results on Hillary Clinton and Indiana. On Microsofts Bing search engine, a user gets Hillary Clinton and indictment, yielding results for the FBI investigation into Clintons private email server. Just putting the name Hillary Clinton into Google, you are directed towards searches for her twitter, email, age, and speech. Notably missing is the second top result on Bing, which is of her potential indictment.

A video gives more background on the controversy.

The actual evidence that Google is skewing search results is slim. What we have are strong suppositions based on facts. But without any actual documents or testimony admitting to the bias, we are left with suspicions  strong suspicions, to be sure, given the vast differences between Google results and results from other search engines.

Google says, "It's entirely innocent we are." This from a company that saw its representatives visit the White House hundreds of times during President Obama's terms.

No more damage can be done to Google than to call into question the integrity of its search parameters. Internet companies can live or die based on their Google ranking  how far up the page they appear in searches. If Google is seen as playing favorites, it would be a blow to its credibility. That means lost revenue  perhaps the most just punishment if the company is, indeed, acting as a surrogate for Hillary Clinton.
President Obama has made it official, endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. If elected, she will serve her first term and his third, starting in January 2017  that is, unless Hillary makes a different kind of history and president Obama is forced to pardon her after a possible and increasingly likely criminal referral by the FBI. There is another wrinkle. In a video of a Fox News interview, posted by Rick Wells on his website, ConstitutionRising.com, Fox News contributor Judge Andrew Napolitano tells host Steve Doocy that President Obama may be criminally liable as well:

Now that he's formally endorsed his corrupt former Secretary of State for Criminal-in-Chief, the concerns expressed in this video by Judge Andrew Napolitano become even more real. Napolitano is concerned about the pressure that the endorsement puts on both FBI Director Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to do the "Obama shuffle" and fail to pursue the criminal Mrs. Clinton. He's also uneasy about the position the investigating agents will find themselves in. In that regard, Napolitano has concerns on two fronts, the investigations into espionage and public corruption by Mrs. Clinton. ... Napolitano adds in closing, "The 'president's' conflicts are unbelievable. Some of the top secret information found on Mrs. Clinton's server was emailed to her by 'president' Obama. So he, himself, participated in taking State secrets and putting it in a non-secure venue. Might he have to be a witness in the case against her? And might that influence his decision about whether or not she can be indicted?"

Emailing Hillary Clinton on her unsecured server makes Obama an unindicted coconspirator in her email lawbreaking. How many of her deleted emails contained discussions of Benghazi or the video lie? Foreign hackers and foreign governments would love to get their hands on exchanges between a sitting president and his secretary of state.

Defenders of Hillary Clinton claim that it has not been proven that foreign hackers ever accessed Hillary's unsecure server, kept in the bathroom of her house. Even if true, it means nothing. She put American state secrets and American national security at risk. She is certainly as guilty as David Petraeus of the crime of "gross negligence" in her handling of national secrets by exposing our most classified secrets to foreign enemies on an unsecured server in her private residence. As Fox News's Catherine Herridge noted in her blockbuster report:

According to court documents, former CIA Director David Petraeus was prosecuted for sharing intelligence from special access programs with his biographer and mistress Paula Broadwell. At the heart of his prosecution was a non-disclosure agreement where Petraeus agreed to protect these closely held government programs, with the understanding "unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized retention or negligent handling ... could cause irreparable injury to the United States or be used to advantage by a foreign nation." Clinton signed an identical non-disclosure agreement Jan. 22, 2009.

According to John R. Schindler, a former National Security Agency analyst writing at The Observer, Hillary's server has indeed been hacked, despite Team Clinton's claims to the contrary:

This is deception of a special kind. In the first place, why has the Romanian hacker Guccifer pleaded guilty to hacking into Hillary's server if he did not, in fact, do so? Moreover, the FBI has been in possession of said server for months, and they have uncovered several successful hacking efforts into it when it resided in an upstairs bathroom of the Clinton residence in Chappaqua, New York. "We know it was hacked numerous times, it's that simple," explained a senior U.S. counterintelligence official who is privy some of the FBI's findings. "If I were Vladimir Putin I'd fire the head of the SVR [Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service] if he didn't get a good look at Hillary's emails when they were sitting in plain sight online," he added with a laugh. ... John Kerry, Ms. Clinton's successor at Foggy Bottom, stated that it's "very likely" foreign spy agencies  especially Russia's and China's  are reading his unclassified state.gov emails (the kind Ms. Clinton refused to use, opting instead for her homebrew server which was wholly unencrypted for a time). Robert Gates, President Obama's first secretary of defense, stated "the odds are pretty high" that Clinton's emails are in the hands of the Russians, Chinese and Iranians. Since Gates  before taking over the Pentagon  served as a career CIA officer and then director, his opinion carries weight. To say nothing of the fact that neither John Kerry nor Gates is exactly a member of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy," which the Clintons see lurking behind every tree inside the Beltway.

As The Hill reports, Guccifer found Hillary's email server easy pickings:

Marcel Lehal Lazar, known by his online alias "Guccifer," admitted in a statement as part of his plea deal that he intentionally gained access to about 100 Americans' accounts between 2012 and 2014 without their consent. Victims included a family member of two former presidents, a former Cabinet member, former Joint Chiefs of Staff member and a former presidential advisor, according to prosecutors. Lazar was widely expected to plead guilty to the federal criminal charges. This month, Lazar claimed to have also broken into Clinton's "completely unsecured" server, which he compared to "an open orchid on the internet."

This exposes Hillary Clinton to a huge legal liability. As The Daily Caller notes, under the Espionage Act, Clinton could be charged, and convicted, of three felonies and one misdemeanor, with incarceration at a federal facility of anywhere from one to ten years:

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and key aides are vulnerable to three felony charges and one misdemeanor count under the Espionage Act because of the unauthorized transfer of classified documents to her private email server, former national security and law enforcement officials tell The Daily Caller News Foundation. ... Clinton and her aides also could be charged under section 1924, which is a misdemeanor. This was the April, 2015, charge former CIA Director David Petraeus negotiated with prosecutors for sharing classified information with a mistress who also served as his biographer. ... Penalties for Espionage Act felonies involving federal officials who "knowingly remove classified material without the authority to do so and with the intention of keeping that material at an unauthorized location" are up to one year and $1,000. Petraeus was fined $100,000 for his misdemeanor case. If the removal makes classified information available "to an unauthorized person," the fines escalate to $10,000 and 10 years in prison. The penalties increase to 15 years per count if any the disclosure of information identifies a covert agent.

President Obama's is the first presidential endorsement of a candidate under active criminal investigation  a huge conflict of interest, as it is his attorney general, Loretta Lynch, who would have to proceed with an indictment of the person her boss has just endorsed for president. As Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, Obama may yet have to pardon Hillary, and perhaps even himself.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investor's Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Barack Obama has just stiffed Hillary Clinton and dramatically reduced her chances of winning the upcoming presidential election.



Obama is arguably the worst president in the history of the country. By any measure, he has caused enormous damage to the country and to ordinary Americans and left America itself and the lives of ordinary Americans in far worse shape than either was in when he took office. His endorsement of Clinton and her acceptance of it means that she cannot run against his record or deny her role in crafting and implementing it. His record is now her record, a record she has to take responsibility for.

Over and above her own history of incompetence and sleaze and dishonesty, of course.

Donald Trump must be laughing his head off. Obama's endorsement is nothing more than another treasure trove of things to attack Clinton with.

Not that he needed more.

Rumor has it that Obama hates Clinton and always has and was looking for a way to throw her to the wolves, as he has done with so many others.

He found it.
There is no better example of leftist doublespeak than referring to illegal aliens as "undocumented workers" or, as the Library of Congress was proposing, "noncitizens."

In a rare show of defiance, the House voted to order the Library to continue using the term "illegal alien"  just as it appears in the law.

Washington Times:

The library earlier this had proposed changing, saying that despite being used in law, the term had become pejorative and needed to be axed. Instead the library said it would use noncitizen to refer to illegal immigrants, and unauthorized immigration to refer to the broader issue. Republicans revolted against the change, and demanded in the annual legislative branch funding bill that the library use terms that reflect federal law. The code repeatedly refers to foreigners as aliens, including those here both legally and illegally, so that would force the library to maintain the term illegal alien. Democrats balked and forced a vote, but the GOP prevailed on a 237-170 party-line vote. The words illegal alien will be retired. This will change, whether its now or six months from now or 10 years from now, said Rep. Joaquin Castro, Texas Democrat. The question for all of us is whether we today will do the right thing or whether a few years from now will apologize. But Republicans said the library shouldnt be ignoring what federal law says. Vote yes to uphold the laws of this land, said Rep. Tom Graves, Georgia Republican. The bill still needs approval of the Senate to take effect, but the House vote could force a rethink at the library anyway.

In fact, "illegal alien" is the most accurate characterization of someone who is here who shouldn't be. Not all illegals are "workers," and "noncitizens" can refer to tourists or legal immigrants.

As far as the term being "perjorative," I have yet to hear any illegal alien say that he gets hurt feelings when someone refers to him as an illegal alien.

The left's purpose in trying to change the venacular is clear: leftists need to obscure the fact that illegal aliens are lawbreakers so that we will pity them rather than work to return them to their countries of origin. The sob stories we hear about parents being deported while their anchor-baby children can stay are sad, but ultimately, who is responsible for this tragedy? Not the government, which must carry out its constitutional responsibility to enforce the law. The sole responsibility for these situations lies with the people who crossed the border illegally. They have themselves to blame, and trying to pass on the responsibility is typical leftist obfuscation.

But pointing out this ridiculously simple truth is considered "racist." So we continue embracing the fiction that illegals get hurt feelings when we accurately refer to who they really are and try to obscure the truth about how they arrived here.

At least in one case, Congress is pushing back.
When Vox.com isn't paying for its editors to promote domestic terrorism, other writers  formerly of Think Progress, where there is little thinking or progress  are trying to convince Americans that "Canada is the least xenophobic country in the Western world" and that the U.S. should adopt the ways of its northern neighbor.

Some incoherent data and irrationality at the JournoList's pet project need to be corrected, lest some confused souls actually want the U.S. to turn into Canada.

Zack Beauchamp's article contains a quote from Cas Mudde, a professor at the University of Georgia:

The only real outlier [to the nativist trend] is Canada ... [Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] has handled, so far, the Syrian refugee crisis incredibly well, having taken in 25,000 Syrian refugees against the majority will. Initially, he wasn't supported by the majority -- but when they finally arrived, a majority of Canadians did support it. That's one of the few encouraging lessons that we have seen over the last several years: that if you have a positive campaign, which is supported by a large portion of the media, that you can actually swing public opinion in a positive direction.

And then there is reality.

There was, indeed, a rogue poll released December 23, 2015 by Nanos Research trying to show that two thirds of Canadians supported taking in 25,000 refugees. But note the timing of this poll. The 25,000th refugee didn't arrive until February 27, 2016. Only a small portion of the refugees had arrived by Christmas.

Once Canadians got to see the firsthand impacts of the mass refugee influx, any apparent short-term support began to crater. By February 19, 2016, only 52% of the public still supported the plan for 25,000 refugees, while 42% wanted an immediate halt to the program and just 29% were willing to go along with the Liberal government's plan to take in more than 25,000.

At that same time, before the 25,000 refugee quota was reached, polling data showed the following:

Canadians are feeling less than stellar about the current screening process for Syrian refugees coming into the country. A new Angus Reid poll suggests less than one-third of Canadians believe checks to ensure Syrian refugees aren't a threat to national security are adequate.

Hardly a ringing endorsement for Trudeau's plan.

Vox gets its understanding of Canadian politics and the 2015 election wrong as well. Former prime minister Stephen Harper, who led the Conservative Party, lost the election precisely because his election platform became soft on immigration issues (he also promised to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees), much of his base became disillusioned and felt betrayed, and they walked over to the Liberals. Had Harper taken a strong anti-immigration stance and stood tall against the left-wing media backlash, he likely would have won the election. But weakness is both provocative and repulsive, so he lost.

Liberals, as those at Vox nicely exemplify, have been repeatedly trying to infiltrate Canada's conservative movement and neuter its policies, thereby angering its base, making it indistinguishable from the Liberal Party on the political spectrum, and resulting in un-electability. It happened with the immigration file  which Harper's electoral team either fell for or perhaps even inherently agreed with...their true conservatism is, and was, in great doubt  and we've seen the double-agency at work recently on the Islamophobia and carbon tax fronts.

The Conservative Party of Canada currently sits at about half the Liberal Party's support not because it is too conservative, but because it is not conservative enough. The leadership team took the party even farther left at its recent convention, and for that, it can assure itself of electoral oblivion for the foreseeable future. Nothing short of a near complete purge will save the party in time for the next federal election several years down the road, or even for the election after that. The progressive conservative die has been cast, the base will not forgive the betrayal, and Trudeau will almost certainly govern for a decade, if not longer.

Hell hath no fury like a conservative base scorned by false prophets.

Beauchamp goes on to claim that Canada "is just a lot more welcoming to immigrants and minorities than virtually every country in the Western world," particularly the United States. This, too, is an oversimplification. Canada is stuck with a range of pro-immigration parties across the spectrum, so anti-immigration voters have two choices: don't vote, or vote for a pro-immigration party. This explains the mess the country is in.

Canada's federal government conducted a study of attitudes toward multiculturalism and immigration in 2010, and the findings contradict the narrative spun by Vox. Just 44% of Canadians strongly agree with the statement that Canada's "multicultural makeup is one of the best things about this country." Just 14% thought the "growing variety of ethnic and racial groups in Canada" is very good, while 42% believed that it is very bad or bad, or they weren't sure. When told that "Canada now has 5 million citizens who are members of visible minorities according to the latest census," only 48% said this was positive. Between 1993 and 2008, a consistently dominant majority (60% to 70%) agreed that "[t]here are too many immigrants coming into this country who are not adopting Canadian values." Just 28% of Canadians had a favorable view of Islam (and not much higher for Sikhism and Hinduism), and only 39% said it would be acceptable "if one of your children were to marry a person who was a follower" of Islam (once again, only slightly higher support was observed for Sikhism and Hinduism).

Nearly 85% of Canadians disagree that minority groups need special rights, which is the underpinning of multiculturalism. Almost 80% believe that immigrants should have to adapt fully to Canadian culture. Just 5% feel it is reasonable to accommodate religious and cultural minorities. When asked how much they trust people from another nationality or religion, the percentage of Canadians responding "completely/a little" was the same as in the U.S., as was the percentage of the public in each country demanding that immigrants adopt the customs of the host country. Is the United States more xenophobic than Canada, as Vox claims? Not according to the survey results.

As I wrote in late 2014 regarding a survey from the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the Association for Canadian Studies:

Survey respondents were asked to rank a list of 10 values. "Multiculturalism--respect for cultural and religious differences" only received 4 percent of the vote ... There were no fundamental differences based on gender or age. Neither men nor women, nor any age group, ranked multiculturalism as a core value ... When asked "in one sentence please describe what you regard as the primary responsibilities of being a Canadian citizen," only 8 percent answered multiculturalism. Of great interest is that 64 percent agreed with the statement that "Canadian multiculturalism allows people to pursue certain cultural practices that are incompatible with Canadian laws and norms." Translation: almost two-thirds of Canadians think that multiculturalism is a threat to Canadian society, with this high level of concern distributed evenly among all age groups and between the sexes. In response to these concerns, only 6 percent thought [Canada] should "encourage multiculturalism" in order to address the problem -- which placed multiculturalism in last place among all options. First place went to "enforce/impose laws on all Canadians/must abide by Canadian laws" by a large margin.

Other polling data from November 2014 revealed that just 30% of Canadians strongly agree with the statement that the country "is better off because it has so many distinct cultures." Levels of support for other aspects of multiculturalism and immigration were around this value. Recent data shows that Canadians still overwhelmingly believe that "most refugees coming to this country do not have a legitimate claim," nearly 60% feel that immigration controls are good at keeping criminals out of the country, and two thirds still think that too many immigrants do not adopt Canadian values. A majority oppose accepting political refugees who otherwise would not qualify for immigration, and 55% believe that "ethnic/racial groups should take more responsibility for solving [their] own problems."

Canadians are no fans of open borders, with 70% wanting limits on immigration. Forty-one percent of Canadians "believe 'too many' immigrants who come to Canada aren't white," and the percentage saying the nation takes in too many immigrants has been continuously rising for the past decade, now sitting at about 50%.

The real problem is that too many Canadians are clueless about the massive immigration influx underway in their own country:

Most Canadians don't seem to have the foggiest notion of how many immigrants and refugees this country admits every year. When asked the question, during Citizenship and Immigration Canada's 2013-14 annual tracking survey, 43 per cent of the Canadian adults polled wouldn't even hazard a guess. Fully one third thought the number was less than 100,000 a year. In fact, for the past decade, Canada has opened its doors to about 250,000 immigrants and refugees a year. (Only nine per cent of those surveyed suggested a number remotely close to that.)

Unlike the liberal propaganda peddled by Vox, Canadians are very concerned about immigration and multiculturalism  nearly to the same extent as many in the U.S.  but they have no media outlets or political parties that represent their views. To some degree, they are wandering in the same type of establishment-enforced fog, except much thicker, as existed in the U.S. prior to the rise of Donald Trump.
While it will be difficult for American Jews to admit it, what has always been the case for Jews over the past several millennia, and in many different countries, is beginning to happen to us again here in the U.S. Many readers may disagree with me. Many will not see it coming. My fellow American Jews are safe in their cocoons and haven't yet seen the cracks. But the cracks are there, with more appearing every day.

Just look at our college and university campuses. Many of those students, the entire next generation of Americans, will be emerging from those campuses imbued with the far-left "progressive" ideology, which dictates strong anti-Israel beliefs in the best case and outright Jew-hatred in the worst.

It has become permissible in the U.S. for people to unashamedly and overtly express Jew-hatred. The signs are here. Twenty or thirty years from now, will this country be as comfortable for Jews as it has in the past?

I grew up in a primarily Jewish section of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 1950s. America was an ideal country during that time. I was aware of what was happening to the Jews of Europe and felt safe and secure in the U.S. I thanked God that I was in the U.S. and was convinced that Jews would be safe in America forever.

For the past several years, I have had a sense of foreboding about the American Jewish community. The left has become increasing hostile to Israel. On the right, while Donald Trump himself has not expressed any bigotry toward Jews  his daughter and son-in-law are Jewish  many of his supporters don't hesitate to express their racism against non-whites and Jews. So whoever wins in November will bring a following in which there are people who have anti-Jewish sentiment, expressed or unexpressed.

I am writing this to say to my fellow Jews, please open your eyes. Watch for signs. Over time, an environment hostile to Jews could arise in the U.S. Look around you. Be prepared.

Gary Aminoff lives in Los Angeles. He writes a blog at Bear to the Right and can be reached at gaminoff@gmail.com.
The FBI is getting closer to finishing its criminal investigation of Hillarys decision to use a personal email server to send and receive emails that included classified material. If the FBI decides that Hillary or some of her aides have committed a crime, it will make a referral to the Justice Department under Attorney General Loretta Lynch for prosecution. During that time period, when Justice is weighing a prosecution, Obama may decide, for purely political reasons, to pre-empt the Justice Departments prosecutorial discretion and pardon Hillary and perhaps some or all of her aides instead.

Since his recent endorsement of Hillary for president, Obama has staked his entire legacy on her candidacy, and it becomes less likely that Joe Biden can be tapped to replace her. Hillary has the momentum, money, and organization, whereas Biden has none of these. If Obamas legacy is going to survive, he needs to keep Hillarys campaign alive.

There is a precedent for a pre-emptive pardon, which occurred when President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon shortly after Nixons resignation. Ford did so in order to heal a nation after the Watergate scandal without the distraction of a former president going through the judicial system. Ford likely lost to Jimmy Carter during the next election partly because of the pardon issue. In Obamas case, it is his legacy at stake, not his re-election.

Given the forbearance of Democrats and the media over Hillarys email use and the brewing scandals involving Bill and their foundation, Obama may make a crass political calculation to keep Hillary in the race despite the initial negative outcry. Obama himself has survived several scandals involving the IRS, Bowe Bergdahl, Benghazi, and his blatant disregard for the Constitution in his executive orders. He has suffered no consequences. The media will wring their hands for a few news cycles and then justify the need to keep Hillarys quest for the White House alive. This political calculation might succeed.

Donald Trump would have a huge opening to blast the president and Corrupt Hillary and rally Republicans and independents to reform Washington by voting for him. Whether he would succeed is an open question, and it would depend on his own ability to persuade a rebellious electorate. If he fails, the prospect of Hillary becoming president, knowing that she is invincible, could have a profound impact on our Republic.
Lenovo finally took the wraps off of the Moto Z and Moto Z Force at Lenovo Tech World this week. Of all the leaks and rumors that surfaced, just about every single one of them were correct. However, we were wrong about the names. Instead of Moto Z Style and Moto Z Play, were looking at Moto Z and Moto Z Force (also the Moto Z Force camera was wrong, its a 21-megapixel shooter not a 16-megapixel shooter). Now that we know everything about these two devices, how good are these two offerings from Lenovo? Are they good enough to gain the Chinese manufacturer a larger market share in the mobile industry? Well lets break down the good, the bad and the ugly part of these two smartphones.

The Good

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The first thing that strikes me about the Moto Z is the fact that it will be sold unlocked and will work on all four US carriers, seamlessly. What this means is that you can buy it from Motorolas website and use it on Verizon, or you can pop in a Sprint SIM card and use it without having to change any settings. Same thing if you want to pop in an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM card. Its a great feature that more smartphone makers need to include in their smartphones. Simply because this means that we wont have a AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile model. But we will still have a dedicated Verizon model, as it will be in the DROID family.

While its great to be able to have one phone that works on all four US carriers, thats not going to affect every person that might buy the Moto Z. But the shatterproof display on the Moto Z Force will. Lenovo brought back the ShatterShield technology that they debuted in the Motorola Droid Turbo 2 last year (outside of the US, it was known as the Moto X Force). The ShatterShield display was a legit shatterproof display, as weve seen tests of it being dropped from a drone thousands of feet in the air, and it didnt shatter. Why is this important? Well how many times have you dropped your phone and had the display shatter? Did you keep using it? Probably. Which means you likely ended up either getting cuts on your fingers and/or face from continuing to use the phone. Thats not an issue with the new Moto X Force. Talk about a feature that needs to become standard in every flagship smartphone (and yes, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active also has a shatterproof display).

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Moto Mods is arguably the biggest feature of the Moto Z, and were definitely a fan. We got the chance to check out a few different demos of how these Moto Mods work with the Moto Z, and its quite impressive. Compared to the LG G5 where you need to actually pop out the battery to switch to another mod, Lenovo and the Motorola team were able to create a system that uses magnets to attach them to the smartphone. This means that if you want to add on your battery pack, you can. And you can do it by just attaching it. Its amazing how simple it is. Lenovo has also knocked the ball out of the park here because they have a ton of mods available. Even some from third-parties. Our favorite is the JBL SoundBoost, but theres also an Incipio battery pack, as well as the Style Mods which look equally great on the back of the Moto Z and Moto Z Force.

The Bad

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The Moto Z is just too thin. It officially measures 5.19mm in thinness (now we know why they were teasing the Motorola RAZR leading up to Lenovo Tech World). Its not the thinnest smartphone, as Vivo and OPPO still have them beat in that department, but theres no reason to have a phone this thin. Now Motos reps did tell us that their customers want a thin smartphone, and thats why the Moto Z is so thin. However, Im willing to bet that if you asked customers if they wanted a thin smartphone or one that was just a few millimeters thicker with a much larger battery, they would go the larger battery route. However, from Motos perspective, this gives users a reason to buy these battery mods that are being sold for the device. So it makes sense, ever so slightly.

Why isnt ShatterShield on the Moto Z? Thats a feature that needs to be on both phones. I understand it does help draw the line between the two smartphones, especially since they will likely be at different price points. But it shouldnt be exclusive to one model. While Motos reps wont say this publicly, the reason that ShatterShield is likely on the Moto X Force  which is a Verizon exclusive  is probably due to money and their contract with Verizon. In other words, a lot of behind the scenes reasons went into this decision, more than likely.

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Moto Mods are a pretty interesting concept, and something well likely see in the near future. But the real question here is, how many of these Moto Mods are actually going to be sold? Its likely that they wont be cheap, and for many smartphone buyers, they just want a phone that works and lasts all day. They dont want to have to buy a battery pack that snaps onto the back of the device, or a set of speakers, or any of these other Moto Mods that are going to be on sale. This will likely change in the future, however, but right now its going to be tough for Moto to sell their customers  that arent the hardcore techies  on Moto Mods and why they should buy them.

The Ugly

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The Moto Z and Moto Z Force do look nicer than the leaks showed us before the announcement. However, without any of the Moto Mods on the back, it does look a bit ugly. Possibly due to how thin the Moto Z is, as well as having that protruding camera, but it does look a bit odd. Of course, when you slap on one of the Style Mods, the Moto Z and Moto Z Force both look pretty amazing. My favorite is the red ballistic nylon, it really makes the device pop, especially the black one.

Theres also the pins on the back of the Moto Z and Moto Z Force. While these are used for Moto Mods, they look a bit out of place when youre not using any of them. Not to mention the fact that they arent flush with the back of the device. So you can definitely feel them when you are holding the device in your hand. This may not be a bad thing for everyone, but its definitely not something that all of us are a fan of. Its an interesting way to do modularity, and I think Moto is on the right track here, but theres still work that needs to be done.

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Motos fingerprint sensor here on the Moto Z and Moto Z Force does look a bit odd. Perhaps because it is a capacitive fingerprint sensor, and you do still have on screen buttons. During hands-on time with the device this week at Lenovo Tech World, I kept pressing the fingerprint sensor thinking it was a home button. Thats something users are going to have to get used to. It also doesnt look aesthetically pleasing, especially on the white model. Although it would have been nice to have the fingerprint scanner on the back, the likely reason why it didnt go on the back is due to Moto Mods. With some of these Moto Mods, the back of the device gets a whole lot thicker  especially with the Pico projector and JBL SoundBoost  which would make it tough and perhaps impossible, to use the fingerprint sensor with those attached.

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Another big drawback is exclusivity. Im likely not the only one that thinks this, but giving exclusivity of your flagship smartphone to one carrier in the US, is not a good idea. At least Lenovo is making it exclusive to Verizon, which is the largest wireless carrier in the country. The Moto Z is exclusive to Verizon for the summer, and will be available elsewhere in September. However the Moto Z Force is Verizon exclusive and exclusive to the US. Now that is perhaps the worst part of the Moto Z announcement. The phone that many would call the true flagship is only going to be available on one carrier in one country. Not a good idea Lenovo.
These days, youd have to look pretty hard to find a clamshell phone, many of which are not considered smart. However, Samsung has been making a few of these clamshell style phones, and throwing Android on them. Samsung has only been selling these in China. After launching the SM-W2016 last year in China, they are now working on the successor, which is going by the model number SM-W2017 and using the codename Veyron. Currently, there isnt much known about the device, but we do know a few of the specifications.

The Veyron is slated to sport dual 3.9-inch HD Super AMOLED displays, and will be powered by the Exynos 8890 processor. That is the same processor that is found in the Galaxy S7 (outside of the US, at least). Additionally, we are going to be seeing a 12-megapixel camera on the back, along with a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter. This rumor also states that Samsung will be using the same design as seen on the Galaxy S7, with a glass-and-metal build. No word on whether itll be water resistant however. But that would be a pretty interesting spec for this clamshell smartphone from Samsung.

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While theres no word on what OS itll be running, it appears that Sammobile is thinking it is running Android. Which would make sense seeing as its predecessor did also run Android. There arent many details available, in terms of when this device will be available or for how much. But it is pretty likely that it wont be available outside of China, similar to its predecessor.

Samsung is one of those companies that makes smartphones in all sorts of form-factors. Basically, throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. The first clamshell smartphone, the SM-W2016, was likely an experiment for Samsung. To see if anyone was actually interested in a clamshell smartphone in this day and age. While we dont have any specific numbers for how well that model did, it obviously did well enough for Samsung to make another one. This is actually how the Galaxy Note lineup started out. It was an experiment for Samsung, to see if people wanted a larger screen with a stylus. And as we know now, they definitely did.
Annual celebration of the LGBTIQ community. Look for the Alibi folks afterward to have your picture taken at a photobooth and get some Alibi goodies.

Each year the LGBTIQ Community of New Mexico comes together to celebrate our diversity.

Join us at the free event as we parade down Central Ave.

The parade begins at 10:00 am and is Eastbound on Central Ave SE from Girard Blvd SE

*Animals that are walking in the parade MUST have proper foot protection to ensure that the hot asphalt does not scorch their paws/feet. Additionally any animal on the Parade route must be kept properly hydrated. In accordance with City ordinances you are responsible for cleaning up after your animals in the Parade assembly area and along the Parade route.
Transfer balls: Manchester United chase Bale with reasons

Transfer balls: The Daily Star says Gareth Bale will join Manchester United this summer. Bale, will  get this  leave Real Madrid, where hes won two Champions Laegue medals and seen his star rise, to play for United in the Europa League.

United will pay Real 94.6m for Bale who is  get this II  keen to return to England. Colin Harvey adds, Bale will be United boss Jose Mourinhos marquee signing this summer. A marquee is a large tent. Bale to United is a fantasy.

The Stars scoop is a rehash of a report in Spains El Confidencial. Over there we learn from Kike Marin (via Google translate):

Gareth Bale is back in the crosshairs of Manchester United , but this time in the offices of Old Trafford are convinced that his move is feasible. the Welshman is eager to return to the Premier League It is known that Florentino Perez feels predilection for the Welshman, who has always seen as the heir to Cristiano Ronaldo, although Bale asks him to return home, neither will be easy for the president to keep him

Is Marin right? His report contains no word from anyone. His track record is a little mixed. And then there is the Star:

Oh, and this is what Bale said on May 26th:

I feel much more comfortable this year, its true. You can notice that on the pitch. I feel more integrated, I have more personal relationships with my team-mates and that always gives you more happiness and that reflects on my game. Im enjoying myself a lot in Madrid and I hope this continues for many years.

Hes chomping at the bit.

Anorak

Posted: 11th, June 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
Le CBD, cette molecule active du cannabis a aujourdhui le vent en poupe. Et cela est en grande partie du au fait quil permet...
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. The death toll in the twin terrorist attacks that shook the Syrian Sayyidah Zaynab town south of Damascus has risen to nine, reports Sputnik News.

According to the source, 16 people have been injured due to the blasts.

The first of the two attacks was reportedly carried out by a suicide bomber at the entrance to the town early on Saturday. Later in the day, a car bomb exploded in Sayyidah Zaynab.

None of the terror groups have claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. The reason why Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned from the legendary boxer Muhammad Alis funeral to Turkey was revealed.

During his speech devoted to Alis memory, famous Jewish rabbi, political activist Michael Lerner called the world leaders stating: Tell the leaders of Turkey to stop killing the Kurds, Armenpress reports, WLKY.com informs.

Turkish "DemocratHaber" informs that this statement by rabbi Michael Lerner became the main reason Erdogan decided to return Turkey after staying few hours at Alis funeral.

The Turkish mass media earlier reported Erdogan planned to pay a 2-day visit to the US to participate in Alis funeral.

Hurriyet reported Erdogan wanted to put an Islamic covering on the coffin, but the organizers told him we will put it later. This was negatively received by the Turkish President. Moreover Erdogans wish to recite the Quran was denied.

As a result, Erdogan decided to return Turkey without taking part in Muhammad Alis funeral.
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. The Islamic State has taken the responsibility for the terrorist attacks in the south of Damascus, reports Reuters.

The IS terrorists announced they are responsible for the two attacks.

Sputnik News reported the first of the two attacks was reportedly carried out by a suicide bomber at the entrance to the town early on Saturday. Later in the day, a car bomb exploded in Sayyidah Zaynab.

According to the information by law enforcement agencies, 9 people died, 16 wounded in the two attacks.








by Matthias Hariyadi

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The ecological challenge is promoted through education of the younger generation, who must learn to love nature and to respect it. This is the focus of the new project launched by the Archdiocese of Jakarta on the occasion of World Environment Day (June 5) and called "Silih ekologis" or "ecological repentance." In 67 parishes in the archdiocese "green" activities were organized directed especially at the young.



The Church in Indonesia is very active in opposing pollution, which is an increasingly dangerous emergency in the country. On 28 May, Msgr. Suharyo (archbishop of Jakarta) wrote a pastoral letter in which he asked for a "conversion for the environment." On that occasion he recommended people minimize the use of plastic (that fill the rivers of the capital).



For the "ecological repentance" project, the archdiocese has enlisted the support of local entrepreneurs and professionals to cooperate with the parishioners. Fr. Binawan SJ, professor of philosophy and canon law, held a meeting with the archbishop to highlight the activities.

The archdiocese, he explained, is to reuse the extensive grounds that it owns inside and outside Jakarta and at the moment are unused. These will be made available for youth ministry, in which children will be educated in touch with nature by planting new trees. This gesture, said Fr. Binawan, refers to the initiative launched by Benedict XVI that planted 125 thousand trees in Hungary in 2011. The new plants will contribute to the production of oxygen to counteract the fossil carbon pollution that is choking the city.



At present, the archdiocese has already made available property in Kebon Darling Pamulang, South Tangerang District and Bumi Kahuripan Kelapa Dua.
This morning, the army raided the village of Yatta and destroyed the house of Morad Bader Abdullah Adais. In January, he had killed a woman in front of her children. A heinous crime that had raised indignation. Increased tension in the area after the attack in Tel Aviv.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - This morning, the Israeli army demolished the home of a Palestinian who, in recent months, stabbed a mother to death in front of her children. A heinous crime, perhaps the worst episode of violence since the beginning of the "Intifada of the knives" and that, at the time, had raised scandal and indignation. The Idf armed forces raided the village of Yatta at dawn and tore down the house of Morad Bader Abdullah Adais.



Last January, the Palestinian young man killed Dafna Meir in cold blood, a mother of six children, in her home within the Jewish settlement of Othniel. After killing the woman he fled, but was arrested later by the Israeli authorities.



Israel has long adopted the policy of demolition, tearing down the homes of Palestinians responsible for murders of Israeli citizens in the context of the so-called third intifada. For the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu it is a deterrent to prevent future attacks; for the Palestinians it is a form of unlawful collective punishment.



Israel has also strengthened punitive measures after the serious acts of violence in recent days. On the evening of June 8 last two Palestinians in their 20s opened fire in a shopping district in the center of Tel Aviv, killing four people and wounding 12.



The attackers are two cousins, the 22 year old Mohammad Khaled Makhamrah, student, and the 21 year old Mohammad Ahmad Makhamrah, a worker. Both originate from Yatta, Palestinian village near Hebron, in the West Bank. The Israeli army raided the area, making some arrests and initiating procedures for the demolition of their homes.



Moreover, the neo- Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered that the bodies of Palestinians who die during the attempted attacks on Israeli territory are not returned to their families.



Since last October, after ultra-Orthodox Jews engaged in provocative behaviour on the Temple Mount, incidents and clashes have multiplied in Israel and the Palestinian territories in what has come to be dubbed the knife intifada.

Since it began, 207 Palestinians, 32 Israelis, two Americans and one Sudanese and one Eritrean have been killed.

Most Palestinians were killed trying to stab or fire on passing cars or soldiers. The others were killed during demonstrations or clashes with the military.
by Marta Allevato

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The extraordinary meeting of the Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate to decide on the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Crete pan-Orthodox council will be held Monday, June 13. This was announced on the Patriarchate website, while the number of local churches declaring their defection grows.



On June 9, the Patriarchate of Serbia sent a letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I - responsible for coordinating the preparations for the Council - saying "it sees obstacles" to their participation and proposes the appointment already set (16 to 26 June) become a Pan-Orthodox 'consultation', in view of the real Council, to be held at this point after amending "most" of the documents on which have provoked the discontent of various Churches.



Before the Serbs, Bulgaria and the Patriarchate of Antioch had announced their absence from Crete. These were then joined by the Georgian Church, contrary in particular to one of the documents that the Council is set to enact: It regards relations between the Orthodox and other Christian denominations. Opponents of the text criticize the "ecumenical" position and insist that Catholic and Protestant heretics and not be "defined as Churches ". The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (Roca) has pointed the finger at the "serious shortcomings" of the documents, and amendments have been proposed by the monks of Mount Athos.



Given this fragmentation, some days ago, the Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate had asked on June 10, for the convocation of an " extraordinary pre-conciliar pan-Orthodox meeting", aimed at assessing the amendments drawn up by national churches on disputed documents and the possible need to postpone it. The idea, however, was rejected by Constantinople, who initially tried to limit the discussion of texts as much as possible, already the result of extensive work that ended last January with a meeting of 14 heads of Churches autocephalous Orthodox in Chambesy, Switzerland.



Pending the meeting of the Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate the chairman of the Synodal Department for external church relations, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev), decided not to leave for Crete, where he was expected on June 9 to start the work for the preparation of final documents of the Council. "Given that a number of churches does not find it worthwhile sending its representatives to take part in composing the message of the Pan-Orthodox Council, the Russian church has decided that the participation of its representative is untimely as long as issues of the feasibility of convening the council itself are unresolved"a source told the Ria Novosti agency on June 10.



The same source reported that Moscow has received, on June 9, the official refusal from Constantinople to its proposed extraordinary pan-Orthodox meeting and that now it "intends to carefully study positions of other churches and listen to the expressed opinions". The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Moscow message, concludes the source, explains that Constantinople is aware of the problems raised by the Russian Church, is trying to solve them and is satisfied that all the churches in the end will take part in the Council.



The pan-Orthodox council has not convened for over 1000 years and the preparations for its implementation required more than 50 years. Participants should promulgate six documents on as many issues: the relationship of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian world; fasting and its observance; the sacrament of marriage; the Church's mission in the contemporary world; the spiritual leader in the Diaspora and the autocephaly and ways of proclaiming it. Russian Patriarch Kirill, responding to the detractors of the Crete event has for months been officially keen to stress that it will not be an "ecumenical" council, because the agenda does not include the resolution of doctrinal questions, and will not introduce innovations in liturgical life of the Church, or to its canonical structure.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Diversity is not a limit but a resource, and priests who do not welcome or even reject the disabled would do better to close the door of their church, said Pope Francis during an audience with participants at the Convention "... and you will always eat at my table!", promoted by the Italian national catechetical office disabled persons section.

Francis responded off the cuff to two questions posed by two girls with disabilities, one on the value of diversity and the other on access to the sacraments for disabled people "sometimes kept away" from the Church. Below the full text transcribed and translated by AsiaNews.



The first question was very, very enriching. Very enriching. And it was about diversity. We are all diverse. There is no one thing that is the same as another. And there are some diversities that are big, other smaller, but we are all diverse. And she, the girl who asked the question first, said: "We are often afraid of diversity. It is scary. But why? Because an encounter with a person who is diverse, not badly so but perhaps very diverse, is a challenge. And every challenge provokes a certain fear. We prefer not to move, it is more convenient to ignore diversity and say "we are all the same, and if someone is not the same let's leave them aside, we do not go to meet them". It is the fear we feel when faced with every challenge: every challenge frightens, frightens us. It scares us. This cannot be! Instead diversity is a resource, because I have something and you have another one and these two [together] make something that is more beautiful and greater. And in this way we can move forward.



Just think of a world where everyone is same. What a boring world. A boring world. True, there are diversities that are painful, we all know, those [diversities] that have roots in a disease ... but those diversities too can help us, challenge us and enrich us. This is why we must never be afraid of diversity, it is the very path by which we improve. To be more beautiful and enriched.



And how do you this? By pooling what we have. Pooling. There is a beautiful gesture that we humans make, a gesture we make almost unconsciously, but it is a very profound gesture: shaking hands. When I shake hands I pool what I have with what you have. If it is a sincere hand shake, I'll give you what is mine and you give me what is yours. And this is something that does us all good.



Move forward with diversity. Because diversity is a challenge but it makes us grow. They make us grow. And to think that every time I shake anothers hand, I give something of mine and I get something from them. And this also makes us grow. This is what comes to me in answer to the first question, thank you.



I forgot something in the first question, but I will answer it now together with the one Serena asked. Serena has put me in a difficult position. Because if I say what I really think ... And she said very little, three or four lines. But what she said was strong. Serena spoke of one of the ugliest things, the ugliest that there is among us: discrimination. It is a terrible thing. "You're not like me, you go over there and I will go here." But I would like to do some catechesis, but not in this parish no. This parish is for those who look alike, where there are no differences ... is this a good thing or not? What should the pastor do? Convert! It is true that if you want to go to Communion, you must be prepared, but if you do not know this language - maybe you're deaf - you have to have the opportunity in this parish to prepare with sign language. That's important.



If you're different, you also have the opportunity to be the best. And that is true! Diversity does not mean that those who have the five senses that work well are different from the deaf-mute: this is not true. We all have the same chance to grow up, get going, love the Lord, understand the Christian doctrine. We all have the same opportunity to receive the sacraments, do you understand?



When, many years ago, a hundred years ago or more, Pope Pius X said Communion should be given to children, many were offended. "But that child does not understand, hes different. He does not fully understand. " Give Communion to the children, the Pope said, and he made a difference an equality. Because he knew that the child understands in another way, and when there are differences between us of course things are understood in another way. But also in schools, neighborhoods, everyone has their own richness. It is different, it is as if he were speaking another language, but it is diverse. It is diverse because it is expressed in a different way, and this is an asset.



Because what you said, Serena, happens so many times, is one of the ugliest things in our cities, in our lives: discrimination. With offensive words, too. And you cannot be discriminated against.



Each of us has a way of knowing things, that is different. One knows in a way, one in another. But everyone can know God. [A little girl gets up from the audience and begins to climb the stairs to the Pope, who stops speaking] Come, come, come ... This little one is courageous, not afraid, takes risks. She gave us a lesson. This one will never be discriminated against, she is capable of defending herself.



In the parish, in the Mass, the sacraments, all are equal because they have the same Lord Jesus and the same mother, Mary. [A second child comes to the Pope, kisses him and sits down at his feet together with the first]. How do we welcome everyone. But, if you - I do not say to you, I know you welcome everyone - but think of a priest who does not welcome everyone. What advice would the Pope give him? Close the door of the church, please: either everyone or no one!



Think of the priest who defends himself: "No father is not so, I cannot accept everyone because they are not able to understand." Its you who are not able to understand!



What a priest, helped by lay people, catechists and by so many people, needs to do is to help everyone understand. Understanding faith, love, how to be friends, differences how they complete things, how one can give one thing and another something else. This is to helping to understand. You have used two beautiful words: welcome and listen. Welcome, that is, to receive everyone. Receive everyone, everyone! And listen to everyone.



I tell you one thing. Today I believe that in the Churches pastoral work there are so many beautiful things, so many good things. But there's one thing we need to do more, even the priests and lay people but especially the priests: the apostolate of the ear, listening. "But Father, it is boring to listen to people, always the same stories." But they are not the same people, and the Lord is in the heart of all people. And you must have the patience to listen, welcome and listen.



I believe that with this I have answered the questions. I had prepared a speech, the Prefect will deliver it so you can all have it. Its a bit boring to read a speech. And there comes a time, beware: when one begins to read a speech, some... with a certain cleverness, start watching the clock, as if to say "when will he end?". The speech is to be read, or for you to read. Thank you so much for this visit, for this beauty of diversity that make communities. Something from one, another thing from another. Thank you very much and pray for me.
Global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has partnered with US platform OnRamp Fellowship to help women re-enter the workface after a career break. This partnership marks the platforms launch in Australia.OnRamp works by placing female lawyers into one-year, paid fellowship placements which include continued online education.It is vitally important that we continue to find ways to access the untapped pool of female talent for roles within the firm, which complement our existing strategies to promote diversity and inclusion across the firm, said HSF regional managing partner, Asia & Australia Sue Gilchrist Women with three years experience, who have had a two year or more career break, are eligible to apply for a fellowship position.Gilbert + Tobin hosted the second annual art auction to raise money for the Environmental Defenders Office, ascommunity legal centres prepare to face more funding cuts.The auction, hosted at the firms Barangaroo office, included a collection of more than 50 works from Indigenous artists across the NT.Last year, the office faced imminent closure after it was stripped of funding, but painting donations saved the centre, the art fetching over $60,000 at an inaugural auction.Finally, prominent Brisbane lawyer Michael Bosscher has been found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct after he tendered a report in 2012 at an inquiry which contained false allegations about chief justice Catherine Holmes.His legal team defended his decision to tender the document, arguing it was already publicly available and was up to the commissioner or his team to redact the allegations or issue a non-publication order, prior to it appearing on the inquiry website.However, NSW Judge Clifton Hoeben said the defamatory material was likely to diminish public confidence in the administration of justice. In his verdict, he said tendering the document was a failure to exercise the forensic judgement called for by the circumstances.
While negative emotions such as anger are more likely to be associated with workers storming out of the workplace and handing in their resignations, a new study by the Cambridge Judge Business School suggests that there is something more intricate at play.



Theory and research on affect in organisations has mostly approached emotions from a valence perspective, suggesting that positive emotions lead to positive outcomes and negative emotions to negative outcomes, the study began.



The research, which was published in the Academy of Management Journal, found that work-related identifications have a major part in deciding whether an employee will quit or not regardless of their mood.



For instance, an angry worker who identifies with his company is less likely to quit. Instead, he will stick it out and try to improve his situation within the firm.



On the other hand, if a worker fails to identify with the company, emotions such as anger will be more likely to push them to leave.



The researchers went on to say that corporate policies which broadly characterise specific emotions could actually harm the organisation.



The study suggests that company policies that are designed to promote positive emotions or minimise negative emotions may in fact not have the intended effect, says Jochen Menges, university lecturer in organisational behaviour at Cambridge Judge Business School and professor of leadership at WHU  Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany.



So rather than seeking to suppress certain workplace emotions, companies should instead adopt practices that seek to encourage greater organisational identification.



The study examined 135 people employed in the US and Europe at the same company over a period of one year. During this time, each worker was asked about their intentions to remain with or leave the firm. They were also asked about both general and specific organisational issues such as scheduling, pay, satisfaction and culture.



Researchers then looked at staff turnover at the company six months after the final survey was done. They found a definite correlation between the amount of staff intending to leave and actual turnover.
Hey folks, long time lurker, 6th or 7th time poster. But this is my first intro.So I was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia, but currently live in Ancona on the Adriatic Coast of Italy with my Italian wife and 8 month old baby girl. Said wife is pregnant with our 2nd child and it's all golden.My partner, by Italian standards, earns a decent living and I manage to contribute by working for a local small winery when they need someone who knows what their doing in the cellar (was a winemaker back home, but here I'm a glorified cellar rat) but she's the major bread-winner at the moment.Anyhoo, before we found out that we were expecting another child we were planning to apply for the offshore partner visa just to get the ball rolling before immigrating post approval. We'd accumulated a lot of documents and translations when we applied for our daughter's Australian citizenship by descent, so we're not far from having the full panoply of paperwork for the partner visa application, so it's not all that more of an effort really, apart from certain particulars and the hefty price tag...!However, now that another bairn is on the way, and since my partner is getting her arse kicked by morning sickness and will probably go on maternity leave sooner rather than later (Italy has a very generous maternity leave scheme, amazeballs!) we're thinking of flying to Australia and applying for the onshore partner visa instead.I know there's a "more proper" way to do it, but yeah, we're thinking of flying wifey in on an ETV and then realising epiphany-like and ever so disingenuously that we want to stay in Oz and apply for her permanent residency.Importantly this enables me to go back to my old place of work (who incidentally are happy to have me back!) and also allows me to start rehabilitating the family vineyard that has been neglected of late. We'll have two solid incomes for nearly a year while we're settling in, which is certainly nothing to snort at.Obviously, we'll have to fly before there are any airline restrictions pertaining to pregnancy, and of course she can't be so large that immigration will think to question our intentions, but I'm hoping it will be doable. The fact that Italians are covered by Medicare for 6 months upon arrival is definitely an important factor I'm plugging into this equation, and obviously we'll book return tickets.I know there are a lot of potential what-ifs and pitfalls in this scenario, but I'm hoping that you knowledgeable forum folk will have some pearls of wisdom that will help smooth out this ride for us.Cheers and we'll keep you posted.
Hi there,



I am wondering if I am granted a Working Holiday Visa, is it possible for me to be IN the country just on a Visitors Visa for a period of time and then switch over to my Working Holiday Visa? Like... say I just go over to NZ for a week and when I come back start the WHV? Is that something that's possible? Or do I have no option other than to start the WHV the first time I enter the country after I'm granted it?



Sorry if this is such a silly/stupid question!!



Thanks guys!

Cailene
Hi everyone,My partner recently had his medical exam for our online PMV application and it's now stated that the panel has finished the results and it has been added to our application.Does anyone have an idea what we are to expect next? Do the department always request interviews? Does this mean our application is beginning to be processed? Is there a bit of a wait ahead?Any info would be great
Hello All,

Firstly thanks to everyone! this forum has been a wealth of information for us in this process.

I was hoping someone out there has experienced this before and could shed light please.

I have been married to my wife (Japanese) for over 4 years and living in Japan for all of that time.

We have plenty of social proof and all that other jazz. But not much in the way of sharing finances.

Japan doesn't allow shared bank accounts and most of our transactions are done in cash and credit.

For the time we have been living here we have lived together but never had any rental agreements ect... with both names on it. We have lived with her parents and also rented her brothers house but with no paperwork. We did rent an apartment for a few years, but that only had my wife's name on at as they wouldn't allow me to gon on the lease because of my visa at the time.

We do have some insurances with our name on it, and we are in the process of getting our names on the bills ect out our current place (brothers house)

Also have mobile bills that have both names on it.



If there is anyone who has had this situation, in Japan or anywhere else. Could you please share what you have done or are doing to strengthen your case?

Any other doccuments that are worth including? Eg.. Wifes name on the lease papers and mail sent to myself at the same address?



Thank you and looking forward to hearing what you may have done.

Hopefully, I can help people here one day like so many others do!
Hello everyone,



Last year me and my wife were granted PR visa from NSW, and we visited Australia to activate our visa as well.

After that, my daughter was born. As per my understanding, as a PR parents' daughter, she already has a PR status, but we still need to apply officially for a PR visa for her - which is just submitting some documentation (birth certificate, etc.) and the process that takes about 6 months.





My question is if in the meantime we want to visit Australia for a short holiday, should we apply for a separate tourist visa for her? or not? Anyone having the same condition? Appreciate your responses.
He is also the guy whose most famous creation, the DMC-12, encrusted itself into the wet dreams of almost every teenager of the 1980s.The car's addition as a time-traveling sidekick to the "Marty" character from the "Back to the future" trilogy should have done only good things for its sales success.Sadly, that didn't happen for a number of reasons which will be revealed later on in this text. Delorean was more than a car guy.Delorean was the eldest of the four sons of Zachary Sr. and Kathryn Pribak Delorean, a Romanian/Hungarian couple. He was born on January 6, 1925 in the heart of America's car making business - Detroit, Michigan. His father was working as a millwright at Ford Motor Company 's foundry, so it's safe to assume that John had cars in his mind since he was young.Sadly, that was not exactly the case, since his parents divorced over his father's alcoholic and violent tendencies when John was 17 years old. Being the son of immigrants and growing up in Detroit during the Great Depression did amazing things to young Delorean's character. Although he first attended only public grade schools from Detroit, he was eventually accepted into the Cass Technical School, which only accommodate honor students.Delorean excelled so much at his studies - he had signed for an electrical curriculum  that he earned himself a scholarship at the Lawrence Technological University, where Detroit's best designers and engineers had studied. Being among the top of its class at industrial engineering, he was elected in the school's Honor Society.From 1943 to 1946, Delorean involuntarily interrupted his studies to serve in the U.S. Army, but he was eventually honorably discharged and he returned to good ol' Detroit only to find his family in economic distress because all his siblings were living off his mother's income.He resumed his Lawrence Technological University scholarship, but he also took a job for the Public Lighting Commission for more than a year to supplement his family's income. After graduating in 1948, he took a few small-time jobs, like selling insurance and working for the Factory Equipment Corporation, just so he could support himself.Interestingly, even though Delorean didn't start working in the field he had been trained in right away, he did attend the Chrysler Institute of Engineering  a post-educational facility - at an uncle's recommendation. This way, he was able to advance his education while also gaining a real-life, hands-on approach in engineering in the automotive realm.After getting his masters degree in automotive engineering from the Chrysler facility he became part of the company's engineering team, while also taking night classes to earn credits for his masters degree in business administration at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.After only a year of working at Chrysler , Delorean jumped boat after he was offered a job at the now-defunct Packard Motor Company. There, his most notable work was his improvement to the Ultramatic automatic gearbox, thus transforming it into the Twin-Ultramatic.After four years he had already become the head of the research and development department, when he got a call from a man he had great esteem for, Oliver K. Kelley. Kelley was then the vice president of engineering at GM, and he offered Delorean a job at GM's Pontiac division.It was at Pontiac that he became known as the "father of the muscle car", by being instrumental in the launch of the GTO, aka "The Goat". Almost one quarter of a million Pontiac GTOs were sold in the first five years of production and the brands overall sales almost tripled thanks to Delorean's vision.Throughout the years at GM, Delorean was being promoted every couple of years or so. In 1969 he had risen as head of the Chevrolet division, while also getting more and more media coverage as the automotive industry's rebel child. He was also beginning to be known in the press as a playboy and a swinger, as he was linked to more than one female celebrity during the years.After finally being promoted as vice-president for the entire GM car and truck production, getting the absolute top job as the General's CEO appeared to be imminent. Oddly, Delorean unexpectedly quit what seemed to be his dream job in 1973, aged 48. His dreams were apparently greater than that.John Delorean's love affair with the automobile immediately got everyone's attention when he announced that he intended to manufacture a car of his own. The model in question was to be eventually known as the DMC-12, mostly made famous by Steven Spielberg's "Back to the Future" trilogy, in which it played quite a key part.Sadly, the car that made him an icon in every 1980s teenager's eyes also became eventually responsible for the start of his downfall. After over almost ten years of looking for the sponsors needed to finance the development and manufacturing of the DMC-12, Delorean finally started building the gull-winged coupe in Northern Ireland. After only 21 months of production, what seemed like the company's bright road into the future transformed into a cul-de-sac and the Irish factory went into receivership.Pressed to find enough money to pay off his debts and restart production of the DMC-12 , Delorean got involved into a dubious deal with a former drug smuggler in order to raise cash. What John didn't know at the time was that the drug smuggler was actually an FBI informant, and thus he got caught up in one of the most publicized trials of the 1980s.Thanks to a procedural defense, Delorean came off clean, but the damage had taken its toll. Engulfed in debt, John became a born-again Christian after the trial, but it all went downhill from there and he never recovered to his former glory. In almost two years of production, a little over eight thousand DMC-12s had been built, of which almost 6000 are believed to still be in existence, thus carrying the legacy of a once great automotive engineer.
The Japanese automaker known for its sharp handling cars will employ the new technology, called G-Vectoring Control, to make its models more comfortable on long distance trips. The first model to feature the tech will be released later this year. Mazda 's officials describe the technology as an electronic chassis assist system, but it works through slightly limiting engine torque.Instead of conventional torque vectoring , Mazda wants to employ a system that reduces torque from the engine's injection map, and the changes are minimal and imperceptible to regular users.According to a Mazda representative that disclosed the plans to Autocar , torque will be limited by a maximum margin of 30 Nm (22 lb-ft) to make it easier for the driver to turn the wheel while cornering.At the same time, the nifty GVC system will help the car put extra weight on the front wheels during cornering.Mazda says the technology will significantly reduce the need for steering corrections during turns, and the lateral forces applied to passengers while driving will also be reduced. As some of you know, the maximum lateral g-force that a car can generate is linked to how well it can handle, so the question arises whether Mazda's future models will lose some of their handling traits.Instead of softening the suspension, Mazda's tweak could make its models more comfortable by reducing forces that usually make passengers move side-to-side in their seats during regular driving. In turn, these changes will make the car more balanced, reduce squat and other forces that make riding in a car uncomfortable for some.While the Mazda representative explained that they cannot optimize their vehicles for a small customer base that desires sportier driving, the engineer explained that the reduced effort brought by the technology will free the driver's mind, thus making the drive more fun.After all, Mazda did say the contact patches of the front wheels will get a little bit more weight while driving, which will increase the grip and bring more confidence during sporty driving.Other improvements will include new seats, which will have generous proportions, along with a shape that will firmly hold the passengers. Furthermore, these seats will reduce the usual pressure points on the occupant's body so that the trip will be more relaxing for riders, as well.
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said Thursday that U.S. airline pilots will not have to undergo psychological testing, at least not in any formal way. At a news conference Huerta said aviation medical examiners have been given extra training to spot potential mental health issues in pilots but there will be no structured testing program. Huerta said tests only capture the pilots mental state at the time of the examination and thats of little value in preventing catastrophes like the mass killing of a planeload of tourists by suicidal pilot Andreas Lubitz in March of 2015. European authorities are looking at ways to beef up mental health screening for pilots.

Huerta said that beyond the AME training, the FAA is encouraging the development of programs to reduce the stigma of mental health problems and give pilots more confidence to self-report if they think their mental health is at risk. We need to do more to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness in the aviation industry so pilots are more likely to self-report, get treated and return to work, Huerta said. Deputy Flight Surgeon Dr. Michael Berry was also at the news conference and essentially said that pilots mental health was constantly being assessed through the multitude of health and currency checks they undergo to maintain their certificates.
11 June 2016 15:00 (UTC+04:00)

The U.S. White House administration responded officially to the petition, which demands the withdrawal of Armenian troops occupying 20% of Azerbaijani territory and emphasizes the dramatic situation of hundreds of thousands of citizens threatened by a humanitarian catastrophe because of neglected Sarsang dam, Azertac reported.

The White House stated that as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States is strongly committed to a peaceful and lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

We have read Resolution 2085 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and, although the United States is not a member of PACE, we welcome opportunities to exchange views on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process with any interested interlocutor, the White House said in a statement on June 11.

The Obama Administration urges the sides to demonstrate restraint and enter into an immediate negotiation on a comprehensive settlement, which would include the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijans control and a determination of Nagorno-Karabakhs status.

As part of our ongoing dialogue with the sides, we have and will continue to facilitate discussions related to humanitarian issues. Management and maintenance of the Sarsang Reservoir is one such issue. We welcome a meeting between technical experts from the sides to discuss water management and dam inspections. The co-chairs are ready to facilitate such a meeting. Ultimately, a resolution of this longstanding conflict depends on the political will of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. As a Minsk Group co-chair country, we will continue our efforts to advance peace and prosperity in the region, said the statement.

This petition was signed by over 330,000 signatures, more than triple the number needed to secure a reply by the Obama administration. Few weeks ago the proponent of this petition, Elkan Suleymanov, the President of the Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan said: We welcome the U.S. Administrations position being not supportive of a separatist solution for Nagorno-Karabakh and not leaving possibility for illegal self-determination.

Elkhan Suleymanov said: The facts that Armenia is an aggressor, that Nagorno-Karabakh and other territories of Azerbaijan are under the control of Armenian armed forces, that humanitarian catastrophe due to Sarsang dam is imminent, were on the U.S. White House's official website for over two months. Millions of people from all over the world, being misinformed by biased international media for more than 20 years, have been visiting this website during more than two months. Therefore this petition was a very important and a significant activity on the way to the liberation of our territories from the occupation.

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11 June 2016 10:14 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijani Minister of Justice, Chairman of the Judicial-Legal Council Fikrat Mammadov has met with Russian counterpart Alexander Konovalov to discuss how to expand judicial relations between the two countries, Azertac reported.

During the meeting, the sides said they attached great importance to strengthening collaboration between the justice authorities as part of the development of strategic partnership and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia.

Hailing the efficient, friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries, Fikrat Mammadov underlined the key role of the heads of state in developing these ties.

Fikrat Mammadov highlighted the large-scale judicial reforms carried out under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

He provided an insight into what had been done to develop judicial, as well as the penitentiary system, improve legislation and expand the rights of convicts and accused persons.

Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Alexander Konovalov hailed the successful development of historical friendly ties between Azerbaijan and Russia in various areas, including political, economic and humanitarian spheres.

Underlining the broad prospects for the development of judicial relations, Alexander Konovalov stressed the importance of exchange of experience for both sides.

They also discussed future priorities of mutual cooperation, put forward proposals on areas of mutual interest.

Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin was also present at the meeting.

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11 June 2016 10:26 (UTC+04:00)

The second meeting of the International Network for the UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform is taking place in Valencia, Spain, Azertac reported.

Turkish Embassy to Spain has hosted cultural event within the second meeting.

Azerbaijan`s Ambassador to Spain Anar Maharramov, Secretary General of the Turkic Council Ambassador Ramil Hasanov, National Coordinator from Azerbaijan for UNESO Silk Road Project Shahin Musatafayev attended the event.

Anar Maharramov delivered a speech at the Online Platform. The ambassador highlighted the history of the Silk Road in Azerbaijan. The diplomat also spoke about the rich cultural heritage of the Silk Road in Azerbaijan`s history.

Experts coming from the countries alongside the silk roads and beyond attended the meeting to exchange experiences and good practices in promoting and implementing activities related to the Silk Roads. The participants also discussed guiding principles and strategic orientations for the Network and define an Action Plan for the 3 years to come.

This event is organized on the occasion of the 13th edition of Multaqa Festival (Encounters of Three Cultures) to be held from 10 to 12 June 2016 to celebrate intercultural and inter-religious dialogue in Mediterranean region through music and other artistic expressions.

This year the Festival was devoted to the Silk Roads to mark the designation of Valencia as City of Silk for 2016-2020. A day will be particularly dedicated to youth with traditional silk games and workshops. The second meeting is organized by UNESCO in partnership with the Municipality of Valencia, the Regional Council of Valencia (Generalitat Valenciana) and the Centre UNESCO Valencia/Mediterraneo, with the support of the Government of Spain.

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11 June 2016 00:14 (UTC+04:00)

By Fatma Babayeva

The global demand for energy grew relatively slowly by only 1 percent that is similar to growth rate seen the last year, but lower seen over the last ten years, said Spencer Dale, BP Group chief economist in the companys website.

He pointed the slowest growth rates seen in China since 1990s for energy as a key component in causing relatively weak growth in energy demand last year.

Nevertheless, there was a strong growth in oil demand (1.9 percent) which is stimulated by the low oil prices, said Dale.

Low oil prices were rooted in oil glut that the global oil market suffers since mid-2014.

Last year, non-OPEC supply had grown exceptionally strongly, which led by the U.S. tight oil, triggering a sizeable supply imbalance and the consequent fall in oil prices, said Dale, adding that however, the increase in the U.S. production was considerably smaller in 2015 compared to 2014.

Among non-OPEC supply increases, BP also mentions oil coming from Brazilian deepwater and Canadian oil sands.

Chief economist also noted the contribution to this oil surplus by increased oil production of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The markets adjustment to the lower prices has continued this year, according to the expert.

It seems likely that the market will move broadly into balance in the second half of this year based on current trends, he added.

Dale stressed that the market will only truly return to normal when the sizeable stock overhang has been worked off.

In 2015, the fastest growth was observed in renewable energy, according to BPs expert.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan holds 0.4 percent of the worlds total proven oil reserves, according to the latest BP report. The country produced 1 percent of the worlds total oil production in 2015  841 thousand barrels a day which is 1 percent less than its output in 2014.

In the meantime, the country holds 0.6 percent of the worlds total proved gas reserves and produced 0.5 percent of the worlds total gas production in 2015- 18.2 billion cubic meters which is 3.4 percent increase compared to 17.6 billion cubic meters extracted in 2014.

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan produced 12.7 million tons of oil in 2015, which is by 5 percent more than in 2014, according to BPs statistical review this year.

Meanwhile, the country's share in global oil output was 0.3 percent in 2015. Oil consumption in Turkmenistan over this period amounted to 6.4 million tons that is by 1.6 percent more than in 2014.

Turkmenistan holds 9.4 percent of the worlds total proved gas reserves and produced 2 percent of the worlds total gas production in 2015- 72.4 billion cubic meters which is 4.5 percent increase compared to the figure in 2014.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan's proved oil reserves stood at 100 million tons, natural gas reserves - at 1.1 trillion cubic meters on the results of 2015, said BP in its 2016 report.

Uzbekistan decreased oil output by 3.1 percent - to three million tons in 2015, according to BP's report.

The company says that Uzbekistan's average output was 64,000 barrels of oil per day in 2015 (by 3.1 percent less than in 2014).

Oil consumption volume in the country decreased by 0.1 percent - to 2.8 million tons in 2015, as compared to 2014. Average daily consumption of oil was 59,000 barrels in Uzbekistan in 2015 (by 0.1 percent less than in 2014).

The review says that Uzbekistan produced 57.7 billion cubic meters of gas in 2015, which is by 0.8 percent more than in 2014. Gas consumption in the country amounted to 50.3 billion cubic meters in 2015.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's proved gas reserves stood at 0.9 trillion cubic meters as of early 2016, said the report.

However, proved gas reserves of the country amounted to 1.5 trillion cubic meters, or 0.8 percent of the global reserves according to BP's previous report.

Gas output in Kazakhstan, according to the country's Statistics Committee, increased by 5.2 percent to 45.713 billion cubic meters in 2015, as compared to 2014.

Regarding the countrys oil reserves, the country holds 1.8 percent of the global proved petroleum reserves and produced 1.8 percent of the total global oil output in 2015 as well. The countrys oil production experienced 1.9 percent decrease last year compared to 2014.

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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
11 June 2016 10:38 (UTC+04:00)

Everyone knows about Russia's negative attitude towards manifestations of neo-Nazism and glorification of criminals, and this attitude is unchangeable, said Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, Trend correspondent reported June 10.

Zakharova made the remarks with regard to Armenia's installing a monument to honor the fascist Garegin Nzhdeh, who is considered by Yerevan as the Armenian "hero" of the national liberation movement of the early 20th century.

During the World War II, Nzhdeh assisted the Armenian Legion of the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of the Nazi Germany. The Armenian Legion fought against the Soviet army and Soviet partisans (i.e. with Russia, which is the current an "ally" of Armenia and fully protects it and supplies it with everything).

The Armenian Legion was also acting as the Nazis' punitive force and participated in all the criminal acts of the Nazis, including the Holocaust of the Jews.

"It is not clear to us why that monument was erected," Zakharova said commenting on the issue.

She added that Russia will continue assessing the things that are not compatible with the memory of the Great Patriotic War heroes, regardless of the political situation.

The term Great Patriotic War is used in Russia and other former Soviet republics to describe the conflict fought from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945 along the many fronts of the Eastern Front of World War II between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany and its allies.

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11 June 2016 12:12 (UTC+04:00)

Iran welcomes Afghanistan into jointly registering Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi's (aka Rumi) poem the Masnavi as world heritage.

The announcement was made by Farhad Nazari, director of Historical Work Registration at Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization, ISNA news agency reported June 10.

"The more extensive the Masnavi's case, the better Rumi and his work's grandeur will be shown," the official said.

However, he said, registering the poem as world heritage is a fully technical job which requires documents.

Nazari nonetheless underlined that the birthplace of Rumi is quite a different issue than his work, which should be taken into account.

The statements came after demonstrators in Kabul, Afghanistan expressed dissatisfaction over reports that Iran and Turkey were going to jointly register the poem.

Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. His influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions: Iranians, Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian Muslims, and the Muslims of South Asia have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. Rumi has been described as the "most popular poet" and the "best selling poet" in the United States.

The poet was born in Balkh, which was then part of the Iranian empire but now falls within the borders of Afghanistan. His travels took him to Konya, again of Iranian territory then, but now in Turkey, where he died and was buried.

Peoples of these three countries nowadays celebrate Rumi as a national pride, each claiming his legacy.

The Masnavi is a series of six books of poetry that together amount to around 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines. It is a spiritual writing that teaches Sufis how to reach their goal of being in true love with God.

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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!)
Police have identified the man whose body was found June 7 on the shores of a Lakeland pond adjacent to a 9-foot alligator.



Richard Zachary Taylor, 72, was identified by his fingerprints. Lakeland Police believe he had been submerged for at least a day.

Richard Taylor, 72, was originally from South Carolina

Next of kin have been notified



According to reports, Taylor had been living in the area for approximately 10 years. Currently a transient, he was originally form South Carolina.

Detectives are waiting on additional tests to determine the exact cause of death.



The alligator believed to have been seen by Taylor, however, was captured by Florida Fish and Wildlife. The Medical Examiners Officer found human remains inside.


The man accused of causing the crash that killed a St. Pete mother now faces a manslaughter charge. The victim's family, however, says the charges arent severe enough.

April Morrow, 40, died on April 19

Anthony Rivera, 24, charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash involving death

On April 19, April Morrow, along with her sister Tina, were involved in an altercation with Anthony Rivera, 24, at the Obama Express store on 18th Ave. South in St. Petersburg. Investigators determined that Rivera pursued the Morrows in a separate car when they left the store and ran them off the road, causing their car to crash into a telephone pole. April died in the crash.



In the two months since the crash, Morrows daughters say theyve been waiting for justice. On Friday, they said they finally got what they've been hoping for with Rivera's arrest.



It was exciting. We got justice for my mom, said Raven Britten, one of Morrow's daughters.



Rivera bonded out of jail soon after he was arrested. He now faces charges of manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash involving death for what St. Pete Police say was his role in the crash.



Morrows family, however, says the charges shouldve been more severe. They believe Rivera should serve a life sentence for what hes accused of, and hope they won't have to wait long for see him pay for his crimes.



He was supposed to get life," said Britten. "He took my moms life.
Donald Trump's Tampa rally kicked off Saturday with prominent Florida leaders, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Governor Rick Scott.

The opening remarks hailed Trump as hopeful and a strong leader.



During his portion, Trump addressed everything from national security to his campaigning techniques and the upcoming presidential race.

"Is there any place better than a Trump rally?" he asked his supporters.

Trump's Tampa rally ended around 1 p.m.



His candid speech lasted approx. an hour



Trump covered isssues ranging from his stance on trade with China to running against Clinton

He vowed to return to Florida often in the coming months, calling the state crucial to his success in the November election.



At one point during his speech, Trump asked the crowd who he should choose to run alongside him as vice president. They had plenty of suggestions, though Condoleezza Rice appeared to be a crowd favorite.

"Ive never done this before," said Trump of soliciting their recommendations. "This is fun."

The event, which was set to start at 11 a.m., didn't get going until noon. The presumptive Republican nominee hosted the event at the Tampa Convention Center, located at 333 South Franklin Street.

According to the Tampa Police Deparment, the space could accommodate over 9,000. About 3,000 were in attendance.Those eager supporters began lining up at the convention center early Saturday morning, several hours before the start of the rally.

Trump has won 1,542 delegates since he began his bid for the White House. A total of 1,237 delegates are needed for the nomination.

Following his Tampa rally, Trump heads to Pittsburg for another event. That rally is set to begin at 3 p.m.

Florida Democrats React

While Trump supporters were headed to the rally, the Florida Democratic Party held a press conference. Organizers said the gathering is to protest Trump's "racist rhetoric and divisive, dangerous campaign." Florida democrats say they will also call for an independent investigation into Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and the case surrounding Trump University.



Protesters gather outside the Donald Trump rally at the Tampa Convention Center calling for an investigation into Trump University. (Sara Belsole, viewer)



The press conference began at 9 a.m. along Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park near the intersection of South Florida Avenue and Old Water Street.



Live Blog LIVE UPDATES: Trump in Tampa
Luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac arent just expensive to buy. Theyre also costly to maintain.

An analysis done by data site Priceonomics (using a data set from the car maintenance site YourMechanic) showed how much a pricey car can cost you even after youve driven it of the lot. Americans spend approximately 5 percent of their income on buying a car. Another five percent goes towards vehicle maintenance and insurance costs, Priceonomics wrote. (See their full analysis here).

But some cost more than others. And its not necessarily the cheapest vehicles that tend to breakdown over the years. The analysis looked at the which major brands cost the most to maintain over the first 10 years of a cars life. BMW, by far, proved the most costly with maintenance fees totaling an average of $17,800.

READ MORE: Kelly Blue Book names the 10 coolest cars under $18K

Vehicles from Japanese automaker Toyota had the fewest hiccups post-purchase, costing only $5,550 on average over a decade. Not a bad deal for a car that also would cost much less than a luxury German import like a BMW or Mercedes-Benz. Toyotas luxury brand Lexus performed well too ($7,000 a year). Domestic brands like Ford ($9,100) and Chevrolet ($8,800) appeared right in the middle.

The analysis groups together all models of all years for each brand. But the site did look at which models came with the steepest maintenance costs: Chrysler Sebring ($17,100) and BMW 238i ($15,600) led the way. The Sebring was discontinued as was another faulty, high-priced car on the list: the Hummer H3.

Four of the six vehicles with the cheapest maintenance costs were Toyotas: The Prius, Camry, Tacoma and Corolla. All cost less than $6,000 to maintain (as did the Kia Soul, Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris).

See the gallery above for a look at the cars that break down the most often (and which ones dont).
An Arlington man faces felony charges after an ignored maintenance note led to police ultimately discovering 72,000 Xanax pills and more than 20 pounds of marijuana in his apartment, according to media reports.

Duc Chi Ta, 24, was arrested Tuesday on drug charges, including possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of marijuana between five and 50 pounds, WFAA reports.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalitha, has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate action regarding the release of Tamil Nadu fishermen and their boats from Sri Lankan custody. According to sources, Jayalalitha has penned a letter to Mr. Modi requesting him to secure the immediate release of our 21 fishermen and 92 fishing boats, including six fishermen and their mechanised fishing boat detained on June 9th by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Linda Gray will always be remembered as Sue Ellen in Dallas, but life was not all glamour for her as she had to cope with an alcoholic mum and a controlling husband, writes Emily Hourican.

There are two threads that run through Linda Gray's new book, The Road to Happiness (Is Always Under Construction). One is resilience - and this turns out to be a life with far more knocks than I would have expected - the other is a strong, instinctive championing of the rights of women: the right to work, to make choices, to make waves. To be happy.

Linda, it turns out, knows plenty about the fight to achieve and succeed. At 75 she is still beautiful - this is what natural beauty looks like, when it starts from a very good place (there is no denying the bone structure, or those remarkable eyes; the legs that featured in that iconic poster for The Graduate) and is helped by a healthy lifestyle and cheerful, open frame of mind. You would be forgiven for thinking that she always had it easy; that opportunities tumbled into her lap. Not so.

Alongside the usual run of battles fought by any ambitious woman working and bringing up children in the 1970s and 1980s, Linda had to contend with a mother who was an alcoholic in an era where such a word was never used, followed by a husband who was controlling to the point of being abusive. But first, as a five-year-old, there was polio. Long before her legs were famous, they were paralysed, just like her paternal grandfather, who spent his life in a wheelchair.

"I came down with a bad sore throat and was sent to bed. The next day, I couldn't move my legs," she writes. For months she was confined to bed, until gradually - unexpectedly - sensation returned. This, she says now, was the beginning of what has been a consistent approach to life: find the good and accentuate the positive.

"I remember with the polio, that started me on a very positive approach, because my parents were devastated, but I wasn't. I decided I could ride with grandpa around the city in my own wheelchair. I'd probably have painted it pink, or polka dots, something eccentric, so I was ready. And I wasn't feisty at all. I was very shy. It wasn't like I was this precocious young girl, I was a shy little girl, but I was boosting up my parents, and my grandma. That seems to be a great turning point."

Another early turning point was a school dance recital, in which she walked on stage, and froze, unable to remember her steps. At the time, she was what so many beauties claim to have been - awkward and odd-looking, "an alien from Planet Amphibian", as she describes it.

If the photos are anything to go by, Linda had a point; until the age of 15 she was snaggle-toothed and stick-thin, with lank hair and eyes that were far too big for her face.

"I was doing my dance recital, and I forgot my routine," she says. "But rather than running off stage in tears, I remember standing there, waiting, until I remembered. That's how I've been all my life, just persisting."

But far more difficult than any of the external knocks she took was the pain of Linda's home situation.

"My mother was an alcoholic," she says now. "Although the word 'alcoholism' didn't compute till later."

All she knew as a child was that, too often, there wasn't food when she and her sister Betty needed it, there were no clean clothes, the routines of domesticity were neglected.

"She wasn't a falling-down drunk; she just lived in her own blurry world," says Linda.

She tries hard to make excuses. Before marriage, her mother was an illustrator, designer and ballerina; after marriage, her sole creative outlet was to decorate the front of the jewellery store Linda's father inherited from his father.

However, despite her efforts to understand, Linda is entirely honest about her reaction to her mother.

"It was difficult," she says. "I didn't like her. I loved my father, but I didn't like her. I was aware that I didn't warm to this person who was my mother. That was challenging."

What was also challenging was the level to which Linda forced herself to take over the mothering role.

"I was too responsible too young. I turned into being a mother to my sister. I used to tell her 'no, don't do this, you have to do this ...' I was that person, and I wanted to not be that person. It's not like I said, 'ooh, this is happening because my mother is an alcoholic', it was just this little trail I was on. I'd say, 'ok, there's no food for dinner, I'd better cook something'."

When she was 14, Linda and her sister Betty confronted their father, and begged him to divorce their mother.

"We don't like her and we think she should leave," they said. Their father's response? "I love her." That refusal to do anything about a damaging situation left its mark, particularly when Linda went on to have two children of her own.

"Parents are sort of a weird barometer, they show you where to fit in, and so without the example, you don't know much about the mothering and the loving, the how does that happen. That was a hard thing for me."

She made her own way to being a good mother, but it took effort.

Another undesirable repercussion was to be found in Linda's relationship with her husband, Ed Thrasher, an art director who worked with Frank Sinatra and Prince (he shot the cover for Purple Rain).

They met when Linda, by then 19 and a successful model who had talked her way into TV commercials - again, persistence was key; it took years before she cut through the prejudice that said 'models can't act' and landed the first of what would be over 400 TV ads - was sent for a job at the record company where he worked.

Ed was "the first man to make an obvious pass at me", Linda claims, saying that during her college years she was "a loner ... eating alone in my car at lunchtimes."

He introduced her to George Harrison, Bobby Darin, Sinatra and Dean Martin, and showed her an exciting time. He was charming, forceful, determined.

Within a few months, having never done more than kiss, they were married. Sex, she writes, was "a crushing disappointment, I felt hollow, empty, unloved". She knew, she says, from the very first night together, that "my marriage was not a love match".

How did that feel, I ask? "Devastating," she says slowly. And yet they stayed together for 22 years; "I was very Catholic." But it was more than that. Ed quickly began to manifest controlling tendencies, Each day, he would leave a list of chores for Linda to do, written on the pages of a yellow legal pad, stuck to the fridge: 'Call the plumber. Iron shirts. Polish shoes.'

The lists got longer and longer, and soon were written in angry capitals. If everything on the list wasn't checked off, despite the fact that Linda soon had two small children, he would demand to know why, quizzing her about what else she had done that meant she couldn't complete the assigned tasks.

"It was kind of a continuation of my mother," she says. "I settled, I rationalised, I did all of that stuff, and it was a continuation of how I was raised. I wasn't conscious of it in the moment, I didn't go, 'Oh, look what I've done, I've emulated the same thing,' but there was a sameness to it when I removed myself and looked at it. It was controlling, it was never abusive physically, but emotionally ... and that can be hard because there is nothing to show. No bruise, no cut. It took me a long time to understand. I didn't have the tools, I didn't have the communication skills. I didn't know how to say 'this is hurting me'."

Eventually, she took one of the yellow legal pad pages into a group therapy session she was attending, and gave it to the therapist. By then, the family were living a kind of Good Life scenario, in a house with a barn, chickens and horses outside Los Angeles.

"That was the only thing I knew how to do," she says now. "I thought 'I can't have these yellow legal pads on the refrigerator any more,' so I took it to the therapist, because I thought, 'maybe she can figure it out for me'. There was a disconnect in the way I felt, in the way I communicated with my husband. There was this constant disconnect between the authentic me, and the person that I was being."

That day, Linda's therapist explained what emotional abuse was, and the ways in which Ed was guilty of it. Then she called Ed and said that Linda had a problem, and the group needed him to attend a session with her. Ed arrived in, and was ambushed. "How dare you treat her like that?" he was asked, by one group member after another. He was furious, but there were no more notes.

If there can be anything positive in being the daughter of an alcoholic mother, Linda is inclined to look for it, and find it. If nothing else, her mother served as a perfect example of What Not To Do. In this case, not to give up your independence, your creative dreams to become a wife and mother.

"I think that all of us have people in their path that are there for the biggest lessons of all," she says. "I bless my mother, for being that person. I mean, it was a little tricky, a little challenging to do. That was a hard relationship, but those are the big lessons."

And so she stuck with her dream to take an acting class, despite Ed's disapproval, and then took the role of Sue Ellen when it came up. By dint of sheer will and talent, she transformed the part from supporting bit-player - the alcoholic wife of JR, fumbling with a bottle and glass in the background - into a major starring role. She drew on what she knew of her mother, and her own work ethic, to make the part her own, at a time when America was finally acknowledging the existence of this unspoken evil.

Barely two weeks after the premiere of Dallas, in April 1978, the New York Times reported that Betty Ford, wife of Gerald, had checked herself into hospital, saying: "I'm addicted to alcohol."

Dallas was also a way to reconnect, finally, with her own mother, by then 60. Linda gave her the scripts to read, before the premiere, and the two finally began an honest conversation that would culminate with her attending AA. By the time her mother was in her 80s, Linda was her sole carer - her father had died; so too, tragically, had her sister Betty, of breast cancer, something that brings very tears to Linda's eyes when I mention it.

"My life changed that day in the hospital," is all she can say about Betty's death. "Standing there, in front of her bed, I realised, oh my God, the fragility."

After 22 years together, she and Ed divorced. Even here, she is determined to be fair, to be generous.

"I just didn't like myself with Ed," she writes in The Road To Happiness. "He was my husband for a reason and he was one of my greatest teachers. Ed has to be honoured for following his path, his dreams, for being a great father and the best husband he knew how to be."

Her talent for forgiveness is considerable, thanks to the continuous philosophical work she did in trying to understand herself, and the world around her. And it worked; after the divorce, she and Ed remained friends, and Linda was with him when he died, of cancer in 2006.

"I delved deeply into a different life," she says now of that process. "I wanted to know who I was, very deeply. I wanted to know, 'why did these things happen?' I took a leap into metaphysics.

"I didn't have time for therapy, I didn't have time to have a guru, so I thought, 'roll up your sleeves, because you're going to work.' And all of a sudden I was filled with a sort of radiance. I thought: 'Oh my goodness, I have to turn this over to a higher power. I need help. I have to find out who this woman is.'"

Did she like herself as a person, I wonder?

"I was on the fence with myself at this point. I didn't even know who I was."

And when she did begin to find out?

"I felt this lightening feeling, like rocks were going off my shoulders. All of a sudden, the child that I wanted to be when I was 8, 9, 10, was emerging. And there was this wonderful thing: I wasn't critical of things, myself included, I wasn't judgemental. I saw that we are all here to do the very best that we can, so stop judging yourself and others."

She writes briefly of men after her divorce from Ed, of boyfriends and relationships, but with far less than the enthusiasm she shows for her emotional discoveries, her work - she played Mrs Robinson on stage in The Graduate, in London in 2011 - even a cat. Was there no great love affair in her life?

"Not really," she says, perhaps a little sadly. "Because of me, because of not trusting 100%, of feeling that I could not fully give myself. I just sort of dropped that idea. It may still come, but I will not settle. I had to take a deep breath, and let that go."
BBC reporter Julie McCullough is going to be a mum again. She tells Stephanie Bell how a curiosity for people led to her career and how she juggles work with her idyllic home life in the Mourne Mountains.

BBC reporter Julie McCullough, who is currently enjoying her presenting debut on Good Morning Ulster, has just broken the joyous news that she is going to be a mum again.

The popular journalist is over the moon to be expecting her second child in October and has only just told colleagues at Broadcasting House.

Since becoming a mum to Nora, who is just 21 months old, Julie has been enjoying the best of both worlds, job sharing with colleague Maggie Taggart so that she can continue the career she loves while also spending quality time at home as a mum.

The 40-year-old, who was brought up in the beautiful Mourne countryside, still lives in Annalong with her husband Robin McBride (45), a carpenter who she has known since she was a schoolgirl.

The couple only started dating in their 20s, but Julie describes Robin as her "childhood sweetheart".

The cut and thrust of TV news reporting is a world away from her quiet home life, where down time is spent walking in the Mourne Mountains and the local beaches, but again for Julie it is the ideal balance.

She thrives on her career and has a particular passion for human interest and investigative stories, with many of her pieces for Newsline going on to be made into documentaries.

When her husband found an old memorial stone in a river in the Mournes in 2009 Julie had to get to the bottom it and she 'left no stone unturned' until she had uncovered the moving human interest story behind it. It involved a 20-year-old soldier from Belfast, who was an officer in the First World War and who was killed in battle.

Her report led to her finding his family and flying them to the spot where he was shot in Belgium.

It became a much talked about documentary, which people still comment on today.

Julie adopted the same single-minded approach to becoming a BBC reporter as she now brings to her stories.

She was only 16 when she experienced "the buzz" of the busy BBC newsroom for the first time, as a student on work experience.

She decided then and there that she was going to work in the BBC and everything she has done since has been carefully planned to make her dream come true.

Julie grew up in the countryside as the oldest of five children. Her mum Olive stayed at home to raise Julie and her three sisters and brother, while her dad Campbell runs a car repair business in Annalong.

She says: "We lived out in the country close to the Moune Mountains and it was lovely. I had a very nice childhood growing up beside a river in the countryside.

"Interestingly enough here is a huge age gap between me and my sisters. I am 20 years older than my youngest sister and 18 years older than the second youngest.

"Mum stayed at home to look after us and it is great because she is now a granny to little Nora who she minds when I work and Nora just loves her granny."

Even though it is quite a long commute to work in Belfast every day, there was no question of Julie ever leaving the area where she grew up.

She says she knew very early on that she wanted to be a journalist and believes it was a natural career as she was always curious about people.

The BBC was her main goal and she is now one of our best known and respected TV reporters.

She says: "There is old video footage of me at home aged around 13 interviewing mum and dad using a hair brush as a microphone.

"I was always nosey and wanting to find out about people and what they were up to. When I was 16 I went into the BBC on work experience and I knew then I really wanted to work in the BBC.

"It was just so exciting to be in the news room. Belfast seemed so glamorous to me having lived out in he country and also going into the BBC's great imposing building.

"We had very few channels then and I would have watched the BBC. It just seemed to me to be an amazing place to work."

She studied at Queen's University for a degree in English and Politics and then took time out to teach in Egypt before returning home and starting her romance with Robyn.

She also put her mind to getting her foot in the door of the BBC, where for a number of years she carried out numerous jobs, including runner and administration, before landing her prime role as a news reporter.

She says: "At the time there was a Community Service Volunteers scheme in the BBC for young people getting into work and I applied and got a placement.

"I got to work in Children in Need and in the newsroom, just watching and learning to begin with.

"I would have had to take scripts down to the studio and meet and greet guests and do some administration work."

When the scheme finished she successfully applied for another placement and got a job as news room's secretary - getting ever closer to her dream job.

"It was a busy time politically and I got to meet a lot of political figures. Even though I wasn't reporting I felt very close to everything.

"I then decided to do a post graduate diploma in newspaper journalism at the University of Ulster and I was studying and doing shifts in the BBC at the same time.

"There was a placement as part of that course and even though it was newspaper journalism course I was so determined to do it while working in the BBC that the course director let me."

Around the time she was due to graduate, a post for a Broadcast Assistant for radio news and current affairs was advertised by the BBC which she successfully applied for.

With a staff job secured she was on her way.

"It was just a matter for me of taking every opportunity I could get to learn. I then applied for the job of Broadcast Journalist on radio and TV and then as a reporter, where I am now."

As a BBC Newsline reporter she has covered many significant events in Northern Ireland, but it is the human interest stories which she really got her teeth into that stand out most for her, in particular the story of the fallen solider.

She says: "When my husband found the stone in a river I just had to find out where it came from and I had no idea the emotion of the story that we would uncover.

"It was so tragic. He was Robert Kelly Pollin from Belfast and he was so young, just 20 years old. As an officer he had to lead his troops into battle and he was shot dead in Belgium and his remains had never been recovered."

Before his death the young solider had been training to become a solicitor in his father's firm in Belfast.

Julie traced two of his great nephews and his aunts and she brought them to Belgium, where he had been killed and where the stone was left to be placed on permanent display.

The poignant journey was recorded for a BBC Newsline special called The Soldier and the Stone.

"I learnt so much about the First World War doing that story and it makes you really think about the impact of it. People still come up to me and talk about it and remember it."

Another big story for Julie was interviewing the nephew of the Northern Ireland man who was a driver for JFK.

She says: "He was the driver's only living relative and it was amazing to talk to him and see his old photographs and hear the stories his uncle told him.

"That was a worldwide story and there was also a Northern Ireland connection, which I find there usually is."

Julie is now experiencing her first job as a radio presenter, standing in during summer leave for the Good Morning Ulster team.

It is a very early start with the alarm going off at 3.45am and going into work to co-present a busy live two-and-a-half hour news show means she has to have her wits about her first thing in the morning.

She laughs as she says: "I'm not really an early morning person, but the advantage of living so far away from work is that the long drive in helps me to shake off the morning huff. I am in pretty good form by the time I arrive in Belfast.

"It is nice to get up when everyone is still in bed and have the house to myself to have a cup of tea and watch the news.

"When the opportunity came up I just thought why not give it a go. It is completely different and a different way of working, but I am learning new skills and I am really enjoying it.

"Everyone on the team has been really lovely and welcoming. It is fast paced and there is pressure, but the fact that there is two of us means you can enjoy a wee bit of banter with your colleagues. It is so different for me, but I am learning all the time."

In an era when more women are building careers before having their families, Julie fits right in as a modern career mum. She adores being a mother and is overjoyed to be expecting her second child, but readily confesses that she couldn't contemplate giving up her career.

She says: "I left having a family quite late and although it wasn't planned, I suppose part of that was because I was focused on my career.

"I've no regrets about that and I had a great time up until the birth of our daughter. I worked on some great stories and had lovely holidays with my husband. I think it just got to the point when we both felt we were ready to welcome a little person into our lives.

"I love my time at home with Nora and I wouldn't change it for the world - obviously because I am now having another one.

"On the days I am working my mum looks after Nora and she just loves spending time with her granny and granddad, they are so good to her.

"I couldn't imagine giving up my work completely. I do really love and look forward to having those few days in work, I really do. It is lovely to be with adults and to be able to use your brain in different ways.

"Even if I won the lottery tomorrow I don't think I could give up work, I would have to do something. I think for women who have worked it is hard. My mum's generation was a bit different because they didn't work and so they didn't know what they were missing."

Being from a small village and being on TV has not interfered with the quiet life she enjoys with her family in Annalong as locals, who must take pride in her success, don't treat her any differently because of her celebrity.

She says: "Everyone knows me around my town and they might comment if they hear me on the radio that I was up early, but being from a small community it doesn't make any difference that I am on TV.

"You do find sometimes when you are out and about that people think they know you and they will speak to you like they know you, but they can't place you."

Quality family time is spent walking the Mournes, although she says doesn't like mountain climbing. She loves the Silent Valley and walking on her local beaches and she also gets the buzz of city life for half of her week.

She adds: "I'm lucky to live in such a scenic part of the world and also get to enjoy my career. I do have the best of both worlds ."
A photographer was left fearing for his sight after he was bottled in the face on the opening night of the Belsonic festival.

John Baucher was making his way to his east Belfast home just before midnight on Thursday after a night out with friends when he came across concert-goers making their way over the Lagan Footbridge.

Thinking it would make a good picture, Mr Baucher got his camera out, but the crowd took exception to his photography.

He told the Belfast Telegraph: "I thought there was a picture. It's what I do and have done for the past 20 years - record the present for the future.

"Someone didn't like it and started calling me a 'paedo'. I probably shouldn't have done, but I engaged with them and said, 'Who are you calling a paedo?'"

John then found himself surrounded by a group of angry youths, aged 16 or 17.

Soon, a tussle developed and Mr Baucher was head-butted, leaving him more surprised than hurt.

"Completely out of nowhere, from my blindside, came a bottle straight into my face," said the photographer.

Despite the heavy blow, John stayed on his feet and even managed to take a picture of his attacker, which he plans to hand over to the police.

The 51-year-old feared the worst.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Party goers at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Photo: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Tiesto performing at the opening night of Belsonic 2016. Thursday 9th June Picture by: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Pictured is fans as Tiesto is on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goers at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Photo: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Pictured is fans as Tiesto is on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is fans as Tiesto is on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is fans as Tiesto is on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goers at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Photo: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is fans as Tiesto is on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goers at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Photo: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is fans as Tiesto is on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is fans as Tiesto is on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goers at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Photo: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Tiesto performing at the opening night of Belsonic 2016. Thursday 9th June Picture by: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Party goers at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Photo: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Tiesto performing at the opening night of Belsonic 2016. Thursday 9th June Picture by: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens kick off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Tiesto performing at the opening night of Belsonic 2016. Thursday 9th June Picture by: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is fans as Tiesto is on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goer's at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Thursday 9th June Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX McBurney/Belsonic Night 1 - Tiesto BT & ONLINE Pictured party goer's at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto Date: Thursday 9th May 2016 Location: Titanic Slip Way Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Copyright: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney +44 7837 685767 +44 2890 660676 liammcburney@gmail.com Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goers at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Thursday 9th June Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Fans at Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goer's at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Thursday 9th June Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Fans at Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goer's at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Thursday 9th June Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goer's at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Thursday 9th June Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Fans at Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph McBurney/Belsonic Night 1 - Tiesto BT & ONLINE Pictured DJ Oliver Heldens Date: Thursday 9th May 2016 Location: Titanic Slip Way Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Copyright: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney +44 7837 685767 +44 2890 660676 liammcburney@gmail.com Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goer's at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Thursday 9th June Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Party goer's at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Thursday 9th June Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Party goer's at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Thursday 9th June Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Party goers at the opening night of Belsonic 2016 with Tiesto. Thursday 9th June Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Tiesto on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Picture - Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pictured is Fans as Tiesto and Oliver Heldens on stage as the Belsonic music festival kicks off at its new location on the Titanic Slipways , June 09 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph ) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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"The vision in my right eye was really blurred," he said. "I thought my eyelid was in pieces and I really, thought I'd lose my sight.

"It was a major worry, very frightening. I was just pleading for my sight to return and, fortunately, it did."

"The Lagan emergency response team were amazing - they really looked after me and were on the scene in seconds, as were the ambulance and police."

The vicious attack, which John said would stay with him for years, left him with slashes to his face, two deep gouges on his nose and another below his right eye. His injuries will likely cause significant scarring.

"I was in a public place taking pictures," Mr Baucher explained. "You couldn't avoid the kids - there was that many of them. One of the girls thought I'd taken her picture and was demanding I delete it, which is something the police can't even make you do without a court order."

"Never have I had a problem with taking a picture until Thursday. And if I got a decent picture out of the 25 I took, I'd be surprised - it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing.

"I was so angry as I'd had such a great night out. For it to end like that was just sickening."

John has won numerous awards for his work and held major exhibitions. He has worked with young offenders, paramilitaries and documented the rebuilding work after the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake.

No one has been arrested and police are appealing for information.

They said 10 arrests were made outside the concert at which some 13,000 attended. Those arrested were aged between 15 and 21.
People here should reflect on the positive impact the EU has made in the region rather than the "extraordinary negativity" peddled by both sides of the referendum debate, Alex Salmond has urged.

Citing longstanding European Union support for peace process projects, the MP and former Scottish National Party leader said Northern Ireland was an example of the good the EU can deliver. The SNP's foreign affairs spokesman was in Londonderry to address business leaders at an event hosted by Derry's Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Salmond said he wanted to make a positive economic and social case for the UK's continued membership of the EU and he criticised the "negativity and scare stories" he said were emanating from both Remain and Leave camps.

"Northern Ireland has taught us that the fundamental principle of the EU - that when independent nations work together for a shared cause, for a common good - it works," he said. Mr Salmond said he had not travelled to Northern Ireland to issue "apocalyptic warnings of impending doom". "I leave that to others on both sides of this referendum campaign," he said.

"As it happens I think this extraordinary negativity is exactly the wrong way to conduct this debate. The heart of this case is a positive account of the substantial argument that Europe has been and is a good thing for Northern Ireland."
RNLI crew brings ashore pieces of wreckage after they were recovered near Glenarm harbour, Co Antrim, during a search for a missing microlight

RNLI crew brings ashore pieces of wreckage after they were recovered near Glenarm harbour, Co Antrim, during a search for a missing microlight

Wreckage from a microlight aircraft that went missing on Thursday night with two people on board has been found in the sea off the coast of north Antrim.

Debris including a tailplane now confirmed as belonging to the missing aircraft was found around half a mile from Glenarm Marina where the extensive search had been focused from yesterday afternoon.

The search for the two passengers continued into the night.

It is understood the pair and another couple in a second aircraft had been on a visit to Northern Ireland and had stayed in Londonderry where they spent time taking in the sights.

A spokesman from UK Coastguard said the families of those involved were being supported by police. He said: "UK Coastguard can confirm that debris has been found in the search for the missing microlight aircraft. A yacht, which had responded to the Mayday and joined the search efforts, located the debris north of Glenarm.

"It has been confirmed as belonging to the microlight aircraft that went missing. Police are providing support to the families." The two microlight planes took off from City of Derry airport around 11am on Thursday morning at a time when weather conditions were good, but while the first aircraft managed to rise above fog near Ballycastle, the second plane was last seen flying through it. The extensive rescue operation began on Thursday evening after the plane failed to reach its destination in Scotland.

Shortly after the alarm was raised at 8.30pm on Thursday, the Coastguard launched its emergency response. The Coastguard along with five RNLI lifeboats from Larne and Red Bay in Northern Ireland and Portpatrick in Scotland began a search of the vast expanse of water off the coastline until 4am when foggy weather hampered their efforts.

The search got under way again shortly after 10am yesterday morning when RNLI crews were back on the water between Cushendall and Carnlough before moving to Glenarm where the debris was located.

The massive search operation also involved members of the Community Rescue Service. Mountain Rescue volunteers gave assistance on land and combed the area between Ballypatrick Forest and Greenan near Ballycastle.

Around 40 volunteers from the Community Rescue Service were back out searching for any evidence of the missing microlight as soon as visibility allowed yesterday morning.

Sean McCarry, Regional Commander of the Community Rescue Service said: "The vast expanse of both sea and land that was being searched coupled with the fact that it was a very small aircraft meant that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but we will continue to search until we are told otherwise."
Former Co Fermanagh GP Dr Michelle Mellotte, who admitted exploiting and taking advantage of a former elderly patient, has been struck off the medical register.

The 61-year-old doctor from Bannagh Beg Road, in Kesh, was initially suspended from the register on an interim basis in December 2011 and, as a result, has been unable to practice as a doctor in the UK since then.

However, last week the ruling was endorsed, following a hearing by the Medical Practitioners' Tribunal Service, in St James's Buildings in Manchester to determine her fitness to practice. The hearing was conducted in light of an investigation by the General Medical Council.

The tribunal noted that the Fermanagh woman, who did not attend the hearing, did not oppose the GMC's case against her, and in written submissions, Dr Mellotte's legal team stated she accepted the "appropriate sanction" was erasure.

They also said: "She has already applied for voluntary erasure but that was declined, the GMC preferring to hold a hearing. Dr Mellotte has not practiced for many years now and has long since come to terms with the fact that her medical career is over." In April Dr Mellotte was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years after she had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position between January 30, 2010, to April 22, 2011.

Summarising the case against Dr Mellotte, tribunal chairman Sean Ell said that she had "dishonestly exploited and took advantage of" a vulnerable elderly patient, taking from him 10,000 as a loan, none of which she repaid until an investigation by the police began.

Mr Ell said that Dr Mellotte's dishonest action had resulted in a "serious conviction" for fraud by abuse of position.

"She departed from the GMC's guidance in relation to professional standards. This departure, which occurred over a period of time, demonstrated behaviour that fell seriously below the standards expected of all registered medical practitioners," he said.

And he added: "The tribunal has determined that Dr Mellotte has put patients at unwarranted risk of harm, she has brought the profession into disrepute, she has breached fundamental tenets of the profession and her integrity cannot be relied upon."

After considering the evidence, the tribunal directed that Dr Mellotte's name be erased from the medical register. The Fermanagh doctor has 28 days to lodge an appeal before the tribunal's ruling becomes permanent.
A mum who lost a son to an accidental drugs overdose was taken to court after confronting a man she believed had brought illegal substances into her home.

Jacqueline Burns, from the Cunningham Way area of Antrim, was furious after discovering that drugs had been brought onto her property while she was on holiday.

The 47-year-old vowed to confront the person she suspected of being involved.

She later flew into a rage after spotting him at a pub, after which his friends surrounded her and she, allegedly accidentally, struck another woman on the nose while pushing out at them.

Ms Burns appeared at Antrim Magistrates Court earlier this week, accepted she was to blame and pleaded guilty to a single charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The court was told that the defendant, who works at a special needs school for children with learning difficulties, was on a night out on September 20 last year when she saw the person she believed had brought drugs into her house.

She lost her temper outside a bar and challenged the man. According to defence lawyer Neil Moore, she became surrounded, lashed out and unintentionally struck the woman on the nose with her palm.

After hearing an account of the event, the court was told that Ms Burns was unable to do community service because she has a son with special needs.

District Judge Alan White said he had no alternative but to impose a three-month jail term, suspended for two years.

He also ordered Ms Burns to pay 250 compensation to the injured woman.

The judge said he had "sympathy" with the defendant, given the circumstances, and accepted it was not her intention to hurt anyone. "But you behaved in a reckless manner," he added.

After the case, Ms Burns told the Belfast Telegraph how her son, Jamie Penny, left a young daughter when he died aged 24 after taking four Tramadol tablets on May 8, 2013.

"He was beautiful," she added. "He would have done anything for me - he was the best lad. Even though he took drugs, he wouldn't have taken anything from you."

Jamie developed a drugs problem aged 15 and was in and out of treatment centres, but he never managed to conquer his demons.

"He was taking cocaine, meth, ecstasy, anything he could have got his hands on, but he actually died of an accidental overdose of Tramadol," Ms Burns explained.

"He was trying to get his head together, God love him. He had got a flat so that his daughter could stay with him, and he had just got it furnished.

"He was really trying his best. He said to me, 'Mum, I am trying to sort my life out'. He must have thought that the Tramadol would not do him much harm, but it was four tablets that killed him. That just shows you how strong it is.

"He usually went to his friend's house about seven or eight o'clock to watch a DVD, but he had to be home by 11pm.

"He was on an order because he was disorderly because of his drink and his drugs, and police had put bail of 11pm on him, but he wasn't home.

"I spoke to him again at midnight and that was when I knew he was on something.

"I went to the shop and got a phone call from Jamie's phone, and it was this random person telling me had died."
An English police chief tasked with investigating more than 50 murders linked to the Army's notorious IRA agent Stakeknife has pledged to leave no stone unturned in his quest for the truth.

Bedfordshire Police Chief Constable Jon Boutcher agreed to take on the independent investigation of the high-ranking mole who led the terror group's internal security unit while in the employ of the State.

The informant, codenamed Stakeknife, has been linked to more than 50 killings carried out during the 1980s and 1990s.

The activities of the agent's handlers and others within the Army, MI5 and RUC Special Branch, are to be included in the probe, with investigators looking for evidence of potential crimes.

A team of 50 to 70 detectives will be involved in the inquiry, which is expected to last at least five years and cost more than 30m. The bill will be paid from the PSNI's budget.

No current or former members of the RUC, PSNI, Ministry of Defence or MI5 will help carry out the investigation.

The PSNI indicated that it would "not seek to direct or control, or in any way interfere" with the inquiry.

Chief Constable George Hamilton said this decision "contributes towards community confidence and reduces the impact on the PSNI's ability to provide a policing service today".

Mr Hamilton added: "I have every confidence in Chief Constable Boutcher, and I have no doubt that his previous experience when it comes to dealing with highly complex and sensitive investigations will be of great benefit to him as this investigation progresses."

Stakeknife has been widely named as Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, who came from the Markets area in the south of the city. He left Northern Ireland after the claim, which he denies, was made public.

The informant was the most high-profile British agent operating in the IRA in the 1980s and 1990s. He is believed to have led the IRA's internal security unit, known as "the nutting squad", which was responsible for identifying and interrogating suspected informers.

The IRA's internal security unit is believed to have killed at least 53 people that it claimed were informers between 1978 and 1995.

Chief Constable Boutcher admitted that uncovering the truth would be a difficult task.

"With both the passage of time and the very nature of these crimes, the truth will be a difficult and elusive prey," he said.

"My principle aim in taking responsibility for this investigation is to bring those responsible for these awful crimes - in whatever capacity they were involved -to justice."

Mr Boutcher also stressed that he was committed to finding the truth for victims' families.

"I realise the very announcement of this investigation will cause pain and bring back terribly sad memories," he said.

"It must be extremely hard to have listened to various commentaries within the community and the media about how and why your loved one died.

"I hope this investigation ultimately addresses the uncertainties and rumours. All I can promise is an absolute commitment to trying to find the truth."

Last year, Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory asked the PSNI Chief Constable to launch probes into the activities of the agent Stakeknife. He said he had asked the force to examine the full range of potential offences that may have been carried out by the double-agent and any potential criminal activity that may have been carried out by security service agents.

That followed a review by the Police Ombudsman of material arising from the three investigations carried out by Lord Stevens into allegations of collusion. The Police Ombudsman's involvement arose from a number of complaints made by members of the public and from matters referred to it by the PSNI.

They included allegations that some murders could have been prevented and that a number of people were subsequently protected from investigation and prosecution.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has decided for the second year running not to send its Moderator to the General Assembly in Edinburgh next year because of the Scots' more liberal views on same-sex relationships.

In an extremely close vote at the end of this year's General Assembly in Belfast yesterday, the Irish Presbyterians decided by 83 votes to 78 not to send the Rt Rev Dr Frank Sellar to Edinburgh next year.

This follows a vote last year not to send the outgoing Moderator, the Very Rev Dr Ian McNie, to Edinburgh either. This is because the Scottish Assembly Church voted last year to allow its clerics in same-sex relationships to serve as ministers and deacons. In a statement following yesterday's vote in Belfast a spokesman for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland said: "This vote shows the great sense of disappointment and real concern felt by the majority of members of the Irish General Assembly at decisions taken by their Scottish counterparts over the last two years.

"It should be noted that the General Assembly earlier this week decided that the natural ongoing contacts and collaboration between the councils, convenors and staff of the two churches be maintained where appropriate."

While the ban on the Moderator going to Edinburgh is seen as largely symbolic, there was a sombre air hanging over yesterday's debate, which was the last during the five-day Assembly.

The attendance was sparse at the end of a long week and only 161 votes were cast out of a total of nearly 1,000 delegates who were entitled to attend. It is felt that yesterday's voting reflected the deep split within the Presbyterian Church on the issue.

Senior figures from both sides of the argument spoke in the debate. Former Moderator, the Very Rev Dr John Lockington, said: "It breaks my heart to vote against our Moderator going to Edinburgh next year because I wish circumstances were different.

"However, one of the most symbolic things that we can do is to say to the Church of Scotland 'We don't think that you are on the right track'. This is the only way that we have to try to make the Church of Scotland see sense."

Another former Moderator, the Very Rev Dr Roy Patton, took the opposite view. He said: "I have a great deal of pain that we find ourselves in this situation.

"However, the correct response is not to walk away from the Church of Scotland. We need to engage with them and to talk with them. We would like to see things move in a totally different direction."
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh arrive at the service yesterday

The Queen's special contribution to the life of the nation during her 90 years has been celebrated with a service of thanksgiving.

Surrounded by her family, leading figures from national life and ordinary people who have made outstanding contributions, Her Majesty was honoured by the Archbishop of Canterbury for sustaining the country "through war and hardship, through turmoil and change".

It was a day of reflection on the monarch's life yesterday, with the Lord Mayor of London, Jeffrey Mountevans, paying tribute to the Queen's qualities of "gentleness, good humour and understanding".

Prince Harry, meanwhile had a personal 90th birthday wish for his grandmother - a day off from her hectic anniversary year.

The service marked the start of this weekend's celebrations, which will encompass the pomp and pageantry of Trooping the Colour today, and the informal carnival atmosphere of the Patron's Lunch street party for 10,000 being held in The Mall tomorrow.

Archbishop Welby gave his sermon before the St Paul's Cathedral congregation of more than 2,000, and told the Queen: "Your Majesty, today we rejoice for the way in which God's loving care has fearfully and wonderfully sustained you - as well as Prince Philip marking his 95th birthday today."

The Queen has been a constant in a changing world and has seen Britain undergo developments affecting all areas of life, from technology and society to the political landscape.

Born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of York on April 21 1926 - the year of the General Strike - she was never expected to be Queen, but she has become the longest-reigning and oldest monarch in British history - and now the first to reach 90.

Archbishop Welby read excerpts from Psalm 139 and told the congregation it explored "fear and wonder, and the connection between them". He added: "But just as the Psalmist sees through fear to something more stirring and more extraordinary, so we look back on Your Majesty's 90 years in the life of our nation with deep wonder and profound gratitude.

"Through war and hardship, through turmoil and change, we have been fearfully and wonderfully sustained.''

Among the St Paul's congregation was Prime Minister David Cameron, who gave a reading from the New Testament, the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Princess Eugenie (left) and other members of the Royal Family.

During the service, Sir David Attenborough read Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond's personal account of growing up to be 90.

It was a birthday gift for the monarch and brought laughter from the congregation. Sir David, who like the children's author turned 90 earlier this year, also recounted one story about Bond's "very polite" but accident-prone father, who always wore a hat, even when swimming in the sea, in case he met someone he knew.

He told the congregation: "He rode a bicycle to work, and one day he managed to get both wheels caught inside a tram line.

"Instead of stopping there and then unravelling himself, he left it until he reached the depot, only to fall and break a collarbone."

William, Kate and Harry later joined 1,800 guests at London's Guildhall for an after-service reception where Lord Mayor of London Jeffrey Mountevans paid tribute to the Queen's "unfailing service".

He said: "It is certainly with gentleness, good humour and understanding that, against the shifting sands of societal change, Her Majesty so wonderfully exemplifies the advantages of a constitutional monarchy."

Grenada High Commissioner Karl Hood said after chatting to Harry: "He said the best birthday present would be to have a day off, so she could lie about and do nothing."
An exclusive poll has shown one in three voters believe immigration is a bigger issue in the EU referendum than the economy.

The survey of 2,000 people by ORB gave the Brexit campaign a remarkable 10-point lead over the Remain camp.

It also found that when considering how to vote, a third of people think mass immigration is a far more important factor than the effect on the economy - which has been the focus of the official Vote Leave campaign led by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.

The alternative Out camp, Leave.EU, led by Ukip leader Nigel Farage, has focused on immigration. It has been accused of racism and stoking up fears about sex attacks and terrorism.

Mr Farage was heavily criticised for comments in The Sunday Telegraph at the weekend where he said the mass sex attacks in Cologne over New Year could be the "nuclear bomb" of the campaign.

Meanwhile, two members of the Vote Leave campaign, Labour MP Khalid Mahmood and Tory backbencher Sarah Wollaston, revealed they would now join the Remain side because of the "racist" undertones of the Brexit campaign and its "post-truth" statements about the NHS.

Mr Mahmood told a newspaper he was "disappointed" by Mr Johnson's comments about Barack Obama's Kenyan father and the Vote Leave focus on the potential accession of Turkey. In this latest poll, 55% of respondents said the UK should leave the EU - a rise of four points since the last poll by ORB in April.

The figures are weighted to take account of people's likelihood to vote on June 23.

The online poll, taken on Wednesday and Thursday, suggests the Out campaign has begun to pick up momentum following a series of TV debates.

Despite this, respondents are still all too aware of the impact their decision will have.

Just one in five voters said there was "no risk at all" if Britain voted to leave and 40% agreed with the statement "whether we decide to leave the EU or to remain, the result won't have much impact on my daily life".

A further 69% said the campaign was too negative, but turnout is likely to remain key.

The ORB poll found that 78% of Leave supporters say they will definitely vote compared to only 66% of Remain supporters.
Your Honor, if it is all right, for the majority of this statement I would like to address the defendant directly.

You dont know me, but youve been inside me, and thats why were here today.

On January 17th, 2015, it was a quiet Saturday night at home. My dad made some dinner and I sat at the table with my younger sister who was visiting for the weekend. I was working full time and it was approaching my bed time. I planned to stay at home by myself, watch some TV and read, while she went to a party with her friends.

Then, I decided it was my only night with her, I had nothing better to do, so why not, theres a dumb party ten minutes from my house, I would go, dance like a fool, and embarrass my younger sister. On the way there, I joked that undergrad guys would have braces. My sister teased me for wearing a beige cardigan to a frat party like a librarian. I called myself big mama, because I knew Id be the oldest one there. I made silly faces, let my guard down, and drank liquor too fast not factoring in that my tolerance had significantly lowered since college.

The next thing I remember I was in a gurney in a hallway. I had dried blood and bandages on the backs of my hands and elbow. I thought maybe I had fallen and was in an admin office on campus. I was very calm and wondering where my sister was. A deputy explained I had been assaulted.

I still remained calm, assured he was speaking to the wrong person. I knew no one at this party. When I was finally allowed to use the restroom, I pulled down the hospital pants they had given me, went to pull down my underwear, and felt nothing. I still remember the feeling of my hands touching my skin and grabbing nothing. I looked down and there was nothing. The thin piece of fabric, the only thing between my vagina and anything else, was missing and everything inside me was silenced. I still dont have words for that feeling. In order to keep breathing, I thought maybe the policemen used scissors to cut them off for evidence.

Then, I felt pine needles scratching the back of my neck and started pulling them out my hair. I thought maybe, the pine needles had fallen from a tree onto my head. My brain was talking my gut into not collapsing. Because my gut was saying, help me, help me.

I shuffled from room to room with a blanket wrapped around me, pine needles trailing behind me, I left a little pile in every room I sat in. I was asked to sign papers that said Rape Victim and I thought something has really happened. My clothes were confiscated and I stood naked while the nurses held a ruler to various abrasions on my body and photographed them. The three of us worked to comb the pine needles out of my hair, six hands to fill one paper bag. To calm me down, they said its just the flora and fauna, flora and fauna. I had multiple swabs inserted into my vagina and anus, needles for shots, pills, had a Nikon pointed right into my spread legs. I had long, pointed beaks inside me and had my vagina smeared with cold, blue paint to check for abrasions.

After a few hours of this, they let me shower. I stood there examining my body beneath the stream of water and decided, I dont want my body anymore. I was terrified of it, I didnt know what had been in it, if it had been contaminated, who had touched it. I wanted to take off my body like a jacket and leave it at the hospital with everything else.

On that morning, all that I was told was that I had been found behind a dumpster, potentially penetrated by a stranger, and that I should get retested for HIV because results dont always show up immediately. But for now, I should go home and get back to my normal life. Imagine stepping back into the world with only that information. They gave me huge hugs and I walked out of the hospital into the parking lot wearing the new sweatshirt and sweatpants they provided me, as they had only allowed me to keep my necklace and shoes.

My sister picked me up, face wet from tears and contorted in anguish. Instinctively and immediately, I wanted to take away her pain. I smiled at her, I told her to look at me, Im right here, Im okay, everythings okay, Im right here. My hair is washed and clean, they gave me the strangest shampoo, calm down, and look at me. Look at these funny new sweatpants and sweatshirt, I look like a P.E. teacher, lets go home, lets eat something. She did not know that beneath my sweatsuit, I had scratches and bandages on my skin, my vagina was sore and had become a strange, dark color from all the prodding, my underwear was missing, and I felt too empty to continue to speak. That I was also afraid, that I was also devastated. That day we drove home and for hours in silence my younger sister held me.

My boyfriend did not know what happened, but called that day and said, I was really worried about you last night, you scared me, did you make it home okay? I was horrified. Thats when I learned I had called him that night in my blackout, left an incomprehensible voicemail, that we had also spoken on the phone, but I was slurring so heavily he was scared for me, that he repeatedly told me to go find [my sister]. Again, he asked me, What happened last night? Did you make it home okay? I said yes, and hung up to cry.

I was not ready to tell my boyfriend or parents that actually, I may have been raped behind a dumpster, but I dont know by who or when or how. If I told them, I would see the fear on their faces, and mine would multiply by tenfold, so instead I pretended the whole thing wasnt real.

I tried to push it out of my mind, but it was so heavy I didnt talk, I didnt eat, I didnt sleep, I didnt interact with anyone. After work, I would drive to a secluded place to scream. I didnt talk, I didnt eat, I didnt sleep, I didnt interact with anyone, and I became isolated from the ones I loved most. For over a week after the incident, I didnt get any calls or updates about that night or what happened to me. The only symbol that proved that it hadnt just been a bad dream, was the sweatshirt from the hospital in my drawer.

One day, I was at work, scrolling through the news on my phone, and came across an article. In it, I read and learned for the first time about how I was found unconscious, with my hair disheveled, long necklace wrapped around my neck, bra pulled out of my dress, dress pulled off over my shoulders and pulled up above my waist, that I was butt naked all the way down to my boots, legs spread apart, and had been penetrated by a foreign object by someone I did not recognize. This was how I learned what happened to me, sitting at my desk reading the news at work. I learned what happened to me the same time everyone else in the world learned what happened to me. Thats when the pine needles in my hair made sense, they didnt fall from a tree. He had taken off my underwear, his fingers had been inside of me. I dont even know this person. I still dont know this person. When I read about me like this, I said, this cant be me, this cant be me. I could not digest or accept any of this information. I could not imagine my family having to read about this online. I kept reading. In the next paragraph, I read something that I will never forgive; I read that according to him, I liked it. I liked it. Again, I do not have words for these feelings.

Its like if you were to read an article where a car was hit, and found dented, in a ditch. But maybe the car enjoyed being hit. Maybe the other car didnt mean to hit it, just bump it up a little bit. Cars get in accidents all the time, people arent always paying attention, can we really say whos at fault.

And then, at the bottom of the article, after I learned about the graphic details of my own sexual assault, the article listed his swimming times. She was found breathing, unresponsive with her underwear six inches away from her bare stomach curled in fetal position. By the way, hes really good at swimming. Throw in my mile time if thats what were doing. Im good at cooking, put that in there, I think the end is where you list your extracurriculars to cancel out all the sickening things thatve happened.

The night the news came out I sat my parents down and told them that I had been assaulted, to not look at the news because its upsetting, just know that Im okay, Im right here, and Im okay. But halfway through telling them, my mom had to hold me because I could no longer stand up.

The night after it happened, he said he didnt know my name, said he wouldnt be able to identify my face in a lineup, didnt mention any dialogue between us, no words, only dancing and kissing. Dancing is a cute term; was it snapping fingers and twirling dancing, or just bodies grinding up against each other in a crowded room? I wonder if kissing was just faces sloppily pressed up against each other?

When the detective asked if he had planned on taking me back to his dorm, he said no. When the detective asked how we ended up behind the dumpster, he said he didnt know. He admitted to kissing other girls at that party, one of whom was my own sister who pushed him away. He admitted to wanting to hook up with someone. I was the wounded antelope of the herd, completely alone and vulnerable, physically unable to fend for myself, and he chose me. Sometimes I think, if I hadnt gone, then this never wouldve happened. But then I realized, it would have happened, just to somebody else. You were about to enter four years of access to drunk girls and parties, and if this is the foot you started off on, then it is right you did not continue. The night after it happened, he said he thought I liked it because I rubbed his back. A back rub.

Never mentioned me voicing consent, never mentioned us even speaking, a back rub. One more time, in public news, I learned that my ass and vagina were completely exposed outside, my breasts had been groped, fingers had been jabbed inside me along with pine needles and debris, my bare skin and head had been rubbing against the ground behind a dumpster, while an erect freshman was humping my half naked, unconscious body. But I dont remember, so how do I prove I didnt like it.

I thought theres no way this is going to trial; there were witnesses, there was dirt in my body, he ran but was caught. Hes going to settle, formally apologize, and we will both move on. Instead, I was told he hired a powerful attorney, expert witnesses, private investigators who were going to try and find details about my personal life to use against me, find loopholes in my story to invalidate me and my sister, in order to show that this sexual assault was in fact a misunderstanding. That he was going to go to any length to convince the world he had simply been confused.

I was not only told that I was assaulted, I was told that because I couldnt remember, I technically could not prove it was unwanted. And that distorted me, damaged me, almost broke me. It is the saddest type of confusion to be told I was assaulted and nearly raped, blatantly out in the open, but we dont know if it counts as assault yet. I had to fight for an entire year to make it clear that there was something wrong with this situation.

When I was told to be prepared in case we didnt win, I said, I cant prepare for that. He was guilty the minute I woke up. No one can talk me out of the hurt he caused me. Worst of all, I was warned, because he now knows you dont remember, he is going to get to write the script. He can say whatever he wants and no one can contest it. I had no power, I had no voice, I was defenseless. My memory loss would be used against me. My testimony was weak, was incomplete, and I was made to believe that perhaps, I am not enough to win this. His attorney constantly reminded the jury, the only one we can believe is Brock, because she doesnt remember. That helplessness was traumatizing.

Instead of taking time to heal, I was taking time to recall the night in excruciating detail, in order to prepare for the attorneys questions that would be invasive, aggressive, and designed to steer me off course, to contradict myself, my sister, phrased in ways to manipulate my answers. Instead of his attorney saying, Did you notice any abrasions? He said, You didnt notice any abrasions, right? This was a game of strategy, as if I could be tricked out of my own worth. The sexual assault had been so clear, but instead, here I was at the trial, answering questions like:

How old are you? How much do you weigh? What did you eat that day? Well what did you have for dinner? Who made dinner? Did you drink with dinner? No, not even water? When did you drink? How much did you drink? What container did you drink out of? Who gave you the drink? How much do you usually drink? Who dropped you off at this party? At what time? But where exactly? What were you wearing? Why were you going to this party? What d you do when you got there? Are you sure you did that? But what time did you do that? What does this text mean? Who were you texting? When did you urinate? Where did you urinate? With whom did you urinate outside? Was your phone on silent when your sister called? Do you remember silencing it? Really because on page 53 Id like to point out that you said it was set to ring. Did you drink in college? You said you were a party animal? How many times did you black out? Did you party at frats? Are you serious with your boyfriend? Are you sexually active with him? When did you start dating? Would you ever cheat? Do you have a history of cheating? What do you mean when you said you wanted to reward him? Do you remember what time you woke up? Were you wearing your cardigan? What color was your cardigan? Do you remember any more from that night? No? Okay, well, well let Brock fill it in.

I was pummeled with narrowed, pointed questions that dissected my personal life, love life, past life, family life, inane questions, accumulating trivial details to try and find an excuse for this guy who had me half naked before even bothering to ask for my name. After a physical assault, I was assaulted with questions designed to attack me, to say see, her facts dont line up, shes out of her mind, shes practically an alcoholic, she probably wanted to hook up, hes like an athlete right, they were both drunk, whatever, the hospital stuff she remembers is after the fact, why take it into account, Brock has a lot at stake so hes having a really hard time right now.

And then it came time for him to testify and I learned what it meant to be revictimized. I want to remind you, the night after it happened he said he never planned to take me back to his dorm. He said he didnt know why we were behind a dumpster. He got up to leave because he wasnt feeling well when he was suddenly chased and attacked. Then he learned I could not remember.

So one year later, as predicted, a new dialogue emerged. Brock had a strange new story, almost sounded like a poorly written young adult novel with kissing and dancing and hand holding and lovingly tumbling onto the ground, and most importantly in this new story, there was suddenly consent. One year after the incident, he remembered, oh yeah, by the way she actually said yes, to everything, so.

He said he had asked if I wanted to dance. Apparently I said yes. Hed asked if I wanted to go to his dorm, I said yes. Then he asked if he could finger me and I said yes. Most guys dont ask, can I finger you? Usually theres a natural progression of things, unfolding consensually, not a Q and A. But apparently I granted full permission. Hes in the clear. Even in his story, I only said a total of three words, yes yes yes, before he had me half naked on the ground. Future reference, if you are confused about whether a girl can consent, see if she can speak an entire sentence. You couldnt even do that. Just one coherent string of words. Where was the confusion? This is common sense, human decency.

According to him, the only reason we were on the ground was because I fell down. Note; if a girl falls down help her get back up. If she is too drunk to even walk and falls down, do not mount her, hump her, take off her underwear, and insert your hand inside her vagina. If a girl falls down help her up. If she is wearing a cardigan over her dress dont take it off so that you can touch her breasts. Maybe she is cold, maybe thats why she wore the cardigan.

Next in the story, two Swedes on bicycles approached you and you ran. When they tackled you why didnt say, Stop! Everythings okay, go ask her, shes right over there, shell tell you. I mean you had just asked for my consent, right? I was awake, right? When the policeman arrived and interviewed the evil Swede who tackled you, he was crying so hard he couldnt speak because of what hed seen.

Your attorney has repeatedly pointed out, well we dont know exactly when she became unconscious. And youre right, maybe I was still fluttering my eyes and wasnt completely limp yet. That was never the point. I was too drunk to speak English, too drunk to consent way before I was on the ground. I should have never been touched in the first place. Brock stated, At no time did I see that she was not responding. If at any time I thought she was not responding, I would have stopped immediately. Heres the thing; if your plan was to stop only when I became unresponsive, then you still do not understand. You didnt even stop when I was unconscious anyway! Someone else stopped you. Two guys on bikes noticed I wasnt moving in the dark and had to tackle you. How did you not notice while on top of me?

You said, you would have stopped and gotten help. You say that, but I want you to explain how you wouldve helped me, step by step, walk me through this. I want to know, if those evil Swedes had not found me, how the night would have played out. I am asking you; Would you have pulled my underwear back on over my boots? Untangled the necklace wrapped around my neck? Closed my legs, covered me? Pick the pine needles from my hair? Asked if the abrasions on my neck and bottom hurt? Would you then go find a friend and say, Will you help me get her somewhere warm and soft? I dont sleep when I think about the way it could have gone if the two guys had never come. What would have happened to me? Thats what youll never have a good answer for, thats what you cant explain even after a year.

On top of all this, he claimed that I orgasmed after one minute of digital penetration. The nurse said there had been abrasions, lacerations, and dirt in my genitalia. Was that before or after I came?

To sit under oath and inform all of us, that yes I wanted it, yes I permitted it, and that you are the true victim attacked by Swedes for reasons unknown to you is appalling, is demented, is selfish, is damaging. It is enough to be suffering. It is another thing to have someone ruthlessly working to diminish the gravity of validity of this suffering.

My family had to see pictures of my head strapped to a gurney full of pine needles, of my body in the dirt with my eyes closed, hair messed up, limbs bent, and dress hiked up. And even after that, my family had to listen to your attorney say the pictures were after the fact, we can dismiss them. To say, yes her nurse confirmed there was redness and abrasions inside her, significant trauma to her genitalia, but thats what happens when you finger someone, and hes already admitted to that. To listen to your attorney attempt to paint a picture of me, the face of girls gone wild, as if somehow that would make it so that I had this coming for me. To listen to him say I sounded drunk on the phone because Im silly and thats my goofy way of speaking. To point out that in the voicemail, I said I would reward my boyfriend and we all know what I was thinking. I assure you my rewards program is non transferable, especially to any nameless man that approaches me.

He has done irreversible damage to me and my family during the trial and we have sat silently, listening to him shape the evening. But in the end, his unsupported statements and his attorneys twisted logic fooled no one. The truth won, the truth spoke for itself.

You are guilty. Twelve jurors convicted you guilty of three felony counts beyond reasonable doubt, thats twelve votes per count, thirty six yeses confirming guilt, thats one hundred percent, unanimous guilt. And I thought finally it is over, finally he will own up to what he did, truly apologize, we will both move on and get better. Then I read your statement.

If you are hoping that one of my organs will implode from anger and I will die, Im almost there. You are very close. This is not a story of another drunk college hookup with poor decision making. Assault is not an accident. Somehow, you still dont get it. Somehow, you still sound confused. I will now read portions of the defendants statement and respond to them.

You said, Being drunk I just couldnt make the best decisions and neither could she.

Alcohol is not an excuse. Is it a factor? Yes. But alcohol was not the one who stripped me, fingered me, had my head dragging against the ground, with me almost fully naked. Having too much to drink was an amateur mistake that I admit to, but it is not criminal. Everyone in this room has had a night where they have regretted drinking too much, or knows someone close to them who has had a night where they have regretted drinking too much. Regretting drinking is not the same as regretting sexual assault. We were both drunk, the difference is I did not take off your pants and underwear, touch you inappropriately, and run away. Thats the difference.

You said, If I wanted to get to know her, I should have asked for her number, rather than asking her to go back to my room.

Im not mad because you didnt ask for my number. Even if you did know me, I would not want to be in this situation. My own boyfriend knows me, but if he asked to finger me behind a dumpster, I would slap him. No girl wants to be in this situation. Nobody. I dont care if you know their phone number or not.

You said, I stupidly thought it was okay for me to do what everyone around me was doing, which was drinking. I was wrong.

Again, you were not wrong for drinking. Everyone around you was not sexually assaulting me. You were wrong for doing what nobody else was doing, which was pushing your erect dick in your pants against my naked, defenseless body concealed in a dark area, where partygoers could no longer see or protect me, and my own sister could not find me. Sipping fireball is not your crime. Peeling off and discarding my underwear like a candy wrapper to insert your finger into my body, is where you went wrong. Why am I still explaining this.

You said, During the trial I didnt want to victimize her at all. That was just my attorney and his way of approaching the case.

Your attorney is not your scapegoat, he represents you. Did your attorney say some incredulously infuriating, degrading things? Absolutely. He said you had an erection, because it was cold.

You said, you are in the process of establishing a program for high school and college students in which you speak about your experience to speak out against the college campus drinking culture and the sexual promiscuity that goes along with that.

Campus drinking culture. Thats what were speaking out against? You think thats what Ive spent the past year fighting for? Not awareness about campus sexual assault, or rape, or learning to recognize consent. Campus drinking culture. Down with Jack Daniels. Down with Skyy Vodka. If you want talk to people about drinking go to an AA meeting. You realize, having a drinking problem is different than drinking and then forcefully trying to have sex with someone? Show men how to respect women, not how to drink less.

Drinking culture and the sexual promiscuity that goes along with that. Goes along with that, like a side effect, like fries on the side of your order. Where does promiscuity even come into play? I dont see headlines that read, Brock Turner, Guilty of drinking too much and the sexual promiscuity that goes along with that. Campus Sexual Assault. Theres your first powerpoint slide. Rest assured, if you fail to fix the topic of your talk, I will follow you to every school you go to and give a follow up presentation.

Lastly you said, I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin a life.

A life, one life, yours, you forgot about mine. Let me rephrase for you, I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin two lives. You and me. You are the cause, I am the effect. You have dragged me through this hell with you, dipped me back into that night again and again. You knocked down both our towers, I collapsed at the same time you did. If you think I was spared, came out unscathed, that today I ride off into sunset, while you suffer the greatest blow, you are mistaken. Nobody wins. We have all been devastated, we have all been trying to find some meaning in all of this suffering. Your damage was concrete; stripped of titles, degrees, enrollment. My damage was internal, unseen, I carry it with me. You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today.

See one thing we have in common is that we were both unable to get up in the morning. I am no stranger to suffering. You made me a victim. In newspapers my name was unconscious intoxicated woman, ten syllables, and nothing more than that. For a while, I believed that that was all I was. I had to force myself to relearn my real name, my identity. To relearn that this is not all that I am. That I am not just a drunk victim at a frat party found behind a dumpster, while you are the All American swimmer at a top university, innocent until proven guilty, with so much at stake. I am a human being who has been irreversibly hurt, my life was put on hold for over a year, waiting to figure out if I was worth something.

My independence, natural joy, gentleness, and steady lifestyle I had been enjoying became distorted beyond recognition. I became closed off, angry, self deprecating, tired, irritable, empty. The isolation at times was unbearable. You cannot give me back the life I had before that night either. While you worry about your shattered reputation, I refrigerated spoons every night so when I woke up, and my eyes were puffy from crying, I would hold the spoons to my eyes to lessen the swelling so that I could see. I showed up an hour late to work every morning, excused myself to cry in the stairwells, I can tell you all the best places in that building to cry where no one can hear you. The pain became so bad that I had to explain the private details to my boss to let her know why I was leaving. I needed time because continuing day to day was not possible. I used my savings to go as far away as I could possibly be. I did not return to work full time as I knew Id have to take weeks off in the future for the hearing and trial, that were constantly being rescheduled. My life was put on hold for over a year, my structure had collapsed.

I cant sleep alone at night without having a light on, like a five year old, because I have nightmares of being touched where I cannot wake up, I did this thing where I waited until the sun came up and I felt safe enough to sleep. For three months, I went to bed at six oclock in the morning.

I used to pride myself on my independence, now I am afraid to go on walks in the evening, to attend social events with drinking among friends where I should be comfortable being. I have become a little barnacle always needing to be at someones side, to have my boyfriend standing next to me, sleeping beside me, protecting me. It is embarrassing how feeble I feel, how timidly I move through life, always guarded, ready to defend myself, ready to be angry.

You have no idea how hard I have worked to rebuild parts of me that are still weak. It took me eight months to even talk about what happened. I could no longer connect with friends, with everyone around me. I would scream at my boyfriend, my own family whenever they brought this up. You never let me forget what happened to me. At the of end of the hearing, the trial, I was too tired to speak. I would leave drained, silent. I would go home turn off my phone and for days I would not speak. You bought me a ticket to a planet where I lived by myself. Every time a new article come out, I lived with the paranoia that my entire hometown would find out and know me as the girl who got assaulted. I didnt want anyones pity and am still learning to accept victim as part of my identity. You made my own hometown an uncomfortable place to be.

You cannot give me back my sleepless nights. The way I have broken down sobbing uncontrollably if Im watching a movie and a woman is harmed, to say it lightly, this experience has expanded my empathy for other victims. I have lost weight from stress, when people would comment I told them Ive been running a lot lately. There are times I did not want to be touched. I have to relearn that I am not fragile, I am capable, I am wholesome, not just livid and weak.

When I see my younger sister hurting, when she is unable to keep up in school, when she is deprived of joy, when she is not sleeping, when she is crying so hard on the phone she is barely breathing, telling me over and over again she is sorry for leaving me alone that night, sorry sorry sorry, when she feels more guilt than you, then I do not forgive you. That night I had called her to try and find her, but you found me first. Your attorneys closing statement began, [Her sister] said she was fine and who knows her better than her sister. You tried to use my own sister against me? Your points of attack were so weak, so low, it was almost embarrassing. You do not touch her.

You should have never done this to me. Secondly, you should have never made me fight so long to tell you, you should have never done this to me. But here we are. The damage is done, no one can undo it. And now we both have a choice. We can let this destroy us, I can remain angry and hurt and you can be in denial, or we can face it head on, I accept the pain, you accept the punishment, and we move on.

Your life is not over, you have decades of years ahead to rewrite your story. The world is huge, it is so much bigger than Palo Alto and Stanford, and you will make a space for yourself in it where you can be useful and happy. But right now, you do not get to shrug your shoulders and be confused anymore. You do not get to pretend that there were no red flags. You have been convicted of violating me, intentionally, forcibly, sexually, with malicious intent, and all you can admit to is consuming alcohol. Do not talk about the sad way your life was upturned because alcohol made you do bad things. Figure out how to take responsibility for your own conduct.

Now to address the sentencing. When I read the probation officers report, I was in disbelief, consumed by anger which eventually quieted down to profound sadness. My statements have been slimmed down to distortion and taken out of context. I fought hard during this trial and will not have the outcome minimized by a probation officer who attempted to evaluate my current state and my wishes in a fifteen minute conversation, the majority of which was spent answering questions I had about the legal system. The context is also important. Brock had yet to issue a statement, and I had not read his remarks.

My life has been on hold for over a year, a year of anger, anguish and uncertainty, until a jury of my peers rendered a judgment that validated the injustices I had endured. Had Brock admitted guilt and remorse and offered to settle early on, I would have considered a lighter sentence, respecting his honesty, grateful to be able to move our lives forward. Instead he took the risk of going to trial, added insult to injury and forced me to relive the hurt as details about my personal life and sexual assault were brutally dissected before the public. He pushed me and my family through a year of inexplicable, unnecessary suffering, and should face the consequences of challenging his crime, of putting my pain into question, of making us wait so long for justice.

I told the probation officer I do not want Brock to rot away in prison. I did not say he does not deserve to be behind bars. The probation officers recommendation of a year or less in county jail is a soft timeout, a mockery of the seriousness of his assaults, an insult to me and all women. It gives the message that a stranger can be inside you without proper consent and he will receive less than what has been defined as the minimum sentence. Probation should be denied. I also told the probation officer that what I truly wanted was for Brock to get it, to understand and admit to his wrongdoing.

Unfortunately, after reading the defendants report, I am severely disappointed and feel that he has failed to exhibit sincere remorse or responsibility for his conduct. I fully respected his right to a trial, but even after twelve jurors unanimously convicted him guilty of three felonies, all he has admitted to doing is ingesting alcohol. Someone who cannot take full accountability for his actions does not deserve a mitigating sentence. It is deeply offensive that he would try and dilute rape with a suggestion of promiscuity. By definition rape is the absence of promiscuity, rape is the absence of consent, and it perturbs me deeply that he cant even see that distinction.

The probation officer factored in that the defendant is youthful and has no prior convictions. In my opinion, he is old enough to know what he did was wrong. When you are eighteen in this country you can go to war. When you are nineteen, you are old enough to pay the consequences for attempting to rape someone. He is young, but he is old enough to know better.

As this is a first offence I can see where leniency would beckon. On the other hand, as a society, we cannot forgive everyones first sexual assault or digital rape. It doesnt make sense. The seriousness of rape has to be communicated clearly, we should not create a culture that suggests we learn that rape is wrong through trial and error. The consequences of sexual assault needs to be severe enough that people feel enough fear to exercise good judgment even if they are drunk, severe enough to be preventative.

The probation officer weighed the fact that he has surrendered a hard earned swimming scholarship. How fast Brock swims does not lessen the severity of what happened to me, and should not lessen the severity of his punishment. If a first time offender from an underprivileged background was accused of three felonies and displayed no accountability for his actions other than drinking, what would his sentence be? The fact that Brock was an athlete at a private university should not be seen as an entitlement to leniency, but as an opportunity to send a message that sexual assault is against the law regardless of social class.

The Probation Officer has stated that this case, when compared to other crimes of similar nature, may be considered less serious due to the defendants level of intoxication. It felt serious. Thats all Im going to say.

What has he done to demonstrate that he deserves a break? He has only apologized for drinking and has yet to define what he did to me as sexual assault, he has revictimized me continually, relentlessly. He has been found guilty of three serious felonies and it is time for him to accept the consequences of his actions. He will not be quietly excused.

He is a lifetime sex registrant. That doesnt expire. Just like what he did to me doesnt expire, doesnt just go away after a set number of years. It stays with me, its part of my identity, it has forever changed the way I carry myself, the way I live the rest of my life.

To conclude, I want to say thank you. To everyone from the intern who made me oatmeal when I woke up at the hospital that morning, to the deputy who waited beside me, to the nurses who calmed me, to the detective who listened to me and never judged me, to my advocates who stood unwaveringly beside me, to my therapist who taught me to find courage in vulnerability, to my boss for being kind and understanding, to my incredible parents who teach me how to turn pain into strength, to my grandma who snuck chocolate into the courtroom throughout this to give to me, my friends who remind me how to be happy, to my boyfriend who is patient and loving, to my unconquerable sister who is the other half of my heart, to Alaleh, my idol, who fought tirelessly and never doubted me. Thank you to everyone involved in the trial for their time and attention. Thank you to girls across the nation that wrote cards to my DA to give to me, so many strangers who cared for me.

Most importantly, thank you to the two men who saved me, who I have yet to meet. I sleep with two bicycles that I drew taped above my bed to remind myself there are heroes in this story. That we are looking out for one another. To have known all of these people, to have felt their protection and love, is something I will never forget.

And finally, to girls everywhere, I am with you. On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt you or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought everyday for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you. As the author Anne Lamott once wrote, Lighthouses dont go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining. Although I cant save every boat, I hope that by speaking today, you absorbed a small amount of light, a small knowing that you cant be silenced, a small satisfaction that justice was served, a small assurance that we are getting somewhere, and a big, big knowing that you are important, unquestionably, you are untouchable, you are beautiful, you are to be valued, respected, undeniably, every minute of every day, you are powerful and nobody can take that away from you. To girls everywhere, I am with you. Thank you.
Some people may not be surprised by the decision of the Presbyterian Church to close the retail units in the ground floor mall at Assembly Buildings in Belfast.

They will be surprised, however, that the traders were told about this possibility only two weeks ago, and by e-mail.

There is no easy way to convey bad news but the Presbyterian Church should surely have found a more diplomatic way of informing its tenants who will leave the premises as soon as their leases run out.

The General Assembly accepted a recommendation from the Property Panel on Thursday to close the retail units and to use the space to further the Church's "work and mission".

This was on the same day that I noticed a message outside the Assembly Hall that stated 'people matter'. It made me wonder how much the Assembly was taking this to heart.

In a statement the Property Panel convenor, the Rev Adrian McLernon, said: "We appreciate that this will mean change for the small number of our tenants. We would have liked to have informed them of our proposals sooner but, regrettably, due to many and varied reasons, this has not been possible."

Mr McClernon did not disclose what those reasons were, but in the Assembly 'Blue Book' there was a warning to all that the information in the Property Panel's lengthy report "is commercially viable and should be used with discretion."

Earlier this week I spoke to some of the tenants affected. One woman accused the Church of "un-Christian behaviour", while another asked despairingly: "What can we do? The Church is our landlord and, if it says so, we have to go, and find somewhere else."

David Weiniger, the long-term proprietor of the popular Spires Restaurant, admitted to the sense of shock felt by the residents, though he bravely looked on the positive side and talked about this as a possible opportunity for doing something new.

He stressed that his restaurant would remain open until next summer at least, and said that he and his staff would continue to serve his many customers in every way possible.

I admire his outlook but, nevertheless this is a sad time for all those tenants who tried to keep their businesses going. However, the Mall has been running at a loss commercially and the Church has had to meet the shortfall.

Something, had to be done and the Rev McLernon told the General Assembly: "This is an opportunity for the Presbyterian Church to take occupancy of the ground floor of Assembly Buildings and make it work for us."

The intention is to provide more space for exhibitions and conferences. This is partly because of the upturn in tourism, and the influx of many students who will be living in suitable accommodation nearby.

So far, so good. It makes sense to increase conference space as a way of making money, but I am not sure if an exhibition centre will be such a big draw, in such a place.

All of this will take a year and more to accomplish, and one hopes that the Church will get it right, even if they made one of their greatest mistakes some years ago by voting to sell off their entire headquarters, Church House.

By the grace of God that did not happen, and the Church held on to the Assembly Buildings. Only time will tell whether this latest venture will prove to be wise, or otherwise.
Bangladeshi police stand guard near where Hindu monastery worker Nitya Ranjan Pandey was hacked to death in Pabna district, June 10, 2016.

Hours after Bangladeshi police launched a special drive in which they reportedly swept up hundreds of people as they widened their crackdown on Islamic militants, suspected Muslim radicals Friday hacked to death a Hindu devotee in northwestern Pabna district, officials said.

Nitya Ranjan Pandey, 60, a staff member at the Sri Sri Thakur Aunukul Chandra Satsangha Ashram in Hemayetpur, Pabna, was the latest victim of a string of targeted killings carried out by suspected militants since 2013, police said.

According to witnesses, Pandey was attacked by machete-wielding assailants while out for his early-morning walk, police said.

Pandey was killed between 4:45 and 5 a.m. The killers hacked him on the shoulder and head, and he died on the spot, Sheikh Mohammad Selim, an assistant superintendent of police in Pabna, told BenarNews.

He said a police team was searching for the killers.

No arrest is made yet, but hopefully we will catch them, he said.

Pabna Police Superintendent Alamgir Kabir told reporters that radical Islamists were suspected of carrying out the attack, according to the Associated Press.

Pandey had worked at the monastery for about 40 years, said Ruhul Amin, a resident of Hemayetpur, which is about 230 kilometers (143 miles) from Dhaka.

He had been a diabetic patient; he walked in the morning every day. [H]is morning walk brought his death  we are so sorry. He had been very friendly to the local people, Amin told BenarNews.

Since February 2013, at least 36 people including members of religious minority groups, secular bloggers, intellectuals and other have been killed, mostly in machete-attacks by suspected Islamic militants, according to the Home Ministry.

Relations between Bangladeshs majority moderate Muslims and minority Hindus have traditionally been peaceful, but Pandey was the second Hindu killed in three days in the country by suspected Islamic militants, according to authorities.

Police launch drive against militants

Fridays killing came after Inspector General of Police A.K.M. Shahidul Haque announced that police were launching a special seven-day drive against militants and criminals.

On Friday, the first day of the operation, police hauled in as many as 1,000 suspects, Dhakas Channel 24 reported.

The special operation followed the killings this week of five suspected members of banned militant group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in a series of raids by the polices elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

Those raids appear to have been triggered by the killing in Chittagong on Sunday of Mahmuda Aktar, the wife of a top counter-terror police official, in Chittagong.

Authorities said they suspected that JMB operatives targeted her in retaliation for anti-JMB operations led by her husband.

Similar crackdowns had previously led to the arrests of 18,000 people, according to media reports, but were not without controversy.

In the past, the government arrested thousands of opposition leaders on the pretext of crackdowns on the militants. This special drive is also aimed at suppressing the opposition, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, general secretary of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, told BenarNews.

But others voiced support for the new efforts by Bangladeshi law enforcers.

We welcome the special drive against the militants. We want protection. We also hope that the drive must not be showy, Dr Nimchandra Bhowmik told a rally in Dhaka organized by the Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad, an association representing Bangladeshs religious minorities.
Updated at 8 a.m. ET on 2016-06-12

Bangladesh police said Saturday they had arrested 3,155 people in the first two days of a week-long crackdown on crime, including a suspect in the June 5 killing of a police official's wife.

A.K.M. Shahidur Rahman, a deputy inspector general of police, told BenarNews that among those arrested are 37 suspected militants. He said the arrestees include listed criminals, wanted persons and persons with criminal records.

Similar crackdowns had previously led to the arrests of 18,000 people, according to media reports, but were not without controversy.

In the past, the government arrested thousands of opposition leaders on the pretext of crackdowns on militants. This special drive is also aimed at suppressing the opposition, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, general secretary of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, told BenarNews.

Others support the effort.

We welcome the special drive against the militants. We want protection. We also hope that the drive must not be showy, Dr Nimchandra Bhowmik told a rally in Dhaka organized by the Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad, an association representing Bangladeshs religious minorities.

Since February 2013, at least 36 people including members of religious minority groups, secular bloggers, intellectuals and others have been killed, many in machete-attacks by suspected Islamic militants, according to the Home Ministry.

Suspected killer arrested

Police on Saturday also announced the arrest of Shahzaman, 28, in the killing of Mahmuda Aktar, the wife of a top counter-terror police official. Authorities have said they suspected that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operatives targeted her in retaliation for anti-JMB operations led by her husband.

We suspect he may be one three killers as he was seen in the CCTV (closed-circuit tv) footage at the time of the murder, Debdas Bhattacharia, an additional commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, told BenarNews.

We are not sure whether he has been a member of a militant body. He has been under questioning, he said.

Bhattacharia also said the motorcycle used in the killing and a microbus seen following the motorcycle were confiscated.

The driver of the microbus has been detained, but we are examining his involvement in the murder, he said.

Prime Minister vows to catch killers

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said police will hunt down those responsible for the recent spate of killings.

Where will they hide in Bangladesh? she said on Saturday during a meeting of the Awami Leagues Working Committee, according to Bangladesh media.

No one will get away. Bangladesh is a small country, Hasina said, according to bdnews24.com. Its not a tough task to find them. They will be brought to justice.

Brutal week

Mahmudas killing on Sunday began a brutal week in Bangladesh as three others also lost their lives in attacks.

She was killed by three people on a motorbike as she accompanied her young son to school at around 6:45 a.m., according to Chittagong Metropolitan Police. Her killers separated the boy from his mother and then stabbed and shot her to death before speeding off on the motorcycle.

That same day, Christian shopkeeper Sunil Gomes was slashed to death in the village of Bonpara. Islamic State (IS) claimed that its fighters killed Gomes, according to the website of the SITE Intelligence Group. Bangladesh officials have claimed IS is not in the country.

On Tuesday, Islamic militants were suspected of the machete-killing Hindu priest Anando Gopal Ganguly, 69, in southwestern Bangladesh. That same day, police killed three suspected JMB members during raids in Dhaka and northwestern Rajshahi district.

Suspected Muslim radicals on Friday hacked to death Nitya Ranjan Pandey, 60, a staff member at the Sri Sri Thakur Aunukul Chandra Satsangha Ashram in Hemayetpur, Pabna. According to witnesses, Pandey was attacked by machete-wielding assailants while out for his early morning walk. SITE reported IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pediatricians in Malaysia are calling for more effective measures to prevent sexual abuse of children after a British pedophile who preyed on up to 200 Malaysian children was jailed for life by a court in London this week.



Following the conviction of Richard Huckle, who had admitted to 71 charges of sex abuse against children from the ages of six months to 12 years old, Malaysian officials have assured the public that parliament was considering tightening laws against child abuse.



But the country's pediatricians said legal action and punishment alone were not sufficient.



"We need preventive measures in the form of parenting skills on child safety, sex education in schools, educating children themselves on protecting themselves from potential sexual predators, Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA) President N. Thiyagar told BenarNews.



Huckle is believed to have targeted as many as 200 children over a span of nine years, posing as a photographer, English teacher and Western philanthropist to gain access to impoverished families, mostly in Malaysia, according to reports.



According to Malaysian officials, most of Huckles victims were from impoverished Christian communities in the capital Kuala Lumpur, where he had worked as an English teacher and Christian charity worker.



Thiyagar said Huckles case underscored the need for stringent vetting and screening methods in recruiting volunteers, while parents needed to be reminded and educated about child safety.



We need to conduct awareness campaigns on child safety against sexual offenders to the public. Children must be taught the basic stranger-danger rules such as never to accept gifts from a stranger or go anywhere with a stranger, he said.



He suggested that safety of children be part of pre-school and school curriculums in sex education.



Malaysia does not teach sex education in schools.



In a joint statement this week, The MPA and the College of Paediatrics Malaysia said that two-thirds of pedophiles were known to children.



According to the statement, pedophiles often disguise themselves as volunteers for agencies dealing with children.



"They will establish themselves in a position of trust to remain close to their victims; the children. Statistics indicate that your child could be more at risk from someone they do know than from a complete stranger; in relation to pedophiles, two-thirds of pedophiles are known to children."



The Huckle case has raised an outcry among Malaysians on social media.

Even Prime Minister Najib Razak voiced his anger and sadness about the case on Facebook, saying Malaysians should heed lessons from it.



Moves to toughen child-sex penalties



The government, meanwhile, said it was proposing to enact new legislation specifically for dealing with pedophiles.



This is to allow investigations and prosecution of pedophile sexual offenders even when they commit the crimes in other countries, the state news agency Bernama quoted Deputy Home Affairs Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed as saying.



Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri also announced that amendments were being made to a current law against child abuse.



But Lee Lam Thye, vice-chairman of the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation, said approval and passage of amendments to the Child Act should be made during the current sitting of parliament "so that we can take care of the needs of children, protect their rights and put a stop to child abuse and parental negligence."



A bill seeking the amendments had been tabled for debate in December.



The amendments would mean stiffer action against those who abuse or neglect children, Lee said.



The proposal carries a heavier penalty of a fine of up to 50,000 ringgit (U.S. $12,252) and a maximum jail sentence of 20 years for those convicted of child abuse. Under the present act, child abuse is punishable with a fine of no more than 10,000 ringgit (U.S. $2,450) and imprisonment of up to 10 years.



The proposal also includes setting up a proposed registry of perpetrators who commit crimes against children, and establishing a National Council for Children to advise and make recommendations to the government on issues pertaining to children.



The registry would include details of foreign pedophiles who have committed offenses in Malaysia, Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Azizah Mohd Dun said, according to the new Straits Times.



A task force was being set up to look into the details and mechanism of the registry, a ministry official said. At present, records of those convicted and the offenses were kept by police, the report said.



Fahirul N. Ramli contributed to this report.
Ruins of a 2,000-year-old structure are visible at the Sungai Batu Archaeological site in Bujang Valley, in Malaysias Kedah state, June 5, 2016.

What used to be an ordinary piece of land in Malaysias Kedah state is now creating a historical buzz, after experts recently certified that the Sungai Batu Archaeological site is 2,000 years old and one of the oldest civilizations in Southeast Asia.

In May, after nearly a decade of excavation work at a local palm oil estate, archaeologists with expertise of five main ancient civilizations  Mesopotamia, Indus, Mesoamerica, China and Greco-Roman  signed a plaque recognizing the historical significance of Sungai Batu.

Sungai Batu, the archaeologists declared, predated by many centuries two of the most famous archaeological treasures in the region  Borobudur temple in Indonesia and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which were built in the 9th and 12th centuries respectively.

All this while, we were taught that Malay civilization only began during the Malacca Sultanate some 400 years ago. But these findings proved history propagated all this while by the orientalist is inaccurate as the Malay civilization had indeed started as early as some 2,000 years ago, secondary school teacher and history buff Fahrizan Fahmy told BenarNews.

Evidence unearthed at these sites proved that our ancestors had a strong civilization to the extent that the Sungai Batu was a thriving industrial port exporting high-grade iron products to other civilizations during that time, he said.

He hoped that the state and federal governments would start the ball rolling so that our future generation would get a clearer history of our ancestors achievements in building a civilization some 2,000 years ago.

Traces of an ancient port

The archaeological dig was initiated in 2007 following a request by the then-Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He sought to have the National Heritage Department and a group of archaeologists from Malaysias top university  Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)  expand research on the Bujang Valley, Malaysias richest archaeological area, where ancient ruins with Buddhist and Hindu influences have been unearthed.

Led by USMs Global Archaeological Research Center director, Mokhtar Saidin, the team used modern methods to establish that Sungai Batu site could have been a seaport during the 1st century.

In 2009, the team mapped the area and identified 100 potential excavation spots in Sungai Batu area. The team subsequently started to unearth relics suggesting that the site was home to a thriving iron-smelting industry some 2,000 years ago, linking it to the areas ancient Kedah Civilization.

Historians remarked that the people in ancient times called Kedah Tua by different names: Kataha in Sanskrit, Kadaram, Kidaram and Kidara in Tamil, Chieh-Cha in Chinese, Kalah in Arabic and Quedah in the West.

Along with the iron smelt, Mokhtars team dug up remnants of 12 jetties and administrative buildings, suggesting that the site was once a thriving port and then at sea level.

The team also found a distinct clay brick monument with a circular structure that represented the moon, sun or earth. Its north side faces nearby Gunung Jerai (Jerai Mountain), believed to be the sacred home of the gods during ancient times.

According to researchers, the ritualistic spots and pottery containing certain symbols may indicate the practice of animism prior to the arrival of Buddhism and Hinduism in the region.

Archaeologists expect to make more significant discoveries at nearly 100 potential exploration spots on the 4-square-km (1.5-square-mile) site, Ratnah Wati Mohd Rapi, a post-doctorate student in archaeology, told BenarNews.

So far, we have carried out excavation works at some 55 sites and dozens more are waiting to be discovered.

Archaeologists are looking to unearth more structures to complement the existing findings, following the discovery of the remnant of an ancient barge buried in a swampy location, she said.

Oxford University professor Stephen Oppenheimer hands over a plaque to Mokhtar Saidin (second from right) recognizing the 2,000-year-old Sungai Batu site during the Kedah Tua International Conference in May. [Courtesy of Archaeology Friends of Universiti Sains Malaysia]

Global tourism plans

Since the archaeologists recognized the ruins as dating back two millennia, the state of Kedah is now preparing to lobby the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to list Sungai Batu as a protected World Heritage Site, Kedah Tourism and Heritage committee chairman Mohd Rawi Abdul Hamid told BenarNews.

Such recognition by the U.N. would position the state to become a magnet for the international tourism sector, especially among the global archaeological fans.

Officials are working on a dossier and plan to travel to make an official presentation to UNESCO at its headquarters in Paris in February 2017.

If everything goes well as planned by professor Mokhtar, we may secure the world heritage site listing for Sungai Batu by June 2017, he said, pointing out that Mokhtars team in 2012 had successfully persuaded UNESCO to put the Malaysian state of Peraks Lenggong Valley on its world heritage list.

According to UNESCO, the Lenggong Valley has four archaeological sites in two clusters that span close to 2 million years  one of the longest records of early man in a single locality, and the oldest outside the African continent. The sites in Lenggong feature evidence of early Paleolithic tool-making capabilities.

Along with the Lenggong Valley, Malaysia has three other UNESCO-listed heritage sites  Mount Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Mount Kinabalu National Park in Sabah and the historical sites of Malacca and Georgetown.

Meanwhile, the ongoing recognition is paving the way for the site to become a global archaeological tourism site, Sungai Batus Civilization Archaeology-Adventure Society founder and chairman Mazlan Mahmud said.

If we look at Angkor Wat, it recorded a U.S. $43.3 million entrance ticket collection for last year alone. So if we could tap just 1 percent or 2 percent of the total visitors from Angkor Wat to Sungai Batu, it will create a huge spill-over to the local tourism sector, he told BenarNews.

Even without such spillover, he said there was an urgent need to train guides since there has been a steady increase in visitors.

They wish to learn more on the similarities and difference between Sungai Batu civilization and the prominent archaeological sites such as Angkor Wat and Borobudur Temple. As such, we need to develop our soft skills, which means a pool of local guides who are well-versed on the Kedah Tua civilization and the findings made in Sungai Batu so that we will have a common interpretation to educate the visitors, Mazlan added.
For a long time there were no big news about Snowden in German media

Von: John R. Schindler

Three years after Edward Snowden, the American IT contractor turned global celebrity, made his media debut in Hong Kong, the truth of what really happened in this sensational affair remains elusive.

The outline is clear. Snowden left his job in Hawaii with the National Security Agency in May 2013 and appeared at Hong Kongs Mira Hotel on June 1, having made off with more than a million classified intelligence documents belonging to the American government.

A few days later, Snowden appeared on camera to announce that he was lifting the top secret mask off NSA, Americas biggest and most secretive intelligence service.

Yet significant questions remain.

Where was Snowden from 21 to 31 May 2013? His whereabouts in that period are unknown.

Why did he choose to repeatedly visit the Russian consulate in Hong Kong, even celebrating his 30th birthday there?

Auch interessant

What did those visits have to do with his departure for Moscow on June 23rd?

Last, why has Snowden never left Russia, three years after his arrival?

These issues have taken center stage in the NSA-Untersuchungsausschuss des Bundestags. Is Snowden really the whistleblower he claims to be?

It is odd that anyone who claims to support press freedom and personal liberty would take extended refuge in Vladimir Putins Russia, where the population is much more tightly watched by the intelligence services than in any Western country, and where journalists who oppose the regime are harassed and even murdered.

BfV President Hans-Georg Maaen has waded into this controversy by stating that Snowden is likely not who he pretends to be. "Dies ware eine Spionage-Operation verbunden mit einer Desinformations- und Einflussnahme-Operation, he stated: "Ein Keil wurde getrieben zwischen die USA und deren engste Verbundete, insbesondere Deutschland. That Snowden is in fact a Russian agent hat eine hohe Plausibilitat, Maaen added.

Predictably, Snowdens defenders have pretended outrage at the BfV Presidents statements, although he has made them before.

Two months ago, in an interview alongside BND President Gerhard Schindler, Maassen explained that it was likely that the American whistleblower was in reality a Kremlin agent whose actual agenda was harming his own countrys worldwide security partnerships  including with Germany -- for Putins benefit.

That the Snowden Operation has been very effective as disinformation against Western democracies goes without saying.

Such statements, taken as heresy by Snowdens ardent fans, are uncontroversial among anyone who understands the secret world of espionage.

To anybody acquainted with how Russias powerful intelligence services actually operate, the idea that Snowden is their collaborator is no more controversial than stating that the sun rises in the east every morning.

Lesen Sie auch

The proper espionage term for Edward Snowden is defector, meaning an employee of an intelligence service who takes up residence in another country whose spies are not friends.

Since 1917, every single Western intelligence defector to Moscow has cooperated with the Kremlin, on grounds of quid pro quo.

There is no known case of a defector not collaborating with the KGB or its successors. If you want sanctuary, you will tell the Russians everything you know. That is how the spy game works.

Any Russian intelligence officer who wants sanctuary in the United States will be required to collaborate with American spy services, including extended debriefings by multiple intelligence agencies. Are we really supposed to believe that Vladimir Putin, former KGB colonel, is more charitable?

Of course Snowden is collaborating with Russian intelligence, explained Oleg Kalugin more than two years ago. A legend in global spy circles, Major General Kalugin is the former head of foreign counterintelligence for the KGBs elite First Chief Directorate.

In the Cold War, Kalugin recruited moles inside American intelligence just like Edward Snowden. He is an expert witness here.

Kalugin made clear that Snowdens new life revolves around the Federal Security Service, Putins powerful FSB. The FSB are now his hosts, and they are taking care of him, he explained: Whatever he had access to in his former days at NSA, I believe he shared all of it with the Russians, and they are very grateful.

To anybody familiar with how Russia works, there can be no doubt that Snowden has been an agent of the Kremlin at least beginning with his arrival in Moscow three years ago.

Whether he was recruited by the Russian intelligence before that is likely  as Ive explained before, it would be highly abnormal for the FSB to grant sanctuary to an American defector they have never met  yet it remains an open question, and a very important one.

Whether Snowden has collaborated with the Kremlin since June 2013, however, is not an open question.

Since joining Twitter last year, Snowden has pontificated from Moscow on a wide range of issues. In rare form, he entered the debate regarding the NSA-Untersuchungsausschuss, sending out this remarkable tweet yesterday.

Challenging Maassen head-on with a mocking tweet is a strange turn of events in the Snowden saga.

Moreover, when did Snowden learn such good German? Hes never spoken it before, much less flawlessly.

All of this leads to obvious questions among anybody familiar with Putins Kremlin. Western security experts have suspected that Snowdens tweets, at least on intelligence matters, are tightly vetted by the FSB.

Lesen Sie auch

Which would be normal for any high-priority defector. Living under what Russians call a protective roof (kryscha) provided by the FSB means a loss of personal freedom of the kind Snowden claims he cherishes above all else.

Either Edward Snowden suddenly learned excellent German or someone in Moscow is writing his tweets for him.

Vladimir Putin himself speaks excellent German from his time with the KGB in Dresden in the 1980s and perhaps he does not wish to see the language mangled in public.

Lesen Sie auch

John R. Schindler is a security consultant and a former National Security Agency intelligence analyst and counterintelligence officer. He is on Twitter @20committee.
KNO Chairman Duwa Bawm Wam Layaw said that the Myanmar military was attacking ethnic armed organisations by using modern jets and people were suffering because of ongoing military offensives.

Our country is not at war with foreign powers so we dont need to build up our military forces for the defence of the country. And ethnic organisations are engaging with the government in peace talks to cease the civil war peacefully at the conference table. And the Myanmar government led by National League for Democracy (NLD) is gearing up to hold 21st century Panglong Conference. So the KNO requested Pakistans government not to sell military jets to Myanmar as it will escalate the war against ethnic armies, he said.

He further said that Myanmar military was bombing civilian targets and had a plan to launch offensives against ethnic armies and was reinforcing their forces.

Pakistan offered to sell the Myanmar Air Force 24 JF-17 fighter jets in July 2015 and Pakistan media reported that Myanmar had bought 16 JF-17 fighter jets.

KNO Chairman Duwa Bawm Wam Layaw said that Myanmar government led by NLD should urge the Myanmar military to join peace talks with ethnic organisations and strive to explore ways to hold the 21st century Panglong Conference in an all-inclusive manner with the objective of building the Federal Union through negotiation.

He also said, The entire world is watching us. The current government is the peoples government elected by the people. So we dont want to hear about wars. We want to see the government focus on the security of the people, their wealth and their lives. And we want to see the government persuade the military not to fight wars anymore.

He went on to say that they would send this petition to Pakistan government within a few days via KNO leaders based in the UK.
WASHINGTON  The full Senate is expected to take up the Puerto Rico bill passed by the House and vote on it before the end of the month or in early July.

The House telegraphed the action when they pulled the text of the bill that passed by a vote of 297 to 127 and substituted it for the language in a bill that had already passed the Senate, S. 2328. That will allow Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to bring the measure up before the full Senate without having to go through committees.

In addition, several Republican leaders in the Senate have said that while the bill isn't ideal, they don't see any alternatives to it and that it might be good to pass the measure before Puerto Rico faces a nearly $2 billion debt payment due July 1 on which it is expected to default.

Majority Whip Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the House legislation is the only alternative to what could become a large taxpayer-funded bailout.

Senate Finance Committee chair Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said the Senate would have to support the bill if the House passed it, even though he said he doesn't "think it's a very good bill in many ways," according to media reports.

"I don't see anyone saying 'Let's not do anything,'" said one source closely following the legislation. "I don't see much bondholder lobbying against this."

Former Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., who currently is associated with the senior COFINA bondholders, also expects quick movement on the bill, which, in his opinion, will not take more than two or three days once it is on the Senate floor.

"It's so rare that something comes out of Congress these days that is bipartisan and constructive that I don't think the Senate is going to want to look like they stopped it," Gregg said. "There might be some amendments that are closer to being technical in nature than substantive and then the House would have to take it up under suspension [of the rules]."

The bill, called PROMESA, is the product of extensive negotiations led by the House Natural Resources Committee between lawmakers from both parties, the administration and some Puerto Rico representatives. It seeks to balance competing interests by creating a strong oversight board that would have the power to require balanced budgets and fiscal plans, as well as to file debt restructuring petitions on behalf of the commonwealth and its entities in a federal district court as a last resort if voluntary negotiations do not succeed.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has threatened to filibuster the bill if the Senate decides to move it, but sources say the Senate likely has the 60 votes necessary to invoke cloture and limit debate on the bill.

The Vermont senator introduced an alternate bill on Thursday that would create a seven-member Reconstruction Finance Corporation of Puerto Rico. The public corporation would be a restructuring agency with authority to lend to Puerto Rico and facilitate debt restructuring for the commonwealth. His bill would also appropriate $10.8 billion to the commonwealth over five years to help modernize infrastructure as well as extend Chapter 9 bankruptcy protections to the island.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., also opposes the bill, citing concerns about the power an oversight board would have to veto laws, override budgets and determine the levels of debt payments. He wants to add health and tax credit provisions.

But the Senate is controlled by Republicans who are not likely to share these views.

Obama administration officials lauded the House vote and said the Senate needs to act quickly before the crisis worsens. The territory is struggling with about $70 billion of debt and $46 billion of unfunded pension liabilities.

The bill garnered bipartisan in the House Thursday evening. A total of 139 Republicans voted for it, with 103 voting against it and five not voting. On the Democratic side 158 members voted for the bill, 24 against it, and six did not vote.

The members also passed by voice vote seven of eight amendments debated during the session. The amendments mainly bolster or clarify portions of the bill passed by the House Natural Resources Committee on May 25.

The only amendment to fail was one offered by Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., and others that would have stricken a provision of the bill that could allow Puerto Rican employers to pay workers under 25 years old less than the minimum wage. The final vote on that amendment was 196 in favor to 225 against.

House leaders, including those from the Natural Resources Committee, said during debate on the bill that it may not be ideal, but it is a compromise that is the best, if not only, option for Puerto Rico.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said on the floor that passing the bill allows Puerto Rico to get a handle on its debt. The territory is currently struggling with roughly $70 billion in debt and $46 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.

"Its economy will grow, and taxpayers will be safe," Ryan said. "I'm telling you right now: the best chance creditors have to get what they're owed is this bill."

Natural Resources Committee chair Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said the bill fulfills Congress' constitutional responsibility to uphold its obligations to the American citizens in Puerto Rico.

"It is my hope the Senate acts expeditiously to pass this legislation," Bishop said.

Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's nonvoting member of Congress, said the bill accomplished the first step in dealing with an emergency, to stabilize the solution.

"Without PROMESA, the Puerto Rico government is likely to collapse, participants in public pension plans will be terribly harmed, and many bondholders could lose their investments," Pierluisi said. "PROMESA is in the interest of all stakeholders."

However, he added that while the bill is an "essential first step," Puerto Rico must in the future become either "a full and equal member of the American family as a state" or must become a sovereign country.

Several Democratic legislators applauded Pierluisi for his leadership and support of the bill, which they said came at a political price as he lost in a primary bid to represent his party in Puerto Rico's upcoming gubernatorial election in November.

The first amendment the members approved in the session came from Bishop. The amendment was a "manager's amendment" that provided a number of technical and other changes to the legislation.

The amendment, among other things, deletes the opt-in option for other territories and gives the oversight board the opportunity to review territorial laws enacted between May 4, 2016 and the full appointment of board members. It moves up the president's appointment deadline for the board to Sept. 1, 2016 from Sept. 30, 2016. It also requires the board be up and running by Sept. 15. Additionally, it lays out an initial funding plan that requires Puerto Rico's governor to transfer the greater of $2 million or an amount determined by the oversight board to a special board account on the date of the board's establishment and on the fifth day of every month thereafter.

If a court holds that the legislation is invalid because it does not treat similarly situated territories uniformly, the Bishop amendment requires the court to reinstate the opt-in provision.

Other amendments that passed include one from Reps. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., and Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., that preserves the ability of a Puerto Rico commission to continue studying the legality of some of the commonwealth's debt issuances and to allow the Puerto Rican government to act on that information. That commission recently released a report that said much of the commonwealth's debt may have been issued illegally. If that is true, Puerto Rico may take the stance it does not have to pay that debt.

Another amendment that passed, sponsored by Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Mike Capuano, D-Mass., gives priority to protecting federal taxpayer assets in Puerto Rico, like mass transportation assets.

Other amendments added to the final House bill include one that will require the Congressional Task Force on Economic Growth in Puerto Rico to report to Congress on ways to reduce child poverty and another that will require the Government Accountability Office to submit a biennial report to Congress on the debt and revenue levels of each territory and the drivers of the debt.

Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., who sponsored the amendment to require the GAO report, said the proposal is a response to Treasury's refusal to conduct and circulate a similar report.

Lynn Hume contributed to this article
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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

National surveyors from Accreditation Canada will spend the next week within the Prairie Mountain Health region as part of the first regional accreditation review for the health authority.

Accreditation is a continuous quality improvement process that evaluates PMH programs and services against national standards. More than 50 Prairie Mountain teams have prepared quality improvement plans, self-assessment evaluations and required organizational practices/standards to be ready for the survey.

CEO Penny Gilson says staff, management, physicians and board members have been heavily involved in preparation for the extensive survey, which takes place Sunday through next Friday.

Everyone at Prairie Mountain Health is involved in accreditation  from front-line staff to volunteers and board members. Thats because we remain committed to continually improving our programs and services and equally committed to patient safety, Gilson said.

Were not just meeting accreditation standards because surveyors are coming here next week. Were meeting them because our patients, clients and residents are here today, tomorrow and into the future.

Since the formal merger of Assiniboine, Brandon and Parkland Regional Health Authorities in June 2012, each former region held a separate accreditation review, with subsequent recommendations and action plans that remained in effect until this new survey cycle. An accreditation decision lasts for a period of four years.

Accreditation provides our health region with the opportunity to learn what we are doing well and where we have room for improvement, Gilson said. I sincerely thank our accreditation teams, and all staff, management, physicians and volunteers for their involvement and dedication to this process.

Another benefit of being an accredited regional health authority involves the training of health-care professionals, such as physicians. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada requires any organization offering a residency training program for doctors be accredited by Accreditation Canada.

Prairie Mountain Health, in partnership with the University of Manitoba, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences (Max Rady College of Medicine), has doctor residency training programs in Brandon and Dauphin.

Once all the reviews during the week are completed, surveyors will submit a report to Accreditation Canada and Prairie Mountain Health regarding the regions compliance with required organizational practices and national standards.

Accreditation Canada evaluates the results of the peer review and then determines what level of accreditation award the region receives.

In compliance with the Regional Health Authorities Amendment Act, accreditation results will be posted within 60 days on the PMH website.

More information about Accreditation Canada and the accreditation process is available at accreditation.ca.

 Submitted
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On a regular day, aviator Isabelle Thibodeau is part of an inventory cell at CFB Shilo. But Friday, she and 22 other soldiers were armed with window scrapers, paintbrushes and cleaning supplies as volunteers for the United Ways Day of Caring.

(This is) very different for me. I am a supply tech, so its more dealing with stocktaking than windows (and) window cleaning, she laughed.

Having joined the army in what she called a patriotic call two years ago, Thibodeau and her fellow soldiers took a break from serving the nation to serve their local community during Fridays initiative.

Tim Smith/ The Brandon Sun 10062016 Cpl. Marco Gagnon with Movement Section and Pte. Jenny Desjardins along with other CFB Shilo personnel paint the Womens Resource Centre on Princess Avenue on Friday, as part of the United Way of Brandon and Districts Day of Caring.

Day of Caring is a project organized by United Way divisions across Canada to aid the non-profits in their communities. United Way of Brandon and District partnered three groups of volunteers with different organizations across the city on Friday, offering help with yard and office work.

Thibodeau was one of four soldiers at the Womens Resource Centre yesterday morning, refurbishing the offices exterior window frames.

She said the event was an opportunity for the army to return the publics support.

We are part of the community, even if we are (the) army. Were not an isolated group.

The rest of CFB Shilos volunteers, in addition to those from Bank of Montreal, were spread throughout the city. While some helped clean at the Alzheimer Society, others picked up a hammer with the Habitat for Humanity crew, and more yet worked at Family Visions, Helping Hands soup kitchen, YMCA and Seniors for Seniors.

In the afternoon, Westman Communications Group cleaned up the Riverbank Discovery Centre.

Janis Evens, director of operations for United Way of Brandon and District, said there were 32 volunteers in total.

Theres a lot of places, a lot of not-for-profit organizations that have a lot of little tasks that they need done, where they dont have the resources or the manpower to do it, she explained.

The last time the local United Way organized a Day of Caring was in 2013, but the program was dropped shortly after. Evens hopes to make it an annual event.

Its time to get back out into the community to help those people who are helping our community, she said.

 aantoneshyn@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @AAntoneshyn
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER  Experts are questioning widely circulated Health Canada claims that the drug W-18 is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, or that the new arrival to the illicit-drug scene is even technically an opioid.

Dr. David Juurlink, head of pharmacology and toxicology at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, said that while W-18 could very well be dangerous more research is needed before conclusions can be drawn about its chemical behaviour and potency.

The main thing we know is that we dont know very much, Juurlink said in an interview. Its clearly a chemical and it does something but what exactly it does is not clear.

What is known is that W-18 is a synthetic compound created and patented at a University of Alberta laboratory as a potential pain reliever in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was one of 32 chemicals produced in the so-called W-series, none of which were ever produced commercially.

As of June 1, Canada made it illegal to produce, possess, import, export or traffic W-18 after the substance was identified during several illicit-drug seizures.

Researchers looking at the chemical structure suggest the compound doesnt bind to opioid receptors in the body the way fentanyl or other opioids do, Juurlink said.

The inventor of W-18 also disputes the claims being made about the chemical. Retired chemist Ed Knaus said that while the other compounds in the W-series behaved in some ways like opioids, that same behaviour wasnt displayed in W-18.

Its always possible (that its an opioid) because we didnt prove the mechanism of action, Knaus said. He added that W-18 isnt necessarily 10,000 more toxic or dangerous than morphine.

The problem here is that the press and everybody extrapolates (and) people start to equate numbers, said Knaus.

They say that this thing is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine, so automatically its 10,000. Well, we never tested fentanyl in our case.

Knaus said he was saddened and disturbed that after so many years someone would exploit W-18 for use as an illicit drug.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has since backtracked on information it released in January describing W-18 as an opioid 100 times more toxic than fentanyl.

That information was what was available to us back at the end of last year, and there has since been a lot more interest and some more supposition, said Jane Buxton, the head of the centres harm reduction office.

Health Canada did not respond to a request for comment, but it appears the information included in its fact sheet comes from preliminary research in the original nine-page patent application, dated Aug. 28, 1984.

That same research information was circulated by the Centre for Disease Control, said the organizations head, Mark Tyndall.

The study used mice to test the pain-relieving activity of all the W-series compounds and the results were compared to several other drugs, including aspirin and morphine.

The research found it takes 10,000 times more morphine than W-18 to produce the same analgesic effect.

That doesnt make the drug 10,000 times more dangerous than morphine, said Bryan Roth, a pharmacologist at the University of North Carolina.

All this means is that if youre a mouse  you could be given a dose of W-18 thats 10,000 times less than a dose of morphine and you would have basically an equivalent effect, said Roth, who is conducting research on W-18.

It may be a dangerous drug, but we dont know that. Theres no data out there.

Its prudent to be concerned about it though, given that a poorly understood compound is showing up on the illicit market, he added.

Roth raised the concern that if W-18 turns out to be toxic but not an opioid, then standard overdose-reversing agents such as naloxone would be ineffective.

Juurlink said there are plenty of other drugs to focus on that warrant the attention of police forces and regulators and doctors and end users.

We should focus on them and spend less time catastrophizing on the issue of W-18.

 Follow @gwomand on Twitter
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This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO  Walmart says it intends to join the list of retailers in Canada that dont accept Visa cards, citing high fees for transactions. Its a move a retail analyst has said will cause pain on all sides.

All credit cards charge fees to retailers, which generally are between one per cent and 2.5 per cent of the cost of whats being sold. The fees depend on the type of card the customer is using  cash-back and premium cards generally have higher fees  and the type of retailer theyre shopping at.

Walmart Canada quietly made the announcement on Saturday that it would gradually stop accepting Visa cards at all of its locations, citing unacceptably high fees.

Signage at a Laval, Que., Walmart store is seen on Tuesday, May 3, 2016. Walmart Canada says its customers will no longer be allowed to use Visa cards to make purchases at the store. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

But a statement from Visa said the credit card company offered Walmart one of the lowest rates available to any merchant in the country.

Doug Stephens, a Toronto-based retail analyst and strategist, noted that both sides will likely see disadvantages to this deal.

If you cant walk into a mass merchant and use a Visa card, thats going to seem very strange, Stephens said.

You cant ignore the fact that Visa has a tremendous market share, he said. But he added, If you do business with Walmart, and Walmart ceases to do business with you, you cant help but feel that.

Consumer finance industry newsletter Nilson Report says that Visa made up 56 per cent of credit card transactions globally in 2015, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Walmart Canadas parent company, is widely reported to be the worlds largest retailer.

At the end of the day, when we strip everything out of the debate, were dealing with the potential that six out of ten customers will come into a Walmart store and be disappointed that they cant use their credit card, Stephens said. Competition is extremely tough. This is not a good time to limit your consumers ability to buy from you.

He pointed out that this isnt the first time the two titans have clashed  in the U.S., Wal-Mart is currently suing Visa for the methods it uses to verify transactions, and the companies have also reportedly butted heads over fees, although American stores will still accept Visa cards despite the change in Canada.

He said Walmarts analysts have likely crunched the numbers, and determined that without having to pay Visas fees, which the company characterized as unacceptably high, it would stand to make more money than it loses.

While debit cards charge only a couple of cents to retailers per transaction, no matter how much money is being spent, merchants get charged a percentage of what they sell to customers using credit cards.

Documents on Visa Canadas website show that for standard retail purchases made in-store, fees range from 1.42 to 2.08 per cent. Meanwhile, MasterCards website shows that for standard purchases at independent retailers, its fees range from 1.44 to 2 per cent.

But MasterCard also offers lower rates to large retailers  as low as 1.26 per cent for those that have a minimum net purchase volume of $3 billion.

According to the statement posted on Walmarts website, the first stores to stop accepting Visa will be in Thunder Bay, Ont., starting July 18. After that, it will be rolled out Canada-wide in phases.

A representative from Walmart said the company chose to start in Thunder Bay because the stores in the northern Ontario city have the infrastructure to easily make the change. He said Walmart started informing Thunder Bay customers of the change on Thursday.

Walmart has more than 400 locations in Canada, and more than 11,500 worldwide.

Walmart isnt the first store to stop accepting Visa  No Frills doesnt accept Visa or American Express, saying that they are too expensive for their business. And Costco only accepts MasterCard.

Walmart says it will continue to accept MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards.

A representative from Visa Canada said in a written statement that the company regrets Walmarts decision, and that it will have a negative impact on Walmarts shoppers.

Walmart Canada said its holding out hope that it can reach an agreement with Visa for lower fees.

Follow @ColeyT on Twitter.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With apologies to Rudyard Kipling, the city of Brandon has met with both triumph and disaster at the hands of MoneySense magazines annual quality of life rankings. And, generally speaking, we should treat them both as the imposters that they are.

However, to merely bury our collective heads in the sand when were given a failing grade does not aid our community in any meaningful way.

In 2007, MoneySense ranked Brandon as the 18th Best Places to Live in Canada. In 2008, we were No. 19, while the next year we cracked the Top 10. In 2010 and 2011, we ranked No. 7, and even improved upon that in 2012, as we shot up to No. 6.

Then, we tanked. Suddenly we were ranked number 91 out of 200 cities in 2013. Then we slowly climbed higher in the ranks to 42 in 2014 and then 26 in 2015. And then this week we took another smack to the face, slapped back to No. 82 out of 219 cities.

So what does this roller-coaster mean in real terms? Very little, when it comes to Brandons quality of life. Not much about Brandon has changed so drastically over the last nine years to explain these wild moves around MoneySenses wheel of popularity.

But that doesnt mean the ranking is entirely without merit. In fact, MoneySenses strongest justification for our ranking downgrade  our worsening jobless rate  is apparently more accurate than wed like to admit.

MoneySense editor Mark Brown explained the rankings to the Sun this week, saying his magazines ranking is based on 35 different variables. And while the staff who put the ranking together track things such as weather, crime rates, access to amenities and health care, Brown noted that they skew a bit more toward the wealth, the affordability, the cost of living factors in each community.

In Brandons case, MoneySense estimated that the citys unemployment rate may be as high as 10.2 per cent. Thats based on trends in the job market within the economic region around each city over the past four years and then adjusted for the National Household Survey (2011) unemployment data.

As the Sun reported, that number is triple the official 2015 estimate from Economic Development Brandon, which listed the unemployment rate at about three per cent last June.

But the MoneySense number was given more validation yesterday, when Statistics Canada confirmed to the Sun that Brandons jobless rate is rising. In May, it reached 8.7 per cent, compared with 8.1 per cent the month prior.

Yet, much like our MoneySense rankings, Brandons unemployment rate seems to fluctuate considerably when comparing May and April numbers over the last five years. This citys unemployment rate did indeed sit at 3.4 per cent in May 2015, and April of that year it was 3.8 per cent.

In 2014, Statistics Canada reported that Brandons unemployment stood at 6.1 per cent in May and 6.3 per cent in April  similar numbers to those of 2012.

On Thursday, Brandons director of economic development, Sandy Trudel, suggested that the recent oil sector downturn was causing unemployment in the city to trend upwards.

We know that with the downturn in the oil sector that there is less revenue going into Westman, which translates into less discretionary income, Trudel said. Which then means obviously less being spent here in Brandon.

Its also noteworthy that MoneySense added a rent-to-income ratio in determining this years ranks, a factor that brought Brandon further down, as our rent-to-income ratio was listed at 12.1 per cent.

This does not mean that Brandon is an awful place to live  quite the contrary. For all the grousing from the peanut gallery, there are a great many things to love about this city. And we should continue to tout them to anyone who will listen  especially to companies outside the city looking for a good place to set up shop.

But we also need to be realistic about the challenges facing our community and greater Westman, whether that be unemployment rates, a dearth of new economic opportunities, or the growing reliance on food banks among the working poor.

There is much work to do. And as much as we would like to laugh off the MoneySense ranking as merely a lack of understanding by groups outside the community that have no stake in its future, there is an element of truth there that should not be ignored.
Opinion

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This article was published 10/06/2016 (2329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sometimes leaning on your majority is not the best way to do business.

Never was that more evident than this past week when the Liberals backed off on the gung-ho nature of their promise of electoral reform.

Less than a month before, the party announced it would soldier on with the election promise to reform the Canadian electoral system, and would effectively choose to stack the deck in their favour to ensure their mandate moved forward in the House of Commons.

The Grits original plan was to bring about recommendations through a working committee made up of six Liberals, three Conservatives and one NDP member. A Bloc Quebecois member and a Green party representative would sit on the committee as well, but neither would have a vote.

At the time, the committee would be tasked with examining alternative voting methods including, among others, proportional representation, as well as ranked preferential ballots, the choice of the Trudeau Liberals.

In that scenario, the first candidate past 50 per cent support would win the seat. They would be chosen by scoring a ranked ballot where the bottom candidate potentially fell off each round until a winner eclipsed that magic 50 per cent number.

This discussion comes at an interesting time in Canadian politics. In the 2015 federal election, stats showed that 25 members of Parliament were elected by less than one-third of the votes in their riding. Furthermore, 40 per cent of MPs were elected with less than 50 per cent of their support of their constituents.

It may not sound like much but it is staggering when you consider almost half the MPs in Parliament today were sent there with less than 50 per cent support of the voters in their home ridings. In tight three-way races, the magic number for victory becomes far smaller, which is why the Liberals want to look at reform  well, sort of.

If Canadians went to a form of ranked balloting, the Liberals really do stand to benefit. As a moderate, middle ground party, the likelihood of them being either the first or second choice of most Canadians is pretty good. Especially in ridings where the votes may be close, the ranked ballot voting system works well for a party that has strong appeal among a large percentage of voters.

Where it goes off the rails a bit is in how the Liberals sought to implement it.

By forcing the issue, they have exposed themselves to the same sort of scrutiny that befell the previous Conservative government. In looking to fast-track the committee work by using the makeup of the House as a mirror for the representation on the committee, it gave their opposition some traction to challenge the plan.

NDP MP Nathan Cullen called the system broken, stating that the government was questioning the whole electoral mechanism while using that very same system to structure the political allegiances on the committee.

If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was looking to craft a new form of engagement, he is going about it in the wrong fashion. He bungled the launch as was shared in the Winnipeg Free Press earlier this week, leaving the Liberals to wipe egg from their faces as they look to move forward.

Surely the government will undergo some growing pains, but repeated missteps, retractions and indecisiveness can prove costly over time. By taking a step back and realizing what was faulty in their approach takes some maturity, but may have also been a good stall tactic to push the decision further down the pipe.

Reworking the makeup of the committee only satisfies the opposition to it in the interim. The decision inevitably comes back to the Liberal cabinet and then the House and Senate before real timelines on implementation can take place. With opposition parties choosing to debate the Liberals on committee representation, they are missing the mark.

Where the opposition needs to focus is on seeking the input of everyday Canadians. The electorate needs to ultimately decide if the system should change, and thus far, the Trudeau government has not committed to it becoming an official referendum issue, only noting that consultation was needed. The Liberals have not shut the referendum door completely but surely it is their hope that the committee and House can solve the issue without going to that length.

We need a better system  there is little doubting that. Waning voter turnout and governments elected with less than 40 per cent support doesnt make sense.

At the same time, however, neither does forcing an issue in the interests of merely meeting an election promise.
Opinion

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This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In case youve missed it, there is a showdown brewing between the Canadian Senate and the Trudeau administration.

Bill C-14, the Liberal governments proposed law on assisted dying, is currently before the upper house. Already the subject of heated debate when the Liberals first introduced the bill in Parliament, it is expected that the Senate review of C-14  and the fallout that will likely occur  will only result in a more contentious and protracted process. Senators are considering a broad range of amendments to the bill, reflecting a diversity of  and sometimes contradictory  opinions on what a new assisted dying law should look like.

Some senators have criticized the bill for being too restrictive in terms of eligibility criteria and for not adequately reflecting the more generous direction provided by the Supreme Court. Others have taken the opposite opinion, declaring that the bill fails to adequately safeguard vulnerable individuals or the rights of medical providers who object to assisted dying on philosophical or religious grounds.

Under Canadian law, any amendments to C-14 passed by the Senate would have to go back to the House of Commons, where MPs would have to decide whether to accept or reject them.

On the face of it, it is not surprising that C-14 would be the subject of controversy. The focus of the bill, medically assisted dying, is a troubling and ethically challenging issue for many Canadians. While opinion polls show that more than 75 per cent of Canadians support the right to die in principle, many also recognize the need for a robust regulatory system to ensure adequate protections and safeguards for all those involved. As they say, the devil is in the details. And on this policy question, which truly is about life and death, details matter.

In a larger sense, however, the Senates approach to C-14  and the Liberal governments reaction thus far  reminds me of another saying; in this case, be careful of what you wish for. Trudeau, before he became prime minister, made much hay of his intent to make the Senate a more independent, relevant body. When Trudeau announced in January 2014 that Liberal senators would sit as independents and would no longer be part of the Liberal caucus, he intoned: The Senate was once referred to as a place of sober, second thought. A place that allows for reflective deliberation on legislation, in-depth studies into issues of import to the country, and, to a certain extent, provide a check and balance on the politically driven House of Commons.

The removal of a government caucus in the Senate to whip votes along partisan lines sparked something of an independence movement in the chamber, as some Conservative senators also decided to break ranks with their caucus and sit as independents. The appointment of seven independent senators by Trudeau in March only further hastened this move toward more free votes in the Senate.

As the raucous debate unfolding in the Senate reveals, the prime minister has gotten what he wished for. Senators, notably Liberal senators, now feel free to voice their opinions, to debate alternative ideas and to openly disagree with Trudeau and his cabinet on their proposed legislation. The kinds of behind-the-scenes deal-making that typically occurred before and that would guarantee smooth passage of government legislation in the Senate no longer exists as it used to.

This has thrown the Liberal government into a conundrum. Its one thing to say you want a more effective Senate. Its another when those same senators actually take this to heart and openly disagree with you. The Liberal government continues to stick to its guns in defence of its bill. And while the justice minister has said the government is open to thoughtful amendments, they have thus far dismissed all of those that have been passed or floated by the Senate.

What happens now is anyones guess. Legally, proposed bills must pass both houses of Parliament before they become law. But what happens in the case of a deadlock between the two houses is less clear, simply because historically the Senate usually just did whatever the majority government in the House of Commons wanted it to do.

The Constitution does allow for the appointment of up to eight additional senators to avert a potential deadlock, which is what Brian Mulroney did in 1990 to get the GST legislation passed. This step, though, would make a mockery of Trudeaus commitment to a more independent and effective Senate. In the meantime, then, will the Liberal government now accept Senate amendments, some of which they previously disregarded? Will the appointed senators bow to the wishes of the elected House of Commons? And how will Canadians react to this new, emboldened Senate?

As our prime minister is learning, democratic reform is a wonderful thing  until it gets in the way of doing what you want.

 Kelly Saunders is an associate professor with the department of political science at Brandon University.
Gerry Adams is calling on the Taoiseach to campaign in the North ahead of the British EU Referendum.

Voters will go to the polls in the historic vote in a matter of days and Enda Kenny is due to visit England later this week.
The Deputy Leader of the Green Party has invited Donald Trump to meet with her during his visit to Ireland.

Speaking at the Green's annual convention in Cork today TD Catherine Martin said Mr Trump's views on race, gender, and the environment are extremely worrying, and that the opportunity for dialogue should be used.
A group representing people with disabilities has said the Government needs to take a more mainstream approach to disability services.

Inclusion Ireland has said service reforms are needed in order to provide a better range and quality of services for people with disabilities.
Gardai are examining DNA profiles in the case of boy who has been missing from Dublin for 30 years.

Last night, Gardai confirmed they had opened new lines of inquiry into the disappearance of schoolboy Philip Cairns in the 1980's.

Philip Cairns went missing from Rathfarnham, Dublin in October in 1986.

The 13-year-old went home from school home during his lunch break, but never returned.

Gardai have said new information came to light following a 25-year anniversary appeal in 2011.

As a result, a member of the public came forward and last month gave a statement to investigating officers at Rathfarnham Garda Station.

It is now claimed a convicted sex offender may have been involved in his disappearance.

Eamon Cooke passed away last week and Gardai are understood to have interviewed him recently after a woman came forward with new information.

Gardai are interviewing people and cross-referencing DNA profiles with samples found on items recovered as part of the original investigation.

In a statement Gardai have said at this point in time these new lines of inquiry have not yet yielded positive results, however they added the investigation is very much active and ongoing.
The solar-powered plane on a round-the-world voyage that began more than a year ago has finished its journey across the United States.

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse celebrated the milestone with a Statue of Liberty fly-by before landing in New York.

The plane landed at John F Kennedy International Airport at 4am local time after a 4 hour 41 minute flight of about 165 miles from Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania.

Its trip across the US mainland began on April 24, when Solar Impulse landed in San Francisco from Hawaii.

"Si2 is now safe in New York, JFK airport ... Our new home is Hangar 19 in John F. Kennedy International Airport!" the pilots' logbook read.

Pilots Andre Borschberg, who flew the plane to New York, and Bertrand Piccard, who will start the next leg of the journey, expect to leave soon to cross the Atlantic Ocean for Europe or South Africa on their way to completing a feat to advance environmentally compatible technology.

Across the US, they stopped in Phoenix; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Dayton, Ohio, home of aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright; and Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The Solar Impulse 2's wings, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries.

The plane runs on stored energy at night. Ideal flight speed is about 28mph, although that can double during the day when the sun's rays are strongest.

The plane originally was scheduled to head to the Big Apple on Monday night but showers and thunderstorms moving through the area caused it to be grounded.

The trip began in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan.

The plane had a five-day trip from Japan to Hawaii, where the crew was forced to stay in Oahu for nine months after the plane's battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan.
GENEVA: The World Trade Organizations leader wants an overhaul of farm trade rules, which have been stuck in the...
Police have called for witnesses after the Burns Club in Kambah was robbed for the second time in a fortnight.

Two men entered the Kett Street club about 12.18am Saturday, jumped the reception counter then entered the connecting bar, police said in a statement.



"Armed with a kitchen knife, one of the male offenders demanded staff hand over money from the register," the statement said.

A male offender armed with a knife at the Burns Club early on Saturday morning. Credit:act\matthew.raggatt

"A staff member complied with the offender's demands before both males fled the area on foot with a sum of cash."

Both men wore dark clothing with dark face masks during the aggravated robbery.
Australia's high-cost economy and small market potential provide a sobering reality to the Greens' policy to encourage the production of electric cars, according to economy and manufacturing experts.

However they say the nation's high rate of education and pollution-conscious population offers an ideal platform to construct technological components for modern electric vehicles.

Senior lecturer in renewables and energy storage at the ANU, Evan Franklin, is keen to see Canberra become an electric car city. Credit:Graham Tidy

Speaking at a press conference in Adelaide last weekend, party leader Senator Dr Richard Di Natale proposed five years' free registration for car owners who purchase electric vehicles as an incentive to drive the economies necessary in the industry.

"We need to do what we can to support electric vehicles in Australia and to create the jobs that come from that here in South Australia," he said.
Oil investors are buying contracts that will only pay out if crude rises well above $US100 a barrel over the next four years - a clear sign some believe today's bust is sowing the seeds of the next boom.

The options deals, which brokers said bear the hallmarks of trades made by hedge funds, appear to be based on the belief that current low prices will generate a supply crunch as oil companies cut billions of dollars in spending on developing fields. The International Energy Agency forecasts that non-OPEC supply will suffer its biggest decline in more than two decades this year.

Shale oil threatens to undermine OPEC's hopes of raising oil prices. Credit:AP

"The market faces a supply crunch in the next 24 months," said Francisco Blanch, head of commodities research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. "Some hedge funds are betting that oil prices will need to rise sharply to bring demand down again - that's why they are buying deep out-of-the-money call options."
Technology giant Google remains Australia's most influential brand, while Australia Post has joined the top 10 despite the rapid shrinking of it mail business.

Google tops the Ipsos Most Influential Brands list for a third straight year, while supermarket giant Coles jumped up the list to be the highest ranked local in fifth.

Who's got the biggest piece of the cake when it comes to brand awareness? You guessed it. Credit:Domino Postiglione

Big US tech companies continue to exert the most influence, with Microsoft ranked No.2, followed by Apple at No.3 and Facebook at No.4.

Brands are ranked on factors including engagement, trust and presence.
Steve Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone Group, who recently returned from South Korea, offers a polite answer to the question everyone keeps asking: "It's very colourful."

Henry Kravis, co-founder of KKR & Co, is more blunt: "Nobody can figure it out."

And Don Marron, chairman of Lightyear Capital, captures what amounts to a collective shrug: "What do you say? 'It's a mystery,' is what you say."

The question, the one being thrown at American executives in London, Hong Kong and Berlin - and pretty much wherever else they go - is this: How did Donald Trump become a serious contender for the US presidency?
As the White House race took off last year, food giant Mondelez International found itself in an unusual position: Republican candidate Donald Trump began delivering broadsides against one of its iconic products, Oreo biscuits.

"Nabisco is closing a factory in Chicago, and they're moving to Mexico. No more Oreos. I don't like Oreos anymore," Trump told a crowd in New Hampshire in August, reacting to reports that Mondelez was shutting down some production lines at its Nabisco subsidiary in Chicago while boosting output in Mexico.

Donald Trump is dishing out, and it's often not the truth. But the corporate targets tread carefully. Credit:Bloomberg

Trump's statement that Mondelez was closing a Chicago factory was erroneous, as the company quickly pointed out, but that didn't stop him from repeating it - again and again.

It's unusual for a top presidential candidate, especially a representative of the business-friendly Republican Party, to attack major US corporations by name.
Freedom to fight Following 9/11, George Bush's rhetorical "Why do they hate us?" has resonance with a question which should be asked: why Australians might want to leave to fight on foreign shores ("People should be free to leave", Sunday CT, p19). If politicians, on vain whims, commit Australia's human treasure to fight  and die  to support, though questionably legitimate foreign invasions, their sacrifice is sanctified. Should idealism, however misplaced, guide individuals to struggle to right perceived wrongs, they suddenly become terrorists. It is easy to forget Jomo Kenyatta, Nelson Mandela, Xana Gusmao, David Ben-Gurion, were all terrorists! If there is disaffection among youth, it might well be contributed to by politicians who seem devoid of policies to tackle teenage unemployment levels exceeding 20 per cent, housing unaffordability, workforce casualisation, body hire, off-shoring, potentially $100,000 degrees, unchecked employer exploitation and homelessness.

Australian adolescents are growing up in a society where the wealth gap is skewed towards a handful of super-wealthy people/families, where only "little people" pay taxes and corporations (and most rich) regard them as optional. Unpunished corruption, through all levels of society, makes "justice" a concept only, out of reach of those who can't afford it. Post 9/11, politicians got on the bandwagon, making hay while the sun shone, ramming bipartisan legislation through parliaments, eroding hard-fought-for civil rights, under the guise of there being an existential threat to life and limb  60 plus acts. The Counter-Terrorism Foreign Fighters Bill, criminalising thinking, epitomises the threats that politicians pose to a free society. Albert M. White, Queanbeyan

This secret is unfair ... Surely if we funded this political drama Secret City (to be shown on Foxtel) shouldn't all taxpayers have the opportunity of seeing this six-part series rather than just those who can afford Foxtel? Obviously if Mr Barr would like to spend another $250,000 of ACT funds (Sunday CT, June 5, p6) to encourage more producers into Canberra, surely then he should also encourage them to sell it to the free network channels so we can all enjoy the views of our beautiful city. "Not fair" cries this Canberra resident. Susan Brown, Kaleen ... likewise this tax idea

Michael Adler (Letters, June5) claims that investment in existing dwellings or shares contribute nothing to the economy and thus should not have the benefit of (unspecified) tax concessions. Firstly, why does he think that one of the fundamental principles of taxation law, "expenses necessarily incurred in the gaining of assessable income are deductible against taxable income", should not apply to expenses relating to income-producing investments? Secondly, does he believe that the money paid to the seller (of real estate or shares) simply disappears into thin air? It may be re-invested into newly built property, new shares, distributed as inheritances etc. Wherever it goes there is a benefit to the economy. It is cause for concern that the ALP and Greens do not seem to understand these points in their election manifestos.

Michael Lane, St Ives, NSW Canberra losing its soul Not long ago the philosophy of a British economist called Schumacher extolled the teachings of Professor Leopold Kohl that "small is beautiful" and his study of economics As if People Mattered named by The Times literary supplement as one of the most influential books since World War II. The ACT Labor government has thrown these values out the window and their grandiose scheme for eight-storey buildings comes at huge sacrifice. For example: places Canberrans loved, like the Electric Shadows book shop; the popular cafe Cornucopia; Braddon Motor repair shop; Lifeline Clothing Shop and valuable trees along Northbourne Avenue, are in the process of being lost. Do developers and their giant buildings and accompanying dollars matter more to ACT Labor? I was shocked to learn the proposed Gungahlin to civic tramline will cost about $80million per kilometre!

Wouldn't this money be more wisely and humanely spent creating homes or units for the nearly two thousand homeless men, women and children in the ACT? Some I see sleeping on footpaths along Northbourne Avenue. Penelope Upward, O'Connor Transparency, please Domestic violence is a scourge across all districts and socio-economic groups in our community and I congratulate Andrew Barr on the household levy to fund actions to counter domestic violence. Now that he has set the precedent for transparent levies to fund specific matters, could he also please show a transparent levy in our rates notices which indicates how much each Canberra household is paying for the Gungahlin to Civic tram?
The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to any liberal democracy. Governments who fear their people and respond to demonstrations with unreasonable force are rightly condemned. For police with automatic weapons to have shot unarmed university students  as happened in Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby on Wednesday  speaks volumes of the fragility in Australia's closest neighbour. There is simply no justification for this violent crackdown.

Students across PNG have engaged in a five-week boycott of their classes in an attempt to pressure Prime Minister Peter O'Neill to step aside. For two years, Mr O'Neill has prevaricated in the face of an investigation into long-standing claims of corruption. When investigators issued an arrest warrant in 2014 to question him about millions of dollars in fraudulent payments, Mr O'Neill made sure the anti-corruption task force was disbanded, sacked the attorney-general and installed a new police chief. When the PNG Supreme Court allowed the investigation to resume in April, the investigators found themselves again suspended.

Family, friends and supporters of students injured during a government protest outside Port Moresby General Hospital on Wednesday. Credit:Getty Images

The corruption claims levelled against the prime minister are fuelling a wider national malaise. The PNG economy is crumbling and debt is mounting after an expected boon from natural gas deposits was cut by falling global commodity prices. Public servants have gone without pay and severe budget cuts have followed in critical sectors, such as health and education. Foreign currency is also in short supply, raising fears about imports.

On Wednesday, the tensions boiled over after students from the University of Papua New Guinea attempted to march to Parliament in support of a no-confidence motion against the O'Neill government. Police blocked their path, shooting into the crowd with bullets and tear gas. More than a dozen people were wounded  at least three critically.
Best-selling author J.K. Rowling is a co-producer of the show, which began previews on London's West End this week, along with Sonia Friedman Productions.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is playing at London's Palace Theatre. Credit:Getty Images

It's the musical that every major theatre producer around the world is clamouring for  the two-part stage show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Speculation about whether the production will come to Australia is rife even before opening night on July 30.

Harry (Jamie Parker), Albus (Sam Clemmett) and Ginny (Poppy Miller) in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage production. Credit:Pottermore

Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter series, which became a hugely successful film franchise, has said no decision would be made until after the world premiere.

Yet if there's any company in the box seat to tour the show overseas, and bring it to Australia in particular, it's the Ambassador Theatre Group.

And it wouldn't even have to wave a magic wand, as it is already connected to the production.
It's hard to imagine a seat engulfed in a more calamitous start to the federal election than Fremantle.

Firstly, the powerful militant union, the Maritime Union of Australia, muscled its way into the pre-selection process against the will of party powerbrokers and installed one of its acolytes Chris Brown to the seat in March.

Less than a month later, the Labor party disendorsed Mr Brown after it uncovered he had two historical criminal convictions from the 1980s and endorsed the man rank-and-file members always wanted, Fremantle council deputy mayor Josh Wilson.

A week later, the Liberal party got in on the act, when its candidate Sherry Sufi quit after it was revealed he was caught on tape in 2013 using crude sexual language while mocking his former boss, WA MP Michael Sutherland.
Another single-seat poll published on Friday evening conducted for the Seven Network in the regional South Australian Liberal jewel of Grey put the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) candidate easily ahead of the sitting member Rowan Ramsey. Not quite in the clear: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Credit:Mick Tsikas And that increases the chances of a hung parliament after July 2 in which the Coalition falls short of the 76-seat minimum needed and a clutch of independents and Xenophon-aligned lower house MPs would decide who becomes prime minister. The surprisingly strong NXT vote in Grey and Mayo suggests the new group's statewide support could be even stronger than predicted and perhaps enough to see the high profile senator re-elected along with as many as three of his running mates giving it significant power in both houses. The result follows five weeks of campaigning and suggests Mr Shorten's policy-driven campaign approach has put Labor in a strong position through regaining disaffected long-term Labor voters  many of them in safe Labor seats already held  but that its ground campaigns in the outer-metropolitan swing-seats is patchier.

The ReachTEL polling was conducted on the evening of Thursday, June 9, following a week of gathering focus on economic management sparked by Labor's admission that it will first deepen the deficit over four years before improving the bottom line over the next decade. That brought derision from the government, which claimed it showed Labor would never deliver a surplus if elected. But Labor countered that its negative gearing and capital gains tax increases were "structural" repairs to revenue and would thus convince rating agencies to retain Australia's triple-A credit rating. Labor would probably need to win all six marginal seats and have the Xenophon candidate Rebekha Sharkie elected in Mayo held by the former infrastructure minister Jamie Briggs, to have a realistic chance of claiming the 21-seat haul needed for a one-seat majority. The polling was commissioned by Fairfax Media with the aim of understanding where the campaigns are biting and what is likely to happen at the local level on election day. While the last Fairfax-Ipsos poll showed a 4.5 per cent swing away from the Turnbull government across the country, it is doing much better in the marginals by-and-large, with a 4.5 per cent swing recorded only in the northern metropolitan Perth seat of Cowan, taking that contest to a dead-heat at 50-50.

In the others seats  leaving aside Mayo where the parliamentary future of Jamie Briggs is looking extremely bleak in the face of the NXT onslaught  the swing is well under 4.5 per cent and is even in the positive direction for sitting Coalition MPs in both Bonner at 2.3 per cent, and Lindsay at 1 per cent. Lindsay, in Sydney's west, has received special prime ministerial attention after its first-term MP, Fiona Scott, found herself at the centre of an internal Liberal Party backlash over the perception she supported Mr Turnbull against Tony Abbott in last year's leadership ballot. In Dobell, widely expected to return to Labor after a boundary change, Labor's Emma McBride leads 51 per cent to 49 against the Liberals' Karen McNamara, but even here, the swing is just 0.8 per cent, according to the survey of 628 people. Underpinning the more resilient Coalition vote across the marginal seats is Mr Turnbull's lead as preferred prime minister and the nomination by voters of the economy as the predominant issue over hospitals, schools, climate change, industrial relations, and national security. Mr Turnbull led Mr Shorten easily in each of the individual seat survey except for Cowan where Mr Shorten is in front 52 to 48. Even in Dobell, where Labor is ahead on two-party-preferred, Mr Turnbull was the favoured alternative as prime minister 53.5 to 46.5.
A Coalition candidate has quit after it emerged he owns a Frankston brothel called Paradise Playmates.

Taiwan-born massage therapist John Min-Chiang Hsu resigned as the Liberal Party candidate for the Victorian seat of Calwell after his ties to the brothel were revealed on Saturday.

Mr Hsu has resigned, with immediate effect, as an endorsed candidate of the Liberal Party and has resigned as a member of the Party.

The Victorian Liberal Party said in a statement it had come to its attention that Mr Hsu had "not fully declared his business interests prior to applying for endorsement as required".

"Mr Hsu has resigned, with immediate effect, as an endorsed candidate of the Liberal Party and has resigned as a member of the party," the statement said.
Foreign language learning in Australia is in serious decline, as we are well into the second decade of the so-called Asian Century.

About 40 per cent of students studied a foreign language in the 1960s. That number is now closer to 10 per cent, including students who are native speakers of a language other than English.

In decline: foreign language enrolments. Credit:iStock

But in almost all the OECD countries, apart from Australia, students finish school with at least one foreign language.

Kurt Mullane, the executive director of the Asia Education Foundation, said "one of our great challenges is our monolingual mindset".
When the Packer family's loyal lieutenant Peter Malcolm Reid died last year, aged 100, he left behind a $52 million estate.

Mr Reid died a widower and had no children of his own, and in the months since his death an almighty legal battle over his fortune has broken out between more than half a dozen people  including his much younger niece and lover Peta Roberts.

Peta Roberts, who has received an interim distribution from the estate of Peter Reid. Credit:Instagram

Court documents reveal allegations of testamentary documents being signed in "suspicious circumstances" amid "undue influence" by one of the executors and claims Mr Reid was too impaired by dementia to know what he was doing.

A will made in 2000 is the first link in a chain of 22 other potentially testamentary documents executed (or not) with varying degrees of formality between 2001 and 2014.
It was all engines go at Central Station on Saturday morning when the annual Transport Heritage Expo took over the historic station, bringing with it the trains and buses of yesteryear.

Steam trains, vintage electric trains and double decker buses were on display, with revellers young and old excited to get a look.

Three-year-old train enthusiast Lincoln Murphy-Rogers enjoys the ambience of old-era trains on display during a heritage event at Sydney's Central Station. Credit:James Alcock

A number of events, including steam train rides from Central to Hurstville and back again, Devonshire tea aboard a heritage train, and vintage bus rides around the CBD, will continue over the long weekend.

One family had travelled from Wollongong for the Expo bringing with them three-year-old Lincoln, a young train enthusiast who was dressed up for the occasion in a custom train conductor outfit.
Vintage trains roll into Sydney

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It was a week late, thanks to the east coast low that swamped most of Australia's eastern seaboard last week, but they were finally off at the Eagle Farm race course on Saturday for a full day's racing.

Eagle Farm reopened with what has been described as the most prestigious day in the history of Queensland racing, with prizemoney of more than $4.5 million.

More than 20,000 people packed into Eagle Farm for its reopening on Saturday. Credit:Michelle Smith

And didn't the crowd of 20,027 love it.

As opposed to last week's deluge, racegoers had nothing but blue skies and bright white clouds overhead, and winners, losers, fashion and drink queues back on terra firma.
Their herd also provides milk to the White Gold Creamery, a Gold Coast boutique cheese-making operation that lists Palazzo Versace among its clients. But, as has been starkly illustrated in recent weeks, our dairy farmers are struggling. In 2011 the Tommerups made a decision  diversify or die  and the farm stay was born. "If it wasn't for the farm stay, the other side of the business, I don't think we'd be here today," says Kay. "This farm had survived for five generations and we didn't want to be the ones to see it go."

On the property was a dilapidated building, the former kitchen of the main farmhouse built in 1889. In the 1920s it had been removed and turned into workers' accommodation, then left abandoned. Beyond the cobwebs and rotting stumps Kay and Dave saw and opportunity and in And they haven't looked back. The property is consistently booked and at the beginning of the year they opened The Homestead, the renovated main farmhouse, for larger groups. While the accommodation provides the perfect getaway for city-weary adults, it's the kids  big and little  that really benefit from the farm experience.

Every afternoon, at 4pm on the dot, the herd gathers at the gate ready for milking. The kids get a chance to milk a cow and watch Dave process his well-behaved herd. Then, in the morning, there's animal feeding. Pigs eat pumpkins and whey from the farm's milk, calves are bottle fed and the chickens eat grain while the kids collect their eggs.

There are also goats, sheep and excitable farm dogs to keep everyone entertained. In the Tommerups' mission to diversify they've also started producing small batches of bacon and milk-fed veal, free-range eggs and yearling beef. All the farm's produce can be bought at The Larder, a little shed of farm-gate delights. The cows the dairy. Credit:Anne-Louise Brown This month marks Scenic Rim Eat Local Week, an event celebrating the food, people and producers of the diverse region. To celebrate, the Tommerups will be opening their property to the public on Saturday, June 25, from 7am to 1pm as part of the Farm Gate Festival in the Lost World. There will be milking demonstrations, farm tours and, of course, the chance to sample some of the farm's fare. Bookings are essential.

Around the Kerry Valley it seems the Tommerups enthusiasm has been contagious, and for this year's food festival they've managed to rope in two of their neighbours to demonstrate their talents. Ian and Sue Harrison are fifth generation graziers and owners of Ladybrook, where they run beef cattle for domestic and export markets. They will demonstrate the fusion of old and new farming methods, contrasting the tradition of mustering and campdraft with technology. Sue, a talented rider, will split the cattle ready for weigh in while Ian, behind an electronic crush and computer, weighs them in one by one, showing how the amazing software they use tracks the life of each animal from paddock to plate. Kirro homestead.

A delicious country morning tea made by Sue, who is as good at baking as she is at riding, will be provided at their newly renovated Kirro homestead from 10am. And if pizza is your thing, then make sure you drop in to Theresa and John White's house, right next door to Tommerups. When Theresa's father, a concreter, went into semi-retirement he started making pizza ovens as a hobby and, for the Whites, a passion was born. They use the freshest local produce to produce their delicious wood-fired pizzas and, for the festival, will be opening their outdoor kitchen to serve family pizzas at lunch and dinner. Bookings are recommended though drop-ins will be catered for.
Daniel Andrews has charged into a legal quagmire after sacking the CFA board for refusing to support his industrial deal with the firefighters' union.

One of the nation's top industrial lawyers has challenged the government's claims that its controversial agreement with the United Firefighters Union will not undermine the work of volunteers, or allow the union to interfere with CFA management.

Fairfax Media can reveal that board members wrote to the government before being sacked, saying they could not comply with government demands to support the deal because they would be in contempt of court.

The Supreme Court had earlier issued an injunction preventing any parties from signing the deal.
A driver and three passengers were taken to hospital after the car they were travelling in crashed into a wall at a sports centre in south-western Melbourne on Saturday morning.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said a Toyota Hilux hit a rock-retaining wall at Altona Sports Centre, at 1.08am.

A driver and three passengers were taken to hospital following the crash.

Four Altona Meadows men inside the vehicle were injured and taken to hospital.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said a man aged in his 20s suffered shoulder, pelvic and leg injuries and was taken to The Alfred in a serious condition.
A convicted sex offender who failed to return to a prison hospital in Fairfield on Friday was located on Saturday evening in Ringwood.

Craig Smith, 42, was found by police at an unidentified location in Ringwood after they responded to calls from members of the public.

Craig Smith has been held at Thomas Embling Hospital since 2005.

Smith was taken into custody without incident and was to be returned to the Thomas Embling Hospital in Fairfield, Victoria Police said.

Smith has been held at the hospital since 2005 after committing serious sex offences and burglary.
Jane Garrett leaves her property a day after resigning from cabinet. Credit:Chris Hopkins "We're a massive family", she said. However the CFA are disputing that any volunteers had officially resigned. Jane Garrett leaving her Carlton property on Saturday morning. Credit:Chris Hopkins "We've had no official reports at this stage. Community safety is our number one priority and we rely on volunteers to do that, so we'd certainly be encouraging volunteers not to resign, if possible," CFA spokesman Jonathan Granger said.

Reports of volunteer anger, and even resignations, began to flow in, as former Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett surfaced for the first time since resigning. Ms Garrett was seen leaving her property in Melbourne's inner north on Saturday morning, a day after she went to ground on Friday following her resignation from the Cabinet on a day of political crisis for the government. Later on Saturday morning, Mr Merlino tried to play down the crisis, saying the government's sacking of the board had resolved the issue. The new Emergency Services Minister would not be drawn on whether he had confidence in the CFA chief executive Lucinda Nolan, saying the position of the chief executive was a matter for the board. He said a new board would soon be appointed.

"I understand there is a bit of healing to be done," Mr Merlino said. "Concern is being raised about this agreement. "Today it is about a fresh start bringing everyone together." 16-year-old Harry English said he had been volunteering for the CFA for as long as he could remember. His parents were CFA volunteers, although his father was planning to resign, he said.

"My paperwork to become a senior volunteer is sitting on a table indoors inside," he said. "But if this agreement goes ahead then I'm not going through with it."



On Friday night, Shadow Police and Corrections Minister Edward O'Donohue tweeted he had been advised by a senior CFA volunteer that a Monbulk brigade had received 12 resignations that evening. Mr Granger said after speaking with a Monbulk brigade captain, he believed the tweet was false.



"At the moment I don't think what's been suggested on Twitter is correct; there is no evidence to say that is the case," Mr Granger said.

Mr Merlino said he would establish a CFA Authority Performance and Policy Consultative Committee "uniting career firefighters, volunteers and management". The committee will include Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley and will tackle issues such as increasing the recruitment and retention of women firefighters. The fallout continues to damage the Andrews government as anger grows among the state's 60,000 CFA volunteers. Alwyn Parker, a volunteer at Smythesdale fire brigade, 20 kilometre from Ballarat, said he knew of one veteran of 35 years who had resigned, and another who was considering it. Mr Parker, himself with the CFA for 48 years, said though he was concerned about the proposed changes he was not going to resign.

"I have been here 48 years ... I have worked terribly hard. We look after two other satellite stations - Scarsdale and Ross Creek  and those communities have ... probably raised in excess of over $300,000 in the last few years. "I am not going to step back, but if there is a fight on, I'll be prepared to fight." Broadford CFA volunteer Jay Martin, a member for 22 years, said he was disappointed about how politicised the issue had become. "I'm really saddened by what Labor, Daniel Andrews, and the union have done to relations between union members and volunteers - they've pitted us against each other," Mr Martin said. "This government doesn't stand with us volunteers; they assume because we're not unionised, we're country bumpkins.
Two men from Briagolong died and another was critically injured after a ute hit a tree in the state's east.

Major Collision detectives were called to the scene of the horrific crash at Stockdale, near Briagolong, on Saturday morning.

Two people are dead and one man is critically injured after a car crashed into a tree. Credit:Rob Gunstone

Police believe three men inside a Holden dual-cab ute were travelling west on Stockdale-Fernbank Road, when the vehicle left the road and crashed into a tree.

The driver of the ute, a Bushy Park man, 63, suffered head injuries and was airlifted to The Alfred in a critical condition, Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said.
"Early detection and alert systems to on-beach and in-water users would be an advantage and may become a useful initiative as part of the overall shark mitigation strategy, especially at locations and times of the year where a surf life saving patrol or service is not in place or operational," he said. "The siren is used when lifesavers consider the presence of sharks to be potentially hazardous this may be through the use of a linked series of sirens along a stretch of coastline or through the use of location-specific, loud hailers/PA systems where linked sirens are not installed or available. "We think they're effective and have used them for a number of years now. "There may be an advantage in having this type of system [sirens/lights] in place to warn people currently on the beach or in the water of the presence of a potential hazard and in particular at locations that are not patrolled.

"But consideration needs to be provided to the practicality of implementing the initiative and then consistently keeping the system going so it has a level of sustainability." Mr Peck also stressed the effect of constant sirens on the local community would have to be considered, including constant beach closures and sound and visual impacts on nearby residents. Mr Gerring's surfing buddy Mr Williams, who has never seen a shark in his 40 years of surfing, said that any warning system with a sound would help evacuate people from the water quicker but said verification of what type of shark was spotted needed improving. "Any measure that gets people out of the water quickly, is great," he said. "We need to do something because, surfers down here are reassessing things, they're not putting even a toe in the water any more.

"They are weighing up what's important to them their families, they're kids or going out for a surf." While the government hopes to one day use innovative technology such as drones, recognition software and sonar to help protect people from shark attacks, perhaps the answer lies in better communication to people out in the water once a shark has been spotted in the area. Premier Colin Barnett and acting Environment Minister Albert Jacob said last week there were no immediate plans to strengthen WA's shark hazard protection measures, despite authorities knowing that sharks were in both the areas where Mr Gerring and Ms Collyer were attacked. "The first alert I was aware of for this particular shark was 20 minutes before the incident itself," Mr Jacob himself said last week. "No response or reaction from government could have prevented what happened."

The government's serious threat policy usually results in Fisheries officers trying to capture the shark responsible for attacks on humans,. But the reality is that sharks move quickly and freely north and south along the coast and are probably long gone by the time authorities start to hunt them. "The ability for technology to do real-time monitoring will be the breakthrough that allows us to guarantee a higher level of safety on, in particular, metropolitan beaches," Mr Jacob said. All but one of WA's fatal shark attacks since 1980 have been from white sharks, with more 220 of the species tagged since 2007 as part of research into WA's population of the species. If one of the white sharks swims within 400-500 metres of the 25 satellite-linked shark monitoring network receivers along our coast to track their movements, Fisheries and SLSWA are alerted, and information posted onto Twitter and the government's SharkSmart website. "The detection is uploaded in near real-time to three platforms  text messages to beach safety agencies, mapped on the SharkSmart website, and posted to the SLSWA twitter feed," a Fisheries spokesperson said.

Whether Mr Gerring checked either of these platforms prior to going out to surf that day is now known. But it's apparent there is room for more urgent measures to evacuate people from the water when a shark is present at unpatrolled beaches. WA's drum line trial failed to catch one white shark A breakdown of the catch data for the 14 weeks the drum line program operated showed it failed to either tag or catch the species responsible for fatal shark attacks in WA  the great white. No white sharks were caught during the trial program from January 25 to April 30, 2014, with tiger sharks comprising 91 per cent of the catch, with 99 of the 163 caught released alive. Of the 99 tiger sharks released, 90 per cent were tagged but only three capable of being detected acoustically.
Rio de Janeiro: The cause of backpacker Rye Hunt's death in Brazil remains a mystery, due to the state in which his body was discovered, local police said on Saturday.

Hunt's body was found on a beach in Marica, near Rio de Janeiro, on Wednesday, 19 days after his disappearance.

Rio de Janeiro's Civil Police told Fairfax Media on Saturday that despite a series of examinations, forensic experts had been unable to determine the cause of death, due to the advanced state of decomposition of his body.
Public executions were common when the Taliban ruled the country in the 1990s, and tens of thousands of Afghans have been killed during the post-2001 Taliban insurgency. Afghanistan, like neighbouring Pakistan, also has a long history of cultural and religious conservatism associated with violent retribution. But analysts say the scale of the brutality continues to evolve as the Taliban becomes more fragmented and pushes out into additional areas of Afghanistan. Younger Taliban commanders also now operate more independently and are increasingly inspired by other brutal acts easily viewed on the Internet, the say. Over the past month, after a US drone strike killed Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, militant groups have hijacked at least five buses, dragging passengers into the road to execute dozens of them, especially if they or members of their families were suspected of being police officers or soldiers. There also have been three recent deadly attacks on Afghan courthouses or judicial employees. Last month in Jowzjan province, a reported Taliban militant armed with an assault rifle shot and killed a burqa-clad woman for alleged adultery, according to a video of the crime posted to YouTube. "There are now tens of examples of public lashings, executions, and killings," said Abdul Jama Jama, a provincial council member in Ghazni province.

In recent days, the United Nations, Amnesty International and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission also have expressed concern over what they view as a hardening culture of violence here. Brigadier General Charles H. Cleveland, chief spokesman for the US-led coalition, said some of the recent reports of violence "looked like the days pre-9/11." But he cautioned that "the base line is pretty high" for sweeping assumptions about whether brutality generally is worsening. Still, Afghan officials and analysts are worried as the violence also expands into areas of Afghanistan that until recently had remained relatively safe. A push by the Taliban, dominated by ethnic Pashtuns, into northern and central Afghanistan, where large populations of ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks reside, has proved especially destabilising, officials said. Once the Taliban settles into an area, its fighters often begin aggravating historical rivalries among ethnic groups as well as stoking more-localized feuds that in some cases have simmered for decades. That is another reason for the growing brutality, officials said.

"They are changing their war tactics," said Shah Waliullah Adeeb, a former governor of Badakhshan province. "They are trying to show people that the government is weak ... and show that they are in charge." But some analysts say that more fundamental - and dangerous - changes within the Taliban may be leading to greater upheaval. As the original leaders of the insurgency die, they are being replaced by younger commanders who appear less interested in maintaining ties to the local areas in which they are fighting. These fighters also are more connected through the Internet to the global ambitions of militant Islamic groups, which is resulting in some Taliban commanders' attempting to borrow the fear tactics used by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. This month, for example, local officials said a group of Taliban fighters killed a high school student in Ghazni province by cutting off his nose and ears after accusing him of being a spy. "The Taliban had always been the village homeboys, but I think that is changing quite dramatically," said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior security and intelligence fellow at the Brookings Institution. "But the younger generation is more accepting of violence, less remembering of the horrors of the civil war [of the 1990s], and much more socialised to the global agenda."

Other analysts caution that the recent violence is more a symptom of the broader Afghan culture, where a pattern of revenge and killing has been common and disputes among families or villages often have little to do with the war. "People want to settle old scores," said Najib Mahmood, a law professor at Kabul University. "You can hardly find any house that does not own a gun because of the war, and people use a gun even for a minor issue." That historical inability to break the cycle of revenge is one reason that human rights groups and European ambassadors were angered by Ghani's recent decision to resume executions of Taliban figures. Last month, after a truck bomb killed 64 people in Kabul, the government hanged five Taliban prisoners. Since then, the Taliban has pointed to the executions to justify its attacks on the Afghan judiciary. Some analysts also worry that President Obama made a mistake in ordering last month's drone strike that killed Mansour, the Taliban commander.

They note that violence in Afghanistan escalated last summer after it was announced that the Taliban's other former leader, Mohammad Omar, had died two years earlier. They now fear that the trend will accelerate as new Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada seeks to consolidate his power. Akhundzada is an Islamic cleric and the Taliban's former top judge. But many analysts consider him to be even more rigid than Mansour, who was a former Taliban government minister who witnessed the carnage of Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s. "Mansour believed a terrible outcome for Afghanistan would be a protracted civil war in Kabul and the north," Felbab-Brown said. "Many of the younger commanders don't have that restraint." Akhundzada, in contrast, in the past issued religious edicts authorisng suicide bombings as well as Taliban-on-Taliban executions to deal with dissenters, according to Western intelligence assessments.
Richmond, Virginia: A half-full coliseum erupted into Indian war whoops as Donald Trump called a US Senator "Pocahontas" on Friday at a rally in Richmond, where the mogul-candidate was back to his teleprompter-free ways.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee expressed tongue-in-cheek remorse for calling Democrats Senator Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas", a jab at her claim that she is of Native American descent.

"I"m doing such a disservice," he said, "to Pocahontas."

Warren, whose heritage claim was questioned in her run for Senate, has been an outspoken Trump critic and is often mentioned as a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
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October 3, 2022

Dee Gambit

Hundreds  if not thousands  of new and returning TV shows and movies are released every month  your options of what to watch are endless. Variety, they say is ...
Phillies are World Series bound! How to watch, plus the full schedule

The Phillies are heading to the World Series for the first time since 2009. Follow along as Philadelphia takes on the Houston Astros.
While highlighting the plight of passengers facing flight delays and cancellation, the Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) stated that the month of April alone saw making refunds worth Rs 3.3 crore for the same.
Dr Reddys Laboratories (DRL) is ramping up its US business with the acquisition of eight drugs from the worlds largest generic drug-maker Teva and an affiliate of Allergan for $350 million (over Rs 2,300 crore).



This includes seven products which are pending US Food and Drugs Administration approval (abbreviated new drug application) and an approved product spread across diverse dosage forms. The combined sales of the branded versions of the products in the US is about $3.5 billion for the year ending April 2016, DRL said in a statement on Saturday.



The company said it expects to finance the transaction using a combination of cash on hand and available borrowings under existing credit facilities. The acquired portfolio comprises complex generics products which have limited competition and thus will boost revenue and profit margins.



US business contributes to about half of DRLs revenues. Like other top Indian pharma companies, its US business has been under pressure because of price erosion and supply channel consolidation in the US.



The companys three facilities, including two active pharmaceutical ingredient units and an oncology formulation unit, were served warning letter by the US FDA last November, adding to its woes.



Last July, Jerusalem-based Teva acquired Allergan in a $40.5-billion deal. The acquired portfolio consists of products that are being divested by Teva to fulfil a precondition to its acquisition of Allergans generics business. The acquisition of these ANDAs is also contingent on the closing of the Teva-Allergan generics transaction and approval by the US Federal Trade Commission of Dr Reddys as a buyer.



G V Prasad, co-chairman and CEO of Dr Reddys Laboratories said, This transaction will add strength to our product portfolio, help us be more relevant in the US market.



DRLs peers Lupin and Cipla are growing their US business in an inorganic way with two recent acquisitions. Lupin acquired Gavis for $880 million and is focusing on building up its branded business in the market. Cipla acquired InvaGen and Exelan for $550 million and plans to increase its revenue from the segment from 8 per cent to 20 per cent over the next few years.



Alok Sonig, executive vice-president and head of North America (business) said, Dr Reddys Laboratories has a strong track record in the US market with over 79 filed abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) pending approval, of which we believe 18 have first-to-file status. The acquisition of these attractive ANDAs from Teva will enhance our short-to-mid term aspirations and is consistent with our growth initiatives to identify inorganic opportunities to expand our base business.



GOING FOR INORGANIC GROWTH
Mike Feerick was working as an assistant to Irish American multi-billionaire and philanthropist Chuck (Charles) Feeney when he realised that you cannot address the need for education globally through philanthropy and charity alone  you need a business model that is sustainable and profitably addresses the problem.
Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao's failing health in the wake of his fast unto death was a major factor that led to the UPA government conceding the demand for carving out from Andhra Pradesh on December 9, 2009, says former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh.

The highest echelons of the government had information that ground situation in Hyderabad was grave and "something substantial" had to be done to retrieve it, he says in his new book 'Old History and new GeographyBifurcating Andhra Pradesh, which was released here.

"KCR's (K Chandrasekhar Rao) health was one major factor influencing the decision-making. The other was related to the role that Maoists and their sympathisers may have been playing to aggravate the situation," the Congress leader says in the 242-page book.

Ramesh, who was elected to Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh last time, was part of the Group of Ministers (GoM) set up by the UPA government in October 2013 to prepare the legislation for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, which was incidentally India's first state to be carved out on linguistic basis.

"Clearly, the highest echelons of the government had information that led them to believe that the ground situation in Hyderabad was grave and something really substantive had to be done to retrieve the situation.

"The Home Minister (P Chidambaram) must have the reason to believe that the Pottu Sriramulu moment had arrived once more in Andhra Pradesh," says Ramesh.

Sriramulu, who was on fast unto death demanding separate Andhra Pradesh, died during the night of 15 December 1952. The move sparked wide spread riots.

Home Minister P Chidambaram issued the statement announcing the decision to create based on his assessment derived from intelligence and other reports.

Ramesh says the statement itself was "evidently finalised" at the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence with Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherjee (then Finance Minister) and K Rosaiah (then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh) present and had apparently followed consultations with the other leaders of the Congress.

Ramesh claimed the book is a first-person, inside narrative of the process of bifurcation as observed and recorded by someone who participated in it closely. Further, the perspective is Delhi centric.

"It tells the story of how Telangana was created as I saw it and that too during a limited period October 8, 2013 and May 13 2014 when, by forces that I can only ascribe to the mysterious force called destiny, I came to occupy a pivotal role in the process of bifurcation. At the same time, Ramesh makes it clear that "what went into the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and what determined its timing was, honestly, unknown to me."



In November 1956, a unified Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh came into being. In February 2014, Parliament bifurcated it to create two Telugu-speaking states: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Published by Rupa Publications, the book claims to provide the "context, text and subtext" to the bifurcation, which continues to be contentious.

After becoming a member of the GoM, Ramesh was the prime mover and its public face and was thus always in the crossfire as it strove to balance competing claims and differing demands to ensure a just and equitable outcome.

While there was tussle for Hyderabad, union ministers from Seemandhra argued that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HDMA), which generated close to half of the undivided state's revenue, should be designated as a common capital.

The HDMA covered around 7,100 sq kms of area spanning five districts of Telangana.

However, the TRS argued that if at all the city is made a common capital, then it should be restricted to Hyderabad Revenue District, which covers 217 sq kms.

"This too was briefly debated. Ultimately GoM felt that fairness demanded that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area be designated as the common capital zone. This spread across 625 sq kms that had been increased to about 923 sq kms in September 2013," Ramesh said in his book.

Another idea that was discussed for some time in the GoM, which was also shot down, was of a Common Capital Governance Council. Under this, the body was to be a temporary one subject to review after five years.

The governor was to be the chairperson of the council, with members being the chief ministers of the two states, key civil and police officers from both the state and the centre.

"The idea didn't get support on the grounds that this would simply not be acceptable to the Telangana government once the state came into being. Besides, the Home Minister, and the Home Secretary felt that the move would not stand the test of legality.

"The Law Ministry gave its opinion that such a coordination council would violate List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution dealing with the powers of the state," Ramesh said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached nine assets of beleaguered industrialist Vijay Mallya and United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL) worth Rs 1,411 crore crore under anti-money laundering laws in connection with the Rs 950-crore IDBI Bank loan fraud case.
President on Saturday greeted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the eve of the 'Day of Russia' as he expressed hope that ties between the two countries will grow from "strength to strength" in the future.

In his message to Putin, Mukherjee said India deeply values its special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia.

"The friendship between our two nations has stood the test of time. I share your confidence that our bilateral relations will grow from strength to strength in the years to come," he said.

The President extended warm greetings and best wishes on behalf of Indian people, as he said he takes this opportunity to "convey, through you, my best wishes for the continued progress and prosperity of the friendly people of the Russian Federation."



The 'Day of Russia' commemorates the adoption of the declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) on June 12, 1990 and it is celebrated every year from the year 1992.
Amid a raging row over the drug-themed crime thriller film 'Udta Punjab', Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury on Saturday mocked at the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government and said that they should welcome the film which saved the government's money in advertising and creating awareness on drugs.

"I haven't seen the movie but obviously there was a lot of truth in the movie which pricked the state government. They should welcome films like this, which highlights, which have saved the state government a lot of money in advertising and creating awareness. Through this film thousands of people representatives have come forward and said that we need help and we need more rehabilitation centers, we want to get out of this," Chowdhury told ANI here.

Taking a potshot at the Punjab government, she said instead of protesting on the film else where they should set their house in order.

"I am also aware that from Punjab there are hundreds of representatives who have bitterly complained about the influx of drugs there. It is the total failure of the state government and it is their responsibility to solve this. They have taken votes from the citizens, don't they have a sense of responsibility towards them?" she added.

She further said that it is a good signal for the state government to realise that they have a real problem in Punjab and banning this film, stopping it is not going to remove the reality that Punjab is drug infested.

"It is not going to help the state government to win this election by banning these films, instead it is creating awareness among citizens. Be grateful and be obliged to your citizens and make sure that the future generation of Punjab thrives healthily," she added.

The Bombay High Court had on Friday adjourned the hearing of Shahid Kapoor starrer 'Udta Punjab', a film highlighting the rampant drug menace and its impact on the youth in Punjab, and said it will pronounce its order on the matter on June 13.

The High Court, which is presently hearing a case against 'Udta Punjab', told the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that the multiplex audience is mature enough, adding that people should be allowed to see the film as everybody has a choice.

During the hearing, the CBFC lawyer informed the court that the words used in the songs of the film are very offensive, the scenes in the movie which have been asked to cut are very vulgar, the dialogue "zameen banjar to aulaad kanjar" is also very abusive and the dog, which has been named as Jackie Chan, which is also objectionable.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley had on Thursday said film certification norms will have to be liberal and 'some very radical changes' will be announced over the next few days.

The film 'Udta Punjab' was handed down 89 cuts by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and its makers have appealed in the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT).

FCAT is expected to hear the case on June 17 when the film was scheduled for release.

The CBFC has contended that 'Udta Punjab', a drug-themed crime thriller, needed several cuts as it cast the state in a bad light by giving an impression that most people there were addicts.

The numerous cuts sparked a confrontation between Bollywood filmmakers, the censor board and political parties.

On the row, Jaitley said, "I think that we are overstating it because at the end of the day, you have a board which takes a view which may be a little conservative but then at the appeal tribunal, with an appeal, it can get disposed off. My experience has been that almost everything then gets cleared.
The Indian prosecution network for anti-money laundering has all the elements in place, except the criminal. In 11 years since July 2005, when the Enforcement Directorate, or ED, was asked to operate the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), no one has been convicted for the crime. India's lead prosecuting agency against money laundering and illegal use of foreign exchange has tried hard but it has not managed to crack through a stretched out judicial process, the lack of inter-agency coordination among the prosecution agencies and a crippling shortage of staff.
With the new government inheriting a Rs 10,000 crore committed liability of the previous government, the states chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal today sought special support from the Centre. Sonowal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said needed about Rs 10,000 crore to honour the committed liabilities accumulated over a period of time and other liabilities arising out of pay revision of employees.
With unavailability of land being one of the prime reasons for investors shying away from Assam, the new BJP government has decided to address the issue immediately and with sincerity and honesty.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday mooted several changes in civil aviation norms which, if implemented, will cap airline cancellation charges and slash fee on excess baggage.
There are very few officers to fill up the key posts in the Narendra Modi-government. This is showing up in alarming numbers.
Gujarat Connecting India to the World will be the theme of Global Investors' Summit, to be held in January, 2017, a top government official said on Saturday.

"Gujarat boasts of being one of the leading states in manufacturing sector and is recognised as India's growth engine. We are going much beyond this time as our motto for next Global Investors' Summit to be held on January 10-13, 2017 will be 'Gujarat Connecting India to the World'," said Arvind Agarwal, additional chief secretary of state's Industries and Mines department.

"We have reached a stage where we can actually be the window to many foreign investors coming to India and for Indian states to know how to woo the world. We believe that because of its industry and economy, Gujarat can take a leadership role to connect India to the world," he said.

Agarwal was speaking at the 6th MSME Convention organised by the All India Management Association (AIMA).

"Gujarat is already a national leader in 15 out of 25 sectors identified by the Centre for its Make in India programme," he said, adding that the state is trying to strengthen other six sectors, while the remaining four do not apply to the state.

Agarwal said that the state has taken reasonably good benefit of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), which was introduced nearly a year ago to support funding needs of MSMEs, with Gujarat-based micro enterprises having made available Rs 60 crore of loan so far.

"To boost further investment in the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) sector, the state government is considering ways to create framework to attract private equity funds in small businesses. For the first time, a state government has started the concept of promoting startups at the idea stage itself," he said.

Under the new Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum scheme, which is meant to promote ease of doing business for MSMEs, as many as 42,800 MSMEs have been registered till March 2016, with total number of MSMEs registered with the state government from 2006-2015 being about 3.76 lakh, which is the second highest after Tamil Nadu, he added.

Of the 42,800 MSMEs, about 33,000 are in micro sector, 9,500 in small sector, and 430 in medium sector, he said.

Gujarat's biennial event ' Global Investors' Summit' is the pet initiative of former state Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Former President has asked the United States (US) to "trust" and "mend ties" with Pakistan to defeat terrorism, amid tension between the two countries over an American drone strike that killed the Afghan Taliban chief in Baluchistan.

Zardari, who served as President from 2008 to 2013, also challenged those US Congressmen who doubt the intention of Pakistan and its role and commitment to take action against the dreaded Haqqani network, which is blamed for a number of attacks against American interests in Afghanistan.

"I would challenge any faction in Congress that holds this view to come to Pakistan and bear witness to our solidarity and resolve," Zardari wrote in an article in Chicago Tribune.

He said in order to defeat terrorism the US and Pakistan should raise the trust level and mend ties.

"Doubters should know that Pakistan has lost nearly 5,000 troops and many thousands of civilians in this fight. These losses were sustained in offensives against terrorist networks in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, a long-time US priority," The Nation quoted him as saying in the article.

The Pakistan People's Party leader also criticised the US for blocking the sale of eight F-16 jets to Pakistan and said the decision will be counter-productive and self-defeating.

The US Congress has blocked funding for the jets citing Pakistan's unsatisfactory actions against the Haqqani network.

Zardari said the US must play its role along with Pakistan to combat terrorism. "Pakistan is ready and willing to continue its role at the front lines of the war against terrorism. But the US has a part to play in assuring our ability to fight and win on the battlefield."



His comments came amid tension between Pakistan and the US following the May 21 drone strike that killed Mullah Akhtar Mansour deep inside Pakistan.

Prime minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday told a high-level US delegation here that the drone attack "was not only a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and breach of the principles of the United Nation's Charter, but has also vitiated bilateral ties".

Pakistan-US ties are sliding down due to differences over handling of peace process in Afghanistan and US' growing defence ties with India, especially its support to India's membership for the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Zardari said as the talks between the delegation and the Pakistani government continue, the US should reaffirm sale of fighter aircraft and with it faith in an indispensable partnership in defence of civilisation.

He said the war against terrorism has not only cost Pakistan human lives but has also taken the country towards economic crisis.

"Three decades of war has also meant slower economic growth and foreign direct investment than that of other developing countries whose borders are not active war zones. These are among the hidden opportunity costs of our commitment to fighting terrorism," he wrote.
More than 3,000 people, including 37 militants, have been arrested across in a sweeping crackdown on Islamists to halt a wave of fatal attacks on minorities and secular writers, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on Satruday, vowed to catch "each and every killer".

The militants arrested were operatives of the outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen (JMB), the outfit believed to have carried out most of the attacks on secular and liberal activists and minorities, including Hindus and Christians.

"Out of the 37 militants, 27 belong to JMB," Deputy Inspector General AKM Shahidur Rahman told reporters while reports said more than 3,000 suspects  mostly listed as thugs and criminals  were arrested over the past two days.

launched the drive after a high-level meeting held by Inspector General AKM Shahidul Hoque on Thursday. The anti-militant drive involved the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh and the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion.

Bangladesh has been witnessing a string of brutal attacks by Islamists. The ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Peninsula have claimed some of the attacks but government denies the presence of these groups in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Hasina told a meeting of her ruling Awami League party that police would stamp out the violence.

"Where will they hide in Bangladesh," she said. "No one will get away. Bangladesh is a small country. It's not a tough task to find them. They will be brought to justice."

"Each and every killer will be brought to book as we did after the 2015 mayhem (and) all their sources, financiers and patrons would be unearthed and brought to justice as well," she said, referring to the deadly transport blockade last year organised by opposition parties.

She asked her countrymen to not be a bystander during such attacks as most of the attacks involved bike-borne assailants.

"Please don't play the role of an onlooker when you see that a person is under attack, rather, try to resist and catch the criminals... Police and (government) will stand by you," she said at the meeting at her official residence Gana Bhaban.

But opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party immediately accused the government of using the crackdown to suppress political dissent. It rejected the allegation that the party and its fundamentalist ally Jamaat-e-Islami were patronising the attacks under an orchestrated plot against the government.

BNP Secretary-General Fakhrul Islam Alamgir accused the government of arresting "hundreds of opposition activists in the name of crackdown against Islamist militants."

The attacks since last year, which has left more than 30 people dead, has put Bangladesh under a global spotlight for failing to prevent such attacks.

On Friday, a 60-year-old Hindu ashram worker was hacked to death by ISIS jihadists, days after another priest was killed by the same terrorist group in the Muslim-majority nation.

In February, militants stabbed to death a Hindu priest at a temple and shot and wounded a devotee who went to his aid.

In April, a liberal professor was brutally hacked to death in Rajshahi city. The same month, a Hindu tailor was hacked to death and Bangladesh's first gay magazine editor was murdered in his Dhaka flat by Islamists.
British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon on Saturday warned the travelling England fans heading to France for that they are "likely" to face a terror attack.

He urged fans to be "very careful" as stadiums were targeted before and may be targeted again.

France remains under a state of emergency following last November's terror attacks which left 130 dead, the Daily Mail reported.

As many as 100,000 England fans are expected in Marseille on Saturday ahead of the nation's opening match against Russia in Group B.

"Fans should be very careful, the risk and the threat level is severe. Stadiums are an obvious target as we have already seen with the Stade de France. Be very vigilant, an attack is likely," Fallon told media.

The tournament is being played under an unprecedented level of security in a country that was still reeling from last November's attacks in Paris, as well as the shootings at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 11 dead.
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At least eight people were killed in a twin bomb attack on a suburb of Damascus which is home to Syria's holiest Shia shrine, state media reported.

The official SANA news agency said a suicide bomber and a car bomb struck at the entrance to the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, which is revered by Shiites around the world.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, reported a higher toll of at least nine people killed and 30 wounded in the blasts.

The shrine, around 10 kilometres south of the centre of Damascus, is heavily guarded by pro-government forces but has still been the target of several jihadist attacks, including those claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

The last attack on Sayyida Zeinab on April 25 killed at least seven and wounded dozens.

A string of IS bombings near the shrine in February left 134 people dead, most of them civilians, according to the Observatory.

And in January, another attack claimed by IS killed 70 people.

Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah cited the threat to Sayyida Zeinab as a principal reason for its intervention in the civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

The shrine contains the grave of Zeinab, a venerated granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed, and is known for its glistening golden onion-shaped dome.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that the West Bank will be closed off until the end of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot on Sunday, due to security concerns following a Palestinian shooting attack this week in Tel Aviv that killed four Israeli civilians.

The army said that crossings will be open for "humanitarian and medical" cases only and for Palestinians to worship at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians attended prayers at the mosque today, the first of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Police were on high alert in Jerusalem and prayers passed peacefully.

Much of the past months of violence stems from tensions at the hilltop compound. Muslims refer to it as the Noble Sanctuary, and it is their third holiest site, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It is the holiest site for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount because of the revered Jewish temples that stood there in biblical times.

West Bank closures are often imposed ahead of holidays in when there are fears of Palestinian attacks. Tensions are especially high now after Palestinian gunmen killed four people and wounded five in a popular and crowded area of Tel Aviv on Wednesday night.

The military said it arrested several people in connection to that attack in the West Bank overnight but there were no further details.

In raids on Saturday morning in the territory, Israeli troops found two Palestinian workshops used for manufacturing weapons, including the improvised home-made gun used in Wednesday's shootings at a popular Tel Aviv restaurant and shopping area.

Over the last eight months, Palestinians have carried out dozens of attacks on civilians and security forces, mostly stabbings, shootings and car ramming assaults that have killed 32 Israelis and two Americans.

About 200 Palestinians have been killed during that time, most identified as attackers by . The assaults were once near-daily incidents but they have become less frequent in recent weeks.

The day after the Palestinian shooting, froze 83,000 permits for Palestinians in the West Bank to visit relatives in Israel.

The army imposed checkpoints to restrict movement in and out of the village where the Palestinian gunmen in the Tel Aviv attack were from.

The office of the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, today condemned the Tel Aviv shooting.
Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the US to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban militants and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.

General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Richard Olson on Friday.

In a late night statement, the army said Gen Raheel demanded targeting of Tehreek-e-Taliban militants and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.

"Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, COAS reiterated Pakistan's resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies' efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism," it said.

It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on May 21.

The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.

"Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb," it said.

Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.

He said all stakeholders need to understand Pakistan's challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.

"Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate," he said.

He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.

Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated.
Brazil's said she would call a referendum on holding early elections if she is reinstated as president, an offer analysts saw as a bid to sway undecided senators to help clear her in an impeachment trial.
All the countries who signed up to the on climate change complied with their emission targets, says a new study.

"There is often scepticism about the importance of law, and many critics claim that the failed. The fact that countries have fully complied is highly significant, and it helps to raise expectations for full adherence to the Paris Agreement," said Michael Grubb, editor-in-chief of the Climate Policy journal which recently published the study.

The researchers used the final data for national green house gas (GHG) emissions and exchanges in carbon units which only became available at the end of 2015.

An analysis of the data showed that all 36 countries that committed to the surpassed their commitment by 2.4 giga-tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year.

The researchers found that most of these countries reduced their GHG emissions to the levels required by the Kyoto Protocol, with only nine  Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Japan, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain and Switzerlandemitting higher levels.

The nine countries only just overshot their targets, in total by around 1% of the average annual emissions capped under Kyoto, and were able to comply with the protocol using the "flexibility" mechanisms.

The Kyoto Protocol is an treaty that binds its member countries to work for reducing green house gas emission. It was adopted in 1997 and came into force in 2005. It is part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), formed in 1992.

The treaty was opened for signature 18 years ago, on March 16, 1998. But only six countries signed it on the opening day. Four of them were small island countries.

The US never ratified the treaty and Canada withdrew. It also left emerging countries like India and China without any reduction commitments.
Citing examples of various foreign companies, including at least one from India, a top American Senator has sought federal investigation into the alleged misuse of tourist visa to bring in foreign workers into the US.

"Given the problem such fraud and abuse in the B visa programme poses for American workers as well as the foreign workers who are mistreated and underpaid, I request that the departments respond to the concerns," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley asked in a letter to the US Attorney General Loretta E Lynch.

In the letter which was also sent to the secretaries of the Departments of State, Homeland Security and Labour, the Senator sought more information on the types of visas granted to the workers.

He asked about a practice by the State Department that allows B visa holders to work in the US as if they had been granted H-1B skilled labour visas, and is seeking the legal justification for such a practice.

B visa holders are not granted the same worker protections that are required of companies employing H-1B visa holders.

"The manner in which the B visa programme is being used and the absence of real oversight and enforcement is a shame. Despite a long and undeniable history of abuse of the programme to bring foreign workers into the United States under cover as 'business visitors,' regulations and field governance governing the programme have not been updated in years," Grassley said in the letter.

In his letter, Grassley said that in October 2013, the Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, and United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas entered into a settlement agreement with Infosys, as part of which the US government alleged that Infosys knowingly and unlawfully used B-1 visa holders to perform skilled labour in order to fill positions in the US for employment that would otherwise be performed by American citizens or require legitimate H-1B visa holders, for the purposes of increasing profits, minimising costs of securing visas, increasing flexibility of employee movement, obtaining an unfair advantage over competitors, and avoiding tax liabilities.

Infosys paid a settlement amount of $34 million, the largest payment ever levied in an immigration case. "And now the ongoing abuse of the B visa category is once again at the centre of scandals attracting widespread press and social media coverage," he said.

"It's also obvious that investigation of B visa abuses and unauthorised employment of B visa holders is a rock-bottom priority for all of your Departments -- with the exception of the Department of Labour, which has been doing some good work in uncovering these abuses," Grassley said.
A drought-like situation and rising demand in global markets could force India to import two to five million tonnes of wheat in 2016-17, industry sources said.
Amid uproar in the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha during the voting for Rajya Sabha seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing Samajwadi Party (SP) legislators of "acting like goons", senior party leader on Saturday recalled the 2008 'Cash-for-votes scandal' and said the saffron party's 'dual- standards' would not work.

"I would like to ask the BJP, which had showed 'bundles of cash' in Parliament, that if the Congress or other parties do the same thing then they are bad and if they do so they are good. Agar Bharatiya Janata Party kare to raasleela aur Congress aur anya dal aisa hi kuch karein to unka character dheela," he told media.

"This dual standard (of BJP) wouldn't work," he added.

Krishna Paswan, BJP legislator from Khaga assembly constituency earlier accused the SP MLAs of not letting her vote to in the House.

"The SP MLAs are acting like goons. Openly, they are involved in hooliganism. They are not letting us cast our votes. They held my hand to refrain me from voting," Paswan told ANI.

"When we went to the Central Secretariat, they told me that they would cast my vote, to which I opposed," she said adding, "Why should they (SP MLAs) cast my vote, when I can on my own."

"They even asked the employees to cover the box with their hands. I was stopped with all the vigour," she added.

Meanwhile, polls are underway in seven states on Saturday to elect 27 Rajya Sabha members.

These include 11 seats from Uttar Pradesh, four each from Karnataka and Rajasthan, three from Madhya Pradesh, two each from Haryana and Jharkhand and one from Uttarakhand.

Out of 57 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant, voting took place for only 27 seats today as 30 candidates were declared elected unopposed at the end of withdrawal of nominations on June 3.

In Uttar Pradesh, 12 candidates are vying for 11 seats.
Emphasising on the role played by "cash" in the Rajya Sabha elections, Janata Dal (United) MP Sharad Yadav on Saturday said many moneybags are contesting in this poll as both the BJP and the Congress Party have fielded cash-rich candidates.

"In this poll, many moneybags are standing. Both the BJP and the Congress Party have fielded moneyed candidates. Though there is nothing new in this, as this has been practised since long, but now it has reached to its pinnacle."

Maintaining that the solution to this problem lies with people only, Yadav said, "The people will treat this problem by way of their mandate. The Election Commission or law does not have a solution to this chronic problem."

It's the last day before elections for 57 Rajya Sabha seats in 15 states and with a contest in at least six states, political parties are in a last minute scramble to ensure they get their numbers right.

As many as 57 Rajya Sabha seats in 15 states go to polls on Friday.

Lambasting Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) of India head Pahlaj Nihalani for scuttling creativity, the JD (U) Rajya Sabha MP said, "He looks like a 'paagal' (mad) and should be removed immediately."

"The Censor Board has done a poor job. The creativity should not be scuttled like this," he added.

The Bombay High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing of Shahid Kapoor-starrer 'Udta Punjab', a film highlighting the rampant drug menace and its impact on the youth in Punjab, and said it would pronounce its order on June 13.

The High Court told CBFC that the multiplex audience is mature enough and they should be allowed to see the film as everybody has a choice.

In response to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's upcoming protest against drug menace in Punjab's Jalandhar, he said, "Drug abuse is a big problem in Punjab. This is a big issue, as Punjab is an important state for us. And thus, it is important to get Punjab out of this problem. I think it's going to be the main plank in the assembly elections when leaders of various political parties assemble there."

Criticising the government for poor industrial growth, the JD(U) leader said, "They are talking about development at a time when the country is going back. Industrial growth has been reduced to 'minus' (0.8 percent in April this year). In such a scenario how will they generate employment?"

India's industrial production shrank 0.8 percent in April this year, dragged down by a poor performance of the manufacturing and capital goods sectors.

Factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had expanded 3 percent in April last year. Data released by the Central Statistics Office showed that the manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 percent of the index, contracted 3.1 percent in April this year.

Capital goods output, a barometer of investment, shrank a hefty 24.9 percent during the month. Overall consumer goods output dipped 1.2 percent in April, while consumer non-durable production fell 9.7 percent.

But production of consumer durables jumped 11.8 percent, and electricity generation surged 14.6 percent during the month.
The Kerala government on Saturday announced its decision to hand over the case of actor Kalabhavan Mani's death to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A notification was issued by the Home secretary based on the recommendation of the state DGP.

Mani's family members had earlier approached the state government seeking a CBI probe into his death which occurred under strange circumstances.

According to reports, the family members wanted the probe to be investigated by an agency which was not influenced by any external elements.

The development comes in the wake of a lab report confirming the presence of highly toxic methyl alcohol, also called methanol in his body.

The lab reports from Hyderabad mentioned that high content of spurious liquor was present in his blood samples.

The police team probing the death of the actor reportedly got the lab report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Hyderabad.

Earlier, a lab report had stated that toxic pesticide Chlorpyrifos was there in Mani's body, which was ruled out in the report.

Mani passed away at a hospital in Kochi on March 6. The 45 year old had been hospitalised for liver ailment where he was admitted in the ICU in a critical condition.
Former home secretary Madhukar Gupta, who had led a delegation of Home Ministry officers to Islamabad for talks a day before the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has rejected the charges of enjoying Pakistan's hospitality in Murree, a hill station close to Islamabad.

Gupta told ANI he had no idea why some reports were suggesting that the delegation was holidaying in Murree.

"It is inaccurate that there was no signal in Murree. I got a call from India, who informed me about the attacks and told me to switch on the television," said Gupta.

Gupta said when he came to know about the attacks in Mumbai, the delegation contacted the senior leadership in India.

"As soon as we saw the terror strike, we spoke to all concerned persons, who were supposed to be spoken. Nobody knew that 26/11 would happen," he added.

The former home secretary further said the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai clearly depicted duplicitous role of Pakistan, adding it was not for the first time that such incidents had happened.

He reiterated that he was in constant touch with people back in India when the attacks took place.

"I was in touch with everyone when the disaster struck; what are we trying to prove going into speculation eight years later? I don't know what purpose it will serve to ask eight years later if we were deliberately sent to Murree," he asked.

He further asked as to how the things could have changed by his physical presence.

.
If you were hanging around to see the sizzling chemistry between Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon in 'Raabta,' then your wait is about to get over, suggests Kriti's recent social media post.

Posting a selfie with the 'Kai Po Che!' actor, the 25-year-old actress took to her Twitter handle and wrote, "And its a schedule wrap!!! Wooohhooo! #SushantSinghRajput #Raabta #maddockfilms."

Earlier, Alia Bhatt was offered the lead role, but due to date issues she had to turn it down.

Dinesh Vijan's much-awaited directorial has been grabbing the eyeballs ever since Deepika Padukone was roped in to do to an item number in the movie.

The film is slated to hit the theatres on February 10, 2017.
At least eight Taliban militants were killed on Saturday in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

A local government spokesperson said a drone strike targeted a vehicle carrying the Taliban militants, leaving 6 militants dead and their weapons destroyed.

The spokesperson added that the police also ambushed Taliban militants in Pechigaram district of the province, killing two key commanders of the group.

Afghan forces have stepped up attacks on the militant groups who are looking to escalate violence across the country as part of their spring offensive.

--IANS

ahm/bg
Afghanistan and India on Saturday continued their efforts to secure the release of an abducted Indian woman aid worker but her whereabouts remain unknown.

Judith D'Souza, 40, working with Aga Khan Foundation, an NGO, was kidnapped on Thursday night while she was returning home after a dinner at a friend's place in the Qala-e-Fatullah area of Kabul.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction but it is feared that she may have been kidnapped by a criminal gang in Kabul motivated by ransom, according to Afghan officials.

Abductions for ransom in Afghanistan are common and criminal gangs have made millions of dollars from kidnapping foreign nationals.

Such crimes by criminal cartels raise fears that hostages may be sold to Islamists who complicate their freedom by raising demands for ransom as well as for securing the release of jailed terrorists.

But the Indian authorities are not ruling out the kidnapping of the Indian aid worker by the Taliban or its allied fighters.

They said there was no fresh update about D'Souza but efforts were on to secure her release.

Her worried family in Kolkata said they have been in touch with the authorities in India and Afghanistan.

"As of now efforts are being made at various levels within the governments of India and Afghanistan," her brother Jerome D'Souza tweeted.

Afghan media reports said the government had left all channels of communication open to hear from suspected kidnappers but did not provide details.

"Afghan officials have said they are doing everything possible to secure the early release of the woman," TOLO News reported.

Sympathizers and well-wishers have appealed to the governments of both countries on social media networking pages for Judith's swift and safe release with #bringbackjudith.

An online petition was also launched at change.org for the release of the "Indian development worker... who went (to Afghanistan) to serve humanity.

"Abducting such people is not only inhumane but also anti-Islamic. We, on behalf of development workers, appeal to the abductors to realise the agony and trauma of her parents and family and set Judith free unharmed at the earliest," said the petition, garnering hundreds of signatures till late Saturday.

"We also request the local community and authority in Afghanistan and government of India to make all-out efforts to rescue Judith unharmed from the clutches of the abductors."

Judith D'Souza, an expert on gender issues, has been working for the Aga Khan Foundation since last year and was due to return home in Kolkata soon.

--IANS

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Amit Kumar alias Bachcha Rai, the mastermind of the Class 12 Board merit list scam in Bihar, was arrested on Saturday after he surrendered before the police.

Rai is the director-cum-principal of the VR College in Vaishali district which is being investigated in the case.

According to police officials, Rai, who has been absconding, surrendered near his college in Vaishali and the police arrested him. Police will produce him in the local court by evening.

In the last 48 hours police had raided several places but failed to track Rai.

Meanwhile, former Chairman of Bihar School Examination Board Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh is still absconding, police said. Singh is a key accused in the case and has gone underground after resigning from the Board.

Earlier on Friday, five accused arrested in the case were remanded to 14 days' judicial custody by a local court in Patna.

--IANS

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Rightwing activist Virendra S. Tawde, nabbed on Friday for alleged involvement in the 2013 murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, was on Saturday sent to CBI custody till June 16.

Tawde, an ENT specialist who is believed to be a coordinator of the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) and a member of Sanatan Sanstha, was arrested from his home at Panvel in Raigad district by the CBI.

He was produced before the Sessions Court which sent him to the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation for a week.

The CBI has said it had "cyber forensic evidences" against Tawde and he was interrogated for several hours before being placed under arrest around 8.30 p.m. on Friday.

Earlier on June 2, the CBI raised Tawde's residence and questioned him twice at the Sanatan Sanstha ashram at Panvel.

It was the first arrest since the central agency took over the case in May 2014 following the Bombay High Court directives.

A Sanatan Sanstha spokesperson said Tawde was not a member of the HJS and attempts were being made to tarnish the organisation's name.

Dabholkar was gunned down by two motorcycle borne assailants when near the Omkareshwar Bridge close to his Pune home on August 20, 2013.

His family and others claimed that since he promoted rationalism, he was allegedly targeted by rightwing organizations hurt by his campaigns.

Besides Tawde, the CBI is on the lookout for another absconding rightwing activist, Sarang Akolkar, who is also wanted by the National Investigation Agency for his role in a Goa blast of 2009, and against whom an InterPol Red Corner Notice was issued in 2012.

Reacting to the developments, Maharashtra Congress general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant demanded that it was high time the government imposed a ban on Sanatan Sanstha.

"First its name figured in the killing of Govind Pansare, now Dabholkar, and even litterateur Shripal Sabnis has been openly threatened by the Sanstha.

"Its real face has been exposed and the government must immediately ban the group and arrest all its top officials," Sawant said.

Dabholkar's son Hameed and daughter Mukta termed the arrest "belated but a very big step in the right direction".

They told mediapersons that the CBI must get to the main perpetrators of the killing of Dabholkar and nab them as also the absconding Akolkar.

--IANS

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At least eight people were killed in a twin bomb attack on a suburb of Damascus which is home to Syria's holiest Shia shrine, state media reported.

Some 13 other people were wounded in the blasts, which were caused by a suicide bomber and a car bomb.

The first blast, by an attacker wearing an explosives belt, took place at the entrance to the suburb while the car bomb attack happened on al-Teen street, not far from the shrine, Sana news agency said.

The golden-domed Sayyida Zeinab shrine contains the grave of one of Prophet Muhammad's grand-daughters, and continues to draw many Shia pilgrims despite the civil war.

The Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has cited it as a key reason why it chose to fight on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But this has made this suburb a prime target for the government's enemies, including the IS, the BBC reported.

More than 250,000 people have died and 11 million have fled their homes in more than five years of civil war in Syria.

--IANS

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At least four policemen and 13 Islamic State militants were killed on Saturday in a clash in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, an official said.

"IS fighters attacked police headquarters in Deh Bala district, triggering a gun battle which left 13 rebels and four policemen killed," Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying.

As many as seven militants were injured during the clash, the official said.

--IANS

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German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Friday warned against a British exit from the European Union (EU).

"A Brexit would be tough for everyone, but above all for Britain," Xinhua quoted the minister as saying.

Britain is scheduled to hold a referendum on June 23 on its EU membership.

Schaeuble noted that the vote was final and renegotiations would not make a British withdrawal reversed.

"In is in. Out is out," he stressed.

The minister also warned of a domino effect, expressing concern that other EU member countries would think about leaving the EU after the British referendum.

He noted that the EU must show it has learned lessons from the British referendum whatever the outcome.

Even if the British people vote for an EU membership by a narrow majority, Schaeuble said, "It would be a warning with the message: not to continue with business as usual."

But if Britain leaves, the minister added, Europe at a pinch "will also work without Britain."

--IANS

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Counting of votes for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana was delayed on Saturday following 16 objections raised by various sides.

Haryana Education Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ram Bilas Sharma said the objections were forwarded to the Election Commission of India (EC) for clearance.

The results were to be declared around 5 p.m. but the counting process was delayed due to the objections raised.

The objections were raised by the ruling BJP, opposition Indian Lok Dal (INLD) and some independents.

There were reports that the vote of Congress legislator Randeep Singh Surjewala was cancelled following an objection raised by the BJP chief whip Gian Chand Gupta. Surjewala allegedly showed his vote to another party leader Kiran Chaudhary.

Union Minister for Rural Development Birender Singh, who is a ruling BJP candidate, is sure of getting elected.

The fight for the second seat was over two independent candidates  Delhi-based lawyer R.K. Anand and media baron and Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra.

While Anand was supported by the Indian Lok Dal (INLD), Chandra had the support of the ruling BJP.

All 90 legislators in the Haryana assembly cast their vote during polling here.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that support for Anand by the Congress has shown that the party (Congress) was the B-team of the INLD.

Leader of the Congress in the Haryana Assembly Kiran Chaudhary said that anyone could make political allegations on the issue.

"The reality is that Mr Anand came to the AICC (on Friday) and expressed full faith in the Congress leadership, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and ideology. That is why the Congress decided to support him as a candidate," Chaudhary said.
A remote village in the picturesque Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh is experiencing its brush with contemporary art.

With artistes of international repute being in residence in the village for the last three weeks, village residents too are happy to involve themselves in Gunehar's colourful and artistic makeover.

The second edition of the ShopArt ArtShop (SA AS) is already creating a fantasy world on the ground level for the village residents, who call it their own "mela".

"It is a unique conceptual arts project that brings emerging artists, alongside established artists, to a remote village for a month-long project, ending in a festival of arts, culture, exhibitions, movies, fashion shows and drama," SA AS curator Frank Schlichtmann told IANS.

"ShopArt ArtShop is first and foremost about being able to present art beyond the confines of the contemporary city-based art scene. It's an opportunity for a group of artists to come together in a fully-funded month-long residency organised by the 4tables project," said Schlichtmann, who has worked with internationally renowned artists Ketna Patel and Puneet Kaushik as co-organisers.

He said the artists here were free to experiment in the unique environment of the village and explore new methods while emerging artists receive support and mentoring of seasoned practitioners.

The first edition of SA AS was held in May-June 2013 with the participation of 13 international emerging artists. The event showed that "there is a great acceptance for such a 'non-elitist' approach to arts and artists and arts events", Schlichtmann said.

"This event is a good thing because it exposes villagers to the modern world in a nice way. The fact that so many of the artists are women has a positive influence on the girls and young women of the village," Bichitra Singh, Gunehar's up-pradhaan (deputy chief), told IANS.

The artists, like ceramic art expert Mudita Bhandari, get a bit of localised fame.

"Artists like Sheena-didi and Mudita-didi are like role models because they can do whatever they chose to. We also want to be like them... and travel around the world," a group of three girls said in unision.

"This is the best and most meaningful residency I have ever been to," said Bhandari, recently named as one of India's five best ceramic artists by 'Architecture Digest'.

"The artists who came for the residency programme were taken around the village to choose their spaces (read shops). It turns out that for the second time running, not only were all the landlords totally accommodating but also did not ask for rent," a visibly happy Schlichtmann said. He was keen to know if the villagers would seek to 'profit' from the event. "The answer was No."

Even though some villagers are curious to know "Isme Frank ka kya phaida hai" (how does Frank benefit), the SA AS project remains a "not-for-profit" event.

Rema Kumar's 'Gunehar Fashion Show' was a great collection based on traditional Gaddi and Bara Bhangali dresses in which every girl and woman of the village wanted to participate as models.

Every shop is grounded in something that is essentially 'local' and all the work that's going on is happening in front of the villagers and visitors.

Amrit Vatsa's '3minute stories' are hugely popular because he has a great way of telling stories of villagers without exposing them.

Ketna Patel's 'Photo Shop' is open to everybody and she has already created 25 plus collages of villagers that are now being printed as posters.

Sheena and Bianca have done little installations in the 'dead end' spaces reflecting on everyday life in a contemporary, artistic way. These have been done with playing cards and a curtain made of 'bidis' and a small transistor radio playing Pahari songs.

Gargi and the Pahari miniature painters have been painting the whole market square with themes of village life.

The grand finale of the week-long festival (June 7 to 14) will culminate in a big stage show on June 14 with a fashion show, music, film screenings and more.

(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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As the Department of Posts is gearing up to set up a payments bank, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday wrote to its employees saying India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will serve the cause of Antyodaya  serving the last man standing.

"I earnestly appeal to all employees of department and the Grameen Dak Sevaks to take pride and ownership in establishing the India Post Payments Bank which will truly serve the cause of Antyodaya  serving the last man standing," the minister said in the letter, which is being sent to all the employees.

The IPPB is being set up with the aim of achieving financial inclusion in the country.

"The India Post Payments Bank shall be a technologically enabled banking platform that gives a wide range of services such as direct benefit transfers, all kinds of payments and remittances and more significantly undertake sale of a variety of third party products," Prasad said.

"With this diversity of offerings I can clearly see that India Post Payments Bank is going to be a game changer."

"In the coming days, the role of all employees including the Grameen Dak Sevaks will be very significant in the successful roll out of Payments Bank, to make financial inclusion possible for every Indian."

The government plans to roll out 650 branches of IPPB with an investment of Rs 800 crore in all major district headquarters by September 2017.

"I have no doubt in my mind that given your capabilities and your whole hearted cooperation we can accomplish the task. India Post has a foot print in every corner of the country. The postman has a vital emotional connect with the people of India," the minister said.
In what is described as the country's first, a female infant with a severe genetic disorder and near-total missing external body skin, was born here early on Saturday, a doctor said.

"It's the first 'Harlequin Baby' in the country. The infant is born blind and the chances of her survival are uncertain," said paediatrician Dr Yash A. Banait, who was involved in the rare delivery along with obstetrician-gynaecologist Dr Prachi Dixit.

Born around 12.45 a.m. at Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, the first child to a farmer-couple from Wadi, the child is currently in the NICU and being attended by a team of medicos who were conducting a series of tests and investigations on the baby.

The child presents a sad picture with large parts of her body without skin and internal organs visible. Her palms, fingers and toes have barely developed.

There are two reddish swabs in place of her eyes and her nose is just two holes from where she breathes and ears are practically missing on her face.

Dr Yash Banait said such children have severely cracked skin which makes it difficult to maintain body temperature and they become prone to infections.

Renowned paediatrician Dr Avinash Banait said there was a similar case in Bastar, Chhattisgarh in 2014, but it would not be medically proved.

Besides this, there have been only around a dozen-odd such recorded cases in medical history since 1750.

The first such child was born in April 1750 in South Carolina, US, and there are reportedly around a dozen such cases recorded in that country.

One such child Nusrit Shaheen was born in 1984 to a Pakistani woman and four of her children had the same disorder and succumbed at an early age.

Another such male child was born in 2013 to a woman in South Africa and was given a slim survival chance, but lived more.

--IANS

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With three months of police investigation into the death of actor Kalabhavan Mani getting nowhere, the new Kerala government is seeking a CBI probe.

The state government has written to the Department of Personnel and Training requesting that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be asked to investigate the mysterious death of the popular actor on March 6.

Mani's brother R.L.V. Ramakrishnan welcomed the move.

"We had raised this demand and spoken to all concerned and finally this has come. The truth has to come out," he said.

Mani, 45, who acted in 200 films in Malayalam and other languages, was admitted to a hospital in Kochi on March 4. Said to be suffering from a liver ailment, he died two days later.

Forensic experts said an insecticide, called Chlorpyrifos, was found in the actor's body, leading his family to believe that there was foul play involved in Mani's death.

At the time of his death the actor had been staying at a 30-acre farmhouse near Chalakudy in Thrissur district, away from his home where his wife and daughter reside.

--IANS

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Libyan forces have re-taken control of the port in the city of Sirte, after fierce fighting against militants from Islamic State.

Earlier this week warplanes bombed IS positions in Sirte, the most significant IS stronghold outside Iraq and Syria, while naval forces fired missiles into the port, officials said. The offensive continues, BBC reported.

The forces, aligned to the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli, began the battle to re-take the city last month.

Their spokesman, General Muhammad al-Ghusri, said senior IS leaders had fled into the desert to the south, but many militants were still under siege in the city centre.

Clashes centred on the Ougadougou conference centre, which was once a venue for international summits but has now become an IS command centre.

Forces loyal to the government targeted the conference centre with heavy artillery fire, backed by warplanes.

The US said the unity government should be allowed to arm itself against IS. Secretary of State John Kerry said this would be "the only way to generate the cohesion necessary" to defeat the militants.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah had offered to make Home Minister the chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh, informed sources said on Saturday.

Modi and Shah made the formal offer during the last budget session of Parliament, the sources said.

Rajnath Singh, who does not seem to be very attracted by the offer, has not officially communicated his response to the party leadership.

The sources spoke amid fresh speculation that was likely to be the Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial face in Uttar Pradesh, where assembly elections are due next year.

"The reports about being projected as chief ministerial candidate are not true. In fact, no decision in this regard has been taken yet," a BJP leader close to RSS told IANS on the conditions of anonymity.

The BJP leader, who is also an office bearer in the Uttar Pradesh unit, however, added: "But it is true that Rajnath Singh was offered the party's chief ministerial candidature a month ago."

The BJP leadership feels that Rajnath Singh, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh between 2000 and 2002, is still the only reliable face of the party in the state and can give a contest to both BSP chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Sources close to Rajnath Singh said he was not ready to accept the offer as he was more interested in national .

Rajnath Singh said on Friday that reports that he would be the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh were "fictitious". He added that he would fully back whoever was picked by the BJP for the post.

An aide to Rajnath Singh pointed out that the BJP fared poorly in the last three assembly polls despite projecting a chief ministerial candidate -- Rajnath Singh in 2002, Kalyan Singh in 2007 and Uma Bharti in 2012.

The BJP leadership will brainstorm here on Sunday and Monday to decide a strategy that could bring it to power in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh.
Russia has honoured Kudankulam nuclear power plant site director R.S. Sundar with 'Order of Friendship' for his role in the project being built with Russian assistance in Tamil Nadu.

The award was presented by Russian envoy Alexander M. Kadakin on Friday at a ceremony at the Russian embassy here. The ceremony was attended by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju.

According to the text of the decree, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sundar was awarded "for major contribution to the implementation of the NPP Kudankulam project".

"The construction process of new blocks at the Kudankulam site is progressing in accordance with the perspective plan of Russian-Indian cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. Unit 2 of the KNPP is ready to produce electricity and will be connected to the national grid in a few days," said Russian ambassador Kadakin.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sundar expressed his gratitude for the recognition of the labour of Indian workers and specialists engaged in the implementation of the project.

The Kudankulam NPP is being built with Russian technical assistance under the inter-governmental agreement signed in 1988.

In 2014, Russia and India signed a general framework agreement for construction of the second stage, including the third and fourth blocks.

--IANS

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A total of six people -- five inmates and a prison guard -- died as fire broke out in a prison in Asuncion on Friday, officials said.

All six died due of smoke inhalation as the fire erupted 'in Tacumbu Prison, the largest in Paraguay, Efe news quoted an official as saying.

A rescue official said there was a danger that some of the prison's walls might collapse.

State Public Prosecutor Javier Diaz Veron said a team will visit the jail to probe the incident.

Tacumbu Prison has a capacity for 1,655 inmates, but is jammed with 3,980, the kind of overcrowding also seen in Paraguay's other penitentiaries.

--IANS

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An analysis of temperatures, vectorial capacity and other factors like air traveller flows suggests parts of Southern Europe would be vulnerable to Zika outbreaks between June and August.

"We know warm climates create the kind of conditions suitable for mosquito-borne illnesses to spread," said study co-author Joacim Rocklov of the Umea University in Sweden.

"The presence of established Aedes mosquito populations, the warmer climate and the coinciding peak flow of air travellers into Europe, is a triage making Southern Europe fertile ground for Zika," Rocklov added.

Rocklov's team used a temperature dependent computer model to predict Zika virus infection risks for Europe.

In the analysis, published recently in the journal EBioMedicine, the researchers overlaid data on monthly flows of airline travellers arriving in European cities from Zika-affected areas.

They also used data on month-by-month estimates of virus infection reproduction capabilities of Aedes-mosquito populations in Europe and human population data within the areas where mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus could be possible.

The researchers estimated the risk of mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus to peak between June and August in parts of Southern Europe.

The peak flow of air travellers from regions of the Americas affected by the Zika virus coincides with the peak in the Aedes-mosquitoes capacity to transmit the virus.

The findings could help European public health officials to identify locations and times where the risk for Zika is heightened.

The risk assessment assumes that European Aedes-mosquitoes have the same potential to spread the Zika virus as their South-, Middle-and North American counterparts.

--IANS

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Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin, who will be seen in a negative role yet again in "Force 2", after "Mardaani", says two films is a short time for an actor to get slotted into a particular genre.

Tahir made his debut in Bollywood in 2014 crime thriller "Mardaani" as an antagonist named Karan Walt Rastogi.

Asked if he feared getting typecast, Tahir told IANS: "No, not at all. Actually two films is too short a time for an actor to get typecast. When you'll watch the film ('Force 2'), you will get that these are two different roles."

The 29-year-old actor says that in "Force 2", directed by Abhinay Deo and co-starring John Abraham and Sonakshi Sinha, he has a grey character which makes it interesting.

"As an actor, what's challenging is to surprise the audience... When they think it's going to be something similar, but you do something totally different. That's what I am looking forward to out of this ('Force 2')," Tahir added.

The actor also shared that he did not fear starting his career in an antagonist's role.

"When you get a banner like Yash Raj Films and a director like Pradeep Sarkar... I don't think anyone will think twice about the character," he added.

--IANS

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US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has said Washington will play a bigger role in combating Taliban in Afghanistan.

Carter's remark signalled the US was going back on its commitment to end its campaign in the Central Asian country, Xinhua reported.

The new plan, approved by President Barack Obama, will allow US military commanders to use air power against the Taliban when necessary and allow its troops to accompany conventional Afghan forces into the field to advise and assist them.

Carter told a defence conference the expanded authority will let commanders "anticipate situations in which the Afghan security forces would benefit from our support", and is "a good use of the combat power that we have there".

The move, which would pave the way for US forces to once again directly battle the Taliban under some circumstances, comes just seven months before Obama leaves office, contrasting sharply with his campaign promise of ending the US military presence in Afghanistan.

Obama agreed to keep 9,800 American troops in Afghanistan after 2014 on the condition that the bulk of the force be focused on training and advising Afghan security forces.

Under a plan he signed off last year, the US forces there will be further reduced to 5,500 by January 2017, when he leaves office.

However, there is doubt that he could opt to keep a larger US troop presence in Afghanistan since the country is growing perilously unstable.

Obama is expected to complete an Afghanistan plan to be handed over to his successor by July 8, when the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit starts in Warsaw.

The plan would decide on the number of American troops remaining in Afghanistan after he leaves office.

Though more than 14 years have passed since the US launched the Afghanistan War, at least one-fifth of the country is controlled or contested by the Taliban, according to the media reports.

--IANS

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US Senator Bernie Sanders' refusal to quit the race even after Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination could hurt her efforts to unify the party to win the presidential election, experts said.

Clinton earlier this week finally grabbed the number of delegates needed to officially win. Still, Sanders on Thursday vowed to continue to compete and announced that he would run in the Washington DC primary next week, reports Xinhua news agency.

At a White House meeting with President Barack Obama, Sanders did not agree to drop out of the race.

He told the media he could continue in his fight against the wealth gap, in which upper income individuals and corporations continue to increase their wealth while the middle class and others struggle to make ends meet.

The firebrand senator from the state of Vermont said he wanted to prevent the country from becoming an oligarchy run by a few billionaires.

"Sanders wants to maintain his leverage over the platform, vice presidential selection, and future campaign rules," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

"He wants Democrats to take income inequality more seriously," West said.

Indeed, Sanders has run mainly on a platform that highlights the growing income inequality in the US where upper income people seem to be increasing their wealth while many middle-class people struggle to make ends meet.

"He feels that they provided an unfair advantage for Hillary Clinton and he wants to make sure that is not the case in 2020," West said.

While Clinton is a fellow Democrat, analysts noted that she represents everything that Sanders despises, as Clinton is a political insider whose celebrity has through the years allowed her to increase her personal wealth to the tune of millions of dollars.

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, said that Sanders' campaign "had a message, it was a movement to tackle problems which in his mind neither party wants to address.

"By staying in the race he maintains the capacity to keep the media and the party focused on these questions," Zelizer told Xinhua.

Still, there is a point at which Sanders will have to exit or he will risk giving an advantage to Republican Party presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, Zelizer said.

West added: "Many Sanders voters will support Clinton because they understand the threat posed by Donald Trump. But it is crucial that she brings the party together as soon as possible so that she can focus full time on her Republican opponen."

--IANS

mr/
It is often said that the easiest way to lose a friend is to extend him a loan. Many would have gone through the regret of lending to a family member or a friend, who didn't stick to the mutually agreed time of repayment, or worse kept requesting for more time, giving one excuse or the other, until you stopped expecting the money back.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership had brainstormed for days before it picked Saharanpur, the sugar bowl of Uttar Pradesh (UP), to mark the two-year celebrations of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Eleven persons, including three children and as many women, were today killed when a truck hit an auto-rickshaw in which they were travelling, in Amreli district of Gujarat.

The incident occurred near Chawand village in Lathi tehsil, police said.

While nine persons in the auto-rickshaw died on the spot, two succumbed to the injuries at a government hospital. One of the injured was taken to Rajkot civil hospital.

"The rickshaw was on the way to Chawand village," said Amreli SP R B Barot.
Dr Jeevan Dontulwar, Governor's nominee in the Management Council of the Gondwana University here, has demanded action against 121 colleges under the varsity's jurisdiction which, he says, do not have full-time teachers and principals.

Dontulwar has sent a memorandum seeking action against these colleges to the the Vice Chancellor of the University, under whose jurisdiction the colleges in Gadchiroli and Chandrapur district fall.

A stringent action should be taken against such colleges under section 91 of the Maharashtra University Act, he said.

He had raised the issue in the recent meeting of the University's Management Council too, he said.
Four students who were celebrating the end of their college entrance exam have drowned in a reservoir in southeast China's Guangdong province, officials said today.

Six students went to the Nanlong Reservoir yesterday and fell from a floating wooden plank into the water, Jieyang City official said.

Two of the students made it back to shore, but four of the teenagers, three boys and a girl, were found by rescuers and pronounced dead at the scene.

The college entrance exam, "Gaokao," fell on Tuesday and Wednesday this year, with a total of 9.4 million Chinese students competing for university admission.
As many as 500 scouts ranging have been deployed to conduct survey in cotton fields of Punjab as part of efforts to curb attack of whitefly pest which destroys the fibre crop.

"In a bid to curb the whitefly infestation on the cotton crop, the Punjab Government has mobilized 500 scouts who will survey 1000 villages," Vice Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University, B S Dhillon, said today.

The scouts will be equipped with the required knowledge and training to curb the spread of the pest.

Scientists and heads from various departments of Punjab Agricultural University, extension specialists, Directors of various Krishi Vigyan Kendras and experts from various other departments will be part of this massive campaign touring the affected villages of Bathinda, Fazilka, Mansa, and Muktsar.

Dhillon clarified that extensive visits to the affected cotton fields are being regularly conducted after meeting with the State Agriculture Department.

He also appealed to the farmers to consult the PAU experts as soon as they spot four or more white flies on a single leaf.

Dhillon advised them to monitor the fields regularly and exercise greater caution if the cotton fields are in close proximity to the vegetable fields especially those of brinjal and cucurbits, as white fly flourishes on these vegetables.

He highlighted the need to strictly follow university recommendations while selecting pesticides and sprayers.

While explaining the reason for 'earlier than expected' white fly attack this year, Dhillon said that whitefly did not get eradicated due to a mild winter last year, which is why it has attacked the younger plants.

He said the whitefly crisis is a crisis for the entire state and can be managed by sincere efforts at all levels, especially, collaboration at village level is very important.
At least six members of a family were killed today after a jeep skidded off from a mountain and plunged into a river in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar.

The accident occurred in scenic Bahrain valley of Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when the driver lost control over the vehicle and the jeep plunged into Swat river, killing six people, police said.

The local residents rushed to the area to rescue the victims.

Five bodies, including three children and a woman, have been retrieved so far, police said.
police have detained over 1,700 people, including some members of an outlawed militant outfit, as part of a crackdown to halt the wave of brutal attacks on minorities and secular activists by Islamists, officials said today.

A total of 1,740 people were detained after the top police officials decided at a meeting on Thursday to launch an anti-militant drive.

On the first day of the week-long drive, around 1,600 people were detained across the country yesterday. At least 140 people were detained today from different districts in the wake of recent killings, The Daily Star reported.

Of the total 140 detainees, 88 are from Rajshahi district, 35 from Satkhira and 17 from Natore.

Nine enlisted militants were among the 88 persons detained from Rajshahi, the report said.

Eight of them belong to the outlawed militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen (JMB) while another belongs to Jagrata Muslim Janata (JMJB), said Shariful Alam, assistant superintendent of police in Rajshahi.

Bangladesh has seen a string of brutal attacks by Islamists on religious minorities and secular activists.

A 60-year-old Hindu ashram worker was yesterday hacked to death by ISIS jihadists while he was out for the morning walk, days after another priest was killed by the terrorists of the same outfit in the Muslim-majority nation.

The latest attack came just hours after police said they launched a nationwide anti-militancy drive, besides engaging elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh.

The security clampdown was launched a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised to intensify a nationwide anti-terror security clampdown.

In February, militants stabbed to death a Hindu priest at a temple and shot and wounded a devotee who went to his aid.

In April, a liberal professor was brutally hacked to death in Rajshahi city. In the same month, a Hindu tailor was hacked to death in his shop and Bangladesh's first gay magazine editor was brutally murdered along with a friend in his flat in Dhaka by Islamists.
NDA leaders in Bihar today took out a march in protest against alleged rise in crime under the Nitish Kumar-led grand secular alliance government.

Top Bihar NDA leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the assembly Prem Kumar, state BJP President Mangal Pandey, MLAs Arun Sinha and Sanjeev Chaurasia were among leaders taken into custody by the police which used water cannon on the protestors when they tried to break the barricade near JP roundabout on way to Raj Bhawan.

A BJP statement here also alleged that police lathicharged the agitators to "create fear among them."



Earlier, addressing the protestors, Prem Kumar alleged that Bihar government is under the shelter of criminals.

"While citizens are crying, the head of the government is sleeping," he said making a scathing attack against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

He said former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had also been attacked.

Manjhi, chief Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) an ally of BJP, alleged that people were living in fear in the state.

On the recent attack on him in Gaya, he said "if people like me is not safe than what could be said about the safety of the ordinary citizens of the state."



Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) state president and MP Arun Kumar said "Nitish Kumar is touring other states while people in Bihar were falling victim to crime."



LJP workers also participated in NDA protest against.
With the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police taking into custody a chitfund company chairman who also produced four Odia films, opposition BJP today demanded the arrest of four actor-turned-politicians of the ruling BJD allegedly "associated" with the ponzi firm.

Lok Sabha MP from Berhampur Siddhant Mahapatra, Rajya Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty, MLA Akash Das Nayak and Papu Pom Pom had reportedly acted in the films produced by Oscar Group chairman Prabhas Rout, BJP state vice-president Sameer Mohanty said here.

Rout was arrested by sleuths yesterday from Delhi on the charge of duping people of Rs 230 crore.

"The actors had promoted the chit fund company owing to which the general public and small investors were influenced to invest in the firm. Rout had looted these investments," Mohanty alleged, adding they should be brought under the purview of investigation and arrested.

The close association of these leaders with the chit fund company showed that the ruling party was actively promoting the firm, he alleged, adding, "If someone is involved directly or indirectly with a thief then he or she will be termed as thief. Won't he?"



Countering this, BJD spokesperson Amar Prasad Satapathy said it was "unfair" to drag the party into the issue and asked, "How would an actor know about the source of money of a film producer?"



Asserting that he had not acted in any film under the Oscar Group banner, Das Nayak said, "As Sameer Mohanty has raked up my name, he should tell which movie I have done with the company. He should not level such allegation without any proper information."



"As far as actors are concerned, how would they know that the money invested in the films are black or white?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Crime Branch sleuths began interrogating Routh today. Two investigating officers of the EOW are interrogating him in the presence of an expert chartered accountant about the investment of Rs 230 crore in the eight Oscar Group companies.
BJP today hit out at DMK chief M Karunanidhi for his criticism of the Centre's move to set up a board for Vedic education, and accused him of doing politics in the name of language.

"Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) has criticised the Central government with the aim of once again doing politics in the name of language," BJP state President Tamilisai Sounderrajan said.

She alleged Karunanidhi, known for his strong pro-Tamil stand and promoting it, had actually "ignored" divine Tamil and asked if it wasn't a "betrayal" to the Tamil people.

"Can you deny that your party posters in Hindi were pasted in areas dominated by North Indians (during polls)? Can you deny this is brazen opportunism ?" she said in a statement.

Sounderrajan questioned Karunanidhi, whose party had successfully spearheaded the anti-Hindi agitation in the state in 1960s, as to what he had done for Tamil, and asked if he could at least manage to make the language the medium of instruction in schools in Tamil Nadu.

"But if the Centre is taking steps for promoting Indian culture, he is ranting," she said.

On his comments that the Centre had been "ignoring" DMK's request for 50 years to declare all 22 Indian languages, listed in the eight schedule of the Constitution, as official languages of the Union government, she pointed out that during this period his party was a key constituent of the various central governments.

The Union HRD Ministry's move (on Vedic education) was only aimed at the students of CBSE, and that too (to take as) an optional one, she said, adding "no one is being forced" to take up Sanskrit.

The government's intention and duty was to make future generation realise the value of our culture and there was no imposition of anything, Sounderrrajan said.

"It is wrong to see an imposition of a language or language politics," she said.

Commenting on the Ved Vidya proposal, Karunanidhi had yesterday charged the NDA government with being obstinate in "thrusting" Sanskrit, saying such "linguistic, cultural chauvinism" would derail the nation from the growth path.
The Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday saw cross-voting by a MLA while another party legislator claimed that she was prevented from voting.

MLA Vijay Bahadur Yadav cross voted in favor of a Samajwadi Party candidate.

"I voted on the basis of development done by the Chief Minister and I am ready to make any sacrifice," he said.

MLA from Khaga Fatehpur constituency, Krishna Paswan alleged she was prevented from voting while MLA Sangeet Som alleged that there was misbehavior with his party legislators.

SP MLA Guddu Pandit alleged that he and his brother received threats.

"I and my brother are being given life threats," Pandit alleged.

His brother Mukesh Sharma said that he has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India.

"Every thing is recorded," he said.

UP minister and MLA Abhishek Mishra said that party would win all seven seats on which it had fielded its candidates.

Peace Party chief Mohammed Ayub, who has four MLAs, said that his party would vote in favor of Congress.

"Constitutional action will be taken against those violating the whip," he said.

Former UPPCC chief and MLA from Lucknow Cantt Rita Bahuguna Joshi said former union minister Kapil Sibal would get more than required votes.

Senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that party was confident of victory.

"We already have 29 MLAs and we are getting support of other parties. BJP, which has only 41 votes, is short of support for the independent candidate backed by it," he said.
Boko Haram has killed four women in a remote village in Nigeria's northeast in the latest attack by the Islamist group, local vigilantes assisting the military said today.

14 Boko Haram gunmen on seven motorcycles stormed Mairari village, 80 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital late yesterday and picked four women from their homes and slit their throats, they said.

The women were aged between 27 and 45.

"They went into four homes while residents were breaking their fast around 7:00 pm, brought out the four women and slaughtered them," Babakura Kolo, a vigilante in Maiduguri told AFP.

"We believe the killings were targeted, the gunmen were from all indications after the husbands of the women," he said.

"They killed the women when they didn't find their husbands".

Another vigilante, Musa Ari gave a similar account.

"The general feeling is that the women's husbands either refused to accept Boko Haram's invitation to join their ranks or the group suspects them of passing information about them to the authorities," Ari told AFP.

Boko Haram has been accused of forcing residents to join its fighters or get killed.

The Islamist group has abducted thousands of people, including women and children who it used as conscripts, suicide bombers and sex slaves.

Boko Haram, which seeks a hardline Islamic legal system in northern Nigeria, has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced some 2.6 million since 2009.
A 55-year-old businessman was shot dead allegedly by two robbers in north-west Delhi's Adarsh Nagar area, police said today.

The incident took place around 10.30 PM last night when Vijay Kumar Wadhwa, was heading home in Kewal Park area after closing his garment shop.

When he reached Majlis Park area on his scooter, two motorcycle-borne persons approached him and after pulling out a gun, asked him to hand over his bag, a senior police official said.

As Wadhwa kept resisting, the assailants opened fire and a bullet hit Wadhwa on his head, police said.

When the robbers realised a passer-by had witnessed the incident, they shot at his car too. But the bullet hit his car's window and the man sustained injury from the shattered glass.

Meanwhile, locals residents gathered around and the robbers fled leaving the bag behind, the official said.

Wadhwa was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead, following which a case of murder was registered. Efforts are on to track down the accused at the earliest, the official said.

The bag, which the robbers were trying to rob, however, contained no cash. It only had the keys of his shop and some important documents.

It can't be ruled out at this stage that the robbers followed Wadhwa's movements before they decided to execute their plans yesterday, the official said.
A fledgling campaign to recall the judge who sentenced a former Stanford University swimmer to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman gained momentum yesterday as three prominent political consultants joined the effort.

The Recall Judge Aaron Persky campaign said media consultant Joe Trippi, campaign strategist John Shallman and pollster Paul Maslin would help secure the signatures and votes required to remove the Santa Clara County jurist from the bench next year.

Trippi has worked for a number of Democratic presidential candidates, while Maslin's clients include Governor Jerry Brown and members of Congress.

Shallman has worked for the president of the California Senate, who spearheaded passage of a law requiring colleges and universities to apply a "yes means yes" standard in sexual misconduct cases.

Persky was re-elected in an unopposed election Tuesday, five days after sentencing Brock Turner, 20, to six months in jail and three years' probation.

The punishment for the Dayton, Ohio, native ignited intense outcry as too lenient.

Prosecutors had argued for Turner to spend six years in prison for three felony convictions that could have sent him away for 14 years.

The judge said in court last week that he followed a recommendation from the county's probation department and cited Turner's clean criminal record and the effect the conviction will have on his life.

"I have daughters in college myself, and I find it deeply disturbing that a judge like Persky could let a campus predator like Turner off with barely a slap on the wrist," Shallman said. "Justice is supposed to be blind -not stupid."



A request to interview the judge wasn't returned yesterday. A court spokesman has said Persky is barred from commenting because Turner is appealing his convictions of felony assault and attempted rape.

Meanwhile, a group of California lawmakers joined women's rights advocates in urging the California agency that investigates complaints of judicial misconduct to take action against Persky.

Eleven Democratic state lawmakers asked the Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate and discipline the judge, alleging he may have engaged in misconduct in sentencing Turner.

The judge's decision "confirms what women already knew: That rape culture blames us for being vulnerable when crimes are committed against us, but treats the same factors, drinking, in particular, as reasons to be exceedingly lenient with rapists," Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton said.
: After a five year gap, the car festival of the famous Sri Thiagaraja swamy temple here will be held on June 16.

Executive officer of the temple K Bharathiraja said the 90-feet tall 300 tonne car, which he claimed was the biggest in the country, had been renovated at a cost of more than Rs two crore. Its trial run was held in November last, he said.

The previous festival was held in 2010.

Meanwhile, in Tirunelveli, the 10 day car festival of Sri Nellaiappar temple began today with hoisting of the temple flag.

Deities of the temple, sri Nellaiappar and Gandhi Mathi amman would be taken around the streets in different vahanams (chariot) during the festival, temple sources said.

Music programmes would be held in the temple, theys said.
CBI has arrested Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member Virendrasing Tawde in connection with the murder of noted rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013, the first in the case by the agency.

He was arrested late last night in Panvel near Mumbai and a court in Pune today sent him to CBI custody till June 16.

The arrest prompted former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan to seek a ban on Goa-based radical Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha, which the Samiti has links with.

Sanatan Sanstha had come under the scanner for the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare in February 2015.

Tawde was produced before Judicial Magistrate N N Shaikh here and CBI had sought seven days custody to establish his links with other suspects.

CBI lawyer B P Raju said it had proof that Tawade interacted with other suspects through emails. It had also been established in the investigation that a black motorcycle was used by the assailants who shot Dabholkar and Pansare, and Tawde had a similar bike, he said.

Also, a witness had given a statement that Tawde had spoken against Dabholkar in 2004 and afterwards, he said.

Advocate Sanjiv Punalekar, Tawde's lawyer, said there was no need for seven days' custody as CBI had already grilled Tawde "for the last ten days" and there was no concrete evidence against his client.

After getting his custody, CBI took Tawde, an ENT surgeon, back to Panvel.

Dabholkar, a noted anti-superstition crusader, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Pune while he was out for a morning walk on August 20, 2013. The murder sent shockwaves through the state. In May 2014 Bombay High Court handed over the probe to CBI.

The agency had recovered some material during its earlier searches which brought the needle of suspicion to Tawde and Sarang Akolkar, against whom a Red Corner Notice was issued by Interpol in July 2012 in connection with the 2009 Goa blast case on the NIA's request, CBI sources said.

The residences of Tawde and Akolkar were searched by the agency which recovered several SIM cards, cell phones and data from computers. The two were investigated after the agency found some "cyber forensic evidence" about their alleged role in Dabholkar's murder.

While remanding Tawde to CBI custody till June 16, the



judge said considering the seriousness of the offence and the stage of investigation, custodial investigation was required.

During the hearing, when the judge asked Tawde if he was ill-treated after the arrest, he said he was slapped twice by a CBI official.

Tawade's arrest is being seen as a major breakthrough in the case which has remained unsolved for three years.

Following his arrest, Prithviraj Chavan said Sanatan Sanstha was a dangerous organisation and renewed the demand for a ban on it.

Chavan, when he was the Chief Minister (2010-2014), had sent a proposal to the Centre seeking a ban on the radical group after Dabholkar's murder.

"Maharashtra Chief Minister should issue clear directive to its lawyers to make out a case for banning Sanatan Sanstha against whom the Anti-Terrorism Squad has proof," he said.

Meanwhile, Abhay Vartak, Sanatan Sanstha's spokesperson, termed the arrest as an international conspiracy to malign the Hindu organisations in the country.

About Tawde's association with the Sanstha, Vartak said, "He is an ENT surgeon and used to come to our ashram for treating the sadhaks (disciples). He was a Sanstha member but was not holding any post.
For the first time, China and Nepal have been connected with an optical fibre network via Tibet as infrastructure between the two countries is being firmed up to extend high-speed Internet services to Nepal and end its "sole dependence" on India, Chinese state media reported today.

China has extended its optical fibre network to Nepal via Geelong(Keyrong)-Rasuwgadhi border point, "which has ended Nepal's sole dependence on India", Xinhua agency reported.

State-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) said its optical fibre network has been connected to China Telecom Corporation Limited.

"After establishing connection, we conducted technical test about two weeks ago," Dilliram Adhikari, joint spokesperson of NT was quoted as saying in the report.

Adhikari said NT would start commercial use of the fibre cable soon.

As a result of this Nepal now can be directly linked with Hong Kong Data Centre, which is one of the two biggest global date centres in Asia, through the Chinese mainland, he said.

"The use of the Chinese route to connect with Hong Kong Data Centre will help enhancing quality of internet services in Nepal because of shorter distance," he said.

Following the setting up of the Chinese optical fibre, Nepal can now purchase Internet bandwith from Chinese firms.

The fibre network brings Nepal Internet services under the ambit of Chinese telecom networks.

At present, Nepal's Internet service providers purchase bandwith from companies from India and other countries.

"This will create a competitive environment for purchasing internet services which could reduce the cost of Internet service here," Adhikari said.

China has been ramping up its rail and road connectivity with Nepal and backing Prime Minister KP Oli's government in dealing with the Madhesis, largely of Indian-origin, who have been protesting against the new Constitution claiming a raw deal for them.

Their nmonths-long protests, blocking Nepal-India border trade points had created a severe crunch of essential supplies in the landlocked Himalayan nation.

Besides restarting previously damaged roads to Nepal via Tibet, China in a strategic move last month opened combined road-and-rail services to Kathmandu to speed up supplies.

The two have also beefed up their military relations.

Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, and Chief of Army Staff of the Nepalese Army Rajendra Chhetri discussed military-to-military and bilateral ties during Sun's visit to Kathmandu two days ago.
China plans to install tsunami detection buoys in the disputed and waters east of the Ryukyu Trench and Taiwan Island to firm up its hold on the disputed region.

They will be linked to tsunami warning networks, providing early warnings for China's east and south coasts and nearby countries, said Yuan Ye, director of the tsunami warning centre of the State Oceanic Administration.

Some buoys have been installed west of the Manila Trench, which has the potential to generate a tsunami event in the South China Sea, Yuan was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency today.

China argues such measures are aimed at helping countries in the region to cope up with natural disasters. It recently opened a light house saying it helps navigation in the region.

China claims almost all of as its own. However, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area.

Located along the earthquake zone of the Pacific Rim, China faces threats from regional and trans-ocean tsunami.

In particular, those originating from the Nankai Trough and Manila Trench may seriously threaten the South China Sea, the Xinhua reported.

China's tsunami warning network can warn of events in the whole Pacific within five minutes, in the northern and western part of the ocean in one minute and in the in 30 seconds.

The network receives data from about 800 tide and current stations and 60 tsunami detection buoys around the world, in addition to 112 tidal stations along the country's own coast.

In the first 15 years of the 21st century, more than ten tsunami disasters were recorded, compared with the average level of one in every six years in the previous century.
Thirty-seven South Asian migrants, including from India, without visas have been detained in Colombia after they were abandoned by human traffickers, officials said.

They were found near the town Riosucio that borders Panama after being "abandoned by individuals who transported them from one country to another," said the Colombian Navy in a release.

The migrants -- 36 men and one woman -- came from Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan.

Officials transferred them to the port town Turbo on the coast of the Gulf of Uraba, part of the Caribbean Sea. There they received food and medical attention before taken into the custody of migration authorities, said the statement.

Colombian officials have intercepted 322 undocumented individuals in Turbo, the majority Cuban, who are now in a shelter awaiting word from migration officials who will decide if they can stay, said Emelides Munoz, Turbo's government secretary.

Within the past 15 days more than 750 undocumented migrants have been arrested throughout Colombia.

The country has deported more than 6,000 people since the beginning of the year, arresting nearly 4,000 in Turbo and the town Capurgana, both close to the Panamanian border.

On May 9 Panama announced plans to strengthen border controls in an attempt to stem the migrant flow, including Cubans attempting to reach the United States via Central America.
The Congress is likely to seek explanation from former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who may face action after MLAs owing allegiance to him rebelled against the party's decision to back Independent R K Anand in the Rajya Sabha election in the state.

Sources said the party was shocked by the behaviour of the 14 MLAs who apparently got their votes invalid by marking the ballot with a wrong pen and would go into the entire issue and fix responsibility.

For the record, AICC General Secretary B K Hariprasad in-charge of Haryana said, "We have sought a report from the PCC and the Independent candidate and we are going to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission about the way the election was conducted."



He also saw prima facie a conspiracy from the government's side and said the party will find out the truth. "We will fight it politically and legally."



Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid termed Anand's defeat by BJP-backed media baron and Independent candidate Subhash Chandra as a setback and disappointing and said it needs to be found out what really happened.

"It is certainly disappointing. What really went wrong needs to be found out. I am sure the general secretary concerned will look into the reasons of invalidity of the Congress votes," he said.

Congress spokesman R P N Singh accused the Modi government of using money and muscle power to win these elections.

"This Modi government is trying to throttle democracy exactly in the same manner what they did in Uttarakhand, what they did in Arunachal Pradesh and we see that happening again today," he said.

The defeat of Anand came as a bolt from the blue for the Congress and its high command, which was confident that its strategy to trounce Chandra would succeed.

Only yesterday, the Congress Legislature Party at its meeting had authorised party chief Sonia Gandhi to decide on who to vote for and she had directed voting in favour of Anand.

A senior Congress leader, who declined to be identified, said it appeared a clear case of sabotage as one of the ballots was seen to be blank, while 12 others were marked by a wrong writing instrument.

Hooda, who had been at the helm of the state as Congress chief minister for 10 years, was apparently feeling uneasy ever since Ashok Tanwar was made state party chief by Rahul Gandhi.

He was reportedly pitching for the party abstaining from voting in favour of a candidate supported by INLD, a traditional arch rival of the Congress in the state.

At yesterday's CLP meeting, Hooda and the dozen-odd MLAs supporting him, had arrived late.
Congress's Pradeep Tamta, on Saturday, defeated Independent candidate Anil Goel to win the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand and become the first Dalit from the hill state to make it to the Upper House of Parliament.

A total of 58 members of the state Assembly cast their votes out of which 32 went to Tamta and 26 to Goel, Vidhan Sabha Secretary Jagdish Chandra said.

BJP's Bhimtal MLA Dan Singh Bhandari had resigned from the Assembly on Friday, bringing down the party's tally in the House to 26, while all 32 members of the Congress-PDF combine cast their votes. Congress has 26 MLAs and PDF six.

Though the victory of Tamta, a prominent Dalit leader from Kumaun region, was a foregone conclusion with the numbers heavily stacked in favour of the ruling combine, initial opposition to his candidature from within the party's state unit and the alliance had given rise to the possibility of last minute cross voting.

However, after the Congress high command intervened, Congress-PDF alliance put up a united face and threw their combined weight behind Tamta.

BJP tried to cash in on the sulk of a few leaders over Tamta's candidature but failed. Chief Minister Harish Rawat said though BJP was not contesting officially, it had fielded Anil Goel and Geeta Thakur, two known party leaders indirectly as Independents. Thakur retired from contest at the eleventh hour leaving Goel in the ring to take on Tamta in a straight fight.

BJP's hopes of the Independent backed by the party making a dent in the Congress-PDF combine came a cropper as the entire chunk of 32 votes of the alliance went to Tamta.

Tamta had represented the Almora seat in the 15th Lok Sabha.

The Congress' victory in the Rajya Sabha is being seen in political circles here as another setback to the BJP which is still smarting from the jolt of Harish Rawat's victory in the floor test on May 10 and reinstatement of his government.

The Congress described Tamta's victory as the triumph of the aspirations of the people of Uttarakhand.

"It is a triumph of the aspirations of the people of Uttarakhand. It is another jolt to BJP's intentions to bribe its way to victory," Chief Minister Harish Rawat's media adviser Surendra Kumar said.

After his defeat, Independent candidate Anil Goel congratulated Tamta on his victory but said he was the right man in a wrong party.

Replying to a question, Goel said instead of feeling disappointed, he will continue his fight to bring things back on track in Uttarakhand. "Contesting was just an effort in that direction. Other avenues to achieve that goal are still open," he said.
A local court today remanded Virendra Tawade, a member of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) and an accused in the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, to CBI custody till June 16.

Tawade, arrested by CBI in Panvel near Mumbai last night, was produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class N Shaikh who accepted the investigating agency's plea that custodial interrogation of the accused was required to establish his links with other suspects in the case.

Sending Tawade, an ENT surgeon, in CBI custody till June 16, the Judge said that considering the seriousness of the offence and the stage of investigation, his custodial investigation was required.

HJS is an offshoot of Sanatan Sanstha, a Goa-based right wing Hindu outfit. Tawade is the first accused to be arrested in the nearly three-year-old case.

During arguments on custody plea, CBI lawyer B N Raju told the court that the central agency had proof Tawade was in touch with other suspects through e-mails.

When the Judge asked Tawade if he has been ill-treated after arrest, the accused said he was slapped twice by a CBI official.

Tawade's arrest is being seen as a major breakthrough in the case which has remained unsolved for the last three years.

Dabholkar was shot dead by unidentified assailants here on August 20, 2013 when he was taking a morning walk on a bridge. The murder of the 67-year-old prominent campaigner against religious superstition the whole country.

After Pune police drew a blank in tracing the culprits, the case was transferred to CBI in May 2014 on a directive from the Bombay High Court while hearing a PIL.
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta on Saturday asked State-owned media, including Doordarshan, to telecast the proceedings of the House properly, failing which action would be taken against them.

The Speaker issued these directions after Khansahib MLA Hakeem Muhammad Yaseen Shah (PDF) accused of showing him "only thrice" since the Budget Session of the Assembly began on May 24.

The legislator complained that members not present in the House were shown yesterday whereas, those present were not shown.

He requested the Speaker to direct to give equal coverage to all the members.

Gupta flayed the State-owned media for repeated complaints by legislators regarding coverage of House proceedings.

"I say this with disappointment that you (Doordarshan) telecast Zero Hour on Friday when there was no Zero Hour. Do not repeat this again or else, I will take action," he warned.
The boycott of exams evaluation by DU teachers in protest against the new UGC criteria to ascertain their academic performance which entered its 19th day today, has now been extended till June 16 even as the varsity urged them to call off the agitation to ensure the results are not delayed.

The teachers had initially called for a four-day boycott beginning May 24, however, the General Body (GB) of Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) today extended the boycott for the fourth time. It will now continue till June 16.

The agitating teachers staged a protest rally to HRD Ministry yesterday.

The teachers are protesting against amendments to UGC regulations that, they argue, will lead to job-cuts to the tune of 50 per cent and drastically decrease pupil-teacher ratio in higher education.

"It was decided unanimously that teachers were left with no option but to continue with the evaluation boycott till June 16. The General Body also decided to stage a Satyagraha programme on June 14 which will be attended by members of various students and teachers associations," a DUTA statement said.

The new gazette notification has increased the workload for assistant professors from 16 hours of "direct teaching" per week (including tutorials) to 18 hours, plus another six of tutorials, bringing the total up to 24 hours. Similarly the work hours of associate professors have been increased from 14 to 22.

Following protests, the HRD ministry had directed UGC to review the same. The commission had yesterday organised consultations on the issue with various stake holders including representatives of teachers associations from across the country.

The protesting teachers had, however, claimed that the consultations did not yield any results.

Meanwhile, DU's dean of examination has requested the teachers to resume evaluation work from tomorrow.

In a letter to the teachers Vinay Gupta, dean of examination, stated that nearly two weeks of evaluation work has been delayed and "any further delay can jeopardise the career of students and also adversely affect the reputation of the university".
A 22-year-old Dutch woman is being held in Qatar on suspicion of adultery after she said she was raped while on holiday there, her lawyer and Dutch media said today.

The woman says she was drugged in a hotel, and that she realised she had been raped when she woke up in an unfamiliar apartment.

"She was arrested in March on suspicion of adultery, which means having sex outside marriage," lawyer Brian Lokollo told Dutch radio NOS-Radio1.

A Dutch foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the arrest but said the young woman, whom she named as Laura, has not been charged.

Daphne Kerremans added that "the enquiry is ongoing" and that Dutch authorities are in regular contact with Laura.

The woman's lawyer said that the case concerns a trip his client made in March to a Qatar hotel where the consumption of alcohol is allowed.

"She went dancing but when she returned to the table after the first sip of her drink, she realised that" she had been drugged, Lokollo said.

"She felt very unwell," he added.

The young woman remembers nothing more until the following morning when she woke up in a totally unfamiliar apartment "and realised to her great horror, that she had been raped," he said.

The suspected rapist was also arrested but insisted that their night together had been consensual and that the woman had even asked for money.

"She completely denies these accusations," Lokollo said.

A court hearing is set to take place on Monday and the foreign ministry hopes a decision on whether to charge the Dutch woman will be taken.

A 24-year-old Norwegian woman who brought a rape complaint against her boss was jailed for 16 months in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates in 2013 for so-called indecent behaviour, perjury and alcohol consumption. She was later pardoned by the authorities.
At least eight persons, including five women, were killed and 20 others injured when a private bus rolled 150 feet deep into a gorge near Darlaghat in Solan district, 50 kms from here, police said.

The mishap took place yesterday in which five persons died on the spot, while three others succumbed to their injuries on way to IGMC hospital, Shimla, said Darlaghat DSP Narvir Rathore.

Four out of the eight persons killed in the accident have been identified as Vikas (30) hailing from Bilaspur, Tripta (21), a resident of Mandi, Banarasi Mehto (40) from Jharkhand and Chauhan Singh (35) from Kullu district, while the remaining are yet to be identified, the DSP said.

The ill-fated bus carrying over 40 persons was on its way from Chirgaon in Rohroo area of Shimla district to Mandi when the tragedy struck.

The condition of five injured persons admitted to IGMC was state to be serious. The cause of the accident could not be ascertained but eye-witnesses said it occurred as the driver failed to negotiate a sharp curve.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Transport Minister G S Bali have expressed deep shock and grief over the mishap and extended sympathies with bereaved families.
Coastal Security Policeand the



Coast Guard, in a joint operation, impounded twoboats and detained 22 fishermen, who wereengaged in fishingactivity near here in violation of trawling banorders, police said today.

The two Tamil Nadu-based mechanized boats were found fishing ten nautical miles off Panambur coast yesterday, they said.

The fishermen were handed over to the deputy director at theFisheries department for further action and the official imposeda fine of Rs 3.5 lakh for violating the trawling ban.

The fishcatch in the boats was auctioned for Rs one lakh.

The boats and fishermen would be released afterpayment of the fine, police said.
Kerala government today decided to hand over to CBI the probe into the mysterious death of actor Kalabhavan Mani on March 6 this year.

The decision in this regard was taken by the government within a week of the actor's family meeting Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, seeking a CBI probe into Mani's death, official sources said.

Ramakrishnan, Mani's younger brother, who had met the Chief Minister to press for a CBI probe into the actor's death, had said the family was not satisfied with the probe being carried out by the state police.

The 45-year-old actor, who had essayed various roles in south Indian films, was found in a serious condition at his farmhouse at Chalakudy and though he was rushed to hospital, his life could not be saved.

While a lab at Kochi had found traces of chlorpyrifos, a toxic pesticide in his viscera sample, a Hyderabad lab had recently stated that traces of methyl alcohol were found in his blood.

Mani was undergoing treatment for a liver ailment at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, where he breathed his last.
Cadres of a hardline Maoist group in Nepal today set on fire five towers of a private telecommunication company across the country.

As some leaflets, published by the Netra Bikram Chand-led CPN-Maoist, were recovered from some sites, police suspected that the party made the multiple attacks on the telecom company.

According to the Nepal Police Headquarters, the towers in Shivasatakshi of Jhapa, Kubhinde Daha of Salyan, Laxmipur of Dang, Ashrang of Gorkha and Yangsila of Morang districts were set on fire by the Maoist cadres.

Equipment worth thousands of rupees were destroyed in the arson attacks, police said.

The Ncell has recently come under attack from various corners for refusing to pay the capital gains taxit owed to the government whenTeliaSonera sold Ncell for Rs 143 billion equivalent to 1.40 billion US Dollar to Axiata Group.

An investigation has been launched into the incident.
India and Pakistan need to pursue closer relationship with each other on the security front, the US has said.

"We need to pursue closer relations with India, with Pakistan, and they need to also pursue closer relations on the security front, certainly, with each other," State Department Deputy Spokesman, Mark Toner, told reporters at his daily news conference on Friday.

"That's to the benefit of all of us, to be frank, and that includes Afghanistan as well, because there continue to be serious terrorist threats," he said in response to a question on Modi's remarks on terrorism during his address to the joint session of the Congress this week.

Toner said he agrees with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's views on terrorism. "And I do agree with him; there's no justification for terrorism, and we all need to work in a concerted and coordinated fashion to address it, and we're trying to do so," the deputy spokesman said.

Responding to another question on Modi's remarks on the Congress being temple of democracy, he said: "We are only one form of democracy; there are many forms in the world.India is obviously the world's largest democracy.We believe it's the best political system out there, but we're not saying that our brand, so to speak, is the one for everyone. We're all working to create the perfect democracy.
The Indian government is going to be America's "great ally" and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.

In a major foreign policy speech here in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obama's policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.

"I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modi's leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length yesterday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas," Ryan said.

He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.

Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryan's speakership.

On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the Prime Minister's address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader.

A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi.

"I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. That's one thing that we need to nurture and grow," Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.

"And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, he's a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. He's bringing needed reform to the country," Ryan said, according to the remarks released by his office.

"That's the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon. That stands in stark contrast, I would argue, to the Obama foreign policy of the last eight years where we have neglected our allies and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries," said the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Except for his comments on India, Ryan slammed Obama's foreign policy.

"We know that this new Obama foreign policy concept, leading from behind, can now be declared an unambiguous failure. It is making us unprepared. It is reducing our military capability and strength," he alleged.

(Reopens FGN 2)



"It is confusing our allies and incentivising our adversaries. And all that does is tempt fate. So we are saying we've got to reset our system. We've got to restructure and reaffirm our foreign policy, in particular our military policy if we want to prevent these problems on the horizon from getting out of control," Ryan said.

In response to a question, he said Modi's address to the joint session of the Congress was a great day.

"So we just heard the prime minister of India at the Capitol Hill yesterday. It was a great day. He spoke before Congress and it was a great moment for the growing friendship between our two countries. The main reason I think this moment was so notable is that nowadays it's so rare," Ryan said referring to the bipartisan support that India-US relationship enjoys in the Congress.

"On the past seven years, our friendships have frayed. Our rivalries have intensified. It's not too much to say that our enemies no longer fear us and too many of our allies no longer trust us," he said.

In the Republican document on foreign policy and security released by Ryan, the party said India and the US working together for betterment of the world.

"We must also embrace emerging partners that could help keep the peace in their region and beyond," the document said.

"India, the world's largest democracy, shares common interests with the world's oldest democracy, the United States and we must build upon that foundation to work together in shaping world events," it said.

As part of its objective of advancing American interest, the 25-page document calls for "deepening relations" with emerging powers like India.

The foreign policy document released by Ryan is also critical of the Pakistan policy of the Obama Administration.

The Obama administration failed to prioritise economic growth in its approach to foreign aid and development, preferring high-profile "presidential initiatives" and short-term responses such as loan guarantees and enterprise funds, it said.

"In places like Pakistan, the administration has made major investments in infrastructure but failed to accomplish the reforms necessary to create a positive environment for economic growth. Without reform, these initiatives will do little to improve livelihoods," the policy paper said.
An Indian-origin man from Manchester was shocked when he opened a letter from his local council offering condolences for his own death.

Madan Lal Kosla then had to report to a job centre with his own passport in order to prove he was still alive.

"What if I had been away and someone else had opened that letter. They would think I'm dead. I had to pinch myself when I opened it," the 83-year-old told Manchester Evening .

"My wife is very angry about this too. It has inconvenienced us both and caused us both a lot of stress," he said.

Manchester City Council had cancelled Kosla's council tax support payments, offered to the elderly, and wrote to his wife, for whom English is a second language, in order to offer their condolences.

The letter read: "I am sorry to hear of your partner's death on the 18th of May. Please accept my condolences. I am sorry to write to you at this difficult time but as the claim for council tax support was in your partner's name I have cancelled payments from 18th of May."



The council claimed the error occurred due to the UK's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

A council spokesperson said: "We have apologised to Mr Kosla and his family for the letter we sent and would like to once again extend our most sincere apologies to them for the distress this must have caused.

"The letter was generated as a result of direct information we were given by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about Mr Kosla that we now know was incorrect. We receive hundreds of notifications each day from them and had no reason to suppose the information received about Mr Kosla was anything other than correct - hence our letter to his family."



A DWP spokesperson added: "We have spoken with Mr Kosla to offer our apologies. We are also taking steps to ensure this does not happen again in future.
The Israeli military demolished the family home of a Palestinian who it says stabbed a Jewish mother to death in front of her children, in one of the most grisly killings in an eight-month wave of violence.

The military said its forces entered the West Bank village of Yatta to knock down the family residence of Morad Bader Abdullah Adais. The military says he killed Dafna Meir, a mother of six, in her home in the Jewish settlement of Otniel in January. He fled the scene and was later arrested.

Israel says it carries out housing demolitions to deter future attacks. The Palestinians consider it a form of collective punishment.

Over the last eight months, Palestinians have carried out dozens of attacks on civilians and security forces, mostly stabbings, shootings and car ramming assaults that have killed 32 Israelis and two Americans. About 200 Palestinians have been killed during that time, most identified as attackers by Israel. The assaults were once near-daily incidents but they have become less frequent in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, however, two Palestinians from Yatta opened fire in Tel Aviv's Sarona district, a popular shopping and restaurant area, killing four Israeli civilians.

The military arrested several people in connection to that attack, froze 83,000 Palestinian travel permits to Israel and imposed checkpoints to restrict movement in and out of the village where the Palestinian gunmen were from.

It also imposed a three-day closure of the West Bank that coincided with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik was released on bail today in a 29-year-old case.

He was arrested here last week.

Malik was presented before the special judge, TADA court who granted him bail, a JKLF spokesman said.

After being granted bail, Malik went to his residence in Maisuma, he added.

Malik was arrested by police on May 25 from his office in Abi Guzar area of the city, the spokesman said.

The JKLF chairman was sent to Srinagar Central Jail on May 28. Subsequently, he was granted bail and released on June 3.

However, on the same night, police arrested him again in connection with a case registered in 1987, the spokesman added.
Police lodged the first 'e-FIR' in Uttar Pradesh with a software engineer registering the complaint of his stolen mobile phone through email.

A copy of the FIR, registered at Kalyanpur police station, has also been sent to the complainant over email, Kanpur SSP Shalabh Mathur said here today.

Mathur said Chandra Prakash was returning home yesterday when two motorcycle-borne assailants snatched his mobile phone.

He had sent an email last evening to UP police, following which an investigation was initiated. However, no arrests have been made so far, the SSP said.

"With this facility of e-FIR, people no longer have to run to police stations to register their complaint and the process will also be paperless," Mathur said, adding the new programme is still being examined for greater efficiency.

He claimed it to be the first in the state.

Three years back, Kalyanpur police station was the first to register an FIR through Facebook, following which senior officials asked all the police stations here to create their own Facebook page.

However, this programme failed within six months of its launch and the Facebook page of police stations have not been updated since then.
Taking potshots at Arvind Kejriwal, Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda today saidthe AAP chief's complaint to President Pranab Mukherjee over alleged increasing attacks on Dalits and minorities under the Modi government was nothing but an outburst from a Chief Minister who has failed to deliver on poll promises.

"He (Kejriwal) is very much upset and frustratedbecause he is not able to deliver on promises made to thepeople of Delhi, and hence he is making such baseless commentsof increasing attacks on Dalits and minorities," he told PTI.

Kejriwal is also upset over some of his leaders being involved in criminal cases and some others sent to jail, he said.

"Hisown party people have indulged in so many criminal cases. Theyhave been sent to jail," he said.

The Delhi Chief Minister had yesterday called on the President and had sought his intervention on the issues of "increasing attacks on Dalits and minorities".

Gowda said people holding responsible positions should express their views with documentary evidence.

"Persons who are holding some responsible positionsshould express their views in such a way that it should bebacked with documentary evidence," he said.

Quoting from the recently released National CrimeBureau report, Gowda said in the last two years, attacks onDalits and minorities has dwindled considerably, and Kejriwalcannot give his own accounts, which has become his habit.

"From past two years, atrocities against minoritiesand Dalits has gone down to a considerable level. He(Kejriwal) should speak on the basis of records available inthe public domain. He can't simply have his own accounts. This has become a habit," he said.

Asked about Rahul Gandhi's visit to Punjab to raisedrug menace issue in the state, Gowda said his visit would only prove to be the "death knell" for Congress, for wherever he has visited his party has lost elections, including in the just concluded Kerala, Assam and West Bengal assembly polls.

"People have the right to judge all these things (drug menace), and wherever Rahul has gone, he has come out as a zero-achiever, including in the recently concluded polls of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal," he said.

"The people of Punjab will certainly give the final blow to Rahul Gandhi, and if at all he is made party president, Congress can count on last days of survival," he said.

Asked to comment on senior Congress leader Digvijay



Singh's comment blaming BJP for hatching a conspiracy to defame Congress government over the Anupama Shenoy resignation issue, Gowda said, "We are not ruling, Congress is the ruling party. How can BJP control astate officer who is under the control of the state government?"



Gowda alleged that the upright police official was repeatedlyharassed, mostly by Congressmen, who were indulging in illegal activities.

"This is not the first time she has repeatedly been harassed because she is a very straightforward officer and used to expose illegal activities committed by the people across the state. Most of them are Congress people," he said.

Shenoy, a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Ballari district, had resigned recently after being at loggerheads with Labour Minister Naik, also the district in charge.
Two persons, including the personal staff of a senior doctor at Apollo Hospital here, were today arrested in connection with the kidney racket busted last week, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 12.

The arrested persons have been identified as Brajesh Chauhan alias Dharmendra (40), personal staff of a nephrologist in Apollo Hospital, and Deepak Kar (55), who was like a mentor to the racket's kingpin Rajkumar Rao, a senior police officer said.

While Chauhan was detained by police from Delhi yesterday, Kar had surrendered at a police station in West Bengal on Monday, hours after Rao's arrest. Both of them were arrested today and Kar is being brought to Delhi on transit remand.

Chauhan's role came into light after the interrogation of Rao and inspection of documents obtained from the hospital's internal assessment body for verifying documents related to transplant surgeries, the official said.

Initially, investigators were not clear about Kar's involvement in any of the cases but later it emerged that he was in touch with the middlemen. His involvement was further confirmed with the police analysing his call detail records.

The investigators have so far come across 10 cases of kidney transplants facilitated by the racket in Apollo Hospital here. It is suspected that they had facilitated more transplants and two other prominent city hospitals are also under scanner.

During interrogation, Rao has named over 30 persons linked with the racket, in connection with which the police have so far arrested, three middlemen, three personal staff of senior doctors, four donors, the kingpin and his mentor, the officer added.
Forces loyal to Libya's unity government fought deadly street battles with the Islamic State group in Sirte, as they pressed an offensive to capture the jihadists' coastal bastion.

Clashes raged yesterday around the Ouagadougou conference centre, a sprawling complex that once hosted international summits in the era of ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi which is now used as an IS command centre.

The loss of Sirte, Kadhafi's home town, would be a major blow to IS at a time when it is under mounting pressure in Syria and Iraq.

From early in the day, forces aligned with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) pounded IS positions around the complex with heavy artillery fire.

Warplanes also carried out air strikes around the centre and other IS positions inside Sirte, according to social media accounts belonging to the anti-jihadist operation.

Two GNA fighters were killed and eight wounded and taken to a Misrata hospital, further east, the government said.

An AFP correspondent at the scene reported heavy street fighting about two kilometres (one mile) from the Ouagadougou centre.

GNA forces used tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, the correspondent said, while the jihadists responded with machineguns, mortar rounds and sniper fire.

"It was a war with planes and artillery, but now it is street fighting," said one GNA combatant, who declined to be named.

"We are fighting between houses, on the streets, and we won't back down before we eliminate them."



Power struggles have prevented Libya's fledgling government and its allies from ousting IS from its Gulf of Sidra safe-haven for a year.

The GNA, established in Tripoli more than two months ago, has been trying to unify violence-ridden Libya and exert its control over the entire North African country.

Foreign intelligence services estimate IS has 5,000 fighters in Libya, but its strength inside Sirte and the number of civilians living in the city are unclear.
Goa Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza today said the coastal state is a place for liquor and casinos along with other tourist attractions and maintained the casino industry is generating revenue for the government.

"Goa is a place for liquor, sun, sand, dance. It is also known for casinos, pilgrimage tourism, honeymoon destination, hinterland tourism and as Electronic Dance music (EDM) destination," D'Souza said here.

He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of national summit on 'Smart Cities in Era of Digital India' organized by Goa government.

Responding to a question on labelling the coastal state as a casino destination, D'Souza said "Goa is not known just for one thing. Casino is not the only reason for tourists to visit the State."



The BJP leader said there are several reasons for tourists to come to Goa.

"Casino industry is helping the state government earn revenue. If we didn't want it why did we allow it at the first place?" the Deputy Chief Minister asked.

Drug trade and prostitution have given a bad name to Goa but these possibles can not be solved overnight, he maintained.

Goa has four off-shore and more than a dozen on-shore casinos. BJP had promised to shift the off-shore casinos from river Mandovi during its 2012 Goa Assembly campaign, but it is yet to act on the promise.

Opposition parties have criticised the BJP-led government for failure to fulfil its pre-poll promise.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency says Mexican drug lord Hector "El Guero" Palma has been transferred to immigration custody pending his deportation to Mexico.

The agency said in a statement that Palma was transferred from a US prison yesterday, one day ahead of his previously scheduled release date. It said "Palma will remain in ICE detention while the agency makes arrangements to carry out his removal to Mexico."



Local media have reported that Palma will be handed over next week at the Tijuana border crossing. But ICE said it won't confirm the circumstances of the handover "for security and safety reasons."



It is unclear if there are still any charges pending against him in Mexico.
The ruling Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) advocated resumption of peace talks between the state government and the Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) and reaching amicable solution by this year, the 30th anniversary of the signing of the historic Mizo Accord.

The MPCC office bearers' meeting chaired by Chief Minister and state PCC chief Lal Thanhawla last evening said that bringing peace in the insurgency-hit north eastern part of the state adjoining Manipur remained a matter of concern for the people living in the area and also for the ruling party.

The meeting also made special mention about scale of celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Mizo peace accord on June 30, 1986.

The state PCC also decided that Excise and Narcotics Minister R. Lalzirliana should constitute Review and Evaluation Committee on the impact of the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition and Control Act, 2014 which is in force in the state for a year.

"The Committee should study the impact of the implementation of the act in the Mizo society and make recommendations without any prejudice," the meeting said.

The MLPC Act was implemented since mid-January last year and wine shops opened from mid-March in 2015 after the state reeled under stringent prohibition law for 18 years.
Maharashtra State Branch of Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (MSBIRIA) today said it has decided to suspend all radiological modalities in Pune from June 13 due to alleged non-cooperation from the administration of Pune Municipal Commissioner.

After consultations with members, it has been decided that the MSBIRIA gives a call to suspend services of all the radiology modalities in Pune indefinitely from June 13, a MSBIRIA release issued here said.

"After much deliberations, MSBIRIA has come to the conclusion that the present environment is not conducive to peaceful negation non-cooperation from the Municipal Commissioner and its Appropriate Authority, Vaishali Jadhav," MSBIRIA president, Dr Suresh Chandak, said.

To express solidarity with the Pune fraternity, rest of the Maharashtra will suspend all radiology services on June 14, for a day.

"If the government does not concede to our demands then from June 20 there will be indefinite suspension of obstetric sonography in the entire Maharashtra," it said.
Mumbai Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has ordered inquiry in only six per cent of corruption complaints it received in the last three years.

RTI activist Jeetendra Ghadge had filed a Right To Information (RTI) query with Mumbai ACB to know the total number of corruption complaints received by it since January, 2013.

In its reply, the ACB said corruption complaints numbering 7,675 were received in Mumbai from January 2013-March 2016.

Of these complaints, inquiry has been ordered in only 512 cases, the reply said.

Also FIRs were registered on the basis of seven of the complaints, it said.

As many as 236 open and discreet inquiries are pending with ACB in the said time period, it said.
A Forest Skill Development Centre has been set up in Dehradun to equip youths for jobs in the forest sector and help mitigate the problem of migration of people from the hills in search of work.

"It is one of a kind institution in the whole country where youth from all over India can converge and get skill development training.

It will help them get employment in the forest sector and rein in large scale migration from the hills in search of livelihood," Union Minister of Forest and Environment Prakash Javadekar said on Saturday.

Stopping migration from hills in search of livelihood has been a major problem for successive governments in Uttarakhand.

On forest fires which destroyed thousands of hectares of land in Uttarakhand this season, Javadekar said the Wildlife Institute has been asked to submit a report on the forest blazes in the state and the extent of damage caused by them within 15 days.

Javadekar said the the Rajaji Park was granted the status of a Tiger Reserve by the Centre to boost tourism so that more and more people get jobs in the sector and they don't have to migrate from their homes.

He said the Govind Ballabh Pant Himalayan Environment Institution is being upgraded as The National Centre For Himalayan Ecology which will conduct studies and researches in the field so that they come in handy for disaster management in times of a crisis.

The Centre has given Rs 24 crore to the state government for its upgradation, he said.

Javadekar said forest land clearance was proving to be a hurdle in the development of small rural roads in Uttarakhand so disposal of forest land up to 40 hectares has been localised.

A total of 318 such cases have been disposed of and only 15 more remain, he said.

However, he claimed there has been an increase of 4000 square km of forest cover across the country in the last two years.
Taking strong objections to India-US joint statement, CPI today accused the NDA government of bringing about a "total right-wing shift" in country's foreign policy and expressed apprehensions that the same will have "immense negative" impact on its ties with other countries.

"... The (joint) statement has proved that a total right-wing shift has taken place in our (India's) foreign policy undermining its long-standing position of independence from any military alliance," the CPI noted in a statement.

The Left party stated that India agreeing to Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which allows each military to avail logistics support facilities, with the US poses risk of New Delhi being accused of supporting Washington's aggressions on other countries, particularly, in West Asia and Asia-Pacific region.

"It will have immense negative consequences on India's bilateral relations with other countries and its declared objective of Look East Policy," the CPI said.

The Left party observed that the civil nuclear co-operation started under Congress-led UPA government has reached its "logical conclusion" during current NDA regime.

With the joint statement describing New Delhi as a "major defence partner" of Washington and the Narendra Modi government agreeing to purchase six "useless and defective" nuclear reactors from US firm Westinghouse, CPI charged the BJP government of going furthermore to "please US".

"As a result, India will be dependent more on US-Israel clique for defence and nuclear development," it said, demanding all the issues be discussed in Parliament.

The joint statement was issued during Modi's recent visit to US, with the latter describing India as its "major defence partner" in US defence technology transfer and a "priority partner" in Asia-Pacific.
Nine people including three children died today in a house fire in the South African city of Cape Town, a spokeswoman for local firefighters said.

"A house fire broke broke out before nine (am) this morning," Liezl Moodie told AFP, saying three of the dead were minors, including an infant.

Earlier she had told AFP that eight had died, but said one more death had been reported.

"Now there are nine people deceased," she said without details on the ninth death, but saying four remain in hospital with serious injuries.

The cause of the blaze in Mitchells Plein, one of the country's largest townships, was not immediately clear.

President Jacob Zuma said in a statement he was "deeply saddened and shocked by this tragedy.
A novel app that uses "cognitive shuffle," a method which essentially "scrambles" one's thoughts and keeps the mind off issues, can help you sleep easily, scientists say.

"A racing mind, worries and uncontrollable thoughts are common bedtime complaints among poor sleepers," said Luc Beaudoin, an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada, who created the mySleepButton app two years ago.

A new version of the app with the world's first configurable "body scan" will be released shortly, he said.

The researchers tested the method among 154 university students who complained of excessive cognitive pre-sleep arousal.

The study employed Serial Diverse Imagining (SDI) tasks, which occur at bedtime, and also used a standard treatment of structured problem solving (SP), which is done prior to bedtime and takes about 15 minutes.

They found SDI to be as effective in reducing pre-sleep arousal, sleep effort and poor sleep quality - with the added advantage of being done while in bed. However SDI is not without its challenges.

"The human brain is a 'meaning maker' or a sense-making machine. It is actually very difficult for people to conjure up random images unaided," said Beaudoin.

"However according to my theory, while it may be difficult to engage in SDI, it is not only a consequence of sleep onset; SDI facilitates it," he said.

While one solution is Beaudoin's app, he has also invented a "do-it-yourself" version of SDI. The technique provides a sequence of letters that cue a series of relatively unrelated words, which could potentially be customised to individuals.

"My hope is that popular culture will absorb the notion that counting sheep is not effective, whereas SDI is," said Beaudoin.
Delhi High Court today sought response of the Delhi Legislative Assembly on BJP MLA O P Sharma's plea against his suspension for two sessions for allegedly making derogatory remarks against AAP MLA Alka Lamba.

While noting "the issue should have been resolved amicably in the Assembly itself", Justice Manmohan Singh today listed the matter before the roster bench for further hearing on July 28.

The court, meanwhile, directed that "counter-affidavit be filed by respondent no. 1 (Legislative Assembly of National Capital Territory of Delhi) within six weeks".

During yesterday's arguments, the Delhi government had contended that Sharma has misled the court by saying he was thrice suspended for his comments against Lamba, a charge denied by him.

The government had also opposed maintainability of his plea on the ground that he came before the court with "unclean hands" and also that the Assembly cannot be made a party in the matter.

Sharma's lawyer argued that the Assembly's March 31 decision to suspend him was "patently illegal" as it infringed the freedom of speech privilege available to a legislator.

His lawyer also argued that the Delhi legislative Assembly cannot be "immune" from being made a party.

He also contended that the ethics committee could not have dealt with the issue of privilege of a legislator and it should have been dealt by the privileges committee.

The court had on June 8 asked both Lamba and Sharma to appear before it on June 9 "with an open mind" to resolve the issue. However, no amicable resolution was arrived at.

Delhi government had earlier told the court that Sharma has not expressed regret on what he had said about Lamba.

The court also noted in its order today that Sharma's interim plea for stay of the suspension "has become infructuous and thus, the same cannot be granted" as the session was due to conclude yesterday itself.

The special session of Delhi Assembly was, however, last evening extended by one day. The House will sit again on Monday.
Expressing concern over the security situation in Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama has approved broader role for his troops stationed in the war-torn country to help Afghan forces effectively carry out anti-terrorism operations.

"What these authorities will allow is, it will allow US forces to engage in similar efforts to accompany conventional Afghan security forces when they undertake operations," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

"What this would allow is the US forces to be more proactive in supporting conventional Afghan forces as they take the fight to the Taliban.And this means, in some cases, offering close air support, or it means, in some cases, accompanying Afghan forces on the ground or in the air," Earnest explained.

Noting that to this point, US forces and NATO partners have, in some situations, accompanied Afghan special operators. Earnest said this authority would allow the American forces to accompany conventional Afghan forces in certain situations, but when they're accompanying them, they continue to remain focused on the advice-and-assist mission that they've been carrying out now for almost two years.

The US, he said, continues to be concerned about the security situation in .

" is a dangerous country.It has been for some time now, and is still today," he said.

"I don't think anybody, from the President on down, was under the illusion that after a couple of years of being responsible for the security situation of their own country, that the Afghan government and Afghan security forces would eliminate entirely the threat from the Taliban or any other extremists in that country," Earnest said.

The White House Press Secretary praised the Afghan security forces for a remarkable willingness to fight for their country.The forces are resilient, even in those situations where they do encounter operational or even strategic setbacks, he asserted.

"There's been a willingness on the part of the Afghan forces to reorganise and take the fight back to their adversaries.Some of that is evidence of a successful effort on the part of the United States and our NATO partners to train Afghan forces, but some of that is also the built-in national pride of Afghan security forces to fight for their country and to counter the threat from extremists," Earnest said.

Noting that when the Taliban carries out a bombing in Kabul or anywhere in the country, most of the victims are Afghans. Earnest said that so it makes sense that Afghan security forces would feel, as a point of national pride, a desire to eradicate those violent extremists from the midst of their country.

"That resilience and that commitment to fight for their country has shown on the battlefield.The question I think has simply been, what else can the US do to support them in those efforts?The President feels strongly that the Afghans must remain in control of the security situation in their own country," he said.

The US combat role in ended at the end of 2014, and the President is not considering to restart it, he added.

"But the question is, is it possible for us to be more proactive in supporting conventional Afghan security forces? And we anticipate that by offering them more support in the form of advice and assistance, and occasionally accompanying them on their operations, that they are likely to be more effective on the battlefield," he explained.

"That's the goal here, and that's the goal that the United States has pledged for years now, which is to support the Afghan central government and support the Afghan security forces as they provide for the security situation in their country," Earnest said.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has slammed US President Barack Obama for endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate despite being under "criminal investigation".

Trump, however, said he was ready to face Clinton in the November elections, which he claimed would attract the largest ever voter turnout.

"You have a President coming out and endorsing somebody who is under criminal investigation. Is this supposed to be the way the country supposed to be?" Trump told his cheering supporters at an election rally in Richmond, Virginia yesterday.

This was Trump's first public rally since Obama endorsed Clinton as Democratic presidential nominee against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

The rally at spacious Richmond Coliseum attracted several thousands people. But the arena having a capacity of 13,500 was more than half empty.

Trump said the rally was organised at a short notice of less than one day.

The real estate mogul from New York said he would make a major policy speech on Clinton in New Hampshire on Monday. To the cheering of his supporters, Trump described this as a "crooked Hillary" speech.

"There is so much corruption. If the system works, she is not allowed to run. It is really unfair for the other people," Trump said referring to a latest news report that an Indian American Rajiv Fernando was appointed to the important Security Advisory board because of his alleged massive donations to the Clinton Foundation.

The Advisory Board advises the State Department on nuclear weapons and other issues of national security. Based out of Chicago, Fernando is a securities trader president of Chopper Trading.

According to ABC News, Fernando was a major bundler for the Obama Campaign, raising more than $500,000 for his re-election cycle. And before his appointment at the State Department, he gave between $100,000 and $250,000 to the William J Clinton Foundation.

Trump cited this as another example for corruption by Hillary Clinton. "He made a contribution of $250,000 and all of a sudden he's on this very important and vital board," he said.

Reiterating that Clinton should not be allowed to run for the elections, he said he is ready to run against the former US Secretary of State and exuded confidence of winning the election.

Trump said the debate against Clinton would be the "biggest debate" in the history and would be the "biggest voter turnout" in the history of this country.

Countries like China and Mexico, he alleged are destroying the United States. He reiterated that he would make the wall on the Mexico border, which some day may be called as Trump Wall. "Someday, people would call it a Trump wall," he said, adding this would be a strong, tall and beautiful wall.

"Our taking is being taken advantage of because we have very stupid people representing in trade. It is not going to happen. We are losing badly. We have the smartest people in the world. But we are using dumbest people," he alleged.

Trump claimed that companies would start setting up manufacturing plants in the US, because there would be consequences for moving jobs overseas."We are going to bring jobs back to America," he said, adding his administration would lower taxes and simplify tax codes.

"Hillary Clinton is going to raise taxes beyond anyone imagination," he claimed.

"Polls are looking good in Virginia," he said. Pollsters are saying that Virginia is a key swing state for the November general elections. He claimed that he would win the presidential elections in Florida and New York.

"Unless we win in November, it means nothing. It would be waste of time and money," he said and asked people to come out and vote in large numbers in the November general elections.

"I am the least racist person that you have ever looked at," he said, referring to the allegations that he is a racist.

Trump lashed out at Clinton for not using the term "radical Islamic terrorism" because she does not want to offend Obama. "Because she does not want to go to jail. The system is rigged. Bernie found it out," he said.

"If we had guns in those rooms, and bullets going in opposite direction," not so many people would have been killed, he said. "We are going to win again and we are going to kick ISIS, we are going to win in trade, we are going to win on the Supreme Court... We are going to win so much that you people are going to (get) sick and tired of winning. We are going to win, win, win," he said.

Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor to the Trump Campaign, alleged that as Secretary of State, Clinton gave a prominent national security post dealing with nuclear security to someone who paid $5 million to the Clinton Foundation.
Actress-producer Dia Mirza says if given good scripts, she would love to back regional movies because for her the quality of a project matters more than the language it is made in.

Dia turned producer five years ago with romantic film "Love Breakups Zindagi" and though she is quite new as a filmmaker, she is open to venturing into different languages.

"As a producer, my main intention is to tell good stories and if we find some stories that are truly fascinating and we honestly believe in the idea, then language or state or territories are no barriers," Dia told PTI.

Meanwhile, the 34-year-old "Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mei" star is excited about her upcoming maiden Indo-Iranian project, which she has produced and also starred in.

"Salaam Mumbai" features Iranian superstar Mohammad Reza Golzar opposite Dia. The actress said she is proud to have been a part of this film.

"It was fantastic being a part of this international project. Reza Golzar is already a superstar in Iran and is an absolutely enthralling individual to work with.

"He is humble, grounded and so talented! I have learned a lot from him and the entire Iranian crew. Their passion about the art and craft of storytelling is absolutely amazing! It is a matter of great pride to be featured in a first ever Indo-Iranian film," she added.

Besides acting and producing, brand endorsement is what keeps Dia busy nowadays. The model-turned actress has been appointed as the brand ambassador for Suncros, a sunscreen product.

Recently, the Parliamentary panel on consumer affairs, in its recommendation on the Consumer Protection Bill-2015, has called for stringent provisions, including jail term up to five years and penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh if a celebrity endorsed product misfires.

Asked about it, Dia said, "I think it as unfair debate because as a citizen of this country, I believe any product that is made available to me as a consumer, whether it is on a grocery shelf, super market or the medical store has undergone the procedure set up by the Government to ensure our safety."



The former Miss Asia Pacific feels as a consumer one believes it is the responsibility of the Government to keep a check on poor quality or sub-standard products.

"As a consumer, I would like to believe the government is taking care of that. Hence, it is unjust to hold the celebrity endorsing the product responsible as it is the government that needs to be held accountable first.
A Pakistani couple has been murdered in Lahore for marrying without their family's consent, the second incident of "honour killing" within a week in the city.

Muhammad Ashraf shot dead his daughter Saba, 22, and son-in-law Karamat, 38, yesterday for marrying without his consent, police said.

Ashraf, a security guard by profession, also killed Karamat's brother for helping the couple in their marriage.

Saba, a resident of Kahna area, eloped with Karamat over a year ago and contracted court marriage.

"On Friday, Saba's father, Ashraf, invited the couple for a dinner. He shot them dead after a heated argument over the issue," a senior police official said.

The couple have a three-month-old son.

The police official said that after killing the couple Ashraf went to the house of Karamat's brother and shot him dead before courting arrest.

However Usman, another brother of Karamat, claimed that Ashraf had a monetary dispute with his son-in-law.

"Ashraf killed my brothers and his daughter over a money dispute," he claimed.

Ashraf confessed to his crime saying he had killed his daughter and son-in-law for digracing the "family honour."



It was the third incident of "honour killing" in Punjab in about a week and the second such incident in Lahore.

In the first incident, 19-year-old Maria Sadaqat was tortured and burnt alive in a village near Murree for refusing to marry the son of the owner of a school where she taught.

In the second incident, Zeenat Rafiq, 19, was set on fire in Lahore by her mother and brother for marrying a man of her own choice.

Police have slapped anti-terrorism sections in the Zeenat murder case. Police have also arrested the brother-in-law of Zeenat, while her brother is absconding.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered a comprehensive investigation into Bibi's killing, calling the crime un-Islamic.

Violence against women is common in Pakistan where every year hundreds of women are killed for honour.

Nearly 1,100 women were killed in Pakistan last year in so-called honour-killings, the country's independent Human Rights Commission says.

Campaigners say most "honour killings" are not reported in Pakistan.
Polling for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand was held amid tight security at the state Assembly here today with Chief Minister Harish Rawat and Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal among the first to cast their votes.

Polling which began at 9 a.m concluded at about 12:20 p.m, much before its scheduled conclusion at 4 p.m.

However, counting of ballots will begin after 4 p.m, Secretary Vidhan Sabha Jagdish Chandra said.

Security around the Assembly premises was tightened with heavy deployment of security personnel around the building.

Congress's Pradeep Tamta and BJP backed Independent Anil Goel are taking on each other to grab the seat which falls vacant with BJP member Tarun Vijay's tenure getting over next month.

Numerically,26-member Congress with the support of six-member PDF appears to have an edge on rival BJP which is left with 27 MLAs after the disqualification of Ghansali legislator Bhimlal Arya under the anti-defection law on Thursday for going against the party whip and crossvoting during the floor test on May 10.

The BJP got another setback yesterday with its Bhimtal MLA Dan Singh Bhandari tendering his resignation from the membership of the Assembly to Speaker Kunjwal late last night.

In his resignation to the Speaker, Bhandari had urged him to accept his resignation with immediate effect.

Bhandari's resignation mentions no reason for doing so.

In the House with an effective strength of 59 any side will need 30 votes to emerge the winner.
Government is firming up plans to set up 650 branches of India Post Payments Bank at all major district headquarters by September 2017, Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said in a letter to all postal employees.

"The India Post Payments Bank shall be set up with an investment of Rs 800 crore. The plan is to roll out 650 branches at all major district headquarters so that it may leverage the extensive outreach of the Department of Posts," Prasad said in the letter.

The Cabinet on June 2 cleared the proposal to set up India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) with a corpus of Rs 800 crore and a plan for 650 branches operational by September 2017. It will be scaled up further to cover the entire country by the end of 2018-19.

"The Prime Minister has urged that these 650 branches shall be made fully functional by September 2017," Prasad said.

DoP is gearing up to launch the payments bank with a workforce of 3.5 lakh.

Prasad, in his letter, reached out to all postal employees for support.

"I earnestly appeal to all employees of the department and the Grameen Dak Sevaks to take pride and ownership in establishing the India Post Payments Bank which truly serves the cause of Antyodaya - serving the last man standing," he said.

He reasoned that the postman has a vital emotional connect and is almost part of every family in villages.

"In coming days, the role of all employees, including Grameen Dak Sevaks, will be very significant in successful rollout of the Payments Bank to make financial inclusion possible for every Indian," Prasad said.

DoP at present manages around 1.55 lakh post offices, of which about 1.3 lakh are in rural areas.

"I have no doubt in my mind that given your capabilities and your whole-hearted co-operation, we can accomplish the task. India Post has a footprint in every corner of the country," Prasad said.

IPPB will offer digitally-enabled payments, banking and remittance services of all kinds among entities and individuals as also provide access to insurance, mutual funds, pension and credit products in partnership with third-party financial service providers and banks.

"IPPB is being set up primarily to achieve the goal of full financial inclusion of the people in our country. It shall be a technologically-enabled banking platform that gives a wide range of services such as direct benefit transfers and all kinds of payments and remittances," the minister added.
Queen Elizabeth II marked her official 90th birthday today by taking salute at a special military parade in London where one-year-old Princess Charlotte proved to be the star attraction.

The baby Royal made her first public appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony in her mother Kate's arms.

Her father Prince William and brother Prince George, 3, were by her side as part of the annual tradition where the monarch makes an appearance to view the Royal Air Force (RAF) fly past in her honour.

Both baby royals, third and fourth in line to the British throne, were dressed in pale colours, with George wearing white while Princess Charlotte wore a pale pink dress.

Earlier, Kate and William joined the Queen and the Royal Family for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony.

The traditional parade was this year celebrating the monarch's 90th birthday, who wore an unusually bold dress and hat combination of bright green that caught the eye of many.

They travelled from Buckingham Palace to the Horse Guards in horse-drawn carriages, where thousands of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the Royal family.

There, the Royal family watched the parades as the Queen inspected her soldiers.

Salutes were fired across the UK.

In the afternoon, the royal barge Gloriana led a flotilla of about 50 boats in a pageant down the River Thames, carrying figures including five-time Olympic gold rower Sir Steve Redgrave.

Visible in her vibrant ensemble, the Queen smiled and waved to crowds as she was driven with her husband and Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, who wore a ceremonial red military uniform, in an open-top carriage up the flag-lined Mall.

Queen Elizabeth celebrates two birthdays as part of a royal tradition, dating back over 250 years.

The actual date of her birth is April 21, 1926.

But her official birthday is marked in Britain on a Saturday in June with Trooping the Colour.
Princess Charlotte proved to be the star attraction at Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday celebrations in London today.

The one-year-old baby Royal made her first public appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony in her mother Kate's arms.

Her father Prince William and brother Prince George were by her side as part of the annual tradition where the monarch makes an appearance to view the Royal Air Force (RAF) fly past in her honour.

Both baby royals, third and fourth in line to the British throne, were dressed in pale colours, with George wearing white while Princess Charlotte wore a pale pink dress.

Earlier, Kate and William joined the Queen and the Royal Family for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony.

The traditional parade was this year celebrating the monarch's 90th birthday.

They travelled from Buckingham Palace to the Horse Guards in horse-drawn carriages.

There, the Royal family watched the parades as the Queen inspected her soldiers.

Salutes were fired across the UK.

In the afternoon, the royal barge Gloriana led a flotilla of about 50 boats in a pageant down the River Thames, carrying figures including five-time Olympic gold rower Sir Steve Redgrave.

Visible in her vibrant ensemble, the Queen smiled and waved to crowds as she was driven with the Duke of Edinburgh in an open-top carriage up the flag-lined Mall.
Several pro-Tamil outfits and political parties took out a rally here demanding release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination who have completed 25 years in jail today.

Led by Arputhammal, mother of one of the convict Perarivalan, leaders of various political parties, film personalities, activists and supporters participated in the march.

PMK Youth wing leader and Dharmapuri MP Anbumani Ramadoss, film actors Nasser, Ponvannan and Satyaraj and director Vikaraman were among those who participated in the rally.

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber at nearby Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991 and seven persons--Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Nalini, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran--were convicted in the case.

Nalini's death sentence was commuted to life in 2000 following a cabinet recommendation and appeal by Rajiv's wife, Sonia Gandhi.

Supreme Court had commuted the death sentence of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan in February 2014 following delay in a decision on their mercy plea.

Tamil Nadu government had in March this year decided to remit the sentences of all the seven convicts and release them. It had sought the Centre's views on the matter.

The Centre had, however, rejected the proposal.

The matter is since pending in the Supreme Court.
In an extremely rare case, a baby girl with a severe congenital disorder and near-total missing external body skin, was born at a city hospital in the wee hours today.

In medical parlance, this condition is called Harelquin Ichthyosis.

A young woman gave birth to the baby girl at the Lata Mangeshkar Medical College and Hospital around 12.30 AM. A team of doctors, including Dr Yash Banait, Dr Prachi Dixit, Dr Meenakshi and Dr Nilofar Mujawar, were involved in the delivery.

"The infant was born with a congenital disorder, which occurs because of mutation in the genes. The overall incidence of Harlequin Ichthyosis is one in three lakh births," noted obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Avinash Banait, told PTI when contacted.

"Harlequin ichthyosis is a very rare severe genetic skin disease, which causes thickening of the stratum corneum of the epidermis. In such cases, the child's whole body is encased in an 'armour' of thick white plates of skin, separated with deep cracks. In addition, the eyes, ears, private parts and the appendages may be abnormally contracted," he said.

Because of resultant cracked skin in locations where normal skin would fold, it is easily pregnable by bacteria and other contaminants, which can result in serious risk of fatal infection, Dr Banait added.

The baby, born after a Caesarean operation performed by Dr Dixit, has now been kept under observation as constant care is required to moisturise and protect the skin.

"Doctors will be undertaking a 2D Echo investigation to ascertain the cardiac deformities or anomalies if any. The baby requires proper moisturisation and petroleum jelly and coconut oil serves good for this. Nutritional rehabilitation has to be undertaken regularly. But this baby is not finding any difficulty in breathing," he said.

According to Dr Banait, the disease can be diagnosed in the uterus by way of fetal skin biopsy or by morphologic analysis of amniotic fluid cells obtained by amniocentesis.

Doctors can now usually recognise common features of the disease through ultrasound and follow up with 3D ultrasound to diagnose the condition.

"Ultrasound can reveal abnormal facial features with ectropion, eclabium, short foot length, incurved toes, clenched fists, poor delineation of nostrils, and polyhydramnios," he said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today vowed to make Tamil Nadu a child labour free state and termed the revenue generated from it as a "belittling" one.

Speaking on the eve of the World Day Against Child Labour, the Chief Minister also listed out several initiatives taken by her government to ensure that children were sent to school and not employed in work.

"The revenue earned through child labour is a belittling one for both the household and the nation and realising this we shall ensure that children are sent to school," she said.

In a statement, she said her government had implemented various schemes such as free education, free books and other accessories besides uniforms, bus passes and laptops, among others.

The government was also providing Rs 500 assistance monthly to former child labourers who were pursuing higher education, she said.

Every year on June 12 the World Day Against Child Labour is observed to raise awareness of the plight of child labourers.

Jayalalithaa said that dams and reservoirs constructed on



a river flowing within the state fall under the state governments' competence and are owned and maintained by the state governments concerned.

"The overriding powers proposed to be given to the National Dam Safety Organisation to inspect dams and reservoirs in states is against the spirit of the Constitution", she said.

"The present draft bill does not specifically provide for dams and reservoirs which are owned and maintained by states, but located in another state by virtue of long standing Inter-State agreements which have been upheld through Supreme Court judgements. This is a grave omission", she said.

Tamil Nadu's Mullaiperiyar, Parambikulam, Thunakkadavu and Peruvarippallam Dams are owned and maintained by the Tamil Nadu Government by virtue of Inter-State agreements, but are located in a neighbouring state, she said.

"The present draft law, cannot and should not overturn such rights which would affect large number of farmers and households depending on the reservoirs for irrigation and drinking water supply", the Chief Minister said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly witnessed noisy scenes today with opposition legislators accusing the state government of distributing street lights in the city in an "unfair" manner.

National Conference MLA from Eidgah constituency, Mubarak Gul, raised the issue, alleging that Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) distributed street lights in an unfair manner.

"Every constituency got 50 street lights but the minister's constituency were given 100. This is unfair. And then the lights in my constituency were distributed through the candidate whom I defeated in the elections," Gul said.

The NC MLA was supported by other party legislators. Congress members also joined in the chorus against the government, levelling similar allegations and shouted slogans against the government.

Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh tried pacifying the protesting legislators, saying "no individual was given lights for distribution".

He also provided a list containing data on street lights in each constituency of Srinagar. However, the protesting members continued shouting slogans.

"The Deputy Chief Minister said the opposition was creating an issue out of a non-issue. If any MLA has not been given lights, we will investigate it," Singh said.

"These are serious allegations. If they have any specific case, let them furnish proof and we will inquire. If any direction was given by some minister...This is a serious allegation and we will inquire into it as well, the Deputy Chief Minister said.

Speaker, Kavinder Gupta said MLAs should be taken into confidence by the administration in such matters.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today termed Sanatan Sanstha as a "dangerous" organisation and renewed his demand for a ban on it following the arrest a member of its affiliate in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

Tawde is a member of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS), an offshoot of Sanatan Sanstha, and was arrested by CBI at Panvel near Mumbai last night.

The Congress leader, during his tenure as the Chief Minister (2010-2014), had sent a proposal to the Centre seeking a ban on the Goa-headquartered radical group in the wake of Dabholkar's murder in Pune on August 20, 2013.

Reacting to Tawdes' arrest, Chavan said "the Maharashtra Chief Minister should issue clear directive to its lawyers to make out a case for banning Sanatan Sanstha against whom the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has proofs.

"The State government and Union Home Ministry have an important role to play in effecting ban on this outfit which is targeting and eliminating those opposed to its ideology. The kingpin of this dangerous outfit should be booked and punished," Chavan said, adding that the Modi government is obliged under the Constitution to act against terrorist elements which pose a threat to the country.
School teachers in Haryana have been told not to wear jeans at work and to be formally dressed.

An order in this regard was issued by Director of Elementary Education, Haryana (Panchkula).

"It has been observed that teachers in primary and middle schools come to schools in jeans. They are also found in jeans while visiting office of Directorate for some work which is inappropriate," said the order which was send to all District Elementary Education Officers.

"Kindly ensure that no teacher should come to schools/Directorate in jeans and they should be in formal dress," the order further said.

Haryana Vidyalaya Adhyapak Sangh has strongly condemned the order while describing it as state government's move to divert attention from its "failures".

"It is an absolutely wrong order of the government to fix the dress code for teachers. It should be left to teachers what he wants to wear. Teacher's job is to teach and he can teach in jeans or in dhoti," Haryana Vidyalaya Adhyapak Sangh, president Wazir Singh said today adding that the order was issued two days back.

"With such orders, the government wanted to divert attention of teachers from issues concerning education department. The government's job is to prepare budget, transfers, appointments, etc, which is not being done," he said.

"We will protest against this diktat and meet senior officials of Education department on June 16 in Panchkula in this regard," Singh said.
Southern Europe may be at risk of outbreaks - a deadly virus that has been linked to serious birth defects - between June and August this year, a new study has warned.

Established Aedes-mosquito population could spread the virus in Europe this summer if infected travellers introduce the virus, researchers said.

"We know warm climates create the kind of conditions suitable for mosquito-borne illnesses to spread," said Joacim Rocklov, researcher at Umea University in Sweden.

An analysis of temperatures, vectorial capacity, basic reproductive number (R0), and air traveller flows suggests parts of Southern Europe may be at risk for outbreaks between June and August.

"Vectorial capacity depends on a number of parameters but in general, warmer temperatures increase the rate in which the female mosquitoes bite, the mosquito virus reproduction, and their virus transmission risk," Rocklov said.

"The presence of established Aedes mosquito populations, the warmer climate and the coinciding peak flow of air travellers into Europe, is a triage making Southern Europe fertile ground for Zika," he added.

Following a similar epidemiological study conducted on the similar dengue virus, researchers used a temperature dependent computer model to predict Zika virus infection risks for Europe.

In the analysis, the researchers overlaid data on monthly flows of airline travellers arriving in European cities from Zika-affected areas, data on month-by-month estimates of virus infection reproduction capabilities of Aedes-mosquito populations in Europe, and human population data within the areas where mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus could be possible.

The researchers found that the risk of mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus is estimated to peak between June and August in parts of Southern Europe.

The peak flow of air travellers from regions of the Americas affected by the Zika virus coincides with the peak in the Aedes-mosquitoes capacity to transmit the virus, researchers said.

The findings could help European public officials to identify locations and times where the risk for Zika is heightened.

The risk assessment assumes that European Aedes-mosquitoes have the same potential to spread the Zika virus as their South-, Middle- and North American counterparts.

Earlier research has shown that increasing temperatures will enlarge Europe's seasonal window for the potential spread of mosquito-borne viral disease and expand the geographic areas at risk for epidemics to include large parts of Europe.

The threat includes tropical and sub-tropical viruses such as Zika and dengue, the researchers said.

The study was published in the journal EBioMedicine.
Suicide bombers struck outside a Shiite shrine near Syria's capital today, leaving at least 20 people dead, a monitor said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The official SANA agency said two suicide bombers, one in a car, attacked the entrance to the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, which is revered by Shiites around the world.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said at least 20 people were killed, including 13 civilians, and more than 30 wounded in the blasts.

SANA gave a toll of at least 12 dead and 55 wounded.

IS claimed the attack via its Amaq agency, saying it was carried out by three suicide bombers.

The shrine, around 10 kilometres south of the centre of Damascus, is heavily guarded by pro-government forces but has still been the target of several jihadist attacks, including those claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Syria's official Al-Ikhbariya channel showed images from the scene of burned-out cars billowing with plumes of black smoke.

Firefighters battled to extinguish the flames as shop signs lay in the street.

The last attack on Sayyida Zeinab on April 25 killed at least seven and wounded dozens.

A string of IS bombings near the shrine in February left 134 people dead, most of them civilians, according to the Observatory.

And in January, another attack claimed by IS killed 70 people.

Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah cited the threat to Sayyida Zeinab as a principal reason for its intervention in Syria's civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

The shrine contains the grave of Zeinab, a venerated granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed, and is renowned for its glistening golden, onion-shaped dome.
The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft flew by the Statue of Liberty, ending the US portion of its bid to circle the globe using only solar power.

"It's absolutely incredible," Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg said over a live video feed as the iconic statue lit up the night below him. "It's a dream here."



The light, slow-moving aircraft later landed at New York's Kennedy Airport, completing the five hour flight from Lehigh Valley Airport in Pennsylvania.

Cameras in a boat in New York harbor captured the innovative solar powered aircraft as it flew over the Verrazano Bridge and headed toward the towering Lady Liberty.

It circled the statue and cruised along the Manhattan skyline before turning back south for the landing at Kennedy, one minute ahead of schedule at 3:59 am.

Ending the US crossing at the Statue of Liberty "is a very strong moment for me", said Borschberg as he approached New York, calling it a "symbol of the freedom of enterprise, the freedom to innovate."



It was the 14th leg of an east-west journey that began March 9, 2015 in Abu Dhabi, and has taken the aircraft across Asia and the Pacific to the United States.

From New York the Solar Impulse team will attempt to cross the Atlantic to Europe and on to the Middle East.

Borschberg has alternated with fellow Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, a doctor who made the first non-stop balloon flight around the world in 1999.

Their goal is to be the first to circumnavigate the Earth with the sun as their aircraft's only source of power.

The single-seat aircraft, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 747, is clad in 17,000 solar cells. During night flights like the one from Pennsylvania to New York, it runs on battery-stored power.

It typically travels at a mere 48 kilometres per hour, although its flight speed can double when exposed to full sunlight.

Borschberg skimmed over Pennsylvania at an altitude of less than 900 metres, descending to 500 metres as the plane crossed over the bays at the entrance to New York harbor.

Borschberg, who fielded phone calls from well-wishers and journalists during the flight, told one interviewer he could see the light grow denser and denser as he crossed out of Pennsylvania in the approach to New York.

The Swiss businessman was at the controls of Solar Impulse 2 on its most difficult segment of the trip, a 4,000-mile, 118-hour endurance run from Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii.
Three Pakistani boys, who were held by BSF near the international border after they had inadvertently crossed over into Indian territory, were sent back to their country, an official said today.

According to a BSF officer, the three Pakistani boys had crossed over to India through BOP Kotrazda yesterday. They were identified as Mohhammed Amir (15) and Sane Arshad (13), both residents of village Riya, District Narowal and Nomal Ali, a resident of village Whaley Chak of Faisalabad.

BSF said the trio were noticed at border village Ajnala by BSF patrolling party. On being asked, the boys told BSF they were the residents of border villages of Pakistan.

Immediately a flag meeting was arranged and BSF apprised the Pakistani Rangers boys and handed over to them.

BSF said that before repatriation, they were given food besides chocolates and sweets to carry with them. The boys were happy at the time of repatriation, he said.
A tigress was today found dead at Hinauta range of Madhya Pradesh's Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Panna district.

"We got to know that a tigress around 11-year-old christened T-5 has been found dead today in the core area of the reserve," PTR field director Vivek Jain told PTI.

"I don't have much details of it as I am in Delhi right now. But I have been informed that initial findings suggest that the striped animal died in a territorial fight with another big cat," he said.

We are going to conduct the postmortem of the tigress according to the guidelines of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), he added.

PTR made headlines in early 2009 when it became devoid of the striped animal following poaching and other reasons.

After that a tiger reintroduction and revival programme was launched there following which the big cat population has reached over 25 now.
The alleged kingpin of the toppers' scandal in Bihar Intermediate examination, Bachha Rai was arrested after he surrendered at Bhagwanpur police station in Vaishali district.

Bachha Rai, who is Secretary-cum Principal of controversy-hit Bishun Rai College, arrived at the Bhagwanpur police station to give himself up from where the police arrested him, Hajipur police sources said.

"We have arrested Bachha Rai," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on merit muddle in Bihar's +2 examination, told PTI.

Maharaj said the police had been on hot pursuit of the accused and netted him today.

Bachha Rai is the Secretary-cum Principal of Bishun Rai College in Vaishali district from where Arts and Science toppers Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shrestha belonged to respectively.

"We will interrogate him intensively," Maharaj said.

Bachha Rai, a known supporter of RJD, had been allegedly eluding from police in the case.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had recently alleged that everybody knew that Bachha Rai had worked more than Lalu Prasad to ensure victory of Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap from Raghopur and Mahua seats in Vaishali respectively.

The probe has indicated that Bachha Rai was a key player in the case with the help of Bihar School Examination Board, police said.

Besides Arts and Science toppers, the third ranker in the Science stream Rahul Kumar, whose result has been cancelled by the board along with that of first topper Saurabh Shrestha after a re-test also hailed from the Bishun Rai College.

Bachha Rai's daughter Shalini Rai is one of the named accused in the FIR lodged in the case with Kotwali police station in Patna.

(REOPENS CAL2)



According to investigation, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) had allegedly hatched the conspiracy to make Shalini Rai a topper in the science stream later on through verification of marks. But, the snowballing controversy derailed the plan and put her and father Bachha Rai in trouble, police said.

Ruby Rai had reportedly described Political science as "Prodikal Science".

During re-test on last Saturday, she had not appeared before the experts team citing "depression".

The BSEB had asked her to appear for re-test on June 11.

Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh who was forced to resign as BSEB Chairman following evidences of his "connivance" in the scandal is absconding.

(REOPENS CES3)



Meanwhile, the Arts Intermediate topper Ruby Rai did not turn up before an experts team for re-test today following which the Board decided to withhold her result.

"The Board has decided to withhold result of Ruby Rai and has given another chance to her to appear for re-test on June 25," new Chairman of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Anand Kishor told
Uganda is set to pull its troops out of the restive Central African Republic, deeming the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to be "no longer a threat", an army spokesman said today.

"Uganda has met its goal in the fighting against LRA," army spokesman Paddy Ankunda told AFP.

"The LRA has been degraded, they no longer have means to make war," he said, adding however that another reason behind Kampala's thinking was that "international support has not been enough".

The chronically unstable Central African Republic was plunged into chaos in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted president Francois Bozize, triggering a spiral of revenge attacks between the rebels and mainly Christian vigilante groups that left thousands dead and displaced many more.

The bloodletting in one of the world's poorest nations was so serious 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 in the strife-torn nation.

France's mission is due to end in December, after a progressive draw-down.

Around 2,000 Ugandan soldiers, backed by US troops, are currently deployed in eastern CAR as part of an African Union mission to tackle the LRA rebels.

There are another 10,000 UN troops in the country.

The LRA first emerged in northern Uganda in the mid-1980s when it took up arms in the name of the Acholi ethnic group against the government of President Yoweri Museveni.

Over the years it has moved freely across porous regional borders, shifting from Uganda to sow terror in southern Sudan before heading into northeastern DR Congo in 2005, finally crossing into the southeastern Central African Republic in 2008.

Combining religious mysticism with guerrilla tactics and bloodthirsty ferocity, its leader Joseph Kony has turned scores of young girls into his personal sex slaves while claiming to be fighting to impose the Bible's Ten Commandments.

The group has killed more than 100,000 people and kidnapped more than 60,000 children, forcing many of them to become child soldiers, according to the UN.

The LRA has been weakened by the capture or defection of a succession of its leading figures, most recently in February when one of its commanders, Okot Odek, was captured and handed over to US forces by a faction of the Seleka rebels in CAR.
Thirteen of Britain's top scientists signed a letter backing the campaign to remain in the EU on Saturday after a dramatic new poll boosted the momentum behind the campaign less than two weeks before the June 23 referendum.

Nobel Prize winners including Peter Higgs, after whom the Higgs Boson, believed to explain how matter acquires mass, is named, and geneticist Paul Nurse said the loss of research funding would be one consequence of leaving the bloc.

"The prospect of losing EU research funding is a key risk to UK science," the scientists wrote in a letter published by the Daily Telegraph.



"Science thrives on permeability of ideas and people, and flourishes in environments that pool intelligence, minimise barriers, and are open to free exchange and collaboration.

"The EU provides such an environment and scientists value it highly."



Ahead of the June 23 referendum on European Union membership, the race is looking close. An online ORB poll for the Independent newspaper on Friday sent sterling falling after indicating that 55% of Britons want to leave the EU, compared to 45% who want to stay.

An average of the last six opinion polls by academics at the What UK Thinks project indicates the race is tied, with each side on 50%.

Senior figures in the main opposition Labour party are urging its leadership to step up their efforts to keep Britain in the EU. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist, has long been sceptical of the EU and has played a relatively muted role in the "Remain" campaign.

"We've got to throw every vote at it," Labour's Deputy leader Tom Watson told the Guardian. "We've got to redouble our efforts."



Appearing on a late night chat show on Channel 4 on Friday, Corbyn rated his passion for staying in Europe at "seven, seven and a half".

Britain's top polling expert John Curtice this week said that, while it appeared there was a substantial body of evidence supporting the idea that 'Leave' have made some progress", this should be treated with caution.

One factor behind the changes may be that the "Leave" camp is finding it easier to influence commentators since May 27, when a pre-vote period in which the government can no longer publish pro-EU analysis and statistics started, Curtice said.
A US drone attack in Yemen killed two suspected Al-Qaeda members in their vehicle today in Marib province east of the capital Sanaa, a local official said.

The official named the two dead men as Gazwan al-Waili and Zubeir al-Sanaani and said "they were known for their links to Al-Qaeda".

After Yemeni government forces retook Hadramawt provincial capital Mukalla in the southeast on April 24, after Al-Qaeda had held it for a year, the jihadist fighters headed north to Marib province.

Washington, which views Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch as its most dangerous, acknowledged on May 7 that a "very small number" of US military personnel has also been deployed in support of the operation to retake Mukalla.

Al-Qaeda exploited the civil war in Yemen between Shiite Huthi rebels and government forces to expand its presence in the south and southeast.

The United States regularly conducts air strikes against Al-Qaeda. A March strike on a training camp west of Mukalla killed more than 70 fighters.
A California man was sentenced to 32 months in prison for conspiring to skirt US sanctions against Syria by sending tactical military equipment to jihadists in the war-torn country.

Amin al-Baroudi, 50, a Syrian-born naturalized US citizen, pleaded guilty in January to purchasing tens of thousands of dollars' worth of tactical equipment, including night vision rifle scopes, speed loaders and bullet proof vests, destined for Ahrar al-Sham, an insurgent group fighting to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Ahrar al-Sham frequently fights alongside the Al-Nusra Front, Syria's Al-Qaeda affiliate that has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, authorities said yesterday.

According to court documents, Baroudi and his co-conspirators traveled with the military goods aboard commercial flights to Turkey and then smuggled them into Syria.

Baroudi was accused of making two such trips in February and March 2013.
Haryana Director General of Police K P Singh today said the villages where no FIR is registered this year shall be honoured with a letter of appreciation.

Singh made the announcement while addressing members of Zila Parishad and Block Samitis, Sarpanches and Panches at a seminar on 'Role of Police in Panchayati Raj' held at Yamunanagar, an official release said.

He urged the representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions to adopt a positive approach for building a crime-free society and said maintenance of peace and goodwill was the responsibility of all.

Reiterating the need for close coordination between public representatives and police, he said everyone should follow the instructions of police and district administration.
With an eye on the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, BJP's national executive will begin its two-day meet here tomorrow which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah among others.

Senior members of the Union Cabinet, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and members of Parliament will take part in the meet, which is likely to set the agenda for the Assembly elections in the state which are less than a year away.

"I would have called it as sounding the poll bugle for UP assembly polls but for PM Modi's rally in Saharanpur last month.

"Nevertheless, Allahabad has been the state's political epicentre and the place where stalwarts ranging from Jawaharlal Nehru to VP Singh have learnt their ropes. And a party meeting organised here will certainly have a catalytic effect on our efforts to bring about political change in Uttar Pradesh," says BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh, who has been camping in the city since Thursday.

Shah, at a recent rally on the outskirts of the city, had stated "if there is one state which is responsible for helping the BJP get a majority in Parliament, it is UP" while party vice-president and in-charge for the state Om Mathur had said "many issues would be discussed at the national executive but the main focus would obviously be on the UP assembly polls due next year".

Enthusiasm is palpable among party foot soldiers as for the first time since its establishment three decades ago, the BJP has chosen the city for holding its national executive.

Almost all the streets and roundabouts are dotted with billboards or posters welcoming Modi and other leaders to the city and exhorting residents to turn out in huge numbers for the rally which will be held on Monday, immediately after the conclusion of the meeting.

There are also any number of posters displaying the



header 'Mission 265 Plus' - a term coined by Shah who has repeatedly exhorted workers to aim at achieving a thumping majority for the party in the 403-strong UP assembly.

Some of these posters stand out for making a demand that Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi be declared as the party's chief ministerial candidate.

However, party spokesman Shrikant Sharma said "such decisions are taken at the Parliamentary Board meeting which is usually held in Delhi. National Executive is not the place for making such an announcement".

"The meeting will definitely address the issue of the 'goonda raj' unleashed by the ruling Samajwadi Party in the state, which had its worst manifestation in the recent violence at Mathura where land-grabbers enjoying political patronage killed two valiant police officials," he said.

"The BJP is committed to rid the state of SP and BSP, both of which have ruled the state alternately for more than a decade and brought it to ruins," he said.

The BJP at present has less than 50 MLAs in a 403-member house, a massive decline since the 1990s when it used to be the top political group in the state.

The party owes much of its recent buoyancy to its dramatic comeback in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when it contested 78 out of 80 seats and romped home with a stunning tally of 71.

It was the best ever performance by the party in the state, which has been credited, in a large measure, to Modi's decision to step out of Gujarat and contest from Varanasi and also the organisational skills of Shah, who was then the national general secretary in-charge of the state.

Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place in



the city.

The elite Special Protection Group (SPG), responsible for the Prime Minister's security, arrived here on Thursday and has been busy reviewing security arrangements at the Kayastha Pathshala sports ground where the meeting will be held under a gigantic air-conditioned marquee, and the Parade Ground near the holy Sangam where a public rally will be held on Monday.

The SPG is also reviewing the security arrangements at the Circuit House, where the Prime Minister is likely to spend the intervening night of June 12-13.

On its part, Uttar Pradesh Police has chipped in with personnel drawn from more than 20 districts of the state.

Bomb disposal squads and sniffer dogs have also been pressed into service while a total of 150 vehicles - including cars, jeeps and SUVs - have been booked for the movement of the VIPs.

Party workers in the city are working overtime, traversing the streets on motorcycles and rickshaws, carrying party flags and posters and playing 'Mera Desh Badal Raha Hai', a virtual anthem released by the Modi government on completing two years in office.

(REOPENS DEL17)



Earlier this week, the party workers had undertaken a drive to clean and decorate statues erected on crossroads across the city.

The BJP workers have made spic and span statues of not only Dalit icons like Ambedkar and Ekalavya but also former prime ministers Nehru and Indira Gandhi, much to the amusement of onlookers.

At one such crossroad, a young party worker Kishan Nishad fell down while cleaning a statue of Swami Vivekananda on Thursday.

A resident of Sadiyapur on the outskirts of the city, Nishad is now recuperating at a hospital with both his legs in plaster.

(Reopens DES6)



BJP national general secretary Bhupendra Yadav said the meeting will begin tomorrow at 5 PM in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said party president Amit Shah, who is arriving here this evening from Varanasi, will hold a brainstorming session with national office-bearers of the party tomorrow morning.

"Shah will discuss with party colleagues the issues that may figure in the resolutions which will be adopted at the two-day meeting," Yadav said.

Yadav also said the meeting was likely to witness extensive discussions on the party's strategy for "states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa" where Assembly elections are due in less than a year.

Yadav also underscored that "the party is seriously thinking about expanding its base in view of encouraging performances in the recently-held assembly polls, especially in Kerala, West Bengal and Assam."



"The presence of (Assam Chief Minister) Sarbananda Sonowal will serve as a source of inspiration for party workers to strive towards exploring new territories," he said.

The BJP general secretary also hit out at the opposition for its "sustained campaign" against the Modi government, "which has achieved a growth rate of over seven per cent despite global slowdown and bad monsoons for two successive years".
Chris Woakes sparked a Sri Lanka collapse on the third day of the third Test against England at Lord's on Saturday.

Sri Lanka, well-placed at 162 for one overnight, were 218 for six at lunch -- 198 runs behind England's first innings 416.

England, bidding to complete a whitewash at 2-0 up in the three-match series, took five wickets for 56 runs in Saturday's first session.

Kusal Perera, playing his first match in more than six months after a drugs ban was rescinded because of a faulty test, was 12 not out and Rangana Herath two not out.

Sri Lanka resumed with Kaushal Silva 79 not out and Kusal Mendis 25 not.

But they both fell for their overnight scores as Sri Lanka collapsed in overcast conditions that made batting harder than had been the case on Friday.

Sri Lanka had not added a run when Woakes had Mendis lbw with his first ball Saturday to end a partnership of 54.

It was just reward for the Warwickshire all-rounder, who saw Jonny Bairstow drop a simple catch off his bowling to reprieve Dimuth Karunaratne, eventually out for 50, on Friday.

But wicket-keeper Bairstow, whose 167 not out on Friday was his Test-best score, made no mistake Saturday when he Silva edged Stuart Broad straight to him.

Two years ago, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews made a Test century at Lord's.

But the all-rounder was felled for three on Saturday, with 166 for three becoming 169 for four when he was squared up by Woakes and edged to Joe Root at second slip.

Woakes, bowling at sharp pace, almost had a wicket next ball too only for Dinesh Chandimal to inside-edge a yorker that just missed the stumps for four.

Woakes's opening spell on Saturday yielded impressive figures of two for 11 in seven overs.

Lahiru Thirimanne and Chandimal, who made an admirable 126 in the second Test, briefly resisted.

But 169 for four was transformed into 205 for six as under-pressure fast bowler Steven Finn took two wickets for three runs in 12 balls on his Middlesex home ground.

Chandimal was lbw for 19, with Thirimanne (17) edging to Root at second slip.

Left-hander Perera hit back by hitting two fours off Finn, including a defiant straight drive that whistled into the Pavilion fence.
Raising objections to a BJP-linked Malaysia-based outfit's claim of having Indian Government's "official" support for its "unofficial" International Yoga Day event, CPI(M) has approached External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, seeking "proper" probe into the matter.

In his June 8 letter to Swaraj, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury also sought the issue of the outfit, Overseas Friends of BJP, Malaysia, making such a declaration through a poster to be discussed during meeting of the Ministry's Consultative Committee, of which he is a member.

The poster, Yechury said, declares the organisation's June 19 event is being supported by High Commission of India, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Ayush and Indian Council of Cultural Relations.

"Supporting activities abroad that strengthen public opinion in those countries about India and spread goodwill is understandable.

"But so far as I have known, the Government of India or its Commissions abroad or any of its other arms and institutions do not support the declared activities of political parties abroad. . .I think this is a very serious matter that needs to be properly investigated," Yechury said in the letter.

The Rajya Sabha member further said that there have been complaints in the past of how the ruling party at the Centre has allegedly used subtle methods to promote activities of its affiliates in some countries.

"But what we see here is a brazen effort and the public declaration that a voluntary unofficial event is being officially supported by your ministry, its mission in Malaysia and other organisations of the government of India," Yechury said and demanded the issue be discussed when the Committee meets next.

According to its website, the Overseas Friends of BJP, Malaysia is an outfit that works for "projecting a positive and correct image of India and its people in that country and foreign media, and correct any distortions in the media's reporting of current events taking place in India".
Two policemen including an inspector were today suspended and a case was filed against them following suicide by a youth who was allegedly tortured during police interrogation in connection with a theft case here.

Anshul Mishra (21) ended his life yesterday triggering protests from local residents.

According to the complaint filed by the family of the deceased, he was picked up for interrogation by the police a day after an incident of chain snatching on June 5.

He was allegedly kept in police custody for three days and subjected to "third degree torture". He was released from police custody three days later after the complainant of the theft case clearly denied his involvement in the chain snatching case, the complaint said.

Two days ago, however, Anshul was again called up by the police for questioning.

His family members said that after returning from police station he appeared highly disturbed and yesterday morning he reportedly consumed some poison and died shortly after.

As of the incident spread, a large group of protesters gathered outside his house in Ghanshyampuri and blocked the road till last night.

The protesters, however, decided to call off their agitation after senior police officials assured them that action will be taken against the guilty policemen and all efforts will be made to provide financial aid to the Anshul's family.

Senior Superintendent of Police Luv Kumar told reporters today that Inspector Kamal Singh Yadav and an another policeman has been suspended and an inquiry instituted into the incident, which would be conducted by the SP (City) Atul Srivastava.
Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Hilda Deleon and her fiance, Chief Petty Officer Julius Olguin

SHARE Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Bob Batterson (from left), Don Larson and Ken Matthews Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Judy Allen (from left), Preston Allen and Ron Allen Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Petty Officer 2nd Class Toan Tran (from left), Petty Officer 2nd Class Ethan McCullough, Petty Officer 3rd Class Ben King and Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicholas Duffy Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Petty Officer 1st Class Kamitria Ballard

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi hosted a ceremony commemorating the 74th anniversary of the Battle of Midway on June 3 aboard the Lexington Museum on the Bay.

The celebration, which included a wreath-laying at sea in honor of those who were killed in the battle and in World War II, featured a speech by Capt. Steve Banta, commanding officer of NAS CC. The Veterans Band of Corpus Christi performed during the cermony.

The Battle of Midway was fought June 3-7, 1942, near the island of Midway in the central Pacific Ocean. It is considered the turning point in the war in the Pacific, as the U.S. achieved its first major victory after the attack on Pearl Harbor and inflicted a decisive defeat on the Japanese fleet.
Alyssa Wilburn (center), an alumna of West Oso High School, received a scholarship from Junior League of Corpus Christi Inc. on June 2.

SHARE Ruth Cruz (center), an alumna of Miller High School, received a scholarship from Junior League of Corpus Christi Inc. on June 2.

Moore awarded Merit scholarship

National Merit Scholarship Corporation officials announced about 3,000 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution.

Matthew A. Moore, of Corpus Christi, an alumnus of the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Sciences in Denton, received the National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship. He is expected to pursue a career in applied mathematics.

These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. An additional group of scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2016 competition to approximately 4,000.

King alumnus makes dean's list

Austin College's dean's list was announced for the 2016 spring semester, and Felix Omoruyi, an alumnus of King High School, was included, officials said.

The dean's list recognizes the top 20 percent of students taking a minimum of three graded, full-credit courses. For the spring semester, the dean's list recognized 294 students, officials said.

2 local students earn scholarships

The Junior League of Corpus Christi Inc. awarded two high school seniors with a scholarship June 2, officials said.

Alyssa Wilburn, a student at West Oso High School, and Ruth Cruz, a student at Miller High School, each received a $2,500 scholarship. This scholarship program was created to assist high school students in pursuing their dreams of higher education and to create opportunities for future leaders, officials said. To be eligible for these scholarships, applicants must submit two letters of recommendations, go through an interview process and show commitment to community service.

The scholarships are sponsored by Mike Shaw Toyota. This is the second year JLCC has awarded scholarships to area students.

9 locals on dean's honor roll at Baylor

More than 3,400 Baylor University students were named to the dean's academic honor roll for the 2016 spring semester, officials said.

Kristen A Biggins, Hankamer School of Business; Cambrielle Diane Carver, Diana R. Garland School of Social Work; Ethan M. Elizondo, College of Arts and Sciences; Harrison Wayne Garrett, School of Engineering and Computer Science; Kayla Paige Garrett, School of Engineering and Computer Science; Christina Deborah Gray, College of Arts and Sciences; Kyle P. Hill, Hankamer School of Business; Elizabeth Cram Kirkland, Hankamer School of Business; and Christine Elise Orrick, Hankamer School of Business, all of Corpus Christi; were named to the list.

To be named to the dean's list, a student must be an undergraduate with a minimum grade-point average of 3.7, while enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours.

Corpus Christi's Olson earns BS

Karen Olson, of Corpus Christi, received a Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary studies, from James I. Perkins College of Education at Stephen F. Austin State University during May commencement exercises.

Area students on UMHB honor rolls

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced that 471 students were named to its spring 2016 provost's honor roll and 563 were named to its 2016 dean's honor roll.

Victoria Lin Culpepper, of Three Rivers, and Caroline Leanne Moore, of Odem, were named to the spring 2016 provost's honor roll at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and Elizabeth Diane Earley, of Portland, Rachel Trevino, of Kingsville, and Lauren Allison Turner, of Corpus Christi, were named to the spring 2016 dean's honor roll at the university.

To be named to the provost's honor roll, a student must achieve a 3.85 grade-point average or better on a 4.0 scale. To be named to the dean's honor roll, a student must achieve a 3.5-3.849 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.

Alice's Lemon gets $1,000 scholarship

Church's Chicken and Church's Partner Foundation announced the 2016 Church's Scholarship recipients, which include Charles Lemon, from Alice High School.

Lemon is among 225 high school seniors across 16 states who were selected to each receive $1,000 toward their college tuition, officials said.

Compiled by Natalia Contreras
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Calallen alumnus earns scholarship

Calallen High School alumnus Kale Emshoff, of Robstown, received a $1,500 scholarship from America's Farmers Grow Ag Leaders, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, officials said. Emshoff will attend Arizona State University in the fall to study agricultural science.

Grow Ag Leaders scholarships, administered by the National FFA Organization, are available to high school seniors and college students pursuing degrees in ag-related fields. To be considered, each applicant is required to receive endorsements from at least three local farmers. Both FFA members and non-FFA members are eligible to apply. With support from the Monsanto Fund, more than $1.1 million in scholarships has been awarded to students since Grow Ag Leaders piloted in 2014.

Compiled by Natalia Contreras
Some Texas counties show drop-off in first-day early voting numbers

Texas could be reverting to the normal low-turnout status for midterm elections this cycle after the high-excitement election of 2018.
CALLER-TIMES FILE Sara Merdes-Judd

SHARE CALLER-TIMES FILE Sara Merdes-Judd CALLER-TIMES FILE Sara Merdes-Judd

By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times

Sara Merdes Judd was a conduit of people.

Danny Kollaja, known to many as Lanky the Clown, met Merdes Judd at Sam's Club years ago when she was working as a food demonstrator. He said she always considered it "divine intervention."

Read and write tributes to Sara Merdes Judd.

That chance meeting led to seven consecutive years of Kollaja traveling with Merdes Judd to serve as a clown at Clinica Corpus Christi in Patzun, Guatemala.

At age 69, Merdes Judd opened the hospital, which also functioned as an orphanage and nutritional center, in 1991. She had been traveling to the country for almost a decade working for donations of money and equipment so it could open.

"We would go to villages delivering medical care. It was a big celebration the day the doctors were there," Kollaja said. "I went seven years in a row with the medical missionaries, doctors and other people. Something about her got people to go and do things. She really wanted to connect people to make things happen."

The woman who was described as a "connector" died June 7. She was 94. A mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Patrick Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Seaside Memorial Park.

Merdes Judd's journeys to Patzun started in 1984 to see the missionary work of a Franciscan priest, according to a 2009 Caller-Times article. At the time, the country was deep in a civil war between the army and guerrilla fighters.

"She believed what she was doing there was a mission from God," Dr. Haysam Dawod, a local dentist, said. "When she talked about her mission to help children, she spoke with passion. She was not someone just trying to be nice."

Dawod met Merdes Judd at a Corpus Christi rotary club meeting in the mid-1990s. He would end up traveling with her to Patzun several times in the following two decades to perform dentistry services at the clinic.

"People in Guatemala looked up to her like she was the Mother Teresa of Patzun," Dalwod said. "She didn't just talk about the children. She lived and breathed ways to help the children."

The clinic, which used outdated but necessary medical equipment, was in operation until a few years ago when Merdes Judd dissolved its nonprofit organization status, said Alba Taft, friend and frequent partner in the clinic. The facility is still used by medical missionaries.

"We were blessed the day we met Sara," Taft said. "My heart is so overwhelmed by her kindness and love for the people."

Merdes Judd's work was special to Taft, who is a native of Guatemala. She said Merdes Judd was a truly amazing woman.

"She touched so many lives. She loved people, and she loved her faith," Taft said. "She's going to be missed. I loved her dearly."

In 2009, Merdes Judd looked back on her life and had one hope.

"Whenever I go over (my life)," Merdes Judd said. "I guess I just have all this love. I hope I shared it. I hope I was pleasing to God."

Twitter: @Caller_Jules

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story misspelled Dr. Haysam Dawod's name.
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If a casual observer didn't know better, he or she might have thought that the topic of a Texas House committee hearing this week in Austin was how technology is changing our lives, or how inconsistent municipal regulation across the state will stifle technological advancement and free enterprise unless the Legislature steps in to prevent it.

"I think we first need to recognize the obvious," said Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville, chairman of the House Committee on Business and Industry, at the start of Wednesday's hearing. "Technology is changing our lives."

Indeed it is. But the obvious thing that needed to be recognized was that the hearing really was just about one thing and one thing only  fingerprint background checks.

Two leaders in the ride-for-hire service industry, Uber and Lyft, don't want their driver applicants to undergo fingerprint background checks. They are so resistant to fingerprinting that, as a matter of policy, they cease operations in cities that require it  Houston being this state's notable exception.

And they are so powerful (except when it comes to Houston) that they can wheedle an audience with a House committee in an even-numbered year when the Legislature doesn't meet.

Usually when deep-pocketed corporate special interests and lawmakers go about scratching each others' backs, they like to find other labels or themes to direct the public's attention elsewhere. Hence, the branding of a consistent, uncomplicated single issue  fingerprinting  as a confusing patchwork of inconsistent regulation from one city to the next. Hence, also, the curious assertion that making all competitors follow the same rule, fingerprinting, is anti-competitive. It's enough of a non-head-scratcher to make one's head spin. State lawmakers, meanwhile, like to brand themselves as protectors of freedom and free enterprise against nefarious Obama-style over-regulation, and Uber and Lyft are only too happy to help.

How to usurp local authority and make constituents love it is a potential public relations challenge for the members of the Legislature who have expressed an interest in doing so. But there's a way around that, thanks to Austin. Voters there decided recently to keep their city's fingerprint ordinance, which may sound like democracy in action, probably because it is. But because it happened in Austin, the liberal city that the state's elected conservatives love to hate almost as much as they love living there, it's being spun as a liberal attack on free enterprise.

Uber and Lyft's pitch fell apart when Oliveira, to his credit, asked for evidence to back up their claims that their drivers are less of a threat to riders' safety than regular cabbies. Uber and Lyft's mouthpieces didn't have that information. And committee members, to their credit, weren't happy about it.

If the Legislature wants to encourage free enterprise, it can do so by not acting on this issue. The market will take care of itself. Other ride-for-hire companies have flocked to Austin to fill the vacuum left by Uber and Lyft. A representative of one of them, getme, said he is opposed to a state ban on fingerprinting.

The getme official was accompanied to the hearing by former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin. That alone should settle this issue in favor of cities' right to require fingerprinting. Irvin's three Super Bowl rings are as irrelevant as were most of Uber and Lyft's talking points, but they weigh more.

(Our thanks to the Texas Tribune for its report on the committee hearing.)

Corpus Christi Caller-Times
| BY Lynchy |

Australian production company Goodoil has beaten the worlds best to take out Production Company of the Year at the 95th International ADC Awards, held in New York.

Goodoil won two rare Gold Cubes on the night, both for Direction: one for Honda CR-V Wild Horse Chase, directed by Hamish Rothwell, the other for Honda HR-V Dream Run, directed by Nathan Price, both via Leo Burnett, Melbourne. The latter spot also won Silcwer for Special Effects and Bronze for Typography.

Leo Burnett Worldwide was named Network of the Year for the third consecutive year. Leo Burnett Madrids client the Spanish Lottery won the Client of the Year title.

Im incredibly proud of our networks achievement, winning Network of the Year for the third consecutive year. This further proves that Leo Burnett is at the forefront of bold, transformational creativity that helps our clients stand out and drive real business change, said Mark Tutssel, Leo Burnett Worldwides global chief creative officer and creative chairman of Publicis Communications. Tutssel also served as ADCs Advertising Jury Chair this year. ADC has a standard it upholds, and does not lower it for anyone. An ADC award is rare for a reason.

The Spanish Lotterys Christmas campaign, Justino, took home two Gold and two Silver ADC cubes. This is the second straight year a Leo Burnett client has been crowned this highly coveted title following Procter & Gambles win in 2015.

The network collectively took home five Gold, 13 Silver and eight Bronze awards. Thirteen Leo Burnett Worldwide offices contributed to the creative performance, including Bangkok, Beirut, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Frankfurt, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Oslo, Paris, Sao Paulo, Sydney, and Toronto.
While the new place of worship has solved spacing issues, which during peak periods forced some worshippers out of the room at the old site, Mr Syed said it was not a long-term solution.
"We also have to refrain from sex. You have to be more diligent in prayer and help out people in need. There's a restraint on sin and an increased focus on good deeds."
Such repayment would apply only to the grant money provided by the government and would not come from the membership fees charged by some of the councils.
Planning Minister Mick Gentleman used his call-in powers to approve the Williamsdale project in January, with dozens of trees having been felled since mid-May. The minister's notice of decision referred to the expected removal of 156 trees in and around the solar array footprint, mostly yellow box.
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.
The latest crash test session conducted by Latin NCAP continues to raise concerns on cars made specifically for emerging markets, after the Peugeot 208 and Kia Picanto obtained disappointing results.



Originally tested in 2014, when it was awarded a 3-star safety rating, the Peugeot 208, manufactured in Brazil, has lost a star after the side impact tests, for adult protection, added by Latin NCAP. In comparison to its European version, the French supermini lacks side airbags and structural reinforcements, which lead to high penetration, dragging it into a weak side impact protection for head and chest.

Latin NCAP is disappointed with Peugeots strategy of selling a car made locally without basic side protection mandatory since 1995 in Europe. The Peugeot 208 is considered a high level and successful car in Europe and one of the latest platforms of the manufacturer. Shame on Peugeot, said Latin NCAP President, Maria Fernanda Rodriguez.

The organizations Secretary General, Alejandro Furas, demands UN regulations to be adopted by governments if they really care about the problem on safe cars in Latin America and the Caribbean region, after Kias Picanto failed to obtain any stars in the adult occupant protection, with its structure being rated as stable in the frontal crash tests.

Despite not testing it in the side impact due to its disastrous results in the frontal tests, Latin NCAP points out that it offers basic side impact structural and interior protection, unlike the more expensive 208. The lack of 3-point seatbelts and wrong instructions manual indications for CRS installation have led to a low score (one star) for child occupant protection.

Poor results obtained by the Kia Picanto and Peugeot 208 follow a series of Indian-made cars, including the Renault Kwid, which failed to obtain any stars for adult occupant protection during the Global NCAPs crash test session, performed last month.

PHOTO GALLERY

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A media company biting the dust over poor business practices is one thing; going bankrupt because of a pissed off Silicon Valley venture capitalist acting out of revenge is entirely different and it should deeply alarm all of us.



I can understand why people object or are frustrated over gossip-reports that invade someones privacy, be that Hulk Hogans sex tape or the outing of venture capitalist Peter Thiel and we all know that there have been plenty of those on Gawker. However, in no way does this justify the actions of a displeased billionaire, especially when they raise serious questions about free speech and the First Amendment.

Should Gawker and its authors and editors be criticized and even reprimanded in the event that they broke any laws? Absolutely, but thats a long way from working behind the scenes to bring down an entire media outlet out of spite.

Silicon Valleys Peter Thiel used his vast wealth to secretly fund and take advantage of the legal system for years through what The Guardian rightly describes as puppet claimants to turn thumbscrews on reporters and media companies  doing so repeatedly, backing suit after suit: that is something which should terrify us all. Not just fans of Gawker. Not just journalists. All of us.

As irritating and of poor taste as some articles from Gawker can be, the Paypal co-founder stooped to an even lower level, unethically backing an undisclosed number of cases against Gawker, and in the end, manipulated the legal system to have Hulk Hogans lawsuit heard in a Florida courthouse where the jury would be more likely to go against the website, after the case was thrown out by a federal court. Thiels involvement also meant that Hogan, who otherwise would have made a settlement on the $140 million verdict, had no incentive to back down, forcing the media outlet into bankruptcy.

Id recommend you head over to The Guardian and read the entire article from Nicky Woolf who makes some very valid points, particularly in terms of how this can affect journalism in general:

Journalism must work to earn back that trust; but in the meantime, Thiels revenge, executed with chilling precision like a comic-book villain in an ominous lair, should distress anyone with any interest in free speech. Because while it is Gawker today, it could be the New York Times, or the Guardian, or Breitbart, or the Daily Mail  or any of us  tomorrow. If the oligarchs of Silicon Valley feel empowered to sink outlets that they disagree with, our robot overlords will be here sooner than we think.

I couldnt agree more. Even if you dislike Gawker.com, which is only one of many sites that belong to the Gawker Media LLC group, its better to have the option to click past a distasteful story or even a website than to have websites and journalists working under the fear of repercussions from a rich individual or company. As Evelyn Beatrice Hall famously wrote, I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

While many people tend to focus on untasteful articles, the various sites under Gawker Medias umbrella have also produced great content over the years (Wired has a Top 10 here), breaking stories like: the 2010 uncovering of the Apple iPhone 4 from Gizmodo, Jalopniks spot-on 2014 Corvette C7 in 2011, Gawker TKTKs exposure of Buzzfeeds Advertiser-Friendly approach and more recently, Gizmodos story on how Facebook routinely suppressed conservative news.

So its not all black and white folks and if anything, one of the greatest things that Gawker Media brought to the internet table is the notion that journalists, bloggers and news websites in general, dont and shouldnt have to play by some set rules to be successful and stand out from the crowd. As Politicos Tom McGeveran writes:

By getting under the skin of its competitors, Gawker forced other publications to ask themselves what rules they were playing by and why. After all, many of those stories we lost, we lost precisely because our standards were being manipulated by powerful people to shut down any possible criticism or exposure. In the process, Gawker showed many publications what its like to have some guts, what its like to be unafraid to stand up to power, and what a story in the 21st century looks like.

Is this sense of journalistic independence something you want to see taken away from the web? I certainly wouldnt.

When a billionaire finances an unrelated libel suit for sport as easily as placing a bet on a horse, we all lose. https://t.co/tLUmqLPuZL Nick Denton (@nicknotned) June 10, 2016

Gawkers bankruptcy is how a free press dies, one VC at a time https://t.co/BdWG7aq0hf WIRED (@WIRED) June 11, 2016

No, Peter Thiel, Gawker is not a singularly terrible bully. You are: https://t.co/ocqkYqc9Lv pic.twitter.com/jFIWrbdCzY Slate (@Slate) June 11, 2016
Photo: Contributed

The National Research Council of Canada is holding an open house day at its Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in the Penticton area on Saturday.

This will be a unique opportunity for the community to come around and see what goes on at the location.

There will be display demonstration tents, including an astronomy for kids tent, and astronomy experts, available to speak.

The site also hosts the CHIME telescope (Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment), a partnership between the University of British Columbia, McGill University, the University of Toronto and the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory.

The open house is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the observatory at 717 White Lake Road.
Photo: Getty images

Even Kelowna RCMP had a laugh over one alleged criminal found napping behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle early Friday morning.

Police sent out a press release entitled: "Shhh...the car thief is sleeping."

Officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in front of a property in the 500 block of Keithley Road just after 4 a.m.

"When officers attended, they found a man fast asleep inside the red Saturn which they confirmed had been allegedly stolen out of Lake Country on June 6," said RCMP spokesman Const. Jesse O'Donaghey.

The man was woken up and then "arrested, identified and found to be wanted on two unrelated warrants for his arrest."

The 25-year old Kelowna man spent the rest of his night sleeping in cells.

The suspect is expected to appear in court Friday, facing a potential charge of possession of property obtained by crime.
Schools from across the Central Okanagan bused students to the festival, to enjoy face painting, bouncy castles, science projects, crafts and dancing.

More than 1,500 kids were registered for the event from schools alone, in addition to the rest of the public who can attend.

Dorothee Birker, the festivals artistic director, expects more than 10,000 people at the festival over the two days.

Fridays school day is quite different than Saturdays event, according to Birker.

Its a different learning experience for kids if they come with their peer group or if they come with their families, she said. With their peer groups, they really have an opportunity to be really exposed to something new and different, and so this is a great venue for that.

Organizers were setting up the grounds in the pouring rain Friday morning, but it lightened into a drizzle by 10:30 a.m. By early afternoon, the rain poured down again.

We are keeping our spirits up, absolutely, Birker said. The thing is, kids are OK, they wont melt in this weather  its actually a good temperature for them to be able to run around and enjoy the experiences  and then tomorrow I think the forecast is looking better.

The festival continues Saturday, starting off with a parade at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m.

Admission to the event is $5 per person or $15 for a family of four.
Photo: Flickr/BC gov't

By Steve Thomson

As a member of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, I was proud to co-sponsor the release of the Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy: A 10-year Review and Renewed Call to Action.

Recent wildfire seasons in British Columbia and the devastating situation in Fort McMurray have shown all of us that no province can go it alone when fighting wildfires.

We need a cohesive, national strategy to ensure we are all better prepared.

The original Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy was released in 2005 with three goals: resilient communities and an empowered public; healthy and productive forest ecosystems; and state-of-the-art wildfire preparedness and response capability.

These goals remain true today.

While great progress has been made over the last 10 years, more needs to be done.

The Renewed Call to Action identifies priorities and next steps.

Although the strategy was endorsed by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, wildfire is not only a forestry issue. How we prevent wildfires and respond to wildfires is a significant public-safety, public-health, First Nation, community and climate-change issue.

Better collaboration is needed between federal agencies and between provinces, territories and the federal government. In addition to enhanced collaboration, the strategy calls for increased investment in innovation, enhancing prevention and mitigation, enhancing the commitment to FireSmart and increasing preparedness capacity.

Just this past year, in British Columbia we have taken steps to enhance prevention.

Funding to the Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative was increased by $10 million, bringing government's total investment since 2004 to $78 million.

Under the program, 290 community wildfire protection plans have been completed by local governments and First Nations. As of March 31, 2016, almost 80,000 hectares of land in and around communities that face a significant wildfire risk have been treated.

Also, government announced the creation of the new Forest Enhancement Society, which will be supported by $85 million, to focus on wildfire risk reduction in areas outside local-government jurisdiction.

On April 1, 2016, increased ticket fines for 26 different violations under the Wildfire Act and wildfire regulation came into effect. For example, the fine for failing to comply with a fire restriction tripled  from $345 to $1,150.

We believe we are prepared for the 2016 wildfire season with 1,560 firefighters and support staff and over 2,500 contractors we can call on. We also have access to 33 fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, 79 ground-attack vehicles and additional short-term contract equipment.

Wildfire prevention is everyone's responsibility  from homeowners living in rural areas, to local governments and provincial and federal governments.

Across the country, each province, territory and federal agency needs to do a better job of collaborating. All levels of governments need to make the necessary investments so together we can face the challenges ahead.

Steve Thomson is B.C.'s minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and MLA for Kelowna-Mission.
Photo: American Standard

If someone tries to sell you a porcelain throne at a cheap price, beware.

It could be stolen.



RCMP in Lake Country are on the lookout for a thief who stole toilets from a home under construction sometime overnight Wednesday.



Late Thursday morning, police were alerted to a break in at the home, on the 13000 block of Lake Hill Road.



Police say there were no signs of forced entry, leaving investigators to believe the home was not properly secured, or a key was used to gain entry.



Once inside, the suspect carried out two American Standard toilets, one of which had already been installed.



"RCMP would once again like to remind Lake Country residents to be vigilant and report suspicious activity in and around homes under construction to police," said Const. Jesse ODonaghey.

"RCMP would also like to remind contractors to ensure these properties are properly secured and that spare keys are not left on site unless they are properly secured as well."

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Lake Country RCMP at 250-766-2288, CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477, online at www.crimestoppers.net or by texting CRIMES (274637) ktown.
Photo: Wayne Moore - Castanet File Photo

This will be a first for a Kelowna mayor, a Twitter town hall.

Mayor Colin Basran will take to social media to connect with his tech-savvy constituents.

Basran will take to the city's Twitter channel Thursday for the first ever Twitter open house.

The event will take place next Thursday between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Connect with @cityofkelowna and follow the #ImagineKelowna hashtag.

The town hall is part of the city's Imagine Kelowna initiative, a city-wide conversation designed to create a long-term vision for the community, by the community.

This is an exciting time to imagine Kelownas future, said Basran.

The Twitter town hall is one way the community can come together at the same place and time and take part in a compelling conversation to share their vision with me on the future of our city.

During the town hall, Basran will ask a series of questions to the community and share his thoughts as well.

Participants will also have the chance to share the opportunities and challenges which lie ahead.

Those who are unable to take part can join the discussion at one of many events throughout the summer.

Ideas can also be submitted on the online 'Idea Wall.'
Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

A 39-year-old Peachland man is facing a number of charges after his arrest in Summerland, Thursday.

It all started after Sahand Sobhani failed to show up for a weekend jail sentence in Penticton on May 20.

RCMP requested an arrest warrant, and the Penticton Targeted Enforcement Unit spent the better part of the day on Thursday following up leads in an attempt to locate him.

The search ended up at a residence in Summerland where Sobhani managed to flee as police arrived. He was swiftly apprehended a short distance away while trying to leave in a taxi.

Police seized a 9 mm handgun that had recently been reported stolen in a break and enter.



"A strong team effort resulted in the safe apprehension of this individual," said Cpl. Scott Van Every of the Penticton Target Enforcement Unit.

Sobhani now faces new firearms charges. He has been remanded into custody until June 22 for a next court appearance.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Electronic cigarettes will be treated the same as tobacco products beginning Sept. 1 in B.C.

The provincial government has introduced amendments to the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act, which will treat e-cigarettes the same as tobacco, with the same restrictions and bans.

In a news release introducing the amendments Friday, the government says use of electronic-cigarettes is highest among young people. One-in-five youth in Canada have tried them.

"The act, as amended, requires retailers to ensure e-cigarettes are sold only to adults aged 19 and above, and to ensure no retail displays are targeted to youth," the release states.

"As well, there should be no retail advertising for e-cigarettes shown where youth can see it. In addition, an exception on the indoor use restriction was made so that a small number of customers in adult-only stores could learn how to use vapour products, or to test products they wish to buy."

The new act also states e-cigarettes can't be sold in public buildings and are not permitted to be used on public and private school grounds, in indoor public spaces and workplaces.

Tobacco and e-cigarettes are also not permitted on health authority property, however, special smoking and vaping areas can be designated at their discretion.
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Construction of a fish barrier and a bridge will prompt the Custer Gallatin National Forest to close a section of the lower loop of the Shields River Road No. 844 and the Shields River Campground from June 16 through July 29.

The Crandall Creek cabin will remain open throughout construction and can be accessed via the south (upper) loop of the Shields River Road. This route requires a high clearance vehicle due to the ford at Dugout Creek. Cabin visitors should be aware that construction noise may occur from dawn until dusk each day.

The purpose of the fish barrier is to secure 27 miles of connected Yellowstone cutthroat trout habitat in the upper Shields River drainage as a stronghold from competition and hybridization with nonnative fish. Cutthroat are designated as a sensitive species and Montana species of special concern due to substantial reductions in distribution and abundance within its historic range.

The Shields River basin in the Crazy Mountains is a stronghold for Yellowstone cutthroat trout and is strategically important for YCT conservation range-wide as it includes high elevation habitat at the northern extent of the species range, both of which provide resistance to climate change.

Nonnative brook trout have invaded a number of streams, including the headwaters in the northeast portion of the watershed. Fish population monitoring shows that once established, brook trout rapidly displace Yellowstone cutthroat trout.

For more information or to find an alternative campsite, call the Livingston Ranger District at 406-222-1892 or online at www.fs.usda.gov/custergallatin.
NorthWestern Energy is asking Montana to pull the plug on solar projects, at least until the utility can get better terms from the state on ones it legally cant refuse.

The utility, which provides electricity to half of Montana, told Montanas Public Service Commission on June 9 that the mandated price it must pay to small commercial solar projects of 3 megawatts or less is too high and hurting consumers. The projects, known as qualifying facilities, or QFs have been popping up like dandelions because Montanas guaranteed rate is too generous, according to the utility.

For each 3 megawatt project, the differential between the QF rate and the rate we propose is about $5 million per solar contract, said John Alke, NorthWestern Attorney. The contracts run 25 years.

The utility wants the current rate cut in half and the contracts shortened, but until that happens, it wants out of its decades old obligation for accept solar QFs.

The Montana Consumer Council, which represents ratepayers in regulated utility cases, sided with NorthWestern, arguing the price promised to solar farms was more than utility customers should pay.

At issue is a 48-year-old federal law promoting alternative energy projects. The Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act, or PURPA, requires utilities to buy power from QFs, under price and contract terms set by state governments. Montanas rate is $66 per megawatt hour, coincidently similar to the price NorthWestern gets for its own hydroelectric power.

The solar projects are small, each capable of powering about 540 homes at most, but there have been several proposed, more than 80 on the current docket, NorthWestern said, with many more casual inquiries, according to testimony.

However Jenny Harbine, of Vote Solar, told the PSC there really wasnt a crush of solar projects as the utility suggested. Few of the applications would actually become solar farms.

NorthWestern offers no support for its apparent belief that all or most of the current interconnection request will make it through the end of the process, Harbine said.

Most wont.

Suspending PURPA for NorthWestern both violates the mandate and harms solar companies invested in Montana projects, Harbine said. The projects arent cheap.

North Carolina-based FLS Energy told the PSC it would spend roughly $100 million developing its 14 Montana projects during the next 18 months.

The PSC is likely to establish a new price and contract terms for solar in the next six months, Harbine said, during which time it should have to use the current rate.

But NorthWestern isnt just shutting down solar projects, Alke said. The company has nine solar farms under contract now, mostly with Cypress Creek Renewables, of California. It also has agreed to terms with FLS Energy, for its projects not yet under contract. The locations for the solar farms, each roughly 40 acres in size, are scattered across Montana from Hardin to Missoula.

A third company, Pacific Northwest Solar, of Oregon, has 21 projects to which NorthWestern will accept, Alke said. Combined, the 44 solar projects account for 135 megawatts, more energy than offered by the original phase of Judith Gap Wind Farm.

The Public Service Commission will meet Thursday to decide whether to block the PURPA requirement. If it doesnt, NorthWestern will have to keep adding solar projects.
Mary Florence Lawrence died on June 10, 2016, at age 93 in her home with family and caretakers present.

Lovingly known as "Mammy," she was a mother to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She remained a widow for nearly 40 years after the death of her husband, Mize Lawrence, who had returned to her as a paraplegic from his service as a pilot the Korean War. Those years of widowhood were mostly filled with the activities of caring for and sharing in the raising of her grandchildren, Sarah and Andrew, and great-granddaughters, Abby and Lucy, all of whom lived in her home with her from time to time.

Mammy's home was a place of refuge and comfort, a gathering place for holiday events and celebrations. She was rarely alone in her home. There always seemed to be someone with her, either stopping by to visit or residing there. Mammy was devoted to her family and friends, and her warmth of spirit, kindness and good humor caused that devotion to be reciprocated. Mammy had strong opinions about her government and faithfully exercised her voting power in every election, local or national.

She graduated from Chattanooga Central High School in 1941 and attended the former Edmundson Business College. She spent the early years of her marriage moving with her husband between various military posts during the Second World War and settled in Chattanooga to await her husband's return from Korea.

She had been a faithful member of Brainerd Baptist Church for almost 65 years, serving the church in many different volunteer capacities. She was a member of the Kiwanis Auxiliary and the Gold Star Wives of America, honoring those whose husbands died from service-connected disabilities.

She was preceded in death by her dear husband, Mize, her father, Fredrick Price, her mother, Ola Elizabeth Williams Price; grandson, Andrew Lawrence; sister, Louise Marlow; sister, Martha Price; and brother, Howard Price.

She is survived by daughter, Janice Hawk (Jerry); son, Phillip Lawrence (Jennifer); son, Mark Lawrence (Kay); grandsons, David Lawrence and Alex Lawrence; granddaughter, Sarah Jason; granddaughters, Jenny McDermott and Julie Raglan; and ten great-grandchildren. She is also survived by sister, Flora Schultz; brother, Leonard Price, and a multitude of nieces and nephews.

The family gratefully acknowledges the conscientious help of her care givers and of Hospice during the last months of her life.

Services will be held on Wednesday, June 15, at 1:30 p.m. at Brainerd Baptist Church with Reverend Barry Wilks officiating. Burial will follow at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

Visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share words of comfort to the family and view the memorial tribute.

The family will receive friends on Tuesday, June 14, from 4-7 p.m. at Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 E. Brainerd Road.
Skittles, a candy brand made by Chicago-based Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., a subsidiary of candy giant Mars, will soon be produced in Yorkville. Wrigley's Yorkville plant, which alredy produced gum and mints, has been expanded to add the new candy line. (Mark Lennihan / AP)

Production of Skittles, the colorful fruit-flavored treat, will expand to Yorkville starting next week thanks to a $50 million plant expansion sweetened by state and local incentives.

Skittles are made by Chicago-based gum- and candy-maker Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., a subsidiary of Mars, which also produces chocolate brands like M&Ms, Twix and Dove. Skittles were previously only made in Waco, Texas, alongside Starburst and Snickers. Skittles will continue to be made in Texas, but the new production line in Yorkville, located 50 miles southwest of Chicago, will help the brand keep up with demand.

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The Yorkville plant's revamp, which included the addition of 145,000 square feet of space, was two years in the making. It was the result of the brand's significant growth, Wrigley said. Skittles has been the top-selling nonchocolate candy in the U.S. in the last year, according to company and Nielsen figures. Wrigley declined to give sales data.

There are 75 new workers at the facility as a result of the Skittles line addition, adding to the 300 employees that already made gum and mint brands like Juicy Fruit, Doublemint and Life Savers.

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"Mars has a long-standing history of making our products in the markets where they're sold," Wrigley Americas President Casey Keller said in a statement. "With the expansion of our Skittles production footprint, we are proud to continue that tradition right here in the state that Wrigley has called home for more than 125 years."

Wrigley received just over $3 million in state and local agency incentives for the project, most of that coming from the state.

sbomkamp@tribpub.com

Twitter @SamWillTravel
If Chicago weather were a book, it'd be "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

The nearly 30-degree drop in temperature from Saturday's mid-90s to Sunday's mid-60s, however, didn't deter attendance and programming at the 32nd annual Printers Row Lit Fest, which saw full crowds estimated at 125,000 pass through the Tribune-produced literary festival held in the Printers Row neighborhood.

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Headliners included the likes of Marilynne Robinson, R.L. Stine, Ethan Hawke, Terry McMillan and Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Here are some highlights from the weekend.

Buzz Aldrin pokes fun at himself and his lunar legacy



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For a man who has flown fighter jets during the Korean War and walked on the face of the moon, Buzz Aldrin loves to crack a joke.

Coming out to a standing ovation at a sold-out Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, the Apollo 11 astronaut wasted no time in displaying patriotic socks and making light of his accomplishments.

"It turns out that is such a symbolic picture," Aldrin said of the famous moon-walk photo of him taken by Neil Armstrong. "They once gathered a few people together to say a few words about why this is such an iconic picture. I said three words: 'location, location, location.' Where else could you take a picture?"

Armstrong, of course, is remembered for being the first man to walk on the moon. Aldrin joked, however, that was for one reason only.

"He was the commander and that was symbolic -- or it could've been that he was closer to the hatch!" Aldrin said. "We went down on the surface to gather some lunar dust and rocks. You can't carry those as you go up the ladder, so we used this real modern device called a clothesline."

The video screen behind the 86-year-old Aldrin displayed photos throughout his life, including a family portrait taken during his early childhood. He earned the nickname "Buzz" from an older sister who pronounced "brother" as "buzzer." The name stuck, and he has since legally changed him name to "Buzz Aldrin," said moderator Christina Korp.

Another photo displayed what Aldrin called "The first space selfie."

"Now everyone walks around and wants to take a selfie with me. I wish I'd never done it!" Aldrin joked. (Aldrin later took a selfie with the audience at the end of the event.)

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Not everything was a joke, however. Aldrin shed light on aspects of astronaut training, detailing a space simulation method that includes being submerged underwater with a pressurized suit counterbalanced with weights.

Aldrin, who showed a photo of himself at Stonehenge wearing a shirt that says, "Get your ass to Mars," also discussed some of the famous elbows he's bumped, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.

So what does Hawking think about all day? "'Women,'" Aldrin repeated. "'I don't understand them.'"

 Jeremy Mikula

Natalie Moore and Ethan Michaeli discuss the Sides of Chicago



Natalie Moore, author of "The South Side," and Ethan Michaeli, author of "The Defender," dove into matters of segregation and inequality in Chicago. The Sunday discussion was moderated by Tribune reporter Lolly Bowean.

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Moore said the thesis of her book grew out of reporting for WBEZ-FM on housing and other issues in South Side neighborhoods. "Until we address these inequities, we were never going to be a world-class city," she said, adding that segregation in Chicago is "like air and water. It just is. ... I wanted to interrogate that."

Moore and Michaeli reflected on black history as well as the role of the Chicago-based Defender in connecting African-American communities across the country. At its height in the mid-1920s, Michaeli said, 300,000 people subscribed to the newspaper  but readership was at least three or four times higher. Pullman porters (Moore's grandfather was one) gathered newspapers across the country, which served as a de facto wire service for The Defender in its early days; the porters also distributed the newspaper and sold subscriptions everywhere they traveled.

"Some of the most avid readers of The Defender were white politicians who depended on the African-American vote," Michaeli said.

The wide-ranging conversation spanned from the Great Migration to the construction of longstanding, vibrant middle-class black neighborhoods and on to today's continuing struggles with segregation. Moore pointed to scholarship that suggests reforms; the problem, she said, isn't that there aren't ideas for improvement, but that the political will isn't there. "There isn't one silver bullet," Moore said, "but lots of things could be done ... to promote fair housing and better schools."

 Jennifer Day

Sebastian Junger on the dis-United States of America



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The United States in 2016 can be called many things, but to Sebastian Junger, the best analogy to describe the country is of children watching a divorce.

"It really feels like kids hearing their parents arguing. 'Are they really going to get a divorce?'" said Junger, author of the recently released "Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging." "If 'we the people,' and what a wonderful phrase that is, want to save our country we need to speak with dignity and respect to each other."

"Tribe" is an exploration into what tribal societies can teach us and looks at how events such as natural disasters and national attacks can serve as unifying moments.

"People act better in catastrophes," Junger said. "It breaks down social classes. It really brings out the best in people."

Current society, however, can lack such moments in day-to-day life, Junger said.

"The real loss of contemporary affluent society is that you don't get the feeling your people need you," he said.

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One such modern example of tribalism that does exist is street gangs, a phenomenon that disproportionately attracts young men, a demographic both vulnerable and volatile, Junger said.

"Gangs provide everything that humans form groups for," he said. "If society doesn't provide good and healthy groups, especially for young men, they will form bad groups The tragedy of high crime neighborhoods is everyone wants to belong to their (immediate) community, but a lot of those young men don't see themselves as belonging to the wider community that is the country."

And unifying the country is something that lacks in a divisive political arena, Junger said.

"The thing about our survival adaptations as a species is they all can be used for good or ill," he said of political wings that use tribalism to rally their respective bases. "If we're going to talk about that kind of fiercely affiliated community, we have to acknowledge that we're all part of a nation, this one unity. You can't do that with only one subset of the country."

 Jeremy Mikula

Jeremy McCarter chronicles hit musical in "Hamilton: The Revolution"



Cultural critic Jeremy McCarter, co-author of "Hamilton: The Revolution," spoke to a crowded auditorium full of "Hamilton" fans at the Printers Row Lit Fest on Saturday, talking about the genesis of the hit Broadway musical and the unusual book it inspired.



McCarter co-wrote the book with Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and current star of "Hamilton," the musical, which will come to Chicago in September. The book is part cast album, part behind-the-scenes story, and part chronicle of a musical that has become an unexpected cultural phenomenon.



"'Hamilton' is, in my experience of being around it these past few years, the rare stage work that is bringing an extraordinary number and range of people together," McCarter said.



He describes an appeal that spans political parties, races and ages. But the essence of the attraction, he says, is that "'Hamilton' is making people feel, sometimes for first time, that they have a stake in the origins of this country, that the story of America can be their story too."



How a Broadway musical did that, and what that means for America, is the story that McCarter relates in his new book. He compares the musical's reception to the widespread enthusiasm greeting the Michael Jackson album "Thriller," one of the most popular albums ever made. But, he said, "Hamilton" is more than just a collection of pop songs in musical form.



"This is a rigorous examination of the founding of the United States," he said. "The Founders worked miracles: They defeated the British, they founded a government that is unlike any government that has ever existed. But these were not perfect men. They didn't end slavery, they allowed it to thrive."



To demonstrate the musical's power, McCarter described a compelling moment early in the show's run, when President Barack Obama attended a performance at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York.



"To see President Obama walk on stage after our performance of the show, to see him stand about 6 feet from Chris Jackson who plays George Washington, and had just sung the words to Washington's farewell address, then to hear President Obama look back on incidents of his own administration, was to see the past and present start to shimmer next to each other, and the distance between them collapse."



The progress of "Hamilton" has been filled with moments like these, to the extent that "It's hard to write about this stuff without sounding like you're high," McCarter said. He has included all of them in his new book, which chronicles how a musical became a true cultural revolution.



 Louise Burton

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Ethan Hawke and Greg Ruth discuss their graphic novel "Indeh" with Michael Phillips

As a 7-year-old, Ethan Hawke thought his "Star Trek" action figures seemed like the best part of going on car trips to New Mexico and Arizona with his father. But it was those treks into Apache territory that proved the germination of "Indeh."

"There's something about  and this probably isn't the right word  the guilt and shame people feel about the First Nation peoples that prevents us from really learning about them," Hawke said of "Indeh."

Co-written with illustrator Greg Ruth, "Indeh" is a graphic novel about the Apache Wars, with a special look at the lives of leaders Cochise and Geronimo.

The decision to go with a graphic novel came after 15 years' worth of failed screenplays, Hawke said.

"It's a beautiful experience for me, learning about economy," he said of the pacing of comics. "It's not about the words, it's about the relationship words have to pictures.  The graphic novel can speak to your imagination much more than a movie can because it doesn't tell you how something sounds or looks."

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For Ruth, whose artwork for "Conan: Born on the Battlefield" Hawke cited as an inspiration for rewrtiting the screenplay as a graphic novel, the medium uses the best part of storytelling: words and visuals.

"The medium is worthy and needs to be honored for itself as a very unique blending of two forms of storytelling," Ruth said.

Although the black-and-white graphic novel features frank depictions of war, the focus is not on battle but on the consequences of violence, Ruth said.

"One of the things we wanted to show is how violence changes you," he said. "The brutalizing teaches you to become brutal; the parent of violence is violence."

And there is another lesson to be learned, too, Hawke said.

"These stories need to be told and need to be told to our young people so they know the land they're walking on," he said.

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 Jeremy Mikula

Marcia Clark, author of Blood Defense, in conversation with David Heinzmann

Attorney and author Marcia Clark offered insight at Printers Row Lit Fest into how her experiences behind the counsel table informed her latest novel, "Blood Defense."



Clark, known best for her work as prosecutor during the O.J. Simpson murder trial, fielded questions from Tribune reporter David Heinzmann about the similarities between "Blood Defense" and the infamous murder trial.



In the novel, two friends  one famous, one not  are murdered with a knife. The conduct of police is called into question, but Clark said that's where the similarities end: The defendant is an LAPD detective dating the actress who was murdered.



"It does have that superficial similarity," she said.



During the Simpson trial, Clark was thrust into the spotlight and subjected to well-documented sexism. Clark's protagonist battles with those issues as well, albeit not in such direct terms.



Samantha Brinkman is an LA defense lawyer who doesn't want to take on a murder case. But she's struggling to pay the bills and takes it on. Early in the novel, she appears on CNN, Heinzmann said. You can't see her scuffed shoes or safety-pinned skirt under the desk, but you do see the magic work of makeup and hair stylists, Clark said.



"What you wear has to do with your credibility. We all have 'believe me' suits," she said. While acknowledging men deal with appearance issues as well, Clark said "women are judged more harshly in terms of their appearance."



But the session's conversation revolved around the Simpson trial. Asked by audience members, Clark explained more of the background behind the Simpson trial.



Clark said the attempted getaway by Simpson in the white Ford Bronco wasn't admitted during the trial because the prosecution couldn't prove who packed the duffle bag. If they added that to the case, Clark said, the defense could admit the calls Simpson made professing his love for Nicole Brown.



"The downside far outweighed the upside," she said.



Clark also lightheartedly refused to answer a question about her perception of Simpson's guilt.



-- Nicholas Wooten

R.L. Stine wants to scare your kids

Being a writer seems like a normal job  unless you're R.L. Stine.

"My story is people give me awards for scaring children," Stine said. "That's a strange job, but someone has to do it."

Stine, author of 300-plus books that have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide, accepted the Chicago Tribune Young Adult Literary Award on Saturday at Printers Row Lit Fest.

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How the author of the beloved Goosebumps series went from a humor writer to a children's horror novelist is not as imaginative as the characters he creates.

"This is an embarrassing story," Stine said at a packed Cindy Pritzker Auditorium. "I had lunch with a friend who was an editor at Scholastic and who was fed up with a young adult horror fiction author.  She said, 'I'm done with him. You could do it.' She even gave me a title!"

That title was "Blind Date," which would become Stine's first horror novel, released in 1986. A humor writer up until that point, Stein said the success of it made it an easy transition.

"I thought, 'Forget the funny stuff,'" he said to laughs. "I didn't really understand it when I first started (writing horror). The kids always said to me, 'I like to be scared.' Well, thank God."

However, Stine is quick to point out that there's a difference between being scared and being terrified.

"I figured out after a while that we like to be scared when we know we're safe at the same time," Stine said. "I like to call my books 'safe scared.'"

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Stine said the interactions he has with kids are one of his favorite perks of being a successful author.

"One of the best parts is the mail I get from kids," he said. "Some of my favorites are: 'Dear R.L. Stine, you are my second-favorite author.' 'Dear R.L. Stine, when you visited my school, I'm the one who stepped on your foot.' 'Dear R.L. Stine, your family and friends are proud of you no matter what anybody says.'

"But I think my favorite has to be, 'Dear R.L. Stine, I've read 40 of your books and I think they're really boring.'"

 Jeremy Mikula

Terry McMillan in conversation with Jennifer Day

Terry McMillan stops being Terry McMillan when she's writing.

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"I become my character when I'm writing it," said McMillan, author of "I Almost Forgot About You."

McMillan said she has an extensive "job application" form that she created and fills out in developing most of her characters, including knowing specific details about characters' shoe-sizes and biggest fears -- even if those traits do not appear in her writing.

When asked what her biggest fear is, McMillan answered, "apathy scares me; that people don't care and the only thing they care about is themselves."

McMillan expressed her gratitude to have the capacity to feel empathy towards the people around her and to transfer them into her stories. She said it's never her intention to "teach a lesson" through her storytelling. However, she hopes that her experience of feeling empowered after reading a good book can also be the same experience her readers can have with encountering her works.

During the Q&A session with the audience, the author commented that she is not sure if she will work on adapting "I Almost Forgot About You" into a screenplay, but acknowledged that rewriting her work into a screenplay for TV shows or films is a rigorous process that she does not enjoy.

 Joanne Yj Kim

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Thomas Frank, author of "Listen, Liberal," accuses Democrats of abandoning working-class people.

Political commentator Thomas Frank offered a scathing criticism of his own party at the Printer's Row Lit Fest on Saturday, claiming that Democratic leaders have essentially abandoned working-class Americans and their issues. "Protecting the great middle-class order used to be what the Democrats were all about; this was that party's traditional mission," he said.



Frank acknowledges that some vestiges of that mission remain. "But when it comes to tackling inequality, what President (Barack) Obama calls the 'defining challenge of our time,' many of our modern Democratic leaders falter," he said.



During his talk, Frank hammered home many points from his latest book, a wake-up call to the Democratic Party called "Listen Liberal: Or, Whatever Happened to the Party of the People?"



Frank described inequality as "a kind of shorthand for all the things that have gone to make the lives of the rich so much more delicious, year on year for three decades  and also it's shorthand for all the things that make the lives of working people so wretched and so precarious."



In contrast to Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson and other leaders of the past, Frank said, today's Democratic leadership "promises us charter schools, job training, student loans. But aside from that, they have nothing."



He believes that the Democratic Party is becoming a party of well-educated professionals, a meritocracy of sorts that rewards its fellow members while ignoring the issues of traditional working people. "It's not a concidence that all of the economic gains of this recovery have gone to the already wealthy," he said.



According to Frank, Democratic leaders have long believed that working people had no other option than the Democratic Party. However, that was before a certain Republican candidate, whom Frank calls "one of the greatest fake populists of all time," joined the current presidential race.



"Folks, they have found somewhere else to go," he declared.

 Louise Burton

How to represent the contemporary war experience? Kim Barker, The Taliban Shuffle, and Maximilian Uriarte, "The White Donkey," in conversation with Colin McMahon

Conversation between writers Kim Barker, "The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan," and Maximilian Uriarte, "Terminal Lance: The White Donkey," was part of the first morning of this year's Printers Row Lit Fest, Saturday at 10 a.m. at Hotel Blake.

Kim Barker is a former Chicago Tribune foreign correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Her comic memoir was adapted into the movie "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot," starring Tina Fey as the fictional version of the journalist. Uriarte is a former U.S. Marine who served in combat in Iraq. The author loosely based his graphic novel on his experiences in the Marines.

Tribune Associate Editor Colin McMahon, a former foreign correspondent, interviewed the two writers about how they translated their experiences in a war zone into their writing. The conversation turned on the question of, "How to represent the contemporary war experience?"

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McMahon led the two writers to share their experience going into the war zone, their time as the "fish out of the water" and reverse culture shock back in the United States. "I continued to make cultural mistakes. I don't know if I have an anecdote that shows I knew what I was doing," Barker said, recounting her experience as a foreign correspondent. Looking back, Barker frequently referred to her "naivete." Maximilian also related to how he views himself to have been naive in retrospect. The author also mentioned the difference in his experience as an artist joining the Marines. "You can't gain enlightenment at the expense of the war," he said. He also expressed his frustration about when civilians back home repeatedly asked if he killed anyone at war. "It's the worst question to ask," he said.

 Joanne Yj Kim

Harold Washington Literary Prize Award Winner: Marilynne Robinson in conversation with Mary Schmich

For some people, it might be difficult to know exactly when aspects of life begin and end, but for Marilynne Robinson, she has the deviousness of a friend to thank for her literary career.

"I thought my first novel, 'Housekeeping,' was unpublishable," Robinson said. "A friend of mine asked to see what I'd written and he handed the manuscript to an agent  and that was the beginning of my literary life. I had no idea he was going to do that. If he didn't, I don't know what I'd be doing with my life. I'd probably have a stack of novels in my closet."

Robinson, author of "Gilead," "Home" and "Lila," among others, and a longtime teacher at the Iowa Writers' Workshop until her retirement earlier this year, is the recipient of this year's Harold Washington Literary Prize.

Called "the president of the writing world" by Tribune literary editor-at-large Elizabeth Taylor on Saturday at Printers Row Lit Fest, Robinson has also been referred to as a writer of American morality.

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"I fervently hope to do no harm," Robinson said with a laugh. "I take my own notion of moral  things from what I consider to be the best impulses in American history. I speak to America because I speak from it, but I don't want to be the moral leader of a country that I draw my morality from."

Besides writing fiction and nonfiction with a moral theme, Robinson also frequently writes about fear culture prevalent in media today, she said.

"If you look at (the news media), everything is homicide, dystopia, World War VIII," she said. "There are certain parts of our culture that call themselves 'news' and adapt the fear culture of horror films to the evening news.

"Cynicism is the single most useless thing that can be active in our civilization," Robinson said.

Robinson also described the influence that her older brother, art historian David Summers, had on her as a writer, including telling her to "carve a niche in the male pantheon" of literature.

"I was his disciple for many years," she said. "As soon as I was aware of anything, I was aware he was reading books. I had this whole personal mythology that my brother had given me."

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 Jeremy Mikula

jmikula@tribpub.com // @jeremymikula
With 200 presenters, it's tough to decide what and who to see at Printers Row Lit Fest. Here are recommendations from Tribune writers and editors on how to spend your June 11-12.

Ethan Michaeli's and Natalie Moore's new books are fascinating looks at Chicago, especially its African-American neighborhoods and past, and their conversation with Tribune reporter Lolly Bowean will be a great civic education (2 p.m., Sunday, Jones College Prep). The conversation between Marcia Clark (O.J. Simpson prosecutor and author) and David Heinzmann (Tribune reporter and novelist) promises to be fun (11 a.m., Saturday, Jones). And is there anyone who was alive when Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon who wouldn't want to hear what he has to say at 86? (2:30 p.m., Sunday, Harold Washington Library Center)

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 Mary Schmich, columnist

DOWNLOAD THE PRINTERS ROW APP FOR YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO PRINTERS ROW LIT FEST

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Dorie Greenspan is one of my favorite food people. She's friendly, informative, accessible. And she loves cooking and baking delicious food and writing about it; her latest, "Dorie's Cookies," is out in October (Noon, Saturday, F&D Stage).

 Bill Daley, food writer

Because I love cooking and love food and because she's, well, Ruth Reichl, I won't miss the appearance by this giant of food and cooking (11:45 a.m., Sunday, Food & Dining Stage). Because I'm fascinated by politics and economics, especially this year, I'm hoping to catch both Rebecca Traister, a writer at large for New York magazine and author of "Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women," (4 p.m., Saturday, Jones) and Thomas Frank, who started writing incisively about race, class and inequality in America well before Bernie Sanders joined the Senate (10 a.m., Saturday, Jones).

 Colin McMahon, associate editor

Joselo Rangel, of course. Not just because I'll lead the conversation, but because he is rock royalty in the Latino universe. As one of the four fantastic forces of the legendary Mexican band Cafe Tacuba, Rangel is the brain behind some of the most deep songs of the band  and also a lot of their hits. As a writer, Joselo will share more of his intellectual and creative mind (3:15 p.m., Saturday, South Loop Stage).

 Gisela Orozco, HOY entertainment editor

Out comes a hip-hop, R & B, pop fusion musical about Alexander Hamilton, and a dusty Founding Father is hotter than a muffin straight out of the oven. On Saturday afternoon, I'm going to see Jeremy McCarter, co-author of "Hamilton: The Revolution," an inside look at that theatrical revolution from the theater artist who was involved from the show's earliest plans (1 p.m., Saturday, Jones).

Ted Gregory, reporter

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My favorite part of Lit Fest is the new insight writers offer when they discuss their work  and often, that's particularly true when you think you already know an author. I recently reread "Housekeeping," which makes me even more eager to hear Marilynne Robinson speak (10 a.m., Saturday, HWLC). I'm looking forward to chatting with Terry McMillan about her latest in a long line of best-selling novels (12:15 p.m., Saturday, Grace Place). And if there's anyone who has helped us see books differently  quite literally with his book jackets  it's Chip Kidd. It'll be a treat by design (11 a.m., Saturday, HWLC).

 Jennifer Day, books/Printers Row editor

I'm a dad, I live in the suburbs, I have a grill. I didn't mean to fit a demographic so neatly; it just happened. And the session and cooking demo I didn't know I needed is Meathead Goldwyn's "Old Husbands' Tales: BBQ & Grilling Myths That Need To Die." Goldwyn's message is that backyard grilling is a science and if you treat it as such, your result will be much, much better than those of us who still, self-indulgently, want to believe it's an art (11:15 a.m., Saturday, F&D Stage).

 Doug George, books/Printers Row

deputy editor

Lit Fest offers something for everyone. My 10-year-old self would make a bee line to Heidi Stevens's conversation with Goosebumps author R.L. Stine (12:30, Saturday, HWLC). The '90s teen in me  the one prone to quoting from "Reality Bites"  would run, not walk, to Michael Phillips' interview with actor-turned-author Ethan Hawke (2:30, Saturday, HWLC). My college-age activistic self? She'd take liberal notes at a talk between Amy Goodman and Adam Cohen (3 p.m., Saturday, Jones). And the current me would love a discussion among debut fiction writers Martin Seay, Deborah Shapiro and Kim Brooks (11:15, Saturday, Hotel Blake/Burnham Room). Truthfully, I'd love any of these at any age.

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 Laura Pearson, Printers Row contributor

President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act of 1830, which resulted in the Trail of Tears, has an indelible place in the history of the United States' often difficult relationship with its indigenous people. In "Jacksonland," NPR Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep interweaves thorough research to offer a history of Jackson's policy and the man who fought it all to the Supreme Court: John Ross, a mixed-race Cherokee chief who championed the causes of the Five Civilized Tribes impacted by the policy (1 p.m., Saturday, HWLC).

And don't forget headliner and "Perfect Storm" author Sebastian Junger, who will discuss his new book, "Tribe," which focuses on what tribal societies can teach us (1 p.m., Sunday, Jones).

 Jeremy Mikula, editor/designer

If I had to answer that shopworn (but ever fascinating) question about whom I would invite to dinner, given the choice of any living person, two writers would sit atop my list: Lindy West and Rebecca Traister. I follow and love most everything these modern feminists have to say, and I'm delighted at the chance to hear them in conversation with Greta Johnsen (4 p.m., Saturday, Jones).

 Heidi Stevens, columnist

Before Tina Fey played her in a movie, Kim Barker was a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. Now a writer at The New York Times, that film, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot," is based on her book "The Taliban Shuffle." She'll join Maximilian Uriarte, a former Marine who served in Iraq and author of graphic novel "The White Donkey." (10 a.m., Saturday, HB/Burnham).

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 Alison Bowen, features writer

Printers Row Lit Fest



The Fest will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m., June 11-12 in the historic Printers Row neighborhood, on Dearborn and Polk streets and surrounding blocks. For details, visit www.printersrowlitfest.org or download the Printers Row app to plan your weekend at www.PrintersRowApp.com.


If elected governor, Greg Gianfortes role in a plan to put computer science in every Montana high school will be less about policy and more as a cheerleader, his campaign said.

Greg Gianforte as governor is not going to try to mandate that school boards put a computer science class in every high school, said campaign spokesman Ron Catlett. The governors office gives you a soapbox to bring things to the publics attention.

When Gianforte, a Republican, announced the plan in May with Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Elsie Arntzen, it was unclear what mechanisms would be available for state officials to implement such a policy.

The Montana Board of Public Education sets state graduation requirements and content standards, but local school trustees dictate any other courses and curriculum.

Arntzen, a Republican, also emphasized the importance of local control, but said that she wasnt involved in creating the high school plan.

My focus is middle school, she said, especially offering career tracks at a younger age.

The Gianforte plan would slide computer science courses under the umbrella of core science requirements. Montana currently requires students to take two units of science. It would also allow coding to count as a foreign language credit  a proposal thats been controversial in several other states, even among computer science advocates.

Several officials from Code.org, a national group that promotes the expansion of computer science courses, have criticized the concept.

Although we use the term programming language to refer to C++, Java, Python, and so on, these arent natural languages, wrote Amy Hirotaka, the groups director of state government affairs, on a code.org blog in 2014. Spanish has a vocabulary of 10,000 words, with a consistent grammatical and sentence structure. In contrast, a typical computing language has a vocabulary of about 100 words, and the real work is learning how to put these words together to build a complex program.

Billings Senior High Spanish teacher Alice Nation, president-elect of the Montana Association of Language Teachers, also criticized academic ties between the subjects. But she first took issue with the language in the plans initial statement, which cited Montanas foreign language requirement.

Theres not one high school in the state that has a foreign language requirement for graduation, she said. We are purely an elective.

Catlett said the requirement term was more of a broad based idea intended to encompass things like university entrance requirements and honors program requirements. Admission standards for University of Montana and Montana State University require students to take two years of elective courses, which include foreign languages, computer science, art and career and technical education courses.

The press release on Gianfortes campaign website now uses the phrase foreign language elective.

Catlett also said Gianforte had no qualms about academic links between coding and foreign languages.

Coding is a way to communicate, he said.

While proposals to expand computer science often generate broad support  the Obama administration unveiled a $4 billion program earlier this year  implementing specific plans can be difficult.

In Florida, a bill pushed by a former Yahoo executive that would have let students count coding as a foreign language credit overwhelmingly passed the state Senate but died after not getting a vote in the House this spring. A Kentucky lawmaker dropped a provision to allow computer programming as a foreign language requirement in 2015. A bill in Washington introduced last year that would require state colleges to count computer science as a foreign language for admission requirements is still alive.

Michigans House recently passed a bill allowing computer science, art or career and technical education classes to fulfill the same graduation requirements as a foreign language. A Texas bill allowing students to swap a foreign language for coding passed in 2013, but for some students.

Bringing computer science under the umbrella of math and science has been easier, as 28 states have done. But states still struggle to find qualified teachers. Gianforte suggested adding teaching majors to existing computer science programs at Montana universities and relying on Montana Digital Academy until teachers are certified. Academy officials have been cautious about their capacity to pick up slack.

Nation suggested that computer science would be a natural fit under career and technical education, as the state already requires a unit for graduation.

Arntzen said that she doesnt want to see subjects pitted against each other  for example, coding being added at the expense of French.

I would not want to remove a subject just for this purpose, she said. Catlett echoed the sentiment.

Montana typically has significant disparities between elective offerings in large and small school districts, while small, rural schools have smaller offerings.

Hirotaka worries that, ultimately, folding coding into foreign language "could actually undermine the ability of students to have access to this critical field."
President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of the State Hillary Clinton prepare to board Air Force One at Yangon International Airport in Myanmar in November 2012. Now Obama has endorsed Clinton to be his successor. (Lynn Bo Bo / EPA)

Is the United States now a banana republic? Yes.

El Presidente has endorsed his former foreign minister to continue his legacy.

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El Presidente did this even though his former foreign minister  with a multibillion-dollar slush fund fed by questionable foreign interests who sought her favor while she served in the government  has a serious problem.

This former foreign minister is under criminal investigation by the federales for her use of a private email server. Speculation is that she kept her public business on a private server to hide what she did for the foreign tough guys who may have contributed to that fund.

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And those federales investigating the former foreign minister?

They are under El Presidente's command, even as he campaigns for his former foreign minister while ridiculing her barbarous, orange-haired Republican opponent.

And what is the Democratic response to President Barack Obama's endorsement of his former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?

Conflicts? What conflicts?

Obama's endorsement of Clinton is historic on two fronts:

She's the first woman to have clinched the nomination of a major party for the office of president.

And she also might be the first candidate to clinch the nomination while under an active FBI criminal investigation.

That poses a serious problem. Not for those who just want to lambaste Donald Trump; they're obsessed and he's low-hanging fruit.

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But if you care about something more than mockery, consider the enormity of what the president is doing to the republic.

He's backing a candidate under federal criminal investigation. And no matter what Hillary defenders say, it is a federal criminal investigation. The FBI does criminal investigations. They do not  as Mrs. Clinton keeps insisting like some mad parrot  conduct "security reviews."

And the president is the boss of the FBI and the Justice Department that is conducting the investigation.

This is a hideous conflict. And the silence from Democrats is astounding.

It is a calculated, partisan silence, bad for the country, worse even than what Trump does with his hair.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest confirmed the investigation of Clinton was of a criminal nature, after insisting that there was no conflict.

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Of course, insisting there is no conflict is absurd, but he's helped by the fact that much of the media have adopted that Democratic Party line.

"And that is why the president," said Earnest, "when discussing this issue in each stage, has reiterated his commitment to this principle that any criminal investigation should be conducted independent of any sort of political interference and that people should be treated the same way before the law, regardless of their political influence, regardless of their political stature and regardless of what political figure has endorsed them."

Translation: Conflicts, we don't have no stinkin' conflicts.

There are two possible outcomes here.

One is that Clinton is in violation of federal law over her email server and the president, a lawyer, knows it, and she'll be indicted, but his endorsement gives him political cover.

Obama can tell Democrats something like, "Look, uh, I like Hillary Clinton. I endorsed her, didn't I? But hey, look, uh, I can't tell my FBI and my Department of Justice what to do. I'm just the president of the United States."

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If she's not indicted, she'll look like a weasel who relied on presidential clout to keep the feds off her back. And he'll look like the weasel's helper.

She's already convinced most of the country she's a liar who'll do anything to win power. So that scenario isn't good for her. But let's put Clinton's ambition aside for a moment.

She could be elected president. And if the FBI doesn't move on her, there will always be the question as to whether Obama played it the Chicago Way.

Going into the White House with that doubt over her head would thrill Republicans. They'd have a pretext for their partisanship.

But that wouldn't be good for the republic, especially now, with the political center collapsing on the right, and soon, on the left.

There is another way, though.

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Obama should immediately appoint an independent special prosecutor to pick up the FBI investigation.

He could have FBI Director James Comey make the appointment. Comey was tasked with finding a special prosecutor when the Bush administration was compromised by the Valerie Plame affair.

But Obama has to find a special prosecutor now. He's already tainted the process.

What the president has done is absolutely ridiculous, given what he promised. Or have you forgotten his promises, back when he was the young knight with the magical sword Excalibur in his hand?

When he was a candidate, he thrilled young people by promising to end the old cynicism and transcend the broken politics of the past. Journalists were so excited that newsroom carpets across the country were soiled from all the glee.

But once Obama got into office, he put Chicago guys like Rahm Emanuel and Bill Daley in as his White House chiefs of staff.

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He cares about his legacy? Then he best select a special prosecutor pronto. If he can't do it, he can let the Senate do it.

If he doesn't, we'll have to hang a banner over the Obama presidential library:

Banana Republic Way, Chicago Way  at this point, what difference does it make?

Listen to "The Chicago Way" podcast on WGN Plus with John Kass and Jeff Carlin at www.chicagotribune.com/kasspodcast.

jskass@tribpub.com
Then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, greets Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in 2013 as they arrive for Sen. John Kerry's confirmation hearing to become the next secretary of state. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

A week or so ago I heard someone on the radio wonder whether Elizabeth Warren would make a good running mate for Hillary Clinton.

The other man in the conversation quickly intoned his doubt.

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"Is the country ready for two women?" he said. "I don't know."

His tone suggested that he did indeed know and the answer was no bleepin' way.

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What a refreshing thing to hear. It's always nice to have a reason to laugh.

Imagine the horror. Two people of the same gender running the country!

We might get involved in wars we have no business in. Too many people might live in poverty. Too many guns might be used in awful ways. There might be earthquakes in California and sewage overflows during big rains in Chicago. People of the other gender might feel excluded. The Cubs might not make it to the World Series.

That radio interview was so amusing that I wrote the question down and posted it in on my refrigerator: Is the country ready for two women at the top?

As I've glanced at it day after day, I've had three returning thoughts.

1. Yes, in principle, we're ready. Whether it happens depends on which women.

2. Some voters would be readier for two women than for one. Some would find a team of women more exciting than a solo act. For some, the double act would be more comfortable to watch than a woman outshining her male partner, no matter how doable it seems on "Madame Secretary."

3. What does being ready mean exactly?

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The "are we ready?" question has gotten louder since Hillary Clinton unofficially, but close to certainly, sealed the deal Tuesday as the Democratic nominee for president.

Leave aside for now the argument over whether Clinton is the "ideal" woman to be the first of her gender nominated by one of the two major political parties. Forget whether Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts progressive with a talent for tart tweets, is the ideal woman to join her.

(Note: "Ideal candidate," regardless of gender, is an oxymoron. "Good candidate" is as good as it gets.)

Let's consider only the broader question: Is the country ready for two women at the top?

Whenever there's a surge of chatter about whether "the country" is "ready" for some big social change, it tends to mean one thing: We're so close to ready that we're ready.

Being ready for big social change is like getting set to jump into a cold pool. You sit on the edge, telling yourself all the reasons this is never gonna happen. But eventually you take a leap. Or you're pushed. Either way, the cold water soon feels fine and you don't know why you were so scared.

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Think of all the social changes Americans have lived through, unthinkable changes that have become the status quo.

The country wasn't quite ready for civil rights, until the laws changed and the majority soon came to take it for granted that all Americans, regardless of gender, creed or color, deserve equal opportunities and treatment.

The country wasn't thoroughly ready for gay marriage or gays in the military, until the laws changed, and it turned out we  the majority of us, which doesn't include everybody  were ready enough.

And what does ready mean?

It means ready to accept, to allow a change to happen in peace. Relative peace. The majority of the country can be ready before everybody in it is.

Of course, in the case of a presidential election, being ready requires that a majority of Americans be not only willing to accept two women at the top, but to vote for them.

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That's active readiness versus passive readiness.

The man I heard on the radio, I've since learned, was Sen. Jon Tester, head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. His remark, which slipped through the media barely noticed when he uttered it, vaulted into prominence this week and prompted him to backtrack.

"I shouldn't have said that and it doesn't reflect my values," he said, the equivalent of wiggling a toe in the cold water.

In the meantime, Harry Reid, the Democratic leader of the Senate, took a swan dive.

"I don't see why you couldn't have two women  whoever they might be  and they'd be as good as two men," he said.

It seems like only yesterday that pollsters were busy asking Americans whether we were ready to vote for a woman as president. How quickly that seems like an outdated, slightly demeaning question. We've bolted ahead to the next question, and when the question gets this loud, the answer is clear.

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Given the right women, we're ready.

mschmich@tribpub.com

Twitter @MarySchmich
Construction has begun on the new Farnsworth Avenue bridge and interchange with the Reagan Memorial Tollway. Traffic is down to one lane over the bridge for southbound drivers. (Steve Lord / The Beacon-News)

The city of Aurora, Aurora Township and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority are looking at an agreement for the Farnsworth Bridge project that includes new exit and entrance lanes to the Reagan Memorial Tollway.

On Tuesday, Aurora will look at approving its part of the agreement that would spell out who does what when the dust finally settles on the project, which just began and will continue for another two years.

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Aldermen will vote on the agreement at the City Council meeting at 6 p.m. in the council chambers, City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place.

The Illinois Tollway intends to remove and replace the Farnsworth Avenue bridge over Interstate 88, which is the Reagan Tollway, with a longer structure to accommodate the potential future widening of the tollway.

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The project includes making ramp and interchange configuration improvements, modifying the interchange from a full cloverleaf to a partial cloverleaf.

Officials have said the new arrangement would improve traffic flow and enhance safety for tollway drivers.

The new configuration also would be better for pedestrians on Farnsworth Avenue.

The project would remove the two loop ramps to the east of Farnsworth and create two new signalized intersections along Farnsworth, for eastbound tollway drivers going to northbound Farnsworth Avenue, and for northbound Farnsworth drivers going to westbound on the tollway.

The new bridge should make for better connections to both Molitor Road and Premium Outlet Boulevard, the entrance to that mall.

Technically, the traffic signals are located in unincorporated Aurora Township.

But officials have said it is in the best interest of the city of Aurora to own and operate the signals and interconnect them to the Central Traffic Management center.

That is something the intergovernmental agreement would spell out.

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The intersections also would include pedestrian signals.

As part of the agreement, the city and township have requested that the Illinois Tollway include in this project painted combination traffic signal and lighting on Farnsworth Avenue, with pedestrian signalization and interconnection to the intersections of Molitor Road and Premium Outlet Mall.

The Illinois Tollway also would include a 10-foot multiuse path with barrier protection along the east side of Farnsworth Avenue and a pedestrian safe wall on the outer parapet of the bridge.

The total estimated cost to the city for those requests is $316,076, which is in the 2016 budget, city officials said.

The city and township would grant to the Illinois Tollway all permits without charge.

The project has already been underway and is down to one lane of traffic on Farnsworth for southbound drivers, between Premium Outlet Boulevard to just north of Molitor Road.

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slord@tribpub.com
The ants are marching, but it's been no picnic for Chicago-area residents left to deal with a higher-than-usual number of the pesky bugs creeping into homes this spring.

Entomologists say a wetter-than-average March, April and May have sent colonies of hungry ants in search of drier ground. The Chicago area had 11.57 inches of rainfall during that three-month period this year, compared with a 9.56-inch historical average, according to the National Weather Service in Romeoville.

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Ants searching for drier land often congregate in kitchens to feast on crumbs and other delicious droppings.

"If you lived in the soil and you were drowning, you'd get out of there too," said Phil Nixon, extension entomologist for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who added that one ant can carry up to 50 times its weight. And if the food is more than an ant can carry, she'll drop a pheromone trail that directs fellow ants to the jackpot. Thousands of ants can swarm food within 15 to 20 minutes.

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"It's kind of like their Twitter method," Nixon said. "They are all sisters or nieces, and they're all going to come out when one finds a good source of food."

For Melfa Sarkaria, of Bolingbrook, the spike in ants has been an annoying complication for her family, which settled into its suburban home in the fall.

Ants have taken residence in the curbside mailbox, which makes getting the mail a more itch-inducing chore than usual. Sarkaria spent recent weeks wiping baseboards of the home with peppermint oil cleaner to keep ants at bay, she said.

"As soon as spring hit, there were ants," Sarkaria said. "My biggest fear was that I was going to open up a cabinet and see them all in one corner."

Although there's no way to quantify how many more ants homeowners have noticed across Chicago and its suburbs, Nixon said this year's complaints are similar to the ones he heard in the early 1980s, when heavy rains and flooding caused road closures across the state  and sent ants crawling far and wide.

The spring rainfall for this year is well above the 8.63 inches that fell last year and 9.53 inches that fell in 2014. But it falls short of the record set in 1983, when 17.51 inches fell on the Chicago area, according to Jamie Enderlen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Most of the ants that people are seeing around the Chicago area are likely odorous ants, named after the way they smell like blue cheese or rotting coconut when they are smashed, Nixon said.

In Villa Park, Cliff Duple, owner of A.G.A.D. Pest Control, has had so many calls about ants this spring that he has taken on 25 residential clients, even though his business primarily handles corporate accounts.

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"Every year, we have the bug of the year, and this year it's ants," said Duple, whose company's initials stand for "as good as dead."

Tom Dobrinska, an entomologist with Anderson Pest Solutions, said the species of ants found in Illinois are not harmful to humans, but some people with allergies might have a mild reaction if bitten.

To help keep ants out of a home, exterminators at Anderson advise residents to move mulch away from a home's perimeter. Ants love mulch because it offers protection to the soil and ants underneath. Pea gravel is a better alternative for homeowners, he said.

Dobrinska also advises customers to remove clutter or woodpiles around the house, which are particularly attractive to wood-destroying carpenter ants.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

Finally, Dobrinska recommends checking utility lines, where ants often sneak in when an entry point hasn't been properly capped off.

Once ants are in a home, sprays are not always effective because they kill only the ants that are visible, not the root source, said Andres Ortega, ecologist with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Peppermint oil cleaner is a popular home remedy, but Ortega has not seen research that proves it works, he added.

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A more useful deterrent is to rid your home of sticky, sugary substances that draw ants, such as soda that has spilled and fruit left out in the open. Pavement ants, another common variety found in Illinois, are attracted to the smell of such sugary rewards and are known to venture 30 feet from their nests to get them, Ortega said.

Over the warm months, ants typically live about six weeks, during which time the females gather food and bring it back to the colony. Male ants exist almost entirely for reproduction, Nixon said, noting that there is a downside to the less industrious gender of the insects.

"When times get tough, if you're not working, you're sacrificed," Nixon said. "There is a low side to that."

vortiz@tribpub.com

Twitter @vikkiortiz
Chicago Public Schools said it will hold summer courses for eligible students as planned, despite the district's prior warnings that its budget woes put the programs in peril.

CPS said Friday that four summer school programs including an extended school year for special education students, credit recovery classes for high schoolers who failed classes and two courses for students who couldn't advance grades  will be held at a combined cost of about $12.7 million.

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Last year, the district said, those courses were budgeted to cost roughly $17 million. CPS said it will hold summer classes at 25 fewer sites than it did last year, partly because of a decline in the number of third-, sixth- and eighth-graders who failed to advance to the next grade and are subsequently placed in the district's Summer Bridge or Summer Acceleration programs.

"The academic gains made through the hard work of our students and dedication of our teachers have created a 25 percent reduction in students who need summer school this year," CPS Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson said in a statement.

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School administrators will also be responsible for coordinating Summer Bridge courses, instead of hiring additional staff. CPS said that move would save $980,000.

CPS said about 4,500 high school students will take summer classes to make up for failed classes, roughly the same total as last summer. Those courses will be held at 23 sites this year, as opposed to the 31 buildings used last summer.

The district's extended school year for special education students will again serve about 3,600 students.

Most summer school costs don't come from this year's school system budget, CPS said. The bulk of expenses are instead part of a district budget for the coming year that has not yet been released. State lawmakers have yet to pass an education budget, and without one CPS chief Forrest Claypool has said the district won't be able to open in the fall.

jjperez@tribpub.com

Twitter @PerezJr
Officials with insurance and financial services giant Nationwide are working with city and federal officials to learn how the retirement accounts of 91 municipal employees were breached earlier this month.

Workers with Nationwide Retirement Solutions noticed "suspicious activity" with some 457 deferred compensation accounts for municipal employees similar to 401k accounts on June 1, a company spokesman said. These accounts are administered by Nationwide on behalf of the city, according to the city comptroller's office.

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City officials said 91 accounts were breached, of which 58 accounts had money withdrawn and the remaining 33 accounts did not. The theft was apparently undertaken by a person or group who accessed personal information and apparently created a web profile to take out a loan from the retirement account, officials said.

Nationwide notified the accounts holders as well as federal authorities, according to city officials and Nationwide spokesman Ryan Ankrom. Within five days, the municipal employees affected by the breach had their funds returned to their accounts, Ankrom said. "Everybody who was affected by this had their money returned to them," he said.

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It was unclear the total amount of cash taken from the accounts.

Nationwide is working with city officials and federal authorities to pinpoint the source of the breach. "Right now we think it's fraud," Ankrom said.

"(Nationwide) and the city continue to work together to help ensure the ongoing security of deferred compensation accounts administered by (Nationwide)," according to a statement from acting city comptroller Erin Keane.

jskass@tribpub.com

wlee@tribpub.com
Not only did Robin Stewart bring tears to the eyes of her family attending the 19th annual March against Drugs and Violence on Saturday, she opened up some tear ducts among the more than 100 others in attendance, too.

Stewart, 53, of Helena, is one of about 200 residents at Passages, a womens community-based correctional facility and therapeutic community in Billings.

The event keynoter, Stewart said she began as an adolescent smoking cigarettes and then marijuana before taking other drugs  many of them prescription drugs. Substance abuse has had catastrophic effects on her loved ones, she said  a daughter is incarcerated, a brother was killed in a shooting and the father of her children died by suicide.

They died, she told the crowd, before I could make my amends.

Im older now, she said, tearing up herself, and Im open to all the help thats available. Im learning to be my true self, but doing the right thing can be a lonely place.

One of the event organizers, Adam Liberty, community engagement coordinator with the Friendship House of Christian Service, noted that this year, the emphasis is on helping parents to intervene by noticing a young persons ABCs  Appearance, Behavior, Companions and School.

Changes in any of those can be an in indicator of substance abuse, said Billings City Councilmember Mike Yakawich, whos been the guiding force behind each of the 19 marches.

Gathering leaders and community members together shows how great our city is, united in working and addressing substance abuse and violence, he said.

Over the past two months, volunteers have addressed a number of service organizations and other groups, distributing more than 300 magnets featuring the ABCs.

We heard this over and over: I was a crappy parent, but Im going to be a better grandparent, Yakawich said.

Event partners raised $3,000 to help put on Saturdays march, which included a barbecue, swag bags, games for young people, T-shirts for attendees of all ages and a $1,000 donation for the work of the Tumbleweed program for homeless youth.

Redwillow Horsecapture, the 17-year-old girl who survived a May 6 attack on the Rims, gave organizers a plaque to show her appreciation for their support.

Youve made me feel Im not alone in my journey to get better, she said.

Before organizers dismissed the crowd to march the downtown streets, District Court Judge Russell Fagg had this to say to the crowd, which had gathered on the courthouse lawn beneath his courtroom: Wouldnt it be great if we got rid of the drug abuse problem in Montana? It would literally put half the judges out of work.

While some in the crowd chuckled, Fagg noted that the U.S. incarcerates more people per 100,000 population than any other nation. Half of U.S. inmates are behind bars for drug offenses. Taxpayers spend $30,000 annually on each person incarcerated, and about one-fifth that total  $6,500  to educate each child.

Something is amiss here, Fagg said. We have lost the war on drugs, but there are alternatives, including offering drug treatment programs and keeping people working during and after their treatment  as does Stewart, who works at Stellas Kitchen and Bakery.

What youre doing, Fagg told the crowd, is incredibly important to the youth of Montana. God bless you and keep up the good work.
David Perdue, R-Ga., one of very few Republicans who has consistently defended Donald Trump's nomination, drew swift condemnation from Senate Democrats after asking voters to pray for President Barack Obama to suffer on the way out of the White House.

"I think we're called to pray for our country, our leaders -- and yes, even our president," said Perdue at Friday morning's session of the Faith & Freedom Coalition's annual policy conference. "I think we should pray for Barack Obama, but we need to be very specific. We should pray like Psalm 109:8 says: Let his days be few, and let another take his office."

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Perdue seemed to be telling a joke -- he started his next sentence with "in all seriousness" -- but Psalm 109 has repeatedly gotten Republicans in trouble during the Obama era. Bumper stickers reading "Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8" appeared during the first year of his presidency, and from time to time, government officials have apologized or been laid off after citing it.

The problem is in the rest of the Psalm, which is aimed at "the wicked and the deceitful." The verses right after 109:8 delineate a series of curses:

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"Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

"Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

"Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.

"Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children."

After Perdue's comments circulated on social media, the office of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., condemned them.

Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., addresses the Road to Majority Conference in Washington, D.C., on June 10, 2016. (Cliff Owen / AP)

"If Republicans are still wondering why Donald Trump is their nominee, look no further than today's Faith and Freedom conference where a sitting Republican Senator left the impression he was praying for the death of President Obama and then the Republican Leader followed him on stage and did not condemn him," said Reid's communications director Kristen Orthman.

Megan Whittemore, a spokeswoman for Perdue, said the senator told the Faith & Freedom audience that, "We are called to pray for our country, for our leaders and for our president."



Perdue "in no way wishes harm toward our president, and everyone in the room understood that," Whittemore said.



A spokesman for McConnell said the senator was not on stage when Perdue made the comment.



At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said that "as Sen. Perdue considers whether an apology is appropriate, there are a variety of other scriptures he might consult."

Washington Post, Associated Press
Kane County's Riverboat Committee recently approved a list of 40 Grand Victoria Riverboat external grants to be awarded this year, totaling about $900,000  far below the $2.2 million requested.

"I think the committee did a really good job this year, they switched funds around and summed (the process) up excellently," County Commissioner Theresa Barreiro said. "I like to see the not for profits (get grants), they are the ones that really need it."

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Committee members whittled down the list of requests through a review process established last year which looks at factors such as which area in the county benefits from the project, eligibility criteria, whether applicants leveraged resources, whether there is a community impact and whether the applicant had a sound budget. The Grand Victoria Casino Foundation requires programs or projects deal with three topics: education, environmental or economic development.

A handful of organizations and nonprofits received the full amount requested but, a majority received a portion or much less than requested. United Way of Elgin's request for about $7,600 to complete a Kane County guide to community services and the University of Illinois Extension Kane County's request for $88,000 to provide educational programs were both fully funded.

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CASA Kane County requested $50,000 but will receive about $47,000 for its programming. The nonprofit provides court appointed advocates in family court. The Association for Individual Development  one of the social service agencies hit by the state of Illinois budget impasse  applied for a $48,600 grant and will receive about $31,100 for technology upgrades to enhance service delivery, according to county documents.

The village of Carpentersville, however, had requested $100,000 for renovations of Carpenter Park but will be awarded about $10,000. Marklund Children's Home requested $58,600. It will receive about $8,700 toward a wheelchair accessible bus.

Trustee Drew Frasz advocated for Blackberry Township to receive a $7,500 grant for an environmental project. The township is acting as a coordinator for the volunteer project, he said. In the first round of deliberations, the township was not on the list to receive a grant. But, the final list has Blackberry Township receiving about $4,600 through the grant.

Historically, Grand Victoria Casino's revenues were significantly greater, said John Hoscheit, the committee's chairman. Kane County and the Foundation were able to give thousands of dollars in grants to a single applicant, he said. Revenues have been decreasing so the county has capped the amount of external grants at $100,000, he said.

This year, the amount Kane County received for grants was slightly higher than budgeted, Hoscheit said.

It is the second year the committee has had staff analyze and evaluate each application based on several criteria. The information is provided to committee members who then go through several rounds in deciding which requests to approve and how much should be awarded.

"I really appreciate all the hard work staff did," Hoscheit said. "This is hours and hours of work. It does help us."

During a committee discussion, the question of whether applicants can use a grant that is far less than what they requested was raised.

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"I want us to be realistic, will they be able to get anything done?" Commissioner Cristina Castro said.

Last year, some applicants turned down grants because the amount wasn't enough to start or complete a project, said Scott Berger, Community Reinvestment director. The money is then put back into the pot for the next year, he said.

The county board must approve the list of grants and will likely vote on it at next month's meeting. The Grand Victoria Casino Foundation also provides for internal grants for the county to use. The committee will discuss those grant awards at a later date.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
The China Railway said on Friday that the Las Vegas-based XpressWest's unilateral cancellation of a high-speed railway contract with its subsidiary is "a mistake" and "irresponsible."

The U.S. private company said on Thursday that it had "terminated its joint venture activities with CRI (China Railway International U.S.A., Co.Ltd.) regarding high-speed passenger rail" between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

The China Railway said in a statement that the U.S. company had breached a cooperation agreement by unilaterally announcing the termination. It opposed the U.S. company's decision and has been dealing with the case according to law.

In September last year, XpressWest and CRI announced to establish a joint venture to build the Southwest Rail Network that will connect Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles in California.

The two sides planned to start construction on the 370-kilometer line in September 2016 with an initial investment of 100 million U.S. dollars.
A Chinese man who was fresh out of prison has been arrested again after a noisy, Mafia-style ceremony that was held to celebrate his regained freedom.

Cheng Youze, from Jincheng City in north China's Shanxi Province, was arrested for disturbing the peace, the local procuratorate said.

A video clip that went viral in late May showed Cheng, wearing a white silk suit and sunglasses, swaggering through two rows of people who were in black T-shirts after he left prison. Firecrackers were set off, adding to the air of festivity.

The clip fanned ridicule and indignation from the public and prompted a police investigation.

The police said before Cheng was discharged, he told his family and friends to hold an impressive ritual on the day of his release. His former driver found a wedding planner to help with the ceremony.

On the morning of May 23, Cheng's friends and acquaintances arrived at the prison in 47 cars, and carried out the ceremony.

The event drew a lot of onlookers. Cheng refused to disperse the crowd and the road outside the prison was blocked.

Cheng has served prison time on three occasions. Local newspaper Beijing Times said he was sentenced to six years for robbery in 1984, 15 years for hooliganism, robbery and gambling in 1996 and eight years for illegal detention, illegal trade of explosives and intentional injury in 2009. He only served partial sentences.

The local government is investigating possible misconduct concerning Cheng's cases.
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The body of Shen Liangliang, a Chinese UN peacekeeping soldier killed in a recent terrorist attack in Mali, was cremated in northeast China's Jilin Province on Friday.

The cremation took place in Yongji County, and the ashes will be escorted back to Shen's home in the central province of Henan.

More than 1,000 people attended the memorial service for the 29-year-old sergeant first class. He had been in service for 11 years.

A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at a UN camp in the northern Malian town of Gao in the early hours of June 1 (Beijing time), injuring another seven Chinese peacekeepers.

Shen was the 11th Chinese servicemen killed in UN peacekeeping missions abroad. His body was brought back to China on Thursday afternoon.
Rivers running clear and deep can help us find mental clarity and spiritual depth when we need it most. That was certainly the case for Norman Maclean, who found in the Blackfoot River a powerful metaphor for grace and transience. The beautiful Blackfoot helped Maclean write about the death of his younger brother. Over the years that story of land, water, and family has become part of the fabric of our culture and helped define who we are as Montanans.

On the 40th anniversary of the publication of Macleans A River Runs Through It, the Montana Association of Christians is pleased to announce our support for the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project, a legislative proposal to protect the headwaters of the Blackfoot and Clearwater rivers.

MAC represents eight denominations, several hundred churches, and more than 130,000 parishioners across the state of Montana. Together, we seek to bring the voice of the Gospel to bear upon those places where peace and justice are absent, speaking up for those who are denied a voice and working for the dignity of all people and the care of all creation. After careful consideration, weve decided to support the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project because we believe it is a balanced, thoughtful, and inclusive approach to future management of American public lands and waters in a beloved corner of Montana.

Montanas wildlands and wildlife have their origins in the works of the Creator, but we all have the responsibility to steward them for future generations. This stewardship is especially important for landscapes with a particular spiritual resonance for Montanans, and Macleans Blackfoot is just such a place.

The landscape-wide proposal offered by the BCSP is the result of more than a decade of collaboration among Pyramid Mountain Lumber, the Seeley Lake Driftriders Snowmobile Club, commercial outfitters, hunters and anglers, and conservation groups, including the Montana Wilderness Association and The Wilderness Society. Their proposal combines forest restoration, recreation and conservation. It has already resulted in 138 forest jobs and $19 million in federal investment for forest restoration around Seeley Lake and Ovando.

The conservation and recreation facets of its proposal would include 83,000 acres in the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Mission Mountain wilderness areas and create new opportunities for snowmobiling and other recreation between Seeley Lake and Ovando. These aspects require legislative action. MAC urges Montanas congressional delegation to act on these parts of the BCSP proposal and carry them through Congress to the presidents desk.

MAC has long affirmed that the scripture calls on all of us to care for Creation  and we embrace this calling as one of the key values of our organization. MAC believes that thriving public lands are essential for our spiritual health and the well being of our economy. We further believe that all people can contribute to the protection and restoration of Montanas environment as caretakers of Gods earth through initiatives such as the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project.
 Flash

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi (L) shakes hands with European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini at the 6th round of China-EU high-level strategic dialogue in Brussels, Belgium, June 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

China and the European Union (EU) held their sixth high-level strategic dialogue in Brussels on Friday, with both sides pledging to further cooperation in various areas.

The event was co-chaired by visiting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

China sees the EU as a comprehensive strategic partner for mutual benefit, Yang said, adding that deepening China-EU relations was not only in line with both demands on economic and social development, but also conductive to global peace, stability and economic recovery.

The two sides agreed to implement the consensus reached by both leaders at the 17th China-EU Summit held in June last year that enhances synergy between their development strategies, and deepens cooperation on trade, investment, infrastructure connectivity, digitization, legal affairs, and facilitation of people-to-people exchanges, Yang said.

They also agreed to accelerate negotiations on bilateral investment agreements and to inject more vigor into cooperation on political security, technology innovation, maritime economy, ocean technology, and cultural tourism, he added.

The EU and China will enhance coordination and ensure the success of the 18th China-EU Summit scheduled in Beijing next month, Yang said. As well, they agreed to join efforts with relevant parties to make the upcoming G20 Summit produce positive outcome, he noted.

Mogherini said China is a key cooperative partner of the EU and the two sides conducted fruitful cooperation on a wide range of fields, bringing pragmatic benefit to both sides.

She praised China's constructive role in coping with global and regional challenges, saying strengthened EU-China dialogues and policy coordination would help generate more cooperative outcomes and solve international and regional hot issues.

Yang also met with Deputy Belgian Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders on Friday. During the meeting, Yang said China would like to advance cooperation with Belgium in such areas as micro-electronics, aerospace, nuclear energy, biological medicine and environment protection.

Earlier on Thursday, Yang also met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. He expressed the will to work with the EU to cement cooperation in politics, trade and the people-to-people exchanges.
 Flash

Peru's president-elect, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, said Friday at a press conference that it was too early to discuss whether he would make any "political alliances" in forming his government.

"It is very premature to speak of the political alliances of the members of the cabinet," said Kuczynski, who will take over from President Ollanta Humala on July 28.

Kuczynski won a tight victory over his rival, Keiko Fujimori, with just 50.12 percent of the vote against her 49.88 percent from the election on June 5. Despite this close contest and after initial rumblings from her camp that she would contest the result, Fujimori announced on Friday afternoon that she recognized Kuczynski's victory.

In a statement, Fujimori said she accepted the democratic results from the National Office of Electoral Processes.

However, the winner said he would seek to grow close to "important players" in Congress, where Fujimori has the support of 73 lawmakers, giving her an absolute majority in the 130-seat chamber.

Kuczynski also added that he would appoint Alfredo Thorne, an economist who led the winning campaign, as Minister of Economy. Furthermore, the current Minister of Education, Jaime Saavedra, has been invited to remain in his position in the next government.

The president-elect said that, over the next few days, he hoped to shore up a broad base of support for his government and to appoint more ministers.

In terms of specific policies, Kuczynski explained one of the first actions of his government would be tackle rising criminality, which has become a real source of concern to many Peruvians.

Policies announced during his winning campaign also include modernization reforms, including the improvement of public services for poorer Peruvians, easier access to credit for SMEs, and a salary increase for education and healthcare professionals.


Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing holds up the new Phab2 Pro phone during his keynote address at Tech World 2016 on Thursday, in San Francisco.[Photo/Agencies]

Multinational giant Lenovo shows off new smartphones for 'connected computing'

Multinational tech giant Lenovo unveiled two new lines of products on Thursday at Tech World 2016 in San Francisco - the Phab 2 Pro, the world's first consumer Tango-enabled smartphone in partnership with Google; and the Moto Z family, with Moto Mods, that turns a smartphone into a multifunctional device.

Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing, joined by industry leaders, fans, media and analysts, gave a Silicon Valley-style keynote speech at the packed Mosonic Auditorium. He shared the company's vision on innovation and tech transformation, including IoT and smart connectivity, the power of big data and unique user experiences, and vowed to provide customers "innovative and revolutionary" products as the leading traditional PC maker.

Yang spoke of Lenovo's three pillars of future technology: device innovation, device-plus-cloud connectivity and infrastructure. While Lenovo has a strong heritage of device innovation and retains its leadership in the traditional PC market, the rapidly changing landscape means entirely new concepts and categories in cloud and connectivity are emerging.

"The power of connectivity is transforming the PC from personal computing to CC - connected computing," said Yang. "We're helping lead this transformation by combining our expertise in hardware innovation with the critical back-end cloud platform to help devices listen, see, sense and understand the world."

Through building flexible, reliable and safe infrastructure, Lenovo will deliver the next generation of technology advancements, Yang said.

Launching products like the Phab 2 Pro and Moto's new Z Series smartphones in the heart of Silicon Valley shows "we're committed to this strategic technology direction", Yang said.

Lenovo is struggling with a slowing Chinese market and dwindling market share in North America. Total net loss for the company's fiscal second quarter was $714 million. Industry insiders believed it would use the tech conference this year to "show its muscles" in the smart devices sector and rejuvenate its smartphone business.

In October 2014, Lenovo acquired Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.91 billion and positioned itself as the world's third-largest maker of smartphones.

Calling Moto Z the world's thinnest premium smartphone and a "game-changing product", Yang and his team showcased the metal design, low-light camera, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor and Moto TurboPower charging. Adding the benefits of a shatterproof shield and 15-hour battery life, Moto Z Force is exclusively for the US market with a display guaranteed not to crack.

"Lenovo's newest generation of PCs paired with Intel's latest processors are becoming more powerful, versatile and mobile - and delivering amazing new experiences," said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO, when he used the Lenovo Y900 based on the 6th generation Intel CoreTM i7 processor with Oculus Virtual Reality to demonstrate how people can be completely immersed in the virtual world of a gaming experience.

"With our continued innovation together, Intel and Lenovo are elevating virtual reality and making e-sports more personal, immersive and engaging," he added.

To encourage hardware innovation, the Lenovo Capital Fund has set aside $1 million for individuals or companies that create the best Moto Mods prototype through the Moto Mods platform by March 31, 2017.

"These devices that are as mobile and flexible in design as their users require a higher level of seamless connectivity," said Yang - no matter whether "you are at work, at home, or on the go".

The Phab2 Pro will be available globally for $499 in September. Lenovo also announced the Moto Z and Moto Z Force are coming this summer in the US.

junechang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily 06/11/2016 page2)
GUANGZHOU - Four students celebrating the end of the college entrance exam were drowned in a reservoir in South China's Guangdong province, local authorities said on Saturday.

According to a Jieyang city official, six students went to the Nanlong Reservoir at about 2 pm Friday and fell from a floating wooden plank into the water.

Two of the students made it back to shore, but four of the teenagers, three boys and a girl, were found by rescuers and pronounced dead at the scene.

The college entrance exam, "Gaokao," fell on Tuesday and Wednesday this year, with a total of 9.4 million Chinese students competing for university admission.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (R) arrives at St. Paul's Cathedral for the National Service of Thanksgiving to mark the Queen's 90th birthday on June 10, 2016 in London.[Photo/Agencies]
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission are two different critters. Our FWP department presents wildlife management proposals to five governor-appointed fish and wildlife commissioners. Commission meeting minutes regarding wolves, 2007 through 2015, are available, 406-444-7826. Get a copy; its interesting history.

At the July 14, 2011, commission meeting, Gov. Brian Schweitzer appointee Bob Ream moved and Ron Moody seconded, establishing a three-wolf quota north of Yellowstone National Park. On July 9, 2015, Gov. Steve Bullock appointee Gary Wolfe moved and Richard Stuker seconded reducing their quota to two wolves. Yellowstone buffer zone wolf quotas were instituted by fish and wildlife commissioners at final season-setting meetings. They were not proposed by the FWP department or sent out for comment.

On May 12, department biologists proposed a six-wolf quota and a Montana trapping quota of seven fisher. Commissioners rejected the departments proposal and put out two-wolf and zero-fisher quotas. Department biologists made no Yellowstone wolf quota proposals before their six-wolf quota that was shot down by a commission majority.

Do wolf advocacy groups and their "green decoys" masquerading as sportsmen try to influence Montana politicians? Could Montana hunters and trappers be "sold down the river" to placate national wolf advocacy outfits who couldnt care less about Montanas hunting heritage? Are environmental activists seeking more federal control over Montana resources, pouring political action cash into our governors re-election campaign? Does wolf predation impact Montanas ungulate populations?

You decide!

Edwin Johnson

Gardiner
Hundreds of citizens and military representatives at a funeral service on Friday paid their final respects to the Chinese peacekeeper who died in a terrorist attack in Mali.

First Sergeant Shen Liang-liang, 29, was killed in the terrorist attack in northern Mali on May 31.

Shen was the 11th Chinese serviceman killed in UN peacekeeping missions abroad.

Another five soldiers were also injured in the attack in Mali, the Ministry of Defense said last week.

Shen's body was flown back to Northeast China's Jilin province on Thursday.

His ashes will be interred in his hometown, Wenxian, Henan province.

"Shen lived very simply as he bore the cost of his family. He had just sent 5,000 yuan ($758) back home before he left China. I really miss him," said Yuan Shangjun, political commissioner of the army division in which Shen served. in an interview with China Central Television.

Bian Long, Shen's squadron leader said he wanted to tell Shen's parents that even though the company had lost a good soldier and they lost their son, Shen's companions will take care of them as their son would have.

Last week, the military sent a team of medical specialists to Mali to help care for the five survivors of the terrorist attack.

Led by a senior Defense Ministry official, the team will also work with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission and the Mali government to ensure the safety of peacekeepers.

Mali's former prime minister, Moussa Mara, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that Chinese peacekeepers in the stabilization mission were doing more than just helping to bring peace to the West African country. China not only provides military and defense assistance to Mali, it extends help to the hearts of the people, he said.

China has strongly condemned the attack, which was claimed by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, and pledged to continue supporting UN peacekeeping operations around the world.

After the attack, the Foreign Ministry announced that the country supports discussions led by the UN Security Council on capacity building for the UN's peacekeeping mission.

The ministry's spokeswoman Hua Chunying also said on June 3 that the Mali government and the UN should immediately carry out measures to protect peacekeepers and prevent a recurrence of such incidents.
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]

MANILA - The Philippine government has been behind the intensifying tensions in the South China Sea, a former diplomat of the country told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Alberto Encomienda, former secretary-general of Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center of the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department, said: "China has been for the negotiations all along, but from the beginning we are not."

The Philippine Foreign Affairs Department said it has conducted over 50 consultations and negotiations with China from 1995 to 2012, which did not happen, said the diplomat, who was then in charge of the negotiation "before it exploded."

Encomienda noted that China "has been sending quiet feelers to improve relations."

"Prior to the 2005's APEC (forum summit), China sent two delegations to the Philippines, and invited delegations from the House of Representatives to Beijing. We never gave this much attention. After the summit, China sent feelers to the Philippines again, we never responded," he revealed.

The former Philippine maritime official also said that China should not be demonized in terms of the South China Sea issue, since it was the Philippines who first engaged in reclamation activities in South China Sea, building airstrips on China's Zhongye Island.

"We were the first to do reclamation in South China Sea. So we cannot demonize China for reclamation," he said, revealing that the airfield on Zhongye Island "was built on top of live coral reefs."

Encomienda also lashed out at the US for its mounting military presence in the South China Sea and its purpose to set the Philippines against China on this issue.

"The US is very against China's reclamation in South China Sea ... Look, how much China is spending to reclaim those reefs? Nothing compared to what the US spent on the Philippines for EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement). In short, China is reclaiming reefs, but America is reclaiming the Philippines," he said.

After President Benigno Aquino III's first state visit to the US in 2010, "everything that came up as the Philippines' South China Sea position has something to do with 'rule-based' and 'legal framework.' But these are rule basis determined by the US," said Encomienda.

The former diplomat emphasized that the Philippines "is in urgent need of an independent foreign policy."
Members of the royal family, including Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge holding Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Prince William, Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Philip stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony on Horseguards Parade in central London, Britain June 11, 2016. Trooping the Colour is a ceremony to honour Queen Elizabeth's official birthday. The Queen celebrates her 90th birthday this year. [Photo/Agencies]

All the pomp and pageantry of Britain was on display today for the annual ceremony of Trooping the Colour, a parade in central London held each year to honor the monarch's official birthday, timed to coincide with the better weather of May and June. This monarchs real birthday falls on April 21, the date on which she was born in 1926.

She has now ruled for 64 years, becoming Britain's longest reigning monarch, exceeding the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria.

Royal guardsmen in their distinctive bright red tunics and tall bearskin helmets, known as busbies, wheeled and marched on the Horse Guards Parade in the heart of London as Queen Elizabeth II, dressed in a striking neon green coat, dress and hat, took the salute.

Until 1987 the Queen, a keen horsewoman, would take the salute on horseback, riding sidesaddle and wearing the uniform of the Colonel-in-Chief of whatever Guards regiment was heading the parade on the day.

Tens of thousands of tourists, many from China, crowded the streets to watch the ceremonies, which involved 1,000 soldiers, 200 horses and 200 musicians, some of them mounted.

The ceremony dates back to 1760, when whichever regiment was guarding the monarch  it is done in rotation  presented its colours, or regimental flag. The ritual of presenting, or trooping, the flag, dates back to the various wars British soldiers were involved in in Europe, when at the start of each day each units flag was paraded in front of the troops so they would recognize them as a rallying point in the heat of battle.

A couple of things to note  the Queen always dresses in bright colours when attending official functions such as today's event to allow the crowd to spot her easily.

And the bearskin headgear worn by the Brigade of Guards, charged with protecting the Monarch and guarding her official residences, dates back to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, when British forces under the Duke of Wellington defeated the Grand Armee of Napoleon Bonaparte. They were originally part of the uniform in battle of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, many of whom perished in a desperate last minute charge against British lines.

The British guardsmen were so impressed by their bravery that they adopted the headgear as a tribute that lasts until today.

After today's display of marching and music, the Royal Air Force staged a flypast, with fighters, transport aircraft, helicopters and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which includes a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane, both of which saw service in World War II.
( Xinhua )

Updated: 2016-06-11 06:56:47

BRUSSELS - China and the European Union (EU) held their sixth high-level strategic dialogue here Friday, with both sides pledging to further cooperation in various areas.

The event was co-chaired by visiting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.



China sees the EU as a comprehensive strategic partner for mutual benefit, Yang said, adding that deepening China-EU relations was not only in line with both demands on economic and social development, but also conductive to global peace, stability and economic recovery.



The two sides agreed to implement the consensus reached by both leaders at the 17th China-EU Summit held in June last year that enhances synergy between their development strategies, and deepens cooperation on trade, investment, infrastructure connectivity, digitization, legal affairs, and facilitation of people-to-people exchanges, Yang said.



They also agreed to accelerate negotiations on bilateral investment agreements and to inject more vigor into cooperation on political security, technology innovation, maritime economy, ocean technology, and cultural tourism, he added.



The EU and China will enhance coordination and ensure the success of the 18th China-EU Summit scheduled in Beijing next month, Yang said. As well, they agreed to join efforts with relevant parties to make the upcoming G20 Summit produce positive outcome, he noted.



Mogherini said China is a key cooperative partner of the EU and the two sides conducted fruitful cooperation on a wide range of fields, bringing pragmatic benefit to both sides.

She praised China's constructive role in coping with global and regional challenges, saying strengthened EU-China dialogues and policy coordination would help generate more cooperative outcomes and solve international and regional hot issues.



Yang also met with Deputy Belgian Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders on Friday. During the meeting, Yang said China would like to advance cooperation with Belgium in such areas as micro-electronics, aerospace, nuclear energy, biological medicine and environment protection.



Earlier on Thursday, Yang also met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. He expressed the will to work with the EU to cement cooperation in politics, trade and the people-to-people exchanges.
A white boy's kidnapping by Apaches in 1861 is the subject of a new book that will be discussed at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in the Centers Coe Auditorium.

The boy would become a man named Mickey Free, and his kidnapping ignited a decades-long war for which both sides  the Apaches and the white invaders  would lay blame squarely on him, wrote Western historian Paul Andrew Hutton.

After his free public talk, Hutton will sign copies of his book, "The Apache Wars: The Hunt for Geronimo, the Apache Kid, and the Captive Boy Who Started the Longest War in American History."

According to Hutton, Free was a mixed-blood warrior who moved uneasily between the worlds of the Apaches and the American soldiers. Neither group trusted him, even though they all desperately needed him.

Free played a pivotal role in this long war for the desert Southwest, from its beginning in 1861 until its end in the 1890s as he pursued the renegade scout, the Apache Kid, Hutton explained.

Hutton is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of New Mexico, a former executive director of the Western History Association and former president of the Western Writers of America.
(Photo : Getty Images/Guang Niu) China's underwater lab is expected to be used for both military and civilian purposes.

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China is reportedly planning to build an underwater lab in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.



The underwater lab is likely to be located at a depth of 3,000 meters and will be the first project for long-term human habitation at such a depth.



The project was mentioned in China's current five-year economic plan issued in March. It ranks number two on the list of the country's top 100 science and technology priorities.



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After examining the implementation of the project, authorities have fast-tracked it. No information regarding the timeline or cost of the project is available.



China is currently boosting its presence in the South China Sea amid an ongoing territorial dispute with other Asian countries including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.



The underwater lab is likely to be used for military operations. However, Xu Liping, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Science, said that it is more likely to have civilian implications. The country may carry out mining operations and explore the sea as the potential source of raw materials.



The platform will be mobile and could be equipped with a network of sensors, used to detect U.S. and Russian submarines.



"To develop the ocean is an important strategy for the Chinese government, but the deep sea space station is not designed against any country or region," Liping added. He also stated that deep-water projects are being carried out by many other countries around the world.



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TagsSouth China Sea, china, China underwater lab, underwater lab, South China Sea Dispute
Who's the greatest of them all?

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Who's the most powerful comic book superhero on the planet? Students at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom used scientific principles in a seven-year long study to come up with their definitive answer to this question.



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And who's the greatest. It's ... Superman!



No surprise there for the Man of Steel's millions of fans worldwide. And who's the wimp among some of the greatest superheroes in the Marvel and DC universe included in the study?



Sorry bat freaks. It's Batman.



The superpower showdown study sought to answer the question about which superhero would win in a stand-up fight against other superheroes. Involved in the study were Superman, Wolverine, Mystique, Thor, the Flash, Spider Man, Batman, The Lizard, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, Black Bolt and Iceman.



Of the 12, nine are Marvel heroes; the rest from DC. Except for Mystique and The Lizard, all the rest are superheroes.



The study comes in time for Superman Day on June 12. That coincidence has led skeptics to question the scientific rigor of the University of Leicester study, however.



Students at the university used simple calculations to explain the feasibility of the powers behind of some of the world's most famous superheroes. Based on their study, Superman is tops followed by Wolverine, Mystique and Thor. The latter three are with Marvel and were selected based on their special powers.



The student researchers concluded Superman might be the best superhero of them all on account of the variety of his superpowers and his high density muscles. Wolverine, Thor and Mystique are also top tier because of regenerative abilities (Wolverine), high energy output (Thor) and gene manipulation (Mystique).



What the study concludes is that Superman is the best equipped to win a battle against all the 11 other superheroes and supervillains in the study.



Black Bolt, the voluntarily mute leader of The Inhumans, is the single most destructive superhero based on the incredible energy he can muster. Batman comes out last because he's, well, just a human being, albeit a very smart one.



The students presented their findings in a series of short articles for the Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics and the Journal of Physics Special Topics, two peer-reviewed student journals run by the University's Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Department of Physics and Astronomy.



The student-run journals are designed to give students practical experience of writing, editing, publishing and reviewing scientific papers.



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Tagssuperhero, University of Leicester, Superman, Marvel, dc
BUTTE  Was it actor Woody Harrelson on the phone or up-and-comer Brick Patrick?

In a spot-on impersonation, Butte native Patrick unveiled a laid-back drawl reminiscent of Harrelsons famous ditzy Cheers role and other high-profile roles for a captive newsroom recently.

Patrick has landed a breakout role as Harrelsons twin in Now You See Me: The Second Act, a film sequel that opened Friday nationwide  and at the Missoula Carmike Theater.

It was really such an amazing experience for me, said Patrick in a phone interview from Los Angeles, where he was prepping for the LA premiere this week. For one, its a magical movie, and two, there are two Woodys in the film. And there is all this technology used in the film.

Timed robots were moving and repeating the same track, so Woody and I were weaving in and out of the frame. It was interesting because I was more of a collaborator on it.

In a Quincy, Mass., newspaper, Harrelson gives a shout-out to cast-mate Patrick, who plays Chase, the identical twin brother of Merritt, a hypnotist in the ensemble caper:

There was this guy named Brick who would do the other part while Id do one, said Harrelson, and then Id switch over and hed change. He was a good actor, so it wasnt like heavy sledding.

Patrick snagged the prestigious role in a magical way  much like the plot of the Now You See Me franchise itself.

A working actor who writes screenplays and performs stand-up on the side, Patrick first auditioned in Los Angeles. Unable to decide, Lionsgate Studio casting agents called him back.

It was between me and another guy, so they flew me out to London, and I sat down with director Jon M. Chu and an award-winning makeup artist, Frances Hannon, said Patrick. I needed to have the same skin tone as Woody, so they took me to the same place where they molded masks for Harry Potter, where they took a full bust and covered me in plaster.

After a feverish 24 hours sight-seeing in London, Patrick boarded a plane back to LA. His competition  the other actor up for the same role  was on the same flight.

I got the call, and I got the part, he said.

His rival, however, was gracious in defeat.

Patrick's mother, Marnie Prigge, of Butte, knew in October 2014 her son had gotten a big role in a major feature film, but his studio contract prevented him from giving her details. Still, a mother always knows.

I knew that if they let Ricky in the room, hed get the part, said Marnie Prigge, referring to her son by his given name.

Patrick said he was thrilled to work alongside A-listers Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo, plus Jesse Eisenberg and Daniel Radcliffe, all encouraging and fun to be around.

Mirroring Harrelson was a really delicate job, but Harrelson treated him as one of the gang, added Patrick.

They brought me into the fold. Id get done with a scene and theyd say, Man, youre killin it.

He attributes his commitment to the strong Butte work ethic he grew up in.

"I had a lot of people come up to me and say, 'You have an amazing work ethic, and we've noticed. You'll go a long way in this business.' "

Even when Patricks scenes werent being shot, he hung around to observe and learn from the greats like Caine and Freeman  and Harrelson.

Learning from Woody was an amazing thing. I would get his voice down. There was one day on set when Michael Caine said to me, Mornin, Wood.

I did a lot of impersonations as a kid, so I could do his voice. I had the same cadence down. The camera wouldnt be on me; it was always behind me, so there was no pressure, which helped in a weird way.

Leo Prigge of Butte said his younger brother has always had a natural knack for impersonations.

My favorite hed do was Chris Farleys Down by the River  hed do all the Saturday Night Live characters, said Prigge. He can imitate anybody. He does great accents, too.

Patrick, born Rick Prigge, is a 1999 Butte High School graduate. As a kid, he cracked up his family doing other stock impressions, including Jack Nicholson, Mel Gibson, Jim Carrey and all his wacky characters.

In an unusual twist for a Hollywood studio, he sat in on script-writing meetings with Harrelson.

I dont want to appear glib or anything. Woody was really open with me, so I had a lot to do with how his performance came out.

Both studied under Irish mentalist Keith Barry for an insiders view of illusion and magic, much of which involves distracting the audience.

Working on-set for six months in London, then China, was an adventure of a lifetime.

I was in 100 percent bliss for six months of my life, Patrick said.

Much to his delight, director Jon M. Chu introduced Patrick at Wednesdays LA premiere. The big premiere featuring the full cast will take place in China.

Undeniably, Patrick is proud he held his own, playing opposite Harrelson.

It was absolutely amazing getting to work with this caliber of creators, he said. Ive maintained friendships with Woody and Dave Franco. I got my first major feature film under my belt.
home Faith Evangelicals in America feel alienated in their own country

No longer considered a dominant force in the population and public life, American evangelicals are starting to feel alienated in their own country.

"There's nobody hated more in this nation than Christians," declared Pastor Richie Clendenen as he addressed a flock of faithful gathered at the Christian Fellowship Church on Sunday, June 5.

He added, "Welcome to America's most wanted: You."

According to the Associated Press (AP), the pastor was preaching about how the America of today is becoming more and more what the Bible was warning Christians about a that they will be persecuted for their beliefs.

"The church as an institution, as a public entity a we are moving more and more in conflict with the culture and with other agendas," former pastor at Christian Fellowship, David Parish, told AP.

Parish noted that the American culture only laughs at and considers nonsense the so-called biblical morality that Christians practice and advocate.

"When was the last time you saw an evangelical or conservative Christian character portrayed positively on TV?" raised the evangelical director at Lifeway Research, Ed Stetzer, who also feels that evangelicals are only made a fun of in their own country.

The religious conservatives now find themselves a minority in the population. According to the Pew Research Center, there are now only about 25 percent of Americans who identify themselves as evangelicals a only a couple notches above those who identify themselves with no religious affiliation or "nones."

Rev. Russell Moore, head of the Southern Baptist public policy agency, has acknowledged that the religious body's influence is currently feeling some decline. This was made apparent when the Southern Baptist Convention saw a 200,000 drop in population in 2014, reducing them to their smallest count in two decades.

On a similar note, the U.S. Supreme Court is filled with only Jews and Roman Catholics.
home World Christian human rights lawyer is 'more dangerous than Bin Laden', according to China

A Christian human rights lawyer who was taken away in a political crackdown last year is considered by Chinese authorities as "more dangerous than Bin Laden," according to his friend.

"A Chinese security agent once told him, in the eyes of Beijing Li had become 'more dangerous than Bin Laden,'" said Terence Halliday about his Chinese friend, Li Heping.

Halliday, an American Bar Foundation scholar and co-author of a soon-to-be released book "Criminal Defense in China: The Politics of Lawyers at Work," wrote about Li in an article on The Guardian published Wednesday, June 8.

Li was a farmers' son who rose to become the "enemy of the state" as he championed the weak and disenfranchised. The father of two was taken away by the Chinese authorities on July 10 last year in a political crackdown against the rights defenders movement.

According to Halliday, Li believed that China's government was starting to lose the people's trust as impunity and injustice continue to prevail.

"Chinese say that they are living inside a prison," Li once told Halliday.

Li expounded, "If you are detained, you are in a smaller prison. If you are released, you are in a bigger prison."

Halliday imagined his friend as having been taken to the "netherworld of the disappeared," to a so-called "hidden realm" because families, lawyers, or overseas diplomat find it impossible to reach detainees.

"A place where, as Li himself once told me, torture is highly likely," cited Halliday as he recounted Li being abducted once in 2007.

Halliday explained that these human rights defenders are rewarded with disappearances and imprisonment as the government takes down those that it deems as opposed to its monopoly on power.

He recalled when he once asked the Chinese lawyer, also a devout Christian, if those who persecute people deserve a Christian's forgiveness.

Li answered, "I think that basically we have to forgive police and government officials for the harms they do us and their misconduct."

Halliday wondered whether a year of solitary confinement and torture would have broken Li's courage and convictions.
home Faith 'Virgin Mary' appears on tree? Image draws crowds in Chicago neighborhood

The image of what people believe to be the Virgin Mary has appeared in South Deering, Chicago, and people have been flocking to the church to see it.

However, the image is not inside St. Kevin Church but outside, on a tree that stands behind the building. The image is white and looks like a 3-D representation of the mother of Christ, The Times reported.

It has caused quite a stir in the community. Every day, more people are turning up at the church for a chance to see the mind boggling image on the tree.

Maria Tellez from South Deering, who recently learned about the image, is convinced it is the Virgin Mary.

"I believe it's her. She does appear in weird places," said Tellez, referring to the tree's location, which is near garbage cans, an alley and a railroad track, according to The Times.

Church members have cleaned the area around the tree and cut off some of its branches that cover the image.

Tellez said a woman had discovered the image about a year ago but told nobody about it. However, on June 3, as St. Kevin Church held a mass to celebrate its 135th anniversary, the woman told a parishioner about the tree and asked him if he wanted to take a look at it.

Some people began to go out to look at the image, and other members of the congregation who were baffled by the commotion stepped outside to see what was happening. Soon after, a crowd had gathered near the tree, fixated at the image.

Tellez believes it's some kind of "sign."

"With all the hate and malice going on in the world, she's here for a reason," she said.

In January, news broke out of another image seemingly of the Virgin Mary that was captured in a photograph in Georgia. The photo was taken by Father Fernando Molina-Restrepo of the Transfiguration Catholic Church on Dec.12, the day for the Catholic Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Catholic Online reported.

The image was seen on a church glass window. When it appeared, a scent of roses filled the air, according to the parishioners.
Chile: Church attacked as student protest turns violent

A student march in Chile's capital on Thursday ended with violent confrontations with police and the sacking of a Catholic church as the radicalization of the country's politically powerful student movement intensified.

University and high school students in Chile have become increasingly disenchanted with the left-leaning government of President Michelle Bachelet.

They have accused Bachelet of reneging on a number of promises regarding social and economic reforms, and are incensed over the government's failure to complete a planned education overhaul, which has been diluted due to budget constraints. They have promised more protests.

At the end of the march on Thursday, masked protesters entered a church in downtown Santiago and destroyed a 3-meter (9.84 ft) tall statue of Jesus Christ.

Gabriel Iturra, spokesman for the student union Confech, said the act was inappropriate and had been committed by a fringe group with little understanding of the movement's principles.

Chile's Interior Ministry Mario Fernandez, who took over the post on Wednesday after the prior minister resigned, also condemned the statue's destruction.

"What we have just seen is a very troubling symptom of what some people are starting to do to our country," he told reporters.

Student protests, a regular fixture during the last center-right government of Sebastian Pinera, often end in clashes with police. The massive protests have increased in recent weeks, heaping political pressure on Bachelet's government.

In the last month, students have staged a protest inside the country's presidential palace and have occupied and paralyzed dozens of universities and high schools throughout the country.
New York City launches major ad campaign to promote use of public bathrooms based on gender identity

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has launched a campaign to tell the public to use public bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, regardless of their biological sex.

The ad blitz will run until July 3 and will cost the city $265,000, the New York Post reports.

Transgenders are featured in the ad, which says, "Use the restroom consistent with who you are. Look past pink and blue."

"In NYC, it's the law. No questions asked," it adds.

De Blasio said, "No one deserves to be denied access to bathrooms or discriminated against for being who they are. Every New Yorker has the legal right to use the bathroom consistent with their gender identity, no questions asked  and these powerful ads affirm this right."

He said New York City has been a leader in fighting for LGBTQ equality and the ads are evidence of this support.

"While other cities and states are legislating intolerance and taking away individuals' right to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, we are proudly standing with our transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers," he said.

New York City has teamed with the city's Commission on Human Rights in the campaign.

The ad campaign will kick off the LGBTQ Pride Month and it includes ads and videos that will appear in subway cars, bus shelters, phone booths, ethnic and community newspapers, and in ads in digital publications and social media in English and Spanish.

Ethnic newspaper ads will appear in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Russian and Bengali.

The commission is set to release two digital videos that feature transgender New Yorkers.

However, not everyone is supporting the bathroom policy.

Pastor Bryan Ridenour wrote in his blog about the Obama administration's push for public schools to allow transgenders to use restrooms according to their gender identity.

Ridenour mentioned 2 Timothy 2:22, which reads, "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

"Instead of fleeing evil, our world chases after it like a moth to a flame," Ridenour wrote, according to Christian News Network. "Opening the door of our bathrooms and locker rooms to all genders or gender identities opens another Pandora's Box in our already sin sick world," he said.
Scottish Episcopal Church takes first step towards allowing same-sex marriage as sanctions loom

Tolerance towards same-sex unions seem to be spreading around the world like an epidemic. First, it affected the United States, and possibly soon, churches in the United Kingdom as well.

The Scottish Episcopal Church, a Christian church in Scotland, took its first step towards allowing gay unions by introducing a major change in the definition of marriage in the canon law that it follows.

The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church, in a meeting on Friday in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, approved on first reading the deletion of the portion in its doctrinal statement wherein marriage is defined as the union "of one man and one woman."

Seven bishops, 69 percent of the clergy and 80 percent of the laity supported the move towards allowing gay unions, which included a so-called "conscience clause" protecting clergy who choose not to officiate homosexual weddings.

Right Reverend Dr. Gregor Duncan, Anglican Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway and acting convener of the church's Faith and Order Board, described the Scottish Episcopal Church's decision to amend its definition of marriage as an "important" one.

"It represents the beginning of a formal process of canonical change. The church has been engaged in recent years in a series of discussions at all levels. The current process will enable the Church to come to a formal decision on the matter," Duncan said in a BBC report.

The seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church must now deliberate on the proposal following the approval by the General Synod. For the proposal to pass second reading, it needs to be supported by a majority of two-thirds among bishops, clergy and laity within the General Synod.

If it approves same-sex unions, the Church may face sanctions from the Anglican Communion, of which it is a member. Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, the secretary-general of the Anglican Communion, for instance, discouraged the Scottish Episcopal Church from approving gay "marriages."

"I would echo what the Archbishop of Canterbury said recently in Zimbabwe on same-sex marriage: There are differing views within the Anglican Communion, but the majority one is that marriage is the lifelong union of a man and woman. He also stressed our primates' opposition to the criminalisation of LGBTIQ people," he told BBC News.
A Houston physician will spend almost five years in prison and pay $2 million in restitution after pleading guilty in a medical fraud case, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston announced Friday.

In January, Dr. Augustine Egbunike, 61, pleaded guilty in federal court in connection with a scheme to bilk Medicare and Medicaid out of nearly $3 million in bogus tests for people with vertigo or dizziness - called vestibular diagnostic testing.

Also identified in the investigation was Loretta Mbadugha, 58. She pleaded guilty in December 2014 for her part in the case, officials said. She was sentenced in May to more than two years in prison and was ordered to pay more than $400,000 in restitution. Her house was forfeited because it was purchased with money from the fraud case, officials said.

From 2006 through 2010, Egbunike and others billed the government for tests that were either not performed, unnecessary or done by people without the required licenses. Some patients were tested more than 1,000 times, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The government through Medicare and Medicaid paid out about $2 million worth bogus claims. At the time, almost 90 percent of Egbunike's Medicare and Medicaid income was a result of the unnecessary vestibular testing, officials said.

This was the largest case among four separate vestibular fraud indictments in the Houston area that have totaled almost $6 million, officials said.


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POLSON  Remember the lawsuit late last summer that sought to stop the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes from acquiring Kerr Dam, in part because the plaintiffs claimed CSKT was doing business with Turkish enterprises they said might be affiliated with terrorists who want to blow up the dam?

The lawsuit that said it was possible Turkey was seeking to acquire raw nuclear materials from American Indian reservations for military purposes, and would provide Turkey and such organizations with the opportunity to more freely promote their brand of Islam on reservations?

One of the two attorneys who filed the lawsuit, Joseph Schmitz, is now one of the top foreign policy advisers to Donald Trump.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee identified Schmitz as one of his top five foreign policy advisers in an interview with the Washington Post this spring, before Trump had won enough delegates to clinch the GOP nomination.

The lawsuit was withdrawn shortly after a federal judge denied its request for an emergency restraining order that would have temporarily blocked the tribes from acquiring the hydroelectric project, now known as Selis Knaska Qlispe Dam, last September.

U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Cantreras noted the lawsuits somewhat perplexing arguments regarding the Turkish governments involvement with Native Americans in denying the request.

Nowhere are those allegations substantiated in the record, the judge added. Indeed, at hearing, counsel for the plaintiffs conceded that no such evidence has been submitted.

***

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of state Sen. Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork, and former state Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, by Schmitz, whose law firm is in McLean, Virginia, and New York City attorney Lawrence Kogan.

Two weeks after the lawsuit was withdrawn, Keenan joined six other state legislators on a tour of the dam with officials from the tribally owned corporation that operates it, Energy Keepers.

Keenan told the Missoulian that day that while he still had concerns, the lawsuit had contained several issues he did not agree with, including the ones relating to Turkey.

It ended up being a lawyer in New York with 14 pages of concerns that I told him I didnt want any part of, Keenan said in October. I walked away from that.

After long insisting he was his own foreign policy adviser, Trump in March named five people he was relying on for advice on foreign affairs to the Washington Post editorial board.

Since then, Schmitz has primarily drawn attention for his tenure as inspector general of the Department of Defense during the George W. Bush administration. He was accused by U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, of blocking investigations of Bush administration officials, and accepting gifts from lobbyists.

A later investigation cleared him of wrongdoing, but Schmitz resigned in 2005 amid new allegations that he obstructed an FBI investigation of another Bush appointee to the Department of Defense. He also drew criticism for then accepting a job with the parent company of Blackwater, a controversial Defense Department private contractor.

But Native Americans and others are also taking note of Schmitz involvement in the lawsuit involving the dam on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

***

The Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights said Schmitz and Kogans brief in the lawsuit gained infamy for alleging that the dam transfer could allow the Turkish government and terrorists to obtain nuclear materials and pose a threat to national security.

Schmitzs involvement in the lawsuit, and ties to Trump, shows once again that the anti-Indian movement is part-and-parcel of a broader attack on civil and human rights, the institute says.

It also says Schmitz has argued that states should enact laws or amend their constitutions to prevent American citizens who are voluntarily dependent on public welfare from voting.

At Indian Country Today, columnist Steve Russell, an associate professor at Indiana University and former Texas trial court judge, wrote that the legal theory asserted to keep the tribes from acquiring the dam is particularly pertinent to Joseph Schmitzs foreign policy bona fides.

While it is true that most Turks are Muslims and there are some people in this country who think all Muslims are terrorists, those ideas have little currency in the fact-based community that dominates most foreign policy discussion, Russell wrote.

It is not true that the Salish and Kootenai people have had any dealing with Turkey about hydropower, let alone nuclear materials, he added.

***

In addition to Schmitz, Trump named the following people as his top foreign policy advisers to the Post:

J. Keith Kellogg Jr., retired Army lieutenant general and former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division.

Carter Page, founder of Global Energy Capital and a former fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

George Papadopoulus, a 2009 graduate of DePaul University who directs an international energy center at the London Center of International Law Practice.

Walid Phares, a 2012 adviser to GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Fox News analyst and provost at BAU International University, founded in 2013 in Washington, D.C.

Schmitz, however, has seemed to garner the most scrutiny since Trump named him as one of his top foreign policy advisers. His family is not unaccustomed to such attention.

Schmitzs father, John G. Schmitz, was a Republican member of Congress from California in the early 1970s, and a candidate for president of the United States, on the conservative American Independent Party ticket, in 1972. A long-time member of the John Birch Society, he was eventually expelled for rhetoric the society felt was too extreme.

John Schmitzs plans to seek a U.S. Senate seat in California in 1982 were derailed when it was revealed he had fathered two children during an extramarital affair with a student at Santa Ana College, where he had taught philosophy and political science prior to entering politics.

Joseph Schmitzs sister, Mary Kay Letourneau, was a married 34-year-old teacher in the Seattle suburb of Burien when she was convicted of raping a 12-year-old student starting in 1996. She was released from prison in 2004 and married the student in 2005, when he was 21 and she was 43. She now goes by Mary Kay Fualaau.
USA Swimming, the national governing body of competitive swimming, has banned convicted rapist Brock Turner for life. The 20-year-old was a swimmer for Stanford University before being found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on campus.

"USA Swimming condemns the crime and actions committed by Brock turner and all acts of sexual misconduct," spokesman Scott Leightman said in a statement (via ABC News). "Brock Turner is not a member and, should he apply, he would not be eligible for membership. Had he been a member, he would have been subject to the USA Swimming Code of Conduct. USA Swimming strictly prohibits and has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct."

Turner's original membership with the organization expired in 2014, but he now will be unable to ever reapply to join. He will also be unable to compete in sanctioned swim events, including the U.S. Olympic Trials that select the Olympic team every four years.

Turner faced up to 14 years in prison for raping an anonymous 23-year-old woman who was unconscious and intoxicated at the time. In a controversial decision, Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to six months in jail, probation and requirement to register as a sex offender. Persky felt that his age and lack of a criminal record warranted a shorter sentence. Prospective jurors are now boycotting the judge for his decision and at least 10 have refused to serve under him in an unrelated case.

Vice President Joe Biden recently penned a missive to the survivor of Turner's assault, acknowledging that "the nation is not satisfied" with the lenient sentence and praised the anonymous woman's bravery for speaking out against her rapist.

This article originally appeared on Rollingstone.com: USA Swimming Bans Convicted Rapist Brock Turner for Life
Houston Police responded to a call around 3 a.m. Saturday of a man found dead on the side of the road next to his truck in southeast Houston. The victim was found at 4100 Mowery Road.

J.T. Roscoe, a police investigator, said it's too early to tell the man's cause of death. Investigators didn't know if the victim lived on the street or why he was there. Those with information are asked to call the homicide division at (713)-308-3600.
About 1,000 young Hispanics started marching Saturday afternoon from Discovery Green to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, advocating for young immigrants to be given a pathway to the American Dream.

"Undocumented! Unafraid," participants shouted through Discovery Green.

The march will end at the Harris County Sheriff's Office in protest of the county's track record detaining and deporting more people than almost any other county.

Under a controversial program known as 287(g), which expires at the end of June and is currently being evaluated for renewal, the Harris County Sheriff's Office transfers undocumented people entering the county jail into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities.

Because of the demonstrators, visitation is being suspended Saturday at the Harris County Jail Complex, including 1200 Baker Street, 701 San Jacinto Street, 711 San Jacinto Street, and 1307 Baker Street. Normal visitation will resume at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Participants are gathered for the United We Dream Congress 2016, the largest immigration event of its type in the nation. An estimated 1.4 million people in the U.S. are dubbed dreamers, meaning they came to America without authorization when they were minors. They are eligible for work permits and relief from deportation under President Barack Obama's executive order, called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

About 68,000 immigrants in Harris County are thought to be eligible for DACA.

Prior to the march, Mexican-born American journalist Jorge Ramos urged hundreds of Hispanic youth to advocate on behalf of themselves and their parents Saturday at the United We Dream Congress 2016 in downtown Houston.

"Be bold. Be blunt," he urged the crowd.

National politics took center stage during Ramos' keynote speech and the subsequent question-and-answer session.

"You've heard from Donald Trump that we're criminals and that's not true," Ramos said. "I think hatred and racism is contagious. Because a politician is saying something racist, many Americans feel it's legitimate."

Much attention was also paid to the landmark ruling expected shortly on the legality of Obama's executive order in a case filed by the State of Texas.

"If the Supreme Court doesn't agree with us, we're going to keep on fighting," Ramos said.
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In the early 20th century, ambitious and civic-minded Americans bent their efforts to turning their hometowns into sophisticated cities.

Maybe none did so with more zeal than Houstonians. It was not enough for Houston to have jobs. Real cities had libraries, museums and zoos. Real cities had music and art.

And the men and women of Houston - especially the women - set about figuring out how to launch these institutions and make them work.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

More Information TIMELINE 1904: The Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library opens its doors. The organization changed its name to the Houston Public Library in 1921. 1909: The Houston Museum and Scientific Society is formed. In 1969, the Houston Museum of Natural Science opens at its present home. 1913: The Houston Art League declares its intention to bring Houston an art museum. By 1924, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is housed at the corner of South Main Street and Montrose. 1913: The Houston Symphony plays its first concert. In 1966, the symphony gets a permanent home at Jones Hall. 1922: The Houston Zoo moves from Sam Houston Park to Hermann Park and hires its first head zookeeper. See More Collapse

At the turn of the century, five women, led by Emma Richardson Cherry and Mary Lovett, determined to bring fine art to Houston public schools.

The Houston Public School Fine Art League bought reproductions of art to be shown in schools. But by 1913, renaming itself the Houston Art League, the group's ambitions had grown: they wanted a real home for real art.

Credit:City of Houston

"Most cities with any ambition began developing boulevards and planning cultural buildings," said Gary Tinterow, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director.

By 1924, with support from William Hogg, a neoclassical building designed by William Ward Watkin housed the MFAH's first collection.

Under the first director, James Chillman Jr., lace and antiquities from Annette Finnigan joined paintings donated by George Dickson and his sister Belle. Ima Hogg gave paintings, Indian artifacts and sculpture; she also bequeathed her mansion, Bayou Bend, in 1957.

Now, with the Caroline Wiess Law and Audrey Jones Beck buildings, along with the Glassell School of Art, the footprint of the museum has expanded well beyond the original vision.

Houston Public Library

Early Houstonians knew literary culture improved a city. But at first, the Houston Lyceum, founded in 1854, restricted its membership to white men. By 1884, women were allowed, but restrictions against blacks proved more stubborn.

In 1899, after a campaign by the Women's Club, city council set aside $2,400 to construct a library building - too small a sum to build much of anything.

So the Women's Club wrote to philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who pledged $50,000, and the city's women's clubs came up with another $8,000.

In 1901, construction began on an Italian Renaissance building at the corner of McKinney and Travis streets, and the Library Association hired Julia Bedford Ideson as its first librarian. She would stay for 42 years.

The Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library opened in 1904, changing its name to Houston Public Library in 1921. In 1926, a new Spanish revival building replaced the original Italian building. Recently renovated, that 1926 structure now bears Ideson's name.

But a parallel story also unspooled. In 1909, a library for black residents was established in Booker T. Washington High School. Led by W.L.D. Johnson with another Carnegie grant, the library opened its own building in 1913. After eight years, it became part of the Houston Public Library yet remained separate. A campaign by prominent black residents finally bore fruit in 1953, when Mayor Roy Hofheinz told the library board that segregation should end. The "colored branch" closed in 1961.

Houston Museumof Natural Science

A group of businessmen started the Houston Museum and Scientific Society in 1909.

Houstonians were exploring the globe as geologists and bringing back interesting objects from their travels. As the Museum of Natural History, the organization collected everything from spinning wheels to gems and minerals. "The fine arts museum got the fine art, and we got everything else," said Lisa Rebori, the museum's vice president of collections.

The city's prominent families led the way.

"The husbands did the groundwork, and the women made sure it happened," Rebori said.

But the museum lacked a permanent home. It bounced from the city auditorium to the library building to the zoo. Along the way it acquired arms from the Westheimer family and some of the flora and fauna of Henry Philemon Attwater.

Schoolchildren loved visiting and, by 1947, the museum's educational programs benefited 12,000 students.

The museum was renamed the Houston Museum of Natural Science in 1960. Four years later, it opened a planetarium and, in 1969, saw the completion of its present building in Hermann Park.

Houston Zoo

Houston's first head zookeeper, Hans Nagel, literally jumped ship from the German Navy and made his way to Texas. When Houston acquired a bison named Earl and moved its animal collection from Sam Houston Park to Hermann Park in 1922, Nagel signed on.

Nagel won over the public by his showmanship, which included public lion-taming demonstrations, though his training tactics would be considered unethical today. During the Nagel years the zoo gained a monkey exhibit, a lion house and an elephant house. It grew from two acres to 30. (It is now 55 acres.)

Nagel carried a 9-mm. Luger at all times. He had ongoing disputes with local police over who had jurisdiction over zoo security. On a Monday afternoon in November, 1941, a policeman came upon Nagel, behind a hedge, apparently spying on three teenagers in a parked car. The policeman told Nagel to accompany him downtown, but when he reached for his handcuffs, Nagel reached for the Luger. The policeman shot Nagel and he died on the spot. The officer was tried and acquitted.

Houston Symphony

In the 1880s, Houston, a city of 20,000, had three active opera houses. By 1901, Houston was bringing in the New York Metropolitan Opera to perform Wagner.

Miss Ima Hogg was a product of the city and knew it had a wealth of able musicians. Small ensembles regularly played at the city's better restaurants. Why not a symphony too?

Spurred by a Russian Symphony performance, Hogg gathered prominent and influential women of the city. A Belgian conductor named Julien Paul Blitz approached them, himself eager for an orchestra. The symphony played its first concert June 21, 1913.

The First World War interfered, however, and the symphony limped a bit until the Houston Symphony Society was formed in 1936. That year, a new conductor, Ernst Hoffman, began building the orchestra into a group with polish and ambition.

In 1966, the orchestra got its first permanent home: the 2,900-seat Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts.
PABLO  Draft legislation for returning the National Bison Range to federal trust ownership for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes  which would continue bison conservation purposes, and maintain public access to the wildlife refuge  has been prepared by the tribes.

CSKT on Friday made the draft public, and announced the formation of the Bison Range Working Group to accept public comment on it. The tribes have said they are in discussions with Montanas congressional delegation about introducing such a bill.

The draft legislation comes after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in a move that caught many by surprise, told CSKT Chairman Vernon Finley in February it would support a transfer.

A lawsuit that maintains the federal agency failed to conduct necessary environmental reviews before doing so was filed last month.

The group that filed the suit, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, claimed the legislation, which had not yet been written, much less introduced, would contain no requirements for the tribes to maintain the Bison Range as a wildlife refuge or to admit the public, nor make any provision for the 350 to 400 bison who call it home.

The draft legislation appears to address all three issues.

In its current form, the bill would relinquish to the tribes all interests the United States may have in the bison on the lands transferred under this act.

The next clause says the lands will be managed exclusively by CSKT, and solely for the care and maintenance of the bison, wildlife and other natural resources. It also gives the tribes the right to re-name the refuge, provided that the tribes shall provide public visitation and education opportunities.

There are provisions dealing with some financial matters, but none that would provide federal funding for operating the Bison Range if a transfer was proposed and approved in Congress.

The refuge has an annual budget of approximately $1 million, and fluctuates depending on how fully staffed it is.

The Fish and Wildlife Service made clear that, once it leaves the National Refuge System, there would be no funding coming to operate it, CSKT spokesman Rob McDonald told the Missoulian Friday. All operating costs would fall upon the tribes.

The proposed bill does call for the United States to provide sufficient funding for liability insurance covering tort actions filed by members of the public, as long as public visitation is required by federal law for the lands transferred by this act.

It also calls for the Secretary of Interior to transfer funds, property, personal equipment and other resources deemed proper by the secretary to assist with the types of activities currently performed at the Bison Range for a period of two years.

McDonald said that clause deals with special programs such as weed control.

The legislation seeks to reduce the impact the transfer would have on Sanders and Lake Counties, which McDonald said currently annually receive approximately $11,000 and $9,000, respectively, from the federal government because the Bison Range is located in their counties.

The provision calls for the Department of Interior to pay each county 90 percent of what it would get if the refuge were still federal land in the first year the land would be transferred to the tribes, 75 percent the second year and 50 percent in years three through five.

Such payments would end after that.

Yet another clause appears to address PEER concerns that this could be the first step in the weakening or dismantling of the National Refuge System. It states that the provisions of this act are uniquely suited to address the distinct circumstances, facts, history and relationships involved with the Bison Range and local Indian tribes.

These provisions are not intended, and shall not be interpreted, as precedent for any other situation regarding federal properties or facilities, it says.

The draft notes that the refuge was established in 1908, at a time bison were in grave threat of extinction, and the land for it on the Flathead Indian Reservation was removed from tribal control without tribal consent. The present herd, it says, descends from one started and maintained by tribal members in the late 19th century, and the animals are no longer critically imperiled.

The legislation also recognizes CSKTs extensive experience in wildlife and natural resource management. That includes the nations first tribally designated wilderness area, the 91,000-acre Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness, and the restoration and management of bighorn sheep populations, peregrine falcons and trumpeter swans on the Flathead Reservation.

The Bison Range is a treasure and, as good neighbors, we want to ensure that everyone is able to review and comment on the legislative language before it is finalized, McDonald said after the proposed bill was rolled out Friday morning.

The acts purposes, according to the act itself, include:

To acknowledge the tribes history, culture, and ecological stewardship with respect to the subject lands, bison and other natural resources.

To ensure that the subject lands, bison and other resources continue to be protected and enhanced.

To continue public visitation opportunities.

To ensure a smooth transition for the subject lands, bison and other natural resources as the land is restored to federal trust ownership for the benefit of the tribes.

President Theodore Roosevelt established the National Bison Range in 1908 when he signed legislation passed by Congress. The refuge covers 18,500 acres on the reservation, and is home to many forms of wildlife, from bears to rattlesnakes, in addition to bison.

The tribes have twice in recent years tried to partner with the Fish and Wildlife Service in the operation of the refuge under annual funding agreements. The first ended ugly.

Tensions mounted at the range during an 18-month period, with increasingly heated accusations concerning job performance and sabotage coming from both sides. It came to a head on Dec. 11, 2006, when FWS pulled the plug on the agreement, locked tribal employees out of the refuge and required them to turn in their gear the next day under the eye of armed federal agents.

A second agreement that put FWS and tribal employees side by side at the Bison Range in 2009-10 seemed to be working fine, but PEER got a federal judge to shoot that one down, essentially because an environmental assessment had not been done.

PEER, along with 10 individual plaintiffs that include former Bison Range managers and employees, are making the same argument in the latest lawsuit. Among other things, it wants a judge to ban the agency from sponsoring, advocating for, or promoting the transfer until an environmental assessment, and Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the refuge, have been completed.

The Bison Range Working Group will be accepting public comment on the draft legislation for two weeks. The current proposed language can be viewed at www.BisonRangeWorkingGroup.org.
Students who fail to buckle up next year on certain Houston school district buses can face discipline action.

The school board voted unanimously Thursday to amend the student code of conduct to require students to use three-point seat belts, which strap across the waist and shoulder, on those buses that have them. On buses with lap belts, the new rules recommend but do not require buckling up.

Students who repeatedly break the district's bus rules, related to seat belts or other behavior, could be suspended or lose their riding privileges.

The seat belt rules come nine months after two students died and two others were seriously injured in September after their Houston Independent School District bus plummeted off Interstate 610. The bus had lap belts, but the four students on board were not wearing them, according to a federal report issued this month.

In another matter, the school board voted to cut ties with a North Carolina firm that the district has contracted with for years to crunch student test score data to calculate performance bonuses and to evaluate teachers. The 3-3 vote, with three trustees absent, represents a major shift for the district and a victory for teacher groups that long have criticized the so-called value-added methodology.

The district already was planning to end the bonus system for next school year, but the contract would have allowed for analysis of the data for 2015-16. The move could affect a federal grant for a couple dozen schools, and will require district officials to amend its system for evaluating teachers.

Roughly half of HISD's 1,100 buses will have seat belts next year. About 430 will have lap belts and up to 150 will have three-point seat belts. HISD announced after the crash last year that when it replaced old buses, typically annually, it would buy ones with three-point seat belts.

HISD officials have said they interpret state law to require students to buckle up only if a school bus has three-point seat belts.

Asked about the interpretation, Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency, pointed to a section in the Texas Education Code, which does not specify a type of seat belt. The code says a district "shall require a student riding a bus  to wear a seat belt if the bus is equipped with seat belts for all passengers on the bus."

Houston attorney David Thompson, who represents HISD, told the board Thursday that the education code references three-point seat belts in other places. HISD's chief student support officer, Mark Smith, however, said that there's ambiguity in the law. District officials offered no explanation as to why they were not requiring use of lap belts.

Joy Baskin, director of legal services for the Texas Association of School Boards, noted that her group's model student handbook does not specify the type of seat belt in their recommended rules, saying only that students should fasten their seat belts, if available.

"I can certainly understand someone reading (state law) differently," Baskin said.

The original proposal presented to the Houston school board on Monday would have required buckling up no matter the kind of seat belt. Interim Superintendent Ken Huewitt's administration later revised the proposal to say that use of three-point seat belts would be required and lap belts would be recommended.

District spokesman Jason Spencer said only that the change was the result of miscommunication about the original proposal.

Most school buses across the nation lack seat belts, and the trend holds true among the largest districts in the greater Houston region. Transportation experts tout the safety of school buses, but in November the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended for the first time that school buses be equipped with three-point seat belts.

Trustee Jolanda Jones said she supported buckling up in all cases, but she did not move to amend the student code of conduct.

"Some seat belt's better than no seat belt," Jones said.

Under the state's transportation code, all school buses bought after Sept. 1, 2010, must have three-point seat belts. However, the transportation code says the three-point seat belts are required only if the state provides funding, which it has not, except for an initial grant to a handful of districts that did not include HISD.
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A puppy stolen at gunpoint from a 14-year-old boy in California has been found safe, police said.

The boy was walking a 3-month-old German shepherd in San Leandro, in the San Francisco Bay Area, when two men brandished a gun, took the puppy and fled, police said.

Nothing was taken, just the dog, said Lt. Robert McManus, a spokesman for the San Leandro Police Department. He said the incident marked the first dog-napping his department has investigated.

McManus said Friday evening the puppy was found safe, but declined to provide details on her return.

The holdup unfolded Monday, when the teen took his puppy  named Maya  for an evening stroll.

About 8:30 p.m., the boy and his dog were confronted by two men who rolled up in a light-colored car. The passenger got out and tried to snatch Maya, but the boy resisted. Then the driver emerged with a gun.

Maya is a purebred black shepherd, a breed thats fairly common in the Bay Area  which doesnt make it any less desirable, said Rebecca Katz, head of Oakland Animal Services.

People dog-nap all kinds of dogs, sometimes for breeding, sometimes for fighting, Katz said.

Police continued to hunt for the robbers Friday morning. Later in the day the puppy was found safe, McManus said.
WATFORD CITY -- The white noise of conversation and laughter filled the bar like the scent of the burgers frying on the grill in the back. The three of us stepped inside from the sunny early evening, our eyes adjusting to the dim light, scanning the room for an open table to grab a drink and a bite to eat.

We were sort of on a schedule in Medora. that evening. Dad and I were there to perform at the Dakota Cowboy Poetry Gathering down the street, and it seemed that everyone in town for the event had the same idea about where to eat.

When my quick scan revealed there wasn't an empty table in the place, I figured we would just turn around, head out the door and find a restaurant without a wait.

But we were there with Merrill, a radio personality, musician and host of the event that evening, and it appeared that he saw the room a bit differently than we did. Like, there may not have been an empty table, but there certainly were empty chairs. And as Dad and I started heading for the door, we noticed Merrill talking and shaking hands with a couple at a table with three empty seats.

"They said we could join them," he declared as he waved us over and started adjusting chairs. And then he informed the waitress of his plan.

"Well, if it's OK with them," she said, a little concerned.

Which I thought was weird. Because Merrill, being the friendly, recognizable personality he is, well, I just figured he knew this couple. It's North Dakota after all.

We're like one big small town, a statement that doesn't make sense at all unless, well, you live in North Dakota.

By my not-scientific-at-all-estimation, if you've lived in this state for longer than 10 years, the chance of running into someone you know at a restaurant in any given community from east to west is a good 60 percent.

And if you don't know anybody in that restaurant, strike up a conversation and the likelihood of the two of you finding a friend or relative in common is like 90 percent.

Which was the case with this couple, who had never seen Merrill before in their lives but were friendly enough to let three strangers infringe on their date. We didn't have to go too far past our initial introductions to find places and people in common.

Small talk revealed that they were both retired and living in Bowman. (My old boss is from Bowman. Do you know the family? Yes. Yes.)

And the woman, who had seen me perform in Hettinger a few years back, had ties to the Killdeer area. (Oh, we're just north of there. Yes, we know so and so. Relatives of ours.)

And from there we fell into an easy banter of stories that somehow always seems to have me recounting the tale of the raccoon that snuck into Mom and Dad's house through the screen door every evening to rearrange the rocks on the decorative bird bath and the more recent revelation about another raccoon that climbs up on my deck every night to poop on my rug.

Then over burgers and fries we learned that they like to go to the car show in Medora every year, which revealed that he's spent his life tinkering and repairing old cars. Which reminded me of my brother-in-law, who had just recently given up on an old Volkswagen Bus that was just never going to run right. Which reminded him of a story about the time he bought an old VW Beatle that once broke down and left him stranded on such a windy North Dakota day that he just opened both doors to that little car and let the wind push him home.

Which reminded Merrill about the road trip he took with his friends, all crammed in a VW Bug to Mexico and back years ago.

"I had a girlfriend when we started the trip. She wasn't my girlfriend when we got home," he said. "Never talked to any of them again actually."

And our laughter and conversation became part of the buzz of strangers and friends telling stories in the dim light of a bar on Saturday evening in small town North Dakota.
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.
Countless steps  each with a purpose  took community members around the tracks of Simile Middle School and Century High School in two separate events held Saturday to bring awareness to autism and to cancer.

From 9 a.m. to noon, the community gathered at Simile Middle School for the ninth annual Autism Walk, put on by the North Dakota Autism Connection.

Then as the Autism Walk ended, other community members took to the track at Century High School for Relay for Life until midnight.

Our mission is to help families connect the pieces and offer support, said Sherris Richards, executive director and founder of NDAC. The walk is to raise money for families living with autism spectrum disorders and raise awareness in the community.

The Autism Walk is North Dakota Autism Connection's main fundraiser, complete with a silent and Irish auction, face painting, booths, crafts, games, races and a photo booth. The goal of the walk is to bring awareness of autism and raise money to provide scholarships for families living with autism in the community.

Theyve connected families to families, they provide training, and they provide activities for children to participate in, annual attender Renee Feist said. Its such a great event.

Numerous scholarships have been given out over the years, helping multiple individuals and families, including Rita Gieser, who got a Strokke Tripp Trapp chair for her 3-year-old daughter, Sophia.

We asked for this chair for her because she was losing weight due to not eating correctly. We couldn't just get her to sit down at the table and eat. And now with this chair, its just made a world of a difference, Gieser said. We're so grateful for the Autism Connection.

Sophia was diagnosed with autism in January, though signs pointing to autism were apparent when she was as young as 15 months.

What was hard was nobody wanted to listen to us, said Gieser, of her daughter as she began to fall behind others her age. Everybody kept brushing us off, so we had to fight and fight and fight.

Since the diagnosis, Sophia has seen progress since she became eligible to receive multiple therapies at Sanford Health Center.

Meanwhile, in an event that has been transformed into an experience, the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life aimed to increase participation this year by beginning at noon and going until midnight instead of starting later and continuing throughout the night.

"This is the first time for Bismarck Mandan in 23 years that this is not an overnight event," said Jan Lund, the event chairperson. "We found a steady decline after midnight. Every year, we were having fewer and fewer teams and team captains stay."

The event featured activities such as a guest appearance by Elvis Presley, a shoe-decorating contest for the best pair to walk all over cancer, a Hollywood Stars competition, a hair donation for the American Cancer Societys free wig donation, a silly selfie photo station and several themed laps. The ceremonial lighting of the luminarias at sunset was accompanied by bagpipes.

"It is a wonderful opportunity for me to give back, because I've received so much from the American Cancer Society," said 2016 Relay for Life Ambassador Daphne Hall said. "It's a way for me to give back to other cancer patients who might need services, and a way for me to really stand up and fight and say cancer is not going to get the best of us, we are going to fight this, we are going to win this battle, and Relay for Life gives me a way to stand up and take that fight."
Hot weekend weather gives way to the end of a hotly contested three-way Republican gubernatorial fight Tuesday with the winner of the states June primary election moving on to the Nov. 8 general election.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, the partys endorsed candidate, squares off against Fargo businessman Doug Burgum and Bismarck business consultant Paul Sorum as the most high-profile statewide decision for GOP-minded voters this week.

North Dakota GOP Chairman Kelly Armstrong says the competition is healthy, adding that, even though the governors race has had some negative overtones, it shouldnt have any long-term impact after Tuesday.

I think this has been a very competitive race by North Dakota standards. Were not used to this level of negative campaigning in a Republican primary, Armstrong said. There will be relationships that will need to be rebuilt, (but) everyone does their best to come together.

Armstrong said the partys in a solid position, with there also being multiple competitive GOP legislative races as well as some competitive local races across the state.

Everybodys talking about our side of the aisle, which is a good place to be, Armstrong said.

Burgum vowed to continue into the primary regardless of the convention vote and has waged an expensive campaign, with more than $960,000 reported in his pre-primary report. His campaign also has spent more than $1 million in television advertising in recent months.

Stenehjem has campaigned on his experience in the Legislature from 1976 to 2000 and his time since then as attorney general. Hes pushed an optimistic tone on the campaign trail, saying that, in a period of low oil and commodity prices, it will require tough budgeting decisions to weather the temporary situation.

Sorum was recruited to run by supporters and has labeled himself as a conservative alternative to Stenehjem and Burgum.

Mark Springer, an associate professor of political science at the University of Mary, said this years GOP gubernatorial has been marked by its nastiness.

It is odd in the sense that you have this intra-party rivalry, Springer said.

Springer compared it to the relatively friendly GOP fight in 2012 for U.S. House. Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk won the partys endorsement, but fellow commissioner Kevin Cramer bypassed the convention and won in June.

He expects the strong get-out-the-vote efforts by both candidates to lead to an increased but probably not record voter turnout on Tuesday.

Between absentee ballots, the tally in counties that vote by mail and early voting, the total number of ballots cast prior to the election has already surpassed 30,000.

The record for June voter turnout is in 2012, when there were 175,303 votes cast, a 33 percent turnout rate.

Itll be interesting to see how this goes moving forward. I think a lot of the state mood is mirroring the national mood, Springer said.

After the primary, he expects things to be quite different once the GOPs focus turns to the Dem-NPL gubernatorial candidate, Rolla Rep. Marvin Nelson. He said Nelson will need to be far more visible to break the Republicans' hold on the governors office, which the party has held since 1992.

The Democrats havent been able to launch a really broad-based campaign since the 1980s, Springer said.

Lloyd Omdahl, a political scientist, columnist and former lieutenant governor, said the lack of polling in North Dakota makes the race tough to predict.

I have no hard data. I dont know if Burgum is making any headway or not, Omdahl said.

Omdahl disagreed with talk of the race being overly negative.

I dont see anything extraordinary actually as far as I can tell, Omdahl said. It looks like a pretty routine race.

He also dismissed the idea of Democrats crossing over to vote for Burgum, saying, if that happened in large numbers, it likely would be something organized and pushed by the party. Hes heard nothing of that occurring.

How would Burgum be an easier candidate for them to beat? Omdahl said.

North Dakota Dem-NPL Party Executive Director Robert Haider said the party is also in a good position despite having no competitive statewide or legislative races Tuesday.

We are looking for the enthusiasm and energy of our folks to carry over from the June 7 (the caucus) into the June 14 primary, Haider said.

The recent North Dakota Dem-NPL caucus went for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

As part of the partys rebuilding efforts, Democrats have made a point of assisting candidates within their party in local races for the first time. Haider said there are competitive local races in several cities that party leaders will be watching closely.

Its not something weve done before so were excited to see how those turn out, Haider said.

He said hes not concerned about comparing Dem-NPL and Republican turnout.

I dont think the primary turnout is a valid indicator of what will happen in November, Haider said.

Another race that may draw the attention of voters is the race for state superintendent of public instruction.

Incumbent state superintendent Kirsten Baesler is running for a second term and received the GOP's letter of support for the nonpartisan office at the partys convention. She won the nomination in a close floor vote over first-time candidate Joe Chiang, a teacher at Four Winds Community High School in Fort Totten.

The Democrats were unable to find a candidate to provide its letter of support to; the Republicans and Democrats traditionally provide letters of support to a preferred candidate.

Democrats also were unable to fill the candidate slot for state auditor.

The Libertarian Party has a more complete slate for Tuesdays election than the Democrats, missing only a state superintendent candidate.

A corporate farming measure is the lone ballot measure on Tuesday. Measure 1 came in response to Senate Bill 2351 passed last session, providing exemptions to allow for corporate dairy and swine operations in the state of at least 50 cows or 500 hogs on a farm of up to 640 acres. A no vote would overturn the legislation.
Officials representing charities say granting North Dakotas five American Indian tribes exclusive rights to host online gambling could effectively end charitable gambling in the state. The tribes want Gov. Doug Burgum to approve the idea under tribal-state agreements known as compacts. The current compacts expire at the end of this year and only Burgum can approve them. The tribes argue that their casinos have been hurt by the explosion of the charities Las Vegas-style pull tab machines. Burgum heard arguments from the charities and tribes on Friday. He says the terms of the compacts are still being negotiated and should be completed next month.
James Jim Wetsch died June 9, 2016, in Bismarck, after a short battle with cancer. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday, June 13, at Christ the King Catholic Church, Mandan, with the Rev. Nick Schneider celebrating. Burial will be at North Dakota Veterans Cemetery with full military honors.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Buehler-Larson Funeral Home, Mandan, with a Knights of Columbus rosary and parish vigil at 7 p.m.

Jim was born to Anton and Eleanor (Rambur) Wetsch on March 18, 1940, in Mandan. After Jims parents died when he was 3 years old, Jim was raised by his grandparents, Frank and Helen (Kuntz) Rambur. Jims aunt and uncle, Thomas Rambur and Caroline (Rambur) Barrios, were like a brother and sister to him. On March 25, 1961, Jim married Clara Doll. They had two children, Mark Wetsch of Mandan and Cindy Stegmeier of Glendale, Ariz.

Jim joined the service when he was 17 years old in June 1957 and retired in February 1977. Upon returning to his hometown, he worked 14 years at the North Dakota State Industrial School before starting his own business, the Yard Dog, which he operated for 12 years. After his retirement, Jim and Clara bought a home in the Mesa, Ariz., area and loved to go there to escape the North Dakota winters. They sold their home earlier this year and returned to Mandan.

Jim served 20 years in the U.S. Navy and was proud of his service and his country. He was also proud of his German-Russian heritage and his family. He was a member of Christ the King Catholic Church in Mandan along with the Moose, Eagles, Knights of Columbus, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans.

Jim is survived by his wife of 55 years, Clara (Doll) Wetsch, Mandan; his children and their spouses, Mark (Watena) Wetsch and Cindy (Craig) Stegmeier; five grandchildren, Paden and KayLynn Wetsch and Alexis, Jacob and Zachary Stegmeier; and special extended family, Brenda (Wetsch) and Justin Honrath and their children, Kristy and Brent Ziniel.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Anton and Eleanor Wetsch; his grandparents, Frank and Helen Rambur and Joseph and Margaret (Serr) Wetsch; and his uncle and aunt, Thomas Rambur and Caroline Barrios.

Please go to www.BuehlerLarson.com to share memories of Jim.
Mentor Fire Department duckling rescue

Mentor firefighters Nick Tomaselli and Dominic Vivolo pose with a couple of ducklings rescued Friday from a storm drain.

(Mentor Fire Department)

MENTOR, Ohio - Some ducklings in distress were rescued Friday from a storm drain by Mentor firefighters and a quick-thinking Dairy Queen employee.

Mentor firefighter Nick Tomaselli climbs down a storm drain to rescue several ducklings that fell while walking through a Dairy Queen parking lot.

A fire crew from Mentor's Station 4 responded Friday afternoon to the Dairy Queen on the 7600 block of Lakeshore Boulevard, according to a post on the department's Facebook page. An employee of the ice cream shop called the crew after several ducklings were seen tumbling down a storm drain.

Mentor firefighter Nick Tomaselli stretched a ladder down the eight-foot-deep sewer drain, but the ducklings were still not within reach, the post reads. A Dairy Queen employee thought to grab a pool skimmer, which helped Tomaselli reach the baby ducks.

The ducklings' mother, who stood close-by during the rescue, was reunited with her babies, the post states.
AKRON, Ohio -- The family of an Ellet High School student killed in a suspected drunken driving crash sued the man facing charges in connection with her death as well as the bar that served the 63-year-old man alcohol that night.

The family of Patricia Powell, 17, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Charles Queer and the Nashville Nights bar on Wednesday. The wrongful death lawsuit argues the bar was negligent when it continued selling Queer drinks after he was already drunk.

The lawsuit seeks more than $25,000 in damages. The case was assigned to Summit County Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands.

The lawsuit brought by Powell's mother, Kelly Grady, accuses Nashville Nights of selling alcohol to Charles Queer, 65, even though they had reasonable suspicions that he was intoxicated.

The bar had "a legal duty not to sell alcoholic beverages to a noticeably intoxicated person," the lawsuit says.

Powell went shopping with her family at Walmart early on Easter Sunday. Her car overheated and broke down on Interstate 76 eastbound on her drive home.

She pulled off on the side of the highway. Powell, a junior at Ellet High School, told her mother that a friend was coming to pick her up and to not worry.

Queer told police he had two drinks at the bar and was driving home about 2:15 a.m.

Queer's 2015 Chevy Equinox slammed into the rear of Powell's 2002 Oldsmobile Alero. Powell was taken to Akron City Hospital where she later died.

Queer's blood-alcohol content tested at .204, more than double the legal limit.

Queer was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and drunken driving. He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.

No civil attorney was listed in court records for Queer or the bar. A message left at the bar was not immediately returned.

Powell was an honor-roll student with a 3.7 grade-point average. She was in the National Honors Society. She played the clarinet and saxophone in the marching band and violin in the school orchestra.

She was in the Key Club, on student council, and volunteered through the Venture Club, which is affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America.

Powell had applied to take some college courses during her senior year and planned to attend Kent State University after graduation in 2017.

She worked at Eastgate Lanes bowling alley. She previously worked for Aeropostale at Chapel Hill Mall before the store closed. She was survived by her mother, father, grandparents and four younger siblings, ages 10, 9, 7 and 5.

If you want to comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section.
An increasing number of people are calling Donald Trump a racist. It's an easy label to throw around and a difficult charge to disprove.

Donald Trump doesn't appear to give a damn. He frequently offers blatantly racial observations and pronouncements. They are generally delivered with a unique Trump vitriol, often unfettered from the truth. His recent attack on U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel is no exception.

Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit filed by former students of Trump University, has caused even ardent Trump supporters to shudder and question their allegiance to the candidate. Trump recently called the American-born Curiel "a Mexican" (as if that were some sort of insult), and said he should recuse himself from the Trump University case because of his ethnicity.

The race-based criticism unnerved Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, who withdrew his endorsement of Trump. Undeterred and unapologetic, Trump proceeded to double-down on his racial attack.

"I'm building the wall. I have a Mexican judge. He's of Mexican heritage; he should have recused himself not only for that, for other things," Trump said, even after being informed that Curiel was every bit as much an American-born citizen as is Trump.

House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned Trump's statement, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seemed to consider the possibility of rescinding his endorsement of Trump.

"I'm not going to speculate about what he might say or what I might do," said the senator from Kentucky. "But I think it's pretty clear. I've been very clear publicly about how I think he ought to change directions, and I hope that's what we're going to see."

Here are three brief points worth considering.

There appears to be no line of expression that Trump is unwilling to trample. That reality is part of his ascendancy.

"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters. It's like incredible," Trump said at an Iowa campaign rally in January. He was serving notice on America that he considers himself invincible.

Which begs a question that will be studied by students of politics for decades to come: How did the GOP allow one man to become bigger than the party itself?

Finally, it seems clear to me that Trump does not consider himself a racist or a xenophobe. That's part of the Trump conundrum. He sees himself very differently than most of the rest of the world sees him. He routinely brags about his relationships with blacks and Mexicans.

It seems counter-intuitive, but the presumptive GOP nominee, labeled a racist, is now actively competing for African-American and Hispanic support. In a Friday speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference, a gathering of conservative, evangelical, and overwhelmingly white Christians, Trump suddenly went racial.

He specifically spoke about the danger of African-Americans and Hispanics throwing their support to Hillary Clinton:

"(Her) policies will be a crushing blow to all poor in this country. Her education policies, her economic policies, her immigration policies, her trade policies will plunge our poor African-American, Hispanic communities into turmoil and even worse despair. Believe me," Trump said.

Why on earth was Trump talking about poor blacks and poor Hispanics in a room full of white people? Why wasn't he addressing poor whites -- or just poor people in general at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual convention?

Trump clearly believes he has crossover appeal. Despite his gaping ignorance of issues of vital importance, his obnoxious verbal assaults on those who disagree with him, and the charge that he is racist, Trump seems convinced that he is the tough love that America is ready to embrace.

Trump may or may not be a racist. He may or may not be one of the greatest political con artists ever to engage the modern American electorate. He may or may not build a wall.

What is perfectly clear is that he is the now the 10-ton elephant in the middle of the Republican circus tent. He's the GOP boss. Here he comes, Cleveland -- bad language and all.
"In the years since I have gotten to know this delightful, giving man, I have come to know him as the ultimate wrong-way prognosticator for oil," the " Mad Money " host said of Hamm.

The chairman and CEO of Continental Resources told CNBC on Thursday that the price of oil was at a turning point. Hamm believes that it could be ready to launch to $69 or $72 all the way up from $49 a barrel.

Oilman Harold Hamm would be the last person on the planet Jim Cramer would turn to if he were to ask the opinion of the future of oil prices.

Crude is going back to the $40s, not the $60s or $70s if this plays out the way Hamm suggests.

Hamm previously appeared on "Mad Money" in 2014, when crude was in the mid-$80s and predicted that oil would bounce back to $100. On the same day, former CEO of Cheniere Energy Charif Souki also told Cramer that oil belonged substantially lower, perhaps $60 or less.



Investors now know who made the right call.

At the time, Souki explained that traditional oil companies don't have marketing departments. Instead, they continue to pump oil and push the product.

"That is exactly what Hamm did and it was totally wrong  he is the last guy I would follow on this issue," Cramer said.

Hamm's Continental Resources was among one of the biggest losers of the oil downturn. Hamm also indicated to CNBC on Thursday that his company was ready to start pumping again to complete wells that have not yet been completed, though he will not use new rigs to drill.

Cramer's concern is that the new supply from companies like Continental could push the price of oil lower, as it could encourage Saudi Arabia to pump more to compete.

"Crude is going back to the $40s, not the $60s or $70s if this plays out the way Hamm suggests," Cramer said.

Cramer's recommendation to Hamm is that if Continental will begin pumping again, than it is time to sell some Continental stock, too. With the stock at $40, up from $13 in January, it is time to ring the register, he said.
watch now

With the market moving heavily in recent weeks, Jim Cramer suspects that it was in consolidation mode on Friday. And the bad news is that stocks won't be able to rally until oil stops declining. Next week, rather than have his eye on individual companies that report, he will be monitoring macro data. "It is a critical week nonetheless because these big picture forces are playing havoc with our markets and making it a lot more treacherous to own individual stocks," the "Mad Money" host said. Tuesday: U.S. retail sales, eurozone industrial production

Cramer refused to believe that anyone would be foolish enough to own a German 10-year bond. "I'm telling you that this is one where if we get some strength, you are going to feel like a knucklehead owning German 10-year bunds, which yield almost nothing and may be the most overvalued pieces of paper in the world," he said.





Oilman Harold Hamm would be the last person on the planet Jim Cramer would turn to if he were to ask the opinion of the future of oil prices. The chairman and CEO of Continental Resources told CNBC on Thursday that the price of oil was at a turning point. Hamm believes that it could be ready to launch to $69 or $72 all the way up from $49 a barrel. "In the years since I have gotten to know this delightful, giving man, I have come to know him as the ultimate wrong-way prognosticator for oil," Cramer said about Hamm. Another energy company that Cramer has been watching is Entergy, which is part of the red-hot utility group. With the Federal Reserve seemingly on hold, these steady companies have juicy dividend yields that seem much more attractive than a bond. Entergy is the southern utility with a stock up more than 15 percent for the year. Its chairman and CEO shared why investors would migrate to a pure utility play like Entergy: "Effectively the utility business versus the merchant business are two different commercial operations. And the merchant business is subjected to a lot of volatility. Gas prices drive the marginal price and in all of the markets that we sit and gas is a very, very volatile commodity."



Harold Hamm David Orrell | CNBC
Caged dogs wait to be sold in a market on June 21, 2015, in Yulin. Some 10,000 dogs are slaughtered for the festival, an annual event that was launched in 2009 to celebrate the summer solstice.

Animal rights activists calling for an end to the slaughter and eating of dogs at a Chinese festival delivered a petition with 11 million signatures to authorities in Beijing on Friday.

The two dozen activists were accompanied by dogs and unveiled banners with pictures of the animals above the message "I'm not your dinner" as they presented the petition at the representative office of Yulin city, where the festival is held.

The annual festival, which is set to begin on June 21, sees residents of the southern city consume dog meat, with thousands of dogs expected to be slaughtered.

Supporters of the festival say dog meat is good for your health at the hottest time of the year and that eating the animals is no different from consuming any other meat.
"It's hard to let people out when you know they've done something kind of nasty. It was easier for me to say let's keep them locked up a little bit longer, because I'm not sure yet. That's where it takes the whole team to work together."

 North Dakota Penitentiary Warden Colby Braun, on changing how solitary confinement is used.

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"It changes you being back there. In a closed box, it gets you to think about your actions. It can also make you crazy."

 Theotis Johnson, a North Dakota prison inmate, discussing solitary confinement.

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"Our court system is the only appropriate place to settle this question without the issue being derailed by emotion."

 North Dakota Farm Bureau President Daryl Lies, on a lawsuit challenging the states anti-corporate farming law.

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"When you show up for a street fight, who do you want with you? Hillary Clinton."

 Tim Purdon of District 35, a past U.S. attorney for North Dakota, during the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party presidential caucus on Tuesday. He compared the presidential race to a street fight.

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"With all the data out there, with all the data breaches, it's not enough to just put up a network and (say) I'm done. You have to know how it should be secured and how to protect it."

 Nick See, a computer science professor at Bismarck State College, who taught a session on cybersecurity Tuesday.

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"I don't have an ax to grind, and I'm not saying it's bad. But we will all pay for this."

 Karen May, who owns property near a proposed refinery in Billings County.

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"I'm not staying here. It is very frightening. Being a single mom. I can't believe people are this crazy. I don't know what possesses anybody to do this. We never have problems in this neighborhood. It's a very quiet family neighborhood. ... You don't think it's going to happen to you in a neighborhood like this."

 Michelle Lang, 45, after someone fired shots into her home early Sunday morning in Bismarck.

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"It seems to me our vote was disenfranchised. We didn't have a say in it. It seems to me we need an explanation of why this was even asked of us. ... It obviously wasn't a binding vote."

 Burleigh County Commissioner Jim Peluso, after the commission voted to seek an attorney generals opinion on why the Bismarck Renaissance Zone was extended after they voted against it.

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"The best person to improve our budget and our economy is someone from outside the political system, just like I was."

 Former governor Ed Schafer, endorsing Doug Burgum for the GOP nomination for governor.

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"The situation of excess crime on Fort Berthold is literally killing our people and tearing our people apart."

 Mark Fox, chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, during a visit by FBI Director James Comey .

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"We all acknowledge it's probably not going to make enough of a difference. The next question is, what more can we do?"

 FBI Director James Comey, saying the additional three agents and support staff assigned to Williston should free up other FBI resources to focus more on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. However, Comey says more needs to be done.

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"I think the oil companies play the Industrial Commission hearing process like a fiddle. But it doesn't work for individuals.

 Attorney Sarah Vogel, questioning whether she can get a fair hearing before the commission for her client.
Joshua McGuire has joined LeEco as VP and general counsel for U.S. legal affairs and intellectual property protection.

Ambitious Chinese company LeEco has made two big inroads on its push into Silicon Valley, snaffling a senior legal counsel from Google and snapping up Yahoo's property at the center of the U.S. tech hub.

LeEco said this week that it had hired Joshua McGuire as its vice president and general counsel to oversee all of its U.S. legal affairs and intellectual property protection.



McGuire, who spent the past seven years as Google's lead legal counsel for mobile and Android patent strategy, told CNBC he decided to join LeEco - which sells a technology "ecosystem" that ranges from smartphones to electric vehicles (EVs) - because he believed it was different to other tech companies.



"LeEco is committed to fulfilling the broken promises that technology companies have been making for 20 years - promises of a personalized user experience across all of your devices," McGuire said.



McGuire, who was named in 2014 as one of the rising stars in U.S. corporate counsel by "The Legal 500," said that he expected to work on LeEco's expansion through a combination of acquisitions and innovation.
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The Remington Arms Company, America's oldest gun maker, said it would use social media and talk-radio to help publicize its offer to replace the triggers in millions of allegedly defective rifles exposed in a 2010 CNBC documentary. The company has hired a former Obama campaign manager to help get the word out. But Remington continued to deny the guns were defective.

The new plan, six months in the making, adds a Facebook campaign as well as 60-second advertisements on popular talk radio programs hosted by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

Remington also said it had hired Jim Messina, former Deputy White House Chief of Staff and a campaign manager for Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign, to oversee the public awareness program.

"The Plan centers on a state-of-the-art, pre-tested social media campaign developed by an internationally recognized expert in the design and administration of political and commercial advertising campaigns," Remington and class action plaintiffs' attorneys said in a joint filing late Friday night. The previous plan employed only print ads in national magazines and a direct mail campaign.

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Tesla Motors on Friday revised a nondisclosure clause in its customer repair agreements after a U.S. regulator took issue with the practice, while the electric car maker's chief executive separately called most customer reports of suspension problems in its Model S sedan fraudulent.



Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on the offensive on social media, saying in a tweet that 37 of 40 suspension complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) were fraudulent.

Would seem to indicate that one or more people sought to create the false impression of a safety issue where none existed. Q is why?



The NHTSA would only say that the company was cooperating fully with its review and that no suspension problems had been found "to date." Musk said the complaints were "fraudulent" because a "false location or vehicle identification numbers were used."

Reuters reported Thursday that anonymous individuals had filed a number of complaints of suspension problems on NHTSA's website, citing salvaged Tesla vehicles.

NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas said Tesla was cooperating "and NHTSA's examination of the data is under way. To date, NHTSA has not identified any safety issue with Tesla's suspensions."

He declined to comment on Musk's assessment of the complaints. On Thursday, NHTSA had criticized Tesla for entering into a "troublesome nondisclosure agreement" with a Model S owner with a suspension problem.
What to do when your 20-something children want to live your city pied-a-terre? "Tiger Mother" Amy Chua had the answer, and it involved contract law, she told the Wall Street Journal.

Chua, famous for her 2011 book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," which advocated the strict parenting methods stereotypically favored by Chinese mothers, told the WSJ of her reservations - unmade beds and an empty refrigerator were chief among them - about allowing her now-adult daughters to stay for the summer in the Manhattan apartment Chua and her husband used only occasionally.
CPS Foundation hires Harris as first executive director

For the first time since it formed 26 years ago, the Columbia Public Schools Foundation has a paid staff member with the hiring of Katie Harris as executive director.
June 10, 2016 - Construction crew members, seen through an open door at Peabody Place, work on tearing up a tile floor as they prepare the building for ServiceMaster's move to the downtown corridor. The move downtown will consolidate ServiceMaster's operations that are currently spread out among four facilities in the metro area. The renovation project is expected to cost $27 million. (Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

SHARE June 10, 2016  Painter Leon Wesson, with Titto Coating, applies a protective paint to the outside of the Peabody Place building on 2nd as construction crews prepare for ServiceMaster's move to the downtown corridor. (Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal) June 3, 2016  ServiceMaster chief executive Rob Gillette speaks during a press conference under the Peabody Place lobby's big roof skylight. The long-vacant Peabody Place will serve as the new ServiceMaster headquarters and 1,200 employees from East Memphis will be relocated to Downtown. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal) June 3, 2016  The long-vacant Peabody Place will serve as the new ServiceMaster headquarters and 1,200 employees from East Memphis will be relocated to Downtown. The four-level building will be renamed One ServiceMaster Center. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal) June 3, 2016  ServiceMaster chief executive Rob Gillette speaks while a large banner is unveiled during a press conference under the lobby's big roof skylight. The long-vacant Peabody Place will serve as the new ServiceMaster headquarters and 1,200 employees from East Memphis will be relocated to Downtown. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

By Thomas Bailey Jr. and Wayne Risher of The Commercial Appeal

A tour of Peabody Place left ServiceMaster Chief Executive Officer Rob Gillette asking himself "how the hell are we going to do that?"

Walking around the vacant movie, bowling and shopping facility, he couldn't see it transformed into his company's next headquarters.

It was Gillette's first walk-through of the 328,000-square-foot, four-level Downtown mall connected to The Peabody "You kind of look at it and there's not many windows because the outside was the back of the theater," he said. "So that upper section you look at, there's no glass. So it's not very conducive to the kind of an office environment, right?"

Fast forward six weeks and Gillette got his answer in dazzling conceptual renderings created for landlord Belz Enterprises by the Looney Ricks Kiss architectural firm.

But Memphis had to wait until a celebratory announcement June 3 in the sunlit atrium of Peabody Place to get its answer.

Would ServiceMaster really take its 1,200-employee headquarters staff and nearly $100 million payroll to another city? And if it stayed in the Memphis area, where would it go?

The Commercial Appeal interviewed business leaders, elected officials, agency appointees and a broad assortment of other sources to unravel how Memphis, once thought to face overwhelming odds against keeping ServiceMaster and all those jobs, not only fended off several other states offering more lucrative deals but filled a long empty Downtown landmark in the process.

Crime loomed large among ServiceMaster's concerns about staying in Memphis, Gillette acknowledged. He expressed frustration about another high-profile incident near Peabody Place's doorstep last weekend, but said the company's commitment didn't waver. A suspect was accused of shooting three men on the north end of Downtown and running over a police officer, and killing him, with a stolen car a block from the company's would-be headquarters.

"You come off this high and then you have more of the same,'' Gillette said. "Not to mention the fact that there was still residual chalk marks for whoever was shot on the doorsteps of the place two weeks before. And I'm thinking, 'Really? Are you kidding me?'

"We knew the risks and potential risks. We also know by moving there we can affect a lot more of it ...

"And I think, in general, you have to solve this crime. Any place that's overcome this, solved the crime issue. We have to. We have to," Gillette said.

$700 shoes

Since arriving in Memphis in June 2013, Gillette has been hell bent on changing the company's culture from a business where too much emphasis was placed on what employees said or believed into a place where behavior  treating colleagues and customers the right way  is king.

Gillette, a Midwestern, self-described "common-sense guy,'' doesn't suffer pretensions.

"We're fixing your hot water heater in general and killing bugs,'' he said of ServiceMaster's business. "And we had guys walking around here in $2,000 (suits) and $700 shoes and wearing jackets to meetings. And I'm like, why?"

But Gillette had to solve a brick-and-mortar problem before he could fully tackle a behavioral one. He had to get the headquarters workers under one roof. The existing home office at 860 Ridge Lake Blvd. in East Memphis is not nearly big enough to house everyone. Operations are spread across four buildings between Ridge Lake Boulevard and Forest Hill-Irene Road.

So last year Gillette and his executive search team, led by Mary Kay Wegner, senior vice president for operations and service at the company's Terminix brand, started looking for a new place to land.

Gillette was born in Anderson, Indiana, and has lived all over the world. It did not matter to him if the headquarters moved across town or across the country.

Sites to see

Gillette would not reveal sites or even cities that ServiceMaster considered and rejected. And talking on the record about such things is taboo among Greater Memphis Chamber types and local officials.

The company's site selection consultant, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, said Atlanta, Dallas, Memphis, Austin, Orlando and Tampa were in contention.

A number of sources in position to know told the newspaper ServiceMaster also had a shortlist of sites in case it stayed in the Memphis area.

Chief among them was a new building at its current location. Landlord Boyle Investment Co. offered a half-dozen variations in erecting another, connected building and parking structure in parking lots just outside the current headquarters.

"But that still didn't get them under one roof,'' said Boyle's Mark Halperin.

"We're excited ServiceMaster is staying in Memphis,'' he said. "We're excited for our friends at Belz. They will do a great job. I don't think there are too many developers in Memphis that can pull this off.''

ServiceMaster also considered proposals to build at sites farther east: Highwoods Properties' offer to erect a building near International Paper in East Memphis; in an office park at the southeast corner of Winchester and Forest Hill Irene; and in Colliervilles Schilling Farms.

"Moving further east is more of the same," Gillette said. "You might as well stay right here if you're going to be in Memphis.''

That Downtown energy

Sitting in a headquarters conference room, Gillette looked over his left shoulder to the mature trees that shade the office park. "You could nod off in here,'' he said with a smile. "It's kind of nice.''

But downtown settings appeal to employees who want energy around them, he said. "They want the ability to just go walk or run or be a part of something where there's a whole lot going on.''

By most accounts, ServiceMaster considered two Downtown sites: Peabody Place and a planned, glass office tower that would be part of One Beale development on the river bluff.

ServiceMaster reached out to Carlisle Corp., which was in the process of retooling One Beale to eliminate a hotel and substitute office space as a companion piece for a taller apartment tower at Wagner Place and Beale. Carlisle never made a formal pitch.

Gillette presented two sites to the ServiceMaster board on May 3. He would not reveal the alternative location, but the board that day approved his recommendation to choose Peabody Place.

A turning point

Arguably, the turning point occurred in mid-April in a company conference room. Belz brought its team, its pitch and perhaps most importantly, new architectural renderings.

The images depicted that south-facing wall  the same one that Gillette said lacked the windows conducive for offices  transformed by additional glass.

Another rendering showed the building's rotund, southeast corner  the spot most exposed to millions of Beale Street tourists  crowned by a large "ServiceMaster'' sign.

"What they came back with is astonishing,'' Gillette said. " It's pretty cool.''

He recalled his executives' reactions. "You can tell who's liking what, or going 'eh.' And everybody is looking (at the renderings) and going, 'Hey, it's pretty cool.'''

After the Belz team answered a barrage of questions, Gillette left that meeting believing that Peabody Place was "doable.''

Downtown Memphis Commission President Terence Patterson said he sensed a tipping point during an April 15 question-and-answer session.

"There were a lot of tough questions that were asked, about the residential environment, the atmosphere Downtown, what it's like after 5 o'clock, what amenities are nearby that are available to families. The questions were so probing they could have only come from someone who was seriously considering us," Patterson said.

But veteran business recruiters at the Chamber, which can be in talks with 30 prospects at a time, said ServiceMaster didn't tip its hand about Memphis or Downtown.

Chamber President Phil Trenary said he didn't have a good feeling about the city's prospects until two weeks before the announcement and didn't consider it a done deal until 48 hours out.

"I was very concerned what the competing cities were putting on the table," Trenary said. "As a state, we don't have nearly as much to work with as our competing cities do."

Campaign to retain

ServiceMaster's search got on the chamber's radar in early November, when a consultant made contact and the chamber's "one stop shop" recruiting team jumped into action.

ServiceMaster executives attended a morning presentation Dec. 11 at chamber offices, hearing from Downtown boosters, commercial real estate community and others. The group, which did not include Gillette, toured Peabody Place and other sites in the afternoon.

Patterson, less than a month into his job, said he sensed "Downtown might be a real possibility for them." He said, "Our Downtown is engaging with young, creative professional people, and that's the kind of people ServiceMaster wants."

On Jan. 14, Gov. Bill Haslam and his commissioner of economic and community development, Randy Boyd, met with Gillette at Crescent Center in East Memphis.

That meeting set the tone, the chamber's Trenary said. "It's not just Memphis. The governor and the state of Tennessee want you here."

Later that day, Haslam spoke with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, in office just two week and oblivious to the threat of losing ServiceMaster.

Strickland remembered that Haslam informed him "he met with ServiceMaster people that morning and how concerned he was about'' losing the company.

Strickland immediately talked to Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and they got "all hands on deck,'' including the chamber and Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) staff. "Super-high priority,'' Strickland said.

Within a few weeks Strickland met with Gillette and Luttrell in Strickland's office.

That session left the new mayor feeling ServiceMaster "probably was not going to stay in Memphis,'' Strickland recalled.

Gillette had described a vision for ServiceMaster built on recruiting top talent and "he had serious concerns whether he could do that in Memphis.''

In mid-February, Gillette met again with the mayors for a steak dinner at a private residence in East Memphis. Wegner, his search team leader, and Peter Tosches, his senior vice president for corporate communications, were there as well as the host.

Gillette did not mince words.

"I told them that for a lot of reasons I have not put myself in a position to be 'Mr. Memphis'" since arriving in town in 2013. "Because I think it would be disingenuous for me to do that considering that I'm thinking in the back of my head that I might be moving. I don't think that's fair.

" ... I told them the truth: If we don't solve this crime issue it's going to be a challenge for this entire city, not just us, right?

"I told them transportation is a problem. Air travel. The traffic is light; there's a reason.''

And Gillette indicated he does not understand why the city is still mired so heavily in issues of race. "That's what I find kind of odd here,'' he said.

Still, Strickland left the two-hour dinner conversation starting to feel cautiously optimistic. Strickland had emphasized that if FedEx, International Paper and AutoZone can recruit talent, so can ServiceMaster.

Strickland conceded Memphis has challenges but recalled telling Gillette the city has the assets to be a boom town if city government becomes "brilliant at the basics."

Dinner with peers

Another low-pressure get-together was a dinner with about eight business leaders at a residence somewhere in Memphis.

Gillette declined to reveal who the business leaders were, except to say "any of them that matter, I would say.''

He came away impressed by their commitment to Memphis.

They talked shop, especially the challenge of recruiting talent to Memphis.

"There's a few billionaires hanging out in Memphis,'' Gillette said. "They understand what needs to be done and I think they are supportive of other people that want to do it.''

Gillette recalled thanking the group and being appreciative that no one was "overt.'' "It was just sitting down and having a conversation at dinner. I felt a need to share with them the truth.''

Being courted

Gillette had spun off corporate divisions, bought a division, sold divisions, and completed an initial public offering. But this was the first time he'd ever moved a corporate headquarters.

"I've been shocked,'' he said. "What people are willing to do to get a company headquarters. It's amazing.''

Asked for examples, he said, "Funding, governors' involvement, city mayors' involvement, active involvement by business leaders ... Pretty concerted.''

He said three or four governors met with him about this relocation.

The chamber's Mark Herbison said, "If you're in another state and you have somebody that comes to you and says 'we're going to bring potentially 1,200, 1,500 new jobs, corporate headquarters, Fortune 500,' the competition is going to lay a lot on the table. And I'm sure they did. I don't have any specifics but I can tell you just through my knowledge of this business, they got a lot of money thrown at them." Herbison is senior vice president of economic development.

Gillette seemed annoyed at the demeanor of local journalists covering the announcement event.

" ... Someone shoved a mic in my face and said, "Is the reason you stayed the subsidies they paid?'

"And I said, " 'No,' because it isn't.' There's a lot more people that would offer more money. That's what these people ought to figure out. And it's not a bad thing. You're talking about close to $100 million of payroll and 1,200 people ... So what are these idiots saying? I don't understand it.

"There's people that offered more. It's not about (incentives). It's a balance,'' Gillette said.

Last Thursday, the State Funding Board approved a $5.5 million state grant to help fund a nearly $30 million renovation of Peabody Place.

'Google Memphis'

Gillette seems to relish being a blunt-talking guy who is "objective'' about Memphis.

"Google 'Memphis,' '' he suggested.

"You're going to find all the negative: That we're second only to Detroit in terms of violent crime ... You'll hear about all the historical racial tension. You'll hear about an airport where it'll cost you a grand to get anywhere.

"Let's be honest: All those things are true,'' Gillette said. "But let's be honest about what's good: Cost of living, weather, location, business friendly in large part. (Memphis is) different. I think we ought to play on that.''
Father Greg Boyle conducts Mass inside the gymnasium of Camp Paige juvenile detention center in La Verne, Calif.

More police officers and data-driven patrols. More security guards and gates. More law enforcement and reinforcement.

All of that might make us feel a bit more secure. It wont stop the homicidal gun violence.

We cant solve the crime problem until we solve the violence problem. We cant solve the homicide problem until we solve the suicide problem.

Theres so much violence, but its not about anything, said Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest who has helped tens of thousands of men and women leave gangs in Los Angeles.

Violence is a language. Its more appropriate for us to say what language is this violence speaking? Its the language of despair, the language of trauma, the language of mental illness ... Its the language of a kid who doesnt care if his violence ends in prison or death. That kid is hoping to die.

Boyle, 62, has been listening to and translating that language in one of L.As poorest parishes since the mid-1980s.

His best-selling book, Tattoos on the Heart, has become a spiritual guide and training manual for people who work with gang members, ex-offenders and others trying to escape the plague of violence.

The nonprofit he founded, Homeboy Industries, employs hundreds of ex-gang members and other ex-offenders in small businesses, and offers counseling, tattoo removal and more.

Boyle was in town this weekend to speak at a breakfast for HopeWorks Inc., a ministry of area Churches of Christ. I spoke to him Friday in our Talk, Memphis podcast studio.

"No kid is seeking anything when he joins a gang," said Boyle, who was born and raised in a quieter part of L.A. "He's always fleeing something. So you want to address that. What is it that he's fleeing."

More often than not, Boyle said, a violent young person is fleeing his own trauma.

He told a story of a gang member named Jermaine. One night when Jermaine was 9, his mother came into his room, stood in the doorway and held out her cut and bleeding wrists.

She looks at him and says, See what you made me do? Boyle recounted.

Jermaines mentally ill mother survived, but he was put in foster care. He joined a gang at 13 and went to prison at 17. When he got out at age 30, Jermaine went to work for Homeboy.

Jermaine was sitting in my office, and he said, I made a discovery today, Boyle said. I realized only today that I had preferred my rage to my shame.

Boyle believes that knowing those stories can keep us from merely demonizing those who are violent to more effectively diagnosing them.

You refuse to demonize, and this is about something else, he said. So you try to address the something else.

Boyle said hes never met a gang member who wasnt despondent, or mentally ill, or so damaged and traumatized they cant see any way clear to transform their pain so they keep transmitting it.

The problem isnt just the easy access to lethal weapons, he said. Its the lethal absence of hope.

If you think its a crime problem, Boyle said, then youre going to walk down the path that weve always proceeded on. But its a community health issue.

So law enforcement has a role, but its quite small. We always defer to them and say, here, please handle this problem for us and thats always a huge mistake.

Memphis Police Officer Verdell Smith, who lost his life to the violence last weekend, knew that. It's why he spent so much time, on and off duty, trying to intervene in the lives of troubled boys and young men.

"We have to change the direction of our children," he posted April 1.

Our mayor and police director and other officials know that, too. They know we cant police our way out of this plague of violence. Its harder and more complicated than that.

It is the single most difficult thing for city government, and for our police department, to tackle alone, Mayor Jim Strickland said at a news conference last week.

We need your help at home. We need your help at church and in our streets. We need your help in teaching people how to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence. We need your help in intervening in the lives of young people.

Boyle has seen that intervention work tens of thousands of times.

Los Angeles, for years known as the gang capital of the world, has seen a steep decline in homicides and gang-related violence since the early 1990s.

But, like Memphis and other big cities, L.A. has seen its homicide rate go up the past two years. During the same time, Homeboy has seen its government funding cut from 20 percent of its budget to 3 percent.

As a society or as a city, Boyle said, you have to decide to infuse hope, or help heal the damage, or deliver mental health services ... Only a healed person will never re-offend again.

We can work harder and smarter to help heal the violence, or we can just keep asking the police to try to stop it.
The two names being uttered the most these days by Republican Party leaders and their operatives are Lincoln and Reagan.

And who can blame them? Republicans are in full-bore damage control thanks to their party's presidential nominee who has offended just about every constituency group in America  except white males.

It was already bad enough that Donald Trump has mercilessly disparaged women, Muslims and African-Americans. Now, practically everyone  who is not on Trump's payroll or part of his inner campaign circle  agrees that his unprovoked diatribes against a federal judge presiding over a civil fraud case against the defunct Trump University were racist.

Even the party's current highest-ranking leader, House Speaker Paul Ryan, called Trump's comments the "textbook definition of racism."

But since Trump refuses to back down and party leaders are too afraid of alienating his millions of supporters, many have chosen instead to talk about two Republicans from the past that virtually everyone in this country can appreciate  Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, and Ronald Reagan, the 40th president.

On talk show after talk show, GOP and Trump mouthpieces continue to harp about being the party of Lincoln and Reagan in citing the need to defeat Hillary Clinton and undo eight years of policies forced on America by President Barack Obama.

The strategy seems to be convincing enough voters who may be turned off by Trump's tone to still vote for the party that gave us Lincoln, who courageously ended slavery, and Reagan, who is credited with courageously dismantling the Soviet Union.

"The party of Lincoln wants to win the White House," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on "Meet the Press" last week.

The first problem is, there is only so much you can say about two dead presidents, as respected as they might be. Trump is in the here and now, and he has the Grand Ole Party reeling in discord.

Most Republican officeholders for obvious reasons have not been hesitant to condemn Trump for saying that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel cannot be fair because of his Mexican heritage.

"Those statements are indefensible," Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Haslam told a reporter last week. "Words matter, and the things you say have a lot broader impact."

Haslam, however, is one of the few top GOP leaders in the Mid-South who have not endorsed Trump's candidacy. He's still hoping to meet personally with Trump soon and is hoping the nominee can sway him.

But every time Haslam is asked about Trump, he seems to be drifting further away from his party's presumptive nominee.

Even Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who has tried to stay in Trump's corner despite the candidate's many gaffes and insults, is running out excuses  and now says Trump is running out of time.

"He's obviously stepped in it," Corker told Yahoo News last week, referring to Trump attacks on Judge Curiel's ethnicity. "He's made statements that are inappropriate. He's got this defining period that's over the next two or three weeks where he could pivot, can pivot, hopefully will pivot to a place where he becomes a true general election candidate."

Sorry, senator. I just don't see that happening. Trump's ego and his self-serving, defiant nature won't allow it. Which brings up the second problem for Republicans. The more they tout the legacies of Lincoln and Reagan, the more voters will see how shallow, petty and mean-spirited Trump is by comparison.

But the biggest problem for the Republican Party is one that is too late to fix. It started well before Trump announced for the presidency. Most Republican-leaning voters have abandoned any moderate political thinking. They want an extreme makeover of the party and of government.

Trump answered their call. And before the GOP establishment  which encouraged this insurrection in 2010, 2012 and 2014  could react, it had been flattened by the Trump express that has hijacked the party.

Ronald Reagan's oldest son, Michael, perhaps said it best in a Twitter posting last month. "The Republican Party is no longer the party of Reagan. It is now the party of Trump. Good luck."

Otis Sanford holds the Hardin Chair of Excellence in Journalism at the University of Memphis. Contact him at 901-678-3669 or at o.sanford@memphis.edu.
June 11, 2016 - Scene from the Citys 100th homicide on the parking lot of Family Dollar at 800 Thomas. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

By The Commercial Appeal

Memphis hit an unenviable milestone Saturday.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the city recorded its 100th homicide of 2016.

According to Memphis police, a man was shot and killed on the parking lot of the Family Dollar at 831 Thomas St. in North Memphis.

Two men allegedly stole products from a delivery person, MPD spokesman Louis Brownlee said. One of the men was shot and found unresponsive at the scene. The man was later pronounced dead.

Brownlee said the shooter, 34 years old, was arrested but it was unclear if he would be charged.

A crowd gathered across the street from the store, where barricades draped with black cloth sectioned off a portion of the lot. At least nine police cars were on the scene.

A woman screamed at the sky when she learned of the death, crying, "I just want to see my son." She fainted and was placed in an ambulance.

No further information was made available. The investigation is ongoing.

The slaying occurred about 10 weeks earlier than the 100th homicide of 2015, which happened Aug. 21 last year.

The city remains on a pace to eclipse the previous record for homicides in a year, when 213 were killed in 1993.

The steady clip of homicides started early: 10 people were killed through the first 13 days of the year.

They've involved numerous children as victims and as the perpetrators. Some killings have outraged the community while others barely caused notice.

"... until our community comes together at every angle, Memphis is in trouble," said Keith Norman, pastor at First Baptist-Broad and the Memphis police chaplain.

Two of this year's most shocking homicides occurred in the heart of Downtown. According to police, Kwasi Corbin, 19, pointed an assault rifle out the window of a Nissan Maxima on May 22 as he was heading down Second Street, just across from the Flying Saucer.

Corbin opened fire on a small group of people, killing 18-year-old Myneishia Johnson and wounding two men. Police don't think Johnson was the target. She leaves behind a 1-year-old son, Kylan.

Then on June 4, Memphis police Officer Verdell Smith was fatally struck at B.B. King Boulevard and Beale by a fleeing car after three people were shot outside Westy's and Bass Pro Shops.

Justin Welch, 21, is facing multiple charges in the violent crime spree. Smith, 46, was an 18-year veteran of the police department, and leaves behind a fiancee and children.

Other facts and figures:

Eleven of this year's victims have been youths aged 17 and under. Four more were fetuses.

The oldest victim was Paul Maher, who was 78 when he died in January. Maher was found tied up at his home on Dec. 31, and had been left there for three days. The suspects broke in, tied him up and stole his car. Although police later found Maher's car, the crime remains unsolved.

Several of this year's homicides weren't actually killed this year. Memphis police count a homicide by when a medical examiner rules it as such, not when it happened. So, even though Mary Burgess was shot by her husband in 1986, she died in 2016. The medical examiner ruled that she died as a result of that shooting, adding her to this year's count.

In another case, Jeffrey Atherly was shot near Graceland in 2003 but died on Dec. 27, 2015. In 2016, a medical examiner tied his death to that shooting and ruled it a homicide.

Also, Mackie Finlay died last year, but his death was determined to be a homicide this year. His caregiver, Joshua Gilley, has been charged in the case.

At least one of the victims was not a Memphis resident. Lonnie Ludvigson of Iowa was driving across the country for an Internet shipping company when he stopped in Memphis on Jan. 9.

Four masked men in a blue Mazda approached his truck on South Prescott Street near Highland. They robbed and shot him to death. No one has been caught, despite a $13,500 CrimeStoppers reward.

"When we had to go down (to Memphis) to get my brother's effects, we were certainly very, very nervous being there," said the victim's brother, Jeremy Ludvigson. "It was very difficult.

"We met with a couple of the witnesses, kind of got every detail about that. It was hard, but we wanted to. It provided some closure for my mom and I, talking with them and finding out what happened."

"I always try to stay level by counting my blessings," said Lonnie's mother, Donna Ludvigson. "And a blessing was that Lonnie was a 12-year survivor of cancer. They'd told us it would probably come back in six months, and we had 12 more years. So I really try to concentrate on the positives."

Three people were shot by police officers. Johnathan Bratcher and Alexio Allen were killed by on-duty officers. Felipe Soto was killed by an off-duty officer taking part in a custody exchange. Bratcher's case has been turned over to the Shelby County D.A.; the other two are still in the hands of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Several victims not only knew their killers, but were related to them. A 12-year-old whose name was not revealed allegedly killed his brother, and Zedric Owens is accused of stabbing both his sister and his 75-year-old mother to death.
SHARE Juan Valladares

By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal

One person was shot and killed in Hickory Hill on Friday evening, Memphis police said.

The shooting took place in the 4300 block of Crescent Park, where a male victim was pronounced dead, police spokeswoman Sgt. Karen Rudolph wrote in an email.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the victm was approached by a man and was shot. The suspect fled the scene.

This makes the 99th homicide in Memphis this year.

At the scene Friday night, police had blocked off a section of the suburban street with yellow tape. Behind the tape was a large group of people standing on a front yard. A police officer let two men into the back of a cruiser, appearing to treat them as witnesses, not prisoners.

Police spokesman Louis Brownlee said it's unknown at this point whether it was a robbery.

Many armed robberies of Hispanic immigrants have taken place in Memphis in recent years, and some have resulted in deaths. Authorities have said some criminals target Hispanic immigrants because they believe they are likely to carry cash and may be less likely to give useful testimony to police because of immigration concerns and language problems.

In this case, though, a reporter saw several Hispanic witnesses providing information to police to help the investigation

Blue flashing lights flickered off the face of 18-year-old Ken Lawson as he watched the scene from a distance. He said he'd heard a single shot.

Down the street, Celerino Valladares, 27, kneeled on the sidewalk as a man and woman comforted him.

He later identified the man who had died as his brother Juan Valladares, 33.

Celerino Valladares and his wife Katia Garcia said the victim came from Guerrero state in Mexico. He worked on a farm in the Memphis area tending horses and had come to the Hickory Hill street to meet a friend who fixed cars when he was shot.

The brother didn't know what had happened. He said his brother was a calm person who didn't cause problems. The brother's wife said her husband was in shock.

Katia Garcia said Saturday morning that Valladares had left three daughters, ages 6 years, 5 years and 7 months.

She said the family members would use social media to raise money for the family. "Because we have to send the body to Mexico. Hes from there. Thats expensive."
March 30, 2016 - Bob Corker is a United States Senator representing Tennessee. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal)

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By Joel Ebert, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

CHATTANOOGA  A once up-and-coming business owner and former mayor sat at a dark brown table next to a window inside Tony's  a tiny Italian restaurant that's become a Chattanooga staple  and ate a salmon salad.

It's an unassuming rainy Sunday here and nearly no one notices U.S. Sen. Bob Corker is in town.

Today very few Chattanoogans are surprised when the 63-year-old Corker takes in a weekend yoga class or rides his bike along the riverfront, redeveloped more than a decade ago as one of his signature projects as mayor.

That's fine with him. His legacy as mayor from 2001 to 2005 reverberates throughout the city, nearly 10 years after he headed to the nation's capital as the junior senator from Tennessee. And in Washington, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his influence is global.

But some say his string of accomplishments could soon include his biggest yet: being named presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's running mate.

Corker doesn't care to talk about it, but his name is frequently bandied about as a possible Republican vice presidential candidate, including leading a recent USA TODAY VP Power Rankings poll in late May. His name also has circulated as a possible secretary of state.

In his time in the Senate, Corker has been an influential voice in Washington, D.C., on President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. And he helped push for reforms to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a member of the Senate banking committee. He's also among the most vocal lawmakers advocating for the end of human trafficking and slavery.

These days, Corker is urging Trump to moderate his rhetoric. He met with him in late May at Trump Tower in New York and insists the discussions were purely about policy.

"If I was running for a position like either (secretary of state or vice president), I certainly wouldn't be offering the constructive criticism I've offered, would I?" Corker said in an interview Friday. "When controversy arises, I would just keep my head down and offer no comment. But that's just not who I am."

Praise, criticism from both sides

Throughout his nearly 10 years in the Senate, Corker has ruffled feathers from members of both parties. He's considered public enemy No. 1 with the United Auto Workers after Corker fought against efforts to unionize Volkswagen plant employees in Chattanooga.

And he's been castigated by some for his role in the Iran deal. Corker was at first neutral on it but grew increasingly skeptical and opposed the plan. He led the charge for the law that gave Congress the power to weigh in, review and have a vote of disapproval on the deal. Democrats blocked that vote and the Iran deal took effect.

The Iran deal is a decision that Steve Gill, a conservative activist in Nashville and former radio personality, believes could cost Corker any real chance of being named Trump's running mate or secretary of state.

"He doesn't bring conservative credentials," Gill said.

More recently, Corker faced scrutiny  including inquiries by the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission  about not properly disclosing assets and income on his personal financial disclosure statements. Corker blamed his former accounting firm for what he called technical oversights while welcoming the investigations. The FBI and SEC have found no evidence to suggest any wrongdoing by Corker, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Despite the criticism from those on both sides of the political spectrum, Corker continues to receive praise from many.

Shelby County Commissioner Terry Roland, honorary chairman for Trump's campaign in West Tennessee and a Trump convention delegate, said he respects Corker.

"I think his strong points are his foreign policy," Roland said. "So I think that's what he brings to the table, some legitimacy when it comes to foreign policy."

Although Corker's political stride is strong, it wasn't always easy for him. During his first year in the Senate, he had a sense of buyer's remorse, said veteran political consultant Tom Ingram.

"He was frustrated by the form and the lack of substance in the Senate," Ingram said. "He was just miserable."

But then his well-known work ethic kicked in. Corker sunk his teeth into two issues that emerged in his first term: the country's financial crisis and the auto bailout.

Corker took what he likes to call "deep dives" into each, even calling the heads of brokerage firms and car companies at all hours of the night to get a deeper understanding of the issues, Ingram said. He became so well informed that during weekly meetings with his colleagues, they often turned to Corker to ask him for his perspective.

"It wasn't grandstanding," Ingram said. "It was just being the smartest guy in the room."

Learning the ropes

Born in South Carolina, Corker attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he joined a fraternity and roomed with Jimmy Haslam, the older brother of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.

Corker's first foray into politics came in 1994 when he was one of a half-dozen Republican candidates who were part of what had been called "the six pack," according to Chris Devaney, a former Tennessee Republican Party chairman. The group, which included Corker and Nashville-based transplant surgeon Bill Frist, sought to oust Democratic incumbent Sen. Jim Sasser.

During the election, the campaign got so heated in the Republican primary that Frist campaign manager Tom Perdue called Corker "all that is filthy and bad about politics today."

The comments came after Corker had started running ads against his rival that highlighted the fact that Frist had not registered to vote until 1988 and had never voted in a Republican primary. The campaign ad also included footage of a 1971 anti-war protest, which suggested Frist had dodged the draft.

Frist won and went on to serve as Senate majority leader.

In the aftermath of the election, Corker said he had no regrets about the race. It's been his only defeat while running for elected office.

Building bridges

But Corker landed on his feet. In 1995, then-Gov. Don Sundquist, a Republican, appointed him the state commissioner of finance and administration.

Although he only stayed in Nashville until 1996, Corker, Sundquist and then-Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, worked to bring the NFL's Houston Oilers franchise  now the Tennessee Titans  to Nashville.

Womack said Corker would stay up until 2 or 3 a.m. and be back in the office by 6 a.m. during days of negotiations.

Ingram said there were people close to both Bredesen and Sundquist reticent about doing anything that would make the other look good. Sundquist defeated Bredesen in the 1994 gubernatorial race.

"Corker just crashed all that talk and said this is an opportunity for the state and Nashville," Ingram said. "Let's get it done."

Corker and Bredesen, elected governor in 2002, would later work together to bring the Volkswagen plant to Chattanooga.

A visionary mayor

Corker's list of accomplishments as mayor include the renovated downtown riverfront, a merit-based bonus system for teachers and a new 311 system for residents to access government services.

As mayor, he embarked on an ambitious $120 million redevelopment plan of the downtown riverfront and when there was a funding snag, Corker kicked into action.

As a result of his efforts, the city's riverfront has been transformed into an area that now includes countless restaurants, residential housing, music festivals and an annual triathlon. "It was probably the most rewarding four years of my life," he said.

Despite his success and popularity as Chattanooga mayor, Corker did not seek re-election. He had higher political aspirations.

Frist had decided to retire from the Senate, giving Corker another shot at heading to Washington, D.C.

Senate campaign 2.0

Corker jumped in the 2006 race against two former congressmen in the Republican primary. His opponents called Corker a moderate and even a leftist. He spent more than $4 million on television ads.

Political consultant Tom Ingram said some Republicans worried that Corker could not defeat Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis unless there was a shakeup.

The race between Ford and Corker was brutal. The stakes were high. Republicans were in jeopardy of losing their majority in the Senate.

At one point, the Republican National Committee ran a controversial ad featuring an actress pretending to be a Playboy bunny encouraging Ford to "call me." To this day, Corker was so disturbed by that ad he feared it could have cost him the election.

The turning point came in what has become known as the "Memphis meltdown." With Corker set to hold a news conference in late October, Ford decided to crash the event.

The exchange between Ford and Corker, who was later praised for how he handled his opponent's presence, made national news.

Devaney, the former GOP chairman, said he noticed a different Corker the next day.

"There was a spring in his step," Devaney said.

Had Corker not narrowly won, Tennessee where Republicans now dominate could be very different today, Devaney said.

"I think we still would've been a two-party state," he said.

Linda A. Moore contributed to this report.

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee is in the national and international spotlight as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as a possible pick to be presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps running mate. Heres a look at his career from Tennessee to Washington.

1974: Graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management

1978: Created Bencor, a construction company, that is later sold in 1990

January 1987: Married his wife, Elizabeth

August 1994: Defeated by transplant surgeon Bill Frist along with five others in the Republican primary election for U.S. Senate

1995 to 1996: Served as Tennessee commissioner of finance and administration under Republican Gov. Don Sundquist

March 2001: Elected mayor of Chattanooga

2004: Announced intention to not seek re-election as mayor and instead explore another U.S. Senate bid

August 2006: Defeated Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary to become the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate

November 2006: Defeated Democrat Harold Ford Jr. to become Tennessees next U.S. senator  the only non-incumbent Republican to win that year

September 2009: Became the ranking member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging

November 2012: Defeated Democrat Mark Clayton and was re-elected to the U.S. Senate

January 2013: Named ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

January 2015: Became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure.

WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more.
June 10, 2016 - The BNSF Railway Co. is conducting major renovations of the nearly 125-year-old Frisco Bridge over the Mississippi River. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal)

SHARE This aerial view of early construction of the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, circa 1946, shows piers in place on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The bridge opened to traffic in 1949. The Harahan Bridge, which was completed in 1916, is at left. The Frisco Railroad Bridge, in center, was completed in 1892. The Commercial Appeal files. June 10, 2016  The BNSF Railway Co. is conducting major renovations of the nearly 125-year-old Frisco Bridge over the Mississippi River. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal) January 16, 1952  U.S. Bureau of Public Roads at Washington is expected to reply soon on the long pending-recommendation of the Tennessee Highway Department that Airways Boulevard be declared a Federal highway project and thus become eligible for 50 percent Federal matching funds for widening and improvement, the rest to be contributed by state and local agencies. Major item would be construction of a new bridge  estimated to cost $1,500,000  to replace the present narrow and dangerous structure spanning the Frisco Railraod's Yale Yards, shown here in early January, 1952. The entire project would link Airways and Lamar with Highway 51, near Whitehaven, via Airways Boulevard and Winchester Road. Memphis General Depot (Army) at south end of bridge has threatened to cancel proposed $10,000,000 expansion unless the bridge bottleneck is removed. Architects are still working on warehouse plans, subject to decision later. Photo taken looking toward southeast from northwest. Bridge in question runs diagonally across photograph. (Bob Williams/The Commercial Appela files) 110712 BYGONE Work progresses on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge in November 1949. The Frisco Railroad Bridge is at right in this image taken from the Memphis side of the river. (The Commercial Appela files)

By Tom Charlier of The Commercial Appeal

In the dusty, sun-drenched bottomland along the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River, construction cranes loom next to the ivy-draped latticework of the historic Frisco Bridge in a project employing 21st Century technology to shore up some critical, if creaky, 19th Century handiwork.

BNSF Railway Co. is rebuilding virtually the entire western approach to the span, which, despite being 124 years old, still carries 90 million tons of rail freight annually and represents an important part of the company's, and nation's, transportation infrastructure. It's the largest bridge on the rail line's corridor from Kansas City, Missouri, and Birmingham, Alabama.

The three-year project got underway in January and entails replacing 50 spans and their piers on the viaduct between the river's edge at the Arkansas bank and the abutment nearly a half mile to the northwest, toward West Memphis. BNSF has drilled deep foundations for massive concrete columns that will support new piers and girders for the bridge.

Although no cost estimates for the work were available, the project is part BNSF's systemwide "overall infrastructure improvement program," company spokesman Joseph Faust said. The 2016 budget for the program is $4.3 billion, he said.

The project is perhaps the most ambitious yet to rehabilitate a bridge constructed at a time when the Lower Mississippi represented an unconquered geographic barrier, when open-hearth steel was still a novelty and when Benjamin Harrison occupied the White House.

Its origins can be traced to George H. Nettleton, president of the old Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railway, who commissioned George S. Morrison to study the feasibility of a bridge over the Mississippi at Memphis. At the time, trains had to be ferried across the river a few cars at a time  a costly, time-consuming process.

The bridge cost $3 million at the time, or roughly $80 million in today's dollars. The central span of the structure, reaching 790 feet to allow for safe river navigation, was among the longest in the nation in the late 19th Century.

When it opened on May 12, 1892, the bridge was the only one crossing the Mississippi south of St. Louis. Some 50,000 people turned out for an opening celebration featuring a test of 18 locomotives crossing "in solid train" to demonstrate the bridge's strength, according to newspaper accounts. The governors of Tennessee and Arkansas met midway on the span.

The Memphis Appeal-Avalanche, an predecessor to The Commercial Appeal, declared the span a "world wonder" and said its opening was an event that "was the most auspicious to the people of Memphis in the history of the city ..."

RELATED: 175 Moments - May 13, 1892: Frisco Railroad Bridge opens

Considering the economic impact of the bridge, that statement wasn't too much of an exaggeration.

"It opened up crossing the Mississippi by means other than a ferry ...," said Mike Condren, a retired Christian Brothers University professor and self-described "train nut" who has created Web pages devoted to railroads.

"They could operate a much longer train and not have to stop, tear it apart and carry it across the river a few cars at a time, then reassemble it."

Once known as The Memphis Bridge, the span's name changed after the Frisco Lines purchased the railroad in 1903. In 1916, the completion of the adjacent Harahan Bridge added a second river crossing at Memphis.

Although the span was a technological wonder and "very well made from the beginning," some of the newer, larger steam locomotives of the early 20th Century were too heavy for it, Condren said. By 1926, a magazine article said Frisco was contemplating reinforcing the bridge.

Over the years, there have been numerous repairs and upgrades to the bridge  both by Frisco and BNSF, which absorbed the former rail company more than 30 years ago.

The current rehab project comes as a bicycle-pedestrian boardwalk is being installed on the Harahan in a project known as the Big River Crossing. Because the approach to the Harahan runs underneath the Frisco viaduct on the Arkansas side, work on the boardwalk will have to be coordinated with the BNSF project, officials say.
SHARE Fred Griffith/The Commercial Appeal files June 13, 1968  Mrs. Ralph Abramson of Holly Grove, Arkansas, and Mister Memphis were winners in the lady riders' five-gaited mares and geldings class at the Germantown Charity Horse Show on June 13, 1968.

June 11

25 years ago: 1991

NEW YORK  New Yorkers showered gulf war veterans with confetti, ticker tape and computer paper Monday in a joyous celebration dubbed "the mother of all parades." Lower Broadway's fabled mile-long Canyon of Heroes, where Lindberg, Eisenhower, the Apollo astronauts and soldiers from three other wars were honored, was awash with yellow ribbons, American flags and good cheer for the nation's biggest parade honoring veterans of the gulf war. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney; chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, a native New Yorker; and Allied commander Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf rode in open convertibles ahead of 24,000 marchers, including 4,761 soldiers, sailors and Marines, for the four-hour parade. Police estimated the New York crowd at 4.7 million, including those in the skyscrapers lining the route.

50 years ago: 1966

As protection against youths who buy beer with false identification, holders of city beer permits were urged yesterday by Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Turner to prosecute any caught making such an attempt. "As it is now," Judge Turner said, "these young con artists are told to get out of the store when caught by the store owners or clerks. As a result they just make the rounds until their scheme works and they victimize someone. A city ordinance passed in 1957 forbids minors to buy or attempt to buy beer. For youths 18 to 20 years old, maximum penalty is a $50 fine. For those 17 or younger the case is handled in Juvenile Court and Judge Turner said the maximum penalty was sentencing to reform school.

75 years ago: 1941

Eleven Scouts from the Chickasaw Boy Scout Council have made Eagle Scout. They are: Joe Whitaker, John Walt, Bobby Ruch, Benny Kelly, Wallace Reid, John Austin, Guthrie Castle, Harry Scraggs, McNeil McDonnell, Bill Callow and Lomax Springfield.

100 years ago: 1916

Pete A. Monteverde, whose affidavit that he bribed Judge Jesse Edington with $1,000 to abate an injunction so he could sell suds, started the investigation which led to the impeachment trial now in progress in Nashville, was arrested yesterday for illegal transportation of beer.

125 years ago: 1891

The executive committee appointed by the Confederate Historical Association met at the Appeal-Avalanche editorial rooms yesterday. They were: J.E. Beasley, C.A. DeSaussure, A.J. Vaughn, W.F. Taylor, T.F. Tobin, W.A. Collier, R.B. Snowden, J.P. Young, R.D. Rambaut and C.W. Frazer.
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There won't be a parade on Main Street, though they probably deserve one, for the Rhodes College students working on issues important to the community this summer as part of the Rhodes College Summer Service Fellowship program.

Nor for all those college students bunking in the basement at McLean Baptist Church while they mentor inner-city youth, set up community block parties, build access ramps for people with disabilities and the like in Serve901 work groups.

And there will not be thanks enough for the students who instead of tanning at Panama City or whatever show up during spring break every year, under the supervision of the Illinois-based group Living Lands & Waters, to gather up tons of trash that flow into McKellar Lake.

This list could go on and on. The point is the quality of life in Memphis and many other communities around the country would not be the same without students  sometimes paid a bit, sometimes on a purely volunteer basis  selflessly and regularly contributing to the lives of their communities, and their own lives as well.

Even middle and high school students around the country are not just being asked, but they're being required these days to perform community service hours as part of their learning experience.

Community service work is on the rise across the country. According to Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporate giving programs that has been keeping track of this sort of thing since 1980, 59 percent of teenagers volunteer an average of 3.5 hours per week, at a total value of $7.7 billion. The value of volunteer time in Tennessee, the organization estimates, is $20.92 per hour.

Sometimes they get a little recognition, as when editors at this newspaper found it interesting enough to publish a story reporting on 16 Rhodes College students who are involved with the Summer Service Fellowship program this summer, working at Hope House, the Red Cross, Literacy Mid-South and other nonprofit organizations around town.

Each student devotes 36 hours per week to community projects and four hours per week to group building. They're paid $3,492 for the summer, receive credit hours and are given free housing at Rhodes.

One of the most interesting facts about the program was that there were more than 50 applicants for the work.

Sure, there's some resume building at play here, but there is no denying that these are opportunities for students to make a difference not only in the lives of less fortunate members of the community, but also the community as a whole.

In many cases, students who have lived sheltered lives get some needed exposure to the world's realities, while they make a place like Memphis a better place for us all.
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By Greg Sargent

Mitch McConnell is getting a lot of attention for his startlingly candid admission Friday, in a new Bloomberg Politics podcast, that Donald Trump "doesn't know a lot about the issues" and has not displayed the requisite "seriousness of purpose" for the presidency. And it certainly is clarifying to have the top Senate Republican admit this about the party's standard bearer.

But McConnell's quotes are actually more illuminating for what they tell us about today's GOP, and about the true nature of the decision by many Republicans to support Trump in spite of his bigotry, pathologically abusive tendencies, and temperament that's dangerously unfit for the job. Here's what McConnell said:

"He needs someone highly experienced and very knowledgeable because it's pretty obvious he doesn't know a lot about the issues," McConnell said. "You see that in the debates in which he's participated. It's why I have argued to him publicly and privately that he ought to use a script more often  there is nothing wrong with having prepared texts."

"For all of his obvious shortcomings, Donald Trump is certainly a different direction, and I think if he is in the White House he'll have to respond to the right-of-center world which elected him, and the things that we believe in. So I'm comfortable supporting him," McConnell said.

But his attacks on ethnic groups and fellow Republicans need to end, the lawmaker said. "I object to a whole series of things that he's said  vehemently object to them. I think all of that needs to stop. Both the shots at people he defeated in the primary and these attacks on various ethnic groups in the country."

"I think he'd have a much better chance of winning if he would quit making so many unfortunate public utterances and stick to the script," he said. McConnell said he delivered that message in person when the two were in the green room together at the recent National Rifle Association convention in Louisville.

"I said, 'Hey Donald, you got a script?' and he pulled it out of his pocket. He said, 'You know I hate scripts. They're so boring.' And I said, 'Put me down in favor of boring. You've demonstrated that you have a lot of Twitter followers and you're good at turning on a big audience. Now you need to demonstrate you have the seriousness of purpose that is required to be president of the United States, and most candidates on frequent occasions use a script.' So we'll see whether that's something he's capable of doing."

This is fascinating stuff on many levels. Note that McConnell "vehemently objects" to Trump's attacks on various ethnic groups, but will continue to support him provided he reads from a prepared script that no longer includes such attacks  in other words, provided Trump stops saying these things aloud.

Remember, Republicans have known what Trump really believes for many months. He launched his campaign deriding Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers, and rocketed to the top of the polls amid promises to ban Muslims from entry into the U.S. and flat out lies about the hordes of American Muslims supposedly celebrating 9/11. But now, two things have changed. Trump has secured the nomination, which has led many Republicans to endorse him as their standard bearer. At the same time, his bigotry and depravity are now receiving the searing level of media scrutiny that comes with a general election  even as the national electorate is now starting to tune in  both of which make those tendencies far more problematic for the GOP than they had previously been. McConnell hopes that Trump will mitigate this problem by refraining from saying this sort of thing in the future. But Trump's bigotry and depravity cannot be put back in the bottle.

Also: McConnell admits there are legitimate doubts about whether Trump possesses the "seriousness of purpose" required for the presidency. Yet McConnell supported him, anyway. McConnell hopes that Trump can compensate for this deficit by reading from a "script," which is quite an admission, albeit (perhaps) an inadvertent one.

Finally, McConnell gamely suggests Trump will not go off the rails as president because he'll "have to respond to the right-of-center world that elected him." In other words, don't worry, even if Trump is a dangerous sociopath, Republican lawmakers and voters will keep him in line. But by McConnell's own admission, it remains to be seen whether Trump can demonstrate the requisite gravity for the job or even read from a script. If this is the case, why should anyone have faith that Trump will heed the "center right world" and remain within accepted norms as president? McConnell's arguments are self-refuting.

Greg Sargent writes The Plum Line blog for the Washington Post.
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By Juan Hernandez

SANTA CLARA, California  Last Thursday, I left work about 5 p.m. and drove to the San Jose Convention Center to hear Donald Trump speak.

I've been voting for conservative candidates for 15 years and have been a registered Republican since 2015. Now that the general election is underway, I believe Trump is the best candidate to fix our country's many problems, and I believe he's going to be the next commander in chief. So I was excited to hear him, and to show my support.

Walking into the rally with a friend, I was a little wary: Trump's speech to the California Republican convention in Burlingame had been disrupted by protesters, and I wasn't sure whether to expect a similar scene in San Jose. We got to the event early and must have been inside already by the time protesters gathered in the streets near the convention center.

The speech really energized me. I got a new sense of appreciation and respect for Trump after a Bernie Sanders supporter interrupted him with a sign. Trump didn't blink: "Darling, there's no way he can win, but keep your sign high," he said. That is the president that I want. It was great being around so many Republicans  in the Bay Area, we don't have a lot of that, so it was great to feel the camaraderie of being part of the GOP.

My trouble began once the rally was over.

My friend and I joined a crowd of Trump supporters who had all left the convention center around the same time. The garage where we had parked our car was right next to the building, but police were directing everyone around the block to another garage entrance instead. The farther we walked, the fewer Trump fans were with us -- people began peeling off to go to restaurants or bars in the area, or to other garages nearby.

And suddenly, protesters were everywhere. Some were holding Mexican flags, or burning American ones. They were yelling "F-- Trump!" at us and cornering us. Some of them started grabbing Trump supporters  they were going up and slugging people, sucker-punching people, just picking out random people. As much as we wanted to help our fellow Republicans, I knew any moment that could be me. So my friend and I just kept walking  sometimes, we'd be running. We saw police standing nearby, but they did nothing. That scared me, because I thought, "OK, if I'm next, there's going to be no cops."

About a block from the garage entrance, we turned down the street and found a line of protesters standing in our way. To get to our car, we'd have to go through them. My friend and I were wearing "Make America Great Again" Trump hats. We were targets, and I was terrified. I could feel it coming  they would look at me and start walking up to me.

Before we could make it into the garage, four or five men surrounded me, and another four surrounded my friend. They just started swinging. We swung back as best as we could. My main thing was I didn't want to fall; I didn't want to be knocked down. I'm not a big guy, but I can defend myself as best I can if it's one on one, but not when they have so much anger against us.

One of the blows caught my nose and blood started pouring out. That kind of stunned them, and they backed off a quick second. My adrenaline kicked in; I felt punches on my head and I felt the punch that hit my nose, but I was in survival mode by then, and I didn't realize until later how much it hurt. I called to my friend, "OK, let's go!"

We ran into the parking garage and thought we were safe, but there were a few dozen protesters there too. We got in our car and headed toward the exit. Protesters jumped on the cars in front of us, but we eventually made it out. My friend drove me to the emergency room because my nose was pouring blood. I had a broken nose, and because I was covered with scratches, I had to get a tetanus shot, too. It took a lot out of me, much more than I realized at first; my headaches and soreness didn't start to go away until a week later.

I still can't believe how poorly the police handled the protests. I live by Levi's Stadium, where the Super Bowl was held amid a heavy police presence. Yet despite the violence that had been breaking out near Trump rallies, San Jose apparently wasn't prepared for it. So the Los Angeles chapter of Log Cabin Republicans held a news conference back in San Jose on Wednesday, to get some answers from Mayor Sam Liccardo and the police department about why they let me and others get attacked and made only a few arrests.

The whole thing made me angry. Here in Northern California, I feel like a unicorn: I'm a gay Hispanic Republican. It was much harder to come out as a Trump supporter than it was to come out as gay  the minute you say you're for Trump, everyone comes at you  but this has pushed me out of the closet about it completely.

I should be able to vote for whom I want, and I shouldn't have to deal with violence to hear my candidate speak. If people want to protest at rallies, they should do it peacefully. I have a young niece and nephew, and I don't want them to think this is how politics works in the United States. We can't let our freedom of speech and our freedom of assembly be tarnished by politicians like those in San Jose who do not have our safety at heart.

Juan Hernandez lives in Santa Clara, California. He wrote this for the Washington Post.
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By Ramesh Ponnuru

Donald Trump's criticism of Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit charging Trump University with fraud, wasn't an attack on judicial independence. It was an attack on the idea of justice itself.

Politicians can criticize judges, even in ignorant and demagogic ways, without posing a threat to the courts' ability to render decisions that follow the law. Barack Obama was accused of undermining judicial independence when he expressed opposition to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. But Obama wasn't threatening official reprisals against judges who make decisions with which he disagrees. Neither is Trump. The only implicit threat he is making is that as president he would react to an adverse decision by Judge Curiel with more bluster. The judge has withstood worse.

It's the specific terms of Trump's argument that run counter to our system of justice. Trump says that his immigration proposals, including building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, will help the country as a whole, including Hispanics. Nevertheless, most Hispanics oppose Trump strongly. Hence Curiel has a conflict of interest, which has manifested in decisions against Trump. He should, Trump has said, recuse himself or be investigated.

Trump's lawyers have won some motions and lost some in front of the judge. They have not sought a recusal, and have praised Curiel's handling of the case. So Trump's complaint seems neither serious nor credible.

The complaint is, however, sweeping in its implications. Curiel may indeed oppose Trump's wall: Being Hispanic raises the likelihood that he does; being an Obama appointee raises it still more. The accusation that because he may disagree with Trump about politics he cannot be an impartial judge is a large and slanderous leap from that possibility. If Trump's argument is right, it doesn't just call into question Hispanics' fitness for the bench. It means that judicial decisions cannot be respected if they occur in a society that is riven by strong political disagreements  a society such as ours.

To Trump's defenders, what he is saying is not all that different from what Justice Sonia Sotomayor said before she joined the Supreme Court. "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life," she said, an obnoxious comment that excludes her from the category of wise Latinas. But the right parallel isn't between Trump and the liberal justice. It's between him and the black radicals of the 1960s and 1970s, for example, who said they could not get a fair trial in our country.

Trump is making a poisonous accusation, one that he will not make his lawyers follow up, to contain the public-relations damage from credible charges that his "university" was a scam. It's extremism in defense of self-interest.

Yet Trump's behavior toward Curiel, appalling as it is, is not a reason for Republicans to reject him as their nominee at their convention. A few months ago, when it looked as if Trump might win only a plurality of the delegates, his supporters said he would still deserve the nomination. Any other result would mean that party elites had "stolen" it from him.

It was a spurious argument. But dumping him now really would be stealing the nomination. He won a majority of delegates. What's more, no new information has come to light bearing on his fitness for the nomination or the presidency. Well before his recent criticisms of the judge, there were reasons to think he was petty, self-indulgent, eager to exploit prejudice and electorally risky. Republican primary voters chose him anyway.

Those Republican politicians who are edging or sprinting away from their endorsements of Trump have even less reason to say they were fooled. They had been paying closer attention to Trump than most voters. They had every reason to think he would tarnish the reputations of those who endorsed him. Those who thought Trump would "pivot" to being a decent person or "tone down" his indecency deluded themselves.

Even if he quits attacking Curiel, as he promises, Trump will find other ways to demonstrate that Republicans made a bad decision. But it's a decision they're stuck with.

Ramesh Ponnuru, a Bloomberg View columnist, is a senior editor for National Review.
I'm often asked, When will the Internet of Things materially impact me or my organization? Given the enormous amount of hype associated with the IoT, the question is reasonable. Fortunately, history offers us a guide to how this is likely to play out. Lets quickly look at the factors that have typically brought new technologies into common use:

1. Doing something that you were already doing, but better/faster/cheaper. In business and government operations, this is almost always the case, e.g. stock trading or travel booking, or going way back, automobiles vs. horses-and-carriages. Quirky exceptions include transitioning from a cheap pen, checkbook and calculator into using relatively costly computers and software to do accounting, but over time the benefits overtook concerns about the initial expense. Keep that in mind as we apply this to the burgeoning IoT.

2. Doing something that you couldnt do until a new technology showed up. An amazing number of businesses have been built upon GPS existence. Like the Internet itself, GPS is a child of the military. Owing to a few tweaks which were mostly in the realm of chipset design and the opening of the system to wide usage, GPS-based applications have become so pervasive that its hard to imagine how we navigated prior to its availability. Many applications are surprising and bear directly on the IoT.

3. Innovating now that enough of a new technology is deployed to create new opportunities. By far my favorite example goes like this: Hey, lets build a fun animated game that runs on an amazing handheld device with great graphics and connectivity which a huge portion of the world population needs to buy, and requiring the construction of a multi-trillion-dollar global wireless telecommunications network.

Twenty years ago that would have sounded impossible. But shift forward in time until all of those elements are in place and part of daily functioning, and its Angry Birds for everyone. You could easily make similar comparisons using social media, electric cars and big box stores (try to create Walmart at its current size without intermodal containerized shipping). Or Netflix. Or Amazon. All of them stand on top of enormous investments in equipment and infrastructure.

Okay, lets now apply these to where we are in the evolution of the IoT market.

Better/faster/cheaper. The introduction of network-connected sensors isnt at all new -- whats advanced is the ability to link them via TCP/IP over wired and wireless infrastructure that was initially built for human communication. Although devices that can be considered IoT are in fact things connected via the Internet theyre not there for human access, as with laptops and smartphones.

Instead theyre transmitting digital representations of the physical world, i.e. sensor data. A great example of how this enables better/faster/cheaper is in the electric power industry -- for years, grid operators have sent out personnel in trucks or helicopters to inspect high voltage lines, often at their peril. This was both time-consuming and costly. Now, many are employing sensors that can beam telemetry almost instantaneously to monitoring centers, at tremendous savings.

Something that you couldnt do before. Unless you happened to have a nurse following you around at all hours, its unlikely that you had continual sampling of your heartrate and other physiological factors prior to the introduction of wearable monitors. The advent of these and other devices that leverage the ever-decreasing cost of processing power and connectivity for electronics, has given us the consumer side of the IoT. There are many examples in the commercial world as well, such as smart tags and Uber for trucking, which leverage Moores Law in ways not previously feasible.

Innovating. This is definitely the most interesting, even fun, to contemplate. Future tense, because we arent there yet. In a way, one might call this the search for the killer app which rarely happens overnight.

The most visible are those that tie together several different key technologies to produce, for example, Uber. You couldnt have done Uber at scale until the majority of people had smartphones with GPS receivers built in, the cost of mobile data got close to zero and low cost cloud-based servers became viable.

The IoT isnt quite there yet.

What makes it challenging to guess about is the sheer range of IoT devices and systems -- the panoply includes sensors that you swallow, automated cargo ships and farms or factories based entirely on robots.

With all of this taken into account, its reasonable to say that the IoT is primarily in the "better/faster/cheaper" phase, and in some aspects the "something you couldnt do before" phase. Innovating is starting to happen, here are a few early examples:

Energy. Were seeing home power generation and storage become viable. Since virtually all of the hardware and systems implementing these are new, theyre naturally bristling with microprocessors, sensors and built-in connectivity. This has triggered the emergence of startups and government-level initiatives to capture the data and utilize it for a variety of purposes.

Smart Cities. Although not everyone has the same definition of smart cities, it surely means that the IoT is becoming pervasive within the municipal environment. One clever idea is to capture the movement of cellphones as a proxy for human activity, and use that (anonymized) data for applications that were previously not workable.

Intelligent Transportation. The impetus towards self-piloting vehicles is the obvious evolutionary step here. As per historical examples, to have cars, trucks and buses drive themselves require a great number of information technology, sensor and infrastructural technologies to come together. Clever linkages of sensor data streams that havent been leveraged before in combination, are aiding in the evolution.

Where does this leave us?

Without a doubt, the IoT is becoming embedded within our personal and business lives, sometimes in a highly visible way, sometimes behind the scenes. Best bets are to monitor adoption of the underlying technologies -- and follow the entities who are driving them -- as guides to where you and your organization can most benefit.

The IoT's influence is definitely growing everywhere -- watch this space.
Pay for H-1B workers may increase significantly if a draft bill authored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) gets the bipartisan backing it will need to pass Congress.

The bill primarily relies on salary to distribute the visas. Firms that pay salaries well above the prevailing wage will have the best chance of getting a visa.

Lofgren has been working with Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.), whose support in the GOP-controlled House is critical. The measure is now being distributed to stakeholders for feedback.

The "High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2015" has been in the works since last year, is already drafted and appears to be complete. But that doesn't mean it will actually be introduced. Both sides continue to talk and there are no immediate plans to move forward on the legislation.

(To read the official summary of the bill, download the PDF.)

The H-1B visa is currently distributed via a lottery because requests for visas routinely exceed the annual 85,000-visa cap. While the bill doesn't eliminate the lottery in its entirety, it minimizes its importance.

The proposal is designed to encourage employers to pay 150% or 200% of the prevailing wage level. These employers will probably be assured of visa approval.

The prevailing wage system has four levels. Level 1 is for entry level; level 4 for the most experienced and capable employees. Prevailing wages vary widely nationally, depending on location.

In Gainesville, Fla., for instance, the prevailing wage for a level 4 computer programmer is $67,621. In San Francisco, it's $123,885.

A level 4 salary that is 200% of prevailing wage for a programmer in Gainesville would be $135,242. In San Francisco, it would be $247,770. (For prevailing wage information see the Foreign Labor Certification Data Center.)

The San Francisco employer doesn't gain an advantage over the Gainesville employer in the visa distribution because of the higher pay differential. What's important is a company's willingness to pay a percentage above the prevailing wage.

And wages alone don't set a priority in the visa distribution. Priority is given first to employers "that hire mainly U.S. workers." Next in line are H-1B dependent employers.

There are different thresholds for determining dependency, but for large users a dependent employer is someone with 15% or more of their employees on temporary visas.

The legislation sets aside 20% of the annual allocation of H-1B visas to firms with 50 or fewer employees. Small and start-up businesses would not be subject to the wage-based allocation.

For H-1B-dependent employers, the bill changes the $60,000 salary exemption level to a formula that would raise the minimum to about $130,000, based on the 35th percentile above the median for the most recent national annual wage for Computer and Mathematical Occupations.

H-1B dependent firms pay salaries of at least $60,000 - a figure set in 1998 - to get an exemption from rules that bar them from displacing a U.S. worker. The bill also eliminates the master's degree exemption.

But the legislation also includes what may be a new loophole by excluding workers from this higher wage if their employer has petitioned for permanent residence or a green card.

The bill also eliminates per-country caps on green cards. Employment-based green cards are capped at 140,000 a year, with no more than 7% from any one country. Such a move would help green card applicants in China and India, in particular, who make up the majority of those seeking permanent residency.

Ron Hira, an associate professor of public policy at Howard University, sees a number of problems with the legislation. The high wage required of H-1B dependent firms, such as Infosys, Cognizant and Tata Consultancy Services, may help non-dependent firms, such as IBM and Accenture, said Hira.

All these firms compete in the IT services sector, but non-dependent firms can continue paying the prevailing wage at level 1 for a 40% discount over an American worker, said Hira.

And, he said, visa-dependent firms could develop workarounds. A dependent employer could avoid paying the $130,000 wage by attesting that they won't displace U.S. workers. But Hira suspects affected firms may "figure out ways to meet the letter of the regulations but not the spirit."

Daniel Costa, the director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute, believes a more direct approach is possible. "I think it's crazy that they would just create a new, more expensive exemption for replacing U.S. workers, rather than just prohibit altogether the ability of companies to replace U.S. workers with H-1Bs," said Costa.

The visa-dependent firms can apply for green cards for all their workers to get around the dependence status, as well as bring in more L-1 visa workers (another temporary visa used for company transfers). The green card exemption is a "huge loophole," said Hira.

Other strategies by dependent firms could also include merging with non-dependent firms, said Hira.
Im seldom at a loss for how best to write up news, but find myself in some difficulty this morning. This is because no words of mine can adequately describe the debt that conservatism in Britain owes to Roger Scruton  philosopher, moralist, novelist, barrister, composer, conservationist, conservative and campaigner.

Scrutons conservatism is very much of the English Tory flavour, and he is uncommon among modern philosophers in the breadth of his interests, rarer still in having the ability to project and popularise them, and even more unusual in his interest in conservative political organisation.

He was one of the founders of the original Conservative Philosophy Group during the 1970s and has taken the lead in reviving it more recently. The Tory in him may sometimes give up hope that conservative ideas will be turned into conservative deeds by Conservative Governments. But his inner Leninist has not yet abandoned the struggle.

ConservativeHome has long argued that Scruton should be honoured with a peerage, but he would doubtless not accept one unless it were hereditary. At any rate, someone in Downing Street may have been listening, because we learn today that he is to be knighted. That will do very nicely (at least for us).

To speak of a Conservative movement may be a contradiction in terms on paper, but it none the less exists in practice. Scruton is one of its leading members, and I cant help seeing this honour as a recognition by Number Ten that the movement as well as the Party matters.

He was also made use of by the last Government on its housing design panel. So lets sound a cheer for David Cameron this morning, then, amidst the boos he has received recently. And many congratulations to Scruton  though I suspect he would willingly swap his knighthood for a British vote on June 23 to leave the European Union.

9am update: Reggie is indisposed after a convivial evening in one of his favourite hostelries, the Reckless Remainer. But on his behalf and ours we offer a long round of applause also for Desmond Swayne, shortly-to-be Sir Desmond  Cameron loyalist and leaver both, not to mention all-round good egg.
Warming World: Can India Cope With Drought?

By Swati Agarwal

11 June, 2016

Climate Change News

Severe heat waves intensified across northern and parts of western India when temperature in some places rose to above 50C.

The meteorological department issued a warning of likelihood of further intensification of temperature, pointing to the impact of worsening climate change.

These changes led to drought like situations for two consecutive years affecting the economy of around 10 states across 256 districts and impacted livelihoods of nearly 330 million people in rural India.

This magnitude and scale of the impacts due to drought have rarely been witnessed in recent time in any other part of the world.

Estimates by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) indicate the share of agriculture and allied sectors (including agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishery) has declined to 15.35% of the Gross Value Added (GVA  2015-16), but it supports nearly 70% of the population.

Given this, worsening of drought in the country could stunt economic growth through direct and indirect impacts such as- loss of livelihoods, loss of agricultural produce, loss of soil health, distress migration to urban areas and increased expenses on relief, which adds up to the total cost to the economy.

Moreover, this would adversely impact on health of children and women besides increasing farm debt due to loss in livestock and farm economy in the drought-hit districts.

It is believed that if drought like situation prevails, farmers in some of the States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh will be worst hit due to agrarian crisis leading to farmer suicides which is currently over 160% higher than for all Indians excluding farmers, though direct linkage of farmer suicides to drought is not well established.

However, despite two consecutive droughts in the country, Indian economy continued to grow at 7.9% in 2016 Quarter 1 and is expected to grow at 7.2% in Quarter 2 in the year.

The economy has diversified to the extent that consecutive droughts do not affect the economy in any significant way.

In addition, the drought resilience framework in India addresses drought in its multiple dimensions:

-Meteorological (through early warning systems, crop weather watch group, improved datasets) -Hydrological (through improved irrigation, water conservation and management) -Agricultural (via drought resistant seeds distribution, soil conservation practices) -Socio-economic (addressing the issues of livelihoods of people through relief, subsidized food, alternate employment opportunities)

Through these efforts, India has come to a situation, where droughts no longer lead to famine or famine like conditions.

While the economy as whole has achieved resilience from the impacts of drought, rural communities in large parts of the country continue to face the wrath of monsoon failure, leading to distressed selling of lands, movable assets, and migration.

This is aggravating poverty of the people affecting their nutritional standards rendering them more vulnerable to disease and ill-health and loss of productivity.

As per a recent industry study, total estimated impact on the Indian economy of drought in the year 2016 is estimated at $100 billion.

The Indian government is able to provide ex-post relief to drought sufferers through national and state disaster response funds, but there remains a wide financial gap.

The fund has an annual corpus of around 60,000 crores INR for a period of 5 years to respond to all types of disasters covering 29 states in India. This demonstrates an inadequacy of the funds for disaster relief in the country.

The Disaster Management Act, 2005 called for creation of the National Disaster Mitigation Fund, but the government in its wisdom has decided not to set up the fund. However, the Govt of India has created the National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change that receives funding through budgetary allocation.

The fund currently has a total corpus of nearly 350 Crore INR to be disbursed across a range of sectors requiring adaptation support.

If the allocations under this fund is also drawn towards addressing drought related stress and losses, cumulatively the total financial requirements would remain inadequate.

The prime strategy for Indias drought resilience plans therefore needs to be charted out in a way beyond the business-as-usual practices which will address drought resilience as an ex-ante measure.

The call by Prime Minister Modi to prepare a contingency plan for 67 districts in the country that are prone to drought even in years of normal monsoon is a welcome initiative.

This would ensure long term sustainability of the agricultural community against the recurring drought. Until, these plans are in place effectively, drought would continue to affect millions of poor people.

Therefore government initiatives need to be supplemented through community based interventions for climate change adaptations for drought resilience.

The Green Climate Fund should open a window of opportunities for such adaptation initiatives through grassroots level pilot projects, activities, and cross-cutting research which could be further improvised and replicated on a larger scale to all drought stressed regions in the country.

Swati Agarwal is a climate change researcher at The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), New Delhi. She works in the area of international and domestic climate policy and climate finance.

 2016 Climate Home








People For A Shared Program: YES, There Is An Alternative!

By Michael Albert

11 June, 2016

Countercurrents.org

Recently my in box is flooded with articles talking about nothing but Trump, Sanders, and Clinton. I bet yours is too.

A subset of our daily deluge goes beyond the three candidates to add commentary about the Democratic or Republican parties and the election process itself. I bet you get those, too.

A still lesser component says we ought to ignore what its authors call the quadrennial extravaganza calling it a mere distraction. But even as these calls to abstain immerse themselves and us in the same flow. They are just another part of the deluge. You get those, too, dont you?

To top it off, while many of the deluge essays taken separately are wise, insightful, passionate, and well written - taken together they tell us things we have already heard over and over. Worse, many simplistically castigate everyone other than whoever wrote each piece.

Alongside the deadening deluge, everyone with a shred of sense, including almost all the deluge-ers, says that even if progress requires some electoral activity to reach out, to protect past gains, to ward off horrors, or to win some new gains, winning a new future requires tenacious and sustained activism, durable movement connection, and flexible and effective organization. Everyone agrees we have to transcend the focus that everyone at the moment cant seem to escape -- the deluge defining presidential election.

About 40 days ago, in context of all the above, a new international web site called People for a Shared Program went online. The site doesnt focus on Sanders, Clinton, Trump, or even on elections at all, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere. The sites merits, or not, have nothing to do with the U.S. quadrennial extravaganza or any other. And unlike writers and activists who reject but are at the same time overly caught up in personality or electoral politics, the new site is neither.

Here is how People for a Shared Program describes itself on its top page:

People for a Shared Program is a place to explore, develop and organize around left programmatic ideas. 87 writers offered a document - Possible Ideas for Going Forward - to foster such a process. Below is a regularly updated version of that initial document. We hope you will discuss the ideas and suggest further additions or changes in our forum and/or in a blog post. We will continue to update the document in accord with good suggestions and display the current version below. While we work together to formulate flexible ideas for a shared program we ask you to show your support by signing on to the effort. Signing says you believe in the goal of collectively developing a shared program and that you will participate in the process of refinement and improvement as best you are able. Here are ways to participate: >> Sign to show your support! >> Suggest any changes to the document on the forum or in our blog >> Share this site on social media or via email!

Our hope is that our collective efforts will ultimately inform actual organizing in the real world. How this might happen is something that could also be discussed using the facilities highlighted above.

The initial People for a Shared Program document was signed by 87 writers of diverse geographic and political lineage including Noam Chomsky, Hilary Wainwright, Walden Bello, Kathy Kelly, Bill Fletcher, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Leslie Cagan, Omar Barghouti, Marina Sitrin, Robert McChesney, Laura Flanders, Jerome Roos, Bhaskar Sunkara, Michael Albert, and 73 more.

The co-signers offered programmatic ideas bearing on economy, race, gender, international relations, polity, ecology, health, and education.

The multi-author article was sent to dozens of left, progressive, radical, and revolutionary web sites. Virtually every such site knew of the multi-author articles existence. Progressive radio also knew. So did a huge number of activist projects and organizations.

It is also the case that most alternative media routinely publishes pieces by many of the articles 87 authors. Yet only five alternative media operations, to my knowledge, posted the multi author article. Only one operation sent the article to its constituents. Only one followed up with reactions from its own writers. Only one prominently linked to the new site. Did the deluge drown out such possibilities? If so, can alternative media now see clear to relate to this effort?

The original signers proposed ideas to try to develop shared program. They signed the initial document. They supported the idea and effort. But only 8% wrote something about People for a Shared Program beyond initially signing.

The site remains. It has so far attracted 288 grassroots signers supporting the idea of shared program. And yet, arent there 100,000 people, and even a good many times that, who would be ecstatic to see a shared program that includes even remotely the insightful aspects that the 87 writers proposed in their article emerge from a bottom up project like this? Of course there are.

As the list of signers attests, People for a Shared Program is an international endeavor, but even just in the U.S., and even just among the U.S. audiences who are already highly attuned to serious left thought and action, much less among the broader currently aroused electorate, wouldnt an incredible number of people love to see shared progressive left program emerge? And wouldnt virtually every alternative web system and journal and magazine and radio station, and yes, also every activist organization of the left also celebrate a shared program emerging and being adopted very widely as a touchstone for later shared activity? And cant we say the same thing for the people and alternative media and left organizations of many many countries around the world, France, Greece, Spain, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Haiti, Egypt, South Africa, Turkey, India, Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, and on, and on, and on? If not, then what do such progressive people and operations favor?

So the question arises why dont tens or hundreds of thousands or, yes, even millions of folks flock to a site that offers a way to undertake a bottom up, diverse, cross border and cross constituency collective process of program development?

Remember, this project isnt just a shot in the dark day dream of a person or two. It arises from the involvement of 87 of the most prominent and respected social critics and activists in the world.

Folks at large likely arent rushing to relate to People for a Shared Program largely because they dont know about it, and if they did happen to hear of it, they assume it will get nowhere, until and unless they see real momentum. But what about people who are already activists, people who already give a good part of their lives to social change, people who already write and organize, and thus, people who could make People for a Shared Program known to wider audiences? Why dont those sophisticated and resourceful folks lend a hand?

Is it that we are caught up in the election deluge and cant tear ourselves away for even an instant? Is it that we are afraid to try for shared program, because we fear that shared program is beyond our capacity to attain - we can forever raise our fists as dissidents with good values and clear understanding, we can never cohere into a united force for change? Is it that we are just too involved in our own very worthy and incredibly time consuming and exhausting endeavors to do what we all nonetheless continually urge needs doing if those endeavors and others are to succeed?

We could try to settle on an answer and then try to address it to overcome the obstacle. That would be a very worthy response, I think.

But we can try another more hopeful path first. We can engage with People for a Shared Program, even if we have not done so for the past few weeks. We can go to the site, read the material, think about our own views of program, and offer our ideas for improvements or refinements in whatever ways we prefer. We could use the offered forum or blog system. We could comment. Even better, we could write about People for a Shared Program and about our own ideas for new program for other venues. And we could urge others to do likewise.

We could push to see shared program emerge as a step toward creating a new kind of deluge. All other activism would benefit from shared program emerging and winning wide explicit support. Specific current campaigns would gain solidarity with other current campaigns and gain reason to mutually pursue still larger agendas. Established and emerging movements would gain focus, connection, and hope. Deeply dormant yet undeniably paramount desires to build new organization would gain program around which to cohere.

Is all this too ambitious for our times? Yes, much evil is afoot. But millions upon millions of people are aroused, angry, and desirous of good, as well. Yet still, as for the last fifty years, our best minds, our best hearts, our most energetic souls mainly preach about what is wrong. We immerse ourselves and our constituencies in personality politics even while we rage against personality politics. We pursue worthy but narrow agendas while we ourselves argue they cant win unless they combine into larger unity. We know the programmatic task of the day is generating mass solidarity around larger agendas. We nonetheless leave that task largely unaddressed.

But we can change all that. No law of nature or of history blocks us from doing so. Not even the powers that be block us. What blocks us is within ourselves.

If you have a better path to promote large scale, massively entwined struggle for change than contributing to the project People for a Shared Program, a path that has more promise, a path that has more traction, a path that is more diversely rooted, then by all means pursue that path. And proclaim the need for others to do so as well.

But if you dont have a better path toward a now much needed massive networking of activism, and you have some time to offer, why not as one part of your personal schedule, join the path of People for a Shared Program and proclaim the need for others to do so as well.

Do you want bottom up solidarity? Do you want participation? Do you want coherent agenda? Do you want activists and organizations to maintain focus but also support one another in growing unity? Of course you do. Pursue it. It wont come to pass unless we make it happen.

Michael Albert is an American activist, economist, speaker, and writer. He is founder of Z Net and Z Magazine. He co-founded South End Press.












The Beleaguered Identity

By Sheikh Javaid Ayub

11 June, 2016

Countercurrents.org

What is Justice is the prominent theme of the debate of Platos Republic. The most realistic answer is provided by Thrasymachus that Justice is the interest of the stronger. This definition seems to be the most appropriate definition when analyzed in the context of the present day world order. Thrasymachus has an immense influence and contribution in determining the present global system. The fulfillment of these interests requires, on part of the stronger, some paradigms to shape the public opinion so as to justify the means to acquire the ends. A grand strategy is thus formulated to make rulers ideas the ruling ideas. In the contemporary version of this grand strategy the principle that is used as a frame of reference is America is a historical vanguard and the US hegemony is the realisation of historys purpose, and what it achieves is for the common good, the merest truism and just. Justice is what keeps the hegemony intact.

The US imperial policy in the guise of altruism has resulted in making America a rouge superpower. Shielded by both military and economic power, Americas quest for being at the apex of the world system has put the world peace at high alert. The Preventive War doctrine of the United States, announced in September 2002 under the shield of National Security Strategy of the United States of America, implies that the United States will rule the world by force, and if there is any challenge to its domination-whether it is perceived in the distance, invented, imagined, or whatever- then the United States will have the right to destroy that challenge before it becomes a threat.

Another theory that was now being articulated was Humanitarian Intervention. This Trojan horse gave a kind of license to the West to intervene in the borders of any sovereign state. The Muslim world became a soft target. A consensus was build around the principle of the responsibility to protect (R2P). This principle insists that states have primary responsibility for protecting their own citizens. However, if they are unwilling or unable to do so, the responsibility to protect is shifted to the wider international community. The R2P was adopted by the UN General Assembly in a formal declaration at 2005 UN World Summit. Reverend Miguel dEscoto Brockmann, president of the UN general Assembly, called R2P redecorated colonialism and said that a more accurate name would be the right to intervene. But one fails to understand that why is R2P not invoked when Palestinians are bombarded ruthlessly by Israel in Operation Caste Lead (2008-09), after which a UN report found a prima facie evidence of war crimes.

The fall of the Second World (USSR) was projected as the End of History. The US system was presented as the model to be followed worldwide for all times to come. It became the final stop of the human imagination beyond which there was no need to trespass. The finality of this system was proved by the fact that this system has triumphed over all other systems man has been trying since ages. Absurdity and fantasy is to dream of any other system that parallels the US system. So resistance is nothing but futility. But when resistance came from the Muslim world, a dire need for inventing new labels was felt. Terrorism thus became a new Paradigm for the 21st century world order. Terrorism has done to the US what barbarianism for the British and Race for Hitler. Everyone who resists direct aggression are labeled a terrorists  sometimes South Vietnamese become terrorists other time it is Afghans and Iraqis who are labeled so. Hate is the lone slogan to dominate the world. The mantra that was loudly articulated in the media was every Muslim is not a terrorist but every terrorist is a Muslim. Islam and terrorism were made synonymous so was a Muslim and a terrorist. The West wanted an enemy because the end of the Cold war left the West particularly enemy less and thus - more or less issue less. Fascism and Nazism were defeated in the Second World War so was Communism in 1990s. Now the finger was pointed towards Islam and Islam became a ferocious enemy that needs to be demonized, tamed and cut to size.

The world wars had intensely kept the European powers engaged within themselves. Therefore, there was no question of demonizing Islam; neither had Islam gained the focus of domestic nor foreign policies of these nations. According to Ali A Mazrui In the first half of the 20th century relationships between American values and Islamic values were close. On such issues as sexual mores, gender roles, the death penalty and alcohol consumption, American values and Islamic values converged. But in the second half of the twentieth century the US started distancing itself from the Islamic values  thus started a divergence of values between the West and the Islam. Till OPEC price rise in early 1974 Islam was scarcely figured in the West media and Western policies. The oil crisis made a huge impact on the psyche of a common Westerner. They were bombarded with by different consequences the policy makers and the media believed crisis would generate. They were forced to think that they would no longer drive their cars the way they used to; oil would become much more expensive; their comforts and habits would undergo a radical and most unwelcome change. All felt panic and the real issue got hoodwinked. Islam was becoming enemy now. The energy threat was changing the Western mind.



The Iranian revolution further increased the anxieties and worries of the West-particularly the US. Ayatollah Khomeini was projected as an obdurate, powerful and deeply angry at the United States. The occupation with Iran continued in to 1990s. With the end of the Cold War Iran, along with it Islam has come to represent Americas major foreign policy devil. Instead of making it and ideological battle in which the Islamic Justice, Equality, Liberty, vision of society, value system etc could have been made to debate on, was made irrelevant and what counted for the West was what the so called Islamists were doing. For example, how many were executed in Iran and Saudi Arabia.



In demonizing Islam the West uses its, what is generally labeled as, scientific research and intellectuals who possess a deep prejudice against Islam and whose purpose is to project Islam as a major threat. Once this objective is attained an implicit course of action against it is proposed. In this sense intellectual aggression in the guise of scientific research is vehemently applied before direct violence. In such a context both science and direct violence are forms of aggression against Islam.

These propagandistic intellectuals with the help of immense media coverage present Islam and the Islamic world in such a fashion as to make that world vulnerable to military aggression. This mechanism provides ample reasons for hegemon to intervene, penetrate and take hold on the Muslim countries. This is what made Afghans Mujahideens while fighting against the USSR and most wanted terrorists later on. To meet this objective an army of intellectuals was deployed to educate the Western public about the possibility and feasibility of interventions in the Muslim world. This could never be achieved without the selective and biased media coverage and inventing new theories to change public opinion. Different sets of illusions are created and crafted in such a fashion that they act as frame of reference for a global attitude towards Islam and acknowledged ground for policymaking.

The Western identity, its culture and civilization, its democratic ethos is projected as a beleaguered one, besieged by an alien force  Islam. Islam is thus projected in such a way one gets the notion that it is invariably found in a confrontational relationship with whatever is Western. Islam becomes the most dangerous civilization for the West  thus an inevitable clash of civilizations. Islam has bloody borders, a barbarian spirit, genetically angry at modernity, a static religion with a myopic vision of humanity and development. This is how fear replaces knowledge about Islam. Islam, thus, is compared with everything the West dislikes regardless of accuracy and authenticity.

The slogans of Islamic resurgence and Islamic revivalism echoed with high intensity seem dubious. This is how the minds are made receptive. They are frightened, terrorized by suing such slogans so that they easily fell to the line that is being projected. Islamic revivalism is used to only to suggest the threat of a return to Middle Ages but the destruction of what is regularly referred to as the democratic order in the Western world. However, the Muslims always believed that Islam has always been resurgent, alive, rich in thought, feeling and human production.



Consolidation of power need creating and countering perceived threats to the society. Threats are created and solved in such a fashion that people relinquish their sovereign powers and surrender before propagandist state apparatus that virtually present herself as the guardian and protector of individual. People are made do think in the terms state wants them to think, there is no thinking beyond that, and no truth beyond the truth that is articulated by the state. Truth is what the hegemon calls truth!

We are caged, our voices chocked and individuality crushed under the might of the power  be it the state power or the power of the corporate media. Let us dare to be different.

Sheikh Javaid Ayub is the author of Understanding Indian Politics, published in 2009 by Partridge India. He teaches political Science and can be mailed at sunatjavaidps@gmail.com










Clinton And Trump Represent The Same Entity: Conspiracy Theories And Beyond

By Taj Hashmi

11 June, 2016

Countercurrents.org

The Democratic and Republican parties have made presumptive nominations of their Presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Both are among the least popular candidates in the history of US Presidential elections. While many Americans think Clinton is least trustworthy, and a hawkish representative of Washington and the Wall Street, they think Trump is a bully, racist, inexperienced, unpredictable, and least Presidential. Then again, thanks to multiple conspiracy theories about the two candidates, their mutual relationship, and about the nomination and election process, Americans and people across the world are sceptical, puzzled, worried, and uncertain about the next Presidential election and its short- and long-term effects on global peace and order.

Conspiracy theories proliferate and become viral in no time. And sections of the population  even in the most developed countries like the US  believe in such theories, which sometimes sound much more rational and convincing than the truth. We have come across several wild conspiracy theories, including one on the hidden understanding between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. According to this theory, Clinton and Trump are fused in a single entity that represents the Wall Street and the Military Industrial Complex in America. Hence their joint-venture to defeat the maverick socialist Bernie Sanders, whos against Big Money and the Military Industrial Complex.

The way the Democratic Party had declared Clinton to be the presumptive nominee of the Party, day before the last Primaries in six states were held on Tuesday June 7, many Sanders supporters believe their candidate was ignored, marginalized, and humiliated. Sanders simply didnt get what he asked for from his Party, i.e. for the sake of a fair and winnable election; let the superdelegates votes be counted only after the Primaries are over, at the Democratic Party Convention in July. The least expected declaration of Clinton as the presumptive nominee before the last Primaries gives the impression that the whole thing was premeditated and rigged, a by-product of a secret plan to nominate Clinton at the eleventh hour, without yielding to Sanderss demand to process the nomination at the Democratic Convention. One may, however, call it a conspiracy against Bernie Sanders, too.

The Democratic Party bosses insensitive decision to declare Hillary Clinton as the presumptive nominee  because of her scoring higher number of votes, delegates, and super delegates than those by Bernie Sanders  before the Democratic Primaries in California, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and New Jersey ruined whatever prospects Sanders had to gain more votes and delegates to influence the superdelegates to get nominated as the prospective Democratic nominee for the Election. Many prospective Sanders voters are likely to abstain from going to the polls. As one New York Times columnist has observed, passionate Bernie Sanders supporters awoke enraged on Tuesday [June 7] after learning that his slim hopes for winning the Democratic presidential nomination had been effectively dashed as a batch of superdelegates revealed their support for Hillary Clinton. An editorial of the same daily has also pointed out; Clinton needs to convince Sanders followers that she won fairly.

The Republican camp also witnessed some dramatic moments since Trumps becoming the presumptive nominee. On Friday June 3, three days before the Primaries on the 7th, Donald Trump in an interview with CNN repeated his racially charged accusations (which he first brought up at a Republican rally in late May) against US-born Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing lawsuits against Trump University in San Diego. Trump repeatedly said the judge being a Mexican, couldnt render unbiased decisions in the lawsuits, as he (Trump) wanted to build a wall across the US-Mexico border to stop the influx of illegal Mexicans into America. Almost the entire Republican Party leadership, including Speaker Paul Ryan and the Senate Leader Lindsay Graham, condemned Trumps judge-comment racist and un-American.

Despite Trumps public denial that his comment wasnt racist at all, he knows it was blatantly racist, and he used racist slur on purpose. According to another streak of conspiracy theory, Trump played the race card to jeopardize his own election prospects. This theory implies hes actually not interested in winning the election; he is after ruining the Republican Party; and his hidden agenda is all about electing Hillary Clinton as the President. After all, she and her husband are old family friends, and he has better prospects of making more money having another Clinton in the White House!

Now, can anyone do anything about any conspiracy theory that is in circulation for decades? There are people who believe in multiple conspiracy theories about President Kennedys assassination. There are people in America  even in Neil Armstrongs neighbourhood  who dont believe the astronaut and his colleagues ever stepped on the moon. And we know about quite a few conspiracy theories about 9/11 and the killing of Osama bin Laden. I dont have any solution  or intention  of debunking any of these conspiracy theories. However, what lies beyond the conspiracy theories is very discomforting for peace loving people, within and beyond America.



Now, the American voters seem to have a difficult choice, between the Devil and the Deep Sea! While Trump would be most unpredictable like a bull in a china shop, but is least likely to get elected. As one recalls her whole-hearted support for Iraq Invasion in 2003, Clinton, the likely winner could blindly follow George W. Bushs disastrous foreign policy. As Obamas Secretary of State, she was instrumental in the overthrow of multiple Arab regimes, including the brutal killing of President Qaddafi, and the destruction of Syria by engineering a civil war in the country with the help of Islamist terror groups. Last but not least, one has reasons to worry about what she publicly stated she would do if elected to the presidency: If Im President, we will attack Iranwe would be able to totally obliterate them  with nuclear weapons, one wonders!

Contrary to what Sanders untiringly campaigned for during the last one year, Clinton is likely to lend unconditional support to the Wall Street, Israeli, and the Military Industrial lobbies; and shes likely to drag America and her allies into protracted wars in distant lands, for the benefit of the Military Industrial Lobby and others who benefit from long-drawn-out wars. One is not sure how effective would be the opposition of Bernie Sanderss supporters, who are opposed to the manipulative Wall Street, and other beneficiaries of wars and invasions of countries who pose no threat to America.

The writer teaches security studies at Austin Peay State University in the US. He is the author of several books, including his latest, Global Jihad and America: The Hundred-Year War Beyond Iraq and Afghanistan (Sage, 2014). Email: tajhashmi@gmail.com












Foreign Policy As Performing Art And Deals As Indispensable Liabilities

By K.M. Seethi

11 June, 2016

Countercurrents.org

Many eyebrows were raised when Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered an exciting speech in the Capitol Hill in Washington in the presence of an august audience in the Congress. Research investigations were well underway whether it was an extempore speech or a Modi-Tech Controlled Rendering. Social media world is all agog to know the truth. Researchers calculated that Modi secured 10 standing compliments and 69 rounds of strident applauses. What a curious case of quantitative analysis!

There is, of course, nothing wrong in using a teleprompter in a public speech, as Modi would have used it in the Capitol Hill, in terms of serving its purpose. Speeches of presidents, prime ministers, ministers, diplomats et al. are usually prepared well in advance (by concerned experts, or officials in charge) to avoid slips especially when they are delivered in a special audience. Exception could be Nehru and a few others in India. Even Nehru used to keep notes prepared by him for extempore speeches. Whether one uses a written text or a teleprompter, what matters is the content of the text, rather than the mode of presentation (by way of performing art!). Technology, of course, makes a difference in such situations of public/special addresses, but it would be ideal if a written text is in hand to avoid any unexpected slip or any unsolicited mudslinging that followed on this issue.

The content of the speech matters most, indeed.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India chose to visit the US firstnot in search of any partnership in the American strategic games. Nehru unequivocally told them that India sought to sustain a distinct political stature and personality of its own in the midst of the cold war politics with the Truman Doctrine emerging as a new toolkit of American foreign policy. In his address (a short speech of just 15 minutes) to the US Congress in 1949 (sure, there was no teleprompter then), he reminded the Americans: "You will see that though India may speak to you in a voice that you may not immediately recognize, or that may perhaps appear somewhat alien to you, yet that voice somewhat strongly resembles what you have often heard before. He was obviously referring to the autonomy of Indian foreign policy, which, later, was articulated and identified itself as non-alignment. In that sense, Nehru himself emerged as Indian non-aligned policys teleprompter, unmindful of its consequences for the country. Even Stalin called Nehru a running dog of imperialism for his assertion of autonomy. How the non-alignment had been strengthened in the post-independence years, and then how it got diluted in subsequent years is a matter of history. Strategic partnership has substituted strategic autonomy of India over years and this has been cleverly done by successive Congress governments. This even prompted the Janata government (1977-79) to talk about genuine non-alignment which Vajpayee repeated in his short tenure as foreign minister under the Janata regime.

Narendra Modi was born a few months after Nehrus 1949 speech in the American Congress. The difference in speeches is so palpable to everyones eyes. This can easily be described as from autonomy to surrender. Everyone knows that Modi was even denied visa by the US for a decade due to his domestic records. Good that Modi talked about freedom from fear in his speech: All the 1.25 billion of our citizens have freedom from fear, a freedom they exercise every moment of their lives. But the Americans have also been watching the tolerance debate in India in the wake of series of killings and intimidations last year. Americans maintain self respect throughout the world through their forceful and forthright public positions, on any matter about which people may have differences. India is apparently struggling to get other respect through its glasnostic skulduggery. Little do we discuss the short-term and long-term consequences of what went behind this diplomatic exercise.

A couple of months before Modis visit, the stage was set for deals after deals in vital strategic areas. For example, India entered into a Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with the US, which will lay open its military bases to the US, facilitating the American fighter planes and warships to operate from the Indian facilities. LEMOA forms part of a strategic package which will steer the high technology cooperation between Washington and its defence partners. Indias military deals with the US have taken a big jump during the last few months. Indias long cherished goal of manufacturing its own aircraft carrier with technological support from the US is being realised and New Delhi has also been negotiating for a similar deal to get jet engine technology. The central pillar of the Indo-US joint statement issued after the Obama-Modi meeting on June 7, 2016 is therefore so obvious. It significantly underlines the partnership in defence, besides cooperation over civil nuclear energy. It is not surprising that the proposed deal for the construction of 6 nuclear plants in India by the Westinghouse Electric Co., a U.S. unit of Toshiba Corp has gone unnoticed in the midst of other issues being discussed. Even the parties which opposed the 123 Agreement and subsequently the Liabilities Bill in and outside parliament are silent on the question.

In the course of his speech, Modi said that the US is an indispensable partner. Nobody denies that the US is an important factor to be reckoned with in global politics. In that case, can Obama or the new incumbent in the White House next year say that India is an indispensable partner for the US? If India cannot assume that role, obviously the role that is reserved for India is a junior partner. Junior partners will always be at the receiving endserving the cause of the senior partner, on the one hand, and shouldering the liabilities of the cause without any payoff for the latter.

K.M.SEETHI is Professor and Director, School of International Relations and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarshini Hills PO., Kottayam, Kerala, India-686560, He is also Editor of South Asian Journal of Diplomacy and the Indian Journal of Politics and International Relations.














Charles Heidsieck Champagne House

The House of Champagne Charles Heidsieck is still producing world-class wines, of unrivaled quality and prestige. Each wine is blended with 40 percent reserve wines from the Charles Heidsieck cellar, which are an average of 10 years old, adding further depth and complexity to each wine.

(Submitted / Champagne Charles Heidsieck)

There's a lot more to the Charles Heidsieck story than his moniker: Champagne Charlie.

Yes, Heidsieck was a 19th century French Champagne merchant who made his first visit to the United States in 1852 and within a few years not only saw American high

Cellar master Cyril Brun: 'Busy does not even begin to reflect this crazy past year; although Charles Heidsieck is a small winery, there are many exciting new projects, which are so promising and motivating.'

society embrace his beverage but also lavish him with expensive parties and a nickname that stuck with him well beyond his death.

His father was Charles-Henri Heidsieck, a Champagne merchant whose story of riding into Moscow on a white stallion in 1811 just ahead of Napolean's advancing army is lengendary. Laden with Champagne, he was prepared to pop the cork with whichever side won.

But he's also known for an episode that took place during the American Civil War, when he sailed to America in search of payment for previous shipments of Champagne. Arrested by Union forces in New Orleans and charged with spying, he was imprisoned for more than six months before being released in November 1862. He returned to France in poor health and broke, his wife having sold off his property to pay off his debts.

His roller-coaster ride wasn't finished. Within the next couple months, an American missionary brought a apology letter to Heidsieck from the brother of his former agent in New York. Embarrassed by how Heidsieck was treated, he offer a stack of deeds to land in Colorado as repayment. As the town of Denver expanded on that land, Heidsieck received enough money to repay his debts and reopen his Champagne house. The view from there would only get more spectacular with each passing year.

Today, the house of Champagne Charles Heidsieck continues to produce "world-class wines of unrivaled quality and prestige," according to a company

release. "Each wine is blended with 40 percent reserve wines from the Charles Heidsieck cellar, which are an average of 10 years old, adding further depth and complexity to each wine."

One of those Champagnes is a Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve (SRP: $65), a blend of 40 percent Pinot Noir, 40 percent Chardonnay and 20 percent Pinot Meunier. Winemaker's notes: Deep golden hue, showered with long lasting bubbles. Aromas of freshly baked brioche and the richness of roasted coffee beans linger while the palate offers a touch of praline and notes of amber and vanilla. The unique bottle-shape of the Brut Reserve is modeled after the curves of the chalk cellar, in which the wine is aged.

Cyril Brun in May 2015 left his position working under Dominique Demarville at Veuve Clicquot to move into a spot with Charles Heidsieck as the senior winemaker - looking after wine development and communication. He replaced Thierry Roset, who died suddenly in October 2014. Here's an interview with Brun that appeared on a New Zealand wine blog.

And, thanks to Juliana Colangeo of Colangelo & Partners, New York, this blog had a chance to send questions to Brun that he responded to by email.

Q, You've been there about a year. I just wondered what the transition period has been like?

A, Busy does not even begin to reflect this crazy past year; although Charles Heidsieck is a small winery, there are many exciting new projects, which are so promising and motivating.

Q, How long does it take a winemaker/cellar master to feel at home in a new operation?

A, I already feel quite comfortable but not quite 100 percent. The process of making a bottle of Charles is extremely long- you will only get the very first result of your work after years. ... But it is all part of the adventure and you accept it. It is a close-knit team, which allows us to be fast and agile.

Q, This idea of quality development, where there's so much annual expectation for a brand as revered as this one. What does that mean in the day to day work?

A, It is all about gentle tweaking and adjustments rather than making drastic changes. I would compare it to playing Mikado: you shift small details to elevate the quality without moving the other cursors. The biggest danger when you are working at such a high level of quality is the risk of that quality declining, as opposed to improvement.

Q, What philosophy of winemaking did you bring to Charles Heidsieck?

A, I came to Charles because I recognized myself in the Charles Heidsieck wines and philosophy. I have already moved a few cursors (gently of course) with the aim of consolidating the existing philosophy rather than moving away from it. There will be more dramatic evolutions at a mid-term scale to ensure wine consistency amidst climate changes.

Q, The release mentioned technical winemaking missions. What does that mean?

A, It means any operation from viticulture to release that can have an impact on the wines. It is quite wide but it is all about details. Of course the main mission is setting up the blends but it goes much further.

Q, Who were among the couple of folks who had the biggest impact on you as a winemaker?

A,Jacques Peters and Dominique Demarville (both from Veuve Clicquot) were my two "mentors"; they are visionary and humble at the same time. They taught me patience within the pursuit of excellence.

Q, Our history of winemaking is so much shorter in this part of the world, and there are a lot of people who are in the first couple years of learning to make wine. Any general advice you'd give them?

A, Patience is key (time is on our side) to create great wines. This means that you should accept that you will have to wait to get exactly what you wish, and to do things properly. We deal with Mother Nature, one should never forget that, a force that can offer the best or the worst. One must be prepared to accept both: not to miss a great vintage and capable to adapt working habits in a challenging year. Be creative and learn you're your experience; there is much to learn from both success and failure.
On Tuesday, June 14, we celebrate Flag Day. The Flag Resolution of 1777 or "Flag Birthday" is the day the Stars and Stripes were adopted as the official flag of the United States. While not celebrated as widely as the Fourth of July, it's still a very important patriotic holiday.

One of the most impressive flag displays I've ever seen is one that I honestly don't want to see again. It's a traveling flag display established by Larry "The Flag Man" Eckhardt of Little York, Illinois. Typically, Larry's enormous flag display only comes out when a fallen hero from the Tri-State is being returned home for burial.

The last time I saw Larry's remarkable display was this past January when residents of Albion, Illinois welcomed Sgt. Kenneth Cunningham home. Sgt. Cunningham was killed in the Vietnam War. Decades had passed before his remains were identified and he was returned home for burial. More than 2,500 full-size American flags lined the route from Albion to the cemetery where Sgt. Cunningham was laid to rest. As I was leaving Sgt. Cunningham's service, Mr. Eckhardt told me he hoped he didn't see me any time soon. I knew exactly what he meant.

Another amazing flag display can be seen at the Edwards County courthouse in downtown Albion. On every major patriotic holiday, volunteers erect more than 250 full size American flags along the walkways around the courthouse. Each flag represents a fallen hero in the county. Most of the flags are actual burial flags for those heroes, or ones donated by family members in honor of their lost loved ones. The flag poles were donated by family members and various service organizations in the county. Illuminated in the evening, it's quite an impressive display.

Fortunately, most folks show the American flag the respect it deserves. A few years ago, a local lady took that respect to a new level and unfortunately for her, attracted the attention of law enforcement. I remember seeing a few police reports of someone stealing American flags. "How disgusting," I thought. "Why, if they're caught, they ought to be tarred and feathered and run out of town!" Well, as it turns out, the "flag thief" was actually a nice lady going around town removing completely worn out flags  flags that were so tattered that they should have been taken down and replaced months earlier. While her intentions were perfectly honorable, she was asked to suspend her flag patrol. However, thanks to this nontraditional patriot, a lot of ragged old flags actually did get replaced.

Flag Day would actually be a good time to check your flag to see if it's time to be replaced. If you don't know what to do with worn out flags, simply contact your local American Legion or VFW Post. Periodically, these organizations conduct formal flag disposal ceremonies, retiring the Stars and Stripes with the honor and dignity it deserves.

If you have questions about flag etiquette, the American Legion has established a helpful website with answers to commonly asked questions about the Stars and Stripes. It can be found at http://www.legion.org/flag/faq.
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In a letter issued by the U.S. Justice Department and the Department of Education on May 13 public schools were given guidelines on civil rights protections for transgender students.

As a condition of receiving Federal funds, among other things, schools must allow these students to choose which restroom or locker room they wish to use on the basis of the gender with which they choose to identify, address students using names and pronouns consistent with their gender identity and allow them to use housing and overnight accommodations consistent with their gender identity.

Since then, 11 states have filed a lawsuit challenging this directive, stating that not only does it have "no basis in law," but that it could cause "seismic changes in the operations of the nation's school districts."

It may not be relevant to the lawsuit, but since we are dealing with the education of students, most of whom will be required to take science classes of some kind, I would like to add that the directive not only has no basis in law but has no basis in science either.

For over 300 years, western civilization has been taught to rely solely upon science to define reality. Though I am not opposed to science, you might expect that as an evangelical pastor, I believe there is much about reality science cannot explain or account for that only the Bible can.

But in the case of gender identity, since the 1905 discovery by Edmund Beecher Wilson and Nettie Stevens of the chromosomal XY sex determination system, science has been able to objectively determine whether a person is a man or a woman. Males have an X and a Y chromosome while females have two X chromosomes.

On Sunday of this week, President Obama said at a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Indiana, that his administration's directive on transgendered students is based upon his reading of the Bible as well as the law. This seems like an odd admission for the President, given that the Bible has long been removed from the public school system as a means for understanding reality.

Nevertheless, it would seem a matter of extraordinary educational importance to be consistent in our application of scientific discovery. Gender, scientifically, is objective, not subjective, not relative to individual choice. I wholeheartedly affirm the right of any American to dress, act or surgically alter one's self according to one's taste.

However, requiring schools to allow students to identify as a gender different from their chromosomal makeup dictates, seems to defeat the purpose of teaching science in the first place.

If the Bible can't be trusted to define reality, and science can no longer be trusted to define reality, what exactly is there to teach about reality?

Jeff Kinkade is lead pastor of City Church.
SHARE Hayden Panettiere and "Nashville" will move to CMT for season five. (Photo: Shelley Mays / File / The Tennessean)

By Nate Rau and Cindy Watts, The Tennessean / USA TODAY Network

"Nashville" will return for a fifth season that will be broadcast on CMT and streamed on Hulu thanks to a unique deal that was reached on Thursday after weeks of negotiations.

An $11 million incentive package with funds from the state, Metro, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. and Ryman Hospitality is also in place as part of the deal.

The show was canceled by ABC after a four-season run, but fans of the show banded together and launched a social media campaign to save the country music-focused drama.

Lionsgate began pitching the show to other networks and ultimately found a home on Nashville-based CMT.

In a press release Friday, CMT confirmed that it had picked up the show, which will have a 22-episode run this season. Under the deal, Hulu will have streaming rights to episodes the day after they air.

CMT heard the fans. The wave of love and appreciation they have unleashed for Nashville has been overwhelming, said Brian Philips, president of CMT. Nashville is a perfect addition to our evolving lineup of big music specials, documentaries and original series. We see our fans and ourselves in this show, and we will treasure it like no other network. 'Nashville' belongs on CMT.

Charles Esten, one of the biggest stars on the show, spoke in front of a crowd of hundreds Friday morning at CMA Fest, confirming what he called "one of the worst-kept secrets in Nashville right now."

"I'm very, very grateful to say that 'Nashville' will have a season five," Esten told the euphoric crowd, which erupted into cheers.

The incentive package was crucial to the deal. Under the agreement, the state will give $8.5 million, an increase of $500,000 from what was allocated in the new budget. Metro will contribute $1 million, subject to Metro Council approval. The CVC will give $1 million and Ryman Hospitality will add $500,000.

The state and Metro have justified incentives for the show, which have been more than most film or television productions, because they view Nashville as a tourism magnet.

RELATED: 'Nashville' fans celebrate renewal with #BroughtBackNashville

Landing this fifth season of Nashville helps push the show into syndication and allows it to live on for decades. The show has been a terrific marketing tool for the state and our musical heritage. We are also excited to support CMT, a company with real Tennessee roots, said Tennessee Economic and Community Development Director Randy Boyd.

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry said the salvaging of the show by CMT is great news for the city.
Jennifer McCormick, the superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools, has a "chips and dip" meeting with members of the public and supporters on Wednesday as a part of her campaign. McCormick is running against Glenda Ritz for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.(Photo: Corey Ohlenkamp/The Star Press, Corey Ohlenkamp/The Star Press)

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By Emma Kate Fittes / USA Today Netowrk/ Muncie Star Press

On Saturday the Indiana Republican Party will choose its candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, and it could be local superintendent Jennifer McCormick.

McCormick, who is currently superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools, started her campaign in January. If chosen, she will go up against current superintendent and Democrat Glenda Ritz on the November ballot.

But first she is up against the lesser-known Republican candidate Dawn Wooten, a professor at Indiana UniversityPurdue University Fort Wayne who began campaigning in September.

At the Indiana Republican Party State Convention on Saturday delegates will listen for 8 minutes to each candidate's presentation and nomination speech.

After all the nominations are seconded, delegates will be dismissed to vote. Once a majority is reached, the winning candidate will be announced and officially certified later that day.

According to her campaign, McCormick has received a long list of endorsements from two members of Congress  including Luke Messer  seven district chairs, nine county chairs  including Will Statom from Delaware County  15 state representatives and 28 state senators.

Over the past few months, McCormick has repeatedly said the state's department of education lacks vision and leadership under current superintendent Glenda Ritz, a Democrat.

"It's very disorganized, it's very disconnected from the local level," McCormick said in March after her first campaign event back in Yorktown.

But, she hasn't been calling for drastic change. While in Muncie she told teachers she didn't want to change state standards again, and that moving further away from Common Core standards would be "risky" while universities rely on standardized tests like the SAT.

She also threw her support behind charter schools and vouchers, which Ritz has openly opposed in the past. Instead of trying to get rid of charters, she said she will focus on giving public schools the resources they need to be competitive.

"It's here," she said. "State superintendent isn't going to change that, so we have to coexist."

McCormick declined to comment Thursday through her spokesperson, Pete Seat.

The Indiana GOP convention begins at 10 a.m. June 11 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Aside from state superintendent, the party will also nominate candidates for attorney general and lieutenant governor.
SHARE Myra Boles, Harrisburg, Ill., scrapes gum from seats at the Ford Center while preparing for the upcoming Jehovah's Witness summer convention. Shayde Griggs, of Shepherdsville, (from left) Stone Stewart, 12, of Evansville, Alex Eckert, also of Shepherdsville and Cole Hurst, of Brooks, work to construct a stage for the upcoming Jehovah's Witness summer convention, Thursday ALEX SLITZ / COURIER & PRESS Robin Cornelius of Rockport, constructs a video wall for the upcoming Jehovah's Witness summer convention, Thursday, June 9, 2016. Thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses are expected to attend the convention over two weekends. Sessions will run June 10-12 and again June 17-19. The public is welcome to attend. ALEX SLITZ / COURIER & PRESS Ian Keith, of Golconda, Ill. constructs a video wall for the upcoming Jehovah's Witness summer convention, Thursday, June 9, 2016. Thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses are expected to attend the convention over two weekends. Sessions will run June 10-12 and again June 17-19. The public is welcome to attend.

By Megan Erbacher of the Courier and Press

If people walk away focused on the Bible, the Jehovah's Witnesses feel they fulfilled their purpose.

Over the next two weekends, Jehovah's Witnesses are hosting their faith's 13th annual summer convention at the Ford Center in Evansville.

The program, free and open to the public, includes fellowship through talks, interviews and videos.

Convention spokesman Joe Colon said everything about the program is Bible-based.

"It doesn't matter what church they go to or what religion they belong to," Program Overseer Frederick Young said. "If we can get them focused on the Bible, we've accomplished our objective."

Evansville has hosted Jehovah's Witness conventions annually since 2003, but also hosted conventions in 1959, 1967 and 1974.

Sessions for this year's convention are 9:20 a.m. to 4:55 p.m. Friday through Sunday this weekend, as well as June 17-19. Sunday services end at 4 p.m.

The convention's theme, "Remain Loyal to Jehovah," focuses on the spiritual features of loyalty.

On Thursday, between 300-350 volunteers worked to prepare the Ford Center for the convention. Work included setting up the stage, doing electrical work for videos and sound and cleaning.

"We have to set (electronics) up ourselves," Young said. "Traditionally stadiums are used for sporting events. ... Our stadium is used for Bible education. And in order for people to be instructed in a classroom atmosphere, it's important that we have not just adequate sound, but it has to be as near perfection as we can get it."

Two feature films, "Hope for What We Do Not See" and "O Jehovah, I Honor You," will be shown each weekend during the conference. A Mount Vernon, Illinois, native, Young said the movies star Jehovah's Witnesses as the actors and actresses.

Colon, who is from Harrisburg, Illinois, said regardless of religious beliefs, people are real and have real-life problems.

"I think we cover so many different real-life situations," he said. "It helps people to be able to learn how they can overcome some of these in a way that's going to be beneficial to them, to their families and to their communities."

During the two weekends, organizers expect at least 10,500 worshippers from the Midwest region.

On behalf of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Colon said they are grateful to the Evansville community for their hospitality.

The convention is the largest religious group hosted by Evansville each year, according to Bob Warren, Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau executive director. Warren estimated the group generates more than $2.8 million annually to the local economy.

"It's one of those conventions that every destination wants to have," he said.

Warren said Jehovah's Witness officials have discussed expanding the convention to cover more weekends. He also said a contract with the Ford Center was recently extended an additional eight years.

"They're overall great people," he said. "And we want to make sure Evansville keeps their doors open."
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By Shannon Hall of the Courier and Press

The Warrick County Democratic Party will hold a caucus Tuesday to select four candidates to be on the November ballot.

The party will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Gathering Place on the Boonville Square. There's only one contested race right now in Warrick County. David Perigo is making a run for the county coroner seat against incumbent Sarah Seaton.

"We decided to have our caucus a little bit earlier to try to and get that done," Warrick County Democratic Party Chair Rita Long said.

The deadline for parties to select candidates to fill a ballot vacancy is June 30.

The four candidates are running for different seats, and Long said she thinks all of them will be selected at the caucus.

Dan Ashley filed to be picked as the Democratic nominee for the recorder's office. Current Warrick County Treasurer Pat Brooks, who is running as the Republican nominee for recorder, won the primary election over incumbent Vonnie Hughes.

Anyone who wanted to be selected at Tuesday's Democrat caucus had to file by Friday. Patricia "Pat" King, of Tennyson, filed to be selected as the Democratic nominee for Warrick County Treasurer.

King said she was not happy how the treasurer's office has been operated for the past four years, and did not feel "confident" with Judy Beem, the Republican candidate for treasurer.

"I feel qualified," she said.

King said she has a master's degree in business administration, and was a certified accountant in Denver, Colorado.

Brian Lucas, of Chandler, filed to fill one of the three at-large seats on the Warrick County Council. Three Republicans won slots in the primary: Ted Metzger, Brad Overton and Charlie Christmas.

Lucas was formerly on the Chandler Town Council and served as president when he was knocked off in the 2015 municipal election.

Sarah Kemp Aull, of Newburgh, hopes to be selected to challenge current Warrick County Clerk Patty Perry. A Republican, Perry was uncontested in the May primary.

Long hopes everyone who wished to be on the ballot in the fall has filed already, she said.

"Hopefully, our people would be coming forth before the deadline," Long said.

The Democratic Party may have an uphill battle for the county seats, though. Warrick County Commissioner Marlin Weisheit and Superior Court Judge Robert Aylsworth are the only two Democrats elected to county positions, while the Republican party has more than a dozen people holding county seats.

"I think their chances are good to be elected this year, I really do," Long said. "I'm hopeful that the Democrats will be able to move forward."

She said the Democratic Party wants to make sure they have people in place to work for the common good.

"We feel like our voice needs to be heard," she said.

The Warrick County Democratic Party has until June 20 to notify the precinct committee members for another caucus before June 30 to fill any other ballot vacancy.

Telephone calls Friday to Lucas, Aull and Ashley were not returned immediately.
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By Zach Osowski, zach.osowski@courierpress.com

3:02 PM UPDATE  After close votes forced three ballots, Curtis Hill emerged as the Republican nominee for Indiana Attorney General.

Hill, the Elkhart County prosecutor, led all three ballots, finally grabbing the official nomination on the last vote beating former Attorney General Steve Carter 908 to 602. That margin gave him the majority of the votes and secured the nomination.

Thank you very much for your support, Hill told the state convention. I look forward to energizing this party.

Hill also beat out State Sen. Randy Head and Assistant Attorney General Abby Kuzma. Because a majority of the votes was required to win the nomination, the state convention delegates had to vote three times before Hill finally won. Kuzma was dropped off after receiving the fewest votes on the first ballot. Head was then knocked out after the second vote.

Hill will face Democrat Lorenzo Arrendondo in November as both men look to replace current Attorney General Greg Zoeller, a Republican.

2:21 PM UPDATE  The Republican race for Attorney General will go to a third and final ballot after no candidate came away with a majority.

With 451 votes of more than 1,500 ballots, Sen. Randy Head was dropped from the ballot, leaving Curtis Hill and Steve Carter to face off in the final ballot.

Hill, the prosecutor from Elkhart County, has received the most votes on both ballots but hasnt been able to get a majority of the votes. On the second ballot he received 620 votes to Carters 489.

Abby Kuzma, the fourth candidate in the race, received just 76 votes on the first ballot.

The eventual nominee will go on to face Democrat Lorenzo Arrendondo in November.

EARLIER  Jennifer McCormick will be the Republican nominee for State Superintendent after a resounding win over challenger Dawn Wooten.

GOP state delegates also ended the attorney general dreams of Assistant Attorney General Abby Kuzma. None of the four candidates reached a full majority of votes. When that happens, party rules stipulate the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes must be dropped from the ballot.

Delegates will vote again with their only options now down to Steve Carter, Randy Head and Curtis Hill. If the second ballot doesnt produce a majority winner, the lowest vote getter will again be dropped and another vote will be taken.

McCormick, current superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools, will face incumbent Democrat Glenda Ritz in November. After a single round of voting, McCormick garnered 1,030 votes to Wooten's 574.

McCormick, who touted her experience as a K-12 educator and leader, said the current Indiana Department of Education administration is hurting Indiana schools.

There is no leadership and no vision, McCormick said.

As a former principal and now a superintendent, McCormick said she has the ability to bring the focus back on teachers and students and end the political squabbling.

Despite having a history of voting in Democratic primaries, which her opponent called her out on, McCormick received wide support from the 1,700 delegates at the State GOP convention.

___

This story will be updated.
SHARE Gov. Mike Pence speaks at the Indiana Republican Party spring dinner at Primos Banquet Center in Indianapolis on April 21. (Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

By Chelsea Schneider, IndyStar / USA TODAY Network

Indiana Republicans will vote on whether to renew their partys support of marriage as between a man and a woman at Saturdays state GOP convention, after a state party committee blocked an attempt Friday to allow delegates to consider removing the language from the partys platform.

As delegates gather in Indianapolis, some Republican leaders reluctance to reignite a debate on same-sex marriage during an election year has undercut efforts to alter the wording  despite those marriages now being legal across the country.

A state party committee declined Friday to allow the conventions approximately 1,700 delegates to consider a proposal that would have eliminated the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

In its place, delegates would have considered adding this language to the partys platform: We believe that strong families are the foundation of society and that these families bring forth citizens capable of self-government as well as qualified public servants that are essential for a successful republic, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by IndyStar.

The proposed wording offered by Megan Robertson, a delegate and rights activist for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, failed to pass the Resolutions Committee in a 7-3 vote. The committee met privately Friday night as convention activities were getting underway.

Delegates will vote Saturday on the platform as originally proposed, which includes language on traditional marriage added in 2014 amid objections from Republicans who say their party should promote a more inclusive environment. It states, We believe that strong families, based on marriage between a man and a woman, are the foundation of society and also includes support of diverse family structures.

Robertson said the committees actions were disappointing and that party leaders used a process to control the results.

It was decided not to allow delegates to have a voice on this and have a vote. Even folks on the other side of this issue feel its unfortunate that delegates arent given a chance to stand up and say what they believe, Robertson said.

Thats a change in procedure, Robertson said, from the 2014 state convention, when opponents of the traditional marriage language were able to directly appeal to delegates on the convention floor.

State Rep. Eric Koch, who chaired the Resolutions Committee, said he supports the platform containing between a man and a woman language.

I believe its good public policy, said Koch, a Bedford Republican. He declined to elaborate on his position, saying only that he has been consistent on the issue for years as a state lawmaker.

Koch said party members who served on another committee to review possible changes to the platform did a lot of work, including receiving public input at three hearings. Ultimately, the platform review committee declined to revise the traditional marriage language  a decision that will benefit Gov. Mike Pence, one political observer said.

Not having a contentious platform debate is in Pences best interest as he seeks re-election this year against Democrat John Gregg, who has been critical of Pence on the LGBT rights issue, said Paul Helmke, a civics professor at Indiana University and a former Republican mayor of Fort Wayne.

Platform fights are more likely to leave a worse image than having a platform position that a portion of the voters disagrees with or finds behind the times, Helmke said.

Monica Boyer, a delegate and social conservative from Warsaw, said she was happy to see the committee reject sending the proposal to all convention delegates.

Its important to keep marriage in there. I think its a very welcoming platform as it is written because it includes all kinds of families, Boyer said.

But Hendricks County GOP Chairman Mike OBrien, who served on the Resolutions Committee and supported Robertsons proposal, said the GOP is signaling it doesnt want same-sex couples to be members of the party. Its a message, OBrien said, thats not sustainable.

This party, if were going to grow into the future, needs to get past this hang-up we have with only allowing certain people to be a part of this party regardless of what their real belief system is, he said. If youre a same-sex couple, if youre a same-sex married couple, and you believe in limited government, low taxes and a strong economy, then youre Republican.

The party had eliminated similar traditional marriage language in 2012, but social conservatives pushed in 2014 to have it restored after failing to get a constitutional same-sex marriage ban on the November ballot. Shortly after, a federal court ruling made same-sex marriage legal in Indiana, and last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court extended that right to marry across the nation.

Tom John, GOP chairman of Indianas 7th Congressional District, told IndyStar this week he wants to see the language of between a man and a woman removed long term, but he argued this year isnt the right time. He said Republicans need to focus on party unity. Rush County GOP Chairman Michael Dora said some believed changing (the platform) drew attention to it.

In addition to the platform, delegates will choose Saturday among four candidates for attorney general and two candidates for superintendent of public instruction to run in the November election. Theyre also expected to formally nominate Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb as Pences running mate.

___

IndyStar reporter Tony Cook contributed to this story.
Courier & Press file photo of a worker mowing the lawn at a vacant house in the South Side of Evansville.

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By Thomas B. Langhorne of the Courier and Press

Federal taxpayer dollars, tax credits and incentives and business investment are the weapons of choice  necessity in some cases  for Evansville city officials intent on replacing housing blight with housing options.

But now that City Council has approved the sharp end of the stick  $1.7 million in riverboat money to kick off a land bank that could demolish up to 2,000 vacant and blighted structures through 2019  some are worried about the G-word.

It's gentrification, a big word that boils down to displacing the poor in favor of the rich. Most members of City Council couch their concerns in broader language intended to make the same point  but its meaning is the same, and it is unmistakable:

The newly available empty lots had better be used for affordable housing  with the emphasis on "affordable." Otherwise, Mayor Lloyd Winnecke's administration may not get funding for year two  let alone years three and four  of the land bank.

"We're talking about clearing blight. At some point, we want to infill affordable housing back into these areas. It's a twofold process," said 6th Ward Councilman Jim Brinkmeyer.

"It's almost a problem that's one in the same because you're talking about clearing houses that only the poorest of our community can afford to (live) in  and when you clear those, then what kind of housing opportunities do people that are at the very bottom of our economic ladder have?"

Brinkmeyer acknowledged his concerns are similar to those of 4th Ward Councilwoman Connie Robinson, who publicly challenged Winnecke administration officials last month to say where low-income people would live if replacement homes were not affordable.

Land bank advocates say first that the homes will be affordable. Their more elaborate answer lies in proposals for tax credit-funded and federally subsidized affordable housing projects, mixed-income developments paid for by local employers, higher contributions to the city's riverboat-funded Affordable Housing Trust Fund and property tax incentives to build on formerly blighted properties.

The intended result: a transformative mix of new affordable and market rate housing that would improve neighborhoods where blighted structures are demolished if only by raising the value of remaining properties.

But none of that can happen without the demolitions paid for by the land bank's riverboat dollars.

Winnecke administration officials intend for the land bank to acquire vacant structures that didn't sell at recent Vanderburgh County tax sales and to tap the city's federal grant-funded demolition program and purchased or donated blighted houses. The plan is to demolish the vast majority of those and market the vacant land to for-profit and nonprofit developers. Narrow lots could be repurposed as side yards for adjacent property owners or given to the city parks department or water and sewer utility to help with combined sewer overflow-related issues.

The blight is choking development, if only because it is in the way.

Without the land bank's years-long demolition campaign, city officials say, virtually no new houses can be built in Evansville's urban core beyond those the city subsidizes on formerly blighted properties in partnership with nonprofits Memorial Community Development, HOPE of Evansville, ECHO Housing Corp, Community Action Program of Evansville and Habitat for Humanity. That's because the space is occupied by vacant and blighted structures to which code enforcers and police and fire agencies are forced to return again and again.

The city has identified an area of focus for the land bank program  west of U.S. 41 and south of Diamond Avenue, east of St. Joseph Avenue, north of the Ohio River, and Howell neighborhood on the lower West Side.

That's where most of the blighted properties that don't sell at tax sale are located, said metropolitan development director Kelley Coures, the city's point man for the land bank project.

"This is where the problem is," Coures said.

A glimpse

Coures has a pointed rebuttal to concerns about gentrification: No one will be  can be  displaced by the land bank's work.

"The houses we're going to tear down are already vacant and abandoned," he said. "You can't displace somebody from a vacant house."

Coures said the city's commitment to affordable housing is amply demonstrated by other projects it has completed or has in the works.

The projects are not designed with rich people in mind.

City officials recently met with the NRP Group LLC, a company that specializes in low-income tax credits, and HOPE of Evansville about a proposed 40-home second phase to 2013's Homes of Evansville affordable housing tax credit project.

That project, a collaboration between NRP and HOPE, redeveloped 80 formerly blighted Downtown lots into 40 new homes rented on a lease-to-own basis to low-to-moderate income families. It was funded primarily by the sale of federal tax credits, a complex financing program that began in the 1980s. Instead of granting an organization money to build affordable housing, the government gives them tax credits, which are a write-off for future tax bills. The organization sells those credits to investors for less than their true value, and the money from that sale pays for the bulk of the development. NRP sold $10 million of tax credits to a private investment fund for $8.3 million, money that helped fund the 2013 project.

The way the proposed second phase's 80 lots were acquired offers a glimpse of how city officials say the land bank will look in action.

Brownfields provided the lots in the Goosetown, Culver and Tepee communities over the past several years by acquiring them as vacant, dilapidated houses from the county after they failed to sell at tax sale. Brownfields demolished the blighted structures and worked to secure adjoining lots to create larger, buildable lots. That's how NRP Group and HOPE obtained all the land for the 2013 project, too.

Brownfields has for years funneled properties to HOPE, ECHO, CAPE, Habitat and Memorial in the same way for projects that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development helps subsidize. HUD regulations require such properties be rented or owned for 15 years only by individuals or families who earn 80 percent or less of the area median income.

Nobody has to ask whether the AMI  $34,400 for an individual and $49,100 for a family of four in Evansville  are the wages of wealthy people.

It's the same story with the NRP-HOPE tax credit project's second phase.

Federal law dictates that the project's residents, like the first phase project's residents, also must be measurably low-to-moderate income. For at least the first 15 years, properties built with tax credits must be owned or leased by individuals who meet the 80 percent threshold.

Renters can then become buyers in a lease-to-purchase program. At the end of the 15-year "affordability period," Homes of Evansville would sell the homes to their residents or on the open market.

"The way it works is, a low-income person pays rent for 15 years, and a portion of that rental payment goes to an Individual Development Account that is accumulated like a savings account," Coures said. "And that person has the money available at the end of the 15 years to buy the home.

"It's a way to bring the American dream to people who otherwise would not be able to afford it."

NRP plans to apply to the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority for tax credits for the proposed second phase, which could begin construction next year.

Although Coures said 2013's first phase improved the quality of life in the area by adding "new housing, new lights on the street, new people," available U.S. Census data offers no indication whether the project ushered in higher-income residents. Goosetown, Culver and Tepee are primarily within U.S. Census tracks 12 and 13, but the most recent median household income data dates to 2014. That's the year people were moving into the first 40 homes.

It's a moot point at any rate, said Coures.

The strings attached to tax dollars needed to bring housing to Evansville's urban core preclude the possibility that gentrification could happen there.

"There is no way that, that could happen," Coures said.

At the same time, city officials hope some individuals and families with higher incomes buy their own lots in the area and build homes.

"HUD doesn't want you to have all of your low-income housing clustered together," Coures said. "HUD's goal is mixed-income neighborhoods to eliminate what it calls 'pockets of poverty.' So you want mixed-income housing interspersed with affordable housing so that everyone lives in the same neighborhood. Its what calms the neighborhood down. Its what keeps the neighborhood stable. And it's what keeps property values stable."

'Vectren Village'

Mixed-income housing is the inspiration for another proposed local government-inspired housing development on land to be cleared by the land bank's bulldozers.

City officials recently asked three major employers  Vectren Corp., Berry Plastics and Deaconess Hospital  to consider going into their own pockets to redevelop some of the land bank's formerly blighted properties in Jacobsville. The local business giants could help build market rate homes that could be occupied by some of their thousands of area employees and blended with affordable housing projects.

Coures envisions developments with names like Deaconess Village, Berry Place apartments and Vectren Village, places that would allow employees to walk to work while collectively saving gasoline and reducing their carbon footprints. They could also live near the city's $15 million renovation of North Main Street, which began last week.

He said the idea is "still in the conceptual phase," and Deaconess spokeswoman Ashley Johnson agreed.

"We've had a meeting where we said, 'Hey, wouldn't it be nice if we kind of all got together and talked about this?'" said Johnson, Coures' contact at Deaconess. "Really, that's as far as we've gotten.

"I think it's going to be one of those, 'We're looking to the future, we want Evansville and this area to be strong, so we're going to put our collective heads together and see what we can come up with.'"

City officials see other potential answers when they look at the long-range picture.

Dangling a carrot in front of homebuyers, they also want property tax incentives to induce the building of homes on formerly blighted property. The same incentives could create a revenue stream for the land bank.

Coures said he and the Southwestern Indiana Chamber intend to lobby local legislators for the creation of a "550-50 plan."

A homebuyer who builds a new home on a formerly blighted property could get a five-year, 50 percent property tax break on the home. Half of the reduced property tax payment would help fund the land bank for five years.

Ultimately, Coures said, there has to be some kind of freebee  a tax break, a subsidy, a tax credit, a major employer's contribution  to replace housing blight with new housing that's affordable.

"You have to subsidize affordable units wherever you do them," he said. "You have to either subsidize the rent people pay or you have to subsidize the construction of the unit  because poor people can't afford to pay a market rate rent, and they can't afford to purchase a home for the full cost of the property."
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If the duration of creation to depletion can be a measure of a products success, then Rowayton Seafood Fish Market has a winner with its Rhode Island clam chowder, and manager Scott Bennett knows it. An intoxicating blend of herbs (you can smell the dill), fennel, a dash of spices and, of course, clams, this clear broth soup draws many customers, who, in turn draw down the pot.

We like to give it a little zip, but we dont overpower it, Bennett says of the markets clam chowder one recent afternoon. We are already almost sold out of it.

The 40-year-old market is a bit off the beaten path, tucked next to The Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood off Rowayton Avenue, but its likely to get a whole lot more feet crossing its doorstep this summer, when the eatery joins the states chowder trail.

In Connecticut, you can go looking for chocolate, booze (signature cocktails, wine and craft beer) and pizza to your hearts content by ambling along several trails that crisscross the state. This year, as was the case last year, you can go in search of chowder, whether its New England, Manhattan, Rhode Island or Manhattan, or soup and bisque. Theres even a few creative concoctions that team ingredients such as mango and habaneros, and lobster and chorizo. Given the fluidity of soup, the trail even seeps past the states edges to Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts.

Put the pedal to the metal for the AAA Chowda Trail, and then slow down to pop in to places such as Sedona Taphouse, The Blind Rhino and Sugar & Olives in Norwalk; Dunvilles and Little Barn in Westport; Take Five Cookery in Hartford and Our House in Vermont. You might need a ticket, however, as in one for a plane, for a jaunt to Pike Place Chowder. The Seattle culinary hot spot is the farthest on a trail that features competitors in this years Chowdafest, taking place Oct. 2 in Westport.

I love that it is a living, breathing trail that changes each year, says Jim Keenan, who has run the event since its beginnings nearly 10 years ago. Discernible foodies are passionate and take a great deal of pride in knowing whats good and not good, and I know they travel. Each year, they are going to get a different group of restaurants with award-winning soups.

Keenan, whose love of a good bowl of soup has brought him to all the New England states, New York, Long Island and Seattle, developed the trail when he began to see more and more people visiting the festival from out of state  those busloads of chowder heads went looking for a fix right after the festival was over. He wanted to keep up an influx of interest for those award-winners and runners-up before the event, too.

Its not unusual for Keenan to get a call from a random chowder fan, tooling around on a road somewhere in New England, or even a foodie in flight, like a private pilot who called in February, who want a great bowl of soup. Keenan doesnt mind taking on concierge duties, but the trail makes it a whole lot easier.

One place that might be difficult to access on a day jaunt is Pike Place Chowder. It was last years winner in the New England chowder competition and will be back this year. Owner Larry Mellum is not afraid to travel to show off his soup, which has won in the Newport, R.I., festival, as well.

We pride ourselves on getting the best of what is out there and, by hook or crook, by luck maybe, we fell into some ingredients that work so perfect together, he says. We found a secret blend of great clams, great juice concentration, stock, potatoes, celery and onions, and bacon, which gives it a great bacon flavor.

Foodies on the go have all summer to prove him right or find another award-winner closer to home. Last year, Jeff Hardy, co-owner of Sedona Taphouse in Norwalk, saw his restaurants New England clam chowder come in second to Mellums, but he considers it No. 1 in New England.

Its got a full-body, robust flavor, he says. There are no crazy spices or secrets, just a great soup that immediately warms you up.

Seems as if the competition is just beginning.

chennessy@hearstmediact.com;

Twitter: @xtinahennessy
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Indian cinema is more than brightly colored Bollywood pictures in which characters sing and dance at the drop of a hat.

Older art house patrons remember the great 1960s and 1970s films of writer-director Satyajit Ray, whose Apu Trilogy was recently added to the Criterion Collection of classic foreign language DVDs, but these days Indian films rarely get beyond special bookings that are designed specifically for the South Asian communities in this country.

The India Cultural Center of Greenwich is trying to break down some of these barriers with an ongoing series at the Avon Theatre in Stamford  Discover Indian Cinema  designed to demonstrate the wide scope of dramas and comedies coming out of contemporary India.

An audience for European film has been cultivated in this country, but you dont have that same audience for Indian films, Tejaswini Ganti says of the way that major U.S. foreign film distributors, such as Sony Classics and Fox Searchlight, have favored French, Italian and Spanish films over imports from India.

One of the problems for Indian cinema is that some of the most interesting, unconventional films dont get distributed in the U.S., she says of the dominance of so-called Bollywood musicals, comedies and action films. (For many years, Showcase Cinemas in Bridgeport has dedicated one of its screens to Indian imports in this popular vein.)

Ganti, who teaches at New York University and has been writing about film for 20 years, is one of the experts ICC director Margie French called upon to start this new series designed to counteract some of the stereotypes.

We want to introduce the non-Indian population to quality films by bringing them to the Avon, French says of the series launched in May and continuing through September (a program akin to the long-running French Cinematheque series sponsored at the Stamford art house by the Alliance Francaise of Greenwich). She hopes it will be extended beyond early fall.

The ICC began with a screening of the Apu Trilogy, to remind moviegoers of the great tradition of Indian art cinema, and then moved on to contemporary films. French consulted with the leaders of the annual New York Indian Film Festival. She also put together the advisory panel that includes Ganti.

India has the largest film industry in the world, with an annual output of more than 1,000 films. Unlike other countries that have lost much of their film production due to the increasing globalization of Hollywood fare, India has resisted film colonization because of the many different languages spoken there. Dubbing U.S. pictures for the Indian market is expensive and complicated and is limited mostly to big action films and comic book stories that are easily translated.

There is a healthy indie film culture in India, just like in this country, but those movies rarely make it here. Ganti believes one of the reasons is the lack of highly publicized star directors like Spains Pedro Almodovar and Germanys Michael Haneke, who have built U.S. followings for their foreign language productions.

Im always reading about interesting Indian films that never make it here, she says.

Ganti is cheered by the fact that Parched, written and directed by Leena Yadav, about female friendship in a remote Indian village, is opening commercially in New York on Friday, June 17, and is set for most of the major streaming services. Its a small step in the right direction.

The series at the Avon will feature the based-on-fact drama, Neerja, on Aug. 17 and the road comedy, Finding Fanny, on Sept. 28.

Neerja is based on the true story of a brave head purser on a hijacked plane in Pakistan who saved the lives of many passengers.

Finding Fanny is an offbeat contemporary comedy that Ganti believes has some of the crossover appeal of an Almodovar movie.

We think these movies have a really independent feel that makes them perfect for the Avon, French says.

jmeyers@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @joesview
Preschool teachers must offer high-quality instruction to change academic outcomes for their students, according to a new analysis of eight large preschool studies conducted by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Preschoolers in center-based care showed larger gains in reading and language when their teachers spent more time supporting their learningbut only if the quality of instruction was in the moderate to high range, said Margaret Burchinal, a senior scientist at Frank Porter Graham, in a statement.

Though it may sound obvious that students of better teachers learn more, the importance of a teachers sensitivity in the early years is a hotly debated topic. Many have argued that a sensitive teacher is more important to child outcomes in the early years than a structured curriculum.

Having a sensitive caregiver is really important for young childrenbut it probably isnt sufficient alone for promoting academic skills. There has to be content and an intentional approach to instruction, she said.

The study also found that students who spent more years enrolled in preschool programs were also more likely to make gains in academic subjects, as well as in their ability to regulate their own behavior and play with other kids.

The analysis, Quality Thresholds, Features, and Dosage in Early Care and Education: Secondary Data Analyses of Child Outcomes was published in a June monograph for the Society for Research in Child Development.

The researchers included data from eight studies: The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Surveys from 2006 and 2009, the Head Start Impact Study , an 11-state study of prekindergarten programs conducted by the National Center for Early Development and Learning ; an evaluation of North Carolinas pre-K program , an evaluation professional development models completed by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant called My Teaching Partner ; Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research and the follow-up study of the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project .

Most of the children studied were from low-income families and enrolled in either a Head Start or a state preschool program. The analysis evaluated how measures such as teacher quality, years enrolled in preschool, child attendance and hours per week spent in care affected childrens social emotional and academic skills.

The lowest quality programs are going to have to change a lot in order for us to likely see the kind of improvement in language and academic skills that provide the foundation for succeeding in school, Burchinal said. Children in our study showed the largest gains when teachers interacted with children frequently in engaging activities that were designed to teach those language and academic skills deliberately.

File Photo: Mya, left, and Mia Johnson, 4, practice a cheer with teaching assistant Krystal Garcia at Pre-K 4 SAs Southside location in San Antonio in 2013.Jennifer Whitney for Education Week
Never one to bow down to conventional wisdom, Donald Trump is telling top bankrollers of his presidential campaign that Connecticut could be in play in November.

The presumptive Republican nominee mentioned the state multiple times while briefing members of his fundraising network on his path to the White House on Thursday in New York City, Hearst Connecticut Media has learned.
Governor of Missouri: the embargo is a difficulty to establish solid business

Democrat politician Jeremiah W. Nixon, governor of the US state of Missouri, acknowledged during his visit to Havana that the persistence of the embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba is a difficulty to establish solid business.

Before concluding his official visit to the island, Nixon told reporters about the wish of his state to strengthen trade with Cuba, although he admitted that companies will have to wait for the lifting of the policy to have normal economic ties.

However, the Governor expressed optimism about the progress made in the rapprochement between the two countries.

He highlighted Cuba as an ideal market for Missouri, which produces mainly rice, dairy products, soy, beef, corn and chicken, lines that can be marketed at competitive costs due to the proximity of the two territories.

After the new scenario opened between Cuba and the US in December 2014, Nixon is the fifth governor to visit the island, after Andrew Cuomo (New York, April 2015), Asa Hutchinson (Arkansas, September 2015), Greg Abbott (Texas, December 2015) and Terry McAuliffe (Virginia, January 2016).



source: www.cibercuba.com
One Michigan school district tried many of the traditional ways to reduce chronic absenteeism in its schoolstruancy officers, phone calls, perfect-attendance rewards.

When those didnt work, Grand Rapids Public Schools tried something that seems to be making a difference. National Public Radios All Things Considered produced a May 30 story by Elissa Nadworny that explained how the district used data to reach out to parents. The district found about 7,000 students, out of 17,000, were missing a month or more of school annually.

Using that number as a jumping off point, the district launched a campaign, called Challenge 5, to urge parents to make sure their children have fewer than five absences a year. The motto, Strive for less than five, was widely distributed in a video , in addition to data on poster boards in schools and throughout the community.

With that and other efforts, the number of kids who are chronically absent has been reduced by about half.

Find out more about how Grand Rapids reached parents and guardians by reading the NPR story or listening to the audio .

Recent stories about chronic absenteeism:

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.
Motherboard used public records requests to extract 3,000+ pages of court docs from a massive 2010 RCMP mafia/drug bust in Montreal, codenamed "Project Clemenza," which revealed the full extent of the Mounties' secret use of Stingrays  AKA "IMSI Catchers," the fake cellular towers that let cops covertly track whole populations by tricking their phones into revealing information about them.



Stingrays are a notorious nexus of secrecy: in the USA, their manufacturers collaborated with federal law enforcement to swear local cops to secrecy, going so far as to drop cases rather than reveal the use of Stingrays, and, in a few known cases, lying to judges. Feds even raided local cops and stole all documents related to Stingrays before they could be entered into evidence.





But even by those standards, the RCMP's use of Stingrays is breathtakingly broad and out-of-control. The training materials that the agency uses for the devices show that they not only routinely use Stingrays to surviel regions in a radius of up to 2km in the course of investigations, but that they also retained this data indefinitely, creating permanent surveillance databases that recorded the locations and activities (including the calls) of literally millions of Canadians who had never come under any suspicion for any crime.

The demand for resources led the RCMP to take certain shortcuts in training officers to be IMSI catcher operators, these documents show. According to Fortin, the original round of IMSI catcher operators was given a full week of training on the theory and practice of how to operate these devices. But during Clemenza, the demand for new operators was so high that "we couldn't provide that full week of training" for new employees, he testified. Instead, officers were trained on the job, in the field, and on ride-alongs with fellow officers. Officers testified that there is no standard for note-taking on the part of operators in the field, and IMSI catcher testing may not have resulted in any formal reports either. This is despite troubling findings, such as the fact that IMSI catchers prevent devices in range from making 911 callssomething that officer Flynn testified was only discovered through the RCMP's own testing.



The RCMP Surveilled Thousands of Innocent Canadians for a Decade

[Jordan Pearson/Motherboard]



(Thanks, WD!)





(Images: Mountie in Banff, Alberta, HordeFTL, PD; Cell-Tower, J.smith, CC-BY-SA)
John Fetterman and Dr. Oz debate: Takeaways from close Pa. Senate race

Senate candidates John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz squared off Tuesday evening in the first and only debate of their hotly contested race.
Former US Secret Service agent Lee Robert Moore was indicted in a Florida federal court Thursday on child porn and teen sex charges. He is being held in federal custody in Delaware on separate charges that while he was on White House duty, Moore sexted a Delaware Child Predator Task Force undercover officer, whom he believed to be a teenage girl.

Moore, who is 37, has been locked up since November, and has pleaded not guilty.

Moore told investigators he had sexually explicit online communication with about 10 teenage girls. He confessed that his "absolute minimum" age for girls was 14 years old.

The communications for which he was charged were sent via two apps: Meet24 (on which you can "flirt, chat, and meet singles) and Kik (group messaging, like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, not specifically designed for hookups).

In Delaware, Moore has been charged with attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor, sexual solicitation of a child under 18, and providing obscene material to a minor.

In Broward County, Florida, he faces charges of attempted production of child pornography, attempted receipt of child pornography and using a computer to persuade, entice or coerce a minor to engage in a sex act.

Andrea Torres, writing for the Associated Press:

The officer was posing as a 14-year-old girl on the Meet24 and the Kik chat apps, prosecutors said. Lee Robert Moore sent pictures of what appeared to be his penis, police said. Authorities said they communicated with him for two months, while his second child was born and was experiencing a medical condition that required a significant surgery. Moore "wanted to travel to Delaware and meet in person for sex," Detective Kevin McKay said, according to an affidavit. The married 37-year-old U.S. Marine from Maryland lost his job. He remained in federal prison since late last year, records show. And more charges were coming his way on Thursday from Florida, as prosecutors said he sought to "sexually exploit multiple minor, teenage girls."

Related: "Secret Service officer accused of sexting on duty at White House now faces Broward sex charges" [Sun Sentinel]
Opinion Wordle

The next day I woke to find myself in a WhatsApp group titled Quordle is Awesome!! A small group of three. There was no getting out of it now.
Most of what the British intelligence services does is secret. The world rarely learns about the bomb that does not go off. The plot that is foiled. Or the lives that are saved.

By the same token, it is normally mistakes that are made public. The traitor who defects. The terrorist who gets through. The lapse in security.

I do not question for a moment that the vast majority of intelligence officers are honourable men and women with many unsung achievements to their credit. But here I will argue that something has gone badly wrong with MI6, the service which spies for Britain overseas.

Here I will argue that something has gone badly wrong with MI6, the service which spies for Britain overseas

The first problem concerns the Iraq war. There is a massive body of evidence - all of which has been seen by the Chilcot Inquiry, whose report will be published on July 6 - that MI6 lost its bearings as the invasion of Iraq approached in the early spring of 2003.

We can see in retrospect that MI6 did not have a clue what was going on.

The quality of its intelligence was so poor that one of its key claims - namely that Saddam Hussein was ready to attack British bases with his supposed weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes - was such complete rubbish it subsequently needed to be officially withdrawn.

To be fair, MI6 did not fabricate evidence about Saddam Husseins weapons of mass destruction, as some have claimed.

However, it allowed Tony Blair to get away with making a series of confident statements about their existence, which bore little or no relation to the underlying intelligence.

MI6, therefore, allowed itself to become part of the propaganda arm of the Blair war machine. This was and remains deeply shocking, all the more so since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was Britains greatest foreign policy mistake at least since the infamous Munich agreement that was struck with Hitler in 1938.

It has turned out to be a global calamity and - as President Obama recently noted - helped spawn Islamic State, today the most notorious terror group in the world. MI6 ought to have warned about the dangers, not acted as a cheerleader for war.

Which brings us to the Syrian civil war, where our intelligence service has been almost as incompetent as over Iraq. The calibre of advice they have given to the Government has been wretched from the start.

They misjudged the strength of the Assad regime and suggested the Syrian dictator would soon be toppled. In doing so, they underestimated the endurance of his army.

Mr Belhadj (above) and his wife Fatima were abducted by Americans in Thailand, from where they were planning to come to Britain and seek political asylum

Most culpably of all, they failed to anticipate how quickly the moderate Syrian opposition would be taken over by the aggressive forces of the Al-Qaeda fighting machine.

So, in Syria and earlier in Iraq, the incompetence of MI6 can hardly be exaggerated.

With a long record of entanglement in the Middle East, Britain traditionally held a special knowledge and understanding of the region. That hard-won expertise has clearly been lost.

The third recent failure of MI6, which forced its way onto the news agenda once more this week, concerns British complicity in torture during the early years of the War on Terror. There is now a mountain of evidence (invariably extracted after a series of furious official denials) that MI6 was routinely involved in what is euphemistically called extraordinary rendition  the kidnap of terror suspects and their forcible transportation to foreign jails to be abused and tortured.

Dozens of these cases have come to light, but the best documented concerns Abdul Belhadj, for years a member of the Libyan opposition to Colonel Gaddafi.

Mr Belhadj and his wife Fatima were abducted by Americans in Thailand, from where they were planning to come to Britain and seek political asylum.

They were then flown, most likely via the British base of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, to the Libyan capital of Tripoli. There, as Mr Belhadj described in a harrowing interview in yesterdays Mail, he was held and tortured for more than six years.

So what was Britains role? Discovered in the bombed-out offices of Gaddafis intelligence chief after the 2011 revolution was a letter from a senior MI6 official called Mark Allan. This letter congratulated the Libyan government on the safe arrival of the air cargo  in others words, Mr Belhadj  adding that it was the least we could do for you and for Libya.

Sir Mark Allan (he has since received a knighthood) has not challenged the authenticity of the letter.

There is no question that the abduction of Mr Belhadj and his wife was against the law. The 1988 Criminal Justice Act states that carrying out or abetting torture, whether in Britain or abroad, is punishable by jail, and the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.

Tony Blair meets Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi at his desert base outside Sirte south of Tripoli - CPS said British politicians were aware of the rendition flights that were being carried out by Americas CIA

This meant that the Metropolitan police were obliged to mount an investigation. They have taken their duties seriously, but I have heard they have found it very hard to get co-operation from witnesses. This week, Alison Saunders, Director of Public Prosecutions, announced that charges would not be pressed.

What the Crown Prosecution Service did say, however, was that British politicians were aware of the rendition flights that were being carried out by Americas CIA.

This is the latest of a series of investigations into British involvement in torture, and each has gone nowhere. The first was carried out by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), the parliamentary body which monitors the intelligence services.

Back in 2007, the ISC concluded that claims Britain had been involved in torture were entirely false. In due course, however, it very shockingly emerged that the intelligence services had misled the committee, and that 42 key documents had been withheld from the MPs.

David Cameron promised an investigation into torture when he became prime minister in 2010, setting up an inquiry under senior judge Sir Peter Gibson. This made little progress, however, and was soon kicked into the long grass.

The contrast with the U.S. is shaming. There, the Feinstein Committee carried out an investigation into CIA involvement in torture, and did not hold back from publishing many of the most gruesome details. In Britain, we are clearly in such thrall to our intelligence services that we are incapable of holding them to account  however grave their failings.

Sir Mark Allan (he has since received a knighthood) has not challenged the authenticity of the letter congratulated the Libyan government on the safe arrival of the air cargo - in others words, Mr Belhadj - adding that it was the least we could do for you and for Libya

This means we are sending out a terrible message across the world. It cannot be reiterated too often that Britain stands for a set of values  above all, decency, tolerance and humanity  which used to make us different and, I have always believed, better than many other countries.

Ultimately, it is these values that give us the right to have a voice in world affairs and to intervene across the globe.

By failing to act on the very serious evidence of British involvement in the disgusting crime of torture, we risk giving a propaganda gift of incalculable value to our opponents in terror organisations like ISIS or Al-Qaeda. They now have the ammunition to claim that Britain is as brutal and barbaric as any other regime.

The great spy writer John le Carre once wrote that the only real measure of a nations political health is the state of its intelligence services. If he is right, and I suspect he is, something has gone wrong with 21st-century Britain.

It is less than a month now until the publication of the Chilcot report into the Iraq invasion. It is essential that Sir John Chilcot holds MI6  let off the hook over torture  to account over Iraq.
Critical of the EU: The Archbishop of Canterbury

As the moment of decision approaches, the debate on the EU should grow more serious, not more raucous.

Of course, the outriders and troublemakers who form part of any campaign will launch their jibes and personal attacks, and these things are in the spirit of any proper contest for votes in a free country. But as millions of minds are concentrated, and millions of crucial individual decisions are taken, these lightweight figures should withdraw from the arena, hush their voices and leave the contest to the big beasts and the serious thinkers.

Both sides have powerful and important things to say. Today The Mail on Sunday publishes the thoughts of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a person who cannot be accused of cheap partisanship.

He is critical of the EU, agreeing that it needs renewed vision and major reforms. He rejects the idea that economic prosperity is a goal in itself, but warns cogently that the lack of it will affect our power to do good at home and abroad.

The Archbishop is careful to say that there is no 'Christian line' on how to vote  though he reveals that he himself will be casting his ballot for the Remain side. He makes a convincing argument for what is good for the UK.

The Remainers might take some lessons from his measured, generous and tolerant approach, and from its very British and patriotic tone. The pro-EU camp may have been unwise to cast doubt on their opponents' motives and characters.

In the same way, the Leave campaign should not seek to give the impression that it has a monopoly on the Union Jack.

Something also needs to be said about the Labour Party's weak efforts on behalf of the Remain cause. Labour's mostly middle-class elite no longer share a common language with the rank-and-file voters who have experienced, at first hand, the consequences of Tony Blair's mass immigration policy.

Poignant: The Archbishop with Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge at a First World War commemoration in 2014

As for Jeremy Corbyn, he has managed to look unprincipled and weak.

Fearing he will annoy those who voted him into the leadership, he claims to be in favour of staying in. Labour's remaining serious politicians need to find a way to make any impact. One striking example of being able to connect is provided in The Mail on Sunday today by Labour peeress Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence and a figure who has universal respect.

Most evidence suggests that this a close contest between two evenly matched sides in which the outcome can still be influenced.

It is, beyond doubt, one of the most crucial decisions the UK electorate has ever faced. Let us hope its final days are distinguished by honesty, courtesy and principle.

Finally, an aid debate

Tomorrow MPs will at last debate the scandalous folly of Britains foreign aid policy. The fact that this debate is taking place at all is a great achievementfor The Mail on Sunday and its readers, who together created and gave force to the petition calling for it.
Backing Leave: Labour MP Kate Hoey

It's not often in recent days that I felt the need to congratulate the misguided pro-Brussels consensus at the top of my party.

But this weekend, Ed Miliband, Andy Burnham and other ardent Labour Europhiles do deserve a muted round of applause  for finally realising they do not speak for the rank-and-file of the partys working-class supporters.

The belated discovery that our party leadership is so out of touch has sparked a new, frantic drive to convert them back to the European Union cause  with even Jeremy Corbyn set to be ordered back on to the airwaves to argue for something we all know he doesnt really believe in.

So how did the great and good in my party get so detached from what ordinary working people  especially in our Northern heartlands  feel about Brussels?

The answer is immigration.

Its a mystery as to why Doncaster MP Mr Miliband didnt understand  especially as party colleague John Mann, who represents the nearby constituency of Bassetlaw, put it so well last week.

Explaining his decision to join the Out campaign, John said the EUs freedom of movement and open migration was undermining pay and job conditions for the very working-class people we should be representing.

It is something I have said before and is the paradox at the heart of Labours supposed overwhelming support for staying in the EU.

Uncontrolled immigration is fine for the metropolitan middle classes as they search for a good-value nanny or a competitively priced cleaner.

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But outside London and the big cities, this abundant supply of cheap labour is not necessarily a guaranteed boon. It can be a curse  driving down wages, taking jobs from the locals, as well as putting pressure on schools and health services.

It is not anti-immigrant, xenophobic or racist to point this out. It is common sense and it is what Labour MPs in those areas should be doing.

Instead, they lie about the threat to workers conditions if we leave when they know all of the rights at work are enshrined in our law and many are far better than in the rest of the EU.

Ed Miliband, Andy Burnham and other ardent Labour Europhiles do deserve a muted round of applause  for finally realising they do not speak for the rank-and-file of the partys working-class supporters

Most Labour MPs across the North and other regions know the scale of immigration is causing huge anxiety in their communities. It is why the Leave campaign has taken up the original idea from Ukip of an Australian-style British points system that will allow us to admit people to the UK based on their skills, according to what the country needs.

This would also end the current discrimination against people from Commonwealth countries. Most of all, we would decide how many new people we allowed into the UK and plan resources to cope.

The Remainers will say that worries over immigration are all trumped by the economic threat of Brexit. They arent.

Aside from the fact that we are confident that a UK free from the shackles of the EU will prosper, there is no economic upside to working-class communities from seeing wages collapse and jobs taken by uncontrolled immigration.

It certainly isnt better for Labour values, as Ed Miliband says.

This is all before I even mention the hugely important issue at the core of the Leave campaign  regaining sovereignty, taking back control and restoring belief in our democracy and pride in our country from voting Brexit.

My message to Labour voters is this: dont let patronising party panjandrums bully you into thinking you dont know your own interests.

Go into the polling booth with your head held high, proud of your country and voting to leave.
Attack: Remain campaigner Amber Rudd in the ITV debate on Thursday night

As the EU referendum enters its final straight, one thing is clear. Although neither side is yet assured of victory, the Leave campaign's message of optimism and hope clearly deserves to win over Remain's message of doom-laden prophecies.

In its desperate bid to scare the voters away from Brexit, we've had chilling predictions of everything from potential economic Armageddon to World War Three. But last week's appalling behaviour in the ITV debate on Thursday night was a new low in the Remainers' baggage of tricks.

The very personal attacks on Boris Johnson were an absolute disgrace that are likely to backfire on a Remain team, who cannot understand that their wild over-exaggeration, bully-boy tendencies and personal bitterness will in all probability have consequences well beyond the referendum date itself.

Those who want to win at all costs might want to consider what 'all costs' might in the end look like. Personal attacks of this nature will result in a bitterness that will be hard to erase.

For undecided voters, as we go into the last two weeks of referendum campaigning, the question we need to ask is this: If we weren't already in the European Union would we be choosing to join it on June 23?

This matters because it is 41 years since we had our last referendum and choosing to stay is, in effect, choosing to join for the next two generations after us.

I've always been very clear that there are three reasons why I want to leave the EU. I want to regain control of our law-making as I believe that those who make the law must be answerable to those who live under the law.

This is impossible with the unelected Commission and the European Court. I want to get control of our borders so that we can determine who lives in the UK. It is not an argument for or against migration  it is an argument for having control over the process here in the UK. I also want to be free to control our own money, safe from the over-regulation of Brussels or the fact that we have to send a net 10 billion each year as the price of our EU membership.

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Of course, the Remain campaign have always had a hard-sell if only for the simple reason that David Cameron's renegotiation added nothing whatsoever to their cause.

Indeed, the sight of a British Prime Minister taking the political equivalent of a begging bowl around European capitals, asking Luxembourg and Slovenia if we could please change some of our own minor welfare laws, resulted in the process itself becoming the story.

Plans by the European Commission to harmonise our insolvency laws, our company laws and our property rights through single market legislation where we have no veto have brought shivers through the business community, who are becoming less and less sure about the case to remain.

The very personal attacks on Boris Johnson were a disgrace that are likely to backfire on a Remain team

But there is worse to come. A provision in the Lisbon Treaty called 'the rule of law mechanism' allows the Commission to determine if elected governments are 'deviating from the common constitutional traditions of all member states'.

This allows the members of the European Commission, each of them unelected, to determine whether an elected government is legitimate. If they decide that it is not, they are able to block the voting rights and funding to that country.

They would almost certainly have used this if the Right-wing candidate had won the Austrian election. It is a grim, uncertain and undemocratic future Britain should have no part in.

For me, the optimistic choice is to leave the EU. We can distance ourselves from the catastrophe of the euro and the way it is tearing up the social fabric of the European continent, causing wave after wave of young European migrants to head to the UK.

The barbed wire being rolled out across European borders is testimony to the failure of Schengen, and the rise of extreme politics across the continent is a warning of how the old men of Brussels have failed to understand the need to look outwards and forwards in the era of globalisation.
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.
Pro-Brexit: Michael Gove

Dear Michael,

The longer the referendum campaign goes on, the more disappointed I become in you. You achieved a reputation for clear thinking in your efforts to raise education standards and to reduce prisoner reoffending. However, in just a few weeks, your analytical skills  and integrity  appear to have evaporated.

The Brexit case relies on fanning fears about immigration. I am amazed that someone like you now marches to the drum of Farage, Trump and Le Pen  a generation of demagogues spawned by a global recession and the fallout from internecine conflict among Muslims.

Why have you so changed your tune? As a member of David Camerons Cabinet, who did you seek to keep out of our country? It could not have been the refugees of whom we take few, or non-EU citizens who we could stop if we wanted. Was it just EU citizens?

More likely, you accepted the evidence available to you as a Minister showing how much Britain benefits from their work here. Your research councils will have told you how our universities gain from attracting the best students and academics.

Your schools inspectorate will have reminded you of the need for more teachers. And, of course, the Treasury showed that the taxes the migrants contribute keep public services afloat and that, without the work they do for the NHS and the care sector, costs would go up, waiting lists would lengthen and more beds would be blocked. Thats why you thought it right to let them in.

I hope you were appalled by Boris Johnsons claim that the EU is doing Hitlers work. Are you now so careless with the truth that you tolerate this throwaway travesty? Or do you share my view that the rock upon which the fascists in Spain and Portugal, the colonels in Greece, euro-communism in France and Italy, and Soviet communism in Central Europe foundered, was the EU?

I believe the EU and Nato have, together, delivered unprecedented prosperity and peace and continue to do so. Dont you any more? Obama wants a strong, united, self-reliant Europe. Putin wants the opposite. Michael, whose side are you on?

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I am amazed that someone like you now marches to the drum of Farage, pictured, and Trump  demagogues spawned by a global recession and the fallout from internecine conflict among Muslims, writes Michael Heseltine

Your idea that our deficit with Europe ensures a trade deal is breathtakingly naive. On your logic, Germany should be keenest to settle. But while we depend on Europe for 47 per cent of our trade, just seven per cent of German exports come here. So who needs whom? That is the point of being in Europe  to use its clout rather than be up against it.

Given this reality, you surely see that the only deal a jilted EU will ever do includes provision for its workers to continue coming here. So, actually, you have no case at all.

You are prepared to be reckless with the livelihood and security of millions. It is time your EU myths were busted once and for all.

GOVE EURO MYTH ONE: Money currently paid to the EU could be spent on the Health Service instead.

HEZZA MYTH BUSTER: We would have to pay the same amount to access the single market, without any influence over decision-making.

MYTH TWO: We will take back control of our borders.

MH: More than half of our annual net immigration  188,000 people  comes from outside the EU anyway. There are no European laws that limit in any way our ability to control them.

MYTH THREE: We would be more secure outside the EU.

MH: Our security depends on intelligence. The more intelligence we gain by sharing with our neighbours, the better protected we are.

MYTH FOUR: If we leave, the EU will still strike a beneficial trade deal with us.

MH: Forty-seven per cent of our exports go to Europe. We need them more than they need us, so they have no incentive to give us a good deal.

MYTH FIVE: We should concentrate on trading with emerging markets.

MH: We do better trading with non-EU nations from within the quality controls of the single market.

MYTH SIX: We will be set free of Brussels bureaucracy.

MH: What would you do with the freedom? Go back to the law of the jungle? We should fight for our national self-interest where it matters  from inside Europe where the decisions are made.

MYTH SEVEN: We should stand on our own two feet.

MH: Germany and France demonstrate how it is possible to thrive as EU countries.
When Margot Robbie, Jesinta Campbell, Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) and a host of fashion bloggers are wearing your designs, you know you've hit the big time.

Byron Bay resident and former PR girl Sharona Harris owns F+H Jewellery: An edgy label bold in design.

Ms Harris told Daily Mail Australia the label was founded to fill a gap in the market for strong, tough lux jewellery.

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Tough lux: Australian designer Sharona Harris owns the jewellery brand F+H, which is loved by celebrities such as Lara Bingle (pictured)

Celebrity following: The jewellery fills a gap in the market, and has been worn by Jesinta Campbell (pictured)

Eye for design: Ms Harris (pictured) is a former 'PR girl' who fell in to jewellery design by accident

Everything has a bit of an edge, its definitely not light and girly, she said.

I saw a gap in the market  all I could find was really boho or very fine jewellery.

Ford + Harris designs are on the darker side, and use stones such as black rutilated quartz and deep red garnets.

Finding her niche: I saw a gap in the market  all I could find was really boho or very fine jewellery,' she said. Pictured is Jesinta Campbell

Statement pieces: The jewellery use silver, gold and rose gold combined with stones

Model muse: Celebrities who have worn the label include Delta Goodrem, Margot Robbie, Nadia Bartel, Ashley Hart and Jannifer Hawkins

The pieces have quickly garnered a celebrity following, with Lara Worthington (nee Bingle), Delta Goodrem, Margot Robbie, Nadia Bartel, Ashley Hart and Jannifer Hawkins all having worn the jewellery.

The first supporter was [style blogger] Margaret Zhang, Ms Harris said.

Shes been very supportive and she put our stuff on Lara Bingle in a shoot.

On trend: Model Ashley Hart wears a necklace by F+H paired with a strapless pink gown

Starting a trend: The first supporter was [style blogger] Margaret Zhang, Ms Harris said

I have also had really great support from stylist Marina Didovich in Sydney.

So how does one make the leap from the corporate PR world to jewellery design?

Ms Harris started the business with a friend who was a designer, and quickly learned on the job the ins and outs of the jewellery business.

Metal muse: Ms Harris draws inspiration from iconic or vintage pieces of jewellery for her collections

More to come: The next collection to be released by the label is called Night Fever

Global reach: Ms Harris hopes to further infiltrate the New York and LA market

Today, she finds iconic or vintage pieces she loves to draw inspiration.

From there she will draw a sketch, research measurements and work with the factory to produce a wax mould.

Her next collection, Night Fever, uses hammered metals for a seventies lux vibe: think Studio 54, over-sized hoops and crushed velvet.
Round, lustrous button pearls, peeking out from beneath diamond studs.

The Queens earrings looked every bit as glorious when she wore them teamed with a beautiful mint green coat and hat at Cardiff University this week, as when she wore them half a century ago with a coral coat on a visit to the Isle of Wight in 1965.

Given to the Queen as a wedding present by her beloved grandmother Queen Mary in 1947, these button pearls are at the heart of the Queens personal jewellery collection, and have travelled with her all over the world - from New Zealand to the Seychelles, Nairobi to Mexico.

Given to the Queen as a wedding present by her beloved grandmother Queen Mary in 1947, these button pearls are at the heart of the Queens personal jewellery collection

The most versatile of all the Queens jewels, they effortlessly blend into any surroundings.

They have shone from turbans as she has been introduced to foreign monarchs in remote climes, gleamed from hard hats as she visited building sites and added the most discreet touch of countrywoman glamour under hats at rain-sodden horse meets.

They looked just as appropriate when worn with a casual tweed skirt suit to cradle an infant Prince Edward in 1965, as they did 34 years later at his wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones - accessorised with a lilac embroidered dress and matching fascinator.

For while we tend to associate the Queen with her incredible Royal Collection of priceless tiaras, intricate brooches and dazzling diamond earrings, she is, like many Englishwomen of a certain age, most at ease in her pearls.

The soft lustre of these jewels, which deepens the more they are worn, is flattering to older skin. And the Queen has only grown fonder of them as the years have passed.

Pearls were the Queens first serious piece of jewellery. When her grandfather George V celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 1935, he gave both his granddaughters pearl necklaces. The then nine-year-old Princess Elizabeth received a necklace of three rows of perfectly matched pearls; Princess Margaret, four years younger, got a two-row version.

Among the collection Elizabeth owns today are two stunning necklaces; the 18th-century Queen Anne pearl necklace and the 50-pearl Queen Caroline necklace, both given as a wedding present from her father.

The Queen adores them all, perhaps because she did not own many other jewels as a young girl, so they remind her of her youth. One item she did have was a sapphire bracelet (later, her father King George VI gave her more sapphires, in the shape of a mid-19th-century set of necklace and earrings, set in gold, as a wedding present).

The Queens earrings looked every bit as glorious when she wore them teamed with a beautiful mint green coat and hat at Cardiff University this week (pictured), as when she wore them half a century ago

But when she became 21, jewels flooded in, mostly in the form of gifts from relatives. Pre-eminent among them was a pair of heavy diamond chandelier earrings that had been given to her mother Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother as a wedding present.

These, by Cartier, are one of the few pieces of jewellery that the Queen owns that could be called Art Deco and, because of their weight, could be worn only with pierced ears, which she did not yet have.

Soon, she had acquired many other pairs of earrings that could be worn only with pierced ears and so in 1951, just before her state visit to Canada, the 25-year-old Queen gave in to the inevitable and had her ears pierced. Jewellers all over the country reported a flood of enquiries about ear piercing. Thus began her love affair with pearls, both in her ears and draped around her neck.

Her favourite necklace for quiet days is her single-strand version, one of the first pieces she acquired, and very much in the English tradition, matching the timeless elegance of her treasured pearl and diamond studs.

When she was growing up, such strings were often given by well-heeled parents to their debutante daughters - hence the famous Country Life magazines frontispiece, Girls In Pearls. At Balmoral, where - despite the holiday atmosphere so enjoyed by the Queen - dressing for dinner is de rigueur, the three-strand pearl necklace from her grandfather often appears.

Its elegant simplicity could hardly be more different from the glittering collection of gems she is obliged to wear at state occasions.

When Elizabeth became queen, she inherited the Royal Collection of jewels - gems that are the property of the Crown (though distinct from the Crown Jewels, ceremonial objects worn at the coronation ceremony and the State Opening of Parliament) so pass from reigning monarch to reigning monarch.

Queen Elizabeth wears the 1 million pounds pearl & diamond six-stranded necklace, a gift from the Amir when she paid a State Visit to Qatar in 1979

These were worn by the Queen Mother until Elizabeth II acceded the throne, when she began to wear items from it at once. For her Coronation she wore the set of diamond collet drop earrings and necklace made for Queen Victoria in 1858. These wonderful jewels come into their own on State occasions, when they are worn not so much as adornment, but as a statement of who she is.

It is at such receptions she has a duty to be regal, and nothing represents this semi-theatrical quality more than jewellery. Early on in her reign she wore impressive pieces, most of them Georgian or early Victorian, that would have dominated anyone else. Most of them came from her grandmother, Queen Mary.

As a glance at any picture of Queen Mary will show, her upright, idol-like figure was often so swathed in pearl necklaces and diamonds it was difficult to see the colour of her ankle-length dresses.

By contrast, the Queen takes care to ensure her jewellery enhances rather than dominates her outfits. Brooches, usually worn on the left shoulder, are a favourite.

For her Coronation she wore the set of diamond collet drop earrings and necklace made for Queen Victoria in 1858. These wonderful jewels come into their own on State occasions, when they are worn not so much as adornment, but as a statement of who she is

A selection that would go with an outfit are presented to her - usually three at a time - by her senior dresser and confidante Angela Kelly on special trays that once belonged to Queen Mary.

The lace covers were hand-sewn by Queen Mary, says Angela, and bear her own M monogram. We use lace handkerchiefs when presenting these brooches for the Queen to make her choice.

Adds Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine: She always wears a brooch, even privately, when she puts on almost as much jewellery as she wears in public. Among the brooches she favours are the Prince Albert sapphire brooch and the three diamond bow brooches Queen Victoria had made.

Her great-grandmother Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary, both given to bedecking almost every square inch of their persons with gems, often wore all three of these diamond bow brooches together.

Keeping these stones in mint condition means regular cleaning. Much of this is done by Angela Kelly. She says: I wear white cotton gloves and use a jewellers cloth.

Sometimes, the Queen lends pieces to the royal ladies nearest to the throne, a considerable mark of favour. The Duchess of Cornwall has worn the huge Greville tiara (made by Boucheron in 1921 for the Hon. Mrs Greville, a famous Edwardian society hostess who left her collection of jewellery to the Queen Mother).

Accompanying it were more glittering stones in the form of the Greville festoon necklace - two diamond necklaces, one of three and one of two strands.

Last year, the Queen lent the Duchess of Cambridge the Cambridge Lovers Knot tiara for a diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace.

The soft lustre of these jewels, which deepens the more they are worn, is flattering to older skin. And the Queen has only grown fonder of them as the years have passed

Then there is the maple leaf diamond brooch. The Duchess of Cornwall wore it in 2009 during her first tour of Canada. The Queen is so fond of her collection of private jewels that much of it travels with her, even on holiday, says Ingrid Seward.

The collection, looked after by her footman, is carried in a brown suitcase and has its own protective canvas cover across it. In this case are kept seven sets of jewellery, a different set for every week day.

At home in Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, the jewellery she wears regularly is not kept in one of the boxes of battered leather lined with mushroom velvet that house her grand occasion pieces. Instead, they live on trays that house stones according to colour  rubies, sapphires, emeralds.

Yet there is one notable omission from the Queens jewel box: she very seldom wears rings.

Although she received a stunning square-cut diamond engagement ring with diamond side stones set in platinum from Prince Philip, the ring is barely seen as the Queen tends to cover her hands with gloves when in public.

She doesnt much like her hands, says Ingrid, and prefers not to draw attention to them.
Soaring numbers of people are seeking treatment for dark patches

are able to penetrate to deep layers, ageing the skin prematurely

Dermatologists said traffic pollution is the most toxic substance to skin

Soaring numbers of people are suffering age spots, dark patches and wrinkles as a result of traffic fumes, doctors have warned (file photo)

Soaring numbers of people are suffering age spots, dark patches and wrinkles as a result of traffic fumes, doctors have warned.

Traffic pollution is now the most toxic substance for our faces, according to leading dermatologists Dr Hilary Allan and Dr Mervyn Patterson, of national chain Woodford Medical Clinic.

Particles from traffic fumes are able to penetrate deep into the skin, weakening its natural barrier so bacteria and environmental pollutants can get in.

The pollution also damages skin cells - speeding up the breakdown of the collagen that keeps our skin supple - eventually leading to problems with pigmentation and wrinkles.

City dwellers who do not take steps to protect themselves will end up 'wearing the pollution on their faces' in a decade, the dermatologists added.

Their warning comes after a new study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology revealed exactly how drastically traffic fumes can cause our skin to age.

People who lived in highly polluted areas were more likely to have age spots and dark patches, it said.

For every increase of 10 ug/m3 in the concentration of nitrous oxide - a measure of airborne pollution - people reported having 25 per cent more dark spots.

On the ground in clinics, Dr Hilary Allan and Dr Mervyn Patterson have noticed a dramatic rise in people seeking help for pigmentation problems.

Enquries about treatment for pigmentation have shot up by 300 per cent in five years in their six clinics across the UK and in Northern Ireland, they report.

They have also seen a 25 per cent increase in people coming to see them about their dark patches in the same time frame.

And the number of people buying products to target pigmentation has soared by 100 per cent, they said.

Most people seeking help live in London and the South East, with more than 95 per cent of pigmentation cases occurring there compared to areas like Northern Ireland and Derbyshire, they added.

Traffic pollution is now the most toxic substance for our faces, according to leading dermatologists Dr Hilary Allan and Dr Mervyn Patterson, of Woodford Medical Clinic

Dr Allan said: 'The results of recent studies directly linking air pollution to the appearance of pigmentation and signs of ageing on the skin are very alarming.

'It is making us entirely rethink everything we know about pigmentation  it is not the sun but traffic pollution that is ageing and killing our skin.'

ONE IN THREE STROKES ARE CAUSED BY AIR POLLUTION Almost one in three strokes are triggered by air pollution, alarming research revealed. The worldwide study named the environmental hazard as a major cause of one of the leading causes of death for the first time. Air pollution, both inside from cooking fires and outside from traffic fumes, ranked among the top ten causes of stroke, along with better known risks such as smoking, high blood pressure and obesity. Microscopic particles, much of which is generated by diesel exhausts, have been shown to cause clotting, which can lead to a stroke. Stroke claims six million lives annually and many survivors suffer paralysis, speech problems and personality changes as a result. The research was carried out by Auckland University of Technology and published in the journal Lancet Neurology. Advertisement

'This study demonstrates that air pollution increases unwanted pigmentation on the skin and is a heavy contributor to the signs of skin ageing.'

Dr Patterson said if air pollution continues to worsen then at this rate, he predicts 90 per cent of those living in heavily traffic-polluted cities will develop unwanted age spots.

He said: 'With traffic pollution emerging as the single most toxic substance for skin, the dream of perfect skin is over for those living and working in traffic-polluted areas unless they take steps to protect their skin right now.

'Unless people do more to protect their skin they will end up wearing the pollution on their faces in 10 years time.

HOW TRAFFIC FUMES HARM OUR SKIN

Pollution from traffic fumes is known as particulate matter (PM), and is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets, Dr Patterson explained.

He said: 'Some particles such as soot, dust and smoke are large and can be seen with the naked eye.

'Other particles are very small and can only be seen by an electron microscope.'

Scientists refer to these tiny particles as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

They are produced by coal fires, power plants as well as car fumes, particularly diesel engines.

The miniscule PAHs are found all over the surfaces of bigger PMs, he continued.

These PAHs can dissolve in oil, meaning they can penetrate through the outer layers of the skin.

Particles from traffic fumes can penetrate deep into the skin, breaking down the collagen which keeps it supple. This causes wrinkles and pigmentation problems such as age spots and dark patches (file photo)

There, they alter the skin's barrier and disrupt the connections between the surface cells.

Strong bonds between the surface cells of the skin are vital for protecting it from attack by other microbes and environmental agents.

Traffic pollution is now the most toxic substance for our faces Dr Mervyn Patterson, dermatologist

A weakened shield leaves the deeper layers of the skin vulnerable to attack.

And once the PAHs are deep in the skin's tissue, they contribute to oxidative stress - a process which ages skin cells.

They damage the collagen in the skin - leading to unwanted pigmentation and wrinkles forming.

Dr Patterson said: 'People with sensitive skin types - now estimated to be in excess of 50 per cent of the UK population - as well as those suffering from inflammatory skin diseases such as eczema, are more susceptible to the effects of air pollution.'
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New maps reveal the areas of Europe most likely to be hit by Zika this summer.

Southern Europe will become a 'fertile ground' for the virus because warmer temperatures increasing the rate at which the disease-carrying mosquitoes reproduce and bite, researchers said.

And the warmer weather brings with it an influx of people travelling to the region from areas of the America affected by Zika, further raising the risk of it spreading, experts said

Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and the part of Russia around Krasnodar are the areas where the virus is most likely to spread between the end of June and August, the maps show.

And the estimated growth rate of a potential Zika epidemic is still high in areas of France, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia - although the risk is slightly lower, researchers warn.

Map shows the countries in Southern Europe most likely to be hit by Zika in July (pictured in red). Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and the part of Russia around Krasnodar are the areas where the virus is most likely to thrive and spread. Reproduction number is the estimated growth rate of a Zika epidemic. At levels below 1 (shown in light yellow) the virus dies out, but at higher values it grows exponentially (shown in orange, red and brown)

The risk of Zika is still highest in Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and the coastal area of Russia surrounding Krasnodar in August, map shows. The estimated growth rate of a potential Zika epidemic is still high in areas of France, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia - although the risk is slightly lower

Co-author Joacim Rocklov, of Umea University, said: 'The presence of established Aedes mosquito populations, the warmer climate and the coinciding peak flow of air travelers into Europe, is a triage making Southern Europe fertile ground for Zika.'

The findings could help European public health officials to identify locations and times where the risk for Zika is heightened, he added.

To create the maps, the Swedish researchers created a computer model to [redict the risk of the spread of Zika throughout Europe. The model included:

The flows of of airline travellers arriving in European cities from Zika-affected areas of the Americas.

Data on the capability of populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to reproduce and infect each month.

Data on the population of people in areas where the virus could be transmitted.

The researchers assumed that European Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have the same potential to spread the Zika virus as their counterparts in the Americas.

The research comes after a report by the World Health Organisation warned there are already established populations of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes - which transmit the virus - thriving on island of Madeira and the Black Sea coast of Russia and Georgia.

It warned a third of countries in Europe have a 'moderate' risk, including France, Italy, Malta, Croatia, Israel, Spain, Monaco, San Marino, Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Georgia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.

The new maps come after a WHO report concluded Zika virus may spread into Europe in summer. Many countries such as France, Italy, Malta, Croatia and Spain are at moderate risk for local Zika virus transmission, it concluded

The WHO report said areas such as Madeira and the Black Sea are on high alert because these are where the Aedes mosquitoes thrive. However popular tourist destinations including France, Italy and Spain are also at 'moderate risk'

Thirty-six countries - or 66 per cent - have a low, very low or no likelihood, owing to the absence of Aedes mosquitoes or a suitable climate for them to survive and breed. The risk is low in the UK.

The most recent figures show that 23 UK travellers have been infected after visiting affected regions.

There have been more than 400 imported Zika cases in Europe although no local spread has been detected.

The majority of those infected with Zika will have no symptoms, but for others it can cause a mild illness with symptoms including a rash, fever and headache.

Serious complications that arise from infection are not common but experts have said the virus can cause a birth defect called microcephaly - where babies are born with under-developed heads and developmental problems.

It has also been linked with other congenital abnormalities as well as a rare disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome which can cause muscle weakness, problems with breathing and paralysis.
One patient was given new hope after inoperable liver cancer diagnosis

It was hailed as the dawn of a new era for cancer survival  personalised medicine that helps doctors identify the drugs most likely to beat individual tumours.

Now one of the first patients to benefit from such an approach, known as molecular profiling, has revealed how the breakthrough has given him new hope after he was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer.

The procedure, details of which were announced last week, allows doctors to analyse tumour samples to determine a unique set of biomarkers  a chemical fingerprint of that cancer.

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Molecular profiling gave new hope to retired company director Spartaco Dusi, 76, (pictured with his wife Giulana), after he was diagnosed with liver cancer in February at a hospital near his home in Sweden

Profiling of the tumour sample, taken during a standard biopsy, can provide information about the cancer after just one or two weeks of analysis.

This can then be used to precisely match the patients treatment to their particular cancer, allowing scientists to offer a bespoke treatment and reducing the use of drugs that often have brutal side effects and could be of little benefit.

The technique was offered to retired company director Spartaco Dusi, 76, after he was diagnosed with liver cancer in February at a hospital near his home in Sweden.

His son Alessandro, 41, a London-based banker, explained: Doctors there didnt tell us his prognosis but their body language was very negative.

'They didnt tell me what the treatment plan was. I felt very anxious and had a million questions. I didnt want to take no for an answer.

Alessandro enlisted the help of private medical advisory firm Alivia, who connected the family with Professor Justin Stebbing at the London Oncology Centre.

In February, Mr Dusi travelled to London to be treated and his biopsy results immediately underwent molecular profiling, which allowed doctors to offer him the most appropriate form of chemotherapy.

The results from my fathers last scan were miraculously good and showed little sign of tumour, said Alessandro.

Should Mr Dusis cancer return, the results of his molecular profiling would provide his doctors with the information to determine the best second line of treatment.

The technique was highlighted at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual conference in Chicago last week in 19 clinical studies from Caris Life Sciences, a biotechnology company that specialises in precision medicine.

Mr Dusi travelled to the London Oncology Centre (pictured) to be treated and his biopsy results immediately underwent molecular profiling, which allowed doctors to offer him the most appropriate form of chemotherapy

They looked at mutations and other biomarkers in a range of individual cancers including breast, prostrate and pancreatic cancer.

Their investigations add weight to the evidence that molecular profiling could increase survival time for cancer patients.

In a study involving more than 4,700 mixed cancer patients from across the US, there was an average increase in overall survival time of over one year for patients who underwent molecular profiling. These patients also received less therapy, suggesting that ineffective treatments were sometimes chosen for those who did not receive molecular profiling.

Prof Stebbing said: The advances in molecular profiling are hugely exciting. In the past five years it has been useful for research, but were now at the point where its useful in informing real life, day- to-day clinical decisions.

In the old days we saw cancer as arising from an organ of origin. This is useful for a surgeon knowing where to cut. But molecular profiling allows us to look at the genes that give rise to the cancer and switch them off. Its about treating the right patient at the right time with the right drugs.

He believes molecular profiling, which is currently still in the trial stages and has not been given full NHS approval, is potentially useful for all cancers.

At the moment we already understand about some of the gene mutations responsible for some breast cancers, colorectal cancers and lung cancers but were going to get more and more information about other cancers as research continues.

He added: We now need randomised trials of large numbers of people in order to incorporate molecular profiling in to clinical practice as standard.
Mother's Day Cert: 12A 1hr 58mins

Rating:

Film distributors, as I have remarked from time to time, work in mysterious ways, but rarely as mysteriously as with Mothers Day, which arrives in cinemas here three months too late for the day itself in this country but just in time for, er Fathers Day. Which, youve got to admit, is odd.

Mind you, this is the sort of film that even perfect timing cant help much.

In the United States, where Mothers Day was on May 8 this year, the film was released an ideal ten days beforehand, yet didnt even recoup its budget.

Poor Jennifer Aniston (above with Julia Roberts - channelling Mary Portas to an alarming but effective degree) plays the central character of divorcee Sandy in Garry Marshall's exasperating schmaltzfest

Which, presumably, is why this exasperating schmaltzfest  directed by 81-year-old Garry Marshall  is now heading our way.

Marshall, of course, has form in this area.

For having made his name as the director of such deservedly popular hits as Pretty Woman, Frankie And Johnny and Runaway Bride, he has padded out his later career with so-called portmanteau films like this, in which all sorts of vaguely interwoven stories unfold independently before coming together in some sort of horribly contrived, supposedly heart-warming way at the end.

Valentines Day was one of his in 2010, as was the similarly constructed New Years Eve a year later.

And now hes back again with this one, which somehow manages to annoy almost from the first bars of the opening music.

The obligatory single dad, Bradley, is meant to be a former Marine, although as played by a game but wonderfully miscast Jason Sudeikis (above), you certainly wouldnt know

Poor Jennifer Aniston, picking the wrong project for what seems like the millionth time, plays the central character of Sandy, the sort of divorcee who surely exists only in Hollywood films  shes gorgeous, fit (she spends a lot of time in her jogging gear) and the mother of two happy boys.

She even gets on with her ex-husband, until  as the film gets clunkily under way  he announces hes just remarried, to a part-time model at least 25 years her junior.

This all-too-predictable set-up would be a lot funnier if Sandy didnt look like the still lovely Aniston, whose character can hardly complain  not at least if were expected to laugh or sympathise  about the tiny shorts her rival is wearing while she drifts around in something floaty and diaphanous. But, of course, she does.

Living close by in this conspicuously affluent bit of southern suburbia are two sisters, Jesse and Gabi  played by Kate Hudson and Sarah Chalke  who are both hiding secrets from their bigoted, RV-driving Texan parents.

No one is actively bad but the film still manages to hit so many jarring notes. When the Texan parents of Jesse (Kate Hudson, above) roll into town, their racism and homophobia is genuinely unpleasant

And somewhere in the neighbourhood is the obligatory single dad, Bradley, whos been doing the best he can to raise his two daughters ever since their Marine mum was killed in Afghanistan.

Bradley is meant to be a former Marine himself, although as played by a game but wonderfully miscast Jason Sudeikis, you certainly wouldnt know.

Throw in a feisty shopping-channel presenter (Julia Roberts channelling Mary Portas to an alarming but effective degree) and a young British comedian (Jack Whitehall, clearly auditioning to be the new Hugh Grant) and our ensemble is complete.

IT'S A FACT Mother's Day is a 20th-century invention that has nothing to do with Mothering Sunday, a centuries-old Christian commemoration of Mother Church - not motherhood. Advertisement

No one is actively bad but the film still manages to hit so many jarring notes.

When the Texan parents roll into town, their racism is genuinely unpleasant (towel-head jokes  really?), so much so that you almost overlook the homophobia that soon follows.

Even worse  or maybe I mean even less convincing  is Sandys ex, Henry, played by the smoothly handsome Timothy Olyphant, a man so insensitive  we are asked to believe  that he wants his sons to share a large part of Mothers Day with their new stepmum.

This might be more believable if he and Sandy were locked in some sort of acrimonious divorce hell, but theyre not.

Even less convincing  is Sandys ex, Henry, played by the smoothly handsome Timothy Olyphant (above), a man so insensitive that he wants his sons to share a large part of Mothers Day with their new stepmum

As a result  like too much else here  it just doesnt ring true and is exposed for what it is: a crude comedy device that doesnt really make us laugh.

Roberts, whose fourth Marshall film this is, is actually quite good  managing to be both funny and, eventually, just a little bit moving too.

But elsewhere, this is a film of collapsing inflatable slides, terrible raps (if you think Sudeikis is unlikely as a former Marine, just wait for the moment he grabs the mike) and groan-worthily clumsy clown metaphors.

You know that old visual joke of tugging at a loose corner of a handkerchief only to discover that the handkerchiefs go on and on and on?

Well, apparently, thats just like the endless love a mother has for her children. Oh, please.

At the end, we know eventually everyone will see the error of their ways; thats what always happens in this sort of film.

But enough already. No more, Mr Marshall, no more.

SECOND SCREEN

Learning To Drive (15)

Rating:

The Boss (15)

Rating:

When Marnie Was There (U)

Rating:

Where To Invade Next (15)

Rating:

In Learning To Drive. Patricia Clarkson plays a newly separated New York book critic and Ben Kingsley the Sikh driving instructor who not only teaches her to drive but helps her put her life back together.

But anyone expecting some sort of lightweight coming together of East and West, in the manner of, say, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, is in for a surprise.

The movie  directed by the Spanish film-maker Isabel Coixet  has a raw realness that particularly impresses.

The pain of mid-life abandonment is captured in intense emotional detail, while the depiction of the lonely existence of a middle-aged immigrant working two jobs to make ends meet is similarly uncompromising.

There are funny moments, but this could never be described as a comedy-drama.

In the touching - and not at all lightweight - Learning To Drive, Ben Kingsley (above) plays the Sikh driving instructor helping recently separated Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) put her life back together

Both Kingsley and Clarkson worked with Coixet on Elegy, one of my favourite films of 2008.

But if that was Kingsleys moment to shine  its one of his best screen performances  this time its definitely Clarksons turn, and despite moments when she ever so slightly overdoes the emotional overwrought-ness, shes very good indeed.

Looking blonde, well-groomed but authentically middle-aged, her performance as Wendy, who is devastated when her husband of 21 years leaves her for a younger woman, is so reminiscent of Meryl Streep that its no surprise to find Streeps real-life daughter, Grace Gummer, playing Wendys daughter.

Sarah Kernochan, who wrote 9 Weeks, Sommersby and What Lies Beneath, supplies an insightful screenplay that deals with illegal immigration, arranged marriage and institutional racism along the way to a touching and cleverly unexpected ending.

What with The Heat and Spy, Melissa McCarthy has been on a roll of late, a run of box-office successes expected to continue when the long-awaited Ghostbusters remake hits cinemas next month.

But heres something much less exciting she made earlier.

Directed by her husband, Ben Falcone, and co-written by McCarthy herself, The Boss is a somewhat formulaic comedy about a lonely but uncompromising and hugely successful financial guru who, having been sent to prison for insider trading, then has to rebuild her life with the help of her former PA (Kristen Bell) and the relentless belief that they can both make a fortune selling brownies door-to-door.

Melissa McCarthy has been on a roll of late but The Boss is a somewhat formulaic comedy about a hugely successful financial guru who has to rebuild her life following time in jail. One for established fans only

Oh, and theres a vertically challenged business rival (Peter Dinklage), who may or may not have the hots for her, involved somewhere too.

Its heavily reliant on physical comedy for its laughs but there are one or two nice lines and McCarthy does bring her customary edgy rudeness to the proceedings. One for established fans only, I think.

Following the announcement in 2013 that Studio Ghibli co-founder and creative driving force Hayao Miyazaki was to retire, the working assumption has been that When Marnie Was There will be the last feature from the Japanese animation house.

And for a delicious half an hour or so, it looks as if Ghibli  maker of Spirited Away and Howls Moving Castle  would be bowing out on a five-star high, as the wistfully drawn story of Anna, a lonely 12-year-old raised in Sapporo by a woman who isnt her birth mother, is slowly and rather beautifully established.

Anna feels a perpetual outsider, and when her asthma gets bad she is sent to a seaside fishing village for the summer.

It is here she discovers the Marsh House, a dilapidated ruin by day but which by night  or simply when no one else is looking  seems to come magically alive.

And at the Marsh House, she meets her new friend Marnie.

The assumption has been that When Marnie Was There will be the last feature from Studio Ghibli and, although the story of Anna and her friend Marnie (above) is hauntingly beautiful, the film ends up slow and repetitive

Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and adapted from Joan G Robinsons book, the film remains hauntingly beautiful to look at, but were on pretty familiar ground by now.

Is Marnie a figment of Annas imagination, a ghost or something else?

Finding out is a slow, repetitive and slightly more predictable experience than I hoped.

Michael Moore, the maverick documentary-maker, returns to pretty well-trodden territory with Where To Invade Next, which sees him travelling around (mainly) Europe in search of social welfare ideas that he can take home to an America he feels has been bankrupted by unsuccessful wars.

Unsurprisingly, he warms to things such as eight weeks paid holiday in Italy, gourmet school lunches in France and free university education in Slovenia.

Its entertaining but selective to the point of being actively misleading.
Coldplay Hampden Park, Glasgow On tour until June 19

Rating:

'This is Tuesday Night Dance Club, announces Chris Martin somewhat improbably, midway through the pounding Hi-NRG climax to Paradise.

The profusion of negatives traditionally appended to Coldplay  boring, worthy, beige  seems to have sparked an almost pathological counter-reaction.

Recent album A Head Full Of Dreams is an indecently perky pop confection, full of liquid Afro-beat grooves and shiny electronic rhythms.

In concert, its upbeat vibes are multiplied tenfold. The message resonates loud and clear.

Coldplay are fun! Not just fun, but F-U-N!!!

Coldplay have transcended their drab indie-rock origins to fashion a stadium show with a colourful, consciously naive pop heart: at the end of two hours, I feel as if Ive been comprehensively love-bombed

If at times such relentless positivity feels a mite overcooked  think of the office drone who suddenly starts wearing cartoon ties and wacky socks  it undeniably delivers.

Coldplay have transcended their drab indie-rock origins to fashion a stadium show with a colourful, consciously naive pop heart.

At the end of two hours, I feel as if Ive been comprehensively love-bombed.

In contrast to Bruce Springsteen, who held Hampden in his hands the previous week without the need for any technological fuss, Coldplay throw the full box of pyrotechnic tricks at Glasgow.

Fireworks explode during A Head Full Of Dreams and Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, and cannons shoot confetti into the sky.

Our hi-tech wristbands pulse and glow during Yellow. Lozenge-shaped video screens beam out every bright nuance. And thats just the opening three songs.

Later, flames will shoot out from the stage during Hymn For The Weekend, although, sadly, we have to make do with a sampled Beyonce rather than the real thing.

Despite all the NASA-grade enhancements, the human angle is paramount.

As Chris Martin informs the crowd, with the kind of crazed grin usually found on cult members: You and us! The power of emotional communication!

He does his best to turn a standard rock platitude into reality.

While his three fellow Coldplayers quietly keep the musical motor running, Martin leads from the front.

He bounds up and down the walkways like a church youth leader on an adrenaline drip.

He kneels and kisses the stage. He dances badly, like a sycamore seed twirling in the breeze.

He calls us beautiful  over and over again.

The negatives traditionally appended to Coldplay  boring, worthy, beige  seems to have sparked an almost pathalogical counter-reaction. Recent album A Head Full Of Dreams is an indecently perky pop confection

Such is his boundless energy and optimism, only a churl could fail to be swept along.

When a roadie vacuums the stage during Viva La Vida, it rather undermines the impact of one of their punchiest songs.

Their mini-set on the B-stage  where they play Magic, Ink and Everglow, the latter ending with a video snippet of Muhammad Ali preaching peace  is underpowered.

A truncated cover of David Bowies Heroes feels both obvious and perfunctory.

Such longueurs, however, are swept away by wave after wave of the good stuff.

The innate sadness of The Scientist is transformed into something affirming by the vast choir of accompanying voices.

Charlie Brown and Hymn For The Weekend explode in a sea of flashing lights and raised hands, a double-barrelled masterclass in big-gig dynamics.

As darkness falls and 50,000 wristbands glow amber on Fix You, it makes for an unforgettable spectacle.

The main set ends with a joyous Adventure Of A Lifetime, all slinky disco grooves and West African guitar lines.

By now, huge, bright balloons are bobbing around on the pitch.

Its stadium rock with the Day-Glo aesthetic of CBeebies.

They return to play an acoustic In My Place, and to squeeze a crowd-pleasing Proclaimers reference into See You Soon.

Ending with a trio of songs  Amazing Day, A Sky Full Of Stars and Up&Up  from their most recent albums is a pointed statement of forward motion, yet Martin has suggested that Coldplay may soon be consciously uncoupling. If so, its a multi-coloured victory march.

The band headline Glastonbury at the end of June. The road to Pilton will be paved with conquered stadia.

Are Coldplay the biggest band in the world? Very possibly.

Do they have the brightest, bounciest stadium show on the planet right now? No contest.

coldplay.com

THREE GIGS TO SEE

Rihanna

Wembley Stadium, London June 24; on tour to June 29

Recent album Anti was surprisingly reflective, showing theres more to Rihanna than bump and grind. A hit machine with a dark edge, her run of singles showcases an ability to blend pop, dancehall, hip-hop, R&B and even indie

Garbage

Troxy, London Tomorrow

Shirley Mansons gang once packed enough of a commercial punch to bag a Bond theme. Their profile is more modest now, but a gift for crunchy, confrontational alt.rock with a melodic twist remains evident on new album Strange Little Birds

The Stone Roses

Etihad Stadium, Manchester Wed, Fri, Sat and Sun

Underwhelming new single All For One suggests the Roses future lies in memorialising the past, specifically a debut album still fresher than anything theyve since created. And where better than home turf to relive the glory days

THIS WEEK'S CD RELEASES

By Adam Woods

Tom Odell Wrong Crowd Columbia, out now

Rating:

Underwhelming new single All For One suggests the Roses future lies in memorialising the past, specifically a debut album still fresher than anything theyve since created. And where better than home turf to relive the glory days

Paul McCartney Pure McCartney Virgin EMI, out now

Rating:

This is Pauls first solo compilation in 30 years. At 67 songs in the deluxe version, its vast, mashing together his Seventies work including Wings, with a handful from the Eighties and 20 or so from the Nineties on. Pedants will spot missing favourites  wheres Tug Of War?  and clunking inclusions  Dance Tonight  but as a highlights reel, it deserves two thumbs-up

Neil Young Earth Warner Bros, out Fri

Rating:
The alleged kingpin of Bihars infamous toppergate scandal, Baccha Rai, was taken into custody after he surrendered in Bhagwanpur in Bihar's Vaishali district on Saturday.

Rai, principal of Bishun Rai College, Kiratpur, had been absconding ever since a merit scam in the Intermediate examinations conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) was unearthed following a media interview of the Arts and Science toppers, Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shrestha, respectively.

Rai, however, denied the charges. In an India Today television expose, Ruby was shown referring to political science not only as prodigal science but also as a subject related to cookery.

Baccha Rai, principal of Bishun Rai College, Kiratpur, was taken into custody after he surrendered in Bhagwanpur in Bihar's Vaishali district

Two other toppers - Rahul Kumar and Shalini Rai - were among several students who had appeared from the college run by Rai.

Shalini also happens to be the daughter of Rai.

A special investigating team (SIT) of Bihar police headed by Patnas senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaj, which was set up at the directive of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to probe the scam, had been on the lookout for Bachcha, but he had managed to evade the arrest.

He finally surrendered near his college where he was immediately arrested.

Patna SSP Manu Maharaj said that he would be interrogated.

Rai has been accused of having close links with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a charge that has been denied by the party president Lalu Prasad.
A. C. writes: Thank you, Tony. In 2008 you published my letter about Mutual Benefits Corporation.

Since then I have been in contact with the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which has finally agreed that I lost 55,126.

The FSCS maximum payout in such cases is 50,000 and I have now received this. I am sure your article backed up my case and I am truly grateful. At the age of 78, cheques like this are very rare.

Scheme: Mutual Benefits Corporation was an American company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Well done for sticking with your claim. You have faced lots of delays, including the bankruptcy of your financial adviser, which is why your claim had to be transferred from the Ombudsman to the compensation scheme.

Mutual Benefits Corporation was an American company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It bought life insurance policies that were held by people it claimed were terminally ill and it then sold shares in those policies through agents in the US and Britain.

On paper, the idea should have been an all-round winner. The policyholder got a lump sum that would make their final months far more comfortable.

The investor got a stake in the policy proceeds, with profits advertised at between 12 per cent and 72 per cent. The agent got a generous commission. And MBC pocketed a hefty cut for putting the whole deal together.

What went wrong was that the entire set-up was a scam. Policyholders certified as terminally ill lived on, not just for months but for years. Medical records were bogus and MBCs 30,000 investors lost around 500million.

Jailed: Steven Steiner was sentenced to 15 years in jail after acting as the front man at Mutual Benefits Corporation based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

I wrote about MBC twice. My first story was in 2004, when I reported that behind the scenes, MBC was run by two brothers, Joel and Leslie Steiner.

Digging back, I found that in 1998 they had paid more than 500,000 in an out-of-court settlement after allegations they cheated 1,200 investors.

I also warned that MBC was facing investigations or legal proceedings in three states over dodgy deals involving life policies. By the time of my 2008 report, everything had hit the fan.

The doctor who issued the false medical reports was jailed for ten years. And MBC president Peter Lombardi was given 20 years.

Since then Steven Steiner, who I named as the front man for his two tainted brothers, has been jailed for 15 years.

Leslie Steiner has died of natural causes. And two years ago, in the final trial out of 13 arising from the fraud, Joel was sentenced to 20 years.

But why was this scheme even marketed in Britain? Your adviser recommended it to you even after my 2004 report.

'TSB, LISTEN TO ME...I AM NOT MR JONAS!' Confusion: Ms J.A. received a TSB statement for a Mr Jonas Ms J.A. writes: In 2014 I received a TSB statement showing a Mr Jonas had opened an account from my home address. It showed numerous transactions, just a few minutes apart. This looked suspicious so I contacted the bank. It told me to bring the statement to a branch in Leeds, though I live in Buckinghamshire. Eventually it said I could email it. I also contacted Action Fraud and thought that would be the end of it. No such luck. I have received statement after statement, letters about non-payment and now  18 months on  they still arrive. TSB is just not listening. Tony Hetherington said: You would think that banks would be glad to be tipped off when someone opens a dodgy account. The longer the trickster has the account, the more likely they are to run up an overdraft or misuse a credit card. I asked staff at TSBs head office to intervene and I enquired whether this was a deliberate fraud or a slip-up over the address of a genuine customer. It seems the bank still cant decide, but TSB told me: Were really sorry that Ms A received letters addressed to a different person. Weve investigated the matter and are pleased to confirm that no further letters will be sent to Ms As address in respect of that customer.

And I had alerted the then City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, saying that MBC was a disaster waiting to happen. Its response was that it was not even sure such schemes counted as investments.

I am really delighted that after all these years, you have recovered almost all your money.

But if I were a financial adviser, required to chip in to the compensation scheme, I would be hopping up and down with anger at having to foot the bill.

This is because the City regulator allowed MBCs agents to carry on selling this scam even after the writing was on the wall in letters a mile high.

360 GOES ADRIFT IN FUNDS TRANSFER Ms S. H. writes: I transferred 15,000 to Portugal through Nationwide Building Society, which charged 20, but only 14,640 arrived. When I asked about the outstanding 360, Nationwide promised to investigate. More than a month later it said the 360 would be credited to my account by an unnamed intermediary bank. There was no apology, no interest and so far no 360 either. Can you help? Tony Hetherington said: Your instructions were that the whole 15,000 should arrive in Portugal in sterling. But Nationwide used the unnamed bank as its agent and says someone there made a keying error. The result was to change your pounds into euros, with a loss of 360, leaving you short-changed and feeling awkward as the person on the receiving end of the money expected the full amount. Nationwide told me it ran checks to follow the route your money took, spotted the banks mistake and put it right, though nobody told you. The missing 360 has been sent and Nationwide is apologising with 250 for the inconvenience.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk.
Whether the result is for Remain or Leave in 12 days time there will be an impact on the value of the pound.

Should you buy foreign currency now  or wait and see? We weigh up the options for British travellers.

Rising costs: The falling value of the pound means costs are higher for Britons going to certain countries

Holidaymakers heading abroad this summer are in a quandary over their spending money. The purchasing power of the pound has been diminishing, sparked largely by nerves over the forthcoming vote on whether the UK stays in or gets out of the European Union.

Bob Atkinson, travel expert at website TravelSupermarket, says: If the vote is to leave then many predict the pound will fall in value  probably sharply although no one knows for how long. If the vote is to stay its likely the pound will go up in value so you would get more currency for your cash.

Currency markets do not like this uncertainty and they have been taking it out on sterling for months. The pound has fallen in value against many currencies  especially the euro. Travellers have seen their euro spending power shrink 6 per cent in the past year.

Those exchanging 1,570, the typical sum used for holiday spending by a family of four, are seeing their holiday budgets squeezed sharply, according to currency exchange specialist Caxton FX.

A year ago this sum bought 2,132. Now it buys just 2,007  meaning families have about 125 less to spend. The difference could mean tourists will rack up higher holiday bills or be forced to cut back on sightseeing treats and meals out.

For a family travelling to Barcelona in Spain, this lost 125 could have purchased entry to the imposing Sagrada Familia basilica designed by renowned architect Antoni Gaudi  and a slap-up tapas meal with drinks afterwards.

For the same money, a family heading to Paris could pay for a ride up the Eiffel Tower; a Seine River cruise; and a single adult ticket to nearby Disneyland Paris.

Better value: A family would have 180 more to spend on a trip to Cape Town than a year ago and 115 more for a trip to Russia

It is not just eurozone holidays that are being hit. The pound has weakened against other currencies, including the US dollar.

British families travelling to the United States have 86 less to spend than a year ago on their holiday once they have exchanged their travel cash for dollars  enough for two adults and two children to take the elevator to the main deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building in New York.

Other currencies are also costing more. Using the same spending budget of 1,570, travellers to the Czech Republic are 125 worse off and those heading for Denmark have 117 less to spend while those opting for Sweden are squeezed by 120.

Destinations less affected by the referendum debate include Russia and South Africa whose currencies have weakened against the pound in the last year.

A family would have 180 more to spend on a trip to Cape Town than a year ago and 115 more for a trip to Russia. Experts say those who are on the cusp of travelling but are anxious about currency fluctuations need to time the moment they buy  or think about spreading risk by drip-feeding the purchase.

The number of people buying euros for holidays grew by more than a third between Monday and Friday

Nicholas Laser-Ebisch, of Caxton FX, says: The EU polls continue to weigh on the pound. Any time there is a strong poll for Leave it drops in value, while strong Remain figures boost sterling.

'People changing currency for a trip abroad should keep an eye on the polls and take advantage of any positive data whenever they get the chance, as there may be further volatility closer to the referendum. If you are waiting for a specific exchange rate, put a rate watch or limit order in place.

Chris Towner, chief economist at currency specialist HiFX, says there was a sharp rise in purchases last week.

He says: The number of people buying euros for holidays grew by more than a third between Monday and Friday. We believe this is as a result of some recent polls showing Leave gaining ground so people are hedging their risk and buying their euros in advance.

He adds: Yes, its looking as though it is more of a probability that the UK will remain; but at the same time the risks are far greater of the pound falling if we exit than rising if we remain.

'If your holiday is booked and you are looking forward to going, why take on the unnecessary risk? Holidaymakers should consider buying their currency now, to avoid being stung by a weak sterling.

Top tip: Avoid buying foreign currency at airport bureaux as they often take a bigger cut

HOW TO BUY

Where or how currency is purchased is as important to stretching a spending budget as exchange rates  and better still it is something holidaymakers can control.

The key is to avoid airport bureaux. These are captive markets and providers will take a bigger cut. Buying this way can mean losing out on an extra 1 in every 10 compared to the best deals.

If you must take this option, order the currency ahead online and pick it up before departure  as rates are better.

If buying on the high street, compare deals carefully as picking the best over the worst can also boost spending money by 10 per cent.

If exchanging cash, try website MoneySavingExperts online comparison tool to track down the best rates.

Some of the best value exchange rates are offered on pre-paid currency cards  plastic that you pre-load with currency before travel that can also be topped up by phone or online while away. These have replaced travellers cheques, which have fallen out of favour.

Do not just pick the first one you find as rates vary. For euros, TravelSupermarkets Atkinson points to currency cards from Fair FX, Caxton FX, WeSwap, Revolut and Travelex (for cash withdrawals and spending). For US dollars he recommends Revolut and Caxton (for cash withdrawals) and FairFX, WeSwap (for spending).

Laser-Ebisch says: People concerned about volatility can load money on to a currency card in smaller increments over a longer period of time, to avoid missing out if the rates change.

PACK BEST PLASTIC

Holidaymakers should only take standard credit and debit cards with them as a back-up as exchange rates are poor and foreign usage charges high.

Consider applying for a card specifically designed for use abroad. Among the best are Halifax Clarity, Creation Everyday and MBNA Everyday Plus.

The best value debit card is available to customers of Norwich & Peterborough Building Societys Gold Classic current account. Metro Bank customers also get a good deal with no currency transaction fees or cash withdrawal charges  but only in Europe.

Providers are working on high-tech cards that allow you to use your usual credit and debit cards abroad for less in the form of a digital wallet.

Travelex will be launching a card that is expected to treat payments made on the cards as if made at home. Another, called Curve, removes foreign usage and exchange fees though cardholders pay a wholesale rate plus 1 per cent of the transaction.

> This is Money has a special deal with currency card provider FairFX, which allows readers to get a a free currency exchange card, find out more here.



WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW EACH WEEK: LISTEN TO THE THIS IS MONEY PODCAST
More than 40 per cent of people in the UK are likely to suffer from cancer during their lifetime and, among those born after 1960, the probability rises to an even more distressing 50 per cent.

Medical advances have improved survival odds considerably over the years, but cancer remains one of the worlds deadliest diseases and therapy is often lengthy and debilitating.

Angle aims to improve diagnosis and treatment by assessing whether people have cancer and if so, what type it is, through a simple device that separates out circulating cancerous cells from the rest of the blood. The shares are 65p and should increase substantially over the next few years.

Statistics: More than 40 per cent of people in the UK are likely to suffer from cancer during their lifetime

Today it is widely recognised that the illness is different in each patient and that an individuals cancer can change over time. Therefore, the best way of treating the disease is through personalised medicine  drugs tailored to sufferers specific needs.

To work out precisely what type of cancer someone has, clinicians need to analyse the cells and in most cases this involves taking a biopsy. The process is invasive, costly and can be hard to do with lung, brain and pancreatic cancer.

Particular difficulties arise when a patient either has cancer or had it in the past and doctors want to find out if the disease has spread or returned.

If, for example, a patient has or had breast cancer and has had a mastectomy, clinicians cannot analyse a tumour because it has already been removed. Yet the cancer may have moved to another organ.

The disease moves around the body in the blood, but historically it has been almost impossible to separate the cancer cells from blood cells and analyse them effectively.

Angles blood tests are non-invasive, reasonably priced and can detect with exceptional accuracy whether cancer is present in an individuals blood or not  it can capture cells when there is only one per billion healthy circulating cells.

Angles kit  known as the Parsortix system  also enables scientists to analyse cells to find out what kind of cancer a patient has.

Looking ahead: Angle aims to improve diagnosis and treatment of cancer

The company has already received endorsement from some of the most highly respected cancer specialists in the world, including the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, the research arm of the Christie Hospital, the largest cancer hospital in Europe by number of patients.

Barts Cancer Institute in London, the Medical University of Vienna, the University of Southern California and Cambridge University are also enthusiastic supporters of the Parsortix system.

So far, the company has focused on three types of cancer  breast, prostate and ovarian. Breast cancer is the most common tumour affecting women, with almost two million cases reported a year worldwide.

While treatment has improved significantly, there is always the danger of the cancer reappearing elsewhere in the body.

Research at the University of Southern California indicates that Angles Parsortix system can help to detect secondary cancers at an extremely early stage, potentially saving millions of lives.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the UK and attempts to diagnose it are painful, invasive and often wrong.

Research undertaken by Barts Cancer Institute suggests that Angles system can detect prostate cancer simply and accurately so only those who really need treatment have to undergo it.

> Read the Midas update on RWS Holdings

Tests: Angles blood tests are non-invasive, reasonably priced and can detect with exceptional accuracy whether cancer is present in an individuals blood or not

The system has enormous potential for ovarian cancer too. Millions of women aged 50 or above worldwide develop cysts or other abnormal growths in their pelvic area. Most are benign, but a small percentage are cancerous.

Successfully removing such cancers is technical and, if it is not done properly, there is a risk of making the illness worse. Angles tests enable clinicians to find out in advance if a woman has ovarian cancer or not and therefore ensure she is treated properly.

Angles tests could allow women deemed to be high-risk to be monitored, thereby avoiding unnecessary preventive surgery. The system has already been tested to great effect in Vienna and there are plans to roll it out across Europe and the US.

The Parsortix kit is about the size of a domestic printing machine, and is made up of vials and equipment to separate cancer cells from blood cells in such a way that they can be analysed with a high degree of accuracy.

The system has already been approved in Europe and work is well under way to receive approval from US regulators next year.

Over time, Angle founder and chief executive Andrew Newland hopes to sell the equipment to hospitals around the world for use in screening, detecting and monitoring cancer, as well as assessing the efficacy of different treatments.

In the meantime, Newland is generating revenue by selling the kit to research organisations. Profit margins are extremely high, so potential revenues from research sales alone are estimated at more than 250million a year.

The medical profession is conscious that there are limitations to current biopsy procedures and those at the forefront of cancer research are excited by the potential for liquid biopsies, such as Angles blood tests.

The market is in its infancy but it is expected to be worth at least 10billion a year by 2020 and Angle is a pioneer in the field.

The company also raised 10million in a share placing last month, so it has plenty of cash to fund development.

Reassuringly, blue-chip investors Legal & General, Jupiter Asset Management and Henderson Global Investors took part in the placing and are now significant shareholders in the company.

Midas verdict: Angle has made considerable progress with its blood kit, but progress is slow in the healthcare sector so profits are unlikely for several years.
Court fight: Stephanie Davis

British investors who lost big deposits in the Spanish property crash have been given fresh hope of getting back their money.

Around 100,000 people in the UK are thought to have paid big sums towards off-plan properties in Spain  ones which were yet to be built.

Demand was high a decade ago, when around 800,000 holiday homes a year were being built in Spain.

But after the financial crisis of 2008 many property developers went bust, leaving buildings unfinished. Many home buyers lost all their money.

Now a ruling by the Supreme Court in Madrid points to a reversal of fortune for disappointed buyers, because Spanish banks that held their deposits are to be held to account.

Estimates for how much British buyers could claim are in the order of 4billion.

Luis Cuervo, chief executive of Spanish Legal Reclaims, which is taking on buyers cases, says: The whole industry collapsed.

Developers in administration first needed to pay employees, then the tax office, social security and anyone else who had a right to claim from the company ahead of others in the queue. In the end most of the property buyers didnt receive anything back.

'NOW I HAVE THE CHANCE TO CLAIM BACK MORE THAN 60,000' Stephanie Davis lost more than 60,000 when her Spanish property purchase collapsed  but is one of many investors who now hopes to secure a refund. She and her late husband David paid a deposit in 2006 to property developer Martinsa-Fadesa for a townhouse in Costa Esuri, Ayamonte, on the south coast. The Davises made monthly repayments for a couple of years while it was being built, but after David was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer they were keen to sell. Martinsa-Fadesa agreed to buy back the property and refund what they had paid within 60 days. They signed over the property but just months later, in the summer of 2008, the company went into administration, leaving the couple with no property or refund. Stephanie, a community first responder with the Ambulance Service, lives in Edgware, North London. She says: We got back just 700 over two years. Martinsa-Fadesa went into liquidation  the formal process of winding up a business  in March last year. But thanks to the clarification in the law, Stephanie now has an opportunity to try to make a claim. She says: If I can get my money back, that would be amazing.

THE NEW RULING

Spanish law states builders and developers receiving deposits had to put the money in a separate account and provide a bank guarantee.

This would ensure money was returned if the developer failed to finish building a property.

But in the heady excitement of a seemingly booming market, this law was not always observed. When constructions were left incomplete, developers did not have the capital ring-fenced and ready to repay their customers.

As of last December, the Spanish Supreme Court upheld that banks which held deposits were equally liable for refunds.

Spanish Legal Reclaims is now preparing to present cases before the court on customers behalf  on a no-win, no-fee basis.

Claims must be filed, fought and won individually, and the team expects to file the first wave this week. A court decision may take eight months, but if banks appeal the fight could stretch to between 18 months and two years. Refunds would include the original capital lost plus interest.

New hope: British investors who lost big deposits in the Spanish property crash have been given fresh hope of getting back their money

COSTS

Lawyers will charge different fees and the sum could vary between individual clients depending on the complexity of each case.

But as an example, Spanish Legal Reclaims says for a lost deposit of 50,000, plus interest to make a total claim of 70,600, the fee for a successful claim could amount to 17,085.

This is a 20 per cent charge, plus Spains VAT rate at 21 per cent. It means that the client pays fees out of the interest recovered and still takes away more than the original capital lost at 53,515.

PREPARATION

Claimants must have the relevant paperwork so they can prove to the judge what they say is true. Investors who fought in the courts years ago and failed will not be able to bring the same claim a second time.

Cuervo also warns investors to be careful about the lawyer they select to handle their claim. He adds: Were fighting the powerful banks of Spain, which have all the money and resources needed to defend themselves.

What investors are facing is not a job for an ordinary lawyer in the local towns of the Spanish coast. The lawyer must also be neutral and unconnected to property developers or the banks.

Investors buying holiday homes in Spain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, France, Italy and Portugal were all affected by the global credit crisis.

Off-plan developers went bust before homes were completed or property prices plunged  leaving owners with a mortgage debt larger than their property value, or an asset they could not sell, which was worth less than they paid for it.

These dangers are always present, but buyers have returned to the holiday homes market and interest is strong.

Turmoil: Around 100,000 people in the UK are thought to have paid big sums towards off-plan properties in Spain  ones which were yet to be built

BUYING ABROAD NOW

Peter Robinson, boss of the Association of International Property Professionals, promotes high standards among developers, lawyers and agents working in the field.

Ten years ago, he says poor business practices were rife with self-styled British entrepreneurs cutting corners and taking big commissions for selling property to British customers. Buyers were also making rushed decisions.

But people thinking of making a purchase now must be led by their heads, not their hearts.

He says: The pendulum has swung back and people are returning to buy a holiday home or retirement property. Pause and consider why you want to buy, what you will use it for and what the exit strategy is.

Looking abroad: People looking for a home abroad should seek legal advice as early as possible

Take legal advice early, rather than at the conveyancing stage when you are already emotionally down the track. And take proper, regulated financial advice.

As well as useful buying guides, Robinsons association offers free legal advice to UK investors purchasing overseas. For more information visit aipp.org.uk and click on the LWG section of the website  which stands for Legal Working Group  where you can fill out an enquiry form.

Anyone buying through a member of the association who later wants to make a complaint has recourse through the UK Property Ombudsman scheme, an independent mediator.

Free guides for buying property abroad, covering the most popular destinations, can also be downloaded from the PropertyGuides website. Customers can call its resource centre for support at all stages of the buying process by calling 020 7898 0549.

Elaine Ferguson, the centres boss, advises sticking to a budget, factoring in all costs and taxes, and finding reputable professional help from solicitors and estate agents.

Ferguson recommends setting aside between ten and 16 per cent of the total property cost to cover legal fees, survey costs and both local and international taxes.

She says: Choose an English-speaking, independent solicitor, to act in your best interests, and yours alone.

Currency conversion also demands careful thought. A home worth 350,000 would have cost 261,194 at an exchange rate of 1.34 which prevailed at the start of this year.

But a subsequent fall in the rate to 1.26  as happened recently because of uncertainty over this months EU referendum  means a buyer would need to find an extra 16,584 for the purchase.

Charles Purdy, chief executive of currency specialist Smart Currency Exchange, says: You can protect the price of your property and your budget by using a forward contract. It is an invaluable tool provided by currency specialists that can be used up to a year in advance to lock in a rate at a time that suits you.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW EACH WEEK: LISTEN TO THE THIS IS MONEY PODCAST




The smug middle-class glow that comes from owning an Aga is not cheap  at 10,000 you could buy a decent second-hand car for the same money.

But with such a reassuringly expensive price tag you own a high-class hunk of British cast iron art that doubles up as a top of the range cooker.

According to the sales literature uncompromising quality is at the heart of the dual control, three-oven cooker I purchased in June 2014  backed with a peace of mind five-year warranty.

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Cooking up a storm: Toby Walne with his wife Sacha and daughter Sophia

So it came as a surprise that after less than a couple of years of careful use, a plastic control knob for turning the hob on and off recently became loose.

Reassured that my more money than sense purchase at least meant that any mechanical fault could be sorted without a quibble, I gave Aga a call.

I was in for a rude awakening when a polite assistant called Lewis revealed that the devil was in the detail of my warranty contract.

Aga would charge me 150 to come out even though the fault was not mine  the only thing it would not sting me for was the cost of a new plastic switch if the old one could not be fixed.

The five-year warranty for both call-out and parts actually only lasted for a year. After that I would have to foot the bill for call-outs.

I fired off a couple of emails assuming common sense would prevail. The initial replies did not even acknowledge my specific case or answer questions  and I was given short shrift with cut-and-paste responses that seemed generated from a computer.

For example, Aga offered a less than helpful: Many of our customers can find the answers they are looking for in the frequently asked questions section of our website.

Lasting image: The odds of a new TV breaking down in five years are just one in 20

The company even had the gall to try to sell me an annual Aga Care inspection for a further 72 a year as this might help spot future faults  though I would have to wait until the cooker was two years old to qualify for this extra expense.

There was no sign of an apology or recognition that I might expect a warranty to actually cover the full cost of a repair  perish the thought. The knob is still loose and will remain so until the day it falls off.

But I will go to the Retail Ombudsman in a quest for justice.

AGA stated: The knob coming loose on an Aga is not a known fault and we are unable to offer an explanation why this should happen. Your Aga was installed in 2014 and has performed well.

Based on this information we are unable to arrange for an appointment outside of the warranty terms. Issues reported after the first 12 months are chargeable.

Citizens Advice points out that I am not alone in discovering such warranties often fail to meet the standards that customers would expect  and it warns that shoppers must read the small print of any sales contract rather than falling for empty boasts.

Seeking justice: Toby Walne will go to the Retail Ombudsman in a quest for justice

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 introduced last October offers protection that can prove more useful than a warranty promise full of holes. It replaces the Sale of Goods Act 1979 that is still enforceable for goods bought before this date.

Kate Hobson, consumer expert at Citizens Advice, says: The Consumer Rights Act already protects consumers if a purchase turns out to be faulty  this is in addition to any retailer guarantees.

Under the acts, if an item is not of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose or does not match a sellers description you have a right to free repair or replacement.

But items damaged due to wear and tear  or if you change your mind about the purchase  are not automatically covered.

In theory, manufacturers are liable to repair or replace items up to six years after purchase  though in practice successful claims made so long afterwards are few as the onus is on the customer to prove the item had a fault when bought.

Hobson suggests those who feel they have a case should contact Citizens Advice for free guidance. If you want to claim on a warranty then it is important to have all the right paperwork. This often includes filling in a registration card at time of purchase and returning it to the manufacturer. If you do not do this, the guarantee may not be valid but you still have consumer rights.

In addition, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 should give credit card users protection if goods are faulty or not as described (although this protection is potentially at risk under a review being conducted by City regulator the Financial Conduct Authority).

In such cases you should be able to claim a refund from the card provider if the retailer will not fulfil its duties for purchases of between 100 and 30,000.

Even though warranties are sometimes not as good as they might appear, it has not stopped more than 15 million people taking out extended warranties in the past five years on top of any manufacturers guarantee.

But such peace-of-mind protection has in some cases been branded as nothing short of a rip-off by consumer body Which?

A Which? spokesman says: Extended warranties can be poor value for money as you may already be covered by consumer law or a manufacturers guarantee. Some people like the reassurance warranties provide but it is vital that firms selling them give clear upfront information.

Odds: There is a less than one in ten chance a major electrical appliance such as a washing machine will break down in the first five years

Which? has found that reliability is becoming less of an issue as technology improves  making warranties increasingly poor value for money as they are rarely used. There is a less than one in ten chance a major electrical appliance such as a washing machine will break down in the first five years  and with televisions the odds are one in 20.

In many cases you would be better off putting aside money for repairs rather than spending it on warranties. For example, a five-year warranty for a 300 Hotpoint washing machine bought from Currys might end up costing more than 200 but a repair may cost less than 150.

The website Compare Extended Warranties gives details of warranty providers you can choose  rather than simply buying one pushed by a shop.

Issuers include Domestic & General, Argos, Tesco and Currys. Home insurance also often covers electrical breakages, damage or theft but not manufacturing faults or wear and tear.
A Georgia judge has refused to grant a transgender man's legal name change, rejecting the man's chosen middle name of Elijah.

The name change petition is for the transgender man's name to be changed from Rebecca Elizabeth Feldhaus to Rowan Elijah Feldhaus.

Columbia County Superior Court Judge J. David Roper appeared to reference the biblical prophet at a February hearing on Feldhaus' petition.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted a hearing transcript as saying: 'I don't know anybody named Elijah who's female. I'm not going to do that. I've never heard of that.

'And I know who Elijah was, one of the greatest men that ever lived.'

Elijah was a prophet of the Old Testament who lived in Israel in the ninth century B.C.

Columbia County Superior Court Judge J. David Roper in March rejected a name change petition from the transgender man seeking to legally change his name from Rebeccah Elizabeth Feldhaus to Rowan Elijah Feldhaus

In March, Roper rejected Feldhaus' name change petition.

'The question presented is whether a female has the salutatory right to change her name to a traditionally and obviously male name,' the judge wrote. 'The court concludes that she does not have such right.'

Roper said he does not approve of changing a name for someone who is anatomically one sex to a name that is obviously used for the opposite sex. He said it can be misleading for the public and can be dangerous if people don't know whether they're dealing with a man or a woman, according to a transcript of the February hearing on Feldhaus' petition.

But Roper said he recognized that Feldhaus is not going to stop presenting himself as male and that this could present problems for people who have to interact with him. For that reason, in spite of his own disapproval, he would allow a change to a gender-neutral name, he said.

'I will allow a gender-neutral name change that will benefit the general public because I don't want them to have to go through the embarrassing issue of trying to figure out what to do with you when you present, in your appearance today, with a female name, particularly if you had on a uniform and you were dressed like a man,' Roper said, according to the transcript.

For that reason, Roper said he would approve a change to Rowan because it is sufficiently gender neutral, but he rejected Feldhaus' chosen middle name, Elijah.

Feldhaus, 24, is a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve and works in guest services at an Augusta-area hotel.

He has been diagnosed with and is being treated for gender dysphoria, which is characterized by stress stemming from conflict between one's gender identity and assigned sex at birth, the appeal says. He is receiving hormone treatments, lives as a man, and his friends, family and co-workers call him Rowan.

Feldhaus, 24, is a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve and works in guest services at an Augusta-area hotel

He never felt comfortable with his given name, mostly because he didn't feel like he was in the body he was supposed to be in, Feldhaus said.

About a year and a half ago, one of his best friends, who was a bit tipsy at the time, said that if Feldhaus was a guy, he could see him as a Rowan. It was right at the moment when Feldhaus was coming out to friends and family and struggling to find a name that felt comfortable and that name just clicked, Feldhaus said.

'It was a very grounding moment,' he said.

He chose Elijah as a middle name because it sounds similar to his given middle name.

The judge's decision made him feel 'insulted and objectified,' he said.

Several Twitter users have spoken out against the judge, calling the decision 'wrong' and 'abhorrent.'

One Twitter user wrote: 'Sup Ct Judge J. David Roper proves once again that any idiot can get a law degree'

Another person, referencing the Brock Turner case, said: 'With this Judge & Stanford rape case onegotta wonder how and why some folks get to be judges. #SaveUsFromBadJudges'

This Twitter spoke out online, calling it 'abhorrent'

Another person said 'This Judge is WRONG.' LGBT-rights group Lambda Legal on Thursday submitted a filing to the Georgia Court of Appeals challenging the denial

The Georgia law governing name changes does not deal with transgender name changes and there is no appellate court decision on the issue, Roper wrote in his order denying the change.

But he noted that the law does not allow a name change 'with a view to deprive another fraudulently of any right under the law.'

'Name changes which allow a person to assume the role of a person of the opposite sex are, in effect, a type of fraud on the general public,' Roper wrote. 'Such name changes also offend the sensibilities and mores of a substantial portion of the citizens of this state.'

LGBT-rights group Lambda Legal on Thursday submitted a filing to the Georgia Court of Appeals challenging the denial.

Feldhaus' attorneys argue that Roper abused his discretion when he denied the name change petition because the denial was arbitrary and based on insufficient and improper reasons rather than being based on evidence of fraud or improper motive.

The legal discretion accorded to judges is not an invitation to rule based on private opinions, the appeal says. The lawyers say the judge's denial constitutes sex discrimination and a violation of the petitioner's constitutional rights.
A man accused in a shooting at an Ohio apartment complex that left a sheriff's deputy and the suspect's father wounded is facing preliminary charges that include attempted murder, authorities said Friday.

Mohammed Abdou Laghaoui, 19, was taken custody at about 4.30am after he returned to the complex in Deerfield Township, where the shooting took place, said Warren County Sheriff Larry Sims. The town is about 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati.

Laghaoui initially fled the scene, leading to a seven-hour manhunt with helicopters and K-9 units.

Sims identified the injured officer as Deputy Katie Barnes, who had been on the job for seven-and-half years starting as a corrections officer.

Deputy Katie Barnes is pictured above. She was wounded in a shooting at an apartment complex that left her and the suspect's father injured. Mohammed Abdou Laghaoui is facing preliminary charges that include attempted murder, authorities in southwest Ohio said Friday

Mohammed Abdou Laghaoui, 19, was taken custody at about 4.30am after he returned to the complex in Deerfield Township. He is pictured above in mugshots

Barnes was responding to a domestic situation at an apartment complex Thursday night when she was shot in the lower abdomen, Sims said at a news conference. She was treated and released from a hospital Friday morning.

Barnes is expected to recover, Sims said. The suspect's father was shot in the hand. Sims did not know the latest on the man's condition, but thought he may need surgery.

Sims said Laghaoui fired an assault rifle that has yet to be recovered.

He's being held at the Warren County Jail on preliminary charges of attempted murder, attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault. A court appearance is planned for Monday.

Police and Deerfield Township Fire & Rescue crew investigate the scene of the shooting on Thursday

A shelter-in-place order was lifted in Deerfield Township, shortly after 5am.

Sims described Laghaoui's arrested at the apartment complex as uneventful. 'There were no issues with him whatsoever,' he said.

Sims said investigators found six spent rounds from an AK-47 near where Barnes was shot. He said she returned fire four times with her revolver.

'We are confident she did everything appropriate,' he told reporters at the news conference in Lebanon.

Brian Freedman, a resident of the apartment complex, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he arrived home to find the area cordoned off.

'I don't know if I've ever seen so many police officers in one place,' Freedman said.
But the child is only 1/64th Choctaw, and some say law is being misapplied

Lexi was removed under law designed to keep Native

Rusty and Summer Page say they miss tucking their foster child into bed and giving her kisses months after the part-Native American girl was wrenched from their care.

On Friday, the couple continued their legal battle to return 6-year-old Lexi to California.

Lexi, who is 1/64th Choctaw, was taken from her foster home north of Los Angeles earlier this year and placed with distant relatives in Utah under a decades-old federal law designed to keep Native American families together.

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In this March 21, 2016 file photo, Rusty Page carries, Lexi, while Summer Page, in the background, cries as members of family services, left, arrive to take Lexi away from her foster family in Santa Clarita, California

On Friday, Rusty and Summer Page, former foster parents of Lexi, a 6-year-old girl with Native American heritage continued their legal battle to return 6-year-old Lexi to California

Lori Alvino McGill, right, lawyer for Rusty and Summer Page, left, former foster parents of Lexi, speaks to reporters following arguments before the California State Court of Appeal in downtown Los Angeles Friday

An attorney for the Pages asked a state appeals court to reverse a lower court ruling that ordered the family to surrender the girl.

The lower court made 'fundamental legal errors' and failed to take into account the girl's bond with her foster parents and siblings, said attorney Lori Alvino McGill.

A representative for Lexi didn't deny the close relationship, but argued it was the right decision to reconnect Lexi with her tribal roots.

'She's doing well. She's adjusting,' attorney Christopher Blake told a three-judge panel, which has up to 60 days to decide.

The appellate court also heard from a lawyer for Lexi's biological father, who asked the judges to take his point of view into consideration. Two of the judges balked.

'His conduct is reprehensible,' said presiding Justice Paul Turner, adding that Lexi's father made 'bad choices' by not caring for her.

The mother of the Utah family that Lexi is living with declined to comment Friday, saying she's bound by court orders not to discuss the case. The Associated Press isn't naming the woman to protect the girl's identity.

Handed over: Lexi clutched a teddy bear as she was forced to enter a black government car with social workers on Monday

The case is one of dozens brought by foster families since the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s. Lawmakers found that Native American families were broken up at disproportionately high rates, and that cultural ignorance and biases within the child welfare system were largely to blame.

Lexi was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her mother, who had drug-abuse problems. Her father has a criminal history, according to court records.

Although foster care is supposed to be temporary, the Pages want to adopt Lexi and for years have fought efforts under the federal act to place the girl with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw.

The Pages have said the law is outdated and misapplied. Lower courts found the Pages had not proven Lexi would suffer emotional harm by the transfer and, in March, the California Supreme Court refused to intervene.

The Choctaw Nation has said the girl had long-time contact with her Utah relatives, who spoke to her online and frequently drove out to see her.

While some other tribes use a blood quantum to determine eligibility, the Choctaw Nation is among a handful of tribes that determines eligibility for membership by tracing a person's lineage to a member of an original roll of tribal members.

Real father: Jay Ellerforbes can be named as the biological father of Lexi, the girl taken from her foster parents after a court order. He has lost custody of both the children he is seen with

INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT - POLICIES AND REGULATIONS ICWA gives tribal governments a strong voice concerning child custody proceedings that involve Indian children, by allocating tribes exclusive jurisdiction over the case when a child is a ward of the tribe. The tribe also has jurisdiction over non-reservation Native Americans foster care placement proceedings It was enacted in 1978 because of the high removal rate of Indian children from their traditional homes and therefore from Indian culture as a whole. Before enactment, as many as 25 to 35 percent of all Indian children were being removed from their Indian homes and placed in non-Indian homes. The tribe and parents or Indian custodian of the Indian child have an unqualified right to intervene in a case involving foster care placement or the termination of parental rights. Source: Cornell University Law School Advertisement

Lexi is now living in Utah with relatives of her father who are not Native Americans.

Dozens of supporters turned out for the latest court hearing, waving banners that read: 'Let Lexi Speak' and 'Bring Lexi Home.'

The Pages said they have not heard from Lexi in nearly three months in what they described as '81 days of both torment and hope.'
lawyer claimed that she shot herself while taking a selfie

Kenyan police on Friday charged a British man with murder after a woman was shot in his house.

Richard David Alden, former chief executive of Wananchi Group, an internet and multimedia service provider in Kenya, denies the charges.

Justice Stella Mutuku ordered that the 53 year old be held until Thursday, when his bail application will be heard.

Richard David Alden's (left) previous lawyer told British newspapers that Grace Wangeci (right), 42, died after she shot herself Saturday while taking a selfie with Alden's gun

His previous lawyer, Evans Monari, told British newspapers that Grace Wangeci, 42, died after she shot herself Saturday while taking a selfie with Alden's gun.

Alden's current lawyer, Cliff Ombeta, says Alden was in a different room when Wangeci shot herself and that there is no proof she was taking a selfie.

'Our defense is that while this incident took place, Mr. Alden was in a different room where the gun and the safe were. The deceased is the only one who knows what happened,' Ombeta said.

In his argument for bail, the father of three said he took Wangeci to a hospital after the shooting and called the police.
A New York state trooper says a woman accused of fatally sabotaging her fiance's kayak on the Hudson River told an investigator, 'I'm free' after confessing to the crime.

The testimony came during a court hearing Thursday on whether statements 36-year-old Angelika Graswald, of Poughkeepsie, made to police can be used during her upcoming trial on murder and manslaughter charges.

Police say she admitted removing a drain plug from Vincent Viafore's kayak in April 2015 and pushing a floating paddle away from him after his kayak capsized in the cold and choppy Hudson River.

Viafore drowned. Graswald has pleaded not guilty.

Angelika Graswald, 36, (above) stands in court with her lawyers - she is charged in the murder of her fiance

Angelika Graswald, who has been married twice, was engaged to Vincent Viafore, 46, when he drowned in the Hudson after what was supposed to be a romantic trip to Bannerman Island

Graswald is accused of intentionally pulling the plug on her fiance while he was in a kayak in the Hudson River, he drowned

Graswald said she was unable to save Viafore, 46, when he capsized during a trip to scenic Bannerman Island on April 19 last year without a life jacket. She was rescued from the water by another boater and treated for hypothermia.

Investigator Anthony DaSilva said Graswald made the statement ten days later as they were on a boat during the search for Viafore's body.

Graswald told investigators she and Viafore had problems and he had postponed their engagement.

While according to the prosecutor, Graswald said that she 'felt good' that Viafore had drowned, she denied that and said she loved him

Graswald has denied murder and manslaughter charges and her lawyer has argued that Viafore died accidentally after having had a few beers and falling into the cold water.

The drowning death was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner who wrote in an autopsy report obtained by The New York Times that Viafore's death was the result of a 'kayak drain plug intentionally removed by other.'

Defense attorney Richard Portale told the newspaper the medical examiner's ruling was ill-informed and lacked medical evidence.

At Graswald's arraignment in May last year, Orange County Assistant District Attorney Julie Mohl said: She felt trapped, and it was her only way out.

Mohl added that Graswald had admitted tampering with Viafores kayak and later confessed that it felt good knowing he would die.

In happier times: While Graswald is accused of intentionally capsizing her fiance's kayak, resulting in his drowning, she said she's a good person who loved him - investigators say she told them that Viafore had postponed their wedding

She also did not call 911 for 20 minutes after Viafores kayak overturned and witnesses said she intentionally capsized her own craft, Mohl added.

Graswald has worked at a string of restaurants and other businesses and has been married twice.
A decorated Army Reserve officer at Fort Bragg left bacon at a mosque and brandished a handgun while threatening to kill Muslims and bury them there, North Carolina authorities said Friday.

Maj. Russell Thomas Langford, 36, made death threats against members of the Masjid Al Madina mosque in Raeford about 20 miles southwest of Fayetteville, authorities said.

'He told people at the mosque that he would kill them and bury them behind the mosque,' said Capt. John Kivett of the Sheriff's Office. 'He brandished a weapon while he was on the property.'

Russell Thomas Langford has been charged with ethnic intimidation and assault with a deadly weapon, among other counts after he allegedly issued a series of threats to mosque members

Langford, who lives in Fayetteville, was charged with ethnic intimidation, assault with a deadly weapon, going armed to the terror of the public, communicating threats, stalking and disorderly conduct, the sheriff's office said.

'It was absolutely frightening because you were in your worship place people eating and praying and someone pulls a gun out,' Farhae Chouehry, a worshiper at the mosque, told WNCN.

It began Thursday afternoon when the man insulted a mosque member doing construction work nearby and then left the packages of bacon at the mosque entrance, according to authorities and witnesses.

Advocacy groups say pork is often used to insult Muslims, whose religion doesn't allow them to eat it. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said the act constituted a desecration of the place of worship.

Witnesses say the suspect left and returned to the Masjid Al Madina mosque several times in his Chevrolet Tahoe, prompting tense moments inside while children sheltered in the back of the building. Authorities said there were no injuries.

At one point, the suspect followed one member home, resulting in the stalking charge, according to a Hoke County Sheriff's Office news release. The person tried to evade him but couldn't. He also allegedly tried to run down a mosque member with his SUV. It's unclear if the same member was involved.

A mug shot of Langford shows him with close-cropped hair, a tattoo resembling the U.S. flag on his right forearm and a green shirt emblazoned with a military-style rifle emblem.

Capt. Eric Connor with the U.S. Army Reserves Command at Fort Bragg said Langford first enlisted in the Army in 2003 and served two tours of Iraq, one in 2004 and another in 2008, according to WNCN.

He is a highly decorated vet who has been awarded a Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, as well as other theater service medals. He went off active duty in November 2008 and went into the Army Reserve.

Langford has been working in the Army Reserves G 3-3 Mobilization Section at Fort Bragg and had no prior issues in his Army record.

Members of the Masjid Al Madina mosque in Raeford, N.C., attend a service on Friday, the day after Army Reserve officer Langford was arrested for threatening them

Authorities found several handguns and other weapons, plus about 500 rounds of ammunition in Langford's vehicle, Kivett said. He said Langford didn't make specific threats about a mass shooting other than to say he wanted to kill mosque members.

Langford made his initial court appearance Friday, posted a $60,000 secured bond and was released, Kivett said.

Since posting bond, Langford has been placed under the control of his commander on base at Fort Bragg, said Army Reserve spokesman Capt. Eric Connor. He said what Langford is charged with doing is 'totally contradictory to Army values.'

Langford, who works full-time as a major in the Army Reserve, served two tours in Iraq while on active Army duty and earned the Bronze Star for 'outstanding dedication to duty during combat' while with a military police battalion, Connor said. He received other decorations including the Army Good Conduct Medal.

About three miles from the mosque, several people at a house listed by authorities as Langford's address declined to comment Friday afternoon. Phone listings for him rang unanswered.

The threats came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked authorities to investigate the case as a possible hate crime and increase patrols around the area, especially during nighttime Ramadan activities.

Ahead of midday prayers Friday, a patrol car was parked outside the mosque just off a state highway between Fayetteville and Raeford.

'We've never had a problem with anyone,' said Kamal Allan of Raeford. The mosque has been there for about three decades.

The general contractor and mosque member said he was leading a crew tearing down a nearby outbuilding when the suspect drove up in the late afternoon. Allan said Langford began insulting him and using expletives while asking white crew members, 'Do you know who you're working for?'

'I said: 'Don't talk to him. Don't talk to him. Just leave him alone and let the police handle it,' Allan said.

Retired Army officer Mohammed Khan, who served three decades in the military, said he was delivering tables to the mosque when Langford drove up. He said he spoke calmly to Langford, who was spewing hate and eventually flashed a gun at him.

'I was kind of dismayed, shocked and in disbelief. In all of my 32 years of military service I never encountered this kind of redneck,' said Khan, who still serves as a volunteer Muslim chaplain at Fort Bragg. 'He told me to go back to my country. I said, 'Which country do you want me to go to? Give me the ticket and I will fly.' He said, 'No I will not give you a ticket. I will kill you and bury your body right there.''

Khan said Langford followed another member of the mosque to that person's home.

Witness Abdu Alsaidi, another mosque member, said police were called in the late afternoon, but they didn't arrest Langford until sometime after 8 p.m.

At one point while Langford was parked out front, Alsaidi said members made children move to the back of the building for fear of an attack.
A fledgling campaign to recall the judge who sentenced a former Stanford University swimmer to six months in jail for sexually assaulting a woman gained momentum Friday.

Three prominent political consultants joined the effort to recall Judge Aaron Persky.

The campaign said media consultant Joe Trippi, campaign strategist John Shallman and pollster Paul Maslin would help secure the signatures and votes required to remove the Santa Clara County jurist from the bench next year.

Trippi has worked for a number of Democratic presidential candidates, while Maslin's clients include Gov. Jerry Brown and members of Congress.

Shallman has worked for the president of the California Senate, who spearheaded passage of a law requiring colleges and universities to apply a 'yes means yes' standard in sexual misconduct cases.

Controversy: Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky drew criticism for sentencing former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner to only six months in jail for sexually assaulting a woman

Activists from UltraViolet, a national women's advocacy organization, attempt to deliver over one million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal Persky from the bench

Persky was re-elected in an unopposed election Tuesday, five days after sentencing Brock Turner, 20, to six months in jail and three years' probation.

The punishment for the Dayton, Ohio, native ignited intense outcry as too lenient.

Prosecutors had argued for Turner to spend six years in prison for three felony convictions that could have sent him away for 14 years.

The judge said in court last week that he followed a recommendation from the county's probation department and cited Turner's clean criminal record and the effect the conviction will have on his life.

'I have daughters in college myself, and I find it deeply disturbing that a judge like Persky could let a campus predator like Turner off with barely a slap on the wrist,' Shallman said.

'Justice is supposed to be blind not stupid.'

A request to interview the judge wasn't returned Friday.

A court spokesman has said Persky is barred from commenting because Turner is appealing his convictions of felony assault and attempted rape.

Judge Persky sparked outrage when he sentenced former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner (pictured in a 2015 mugshot) to only six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman

Stanford law professor Michele Dauber speaks at a rally before activists delivered over one million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Persky from the bench Friday

Meanwhile, a group of California lawmakers joined women's rights advocates in urging the California agency that investigates complaints of judicial misconduct to take action against Persky.

Eleven Democratic state lawmakers asked the Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate and discipline the judge, alleging he may have engaged in misconduct in sentencing Turner.

The judge's decision 'confirms what women already knew: That rape culture blames us for being vulnerable when crimes are committed against us, but treats the same factors  drinking, in particular  as reasons to be exceedingly lenient with rapists,' Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton said.

The lawmakers also want District Attorney Jeff Rosen to ask an appeals court to overturn the sentence.

But prosecutors have said they don't think Persky's decision can be appealed because it was 'authorized by law and was made by applying the correct standards.'

Rosen also has said the judge should not lose his job because of the ruling.

Women's group UltraViolet submitted more than 800,000 signatures to the commission's San Francisco offices Friday in a symbolic effort for Persky's removal.

The group also has filed a formal misconduct complaint.

Sexual assault survivor Chris Huqueriza speaks at a rally before over one million signatures were delivered to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Persky from the bench Friday

The commission meets every six to eight weeks and usually decides whether to open an investigation within 60 days of receiving a complaint, agency attorney Victoria Henley said.

To trigger a recall election, campaign organizers need to collect signatures from 58,634 registered Santa Clara County voters. A majority vote would be required to remove the judge.

'His statements during the sentencing show that he does not understand sexual violence. He does not understand violence against women,' said Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, who launched the recall campaign.

'And so we are going to recall him, and we're going to replace him with someone who does.'

Lawyers who have appeared in Persky's court have called him a fair and respected judge. He has no record of judicial discipline and previously worked as a prosecutor responsible for keeping sexual predators locked up.

Several prospective jurors who opposed Persky's decision refused to serve on a jury this week in an unrelated case he's handling. They were dismissed after reporting their complaints.

Online records show Turner is expected to be released from jail after three months. County jail inmates serve 50 percent of their sentences if they keep a clean disciplinary record.

Turner is being segregated from the general jail population, which is standard for high-profile inmates who could be targets.
A 3-month-old German Shepherd puppy named Maya has been recovered, after she was snatched at gunpoint from her owner, a 14-year-old teenager in the San Francisco Bay Area.

She had been stolen on Monday night at 8:30pm on Dayton Avenue in the Washington Manor area of San Leandro, according to the San Leandro Police Department.

Police said in a Thursday news release: 'The boy said that while walking "Maya," two Hispanic men in their early 20s parked their car near him.

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A 3-month-old German Shepherd puppy named Maya has been recovered, after she was snatched at gunpoint from a 14-year-old San Francisco Bay Area teenager.

Dayton Avenue in San Leandro, California, is pictured in this file image

'The passenger got out and tried to snatch "Maya" away from the boy, while claiming to be armed with a pistol.

'The boy would not let go of his dog, so the driver got out and threatened the boy by pointing a pistol at him, demanding the dog.'

Maya's owner released the dog, with the thieves driving away with her in a 'light-colored vehicle,' San Leandro police said.

Neighbor Ivan Miramontes told KGO: 'That's crazy, I can't believe someone would do that, just rob a dog.'

San Leandro police tweeted on Friday: 'Thanks to an alert citizen, #Maya is home safely with her family'

Police spokesman Lt. Robert McManus told the San Francisco Chronicle that: 'Nothing was taken, just the dog.'

San Leandro police tweeted on Friday: 'Thanks to an alert citizen, #Maya is home safely with her family. More details tomorrow.'

Rebecca Head is the head of Oakland Animal Services told the Chronicle: 'People dog-nap all kinds of dogs, sometimes for breeding, sometimes for fighting.'
The 16-year-old boy was airlifted to Westmead Hospital, Sydney

Police suggest car was speeding when it swerved to avoid hitting wombat

The pair were travelling in a Ford Fiesta when the vehicle rolled at 12am

A car is believed to have been speeding when it swerved to avoid hitting a wombat and crashed, killing a 14-year-old boy and leaving another teenager in a critical condition.

Emergency services were called to Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve, near Mudgee, 300km northwest of Sydney, at 12am on Saturday where a Ford Fiesta had crashed and rolled onto its roof.

Police suggest the car was speeding when it swerved to avoid hitting a wombat on the road at midnight on Saturday, according to the ABC.

A dead wombat was reportedly found at the crash site where debris was scattered up to 100 metres from the car.

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Emergency services were called to Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve, near Mudgee, 300km northwest of Sydney, at 12am on Saturday where a Ford Fiesta had crashed and rolled onto its roof

Police suggest the car was speeding when it swerved to avoid hitting a wombat on the road at midnight on Saturday. Concerned residents were seen speaking with police on Saturday morning

The driver of the car, a 16-year-old boy, who was unlicensed, was treated by paramedics before being taken to Mudgee Airport where he was air lifted to Westmead Hospital in Sydney with life-threatening injuries

Emergency services are pictured on scene after 12am on the isolated stretch of road, 35km from Mudgee

The driver of the car, a 16-year-old boy, who was unlicensed, was treated by paramedics before being taken to Mudgee Airport where he was air lifted to Westmead Hospital in Sydney with life-threatening head injuries.

He reportedly crawled from the wreckage before collapsing at the rear of the car where he was found by a passerby.

A hospital spokesperson said the boy remained in a critical condition at 8.30am on Saturday.

The passenger, a 14-year-old boy, died at the scene.

'The car was on its roof, all you could see were wheels bent everywhere and metal,' TNV freelance cameraman Steve McNamara told Sydney Morning Herald, after arriving at the scene at 3.30am. 'The car was pretty well flattened.'

A crime scene has been established at Wollar Road, a two lane road in a heavily forested reserve.

A crime scene has been established at Wollar Road, a two lane road in a heavily forested reserve. The Crash Investigation Unit will examine the circumstances surrounding the crash

Katie Woodfield was one of several people who took to Facebook to post tributes for the two boys

Friends of the boys posted their tributes to Facebook on Saturday morning

Sareena Weir posted: 'R.I.P. will be sadly missed', while Annie Skinner wrote 'Rip mate'

The Crash Investigation Unit will examine the circumstances surrounding the crash. A report will be prepared for the Coroner.

Friends of the boys posted their tributes to Facebook on Saturday morning.

'So young and such a waste of life. Fly high kiddo, my heart goes out to your family,' wrote Katie Woodfield.
72-year-old Richard Zachary Taylor, pictured, was eaten by a 9-foot alligator near a Florida lake

The man who was eaten by a 9-foot alligator near a Florida lake has been identified by authorities.

Richard Zachary Taylor, 72, was identified through fingerprints, Lakeland police spokesman Gary Gross told local media Friday.

Police recovered Taylor's body Tuesday afternoon after a report of an alligator with a body in its mouth near Lake Hunter.

A trapper responded a short time later and eventually caught the gator.

Joe Diaz dialed 911, telling WFLA: 'I noticed something bobbing in the water just over here.

'At first I thought it was a tire or something just from the looks of it.

'I noticed there was a gator on it because he kind of took it up and rolled it.'

He told the TV station: 'You can tell [the body] had been there awhile because they had smelled something that was not right.'

Gross said detectives still don't know if Taylor drowned or was killed by the reptile. They're waiting for additional test results from the Medical Examiner's Office.

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Taylor's body was decomposed, indicating he had been in the water a couple of days or longer. Remains found inside the alligator during a necropsy were a match to Taylor.

Lakeland police wrote on Facebook Friday that the man did not have a permanent address.

Authorities wrote: 'Taylor has been in the Lakeland area for approximately 10 years and is from South Carolina. The next-of-kin has been notified.'

Police recovered Taylor's body Tuesday afternoon after a report of an alligator with a body in its mouth near Lake Hunter

A trapper responded a short time later and eventually caught the gator

Gross said detectives still don't know if Taylor drowned or was killed by the reptile. They're waiting for additional test results from the Medical Examiner's Office

Lakeland police said in the Facebook post: 'The manner and cause of death is still undetermined and detectives are waiting on additional test results and the toxicology report form the Medical Examiners Office.

'Detectives are also working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on the investigation. No other details are being released at this time.'

In a Friday tweet, Lakeland police said that Taylor was homeless.

Gross earlier told WFLA: 'The officers got here and the alligator still had the person. He let the individual go, he is deceased, looks like this person may have been dead more than a day.

'We don't want to speculate but I will tell when the officer got here the alligator did a roll and had the person in contact with him.

'The officers immediately got their firearms out in case the gator comes up. Once he left they didn't want him coming back and pull the body back out, that did not happen.'

In a Friday tweet, Lakeland police said that Taylor was homeless
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A billionaire businessman has called in a helicopter to clean up the mess after last week's super storm devastated Australia's east coast.

Trucking tycoon Lindsay Fox hired a chopper to remove a tree which uprooted and crashed into his neighbour's property in Sydney's exclusive Elizabeth Bay.

His 25-room historic Boomerang property is on the market and expected to fetch up to $60million - making it one of the country's most expensive homes.

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Trucking tycoon Lindsay Fox hired a chopper to remove a tree which uprooted and crashed into his neighbour's property in Sydney's exclusive Elizabeth Bay

His 25-room historic Boomerang property is on the market and expected to fetch up to $60million - making it one of the country's most expensive homes

A spokesman for the Melbourne-based logistics magnate confirmed the Civil Aviation Authority of Australia approved the chopper clean-up because of the tree's location, according to The Daily Telegraph

'Given the weight of the tree and location it was decided to use a helicopter,' a spokesman told the paper

A spokesman for the Melbourne-based logistics magnate confirmed the Civil Aviation Authority of Australia approved the chopper clean-up because of the tree's location, according to The Daily Telegraph.

'We wanted to minimise the impact on some of the historic areas and fences within the Boomerang and neighbouring properties,' he told the paper.

'Given the weight of the tree and location it was decided to use a helicopter.'

Bystanders watch as the helicopter heads to Mr Fox's property to remove the fallen tree. Australia's east coast is still recovering from devastating storms which hit last weekend

Oceanfront buildings were washed into the sea with many coastal properties on Sydney's northern beaches losing five metres or more of their front yards because of rising sea levels and erosion

Australia's east coast is still recovering from devastating storms which hit last weekend.

Oceanfront buildings were washed into the sea with many coastal properties on Sydney's northern beaches losing five metres or more of their front yards because of rising sea levels and erosion.

More than 5000 calls for assistance were made to the NSW State Emergency Services last Sunday and 30,000 homes in the Sydney and on the Central Coast were left without power.

Over a thousand people were evacuated in NSW after a seven-metre high king tide flooded the state.

Massive waves are expected to continue to smash the state's coast and beaches remain closed.

A large piece of the three hovers over a boat in Elizabeth Bay. More than 5000 calls for assistance were made to the NSW State Emergency Services last Sunday and 30,000 homes in the Sydney and on the Central Coast were left without power

The helicopter removed the fallen tree piece-by-piece after last week's devastating storms battered Australia's east coast

Another piece of the tree is removed. Massive waves are expected to continue to smash the state's coast and beaches remain closed after last week's storms
Tata Steel is reportedly delaying the bidding process for its UK business, fuelling speculations it could decide to keep its steelworks after all.

The Indian company announced in March its intention to withdraw from the UK, putting 11,000 jobs at risk, including thousands of staff at its plant in Port Talbot.

Seven potential bidders came forward with offers to rescue the business, and Tata had been expected to reveal a shortlist of three by yesterday, ahead of a final decision on June 24, but no announcement was made.

Tata Steel is reportedly delaying the bidding process for its UK business, fuelling speculations it could decide to keep its steelworks after all. Pictured: Tata Steel works in Port Talbot

It has now emerged that a decision could be put off for another two months, according to a source close to the process.

Circumstances have changed, which means we have to re-evaluate the decision to divest  though that decision could still go either way, the source told the Financial Times newspaper.

It comes after the Mail revealed last month that Tata might have a change of heart, after a raft of Government incentives made the prospect of staying in Britain more palatable.

The Government has offered hundreds of millions of pounds in support, including the option of taking a 25pc stake in the firm alongside other buyers.

It could loan as much as 900m to save Tata, and has started a consultation on possibility of changing pensions laws to reduce the 495m black hole in the British Steel retirement plan.

Tatas 48-year-old UK boss Bimlendra Jha has blamed Tatas potential withdrawal on high energy costs and business rates in Britain.

The Indian company announced in March its intention to withdraw from the UK, putting 11,000 jobs at risk, including thousands of staff at its plant in Port Talbot. Pictured: A march to save British steel

And a glut of Chinese production has caused the steel industry as a whole to struggle with one in six jobs in the steel jobs having been axed since last summer.

It is thought the Government could consider further moves such as a reduction in energy costs and restrictions on low-priced imports to tackle these stumbling blocks.

Tata last night denied it was cancelling the sale altogether.
Amazons new food delivery service is up to 50 per cent cheaper on shopping basket essentials than mainstream supermarkets.

The launch of AmazonFresh could see food price wars intensify  provided shoppers can stomach the subscription and delivery fees.

As well as fresh food, big brands and specialist products, the web giant will sell thousands of Morrisons own-label products. Surprisingly the company is offering some foodstuff for less than Morrisons itself.

Amazons new food delivery service is up to 50 per cent cheaper on shopping basket essentials than mainstream supermarkets

Launched in central and east London this earlier week, AmazonFresh will roll out across major cities in the months ahead, with 130,000 products on offer.

Yesterday a snapshot survey of 21 big selling products found considerable savings compared to Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons  which have already been forced to drop their prices due to the rise of discount stores Aldi and Lidl. Asda appeared to have already cut some prices after the Amazon service went live.

Amazon was selling 750g packs of Kelloggs Crunchy Nut Cornflakes at 1.57  half the 3.14 offered by the big four.

Its 350g packs of Cathedral City Mature Cheddar were on sale for 2 compared to 3.50 at most rivals, and a two-litre carton of Yeo Valley Organic Whole Milk was at 1.50, while others charged 1.90.

The overall basket came in at 51.32  a saving of 5.47, or around 10 per cent, compared to the 56.79 charged by Tesco. An Asda basket cost 56.73, followed by Sainsburys at 56.65 and Morrisons at 55.49.

But it is likely the supermarkets will cry foul  pointing out the US web giant is not paying the business taxes and rates they have to stump up.

Despite its partnership with Morrisons, Amazon was selling a pack of Morrisons Butchers Style Thick Lincolnshire Sausages at 1.79  3p less than the supermarket. And at 1.29, a six-pint carton of Morrisons Whole British Milk at 1.29 was a penny cheaper than on the supermarkets website.

Amazon is under pressure to cap its headline prices as customers have to pay hefty fees to use the service. They must pay 79 a year to be a member of Amazon Prime and another 6.99 a month for AmazonFresh, which gets them an unlimited number of free deliveries for orders above 40. Orders below this have a 4 delivery fee.

Shoppers who place an order before 1pm will get same day delivery after 5pm, with one-hour delivery slots offered every day between 711 am.

Luke Tugby, of the industry news service Retail Week, said: Amazon has lobbed the biggest of grenades into an already fierce grocery price war, the aftershock of which will be felt across the industry. He added that the service will turn the head of many a shopper.

Last night Morrisons said it is not allowed to tell Amazon how much to charge for its own-label products under competition rules governing price fixing. Sources said while Amazon might be cheaper on some Morrisons products, it was more expensive on others. A spokesman said: As you would expect, it is up to Amazon to decide their own prices.
Mitt Romney launched a scathing attack on Donald Trump by suggesting the Republican presidential candidate would encourage racism, bigotry and misogyny.

In a candid CNN interview during Romney's annual ideas summit near Park City, Utah, the 2012 presidential candidate said he would consider voting for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson instead.

Romney has maintained his position as one of the most outspoken Republican Trump critics despite House Speaker Paul Ryan attempts to unify the party with his endorsement.

Mitt Romney launched a scathing attack on Donald Trump, calling out the Republican presidential candidate's racism, misogyny and bigotry

Romney suggested Trump's presidency would have a negative effect on the country when he said on Friday: 'I don't want to see a president saying things which change the character of the generations of Americans'

Trump has come under fire for his attacks on the federal judge presiding over civil lawsuits against Trump University.

The business tycoon has pointed out Gonzalo Curiel is Mexican, despite the fact that the judge was born in Indiana.

Paul Ryan called Trump's comments 'the textbook definition of a racist comment', Romney chimed in, saying: 'He indicated what he believes in his heart about Mexicans, and about race, by the comments he made about Judge Curiel.

'He didn't just say it once. It wasn't a slip of the tongue, which he went back and apologized for. First of all, he's repeated it time and time again. Second of all, he's never apologized.'

Romney said he didn't want to see Trump as an example for future generations, or as a representative of the country to the rest of the world.

He added: 'I don't want to see a president of the United States saying things which change the character of the generations of Americans that are following.

'Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation, and trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry, trickle-down misogyny, all these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America.'

Romney, who tried to thwart Trump's run by recruiting a third-party candidate, suggested he was intent on casting his ballot for anyone other than the Donald.

Instead, Romney said he would consider voting for libertarian and former governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, whose running mate Bill Weld once raised money for Romney.

He said: 'I'll get to know Gary Johnson better and see if he's someone who I could end up voting for. That's something I'll evaluate over the coming weeks and months.'

Romney (right with House Speaker Paul Ryan) said: 'I wish everybody in the Republican Party had rejected Mr. Trump and chosen someone else'

Romney said he would consider supporting libertarian candidate Gary Johnson (pictured)

Romney also went after Trump's tax returns, going so far as to say 'there's something in those taxes that's even worse than shooting someone on Fifth avenue.'

He was referring to a comment Trump made months ago where he boasted that he would maintain his popularity even if he committed an egregious crime.

Romney also said he did not believe Trump has been scrutinized to the same degree 'typically applied to a front-runner by the people running against him'.

'Had I been in the race I can assure you, I would have taken him on,' he then added.

While Ryan has also condemned Trump's comments as racist, the House Speaker has endorsed the business tycoon in an effort to rally the party behind their presumptive nominee.

But Romney said: 'I wish everybody in the Republican Party had rejected Mr. Trump and chosen someone else.

'But my choice is different than that of the other people, and I'm certainly not going to argue with them about their choice.'
describes him as quiet and with 'the biggest heart'

The family of a missing Queensland teenager have issued an emotional plea for him to come home while raising concerns over his well-being.

Wyatt Joss, 19, vanished from his Wonga Beach home, north of Cairns, on April 19.

His step-mother Paula Martin said he had been struggling with his mental health and was having problems with a former partner before he disappeared.

'Last time I spoke to him, he said he didnt want to be here.'

The family of a missing Queensland teenager, Wyatt Joss, have issued an emotional plea for him to come home while raising concerns over his well-being

Queensland teenager Wyatt Joss has not been seen or heard from for nearly two months

Mr Joss hasn't been in contact with his family or friends since his disappearance, and Queensland police believe he may still be in the Port Douglas area.

'It's normal for a 19-year-old to have their phone glued to their hand,' Ms Martin told Daily Mail Australia.

'For him not to contact us, especially his dad, it's not like him.

'Wyattss a good kid, hes a loving kid, he always puts people before himself and he would always let us know where he is.

'Its not drugs, he's got no money, there's no Centrelink and there's no movement in his bank account.'

Ms Martin describes the 19-year-old as some who has 'the biggest heart' and a big gamer who loves to be online.

'He always puts people before himself. He is so loving but very quiet.'

She added that the 19-year-old's computer and birthday presents remain at his Wonga Beach home.

'We love him and we want to him to come home. Hes not in any trouble, we just need to know that he's ok.'

Mr Joss is 173cm tall, with short brown hair, blue eyes and a goatee. He is thinly built and has a tattoo of a rose and the word 'mom' on his upper left arm.

His last confirmed sighting was on the 19th of April but there have been reports of a man believed to be him was seen at Craiglie, which is just south of Port Douglas, on May 24.

Police encourage anybody with information on his whereabouts to contact Crime Stoppers.

If you are suicidal, depressed or need someone to talk to call Lifeline: 13 11 14

Step-mother Paula Martin describes the 19-year-old as some who has 'the biggest heart' and a big gamer who loves to be online
A mother of a nine-year-old autistic boy that was regularly locked in a small box-like room for 'time out' at school is not satisfied with the investigation that took place into the incident.

Kelly-Ann Brooks described the findings of the internal government investigation as a 'kick in the stomach' after no evidence was found of misconduct by staff at Kawungan State School, Courier Mail reported.

Her son, Tate Smith, was reportedly locked in a 'cell-like' room with boarded windows, a thin mattress and a pillow 20 times.

The school where Tate was allegedly mistreated also shares a campus with a special needs centre where a teenager was restrained to a chair with a car seatbelt.

Pictured is a room at Kawungan State School's Special Education class where Tate Smith, 9, was regularly locked for 'time out'. The windowless prison housed a thin mattress and pillow where Tate was detained about 20 times

Recommendations for improvement to school operations were made by The Department of Education's Ethical Standards Unit, but no individuals were held accountable.

Education Minister Kate Jones has since ordered the school to close the room and announced a review into the way students with disabilities are treated across Queensland.

Ms Brooks has now taken the matter to the Australian Human Rights Commission claiming that her son still suffers nightmares and find it difficult to sleep on his own, Courier Mail reported.

Despite setbacks, Ms Brooks told the newspaper that her son is now thriving at Urangan Point State School.

Kelly-Ann Brooks, Tate's mother described the findings of an internal government investigation into the incident as a 'kick in the stomach' after no evidence was found of misconduct by staff at Kawungan State School (pictured)

She said: 'It's like night and day, he absolutely loves school and the teachers adore him.

'There is a lot of positive behaviour support.'

Ms Brooks case was referred to police, the Queensland College of Teachers, the Crime and Corruption Commission and the Ethical Standards Unit.

But was not the only incident of misconduct to be reported from the Hervey Bay area.

In October last year the parents of a special-needs boy were horrified to find that their 13-year-old son had been strapped to a chair at school by a car seatbelt.

Lynette Nolan (left) and Cary White (right) claimed they found their son Daniel (centre) restrained by a 'Holden car seatbelt' at Queensland's Hervey Bay Special School that shares a campus with Kawungan State School

The Hervey Bay Special School shares a campus with Kawungan State School.

Lynette Nolan and Cary White said that they were disgusted when they found their son Daniel restrained by what appeared to be a 'Holden car seatbelt' at school.

They said that they made the 'shocking discovery' when they visited the school after their son reportedly stopped 'eating, drinking and going to the toilet' while at school.

Mr White contacted the principal who reportedly 'denied that it even happened,' he said.

'It was a horror! They wouldn't even file an incident report they just gave me a copy of his behavioural report,' he said.

Ms Nolan told the Daily Mail Australia that her son suffers from a rare type of epilepsy, known as Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, which leaves him severely impaired in both speech and learning ability.

Daniel (pictured) has a rare form of epilepsy, known as Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, which leaves him severely impaired in both speech and learning ability

'They weren't helping him with his speech disability, he needed support and it just wasn't given to him,' Ms Nolan claimed.

An anonymous contractor told the Brisbane Times that he had witnessed the young boy strapped to his chair on one occasion and that other children had also been restrained at the school.

'When we saw Daniel strapped to the chair they tried to get us to leave,' said Ms Nolan.

Daniel is now being home-schooled but remains traumatised by the incident, according to Ms Nolan.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the school and is waiting on a response.
A rabbi who delivered one of the eulogies at Muhammad Ali's memorial service today has divided opinion online after using the opportunity to deliver a political speech.

While many praised Rabbi Michael Lerner's speech, which earned four standing ovations inside the KFC Yum! center on Friday evening, others accused him of hijacking the occasion for his own gain.

During the 10-minute address, he praised Ali's Muslim faith, took a swipe at Donald Trump, tapped Hillary as the next President - and took the opportunity to plug his own magazine's website.

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Rabbi Michael Lerner earned four standing ovations during his eulogy at Muhammad Ali's memorial service on Friday evening in which he launched into a political rant

Rabbi Lerner used the occasion to attack income inequality, mass incarceration, and take a swipe at Donald Trump while predicting Hillary will become the next President

Lerner said: 'I come here as a representative of American Jews to say that American Jews played an important role of solidarity with African Americans in this county, and to say that today we stand in solidarity with the Islamic community in this country and all around the world.

'We will not tolerate politicians or anyone else putting down Muslims and blaming Muslims for the actions of a few people.

'We know what it is like to be demeaned, we know what it is like to have a few people act against the highest vision of our tradition, and then be identified as the value of the entire tradition.'

The remark was a barely concealed swipe at the Republican nominee, who has called for an outright ban on Muslims coming to America as part of his presidential campaign.

Lerner did pay tribute to Ali, saying: 'I want to say that although he was cheered on as the heavyweight champion of the world - all credit to him - heavyweight champions come and go.

'Sports stars come and go. But there was something about Muhammad Ali that was different.

The crowd leaped to their feet several times during Lerner's speech, which he also used to plug the website of the magazine he edits

'So how do we honor Muhammad Ali? And the answer is that we honor Muhammad Ali by being Muhammad Ali, today.'

He then went on to criticized income inequality, drone strikes, mass incarceration of African Americans and Middle Eastern leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu.

Later, while demanding that big money be taken out of politics, he pointedly referenced the next President of the United States as 'she' - referencing Hillary Clinton.

But not everybody was impressed with the performance, as some Twitter users accused him of hijacking the ceremony for his own ends

That drew one of the biggest rounds of applause of the night, a standing ovation, and a smile and laugh from Bill Clinton, who was in the audience.

Those comments drew some negative reaction from people online, including one Twitter user Mark who commented: 'Rabbi Lerner needs to learn respect and humility.

'He acted like a pompous a** like I have never seen at a funeral. Very sad! [He] is an opportunistic jerk with no respect for real faith. Ali stood up for the good in what he saw.'

Another user, going under the handle Vanguard, added: 'Make no mistake; Michael Lerner's rant was a well-timed, well-orchestrated publicity stunt. No coincidence he mentioned his mag.'

Lerner was not the only one to have a dig at Trump, however, who also came under fire from comedian Billy Crystal who also delivered a eulogy during the memorial service.

Toward the end of his speech, Crystal said that Ali 'taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people, not walls.'

One user going simply by the name Mark accused Lerner of being an 'opportunistic jerk' for spending little time talking about Ali, and instead focusing on causes dear to himself

Others viewed the plug of his own website as a crass addition to a memorial speech

While not directly referencing the Republican candidate, the statement has been read by many as a dig at Trump's policy of building a wall along the border with Mexico.

Muhammad Ali was laid to rest today in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, following a 90-minute procession through the streets which took his casket past his childhood home, the Muhammad Ali Center and then down the boulevard named for him.
The mother and aunt of Stanford rapist Brock Turner, 20, begged the judge to be lenient, claiming prison time would be a 'death sentence'.

In pained and distressed letter's to Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky written before Turner's controversial six-month sentence was announced, mom Carleen Turner and Kelly Hopkins pleaded for mercy.

'I beg of you, please don't send him to jail/prison. Look at him. He won't survive it. he will be damaged forever and I fear he would be a major target,' wrote Turner.

'Stanford boy, college kid, college athlete - all the publicity. This would be a death sentence for him.'

Sentenced: Brock Turner, 20, was sentenced to just six months in prison and three years' probation on June 2 after being convicted on three sexual assault charges against a fellow Stanford student

Privilege: Many believed that the judge went lightly on him because of his race and apparent wealth. But mom Carleen Turner (left) wrote to the judge saying that he came from a 'working middle-class' home

They told the judge about his 'humble upbringings' and difficult family circumstances to persuade Judge Persky, newly released letters have revealed.

Hopkins claimed that although he attended one of the world's most prestigious universities, Turner and his siblings grew up in a 'modest' home, while Mrs Turner said that her family's financial situation was 'precarious and unstable'.

'There have been many references to Brock being from a wealthy, privileged background and he thinks he is entitled,' Mrs Turner said. 'Your honor, this could not be further from the truth.'

She described herself and her husband Dan as 'a working, middle-class couple with Midwestern values,' and added: 'Trust me when I say that Silicon Valley, CA is vastly different from the south suburbs of Dayton, OH.'

Turner was convicted in March of taking a girl out of a frat party, partially stripping her, digitally penetrating her, dry-humping her and then leaving her unconscious in an alley.

On June 2, he was sentenced to just six months in prison and three years' probation, with the expectation that he would be released after three months, rather than the recommended two years in prison.

Judge Persky said at the time, 'A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.'

The outcry was swift, with many who objected to the short sentence saying that Turner received it because he appeared to be a rich white Stanford student.

But in a letter to Persky written before he gave the sentence, Mrs Turner said she and her husband grew up attending public school and living with their parents.

They came from working-class backgrounds, she said: she worked as a nurse at a trauma center specializing in gynecology and her husband is an electrical engineer in the Air Force.

'We do NOT come from money,' she said. 'Rather, the opposite.'

She added that her other son Brent has $30,000 in student loan debt and her daughter Caroline has $60,000 in debt - and added that the cost of the trial has left the family's financial situation 'precarious and unstable.'

Turner, who hoped to swim in the Olympics, had entered Stanford on a swimming scholarship that paid for 60 percent of his tuition.

And she said that they had moved to a smaller house after the kids graduated, not just because they no longer needed the space, but because they needed the extra money to help fund their son, who was attending school in California.

Hopkins's letter also emphasized his parents' relative lack of money, describing Turner as having 'one of the most humble and modest upbringings'.

Outcry: Judge Aaron Persky's decision caused outrage when it was announced; he said he gave Turner the sentence because jail would have 'a severe impact' on him. He received the letters before making the decision

New home: The Turners had to move from a larger house to this home in Daytona, Mrs. Turner's letter said, because they needed the money to help fund their son's time at university in California

Both women also brought up their brother, Turner's uncle Scott, who was brain-damaged at birth, could not talk and required round-the-clock care from their parents. He died when Turner was around seven years old.

Hopkins claimed that her brother's disability had led to Turner being exposed to 'unconditional love and respect' from an early age.

Mrs. Turner expanded on that aspect of her family, saying that Turner had played with his uncle, who was 'kind of like a big-sized toddler', when he was a child, and had tucked him into his blanket at his open-casket funeral after his unexpected death.

But despite the claims to a 'modest' middle-class upbringing, Mrs. Turner seemed very aware of how her son was seen.

And though the sentence was passed two weeks ago the shockwaves continue to rumble on.

It was announced Friday that students at Stanford would protest the sentencing during the traditional graduation 'Wacky Walk' this weekend, carrying signs and wearing decorated caps.

Matthew Baiza, co-founder of Stanford Association of Students for Sexual Assault Prevention, told The Stanford Daily they were inspired by a letter the victim read in court, recounting her trauma.

'After reading that, we realized the survivor didnt get justice at all,' he said. 'It sends the wrong message to survivors, students and the nation as a whole.'

As well as his prison sentence, Turner will be placed on the sex offenders' register for life. He plans to appeal his conviction.

Target: Although she denied that her son was privileged, Mrs. Turner (center, with husband Dan and Brock) said that being a 'Stanford boy, college kid, college athlete' would make him a target in prison

Letter: In her letter to Persky, Mrs Turner said her son was 'a nice guy' with an 'unmatched' work ethic who worked hard because he wanted to be a star swimmer

'Kind': Both Turner's letter (pictured) and the letter from her sister Kelly Hopkins made much of his disabled uncle, who died when he was around seven. They emphasized that he was gentle and kind towards his uncle

Debt: Mrs. Turner said that her son was not 'wealthy' or 'privileged' and that he'd grown up in a middle-class household in a Dayton, Ohio, suburb. She added that their financial situation was now 'precarious'
Mr Dale, 54, didn't realise until later that he had also been wounded

Three elderly women were injured by police bullets during the incident

Police opened fire after Jerry Sourian allegedly lunged at them with knife

A man who rushed to help a woman hit by bullet fragments after police opened fire on a knife-wielding man in a busy shopping centre didn't realise he had also been injured in the cross-fire.

Police shot escaped mental patient Jerry Sourian in the stomach after the 23-year-old allegedly lunged at them with a carving knife at Westfield shopping centre in Hornsby on Thursday.

Local businessman, Alan Dale, 54, had been making deliveries to nearby cafes when police opened fire.

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Alan Dale, 54, had been making deliveries to nearby cafes when police opened fire. He rushed to the aid of 82-year-old Lorraine Pendleton, one of three elderly women hit by bullet fragments

A man carrying a carving knife, 23, was shot by police at Westfield shopping centre in Hornsby, north-west Sydney after appearing to lunge at police (pictured)

Paramedics are seen treating shooting victims at the scene on Thursday. Mr Dale said he didn't realise until later that he too had been hit

Mr Dale rushed to the aid of 82-year-old Lorraine Pendleton, one of three elderly women hit by bullet fragments.

He helped Ms Pendleton onto a chair and tried to stem the flow of blood from a wound she suffered to the leg, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Ms Pendleton later underwent surgery to remove shrapnel from the back of her knee.

Mr Dale said he didn't realise until later that he too had been hit.

'I felt something at the time but it wasn't until the end of the shooting that I looked down and saw a fair bit of blood coming out,' he told the Herald.

The man appeared to lunge at police while carrying a carving knife. Mr Dale told the paper that the female officer 'made the right call' to shoot

'She gave him plenty of warning but he was going right for her. He just kept on coming. He wasn't going to stop,' Mr Dale said

Blood is seen smeared on the tiles outside of the shopping centre as police tape cordons off the area

Mr Dale said police took his shoes for forensic testing because they were covered in blood, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Dale told the paper that the female officer 'made the right call' to shoot.

'She gave him plenty of warning but he was going right for her. He just kept on coming. He wasn't going to stop,' he said.

Former police officer Trent Southworth told Daily Mail Australia that the officer had no choice but to pull the trigger.

Forensic police look over the scene at Westfield Hornsby to gather evidence in the shooting

'He was wielding a 14-inch knife  it is obvious that his actions could have had deadly consequences and that is when police need to make a quick decision and act,' Mr Southworth said.

'He very well could have been capable of turning three feet and ramming that blade into someone's gut or slitting someone's throat then the family would have been asking why they didn't shoot.'

Police revealed on Friday that Sourian had said in the past that he 'wanted to kill a cop'.

He remains under police guard in hospital.
Hospital staff have been disciplined after a missing patient was found dead in a toilet just metres from her bed, eight hours after she disappeared.

The woman, aged in her 40s, was found dead in the bathroom of her ward at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, north of Sydney, after a search was launched when a concerned relative called the hospital, according to the Newcastle Herald.

She had presented to the emergency ward hospital on May 11 with abdominal pain, three days before she was found dead.

The woman, aged in her 40s, was found dead in the bathroom of her ward at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, north of Sydney, when a search was launched after a concerned relative called the hospital on May 11

She had been presented to the emergency ward hospital three days before with abdominal pain

The newspaper claims that hospital staff rang the woman's mobile phone at 8.30pm on May 11, and a relative answered the phone.

The relative was reportedly informed that the woman had not been seen since 5.30pm.

Security were allegedly informed of the woman's disappearance at 9.30pm, but a search did not start until almost 1am - after the relative rang back to ask if the woman had been found.

In a statement, Hunter New England Health chief executive Michael DiRienzo (pictured) confirmed that 'a number of staff members' had been disciplined over the incident

The woman was found within minutes of the search being conducted, according to the report.

The newspaper claims a change of shift may provide an explanation to why the search was delayed.

In a statement, Hunter New England Health chief executive Michael DiRienzo confirmed that 'a number of staff members' had been disciplined over the incident.

'We have offered our sincere condolences to the patients family and, in line with their wishes, Hunter New England Health will not be providing information on this patient,' Mr DiRienzo said.

'We have reassured the patients family that Hunter New England Health immediately began an internal investigation and a Root Cause Analysis, which is a NSW Health process that reviews the circumstances surrounding a patients death.

'Interim disciplinary action has been taken with a number of staff members while the findings of the internal investigation are determined.

The woman's death is not being treated as suspicious and a Newcaslte detectives are preparing a coroner by Newcastle City detectives

'The matter has also been referred to the NSW Coroner.

'It is inappropriate to comment further until these processes are completed.'
Almost $4.5 million is up for grabs across the 10-race program, the final event of the Brisbane Racing Carnival

stand out from the crowd in Brisbane

Punters have pulled out all the stops to make sure their

of Eagle Farm Racecourse this morning for AAMI Stradbroke Day

Keen racegoers flowed through the

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Thousands of punters in eye-popping outfits have arrived at Eagle Farm Racecourse for one of Queensland's biggest race days.

Racegoers started flowing through the gates in glamorous gowns, floral fascinators and sharp suits from 9.30am on Saturday.

Almost $4.5 million is up for grabs across Stradbroke Day's 10-race program, the final event of the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.

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Racegoers dressed to impress flowed through the gates of Eagle Farm Racecourse this morning for AAMI Stradbroke Day

Glammed up revellers arrived for the final day of the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival wearing fascinators, gold jewelry and sharp suits

TV presenter and former Miss Universe Australia Rachael Finch was a well-known face among the crowd

Rachel Finch, who is originally Townsville, is one of Queensland's most recognisable models and television personalities

A total of $1.5 million is on offer for the premier race of the carnival, the Stradbroke Handicap.

Racegoers were greeted by clear skies and within hours of the gates opening, punters were photographed walking the grounds in eye-catching outfits.

Towering fascinators, feathers, leather and Akubra hats were all spotted track side.

This year's theme is described as classic 'black and white with a touch of red'.

A punter watches race one the James Boag's Lancaster Stakes during Stradbroke Day at Eagle Farm Racecourse

A punter speaks on the phone at Stradbroke Day, one of the most important days on the Queensland racing calendar

7News Queensland presenter Sharyn Ghidella is interviewed at Stradbroke Day

Punters can bet across a 10-race program, including Quensland's richest sprint race the Stradbroke Handicap

Within hours of the gates opening, punters were photographed walking the racecourse grounds in eye-catching outfits

The Queensland Winter Racing Carnival attracts thousands of punters every year between April and early July

Stradbroke Day at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane is one of the most prestigious race days in Queensland

Two punters dressed in sharp suits and Akubra hats at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane on Saturday

Jockey Blake Shinn aboard My Country (centre right) after winning race one the James Boag's Lancaster Stakes at Eagle Farm

From left: DJ Havana Brown, Rachael Finch and current Miss World Australia Tess Alexander at the Brisbane Racing Carnival

Melbourne-born DJ Havana Brown, 31, enjoying a glass of wine at Eagle Farm Racecourse

Havana Brown (left) with TV presenter and former Miss Universe Australia Rachael Finch

Havana Brown shot to fame with her single 'We Run the Night' and recently appeared on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!
He believes he can prove that Diggy is an American bulldog

The photo was supposed to be symbolic of Diggy's new life: after 100 days in a Detroit pound, the American bulldog had finally been adopted - and the pic of him and new best pal Dan Tillery wildly grinning quickly went viral.

But the adorable picture backfired when cops in Tillery's home of Waterford Township, New Jersey, received complaints about the musician adopting a pitbull - a breed that's been banned there since 1990.

And now, authorities say, Tillery has just days to move Diggy out of his new home, otherwise the pooch could be put down, CBS Detroit reported.

Viral: This photo of Dan Tillery and Diggy the American bulldog - taken just after Diggy's adoption - went viral. But locals at Tillery's New Jersey township thought Diggy was a pitbull, and now police say the dog must go

At first, Tillery's encounter with the cops didn't seem to go badly.

'They asked if hes a friendly dog, I said hes the friendliest dog,' Tillery told CBS.

'When they went to the gate the actually see him, he licked their face, was very kind. They said, were dog lovers, thats cool, he seems like a good boy. Took some pictures of him.'

But just an hour later he received a call from the police, who said that the officers had identified Diggy as a pitbull based solely on his appearance, and Tillery would have to take him out of the Township.

'He said, "You know, we dont really need much more than 'I think hes a pit,' and thats enough, so, he looks like a pit, I think hes a pit, hes got to go. You have three days to have him out of your home."'

Waterford Police Chief Scott Underwood clarified in a statement today that his department 'determined the dog was part pit bull/pit bull terrier,' according to the Detroit Free Press.

That was news to Tillery, who was told by Detroit Dog Rescue, which rescued the dog from Detroit Animal Control and arranged for his adoption, that Diggy was an American bulldog.

'Diggy is an American Bulldog and all of his paperwork says so,' Kristina Rinaldi, executive director of Detroit Dog Rescue, confirmed. 'Diggy is a great dog.'

According to Waterford Township law, if a dog is identified as a pitbull, a magistrate may decide to either have the dog moved out of the township - or put down at the owner's expense.

The law, which was introduced in 1990 amid fears that pitbulls were prone to attacking humans, only makes an exception for show dogs.

However, it also allows for the owner to object, and provide evidence to the contrary. If a township vet confirms what the Detroit organizations and their vet already say - or if Diggy cannot be identified as a pitbull with any degree of certainty - he can stay.

Tillery said he feels confident that the pup is going to be OK.

The law has long been a topic of contention with locals, with experts saying that banning specific breeds does not affect incidences of dog bites or attacks, The Oakland Press reported.

In 2013 the town board voted to maintain the ban, the site said.
The family of missing Australian backpacker Rye Hunt have said life without him will be 'unfathomable' after his body was identified in Brazil on Saturday.

Mr Hunt, 25, was last seen leaving an apartment in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, on May 21 following a row with his friend Mitchell Sheppard at Galeao International Airport.

Following the identification of Mr Hunt's body, his family spoke of a 'generous, cheeky' person who will be missed.

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The family of missing Australian backpacker Rye Hunt have spoken of their loss after his body was identified in Brazil on Saturday

Mr Hunt, 25, was last seen on CCTV leaving an apartment in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

'I feel so blessed to have shared the last five years with my beautiful 'Big Bear',' his girlfriend Bonnie Cuthbert said in a statement.

'We have been so lucky to have found and loved each other so deeply. The love Rye and I shared will remain within both of us, forever.'

His sister Romany Brodribb said the thought of life without her brother is 'unfathomable'.

'We are understandably heart broken. Rye was the youngest member of our family and was known for being loyal, loving, generous, cheeky, and as a brother, totally infuriating!' she said in a statement.

'Thinking about life without him is unfathomable. He will be very missed by us all.'

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop confirmed the identification of Mr Hunt's body after DNA results were released by the Australian embassy.

'I can confirm that Brazilian authorities have informed us that the body that was discovered recently near Rio De Janeiro is in fact that of Australian citizen, Rye Duval Hunt,' Ms Bishop said, according to the ABC.

'The Australian consular service has been working closely with the family, we have been working closely with the Brazilian authorities.'

Last Wednesday a body was recovered by Brazilian authorities in Marica and Mr Hunt's uncle Michael Wholohan went to the Rio Police Forensic Institute of Genetics Expertise and Research, in Lapa, to give a sample of DNA.

'We found a body in Marica, which was sent to forensic experts and will be checked for DNA comparison,' Detective Elen Souto said in a statement.

'It could be the missing Australian tourist who disappeared on May 21st this year.'

Hunt's girlfriend Bonnie Cuthbert (right) travelled to Rio Di Janeiro shortly after his disappearance to search for the missing man

She was searching for her boyfriend while showing photos of him to locals

After Hunt's disappearance authorities called off a 72-hour sea search when a fishermen reportedly spotted a body floating off Rio's coast in clothes similar to those worn by Mr Hunt when he vanished.

This week, his family revealed Mr Hunt may have taken a highly potent hallucinogen before he disappeared in Brazil more than a fortnight ago.
A Republican Senator was accused of praying for President Obama's death.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said that Georgia Sen. David Perdue's remarks on Friday wishing that Obama's 'days be few' wasn't a reference to his leaving office, but his death, reports Fox News.

'We are called to pray for our country, for our leaders, and yes, even our president,' Perdue said at a Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington. 'I think we should pray for Barack Obama. We need to be very specific about how we pray. We should pray like Psalms 109:8 says. It says, 'Let his days be few, and let another have his office.'

President Obama waves goodbye to presidential life, but did a GOP Senator also want him to wave goodbye to life in general?

Dem leader Harry Reid (left) didn't think GOP Senator Perdue's comments about praying for Obama's days to be 'few' were very funny

Reid didn't take that to mean that Perdue wanted the president to leave office quickly, but to leave this life quickly, because the next lines of the Bible text read 'Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.'

'If Republicans are still wondering why Donald Trump is their nominee, look no further than todays Faith and Freedom conference where a sitting Republican Senator left the impression he was praying for the death of President Obama and then the Republican Leader followed him on stage and did not condemn him,' Reid's spokesperson, Kristen Orthman, said in a statement.

But Perdue denies he meant anything other than a little joke about Obama leaving office.

'Senator Perdue said we are called to pray for our country, for our leaders, and for our president. He in no way wishes harm towards our president and everyone in the room understood that. However, we should add the media to our prayer list because they are pushing a narrative to create controversy and that is exactly what the American people are tired of,' said Perdue's spokesperson, Megan Whittmore.
This is the appalling moment a cop electrocuted a 17-year-old boy for so long he went into cardiac arrest and almost died, captured from the teen's point of view.

The disturbing footage was shot by Bryce Masters back in 2014 after he was pulled over by former Missouri police officer Timothy Runnels, who then shot him in the chest with a Taser for 23 seconds.

Masters' video shows Runnels attempting to drag the teenager out of his car and telling him he's under arrest without giving a reason, before pulling out his stun gun and firing it.

This is the view 17-year-old Bryce Masters had of former Kansas City cop Timothy Runnels as he was Tasered almost to death back in 2014 during a traffic stop

The footage, filmed by Masters, shows Runnels attempting to drag him out of the car during a traffic stop but failing to explain why, before pulling out his Taser and firing it into the teen's chest

For what seems an eternity the Taser clicks away, sending wave after wave of electricity into Masters' chest, eventually knocking his heart out of rhythm.

Footage from Runnels' own dashcam then captured the rest - as he handcuffed the teen's body, dragged him to the back of his vehicle, and then dropped the dying teen face-first on to asphalt.

While on the concrete, with his heart failing to beat properly, Bryant's brain was starved of oxygen for between six an eight minutes.

As a result, he now suffers brain damage including anxiety, anger issues, headaches and short-term memory loss.

Meanwhile Runnels has been sentenced to four years behind bars after pleading guilty to one charge of depriving a minor of his constitutional rights.

The prolonged electrocution, four times longer than the duration police are trained to deploy their Tasers for, caused Masters to go into cardiac arrest and be placed in a coma

While unconscious Masters' brain was starved of oxygen for almost eight minutes, meaning he now suffers brain damage including anxiety, anger issues, headaches and short term memory loss

As well as being Tasered in the chest (left) Masters (right before the accident) was handcuffed and then dropped on his face on to asphalt

The charge relates to the moment Runnels drops Masters on his face while in handcuffs. He was not sentenced for deploying the Taser.

Court filings say Runnels allowed the taser current to run for about 20 seconds, which is four-times longer than officers are trained to have their tasers deployed.

At court, police also said that Runnels had pulled Masters' car over because of an outstanding warrant attached to the licence plate, but did not give any more detail.

Masters' father, who is a cop himself, and his family gave a statement following the release of Runnels' sentence.

They said: 'While we are pleased that Mr. Runnels was held accountable for his actions, no one really wins in this scenario.

'Two law enforcement families were devastated by these events and we all simply wish that day had never happened.'

Dashcam footage from Runnels' car also shows the distressing incident from another angle

Shocking: The footage shows the teen stumbling out of the car as the officer continues to Taser him

Collapse: The boy is seen falling to the ground shaking after being excessively Tasered

Head-first: The cop then handcuffs the boy and drags him over to the pavement and drops him

This is the moment the boy is dropped head-first onto the pavement by the officer, who will now go to prison

At the time of the arrest, police said Masters had suffered a 'medical emergency' and needed resuscitation.

But eyewitnesses gave a different account to Fox4KC.

Michelle Baker filmed the incident on her mobile phone when she heard screams outside and says she saw the Runnels Taser the teen when he was inside his car.

In a cell phone video taken by Baker you can see the officer dragging the teen's body to the sidewalk, then standing with his foot on the teen's back.

You could tell the kid was going into convulsions.

'He turned him over and his head was dangling like this and he had blood coming out,' said Baker.

Comatose: Masters' heart stopped after he was shocked with the stun gun during the traffic stop in Independence. He was placed in a coma and suffered brain damage

Bryce Masters with his mother. The family issued a statement saying they are pleased the officer has been punished, but wish the incident never occurred in the first place
A woman has been charged for allegedly abandoning her partner's two children alone at home while she went on an overseas holiday.

The woman, 28, was arrested by Child Abuse Squad detectives at Perth International Airport on Thursday evening after she returned to Australia.

Police found two children, aged four and six years, alone at an address in Cloverdale, Perth, on Wednesday. The children had been there for three days.

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A Perth mum has been charged for allegedly leaving her two children at home while she went overseas

'It will be alleged both parents were overseas at the time the officers entered the property,' West Australian Police said in a statement.

'The children were subsequently removed from the property and placed into appropriate care.'

Police said the woman was the children's stepmother and was in a de-facto relationship with their father.

The woman was detained at Perth International Airport by Australian Border Force personnel after getting off her flight.

She faces two charges of engaging in conduct which could result in harm to a child.

She will appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on June 22.

The mother was arrested after getting off a flight at Perth International Airport on Thursday evening

Child Protection Minister Andrea Mitchell told The ABC she was 'horrified' to hear of the incident.

She said: 'When I first heard about this situation I was horrified.

'Any incident where children of any age being left alone is extremely concerning.'

Ms Mitchell said the children were now being supported by authorities.
In January, the Planned Parenthood group backed Clinton, offering its first endorsement in the group's 100 year history

Presumptive Democratic nominee tore into Trump for his views on women

Hillary Clinton promised to stand by Planned Parenthood in a speech to activists from the group in Washington, D.C. on Friday.

In her speech Friday, she thanked the non-profit women's health group for their support in the primary and highlighted her staunch support for abortion rights.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee warned the crowd that if elected president, her opponent Donald Trump would weaken women's rights.

'He actually said women should be punished for having abortions,' Clinton said of Trump, referring to comments Trump made in an interview in March.

'Anyone who would so casually agree with the idea of punishing women as if it was nothing to him that's someone who doesn't hold women in high regard,' Clinton said.

In a speech Friday, Hillary Clinton thanked the non-profit women's health group Planned Parenthood for their support in the primary and highlighted her staunch support for abortion rights

Clinton spoke to Planned Parenthood activists in Washington, D.C. She warned the crowd that if elected president, her opponent Donald Trump would cause disastrous consequences for American women

'But don't worry, Donald assures us that as president he'll be - and I quote again - the best for women,' Clinton said to laughter from the crowd.

'Do we want to put our health, our lives, our futures in Donald Trump's hands?' Clinton asked.

'Everything I have seen' as first lady, a U.S. senator, and as secretary of state, Clinton said, 'has convinced me that life is freer, fairer, healthier, safer and far more humane when women are empowered to make their own reproductive health decisions.'

In January, the Planned Parenthood group backed Clinton, offering its first endorsement in the group's 100 year history.

Also on Friday, Clinton was scheduled to meet with Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic official told the Associated Press.

Warren was in town for a rare Friday session in the Senate.

Warren threw her support behind Clinton Thursday night, following President Barack Obama. On Thursday, she offered a blistering attack on the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

Warren was the only holdout among the Senate's Democratic women and, given her stature among liberals, her endorsement could be an important boost for Clinton. She also is being floated as a potential vice presidential pick for Clinton.

Clinton's relationship with Planned Parenthood and her outspoken support for women's right could cause trouble for Trump in November.

'Anyone who would so casually agree with the idea of punishing women as if it was nothing to him that's someone who doesn't hold women in high regard,' Clinton said of Donald Trump

In her speech, Clinton mocked Trump and promised to support women's reproductive rights

In this picture, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is greeted by Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Clinton tore into Donald Trump during her speech, reminding the audience he has said he would have women punished for having abortions if the practice became illegal

In every presidential election since 1980, a greater proportion of women than men preferred the Democratic candidate.

'The challenge for Republican candidates has been trying to make some inroads into that women's vote,' said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, in April.

'And it's hard to imagine that Donald Trump, as of right now, is well positioned to be the Republican candidate to make those inroads, given the things that he's said.'

A woman's candidacy can cut both ways with voters.

In an Associated Press-GfK poll in February, 14 percent said a female candidate would be at least somewhat less likely to get their vote. Likewise, 19 percent said a woman would be at least somewhat more likely to get their vote.

In the primaries, Trump has drawn a disproportionate amount of his support from men, with an average of 44 percent of men and 36 percent of women supporting him in states where exit polls were conducted.

In every presidential election since 1980, a greater proportion of women than men preferred the Democratic candidate

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee warned the crowd that if elected president, her opponent Donald Trump would cause disastrous consequences for American women

'He actually said women should be punished for having abortions,' Clinton said of Trump, referring to comments Trump made in an interview in March

Further, in a recent AP-GfK poll, women (66 percent) were slightly more likely than men (60 percent) to say they definitely would not vote for Trump in a general election.

Karlyn Bowman, a public opinion analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, cautioned that both Trump and Clinton 'have a problem with gender in this election.'

'Trump's is more serious,' she added, pointing to his high unfavorable ratings with women, who make up a larger share of the electorate than do men.

Clinton, she said, shows significant weakness with white men, particularly white working-class males.

The question in November, Bowman said, will be whether party loyalty will trump gender politics.

'Party is really powerful in the end,' she said.

Clinton is betting on gender.

After playing down women's issues in her 2008 campaign against Barack Obama, this time Clinton is embracing the historic nature of her candidacy and playing up her roles as grandmother and longtime advocate for women. She happily addressed Trump's accusations that she was making much of her candidacy as a woman.
A Manhattan lawyer who claimed he could not have sexually assaulted a woman because she was too fat to fit on the fold-out bed in his office has been sentenced to four years in jail.

Dan Nelson, 39, also tried to claim that he would not have attacked the woman because he forgot to take his erectile dysfunction medication, but these claims were swept aside.

Weeping as Nelson was sentenced on Friday, the 36-year-old victim told the New York Post: 'It was implied it never could have happened as my 200-plus pound frame was too fat to be pushed down, held down, and pulled around like a rag doll.'

Dan Nelson, 39, a New York lawyer, was jailed for four years on Friday after sexually assaulting a woman in his office back in August 2014 because she refused to have sex with him

During his trial Nelson tried to claim he couldn't have attacked the woman because he had forgotten to take his Viagra that evening and she was too fat to lay on a fold-out bed in his office without breaking it

Nelson attacked the woman at the New York office of his firm Nelson & McCulloch back in August 2014 after meeting her on a night out, the court was told.

The intellectual property lawyer said he downed three bottles of wine before meeting with the woman at a bar, before she agreed to go back to his house.

But instead of heading home, Nelson took her to his Manhattan offices where one of the conference rooms was fitted out with a folding Murphy bed.

The pair undressed and began making out, according to the victim, but when she changed her mind about having sex Nelson became aggressive.

The victim said he pinned her to the bed by her neck and digitally penetrated her before she managed to break free and ran naked into the street.

Nelson told the court he drank three bottles of wine before going to meet the woman at a bar in New York's East Village, before they came back to the offices of his law firm (pictured)

The court heard how the pair undressed and were making out, but when the 36-year-old woman changed her mind about sex Nelson pinned her down and digitally penetrated her before she was able to flee

Nelson tried to claim that the woman had taunted him about his inability to get an erection, causing him to push her toward the office door, ripping her dress off in the process.

According to Nelson, she then left and later fabricated the story about being sexually assaulted, but those claims were dismissed.

Prosecutors had originally charged Nelson with attempted rape, but that was dismissed at an earlier stage. Instead, he was found guilty of sexual abuse and obstruction of breathing.

Prosecutor Maxine Rosenthal had asked for a seven-year sentence, saying Nelson had a history of 'degrading and abusing' women.

Defense lawyer Tim Parlatore tried to claim that Nelson was a gentleman aside from one night of drunken misbehavior, but Justice Patricia Nunez was unmoved by the claims.
A gut feeling forced a Gold Coast family to leave an Israeli cafe just moments before gunmen opened fire.

Karen McKinley, 44, was holidaying in Tel Aviv with her sister Christina, 41, and parents Nellie, 66, and Arthur, 73.

Ms McKinley said the family stopped for dinner at the Benedict cafe at Tel Aviv's famous Sarona Markets when they suddenly became unsettled and left, The Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

Karen McKinley, 44, (second from right) was holidaying in Tel Aviv with her sister Christina, 41, (left) and parents Nellie, 66, and Arthur, 73 (right)

Policemen are investigating the scene of a shooting attack in Sarona Market

'The strangest thing happened  we just got up. Wed ordered water and we just left,' Ms McKinley told the paper.

Just over an hour later, Gunmen disguised as ultra-Orthodox Jews shot dead four people at the same cafe and neighbouring Max Brenner.

'It's such a surreal feeling, we were sitting at the very table were people were shot at,' Ms McKinley posted on Facebook.

'It's such a surreal feeling, we were sitting at the very table were people were shot at,' Ms McKinley (pictured) posted on Facebook

Security footage showed the two, dressed in suits and ties and posing as customers at a restaurant, suddenly pull out automatic weapons and open fire

Ms McKinley said the family won't let the incident ruin their trip and they will continue the holiday as planned.

'Thanks for the messages everyone. We are ok, although feeling extremely lucky,' she said.

The shooting, carried out by two West Bank Palestinians, targeted a crowded tourist and restaurant district in the heart of Tel Aviv, located across the street from the Israeli military's headquarters.

Security footage showed the two, dressed in suits and ties and posing as customers at a restaurant, suddenly pull out automatic weapons and open fire, shooting one man point blank, as other diners fled.

'The restaurant looked like a hurricane went through it  there was blood, there were broken chairs and other awful things,' paramedic Avi Marcus said.
Smith has been a forensic patient since 2005 over sex, burglary offences

He was on unescorted leave to visit a gym and did not return on Friday

A Victorian sex offender is on the run after failing to return to a prison hospital after he said he was going to the gym.

Craig Smith, 42, did not return to Thomas Embling Hospital, in Melbourne's northwest, at 5pm as expected from unescorted leave on Friday.

He was last seen leaving the hospital at 1pm where it was believed he would be going to a local gym.

Craig Smith, 42, did not return to Thomas Embling Hospital, in Melbourne's northwest, at 5pm as expected from unescorted leave on Friday

He was last seen leaving the hospital at 1pm where it was believed he would be going to a local gym

Smith has been held at the hospital as a forensic patient since 2005 over sex and burglary offences.

Smith is a forensic patient subject to a custodial supervision order at the hospital and has been granted unescorted community leave by the Forensic Leave Panel.

The 42-year-old man is described as being Caucasian, 175cm tall, medium build, with brown eyes and short hair. He has a moustache and beard.

Smith was wearing black/red/white runners/shirt, grey chequered shorts and carrying a black backpack.

Investigators have released images of Smith, taken in May and June this year.

Any person with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Experts warn not to kill them as they are 'incredibly valuable' to ecosystem

It is unclear how they communicate but nest knows when one is near food

The secret to stopping a swarm of wasps attacking summer picnics has been revealed - take one prisoner.

Scientists have suggested the simple solution of spotting a lone wasp and trapping it under a glass or mug is the best way to prevent it returning to its nest to recruit others.

Although killing the insect can have the same effect, entomologists argue squashing it is a mistake because they are 'incredibly valuable' to the ecosystem.

Once young wasps become independent, their parents fly around looking for sweet foods to pry on rather than other insects

Specialists at the Cheltenham Science Festival said it was unclear how wasps communicate - but that the rest of the swarm sense it when a 'scout' wasp is allowed to fly near food.

Dr Serian Summer from Bristol University said: 'If you can just stop that first wasp getting back to the colony with food material then you have more of a chance.

'We need to do more on how they communicate, but once back at the nest they will definitely recruit their friends.'

The Telegraph reported that Dr Summer said wasps tend to target tasty treats later in the summer when they are freed of their parental responsibilities.

When they are young, wasp larvae depend on parent wasps returning to the nest with captured insects.

However once their young become independent, older wasps fly around looking for sweet foods.

Professor Adam Hart from the University of Gloucester said the bugs often circle spots as a means of finding their bearings - rather than out of malevolence, which many people suspect.

Specialists at the Cheltenham Science Festival said it was unclear how wasps communicate - but that the rest of the swarm sense it when a 'scout' wasp is allowed to fly near food (file photo)

He said: 'They are not aggressive creatures but when you start flapping around they will defend themselves.'

And he shot down the myth that selecting certain spots for a picnic can help to avoid them.

'The reality is that if there's food about, they will find it,' he said.

Wasps play a huge part environmentally, mainly because of their wide-ranging taste buds.

Dr Summer said: 'Social wasps will eat anything and they will go for any kind of material out there and that makes them incredibly valuable to our ecosystem.
Fears that a giant shark is loose of Perth's coastline have been

A fisheries drum line hook was snapped by a giant sea creature the day after British diver Doreen Collyer was killed, sparking fears that a monster shark is on the loose off Perth's coastline.

Tony Cappelluti, Fisheries metropolitan regional manager, said that officers saw part of a drum line set off Mindarie submerge at about 3.15pm on Monday, before confirming that the hook had been snapped in half.

'The hooks being used are the same as those used during research tagging operations that have successfully caught large sharks greater than five metres,' he told The West Australian.

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A fisheries drum line hook, used to catch sharks, was snapped in half on Monday in Perth (stock image)

Officers saw part of a drum line set off Mindarie submerge at about 3.15pm on Monday, before confirming that the hook had been snapped in half (pictured is a shark trapped and killed in Perth on June 4)

A fisheries drum line hook was snapped by a giant sea creature the day after British diver Doreen Collyer (pictured) was killed, sparking fears that a monster shark is on the loose off Perth's coastline

Efforts to catch the giant shark that mauled Ms Collyer have now been called off (stock image)

Efforts to catch the giant shark that mauled Ms Collyer have now been called off.

Fisheries spokesman Ashley Malone said the department will remain on alert, WAtoday reported.

'We will continue to monitor any new shark sighting reports,' he said.

The City of Wannerroo has reopened the beaches near Mindarie to the public that had been closed since Sunday's fatal shark attack.

University lecturer Doreen Collyer, 60, who is originally from Britain, was diving at a reef off Mindarie Beach, about 35 kilometres north of Perth, when she was attacked.

This came only six days after a surfer had his leg bitten off by a shark while paddling his surfboard at Falcon Beach in Mandurah, south of Perth.

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett (pictured) used the rogue shark theory to defend his controversial trial of fixed drum line hooks in 2013 and 2014

A 4.2 metre great white shark was trapped and killed on June 4 by Western Australia's Department of Fisheries (pictured)

The City of Wannerroo has reopened the beaches near Mindarie (pictured) to the public that had been closed since Sunday's fatal shark attack

Ben Gerring, 29, was brought to shore by fellow surfers and taken to Royal Perth Hospital, but later died from his injuries.

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett used the rogue shark theory to defend his controversial trial of fixed drum lines in 2013 and 2014.

The drum lines were later scrapped after the Environmental Protection Authority recommended against it.
Yuri Patricia Sanchez (pictured, left) was arrested in Monteria. She has been dubbed La Diabla (Devil Woman)

Police in Colombia have arrested a 22-year-old assassin dubbed the 'Devil Woman' who they think carried out 14 murders.

Yuri Patricia Sanchez was Colombia's most feared hitwoman and is thought to have been working for the Usuga Clan, a drug-trafficking cartel.

The sexy killer was pictured wearing a crop top and tight-fitting jeans after her arrest in the city of Monteria in northern Colombia.

A video was released online in which a police officer read out a list of the crimes with which she has been charged.

They include carrying out contract killings, collecting and providing information to extort victims, and hiding weapons used in crimes.

Sanchez was said to have made a name for herself taking part in street fights, which are popular with cartel leaders.

She was rapidly promoted within the Two Cobras gang, which is part of the Usuga Clan.

The clan, also known as Los Urabenos, is a paramilitary organisation with more than 3,000 members, which has tentacles in countries as far away as Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Honduras and Spain.

La Diabla (Devil Woman) has been accused of 14 murders, including the killing of seven police officers.

She was named as the most dangerous woman in the country.

Sanchez, pictured flanked by police officers, is accused of killing 14 people, including seven cops

Police General Rodrigo Gonzalez Herrera said: 'This young woman of 22 years knows the truth about the crimes carried out in the south of Cordoba against public security forces and adolescents who refused to join the drug trafficking organisation.

'Also she is in charge of supplying privileged information about inhabitants, businessmen and farmers who could be converted into the next victims of their extortions.'

The Usuga Clan is composed of former members of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary organisation which fought against left-wing groups like FARC until its demobilisation 10 years ago.

The leader of the Usuga Clan, Dairo Antonio Usuga David, known as Otoniel, is still on the run and the US has offered a reward of $5m (3.4m) for information leading to his capture.
Alicia Brown spotted in the act with William Knowles in South London park

A grandmother is believed to be the oldest woman to ever have her name added to the sex offenders' register after she was caught having sex in the park.

Alicia Brown, 79, was arrested by officers after passersby spotted her in the act with her 54-year-old lover at Rush Common in Brixton Hill, South London.

Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court heard how Brown's partner in crime William Knowles made his way down to South London from Manchester that day to meet up with her.

Alicia Brown, 79, was arrested by officers after passersby spotted her in the act with her 54-year-old lover at Rush Common in Brixton Hill, South London (pictured)

Shocked members of the public called police one morning last month after spotting Knowles, who was naked from the waist down, with Brown near a busy road.

The pair had been drinking strong lager that morning, reported The Sun, while Brown is said to have received bad news regarding a member of her family.

Brown, from Waterloo, South London, pleaded guilty to a charge of outraging public decency and was handed a 30-month conditional discharge.

The grandmother, who brought a shopping trolley with her into the courtroom, was also made to sign on to the sex offenders' register.

Knowles was also prosecuted for outraging public decency and was given a two-month custodial sentence on May 9.
The search for a missing two-year-old pulled away from her family by strong water currents has been suspended due to severe weather conditions.

Emily Saunders was in her parents' 4WD travelling as part of a group when the car became submerged in the swollen Poerua River in New Zealand on Thursday afternoon.

According to the NZ Herald, the occupants abandoned the vehicle and a man travelling with the Saunders family tried to save Emily and her mother Sandra.

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The search for missing toddler Emily Saunders, 2, has been suspended due to severe weather conditions

The Poerua River (pictured) became swollen due to heavy storms over the last few days. Emily was dragged away by strong currents after her parents were travelling through the river in a 4WD

He lost his grip on Emily due to the strong current and was only able to help Mrs Saunders to dry land.

Emily's father Michael swam after the toddler but was unable to catch her, reported Stuff.co.nz.

Another man travelling with the group, 66-year-old Barry Petrie, was also dragged away by the fast-moving current.

On Thursday, West Coast Area Commander Inspector Melanie Aitken said officers held 'grave fears' for the safety of the girl and the elderly man whose body was also swept away by the river.

Police uncovered Mr Petrie's body on Friday.

Over the past few days, NZ Police have employed helicopters, boats, kayaks, dogs and volunteers and police have searched riverbanks and beaches in Westland on New Zealand's South Island for the young child.

Emily's parents issued an emotional statement on Saturday, thanking everyone involved in the extensive search for their daughter.

We would like to thank the Police, Search and Rescue and all the countless people involved in the ongoing search for Emily,' they said.

'We would also like to thank the local community for their kind help and support during this difficult time.

'Our thoughts are with Barry's family as well at this time.

'His efforts trying to save Emily will never be forgotten.

'Our daughter Emily was a happy, cheeky little girl who loved the outdoors. She will be missed by her mum and dad and her older sisters Tiffany and Natalie and all who knew her.'

A severe weather warning for Westland has put the search for Emily on hold until heavy storms in the area ease.
Two other girls also wounded during attack in Mexican village of El Mirador

Gunman identified as man who sexually abused one victim nine years ago

Eleven members of the same family have been shot dead by gunmen, one of which sexually assaulted one of the victims nine years ago, authorities said.

Five women, four men and two young girls were shot in the pre-dawn attack in El Mirador, a community in the central Puebla state of Mexico.

Witnesses identified two assailants and recognized one of them as the man who allegedly sexually abused one of the dead women nine years ago, resulting in the birth a boy, according to the state prosecutor's office.

Residents carry the body of one of the victms of an armed attack as police officers guard the perimetre of a crime scene

Mexican police officers stand guard at a location where eleven people were murdered, in Coxcatlan, Puebla state, Mexico

A blood spatter is marked by crime scene personnel inside of the house where five women, four men and two young girls were shot dead

Two other girls were wounded in the attack and were taken to a hospital.

The woman's current partner, who was killed, was stabbed several times and had 'more wounds than the other' victims, the office said in a statement.

The two assailants fled toward the neighboring state of Oaxaca. Authorities in both states are searching for them. The hamlet is so remote that it is only accessible on foot.

'It was an act of revenge,' said Vicente Lopez de la Vega, mayor of Coxcatlan, the municipality that oversees El Mirador.

'To kill 11 people like that, you don't have feelings. It's alarming,' Lopez de la Vega added.

The prosecutor's office said the gunmen 'arrived on foot where the family was located, fired several times and left on foot.'

Pistol and rifle bullet casings were found at the scene.

Government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the attack took place inside one home.

Two witnesses have been placed under state protection.

An official at the prosecutor's office had earlier said that authorities were investigating whether the crime was related to organized crime or a family dispute.

An official at the prosecutor's office had earlier said that authorities were investigating whether the crime was related to organized crime or a family dispute

A view of the home where the family of 11 were shot dead in a pre-dawn attack in El Mirador, a remote community in the central Puebla state of Mexico

The village is inhabited by Evangelicals who broke away from another community of Catholics, El Potrero. But the mayor said the two villages respected each other.

'It's a community in harmony, but things change. There's immigration. Many go north of the country and to the United States. Sometimes when people come back the harmony is lost,' Lopez de la Vega said.

It is the latest murder to rock Puebla, a region that has been relatively spared the drug violence that has plagued other parts of Mexico.

In March, an undetermined number of human remains were found in various acid containers in a rural area.

In April, four bodies were found inside a burnt car near Veracruz, an eastern state beset by murders and disappearances linked to drug cartels. Two of the bodies belonged to sisters of a jailed Zetas drug cartel member, Veracruz authorities said.

That same day, three other bodies were found in the same area near a facility of state-run oil firm Pemex.

Late last month, four people died when gunmen linked to fuel thefts opened fire in the village of La Purisima, a region where rival gangs seek to control such illegal pipeline taps.

Puebla has also seen a spate of mob lynchings of crime suspects.

Witnesses identified two assailants and recognized one of them as a man who allegedly sexually abused one of the dead women nine years ago
Admits there has been an 'unconscious bias' when hiring men in the past

Jonathan Munro says the corporation is struggling to recruit females

Jonathan Munro (pictured), the BBC's head of newsgathering, said the corporation is struggling to recruit women

A male BBC News chief has said women miss out on top jobs in the media because they 'don't feel confident enough'.

Jonathan Munro said the BBC is struggling to recruit women - despite offering flexible working hours and 'confidence in the workplace training'.

The BBC's head of newsgathering said that many females are 'very capable' of filling the roles but believes they do not feel confident enough to put themselves forward.

When he joined the BBC in 2013, the corporation had just lost its economics editor, Stephanie Flanders, and had no women among its top reporters.

According to The Telegraph, he also claimed male executives have been guilty of 'unconscious bias' when hiring men.

'Appointments we made over the years were people hiring in the image of themselves. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

'I don't think people realised they were being biased, but the evidence was pretty strong.'

And Fran Unsworth, the BBC's deputy director of news, said women need to 'harden up' after female reporters are routinely slated by internet trolls.

Mr Munro added: 'If you walk around the BBC newsroom it's a really diverse place, but you find some very capable women don't feel confident enough to pitch for stuff that we'd really like them to apply for.'

And he admitted the broadcaster had recruitment problems for ethnic minorities.

But despite his concerns, the on-air roles at the BBC are filled with females - six of the top 15 reporting posts are held by female journalists.

These include Scotland editor Sarah Smith and education editor Branwen Jeffreys. Emily Maitlis is also a senior newsreader.

Despite Mr Munro's concerns, some top jobs are taken by women including Laura Kuenssberg (left) - the BBC's political editor - and senior newsreader Emily Maitlis (right)

Last year, Laura Kuenssberg made history after being the first woman to take on the role of political editor at the BBC.

However her coverage of the upcoming EU referendum has been slammed by the public - with some booing her at a recent Labour Party event and others setting up a petition to have her sacked.

Mr Munro has disputed criticism over tough questions that she fired at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, branding it 'completely unacceptable'.
Former leprosy sufferers have testified about the stigma linked to the disease and about their attempts to fight exclusion.

They appeared at a conference in the Vatican City to raise awareness of discrimination they still receive in some sections of society.

Although it has been eradicated almost globally through treatments developed in the 1980s, leprosy still affects 200,000 people a year, particularly in India, Indonesia and Brazil.

And the stigma attached goes on long after sufferers have been cured.

Contagious: Leprosy is a fast-spreading infection that causes scaly skin, loss of eyesight, and a loss of feeling in the part of the body that are affected (file picture)

Yuan Yahua, who was boring into a poor farming family in China, said: 'At 14, I was diagnosed with leprosy.

'My parents loved me and to prevent me from being hurt or burned by others, they locked me in a small house.'

Vagavathali Narsappa, an Indian who leads an association for former sufferers, was driven out by his parents, and he only reunited with his sister when she learned he and his children were healthy.

Japanese Natsuko Tominaga, 80, stayed at a leper colony for 60 years despite being cured aged 18, so he could support fellow sufferers, who he considered family.

Former sufferers testified about the stigma linked to the disease at a conference in the Vatican City, pictured (file picture)

More than 200 people, including victims of the disease and researchers, took part in the congress on Thursday and Friday.

'Exclusion still exists,' the chief executive of the Follereau Foundation Michel Recipon said, adding that testimonies from sufferers was invaluable in changing perceptions in areas of the world still fearful of leprosy.

'When they are no longer afraid, they begin to defend themselves' and fellow victims.

'They are the ones who began forming associations and telling us 'this is what should be done',' he said.
A Chinese billionaire has snapped up two historic French vineyards for 9.5million (12million euros).

Jack Ma, 51, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, bought the Chateau Guerry and the Chateau Perenne, dating back to the 18th century, in the heart of the famous Bordeaux wine-growing region.

Previous owner, French wine magnate Bernard Magrez, confirmed the sale on Thursday after the transaction was reported by the British specialist magazine Decanter.

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Jack Ma, pictured, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has bought two French vineyards for 9.5million

The Chateau Perenne is spread over 158 acres in Blaye Cotes-de-Bourg, producing about 500,000 bottles of red and white wine annually.

Chateau Guerry is the oldest estate in the Cotes de Bourg appellation, producing 84,000 bottles of red a year from around 50 acres of vines.

The purchases add to the Chateau de Sours vineyard, which Ma bought in Bordeaux' Entre-Deux-Mers wine region in February.

It includes a magnificent 18th-century country house.

Magrez said that the sale of the estates were part of a 'strategy to move away from entry-level Bordeaux wines' to top-level appellations, as wine classifications are called.

More than 100 properties in France's south west wine-producing area are today owned by Chinese tycoons looking to diversify their fortunes.

More than 100 vineyards in France's south west wine producing region are now owned by Chinese tycoons (file picture)

This makes up 1.5 per cent of the region's 7,000 vineyards.

Part of the appeal for the Chinese is the status that comes with possessing a noble French chateau as part of their wine-growing property.
A 71-year-old man who has been identified as a person of interest in the case of the missing Beaumont children has been arrested for unrelated child sex offenses.

The man was charged with a range of crimes including buggery and indecent assault against several victims between 1962 and 1983, police said.

The mans name has also come up in investigations into the disappearance of Grant, Arnna and Jane Beaumont from Glenelg Beach in 1966, 7News has reported.

The mans name has also come up in investigations into the disappearance of Grant, Arnna and Jane Beaumont (pictured) from Glenelg Beach in 1966

He was in Adelaide when the children went missing but there is no evidence to link him to their suspected murder.

It is believed the man had been financing orphanages in Cambodia and Burma before his recent arrest in Adelaide. He will face court on July 22.

Total charges include three counts of buggery, two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, seven counts of indecent assault and one count of acts of gross indecency.

Grant, Arnna and Jane Beaumont went missing from Glenelg Beach in 1966 and were never found
This horrifying video shows a mob of furious locals beating and kicking a man to death after he allegedly abducted and sexually abused a four-year-old girl.

Men, woman and even children surround the man, believed to be around 40, in a car park and film themselves relentlessly attacking their victim.

They then posted footage of their murder, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, to YouTube where commenters expressed concern at the locals going beyond the law to seek revenge.

The horrifying moment a mob of vigilantes in Mexico beat a suspected rapist to death on camera

In sickening scenes the people hit him again and again bludgeoning him to death.

Blood pours from his face throughout the attack made in righteous anger.

He had allegedly abducted a young girl around 11pm on a bicycle, as she was ordering a hamburger in the Los Colorines neighbourhood of the city.

Her brother let his parents know his sister was missing, and that someone had taken her.

The parents then sought help from neighbours to start searching for their child, and around midnight the father was told his daughter had been found.

In a statement he gave to the District Attorney's Office, the girl was discovered bleeding and appeared to have been sexually assaulted.

In sickening scenes the people hit him again and again bludgeoning him until he takes his final breath

The father claims when he arrived to confront the man, the mob savagely beat the suspect, reports proceso.com in Mexico.

An ambulance finally rushed him to hospital but his life could not be saved.

Mexican authorities have not said whether they believe the man committed the sexual assault.

The Attorney General's Office told the El Manana newspaper they will be analysing the video to identify the people who killed the man.

'Beasts killing beasts': The culprits claim he abducted a four-year-old girl and sexually assaulted her, but commenters online are concerned the locals took the law into their own hands

On Youtube one commenter wrote: 'I mean the video says ALLEGED!!! and those who killed him they are murderers because there is proof.'

But another posted: 'I am against violence but there is no choice.'

On Facebook one user responded: 'I am against your comment against violence but there is no choice.'
Two bombs killed 20 people outside the Sayyida Zeinab mosque in Damascus, the holiest Shiite shrine in Syria.

The official SANA news agency said a suicide bomber and a car bomb struck at the entrance to the shrine, which is revered by Shiites around the world.

ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attack. The group, sometimes known as Daesh, consider Shiites to be heretics.

But Syria's Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi blamed Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, for being behind the 'brutal massacres'.

People gather around the burning wreckage of a car after a double bomb attack at the Sayyida Zeinab shrine in Damascus on Saturday

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said they understood 12 people had been killed and 30 wounded.

The shrine, six miles south of the centre of Damascus, is heavily guarded by Assad regime forces but has still been the target of several attacks by ISIS and their acolytes.

Syria's official Al-Ikhbariya channel showed images from the scene of burned-out cars billowing with plumes of black smoke on Saturday.

An injured boy gets medical attention in a hospital in Damascus after the suicide and car bomb attack

Firefighters battled to extinguish the flames as shop signs lay in the street.

Syrian TV aired footage showing several cars and shops on fire and at least two heavily damaged buildings, whose balconies, doors and windows had been destroyed.

Blood stains could be seen on the debris-covered road. Fire engines rushed to the scene.

A suicide bomber blew himself up seconds before a car bomb went off. Syria's Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi blamed Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, for being behind the 'brutal massacres'

State news agency SANA said the first blast was caused by a suicide attacker wearing an explosives belt and took place at the entrance of Ziabiyeh district while the second explosion was the result of a suicide attacker in a car rigged with explosives in al-Teen street.

The attack came as Sunni and Shia Muslims celebrated the holy month of Ramadan.

The last attack on Sayyida Zeinab was on April 25 and killed at least seven and wounded dozens.

In January another attack claimed by ISIS killed 70 people.

The golden-domed Sayyida Zeinab shrine contains the grave of one of the Prophet Muhammad's grand-daughters, and is a draw for many Shiite pilgrims

A string of ISIS bombings near the shrine in February left 134 people dead, most of them civilians.

The Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah cited the threat to Sayyida Zeinab as a principal reason for its intervention in Syria's civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.
Eleven teachers were killed and four others seriously injured after a passenger van overturned and burst into flames on a highway in Thailand.

The teachers were trapped inside the mini bus after it crashed into a concrete barrier on the Chonburi-Bangkok motorway in Chonburi, southeast of Bangkok.

The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle after one of the tires burst at 9pm on Friday night, sending the vehicle hurtling into the wall, reports Pattaya Mail.

The passenger van burst into flames after crashing into a concrete barrier on the Chonburi-Bangkok motorway

The vehicle was reportedly carrying teachers from Kumklao Sakola School in the Min Buri district.

The interior ministry's disaster management department confirmed four people managed to get out of the van before it was engulfed in flames.

Highway police are investigating the circumstances that led to the fatal accident, which triggered heavy traffic jams on the busy highway.

Thai roads are notorious for speeding and other traffic violations due to laid back patrolling of the roads.

Eleven teachers were killed and four others seriously injured after the driver lost control of the mini bus
Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi put their differences aside and sat amicably while waiting for the bus.

Princess Leia got the old gang back together and strolled the streets with a storm trooper guard.

And Aquaman ditched his underwater post to join the others and see what all the fuss was about at the 2016 Oz Comic Con in Melbourne.

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A family of Stars Wars characters steps out for the 2016 Comic Con in Melbourne, with a storm trooper and Chewbacca as their burly gaurds

Aquaman left his post under the sea to see what all the fuss was about above ground at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. He had his hands full toting his trademark trident - and his young child

The Joker and the Jigsaw Killer swapped dastardly plans on the steps outside of the convetion

Thousands of weird and wonderful characters descended upon Melbourne for the annual pop culture celebration of comics, gaming, TV, anime and movies.

Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, guests at the weekend-long event had the opportunity to meet celebrity actors and see exclusive screenings of their favourite shows.

Outside of the action they also had the opportunity to banter and swap war stories  with the Joker and the Jigsaw killer concerningly seen plotting together outside.

The Joker's sidekick Harley Quinn was all smiles until she bumped into Batman at the event

Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi set aside their differences and exchanged idle chat as they waited for a bus

A family of ninja turtles curled up on the pavement when the action inside the event became a little too much for them

Harley Quinn from the Suicide Squad movie talks shop with Spiderman and the villain from the Scream movies

Guests at the Comic Con are famous for the effort they put into constructing their elaborate costumes and this years event was no exception.

There were Star Wars storm troopers in full military regalia, scores of spidermen and dozens of brightly dressed anime characters.

Catwoman took a seat to purr down the line to her pal on the phone and a family of ninja turtles curled up on the pavement when the bustle of the event threatened to overwhelm.

Comic Con fans are famous for their elaborate costumes and this year's event was no exception

Catwoman puts her paws up and takes some time out to chat to a pal on the phone

Comic Con celebrates comics, TV, movies, anime, gaming and everything else falling under the umbrella of popular culture

One fan displays her intricate costume of blue, scaly battle armour, green hair, a cape and horns

Although fans costumes seem like the main event at the expo, there were also stars ready to meet and greet the people imitating them.

Lucy Lawless, from the hit 90s show Xena: Warrior Princess, shed her aggressive on-screen person and smiled as she spoke with guests.

Robert Patrick, who starred in films such as Die Hard 2 and Charlies Angels, signed tee shirts for fans of his role as the robot villain in the Terminator franchise.

And adoring fans brought offerings of Tim Tams to Scottish sci-fi favourite John Barrowman, of Dr Who and Torchwood fame, who built a tower from the biscuits which collapsed and buried him.

Lovable rogues Captain Jack Sparrow (left) and Star-Lord, from the Guardians of the Galaxy, banter outside the convetion

A fan dressed as No Face from the Hayao Miyazaki anime masterpiece A Spirited Away

DC Comics characters Hawkgirl (left) and the Green Arrow ready their weapons in case trouble breaks out

The Melbourne event also included Jed Brophy from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit franchises, and Rose McIver who starred alongside Lawless in the Xena series.

Pop culture fans in NSW and Queensland will have the opportunity to dust off their costumes when the Comic Con goes on tour later in the year.

Oz Comic Con will visit Sydney on September 10 and will move to Brisbane on September 17.

Celebrity guests for these shows are yet to be announced.

Lucy Lawless, the star of 90s series Xena Warrior Princess, shed her aggressive character to chat and laugh with fans

Terminator villain Robert Patrick signed clothing for guests and spoke about his upcoming roles
The European Union will start disintegrating should Britons vote to leave the EU, Nigel Farage has claimed.

The Ukip leader added that British Prime Minister David Cameron should resign even if the Remain camp won by a narrow margin in a June 23 referendum on EU membership.

Bookmakers still predict Britons will vote to stay in the EU, while opinion polls have see-sawed - though one on Friday gave a 10 percentage point lead to the Leave side, for which Farage is a prominent campaigner.

Ukip's leader said David Cameron should resign even if the Remain camp won by a narrow margin in a June 23 referendum on EU membership

'We can't lose this referendum,' he told Italy's Corriere della Sera. 'There will be a Big Bang of British politics: nothing will remain the same.'

DYSON BOOST TO LEAVE CAMPAIGN Billionaire entrepreneur James Dyson has come out in favour of Britain leaving the European Union. Dyson told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that Britain has more to gain than to lose by quitting the EU. 'We will create more wealth and more jobs by being outside the EU than we will within it, and we will be in control of our destiny,' he said. 'And control, I think, is the most important thing in life and business.' Advertisement

He said he would 'destroy the old EU', together with Beppe Grillo, the leader of the Italian anti-establishment movement 5-Star.

'On June 19 the 5-Star movement elects the mayor of the capital and changes Italy,' Farage added. 'On June 23 Britain leaves the EU and changes Europe.

'We will trigger a domino effect. After us, other northern European countries will leave, starting with Denmark. The EU is about to collapse, disintegrating in several pieces.'

Municipal elections in Italy last Sunday put 5-Star candidate Virginia Raggi, 37, in the lead to become mayor of Rome ahead of the candidate from Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party.

The race will be decided by a run-off vote on June 19, four days ahead of the UK referendum on the EU.
Video was recorded by students from

Rare drone footage has been captured of a whale and a calf feeding off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand.

Students from Auckland University of Technology recorded what they say could be world-first footage of Brydes whales feeding while conducting research with a custom-built drone.

The mesmerising video was uploaded to YouTube on Monday and has since been viewed over 100,000 times.

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Students from Auckland University of Technology recorded what they say could be world-first footage of Brydes whales feeding while conducting research with a custom-built drone

Rare drone footage has been captured of a whale and a calf feeding off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand

The mesmerising video was uploaded to YouTube on Monday and has since been viewed over 100,000 times

It shows a 12 metre, 12 tonne adult whale with a calf feeding alongside it.

I was in awe of the creatures. Never before have I seen anything like this. There is no way we would see so much detail from a boat-based survey, said Dr Barbara Bollard Breen, a senior lecturer at the university.

The whales in the video are feeding on plankton, which sits just below the waters surface.

Lorenzo Fiori, one of the students who filmed the incredible footage said: It was pure excitement when I was filming, and its simply a joy to see anytime I watch.

Using a drone enabled the research team to record this normally unseen moment without disturbing the whales.

According to the video Brydes whales are critically threatened, and it is believed that there are only 200 of the species left in New Zealands waters.

The whales in the video are feeding on plankton, which sits just below the waters surface

It shows a 12 metre, 12 tonne adult whale (pictured) with a calf feeding alongside it.
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The military might of NATO is on display as thousands of troops, aircraft and ships from 17 allied countries come together for a major training exercise.

Militaries from NATO countries are taking part in the Baltops training exercises, which have been held since 1971, for three weeks.

The US-led exercise is involving around 6,000 troops, 50 ships, 60 aircraft and one submarine.

In this dramatic picture below jets from US, Poland, Germany and Sweden are flown in formation over the Baltic Sea.

A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber leads the formation above, followed by fighter aircraft including two Polish air force F-16 Fighting Falcons, four U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, two German Eurofighter Typhoons and four Swedish Gripens

Militaries from NATO countries are taking part in the Baltops training exercises, which have been held since 1971, for three weeks

A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber leads the formation above, followed by fighter aircraft including two Polish air force F-16 Fighting Falcons, four U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, two German Eurofighter Typhoons and four Swedish Gripens

Countries bordering Russia have called on the US to bolster its number of troops as the country continues to parade its military power in the area.

The Royal Navy's flagship HMS Ocean is in the Baltic region for the exercise and has onboard helicopters from 814 and 845 Naval Air Squadrons from Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, in Somerset, 656 Army Air Corps and 27 Squadron RAF.

Type 23 frigate, HMS Iron Duke, is also in the area for the exercises which include anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine and mine countermeasures drills.

The Royal Navy's flagship HMS Ocean is in the Baltic region for the exercise and has onboard helicopters from 814 and 845 Naval Air Squadrons from Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, in Somerset, 656 Army Air Corps and 27 Squadron RAF

A support boat escorts a Portuguese submarine into the Baltic Sea as part of the Baltops naval exercise near Muuga, Estonia

A U.S. Navy guard on USS Carter Hall keeps watch during the Baltops naval exercise which is involving more than 200 U.S. Marines

The US-led exercise is involving around 6,000 troops, 50 ships, 60 aircraft and one submarine

Countries bordering Russia have called on the US to bolster its number of troops as the country continues to parade its military power in the area

Ben Aldous, Commanding Officer of HMS Iron Duke said: 'Participating in BALTOPS 16 is an excellent opportunity to showcase Iron Duke's ability to work with other nations just as we have been doing throughout our SNMG1 deployment.

'This exercise sends a clear message that NATO is committed to promoting unity, strength and stability in the Baltic and my Ship's Company are trained and ready to react to any scenario.'

Forces from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK, and US are involved in the exercises.
Turner's six-month sentence has been widely condemned and led to calls for the judge who imposed it to be removed from office

She was on swim team with Turner and called him an 'inspiration'

The ex-girlfriend of convicted rapist Brock Turner, whose lenient sentencing has prompted worldwide outrage, wrote a letter of defense to the judge expressing her 'anger at god' for instilling pain on Turner's 'undeserving soul'.

Lydia Pocisk, 20, who also testified as a character witness in the trial, wrote to Judge Aaron Persky about her 'dear friend' of eight years and boyfriend of two, describing him as a kind, loving and 'silently hilarious' young man.

The letter, obtained by MailOnline dated March 19, speaks in detail about the 'countless enjoyable hours the pair spent together' and paints a picture of a student who was determined and excelled at everything he did, including swimming.

Scroll down for letter in full

Lydia Pocisk, 20, (right) who also testified as a character witness in the trial, wrote to Judge Aaron Persky about her 'dear friend' of eight years and boyfriend of two, convicted rapist Brock Turner (left)

Pocisk's letter paints a picture of a young man who was determined and excelled at everything he did, including swimming. Pictured

Many believe that the 'star athlete' status given to Turner was a contributing factor in the lenient sentencing given by Persky, who said he weighed Turner's character, remorse, and lack of criminal history to bypass a heavier penalty.

Pocisk, also an Oakwood, Ohio, native, said that Turner was one of the most unique people she had ever met and was deserving of 'nothing but the best'.

The 20-year-old also said she was astonished and angered to hear how District Attorney Alaleh Kianerci portrayed him, which, she said, is 'not the real Brock'.

Despite his subsequent conviction, close friend Pocisk said that the type of person Turner was could never 'do anything he has been convicted of in a thousand lives'.

She goes on to say she has 'never been so angry with God in all of her life for instilling such pain on such an undeserving soul'.

Pocisk concludes: 'I pray everyday for only the best for my dear friend and I live every day in fear of June 2, for the best guy I have ever gotten to know may be taken away from me.'

Sentenced: Brock Turner, 20, was sentenced to just six months in prison and three years' probation on June 2 after being convicted on three sexual assault charges against a fellow Stanford student

LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM LYDIA POCISK, MARCH 19, IN FULL Advertisement

Meanwhile, an email sent by friend-of-six-years Katie Sickinger, who went to high school with Turner, to Defense Attorney Michael Armstrong spoke of his 'goofy, quirky' character.

The email, sent on April 17, nearly a month after Turner was convicted, insisted he had an 'incredibly respectful' nature and was 'very sensitive' when the pair briefly dated in their Freshman year.

Sickinger, who was on the school's swim team, Dayton Raiders, with Turner, also emphasized his 'swimming talent' and called him an 'inspiration'.

She expressed her 'heartbreak' at seeing his 'incredible talent' go to waste as she feels he 'could really do something meaningful with his life'.

Childhood friend Leslie Rasmussen, a drummer from indie band Good English, also wrote a letter of recommendation to the judge that has been described as 'rape apology'.

After the letter was leaked online the band were blacklisted from four venues in Brooklyn where they were due to play this weekend with promoters saying they 'did not support victim blaming or rape apologists of any kind.'

Turner was convicted of raping a 23-year-old woman outside a Stanford frat party in March, attacking his victim while she was unconscious.

Sickinger (left) expressed her 'heartbreak' at seeing his 'incredible talent' go to waste as she feels Brock Turner (right) 'could really do something meaningful with his life'

An email sent by friend-of-six-years Katie Sickinger (left with Turner), who went to high school with Turner, to Defense Attorney Michael Armstrong spoke of his 'goofy, quirky' character

Sickinger, who was on the school's swim team, Dayton Raiders (pictured) with Turner, (second from right, back) also emphasized his 'swimming talent' and called him an 'inspiration'

EMAIL OF SUPPORT FROM KATIE SICKINGER, APRIL 17, IN FULL Advertisement

He was sentenced to six months but Daily Mail Online has learned that he is set to serve just half of his six-month sentence and will be released on September 2.

This website also understands that the convicted rapist is being kept away from the general prison population and enjoys a cell to himself.

He has applied to serve his three-year probation term in Ohio rather than California.

The case burst into the spotlight after the victim made public a powerful letter to the judge who sentenced her attacker on June 2.

Her harrowing 12-page account of the January 2015 assault and its impact on her life -- read in court before the sentencing -- lit up the Internet within hours of being posted online, drawing a global chorus of outrage at the light sentence and prompting calls for the judge to be removed from the bench.

A Change.org petition yesterday surpassed one million supporters, while others listed at Moveon.org and the White House's We The People, have both surpassed the 100, 000 mark.
Was made illegal to import 'all psychoactive drugs' into

A new synthetic drug which has killed 50 people in America is being sold in in Australia through Chinese websites.

The opioid, known as U-47700, is believed to be eight times more potent than morphine. It is already banned in several countries where it was connected to overdoses.

But several sites are selling the substance online from labs in China, with some claiming the product can be sent in a special disguised package

A new synthetic drug which has killed 50 people in America is being sold in in Australia through online stores

One of the sites selling the drug lists telegraphic transfers, moneygram and Bitcoin as acceptable forms of payment.

The site listed a minimum order of 100g of U-47700 and a maximum order of 500 Kilogram a month. The site assured fast delivery to any state in Australia.

Another site promises discreet safe, and reliable delivery to any state in Australia in small and large quantities.

U-47700 can be snorted in powder form, and there have also been reports of it being taken orally and intravenously.

Several U.S. states have taken emergency action to ban the drug and it has already been made illegal in Sweden and Finland following deaths in Europe, reports Dallas Observer.

There are about 50 deaths across the U.S. are connected to U-47700, which was designed in the 1970s but resurfaced recently as a legal high.

New laws introduced by the Australian Federal Government in 2015 banned the importation of all psychoactive drugs in a bid to tackle the spread of substances presented as legal.
Firefighter James Thorpe broke his neck and seven vertebrae in his spine just two hours after arriving on the holiday island of Majorca with his stag-party

A 28-year-old British man was left paralysed from the waist down after a freak accident on his stag-do in Spain.

Firefighter James Thorpe broke his neck and seven vertebrae in his spine just two hours after arriving on the holiday island of Majorca with his stag-party.

He says he tripped and fell while paddling in the sea at knee-height, banging his head on the seabed last Thursday.

But despite being told by doctors that he may never walk again due, he has vowed that his wedding to fiancee Michaela Watson in the UK on June 24 will go ahead.

Michaela, who has rushed to Majorca to be by James' bedside, said: 'James is so excited about getting married that he's using it as his drive to get better.

'We've spent two years planning our big day and it's heartbreaking to think it might not go ahead but he keeps promising me that it is.

'His goal is to make it down the aisle and I can't take that away from him..

'It was my worst nightmare when I found out what happened, I was devastated when I saw him but he's trying to be positive about it, and we're doing all we can to get him home.'

James flew out to Majorca last week and just two hours after landing he was paddling in the sea with friends he had grown up with.

But he was suddenly swept over by the knee-height water, forcing him to fall and bang his head on the seabed.

Michaela, 32, said James has since told her he knew instantly he had broken his neck due to the trauma training he's received during his seven years in the fire service.

'He knew instantly what he'd done,' she said.

James (pictured right with fiancee Michaela Watson) flew out to Majorca last week and just two hours after landing he was paddling in the sea with friends he had grown up with

Michaela, who has rushed to Majorca to be by James' bedside, said: 'James is so excited about getting married that he's using it as his drive to get better

James Thorpe says he tripped and fell while paddling in the sea at knee-height, banging his head on the seabed last Thursday

'He kept really calm and luckily one of his friends spotted him going under the water or he would have drowned.

'He was directing his friends to tell them what to do and they made a headrest out of sand so he could keep his neck still.

'He was even liaising with a nurse who happened to be there to make sure he didn't do anything to make his injuries worse.'

James was rushed to a nearby hospital where MRI scans revealed he had not only broken his neck but also seven of his vertebrae.

He has since undergone surgery in which medics took bone from hip to replace badly damaged bone in his neck.

But he must now wait to see what permanent damage has been done as his family desperately try to raise up to 20,000 to fly him back to the UK for specialist rehabilitation.

Michaela said: 'The doctors have been fantastic over here but they can only help to fix his broken neck and treat his pain.

James proposed to Michaela Watson whilst on holiday at Disney World, in Florida

James has since undergone surgery in which medics took bone from hip to replace badly damaged bone in his neck

'We urgently need to get him to Sheffield Hospital where they have a dedicated team for this type of injury.

'We have been told he may never walk again, but he has come feeling in his legs and toes, which we are holding on to for now.'

James and Michaela, an assistant technical manager, have spent two years planning a Disney-themed wedding after he proposed to her at Disney World in Florida two years ago.

The couple from Boston, Lincolnshire, are due to get married at Belvoir Castle in Grantham, on June 24, before jetting off to Las Vegas and then a two-week Caribbean cruise.

But Michaela has said they will postpone the wedding if James is not up to it.

'I want him to enjoy his day as much as me,' she said. 'If that means postponing it until he's ready then that's what we will do.

'I don't care how long we have to wait, it is my dream to marry James. I just want to make sure he is better first.'

Friend and fellow firefighter Simon Burch has set up a Just Giving page to raise money to aid his recovery. More than 1,000 was raised within 30 minutes of it going online.

Simon said: 'I have spoken to him since, and, if anything, he seemed the most upbeat person there. The wedding is still on at present.'
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, who took over after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike.

Haibatullah Akhundzada replaced Mullah Akhtar Mansour only days after he was killed by a drone attack in a remote border area just inside Pakistan.

Akhundzada, an Islamic scholar, and has no known prowess on the battlefield, being better known as an adjudicator on internal disputes and Sharia law.

The Afghan Taliban appointed Haibatullah Akhundzada (pictured) as their new chief, replacing Mullah Mansour who was killed in a US drone strike

In an audio recording which was released online, al-Zawahiri said: 'As leader of the al Qaeda organisation for jihad, I extend my pledge of allegiance once again, the approach of Osama to invite the Muslim nation to support the Islamic Emirate.'

The authenticity of the recording of al-Zawahiri could not be immediately verified.

Al-Zawahiri took over as al-Qaeda's leader after US Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011 and he is thought to be hiding in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.

But since Bin Laden's death al-Qaeda has lost ground to the rival ISIS, which set up its a so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

The terror group's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has backed a plan to create its own 'caliphate' in the country as a direct challenge to ISIS

The Taliban established an Islamic emirate in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, which although harsh, paled into comparison with the atrocities perpetrated by ISIS.

Earlier this year it was reported that Bin Laden's son Hamza, who is 23, had released a message calling on 'mujahideen' from across the world to 'unite' to fight the West.

It was reported that some within al-Qaeda wanted Hamza to eventually take over as the organisation's leader and thought the power of his name might put the organisation back in the ascendancy.

Last month Al-Zawahiri announced plans to start up a rival al-Qaeda state in a direct challenge to ISIS in war-torn Syria

The Taliban remain a major threat in Afghanistan. Ironically the areas they control are similar to those controlled by the US-backed mujahideen when the Soviet Union supported a regime in Kabul

There have been reports that Al-Qaeda commanders have been sent to north-west Syria to begin their operation.

The Jabhat al-Nusra terror group, which is allied to al-Qaeda, would be responsible for the plan to take territory in Syria.

Al-Qaeda has been concerned Jabhat al-Nusra could be persuaded by Gulf states like Qatar to sever ties with them and disband in return for aid.

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi set up the group but it split from him in 2013. It is known for being particularly brutal in enforcing Sharia Law.




'My heart has been left permanently broken': The sister of Brock Turner's victim adressed him directly in a scathing letter to the judge who sentenced him to just six months. Brock is pictured in court

The younger sister of the woman raped by ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner says an entire part of my heart has been left permanently broken by the January 2015 attack.

Known as Jane Doe 2 in court documents, the 21-year-old student was the first to be targeted by Turner, 20, on the night of the attack  and he later claimed in court that the two had been flirting at the party.

However, his claims to have been flirting with and kissing the sisters were roundly rubbished as lies by prosecutor Alaleh Kianerci who pointed out that he was rejected twice by Jane Doe 2 in the lead-up to the assault on her sister.

But although Turners claims unraveled in court  and the imposition of a six-month jail term  Jane Doe 2 says she has found it hard to forgive herself for what happened.

Writing in a letter to Judge Aaron Persky ahead of Turners most recent hearing on June 2, the student said she still feels sick when she thinks about what happened that night.

Today I am still sick thinking about it, she wrote. Sick to my stomach every time I am reminded of the incident.

I am still sad that I was not there to protect her. We have both been devastated, we have been speechless, and we have cried until our bodies ran dry.

Jane Doe 2 had returned from college to spend a weekend with her sister and friends from home, and was part of a group of five that set out for the Kappa Alpha frat house on the night of the attack.

She was helping to look after another friend when Turner struck but realized her sister was missing  and tried to find her.

In total, she attempted to call the victim nine times on the night of the attack and was eventually left so panicked, she sent her sister a text message that read: Im scared.

In the statement made to police on the night of the attack, she repeatedly described Turner as aggressive and related how he had tried to kiss her  despite her distinct lack of interest.

She also described how she walked her friend, who was feeling ill, to her friend's dorm room to rest  but returned to the party to discover that the police had arrived.

She thought they were there to shut down the party, the statement continues. She did not know they were there because of what happened to her sister.

In her letter to Judge Persky, Jane Doe 2 reveals that she was in tears as she drove to the hospital to collect her sister the following day.

On my way to the hospital, I pulled over two times because I was crying so hard, she writes. When I finally arrived, my sister was sitting there as composed as she could will herself to be, hugging me and saying over and over again: Dont cry! Dont cry! None of this is your fault.

Scroll down for video

Privilege: Many believed that the judge went lightly on Turner because of his race and apparent wealth. But his victim's emotional impact statement has provoked outrage at the light sentence across the globe

Turner (left and right) was convicted of taking the victim from a frat party, partially stripping her, digitally penetrating her, and then dry-humping her unconscious body behind some dumpsters

She was the one trying to assure me everything was okay, trying to protect me, when I was picking her up from the rape crisis center.

The 21-year-old also relived the horror of discovering what had happened to her sister via a leaked police report.

Because she had blacked out, neither of us knew exactly what had happened. I had to learn about every graphic detail of her assault through a police report that went publicly viral before anyone told us.

I had to read about the way her body was found. I realized that the reason I could not find her that night, after checking every room in the fraternity house, after yelling her name outside, was because she was unconscious and hidden behind a dumpster.

That night, she came with me to have fun with me and my friends, with no interest in even meeting anyone, let alone hooking up with anyone outside.

Turner, of Dayton, Ohio, had claimed that the victim had been conscious when he attacked her and had signaled her consent by saying yeah.

He also claimed that she had appeared satisfied with the sexual contact  and claimed she moaned and clutched his shoulders after he began touching her.

However, his claims were demolished in court after witnesses, including hero Swedes Peter Jonsson and Carl-Fredrik Arndt, pointed out that the victim was motionless on the ground at the time and could not be woken up.

The victim also has a long term boyfriend, an Ivy League graduate, with whom she lives and whom she had spoken to approximately 30 minutes before the attack.

In his letter to Judge Persky, the boyfriend wrote of how the victim is no longer able to sleep alone and became quiet and withdrawn  all of which are also mentioned in Jane Doe 2s missive.

She also writes of suffering from anxiety as a result of the attack and says images of Turner attempting to kiss her earlier that night still keep her awake.

Like her sister, the 21-year-old also addresses Turner directly and writes that the damage he has done is irreversible.

My message to Brock Turner is that the damage you inflicted is irreversible. What has affected me most is that you did something to someone I love that I cannot take back.

In the last year and a half, I have experienced some of the lowest points of my entire life. I have felt more sadness, guilt and anger than I have ever felt.

But I would go through what Ive suffered a million times over if I could take away what you did to my sister.

Critics are calling for Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky (pictured), who was also a student-athlete at Stanford, to be removed from his position for handing down a light sentence to Turner.

Party venue: The victim had been at a party at the Kappa Alpha fraternity house when she went outside and was attacked by Brock

Scene of the crime: The victim was attacked by Brock behind these dumpsters after coming out of the frat house (on the left)

She adds: You saw a drunk girl alone, incapacitated  why would you not try to find her friends? I was trying to find her.

Where has your remorse been? Really, truly: Do you feel guilty because you were sexually assaulting her, or because you were caught?

The student concludes: Thus far, it appears you have not been appropriately remorseful. I really do, sincerely, hope that one day you grow to take ownership for your actions.

I hope you learn to take accountability for sexually assaulting my sister while she was unconscious, and causing the subsequent damage that you inflicted on my family.

The only sorrow I feel for you is that you never got to know my sister before assaulting her. Shes the most wonderful person in the world.

Turner, who was found guilty on three counts of rape, is currently incarcerated in Elmwood Jail, a minimum to medium security facility, in Milpitas, California.

However, Daily Mail Online revealed earlier this week that the 20-year-old will serve just three months of his sentence and is slated for release on September 2.

He has applied to serve his three-year probation term in his home state of Ohio.

The lenient sentence dished out to Turner has sparked outrage around the world and Judge Persky has since received death threats at work, and is the subject of a petition, signed by more than a million people, to have him recalled.

Meanwhile, the 39 people who wrote letters in support of Turner have also been subjected to a barrage of abuse, with some, among them Good English drummer Leslie Rasmussen, attempting to distance themselves from the case.
Gawker Media might take legal action against the Silicon Valley billionaire who funded Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against the website, a new report claims.

The website filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, roughly three months after the Hogan won a $140million judgement in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against them.

According to Forbes, a source within Gawker said that the company's legal team is looking to see if Peter Thiel broke any laws by spending $10million to help finance lawsuits against Gawker.

'The lawyers are exploring whether this could be a case of tortious interference, racketeering or other potential claims,' the source told Forbes.

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Gawker Media might take legal action against the Silicon Valley billionaire who funded Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against the website, a new report claims. Above Gawker founder Nick Denton is pictured

Gawker Media filed for bankruptcy on Friday after a jury awarded $140million to Hulk Hogan in his sex tape lawsuit against the site three months ago (Hogan above testifying in March)

Denton lashed out at Peter Thiel on Twitter Friday, three weeks after it was first revealed he funded Hogan's court case against the company

It was revealed in May that Thiel, who co-founded PayPal, financially supported the former pro-wrestler's lawsuit.

Thiel, 48, told The New York Times that he funded Hogan as a means of going to battle with Gawker in response to their stories, explaining that he believes many of the people they write about are defenseless and unable to fight back.

The billionaire businessman was himself targeted by the website in a 2007 post that ran with the headline: 'Peter Thiel is totally gay, people.'

Thiel, who is worth $2.7billion, then said that he was lucky when the website wrote about his sexuality because he was in a position to defend himself.

'Its less about revenge and more about specific deterrence,' explained Thiel.

'I saw Gawker pioneer a unique and incredibly damaging way of getting attention by bullying people even when there was no connection with the public interest.'

The Silicon Valley entrepreneur also revealed that he is currently funding a team of lawyers who look for individuals that have been victimized by Gawker's coverage and help them take on the company.

Gawker Media also plans to sell the website to publisher Ziff Davis for $100million, unless other bidders come forward during the court auction for the bankruptcy.

According to Forbes , a source within Gawker said that the company's legal team is looking to see if Peter Thiel (above) broke any laws by spending $10million to help finance lawsuits against Gawker

Of the bankruptcy filing, Gawker founder Nick Denton (above) said in a statement: 'We have been forced by this litigation to give up our longstanding independence'

Ziff Davis chief executive Vivek Shah emailed his employees about the possible purchase on Friday, saying: 'Theres a tremendous fit between the two organizations, from brands to audience to monetization. We look forward to the possibility of adding these great brandsand the talented people who support themto the Ziff Davis family.'

He went on to write: 'In the event we become the acquirer, the additions of Gizmodo, Lifehacker and Kotaku would fortify our position in consumer tech and gaming. With the addition of Jalopnik, Deadspin and Jezebel, we would broaden our position as a lifestyle publisher.'

Shah then closed the internal memo by writing: 'We look forward to the possibility of adding these great brands  and the talented people who support them  to the Ziff Davis family.'

The auction is set to take place in July, and other bids will be accepted.

The company made the decision to file for bankruptcy in order to be able to keep its online properties up and running and pay its staff.

'We have been forced by this litigation to give up our longstanding independence,' Gawker founder Nick Denton said in a statement.

'With stronger backing and disentangled from litigation, (Gawker writers) can perform their vital work on more platforms and in different forms.'

On Friday, Denton tweeted: 'Even with his billions, Thiel will not silence our writers. Our sites will thrive  under new ownership  and we'll win in court.'

In addition, the new moves will also help keep the websites operating normally, the company said.

In the bankruptcy filing, Gawker Media said it has up to $100million in assets, but roughly $500million in debt.

A list of creditors that was included in the company's filing reveals that Gawker Media owes $130million to Terry Bollea, which is Hogan's legal name

The Wall Street Journal reports Gawker has received a $22million bankruptcy loan to keep the business afloat prior to their sale at auction.

The $140million court ruling against Gawker in the Hogan lawsuit was upheld by Florida Circuit Judge Pamela Campbell late last month, who made the decision to not order a new trial in the case or adjust the damages awarded to Hogan by the jury.

Gawker is in the process of appealing the March jury verdict but was forced to hand over a $50million bond after the jury verdict.

A list of creditors that was included in the company's filing and posted on Twitter by Max Frumes reveals that Gawker Media owes $130million to Terry Bollea, which is Hogan's legal name. That amount is 'disputed' it is noted on the filing.

The company does not owe the wrestler the full $140.1million because the jury ruled that Denton should be responsible for $10million of the $25.1million they awarded Hogan in punitive damages.

The jury also ordered former Gawker editor AJ Daulerio to pay $100,000 of the punitive damages.

The company also owes and a little over $115,000 to the law firm of Morrison Cohen, approximately $82,000 to the insurance brokerage Risk Strategies Company and another $82,000 to SimpleReach Inc., a content measurement and distribution start-up founded in 2010.

Those three claims are listed as 'trade debt.'

The money made from the sale will go into a fund to pay for future legal costs, which will likely run high as they appeal the Hogan ruling and higher should they ultimately be forced to pay out any money in damages.

Should any money be left over at the end of that it would be divided between Denton and the company's other shareholders.
Comedian Billy Crystal gave an emotional tribute during Muhammad Ali's funeral on Friday, but may have sneaked in a low-key dig at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Crystal, a friend of The Champ's for more than 40 years, said at the end of his eulogy for the boxer in the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky that Ali 'taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people, not walls.'

That line Crystal said sounds similar to what Hillary Clinton said during her victory speech on Tuesday.

'We believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls,' the Democratic presidential candidate front-runner said.

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Comedian Billy Crystal gave an emotional tribute during Muhammad Ali's funeral (above) on Friday, but may have sneaked in a low-key dig at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump

Crystal, a friend of The Champ's for more than 40 years, said at the end of his eulogy for the boxer that Ali 'taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people, not walls.' Pictured together above

The line Crystal said in what appears to be a dig at Donald Trump (above) sounds similar to what Hillary Clinton said during her victory speech on Tuesday

Her swipe at The Donald is in reference to his highly publicized campaign promise to build a wall on the border between Mexico and the United States.

The billionaire businessman has also said he would not allow Muslims to enter the United States if he is elected president.

Trump has not commented about Crystal's eulogy to Ali, who died last week at age 74 at a Phoenix-area hospital.

It's unclear if Crystal did indeed intend to use his closing remark as a rebuke Trump, but the actor's comments overall made for a touching and funny eulogy for Ali.

The actor, who made a name for himself as a stand-up comedian in 1974 by mimicking Ali and ABC sportscaster Howard Cosell, also recounted with the audience their first meeting.

Hillary Clinton's swipe at The Donald is in reference to his highly publicized campaign promise to build a wall on the border between Mexico and the United States. She is pictured above on Friday

It's unclear if Crystal (above) did indeed intend to use his closing remark as a rebuke Trump, but the actor's comments overall made for a touching and funny eulogy for Ali

'Here I was a white kid from Long Island imitating The Greatest of All Time- and he was loving it,' he said.

Crystal said Ali gave him a bear hug after his skit and sparked an unlikely friendship when he whispered in his ear: 'You're my little brother.'

He compared Ali to 'a tremendous bolt of lightning, created by Mother Nature out of thin air, a fantastic combination of power and beauty.

'We've seen still photographs of lightning at the moment of impact, ferocious in its strength, magnificent in its elegance,' he said.

'And at the moment of impact it lights up everything around it so you can see everything clearly. Muhammad Ali struck us in the middle of America's darkest night.

'Ali forced us to take a look at ourselves.'
Four Syria immigrants have been charged after two 14-year-old girls were allegedly sexually assaulted - just yards from Newcastle United's stadium.

Omar Badreddin, 18, Mohammed Alfrouh, 20, and Mohammad Allakkoud, 18, all pleaded not guilty at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday.

Alfrouh was also charged with sexually assaulting a second 14-year-old girl in the park, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

A 16-year-old boy has also been charged with sexual assault and will appear at North Tyneside Magistrates on September 29.

The two teenage girls were allegedly sexually assaulted in May at Leazes Park (pictured) which is just yards away from the home of Newcastle United, St James' Park

The two teenage girls were allegedly sexually assaulted in the park (pictured) and four Syrian immigrants have been charged

Leazes Park (pictured) is in Newcastle City Centre and is next to the home of Newcastle United

The two teenage girls were allegedly sexually assaulted in May at Leazes Park which is just yards away from the home of Newcastle United, St James' Park.

One of the men - Mr Badreddin - is originally from Damascus but fled to Jordan as the country was gripped by civil war.

He arrived in the UK last November under the government's resettlement programme, Newsnight's John Sweeney reported.

At the height of the crisis, the Prime Minister announced plans to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees in Britain at a cost of more than half a billion pounds.

So far 1,602 Syrians - including Mr Badreddin - have arrived in the country.

Mr Badreddin and his family were deemed to be vulnerable by the UN refugee agency and were given new homes in Britain.

The three adults charged in connection with the sexual assault have all been released on bail. Their trial has been set for September 26.

Four Syria immigrants have been charged after two 14-year-old girls were allegedly sexually assaulted - just yards from Newcastle United's stadium (pictured)

So far 1,602 Syrians - including Mr Badreddin - have arrived in the UK under the resettlement scheme

Britain is accepting 20,000 refugees from camps in countries bordering Syria in the next five years, the Prime Minister announced at the height of the crisis in the war-torn region
Now an inspirational fitness guru with more than 50,000 on Instagram, Emma Carey amazed doctors when she started walking less than a year after a horrific skydiving accident left her a paraplegic.

The 23-year-old Queenslanders life changed on June 9 2013, when she jumped out of a plane in Switzerland during a European holiday with her best friend.

The date is so important to Ms Carey that she had it tattooed on her arm as a permanent reminder of what she has achieved.

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Now an inspirational fitness guru with more than 50,000 on Instagram, Emma Carey (pictured) amazed doctors when she started walking just one year after a horrific skydiving accident left her a paraplegic

Meet Emma Carey, a 23-year-old fitness guru from Queensland with 50,000 followers on Instagram

Ms Carey's (pictured) life changed on when she jumped out of a plane in Switzerland during a European holiday with her best friend

June 9 2013 is so important to Ms Carey that she had it tattooed on her arm as a permanent reminder of what she has achieved

As Ms Carey fell that day, her parachute and emergency chute became tangled and choked her instructor, who became unconscious.

The subsequent free fall saw her land on her stomach with her instructor on top of her.

Her spine was broken in two places, her pelvis was shattered and spinal cord crushed.

Recounting the event on YouTube, Emma said that it wasn't until she saw the ground coming closer very quickly that she thought something was wrong.

It took me a little bit to realise something was going wrong. We were going straight down really fast...I thought for sure a hundred per cent I was about to die. I dont know how else to explain it, it was horrible, horrible, horrible, she said.

Emma struggled while attempting to describe her fear, likening it to an emotion one might feel when sitting an exam or breaking up with their boyfriend but 'times a trillion'.

As Ms Carey (pictured) fell her parachute and emergency chute became tangled and choked her instructor, who became unconscious

Her spine was broken in two places, her pelvis was shattered and spinal cord crushed

She then received the diagnosis that she was now a paraplegic from her doctors, who said that it was very likely she would never walk again and would be in wheelchair how for the rest of her life

She then received the diagnosis that she was now a paraplegic from her doctors, who said that it was very likely she would never walk again and would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

After the accident Ms Carey spent three weeks in a Swiss hospital before flying back to Australia.

Over the next three months she began her physical therapy at a Sydney hospital.

After the accident Ms Carey (pictured) spent three weeks in a Swiss hospital before flying back to Australia

Over the next three months she began her physical therapy at a Sydney hospital

With all her downtime Ms Carey turned to Instagram and started looking at inspirational health influencers,The Daily Telegraph reported.

After only three months she slowly started to walk again, and just like those who influenced her on Instagram, she quickly became a source of inspiration for people around the world as she documented her recovery.

'My accident- even though the injuries suck- brought so much good to my life. Good things can come from bad things if youre willing to let them,' she told the publication.

Describing her journey three years on Ms Carey said on Instagram: 'It's coming up to the three year anniversary of my accident and as far as I know that's the main reason why a lot of you follow me. It just feels so surreal and amazing to know that the worst moment of my life (laying paralyzed on the ground three years ago scared to my core), could lead to this moment right here, where I can use the bad stuff to help anyone who chooses to read my words.'

Ms Carey (pictured) started to walk again, and just like those who influenced her on Instagram, she quickly became a source of inspiration for people around the world as she documented her recovery
A Melbourne man, 32, has been charged with murder following a stabbing on Friday night.

Homicide Squad detectives arrested the man after another man was killed at a home in Cranbourne.

Emergency services were called to a house on Camms Road just after 9pm after reports a man had been stabbed.

The 38-year-old man died at the scene, however police remained at the house until after 7am on Saturday morning.

A 38-year-old man was stabbed to death in Cranbourne, Melbourne on Friday night. He died at the scene

Police believe the two men were known to each other, but would not comment on how they were connected.

The 32-year-old was arrested in Dandenong at about 2:30pm on Saturday.

He was charged with one count of murder and faced an out of session court hearing at the Dandenong Police Station on Saturday evening.

He has been remanded in custody and will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Sunday.

Police remained at the scene - a house on Camms Road - until past 7am on Saturday morning
Sandra Pedro (pictured) was declared brain dead on February 20 but her body was kept alive until her baby could be delivered on June 7

A 'miracle baby' has been delivered 107 days after his mother was declared brain dead by doctors in Portugal.

Sandra Pedro, 37, arrived at a hospital in Lisbon on February 20 with a terrible headache. A few hours later she was pronounced brain dead after suffering a stroke.

She was 17 weeks pregnant at the time and it was initially thought the baby had also died.

But when doctors in the intensive care unit found signs of life they decided to keep her body alive and see if they could deliver the baby alive.

Sandra was effectively kept alive as a 'living incubator'.

She had tubes to feed her, keep her breathing and supply essential hormones.

Nurses and doctors watched in amazement over the next 15 weeks as Sandra's belly and breasts grew as they nurtured the child inside her.

But staff at Lisbon's San Jose Hospital also cuddled her belly, massaged it, whispered to baby Lourenco and even sang songs and nursery rhymes in a bid to replicate the love he would have got from his mother.

Nurse Nuno Camilo told the Daily Mirror: 'He liked the singing best, that's when he moved the most. She was in a room on her own so we sang songs from our own childhood.

'We would cuddle the tummy to feel the baby moving and stimulate him.'

When baby Lourenco finally arrived alive and weighing in at a healthy 5lb 2oz on June 7 cheers erupted from the staff.

But their tears of joy were also tears of sadness as they knew they would have to switch off the ventilator which was keeping Sandra alive.

Sandra's death was a tragedy but the staff at San Jose Hospital (pictured, left to right, nurse Nuno Gomes, Dr Susana Alfonso and nurse Nuno Camilo) managed to bring about a miracle

Nuno Gomes, another nurse, said: 'We were all elated and all crying. We talked a lot about it and we said she'd given her life to the baby - literally. He was getting her soul.

'Something strange was going on and it was different from anything we'd ever seen before. It was a miracle.'

The nurses provided the love the mother could not. They were the first to tell us the baby was still moving in the morning. Of course it was like our baby Dr Susana Alfonso

Dr Susana Alfonso, 40, who delivered the baby, said: 'It was a surprise because she was dead and normally when the mother dies the baby dies also.

'The nurses provided the love the mother could not. They were the first to tell us the baby was still moving in the morning. Of course it was like our baby.'

Lourenco's father, Miguel Angelo Faria, 30, a factory worker, said: 'He managed to save himself. This baby is going to give meaning to my life.'

Sandra was buried the day after Lourenco was born and at her funeral her distraught mother sobbed: 'I want my daughter back. My dear daughter.'

Sandra's parents are planning to raise the child but Miguel says he will see him every day.
It is the fifth major outage to affect customers in five months

About 75,000 customers were affected and took to Twitter to complain

Telstra broadband customers are furious after hit with another outage

Telstra customers have taken to social media to vent their frustrations after a nationwide network outage meant they couldn't use their broadband services.

One woman asked the company why 'third world countries get better internet' that the telcos customers.

Others said the outage, the fifth this year, was the 'final straw'.

'This month saw a total of 3% of our data cap get used because the speed never made it past 100kbps. Get f**ked Telstra,' said one customer.

Thousands of furious Telstra customers have again been affected by a nationwide outage impacting all major capital cities. A map (pictured) produced by aussieoutages.com showed the widespread outage affecting the country

Another complained about the impact of the outage on their business.

'Until I receive suitable compensation for yet another disruption I will not be paying any bills and I will switch companies if required. And no, free data on a Sunday doesn't cut it,' another said.

The telco said 75,000 broadband customers had been affected by the outage that hit Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane from midday on Saturday.

Telstra released an update at 3.30pm stating that services were being progressively restored.

A map produced by aussieoutages.com showed the widespread outage affecting all major centres across the country.

At 7.30pm a woman from just out of Brisbane, Queensland complained on Facebook saying she had'nt had internet since 11.26am and had been on the phone for three hours without being told why it was out.

A graph produced by aussieoutages.com tracked the number of reported issues affecting customers. The graph shows a sharp spike at 12pm when the outage hit

'I am 20kms from a Capital City (sic) but I have next to no mobile coverage in my house! No point in going to the Telstra Store (sic) tomorrow as today they were too busy playing on iPads,' she wrote.

'Too bad that we rely on the Internet (sic) for work. Nothing is being done. I am not happy and trust me when I say by the time I am finished YOU won't be happy either! Lift your game.'

It is the fifth major outage the company has suffered in five months. The last outage affected as many as 375,000 people.

In a statement, a Telstra spokesperson said the outage had affected broadband customers.

'From around midday (AEST) today (Saturday) an issue impacted some of our broadband customers,' the spokesperson said.

'Approximately 75,000 customers were unable to establish connections. A solution is now being implemented, and services are being progressively restored. We apologise for any inconvenience.'

The telco said 75,000 broadband customers had been affected by the outage that hit Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane

It is the fifth major outage the company has suffered in five months. The last outage affected as many as 375,000 people

One person highlighted Telstra's bad streak of outages since February.

'Has there actually been a whole month this Year where hasn't had outages??' one person tweeted.

Another person was clearly fed up with Telstra's service: '@Telstra I want to ask nicely but I cant Why is my internet down and I don't want free data I want the down time refunded PERTH

Michael Gruis tweeted: '@Telstra What a disgrace! You have me on hold after talking to an operator and then you disconnect the call. Customer service at is worst!'

In a statement, a Telstra spokesperson said the outage had affected broadband customers

The company has responded to hundreds of tweets since the outage started at midday

The outage caused furious customers to demand better compensation for the outage.

'Considering nothing was offered for your previous outage what's on the cards this time around? It would want to be good!' said one customer.

Other customers were at 'their wits end'.

'Trying to resolve an ongoing issue with my Foxtel which is poorly provided to me by Telstra. Could somebody please tell me what I need to do to speak to someone in Australia who has some idea about their technical servives (sic),' asked one customer.

'Huge problem in the Frankston area for the last 48 hours...Drop outs, or just no service. What the hell is going on... trying to get through on 24/7 service but no luck at all,' said another.

One woman swithched to the NBN because she was sick of the poor internet service she had experienced over the last four years.

This outage came on her second day with the NBN.

'Today we have had to pay extra in mobile data because of having no NBN. Safe to say I wasn't really happy today and still am not,' the post read.

The user explained she was with Telstra when she experienced the patchy service prior to signing up for the NBN and was only credited for disruptions once.

'After so many phone calls and reports and formal complaints we still had no resolution,' she revealed.

Social media has come alive with angry customers complaining about the disruption the internet outage had on their lives.

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A 17-year-old died after a 20-foot-wide sand tunnel collapsed on him.

Oklahoma teen, Travor Brown, died at 11.42am Friday after being on life support for three days.

Brown, who had been visiting Florida with friends, had created a big tunnel against the steep sand ledge shaped like a 'W' and the walls collapsed on him while he was at St Andrews State Park, according to WJHG.

Oklahoma teen, Travor Brown (pictured), died at 11.42am Friday after being on life support for three days. He was critically injured when a sand tunnel he created collapsed on top of him

Brown, who had been visiting Florida with friends, had created a big tunnel (pictured) against the steep sand ledge shaped like a 'W' while he was at St Andrews State Park

Beachgoers told the Bay County Sheriff's Office that they'd seen a couple of teens digging in a sand bank and later noticed a teen's feet sticking out of the sand

Beachgoers told the Bay County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) they'd seen a couple of teens digging in a sand bank and later noticed a teen's feet sticking out of the sand.

Witnesses and rescue crews started digging Brown out using shovels and wooden panels to keep the sand from collapsing more as they dug, according to the news station.

First responders performed CPR on him before they rushed him to a hospital, where days later his parents made the decision to remove him from life support.

Crews also started digging with two backhoes in search of another trapped person after witnesses told responders they had seen the teen with another person.

The BCSO, told the News Herald that Brown had been listed in critical condition while receiving medical care since he was hospitalized around 3.30pm on Wednesday.

A GoFundMe account was set up to aid the family with expenses. The account, which was created by a family friend when the accident first occurred, said that Brown's parents had drove all night to get to their son.

Authorities said that the family will be returning to Oklahoma for funeral services.

Witnesses and rescue crews started digging Brown out using shovels and wooden panels to keep the sand from collapsing more as they dug

First responders performed CPR on him before they rushed him to a hospital

The BCSO said Brown had been listed in critical condition since he was hospitalized around 3.30pm on Wednesday. Authorities said that the family will be returning to Oklahoma for funeral services




Former victor Ian Bell from Bedlington, Northumerland was riding with son

Two more motorcyclists have been killed competing in Isle of Man TT races

Popular Northumberland motorcyclist Ian Bell (pictured) has died after taking part in an Isle of Man TT event

Two more drivers have been killed in the Isle of Man TT races, bringing the total number of fatalities this year up to five.

Tragedy continues to plague the motorcycle competition as two more lives are claimed following crashes on the course.

Sidecar driver and father-of-two Ian Bell of Bedlington, Northumberland, was killed in a crash at Ballaspur.

He was racing alongside his son Carl, who is reportedly uninjured.

The 58-year-old former winner is described as an 'experienced competitor'.

Andrew Soar, 32, of Loughborough, Leicestershire, also died in a crash at Keppel Gate during the senior race yesterday.

This comes as sidecar driver Dwight Beare, 27, and motorcyclist Paul Shoesmith, 50, were killed during the first day of the races on June 4.

And Dean Martin, 58, died from injuries suffered in a crash during practice for the Pre-TT classic on May 28.

A spokesman for the event's organisers, ACU Events Ltd, said it wished to 'pass on their deepest sympathy' to the family and friends of the drivers.

The spokesman said Mr Bell was a motorcycle dealer and a married father-of-two.

'He made his TT Races debut in 1995, winning the newcomers trophy, and achieved five podiums during his TT career including a race win in 2003,' he said.

'Andrew was an experienced competitor on the TT Mountain Course.

'He made his Mountain Course debut at the Manx Grand Prix in 2012 finishing runner-up in both the Newcomers A race and Senior MGP in his first year.

'He won the Senior MGP in 2014 and made his first appearance at the TT in 2015.'

Isle of Man races are treacherous, with the competitions held on more than 37 miles of public roads around the island.

Isle of Man races are treacherous, with the competitions held on more than 37 miles of public roads around the island

Dwight Beare (left) tragically died following a crash in a race on the Isle of Man off England's northwest coast
A 10-year-old boy has been left with excruciating second-degree burns after brushing against Giant Hogweed in a playground.

Jacob Lambert was playing tag with a friend in Weel, near Tickton, East Yorkshire, on Monday night.

But within 24 hours his hands and arms were covered in large, painful blisters.

Samantha Lambert with her son Jacob, who was left in agony after brushing against some Giant Hogweed

His parents Samantha and Paul Lambert initially thought the red marks were an allergic reaction, but when he was sent home from school the following day they took him to their GP.

Mrs Lambert, 29, said: 'It looked like he'd dipped his hands into a deep fat fryer.

'He was in a lot of pain and when he came from school his skin was red with what looked like second-degree burns.'

She took him to a doctor in Beverley but added: 'The first doctor we saw wasn't entirely sure what it was but ruled out a virus.

Jacob remains in considerable pain from the burns to his hand (left) and arm (right) caused by the sap of the Giant Hogweed plant

'A second doctor took a look at it and said he'd dealt with a similar case years ago and that it might be caused by Hogweed.'

Jacob was given antihistamines and an antiseptic cream designed to treat burns.

But he was still unable to hold a pen or dress himself.

Mrs Lambert was then approached by another parent who said her son had also been sent home from school with similar blisters on his legs.

She took him to the A&E at Hull Royal Children's Hospital, where a dermatologist confirmed it was caused by Giant Hogweed and he then had the blisters drained and his burns dressed.

Mrs Lambert said: 'I just want to make people aware of Hogweed and what it can do - it's been so traumatic - even the doctors didn't know what it was straight away.

Giant Hogweed grows along river banks. It is originally from southern Russia and Georgia and is known for the painful burns it can give to anyone who rubs against it

'I've heard of cases where children have been hospitalised after coming into contact with Hogweed because they were that seriously blistered.

'Luckily for us it's just been his hands and arms, but if he'd been in his shorts and t-shirt it could have been much worse.

'As a parent it was so alarming that I didn't know what this plant was or the dangers it posed.'

The sap from the Hogweed causes photosensitivity, which makes the skin very sensitive to sunlight, so Jacob will have to plaster factor 50 sunblock on over the summer.
Rye Hunt's family have lashed out at Foreign Minister Julie Bishop for unexpectedly telling media of his death before they could tell their closest friends.

Ms Bishop confirmed the identification of Mr Hunt's body on Saturday after DNA results were released by the Australian embassy.

But in a statement released on Facebook his family said they were 'disappointed' they had not been given the opportunity to share the news first, reported Fairfax Media.

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The family of Australian backpacker Rye Hunt said they were disappointed with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. They said Ms Bishop announced his death before they could tell their closest friends

The family said Ms Bishop announced the identification of Mr Hunt's body before her department officially notified them.

The family's post said: 'We are disappointed that we were not given the opportunity to share this sad and important news with our closest friends and family directly.

'We apologise that some may have heard this for the first time in the media.

'At this stage we still await official notification from DFAT. However, we can confirm that the body found belongs to our Rye.

'We appreciate your support and sensitivity at this time.'

Mr Hunt, 25, was last seen on CCTV leaving an apartment in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

Mr Hunt, 25, was last seen leaving an apartment in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, on May 21 following a row with his friend Mitchell Sheppard at Galeao International Airport.

His family revealed that Mr Hunt might have taken a highly potent hallucinogenic drug in the lead-up to his disappearance.

After Hunt's disappearance Brazilian authorities called off a 72-hour sea search when a fishermen reportedly spotted a body floating off Rio's coast in clothes similar to those worn by Mr Hunt when he vanished.

Hunt's girlfriend Bonnie Cuthbert (right) released a heartfelt tribute to the man she called her beautiful 'Big Bear'

Last Wednesday a body was recovered by Brazilian authorities in Marica and Mr Hunt's uncle Michael Wholohan went to the Rio Police Forensic Institute of Genetics Expertise and Research, in Lapa, to give a sample of DNA.

On Saturday Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop confirmed the body belonged to Mr Hunt.

She said: 'I can confirm that Brazilian authorities have informed us that the body that was discovered recently near Rio De Janeiro is in fact that of Australian citizen, Rye Duval Hunt,'

'The Australian consular service has been working closely with the family, we have been working closely with the Brazilian authorities.'

Ms Cuthbert searched for her boyfriend in Brazil by showing photos of him to locals

Following the identification of Mr Hunt's body, his family spoke of a 'generous, cheeky' person who will be missed.

I feel so blessed to have shared the last five years with my beautiful 'Big Bear',' his girlfriend Bonnie Cuthbert said in a statement.

'We have been so lucky to have found and loved each other so deeply. The love Rye and I shared will remain within both of us, forever.'

His sister Romany Brodribb said the thought of life without her brother was 'unfathomable'.

'We are understandably heart broken. Rye was the youngest member of our family and was known for being loyal, loving, generous, cheeky, and as a brother, totally infuriating!' she said in a statement.
The wild eyed dog squeals as its owner grips it between his legs.

Vet Kate Shervell moves swiftly and calmly, administering a rabies vaccination with practiced efficiency.

By the end of a chaotic day her fingers will be raw from injecting a conveyor belt of dogs who need protection from one of the deadliest diseases on the planet.

An unruly and noisy queue stretches down the side of the makeshift vaccination centre - a dark school room with broken windows - as the British team of vets and volunteers work on the frontline of the fight against rabies in Africa where hundreds of children die every year from dog bites

A British team of vets and volunteers called Mission Rabies worked on the frontline of the fight against rabies in Africa where hundreds of children die every year from dog bites

One dog is vaccinated against rabies by a volunteer and restrained with a rudimentary chain

Over 12 days they walked 4,500 kilometres around the streets of Malawi's second city, Blantyre, in a tireless effort to eradicate rabies from the impoverished nation where a bite can spell certain death

The Mission Rabies team, including students, civil servants and former London Underground project managers, have taken annual leave, work from dawn to dusk.

Over 12 days they walk 4,500 kilometres around the streets of Malawi's second city, Blantyre, in a tireless effort to eradicate rabies from the impoverished nation where a bite can spell certain death because of limited medical supplies.

They vaccinate 35,612 dogs, sterilize another 940 and educate almost 100,000 children to the dangers of the disease during lively lessons in basic classrooms.

'Rabies is a totally preventable disease and it is terrible that children and people are dying for lack of attention and supplies,' says Kate, from Dorset, as the final dog scurries away with a red mark on its forehead to signify it has received the protective jab

'Our goal was to vaccinate 70% of the dogs which has been proven to be the level that can eradicate the disease. These people have next to nothing so to be able to protect them is very important.'

Vet Kate Shervell (pictured) is one of the volunteers who helped vaccinate 35,612 dogs, sterilize another 940 and educate almost 100,000 children to the dangers of the disease during lively lessons in basic classrooms

The Mission Rabies team, including students, civil servants and former London Underground project managers, have taken annual leave, work from dawn to dusk

Rabies was banished from the UK in 1922 but open European borders have meant a huge spike in gangs smuggling unregistered, unvaccinated pets and the spectre of its lethal return

The project has significance at home as well as in the heat and dust of an impoverished sub-Saharan nation

But the project has significance at home as well as in the heat and dust of an impoverished sub-Saharan nation.

Rabies was banished from the UK in 1922 but open European borders have meant a huge spike in gangs smuggling unregistered, unvaccinated pets and the spectre of its lethal return.

'This is an immediate matter of life or death in Malawi but the rabies threat to the UK is also real,' adds TV vet Luke Gamble, who is steering the project which is funded by Dogs Trust.

'We are seeing cases of rabies in Europe and our borders are so porous that it is now a matter of when not if a rabid dog comes in and we would never forgive ourselves if that dog bit a child.

'The mission to stamp out rabies is critical. It is a terrible way to die yet it is completely avoidable.

'The team has been incredible. These are volunteers, who have taken time off work or studies, to get up at 4am and work till dark to get the job done. They have taken a huge step to eradicating rabies in Malawi and protecting our own borders.'

Malawi, regularly ranked in the five poorest countries in the world by economic indicators, has only four vets dealing with small pets in a population of 16 million where almost 60% of homes own a dog.

The veterinary laboratory in Blantyre, which serves the country's southern region, has a government budget of 42 a month and post mortems on rabid dogs are performed on a table in its back yard because its premises are so small.

Its staff of seven were operating without a working fridge or microscope before Mission Rabies and Dogs Trust came to the rescue.

Malawi, regularly ranked in the five poorest countries in the world by economic indicators, has only four vets dealing with small pets in a population of 16 million where almost 60% of homes own a dog (pictured Kate Shervell)

'This is an immediate matter of life or death in Malawi but the rabies threat to the UK is also real,' adds TV vet Luke Gamble, who is steering the project which is funded by Dogs Trust

The veterinary laboratory in Blantyre, which serves the country's southern region, has a government budget of 42 a month and post mortems on rabid dogs are performed on a table in its back yard because its premises are so small.

Blood tests on suspected rabid animals that take around 48 hours in the UK have to be sent to the capital Lilongwe and delays can stretch up to a month, leaving the disease to incubate beyond its treatment window in a human.

Post-exposure vaccines are so scarce that they are normally not given until it has been confirmed the dog was a carrier.

'I am overwhelmed by how poor the country is and what little facilities they have,' said Paula Boyden, Veterinary Director at Dogs Trust, who helped out on the project.

'We shouldn't be wrestling with a disease that is so preventable in the 21st century. There are 50,000 to 60,000 rabies deaths a year and the rate of child deaths is appalling.

'The incidence in Europe has decreased dramatically but we now have the pet travel scheme with 26 member states which means you can get in your car in Eastern Europe and drive all the way to the coast of France without getting stopped.

'The risk of us getting rabies is low but it is a reality and some of the eastern European countries are still classed having a moderate rabies risk.

'It is not a disease we want in the UK which is why we will continue raising our concerns about the pet travel scheme.

'Mission Rabies is doing a phenomenal job and the dedication of the guys out here is impressive.'

At a pop-up Mission Rabies clinic, five miles from the centre of Blantyre  named after the birth town of the explorer Dr David Livingstone  the dawn calm is shattered by a cacophony of dogs waiting to be vaccinated.

Blood tests on suspected rabid animals that take around 48 hours in the UK have to be sent to the capital Lilongwe and delays can stretch up to a month, leaving the disease to incubate beyond its treatment window in a human

Post-exposure vaccines are so scarce that they are normally not given until it has been confirmed the dog was a carrier

The team race through 1ml doses of the Nobivac drug - donated by pharmaceutical firm MSD  working as a drilled production line to administer almost 1,000 vaccinations in the day (pictured Luke Gamble who is running the Mission Rabies project)

The team race through 1ml doses of the Nobivac drug - donated by pharmaceutical firm MSD  working as a drilled production line to administer almost 1,000 vaccinations in the day.

The dogs, often held on rudimentary chain link leads, keep coming  the public alerted by a street loud-hailer campaign the days before  ranging from a litter of puppies to fully grown dogs straining at their leashes.

Kate, who has been badly bitten twice on the project, and the team face anything from the compliant to the ferocious and she is forced to take a giant handling net to restrain one dog that corkscrews its owner's lead to avoid its jab.

'You have a lot of near misses but one dog chomped on my arm and blood spurted out of my arm and it painted the surgery building red. It wasn't rabid but it was a nasty bite,' adds Kate. 'I had nerve pain for about two months afterwards and it really brings home how dangerous a bite can be.

'The people are very grateful and many know of someone who has died from dog bites. It is just unacceptable that children and adults can die from this disease when it can be stopped. We have shown what can be achieved and now need commitment, boots on the ground and investment to eradicate this for good.'

Mike Saweya, 16, is typical of the Blantyre dog owners. He has walked two miles barefoot to the clinic.

'I don't want my dogs to get rabies. I know if someone gets rabies they will die. I have heard about children getting bitten and then dying from it. We know it is bad.'

The project has just reached its 100-day landmark with the remarkable total of more than 350,000 dogs vaccinated, 50,000 neutered, 500,000 children educated and 73 new vets trained at schemes across Asia and Africa.

The dogs, often held on rudimentary chain link leads, keep coming  the public alerted by a street loud-hailer campaign the days before  ranging from a litter of puppies to fully grown dogs straining at their leashes (pictured vet Eithne Leahy)

The project has just reached its 100-day landmark with the remarkable total of more than 350,000 dogs vaccinated, 50,000 neutered, 500,000 children educated and 73 new vets trained at schemes across Asia and Africa (pictured Dr Golden who runs a rabies lab in Blantyre)

If they can reach 70% of dogs again in Malawi for a third successive year in 2017, the disease should be defeated.

For Kate, whose husband Neil is a musician, the fight continues with a planned return to Malawi next year and other Mission Rabies projects in Uganda and India.

'Using my vet's training and knowledge where it has a huge impact is very rewarding,' says the 35-year-old Bristol University graduate, who is Mission Rabies' International Director.

'It is also incredible to visit these places and communities where it is not common for a Westerner to be walking around vaccinating their dogs.

'I guess I'm never going to blend in as I look different from most people in Malawi. They are friendly and curious and we often get groups of children following us around and they are pretty helpful because they know which houses have dogs.

'Neil has come out to help on projects and really enjoyed it. He is really supportive of me but obviously misses me when I'm not home. It's tough but he understands why I do it and supports my ideals and dreams so I'm lucky in that way.'

Dorset-based Luke, who stars in Sky TV's Vet's Adventures and runs the global charity Worldwide Veterinary Services, adds: 'We cannot allow children to die every day from rabies.

'We have a target of vaccinating two million dogs over the next three years and to eradicate rabies completely by 2030. We couldn't do that without the help of the volunteers who are determined to do something to help get rid of this terrifying and avoidable disease.'

For more information or to make a donation visit http://www.missionrabies.com/

Its staff of seven were operating without a working fridge or microscope before Mission Rabies and Dogs Trust came to the rescue
The family of a teenager struck down by a rare cancer have just two years to scrape together a million pounds to pay for her treatment abroad - after British doctors refused to operate.

Kelly Turner, 16, who has been described as being 'beautiful' and 'clever', is suffering from a rare abdominal cancer and has been given just 24 months to live.

Her parents, Martin and Linda, from Dover, Kent, were devastated to hear that British doctors refused to carry out the high-risk surgery because their daughter's tumours are close to her liver.

This means the desperate couple are forced to try and raise 1million to pay for the surgery in America.

Kelly Turner, 16, (pictured) is suffering from a rare abdominal cancer and has been given just 24 months to live

Her parents have now decided to try to take her to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York for the expensive, but potentially life-saving treatment.

Mr Turner, 61, said: 'Our beautiful, clever, artistic and loving daughter is only 16 and up until October last year she was fit and well and enjoying a happy and fulfilling life.

'She's been well cared for by doctors and responded well to chemotherapy, but because there are tumours close to her liver they're not prepared to carry out any surgery.

'If surgery can be carried out we all have to go to America to do it - but we're not covered by their insurance system and, without it, it could cost up to 750,000 or 1million, if not a bit more.'

Kelly's cancer, desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT), predominately occurs in young adults and children.

But the teen, who was forced to leave school due to her illness, has carried on studying through the help of a tutor and even took her GCSE exams in English Literature and English language recently.

Her parents, Martin and Linda, from Dover, Kent, were devastated to hear that British doctors refused to carry out a high risk surgery

She plans to return to school at St Edmund's in September to re-do Year 11, before going to college and university to study to become a radiographer.

Mr Turner added: 'She's got everything going for her - but this will stop unless it's sorted.

'If surgery is not possible then any money raised will go to DSRCT research at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton where Kelly receives her treatment.

'Please support our Kelly, we want her to have a normal, long and fruitful life.'
Donald Trump said Saturday that he would heed calls to apologize after he mocked Sen. Elizabeth Warren with the nickname 'Pocahontas.'

But the apology, he snarked, would be offered to the late Pocahontas, not to Warren.

'When I called this really bad senator  she's done nothing, she's done nothing  she said she's Native American. And I said Pocahontas. It's Pocahontas!' he exulted during a campaign rally in Tampa.

'And somebody said to me, one of the media: 'Mr. Trump, will you apologize?''

'I said yes, I'll apologize  to Pocahontas, I'll apologize! Because Pocahontas is insulted by the statement.'

Warren has long been the butt of jokes in GOP circles after it was discovered that she described herself as 1/32 Cherokee  without substantiating the claim  on university job applications, raising the possibility that she received preferential treatment in hiring.

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CAMPAIGN: Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke to thousands on Saturday morning in Tampa, Florida

But Trump's new level of taunts underscore the Washington chattering classes' fascination with Warren, a far-left lawmaker in the mold of Bernie Sanders, as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton.

'This is what we're dealing with. We have to get smart. We have to get tough,' Trump said. 'We have to stop being so politically correct.'

Warren met for an hour with Clinton on Friday, fueling speculation about an all-female presidential ticket and painting an ever-brighter target on her back.

Trump began his speech more than an hour late, and said he had been watching Mitt Romney trashing him during an event in Park City, Utah.

'I listened to this poor sad Mitt Romney,' he said of the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.

'I watched Romney and he was sitting like a real stiff. He calls me a misogynist. I don't think he knows what a misogynist is.

'He doesn't like Trump because I said you can't give him a second chance,' he said.

'The guy's a stone cold loser. He choked. And when you choke, you can never give a guy a second chance.'

ATTACK: Campaigning in the crucial battleground state of Florida, Donald Trump bashed Democrats and Republicans alike Saturday, from Hillary Clinton to former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on the right

He had advice for Romney, whom he sees as bitterly meddling in a nomination process that he won convincingly.

'You go off into the sunset! You don't sit there jealous and sick to your stomach!' he boomed.

'I don't want to waste a lot of time trying to defend ourselves against these phony people.'

The space Trump's campaign rented in the Tampa Convention Center has a listen capacity of 9,900. A police source estimated the crowd at 7,000.

EMBRACE: Toward the end of his speech, Trump supporters broke into a chorus of 'Happy Birthday.' He turns 70-years old on June 14. As his supporters began singing, Trump laughed and said 'I don't want to hear about it.'

He surveyed the bulging crowd and, for the first time, asked them for practical advice.

'Everybody wants to know who I would choose for vice president,' Trump exclaimed. 'Who do you like?'

Scanning the audience for suggestions, he pointed to one man.

'He says Newt,' Trump said, referring to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

'Who do you like?' he asked another group. 'They say Sessions,' he reported, a nod to Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions.

A third entry drew massive cheers.

'He says Condi Rice!' Trump shouted, drawing a swell of roars.

Condoleezza Rice was secretary of state during the George W. bush administration.

'I've never done this before. This is fun!' Trump said. 'We have a lot of good people. You'll be happy.'

Against the backdrop of his high-energy rhetorical slams on Elizabeth Warren, Trump's verbal jabs at Hillary Clinton came as less of a shock.

The billionaire highlighted reports about a forthcoming book from former Secret Service Agent Gary Byrne, whom he said wrote the onetime first lady was 'a total mess.'

'A mess!' Trump blared. 'She's not qualified to be president. ... She's unstable. And she can't be president.'

He renewed his attention on Clinton's increasing legal jeopardy arising from her data security scandal, a day after Fox News reported that there were indeed some emails on her private server that were marked 'classified' at the time she received them.

'What's happening with Hillary Clinton is a disgrace,' said Trump. 'She's broken the laws of this land. She's made us totally vulnerable from a national security standpoint.'

NOT ENOUGH TIME: The Tampa rally is Trump's second since the end of the primary season. He is scheduled to hold another rally later Saturday in Pittsburgh

'What she did with her server is illegal. It's wrong both on a common-sense basis and on a legal basis.'

He also noted Daily Mail reporting on a faux pas from the White House press secretary, who on Thursday inadvertently referred to the FBI's probe of Clinton as a 'criminal' matter for the first time.

'Josh Earnest said yesterday that essentially this is a criminal investigation. ... He probably said the truth,' Trump mused.

Facing the possibility of an all-woman Democratic opposition, the Trump campaign has worked overtime to put female surrogates in front of voters and the press.

Republican National Committee co-chair Sharon Day was part of a series of warm-up acts on Saturday morning, saying Floridians should 'make sure that 'Crooked Hillary' never gets back to the White House.'

'I want to see a woman president one day. I want my granddaughters to see a woman president one day,' Day said.

'But I'm gonnna tell you right now: Not that woman. Not Hillary Clinton. Not today. Not ever.'

RIVAL: Donald Trump did not apologize after he mocked Sen. Elizabeth Warren with the nickname 'Pocahontas.'

Dena DeCamp, president of the Florida Federation of Republican women, added: 'The 'war on women' is the one Hillary Clinton waged on her husband's girlfriends.'

'She has a disgraceful record of bullying, lying, cheating and hanging on her husband's coattails to advance her personal agenda. That is not historic and it's not an achievement in feminism.'

Only one protester disrupted the Tampa rally, and only momentarily. Trump never skipped a beat.

But he couldn't resist talking aobut them as a handful gathered outside..

'A lot of the protesters that you see, they're going to end up voting for Trump, believe me,' he boasted.

'When they learn how crooked Hillary is, they're going to end up voting for Trump.'

At the end of his speech a small group of fans broke into a pre-emptive verse of 'Happy Birthday.'

The real estate tycoon will turn 70 on Tuesday.

'I don't want to hear about it,' he joked as the chorus of sing-song voices serenaded him.
Days after clinching support from the president and other top Democrats, Hillary Clinton's campaign just released a new parody ad mocking the now-defunct Trump University as a 'scam.'

Clinton shared the new video on her Twitter account Saturday afternoon and wrote: 'Trump University: Pad Donald's pockets and put your own finances at riskall for the low price of $35,000!'

The one minute and 26 second long video is a mock infomercial for the program that was once operated by the Republican.

The clip begins with a female voiced narrator informing the viewer sarcastically, 'Donald Trump is world famous for making a fortune from being famous for having a fortune.'

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Scam: Days after clinching support from the president and other top Democrats, Hillary Clinton's (pictured) campaign just released a new parody ad mocking the now-defunct Trump University as a scam

Clinton shared the new video on her Twitter account Saturday afternoon and wrote: 'Trump University: Pad Donald's (pictured above) pockets and put your own finances at riskall for the low price of $35,000!'

One of the news footage quotes commenting on the controversies surrounding Trump Univeristy that was spliced into the in the ad early on is pictured above

It continues with the narrator stating that with Trump University, anyone can be a source of the billionaire's wealth, as long as they follow three steps.

The first step is that they need to sign up at Trump University, and the second is that they need to pay for Trump University 'at the amazing price of everything you have.'

The narrator says that there is no step three because 'you won't actually learn anything (at Trump University).'

Spliced into the video is real and authentic news footage commenting on the various controversies surrounding the program that's faced criticism for misleading students.

'Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to give your hard-earned money to an alleged billionaire,' the narrator concludes in the video.

The Democrat said earlier this month at an event in New Jersey that Trump 'is trying to scam America the way he scammed all those people at Trump University.'

Her campaign appears to be spotlighting the controversy over Trump's old program, as it references the recently-released 'playbooks' that detailed how the program's sales-people would attempt to convince potential clients to pay for the courses.

The narrator in the ad alleges that Trump University was 'not a school, but a scheme'

'We guarantee you'll give Trump U a glowing reviewbecause we'll make you,' the ad states, in references to allegations that some of Trump University's endorsements might have been coerced

The real advertisements for Trump University featured the billionaire businessman declaring that he himself selected the instructors for the courses.

However, Trump admitted under oath that he was not involved in selecting the instructors.

Now, some former student's complaints and the qualifications of the instructors are the subject of a court case.

The Republican had maintained that the 'university' was 100 per cent legitimate. In addition, Trump has vowed to restart the program if he wins the ongoing lawsuit.

The litigation became the center of conversation for the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns roughly two weeks ago when Trump attacked the presiding US District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel.

The GOP presidential nominee attempted to argue that Curiel, who is of Mexican descent but was born in Indiana, was not treating him fairly.

Clinton (left) said earlier this month at an event in New Jersey that Trump (right) 'is trying to scam America the way he scammed all those people at Trump University.'

Other leaders in the GOP party tried to distance themselves from the real estate mogul, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan who called it 'the textbook definition of a racist comment.'

The Clinton mock ad for Trump University appears to be an effort on her campaign to try and label Trump as a 'fraud' who tried to get money from everyone, even those who may have been in debt, despite promising to help.

'We guarantee you'll give Trump U a glowing reviewbecause we'll make you,' the ad states, in references to allegations that some of Trump University's endorsements might have been coerced.

A Clinton campaign official told Time: 'Trump University was a massive scam and nothing close to an actual school. Preying on the elderly, encouraging potential customers to max out credit cards and drain their savings, and making trumped up promises about how to profit off of the housing crisis.'

Trump has yet to comment about Clinton's latest ad.




He believes she will be sentenced to more than six

But judge convicted her of three counts of fraud by abuse of position

A care home worker stole bank cards from residents in their 90s and used them for online shopping.

Michelle Brandish took cards belonging to three elderly residents at the care home where she worked, before milking their accounts for her personal use.

A total of 2,500 was reported missing from the residents - two of whom were in their nineties - between May 1 and October 2 last year.

Michelle Brandish stole cards belonging to three elderly residents at the care home where she worked, before milking their accounts for her personal use.

Those who suffered from Brandish's crimes were Anne Stobie, 62, who is severely disabled due to multiple sclerosis, 92-year-old Joan Bosson, who has lung cancer, and 93-year-old Violet Dance, who died earlier this year.

The 42-year-old had denied the offences but was found guilty of defrauding the women after a trial.

Magistrates were told that Brandish abused her position of trust at the care home to steal money from the residents over the course of five months.

She was employed as a carer at the Towse Court supported living home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire where she removed bank cards belonging to some of the residents.

Brandish then used the cards to make withdrawals from cashpoint machines and to shop online for groceries and hundreds of pound of clothes, the court was told.

In total, she spent more than 1,700.

Concerning thefts from Mrs Stobie, Brandish alleged that the sexagenarian had asked her to take out money and purchase groceries using her debit card. She admitted she's bought the cigarettes and dog food for herself on the lady's card - but claimed she hadn't realised what she was doing at the time.

When officers searched her home they found the card along with Mrs Stobie's Barclaycard credit card hidden in a packet of crisps and had not been used.

Brandish defended herself by saying the elderly lady had refused to take the card back when she tried to return in, so had kept it in the packet for safe-keeping.

They also unearthed a Marks & Spencer credit card belonging to Mrs Dance, which showed the card had been used to buy 745 worth of clothes from online retailer Pink Boutique. Some of these purchases were recovered at Brandish's home.

When questioned she claimed that she had bought the items second hand from Paige Norris, another carer at Towse Court, for 200 in cash as a birthday present for her daughter - an allegation Norris denied, saying she knew nothing about the clothes nor had she heard of Pink Boutique.

Victims of Brandish's crimes were Anne Stobie, 62, who is severely disabled due to multiple sclerosis, 92-year-old Joan Bosson, who has lung cancer, and 93-year-old Violet Dance, who died earlier this year

New, unopened clothes, handbags and purses littered the floor of the thief's bedroom and there was evidence that she was about 4,000 in debt and using a pawnbroker.

The theft from Mrs Bosson came to light after the elderly lady's daughter attempted to withdraw money and was declined - after Brandish had taken out 400 using a cash machine in Goring high street.

Brandish claimed she had been asked by Mrs Bosson to withdraw the money on her behalf and blamed disappearing cash on another resident.

Furthermore she said she had taken Mrs Dance's statement home accidentally after the pensioner asked her to 'sort out' her account'.

Laura McCaffrey, defending, stated that the care home worker had hoped to help the residents and hadn't realised what she was doing was wrong.

She told district judge Tim Pattinson: 'Mrs Brandish is an absent-minded woman who leads a fairly chaotic life. She exercises poor judgement, struggles to understand social niceties and can be over-familiar.

'She fails to understand how those characteristics may be perceived by others but while that may make her unattractive, it doesn't prove dishonesty. Is is not possible that, rather than being the acts of a calculated fraudster, they were merely extreme stupidity?'

Brandish was convicted of three counts of fraud by abuse of position at Oxford Magistrates' Court, having been charged with the offences on January 28.

Brandish, of Wallingford, Oxforshire is due to appear before Banbury Magistrates' Court on June 27 and is likely to be sentenced at a later date

Pattinson said afterward that he considered Brandish's defence to be 'weak and inadequate'. He added, 'I believe Mrs Brandish has thought things up and, I have to say, clutched at straws in giving her evidence'.

Police constable Becky Tanner of Thames Valley Police said: 'This case involved fraud against vulnerable and elderly victims who relied on carers to help and assist them in their daily tasks.

'One of these carers abused their position by using the victim's bank cards for their own gain.

'She took no responsibility for her actions and has never shown any remorse or admitted any wrong-doing. I am very happy that the right result was achieved at court after what was a long and demanding investigation.

'We work to protect vulnerable members of our community and they have a right to justice. I thank the victims and their families and the witnesses in the case who helped us get that justice.'

Brandish, of Wallingford, Oxforshire is due to appear before Banbury Magistrates' Court on June 27 and is likely to be sentenced at a later date.
The parents of a two-year-old suburban Detroit girl who drowned in a neighbor's pool have been charged in her death.

James Johnson III, 30, and Amber Johnson, 23, were arraigned on Friday on second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and child abuse charges, and bond was set at $1million each.

Police said Monika Rose Johnson and her three-year-old brother left their home around 10.30am last Friday while their parents slept and managed to climb a chain link fence to the neighbor's yard.

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James Johnson III, 30, (left) and Amber Johnson, 23, (right) were arraigned on Friday (pictured) on second-degree murder in the death of their daughter, two-year-old Monika Rose Johnson

Police said Monika Rose Johnson (pictured) and her three-year-old brother left their home around 10.30am last Friday while their parents slept

The two siblings made their way to a neighbor's yard where Monika is said to have climbed a ladder to get to the pool before falling in

Monika then reportedly climbed a ladder to get to the neighbor's pool and fell in.

The neighbor found the girl unresponsive in the pool and made efforts to revive her until emergency responders arrived at the scene, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Monika was transported to hospital where she was initially in critical condition, but she died the next day, police said.

Her brother was not hurt in the incident. Authorities said the brother and another child in the house had been staying with another relative, according to the newspaper.

Authorities said after Monika and her brother left home, they managed to climb a chain link fence (pictured) to the neighbor's yard

The family's home pictured above. Police said they have had a history of calls to the residence

Following the tragic incident, the medical examiner's office has ruled the girl's death an accidental drowning.

During the arraignment on Friday, the girl's mother could be heard asking the judge, 'Why are we being charged with murder?'

Judge Sam Salamey responded, indicating the court found there is a probable cause 'to believe the charges against you are proper,' according to the Detroit Free Press.

During court, the girl's mother became very emotional. At one point she even asked the judge why they were being charged with murder

The couple's relatives were also pictured emotional during the arraignment on Friday

Police told the newspaper there was a 'culmination' of other incidents leading up to the drowning, including a recent incident where two the children in the home were found wandering the streets.

County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the 'alleged actions and inactions' of the couple 'defy common sense,' and noted the girl's death was 'completely preventable,' according to the Detroit Free Press.

The medical examiner's office has ruled Monika's death an accidental drowning

During the arraignment, it was revealed the girl's mother is a dancer at a nightclub and that her father is unemployed, however he told the court he does odd jobs from time to time.

Police said the couple had recently been given notice they were facing eviction from their home and that they had a long history of calls at the residence, according to the Detroit Free Press.

A neighbor also told WJBK that child protective services has visited the Johnsons' house a couple of times in the past.

'Obviously in this case the children were not protected,' Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad told the station.

'Someone's got to be held accountable.'

Prosecutors said a week prior to Monika's death, the couple had been charged with misdemeanors for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to WJBK.

Dearborn police Cpl. Emilee Williams said the Johnsons are a danger to their other children.

Their parental rights have since been terminated and they have been ordered not have contact with their other children, according to the Detroit Free Press.

As the couple stood before the judge on Friday, the mother could be seen crying, along with relatives who wiped tears from their eyes as they sat looking on during the arraignment.

The Johnsons face a June 24 probable cause conference and July 1 preliminary examination.

It was not immediately clear Friday if they have attorneys.

Monika was initially transported to hospital in critical condition, but she died the next day, police said
Documents show that Nick Candy (pictured with his wife Holly) gave his super-yacht to his wife

According to their publicity, property developers Nick and Christian Candy are jet-setting billionaires who turned a 6,000 loan from their grandmother into a multinational real-estate empire that made them two of the wealthiest people in Britain.

With super-elite developments such as London's One Hyde Park  where one flat was sold to a Ukrainian billionaire for a record 136 million  the brothers have built up an enviable lifestyle with homes in Monaco, Los Angeles and New York.

But a less flattering side of the brothers' dealings has been uncovered in papers from a 132 million lawsuit, in which they are accused of making aggressive threats over a business debt  something they vigorously deny.

The documents expose curious, multi-million-pound gifts to their glamorous wives, which a judge said could be an attempt to protect assets from being seized should they lose the case. Humiliatingly, the judge has now shackled them, banning the Candys whose free-spending ways earned them the nickname the Bling Brothers  from giving or selling any further significant assets without notification.

High Court documents show that Nick Candy, 42, gave his 26 million super-yacht to his wife, former Neighbours star Holly Valance, even though she does not appear to have an income of her own or the means to pay the 2.6 million-a-year running costs of the 200ft vessel, named 11.11 after the birthday of their daughter Luka, two.

And Christian Candy transferred a 200 million row of seven Grade I listed houses in Cambridge Terrace in Regent's Park, London, into the name of his wife, socialite Emily Crompton.

The moves came ahead of the potentially costly case being brought by former business associate Mark Holyoake.

Mr Justice Nugee noted that, in Christian's case, there was 'evidence of a transaction which has the effect of removing an asset of his from being taken'.

Christian Candy (left) was photographed with his wife, socialite Emily Crompton (right)

He rejected Mr Candy's claim that the Regent's Park properties were bought not as an asset, but as a family home  he has permission to knock them all into one 15-bedroom mansion  not least because the family are, by the own admission, tax exiles. Their twin children are even called Isabella Monaco and Cayman Charles, apparently after two favoured offshore havens.

The judge said Mr Candy was 'prepared to be unforthcoming about his assets and conceal them' which meant that, should a legal ruling go against him, the tycoon may 'no longer have any assets to meet it'.

He granted an injunction which means the Candy brothers must notify the court ahead of any disposal of assets of more than 5 million  small change in the exalted property circles in which they operate.

For their part, the Candys say that an attempt by Mr Holyoake to secure an even more draconian worldwide asset freeze was rejected by the court.

High Court documents show that Nick Candy, 42, gave his 26 million super-yacht (pictured) to his wife, former Neighbours star Holly Valance

The case revolves around 12 million Mr Holyoake borrowed from the Christian Candy's company CPC Group Ltd to fund a property deal in Belgravia, Central London.

He claims Christian Candy made aggressive demands for early repayment of the loan in 2012 and that Nick Candy once warned him that he must do what his brother demanded, or he might sell the debt to 'certain people, possibly Russians, who would not think twice about hurting Mr Holyoake or his family to get what they wanted'.

He says he felt coerced into paying 37 million to settle the loan and was forced to sell the Belgravia property at a loss.

The Candy brothers deny his account. They also say Mr Holyoake has so far failed to pay 5 million demanded by the court as security for potential damages.

The brothers were involved with super-elite developers such as London's One Hyde Park (pictured)

Documents show Christian Candy transferred a 200 million row of seven Grade I listed houses in Cambridge Terrace in Regent's Park, London, (pictured) into the name of his wife, socialite Emily Crompton

The case, in which Mr Holyoake is also claiming for lost profits, will put the true scale of the brothers' wealth under the spotlight. As the judge said: 'A person who publicly flaunts his wealth, but whose declared holdings in his corporate interests do not begin to justify the wealth he displays, is open to the charge that he is willing to say one thing and do something else.'

Although the Candys are associated with expensive deals, they are often fixers, rather than major investors. Certainly wealth expert Philip Beresford, who edits the Estates Gazette Rich List, is sceptical about the scale of their worth, believing it to be about 100 million  an eye-watering sum, but far short of a billion.
Police in NSW are to be given specialist training to deal with terror attacks and mass shootings, it has been revealed.

Officers are being told to immediately enter any situation where gunfire is heard rather than set up a perimeter and wait for special task forces as previous policy instructed.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the program was thought up after the 2015 Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris.

It bears special significance now after the shooting of a knifeman at Westfield shopping centre in Hornsby, north Sydney, last week where three elderly women were injured when police opened fire.

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Police in NSW are to be given special training in dealing with 'active armed offenders' to help them cope with terror attacks and mass shootings. Above, two officers in Hornsby on Thursday where a man was shot by police after allegedly wielding a knife at a shopping centre

The program will teach officers how to cope with an 'Active Armed Offender' and includes target shooting training.

NSW Police Association President Scott Weber said it 'give officers the capability to avert tragedies'.

News of the program comes as officers involved in the handling of last week's incident at Westfield defended their actions.

Officers opened fire on Jerry Sourian after the 23-year-old allegedly lunged at them with a carving knife shouting 'Alluhu Akbar' on Thursday.

He was shot at the scene by two officers. Anne-Marie Petitfils, 70, Lorraine Pendleton, 82, and Elaine For, 65, were all injured in the crossfire.

Police have been forced to defend their handling of the incident amid claims they should have used capsicum spray or a taser instead of shooting the man who was allegedly on day release from a nearby mental health institution.

It comes after police shot 23-year-old Jerry Sourian outside the Westfield Hornsby shopping centre in north Sydney on Thursday, injuring three others in the crossfire

Officers will be taught to enter any situation where there is gunfire rather than waiting for special task forces (seen above at the Lindt Cafe siege of 2014)

Police have been forced to defend their decision to shoot the man who allegedly lunged towards them carrying a knife

Former police officer Trent Southworth told Daily Mail Australia he believed police did the right thing by opening fire.

He was wielding a 14 inch knife  it is obvious that his actions could have had deadly consequences and that is when police need to make a quick decision and act.

'He very well could have been capable of turning three feet and ramming that blade into someones gut or slitting someone's throat then the family would have been asking why they didn't shoot.

'You're damned if you do, damned if you dont. If police dont attempt to use lethal force and a member of the public gets stabbed the family comes back and blames police.'

NSW Police defended the officers who they said had been forced to confront a 'life or death' scenario.

'In a life and death situation police had to make a very critical decision on the actions they took,' Assistant Commissioner Denis Clifford told reporters at the scene.

'It's alarming (that innocent bystanders were injured) but I wonder what may have happened had the police not intervened and stopped this person with a knife.'

Sourian had been given day release from a mental health facility when he visited the shopping centre.
In the hot seat: Emma in the Radio 5 Live studio

The past week has been a wonderful one. I was able to announce my new job, having kept the news to myself for many months. Come September I will be presenting the morning show on Radio 5 Live. On 5 Live Daily, I will be in the hot-seat from 10am to 1pm, Wednesday to Friday, grilling the great and good  and making some blistering radio in a slot previously held by broadcasting talents such as Victoria Derbyshire and Peter Allen.

It is a dream role and something I've been working towards for many years. However, it also marks the start of a more personal journey  as I will be returning to my home city of Manchester every week to present two of the programmes.

While I had a wonderful childhood in the North, this homecoming is tinged with a degree of sadness. For although Manchester is one of my favourite locations, it is also a place where many of my demons come to life; demons I am now trying to exorcise.

Nearly ten years ago, my world fell apart. I had just turned 23 and was walking to the nearest Tube station in London at the end of a long day on the business magazine where I cut my journalistic teeth. My phone rang and it was my then boyfriend, now husband. 'Emma, I don't know quite how to tell you this,' he started, his voice faltering. 'But you need to get on a train to Manchester now. Your dad is is going to prison. Tomorrow. I'm already on my way and have just spoken to your mum.'

The next ten minutes were a blur. I don't remember saying anything on the phone, beyond a whimper of consent. I went very cold and was then suddenly encased in sweat. My legs wobbled on to the Tube for the short journey home to the tiny flat which I shared with my best friend. And then I fell to my knees, sobbing in the carriage, as other passengers looked on aghast at this twentysomething disintegrating before their eyes.

Somehow I managed to make it home before falling back down on to my knees with the confusion and pain of a child struck dumb.

My friend was suddenly there on the floor with me. And between sobs, she figured out that I needed a bag, packed it, and in what seemed like only minutes, I was on the train back to Manchester.

I knew my dad Ian was in trouble, but he had always made out it would never come to anything.

In fact, the last time I saw him was the weekend of my 23rd birthday, nine days earlier, when he mumbled something about 'another court case' and that he would see me after it. And that was classic Dad  his work, his problem. Nothing to do with me or anyone else.

I had a very traditional upbringing. My father was a local businessman, and for most of my life he worked in commercial property. Mum was a stay-at-home mother, and I was their only child.

But when I was a young teenager, a drastic change in Dad's fortunes led to what I can now diagnose as a terrible decision on his behalf.

Jailed: Emma's father Ian

I was 14 when he became involved in the running of massage parlours in Manchester. I didn't know about this change for some time, or even what massage parlours really were. I now know, of course, that they are part of the sex industry  but like any other teenager, I was wrapped up in my own world and soon preparing to leave home for university.

The first I learned that something was dreadfully wrong was at the start of my second year at university. I came back for the weekend and found the lock loose on the front door. After much questioning, and eye-avoiding from my mother, she revealed that they had been raided by the police that morning. Despite the fact that my father had been charged and then had a court case looming (his first), he kept everything to himself. Remarkably, his first case came and went without me being told, and I blithely enjoyed my time at university.

If I asked anything about the 'situation', as it became known, my father would always dismiss it by saying: 'Don't worry. It's all in hand.'

But then he was rearrested in 2005, having been given what I now know was a suspended sentence the first time around, for the same crimes  namely living off immoral earnings. And this was the utter mess I came home to that cold February night three years later after he had entered a guilty plea for running several of these establishments, instead of having a trial as planned.

I could write more about how quickly both my mother and I had to play catch-up with lawyers I'd never met before, but this isn't an article about my dad, his crimes and the dark world he inhabited for a short while.

This is my story  a personal piece about what happens when your life implodes at the precise moment it is meant to be starting; about that instant you realise your parents are human after all and the roles suddenly reverse. And while most people reading this will not be able to empathise with what happened to me exactly, many of you, I'm sure, will have some experience of a situation when all the lights seem to go out, at the same time, without any warning.

Telling my relatively new boss that I needed some time off was tough. Even tougher was when I had to tell him why, on the phone in a shaky voice I didn't recognise.

Overnight I grew up  by about two decades. And a big part of the trauma was learning many things about my father's businesses from the newspapers that I'd never known before. There were many untruths to unpick, too  but that's another story.

However, there was not time for recovery. Immediately after Dad went to prison, we suddenly found out that my mother had also been charged and had an imminent court case to prepare for. And when I say we, I mean my stoic husband or  as he was then  my young university boyfriend, armed with an essential sense of humour and a bottle of brandy. At all times.

A newspaper report on the case of Emma's father, Ian

Our family home was in Mum's name (as it had been for a long time before this situation), but as Dad was the one to pay the mortgage, she was tried for money-laundering. And while she was found innocent of the majority of charges, she was found guilty of some and handed a suspended sentence. At one particularly bleak and almost filmic moment, I stood outside the courtroom (I never went inside) alone while facing the nightmare prospect of having two parents behind bars at the same time.

Thankfully that didn't happen. But prison visits to my father soon did. Nothing quite prepares you for your first time in the notorious Strangeways, where my father, despite being a white-collar criminal, existed for six months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence.

My mother couldn't face the first visit, but my boyfriend and I gritted our teeth, fulfilling our grim duty.

All I can remember now are vigorous searches, sniffer dogs and a tense waiting room, filled with mothers and screaming young children. Then I spotted Dad  unshaven and with tears in his eyes  sitting at a bolted-down table in a large hall, wearing a prison-issued shirt.

This is my story  a personal piece about what happens when your life implodes at the precise moment it is meant to be starting; about that instant you realise your parents are human after all and the roles suddenly reverse

I was angry. My God I was. Angry at him. Angry at the world. For a long time, during these visits to Strangeways and the ones that followed in other prisons, normal conversations with my father simply didn't happen. Instead, we just barked at each other about everything.

And while I felt deeply embarrassed, and huge shame washed over me as his story hit the newspapers  the very industry I was now working in  I made a big decision. I decided to try to thrive. While that might sound contrite and straight out of the pages of a self-help book, it's true. The sins of the father are not the sins of the child. This wasn't my mess and I had a choice  either let it break me into tiny ashamed pieces, or use my anger to fuel my passion for life, love and my work.

By choosing the latter and not wallowing in a tempting state of self-pity, I picked up where I had left off in London  but with an extra sense of urgency.

Throughout my career, colleagues and friends have often remarked to me that I seem to be in a hurry: 'What's the rush, Emma? You're only young,' they would say, as I dreamt of launching new sections at the newspaper where I worked, or when I took on the graveyard shift at LBC in an attempt to kick-start a career in radio at the same time as my day job.

But I'd changed. Irrevocably. And surprisingly for the better. By seeing a side of life very few people get to experience, I developed an empathy and humility beyond my years. And I wanted to hear and tell other people's stories more than ever  now I had a greater understanding of the human condition far from the chocolate-box existence I'd grown up in.

My first documentary for BBC Radio 4 explored whether we had a 'right to be forgotten' after a new piece of EU legislation tried to tackle the issue of news 'living for ever'  or remaining available  in the digital age.

Determined: Journalist Emma, pictured on ITV's Lorraine, said she pursued her career with a sense of urgency

Meeting individuals with terrible stories either about them, or their families, I listened intently to their pain; about their inability to move on  never sharing my own anguish  but asking all the right questions.

The issue is a particularly difficult one for prisoners who have served their time but then can't find employment due to their online identity being dominated by news stories of their crimes.

This is just a symptom of one of the biggest untackled issues our society faces: the lack of proper rehabilitation for offenders.

But I also soon learned of an even lesser-known societal problem  the unspoken pain and stigma felt by people related to those in prison  the wives, husbands, mothers, fathers and children left behind, who have no one to talk to.

Once, when researching a story about youngsters in care, somebody working for Barnardo's, the children's charity, told me that the largest group of under-supported young people in Britain were the offspring of prisoners. They are too ashamed to tell anyone that their parent is locked up.

While thankfully I was not a child when my father went to prison, I was young all the same, and it is a life sentence I carry. Anyone related to someone who's been in this position will feel the same but rarely speak of it.

The load has got lighter over the years but this is still very difficult for me to talk about. In fact, this is the first time I have done so publicly. And while this is the most exposing story I've ever committed to paper, I knew if I didn't write it, someone else would, especially as I begin a new primetime radio show.

It's fair to say that I'm still traumatised by what happened and have become an old soul before my time.

Only in the past year did I feel I could start to turn my experience into something positive. That's when I signed up to volunteer for Pact  a nationwide charity which provides practical and emotional support to the children and families of prisoners.

I also feel ready to be completely honest with my radio listeners.

After all, radio is a very personal medium. You are in people's ears, kitchens and bedrooms  one to one. I learned my trade at the coalface of hard-hitting phone-ins on my previous LBC show.

Listeners, buoyed by the facelessness of radio, would call with their deepest, darkest fears, problems and thoughts, especially as night fell. And my wells of empathy and sympathy were ready  as well as tough love where required.

What I've learned from my unique family situation is to reserve judgment on others where at all possible. We've all got baggage. Some of it is of our making; some of it we've inherited. But I've also learned this: while we may not have the right for sins of the past to be forgotten in the digital age, we do have a right to be forgiven  something we're still pretty awful at as a society.

It's been a long, horribly bumpy road and, of course, there isn't a day I don't wish away what my dad did  but I have forgiven him. It's taken me a long time to let myself have a good relationship with him again. We must live in a world where it is possible to genuinely move on and yet we don't. In so many ways.

When I announced my new programme last week, I stated that I wanted to create a show 'where people share strong views and have conversations on air that would normally happen in private'.

It's only by blowing the cobwebs through our darkest fears that the light can shine through. Those are the conversations radio was built for and some of the ones I plan on facilitating back in my home town come September. Do join me.
Despite recently pulling ahead in national polling, Bill Shorten and Labor still have ground to make up in crucial battleground seats across the country if they are to form government.

New polling carried out in seven marginal electorates in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and Queensland suggests the Opposition would not gain a parliamentary majority, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The seven coalition-held seats surveyed by ReachTEL polling are: Dobell and Lindsay in NSW, Corangamite and Deakin in Victoria, Mayo in South Australia, Cowan in Western Australia, and Bonner in Queensland.

Bill Shorten and Labor still have ground to make up in crucial battleground seats across the country if they are to form government

According to the newspaper, Labor holds a 51-49 lead in Dobell - with the electorate widely expected to switch from the Coalition to the Opposition after a recent boundary change.

But in the rest of the hotly-contested seats the Government is performing better than it is broadly across the country, with the swing well under the national one of 4.5 per cent, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

In order to form government Labor has to claw back 21 seats from the Government, meaning it probably needs to get over the line in all six of the marginal seats, presuming Nick Xenophon Team candidate Rebekha Sharkie elected in Mayo.

A separate poll conducted for the Seven Network in the South Australian Liberal-held seat of Grey puts the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) candidate easily ahead of sitting member Rowan Ramsey.

New polling carried out in seven marginal electorates in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and Queensland suggests the Opposition would not gain a parliamentary majority

In a number of the battleground electorates Mr Turnbull holds a lead over Mr Shorten as preferred prime minister

With the ReachTEL polling also showing a strong NXT vote in Mayo, that increases the chances of a hung parliament after the July 2 election.

In a number of the battleground electorates Mr Turnbull holds a lead over Mr Shorten as preferred prime minister.

If Labor and Bill Shorten win the popular vote but do not pick up the number of seats required, it will be the same result then-leader Kim Beazley finished with in 1998.
Boris Johnson: Ducked into Alec Shelbrooke's office to discuss threat to Cameron

Boris Johnson was embroiled in an extraordinary row last night after he admitted discussing the possibility of a leadership challenge against David Cameron with a fellow Tory MP.

Mr Johnson, the clear favourite to be the next Tory leader, met Alec Shelbrooke in his Commons office and speculated about the number of Tory MPs prepared to back a no-confidence vote in the Prime Minister.

According to one version of the encounter, Boris said: 'Are there 50 names?'  a reference to the number of renegade MPs required to trigger a contest.

The former London Mayor last night confirmed that he met Mr Shelbrooke in his office and held a conversation about how many Tory MPs backed a coup  but insisted he had talked about 'how vital it was to keep the party together under Dave's leadership'.

The secret meeting comes as anti-Cameron plotters step up their activity following a spate of polls showing the referendum on a knife edge.

Last night Bill Wiggin, a Tory MP suspected by Mr Cameron's allies of involvement in a plot, angrily denied to The Mail on Sunday that he was involved, claiming that he was the victim of a 'smear campaign' by No 10. And a loyalist MP, Mark Menzies, was revealed to have complained to colleagues about being pressured by unidentified 'antis' into backing a revolt.

A vote of confidence by MPs in Mr Cameron's leadership would be triggered if a minimum of 50 of them wrote a letter to Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, expressing their lack of support for the leader. If Mr Cameron lost this vote, a contest would begin in which he would be unable to stand for re-election.

Boris entered Mr Shelbrooke's office after meeting the MP for Elmet and Rothwell in his Commons corridor last week.

Although Mr Shelbrooke is a Commons aide to pro-Brexit Employment Minister Priti Patel, he is also a Remain supporter and loyal to Mr Cameron.

Alec Shelbrooke: Confided to a Conservative MP colleague that Boris had been 'digging' for information

Mr Shelbrooke has been overheard telling a fellow Conservative MP that he thought Boris was 'digging' and had asked him whether he thought there were '50 names' ready to go.

Mr Shelbrooke said he had shot back: 'No, I don't think there are anything like that. No more than 20 at most', and that Boris had 'hastily' replied: 'Yes, yes, of course, I think you are completely right.'

Mr Shelbrooke confided to his party colleague that, during the conversation, which continued in his nearby office, he thought that Boris seemed 'rattled' and 'worried about how the next few months would pan out'.

But a source close to Boris describes that version as 'absolute b******s', saying that Boris was invited in to Mr Shelbrooke's office while walking down the corridor  and that Mr Shelbrooke had initiated the conversation about 50 names. The source said: 'They just talked in general about how vital it was to keep the party together under Dave's leadership. Boris said he doubted that there were five people, let alone 50, who had put letters in.'

However, a pro-Remain MP claimed: 'Boris has been caught red-handed measuring the Downing Street curtains.'

Bill Wigan (left): Old Etonian schoolfriend of the Prime Minister says he is being 'smeared' as a plotter. Right, Mark Menzies, who complained he was being leaned on to sign a letter of no confidence

Downing Street's nervousness over Boris's effectiveness as a Brexit campaigner was revealed during ITV's referendum debate on Thursday, when pro-Remain Cabinet Minister Amber Rudd delivered a series of No 10-sanctioned attacks, including the line: 'He isn't the man you want driving you home at the end of the evening.'

If the Prime Minister loses the June 23 referendum he is widely expected to resign within hours.

But his position will still come under intense pressure if Remain fails to win the vote by a comfortable margin  set by his critics at around ten per cent. One poll published yesterday alarmed Downing Street by putting Remain ten per cent behind.

On the line: If David Cameron loses the referendum he is widely expected to resign within hours

So far, only three MPs have publicly challenged Mr Cameron's position: Nadine Dorries, who has already submitted a letter, and Andrew Bridgen and Bill Cash, both of whom say they are 'considering' doing so.

Last night, Mr Wiggin lashed out at what he claimed was a 'smear campaign' against him by No 10, denying that he was running a 'beneath the radar' operation to generate the letters.

Mr Wiggin, 50, who was in the year above David Cameron at Eton  and whose wife Milly dated the Prime Minister when they were both unmarried  said: 'It is completely untrue. I haven't approached anyone or been approached. It's a smear campaign, and I have a good idea where it is coming from.'

Pressed to expand, Mr Wiggin said he thought that No 10 was behind the false rumour.

Mark Menzies is understood to have been told that he should sign a letter 'because there are already more than 50 names so you won't look exposed'. The MP for Fylde angrily replied that 'he didn't want to get involved' in the plotting.

Speculation is also growing at Westminster that Chancellor George Osborne could step aside from any leadership contest because he would be almost certain to lose in a head-to-head battle with Boris.

Osborne and Home Secretary Theresa May are the most popular candidates among Tory MPs at Westminster, who decide the final two names to be voted on by the party membership.

But if Boris is excluded from that run-off, there is likely to be uproar in the party associations.

With the referendum campaign entering its final days, there have also been claims that Tory whips have been trying to 'gag' outspoken Tory Eurosceptics with promises of Government funding for favoured projects in their constituencies, while loyalists are trying to drum up a round-robin letter pledging support for the Prime Minister.
Phil Bunt (pictured) resigned from his position as deputy chairman of the local Conservative Association

Just over a week ago, I resigned from my position as deputy chairman of the local Conservative Association. I did not initially expand on my explanation that it was for personal reasons. But as word began to circulate in the party, I had to admit that it was because I had lost all trust and respect for our local MP, Steve Double, 49, who had admitted to having an affair with my 26-year-old daughter-in-law, Sarah Bunt, who he employed.

Over the course of the next few days, Mr Double, a former pastor and devout Christian, told the local press that this had nothing to do with his job as an MP and that it was only about his personal life. He was sparing in his accuracy about why he decided to call off the affair, while choosing not to reveal that, the day before he did so, he had left his wife Anne, apparently to continue his relationship with Mrs Bunt. He insinuated that the affair was predominantly the fault of Mrs Bunt by saying he regretted ever employing her, telling one national newspaper on June 7: 'I'd never have hired her if I'd known the grief it would cause.' Then, despite his wife being besieged by reporters at their home, he left for a four-day, prearranged speaking engagement in Israel while Parliament was in session.

Mr Double, as an ex-church pastor and devout Christian, is someone who milked his supposedly happy family credentials for all they were worth to get elected in May 2015. I was one of his small team of committed volunteers who worked tirelessly to help him win. In the election literature we produced for him, we made great play of his 28-year marriage to Anne. There were plenty of photos of them together and with their children to prove to everyone how much stock he placed on family values.

He won his St Austell and Newquay seat by more than 8,000 votes, and it would be a reasonable assumption that many who voted for him did so, at least in part, because they admired those values.

On the night of the count, I was one of a select number of supporters who accompanied Mr Double to Wadebridge to observe the result. And after running his committee room the day before, canvassing and leafleting for weeks prior to the Election, attending 7am strategy briefings every week for several months and handing out refreshments at our home to supporters also delivering leaflets and knocking on doors, all the effort seemed worthwhile. What a win! What a guy! Our first Conservative MP in parts of the area for 47 years.

My daughter-in-law, Sarah, was working at the time for a local newspaper and, when the chance to join 'Team Double' in his St Austell office as a case worker arose, she applied and was successful. She started work in June and I know personally from Mr Double and his wife, Anne, his diary manager and Sarah's line-manager, that she was a highly valued member of the small group who supported the busy MP's office.

Sarah would regularly tell people how much she enjoyed the challenge of the role and the company of the people she worked with. She was introduced to Mr Double's Westminster office over the next few months and had occasional stays in the capital when work demanded it. Her prospects looked bright.

In fact, just a few days before news of the affair broke, Mr Double had said to me that Sarah was 'doing very well indeed'.

Case worker Sarah Bunt (left) told her husband Matthew (right) that she was leavhing him to pursue a relationship with MP Steve Double

Imagine, then, our surprise when at 6.30am on Thursday, June 2, our son Matthew woke us with the news that Sarah had just told him she was leaving home because she was having an affair with her boss  Mr Double. She confirmed that she was walking out that morning in order to pursue a relationship with him and that Mr Double had already told his wife of the affair. He too walked out of his marital home that morning.

At no point up until June 2 had any press interest been shown in Mr Double's marriage or his relationship with his case worker. Without clarity from either party, one can only speculate on why June 2 was the day chosen by them to leave their respective marriages but, in Mr Double's case, it appears that within 24 hours he was back at home with Anne and had told Sarah that the affair was over. However, Sarah did not return home to Matt and is currently staying with friends.

It is a shame that in his various press statements on the matter, Mr Double has not mentioned that he did actually pack a bag on the morning of June 2, leave his wife and advise his office staff of the affair and that he had walked out on Anne. Instead he chose to concentrate the focus of the story on him deciding to tell her about the affair, as the press were asking awkward questions.

If Mr Double's explanation is to be accepted, could we therefore assume that, as he told his wife because of press interest, if there hadn't been such interest then he would have happily allowed the affair to continue?

Taking all of this into account, there are no circumstances I could foresee whereby I could remain in a role which, by its very nature, requires a level of trust and honesty with the sitting MP. Mr Double's actions, and the actions of my daughter-in-law, had caused, and continue to cause, significant upset to countless people.

Sarah Bunt (right) took a selfie with Mr Double (left) and his wife Anne (middle). Sarah worked for Mr Double

But because of the close working relationship I had with Mr Double over several years, his deception, disloyalty and disrespect for me and my family is at a different level.

And though my family has chosen not to speak to the press, my purpose in writing this piece at the invitation of The Mail on Sunday is that in building upon my explanation of why I resigned, I could expand on some of the frustrations we feel.

I also would like to make it clear that I have had no contact with Sarah in writing this article. Central to my decision to resign are the following:

There is a deep sense of unease about the nonchalant way in which Mr Double appears to have conducted himself by announcing his affair, leaving his wife, returning to her, leaving another marriage in ruins and then, within hours of releasing a statement to the press, flying to Israel to speak at a conference and not returning for four days;

He appears to have deliberately spun his side of the story and made comments that seem designed to demean Sarah even more than she has been already;

At a personal level, myself and many others who worked closely with Mr Double find the ease with which he embarked on a relationship that he knew was likely to cause significant embarrassment and distress, distasteful and disrespectful;

With the highly negative coverage given to him through the release of this story, to what extent can he rebuild his trust and reputation? To the Conservatives, will he effectively be damaged goods and a liability at future elections?

The level of hypocrisy evident in his actions must lead to the questioning of his integrity, honesty and, not least, judgment. If Mr Double has such problems in balancing the 'should I stay or should I go' question in his personal life, how certain can we be about his capacity to make sound decisions on far bigger matters?

If Mr Double wishes to be able to walk down the streets and lanes of his constituency again and to be able to hold his head high, he needs to take the advice of those he trusts, as well as senior members of the Conservative Party at national and local level, as to whether he should remain in his current role or consider his position.

It's clear to me he should resign as our MP.
It was meant to be the day that ushered in a new era of prosperity to one of the most remote islands in the world.

May 21, 2016, was when St Helena, the tiny British territory in the South Atlantic, famous for being Napoleons last prison, was due to open its new airport.

After years of planning and hundreds of millions of pounds of Britains aid money, Prince Edward was due to fly in aboard a British Airways Boeing 737 to open the airport for commercial flights.

May 21, 2016, was when St Helena, the tiny British territory in the South Atlantic, famous for being Napoleons last prison, was due to open its new airport

After years of planning and hundreds of millions of pounds of Britains aid money, Prince Edward was due to fly in aboard a British Airways Boeing 737 to open the airport for commercial flights

For the islands 4,100 residents it would mean flights to the African mainland taking just hours instead of four days or more by sea.

But the grand opening was abandoned after safety tests showed commercial planes could not land because the wind near the runway was too unpredictable  as the Government had been warned when the project was first conceived.

The folly has led one peer to label the debacle a scandal and the worst foreign aid project in living memory.

Now, on the eve of a landmark House of Commons debate on foreign aid forced by Mail on Sunday readers backing our End The 12 billion Foreign Aid Madness campaign, we can expose how UK taxpayers will have to shell out even more on this farcical airport with no airliners  and how its astronomical costs may even double if it never opens.

Our investigation reveals:

The cost for the airport has soared from 250 million to 295 million;

The Department for International Development (DfID) ignored repeated warnings the airport was not safe;

UK taxpayers will pay 6 million a year to maintain a boat service between St Helena and Cape Town should the airport not open;

DfID will have to pay a British Airways subsidiary an additional 6 million to cover the loss of revenue for flights;

Islanders who invested their livelihoods in hotels and attractions in anticipation of a tourist boom now face ruin.

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock last night demanded that Ministers make an urgent statement to Parliament to explain the soaring costs.

The peer, himself a former Development Minister, said: It is total incompetence, it is unacceptable and a scandal. I have never known anything as bad as this. The total cost could be getting on for 1 billion. It is the worst foreign aid project in living memory.

Hairy: Test pilots and their jet were pictured on the St Helena Government's Facebook page - prompting some concerned comments

The justification to build the airport came, in part, because of the spiralling cost of maintaining the islanders only transport link to the outside world, the ageing Royal Mail ship St Helena, which takes four days to make the 2,000-mile journey from Cape Town to the island.

The escalating cost of the airport was revealed in a National Audit Office report last week. It also warned that, should the airport be unusable in the long term, the cost of replacing the ship would soar beyond the original 246 million estimate.

However, DfID and the St Helena Government maintain the airport will open. Indeed, a small jet landed there last week to evacuate a sick child to Africa.

PS THE BOAT'S GONE TOO... HERE IT IS ON THE THAMES Baroness Verma told the Lords that while the airport was out of action, the ageing RMS St Helena would continue to serve the island DFID Minister by sea. But as she spoke last week, the vessel was not in action, but moored in the Thames. Ironically, it was in London on a tour to promote tourism  the very tourism that can't happen without an airport. Advertisement

But test flights with commercial jets such as the Boeing 737 resulted in the aircraft skewing alarmingly when battered by vicious changes in wind speed and direction  making viable commercial flights seem impossible.

UK taxpayers are also underwriting losses of Comair, a franchise of British Airways that won the contract for services to and from South Africa, while the airport is out of action. To attract bidders, DfID had to cover the risk that demand was less than expected for the first three years of the services operation. The potential liability is up to 1.9 million a year, or 5.7 million in total.

Andrew Mitchell, then Development Secretary, gave the airport the go-ahead in 2010, claiming that tourism would make the island, which receives about 28 million a year in subsidies from the UK, self-sufficient.

That same year, ex-BA pilot Brian Heywood warned David Cameron and Mr Mitchell about the wind problems given the runways exposed location. Trying to run scheduled flights would be an operational shambles, he said, adding: The prevailing wind is bound to cause problems. To grumble about wind shear at St Helena airport is a bit like grumbling about the heat in a Sahara airfield in the summer. Its entirely predictable.

More fears emerged when some engineering firms withdrew bids to build the airport over concerns the project, which included blasting the runway out of a mountainside, was unfeasible.

Consultants also warned DfID there were considerable risks the perceived benefits would not materialise.

The terrifying scale of the wind problem arose again in April this year when a Comair test pilot reported that, on three successive approaches, he encountered significant turbulence, causing a loss of speed and triggering a cockpit alarm. Meanwhile, the lack of the expected tourists has left islanders facing ruin.

Terminal condition: Check-in desks stand empty at St Helena's airport

Hazel Wilmot, 60, spent more than 2 million on an 18-room hotel. She said: I have spent all my savings and my pension on this. I am running out of money. We have been told to hang in there, but we dont know for how long. Others have brought boats to do excursions and others cars for a taxi, everyone is struggling.

Keith Yon, another hotel owner, said his only booking in six weeks was a one-night stay from the crew who flew the medical evacuation flight last weekend.

St Helena governor Lisa Phillips maintained the airport is open, adding: We are collecting wind data which will allow larger planes to land, but this will take some time,

A Comair spokesman said he could not confirm when the air service will start, and declined to reveal contractual details.

A DfID spokesman said: We are helping St Helena overcome the challenge of being one of the most remote island communities in the world so it can develop its tourism industry and become financially self-sufficient.
Hang on a second, George! All eyes are on the boisterous little lad who has captured the countrys heart  as he tries to get a better view of his beloved Gan-Gans 90th birthday celebrations.

On a day of pomp and splendour, a very human family drama plays out on the Royal balcony to prove that even Princes need parents with lightning reflexes.

As the excited three-year-old heads for the lip of the Buckingham Palace balcony on his second public appearance, his father the Duke of Cambridge speedily snatches him back. Other senior Royals close in to help as George shows just why hes acquired a reputation for a streak of mischief.

As an excited Prince George heads for the lip of the Buckingham Palace balcony on his second public appearance, his father the Duke of Cambridge speedily snatches him back

George's cherubic little sister Charlotte, meanwhile, is in safe hands, held tight by her mother, Catherine, and briefly offered the tens of thousands gathered below her first Royal wave

His cherubic little sister Charlotte, meanwhile, is in safe hands, held tight by her mother, Catherine.

The one-year-old clamps one fist in her mouth to help with teething and holds the other over her ear to muffle the sound of a thunderous flypast  though she did briefly offer the tens of thousands gathered below her first Royal wave.

Trooping the Colour may have impressed the crowds yesterday but it was the open and obvious happiness of the Cambridge family that delighted.

And though the Duchess looked ravishing in a previously seen Alexander McQueen coat dress, it was her two children who stole the show. Dressed in a smocked pink frock with a matching bow in her hair, Charlotte cuddled into her mothers arms, enjoying the occasional reassuring pat from Daddy. Eager George needed no such encouragement.

Dressed in the outfit the Duke of Cambridge wore to Prince Harrys christening more than 30 years ago, his place at the heart of the extended Royal Family is already assured.

A lip-reader who watched yesterdays celebrations revealed a charming exchange between George and his parents on the balcony.

Prince George, centre, appeared to give the planes a salute while his parents looked up in admiration

Trooping the Colour may have impressed the crowds yesterday but it was the open and obvious happiness of the Cambridge family that delighted

Look at all these people, his mother said to him, seconds before his father asked: Can you hear the Chinook? at the first sounds of the helicopter leading one of the most spectacular flypasts in British skies for years.

As the planes flew overhead the young Prince turned to William, who was a search-and-rescue pilot with the RAF, and said: Daddy fly?

The Queen chuckled and William replied: No, not today! The show so thrilled George that he had to be persuaded to go back into the Palace after it was all over.

The Queen is famously besotted with her great grandchildren so its unlikely she minded, even though she was meant to be the centre of attention on the second day of a three-day celebration of her landmark 90th birthday.

It began for her earlier with a carriage ride from the Palace to Horse Guards Parade for Trooping the Colour. By her side in the uniform of the Grenadier Guards, complete with bearskin, was Prince Philip, who celebrated his 95th birthday on Friday.

On the Thames a 40-strong flotilla led by the Royal row barge Gloriana and Dunkirk Little Ships. Oarsmen tipped their blades skywards, a 62-gun salute sounded and Tower Bridge lifted in the Monarchs honour

During the day, the Queen wore a zinging lime-green coat dress by Stewart Parvin that stood out even amid the massed scarlet tunics, and she smiled broadly as bands played the slow march Long Live Elizabeth and a special version of Happy Birthday To You.

On the Thames another extraordinary tribute  a 40-strong flotilla led by the Royal row barge Gloriana and Dunkirk Little Ships. Oarsmen tipped their blades skywards, a 62-gun salute sounded and Tower Bridge lifted in the Monarchs honour.

Yet for all military pageantry and the tributes on the water and in the sky, it was George and Charlottes balcony double act that crowned the day.

Magic day for BGT winner (but it falls flat for a comrade)

Jones (above) won the TV talent series last month, along with 250,000 and a slot in the variety show

Britain's Got Talent winner Richard Jones yesterday got a flavour of what its like to perform for the Queen  before he takes part in a completely different kind of show at The Royal Variety Performance.

The part-time magician, a member of the Household Cavalry, won the TV talent series last month, along with 250,000 and a slot in the variety show.

But yesterday Bandsman Lance Corporal Jones, 25, resplendent in traditional gold uniform, played trombone as he rode his horse Copenhagen at Trooping the Colour.

He said the Royal celebration was every bit as nerve-racking as the live BGT Final  and revealed that he had already gained one Royal fan.

But yesterday Bandsman Lance Corporal Jones, 25, resplendent in traditional gold uniform, played trombone as he rode his horse Copenhagen at Trooping the Colour

He said: I met Prince Harry at the Invictus Games and he said he loved the performance.

Richard won BGT after he performed a spectacular card trick that celebrated the life and career of 97-year-old former prisoner of war Fergus Anckorn.

Mr Anckorn, who used to perform magic tricks for his fellow PoWs on the Burma railway, was among the crowds yesterday.

Mr Jones said he had no intention of quitting the Army, despite his huge prize, and that it had had no impact on his day job. On my first day back at work I was up at 6am mucking out a stable, he added.

A guardsman collapsed during the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London today as the Queen's official 90th birthday celebrations continue
David Cameron was facing mounting pressure over his controversial overseas aid programme last night after a senior Tory MP branded it public relations above real generosity.

Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis urged the Prime Minister to scrap the fixed target for how much Britain spends a year on international aid.

Mr Davis said the UK should return to a policy of providing financial help if and when it is needed, adding: You cant calculate generosity.

Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis (left) urged the Prime Minister (right) to scrap the fixed target

Separately, fellow Tory MP Nigel Evans  a member of the Commons international development committee  said Ministers were in the last chance saloon on wasteful aid spending.

The interventions came ahead of tomorrows crucial Commons debate on aid, which was sparked by The Mail on Sundays online petition, signed by more than 230,000 people, calling on the Government to reverse its legal commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of UK national income on foreign aid every year.

Last week, it emerged that International Development Secretary Justine Greening is overseeing a review into British aid spending in the Palestinian territories after concerns that British aid had found its way into the pockets of terrorists.

Mr Davis said last night: Im all in favour of helping people in an emergency, but making a law that sets an arbitrary target is putting public relations above real generosity. There should not be a set target. The Government should spend the money on what matters to people at the time  that will be a lot in one year and a little in the next.

The Government should be ready to consider helping people out when they are flooded, whether its in Dhaka or Devon.

Mr Evans added: The Department for International Development is in the last-chance saloon with this one.

They are being put on notice that unless they step up to greater scrutiny of how this money is spent, I am afraid they are going to lose the support of Middle England for this 0.7 per cent target.
are shaving off their beards in a bid to blend in with refugees

Hundreds of fanatical Islamic State terrorists are on their way to Europe posing as migrants after being driven out of their Libyan stronghold by British-backed forces, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

As the Libyan troops and jihadis fought a running battle in the port city of Sirte yesterday, we uncovered disturbing evidence that IS fighters are fleeing the onslaught and shaving off their beards and hair to blend in with refugees on their exodus across the Mediterranean.

Last night, the Libyan Brigades, secretly supported by elite troops from the British Special Boat Service, told me they were days away from regaining Sirte, which has been in IS hands for 18 months.

The jihadis briefly regained control of the city's port area yesterday after a fierce firefight with naval vessels  while other Libyan troops advanced into the city centre, coming under sniper fire.

Fanatical Islamic State terrorists have been cutting their hair and trimming their beards to pose as migrants before boarding boats to Europe

Libyan officer Colonel Mohamed El-Gasri told me: 'We have taken casualties but so have the militants. We need to secure the port to prevent any escape by sea.'

He said intelligence gleaned with the help of British and US Special Forces showed that families holed up in their homes may be supporting and harbouring IS.

'Sirte was Muammar Gaddafi's home town and there is still fierce allegiance to him and opposition to our forces, who killed him,' he said. 'We have been appealing for weeks for people to get out and, while tens of thousands have left, there are others who chose to stay.

'This is not going to be easy, but we feel confident the city will be ours within days.'

In recent weeks, while some jihadis escaped into the desert, coastguard patrols have witnessed others heading for the people-smuggling route further west to join the boats sailing for Sicily and Italy. We were told how they had dramatically changed their appearance to slip in unnoticed among refugees, and senior officers in the pro-government Libyan Brigades showed us photographs of clean-shaven IS members captured in Sirte.

In a deserted school in the suburb of Wadi Jarif, more than 100 IS fighters had been hiding during fierce fighting against the government forces before making a hasty exit. On the bathroom floors and in wash-basins, the evidence of their frantic deception was clear, in the form of clumps of dark facial hair.

Col El-Gasri told me: 'They have been cutting their long hair and shaving their beards. We know they work closely with people-smugglers and are joining the boats crossing the Mediterranean.'

IS gunmen took control of Sirte  birthplace of former Libyan leader Gaddafi  early last year, sending shockwaves through Europe, given the city's proximity to Sicily, the Italian mainland and Malta. Ever since, its citizens have endured the iron rule of the fanatics, with frequent floggings and executions.

The tide turned this spring when the Libyan Brigades, backed by the SBS and other Western special forces, began to push back the militants. Now the battle in Sirte appears to be entering its final days. The British forces have a direct line to the commander of this current operation, Bashir Al-Gardy.

He told me: 'There are about 25 special forces here, British and American. They have all the technology, the drones and the missiles, and they are helping. I asked them this morning to locate a tank inside Sirte which was hidden, and firing at my men. It's a good arrangement but we need a lot more.'

He said his men were so loyal that they once drove a truckload of jihadi bodies to his office. He showed me pictures of the grisly haul, saying fondly: 'Look what my men brought for me.'

The Libyans say they are virtually powerless to stop the escaping jihadis as their appeal for more help from Western governments in the shape of equipment has fallen on deaf ears. Despite promises, the Libyans say they have received no protective clothing, night-vision equipment or specialist training.

A basin full of beard and head hair was found at a school near the city of Sirte, which was held by Isis until recently

While David Cameron has announced training for coastguard patrol crews, and a British warship is to be sent to Libyan waters once a UN Security Council resolution is in place, no help has arrived for Libyan naval forces in the Med.

'These are the most dangerous terrorists in the world today, and they are on the Mediterranean coast with the stated aim of carrying out atrocities in Europe,' said Col El-Gasri. 'We cannot beat them alone.'

Colonel Reda Essa, the head of the coastguard in Misrata, about 150 miles west of Sirte, told me: 'Until now we could not hold them back.

'We have two tugboats and six Zodiac inflatables to patrol 350 miles of the Mediterranean.

'I welded anti-aircraft guns and an old Katyusha rocket-launcher on the back of the tugboats myself with members of my crew. It has not been enough to stop IS.'

The militants, who have made an estimated 225 million from the people-trafficking trade in the past year alone, have vowed to 'conquer Rome' and security analysts have warned of the ease with which they can reach European shores.

Tens of thousands of migrants  mostly sub-Saharan Africans seeking a better life and Syrians fleeing conflict  are teeming through Libya and on to fishing boats and rubber dinghies at the smuggling hubs of Zuwarah and Sabratha, further west along the coast from Tripoli.

'They have been cutting their long hair and shaving their beards. We know they work closely with people-smugglers and are joining the boats crossing the Mediterranean.' Libyan officer Colonel Mohamed El-Gasri

From there it is only 275 nautical miles to Sicily, 215 miles to Malta and just 160 miles to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Col Essa said: 'We have done daily and nightly patrols in the Gulf of Sirte and seen many fishing trawlers leaving. It has been impossible, from a mile and a half away, to know if these are fishermen or IS fighters. Last Sunday we had a breakthrough because we had information from inside Sirte that a very large group was gathering on the beach in the middle of the night. They were preparing trawlers and dinghies. We opened fire and dispersed them.

'But the next day they drove a tank to a hilltop overlooking the port, installed a rocket-launcher next to it, and left them there as a warning not to come closer.'

Travelling up the coastal highway from Misrata to Sirte last week, I witnessed convoys of Mad Max-style vehicles with improvised gun mountings and teenage drivers. They looked identical to those seen during the 2011 revolution which, backed by RAF and other Western air power, toppled Gaddafi.

Today the Misrata fighters, once considered the most ferocious of the anti-Gaddafi rebels, lead the new, better-disciplined Libyan Brigades  but their equipment is primitive.

Out in the endless desert, where herds of camels were the only other sign of life on a bleak horizon, an army of youths, some wounded, handled weapons which look to be relics from the Second World War. Rusting debris from bombed vehicles is left cautiously at the side of the road where IS has strewn thousands of landmines and booby traps.

Deserted homesteads, long abandoned by families fleeing the conflict which once brought IS within a terrifying 30 miles of Misrata city, are now makeshift camps for the military.

Exhausted troops arrive in dozens of convoys to carry provisions back to their camps. In Misrata, the wives and sisters of the fighters cook in nine communal kitchens to provide home-baked meals for their men. They are trucked daily to the frontline with personal notes in each parcel, sending love and support.

Mail on Sunday journalist Barbara Jones (right) speaks to Colonel Reda Essa Commander of the Central District Libyan Coastguard (back)

The fighters are proud young men, abandoning university studies and careers to spend years of their youth camping out in the heat and dust of the desert, manning gun emplacements in a desperate attempt to dislodge the militants at the heart of the anarchy in their country.

Salah Zaywawi, 24, the eldest of five children, said he had no choice. 'My parents know it and I know it,' he said. 'However long this takes, we have to kick out the Islamic State and get our country right again. It's already taken five years out of my life and the lives of all my friends.'

A few days ago he tried to dislodge a bullet stuck in his machine-gun, using a screwdriver.

'Some British soldiers came over and told me to get out of the way,' he said. 'They sorted it out in less than a minute. We see them all the time with us on the frontline, big guys with blond beards, wearing combats and trying to blend in with us. But they never talk, just watch.'

On the highway to Sirte is a field hospital in a disused hangar. Dr Haytham Ellibidy said: 'The Islamic State militants make their own bombs, and use mind-games to fool our troops.

'I saw a bomb-disposal expert carefully dismantle a landmine only to be blown to bits by another hidden underneath.

'The injuries are devastating.'

Accompanying me to the outskirts of Sirte, Col El-Gasri talked of his 19-year-old son fighting on the frontline there. 'I don't want him to be a martyr  we see too many of those,' he said.

'But I'm proud of him. He sleeps on the ground, sometimes under a vehicle, and there are snakes and scorpions around. He was badly bitten by a scorpion and we brought him home delirious.
Donald Trump said Saturday that Hillary Clinton will raise Americans' income tax rates dramatically, to rates as high as 60 per cent.

While he didn't provide evidence for the claim, it represents a new salvo in the war over middle-class voters  particularly those Democrats who shied away from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders because of fears his tax policy would take too big a bite from their bottom lines.

'We're going to give you a massive tax decrease, and get this country back to work, for business and for middle-income,' Trump said Saturday afternoon in a hangar at Pittsburgh International Airport.

'Hillary Clinton is going to raise your taxes substantially  possibly to 55 or 60 per cent. That is going to be the end. She's gonna raise your taxes!'

TAXING SATURDAY: Donald Trump claimed during a rally at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania airport that Hillary Clinton will have to raise Americans' income tax rates to 55 or 60 per cent but doesn't want to say so publicly

SWELTERING: Trump spoke to a few thousand Pennsylvanians inside an airport hangar with his custom Boeing 757 providing a dramatic backdrop

'And you know what? She has no plan,' he said, perplexed by what he insists is a lack of economic specifics coming out of the Clinton camp.

'She doesn't talk about it. She won't talk about it.'

But based on the thousands of pages of domestic policy wonkery Hillary Clinton's campaign has published to date, Trump said he is expecting a dramatic increase in tax rates to pay for her pet projects.

'She's gotta raise them to at least 55 per cent,' he said. 'I'm lowering taxes substantially for the middle class who are being run out of our country, and I'm lowering them for business  big-league.

Kicking off his second rally of the day, following a noontime event in Tampa, Florida, Trump stepped out of his personal Boeing 757 jet to cheers and shouts of 'Build that wall!'  a reference to his pledge to erect a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

The hardscrabble state of Pennsylvania is one he will need to win in November if he is to send Clinton packing, and he played to the state's rust-belt blight.

'You have many companies that left this area,' Trump said. 'I'm looking at your numbers, and you got wiped out, folks. I hate to say it, you got wiped out!'

'Your manufacturing is way down. Your steel is way down. I look at Pittsburgh, and you know, maybe I'm a little old fashioned, but I love steel, okay? I love steel.'

Amid a burst of applause, he added: 'And I love miners. We're going to put the miners back to work.'

That set Trump up for another jab at Clinton, this one dripping with sarcasm.

'Remember Hillary about a month and a half ago? She said, "We're going to put the coal mines and the miners out of business." Isn't that smart? Isn't that wonderful?'

'She's not winning Pennsylvania, let me tell you, folks. She's not winning Pennsylvania.'

The billionaire Republican front-runner came perilously close to the linguistic shallows as he tried to make common cause with western Pennsylvania's decimated coal industry.

'She wants to put the coal miners out of business! My you-know-what,' he muttered. 'It's not gonna happen. It's not gonna happen.'

'I'm not allowed to use any bad words, by the way,' he offered.

Trump seemed aware on Saturday of a renewed torrent of criticism heaved in his direction by outraged Democrats and bitter Republican also-rans, focused on the perception that he harbors racial prejudices.

Trump mocked the recent broadsides from Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican White House nominee.

'"He's a trickle-down racist and a misogynist"' he parroted, repeating Romney's accusations from Friday.

'Now I know why he lost. I mean, you talk about communication!'

'INCOMPETENT': Trump blasted President Barack Obama as a clueless leader and may be road-testing a future nickname for the man he hopes to succeed in the White House

READY OR NOT: Trump expressed little confidence in the Republican Party's ability to toughen up and win a hotly contested election, but said he would triumph with or without them

Trump portrayed himself as a potentially unifying president, calling Barack Obama 'a great divider' who has split the U.S. along lines of race and class.

'The country has practically never been so divided as is it now. And we're going to bring everybody together, folks,' he said.

'White, black, we're going to bring everybody together. We're bringing our country together. The richer, the poorer, everybody!'

'President Obama is incompetent, okay?' he added later, perhaps road-testing a future nickname. 'He's incompetent. Remember that.'

Trump also hinted that he's not sure about his own party's ability to unify and win a presidential race  but the cocksure businessman said he could go it alone.

'I have to say this. I say it to the leaders of the Republican Party: Folks, you've gotta get tougher,' he declared.

'You've gotta be tougher. You gotta be strong. We've had a lot of losses. We've lost a lot of these presidential elections over the last long period of time. You've gotta get strong, you've gotta get tough, you've gotta be smart, or you're not going to have a lot of victories.'

'And I'll be honest,' he added, 'I'm talking about  for them. Because I think I'm going to win anyway ... but I'd like to see the Republican leadership get very strong, very sharp, very smart  and be cool. You gotta be cool.'

'But we're winning either way,' he boasted. 'We are going to win either way, and we're going to set this country back on course.'

With $3.00 water bottles on offer, the scorching heat didn't cook away the Trump faithful's enthusiasm.

The 50-minute speech was almost too much for Trump, though, who ditched the necktie from his earlier Tampa rally and took off his blazer near the end.

'It's a 140 degrees up on this stage,' he chomped. 'This is the end of this suit. It's a sweaty mess. Anyone want this jacket?'

The hard-edged Trump turned avuncular in another moment, telling his supporters that the wild ride of the 2016 campaign could be just the beginning.
Thousands of child refugees could bring their relatives to live with them in Britain after a judge ruled that keeping families apart breached their human rights.

Strict Home Office requirements have previously meant only adults who have fled to the UK can apply for relations to join them here.

But the countrys top immigration judge has overturned the rules for the first time by allowing a teenage Eritrean refugee to be reunited with his mother and younger brother, who are still in East Africa.

Last night, there were warnings the ruling could lead to thousands more youngsters applying for relatives overseas to join them in the UK on human rights grounds  and put more children at risk of being sent here by people-smuggling gangs.

Strict Home Office requirements have previously meant only adults who have fled to the UK can apply for relations to join them here (pictured a refugee family at a makeshift refugee camp at the Greek-Macedonian border)

More than 4,000 unaccompanied children are already in the care of UK councils having fled conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.

Last month, the Government agreed to take in 3,000 more in refugee camps across Europe, each of whom will cost 50,000 to resettle.

In the light of the new court case, Ministers are rewriting the rules to allow judges more discretion in letting relatives into Britain.

Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of Migration Watch, said last night: This case is a matter of concern.

The public interest in effective immigration control must be given weight in cases of this kind. Human rights considerations are important but cannot be given free rein.

MP Peter Bone, a former chairman of a parliamentary group on people-trafficking, said: I think the Government will be very alarmed by this ruling. It will expose young children to awful risks, because traffickers will say to families, Let us have your son, well get him into Britain then you can all come.'

The new case was won by a teenage boy known only as M, who arrived in Britain by himself aged 16 in 2012, having fled his native Eritrea where his father had been imprisoned for political reasons.

After being initially refused asylum, he was given leave to remain as a refugee until 2018, legal papers show. His mother and younger brother, then living in Khartoum, Sudan, applied for visas to join him, but were refused entry to Britain.

HOME OFFICE BANNED ENTRY TO BRITAIN Only dependent partners and children of refugees should be admitted into Britain, according to Home Office rules on family reunion. ...BUT JUDGE OVERRULED The judge, Mr Justice Bernard McCloskey, said the right to a family life overrode migration controls  as did the fear that the teenager might make the precarious journey back to Africa to rejoin his relatives if denied entry into Britain. Justice Bernard McCloskey (pictured) made revolutionary ruling by allowing a teenage Eritrean refugee to be reunited with his mother and younger brother, who are still in East Africa Advertisement

However, supported by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), the Eritreans appealed against the decision under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to a family life.

Ruling the family could come to the UK, Mr Justice Bernard McCloskey, President of the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) said M was under-achieving as a person without his loved ones and society would be better off if they are together again.

The teenager might also try to make the precarious journey to rejoin them in Sudan if they are kept apart, he predicted, which would also go against his human rights.

A JCWI spokesman said: This doesnt mean child refugees will always be able to reunite with family abroad, but it does provide a ray of hope for families in the future.
Extra baggage fees. Booking charges. Up to 5 for an in-flight coffee. With all these incidental costs, cheap flights end up as anything but.

But how do cut-price carriers compare? Travel writer KATE JOHNSON took the same journey - London to Barcelona - with six different airlines to compare value for money. As well as ticket price, she studied every aspect of the journey - from leg-room to landing times and loo cleanliness. Here are her findings...

Travel writer KATE JOHNSON took the same journey - London to Barcelona - with six different airlines to compare value for money - from leg-room to landing times and loo cleanliness

HOW CHEAP IS CHEAP?

We booked with British Airways, Ryanair, Vueling, Iberia, Monarch and Easyjet, picking the cheapest flights available. All tickets were booked with the same notice period - a couple of days, in two weeks of each other. All flights were taken Monday to Thursday, when fares tend to be cheaper, apart from Monarch which was a Friday (the only weekday available that wasnt a Bank Holiday), returning the same day. (Prices were similar if you were going for a week.)

Ryanair was the cheapest - 139.98 return (including taxes) from Stansted at 8.15am. Easyjet was second cheapest - 156.98 (including taxes) from Luton at 11.05am. Though to get this fare, I had to fly back to Gatwick because returning to Luton would have been 16 more.

British Airways - the third cheapest - was 171.52, departing from Gatwick at a horribly early 6.40am. Although booked through BA, the return flight was with Vueling, one of BAs partner airlines which offers a no-frills service. (This was made clear when I booked.)

Monarch cost 176.02 return from Gatwick and meant waking up in the middle of the night to fly at 6.40am. My flight with Vueling left Gatwick at 9.45am and cost 188.82. Iberia was the costliest at 230.52, departing at 2.40pm from Gatwick - however the flight was with budget Vueling. (All Iberia flights to Barcelona from London are operated by either Vueling or BA.)

EXTRA FEES THAT ADD UP

Easyjet was the worst offender, charging a flat administration fee of 13.50 per booking. Vueling charges a management fee of 5 (about 3.90) per passenger, each way - so about 7.80 per person for a return flight. Monarch, BA and Ryanair dont charge any admin fees if you book online.

Over the phone, BA charges 5, Ryanair 20 and Monarch 7.50 per flight. Most charge if you book at the airport, with the cost ranging from 5 to 20. All the airlines charge extra if you want to pay on credit card. Although when I booked, Iberia waived the fee, possibly because of an offer it was running.

HOW MUCH TO CHECK A BAG INTO THE HOLD?

Only British Airways allows you to put your bag in the hold for free - with a maximum weight of 23kg. Vueling charges 13 (10) if you book a 23kg bag in the hold online. (Iberia was the same.) Easyjet charges 13 per 20kg bag online, while Monarch demands 20 for 20kg or 29 for 23kg.

Ryanair was the least generous - 25 for 15kg or 35 for 20kg.

Only British Airways allows you to put your bag in the hold for free - with a maximum weight of 23kg

HOW MUCH HAND LUGGAGE DO I GET?

BAs hand luggage allowance was, again, the most generous. All of the airlines stipulate that a cabin bag must not be bigger than 56 x 45 x 25cm, but BA will let you have up to 23kg, while Vueling and Monarch limit you to 10kg. Easyjet doesnt have a weight limit for hand luggage, but unlike the others, it insists on one bag per passenger, so if you have a handbag it must fit inside your cabin bag.

CAN YOU CHOOSE YOUR SEAT?

though airlines will try to sit groups and families together if tickets are booked at the same time, they dont guarantee it (though children will always be sat with an accompanying adult).

Instead, you can pay extra to specify your seats, from 4.50 (Monarch) to 8 (Ryanair) per person per flight - so up to 16 a head if you do it for both legs of the journey.

WILL THEY SEND ME TEXT UPDATES?

Most airlines send electronic alerts about your flight, such as when you can check-in online or any delays - this can be done via email, text or an app (a programme you download to your smartphone).

All airlines offered either a free email service or had a free app. While Ryanair will send email alerts for free, it charges 2.49 if you want to receive text message updates.

DONT FORGET YOUR BOARDING PASS!

In THE age of online check-in, its the norm to have to print your boarding pass at home. But what if you forget or cant get to a printer?

While British Airways, Monarch, Easyjet and Vueling staff will print you a new boarding pass for free - Ryanair charges 15. All the airlines apart from Monarch, which is developing an app, can send your boarding pass to your phone, so you dont need to print it.

A WAIT AT CHECK-IN?

Based on arriving at the recommended two hours before departure, I never had to queue for more than ten minutes, apart from for Vueling, which took 13 minutes - and I noticed Vueling had very long queues for other flights, especially at Barcelona, up to 45-60 minutes.

For Ryanair, unless youre happy to pay more, you can only check-in online. Its 45 per person to check in at the desk.

Based on arriving at the recommended two hours before departure, I never had to queue for more than ten minutes, apart from for Vueling, which took 13 minutes

DID THE PLANE TAKE OFF ON TIME?

Ryanair was the only one to take off on time. BA was delayed by 40 minutes, though the time was made up during the journey. My flight with Iberia - fulfilled by Vueling - was affected by the French strikes and thus delayed by 90 minutes. This was presumably atypical, but the communication from staff about what was going on was poor.

The others all left between ten and 25 minutes late.

GOOD FOR LEGROOM?

Legroom varied from 28in to 31in, with Monarch being the tightest squeeze, and Ryanair (31in) the most generous, closely followed by BA and Easyjet (30in).

Ryanairs extra inch made a big difference - my knees didnt lodge in the seat in front and I could cross my legs. BA easily had the most padded, comfortable seats.

ANY LOCKER SPACE?

If you are able to travel with just hand luggage, its annoying to find your bag has to be checked into the hold because theres no room in the overhead lockers. BA and Monarch had plenty of room in the lockers, but irritatingly, with Easyjet and Ryanair, some cabin bags were taken off and put into the hold.

Though the airlines dont charge you for this, it does mean waiting around at baggage claim.

Vueling had enough room, but bags were distributed up and down the cabin rather than over your seat, which meant a wait on landing to be reunited with your bag.

WERE LOOS CLEAN?

All were very clean, though the basin didnt drain on the Easyjet flight, one of three loos was out of order on Monarch and there was no paper in one of the Vueling loos.

BA was the only airline to offer complimentary food and drink. All the other airlines charged. On Monarch it was 2.60 for a coffee, 4.40 for a chicken roll and 1.80 for a bottle of water

FOOD AND DRINK

BA was the only airline to offer complimentary food and drink - I got a croissant with cheese, muesli, orange juice and tea or coffee.

It would be a great shame if the national carrier stopped offering this for free - something that BA is reportedly considering. All the other airlines charged. On Monarch it was 2.60 for a coffee, 4.40 for a chicken roll and 1.80 for a bottle of water.

Ryanair charges 3 (2.35) for a coffee, from 4.50 (3.50) for a sandwich and 3 (2.35) for water. On Easyjet, its 2.30 for a coffee, 4.50 for a bacon sandwich and 1.80 for water. For Vueling (and Iberia) coffee is 2.60 (2) and a sandwich 6.50 (5.10) - they dont accept GB coins.

WAS THERE SERVICE WITH A SMILE?

All crews were friendly, and all could tell me what time the flight landed and furnished me with a glass of water when I asked.

However, no airline could supply a newspaper, and only Monarch, Easyjet, Ryanair and BA gave me a plaster.

When I asked for recommendations of things to do in Barcelona, responses ranged from, We dont know! Weve never been! (BA) and Im from Malaga (Iberia, fulfilled by Vueling), while Ryanair, Easyjet and Monarch came up with Gaudis Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Casa Batllo, Plaza Catalunya, the Picasso museum and Las Ramblas.

LANDING TIME?

Ryanair arrived ten minutes ahead of schedule, while Vueling and Monarch were both five minutes early. British Airways and Easyjet both arrived five minutes late, while Iberia was one hour and 15 minutes late.

Most flights got us off within five or six minutes of landing, while Vueling and Iberia were slower at eight and nine minutes respectively.

BAGGAGE CLAIM?

Ryanair was easily the quickest, with bags arriving two minutes after passport control. Vueling was delayed, and I waited 15 minutes. All the others took between seven and nine minutes.

All crews were friendly, and all could tell me what time the flight landed and furnished me with a glass of water when I asked. However, no airline could supply a newspaper

TOTAL TIME

(From check-in to baggage claim) Ryanair: 4hrs 20min. Monarch: 4hrs 30min. BA: 4hrs 40min. Easyjet: 4hrs 40min. Vueling: 4hrs 45min. Iberia: 5hrs 50min (flight delayed).

WHO TO FLY WITH...

Based on what a family might need for a weeks holiday, we calculated the total cost of the flight - so the ticket, booking and credit card fees, taking one hold bag of at least 20kg, choosing your seat both ways, receiving text updates, printing a forgotten boarding pass, and a sandwich and coffee on the plane.

This made quite a difference to the original fare quoted (see table). Ryanair, the cheapest at 139.98, would end up costing 218.07 - 78.09 more, adding on the most out of all the airlines.

Likewise Easyjet, which started as the second cheapest, added on more than 50 to the basic fare - with a final cost of 213.06.

Non-budget BA ended up cheapest, only adding on 19 from the basic fare. However, the return flight was with an inferior service (Vueling). Even if Id booked six weeks in advance, BA still would work out cheaper overall than Easyjet, Ryanair, Iberia and Monarch.

I was impressed with Ryanair, for the extra legroom and punctuality. However, with its extra fee to check-in in person and baggage costs, its poor value if youre not tech-savvy and cant travel light.
A holidaymaker was escorted off a Ryanair plane by police after cabin crew caught him smoking in the toilet mid-flight.

The incident occurred when flight 4331 was en route to Manchester Airport, after setting out from Tenerife yesterday.

On landing at the UK airport, the man was led off the aircraft by police officers, where he was given a warning.

It is alleged one passenger on the Ryanair flight form Tenerife to Manchester yesterday (Friday) started smoking in one of the toilets mid-flight

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, a passenger on the flight, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'We landed and were kept waiting for about 20 minutes on the tarmac, then they made an announcement over the Tannoy. They said they were waiting for the police to meet the plane.

'Someone behind me said they thought another passenger had been caught smoking on the flight. They came onto the plane and took someone off.'

The newspaper reports that the police were called by Ryanair staff after he allegedly lit up inside one of the toilets.

As he was getting up to leave the aircraft, cabin crew detained until the police arrived on board. He was then escorted off the plane.

Greater Manchester Police gave the passenger a warning, and left it up to Ryanair whether he is banned from the airline

Greater Manchester Police have said that the man 'was warned about his behaviour', and that 'it was up to Ryanair whether to ban him'.

The flight landed in Manchester at 11.55pm, but passengers weren't allowed to disembark until the incident had been resolved.

A spokesperson for Ryanair told MailOnline Travel: 'The crew of this flight from Tenerife to Manchester requested police assistance upon arrival at Manchester after a customer was found smoking inflight.
She is one of Britain's most loved comedy talents, but one thing Jennifer Saunders says she is not, is a role model.

After reuniting at the Glamour Awards with her on-screen other half Dawn French on Tuesday, the television star talks to Glamour about behaving badly with a comedy partner in crime.

Jennifer, 57, won the Outstanding Contribution Award for her comedic works but admits she owes it all to her well-chosen partners.

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Fun and young: Jennifer Saunders spoke about how she feels being called a rolemodel as she was given the Outstanding Contribution Award in Glamour's Women Of The Year issue

She said: 'I hate working without a comedy partner. You need someone to have fun with, to play off, otherwise it's sort of boring. Making a show should be fun.'

When they came face to face again on Tuesday, many remarked on how much better they looked than then.

Similarly, she does in her new shoot for the magazine, shot by photographer Jermaine Francis, where she's notably not on her own but instead joined by her lovely whippet dog, Olive.

'I'm not a role model: 'Jennifer was reunited with comedy pal Dawn French at Tuesday night's Awards

Star-turn: Her declaration came after the mother-of three, who is married to comedian Adrian Edmondson, was asked about being a role model for comediennes Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham

This year, it will be Jennifer's incredible partnership with Joanna Lumley that will be welcomed back into the nation's hearts as the duo return for hotly anticipated Absolutely Fabulous film.

Reflecting on the longevity of Absolutely Fabulous, Jennifer said: 'People love watching people behaving badly.

'Eddy [played by Jennifer] and Patsy [played by Joanna] break the rules, but somehow get away with it - they say the things you're not supposed to say.'

It has attracted a huge cast of celebrity cameos  60 in fact - which is no surprise seeing that writer Jennifer Saunders is good pals with many of them.

Behaving badly: Jennifer, who photobombed Kourtney Kardashian on the red carpet, said she thinks people love to see others behaving badly

Women of the year: See the full shoot in the July Women of the Year issue of GLAMOUR, on sale now

From Kate Moss to Alexa Chung and, Dame Edna Everage, there's barely a scene without a celeb in it  and the film is going to be one of the most talked about of the year as a result.

Exciting stills that have been released from the film show Alexa Chung with a cigarette in her hand as she kicks back and relaxes with model mates Lily Cole,Jourdan Dunn and Suki Waterhouse .

At the Glamour Awards and in her interview, it was another comedy genius who was on her mind, even so, and that woman was the late Victoria Wood, especially since Jennifer was told by younger stars Amy Schumer and Lena Dunham that she has been an influence on their work.

'Im not a role model,' she continued. 'Because role models show you how to behave. I think its about saying, "You can do this - off you go." Victoria Wood did that for me.

Her declaration came after the mother-of three, who is married to comedian Adrian Edmondson, dedicated her gong to Victoria.

Down to earth Jennifer refuted the title, and instead she dedicating her award to her close friend Victoria Wood, who sadly passed away from cancer in April.

Timeless: Jennifer has also forged an incredible partnership with Joanna Lumley, her Ab Fab co-star, over the years

Jennifer described Victoria as a 'great friend' and added that if she had managed to make an outstanding contribution to anything then it would be to 'female friendships'.

Her French and Saunders co-star Dawn French presented Jennifer with the coveted award before the pair headed to the star-studded Cointreau after-party and joked: 'Why exactly she has been rewarded for her continued bad behaviour and relentless showing off is beyond me.'

Visit glamour.com for more, and see the full shoot in the July Women of the Year issue of GLAMOUR, on sale now
She plays a real-life Marine corporal and K-9 operator who shares a tight-knit bond with her combat dog in her new film.

And Kate Mara got in some one-on-one time with her own pooch, a cute French bulldog, during a break from filming Leavey in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday.

Dressed in character, the 33-year-old was in uniform as she led her best friend through a parking lot for a quick dose of exercise.

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Good dog! Kate Mara got in some one-on-one time with her pooch during a break from filming Leavey in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday

Kate's chestnut hair was slicked back into a sensible low-bun, a simple hair 'do which showed off her minimally and radiant complexion.

Back in work mode, the actress was spotted filming alongside her canine co-star, a German Shepherd, who she led through the grass with a camera crew glued to her.

In character: The actress was also spotted filming Leavey in Marine Corps dress uniform alongside her German Shepherd costar

Now dressed entirely in costume, Kate threw herself into character, giving the camera an impassioned expression.

The actress was also spotted in costume walking through set with a cardboard box in hand.

The House Of Cards actress stars as Megan Leavey in the biopic, which is about a Marine corporal and her her combat dog Max.

Thinking outside the box: Now entirely in costume, Kate threw herself into character with camera crew following her, and was also spotted carrying a cardboard box through the set.

The movie, which also co-stars Bradley Whitford, has yet to set a release date.

The sister of Rooney Mara, meanwhile, is currently dating English actor Jamie Bell, after they met on set of Fantastic Four in 2015.

Formerly married to American actress Evan Rachel Wood, Jamie is father to their two-year-old son, though the couple split in May 2014, 19 months after they wed.

Kate's relationship with actor Max Minghella wrapped up in 2014, after four years.
She has built a highly-lucrative career off her carefully curated social media brand, courting the attention of the media at every turn and lapping up every once of publicity that comes her way.

But it appears Roxy Jacenko has had a change of heart.

The 36-year-old Sydney-based publicist told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday, that her upcoming seminar imparting her 'tips and tricks' on how to build a successful social media brand, will be her last, after reports say she feels 'cursed.'

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Change of heart: Roxy Jacenko told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday, that her upcoming 'tips and tricks' seminar will be her last, after reports say she feels 'cursed'

During the June 17 seminar titled In Conversation With Roxy Jacenko, the astute businesswomen will impart her knowledge, plucked from her remunerative and long-running career in public relations.

'Next Friday will be my final In Conversation Seminar on PR / Social Media & Tips and Tricks that have helped me grow my business,' she revealed.

'I have decided that after three fabulous sessions that I wont be doing the annual event any longer with next Fridays session being the final.'

And it appears this has made the event even more of a draw card for her fans, with the Sweaty Betty and Ministry Of Talent publicist releasing an additional 50 tickets for the event, after it completely sold out.

No stopping her: Last year Roxy took to the stage at the annual seminar with an intravenous drip still attached to her arm as treatment for a serious infection following her rhinoplasty surgery

Expert advice: During the In Conversation seminar, the astute businesswomen will impart her knowledge on how to build a successful social media brand, plucked from her long-running career in public relations

On Saturday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Roxy had decided to end the talks after she told friends she feels 'cursed.'

The publication also claimed that the savvy mother-of-two had banned all media from attending the seminar next Friday, claiming she does not want her husband, Oliver Curtis' insider trading conviction to 'overshadow' the event.

The in-demand seminar, which will be held at the Shangri La Hotel, is scheduled to commence at 9am and finish at 11am.

In a bizarre twist of fate, Roxy's husband's sentencing trial, where he could face the prospect of up to five years in prison, will commence on the same day at 2pm.

Last year, Roxy took to the stage at the InterContinental in Double Bay, Sydney, with an intravenous drip still attached to her arm as treatment for a serious infection following her rhinoplasty surgery, despite strict orders to remain in hospital.

Feeling the pressure: On Saturday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Roxy had decided to end the talks after she told friends she feels 'cursed'

Meanwhile, Oliver, 30, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit insider trading last Thursday, with the jury delivering its verdict following a tense three-week trial in Sydney.

The trial heard Oliver's former best friend and schoolmate John Hartman give evidence against him.

Roxy, who remained loyal to her husband and accompanied him to court each day, was seen leaving the courtroom in tears after the jury delivered its verdict.

The banker is yet to be sentenced but could face up to five years imprisonment and a $220,000 fine over the charge.

Bizarre twist of fate: The in-demand seminar and her husband Oliver Curtis' sentencing trial for charges of insider trading are both scheduled to be held on the same day
Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons doesnt let his 7 million fortune stop him mouthing off about inequality.

Despite owning no fewer than seven houses, Irons claims Britains biggest problem is the growing divide between the haves and the have-nots.

There are many problems which everyone thinks Europe can solve  whether its staying in or getting out, he says.

It wont. Things will stay the same and well still have this iniquitous gap between the very wealthy and the very poor.

Despite owning no fewer than seven houses, Irons claims Britains biggest problem is the growing divide between the haves and the have-nots, writes SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE

Irons has amassed an oligarch-style portfolio of assets, after getting his big break as Charles Ryder in the 1981 ITV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited.

Trophies include boats, horses, sculptures and a 15th-century castle in Cork, which he painted peach on a whim.

But he claims that unregulated capitalism is drowning many people in society.

Many people are getting obscenely wealthy, he says. That is what we have to prevent.

Irons, the 67-year-old son of an Isle of Wight accountant, also likes to rub shoulders with the richest one per cent.

He has dined with the late American philanthropist Paul Getty, who lived next door to Ironss Grade II-listed home in Oxfordshire. Another pal is Paul Allen, the multi-billionaire Microsoft co-founder.

Irons has amassed an oligarch-style portfolio of assets, after getting his big break as Charles Ryder in the 1981 ITV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited but he claims that unregulated capitalism is drowning many people in society

I have developed a life which seems to need a relatively high income, Irons said recently.

The self-styled rogue and vagabond is also known for his eventful love life, with his second marriage, to actress Sinead Cusack, dogged by rumours of infidelity on both sides.

So he has no plans to publish an autobiography  even posthumously  because it would ruffle too many feathers.

You cant write the truth, youd upset everyone, Irons says.

After being linked to a string of glamorous younger women, including heiress Francesca Bortolotto Possati and Iranian author Maryam Sachs, its little wonder Irons takes his 38-year marriage to Cusack one day at a time.

'Faker Freud' owner set for last laugh...

A long-lost painting attributed to Lucian Freud that was written off as a fraud is set to make its owner a mint.

The whole saga is being kept under wraps by the BBC, which will feature it in the new series of Philip Moulds Fake Or Fortune series.

Graphic designer Jon Lys Turner, who owns the portrait Man In A Black Scarf, let slip his delight and excitement at resolving the mystery at a launch party for his book, The Visitors Book.

Jon, who was given the picture by his friends Dicky Chopping and Denis Wirth-Miller, tells me: Lucian refused to authenticate the unsigned picture  they said out of spite  and to pay him back they said their greatest dream was for me to sell it and pay Lucian back for being ghastly!

Troubled McKenna lets out LA mansion

Hypnotist Paul McKenna is being sued for a chunk of his 65 million fortune by his ex-fiancee and one-time manager Clare Staples, who has accused him of being addicted to porn and prostitutes.

So no wonder the self-help guru needs all the small change he can lay his hands on. I learn the author of I Can Make You Rich is now renting out his Hollywood mansion for 33,750 per month.

The 4,529 sq ft villa, previously owned by Sir Sean Connery, Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford, is luxuriously appointed and perched high above Los Angeles Sunset Strip.

McKenna, who found fame in the U.S. after hypnotising Ellen DeGeneres to give up cigarettes in front of a live audience, bought the house for 4 million in 2007.

Hypnotist Paul McKenna is being sued for a chunk of his 65 million fortune by his ex-fiancee and one-time manager Clare Staples, who has accused him of being addicted to porn and prostitutes

It may say something about hereditary honorary titles, but Royal Falconer of Scotland Lord Borthwick makes a startling admission. I have never handled a falcon, he says. Im a bit of a fraud!
She's known for her healthy lifestyle, even publishing bestselling books on the subject.

And on Friday, Cameron Diaz showed off her radiant complexion and fit physique at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Celebration For Health And Fitness in Woodland Hills, California.

The 43-year-old actress looked youthful with minimal make-up and opted for a casual yet chic ensemble.

Glowing: Cameron Diaz showed off her radiant complexion and fit physique at the MPTF Celebration For Health And Fitness in Woodland Hills, California, on Friday

The former model dressed her lean legs in a pair of denim skinny jeans.

Cameron teamed the laid-back look with a white low-cut blouse which she layered under a cropped light-colored blazer.

She topped the chic look off with tan open-toed heels which revealed a red pedicure to match her fresh manicure.

The Longevity Book author accessorized with a long statement necklace, thin hoop earrings, silver bracelets and a few coordinating rings.

Laid-back chic: The 43-year-old actress dressed her lean legs in a pair of denim skinny jeans, and teamed the relaxed look with a white low-cut blouse which she layered under a cropped light-colored blazer

Youthful: The former model showed off her natural beauty with light make-up: a coat of mascara, a peachy blush for her cheeks, and a pink glossy lip color on her pout

The blonde bombshell's long tresses were styled straight and cascaded past her shoulders.

Cameron showed off her natural beauty with light make-up: a coat of mascara, a peachy blush for her cheeks, and a pink glossy lip color on her pout.

The blue-eyed star recently revealed she has no judgement about people who chose to use Botox in order to boost their confidence.

'I have absolutely no judgement on what makes people feel good about themselves,' the actress told the OWN Show last month.

'[Those procedures] are there to help people feel a little bit better about themselves. If they do feel better about themselves, then those procedures have worked. I have no problem with that.'

Cameron married rocker Benji Madden in January 2015 after a whirlwind courtship.

'No judgement': The blue-eyed star recently revealed she has no judgement about people who chose to use Botox in order to boost their confidence
The past few months have been tumultuous for Mel Greig after she recently parted ways from her husband of one year.

And things don't seem to be getting any easier for the Wave FM radio star, who this week spoke candidly about her ongoing battle with endometriosis.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald about the painful condition, Mel said: 'Sometimes the pain is so bad I have had to be hospitalised; where every step I take feels like someone is stabbing me in the stomach.'

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'Sometimes the pain is so bad I have had to be hospitalised': Mel Greig spoke candidly about her battle with endometriosis in an interview with Sydney Morning Herald this week

Mel has been dealing with endometriosis since she was 17 years of age, the condition causing inflammation that can lead to female reproductive body parts and other organs fusing together.

The Endometriosis Australia ambassador spoke about her fertility fears during the interview, saying that her 'quest for children' has been significantly set back as a result of the condition and that IVF has become the best option for getting pregnant.

Mel also praised her radio co-star Travis for supporting her through the hard times, saying: 'People don't understand it because it's invisible  I've had (radio) co-hosts who have just told me to take a Panadol and get on with the job.'

Fertility fears: The Endometriosis Australia ambassador spoke about her fertility fears during the interview, saying that her 'quest for children' has been significantly set back as a result of the condition

'That's why Travis (Winks, Wave FM co-host) is so incredible  he read up on it and supports me when I have to lie down on the floor to deal with the pain.'

It comes after Mel's highly publicised break-up with her ex-husband Steve Pollock.

She announced the split in April this year during an appearance on Channel Ten's morning program, Studio 10, telling the hosts: 'I am separated from my husband now,' before explaining that Steve needed time 'to rediscover himself as an individual'.

'He read up on it and supports me': Mel also praised her radio co-star Travis for supporting her through the hard times

It comes after Mel's highly publicised break-up with her ex-husband Steve Pollock

The pair tied the knot in November 2014 and recently had been doing long distance when Mel moved interstate to Sydney for her new job at Wave FM.

During their relationship, Mel famously underwent IVF and documented the process on social media in a bit to lower the stigma around IVF.

The outspoken star famously lost her career in 2012 while working on 2DayFM when she and co-host Michael Christian posed as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles and made a prank call to the UK.
Two decades may span between them.

But despite their unlikely pairing, Kyle Sandilands and his glamour girlfriend Imogen Anthony seem to have an unbreakable bond.

The 25-year-old model jetted to Los Angeles on Friday to surprise her beau for his 45th birthday and their fifth anniversary, and the pair appear to be relishing in their romantic escape.

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Double the celebration! Kyle Sandilands and girlfriend Imogen Anthony appear to be relishing in their romantic Los Angeles escape, as they marked their fifth anniversary and Kyle's birthday with a rare selfie on Friday

To make the double occasion, the aspiring fashion designer shared a rare selfie with her man, who was seen puffing on a cigarette in the background.

'Can you guess where we're road tripping today?' she captioned the snap, adding the hashtags: 'birthday boy,' and 'California.'

In the picture, Imogen flashes an ample amount of cleavage in a low-cut black singlet and covers her face with a pink hat and matching bedazzled shades.

Clutching her hot-pink pony plait with her coordinating talons, she accessorises with a collection of gold chains, which includes a gun emblem, and large hoop earrings.

Following tribute: The 25-year-old model celebrated the shock jock's 45th birthday with a gushing post on social media on Friday

Earlier on that morning, Kyle revealed his KIIS FM airwaves that Imogen had jetted into Los Angeles to surprise him for his birthday.

Revealing they would be spending the weekend together, he moaned: 'It sounds like I'm going to be doing a lot of driving'.

'You sound like a real grandpa today. You are such a downer,' Jackie said.

In leui of her man's birthday, Imogen shared a gushing tribute to Kyle on social media, posting a montage of snaps of the couple looking love-up.

Captured memories: The aspiring fashion designer posted a montage of shots of the couple looking love-up in celebration of the milestones

Double the celebrations! The blonde wrote a heartfelt message to her partner of five years to celebrate his birthday and their anniversary

Smitten Imogen, wrote alongside the collage: Happy Birthday & 5 Year Anniversary Weekend to my amazing other half. Kyle - the funniest c**t I know and I love him to bits

Adding: K doesn't have social media, so this your chance to pass on any birthday messages below!

Imogens followers were quick to adhere to her request and sent their well wishes to the couple.

One fan wrote: 'Happy birthday Kyle! And happy anniversary Kyle and Imogen!'

Where it began: Kyle and his glamour model girlfriend met five-years ago at the radio personality's 40th birthday party

Another added: Wishing you all the love and happiness on your special day. You bright up mornings 6am never sounded so good... Hope you have enjoyed your day with your amazing GF.

Kyle and his glamour model girlfriend met five-years ago at the radio personality's 40th birthday party.

From there the two lovebirds have been inseparable, featuring on each others respective social media accounts on a regular basis.

Imogen, who is 20-years younger than Kyle, has previously stated that her man can't wait to have children.

Regular posts: The two lovebirds have been inseparable, featuring on each others respective social media accounts on a regular basis

Amour: The couple were all smiles as they posed in front of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, earlier this year

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Imogen said: 'He's clucky, trust me he's clucky', adding that Kyle had become increasingly adamant about having children over the past couple of years.

'It's [having children] on the cards, we're not that kind of couple to jinx everything and move into everything really fast,' she said, revealing the pair have the same attitude to marriage, 'we're not in any rush'.

Meanwhile, Kyle confessed to the Duchess of York in a recent radio interview, the reason he did not have children as a result of a failed marriage to ex-wife Tamara Jaber and Imogen being too young.

I was married but that didn't work out, the KIIS FM breakfast show host reluctantly told the Duchess of York after she inquired why the 44-year-old hadnt had children yet.

No offspring: Kyle confessed to the Duchess of York the reason he did not have children as a result of a failed marriage to ex-wife Tamara Jaber and Imogen being too young

Past flame: Kyle separated from his pop star wife Tamara Jaber in 2011

And new girl is only child herself. She is one of the young ones. Only 25. It sounds dodge. But don't think the wrong thing.

I think give her a chance to grow up herself before I bombard her with children.

Despite withholding from children, Kyle told listeners on his breakfast show he'd helped Imogen with her feminine hygiene products because her nails are too long.

'My girlfriend, she has huge Rihanna claw nails, y'know those glue-in things, whatever they are, he said live on air in March.

'I had to insert her tampon the other day for her. And I thought, "That's what true love is".
They say acting can be dirty work.

And this seems to be the case for Dominic Cooper, 38, who received a sizable amount of animal feces to the face as he filmed his scenes for the upcoming fantasy flick Warcraft: The Beginning.

While Dominic scored the regal role of King Llane in the Hollywood blockbuster, the British actor revealed that not all of his co-stars were as taken with his majesty as they could have been.

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Well that's unusual! Dominic Cooper, 38, (pictured) had admitted he received a sizable amount of animal feces to the face as he filmed his scenes for the upcoming fantasy flick Warcraft: The Beginning

'I gained no respect being a king, whatsoever! Travis Fimmel was throwing large lumps of horse poo at my face, just as an example of how little respect I gained,' Dominic explained in an interview with The Herald Sun this week.

When quizzed about his other on-set experiences, Dominic admitted that the acting work was somewhat inconsistent.

'In absolute honesty, what you have to do is be patient in that it's bitty  they're filmed in bits. So you have to come in with the right energy at a moment's notice', he said.

'I gained no respect being a king, whatsoever!': He revealed that Travis Fimmel (pictured) threw large lumps of horse poo at his face during filming

'What you have to do is be patient': When quizzed about his other on-set experiences, Dominic admitted that the acting work was somewhat inconsistent

'That's just the nature of it because you're dealing with men in pyjamas and a set that's going to be recreated afterwards (in a computer)', he explained.

Indeed, much of the visual feast offered by the film has been created with the help of CGI and green screens, all of which help to recreate the deep universe established by the 1990s game, World Of Warcraft.

The film is set in the fictional world of Azeroth, populated by the humans, which comes under threat when a Dark Portal opens from the dying world of Draenor, bringing with it invading orcs.

Fantasy realm: Indeed, much of the visual feast offered by the film has been created with the help of CGI and green screens, all of which help to recreate the deep universe established by the 1990s game, World Of Warcraft

The Duncan Jones-directed film also stars Ben Foster, Toby Kebbell and Paula Patton.

Meanwhile, Dominic was recently cast in a new stage production of The Libertine.

The actor has had several stage credits, including The History Boys and Phedre, in which he starred alongside Helen Mirren.

His film credits include 'The History Boys', 'The Duchess', 'My Week with Marilyn', 'Mamma Mia' and 'Captain America: The First Avenger'.
Amber Heard rejected a spousal support offer from estranged husband Johnny Depp because he wanted to include a restraining order against her, TMZ reports.

The actress - who accused Johnny of domestic violence and was granted a temporary restraining order against him - says money is 'the lowest priority,' and she's primarily concerned about her safety, sources told the gossip site.

Lawyers for Amber and Johnny, 52, have been in talks over a settlement, and she did not respond to his offer of $50,000 a month for eight months.

That's because the Pirates of the Caribbean star also wanted a 'mutual restraining order' and Amber refused, saying she was not the violent one, the site reports.

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Bitter divorce: Amber Heard has reportedly rejected an offer of spousal support from Johnny Depp because he wanted a 'mutual restraining order' against the actress

Her priority now is staying safe, and Amber sees herself as standing up for other victims of domestic violence, sources told TMZ.

Amber is seeking $50,000 a month in spousal support.

The couple reported did not have a prenup, and under California family law she is legally entitled to half of what Johnny earned during their marriage.

Brave face: Amber smiled as she headed to an appointment with her lawyer in Los Angeles on Wednesday

She will appear in court next Friday to seek a permanent restraining order.

Meanwhile, Johnny this week jetted to his private island in The Bahamas, where the couple wed last year.

The 52-year-old has been in Europe promoting his new movie Alice Through The Looking Glass and on tour with his band Hollywood Vampires.

But his lawyer appeared in court in Los Angeles on Friday and accused Amber of delaying a deposition until after the restraining order hearing on June 17.

On tour: Johnny appeared in a video promoting his band Hollywood Vampires' tour in Europe, and has now jette off to his private island in The Bahamas

Amber says she and her friend and witness Rachel Pennington can't give a deposition until next week, because they are in New Jersey for Rachel's engagement party and then Amber has to fly to London for costume fittings for her upcoming movie Justice League, TMZ reported.

But Johnny's lawyer Laura Wasser claims Amber is just trying to delay until after the restraining order hearing next week.

The delay is causing Johnny to be 'tried in the media' and damaging his reputation, she claimed in court documents.

Abuse claims: Amber and Johnny at a gala in Los Angeles in 2014. She has accused the actor of domestic violence and filed for divorce after 15 months of marriage

Escape: Johnny headed to his private island in The Bahamas this week after being on tour in Europe. He and Amber wed in the scenic spot last year.

Close friend: Amber Heard's confidente Raquel Pennington was seen out and about in Los Angeles in the midst of the ongoing legal battle

Amber shockingly filed for divorce on May 23, two days after Johnny's mother Betty Sue Palmer died after a long illness.

A few days later, she went public with allegations of domestic violence against Johnny and was granted a temporary restraining order.

The couple met on the set of their 2011 film The Rum Diary, and were married for 15 months.

Johnny was previously in a longterm relationship with French actress Vanessa Paradis, and they share two children - model Lily-Rose Depp, 17, and son Jack Depp, 14.

Amber, who is openly bisexual, previously in a four-year relationship with artist Tasya van Ree.
She reports the weather in Australia but on Saturday Natalia Cooper visited a galaxy far, far away.

The Weekend Today presenter mingled with superheroes and storm troopers at Oz ComicCon in Melbourne, and even got in on the fun herself with an uncanny Princess Leia impression.

Dressed in the Star Wars characters famous white dress and sporting the trademark brunette side buns, the 32-year-old could easily have passed for the sci-fi royalty.

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Spot the difference: Natalia Cooper (left) did an uncanny Princess Leia impression

The usually blonde beauty traded her golden locks for a convincing brown wig, though the buns were not as big as the head-sized versions actress Carrie Fisher wore in the 1977 classic.

Ive gone brunette for the day! she declared.

Even Natalias makeup was the spitting image of Leia, right down to her slightly blushed cheeks, subtle eye shadow and red lipstick.

Princess for a day: The Weekend Today presenter mingled with superheroes and storm troopers at Oz ComicCon in Melbourne, and even got in on the fun herself

'I've gone brunette for a day': The usually blonde beauty traded her golden locks for a convincing brown wig, though the buns were not as big as the head-sized versions actress Carrie Fisher wore in the 1977 classic

Spitting image: Even Natalias makeup was the spitting image of Leia, right down to her slightly blushed cheeks, subtle eye shadow and red lipstick.

Galactic day out: She appeared to fully embrace her alter-ego and have a ball hanging out with fans and a professional Star Wars costumed troupe

She appeared to fully embrace her alter-ego and have a ball hanging out with fans and a professional Star Wars costumed troupe  even renaming the famous character in her honour.

Ive decided to rename Princess Leia, Princess Nata-Leia, she said, grimacing at the end as she realised how corny the pun was.

Co-host Peter Stefanovic loved the play on words, however, and laughed heartily, to which Natalia quipped: Peter will like it, he likes dad jokes like me.

Alter-ego: Ive decided to rename Princess Leia, Princess Nata-Leia, she said, grimacing at the end as she realised how corny the pun was

Lame jokes: Co-host Peter Stefanovic loved the play on words, however, and laughed heartily, to which Natalia quipped: Peter will like it, he likes dad jokes like me.

Approved: Her colleagues were also big fans of the outfit, with Wendy Kingston giving an enthusiastic seal of approval. She looks great! the newsreader said

'They are very on-trend right now: The weather girl was also a big fan of the outfits bell sleeves

As the desk roared with laughter she raised her hands high and declared: Im officially a geek, yaaay!

The weather girl was also a big fan of the outfits bell sleeves, saying they were very on-trend right now.

Her colleagues were also big fans of the outfit, with Wendy Kingston giving an enthusiastic seal of approval. She looks great! the newsreader said.

Earlier in the morning, Natalia donned a Wonder Woman headband and watched men dressed as Batman and Superman fight.

Oz ComicCon runs June 11-12 at the Melbourne Convention Centre.

Famous face: Carrie Fisher played Leia in the original Star Wars film alongside Mark Hamil and Harrison Ford
Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart spiffed up on Friday for the premiere of their new comedy Central Intelligence in Los Angeles.

The Rock, 44, towered over Kevin, 36, as they teamed up before the screening in the Westwood area.

Johnson looked debonair in a grey pinstriped suit and open-collared crisp white dress shirt.

Comedy duo: Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart attended the premiere of their new comedy Central Intelligence on Friday in the Westwood area of Los Angeles

Hart went with the smooth look in a rusty red suit, black T-shirt, thick gold chain and black loafers sans socks.

He wore glasses and also accessorised with a luxury watch.

Danielle Nicolet, 42, sizzled in a sheer red dress with thigh high slit while catching up with co-star Hart on the carpet.

Charlotte McKinney, 22, showed her long legs in a little black asymmetrical dress with a side cutout and buckle column.

Coming soon: The Rock and Kevin can be seen in Central Intelligence when it opens on June 17

Looking dapper: The film's stars looked dapper in suits at the premiere

Hollywood star: Johnson successfully made the transition from wrestler to Hollywood

Female lead: Danielle Nicolet scorched in a sheer red dress with a thigh high slit while getting together with co-star Kevin

Molly Sims, 43, shimmered in a metallic red minidress.

Amy Ryan, 47, who also has a leading role in the comedy wore a purple and tan below the knees dress.

Johnson and Hart also teamed up with director Rawson Marshall Thurber, 41, and flanked him at the event.

Little black dress: Charlotte McKinney showed her lean legs in a little black dress

Model looks: The former Dancing With The Stars contestant had her long blonde hair down in big curls

Shining moment: Molly Sims shimmered in a little red dress

Runway ready: The mother of two looked runway ready

Starring role: Amy Ryan also stars in Central Intelligence

Thurber created Terry Tate, Office Linebacker and also directed We're The Millers and DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story.

Johnson in Central Intelligence plays Bob Stone, a CIA spy who was bullied in high school for his weight.

He enlists the help of his former high school classmate Calvin Joyner, played by Hart, on an adventure to save the world.

The film opens on June 17.

The director: Central Intelligence director Rawson Marshall Thurber was flanked by the film's stars

Cute couple: Tia Mowry and husband Cory Hardrict wrapped their arms around each other

Television star: Alex Meneses was a lady in red at the premiere

Fan favourite: Elisabeth Rohm looked angelic in white
One supermodel will turn heads, but four together at once... that's jaw dropping.

Victoria's Secret Models Martha Hunt, Romee Strijd, Jasmine Tookes and Sara Sampaio made quite the stir as they took over the House Of CB boutique on Friday in Los Angeles.

The beautiful Angels were spotted doing some retail therapy on the trendy Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood just ahead of the Moschino show.

Models shop! Jasmine Tookes, Martha Hunt, Sara Sampaio, and Romee Strijd made quite the stir as they took over the House Of CB boutique on Friday in Los Angeles just ahead of the Moschino show

Stylish in denim! Romee, 20, looked trendy in a curve-hugging jean dress and carried a Chanel bag along with multiple shopping bags

The gorgeous foursome all made their own fashion statements on the shopping trip.

Jasmine, 25, sported a colorful pair of skintight pants which she paired with a black bomber jacket.

The California native dressed down with a pair of black trainers and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail.

Jasmine accessorized with a multiple stud earrings and a small black quilted Chanel bag.

Eyes on shoes! Sara, 24, dressed down in workout clothes and black trainers and opted for no make-up. The Portuguese beauty wore a cropped pair of dark leggings and a white sweater with black writing

Racks of clothes! Jasmine and Sara make a beeline for the same rack of clothes

Romee, 20, looked trendy in a curve-hugging denim dress and also carried a Chanel bag of her own.

The jean frock featured buttons and pockets along with thick straps and a high middle slit which showed off some skin.

The Dutch beauty accessorized with leather trainers, a navy bandana scarf tied around her neck, and gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses.

Shopping ensemble: Jasmine, 25, sported a colorful pair of skintight pants which she paired with a black bomber jacket, and coordinating trainers

Romee showed off her natural beauty with minimal make-up and wore her blonde tresses in a messy topknot.

Martha, 27, opted to be more casual, dressing her lean legs in a pair of black workout leggings which she paired with matching trainers with pink piping.

The North Carolina native teamed her relaxed look with a white T-shirt which featured black writing on it and layered a black unzipped jacket on top.

Details! The Dutch beauty accessorized with leather trainers, a navy bandana scarf tied around her neck, and gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses

Martha pulled her blonde tresses into a high ponytail and accessorized with a dark pair of shades.

Sara, 24, also dressed down in workout clothes and black trainers and opted for no make-up.

The Portuguese beauty wore a cropped pair of dark leggings and a white sweater with black writing.

Sara's long brunette locks cascaded past her shoulders and she accessorized with only a small red purse which hung by a long delicate gold chain around her shoulder.

The gorgeous gals exited the shop with smiles and quite the load. Each model hit the streets carrying at least two or three giant pink and black shopping bags.

Relaxed look: Sara, on the left, and Martha, 27, on the right, both opted to be more casual on the shopping outing wearing black workout leggings, tops with black writing, and coordinating trainers
Her name might invoke a tropical island, but Havana Brown looked right at home at the Brisbane races on Saturday.

The Australian DJ turned heads in a lacy black off-shoulder dress on a gorgeous day out for Stradbroke Day at the Eagle Farm racecourse.

The summery number was tightened across her chest, highlighting her perky decolletage and moulded perfectly around her trim figure.

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Glowing: Havana Brown turned heads in a low-cut shoulderless lacy black dress on a gorgeous day out for Stradbroke Day at the Eagle Farm racecourse

It came with a matching black choker that contrasted with her blonde locks that cascaded down her slender shoulders and framed her glowing face.

Havana put on a leggy display below the knees with her toned calves further accentuated by her pink stiletto heels.

The 31-year-old accessorised with a cluster of gold bangles on her right wrist and arm, and of course her sparkling engagement ring on her left hand.

Flattering: The summery number was tightened across her chest, highlighting her perky decolletage and moulded perfectly around her trim figure

Blonde bombshell: It came with a matching black choker that contrasted with her blonde locks that cascaded down her slender shoulders and framed her glowing face

The I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! Australia contestant rubbed shoulders with former Miss Universe Rachael Finch and reigning Miss World Australia Tess Alexander.

They were photographed together enjoying the glamourous afternoon, which had much better weather than the washout of a week earlier.

Rachel wore a chic cut-out dress with daring thigh-high split while Tess opted for a vampire-inspired black lace dress, striking red heels and pale makeup.

Havana, who is based in LA, was seen just a few weeks at enjoying a night out at Canon Club, a restaurant and bar in Beverly Hills.

Fun with friends: The I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! Australia contestant rubbed shoulders with former Miss Universe Rachael Finch (centre) and reigning Miss World Australia Tess Alexander (right)

Beauties on parade: Rachel wore a chic cut-out dress with daring thigh-high split

That '70s Show actor Topher Grace was also present at the newly-opened lavish nightspot with high-end clientele.

The two stars enjoyed a meal at the restaurant over the weekend with Topher's fiancee Ashley Hinshaw and the Melbourne-born DJ's fiance Vince Deltito and other friends.

It is headed up by Michelin-trained chef Justin Snyder, the 'beachy-chic' restaurant and bar serves modern seafood and cocktails.
They recently shared a joint photoshoot which showcased their strikingly similar looks.

And Cindy Crawford, 50, and her daughter Kaia Gerber, 14, were showing off their impressive fashion credentials again on Friday.

The original Supermodel and her mini-me could have been mistaken for sisters at the Moschino Fashion Show in Los Angeles.

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Stylish: Cindy Crawford, 50, attended the Moschino fashion show in Los Angeles on Friday

Cindy combined smart and casual in an ensemble which showcased her long lean figure.

She teamed skinny black jeans and a black blazer with a black and white Moschino T-shirt.

Her golden mane was styled in perfect beach waves which framed her impressive features.

Close pair: Cindy Crawford, 50, and her daughter Kaia Gerber, 14, were showing off their impressive fashion credentials again on Friday

Proud mom: The beauty looked at her daughter as she opted for a similar outfit which she teamed with a classic Moschino print bomber jacket

Fashionistas: Whilst she may have a very similar mane to her mother's, Kaia wore hers in a loose ponytail with tendrils framing her face as they joined Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott

Seeing double! The original Supermodel and her mini-me could have been mistaken for sisters at the Moschino Fashion Show in Los Angeles as they flanked the designer

The beauty looked proudly at her daughter as she opted for a similar outfit which she teamed with a classic Moschino print bomber jacket.

Whilst she may have a very similar mane to her mother's, Kaia wore hers in a loose ponytail with tendrils framing her face.

However, it was her 16-year-old brother Presley who was strutting his stuff on the catwalk at the event.

Model family: The good-looking Gerber clan looked in fine spirits as they strolled through the night

Happy couple: Cindy and Rande flashed smiles and held hands while they walked

Stand by your man: Cindy and Rande linked arms while crossing the road

Following in her footsteps: Kaia may have a similar mane to her mom, but she wore her tresses in a loose ponytail with tendrils framing her face

Still got it! Cindy combined smart and casual in an ensemble which showcased her long lean figure alongside husband of 18 years Rande Gerber

Original super: Her golden mane was styled in perfect beach waves which framed her impressive features

The teen was supported by his family - including his father Rande Gerber - who celebrated his 18th wedding anniversary with Cindy at the end of May.

Presley recently modelled in Carine's CR Fashion Book, which marked the teenager's second appearance in one of Carine's publications.

Kaia, meanwhile, recently shared the April cover of Vogue Paris with her mother Cindy.

The pair also smouldered for edgy, artsy shots for Chrome Hearts magazine's latest bi-annual issue earlier this week.
They were photographed sharing a passionate kiss at a New York party last year.

And Jordan Barrett was spotted getting very close to his rumoured ex-fling Hailey Baldwin at an event in Los Angeles on Friday.

The 19-year-old hunk put on an amourous display with Hailey as they dressed up in matching ensembles at the Moschino Fashion Show.

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Back on? Australian model Jordan Barrett (L) was spotted getting very close to his rumoured ex-fling Hailey Baldwin (R) as they wore matching ensembles at the Moschino Fashion Show in Los Angeles on Friday

Jordan, who hails from Byron Bay, stood out from the crowd in a flamboyant patterned suit and white leopard print shoes.

Going shirtless under his multi-coloured blazer, he displayed his muscular chest while casting a confident gaze at the camera.

Meanwhile, Hailey displayed her toned tummy in a low-cut crop top as she flaunted her runway-ready legs in flared trousers.

A perfect match: Jordan, who hails from Byron Bay, stood out from the crowd in a flamboyant patterned suit and white leopard print shoes as Hailey displayed her toned tummy in a low-cut crop top

Getting intimate: In an unguarded moment, Jordan seemed to get very affectionate with Hailey - after they sparked romance rumours late last year

Hailey, 19, looked in happy spirits as she cuddled up to Jordan, who protectively placed his hand around her shoulders.

The teenage models appeared very comfortable in each other's company while posing for the cameras backstage.

Back in December, Jordan and Hailey were spotted getting close during a night out in New York City and even shared a kiss in a photo booth.

Hooking up? In December, Jordan and Hailey were spotted getting close during a night out in New York City and even shared a kiss in a photo booth

They've got history: The teenage models have been spotted together on several occasions and appeared very comfortable in each other's company while posing for the cameras backstage on Friday

Touchy feely: In a recent social media snap, Jordan was also shown cuddling up to Hailey at a fashion party

But this is hardly the first time the notorious ladies' man has been romantically linked to beautiful women in the fashion industry.

Only this week he was photographed embracing Scott Disick's rumoured girlfriend Megan Blake Irwin, 21, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Last month, Jordan was spotted arriving at a London after party with 32-year-old model Lara Stone, a year after her split from British funnyman David Walliams.

He's unstoppable! Only this week, Jordan was photographed embracing Scott Disick's rumoured girlfriend Megan Blake Irwin (R) in the early hours of Thursday morning

Getting along: Last month, Jordan was spotted arriving at a London after-party with Dutch model Lara Stone

Close bond: Despite their 13 year age gap, Dutch beauty Lara and teenage Jordan clearly have chemistry

Moving on? The genetically-blessed pair have been photographed together several times since Lara's split from British funnyman David Walliams last year

The Sun reported at the time: 'The pair of them couldn't seem to stop laughing as they left, and at the last minute Jordan grabbed Lara's hand and led her away.'

He was even linked to socialite Paris Hilton - who is 16 years his senior - last year, but later claimed they were just friends.

He told the Daily Telegraph at the time that the 35-year-old was 'a nice chick, but there is nothing more to it'.

Romance? Jordan was even linked to 35-year-old socialite Paris Hilton - who is 16 years his senior - last year, but later claimed they were just friends
She may not have walked on the runway.

But Bambi Northwood-Blythe, 24, looked every inch the catwalk queen as she and her husband Dan Single, 35, sauntered into the Moschino fashion show in Los Angeles on Friday.

The Australian model glittered in a quirky gold mini-dress, which was emblazoned with the shape of a silver lightning bolt.

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Razzle dazzle! Bambi Northwood-Blythe looked every inch the catwalk queen as she and her husband Dan Single sauntered into the Moschino fashion show in Los Angeles on Friday

Sweeping her chestnut locks into a loose bun, Bambi kept her accessories to a minimum, donning a simple black choker necklace and he mobile phone.

Her designer husband looked chic in a white top, black jeans and a matching black vest.

He slicked his hair back into a suave do while adorning his wrists with several silver bracelets.

Bambi and Dan rubbed shoulders with the star-studded guest list attending the exclusive show, including Moschino designer Jeremy Scott.

Chic: Sweeping her chestnut locks into a loose bun, Bambi kept her accessories to a minimum, donning a simple black choker necklace and he mobile phone

With the star of the show! Bambi and Dan rubbed shoulders with the star-studded guest list attending the exclusive show, including Moschino designer Jeremy Scott

Strike a pose! After the show, Bambi and Dan also stole a moment with Australia male model Jordan Kale Barrett, posing for a high-energy happy snap backstage

Bambi also managed to cuddle up for a selfie with pop superstar Katy Perry, writing in the caption: 'HOME SLICE HOTTIE @katyperry CAN SELFIE IN ONE'.

After the show, Bambi and Dan also stole a moment with Australian male model Jordan Kale Barrett, posing for a high-energy happy snap backstage.

Then as Bambi headed straight to LAX Airport, Dan continued to party with Katy Perry's other half, Orlando Bloom.

The duo cheekily FaceTiming the model as she waited for her flight, rugged up in a cosy black hoodie for her travel outfit.

Star-studded! Bambi also managed to cuddling up for a selfie with pop superstar Katy Perry, writing in the caption: 'HOME SLICE HOTTIE @katyperry CAN SELFIE IN ONE'
She shot to fame as the unlikely child beauty queen in Little Miss Sunshine at the age of 10.

But Abigail Breslin proved she was all grown up in a glamorous gown while attending the Changemaker cocktail reception at the Greenwich International Film Festival in Connecticut.

The 20-year-old actress turned heads in an extreme plunging gown which showcased her busty cleavage as she posed alongside a host of stars, including Frieda Pinto.

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All eyes on her! Abigail Breslin, 20, put on an busty display while attending the Changemaker cocktail reception at the Greenwich International Film Festival in Connecticut

The stunning floral embroidery on the upper bodice of Abigail's number only seemed to accentuate her ample assets further, while the rest of the turquoise gown flowed down to the floor.

Sporting the same flowery print on the hemline, Abigail looked pretty as a picture in the flirty number.

The New York native tied her tresses in to a braided bun which gave way to large silver hoop earrings.

Keeping her make-up fluttery and daytime inspired, she radiated as she posed along Slumdog Millionaire star Frieda, who stunned in a royal blue one-shoulder Dsquared2 gown.

Acting pals: She radiated as she posed along Slumdog Millionaire star Frieda who stunned in a royal blue one-shoulder gown

Busty beauty: The stunning floral embroidery on the upper bodice of Abigail's number only seemed to accentuate her ample assets further

Floral power: Sporting the same flowery print on the hemline, it only exhibited the feminine appeal of the number further

She too opted to place the focus on her neckline and scraped her raven tresses back into a ponytail, showing off her chiselled cheekbones and silver stud earrings.

Obviously honoured to be at the event, Freida took to the stage to give an inspiring talk, as did Abigail, who accepted the Rising Changemaker award.

Breslin went on to take to Instagram to express her gratitude at attending the event, mentioning: 'So unbelievably honored to have accepted the Rising Changemaker award at the Greenwich Film Festival tonight and be able to discuss the work of The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

So grateful to have been there along side these 2 wonderful women and honorees, Trudie Styler and Freida Pinto who spoke of 2 other incredible organizations.'

Style rules: With her stunning decolletage on display, the New York native tied her tresses into a braided bun which gave way to large silver hoop earrings

Confident woman: The Scream Queens favourite took to the stage to give an inspiring talk

Making a change: The Indian beauty also gave an honourary speech about attending the event

A-list pals: Sting's wife Trudie Styler also stepped out in style

Stunning trio: Trudie, Abigail and Freida all looked stunning as they posed on the red carpet

'So unbelievably honored to have accepted the Rising Changemaker award': She took to Instagram to express her gratitude for the event and her accolade

Abigail and Frieda, 31, will also be starring together in the flick Yamasong: March of the Hollows set for release this year.

Furthermore, Breslin will be starring in remake of the 1987 iconic film Dirty Dancing, where she will take on the role made famous by Jennifer Grey.

Joining Abigail and Freida at the event was Sting's wife Trudie Styler and television host Kathie Lee Gifford.

Stylish: TV Host Kathie Lee Gifford looked sensational in a matching co-ord set
He's been publicly embracing family life following rumours he cheated on his wife last year.

And Beau Ryan looked happier than ever as he spent quality time with his three-year-old daughter Remi on Friday.

The ex-NRL star, 31, proclaimed his 'love' for little Remi by sharing an Instagram photo of the pair enjoying the Vivid Sydney light show.

The light of his life! Despite a difficult year, Beau Ryan (R) looked happier than ever spending quality time with his three-year-old daughter Remi (L) as they watched the Vivid Sydney light display on Friday

In the striking snap, Beau looks at his adorable daughter while cradling her protectively in his arms against the backdrop of the Harbour Bridge.

Behind them, the New South Wales capital is brightly illuminated as part of annual event light festival along the harbour.

But as crowds descended, Beau and Remi appeared in their own world as they enjoyed a special moment together. He captioned the image 'In love'.

Moving on: Beau been publicly embracing family life following widely-reported rumours he cheated on his wife Kara Ryan (right) last year

Daddy duties! Beau and Kara welcomed their first child Remi (centre) back in January 2013

This follows a rather difficult few months for the NRL Footy Show star after it was reported in September he'd had an affair.

Beau allegedly had an extra-marital fling with former Hi-5 star Lauren Brant, 27, while they were both performing in stage show Aladdin and his Wondrous Lamp last year.

The reports surfaced after Lauren's ex-fiance Warren Riley told Woman's Day magazine that the 'affair' took place last July.

Extra-marital fling? Rumours of an affair between Beau Ryan (right) and former Hi-5 member Lauren Brant (left) surfaced in September following claims by her ex-fiance Warren Riley

Warren claimed he'd discovered text messages Lauren had sent to a friend which confirmed his suspicions she had been unfaithful.

Beau subsequently stood down from his role on The Footy Show, but later returned and issued a public apology 'to all the people who have been hurt recently'.

Beau married his childhood sweetheart Kara in 2012. She later broke her silence over the scandal, admitting she was 'more worried for Beau' than herself.

United front: Beau and Kara Ryan (L) put on an affectionate display at the opening night of Aladdin And His Wondrous Lamp last July - but it was alleged he struck up an affair with co-star Lauren Brant during rehearsals
He is undoubtedly the biggest name on Australian radio.

But that did not help birthday boy Kyle Sandilands when he appeared to be somewhat struggling to pull himself out of his enormous vehicle in Los Angeles on Friday.

The Australian shock jock, who recently tipped the scales at 138 kilograms, was seen puffing on a cigarette as he squeezed his rotund frame out of his enormous luxury Rolls Royce in California.

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Wide load! Kyle Sandilands was seen squeezing his rotund frame out of his enormous Rolls Royce as he puffed on a cigarette in Los Angeles on Friday

Clutching the lit nicotine stick between his pursed lips, the highly-controversial radio host, had a determined look on his face as he grabbed onto the car door to hoist himself out of the driver's seat.

Changing things up in the style stakes, Kyle ditched his usual all-black ensembles and added a pop of colour to proceedings with a pair of caramel track pants.

He capped his casual look off with a pair of fresh white sneakers, and shielded his face with a dark hat and sunglasses.

Kyle spent his birthday with girlfriend Imogen Anthony, with the date also marking the couple's fifth anniversary.

The pair celebrated the double occasion by cruising down the Californian highway together in their luxury vehicle.

Later in the day, they celebrated by feasting at popular takeaway outlet, In-N-Out Burger.

Pulling his weight: The 45-year-old controversial radio host, had a determined look on his face as he grabbed onto the car door to hoist himself out of the driver's seat

The 25-year-old model jetted to Los Angeles on Friday to surprise her beau for his birthday, and the pair appear to be relishing in their romantic escape.

On her arrival, the model-turned-designer shared a rare selfie with her man, who was again seen puffing on a cigarette in the background.

'Can you guess where we're road tripping today?' she captioned the snap, adding the hash-tags: 'birthday boy' and 'California.'

That morning, Kyle revealed on his KIIS FM airwaves that he and Imogen would be spending the weekend together, as he moaned: 'It sounds like I'm going to be doing a lot of driving'.

For her man's birthday, Imogen shared a gushing tribute to Kyle on social media, posting a montage of snaps of the couple looking love-up.

Smitten Imogen, wrote alongside the collage: Happy Birthday & 5 Year Anniversary Weekend to my amazing other half. Kyle - the funniest c**t I know and I love him to bits

Unhealthy habit: The KIIS FM star clutched a lit nicotine stick between his pursed lips

Changing things up: Kyle ditched his usual all-black ensembles and added a pop of colour to proceedings with a pair of caramel track pants

Meanwhile, Kyle has steadfastly vowed to trim down his portly frame after admitting he harbours a desire to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Last year Kyle was in the news with growing concerns for his health after missing a number of radio shows and even failing to show up as a guest co-host on The Project.

When appearing on The Morning Show in August, the shock jock attempted to silence the fat-shamers by stripping off and showing his body in all its glory.

'This is an Australian man,' he said as he took off his black T-shirt to reveal his portly frame during the rare TV appearance.

'I have been fat shamed over all the newspapers and magazines but Australia here it is.'

Signature style: The popular personality capped his casual look off with a pair of fresh white sneakers, and shielded his face with a dark hat and sunglasses

Tight squeeze: Kyle appeared to be somewhat struggling to pull himself out of his enormous vehicle

A big celebration: Kyle spent his special day cruising down the Californian highway with girlfriend Imogen Anthony, and they later feasted at popular takeaway outlet, In N Out Burger

Kyle later added that he wasn't sure why he had just stripped off on national TV, but wanted to be clear that he is 'very happy' with his body.

'I just can't stand people saying look at that fat sloth,' he said.

Putting jokes aside, Kyle revealed he has become aware that something needs to be done to improve his health and figure.

'I think I am going to have to do something about the weight,' he said.

'I am a mess and would like to live a bit longer,' he added before stating he will be having 'an operation in December,' leaving out the in-depth details.

'This is an Australian man': Last year the shock jock attempted to silence the fat-shamers by stripping off and showing his body in all its glory on The Morning Show

Double the celebration! Kyle and Imogen appear to be relishing in their romantic Los Angeles escape, as they marked their fifth anniversary and Kyle's birthday with a rare selfie on Friday
She's the ultimate housewife who recently put a down payment of $1.8million on a Beverly Hills pad for her 30-year-old daughter.

And Lisa Vanderpump proved she was still the star of the show as she arrived for an early dinner at the lavish Craigs restaurant in West Hollywood on Friday, going braless in a see through blouse.

The 55-year-old The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star seemed unaware of the wardrobe malfunction as she headed out for the evening.

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Putting on a sexy front: Lisa Vanderpump, 55, arrived for an early dinner at the lavish Craigs restaurant in West Hollywood on Friday, in a see through blouse which exposed her ample assets

Seemingly unaware of the see-through nature of her sleeveless top, the London born beauty strutted forth in her skyscraper Louboutin heels which peeked out underneath the flared cut of her trousers.

Succumbing to the Californian heat, she carried her matching black outerwear in her hand while also sporting a shiny pink handbag- giving the outfit a pop of colour.

Opting for only the best when it came to accessories, she wore an eye-catching silver square-cut watch which complemented her dazzling long silver earrings.

As a lover of maximum glamour, she went with a heavy makeup look which included a generous dose of blusher and lip-lined pink lips alongside her lashed eyes which allowed her to sport her sultry glare.

Where to look? The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star seemed unaware of the wardrobe malfunction which flaunted her ample assets, which was further highlighted by the cinched in high-waisted trousers

Strut like you mean it: Seemingly unaware of the see-through nature of her sleeveless top, the London born beauty strutted forth in her skyscraper Louboutin heels, which peeked out underneath the flared cut of her trousers

While her continued time on The Real Housewives Of Beverley Hills has seen her engage in many disagreements, her love for her pet pooch is the one thing that softens her up.

The beauty who recently launched Vanderpump Dog Foundation with her husband Ken Todd threw a huge bash at the end of May for the dog-friendly mission.

She is also quite the doting mother as she gifted her daughter Pandora and husband Jason Sabo with the down payment on a fully-furnished home for her birthday.

Flaunting her wealth: Opting for only the best when it came to accessories, she wore an eye-catching silver square-cut watch which complemented her dazzling long silver earrings

An overcome Pandora said she burst into tears once she realized the beautiful Los Angeles home - which her parents had painstakingly decorated exactly to her taste - was hers.

'I cannot believe as I walked in - thinking I was going to dinner - that my mother had poured her heart and soul into the most perfect house Ive ever seen,' she told DailyMail.com.

Pandora said it was a 'completely overwhelming surprise' and admitted she 'cried profusely' when she saw the stunning home.

She added: 'I could tell that every little display, piece of furniture and layout was designed with me in mind.'

Dog day: Lisa continued her mission to help make the lives of man's best friends better with a big star-studded bash for World Dog Day in West Hollywood, California, last month

Vanderpump Wine & Spirits founder Pandora praised her mom as 'a force of nature and the most giving, generous, unbelievably hardworking person I know.'

'My fathers touches on the house too were the sweetest present I could dream of (like a much longed for piano!) and the fact that my parents dedicated so much time and effort to this for me makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

'Theyve helped Jason and I start our dream life in our dream home and we cannot wait to live in it!' said Pandora.

Lisa also spoke to DailyMail.com about the lavish gift, stating: 'Its a parents dream to be able to give their kids a leg up in this world,' said Lisa. 'Especially when your kids are hard working, altruistic and good-hearted'.
She never puts a foot wrong in the fashion stakes.

And Reese Witherspoon was looking stylish as ever as she paid a visit to her local beauty salon in Los Angeles on Friday, clad in an effortlessly cool and coordinating look.

The Legally Blonde actress nailed summer dressing in a pair of bright, floral print trousers and a white trilby with a matching blue ribbon.

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Dressed to impress: Reese Witherspoon looked incredible as ever in vibrant floral trousers as she paid a visit to her local beauty salon in Los Angeles on Friday

Reese ensured her cropped trousers were the focal point of her look by teamed the statement garment with a simple black top.

The 40-year-old actress added a pair of towering black wedge sandals to complete her ensemble, while toting a matching wicker bag over one arm and wearing her hair down loose and opted for natural make-up.

Following her salon visit, Reese was seen browsing the nearby shops, enjoying a casual spot of retail therapy.

Trendy as ever: The 40-year-old actress ensured her cropped trousers were the focal point of her look by teamed the statement garment with a simple black top

Hitting the shops: Following her salon visit, Reese was seen browsing the nearby shops, enjoying a casual spot of retail therapy

Last week, the mother-of-three shared a very rare photo from her younger years.

The blonde can be seen in her college days, beaming while sitting in her far-from-glamorous dorm room.

Reese studied at Stanford University in the Nineties for one year before leaving to more seriously pursue her acting career.

The Wild star captioned the photo: 'TBT to the good 'ol days (aka #collegeyears).'

Cramming for finals? Reese shared a flashback photo on Friday to when she was a college studying at Stanford University in the Nineties

Not the Ritz: It's obvious her room is far from inviting as there is a filing cabinet behind her as well as a messy bed and overall clutter

The beauty had on a pair of round glasses and was holding what looked to be a lollipop up to her lips.

It's obvious her room is far from inviting as there is a filing cabinet behind her as well as a messy bed and overall clutter.

Her social media post came as Reese stepped out with Laura Dern, showing how close they've become as costars as they carpooled to a meeting in Beverly Hills, California.

They starred as a mother-daughter duo in 2014's Oscar-nominated picture Wild, and are both set to appear in upcoming HBO drama Big Little Lies.

The two showed off big smiles after the 49-year-old Jurassic Park star drove to the meeting, while her 40-year-old pal rode shotgun.

Still close! Wild stars Laura Dern (L) and Rees showed that they're as close as ever as they carpooled together for a meeting in Beverly Hills last week

Reese wore a playful, form-fitting, short-sleeved top with a floral pattern in bright shades of orange and pink, which was likely from her Draper James line.

She coupled the eye-catching shirt with a pair of skintight, dark wash jeans that highlighted her toned pins.

Finishing off her summery look, the mother-of-three wore a pair of navy blue wedges, while carrying a Vidalia Vine Tennessee Tote ($215) from her Draper James collection.

She accessorized with a collection of gold bracelets, while hiding her eyes behind a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses.

In good spirits: Reese showed off a big smile as she was seen arriving after riding shotgun in the car, as pal Laura drove

Her long, blonde tresses were worn in a center part, and styled in soft curls that cascaded past her shoulders.

Reese looked to be in good spirits for the outing, showing off a big smile - outlined in cherry red lipstick - as she arrived for her meeting.

Laura, meanwhile. sported a sheer, navy blue and teal blouse, which she wore over a fitted, navy blue tank.

Pretty as a petal: The blonde beauty looked ready for summer in a floral patterned top in bright shades of orange and pink

She coupled the shimmery top with a pair of skintight, black trousers, finishing off the look with a pair of turquoise loafers that matched the green in her blouse.

Laura carried a black jacket as she made her way inside, also toting a large, black leather handbag with a gold chain.

She wore her long, blonde tresses pulled back into a ponytail, and hid her eyes behind a pair of black sunglasses.

Self promotion! The star accessorized with a pretty blue tote, which happened to be the Vidalia Vine Tennessee Tote ($215) from her Draper James collection

A few days earlier Reese had shared a snap alongside Laura (as well as other costars from Big Little Lies, such as Shailene Woodley and Zoe Kravitz), to share that they had wrapped filming.

She showed off a big smile while cuddling up to her costars in the cheery picture, captioned: 'Wrapped #BigLittleLies with all these amazing people over the weekend! Can't wait for you all to see it! #LoveTheseGuys #Squad #WorkFamily.'

Big Little Lies follows a group of moms whose perfect lies begin to unravel, and is set to premiere in 2017.
He has made it no secret he has a soft spot for the Australian treat Tim Tams.

And Torchwood star John Barrowman was overwhelmed with packets of the chocolate biscuit after fans gifted him the moreish snack at the annual Oz Comic-Con event in Melbourne on Saturday.

The Scottish-born American star received so many, he started playing the block-stacking game, Jenga, with the various varieties.

Gifts keep coming! Torchwood star John Barrowman was overwhelmed with packets of Tim Tams after Australian fans gifted him the moreish snacks at the annual Oz Comic-Con event in Melbourne on Saturday

The former Doctor Who star was so surprised by the goodness of his Australian fans, he took to twitter to show off his never-ending supply.

In one tweet, the 49-year-old actor is seen pointing to a wall of Tim Tam's which included four layers, along with two Choclicious packets.

He wrote alongside the picture: 'Keep the Tim Tams [sic] coming.'

So many: John was so surprised by the goodness of dedicated fans who wanted to keep him in good spirits, he took to twitter to show off his never ending supply

Tower of Tim Tam's: The actor posed with the start of a pillar laid with chocolate biscuits

Jenga: The actor received so many that he started to play a stack-building game with the sweet treats

Not entirely unexpected! The 49-year-old teased his fans with a flashback photo on Twitter of the last time he visited Australia and indulged on the buscuits

In another tweet, the triple threat is seen leaning over a 'Tim Tam' pillar.

He captioned the post: 'It's a TimTam Tower! Oz Comic-Con.'

In another upload to social media, the causally cut TV star is pictured next to a giant tower of chocolate biscuits.

'The Tim Tam Tower is growing... Oz Comic Con,' he said in the post.

They just keep coming: The star also received food hampers and gift baskets as well

Tower of chocolate biscuits: In another upload to social media, the causally clad TV star is pictured next to growing tower of the flavoured snacks

The causally clad star, who donned a black printed T-shirt, looked to be in high spirits as he signed autographs and posed with adoring fans at the pop culture event.

Meanwhile, John has revealed he would like to reprise his role as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and has teased he is heading to Cardiff, Wales, where the sci-fi drama is filmed for a secret project.

Going back? John has revealed he would like to reprise his role as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and has teased he is heading to Cardiff, Wales, where the sci-fi drama is filmed for a secret project

Happy to be there! Wearing a black printed T-shirt, the actor looked to be in high spirits as he signed autographs for fans

Famed role: John made his first appearance in Doctor Who in 2005, and then in spin-off show Torchwood, and continued to make cameos in both programmes until 2013

Speaking on BBC's The One Show about a possible comeback, he said: 'I'd love to, keep watching. Keep watching, I've love to! I don't know! It's not up to me ... but keep watching!'

John made his first appearance in Doctor Who in 2005, and then in spin-off show Torchwood, and continued to make cameos in both programmes until 2013.

Speaking about his next project, he said: 'I will be back in Cardiff in about a week and a half ... but I'm not telling you what for!'
They're two of the stars in the adventure thriller film Red Billabong.

And Dan Ewing, 31, was keen to have some fun at Oz Comic-con in Melbourne with his co-star Tim Pocock, 30, on Saturday.

The pair play brothers in the upcoming film and looked very comfortable with each other as they joked about and posed for pictures.

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On screen brothers: Dan Ewing, 31, was keen to have some fun at Oz Comic-con in Melbourne with his co-star Tim Pocock, 30, on Saturday

Dan wore a simple white T-shirt layered over a brown leather jacket that featured a woollen collar.

The former Home And Away star added to his look with a pair of simple khaki coloured trousers and wrapped his arm around the shoulder of his on screen brother.

Meanwhile Tim was dressed in a grey knit hooded sweater paired with simple blue jeans and flashed a perfect smile to the camera.

Keeping it casual: Both men opted for simple outfits that reflected their laid back style at the pop culture event

Signing up a storm: Dan, the former Home And Away star, had a lively chat with a fan as he autographed a picture of himself for a fan

As they signed autographs for fans at the pop culture event the pair looked delighted.

Dan was enthralled in conversation as he signed a picture of himself for one particular fan at the event.

They posed behind a cardboard cut out of a monster emerging from the water and showed off their playful side making very confused faces.

The film follows the brothers as they are pulled into a world of mystery as their friends start to go missing after they inherit their grandfather's property.

Goofing around: They posed behind a cardboard cut out of a monster emerging from the water and showed off their playful side making very confused faces

Serious: At one point the pair sat behind a table and waited for their fans to arrive and appeared to be in a very in-depth conversation

Set in the outback the film was shot on the Gold Coast where the brothers are stalked by a sinister supernatural being.

In 2015 before filming started Luke Sparke, the writer-director told SBS that the script had been a long time coming.

He said: 'Seven years ago I started writing this script, which came into being after I looked at Australian myths and Australian legends, how they relate back to aboriginal times and how I could relate that into an interesting movie for modern day audiences.'

Red Billabong is set for release in cinemas in August.
She rocked the runway at Moschino's star-studded 2017 collection on Friday in wild and funky attire.

And Alessandra Ambrosio, 35, celebrated her catwalk success by partying with fellow Victoria's Secret models including Martha Hunt.at The Nice Guy in LA.

The Brazilian beauty was far more reserved for the outing than she was on the runway but was no less beautiful.

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A job well done: Alessandra Ambrosio, 35, celebrated her catwalk success at Friday Moschino fashion show by partying with fellow Victoria's Secret models at The Nice Guy in LA

Lady in red: Martha Hunt, 27, looked typically great in a thigh-skimming red satin dress which she covered with a black bomber jacket

She showcased her endless limbs in a black leather miniskirt with a silver zip running down the entirety of its front.

Going for a rock chick look, Alessandra teamed it with a retro denim jacket with a frayed hem and a stripey top.

The model finished her outfit with a black and white pair of pumps and a matching over-the-shoulder bag.

Letting her hair down: The Brazilian beauty was far more reserved for the outing than she was on the runway but was no less beautiful

Legs for days: She showcased her endless limbs in a black leather miniskirt with a silver zip running down the entirety of its front

Peace: Her luscious brunette locks fell messily over her shoulders, while her strikingly stunning facial features were impossible to miss as she sauntered along the sidewalk

Laughing out loud: Alessandra burst into a fit of giggles as she joked around with a gal pal

Her luscious brunette locks fell messily over her shoulders, while her strikingly stunning facial features were impossible to miss as she sauntered along the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, Martha, 27, looked typically great in a thigh-skimming red satin dress which she covered with a black bomber jacket.

The American stunner chatted casually on her phone outside the venue but produced a cute smile for the cameras mid-conversation.

Endless limbs: She put on a leggy display and opted to match her garments with an unconventional pair of black boots as opposed to a pair of heels

Deep in conversation: The pretty blonde ran her fingers through her hair, while her lips were enhanced by a slick of lipstick and her piercing blue peepers decorated eyeliner and lashings of mascara

She put on a leggy display and opted to match her garments with an unconventional pair of black boots as opposed to a pair of heels.

The pretty blonde ran her fingers through her hair, while her lips were enhanced by a slick of lipstick and her piercing blue peepers decorated eyeliner and lashings of mascara.

Fellow Angels Jasmine Tookes and Sara Sampaio also made the short trip to the celebrity hot spot. Jasmine donned a similar ensemble to Alessandra, draping a denim jacket over her shoulders and wearing a knee-length leather skirt.

Gal pals: Angels Jasmine Tookes and Sara Sampaio also made the short trip to the celebrity hot spot

Stunning! Meanwhile, Sara teased a glimpse of her taut tum in a cream halterneck teamed with super-skinny grey jeans

Meanwhile, Sara teased a glimpse of her taut tum in a cream halterneck teamed with super-skinny grey jeans.

Also enjoying his time at the bar was Gigi Hadid's ex Cody Simpson, 19.

The Australian singer cut a cool figure in a black overcoat with the hood pulled up over his blonde locks.

He went for a layered look with a pale blue shirt worn open over a black vest which he teamed with navy jeans and black shoes.

Stepping out: Also enjoying his time at the bar was Gigi Hadid's ex Cody Simpson, 19

Layering up: The Australian singer cut a cool figure in a black overcoat with the hood pulled up over his blonde locks
She jetted into Australia on Saturday for a whirlwind tour.

And there were no signs of jet-lag as Charlotte Crosby stepped out in Sydney putting on a very leggy display in a stylish thigh-skimming dress, just hours after touching down.

The 26-year-old former Geordie Shore star appeared to have left her recent troubles behind as she made her way out of her hotel flaunting her svelte figure.

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White hot! There were no signs of jet-lag as Charlotte Crosby stepped out in Sydney on Saturday putting on a very leggy display in a stylish thigh-skimming dress, just hours after touching down

The little white number Charlotte wore featured netting across the chest and shoulders and loosely skimmed over her figure.

The fringed hem finished off the dress and showed off plenty of her toned legs, which were emphasized with a pair of strappy beige block heels.

Keeping in theme, the reality TV starlet slung a tan handbag which featured fringing across the edges and held on tight to her mobile phone as she strode out of the hotel entrance.

Leggy lady: The 26-year-old former Geordie Shore star appeared to have left her recent troubles behind as she made her way out of her hotel flaunting her svelte figure

No jet-lag here: The former reality television star went with a strong contour with a shimmering highlighter across her cheekbones and a muted plum pout for her make-up look

Charlotte's golden locks were perfectly blow-dried with plenty of volume and cascaded over her shoulders as she stepped out.

For make-up the former reality television star went with a strong contour with a shimmering highlighter across her cheekbones and a muted plum pout.

The blonde beauty will spend time in both Sydney and Melbourne during her quick trip to Australia, but most of the details of her trip have been kept under wraps.

Glamorous arrival! Earlier in the day Charlotte arrived into Sydney on Saturday flaunting her svelte frame in a grey jumpsuit, as she wheeled a large red suitcase through the terminal

The former reality TV stars management told Daily Mail Australia she would be launching a fashion campaign for a well-known Australian brand.

It's been a tumultuous month for Charlotte, who recently broke up with on-again-off-again boyfriend Gary Beale.

Since their break up she emotionally quit Geordie Shore and took to social media to confirm it with her fans.

News of her Australian tour comes after she revealed she has suffered an ectopic pregnancy after falling pregnant with Gary's child.

Taking a break: The blonde beauty will spend time in both Sydney and Melbourne during her quick trip to Australia, but most of the details of her trip have been kept under wraps

In an emotional interview with Heat magazine  which has now been revealed in a video  she confessed it happened while he was away filming Ex On The Beach, and that she was rushed to hospital for an operation.

Charlotte had been filming Geordie Shore: Big Birthday Battle at the time and said she wasn't even aware she was pregnant at first, putting the pain down to a heavy period.

'I didn't know what the hell was going on and I was in so much pain,' she explained. 'Then the X-ray showed how much damage had been caused.'

Because I'd left it a week, it'd torn open my fallopian tube and I was bleeding internally. He [the doctor] said: "If you'd have left it any longer, you could have died."'

She called the ordeal a difficult personal time that she chose to share with her fans.
She recently collected the Inspiration gong at the Glamour Women Of The Year awards.

And it was a whirlwind trip to London for Susan Sarandon, 69, who immediately jetted off to Italy to attend the 62nd annual Taormina Film Festival.

The legendary actress opted for a shopping break in the stunning hilltop town as she visited a series of high end Italian boutiques.

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Eternal fashionista: Susan Sarandon, 69, enjoyed a shopping break as she attended the 62nd annual Taormina Film Fest in Taormina, Italy on Saturday

Looking her sophisticated best, the ageless stunner donned a stunning cream outfit, which boasted a hefty fringed scarf- wrapped effortlessly around her.

While she stuck to the exact same colour scheme for the rest of her outfit, she spruced up the look with a pair of statement sunglasses which boded well with her signature fiery red curled tresses.

Obviously jovial as she shopped up storm, the Thelma & Louise star was all smiles as she stood inside the Falconeri store.

The talented icon obviously took her time as she later decided to give a chic suede navy jacket a whirl.

No blues here! The talented star obviously took her time in the high end store as she later decided to give a chic suede navy number a whirl

Glamorous: Looking her sophisticated best, the ageless stunner donned a stunning cream outfit

Quite the unique number, the sleeves fell just under the elbows, which worked well with the rest of angelic-inspired ensemble.

Joining her on the trip was Italian star Tiziana Rocca who opted for a more dressed down look in ripped jeans and a plain black top.

Sarandon looks like she couldn't be happier, especially as she spoke at the Glamour event to a well-heeled crowd - which included Sigourney Weaver, Kourney Kardashian and Holly Willoughby - where went on to share a few words of encouragement.

'I am inspired by women. Nobody multi tasks like women,' she said. 'We have to stop worrying about being perfect and do the best we can and have fun.'

Chic look: While she stuck to the exact same colour scheme for the rest of her outfit, she spruced up the look with a pair of statement sunnies

Keeping it different: Quite the unique number, the sleeves fell just under the elbows, which worked well with the rest of angelic-inspired ensemble

Just last month, the issue of a lack of gender equality in Hollywood was a subject that Susan tackled while in attendance at the Cannes Film Festival.

Talking at a Kering Women In Motion Talk, she was asked if her 1991 film Thelma and Louise - which was directed by Ridley Scott and co-starred Geena Davis - could be made today.

Maybe as an animation? I dont think the studios have fallen off their horse and had some kind of epiphany about women in film,' she responded.

Because after Thelma and Louise, they predicted there would be so many films starring women. That really made a lot of money. But it didnt happen.

Beauty icon: Her signature fiery red curled tresses made her stand out

Pals: Joining her on the trip was Italian star Tiziana Rocca who opted for a more dressed down look in rippled jeans and plain black top

She added that in some ways it is harder now than ever for women to get ahead in the film industry.

She explained: There are still many more male executives making these decisions. Hollywood has become more and more corporate and the kind of people making those decisions and the basis on which theyre making those decisions.

Whereas women can see a woman or a man in a leading role, I dont think its as easy for a guy to see a woman in a leading role and say Ill get behind that.

I think its a cultural thing, and thats part of what slows it down: a lack of imagination on the part of men.
She's been taking a back seat in the acting department this summer.

And Dakota Fanning was enjoying some downtime in Los Angeles on Friday, rocking a cute and casual look as she paid a visit to a friend.

The 22-year-old Hollywood starlet was sporting a new look for the occasion, donning a pair of clear-rimmed, retro glasses.

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Cute and casual: Dakota Fanning was enjoying some downtime in Los Angeles on Friday, donning a pair of clear-rimmed, retro glasses

Dakota highlighted her slim figure in a fashionable bardot top, revealing her flat stomach in the frilled cream garment.

She teamed her summery attire with a matching below-the-knee skirt, looking effortlessly chic in her matching separates.

The actress was seen putting on a pair of red mules as she hopped out of the driver's seat.

On trend: Dakota highlighted her slim figure in a fashionable bardot top, revealing her flat stomach in the frilled cream garment

New look: The 22-year-old Hollywood starlet was sporting a new look for the occasion, donning a pair of clear-rimmed, retro glasses

Funky style: She teamed her summery attire with a matching below-the-knee skirt, looking effortlessly chic in her matching separates

Dakota forewent make-up for her day out and wore her blonde locks down in natural waves, showcasing her natural beauty.

The screen star has been spending the summer at home while her sister Elle, 18, has been hitting the promotional trail for her new film, Neon Demon.

Nevertheless, Dakota has a whopping four projects on the go this year.

Fashionable from head-to-toe: The actress was seen putting on a pair of red mules as she hopped out of the driver's seat

Laid-back look: Dakota forewent make-up for her day out and wore her blonde locks down in natural waves, showcasing her natural beauty

She will next be seen in Ewan McGregor's directorial debut, crime drama American Pastoral, in which she co-stars opposite the actor, due out October 28.

And she recently completed filming on punk band roadie movie Viena And The Fantomes; dramedy Please Stand By, starring as a runaway autistic writer opposite Alice Eve and Helen Hunt; and Western thriller Brimstone, set in the 1800s.

All have yet to set release dates.

Dakota has also been busy at NYU's Gallatin, where she's doing an independent studies course concentrating on a timely subject: women in film.

Runs in the family: The screen star has been spending the summer at home while her sister Elle, 18, has been hitting the promotional trail for her new film, Neon Demon
Hes never been afraid to experiment with his style.

And Boy George, real name George Alan O'Dowd, did just that when he took to the Sydney stage in a daring monochrome ensemble on Saturday evening.

The 54-year-old belted out the bands well-known hits, including Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, in an over-sized blazer teamed with matching trousers, both emblazoned with the kisses and hugs symbol all over them.

Hugs and kisses! Boy George stole the show in a dazzling monchrome suit and over-sized hat as Culture Club continued their Australian tour, taking to the stage in Sydney

Boy George flaunted his figure in a button-up shirt and completed his quirky ensemble with an over-sized hat placed firmly on his head.

The crooner seemed to enjoy his return to the spotlight as he joined original band members Roy Hay, Mikey Craig and Jon Moss for the concert.

The new wave band also performed a range of new songs, including the track More than Silence from their upcoming album Tribes.

Eye-catchy: Boy George flaunted his figure in a button-up shirt and completed his quirky ensemble with an over-sized hat placed firmly on his head

Upbeat tunes: The new wave band also performed a range of new songs, including the track More than Silence from their upcoming album Tribes

The British band are currently in the middle of their first Australian tour in over 15 years, and their Sydney show was well-received by fans on social media.

Twitter user said: Ok.. Boy George is cooler now than he was in the 80's.'

Before the concert another excitedly tweeted: Waiting to see boygeorge @ Horden Pavilion', adding the hash-tag 'happy little Vegemite'.

The group originally announced they were playing major venues across Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne - missing out Adelaide, as well as Hobart and Darwin.

Back in action: The British band are currently in the middle of their first Australian tour in over 15 years, and their Sydney show was well-received by fans on social media

Can't wait: Fans of Culture took to social media to tweet about their excitement before the show

Praises: During the Sydney concert, followers of the band took to Twitter to praise the band on their performance

However, after a public outcry which saw fans express their disappointment on social media, Culture Club confirmed they had expanded their world tour.

The group, formed in London in 1981, last toured Australia in 2001 and there are reports this may be the final time the band perform Down Under.

Culture Club rose to fame in the early 80s after releasing their hit single Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, which earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist the following year.

Their signature track Karma Chameleon, from their second album Colour by Numbers, sold over 1.5million copies, making it their most successful hit to date.

The band first split in 1986 but have since reformed for several tours. They have sold a combined 50 million records across the globe.
A casually-clad Jamie Bell was spotted leaving West Hollywood hotspot Chateau Marmont on Friday.

The 30-year-old SAG Award nominee - who was glued to his iPhone - 'has held informal chats with producers' about becoming the eighth man to portray 007 in the 25th James Bond film.

Casting the 5ft7in Englishman will be entirely up to Barbara Broccoli, who's worked on every film in the popular action franchise since The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977.

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T-shirt and jeans kind of man: A casually-clad Jamie Bell was spotted leaving West Hollywood hotspot Chateau Marmont on Friday

Too short to play Bond? The 30-year-old SAG Award nominee 'has held informal chats with producers' about becoming the eighth man to portray 007 in the 25th James Bond film

'Barbara has been a fan of Jamie for a long time and has even thought about him playing another role in the franchise before,' a source told The Sun two weeks ago.

'Everyone remembers Jamie as the little boy in Billy Elliott, but he's now bulked up and got some serious roles under his belt...Jamie has really shown that he is definitely up there competing with them.'

Eton-educated Tom Hiddleston and the 'hot' Hobbit Aidan Turner 'are still in the frame' while 6ft3in Londoner Idris Elba would still be the most modern, exciting choice.

'It feels like Im campaigning, and Im not,' the 43-year-old Golden Globe winner groaned to Telegraph in December. 'At first it was harmless - oh, I know, wouldn't it be great? - and now it's started off racial debates. I'm probably the most famous Bond actor in the world, and I've not even played the role. Enough is enough. I can't talk about it any more.'

Daniel Craig would rather 'slit his wrists': Casting the 5ft7in Englishman will be entirely up to Barbara Broccoli, who's worked on every film in the popular action franchise since The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977

A source told The Sun two weeks ago: 'Barbara has been a fan of Jamie for a long time and has even thought about him playing another role in the franchise before'

'It's started off racial debates': Eton-educated Tom Hiddleston and the 'hot' Hobbit Aidan Turner 'are still in the frame' while 6ft3in Londoner Idris Elba would still be the most modern, exciting choice

'It's Bond. Jane Bond. Thanks for all the votes!' Some fans have been rallying for The Fall and West End darling Gillian Anderson, and she delightfully retweeted a mocked-up movie poster

Some fans have been rallying for The Fall and West End darling Gillian Anderson, and she delightfully retweeted a mocked-up movie poster.

'It's Bond. Jane Bond. Thanks for all the votes!' wrote the 47-year-old Golden Globe winner. '(And sorry, don't know who made poster but I love it!) #NextBond.'

Meanwhile, Bell stars as American Revolutionary soldier Abraham Woodhull in the 10-episode third season of TURN: Washington's Spies, which airs Mondays on AMC.

Jamie - born Andrew - will soon celebrate the third birthday of his son with ex-wife Evan Rachel Wood, and he's currently romancing his Fantastic Four co-star Kate Mara.

Beanie hat in 1777? Meanwhile, Bell stars as American Revolutionary soldier Abraham Woodhull in the 10-episode third season of TURN: Washington's Spies, which airs Mondays on AMC
He's the youngest of three genetically blessed males in a very tight-knit family.

And Liam Hemsworth, 26, revealed in an interview with Sunday Style magazine that it was his older brother, Chris Hemsworth that opened him up to a world of swear words.

The 26-year-old actor told the publication: 'He gave me a Blink-182 album and said, "Dont tell Mum."'

'Don't tell mum': Liam Hemsworth, 26, revealed in a recent interview it was his older brother, Chris Hemsworth that opened him up to a world of swear words and corrupted him

Liam cheekily added: 'All I knew was the whole album was "s*** this", "eff that" non-stop. I learnt all my good words from that album.'

It was the bands Enema Of The State album, that featured adult film star and exotic dancer Janine Lindemulder dressed as a nurse on the cover.

The Hunger Games actor leaned a lot growing up in his close-knit family on Phillip Island in Victoria, and explained that it was his mother Leonie, who taught the boys about sex.

Passing on his knowledge? The 26-year-old actor told the publication he learned a lot of swear words from the Blink 182 album given to him by his now 32-year-old brother

Family time: The actor told the publication that his mother taught a personal development class which covered sex and tried out her teachings on him, Chris and their eldest brother Luke (Pictured with their father Craig, left, in October 2015)

Liam told the publication that his mother taught a personal development class which covered sex education and tried out her teachings on him, Chris and their eldest brother Luke.

' She did this exercise where she handed out different cards with STDs. She picked me first, "What have you got, Liam?" "I've got chlamydia!"' he recalled laughing.

The Hollywood star went on to tell the publication that he enjoys going home to see his childhood friends because they don't care about the superstar he has become.

How awkward: The Hollywood star explained that his mother did an exercise with flashcards that featured different STD's on them (Pictured March 2012)

It's in their genes: The genetically blessed trio have all dipped their toes into the world of acting and are very supportive of one another and what they have achieved (Pictured July 2015)

As for his brothers, the trio have all dipped their toes into the world of acting and are very supportive of one another.

Eldest brother Luke, 35, paved the way landing a role in Neighbours while Chris went along the same path in Home And Away, before cementing his career as the God of Thunder in the successful Thor franchise.

Most recently Liam starred in Independence Day: Resurgence, playing the fighter-pilot son of victims killed in the original alien attack.

Independence Day: Resurgence is set to hit Australian cinemas later this month.
They wed in a lavish ceremony in tropical Hayman Island in 2014.

But it appears the honeymoon isn't over for My Kitchen Rules (MKR) stars Gianni Romano and his wife Zana Pali, who looked more loved-up than ever in a short video posted to Instagram on Saturday.

In the sweet two-second film, Gianni is seen planting a big wet kiss on Zana's cheek, while wrapping his sun-kissed arms around her waist.

Loved-up: My Kitchen Rules stars Zana Pali and her husband Gianni Romano packed on the PDA in a post to Instagram on Saturday, ahead of a romantic night out on the town

The beaming 25-year-old was all gooey eyed at the sign of affection and tilted her head back to receive the smooch.

'Out with this cutie tonight,' Zana simply captioned the adorable upload.

The sassy reality star looked incredible in a graphic floral print dress, while leaving her long brunette tresses out and straight for a night on the town.

Kisses: In the sweet two-second film, Gianni is seen planting a big wet kiss on Zana's cheek, while wrapping his sun-kissed arms around her waist

Bliss: The reality TV couple wed in a lavish ceremony in tropical Hayman Island in 2014

She opted for a natural palette of make-up to let her natural beauty shine through and looked to be in good spirits as she patted her hubby's hand in response to his amorous gesture.

Meanwhile, Gianni kept warm in a brown leather jacket and style his raven tresses into a neat but stylish do.

The high flying lawyers from Brisbane competed on the latest series of MKR, but failed to impress judges with their Balkan inspired dishes during the semi-finals round.

Flawed attempt: The high flying lawyers from Brisbane competed on the latest series MKR but failed to impress judges with their Balkan inspired dishes during the semi-finals

Despite failing to take top spot in the cooking competition, Zana thanked the judges and fellow competitors for their time on the show.

'We've loved working hard and we've learnt so much. MKR has all been about our family, our true traditional recipes,' she said.

'You cannot put money on what we have learnt and how we've improved. It's priceless. It's the best experience of our lives.'

But reality TV isn't over for the self obsessed cooks.

Praises: Despite failing to take top spot in the cooking competition, Zana thanked the judges and fellow competitors for their time on the reality cooking series

Zana confessed to the Courier Mail that she had dreams of appearing on Dancing With The Stars and had even turned down an offer to appear on Seven's new series Cannonball as a result.

'I don't think it is the right fit for me,' she asserted, referring to the water-based competition series that sees couples plummeting down gigantic water slides and flying through the air.

The outspoken brunette added: 'I think Dancing With The Stars would be good.'

If Zana does make her way into the dancing series, she will follow in the footsteps of fellow MKR villain Ash Pollard, whose career sky rocketed after she made it to the finals of the show last year.

Former MKR star Sophia Pou also competed on the show in 2013.
Most people like to have a lie-in on the weekend, but Naomi Watts was up bright and early on Saturday.

The 47-year-old spent her day helping her sons Alexander (known as Sasha) and Samuel run a lemonade stand with their friends.

Naomi was spotted serving cups of freshly squeezed lemonade, homemade muffins and fruit to passersby in New York City.

Anyone for lemonade?: Naomi Watts spent her Saturday helping her children run a lemonade stand

A sign featuring cute drawings revealed that the youngsters were selling the drinks and muffins for a dollar each.

Naomi shared a photo to Instagram which showed the children gathered together around the stand, which she captioned simply '#lemonade'.

Earlier in the day, the actress had been seen heading to a market with her eldest son and one of his friends.

Naomi was dressed down for the outing in a black blazer over a matching tank Z Supply top, along with grey rolled up Volcom sweatpants and black trainers.

Happy to help: The actress was spotted serving cups of freshly squeezed lemonade, homemade muffins and fruit to passersby in New York City

Sweet tooth: Naomi couldn't resist tucking into a muffin, which the youngsters were selling for a dollar each

Her boys: The 47-year-old is mom to Alexander Pete, known as Sasha (L), eight, and seven-year-old Samuel Kai

'#lemonade': Naomi shared a sweet picture of the boys and their friends manning the cute stand

The star went make-up free under her large sunglasses and pulled her blonde hair into a fuss-free ponytail.

Naomi looked in good spirits and flashed a smile as she crossed the street with a large red shopping trolley full of goodies.

Sasha and one of his friends were helping out too by carrying some bags and a large floral arrangement.

When life hands you lemons: They decorated the stand with lots of drawings, some of which seemed to have been done by the Birdman star

Protecting her porcelain skin: Naomi wore a wide-brim hat to shield her fair skin from the harsh rays of the sun

Catching up: The mother-of-two was seen chatting a way with a friend while the children were off playing

The previous day, Naomi was spotted treating the eight-year-old and his little brother Samuel, seven, to ice cream after school.

The Birdman star has been in a relationship with the boys' father Liev Schreiber since 2005, and previously dated the late Heath Ledger.

Naomi is making the most of time with her family in between filming for The Glass Castle.

Last week, she shared a photo to Instagram from the set of the drama alongside her on-screen daughter Brie Larson.

Setting up: Naomi wore some white slip-on Vans sneakers as she dashed around at the event

Up bright and early: Early that morning, the blonde and her son Sasha headed to the market

Fuss-free: Naomi was dressed down for the outing in a black blazer over a matching tank Z Supply top, along with grey rolled up Volcom sweatpants and black trainers

Naomi has several other projects in the works, and is appearing opposite her longtime love Liev in the movie The Bleeder, about the life of Chuck Wepner, which is due out later this year.

The mother-of-two is also starring as therapist Jean Holloway in upcoming thriller series Gypsy, and will play Gertrude in a film about Hamlet's Ophelia, with Daisy Ridley in the titular role.

In addition, Naomi has roles in the Twin Peaks reboot, drama The Book Of Henry, animated musical comedy Larrikins, and will be reprising her role as Evelyn in the fourth Divergent film, Ascendant.

Natural beauty: The 47-year-old went make-up free under her sunglasses and pulled her blonde hair into a ponytail

Helping hand: Sasha and a friend who was joining them also carried some bags and a floral arrangement
Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini's mystery dinner date has been revealed as former beauty queen, Amy Jackson.

Cheryl's ex-husband was seen leaving the Chiltern Firehouse in London with the stunning brunette on Friday evening, a month after admitting he was romancing a new woman.

Bollywood actress Amy previously dated Coronation Street hunk Ryan Thomas, but has reportedly been enjoying spending time with Jean-Bernard after they met at Cannes Film Festival.

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New flame? He admitted last month that he has been romancing a new mystery woman but Cheryl's ex Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini seemed a little less coy about his blossoming love life as he was pictured leaving the Chiltern Firehouse in London with Amy Jackson on Friday evening

A source told The Sun: 'Amy first met JB when she was in Cannes last month, when she flew over for meetings with casting directors and producers for upcoming projects.'

They continued: 'Her publicist also works with JB on a couple of projects, so they were introduced and got on really well.

'JB had some business in London and he and Amy met up for dinner and a catch-up.'

Split: Bollywood actress Amy previously dated Coronation Street hunk Ryan Thomas. The pair dated for seven months before calling an end to their relationship in November 2014

Coy: The restaurateur hopped into a taxi with a mystery woman, who was clad rather glamorously for the occasion, just weeks after telling The Mirror: 'Im still a married man, but there is someone else'

Amy's last high-profile relationship was with soapstar Ryan, who she met at a Miss England pageant.

The pair dated for seven months before calling an end to their relationship in November 2014 after failing to make it work due to their busy work schedules.

But the pretty brunette seemed in good spirits on Friday as she hopped into a taxi with Jean-Bernard after enjoying a night out at the trendy restaurant and bar.

Just the two of us! While the 35-year-old Frenchman failed to disclose the identity of his new woman, it looks as though his female companion could be the lady in question as they left the celebrity haunt alone

The 35-year-old Frenchman's outing came just weeks after telling The Mirror: 'Im still a married man, but there is someone else.'

The gorgeous brunette looked to have pulled out all of the stops for her night out with Jean-Bernard as she hit the town in an alluring lace gown.

Her chestnut tresses cascaded around her gorgeous face in glamorous tousled waves as she sat close to the nightclub owner, who was sharp-suited for their evening jaunt.

Dressed to impress: The gorgeous brunette looked to have pulled out all of the stops for her night out with Jean-Bernard as she hit the town in an alluring lace gown

MailOnline have contacted Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini and Amy Jackson's representatives for comment.

Their outing comes shortly after Jean-Bernard revealed that he was dating somebody new following his separation from estranged wife Cheryl last October.

'Its been a tough year, Im trying to move on. Ill never think badly of her. She is a great girl,' he told The Mirror of his ex, who is currently in a relationship with One Direction's Liam Payne, 22, last month.

Stunner: The mystery brunette's chestnut tresses cascaded around her gorgeous face in glamorous tousled waves as she sat close to the nightclub owner

Dapper as always: Jean-Bernard was typically sharp-suited for their evening jaunt

Moving on: Their outing comes shortly after Jean-Bernard revealed that he was dating somebody new following his separation from estranged wife Cheryl last October

The typically private entrepreneur even opened up about how the two met, with Jean claiming that he instantly fell in love with the former Girls Aloud star and had no idea of her superstar status when they first met.

He added: 'I was having a party at my house in South Africa and she turned up, but I didn't know who she was. I always go for very beautiful women.'

Cheryl, 32, filed for divorce in January citing 'irreconcilable differences'.

Candid: 'Its been a tough year, Im trying to move on. Ill never think badly of her. She is a great girl,' he told The Mirror of his ex, who is currently in a relationship with One Direction's Liam Payne, 22, last month

Love at first sight: The entrepreneur even opened up about how the two met and claimed that he instantly fell in love with the former Girls Aloud star and had no idea of her superstar status when they first met

Finished: The handsome Frenchman and Cheryl separated in October, but are yet to finalise their divorce

The new flames have been living together in Los Angeles, though made a red carpet appearance at the Cannes Festival last month.

There were concerns that that former flames would awkwardly run-in to each other during the event as his pop-up restaurant Cosy Box had returned to its esteemed location on the French Riviera, mere yards from where the festival is taking place.

Leaving no stone unturned, Jean-Bernard also shut down recent claims that he is in a relationship with Cheryl's former friend Vanessa Perroncel, 39, as well as Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson, 48.

The businessman was first linked to the latter when he was seen putting a protective arm around her as they partied in Cannes, though Jean-Bernard claimed the two are just good friends.

He also added that he has known Vanessa for the past 10 years and is in a relationship, despite claims she had struck up a romance with the Frenchman.

Phew! There were concerns that that former flames would awkwardly run-in to each other during Cannes last month as JB's pop-up restaurant had returned to its esteemed location on the French Riviera
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It's one of the most highly anticipated films of 2017 thanks to its all-star cast, which includes big names such as Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance and even One Direction heartthrob, Harry Styles.

However, it was acclaimed actor, Kenneth Branagh who was most recently spotted on the Dunkirk set in full armed forces attire when filming for Christopher Nolan's recreation of the famous World War II evacuation on the beaches resumed on Friday.

And it appeared as though the movie was finally getting into its stride as there was a great deal of action hitting the infamous French beaches, including a number of dramatic explosions and sightings of both authentic fighter jets and ships.

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Ready for action: Kenneth Branagh was spotted on the Dunkirk set in full armed forces attire while filming on Friday

The film is based on the real life evacuation from Dunkirk, which was one of the biggest operations of the Second World War and was one of the major factors in enabling the Allies to continue fighting.

It was the largest military evacuation in history, taking place between May 27 and June 4, 1940. The evacuation, nicknamed Operation Dynamo, saw an estimated 338,000 Allied troops rescued from northern France.

This won't be the first time that Kenneth has shown off his acting prowess in a war-themed film, as he has also starred in big titles such as The Goebbels Experiment, Cold War and Fortunes Of War.

In the navy! Kenneth slotted perfectly into his role for the new movie as he donned a highly accurate 1940s navy uniform, which featured a black hat and blazer, that were adorned with gold detailing

And he appeared to slot perfectly into his role for the new movie as he donned a highly accurate 1940s navy uniform, which featured a black hat and blazer, that were adorned with gold detailing.

He also made sure to keep cosy in the coastal breeze as he layered up his costume with a cream polo neck jumper and a heavy, woolen coat that extended far down past his knees.

The film tells the story of the Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, in between 26 May and 4 June 1940 under the supervision and mastermind of Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay.

Seasoned professional: This won't be the first time that Kenneth has shown off his acting prowess in a war-themed film

Nothing can rain on their parade: Cast and crew members were seen to take shelter from the rain under an umbrella while on set

Fishing boats, ships and pleasure craft were all sent from the Kent coast to Dunkirk to rescue British and French armies as the Germans closed in on the northern coast of France.

Filming began for the Warner Bros big screen remake at the end of last month as two WWII aircrafts and two helicopters touched down at Merville-Lestrem Airport and a French T-47 Class Destroyer arrived in Normandy. They were joined by 50 extras dressed in full uniform.

A spokesman for the film said: 'Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.'

Explosive scenes! Controlled eruptions sent flares up into the sky and large billowing clouds of black smoke could be seen across the beaches

Coming at all angles: The crew made sure to cover both land and air with authentic WWII fighter jets and ships making their presence known on the set

Back on the beaches: Large numbers of army extras gathered together to film as they headed towards the tides

However, while the huge cast had regularly been pictured out in force during the filming of Dunkirk, up until now there had yet to have been any large explosions or dramatic action.

But that all changed on Saturday as controlled eruptions sent flares up into the sky and large billowing clouds of black smoke could be seen across the beaches.

And the crew made sure to cover both land and air with authentic WWII fighter jets and ships making their presence known on set.

Moody scenes: The soldiers lined up on the beaches during a dull day in Northern France to create an authentic atmosphere

Standing out from the crowd: Kenneth could clearly be seen amongst the extras in his highly accurate costume

Alongside this, large numbers of army extras gathered together to film as they headed towards the tides.

However, amongst the men were some demurely dressed female figures, who stood out from the sailors and fighting in classic tweed tailoring and pearls.

While the budget for the US blockbuster has not yet been confirmed director Christopher Nolan was previously given close to $150 million for each of his previous two big titles - The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar.

Contrast: Amongst the men were some demurely dressed female figures, who stood out from the sailors and fighting in classic tweed tailoring and pearls

Nolans latest film is the first recreation of the evacuation since the 1958 original dramatisation by the same name, starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough and Robert Urquhart.

Nolan has written the screenplay and Dunkirk has been slated for worldwide release on July 21, 2017.

It was recently announced that Hollywood heavyweights Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy and Mark Rylance would also star, as well as boyband heartthrob Harry Styles.

Movie boss Harvey Weinstein previously expressed an interest in scouting musician Harry for his film, when he toldThe Sun: 'Ive met him two or three times and he was very interested and charming. I think the guy is a movie star.

You know hes a dashing rogue  a fun-loving, spirited kind of actor that used to be in England all the time. Like David Niven or Douglas Fairbanks, hes got that vibe, he really does.

Sky's the limit: A Spitfire plane was seen to fly dramatically over the beach

Flying high: Two men carried a replica plane above their vehicle as they moved around the set
He is serving as honorary president of the 62nd Taormina Film Festival.

And Richard Gere looked beaming with pride as stunning girlfriend Alejandra Silva accompanied him to the festival opening on Saturday night.

The 66-year-old actor couldn't keep his hands off the Spanish socialite, 33, and they put on an amorous display in front of the cameras, kissing and nuzzling closely.

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Cosy display: Richard Gere couldn't keep his hands off his girlfriend Alejandra Silva on Saturday night as they turned out for the 62nd Taormina Film Fest

It's little wonder, since Alejandra was wearing a stunning black dress with a crochet detail on the bust.

The Pretty Woman actress gripped her by the middle and she nuzzled into his neck affectionately as they shared sweet nothings.

Richard picked up an award on the night, but his prize was a sweet kiss from his gorgeous girlfriend when he later returned to his seat.

Cute couple: Both dressed in black, Richard and Alejandra made a sweet duo

Cosy: She giggled as he whispered sweet nothings to her in front of the cameras

Thumbs up: Richard walked away with a prize at the opening that night

Making a speech: He took the mic to address the crowd bravely too

Richard wore a permanent, protective arm around her shoulders, smiling gleefully throughout the ceremony.

He'd hit the red carpet in a more relaxed take on formal attire, leaving his collar open in a charcoal suit.

Earlier that day, the pair took the opportunity to get out and remind themselves of the Sicilian area, while the sun was out.

His prize: He draped an arm around the beauty while seated inside at all times

Kisses: The actor was given sweet kisses by the younger socialite

Blushing: She seemed to make him blush with their amorous exchange

Delighted: They both fawned over the prize when he returned to his seat

On his arm: He seemed delighted to be joined by the pretty brunette

They locked hands while making their way into the balmy region's breathtaking Ancient Greek Amphitheatre for the film festival, where they first went public with their relationship last year.

The Pretty Woman star was clad in a relaxed look as he sauntered along the historic city streets in a partially unbuttoned white linen shirt and jeans.

His publicist girlfriend mimicked his smart casual style in a navy camisole top, which she paired with summery white jeans, a cream blazer and quirky wedged sandals.

The couple both shielded their eyes from the sunny rays beneath tinted shades, with Richard wearing a pair of photochromic lenses, prescription lenses that transition into sunglasses.

American invasion! Richard beamed with pride as he took to the streets of the Sicilian city in the company of his stunning girlfriend Alejandra on Saturday afternoon

Smitten kittens: The 66-year-old actor and the Spanish socialite, 33, put on an amorous display as they locked hands while making their way into the balmy region's breathtaking Ancient Greek Amphitheatre

Laid-back: The Pretty Woman star was clad in a relaxed look as he sauntered along the historic city streets in a partially unbuttoned white linen shirt and jeans

The Sicilian region no doubt holds a special place in the hearts of the loved-up twosome as it where they first revealed their relationship last June, when they attended the 61st Annual Taormina Film Festival.

It's believed the duo were seeing one another for at least a year before going public with their romance at the event.

Little is known of the mother-of-one other than that she is known to mingle with Spanish aristocracy.

Having attended Leweston School in Dorset, UK, Alejandra is described in local press as a regular among Madrid's glitterati.

Chic: Richard's publicist girlfriend mimicked his smart casual style in a navy camisole top, which she paired with summery white jeans, a cream blazer and quirky wedged sandals

Memories: The Sicilian region no doubt holds a special place in the hearts of the loved-up twosome as it where they first revealed their relationship last June

She is reported as being the estranged wife of Govind Friedland, the son of American mining magnate Robert Friedland. Together the pair have a young son, Albert.

Richard announced he was divorcing wife Carey Lowell after 11 years of marriage in September 2013, though the two are yet to finalise their divorce.

Meanwhile, Richard's turn as honorary president at the annual film festival sees him follow in the footsteps of a number of big names in international cinema, including Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Audrey Hepburn and Tom Cruise.

Other stars expected to join the Runaway Bride actor as this year's event are American actress Susan Sarandon and Italian director Marco Bellocchio.

In good company: Richard's turn as honorary president at the annual film festival sees him follow in the footsteps of Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Robert De Niro

Worthwhile cause: The opening night of the film festival, which is set to run June 11-18, will be dedicated to eradicating homelessness, which the humanitarian activist has been a strong proponent for in recent years

Under the radar: Little is known of mother-of-one Alejandra other than that she is known to mingle with Spanish aristocracy

The opening night of the film festival, which is set to run June 11-18, will be dedicated to eradicating homelessness, which the humanitarian activist has been a strong proponent for in recent years.

Richard has been advocating on the issue of homelessness in particular for years and portrayed a homeless man in 2014s Time Out of Mind.

The actor will preside over the opening ceremonies with U.S. Ambassador to Italy John Phillips.

The proceedings will see 300 homeless people from surrounding regions in Sicily fill the Ancient Greek Amphitheater.

Private: Alejandra is reported as being the estranged wife of Govind Friedland, the son of American mining magnate Robert Friedland. Together the pair have a young son, Albert

Passionate: Richard has been advocating on the issue of homelessness in particular for years and portrayed a homeless man in 2014s Time Out of Mind
She's known for her unique personality and wild sense of style.

But Miley Cyrus kept it pretty tame as she was spotted arriving at JFK airport in New York City on Friday.

The 23-year-old kept comfortable in a fitted, black crew neck sweatshirt as she shuffled solo through the airport.

Cozy: Miley Cyrus kept comfortable in a black, crew neck sweatshirt and coordinating leggings as she was spotted arriving at JFK airport in New York City on Friday

Miley's eye-catching sweatshirt was embellished with a brightly colored rainbow, under which it read: 'ONE LOVE.'

She coupled the cheery sweatshirt with a pair of skintight, black leggings that showed off her toned pins.

The former Disney Channel star also wore a pair of coordinating, black socks, which she coupled with black and orange Adidas slip-on sandals.

The hitmaker accessorized with a trendy, black choker necklace, also sporting her famous engagement ring from fiance Liam Hemsworth, who she recently reunited with.

Pop of color: The crew neck featured a brightly colored rainbow and the words 'ONE LOVE,' and the star carried a patterned, black bag

She carried a colorful, black tote as well as a large water bottle and black and white flower sunglasses.

Her blonde tresses were pulled back into a messy bun, and the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus kept her make-up simple.

Miley was spotted as an interview with on-off beau Liam was published in The Daily Telegraph, in which The Hunger Games star shared that he didn't want to talk about their relationship.

Trendy: The former Disney Channel star accessorized with a stylish, black choker necklace and carried a pair of black and white flower sunglasses

'I dont go out of my way to attract that kind of attention, or feel I owe anyone a show and tell,' the 26-year-old said.

It has been claimed that the reunited couple are planning to marry on a beach in Australia this summer, according to Us Weekly.

The younger brother of Thor star Chris Hemsworth spoke with GQ Australia back in May about the couple's broken engagement from 2013, saying that it had been the right move at the time.

'Of course it was hard, man,' he told the publication, adding: 'But at the time we were going in different directions and it's just what needed to happen.'

Back on: Miley and on-off beau Liam Hemsworth are said to once again be back on as the star has been spotted wearing her engagement ring once again in recent days (pictured in 2013)

He added: 'We were both super young and it was a good decision at the time - we both needed that.'

Liam has once again been spotted out and about this year with Miley, who recently began wearing the 3.5 carat engagement ring the Independence Day: Resurgence actor gave her in 2012.

They first sparked rumors of a reconciliation in December after the Hannah Montana alum was pictured with the actor in Australia.

Regarding the current state of their relationship, Liam coyly told the magazine: 'People will figure it out, they already have...They're not dumb.'
She may be an Oscar winning actress, but Reese Witherspoon's favourite role is that of mother to her three children.

And the 40-year-old couldn't contain her delight on Saturday as she revealed that her eldest son Deacon is heading to Junior High.

Reese shared a sweet photo to Instagram which showed her cuddling the 12-year-old, along with the caption: 'Off to Jr High! Yay, Deacon! #proudmom.'

'Off to Jr. High!': Reese Witherspoon shared a sweet photo with son Deacon on Instagram on Saturday as he gears up for Junior High, and gushed that she's a 'proud mom'

Junior High typically includes seventh and eighth grades, and Deacon will then head to High School for ninth grade.

The snapshot showed the actress sporting a pretty pink dress adorned with a blue floral design, which is from her Draper James collection and retails at $225.

Reese can be seen with her bright blonde hair down, and wearing a touch of eye make-up and rosy lipstick as she wraps an arm around her son.

Meanwhile Deacon looks dapper in a beige suit with a blue shirt and red, white and blue bow tie.

Her favourite role: The 40-year-old actress, pictured here on Thursday, is mother to three children

Reese has Deacon and 16-year-old daughter Ava from her marriage to Ryan Phillippe.

The couple - who co-starred in Cruel Intentions - met at the Legally Blonde star's 21st birthday party in 1997, and they married two years later.

Reese and Ryan announced their separation in October 2006 after seven years of marriage and finalised their divorce the following year.

The beauty re-married Jim Toth in March 2011, and they share three-year-old son Tennessee together.

'Horsing around': Reese recently shared this photo with three-year-old son Tennessee while modelling pieces from her Draper James collection

Meanwhile Ryan, 41, has been dating Paulina Slagter since 2011, and has four-year-old daughter Kailani from a previous relationship with Alexis Knapp.

Reese recently completed filming on limited-run HBO mini-series Big Little Lies, which also stars Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern.

She and Nicole are additionally acting as co-producers on the series, which tells the story of what happens when the perfect lives of a group of Southern California moms start to unravel.

Big sister: The Oscar winner's eldest child is 16-year-old daughter Ava, whose father is Ryan Phillippe

Reese has several other projects in the works, and is producing an ABC pilot about a 'ruthless divorce attorney' in Dallas, which stars Anna Paquin and Grey's Anatomy's T.R. Knight.

The mother-of-three is also playing Tinker Bell in a live-action Disney movie and will star in Paul Feig's Wish List, about a woman in her thirties whose life takes a turn when a coin she threw into a magic fountain as a child reaches the bottom.

She will additionally appear opposite Matt Damon, Jason Sudeikis, Alec Baldwin and Neil Patrick Harris in 2017 social satire Downsizing, and voices a character in upcoming animated movie Sing.
Paris Jackson showed off her a tattoo - her 22nd - on Saturday.

The daughter of late pop star Michael Jackson showed off her new inking in a photo she posted to Instagram on Saturday.

The 18-year-old smiled as she poses with 26-year-old boyfriend Michael Snoddy and tattoo artist Brandy Hollowell in the image.

New tattoo: Paris Jackson showed off her new tattoo, her 22nd, as she posed with boyfriend Micheal Snoddy and tattoo artist Brandy Hollowell on Instagram on Saturday

'Grooviest tattoo artist in VA!' Paris captioned the snap, which showed her wearing a black Tshirt over a red lace bra.

The vivid new inking on her inner arm shows a snake coiled around a sword with a skull on top.

The new tattoo appeared to have been done while the couple were visiting Michael's home state of Virginia last weekend.

Tattoo artist Brandy also posted a close-up photo of the colorful tattoo on Instagram on Friday.

'Special tattoo on an awesome lady,' she wrote.

'Special lady:' Tattoo artist Brandy shared this close-up of the inking, showing a snake coiled around a sword

'@parisjackson thank you a million times over for trusting me! :)'

Also on Saturday, Paris shared a loved-up snap of her and drummer Michael sharing a kiss at a Los Angeles Pride event this weekend.

'Rad time tonight!' she captioned the photos, adding some heart emojis.

Michael also posted a snap of Paris smiling as he licked her face at the gay pride event, which his band Street Drum Corps performed at.

Night out: Paris also posted a snap of her kissing 26-year-old Michael as they celebrated LA Pride on Friday

Going strong: The drummer licked Paris' face in another snap he posted to Instagram Saturday

The 18-year-old wears a lacy black top under a jean vest jacket as the couple hung out with friends at LA Pride.

The pair have been dating since earlier this year, after Paris split from ex-boyfriend Chester Castellaw in December.

Earlier this week, Paris shared two sweet selfies of the loved-up couple.

All smiles: Paris shared some sweet selfies of the couple earlier this week, calling Michael her 'best friend'

'Best friend that's my best friend,' she wrote.

The teenager stuck out her tongue and revealed her tongue piercing in one of the snaps.

And she posted a sweet photo of the pair kissing last weekend as they visited Virginia, where she had the new tattoo inked.

Vacation: The daughter of Michael Jackson gave her boyfriend a kiss as they visited his home state of Virginia last weekend, where she got her new inking

Paris's new inking comes after she recently got another tattoo tribute to her late father, in the form of a depiction of the cover of the King of Pop's 1989 multii-platinum album Dangerous.

''The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation.'' Never forget your roots, and always be proud of where you came from,' she captioned the image.

Paris also has 'Queen of My Heart' inked in Michael's handwriting across her wrist.

Proud of her roots: The teenager recently got a tattoo of her late father Michael Jackson's album Dangerous on her inner arm

Daddy's girl: Paris also had 'Queen of My Heart' inked in Michael's handwriting inked across her wrist

She got the inking soon after turning 18 and revealed on Instagram at the time: 'To everyone else he was the King of Pop. To me, well, he was the king of my heart.'

The teen also got a tattoo tribute to grandmother Katherine Jackson two months ago.

That inking is the Chinese translation of Katherine with a large lotus flower.

'Kaiselin" for Grandma Katherine, done by the ink goddess herself @thetattooprincess,' wrote Paris.

'Love you, G-Ma.'
Matt Sinclair has revealed that he made the tough decision to put his honeymoon on hold so he could compete on MasterChef Australia.

The coffee roaster, who lives in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, said he has not been able to see his new wife Jess in two months because the contestants are separated from their loved ones.

He told the Herald Sun that he had planned a big surprise honeymoon for Jess, but it was 'thrown out the window' when he was asked to appear on the cooking show shortly after their wedding.

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Bittersweet: Matt Sinclair has revealed that he made the tough decision to put his honeymoon with his wife Jess (pictured together) on hold so he could compete on MasterChef Australia

'I said to Jess 'what do you think about it?' She said 'it may never come around again so while it's here you have to grab it,' Matt said.

'That was a big call (on her part). She has been very supportive.'

The 27-year-old said they would start planning the delayed honeymoon again after his time in the competition came to an end.

Fan favourite: The 27-year-old said they would start planning the delayed honeymoon again after his time in the competition came to an end

Newlyweds: The coffee roaster, who lives in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, said he has not been able to see his new wife Jess in two months because the contestants are separated from their loved ones

'There is definitely an IOU there, for sure,' he joked.

The couple tied the knot in 2015 after meeting while they were both working in the hospitality industry in Queensland.

Jess said she has found it 'difficult' being apart because she has to made do with two short phone calls a week and the occasional letter.

'It's a dream come true for Matt but, for me, it is bittersweet,' Jess said. 'He's not home for what has been a long time now. I've found it difficult at times.'

Talented: He was praised by the domestic goddess when he presented her a carrot cake with candied walnuts

She told the publication that they were able to sacrifice the extra income and time because they do not have any children yet.

The risky move seems to be paying off as Matt has caught the attention of guest judges Nigella Lawson and Marco Pierre White.

He was praised by the domestic goddess when he presented her a carrot cake with candied walnuts.

'It is everything a home-baked cake should be,' she told him.

'A little bit messy, things are spilling out around the middle where the top is squished onto the bottom, that pile-up of golden crumb and nuts.

'It looks generous and it makes you want to feed someone and make them happy. I love that.'

He has made it to the final 13 and he is a firm fan favourite.
Philippines' Duterte does not endorse summary killings: spokesman

Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte does not endorse extrajudicial killings, his spokesman said Saturday after scathing criticism from the UN chief over his plans for thousands of people to die in an unprecedented war on crime.

Duterte won last month's elections by a landslide largely due to an explosive law-and-order platform in which he pledged to end crime within six months by killing tens of thousands of suspected criminals.

He has since offered large bounties to security forces as well as the general public to kill drug traffickers.

Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte does not endorse extrajudicial killings, his spokesman says, after scathing criticism from the UN chief over his plans for thousands of people to die in an unprecedented war on crime Manman Dejeto (AFP)

However his spokesman insisted Saturday Duterte did not support extrajudicial killings.

"The president-elect has not endorsed -- cannot -- and will never endorse extrajudicial killings, they being contrary to law," Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

"He does not condone the killing of journalists nor any citizen for that matter, regardless of its purpose."

Panelo said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon believed "incorrect news reports" when he condemned Duterte's apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killings.

Ban said in a speech in New York on Wednesday that he was "extremely disturbed" by Duterte's remarks, voicing particular concern over his comments seen as justifying killing journalists.

Duterte, who takes office on June 30, told reporters last week that journalists who took bribes or engaged in other corrupt activities were legitimate targets of assassination.

"Just because you're a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you're a son of a bitch," he said.

Duterte cited the case of Jun Pala, a journalist and politician whose 2003 murder, like those of scores of other journalists killed in the Philippines, has never been solved.

"I do not want to diminish his memory but he was a rotten son of a bitch. He deserved it," Duterte said.

His comments sparked outrage from local and foreign media groups warning that his rhetoric could incite more murders in one of the world's most dangerous nations for reporters.

One of the deadliest attacks against journalists happened in the Philippines in 2009, when 32 journalists were among 58 people killed by a warlord clan bent on stopping a rival's election challenge.

More than 100 people are on trial for the massacre, including many members of the Ampatuan family accused of orchestrating it. Panelo was the Ampatuans' defence lawyer until last year.
3,000 arrested in Bangladesh as PM vows to catch killers

Bangladesh police have arrested more than 3,000 people in a sweeping nationwide crackdown following a spate of gruesome murders, they said Saturday, as the prime minister vowed to catch "each and every killer".

Those detained include 37 suspected Islamist militants and hundreds of potential criminals who previously had warrants out against them, as well as several hundred ordinary arrests, police said.

Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of brutal killings that have spiked in recent weeks, with religious minorities, secular thinkers and liberal activists the chief targets.

Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of murders of secular and liberal activists and religious minorities that have left more than 40 people dead in the last three years Munir Uz Zaman (AFP)

"We have arrested 3,155 people including 37 Islamist militants as part of the special drive over the last 24 hours," A.K.M Shahidur Rahman, deputy police inspector general told AFP.

"The militants included 27 members of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)," he said.

The JMB is one of the main domestic militant outfits blamed by the government, which rejects claims from Islamic State group and a South Asian branch of Al-Qaeda that they are behind the killings.

The country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told a meeting of her ruling Awami League party Saturday that police would stamp out the violence.

"It may take time, but God willing, we will be able to bring them under control," Hasina told a meeting of her ruling Awami League party on Saturday.

"Where will the criminals hide? Each and every killer will be brought to book as we did after the 2015 mayhem," she said, referring to a deadly transport blockade last year organised by opposition parties.

However, Bangladesh opposition parties immediately accused the police of using the crackdown to suppress political dissent.

"Hundreds of opposition activists have been arrested in the police drive," Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told AFP.

"In the name of the crackdown against Islamist militants, many ordinary and innocent people are being detained."

Hasina has accused the BNP and the country's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, of orchestrating the attacks after they failed to topple the government in last year's transport blockade.

- JMB arrests -

Police detained some 350 people in the country's second-largest city of Chittagong and its surrounding areas.

They include one suspect in the murder of Mahmuda Begum, the wife of a top anti-terror police officer who was fatally stabbed and shot last weekend.

Her husband had led several high-profile operations against the JMB in Chittagong and her killing prompted the police to vow to catch her killers.

"We suspect Shahjahan Robin as the prime offender in the murder of (anti-terror officer) Babul Akter's wife," Chittagong police chief Iqbal Bahar told AFP.

In recent days an elderly Hindu priest was found nearly decapitated in a rice field, while a Christian grocer was hacked to death near a church, with Islamic State group claiming responsibility for the killings.

A Hindu monastery worker was found hacked to death Friday in the northwestern district of Pabna.

Police have targeted domestic militant outfits, however, specifically the JMB, with five members of the group shot dead in gunbattles this week.

Nine members of the JMB were arrested in Rajshahi, Shariful Islam, a police inspector in the northwestern district said Saturday.

Several attacks have occurred in the district including the killing of a liberal professor in April.

As well as the arrests, police said they had seized nearly 1,000 motorcycles across the country.

Motorbikes have been used in many of the attacks, with the government recently announcing a ban on motorcyclists carrying more than one passenger.
Israel razes home of Palestinian teen for settler's murder

Israel's army destroyed on Saturday the home of a Palestinian teenager accused of stabbing a Jewish woman to death at her home in a West Bank settlement.

The demolition took place in the West Bank village of Beit Amra, with bulldozers flattening an entire building as family members looked on, according to an AFP photographer.

The murder in January of Dafna Meir, a 38-year-old nurse and mother of six, provoked fierce reaction among Israelis and prompted a personal vow from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the assailant's house would be razed.

Israeli soldiers are seen at one of the entrances of the Palestinian village of Yatta in the occupied West Bank on June 9, 2016 Hazem Bader (AFP/File)

Israeli forces arrested 15-year-old Palestinian suspect Murad Ideis in a raid on his family home days after the attack.

Israel regularly demolishes the homes of alleged attackers in what it describes as a deterrent. Rights groups say it amounts to collective punishment, with families forced to suffer for the acts of relatives.

The army said Saturday's demolition was carried out without incident.

It also said it had made preparations for the destruction of the nearby homes of two Palestinians accused of shooting and killing four Israelis at a Tel Aviv nightspot on Wednesday in the deadliest attack in a months-long wave of violence.

Cousins Khaled Mohammad Makhamrah, 22, Mohammad Ahmad Makhamrah, 21, are both from the town of Yatta, around one kilometre (0.6 miles) east of Beit Amra.

Wednesday's attack, which also wounded five bystanders, has prompted a range of measures from Israel, including a decision to temporarily bar entry for all Palestinians.

Violence since October has killed at least 207 Palestinians, 32 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

Most of the Palestinians were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, Israeli authorities say.
Shabaab says it executed six 'spies' in Somalia

Shabaab jihadists in Somalia have publicly executed six men they accused of spying, including one they claimed helped kill their supreme leader in a US drone strike, the Al-Qaeda-linked group and local sources said Saturday.

Four of the executions took place Friday evening in the village of Bulofay, in the Bay region in the southwest of the country, the sources said.

Three of the men were shot by firing squad while the fourth, accused of helping the United States to kill Shabaab leader Ahmed Godane in September 2014, was decapitated.

Soldiers of the Kenyan Contingent serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) stand guard on a street in the centre of the southern Somali port city of Kismayo on October 5, 2012 Stuart Price (AU-UN IST/AFP/File)

"The Islamic court in the Bay and Bakool regions carried out" the executions of "four spies who worked for the US and Kenyan Intelligence Agencies," the group said in a statement on a pro-Shabaab website.

"Mohamed Adan Nur Hassan, one of the spies, was responsible for the airstrike that killed" Godane.

Two Kenyans were also executed on Friday in the Jubbada Dhexe region, also in the southwest, for allegedly helping to kill Shabaab leaders in Kenya, the group said in a separate statement.

It said one of them was accused of collaborating with Kenyan, British, US and Israeli intelligence services, while the other only with Kenya's secret service.

The Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011 but continues to carry out attacks on military, political and civilian targets aimed at undermining the internationally-backed Somali government.

In recent months they have claimed attacks on bases of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Nine die in South Africa fire tragedy

Nine people including three children died on Saturday in a house fire in the South African city of Cape Town, a spokeswoman for local firefighters said.

"A house fire broke broke out before nine (am) this morning," Liezl Moodie told AFP, saying three of the dead were minors, including an infant.

Earlier she had told AFP that eight had died, but said one more death had been reported.

Mitchells Plain is one of South Africa's largest townships Gianluigi Guercia (AFP/File)

"Now there are nine people deceased," she said without details on the ninth death, but saying four remain in hospital with serious injuries.

The cause of the blaze in Mitchells Plein, one of the country's largest townships, was not immediately clear.
IS fighters kill six Afghan police: officials

Islamic State fighters stormed a police base in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, killing at least six officials in a pre-dawn attack, months after the government claimed to have defeated the group.

The attack in Haska Mina district in Nangarhar, bordering Pakistan, comes a day after three worshippers were killed and 70 others wounded in a bombing inside a mosque during Friday prayers in the restive province.

"The district police chief Shah Mahmood was martyred along with five other policemen" in Saturday's attack, Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for Nangarhar's governor told AFP.

IS fighters are making inroads into Afghanistan, winning over sympathisers, recruiting followers and challenging the Taliban on their own turf, primarily in the country's east Noorullah Shirzada (AFP/File)

"Eleven Daesh fighters were also killed and seven others were wounded," he added, using the Arabic acronym for the group.

IS fighters are making inroads into Afghanistan, winning over sympathisers, recruiting followers and challenging the Taliban on their own turf, primarily in the country's east.

But in March Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced that the Islamists had been defeated after local security forces claimed victory in a months-long operation against the group.

The group also intermittently airs propaganda through a mobile radio station, which the government claimed to have destroyed in an air strike in February.

Militant strikes have recently increased in Nangarhar. Those killed during Friday prayers in Nangarhar's Rodat district included the prayer leader and a child, officials said.

"An attack deliberately targeting civilian members of a community praying together in a mosque can never be justified and highlights the perpetrators' intent to destroy lives, and spread terror among the civilian population," the UN said in a statement.

The Taliban, which is in a much stronger position than IS in Afghanistan, distanced itself from the attack and no other group has so far claimed responsibility.
Prominent opposition activist leaves Bahrain after release

Bahraini Shiite opposition activist Zainab al-Khawaja, who was released from jail this week on "humanitarian" grounds, announced Saturday that she has left the country.

"It pains me to leave, but I leave carrying our cause on my back, and my love for my country in my chest," Khawaja, who left for Denmark where she also holds nationality, said on Twitter.

Her sister Maryam, likewise on Twitter, said Zainab left on Monday with her children after having received undisclosed threats.

Bahraini human rights activist had been held in prison with her toddler son since March after being convicted of insulting King Hamad by ripping up a picture of him Mohammed Al-Shaikh (AFP/File)

Bahraini authorities said they released Khawaja, who had been held in prison with her toddler son since March, on May 31 because of her "humanitarian situation".

The Shiite mother had been convicted of insulting King Hamad by ripping up a picture of him, and she had chosen to keep her 17-month-old son with her in jail.

Judicial authorities ordered "the suspension of the sentence" for Khawaja.

She is the daughter of prominent rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is serving a life sentence for plotting to overthrow the Sunni regime.
Dutch woman held in Qatar after making rape complaint

A 22-year-old Dutch woman is being held in Qatar on suspicion of adultery after she said she was raped while on holiday there, her lawyer told AFP on Saturday.

The woman says she was drugged in a hotel, and that she realised she had been raped when she woke up in an unfamiliar apartment.

"She was arrested in March on suspicion of adultery, which means having sex outside marriage," which is outlawed in Qatar, lawyer Brian Lokollo said.

A 22-year-old Dutch woman is being held in Qatar on suspicion of adultery after she said she was raped while on holiday there Patrick Baz (AFP/File)

"She has nightmares, and is anxious and traumatised," he said.

"Depending on the day, she is very afraid, or very angry, or she hopes that a solution can be found."

A Dutch foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the arrest but said the young woman, giving her first name as Laura, has not been charged.

Daphne Kerremans added that "the enquiry is ongoing" and that Dutch authorities are in regular contact with Laura.

The woman's lawyer said the case concerns a trip his client made in March to a Qatar hotel where the consumption of alcohol is allowed.

"She went dancing but when she returned to the table after the first sip of her drink, she realised that someone had added something to her glass," Lokollo said, and then "she felt very unwell."

The young woman remembers nothing more until the following morning when she woke up in a totally unfamiliar apartment "and realised to her great horror, that she had been raped," he said.

Lokollo said she managed to escape the flat and seek help before going to a police station where she wanted to file a complaint against her attacker but the police refused to let her leave.

"It is totally inhuman," the woman's mother, Marian, told Dutch television NOS as she held up a photo of her daughter with long curly black hair, who had gone on holiday for the first time without her mother.

In phone calls, Laura "tries sometimes to reassure me saying 'I will come back home soon', and sometimes she cries and cries...", the mother, herself in tears, said.

The suspected rapist was also arrested but insisted that their night together had been consensual and that the woman had even asked for money.

"She completely denies these accusations," Lokollo said.

"She and her mother have also been pressured to have her marry her attacker," he added.

A court hearing is set to take place on Monday and the Dutch foreign ministry hopes a decision on whether to charge the woman will be taken.
Qaeda chief backs new Taliban head as 'emir of believers'

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has pledged allegiance to new Afghan Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, a low-profile religious figure whose predecessor was killed in a US drone strike.

The pledge comes as Al-Qaeda is facing rivalry from the Islamic State group, which has also made inroads into Afghanistan where the Taliban have been waging a guerrilla war since they were ousted from power in 2001.

Zawahari's remarks came in a 14-minute audio and video message posted online, the US-based monitor SITE Intelligence Group said on Saturday.

A handhout photo provided by the SITE Intelligence Group on February 12, 2012 shows Al-Qaeda's chief Ayman al-Zawahiri at an undisclosed location - (SITE Intelligence Group/AFP/File)

"We pledge allegiance to you on jihad to liberate every inch of the lands of the Muslims that are invaded and stolen, from Kashgar to al-Andalus, from the Caucasus to Somalia and Central Africa, from Kashmir to Jerusalem, from the Philippines to Kabul, and from Bukhara and Samarkand," it quoted Zawahiri as saying.

He described the new Taliban chief as the "emir of believers" and the "legitimate" head of a Muslim caliphate.

"Allah has graced you by establishing the first legitimate emirate after the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate, and in the world there was no other legitimate emirate," he said.

Zawahiri is staunchly opposed to the IS extremist group which declared in 2014 the creation of a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq.

The group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was renamed Caliph Ibrahim at the same time in an attempt to revive a system of rule that ended nearly 100 years ago with the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and ordered Muslims to obey him in a sermon at a mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

In Syria, Al-Qaeda is represented by Al-Nusra Front which is allied with other Islamist rebel groups and has been locked in fighting with IS for control of territory in the north and around Damascus.

Last August, Zawahiri made a similar pledge to Mullah Mansour, who took charge of the Taliban the previous month at a time when IS was making inroads into Afghanistan.

His latest message included images of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011.

Akhundzada was named by the Afghan Taliban as their new leader last month in a swift power transition after officially confirming the death of Mansour.

Akhundzada, formerly one of Mansour's deputies, faces the enormous challenge of unifying an increasingly fragmented militant movement.

The drone attack in May that killed Mansour, the first known American assault on a top Afghan Taliban leader on Pakistani soil, sent shockwaves through the insurgent movement which had seen a resurgence under Mansour.

He was killed just nine months after being formally appointed leader following a bitter power struggle upon confirmation of founder Mullah Omar's death.
German ammunition missing after Air France flight to Mali

A crate containing hundreds of pieces of ammunition went missing during an Air France flight taken by German soldiers to Mali, the German military said Saturday.

"We are still looking for it," said a spokesman for the army's logistics department, confirming a report in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

The German troops left Berlin for Bamako on May 28 aboard a commercial Air France flight that stopped in Paris.

A crate containing hundreds of pieces of ammunition went missing during an Air France flight taken by German soldiers to Mali, the German military said KENZO TRIBOUILLARD (AFP)

Their service weapons and ammunition were registered and placed in the hold. But when the flight reached Mali, a plastic crate containing 880 pieces of ammunition was missing.

The German military has filed a case with Berlin police.

A defence ministry spokesman told AFP that "the responsibility lies with the airline."

Air France had not responded by Saturday afternoon to a request for comment from AFP.
Aid enters besieged area of central Syria: Red Cross

A convoy carrying food aid entered a rebel-controlled area under regime siege in central Syria on Saturday, the Red Cross said, in the second such delivery there in months.

It came as the regime bombarded another opposition-held town outside Damascus, preventing its besieged residents from receiving their first food delivery in years, a resident and monitor said.

Thirty-one trucks ferried in food for 14,200 families to Al-Houla in the central province of Homs on Saturday, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

A Syrian Arab Red Crescent lorry enters rebel-held town of Douma, east of the Syrian capital Damascus, after a UN and SARC aid convoy, with food, nutrition, health and other emergency items, entered the city on June 10, 2016 Sameer Al-Doumy (AFP/File)

The land convoy -- the second to the area since March 22 -- also included mattresses, blankets, diapers, vaccines, water pumps and generators, Pawel Krzysiek said.

The Al-Houla delivery comes just days after two long-awaited aid convoys to rebel areas outside the capital.

Trucks entered Daraya late Thursday with food including rice, lentils, sugar and flour for the first time since the regime laid siege to the town in late 2012.

But regime helicopters dropped at least eight barrel bombs -- crude, unguided explosive devices -- on Daraya on Saturday for the second straight day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"People want the aid but they're paralysed by the ongoing bombardment," activist and Daraya local council member Shadi Matar said.

"People are hiding in underground bunkers. Some families have even dug holes in their homes to hide," he told AFP.

Aid agencies said supplies also reached Douma on Friday in the first UN delivery there since autumn 2013.

The United Nations says nearly 600,000 people live in besieged areas in Syria -- most surrounded by government forces -- and another four million in hard-to-reach areas.

Peace talks towards ending a civil war that has killed more than 280,000 people have stalled over issues including lack of humanitarian access.

The UN's humanitarian agency said on Friday it was still awaiting permission from Damascus to deliver aid to the besieged areas of Al-Waer in Homs province and Zabadani in rural Damascus.

The United States and France lashed out at Syria's government on Friday over the barrel bombs attacks on Daraya.
Afghanistan welcomes broader US military role against Taliban

Afghanistan on Saturday hailed Washington's decision to expand the US military's authority to tackle a resurgent Taliban insurgency, saying the support will boost the capacity of struggling local forces.

The decision will allow US troops, who have been in a training and advisory role in Afghanistan since the start of 2015, to collaborate more closely with local forces in striking the Taliban.

"We welcome the US announcement of broader involvement in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan," defence ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri told AFP.

US army soldiers walk past an Afghan National Army (ANA) base in the Khogyani district in the eastern province of Nangarhar, Afghanistan on August 12, 2015 Wakil Kohsar (AFP/File)

"We may not need more boots on the ground, but we need their advisors and we need them to equip our air force. Their involvement will increase our capacity in operations on the ground."

The US announcement comes after Afghan forces, beset by record casualties, desertions and troop shortages, suffered a string of setbacks last year at the hands of the Taliban.

The decision would expand the military's authority to conduct air strikes against the Taliban when necessary, significantly boosting Afghan forces who currently have limited close air-support capacities.

"We welcome measures taken by the US as our strategic partner to fight terrorism," said deputy presidential spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashimi.

In a statement the Taliban condemned the US decision, saying it would only prolong the conflict and vowed to press on with their 15-year insurgency.

Some 9,800 US troops remain in Afghanistan in an advisory capacity, down from a peak of around 100,000 in March 2011. That number is set to drop to just 5,500 by the year's end.

An American defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said despite the expanding role the US troops would still not be involved in direct combat.

Still, the new announcement is fraught with political sensitivities as it marks a departure from President Barack Obama's earlier commitment to end the grinding conflict and pull US troops out of Afghanistan.

Obama last month authorised a rare US drone strike deep inside Pakistan, killing Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a raid which highlighted an aggressive new push to target the insurgents.
Lawyers appeal ex-Chad dictator Habre's life sentence

Court-appointed lawyers for former Chadian president Hissene Habre said Saturday they have appealed his life sentence for war crimes and crimes against humanity handed down by a special tribunal in Dakar.

"We formally made the appeal yesterday (Friday)" against the "unfavourable" verdict reached on May 30, Mbaye Sene, a lawyer on the defence team, said.

The 73-year-old ex-dictator, who had declined to address the court throughout the 10-month trial and refused to recognise its authority, was not consulted but that would not hinder the appeal process, according to both Sene and tribunal spokesman Marcel Mendy.

Former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre gestures as he leaves a Dakar courthouse after an identity hearing on June 3, 2015 Seyllou (AFP/File)

The verdict against Habre brought closure for relatives of up to 40,000 people killed and many more kidnapped, raped or tortured during his 1982-1990 term as president of Chad.

The case was heard by a special tribunal set up by the African Union under a deal with Senegal, and marked the first time a country has prosecuted a former leader of another nation for rights abuses

The court's spokesman said the appeal process is not expected to conclude before April 2017 as the judges first have to decide on the question of civil compensation lawsuits filed on behalf of the victims' relatives.

"The decision is expected on July 31, so it's after that decision that the judges who will sit on the appeals court will be designated," Mendy said.

Meanwhile, the lawyers chosen by Habre himself, who had boycotted the trial on his instructions, said they will hold a press conference in Dakar on Monday.

Known as a skilled desert fighter and often dressed in combat fatigues to fit the role, Habre fled to Senegal after his 1990 ouster by Chad's current President Idriss Deby.

For more than 20 years, the former dictator lived freely in an upmarket Dakar suburb with his wife and children.

At his trial, witnesses recounted the horror of life in Chad's prisons, describing in graphic detail abusive and often deadly punishments inflicted by Habre's feared secret police.
Iran condemns Canada court ruling on 'terror' attacks

Iran Saturday condemned a Canadian judge's order for Tehran's non-diplomatic land and bank accounts in Canada to be given to victims of attacks allegedly carried out by Hamas and Hezbollah.

"This decision runs contrary to the international commitments of the Canadian government," said foreign ministry spokesman Jaber Ansari, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

"It is also contrary to the statements of the new Canadian government that it wants to normalise relations" with Iran, he said.

Iran condemned a Canadian judge's order for Tehran's non-diplomatic land and bank accounts in Canada to be given to victims of attacks allegedly carried out by Hamas and Hezbollah Gil Cohen Magen (Pool/AFP/File)

"Any normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two countries requires a revision of the extremist and erroneous policies of the Canadian government."

The judgment, obtained by AFP on Friday, awards a reported $13 million to the families of Americans who died in eight bombings or hostage-takings in Buenos Aires, Israel, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia between 1983 and 2002.

Hundreds died in the attacks.

The families, led by the parents of Marla Bennett, who was killed when a suicide bomber struck at a cafeteria at Hebrew University in Israel in 2002, had successfully sued the Islamic republic in the United States.

The US court found that Iran was responsible for training operatives of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah, as well as backing the groups financially.

But those judgments remain largely unpaid.

"Terrorism is one of the world's greatest threats," Ontario Superior Court Justice Glenn Hainey said in his decision.

"The broad issue before the court is whether Iran is entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of Canadian courts for its support of terrorism."

The Canadian lawsuits were brought under a law passed in 2012 that allows victims and their families to collect damages from state sponsors of terrorism.

Canada lists Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Iran did not defend either the US or Canadian lawsuits.
Iraq's Sadr warns of 'million-man' demonstration after Ramadan

Powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday called a halt to anti-government protests during Ramadan but warned that a "million-man" demonstration would be held after the Muslim holy month has ended.

"I found it would be beneficial to take a break and postpone all of this until the end of the month," he said in a statement.

His followers have been holding weekly protests to demand reform and an end to corruption, bringing the city to a standstill every Friday as security forces deployed en masse.

A supporter of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr hurls a smoke grenade back at security forces during clashes after demonstrators broke into Baghdad's fortified "Green Zone" on May 20, 2016 Ahmad Al-Rubaye (AFP/File)

Sadr called for the preparation of "a peaceful, popular million-man protest" after Ramadan ends in July and warned that he would not rein in his forces if protesters were confronted.

Protesters led by Sadr supporters have breached Baghdad's fortified Green Zone twice already over the past two months, storming parliament and the prime minister's office.

The last time was on May 20 and saw tension in Baghdad rise as Sadr's militia Saraya al-Salam and other armed groups loyal to rival factions in government faced off on the street.
South Africa wades into firefighter pay row in Canada

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma stepped in Saturday to resolve a pay dispute that has led to a strike by 300 of his nation's firefighters who are in Canada battling massive forest fires.

At Ottawa's request, the firefighters flew to Canada two weeks ago to help quell the wildfire near the oil city of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

But this week they were reported to have downed their hoses after discovering they were being paid less than their Canadian counterparts.

A group of South African firefighters work to uproot a tree as they mop-up hot spots in an area close to Anzac, just outside of Fort McMurray, Alberta on June 2, 2016 Cole Burston (AFP/File)

In a statement the presidency said Zuma has asked South Africa's Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa "to intervene in resolving the matter" and help "in finding a solution to the impasse".

Canada reportedly wants the firefighters -- who were supposed to work for a month -- sent back home.

"The Canadian government has asked us to get them out of Canada as soon as possible," Johan Heine, chairman of the board of Working on Fire, told South Africa's news agency News24.

Working on Fire is a South African government-funded project aimed at job creation that provided the firefighters to Canada.

Heine said the firefighters want their demands met before they fly out.

"They are demanding their money before they leave," Heine was quoted as saying by the news agency. "We all feel very terrible about it."

Zuma's office said his government welcomed the opportunity offered to South African youths to work abroad and that the ties between Pretoria and Ottawa have "deepened each year" since the end of apartheid.

The Canada wildfires forced some 100,000 residents of Fort McMurray and surrounding areas of the oil sands hub to evacuate.

Residents started returning last week after the fires moved away from town, tracking eastward.
South Africans unite to remember Soweto uprising

Hundreds of South Africans, including for the first time white apartheid era conscripts, on Saturday united to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Soweto uprising.

"They tried to march, they were stopped, they were killed, (but) today, the police are here to help us march," said cleric and ANC stalwart Frank Chikane as two policemen on horseback -- one black, one white -- escorted a procession of people into the stadium.

The uprising, in which at least 170 people were killed, was a turning point in the anti-apartheid struggle, bringing the injustices of the regime to the world's attention and paving the way for the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa's first black president.

South Africa's Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana (C) leads a peace walk in Soweto on June 11, 2016 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising - when police opened fire at black students protesting against the use of Afrikaans Gianluigi Guercia (AFP)

"1976 - I was there as a student...," read one handwritten placard held up by a black woman in the crowd, as a group of Johannesburg municipal workers dressed in yellow work clothes sang and swayed in unison.

Apartheid era army personnel belonging to the South African Defence Force Association, also attended, dressed in blazers and ties decorated with the organisation's insignia.

"We are sad about what happened 40 years ago, we are sorry if people are still hurt. But... it is time we start with a new era," said association chairman Jan Malan.

"We can be apologising for 100 years, it is not going to change things. Let's take the symbolism of 40 years and let's start creating the South Africa we want," he said.

- Killed for a fist clench -

At least 400 people -- almost evenly divided between blacks and whites -- gathered at Orlando Stadium in Soweto township for the ceremony ahead of the main government-led commemorations due to be to attended by President Jacob Zuma on Thursday.

The former white conscripts, who were not deployed to Soweto in 1976, attended the commemoration for the first time. Former police officers who did take part in the crackdown however declined to be part of the ceremony.

On June 16, 1976, security forces opened fire on black youngsters protesting in Soweto township against a government order that schools could only teach in the Afrikaans language used by whites.

Over the following three days, scores of people were killed, with some estimates putting the death toll at several hundred over one month.

Survivor Trofomo Sono, 59, said the students were taken aback by the security forces' response.

"We did not expect that somebody could just die from marching and a fist clench. But it happened, a boy died, children started running," he said.

Joy Rabotabi, 56, a former student and black South African businessman, said it was "unfortunate" the police who took part in putting down the 1976 protests boycotted the event.

"It is not contributing positively towards nation-building and reconciliation. We need to find a way to bring closure," he told AFP.

But he lauded the presence of the former soldiers at the event as positive. "Any step towards reconciliation and healing needs to be welcomed," he said.

- Old wounds remain -

Earlier a small group of around 100 ex-students, former conscripts, clerics and Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau marched from Madibane High School in the township to Orlando Stadium.

At the school a plaque was unveiled in memory of Abiel Lebelo, a student leader who was shot dead by the police during the protests.

"We are completing the journey the students could not complete," said the Reverend Frank Chikane.

In 1976, the students carried placards that read "Afrikaans stinks" and "To hell with Afrikaans" but on Saturday survivors waved placards reading "Unity in diversity" and "Let's all stand together as one".

Some relatives of victims of the uprising, however, stayed away from the event, a sign of still unhealed wounds amid frustration at post-apartheid South Africa's failure to meet expectations of many black people.

Divisions along racial lines still linger in South Africa, with most black people enduring worse education, housing and unemployment than white people.

Members of traditional churches pray at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on June 11, 2016 during a ceremony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Soweto uprising Marco Longari (AFP)

Young people from the Johannesburg Municipality arrive, dancing and singing, at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on June 11, 2016 at a march held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising Gianluigi Guercia (AFP)
Berger maintains three-shot lead in Memphis

Daniel Berger shook off a double bogey with two late birdies to retain a three-shot lead on Saturday after three rounds of the US PGA Tour St. Jude Classic.

Berger's miscue at the 14th, where he hit into the water and took a double-bogey five, briefly opened the door to five-time major winner Phil Mickelson.

But Berger rallied to card a one-under par 69 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. His 10-under total of 200 put him three shots in front of Mickelson, Steve Stricker and D.A. Points going into the final round of the last tuneup for next week's US Open at Oakmont, Pennsylvania.

Daniel Berger hits off the 17th tee during the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind on June 11, 2016 in Memphis, Tennessee Andy Lyons (Getty/AFP)

Mickelson, who will be seeking the US Open title that has long eluded him at Oakmont next week, grabbed a share of the lead with a seven-foot birdie putt at 16.

But he made his only bogey of the day at the next hole. He closed with a chip-in for par at 18.

Points, playing well in advance of the overnight leaders, drained a 15-foot birdie putt at 18 to cap a bogey-free 64, while Stricker carded a bogey-free 66.

Brooks Koepka rebounded from two bogeys late on the front nine with two birdies coming in for a 69 that left him tied on 204 with South Korea's Noh Seung-Yul and American Colt Knost, who both shot 67.
US Attorney General Lynch meets with Alaska Native leaders

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)  U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Friday she is directing her office to develop a series of consultations with Alaska Native leaders to focus on improving public safety in rural communities of the vast state.

Lynch made the announcement during her first trip to Alaska to discuss issues facing Alaska Natives. Referring to the announced consultations, Lynch said the most productive way to address issues is to seek solutions from the tribes as well as Native leaders.

"The goal of these consultations is to identify concrete actions that we can take now  right now, right here  to address these crucial issues," she said at a news conference.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, middle, greets Alaska Native leaders and others at a meeting Friday, June 10, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska. Lynch discussed public safety and other issues affecting Alaska Natives at the meeting. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Lynch said purpose of the daylong visit was to focus on discussing issues facing indigenous communities in the state. Because so many Native villages are remote and far from the state's limited road system, that isolation presents more challenges to addressing them.

Topics discussed during the hour-long round table in Anchorage also included heroin use and criminal justice reform. Afterward, Lynch also noted the disproportionate rate of violence against Alaska Natives, primarily among women.

Lynch said she also will propose creating a committee of stakeholders such as Alaska Native representatives and government entities to address issues important to Alaska Natives. She noted the mission would not just be to look at problems in Native communities, but to also identify solutions that can be turned into actions.

Before the meeting, Native American Rights Fund attorney Natalie Landreth said she planned to address what she called inadequacies in the U.S. Census. The agency's American Community Survey conducted every five years woefully undercounts Native communities in rural areas, she said. That translates to less voting protections for Native communities and less funding across the board, according to Landreth, who planned to propose creating a supplemental survey that could be conducted in person by census representatives sent to communities.

Following the meeting, Alaska Federation of Natives president Julie Kitka noted the problem of heroin use, which is growing among Alaska Natives, including those living in villages.

"We have a unique opportunity to ramp up efforts collaboratively with our federal partners, our state partners, our tribal partners, especially as we deal with such serious concern such as the heroin and opiate epidemic and all related impacts," she said. "Probably there is no other issue which affects our families so directly and so personally."

Lynch also was meeting with Alaska Native youth.

___

Follow Rachel D'Oro at https://twitter.com/rdoro

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, right, speaks with Alaska Native leaders and others at a meeting Friday, June 10, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska. Lynch discussed public safety and other issues affecting Alaska Natives at the meeting. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Mexican drug lord put in immigration custody for deportation

MEXICO CITY (AP)  The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said Friday that Mexican drug lord Hector "El Guero" Palma has been transferred to immigration custody pending his deportation to Mexico.

The agency said in a statement that Palma was transferred from a U.S. prison Friday, one day ahead of his previously scheduled release date. It said "Palma will remain in ICE detention while the agency makes arrangements to carry out his removal to Mexico."

Local media have reported that Palma will be handed over next week at the Tijuana border crossing. But ICE said it won't confirm the circumstances of the handover "for security and safety reasons," adding, "The agency will only confirm that an individual has been removed once the action has been successfully completed. "

It is unclear if there are still any charges pending against Palma in Mexico. Attorney General Arely Gomez has said that prosecutors are looking through files for any remaining criminal cases. She said that in some cases the statute of limitations has expired.

Palma was known as an extremely violent drug trafficker and co-founder of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

He was arrested June 23, 1995, in western Mexico. He was held in Mexican prisons while undergoing trial.
The Latest: Lynch wants better public safety in rural Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)  The Latest on U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch's meeting with Alaska Native leaders (all times local):

4:10 p.m.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says she is directing her office to develop a series of consultations with Alaska Native leaders to focus on improving public safety in rural communities of the vast state.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, right, speaks with Alaska Native leaders and others at a meeting Friday, June 10, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska. Lynch discussed public safety and other issues affecting Alaska Natives at the meeting. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Lynch made the announcement Friday after meeting with Alaska Native leaders during her first trip to Alaska. She says her daylong visit is focused on discussing issues facing indigenous communities in the state.

Lynch also says she will propose creating a committee of stakeholders such as Alaska Native representatives and government entities to address issues important to Alaska Natives.

Other issues discussed during the hourlong roundtable meeting in Anchorage included heroin use and criminal justice reform.

___

3:35 p.m.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has met with Alaska Native leaders during her first trip to Alaska, discussing public safety, voting rights and other issues facing indigenous communities in the vast state.

Those meeting with Lynch on Friday included Native rights advocates and representatives of Native organizations.

Before their short round-table discussion in Anchorage, Native American Rights Fund attorney Natalie Landreth said she planned to address what she called inadequacies in the U.S. census.

She says the agency's American Community Survey conducted every five years woefully undercounts Native communities in rural areas.

Landreth says that translates to less voting protections for Native communities and less funding across the board.

Other issues listed for the closed meeting included heroin use and criminal justice reform.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, middle, greets Alaska Native leaders and others at a meeting Friday, June 10, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska. Lynch discussed public safety and other issues affecting Alaska Natives at the meeting. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
NEW DELHI (AP) - India is rejoicing over news that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brokered deals with U.S. officials to bring New Delhi closer to its long-held dream of joining an elite group of nations allowed to control the global trade in nuclear materials, equipment and technology.

Newspapers have run daily front-page stories heralding progress on the nuclear front after President Barack Obama came out in support of Indian membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which led other nations including Mexico and Switzerland to suggest they, too, were on the board. Diplomats in Vienna suggested on Thursday that India is closer than ever to join the NSG, despite never fulfilling the requirement of signing a global treaty aimed at preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons technology.

But would India's entry into the club make any difference? Some analysts say no, at least not from a technical standpoint.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian PM Narendra Modi shake hands before their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (File picture)

India has already managed to secure an access to nuclear fuel and technology to build power plants it says it needs to boost energy capacity and drive economic growth for the nation of 1.25 billion people.

Analysts say joining the NSG is chiefly a matter of pride and desire to be taken seriously by some of the world's most powerful nations. Since prompting international technology sanctions and limits on exports by conducting nuclear tests in 1998, India has been eager to gain legitimacy as a nuclear power.

"In practical terms, there is nothing extra that the NSG will give India other than a seat at the nuclear high table," said Rakesh Sood, a retired diplomat closely associated with India's nuclear negotiations over the past decade.

India already has deals with more than eight countries for supplies of uranium, and has signed agreements for reactors with France, Russia and the United States.

This week's reported nuclear breakthroughs were seen as a major point of progress for Modi, who has placed new urgency on India's nuclear ambitions with the aim of vastly expanding atomic power to account for about half of the country's total electricity supply by 2050.

Nuclear power is one way India, the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, could cut its emissions and reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants.

India scored a major victory in 2008, under Modi's predecessor, by securing a waiver from Washington allowing it access to nuclear technology and fuel despite its refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But progress in deals to build new nuclear plants since then has stalled.

For months, Indian officials have crisscrossed the globe to gather support for New Delhi's entry into the NSG, the 48-member group that controls access to technology used in making atomic weapons.

Ironically, the group was set up in response to India's own clandestine nuclear test in 1974, which made New Delhi something of a pariah in the West. Joining the club requires the unanimous approval of all members.

Analysts said Modi is anxious to secure NSG membership while Obama is still in office, after years of receiving support from his administration.

"It's a matter of timing. A crescendo is building up; now is the time to clinch it," said Sheel Kant Sharma, a former Indian ambassador to Vienna, Austria. "Tactically and strategically it's time for India to be on the side of those who control technology."

This week, Obama hailed India's membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime, a group that restricts the export of missiles and their delivery systems.

Officials also reported progress in resolving an impasse over an Indian liability law passed in 2010 that makes builders of nuclear plants in India financially responsible for any accidents that might occur, with efforts to negotiate a multi million-dollar insurance fund to cover any accidents.

The workaround solution seems to be ameliorating concerns; the Toshiba-backed U.S. energy giant Westinghouse Electric Co. said this week it is finalizing a contract to build six nuclear reactors in southern India.

India continues to refuse to sign the nonproliferation treaty, arguing that it is discriminatory since it defines nuclear weapon states as those that tested nuclear devices before January 1967  which would disqualify India from ever becoming a member.

Nevertheless, Obama called on governments participating in the NSG to support India's application to the group when it meets later this month in Seoul, South Korea.

On Thursday, two diplomats at an NSG meeting in Vienna said resistance from New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria had softened, though China remained opposed. The diplomats demanded anonymity in exchange for speaking to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to talk about the substance of the closed session.

India's admission to the nuclear club is further complicated because Pakistan, its arch-rival, also wants to join. On Thursday, the Dawn newspaper in Islamabad reported that the Pakistani government had formally asked the Obama administration and Congress for their support.

Indian analysts said China may be persuaded to ease its position if it is offered something in exchange, for example, being allowed to join the Missile Technology Control Regime. Its 2004 application for membership was denied on suspicion that some Chinese companies were secretly supplying missile technology to North Korea.

"It is possible China may now seek some kind of bargain, whereby it is given entry to the MTCR in return for letting India get into the NSG," Praveen Swami said in the Indian Express newspaper.

___

Associated Press writer George Jahn in Vienna contributed to this report.

___
ACT exams canceled in South Korea, Hong Kong over breach

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  Operators of the ACT college entrance exam on Saturday canceled the tests for students in South Korea and Hong Kong at the last moment over what they said was a verified breach of test materials.

The cancellation affected about 5,500 test takers who will receive refunds of test fees, according to ACT spokesman Edward Colby, who said the company believes it was the first time the exam was canceled for an entire country.

The ACT, an Iowa-based nonprofit organization, had planned to administer the tests at 56 different locations in South Korea and Hong Kong on Saturday morning. The ACT decided to cancel the test soon after it received "credible evidence" that the test materials had been leaked, Colby said.

"We are extremely concerned about any activities that could impact the fairness and integrity of the test. When individuals attempt to profit by stealing test materials and selling them, it can hurt thousands of students who did nothing wrong, as it has in this case," Colby said in an email conversation.

Colby said he couldn't comment on when and how the test materials might have been leaked because the incident is still under investigation. He said the ACT exams will be administered in South Korea and Hong Kong again in September.

The sudden cancellation of the exam caused confusion in South Korea, where many students didn't know of the decision until they arrived at the test sites, according to teachers from private "cram schools" in affluent southern Seoul that specialize in preparing students for the tests.

ACT emails notifying students of the cancellations didn't reach inboxes until nearly 7 a.m., an hour before students were to arrive at test sites, they said.

"It's frustrating for students, including those who had been planning to use the scores for early decision admissions at U.S. schools," said a cram school teacher who had prepared four students to take the test. She spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear she might anger her clients if she allowed her name to be used.

"Parents have asked whether they should prepare their kids to take the exams in other countries like Japan in the future, because they are worried that the cheating problems could reoccur here, as it had with the SATs," she said.
Freeing Fujimori may smooth the way for next Peru president

LIMA, Peru (AP)  The man who stands most to benefit from Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's presidential victory in Peru may be his defeated rival's father: imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

Kuczynski began the task of forming a government Friday after his rival Keiko Fujimori conceded defeat in Peru's closest presidential contest in five decades. His margin of victory was less than 43,000 votes  or 0.2 percentage points.

Even more challenging is his position in congress, where Fujimori's party, smarting after a bitter campaign, holds 73 of 130 seats and his own bloc has just 18.

FILE - In this May 3, 2016 file photo, presidential candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski looks out at his supporters during a rally on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. The former World Bank economist won the majority of votes in Peru's closest presidential contest in five decades. Now that he's won, he must take the reins of one of South America's most ungovernable countries, one awash in illegal proceeds from cocaine trafficking and where social tensions stoked by multinational mining projects frequently erupt into deadly unrest. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)

Analysts say his best chance to ease hostility could be in releasing Alberto Fujimori to house arrest, freeing him from the prison where he is serving a 25-year sentence for corruption and supporting death squads during his autocratic rule in the 1990s.

During the campaign, Keiko Fujimori signed a pledge never to issue a pardon  a move intended to mitigate fears her father would be pulling the strings in her government. Kuczynski may be more flexible.

In first interview as President-elect, he reiterated that he opposes pardoning Fujimori, but would sign legislation giving older inmates including the 77-year-old Fujimori the right to house arrest.

Still, he said he had doubts whether Fujimori's Popular Force party would push for such an outcome because many hardliner loyalists would consider it a political defeat.

"They want him to walk out the front door, but there was a conviction," Kuczynski told Semana Economica magazine.

Kuczynski's rise to power was in many ways accidental. The businessman had shown few political instincts and in February his poll numbers were sinking him deeper into a crowded field. But he began rising as two stronger candidates were disqualified on technicalities and fears grew that Fujimori would bring back the corruption and criminality associated with her father's rule.

Now that he's won, he must take reins one of South America's most ungovernable countries, one awash in illegal proceeds from cocaine trafficking and where social tensions stoked by multinational mining projects frequently erupt into deadly unrest.

At 77, Kuczynski will be Peru's oldest president when he is sworn in July 28 and, as a former Wall Street investor who has spent much of his life in the U.S., he has a notable lack of appeal among the country's poor. TV comedians love to ridicule his "gringo" accented Spanish.

The campaign left a bitter residue in part because Kuczynski accused his rival of being the harbinger of a "narco-state" after it was leaked to the media that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was investigating a major donor and secretary general of her party for money laundering. In conceding, Fujimori blasted politicians, business leaders and members of the media for orchestrating a "hate-filled" campaign to discredit her candidacy.

Still, there are reasons why the two could find common ground on many policies. Kuczynski supported the younger Fujimori in the 2011 runoff won by President Ollanta Humala, both share a pro-business agenda and about a third of her lawmakers are newcomers who could be ripe for switching loyalties in Peru's notoriously free-wheeling congress.

If she proves obstructionist, Kuczynski can also call congressional elections  an option he already said he'd be willing to use as a last resort.

Harder to appease may be Peru's left, which is feeling emboldened after delivering, albeit begrudgingly, the votes Kuczynski needed to erase a nearly 20-point lead for Fujimori following the first round of voting.

Leftist activists staged the biggest street demonstration Peru has seen in a generation on the eve of voting to reject a return of a Fujimori to the presidential palace.

Failure to take them into account "would be a total betrayal of the people who got him over the hump," said Steve Levitsky, a Harvard University political scientist who has spent two decades studying Peru. "He will pay a cost. There will be marches."

___

Goodman reported from Bogota, Colombia.

Joshua Goodman is on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjoshgoodman His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/joshua-goodman

Franklin Briceno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/franklinbriceno His work can be found at: http://bigstory.ap.org/author/franklin-briceno

FILE - In this April 23, 2014 file photo, jailed former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, photographed through a glass window, attends his trial at a police base on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. The man who stands most to benefit from Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's presidential victory in Peru may be her defeated rival's father: imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)

FILE - In this May 31, 2016 file photo, demonstrators hold posters with a message that reads in Spanish; "Reject the Narco State, reject Keiko," during a protest against presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, at Plaza San Martin in downtown Lima, Peru. The campaign has left a bitter residue in part because Kuczynski accused his rival of being the harbinger of a "narco-state". In conceding on Friday, June 10, 2016, Fujimori blasted politicians, business leaders and members of the media for orchestrating a "hate-filled" campaign to discredit her candidacy. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)

FILE - In this May 29, 2016 file photo, presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, right, shakes hands with rival Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, before a presidential debate, in Lima, Peru. Kuczynski, who went on to defeat Fujimori in Peru's closest presidential contest in five decades, supported the younger Fujimori in the 2011 runoff won by President Ollanta Humala. Both share a pro-business agenda. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)

FILE - In this June 5, 2016 file photo, presidential candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, center, celebrates with his running mates for first and second vice-presidents Martin Vizcarra, left, and Mercedes Araoz, right, from the balcony of their headquarters in Lima, Peru. Kuczynski began the task of forming a government Friday, June 10, 2016, after his rival Keiko Fujimori conceded defeat in Peru's closest presidential contest in five decades. His margin of victory was less than 43,000 votes, or 0.2 percentage points. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)

FILE - In this April 11, 2016 file photo, a Quechua Indian woman walks next to a graffiti that reads in Spanish "Fujimori never!" in Ayacucho, Peru. The man who stands most to benefit from Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's presidential victory in Peru may be her defeated rival's father: imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File)
Prominent activist freed in Bahrain leaves for Denmark

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  A prominent activist in Bahrain said early Saturday she left the tiny island kingdom after recently being freed from prison, the latest protester to go into exile five years after its Arab Spring demonstrations.

Zainab al-Khawaja is the daughter of well-known activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who himself is serving a life sentence over his role in the protests that saw the island's Shiite majority and others demand more political freedom from its Sunni rulers.

In a series of messages on Twitter, al-Khawaja said she had left the country. Her family confirmed she left with two children to Denmark, where she also has citizenship.

FILE -- In this Oct. 21, 2012 file photo, Bahraini opposition activist Zainab al-Khawaja, left, gestures as she shouts "God is greater than any tyrant," while being arrested by police officers in Eker, Bahrain. The prominent activist says she's left Bahrain with her two children for Denmark after being recently released from prison. Zainab al-Khawaja is the daughter of well-known activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is serving a life sentence over his role in Arab Spring-inspired protests by its Shiite majority in 2011. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)

The "regime that thinks exile means moving us away from our land should know, we carry (hashtag)Bahrain in our hearts wherever we go," she wrote.

Al-Khawaja was detained March 14 and faced three years in prison on charges related to her participation in anti-government protests, including tearing up pictures of Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. She was in prison with her infant son, Abdulhadi, prior to her release.

Al-Khawaja said Bahrain was preparing to file new charges against her that would have made her detention "indefinite." Bahrain's government and its state-run news agency did not immediately comment on al-Khawaja leaving the country.

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, crushed the 2011 protests after several weeks with the help of troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In the time since, the island has faced low-level unrest, protests and attacks on police.

Other prominent opposition figures and human-rights activists remain imprisoned. Some have had their citizenship stripped by the government and been deported.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jon-gambrell.
Man shot by police at Dallas airport faces assault charges

DALLAS (AP)  A Maryland man who was shot by an officer outside a Dallas airport after a domestic disturbance faces assault charges and remains in a hospital, police said Saturday.

Shawn Nicholas Diamond is being charged with aggravated assault and assault family violence following the incident in which police say he hit his ex-girlfriend and battered her car with a traffic cone and large landscaping rocks. The 29-year-old Diamond, of Edgewood, Maryland, still is in stable condition, Senior Cpl. Monica Cordova, a police spokeswoman, said.

Police Chief David Brown said Friday that Diamond had rocks in his hands as he advanced menacingly toward an officer who had his gun drawn outside the Dallas Love Field terminal. Brown said Diamond was heard telling the officer, "You're going to have to shoot."

This photo released by the Carrollton Police Department shows Shawn Nicholas Diamond. Police say Diamond was shot by an officer after making a threatening move toward him with a rock in each hand at Dallas Love Field told the officer, "You're going to have to shoot." At a news conference, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Diamond was in stable condition at a Dallas hospital. (Carrollton Police Department via AP)

Diamond also has been charged with criminal mischief in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton. Police there said he caused $3,700 in damage to city-owned trees by driving recklessly and was released on bond earlier Friday after spending the night in jail.

He traveled to the Dallas area earlier in the week and the ex-girlfriend, who is believed to be the mother of his children, was driving him to the airport Friday so he could return to Maryland.

During the drive, Brown said, Diamond hit the woman. After arriving at the airport terminal, he said, Diamond was pulling his luggage from the woman's car when he grabbed a traffic cone, smashed the car's windshield with it, then began picking up large landscaping rocks nearby and hurling them through the car's windows.

Surveillance video shows an officer intervening and aiming his gun at Diamond as he starts to advance with the rocks. The video has no sound.

Diamond darts around the officer, who shoots him.

Brown said the officer ordered Diamond to stay down. He said the officer fired several more shots when Diamond got up and began running.

Another officer is seen on the video brandishing a stun gun he apparently never fired.

The officer who shot Diamond has been removed from patrol duty pending an internal review of the shooting, Brown said. The officer's name has not been released.

Ron Pinkston, president of the Dallas Police Association, did not immediately return an email seeking comment Saturday. In a tweet sent Friday on its Twitter account, the police union said the officer involved in the shooting "is ok."

Efforts to reach family members or friends of Diamond in Maryland were unsuccessful Saturday as some phone numbers were disconnected and messages left at other numbers were not immediately returned.

A video posted by Instagram user @flashyfilms and credited to Bryan Armstrong also shows the commotion on the curb outside the baggage claim area at Dallas Love Field. The shooting can be heard in that video.

Amid the sound of nine gunshots and an officer's shouts to "get down," some people scramble while others stand watching before officers order them back inside. Toward the end of the video, one officer is seen pointing his gun at someone near the glass exterior of the airport.

Officials said one bullet hit an exterior glass wall and the rest hit the suspect. Dallas police Sgt. Mike Beattie, who is stationed at Love Field, said Friday that the bullet that hit the glass wall outside the airport's baggage claim area didn't penetrate it because of the protective film.

Beattie said airport police receive specific training to be attentive to suspicious-looking travelers and that the Dallas Police Department provides "crowded-environment training" to all its officers every two years. Beattie said the officer who fired the shots is a Dallas police veteran, but he would not identify him.

Some airport operations were temporarily disrupted Friday, but the airport remained open. Spokesman Jose Torres said some people, after hearing shots, ran through security so everyone had to be rescreened.

Beattie said this is the first shooting in the 89-year history of Love Field, located a few miles from downtown.

___

Associated Press writers Juan A. Lozano in Houston and Diana Heidgerd, Jamie Stengle and Terry Wallace in Dallas contributed to this report.

An investigator works the scene of an officer-involved shooting which prompted a lockdown at Dallas Love Field airport Friday, June 10, 2016, in Dallas. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES

The baggage claim area remains shut down due to an officer involved shooting at Dallas Love Field airport on Friday, June 10, 2016, in Dallas. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES

Bags sit in the baggage claim area, which was shut down due to an officer involved shooting at Dallas Love Field airport on Friday, June 10, 2016, in Dallas. A police officer shot and injured a man who was involved in a domestic disturbance outside a baggage claim area at Dallas Love Field airport on Friday, authorities said. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES

People are gathered inside Dallas Love Field airport after an officer-involved shooting prompted a lock down Friday, June 10, 2016, in Dallas. (Brian Elledge/The Dallas Morning News via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES

The Transportation Security Administration checkpoint reopens following an officer involved shooting, as travels wait in line at Dallas Love Field airport on Friday, June 10, 2016, in Dallas. A police officer shot and injured a man who was involved in a domestic disturbance outside a baggage claim area at the airport on Friday, authorities said. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES
Israel demolishes home of Palestinian killer of mother of 6

JERUSALEM (AP)  The Israeli military early Saturday demolished the family home of a Palestinian who it says stabbed a Jewish mother to death in front of her children, in one of the most grisly killings in an eight-month wave of violence.

The military said its forces entered the West Bank village of Yatta to knock down the family residence of Morad Bader Abdullah Adais. The military says he killed Dafna Meir, a mother of six, in her home in the Jewish settlement of Otniel in January. He fled the scene and was later arrested.

Israel says it carries out housing demolitions to deter future attacks. The Palestinians consider it a form of collective punishment.

Over the last eight months, Palestinians have carried out dozens of attacks on civilians and security forces, mostly stabbings, shootings and car ramming assaults that have killed 32 Israelis and two Americans. About 200 Palestinians have been killed during that time, most identified as attackers by Israel. The assaults were once near-daily incidents but they have become less frequent in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, however, two Palestinians from Yatta opened fire in Tel Aviv's Sarona district, a popular shopping and restaurant area, killing four Israeli civilians.
Dozens of Nigerian army officers fired over corruption

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP)  Nigeria is firing dozens of senior officers accused of corruption and the theft of billions of dollars meant to buy arms to fight the Boko Haram Islamic insurgency, the army and an officer privy to the list said Saturday.

The officer said more than 50 officers have been sacked. He spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the matter is sensitive and he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Army spokesman Col. Sani Kukesheka Usman said only that "quite a number" were sacked Friday, mainly major generals, brigadier generals, colonels, lieutenant colonels and one major.

Some already have been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly diverting billions meant to buy weapons, Usman said in a statement.

Others were found to have played partisan roles in the 2015 elections in the south of the country that favored former President Goodluck Jonathan. He lost to former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari, who made fighting endemic corruption and Boko Haram a cornerstone of his campaign.

Usman did not name those fired.

Among officers on trial for corruption are two former chiefs of defense staff. The more recent chief, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, is in court for allegedly stealing some $20 million to build a shopping mall and buy other property in Abuja, the capital.

Also on trial is the former national security adviser, retired Col. Sambo Dasuki, who said he diverted $2.1 billion on Jonathan's orders to bribe officials to win Jonathan his party's presidential nomination. The entire annual military budget is about $6 billion.

Buhari blamed corruption for failures to curb Boko Haram and blamed those involved for the deaths of an unknown number of civilians and troops in the uprising that has killed more than 20,000 in six years.

___
More support for Afghan troops part of latest Obama strategy

WASHINGTON (AP)  Far from ending the two wars he inherited from the Bush administration, Barack Obama is wrestling with an expanded set of conflicts in the final months of his presidency, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Libya and Syria, with no end in sight. In Afghanistan, where a Taliban resurgence has upset Washington's "exit strategy," Obama is giving the U.S. military wider latitude to support Afghan forces, both in the air and on the ground.

The White House says U.S. forces are not taking on a new mission in Afghanistan but rather will "more proactively support" government forces. That amounts to an acknowledgement that the Afghans need more help than the Pentagon had anticipated last year, and it is a signal to allies not to abandon the U.S.-led coalition. Defense Secretary Ash Carter will be discussing this next week in talks at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan are scheduled to drop to 5,500 by the end of this year, but the pace of that decline has yet to be decided. One factor in deciding future troop levels is the extent to which NATO allies are willing to remain involved in training and advising the Afghans.

FILE - In this May 27, 2016 file photo, a member of a breakaway faction of the Taliban fighters guards a gathering in Shindand district of Herat province, Afghanistan. After months of debate, the White House has approved plans to expand the military's authority to conduct airstrikes against the Taliban when necessary as the violence in Afghanistan escalates, senior U.S. and defense officials said Thursday. Afghan officials welcomed the change. (AP Photos/Allauddin Khan, File)

Five years ago this month, in announcing the beginning of his effort to "wind down this war" in Afghanistan, Obama declared that "the tide of war is receding." He had ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq, but since then has gradually expanded a renewed U.S. involvement there against the Islamic State group. He also put U.S. warplanes in the skies over Libya in 2011 in the name of preventing a slaughter of civilians, only to see chaos ensue, and now small teams of U.S. special operations forces have been involved in activities there. Libya, along with Syria and to a lesser extent Afghanistan, became a breeding ground for extremism in a wider conflict against the Islamic State.

The administration says it remains committed to a partnership with Afghanistan to ensure that it does not revert to a haven for al-Qaida or other extremists with global reach, as it was before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In a letter to Obama last week, several former U.S. ambassadors to Kabul and five retired U.S. generals who commanded American troops there urged that the president keep current troop levels through the end of his term, allowing his successor to consider next steps. They argued that Afghanistan remains important to the broader campaign to defeat global terror movements.

"If Afghanistan were to revert to the chaos of the 1990s, millions of refugees would again seek shelter in neighboring countries and overseas, dramatically intensifying the severe challenges already faced in Europe and beyond," they wrote. "Afghanistan is a place where we should wish to consolidate and lock down our provisional progress into something of a more lasting asset."

With U.S. special operations forces already focused on al-Qaida remnants in Afghanistan, the Afghan government says it can handle the Taliban if the U.S. expands its air support. That is at the core of Obama's decision, disclosed Thursday, to authorize U.S. commanders to increase air support and to allow U.S. soldiers to accompany and advise Afghan conventional forces on the ground in the same way they have been assisting Afghan commando forces.

This will make a difference on the battlefield, Carter said Friday, by enabling U.S. commanders to anticipate situations in which U.S. support is needed, rather than to be reactive. He did not mention it, but an illustration of the problem with being reactive is the Taliban's takeover of the northern city of Kunduz last September, which was reversed only after U.S. special operations forces intervened. The intervention, while ultimately successful, led to one of the worst U.S. mistakes of the 15-year war when an AC-130 gunship pummeled a hospital, killing 42 people.

Carter said the changes Obama approved amount to "using the forces we have in a better way, as we go through this fighting season," adding, "It's a good use of the combat power we have there."

Gen. John F. Campbell, who was the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan until March and was among the retired generals who signed last week's letter to Obama, said in an interview Friday that although he had not seen the specifics of the White House decision to expand U.S. military authorities, he welcomed the move. Before Gen. John Nicholson succeeded him in Kabul in March, Campbell urged the administration to grant expanded authorities to assist the Afghans, arguing that they faced an especially difficult fight against the Taliban this summer.

"I had asked for more authorities for the commander on the ground to help the Afghans out, and if this is what that is, I would be all for it," he said. "We have an ally there that we need to continue to support."

___

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Lynne O'Donnell in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.
Afghan officials: 6 police killed in battle with IS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  Afghan officials say six police officers, including a district police chief, have been killed by gunmen affiliated with the Islamic State group in the restive eastern Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, says that IS-affiliated insurgents attacked the administrative headquarters in Haska Mina district at 2:00 a.m. Saturday.

He says 15 IS fighters were killed and seven wounded in the battle that followed.

Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal, spokesman for the Nangarhar police chief, says six police officers were wounded.

Nangarhar has long been plagued by insurgent groups. Last year militants there claimed allegiance to IS and the Taliban sent fighters against them.
SAS' Swedish pilots strike, flights, passengers affected

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Scandinavian Airlines says its flights operated by Swedish pilots are being canceled because of a strike over a wage increase, meaning nearly 160 flights and some 20,000 passengers are affected Saturday.

The Stockholm-based airline said planes with Danish and Norwegian pilots are not affected.

The Swedish pilots' union demands a 3.5 percent salary increase while company had offered an overall pay increase of 2.2 percent, according to the Swedish news agency TT.

SAS vice president Karin Nyman said in a statement the sides "have unfortunately been unable to come to an agreement." The strike started late Friday.
Obama urges Senate to pass Puerto Rico aid bill quickly

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Barack Obama is urging the Senate to swiftly send him a bill to help Puerto Rico manage its staggering debt crisis.

In his weekly Saturday address, Obama says a pending bipartisan bill is not a perfect solution. But he says it's the only option to keep the U.S. territory from spiraling out of control.

The House bolstered prospects for Senate passage by voting overwhelmingly Thursday in favor of a rescue package to ease the island's $70 billion debt.

Puerto Rico owes its creditors $2 billion payment by July 1.

Obama says only Congress can give Puerto Rico the tools it currently lacks to restructure its debt and find a sustainable path toward economic growth and opportunity for its people.
2nd body of 2 missing workers recovered from gravel pit

CRYSTAL SPRINGS, Miss. (AP)  Rescuers on Saturday recovered the body of a second man who disappeared in a landslide at a gravel pit in southern Mississippi earlier this month.

The second body was found around 9:50 p.m. Friday and removed Saturday morning, said Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ray Coleman. The man's body was taken to the Copiah County coroner's office for an autopsy.

The worker was found trapped in the slurry near equipment he had been operating when he and the other man were buried in 10 feet to 12 feet of mud, slush and sluice on June 3.

In this photo released by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, a new crane is used to assist in the recovery efforts to remove two workers buried under a landslide at the bottom of a pit at Green Brothers Gravel Co., in Crystal Springs, Miss., Tuesday, June 7, 2016. (Ray Coleman/Mississippi Emergency Management Agency via AP)

The body of the first worker was recovered Thursday morning inside a piece of equipment.

MEMA director Lee Smithson has identified the two missing men in a Facebook message as Emmitt Shorter and James "Dee" Hemphill and offered condolences to their families.

The two men had been operating heavy equipment for Green Brothers Gravel Company at a pit in Crystal Springs, according to officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The federal agency will begin investigating the possible causes of the incident now that recovery efforts are over.

"The first priority was to get the two men out," MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere said Saturday. "It's too early to speculate about what the cause might have been."

MSHA has cited this particular mine for 26 "significant & substantial" violations since 1993, according to online records. Green Brothers, based in Crystal Springs, also operates other gravel mines.

A state task force of emergency workers helped recover the bodies.

"They were unbelievable. They worked countless hours," Coleman said.

In this Monday, June 6, 2016 photo, a new crane is moved into position to assist in the recovery efforts to remove two workers buried under a landslide at the bottom of a pit at Green Brothers Gravel Co., in Crystal Springs, Miss. (Sarah Fowler /The Clarion-Ledger via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT
Archaeologist points to hidden monument in Jordan's Petra

AMMAN, Jordan (AP)  Satellite and drone images have led to a new discovery in the ancient city of Petra  a massive man-made stone platform hidden under sand.

The platform might have been used for ceremonial purposes because it was fronted on one side by columns and a monumental staircase, said Christopher A. Tuttle, executive director of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. Only excavations would be able to shed more light on its original use, but no digs are planned for now, he said.

Petra is a sprawling archaeological site of tombs and monuments carved into rose-hued desert sandstone some 2,000 years ago by traders known as Nabataeans. Petra's most famous building is the Treasury, where scenes from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" were filmed in the 1980s.

This undated handout image, provided by Dr. Christopher A. Tuttle, Executive Director of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, shows U.S. archaeologist Christopher A. Tuttle investigating the doorsill of the small building on the platform, looking southwest in Petra, Jordan. Tuttle said satellite and drone images led to a new discovery in the ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan -- a massive platform hidden under sand. Tuttle said late Friday that the platform was not clearly visible from the ground, and that only images taken from above it revealed the shape. He says it may have been used for ceremonial purposes because it was fronted on one side by columns and a monumental staircase. (Council of American Overseas Research Centers/G. al Faqeer via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Scientific exploration of Petra goes back some 200 years, and Tuttle worked at the site for close to a decade.

The platform is located about 900 meters (3,000 feet) from the ancient city center, but away from paths used by tourists and away from major monuments, Tuttle said late Friday. It is not clearly visible from the ground or nearby hills, and its outlines only emerged in satellite and drone images, he said.

"It's this very large platform that many of us (archaeologists) have walked over for years, and probably didn't even realize we were walking on it," said the archaeologist, who collaborated with Sarah Parcak from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Tuttle led four ground surveys while Parcak analyzed satellite data.

The platform was constructed by leveling a natural plateau, according to the pair's findings, published last month in the Bulletin of American Schools of Oriental Research. It measures about 56 meters (184 feet) by 49 meters (161 feet), or about the size of six professional basketball courts.

A second, slightly smaller platform was built on the first and was paved with flagstones, some of them exposed by erosion, the report said. The remnants of a small structure, including a doorstep, are visible on the smaller platform.

The east side of the smaller platform was originally lined by a row of columns that was partially revealed by illegal excavations, the researchers wrote. The columns "crowned a monumental stairway that spanned the entire width of the smaller platform," they wrote. Some of the treads of the staircase were found further down a slope.

Tuttle's team discovered surface pottery at the site, some of it going back to the Nabataeans' peak era of more than two millennia ago, but some of it much newer.

"It appears highly likely that the platform and structures were initially constructed to serve ceremonial purposes," the researchers wrote.

Vast areas of Petra have not been uncovered, but the platform appears unusual among the city's monuments.

Tuttle said there are no plans to lay bare the entire platform.

"The moment you uncover something, it starts to disintegrate, and that's Petra's No. 1 problem," he said. "The (sandstone) monuments are disintegrating ....from exposure to the wind, the rain, the sun. So what we would do if we did go back there is targeted excavations."

This handout zoomed-in UAV image, provided by Dr. Christopher A. Tuttle, Executive Director of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, shows a platform hidden under the sand in Petra, Jordan. A U.S. archaeologist says satellite and drone images led to a new discovery in the ancient city of Petra _ a massive platform hidden under sand. Tuttle said late Friday that the platform was not clearly visible from the ground, and that only images taken from above it revealed the shape. (Council of American Overseas Research Centers/I. LaBianca via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

This undated handout image, provided by Dr. Christopher A. Tuttle, Executive Director of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, shows exposed flagstone pavers of the interior, smaller platform, looking north, in Petra, Jordan. U.S. archaeologist Christopher A. Tuttle said satellite and drone images led to a new discovery in the ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan -- a massive platform hidden under sand. Tuttle said late Friday, June 10, 2016 that the platform was not clearly visible from the ground, and that only images taken from above it revealed the shape. He said it may have been used for ceremonial purposes because it was fronted on one side by columns and a monumental staircase. (Council of American Overseas Research Centers/ Q. Tweissi via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

This undated handout image, provided by Dr. Christopher A. Tuttle, Executive Director of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, shows a sandstone column drum, part of a platform hidden under the sand in Petra, Jordan.Tuttle said satellite and drone images led to a new discovery in the ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan -- a massive platform hidden under sand. Tuttle said late Friday, June 10, 2016 that the platform was not clearly visible from the ground, and that only images taken from above it revealed the shape. He said it may have been used for ceremonial purposes because it was fronted on one side by columns and a monumental staircase. (Council of American Overseas Research Centers/C. A. Tuttle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
Call to Help! Belgrade activist sets up animal charity

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  Belgrade has too many hungry dogs and cats, so Ana Kojic found a way to enlist others to help.

The 38-year-old animal rights activist from Belgrade set up a network of volunteers who collect food donations for the countless stray animals in the Serbian capital.

Dubbed "Belgrade's first pet food bank," the project has quickly become a success. Dozens of individuals and companies have chipped in with contributions in just the few weeks since Kojic started advertising on social networks.

WITH STORY SERBIA FEEDING STRAYS : In this photo taken Friday, June 10, 2016, Tara Metikus, 10, center, a volunteer, pets a stray dog while Ana Kojic, 38, carries a bag of dog food in a suburb of Belgrade, Serbia. There are too many hungry dogs and cats out there, so Kojic has made sure that whoever wants to help can do so. The animal rights activist from Belgrade Kojic has set up a network of volunteers who respond to calls from the public and collect food donations for the countless stray animals that roam the Serbian capital. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

"Initially, the response was modest, but as the word spread our phones have not stopped ringing," Kojic told The Associated Press. "Each day, we have more and more donors, which is great!"

Kojic came up with the idea while looking for ways to raise more food for the stray animals. On her Facebook page, Kojic reached out to people who "love animals but don't have time to dedicate."

"Unfortunately, we have thousands of abandoned animals and the numbers are not becoming smaller," Kojic said. "Our aim is to make sure they get one meal a day."

Stray animals have been an acute problem in Serbian cities for decades, amid the wars of the 1990s and widespread poverty in the country with an already poor record in animal welfare. Belgrade has adopted a no-kill policy of sterilizing its stray cats and dogs, along with launching an awareness campaign, but the problem has persisted with owners abandoning their pets and more puppies and kittens being born.

Gordana, a 70-year-old retiree from a suburban zone of Belgrade, lamented that "the animals are in the streets and hungry, there is no doubt about that." Kojic's food charity is an "excellent idea," said Gordana, who gave only her first name.

When a donor calls, Kojic directs a volunteer to pick up the food and dish it out immediately to the animals in need. Sometimes people leave their donations at the nearest pet shop for volunteers to collect.

Dog lovers usually give food for dogs while those who prefer cats donate cat food, Kojic said.

In the suburban residential area of Mirijevo, a happy black-and-brown mongrel barked enthusiastically as Kojic approached with food. Nearby, a 3-month-old gray puppy called Teddy Bear sleepily emerged from a makeshift dog house, one ear cocked in anticipation. Spotty, a black-and-white, short-legged mixed dog, also hurried up the hill.

Kojic's youngest volunteer, 10-year-old Tara Metikos, handed out the food.

"We love to feed the dogs and take them to the vet; I have a lot of friends who also help," Metikos said.

___

This story corrects the last name of a volunteer to Metikos.

WITH STORY SERBIA FEEDING STRAYS : In this photo taken Friday, June 10, 2016, Ana Kojic, 38, right, and Tara Metikus, 10, 2nd right, feed stray dogs in a suburb of Belgrade, Serbia. There are too many hungry dogs and cats out there, so Kojic has made sure that whoever wants to help can do so. The animal rights activist from Belgrade Kojic has set up a network of volunteers who respond to calls from the public and collect food donations for the countless stray animals that roam the Serbian capital. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
Germany: defense seeks acquittal of former Auschwitz guard

BERLIN (AP)  A defense lawyer called Saturday for the acquittal of a 94-year-old former Auschwitz death camp guard being tried in Germany as an accessory to murder.

In closing arguments at the Detmold state court in western Germany, attorney Johannes Salmen said the trial has produced no evidence that defendant Reinhold Hanning was directly involved in specific crimes, news agency dpa reported.

He said Hanning never killed or beat anyone, or helped others do so, and that he was never in the part of the camp where the gas chambers were located.

94-year-old former SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp Reinhold Hanning, arrives at a courtroom in Detmold, Germany, Saturday June 11, 2016. A defense lawyer is calling for the acquittal of a 94-year-old former Auschwitz death camp guard being tried in Germany as an accessory to murder. In closing arguments Saturday, defense lawyer Johannes Salmen said the trial at the Detmold state court produced no evidence that Reinhold Hanning was directly involved in specific crimes, news agency dpa reported. He said Hanning never killed or beat anyone. (Bernd Thissen/Pool Photo via AP)

Prosecutors are seeking a six-year-prison sentence. They argue that Hanning is guilty of being an accessory to murder in at least 100,000 cases because, as a guard, he helped the death camp function.

Hanning in April admitted serving as an Auschwitz guard. He said he was ashamed that, although he was aware Jews were being gassed and their corpses burned, he did nothing to try to stop it.

Salmen pointed to Hanning's youth when he joined the SS, at 18, arguing that as a worker who didn't graduate from school he couldn't appreciate the consequences of his actions. "One cannot act today as if the defendant was a fully fledged man back then who knew what he was doing," he said.

Hanning did not take the opportunity to make a closing statement himself. A verdict is expected on Friday.

In 2011, former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk became the first person convicted in Germany solely for serving as a death camp guard, with no evidence of involvement in a specific killing. Demjanjuk always denied serving at the Sobibor camp and died before his appeal could be heard.

Prosecutors last year secured the conviction of SS sergeant Oskar Groening, who served at Auschwitz, on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder using the same reasoning.

94-year-old former SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp Reinhold Hanning, arrives at a courtroom in Detmold, Germany, Saturday June 11, 2016. A defense lawyer is calling for the acquittal of a 94-year-old former Auschwitz death camp guard being tried in Germany as an accessory to murder. In closing arguments Saturday, defense lawyer Johannes Salmen said the trial at the Detmold state court produced no evidence that Reinhold Hanning was directly involved in specific crimes, news agency dpa reported. He said Hanning never killed or beat anyone. (Bernd Thissen/Pool Photo via AP)
Hope lost in Greece, some Syrians pay smugglers to get home

DIDIMOTICHO, Greece (AP)  Europe seemed like the promised land, worth risking their lives to reach. But in a muddy field on the northern edge of Greece, their dreams died. Now, dozens of Syrian refugees are risking their lives again but in the opposite direction  paying smugglers to take them back to Turkey, and heading home.

Rather than brave the often treacherous waves of the Aegean again, they face the dangerous currents of the Evros River, which runs along the Greek-Turkish border. Each night, groups of migrants and refugees huddle at the railway station of the small border town of Didimoticho, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the frontier, setting up small tents and waiting for their chance to cross.

Among them is Atia Al Jassem, a 27-year-old Syrian barber from Damascus who is heading east with his wife and 1-year-old daughter after spending months stuck on the Greek-Macedonian border, watching his hopes of reaching Europe ebb away.

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrians gather around damaged buildings after a bomb attack at the Sayyida Zeinab suburb, Damascus, Syria, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Two bombs went off Saturday near the Syrian capital, killing at least eight people and wounding over a dozen others in the latest attack to hit the predominantly Shiite area in recent months, state TV and an opposition activist group said. (SANA via AP)

"I am going to Turkey, I do not want Europe any more. Finished," he said, sitting in a small park near the railway station in Thessaloniki, Greece's main northern city, where he, his 20-year-old wife Yasmine Ramadan and their daughter Legine, who they call Loulou, spent what they hoped would be their last night in the country.

"We are really tired. We're destroyed and I have a baby. I ask God to help me get back to Turkey," he said. "In Syria under the bombs we would be better off than here."

The family arrived in Greece on Feb. 24, crossing the Aegean and then making their way north. But their journey to Germany was cut short at the Greek-Macedonian border.

The European Union and Turkey since agreed on a deal which returns migrants who arrived on the Greek islands after March 20 to Turkey  but it doesn't affect earlier arrivals trapped on the Greek mainland.

Balkan and European countries increasingly tightened entry restrictions at the start of the year, before shutting their land borders to refugees completely in March. That trapped about 57,000 people in Greece, a country enduring a six-year financial crisis and with unemployment running at around 24 percent. Few refugees want to settle here.

Al Jassem and his family stayed for months in Idomeni, a sprawling impromptu refugee camp that sprang up on the Greek-Macedonian border. Authorities evacuated the camp last month, and the family were moved to an official camp with thousands of others.

But months of living rough had sapped their morale and their resolve. They gave up the dream of a life in Germany.

"We did not expect we were going to be treated as such in Europe," said Al Jassem. "We thought they will be humane, looking after us and after our children, protect our children. We though we will be helped, but we found the opposite. Europe has no feeling for us at all."

They decided to head to Turkey, where Al Jassem's brother lives. But like many others, they found there was no easy way back. Syrians cannot be officially returned to their war-ravaged country, and the legal path to Turkey would be lengthy and bureaucratic. So many opt for smugglers, who migrants say now charge cut-price rates of just a few hundred euros instead of thousands to be taken in the opposite direction.

"Recently we have observed a reverse flow of migrants and refugees coming from Idomeni toward our northern borders," said Ilias Akidis, head of the police union of Didimoticho. "From what they tell us, they are trying to cross to Turkey ... because they have relatives there or because they want to head back to their country."

Didimoticho deputy mayor Ioannis Topaloudis said authorities have been seeing around 20-40 people heading toward the Turkish border each day. With a fence sealing the small section of land border, the only option to those without the correct documentation is to take their chances across the river. Over the years, the Evros' current has claimed many migrant lives.

Authorities stop those they find. Police say they have detained about 150 migrants trying to cross illegally into Turkey over the past two months. In mid-May, police caught five Syrians aged between 23 and 52 trying to row across the river in a dinghy.

"This season the Evros (river) is very dangerous. Because of the rains, the water level is very high," said Akidis. "They are always trying to go back. It is very dangerous. They don't succeed because we also are preventing them from crossing, but for their own reasons they keep trying."

Among those giving up on hopes of a life in Europe was Majd Hamed, a 21-year-old fine arts student also from Damascus. After three months in Idomeni, he decided in mid-May to head home.

"I want to go to Syria and continue my studies in the Fine Arts School. Even if the (European) borders open, I'm going back. I'm very angry with the Europeans for this situation we've been living here," he said, sitting outside the train carriages where he had been sleeping in Idomeni before the camp was evacuated.

Hamed says he sought help from U.N. agencies to return home, but was told it wasn't possible.

"They told me that it's not safe for me to go back to Syria," he said. So he sought out the alternative.

Armed with a map with Didimoticho marked out, he was heading to Thessaloniki to catch a train to the border. "From there I'm going to cross the river, as others from Syria have told me," he said. He aimed to fly from Turkey to Lebanon and make his way home to Damascus.

"I never tried to cross the border with Macedonia illegally," he says. "I wanted to get to Germany legally, but now I'm forced to try to return to my country in this way."

Some lucky few do manage to take a legal route. Alia Mohamad, a 21-year-old from Aleppo, was heading with her husband and barely 2-month-old son Uday to Thessaloniki to catch a flight to Turkey with tickets sent by her sister, who was getting married in Turkey and had officially invited them over.

The young family had spent three months in Idomeni. "It is not possible to continue like this and I see it is impossible to get to Europe," Mohamad said.

After the wedding, they aim to return to Syria.

"We have no more money, and the situation here is bad also for the baby," said her 23-year-old husband Mahmud Kusa Ali. "We have decided to return to our country."

They will settle down about 70 kilometers from their hometown of Aleppo. "It is safer there," he said.

____

Follow Kantouris on Twitter on https://twitter.com/CostasKantouris

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrians gather around burning buildings after a bomb attack at the Sayyida Zeinab suburb, Damascus, Syria, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Two bombs went off Saturday near the Syrian capital, killing at least eight people and wounding over a dozen others in the latest attack to hit the predominantly Shiite area in recent months, state TV and an opposition activist group said. (SANA via AP)
Zimbabwe's flag center of social media war over frustrations

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)  Zimbabwe's national flag is furiously flapping in the center of a heated social media war over what the flag means and people's frustrations with President Robert Mugabe's government.

The hashtags #Thisflag and #Ourflag now determine one's political loyalty in this deeply polarized southern African country.

A young pastor in the capital, Evan Mawarire, in April launched the #Thisflag campaign to protest alleged government failures. He said he was struggling to raise money for his children's school fees when he looked at the flag sitting on his office desk. He questioned its relevance, and from there the idea was born.

This photo taken Tuesday May 3, 2016 shows Evans Mawarire, a young pastor, posing with a Zimbabwean flag wrapped around his body, in Harare. Mawarire launched a media campaign called Thisflag" to protest alleged government failures and asserting the meaning of the national emblem. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Mawarire went onto social media and challenged people to post pictures and videos of themselves with the national flag and to drape the flag around their shoulders in public. His first video, in which he rants about how the flag's colors have lost significance because of alleged political mismanagement, attracted over 120,000 views on the first day it was posted.

He has since posted several videos, and the campaign has taken on a life of its own. Other people now post videos of themselves wrapped in the flag and venting about their everyday problems.

"I was just frustrated," Mawarire told The Associated Press. "My own country is standing in front of my dreams. That's how I started the campaign." He said he has since received death threats that say the flag should be used to choke him.

Gone viral, the campaign is now a full-blooded political war that has engaged cabinet ministers, members of parliament and diplomats in the social media conflict.

To counter Mawarire's movement, supporters of Mugabe's government have coined their own campaign, #Ourflag. That campaign extolls Mugabe's virtues and the successes of his ruling ZANU-PF party, but it has struggled to take off.

The five colors of the Zimbabwe flag, adopted at independence in 1980, are loaded with political and economic significance. Red represents the blood shed during the 1970s war to end white minority rule, yellow is for the country's gold and mineral resources and green stands for Zimbabwe's rich agriculture and its rural areas. Black is for the country's majority population and white stands for peace. The flag also features a rendering of the historic Zimbabwe bird which is on top of a red star, symbolizing the Marxism espoused by the ruling party at independence.

The dueling flag campaigns have sparked some skirmishes in parliament.

"This is the Zimbabwean flag. Just put it down," speaker of the House of Assembly, Jacob Mudenda, said to opposition MPs who wore flags over their shoulders during a session last month. "Place the Zimbabwean flag down. We have to treat it with some respect."

Opposition chief whip Innocent Gonese responded by pointing out the small flag pins worn by ZANU-PF supporters: "Where is the difference with those wearing the flag over their shoulders and those with flags on their jackets?"

Diplomats have entered the fray, with the United States and European Union ambassadors to Zimbabwe retweeting some of the campaign messages. U.S. Ambassador Harry K. Thomas drew the anger of pro-Mugabe officials, who began calling him #dirtyharry, after he tweeted in May: "Wonder if #Zimbabwe's #ThisFlag movement will spread to the US y other nations?"

Others in Zimbabwe think it's a wasteful campaign.

"The only person benefiting from this is the guy selling the flags," said Blessing Vava, a government critic activist based in South Africa. "If Zimbabweans are bold enough, then they should just demonstrate in the streets."

This photo taken Wednesday May 18, 2016 shows a vendor selling Zimbabwean flags in Harare. The young pastor, Evans Mawarire has launched a media campaign called Thisflag" to protest alleged government failures and asserting the meaning of the national emblem. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
Muslims see anti-mosque bias in landmarking decision

YONKERS, N.Y. (AP)  After months of searching to find a home for their mosque, a Muslim group settled on a century-old, three-story Tudor in a leafy neighborhood of a New York suburb, a fixer-upper they say would be perfect with the right renovations.

But not long after the sale went through last year, neighbors thought it was perfect just the way it was. A neighborhood group filed an application to have the building designated a city landmark and won final approval last month, meaning any exterior renovations will now have to go through a time-consuming permission process.

While city officials insisted the landmark status wouldn't prevent the home being used as a mosque, the Muslim organization saw something more sinister.

A house in Yonkers, N.Y. that the Islamic Community Center of Mid-Weschester hopes to convert into a mosque is seen on Monday, June 6, 2016. The Islamic Community Center faces hurdles now that the home they purchased has been given a historic landmark designation limiting how it can be altered. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

"We feel that we are being targeted," said Arshad Shariff, chairman of the Islamic Community Center of Mid-Westchester. "And unnecessary obstacles and hindrances are being placed because we are Muslim."

It's a refrain that's been heard around the country, from Muslims who say they have faced all kinds of zoning and other obstacles as they've tried to build or expand mosques. Some of the conflicts have gone to court, under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law passed in 2000 that forbids using zoning laws in such a way.

Among the most high-profile of the controversies was over plans for an Islamic center to be built in the vicinity of New York City's World Trade Center site, which was dubbed the "Ground Zero mosque" in 2010 by opponents.

More recently, a Muslim group in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, has been facing zoning and other obstacles for several years over its plan to build a mosque, resulting in a federal lawsuit against the town's planning board.

Earlier this year, officials in Lexington, Kentucky, sued the local mosque, saying it was violating zoning ordinances with its plans to renovate the property and expand to an adjacent building.

Houses of worship from all faiths can and do face issues related to their land usage, said Luke Goodrich, deputy general counsel at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Communities don't like them for a number of reasons, either because of the crowds they can bring or the lack of tax revenue, or sometimes because of bias against the faith in question, he said.

But Muslims have faced a disproportionate amount of those issues. A Department of Justice review of the law since its inception found that in its first 10 years, 15 percent of the cases brought by the department's Civil Rights division under the religious land use act involved mosques or Islamic schools, a percentage that has increased to more than 25 percent of the case load in the following four years. Muslims make up an estimated 1 percent of the population.

Naeem Baig, president of the Islamic Circle of North America, a grassroots Muslim outreach group, says that backlash has been fueled by anti-Muslim rhetoric has become more prevalent in the mainstream in recent years.

"Where people see a mosque coming into a neighborhood or community, they're not seeing it as fellow Americans who happen to be Muslim," he said.

In Yonkers, Islamic Community Center leader Shariff said the dispute with the city has delayed the opening of the mosque indefinitely.

Shariff said the group never planned major changes to the exterior of the $750,000 home to make it a mosque  no minarets, no loudspeakers issuing the call to prayer. It primarily wanted to add an entrance ramp for handicapped visitors and another entrance, and some kind of signage indicating that it was a mosque.

Shariff said they had met with city officials before the sale went through to ask if there was any historical significance to the property, and were told there were no records indicating any.

In a statement announcing the landmark designation last month, Mayor Mike Spano said the home was significant because it was one of the original homes to be built in the city's historic Colonial Heights section.

Spano's office declined repeated requests for additional comment, and a telephone number for the neighborhood organization that started the landmark application, the Colonial Heights Association of Taxpayers, could not be found.

"It's important for the neighbors to understand we are their neighbors," Shariff said. "We are part of the American fabric."

___

Follow Deepti Hajela at www.twitter.com/dhajela. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/deepti-hajela

Arshad Shariff, chairman of the Islamic Community Center of Mid-Weschester, speaks to a reporter in the house the group hopes to convert into a mosque in Yonkers, N.Y., Monday, June 6, 2016. The Islamic Community Center faces hurdles now that the home they purchased has been given a historic landmark designation limiting how it can be altered. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Holes are seen in the ceiling near stained glass windows at a house in Yonkers, N.Y. that the Islamic Community Center of Mid-Weschester hopes to convert into a mosque on Monday, June 6, 2016. The Islamic Community Center faces hurdles now that the home they purchased has been given a historic landmark designation limiting how it can be altered. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A house in Yonkers, N.Y. that the Islamic Community Center of Mid-Weschester hopes to convert into a mosque is seen on Monday, June 6, 2016. The Islamic Community Center faces hurdles now that the home they purchased has been given a historic landmark designation limiting how it can be altered. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Arshad Shariff, chairman of the Islamic Community Center of Mid-Weschester, speaks to a reporter in the house the group hopes to convert into a mosque in Yonkers, N.Y., Monday, June 6, 2016. The Islamic Community Center faces hurdles now that the home they purchased has been given a historic landmark designation limiting how it can be altered. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Jailed Eritrean insists Italy got wrong man, no trafficker

ROME (AP)  A lawyer for an Eritrean man jailed in Rome as an alleged migrant smuggling kingpin says his client keeps insisting police in Sudan nabbed him in a case of mistaken identity.

Lawyer Michele Calantropo said Saturday he expects the man to be transferred soon to Sicily, the base of prosecutors investigating Libyan-based operations smuggling migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe. Calantropo says a judge will rule on his request for his client's release after prosecutors present their opinion, a step he expects to happen Monday.
Road to 270: Where Trump, Clinton start their race

No matter the 2016 presidential matchup after the primary campaigns, the Democratic nominee was likely to have an edge over the Republican candidate once the election turned toward the November race.

In the past six presidential elections, 32 states and the District of Columbia have voted solidly Democratic or solidly Republican. If none of that changes this year, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would start out with 242 electoral votes  just 28 shy of the 270 she needs to win.

The GOP candidate would start out with just 102, if that trend were to hold. And if presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump won Arizona, Montana and the seven Southern states that voted Democratic only when Bill Clinton was on the ballot, Trump would be up to only 180 electoral votes.

That leaves 116 votes in 10 states. As always, Florida becomes crucial.

If Trump can win nine of those 10, he still would lose, unless Florida is among his victories. Clinton can lose nine of those 10, but if she wins Florida, she would move into the White House come January.

To change that math, Trump needs to break through in one of the 19 states that have voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1992.

In subsequent weeks, The Associated Press will look at the national electoral map and how the states are leaning, based on political preference polls, demographic trends and the candidates' performance on in the campaign.

A look at the starting line, based on how the 50 states have voted in the six presidential elections since 1992.

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SOLIDLY DEMOCRATIC

These states, in addition to the District of Columbia, have voted for the Democratic nominee in every election since 1992: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin.

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ALL DEMOCRATIC, BUT ONCE

These states have voted for the Democratic nominee in five of the six elections since 1992: Iowa, New Hampshire, New Mexico.

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MORE OFTEN DEMOCRATIC

These states have voted for the Democratic nominee in four of the six elections since 1992: Nevada, Ohio.

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EVEN UP

These states have voted for the Democratic nominee three times and the Republican nominee three times since 1992: Colorado, Florida.

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MORE OFTEN REPUBLICAN

These states have voted for the Republican nominee in four of the six elections since 1992: Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia.

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ALL REPUBLICAN, BUT ONCE

These states have voted for the Republican nominee in five of the six elections since 1992: Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina.

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SOLIDLY REPUBLICAN
In Sanders' hometown, people proud of his mark on campaign

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)  People in this lakeside city that Bernie Sanders helped transform as mayor before embarking on a career in Congress are proud of the mark he's left in the 2016 presidential race even as they recognize that his White House bid is almost certainly going to fall short.

The senator returned to Burlington, his hometown, after a week of major developments in the campaign: Hillary Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination, President Barack Obama endorsed her after meeting with Sanders at the White House, and the party kept up efforts to ease Sanders from the race while trying not to offend his many supporters.

Sanders was largely staying out of public view this weekend, though he was booked on some Washington-based news shows on Sunday and his campaign spokesman, Michael Briggs, said Sanders and his wife, Jane, invited "a couple dozen key supporters and advisers from around the country to come to Burlington to share ideas."

Vanessa Arbour, left, and friend Benjamin Gorbach talk about the Democratic presidential candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Saturday June 11, 2016, in Burlington, Vt. Sanders is in his hometown of Burlington for the weekend and residents and visitors to the city say they're proud of what Sanders has accomplished during his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, but they are coming to recognize his active campaign for the presidency is coming to an end. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring)

Briggs said he expected "a lot of thoughtful discussion among smart people and good friends."

Sanders was expected to return to Washington for Tuesday's primary in the District of Columbia, the final one on the nomination calendar. In an email Saturday to supporters, Sanders reminded them of their "chance to stand up and be heard." His message ended: "I thank you for everything you've shared with me and all the support you've given our campaign. Now it's time to bring it home on Tuesday."

Sanders hasn't said he would quit the race, but after meeting with Obama, he made clear he would do everything he could to stop presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump from winning the White House.

People in Burlington are familiar with Sanders and the message of social justice that he has promoted since before he was elected mayor in 1981. Many credit him with helping make Burlington the vibrant, multicultural small city that it is today, and are thrilled to see his message gain so much attention.

"What's really cool is he sort of changed the narrative in a big way," said Benjamin Gorbach, 29, of Burlington, who works at the regional transit agency and was standing on Church Street in the rain Saturday with friend Vanessa Arbour, 26, an information technology worker. Both are Sanders supporters.

Said Arbour: "I think the real important thing about Bernie was that a) he really had a chance of winning and b) people actually thought he was going to win."

Sarah Mandl, 26, of Ithaca, New York, who attended the University of Vermont and spends summers in the state, said she was surprised and happy that Sanders made it as far as he did in the race, and continues to try to get out his message "even though he knows he's not going to be president."

Dan McAllister, 60, a clergyman from South Burlington, credited Sanders with raising "some questions both the Democrats and the Republicans have to answer."

Don Dresser, 65, a retired postmaster from Huntington who was wearing a "Bernie" sticker on his shirt, said he's not sure what's next for Sanders, but expects him to press his agenda at the party convention this summer.

"I mean he's been speaking on the same thing since I came here in the mid-70s."

___

Associated Press writer Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.
Talks set after nurses set strike at 5 Twin Cities hospitals

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Contract talks are set to resume in the hopes of avoiding a strike by nearly 5,000 nurses at five hospitals in the Minneapolis area.

Negotiators from the Minnesota Nurses Association and Allina Health on Friday agreed to a federal mediator's request to resume negotiations, which they'll do on Monday.

The nurses rejected Allina's latest contract offer on Monday, saying it would shift too much of the company's health care costs to the nurses. Union leaders have set a one-week strike to begin June 19 by nurses at Abbott Northwestern, Phillips Eye Institute, United, Mercy and Unity hospitals.

Allina has said its metro-area hospitals will remain open if the nurses go on strike.
Thousands march for gay rights in Poland, Croatia, Italy

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Thousands of people marched Saturday in colorful gay pride events in Italy, Poland and Croatia urging support for minority rights in the mostly Catholic nations.

The parades in Poland and Croatia come amid mounting right-wing sentiments that pose new challenges to gay rights activists. Italian participants, however, had more reason to celebrate after winning the right to form same-sex civil unions this year.

Still, the Italians said there is far more to be done given the limited nature of the new civil union law, which took effect last Sunday.

People march past the Colosseum during the Gay Pride parade in Rome, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Italy joined the rest of Europe last month in giving some legal rights to gay couples after a years-long battle and opposition from the Catholic Church to anything that smacked of authorizing gay marriage. (AP Photo/Fabio Frustaci)

Italy doesn't allow same-sex marriage, and gay rights proponents failed to get the civil unions law to include adoption by a gay civil union partner of the biological child of the other person in the union.

"In a country like Italy where LGBT rights are not fully recognized, the fact of showing ourselves in public in front of other people means that we are claiming our presence. In this moment we are saying: 'even if you do not agree with us, we are here,'" said Nadir Signori, a participant from Brescia.

In Zagreb, former interior minister Ranko Ostojic and several well-known public figures joined an event dubbed "Croatia is Not Over Yet." Ostojic says "I am glad to be here today, this is my Croatia."

Liberals have warned that Croatia has been tilting to the right under a conservative government that took over in January. Similarly in Poland, there are concerns for minority rights under a right-wing government that took office in November.

Warsaw residents with rainbow symbol walk in a colorful annual Equality Parade to show their support for sexual minority groups in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 11, 2016. The 16th parade Saturday is held at a time when views concerning minorities are getting radicalized under a right-wing government that took office in November. A visible police presence accompanied the march. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Thousands of Warsaw residents with rainbow flags walk in a colorful annual Equality Parade to show their support for sexual minority groups in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 11, 2016. The 16th parade Saturday is held at a time when views concerning minorities are getting radicalized under a right-wing government that took office in November. A visible police presence accompanied the march.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Thousands of Warsaw residents with rainbow flags walk in a colorful annual Equality Parade to show their support for sexual minority groups in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 11, 2016. The 16th parade Saturday is held at a time when views concerning minorities are getting radicalized under a right-wing government that took office in November. A visible police presence accompanied the march.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Warsaw resident with rainbow flags walk in a colorful annual Equality Parade to show their support for sexual minority groups in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 11, 2016. The 16th parade Saturday is held at a time when views concerning minorities are getting radicalized under a right-wing government that took office in November. A visible police presence accompanied the march.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Backers and members of sexual minority groups carry rainbow flags as a sign of support for these groups in a colorful annual Equality Parade in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 11, 2016. The 16th parade Saturday is held at a time when views concerning minorities are getting radicalized under a right-wing government that took office in November. A visible police presence accompanied the march. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

People march past the Colosseum during the Gay Pride parade in Rome, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Italy joined the rest of Europe last month in giving some legal rights to gay couples after a years-long battle and opposition from the Catholic Church to anything that smacked of authorizing gay marriage. (AP Photo/Fabio Frustaci)

Thousands of Warsaw residents with rainbow flags walk in a colourful annual Equality Parade to show their support for sexual minority groups in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 11, 2016. The 16th parade Saturday is held at a time when views concerning minorities are getting radicalized under a right-wing government that took office in November. A visible police presence accompanied the march. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

People march past the Colosseum during the Gay Pride parade in Rome, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Italy joined the rest of Europe last month in giving some legal rights to gay couples after a years-long battle and opposition from the Catholic Church to anything that smacked of authorizing gay marriage. (AP Photo/Fabio Frustaci)

Warsaw residents with rainbow umbrella walk in a colorful annual Equality Parade to show their support for sexual minority groups in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 11, 2016. The 16th parade Saturday is held at a time when views concerning minorities are getting radicalized under a right-wing government that took office in November. A visible police presence accompanied the march.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

People march past the Colosseum during the Gay Pride parade in Rome, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Italy joined the rest of Europe last month in giving some legal rights to gay couples after a years-long battle and opposition from the Catholic Church to anything that smacked of authorizing gay marriage. (AP Photo/Fabio Frustaci)

People march past the Colosseum during the Gay Pride parade in Rome, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Italy joined the rest of Europe last month in giving some legal rights to gay couples after a years-long battle and opposition from the Catholic Church to anything that smacked of authorizing gay marriage. (AP Photo/Fabio Frustaci)
Mexico laments death of citizen shot by US border agent

MEXICO CITY (AP)  The Mexican government says a man fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent was a Mexican citizen and it "deeply regrets" the incident.

The Foreign Relations Department said in a statement late Friday that "Mexico has repeatedly said the use of lethal force in immigration control and border security should be used as a last resort."

Border Patrol officials say the man assaulted the agent after illegally crossing the frontier near Yuma, Arizona, late Thursday.

The agent says he feared for his life and fired after the man hit him in the head and tried to take his gun.
The Latest: Solar-powered pilots awed by Statue of Liberty

NEW YORK (AP)  The Latest on the solar-powered plane that is circling the globe (all times local):

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12:30 p.m.:

FILE - In this April 23, 2016 file photo, Solar Impulse 2 flies over San Francisco. The solar-powered airplane has left Pennsylvania for New York City on the latest leg of its globe-circling voyage. The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 took off from Lehigh Valley International Airport late Friday, June 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

The pilots of a solar-powered airplane that's circling the globe say the views of the Statue of Liberty inspired them on their mission to free the world of reliance on fossil fuels.

Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard arrived with the Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 at JFK Airport early Saturday after leaving Pennsylvania as part of their globe-circling voyage.

The pilots said the air was crystal clear as they flew into New York and over the Statue of Liberty.

Their trip began in March 2015 from the United Arab Emirates.

The pilots expect to be in New York for several days before embarking on the next leg of their journey to Europe. Piccard said weather conditions will dictate when they leave, and whether they will land in Ireland, France, Spain or Portugal.

___

4:30 a.m.:

A solar-powered airplane has landed in New York City on the latest leg of its globe-circling voyage.

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 soared over the Statue of Liberty and flew into New York City, before landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport early Saturday morning. It had left Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania late Friday.

The plane originally was scheduled to head to the Big Apple Monday night but showers and thunderstorms moving through the area caused it to be grounded.

The plane had been in Allentown since May 25.
Spain: Firefighters work to control southern wildfire

MADRID (AP)  Spanish authorities are fighting a wildfire that began Friday night in southern Spain amid a heat wave.

About 300 firefighters and other emergency crew members worked overnight to extinguish the fire that forced about 15 residents to be evacuated as a precaution, although they later returned safely to their homes.

Local police and firefighters from the southern region of Murcia were unable to determine the blaze's origin, although officials suspect arson.

The flames have affected almost 300 acres of rural land. With the fire apparently under control Friday night, firefighters suspended their efforts because of lack of visibility, and a combination of rising temperatures and gusty winds revived the fire.
Romney loyalists ponder a future with Trump

PARK CITY, Utah (AP)  Donald Trump can be an effective president, and he's going to win with you or without you, Republican Chairman Reince Priebus told several hundred of the party's top donors and strategists Saturday.

Trump is setting a dangerous example for Americans by promoting "trickle-down racism," and the party must look beyond this presidential election to find its future, the 2012 nominee Mitt Romney told the same group later that morning.

Delivered within moments of each other at Romney's annual business and politics summit at a five-star ski resort, those opposite messages were enough to cause whiplash. That's a hazard of being a Republican this year, as the party struggles to figure out what to do with its controversial presumptive presidential nominee.

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a rally in Richmond, Va., Friday, June 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Blinking back tears as he spoke, an impassioned Romney said many have asked him to get off his "high horse" and back Trump, seeing presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as unacceptable. "Either choice is destructive," Romney said. "I love this country. I love the founders. I love what this country is built upon, and its values. And seeing this is breaking my heart."

Romney said he would not spend time campaigning for or against Trump and predicted 90 percent of Republicans would vote for Trump.

The attendees, about 300 of Romney's longtime donors and friends, provided a snapshot of the wide range of GOP sentiment about Trump. While most are eager to keep Clinton out of the White House, Trump keeps giving many of them pause, the latest example being his comments that a federal judge's Mexican heritage prevents him from fairly overseeing a lawsuit against him.

Behind closed doors at the summit, Hewlett Packard President Meg Whitman likened Trump to Mussolini and Hitler and suggested she might vote for Clinton. GOP strategists and vocal Trump skeptics Stuart Stevens, Ana Navarro and Kristen Soltis Anderson told attendees to brace for a Clinton White House because Trump doesn't appeal to growing voter blocs, including Latinos.

"It's very difficult to envision" how Trump can win, Anderson said in a rare on-the-record session.

House Speaker Paul Ryan squirmed as he was asked how he could support Trump after denouncing the candidate's comments about the judge. He demurred, as he did during Whitman's Trump tirade, saying his leadership position means he must convey the will of Republican representatives, not just his own.

Spencer Zwick, Romney's former finance chairman and the current one for Ryan, tried to navigate the complex terrain between the two men, the former presidential nominee and his running mate.

"I would love to see the Republican Party come together," Zwick said. "At the same time, with comments like the one Donald Trump have made recently, I don't subscribe to that type of rhetoric. And I'm not an elected official. I don't have to make an endorsement. There's no pressure."

Yet many Republicans at the summit want to find a way  and some can't.

"For me to jump in, this pivot has to come. We're still in primary mode, I guess because it has a reality TV feel. But the pivot has to happen, and it's not," said John Rakolta Jr., a former fundraiser and family friend of Romney who lives in Michigan. "I'm an optimist by nature, and I keep hoping and hoping and hoping that there will be a reason to support him."

Lanhee Chen, Romney's former policy director, had been feeling the same way  until recently.

"The last two weeks have given me serious doubts as to whether he could beat Hillary Clinton," said Chen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. He said he is particularly bothered by Trump's personal attacks on Romney, but also sees red flags in Trump's comments about the judge and seeming unwillingness to build out his campaign infrastructure.

And there were those now firmly on Team Trump. Anthony Scaramucci, a New York investor, and Andy Puzder, a California fast-food chain executive, shook the money trees for their candidate. "This is not a rabidly anti-Trump crowd," Scaramucci said. "If anything, people are trying to find ways to diplomatically support the candidate."

Puzder said potential donors left him feeling encouraged. He said he respected people, including Romney, who might not get there. His pitch on Trump was to stay positive, reminding anyone who would listen that Trump has great children, which says something about his character.

Most of the three-day conference's sessions were closed to reporters, but described in detail by multiple attendees. Called the Experts and Enthusiasts summit, the gathering is sponsored by Solamere Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Zwick and one of Romney's sons.

Missing from the gathering was Trump himself; he has never been invited to speak to the Romney crowd. (Last year, half-a dozen presidential candidates attended, but Trump hadn't announced his bid and wasn't taken seriously by almost anyone in the party.)

Trump weighed in from afar, saying at a Saturday rally in Tampa that Romney is bitter because he's a failed presidential candidate who "choked like a dog."
Los Alamos app allows users to visit 1940s 'Atomic City'

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  Los Alamos, a once secret city where scientists participated in the nation's classified World War II nuclear development program, can now be experienced much like it was then with a new app.

The "Los Alamos: The Secret City of The Manhattan Project" iPhone app takes users through an "augmented-reality" while visiting the northern New Mexico city to see it in its 1940s character. The app was created by Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Packed with games, historical nuggets and role playing, the app allows users to feel what it was like to join a secret project in an unknown location where the future of the world was at stake, said Jennifer Payne, Resource Management Team leader in Los Alamos' Environmental Stewardship Group. Because Los Alamos has changed since the project and is now a modern city, Payne said the app takes users on a virtual tour of a Manhattan Project world that is gone.

FILE - This Feb. 25, 1955 file photo shows a general view of the main gate to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, in Los Alamos, N. M., where scientists developed and tested the first atomic weapon. During the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos scientists worked to develop the atomic bomb that was dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The program also involved facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hanford, Washington. (AP Photo/File)

"It took us more than a year to create," Payne said. "Almost all of the structures from that era don't exist anymore."

Once downloaded and opened, users will receive a "recruitment telegram" to begin the virtual journey from 109 E. Palace Ave., in Santa Fe. That's the same location where the original Project Y staff members joined the team. Users then will receive an initial "clearance" there, then board a bus into the mountains to explore "the Hill."

From there, Payne said users can choose how much information they want to know while they explore Los Alamos as the bomb is developed.

Of course, no actual nuclear secrets are shared, she said.

Officials said the project is a collaboration of Los Alamos National Laboratory's VISIBLE team, the Bradbury Science Museum, and staff history specialists.

Developers also are working on an Android app.

During World War II, Los Alamos scientists worked to develop the atomic bomb that was dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The secret program provided enriched uranium for the atomic bomb. It also involved facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hanford, Washington.

July marks the 71st anniversary of the Trinity Test in southern New Mexico. The milestone comes amid renewed interest in the Manhattan Project thanks to new books, online video testimonies and the recently canceled TV drama series "Manhattan."

___

Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/russell-contreras.

FILE - This July 16, 1945, file photo, shows an aerial view after the first atomic explosion at the Trinity Test site, in New Mexico. Residents of Tularosa, an historic Hispanic village located next to the Trinity Test site, are praising President Obama's plan to visit Hiroshima the Japanese city where the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb. July marks the 71st anniversary of the Trinity Test in southern New Mexico. The milestone comes amid renewed interest in the Manhattan Project thanks to new books, online video testimonies and recently canceled TV drama series "Manhattan." The secretive World War II program provided enriched uranium for the atomic bomb. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - This Oct. 15, 1965, file photo shows a "Fat Man" nuclear bomb of the type tested at Trinity Site, N.M, and dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945, on view for the public at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Museum. Thursday, July 16, 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the Trinity Test in southern N.M.July marks the 71st anniversary of the Trinity Test in southern New Mexico. The milestone comes amid renewed interest in the Manhattan Project thanks to new books, online video testimonies and recently canceled TV drama series "Manhattan." (AP Photo, File)

FILE - This Sept. 9, 1945, file photo Gen. Leslie R. Groves, right, and Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, who cooperated on the development of the atomic bomb, survey the area in Alamogordo, N.M., where a tower once stood before the test bomb exploded. A new PBS special looks into the creation of the atomic bomb in the city of Los Alamos and will feature newly-restored footage of nuclear weaponry. "The Bomb," which begins airing Tuesday, July 28, 2015, on most PBS stations, seeks to tell the story of the deadly device as the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki approaches. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this April 18, 1997, file photo, John Rhoades, director of The Bradbury Science Museum at Los Alamos National Laboratory, holds one of 11 public comment books at Los Alamos, N.M. The books suggest that almost none of the thousands of people writing comments were aware of Japanese efforts to build an atomic bomb during World War II, but most either favored or opposed the U.S. decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan. In foreground is mockup of "Little Boy," the bomb dropped Aug. 6, 1945, on Hiroshima. In background is mockup of "Fat Man," the bomb dropped Aug. 9, 1945, on Nagasaki. (AP Photo/Al Cabral, File)
Guatemala arrests 3 ex-cabinet ministers, hunts for 2 more

GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  Three senior Guatemalan cabinet ministers were arrested Saturday on corruption charges and authorities said they were seeking to detain two more as part of a continuing crackdown that has already seen a former president jailed.

All of the former officials served under ex-President Otto Perez Molina, who faces charges of money laundering and conspiracy. He denies wrongdoing.

Former Defense Ministers Ulises Anzuelo and Manuel Lopez Ambrosio were arrested, as was ex-Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla.

Demonstrators chant against corruption outside the National Palace in Guatemala City, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Protesters gathered at Plaza Central to demand justice in the new cases of corruption against former President Otto Perez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti. Both politicians are jailed and awaiting trial in multiple corruption cases. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Chief prosecutor Thelma Aldana said they were part of a group that used about $4.3 million in state funds to buy gifts, including houses, boats and a helicopter, for Perez Molina. They face charges of money laundering and conspiracy.

Perez Molina's former Vice President Roxana Baldetti also is jailed on corruption charges, and also denies wrongdoing.

Aldana said a group of officials organized a collection each year to buy gifts for the president on his birthday.

Aldana said the money was handled by Juan Carlos Monzon, then secretary to Baldetti. Monzon has been collaborating with prosecutors investigating the case.

Interior Minister Francisco Rivas said authorities also have sought international arrest orders for former Energy Minister Erick Archila and former Communications Minister Alejandro Sinibaldi.

Lopez Ambrosio and Lopez Bonilla were arrested at their homes, while Anzueto turned himself in after learning he faced an arrest warrant.

Arriving at court offices, Lopez Bonilla said he did not know why he'd been detained, but expressed confidence in the country's judicial system.

"I believe that at the end of the day, things will be cleared up. I can't say more than that I am proud of the work I did," he said.

About 2,000 people gathered for a demonstration in the center of Guatemala City on Saturday to support the prosecutors and the crackdown on corruption.

A demonstrator wears a Guy Fawkes mask on the back of his head at a protest against corruption outside the National Palace in Guatemala City, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Protesters gathered at Plaza Central to demand justice in the new cases of corruption against former President Otto Perez Molina and vice-president Roxana Baldetti. Both former leaders are jailed awaiting trial in multiple corruption cases. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Guatemala's former Defense Minister, Gen. Manuel Lopez Ambrosio, sits inside a cell at a court in Guatemala City, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Guatemalan authorities say police have arrested Lopez Ambrosio and one other former cabinet minister in connection with the alleged misuse of public funds. The former officials served under ex-president Otto Perez Molina and allegedly bought him a helicopter using government money. Perez Molina and his former Vice President Roxana Baldetti are jailed awaiting trial in multiple corruption cases. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Guatemala's former Interior Minister, Mauricio Lopez Bonilla, is escorted by police as he arrives to a court in Guatemala City, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Guatemalan authorities say police have arrested Lopez Bonilla and one other former cabinet minister in connection with the alleged misuse of public funds. The former officials served under ex-president Otto Perez Molina and allegedly bought him a helicopter using government money. Perez Molina and his former Vice President Roxana Baldetti are jailed awaiting trial in multiple corruption cases. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Demonstrators chant against corruption outside the National Palace in Guatemala City, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Protesters gathered at Plaza Central to demand justice in the new cases of corruption against former President Otto Perez Molina and vice-president Roxana Baldetti. Both former leaders are jailed awaiting trial in multiple corruption cases. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Demonstrators gather outside the National Palace to protest corruption in Guatemala City, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Protesters gathered at Plaza Central to demand justice in the new cases of corruption against former President Otto Perez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti. Both former leaders are jailed awaiting trial in multiple corruption cases. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Demonstrators wave Guatemalan flags outside the National Palace during a protest against corruption in Guatemala City, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Protesters gathered at Plaza Central to demand justice in the new cases of corruption against former President Otto Perez Molina and vice-president Roxana Baldetti. Both former leaders are jailed awaiting trial in multiple corruption cases. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Serbs protest demolitions for UAE-investment project

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  Thousands of people took part Saturday in the latest in a series of protests in Belgrade triggered by shady demolitions in a popular city area marked for a United Arab Emirates-financed real estate project.

More than 5,000 people demanded that the Belgrade mayor Sinisa Mali resign and that those behind the nighttime destruction in April of a block of houses by a group of masked men be punished.

The citizens' protests sparked by the demolitions have become a challenge to Prime Minister-designate Aleksandar Vucic, who faces accusations of hardline rule despite promising to take Serbia toward integration with the European Union.

A man wears a balaclava as he and others chant slogans during a protest in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, June 11, 2016. Several thousand gathered in central Belgrade to protest the controversial demolition of buildings in a city district designated to be developed by a consortium from the United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

Some protesters at Saturday's rally wore balaclavas to mock the demolitions, while many blew horns and whistles. The protest banners read "Masks have fallen, when will the government?" or "Belgrade Is Our City."

"Resignations are only the first step," said Luka Knezevic Strika, from the "Don't Drown Belgrade" group behind the protest. "We will force them to acknowledge responsibility of all who participated (in the incident.)"

Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party dismissed the gathering as a "circus" organized by the opposition parties.

Under pressure, Vucic  who is a former nationalist-turned pro-EU reformer  recently has admitted that Belgrade city authorities were behind the demolitions but he didn't name any city officials.

The Belgrade mayor, Mali, is a close ally who played an important role in the agreement with UAE investors to build a Dubai-style business and residential complex in the run-down urban area by the Sava River.

Some of Belgrade's prominent architects and citizens' groups have sharply criticized the Belgrade waterfront plan as unsuitable for the Serbian capital and allege corruption.
Funeral held for soldier killed in training accident

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP)  A New Jersey soldier killed in a training exercise at a Texas military base has been laid to rest.

Funeral services for Tysheena James were held Saturday at the Metropolitan A.M.E. Baptist Church in Jersey City.

The 21-year-old city resident was among nine soldiers killed June 2 when the military vehicle they were in was swept away by flood waters at Owl Creek near Fort Hood.

Family and friends gathered at the Metropolitan A.M.E. Baptist Church in Jersey City, N.J. Saturday, June 11, 2016, to say their final goodbyes to Tyshenna James, the 21-year-old soldier from Jersey City who died on June 2 during an Army training exercise in Texas. (Nancy Benecki-Hawkins/The Jersey Journal via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

James was a private who enlisted in the Army in September and had started her active service in November. She was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

Friends told The Jersey Journal (http://bit.ly/1toS92v) that James had planned to make the Army her career.

___

Information from: The Jersey Journal , http://www.nj.com/jjournal
Earnhardt to match career high with 34rd start at Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP)  Dale Earnhardt Jr. slipped through sliding doors of his hauler, and parted into a sea of memorabilia-toting fans.

"Make a hole please!" a man working for Hendrick Motorsports shouted as he walked with Earnhardt. "He has to get to his car for practice!"

Earnhardt silently signed some autographs Saturday and didn't have much time to stop and talk on a busy day.

Fans surround driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. seeking autographs before a practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Saturday, June 11, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Does he have a lot of memories at Michigan International Speedway?

"Yeah," Earnhardt said in a voice just loud enough to be heard over the sounds of revving engines and clamoring fans.

After preparing for a practice, he changed into a suit to provide commentary during the Xfinity Series race, which included some drivers that compete for him and JR Motorsports. During breaks, he was featured in a TV commercial.

Earnhardt will start 27th Sunday in the 40-car field at NASCAR's FireKeepers Casino 400 on a two-mile oval he has become very familiar with over the years. Joey Logano has to pole and will be in the front row with Martin Truex Jr. and just ahead of Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin.

Earnhardt, a 26-time winner, has two victories at MIS. He will make his 34th start on the track, tying Richmond for the venue in which he has competed on the most since making his NASCAR debut in 1999.

He picked up a desperately needed win at the wide, high-banking track on June 17, 2012, and ended a four-year, 143-race slump without a victory.

Earnhardt is coming off his best two-year stretch  winning three times last year and four times in 2014  since winning a combined eight races in 2003 and 2004.

This year, though, Earnhardt hasn't won any of his 14 races and is among three drivers ranked in the top 12 without a win.

"Each and every week, there are 12 to 15 guys with a shot to win," said Kyle Busch, who leads the top series with three victories. "And, there are about five more guys who can surprise you by winning."

Earnhardt was second at Pocono, his fourth runner-up finish this year.

"Pocono was a good step in the right direction," Earnhardt said. "I felt like we could go there and run good. I think we learned a lot that we could use to understand how to get better. I'm looking forward to Michigan. Obviously, it's going to be a different package, but I think it'll make for good racing and we should run well on that track, too. I anticipate having a good weekend."

NASCAR is tweaking its aerodynamic package this week, and next month at Kentucky, in the hopes of creating more competitive racing.

Among the changes are reducing sideforce by setting the rear toe to zero and shortening the spoiler by an inch.

"We're working on getting these cars to be less aero dependent," Busch said. "We want them to be more drivable so we can outrace guys and make moves with a better handling car instead of getting stuck in a line. I think that'll help the product. I haven't been comfortable by myself out here so far, so that doesn't bode well for being in traffic. Maybe everybody will be uncomfortable and we'll just have to outdrive them."

Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., approaches his car before a practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Friday, June 10, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., pauses at the retaining wall before qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Friday, June 10, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, and Jimmie Johnson talk before qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Friday, June 10, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Fans surround driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. seeking autographs before a practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Saturday, June 11, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

In this image taken with a fisheye lens, Daniel Suarez (19) passes Kyle Busch on the next to last lap during the NASCAR Xfinity series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Saturday, June 11, 2016, in Brooklyn, Mich. (Sean Gardner/NASCAR via AP, Pool)

Daniel Suarez (19) passes Kyle Busch (18) in the final laps to win the NASCAR Xfinity series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Saturday, June 11, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. The was the first win for Suarez. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Driver Brad Keselowski, right, talks to crew chief Paul Wolfe, left, after a practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Saturday, June 11, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Brad Keselowski drives during a practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Saturday, June 11, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Driver Brad Keselowski prepares for a practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Saturday, June 11, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Driver Joey Logano prepares for a practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Michigan International Speedway, Saturday, June 11, 2016 in Brooklyn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Police in a St. Louis suburb said Saturday that they believe a 37-year-old woman drowned her two children in a bathtub before dying in a house fire that she appeared to set intentionally.

The St. Peters, Missouri, Police Department said in a statement that it believes Jenny Ayres 'played a role' in the deaths of her two children.

All three of their bodies were found after officers and firefighters responded to a fire at their home Thursday evening.

Murder-suicide: Jenny Ayres, 37, and her two children, Jordie Hines, 10, and Jada Hines, 5 (pictured here), were killed Thursday night in a fire at their homeF

Tragic tale: Firefighters found Jordie and Jada, then Ayres, inside the home. The children were taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead

Report: Major Case Squad are helping investigate the deaths, and are waiting for results of an autopsy

The police said the three were the only occupants of the house and, 'there has been nothing to suggest any outside foul play.'

When officers and firefighters arrived, the home's doors were locked and dead-bolted from the inside, police said.

The bodies of the two children, ten-year-old Jordie Hines, and five-year-old Jada Hines, were submerged in a bathtub.

Preliminary results from autopsies performed Friday showed that the children died from drowning and Ayres died from injuries sustained in the fire, police said.

Jenny Ayres desperately needed a fresh start. So, with the help of her family, she packed up her two children and moved a year and a half ago from Florida to St. Louis

Family focus: The home is owned by Denise Ayres, Jennys mother. Ayres sister moved out about six months ago

Troubled: Relatives say Jenny shared her history of drug addiction and was 'trying to straighten it all out'

Ayres' body was found near the home's back door, where the fire started, and a gasoline can was nearby, police said.

The Police Department said the investigation remains active, and its spokeswoman, Officer Melissa Doss, declined to discuss a potential motive for the drownings or fire.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Jenny Ayres' brother, Leon Ayres, said she continued to struggle after moving from Clearwater, Florida, about 18 months ago.
Governor: County attorney job unusual 'for a young lady'

JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said Saturday he was expressing pride in his daughter when he said her job as a county board of supervisors' attorney is "usually not a position for a young lady."

Bryant spoke Monday to participants of Magnolia Girls State, a leadership program for high school students. The Hattiesburg American reported Friday that (http://hatne.ws/1rhpquo) the Republican governor told the teenagers Mississippi is a "state of opportunity," and he cited his daughter, Katie Bryant Snell, as an example.

"Katie  Katherine now  is the board attorney for Madison County (supervisors)," Bryant said Monday. "That's usually not a position for a young lady. Most board attorneys tend to be guys because it can be a little challenging at times."

Bryant said Saturday in a statement to The Associated Press: "I am very proud of Katie for excelling in a job that can be very challenging, whether the board attorney is a man or a woman. Deriving anything other than that from my remarks is misguided and represents another example of the false narrative liberals push on Republicans. From their response, I can say with certainty the Girls State participants knew exactly what I meant."

Bryant also told the teenagers that they would help change the world. He said Mississippi excels in the number of women-owned businesses, and he praised women who have been called up for military duty in Afghanistan and Kuwait.

"Man, what a great job they are doing," Bryant said.

____
Road-building records of successive PMs show mixed results

Since David Cameron became Prime Minister the average annual increase in the UK road network is just 7% of that achieved under his Conservative predecessor Sir John Major, Press Association analysis has revealed.

The total length of roads has risen by an average of only 180 miles per year with Mr Cameron in Number 10, compared to 2,650 miles when Sir John was in office from 1990 to 1997.

Analysis of Department for Transport (DfT) road length data shows that Mr Cameron has been outstripped by every PM except Gordon Brown since records began in 1951.

A slowdown in road building has been put down to the activities of anti-road protesters

The six other Conservative PMs from Sir Anthony Eden onwards all oversaw an average increase of more than 1,000 miles.

Under Gordon Brown the road network actually shortened by 130 miles per year.

AA president Edmund King said that in the late 1950s and 1960s prime ministers of all parties understood it was "clear that more roads and particularly motorways were needed".

He blamed the slowdown since the mid-1990s on the advent of anti-road protesters such as Swampy, who fought to stop the widening of the A30 in Devon.

A five-year 15 billion road investment strategy for England was launched in 2015, but Mr King said a "fair portion" of this is being used for smart motorways, which involves utilising the hard shoulder to widen roads "on the cheap".

He added: "Improving transport infrastructure should be in the national interest rather than influenced by the political leanings of the prime minister at the time."

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said there is strong public and political reluctance to "concreting over the countryside" to build new roads.

"Arguably the most pressing challenge is keeping the tens of thousands of miles of the road network we already have adequately maintained," he said.

A DfT spokeswoman said "1,300 extra lane miles" are being created under the road investment strategy.

She went on: " We are providing the much needed capacity on the busiest motorways by either temporarily or permanently opening the hard shoulder to traffic. This can be done much more quickly than traditional road widening."

Bridget Fox from Campaign for Better Transport said focus should be placed on improving public transport and cutting road traffic.

She commented: "R ather than laying costly new roads, which simply generate more traffic and pollution, we're calling for better maintenance of existing roads and action to reduce the impact of the main road network on our health and the countryside.

"Reducing road traffic, with more attractive town centres and better public transport connections, is the most sustainable solution."

The DfT data includes all roads in the UK except minor private roads.

:: Here is the average yearly net increase in miles in the UK's road network under each prime minister since 1951:

1. John Major (1990-97): 2,650

2. Harold Macmillan (1957-63): 1,384

3. Alec Douglas-Home (1963-64): 1,288

4. Margaret Thatcher (1979-90): 1,133

5. Anthony Eden (1955-57): 1,028

6. Edward Heath (1970-74): 1,022

7. Harold Wilson (1974-76): 1,174

8. James Callaghan (1976-79): 1,063

9. Winston Churchill (1951-55): 815

10. Tony Blair (1997-2007): 434

11. David Cameron (2010-present): 180

12. Harold Wilson (1964-70): 107

13. Gordon Brown (2007-10): minus 130
PM: 'No guarantee' of pensions, NHS and defence spending protection post-Brexit

Protections for state pensions, the NHS and defence spending cannot be guaranteed if Britain leaves the EU, David Cameron has warned.

The Prime Minister said the strain on the public finances caused by Brexit would threaten the end of the "triple lock" guarantee for OAP payments and the ring-fencing of health funding.

And Chancellor George Osborne said the armed forces could see their budgets slashed by 1-1.5 billion a year as the wider economy shrank.

The Prime Minister and Chancellor have repeated the economic arguments for remaining in the EU

The Remain camp sought to press home its central message of likely economic turmoil in the event of a vote to quit the bloc on June 23 amid signs of a hardening of public opinion against the EU.

Vote Leave downplayed the accuracy of a poll giving it a 10-point lead though many of its campaigners seized on the survey as proof the momentum was firmly towards divorce from Brussels.

The top Tory pair insisted that they remained committed to manifesto promises to protect funding in the three areas.

But Mr Cameron told the Observer: "If we leave the EU, independent and respected experts like the IFS and the NIESR say that by 2020 we will face a black hole in our public finances of up to 40 billion.

"In those circumstances, future funding for the NHS could be at risk. Our ability to ring-fence and protect spending on health could be at risk too.

"This is the cold reality of leaving the EU - that's why doctors, nurses and the boss of the NHS all say we will be stronger, safer and better-off in the EU."

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, the Prime Minister said ministers would be "forced" to re-examine pensioner benefits.

"We've made a special effort to protect pensioners," he said - highlighting the "triple lock" which says the state pension will rise in line with earnings, inflation or by 2.5%, whichever is higher, and the protection of bus passes and free TV licences.

"We did all this in the expectation of a growing economy. But if we had a big black hole, we could struggle to justify this special protection any longer.

"In fact, even if we could justify it morally, it wouldn't actually be affordable. Not when pensions represent a huge portion of public spending - over 90 billion this year - and when inflation is forecast to hit 4% if we leave Europe.

"So here is the reality: if we leave, the pensioner benefits would be under threat, and the Triple Lock could no longer be guaranteed in the long term."

Mr Osborne said Brexit would mean "a new dose of austerity, more years of public spending cuts".

"If you look at the numbers, the defence budget would have to be cut by between one and one and a half billion pounds," he told the Sun on Sunday.

"It's the last thing I want to do because I want the country to stay in the European Union, but if we leave the European Union Britain is smaller and so Britain's armed forces will be smaller and that means fewer planes and ships and personnel to defend us.

"So it is both a hit to our national economic security but also our national security.

"Even if you could keep to your Nato commitment of 2% of GDP, GDP would be smaller so 2% would be smaller."

Current plans to procure the latest hardware, ships and aircraft "would be up in the sky again because the country would be facing a big hole in the public finances", he said.

Pro-Brexit ex-Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith accused his party leader of a "vindictive and desperate attempt to bully and frighten the British people".

"This is a baseless threat," he said.

"Experts have shown that leaving the EU - and introducing an Australian-style points system - would lead to a higher state pension.

"What we now have is a vindictive and desperate attempt to bully and frighten the British people - particularly pensioners - all in a frantic bid to rescue a failing campaign.

"The truth is that these are policy choices and the Conservative manifesto said that protecting pensioners was a priority. It is now apparent that there is nothing they will not use or jettison in their efforts to keep us in the European Union."
Lewis Hamilton relieved to claim pole position in Canada

Lewis Hamilton admitted he was relieved to have claimed his 53rd career pole position after what he described as a below-par performance in qualifying.

The world champion will start Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix as the favourite to secure a mightily impressive fifth victory at the Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit after edging out Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by just six hundredths of a second.

But Hamilton, who won his first race of the season in Monaco a fortnight ago, did not believe his performance was up to scratch despite posting the fastest lap seen in Montreal since 2004.

Lewis Hamilton will start on pole at the Canadian Grand Prix

"Honestly, qualifying wasn't great for me," said Hamilton in what could be viewed as a thinly-veiled dig at team-mate Rosberg.

"The laps weren't particularly that great - even my pole lap was at the lower end of poles that I have had - so, I am pretty happy that I am still on pole."

Hamilton, who was comfortably fastest in both practice sessions on Friday, added: "Of course, in practice there was a bigger gap and today I did not have the pace that I had yesterday but it was enough.

"There was definitely more time in it. It is going to be interesting tomorrow, but it is the best place to start, that's for sure."

It has been unseasonably cold in Montreal this weekend, but while qualifying took place under cloud cover, the threat of rain failed to materialise.

That is likely to have come as a relief to Rosberg, who struggled so badly in the inclement conditions at the last race in Monaco.

Indeed in the dry, the championship leader provided Hamilton with the sternest of tests. Rosberg, who holds a 24-point lead over Hamilton courtesy of winning the opening four rounds, patted his team-mate on the back and offered him a congratulatory handshake which the Briton duly accepted.

Rosberg, who made a mistake at turn one on his final timed run, said: "My first lap in Q3 was good - not quite enough to beat Lewis but still a good lap - and the next one I tried to pull one out of the bag, but it didn't work out.

"For tomorrow, everything is still possible. The weather forecast is all over the place and from second it is all doable."

An impressive Sebastian Vettel, just a tenth shy of the Mercedes duo, will line up in third for Ferrari, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo fourth on the grid.

The second phase of qualifying was suspended for eight minutes after the so-called 'Wall of Champions' claimed its first victim of the weekend.

Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz mounted the kerbs at the final chicane before losing the rear of his car and crashing into the wall. His session was over, and he will line up in 16th on the grid.

Jenson Button, the McLaren driver who won so memorably here five years ago, failed to progress beyond Q2, and will start 12th. His McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, who afforded himself a small ''whoop'' after sneaking into Q3, will line up in 10th.

Kevin Magnussen's Renault mechanics were unable to get the Dane's car ready for qualifying after he crashed out of practice, and there was little joy for his team-mate, too. Jolyon Palmer, the under-fire British rookie, was knocked out in Q1 and will start 17th.
Judo star smiles for first time after waking from coma

A British judo star critically injured in motorbike accident in Vietnam has smiled for the first time since waking from her coma as she prepares to fly home.

The UK air ambulance preparing to take Commonwealth Games medallist Stephanie Inglis to hospital in Scotland has arrived at her medical facility in Bangkok.

A spokeswoman for the family said on Saturday night that Ms Inglis has improved so much that her parents, Robert and Alison, could explain to her she was going home and the 27-year-old astounded doctors by smiling.

The Commonwealth Games silver medallist was injured in a motorcycle accident last month

In a statement on the Save Steph Facebook page, the spokeswoman said: " She is in so much discomfort and fighting against all the odds to improve herself when the medical team asked her if she could hold up two fingers, Stephanie did, and then she smiled a small but amazing smile.

"The doctor was so surprised he started to bow and laugh, because not only did it show that Stephanie understood this instruction it also showed after all that's happened to her she still had the humour and friendly personality that everyone respects and loves."

She added that Stephanie and her family, who are from Inverness, hope to be on their way in under 24 hours, saying: " This is a difficult journey which will stop in India, Georgia and Austria and then its final stage Stephanie Inglis against all the odds will be home."

She thanked the thousands of supporters who have donated more than 300,000 to pay for medical care for the Glasgow 2014 silver medallist, saying without the money it would have been impossible get her treatment, transfer her to hospital in Bangkok and bring her back to Scotland.

Ms Inglis' childhood friend and fellow judo competitor Khalid Gehlan set up a fundraising campaign after the sport star's travel insurance had been deemed invalid and her medical bills were 2,000 a day following the accident on May 12.

She suffered head injuries when her skirt caught in the wheel of a motorcycle taxi and pulled her off the bike, on her way to work teaching English in Ha Long.
Iannucci: Satire no match for 'alien and awful' modern politics

Armando Iannucci has ruled out a revival of satire The Thick Of It because today's "alien and awful" world of politics would be hard to match.

The award-winning writer and creator of the popular BBC series, which made a star of Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi, talked about the irony in a column for The New Statesman.

Iannucci said people write to him and suggest the return of The Thick Of It every time something "stupid" occurs involving politics and politicians.

Iannucci ruled out a return by foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker

"No. Absolutely not," he wrote.

"I now find the political landscape so alien and awful that it's hard to match the waves of cynicism it transmits on its own."

He added: "Fiction is winning out because fact is no longer making sense."

The Thick Of It, written and directed by 52-year-old Iannucci, started life on BBC4 in 2005 and ended on BBC Two in 2012.

The caustic comedy was set in the corridors of power where Capaldi's foul-mouthed policy enforcer Malcolm Tucker soon captured the imagination of viewers.

Acclaimed for its sharp script and ensemble cast, The Thick Of It inspired 2009 feature film spin-off In The Loop which satirised Anglo-American politics.

On a similar theme, the makers of HBO political satire Veep, also created by Iannucci, have said it is increasingly difficult to parody American politics after the rise of Donald Trump.

The campaign of the Republican party's presumptive nominee for the US presidential election has been mired in controversy.

Proposed policies, including building a wall on the country's border with Mexico and temporarily banning Muslims from entering America, have provided comedians with a good deal of material.

Veep's Tony Hale, who plays the president's sycophantic personal aide Gary Walsh, told the Press Association that a character like the billionaire tycoon would not have been believed if he had been created by the show.

"There's already a comedy happening on the news," Hale said. "We might not need Veep any more."
Saudi may start privatising postal system by start of 2017

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, June 9 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is likely to start privatising its postal system by early next year, telecommunications minister Mohammed al-Suwaiyal said on Thursday, in a test case for a series of state asset sales.

Under economic reforms announced this week, the kingdom aims to privatise companies and services in many areas, from health care to housing and municipal government, to boost efficiency and ease pressure on state finances in an era of cheap oil.

Saudi Postal Corp, with over 10,000 staff, will be one of the first to be offered to investors. Suwaiyal said that in preparation, the government was looking at a plan to create a postal holding company which would own subsidiaries operating services such as mail, courier delivery, e-commerce and financial remittances.

Authorities are studying issues such as how much of Saudi Postal would be sold and whether the stake would be offered to the public in an initial public offer of shares or to local or foreign strategic investors, he said.

"I cannot set a time frame but I expect by the start of 2017 the picture will be clear and execution starts."

The government hopes privatisation will allow the state to cease financial support for Saudi Postal - annual government subsidies to it are projected to fall to zero by 2020 from 2 billion riyals ($533 million) now - while boosting its performance, so that its revenues rise to 2.75 billion riyals in 2020 from 1.02 billion riyals in the latest year.
Wage hikes, Syrian migrants push Turkish growth above forecasts

By Nevzat Devranoglu

ANKARA, June 10 (Reuters) - Turkey's economy grew a larger-than-expected 4.8 percent in the first quarter, official data showed on Friday, outperforming major emerging markets peers, as wage hikes and spending by Syrian migrants fuelled private consumption.

Domestic demand contributed 6 percent of the growth, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute showed, but net external demand wiped off 1.5 percent, meaning Turkey is importing more than it exports, taking the shine off the headline figure.

"Its peers, Brazil, Russia and South Africa are mired in recession, or with feeble growth drivers," Nomura strategist Tim Ash said in e-mailed comments, but added:

"The structure of growth was less impressive, with private consumption and government spending leading the way, over investment and net exports."

The year-on-year growth in gross domestic product came in slightly above a Reuters poll forecast of 4.5 percent, prompting the finance and development ministers to say Turkey was clearly on track to meet its goal of 4.5 percent growth this year.

Output grew 0.8 percent in the period on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, the Turkish Statistical Institute said.

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said the figures showed the economy was on a strong path and said the government would push ahead with structural reforms in the coming period.

Finance Minister Naci Agbal said in a statement that those reforms, as well as closer integration with the European Union, would help Turkey to outperform other emerging markets.

Agbal told Reuters last month, after being reappointed in a new cabinet, that Turkey would take "swift and bold" economic decisions this year and promised reforms - which many investors say are long overdue - to boost exports and employment.

But investors fear reform momentum will slow under new Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, a close ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, who wants to see strong consumption-led growth.

Economists said public sector salary increases and a 30 percent hike in the minimum wage, a pledge made ahead of elections last November and introduced by the ruling AK Party at the start of the year, had contributed to the strong first quarter growth figures.

The more than 2.7 million Syrian refugees sheltering in Turkey also bolstered the numbers, economists said. The migrants, fleeing a civil war that has raged for five years, have bought goods such as refrigerators and cookers, a well as cooking oil, bread, flour and building materials.

"Among the factors triggering domestic demand are the general impact of Syrian migrants on the economy and the AKP's pre-election promises (on wages)," Oyak Securities chief economist Mehmet Besimoglu told Reuters.
Russia cbank: budget rule should not require forex interventions

MOSCOW, June 10 (Reuters) - A new budget rule under discussion by the Russian government should not necessarily require the central bank to intervene on the currency market, the bank's governor, Elvira Nabiullina, told a news conference on Friday.

The Russian finance ministry has said that, under the planned budget rule, the central bank should accumulate or sell forex reserves depending on the level of the oil price.
CANADA CRUDE-Grades steady as post-wildfires ramp-up speed questioned

CALGARY, Alberta, June 10 (Reuters) - Canadian cash crude differentials remained steady on Friday as market players questioned how fast crude volumes would come back online after wildfires slashed production in northern Alberta's oil sands region.

Western Canada Select heavy blend crude for July delivery last traded at $12.25 per barrel below benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures, according to Shorcan Energy brokers. That was 15 cents wider than Thursday's settle of $12.10 per barrel below WTI.

Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for July delivery strengthened slightly to $3.30 per barrel above benchmark WTI, up from a premium of $3.25 on Thursday.

Analysts in Calgary said crude differentials were likely to remain strong until oil sands production levels returned to normal following a series of wildfires that forced more than 1 million barrels per day offline during part of May.

At least 400,000 barrels per day of production is shuttered, although in reality the total may be far higher still.

"It's just really a question of how fast these projects get ramped up," said Martin King, Vice President at First Energy Capital. "Given that some of these sites declared force majeure for June cargoes, I think people are not really sure how much volume is going to be affected."

King said the timeline to restart might be "a little bit longer" than what some market players were expecting, with the cumulative impacts in terms of available crude piling up.

Inventories were drawn down "quite aggressively" through May while refineries have been increasing demand at the same time, he added.

Overall global benchmark oil prices fell about 3 percent on Friday after data showed the U.S. oil drilling rig count rising for a second week in row and a stronger dollar weighed on demand for greenback-denominated crude futures.
Sable Mining CEO says Liberia indictment 'politically motivated'

MONROVIA, June 10 (Reuters) - Sable Mining Chief Executive Officer Andrew Groves said on Friday that his indictment this week by a grand jury in Liberia in relation to a corruption investigation was politically motivated.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf last month ordered an inquiry into London AIM-listed Sable's unsuccessful attempt to acquire an iron ore concession in northern Liberia after the watchdog group Global Witness made accusations of wrong-doing.

"Andrew Groves was surprised to learn from media reports that a grand jury in Liberia appears to have indicted him on unspecified charges," Groves's public relations firm said, adding he had not been given a chance to respond to the charges.

Four people, including Parliament speaker Alex Tyler, chairman of Sirleaf's Unity Party Varney Sherman and deputy minister of Lands, Mines and Energy Ernest C.B. Jones, were indicted last month in that case along with Sable Mining.

They are accused of having used their positions to amend Liberia's public procurement and concessions law. They deny the charges and have been released on bail.

"Mr Groves believes that these allegations are politically motivated ahead of the imminent presidential elections, and are specifically designed to undermine the candidacy of Varney Sherman ... and Alex Tyler," Grove's statement read.

Liberia will hold a presidential election next year to replace President Sirleaf, who cannot run again due to a constitutional term limit.

Sherman has acknowledged that his law firm was employed by Sable Mining.
Libyan forces claim port in Islamic State stronghold of Sirte

TRIPOLI, June 10 (Reuters) - Forces aligned with Libya's unity government said on Friday they had taken control of the port of Sirte, making further gains in Islamic State's North African stronghold.

Brigades largely composed of fighters from Misrata advanced this week to the perimeter of Sirte's city centre, after launching a counter attack against Islamic State last month and driving the militant group back along the coastal road between the two cities.

The brigades are part of an operation backed by Libya's U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), which arrived in Tripoli in March and has been gradually working to establish its authority.

Western powers see it as the best bet for trying to unite Libya's political and armed factions against Islamic State and for restoring some stability to the oil-rich North African country.

A source from the operations room in Misrata said fighters from the front line in the south of Sirte had looped round to the seafront to capture the port, which lies about 5 km (3 miles) east of the city centre.

The brigades have advanced more swiftly than many expected, though their progress has been hampered by suicide bombers, mines and snipers.

Clashes in Sirte on Friday left 11 brigade members dead and 35 wounded, the operations room source said. More than 100 fighters from the GNA-backed brigades have been killed and more than 500 wounded since the campaign to recapture Sirte began in early May.

Islamic State started expanding into Libya in 2014 as the political turmoil and conflict in the country worsened. It took full control of Sirte last year, but has struggled to retain territory or win support elsewhere in Libya.
Sailing-Emirates New Zealand, Oracle capsize in practice race

June 10 (Reuters) - Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA both capsized during practice races at the America's Cup World Series in Chicago on Friday.

Team New Zealand, which leads the standings, went down first in a spill on Lake Michigan that saw some crew members to fall overboard. All were recovered safely and the Kiwis recovered to start the next race 15 minutes later.

"These boats are pretty hard to sail and every now and then you get them wrong," said Team New Zealand Helmsman Peter Burling. "It was our own doing but this is what practice days are for.

"Now we're just looking forward to the rest of the weekend, which I'm sure is going to be good."

Team USA then tipped over after trying to avoid Artemis Racing and pinning the wing sail on the wrong side of the boat. They also resumed racing without issue.

"We didn't see the Artemis going upwind," said U.S. Tactician Tom Slingsby. "(We) did the right thing and turned up to avoid them but unfortunately capsized."

The competition will begin on Saturday.
Al Qaeda leader pledges allegiance to new Taliban leader

CAIRO, June 10 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in an online audio message, pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, who was appointed last month after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike.

The veteran Islamist militant became al Qaeda's leader after U.S. Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, and he is thought to be hiding in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, having been based there since the late 1990s.

"As leader of the al Qaeda organization for jihad, I extend my pledge of allegiance once again, the approach of Osama to invite the Muslim nation to support the Islamic Emirate," al-Zawahri said in a 14 minute recording.

During its years in power, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and it has been fighting an insurgency since to regain control of the country.

The authenticity of the recording could not be immediately verified.

Haibatullah Akhundzada, Islamic legal scholar who was one of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour's deputies, was appointed a few days after Mansour was killed by a U.S. drone attack in a remote border area just inside Pakistan.

Since al-Zawahri, an Egyptian doctor-turned-militant, succeeded bin Laden, al Qaeda has lost ground to Islamic State in the leadership of the global jihadist movement.

Some Afghan insurgent commanders have broken away from the Taliban to pledge support for Islamic State, though it operates largely in Iraq and Syria, and is active in parts of North Africa.
Somalia's al Shabaab says has executed four spies

MOGADISHU, June 11 (Reuters) - Somalia's militant al Shabaab group said late Friday it had executed four people it accused of espionage, including one who was beheaded for allegedly giving information to the United States that led to the killing of the group's former leader.

The Islamist group wants to topple Somalia's Western-backed government and rule the country according to sharia law.

In 2011, al Shabaab was ejected from Mogadishu by the African Union force AMISOM, and last year it was also pushed out of its southern Somalia strongholds by a combination of AMISOM and the Somali National Army.

In recent months, however, the group has stepped up attacks on AMISOM forces and conducted gun, bomb and suicide assaults on civilian targets in Mogadishu and other towns, underscoring its resilience.

According to al Shabaab's radio, Al Andalus, the four executed men were sentenced to death on Friday afternoon "after they were proved working with (the) CIA, Kenya and Somalia."

"They were publicly executed in a field in Bula Fulay village of Bay region," Al Andalus said, referring to an area in southern Somalia.

Ahmed Nur, a local resident, told Reuters by phone people in the area had been asked by al Shabaab to gather near its camp.

"We thought there was a lecture, however we witnessed three men shot dead and another beheaded in front of us," he said

According to the radio broadcast, the beheaded man was Mohamed Aden Nur, 26, who was accused of "working with (the) CIA" and facilitating the killing of al Shabaab's former leader Ahmed Godane, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2014.

Another of the executed men, Muhaydin Hiraab Ahmed, 27, was accused of spying for the CIA and Somalia's neighbour Kenya, and in aiding the killing of Adnan Garaar.
Islamic State claims bombings near Shi'ite shrine in Damascus

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN, June 11 (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for suicide and car bomb blasts that struck a Damascus suburb on Saturday near Syria's holiest Shi'ite Muslim shrine, and a monitoring group said at least 20 people were killed.

State television showed debris, mangled cars and wrecked shops in a main commercial thoroughfare near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, in an area where at least three bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State have killed and wounded scores of people this year.

The ultra-hardline Sunni militants of IS, whose many foes are advancing on a number of fronts in both Syria and Iraq, are avowed enemies of Shi'ites, whom they consider a heretical group within Islam.

State media said at least eight people were killed. But the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll had risen to at least 20, including at least 13 civilians, with the other victims coming from pro-government militias. It said the number was expected to rise because many of the scores of wounded people were in critical condition.

Islamic State, also known as Daesh, said two of its suicide bombers had blown themselves up and operatives had detonated an explosives-laden car, according to the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Washington condemned the attack in the strongest terms. "This terrorist act demonstrates once again the inhumanity and brutality of all that Daesh does and all it stands for," he said.

The Sayeda Zeinab shrine is a magnet for thousands of Iraqi and Afghan Shi'ite militia recruits who go there before being assigned to front lines, where they fight against the Sunni rebel groups trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Almost every Shi'ite militia fighter bears insignia on his combat fatigues with the words "For your sake, Sayeda Zeinab".

SECTARIAN SPLIT

The heavily garrisoned area near the shrine is also a well known stronghold of Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite Hezbollah group, an Iranian-backed movement that is one of Assad's chief allies.

Non-jihadist rebels say Iran's strong military intervention on the side of Assad, alongside its backing of other Shi'ite militias, is fuelling the sectarian dimension of the nearly six-year Syrian civil war by drawing even more radical foreign Sunni jihadists into the country.

Separately, U.S.-backed Syrian forces made new territorial gains against Islamic State on Saturday, moving closer to another of its major strongholds in northern Syria, according to the monitoring group.

The Observatory said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), bringing together Kurdish and Arab fighters, were now almost 17 km (10 miles) from the city of al-Bab, an Islamic State stronghold north east of Aleppo.

The SDF on Friday cut off the last route into the encircled town of Manbij from al-Bab after over a week of advances around that area, allowing it to lay siege to the large town from all directions, the monitor said..

In other frontlines in northern Syria, two rebel sources said Russian and Syrian jets stepped up their relentless aerial bombing of their positions in the northern city of Aleppo.

They said fighters had overnight repelled a major Syrian army attack on the Malah front in an drive to reach the strategic Catello highway, which is the only route in and out of rebel-held areas.

The army has for months sought to advance towards the highway to lay siege to rebel-held areas where over 400,000 people live.

A convoy of aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross entered the rebel-held city of Houla in the province of Homs, the third besieged area to receive supplies in the past 24 hours, aid workers said.
France ready to roar after easing off pressure

By Julien Pretot

PARIS, June 11 (Reuters) - A draw against Romania in their Euro 2016 opening game on Friday would not have been a disaster for France but the hosts' last-gasp 2-1 win against their Group A rivals will allow them to play more freely in their upcoming matches.

For at least one half, Didier Deschamps's team looked crushed under pressure, needing Hugo Lloris's point-blank save in the fourth minute to avoid a Romania opener that would have made their life much more complicated at the Stade de France.

Olivier Giroud headed home from Dimitri Payet's cross before the hour for France, only for Bogdan Stancu to equalise from the penalty spot.

Man of the match Payet, however, drove a venomous strike into the top corner one minute from time to give France all three points.

"France had not played a competitive game in two years, there was a lot of apprehension," fullback Patrice Evra, whose silly foul led to Romania's penalty, told reporters.

"There was pressure because it was the opening game, because everyone wanted to do well. I liked our mindset. We can't win like this every time but that was beautiful."

According to Evra, still a very influential player in the dressing room although he is not captain anymore, Les Bleus are now ready to rumble when they take on Albania on Wednesday in Marseille.

"Now we will be able to come loose against Albania," he said.

While they seemed to be playing in first gear during the first half, the hosts also showed glimpses of what they are capable of.

They created numerous chances after Anthony Martial replaced the disappointing Paul Pogba.

With Giroud, Payet and Antoine Griezmann at the start and Kingsley Coman, Martial or Andre-Pierre Gignac on the bench, France have enough firepower and can be devastating up front, especially when playing without pressure.

Friday's opening game served that purpose.

"The players can feel that the crowd are behind them, which is extraordinary, but it gives them obligations, it was not easy to deal with it from a psychological point of view," said Deschamps.

"The joy of the crowd was nice to see. It will give us more confidence and more serenity."

Payet had already struck a last-gasp winner with a stunning free kick in France's 3-2 victory against Cameroon on May 30 and it helps having somebody in the team who can use both feet to whip a game changer.
Turkish jets kill 13 Kurdish PKK militants in southeast Turkey - military sources

ISTANBUL, June 11 (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes killed 13 suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants on Saturday in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, military sources said on Saturday.

They said the rebels were spotted by drones in the Lice region. Warplanes also struck PKK targets in the provinces of Siirt and Hakkari and in some areas of neighbouring northern Iraq where the PKK has bases, the army said.
Finland's centre-right replaces outspoken Stubb as party chief

By Jussi Rosendahl

LAPPEENRANTA, Finland, June 11 (Reuters) - Finland's National Coalition Party on Saturday replaced Finance Minister Alexander Stubb as leader, hoping to revive flagging support for the co-ruling centre-right group as the country faces tough economic times.

At a party congress, delegates voted by 441 to 361 to replace outspoken Stubb with Interior Minister Petteri Orpo as NCP chief. Orpo said after the vote he would also take over the role of finance minister.

Stubb, who served as prime minister in 2014-15, has faced growing criticism both for his party's poor showing in polls and for compromises made in the three-party government. A polyglot, social media-savvy sportsman, he has also drawn fire for his image and leadership style.

One of Finland's most popular politicians in recent years, Stubb's supporters hoped he could lead the party to election victory. But he failed to enthuse recession-hit citizens.

Beset by problems including the decline of Nokia's former phone business, Finland is forecast to be the worst performing economy in the European Union this year except for Greece.

"Alex is a phenomenon, a great personality and a kind of man people are not used to see in Finnish politics," Orpo told reporters in the congress which was held in a small town near the Russian border.

Party members who declined to be named said part of the problem was that Stubb's outspoken style complicated cooperation with more cautious leaders, President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Juha Sipila.

Orpo, 46, is seen as a consensus-seeker with little experience of international politics, but as interior minister he was hailed across the political spectrum for his handling of the migration crisis.

He gave little light on his policy plans on Saturday but said he would push for new government measures to boost employment and help small companies.

"Going forward, it is very important that we will be a unified team," Stubb said, vowing loyalty to Orpo.

Stubb was also hit by gaffes. He stirred anger last year by giving parliament incorrect information on a plan to allow local investors to hold securities through an anonymous register, a bill he later dropped.

In November, a man threw a soft drink at Stubb's face in a cafeteria. In August, two men shot through the windows of his private home with an air rifle during the night.

The ruling coalition, which also includes Prime Minister Sipila's Centre party and the nationalist Finns party, nearly collapsed last year but has since pushed through labour and healthcare reforms and spending cuts.
Islamic State claims responsibility for bombings near Damascus Shi'ite shrine

AMMAN, June 11 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for car and suicide bomb blasts that killed at least eight people and injured scores in a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said.

The Sayeda Zeinab suburb contains Syria's holiest Shi'ite shrine and is a base for Shi'ite militant groups from Lebanon and Iraq who are on the side of President Bashar al-Assad in the country's five-year-old civil war.
Finland's co-ruling NCP ousts finance minister Stubb as party chief

LAPPEENRANTA, Finland, June 11 (Reuters) - Finland's National Coalition Party voted on Saturday to replace Finance Minister Alexander Stubb as leader, hoping to revive flagging support for the centre-right group that is part of the government elected last year.

At a party congress, 441 delegates voted in favour of replacing Stubb with Interior Minister Petteri Orpo while 361 backed keeping him as NCP chief. As a result, Orpo is expected to become finance minister as well.
Businessman sues RBS for $184 mln over alleged conspiracy

By Lawrence White and Andrew MacAskill

LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - The former CEO of a software company is suing RBS for allegedly conspiring to push the business into administration to benefit from its sale, court filings show, in the latest case to allege misconduct by the bank's restructuring division.

Scottish businessman Neil Mitchell is seeking 128 million pounds ($184 million) in damages on claims that Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) conspired in 2007 with co-defendants KPMG and U.S.-based fund Cerberus Capital Management to sell assets of his company, Torex Retail plc, for below their value.

Mitchell alleges RBS pushed Torex Retail into administration - a form of protection from creditors under which external managers from KPMG were brought in - in order to force its sale to Cerberus and so rid its books of a bad loan it was owed by Torex, documents filed at Britain's High Court of Justice show.

Mitchell also alleges in the court filing that RBS and Cerberus conspired secretly to ensure Torex would be sold for below its value to Cerberus.

The allegations include conspiracy by unlawful means, breach of trust and negligence.

"We have thoroughly investigated Mr Mitchell's allegations and believe them to be entirely without merit. Mr Mitchell has chosen to issue legal proceedings which will be met by a full defence," a spokeswoman for RBS said.

A spokeswoman for KPMG denied it acted improperly, said Mitchell's claims had no substance and that KPMG had applied to have the case struck out.

Cerberus declined to comment.

The claims once again focus attention on RBS's Global Restructuring Group (GRG), a division being investigated by Britain's financial regulator following claims by hundreds of small businesses which say GRG mistreated them or forced them out of business.

RBS, 73 percent-owned by the UK government, asked law firm Clifford Chance to undertake an independent review of GRG, which found no evidence for the allegations.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority has hired firms Promontory Financial Group and Mazars to conduct its own investigation and produce a report, originally scheduled for the end of last year and now expected to be published in mid-2016.

The regulatory inquiry comes as RBS Chief Executive Ross McEwan is trying to rebrand the bank as the biggest supporter of smaller businesses in the UK.

The court documents name former RBS Chairman Philip Hampton and former Chief Executive Stephen Hester as among those who represented RBS in its dealings with Torex Retail.

Hester and Hampton declined to comment.

Torex Retail, which sold software for touch screen shopping tills, went into administration in June 2007 after Mitchell and other executives at the firm blew the whistle on fraud they had discovered within the company.
Turkish jets kill 13 Kurdish PKK militants - military sources

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, June 11 (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes killed 13 suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants on Saturday in the southeast province of Diyarbakir, military sources said.

The rebels were spotted by an unmanned aerial vehicle in the Lice region, north of the provincial capital Diyarbakir, the sources said.

Warplanes also struck PKK targets in the nearby provinces of Siirt and Hakkari and in some areas of neighbouring northern Iraq where the PKK has bases, the army said.

Two soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes with PKK militants in Hakkari province on Friday, the army said.

Southeastern Turkey, home to most of Turkey's 15 million Kurds, has been wracked by violence since the collapse of a ceasefire in July 2014 and the PKK's resumption of its three-decade armed campaign for greater autonomy.

The government says 7,600 militants have been "neutralised" in the fighting, while hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been killed. Opposition parties say between 500 and 1,000 civilians have also died.
Ireland delighted as Walters returns from injury

By Philip O'Connor

PARIS, June 11 (Reuters) - Ireland have received a major boost ahead of their opening Euro 2016 clash with Sweden on Monday with injury concern Jonathan Walters coming through a full training session on Saturday.

The combative 32-year-old, who can play up front or on the wing for Martin O'Neill's side, had been suffering from an Achilles problem but played a full part in the session on Saturday at the Irish base in Versailles.

With Ireland set to open their Group E campaign against Sweden on Monday, before going on to face Belgium and Italy, their assistant manager Roy Keane was pleased to report a clean bill of health in the squad.

"Jon trained today. He got through the session, start to finish, and we'll obviously see over the next 24 hours if there is any sort of reaction," Keane told reporters.

"He finished the session so I'm sure he'll be delighted and we are. I suppose basically everyone is available for selection so that's great news."
Germany warns MPs with Turkish roots against travel to Turkey -Spiegel

BERLIN, June 11 (Reuters) - Germany's Foreign Ministry has warned lawmakers with Turkish roots against travelling to the country for now because their safety cannot be guaranteed, the magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday.

A resolution in the German parliament this month declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide has added to tensions between Berlin and Ankara.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that the 11 lawmakers of Turkish origin who voted for the resolution should be given blood tests, and has accused them of having "tainted blood" and of being terrorists.

The leader of Germany's Green party, Cem Oezdemir, who pushed for the resolution, has also received death threats.

Spiegel said the ministry had come to the conclusion that the lawmakers' safety could not be guaranteed.

"It's unspeakable to know that it's not possible to fly there for now," Aydan Oezoguz, Germany's integration commissioner, was quoted by the magazine as saying.

Other lawmakers with Turkish roots have also cancelled business trips to the country, Der Spiegel said.
Thousands protest against drones at U.S. Air Force base in Germany

BERLIN, June 11 (Reuters) - Several thousand demonstrators formed a human chain along the perimeter of a U.S. Air Force Base in southwest Germany on Saturday in protest against drone operations by the United States.

The demonstration was organised by the alliance "Stop Ramstein - No Drone War", which says the Ramstein base transmits information between operators in the United States and unmanned drone aircraft in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Syria.

Police estimated 3-4,000 people had formed the chain close to the base, which serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe. Organisers spoke of 5-7,000 people. No comment was available on Saturday from officials at Ramstein.

The use of drones is highly controversial in Germany, where an aversion to military conflict has prevailed since World War Two. Organisers say allowing data for drone deployments to be routed through Ramstein goes against the German constitution and want the base's satellite relay station to be closed.

Nearly 15 years after a drone first fired missiles in combat, the U.S. military programme has expanded to become an everyday part of the war machine for carrying out surveillance and launching strikes.

President Barack Obama last month approved a drone strike in a remote area of Pakistan that killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour. U.S. officials said he had been overseeing plans for new attacks on U.S. targets in Kabul.
Islamic State militants kill police chief in eastern Afghanistan

KABUL, June 11 (Reuters) - Islamic State militants attacked a police compound in eastern Afghanistan early on Saturday, killing a police chief, government officials and insurgents said.

At around 2 a.m. militants attacked the police headquarters in Dih Bala district of Nangarhar province, said Attahullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Five police officers, including the district police chief, were killed and six wounded, he said. At least 13 militants were killed and 7 wounded, Khogyani said.

Islamic State's Khorasan Province branch claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement online and said it killed the police chief and 13 officers.

Nangarhar, a volatile province that borders Pakistan, is where militants claiming allegiance to Islamic State have made their greatest inroads in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year American forces were given the green light to conduct more air strikes against Islamic State in Afghanistan, wading into a fight being waged by Afghan troops and Taliban insurgents competing for influence in the area.
Chad's former leader Habre appeals conviction for atrocities

DAKAR, June 11 (Reuters) - Chad's former ruler Hissene Habre has appealed against his conviction for crimes against humanity and war crimes, a spokesman for the Special African Chamber that conducted his trial in Senegal said on Saturday.

Habre, 73, an ally of the West during the Cold War, was sentenced on May 30 to life in prison for rape and ordering the killing and torture of thousands of political opponents during his eight-year rule.

"The lawyer's commission have submitted the paperwork for Habre's appeal," said Marcel Mendy, a spokesman for the Chamber, a tribunal created in 2013 by Senegal and the African Union for human rights crimes committed during Habre's rule.

New judges will be appointed and the appeal will take at least seven months with no start date set, Mendy said.

So far, the court has only tried Habre and the case marks a milestone for African justice. It is the first time in modern history that one country's domestic courts have prosecuted the former leader of another country on rights charges. Other such cases have been tried by international tribunals.
Greece says three parties interested in power grid operator stake - report

ATHENS, June 11 (Reuters) - Greece has been approached by three parties interested in buying a minority stake in state-run power grid operator ADMIE, Energy Minister Panos Skourletis said in a newspaper interview released on Saturday.

"The characteristics of the potential investors for the sale of a percentage of ADMIE are known ... We've already been approached by three parties," Skourletis was quoted as telling the weekly newspaper Ethnos.

"The experience and knowledge of the potential investors in this particular field will determine which one will be chosen, in combination of course with the offered price," he added.

Under the terms of its third multi-billion euro bailout, Greece has promised to sell up to 24 percent of ADMIE, a grid of more than 11,000 kilometres of high-voltage power cables that is fully-owned by the public power utility PPC.
Benin steps up security in face of militant threat

COTONOU, June 11 (Reuters) - Benin stepped up security patrols and roadblocks and increased border security on Saturday in the face of a threat from Islamist militants, the army chief of staff and a senior security official said.

A statement by the army chief of staff gave no details of the threat.

West African countries are increasingly concerned about al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its allies. The groups have expanded a campaign in northern Mali in the last year to stage high profile attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made successful visits to Switzerland, the US and Mexico. The main purpose behind this visit was to manage India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers group (NSG).

All these three states have agreed for India joining NSG. Such acceptance would go a long way in ensuring India's energy security and hence the excitement.

This is an extremely challenging task because India has not signed and unlikely to sign the NPT.

However, the glass still remains only half full. The real challenge is to ensure that China supports India's case. However, such a possibility looks bleak.

In order to appreciate why the membership of NSG is considered crucial it is bit important to recognise the nature of global disarmament initiatives and associated politics.

Also, it is important to put India in the context of overall global dynamics of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.

It would be interesting to note that India was responsible for the birth of the organisation called NSG.

The major powers in the world were shocked when realised that India conducted a successful nuclear during 1974 (Pokhran-I). This test made major powers realise that their nuclear weapon supremacy is under challenge.

Hence, to ensure the continuance of their nuclear supremacy these powers decided to look for options to control the spread of nuclear technology which could eventually lead to other countries making and testing nuclear bombs.

This gave birth to NSG, a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.

Presently, there are five nuclear weapon states and rest 43 NPT signatories are the members of NSG. Normally, the NSG group membership requires the signing of Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), which India has not fulfilled.

NSG is not the only arms-control (exports control) regime which has been put in place to stop/curtail the proliferation of nuclear weapons technology.

There are three more major exports control mechanisms which deal directly or indirectly with the issue of limiting the spread of nuclear technology. They are Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Australia Group and Wassenaar Arrangement.

The Australia Group recommends procedure in regards to dealing with the tread of materials and equipment concerning chemical and biological weapons, and Wassenaar Arrangement has guidelines about Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies.

After the Indo-US nuclear deal became a reality in 2006, during further deliberations it was suggested that India should join all these groups.

India is also open to join these groups because their participation in such grouping is unlikely to hamper India's nuclear weapons programme in any way. However, some members of these groups have/had concerns about India joining.

These concerns are for various reasons. Some European and Scandinavian countries take a very absolute positions (holier than the cow) on issues concerning nuclear weapons and fail to understand (or no not want to understand) the reasons behind India going nuclear.

They fail to recognise the security challenges for state like India, which shares borders with two nuclear weapon states and one of them also uses terrorism as an instrument of state policy.

Also, some states fear that if India becomes members of these groups then India could have say in global nuclear trade.

For last eight to ten years Indian political, diplomatic and scientific establishment is making significant efforts to ensure that the opposition to India's candidature to join any of the global disarmament regimes come to an end.

This is an extremely challenging task because India has not signed and unlikely to sign the NPT.

Amongst the four important export control mechanism, India is yet to make serious attempts to join the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement.

Where India has focused more is NSG and MTCR. Now, MTRC appears to be a done deal with only official formalities remaining.

Ballistic missiles being one of the most suited platforms for nuclear weapon delivery, there have been various attempts to control spread of these technologies and Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR, 1987) is one amongst them.

MTCR particularly attempts to control the rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of delivering a payload of at least 500kg to a range of at least 300km. The overall approach of the MTRC regime is to develop a second line of defence with regard to nuclear proliferation.

However, there are very few takers to MTCR, total 34 in number and most of them are the states without having any missile capability! Now, India has joined this grouping.

To become a member of NSG, there is a need to have acceptance from all other members. Already, China which is an NSG member state has officially expressed reservations about India joining NSG.

Recently, Indian president had gone to China possibly to argue for India's case. However, China is putting forth the laughable condition that, if India is allowed to join NSG without signing NPT, then the privilege should be extended to Pakistan too, a country which has sold nuclear sectors globally!
Awards week at our local schools was a good week for the Wingfield family. Our two boys racked up- our oldest son received the highest honor his school gave for middle school jazz trumpeters while our youngest son received several academic awards and an award for his stellar character as well. If it sounds like I am boasting, I do so only in thanksgiving to the Lord for helping our sons achieve excellence in what He has called them and gifted them to do. Hey, its ok for a dad to be proud of his kids every once in a while!

As we were leaving one of the award ceremonies, the boys youngest sister Lily tells me, Daddy, Im getting awards tomorrow in school, too.

Lily, I dont think most of the fourth-graders get awards. It will be great if you get one, but even if you dont, you know that I would give you the Best Daughter Ever award.

Thanks, Dad, but I want one tomorrow.

Heres the situation. Lily is a sweet, kind, generous girl who has a lot of special needs and intellectual disabilities. In other words, she is the type of child you love but not the kind who typically stands out when awards are being given. My fear was that Lily would get no award at the school assembly and that it would crush her. Honestly, Id never heard anything like that from her before that conversation. It never occurred to me that Lily cared whether or not she got recognized; somehow I had let the fact that she had some disabilities lead me to believe that she was different in this sense as well. She isnt. She wanted an award.

Before school the next morning, I told my boys to be extra sweet to Lily that afternoon because she was probably going to be a bit blue. I also let Lily know that getting awards is nice but not the most important thing in the world. She seemed ok with that little nugget of wisdom and went on into the building.

At the assembly that morning, Lily did not receive an award. I dont know how sad that made her because I wasnt there. Before the end of the day, however, her teacher presented her with a certificate proclaiming her an Outstanding Kickball Player or something like that and the day, maybe even the school year, was saved. One little act of thoughtfulness from a very insightful, compassionate teacher made all the difference.

Now, Ive always been one of those parents who doesnt want my kid to get a ribbon or trophy just for being on the team that didnt even win. Ive wanted my kids to win stuff, not just get handed stuff simply for being there. The world is tough, Id say, and not getting the prize will make my kids ready for it, Id say. Until Lily said she wanted an award. Everything changed in that moment. When she said she wanted an award, all her dad wanted was for her to get one.

God wants us to have good things, too. He doesnt expect us to earn most of them because He knows we cant. We have disqualified ourselves from the best things in life a long time ago. Fortunately, God is one of those Fathers who wants His kids to receive an award sometimes anyway, even if we might not have really deserved it. He gives us food to eat and allows us to enjoy its taste- what a great prize! He gives us relationships with other people that we love and cherish. He gives us peace in the midst of a storm, strength in the midst of a battle and joy in the midst of a tragedy, all great prizes indeed. Perhaps the best gift of all, apart from the obvious best gift of our salvation, is the promise He tells us in 2 Peter 1:3- His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence He has given us everything we need for a holy and godly life. First, He gave His Son for us so that we can be declared righteous. Second, He has given us His holy Word and His Holy Spirit so that we can now live like righteous children of God should live. He thought of everything, and as filled with joy as I am at the blessings my kids have received this week, He is all that more joyful in giving me everything I have ever needed and more. Praise be to our great God!

Mark Wingfield
LONDON - England - The Queen's 90th birthday celebrations have been marred by the stench of treachery, and scaremongering from the remain campaign in the run-up to the EU referendum.

If you vote to remain in the EU, you have not only desecrated thousands of years of British history, but spat upon the graves of those who fought for freedom and democracy in both the wars. The EU does not stand for democracy, and its totalitarian top-down ideology abhors any democratic process.

The Queens celebrations today are marred by the banana republic antics of David Camerons Mugabesque electoral practices that would not look out of place in Zimbabwe. With dodgy postal vote leaflets, and extended voter registration times for the remain camp to add voters, the SERCO letter, as well as the European citizens who are not legally allowed to vote being sent polling cards, this is a stitch up that defies stitch ups.

The daily threats from the bellicose EU officials spitting their bile via Germany and France are bolstered by the daily treasonous threats from the traitors and quislings now running the Remain campaign and Vichy government.

As for the Queen, she and her monarchy stand to lose the most if the awful act happens and the UK remains in the EU. We have already witnessed on many occasions how the European Union, or the Commission change laws at the drop of a hat, or amend any treaty they want without consultation. These laws are administered by unelected officials who are unaccountable to any parliament or vote.

The monarchy as we know it will be dismantled over time within the EU. The Queens constitutional role enshrined in the Magna Carta will evaporate, and this is why Jeremy Corbyn, a vehement anti-royalist is backing the remain campaign with such fervour, despite being a staunch eurosceptic for the past thirty years. He knows that if Britain remains in the EU, the Queen and her brood will be eventually made to disappear, de-funded, and turfed out of their palaces.

An inconsequential irrelevant monarchy is the order of the day in Brussels, as Britain will be nothing more than a simple sector within the eurozone to dictate to. As courtiers whisper, and rumours circulate, the Queen herself is a devout Brexiteer, but is not allowed to voice her opinion as she is supposedly above politics. It is with urgency, that we implore her Majesty to make a sound for the people to take note, for the good of the country, protocol must be discarded, and the strains of Formby released into the etheroh me, oh my..

The seeds of treachery and greed-driven EU profligacy have already infected many in Britain today, and it is a truly despicable sight to see the braying donkeys gallivanting around their respective manure stained pens, their effluent seeping through the floorboards and into the polling booths on June 23.

Lord Haw Haw Cameron, a smile for your treachery, a cowards smile, you collaborator, you sycophantic Guildenstern, vomitous excremental fifth-columnist festering under the doorstep of villainy, a pox on you and your vile swine, may a thousand years of historical anger and anguish be thrown upon you and your ilk.

Nevertheless, Britain marches onward towards the twenty third day of June, two thousand and sixteen. We must have judgement, it is time for change for the better, to emancipate, to break free from the chains that imprison us in this humourless undemocratic hell of EU slavery, once and for all.

Theres only one thing to do on June 23, and thats Vote Leave.
LONDON - England - The EU is undemocratic. The EU referendum is our last chance to bring back democracy to Britain by leaving the EU.

Do the Japanese have to apologise to anyone for being a democratic island with their own trade deals? Do the Americans have to apologise to anyone for doing the same?

So, why is Britain singled out, when there are so many individual nations in the world today, happily trading with other nations, not in a state of war, and getting on just fine?

If you want democracy in Britain today, you are called a xenophobe, a racist, a fascist or a little Englander by the combatant intolerant Remain folk.

This is wrong. Britons should not have to apologise for wanting self-rule from an undemocratic European Commission staffed by unelected faceless individuals who are unaccountable to any voter.

That is not democratic rule, and yet, here is Remain saying they wish to be ruled by these people who cannot be voted out of office, and who currently make up 60% of Britains laws.

Britain fought the second world war against a dictatorial Nazi fascist regime, fighting for democracy and the right to live their lives as they chose.

We are doing the same thing this time around with the EU referendum. We are fighting for the right to govern ourselves, to make our own laws, to trade with whoever we want to trade.

This is the simple truth, and it may never get through to a Remain supporter who willingly follows without question; has no knowledge about what is going on in Brussels, or is just plain spiteful against the concept of democracy. Whatever the reason, Remain are a group of people who are intolerant of any alternative to their deluded brainwashed opinion.

The Remain campaign is supporting an undemocratic regime in Brussels, they are the ones who should be explaining themselves, not the Leave supporters.

Do not fucking apologise for wanting democracy.

Vote Leave on June 23
A shared history was acknowledged on Friday, June 10 with the permanent installation of the Mikmaq Grand Council Flag on the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus  a first for a Nova Scotia university.



The flag was raised in recognition that the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus sits on traditional territory of the indigenous Mikmaq people and was marked with a special ceremony in the Facultys Centennial Amphitheatre. Elder Jane Abraham, of Millbrook First Nation and Dalhousies Elders-in Residence program, performed a Four Directions blessing of the flag while Mikmaq drumming group Samqwan Boyz and traditional and Fancy Shawl dancers welcomed guests to this historic event.



The Indigenous Mikmaq people have inhabited the region surrounding Dals Agricultural Campus for thousands of years. During the late 1700s and the early 1800s, the Mikmaq lived along the banks of the Salmon River, which runs between the Town of Truro and the Village of Bible Hill.



The land on which Dals Agricultural Campus sits was acquired and sold in 1885 to establish a School of Agriculture for the province (which would later become the former Nova Scotia Agricultural College and, today, the Faculty of Agriculture). When the school started expanding, the Mikmaq peoples were moved to property on King Street.





Because of this history there is a special relationship that needs to be acknowledged between Dalhousie University, the Faculty of Agriculture and the Millbrook First Nation community, said Faculty of Agriculture Dean David Gray. "With the raising of the Mikmaq Grand Council Flag, we welcome the First Nations community to our campus and campus community and acknowledge their history as part of our history.



The permanent installation of the Mikmaq Grand Council Flag on the Agricultural Campus, a first for Dalhousie as well, strengthens the university community and helps to provide a welcoming community to all learners.



Our university is strengthened by our diversity and as a university, we are committed to being a place where everyone feels welcomed and supported, which is why our Strategic Direction prioritizes fostering a culture of diversity and inclusiveness, explained Dalhousie University President Richard Florizone. At Dalhousie, we welcome the guidance offered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action and take our response very seriously.





Special guests at the ceremony included Don Julien, executive director of the Confederacy of Mainland Mikmaq, Ron Knockwood, district Chief of the Mi'kmaq Grand Council Sipekne'kati District, and Chief Robert Gloade, Millbrook First Nation. Students from Millbrook First Nation and Paq'tnkek First Nation also spent the morning touring campus before the ceremony.



The raising of the Mikmaq Grand Council flag today demonstrates that Dalhousie University and the Agricultural Campus acknowledge they are on unceeded Mi'kmaq territory, said Millbrook First Nation Chief Robert Gloade. And they acknowledge the importance of the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and access to educational facilities for the continued betterment of the role of Mi'kmaq in our territory.



Dalhousie has several initiatives in progress or underway to help support Indigenous learners and scholarship within its community. Among them: the long-running Transition Year Program, a new Aboriginal Student Advisor (in partnership with the Confederacy of Mainland Mikmaq), the introduction of a new minor in Indigenous Studies and the new Elders-in-Residence program.



On the Agricultural Campus, where the Mikmaq flag now flies, an additional Aboriginal Student Support position has been added to help develop stronger connections with the Aboriginal community, providing the appropriate level of support and a welcoming community on campus to learners along with an Aboriginal resource room.



Dalhousie University is working to ensure an environment that embraces Canadas Aboriginal heritage and although there has been some success to date, there is still work left to do, said President Richard Florizone. We must continue to work to ensure Dalhousie University is a community that embraces diversity and encourages the important contributions of our Mikmaq colleagues and scholars. 



The Agricultural Campus is the first Dalhousie campus to permanently fly the Mikmaq flag but it will not be the only one: plans are underway for new flag installations in Halifax as well, with ceremonies tentatively planned for Mikmaq History Month in October.


The government has appointed a selection committee for the first time to shortlist candidates for the position of RBI Governor.

Mumbai: For the first time ever, the government has appointed a selection committee headed by cabinet secretary P K Sinha to shortlist candidates for the position of Reserve Bank of India Governor, after Raghuram Rajan's term comes to an end in September.

According to a report in the Times of India, the decision to appoint a selection committee comes after a mutual agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun jaitley.

While chiefs of other regulatory bodies including insurance, pension and Sebi have been earlier shortlisted by search committees, this will be the first time that RBI governor candidates will be selected by a selection committee.

The decision to conduct the next RBI governors slot through the financial sector regulatory appointment search committee (FSRASC) comes as a strong stance against the special treatment given to central bank chiefs and also to cool speculation over Raghuram Rajan being considered for a second term.

The FSRASC, which was set up last year, consists of additional principal secretary, Prime Minister, P K Mishra  a permanent government nominee, and three external expertsRajiv Kumar from Centre for Policy Research, Manoj Panda of the Institute of Economic Growth and Bimal N Patel from Gujarat National Law University. Apart from the above-mentioned individuals, a finance ministry representative will also be a special invitee.

The selecting committees recommendation will be sent to the appointments board of cabinet headed by the PM, which will take the final decision. While a majority have people demanded that a second term be given to Raghuram Rajan, despite some differences with the governments initiatives.

The report also highlighted that the committee selection process would be commensurate with PM Narendra Modis comment that appointment is an administrative decision which will only be taken when Rajans term ends in September.

The process of appointing top-level officials to regulatory bodies is becoming more convoluted due to political influences. However, the decision to make FSRASC the selecting body could make the process a much easier one.
Mumbai: Filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who heads the government-appointed panel to revamp CBFC, has suggested a new category - Adult with Caution or A/C for films with excessive adult content in his recommendations.

Benegal, who has directed award-winning movies like Bhumika, Mandi and Nishant, however, said the committee is yet to submit a final report.

We have submitted an interim report to the government, the details of which cannot be revealed. Yes, we have mooted a new category Adult with Caution or A/C for certification of films with excessive adult content, Benegal told PTI.

We have suggested two other categories: Under U/A , U/A 12+ and U/A 15+. I cant reveal too much. There is another report that we will submit in three-four days. The government will take the final call. It is not fair to say anything on the suggestions as it is premature, he said. Benegal said the report would be ready well before June 20, the last date of submission.

In January this year, the government constituted a committee headed by Benegal to look into the revamping of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) which has been mired in controversies.

Benegal recently watched Udta Punjab, whose makers are locked in a bitter battle with censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani for demanding multiple cuts in the movie besides removal of Punjab from its title.

The veteran filmmaker said he thought director Abhishek Chuabey had done a great job with the movie though he declined to comment on the censorship row.

The CBFC is a statutory body under the information and broadcasting ministry, regulating the public exhibition of films. The certificates for a film in India go as U-Universal, UA-Universal under Adult Supervision and A-Adult.

The CBFC has been in news for its controversial decisions be it proposing a list of 28 banned cuss words, demanding cuts in films like Udta Punjab, Jai Gangajal, NH 10, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Angry Indian Godesses and even shortening the kissing scenes in James Bond movie Spectre.

After the controversy over a number of cuts in Udta Punjab, Bollywood stalwarts have raised concerns over censorship and dangers to freedom of expression and hit out at Nihalani, with some prominent film personalities even demanding his ouster.

The film, which stars Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor-Khan and Diljit Dosanjh, deals with the issue of how the youth in Punjab are succumbing to drug addiction.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court today suggested the CBFC not to be overly-critical of a movie, and at the same time also asked the makers of Udta Punjab to tone down the expletives and vulgar scenes in the film. It will pass orders in the case on June 13.

Phantom Films, producer of Udta Punjab, which is aggrieved by an order of the revising committee of the CBFC that suggested changes in the film before its release on June 17, had moved the HC over the cuts.

The boards suggestions include removal of abusive words from dialogue, certain words from the songs, references to Punjab and places in the state and deletion of close-up shots of actors injecting the drugs. They also wants the producers to make changes in the disclaimer in the movie.

CBFCs suggestions also sparked off a political sparring earlier this week, prompting the co-producer Anurag Kashyap to ask the political parties to stay away from their fight. The controversy acquired political overtones because Assembly polls are being held in Punjab next year.
Sushant Singh Rajput surprised fans and the media by making a long overdue comeback to Instagram. This move comes just 23 days after the actor announced his decision to quit social networking platforms, post his split from long time girlfriend Ankita Lokhande. However, it is his 'come back' picture that raised quite a few eyebrows.

The Raabta star posted a warp up picture with his co-star and rumoured girlfriend Kriti Sanon.While many fans were happy that SSR was back in action, others questioned his blossoming friendship with Kriti.

Kriti also took to her handle to share the picture with her hunky co-star.

And its a schedule wrap!!! Wooohhooo!  #SushantSinghRajput #Raabta #maddockfilms A photo posted by Kriti (@kritisanon) on Jun 10, 2016 at 7:56am PDT

Sushant will be romancing the leggy lass for the first time in the upcoming romantic flick directed by Homi Adajania. The two have been busy shooting in Budapest for the past few months.

Deepika Padukone also stopped by on the sets to shoot a special dance sequence. Kriti assured fans that the cast was more than happy to have Deepika on the sets and shoot a sexy dance number.

The film is slated to hit the theatres on February 10, 2017.
Kangana Ranaut said, "My very close friends and people I closely work with seem extremely disturbed with the way things are; to an extent they feel bullied."

New Delhi: Actress Kangana Ranaut has backed the makers of 'Udta Punjab', which is embroiled in a censorship battle, saying the censor board is bullying filmmakers and called for an end to "parental attitude towards the audience".

"We have been very concerned with the way things are going. I am not a director, I have never been through the process. But my very close friends and people I closely work with seem extremely disturbed with the way things are; to an extent they feel bullied," Kangana said.

The actress said it is high time that people stop having this parental attitude towards the audience. "I would support them. They are legitimate artistes. They

know the process of certification. Its not censorship. We don't have to have that parental attitude towards the audience."

The three-time National award-winning actress said her 2014 film 'Queen' had also run into trouble with the CBFC after it objected to a scene involving the women's undergarment.

"In my film 'Queen', there was a funny moment with the bra. My director called and said they are blurring the bra. They said it is vulgar. Our director was furious about it. We are artistes... We see props as they are. A woman's bra is not

a danger to the society," she said.

Watch the scene from Queen here.
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, who garnered critical acclaim for her performance in Balas Tharai Thappatai returns to Ktown again with the women-centric horror film Ammayi. Having completed a Malayalam flick with Mammootty, reports suggest that Varu is essaying the titular role in Ammayi, which has supernatural elements. The film started shooting officially recently in the city, and the lead hero Vinay Rai, who is on and off in Tamil cinema, was right there on time although the Poda Podi actress was missing!

Apparently, Varalaxmi is on holiday in Singapore and she had already informed the crew about her inability to attend the mahurat on Thursday. An intense story, the film has music by maestro Ilaiyaraaja. Talking to the media, debut director Shankar said, A film in the horror genrere quires someone who has master control over the background score. When I conceived the subject, I could not think of anyone else other than Raja sir for the music. His music will take our project several notches higher.

Vinay said, It is a big honour to work with Raja sirs musical score. It has a great script and I want to thank my fans who always support me. Speaking to DC from Taiwan, Varu said, I am quite excited to have bagged my first horror film and am looking forward to doing it. I am also happy that I am sharing the screen with my close friend Vinay and have got the big opportunity to work with Ilaiyaraaja sirs music for the second time after Tharai....

Though she was reluctant to talk about the story, she adds, Ammayi is not the typical horror movie you see of late. I would say it is a drama-horror outing with a lot of twist and turns.
The Kerala government on Saturday announced its decision to hand over the case of actor Kalabhavan Mani's death to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A notification was issued by the Home secretary based on the recommendation of the state DGP.

Mani's family members had earlier approached the state government seeking a CBI probe into his death which occurred under strange circumstances. According to reports, the family members wanted the probe to be investigated by an agency which was not influenced by any external elements.

The development comes in the wake of a lab report confirming the presence of highly toxic methyl alcohol, also called methanol in his body. The lab reports from Hyderabad mentioned that high content of spurious liquor was present in his blood samples.

The police team probing the death of the actor reportedly got the lab report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Hyderabad.

Earlier, a lab report had stated that toxic pesticide Chlorpyrifos was there in Mani's body, which was ruled out in the report.

Mani passed away at a hospital in Kochi on March 6. The 45-year-old had been hospitalised for liver ailment where he was admitted in the ICU in a critical condition.
Washinton: While waiting for a human heart transplant, Stan Larkin lived 555 days without the organ at all.

To passers-by, the 25-year-old Ypsilanti, a Michigan resident, appeared to be a typical young adult. He enjoyed taking his three toddlers to the park and hanging out with his younger brother, Dominique. What wasnt obvious was that a gray backpack Larkin carried was what kept him alive. Inside that bag was the power source for an artificial heart pumping in his chest.

Larkins real heart was removed from his body in November 2014. It was replaced with a device that allowed Larkin to stay home instead of in a hospital while waiting to receive a transplant.

It finally arrived this year, in May. Now, Larkin is recovering from his procedure at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center. He is scheduled to return home as early as next week. Most people would be scared to go so long with (an artificial heart), but I just want to tell them that you have to go through the fear, because it helps you, Larkin said.

Im going home so fast after the transplant because it helped me stay healthy before the transplant, he added. At any given time, there are about 4,000 patients nationwide waiting for human heart transplants, according to the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

Some patients with end-stage heart failure may wait months or even years before a suitable donor heart becomes available, said Dr Billy Cohn, a cardiovascular surgeon and director of the Center for Technology and Innovation at the Texas Heart Institute.
There's the sad story of Komna village in Odisha's Nuapada district where the locals, wanting to breed the imported Jersey breed of cattle, prevented cows from crossing with the indigenous 'Khariar breed' bulls with disastrous effects by castrating the bulls. The bulls went almost extinct, and the yield from the cows, too, declined drastically.

Then there's happy the story from the Sringeri Sharada Peetham. At the Sringeri math, nestled in the Western Ghats, temple authorities are feeding thousands of people who visit the Math from across the world with milk and milk products produced from cows fathered by Gir (or Gyr) bulls that come from the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. The Gir cows are said to be the best breed of milch cows in India, producing as much as 12 litres of milk, with 4.5 percent fat content, a day during peak milking time. One Gir cow in Brazil was recorded to have yielded 62 litres of milk in a day.

"We have four Gir bulls that cross with the female cows in our Goshala. About 40 Gir cows in the Goshala yield around 200 liters of milk every day in two shifts" temple staff told Deccan Chronicle. "The milk is used for Abhishekam and to make prasadam for hundreds of devotes who visit the temple every day".

As bulls go, the Gir bulls are considered to be among the most masculine and good looking. They generally have a big head and a long face with a convex forehead that is said to be an unusual feature that acts as a cooling radiator for the brain and pituitary gland. Their long ears are excellent insect swatters, their horns rise up and then go down and backwards, and the Gir's hump is said to be the largest among the Zebu breeds originating in India. At the Sringeri Math, a majestic-looking six-year-old Gunda is the current favourite bull of visitors as it is taken for a walk around the premises everyday.

Sadly, Gujarat itself is now facing a declining Gir cattle population. So much so that in February, the Gujarat government decided to import 10,000 doses of Gir bull semen from Brazil. Punjab, too, wants to do the same. Ironically, the semen will come from descendants of Gir bulls gifted to Brazil before Independence by the Maharaja of Bhavnagar in Gujarat. Brazil has bred and improved the Girs and now boasts of some 40 lakh Gir cow population. The South American country is now, in fact, the biggest exporter of Indian cow breeds!
The unique designs of their new brand of Oops condoms comprise images of fruits, vegetables and even cupcakes. (Photo: Facebook)

A group of students in Taiwan working on their senior project decided to make cute-looking condoms so that more women would be encouraged to buy them. They claim that even now it is mostly men that end up buying condoms at convenience stores. We thought that, if we made cute condoms, we could change that. Taiwanese people love cute things, the projects lead, Ye Wu, told Broadly.

The unique designs of their new brand of Oops condoms comprise images of fruits, vegetables and even cupcakes. Another member of the Oops teams says that the pretty appearance of these condoms will give an incentive to girls to carry condoms along with them. As women, we need to be responsible for our own protection. We cant rely on men, she adds.

Although the students are too immersed in their schoolwork for now, they are hopeful that one day they will be able to sell Oops condoms internationally.
Accused Virendrasing Tawde was arrested late last night from Panvel near here and will be produced before a special court in Pune this afternoon.(Photo: Twitter/ANI)

Mumbai: CBI has arrested Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member Virendrasing Tawde in connection with the murder of noted rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013, the first in the case by the agency.

He was arrested late last night from Panvel near here and will be produced before a special court in Pune this afternoon.

The Samiti is linked to Goa-based radical Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha, which had come under the scanner for the murder of another rationalist Govind Pansare in February 2015. "CBI has arrested Virendra Singh Tawde in an ongoing investigation of a case related to murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar.

"He will be produced today around 3 PM in designated court, Pune. Investigation is continuing," CBI Spokesperson Devpreet Singh said on Saturday.

It is the first arrest in the case after the Mumbai High court in May 2014 handed over the probe to the CBI in the fatal shooting of Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, in broad daylight on August 20, 2013.

The killings had sparked outrage in the country with several eminent writers and other personalities returning their awards over "rising intolerance".

The agency had recovered some material during its earlier searches in connection with the murder case which brought the needle of suspicion on Tawde, believed to be an ENT surgeon and an alleged follower of 'Sanatan Sanstha' activist Sarang Akolkar, against whom Red Corner Notice was issued by Interpol in July 2012 in connection with the 2009 Goa blast case on NIA request, CBI sources said.

The sources said CBI had questioned him, in different sessions, since June 2 when his residence was searched. The residences of Tawde and Akolkar were searched by the agency which recovered several SIM cards, cell phones and data from computer, they said.

They said the two were investigated after the agency found some "cyber forensic evidence" about their alleged role in the murder case of Dabholkar.

34-year-old Akolkar is suspected to be one of the key conspirators in the murder of Dabholkar. He has been on the run ever since his name cropped up during NIA investigations in the Goa blast case.

NIA had secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him in 2012 but security agencies are yet to track him down.

Meanwhile, Dabholkar's son Hameed termed the arrest of Tawde as the "first big" step by CBI in the "right direction".

He, however, added that had this action been taken immediately after Dabholkar's murder, subsequent deaths of Pansare and Kannada scholar M M Kalburgi could have been avoided.

"Though, the action has come very late, it is still a big step in the right direction by CBI. Hope the investigators reach the main perpetrators with this arrest and also arrest other suspect Sarang Akolkar," he said.

Medha Pansare, daughter-in-law of Govind Pansare said, "Since the role of such extremist outfits has been exposed in Pansare and now in Dr Dabholkars case, we demand that government should take stern action against such outfits."

She also demanded that the CBI team, investigating Dabholkar's murder and Special Investigation team, working in Pansare's case, should co-ordinate with each other to look for similar links as in both cases the same outfit is allegedly involved.

Sanatan Sanstha spokesperson Abhay Vartak termed the arrest of Tawde as part of a conspiracy to malign the organisation, which is doing social work. "A lot of our sadhaks are being targeted by the authorities for no fault of theirs. This is all a big conspiracy," Vartak said.

Sanstha will hold a media briefing in Mumbai this evening, after Tawde is produced in a Pune court, Vartak said.
Chennai: A 65-year-old woman on Thursday halted the scheduled secret marriage of her 15-year-old granddaughter and in the process made the police arrest her daughter and her paramour who was supposed to wed the minor girl.

The incident unfolded on Thursday when Kala, single mother of the teenaged school dropout, secretly decided to marry off her daughter to her 40-year-old paramour, Manikandan, a construction supervisor. Kalas mother Amaravathi, 65, was totally against this plan.

It appears Amaravathi never liked the idea of Kala and Manikandan having an illicit relationship for the last four years. Just two months ago he had told Kala about his desire to marry her young daughter, born to her first husband. It seems Kala agreed as she wanted continuous financial support from Manikandan. But Kalas mother opposed it, the police said on Friday.

As Kala was making final arrangements to marry off her daughter, Amaravathi went to the Pallikaranai police station with the complaint. She was advised to go to Medavakkam all women police station.

The police team, after making enquires, arrested Kala and Manikandan under various sections including Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.
The girls, aged between seven and 16 years, were rescued from four houses where they were employed at Chokli in the district on Saturday. (Photo: Representational Image)

Kannur: Five minor girls from Andhra Pradesh have been rescued after Kerala police busted an inter-state racket of child trafficking.

The traffickers allegedly bought children from their parents for money and employed them in local houses in Kannur as maids.

The girls, aged between seven and 16 years, were rescued from four houses where they were employed at Chokli in the district on Saturday.

Based on a tip off by volunteers of Childline, an NGO, a raid was carried out in these houses and the girls were rescued, police said.

Six persons, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, have been arrested in this regard so far, they said.

56-year-old Sherif, believed to be the kingpin of the racket, was held from a fringe area in Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border.

He is believed to be the main agent who buys under-aged children from various states by offering money to their parents, police said.

"The rescued girls are aged between 7 and 16 years. We are trying to collect details about their whereabouts and trace their near ones," Chokli Sub Inspector E V Shibu said.

The girls are now housed at a state-run rescue shelter in Thalassery in the district, he said.
Mumbai: The Mumbai Police have rescued as many as 28 youngsters, including 12 minors, from the clutches of a self-styled godman, who had confined them in a bungalow in Mumbai's Kandivali area.

The godman allegedly used to force the youngsters into performing rituals that were physically and mentally torturous.

Police inspector Sunaina Nate of the Samta Nagar Police Station said, "One of the children managed to inform his kin about the exploitation he was subjected to. The kin immediately informed police about the matter."

Adhering to the information, a team of the Samta Nagar Police raided the premises on Friday evening and rescued 28 youths, including 12 minors, mostly hailing from Uttar Pradesh, said Nate.

The inspector said the youngsters were subjected to exploitation in the name of religious rituals.

"Two people- Bhagwandas Tiwari and Devendra Manoj Dube - have been arrested in this connection and further investigation into the case is on," said inspector Nate.
Mumbai: The Pune sessions court on Saturday remanded Dr. Virendra Tawade, a member of Sanatan Sanstha  a fringe rightwing Hindutva group  to CBI custody till June 16 in connection with the 2013 murder of rationalist thinker Dr Narendra Dabholkar.

A CBI team arrested Tawade on Friday in Panvel, a few days after his house was raided. While demanding Tawades custody, CBI lawyer B.P. Raju said, During investigation it has been revealed that Dr Tawade has been in touch with a few people who are suspected to be involved in the Dabholkar murder case. CBI officials have also got some emails, which indicate that he was in touch with the other suspects.

Also, Tawade was not able to give convincing answers about why he was in touch with the suspects. Further, a black motorcycle was used in both Dabholkar and (Govind) Pansare murders. This accused also has a black motorcycle; so his custody is must.

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According to the CBI remand report, Tawade was in touch with Sarang Akolkar, a wanted accused in the 2009 Goa blast case. Emails were exchanged between Tawade and Akolkar in 2008. CBI in its remand report said that one witness has come forward and given statement against Dr. Tawde.

The witness in a statement recorded under section 164 has said that Tawade had given offensive speeches against Dr Dabholkar in a public programme in Kolhapur in 2004 and had been vocal against him after that as well.

CBI said Dr Tawde was using three mobile phones for some secret communication.

On his part, Tawade told the court that he was beaten up by CBI officials. He said he was slapped twice by the officials. However, countering his accusations, CBI lawyer B.P. Raju said Tawades medical report had been submitted to the court and it did not indicate any injury or health issues. Tawade is an ENT specialist, who used to work with JJ Hospital.

Arrest welcomed by family

The arrest of Virendra Tawade, of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, and a staunch follower of Sanatan Sanstha, over the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar has brought some relief to his family members but the Sanstha has cried foul, saying it is an act to defame the organisation.

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Meanwhile, Congress has demanded that the organisation be banned, a proposal that was mooted by the then government. While Dabholkars daughter, Mukta expressed pleasure over the progress of the probe, she said speedy trial should be conducted in the case.

The investigation agency officials have worked so hard and this is the result of their hard work. I heard yesterday about the arrest and I think (the murder) might be a big conspiracy and after this arrest officials will able to solve the conspiracy.

Sanatan Sansthas spokesperson Abhay Vartak said, Dr Veerendrasingh Tawades arrest is an act to defame the Sanstha under the BJP government.

It is evident that though there have been sweeping changes in the political scenario both at the centre as well as the state levels, the persecution of the Hindutvavadis continues.

Many pro-Hindu organisations have expressed their deep displeasure against this policy of the government, the spokesperson added.
Mumbai: Hamid Dabholkar, son of slain anti-superstition activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, on Sunday, expressed unhappiness over investigators' failure to zero in on the murderers of his father, CPI leader Govind Pansare and Kannada scholar M M Kalburgi.

"Why is it so difficult to identify them? There are reports in media that these three rationalists were killed by the same set of weapons, (but) even then the investigating agencies were speculating about the motive," he said, speaking at 'Mumbai Collective: Celebrating Freedom and Pluralism', a two-day conclave here.

"All three of them were working to propagate rationalism and constructive criticism of religion. They were labelled as traitors of religion by a particular organisation which has a history of resorting to violence to achieve their agenda.

"The same organisation had put a red cross on Dabholkar and Pansare's photographs (on its website). Still, two and a half years later, not a single arrest has been made," he said.

"On one hand there is deep anguish of losing my beloved father, comrade Pansare and professor Kalburgi, and the insensitive delay in investigation, but on the other hand there is a definite ray of hope and feeling of solidarity when we see many youths and like-minded people coming together and supporting this cause," Hamid said.

"Right from the day of assassination of Dabholkar (on August 20, 2013, in Pune), we were telling the agency that it is not a personal or property dispute. This is a planned assault on ideological framework and if you don't arrest the culprits there will be more murders. But sadly nobody paid heed. One and a half years later, Pansare was killed in Kolhapur and four months later Kalburgi in Dharwad," he said.

"It was very much possible for the state government and the topmost (investigation) agency of this country like CBI to save the lives of these people," Hamid said.

Echoing the sentiment, Megha Pansare, daughter-in-law of Govind Pansare, said, "Arrest of one suspect (in Pansare case) has led to nothing... We are struggling for justice three years after the (three) killings."
"The soldiers, who caught us for crossing over, fed us well and took care of us. I want my government to treat Indians the same way we were taken care of," one of the boys said.

Amritsar: Amid the tense ties between India and Pakistan, a heart-warming gesture was witnessed when three Pakistani minor boys, who were apprehended after accidentally crossing over to the Indian side in Ajnala town in Amritsar district, Punjab were handed back today, laden with gifts and sweets, by the Border Security Force (BSF).

Aamir (15), Nomin Ali (14) and Arshad (12) were on their way to meet their relative on a motorcycle, when they crossed over to India on Friday and were caught by the guards on patrol duty.

"The three boys had come to meet their relatives and accidentally crossed over to our side as they did not know the area from which India began. Our guards caught them around 12: 30 in the afternoon," CP Meena, Commander of 70 BSF Battalion told the media.

Aamir, who hails from Faisalabad and studies in ninth standard, said that he was deeply touched by the way he, his cousin and friend were treated by the BSF soldiers.

"The soldiers, who caught us for crossing over, fed us well and took care of us. I want my government to treat Indians the same way we were taken care of," he said.

As soon as the boys were caught, the BSF contacted the Pakistani officials, telling them about the minors and also informed the Indian authorities and were instructed to hand the boys over straight away.
BJP lawmaker from Kairana, Hukum Singh, has alleged that 346 families have been forced to flee the town, which has 85% Muslim population.

Shamli: Police in western UP are investigating complaints that several Hindu families in Kairana, a small town in the Shamli district, have been forced to flee after targeted attacks.

According to reports, BJP lawmaker from Kairana, Hukum Singh, has alleged that 346 families have been forced to flee the town, which has 85% Muslim population.

Police however have denied that there has been such a large migration.

BJP MP and Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan has also accused the Samajwadi Party government of patronising those behind the violence against Hindus.

However, SP spokesperson Juhi Parmar has denied the charges, instead accusing Balyan of trying to create a polarized atmosphere.

Accusing the BJP of dividing people on castes and religious lines, Congress leader Basheer Ahmad asked, Why did Hukum Singh keep mum when people were being killed and exodus began?

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a report within four weeks from the Akhilesh Yadav government on the issue, terming the allegations as serious in nature.

The move came on a complaint that a Hindu woman was gang-raped and murdered in the town recently, but no action was taken due to political pressure.

UP goes to elections in 2017, and tensions have recently risen in the state over villagers from Greater Noidas Bisada village demanding filing of an FIR against Mohammad Akhlaqs family for allegedly consuming beef.
The Singapore consortium will provide the funds for development and the government's investment will be the land. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: A high-powered committee comprising ministers and IAS officers formed by the state government has decided to allot 1,700 acres to the Singapore-based consortium of companies on freehold basis for development. Ownership rights will be with the AP CRDA.

The Singapore-based consortium of Singbridge, Ascendas and Sembcorp had submitted the proposals to the state government under the Swiss Challenge mode for the Amaravati development partner. The committee, headed by finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, met twice and vetted the proposals.

The consortium, on behalf of the Singapore government, and the Amaravati Development Company, which represents the AP government, will reach an agreement and form a joint venture company for the development of the capital.

This company will be allotted 1,700 acres of land in the capital. The Singapore consortium will provide the funds for development and the government's investment will be the land. Singapore will have a 58-per cent share in the joint venture company and the AP government 42 per cent.
Patna: The alleged kingpin of the toppers' scandal in Bihar Intermediate examination, Bachha Rai was arrested after he surrendered at Bhagwanpur police station in Vaishali district.

Bachha Rai, who is Secretary-cum Principal of controversy-hit Bishun Rai College, arrived at the Bhagwanpur police station to give himself up from where the police arrested him, Hajipur police sources said.

Read: Bihar exam scandal: 5 held; ex-chairman, college principal absconding

"We have arrested Bachha Rai," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on merit muddle in Bihar's +2 examination, told PTI.

Maharaj said the police had been on hot pursuit of the accused and netted him on Saturday.

Bachha Rai is the Secretary-cum Principal of Bishun Rai College in Vaishali district from where Arts and Science toppers Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shrestha belonged to respectively.

"We will interrogate him intensively," Maharaj said.

Bachha Rai, a known supporter of RJD, had been allegedly eluding from police in the case.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had recently alleged that everybody knew that Bachha Rai had worked more than Lalu Prasad to ensure victory of Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap from Raghopur and Mahua seats in Vaishali respectively.

The probe has indicated that Bachha Rai was a key player in the case with the help of Bihar School Examination Board, police said.

Besides Arts and Science toppers, the third ranker in the Science stream Rahul Kumar, whose result has been cancelled by the board along with that of first topper Saurabh Shrestha after a re-test also hailed from the Bishun Rai College.

Bachha Rai's daughter Shalini Rai is one of the named accused in the FIR lodged in the case with Kotwali police station in Patna.

According to investigation, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) had allegedly hatched the conspiracy to make Shalini Rai a topper in the science stream later on through verification of marks. But, the snowballing controversy derailed the plan and put her and father Bachha Rai in trouble, police said.

Ruby Rai had reportedly described Political science as "Prodikal Science".

During re-test on last Saturday, she had not appeared before the experts team citing "depression".

The BSEB had asked her to appear for re-test on June 11. Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh who was forced to resign as BSEB Chairman following evidences of his "connivance" in the scandal is absconding.
Silva sets up visitors' reply as it ends Day 2 on 162 for 1, 254 runs behind England's first-innings total of 416

Bairstow helped England post 416 in the first innings.Kaushal Silva (79 not out) and Kusal Mendis (25 not out) will resume Day 3 for England.In the morning, a 144-run stand for the seventh wicket between Bairstow and Chris Woakes propelled England after it resumed the day at 279 for 6. Woakes scored his maiden Test half-century, while Bairstow ended unbeaten on his Test-best score of 167.However, the Sri Lankan openers came out fighting thereafter, as Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne put on a 108-run stand for the opening wicket. Karunaratne should have been dismissed for 28 when he edged Woakes, only for Bairstow to drop a regulation catch. That proved a costly mistake as Karunaratne cashed in and, at one point, struck Jimmy Anderson for three fours in as many balls.He went on to complete a 95-ball 50 before he was dismissed, Bairstow doing well this time to hold on to a leg-glance off Steven Finn. However, Silva carried on with Mendis for company. He brought up the 150-mark with a sublime drive through the covers and the two ensured the remainder of the day passed without incident.Earlier, Bairstow carried on from his overnight 107 to reach his Test-best score. He has now converted all five of his first-class fifties this season, for Yorkshire and England, to hundreds.Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, spread the field wide, allowing both batsmen to find the fence. Woakes was particularly aggressive among the two. He cut Rangana Herath for four and later flicked Nuwan Pradeep off his pads for another boundary, before unleashing a textbook cover drive off Shaminda Eranga to the ropes. The running between wickets was also a key feature in their partnership.The conditions didnt prove too threatening either, as Woakes reached his half-century in 102 balls. However, England couldnt see the first session through without losing a wicket as Woakes chipped one back to Herath. Bairstow carried on though and surpassed his Test-best  an unbeaten 150 against South Africa at Cape Town in January  before lunch.England couldnt last long after resumption. Bairstow remained unbeaten, but all of Stuart Broad (14), Steven Finn (7) and Jimmy Anderson (4) were snuffed out within ten overs after the restart.
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha witnessed uproar over voting for 11 Rajya Sabha seats on Saturday, as the Bharatiya Janata Party dubbed Samajwadi Party legislators as "acting like goons".

Krishna Paswan, BJP legislator from Khaga assembly constituency accused the SP MLAs of not letting her vote to in the House.

"The SP MLAs are acting like goons. Openly, they are involved in hooliganism. They are not letting us cast our votes. They held my hand to refrain me from voting," Paswan told ANI.

"When we went to the Central Secretariat, they told me that they would cast my vote, to which I opposed," she said adding, "Why should they (SP MLAs) cast my vote, when I can on my own."

They even asked the employees to cover the box with their hands. I was stopped with all the vigour," she added.

However, terming the allegations levelled by BJP MLAs as baseless, SP leader Gayatri Prasad Prajapati said: "Nobody stopped them (BJP legislators), voting is peacefully going on."

"The people who have said these things are wrong," he added. Meanwhile, seven states are undergoing polls today to elect 27 Rajya Sabha members.

These include 11 seats from Uttar Pradesh, four each from Karnataka and Rajasthan, three from Madhya Pradesh, two each from Haryana and Jharkhand and one from Uttarakhand.

Out of 57 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant, voting took place for only 27 seats today as 30 candidates were declared elected unopposed at the end of withdrawal of nominations on June 3. In Uttar Pradesh, 12 candidates are vying for 11 seats.
BJP state president Sounderrajan slammed Karunanidhi, whose party had successfully spearheaded the anti-Hindi agitation in the state in 1960s. (Photo: PTI)

Chennai: BJP on Saturday hit out at DMK chief M Karunanidhi for his criticism of the Centre's move to set up a board for Vedic education, and accused him of doing politics in the name of language.

"Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) has criticised the Central government with the aim of once again doing politics in the name of language," BJP state President Tamilisai Sounderrajan said.

Read: M Karunanidhi slams Centre on Sanskrit move

She alleged Karunanidhi, known for his strong pro-Tamil stand and promoting it, had actually "ignored" divine Tamil and asked if it wasn't a "betrayal" to the Tamil people.

"Can you deny that your party posters in Hindi were pasted in areas dominated by North Indians (during polls)? Can you deny this is brazen opportunism?" she said in a statement.

Sounderrajan questioned Karunanidhi, whose party had successfully spearheaded the anti-Hindi agitation in the state in 1960s, as to what he had done for Tamil, and asked if he could at least manage to make the language the medium of instruction in schools in Tamil Nadu.

"But if the Centre is taking steps for promoting Indian culture, he is ranting," she said.

On his comments that the Centre had been "ignoring" DMK's request for 50 years to declare all 22 Indian languages, listed in the eight schedule of the Constitution, as official languages of the Union government, she pointed out that during this period his party was a key constituent of the various central governments.

The Union HRD Ministry's move (on Vedic education) was only aimed at the students of CBSE, and that too (to take as) an optional one, she said, adding "no one is being forced" to take up Sanskrit.

The government's intention and duty was to make future generation realise the value of our culture and there was no imposition of anything, Sounderrrajan said.

"It is wrong to see an imposition of a language or language politics," she said.

Commenting on the Ved Vidya proposal, Karunanidhi had on Saturday charged the NDA government with being obstinate in "thrusting" Sanskrit, saying such "linguistic, cultural chauvinism" would derail the nation from the growth path.
Kolkata: Family members of Judith DSouza, who was abducted from Taimani area of Kabul, on Friday said external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has assured them of making all-out efforts to bring her back. External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj rang up and spoke to me and assured that the government is making all-out efforts to bring her back, Judiths sister Agnes DSouza said here.

Father of Judith D'Souza, who was kidnapped in Kabul, breaks down at his residence in Kolkata. (Photo: PTI)

Judith was abducted on Thursday night. Their father D. DSouza said the family received information that three persons  Judith, a security guard and the driver of the vehicle  were abducted. The family, Agnes said, received information of the abduction in the early hours of the day. We received the news from the Indian embassy in Kabul at 1.30 am. The embassy said we are doing our best. We shall inform you as soon as we get any information. We are now waiting. We hope that the government does something and gets my sister back, she said, adding the Afghanistan government should also take steps to trace her.

File photo of Judith D'Souza (sitting Left) with her other family members, who was reportedly abducted in Kabul. (Photo: PTI)

She said Judith was scheduled to return home Wednesday next and had rung up two days ago. She did not express any apprehension, she said. Agnes said, We had asked her (Judith) not to go there but she did not listen. Their father said efforts were made to contact Aga Khan Foundation with which Judith works. We have sent an e-mail to them. He said his daughter was working for uplifting the condition of women and children there.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MP Derek OBrien said he spoke to the family of the abducted woman and contacted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. @SushmaSwaraj Ji, I spoke to father & sister of lady from #Kolkata abdu-cted in Afghanistan. Request updates pl from your office (sic), he tweeted.
Education officials conducting inquiry with the primary school teacher Vaijayanthimala, in Paali village near Ulundurpet in Villupuram district regarding the issue of burning the students with camphor fire on Friday.

Chennai: In a shocking incident, a primary school teacher in Paali, near Ulundurpet in Villupuram district, burned her students with camphor as a punishment for poor academic performance.

Both teacher Vaijayanthimala and headmaster Varadarajan of the panchayat union primary school, were suspended on Friday after an inquiry by the district chief educational officer S. Mars and district elementary education officer Ilangovan.

The incident took place on Thursday morning. Vaijayanthimala, 4th standard teacher, called 13 of her students and enquired about their poor academic performance. She was reportedly not happy with the kids reply. Asking other students to hold their 13 classmates, she lit camphor on their feet. As the students cried in pain, the teacher threatened them not to reveal this to anyone.

After hearing about the shocking incident from their wards, agitated parents surrounded the school, protesting against the barbaric punishment of the teacher on Friday morning. Police officials pacified the parents and with the help of ambulance services admitted the students to the Ulundurpet government hospital for treatment. All of them had blisters on their feet. District education officials rushed to the school and after conducting an inquiry suspended both the teacher and headmaster of the school.

District education officials rushed to the school and after conducting

an inquiry suspended both the teacher and headmaster of the school.
CBI, late last night, arrested Hindu Janajagruti Samiti's member Virendrasing Tawde in connection with the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: Reacting to the arrest of one of its disciples in the Dr Narendra Dabholkar murder case, the Hindu right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha in Mumbai said an attempt was being made to malign it and other Hindu organisations.

"They previously arrested Sadhvi (Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur) in the Malegoan blast case. She was acquitted after four years as there was no evidence. Similarly they had arrested six Sanatan members in Margao blast case and released them after five years," said Abhay Vartak, Sanatan spokesperson.

Read: Three years after Dabholkar's murder, CBI arrests Sanatan Sanstha member

"Now, Dr Virendra(sing) Tawde has been arrested in Dabholkar case. In this way attempts are being made to malign the Hindu outfits," he said.

"There is an international conspiracy to destroy the Hindu organisations," he added.

"When Congress was in power we experienced repression and conspiracy. Even after the change of government, we are going through the same thing," he said.

Actions of the BJP-led Maharashtra Government were anti-Hindu, he said to a question.

Read: Dabholkar murder case: Tawde sent to CBI custody till June 16

About Tawde's association with the Sanstha, Vartak said, "He is an ENT surgeon and used to come to our ashram for treating the sadhaks (disciples). He was a Sanstha member, but was not holding any post."

CBI, late last night, arrested Hindu Janajagruti Samiti's member Virendrasing Tawde in connection with the murder of Dr Dabholkar, a well-known anti-superstition activist, in Pune in 2013. It is the first arrest in the case by the agency.

The Samiti is linked to Sanatan Sanstha, which has earlier come under the scanner in connection with the murder of rationalist and CPI leader Govind Pansare in February 2015.
He is involved in ensuring harmony among various social groups in Maharashtra and in efforts for restoration of forts in the state. (Photo: Representational Image)

New Delhi: Social activist Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, a descendant of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji, was on Saturday nominated to Rajya Sabha.

Sambhaji Raje is from the direct lineage of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Rajarshi Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj of Kolhapur who had funded the movement led by Dalit icon BR Ambedkar for justice to the depressed classes for some time, sources said.

Read: RS polls: BJP wins all 4 seats from Rajasthan; JMM MLA arrested

He is involved in ensuring harmony among various social groups in Maharashtra and in efforts for restoration of forts in the state, they said.

The nomination of Sambhaji Raje comes after Pranav Pandya, head of All World Gayatri Pariwar, declined the honour last month, saying atmosphere in the Upper House was not conducive for him.

"I don't think the atmosphere in Rajya Sabha is conducive for me. It will never be," he had said, giving reasons for declining the nomination.
During his tenure as the Chief Minister, Chavan had sent a proposal to the Centre seeking a ban on the Goa-headquartered radical group. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday termed Sanatan Sanstha as a "dangerous" organisation and renewed his demand for a ban on it following the arrest a member of its affiliate in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

Tawde is a member of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS), an offshoot of Sanatan Sanstha, and was arrested by CBI at Panvel near Mumbai last night.

Read: Three years after Dabholkar's murder, CBI arrests Sanatan Sanstha member

The Congress leader, during his tenure as the Chief Minister (2010-2014), had sent a proposal to the Centre seeking a ban on the Goa-headquartered radical group in the wake of Dabholkar's murder in Pune on August 20, 2013.

Reacting to Tawde's arrest, Chavan said "the Maharashtra Chief Minister should issue clear directive to its lawyers to make out a case for banning Sanatan Sanstha against whom the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has proofs.

"The State government and Union Home Ministry have an important role to play in effecting ban on this outfit which is targeting and eliminating those opposed to its ideology.

The kingpin of this dangerous outfit should be booked and punished," Chavan said, adding that the Modi government is obliged under the Constitution to act against terrorist elements which pose a threat to the country.
New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry has turned down proposals for setting up of around 83 medical colleges based on recommendations of Medical Council of India (MCI).

The Ministry has also denied permissions to 47 medical colleges in various states to expand their intake of MBBS students during the 2016-17 batch. At the same time, the Ministry as per recommendations of India's medical regulator has denied permission to increase or start various superspeciality courses in 39 such medical institutions of the country for 2016-17.

However, the Ministry has approved the establishment of 11 medical colleges for 2016-17. The letter sent by the Ministry to the 83 establishments, said, "I am directed to enclose copy of letter of MCI containing its recommendations to disapprove your scheme for establishment of new medical college and to say that the Central government has decided to accept the recommendation of MCI. Accordingly disapproval of your said scheme is conveyed herewith," one of the letters said.

It added that the college or institution can give a fresh applications for the next academic session strictly as per the provisions of IMC Act 1956. The move comes after the MCI recently directed all medical colleges to send in details about their faculty within two days so as to upload these on its website, a move aimed at checking the practice of "ghost" faculties and bring in more transparency.

Following directions of the Oversight Committee constituted by the Supreme Court, India's medical education regulator had issued the circular to the colleges asking them to consider it as "most urgent".

In another letter, the Ministry letter said, "I am directed to refer to the letter of MCI recommending to the central government not to renew the permission for admission of 5th batch of MBBS students against increased intake from 100-150...for the academic year 2016-17 and to say that central government has decided to accept the recommendation of MCI.

"You are directed not to admit any students against increased intake from 100-150 in MBBS course for the academic year 2016-17. Admission in the next batch against increased intake for the year 2017-18 will be made only after the permission of the central government," one of the letters said.

During the regulator's executive body meeting on May 13, MCI had recommended action including de-recognition and discontinuation of admissions against medical colleges for "failing" to meet the minimum standards, after it conducted inspections in these colleges.
Himanta Biswa Sarma had defected from the Congress to the BJP and helped it win the Assam elections. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Himanta Biswa Sarma, who defected from Congress to BJP and played a key role in its big Assam win, and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, a new entrant to the saffron party, were on Saturday inducted into its National Executive, a day before it meets for a two-day session in Allahabad.

BJP brought several new faces to its key body, the highlight being some former Congress leaders, including former Odisha Chief Minister and tribal leader Giridhar Gamang and former union minister KP Singh Deo, also from that state.

Read: With UP polls in mind, BJP to hold brainstorming session at Allahabad

The party also inducted into the National Executive several of its former state unit chiefs, including Laxmikant Bajpai of Uttar Pradesh, Prahlad Joshi of Karnataka, V Muraleedharan of Kerala, Kamal Sharma of Punjab and Chaoba Singh of Manipur. All these four leaders were heading the party in their states until recently.

Party sources said these leaders were inducted keeping in mind their "stature", the need to the strengthen party in states like Odisha and the to make the body more representative.

Read: Parties to protest during BJP's Allahabad meet, AAP denied permission

All former party chief ministers are permanent invitees to the National Executive but Bahuguna, a former Congressman, and Gamang were inducted to give them an equal status, they said.

Bajpai, a Brahmin, has been made a member of the body as the party wants to consolidate the community's votes in its favour. Constituting more than 10 per cent of UP's population, Brahmins play a crucial role in the elections and it was their votes that had tilted the scale in Mayawati's favour in 2007.
'No aircraft was available, and then we called one from Chandigarh and dispatched 250-300 NSG commandos within 2-3 hours to Mumbai and I also travelled with them,' Patil said.

New Delhi: Hitting back against allegations that there was a delay on part of the Union Home Ministry in sending help to the then Marharashtra government to fight back terrorists in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, former Home Minister Shivraj Patil said within three hours of the attack, he travelled to Mumbai, along with 250-300 National Security Guard commandos, in an aircraft.

Read: Home Ministry officers were in Pak for talks when militants struck Mumbai

When asked if there was nobody to handle the situation at the MHA as the then home secretary, Madhukar Gupta, had led a delegation to Pakistan, which affected the decision making as well, Patil said, "In fact, if it (attack) is taking place in Mumbai, then in our country we have maximum police strength there to tackle it. Further, when we came to know, we dispatched NSG commandos within two-three hours.

"No aircraft was available here, and then we called one from Chandigarh and dispatched 250-300 NSG commandos within 2-3 hours to Mumbai and I also travelled with them. That was a freight aircraft and we travelled to Mumbai standing."

Read: ISI plans Mumbai 26/11 type attacks on Visakhapatnam

Rejecting the charges that the home secretary-led delegation was enjoying Pakistan 's hospitality in Murree, a hill station close to Islamabad , Patil said, the home secretary had gone there and possibly he had been told that if they want to meet the Pakistan Interior Minister then they would have to stay for a day, following which they were shifted to Murree.

"But, some people don't understand that law and order constitutionally is the responsibility of the state government and until the state government asks for help from the Centre, we don't send forces. But, if we feel that it's important to send force in a state but the state government is not asking for it neither it is able to control the situation. In such circumstances, we can dismiss the state government and send forces in the state."

Elaborating on the measures taken by the state and the Centre to deal with the attacks, Patil said, "The Mumbai Police Commissioner had constituted a committee that was taking the control of the operation. We didn't interfere with them otherwise there would have been more confusion due to differences of opinion."

When asked if it was a conspiracy on part of Pakistan to hold back the delegation for a day, he said, "If it was a conspiracy, then who had conspired? We will have to see whether the person who is saying that it was a conspiracy had presumed it or he got any evidence. I don't think it is fine for me to pass a judgement on it. Let them say."
New Delhi: TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao's failing health in the wake of his fast unto death was a major factor that led to the UPA government conceding the demand for carving out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh on December 9, 2009, says former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh.

The highest echelons of the government had information that ground situation in Hyderabad was grave and "something substantial" had to be done to retrieve it, he says in his new book 'Old History and new GeographyBifurcating Andhra Pradesh, which was released here.

"KCR's (K Chandrasekhar Rao) health was one major factor influencing the decision-making. The other was related to the role that Maoists and their sympathizers may have been playing to aggravate the situation," the Congress leader says in the 242-page book.

Ramesh, who was elected to Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh last time, was part of the Group of Ministers (GoM) set up by the UPA government in October 2013 to prepare the legislation for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, which was incidentally India's first state to be carved out on linguistic basis.

"Clearly, the highest echelons of the government had information that led them to believe that the ground situation in Hyderabad was grave and something really substantive had to be done to retrieve the situation.

"The Home Minister (P Chidambaram) must have the reason to believe that the Pottu Sriramulu moment had arrived once more in Andhra Pradesh," says Ramesh.

Sriramulu, who was on fast unto death demanding separate Andhra Pradesh, died during the night of 15 December 1952. The move sparked wide spread riots.

Home Minister P Chidambaram issued the statement announcing the decision to create Telangana based on his assessment derived from intelligence and other reports.

Ramesh says the statement itself was "evidently finalised" at the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence with Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherjee (then Finance Minister) and K Rosaiah (then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh) present and had "apparently followed consultations with the other leaders of the Congress".

Ramesh claimed the book is a first-person, inside narrative of the process of bifurcation as observed and recorded by someone who participated in it closely. Further, the perspective is Delhi centric.

"It tells the story of how Telangana was created as I saw it and that too during a limited period October 8, 2013 and May 13 2014 when, by forces that I can only ascribe to the mysterious force called destiny, I came to occupy a pivotal role in the process of bifurcation'.

At the same time, Ramesh makes it clear that "what went into the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh and what determined its timing was, honestly, unknown to me."

In November 1956, a unified Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh came into being. In February 2014, Parliament bifurcated it to create two Telugu-speaking states: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Published by Rupa Publications, the book claims to provide the "context, text and subtext" to the bifurcation, which continues to be contentious.

After becoming a member of the GoM, Ramesh was the prime mover and its public face and was thus always in the crossfire as it strove to balance competing claims and differing demands to ensure a just and equitable outcome.

While there was tussle for Hyderabad, Union Ministers from Seemandhra argued that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HDMA), which generated close to half of the undivided state's revenue, should be designated as a common capital.

The HDMA covered around 7,100 sq kms of area spanning five districts of Telangana. However, the TRS argued that if at all the city is made a common capital, then it should be restricted to Hyderabad Revenue District, which covers 217 sq kms.

"This too was briefly debated. Ultimately GoM felt that fairness demanded that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area be designated as the common capital zone. This spread across 625 sq kms that had been increased to about 923 sq kms in September 2013," Ramesh said in his book.

Another idea that was discussed for some time in the GoM, which was also shot down, was of a Common Capital Governance Council. Under this, the body was to be a temporary one subject to review after five years.

The governor was to be the chairperson of the council, with members being the Chief Ministers of the two states, key civil and police officers from both the state and the centre.

"The idea didn't get support on the grounds that this would simply not be acceptable to the Telangana government once the state came into being. Besides, the Home Minister, and the Home Secretary felt that the move would not stand the test of legality.

"The Law Ministry gave its opinion that such a coordination council would violate List II of the SeventhSchedule of the Constitution dealing with the powers of the state," Ramesh said.
Bengaluru: Taking potshots at Arvind Kejriwal, Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Saturday said the AAP chief's complaint to President Pranab Mukherjee over alleged increasing attacks on Dalits and minorities under the Modi government was nothing but an outburst from a Chief Minister who has failed to deliver on poll promises.

"He (Kejriwal) is very much upset and frustrated because he is not able to deliver on promises made to the people of Delhi, and hence he is making such baseless comments of increasing attacks on Dalits and minorities," he told PTI.

Kejriwal is also upset over some of his leaders being involved in criminal cases and some others sent to jail, he said. "His own party people have indulged in so many criminal cases. They have been sent to jail," he said.

The Delhi Chief Minister had on Friday called on the President and had sought his intervention on the issues of "increasing attacks on Dalits and minorities". Gowda said people holding responsible positions should express their views with documentary evidence.

"Persons who are holding some responsible positions should express their views in such a way that it should be backed with documentary evidence," he said. Quoting from the recently released National Crime Bureau report, Gowda said in the last two years, attacks on Dalits and minorities has dwindled considerably, and Kejriwal cannot give his own accounts, which has become his habit.

"From past two years, atrocities against minorities and Dalits has gone down to a considerable level. He (Kejriwal) should speak on the basis of records available in the public domain. He can't simply have his own accounts. This has become a habit," he said.

Asked about Rahul Gandhi's visit to Punjab to raise drug menace issue in the state, Gowda said his visit would only prove to be the "death knell" for Congress, for wherever he has visited his party has lost elections, including in the just concluded Kerala, Assam and West Bengal assembly polls.

"People have the right to judge all these things (drug menace), and wherever Rahul has gone, he has come out as a zero-achiever, including in the recently concluded polls of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal," he said.

"The people of Punjab will certainly give the final blow to Rahul Gandhi, and if at all he is made party president, Congress can count on last days of survival," he said.
Chennai: The Madras high court has commuted the death sentence awarded to a convict in a double murder case to life imprisonment, after holding that this case does not fall within the category of rarest of rare cases.

Disposing of the referred trial preferred by the state government to confirm the death sentence and partly allowing an appeal from the accused Rajiv Gandhi alias Marimuthu, a division bench comprising Justices S. Nagamuthu and V. Bharathidasan made it clear that the case of Rajiv Gandhi should not be considered for any remission for 20 years.

On February 11, 2012, Rajiv Gandhi murdered a woman and her daughter and also assaulted another daughter over a land dispute in Sungam village at Pollachi taluk in Coimbatore district.

A case was registered and he was arrested on February 14, 2012. After trial, the IV additional district and sessions judge, Coimbatore, had on March 3, 2016 convicted him and awarded death sentence to him.

Upholding the conviction, the bench said from the medical evidence, it has been clearly established by the prosecution that the death of the two persons was due to injuries caused by this convict. On the quantum of punishment, the bench citing various judgments of the Supreme Court and said that this case does not fall within the rarest of rare doctrine.

But the killing of two women is brutal and gruesome, the bench said. There were also some mitigating circumstances in favour of the accused  his age, the fact that the motive was land dispute and the occurrence was preceded by a quarrel.

We are of the view that so far as the murder of two women is concerned, imprisonment for life would be the adequate punishment. Thus, we find it difficult to confirm the death penalty imposed by the trial court upon the accused, the bench said.
Aam Aadmi Party sought 'permission' for staging a demonstration and waving black flags from a safe distance to protest the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit in Allahabad. (Photo: PTI)

Allahabad: Ahead of BJP's national executive meeting in Allahabad, rival parties have announced plans for protests in the city though AAP has been denied permission for it, prompting it to move high court.

Congress said it will observe June 12, the day of commencement of the Prime Minister's visit, as 'Pol Khol Diwas' (Day of Expose) while its youth wing has announced a city bandh in Allahabad on Sunday.

Read: With UP polls in mind, BJP to hold brainstorming session at Allahabad

BJP's rivals are hoping to take the sheen off the high-profile event being held by the saffron party in Allahabad as it gears up for the Assembly elections which are less than a year away.

UPCC General Secretary Mukund Tiwari said, "We will hold meetings in all the 12 assembly segments of the district to expose the claims made by the Modi government which has failed to fulfill the promises made during the last general elections".

Congress' youth wing and its students' body NSUI have given a call for a city-wide "bandh" on Sunday.

Queried on calling a bandh on Sunday when most establishments are close, NSUI District President Jitesh Mishra said, "Many commercial establishments remain open on Sundays.

"Also, our stress is not on disrupting business but on making the common people aware as to how they are being cheated by the Modi government".

Aam Aadmi Party sought "permission" for staging a demonstration and waving black flags from a "safe distance" to protest the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit in Allahabad.

On June 6, a letter jointly signed by Sanjay Singh, member of the Political Affairs Committee of AAP, and Shimla Shri, the party's national executive member, was submitted to District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar.

The DM replied in a letter that no permission could be granted for any type of protest demonstration during the PM's visit.

Unfazed by the refusal, Shri, who was also the party's candidate from Phulpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, has shot off another letter to the DM claiming that their stir was "in no way aimed at creating any hurdles in the way of the Prime Minister" and requesting for a "review" of the decision.

A petition has also been filed by the AAP leader in the Allahabad High Court challenging the district administration's refusal to grant permission for staging a demonstration.

However, the matter is not likely to be taken up by the High Court before Monday when the national executive meeting would be over, followed by Modi's public rally, after which he will depart from the city.
Vijayawada Builders Association president Gadde Rajalingam said the sale of developed plots in the capital region would decide fate of realty sector. (Representational image)

Vijayawada: The allotment of developed plots under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) from the Capital Regional Development Authority (CRDA) to landowners in Amaravati capital location villages will decide the fate of entire realty and infra activity in the cities of Vijayawada and Guntur cities and also in AP.

As per plans, the government planned to hand over the lands to landowners this month. The landowners too are eagerly waiting to get their share of plots as they want to start various projects like construction activity and also to sell the plots. According to Vijayawada Builders Association, its impact will be huge on the entire realty and infra activities in the state.

The state government collected 33,000 acres of land from landowners by implementing Land Pooling Scheme (LPS). Now, the government wants to start the land distribution in a phased manner villages-wise. The government has to return almost 10,000 acres to landowners under this scheme.

Presently, the landowners are waiting for getting developed lands. They also want to start various construction activities and sell some share of developed plots, says Bandlamudi Nagesh, who is native of Penumaka village in Amaravati capital location of Guntur district. He said that some landowners are ready to sell their plots if prices are attractive.

Several investors, including NRIs, are waiting for bagging the developed plots by treating those are secure for investment purpose.
hief Minister Harish Rawat and Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal were among the first to cast their votes. (Photo: PTI)

Dehradun: Polling for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand was held amid tight security at the state Assembly in Dehradun on Saturday with Chief Minister Harish Rawat and Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal among the first to cast their votes.

Polling which began at 9 am concluded at about 12:20 pm, much before its scheduled conclusion at 4 pm.

However, counting of ballots will begin after 4 pm, Secretary Vidhan Sabha Jagdish Chandra said.

Read: Crucial RS polls today; fate of Sibal, Prabhu, Piyush Goyal to be decided

Security around the Assembly premises was tightened with heavy deployment of security personnel around the building.

Congress's Pradeep Tamta and BJP backed Independent Anil Goel are taking on each other to grab the seat which falls vacant with BJP member Tarun Vijay's tenure getting over next month.

Numerically, 26-member Congress with the support of six-member PDF appears to have an edge on rival BJP which is left with 27 MLAs after the disqualification of Ghansali legislator Bhimlal Arya under the anti-defection law on Thursday for going against the party whip and cross-voting during the floor test on May 10.

The BJP got another setback on Friday with its Bhimtal MLA Dan Singh Bhandari tendering his resignation from the membership of the Assembly to Speaker Kunjwal late last night.

In his resignation to the Speaker, Bhandari had urged him to accept his resignation with immediate effect.

Bhandari's resignation mentions no reason for doing so. In the House with an effective strength of 59 any side will need 30 votes to emerge the winner.
Togadia offered a 'medicine' he had created which would help Hindus make more children. (Photo: PTI)

Jambusar: VHP International Working President Pravin Togadia on Saturday asked Hindu men to go home and worship your manhood in order to have more children.

According to a report, Togadia blamed tobacco as a major cause of impotency among Hindu men which led to a fall in the percentage of the countrys Hindu population.

Read: Pravin Togadia's relative among 3 murdered in Surat; 3 held

According to official statistics, the Hindu population in India stands at 79.8%, down from 84.1% in 1951.

Addressing a gathering at Jambusar in Bharuch district to induct fresh blood into the saffron outfit, Togadia asked Hindu couples to have more children to counter the growing numbers of Muslims in India.

Read: 7.5 lakh Muslims, Christians re-converted in last 10 years: VHP leader Pravin Togadia

He also blamed love jihad and conversion to Christianity for slipping percentage of Hindu population.

Amid chants of Jai Shree Ram, Togadia said, Now, the population of Hindus will rise say no to conversion and yes ghar wapsi; say no to love jihad and yes to uniform civil code; say no to Bangladeshi Muslims have more children in Hindu households.

Togadia, who is a doctor by qualification, then advertised a product he had prepared which would apparently yield more children.

This is a product that I have created. It is available for Rs 600, but Im giving out to you for Rs 500 here. Take this to your wife, ask her to mix it with your meals so that you remain potent and continue to produce children, he said.

Togadia claimed that the rise in Hindu population would stop cow slaughter.

The VHP leader also slammed the governments policy of development without offering protection to Hindus. He attacked the Modi government for making bullet trains and smart cities, offering the strange logic that Who will travel in the trains if there is no Hindu?

At the event, trishuls were distributed among around 50 youths who then took a pledge never to use them on a Hindu.
Chennai: Several pro-Tamil outfits and political parties took out a rally here demanding release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination who have completed 25 years in jail on Saturday.

Led by Arputhammal, mother of one of the convict Perarivalan, leaders of various political parties, film personalities, activists and supporters participated in the march. PMK Youth wing leader and Dharmapuri MP Anbumani Ramadoss, film actors Nasser, Ponvannan and Satyaraj and director Vikaraman were among those who participated in the rally.

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber at nearby Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991 and seven persons--Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Nalini, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran--were convicted in the case.

Nalini's death sentence was commuted to life in 2000 following a cabinet recommendation and appeal by Rajiv's wife, Sonia Gandhi. Supreme Court had commuted the death sentence of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan in February 2014 following delay in a decision on their mercy plea.

Tamil Nadu government had in March this year decided to remit the sentences of all the seven convicts and release them. It had sought the Centre's views on the matter. The Centre had, however, rejected the proposal. The matter is since pending in the Supreme Court.
Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema said that the impression being created that his party was trying to censor the film was 'absolutely untrue'. (Photo: File)

Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said the Punjab government was not contemplating any ban on Shahid Kapoor-starrer 'Udta Punjab', which is caught in a censorship row, and alleged AAP's "hand" in the making of the film to defame the state.

Read: It's not a personal decision: Nihalani on Udta Punjab row

"I want to make it clear that SAD is not against films, media and creativity. It has always supported freedom of expression and freedom of press. It was the first to launch anagitation demanding freedom of press during Emergency in 1975," said SAD secretary and spokesman and state Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema.

He said that the impression being created that his party was trying to censor the film was "absolutely untrue".

Read: Our entire country has become Censor Board: Irrfan Khan on Udta Punjab censor row

SAD also sought Election Commission's (EC) intervention in the matter, urging it to convene an all-party meeting.

Cheema asked Aam Aadmi Party convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to accept his party's "role" in the making of 'Udta Punjab' as his "own tweets to welcome the film's co-producer, Sameer Nair, have exposed the truth that the producer is an 'active member' of AAP".

"AAP which is denying any link with the producers of 'Udta Punjab' stands exposed with the CEO of Balaji Telefilms turning out to be a senior member of the party's communication wing," alleged Cheema.

"Now, there is conclusive evidence that an active AAP member had a major role in the production of Udta Punjab," he added.

Urging AAP to stop "defaming" Punjabis, Cheema alleged that the party was all out to prove that Punjab is a drug haven.

Urging the EC to convene an all-party meeting on the issue, Cheema said that though prior approvals are needed for every mode of campaigning after the model code of conduct for elections comes into force, this is the first time such an attempt is made to "defame" the state and its people by "financing a three-hour film".

Lashing out at Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh for his announcement to launch uncensored CDs of the film, Cheema said it was "highly shameful" that a senior leader was promoting films that have "vulgar, shameless, indecent and abusive language".

Cheema said the recent developments have proved that SAD's contention of politics being played on the issue of drugs was "correct".
Chennai: As AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa is slated to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi next week, her first visit to the national capital after being sworn in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for the sixth time, there is considerable interest in political circles here over the fate of the letter the state government had written sometime back seeking permission of the Union Home ministry to remit the sentences of the seven life convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

The former Chief Secretary, K. Gnanadesikan, had written to the Central government earlier in March this year, just before elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly was formally called, on this issue with more petitions urging the state government to exercise its powers under Article 161 of the Constitution to remit the sentences of all the seven life convicts in the case as they had all spent nearly 24 years already in jail.

The state government seeking the Centres formal nod had become a necessity with the Supreme Court making it clear in December 2015 that states have no independent powers to release convicts tried in very serious cases under Central Laws and investigated by the CBI.

Hence the Jayalalithaa government had again written to the Centre, in the backdrop of pro-Tamil sentiments favouring the release of Sriharan alias Murugan, A.G. Perarivalan, Santhan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Nalini.

While Nalinis death sentence had already been commuted to life thanks to the intervention of the Congress president Ms Sonia Gandhi on humanitarian grounds, the Supreme Court had commuted the death sentences of the others to life in February 2014.

Since, then the chorus for their release got louder in Tamil Nadu, particularly with Perarivalans mother, Mrs Arputham Ammal, directly appealing to Ms Jayalalithaa several times to take steps to release her son and the other convicts.

The issue, emotive and political at one level, has not evoked any firm response from the BJP government at the Centre, as it involved states response to terrorist crimes also. In fact, closer to the May 16 Assembly polls, there were reports in the media that the Centre had again rejected Tamil Nadus plea for permission to remit their sentences.

But, sensing it was a political hot potato, the Centre went quickly into a denial mode saying no final decision had been taken on Tamil Nadus latest request.

Hence, there is expectation in political circles now whether this issue would crop up when Ms Jayalalithaa meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week in Delhi, at a time the BJP is reportedly looking to expand its cooperation with the AIADMK in Parliament.
New Delhi: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and BJP Vice President OP Mathur and two other party nominees were on Saturday elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan in the elections in which Congress-backed independent candidate Kamal Morarka was defeated.

While Naidu and Mathur each got 42 votes, ruling BJP's other two candidates Harsh Vardhan, a member of erstwhile Dungarpur royal family, and Ramkumar Verma, a retired RBI official, secured 40 each.

Congress-supported Independent candidate and industrialist Kamal Morarka got 34 votes--24 of Congress, four of National People's Party, two of BSP and four Independents. One vote was declared invalid.

A candidate needed 40 votes to win in Rajasthan. Of the total 200 members of the Legislative Assembly, 199 voted in the polling held from 9 am to 4 pm.

BSP MLA B L Kushwah, who is in judicial custody in a murder case since October 2014, was not allowed by the Rajasthan High Court to cast his vote.

BJP has 160 MLAs followed by 24 of Congress, 4 of National People's Party, three of BSP, two of National Unionist Zamindara Party and seven Independents.

BJP was expecting the support of two legislators of National Unionist Zamindara Party and four independent MLAs and secure a combined tally of 166 votes for its four candidates but its figure stood at 164.

Congress suffered losses in Haryana through cross-voting by its 14 MLAs that led to the defeat of the party-backed Independent candidate RK Anand who was mainly fielded by its arch rival INLD. Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra won from Haryana on a independent ticket, backed by BJP.

Read: BJP MLA cross-votes in UP Rajya Sabha polls

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Mahesh Poddar of BJP won the two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand.

BJP-backed Independent candidate for Rajya Sabha seat in Uttarakhand, Geeta Thakur, who retired from the contest on eve of the polls resigned from the party accusing it of suffering from an "anti-Dalit mindset".

Congress leader Kapil Sibal emerged triumphant against BJP-backed Independent socialite Preeti Mahapatra in Uttar Pradesh.

The results showed that BSP, which had backed Congress RS nominees in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, chose not to transfer its surplus votes to any other party candidate in UP.

Read: SP wins 7 Rajya Sabha seats in UP, BSP 2, BJP and Cong 1 each

Besides Sibal, the others who made it to the Rajya Sabha from the state are two recent returnees to SP-fold Amar Singh, Beni Prasad Verma, Kuwar Rewati Raman Singh, Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, Sukhram Singh Yadav, Sanjay Seth and Surendra Nagar (all SP), Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth (both BSP) and Shiv Pratap Shukla (BJP).

Although Sibal got through, the 29-MLA Congress suffered a jolt with Sibal getting only 25 first preference votes despite 8-member RLD committing four votes each to Congress and SP.

BJP MLA Vijay Bahadur Yadav cross voted in favor of a Samajwadi Party candidate. "I voted on the basis of development done by the Chief Minister and I am ready to make any sacrifice," he said.

BJP candidates MJ Akbar and Anil Dave and Congress' Vivek Tankha were today elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh, while an independent

candidate backed by BJP was defeated.

BJP's bid to spoil the Congress candidate's chances by fielding BJP leader Vinod Gotia as an independent candidate did not bear fruit. Gotia got 50 votes--48 surplus votes of BJP and two independents--against the required 58.

Senior journalist MJ Akbar and state BJP leader and strategist Dave polled 58 votes each, while Tankha secured 62 votes--57 from Congress, four from BSP and one independent, returning officer Bhagwandas Israni said.

BSP supremo Mayawati had issued a whip to its four MLAs to vote for Tankha.

Meanwhile, high drama was witnessed on Saturday when JMM MLA Chamra Linda was arrested in connection with an arrest warrant as voting in the Rajya Sabha elections to fill two seats from Jharkhand was on today, raising questions over police action.

Read: JMM MLA arrested hours before Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand

One of the two Congress MLAs, who also faced arrest in separate cases, however, voted in the election over which the party expressed relief.

Earlier, the Congress was planning to move the Supreme Court against possible arrest of its MLAs -- Nirmala Devi and Devendra Singh -- in what they saw was a bid to prevent them from voting in the election.

Union Minister Nirmala Seetharaman and Congress' Jairam Ramesh, Oscar Fernandes and KC Ramamurthy were elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

In a loss of face, eight JD(S) MLAs, defying the party whip, on Saturday voted against its official candidate and supported Congress in the biennial elections to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka.

"8 MLA's have voted against JD-S in today's Rajya Sabha election in favour of Congress. Tomorrow in the party's meeting, we are going to take action against them according to provisions of the party constitution," JD-S spokesman Ramesh Babu said.

The rebel MLAs who cross-voted are Zameer Ahmed Khan, Chaluvaraya Swamy, Iqbal Ansari, Balakrishna, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, Gopalaiah, Bheema Nayak and Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, Babu said, admitting the loss much before polls ended. Dissidence-hit JD(S) had fielded businessman BM Farooq as its candidate.

Calling rebels "cancer" for the party, JD-S leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said "we should have found medicine for it. It is already late. We will have to find a solution to it before it goes to final stage."
New Delhi: Top officers of the Internal Security at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), who are responsible for taking counter-terrorism action, were in Pakistan for talks when terrorists carried out a series of coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai on November 26, 2008, which delayed the decision making process, former MHA official R.V.S. Mani said.

Those days, talks were taking place alternately in India and Pakistan. In 2006, it took place in Pakistan; in 2007, it took place in Delhi; while in 2008, it was to be held in Pakistan. November 25 was decided for the talks, following which an approach paper was prepared and cleared. Our delegation left on November 24. I was in Lucknow on November 25 for some court case. I remember that when I returned on November 26th, I came to know that their visit was extended by a day, and then what happened in the night of 26th we all know," said Mani.

"Holding them back in Islamabad for a day was a ploy of Pakistan. Pakistan knew the terrorists' design, despite that it insisted them to stay there for a day (by delaying talks). Thus, there was no negligence on the part of officers. The decision about their visit and the approach paper were cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security. The RTI reply shown by some channels that there was 'negligence' is not true. As when the delegation reached there, the date for talk was extended from November 25 to 26. I was not part of that delegation, hence only a delegation member could say what had happened there (in Islamabad)," he said.

When asked if MHA officials tried to contact them in Pakistan after the attack, Mani said, ''Deputy commandant-level officers of paramilitary such as BSF, ITBP and CRPF were in the control room. They kept on trying to contact the Indian counterterrorism officers in Islamabad but were unable to reach them. It could be a Pakistan's ploy to make them stay at a place where there is mobile network issue. When they finally succeeded, I can't say. Later JS (police) [Joint Secretary-police] decided to deploy National Security Guards (NSG). Other JSes also extended their support.''

When asked about the then Home Minister and the delay in the decision making in the absence of top Internal Security officers, Mani said, "Home Minister Shivraj Patil's role was limited, though he flew to Mumbai. There are standard operative procedures in place at the MHA, which the officers have to ensure. A very solid system is in place, but implementation of the system was required a leadership, which was missing (officers were stuck in Pakistan). Over 160 people died and at least 300 were injured when terrorists attacked Mumbai on the night of November 26 in 2008.
New Delhi/Lucknow: With regional players dominating Rajya Sabha, the Centre is all set to give a major push to the ambitious Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the Monsoon session of Parliament.

The government is counting virtually all the regional players barring AIADMK on board for the ambitious legislation, while parleys are stated to be under way to get the Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha to soften her stand.

The West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has strongly been advocating the passage of the GST Bill. With the Congress earning her wrath by going along with the Left during the just concluded Assembly elections in the state, Ms Banerjee led Trinamul Congress is likely to maintain a distance from the main Opposition party in both the Houses of Parliament.

The Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his Odisha counterpart Navin Patnaik have also been supportive of the GST Bill on accounts of the benefits anticipated for their states after the passage of the legislation.

With the Congress losing crucial Assam and Kerala elections recently and getting its strength reduced in the Rajya Sabha on the conclusion of the biennial elections for the Upper House, the government is hopeful that the main Opposition party will lose much of sheen in opposing the GST legislation.

The government is also counting on the support of the Left parties for the GST Bill, with the new government in Kerala left by the Left. Meanwhile, cross voting and clashes marred the Rajya Sabha elections to 11 seats in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday even though all parties managed to get their official candidates elected.

The SP candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha on Saturday include Mr Beni Prasad Varma, Mr Amar Singh, Mr Sanjay, Seth, Mr Sukhram Yadav, Mr Reoti Rama Singh, Mr Vishambhar Nishad and Mr Surendra Nagar. All of them won in the first round of counting.

The Bahujan Samaj Party managed to get its two candidates, Mr Satish Chandra Misra and Mr Ashok Siddhartha elected with excess votes.

However, the major jolt for Congress came in Haryana where the party suffered through apparent deliberate wrong marking of the ballots by its 14 MLAs that led to the defeat of the party-backed Independent candidate R.K. Anand who was mainly fielded by its arch rival INLD.

Subhash Chandra, a media baron, defeated Anand, a senior lawyer and a former MP, after 14 votes of Congress were rejected, state Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma told the media in Chandigarh.
Bhopal: Brutal attack on the parents of a senior Congress leader of Chhattisgarh by unidentified assailants, leading to death of his mother and grievous injuries to his father, in a village close to state capital of Raipur on Saturday rocked the state.

Godavari Bai, 65, mother of former MLA Shiv Daharia, was found murdered and her husband, Asharam (76), critically wounded in their house in Chhachanpirai village under Sejbahar police station in Raipur district, police said.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the assailants attacked the elderly couple, who were staying alone in their house, with an axe in early hours of Saturday morning, Raipur range inspector general of police G.P.Singh told the media. Sources told this newspaper the elderly was dragged of her house for a few meters and killed in an open ground by the miscreants.
The employees of the college were also present on the occasion.

Bhopal: A video showing students of a famed college in Indore in Madhya Pradesh waving AK-47s while celebrating 125th foundation day of the institution has gone viral, landing the college authorities in trouble.

Authorities of Holkar Science College, Indore, on Saturday hosted a gala event on the occasion where some students were seen waving AK-47s and firing in the air while dancing.

The employees of the college were also present on the occasion. In fact, one of the teachers was seen in the video asking the gun-toting students not to brandish their weapons in the function.

The police were tipped off on the offensive behavior of the students and rushed to the spot for inspection. The collegians that carried guns to the function however fled the place after spotting the police.

I was also a part of the celebration. But, the incident took place after I left the function. Prima facie it appears some goons outside the college attended the function with invitation from some members of students union of the college, an alumni of the college and state NSUI leader, Javed, said.

He said NSUI has lodged a complaint with the local police seeking action against the gun-wielding students. By the time we reached the college, gun-toting students had left the place. We are now screening the video to identify the offenders and arrest them, a senior district officer told this newspaper over phone unwilling to be quoted.

Action would also be taken against the staff of the college in whose presence the unsavoury incident took place, he added.
The Union ministry of environment and forests had sent an advisory on human-wildlife conflict to all states governments. (Source: feji.org.in)

Hyderabad: In the backdrop of the debate that began with the recent criticism by Union minister Maneka Gandhi of her Cabinet colleague Prakash Javadekar on the Centre giving permission to cull wild animals, experts say it is important to highlight both sides of the coin  the lack of action taken regarding the human wildlife conflict as well as economic losses that farmers face.

Ms Gandhi had characterised the Centres permission to cull Rhesus macaque monkeys in Himachal Pradesh and nilgai in Bihar after terming them as vermin as a lust to kill.

Last year, the Union ministry of environment and forests had sent an advisory on human-wildlife conflict to all states governments, laying down guidelines on how to identify conflict zones and form management plans for such zones.

While forest officials in the two Telugu states claim that they have such plans in protected areas, these areas just form 29 per cent of total forest area in Telangana state and 23 per cent in Andhra Pradesh.

There is no scientific study, document or statistics available with both states regarding which mandals, tehsils or villages are worst affected due to human-wildlife conflict, and the mitigation efforts.

While this is so, the TS government has gone ahead and formed a panel of shooters and decided to cull wild boar across the state.

AP has not come out with any plans to cull animals as of now, one reason being the conflict there is mainly with the blackbuck and elephant, which are protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Dr Sunil Kumar Verma, principal scientist at CCMB and co-inventor of the Universal Primer Technology, a DNA bar coding method being used to solve wildlife crimes in India, posted a message on his Facebook page on the culling of nilgais in Bihar:

If nilgai were becoming more in one specific region, it is scientific to relocate them in an area where the natural food of the tiger has become scarce. This could have been said as balance and scientific management  NOT killing. I stop my arguments here... I just say that I personally condemn this act... it is heinous, unscientific, mindless action (sic).

However, the severe problem of human-wildlife conflict, which exists in almost all districts of Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh, troubling farmers and in some cases endangering their lives, cannot be ignored. Mr M. Rajeev Mathews, who served as a member of the Biodiversity Board in united AP, has a different take.

For the farmer, the sound of wild boar, a herd of nilgai, a flock of peafowl or a troop of monkeys spells doom. High value crops cannot be grown. These animals trample underfoot as much or more than they consume. If you truly want to save wildlife and the environment, go after mining, river and lake pollution, the wetlands rules, the destruction of grasslands, acidification of oceans and desertification. Please do not go after the farmers who feed you and clothe you, he said.

Protect, protect, protect: Experts

Nimesh Ved

Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations, which runs a campaign against culling

1 Eco-sensitive zones and buffer zones of protected areas must be maintained

2 Grazing zones should be developed to avoid cattle entering forests and consuming food and water, forcing wild animals to come to villages in search of it.

3 Scientific research by government as well as NGOs on data as to where the conflict is high, population estimation and landscape wise mitigation methods.

Divya Banerjee

Wildlife activist

1 Fencing and bio-acoustic equipment should be used to separate humans, animals

2 Translocation should be given a thought as was done in Panna for tigers, herbivores in forests devoid of animals

3 Protection force should be increased for preventing poaching and smuggling of timber

4 Encroachments of forest areas that is going on every year should be controlled
A court offiicial said the case may further be delayed if India does not send witnesses to Pakistan. (Photo: AFP)

Lahore: With the last three hearings in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case being adjourned, Pakistani officials have warned that the trial, going on for six years, could face further delay if India does not send 24 witnesses to Pakistan to record their statements.

"The hearing of the case is adjourned without any proceedings during the last three consecutive weeks (hearings) April 6, 13 and 20, because the Pakistani government is still awaiting its counterpart's response about sending (Indian) witnesses to Pakistan for recording statements in the case," a court official said today.

Read: 26/11 attacks: If Pak sends formal request on witnesses, we will consider, says India

He said the case may further be delayed if India does not send witnesses to Pakistan.

Pakistan has asked India to send all the 24 Indian witnesses to depose before the anti-terrorism court holding the Mumbai attack trial.

According to the prosecution, the trial court had completed recording the statements of all Pakistani witnesses in the case which has been underway in the country for more than six years.

Read: 26/11 attacks trial is test of Pakistans sincerity, says India

"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 had said.

On the other hand, the Anti-Terrorism Court Islamabad has not yet announced its verdict on the application of prosecution requesting to make amendment in the charges against the suspects, including LeT Operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, in abetment to murder of each individual in the carnage.

The court which is holding the trial of the seven suspects in the Mumbai attack case last month had reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments on (prosecution) plea that amendment in the charges against all the seven suspects in abetment to murder of each individual in the Mumbai attack should be made.

Read: 26/11 case: Witnesses fail to appear before Pak court

The prosecution had sought the amendment to the changes "for further strengthening the case against the suspects". It had pleaded for including the postmortem reports of those killed in the attack.

The prosecution said India should be asked to send the postmortem reports of each victim of the Mumbai terror attack while the defence lawyers opposed it.

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, believed to be the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, is living in undisclosed location after he was released from jail on a bail a year ago. The other six suspects are in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail.
New Delhi: Polling is underway in the crucial election to 27 Rajya Sabha seats in seven states, with a keen contest on cards in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana.

While 30 of the total 57 seats in the current round of biennial elections to the Upper House have already been decided without a contest, the fate of candidates for the remaining 27 seats will be decided by this evening when the results will be announced.

Read: Mayawati may support Congress in Rajya Sabha elections

Polling began at Assembly premises in the state capitals at 9 am and will continue till 4 pm.

In Haryana, where polling is being held for two seats, Union Minister Birender Singh from BJP is assured of a comfortable win. Independent candidate R K Anand has got the backing of Congress and its rival INLD, making it an uphill task for media baron and BJP-backed Independent candidate Subhash Chandra.

Read: Ailing MLAs may be airlifted for Rajya Sabha polls

In Uttar Pradesh, where elections are being held to 11 seats, interest is centred around a fight between former union minister Kapil Sibal and BJP-backed independent socialite Preeti Mahapatra. Sibal will need the support of BSP, which has 12 votes more than necessary for the success of its own candidates Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth.

BSP supremo Mayawati has maintained suspense over her party's support in Uttar Pradesh. But Sibal can draw heart from the fact that she has already extended backing for a Congress candidate in Madhya Pradesh by promising one vote required for senior Supreme Court lawyer Vivek Tankha, fielded by Congress. Congress has 29 MLAs and needs the backing of five more to see Sibal through.

The ruling SP has fielded seven candidates including Amar Singh and Beni Prasad Verma, who both rejoined the party recently, and Reoti Raman Singh. Its seventh candidate is, however, short of 9 first preference votes. SP has been promised backing by Ajit Singh-led RLD which has 8 MLAs.

The BJP has fielded Shiv Pratap Shukla, who is sure to get elected on its own 41 MLAs, and has offered 7 surplus votes to Mahapatra.

Karnataka, where four seats are up for grab, is poised to witness a battle between the ruling Congress and the JD(S). Union Minister Nirmala Seetharaman of BJP, who needs just one vote more than the party's strength of 44, and former union ministers Jairam Ramesh and Oscar Fernandes of Congress are sure of victory.

With 122 members, Congress has a surplus of 33 votes after ensuring the victory of Ramesh and Fernandes. It has fielded former senior IPS officer K C Ramamurthy as its third candidate for which it requires 12 more votes.

With 40 members, dissidence-hit JDS is in an unenviable position as five MLAs have virtually raised a banner of revolt amid reports that they might indulge in cross voting to help Congress. JDS needs five more votes for its candidate B M Farooq, a corporate personality, to sail through but is struggling to keep the herd together.

Allegations of bribing JD(S) and Independent MLAs marred the polls in Karnataka though the Election Commission rejected demands for cancelling them.

In Madhya Pradesh, while ruling BJP, which has 164 votes, is assured of victory of its candidates M J Akbar and Anil Dave, a fight is on for its third candidate Vinod Gotia, who faces a tough challenge from Vivek Tankha of Congress, as he needs 10 more than the 48 surplus votes his party has.

A candidate in Madhya Pradesh needs 58 votes for victory. Tankha, whose party Congress has 57 votes, appears comfortably placed after BSP announced the backing of its four MLAs. Rajasthan is another state where Congress, with 24 MLAs, has forced a contest by backing an Independent candidate Kamal Morarka. A candidate needs 41 votes to win.

With 160 members in Rajasthan Assembly, the BJP is certain of victory of Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, its Vice President Om Prakash Mathur, former RBI official Ram Kumar Sharma and Harsh Vardhan Singh, a member of the erstwhile Dungarpur royal family.

The fourth BJP candidate needs only four more votes to sail through, which the party expects to get from two MLAs of National Unionist Zamindara Party and three Independents. In Jharkhand also, a close contest is possible where a united opposition can upset the ruling BJP's calculations. But its first candidate and Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is sure of victory.

The BJP has 43 MLAs on its own and enjoys the support of six more MLAs of its allies.

JMM supremo Shibu Soren's son Basant is pitted against BJP's Mahesh Poddar. However, if Congress (6), RJD and rest of the opposition come together and back the JMM candidate, Basant can look at victory.

Uttarakhand, where election is only for one seat, Congress nominee Pradeep Tamta is set to sail through needing just two additional votes apart from his party's 26 and ally PDF's six.
New Delhi: The Congress is in a fix over whether to project a face in the Uttar Pradesh polls against the Samajwadi Party, BSP and BJP, while its key strategist Prashant Kishor is pressing for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

A clearer picture on Ms Vadras role will come once the Congress decides if it will fight on its own or as part of an alliance. If the Congress contests over 350 seats, it must do so under a charismatic leader.

The UP Congress wants to project a prominent face against CM Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati and the BJP, but it isnt sure if Priyanka will lead the battle from the front. It has to be decided by the Gandhi family - Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka, not by the party insiders said.

Weve been out of power in UP for 25 years, havent recovered from defeats. Will it be proper to involve Priyanka? If we lose under her leadership, what will happen in the next Lok Sabha election? one leader asked. The Congress could, however, gain if the BJP messes up the leadership issue as in Delhi and Bihar. If the BJP projects a Thakur face, it could prompt brahmins to shift loyalties to either the BSP or Congress.
Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP chief Amit Shah repeatedly talking of a " Congress Mukta Bharat", all is not over for the Congress.

The 130 year old party is passing though its worst phase since its Independence but that does not mean one can write off the Grand Old Party.

The problem right now is that nothing much is happening within to set the house in order. Rahul Gandhi had made it known in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha poll results that he wanted to bring about a dramatic transformation of the organization, but the lowest ever tally of 44 seats in the Lok Sabha and the string of defeats in several states slowed that drive.

Rahuls strategy to induct Prashant Kishor, the man who charted the rise and rise of Narendra Modi, and entrusting Kishor with the Congress revival in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab shows the Congress leadership inability to fully understand that Modis resurrection from reviled Gujarat strongman to the man who promised tomorrow, is not Prashant Kishores doing. Its about a rising political forces ability to tap deep into the psyche of the Indian, and promise to live up to aspirations of the people who want to shake off the shackles of poverty and join the ranks of the working middle class.

The Congress, did not have the answers then. But that does not mean it will never have them. It will find a way to reconnect and revive itself. It will build alliances as it did before when it defeated the BJP led NDA under the leadership of a stalwart like Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. At the time, the Congress in the space of three to four months had made a comeback after back to back defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan Assembly elections held by the end of 2003.

The states where the Congress can improve due to a number of factors is long  theres Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh (despite Ajit Jogi's rebellion), Haryana, Jharkhand, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir besides Karnataka and Bihar.

While the Janata Dal (U), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Dravida Munentra Kazhagam and the Left parties have already allied with the Congress with albeit modest success in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal for the Assembly polls, the NCP chief Sharad Pawar is talking up an anti-BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra while praising the Congress' philosophy. And Rahul Gandhi has been saying privately that Jammu and Kashmir National Conference is a natural ally of the Congress.

The BJP is facing strong anti-incumbency in Gujarat, as well as in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh but unfortunately for the Congress, it is not translating into votes due to the lack of a strong alternative. However, the Congress can take some comfort from the fact that the Modi-Shah led party has not emerged as an alternative in either Tamil Nadu, or in West Bengal, not in Kerala, or Orissa which together elect 132 Lok Sabha members.

It is unlikely to gain seats in Maharasthra, which it now governs, due to an open fight with the ally Shiv Sena, with its openly pro-Vidrarbha state line, antagonizing the rest of the regions in the state.

A CWC member said "take it from me, the BJP cannot repeat its performance in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattgisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections."

If the Modi magic did not influence voters in states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal ,Orissa and Karnataka and Kerala despite the Modi wave how can it work in 2019 when the BJP will face anti-incumbency and people will ask what achche din, he asked.

The BJP's expansionist strategy has already alerted regional parties which have begun to protect their space as much from the Congress as with the BJP.

The BJP's next target is Orissa with a calculation that the ruling Biju Janata Dal will find it difficult to win elections first on the anti incumbency and then infighting in the BJD.

If the BJP wants it own imprint across the country, its tie up with the AIADMK cannot continue for too long. Other regional players like the DMK, Trinamul Congress, JD(U)-RJD, Samajwadi Party, BSP, TRS, TDP, will be reluctant to cede space to the BJP in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra, irrespective of whether they are in the NDA or friendly with the saffron party.

For the Congress, the battle is understandably far more complex. In some states, not only does it have to take on the BJP and regional parties like the AAP, in some states it has to fight on two fronts, simultaneously.

" We have to change our narrative, reach out to different sections of the society like professionals, middle class, youth, think out of the box and promote the second rung purely on the basis of merit and delivery. People dislike dynasty, they know the limitations of caste politics. The Congress has to change accordingly. If it doesn't then the vaccum could be filled up by others," Congress insiders said.

An organisational reshuffle is not the answer to the party's revival, nor is removing a handful and replacing them with another coterie, the insider said.

Clearly, the Congress, scrambling to hold on to its fast eroding political space, has a long and hard road ahead. But to write the Congress off, would be a mistake.
The regional dynasties that flowered under the central dynasty are in no small measure responsible for the self-inflicted implosion of the Congress.

There are rebellions in virtually every state the Congress once ruled, and there are rebellions in every state that it now rules. And while the political churning is natural, given that the Congress is in opposition and only has a Rajya Sabha where it can thwart the BJP, is it time for the Congress to look within, to examine whether it has a future beyond the Gandhis? Spooked by the spectre of a Narasimha Rao redux, does the first family have the courage and the vision to allow the rise from the ranks of a non-Gandhi? Will the Congress come unglued if that happens? Or, is this the BJP, facing anti-incumbency in three key states, doing what it does best  talking up a storm. Aijaz Ilmi of the BJP warns of the perils facing Congress, while Venkatesh Kesari looks at the brighter side for Indias Grand Old Part.

Most mutinies within political parties subside when its time to face the people, only to resurface once the battle of the hustings is over as politicians squabble over the spoils. But in the case of the Congress party, the episodic haemorrhagic divisions within the Congress units across most states is a signal of a deeper malaise, a debilitating political ailment which refuses to respond to various palliatives and, in the words of senior Congressmen, calls for radical surgery.

The political climate post-2014 May is a complete rejection of family-run dynastic politics. The regional dynasties that flowered under the central dynasty are in no small measure responsible for self inflicted implosion of the Congress.

The Chavans, the Shindes, the Ranes, Bhujbals, and Pawars, to name a few, besides various sugar and industry fiefdoms promoted over decades by the Congress-NCP have been comprehensively decimated in Maharashtra. Individuals like Gurudas Kamat, a member of the CWC, preferred to resign rather than subject himself to the humiliation of playing second-fiddle to outsiders as the issues racking the party in his state remained unaddressed. The fact that there is no inner party mechanism even at the CWC member level for discourse suggests complete ineptitude of both the General Secretary and party leadership. 'Post ipso facto' soothing of frayed nerves after the 'horse had bolted' only denudes the political legitimacy of the top brass.

Earlier in Haryana too, the hegemonic hold of one family over the past 10 years and the potential for much the same in the future by the regional Hooda dynasty has led to the complete evisceration of inner party equations. A self-respecting, political equal like Chaudhary Birendra Singh, along with his supporters, exited and found respect in the BJP.

We have seen similar situations develop in state after state, in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The refusal of the Congress leadership and their state handlers to engage in political dialogue for many months led to full-blown crises within.

Kalikho Pul, the Congress rebel from Arunachal aspired for more relevance, unwilling to be treated as a minion, was kept at arms length and was seen as not even worthy of an hours darshan with the leadership. The perception of a haughty top brass that is unwilling to engage in dialogue was what drove over 20 MLAs to walk out en masse from the party and align themselves with the BJP.

The Congress in Assam was a classic example of a regional dynastic hegemon. Gogoi Senior's putr-moh, the love for his MP-son divided the Assam Congress vertically. Senior leaders like Himanto Sharma, despite appealing to the central dynasty for over three years for a greater role, preferred an honourable exit, rather than expend his energies currying favour with disinterested General Secretaries in charge of the Congress eastern outposts and the completely out-of-sync supremos who they report to. The perpetuation of the Assam dynasts was in sync with the Congress myopic scheme of things.

With states like Meghalaya and Mizoram imploding in similar fashion, a Tripura promoted regional Barman dynasty did the reverse, decimating the Congress by walking out itself. The trigger was the Mahajot of the Congress-Left in West Bengal with which the Congress was at loggerheads for over five decades. The Tripura dynasts refused to be guinea pigs for this new, and failed, experiment. A strong sense of self-preservation took them to the rampaging TMC, flush from its recent political re-invention.

Dual centres of power in an all-India party is but natural but state leaders that are left dangling without recourse to strategizing and staying relevant for the future will perforce look for new pastures. As the Congress cedes its political footprint to regional formations, the BJPs expansion into newer territories is a given. The complete subsumation of the anti-BJP vote by AAP in Delhi and an expected repeat in Punjab will see the Congress shrink even further. Another repeat of the Congress abysmal performance in UP elections in 2017 is certain to set off the fragmentation that is already in motion.

Being led by a Gandhi maybe part of the Congress DNA but despite the commentary, both from within and outside the party, that say that leaders from outside the dynastic command structure should be brought in, as a means of stemming the rot and allowing the leadership to rise from the ranks, this is unlikely to happen.

Indeed, the call for a Congress-mukt Bharat (Congress-free India) was meant for the BJP cadres and anti-Congress regional formations to galvanise into action. Even Prime Minister Modi perhaps had not bargained that his clarion call would see the kind of exodus that has been set in motion by Congress stalwarts and its cadres across India.

Fact is, senior Congress leaders themselves started this process by seeking to end dynastic dominance in most states. However, it must be said that in Andhra Pradesh, it was just the reverse, with the Congress bigwigs denying the dominance of Y.S. Rajashekar Reddys legacy, bifurcating the state and setting off its own decimation in a state that had once reposed complete faith in the Congress even during its post-Emergency country-wide electoral rout. Whether the well-entrenched old-guard will ever cede space for a much needed renaissance in the Congress remains an issue.

The fruitless stratagem of Rajya Sabha obstructionism leading to parliamentary gridlock is a tactic that should not be followed by a responsible party. Delaying the GST bill and other reforms originally initiated by themselves can only be counter-productive for the Congress. Intransigence and petulance in Parliament cannot be a permanent policy for self-renewal.

The Rajya Sabha elections, where a P. Chidambaram is fielded from Maharashtra and a Kapil Sibal from Uttar Pradesh, has not been welcomed by the rank and file that sees it as a reward for fighting the first familys legal cases.

The issue before the Congress therefore isn't just about dynastic succession - which upsets the Congress worker as much as the young voter - it's also about the entrenching of the smaller dynasts, and the collective inability of the Congress as a whole to forge a strategy that keeps it relevant and consolidates the states where it is in power.

Time to write a Congress obituary?

(Aijaz Ilmi is a BJP spokesperson)

Slipping away from the hand

Has Congress learnt any lesson from its recent defeat in Assam? Two years before Himanta Biswas Sharma jumped ship to the BJP and gave Amit Shah his winning formula, he had reportedly discussed the same strategy with Rahul Gandhi. Except, the man did not get a hearing, and felt compelled to leave the party.

Since Assam, Congress has lost six MLAs in Tripura, losing its main opposition party status to the TMC; and there are rumblings in Manipur and Meghalaya. Assam, and Hemanta Sharma may well have opened the exit door for Congress from the North East.

In Chattisgarh, BJP three-term chief minister Raman Singh is fast racking up anti-incumbency points as the state moves towards polls in 2018. The Congress had begun to see its own chances risinguntil two weeks ago when its strongest leader in the state, former chief minister Ajit Jogi, decided to leave the party, calling the state party unit a B team of the BJP. Jogi commands the vote of the dominant Satnami SC community, which comprises nearly half the states population. Will Jogi prove to be another Hemanta Sharma for Congress?

When a minister in the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, Kalikho Pul, walked out of the party with 29 other MLAs in February, he had one complaint, the party high command sidelined us. In short order, he gathered the support of the BJP and became the chief minister of the state, dethroning Congress.

In Odisha, the BJDs Naveen Patnaik is in his fourth term as chief minister. But, as Arun Jaitley made it clear recently, its the BJP which is looking to gain from anti-incumbency when the state heads to polls in 2019, not Congress, which ruled the state for the most part before 2016, but which eventually lost every charismatic leader it had in the state, including Naveen Patnaiks father Biju Patnaik, to the Janata Party or one of its

splinters.
Ram Madhav, who played a crucial role in BJPs first government in the north-eastern state of Assam and is a key link between the Centre and the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir, tells Yojna Gusai that the people are rejecting the Congress. He also explains the real meaning of his partys Congress-mukt Bharat slogan.

Your party registered a historic win in Assam. What were the reasons?

There were two-three important reasons. Assam is one of the very backward states in terms of human resources indicators. We promised them development. Fifteen years of Congress misrule has left the state in very poor condition in terms of development. We also promised to address the threat to their identity, culture and honour, mainly from infiltrators from across the border. What added to our performance was the work and dedication of our state leaders. The entire election was carried on their shoulders and it was their joint effort that gave us this verdict. Another factor was the Congress refusal to be accountable to the people and diverting attention from its local failures to the issues in Delhi and other places. There were more posters of JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar put by the Congress than of its vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

What about your alliance in the state?

I call it a dream alliance. This kind of rainbow alliance has never been seen in the state. For the first time, different sections of Assamese society came together under BJPs leadership. Our alliance was also a major factor.

You say development was your main poll plank but you were criticised for polarising the atmosphere in the state.

You see, if there was any polarisation, it was only on the issue of who will secure the Assamese identity, its culture and tradition. If there was polarisation, it was between those who wanted to protect the identity of Assam and those who were openly, brazenly siding with the infiltrators. It was not religious polarisation. There are a large number of Assamese Muslims who want their states identity, language and culture to be protected.

But what about Kerala, where, despite your alliance with the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam and strong anti-incumbency against the UDF, people voted the Left-led alliance to power?

We are happy that for the first time the BJP has gained entry to the Kerala Assembly. In terms of vote share, we secured 15 per cent popular vote, the highest ever in all these years. It is a matter of great satisfaction for all of us. At another level, we are sorry that we could not get more seats. Probably, we will have to strategise our campaign well for the next elections, because in elections what really counts is the number of seats. We will probably have to think and plan more strategically for the next time.

Now that you have gained a foothold in Assam, what are your plans for other north-eastern states?

Assam is seen as a gateway to the entire north-eastern region and this victory should give us good scope to increase our footprint in the region. We have a coalition government in Nagaland and we are trying to increase our electoral base in Manipur, and we hope to form a government there. We formed the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), which is an alliance of non-Congress parties. On one hand, NEDAs objective is to free the region of the Congress and, on the other, to increase BJPs footprint wherever possible.

But the BJP is being accused of using all sorts of means to carry forward its Congress-mukt Bharat slogan.

The people of the country today are rejecting the Congress outright. Look what happened in this recent round of elections  the Congress lost power in Assam and Kerala. In states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the victims were those who tried to join hands with the Congress. People not only punished the Congress but also punished their bedfellow. So this means people are rejecting the Congress. When we say Congress-mukt Bharat, it means our effort in cleansing the kind of politics that has come to be identified with the Congress, the politics of corruption and politics of nepotism. This kind of politics has no place and the people are also rejecting it.

But the BJP had to face flak not only from the Congress but from other political parties for creating political crises in non-NDA ruled states like Uttarakhand.

It is the Congress which is destabilising its own government, and not the BJP. In Uttarakhand, its own MLAs defeated the state governments finance bill. The Congress cant keep its own house in order and it blames us.

But the Uttarakhand high court orders were against the Centre and the Supreme Court also ordered the floor test, which the Congress won.

Its okay that there was a particular situation in Uttarakhand in which courts have given a kind of a verdict. But that doesnt undermine the fact that the Congress had lost its majority in the House and also the constitutional right to continue in power. But it still tried to cling on to power there.

After the Assam elections, the buzz is that Rajat Sethi is the BJPs new election strategist after Prashant Kishor decided to join your rivals camp.

Look, in elections we take support from professionals who also help us in certain ways, like matters related to data, campaign, etc. They are what people call backroom boys and they should be left as backroom boys and not brought to the front row.

The BJPs performance in Tamil Nadu was very dismal. Does the BJP need to put in more effort in the south?

Tamil Nadu was definitely a disappointment this time whereas in Kerala and West Bengal the BJP has made such an important gain. Probably, we need to work harder in Tamil Nadu and other southern states.

You managed only one Assembly seat in Kerala, where your party has been raising the issue of RSS and BJP workers being attacked by the Left cadres for many years now.

Kerala has a history of Marxist violence against all their detractors. The RSS and BJP have been victims of Marxist murder politics for the last several decades. We have lost scores of important karyakartas; many were killed, maimed; its kind of an ongoing murder campaign. And ever since the Marxists won the elections, their party people have resumed their murder campaign.

Next in line are Assembly elections in UP, which is represented by the PM himself. Do you think your party is any match for the regional players  the SP and the BSP?

That is the target. Our effort is to surpass the regional parties and stand before the people of Uttar Pradesh as the credible alternative for the state. I hope that in the coming few months the BJP will rise in stature in the eyes of the people and, by the time elections are near, we are able to form the next government in the state.

But other parties have already started blaming your party for communalising Uttar Pradesh.

Those who run a blatant caste-based campaign accuse the BJP of this and that doesnt behove well for them. The BJP follows politics of development, progress, peace and harmony. They (Opposition) have no issues or anything against us, so they come out with this allegation.

What about a chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh?

If we take a decision in this regard, we all know it will not be a secret.

What about the GST bill? Many Opposition parties, other than the Congress, have said that they will support it. Do you think it will finally be passed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament?

The Congresss opposition to the GST is not based on any principle, its pure and simple politics. In fact, many Congress chief ministers, though there are not many left, but when they were there, they were also supporters of the GST. But Congress present leadership is only stalling it for political expediency. I hope they will rethink their opposition to the bill because it is in the national interest.

You played a very crucial role in the BJP running the coalition government with senior partner PDP in J&K. But lately lots of controversies, including on the Sainik colony, have come to the fore.

The controversy about Sainik colonies is uncalled for, for the simple reason that this decision was taken by the previous government. It was Omar Abdullahs government that took this decision to allocate land for a Sainik colony. To raise it now and turn it into a controversy is highly uncalled for. There can be a debate on how to build those colonies, but one should be clear that the decision was taken by Mr Abdullah when he was chief minister.
Natural world has been despoiled by humans  and if we could just leave it alone, things would get better. (Representational image)

Implicit in much, if not all, modern environmental sentiment is the idea that the natural world has been despoiled by humans  and if we could just leave it alone, things would get better. But new research suggests that in reality, humans have been altering the natural world for millennia, long before the 15th century dawn of the Age of Discovery, when European societies mastered long-distance ocean navigation and began to spread their cultures, animals and diseases to new continents.

The result of these changes, accumulating over time, has been the creation of extensively altered, highly cosmopolitan species assemblages on all landmasses, the authors write in a study published earlier this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Pristine landscapes simply do not exist and, in most cases, have not existed for millennia. Conservationists often have the goal of lets get back to that natural environment with humans out of the picture, said Melinda Zeder, one of the studys authors and an anthropologist with the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution. And thats a chimera; thats a false hope. Its too late for that.

People have been modifying their environments for tens of thousands of years, added Jon Erlandson, an archeologist, professor and director of the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, and another of the studys co-authors. Humans have literally impacted everything from mammoths to microbes. Most people have no idea how heavily weve altered things  and for how long.

When anatomically modern humans appeared about 200,000 years ago, theres what I think was a continual acceleration of technological change, he said. As humans spread across the globe, he said, they invented things such as the bow and arrow, fishing spears, ceramics and agricultural advancements that made life easier but also impacted the environment. Based on a large synthesis of archaeological, fossil and ancient DNA data, the researchers conclude that humans started dramatically changing the worlds natural ecosystems well before 12,000 years ago. By that time, the species had emerged from Africa and colonised much of the globe. And already, mega-scale human impacts on the landscape and the creatures living on it included changing the regime of burning on lands from Africa to New Guinea, as early humans exploited fire for purposes of agriculture and hunting.

And thats only one type of change already afoot. By between 20,000 and 23,000 years ago, the study notes, one of the earliest human introductions of a species from one region to another had already occurred  when the northern common cuscus, a marsupial, was spread from New Guinea to Indonesia and other locations. Erlandson said that its tempting to think that people thousands of years ago werent smart or technologically wasnt sophisticated, but thats not necessarily the case.

The story were putting together is that for many, many thousands of years, people have basically been like us, he said. They were ingenious in developing new technologies and modifying their local environments. But as humans have evolved and proliferated, that innovation  and the subsequent effect on the environment  has sped up.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com

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Brock Turner had faced up to 14 years behind bars for the January 2015 assault but is now expected to serve only three months of his six-month sentence in a county jail. (Photo: AP)

Los Angeles: A high-profile sex assault case in California reverberating across the globe has prompted soul searching in America and reignited a debate about rape culture on US college campuses.

The case burst into the spotlight after the victim made public a powerful letter to the judge who sentenced her attacker -- 20-year-old former Stanford University student Brock Turner -- on June 2 to six months in jail on three felony convictions.

Her harrowing 12-page account of the January 2015 assault and its impact on her life -- read in court before the sentencing -- lit up the Internet within hours of being posted online, drawing a global chorus of outrage at the light sentence and prompting calls for the judge to be removed from the bench.

"You don't know me, but you've been inside me, and that's why we're here today," she told her attacker in the statement read in court. "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."

A letter to the court by Turner's father, stating that the former Stanford University swimmer did not deserve to be jailed for "20 minutes of action," further stoked the debate about race and privilege.

The furor even reached the nation's capital with Vice President Joe Biden praising the young victim as a "warrior."

The case is emblematic of the way rape assaults are handled on US campuses, where observers say lax policies have created a climate of impunity and discouraged victims from speaking out.

'Still didn't get justice'

"In general, colleges and universities have done a really bad job at managing campus sexual assault, preventing it or responding to it when it occurs," said Michele Dauber, a Stanford law professor spearheading a campaign to have the judge in the assault case recalled.

Dauber, who is a close friend of the 23-year-old California woman targeted in the assault, said the six-month sentence given to Turner -- who is expected to serve only three months in county jail -- downplays the seriousness of rape.

"Here we have the 'perfect' victim who did everything 'right', going to the police, making a formal charge and subjecting her body to the rape exam. She even had witnesses... and she still didn't get justice," Dauber said.

"The message this case is sending is 'Don't bother calling the police, you won't get justice'."

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, about one in six women in the United States are victims of sexual assault.

A 2015 study by Brown University found that more than one in every six women are raped during their first year at college while too drunk or incapacitated to fend off their attacker.

The majority of college-age victims -- about 80 percent -- knew their attacker, surveys show.

Amy Ziering, producer of the 2015 campus rape documentary "The Hunting Ground," said if anything, the Stanford case had cast the spotlight on the issue as never before.

"It has really, really raised everyone's consciousness in a way somewhat unprecedented," she said.

"You have 14 million people in five days reading someone's letter online and responding to it, and that is something I've never seen in my lifetime," she added. "This has actually ignited a conversation I just have never seen.

"It has prompted a debate about privilege, entitlement and the criminal justice system."

At Stanford University, the case has also drawn outrage among some faculty and students who have accused the school of a lack of sympathy toward the victim.

"The university has still not apologized to her or expressed any compassion toward her," Dauber said. "They instead praised themselves about how they did everything right."

Two student-led petitions circulating online have questioned the university's response and urged the school to release the names of students responsible for sexual assault or misconduct. Protests are also planned at Stanford graduation ceremonies on Sunday.

Stanford officials did not reply to a request for interviews, referring to statements in which they defended their handling of the Turner case and denounced "misinformation" about the university's role.

"Stanford University did everything within its power to assure that justice was served in this case," a statement said, citing a quick police response and referral to prosecutors.

Meanwhile Turner, who is being held in a county jail in San Jose, California, has been moved to protective custody out of fear for his safety. On Friday, he was banned for life from competing in national swim competitions.

Filmmaker Ziering said she was confident the outcry would lead to change in the way rape victims are treated and often shamed into silence.

"This case is the epitomy of rape culture in our society," she said. "You couldn't get a better case.

"What is hopeful to me about it, is everything that has happened in the aftermath."
Washington: The Indian government is going to be America's "great ally" and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.

In a major foreign policy speech here in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obama's policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.

"I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modi's leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length yesterday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas," Ryan said.

He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.

Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryan's speakership.

On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the Prime Minister's address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader. A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi.

"I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. That's one thing that we need to nurture and grow," Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.

"And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, he's a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. He's bringing needed reform to the country," Ryan said, according to the remarks released by his office.

"That's the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon. That stands in stark contrast, I would argue, to the Obama foreign policy of the last eight years where we have neglected our allies and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries," said the Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Except for his comments on India, Ryan slammed Obama's foreign policy.

"We know that this new Obama foreign policy concept, leading from behind, can now be declared an unambiguous failure. It is making us unprepared. It is reducing our military capability and strength," he alleged.
The 48-nation NSG held a special meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday to consider applications from the two South Asian nations. (Photo: AP)

Washington: Pakistan has been asked by the United States to put its case of joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) before the 48-member countries rather than seeking individual endorsements for joining it.

Islamabad had earlier this week, sent letters to American officials and lawmakers, urging them to support its bid for joining the 48-member club that controls access to sensitive nuclear technology, reports the Dawn.

The 48-nation NSG held a special meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday to consider applications from the two South Asian nations.

Both New Delhi and Islamabad possess atomic weapons but, aren't the signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

When it became obvious that China will not allow India to join the NSG on Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the US State Department urged Pakistan to present its application before the entire group.

When asked why Washington wasn't backing Pakistan's application, spokesman, Mark Toner, said, "That's a collective decision reached by the members of the group."

"India is also pursuing membership into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, but certainly, if Pakistan wants to pursue that, that's something for all the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to consider," he added.

US President Barack Obama, who met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Tuesday, after the meeting announced that the United States strongly supported India's bid to join the NSG.

On being suggested by a journalist that the US position on this issue may further strain already tense relations between India and Pakistan, Toner urged Pakistan to stop terrorists from using its soil to conduct operations inside India.

"We believe that Pakistan and India stand to benefit from practical cooperation and encourage direct dialogue aimed at increasing cooperation and reducing tensions," he said.

"And that includes steps by Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to plan attacks in India and that Pakistan takes steps to address or to go after all the terrorist groups that are currently using its territory," he added.

He said that bilateral relations with India and Pakistan were separate and stand on their own merits, and so it's not prudent for the US to view its security cooperation in the region in kind of a zero-sum game - or zero-sum terms.

"I think it's important for the countries of the region that they all have constructive security relationships with each other. And that's Pakistan, that's India, and it's also Afghanistan," he said.
Fifty-year-old Amin al-Baroudi of Irvine, California, is scheduled for sentencing on Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)

Alexandria, Virginia: Prosecutors want a Syrian-born US citizen to serve nearly four years in prison for smuggling rifle scopes, night-vision goggles and other gear to Syrian terrorists groups.

Fifty-year-old Amin al-Baroudi of Irvine, California, is scheduled for sentencing on Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. He pleaded guilty in January to violating US sanctions in Syria by supplying an insurgent group called Ahrar el-Sham, which frequently fights alongside the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria.

Defense attorneys are seeking probation. They say al-Baroudi is a survivor of then-Syrian President Hafez al-Assad's massacre of civilians in Hama in 1982 and was motivated by a heartfelt desire to help Syrians shake off the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Prosecutors say al-Baroudi may have wanted to help, but sending weapons into a war zone is the wrong method.
Approximately 20 to 40 grants of USD one million to USD six million will be awarded throughout the country. (Representational Image)

Washington: Enriched with the hefty fee imposed on H-1B visas, which mainly comes from Indian companies, the US government has allocated USD 100 million towards training of its work forces.

Grantees under this programme, christened America's Promise grant competition, will connect tuition-free job-training or education programmes with employers to create apprenticeship curriculums.

"These grants are part of the Obama administration's commitment to redesigning a modern skills infrastructure in America that engages employers as never before," said US Secretary of Labour Thomas E Perez while visiting a similar programme at The Great Lakes Towing Company in Cleveland, Ohio.

"Workforce partnerships built around the industry-specific needs of multiple employers are helping to expand opportunity for American workers, while also strengthening local communities and building a US economy poised for growth," Mr Perez said.

Approximately 20 to 40 grants of USD one million to USD six million will be awarded throughout the country. For each sector and service area, partnerships must include public workforce system, an economic development agency, at least one education and training provider and at least five employers or a regional industry association.

In a statement, the Department of Labour said the four-year grants will support tuition-free education and training that prepares participants for jobs in industries that currently utilise the H-1B temporary visa programme to meet industry workforce needs.

Grant-funded programmes will use individual assessments to determine the best strategies to successfully move participants into middle- to high-skilled jobs including accelerated training, longer-term intensive training and upskilling current employees to meet the demands of higher skilled jobs, it said.

The grant is designed to increase opportunities for all Americans through tuition-free training for middle-to high-skilled occupations and industries and expand employer involvement in the design and delivery of training programmes.

It is also designed to utilise evidence-based sector strategies to increase employability, employment earnings and outcomes of job seekers and leverage additional public, private and foundation resources to scale and sustain proven strategies.
IS-affiliated insurgents attacked the administrative headquarters in Haska Mina district at 2:00 am on Saturday. (Photo: AFP/Representational Image)

Kabul: Afghan officials say six police officers, including a district police chief, have been killed by gunmen affiliated with the Islamic State group in the restive eastern Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan.

Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, says that IS-affiliated insurgents attacked the administrative headquarters in Haska Mina district at 2:00 am on Saturday. He says 15 IS fighters were killed and seven wounded in the battle that followed.

Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal, spokesman for the Nangarhar police chief, says six police officers were wounded. Nangarhar has long been plagued by insurgent groups. Last year militants there claimed allegiance to IS and the Taliban sent fighters against them.

In recent months, government troops backed by air strikes have claimed success against IS fighters, who are believed to be former Taliban members.
The US announcement comes after Afghan forces, beset by record casualties, desertions and troop shortages, suffered a string of setbacks last year at the hands of the Taliban. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)

Kabul: Afghanistan on Saturday hailed Washington's decision to expand the US military's authority to tackle a resurgent Taliban insurgency, saying the support will boost the capacity of struggling local forces.

The decision will allow US troops, who have been in a training and advisory role in Afghanistan since the start of 2015, collaborate more closely with local forces in striking the Taliban.

"We welcome the US announcement of broader involvement in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. We may not need more boots on the ground, but we need their advisors and we need them to equip our air force. Their involvement will increase our capacity in operations on the ground," Defence ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri told AFP.

We may not need more boots on the ground, but we need their advisors and we need them to equip our air force. Their involvement will increase our capacity in operations on the ground.

The US announcement comes after Afghan forces, beset by record casualties, desertions and troop shortages, suffered a string of setbacks last year at the hands of the Taliban.

"We welcome measures taken by the US as our strategic partner to fight terrorism," said deputy presidential spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashimi.

Some 9,800 US troops remain in Afghanistan in an advisory capacity, down from a peak of around 100,000 in March 2011. That number is set to drop to just 5,500 by the year's end.

An American defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said despite the expanding role the US troops would still not be involved in direct combat.

Still, the new announcement is fraught with political sensitivities as it marks a departure from President Barack Obama's earlier commitment to end the grinding conflict and pull US troops out of Afghanistan.

Obama last month authorised a rare US drone strike deep inside Pakistan, killing Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a raid which highlighted an aggressive new push to target the insurgents.

"The US presidential election is coming up this year and Obama needs to show that the war in Afghanistan is still important," Kabul-based military analyst Wahid Taqat told AFP. "He cannot afford to let Afghanistan fail."
At Stockholm's Arlanda airport, passengers hoping to rebook their cancelled flights stood in long queues at the SAS ticket counters. (Photo: AP)

Stockholm: Around 20,000 passengers were stranded on Saturday after Scandinavian airline SAS cancelled 159 flights due to a Swedish pilots' strike and warned of another 220 flight cancellations on Sunday.

"We have done all that's in our power to avoid a strike, but we have unfortunately been unable to come to an agreement. Our main priority now is to take care of our customers and (we) are working vigilantly to do everything we can to assist passengers affected," SAS spokeswoman Karin Nyman said in a statement.

SAS flights flown by Danish and Norwegian pilots were operating as normal throughout the weekend, she added.

Sunday's flight cancellations were expected to affect another 26,000 travellers. At Stockholm's Arlanda airport, passengers hoping to rebook their cancelled flights stood in long queues at the SAS ticket counters.

Travellers Chun Yang, Milli Chiang and Jimmy Hsu from Taiwan told news agency TT they were surprised to learn of the strike when they landed in Stockholm en route to Finland.

"Now we have to try to organise our trip to Finland ourselves, our travel insurance from Taiwan won't cover the cost," Chun Yang said after five hours in line and still far from the head of the queue.

Anna Antell, who was to fly to Croatia with her husband and two children, had no sympathy for the striking pilots. "They already have good salaries," she said. The walkout comes during a peak travel season, and has hit charter groups hard.

"Many flights are of course fully booked, so the chances of rebooking a flight are not the best. We're doing what we can to help in the best way possible and find alternatives for our travellers," Nyman told TT.

The strike broke out Friday at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) after the Swedish pilots union SPF rejected the mediators' proposal of a 2.2 percent wage increase, insisting instead on a 3.5 percent increase.

The employers' organisation however said that the pilots' overall demands, including employment contracts offering greater job security, would entail a 10 percent cost increase.

"We want our employees to feel secure in their jobs, but the pilots' wage demands are just too high. We can't afford to pay that much given the competitive (air travel) market," SAS chief executive Rickard Gustafson said Friday before the strike. No date has been set yet for new negotiations.
Thirty-one trucks ferried in food for 14,200 families to Al-Houla in the central province of Homs on Saturday, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said. (Photo: AP)

Beirut: A convoy carrying food aid entered a rebel-controlled area under regime siege in central Syria on Saturday, the Red Cross said, in the second such delivery there in months.

It came as the regime bombarded another opposition-held town outside Damascus, preventing its besieged residents from receiving their first food delivery in years, a resident and monitor said.

Thirty-one trucks ferried in food for 14,200 families to Al-Houla in the central province of Homs on Saturday, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

The land convoy, the second to the area since March 22 also included mattresses, blankets, diapers, vaccines, water pumps and generators, Pawel Krzysiek said.

The Al-Houla delivery comes just days after two long-awaited aid convoys to rebel areas outside the capital. Trucks entered Daraya late Thursday with food including rice, lentils, sugar and flour for the first time since the regime laid siege to the town in late 2012.

But regime helicopters dropped at least eight barrel bombs, crude, unguided explosive devices on Daraya on Saturday for the second straight day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"People want the aid but they're paralysed by the ongoing bombardment," activist and Daraya local council member Shadi Matar said.

"People are hiding in underground bunkers. Some families have even dug holes in their homes to hide," he told AFP.

Aid agencies said supplies also reached Douma on Friday in the first UN delivery there since autumn 2013.

The United Nations says nearly 600,000 people live in besieged areas in Syria most surrounded by government forces and another four million in hard-to-reach areas. Peace talks towards ending a civil war that has killed more than 280,000 people have stalled over issues including lack of humanitarian access.

The UN's humanitarian agency said on Friday it was still awaiting permission from Damascus to deliver aid to the besieged areas of Al-Waer in Homs province and Zabadani in rural Damascus. The United States and France lashed out at Syria's government on Friday over the barrel bombs attacks on Daraya.
Apart from the port, the Libyan forces also retook residential areas in eastern Sirte, which for the past year has been the main IS base. (Photo: AP)

Tripoli: Forces allied with Libya's unity government said Saturday they had recaptured the port in the jihadist bastion of Sirte, advancing rapidly against Islamic State group fighters encircled inside the city.

The fall of Sirte, the hometown of ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi, would be a major setback for the extremists who have also lost territory in Syria and Iraq where they have declared an Islamic "caliphate".

Apart from the port, the Libyan forces also retook residential areas in eastern Sirte, which for the past year has been the main IS base in the North African country, a spokesman for the forces, Rida Issa, told AFP.

The jihadists are now surrounded in a densely populated area of around five square kilometres (two square miles) inside Sirte where they are laying booby traps, he said.

Most of the city's residents have fled but some 30,000 remain, Issa said.

After a month-long operation to close in on Sirte, the rapid pace of the advance by forces allied to the Government of National Accord (GNA) who entered the city on Wednesday has surprised Libyan authorities.

"The battle wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be," one government official said. "Maybe we exaggerated their (IS's) numbers?"

The UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said Saturday on Twitter that he was "impressed" by the "rapid progress" of pro-GNA forces.

IS Sirte strength unclear

But analysts have warned the city's fall would not spell the end of the jihadists in Libya, where they have fed on political and military divisions since the 2011 uprising that killed Kadhafi.

Foreign intelligence services estimate the extremist group has 5,000 fighters in the country, but its strength inside Sirte, which IS has held since June 2015, is unclear.

IS fighters tried to wrest back the port on Saturday in an attack that killed two members of the GNA forces, who repelled the assault.

A total of 137 pro-GNA forces have been killed and 500 wounded since the operation began on May 12, according to a medical official in the western city of Misrata.

Libya's unity government forces have fought fierce street battles with the jihadists around a sprawling Kadhafi-era conference centre which once hosted international summits but now houses an IS command centre.

An AFP correspondent at the scene reported heavy street fighting on Friday about two kilometres (one mile) from the Ouagadougou centre.

GNA forces used tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, the correspondent said, while the jihadists responded with machineguns, mortar rounds and sniper fire.

"We are fighting between houses, on the streets, and we won't back down before we eliminate them," said one GNA combatant, who declined to be named.

Warplanes have carried out air strikes around the conference centre and other IS positions inside the city, according to social media accounts belonging to the anti-jihadist operation.

American and British advisers

The operations command, on its Facebook page, said jihadist positions had been targeted by 150 air strikes since mid-May.

Formed under a UN-backed power-sharing deal agreed by some Libyan lawmakers in December, the GNA has been working to assert its authority but has yet to receive the official endorsement of the country's recognised parliament.

The pro-GNA forces are mostly made up of militias from western cities, notably Misrata, and the guards of oil installations that IS has repeatedly tried to seize.

Emily Estelle, a North Africa and Middle East specialist with the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, said an estimated 2,000 fighters, primarily well-equipped Misrata militiamen, were engaged in the Sirte operation.

The Misrata militiamen took part in the NATO-backed uprising five years ago against Kadhafi, who himself was found and killed outside Sirte.

According to Estelle, "American and British advisers on the ground are likely helping" the Misratans.

The forces allied with the GNA said on Thursday they expected to announce the liberation of Sirte in "two or three days", after thrusting into the city centre.

"We're encouraged by the progress they're making," said US special envoy Brett McGurk, whose country has said it has small teams of special forces gathering intelligence in Libya.

GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj called Friday on "all military forces to unite in the face of our common enemy and to join the victorious forces".

But Ahmed al-Mesmari, a spokesman for forces loyal to a rival government based in the country's far east, described the GNA forces as "illegitimate militias, loyal to an illegitimate government".
The car bomb blast was not far from the shrine area in the main al-Taen street. (Photo: AFP)

Beirut: Suicide bombers struck outside a Shiite shrine near Syria's capital Saturday, leaving at least 20 people dead, a monitor said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The official SANA news agency said two suicide bombers, one in a car, attacked the entrance to the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, which is revered by Shiites around the world.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said at least 20 people were killed, including 13 civilians, and more than 30 wounded in the blasts.

SANA gave a toll of at least 12 dead and 55 wounded. IS claimed the attack via its Amaq news agency, saying it was carried out by three suicide bombers.

The shrine, around 10 kilometres (six miles) south of the centre of Damascus, is heavily guarded by pro-government forces but has still been the target of several jihadist attacks, including those claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Syria's official Al-Ikhbariya channel showed images from the scene of burned-out cars billowing with plumes of black smoke.

Firefighters battled to extinguish the flames as shop signs lay in the street. The last attack on Sayyida Zeinab on April 25 killed at least seven and wounded dozens.

A string of IS bombings near the shrine in February left 134 people dead, most of them civilians, according to the Observatory. And in January, another attack claimed by IS killed 70 people.

Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah cited the threat to Sayyida Zeinab as a principal reason for its intervention in Syria's civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

The shrine contains the grave of Zeinab, a venerated granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed, and is renowned for its glistening golden, onion-shaped dome.
Syrians walk towards the Turkish border at the Bab al-Salam border gate, Syria. (Photo: AP)

Beirut: Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped inside the northern Syrian city of Manbij after US-backed fighters surrounded the Islamic State group stronghold, a monitor said on Saturday.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) encircled Manbij on Friday, severing IS's principal supply route between Turkey and its de facto Syrian capital, Raqa.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor, said warplanes from a US-led coalition were conducting heavy bombing raids on Manbij.

"Tens of thousands of civilians who are still there can't leave as all the routes out of the city are cut," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The US envoy to the anti-IS coalition backing the SDF, Brett McGurk, said the surrounding of Manbij had severed an important route for IS fighters.

"ISIL terrorists now completely surrounded with no way out," he wrote on Twitter, using another name for IS.

The city has been held by IS since 2014 and the Observatory said that thousands of inhabitants had recently fled Manbij as air strikes intensified.

"Bakeries in the town haven't been open since Friday and food is beginning to become rare," Abdel Rahman said.

He said that at least 159 IS fighters, 22 SDF troops and 37 civilians had been killed, mainly by bombing raids, since the alliance launched its Manbij offensive on May 31.

Syria's civil war began with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations in 2011 and has now killed more than 280,000 people and displaced millions.
Since al-Zawahri, an Egyptian doctor-turned-militant, succeeded bin Laden, al-Qaeda has lost ground to Islamic State in the leadership of the global jihadist movement. (Photo: AP)

Kabul: Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in an online audio message, pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, who was appointed last month after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike.

The veteran Islamist militant became al-Qaeda's leader after US Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, and he is thought to be hiding in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, having been based there since the late 1990s.

"As leader of the al-Qaeda organization for jihad, I extend my pledge of allegiance once again, the approach of Osama to invite the Muslim nation to support the Islamic Emirate," al-Zawahri said in a 14 minute recording.

During its years in power, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and it has been fighting an insurgency since to regain control of the country.

The authenticity of the recording could not be immediately verified.

Haibatullah Akhundzada, Islamic legal scholar who was one of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour's deputies, was appointed a few days after Mansour was killed by a US drone attack in a remote border area just inside Pakistan.

Since al-Zawahri, an Egyptian doctor-turned-militant, succeeded bin Laden, al-Qaeda has lost ground to Islamic State in the leadership of the global jihadist movement.

Some Afghan insurgent commanders have broken away from the Taliban to pledge support for Islamic State, though it operates largely in Iraq and Syria, and is active in parts of North Africa.

Al-Qaeda was set up by Arab guerrillas who flocked to Afghanistan to fight Soviet occupation forces in the 1980s. It had thrived under the Taliban's rule before both groups were driven underground following the US invasion that followed Al-Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
Avijit Roy was hacked to death here by machete-wielding assailants in Dhaka. (Photo: AP)

Dhaka: Bangladesh police have arrested more than 3,000 people in a sweeping nationwide crackdown following a spate of gruesome murders, they said Saturday, as the prime minister vowed to catch "each and every killer".

Those detained include 37 suspected Islamist militants and hundreds of potential criminals who previously had warrants out against them, as well as several hundred ordinary arrests, police said.

Bangladesh is reeling from a wave of brutal killings that have spiked in recent weeks, with religious minorities, secular thinkers and liberal activists the chief targets.

"We have arrested 3,155 people including 37 Islamist militants as part of the special drive over the last 24 hours," A.K.M Shahidur Rahman, deputy police inspector general told AFP.

"The militants included 27 members of Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)," he said.

The JMB is one of the main domestic militant outfits blamed by the government, which rejects claims from Islamic State group and a South Asian branch of Al-Qaeda that they are behind the killings.

The country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told a meeting of her ruling Awami League party Saturday that police would stamp out the violence.

"It may take time, but God willing, we will be able to bring them under control," Hasina told a meeting of her ruling Awami League party on Saturday.

"Where will the criminals hide? Each and every killer will be brought to book as we did after the 2015 mayhem," she said, referring to a deadly transport blockade last year organised by opposition parties.

However, Bangladesh opposition parties immediately accused the police of using the crackdown to suppress political dissent.

"Hundreds of opposition activists have been arrested in the police drive," Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told AFP.

"In the name of the crackdown against Islamist militants, many ordinary and innocent people are being detained."

Hasina has accused the BNP and the country's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, of orchestrating the attacks after they failed to topple the government in last year's transport blockade.

JMB arrests

Police detained some 350 people in the country's second-largest city of Chittagong and its surrounding areas. They include one suspect in the murder of Mahmuda Begum, the wife of a top anti-terror police officer who was fatally stabbed and shot last weekend.

Her husband had led several high-profile operations against the JMB in Chittagong and her killing prompted the police to vow to catch her killers.

"We suspect Shahjahan Robin as the prime offender in the murder of (anti-terror officer) Babul Akter's wife," Chittagong police chief Iqbal Bahar told AFP.

In recent days an elderly Hindu priest was found nearly decapitated in a rice field, while a Christian grocer was hacked to death near a church, with Islamic State group claiming responsibility for the killings.

A Hindu monastery worker was found hacked to death Friday in the northwestern district of Pabna. Police have targeted domestic militant outfits, however, specifically the JMB, with five members of the group shot dead in gunbattles this week.

Nine members of the JMB were arrested in Rajshahi, Shariful Islam, a police inspector in the northwestern district said Saturday. Several attacks have occurred in the district including the killing of a liberal professor in April.

As well as the arrests, police said they had seized nearly 1,000 motorcycles across the country. Motorbikes have been used in many of the attacks, with the government recently announcing a ban on motorcyclists carrying more than one passenger.
Pandey's murder comes within a week of killings of a Hindu priest, a Christian grocer and wife of an anti-terror police officer. (Photo: AP)

Dhaka: The ISIS on Saturday claimed responsibility for the killing of an elderly Hindu ashram worker in Bangladesh, as the Muslim-majority country reels under a series of brutal murders of secular activists and minorities by Islamists.

"ISIS fighters in Bangladesh killed a Hindu man in Pabna, in the north of the country," the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency said in a brief Arabic message, according to US-based SITE Intelligence Group.

Nityaranjan Pandey, 60, who was working as a volunteer for the past 40 years at the Thakur Anukul Chandra Satsanga Paramtirtha Hemayetpurdham Ashram, was murdered in Pabna's Hemayetpur Upazila on Friday.

Pandey was taking his routine morning walk when several machete-wielding attackers hacked him in the neck, killing him on the spot only 200 yards away from the ashram. The ashram, named after a famous Hindu saint, draws large number of Hindu devotees from across Bangladesh and neighbouring India.

Pandey's murder comes within a week of killings of a Hindu priest, a Christian grocer and wife of an anti-terror police officer. In February, militants stabbed to death a Hindu priest at a temple and shot and wounded a devotee who went to his aid.

In April, a liberal professor was brutally hacked to death in Rajshahi city. In the same month, a Hindu tailor was hacked to death in his shop and Bangladesh's first gay magazine editor was brutally murdered along with a friend in his flat in Dhaka by Islamists.
China has been ramping up its rail and road connectivity with Nepal and backing Prime Minister KP Oli's government in dealing with the Madhesis. (Photo: AFP)

Beijing: For the first time, China and Nepal have been connected with an optical fibre network via Tibet as infrastructure between the two countries is being firmed up to extend high-speed Internet services to Nepal and end its "sole dependence" on India, Chinese state media reported on Saturday.

China has extended its optical fibre network to Nepal via Geelong(Keyrong)-Rasuwgadhi border point, "which has ended Nepal's sole dependence on India", Xinhua news agency reported.

State-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) said its optical fibre network has been connected to China Telecom Corporation Limited.

"After establishing connection, we conducted technical test about two weeks ago," Dilliram Adhikari, joint spokesperson of NT was quoted as saying in the report. Adhikari said NT would start commercial use of the fibre cable soon.

As a result of this Nepal now can be directly linked with Hong Kong Data Centre, which is one of the two biggest global date centres in Asia, through the Chinese mainland, he said.

"The use of the Chinese route to connect with Hong Kong Data Centre will help enhancing quality of internet services in Nepal because of shorter distance," he said.

Following the setting up of the Chinese optical fibre, Nepal can now purchase Internet bandwith from Chinese firms. The fibre network brings Nepal Internet services under the ambit of Chinese telecom networks.

At present, Nepal's Internet service providers purchase bandwith from companies from India and other countries.

"This will create a competitive environment for purchasing internet services which could reduce the cost of Internet service here," Adhikari said.

China has been ramping up its rail and road connectivity with Nepal and backing Prime Minister KP Oli's government in dealing with the Madhesis, largely of Indian-origin, who have been protesting against the new Constitution claiming a raw deal for them.

Their months-long protests, blocking Nepal-India border trade points had created a severe crunch of essential supplies in the landlocked Himalayan nation. Besides restarting previously damaged roads to Nepal via Tibet, China in a strategic move last month opened combined road-and-rail services to Kathmandu to speed up supplies.

The two have also beefed up their military relations. Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, and Chief of Army Staff of the Nepalese Army Rajendra Chhetri discussed military-to-military and bilateral ties during Sun's visit to Kathmandu two days ago.
The government plans to take over the management and eliminate quarters for all but 5,000 monks, nuns, and others at the monastery, one of the world's largest monastic institutions, by September 2017, cutting numbers there by at least half, it said. (Photo: AP)

Beijing: China plans to demolish a large part of one of the world's biggest Buddhist monasteries that would leave thousands homeless, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday as it appealed to the country to instead negotiate with the Buddhist community.

Chinese authorities should suspend plans to demolish residences at the historic Academy of Larung Gar Buddhist monastery in Sichuan province and negotiate with the community's leadership, the watchdog said in a report released in New York.

The government plans to take over the management and eliminate quarters for all but 5,000 monks, nuns, and others at the monastery, one of the world's largest monastic institutions, by September 2017, cutting numbers there by at least half, it said.

"China's authorities should not be determining the size of monasteries or any other religious institution, but should accept that religious freedom means letting people decide for themselves their religious practices," Sophie Richardson, watchdog's China director said.

"If authorities somehow believe that the Larung Gar facilities are overcrowded, the answer is simple: allow Tibetans and other Buddhists to build more monasteries," she said.

A recent order from the Serta county government in Sichuan provides no reason for the demolitions and dramatic reduction in Larung Gar's population - which consists of at least 10,000 monks, nuns, and others - but simply says that the community is in need of "ideological guidance," the report said.

"There is no suggestion that the authorities consulted the Larung Gar leadership about the measures," it said. The watchdog alleged that officials of the ruling Communist Party would make up the majority of the management staff at the monastery, a practice it said has become common in other Buddhist monasteries too.
Chinese railway is conducting feasibility study for High Speed train between Chennai and New Delhi. (Photo: AP)

Beijing: China has termed the cancellation of a contract by a US firm with a Chinese rail consortium to build a prestigious high speed railway line linking Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles as a "mistake" and warned of legal action.

The China Railway, reacting to the news of cancellation of the contract, said that the Las Vegas-based XpressWest's "unilateral cancellation" of a high-speed railway contract with its subsidiary is "a mistake" and "irresponsible".

The China Railway said in a statement that the US company had breached a cooperation agreement by unilaterally announcing the termination.

It opposed the US company's decision and has been dealing with the case according to law, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The US private company said on Thursday that it had "terminated its joint venture activities with CRI (China Railway International USA Co Ltd regarding high-speed passenger rail" between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

In September last year, XpressWest and CRI announced to establish a joint venture to build the Southwest Rail Network that will connect Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles in California.

The two sides planned to start construction on the 370 km line in September 2016 with an initial investment of USD 100 million.

XpressWest said the decision to end the relationship has been taken due to problems with "timely performance" and challenges that had come with the Chinese companies being grouped under a consortium called CRI.

The merger faced problems in "obtaining required authority to proceed with required development activities". The cancellation is a major blow to China's ambitious plans to market its bullet train technology outside the country.

China is actively lobbying to build bullet trains in India, Malaysia and Singapore.

Chinese railway is conducting feasibility study for High Speed train between Chennai and New Delhi.
Islamabad: LeT chief, Hafiz Saeed, who has a $10 million US bounty on his head, led prayers at a mosque in Islamabad on Friday and called on his countrys military to shoot down any American drones entering Pakistani territory.

The anti-US rhetoric came as the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan visited Islamabad for the first time since last months killing of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a drone strike in western Pakistan.

US and Pakistan relations have been strained by the strike, which Islamabad has protested against as a violation of its sovereignty.

Fridays public appearance by Saeed, whom the US and India accuse of masterminding a 2008 attack on Indias financial capital Mumbai that killed 166 people, was another reminder of the many sore points in the Pakistani-US relationship.

The United States has offered $10 million for information leading to Saeeds arrest and conviction, but he remains free.

He maintains a low profile for much of the time, meaning his occasional public appearances and pronouncements are closely watched.

The US stands with India in their enmity towards Pakistan, Saeed told a crowd of hundreds of people after leading Friday prayers at the Islamabad mosque.

We want to request the army chief and make the air chief realize that it is their duty to shoot down any drone that comes into Pakistan and respond to it in kind.

In response to the May 21 drone strike that killed Mansour, an Islamist charity Saeed heads, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), has announced a series of anti-US protests in major cities, with Saeed expected to be a featured speaker.

Pakistans top foreign policy official and its powerful military chief met Richard Olson, the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, during a visit.

A statement from the military said chief of army staff General Raheel Sharif had expressed serious concern over the US drone strike. The US embassy in Islamabad said it had no statement on Olsons visit.
He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US. (Photo: PTI)

Islamabad: Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the US to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.

General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson in Islamabad on Friday.

In a late night statement, the army said Gen Raheel demanded targeting of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.

"Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, COAS reiterated Pakistans resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism," it said.

It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on May 21.

The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.

"Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb," it said.

Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.

He said all stakeholders need to understand Pakistan's challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.

"Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate," he said.

He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.

Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated.
The restaurant owner with his son and other staff added the banned addictive to the offal in February last year, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, without giving details of the prison terms. (Representational Image)

Beijing: Three persons have been sentenced to prison terms in central China for selling beef offal soaked in cancerogenic formaldehyde, authorities said on Saturday.

A restaurant in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, was found to have used formaldehyde to soak about 2,000 kgs of beef tripe and tendons worth about 100,000 yuan (USD 15,000), Jianghan People's Procuratorate said.

Beef offal is a common ingredient in Chinese food. Soaked in cancerogenic formaldehyde, it appears fresh and white.

The restaurant owner with his son and other staff added the banned addictive to the offal in February last year, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, without giving details of the prison terms.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday defended the government in the Anupama Shenoy issue, saying that the government had no option but to accept the resignation.





The government asked her to re-consider her decision several times. But she insisted on quitting her job. The Congress and its leaders deal with officers with highest regard. But I dont know the reason behind her (Anupama) resignation, he told reporters who sought his reaction on the issue.



Asked whether he saw a BJP conspiracy in the issue, Singh, who is also AICC general secretary incharge of Karnataka, said the BJP is a master conspirator. The saffron party has now joined hands with the JD(S), he charged.



Labour Minister P T Parameshwar Naik who has been in news with regard to the controversy surrounding Shenoys resignation, on Friday asked who Shenoy was.



When mediapersons sought his reaction with regard to the government accepting her resignation, the minister said, Which DySP? There are 7 to 8 DySPs in my district, I dont know who you are referring to. When reporters mentioned Shenoys name, Naik said, That is a closed chapter. I have nothing to do with the matter.




The legal fraternity is all set to visit the High Court on Sunday, certainly not to attend the court proceedings, but to take a pledge to strengthen the society and the nation by upholding the democratic values and spirt of the constitution.





The Karnataka State Bar Council, Advocates Association of Bangalore, and the Committee of Senior Counsels have organised Pledge-2016, in front of the High Court on Karnataka on Dr Ambedkar Veedhi at 9 am on Sunday. Former Chief Justice of India, M N Venkatachalaiah is likely to administer the pledge to the legal fraternity.



The Chief Justice of Karnataka along with 14 High Court judges, the Advocate General and his staff and the senior counsels are expected to attend the event. Representatives of the law schools in the city, the registrar of Christ University and the vice-chancellor of the National Law School of India University are also expected to attend. Dress code for the event: court robes with band or tie - no gown required.






The Delhi University teachers who have been agitating against the new UGC criteria to ascertain their academic performance today marched to the HRD ministry but were stopped midway by police which also detained 600 of them.





Thousands of teachers started their march from Mandi House wearing black head bands demanding that the ministry gives them a clear written assurance that the workload norms will remain unchanged with the direct teaching hours including tutorials and practicals with full weightage.



According to the police officials, 600 of them were detained as a preventive measure keeping in mind the law and order situation.



The agitating teachers who have been boycotting evaluation of undergraduate exams since May 24, then met HRD officials and submitted a memorandum of demand in this regard.



The teachers are protesting against amendments to UGC regulations that, they argue, will lead to job-cuts to the tune of 50 per cent and drastically decrease pupil-teacher ratio in higher education.



The new gazette notification has increased the workload for assistant professors from 16 hours of direct teaching per week (including tutorials) to 18 hours, plus another six of tutorials, bringing the total up to 24 hours. Similarly the work hours of associate professors have been increased from 14 to 22.



Following protests, the HRD ministry had directed UGC to review the same. The commission had on Monday organised consultations on the issue with various stake holders including representatives of teachers associations from across the country.



The protesting teachers including those from JNU, Jamia and Ambedkar University, had however claimed that the consultations did not yield any results. Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) has called for a General Body (GB) meeting on Saturday to decide future course of action.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar, along with 42 others, was on Friday detained by Delhi Police at Bihar Bhawan for protesting against the alleged attack on students in hunger strike by the Patna Police and goons at the College of Arts and Crafts in Patna.





Kanhaiya and others were released around 6.30 pm, after spending 3 hours in police detention. We detained the protesters to prevent the deterioration of law and order in the area. He has been released now, said Jatin Narewal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi).



The demonstration started around 3.30 pm, following which Kumar and 42 others were put inside a bus and detained at Parliament Street Police Station.



Apart from protesting against the alleged attack on students in Patna, the protesters also demanded the suspension of College of Arts and Crafts principal Chandrabhushan Srivastav.



Exams date



They also demanded an extension of the date of Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) main exams so that the dates do not clash with that of UPSC prelims.



Earlier this week, 7 students of College of Arts and Crafts under Patna University sustained injuries in an attack allegedly carried out by some miscreants while they were protesting against the conduct of the administration.



The condition of education in Bihar is continuously deteriorating. The government is not taking the demands of students regarding quality education seriously.



And, those who are fighting for this significant and relevant cause, are facing violence and imprisonment, said Kanhaiya in a press release.



The protesters were demanding that the corrupt principal of the college be sacked when they were shot at by the guards of the vice chancellor of the University, added Kanhaiya.



The goons and police trashed them, and when others went for protest against these actions, they were detained. We demand their immediate release, the JNUSU president added.
Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the US to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.





General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson here yesterday.



In a late night statement, the army said Gen Raheel demanded targeting of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.



"Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, COAS reiterated Pakistans resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism," it said.



It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on May 21.



The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.



"Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb," it said.



Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.



He said all stakeholders need to understand Pakistan's challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.



"Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate," he said. He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.

Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated.
The Indian government is going to be America's "great ally" and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.





In a major foreign policy speech here in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obama's policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.



"I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modi's leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length yesterday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas," Ryan said.



He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.



Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryan's speakership.



On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the Prime Minister's address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader. A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi.

"I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. That's one thing that we need to nurture and grow," Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.



"And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, he's a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. He's bringing needed reform to the country," Ryan said, according to the remarks released by his office.



"That's the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon. That stands in stark contrast, I would argue, to the Obama foreign policy of the last eight years where we have neglected our allies and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries," said the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.



Except for his comments on India, Ryan slammed Obama's foreign policy. "We know that this new Obama foreign policy concept, leading from behind, can now be declared an unambiguous failure. It is making us unprepared. It is reducing our military capability and strength," he alleged.



"It is confusing our allies and incentivising our adversaries. And all that does is tempt fate. So we are saying we've got to reset our system. We've got to restructure and reaffirm our foreign policy, in particular our military policy if we want to prevent these problems on the horizon from getting out of control," Ryan said.



In response to a question, he said Modi's address to the joint session of the Congress was a great day.



"So we just heard the prime minister of India at the Capitol Hill yesterday. It was a great day. He spoke before Congress and it was a great moment for the growing friendship between our two countries. The main reason I think this moment was so notable is that nowadays it's so rare," Ryan said referring to the bipartisan support that India-US relationship enjoys in the Congress.



"On the past seven years, our friendships have frayed. Our rivalries have intensified. It's not too much to say that our enemies no longer fear us and too many of our allies no longer trust us," he said.



In the Republican document on foreign policy and national security released by Ryan, the party said India and the US working together for betterment of the world.



"We must also embrace emerging partners that could help keep the peace in their region and beyond," the document said.



"India, the world's largest democracy, shares common interests with the world's oldest democracy, the United States and we must build upon that foundation to work together in shaping world events," it said.



As part of its objective of advancing American interest, the 25-page document calls for "deepening relations" with emerging powers like India. The foreign policy document released by Ryan is also critical of the Pakistan policy of the Obama Administration.



The Obama administration failed to prioritise economic growth in its approach to foreign aid and development, preferring high-profile "presidential initiatives" and short-term responses such as loan guarantees and enterprise funds, it said.



"In places like Pakistan, the administration has made major investments in infrastructure but failed to accomplish the reforms necessary to create a positive environment for economic growth. Without reform, these initiatives will do little to improve livelihoods," the policy paper said.
Air passengers will soon have a reason to smile with the government today proposing a cap on ticket cancellation charges, increased compensation for denied boarding and steep reduction in excess baggage fee levied by airlines.





Suggesting a slew of passenger-centric measures, the Civil Aviation Ministry said airlines will have to refund all statutory taxes in case of flight cancellations.



Aviation regulator DGCA has proposed that "under no circumstances the cancellation charges be more than the basic fare" and carriers cannot levy additional charge to process the refund.



In case of checked-in baggage, the airlines would be charging Rs 100 per kilogram for baggage weight in excess of 15 kg till 20 kg. At present, Rs 300 is levied on every kilogram of baggage beyond the 15-kg limit.



Only Air India allows free baggage up to 23 kg.



With regard to denied boarding, mainly due to overbooking, the government has proposed compensation up to Rs 20,000 subject to certain conditions.



Besides, the Ministry has proposed measures to help passengers with reduced mobility.



Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said the measures are being proposed as there have been complaints from passengers that issues are not getting resolved within a reasonable time.



To bring in the new measures, the DGCA has suggested changes to three civil aviation requirements and to an air transport circular. They would be put up for public consultations before taking a final decision.



In January-March period, 10 Indian carriers accounted for a total of 18,512 delayed flights, according to the data presented in Parliament during the Budget session.



Of this, budget carrier Indigo alone had 5,426 delayed flights, followed by full service carrier Jet Airways with 5,040 flights. National carrier Air India also had 3,111 delayed flights, while low-cost domestic carrier Spicejet had 2,205 delayed flights, according to the data.





DGCA chief M Sathiyavathy said the proposals have been discussed with the airlines and "they are on board".





"We don't expect any resistance from the airlines," she said.





For denied boarding and flight cancellations, DGCA proposed revised compensation structures depending on the arrangement of an alternative flight for the traveller.





An amount equal to 200 per cent of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge subject to the maximum limit of Rs 10,000 would be given in case the carrier arranges the alternative flight within 24 hours of the scheduled departure.





The quantum would go up to 400 per cent of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge and the maximum would be Rs 20,000 where the alternative flight is provided after 24 hours.





"In case the passenger does not opt for an alternative flight, refund of full value of ticket and compensation equal to 400 per cent of booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, subject to maximum of Rs 20,000 will be given," the regulator said.





According to the watchdog, no compensation would be paid if a passenger is informed about the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled departure and if the airline has arranged another flight depending on the passenger's convenience.





This would be applicable, subject to conditions, even on instances where the cancellation has been informed less than two weeks and up to 24 hours before the scheduled departure.





In such a case, there would be no compensation if the carrier has arranged alternative flight scheduled to depart within two hours of their booked scheduled departure.





In cancellations, the financial compensation would be Rs 5,000 or booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, whichever is less, for flights having a block time of up to one hour. This quantum would be Rs 7,500 in case of flights having a block time of one to two hours.





For flights having a block time of more than two hours, the financial compensation would go up to Rs 10,000.





Block hours refer to the moment a commercial aircraft leaves the departure gate until it lands and reaches the arrival gate, or till its engines are working.





Airlines would be required to refund "all statutory taxes and User Development Fee (UDF)/Airport Development Fee (ADF)/ Passenger Development Fee (PSF) to the passengers in case of cancellation/non-utilisation of tickets/no show".





As per existing CAR, carriers have to return PSF collected by them in case of cancellation of a flight.





Besides, return of taxes and fee would be applicable for all types of fares including "promos/special fares and where the basic fare is non-refundable".





DGCA has suggested that the option of holding refund amount in credit shell by the airline would be the prerogative of the passenger.





It has been proposed that the onus of the refund of tickets, which are booked through travel agent or portal, would be on the carriers.





"The refund process shall be completed within 15 working days in case of domestic travel and 30 working days in case of international travel," DGCA said.





For foreign airlines, the refund would be in accordance with the regulations of their respective countries while the mode of refund would be governed by Indian norms.





Seeking to put in place more friendly measures for people with reduced mobility, the regulator has proposed that airlines should develop a procedure for making advance request of stretcher and same should be displayed on the airline's website.





Among others, airports would provide "towable ramp to such people in case ambulift or aerobridge facility are not available".





"Airport operator shall ensure that assistive devices being used to assist a disabled passenger are as per the standards set by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment," the regulator said.





For sensitisation and creating awareness about assisting people with disability or reduced mobility, airlines, airport operators, security personnel, customs and immigration departments would conduct training programmes for their personnel.



It would be done as per the training module provided by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.




The ISIS today claimed responsibility for the killing of an elderly Hindu ashram worker in Bangladesh, as the Muslim-majority country reels under a series of brutal murders of secular activists and minorities by Islamists.





"ISIS fighters in Bangladesh killed a Hindu man in Pabna, in the north of the country," the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency said in a brief Arabic message, according to US-based SITE Intelligence Group.



Nityaranjan Pandey, 60, who was working as a volunteer for the past 40 years at the Thakur Anukul Chandra Satsanga Paramtirtha Hemayetpurdham Ashram, was murdered in Pabna's Hemayetpur Upazila yesterday.



Pandey was taking his routine morning walk when several machete-wielding attackers hacked him in the neck, killing him on the spot only 200 yards away from the ashram.



The ashram, named after a famous Hindu saint, draws large number of Hindu devotees from across Bangladesh and neighbouring India.



Pandey's murder comes within a week of killings of a Hindu priest, a Christian grocer and wife of an anti-terror police officer.



In February, militants stabbed to death a Hindu priest at a temple and shot and wounded a devotee who went to his aid.



In April, a liberal professor was brutally hacked to death in Rajshahi city. In the same month, a Hindu tailor was hacked to death in his shop and Bangladesh's first gay magazine editor was brutally murdered along with a friend in his flat in Dhaka by Islamists.




Family members of Judith D'Souza, who was abducted from Taimani area of Kabul, today said they are hopeful regarding the efforts by the Indian government in bringing her back from Afghanistan.





"There is no update as of now. But the MEA is constantly in touch with us. A Joint Secretary level officer is coordinating with us. We have full faith in the Indian government and the MEA that they will do the needful in bringing back Judith from Afghanistan," Judith's brother Jerome told PTI.



When asked whether the details about the efforts being made were discussed with the family members, Jerome said "no, these are official proceedings, which MEA and Indian embassy in Kabul are dealing with. These things are not to be made public."



External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had yesterday called up Judith's family here and had assured them of making all-out effort to bring her back.



Judith, working for Aga Khan Foundation as senior technical adviser, has been kidnapped by suspected militants right outside her office in the heart of Kabul and efforts were being made to secure her release.



She was scheduled to return to India next week.
The alleged kingpin of the toppers' scandal in Bihar Intermediate examination, Bachha Rai was arrested after he surrendered at Bhagwanpur police station in Vaishali district.



Bachha Rai, who is Secretary-cum Principal of controversy-hit Bishun Rai College, arrived at the Bhagwanpur police station to give himself up from where the police arrested him, Hajipur police sources said.



"We have arrested Bachha Rai," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on merit muddle in Bihar's +2 examination, told PTI.



Maharaj said the police had been on hot pursuit of the accused and netted him today.



Bachha Rai is the Secretary-cum Principal of Bishun Rai College in Vaishali district from where Arts and Science toppers Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shrestha belonged to respectively.



"We will interrogate him intensively," Maharaj said.



Bachha Rai, a known supporter of RJD, had been allegedly eluding from police in the case.



Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had recently alleged that everybody knew that Bachha Rai had worked more than Lalu Prasad to ensure victory of Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap from Raghopur and Mahua seats in Vaishali respectively.



The probe has indicated that Bachha Rai was a key player in the case with the help of Bihar School Examination Board, police said.



Besides Arts and Science toppers, the third ranker in the Science stream Rahul Kumar, whose result has been cancelled by the board along with that of first topper Saurabh Shrestha after a re-test also hailed from the Bishun Rai College.



Bachha Rai's daughter Shalini Rai is one of the named accused in the FIR lodged in the case with Kotwali police station in Patna.

According to investigation, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) had allegedly hatched the conspiracy to make Shalini Rai a topper in the science stream later on through verification of marks. But, the snowballing controversy derailed the plan and put her and father Bachha Rai in trouble, police said.



Ruby Rai had reportedly described Political science as "Prodikal Science".



During re-test on last Saturday, she had not appeared before the experts team citing "depression".



The BSEB had asked her to appear for re-test on June 11.



Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh who was forced to resign as BSEB Chairman following evidences of his "connivance" in the scandal is absconding.



Meanwhile, the Arts Intermediate topper Ruby Rai did not turn up before an experts team for re-test today following which the Board decided to withhold her result.

"The Board has decided to withhold result of Ruby Rai and has given another chance to her to appear for re-test on June 25," new Chairman of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Anand Kishor told PTI.

He said no application came from the candidate (Ruby Rai) for her not coming for authentication test in the Board office today.

The team of experts kept waiting for the topper to put her to a written test and interview her to authenticate the extraordinary marks obtained by her in the +2 exam, but Ruby Rai did not come following which the board took the decision to withhold her result for now.

"Withholding result means the candidate cannot take admission anywhere on the basis of this result till further order," Kishor, who is also Patna Commissioner, said.

Ruby Rai had described Political Science as "Prodikal science" and said it deals with cooking during the media interview on her topping the Arts stream in state's +2 exam.

Rai, a student of Bishun Rai Intermediate college of Vaishali, is named accused in the FIR lodged. She and her family are untraced since than.

Earlier, on June 3, she absented herself from the re-test on health grounds. The BSEB which had conducted re-test of 13 toppers of Arts and Science streams had asked her to appear before experts on June 11.

The BSEB had cancelled results of Science topper Saurabh Shrestha and third ranker in science Rahul Kumar after the experts found them not up to mark on June 3 re-test.




In a loss of face, eight JD(S) MLAs, defying the party whip, today voted against its official candidate and supported Congress in the biennial elections to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka.



"8 MLA's have voted against JD-S in today's Rajya Sabha election in favour of Congress. Tomorrow in the party's meeting, we are going to take action against them according to provisions of the party constitution," JD-S spokesman Ramesh Babu said.



The rebel MLAs who cross-voted are Zameer Ahmed Khan, Chaluvaraya Swamy, Iqbal Ansari, Balakrishna, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, Gopalaiah, Bheema Nayak and Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, Babu said, admitting the loss much before polls ended.



Dissidence-hit JD(S) had fielded businessman B M Farooq as its candidate.



Calling rebels "cancer" for the party, JD-S leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said "we should have found medicine for it. It is already late. We will have to find a solution to it before it goes to final stage."



Speaking to reporters after casting their votes, the rebel MLAs held that the "attitude" of party leaders- H D Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy, was the reason for their decision.



Chaluvaraya Swamy said "8 of us have voted against the whip. We have shown it to our party agent. Our candidate was fielded without taking us into confidence, with a plan of taking Independent's support," he added.



Citing a similar reason for the decision, another rebel MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan said "if they had to field a minority candidate, there were leaders in our own party. Why did they have to bring someone from outside? We had leaders like Danish Ali within party serving it for years."



Rajya Sabha polls have an open ballot system where voter has to show the ballot paper to the official agent of the party and cast the vote.



Eight members voting against the party has come as a shock to JD-S as only five rebel MLAs under the leadership of Zameer Ahmed Khan were expected to indulge in crossvoting.



Congress' decision to field the third candidate, former IPS officer K C Ramamurthy, had been giving tense moments to JD(S) which needed five additional votes to see its candidate through as it has 40 members.



45 votes are needed for victory.



Congress with 122 members is assured of two seats for former Union Ministers Jairam Ramesh and Oscar Fernandes but with a surplus of 33 votes, it fielded the third candidate.



Rebel JD(S) MLAs had also indulged in cross-voting during the biennial elections to fill seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council from Legislative assembly held yesterday.



Union Minister Nirmala Seetharaman is also in the fray.



Meanwhile, JD(S) official poll agent H D Revanna has written to the Returning officer, alleging irregularities by ruling Congress by using government machinery and demanded cancellation of the election and a CBI inquiry.



"As per rules no minister or official can misuse the polling centre but in today's election two Ministers D K Shivakumar (Power) and A Manju (Animal Husbandry) have repeatedly visited the polling centre between 11 AM and 3 PM and pressurised MLAs to vote for the candidate they suggested," the letter charged.



He also alleged that by creating medical documents, they had made provisions for a third person to vote on behalf of MLAs Ramakrishna and Rudresh Gowda (both from Congress).



"According to rule 40, a healthy voter cannot vote like this," he added.



The polling centre witnessed some chaos as Revanna objected to MLC Govindaraju accompanying MLA Ramakrishna to vote, citing that the latter was unwell.



Heated exchanges broke out and got personal as minister Shivakumar entered the polling centre justifying Govindraju assisting Ramakrishna.



Revanna also wanted to know how Shivakumar, who was not a Congress agent, was allowed inside the polling centre.



Intervening, election officials ensured normalcy and conducted further election proceedings.



Revanna in his letter, naming all 8 JD-S rebel MLAs, said "Shivakumar who had brought JD-S MLAs to vote is responsible for them voting in favour of Congress."



He said "polling was irregular and was against election rules. All irregularities committed have been captured by CCTV cameras installed to conduct free and fair polls. So action should be taken about these irregularities."



"We demand cancellation of election and CBI inquiry," he added.



D K Shivakumar is a known bete noire of JD(S) leaders H D Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy and family.
The fate of the candidates, who have contested the Legislative Council elections from South Graduates in the constituency, will be decided on Monday.



The counting of votes will be held at JSS Arts, Commerce and Science College on Ooty Road from 7.30 am on Monday.



Regional Commissioner (RC) and election presiding officer A M Kunjappa, on Saturday, told reporters that all necessary arrangements have been made for the process of counting of votes.



The officer said, Ballot boxes, which are stored at the strong room in the college will be shifted to counting tables at 7.30 am and the sealed boxes will be opened in the presence of candidates and election observers.



The Election Commission (EC) has arranged a total of 20 tables for counting of the ballots and two assistants and one supervisor will be deputed for each table.



Trained officers have been deputed for the counting process. In all, 303 staff members in various capacities will be part of the process, Kunjappa added.



The counting of ballot would begin at 8 am and candidates who reaches the quota (50% of qualified votes plus one) will be declared as winner after obtaining permission from the EC. In case, no candidate reaches the quota, second and third preferential votes will be counted, he said.



Security measures



City Police have clamped Section 144 of CrPC in 200 meters radius of the counting centre from 6 am till the completion of counting process on Monday. City Police will deploy 450 plus police personnel, including two Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) and six City Armed Reserve (CAR) platoons, 30 commandoes and six mounted police near the counting centre. Two assistant commissioners of police, six inspectors, eight sub-inspectors, 14 assistant sub-inspectors, 50 head constables, 100 constables and 18 women police constables will be deputed for security.



As a security measure, use of mobile phones inside the counting centre has been prohibited and six CCTV cameras have been installed. The entire counting procedure will be videotaped, Kunjappa informed.



Deputy Commissioner C Shikha and Deputy Commissioner of Police H T Shekar were present.


The district administration organised a National Highway Land Acquisition Compensation Adalat here on Saturday to recompense land owners whose land was acquired for the four-laning of National Highway 66.



People in 17 villages between Talapady to Nanthoor and Surathkal to Mulki have donated land for the national highway. A total of 25 claims were received by the authorities, of which 23 were related to arbitration settled in the DCs court. A compensation of Rs 46 lakh was distributed in the arbitration claims while a sum of Rs 29 lakh was disbursed in other two claims, said Assistant Commissioner Dr Ashok.



Earlier, speaking to mediapersons, Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim said as many as 376 land owners had sought arbitration disputing the compensation amount. After the arbitration, the deputy commissioner  who is also the arbitrator  had ordered the enhancement of compensation in 296 cases. The enhanced amount has already been paid in 87 cases, he said.



The adalat offered an opportunity for the land owners - who have not received the compensation - to submit their claims. There are 900 land owners in 298 RTCs whose land has been acquired for the widening of National Highway.



A sum of Rs 53.62 crore, meant for payment of the compensation, is with the deputy commissioner. The Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has directed the district administration to speed up the process to settle the compensation. The documents of the land owners will be verified and compensation will be paid. Another similar adalat will be organised to benefit the people.



Not happy



Gangadhar, a garage owner at Thokkottu Junction, who has lost his two and half cents land for the road widening, is not happy with the compensation paid by the authorities. He said, In the past, the authorities valued the land announced a compensation of Rs 3.74 lakh. As I was not happy with the compensation, I appealed in the AC court, after which, the DC enhanced the amount to 4.49 lakh.



However, I am still not happy with the amount. The land value for a cent at Thokkottu Junction is Rs 15 to 20 lakh. In such a scenario, the compensation amount should have been increased. I am planning to appeal in the court.



Narasimha Bhandary, who has lost land for widening of the road in Jeppinamogaru, said, The notice issued by the NHAI did not mention the survey number of the land. Now, I have to get the number from the authorities and then apply for the compensation.



Meera Bhaskar Acharya of Thokkottu-Kapikad said she had lost nearly four cents of land, which had three shops an-d a house. She was paid a compensation of Rs 7 lakh. I have appealed in the AC court to enhance the compensation amount, she said.



An 88-year-old Rukkayya Moolya of Pavanje said a part of his land has been acquired for road-widening. The well, which was the source of drinking water, no more supplies water. I want the authorities to recompense me for the house which is crumbling. As I do not have Santhathi Nakshe, I am not able to claim the compensation, said Moolya. The official has promised to get the succession certificate within a week.




Environmentalist K N Somashekar has demanded an unconditional apology from former union Minister M Veerappa Moily and Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited (KNNL) Superintendent Engineer Venugopal for issuing fabricated statements with respect to Yettinahole project.



Speaking to mediapersons here on Saturday, he said that he has already served a notice to the duo. They should tender an apology within 15 days from the receipt of the notice, failing which, I will initiate proceedings of contempt of court for having committed offences affecting the administration of justice, he informed.



Somashekar said that he had filed a petition in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern Zone, in Chennai challenging the implementation of Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Project.



The petition was admitted by the court and notices have been issued to the respondents for the hearing. Three more applications are pending before the NGT. The Court has not passed any orders favouring either of the parties in the issue. There is no legal clearance as far as Yettinahole project is concerned.



In spite of it, Moily and the KNNL superintendent engineer had stated that NGT had granted permission/clearance for the implementation of the project. The statement of Moily, however, is misleading and cheating the people of Kolar and Chikkaballapur. Being a representative of the public and servant of the state, the statements made by both are highly condemnable, he added.



Suspicious



The resignation of NGT expert member Prof Nagendran also makes us suspicious. After hearing the case, and when the judge had filed 100-page report for the pronouncement of the order on Yettinahole, the resignation makes us suspect the presence of hidden hands. In fact, the judge had sent a 100-page report to the expert member for his signature before the pronouncement of the verdict.



With his resignation, the whole petition related to Yettinahole has to be argued on the grounds of maintainability of the petition once again. The hearing will be held on July 4, he said.



There is a need for a strong protest against the project. The people of Dakshina Kannada should come to the street and fight against the project, to ensure that the project is halted. In fact, the Yettinahole project is nothing but a way to loot the money, he added.


The members of Nethravathi Rakshana Samyukta Samithi staged a protest against Union Minister Sadananda Gowda and former union minister M Veerappa Moily in front of Town Hall on Saturday. The duo was supposed to attend a decennial programme of a channel.



The Samithi members waved black flags at Moily and Gowda in their absence. The protesters were stopped by the police when they tried to break open the closed gate of the Town Hall. Over 50 protesters forcibly entered the premises of the Town Hall and shouted slogans against Moily and Gowda for implementing Yettinahole project.



Addressing the mediapersons, Samithi president Vijay Kumar Shetty said, Our intention was not to spoil the decennial celebrations of the channel. We want to show our anger against the two leaders who started their political career in Dakshina Kannada and now have turned against the district by implementing Yettinahole project. If the project is not withdrawn then we will not allow Moily and Gowda to enter the district, he warned.



He appealed to the general public and organisations not to invite Moily and Gowda to any of the programmes in Dakshina Kannada. The duo should convince the state government to drop the project, he demanded.



Samithi member M G Hegde said that both the Congress and the BJP will benefit if the project is implemented. The organisations and individuals, who invite the duo to the district for any public programmes, will be condemned in the future, he said.



Convener of Netravati Rakshana Samyukta Samiti Satyajit Suratkal said that currently Moily and Gowda may be representing Chikkaballapura and Bengaluru constituencies; however, it was this district which gave them political existence.



Convener of Paschima Ghatta Samrakshana Samiti Somshekar said, "Veerappa Moily, Sadananda Gowda and advocate general of the state are the people who are creating hatred between the people of Kolar and Dakshina Kannada. We have been fighting against the implementation of Yettinahole project for the last one and half years.




A grieving mother of former Deputy Superintendent of Police Anupama Shenoy appealed the political arena, the police and the media to let her daughter to live her life.



Speaking to reporters at her residence at Ucchila on Saturday, Nalini Shenoy accused Ballari District In-charge Minister Parameshwar Naik of being hell bent on finishing off the career of Anupama. She said Naik had already threatened to ensure the police officer resigns from her post. He created the base for Anupama to end her career herself, she added.



Expressing fear for her daughter who is under constant threat for her life, Nalini said that Anupama has assured that she is safe but wants to hide from the outside world, until she is assured of justice.



Anupama has also said that she will not come home as long as there is threat for her life. She had stayed with her daughter for three months and was back only on May 6. Anupama was getting threat calls even during midnights.



She accused the Ballari superintendent of police of not living up to the assurances he had made to the family. On his assurance, she had sent her daughter to Ballari, but the SP has not made any attempt to convince Anupama and ensure justice to her.



The government should have tried convincing her daughter before taking the final call. Anupama wanted a transfer and intended to continue in her job. The situation, however, compelled her to resign.



The mother said that her daughter would never take the plunge into politics as it is not her area of interest.


The BJP is all set to launch its campaign for next years Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh from here.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top BJP leaders are meeting here for a two-day brainstorming session to assess the performance of the NDA government and plan strategies for the elections.



Uttar Pradesh had helped the BJP win a majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.But first it has to battle the internal tussle in the state unit over the projection of a chief ministerial candidate, a strategy that helped it win big in Assam.



BJP Lok Sabha member Varun Gandhi, HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Lok Sabha member from Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath are being talked about as probable chief ministerial candidates, though the party has maintained silence on the issue.



Posters of 38-year-old Varun dotted the roads and round-abouts in the city, perhaps outnumbering those of state BJP President Keshav Prasad Maurya.




The BJP won both the Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana, including one that was clinched by media baron Subash Chandra, in a close contest.



Union minister Chaudhary Birender Singh won the seat with 40 votes. The election of Chandra, an independent candidate with BJPs backing, witnessed suspense right down to the wire with charges of horse trading. Chandra clinched victory from senior advocate R K Anand.



Until Saturday morning, victory appeared to tilt in favour of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)-backed independent candidate Anand, who on Friday found unexpected support from Congress MLAs.



However, at least 13 votes of the Congress, including that of Randeep Surjewala, were cancelled by the election commission paving way for Chandra's victory. In all, there were 76 valid votes, of which, 40 went to Birender Singh while Chandra won the second seat with 29 votes. In fact, the unexpected bonhomie between the Congress and the INLD after Friday's Congress meeting in New Delhi had raised eyebrows.



One of the INLD MLAs also voted for Chandra. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said sources, was unhappy with the party decision to support INLD-backed candidate R K Anand.



The outcome is a setback for the Congress which could have ensured a victory for Anand had its 13 votes not been disqualified.
The battle for 27 Rajya Sabha seats on Saturday was not just about six Union ministers trying to get re-elected to parliament or the opposition trying its best to prevent gains to the BJP, which is in a minority in the upper house.



Rather, it was about the ruling BJP trying to prevent senior Congress leaders like Kapil Sibal not making it all. The Congress too thought it could thwart chances of some independent candidates, who were backed by the BJP to deny the ruling party winning any extra seats. Therefore, it also fielded its own candidates in some states to grab seats from others.A master strategist, Sibal managed to show that the BJPs strategy of importing a candidate like Preeti Desai Mahapatra from Gujarat in UP wont work against him.



Right from day one, all eyes were on Mahapatra, a wife of a Mumbai builder, who entered the fray on the last day of filing nominations. She was said to be close to BJP top leaders. But Sibal ensured that he got the required number of votes of the legislators who were also wooed by Mahapatra's backers.



On the other hand, the BJP succeeded in bringing into open the deep fissures in the Congress in Haryana. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's displeasure with the party high command came into the open.



The major jolt for Congress was that its 14 MLAs cast invalid votes that led to the defeat of the party-backed Independent candidate RK Anand who was mainly fielded by its arch rival INLD. As a result, Subhash Chandra, a media baron, easily defeated Anand, a senior lawyer and a former MP.



In Jharkhand too, the Congress failed in its attempt to secure victory for JMM candidate Basant Soren, son of party supremo Shibu Soren. The BJP succeeded in its strategy by fielding a businessman leader from its own ranks who succeeded in drawing opposition votes to winthough by a whisker. The state governments move to arrest a JMM MLA and a Congress MLA raised questions about the BJPs methods to shore up support. But a larger message that came Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.



A month after she had helped the Congress win the vote of confidence in the Uttarakhand Assembly, she played her cards carefully. She did not let her partys surplus votes to go to any party in UP. With the ruling Samajwadi Party on the slide, she did her bid to check a resurgent BJP in the state without showing she was helping the Congress.


One of the main accused in the Bihar toppers scam, Bachcha Rai, principal of the Vishun Roy College, surrendered before the police on Saturday in Vaishali.



Vishun Roy College has been in the eye of storm ever since the arts and science toppers Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shrestha, respectively, could not answer basic questions before the media, thereby exposing the ongoing toppers racket in the state.



The chief of Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the scam, Manu Maharaj, however, claimed that police arrested Bachcha from Bhagwanpur area in Vaishali.



However, the absconding principal, against whom an FIR had been lodged along with the former chairman of the Bihar School Examination Board L P Singh, had given prior information to the media before surrendering in front of his college on Saturday. L P Singh, however, continues to evade arrest.



Meanwhile, Ruby Rai, who failed to appear for re-examination on June 3 and was asked to appear for retest on June 11, failed to turn up again on Saturday. The BSEB has withheld her result and given her a last chance to appear for retest on June 25.



Except for Ruby Rai, all the other 13 toppers had earlier appeared for a retest on June 3 which was followed by an interview conducted by a panel of experts.



Barring Saurabh and Rahul Kumar, the other 11 toppers cleared the retest. Saurabh and Rahul, incidentally, were students of the same Vishun Roy College, which is in the eye of storm.



The BSEB had to face huge embarrassment when one of the toppers Ruby Rai (also from Vishun Roy College in Vaishali) could not pronounce her subject political science properly. She created more doubts when she said cooking was taught in political science.



Chief Minister Nitish ordered an SIT probe into the matter following which BSEB chief L P Singh resigned from his post. Later, an FIR was lodged against Singh and others, including Bachcha Rai.



Incidentally, Bachcha, supposed to be close to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and the one who supposedly played a key role in helping Lalus son Tej Pratap win from Mahua in Vaishali, was arrested an hour after Nitish met Lalu on Saturday morning to wish the latter on his 69th birthday.


As many as eight JD(S) MLAs openly challenged the party leadership by casting their votes in favour of a Congress candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections held on Saturday.





Though the JD(S) was well aware that five of its MLAs would be cross voting, it was caught off guard when in actuality eight legislators voted for the Congress. The rebels showed their marked ballot papers to senior leader H D Revanna, who was functioning as JD(S) polling agent.



MLAs B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, N Cheluvarayaswamy, H C Balakrishna, Iqbal Ansari and R Akhanda Srinivas Murthy had been vocal about their intentions to go against the party whip to help the Congress. But what shocked the party was MLAs Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda, K Gopalaiah and S Bhima Naik walking into Vidhana Soudha along with the five rebels and casting their votes in favour of the Congress. They were accompanied by JD(S) MLC Puttanna, though he was not a voter.



Khan and Cheluvarayaswamy said they had defied the party leadership knowing fully well that action would be initiated against them. Let the party take whatever action it wants to, they said.



Disciplinary action



Conceding defeat even before the election results were announced, JD(S) party president H D Kumaraswamy said that he had made a mistake by not acting against the rebel leaders earlier. Calling the rebels cancerous, he said that the party has now decided to initiate disciplinary action against them. They are like cancer. If it is left untreated, the disease will spread. The rebels have poisoned the party. There is no point in them trying to patch things up after suffering so much damage. The JD(S) has lost the elections because it was back-stabbed by the Independent MLAs and the rebels, he added.



Though the party candidate B M Farook maintained that he was confident about winning the polls, there was a sombre mood among the JD(S) MLAs all through the voting process. They came and cast their votes with fallen faces, having resolved to the fact that the party had lost its plot.



Only Revanna put up a fight in the losing battle. Revanna, who usually remains away from the party affairs, vociferously fought against Energy Minister D K Shivakumar who has been charged of orchestrating the polls and denting JD(S)s prospects.



The JD(S) is holding meeting on Sunday at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru to take a decision against the rebels. It is learnt that the MLAs will be first suspended, following which an inquiry committee will be constituted to probe the anti party activities.


Two Muslim women approached the Supreme Court, contending that triple talaq is un-Islamic and un-Quranic.



They sought direction for interpreting the applicable Islamic law, which is in consonance with the Constitution.



Maintaining that the issue of Uniform Civil Code is not pending before the apex court and there is no doubt that it is red-herring, petitioners Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Safia Niaz said that the practice of Talaq-ul-Bidaat (triple talaq) and nikah halala (bar against remarriage with divorced husband, without an intervening marriage with another man) are two examples of how Quranic inunctions are being currently violated.



The petitioners, who co-founded Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), sought to intervene into a pending matter with their plea to do away with the practice of triple talaq, claiming it contravened the principles of the Shariat.



Justice and equality for women have been closest to the heart of Prophet as can be seen from Quranic verses. The founding father of the nation shared the concern for justice and equality for women. Muslim women in India have continued to suffer injustice through Talaq-ul-Bidaat and Nikah Halala despite there being no Quranic sanction, they submitted. Seeking a declaration for both practices as illegal, the petitioners pointed out that the triple talaq is not recognised in several Muslim countries including Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.



Besides, the BMMA, two NGOs Bebaak Collective and Centre for Study of Society and Secularism also sought to implead themselves. Notably, the apex court had already admitted a writ petition filed by Shayara Bano for consideration.



She challenged the validity of both practices under the Muslim personal laws as illegal, unconstitutional and violative of the fundamental right to equality and liberty under the Constitution. However, NGO All India Muslim Personal Law Board opposed the plea. It maintained the issue is cultural one and inextricably interwoven with Islam.



Thus, it is the issue of Freedom of Conscience guaranteed under Article 25 and 26 read with Article 29 of the Constitution, it said.



It also pointed out that issues relating to Muslim Personal Laws were already examined by the SC in 1997 in Ahmedabad Women Action Group Vs Union of India.



The SC maintained that these matters involved state policies and the court would not ordinarily have any concern, it said.
Voting for the four Rajya Sabha seats held at the Vidhana Soudha on Saturday witnessed high drama as JD(S) and Congress leaders indulged in a heated argument on technical grounds inside the polling booth.





The clash among leaders of the two parties even led to the delay in the commencement of counting process in the evening. The JD(S) had lodged four separate complaints with the Returning Officer (RO), charging that the Congress was indulging in malpractices and demanded that the elections be countermanded.



Soon after the polling process was completed, the RO forwarded the complaints to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Delhi, seeking its directions. The ECI set aside the JD(S) complaints and allowed the RO to start the counting of votes. Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha was present at the polling station.



Earlier, JD(S) leader H D Revanna and Energy Minister D K Shivakumar (Congress) had a heated exchange inside the polling booth. Revanna took exception to Shivakumars entering the polling booth along with Independent MLAs and asked him to immediately leave the place. The minister shot back saying that he has no authority to direct him. The JD(S) leader took the election authorities to task and demanded a CBI probe.



Further, the JD(S) charged that the ruling party made way for a third party to vote on behalf of its MLAs Y N Rudresh Gowda and D Ramakrishna, citing serious health reasons. In their complaints to the RO, the JD(S) leaders also complained that Shivakumar had brought in eight JD(S) MLAs and ensured that they cast their votes in favour of a Congress candidate. Besides, Revanna took serious objection when the Congress MLC Govindaraju tried to cast vote on behalf of indisposed party MLA Ramakrishna. When the Congress furnished medical certificate, the RO allowed voting. Similarly, MLC N S Bhoseraju voted on behalf of Rudresh Gowda, according to Assistant RO Kumaraswamy.



Partys contention



Minister A Manju constantly interfered with the election process

Congress made third parties to vote on behalf of two indisposed MLAs

Minister D K Shivakumar orchestrated cross-voting by JD(S) MLAs






Three Congress candidates, including K C Ramamurthy, and Union Minister Niramala Sitharaman of the BJP won the elections to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka on Saturday.



The Deve Gowda-led JD(S) received a severe setback yet again with its lone contestant, B M Farook, not only being defeated, but also failing to get the votes of all 40 MLAs. Eight JD(S) MLAs openly challenged the party leadership and voted for the Congress, defying the party whip.



The three Congress winners are: former Union ministers Oscar Fernandes and Jairam Ramesh, and K C Ramamurthy, a former IPS officer. Ramamurthy, who heads the CMR educational institutions in Bengaluru, secured the highest number of votes  52  among the four candidates, despite being the third candidate of the party.



For Fernandes, this is the fourth term as an RS member, while it is the third for Ramesh. Ramamurthy, a political novice, is entering the Upper House for the first time. Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Niramala Sitharaman was a member of the RS for two years.



The ruling Congress has made most of the rebellion brewing in the JD(S) as well as between the independents and MLAs of smaller parties.



Cross-voting



The number of JD(S) rebels rose from five in the Fridays Council polls to eight in the RS polls. The JD(S) rebels, who voted for the Congress, are likely to join the Grand Old Party in the coming days. The hapless JD(S) cried foul, charging the Congress with indulging in malpractices and lodged complaints with the Election Commission, but to no avail.



The complaints only delayed the counting of the votes by an hour. Of the eight rebels, three MLAs are from Bengaluru. And most of the JD(S) corporators in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are controlled by the trio  Zameer Ahmed Khan, Akhanda Srinivasmurthy and Gopalaiah. So, any attempt by the JD(S) to sever its ties with the Congress in the BBMP Council will only lead to more trouble for the party. Currently, the Congress holds the reins of power in the BBMP Council with the support of JD(S).



Besides, the Congress securing the support of the Independent MLAs and legislators of smaller parties lent credence to the charges of a tacit understanding between the ruling party and the BJP in the Council and the RS polls.
The CBI on Friday arrested Dr Virendra Tawde for the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in 2013. It is the first arrest in the case. Dabholkar, also an anti-superstition activist, was shot dead in broad daylight in Pune.



Tawde, an activist of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, was on the CBI radar for a few months. He was arrested late on Friday night and was produced before a special court in Pune on Saturday.



He has been remanded to CBI custody till July 16. The Samiti is linked to radical Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha, which had come under the scanner for the murder of another rationalist Govind Pansare in February 2015.



During its searches, the CBI had unearthed a series of emails between Tawde and other Sanstha activists, which linked them to Dabholkars murder. Tawde, an ENT surgeon, was also in touch with activist Sarang Akolkar, against whom a Red Corner Notice was issued by the Interpol. The residences of Tawde and Akolkar, who is absconding, were searched by the CBI, and several SIM cards, cell phones and data from computers were recovered.



It is a welcome development, said Hamid Dabholkar, son of Narendra Dabholkar. The Sanstha termed Tawdes arrest a pre-planned conspiracy to defame the spiritual organisation at the behest of pseudo-secularists.


India has offered China a slice of its atomic industry pie as it persuades the communist country to stop opposing its bid to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group.



New Delhi has indicated its willingness to start discussions with Beijing on the possibility of an inter-governmental agreement, which will provide a framework for India-China cooperation in nuclear energy sector, sources told DH in New Delhi.



China remained firm in its opposition to Indias entry to the suppliers group, when the representatives of the members of the cartel met in Vienna on Thursday.



The US and most of the other NSG members are in favour of admitting India. But since the NSG takes decisions by consensus, India may still find it difficult to get the membership if China continues to oppose its plea.



New Delhi has been trying to persuade Beijing to drop its opposition and is likely to continue its efforts over the next few days, before the NSG holds its annual plenary in Seoul on June 23 and 24.



New Delhi conveyed to Beijing that China too could be a partner in Indias ambitious nuclear power programme, sources said.



Indias Intended Nationally Determined Contribution to global effort to mitigate climate change would require it to generate 40% power without using fossil fuel by 2030. The government has a target to raise installed capacity for nuclear power generation from 5,780 MWe to 63 GWe by 2032.



Russia is already building reactors in India. The US and French companies are negotiating commercial agreements with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited for setting up atomic power plants in India. Canada has started supply of uranium to India. Australia will follow suit soon.



New Delhi conveyed to Beijing that it was also open to discuss possibility of India-China cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear power.



An official in New Delhi said that India and China  both committed to promote clean energy  were already in broad agreement on the need to expand their respective nuclear power programmes.
Subsequent to the Lokayukta report to the governor's office on the status of complaints against BDA Commissioner T Sham Bhatt, a social activist has written to the Lokayukta registrar stating that former Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao had recalled his report and dropped the IAS officers name from the case.





Section 12(3) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act deals with recommending action against the errant public servants.



The Lokayukta registrar's communication to the Raj Bhavan had stated that along with the 12 (3) report in one of the cases, a special report was also sent to Governor Vajubhai Vala under Section 12 (5) of the Lokayukta Act when there was no communication from the government on the action taken.

Saidatta, a social activist, in his letter stated that after sending the 12 (3) report in the complaint (404/2010) pertaining to irregularities in allotment of land by Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), the then Lokayukta Justice Rao recalled it and sent a revised report in December 2014, dropping the name of Sham Bhatt.



Revised report



Saidatta has furnished the copy of the revised report along with his letter. He stated that after accepting the reply by Sham Bhatt in March 2014, the first report sent in April 2014 was recalled and a revised report was sent on December 26, 2014.



It is shocking that the revised report is not available in the Lokayukta as per the reports. It is very important especially when the institution of Lokayukta is going through the crisis without a Lokayukta that every official act with utmost responsibility to save the reputation of the institution,'' Saidatta has stated.



No communication



Meanwhile, sources said that the state government has rejected the other 12 (3) report from the Lokayukta. It is learnt that the Cabinet had dropped the charges through an order on March 2, 2016 against Sham Bhatt and another senior official named in the 12(3) report. However, Lokayukta office has not been communicated about government rejecting the 12(3) report, an official said.



The Raj Bhavan office had sought a report from the Lokayukta on the complaints against Bhatt in the wake of state government recommending his name as the member of Karnataka State Public Service Commission (KPSC). The Lokayukta office had sent the report stating that there were 18 complaints under Lokayukta Act were pending.






A cloth merchant was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne men on Friday night. The assailants fled after snatching his bag which happened to contain no cash.



They also shot at a man who tried to intervene in the robbery bid in outer Delhis Adarsh Nagar.



However, the bullet went past him, breaking the window of his car. He sustained minor injuries from broken glass, the police said.



The bag carried by the merchant Vijay Kumar Wadhwa (55), contained some documents and his shops keys, said the police.



The assailants apparently wanted to loot the bag thinking it contained some cash, said a police officer. Wadhwa was returning home on his scooter at 10.30 pm after closing his shop located in Jehangirpuris B block.



Wadhwa had reached near Majlis Park when two bike-borne men stopped him and tried snatching his bag. When Wadhwa resisted, he was shot in the head, said a police officer.



The other man, Sidharth Jain, was standing near the spot. He tried to intervene by shouting at the killers. In return, he was also shot at. However, he survived as the bullet missed the target, the officer added.



Later, a police team reached the spot and took the injured to a nearby hospital.

Wadhwa was pronounced brought dead while Jain was given medical treatment and was later discharged from the hospital.



Wadhwa hailed from Punjabs Moga and had been living in Keval Park with his wife, son and daughter-in-law in a rented house.



Police are scanning CCTV footage from the area and trying to identify the killers.

DH News Service
A day before the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Pakistan had extended the stay of a home ministry delegation, raising questions over its motives.



The delegation led by the then home secretary Madhukar Gupta was made to extend their visit by a day in the pretext of a meeting with the countrys interior minister and were put up at a resort in Murree.



On November 26, 2008, when the delegation stayed an extra day in Pakistan, 10 LeT militants killed nearly 165 people in a carnage that went on for several hours.



Former under secretary R V S Mani said November 25 was the date fixed for talks but when he reached office the next day, he was told that the talks were extended by a day.



I was in Lucknow on November 25 for some court case. I remember that when I returned on November 26, I came to know that their visit was extended by a day, he said. BJP MP Kirit Somaiya criticised the carelessness on the part of the UPA government in power at the time, expressing shock at the Home Secretary enjoying Pakistani hospitality while Mumbai was burning.


Sampigehalli police arrested a doctor for impersonating an IPS officer and visiting various police stations for inspection.



The suspect identified as Tejas Reddy, 28, is a resident of Banawara. He studied medicine abroad and worked with Sapthagiri Hospital for a while, said the police.



The police also arrested Prithvi, son of a constable, for assisting Reddy, and recovered a walkie talkie from them.



Reddy visited Nelamangala, Jalahalli traffic, Soladevanahalli, Hebbal traffic and KR Puram police stations on June 4, the day when the constabulary had threatened to go on a mass casual leave.



He introduced himself as an IPS officer and claimed that he was recently transferred to Bengaluru city. He also claimed the city higher-ups had instructed him to visit various police stations for an inspection and check if all constables were on duty, said the police.



He met Prithvi at Nelamangala police station as his father works there as a constable. Prithvis father told Reddy that Prithvi was preparing for the IPS examination. Reddy asked Prithvi to be in touch with him as he would give him some books which would help him clear the examination. Prithvi met him and started spending time with him, police said.



Reddy and Prithvi went to Sampigehalli police station on June 4 around 7.30 pm. Prithvi told everybody in the police station to behave properly as a senior officer was visiting the station. Reddy claimed that he was serving as an Additional SP in Davangere and is the son of an officer of DIG rank. He directed the staff to accompany him to Traffic Training Institute in Thanisandra as he wanted to inspect situation there, said the police.



Reddy introduced himself as an IPS officer to the SP of the institute. Prithvi wanted Reddy to visit the institute as he wanted to meet his friend, a woman constable under training, added the police.



The officers at the institute contacted the police control room in Davangere to collect some information about Reddy, but the control room staff clarified that there was no Addl SP by the name Reddy.
Travelling in Bengaluru may not be less than an adventure given the umpteen number of potholes, bewildering traffic jams, narrow roads and unscientific road humps at every nook and corner.



To add to the commuters woe, there are wheelies doing life-threatening drag races right in the middle of the roads. Yet, the Bengaluru Mayor B N Manjunath Reddy managed to travel at least 200 km a day, show the travel bills and the travel logbook of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Mayor is no exception as his deputy Hemalatha Gopalaiah and chairpersons of the various standing committees are just following the Mayor in terms of travelling. On an average, the deputy mayor too travelled about 4,500 km a month, revealed the documents.



The Transport Department of the BBMP raises travel bills of Mayor, his deputy, and the 12 standing committee chairpersons twice a month. In five months, Rs 16.94 lakh has been claimed with an average of Rs 3.39 lakh every month.



These shocking revelations came out when Harish U filed an RTI application with the BBMP in the last week of April about the travel expenses, bills and logbooks. Zero response for a month forced him to file the first appeal, which compelled the Public Information Officer (PIO) to provide the information.



Harish said: The documents showed that the Mayor travelled about 5200 to 5300 km per month except on Sundays and other off days. Deputy Mayor Hemalatha is no exception. Reddy was inaccessible as he was travelling to Mysuru and his mobile was switched off. However, Hemalatha said, I never travelled so much. I use BBMP vehicle only to travel from my home to the office and back. I take my personal car to travel outside Bengaluru and never use BBMP vehicles. The BBMP transport department officials seem to have misused the funds. I will speak to the Mayor in this regard and ensure that action is taken against the culprits.



20 hours on road



Quite interestingly, a study by traffic expert Prof M N Sreehari revealed that the average speed inside the city is just nine to 10 km per hour, which means that the Mayor would have been spending at least 20 hours only behind the wheels.



Speaking to Deccan Herald Sreehari said: It is simply impossible for anyone to travel 200 km a day. It seems to be a case of bogus entries.



The city traffic police, however, put the average speed in Central Business District areas at around 25 to 30 kmph during normal traffic hours. In peak traffic, the speed will be around 15 to 20 kmph for cars, they said. On the outer ring road (ORR), the speed could be a little higher, again depending on the traffic movement.




It was a Saturday and Church Street was bustling with party-goers and shoppers. Amid the hustle and bustle, there was an activity in one corner of the street that could possibly light up the lives of underprivileged children.





A voluntary organisation from the city had organised an activity in front of Blossom Book House to collect books and stationery for children from a government school. A group of volunteers managed to grab the attention of passers-by towards their cause. Global Concerns India, which has adopted a Government School in Tamil medium near Gardua Mall in the cit organised an event to raise funds and stationery for the children of the said school.



Bhagya Bose, a volunteer, said, For the first time such an activity is being organised. The group has managed to collect carton boxes full of pens, pencils, books, paint brushes among the other things for these schoolchildren. The NGO supports the children and the school which has over 80 students.
Since 1959 the occupation of housemaid has been one of those most closely associated in Cuba with "capitalist exploitation." Perhaps this is why, when they began to reappear in everyday life they were referred to with euphemisms that have survived down until today; the most widespread is "the lady (or girl) who helps me at home."

"If servants disappeared after the Revolution, I don't think it was for long," says Rachel, 38. "There have always been people willing to pay to have their housework done."

Rachel remembers a classmate of hers from grade school who had a maid at home. "It is true that it was not very common, but there was a maid at home. The boy's father was a sailor, and the mom didnt lift a finger. The lady they had did everything, even pick up my friend from school. "

These days the situation seems to be the same, except that there are more maids, or they're more visible.

"A few years ago it was more difficult to find families with maids," says Raquel. "Now anyone with a little business, or whose family sends them money, can afford one."

What the maids have to say

Working as a maid or domestic is among the self-employed activities authorized by the Government. It belongs to the "simplified regime," such that it is not necessary to file a sworn return at the end of the year.

According to the legislation, this type of worker is to pay 30 pesos (national currency) per month in taxes, and 262.50 pesos quarterly for social security. Though it is one of the activities with the lowest tax rates, most of those working in this capacity still prefer to forgo a license.

Employers rarely want to talk about the tasks assigned or the wages paid to domestic workers, predominantly women. But many of these workers have no qualms about doing so.

"Who said that 35 or 40 CUC (convertible pesos) a month is a lot of money?" asks Oneyda, age 54. "It's true that it's more than a salary paid by the State, but it's not easy to earn that."

Oneyda was hired by a family to do the cleaning and cooking three times a week. "The house was huge, and cleaning it did not involve just pushing a broom around. You had to throw water, and really scrub. I ended up exhausted every time I went. "

To make matters worse, Oneyda's duties increased over time. "At home there was a bedridden old man, who was not my responsibility, but one day I bathed him, just to help out, and I got stuck with the task."

Oneyda ended up washing and ironing his clothes, bathing him, and cutting his hair and nails. "All this on top of the cleaning, which was what the lady of the house and I had initially agreed to."

In the end Oneyda quit the job, because they gave her more and more tasks, but at the same pay. "But there are people who have been in the same situation as me, and they stay on. They don't even dare complain, lest they lose their jobs."

One such case is that of Mariela, who holds a degree in Optometry. She is younger than 40, and could be working in Public Health, but she opted to work as a domestic because the salary was actually higher.

"I am paid 70 CUC per month, which might seem like a lot of money to some, but they really work me to the bone," she says.

As in the case of Oneyda, Mariela was hired to clean and cook in a huge house for a family of four. Her tasks also increased, though her pay remained stagnant. "Sometimes I even get paid less, because supposedly I work fewer hours. But when the owner calls me to take care of the girls at night, they don't pay me extra. "

Mariela is now the maid and babysitter for some little girls, who insist that she make them their meals and take them to school. "They say the girls don't want anyone else to do it, so I cant get out of it. It is true that I care for them, but sometimes I feel overhwelmed by everything I've got to do," she says.

"The worst part is putting up with my employer's husband. The guy is very rude to me. I've even had to see him in his underwear. And he doesnt even pay. She does.

Xiomara, a 68-year-old retiree, has been working as a maid since she stopped working.

"I've seen it all," she says. "I started at the house of some friends because the girl was having a difficult pregnancy. There were many things she couldnt do, including taking good care of her eldest son, so I helped her."

This was a good experience for Xiomara. "They're good people and did not take advantage of or ask too much of me. Just what we agreed to."

Xiomara then worked in other houses. "I had to leave one, because there was something more to do every day, and they didnt pay me for it," she says. "There are people who think that for 40 CUC they have a pack mule," she complains.

Xiomara currently cleans several houses, on different days of the week. "I work every day, but at different houses. That's better, because no one thinks I'm their property. "

Although she has several infirmities typical of her age, Xiomara does not intend to stop working as a domestic. "My pension is not enough, and I don't have any family to help me. My refrigerator broke and there's no other way for me to come up with the 100 CUC to fix it. "

No contract, no union

None of these three women has signed a contract with their employer. They all work based on oral agreements. This makes it easier to add tasks that were not previously agreed to.

"I guess that to demand a contract I'd have to have a license," says Xiomara. "But think about it. If the pay isnt much, and you have to pay for the license on top of it, the numbers dont add up."

Mariela and Oneyda agree. Oneyda reasons, "even if I paid for a license theres no union to defend me if my employer wrongs me, so there's no difference."

The self-employed holding licenses, in theory, have the right to form unions - within the Government's Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), of course. But this law offers these women no guarantees.

"It would be just another union like all the others in the country, controlled by the CTC," they explain. "When has the CTC really defended workers?" snaps Oneyda.

The three women scoff at the possibility of creating an independent union that truly represents the interests of its members.

"A union not under the control of the CTC?" asked Xiomara. "The truth is that it sounds like a pipe dream. No, girl. This job will remain the way it is. If you don't like it, you can quit. But you can forget about rights."
12 teens charged in standoff at Ohio youth prison

Twelve teens are charged with rioting, inducing panic, escape and vandalism in a takeover of the Indian River youth prison school.
Andhra locals up in arms against nuclear project

The announcement by India and the US to begin preparatory work on building six nuclear reactors in India has led to considerable unease among those likely to be affected by the projects.

Tuesday's declaration during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington has fanned a fresh bout of disquiet in Ranasthalam block of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, where the six reactors with total capacity of 6,000 MW are to be built.

The reactors were originally planned to be built in Gujarat, but opposition by locals over land acquisition forced the authorities to relocate the project to Andhra Pradesh.

A similar protest is now brewing at the proposed new site that is dotted with coconut groves. Villagers likely to be displaced are demanding higher compensation while those in adjoining areas are also seeking payout in view of the potential nuclear ''hazards''.

To be built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in technical collaboration with US-based Westinghouse Electric, the contractual agreements between the two are expected to be concluded by June 2017.

''The first two reactors will come up in the next five years and thereafter, one reactor will be built every year,'' The Hindustan Times quoted G V Ramesh, chief project engineer of NPCIL, as saying.

Andhra Pradesh is a power surplus state and these reactors will go to augment the national grid. But Ranasthalam locals are wary of the nuclear project, saying it threatens their future. The reactors will require 2,071 acres of land and will displace 1,983 families in five villages: Kovvada, Ramachandrapuram, Gudem, Kotapalem and Tekkali.

As with every big development project, compensation for land is the issue. According to state revenue officials, the locals will be paid roughly Rs13-14 lakh per acre. But the villagers are demanding more.

''The government has offered to pay Rs25 lakh per acre to the people who are getting displaced by the international airport coming up at Bhogapuram in the adjacent Vizianagaram district, which is hardly 20 km away. Why can't we be given the same amount?'' asked Rama Rao, a local resident.

Ravi Kiran of Ramachandrapuram, who is likely to lose 20 acres, insists even Rs25 lakh is not enough. ''My poultry farm in the area itself fetches me Rs24 lakh a year, besides another Rs3 lakh from coconut plantation in seven acres,'' he said.

Suri Babu, a farmer of Kovvada, feels helpless. ''I have no other means of livelihood, if they take away my land. They have to pay me good compensation,'' he said.

That's not all. Residents of 42 villages within a five-km radius of the proposed plant are also seeking compensation and have threatened an agitation if their demands are not met.

In anticipation of the Washington announcement, local revenue officials completed the survey for land acquisition earlier this week.

''Of the total extent of land, 1,470 acres belongs to the government but was assigned to local farmers. Another 600 acres belong to private individuals,'' Srikakulam revenue divisional officer B Dayanidhi told HT.

''The land acquisition notification will be issued soon after the completion of the social impact assessment of the project,'' he said.

But, acquiring land is going to be easier said than done. Antinuclear activists had been protesting ever since Ranasthalam was identified by the NPCIL as an ideal site for a nuclear power project a decade ago.

''There are several issues such as extent of radioactive emissions, pollution to be caused by nuclear dust, and the impact of effluents on fish and groundwater,'' pointed out EAS Sarma, a former union energy secretary and an important voice against nuclear power.



With resentment high among locals, such voices of opposition are set to get louder.
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.
If necessity is the mother of invention, then it is also the legal guardian of entrepreneurship.

Earnie Faulk didnt invent authentic New Orleans snowballs. But, when Faulk lost his off-shore oil well job near Louisiana, he came home, hoping to start his own business.

He already owned a portable unit  selling his motorcycle two years ago to purchase it  and found success at events such as Foster Fest. When the bottom fell out of oil prices last year, Faulk was laid off in April and sent home. In October, he took the plunge and purchased the standalone unit located near Taj at the intersection of West Main Street and Ross Clark Circle.

With temperatures already cracking the low 90s, local residents are in search of cool summer treats. Two local vendors, Earnies Snowballs and Dothan Ice Cream, can hook you up.

Please, whatever you do, dont call the treats Faulk serves up snow cones. New Orleans (or Orleagian) snowballs are different, and better, he said.

According to Faulk, snow cones are made from coarser chunks of ice that, when crushed, have a thick consistency. Snowballs, he said, are shaved from a single block of ice down to the consistency of powdered snow.

When I came back here, nobody was serving real New Orleans Snowballs, he said.

Faulk offers about 25 flavors including root beer. Add a tad of cream and you get a tasty root beer float snowball. Other popular flavors include green apple with a tad of caramel, red velvet cake, cookie dough and old standbys Tigers Blood and Blue Raspberry.

Earnies Snowballs is open from noon until 7 p.m. He also serves nachos, chili dogs and boiled peanuts. Connect with the business on Facebook (click here).

Brett and Janeen Smiths path to founding Dothan Ice Cream came with a simple (almost too simple) interaction between an ice cream vendor and their daughter.

Ice cream, I think, is a lot more than just cash for a product, more than just an exchange, Brett Smith said recently while serving up cold ice cream pops in the Hidden Lake subdivision.

And it got me to thinking, what if we were our neighborhood ice cream man? Smith said. I mean, who is ever angry or sad after the third bite of ice cream?

Now, Dothan Ice Cream travels the Wiregrass in a vintage 76 Chevy Step Van (no power steering or air conditioning). Or, you may see them pushing a cart or pedaling a tricycle in any of Dothans neighborhoods, or at various Dothan businesses or local events.

Patrons are usually met by a person in a nostalgic bow tie, hat and white shirt. The pops are fished out of the cooler and handed to the customer with a kind or encouraging word. Often, but not always, that leads to a conversation.

We are in no way trying to be a community counselor. Were just trying to have a positive impact on the community, Smith said. Were just amazed at the platform it has given us to encourage other people. Weve been able to come alongside people at what seems like the right time and that has been rewarding.

Aside from the traveling units, Dothan Ice Cream is looking to locate downtown in The Nest, a small business incubator in the 100 block of North Foster Street. Patrons can come, see the pops being made, and purchase a treat on the spot.

Smith said the future of Dothan Ice Cream could include putting their items in niche stores or even expanding into soft serve ice cream.

Connect with Dothan Ice Cream at dothanicecream.com. The site includes a calendar of events. Follow Dothan Ice Cream by downloading the iFreeze app at the app store.
Everywhere you go, it seems more and more businesses are offering free WiFi to their customers as a lure to draw them in for a cup of coffee, a new book or other products and services.

The prevalence of these free WiFi networks may give security-conscious consumers pause, as they may fear connecting to a network outside their home puts their computer and any personal information stored within at risk. Business owners considering offering WiFi at their locations may also have concerns.

The Dothan Eagle spoke with Matt Mercer, director of networking at Troy University and Jarrod Skinner, operations manager at Wiregrass Technologies , about free WiFi offered by businesses and their potential pitfalls.

DE: What are the latest trends in WiFi access? Are more people using it? Are more businesses offering it?

JS: Accessibility. Its nearly impossible to go anywhere without having access to W i F i , whether its a business, restaurant, church, or sporting/concert venues.

MM: The latest trends in WiFi have changed dramatically within the last few years. Speeds have increased , therefore companies have had to develop newer and faster wireless to keep pace with the latest devices. This means businesses are offering faster and more reliable connections. It also allows for more people to connect with limited or no connectivity issues. More people are dependent on being connected to keep track of things such as bank transactions and loan payments while others depend on it to keep in touch with family and friends, or just to stay up to date on the latest news and events. Businesses are offering it due to the fact that more people are using the internet for all kinds of communication that requires reliable, constantly-available access. While the numbers of wireless devices will continue to grow as more users go mobile, it is estimated that two-thirds of Internet traffic will be wireless/mobile by the year 2020. More businesses are offering wireless access as a convenience for their clients/customers, and as a marketing tool.

DE: What do business owners who offer WiFi access need to be aware of?

MM: Business owners should be aware of the risks involved with allowing wireless devices onto their networks. Devices that are not up-to-date or are not protected with security measures may spread viruses and malware to the business owners computers. Someone may also use the wireless access for illegal activities that can be traced to the business owners network such as copyrighted material downloads, identity theft, financial record intrusion, etc. More and more people and businesses are offering wireless internet for marketing reasons to att r act customers in hopes of purchasing product, however, often they do nothing to safeguard users of the free WiFi from bad actors, such as identity thieves. Frequently, those with ill-intent have the capability to employ public or free WiFi and capture users information that travels freely and unsecured in those areas. In many cases, business owners that offer Free WiFi do so with a connection that is separate from their business operations network, which is the best practice for all.

Business owners who offer WiFi need to be aware that they could be an unwilling participant if the connection is used for inappropriate activity and poor safeguards are enabled. Usage policies that customers/clients must accept before using the service may help in such incidents.

JS: It really depends on what type of business youre in. If youre a restaurant that offers free WiFi, you run the risk of filling up your space with someone who may buy a glass of tea and hog a table of four for three hours during peak business hours. It could also bring about another area where customers could complain. While its a free service, its still a service and needs to perform well. Bad performance equals unhappy customers. At Wiregrass Technologies, we have a guest network for our customers to enjoy to avoid affecting our main business network.

DE: Are computers using WiFi less safe than those using a cable connection to the Internet?

JS: Direct cable connection is safer than WiFi because it is a contained connection versus an open connection. However, most businesses take definitive security measures to ensure the safety of their information and their customers information. Being in a secure network is of utmost importance along with using secure websites.

DE: What can business owners do to safeguard their computers and infrastructure?

MM: There are many services or devices that businesses can put in place to help safeguard their business against malicious activity. Firewalls are usually the best place to start. The obvious protection would be to make sure that access is restricted to the computers and network to those who need it. Password protecting computers, WiFi, and any other network connected device is always a best practice. Changing the passwords and not keeping the password where anyone can see and access would also be another step in hardening the security of computers and network infrastructure. Business owners should consider separating their wireless network from their wired network with the use of a firewall. Virus protection and operating system updates should be enabled on the business computers.

JS: Businesses need to encrypt their data, so that important account numbers, social security numbers, etc . are not visible. They need to physically secure their hardware under lock and key to protect from physical theft. Locking your network may be the most obvious but is probably the most important thing to do for a business that wants to stay secure. Businesses should also install anti malware and anti virus protection along with educating employees on all of these key points.

DE: What should people who make use of WiFi at businesses, the library, etc. do to safeguard their computers?

MM: Make sure that the device is always up to date with security software, firewall software, etc. Users of wireless devices should connect to secure or encrypted networks whenever possible. Sensitive data should always be encrypted. Always keep in mind that safe computing and Internet practices are always the first line of defense.
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.
Home Two wheelers Honda Africa Twin On "Riding Morocco: Chasing The Dakar" Program On NGC oi-Kennedy

Honda will provide two Africa Twin CRF1000L adventure motorcycles to the production support of the National Geographic Channel program "Riding Morocco: Chasing The Dakar".

The program will include Australian fashion model Laura Csortan and she will join veteran rally driver Christophe Barriere-Varju who has raced in Dakar four times, twice in Africa and twice in South America.

The program will traverse through the lands of Morocco, which used to be part of the older Dakar Rally route, previously called Paris-Dakar Rally. They will shoot the program in the picturesque valleys and breathtaking sceneries.

Watch The Teaser

The duo will take viewers through a bike journey and show them the bike ride of a lifetime. Christophe will share his experience and demonstrate the manual gearbox of the Africa Twin and Laura will be riding the DCT model which rides without the clutch operation.

Honda's DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) technology will maintain the same feel as the manual gearbox, however, it will relieve the rider of using the clutch and gear shifting operation.






























While everyone are waiting for what lies will be told, I patiently waited for what the country leaders wives, sisters, and female lawmakers are wearing.

My SONA Fashion Showcase post dates back in 2008 when GMA was still the president and my story about the fashion scene at the Batasang Pambansa was picked up by many news agencies that time (GMA7, ABS-CBN, Inquirer and the like. I got email queries to have my photos and story used in theirs and I freely gave it away.

Im proud to have started this shallow trend each year because instead of just awaiting the lies to be told, theres something else to look forward to, and that is the showcase of Filipiniana gowns and statement attire we dont often see in high-fashion runways!

For SONA 2014, Philippine Fashion Designers have been tapped to design clothes for the high-profile people of the Philippine Society. Something I am really happy that happened because we can show to the world what traditionalPhilippine Women Dresses looks like and banner the Filipiniana dresses and gowns with the modern take to it.



My favorite personalities that I always look forward to during the SONA is Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez who is said to wear a gown by Randy Ortiz. Randy Ortiz is also tapped to make the gowns to be worn by of Senator Nancy Binay and Senator Sonny Angaras wife Tootsy.

We cant escape finding out what the Presidential Sisters are wearing at the SONA of course. Kris Aquino for one is said to wear a gown made by Cary Santiago. While Basly and P-Noy himself will wear a Paul Cabral barong, patadyong and Filipiniana attire.



Heart Evangelista, the girlfriend of Senator Chiz Escudero has tasked Joey Samson to make a beautiful Filipinina dress for her for the SONA.



A Pina terno will be worn by Makati Rep. Abby Binay made by designer Ivarluski Aserons



The Senators Grace Poe, Loren Legarda, Pia Cayetano and Nancy Binay flanking Sen. Sonny Angara *this is his photo from his Instagram



Im looking forward to another remake gown to be worn by Governor Imelda Marcos, in my opinion, she always wear the best and the classiest terno next to Lucy Torres-Gomez.

Other Filipino designers also showed their modern Filipiniana designs like JC Buendia and Noel Crisostomo.



I also am looking forward to see what Senator Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Miriam Santiago, will wear at the SONA 2014. That would be a show!

I will update this post when I get the actual photos at the SONA 2014 Fashion SHowcase of Filipiniana Gowns and Statement attires.

Stay gorgeous everyone!
Dont worry, Im not going to preach about uniting behind Hillary Clinton or tell you that we all need to come together and sing Kumbaya. I get it. I was #WithHer, but I have been there. I know how hard it is to lose a campaign. I know how heartbreaking it can be to put your hopes and dreams into a candidate, and have that person come up short. I have worked, volunteered, and donated to amazing candidates that have lost their elections, so I dont want to go there, at least not yet.

I have a simple question thoughAre you still willing to fight for the revolution, or was this all about the candidate?

I know thats a provocative question, but bear with me. Bernie Sanders spoke truth to power about campaign finance laws, student debt, environmental justice, crony capitalism and his campaign highlighted changes that need to happen with our presidential nominating system.

What the Sanders campaign did on the ground in Michigan, and across the country, was impressive. I am here to tell you, if you are still willing to fight for the change that he spoke so passionately about, now is the time to engage fellow progressives to push those things forward.

Change or revolution rarely happens from the highest levels of government. Change happens when people rise up, recognize their own power and push their leaders.

After his election in 1932, A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, Sidney Hillman, and other labor leaders met with Franklin Roosevelt to push for a pro labor. At that meeting Roosevelt told them: I agree with you. I want to do it. Now make me do it.

Congressman John Lewis said that in 1964, President Johnson wanted to wait and not move so fast [on the voting rights act]. He said in effect, I just signed a Civil Rights Act. We dont have the votes in Congress. If you want me to get a voting rights bill passed, make me do it.

History is filled with these types of stories.

The question is, how are you going to make them fix our campaign finance laws, get rid of student debt, protect the environment, eradicate crony capitalism, and bring change to how we nominate presidents?

Are you going to get involved with your local or county Democratic Party or run for precinct delegate, so you can have some say in who is elected in leadership positions in the party or how the partys nominee is chosen?

Are you going to get involved with League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, or Clean Water Action to support candidates that have good environmental records?

Are you going to run for local office like school board, city council, or library board, so you have a role in shaping the policies in your community?

Big change comes from small sparks, whether it is from the 15 year-old girl who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus and, as a result, got involved with her local NAACP chapter where she befriended a seamstress named Rosa Parks. Or the members of the Kalkaska School Board that got fed up with cutting programs in their schools and decided to close schools two and a half months before Summer vacation. Or the 84-year-old widower who took her case to the Supreme Court because she thought it was unfair that she had to pay $363,053 in federal estate taxes on the inheritance of her wifes estate because the federal government didnt recognize her marriage, which began the demise of the Defense of Marriage Act.

In her speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton said, I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

You may not be #ReadyForHillary (and Im not asking you to be), but her words were profound and relevant. If you were involved in this presidential campaign because you thought Bernie was a cool guy, thats fine. If you were really interested in changing this country, starting a revolution that cant be ignored, the stakes are far too great to disengage now.

You dont need a presidential candidate to make change; history has shown that you have the power to make that happen on your own. Take what you have learned on the Bernie campaign and work to make electoral and political change on your local school board, the State House, the State Senate, County Commission, or County Prosecutor. Keep going. Your communities need you.
Apple last week opened a flagship store in San Franciscos tony Union Square shopping district.

The store has a 42-foot-tall sliding glass door and a 50-foot tall green wall and is powered by 100 percent renewable energy, the company said.

Features include the following:

The Avenue, whose walls are interactive themed windows displaying Apples products and services;

Genius Grove, where customers can work with Apple Geniuses in a grove of local trees right in the heart of the store;

Today at Apple, which will offer, among other things, year-round programs for kids, new monthly events for teachers, sessions for developers, creative sessions featuring local creative artists, and game nights with editors from Apples App Store;

The Forum, a gathering place that is centered on a 6K video wall and is home to Today at Apple;

The Plaza, which offers public WiFi and seating and will feature local acoustic performers on weekends;

The Boardroom, where a business team will offer hands-on advice and training to entrepreneurs, developers and SMB customers.

We have a deep commitment to the cities we work in and are aware of the importance that architecture plays in the community, said Jonathan Ive, Apples chief design officer. It all starts with the storefront  where the building blends the inside and the outside, breaking down barriers and making it more egalitarian and accessible.

More Than Money

The Union Square flagship store seems to echo MicrosoftsManhattan flagship, which opened last year, while the design of Microsofts Manhattan flagship was strongly influenced by Apple stores.

Apple is moving from a maximized retail layout similar to a jewelry store, with high revenue per square foot, to more of a place to hang out, with low revenue per square foot, like a Barnes & Noble, remarked Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

This is somewhat similar to what Sony did a few years back with their stores, he told the E-Commerce Times. The goal is to build deeper relationships.

Apple Stores were created by Ron Johnson, but no one at Apple seems to understand what Johnson did and they have been slowly degrading what he created, Enderle said. Now they are going to blow it up.

On the other hand, consumer goods are increasingly experiential, and Apple led the concept with its products and, later, its services and retail locations, observed Mike Jude, program manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan.

This ups the ante by providing a complete cultural experience as well as points of engagement with businesses and entrepreneurs, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Grasping at Straws?

Apple is getting a bit desperate, and that means the most influential person in the room wins, regardless of whether or not they have a clue, Enderle maintained.

The company is under fire for it lack of innovative new products, there are questions about CEO Tim Cooks ability to spur innovation, and its share prices fell after it disclosed its first revenue decline in 13 years during itsQ2 earnings report.

Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway disclosed last week that it had bought nearly 10 million Apple shares for about US$1.1 billion at $109 a share, but that hasnt given Apple much of a boost  its shares were around the $96 mark Monday.

Apples leadership potentially will cost shareholders more than $680 billion, Trip Chowdhry, managing director atGlobal Equities Research, fumed in a note to investors last month.

The rate of product innovation is slowing at Apple, but upping the consumer engagement model allows them to potentially increase sales without having to invent a completely new product category, Jude observed.

People who want the Apple experience would probably like the new store, he said, but the new design might not impact non-Apple retailers much.
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(Photo: UNAIDS)Religious leaders and faith-based organizations meet to discusss HIV and AIDS in Ukraine with UNAIDS in February 2015.

GENEVA - The first consignment of vital antiretroviral medications for adults and children living with HIV in war-stricken zones in eastern Ukraine has arrived by air in the conflict-torn country, says the United Nations.

In Ukraine where government forces are facing Russian-backed separatist forces in the east of the country U.N. agencies such as UNICEF that protects children, and UNAIDS are working with faith-based and other groups to fight the scourge of HIV and AIDS.

There are 230,000 people living with HIV in Ukraine says the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.

"Marginalised and criminalised groups, particularly injecting drug users, are most at risk of HIV infection.

"Although the number of new infections is decreasing in Ukraine, recent political instability and the influence of Russia is putting programs that aim to protect drug users from HIV infection at serious risk," says the alliance.

UNICEF said Aug. 17 that a first shipment of life-saving ARV medications arrive in eastern Ukraine, that some in the west of the country refer to as the "occupied parts."

The arrival of the treatment medicines followed the recent signing of a $3.7 million agreement between UNICEF and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The agreement looks to the emergency provision of HIV supplies for adults and children living in non-government-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine.

In February representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO), a united forum of 19 confessions and faiths, which has put asside political differences in the war-hit country, met in Kiev.

There they highlighted the urgent needs of people affected by HIV in eastern Ukraine.

With support from UNAIDS, the meeting was attended by senior religious leaders and faith-based organizations from 19 different confessions and religious faiths.

Also present were people living with HIV, civil society, government officials and other national stakeholders.

The Archbishop of Chernihiv and Nizhyn, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, called for urgent and coordinated efforts across all faiths to support people affected by HIV during the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"We consider the HIV epidemic as one of the major challenges for our society in this critical time," said Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zorya) of Chernihiv and Nizhyn.

"During this humanitarian crisis, we confirm our commitment to the AIDS response and to doubling our support for people affected by HIV."

The UNICEF agreement enables the continuation of ARV treatment for one year - for more than 8,000 adults and children living with HIV and of HIV testing for over 31,000 pregnant women and their children.

UNICEF's close cooperation the Medicines Patent Pool, the All Ukrainian Network of People living with HIV and selected ARV drugs manufacturers has also resulted in major costs savings and acceleration of procurement.

"The history of the AIDS response in Ukraine is the story of people fighting for their lives. These are people like me that today, more than ever, look to churches and religious leaders for guidance and support," said Dima Sherembey, head of the Ukrainian Community Advisory Board for the All-Ukrainian Patients Association at the February meeting.

CONFLICT-AFFECTED ZONES

The health of thousands of children and adults in the conflict-affected zones of Donetsk and Luhansk will be at risk if their daily dose of ARV (AIDS fighting drugs) are interrupted, UNICEF has warned.

When treatment is stopped, even temporarily, an HIV-positive person will be at higher risk of developing drug resistance, may progress to AIDS or die.

If a pregnant HIV-positive mother's treatment ceases, her own health may suffer and her baby may be more susceptible to infection.

"Disrupting the secure and safe delivery of supplies and medicines to conflict-affected zones can be a death sentence to people living with HIV," said Craig McClure, UNICEF Chief of HIV/AIDS.

"The health and survival of vulnerable children, women and men should be held above geopolitical disputes."

"Through committed partnership, we are focused on the vulnerable communities who need the supply of critical medicines to continue.

"This is absolutely essential to the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV in eastern Ukraine," said Maria Kirova, the Global Fund Department Head for Eastern Europe.

The southeastern regions of Ukraine, including Donetsk and Luhansk, have the highest prevalence of HIV in the country at 644 cases for 100,000 people.

(Photo: REUTERS / Shamil Zhumatov) A religious image is hung on a back of an armed pro-Russian separatist guarding the regional administration headquarters in Luhansk June 18, 2014.

The armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has further threatened the health of HIV-positive children and adults.

Nearly 14,000 adults and children living with HIV are residing in areas that are not under government control, 8,000 of whom are at risk of having their treatment interrupted.

The treatment of people living with HIV in other parts of the country will be safeguarded by the regular grant from the Global Fund and additional funding from Ukraine's State budget.

UNICEF will purchase the needed medications and test kits and will support their distribution.

"We are working with our partners from the government, UN and civil society to provide much-needed assistance to children and adults living with HIV," said Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF regional director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of the Independent States.
(Facebook / Narcos)All episodes of "Narcos" season 1 is available for streaming on Netflix. Season 2 is underway and may be released by August.

Pablo Escobar is one of the most prominent names in the history of Colombia's drug dealings, and in "Narcos" season two, the fall of his Medellin cartel, as well as the dead end of his life, will be depicted.

While history states that the Colombian kingpin was gunned down by Colombian Police forces after an exchange of gun shots, there have been various theories involving the real events that took place on Escobar's death scene.

According to Vine Report, rumor has it that aside from the Colombian Special Operations group called the Search Bloc who were trying to capture the escaped drug lord, olden stories suggest that the Los Pepes were also involved in Escobar's death.

The Los Pepes is group of vigilantes that derived their name from the Spanish phrase "Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar." Despite a short-lived appearance in history, they are known for coming together as a group of people who harbored ill feelings towards Escobar. Headed by Don Berna and Fidel Castano, it is said that the Los Pepes had ties with the Colombian National Police, as well as the Search Bloc.

The said connections purportedly led to the whereabouts of Escobar on the day when news emerged that the Colombian National Police had shot and killed him. While reports seem to vary in facts and details, it has yet to be revealed how exactly the showrunners of "Narcos" will execute the kingpin's death scene.

In a recent talk with iDigital Times, "Narcos" composer Pedro Bromfman revealed that the upcoming installment of the series, which is based on the activities of the 1990s cartels, will mostly revolve around Escobar's (Wagner Moura) fall which his enemies always wanted.

"Season 2 is a lot about, of course, the fall of Escobar and the fall of the Medellin cartel, and the rise of the Cali cartel. We start meeting a lot of new characters in Season 2, and we start understanding how the situation expanded from Medellin to Cali and everything that took place," Bromfman explained.

"Narcos" season two is rumored to premiere sometime in August 2016.
Considered to be the Ten Best UFO Photos Ever Taken I am sure that we could add more pictures to this list but these are considered ten o...
A new report shows that despite a long history of policy attention, there has been no consistent improvement in the literacy and numeracy outcomes of Indigenous primary school students.The Productivity Commission research paper analysed a newly available national dataset that links NAPLAN results to student demographics and school characteristics to seek to better understand Indigenous education achievement.In a statement yesterday, the Commissions deputy chair, Karen Chester, recommended that governments improve how they evaluate initiatives to lift outcomes in these areas.While our research offers some new insights, governments need to get better at evaluating initiatives to lift achievement through better informed policy, she said.Our research suggests that some schools punch above their weight in education outcomes for Indigenous students.Chester added that through systematically evaluating these schools, governments could help shed light on what works best to lift the achievement of Indigenous students.The analysis indicated that the NAPLAN-linked dataset only partly explains gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous student achievement  something Chester said leaves other important factors unobserved.This new dataset is valuable but it only explains about half of the education achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, she said.This means there are other factors that we cant observe that explain this disparate achievement. A better evidence base is needed to understand how to improve the literacy and numeracy achievement of Indigenous students.The report also revealed that gaps in achievement between Indigenous and non -Indigenous students were widespread geographically.While much focus is on Indigenous students in remote areas where the gaps in achievement are greatest, most Indigenous students actually attend schools in metropolitan and provincial areas, Chester explained.Achievements gaps are smaller in non-remote areas. However, because most Indigenous students attend school here, non-remote areas still account for more than half of the national gap in literacy.While the latest report outlines the challenges ahead, there are initiatives underway to help lift the achievement levels of Indigenous students across the country.Marking National Reconciliation Week  which ran from 27 May until 3 June  leading childrens charity,The Smith Family, highlighted the strong educational outcomes being achieved by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.In a statement, The Smith Familys CEO, Dr Lisa OBrien, said collaboration between schools and communities was a crucial part of the charitys 2013-2016 Reconciliation Action Plan Working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and communities to improve educational outcomes for children and young people is at the heart of this plan, OBrien said.Research shows that completing Year 12, or its equivalent, increases the likelihood that a young person will move into further study or employment and go on to participate fully in their community, with improved employment, health and overall life outcomes.The Smith Familys Learning for Life program helps children engage with their learning through positive educational experiences and provides opportunities to grow skills and access to role models.Last year nearly 6,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their families were supported by the program, which is proven to boost Year 12 completion rates and leads to improved education, employment and social participation outcomes.
To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020.
Charlotte, N.C., June 9, 2016 - A study of emergency department (ED) patients with symptoms of gonorrhea or chlamydia found that three in four patients who were treated with antibiotics actually tested negative for these sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), according to a new study presented at the 43rd Annual Conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Researchers from St. John Hospital & Medical Center in Detroit, Michigan, examined records of more than 1,103 patients who underwent STD testing in the ED to identify the extent of unnecessary antibiotic use. Genital cultures are commonly collected from patients with signs and symptoms of STDs; however, results are not immediately available, and antibiotics are often prescribed without a confirmatory diagnosis.

Of the 1,103 patients tested, 40 percent were treated with antibiotics for gonorrhea and/or chlamydia; of those treated, 76.6 percent ultimately tested negative for having the STD. Of the 60 percent who went untreated, only 7 percent ultimately tested positive for either or both STDs.

"We have to find the appropriate balance between getting people tested and treated for STDs, but not prescribing antibiotics to patients who don't need them," said Karen Jones, MPH, BSN, RN, infection preventionist, St. John Hospital & Medical Center. "There is a tricky balance between not furthering antibiotic resistance by over-prescribing, but also still getting people treatment for STDs they might have."

The study also examined how certain symptoms were associated with positive STD cultures. For example, in male patients, 60.3 percent with penile discharge and 57.5 percent with inflammation of the urethra tested positive for gonorrhea and/or chlamydia. In female patients, 25 percent with inflammation of the cervix and 27 percent with cervical motion tenderness tested positive for gonorrhea and/or chlamydia. Thirty-five percent of patients who disclosed they had more than one sex partner also tested positive for gonorrhea and/or chlamydia. "Focusing on these clinical predictors may improve unnecessary antibiotic prescribing in patients without true disease," said Jones.

"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly a third of antibiotics prescribed in doctors' offices, emergency rooms, and hospital-based clinics in the U.S. are not needed," said APIC 2016 President Susan Dolan RN, MS, CIC, hospital epidemiologist, Children's Hospital Colorado. "Improving the use of antibiotics is a national and international priority to help prevent antibiotic resistance which would threaten our ability to treat even the simplest of infections."

APIC 2016 Annual Conference, June 11-13 in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the most comprehensive infection prevention conference in the world, with more than 60 educational sessions and workshops led by experts from across the globe and attended by nearly 4,000 professionals. The conference aims to provide infection preventionists, physicians, researchers, epidemiologists, educators, administrators, and medical technologists with strategies that can be implemented immediately to improve prevention programs and make healthcare safer. Join the conversation on social media with the hashtag #APIC2016.

###

ABOUT APIC

APIC's mission is to create a safer world through prevention of infection. The association's more than 15,000 members direct infection prevention programs that save lives and improve the bottom line for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. APIC advances its mission through patient safety, implementation science, competencies and certification, advocacy, and data standardization. Visit APIC online at http://www.apic.org. Follow APIC on Twitter and Facebook. For consumer information, visit APIC's Infection Prevention and You website.




Try telling Portugals genial finance minister, Mario Centeno, that the world only needs two or three ratings agencies. At the end of April, the blade that had been dangling uncomfortably close to Portugals economic neck was re-sheathed when the Toronto-based DBRS affirmed its triple-B rating on the sovereign.

The DBRS announcement was not wholly unexpected. Nor did it amount to a ringing endorsement of the economic roadmap adopted by Portugals anti-austerity government, which took office last November when the Socialist Party put together a fragile coalition with the Communists and the Left Block (Bloco de Esquerda).

Portugal faces significant challenges, including elevated levels of public sector debt, ongoing fiscal pressures, low potential growth, and high corporate sector indebtedness, noted the DBRS report.

These caveats did not make Aprils update any less welcome in Lisbon, where bankers say that DBRS takes a longer-term view than the larger agencies and appears to have more faith than its peers in the durability of the European project.

It seems remarkable that the cost of an EU sovereigns access to funding could depend on the pronouncement of a ratings agency headquartered in Toronto with a global market share of about 2%.
PARIS, June 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Sanofi announced today the release of the new real world data assessing the use of Toujeo(R) (insulin glargine injection 300 Units/mL). The U.S. Predictive Health Intelligence Environment (PHIE) database, containing a substantial amount of patient level information, was analyzed to assess Toujeo in this real life setting. The study examined electronic health records to assess the change in HbA1c (average blood sugar levels) and occurrence of hypoglycemia in patients up to 6 months after switching to Toujeo from another basal insulin. The results of the study were presented on June 11 at the American Diabetes Association 76th Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, LA, U.S.A.

"In the first evaluation of Toujeo in the real-world care setting, it is encouraging for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes to see the successful switching to Toujeo from another basal insulin," said Riccardo Perfetti, Head of Global Diabetes Medical Team, Sanofi.

"This study adds to the growing evidence in the knowledge of the use of Toujeo, in patients with Type 2 diabetes," said Professor Robert Ritzel, a Toujeo clinical trials program investigator and Head Physician of the Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Addiction Medicine, Schwabing Hospital, Munich, Germany. "While adequate and well-controlled clinical trials are vital for regulatory requirements and guidance of clinical decision making, further evidence in a real-world care setting is particularly relevant for health-care professionals, payers and other organizations when assessing safety and efficacy in larger patient populations and cost-effectiveness."

Sanofi is committed to evaluate Toujeo in the real life settings and is conducting three large studies called ACHIEVE, REACH and REGAIN CONTROL in type 2 diabetes patients starting basal insulin treatment or switching from another basal insulin These studies involve more than 4,500 patients across the U.S. and Europe. Initial results of the Real-Life Study Program are anticipated in 2017.

Results of Analysis

Adults with type 2 diabetes who had used other basal insulins within the 6 months prior to Toujeo initiation (one or more prescription order of Toujeo between March 2015 and December 2015) were identified. The PHIE records of those identified (N=881) were assessed for HbA1c and incidence of confirmed (less than or equal to70 mg/dL) or severe hypoglycemia up to 6 months prior to and up to 6 months after initiation.

Among the subpopulation of patients (n=267) with HbA1c measured at baseline and during follow-up (0-6 months), mean HbA1c was 8.97% at baseline and 8.33% at follow-up. For the subpopulation of patients (n=449) with occurrence of hypoglycemia measured at baseline and during follow-up (0-3 months), this was 6.0% at baseline and 5.1% at follow-up.

The study abstract is titled: Real-World Assessment of Patient Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Early Users of the New Insulin Glargine 300U/mL (Ye, F et al. Poster presentation 943-P, American Diabetes Association 76th Scientific Sessions, New Orleans, LA, U.S. Saturday, June 11, 2016).

About ACHIEVE, REACH and REGAIN CONTROL

The ACHIEVE CONTROL study will evaluate the effect of Toujeo(R) on achieving individualized glycemic targets without hypoglycemia at any time of day in 3,270 uncontrolled insulin-naive people in the U.S. with type 2 diabetes.

The REACH CONTROL will follow 800 insulin-naive people with type 2 diabetes in Europe, comparing HbA1c change with Toujeo(R) vs. other basal insulins, alongside incidence of hypoglycemia, change in body weight, and measures of persistence with treatment and need for treatment intensification.

The REGAIN CONTROL study will compare HbA1c reduction, incidence of hypoglycemia, change in body weight and persistence with treatment on Toujeo(R) vs. other basal insulins in 600 people with type 2 diabetes in Europe, who are currently uncontrolled on basal insulin. In addition to clinical measures, the studies will also collect patient feedback on treatment satisfaction and their experience of hypoglycemia, along with healthcare resource utilization.

About Toujeo(R)

Toujeo is a once-daily basal insulin based on a broadly-used molecule (insulin glargine). Toujeo has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Commission, Health Canada, the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia, and the MHLW in Japan (where its approved brand name is Lantus(R) XR), and is under review by other regulatory authorities around the world.

What is Toujeo(R) (insulin glargine injection) 300 Units/mL?

Prescription Toujeo(R) is a long-acting insulin used to control blood sugar in adults with diabetes mellitus.



- Toujeo(R) contains 3 times as much insulin in 1 mL as standard insulin (100

Units/mL)

- Toujeo(R) is not for use to treat diabetic ketoacidosis

- Toujeo(R) should not be used in children

Important Safety Information for Toujeo(R) (insulin glargine injection) 300 Units/mL

Do not take Toujeo(R) during episodes of low blood sugar or if you are allergic to insulin or any of the ingredients in Toujeo(R).

Do NOT reuse needles or share insulin pens even if the needle has been changed.

Before starting Toujeo(R), tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including if you have liver or kidney problems, if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant or if you are breast-feeding or planning to breast-feed

Heart failure can occur if you are taking insulin together with certain medicines called TZDs (thiazolidinediones), even if you have never had heart failure or other heart problems. If you have heart failure, it may get worse while you take TZDs with Toujeo(R). Your treatment with TZDs and Toujeo(R) may need to be changed or stopped by your doctor if you have new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor if you have any new or worsening symptoms of heart failure, including:



- Shortness of breath

- Swelling of your ankles or feet

- Sudden weight gain

Tell your doctor about all the medications you take, including OTC medicines, vitamins, and supplements, including herbal supplements.

Toujeo should be taken at the same time once a day. Test your blood sugar levels daily while using any insulin, including Toujeo(R). Do not make changes to your dose or type of insulin without talking to your doctor. Verify you have the correct insulin before each injection. Your dose for Toujeo(R) may be different from other insulins you have taken. Any change of insulin should be made cautiously and only under medical supervision.

Do NOT dilute or mix Toujeo(R) with any other insulin or solution. It will not work as intended and you may lose blood sugar control, which could be serious. Use Toujeo(R) only if the solution is clear and colorless with no particles visible.

While using Toujeo(R), do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how Toujeo(R) affects you. You should not drink alcohol or use other medicines that contain alcohol.

The most common side effects of any insulin, including Toujeo(R), is low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), which may be serious and can be life-threatening. Severe hypoglycemia may cause harm to your heart or brain. Symptoms of serious low blood sugar may include shaking, sweating, fast heartbeat, and blurred vision.

Toujeo(R) may cause serious side effects that can lead to death, such as severe allergic reactions that affect the whole body. Get medical help right away if you have:

(CONTINUA)
Someone clever at the publisher Penguin had a nifty idea: reissue three titles by Richard Dawkins, each decorated uniquely with an adorable Dawkins biomorph. From New Scientist:

First let loose upon the public at the inaugural Artificial Life conference at Los Alamos in New Mexico in 1987, these revolutionary computer-based critters, which variously took the form of waves, shells and insects, were some of the first, and certainly the most influential digital demonstrations of evolution in action The program shows how it is possible to develop the features of simple life forms merely by choosing parents with desirable characteristics. Piling success on success, fully formed features develop after remarkably few generations. Penguin is releasing three key three titles by Richard Dawkins  The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable and Unweaving the Rainbow  and every copy will carry a unique book jacket together with a code enabling the reader to visit their biomorph on www.mountimprobable.com. [Emphasis added.]

You can visit your biomorph, kind of like a pet rock, but online. Cute! The only problem is those biomorphs are no digital demonstrations of evolution in action, nor do they show how it is possible to develop the features of simple life forms.

Dont believe me? Heres what Nature had to say about biomorphs, and Dawkinss scientific legacy more generally, in a review of part two of his memoir, Brief Candle in the Dark, published last year:

Much of Dawkinss research has been in silico, writing programs for evolutionary simulations. In his simulations, life is utterly determined by genes, which specify developmental rules and fixed traits such as colour. The more lifelike his digital animals (biomorphs) become, the more persuaded he is that real genes work in roughly the same way. Dawkinss critics accuse him of genetic determinism. This synopsis of his work shows that his life virtually depends on it. A curious stasis underlies Dawkinss thought. His biomorphs are grounded in 1970s assumptions. Back then, with rare exceptions, each gene specified a protein and each protein was specified by a gene. The genome was a linear text  a parts list or computer program for making an organism insulated from the environment, with the coding regions interspersed with junk. Todays genome is much more than a script: it is a dynamic, three-dimensional structure, highly responsive to its environment and almost fractally modular. Genes may be fragmentary, with far-flung chunks of DNA sequence mixed and matched in bewildering combinatorial arrays. A universe of regulatory and modulatory elements hides in the erstwhile junk. Genes cooperate, evolving together as units to produce traits. Many researchers continue to find selfish DNA a productive idea, but taking the longer view, the selfish gene per se is looking increasingly like a twentieth-century construct. Dawkinss synopsis shows that he has not adapted to this view. He nods at cooperation among genes, but assimilates it as a kind of selfishness. The microbiome and the 3D genome go unnoticed. Epigenetics is an interesting, if rather rare, phenomenon enjoying its fifteen minutes of pop science voguery, which it has been doing since at least 2009, when Dawkins made the same claim in The Greatest Show on Earth (Transworld). Dawkins adheres to a deterministic language of genes for traits. As I and other historians have shown, such hereditarianism plays into the hands of the self-styled race realists.

The biomorphs are grounded in 1970s assumptions, long outdated, while the selfish gene per se is looking increasingly like a twentieth-century construct.

Judged for his prose, Dawkins remains one of the best science explainers around. As a celebrity atheist, he rarely fails to entertain. Considered strictly as science, though, his books, like his bimorphs, appeal to nostalgia more than anything else.

Photo: Dawkins uses hands to form what looks like (but probably isnt) a biomorph, by Anders Hesselbom [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
As part of its new brand campaign, the actor will be seen in a new television commercial that goes on air across GECs and News channels in the country

Sugar Free, the market leader in the sugar substitute category in India has signed Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra as its brand ambassador. As part of its new brand campaign, the actor will be seen in a new television commercial that goes on air across GECs and News channels in the country.

Sugar Free has also taken a step forward to reinvent itself and position the brand as a healthy alternate to direct consumption of sugar. The brands new tagline  Smartness Waali Sweetness  is aimed at attracting the audience to make a healthy choice of giving up sugar while continuing to retain sweetness.

Talking about the new SF campaign, Tarun Arora, COO, ZydusWellness said, Our new campaign is all about making smarter choices. Today, consumers are inundated with a variety of options  be it foods, consumer goods or even health. Sugar Free is their partner in making an intelligent, smart choice of taste without having to give up on their indulgences. The concept of Smartness Waali Sweetness emphasizes on the smarter choice - To give up sugar, not the sweetness.

Arora added, Sugar Free is immensely proud to associate with one of Bollywoods finest actors in todays age, Parineeti Chopra. Her transformation, which is a reflection of her dedication and her willpower to make smart health choices resonated well with what we intended to say to our consumers. We have no doubt that this association with Parineeti will provide a good reason to the consumer and inspire them to opt for a smarter, healthier lifestyle without much compromise or change.

Parineeti Chopra has been the talk of the town with her recent transformation from a bubbly girl-next-door persona to becoming the poster-girl for fitness. She is the new youth icon to relate with when it comes to being fit; a true embodiment of the brands philosophy of bringing in a fitter lifestyle.

Chopra said, I am excited to be a part of this journey. I have always had a sweet tooth and can totally relate to how difficult it can be for someone to give up on sugar. Its great how Sugar Free can help one to be off sugar but not sweetness. Healthy foods are not the only option. Making a healthy choice, consciously helps. Even during my weight loss transition, I fulfilled all my cravings just by opting for some smarter choices. Sugar Free was a natural fit for me to associate with and I took up the opportunity at the first instance. I havent given up on my indulgences. Just made some smart moves.

The new TVC whichwent onair onJune 5, 2016 seesChopra playing the role of a young sister-in-law prodding her brother-in-law to make a smart choice by adding Sugar Free to his post-work out nimbupaani.The campaign will be supported by a surround marketing plan including print, on-ground and digital media engagement. The new TVC is directed by Prashant Madan from Nirvana Films.

Read more news about (marketing news, latest marketing news,internet marketing, marketing India, digital marketing India, media marketing India, advertising news)
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joy_87 said: Hi All,

My Spouse has completed BE Engineering in Electronics and Communication and has a work experience of 7 years as Software Engineer.



1)Please let me know if this would require RPL?

2) How many years of experience would be reduced? Click to expand...

please read through the existing posts on the same query.Refer the skills assessment guide.RPL guide.After reading the skills assessment guideline, If she can "self-assess" that her course had substantive ICT content then she can apply for a skills assessment.Usually EXTC folks end up going through the RPL route and 6 years of experience are deducted.Note that the RPL assessment won't comment on the Bachelor degree. Which university was the BE completed from? She MIGHT (depends on the situation - cannot say without looking at documents) have to apply for a points test advice as well from Vetassess.
Hi Everyone,

So I am going to visit and stay with Family in Toronto soon and just wanted some advice really as I have never been to Canada before. So I am looking to go out there from the UK for about 3-6 months, but while I am there I need to maintain my online businesses. So it means I need to take specific equipment with me when I travel, laptop and VOIP phone etc.



With regards to entry requirements will this cause any issues? Would I have to apply for a different type of Visa etc?



Any help and advice would be much appreciated.



Thanks



Rockyuk
Hi



Anyone volunteer some advice about getting telephone, Broadband, and Satellite? I am in the process of buying a house in Bretagne. I have SKY in the UK and I am keeping residency in Blighty so wondered whats best to do. For instance if I can just bring my SKY box etc each time we come over(We're retired so could be a while each time) Was wondering how long it generally takes to get Telephone installed I believe there is a line into the property. Is Broadband good in rural France? I suspect not, will I need Satellite broadband indeed is it any good? If I get Sat Broadband would I even need a TV line? Thanks for anything
We bought a house in a large town in La Axarquia, East of Malaga, in 2003 with an intention to retire there when we were able to, and used the house just for holidays until we moved over permanently in late 2006. We sold our UK house at that time, which helped to finance our living costs as we were only 50 and 57 at the time, so had some time to wait until our pensions became payable. We've never regretted our choice of location nor the decision to move here.



The key things, I think, are to concentrate on practical issues when choosing where to base yourselves rather than having romantic ideas about living in splendid isolation with marvellous views, especially if you are intending to be here in your later years. Do as much research as you possibly can on the ground once you have narrowed down an area, thinking about such things as what noise or parking issues there might be at various times of the day/year, whether facilities are going to be available all year round, what kind of orientation you want in a property (north facing will be cooler in summer but colder and could be gloomy in winter), whether there is any industry around which could cause nuisance issues and so on.
The health insurance company Humana is seeking to hire 140 people for telesales jobs in San Antonio.

Among the open positions are 30 full-time jobs with comprehensive benefits and at least 110 seasonal slots. Humana expects to fill the positions immediately, with start dates ranging from now until July 15. The hires are necessary to meet customer demand during the Medicare open enrollment period happening this fall.

Those hired will provide national phone sales and enrollment assistance for Humanas Medicare benefit plans, senior products and specialty products. They will handle customer inquiries and provide guidance to develop benefit solutions for new and current Humana beneficiaries nationwide.

The company will host a job fair from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. June 21 at its San Antonio direct marketing services call center at 8119 Datapoint. Those interested also can apply online by visiting http://careers.humana.com and enter requisition number 159752.

Not only does Humana offer a beneficial work environment with competitive salaries and incentives, but there is no more gratifying service than to help Medicare beneficiaries find the right health care coverage to meet their health and well-being needs, said Herbert Clack, the companys national director for direct marketing services.

Humana currently employs more than 1,050 people in San Antonio.

pohare@express-news.net
A bankruptcy judge on Friday approved the sale of substantially all of medical technology company Palmaz Scientific Inc.s assets to Vactronix Scientific Inc.

Vactronix, a company headed by Amalia Palmaz, the wife of Palmaz Scientific co-founder Dr. Julio Palmaz, submitted a $22.6 million bid to acquire the assets  which primarily consist of 256 issued patents and 182 pending patents.

The sale was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta after no other parties sought to top Vactronixs bid.

San Francisco-based Gerbsman Partners, which was hired to market the assets, sent out about 700 sales letters to various parties, including private equity firms, investment bankers and strategic buyers. Non-disclosure agreements were signed by nine parties, of which five did significant due diligence, Palmaz Scientific attorney William Kingman told Gargotta.

Vactronix was formed two weeks after Palmaz Scientific filed Chapter 11 in March with the intent to acquire the assets. The patent portfolio covers various medical applications, including drug delivery devices, valves, grafts and angioplasty balloons, according to Gerbsmans website.

The Palmaz family believes in this potentially life-changing technology, and strongly desires an outcome whereby millions of people worldwide can benefit from the next generation of life-enhancing stents, Palmaz Scientific lawyer Andy Taylor previously said in an email.

Dr. Palmaz is best known as the inventor of a heart stent credited with saving millions of lives. Palmaz Scientific was launched in 2008 and raised more than $40 million from investors, but it never generated any recurring revenue and eventually ran out of money. A handful of its 300-plus investors have sued for fraud. Palmaz Scientific has countered with its own lawsuits against those investors. It has said its efforts to raise more capital were crippled by a negative campaign of false information.

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.

Vactronixs bid is conditioned on approval of Palmaz Scientifics reorganization plan by shareholders, Kingman has said. A confirmation hearing is scheduled for June 27.

Under the plan, all other unsecured creditors are expected to be paid in full. In addition, some of the lawsuits that Palmaz Scientific has against other parties would go into a litigation trust. If the company prevails in the litigation, the money would go to the investors.

pdanner@express-news.net

Twitter: @AlamoPD
Billionaire Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Automotive Inc. has purchased a controlling stake in North Park Toyota, its first dealership in the San Antonio area.

The purchase marks a major expansion of Berkshire Hathaways presence in the area, where the companys real estate brokerage has a few franchise offices.

The conglomerate has a substantial presence elsewhere in the Lone Star State, enough to land Buffett a place in the Texas Business Hall of Fame later this year. The announcement in April sparked controversy over whether the Oracle of Omaha deserved the Texan honor.

Jeffrey Rachor, president and CEO of Berkshires automotive group, signed a 20-year lease for North Park Toyotas 23.7-acre property on April 4, with an option to buy, according to county property records. The auto group filed an assumed name certificate with the county to do business under the name North Park Toyota of San Antonio on May 9.

The dealership, at Loop 410 and Interstate 35 on the Southwest Side, opened in 2008 as part of the Kahlig Auto Group, which operates 10 other dealerships in North San Antonio and New Braunfels, according to its website. A partnership led by the auto groups president, Clarence J. Kahlig II, remains the landlord of the property.

Representatives of North Park Toyota declined to comment Friday. Berkshire Hathaway Automotive and Kahlig Auto Group didnt respond to requests for comment.

The dealership is the first for Irving-based Berkshire Hathaway Automotive in San Antonio, according to the auto groups website. The website lists 36 other dealerships in Texas: six in the Houston area and 30 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The company also has dealerships in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska and New Mexico.

The auto groups operations are highly concentrated in the Arizona and Texas markets, and about 70 percent of its revenue comes from those states, according to Berkshire Hathaways 2015 annual report.

Berkshire Hathaway Automotive was created in early 2015 when its parent company bought the Van Tuyl Group, which was the largest privately owned auto dealership group in the U.S., with 81 dealerships and 100 franchises in 10 states, according to the companys website.

Berkshire operates several Texas-based companies, including the Houston-based Star Furniture, the McLane Co. Inc. supply logistics firm in Tyler and BNSF Railway and the Acme Brick Co., both based in Fort Worth. It is also is a holding company for Dairy Queen, a Minneapolis-based restaurant chain thats popular in Texas and elsewhere, and it has a large holding in Coca-Cola, which operates bottling plants in Texas.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a subsidiary with a franchise network of real estate brokers, has several offices in the San Antonio area, according to its website.

Kahlig Enterprises Ltd. bought the land for North Park Toyota in December 2006, according to county property records.

The dealership opened in October 2008 with 60 employees after the Kahlig Auto Group sold its Toyota dealership in Boerne, which it opened in 2005.

Toyota had urged Clarence J. Kahlig II to open a dealership close to its plant on the South Side, which is about 5 miles east of North Park Toyota, according to past news reports.
The Prairie Doc: We need to be more intentional with antibiotics
Shropshire

A Full-Time position is available for an assistant herdsperson on a family dairy farm in mid Shropshire. We have a 250 dairy herd rearing own replacements together with a b...
EU agricultural co-operative Copa and Cogeca have welcomed an EU Commission proposal to ratify the Paris agreement on climate change.

This is to ensure that all provisions in the deal are respected, especially to make certain that climate change and food security are tackled in a balanced way.

Copa President Martin Merrild stressed: "We welcome the legally binding global climate deal made in Paris and the fact that the Commission made a proposal today to ensure it is quickly ratified.

"We are committed to making it work to help fight climate change. But this must be done in a balanced way without threatening food production."

"Global food demand is set to rise in the future and we need to be able to feed a growing population.

"Squeezing efficient EU farmers or their cooperatives out of business does not make any sense.

"There is no point in cutting production in Europe just to build it up elsewhere.

"We need to support sustainable and efficient farming in the EU also because our standards are higher than in non-EU countries," Merrild added.

"In the upcoming legislation on climate change, there needs to be flexibility between the sectors included in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and non-Emissions Trading Scheme (nonETS).

Agriculture makes a huge contribution to tackling climate change

"Agriculture must not be hit by the impact of climate change and the potentially adverse effects that EU climate change policy could have on it," Merrild said.

Cogeca President Thomas Magnusson underlined: "Agriculture and forestry make a big contribution to tackling climate change through for example the storage of carbon in soil organic matter and in renewable energy sources.

"We are the only sectors that absorb emissions from the atmosphere, while all other economic sectors just emit.

"We must support efficient production of food. If the resource efficient farmers cannot make it and they are squeezed out of business, we would not be able to fulfil our objectives of combatting climate change.

"We have sent a letter today to EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker outlining our demands."
Farmers from St Andrews, Oban, Dumfries, Aberdeenshire and Inverness have today been announced as finalists in this years prestigious M&S Farming for the Future awards.

The winners will be announced on the first day of the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh on Thursday, 23rd June.

The shortlisted entries include:

Innovation Producer award

 James Lohoar, manages Glenbervie Home Farm in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire and produces Aberdeen Angus beef for M&S.

 Alan Steven from St Andrews manages Hillhead Farm and produces Brussels sprouts and parsnips for M&S.

Young Producer award

 Andrew MacLeannan, 27, manages M&Ss supply of Lochmuir Salmon at Scottish Sea Farms in Fiunary in Oban.

 David Watson, 34, helps to manage his familys farm in Banchory in Aberdeenshire. He produces beef to M&S through the 2 Sisters Food Group.

Outstanding Producer award

 Husband and wife team, Henry and Emily Duncan, from the Nith Valley in Dumfries manage Whitehall Farm which has been in the family for 100 years. They produce Aberdeen Angus for M&S in partnership with Scotbeef.

 Steven Jack from Dalcross in Inverness supplies a range of carrots and potatoes to M&S through his specialist root vegetable growing and packaging business Nessgro. This is the second time Steven has been nominated for an M&S Farming for the Future award.

These farmers have impressed the judges with their commitment to the future of farming, from investment and welfare, to engagement with the community and retailers, and enterprising sustainable practices.

M&S Farming for the Future is a programme of initiatives which champions sustainability and innovation.

The programme is designed to help farmers identify opportunities for improvement, increase their profitability and provide a sustainable supply chain that can continue to deliver quality and innovation for the long term.

The awards celebrate suppliers working towards important M&S Plan A commitments including becoming carbon neutral, sending no waste to landfill, extending sustainable sourcing, setting new standards in ethical trading, and helping customers and employees live a healthier lifestyle.

Steve Mclean, M&S Head of Agriculture & Fisheries, said: "We are continually impressed with the commitment and passion our suppliers show towards sustainable farming practices and with such strong talent emerging within the industry, the judging process for our Farming for the Future Awards becomes more challenging every year.

"In what is my ninth year of presenting the M&S awards, Im looking forward to once again honouring some of our top suppliers at the Royal Highland Show later this month."
"You can't just sit behind a book, because at the end of your degree all you will come out with is a piece of paper, and that's it - you need to get out there," she said.
What was it like to be an Oath Keeper? John Zimmerman can tell you

John Zimmerman said he was active with the Oath Keepers from September to November 2020, then left after a falling out with founder Stewart Rhodes.
Former President Bill Clinton became emotional as he delivered a eulogy at Muhammad Ali's memorial service on Friday (10.06.16).

Muhammad Ali

The ex-US leader was one of the final people to address the audience at the KFC Yum! Center in Kentucky and recalled the sporting legend's battle with Parkinson's Disease - which he was diagnosed with in 1984 - and how he refused to let it beat him or destroy his "gifts".

He said: "The first part of his life was dominated by the triumph of his truly unique gifts. We should never stop looking at the movies and thank Will Smith for making his movie. It was a thing of beauty.

"The second part of his life was more important because he refused to be imprisoned by a disease that kept him held longer than Nelson Mandela was held in prison.

"He perfected gifts that we all have. We have gifts of mind and heart but he found a way to release them in ways large and small."

And the former president grew increasingly emotional as he recalled seeing the boxer - who died of septic shock on June 3 - light the Olympic flame.

He said: "My enduring image of him is like a little reel of three shots. The boxer as a boy, the man I watched take their last steps to light the Olympic flame when I was president and I'll never forget it, by then I had some sense of what he was living with.

"Seeing his hands shake and I knew he would take those steps - I knew it would happen - the flame would be lit.

"And then this. The children whose lives he touched. The young people he inspired. It's the most important thing of all. I ask you to remember that.

"We all have an Ali story. It's the gifts we all have that should be most honoured today.

"Never wasting a day, that the rest of us could see anyway, feeling sorry for himself that he had Parkinson's. Knowing that three decades of his life would be circumscribed in ways that would be chilling to the naked eye but with the free spirit made his life bigger not smaller."

Clinton's speech was followed by a moment's silence to allow the Ali family to leave the arena and then Imam Zaid Shakir read a poem and said a prayer to conclude the service.

Earlier at the event, actor Billy Crystal spoke fondly of his 42-year friendship with the boxer, who used to call him his "little brother".

The 68-year-old star said he considered the "legend" to be a lightning bolt.

He explained: "On the moment of impact, it lights up everything around it.

"His intense light shined on America. We were able to see clearly injustice.... Ali forced us to take a look at ourselves....

"He is gone, but he will never die, he was my big brother."

The service also saw eulogies from Muhammad's widow Lonnie and daughters Rasheda and Maryum.

The multi-faith ceremony - which was planned according to Muhammad's wishes - began when Hamza Abdul Malik gave a reading from the Quran.

Rabbis Michael Lerner and Joe Rapport gave addresses and Venerable Utsumi and Sister Denise performed a Buddhist chant.

Ambassador Shabazz - the daughter of civil rights activist Malcolm X - wept during her speech as the audience applauded her words.

She said: "We all have the same god, we just serve him differently - rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans all have different names but they all contain water.

"So do religions have different names, and yet they all contain truth.

"It doesn't matter whether you're Muslim, Christian or a Jew - when you believe in god, you should believe all people are part of one family."

Earlier in the day, thousands of people lined the streets of Muhammad's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, to pay their respects to the iconic sportsman.
Johnny Depp has escaped the ongoing drama surrounding his divorce by reportedly flying to his private island in the Bahamas.

Johnny Depp

The 53-year-old actor - who is in the midst of a divorce from his estranged wife Amber Heard, 30 - recently toured Europe with his band the Hollywood Vampires and rather return to the glare of the spotlight in the US, Johnny has instead flown off to the Caribbean, according to Us Weekly.

Interestingly, the island was also the destination where the Hollywood duo - who met on the set of 'The Rum Diaries' in 2009 - tied the knot.

Amber recently filed for divorce from the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor and has accused him of being physically and verbally abusive towards her during their marriage.

The actress' pal iO Tillet Wright, who called the police after Johnny allegedly attacked Amber last month, recently said that Amber was left with a "busted lip and clumps of hair on the floor" after an "all-out assault".

In a blog post, she wrote: "The reports of violence started with a kick on a private plane, then it was shoves and the occasional punch, until finally, in December, she described an all-out assault and she woke up with her pillow covered in blood. I know this because I went to their house. I saw the pillow with my own eyes. I saw the busted lip and the clumps of hair on the floor. I got the phone call immediately after it happened, her screaming and crying, a stoic woman reduced to sobs."

The photographer also claimed that she called 911 because Amber "never would".

She wrote: "I called 911 because she never would. Because every time it happened, her first thought was about protecting him. Because every time it happened, the sweet, loving man we all cared for so much would come back with apologies, profuse, swearing up and down that he understood how bad what he had done was, and swearing never to do it again."

Johnny has denied all of the allegations.
Stereophonics have advised Kanye West to "tweet less".

Kanye West

The 39-year-old rapper's last-minute gig at Webster Hall in New York was axed last week after thousands of fans flocked to the streets outside the venue, causing chaos in the East Village, and Stereophonics blamed Kanye for tweeting about it.

Speaking to Absolute Radio's Pete Donaldson backstage at the Isle of Wight Festival, frontman Kelly Jones quipped: "I think it would be impossible for him to do anything secret wouldn't it? Maybe tweet less and then people don't know where you are."

And Kelly admitted that his band had their own trouble when they staged a secret gig recently as none of their equipment was working.

He added: "I think it was even secret to us because we got there and nothing was working but it was a good laugh. It just reminded us of playing the gigs that we always played to be honest - we always used to play pubs."

Kanye is renowned for his Twitter rants - where he has lashed out at stars including Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose and Taylor Swift - but previously admitted he was "deeply, deeply, deeply" apologetic about bringing Wiz's son into his feud with the rapper.

The 'Bound 2' hitmaker became embroiled in a Twitter spat in January after he mistakenly thought Wiz - who has three-year-old son Sebastian with ex-wife Amber - had dissed his spouse Kim Kardashian West but Kanye regrets referring to his rival's little boy in their explosive exchange.

Kanye - who has two children with Kim - said: "I really want to stress the amount of respect that I have for parents.

"There is no concept of anyone beating up on someone else's child or that type of concept. So every day I feel more deeply, deeply, deeply apologetic about that concept, because I only want to put out positive, positive, positive concepts."
Rebel Wilson used to watch 'Absolutely Fabulous' instead of working.

Rebel Wilson

Wilson is thrilled to have landed a role in the upcoming movie - which stars Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley - because she was such a big fan of the British sit-com when she was younger.

In an interview with Britain's Marie Claire magazine, she said: "When I was a teenager, I was working in a video shop and I'd put on 'Ab Fab' instead of working.

"Jennifer Saunders was the first woman I ever saw on TV who wrote and performed her own material. I'd never seen a woman do that before."

Rebel recently appeared opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in 'Grimsby' and admitted a body double was used for her nude scenes as she had a clause in her contract stipulating that she wouldn't strip.

However, her co-star still tried to persuade her that she could do the raunchy scenes if she wanted.

She recalled: "They got in another girl - this larger burlesque dancer from South Africa - to be a nude double. And they got her to do all this stuff. Sacha would go, 'See, she looks good.' I'm like 'I'm not doing it. I don't care what you say."

But she did reveal she would do it for an Oscar and added: "You want to know that the people [behind the camera] have a certain sensibility and decency. And a lot of times in comedy they're not those people."
Mumbai-based 6 Degree, a fashion talent and tech startup said on Thursday that it has raised $200,000 from Indian Angel Network (IAN). Abhishek Agarwal, IAN's lead investor, will be joining the company board."Fashion as a genre cannot be underrated and it is important to integrate technology with fashion. Our aim is to unite various domains of fashion and create one holistic group of like-minded people, says Nikhil Hegde, co-founder and chief executive, 6Degree. "Since our launch in 2015, we have progressed rapidly in this space to close our first financial year with revenues in excess of Rs 1 crore. The business of fashion industry is marked at over $1 trillion and India constitutes about 10 per cent of the global market share."

Mumbai-based 6 Degree, a fashion talent and tech startup said on Thursday that it has raised $200,000 from Indian Angel Network (IAN). Abhishek Agarwal, IAN's lead investor, will be joining the company board. "Fashion as a genre cannot be underrated and it is important to integrate technology with fashion. Our aim is to unite various domains of #

The company had raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from Centre For Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA), Goa, in 2015.The company plans to utilise the funds raised for enhancing its technology and expanding its reach. The funds will also be deployed in expanding its bespoke fashion services and launching a first-of-its -kind Enterprise Solutions for Fashion Weeks."The fashion market in India is going to be huge in the next 10 years. We have already seen Indian affluent consumers spending on Indian designer wears for their key functions and also preferring to wear international brands. 6Degree collaborations with both fashioner designers and fashion weeks are unique in nature. In addition, their upcoming tech platform will bring efficiency into the system, says Abhishek Agarwal, the lead investor in 6Degree.As a fashion talent and tech startup, 6Degree provides opportunities for fashion professionals to showcase their talent across the globe. It unifies individuals related to the fashion domain such as fashion designers, bloggers, brands, models and photographers on a single common platform.It already serves over 2,500 fashion professionals and boasts of elite fashion weeks such as Lakme Fashion Week, India Fashion Week London, Fashion Forward Dubai and many others as its clientele. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
High-tech companies like Apple Inc. may be given more time to comply with the government's domestic sourcing norms for opening single-brand retail stores in the country Last year the government had said that it may relax the mandatory local sourcing norms for entities undertaking single-brand retailing of products having state-of-the-art and cutting edge technology and where local sourcing is not possible.

Officials say the government does not want to dilute the mandatory 30 per cent local sourcing norm but is open to the possibility of giving more time to such firms.



"The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is looking to tweak the FDI policy on sourcing. Thirty per cent local sourcing norm may not be changed, but the time given to comply might be relaxed," a finance ministry official said.



The local sourcing norm has become a bone of contention between the Commerce and Industry Ministry and the Finance Ministry. While the Commerce Ministry has recommended that Apple Inc be exempted from this rule, the Finance Ministry has rejected it.



Currently, 100 per cent FDI is permitted in single-brand retail sector but companies are required to take FIPB permission if the limit exceeds 49 per cent.



In respect of proposals involving foreign investment beyond 51 per cent, sourcing of 30 per cent of the value of goods purchased, will be done from India, preferably from MSMEs, village and cottage industries, artisans and craftsmen, in all sectors.



According to the FDI policy, the sourcing requirement would have to be met, in the first instance, as an average of five years' total value of the goods purchased, beginning April 1 of the year of the commencement of the business i.e. opening of the first store. Thereafter, it would have to be met on an annual basis. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Fifteen per cent of India's exports now come from textiles industry, signifying the sector's growth, Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, showcasing the Ministry's achievements of the past two years.According to the Ministry, apparel and handicrafts recorded 22 per cent growth, while textile exports grew by eight per cent during last two years compared with the previous two years.

Fifteen per cent of India's exports now come from textiles industry, signifying the sector's growth, Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, showcasing the Ministry's achievements of the past two years. According to the Ministry, apparel and handicrafts recorded 22 per cent growth, while textile#

More than Rs 6,500 crore has been spent by the Ministry of Textiles on various schemes for promotion and development of the textiles sector. Approximately five lakh additional jobs have been created in the past two years in the sector, Gangwar said.The Ministry also aims to increase the earning of handloom weavers to Rs 500 per day.Gangwar also said 24 new Textile Parks have been sanctioned in the last two years under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks with a potential investment of Rs.4500 crore and employment for 66,000 people.The Minister said the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) which was rolled out in January 2016 with a budget provision of Rs.17,822 crores for the next seven years, is expected to attract an investment of Rs. One lakh crore and generate employment for 30 lakh people.Gangwar said a number of initiatives have been taken to revive the handloom sector with the emphasis on increasing the weavers' income and attracting the younger generation to the profession.On efforts to promote an organised textile industry in the north-east, Gangwar said apparel and garment making units were inaugurated in April 2016 in Nagaland and Tripura, and in Mizoram earlier this month.I am very proud to say that an Apparel and Garment Making Centre in every state in the North Eastern Region, leading to enterprise in textile sector, is now a dream turned into reality. The units in Nagaland, Tripura and Mizoram have already been inaugurated. In the remaining states, (except in Sikkim) the infrastructure is ready and entrepreneurs have been identified for handing over the units, he said.Gangwar also said that the largest ever planned Minimum Support Price (MSP) operation was carried out by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) for cotton growers.To safeguard interests of domestic cotton growers, a well-planned, largest ever Minimum Support Price operation was carried out by the Cotton Corporation of India in the 2014- 2015 season in all 11 cotton producing States. This operation was successful, with procurement crossing 86 lakh bales up to March 30, 2015; and as I speak to you today, out of this stock of 86 lakh bales, only 60,000 bales are left in our stock, the rest has been sold.
New Delhi - Sudden travel due to an emergency in the family or for a job interview and the air ticket is priced beyond your reach? Help is at hand, as air fares could well be capped on domestic routes soon.

The ministry of civil aviation is once again considering a proposal to cap fares, though the mechanism it will adopt to do so is not clear. Neither is a timeline. This, despite a recent study by the DGCA which showed that on 20 busiest domestic sectors, revenue earned and the number of seats sold by scheduled private airlines was under 4% in the highest fare bucket.

In other words, very few seats are being sold at exorbitant prices and this usually happens on last-minute bookings. Since 1994, airlines have been free to price their tickets and the government has had no say in fares.

Civil aviation secretary R N Choubey said on Saturday that fare capping was very much under the ministry's consideration. "Today, airlines decide price bands (upper and lower limits for each sector) and they are merely required to display these fares on their websites. The suggestion we are examining is whether these bands should be decided keeping certain parameters in mind... We are not looking at any cap on the lower price band."

That this assertion of Choubey flies in the face of facts is evident from data as per the DGCA study quoted earlier. It showed that Jet Airways earned close to 96% of its revenue on the Delhi-Dehradun sector by selling tickets at various price bands lower than the highest fare. On this sector, less than 1% of total seats offered by Jet Airways were sold at the highest priced ticket.

IndiGo's biggest indiscretion was on the Kolkata-Chennai sector where it earned just 0.47% of its total revenue from the highest priced tickets, by selling 0.17% of its seats. GoAir earned just 3.41% of its revenue on the Delhi-Patna route through the highest priced tickets by selling less than 1.3% of total seats on the sector on this fare. Similar stats are available for SpiceJet, Vistara and AirAsia India.

The highest revenue share from highest priced tickets was just 3.52% across India's six private airlines. This was shown for just one private airline on one sector. Other airlines earned ridiculously low revenue share from highest priced tickets across various sectors, punching holes in the war cry against exorbitant air fares.

To a question on whether any move to cap fares would not violate provisions of the Aircraft Rules 1937, he siad, "We will remain within the law. But some regulation in maximum fares for all routes - Category I, II, IIA and III - is being examined."

Choubey ruled out capping lower-than-cost or lowest fares on any sector, saying any complaints on predatory pricing by airlines are anyway the domain of the Competition Commission of India.

It is interesting to note that a senior ministry official had explained last week that during the Jat agitation some moths back, fares from Delhi to Chandigarh had risen to over Rs 90,000 on one privet airline. It seems when officials of the airline were summoned for an explanation, they said this fare was a sum total of fares on three different sectors that the flight would have covered to reach from Delhi to Chandigarh, since a direct connection was not available.

"They said on no sector did the fare breach the highest limit already published and hence they did not violate any rule. This is a silly explanation since the airline lost goodwill worth lakhs and we have suggested that in future, it should unilaterally decide to lower fares in case of such unforeseen events even it means booking a loss," this offiicial said.

It might make sense for the government to nudge airlines to keep fares reasonable in case of natural calamities or other unforeseen circumstances but an all-round capping would be a bad idea.

Anyway, the latest data from DGCA corroborate what the regulator had found in an ealier study as well, which was conducted for fares in 2014. Here again, airlines were spared the blushes as the number of seats sold on the highest fare bucket were minimal. Then, in a seperate check on air fares on 10 busy domestic routes by the ministry of civil aviation last Diwali again found airlines pricing tickets at "reasonable" levels.

Though air passenger associations have questioned such data in the past and some industry experts warn that DGCA is not really equipped to conduct such an analysis - the fact remains that India should stay away from price raj. It will be in no one's interest if the state begins to control air fares.

Over the last several months, dozens of Members of Parliament have spoken in one voice on the urgent need to cap air fares, saying airlines are fleecing flyers. A Parliamentary Standing Committee, in fact, recommended earlier this month that there should be a cap on at least Economy Class fares, alleging that airlines have been charging "predatory" fares during peak seasons.

If the government actually accedes to the MPs and caps air fares, it would be doing the airlines a huge disservice. In a highly competitive domestic airline industry which has been bleeding for years due to the government's own skewed taxation policies, capping of fares is neither practical nor advisable.

Besides, capping could embolden airlines to seek an assurance from the government over return on investment, like in the case of airports with regulated tariffs.

Just like cab rides, flyers rarely complain when they get one-way, all inclusive tickets of about Rs 1,000 or Rs 1500 or similarly ridiculous low prices. They also forget to vent their anger on social media when they book seats on an airplane at dirt cheap prices through advance booking.

As per existing laws, air fares cannot be capped. With the repeal of Air Corporation Act in March 1994, the provision of airfare approval was dispensed with by the Government. Under the prevailing regulation (Sub Rule (1) of Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937), every air transport undertaking engaged in scheduled air services is required to establish tariff, taking into account relevant factors such as the cost of operation, characteristic of service, reasonable profit and the generally prevailing tariff.

In addition to the legal hurdle on capping fares, the ministry is also bound by its own earlier directive which asked all airlines to display fares on their websites in compliance of Sub Rule 02 of Rule 135, Aircraft Rule 1937. Airlines remain compliant to the regulations as long as the fare charged by them does not exceed the fare structure displayed on their website.

And this stipulation has rarely been broken. The DGCA has a fare monitoring unit (TAU) which regularly analyses fares and whether airlines are violating the fare buckets which are already pre-determined for each route. Then, the Competition Commission of India also steps in occasionally, checking air fares.

The best way to allow the airline sector to grow is to let carriers decide how to price tickets, where all to mount flights and what business model to follow. Already, airlines are fuming over a proposal to cap fares to regional routes at Rs 2500 per hour of flying.

This is one of the proposals in the Draft Civil Aviation Policy. Fare capping would introduce more red tape into a sector which is already suffering financially due to skewed taxation policies. Why not nudge the airlines to find a solution to last-minute high fares through consultation instead of a dictat?
NEW YORK Sumner Redstone's National Amusements Inc is consulting investment bankers about strategic options for Viacom Inc's (VIAB.O) Paramount Pictures, including a possible stake sale, sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

National Amusements, which controls 80 percent of the voting shares of Viacom, is also keen to extract more value from the film studio's real estate holdings in Los Angeles, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It is unclear what other scenarios National Amusements is considering. The fact that it is entertaining options for Paramount is significant because it could mean that a deal for the movie studio could happen even without Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman leading the process.

Redstone has said he is considering removing Dauman and members of the board. Representatives for National Amusement and Viacom declined to comment on Friday.

The sale of an interest in Paramount has been an issue of contention in the battle for control of 93-year-old Redstone's $40 billion media empire, which includes Viacom and CBS Corp (CBS.N).

Redstone said in a statement last month he believes keeping 100 percent of the film unit is in the best interest of Viacom but could be swayed by a plan that convinces him otherwise.

National Amusements said on Monday it "is not opposed to a transaction that would unlock value at Paramount." But it amended Viacom's bylaws to create hurdles for Dauman to sell a stake in the studio unless he obtained the approval of the entire board of the media company.

On Thursday, Dauman told an investor conference that he was pushing ahead with plans to sell a 49 percent stake in Paramount, and he was also looking to unlock the value of the film studio's real estate holdings.

Last month, Redstone removed Dauman and Viacom board member George Abrams from the seven-person trust that will determine the fate of Viacom and CBS after Redstone dies or is incapacitated. Part of the reason that he made the move was over concerns about the Paramount sale, a representative for Redstone has said.

Dauman and Abrams have filed a lawsuit opposing Redstone's removal of them from the trust and the NAI board. A Massachusetts judge is deciding whether to move up that trial from October.

(Reporting by Liana Baker and Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Anna Driver and Tiffany Wu)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Vadodara: Residents of Shiyal Bet, a nondescript island in Gujarat's Amreli district, on Saturday woke up to cherish a moment they had been waiting for nearly seven decades after the country's Independence - electricity supply in their homes.

With power supply reaching to this small island with a population of around 6,000, surrounded by Arabian Sea from all corners, Gujarat now has its every nook and corner connected to electricity.

Located around 1.5 kms away from Pipavav port in Amreli, state-run Pashchim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (PGVCL) is

supplying power to the island through a 6-km undersea cable through Chanch island in neighbouring Bhavnagar district.

Chief Minister Anandiben Patel at a ceremony in Shiyal Bet on Saturday dedicated the project to the people of the island and lauded the efforts of PGVCL.

State Energy and Finance minister Saurabh Patel told PTI, "Villagers are very happy to receive electricity supply 24X7. It was something they had never dreamt of. Due to geographical hindrances, power supply could not reach there."

"But it was in 2013 when Narendra Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, envisaged to supply power to the island.

The project has been completed at a cost of Rs 18.5 crore within two years," Patel said.

The project mainly involved laying of cables in high density polyethylene pipes on the seabed, installation of

transformers, transmission and feeder lines and 500-2000 power connections, he said.

The minister apprised attempt to supply power to the island failed twice in the recent past.

Earlier, electrification was attempted from Pipavav port, the nearest mainland from the island, but it failed as there was a possibility that anchors at the port site could damage the undersea cables.

Dwellers of Shiyal Bet, 90 percent of them fishermen, till now were dependent on kerosene oil lamps or battery-run

lights.

Patel said that earlier, the prospect of solar energy was also explored but since most fishermen demanded regular

source of power as they wanted to use cold storage.

Chief Minister Anandiben Patel hailed the development terming it as a "major milestone in Gujarat's growth story".

"Achieving major milestone in Gujarat's growth story, Shiyal Bet-an island village is now electrified through

undersea cable...Consider myself privileged to have become the first Chief Minister of Gujarat to visit island village of Shiyal Bet in Amreli district," Patel said in a series of tweets on micro-blogging site Twitter.

The electrification of the village had become difficult due to its geographical location and other technical reasons.

It was also not possible to set up solar power stations at the village for the same reason, a government release said.

According to a government official, the work included hydro-graphic survey and use of special materials such as RCC

shields, high density polyethylene pipes used for carrying the cables undersea connecting the village.

Apart from dedicating electricity, the Chief minister also distributed energy-efficient Ujala LED bulbs to the residents as part of a government programme to provide cheap LED lights.

PTI
How depressing is it that the Executives chronic reluctance to ever promptly attend to the publics grievances is likely the biggest contributor to the tragic death toll in the Jawahar Bagh riot?

A common refrain among litigants, one that lawyers regularly hear, is that the bureaucrat or officer they went to for help told them Court order lao (bring a court order). The fact is, in a great number of situations, the official on the ground doesnt lift his finger to correct violations of law or help the public without a court order. In cases where the law on a given subject is already clear, or where the law leaves things to the sole discretion of the officer at the table, Court order lao is usually shorthand for the famous line from Goodfellas: F*** you, pay me.

For those of you who dont want to pay the bureaucrats, pay the lawyers. Such unhelpful obstinacy on part of the Executive necessitates the filing of writ petitions for mandamus: directing the officer to do what the law required him to do anyway. Ironically, this approach often ends up hurting bureaucrats themselves: in rare cases, courts order compensation to be recovered from the personal salaries of uncooperative officials.

At the risk of offending the few bureaucrats who honestly try to help the public, lets break the chain of events in an Indian citizens typical dealings with the State down to a now-familiar routine: Citizen has a grievance. He visits the office of the relevant public authority where he is reluctantly assured something will be done. Nothing is done. Citizen makes a representation, and after a month, he gets a reply, if hes lucky.

The reply either assures him that the problem will be dealt with, or is not the Authoritys responsibility. Either way, nothing is done. Citizen approaches court. If hes lucky, he leaves with a court order. But not before being made to wait for years, or even decades, and being forced to contest several rounds of litigations through our judicial hierarchy. Nothing is done. Citizen files Contempt Petition. If hes lucky, something is finally done  or we see another round of frustrating and frivolous litigation before the Supreme Court.

Let us apply this framework to what has transpired in Jawahar Bagh, Mathura. From the court order that was the genesis of the riots, it seems that the petitioner (himself a lawyer named Vijay Pal Singh Tomar) submitted numerous representations regarding the illegal encroachments in the park in the last months of 2014. One of these representations was to the District Magistrate, who in turn wrote to the Chief Secretary of the State Government on 15 August, 2014. The District Horticulture Officer also wrote to the SSP, Mathura that over 2,400 trees had been illegally burnt by the Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena. The court ordered that a public park shouldnt be encroached upon in such a manner and orders action, saying that the rule of law should be preserved, on 20 May, 2015.

WPIL(a) 28807 2015 Mathura Order

Now at least as on 20 May, 2015, the authorities were aware that they had to clear the squatters. The squatters too, would know by this time that the JCBs were coming, sooner or later. Obviously, nothing happened for over a year. It isnt clear yet what the state government was waiting for, but their reluctance certainly assured the Sena plenty of time to stockpile ammunition and foment resentment, leading to Thursdays tragedy.

Recall Arun Jaitleys comments last month about the now common complaint of judicial overreach by our Courts. When the Executive raises its hands in the manner described above, what alternative except overreach is left?
After Bank of Baroda froze the bank accounts of farmer Manmohan Singh from Pilibhit for being Vijay Mallya's "guarantor", has now served a legal notice to the bank's Mumbai branch and the branch in Pilibhit, reported The Times of India. He charged them for defamation and has demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh within 30 days.

Singh's advocate Ram Pal Gangwar was quoted by The Times of India as saying that his client has demanded an explanation from the bank as to how they linked Singh as Mallya's 'guarantor' and disclose the findings.

Gangwar also said that Singh's integrity has been questioned after the bank froze his accounts.

"We want the bank to a pay Rs 10 lakh for defamation, and Rs 24,000 as reparation of the loss he bore on the sale of his crop to non-government agencies due to the restriction on the operation of his bank accounts," he said.

The farmer told The Times of India that he incurred huge losses as he had to sell his crop at low prices without getting any of the government benefits. He said that without a functional bank account, he had to sell his crop at low prices as he could not sell the produce to government agencies, which makes the payment through cheques.

"This is all the bank's fault," he said.

Manmohan Singh's name cropped as the guarantor for a Rs 550 crore loan taken by Vijay Mallya. However, the bank later dismissed the case and termed it as "technical error."

Last week, Firstpost spoke to the farmer and ran an investigative report as to how a marginal farmer in a remote town of Uttar Pradesh, with a Rs four lakh loan and only Rs 5,200 in his accounts, stand guarantee for Vijay Mallyas loan? Here is the full report: Vijay Mallyas loan: BoB mistook farmer, security guard for Kingfisher directors!
Judith DSouza, the 40-year-old Indian woman, who was abducted in Kabul late on Thursday, is possibly being held by one of several organised crime cartels who earn millions of dollars in ransom from kidnapping foreign nationals, investigators told The Indian Express on Saturday.

Two men have been detained for questioning. The report further quotes sources as saying that the kidnappers spoke Pashto with an accent which suggested that they were from Shomali Plains.

Indian authorities and family members of Judith have taken to Twitter to launch a campaign to bring her back. #rescuejudith has been trending on Twitter with External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj assuring the country that the government will spare no efforts to rescue her.

I have spoken to the sister of Judith D' Souza. We will spare no efforts to rescue her. @VohraManpreet  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 10, 2016

Responding to a tweet by Judiths brother Jerome DSouza, Swaraj said we are doing everything to rescue her. Jerome has the support of hundreds of Indians who are constantly tweeting him and making efforts to locate Judith.

She is your sister and India's daughter. We are doing everything to rescue her. Pl take care of your sick father. https://t.co/WsYdLyMIbE  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 10, 2016

Thank you for all the support on Twitter. Hoping they find my sister. #rescuejudith  jerome dsouza (@jeromedsouza) June 10, 2016

@Manyaod @jeromedsouza @ketkiangre @MajuVarghese

In touch with Ex colleagues in Kabul wish cud get a good news and share with u.  Dr.Rizvi (@rizvi3014) June 11, 2016

@jeromedsouza pl can you share your contact details so we can keep you updated about action that cswnn alumni is taking. #bringbackjudith  Manisha Desai (@Manyaod) June 11, 2016

Indias ambassador to Afghanistan, Manpreet Vohra, too took to Twitter to announce that investigations are still ongoing.

Judith, who is from Kolkata, was working as a senior technical advisor for an NGO Aga Khan Development Network. Her father received a call from the Indian Embassy in Kabul informing him that his daughter has in all probability been abducted, reported The Indian Express.

He was informed that three persons  Judith, a security guard and the driver of the vehicle, were abducted.

Swaraj, who is in touch with Judiths family, has expressed hope that India and Afghanistan will soon have her released.

"It happened in a different country. The government of that country should take steps. She liked the place as she said there was a lot of work to be done," Judiths sister Agnes D'Souza told the media in Kolkata. "But if such a thing happens, who would want to go back. I am asking every channel to do their part. The Government of India must do something and get my sister back. I want her back," she added.

She said Judith was scheduled to return home Wednesday next and had rung up two days ago. "She did not express any apprehension," she said. Agnes said, "We had asked her (Judith) not to go there but she did not listen." Chief Executive of Aga Khan Trust for Culture, India, Ratish Nanda said every effort is being made to secure her safe release.

"On 9 June, a staff member of the Aga Khan Foundation was abducted. An investigation by the authorities has been launched, in conjunction with security officials and various partners. Every effort is being made to secure the safe release of the staff member," he said in a statement in New Delhi.
Pune: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday termed Sanatan Sanstha as a "dangerous" organisation and renewed his demand for a ban on it following the arrest of a member of its affiliate in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

Tawde is a member of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS), an offshoot of Sanatan Sanstha, and was arrested by CBI at Panvel near Mumbai on Friday night. The Congress leader, during his tenure as the Chief Minister (20102014), had sent a proposal to the Centre seeking a ban on the Goa-headquartered radical group in the wake of Dabholkar's murder in Pune on August 20, 2013.

Reacting to Tawdes' arrest, Chavan said "the Maharashtra Chief Minister should issue clear directive to its lawyers to make out a case for banning Sanatan Sanstha against whom the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has proofs. "The State government and Union Home Ministry have an important role to play in effecting ban on this outfit which is targeting and eliminating those opposed to its ideology.

The kingpin of this dangerous outfit should be booked and punished," Chavan said, adding that the Modi government is obliged under the Constitution to act against terrorist elements which pose a threat to the country.
Late on Thursday, a 40-year-old Indian woman, hailing from Kolkata, was abducted in Afghanistan's Kabul, reports said. According to a report by CNN-News 18, the woman was identified as Judith D'Souza and the report added that she was working as a senior technical advisor for an NGO Aga Khan Development Network.

"She was abducted around 10:40 pm on Thursday from the Taimani area of Kabul," CNN-News18 reported.

However, NewsX report said that the abduction took place close to Qala-e-Fatullah, an area of Kabul where many such incidents have taken place in the past. No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the abduction yet.

The Indian authorities are in touch with the Afghan government and are trying to secure an early release of the woman. The authorities also got in touch with the Judith's family. Government sources claimed that all efforts are being made to ensure safe and early release of the woman.

"Our Embassy is in touch with senior Afghan authorities and the government is in touch with her family in Kolkata too. All efforts are being made by Afghan authorities to secure her early release", Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials were reported saying.

Responding to the issue, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted

I have spoken to the sister of Judith D' Souza. We will spare no efforts to rescue her. @VohraManpreet  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 10, 2016

Given the volatile situation and a spate in terrorist activities in Afghanistan, in May this year the Indian Embassy had alerted Indians living in the country to be careful. The notice was also issued for those travelling to Afghanistan.

"All Indians residing in Afghanistan and Indian travellers to Afghanistan are advised that the security situation in Afghanistan remains highly volatile. Terrorist attacks have taken place in many parts of the country against a variety of targets including foreigners and are expected to continue. There is also the risk of kidnapping and hostage taking throughout the Afghanistan, the statement had said.

The Kolkata-based family of Judith D'Souza, a woman development worker abducted in Kabul has expressed the hope that India and Afghanistan will act soon to have her released.

"It happened in a different country. The government of that country should take steps. She liked the place as she said there was a lot of work to be done," her sister Agnes D'Souza told the media in Kolkata. "But if such a thing happens, who would want to go back. I am asking every channel to do their part. The government of India must do something and get my sister back. I want her back," she added.

She said Judith was scheduled to return home Wednesday next and had rung up two days ago. "She did not express any apprehension," she said. Agnes said, "We had asked her (Judith) not to go there but she did not listen."

Asked about Taliban involvement in the crime, she said, "I don't know." Judith's family came to know about the development at around 1.30 am on Friday from the Indian embassy in Kabul.

"We are waiting for more information and then we will act accordingly," said the sister. "I tried the embassy (in Kabul) but it is closed as it is Friday. People in Delhi are trying on our behalf to contact the authorities." Judith never spoke about any danger to her, the sister said.

"She has been abroad before but this is the first time this has happened," Agnes D'Souza said.

The 40-year-old Judith, a gender specialist, was working with an NGO in Kabul for a year on issues of women and child development.



The woman's father D D'Souza said in Kolkata that the family received information that three persons  Judith, a security guard and the driver of the vehicle, were abducted. "I want my daughter back," said a sobbing D'Souza. "She said she was safe. We had long conversations," he added.

"External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj rang up and spoke to me and assured that the government is making all-out efforts to bring her back," Judith's sister Agnes D'Souza told PTI.

Reponding to a tweet by one of the family members of Judith, Swaraj said "She is your sister and India's daughter. We are doing everything to rescue her. Pl take care of your sick father."

A source said the woman was abducted by suspected militants.

Chief Executive of Aga Khan Trust for Culture, India, Ratish Nanda said every effort is being made to secure her safe release.

"On Thursday, 9 June, a staff member of the Aga Khan Foundation was abducted. An investigation by the authorities has been launched, in conjunction with security officials and various partners. Every effort is being made to secure the safe release of the staff member," he said in a statement in New Delhi.

The Aga Khan Foundation is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network and has been working on restoration projects in the war-ravaged country.

"It will continue to work with local communities, the Government of Afghanistan and those in need to enhance the development of the country," said Nanda.

With inputs from agencies
Seoul: Thousands marched through central Seoul Saturday during the city's annual Gay Pride parade, less than a month after a landmark court decision ruled against a homosexual couple's same-sex marriage.

Some 2,000 police were deployed along the parade route as hundreds of Christians turned out to protest the event, chanting slogans and holding up one sign in English that read: "Homosexual is sin. Return to Jesus".

Despite the protest and minor jeering, the march proceeded largely without incident. Some 5,000 participants marched in the parade, dancing and waving rainbow-coloured flags as music blared from accompanying vehicles.

"Leave us alone to live our life the way we want to," said Ranny, a 29-year-old participant from the United Kingdom, who added that he was there "to celebrate and be happy for who I am".

The annual Gay Pride parade comes weeks after a lawsuit filed by a prominent gay film director and his partner seeking legal status for their same-sex marriage was rejected by a South Korean district court in the first case of its kind

Movie director Kim Jho Gwang-Soo and his long-time partner Kim Seung-Hwan held a wedding ceremony in Seoul in September 2013 and submitted their marriage registration form to their local authority  only for it to be rejected.

"I was disgusted. The court decision showed how backward this society still is despite the country's economic development", a 22-year-old female student participating in the parade said of the court decision.

While homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, same-sex marriage is not recognised and the country remains deeply conservative about matters of sexual identity.
Cairo: Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in an online audio message, pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, who was appointed last month after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike.

The veteran Islamist militant became al Qaeda's leader after US Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, and he is thought to be hiding in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, having been based there since the late 1990s.

"As leader of the al Qaeda organization for jihad, I extend my pledge of allegiance once again, the approach of Osama to invite the Muslim nation to support the Islamic Emirate," al-Zawahri said in a 14 minute recording.

During its years in power, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and it has been fighting an insurgency since to regain control of the country.

The authenticity of the recording could not be immediately verified.

Haibatullah Akhundzada, Islamic legal scholar who was one of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour's deputies, was appointed a few days after Mansour was killed by a US drone attack in a remote border area just inside Pakistan.

Since al-Zawahri, an Egyptian doctor-turned-militant, succeeded bin Laden, al Qaeda has lost ground to Islamic State in the leadership of the global jihadist movement.

Some Afghan insurgent commanders have broken away from the Taliban to pledge support for Islamic State, though it operates largely in Iraq and Syria, and is active in parts of North Africa.

Al Qaeda was set up by Arab guerrillas who flocked to Afghanistan to fight Soviet occupation forces in the 1980s. It had thrived under the Taliban's rule before both groups were driven underground following the US invasion that followed Al Qaeda's 11 September, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
Washington: The Indian government is going to be America's "great ally" and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.

In a major foreign policy speech here in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obama's policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.

"I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modi's leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length yesterday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas," Ryan said.

He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.

Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryan's

speakership.

On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the Prime Minister's address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader.

A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi.

"I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. That's one thing that we need to nurture and grow," Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.

"And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, he's a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. He's bringing needed reform to the country," Ryan said, according to the remarks released by his office.

"That's the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon. That stands in stark contrast, I would argue, to the Obama foreign policy of the last eight years where we have neglected our allies and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries," said the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Except for his comments on India, Ryan slammed Obama's foreign policy.

"We know that this new Obama foreign policy concept, leading from behind, can now be declared an unambiguous failure. It is making us unprepared. It is reducing our military capability and strength," he alleged.

"It is confusing our allies and incentivising our adversaries. And all that does is tempt fate. So we are saying we've got to reset our system. We've got to restructure and reaffirm our foreign policy, in particular our military policy if we want to prevent these problems on the horizon from getting out of control," Ryan said.

In response to a question, he said Modi's address to the joint session of the Congress was a great day.

"So we just heard the prime minister of India at the Capitol Hill yesterday. It was a great day. He spoke before Congress and it was a great moment for the growing friendship between our two countries. The main reason I think this moment was so notable is that nowadays it's so rare," Ryan said referring to the bipartisan support that India-US relationship enjoys in the Congress.

"On the past seven years, our friendships have frayed. Our rivalries have intensified. It's not too much to say that our enemies no longer fear us and too many of our allies no longer trust us," he said.

In the Republican document on foreign policy and national security released by Ryan, the party said India and the US are working together for betterment of the world.

"We must also embrace emerging partners that could help keep the peace in their region and beyond," the document said.

"India, the world's largest democracy, shares common interests with the world's oldest democracy, the United States and we must build upon that foundation to work together in shaping world events," it said.

As part of its objective of advancing American interest, the 25-page document calls for "deepening relations" with emerging powers like India.

The foreign policy document released by Ryan is also critical of the Pakistan policy of the Obama Administration.

The Obama administration failed to prioritise economic growth in its approach to foreign aid and development, preferring high-profile "presidential initiatives" and short-term responses such as loan guarantees and enterprise funds, it said.

"In places like Pakistan, the administration has made major investments in infrastructure but failed to accomplish the reforms necessary to create a positive environment for economic growth. Without reform, these initiatives will do little to improve livelihoods," the policy paper said.
Islamabad: Pakistan's Army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the US to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.

General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson.

In a late night statement, the army said Gen Raheel demanded targeting of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.

"Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, COAS reiterated Pakistans resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism," it said.

It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on 21 May.

The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.

"Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb," it said.

Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful. He said all stakeholders need to understand Pakistan's challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.

"Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate," he said.

He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.

Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated.
Richmond (US): Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has slammed US President Barack Obama for endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate despite being under "criminal investigation".

Trump, however, said he was ready to face Clinton in the November elections, which he claimed would attract the largest ever voter turnout.

"You have a President coming out and endorsing somebody who is under criminal investigation. Is this supposed to be the way the country is supposed to be?" Trump told his cheering supporters at an election rally in Richmond, Virginia on Friday.

This was Trump's first public rally since Obama endorsed Clinton as Democratic presidential nominee against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

The rally at spacious Richmond Coliseum attracted several thousands people. But the arena having a capacity of 13,500 was more than half empty.

Trump said the rally was organised at a short notice of less than one day.

The real estate mogul from New York said he would make a major policy speech on Clinton in New Hampshire on Monday. To the cheering of his supporters, Trump described this as a "crooked Hillary" speech.

"There is so much corruption. If the system works, she is not allowed to run. It is really unfair for the other people," Trump said referring to a latest news report that an Indian American Rajiv Fernando was appointed to the important International Security Advisory board because of his alleged massive donations to the Clinton Foundation.

The Advisory Board advises the State Department on nuclear weapons and other issues of national security. Based out of Chicago, Fernando is a securities trader president of Chopper Trading.

According to ABC News, Fernando was a major bundler for the Obama Campaign, raising more than $5,00,000 for his re-election cycle. And before his appointment at the State Department, he gave between $1,00,000 and $2,50,000 to the William J Clinton Foundation.

Trump cited this as another example for corruption by Hillary Clinton. "He made a contribution of $2,50,000 and all of a sudden he's on this very important and vital board," he said.

Reiterating that Clinton should not be allowed to run for the elections, he said he is ready to run against the former US Secretary of State and exuded confidence of winning the election.

Trump said the debate against Clinton would be the "biggest debate" in the history and would be the "biggest voter turnout" in the history of this country.

Countries like China and Mexico, he alleged are destroying the United States. He reiterated that he would make the wall on the Mexico border, which some day may be called as Trump Wall. "Someday, people would call it a Trump wall," he said, adding this would be a strong, tall and beautiful wall.

"Our taking is being taken advantage of because we have very stupid people representing in trade. It is not going to happen. We are losing badly. We have the smartest people in the world. But we are using the dumbest people," he alleged.

Trump claimed that companies would start setting up manufacturing plants in the US, because there would be consequences for moving jobs overseas. "We are going to bring jobs back to America," he said, adding his administration would lower taxes and simplify tax codes.

"Hillary Clinton is going to raise taxes beyond anyone's imagination," he claimed.

"Polls are looking good in Virginia," he said. Pollsters are saying that Virginia is a key swing state for the November general elections. He claimed that he would win the presidential elections in Florida and New York.

"Unless we win in November, it means nothing. It would be waste of time and money," he said and asked people to come out and vote in large numbers in the November general elections.

"I am the least racist person that you have ever looked at," he said, referring to the allegations that he is a

racist.

Trump lashed out at Clinton for not using the term "radical Islamic terrorism" because she does not want to offend Obama. "Because she does not want to go to jail. The system is rigged. Bernie found it out," he said.

"If we had guns in those rooms, and bullets going in opposite direction," not so many people would have been killed, he said. "We are going to win again and we are going to kick ISIS, we are going to win in trade, we are going to win on the Supreme Court... we are going to win so much that you people are going to (get) sick and tired of winning. We are going to win, win, win," he said.

Stephen Miller, a senior policy adviser to the Trump Campaign, alleged that as Secretary of State, Clinton gave a prominent national security post dealing with nuclear security to someone who paid $5,000,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
San Francisco: A fledgling campaign to recall the judge, who sentenced a former Stanford University swimmer to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, gained momentum on Friday as three prominent political consultants joined the effort.

The Recall Judge Aaron Persky campaign said media consultant Joe Trippi, campaign strategist John Shallman and pollster Paul Maslin would help secure the signatures and votes required to remove the Santa Clara County jurist from the bench next year.

Trippi has worked for a number of Democratic presidential candidates, while Maslin's clients include Governor Jerry Brown and members of Congress.

Shallman has worked for the president of the California Senate, who spearheaded passage of a law requiring colleges and universities to apply a "yes means yes" standard in sexual misconduct cases.

Persky was re-elected in an unopposed election Tuesday, five days after sentencing Brock Turner, 20, to six months in jail and three years' probation.

The punishment for the Dayton, Ohio, native ignited intense outcry as too lenient.

Prosecutors had argued for Turner to spend six years in prison for three felony convictions that could have sent him away for 14 years.

The judge said in court last week that he followed a recommendation from the county's probation department and cited Turner's clean criminal record and the effect the conviction will have on his life.

"I have daughters in college myself, and I find it deeply disturbing that a judge like Persky could let a campus predator like Turner off with barely a slap on the wrist," Shallman said. "Justice is supposed to be blind not stupid."

A request to interview the judge wasn't returned on Friday. A court spokesman has said Persky is barred from commenting because Turner is appealing his convictions of felony assault and attempted rape.

Meanwhile, a group of California lawmakers joined women's rights advocates in urging the California agency that investigates complaints of judicial misconduct to take action against Persky.

Eleven Democratic state lawmakers asked the Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate and discipline the judge, alleging he may have engaged in misconduct in sentencing Turner.

The judge's decision "confirms what women already knew: That rape culture blames us for being vulnerable when crimes are committed against us, but treats the same factors, drinking, in particular, as reasons to be exceedingly lenient with rapists," Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton said.
Beirut: Suicide bombers struck outside a Shiite shrine near Syria's capital Saturday, leaving at least 20 people dead, a monitor said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The official SANA news agency said two suicide bombers, one in a car, attacked the entrance to the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, which is revered by Shiites around the world.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said at least 20 people were killed, including 13 civilians, and more than 30 wounded in the blasts. SANA gave a toll of at least 12 dead and 55 wounded.

IS claimed the attack via its Amaq news agency, saying it was carried out by three suicide bombers.

The shrine, around 10 kilometres (six miles) south of the centre of Damascus, is heavily guarded by pro-government forces but has still been the target of several jihadist attacks, including those claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Syria's official Al-Ikhbariya channel showed images from the scene of burned-out cars billowing with plumes of black smoke.

Firefighters battled to extinguish the flames as shop signs lay in the street.

The last attack on Sayyida Zeinab on 25 April killed at least seven and wounded dozens.

A string of IS bombings near the shrine in February left 134 people dead, most of them civilians, according to the Observatory.

And in January, another attack claimed by IS killed 70 people.

Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah cited the threat to Sayyida Zeinab as a principal reason for its intervention in Syria's civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

The shrine contains the grave of Zeinab, a venerated granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed, and is renowned for its glistening golden, onion-shaped dome.
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The drama-filled proposed merger between Energy Transfer Equity (ET -0.25%) and Williams Companies (WMB 2.41%) took another interesting turn this week. The companies were granted approval by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to close the merger, but on one condition: Williams Companies needed to sell its stake in an interstate natural gas pipeline that serves Florida to ease anti-competition concerns. What remains to be seen is if this condition helps or hurts the deal, which has been embroiled in a bitter legal battle.

A new hurdle to clear

In order to gain full FTC approval for the deal, Williams Companies, or more precisely, its affiliated MLP Williams Partners (NYSE: WPZ), will need to sell its 50% stake in the Gulfstream Natural Gas System, which is an interstate pipeline that delivers natural gas to Florida. The reason for the required divestiture is to ease antitrust concerns surrounding the pipeline given that it services electric power companies in Florida, which don't want to see their rates increase.

The Gulfstream System, which was placed into service in 2002, is a 745-mile pipeline that has the capacity to carry 1.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day across the Gulf of Mexico to market areas in Florida. The system is currently co-owned by Spectra Energy (SE), though Williams Partners is the operator of the system.

There are antitrust concerns regarding this particular pipeline system because Energy Transfer Equity's affiliated MLP, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), owns a 50% stake in the Florida Gas Transmission Pipeline. That system controls more than 5,000 miles of interstate natural gas pipelines that have the capacity for 3.1 Bcf/d of natural gas. It's also the principal transporter of natural gas to Florida, delivering over 66% of the natural gas consumed in the state. In other words, by owning stakes in both pipelines, Energy Transfer Equity would in effect have a monopoly on gas transmitted to Florida, though half of both pipeline systems would still be owned by other pipeline companies. Still, it was enough of an antitrust red flag for the FTC to require the divestiture of the Gulfstream stake.

What to make of this condition?

Under normal circumstances, this divestiture requirement would not likely be a deal-breaker for Energy Transfer Equity given that its primary purpose for the acquisition wasn't to acquire this one particular pipeline system. Instead, it was interested in Williams Companies' diversified asset footprint, including its rapidly expanding Transco system and its rich expansion opportunities in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. Having said that, Energy Transfer Equity has been looking to break up this deal for quite some time -- unless Williams Companies is willing to renegotiate the structure. As such, it could use this condition to force Williams back to the negotiating table.

Energy Transfer Equity could conclude that without Gulfstream, the deal is no longer attractive given that the company could have likely squeezed out some merger synergies if both pipeline systems were managed under the same system. Instead, Williams would have to seek a buyer for that asset at a time when pipeline assets aren't as richly valued as they'd been prior to the downturn in the energy credit markets toward the end of last year. Those credit market issues also limit the buyer base, with current 50% Gulfstream owner Spectra Energy one of the few large pipeline companies that would have the scale and financial capacity to make such an acquisition.

Another potential sticking point is the fact that the Gulfstream stake is technically owned by Williams Partners. Because of that, its sale won't directly flow through to Williams Companies, and therefore couldn't be used as a potential funding mechanism to pay off some of the debt Energy Transfer Equity would need to take on to close the deal under its current structure. In other words, selling this stake won't help either company overcome one of the deal's key hurdles.

Investor takeaway

While the FTC approval clears the merger of its last antitrust hurdle, it doesn't clarify the eventual outcome. However, it does seem to suggest Energy Transfer Equity has one more reason to claim that the deal is no longer worth pursuing under its current framework, therefore forcing Williams back to the negotiating table.

Still, it's anyone's guess as to whether that will happen, or if both companies will just choose to go their separate ways.
In a way, Ford Motor Company's (F 2.80%) business in China, the world's largest automotive market, has been hit and miss. The company dropped the ball and was years late getting into the emerging market, far behind cross-town rival General Motors. On the other hand, Ford also made up ground and scooped up market share over the past few years much faster than many investors expected. Further, China has finally generated meaningful income for Ford, which makes it all the more important to watch its sales development in the region.

With that said, let's take a look at Ford's sales in China last month, to see if they're cooling, and one more important development for investors.

Just the numbers

Starting from the top, Ford and its two joint ventures delivered 88,248 vehicles in China last month. That sales result was a 2.5% decline compared to the year prior's May. Part of the driving force behind Ford's sales decline last month was its Jiangling joint venture, which produces the Ford Transit van, among other vehicles. Jiangling's sales dropped 4% compared to the prior year, down to 19,692 units, thanks to slowing demand for commercial trucks in China as the country's economy and auto market continue to face uncertainty.

Meanwhile, sales of imported Ford vehicles dropped an eye-popping 45%, but that percentage is skewed by the small number of vehicles Ford imports -- the plunge brought Ford's imports down to 1,501 units. Lastly, Changan Ford Automobile, which produces Ford's passenger vehicles, recorded flat year-over-year sales with 67,055 units.

Because of the volatility in the graph above, it's a little difficult to grasp how sales are trending for the full year. Zooming out and looking at the full-year data, the results are a little more positive, but still a far cry from the double-digit gains investors have become accustomed to over the past two to three years.

Much of the full-year sales follow the direction of last month's results. Passenger cars did well, with sales rising 11% to 370,268 units, which were mostly driven by strong sales in the first quarter. Again, commercial vehicle weakness hindered Jiangling's deliveries, which declined 12% through May to 102,162 units. Ford's imported vehicle sales slumped a similar 43% to only 7,111 vehicles. Overall, Ford's sales in China totaled nearly 280,000 vehicles, a 5% increase for the same time period in 2015.

But wait, there's more

As China continues to play an important role in the automaker's financial results, it appears Ford is shaking things up slightly. Stuart Rowley moves from being vice president and controller on Ford's China, India, Global Strategy and Finance team to a new position as vice president of strategy. John Lawler will succeed Rowley in his former position.

"Stuart and John have played key roles in delivering Ford's long-term global growth strategy and strong financial performance," said Mark Fields, Ford president and chief executive officer. "As our growth plans in China have developed, this market is delivering an increasingly important portion of our revenue and profits globally," Fields continued. "Elevating the reporting of this business right now reflects China's importance in our profitable growth plan going forward."

If the moves and commitments lead to more transparency with Ford's business in China, that would be great news for investors. The slight shake-up also comes at a time when Ford is reportedly, per Bloomberg, contemplating producing at least some of its Lincoln lineup in China to avoid the 25% import tax on the vehicles. Ford is apparently in discussions, though nothing is final or official, with its Changan Automobile partner about manufacturing Lincolns in Chongqing as soon as 2018.

Throughout the remainder of 2016, investors should definitely keep an eye on the Chinese economy and new-vehicle demand since it'll make deciding whether or not to invest in more production facilities all the more important financially.
SpaceX, the space exploration start-up established by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, has successfully landed four of the last six rockets it launched.

To recap, SpaceX's last six missions included:

The Orbcomm mission, launched to low earth orbit (LEO) and landed at the spaceport on Dec. 21, 2015

Jason-3, launched to LEO and failed landing at sea on Jan. 17, 2016.

SES-9, launched to geostationary orbit (GEO, which is similar to geostationary transfer orbit, or GTO, in altitude) and failed landing at sea on March 4, 2016.

CRS-8, launched to resupply the International Space Station in LEO and landed at sea on April 8, 2016.

JCSAT-14, launched to GTO and landed at sea on May 6, 2016.

Thaicom 8, likewise launched to GTO and landed at sea on May 27, 2016.

These weren't mere test flights to prove the concept of rocket reusability. These rockets delivered actual payloads to Earth orbit, and their subsequent landings were secondary objectives.

Be that as it may, it's the landings that are making all the headlines, and rightly so. As of today, you can just about round up SpaceX's successful landing percentage and say that Elon Musk has hit his goal of relanding seven out of every 10 rockets it launches.

But what about relaunching them?

Reusability: Theory ...

In theory, every Falcon 9 first-stage rocket that SpaceX launches these days is supposed to be reusable. After delivering its payload, the company tries to reland it either on land or at sea, on a remote-controlled drone barge.

Landing on land is hard enough, and SpaceX spent years perfecting the process on its Grasshopper test-bed before ever trying it with Falcon. Landing at sea is even harder, and cost SpaceX four rocketships before it finally got it right -- and SpaceX is the first company to ever get it right. Once landed, though, SpaceX says it should be able to recondition a rocket, refuel it, and send it right back up to space again. In practice, however, SpaceX has yet to reuse any of its recovered rockets.

But someone else has.

... and practice

Musk originally planned to relaunch one of his Falcon 9s "around May or June" of this year, a prediction he made after the first successful sea landing, CRS-8. This week, however, he tweeted a postponement to that target. The first Falcon relaunch is now expected no sooner than "Sept/Oct" 2016. Thus, reflight might not take place until July or August.

Meanwhile, Musk's new space nemesis, rival billionaire Jeff Bezos, is already planning his fourth straight flight with a single rocket launcher, Blue Origin's New Shephard. (Boeing (BA 3.24%) and Lockheed Martin (LMT 0.59%) are so 20th century),

So far, New Shephard -- the suborbital launch rocket that Blue Origin is testing for use in "space tourism" -- has already launched to the edge of space three times and returned to land safely on Earth each time. Last week, Blue Origin announced that it will launch New Shephard again "before the end of the month," to test the vessel's ability to land successfully despite a pre-planned catastrophic failure.

Blue Origin intends to intentionally sabotage one of New Shephard's main parachutes, used to decelerate the craft before its final retro rocket landing, so that it will fail to open. This could result in a hard landing of the craft, permitting Blue Origin to assess any damage the craft incurs to its "two-stage crushable structure that absorbs landing loads," as well as to the "seats that use a passive energy absorbing mechanism to reduce peak loads" on future passengers.

Incidentally, a successful mission will mean Blue Origin notches four trips to space and back.

Back and forths aside, these companies are all pointing in the same direction: up

Critics may charge -- correctly -- that Blue Origin still hasn't landed a rocket after reaching orbital speeds, while Musk and SpaceX have. But give credit where credit is due: Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the twin titans of spaceflight, can't reland their orbital-speed rockets, either.

Fun as it is to paint these companies' efforts as a horse race, the truth is that each of them is expanding our space frontiers in its own way. Boeing and Lockheed continue to do the heavy lifting of putting government satellites in orbit, even as they assist NASA with its planned first manned mission to Mars. SpaceX is moving Mars-ward too, while working to relentlessly lower the cost of spaceflight here on Earth. And Blue Origin is demonstrating to the world that yes, Virginia, it is really is possible to reuse reusable space rockets -- to launch them, relaunch them, and rerelaunch them, and land them safely every time.

So whether you're an Elon Musk fan or a Bezos backer, let's all cheer along when, later this month, Blue Origin attempts to set a new record in spaceflight -- four straight space flights with just one spaceship.

And then, sure, let's see if SpaceX can reuse its Falcon 9 at least once, before Blue Origin gets to No. 5.
Things aren't looking good for potash producers. It's already June and China still hasn't signed a contract for pricing of potash deliveries for the year, and the way things are going it just might not sign one at all. That means that potash prices, which were at $315 a tonne when it signed its last contract with North American marketing group Canpotex in March 2015, may have much further to fall.

PotashCorp (POT), as one of the world's biggest producers of the crop nutrient, and one of the three members of Canpotex, has a lot riding on the outcome of the pricing negotiations. Its first quarter results reported back in April were hit hard by China's contract deferrals because it caused other markets to become more reticent about filling their own storehouses with more product. PotashCorp said segment revenues tumbled more than 50% to $322 million as sales volumes of 1.8 million tonnes fell well short of the 2.3 million tonnes sold in the year ago period.

It wasn't much better for the other two members of Canpotex either, Agrium (NYSE: AGU) or Mosaic (MOS 2.17%), as they also suffered sales volumes shortfalls.

The clubby potash market was thrown into turmoil in 2013 when Russian potash producer Uralkali ended its distribution agreement with Belaruskali, its joint venture partner in Belarusian Potash Corp., or BPC, a cartel that controlled roughly 43% of global potash exports.

The breakup caused potash prices to plummet from nearly $400 per tonne to $305. When pricing negotiations began for 2015, both BPC and Canpotex were looking for prices to rise about 10%, but Belaruskali quickly signed an agreement with China for potash at $315, which set the ceiling for the market.

According to Bloomberg, the potash market's weaknesses are exacerbated by expectations that India might curtail purchases while Brazil, another top market for the crop nutrient, is being hurt by a weak economy, with pricing there plunging to around $220 per tonne. So China doesn't need to rush into any contracts at the moment because its inventories are currently above average levels and its own potash producers are running at full capacity. Further, Russia has been delivering to it some 120,000 tonnes of potash per month.

So if prices are going to fall, there's good reason to believe they could go as low as $200 a tonne, maybe lower, as the Canpotex members were all reporting low realized prices. PotashCorp said in April its realized price was just $178 per tonne on a global basis, well below the $284 it had realized in the prior year's first quarter; Mosaic reported average selling prices of $207 per tonne; and Agrium said it got $199 per tonne.

That low pricing environment also has implications for PotashCorp's dividend, which it pays out $1.2 billion annually. As the potash miner has itself noted, at $200 per tonne, the dividend is barely sustainable. It will likely strive to maintain it for sometime, but if pricing continues to cascade lower, there may be pressure to cut the dividend.

It's not all doom and gloom, though. Although Mosaic is forecasting pricing of between $180 and $200 per tonne for the second quarter, it is also anticipating the back half of the year to be more stable. And Agrium noted India announced changes to its crop nutrient subsidy program for the 2016-2017 planting year and said the new policy "improves the import economics and should support improved import demand in the second half of 2016." Moreover, Brazil's potash imports in the first quarter were up a surprising 20% from a year ago.

Agrium believes the market has reached the bottom of the cycle and is poised for new growth. Perhaps, but all signs seem to point to the fact that there's still a lot of ugly potash producers are going to need to endure, and with them trading between 15 and 18 times future earnings, there may be time yet to get them at a discount.
Sebastian Vettel: It was far not far off. I think in the chicane after the long straight I was a bit early on the brakes - and then the timing is not right any more. We are probably speaking about half a tenth. And I didnt get out of the switchback ideally, as I was accelerating a bit too early which caused some wheelspin - and there you have it. Nothing major, but also little things do add up. But my guess is that even with a clear lap, it would not have worked for pole position. Yes, I was a bit disappointed as I was hoping to give the two Mercedes a hard time today. But thats all water under the bridge now and the real good news is that the car felt great.

Q: Can you already make a judgment on the new turbo? Is it delivering what you expected?

SV: Yes, it delivered the expected - not only for today. We also expect a bit of extra boost in the race. But lets wait and see.



Q: You were also one of those who slightly kissed the wall of champions today - in relatively good conditions. The forecast is possibly rain for tomorrow and then the slightest contact could have a very different outcome

SV: I have managed to make contact every year and this afternoon it dawned on me that this is qualifying and tomorrow is the race, and as I dont want it to happen in the race - in the rain - I told myself to quickly deal with it in qualifying! (laughs) Thats a joke. If you throw everything into a lap these things happen. It is always a question of how you come out again of such a situation.



Q: Despite your little glitches in Q3, you give the impression that you do like this track

SV: Yes, I do. It is a brutal track. You have to go over the kerbs pretty ruthlessly. And if then things work out the way you had hoped, it feels superb - and that was pretty much the case today - except the braking too early and the wheelspin. I hope that we can take that overall good feeling into the race tomorrow. When the conditions get mad weve seen in the past mad races - and I am ready to ride it out!



Q: You had a very close look at Lewis Hamiltons car in park ferme

SV: yes, because you hardly have the chance to get so close to it. The steward told me that I cannot look so intensely and I replied: I do what I want. That probably sounded a bit arrogant, but was not intended to be. I was just curious. I am no engineer, so it was just a look of interest - and it was easier to have a look there than sneaking into the Mercedes garage! (laughs)



Q: Red Bull Racing are hoping for rain, as they believe it will raise their chances. How is it with you and Ferrari?

SV: I think I was reading that statistically the chances rise for everybody when it is wet, as unforeseen things can happen. But then this obviously goes for more than just one (team)! I think we can be confident, as the car has been running smoothly all weekend and from yesterday to today weve been able to make another step forward. So rain does make interesting races - but it is not something that we have to bank on to get a good result. Hopefully. I am very positive for Sunday - come rain or shine. (laughs)
Facebook recently partnered with Activision Blizzard to stream Overwatch , Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft , and World of Warcraft game sessions to Facebook Live. Gamers who click the "Go Live" button in each title will be able to post live feeds directly to their timelines. Gamers will also be able to log in to Blizzard games with their Facebook accounts instead of Blizzard's Battle.net system.

Overwatch. Image source: Blizzard.

Blizzard is the first publisher to integrate its games with Facebook Live, a platform which has been largely ignored by gamers who mainly use Amazon's Twitch to stream live games. Plenty of other rivals, including Alphabet'sYouTube, Hitbox, and Azubu have also been desperately trying to catch up to Twitch. But will this partnership with Activision Blizzard tilt the odds in Facebook's favor?

The business of streaming live games

Facebook is teaming up with Blizzard because its games are widely popular with live game viewers. Blizzard's Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft was the second most watched live-streamed game worldwide last month with a whopping 49.5 million hours viewed, according to game viewership tracker Gamoloco. The only game which topped it was Tencent's League of Legends, with 80.8 million hours streamed. Overwatch ranked fifth with 21.9 million hours streamed, and the aging World of Warcraft still ranked seventh with 8.5 million hours.

Last July, SuperData research estimated that there were 134 million e-sport viewers worldwide, and that figure could grow at a rate of 30% overthe next five years. Amazon bought Twitch for almost $1 billion last year because it knew that the streaming site, which has over 100 million broadcasters andviewers, had a first mover's advantage in that niche market. Twitch's visitors spent over 277 million hours watching streams of its top games last month.

To capitalize on that growth, last October Activision created a dedicated e-sports division,led by ESPN's former CEO. Partnering with Facebook complements that push by generating free publicity for its games which could be much more effective than traditional ads.

Hearthstone. Image source: Blizzard.

Facebook targets YouTube and Twitch

YouTube offered live streaming to gamers back in 2013, but its use of a "Content ID" system to terminate accounts with copyrighted content accidentally flushed out gameplay videos. Many gamers migrated to Twitch and never returned. YouTube is trying to win back gamers with its new YouTube Gaming platform, but it's unclear if it can make up for lost credibility and time.

YouTube's missteps represent an opportunity for Facebook, which has been attacking YouTube on all fronts with embedded videos, revenue sharing agreements for content creators, 360/VR videos, video channels, and live videos. Streaming videos represent a crucial battleground for Facebook and YouTube, because video ads generate more revenue than static display ads.

Back in January, Facebook claimed that its users were watching over 100 million hours of video per day. While that's less than the"hundreds of millions of hours" of video which YouTube claims its viewers watch daily, Facebook's videos could keep gaining ground as long as its core user base keeps growing. To compete with Twitch, Facebook likely hopes that displaying live streams of popular games to a portionof its 1.65 billion monthly active users will lay the foundations of a game streaming community.

If Blizzard's streams generate enough positive buzz, other publishers might stream games on Facebook Live as well. By tethering gamers to Facebook with single sign-ons, the social network also gains more information about its users' gaming habits, which can help it craft better targeted ads to feed its core business.

The key takeaway

Facebook's entrance into the video game streaming market is smart, but it could be tough to convince gamers to switch over from Twitch, which spent years optimizing its streaming interface, monetization options for creators, and community support for gamers. Though it might become more convenient to stream games straight to Facebook, is it too late for the social network to catch up?

The article Facebook and Activision Blizzard Partner To Stream Live Games originally appeared on Fool.com.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fools board of directors. Leo Sun owns shares of Amazon.com. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard, Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon.com, and Facebook. 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.
Netflix recently picked up its first original series for India, Sacred Games . The Hindi-English series, which is based on a best-selling novel by Indian author Vikram Chandra, takes place in Mumbai and focuses on organized crime, corruption, politics, and espionage.

Netflix calls the story "an epic masterwork of exceptional richness and power that interweaves the lives of the privileged, the famous, the wretched, and the bloodthirsty." The series will be co-produced with Indian film production company Phantom Films, and be available to Netflix subscribers worldwide after its release.

Image source: Netflix.

Another step in Netflix's overseas push

Netflix has expanded into 130 new overseas markets, including India, earlier this year. The company hasn't disclosed how many subscribers it has gained in India, but it told The Financial Express in February that the country was one of its "most enthusiastic markets," and that many people were signing up for its one-month free trial. India is considered one of Netflix's most important new markets, since it has the world's third largest number of Internet subscribers.

Netflix is now aggressively producing localized content to complement its core slate of U.S.-centered shows like House of Cards and Daredevil. Last year, it launched its first Spanish show, Club de Cuervos and its first French series,Marseilles. It recently picked up original series 3% from Brazil, Suburra from Italy, and an untitled period piece in Spain. In Japan, it launched a reality show called Terrace House and a new drama called Hibana.

Hibana. Image source: Netflix.

Netflix is focusing so heavily on international viewers because 42% of its subscribers came fromoverseas markets last quarter, up from 34% a year earlier. Those members generated 36% of Netflix's revenue, and 93% are already paying members. Netflix's international revenue rose 57% annually during the quarter, easily outpacing 18% growth in the U.S. market. CEO Reed Hastings believes that international revenue willaccount for half of Netflix's top line in the near future.

Staying ahead of Amazon

Expanding overseas to offset slower U.S. growth is a smart way for Netflix to grow, but it's also likely a defensive move against Amazon . Amazon has aggressively expanded Amazon Video over the past few years with major distribution deals and original content. It recently launched a stand-alone Amazon Video option for just$9 per month to undercut Netflix's $15 fee.

Amazon has never disclosed how many people watch Amazon Video, but eMarketer estimates that the service reached 65 million users in 2015, while Netflix reached 114 million. It's important to note that"users" don't equal "subscribers", since multiple users can watch from a single account. However, those numbers indicate that Netflix reaches 75% more people than Amazon Video.

But now Amazon is also trying to expand overseas by leveraging its e-commerce lead to sell streaming video. In Japan, where Amazon is the dominante-tailer, the company recently unveiled 12 original series including the historical time-travel drama Magi, spinoffs from popular kids' franchises Kamen Rider and Ultraman, variety shows, and manga adaptations. Amazon produces less original content than Netflix, and it hasn't aggressively expanded video to as many markets yet. But it's already the third largest e-commerce site in India, and it could eventually use that market share to launch original shows of its own.

Can Netflix revolutionize TV worldwide?

Even before Netflix officially went global, many of its top shows had become immensely popular overseas due to piracy. During the International Indian Film Academy Awards in 2014, Kevin Spacey told reporters that he discovered that "House of Cards is really big in India", but that popularity was odd because "Netflix doesn't exist there yet."

Most companies consider piracy a bad thing, but it arguably helped Netflix establish brand recognition across markets like India. Therein lies Netflix's strength -- its creation of high-quality original content has established it as both a production studio and a streaming service. It's a unique business model, which most of Netflix's rivals, including Amazon and Hulu, have yet to fully replicate.

By launching quality shows in India, Japan, and other countries, Netflix could gain plenty of new subscribers to reduce dependence on the U.S. market. But as it grows internationally, Netflix will likely need to overcome similar challenges with distributors and internet service providers, which have constantly weighed down its margins.

The article Netflix Unveils Its First Original Series For India originally appeared on Fool.com.

Leo Sun owns shares of Amazon.com. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com and Netflix. 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: Getty Images.

The stock market didn't do well on Friday, giving up all of its gains for the week, and sending broader-based market benchmarks below key levels. After seeing the Dow climb above 18,000 and the S&P close all four days this week above 2,100 before falling back today, Friday's setback was disappointing. Yet short-term traders know that, with so much uncertainty in the financial markets right now, holding stocks even during a regular weekend can be riskier than they're willing to accept.

The market's decline could hold back every stock, but several names managed to give investors decent gains. Among the best performers on the day were Walgreens Boots Alliance , Axiall , and AEP Industries .

Walgreens Boots Alliance rose nearly 4.5% after the drugstore chain's attempt to merge with rival Rite Aid got a vote of confidence from a favorable news report. According to the report from the New York Post, the Federal Trade Commission appears to be leaning toward approving the merger among the two major drugstore chains.

The FTC is likely to impose conditions on its acceptance of the merger, with one likely outcome being that the combined company might have to sell off some of its drugstore locations in areas where there's a lot of geographical overlap between the two chains. The question that regulators will have to answer is whether Walgreens will have a disruptive influence on pharmacy-benefit-management pricing, but consolidation in that industry has arguably allowed it to keep pace with the drug retail arena.

Axiall soared 26% in the wake of receiving a buyout bid from industry peer Westlake Chemical. The two chemical companies had been involved in an increasingly contentious battle over an earlier bid from roughly six months ago, in which Westlake had offered to pay $23.35 per share in cash and stock for Axiall. That offer had been rejected as too low, and that prompted Westlake to fight a proxy battle to try to name directors to the Axiall board to approve the deal.

Instead of moving forward in that direction, Westlake chose to increase its bid to $33 per share in an all-cash deal. Axiall accepted that increased bid, and Axiall CEO Timothy Mann, Jr. said that he believes that the "strategic combination will drive significant value for our customers and business partners as we create a North American chlorovinyls leader." For shareholders, getting an extra $9 to $10 per share in compensation is definitely a win, as well.

Finally, AEP Industries gained more than 10%. The maker of flexible plastic-packaging products for the consumer, industrial, and agricultural markets released its fiscal second-quarter financial report Thursday afternoon, and AEP's results included a 24% rise in net income despite seeing sales fall by 4% from year-ago levels. The company said that a drop in average selling prices was due in significant part to the pass-through of lower resin raw-material costs, but sales volumes were up 3% from the year-earlier period.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization jumped by more than half, hitting levels that AEP had never seen in any quarter. CEO Brendan Barba noted that the results "confirm our strategy implemented in recent years to build capacity and infrastructure in spite of challenging resin markets." Given the share-price gains, it appears that AEP has been correct with its recent moves.

The article Why Walgreens Boots Alliance, Axiall, and AEP Industries Jumped Today 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.
Image source: Getty Images.

Every year, the American Customer Satisfaction Index, or ACSI, issues their report gauging consumer sentiment across industries. This year, after surveying 12,710 consumers, the ACSIreported the company with the lowest customer satisfaction rating is a small, privately owned cable television, phone, and Internet service provider, Mediacom, with a rating of 54 (scaled to 100).

Mediacom may come as a surprise to most readers, unless you are unfortunate enough to be a dissatisfied customer. What is less surprising, however, is the industry Mediacom operates in. Historically, both the subscription TV and Internet service provider, or ISP, industries are rated poorly in the ACSI,and this year is no different: The lowest-rated industry in the ACSIis ISPs with an approval rating of 64, closely followed by subscription TV with a 65.

ACSI'sfounder and Chairman Claes Fornell best summed up the reason for disapproval of subscription TV and ISPs by comparing the industries to cellphone providers:

Limited competition leads to lower satisfaction

Subscription TV and ISPs are industries with high barriers to entry. The capital expenditure costs to build out the required infrastructure generally prevent new companies from entering the industry, and make expansion by companies within the industry often uneconomical. As a result, in many geographical markets there are only one or two choices of providers with a high degree of market power and very little incentive to innovate, compete on price, or improve customer service.

Additionally, subscription TV and ISPs have taken steps to exacerbate limited competition. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice essentially struck downTime Warner Cable's merger withComcast due to "significant concerns that the merger would make Comcast an unavoidable gatekeeper for Internet-based services that rely on a broadband connection to reach consumers." Soon after the announcement, though,Charter Communications offered to buy both Time Warner, a smaller pay-TV provider and ISP Bright House Networks. The FCC signed off on the deal in May.

As a result of this merger, technology-focused website Ars Technica estimates Comcast and Charter will control nearly 70% of the high-speed Internet market. Additionally, AT&T completed its purchase of DirecTV last year and has since been looking at winding down its U-verse TV service and "nudging" customers to its DirecTV subsidiary.

Will Big Cable/Big ISPs have their John Legere moment?

Fornell's comparison between these two disliked industries and cellphone providers is interesting. The cellphone industry is even more concentrated than subscription TV, with the top four providers taking the lion's share of the market.

Carrier Subscribers (Millions, as of Q1 2016) Net Adds (Millions, Quarterly) 1 Verizon Wireless 141.473 1.377 2 AT&T 130.445 1.781 3 T-Mobile US 65.503 2.221 4 Sprint 58.348 0.445 5 US Cellular 4.926 0.05

Source: Strategy Analytics/Fierce Wireless.

The difference, it seems, is not a lack of firms but the mind-set of the firms themselves. Three years ago T-Mobile's CEO John Legere decided to vigorously compete within the industry, instead of acting as a supplier in an oligopolistic market. One of Legere's first moves was to ditch two-year contracts for month-to-month billing schemes.

T-Mobile has continued to roll out consumer-friendly features like its "Un-carrier" initiative. This seems to be working for T-Mobile: it led all cellphone carriers with a 74 rating, a massive six-point increase over last year's number, while adding tens of millions in customers to pass Sprintas the No. 3 carrier in the process.

There are risks in Legere's strategy of consumer-friendly giveaways. As in TV and ISPs, it takes heavy investment to grow and maintain networks, and a race to the bottom in terms of monthly costs and giveaways only makes investment more difficult. On the other hand, continuing to act as an oligopoly is safe -- until the industry is disrupted by a new entrant or a John Legere-type CEO who is looking to truly compete. Only then will subscription TV and ISPs significantly improve their customer satisfaction ratings.

The article Youll Never Guess America's Most-Hated Company (But You Can Probably Guess What Industry) originally appeared on Fool.com.

Jamal Carnette owns shares of AT&T.; 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.
With the broader market trading at such high prices these days, it almost seems strange when an individual company's stock trades at a discount. Either the market is undervaluing the longer-term future because of something in the short term, or there is something wrong with the company and it's cheap for a reason.

Three companies that have been hit particularly hard and are trading at low valuations are offshore rig owner Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO), oil and gas producer Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR), and airline Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ: HA). Let's look at each situation to see if the market is overreacting to something, or if there are some deeper problems with these stocks.

In a better position to ride out the storm

I dare you to find an industry that has been hit as hard as the offshore rig industry over the past several years. Declining oil prices and the economics of shale drilling drastically improving have made offshore drilling one of the most out-of-favor industries out there. Just about every offshore rig company currently trades at well below its tangible book value, and that is after billions in asset impairments and writedowns.

The one outlier among the group is Diamond Offshore, which trades at a "premium" of 0.39 times tangible book. The reason the market is so much more optimistic about this company is that it has so far been the only company able to gain a sufficient amount of contract work to increase revenue. It also helps that the company has moved quickly to shed its older rigs that aren't likely to get work again.

Based on the total contract backlog Diamond has and its balance sheet, the company is in a better position than most to do well once the demand for offshore exploration and development picks back up again. With shares trading for pennies on the dollar of book value, it seems like an investment in Diamond could reap big rewards in a couple of years.

A misunderstood oil investment?

Investors looking at independent oil and gas producers in North America have focused almost entirely on one metric -- growth. Companies that can grow production at today's prices without breaking the bank have been treated far better than others. Take, for example, Denbury Resources. Unlike producers working in the shale patch, Denbury elects to tap older reserves that were considered spent and uses an enhanced recovery technique known as CO2 injection. It is a slower method of extracting oil that takes more upfront capital to start the injection process, but it tends to be a steady oil source for years with little production decline and almost no exploration expenditures.

Even though Denbury can't grow production quickly, the oil it does produce is profitable at today's prices. In Denbury's most recent earnings release, management said it was able to raise its production guidance for the year while reducing capital expenditures.

With shares trading at less than tangible book value, the market isn't too hopeful that Denbury will be able to get through this low price environment without some significant sales or further asset impairments. The company's recent results seem to suggest otherwise. Management has shown that enhanced recovery can be cost competitive with shale. That said, the company still needs oil prices to be higher to deliver value to investors. While the chances of higher prices in the future are likely, it isn't a certainty.

A lot of fear of impending competition

So far in 2017, shares of Hawaiian Holdings are down more than 25%. That is despite the fact that Hawaiian continues to post some of the best unit revenue metrics in the airline business. Hawaiian's revenue per available seat mile so far in 2017 has increased adjusted pre-tax income by 30%, and that includes cost increases related to higher fuel prices and training costs for its incoming fleet of Airbus A321neos. Hawaiian has consistently had some of the highest profit margin among the major carriers in the U.S., yet its stock trades at the lowest valuation, with an enterprise value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ratio of 4.2 times.

Wall Street seems to be scared off from Hawaiian stock for two reasons. First, its costs continue to rise because of higher wages, and second, its competitors are about to stomp on its turf. United Continental alone plans to add 11 extra daily flights to Hawaii in 2018, and other airlines plan to add quite a bit of capacity to the Hawaiian Islands, as well. With capacity expected to grow in the double digits between now and next year, the fear is that competition will put pressure on prices and will likely cause a deterioration in unit revenue for Hawaiian.

The company hopes to offset these costs with some moves of its own. One is to reconfigure some of its planes to less seating, which will allow the company to charge slightly higher prices than the competition. Also, the arrival of its fleet of A321neo planes to replace its older ones should further improve the flying experience for customers and significantly reduce fuel costs.

Hawaiian operates in a rather niche market, but the bigger operators are coming with their economies of scale and greater flight network. This one could go either way. Either Hawaiian will be able to move upmarket enough with a better in-flight experience to command a higher price point, or the competition will put significant pressure on margins. While some may be willing to make a bet one way or another, I want to wait this one out for a couple quarters to see how the company deals with this higher competition.

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Tyler Crowe has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Denbury Resources. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The market is at all time highs, a full 8 years into a bull market. So, if you're starting to get nervous, you're not alone. Now might be the time to bring some conservatism to ones' portfolio. So, if you're on the hunt for stocks that won't keep you up at night, our contributors recommend Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG),Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS), andValero Energy (NYSE: VLO). Read on to find out why.

This growth story is airtight

George Budwell(Celgene): Although biopharmaceutical stocks are often top-notch growth vehicles, they are also fraught with risk due to the highly competitive nature of the business within which they operate. The point is that there simply aren't many biopharma companies that have a truly rock-solid competitive moat.

Image source: Getty Images.

The blue-chip biotech Celgene, however, is one of the few rare exceptions. Celgene has consistently posted industry-leading levels of top-line growth over the last several years, thanks to the strong momentum of its core hematology franchise. The net sales of its gold-standardmultiple myeloma medicine, Revlimid, for example, are forecast to rise by a healthy 17% this year to a whopping $8 billion.

Unlike many of its biotech peers, though, Celgene's flagship drug isn't about the fall off the proverbial patent cliff. While a handful of companies are attempting to chisel away at Revlimid's core patent portfolio, the drug ultimately shouldn't face a real threat from generics until 2024 in the EU and 2027 in the United States, when the last of its patents expire in those territories.

By then, the biotech's experimental immunomodulatory drug ozanimod -- which is being assessed as a first-in-class treatment for several high-value disease markets such as relapsing multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis -- should be more than ready to pick up the slack. After all, ozanimod's late-stage clinical program is going according to plan for the most part, with Celgene on track to file for its first regulatory approval by the end of this year.

Safer than the sum of its parts

Cory Renauer(Walt Disney): You'd be hard pressed to find anyone unfamiliar with this media giant's iconic characters, but you might not realize just how diversified it's become in recent years. It still relies heavily on ESPN, ABC, and other leading media networks, but a string of well-executed acquisitions have proven there's more than one way to boost the House of Mouse's clout.

In particular, the purchase of Marvel's bottomless catalog of superheroes, and the generation-bridgingStar Wars franchise have helped filmmakingprofits make the jump to light speed. In fiscal 2016, studio entertainment segment operating profit came in 74.5% higher than two years earlier, at $2.7 billion.

The magic doesn't stop at the box office. Disney practically wrote the book on how to squeeze every penny out of acquired intellectual property, and its theme parks and consumer segments have become stronger than ever as kids of all ages can't seem to get enough of its characters from the big screen. This has lowered the percentage of total operating profit generated by media networks from about 56.3% in fiscal 2014 to 49.3% in fiscal 2014, despite growth across the board over the two-year period.

Investors also sleep well knowing the action and adventure stops in the accounting department. Although Disney has made some high-profile acquisitions, it's also managed to increase its semiannual dividend payments for seven straight years. The recent yield of about 1.4% isn't huge, but a commitment to increasing shareholder value makes Disney far less likely to bite off more than it can chew in the years ahead.

An energy company that knows how to work the cycle

Chuck Saletta (Valero): Valero Energy is the world's largest independent refinery company. As a refiner, Valero makes its money off the "crack spread" -- the difference between what raw oil sells for and what finished products like gasoline sell for. That gives it the ability to profit whether oil prices are sky-high or dirt-cheap, though it does still face inventory risk if prices swing too quickly for it to sell through its materials or finished products.

Energy refining is a business where scale matters -- and being the biggest independent refiner, Valero certainly has sufficient scale to keep itself competitive. It does around $70 billion in business annually, though that revenue does swing with the price of oil and gas. Based on a discounted cash flow model, I recently estimated the company to be worth around $33.7 billion, slightly above its $29.8 billion market capitalization -- and less than half of its prior-year revenue.

Supporting that valuation estimate is $2.3 billion in profit and $4.8 billion in cash from operations over the past year. Valero shares a decent portion of those earnings with its owners, handing out nearly half of it in the form of dividends. And as is fitting for a company exposed to the volatility of the energy business, Valero keeps a solid balance sheet, with over $4 billion in cash and equivalents on hand and a debt-to-equity ratio of only 0.4.

It's hard to label anything in the energy sector as a truly "safe" stock. Thanks to its solid balance sheet, reasonable market valuation, and business model that's not overly dependent on the price of oil, however, Valero has the right combination to look worthy of owning right now.

10 stocks we like better than Walt DisneyWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Walt Disney wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017

Chuck Salettaowns shares of Valero Energy.Cory Renauer has no position in any stocks mentioned. George Budwell has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Celgene and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Image Source: Nucor.

Many income investors are looking for reliable dividend payers to help fund their daily living expenses. On that front, consistency is vital. To put it simply, you want to own companies that cut you a check each quarter -- in good markets and bad. Here are four companies that each boast more than four decades of doing just that: California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT), Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED), Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE), and W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW).

A basic necessity

Water and California go together like... a painfully long drought. But that hasn't stopped California Water Services from upping its annual distribution for 49 consecutive years. That's right... nearly five decades! And to be honest, California is only one of the states in which this diversified water utility works.

California Water Services is the parent company to water companies in its namesake state, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii. It provides regulated and non-regulated water services to roughly two million people across 100 communities. Although the company's 2.4% or so yield is nothing to write home about, annual hikes for 49 years are.

The yield is at the lower-end of its trading range during the past decade or so, which means you may not want to jump in with both feet. However, if you are looking for a steady quarterly check with regular, though modest, increases, you should have California Water Services on your list. You should get very interested if the yield gets up into the low-to-mid 3% range.

Bright lights, big city, lots of electricity. Image Source: Con Edison.

A great core market

Consolidated Edison is probably best known as Con Ed, at least to those in the metropolitan New York region that it serves. It provides electric services to roughly 3.3 million customers, and gas services to 1.1 million across New York City and Westchester county, a northern suburb of the city.

It also has operations in Orange and Rockland counties in New York State. It even reaches its tentacles into parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. And the company provides steam services within Manhattan, too. (Yes, selling steam is a thing.)

Con Ed has upped its distribution every year for 42 years. Interestingly, with a focus on distribution over power generation, it is shielded somewhat from electricity prices, which is a positive as the energy landscape shifts. Moreover, the Metropolitan New York region is a pretty good market to be in.

While the utility's 3.7% yield is more desirable than California Water's, it's toward the low-end of recent history, too. In fact, the yield has been as high as 5% and 6%.

But anything in the mid-4% to 5% range is probably a good opportunity. With four decades of hikes, you might want to initiate a small position just to get in the door while you wait for a more-compelling price to "back up the truck."

Out of favor

Nucor changes things up a bit, because this longtime dividend payer is one of the country's largest steelmakers. That sector has been down and out since the 2007 to 2009 recession. However, that hasn't stopped Nucor from continuing to increase its distribution year in and and year out.

The streak is now up to 43 years. And the yield, at nearly 3.2%, is fairly decent for the steel giant.

However, there's more to the Nucor story that you should know. For example, the company has lost money once in the last decade, while some peers have bled red ink through most of that span. AK Steel, for example, has lost money in seven of the past 10 years. U.S. Steelhas bled in six of 10. In other words, Nucor's record stands out in more ways than one.

NUE data by YCharts.

If you're looking for a regular dividend payer, Nucor is a worthwhile option even though it hails from a deeply out-of-favor industry. That said, there's some turnaround appeal here when the steel industry starts to see better days.

Bits and pieces

Another stock that cuts you a check each quarter is W.W. Grainger, which has a 45-year streak of annual dividend hikes. Grainger is a wholesaler, selling maintenance, repair, and operating supplies to industrial customers. It reaches customers through catalogs, stores, and online.

This is a relatively fragmented sector in which the company has long been able to expand via organic growth and acquisition. And it has the breadth of product to compete with anyone in the industry, selling more than 1.5 million products from around 4,800 suppliers/manufacturers.

Although the company's nearly 2.2% yield isn't huge, it distinguishes itself among the four companies here because its average annual dividend increase during the past decade has been more than 15%. So it can add a little extra dividend growth to your portfolio, while you can rely on other names to provide a little higher current income.

Replacing a paycheck

If you're looking to create a dividend "paycheck," you should be tightly focused on companies that have proven, over time, that they keep sending out the quarterly checks. You'll want a mix of industries, yields, and growth rates to round out your portfolio.

Utilities like California Water and Con Ed are great as a foundation because of their regulated operations and the basic necessity services they offer. Nucor is an out-of-favor company that just so happens to be a leader in its industry, which means there is some turnaround potential when steel markets pick up again. And Grainger is a great option for juicing the annual pay hike you get across your entire portfolio.

Even if you don't buy all four of these regular dividend payers, each is worth a deeper dive as you seek out stocks that cut you a check each and every quarter.

The article 4 Stocks That Cut You a Check Each Quarter originally appeared on Fool.com.

Reuben Brewer owns shares of Nucor. The Motley Fool recommends Nucor. 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.
In recent years, consumer advocates have complained that a series of airline mergers have eroded competition, driving up airfares. That may be true in some places, but it certainly isn't the case in Los Angeles.

In fact, Los Angeles is unique in the U.S. in that all of the major airlines consider it an important market and are fighting for position there. Toward that end, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are both expanding in the L.A. area. So far, no airline has been able to build up much of a lead, though.

American Airlines just expanded by more than 10% in L.A. Image source: American Airlines.

On the other hand, one prominent airline analyst recently suggested that United Continental should consider shrinking in L.A. With the competition getting even tougher there, that's a course of action the struggling legacy carrier should definitely consider.

American unveils a big expansion

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has been bursting at the seams for years. Gate space is scarce, making it hard for airlines to grow there.

However, American Airlines announced in January that it was building two new gates to increase its capacity there. Earlier this month, it completed the project and added more than 20 daily flights at LAX. This included more than half a dozen new routes, serving important destinations like Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, and New Orleans.

American Airlines will then add new international routes from LAX to Auckland, New Zealand, and Hong Kong in the next three months. It also hopes to begin flying nonstop to Beijing in December, although it is fighting with Delta Air Lines for the rights to that route.

With these new flights, American will offer more than 220 daily departures at LAX, where it is already the largest carrier with 19% market share.

Southwest looks to grow, too

Southwest Airlines is also looking to grow its presence in the L.A. region. While it hasn't been able to add new gates at LAX this year, Southwest is renovating its existing gates there. This will enable them to more readily accommodate the larger 737-800 aircraft that is becoming an increasingly important part of Southwest's fleet.

Southwest Airlines is also looking for ways to grow L.A. Image source: The Motley Fool.

This will allow Southwest to add capacity on high-demand routes even though gate constraints prevent it from adding more departures right now. Meanwhile, on high-frequency routes, Southwest may be able to cut a few flights as it adds more 737-800s. That would free up space for Southwest to launch flights to new destinations from L.A.

Indeed, Southwest has already announced that it will start flying from LAX to Pittsburgh in August. The carrier also applied earlier this month to fly to three popular Mexican beach markets -- Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and San Jose del Cabo -- beginning in November.

Additionally, unlike its larger rivals, Southwest offers ample service to the other L.A.-area airports. It is the largest carrier at three of the region's four secondary airports. And last week, Southwest started operations at Long Beach Airport, giving it a presence at all five commercial airports in the L.A. metro area for the first time.

Tough choices for United Continental

While it never had a dominant position in L.A., United Continental was the largest airline at LAX not too long ago. However, two years ago it leased four excess gates there to American Airlines, allowing the latter to take the lead in market share.

Since then, United has gradually trimmed its flight schedule at LAX. Most recently, it decided to end its nonstop flight to New Orleans -- one of the markets that American just entered. The L.A. hub has been a perennial underperformer in United's route network due to the stiff competition it faces there, and the company doesn't seem to have a clear plan to fix it.

United has encountered growing competition at LAX recently. Image source: The Motley Fool.

That's a big reason why Wolfe Research analyst Hunter Keay thinks that United should more aggressively cut capacity in L.A.. Unlike all of its rivals in L.A., United Continental has a strong hub just 300 miles away in San Francisco. United already has twice as much capacity in San Francisco as it does at LAX and holds nearly 45% market share there.

American, Delta, Southwest, and even Alaska Air and JetBlue Airways are all likely to keep growing in L.A. in the coming years as they fight for position there. That's good for travelers, as it will keep fares relatively low.

It's not good for airline shareholders, though. Taking a back seat in the country's second largest city might seem like a humiliating defeat for United Continental. But United might make more money by focusing its operations on markets like San Francisco where it holds a true competitive advantage.

The article As Southwest Airlines and American Airlines Grow in L.A., Will United Shrink? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of JetBlue Airways and United Continental Holdings, Inc., andis long January 2017 $40 calls on Delta Air Lines, Inc., long January 2017 $17 calls on JetBlue Airways, and long January 2017 $30 calls on American Airlines Group. The Motley Fool is long January 2017 $35 calls on American Airlines Group. 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.
Since I'm going to use earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) as the cash flow metric to compare this against, we should also take into account the ongoing cost to service debt. Last quarter, interest expense was $68.6 million, so annually the company has to generate $2.56 billion to service debt and pay the dividend. Investors will want to see it reach this bar.

With 795 million shares outstanding on a diluted basis, the current dividend is $0.72 per quarter. This means that it costs the company $2.29 billion per year.

Dividends can be a great way to beat the market long-term and keep cash flowing whether you need cash in retirement or are using it to diversify your portfolio. And for one of the gaming industry's biggest companies, Las Vegas Sands , the dividend is an attractive pull for investors. The current yield of 6.1% is lofty by any standard, and it's been growing in recent years, but there may also be risks ahead.

How much cash can Wynn Resorts generate?

Despite all of the challenges in Macau over the past 12 months, Las Vegas Sands has generated $4.04 billion in EBITDA, which is more than enough to cover its interest expense as well as its dividend. That doesn't quite tell the whole story, however. About$2.18 billion of that EBITDA was generated in Macau, where Las Vegas Sands only owns 70.2% of its business. Another $1.37 billion was made in Singapore. Some of these funds may be subject to repatriation taxes, and although they may be minimal, they're worth considering along with the partial ownership of the Macau operation.

By contrast, only $462 million in EBITDA was generated in the U.S., which can be used directly for dividends. When you look at it this way, there's not a huge margin of safety for Las Vegas Sands when it comes to costs right now.

Will there be cash flow growth in 2016?

One challenge ahead may be the lack of growth opportunities. The Parisian in Macau is due to open later this year, but given the decline in Macau's gaming market and the new entrants on Cotai, I would be surprised if 2017 EBITDA grows at all compared to the past year.

What works in Las Vegas Sands' favor is that it has diverse resorts and strong margins, so I don't think downside risk is as high with it as it is with many competitors, even if upside potential isn't very high.

The dividend may not be as safe as it appears

Las Vegas Sands has thus far kept its dividend where it is -- though, if Asian markets decline in 2016 and 2017, a dividend cut may be in order. The company has the ability to add debt if it wants to, but leveraging its balance sheet to keep dividends intact wouldn't be a wise move in the long run.

I think Las Vegas Sands is well positioned in gaming long term, but I wouldn't buy the stock for the dividend alone. It just doesn't have much margin for error and there's more risk of a dividend reduction in the future than in some of its competitors that have lower payouts and more upside

The article Is Las Vegas Sands' Dividend Safe?
Despite tough end market conditions in 2016, it's been a pretty good year so far the railroad stocks. and are both up on the year, and with the recent uptick in manufacturing indicators and the price of oil, there's reason to believe better days are coming for the railroads. That said, is now the time to buy Union Pacific?

UNP data by YCharts

Listening in on Union Pacific CFO Rob Knight's presentation at a recent Wolfe Research Transportation conference, there appears to be four key reasonsto buy the stock:

While it was a tough quarter for coal (carloads down 34%) and intermodal (down 3%), other parts of the business are starting to look better.

While end markets are weak and revenue falling, Union Pacific continues to generate productivity improvements -- CSX is also focusing on efficiency gains.

Knight reiterated expectations for margin improvement for the full-year despite falling revenue.

The biggest negative change to expectations is in intermodal, a segment usually correlated with industrial and economic growth -- it could turnaround, however, with better economic growth.

Let's look closer at these points.

Coal's structural problems are hurting railroad companies. Image source: Getty Images.

Coal, always coal

Two facts. First,there's nodenying that coal is facing a structural decline; and second, itremains a key revenue generator for railroads. However, its importance is diminishing as coal carloads decline, and strength in other areas could offset coal declines in future years.

For example, CSX generated just 15% of first quarter revenue from coal, down from 21% in the same period last year. For Union Pacific, the respective figures are 11.5% and 17.4%. Whichever way you look at it, coal is less important to railroad earnings now.

While Knight didn't have many positive things to say about coal, he did outline positive signs for chemicals (carload growth was flat in the quarter) and grains (high global grain inventories are expected to lead to better conditions in the second half), while automotive remains strong (carloads up 7% in the first quarter). Adding the first quarter revenues of these three elements produces a figure equivalent to around 46% of total first quarter revenue -- much more important than coal's contribution of11.5%.

Productivity and margin improvements

Union Pacific highlights its operating ratio as a key marker of productivity. It's just a simple way of defining operating expenses divided by revenue -- a useful measure for cost intensive industries like railroads. Knight reiterated expectations to reach around 60% by 2019, and a longer term hope to hit 55%. As you can see below, it's an area where Union Pacific has performed well in the last decade.

Data source: Union Pacific Corporation

In a similar vein, CSX Corp management recently outlined expectations for "efficiency savings for the full year to exceed $250 million, approaching a company record." That's not enough to offset the negative impact of market forces for CSX, but it does indicate both companies could generate an increased level of profitability if the economy improves in the future. Moreover, both companies are still generating price increases even with falling revenues -- a sign of well run companies.

Economy improving for intermodal?

Intermodal is a key revenue generator for Union Pacific, contributing 19.5% of first quarter revenue, and it's almost as important for CSX Corp (15.5%). However, both companies saw declines in intermodal revenue in the first quarter, with Union Pacific's intermodal revenue down 9% and CSX's down 2%.

It's partly a consequence of a weak industrial economy, but if the latest data from the Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Managers Index is anything to go by, conditions are likely to improve going forward. Moreover, energy prices may have bottomed. All told, industrial conditions appear to be getting a bit better.

ISM Purchasing Managers Index data by YCharts

One reason to avoid

Putting all of this together, there is a case for buying railroad stocks -- but unfortunately, it's not strongly supported by valuations. As always with railroads, you have to look out for free cash flow; they are businesses that require a substantial amount of ongoing capital spending, not to mention high operating expenses, as discussed above.

A quick look at enterprise value (market cap plus net debt) to free cash flow suggests neither company is cheap (a figure of around 20 times is attractive).

UNP EV to Free Cash Flow (TTM) data by YCharts

In short, conditions are starting to look better for the railroads, but they look fully priced, and it's hard to argue they are a good value on a risk/reward basis. There are ways to play a potential pickup in industrial conditions, but the railroads are not necessarily the best way to play it.

The article Time to Buy Union Pacific Corporation Stock? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Lee Samaha has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends CSX. 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.
Skoda's lineup, while successful overseas, would need changes to win in America. Image source: Volkswagen Group.

Despite Volkswagen Group's huge diesel emissions scandal causing people to treat the vehicles akin to the bubonic plague, the German automaker has a collection of brilliant brands. Volkswagen's umbrella covers brands such as Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi, and even Bugatti. And at a time when Volkswagen could use any kind of sales boost in the U.S., in addition to a miracle fix of its diesel emissions scandal, a fairly unheard-of Volkswagen brand could be an answer: Skoda. It might actually be the next brand to introduce an SUV in America.

It isn't rocket science

While entering a mature market such as the U.S., which is loaded with experienced and global automakers competing, is no simple decision, it might be the only option for Skoda as it looks to expand into new markets.

Skoda might be relatively unknown here in the States, but it celebrated its 110th anniversary of producing vehicles last year. It has been at least partly owned by parent company Volkswagen for a quarter century and is now a full subsidiary. In terms of vehicles, it's built its name in a similar fashion as Japanese automakers: focusing on high quality and functionality at an affordable price.

That formula worked extremely well in Europe before Skoda's success expanded into China, but now the automaker is looking for more, and North America is included in its search. While no decision has been made, it makes more sense now than in years past as Volkswagen brand vehicles are struggling amid the parent company's diesel emission woes.

"Skoda could be the cheapest solution" to VW Group's American problems, Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen, told the German business paper Handelsblatt.

Could it work?

While the decision to at least try and enter the U.S. market doesn't seem difficult, it would obviously be easier said than done. In fact, Skoda already made one attempt way back in the late 1950s, long before Volkswagen had fully acquired the company, but it pulled out of the market only a few years later, after failing to gain sales traction.

The financial incentive is very real, though. Consider that Skoda's operating profit rose more than 30% during the first quarter of 2016, compared to the prior year, and its margin jumped 170 basis points, from 7.6% to 9.3%. That means Skoda generated margins in excess of the parent VW brand, and on par with VW's premium Audi brand, which generates a significant chunk of the parent company's bottom-line profits. If Skoda could post similar margins in the U.S., it could be a big win for Volkswagen at a time when its mainstream brand is struggling.

Challenges remain

SKODA OCTAVIA RS. Image source: Volkswagen Group.

There's no questioning that Skoda has potential in the U.S. on paper, but it certainly faces challenges. One of those challenges is something Japanese automakers also face: personality. Sure, Japanese brands and Skoda enjoy a reputation for high quality and functionality at reasonable prices, but these vehicles are often considered "boring'. Skoda will have to preemptively solve a boring personality issue before trying to make a splash in a highly competitive U.S. market.

Another challenge is that sales of SUVs are currentlybooming in the states. In fact, passenger cars accounted for only 41% of U.S. sales throughout 2016, which is down from 50% as recently as 2013. Unfortunately, Skoda generates a majority of its sales with passenger cars and is only now launching its first large SUV in Europe, dubbed the Kodiaq, next year.

Still, the possibility is real, and Skoda has filed several trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the names of Superb sedan, Octavia hatchback, and Yeti small SUV -- so don't be surprised if you see Skoda selling an SUV at a dealership near you in the next few years.

The article You'll Never Guess Which Auto Brand is Coming to America Next originally appeared on Fool.com.

Daniel Miller 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.

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Athletes, fans and health officials are already concerned about a possible Zika virus outbreak stemming from the upcoming Rio Olympics, and now might have to face another big problem.

Reuters reported Saturday scientists have found dangerous drug-resistant super bacteria off beaches in Rio de Janeiro that will host swimming events and in a lagoon where rowing and canoe events are scheduled to take place starting Aug. 5.

Reuters, citing unpublished academic studies, reported the most concerning spots are frequented by tourists and increase the areas known to be infected by microbes that are usually only found in hospitals. The studies heighten fears already raised that Rios sewage-filled waterways are absolutely unsafe.

A 2014 study had already shown the presence of super bacteria off one of the beaches in Guanabara Bay, where sailing and wind-surfing events are going to be held. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already declared super bacteria an urgent public health crisis.

One of the two latest studies show the presence of microbes at five of Rios beaches, including one where open-water and triathlon swimming is set to occur, Reuters reported. The five beaches include Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Botafogo and Flamengo.

Super bacteria have been known to cause urinary, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and bloodstream infections as well as meningitis. The CDC said studies show that super bacteria contribute to the death in up to half of patients who are infected by the dangerous bug.

The second study, which is set to be published next month by the American Society for Microbiology, found the super bacteria in Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon and in a river that empties into Guanabara Bay.

According to Reuters, hospital and household waste pours into storm drains, rivers and streams around Rio, allowing the super bacteria to spread.

Renata Picao, a professor at Rios federal university and lead scientist in the first study, told Reuters the contamination of Rios famous beaches was the result of basic sanitation practices in the city populated by 12 million people.

"These bacteria should not be present in these waters. They should not be present in the sea," Picao said.

Rio officials had promised in 2009 to get the city cleaned up. The commitment helped South America attain its first ever Olympic Games.

The goal of transforming the city has become an utter failure and has led to several athletes and media employees around the world from skipping the Olympics altogether.

Health experts have already been shot down by WHO to move the Olympics in the name of public health over the Zika virus.

The presence of an additional danger could lead to upcoming changes just less than two months before the Olympics are set to begin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from Reuters.
Joshua Bruner is a real-life Captain America.

The 15-year-old country boy from Ringoes, New Jersey is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. Hes a member of two state shooting teams and he serves as a United States Sea Cadet.

Darcy Meys said her son wants to follow in his great-grandfathers footsteps and enlist in the Marines.

Click here to join Todds American Dispatch: a must-read for conservatives!

Josh considers himself to be a patriot, she told me. He loves his country.

A few weeks ago Josh was given an assignment in a photography class at Hunterdon Central Regional High School. He had to take a self-portrait representing self-expression.

So Josh and some of his buddies gathered in a field behind his house and set up a tripod  striking their best male model poses.

Josh climbed atop a four-wheeler. He was holding Old Glory in one hand and a shotgun in the other  a Remington pump action 12-gauge to be precise.

It was, by all accounts, an epic picture that summed up the heart and soul of this teenage patriot.

Now, at Hunterdon Regional kids have to upload their assignments to the schools Google site. And thats when Josh learned there was a problem.

Click here to get your primer on how to restore traditional American values!

His self-portrait was rejected because it violated the schools gun policy.

The rules of our school prohibit students from using artwork depicting themselves or another person with any weapon, the teacher wrote to Mrs. Meys.

Mrs. Meys told me she looked at the school policy and she believes it was referring to actual guns on school property  not a photograph of a gun taken on private property.

Josh was just showing pride for his country and who he is as a shooter and as a kid who wants to be in the Marines and protect his country and follow in his grandfathers footsteps, she told me. He was not dressed inappropriately. He was not holding the gun incorrectly and He was respecting the flag.

The school decided to offer Josh a compromise, according to email correspondence between his mother and the teacher.

But its really not much of a compromise.

The school agreed to grade Joshs photograph  but they were adamant that it could not be uploaded onto the schools server nor could it be publicly displayed.

He will not be able to upload the image to our server, post them to his Google site or display them in his presentation, the teacher wrote. We would like to recognize his work on the portrait but limit the possibility that the photo can be taken out of context.

Good Lord! Its not pornography, people. Its a kid holding Old Glory and a shotgun.

They are crushing his spirit, Mrs. Meys told me. They are stifling his creativity.

And for that matter  they are in effect telling this child that he cannot take pride in who he is  his identity as an American.

If it is okay for people to show pride in their sexuality, why cant my son show pride in his country, she asked.

I know the answer to that question. These days Gay Pride is in vogue and American Pride is passe.

Im supposed to accept guys going into bathrooms with my daughters and girls going into bathrooms with my boys but they wont accept my kid for just wanting to be a patriot, she said.

In this age of tolerance and diversity its too bad our public school system cant be more tolerant of red-blooded American patriots like Josh Bruner.


Congress will examine misconduct and unethical behavior at the National Park Service just days before the Obamas celebrate the service's 100th anniversary with trips to two national parks.

The House Government Oversight and Reform Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday examining accusations of misconduct in the National Park Service. Director Jonathan Jarvis and Mary Kendall, the deputy inspector general of the Department of Interior, are expected to testify.

The committee plans to examine how the service handles misconduct and unethical behavior and how the national parks can improve accountability practices. According to the oversight committee, the National Park Service does not hold its employees accountable for their actions. The committee cited multiple incidents in which employees have been able to move laterally within the department or retire to avoid being disciplined.

There have been problems regarding sexual abuse and harrassment among park service employees. Earlier this year, the Department of Interior's inspector general found that 35 women were sexually abused or harrassed at Grand Canyon National Park on canoe trips down the Colorado River. Three of the four culprits, who all work at the park, were punished.

Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com
Charles Krauthammer told viewers Friday on "Special Report with Bret Baier" that the enthusiasm for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is at least on hiatus since his recent comments on the federal judge presiding over the civil fraud lawsuit against Trump University.

That flocking and uniting and lighting up for the [Trump] train I think is at least on hiatus and it makes some of those who got on the train thinking twice, Krauthammer, a syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor, said. That, I think, is the lurking danger because unless he can unite the rest of the party and can get at least a kind of neutrality out of other leading Republicans, it's going to be hard.

Recent Fox News polls show Trump slipping in popularity since last month, after he said U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel had an absolute conflict in presiding over the litigation given that he was of Mexican heritage.

The real third rail of American politics is race and racism and if you're accused of it by people in your own party, then it becomes something you can't really shake off, Krauthammer said.

He's skirted around it for a long time what it's done is it's opened him up to attacks from the inside in a way that hadn't existed before and that I think could have a corrosive effect.
EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Clinton, from the moment her exclusive use of personal email for government business was exposed, has claimed nothing she sent or received was marked classified at the time.

But a 2012 email released by the State Department appears to challenge that claim because it carries a classified code known as a portion marking - and that marking was on the email when it was sent directly to Clintons account.

The C - which means it was marked classified at the confidential level - is in the left-hand-margin and relates to an April 2012 phone call with Malawi's first female president, Joyce Banda, who took power after the death of President Mutharika in 2012.

"(C) Purpose of Call: to offer condolences on the passing of President Mukharika and congratulate President Banda on her recent swearing in."

Everything after that was fully redacted before it was publicly released by the State Department -- a sign that the information was classified at the time and dealt with sensitive government deliberations.

A US government source said there are other Clinton emails with classified markings, or marked classified, beyond the April 2012 document.

A January 2014 federal government training manual, called "Marking Classified National Security Information," provides a step-by-step guide for reviewing classified information, and allocating classified codes or "portion markings."

"This system requires that standard markings be applied to classified information...Markings shall be uniformly and conspicuously applied to leave no doubt about the classified status of the information, the level of protection required, and the duration of classification."

It adds, "A portion is ordinarily defined as a paragraph, but also includes subjects, titles, graphics, tables, charts, bullet statements, sub-paragraphs, classified signature blocks, bullets and other portions within slide presentations, and the like."

"Portion markings consist of the letters (U) for Unclassified, (C) for Confidential, (S) for Secret, and (TS) for Top Secret."

Congressman Mike Pompeo, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, has read the 22 Top Secret emails too damaging to national security to release, and routinely reviews classified documents.

While he could not speak directly to the April 2012 email, he said, "I've seen information like that often. Often certain parts of a particular message will be unclassified and other parts will be classified and they are almost always marked paragraph by paragraph."

Pompeo added, If, in fact, it is truly marked confidential that would.. and she read it, that made it to her, that would conflict with what she had previously said."

On Wednesday, Clinton told Bret Baier on Special Report, the fact is, nothing that I sent or received was marked classified, and nothing has been demonstrated to contradict that. 

Meantime, Clinton confidante Sidney Blumenthal, who spoke to Fox News as part of a book tour to promote his new biolgraphy, "A Self-Made Man: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1849,"said that the Romanian hacker known as Guccifer -- who claimed to breach Clinton's personal server - may have worked for foreign intelligence.

"Marcel Lazar is a Romanian. He worked from a Russian server. He may well be part of a Russian information operation," Blumenthal explained.

While he said there's no way Lazar compromised Clinton's emails, the hacker told Fox News in a telephone interview before reaching a plea deal with the Justice Department that it was "easy for me, for everybody to access the Clinton server.

Given more than 2,100 classified emails were on the server, Fox asked Blumenthal if he had a security clearance to handle such material. "I was her friend, and I had no security clearance, nor did I seek it, nor did anyone ever send me anything that was classified. So I had no access to, nor did I send or receive any classified material."

Blumenthal said he expects FBI Director James Comey to publicly confirm that Clinton and her aides did not deliberately compromise the nation's secrets.

"This is the question that is at the center of the Department of Justice FBI investigation: Whether anybody had intent, criminal intent to put classified information outside of the system. I believe that was not the case, and I think then, that we will see a statement coming from the FBI stating that, saying that... I assume that the FBI has an interest in - James Comey, the FBI Director has an interest in acting promptly to resolve this remaining question. But I feel confident about the resolution, " Blumenthal said.

Asked about the April 2012 email, and how the campaign could reconcile the classified marking with Clintons public statements, spokesman Brian Fallon did not directly address the issue. "This email was just a request for Secretary Clinton to make a phone call to express condolences over the passing of the President of Malawi. The fact that this email was classified after the fact suggests again that agencies in the government tend to err on the side of classifying even routine matters of diplomacy."

Fox News' Adam Housley contributed to this report.
The paperback version of Hillary Clintons memoir Hard Choices fails to include her support of the international trade pact TPP that rivals Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have opposed, raising criticism about Clinton reinventing herself for the general election race.

The paperback version of Clintons 2014 book, which details her work as secretary of state for President Obama, omits the passage in which she touts her efforts to get the country to support the 12-nation trade deal, which she once referred to as the gold standard for such agreements.

We worked hard to improve and ratify trade agreements with Colombia and Panama and encouraged Canada and the group of countries that became known as the Pacific Alliance -- Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile -- all open-market democracies driving toward a more prosperous future to join negotiations with Asian nations on TPP, the trans-Pacific trade agreement, Clinton says in the hardback version about a 2009 effort.

However, Clinton changed her position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership in October 2015, about a month after the deal was signed and after weeks of being pressed by the news media for an answer.

A total 96 pages were trimmed from the hardback version. Publisher Simon & Schuster said a limited number of sections were cut to accommodate a shorter length for this edition," according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, which reported on the changes shortly after the paperback edition was released in April.

That Clinton's own memoir is reinventing itself for the general election shows the lengths she will go to mislead the American people," Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short told DailyMail.com, which along with The International Business Times earlier this week picked up on the changes and reported them.

The Clinton campaign declined Saturday to comment.

The Obama administration says TPP attempts to help American entrepreneurs, farmers and small business owners sell products on the international market by eliminating roughly 18,000 taxes and others trade barriers that put American products at an unfair disadvantage.

Democratic primary candidate Sen. Bernie Sander has said the deal and its accompanying Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are disastrous and need to be renegotiated -- in large part because of their potential to kill millions of U.S. jobs and negative environmental impact.

Clinton, now the partys presumptive presidential nominee, also supported the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by husband President Bill Clinton in the 1990s and criticized by Trump, the GOPs presumptive nominee.

Trump, a billionaire businessman, says he supports free trade but has been highly critical of the TPP, calling it a horrible deal in part because, he argues, it continues to allow such countries as China to continue currency manipulation.

This is one of the worst trade deals, Trump said during the Fox Business Channel/ Wall Street Journal debate in November 2015. Id rather make individual deals with individual countries. We will do much better. ... Were losing now over $500 billion in terms of imbalance with China.
A key senator pushed for legislation that blocks President Obama from moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the U.S. and wants to keep the detention facility open.

"These detainees aren't in Gitmo for parking tickets; they're there because they want to kill Americans and hate everything that we stand for," said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in the weekly GOP address.

Lee was pushing for approval of the National Defense Authorization Act, which funds the military. Included in the legislation, which the Senate will vote on next week, is a measure to block Obama from moving detainees to the U.S.

Lee said he visited the detention center in the spring and noted that closing it means the "Obama administration will accelerate the release or transfer of its prisoners to the United States or abroad. This is simply reckless when the Middle East is growing increasingly unstable."

Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com
States across the country are revising laws that allow police to seize a persons cash and property without a conviction, following widespread complaints about agencies profiteering off such legislation, holdovers from the Miami Vice cocaine era.

Right now, 47 of the 50 states allow so-called civil asset forfeitures, with New Hampshire set to effectively end such practices, which allow property and currency to be seized even if its only suspected of being connected to a crime.

The changes in New Hampshire and elsewhere follow numerous, high-profile cases in which Americans have had their cash and other assets seized by state- and local-level police agencies without being convicted and of police departments appearing to aggressively pursue such cases to fill their coffers.

Among them is the 2013 case in which motorist Straughn Gorman had $167,000 in cash seized by the Nevada state police, which suspected him of transporting drugs but only issued him traffic tickets.

In another highly-publicized case, a small-town Mississippi police department built a $4.1 million training facility and bought a fleet of new police cruisers from such forfeitures.

The New Hampshire legislation, which Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassen has vowed to sign, would essentially require prosecutors trying to keep assets to first get a conviction, with few exceptions including a defendants death.

And it would require them to present stronger cases and harder evidence -- phased in the bill as clear and compelling evidence.

I look forward to signing this bipartisan bill that  maintains drug forfeiture funds, Hassen said last week.

However, New Hampshire is still involved in a federal program in which state or local police can transfer seized assets to the U.S. government, then get back a percentage of the haul.

The Justice Department recently stopped a program that such agencies appeared to be using to side-step state forfeiture laws and get back a heft percentage.

However, the department still has its Equitable Sharing Program in which agencies assisting the federal government in criminal cases can share in some of the seized assets, the agency said Wednesday.

Maryland, New Mexico and Nebraska have purportedly restricted their law enforcement agencies from participating in the federal program.

New Hampshire would be wise to follow that lead, Jason Snead, a Heritage Foundation policy analyst, recently told The Daily Signal. Until it does, the impact of (its bill) is likely to be seriously blunted by law enforcement agencies that have every incentive to circumvent the new law and little compunction about doing so.

North Carolina, New Mexico and Nebraska (once its law takes effect) are the only three states with no state forfeiture provision.

Michigan, Montana, New Mexico and Florida have recently revised their civil asset forfeiture laws.

In Florida, GOP Gov. Rick Scott recently signed a bipartisan bill that takes effect in July and will requires law enforcement agencies to arrest suspects before seizing their property under civil asset forfeiture laws.

In addition, the agencies will have to pay thousands in filing fees and bond postings should the owner be found not guilty. The law also makes recovering the property and related legal fees easier for the owner.

Cash can still be taken in Florida without an arrest but cannot be kept unless agencies prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was connected to a crime.
Everyones a little bit racist sometimes.

Doesnt mean we go around committing hate crimes

-- Everyones A Little Bit Racist from the Tony award winning Broadway musical Avenue Q

Congressional Republicans might not be capable of directly measuring their tolerance of Donald Trump. But there is certainly a metric that helps them gauge the amount.

Most Republicans have gone along grudgingly with Trump -- if they support the presumptive presidential nominee at all. Some of those lawmakers are now reviewing that political quotient as they wonder what Trump might say next.

They ponder how many more times theyll have to condemn Trumps remarks. They ask themselves if theyll again have to awkwardly criticize Trumps comments about a judge or women or Muslims -- yet reaffirm allegiance to him in the next breath.

Only Trump knows what lies in his heart when it comes to race, ethnicity and religion. But some of his comments give people pause and perhaps make them think of the lyrics in the Avenue Q tune. No, Trump doesnt go around committing hate crimes. But his comments certainly sound a little bit racist to some and a lotta bit racist to others.

House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, says hell vote for Trump. But he adds that Trump needs to alter his rhetoric. And if Trump keeps it up?

It causes a lot of us to think, Sessions responded.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune, South Dakota, said Trumps going to have to adapt.  This is not working for him.

This has been an unconventional election year because it flips political norms on their ear. But political capital still exists and isnt unlimited.

Republicans cannot repeatedly find themselves crossways with the top of their ticket, blasting Trumps provocative language yet failing to disavow that person and their ideals. Political capital is fungible, and some of Republicans could see their own stock plunge if they are linked too closely to Trump.

Im not going to be sucked into talking about Trump 24/7, protested Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, when asked about the Trumps views that federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel is incapable of fairly adjudicating a lawsuit involving Trump University because he is Mexican.

Never mind that Curiel was born in Indiana to Hispanic parents.

Cornyn says Republicans should focus instead on policy and the issues. But try as they might, the GOP fights a powerful political news vacuum that insists on focusing on Trump and his missteps 24/7.

At the Senate Republican leadership press conference Tuesday afternoon, just outside the Senate chamber, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke about plans to finish a defense bill this week (which didnt happen).

The leader mentioned opioid and energy measures. Cornyn then spoke about defense and North Korea. Thune cited the Iran nuclear deal and ISIS. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, discussed the economy and job numbers.

And then reporters ignored the leadership boilerplate and asked four consecutive questions about Trump.

Im going to let you all try one more time, beseeched an exasperated McConnell to the press corps.

Naturally, journalists fired a fifth sidewinder interrogative at McConnell about Trumps invective overshadowing the GOP agenda and the ability of Congress to legislate.

OK. Im going to wrap it up with this, huffed McConnell, who turned his ire on Trump. Its time to quit attacking various people that you competed with or various minority groups in the country and get on message. He has an opportunity to do that. This election is eminently winnable.

McConnell left the scribes with a parting shot.

Were all anxious to hear what he might say next, said the Kentucky Republican.

Or dreading?

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., didnt fare much better when he spoke Tuesday in inner-city Washington at an event rolling out the GOPs anti-poverty plan.

Naturally, the first question focused on Trump, forcing the speaker to characterize the remarks about Curiel as the textbook definition of a racist comment.

One Republican lawmaker hit the ceiling with Trump earlier in the week.

Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., faces perhaps the most-challenging re-election campaign of any GOP senator this fall.

Kirk this week dropped his support for Trump. He said the first-time candidate and billionaire businessman has not demonstrated the temperament necessary to be president.

Kirk also said he wouldnt support Hillary Clinton for president. When asked who he might back, Kirk initially said no one before quickly adding he would write-in David Petraeus.

Trump then published a statement that failed to extinguish the flames on the Curiel comments. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., doesnt support Trump. The new statement vexed the senator.

This is a new level, Flake said. He needs to retract.

A reporter asked Flake whether he thought Trump had sufficiently walked back the Curiel remarks.

Keep walking, replied Flake, sounding like a pitchman for Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

Not all congressional Republicans are able or willing to tell Trump to take a hike.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., says Trump would throttle Clinton in his district on eastern Long Island. Zeldin wants reporters to focus on the issues and not Trumps words.

Its a disservice for any presidential campaign and those following it who is not doing a deep dive on substantive issues, argued Zeldin.

But it was Zeldin who found himself crossways in a CNN interview about his own word choice.

You can easily argue that the president of the United States is a racist with his policies and rhetoric, he said.

When confronted by reporters in a congressional hallway the next day, Zeldin wanted to revert to substantive issues.

Theres a lot more to this presidential race then just analyzing what the most provocative thing of the day was said, Zeldin said.

Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., defended Trump when reporters asked whether the candidates statements disqualified him for president.

Absolutely not, he answered.

Reporters pressed Perdue on whether Trumps comments could wound him with voters.

People back home arent worried about that, said Perdue, noting that he disagreed with Trumps tonality.

Tone is indeed an issue for Trump. And as McConnell and even Zeldin suggested, so is substance.

After the weekly Capitol Hill huddle of the pro-Trump caucus Thursday morning, Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., remarked that Trump would be on message on policy.

Hes going to take the fight to Hillary Clinton. Collins also asserted were going to be disciplined.

Exiting the same session, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., said that Trump was now playing ball in a much tougher league.

Youve got to be more careful and youve got to think through

what youre going to say, he said.

Within hours, Trump reverted to name-calling. He upbraided Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and called her Pocahontas, referring to a 2012 dispute about whether she has Native American roots.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, had an idea on how to fix things for Trump.

You folks in the media need to give him a little more leeway, suggested Hatch, third in line to the presidency as the Senates resident pro tempore.

Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., isnt supporting Trump. He argues theres a limited threshold for how much political capital some GOPers are willing to burn if Trump continues the trash talk.

If he keeps doing this hes really dishonoring that support, Graham said.

Thats the political risk Trump poses to his own supporters -- especially in Republicans in Congress.

Lawmakers dont want the public to perceive them like someone out of Avenue Q. As the song goes, no ones going around committing hate crimes.

But if Trump continues the rhetoric, lawmakers worry voters could label Republicans a little bit racist.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, now at the starting line of a general election race, traded shots across the capital Friday in dueling addresses before two very different D.C. audiences -- each warning the other would take the country backward.

Trump headlined the Faith and Freedom Coalitions Road to Majority summit while Clinton addressed a Planned Parenthood national conference.

Trump, looking to solidify his standing with evangelical Christians, offered assurances Friday that he would restore respect for people of faith -- and stressed the sanctity and dignity of life.

If there was any doubt he wanted to throw Clinton's Planned Parenthood speech into sharp relief, he took on his presumptive rival later in his remarks. Trump warned Clinton would "appoint radical judges," eliminate the Second Amendment, "restrict religious freedom with government mandates," and "push for federal funding of abortion on demand up until the moment of birth."

He also cast her support for bringing in Syrian refugees as a potential clash of faiths. "Hillary will bring hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of whom have hostile beliefs about people of different faiths and values," he said.

Clinton, meanwhile, in her first speech as the Democratic Partys presumptive nominee, said a Trump presidency would take the country back to a time when abortion was illegal  and life for too many women and girls was limited.

Clinton thanked the nonprofit womens health group and abortion provider for their support in the Democratic primary race. In January, Planned Parenthood backed Clinton, offering its first-ever primary endorsement in the groups 100-year history.

Clinton made it clear that womens issues would be a staple of her campaign, promising abortion rights supporters that she would always have your back if elected president.

Clinton repeated claims that Trump wants to take America back to a time when women had less opportunity and freedom.

Well, Donald, those days are over. We are not going to let Donald Trump -- or anybody else -- turn back the clock, she told the cheering crowd.

Before arriving at the event, Clinton held a private meeting at her D.C. home with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has been rumored to be a consideration for running mate.

Echoing some of the attacks Warren has made in recent days, Clinton attempted to elevate the importance of this election.

We are in the middle of a concerted, persistent assault on womens health across the country, warned Clinton, who said the 2016 election was profoundly different than previous elections.

In what is a campaign trail staple of hers, Clinton highlighted Trumps insults toward women and asserted that it would be hard to imagine depending on him to defend the fundamental rights of women.

Trump, meanwhile, continued calling Clinton, crooked Hillary and referred to her ongoing email scandal. He took her to task on her domestic and foreign policy stances.

Trump was interrupted by protesters at the annual gathering of evangelical Christians. The protesters shouted Stop hate! Stop Trump! and refugees are welcome here.

Trump called the chants a little freedom of speech but added it was also a little rude, but what can you do?
Solar Impulse 2, which flew over the Statue of Liberty on its historic solar-powered global journey Saturday, continues to prove the vast potential of renewable energy, according to pilot Bertrand Piccard.

The plane landed at New Yorks JFK airport at 4 a.m. ET on Saturday, completing the 14th leg of its trip.

In the 21st century, liberty is to be free from fossil energy and pollution, said Solar Impulse chairman and pilot Piccard, during a press conference at JFK. We can have clean technology that creates jobs, sustains growth  its a new market for the world.

Related: Solar Impulse 2 makes Statue of Liberty flyby, arrives in New York

The record-breaking plane has travelled 18,540 miles without a single drop of fuel since setting off on the first leg of the trip from Abu Dhabi to Oman in March 2015.

A larger version of a single-seat prototype that first flew six years ago, Solar Impulse 2 is made of carbon fiber and has 17,248 solar cells built into the wing that supply the plane with renewable energy, via four motors. The solar cells recharge four lithium polymer batteries, which provide power for night flying.

To accommodate the solar cells the plane has a 236-foot wingspan, similar to that of a Boeing 747. The aircraft weighs just 2.3 tons, similar to a family car.

However, Solar Impulse 2s comparatively low speed (it typically flies at 30 to 40 mph) could prevent the adoption of solar-powered technology for commercial passenger aircraft.

Related: Solar Impulse 2s epic journey in pictures

Nonetheless, the pioneering aircraft could drive innovation in a number of areas. Andre Borschberg, who is taking it in turns with Piccard to fly the single-seat aircraft around the world, described Solar Impulse 2 as a flying smart grid, during the press conference.

Power and automation specialist ABB is one of the companies partnering with Solar Impulse, providing engineering expertise during the global trek. What they are doing in the air could definitely be done on the ground, Conor Lennon, ABBs global head of special projects, told FoxNews.com, adding that the plane could help develop more efficient battery technology.

Other partners include polymer specialist Covestro, which developed a new form of microcell insulation foam for Solar Impulse 2, and chemical firm Solvay, which is providing a number of products, from specialty polymers to lubricants.

Related: From high above the Pacific, Solar Impulse 2 pilot spreads Earth Day message

Piloted by Borschberg, the solar-powered plane took off from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania after 11 p.m. ET Friday and flew over the Statue of Liberty during a 4 hour-41 minute flight to JFK.

All morning, when I was over the Hudson River I felt like a 3-year old kid looking at a Christmas tree, it was so beautiful, said Borschberg, during the press conference.

Borschberg broke a number of records on the eighth leg of Solar Impulses 2 journey, landing in Hawaii on July 3 2015 after an incredible 4,480-mile, 118-hour flight from Japan. The journey shattered the record for longest solar-powered flight in terms of distance and duration. Borschberg also broke the record for longest non-stop solo flight without refueling, which previously stood at 76 hours and 45 minutes.

Related: Solar Impulse 2 reaches Hawaii, shatters records in historic Pacific flight

The next leg of the journey takes Solar Impulse 2 on a risky non-stop flight across the Atlantic. Piloted by Piccard, the trans-Atlantic flight has not yet been scheduled.

Prior to its arrival in Lehigh Valley, Solar Impulse 2 made stops in India, Myanmar, China, Japan, Hawaii, California, Phoenix, Tulsa and Dayton. After flying across the Atlantic, the final leg of the odyssey is from Europe to Abu Dhabi.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solar Impulse 2 arrived in New York City early Saturday to complete the latest leg of its epic zero-fuel journey around the world.

The solar-powered plane took off from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania after 11 p.m. ET Friday and performed a spectacular flyby of the Statue of Liberty during a 5-hour flight to JFK airport.

This flight over #Statueofliberty symbolizes US values - liberty of pioneers, liberty to explore, liberty to invent, tweeted pilot Andre Borschberg, while flying over the iconic statue in New York harbor.

This flight over #Statueofliberty symbolizes US values - liberty of pioneers, liberty to explore, liberty to invent pic.twitter.com/2DYDBCzwZs  Andre Borschberg (@andreborschberg) June 11, 2016

The #StatueofLiberty welcomes travellers, flying over it now we pay tribute to the special welcome we received here, he added, in another tweet.

The #StatueofLiberty welcomes travellers, flying over it now we pay tribute to the special welcome we received here pic.twitter.com/84vdGrNXN1  Andre Borschberg (@andreborschberg) June 11, 2016

Related: Solar Impulse 2 reaches Hawaii, shatters records in historic Pacific flight

Solar Impulse 2 was originally scheduled to arrive in New York Tuesday but the flight was postponed due to bad weather.

Borschbergs flight marked the 14th leg of Solar Impulse 2s attempt to circumnavigate the globe. The plane has travelled 18,540 miles since setting off from on the first leg of the trip from Abu Dhabi to Oman in March 2015, and has racked up almost 390 hours of flight time.

The plane is the brainchild of explorer and Solar Impulse Chairman Piccard, who is taking it in turns with his fellow Swiss pilot Borschberg to fly the aircraft on its journey across the globe.

Solar Impulse 2 proves the immense potential of solar-powered technology, according to Piccard. The plane, he told FoxNews.com last year, could spark increased interest in technologies such as LED lights and electric cars, as well as lightweight vehicles.

Related: From high above the Pacific, Solar Impulse 2 pilot spreads Earth Day message

We received very positive and heartwarming responses during our journey through the United States, because its a country of pioneers and explorers, said Piccard, in a statement Saturday. Its amazing to see to what extent people understand not only what we do, but also why we do it: to show that if we all used the same clean technologies as Solar Impulse on the ground we could create jobs, enhance profits and boost economic growth, while also protecting the environment.

The aircraft, a larger version of a single-seat prototype that first flew six years ago, is made of carbon fiber and has 17,248 solar cells built into the wing that supply the plane with renewable energy, via four motors. The solar cells recharge four lithium polymer batteries, which provide power for night flying.

Solar Impulse 2 typically flies between 30 mph and 40 mph, although this can increase and decrease significantly depending on wind speed.

Prior to its arrival in Lehigh Valley, Solar Impulse 2 made stops in India, Myanmar, China, Japan, Hawaii, California, Phoenix, Tulsa and Dayton. From New York, the plane will fly across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. The final leg of the odyssey is from Europe to Abu Dhabi.

Related: Solar Impulse 2s epic journey in pictures

The Solar Impulse team praised New Yorks efforts around renewable energy in a blog post earlier this week. Its not a surprise that innovation reigns in New York City and that people use creativity to integrate sustainability in their enterprises, it said.

According to a 2015 report from the New York State Energy and Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) companies, universities and government labs in the state have the second-largest budget for electric and gas efficiency and gas efficiency ($889 million in 2014) compared to other states. New York state also has a vibrant clean energy market, ranking fifth nationally in total renewable energy consumption.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A decorated Army Reserve officer left bacon at a mosque and brandished a handgun while threatening to kill Muslims and bury them there, North Carolina authorities said Friday.

Russell Thomas Langford, 36, made death threats against members of the mosque about 20 miles southwest of Fayetteville, authorities said.

"He told people at the mosque that he would kill them and bury them behind the mosque," said Capt. John Kivett of the Sheriff's Office. "He brandished a weapon while he was on the property."

Langford, who lives in Fayetteville, was charged with ethnic intimidation, assault with a deadly weapon, going armed to the terror of the public, communicating threats, stalking and disorderly conduct, the sheriff's office said.

It began Thursday afternoon when the man insulted a mosque member doing construction work nearby and then left the packages of bacon at the mosque entrance, according to authorities and witnesses.

Advocacy groups say pork is often used to insult Muslims, whose religion doesn't allow them to eat it. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said the act constituted a desecration of the place of worship.

Witnesses say the suspect left and returned to the Masjid Al Madina mosque several times in his Chevrolet Tahoe, prompting tense moments inside while children sheltered in the back of the building. Authorities said there were no injuries.

At one point, the suspect followed one member home, resulting in the stalking charge, according to a Hoke County Sheriff's Office news release. The person tried to evade him but couldn't.

A mug shot of Langford shows him with close-cropped hair, a tattoo resembling the U.S. flag on his right forearm and a green shirt emblazoned with a military-style rifle emblem.

Authorities found several handguns and other weapons, plus about 500 rounds of ammunition in Langford's vehicle, Kivett said. He said Langford didn't make specific threats about a mass shooting other than to say he wanted to kill mosque members.

Langford made his initial court appearance Friday, posted a $60,000 secured bond and was released, Kivett said.

Since posting bond, Langford has been placed under the control of his commander on base at Fort Bragg, said Army Reserve spokesman Capt. Eric Connor. He said what Langford is charged with doing is "totally contradictory to Army values."

Langford, who works full-time as a major in the Army Reserve, served two tours in Iraq while on active Army duty and earned the Bronze Star for "outstanding dedication to duty during combat" while with a military police battalion, Connor said. He received other decorations including the Army Good Conduct Medal.

About three miles from the mosque, several people at a house listed by authorities as Langford's address declined to comment Friday afternoon. Phone listings for him rang unanswered.

The threats came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked authorities to investigate the case as a possible hate crime and increase patrols around the area, especially during nighttime Ramadan activities.

Ahead of midday prayers Friday, a patrol car was parked outside the mosque just off a state highway between Fayetteville and Raeford.

"We've never had a problem with anyone," said Kamal Allan of Raeford. The mosque has been there for about three decades.

The general contractor and mosque member said he was leading a crew tearing down a nearby outbuilding when the suspect drove up in the late afternoon. Allan said Langford began insulting him and using expletives while asking white crew members, "Do you know who you're working for?"

"I said: 'Don't talk to him. Don't talk to him. Just leave him alone and let the police handle it," Allan said.

Retired Army officer Mohammed Khan, who served three decades in the military, said he was delivering tables to the mosque when Langford drove up. He said he spoke calmly to Langford, who was spewing hate and eventually flashed a gun at him.

"I was kind of dismayed, shocked and in disbelief. In all of my 32 years of military service I never encountered this kind of redneck," said Khan, who still serves as a volunteer Muslim chaplain at Fort Bragg. "He told me to go back to my country. I said, 'Which country do you want me to go to? Give me the ticket and I will fly.' He said, 'No I will not give you a ticket. I will kill you and bury your body right there.'"

Khan said Langford followed another member of the mosque to that person's home.

Witness Abdu Alsaidi, another mosque member, said police were called in the late afternoon, but they didn't arrest Langford until sometime after 8 p.m.

At one point while Langford was parked out front, Alsaidi said members made children move to the back of the building for fear of an attack.

"Our life was on the line," he said. "The way he acted, he didn't care about anybody."
A former South Carolina police officer filed a lawsuit against his former employer, claiming he was unjustifiably fired over a photo of himself posing in Confederate flag underwear during last summers debate over the flag and other Confederate symbols.

Former Sgt. Shannon Dildine wrote that he was aware of the debate, which exploded after a white man charged with shooting nine black people to death at a Charleston church was shown in online photos embracing Confederate symbols and talked about wanting to start a race war.

Dildine was an officer in North Charleston at the time  about 6 miles about north of Emanuel AME Church in downtown Charleston. He said he was on vacation when the shootings happened and wasnt aware that alleged shooter, Dylann Roof, had been seen glorifying the flag.

The veteran officer posted the photo of himself days after Roof allegedly shot churchgoers during a Wednesday night Bible study, saying in his lawsuit he did so to diffuse a debate that two of his Facebook friends were having over the Confederate flag issue.

The department called the officer about the photo, which he said was deleted from social media immediately. He was fired days later, told he was being terminated because of the photo.

In his lawsuit against the city, Dildine said that he is not a racist and views the flag as part of his southern heritage. He said Reggie Burgess, a black officer who posted a photo of himself alongside someone wearing a "Black Lives Matter" shirt, was not fired or disciplined afterward. Dildine claims because he was fired and Burgess was not is clear evidence of discrimination.

Dildine, citing post-traumatic stress and humiliation, is asking for unspecified monetary damages, according to The Post and Courier.

We have two claims: freedom of speech and race discrimination, Chris Potts, his attorney said. He was fired for expressing his First Amendment rights. ... And a white officer who does something is treated more harshly than a minority officer who does something.

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey and other officials have stood by their decision to dismiss Dildine. Summey told The Post and Courier that firing Dildine was the right thing to do.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from The Post and Courier.
Orlando police were searching for a motive Saturday evening, hours after naming a 27-year-old Florida man as the killer of Voice star singer Christina Grimmie.

Police said Kevin James Loibl of St. Petersburg shot and killed Grimmie following a Friday concert, and later turned the gun on himself.

OPD can confirm 27 year old Kevin James Loibl, suspect who shot Christina Grimmie, is from St Petersburg, FL pic.twitter.com/iN6RUi3VRx  Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016

Grimmie, a 22-year-old one-time contestant on the TV show "The Voice," was killed as she was signing autographs after a performance in Orlando at The Plaza Live.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina told reporters Saturday that Loibl, whose name was not immediately released by authorities, didnt know Grimmie personally.

Loibl fatally shot himself after Grimmie's brother tackled him, possibly preventing further injuries and deaths, authorities said. Grimmie was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead early Saturday morning, her publicist said.

"She was doing a meet-and-greet, just signing autographs and selling merchandise. This white male approached her and opened fire, striking her," Mina said. "We believe he came here to commit this crime."

Police were searching Loibls cellphone and computer for a motive. Loibl traveled from another part of Florida to kill her, authorities said.

ORLANDO!! Come out to the show tonight at the Plaza Live! Starts at 7:30! pic.twitter.com/0D4mNupCTi  Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) June 10, 2016

At Loibl's home, someone had left a note on the front door, expressing the "deepest sorrow" for the loss "to the family, friends & fans of the very talented, loving Christina Grimmie." The note said there would be no other comment. No one answered the door to the one-story house that had a rusted, metal animal trap in the yard.

Mina said Loibl was armed with two handguns, a knife and extra bullets in two magazines, and was prepared to return home after shooting Grimmie.

There were unarmed security guards at The Plaza Live and they checked bags and purses for contraband, but there were no metal detectors or pat-downs of people as they entered The Plaza Live, he said.

Mina also had praise for Grimmie's brother.

"Very heroic actions by Marcus Grimmie to jump in and it definitely could have prevented further loss of life," the chief said.

A publicist, Heather Walsh, said in an email early Saturday that "we can confirm that Christina has passed and went home to be with the Lord."

Grimmie, a New Jersey native, finished third during season six of NBC's "The Voice" in 2014, competing on the team of Maroon 5 star Adam Levine. She began amassing a following on YouTube as a teenager, gripping online viewers with her powerful renditions of hit songs. Her videos on YouTube have garnered millions of views.

Police said in a news release that Grimmie had performed with the band Before You Exit. The concert ended around 10 p.m., and Grimmie was shot near a merchandise table near the exit in the rear of the venue.

Officers responded to multiple reports of shots fired around 10:30 p.m. Friday, Mina said.

We are heartbroken. @TheRealGrimmie is a loved member of our family. Our thoughts are with her and her family. #PrayForChristina  The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) June 11, 2016

Haven't heard.. Just reading the same stuff y'all are at this point. Can't believe this.. https://t.co/CiSXc29MgC  Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) June 11, 2016

About 120 people attended the concert, though only a handful remained when the shooting happened, police said.

Mina said the concert hall's security guards check bags and purses at the door but don't carry weapons or conduct pat-downs. There were no metal detectors and off-duty officers were not working the concert, he said.

Grimmie had posted a video of herself shortly before the concert was scheduled to begin, encouraging fans to come see her perform.

The Facebook post showed a smiling upbeat young woman.

"Hey guys, what's up?" she said into the camera. She was bubbly and urged fans to stop by the show at The Plaza in Orlando. She closed with an excited "byee!"

Levine posted a photo of himself with Grimmie on Instagram, commenting before her death was confirmed: "I'm sad, shocked and confused. We love you so much Grimmie. We are all praying hard that you can pull through this ... this just isn't fair."

When reports of Grimmie's death first surfaced, #PrayforChristina was the top trending hashtag on Twitter. After her death was confirmed, #RIPChristina became the top trending hashtag as Grimmie's fans took to social media to express an outpouring of grief.

"The Voice" paid tribute to Grimmie on its official Twitter page: "There are no words. We lost a beautiful soul with an amazing voice."

A spokeswoman said all events at The Plaza Live had been suspended until further notice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Georgia judge is under fire for refusing to change the name of a transgender man, saying his choice was too masculine and could be misleading.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday that attorneys for Rowan Feldhaus filed a brief with the Georgia Court of Appeals this week saying that Columbia County Superior Court Judge J. David Roper overstepped his authority by refusing to allow Feldhaus to change his name from Rebeccah Elizabeth to Rowan Elijah.

The 24-year-old Feldhaus was born a female but identifies as a male, according to the paper. Roper heard the petition for a name change in February and turned it down in March. Roper apparently had an issue with Feldhaus choice of Elijah as a middle name.

I dont know anybody named Elijah whos female, Roper said, per a hearing transcript. Im not going to do that. Ive never heard of that. And I know who Elijah was, one of the greatest men that ever lived.

Feldhaus was a former sergeant in the Army Reserve and attended Augusta University. Feldhaus said in a statement that he felt insulted and objectified to be told he cant use the name that his family, friends and even co-workers already use.

It can be a scary situation when I show up for work or the first day of class and my legal name does not match my public presentation and my gender identity, Feldhaus said. I just want to change my name so that it reflects who I am.

The Journal-Constitution reported the transcript also reveals Roper said, I do not approve of changing names from male to female  male names to obvious female names, and vice versa.

Roper said the name Rowan was acceptable because, according to him, it was gender-neutral.

The judge also said in his order that granting such a name change could create some problems. He stated restroom safety as part of the problems it could create as well as confuse emergency personnel and other situations in which gender could be relevant.

Beth Littrell, a senior attorney with Lambda Legal, told the paper theres no precedent for transgender people to choose gender-neutral names and called said Ropers decision was based on personal opinions.

It really shows that the judge is making it up as he goes along and not following the rules of the law, Littrell said

Roper hasnt commented on the backlash.

Click for more from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
AP Interview: Savchenko calls for early elections in Ukraine

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Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko says the nation needs early parliamentary elections to "to infuse fresh blood" into its politics.

Savchenko, who has become a national hero in Ukraine after spending two years in a Russian prison, told The Associated Press Friday that the "Ukrainian people deserve a better government that they now have."

She said the government has failed public expectations raised by the ouster of Ukraine's former Moscow-friendly president in February 2014. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his allies in the ruling parliament coalition oppose early elections, saying they would only foment instability and deepen the economic crisis.

Savchenko also said the U.S. and its allies need to exert more pressure on Russia to make it honor a Ukraine peace deal to avert the danger of another world war.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/world/ap-interview-savchenko-calls-for-early-elections-in-ukraine
The U.S. Geological Survey said Friday it can no longer monitor water resources in Puerto Rico because the territory's government owes it $2 million amid a worsening economic crisis.

The agency said it expects to stop operating up to 177 hydrologic stations by July 1. That would affect the ability to issue flood warnings and as well as the monitoring of water quality, aquifer levels and drinking water supplies.

The stations also are used for environmental research and provide data for water use, flood planning and climate change.

"It's a serious problem," Rafael Rodriguez, director of the USGS Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center, said in a phone interview. "The water quality network is being eliminated in its entirety."

Puerto Rico's Environmental Quality Board and 12 other local agencies are required by law to pay USGS 65 percent of the cost of operating the stations. However, the agencies have accumulated $2 million in debt in the past year, Rodriguez said.

He said the USGS has offered local officials a payment plan and proposals to lower the agencies' yearly contributions, but officials have not responded. A spokesperson for the Environmental Quality Board could not be immediately reached for comment.

More than 100 other stations would remain operational, but they are limited in scope and used exclusively by Puerto Rico's power agency and its water and sewer company, Rodriguez said.

It is the second time this week that Puerto Rico's debt has affected services. On Tuesday, the island's only active air ambulance company said it had suspended its services over a multimillion-dollar debt.

Puerto Rico has been mired in a decade-long economic slump and facing $70 billion in public debt that it is seeking to restructure.

___

Danica Coto on Twitter: www.twitter.com/danicacoto
The U.S. military bombed a Syrian rebel unit it had trained and equipped in a friendly-fire incident in late May, prompting an internal investigation and raising questions about renewed Pentagon efforts to build local forces to battle Islamic State.

The military didnt disclose the incident until asked about it by The Wall Street Journal. It is the most serious setback to date for the Pentagons recent efforts to work with Sunni Arab forces in northern Syria.

The Pentagon said it conducted a series of airstrikes in and around the Syrian town of Mara on May 27 and May 28. The Pentagon-backed Mutasim Brigade said one of the airstrikes hit the brigade.

A statement issued by the U.S. military at the time said three strikes were carried out near Mara that struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL tactical vehicles and an ISIL vehicle, using the Pentagons preferred acronym for Islamic State.

But leaders with the brigade in interviews said a U.S. airstrike hit brigade members while they were fighting Islamic State militants. Mustafa Sejry, the head of Mutasims political office, said 10 of the brigades fighters were killed in the U.S. strike.

A spokesman for the U.S. militarys Central Command acknowledged the incident, saying in a written statement that the U.S. military had launched an investigation.

Initial reports were that four counter-ISIL personnel may have been killed in the strike, said Col. Patrick Ryder, who is based in Tampa, Fla. It wasnt immediately clear why there was a discrepancy in casualty figures.

An investigation into this incident has been initiated. We will continue our support to counter-ISIL forces and will apply any lessons learned derived from the investigation to improve our operations in the future, Col. Ryder added.

The errant airstrike is the first apparent friendly-fire event acknowledged by U.S. Central Command involving U.S. forces in Syria. The only other such incident in the fight against Islamic State happened in Iraq and was publicly disclosed by Central Command in December 2015.

It is unclear why the U.S. military didnt disclose the Syria incident earlier. Col. Ryder said that the dynamic and complex nature of the battlefield contributes to a lag time in reporting from local forces on the ground.

In this case, several days transpired before coalition forces were made aware of the potential friendly fire incident, Col. Ryder said.

The incident comes as the U.S. military has stepped up efforts to help local forces in northern Syria clear Islamic State from a crucial stretch near the border with Turkey.

Mr. Sejry said the U.S. airstrike hit Pentagon-backed forces when they were 400 meters from Islamic State positions during an intense period of fighting near Mara.

After the strike, a representative of the U.S. military told Mr. Sejry that U.S. aircraft accidentally hit the brigades fighters and offered an apology, according to Mr. Sejry.

They apologized and stated that it was by mistake, Mr. Sejry said. And we have no other choice than to say maybe it was mistake.

Members of the brigade were vetted by the U.S. military before receiving weaponry and equipment under the program, according to Mr. Sejry.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.
The teacher crisis is real, and were not going to work our way out of it simply by making it easier to hire teachers.
Faux Stone Panels Announces Made In The USA Products

Faux stone panels by Faux Direct are the best and most genuine looking faux wall panels and products. The products are suitable for improving the backyard, building a home or designing a commercial building.

--

Faux stone panels from Faux Direct are made in the United States to support the country's job growth and infrastructure, as well as to keep shipping costs at the lowest possible level. Domestic production and manufacture also enables the company to keep shipping costs low. Faux panels are made of the highest quality and are of the most genuine appearance. This type of product is suitable for building a home or designing a commercial building. It can also be suitable for improving the backyard.

A series of new and innovative designs are considered the best on the market. The firm has a series of agreements and relationships with the manufacturers, which permit Faux Direct to keep the product prices at a significantly lower price than those of competitors in the industry. The combination of affordable prices and extremely customer-focused service will improve the experience of buyers for all faux stone panels.

The paneling is made of polyurethane, which ensures the highest level of durability, while at the same time providing a very realistic appearance. The range of products and colors adds to the options from which customers can pick. Irrespective of the type of project which is being planned, the online catalog will provide a range of options.

If the specific product is not seen in the online catalog, the company will offer assistance in creating a custom job or product. There is an expert team ready to handle fully custom orders.

The faux stone panels are easy to install and can be done by do-it-yourselfers without the need to rent special tools or machinery. Because they are light weight and easy apply, no contractors are required to do the job. They are made to withstand weather, whether hot or cold. Both interior and exterior applications are easily completed with the project ideas included in the web catalog.

For more information about us, please visit https://fauxdirect.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Lathan Fritz

Organization: Faux Direct

Address: 330 N. Jefferson St. #2104 Chicago, IL 60661

Phone: (800) 795-3119

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/faux-stone-panels-announces-made-in-the-usa-products/119012

Release ID: 119012

For more information visit r



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American farmers have won a $50m (35m) settlement from dairy companies they claimed conspired to drive down milk prices.

The co-op, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), will have to pay almost 9,000 farmers in the countrys north-east $4,000 (2,765) each on average.

The case dates back to 2009, when the regions farmers launched a class-action lawsuit against DFA, its marketing wing Dairy Marketing Services and manufacturer Dean Foods.

Producers complained the firms had worked together to monopolise the market for liquid milk.

They claimed this kept prices lower than they should have been in a normal, competitive market.

See also: Australian dairy in turmoil after co-operative crisis

Dean Foods agreed to a $30m (21m) settlement with farmers in 2010, but the suit with the other firms rumbled on until this year.

Judge Christina Reiss approved the deal in a court in Vermont on Tuesday.

Future measures

The dairy firms also agreed a raft of other measures to avoid future problems. These included the creation of an ombudsperson to investigate farmers concerns, the appointment of an independent member of the companies advisory council and enshrinement of fairer milk testing.

In her ruling, Judge Reiss said the combined $80m (55m) settlement, across both deals, was not insubstantial and offered farmers a modest recovery.

Farmers who have produced milk for liquid since 2002 can now choose to make a claim to the court for some of the money. They do not necessarily have to have supplied DFA and their exact share will depend on their production.

But not all farmers were happy with the deal.

Pennsylvania farmer Mike Eby, chairman of the National Dairy Producers Organization, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the result.

The union had pushed for a pricing provision from DFA, which would have forced the company to reflect production costs in their farmgate payments.

He said he and more than 100 other producers intended to launch their own suit, taking the co-op to a trial.

The co-operative management structure must be held accountable, he told newspaper Lancaster Online.

The Vermont court did not find in favour of either the farmers or the dairy companies, which still claim there was no wrongdoing.

DFA spokeswoman Monica Massey said she was pleased the judge had approved the settlement because legal action was costly and distracting.

For these reasons, settling the matter is in the best interest of our members, she said.

The case covers farmers in the states of Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Complicated milk pricing system

Milk pricing in the US is run by a complicated system of federal milk marketing orders.

Under these, minimum prices are published for milk of different classes depending on its end use.

American milk prices had held up better than other parts of the world during the current crisis, but have recently felt the pressure.

The price of class-four milk, used for butter and powders, was roughly 19-20p/litre in April.
Northern Irish farmers risk receiving no compensation if livestock they import are found to be infected with bluetongue and have to be slaughtered.

Cattle and sheep imported from France present the greatest risk of bluetongue spreading to Northern Ireland, according to Northern Irish Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Michelle McIlveen, who succeeded Michelle ONeill in May.

The main risk to Northern Ireland continues to be the import of infected animals or germplasm (semen or ova), particularly in light of the spread of the disease on the continent, she says.

Our farmers need to avoid bringing animals here that may have been exposed to infection. This means they should not import animals from countries affected by bluetongue.

Since September 2015  when the disease was first detected on a farm in the Allier region  284 sheep and cattle across France have tested positive for bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8).

See also: Bluetongue vaccine available for cattle and sheep by July

Urging farmers not to ignore the advice, Mrs McIlveen said livestock imported from countries where bluetongue was present would be housed and isolated until they had been tested for bluetongue and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) was satisfied that they do not present a risk.

Anyone who does take a risk faces the possibility that if the imported animals are found to be infected with bluetongue they will be slaughtered and no compensation will be paid, she said.

With summer approaching, Mrs McIlveen also warned of the threat of infected midges carrying the virus across the Channel from France.

As the temperature starts to increase, so does the risk from bluetongue with the widespread circulation of midges. Farmers need to be aware of this risk and should not be complacent.

Earlier this year, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) warned there was an 80% chance of bluetongue arriving in the UK from France by the end of the summer.

Last week, after months of pressure from the farming sector, MSD and Zoetis announced they would be making a bluetongue vaccine available to cattle and sheep farmers by July.
'The Walking Dead' Season 7 SPOILERS: Rick Vs Negan Could Sideline Zombie Apocalypse Storyline?

"The Walking Dead" Season 7 will undoubtedly see a major fight between Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). But will the AMC show focus on the humans and leave the zombies in the back of the storyline?

"The Walking Dead" executive producer Greg Nicotero wants fans to know that the undead will still play a major part in the seventh season. "It's always about keeping the walkers present," he told IGN.

Nicotero explained that Negan's role in "The Walking Dead" Season 7 will still not mean lesser zombies. In contrast, the walkers are now more central to the show.

Greg Nicotero continued by stating that "The Walking Dead" Season 7 will be all about the conflict "of the good guys and the bad guys."

The executive producer suggested that Rick Grimes and the residents of Alexandria will go up against Negan and the Saviors. Nevertheless, the zombies will still remain "relevant in the show."

But what happens if an episode focuses too much on Rick Vs Negan? Greg Nicotero stated a lack of zombies will call for gags. The "TWD" EP teased that "there'll be some awesome gags in it that you'll just be blown away by" in "The Walking Dead" Season 7.

Greg Nicotero even admitted that he is already looking forward to filming new gags for the series soon.

"The Walking Dead" Season 7 has a lot to live up to after the massive number of zombies in the past season. "The Walking Dead" Season 6 premiered with thousands of walkers that needed to be led away from Alexandria.

"The Walking Dead" Season 6 also teased the deaths of Glenn Rhee and Daryl Dixon, although both characters survived. But will they survive past the premiere of "The Walking Dead" Season 7?

"The Walking Dead" Season 7 is expected to air on AMC on October 9.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia was among the right people enshrined on the memorial wall on Saturday, Oct. 21.
Saturday is commencement day at Oregon State University and more than 6,000 students will receive their degrees. The students will move out of rental housing and many will move on to jobs and careers far from Corvallis.

And a crop of freshmen will arrive in September to replace them.

But in one sense, a more practical one than an emotional one, many of these students will be difficult to replace.

Why? Because they form the backbone and public face of dozens and dozens of area businesses.

Megan Holland (see photo), who has worked at University Hero on Southwest Fifth Street ever since I started at the Gazette-Times in August of 2012, will graduate with a business degree. She hopes to one day own her own restaurant.

Bob Van Vleet, the UHero owner, has hired dozens and dozens of OSU students in his tenure at the sandwich shop. Ditto for Pat Lampton at his Inkwell Home Store a few blocks away.

And because I was sure that there were more such businesses I called Amy Jauron of the Corvallis-Benton County economic development office. She mentioned Aomatsu, Pastinis, Ruby Tuesday, Dutch Bros. Miss Meers and the Carmike and Regal movie houses.

Im sure (and Amy is sure) that there are more and there is no intent to exclude anyone here. I just think that with the loss of some excellent students to graduation the community also will lose some employees who have made our lives and experiences in Corvallis better and richer.
Benton County Commissioner Annabelle Jaramillo pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge Friday and was ordered by the court to complete a diversion program.

Jaramillo, who is seeking re-election to a fifth term in office, was pulled over about 11:20 p.m. on April 26 near the intersection of Southwest 53rd Street and Reservoir Avenue as she was returning home from a campaign fundraiser.

According to a Philomath Police Department report of the incident, Jaramillo failed field sobriety tests and registered a blood alcohol level of 0.13 percent.

After Jaramillo entered the guilty plea in Benton County Circuit Court, Judge David Connell ordered Jaramillo to complete an approved treatment program within the next year. She was ordered to pay a $490 fine for the diversion program.

Jaramillo, who lives in the Philomath area, issued a statement on April 27 apologizing for her actions and saying she planned to enter a treatment program. Her attorney, Jennifer Nash, said Friday afternoon that Jaramillo intended to enter the diversion program immediately.

(Jaramillo) accepted full responsibility for this immediately, Nash said. She doesnt dispute any of what happened or that it was a terrible error in judgment that she had been driving after drinking.

If Jaramillo fulfills the terms of the diversion agreement, her DUII charge would be dismissed and she would not have a conviction on her record. Failure to complete the program would result in an automatic DUII conviction.

Diversion agreements are a common way of resolving first-offense DUII cases in Oregon. Typically, the yearlong program involves an alcohol evaluation, 12 weeks or more of alcohol treatment sessions and a one-year prohibition on consuming alcohol. It also requires the use of an ignition interlock device that prevents the vehicle from starting if the driver has been drinking.

According to police reports, a citizen reported to Corvallis police that he saw Jaramillo driving 25 mph in a 45 mph zone at around 10:55 p.m. on April 26 on Northwest Lewisburg Avenue near Highway 99W. The citizen also reported seeing Jaramillo driving down the center of the roadway and veer into the oncoming lane.

According to the report from Philomath police, an officer responding to an attempt to locate the driver spotted Jaramillo in a red Toyota Camry driving south at around 11 p.m. on Northwest Walnut Boulevard as it turned onto 53rd Street. The officer reported seeing Jaramillo strike a curb on the west side of 53rd Street, head back onto the road and drive in the turn lane before the officer activated his lights and pulled Jaramillo over.

Jaramillo was later arrested and transported to the Law Enforcement Center for a breathalyzer test. She was cited and driven to her home in Philomath. Jaramillo also was cited for failure to drive within a lane, which is a violation. She pleaded guilty to the violation Friday and was ordered to pay a fine of $130.
The city of Corvallis is going to court in an effort to preserve its system of voter-approved annexations.

Corvallis, which in 1976 became the first city in Oregon to require voter approval of land annexations, has filed a lawsuit aimed at overturning Senate Bill 1573, the state law signed by Gov. Kate Brown in March that limits such ballot requirements.

The lawsuit was filed June 2 in Benton County Circuit Court and names Brown, Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins, Jim Rue, director of the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, and the five property owners on Northeast Lawndale Avenue who filed the most recent annexation request.

Senate Bill 1573 does not comply with provisions of the Oregon Constitution limiting legislative authority and reserving the right of initiative and referendum and the right of local voters to enact and amend their own city charters, wrote City Attorney Jim Brewer in the complaint filed by the city.

This lawsuit seeks declaratory relief that Senate Bill 1573 is unconstitutional on its face and as applied to the City of Corvallis.

Backers of SB 1573 promoted the legislation as an effort to streamline the development process and help ease the housing supply crisis in the state.

The case will be tried by a judge or panel of judges in Corvallis, Brewer said, while noting that court sessions at which motions will be filed and briefings issued likely are months away.

Brewer also said that regardless of the decision at the Benton County Circuit Court the case is likely to be appealed, with the state Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court the next steps up the jurisdictional ladder.

Because no federal issues are at stake, there will not be any involvement by federal courts or the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brewer said he expects assistance in the case from the League of Oregon Cities and the League of Women Voters.

"This case is about home rule and how city charters and state statutes work together," Brewer said, explaining why he thought the two organizations would be active supporters of the lawsuit.

Chris Pair, press secretary for Brown, said that because the case involved "ongoing litigation we can't really comment on it."

Corvallis voters passed a measure mandating voted-approved elections on Nov. 2, 1976, and the first two annexation elections were held May 17, 1977. In the years since, 57 such annexations have been approved by voters and 21 were defeated.

Annexation plans for the Witham Oaks property in northwest Corvallis were defeated seven times before a vote passed in 2004. Core Investments of Chicago plans to build a student housing complex on the 95-acre site north of Harrison Boulevard and west of 35th Street.

The two most recent annexation votes added the Sather property just west of the Oregon State University campus in 2012 and a site near Southwest 49th Street in 2013. The Sather site was developed by Landmark Properties of Athens, Georgia, into The Retreat, a student housing complex that can accommodate more than 1,000 residents.

The 49th Street property has not yet been developed.
Bonn redevelopment : Bonner Loch to be transformed

Bonn Developers presented their plans yesterday for the area around Bonns main train station.

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Its the end of a decades-longdiscussion in Bonn. In January 2017, the unloved Suduberbauung (thebuilding opposite the main train station) will be torn down andreplaced with a new department store which will mainly be let tothe textile chain Primark. The opening is planned for 2019.

Thedays of the Bonner Loch (the area in front of the main trainstation) are also numbered. With details of the plans agreedbetween the city and investors, the city administration is ready tosign the sales contract for the city-owned land between Bonner Lochand Thomas-Mann-Strae as well as the area between the tracks andRabinstrae. The city council is to formally make the decision on30 June, but it is certain to sign off on the deal.

The mayor ofBonn, Ashok Sridharan and the investors Albert ten Brinke (for theSuduberbauung project) and Stefan Muhling (for the Nordfeldproject) presented information about the projects yesterday. TheDutch investor ten Brinke has succeeded where all other investorshave failed over the previous decades: he has managed to get all 38owners of the Suduberbauung to agree to sell, meaning the buildingcan be demolished.

The entrance to the metro station fromPoststrae was also a sticking point between the investors. Theyhave now agreed plans for a covered stairway on the new railwaystation forecourt. They have also jointly developed plans to makethe metro level more attractive. It will be completely re-designedand the new Lifestyle Building to be constructed over the BonnerLoch will have a passage of shops underneath leading theCassiusbastei.
United Nations : Interview with Christiana Figueres

As part of an interview with the GA, Christiana Figueres gave her views on Bonn.

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In an interview with the General Anzeiger, Christiana Figueres, the outgoing head of the UN Climate Convention in Bonn, was full of praise for Bonn.

Here is an extract from the interview:

You have always felt attached to Bonn. What do you like about Bonn as a city and as a UN location?

Christiana Figueres: I particularly like that Bonn offers an inviting and secure environment for the approximately 1000 international colleagues who live and work here. Delegates who come to our conferences from around the work also feel they are in good hands.

What feelings will you take with you when you leave Bonn?

Figueres: Above all I will miss the view I have of the Rhine from both my office and from my apartment in Konigswinter. Ive also really enjoyed being able to bike to work and jogging along the Rhine. Of course I will miss the friendliness and the open-mindedness of the people in Bonn. But I will also be coming back to Bonn as I have many friends here.

Is it true that Bonn is mostly attractive to those UN workers with families and that there is a big turnover among young people?

Figueres: I cant confirm the turnover figures. But Bonn is certainly a great city for young families. In our experience, families are very happy with the education on offer, the pubic transport, the culture on offer and the many other activities.

What do you think are the chances of further UN organisations being established in Bonn?

Figueres: Bonn has great potential as a UN location. The city has a strong profile as a centre for sustainable development. Sustainable development in turn requires knowledge and support from all areas of society. The combination of professional expertise and political support here in Bonn provides a unique opportunity for partnerships.

And Bonn as a conference city?

Figueres: With the World Conference Centre Bonn (WCCB), Bonn offers a highly modern conference centre which is large enough for the United Nations complex events. This has put Bonn on a level with the other central UN locations. There are sufficient hotels in various price brackets, and the airport and train connections make it very quick to reach the city.

In your view, is Bonn doing enough for its image?

Figueres: As far as I can tell, yes. The citys international image and its infrastructure have grown enormously in the last few years. This now allows the city to further market itself internationally.

A final question: What will you do next? What are your plans?

Figueres: I will announce these in due course  Im still in office until 7 July.
Gauck in Bonn : President of Germany and his partner visit Bonn

Bonn Joachim Gauck yesterday visited the centre for refugee training  Integration Point in Duisdorf.

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The President ofGermany and his partner, Daniela Schadt, were in Bonn yesterdayvisiting Bonns centre for refugee training, Integration Point inDuisdorf. He had three rounds of talks: with representatives of jobagencies, with young migrants and finally with representatives ofregional businesses giving young migrants a chance in theworkplace. The President took the opportunity to warn againstexpectations of migrant integration in the job market being toohigh.

He said many refugees had the idea that, they could veryquickly earn the money needed by their families at home or thatthey had to pay to people smugglers. This then often becomes afrustrating experience. Gauck met young migrants from a school inGraurheindorf who told him of their schooling in their homelandsand their aspirations in Germany.

Gauck later said he greatlyrespected that after only half a year of learning German, most ofthem could speak it well enough to have a conversation with aPresident. The employment agency representatives also underlinedthe importance of language skills for entering the workplace.

During a coffee with the President, the businessmen representingthe local economy reported mainly positive experiences and agreedcentres such as the Integration Point are very helpful forguiding people through the masses of rules and numerous officials.The President said he hadnt come to Bonn to comment on Germanasylum policy.
Facebook introduces 360-degree photos News oi -GizBot Bureau

Social media giant Facebook on Thursday introduced a new feature that enables users upload and view 360-degrees photos right in the News Feed, a media report said.

"Along with 360 photos from your friends and family, you can discover stunning new 360 photos on Facebook from public figures, publishers, and other organizations," technology website The Verge quoted Andy Huang, Product Manager, Facebook, as saying.

5 Less Known Facts About YouTube that You Should Be Aware of!

"360 photos give you the ability to take the stage in front of 100,000 fans with Paul McCartney, get behind-the-scenes access to the Supreme Court via The New York Times, visit the International Space Station with NASA, and more," he said.

After capturing a panorama or 360-degrees photo with smartphone camera or a third-party app, users can now post the photo directly to the social network, where it will be converted into an image that can be viewed on desktop or any smartphone, the report added.

Users will be able to identify the photos by the compass icon floating on the upper right hand corner of the image.

10 Things to Know About Lenovo Tango Smartphone Phab 2 Pro Smartphone Launched Recently

All they need to do is click and drag on the image to explore the complete environment, or simply move their smartphone around.

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Florida Woman Pleads Guilty to Acting as Illegal Agent of Foreign Government and Conspiring to Commit Money Laundering

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, June 10, 2016



Amin Yu, 54, of Orlando, Florida, pleaded guilty today to acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General and conspiring to commit international money laundering.

The plea agreement was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.

"Amin Yu admitted to secretly serving as an agent of the Chinese government," said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. "Yu obtained and illegally exported items and technology related to marine submersible vehicles at the direction and control of a state-owned entity in China. Protecting our national assets by disrupting efforts by foreign governments to steal sensitive equipment and technology will continue to be a high priority of the National Security Division."

"Amin Yu made hundreds of thousands of dollars by acting covertly in Orlando on behalf of the Chinese government and by skirting U.S. export laws and regulations," said U.S. Attorney Bentley. "The enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations related to the national security of the United States remains a top priority for our office."

According to the plea agreement, from at least 2002 until February 2014, at the direction of co-conspirators working for Harbin Engineering University (HEU), a state-owned entity in the People's Republic of China, Yu obtained systems and components for marine submersible vehicles from companies in the United States. She then illegally exported those items to the PRC for use by her co-conspirators in the development of marine submersible vehicles  unmanned underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles  for HEU and other state-controlled entities. Yu illegally exported items by failing to file electronic export information (EEI), as required by U.S. law, and by filing false EEI. In particular, Yu completed and caused the completion of export-related documents in which she significantly undervalued the items that she had exported and provided false end user information for those items.

Yu faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to commit money laundering. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29, 2016.

This case was investigated by the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel C. Irick of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys David C. Recker and Thea D. R. Kendler of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

16-676

National Security Division (NSD)

USAO - Florida, Middle

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Edwards testing facility hosts first Canadian air force plane

By Kenji Thuloweit, 412th Test Wing Public Affairs / Published June 10, 2016

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- For the first time ever, a Royal Canadian Air Force plane has entered the Benefield Anechoic Facility, a state-of-the-art center for electronic warfare testing.

A team of engineers, operators and defense scientists from Canada are wrapping up electronic warfare testing of a CC-130J Hercules transport plane.

Canada is updating its fleet of legacy CC-130H aircraft with the J model, which are the same as the U.S. Air Force C-130Js and used for tactical airlift of troops and supplies.

The team has conducted multiple tests in the past few weeks focusing on the ALR-56M radar warning receiver and its integration with the rest of the Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite and aircraft mission computer.

"The BAF is the closest thing to actually flying the aircraft in (a radio frequency) threat environment," said Emil Poliakov, a Canada Department of National Defense radar warfare engineer. "The chamber allows us to execute multiple test objectives in a controlled-repeatable manner and collect data to evaluate the radar warning receiver's technical performance and effectiveness."

The BAF, operated by the 772nd Test Squadron, is the largest anechoic chamber in the world and can fit pretty much any airplane inside. It provides a "free space" so electronic warfare tests can be conducted without radio frequency interference from the outside world. The chamber is filled with polyurethane and polyethylene pyramids designed to stop reflections of electromagnetic waves. The size of the pyramids, which are painted dark blue or black, varies depending on the particular frequency and test procedure being conducted. Aircraft systems can be tested and verified that they work properly prior to actual flight test.

The isolation from outside interferences enables testers to determine the electromagnetic compatibility of the CC-130J's systems.

"Our DEWS systems are often programmed and tested in isolation. We do not have a capability like the BAF, which would allow us to test the systems in an integrated fashion," Poliakov said. "This program allows us to exercise the complete integrated suite before the aircraft goes through an expensive flight trial."

The test team designed all the emitters the BAF is going to generate around a fictional threat area.

"We've set up our objectives to simulate a contested (radio frequency) environment and we're going to see various early warning, air to air, long-range surface to air, and anti-air artillery threat systems come up to exercise the full capabilities of the radar warning receiver and provide relevant experience to the operator in the cockpit," Poliakov said.

The electronic warfare data collected during this testing will be shared with partner nations as part of an agreement signed last year between the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia. The agreement is called the Multinational Test and Evaluation Program.

"This agreement provides an unprecedented access to the partnering nations' EW trials and data," Poliakov said. "The CC-130J trial at the BAF is the first time the agreement has been used since it was officially signed in 2015. We invited representatives from the U.K. and Australia to witness this trial and will share all of the results with our allies."

Poliakov added the agreement eliminates a lot of repetitive testing and road blocks and allows the partner nations to discuss directly with their allies in the test community about system capabilities and deficiencies. The countries share data and test planning.

"This agreement allows the allies to work together and contribute to the common goal of increasing crew and aircraft survivability in a potential threat environment," Poliakov said.

During a meeting last year, Poliakov said Mario Dorado of the 772nd TS invited the Canadians to Edwards Air Force Base to conduct EW testing on the CC-130J, thus initiating the first action of the joint program.

The CC-130J brought to Edwards AFB is from 8 Wing located at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario. Canada purchased 17 CC-130Js with the last one delivered in 2012.

On the outside the CC-130J looks almost identical to the legacy CC-130H Hercules, but internally the J model is essentially a completely new aircraft that can fly faster, higher and farther, while carrying heavier loads with better fuel economy.

While this is the first time an RCAF plane has come to test in the BAF, Poliakov hopes it won't be the last.

"We have had a fantastic experience at the BAF. We were able to complete all planned test objectives and collect data, which we don't normally have access to," Poliakov said. "This facility provides the missing link between systems testing in the lab and flight trials at a range. I hope we'll be able to integrate the BAF into our regular DEWS test cycles for all fleets in the RCAF."

The CC-130J team is expected to complete testing this week.

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Two Crew Members Injured in Military Chopper Crash in Podgorica

Sputnik News

16:22 10.06.2016(updated 16:54 10.06.2016)

Military helicopter crash in Podgorica on Friday left two crew members dead, local media reported.

BELGRADE (Sputnik)  Two crew members sustained injuries as a military helicopter crashed in Montenegro's capital of Podgorica on Friday, local media reported.

A military pilot was severely wounded, while his co-pilot received lighter injuries in the incident, which took place at about 1:00 p.m. local time (11:00 GMT), the Montenegrin Vijesti daily newspaper said, citing the Defense Ministry.

"Helicopter of the Army of Montenegro  Gazelle HN  45M, number 12941  crashed today around 1 pm [11:00 GMT] near Komanski most in Podgorica, during the execution of regular planned flight training. Deputy Commander of the Air Forces of Montenegro Colonel Namik Arifovic and clerk at Flight Operations Desk Lieutenant Colonel Miroljub Antanasijevic were aboard," the Montenegro Defense Ministry said in a statement.

No one except the crew was injured. Police and ambulance teams have been deployed to the crash site. Both victims sustained sever injuries and were hospitalized, the military added.

The head of the Montenegrin General Staff, Dragan Samardzic, has reportedly arrived to investigate the incident. According to the statement, the defense ministry is creating a commission to probe into the cause of the incident.

 Sputnik

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Poland Demands That Georgia Explain Its Refusal to Take Part in NATO Drills

Sputnik News

09:00 10.06.2016

Poland demands explanation from Georgia on Tbilisi's refusal to join the scheduled NATO Anaconda 2016 military exercises, Polish media reported Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Thursday, media reports, citing the Georgian Defense Ministry, suggested that Tbilisi did not send its troops to the NATO drills in Poland, as some of the Georgian servicemen had been diagnosed with chickenpox. According to the reports, only head of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces Vakhtang Kapanadze was expected to arrive at the drills in Poland.

According to the Polish Press Agency, Warsaw awaits an official statement on Georgia's decision.

Anaconda 2016, one of the greatest military drills held in Poland over 25 years, began on Monday. It involves troops from over 20 NATO member states, bringing together some 31,000 servicemen, 100 aircraft, 12 vessels and 3,000 vehicles.

 Sputnik

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Plenary Meeting of the Global Coalition to Counter-ISIL

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 10, 2016



As ISIL continues to lose territory and come under increasing pressure, ambassadors and senior diplomatic representatives from the 66-member Global Coalition to Counter ISIL gathered today for a plenary session at the State Department to review progress in the campaign, discuss further actions to defeat ISIL, and seek additional support for urgent humanitarian and immediate stabilization efforts in liberated areas.

Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL Brett McGurk opened the briefing by outlining the progress of the multidimensional campaign to pressure ISIL and degrade its global network across all civilian and military lines of effort. He highlighted the numerous fronts where the Coalition is working in conjunction with local forces to apply simultaneous pressure to defeat ISIL including, in Iraq, Fallujah, Hit, Haditha, Rutbah, and areas around Mosul, and in Syria around Manbij, Raqqa, and Marea, and in Libya around Sirte.

With support of the Coalition, local forces have now recaptured nearly 10,000 square kilometers in northeastern Syria and have retaken nearly 30,000 square kilometers in Iraq. This includes strategically significant territory such as severing key ISIL supply routes to Raqqa and Mosul and regaining control of the Baghdad-Amman highway, which can help reactivate the once $100 million in monthly trade with Jordan that was occurring before ISIL, and bring much needed economic resources to Anbar Province.

Special Presidential Envoy McGurk reviewed the contributions of Coalition members to this unprecedented effort. In the skies, twelve Coalition Partners have played a role in carrying out the nearly 13,000 air strikes against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria. On the ground, seventeen Coalition partners have deployed personnel to advise, assist and/or training Iraq forces. Through these efforts in full coordination with the Government of Iraq, the Coalition has trained over 30,000 personnel, including Iraqi Army, Counterterrorism Service (CTS), Kurdish Peshmerga, police, tribal fighters, and border security forces.

He noted that, beyond significantly degrading ISIL militarily over the last year, ISIL's financial and foreign terrorist fighter networks are under severe strain due to the coordinated efforts of our global Coalition. We have seen a significant reduction in the flow of foreign terrorist fighters entering Syria and Iraq each month, and its fighters are increasingly defecting and fleeing its ranks.

Financially, ISIL is under stress as it has been forced to cut its fighter salaries in half, and levy higher extortionist taxes on the populations under its control to alleviate economic shortfalls. Due to Coalition actions, ISIL's oil production has been cut by approximately one-third since late 2015 and many of its cash storage sites have been destroyed, denying it access to hundreds of millions dollars of combined revenue and cash reserves. The Coalition is now prepared to further accelerate this economic pressure.

On messaging, he praised the work of fifteen Coalition partners who together share and coordinate the Coalition's strategic messaging efforts to challenge ISIL's propaganda online and in the media. He noted that the private sector has assisted Coalition governments in developing productive and effective measures to decrease objectionable content and accounts online while preserving free expression and exchange of ideas.

He also emphasized that a critical priority for the Coalition is to help communities in Iraq and Syria recover from the devastation ISIL has inflicted on them. According to the UN, more than 700,000 Iraqis have returned home to liberated areas over the last year, including over 95 percent of the population of Tikrit and more than 70,000 people in Ramadi, where stabilization efforts are working to keep pace with returns. The need for partners to support the Iraqi Government's stabilization efforts is particularly important as Iraqi forces continue to reclaim additional population centers from ISIL. Thanks to generous contributions and pledges from nineteen Coalition partners, the UN's fund for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS) now totals more than $100 million to support this important work, but much more is needed to help ensure liberated areas are stabilized after ISIL and humanitarian needs are addressed.

Significant progress has been made and ISIL is on the defensive but it remains resilient, dangerous, and the fight is far from over. As ISIL's so-called "Caliphate" is degraded military, it will seek to continue suicide bombings and terrorist attacks. Today's discussion made clear that the Coalition's resolve is strong and ISIL's use of terror only strengthens our determination to prevail.

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UN determined to work collectively to ensure people worldwide are protected, says Ban

10 June 2016  Speaking at a Security Council debate on the protection of civilians, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that the United Nations is determined to work collectively to support governments to protect their people, and to persuade parties to conflict to abide by their obligations.

"Protecting civilians is a United Nations system-wide responsibility. But the primary responsibility lies with parties to the conflict, non-belligerent States, and this Council," Mr. Ban told the Security Council at UN Headquarters in New York.

"Governments and parties to conflict also have an obligation to provide for the basic needs of civilians in conflict. When they fail to do so, they should facilitate principled humanitarian assistance by humanitarian organizations," he added.

Noting that many parties are failing to live up to these obligations, the Secretary-General said it is essential that the UN use all the means at its disposal to hold them accountable.

"The ultimate solution to protecting civilians in conflict is finding sustainable political solutions, based on the rule of law and human rights standards," he insisted, urging the Security Council to exercise this, as it is its "core responsibility."

In his last report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Mr. Ban underlined the urgent need for concrete measures and to make recommendations to that end.

"Enhancing the protection of civilians was a key focus of the World Humanitarian Summit and the Agenda for Humanity. It was one of the dominant themes to emerge from the recent reviews of peace operations, the peacebuilding architecture, and the 'Women, Peace and Security' framework," he noted.

Mr. Ban said these reports, reviews and events underscored "the modest but vital role" that UN peace operations can play in protecting civilians.

"Peacekeeping operations are most effective in protecting civilians when protection is considered a mission-wide activity, driven by a sound political strategy," he explained, adding that the political engagement of civilian staff and their dialogue with parties to conflict, affected communities and partners is essential.

Noting that civilian staff also monitor and investigate abuses  which he said is the only basis for accountability  the Secretary-General highlighted that likewise, United Nations Police make an important contribution.

"UN Police are currently protecting tens of thousands of internally displaced people at peacekeeping missions in South Sudan," he recalled. "I urge this Council to give precedence to political strategy and whole-of-mission approaches when you consider mandates to protect civilians. These can be even more critical than military assets and troop numbers."

Meanwhile, he highlighted that the United Nations Secretariat is working to support the Security Council in this by providing better analysis of threats, and better advice and recommendations on the most effective course of action, depending on the context.

"As I told the General Assembly yesterday, we are reviewing our administrative and logistical procedures to see how we can best support peace operations, and looking at policies to make us more flexible and responsive," Mr. Ban said.

"The Secretariat is also doing its utmost to support missions through a renewed focus on performance and accountability. We will continue our efforts to prevent and address abuses committed by peacekeepers," he stressed.

In this respect, he said the UN is working with troop and police contributors to generate peacekeeping forces and police in a way that matches capabilities with requirements.

"We need troops that speak the right languages, bring the right technology and equipment, and have the right skills and training, in the right places. Member States have a critical role here, in contributing troops and police who are ready, willing and able to take up protection duties. The Kigali Principles set out critical benchmarks for troop and police contributing countries, and I urge all to endorse them," the UN chief stated.

"We also rely on the Security Council to set mandates that are in line with resources, and to use your influence to increase those resources in certain circumstances," he added.

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Fujimori Concedes Defeat in Peruvian Presidential Election

by VOA News June 10, 2016

Keiko Fujimori conceded defeat Friday in one of the closest presidential elections ever in Peru, which kept the country in suspense for nearly a week.

She said she is accepting the results "in a democratic spirit" and will head up what she says will be a respectful opposition.

Until Friday, she had refused to give up after barely losing a runoff to conservative economist and former World Bank official Pedro Kuczynski, 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent.

Kuczynski has urged Peruvians to work together for the country's future.

Fujimori is the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights abuses and corruption during his rule from 1990 to 2000.

Keiko Fujimori had tried to distance herself from her infamous father. But Kuczynski and others warned she would reintroduce authoritarian rule in Peru if elected.

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Rear Admiral Pleads Guilty in Bribery Scheme That Exposed US Navy Secrets

Sputnik News

02:00 11.06.2016

US Navy Rear Admiral Robert Gilbeau admitted to lying to federal investigators, destroying evidence, and deleting computer files in connection to a probe into a wide-ranging bribery and fraud scheme.

On Friday, US Navy Rear Adm. Robert Gilbeau pleaded guilty to charges of making a false statement to federal investigators in connection with a wide-ranging military bribery scandal, becoming the highest-ranking US military officer convicted under federal criminal law.

Gilbeau is the 14th person federally indicted in the Glenn Defense Marine Asia scandal, known as the "Fat Leonard" case, after a nickname for Leonard Francis, the GDMA company President.

Others charged in the federal probe were accused of accepting bribes or committing fraud in exchange for information on US Navy ship movements, to steer vessels to ports where GDMA handled ship-husbanding chores  the bevy of services needed by a ship visiting a foreign port.

Gilbeau, a 55-year-old Virginia resident, was not directly charged with criminal activity associated with GDMA, but instead for lying to agents from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) about receiving gifts from the company president.

The one-star admiral admitted to destroying documents and deleting computer files, after learning that Leonard Francis and others had been arrested and charged with fraud and bribery offenses in September 2013.

Prior to the scandal, Rear Adm. Robert Gilbeau was a decorated officer in good standing and the recipient of the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, four Meritorious Service Medals, a Navy Unit Commendation and a Combat Action Ribbon. He also led the Tsunami Relief Crisis Action Team, heading the US Navy's logistical response to the December 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami that took the lives of some 250,000 people.

In September 2011, Gilbeau assumed the rank of rear admiral, tasked with commanding the Defense Contract Management Agency International, "where he was responsible for the global administration of DoD's most critical contracts performed outside the United States," according to Department of Justice filings in connection with case.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell, of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, admonished Gilbeau in a statement announcing the naval official's plea saying, "As a flag-level officers in the US Navy, [Rear] Admiral Gilbeau understood his duty to be honest with federal agents investigating this sprawling bribery scheme, but by destroying documents and lying about the gifts that he received, Gilbeau broke the law and dishonored his uniform."

A sentencing hearing for the disgraced US Navy officer is scheduled for August 26 before US District Judge Janis Sammartino of the Southern District of California.

 Sputnik

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Taliban Belittles Plan for Broader US Military Role in Afghanistan

by Ayaz Gul June 11, 2016

Afghanistan's Taliban has condemned as "futile" new U.S. plans to increase airstrikes against the Islamist insurgency and to deploy of American soldiers to the battlefield when necessary.

U.S. President Barack Obama approved the wider role for the U.S. military after months of debate, to help Afghan security forces combat the Taliban.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Majahid, said the moves will not deter it or cause it to step back and give up the "armed resistance." He said it will only lead to the waste of U.S. resources and more battlefield casualties.

"We condemn the occupation and extension of the war. We want to tell the Americans the Afghan nation firmly resisted with grace your use of any force in the past 15 years. We remain resilient and will carry forward our jihad against your occupation," Mujahid said in a statement sent to VOA on Saturday.

He said that around 500,000 U.S.-trained Afghan soldiers, police, intelligence personnel and local militiamen suffer daily casualties and abandon areas on the battlefield at the hands of the Taliban.

"And they now beg you again to fight alongside them," Mujahid said. He went on to claim the U.S. military had been unable to harm the Taliban with their modern weapons and more than 100,000 soldiers a few years ago.

Most U.S and NATO combat forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2014, leaving behind some 13,000 troops under the so-called Resolute Support mission to train, advise and assist local forces.

Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani's unity government has welcomed the decision to broaden the role of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, saying it will help combat terrorism.

"The expansion is in the interest of the stability in Afghanistan and the region, a presidential spokesman, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, told VOA, adding the bilateral security agreement between Kabul and Washington allows for such changes.

Asked if the U.S. position was taken based on an Afghan government request, Murtazawi told VOA's Afghan Service that the decision was made during a "quadrilateral" meeting of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China in mid-May. Pakistan has denied there was a decision to step up attacks on the Afghan Taliban at that meeting.

The conflict in Afghanistan has cost the U.S. around $700 billion and killed more than 2,200 American troops.

The war killed more than 3,500 Afghan civilians and wounded around 7,500 in 2015, according to the United Nations, which blames the Taliban for most of the casualties.

VOA Afghan Service contributed to this article

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Al-Shabab Says Executed More of Its Own in Somalia

by Harun Maruf June 11, 2016

Al-Shabab militants in Somalia say they have executed two of their members, both of them recruited from Kenya, for disloyalty and anti-Islamic activities.

The two Kenyans and a Somali man executed at the same time were killed in Somalia's Middle Juba region on Friday, local residents told VOA's Somali Service. The executions also were reported on an al-Shabab website.

In the Bay region, four other men were executed Friday, accused of spying for Somali, Kenyan and U.S. intelligence agencies, according to a statement issued on social media by the extremist group. It said one of the four was accused of facilitating the drone strike in September 2014 that killed al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, also known as Abu Zubayr.

The two Kenyan fighters who were executed in Jilib town were identified on al-Shabab's website as Abdullah Abdulhamid Faraj and Jared Mokae Omambia.

Blamed as 'facilitators'

Faraj, from Mombasa, Kenya, had been accused of "facilitating" killings of Muslim preachers in Kenya, VOA Somali reported. Omambia, who was from the western Kenyan city of Eldoret, was accused of working with Kenya's anti-terrorism police unit.

Victims of the mass execution Friday in the Bay region's Bulo Fay village included 26-year-old Mohamed Aden Nur Hassan, who was beheaded. The al-Shabab website said he had been accused of providing key information that led to the death of al-Shabab commander Godane/Zubayr.

Al-Shabab said Muhiyadin Hirab Ahmed, 27, accused of betraying the leader of the Westgate Mall terror attack in Nairobi, and two others were killed by a firing squad immediately after they were pronounced guilty.

Recording of verdict

The extremists also released audio of an al-Shabab "judge" delivering his verdict against Hassan. The judge said Hassan has provided information that allowed U.S. forces to pinpoint the location of former militant chief Zubayr, contributing to his death. Hassan was accused of involvement in drone strikes that killed two other top al-Shabab commanders: Amniyat commander Abdishakur Tahlil in December 2014 and the militants' external operations chief Yusuf Dheeg the following February.

Hassan was suspected of passing on mobile telephone numbers for two of Zubayr's close associations that fixed their location in Barawe, the southern Somali port that was an al-Shabab stronghold at the time. Ten days after that information was passed to the CIA, al-Shabab officials have said, missiles launched by U.S. warplanes and drones killed Zubayr.

The raid that eliminated Godane/Zubayr was hailed as a major success at the time. One month later, Somali government troops and allied forces from the African Union regained control of Barawe, which al-Shabab had controlled since 2009.

Barawe has a proud commercial and cultural history dating back more than 500 years. But its politics have been turbulent for centuries, with multiple episodes of colonial occupation, including by European powers.

Muhiyadin Hirab Ahmed, executed at the same time as Hassan, was accused of working with Kenyan counterterrorism units following the Westgate Mall terrorist attack, which killed nearly 70 people. The information Ahmed allegedly provided led to the killing of Aadan Garaar, the suspected Westgate attack mastermind, in March 2015.

Also executed Friday in the Bay region was Hassan Diriye Osman, 42, whom al-Shabab accused of providing informants to Kenya intelligence in Gedo region. However, relatives of Osman told VOA he was an innocent schoolteacher. They said he had been missing since 2014.

The fourth victim of the Bula Fulay execution squads was Hussein Nunow Nagay, 36, accused of giving the Somali intelligence agency information about Al-Shabab fighters' movements.

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Islamic State Group in Decline, White House Envoy Contends

by Cindy Saine June 10, 2016

President Barack Obama's special envoy in the fight against Islamic State painted a portrait of the terrorist group as an organization in decline Friday, saying it had lost about 50 percent of its territory in Iraq, including access to the border region to Turkey.

Brett McGurk told White House reporters that morale among IS fighters was "plummeting," illustrated by their own videos of leaders executing fighters on the battlefield and by increasing desertions. He said IS propaganda statements acknowledged the loss of territory and asked potential recruits to go to Libya instead of Syria.

Asked about the status of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, McGurk said he had "no reason to believe that he is not still alive," though he has not had any public appearances since late last year.

McGurk said that as the self-proclaimed leader of a caliphate, Baghdadi normally would have been expected to speak to his followers at the start of the holy month of Ramadan. He said Baghdadi's reticence to appear in public showed that the group's confidence was waning.

The envoy did not mention unconfirmed reports by a local source in Iraq alleging that Baghdadi and other Islamic State leaders were wounded Thursday in a coalition airstrike on one of their command headquarters near the Syrian border. The reports have not been independently verified.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul released a statement Friday claiming that the Obama administration was trying to "spin" a narrative that IS is on the run. The Texas Republican said he instead sees the militants on the march.

McCaul recently returned from a trip to several war zones in the Middle East. He said that in addition to a presence in Syria and Iraq, IS and its affiliates have gained a foothold in so-called "provinces" across the Middle East and North Africa, from Algeria to Pakistan  areas he said were ideal spots from which Islamist extremists could wage war on the West.

"Anywhere where you see failed states and power vacuums, these are launching pads for external operations," he said.

Presidential envoy McGurk acknowledged that there were still tremendous challenges ahead in the fight against Islamic State. On Tuesday, Obama will be meeting with his top national security advisers at the U.S. Treasury Department to discuss efforts to deprive the group of funding.

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Turkish FM Vows Further Expansion of NATO Defense Shield

Sputnik News

02:13 11.06.2016(updated 05:08 11.06.2016)

Romania, Poland, and Turkey have all agreed that NATO's installation of missile defense systems in Eastern Europe is necessary, in light of what they consider to be "Russia's aggressive attitude."

In May, NATO expanded its missile defense shield by opening a new base in Romania. Russia responded by calling the move an unnecessary provocation and warned that Moscow would be forced to take countermeasures.

"We have been saying right from when this story started that our experts are convinced that the deployment of the AMB system poses a certain threat to the Russian Federation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"Measures are being taken to ensure the necessary level of security for Russia. The President himself, let me remind you, has repeatedly asked who the system will work against."

But according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, these concerns mean very little. According to Turkey's Anadolu news agency, Cavusoglu claimed the defense shields are necessary in his country, as well as in Romania and Poland, because of "Russian aggression."

"We've reached common ground that missile defense systems should be expanded to provide protection to all the three states and their populations," Cavusoglu said.

His only evidence for this aggression is a speech made by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Greece last month.

"If yesterday people simply did not know what it means to be in the crosshairs in those areas of Romania, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security. And it will be the same with Poland," Putin said.

"According to Cavusoglu, this statement was intended as a literal threat "against NATO allies in the country that is a member of the alliance."

NATO expansion in Eastern Europe has earned criticism from a number of experts. In an article for Die Zeit, journalist Jochen Bittner writes that "NATO is possibly about to make one of the biggest mistakes in its history."

"Immediately after the opening of the missile station in Romania, the Head of Arms Control Department in the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mikhail Ulyanow noted that, in Russia's view, this represents a violation of the INF Treaty."

Political analyst Lawrence Davidson argues that the missile defense system is less about defending against Russia, and more about containing Russia.

"Obviously this placement of missiles in Eastern Europe sends a message to Russia. And the message is: 'Look, you are not allowed to have a sphere of influence,'" he told RT.

"Indeed the Chinese aren't allowed either. The only one who can really have a sphere of influence is the Americans and their proxies in Europe. This is essentially a Cold War theory of containment brought into the 21st century."

 Sputnik

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Pyongyang Proposes Intra-Korean Meeting on Reunification

Sputnik News

09:30 10.06.2016(updated 10:06 10.06.2016)

North Korea has proposed to hold an inter-Korean meeting on reunification, which would coincide with the 71st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, local media reported Friday.

TOKYO (Sputnik)  Pyongyang addressed "all Koreans" and called on them to convene a grand national meeting on reunification, adding that the proposal was motivated by "a burning desire to improve inter-Korean relations and to fulfill the task of national reunification through joint efforts of all Koreans," according to the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Korea came under the protectorate of Japan in the beginning of the 20th century, and was annexed by the empire in 1910. Since the mid-1930s, Japan has pursued a policy of assimilation of Korea, when a military-police system of violence and oppression took place.

Korea was liberated from the Japanese colonial rule on August 15, 1945 following great losses. Shortly after the Japanese Empire's defeat, Korea was divvied into two parts, as the United States and the Soviet Union signed an agreement on joint management of the country.

Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, two young states have divided by a demilitarized zone. The conflict is formally ongoing, as the sides signed an armistice, and not a peace treaty, at the end of the war.

The process towards a potential Korean reunification was started by the June 15, 2000 NorthSouth Joint Declaration, but the relations between the two Koreas later deteriorated as the North declared itself a nuclear power in 2005, keeping the neighboring states at bay and ignoring the calls to refrain from what the South deemed provocations.

Last month, Pyongyang urged Seoul to accept its offer to hold military talks and called for joint steps to carry out measures for national unity, citing the need to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula. South Korea rejected the proposal, demanding "a real turn" toward denuclearization.

 Sputnik

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Mishap at India's Largest Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya, 2 Dead

Sputnik News

20:13 10.06.2016(updated 20:19 10.06.2016)

A gas leak from the sewage treatment plant in the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya has claimed two lives. INS Vikramaditya has been undergoing a refit at the naval base in Karwar since June 1.

New Delhi(Sputnik)  The accident reportedly took place around 5:00 pm (Indian Standard Time). It is reported that maintenance work was being undertaken in the sewage treatment plant when the toxic gas leaked from. According to the Indian Navy, a sailor and a civilian employee died due to inhalation of the toxic gas while the condition of two other persons exposed to the gas is stable.

The Indian Navy has ordered an inquiry into the incident. INS Vikramaditya is the newest and largest ship to join the Indian Navy on 16 Nov 2013.

 Sputnik

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Pathankot AFB Tightens Security, Braces Itself for Another Terrorist Attack

Sputnik News

16:40 10.06.2016(updated 17:10 10.06.2016)

Security has been tightened at the Indian air force base in Pathankot following a warning from intelligence agencies.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik)  Pathankot Air Force Base, which was attacked by Pakistan-based terror groups, is being targeted by terrorists again. Intelligence agencies have received credible intelligence reports that terrorists plan to strike the base again.

In light of this threat, "shoot-on-sight" orders have been issued around the periphery of the base.

India's Army, Border Security Force and Punjab Police had conducted a joint-flag march in border villages surrounding Pathankot AFB.

Pathankot AFB spreads over 16 square kilometres and houses around 5,000 people.

Pathankot AFB was attacked in January this year when a group of armed terrorists entered the air base; in the ensuing gun battle, seven security personnel lost their life.

Defense experts opine that Pathankot is one of the largest air force bases in India and its security is of prime concern.

"What we have witnessed earlier at Pathankot air force base should not happen again in any of our bases. The government should take the utmost care and provide adequate security to all the air forces bases in India. The Pathankot Air Force Base terror attack has proven that our bases are vulnerable and there should be a thorough review of security at all the Indian air force bases. First and foremost, the government should demolish all illegally-built buildings within a meter of the air force bases," Wing Commander (Rtd) Prafull Bakshi told Sputnik.

 Sputnik

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Libya's Pro-government Forces Set to Declare Victory in Sirte

by VOA News June 11, 2016

Pro-government Libyan forces battled the last remaining Islamic State fighters in the center of the Libyan port city of Sirte early Saturday, with a spokesman saying top IS leaders had fled into the desert to avoid the onslaught.

General Mohammed al-Ghasri also told reporters that fighting in the city was confined to areas near a downtown conference center, which IS fighters had converted into a command post.

The Associated Press quoted the general as saying British and U.S. experts were assisting his forces by providing logistical support and intelligence on IS suicide bombers, while helping with strategical and tactical planning.

Pro-government militia from the western city of Misrata reached Sirte's outskirts earlier in the week, despite being slowed by mines and attacks by suicide bombers.They began the battle for Sirte, former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's hometown, in early May. The U.N.-backed Libyan government said more than 100 government forces had been killed and more than 400 wounded in the battle to take the city.

Al-Ghasri's forces are backing the newly formed Government of National Accord (GNA) and its presumptive leader, Fayez Al-Sarraj  widely seen in the West as Libya's best hope for stability in an otherwise chaotic country.

Sarraj and other key members of the national unity government were smuggled into Libyan territory by sea earlier this year, with broad European and U.S. backing.

Libya has been in chaos since Gadhafi was toppled and killed in 2011. Rival armed factions have spent the last five years trying to grab power and take control of Libya's oil industry.

The fight for oil fields and refineries has led to devastating fires and damage and has destroyed the Libyan economy. As as many as 1.3 million of Libya's 6.3 million people need humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations.

The turmoil also has opened the door to extremists, such as Islamic State, to grab territory.

IS last year took control of Sirte, the only major IS-held city outside of Iraq and Syria. The Islamist militant group, however, has struggled to gain territory in Libya, and the loss of the Mediterranean city would be a major blow to IS.

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South Korean Military Shuts Down Chinese Illegal Fishing, Navy on Alert

Sputnik News

00:12 11.06.2016(updated 00:14 11.06.2016)

South Korea launched a military patrol to repel Chinese fishing boats illegally fishing in neutral waters close to an area of the Yellow Sea disputed by North and South Korea.

Four naval and marine boats entered neutral waters near the disputed area between the Koreas, to chase away ten Chinese fishing boats illegally harvesting profitable blue crabs, despite South Korea's numerous warnings.

"Diplomatic efforts have met their limits We've decided to enforce restrictions in cooperation with the United Nations Command," an unnamed South Korean military official said, according to South Korean Yonhap news agency.

The chase operation has been sanctioned by the United Nations Command (UNC), which governs the effective no-man's land in Yellow Sea, overseeing the armistice since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

"United Nations Command takes its responsibility to maintain the armistice very seriously. We had a responsibility to act and we are doing that," General Vincent Brooks, the US leader of UNC, said in a statement after the command authorized the operation.

The operation began after two South Korean fishing boats captured and towed two Chinese fishing boats, handing them over to South Korean authorities several days earlier.

Both Chinese and North Korean officials have been reportedly notified about the operation.

Personnel have been authorized to use force against Chinese fishing boats if they do not comply with verbal warnings, the South Korean official said.

Currently South Korea is holding warships and helicopters on high alert, deploying in case of a skirmish with North Korea, he added.

According to China's Foreign Ministry, Beijing has taken pains to education of fishermen about respecting international agreements.

"China hopes that the South Korean side will execute the law in a civilized and rational way, and thoroughly protect the legal rights of Chinese fishermen, avoiding incidents that endanger personal safety," it said in a statement.

According to the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, South Korean authorities seized about 600 Chinese ships last year for illegal fishing, and more than 100 this year as of May, most from waters off the western coast of South Korea.

 Sputnik

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Russia Vows Countermeasures After US Vessel Enters Black Sea

Sputnik News

22:51 10.06.2016(updated 03:04 11.06.2016)

Months after Russian jets responded to the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic, a US destroyer is now testing the waters of the Black Sea.

On Monday, the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter entered the Black Sea to participate in bilateral military exercises as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.

"The United States continues to demonstrate its commitment to the collective security of our NATO allies and support for our partners in Europe," reads a statement from the US Navy, adding that the ship's operations are meant to "enhance maritime security and stability, readiness, and naval capability with our allies and partners."

The Russian government has criticized the presence of a US warship near its borders as a provocation and has vowed to take necessary countermeasures.

"American warships do enter the Black Sea now and then. Certainly, this does not meet with [Russia's] approval and will undoubtedly lead to planning response measures," said Andrey Kelin, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's European Cooperation Department.

Kelin also expressed disapproval of the USS Harry S. Truman's deployment to the Mediterranean, ahead of NATO's Warsaw summit in July, a move he described as an obvious "show of power."

"There is nothing special about the movement of US vessels in this case. We know that aircraft carriers are moving the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere, they have a right to do so, this is freedom of navigation," he said.

"But in general, this is a definite increase in [Russia-US] relations and all this is done ahead of the NATO summit in Warsaw  this is a demonstration of force."

The USS Porter is expected to make port calls while operating in the Black Sea.

"We will see how things move forward," Kelin said. "But overall, we can absolutely not give up on the most important channel of cooperation and dialogue."

Speaking with radio Zvezda, military expert Viktor Murakhovsky also condemned the presence of American warships near Russia's borders.

"Permanent deployment of US destroyers in the European theater of war is already a provocation," he said, noting that there are four other similar US vessels permanently stationed at a Spanish naval base.

In April, the USS Donald Cook sailed near Russian waters in the Baltic Sea, resulting in its interception by a pair of Su-24 bomber jets. US officials described the jets' maneuvers as "aggressive," as well as "unsafe and unprofessional."

Writing about the incident for The American Conservative, political commentator Pat Buchanan observed that "the Russian planes carried no missiles or bombs." This, he argued, was an indication that their "message [was]: What are the Americans doing here?"

"US warships based in Bahrain confront Iranian subs and missile boats in the Gulf. Yet in each of these regions it is not US vital interests that are threatened, but the interests of allies who will not man-up to their own defense duties, preferring to lay them off on Uncle Sam," Buchanan said.

"And America is beginning to buckle under the weight of its global obligations."

 Sputnik

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French Forces Begin Construction of Military Base in Syria's Aleppo

Sputnik News

18:10 10.06.2016(updated 18:19 10.06.2016)

According to a Kurdish source, French forces stationed in northern Syria have begun constructing a military base near the city of Kobani in Aleppo province.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  French forces stationed in northern Syria have begun constructing a military base near the city of Kobani in Aleppo province, a Kurdish source told Sputnik on Friday.

"The French have begun constructing a military base similar to the US military bases French experts and military advisers working in the region will be stationed there," the source said.

According to the source, French, UK and US experts are stationed in the city of Manbij in the same province to consult the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces militias.

 Sputnik

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Daesh Terrorists Kill 36 Civilians Near Syrian City of Manbij

Sputnik News

12:52 10.06.2016(updated 13:16 10.06.2016)

The Daesh terrorists killed 36 civilians in the Aleppo governorate, a Kurdish source told Sputnik.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  The Daesh terrorists killed 36 civilians from the town of Ghandoura near the city of Manbij in the Aleppo governorate, a Kurdish source told Sputnik.

Most victims are said to be women and children.

The source said that the Daesh terrorists were dressed in the uniform of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to carry out a sudden attack on the Military Council of Manbij.

Residents of Ghandoura greeted the terrorists thinking they were SDF fighters. The militants killed everybody who greeted them  a total of 36 people, according to the source.

The source added that on June 6 a similar incident occurred in a village north of Manbij without specifying the number of victims of that attack.

Syrian Democratic Forces have completely surrounded Daesh-held city of Manbij in Syria's Aleppo region, a Kurdish commander told Sputnik on Friday. Manbij, located between Raqqa and the Syrian-Turkish border, is a strategically important area for the group.

In late May, the SDF troops announced an offensive operation against the Islamic State group. One of the goals of the operation supported by the US-led coalition is to liberate the city of Manbij.

The US-Russian brokered ceasefire entered into force on ceasefire agreement came into force across Syria on February 27. Terrorist organizations such the Deash and the Nusra Front, both outlawed in Russia, are excluded from the truce.

 Sputnik

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1000s trapped in Daesh-held Manbij in northern Syria

Iran Press TV

Sat Jun 11, 2016 5:14PM

Tens of thousands of Syrian civilians have been trapped in the Daesh-held northern city of Manbij which is encircled by Kurdish and Arab fighters.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, surrounded Manbij on Friday, severing the Takfiri group's principal supply route between Turkey and its de facto Syrian capital, Raqqah city.

Manbij lies at the heart of the last stretch of territory along Turkey's border still under the control of Daesh, and it was a key point on the terrorists' supply line from Turkey.

"Tens of thousands of civilians still there can't leave as all the routes out of town are cut," Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.

"Bakeries in the town haven't been open since Friday and food is beginning to become rare," Abdel Rahman added.

The London-based monitoring group also said warplanes from a US-led coalition have been conducting heavy bombing raids on the town and its surroundings.

It said nearly 160 Daesh terrorists, 22 SDF troops as well as 37 civilians have been killed since the alliance launched its Manbij offensive on May 31.

Syria has been gripped by militancy since March 2011.

UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

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The Fall of Manbij: Kurds, Democratic Forces Poised to Liberate Syrian City

Sputnik News

09:31 11.06.2016(updated 09:52 11.06.2016)

Kurdish forces are ready to enter the northern Syrian city of Manbij in Aleppo province at any time, Adnan Ebu Emced, commander of the units of the Manbij Military Council, told Sputnik.

In an interview with Sputnik, Adnan Ebu Emced, commander of units of the Manbij Military Council, said that they are poised and ready to liberate Manbij, a Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) stronghold in the region along the Turkish border, at any minute.

The interview came a few days after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) encircled the city, effectively cutting off the supply roads used by the Daesh terrorists. The Manbij Military Council is a coalition formed by Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish fighters and affiliated with SDF.

Emced said that they have already managed to liberate three more villages and take control of several towns, as well as the Manbij-Aleppo and Raqqa-Manbij highways.

"We encircled the city from four flanks. Our forces are advancing slowly so as to prevent civilian casualties. We take under our protection those who live in settlements liberated from Daesh. We are ready and willing to enter the city at any moment," he said.

Earlier this month, US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Col. Patrick Ryder said that the successful offensive by the Kurdish-led SDF on Manbij could liberate up to 40,000 people from Daesh rule. He said that taking Manbij will further reduce Daesh's hold on the region and, perhaps most importantly, cut a key route the terrorists have used to obtain supplies and jihadist fighters from neighboring Turkey.

On May 30, the SDF, backed by the United States, began an offensive on Manbij, which is located along the Turkish border. The forces have already secured the western shore of the Euphrates River, and extended the defense line forward over 100 sq. km., according to CENTCOM.

In late 2015, Kurdish forces had been advancing towards the Daesh-controlled corridor along the Turkish border, but were warned against crossing the Euphrates River into territory controlled by the terrorist group by Turkey's president, who vowed to attack the Syrian Kurds if they liberated the area.

The US-led coalition of over 60 nations has been conducting airstrikes in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, since summer 2014.

The SDF is comprised of Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, Armenian, and Turkmen fighters, and are backed by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.

A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27, but it does not apply to terrorist organizations active in the country, such as Daesh and the al-Nusra Front, which are outlawed in many countries, including Russia.

Despite the ceasefire agreement, violence has escalated in Syria in recent weeks, especially in the northern Aleppo region.

 Sputnik

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Ukraine's Savchenko: Without Peace, The War 'Will Last Forever'

June 11, 2016

by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service

KYIV -- Since her release from Russian captivity last month after nearly two years, Ukrainian airwoman Nadia Savchenko has called for talks with Russia-backed separatists about the war in eastern Ukraine and further prisoner exchanges.

And to the critics who have dismissed prospects of such talks as impossible, she has a message: Try a stint behind bars.

"I have spent two years in jail for nothing," Savchenko told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service in an interview. "Try to do the same. If you want to persuade people that you are right, try to spend time in jail."

Savchenko, 35, has raised hackles among some Ukrainian officials for saying she is willing to negotiate directly with separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine, where more than 9,300 have been killed since hostilities erupted in April 2014.

But after her experience on the frontline of the war, in Russian captivity, and visiting eastern Ukraine recently, she says such direct talks are crucial, as are conciliatory steps like an amnesty for locals who took up arms against Kyiv but did not commit serious crimes.

"If we can't make peace, then [the war] will last forever," she said. "And that has already become a burden for everyone. Everybody is fed up with that. People are tired. People want to live in peace."

 Russian court in March handed Savchenko a 22-year prison sentence after finding her guilty of involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists covering the conflict. She denies the charges and says she was abducted in June 2014 by separatists in eastern Ukraine and smuggled into Russia.

She was freed last month in a prisoner swap for two Russians alleged to be military intelligence officers who were convicted in Ukraine of fighting alongside the separatists.

Since returning to Ukraine following 708 days in Russian custody, Savchenko has been hailed as a hero.

She has since taken her seat in the Ukrainian parliament that she won while jailed in Russia in 2014 on the party list of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Fatherland Party.

So far, Savchenko has appeared intent on building on her political capital as an outsider in Ukraine's rough-and-tumble politics, which has long been plagued by rampant corruption and cronyism.

"Our politicians still behave as if they are kings as it used to be in the Soviet Union and as it is still in Russia," she said. "I want ordinary people to see me, and therefore I will continue traveling across the country, visiting villages."

While lobbing broad criticism at her fellow lawmakers and government officials, Savchenko said that for the time being she will refrain from criticizing Tymoshenko and pro-Western President Petro Porosehnko, who was elected following the ouster of his predecessor, Kremlin ally Viktor Yanukovych.

"I think it is easy to criticize, standing on the Maidan," she said, referring to the Kyiv square where mass protests culminated in Yanukovych fleeing to Russia. "Now I am a politician myself. And I understand that it is not an easy job. But I will not criticize either Yulia Volodymyrovna [Tymoshenko], or Petro Poroshenko, before I am better than them."

Showered With Flowers, 'Pelted With Stones'

Savchenko took swipes at both military top brass and government officials while positioning herself as an ally to the soldiers in the trenches and civilians she says have been betrayed by those they elected.

"It seems to me that the generals and commanders I have met, before the war they felt very comfortable and immune from punishment in the corrupt system. Now they have started getting scared," she said.

Meanwhile, she said her brief time in parliament so far has convinced her that "up to 95 percent of this government is not of its people."

"People gave so much, and those who came to the government, they do not do anything," Savchenko said. "Who is controlling everything there, I still do not know."

A Gallup poll in December showed mounting mistrust among Ukrainians in the country's political leadership, with Poroshenko's popularity (17 percent) slipping below that of Yanukovych's before he fled in February 2014.

A government shake-up in April landed Poroshenko ally Volodymyr Hroysman in the prime minister's seat with urgent calls in Ukraine and the West for speedy progress on financial and political reforms, including the fight against corruption.

Savchenko is now calling for early parliamentary elections to reinvigorate the country's politics. She says the government has failed to make good on its promises to the electorate following the overthrow of Yanukovych. But she says she is not planning a revolution.

"Everyone expected that Savchenko will come with a saber in her hand and bring people to the streets for the third Maidan," she said, alluding to the 2004 Orange Revolution that also brought thousands to the streets of Kyiv.

"No, I will not do that," Savchenko added. "I do not have that level of trust from people. I will not be able to persuade people, to control them. And to just drown Ukraine in blood again and start slicing it in pieces -- that is a bad option."

She said that just as she "did not exclude that I would be showered with flowers" upon her return to Ukraine, she concedes she may face a political backlash.

"Now I do not exclude that I might be pelted with stones," she said.

'Good Neighbors'

Given the Kremlin's military seizure and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in March 2014 and the ensuing war in the east, Russia and Ukraine "will never be brotherly nations like before," Savchenko said.

But she voiced optimism that the two countries could become "good neighbors" given the numerous families of both Russian and Ukrainian heritage who live on both sides of the border.

"I think it is possible," Savchenko said. "I think it will be more possible when the leaders are changed. One leader cannot run the country for life. hat is not correct. I think fresh blood must come and reset, and that will be in Russia."

She warned that it will become increasingly difficult to "deal with Russia" the longer President Vladimir Putin's grip on power remains tight, and she accused him of suffering from growing political "senility."

But, Savchenko said, there are "people" and "movements" capable of changing political winds in Russia.

"It is very hard for them there because of the heavy pressure. But I think in the future it will be possible," she said.

Written by Carl Schreck based on an interview with RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service; translated by Merhat Sharipzhan

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine- savchenko-interview-conflict-elections- sanctions-russia/27791997.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.

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Thursday nights fires were tough on the Danville Fire Department.

The city had two fires just before midnight  one at 134 White St. in North Danville and the other at Fitzgerald Apartments at 1236 W. Main St. next to Hardees.

Fighting m ultiple fires can take a lot of manpower and drain a fire departments resources, said Assistant Fire Marshal Richie Guill. More than 50 firefighters were at the two fires Thursday night and Friday morning, according to news releases from the department.

At the Fitzgerald Apartments fire, 35 responded  including 13 who were off-duty and called in to assist and handle a reserve engine  along with four engines and several support vehicles at the scene. The fire was reported at about 11:45 p.m. Thursday while firefighters were at the White Street blaze that was reported at about 11 p.m.

Seventeen personnel responded to the White Street fire, with three engines, one ladder truck and two support vehicles, according to a news release from the department.

The 36-unit Fitzgerald Apartments complex is a large building, and firefighters had to search all of the apartments to make sure everyone was out of the structure and safe  and thats in addition to fighting the fire.

 It takes a lot of people to do that, Guill said.

The 52 people working at two fire scenes Thursday night were slightly less than half of the departments 122 personnel including chief officers.

The fire department pulled in off-duty personnel to staff the fire stations in case other calls came in during the fires, Guill said. Danville also has mutual aid agreements with departments in surrounding localities that provide assistance if needed  although Danville did not need that kind of help Thursday night, Guill said.

The fire department has reserve trucks at its stations, Guill said. Each of the departments seven stations has an engine while the main station has a ladder truck in reserve, Guill said.

The fire department is also able to text available off-duty firefighters in case they are needed, he said. Recall personnel may be needed for large fires in which firefighters are replaced due to long hours and fatigue  with an off-duty chief officer overseeing the recall firefighters, Guill said

Guill said the last major fire that taxed the departments resources was the Hylton Hall fire in 2012. The city has also had other apartment complex fires.

The American Red Cross is helping the residents of the Fitzgerald Apartments.

The organization usually provides comfort kits to families, with the kit including toys, coloring books and other items for children, said Nathan Wittkamp, executive director for the Historic Virginia Chapter of the Red Cross.

The Red Cross provides an average of about $475 in financial assistance  an amount that varies depending on each family, Wittkamp said.

Mental health counselors are also available for families coping with the incident, he said.

A Red Cross volunteer reached out to the family at 134 White St., but it was unknown what the family needed. The Red Cross always recommends that residents have a plan to prepare for house fires and obtain renters insurance, Wittkamp said.
When Fitzgerald Apartments resident Carolyn Yow heard a thud just before midnight Thursday, she thought her cat had run into something. But then she heard sirens and saw smoke coming out of one of the other apartments.

Thirty-two residents at the complex at 1236 W. Main St. next to Hardees were left homeless for an undetermined time after a fire started from an overloaded extension cord.

The American Red Cross has provided Yow and other residents with a room at the Innkeeper Hotel on Riverside Drive. Yow returned to her apartment Friday morning to feed her cat.

She said she was fortunate she was not hurt and her apartment was not damaged.

 I am lucky, thank God, she said during an interview outside the complex.

The apartments were sealed off with yellow caution tape. A few residents who had returned to the scene spoke with the news media.

The fire was one of two overnight blazes that left dozens of residents displaced. The other occurred at 134 White St. at about 11 p.m. Thursday and left seven residents without a home. The cause of that fire was unattended cooking, according to a news release from the Danville Fire Department.

Every front-line fire truck in the Danville Fire Department  and 13 off-duty firefighters  fought the two fires. A total of 35 personnel responded to the Fitzgerald Apartments fire, with four engines and several support vehicles.

The first arriving unit found smoke coming from a first-floor apartment in the middle of the complex, according to a news release. A crew that entered the apartment encountered heavy smoke, fire and heat.

Heat broke a back window, which allowed the fire to reach past the second floor and enter the attic, where crews extinguished it, according to the news release.

The fire department was on the scene for nearly four hours.

Electric power was shut off to the entire complex, and several displaced residents are staying with friends and family; the American Red Cross is taking care of more than half of the occupants.

Assistant Fire Marshal Richie Guill said the fire originated from an overloaded extension cord. The set-up included an air-conditioning unit plugged into a strip, which was plugged into a drop cord. The drop cord was connected into a multi-plugged adapter plugged into two more adapters, Guill said.

More than 50 battle two blazes, taxing resources Thursday nights fires were tough on the Danville Fire Department.

A bed was on top of the drop cord, which caught the bed on fire. The beds occupants escaped, he said.

In a news release, the fire department reminded everyone not to plug large items like window air-conditioning units into a power strip or plug multiple strips together.

Harry Brown, with H.T. Brown Electrical, said meters will have to be pulled from the two apartments where the bulk of the fire occurred due to damage. Residents could not return to their apartments until power was restored.

 It will probably be all day before power is restored, another electrician on the scene, Jerry Emerson, said.

Fitzgerald Apartments resident Antoine James said he was at work during the fire. He left work at 7 a.m. and returned to his apartment to grab clothes before heading to his mothers home until power was restored.

A man who stopped by on a bicycle, Barry Hammock, lives at nearby Bishop Road.

 I know too many people who live there [in the complex], Hammock said, adding that he didnt know about the fire until hearing about it on the news.

 At least nobody got hurt, he said.

Yow said fire department officials sent her and other residents across the street, where they remained until about 3 a.m. Friday.

John Raines, who has lived in the complex for about six years, said he was watching Netflix Thursday night when he saw red flashing lights behind his blinds. He walked outside, saw fire trucks and people gathered and smoke coming from the roof of an apartment. There were a lot of fire trucks, Raines said. I bet there were eight of them.

 I went around back, Raines, who is staying with his brother, said. The two back windows were blackened and fire was up at the edge of the roof.

Raines said Tom and Donna Arnold own the complex and are great landlords.
Presidential candidates, vice-presidential candidates and other party figures could be making visits once again to the Dan River Region this election season, local GOP and Democratic leaders said Friday.

 We will be receiving a good deal of attention, time and effort, Danville Democratic Committee Chair Chris Daniels said.

With Tuesdays primaries wrapped up, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have all but secured their partys nominations for president. With the general election campaigns set to begin, Danville has a recent history of attracting nominees from both Democrats and Republicans.

 Virginia is certainly a battleground state, Daniels said.

In 2008, both Barack Obama and Joe Biden visited Danville as part of Virginia campaign stops. Obama ordered takeout from the now-defunct Short Sugars BBQ restaurant during a series of Dan River Region stops in August. Biden held a rally at the Danville Community Market in October.

In 2012, candidates and officials from both major parties made stops in the region, including Biden, vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney advisor Ed Gillespie and Romneys son Tagg.

 It was great when Gillespie came and we were one of the first stops, said Danville Republican Committee Chair Betsy Young.

In August 2012, Biden received backlash from the Romney campaign when he responded to a Romney quote about unchaining Wall Street when the vice president said, they are going to put yall back in chains during a speech at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.

In September, Ryan held a rally at the Piedmont Precision Machine Co., where he touted a plan for an economic development program to create stronger middle class. Finally, in October, Mitt Romneys son Tagg visited the Danville campaign office for around 100 supporters.

Daniels said historically Democrats visit the area more frequently due to the need to energize voting populations with public appearances and coverage.

 Anything you can do to connect with the voting public at large is certainly beneficial, he said.

Daniels said the question for this election was whether the party would be able to continue the level of intensity and enthusiasm in voter turnout. He also noted that Clinton could make the race historic once again by becoming the first female major party candidate in history.
A head-on collision Friday afternoon between a compact car and a tractor trailer blocked traffic on Milton Highway for almost three hours. The driver of the car was airlifted to a hospital in North Carolina, according to Chief Mike Neal of Ringgold Fire and Rescue.

 We were just sitting in the carport, shelling pecans and talking, when all of a sudden we hear a crash and see this truck coming down the embankment, said Clark Graves as he watched the crew cleared the remains of the truck out of the field next to his house.

The car had gone over the embankment on the eastbound side of 1100 block of Milton Highway around 1:30 p.m. Friday. It had extensive front-end damage, and the driver was trapped.

Because of the damage to the car, the Jaws of Life had to be used to cut open the door and extricate the driver, which took about 40 minutes, Neal said. The driver had some severe lower limb injuries, according to Neal, and was airlifted from the Danville-Pittsylvania Fair Grounds to a hospital in North Carolina. Neal did not know which hospital the man was taken to.

The tractor trailer truck had gone over the embankment on the westbound side and had broken, detaching the overturned trailer from the cab of the truck. The trucks fuel tank was cracked open in the accident, spilling diesel fuel onto the ground. Firefighters dug a ditch in order to stem the flow of the fuel and keep it as contained as possible, according to Neal.

The driver of the truck was checked for injuries, but was not transported for medical treatment.

Ringgold was assisted at the scene by Keeling Fire and Rescue, Blairs Fire and Rescue, the Virginia State Police and VDOT.
MARTINSVILLE  From June 20 to 24, Patrick Henry Community College hosts Try It Out College to give anyone over 18 the opportunity to explore the campus, sample classes, and discover PHCCs programs for free. Each day lasts from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with lunch provided.

Gain insight into the job outlook, training requirements, and the earnings potential of programs like welding, health care, information technology, engineering, motorsports, and short-term credential programs such as logistics, advanced manufacturing, and veterinary assistant. Visit PHCCs motorsports building, media production studio, electronics lab, and the new IDEA Center. Get questions answered about financial aid and the availability of resources such as childcare and transportation.

The hardest step is sometimes the first step. But if you want a better life, then start here, says Workforce Programs Coordinator, Brenell Thomas. Were changing lives one at a time by putting students on a path towards a brighter future.

Participants are required to attend the entire week. For more information or to sign up contact the workforce, economic, and community development department at (276) 656-0260.
STAUNTON  The Augusta County Commissioner of the Revenue has an active investigation against Nexus Services for failing to pay annual business licenses for several of the company's entities.

However, Nexus Services disputes the basis of the investigation and provided copies of business licenses obtained from Augusta County on Friday to The News Virginian.

The investigation was disclosed in Augusta County Circuit Court, where Commissioner of the Revenue Jean Shrewsbury's attorney filed a response this week to a suit by Nexus, Nexus CEO Mike Donovan and Richard Moore. Shrewsbury, Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith and others were sued by Nexus last month for $1 million in damages for ethnic and racial harassment, conspiracy and defamation.

Nexus has made a motion for a non suit to move the case to U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg, where the company is also suing Shrewsbury, Smith and other defendants for constitutional violations. The nonsuit motion has yet to receive a judge's signature.

Shrewsbury's attorney filed both a motion to dismiss the Circuit Court suit, and a motion to seek sanctions against the plaintiffs. Shrewsbury has been cited because of emails exchanged between Commissioner of the Revenue employees displaying a Hitler emoji.

Shrewsbury said in the dismissal request that there is no factual data that shows she was a party to the email exchange or knew of the emails. "The complaint is replete with hyperbole, conclusory allegations and even blatant misrepresentations. However, absent from the complaint are any actual facts that defendant Shrewsbury was a party to the subject email exchange or had contemporaneous knowledge of those emails,'' the dismissal response states.

In her motion to seek sanctions, Shrewsbury said her office had begun an investigation into Nexus Services and its affiliated companies in March. All tax returns, business personal property lists and other data were sought to make a complete assessment of tangible and intangible personal property and license taxes for 2016 and the three preceding tax years.

The sanctions filing says as of March 7, Nexus Services and Libre by Nexus had not renewed business licenses even though the deadline had expired. The other eight entities operating under the Nexus umbrella had been operating without a business license, one since 2014, two since 2015, and the remaining others for several months.

Business license fees are calculated annually based on the classification of the business under the business license code, and the gross receipts of the business.

The sanctions filing further says Shrewsbury's inquires and investigation regarding Nexus Services and its affiliates "were both legitimate and lawful'' under the circumstances.

Nexus Services provided copies of licenses from Augusta County for several of its businesses obtained this year including Libre By Nexus, Homes By Nexus, One Fish Two Fish, Nexus Caridades and Nexus Investigations/Security.

Nexus CEO Donovan also issued a statement saying:

"Defendant Shrewsbury should remember her oath of office. After her office was caught trading in images of hate, and with racism and homophobia on full display, the defendant continues to misstate facts.

"Nexus has paid in full all taxes assessed by the defendant. Pursuant to her policies, Nexus operated multiple businesses under one license. The defendant wanted us to change that, and we did. All individual companies have individual business licenses, in spite of the fact that this is not required of all taxpayers (see the defendant's own website). Pursuant to the defendant's policies, Nexus reported income earned in Augusta County. The defendant then demanded that we pay additional taxes for money earned across the country, and we did that.

"I will not trade barbs with an elected official who sees nothing wrong with racially-charged and demeaning communications aimed at African Americans and gays. Nor will I give any credibility to an office and an official who demonstrates a wanton disregard for the truth in her dealings with me and my businesses. We look forward to addressing these matters in a court of law."

Shrewsbury said in the court filing the disclosure of the emails featuring the Hitler emoji were inadvertent and accidental, but were not directed at the plaintiffs or taxpayers. But the sanctions filing said their disclosure afforded an opportunity "to obstruct Ms. Shrewsbury's legitimate efforts."

She also asserts that the Hitler emoji was copied from Google images, not a white supremacist website as the plaintiffs have alleged.

Smith's attorney also sought a motion to strike evidence in the Augusta County Circuit Court Nexus lawsuit being used against both Smith and Sheriff's Deputy Donald Moran.

The defendants assert that Nexus accidentally came into possession of numerous documents not requested from Augusta County under the Freedom of Information Act. Those documents included intelligence reports from the Virginia State Police fusion center, investigation reports from state and federal agencies from ongoing and past investigations and personal data that included Social Security numbers, birthdates and other information.

The information Nexus received was improper, the response says, and was prohibited from use or dissemination. But the defendants say Nexus has posted portions of the material to the Internet.
Ronald "Skip" Ressel Jr. doesnt see a future for the Interstate 73 project. Instead, hes asking area residents to support a replacement project of sorts, a proposed corridor connecting Patriot Centre at Beaver Creek Industrial Park to U.S. 58.

Ressel, who is President of the Interstate 73 Committee of Martinsville and Henry County, spoke to the Mt. Olivet Ruritan Club Thursday evening, one of many civic groups he plans to visit over the coming weeks and months to gather support for the connector road.

Ressel first raised the topic of the road at a May 24 meeting of the Henry County Board of Supervisors. At that meeting, he told the supervisors that the county should push to spend an $8.5 million earmark set aside for I-73 on a corridor which would run from Patriot Centre to Virginia 57 to the Laurel Park interchange hosting U.S. 58.

The proposed corridor would save a great deal of time for trucks hauling goods to and from the industrial park, Ressel said, which would stimulate growth in the park and along the corridor and be a boon to existing businesses.

Because the federal government now has an option to pull money from "orphan earmarks"  earmarks more than 10 years old which have had less than 10 percent of their total spent  that $8.5 million could evaporate, Ressel said. The earmark can be spent on projects up to 50 miles from the original intended project, he added.

There is a time component, he said, because the funds would need to be re-allocated to the new corridor prior to the end of the federal fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.

"Youll hear from some people, Well, $8.5 million wont build a road," Ressel said. "Of course it wont. But every road has to get a starting point."

Ressel said that a representative from a major construction firm believes that the $8.5 million earmark would cover preliminary engineering, surveying and buying right-of-way from Patriot Centre to Virginia 57, covering an important early component of the corridors expense.

The focus on the corridor does not rule out the future construction of I-73, he said, but would position Henry County and Martinsville to benefit the most from the highways eventual construction.

In a letter to the Martinsville Bulletin following Ressels comments at the supervisors meeting, Sen. Bill Stanley said that I-73 is "very much alive" and that he has been working with pertinent agencies to hasten the highways construction.

"I have been working with local CTB members Court Rosen and William Fralin on a plan that moves I-73 forward by conducting the US Army Corps of Engineers required US Route 220 alternatives analysis study," Stanley said in the letter. "We cannot get a permit to begin construction of I-73 until this analysis is completed to the satisfaction of the Corps."

In response, Ressel said that "were being told by the Commonwealth Transportation Board that I-73 cannot get built until the Corps of Engineers studies Route 220. Originally, back in 1994, they made a presentation at the armory  that had all these possible routes from Roanoke to the North Carolina line. 220 was ruled out because it was just going to be too expensive. If you try to put a limited access road overtop of 220, all those businesses would have to be moved back for access roads.  It just wasnt practical, so it was never studied. It was never even considered."

The newly-required study, Ressel said, would be a waste of money, in his opinion.

"If we change administrations and get a pro-business administration that doesnt give these regulatory agencies like the Corps of Engineers so much power, possibly well come back to (the current proposed I-73) route, the route thats approved. If they do that (and we build the connector road) then we wont be back-tracking. If, on the other hand, Im 100 percent wrong and they put (I-73) over 220, were still going to need to get from the Patriot Centre to Route 58 for the truck traffic."

Ressels focus, he said, is specifically on what will bring the most business to Henry County and Martinsville.

"The Commonwealth Transportation Board members said (the corridor) was very doable," he said. "Now theyre wanting to spend the money on 220, which we dont understand."
A mild political protest outside the Richmond Coliseum turned confrontational on Friday night as anti-Donald Trump protesters briefly scuffled with police and marched through downtown streets for an hour.

Police said they detained five people and charged one with disorderly conduct.

Trouble began after a small group of young men in Trump gear walked through a group of more than 100 protesters in Festival Park around 9 p.m. Chaotic shoving ensued and a man in a Trump T-shirt, who earlier had danced in front of the anti-Trump crowd, pointed to his lip as if hed been punched. More shoving occurred moments later as police moved into the area as some protesters were pushed to the ground and others pushed back against the police.

After pulling the Trump supporters over a barricade and out of the area, police brought out riot shields and formed a line between the protesters and the Coliseum.

For most of the night, police kept the two sides separated.

The protest group left the Coliseum area around 9:30 p.m. and stopped traffic on Broad Street while marching through downtown. Police on bicycles escorted the group, stopping traffic as needed. The march ended at Abner Clay Park in Jackson Ward around 10:30 p.m.

These racists are going to know that they cant (expletive) come to Richmond without expecting a fight, Alejandro Sosa, a 21-year-old protest organizer with the Richmond Struggle Committee Initiative, said through a megaphone as the march concluded. We were outnumbered four to one and theyre still scared. Only a few of em came out. And look what happened.

Onlookers snapped photos of the march and some motorists honked in support, but not everyone welcomed the protest activity.

Chris Shepherd, 19, of Ashland, got in a shouting match with protesters on a Broad Street corner. Police intervened and told Shepherd to walk away or be arrested. Shepherd said he didnt attend the Trump rally, but took exception to a protest sign that said America was never great.

Theyre causing a ruckus for no damn reason, Shepherd said. Its childish and asinine.

Earlier, Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said the protest in Festival Park was so peaceful, Its not even a protest.

But Durham said police were ready for the marchers, whose progress was marked by a police aircraft marking a wide circle over downtown Richmond.

Protesters in Monroe Park said they also were prepared for confrontation with police  as leaders advised participants to carry two bottles of water, one to drink and the other to flush pepper spray out of their eyes.

No Trump. No KKK. No fascist USA. (Expletive) Trump! the group chanted as they began a march that blocked part of northbound Belvidere Street. Others chanted, Black lives matter!

Police had vowed not to allow violent confrontations between protesters and Trump supporters like those that occurred a week earlier after a Trump rally in San Jose, Calif.

At least three volunteer legal observers for the American Civil Liberties Union at Monroe Park were on hand to ensure peoples rights were not violated. One volunteer said the crew would record interactions between residents and police, as well as any interactions in which someones rights potentially are being violated.

As Corey Stewart, Trumps Virginia chairman and a Republican candidate for governor, arrived at the arena, he said he expected a peaceful evening, unlike the chaos that has erupted outside Trump rallies elsewhere. Theres just a different level of civility here in Virginia, Stewart said.

Among the police precautions was a policy of keeping the plaza around the Coliseum clear of anyone who wasnt entering the arena for the rally or gathering in Festival Park to protest. Durham said he created the public safety zone on advice from law enforcement officials in California. Unless you go in, you dont need to be hanging around in case something happens, he said.

Initially, at least, the protests sounded like a pep rally, with a group chanting Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has to go, as the candidates supporters walked up the center steps to the Coliseum entrance. One group offered white roses and signs of peace  Build Kindness, Not Walls.

Jason Aldrich, 32, of Richmond used a Trump Bucket to pick up cigarettes and other trash for more than an hour.

I figured theres enough hate going on now. This is where Im putting my hate. It gets something done, Aldrich said.

The Libertarian Party was represented, so was the Constitution Party of Virginia, offered as a haven for conservatives like John Bloom, a laid-off Newport News shipyard worker who had worked for Sen. Ted Cruzs Republican presidential bid.

Trump doesnt stand for anything, Bloom said. The only thing he stands for is win. 

Robert Courteau, 47, a retired printing worker and musician who wore a red Trump hat above two eyebrow piercings, said hes tired of the same old politicians running things.

He doesnt answer to anyone, said Courteau, of Chester. Unlike the Clintons.

Courteau said he didnt foresee any violence, mainly because the rally was in Virginia.

Most of the people here are scared to death of the cops, he said. Theyve drilled it into our heads.

Jack Crouse, a 73-year-old retiree who came alone from Keysville, said he was protesting out of respect for his son, who did two tours of duty during the Persian Gulf War. His sign read: Show us the taxes draft dodger.

I cant abide his tough talk about ISIS after he dodged the draft five times, Crouse said.

Protester Peggy Sterling, of Richmond, called Trump an embarrassment to this country.

He doesnt know anything, Sterling said. Hes an outright racist and a bigot.

Charles Weir, of Manassas, and Chris Sweckler, of Whitfield, are part of the group Bikers for Trump, who said the candidate embodies their groups beliefs of free speech and personal liberty.

Our club members are defenders of liberty, and we make sure everyone has their First Amendment right to free speech, Weir said.

Our club supports all freedoms granted by the Constitution, Sweckler added.

Dressed as George Washington, James Manship, 63, of Mount Vernon, compared Trump to Americas first president.

Washington was a businessman, he said.

Diane Paradise, 67, a retired police chaplain from Virginia Beach, drew shouts of both approval and dismay in the plastic pullover she stitched together from Trump signs.

I think its time we got someone like Trump and his message out, said Paradise, who likes the candidates focus on jobs, security and restoring the military.

But others reacted with dismay to Trumps presence in Richmond.

Hes not welcome here. His kinds not welcome here, said Scott Weaver, 44, from Richmond.

Weaver, who said he grew up in a military family that preached the value of diversity, said he believes Trump is trying to tear us down.

Two 18-year-old Lee-Davis High School students, Ethan Milstead and Madison Hays, stood outside the Coliseum to voice their opinion hours before the rally.

Milstead held a sign that said Make America kind again, while Hays held a sign that said End the misogyny, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and blatant ignorance.

Molly Bosscher, associate rector at St. Pauls Episcopal Church, and her son, Isak Davis, stood in silent protest against Trump.

Im really just standing  not interacting with the crowd in a dangerous way  just standing, said Davis, a rising sophomore at Kenyon College.

I believe in loving your neighbor, Bosscher said.

While a small group of protesters chanted Trump has got to go, Sonya Atkins countered with her own chant. Trump has got to stay, she sang as she kept time clapping on a table outside the Coliseum.

Homeless and jobless, Atkins, a 53-year-old African-American, said people need to stop making excuses and come to terms with economic reality.

Im a moderate Republican, she said. I used to be a Democrat, but I changed.
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The Standard-Times publishes news of special events and programs. We do not accept items detailing regular weekly sermons or schedules. Items will be run only once. Church news can be submitted by email at maria.hagland@gosanangelo.com or by fax to 325-659-8133. Forms also are available in the Standard-Times lobby from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Deadline for submission next week is Wednesday before the date of publication. Dates, times, address and a publication number are required.

First Christian

First Christian Church, 29 N. Oakes St., will have a Dutch treat dinner for singles at 6 p.m. Thursday at The Wharf, 2302 Loop 306.

Call 325-653-4523 for more information.

First Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Church, 32 N. Irving St., will host the METS group's Third Thursday Lunch & Game Day at 11:45 a.m. Thursday, in the commons area. The cost is $7 for lunch, and reservations must be made by noon Wednesday.

Volunteers are also needed to help prepare and serve an evening meal at Lake Brownwood Christian Retreat Center for the elementary House of Faith summer camp on July 6.

Call 325-655-5694 to make a lunch reservation or to volunteer.

First United Methodist

First United Methodist Church, 37 E. Beauregard Ave., will have a performance by SPIRIT Youth Choir at 7 p.m. Sunday, in Celebration Hall. The choir returns from a 10-day tour through Utah and Idaho on its way to Seattle. It will share the teachings of Jesus, his death and his resurrection through singing, dancing and acting. The event is free and open to the public.

Call 325-655-8981 for more information.

Hillcrest Baptist

Hillcrest Baptist Church, 2600 Chestnut St., will hold its vacation Bible school "Egypt: Joseph's Journey," from 6-9 p.m. June 20-24.

Classes are available for 3-year-olds through sixth-graders and a free supper will be provided. Registration is recommended.

Go to hillcrestsa.org to register or call 325-949-3003 for more information.

St. Thomas Catholic

St. Thomas Catholic Church, 404 W. Seventh St., Miles, will have its Drive-Thru BBQ Chicken Lunch fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.

The ladies of the St. Theresa Altar Society, with help of some cooperative husbands, will serve a $10 take-home lunch, including a homemade dessert. Proceeds will go toward the new parish hall that will replace the current, nearly 100-year-old hall.

Sierra Vista UMC

Sierra Vista United Methodist Church, 4522 College Hills Blvd., will celebrate Laity Weekend with Tom Ridgway giving the message at the 5:30 p.m. service Saturday, and Jason Bush presenting at the 8:30 and 11 a.m. worship services Sunday. The children who attended vacation Bible school will sing the songs they learned this past week, and there will be a slideshow of their activities during the offering.

The Junior High Mission Trip group will go to help flood victims this weekend in the Canyon Lake area. Tina Glass and Will Felts are the youth directors in charge of this mission.
FILE - In this file photo dated Saturday, April 16, 2016, released by Greek Prime Minister's office, Pope Francis, left, is escorted by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, during a visit to the Greek island of Lesbos. On Friday June 3, 2016, the Orthodox Church led by Patriarch Bartholomew I, issued a call for the faith's 14 independent churches to discuss their common future and efforts to heal the nearly 1,000-year rift with the Roman Catholic church. All the Orthodox churches are scheduled to meet later June, in Crete, Greece. (Andrea Bonetti/Greek Prime Minister's Office via AP, FILE)

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By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press

CAIRO (AP)  The spiritual seat of the world's Orthodox Christians on Friday issued a call for unity ahead of the first ever meeting of the faith's 14 independent churches that is expected to discuss the churches' common future and efforts to heal the nearly 1,000-year rift with the Roman Catholics.

The meeting later this month in Crete will be convened by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians.

All the Orthodox churches, old and new that emerged over the centuries, have never met like this before  not since the "great schism" of 1054, when the Orthodox and Roman Catholics split after disputes over the Vatican's power.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate, which is also based in Istanbul, said the "Holy and Great Council is a unique and historical occasion." Preparations for the meeting have been underway since 1961, when the planning first began.

Bartholomew's spokesman, the Rev. John Chryssavgis, told The Associated Press that the June 19-26 gathering's "sole purpose is the affirmation of unity."

"Unity is a slow and painful process. We don't have to be united on every point to convene the council; but we do have to convene the council if we aspire to unity," Chryssavgis said.

The call followed reports that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which is due to come to Crete, had threatened to pull out, reportedly asking for some mostly procedural changes to the agenda. It did not say what changes it was requesting or if it would carry out the threat.

Chryssavgis said that "after centuries of isolation, occupation, and persecution," it won't be easy for the churches to come together.

"It is very natural, then, for some Churches to feel unsure or uncomfortable about coming together after such a long time, much like members of a family might be skeptical and even mistrustful after a long period of separation," he said.

Unlike the Roman Catholics, the Orthodox churches are independent and have their own leadership. For example, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow is head of the world's largest Orthodox Church, but is considered equal to other patriarchs.

Bartholomew is called the "first among equals," but leads a smaller flock than Kirill.

Since the "great schism" there have been about a dozen smaller Orthodox councils over the centuries to discuss theological or doctrinal issues, but there has never been a meeting on the scale of the Holy and Great Council.

The Crete council will discuss the mission and role of the Orthodox Church and its global flock, issues relating to the function of the churches and its relations with other Christian faiths. Unity of the Orthodox churches is considered a key prerequisite to any reconciliation with the Vatican.

"Our focus should be on the objective of unity," Chryssavgis said.
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By The Kansas City Star (Tns)

Elder Donald D. Deshler, of the Seventy, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: One of the most significant roles that Jesus Christ plays is that of mediator. That is, he meditates on behalf of humankind with the Father ("There is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5).

In this case, Jesus was mediating (petitioning) the Father on behalf of those who crucified him. Because the Father and the Son are in perfect harmony, Jesus' petition was honored by the Father.

In the midst of his enormous suffering on the cross, Jesus once again teaches us a core principle of his gospel. That is, we are not to operate on the notion of an "eye for an eye"; rather, there should be no constraints or conditions that determine the forgiveness that we grant to others when we have been wronged.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must believe and follow what the savior said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Forgiving others, however, does not necessarily mean that we approve of obvious transgression (e.g., child or spouse abuse). In fact, there are many actions and attitudes that should be condemned. But even in these cases, we must forgive the offender.

Embodied within the principle of forgiving and seeking forgiveness for our sins and mistakes is an understanding that there are blessings that flow from the gift of forgiveness. Chief among them is peace. The savior deeply desires that we each feel of his love and peace. He said: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you." (John 14:27)

The forgiveness that we offer to others and the forgiveness that we receive from Jesus Christ lead us along the path to eternal life back to our heavenly Father.

The Rev. Justin Hoye, St. Patrick's Catholic Church in the Northland: In 1969, before he was pope, cardinal or even an archbishop, Father Joseph Ratzinger wrote "An Introduction to Christianity," asserting, among other memorable lines: "Excess is God's trademark in his creation."

Ratzinger is making a claim about Christianity and the extravagance of God, as demonstrated in the plea by Jesus. (Luke 23:34)

Although this verse is not present in early manuscripts from Luke's gospel, yes, our Father forgives, and he continues to forgive, through the continuous intercession of love in the flesh, Jesus Christ.

God always initiates the forgiveness of sins, so the question remains about our response to such gratuitousness. Do I forgive as freely as witnessed in Christ's advocacy at Calvary? Do I humbly and gratefully receive the forgiveness offered, through an awareness of my own sinful folly?

In God-made flesh we have the perfect advocate for our forgiveness on a day when our Father pronounces justice. Other Gospel passages clearly assert a connection between our forgiveness and our willingness to forgive, and that day of reckoning will showcase the truth that any deficiencies in forgiveness are from us and never from God.

The question is not whether the Father forgives, but of our own posture and response. Manifesting such abundance, Jesus' plea is not simply directed at the Father, but overflows as a plea toward us, too.
In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 photo, Pauline Copes Johnson, a great-great-grandniece of Harriet Tubman, poses outside the Thompson A.M.E. Zion Church in Auburn, N.Y. The Harriet Tubman National Historical Park would encompass that 31-acre site plus the A.M.E. Zion Church about a mile away where Tubman worshipped. The weathered clapboard church is boarded up now and offers sanctuary only for neighborhood birds. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

SHARE In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 photo, Judith Bryant, a great-great-grandniece of Harriet Tubman, poses at Tubman's grave site at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, N.Y. Tubmans upcoming debut on the $20 bill is just half the good news in the upstate New York town where the Underground Railroad conductor settled down and grew old. Bryants great-great grandfather was Tubmans brother, and was among the dozens of slaves she guided north to freedom. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 photo, a compass and other mementos are left on the gravestone of Harriet Tubman at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, N.Y. Harriet Tubmans upcoming debut on the $20 bill is just half the good news in the upstate New York town where the Underground Railroad conductor settled down and grew old. A long-sought national historical park here honoring Tubman could be officially established as early as this summer. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 photo, Judith Bryant, a great-great-grandniece of Harriet Tubman, poses with photos of Tubman and other family members at her home in Auburn, N.Y. Bryants great-great grandfather was Tubmans brother, and was among the dozens of slaves she guided north to freedom. Tubman had been free for a decade in 1859, when she bought a parcel of land on the outskirts of Auburn, about 25 miles west of Syracuse. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 photo, the Harriet Tubman Residence is seen at the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, N.Y. Tubmans upcoming debut on the $20 bill is just half the good news in the upstate New York town where the Underground Railroad conductor settled down and grew old. A long-sought national historical park here honoring Tubman could be officially established as early as this summer. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press

AUBURN, N.Y. (AP)  Harriet Tubman's upcoming debut on the $20 bill is just half the good news in the upstate New York town where the Underground Railroad conductor settled down and grew old.

A long-sought national historical park here honoring Tubman could be officially established as early as this summer. The move would give a boost to preservation efforts at her old home and church just as the former slave is poised to replace President Andrew Jackson as the face of the $20 bill.

"It's about time," Judith Bryant, Tubman's 80-year-old great-great-grandniece said of the recognition as the first African-American on U.S. paper currency. "People who don't know about her will now."

Bryant stood beside a simple headstone describing Tubman as a "Heroine of the Underground Railroad," a phrase that resonates personally with the Auburn resident. Bryant's great-great grandfather was Tubman's brother, and was among the dozens of slaves she guided north to freedom.

Tubman had been free for a decade in 1859, when she bought a parcel of land on the outskirts of Auburn, about 25 miles west of Syracuse. She was given a good deal by fellow abolitionist Sen. William Seward, who would later become President Abraham Lincoln's secretary of state. She settled long-term in the area after the Civil War, during which she served as a spy, a scout, a cook, a nurse and, famously, as a leader in a military raid.

She married for a second time, spoke out for women's suffrage, grew potatoes and apples, took in boarders and continued to spend her time and scarce money helping others. She was able to establish a home for the aged next door to her house before she died in 1913. Accounts of her age at death vary, though most put it between 91 and 93.

Tubman had family in the area and some latter-day relatives still live in the small city in the Finger Lakes region, like Bryant and 88-year-old great-great grandniece Pauline Copes Johnson.

Johnson had spent decades traveling around the country "keeping Aunt Harriet's name alive." Now she can take pleasure in the new $20 bill, the national park and a planned TV biography under development starring Viola Davis.

"I'm so glad that at last she's being recognized," she said.

Tours of Tubman's property are now run by the not-for-profit Harriet Tubman Home. The old brick house is closed for remodeling, but visitors can visit an interpretive center and walk through the home for the aged, where she died.

"This is the only place for nearly five decades where we can document Tubman's comings and goings," said the group's president, Karen Hill. "That's huge, to know that we can actually stand on the soil that she tilled."

The Harriet Tubman National Historical Park would encompass that 31-acre site plus the A.M.E. Zion Church about a mile away where Tubman worshipped. The weathered clapboard church is boarded up now and offers sanctuary only for neighborhood birds.

The transition to a national park is complicated, involving two parcels of land and the purchase of a historic easement on the larger property. The park could be formally established this summer once the church land is sold. Parks officials say they will then work with the Harriet Tubman Home and the church to improve the site. Hill looks forward to having the house reopened and bringing back Tubman's apple orchard and more.

The design of the new $20 bill with Tubman on the front is expected to be completed by 2020.

Bryant said the idea of pulling a bill from her pocket with her ancestor's image on it is still unimaginable. But she already appreciates the effect the ancestor who died before she was born had on her life. Not only did Tubman lead her family here, Bryant's home on a quiet Auburn street was built by Tubman's nephew, her great grandfather, and his son.

"Sure I'm proud to have a famous ancestor, but not because she's famous, because of what she did and what she meant to my family. ... I wouldn't be in Auburn, New York. I would not be in this house," she said. "I wouldn't be who I am."
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ABILENE

Cattle marketing ends on Friday

The new Big Country Beef Cattle Improvement Series concludes Fridaywith Session 3, Marketing and Economics, said Robert Pritz, Taylor County agriculture agent.

The session will be at Abilene Livestock Auction, 3265 N. Judge Ely Blvd.

"This program is comprised of many of the same questions producers have asked for year, but times change and so have many of the answers," Pritz said. "A real highlight to illustrate many of those changes will be the live cattle demonstrations in the auction ring, which is the actual setting many of our producers use to buy and sell cattle."

Speakers will include Rodney Goodwin with Goodwin and Miller Cattle Co. of Abilene, Jeff Callaway with 44 Farms in Tuscola and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension economists Bill Thompson from San Angelo and David Anderson from College station.

Registration will be at 8:30 a.m. and the program will follow from 9 a.m. through noon. The program and lunch are free for those who RSVP by Wednesday and $10 thereafter.

For more information and to RSVP, call any of the participating county Ag offices: Taylor, 325-672-6048; Jones, 325-823-2432; or Shackelford, 325-762-2232.

JUNCTION

2 counties hold conference

The Living Waters Conference is scheduled from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. July 13 at the Coke Stevenson Center, 440 N. U.S. Highway 83.

"We've had a wonderful spring with abundant moisture, but we know water conservation is still a must for those living in our part of Texas," said Sam Silvers, Kimble County agriculture agent. "The whole idea behind this two-county program is to not only raise awareness about water issues, but also offer ways to address them."

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension offices in Kimble and Menard counties are the conference hosts.

Individual registration is $25 due upon arrival. The fee includes lunch. For more information and to RSVP by July 8, contact Silvers at 325-446-2620 or Lisa Brown, Menard county agent at 325-396-4787.

SONORA

Judging part of wool, mohair show

The 79th Annual Wool and Mohair Show is slated for Tuesday through Thursday in the Sutton County 4-H Civic Center in Sonora.

The event is in conjunction with the 56th National 4-H Wool Judging, 16th FFA Wool Judging contests and other ranch-related youth judging competitions during the three days.

The events will begin with the weighing and tagging of wool and mohair fleece entries at 10 a.m. Tuesday, said Pascual Hernandez, Sutton County agricultural agent. All fleeces must be turned in by 3:30 p.m. that day.

Invitational judging contest registration will start at 7 a.m. Wednesday. Livestock judging competition will begin at 8:15 a.m. that day, as will judging of the junior wool and mohair entries.

Range judging participants will depart from the Sutton County 4-H Civic Center at 10 a.m. The day's wool and mohair judging contest will begin at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Sutton County 4-H Civic Center.

The national 4-H and FFA wool judging contests begin at 8 a.m. Thursday, also at the Civic Center.

The three days of events will conclude with an 11:30 a.m. awards luncheon Thursdaysponsored by the Sonora Lions Club and the Sonora Chamber of Commerce at the Civic Center.

For more information, contact Hernandez at 325-387-3101.
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A motorcyclist was taken to the hospital with a broken arm and minor facial contusions after a crash at a Houston Harte frontage road and Sherwood Way near Best Buy about 5:45 p.m. Friday.

"When units arrived they found a female laying on the ground that was involved in the motor vehicle accident," said Officer Chris Herrington, of the San Angelo Police Department.

The driver of the motorcycle was taken to Shannon Medical Center. Her injuries did not seem to be life threatening, Herrington said.

The investigation found that the driver of a Hummer was traveling east on Sherwood Way and was going to make a left onto the Houston Harte frontage road, but failed to yield the right of way to the motorcycle, which was heading west on Sherwood Way, he said. The Hummer hit the tail end of the motorcycle.

Several witnesses, including firefighters who were nearby, confirmed the cause of the crash, Herrington said.

The driver of the Hummer was issued a citation for failure to yield right of way, and the investigation will be handled by SAPD's patrol division, he said.
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By Molly Hennessy-Fiske Los Angeles Times (TNS)

HOUSTON  This month, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in the first landmark abortion case in decades, Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt. The ruling could have an immediate effect not only in Texas, but in more than half a dozen other states that have recently passed laws restricting access to abortion clinics.

In 2013, Texas passed a law that included two key provisions requiring abortion clinics to upgrade into ambulatory surgical centers and abortion doctors to have hospital admitting privileges. Its that law that abortion provider Whole Womans Health sued to block. (It operates three clinics and a surgical center in Texas.)

Its not clear what the impact of the courts decision in the Texas case will be nationwide: 22 other states require abortion clinics to meet standards similar to ambulatory surgical centers; four require admitting privileges, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit that supports abortion rights. If the high court sides with Texas, or sends the case back to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, similar laws stayed by the courts could be enforced in Kansas, Michigan and Wisconsin.

A look at some notable numbers related to the case:

19: Total number of abortion clinics in Texas

Before the law passed, Texas had 41 abortion providers. Now it has 19. The courts have exempted two border clinics from some of the requirements, one in El Paso and another in McAllen. The exemptions were granted because of the distance women would have to travel to the nearest clinic. The closest clinic to the Whole Womans Health facility in McAllen is 250 miles north in San Antonio.

If the law is allowed to take full effect, 10 clinics would close, including the McAllen clinic, officials said this week. The remaining nine clinics would all be in major cities  Austin, Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth and San Antonio  far from women on the border and in rural West Texas.

85 miles: The average distance Texas women now travel one-way to reach a clinic

Texas women have been traveling farther for abortions, some to clinics in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas.

The national average is 30 miles one-way, and women whose local clinics stayed open traveled less than that, an average of 22 miles, according to a recent study by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project.

If the high court upholds the Texas law, women will end up spending more to travel farther, according to Nancy Northup, president and chief executive of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The few remaining providers will not be able to meet the demand for abortion services, Northup said during a briefing Tuesday.

3 weeks: The average wait for an appointment at Whole Womans Health in Fort Worth

After the Texas law passed, the number of clinics in the Dallas-Fort Worth area  which serve women from as far away as West Texas and Oklahoma  dropped from 10 to four, and wait times increased.

We have a patient who jumped into her RV and drove all the way to San Antonio because the wait was too long in the Dallas area, said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and chief executive of Whole Womans Health and lead plaintiff in the case.

Another woman drove from Fort Worth to Austin in an RV with her husband and children, Miller said, because it was the only way they could afford lodging and transportation.

One of the clinics that closed after the law passed was in Lubbock, about 350 miles west of Dallas. An unemployed, uninsured single mother of three from Lubbock called the Whole Womans Health clinic in Fort Worth half a dozen times during her pregnancy trying to raise enough money to pay for her travel and the procedure. Texas bans abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

By the time she was able to have an ultrasound, she was too far along to have an abortion in the state of Texas, Miller said.

The Texas laws restrictions had applied to medication as well as surgical abortions, which aggravated wait times. Women who chose abortion-inducing medication were required to wait, then return four times, seeing the same doctor each time, based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations guidelines.

The proportion of women choosing the medication, mifepristone, dropped from between 40 percent and 50 percent to about 2 percent after the law passed, Miller said.

In March, the FDA changed its guidelines, allowing women to receive the drug further into pregnancy and in fewer visits. Now the number of women choosing medication is back to what it was before the law passed, Miller said.

18 months to four years: The time it takes to build an ambulatory surgical center

There are no plans to build new abortion clinics that meet the Texas laws ambulatory surgical center requirements, said Stephanie Toti, senior attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, who argued the case before the Supreme Court on behalf of Texas abortion providers.

If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Whole Womans Health, it and other providers could reopen some of the 22 clinics that closed after the Texas law passed, Toti said. But its unclear how many or how long it would take.

Clinics that remained open after the law passed but stopped providing abortion services would still have to reapply for two-year abortion clinic licenses and be inspected, which can take up to a year, she said.

We cant reopen clinics overnight, Miller said, noting that providers have had to sell buildings, give up leases, lay off staff and allow doctors to take other jobs.
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By Amina Khan Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Deep in the solidified lava beneath Iceland, scientists have managed an unprecedented feat: Theyve taken carbon dioxide released by a power plant and turned it into rock at a rate much faster than laboratory tests predicted.

The findings, described in the journal Science, demonstrate a powerful method of carbon storage that could reduce some of the human-caused greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change.

These are really exciting results, said Roger Aines, a geochemist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who was not involved in the study. Nobody had ever actually done a large-scale experiment like theyve done, under the conditions that they did it.

The pilot program, performed at Reykjavik Energys geothermal power plant under a European-U.S. program called CarbFix, was able to turn more than 95 percent of carbon dioxide injected into the earth into chalky rock within just two years.

We were surprised, said study co-author Martin Stute, a hydrologist at Columbia University in New York. We didnt expect this. We thought this would be a project that would go on for decades. Maybe 20 years from now, wed have an answer to the question. But that it happened so fast, and in such a brief period of time, that just blew us away.

When fossil fuels like coal or gas are burned, the carbon stored within them is released into the air in the form of carbon dioxide. This greenhouse gas traps heat in the atmosphere, triggering an increase in global temperatures that threatens polar ice reserves and contributes to rising sea levels. It also increases the acidity of the ocean, hastening the decline of corals and other marine life.

Researchers have tried for years to figure out how to get that carbon back into the ground. Carbon dioxide can be pulled out of emissions and injected underground into briny waters or emptied oil and gas reservoirs, but theres a risk that the gas eventually would seep back into the air or that the injection process itself might crack open a reservoir and allow its contents to escape.

Researchers have been looking to get that carbon back into the ground in solid form  something that natures been doing for a while, although on a far longer timescale. For humans trying to quickly undo the damage of greenhouse gas emissions, thats easier said than done. Sandstone does not react much with carbon dioxide. Some lab tests showed that basaltic rock, laid down by volcanic activity, might be more effective but on a scale of centuries, if not longer.

An opportunity for a field test arose when the president of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, met researchers at Columbia and expressed his interest in cutting back the countrys carbon dioxide emissions.

This is really the start of this, at the highest level, which is sort of unusual for research projects, Stute said.

Together with Reykjavik Energy, the research team designed an experiment around the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant. In March 2012, they injected 175 tons of pure carbon dioxide into an injection well. A few months later, they followed with 73 tons of a mix of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. (The team wanted to see whether the process worked even if there were other gases present; if it did, it would save the time and money of having to separate the carbon dioxide out.)

The researchers separate the carbon dioxide from the steam produced by the plant and send it to an injection well. The carbon dioxide gets pumped down a pipe thats actually inside another pipe filled with water from a nearby lake. Hundreds of feet below the ground, the carbon dioxide is released into the water, where the pressure is so high that it quickly dissolves, instead of bubbling up and out.

That mix of water and dissolved carbon dioxide, which becomes very acidic, gets sent deeper into a layer of basaltic rock, where it starts leaching out minerals like calcium, magnesium and iron. The components in the mixture eventually recombine and begin to mineralize into carbonate rocks.

The basaltic rock is key, the scientists said: Sandstone would not react with carbon dioxide this way. So is the presence of water; if the mix had been pure gas instead of gas dissolved in water, its unlikely the basalt would have helped form carbonate rocks  at least, not with such speed.

The scientists also injected chemical tracers into the mix, including a type of carbon dioxide made with the heavier, rarer isotope known as carbon-14. They also injected other trace gases such as sulfur hexafluoride, which is inert and does not react much with its surroundings.

When the researchers checked the water at monitoring wells later in the experiment, they found that the trace gases were still there (a sign that the water had gotten through) but that the proportion of carbon-14 molecules had significantly declined. As the water had continued to flow through the basaltic layers, the carbon dioxide had been left behind in the rock.

While much of this happened underground, the researchers also saw fine crystals of carbonate sticking to the surface of the pump and pipes at the monitoring well.

They look like salt from a salt shaker  on the surface of this gray or black basaltic rock, Stute said.

Based on other laboratory results, the scientists had expected the process to take centuries, if not longer. But the field test showed that this process, under the right conditions, happens at remarkable speed.

There are some limitations to this method. It requires basaltic rock, which, while it can be found in abundance in places like the United States Pacific Northwest region, cant be found everywhere on land. Under the ocean, theres plenty  but then theres the question of whether salty water would be as effective as freshwater.

Storage is an issue. Pulling carbon dioxide out of emissions, let alone the atmosphere, is also a difficult challenge, the researchers pointed out.

Still, Aines said, These results are so encouraging that its worth figuring out some of the places where that could be done, and trying that out on a larger and longer scale.

In the meantime, at the Icelandic plant, operators are reportedly looking to scale up this process.
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NEW YORK  If there is one explanation for Donald Trump's success it is this: Unlike most Republicans, he fights back. He may not have the late Muhammad Ali's finesse, but he sees himself as more than capable of dealing a "knockout" punch to Hillary Clinton in November. That ought to be the goal of any GOP presidential nominee.

During an interview in his Trump Tower office Monday, I asked about his temperament, a subject often raised by critics. Hillary Clinton recently said he shouldn't be trusted with the nuclear codes and that he is so thin-skinned he might start a war.

Trump said, "She's the one who raised her hand for the war in Iraq and I'm the one who has been fighting it from the beginning ... (Hillary) is the one who has a terrible temperament ... she's weak ... she has a hair trigger and it's just the opposite with me. I have a strong temperament. ... I couldn't have built the strong companies I've built if I didn't have a strong temperament."

Well, yes, and many considered Teddy Roosevelt just as brash and his likeness made it onto Mount Rushmore.

What about the references to race and ethnicity that have brought criticism from leading Republicans? I suggested that most Americans don't care about the lawsuit against Trump University (which alleges the university is a scam), the ethnic background of U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over the case or whether Trump is being treated "fairly." What Americans care about are jobs, the economy and terrorist threats.

Does Trump plan to pivot from such things and start focusing on what resonates with most voters?

"Yes," he said, "it's starting very soon." In a statement released Tuesday, however, Trump addressed the Curiel issue one more time. "It is unfortunate that my comments have been misconstrued as a categorical attack against people of Mexican heritage. I am friends with and employ thousands of people of Mexican and Hispanic descent. ... I do not feel that one's heritage makes them incapable of being impartial ..."

He then vowed not to speak about the matter again.

In our interview, Trump noted he has received more votes than Ronald Reagan. Yes, but primaries are but a small percentage of the larger number of people who will vote in November. A considerable number of them will vote for Hillary Clinton; some conservatives and Republicans will refuse to vote for Trump.

Trump says his formula for making America great again begins with putting the country first: "I hate to use the word 'change,' because Obama used to use that word ... but (people) are hungry for real change; they're hungry for making things right."

He's right and both parties share the blame for the dysfunction.

Trump's plan for reforming Social Security and Medicare, the main drivers of our debt, consists of eliminating "waste, fraud and abuse" and growing the economy to a point where there will be sufficient money to sustain these programs for decades to come.

He promises that the list of judges provided to him by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation will either be the ones he nominates to federal benches, "or people exactly like them. In fact, I'm going to expand the list by four."

Trump rejects the notion of a "living Constitution," preferring the view of the late Justice Antonin Scalia that the document means what it says. He favors school choice, especially for minority children in failing public schools, a position he thinks will help get him African-American votes.

He says President Obama, not him, has divided the country, pitting rich against poor and blacks against whites. "I had hoped Obama would be a good cheerleader for the country. He's really brought the opposite in spirit to the country. He's a very negative force."

He adds, "If we have four years of Hillary I don't know if we can ever come back."

If Donald Trump does adopt a positive view of America that is inclusive of all Americans, he might be able to resonate with a majority of voters. Will he? We're about to find out.

Cal Thomas writes for the Tribune Content Agency. Contact him at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.
This year's F1 'silly season' is not just about the drivers.

Italy's authoritative La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that the Briton, who is Ferrari's highly rated technical director, is eyeing a return to his native Britain.

The 48-year-old took an extended break recently following the shock death of his wife. Allison's three children live in Britain, while the respected engineer travels between the UK and his factory-based role at Maranello.

La Gazzetta now claims that mainly due to his three grieving children, Allison could accept the advances of Renault and accept an offer to return to the Enstone team he left in 2013 when it was then known as Lotus.

Also recently linked with a potential move in the near future has been James Key, the highly-rated technical chief at Toro Rosso.

But he said: "I've got a contract with Toro Rosso for some time to come, and there's a lot of work to do still. So I'm not thinking about anything else at the moment."

(GMM)
Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen is certain F1's Fernando Alonso will contest Le Mans one day.

Spaniard Alonso cannot, however, tackle the fabled 24 hour endurance race this year, as McLaren-Honda forbids it and it clashes with next weekend's inaugural grand prix in Baku.

But Kristensen, who won Le Mans a record nine times, said: "Two years ago I saw him at Le Mans and that he has a huge passion for racing here.

"I know that he has spoken to many people about it, including Mark Webber," the 48-year-old Dane told Spain's El Confidencial.

"I know he feels a great passion to do this race in the future."

(GMM)
Nico Hulkenberg says he definitely wants to return to Le Mans one day.

Last year, the German stunned the motor racing world by filling a gap in the F1 calendar with winning the fabled 24 hour endurance race on debut with Porsche.

But Hulkenberg, who still races full-time for Force India, cannot defend his title in 2016 because Le Mans clashes with the inaugural F1 race in Baku.

Asked if he will try to follow the events instead, he said in Montreal? "Why not? After qualifying and all the meetings are over, I will try to see what's happening either on TV or online."

Told that it must be a strange feeling to not be able to defend his title this year, Hulkenberg answered: "Actually no.

"I have always clear said that formula one is my main passion, my job, and this year it just so happens that I can't do Le Mans too. But in the future, definitely I'll be back at Le Mans," he added.

(GMM)
F1 legend Alain Prost says that if he was looking to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari, he would choose a young Spaniard.

Prost, the famous quadruple world champion, said that in Max Verstappen's "shadow" for most of his impressive F1 career so far has been Carlos Sainz jr.

"I would like to see how he develops in a top team," Prost told the French-language Minute-Auto.fr.

So when asked who Ferrari should turn to if Raikkonen is to be ousted, the 61-year-old said: "I think Sainz. It is always a question of balance and who would work well with (Sebastian Vettel), but I'd choose Sainz."

(GMM)
The city of Asheboros Cultural and Recreation Services Department will present the fantasy and thriller movie Jumanji at 8:45 p.m. today at Bicentennial Park on Sunset Avenue in Asheboro.

A giant inflatable screen will be on the main stage, with seating on the grass in front of it. Games and music will take place from 8:15 to 8:45 p.m., featuring Dan with On Target DJ. Concessions will also be available for a nominal fee.

Other movies will be shown July 9 and Aug. 13, beginning at dusk.

For information, contact Cindy Castle at (336) 626-1240 or by email at ccastle@ci.asheboro.nc.us.

Rocket Fizz soda shops grand opening today

Rocket Fizz of Burlingtons grand opening will be at 10:30 a.m. today.

Free face painting, balloon animals and glitter tattoos, along with free candy and soda tastings, will be offered from noon to 4 p.m.

The store is at 1023 Boston Drive in Burlington.

For information, call (336) 524-6902.

St. Matthews UMC to fete retiring pastor

St. Matthews United Methodist Church will hold a retirement celebration for its pastor, the Rev. Arnetta E. Beverly, at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Chapel on the campus of Bennett College.

Beverly is the first African American female pastor in the churchs 150-year history, a post she has held since July 2008.

For more information, call (336) 272-4505.

No worship services will be held at St. Matthews on Sunday.

Museum to celebrate 14th Amendment

The International Civil Rights Center & Museum will observe the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Wine and light refreshments will be served.

To attend, send an email by noon Monday to jswaine@sitinmovement.org.

The museum is at 134 S. Elm St. in Greensboro.

Legal clinics to cover child custody, divorce

Legal Aid of North Carolina will offer a free, self-help legal clinic on child custody and visitation Tuesday and on simple divorce Thursday.

The clinics will educate participants about their legal rights and empower them to file certain basic legal actions without an attorney.

The office is at 122 N. Elm St., Suite 700, in Greensboro.

Registration is required.

To see the full clinic schedule and register, visit www.legalaidnc. org/get-help/Pages/ self-help-clinics.aspx.

Author to lead talk on conservative heros

Garland S. Tucker III will lead a discussion of his latest book, Conservative Heroes: Fourteen Leaders Who Shaped America, from Jefferson to Reagan, at 4 p.m. Thursday at the High Point Museum, 1859 E. Lexington Ave. in High Point.

Tucker is the president and chief executive officer of Triangle Capital Corporation.

A book signing and reception will follow Tuckers presentation; proceeds from book sales will go to the High Point Public Library Foundation.

For information, call (336) 887-4640.

High Point police chief to meet with public

The new police chief of High Point, Kenneth J. Shultz, will be at the High Point Farmers and Arts Market from 9 to 11 a.m. June 18 for a meet-and-greet.

Marketgoers will have the opportunity to get to know the new chief, and view a patrol car and the police departments rescue vehicle.

Shultz has been with the High Point Police Department for 26 years and was appointed chief in April, replacing Marty Sumner who retired in March.

The market is held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays through Sept. 24 in the parking lot of the High Point Public Library, 901 N. Main St.

For information, call (336) 689-4463.

Bicyclists, walkers celebrate Trails Day

More than 30 cyclists completed a 6-mile urban bike ride during the recent National Trails Day held June 4 at Cumberland Park.

A group of participants walked the 4-mile Downtown Greenway detour route as well.

There was music, kids activities, food vendors, and more at this event.

Saxapahaw now has an indie bookstore

Owners Glenn and Sandy Shepherd, along with their son, Orin Shepherd, have opened The Red Door Books and Art store at 1616 Jordan Drive in Saxapahaw.

The business is Alamance Countys only independent bookstore.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For information, call (336) 525-2553 or visit www.reddoorsxpw.com.

The Blessed Table food pantry at new site

The Blessed Table, a food pantry sponsored by five Methodist churches, has moved to 3210-B Summit Ave. in Greensboro.

The organization is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

New clients must have a referral from the Guilford County Department of Social Services, a Social Security card and a photo identification.

For information, call (336) 333-2266.
I am writing to express my disappointment with Sens. Burr and Tillis, who announced they are co-sponsors of SB 2123, the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act.

If enacted, this law would release thousands of violent felons and endanger millions of Americans whose safety is increasingly threatened by rising crime rates. It would also shorten mandatory minimums for repeat drug traffickers, including those who carry guns.

Importantly, SB 2123 is based on a lie  that drug dealing is not a violent crime. 18 USC 924 (c) (1) (A) says that any person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime ... uses or carries a firearm, or who in furtherance of any such crime, possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to the punishment for such crime ... be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years. Therefore, by the clear and unambiguous language of this statute, drug dealing is a violent crime.

Then there is the dishonest claim that federal prisons are filled with nonviolent drug offenders. This canard is being used by supporters of SB 2123. The fact is that 99.5 percent of those incarcerated in the federal system for drug convictions are guilty of serious trafficking offenses, and 47 percent of those released are rearrested within five years for committing serious crimes.

Honestly, why would we want to create a jail break of notorious drug traffickers and require leniency for future crimes when these same criminals are helping to spawn the worst opioid drug epidemic our country has ever experienced? Over half a million Americans died from drug overdoses in just the last 10 years, largely due to heroin sold by drug traffickers.

Finally, the size of the federal prison population is declining, not rising as proponents contend. Since 2011, the federal prison population has decreased by more than 20,000 (9 percent), bringing it to the lowest level since 2006. It will continue to decline by another 10,000 over the next year, bringing it to its lowest level since 2004.

Thus, in view of all these unassailable realities, any member of Congress who supports this bill could be subjected to a Willie Horton-style ad (perhaps one like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4BcAqbn38k).

I am not sure whether Republican members supporting the legislation fully appreciate the potential risk for the public or their own careers.

Overall, this misguided and irresponsible criminal justice legislation hardly presents reform.
A state legislator from Onslow County is really upset with a successful and popular program that began in Greensboro.

Since we gave that exemption, FaithAction International commenced big-time distribution of identity cards, and we had numerous law enforcement agencies across the state participating, Republican Rep. George Cleveland said in a House Regulatory Reform Committee meeting Wednesday.

The exemption was included in a 2015 law, which Gov. Pat McCrory signed in Greensboro, that barred local governments from recognizing ID cards not authorized by the state. The exception applied to police agencies.

The card was issued by FaithAction International House of Greensboro. Residents could use them to get library cards or sign up for recreation programs. Republican legislators and the governor thought the city was being too friendly to otherwise-undocumented immigrants.

Because the ID program was suggested by Greensboro police, who said it improved relations with immigrant communities, potentially making the city safer, the exception was allowed.

A year later, because so many other police agencies like the idea, Republican legislators now want to remove the exception. They aim to prohibit police from using a simple, helpful tool.

It has gotten out of hand, Rep. Debra Conrad (R-Forsyth) said. The ID cards are a magnet for drawing the illegal immigrant community to North Carolina. They will gravitate to where they know they can be and where federal law is not enforced.

To be clear: Federal law doesnt prohibit police from using FaithAction ID cards for identifying people. Nevertheless, the committees Republican majority approved the measure, which will move on for further consideration. And once again, the legislature will exert top-down control over local governments. Because it can.

North Carolinas constitution lets local governments exercise only powers granted by state law. Traditionally, state law has been generous, giving cities and counties the general police power necessary to protect public safety, health and welfare in their own communities. That would certainly include a police policy of recognizing a reliable, privately issued ID  at least until the legislature strikes down such a policy.

This is the worst sort of micromanagement, but its standard operating procedure in Raleigh lately. The legislature has negated local regulations for rental property, business privilege licenses and gun safety, reversed annexations, prohibited measures to govern fracking and barred ordinances to raise minimum wages or outlaw discrimination. It has rearranged local elections. Just this week, the House approved a bill giving Transylvania County a partisan school board  as the legislature already did to Guilford County.

In constitutionally granting all power to the state and none to cities and counties, North Carolina is a Dillons Rule state, named for an 1868 Iowa court case. Later, some states began loosening the chains. South Carolina is one of 10 Home Rule states where cities have more inherent powers. North Carolina would be better off joining them.

The balance of power is slowly changing, though, for another reason. More of the states population is concentrating in its cities. In time, through sheer numbers, the cities will control the legislature.
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GREENWICH  Greenwich Avenue went Hollywood Friday night as two prominent locations played host to the Greenwich International Film Festivals Changemaker Gala.

The gala, which took place at Richards and attracted 300 attendees, was preceded by a red carpet cocktail reception at Betteridge Jewelers.

This years gala honored three women: director and philanthropist Trudi Styler, who received the Changemaker Award; Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin, who was given the Rising Changemaker Award; and actress Freida Pinto, also honored as a Changemaker.

This is an amazing event, festival co-founder Wendy Stapleton Reyes said. To have these three women here tonight, all of whom have tremendously used their voice to create positive social impact in the world, means so much to us. Women founded this organization and were thrilled to have such a great turnout tonight from the community.

Styler received her award for her work with The Rainforest Fund, which she founded with her husband, Sting.

The Rainforest Fund protects and supports indigenous and traditional populations working to protect their environments and their rights. Breslin, best known for her role in Little Miss Sunshine will appear in Stylers next film, Freak Show.

Shes such an amazing women and I love her to death, Breslin said. I had so much fun working with her and shes an incredible person. Im so happy to be here with her tonight,

Breslin was commended for her work fighting abuse through the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. One in five women and one in seven men are physically abused by a partner, she said.

Its such an honor to be here, Breslin said. There are such important issues going on in the world, and while I love my job, when youre an actor and youre somebody who gets some attention, its important to use it to do what really matters.

Pinto, best known for her work in the Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire, was honored for her work as an ambassador with Girl Rising, a global charity trying to break the cycle of poverty by helping girls and young women gain better access to education.

Last year, Pinto helped launch a Girl Rising initiative to help girls in her native India.

When you get involved, you dont typically associate awards with activism, Pinto said. I dont take this just as an award for myself. I take it for all the people who have worked so hard towards actually making something remarkable possible. Girl Rising is not my solo effort. I have a whole team of people working on the ground no one knows about. This is for all of their work, not just mine.

Last year, the Changemaker Gala honored legendary performer Harry Belafonte and actress Mia Farrow for their international charity work with UNICEF. The goal of the Changemaker Awards is to highlight celebrities who have used their fame in positive ways.

Ginger Stickel, the festivals Chief Operating Officer, said they were happy to partner with Betteridge and Richards for the high profile event.

It just made sense to hold our most prestigious event of the festival here, Stickel said. This is our most important event of the festival because it really focuses on our mission to harness the power of film to serve the greater good by supporting important causes each year.

Proceeds from the gala will go toward The Rainforest Fund, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Girl Rising. All of those organizations fit under the festivals 2016 theme of human rights.

The event also attracted one of Hollywoods newest stars. Neel Sethi played the lead in Disneys The Jungle Book live-action release.

Grossing close to $350 million in the United States alone, the movie is one of the biggest hits of the year. And for Sethi at the age of 12 its meant a big change in his life.

Its crazy, but a lot of fun, said Sethi, whose family owns a home in Greenwich.

Sethi, along with Disney Channel star Peyton List, will be leading the festivals childrens acting workshop on Saturday.

Im going to tell them to go with their gut and do what they think is right, Sethi said.

The master of ceremonies for the gala was Kathie Lee Gifford. The longtime Greenwich resident, who also was part of last years gala, said she was eager to use her celebrity status to help out.

The truth is thats what gets other people out to help, Gifford said. Most people who work diligently for philanthropy dont want to be honored. Thats the truth. They just want to do their good work. But we all realize that by putting our names to things, it sells tickets.

kborsuk@scni.com
Verizon is clearly holding onto dear life for whatever exclusivity plan it has with the Droid brand. Big Red has no intention of letting go any time soon and the phone will even be a Verizon Exclusive for the first couple of months or so of the phones lives.

Droid-Life reports that the unlocked Moto Z will not offer the same ability to pop in a SIM card from any of the four major US carriers as the Moto X Pure edition did. Youll have to buy the phone in either an Unlocked GSM variant or a Verizon variant.

Moto Z

If you really wanted to, you could buy a Verizon variant of the phone since all Verizon-branded phones are required to be GSM unlocked. The problem is, Verizons phones arent really known for getting the fastest Android updates. However, if youre with Sprint, you may be out of luck altogether as it is still unclear whether or not Sprint will be getting a variant at all.

Last years Moto X Pure Edition and the Motorola-built Nexus 6 were both sold unlocked and worked with Verizon and Sprint SIM cards. It seemed that Motorola knew how to get the other two CDMA networks certified on its unlocked phone. However, it looks like Verizon wants the Moto Z all for itself this time around.

Moto Z Force

Think about it, before the Moto Z, Verizon had its own exclusive Droid line of devices that were otherwise unavailable in the US if you didnt buy them through Verizon. International variants of Verizon exclusive phones were available but they were harder to get a hold of from within the states.

Could the Moto Z be the only Droid devices that Verizon will get this year? It will be interesting to see how Lenovo leverages the Moto brand throughout the world.

Source | Via
By Panos Kotzathanasis | Published on 2016/06/11

Silmido was the first Korean film to attract more than 10 million viewers in the country's cinemas. What is more impressive, though, is that it's amazing story is actually based on true events.

The Actual Case

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On January 21, 1968, 13 North Korean spies broke through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and got within a few meters of the Presidential Residence. Their mission, according to a statement of one of the their members was to "Decapitate President Park Chung-hee". They were dressed as South Korean soldiers, but their Russian overcoats and the mismatched black sport shoes they wore, drew the attention of a police officer, eventually resulting in their arrest and subsequent execution. President Park was so infuriated that ordered the creation of a South Korean team of 31 members, with the purpose of assassinating North Korean President, Kim II-sung.

The men picked were extremely hard-boiled and they were even some death row inmates among them, according to testimonies from ex-guards of the camp they were situated. After their enlistment, their ID's were erased, leaving their families without a clue regarding their fates. On April, 1968, they were sent to the small, abandoned island, Silmido, west of Seoul, with the code name Unit 684.

One of their first acts on the island was to open a Chinese grave, to grind the bones and drink them with a little water. Their trainers told them that this would protect them from STDs and make them stronger. Next, they pinned the skull and the two thigh bones on a wooden board (as in the pirates' emblem) that signaled the entrance of the camp. Under the bones they wrote the words "Our Dogma".

They trained in parachuting, explosions and the use of various guns, learned how to kill with an axe and how to hit their enemies' eyes with a knife from a distance of 10m. They were taught to survive just by eating snakes and mice. Before each drill, they were forced to shout "If you get caught, blow-up yourself". The trainers-guards beat whomever fell behind on the drills. One of the trainees died during a test of holding breath in the water and another from falling from a cliff. The guards took a slow-moving trainee and almost drowned him in the sea, and later they buried him in the sand to the neck and left him there all night. Former trainer Lee Jun-young defends their tactics: "They were going to North Korea. We had to make them as tough as possible".

The training program was supposed to last for three months, but eventually lasted for three years, as the relationships between South and Northe Korea were improving. Ex trainer, Yang Dong-su remembers that "the men were desperate". On the morning of August 23, 1971, the trainees revolted. One of them went into the commander's office holding a basket of unwashed clothes, took a crowbar, and stabbed him on the forehead with it. The revolt quickly became a massacre, with 17 guards shot or drowned in their desperate effort to avoid death. Yang took a bullet to the neck, but survived along with five others.

The 24 trainees reached the mainland, hijacked a bus, and tried to reach the Presidential Residence. The bus driver stated that they were talking about exacting revenge from President Park, according to the media. The army and the police were mobilized and managed to stop the bus in Dongjak prefecture, where extensive shootings occurred among them. The invaders, being surrounded, without any chance of getting away, commited suicide with their grenades. Four of them survived, and were subsequently court-martialed and executed on March 10, 1972.

The government concealed all information regarding Unit 684 until the beginning of the 90's. The facts, however, became known only in 2003, with this particular film, but the government did not issue an official report regarding the incidents before 2006.

In 2009, the families of 21 members of the unit sued the government for 670 million. On May 19, 2010, the Seoul District Court issued a decree for the government to compensate the families for 273 million. The court decreed that "Silmido agents were not informed of the dangers their training carried, and that its cruelty violated their basic human rights". It also recognized the psychological pain the government caused to the families, by not revealing the agents' death until 2006.

The Film

Kang Woo-seok, the director, and Kim Hee-jae the scriptwriter, stay very close to the facts, adding, though, the mandatory brushes of fiction, in order to make the film more entertaining. The characters of the film are created according to this tactic. Kang In-chan is determined to erase the shame his father caused to his family by defecting to North Korea and gradually becomes the team's leader. His biggest rival is Han Seung-pil while Won-hee functions as the unit's "joker". Among the trainers, commander Choi Jae-hyun and sergeants Jo and Park are the ones that stand apart.

The first half of the film focuses on the training, while the second one on the events that occurred after their revolt.

Kang Woo-seok was in the lucky position to receive a story that was cinematic by design. He had, though, to create the characters, with Kim Hee-jae's help, but this was actually the sole difficulty of the venture, since the big budget ($8m) covered everything else. His basic purpose on this aspect was to show that even if sometimes they act well, the characters are actually evil. This is eloquently depicted in an episode where two of the trainees breakout of the camp and head to a nearby hospital, where they rape a nurse. Another point of interest is the analysis of the notions of victim and perpetrator, with the properties changing many times over the course of the film. However, the depth of a psychological thriller is not to be expected, since "Silmido" is actually an action movie, and even more a blockbuster. In that fashion, the biggest protagonist is the action, with most of the film's elements revolving around it. In this aspect, Kang Woo-seok, along cinematographer Kim Sung-Bok and editor Han Jae-min presents a wonderful outcome, keeping the interest from wavering, for most of its duration, with the sequences of the training, the revolt and the finale being utterly impressive. The visuals of the film accurately depict the harsh environment of the actual island and in order to achive that, the movie had scenes shot in Malta and New Zealand.

In terms of acting, "Silmido" does not stand out, since it focuses on action rather than characters. The army thematic, whose purpose is the assimilation of the individual in a group that chiefly follows orders, stresses this notion even more. In that fashion, it was difficult for an individual performance to stand out clearly. However, Sol Kyung-gu is at least functional as Kang In-chan and Lee Jung-hun accurately presents a character who lingers between good and evil, as hypocritical Sergeant Park.

"Silmido" is a highly entertaining blockbuster action film, which also stands apart due to the real story it is based on.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"Silmido" is directed by Kang Woo-seok and features Sol Kyung-gu, Ahn Sung-ki, Heo Joon-ho, Jung Jae-young, Im Won-hee, Kang Shin-il and Lee Jung-hun.

Available on DVD from Amazon



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Published on 2016/06/11 | Source

Added the upcoming Korean-Singaporean-Indonesian documentary "Fluid Boundaries"'s page to HanCinema database

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"Fluid Boundaries" (2014)

Directed by Daniel Rudi Haryanto, Moon Jeong-hyeon, Vladimir Todorovic

"Fluid Boundaries" is a collaboration between South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia.

Synopsis

Vladimir Todorovic, Moon Jeong-hyeon, and Daniel Rudi Haryanto - film directors from Serbia, South Korea, and Indonesia, respectively - met at an international film festival and decided to make a movie about those who stand at a border or who cross such a border. In a series of letters, the three directors share the personal stories of boundary-crossing people. The stories vary with their diverse experience: An Indonesian woman living in Japan; workers of all nationalities who gather to Singapore to find a job; the desperate reality facing an immigrant family in South Africa; the memory and testimony of a person who left Vietnam and grew up in a refugee camp in Indonesia; and those who frequently cross the border demarcating East Timor and Indonesia. One director contemplates Serbian history while traveling through Vietnam, and another thinks about the tragic life of his uncle, who had to change his nationality from Joseon to upcoming Korean. This road movie portrays the immigration history of those who had to cross borders for political or economic reasons, and the unpredictable twists of modern history.

Release date in Korea : 2016/06/30
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.

11:52, 25 OCT 2022
A young man who allegedly had a double-barrelled shotgun and four cartridges after he was stopped by armed gardai in west Dublin has been sent forward for trial.

Eddie Walshe (23) is also accused of seriously assaulting a detective sergeant in the same incident.

He is facing trial by judge and jury in the Circuit Court after the DPP ruled that the allegations were too serious for the district court.

Mr Walshe appeared before Blanchardstown District Court charged with possession of a Winchester double-barrelled shotgun. The incident allegedly took place at Blakestown Way in Mulhuddart on October 31, 2015.

He is further charged with possession of four shotgun cartridges at the same time and place.

He is also charged before the court with seriously assaulting Detective Sergeant Declan O'Connell.

The assault allegedly took place during an incident at Huntstown Lawn in Mulhuddart on the same date.

Evidence

A State solicitor said that the book of evidence was ready and had been served on the accused, who goes forward to the present sitting of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

The State solicitor specified that Mr Walshe was being returned to the ordinary sitting of the circuit court.

Judge David McHugh gave Mr Walshe the formal alibi caution, warning him he had 14 days to provide to the State details of any alibi witnesses he planned calling in his defence.

Defence solicitor Terence Hanahoe and one junior counsel were granted on free legal aid. The judge also ordered a video copy of an interview that gardai conducted with the accused be furnished to his legal team.

Mr Walshe - with an address at Whitestown Park in Mulhuddart - has not yet indicated a plea to the charges. He was remanded on continuing bail to appear before the Circuit Court in three weeks' time. He is also facing two counts of dangerous driving, at Whitestown Avenue and Blakestown Way, both in Mulhuddart, on October 31 last.

He was allegedly driving a 2005 Dublin-registered vehicle at the time of the incident.

He was remanded on bail to a date in September on those matters.
Evie Lawlor (6) was the belle of the ball as she arrived as a princess at her castle

Little Evie Lawlor's dreams came true when she became a royal princess for a day in her very own castle.

Evie (6) who has a condition called Vanishing White Matter Disease, had a special princess party at Clontarf Castle.

Yesterday, the little Killester girl travelled in style from her school in Donnycarney in a horse-drawn carriage.

Her 20 school friends joined her for the party at the castle - and there was even a princess and prince waiting to greet them.

Belle of the ball Evie was treated to face-painting, balloon-modelling, party food, and games throughout the day.

Evie's family said that it was an incredible event for everyone to be a part of.

"It was a day all of us will cherish," her mum, Lisa Lawlor, said.

"The smile on Evie's face just said it all - it was magical from start to finish."

The Make-A-Wish Ireland charity grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer, heart diseases, cystic fibrosis and other serious conditions.

Vanishing White Matter Disease is an extremely rare genetic disease that causes deterioration of motor skills including the ability to walk, see and hear.

Make-A-Wish is funded exclusively through its own fundraising activities and donations.

Since the organisation was established, more than 1,800 children from Ireland have had their wishes come true.

Surge

Make-A-Wish CEO Susan O'Dwyer said there was an increased number of wishes planned for 2016.

"We saw a surge in donations towards the end of last year and are hoping that we can continue the momentum and grant the highest-ever number of wishes in a year," she said.

"This would greatly alleviate our backlog of seriously-ill children awaiting their wishes to be granted, such as the very brave Evie Lawlor from Dublin."
Treating the majority of patients in the community rather than in Emergency Departments (ED) is the key to solving overcrowding in the health service.

That's according to Minister for Health Simon Harris, who was speaking as he broke ground at the site of a new primary care centre in Summerhill, north Dublin,, Mr Harris said more local medical centres were needed to tackle the issues facing EDs across the country.

"Centres like the one in Summerhill also help keep people out of hospital, confident that they can avail of a comprehensive range of health and social care services in their communities," he said.

Communities

"Its construction on a derelict site is an acknowledgement of the Government's commitment to invest into communities."

The new facility at Summerhill - due to be finished in 2018 - will include accommodation for primary care team services which include a GP and practice nurse, community nursing services, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and home help.

Speaking after the event, Mr Harris said a highly-critical UN report of Ireland's abortion law should form the basis for future discussions on issues surrounding the Eighth Amendment.

The UN Human Rights Committee found that Ireland's ban on abortion subjected women carrying a foetus with a fatal abnormality to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".

Calling the study "deeply upsetting", Minister Harris said that its findings should inform discussions by the forthcoming citizens' assembly on matters relating to the Eighth Amendment.

Mr Harris said that the "current situation about fatal foetal abnormalities was not satisfactory".

"In light of the UN report, I feel there is a new sense of priority and urgency attached to this issue ... Clear action in this area is now needed," he said.
Notorious abuser Eamon Cooke was quizzed by gardai about Philip Cairns disappearance Picture: Collins Dublin

A woman told gardai that she saw the late paedophile Eamon Cooke kill schoolboy Philip Cairns at his radio studios in Inchicore in the 1980s.

Philip Cairns vanished without a trace as he walked back to his school, Colaiste Eanna in Rathfarnham, on October 23, 1986.

Now, incredibly, almost 30 years later, a woman has come forward with fresh information to claim she saw a disagreement between the pair.

She told detectives that she was at the radio studio and saw Cooke strike the schoolboy with an implement.

When she went into the room, she saw the 13-year-old boy bleeding and unconscious. She passed out shortly afterwards.

It's understood that the woman told this to gardai in Terenure in May.

Cooke (79), a pirate radio DJ who was found guilty of 42 counts of sexual abuse in 2007, died last week.

Gardai interviewed Cooke in the weeks before his death, at a hospice where he was being treated following temporary release from Arbour Hill prison.

It is understood Cooke admitted to meeting the schoolboy at his radio studios and corroborated some aspects of the woman's story.

"It took an awful lot of courage for this person to come forward," a source said.

Gardai are closely examining the DNA left on Philip's schoolbag, which was found in a laneway a few days after he disappeared.

It is understood three DNA profiles have been obtained from the schoolbag.

Gardai interviewed Cooke twice in the weeks before he died, giving him a number of opportunities to tell them exactly what happened and where Philip's body was.

However, it is believed Cooke would not give this information.

It is not known how the woman knew Cooke.

At this stage, gardai are not willing to say that the mystery of Philip's disappearance almost 30 years ago has been solved.

However, they are treating the woman's story as credible.

Philip's family have been kept informed of the recent developments.

"At this point in time these new lines of inquiry have not yielded positive results. However, the investigation is very much active and ongoing," a garda spokesman said.

Last night, Dublin TD John Lahart, who grew up in the area, said that Philip's disappearance "shocked, dazed and bewildered the community".

Dignity

"The news tonight will be met with a mixture of terrible shock and confirmation of a community's worst fears, even after all this time," he told the Herald.

"His mother, Alice, and his late father, Philip Snr, carried the burden of his disappearance during the passing years with such great dignity, stoicism and grace," he said. Philip's father died in 2014.

"We can only hope that they will succeed in finding the final pieces of this puzzle and provide closure for a devastated family."

During his 2007 trial, the court heard his terrified young victims dubbed the DJ the 'Cookie Monster'. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Halloween is coming! Here's when to trick or treat in your town
India needs strategic space to grow  and Washington will encourage that expansion. This understanding is the main accomplishment of Prime Minister Narendra Modis repeated interactions with President Barack Obama. A stance further consolidated with Modis recent visit to Washington.

As high-level Indian sources put it, even a decade ago the US sought to put constraints on Indias ability to operate, especially in the Afghanistan-Pakistan area but also in West Asia and the Asia-Pacific. This was most evident in Afghanistan, where the US until recently echoed Pakistans line that the Indian role in that country should be limited to a development partner. The US used to squeeze our space of activity but no longer does.

Read | When it comes to Modi, theres a new symphony at play in US Congress

This was not automatic. Obamas first term was all about having a global partnership with Beijing. And his Afghanistan policy has been about doing the same, regionally, with Islamabad.

Modis addressing the US Congress during a lame duck presidency, said a US diplomat, is helping strengthen a sense in Washington that the Indo-US relationship is normal and friendly. This will give important guidance to bureaucrats and officials if the USs political system remains paralysed by rigid partisanship and insurgent presidential candidates.

Read | In rousing speech to US Congress, PM Modi signals new moment in ties

A former US national security council member noted that Obama had pulled out key ministers from the US-China strategic and economic dialogue, sending their deputies in their place, and redeployed them for the Indian prime ministers state visit.

The Indian source also spoke of Modi speaking to a larger Indian audience who dont know much about modern India and seeking to counter the uncertainty and isolationism that marks the US today.

Much of what Modi and Obama have worked out will provide an institutional framework for future relations. For example, they have worked out around the unique status of India in the US strategic environment: a trusted partner, yet non-ally. Hence the joint statements creation of a new position: major defence partner. This will provide a pigeonhole for bureaucrats to put India, easing the sale of high-end defence equipment, co-development of weapons and sharing of intelligence and sensitive information.

Read | Insightful, historic: US lawmakers praise Modis address, get autograph

Climate change, one of the areas the two have bonded the strongest, is a similar story. The US has committed itself to funnel private and public capital, technology and political support to Modis aggressive renewable energy targets. Hence the joint statements, The United States is committed to bring to bear its technical capacity, resources and private sector.. to spur greater investment in Indias renewable energy sector. Again, the idea is to tie the two together in an area of cooperation in a way that it will be immunised to the vagaries of domestic politics.

There was a similar sense of a new normal when George W. Bush and Manmohan Singh put the first Indo-US nuclear deal together. But it never included Afghanistan and it was not shared by many parts of the US establishment, especially within the Democratic Party. The bureaucracy was also sceptical of how long the original bonhomie would last. Obama and Modi have largely closed that circle.

Here is another sense of how much Modi and Obama want their respective governments and people to take Indo-US relations for granted. The two are already likely to meet two or three times more this year  at the G-20, the East Asia Summit and possibly the sidelines United Nations General Assembly. Yet the joint statement ends with Modi inviting Obama to visit India again at his convenience.
When Dalit PhD student Koonal Duggal was thrown out mid-speech at Hyderabads English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU ) in April, it sparked howls of protest.

Students seethed at the supposed insult in the middle of Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations in a city that has been on the boil all year following the suicide of Rohith Vemula.

But his friends planned a novel protest  setting up an exhibition of Duggals art work titled The everyday from the eye of a Dalit artist in the middle of a university he was now banned from entering.

The paintings and posters proved a powerful counter argument to the administrations actions with images of the exhibition flooding social media when the originals were taken down.

Read: Death as a Dalit: What Rohith Vemulas suicide tells about India

The EFLU protest is the latest in a surge of cultural assertion by Dalit Bahujan communities that takes pride in a centuries-old tradition of using poetry, music and art to push back oppression.

Ambedkar said one cultural activist is equal to 10 political activists, says Vruttant, a part of the Jai Bhim Kala Manch in Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Historically, alternative readings of culture have been used for varied purposed spanning from resisting the erasure of Dalit Bahujan tribals in mythology to changing attitudes towards food stigmas.

Students at Hyderabads English and Foreign Languages University celebrating Asura Week that challenged the way mainstream mythology describes demons or asuras such as Ravana or Shoorpanakha. (EFLU Asura Community)

Dalit Bahujan students are questioning our heroes, festivals, cultural icons and writers. Inside the university and outside, theyre challenging how caste is viewed  or invisibilised.

A two-day Asura festival at EFLU is a good example. Students painted their faces in asura forms, shared poetry and music to highlight alternative Ramayanas where Ram is the aggressor bringing violence to indigenous communities and Shoorpanakha-Ravana are mythical heroes.

Were asking, who is god, who is asura? Were saying normative festivals such as Durga Puja are oppressive and symbolise violence against Dalits and adivasis, said Duggal.

At the University of Hyderabad next door, students regularly break their protests with songs and cultural performances. Pehel, a campus-based troupe, chips in with musical nights. The epicenter of the demonstrations  Shop Com  often reverberates with poetry by fiery Dalit-Bahujan writers such as the Maharashtrian Namdeo Dhasal.

A similar assertion over beef eating at JNU sparked clashes between ABVP and Dalit groups.

Members of the Birsa-Ambedkar-Phule Students Association say authorities cancelled permission to screen a documentary  Caste on the Menu Card -- after ABVP objections.

It is important we discuss caste in the university because caste is anti-social while university is a modern social institution, said Praveen Tulasi, a doctoral student.

Literature is at the heart of such a cultural surge and Dalit Bahujan authors channel powerful narratives of trauma and bravery erased from the mainstream.

Telugu poet Gogu Shyamala said she drew her inspiration from the everyday practices of Dalit bahujan folks not conveyed in writing but in oral traditions.

Common Dalit villagers have a beautiful aesthetics of culture  an anti-Brahmanical resistance that I realized after reading Phule and Ambedkar, the acclaimed Dalit writer told HT.

An art exhibition by a Dalit student Koonal Duggal The everyday from the eye of a Dalit artist organised as protest against alleged caste-based discrimination by university authorities in Hyderabad. (Joint Action Committee for Social Justice -EFLU)

She talks about Renuka Yellama who is killed by her son on her husbands orders. In oral Dalit readings, however, Yellama is not a victim but a goddess, a lower-caste mother to all.

This consciousness isnt new, tracing its origins to the formation of the Dalit Panthers in Maharashtra in the 70s. Activists would go into villages to spread Ambedkars message using regional plays, folk songs and folk dances.

One such group was the anti-caste cultural outfit Kabir Kala Manch, formed in 2002 but disintegrating nine years later after members were booked for being Maoists.

Read: Good Shepherd: Dalit thinker Kancha Ilaiah on name, caste

The movement spread abroad too with groups such as Dalit Women fight in the US leaning on visual arts to drive advocacy.

They recently brought from India a troupe of activists who play the Parai drum, an instrument made from cow carcass that Dalit people are traditionally forced to scavenge.

Caste has allowed a brahminical hegemony over art and culture where only their art is seen as clean, as valuable, as worthy, said Valliamal Kaneeran.

This strain of rejecting mainstream cultures and subverting popular beliefs runs through Dalit Bahujan art.

This subversion of history by caste Hindus denied the Dalit Bahujans of human dignity. Its important to set historical facts straight, said Dharma Teja of Dalit Camera, a popular YouTube channel.

Such assertion often comes at a cost  anti-caste literature is never stocked in mainstream bookstores, there are no promotion or newspaper articles. Were battling and invisible but strong, said Shyamala.

Also read: Rohith Vemula: An unfinished portrait

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Mumbai-based reggae and urban music outfit Bombay Bassment is known for high-energy performances. Now, the band is set to prove its mettle at one of the most popular music events in the world, Glastonbury Festival, a five-day fest held annually in the UK.

The band will play two shows, one on June 23 and other on June 26, at the venue. We still dont believe its actually happening. It is the best feeling any band could ever have. We are eagerly awaiting it, not only to play for an audience who has never heard us before, but also to be able to check out so many different acts, says Ruell Barretto, a band member.

Bombay Bassments new album, Bombay Bassment x FUNC VIP. (facebook.com/Bombay Bassment)

The artiste also feels that playing at an international festival is important for any music groups career. You get a chance to showcase your local act on an international podium, he says.The band members are also excited about the release of their next album, Bombay Bassment x FUNC VIP. It is a collaboration with the guitarist of Pentagram and Shaair + Func, Randolph Correia. Our new album is nothing like what weve done before. Its electronic. Rather than a live-stage sound, its got more of a club vibe, says Barretto.

Ask him if the influx of international DJs performing in India has taken away the attention from local bands, and the artiste says, We want to perform on international stages, so we cant frown if foreign artistes want to come to India. That would be hypocritical.

Read: Rap rebellion: No more Honey Singh, underground rappers keep it real
Even a district collector has to struggle to get basic medical facilities in his own district in Madhya Pradesh.

Collector of Damoh district Srinivas Sharma couldnt get basic medical facilities for treatment of his mother Shanti Devi Sharma ,78, in Damoh district hospital on Friday. Later, his mother died at a hospital in Jabalpur, said the health department sources.

Shanti Devi was rushed to the district hospital at Damot town after she complained of chest pain. When she reached the hospital about 10.15 am there was no doctor on duty. It was after several calls that the doctor concerned turned up after about 10-15 minutes. However, the ventilator at the hospital was not found in a working order. Hence, the doctor advised the collector to take his mother to Jabalpur.

However, when a 108 ambulance with a ventilator in it was called the ventilator in the ambulance too was found not working. Later, an ambulance from Sagar was called in which Shanti Devi was rushed to Jabalpur between 1.30 and 2.00 pm.

The distance between Damoh and Sagar is 78 kilometers and between Damoh and Jabalpur 106km.

She died at the hospital in Jabalpur and the cremation took place in Shahdol, the hometown of the collector on Saturday.

None of the hospital staff was available for comments. However, when contacted the collector Srinivas Sharma admitted that there was delay in treatment at the district hospital and the ventilator was not working.
The Bombay of the swinging Sixties with its glamorous nightclubs and jazz music was also home to another world: distant suburbs dotted with ramshackle shanties and huts, mostly peopled by migrant workers. And it was in these squalid suburbs that a terrifying wave of murders took place in 1968. They were clearly the work of a serial killer: almost all the victims were miserably poor men, women and children and they had been bludgeoned to death by a hard, blunt object. There seemed to be no discernible motive.

IPS officer Ramakant Sheshagirirao Kulkarni had just taken over as the DCP, CID, (Crime) in Bombay when he was handed this red-hot case. Frenzied fear had gripped the suburbs and vigilante groups, often armed with lathis, kept watch at nights, sometimes battering wandering fakirs and homeless beggars on mere suspicion. Two thousand cops fanned out in the city on patrol duty.

When found by the police, Raman Raghav turned out to be a nondescript -looking man aimlessly wandering the streets with an umbrella.

When Kulkarni eventually did find the killer, he turned out to be a nondescript-looking man aimlessly wandering around grimy streets carrying an umbrella and a strange assortment of objects on his person (garlic, tea dust, scraps of paper with mathematical figures scrawled on them, among other things). He was spotted by chance by a sub-inspector who noticed that his shirt and shorts were stained with blood. The police interrogation and later, his confession in front of a magistrate, painted a scary picture of an unbalanced, strange man. His name was Raman Raghav though he went by several aliases, such as Sindhu Dalwai, Anna and Thambi.





It turned out that this was the second time he had indulged in such killings. In 1965-66, he had murdered nine people, most of them living next to a municipal water pipe line in the eastern suburbs. The police picked him up for questioning because he looked suspicious and had been seen hanging around the area. But the murders could not be proved and all that happened to Raman Raghav was that he was thrown out of the city and barred from entering it for the next two years.

But he came back.

Subject of Study

Over the years, the bizarre case of Raman Raghav has continued to fascinate writers and filmmakers. Kulkarni, who came to be known as Indias Sherlock Holmes because of his ace problem-solving abilities, devoted an entire chapter to the killer in his 2004 book Footprints on the Sands of Crime, where he chronicled the most sensational cases of his career. In 1969, journalist and author Khushwant Singh wrote an essay called Portrait of a Serial Killer, which has been included in a recent collection of his writings edited by his daughter Mala Dayal. Filmmaker Sriram Raghavan (of Johnny Gaddar, Ek Hasina Thi and Badlapur fame) made a 68-minute film on him in 1991 called Raman Raghav, A City, A Killer, with Raghuvir Yadav in the title role. And now filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is all set to release his gritty noir thriller Raman Raghav 2.0, set in contemporary Mumbai, with Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing a copycat killer.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is all set to release his gritty noir thriller Raman Raghav 2.0. (Aalok Soni/HT)

Kashyap says he wanted to make a film on the 1960s serial killer for 21 years. Initially, he hoped to make a Bombay noir trilogy  after Bombay Velvet, there was to be a film on Raman Raghav and then on the sensational 1959 Nanavati murder case. But after Bombay Velvet, I realized no one would give me money to make another period film, he says ruefully. And so I abandoned the idea and set it in todays time. Now I find that has worked better for me!

Kashyap came across the story when Sriram Raghavan was making his own film. In the late 1980s, Sriram, fresh out of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) was approached to make a video magazine (in pre-satellite TV days, such magazines -- like Newstrack and Lehren -- were all the rage) on cops and crimes. I had my pick of criminals, says Sriram. There was Charles Sobhraj, Auto Shankar etc. And of course there was Raman Raghav. This was the time that Kashyap met Sriram and found himself equally intrigued by the killer from Tamil Nadu who first came to Bombay in 1950 to work as a millhand.

What fascinated both Sriram and Kashyap was the idea of a criminal who didnt kill for any of the motives usually associated with murder: money, love, revenge, pleasure. He had no moral compass, there was no planning, says Kashyap. He killed because some voice in his head told him to do so.

Raman Raghavs testimony to the judge, reproduced in part in Kulkarnis book, reveals the bewildering meaninglessness of the murders: In one instance, Raman Raghav saw a man sleeping in a hut and killed him with three or four blows of an iron rod. He rummaged in the dead mans pocket, discovered some bidis and a matchbox and kept them, after which he ate some rice and rotis he found in the hut. In another gruesome attack, he killed a sleeping woman and then had sex with her. Once again, he ate some food that he found in the hut.

Different Versions

In Sriram Raghavans film, Raghuvir Yadav commits the murders almost in a deadpan manner. He comes across as a shabby, pathetic figure, always in a soiled blue shirt, khakhi shorts and canvas shoes (apparently a Parsi Dairy delivery boy uniform), who suddenly erupts in rage over trivial incidents. Sriram had initially planned his film as a thriller. But when he met the psychiatrist who had examined Raman Raghav after the latters arrest, he changed his mind. The psychiatrist told me that Raman Raghav was a very sick man, says Sriram. He told me, dont treat him like a criminal. Thats when I realized I was looking at him all wrong. Raman Raghav was unaware of what he was doing.

Raghuvir Yadav as the deadpan murderer in Sriram Raghavans film on Raman Raghav.

When Kashyap was casting for his film, his first choice was Nawazuddin Siddiqui, mostly because Siddiqui is such a powerful actor and a favourite of the director, but also because Kashyap had the image of Raghuvir Yadav in his head and decided that his actor too should be of slight, unimposing build. But going by the trailers of Raman Raghav 2.0, thats where the resemblance ends. If Yadavs Raman Raghav seems almost dazed and uncomprehending, Siddiqui exudes dangerous menace. Siddiqui seems more in keeping with Khushwant Singhs portrait of the serial killer as a man who was taught to rob and kill by his jailbird father, and who was a woman-hater (hed been betrayed by his wife -- she became pregnant by another man -- and later by another woman who cried rape when he repulsed her advances). Singh described him as a man who needed his daily ration of sex and crime. He became a confirmed misogynist and a lone wolf, wrote Singh.

Read:Raman Raghav 2.0 trailer: Madness meets mayhem in Anurag Kashyaps film

Since Kashyaps film is not about the actual events of the 1960s, he has changed the character of the police officer as well. Says scriptwriter-filmmaker Vasan Bala, who worked on the original script of Raman Raghav for Kashyap, Its a sad commentary on our times but it was difficult to place a Kulkarni, who was an honest, upright cop, in todays times. And so Anurag came up with the idea of a cop who was a sort of mirror image. In Raman Raghav 2.0, there is no good guy chasing the bad guy. Here, the cop (played by actor Vicky Kaushal, who made his debut in Masaan) is high on drugs and power. He is brutal to anyone weaker than him  because he can be.

The question Kashyap seems to be asking is: who is the person in the wrong here? Raman Raghav, who was clearly a mentally unsound man? Or?

Unsound Mindscape

The original Raman Raghav was diagnosed with chronic paranoid schizophrenia. Kashyap elaborates: There was a world that existed in his head  he believed India was being controlled simultaneously by a Congress-British-Akbar government that was out to get him and he had to fight these people. He also believed that he was being forced into homosexuality and he had to somehow prevent this by killing people. At the same time, he was, as Vasan Bala points out, a kind of scavenging killer. He killed poor, vulnerable people, most of whom were sleeping when he attacked them. He stole a few paise and useless odds and ends after he did the killings. Or he indulged in necrophilia. He never showed the slightest remorse.

Raman Raghav was sent to Yerawada Jail where he died in 1988 of kidney failure after 19 years of incarceration. Oddly enough, in all his years in jail, he was never involved in any act of violence. Usually a character has an arc  a beginning, a middle, an end, says Vasan Bala. But there was no such arc for Raman Raghav. There were just moments in a continuum when he felt he should end a life.

What drove him to murder so many people? Why did he kill so indiscriminately and randomly? What was really going on in his head? There are no answers, only theories. It is an inconclusive story of a serial killer. Maybe Anurag Kashyaps film will find one more piece of the puzzle.

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Unless you have been hibernating in the wilds of Ladakh, by now you will have heard about the messy breakdown of Johnny Depp and Amber Heards marriage. If, like me, you are something of a news junkie, you will have the details of their marital meltdown coming out of your ears.

To recap very briefly, it happened thus: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard met on the sets of the movie, The Rum Diary, and fell in love. Johnny broke up with his partner of 14 years, the French actress Vanessa Paradis, who is the mother of his two children, and moved in with Amber. Fifteen months ago, Depp and Heard got married in a spectacular beach ceremony in the Bahamas.

And a couple of weeks ago, just days after the death of Johnnys beloved 81-year-old mother, Betty Sue Palmer, Amber sued her husband for divorce and obtained a temporary restraining order against him on the grounds that he had been physically abusive towards her through the course of their short-lived (but clearly stormy) marriage. To prove her case, Amber produced pictures of her battered face, with bruises around her eyes and a fat lip.

The Depp camp responded with denials and statements from Depps ex-partner, Paradis, and his daughter, Lily-Rose, about what a lovely and loving man he was, and how it was impossible that he would hit a woman. Heard hit back by leaking an exchange of messages she had had with Depps assistant a few years ago, which seemed to acknowledge a history of abuse from Depp over a period of time. The assistant responded by saying the messages were fabricated. And so it went, on and on and on.

No break-up is ever pleasant but there is something particularly nasty about celebrity break-ups. Its not just that the worlds attention is focused on the private lives of strangers, but that everyone has an opinion on stuff that they couldnt possibly have any knowledge of. And before you know it, fans of both parties have come down on one side or another, sticking by their respective idols with a resolution matched only by their ignorance.

So, we have Camp Depp, which insists that there is no way that Johnny could have been abusive towards Amber. He is such a splendid, stand-up guy! Didnt you see what a marvellous job he did as Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean? Not to mention his performance in Alice In Wonderland. She is just making up all this stuff to get a bigger divorce settlement.

Ranged against Camp Depp is Camp Heard, which is considerably smaller but makes up for it by being a bit shriller. Their view seems to be that women who claim to be victims of domestic abuse should be believed  or else other women will be too afraid to come forward and report their abusive partners. And why would Amber be making this stuff up anyway? It is not in the interest of a small-time actress like her to take on the might of a Hollywood megastar like Johnny Depp.

And thus it goes. Emotions run high. Arguments break out, both in real life and on social media. For some reason, people seem to take this stuff personally even though they dont know the persons involved.

I dont know about you, but what this reminds me of is the time when Brad Pitt broke up with Jennifer Aniston and went off to play happy families with Angelina Jolie. Even then, the world seemed to be divided into Team Aniston and Team Jolie; for some reason, no one thought it fit to create a Team Pitt.

But while every celebrity break-up is unique in its own way  certainly, there were no accusations of domestic violence against Pitt  they do teach us the same lessons. Here, in no particular order of importance, are the top three:

If you have a fortune to protect, whether you are a man or a woman, always get a pre-nuptial agreement signed before you sign on the marriage certificate. Yes, I know, it is not terribly romantic to foresee what may happen in the case of a divorce even before the wedding. But it is the best way to ensure that you are not risking the assets you spent years building up; and, more to the point, that your prospective spouse is marrying you for the right reasons.

Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne Khan have remained publicly supportive of each other even after their divorce (Getty Images)

Try your damnedest to keep the media out of your business. Work out all your issues  alimony, divorce settlements, child custody arrangements  in private with your lawyers. Once you have negotiated all these tricky bits, release a joint statement to the media. Follow the example of those conscious uncouplers, Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, or nearer home, Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne Khan, who have remained publicly supportive of each other even after their divorce.

There is a thin line between love and hate, and it is all too easy to tip over to the other side when your relationship is disintegrating. But no matter how bitter and angry you are with your soon-to-be ex-partner, try and remember that this is a person you once loved and wanted to spend your life with. Respect and civility goes a long way. And even if it isnt reciprocated, in the long run you will be happy that you, at least, did the right thing.

From HT Brunch, June 12, 2016

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
Birthday: October 3

Place of Birth: Lahore, Pakistan

Sun Sign: Libra

Hometown: Delhi and Mumbai

School/College: Woodstock School, Mussoorie and George Washington University, Washington DC

First Break: Doing the costumes for Aisha (2010) right after graduation

High Point of Your Life: Graduating college, getting my first job, starting Pernias Pop Up Shop, celebrating a big anniversary of my parents so many!

Low Point of Your Life: Life is full of ups and downs, but Im grateful that even when things are down, I still have it better than so many other people

Currently I Am: Preparing for my labels first standalone show

Are you a romantic or a realist?

At heart, Im a complete romantic, but I also try to be a realist because you cant always listen to your heart.

What turns you on in a man?

A sense of humour and honesty. And only intelligent people can have a good sense of humour.

Whats a bad date for you?

When somebody is dull and unintelligent, full of himself and a show-off thats a big turn off.

If stuck on a bad date, you would...

Politely sit through it and never meet that person again. And I hope that he gets the hint.

Friends with benefits or benefits without friendship?

Neither. Im not a fan of this middle zone.

What do you think is the best thing about modern dating?

The freedom of choice. The fact that you get to choose who you go out with. And when you dont want to be with them anymore for any reason, then you dont have to. In my moms time, if you were close to a boy, you most likely had to marry him.

An old-world romantic thing thats missing in modern dating.

I miss handwritten letters, theres something so charming and romantic about them. No one does them anymore.

A seductive dance form.

The tango.

A man who can dance or a man who can cook?

I can dance, he can cook.

#ChandiniRaatein #kuchipudi #mandari #natyatarangini @rajaradhareddy A video posted by Pernia Qureshi (@perniaq) on Mar 10, 2016 at 10:05am PST

The clothes youd prefer your man to wear on a date.

Anything simple. Im not a fan of boys whore super trendy. I dont need a fashionista.

And what would be your go-to outfit for a date?

A pair of jeans and a top, or a simple dress. Its important to move the focus to who you are as a person than to distract him with fancy clothes.

An actor youd want to swipe right.

Randeep Hooda

The sweetest thing someone you like has done for you.

Someone played a prank on me once, and although it was funny in retrospect, Id gotten upset then. When I came home, there were flowers and a really funny note to cheer me up. That was sweet. Small things are nice; Im not a person who likes grand gestures.

And something memorable youve done for someone you like.

I once sent lunch to someone at their office. He was going to have a very busy day and I knew he wouldnt have time to eat.

How long would it take before you exchange house keys?

Maybe a couple of months to a year  it really depends on your comfort level with that person.

What would make you exchange keys?

Itd be more of a practical decision than a romantic one.

Food or sex, which can you give up?

Its a horrible question! I love food so much, I can never give it up. But then if I give up sex, nobody would want to be with me. No, Im not giving up either!

One ground rule that youd lay down for a live-in relationship.

Im not a big fan of live-in relationships. Once youre married, youd have to live with someone for the rest of your life anyway. So why give up your space when you dont really have to?

A destination that evokes the feeling of romance.

Somewhere beachy. Its nice to go for a swim together and then sunbathe.

A piece of advice your mother gave you on love and relationships that you hold close.

Never compromise on honesty and respect.

***

My Favourites:

What gets you in the mood for love?

Food: Dark chocolate and strawberries

Drink: Champagne

Music: Lounge, its smooth and easing

Favourite Apps

For photos: Snapchat, lately Ive been obsessed with it. And Instagram always.

For messaging: WhatsApp

For social media: Facebook

From HT Brunch, June 12, 2016

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
Capping airfares could be counter-productive for majority of passengers as airlines might hike the floor prices, civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Saturday.

His remarks came days after he ruled out the possibility of capping airfares in the backdrop of passenger complaints of arbitrary tariff hikes, saying competition among the airlines will take care of the problem.

The idea is not to regulate for the sake of regulation. We dont want to push up the cost of tickets for the majority, Raju said here while unveiling passenger-centric measures to make air travel more hassle-free.

Read: Goverment rules out capping of airfares

When asked about the possibility of capping air ticket prices, the Minister said floors and caps did exist before 1994.

So do we want to make it a regulated affair or not? If you put a cap, the floor will go up. This is the problem..., he noted.

Citing an analysis about fare movements done last year, the Minister said then it was found that only around 1.7 per cent of the tickets were priced higher. The analysis was carried in the wake of concerns expressed by Parliamentarians about steep fluctuations in air ticket prices.

This is a thing that had come in Rajya Sabha first. We had analysed the whole thing and then on the discussion itself we realised that 1.7 per cent of the tickets were on the higher side. So less than 98 per cent of the tickets were reasonably priced, he said.

Read: Aviation ministry to try more flights strategy to beat high airfares

Meanwhile, the minister on Saturday declined to comment to a query related to his aide Appa Raos alleged contacts with arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

We will take it separately. We dont want to mix it. This priority (on passenger centric measures being announced) I dont want to lose out on it, Raju said.

He was asked whether investigation agencies have come back with additional information on the Rao issue.

When asked about his comments that Air Indias books are so bad that there would be no takers even if it is offered, Raju said, I will take it another time. This is not the time for it.
Ram Vriksh Yadav was not a godman in the sense Asaram Bapu is. He did not have an ashram so to speak, or a fleet of luxury cars, or a boudoir full of women to attend to him. The number of his followers did not run into millions. But he would certainly have become one if he had not been abandoned by his master Jai Baba Gurudeva some years ago. And it is this sense of rejection that put Yadav on an entirely different trajectory. And with a fair measure of certainty I can say he would have returned to his old ways had he not met a premature end in the fire that broke out following a full-scale battle with the police in Mathura last week.

In the beginning what happened in Mathura looked like a pure law and order problem that the State often encounters with encroachers. Jawahar Bagh is a semi-residential locality in Mathura, with land that belongs to the horticulture department of the UP government. For more than two years, a group of people, with their strength growing every passing day and reaching about 3,000 when things reached a flashpoint, had gathered in the area under the leadership of Yadav. He banded them into an organisation called the Bharat Vidhik Kranti Satyagraha, whose military arm was called the Subhas Sena. He might have called it the Indian National Army because the idioms he used for his supposed struggle for independence from the colonial hand-me-downs are passionately nationalistic.

Some locals who knew them had even thought they were Naxals or Maoists, even though looking at all that has transpired so far, the organisation that Yadav led never talked of Marx, Lenin or Mao. But it did have a radical programme, if it can be called one. And some of things it sought to do matched those of the Maoists. Though Yadav had once contested an election on behalf of the Doordarshini Party, his new organisation wanted all elections to all legislative bodies rescinded, the offices of president and prime minister abolished, a new currency introduced, etc. In other words, they wanted an overthrow of the existing social order and, keeping that in view, built a commune, in which they grew vegetables.

Read: Ramvriksh knew about police plan to evict squatters, says associate

After that what? It promised things that millenarian movements across the words had done over centuries: Give hopes of a Utopia, when petrol would be available at 40 litres to a rupee and diesel at 60 litres to a rupee.

This gives the impression that this movement was like many peasant and tribal rebellions that had dotted the landscape of India over the years of British rule, when traditional social structures came into conflict with the supposed forces of modernisation. But there is more to it than this. Yadav had an ambition. His mentor, Jai Baba Gurudeva, had left properties said to be worth Rs 12,000 crore (looks like an exaggerated figure) before he died in 2012. Yadav wanted to be the legatee of this property but was bested by another of Gurudevas followers, Pankaj Baba, who has the powerful backing of the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP and has formed his organisation Jai Gurudeva Dharma Pracharak Sanstha. By going through the motions of a liberation struggle, Yadav simply sought to make another dash at what he thought was rightfully his.

All this gives you a view of the ways of godmen and their cults, how they begin their careers, etc. All of them may not be of the same texture. But the long and the short of it is that they turn out more or less the same. They play upon the insecurities of people to enrich themselves, and then worm themselves into the favours of the politically powerful. Once they have done, they become a law unto themselves. Just recall the incident of Ashutosh Maharaj, whose body has been kept in the freezer for two years in Jalandhar. His followers, members of the Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan, still believe he will come back. When the police intervened to retrieve his body, they found his followers were heavily armed. People with a more realistic bent of mind say this is just a stunt being performed by people who want his property.

Read: Two years on: Baba Ashutosh Maharaj still in freezer, no sign of thaw

I am not against religion or religious cults. Nor do I have any objection to the tax concessions that ashrams and monasteries get. But why should they get land at concessional rates, when the subject of land is such a hot potato? I do object when godmen openly flout all laws of the land and are allowed to get away because they can influence a few pockets of voters here and there. When children disappear from ashrams and their bodies are recovered in a mutilated condition, and yet the matter is not investigated, I am really outraged. When bodies are found in ashrams and the police taken an inordinately long time to file an FIR, causing all evidence to vanish, is there not cause for concern? Such elements are scattered all over the country. Against their might the State appears quite faint of heart. Why else would the district administration in Mathura look the other way, as it has now been blamed for doing, when people were occupying government land? How is it that the squatters had been gathering sophisticated weapons and the police did not know anything about it? How is it that they had the courage to fire at the police? Did they assume the police would not return the fire? If some people start keeping functioning outside the ambit of the law and they are allowed to do so by the State, what will that result in? Will it not simply result in the undermining of the State? At the hands of godmen and unscrupulous politicians, who start their careers as petty criminals or bootleggers.

Read: Court orders Gujarat Police to produce shooter in Asaram witness murder case

Hence the State must get its act together by cracking down on law-breakers and punishing those found on the wrong side of the law, even if they are godmen or putative revolutionaries. If it does so, it will earn the gratitude of the people. Just recall that people in Mathura mourned the death of the two policemen who died while evicting the squatters and not many tears were shed for the offenders who were killed fighting the police.

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Producer: Folks, we are here today to brainstorm about our next movie. We need a big hit, a movie that everybody will watch.

Make-up artist: Lets make a masala film, with romance and songs and dances and sex and violence.

Assistant director: Nobody watches that kind of movie these days. This is the age of the multiplex. Could we do Dostoyevskys The Possessed? Or Kierkegaards Fear and Trembling?

Producer: Horror movies dont sell. Have you heard of Udta Punjab?

Director: Of course. Who hasnt?

Read: A Scandall makers have no issues with cuts by Censor Board

Producer: Precisely. Everybody will see it, because of all the controversy. We need a film the censor board will be angry about, so that when it is finally released, even after a hundred cuts, folks will flock to see it. We need something Pahlaj Nihalani will feel insulted about.

Location manager: Thats easy. Where are the next state elections? UP? How about calling it Useless UP?

Co-producer: Pahlaj will love it, its ruled by the Samajwadi Party. We want a BJP-ruled state.

Costume designer: Elections in Goa next year, Gujarat in 2018. Gangs of Goa, Gangrene in Goa, Godforsaken Goa?

Producer: I like Gujarat. Pahlaj will hate any criticism of Gujarat. The state has prohibition, but booze is freely available. Piyelaa Gujarat?

Scriptwriter: Ladkhadata Gujarat? Ludakta Gujarat? Ooncha (High) Gujarat? Whats that youre smoking, boss?

Producer: Some excellent ganja, I believe its the same brand the Censor Board smokes.

Director: Start the movie with Gujarat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, written on big signboards, in bold black letters.

Art director: Make it red, they hate red. What were the other words the censors wanted removed?

Spot boy: MP, elections, political party, parliament. Well have the bootlegger hero saying those banned words, along with lots of Gujarati cuss-words.

Read: Lights, camera and 89 cuts!

Director: Throw in the patidar agitation. So we have the drunkard bootlegger hero who falls for this patidar girl. He could be a Gujjar or a Jat, they protest a lot. Well have gay Gujjar disco dances.

Hair stylist: The hero should be from the same gotra as the girl, that will rile the khaps. Weave in a few cracks about Modi, Pahlaj will hate it.

Assistant director: Can we have a riot or two?

Co-producer: Dont be silly. We dont want the film to be banned. The dialogue must say politicians are hand in glove with the bootleggers.

Director: The bootleggers association will protest violently.

Read: Will release uncensored version of Udta Punjab in Majitha: Amarinder

Scriptwriter: Well have the hero from one community and the villain from another so that when both insult each others communities, the protests will be bigger. Praise a historical Muslim ruler of Gujarat. Insult Chanakya. Make scathing remarks about some gurus. Mention chilli beef. Say things against Manu. Mention Nehru often.

Producer: Ok, thats settled. Lets have a vote of thanks for Pahlaj Nihalani. Three cheers for him.

All: Hip hip hooray.

Manas Chakravarty is Consulting Editor, Mint

The views expressed are personal

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A 58-year-old businessman was allegedly shot dead on Friday night by two assailants on motorcycles at Majlis Park area in Adarsh Nagar. A techie, who had stopped his car behind the businessmans scooter to intervene, was also shot at.

The man, Vijay Kumar Wadhwa, was returning to his house in Kewal Park from his clothes shop in Jahangirpuri around 9pm on his Activa scooter when the two men signalled him to stop. The men allegedly snatched his briefcase that had his keys and some documents. When Kumar tried to fight back, the two opened fire.

Local resident Siddharth Jain, who was behind Kumar, took his car ahead to help him. As he tried to intervene, the men opened fired at him. The pellets hit the windshield of his car and the glass was shattered. One of the pieces hit his eye and he was injured.

Hearing the gunshots, the locals gathered on the spot and made a PCR call. Kumar was rushed to the hospital but he was declared dead on arrival. His family was then informed. Vijays son claimed that he came to know about the incident around 10pm.

When we reached the spot, my father was just lying there. So we immediately put him in a gypsy and took him to Fortis Hospital. But he was declared dead, recounted his son.

He added his father had been taking the route for the past 20 years. Vijays family hails from Punjab. They had moved to Delhi during the 1984 riots and rented a house in Kewal Park.

A senior police officer said, A case of murder and robbery has been registered and we have formed teams to identify the assailants.

Kewal Krishan, the landlord of the house where Wadhwa stayed with his family, further claimed that before shooting Vijay, the assailants snatched the bag that he was carrying.

No arrests have been made so far.
A 31-year-old man was arrested by Delhi Police on Friday for posing as a senior IAS officer and cheating a Delhi businessman of Rs 85 lakh.

The accused, identified as Bhubaneswar resident Mukesh Shaw, made the trader pay up after promising to award him projects floated by corporate houses working with the Central government.

The police said Shaw even posed as an IPS officer working with the CBI.

Police seized a sedan with a red beacon and fake stickers of the Union ministry of home affairs that Shaw used. They recovered fake letter heads of some of top corporate houses from Shaws Bhubaneshwar residence.

The police started their probe after receiving a complaint from an iron scrap dealer, who alleged he had been duped by a man who called himself Joy Shah and claimed to be posed as an assistant director in the MHA.

On May 13, the trader Bharat Gupta met Shaw, who told him that he could help him in getting some old factories that had been closed and were under private-public partnership.

Explaining the mans modus operandi, joint commissioner of police (crime) RS Yadav said: A week later, Shaw called Gupta to Bhubaneswar drove him around in a car with a red beacon and talked about various projects. Shaw later kept meeting Gupta at various five-star hotels of Delhi, Mumbai and in Bhubaneswar.

Police said Shaw switched off his phone and fled after taking a token sum of `85 lakh from Gupta. A case was registered and police found the Aadhaar card and identity cards Shaw had submitted during his stay at a five star hotel in Delhi had two different names.

Shaw was arrested from a rented house in Ayodhya Nagar in Bhopal. During interrogation, he said his real name was Mukesh Shaw and he had duped more than 50 people in Bhopal and Bhubaneswar.
The Delhi government fined five prominent private city hospitals Rs 600 crore for not treating poor patients as mandated by the law, underscoring the scanty healthcare options available to the economically weaker sections (EWS).

Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in Okhla, Max Superspeciality Hospital in Saket, Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute in south Delhi, Dharmashila Hospital and Research Centre and Shanti Mukund Hospital in east Delhi were fined.

Government rules stipulate 10% of all patients admitted to private hospitals must be poor and treated free of cost if the institute has been given subsidised land.

In addition, 25% of all out- patient services must cater to poor people without charge and government hospitals can also refer their cases to these institutes.

The city administrations Thursday order said the five hospitals flouted the rules despite getting subsidised land, invoking a March 2007 Delhi high court ruling that said private hospitals should be fined for earning profits from beds reserved for poor patients.

The money recovered would be used to set up a corpus fund to be used for Delhis health sector, said Dr Hem Parkash, additional director, in-charge of beds for people from the EWS.

The fine came after a government audit of hospital services given to poor patients between the time the institutes were set up and the high court order.

The hospitals were served notices last December and given a hearing. The Thursday order is final and binding, said Parkash. Hospitals have been given a month to deposit the fine.

The hospitals have disputed the order and said they were committed to treating poor patients. We treat thousands of EWS patients every year and are extremely serious towards fulfilling our obligations. We will prefer an appeal against this order, said the Devki Devi Foundation, the parent organisation of Sakets Max hospital.

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A day after Brajesh Chauhan, personal staff of a doctor at Apollo Hospital, was questioned for his alleged involvement in the kidney scam, the police formally arrested him on Saturday.

Another person, Deepak Kar, has been arrested in Kolkata and is being brought to Delhi for questioning, sources confirmed.

Investigators claimed that the two men were in direct contact with kingpin T Rajkumar Rao and had facilitated drafting of some forged documents required for the kidney transplant at the hospital.

In a statement last week, the hospital had said all the arrested were secretarial staff of some doctors and not employees of the hospital. The hospital had said that they were victims of a well-orchestrated operation to cheat patients.

Sources said the men had also initiated transplants at a hospital in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, in 2012-13. So far, 11 persons, including two personal assistants of another Apollo hospital doctor and four kidney donors, have been arrested in the scam.

Read: Delhi kidney racket kingpin arrested in Kolkata, three more held

Chauhan told the police that one Shailash introduced him to Rao and he was offered a commission of `50,000 for each successful kidney transplant. Chauhan allegedly played a key role in swapping original files with forged ones in over three surgeries and was paid `1.5 lakh for the job.

Deepak Kar, police said, was in constant touch with Rao and had gone underground after the scam was unearthed in Delhi. The police however arrested him with the help of local sources and technical surveillance. He will be questioned by the investigators in Delhi.
Taking on the BJP-ruled municipal corporations, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the civic bodies were so corrupt that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have to bribe officials if he wanted to build a balcony in his house.

I challenge Modiji to build one balcony in his house without paying bribe. It is impossible. Even God cant construct a house in Delhi without bribing MCD. That is how corrupt the corporations are, Kejriwal said.

Speaking at a special session of the Delhi Assembly on Friday, he said if the corporations cant pay their employees than they should call for fresh elections.

The two-day session was called primarily to highlight alleged corruption and irregularities in the corporations. The session was extended by a day and is expected to conclude on Monday.

Delhi has become a gutter. London and Washington are squeaky clean. I am sure if Obama (US president Barack Obama) meets Modi ji, he would say that Delhi stinks. BJP (in MCD) misappropriates all the money and doesnt pay safai karamcharis. If you can t pay your employees, quit and call for fresh elections. You should die of shame if you cant pay their salaries, he said.

We gave more money than the previous government. Where did it go? I went to Jaitley ji (Union finance minister Arun Jaitley) when safai karamcharis went on strike the first time and asked them to give more money. He remained silent and I realised even they didnt trust the BJP ruled MCDs with money because of the level of corruption, he said.

The special session saw a number of MLAs raising issues related to the municipal corporations, including sanitation, corruption, misappropriation of funds and irregularities.

You started doing dharnas outside MLAs houses as soon as you came to know we are holding a special session on MCD. If you were doing a good job, the session would have been to praise you but you knew you were not doing your job and started dharna You talk about money all the time. You dont need money to clean the streets, only brooms, he said.

The CM asked how councillors, who earn Rs 300 per meeting, could afford to buy big cars and houses. If the anti-corruption branch were with us, 95% of councillors would be in jail, he said.

The assembly adopted a motion to set up a house committee to enquire into charges of rampant corruption and irregularities in municipal corporations. The committee will include B JP M LA from Mustafabad, Jagdish Pradhan.

The panel will probe allegations of corruption, recommend measures to improve sanitation, health, sanitation and education. It will also look into the feasibility and suitability of having trifurcated municipal corporations.
As the Congress gears up for Uttar Pradesh assembly elections next year, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited a party worker in Ghaziabad, who had burned herself during a protest against price rise on June 8.

Gandhi said the party would raise the issue of rising prices and not let people suffer.

I came to meet her... she had got injured. She is a strong party worker. These days the biggest issue is price rise. Modiji (Prime Minister) had said he would tackle the issue. But prices are rising. The Congress will not let the people suffer, Gandhi said.

The worker, Meena Verma, had burnt her arm during the protest near the old bus stand.

I was depressed after the incident since no senior party leader inquired about my condition. I am overwhelmed that Rahulji visited my house. I was in tears when he inquired about my health, Verma said.

Adjacent to river Hindon, Arthala, 25 km from Delhi, looks like a slum cluster. It has overflowing non-cemented drains and garbage is strewn around in the lanes and bylanes. It houses migrants from eastern UP and Bihar.

Flanked by the Special Protection Group and the police, Rahul Gandhi walked to Vermas rented house in Arthala as thousands of locals gathered to get a glimpse. Rahul had a closed-door meeting with her and other local Congress leader for nearly 20 minutes.

Rahulji had arrived to meet a (Congress) family member. He spoke to her at length and appreciated her efforts. This visit will motivate our workers throughout the country, said Shobha Ojha, Congress spokesperson and Mahila Congress president.

At the house, he spoke about price rise. Basic items such as pulses cost `200 per kg and getting out of the common mans reach. It will be one of the core issues in the upcoming elections in the state, she added.

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Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vijay Goel might soon meet HRD minister Smriti Irani to discuss higher education in Delhi.

Goel met Sisodia on Saturday and demanded that 85% seats in 28 Delhi government funded colleges be reserved for Delhi students. He suggested that a 5% advantage be given to Delhi students in cutoffs. Goel offered to jointly visit Irani with Sisodia, who said he will consider the suggestion.

We understand there is a gap that needs to be filled. But giving preference to Delhi students is not enough. Already 30,000 students in DU are from Delhi and adding another 1,500 students will not affect any equations. The solution is to start new affiliating universities in the city to cater to the huge demand. For this, amendments to the Delhi University Act need to be made. If Goel feels that Irani has a positive outlook towards this demand, I have no problem meeting her along with him, Sisodia said.

The long-standing demand for reservation may however be a difficult one to fulfill since Delhi University is a Central university where there are no state-specific reservations.

State universities such as Ambedkar University, Delhi Technological University, Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology and Guru Gobind Singh IP University reserve seats for students who complete Class 12 from Delhi.

According to Goels memorandum to Sisodia, over two lakh students pass class 12 in Delhi each year but dont get admission in DU because there is no reservation for them.

Full coverage on DU admissions

The Delhi University has only 54,000 seats in 61 colleges. Children of Delhi residents are not able to get admission in colleges and courses of their own choice in their home state in spite of getting more than 60% marks. The problem is particularly acute for girl students belonging to Delhi as their parents are reluctant to send them out of Delhi for higher education. Therefore, most of the girls are compelled to discontinue their studies. Students belonging to poor families, who study in government schools, also suffer.

Goel said there should be a benefit of 5% in DU cutoffs for Delhi students during admission.

Drawing attention to the case of students topping the Bihar board exams despite not knowing their subject well, Goel said there should be an entrance exam for admission to the premier university and colleges.
Dressed in a spotless white kurta-pyjama, Nizamuddin, 57, is a picture of despair as he dusts a few books and arranges them neatly on the iron shelves.

Urdu Bazar has become Hotel Bazar. The market that once attracted poets, writers and scholars now draws only foodies looking for kebab, not kitab. This is not the kind of place my family wanted to be in, he says in chaste Urdu, with the dramatic pauses of a melancholic poet.

Nizamuddin is the owner of Kutub Khana Anjuman-e-Taraqqi-e-Urdu, one of the biggest and oldest shops at the Urdu market in front of Jama Masjid in the Walled City.Urdu Bazar is fighting for survival, he says, his voice filled with despair.

Urdu Bazar, once the heart of Delhis fledgling Urdu poetry scene, is now struggling to stay afloat. Most bookshops that used to sell the best of Urdu fiction and poetry have given way to eateries and garment shops over the years. Until the 1970s, this was the best place to buy Urdu books. Some of the countrys biggest publishers had their offices and shops here. People such as Abul Kalam Azad, Hakim Azmal Khan and Josh Malihabadi were regulars, says Nizamuddin, sitting on the white cushions placed on the floor.

The shelves are stacked with a variety of books  novels, poetry, essays and travelogues. Contrary to perception, all kinds of books are available in Urdu; it is just that there are not many takers for them these days. There is more interest in religious books than Urdu literature; maybe it is because people are turning to religion for emotional succor in these fraught times, says Nizamuddin.

Not far from his shop is Kutab Khana Aziza, one of the oldest bookshops bang in front of Jama Masjids main gate. Urdu magazines such as Pakiza Anchal and mystery novels of Ibn-e-Safi are stacked in front of the shop. There are still a few old timers who buy these mystery novels, which were once bestsellers. Until the late 1990s, I mostly sold Urdu novels, now I sell religious books. My business has gone down by 50%, says Md Rizwan, 42, the owner.

Even shops specialising in religious books  such as Kutub Khana Rashidia, one of the biggest and oldest in the market  are struggling to survive. Now most of our customers are foreigners and scholars of Urdu and Arabic. Our business has come down by 40%. But as of now we have no intention of shutting shop, says Md Farhan, sitting at his shop. Behind him are high wooden shelves that are as old as the bookshop.

Read: Young at 106: Mirza Changezi, the grand old man of Delhis Walled City

Not just Rashidia most other bookshops, including Zulfiqar Book Depot, depend on tourists who come to see Jama Masjid and buy Urdu books as souvenirs.

Most of my customers are tourists from Islamic countries, says Moh Aamil of Zulfiqar Book Depot, one of the few surviving shops. These days, even Muslim families want their children to study English, not Urdu. The generation that wrote and spoke Urdu is almost gone. I am worried about the future of the Urdu market.

Ali Khusro, 62, who has been working at Maktaba Jamia, publishers and booksellers, says the markets popularity suffered after Independence because Urdu was branded as the language of Muslims. But the fact is that we have published Urdu books by about 50 Hindu writers, Khusro says. Maktaba has the best collection of fiction, poetry, essays and travelogues. It stocks the works of Urdu writers such as Som Anand, Rajendra Singh Bedi and Krishan Chand.

Among the best selling books at Maktaba are Aag Ka Darya, Batein Lahore Ki and Godan by Munshi Premchand. Thankfully, we still have some loyal customers who come to us from places such as Hyderabad, Chandigarh and most of them are not Muslims, says Khusro. The bookshop has shelves devoted to childrens books in Urdu-English and Hindi-Urdu.

One of Khusros loyal customers is GR Kanwal, 81, a resident of Punjabi Bagh and a regular at the market ever since 1948 when he came to Delhi from Lahore after Partition. Kanwal says he is heartbroken. Those days Urdu Market was the favourite haunt of poets from all over the country. There used to be poetry sessions inside the shops. The area was not congested; it only had a couple of hotels and many teashops where one could meet aspiring and established poets, Kanwal says.

Read: Reaching Out: Africans in Delhi trying to follow the Indian way of life

Today, I cannot recognise this place. I find it hard to negotiate my way through its cacophonic and congested streets. Most of the shops and people I knew, and more importantly the tehjeeb of the place, are gone, says Kanwal, an Urdu writer and retired principal of the Anglo Sanskrit Victoria Jubilee Senior Secondary School in Daryaganj.

Kanwal  who has been a member of the governing council of Urdu Academy and currently heads Halqa-e-Tashgane-Adab, which organises Urdu musahiras across the city  says a lot of people want to listen to Urdu poetry but no one wants to read and write in the language.

It has become fashionable to recite and listen to Urdu couplets but no one has real interest in Urdu. Ironically 90% of the people who recite at our musahiras write Urdu poetry in Devnagari and not Urdu script. That is a great disservice to Urdu, he says.

A walk through the Urdu Bazar

Bookshops in the Urdu market are turning into eateries and garment shops. (Ravi Choudhary/ Hindustan Times)

Md Rizwan, 42, the owner of Kutab Khana Aziza, one of the oldest Urdu bookshops bang in front of Jama Masjids main gate. Until the late 1990s he sold Urdu novels now he mostly sells religious books. (Ravi Choudhary/ Hindustan Times)

Ali Khusro, 62, works at Maktaba Jamia, publishers and booksellers. Maktaba has the best collection of fiction, poetry, essays and travelogues. He says Maktaba has published Urdu books written by about 50 Hindu writers. (Ravi Choudhary/ Hindustan Times)

Some of the bestsellers at Maktaba Jamia at Urdu Bazar. (Ravi Choudhary/ Hindustan Times)

Many shops in the market also stock childrens books in Urdu, but there are very few buyers for them. (Ravi Choudhary/ Hindustan Times)

Even shops specialising in religious books, such as Kutub Khana Rashidia, are struggling to survive. Most of their customers are foreigners and scholars of Urdu and Arabic. (Ravi Choudhary/ Hindustan Times)

Moh Aamil of Zulfiqar Book Depot says, These days, even Muslim families want their children to study English, not Urdu. The generation that wrote and spoke Urdu is almost gone. (Ravi Choudhary/ Hindustan Times)

Some shops keep old editions of Urdu magazines such as Pakiza Anchal and mystery novels of Ibn-e-Safi. (Ravi Choudhary/ Hindustan Times)

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Two persons were electrocuted on Saturday and as many sustained severe burn injuries in Vasundhara Colony here after a high-tension wire snapped due to thundershowers and wind, police said.

The incident occurred around 6 pm in Indirapuram Police Station area when the wire fell down on a tree under which the four persons were standing at a tea stall, SHO Gorakh Nath Yadav said.

They became unconscious after coming in contact with electricity. Police rushed them to a nearby private hospital where the attending doctors declared Arun (42) and Bhoora (38) brought dead.

The injured, Babu (30) and Vishal (12) are undergoing treatment, the SHO said.

Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) Superintending Engineer M C Sharma said the department will conduct an inquiry into the matter and those responsible will be punished.
Dreaded gangster of the Sundar Bhati gang, Ankit Gurjar, was shot multiple times on his leg and arrested on Saturday at Milak Lacchi village in Greater Noidas Bisrakh area.

Gurjar is wanted in 14 cases, including three cases of murder and extortion. He is the prime suspect in the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Pandit.

Police and crime branch teams also arrested his accomplice Sanjay Gurjar. But Ankits second accomplice managed to flee the encounter spot.

Gurjar was rushed to the government district hospital in Noida where he is currently being treated. Police recovered a car and two pistols from the spot.

We received information on Saturday that Ankit Gurjar was travelling with his friends to Dadri in a car from Delhi. Crime branch and police teams cordoned off the jungle of Milki Lacchi village where the encounter took place. Gurjar was shot two-three times on his leg and he is currently being treated at the district hospital, said Gautam Budh Nagar senior superintendent of police Dharmendra Singh.

Gurjar had a reward of `50,000 on his head and was arrested by the Special Task Force (west) last year. A key member of the notorious Sundar Bhati gang, Gurjar gave the slip to the police on April 25 from the washroom of a flat of his relative during transit from Maharajganj to the district courts, Surajpur in Gautam Budh Nagar.

After his escape, Noida police had announced a reward of `12,000 on any information on Ankit.

Director general of police Javeed Ahmad announced a reward of `50,000 for the police team for catching Gurjar. Ahmad was unavailable for comments.
The fugitive proprietor of a college in Bihars Vaishali who has been accused of manipulating the state boards class 12 exam and results to produce toppers from the institution surrendered before police on Saturday afternoon.

Sources said Amit Singh aka Baccha Roy, the owner of Vishun Roy College in Vaishalis Kairatpur, was taken to Patna by the government-appointed special investigation team for questioning.

His college produced four of the 18 toppers, including his daughter Shalini, among the first ten on the merit list in the class 12 science and arts streams this year.

Notorious for incidents of mass cheating, Bihar was engulfed in a merit muddle when the four toppers failed to answer rudimentary questions during a media interaction soon after the results were announced in May, triggering outrage that they cheated their way to the top.

Arts topper Ruby Rai, who scored 444 out of 500 marks, said political science is all about cooking while Saurav Shrestha, who topped the science stream, replied to a question that the most reactive element in the periodic table is aluminium.

Police filed a case against the college, the four students and officials of the Bihar State Examination Board (BSEB), whose chairman Lalkeshwar Singh is on the run.

Roys college has been charged with using unfair means in connivance with board officials and invigilators to manipulate the class 12 results year after year since 2000.

Read more: Bihar intermediate exam scam: Board officials, toppers, college face FIRs

Education experts said private, unaided colleges were in the race to produce as many meritorious students as possible because the government pays Rs 5,000 to the institution for every student getting a first division of 60% of the marks, Rs 7,000 for toppers, Rs 4,000 for second division and Rs 3,000 for third division. Besides, the top spots help enhance a colleges prestige, popularity and exclusivity.

The manipulation apparently helped Roy make a fortune. His earnings will be under the scanner of enforcement directorate and income tax officials, a police officer said.

Roy, whose father Rajdeo started the college at Kiratpur in 1997, is an influential man for his wealth and political clout. His family runs three more educational institutions.

He was close to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and campaigned for his sons in both Raghopur and Mahua constituencies in the 2015 assembly elections. But Prasad has distanced himself from Roy. They defamed Bihar. All of them should be arrested, he said.

The college owner was on the run after the controversy unfolded and chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday sought a criminal investigation into possible wrongdoing in the board exam. Roy surrendered after police mounted pressure on his family.

Read more: Stung by video on topper, Bihar board orders probe into exam results

Police said they have evidence to prove board chairman Lalkeshwar Singhs role in the fraud. The SIT apparently found that Lalkeshwar visited the evaluation centres, where answer-scripts were checked and marks given, and ordered officials to transfer the toppers copies to his home.

Whiteners were used to erase serial numbers and first pages of the toppers copies changed to insert fresh high marks, an investigator said.

Police seized answer-scripts from Lalkeshwars home at Rajendranagar in Patna.

Five associates of the chairman and Roy, including two college principals, have allegedly confessed to the crime. Roys sister Shailaja, who was posted at the evaluation centre at GA College in Vaishali, of which she is also the principal, had been detained too.

A police search team went looking for him at his in-laws home at Seraikella, near Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, early on Saturday. He was not there.
The arrest of Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) activist Dr Virendra Tawade was termed as a welcome move by Narendra Dabholkars family while opposition parties Congress and NCP remained largely silent.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested Tawade from his residence at Panvel .



Tawade, an ENT specialist, is accused of conspiring in the murder of rationalist and anti-superstition crusader Dabholkar.

Dabholkars son Hamid said, The CBI has taken a step in right direction. We hope that the probe agency will now reach to the main brain behind the murder.

Dabholkars daughter Mukta said Tawades arrest is an outcome of a CBI investigation on the instructions of the Bombay high court, which has been monitoring the case.

The case is being monitored by the Bombay high court after Dabholkars family said it lacks confidence in the investigation.

The arrest of Tawade by the CBI, almost three years after Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune, is likely to provide political mileage to the BJP government in the state and the centre, who are battling against the perception that the government wont take action against members of Hindu rightwing groups.

The arrest shows that given a chance by political establishments, our investigating agencies can probe the matter effectively, said Hamid.

Following the arrest, former Maharastra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan called for a ban on Sanatan Sanstha.

The BJP expressed satisfaction over the arrest. Maharashtra finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said, I am happy that the probe has gone ahead and suspect has been arrested. The arrest shows that the government is not shielding anyone behind the murder.

Blaming the UPA regime for failing to prevent the murders of rationalists including Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi, Aam Admi Party leader Ashish Khaitan said, latest arrest gives hope that justice will be done. Tawades arrest gives some hope that justice shall be done. Murders of Pansare, Dabholkar Kalburgi cd hv been prevented. But UPA failed them (Sic), tweeted Khaitan.

Pansare, senior CPI leader, was attacked on February 2, 2015. Four days later, the leftist leader succumbed to bullet injuries and after investigating the murder for over a year, the police arrested Sameer Gaikwad, also a Sanatan activist. Kalburgi, a Kannada writer, was gunned down in August 2015 by unidentified persons.

Joy Das, a political commentator, tweeted, Credit were due. Good work by CBI and BJP in nabbing saffron terrorists.



Social activist, Vidya Bal, said the arrest has restored her confidence in the system. Political observers felt that the arrest of Tawade and Gaikwad has helped the BJP to improve its image and is fuelled by the UPAs failure.

Sanatan Sanstha, founded in 1999 by psychiatrist Dr Jayant Balaji Athavale, was initially involved in organising meetings and circulating its mouthpiece Sanatan Prabhat to propagate Hinduism.

Even though Sanatan Sanstha and HJS are Hindu rightwing groups, their relationship with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is strained, as the groups had accused RSS of hypocrisy over religious issues.

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Deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister of Nepal, Kamal Thapa and Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj have held talks in New Delhi, signalling a reinstitution of bilateral engagement.

Relations between the two countries had spoiled after Nepal implemented a new controversial constitution in October, which resulted in a border blockade for up to five months and a crisis in Nepal.

The meeting between the two leaders was held on Friday and both agreed to bring all bilateral mechanisms back on track, including the foreign ministerial level and joint commission, and resolving all the differences.

Read: Nepal deputy PM to land in Delhi today for three-day visit

It was the first top political meeting after Nepal abruptly recalled ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay from the Indian capital and cancelled President Bidhya Devi Bhandaris visit scheduled in early May.

The meeting focused on resuming bilateral engagement in all fronts, including political, diplomatic, security and trade and investment sectors, a foreign ministry source privy to the talks told The Himalayan Times.

When asked about accusations that India tried to overturn Prime Minister KP Olis government in Nepal, Thapa said facts were misrepresented and claimed that ambassadors recall was aimed at building better ties with India.

During the meeting, the two countries agreed to start the meeting of Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on reviewing bilateral treaties early next month. The two sides also agreed to hold a joint military exercise in Nepal, later in the year.

Before meeting Swaraj, Thapa also spoke at Press Club of India in New Delhi and addressed a talks programme at Observer Research Foundation. He will attend the maiden convocation ceremony of South Asian University in New Delhi today.
The BJP government in Jharkhand is getting arrest warrants issued against opposition legislators to prevent them from voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress said on Saturday.

The Raghubar Das government is trying to strangle democracy by issuing warrants against legislators who have a right to vote, Congress spokesman Ajay Kumar told reporters here.

This is done at the instruction of the central government, he said.

There was much commotion on Friday night at Medica Hospital here where Chamra Linda, a legislator from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), is being treated.

Read: Hours before crucial Rajya Sabha vote, JMM legislator arrested in Ranchi

The police reached the hospital with a warrant to arrest Linda in a case going back to 2013. The Congress and JMM leaders gathered at the hospital to oppose the arrest.

Warrants have also been issued against two Congress legislators, Nirmala Devi and Devendra Singh.

The police visited on Friday Devendra Singhs home in Palamau district but could not find him there.

Informed sources said both Devendra Singh and Nirmala Devi have gone underground but may turn up for voting.

Read: Live | Rajya Sabha elections underway; results likely by 6:30 pm

Police personnel have been deployed outside the assembly to arrest them.

Voting for the Rajya Sabha began at 9 am.

Election Commission sources said 45 National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and 25 opposition legislators had voted till 11.45 a.m.

The NDA in Jharkhand comprises the BJP and the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU).

There are three candidates in the elections for two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand, making it a bitter fight.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded central minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and industrialist Mahesh Poddar while the JMM has put up Basant Soren, son of party chief Shibu Soren.
Taking a strong exception to the Haryana education departments order, barring school teachers from wearing jeans to work, Congress on Saturday dubbed the Manohar Lal Khattar government anti women.

Be it Haryana or Madhya Pradesh, all the BJP-ruled states keep on issuing such decrees like what women should eat, how many children they should produce and what they should wear, All India Mahila Congress president Shobha Oza told ANI. Its shameful that earlier too the Haryana chief minister had given objectionable statement on women. His thinking is anti-women.

The Haryana education department last week ordered elementary- and middle-school teachers to not wear jeans to work or while visiting the Directorate in capital Chandigarh because it was not appropriate.

Read: Haryana education dept bars school teachers from wearing jeans to work

In 2012, the women and child development department had issued similar instructions, asking women employees to wear decent clothes while on the field.

The department order, which asked women employees to desist from wearing jeans and T-shirts to work and instead opt for salwar-kameez or saree, was withdrawn after it drew flak from various quarters.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who arrested Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janjagruti Samiti member Dr Virendra Tawade on Friday, has found that he was in constant touch with Sanatan activists who are suspects in the 2009 Madgaon blast and are evading capture.

The CBI had arrested the 48-year-old in connection with the 2013 murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune, that was followed by the killings of fellow rationalists, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi.

Read | CBI arrest Sanatan activist Tawade from Panvel in Dabholkar murder case

An ENT specialist associated with the right-wing Samiti, Tawade is likely to be produced in a local court on Saturday as a co-conspirator in Dabholkar murder, the CBI said.

The agencys suspicions regarding Tawades involvement grew after they recovered certain documents, mobile numbers, emails and other material in the June 1 raid of his and another Sanatan Sanstha activist, Sarang Akolkars residences.

Read | Dabholkar murder case: CBI carries out searches in Pune and Panvel

Akolkar, an engineer who resided at Narayan Peth in Pune, became untraceable ever since his name cropped up in the Madgaon blasts in 2009. The National Investigating Agency (NIA) declared him an absconder.

Tawade apparently sent an email to Akolkar as recently as this month, after the searches took place, the CBI said.

There were 11 suspects in the blasts, of which six were acquitted by a Goa court, while others, including Akolkar, remain at large. Two people had died as the explosives ripped through central Goa on October 16, 2009.

An active Sanatan activist, Tawade spent almost eight years in Satara where he was took part in the Ganesh idol immersion movement. Tawade crossed paths with Dabholkar who was campaigning to ban the practice of immersing idols in the river.

Reacting to Tawades arrest, which comes three years after the murder, Dabholkars son Hamid said, We have always stated that there is resemblance between Akolkars picture and the sketches of Dabholkar murder suspects.

Dabholkar, prominent anti-superstition crusader was killed on August 20, 2013. He was taking a morning stroll when two bike-borne men in their mid-twenties fired four bullets from behind at close range. The case was handed over to the CBI after the city police failed to make any headway.

Read | Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi shot with same gun?

Separate investigations into the murders of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi, led to indications that all three had been killed by the same gun. Being probed by different agencies, similarities in the manner of killing cropped up, further strengthening doubts against the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, the prime suspect in all the cases.

Read | CBI seeks Scotland Yard probe in killings of three rationalists

In the leftist leader Govind Pansare murder, the Maharashtra police arrested Sameer Gaikwad, another Sanatan Sanstha member.

Read | Families of Dabholkar, Pansare slam tardy probe of murders

Read more | Dissenters and minorities struggle for space, voice

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A former senior Karnataka woman police officer, who resigned from her post over alleged inteference in her work by a district-in-charge minister, on Friday claimed her life was under threat.

The claim by Anupama Shenoy, who was Deputy Superintendent of Police of Kudligi sub-division, Ballari District, came a day after Karnataka government accepted her resignation and she surfaced after remaining incommunicado for several days.

Read:Row over resignation of Karnatakas woman cop who took on minister

There is a threat to my life, Shenoy said but did not elaborate.

Shenoy was reportedly at loggerheads with Labour Minister PT Parameshwar Naik, also the district in-charge minister, and had tendered her resignation abruptly on June 4 and was untraceable since then.

Replying to a query, Shenoy said she will be releasing a CD and audio before the media in Bengaluru.

As Shenoy had remained elusive, police had set up a special team to track her down. Her alleged posts on Facebook levelling accusations against Naik had created a storm.

Asked about her Facebook posts, she has maintained that she did not know about Facebook and it might have been hacked.

Before she surfaced, Ballari SP had also deputed an officer to go to her hometown Udupi to contact Shenoy and her family. Shenoy had on Thursday refused to meet Kudligi in-charge Deputy SP RS Patil, who went to her official quarters.

Following protests by a group of people against her for taking three persons into preventive detention, Shenoy left the office on June 4 after handing over her resignation letter to subordinate officers, instructing them to give it to the Superintendent of Police.

Officials had said Shenoy was acting on a complaint by Dalit activists against the extension of a liquor shop that was blocking the way to Ambedkar Bhavan nearby.

Naik has said he has nothing to do with the officers resignation and expressed doubts about the veracity of the Facebook account and its user. In January, Shenoy was transferred allegedly at the behest of Naik for putting his call on hold, with the incident triggering a storm.

A video footage purportedly showing Naik making a boastful claim about shunting out Shenoy had also gone viral later.
Police lodged the first e-FIR in Uttar Pradesh with a software engineer registering the complaint of his stolen mobile phone through email.

A copy of the FIR, registered at Kalyanpur police station, has also been sent to the complainant over email, Kanpur SSP Shalabh Mathur said on Saturday.

Mathur said Chandra Prakash was returning home on Friday when two motorcycle-borne assailants snatched his mobile phone.

He had sent an email last evening to UP police, following which an investigation was initiated. However, no arrests have been made so far, the SSP said.

With this facility of e-FIR, people no longer have to run to police stations to register their complaint and the process will also be paperless, Mathur said, adding the new programme is still being examined for greater efficiency.

He claimed it to be the first in the state.

Three years back, Kalyanpur police station was the first to register an FIR through Facebook, following which senior officials asked all the police stations here to create their own Facebook page.

However, this programme failed within six months of its launch and the Facebook page of police stations have not been updated since then.
Two BJP-ruled states of Haryana and Jharkhand witnessed high drama in the otherwise quiet Rajya Sabha polls.

In Haryana, Congress legislators rebelled against Opposition candidate RK Anand who lost to BJP-backed media baron Subhash Chandra. Votes of 14 Congress legislators said to be loyalists of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda were declared invalid for not using the Election Commission-assigned pen.

Congress, which used to say BJP is a communal party, has compromised with the same and become B team of the saffron party, said a visibly upset INLD leader Abhay Chautala. A lawyer by profession, Anand was first named by the Indian National Lok Dal and supported by the Congress a day before the Saturday polls. Both parties blamed each other for his loss.

The Haryana assembly has 90 members. The BJP has 47 MLAs, the INLD 19, the Congress 17, Bahujan Samaj Party and Shiromani Akali Dal one each with five independent legislators. All the Congress MLAs voted for Anand. Our general secretary, BK Hariprasad was the polling agent and he saw every ballot. An inquiry should be conducted to find out who hatched this conspiracy, Hooda said.

Arrests turn the tide

In Jharkhand, the BJP bagged both the Rajya Sabha seats following midnight arrest of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha legislator Chamra Linda and Congress legislator Devendra Singh, which reduced the opposition strength to 28. As a result, BJP nominee Mahesh Poddar defeated JMMs Basant Soren by a whisker.

In the assembly of 81 members, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi got two votes more than the required number as the BJP managed to rope in the three independent legislators and lone BSP MLA. The BJP-led alliance has 47 members and opposition 30. The JMM and Congress said they will move court against the government decision to issue arrest warrant against its legislators at the last hour.
In a high-pitched drama hours before the Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand on Saturday, police arrested Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator from Bishunpur, Chamra Linda, from a hospital in Ranchi.

In a late night raid, police forces swooped down on the hospital premises on Old HB Road to arrest the legislator. Linda, who is an accused in a 2013 case related to demonstrating in front of the state assembly and for preventing government officials from performing their duties, is being treated for diabetes.

After procuring a warrant on Friday, police reached the hospital to arrest Linda in the presence of Congress and JMM party workers who assembled to protest against their move. Police officers are camping at the hospital awaiting Lindas discharge.

Given the importance of the legislators vote in the crucial Rajya Sabha elections, the JMM will approach the Supreme Court to seek bail to allow him to vote on Saturday.

The party would file bail petition before the Supreme Court today itself, said JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya. Its total anarchy. The ruling party is adopting all illegal and immoral methods to secure a win for its second candidate.

The biennial Rajya Sabha polls for two seats in Jharkhand is to be held on June 11 between 9am and 4pm.

The JMM has fielded Basant Soren, the younger son of JMM supremo Sibu Soren, and has the support of Congress seven MLAs, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantriks two MLAs, and two legislators of Left parties. If all goes as planned, the JMM hopes to secure 30 votes, two more than the 28 required to win.

Read:BJP issuing warrants against opposition MLAs in Jharkhand: Congress

Incidentally, the state administration also had procured arrest warrants against two Congress legislators  Barkagaon MLA Nirmala Devi and Panki MLA Devendra Singh. On Friday, a Congress delegation led by state chief Sukhdev Bhagat met chief electoral officer L Khiangate, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of falsely implicating legislators to prevent them from voting.

Three candidates are vying for the two Rajya Sabha seats in the state. Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is expected to win one of the seats as the National Democratic Alliance has the numbers, but his party colleague Mahesh Poddar, who is up against Basant Soren, is seven short of the golden number.

Congress on Friday issued a whip to its seven legislators to vote for the JMM candidate.
Police rescued a youth from kidnappers in Manpur area, Sitapur district, only to discover that the whole episode was an elaborate plot to buy a bike.

Chand Alam, the victim, went missing on June 7, following which his father, Yakub, received a ransom call for Rs 5 lakh.

Based on Yakubs complaint, police began investigating the case, bringing in the crime branch, SP Sitapur Soumitra Yadav said. A surveillance cell was also deployed to track down the abductors based on the ransom calls.

Police soon discovered the calls were coming from nearby locations, narrowing the search field.

In the course of negotiations, the ransom amount also came down to Rs 2.5 lakh.

Police finally nabbed the culprits during the ransom delivery and Alam was rescued.

However, the kidnappers soon came clean during the interrogation  Alam was the mastermind behind the plot.

The arrested were identified as six of Alams friends  Naushad, Shaban, Chand Babu, Irshad, Ahtishaam and Kaamil.

The youth had come up with plan to get money from his father to buy a bike and an expensive mobile, the Yadav said. He had promised to pay his friends in return for their help to stage the ploy.
India started work on building a bridge over the Feni river in Tripura to ferry heavy machines and goods to and from the northeastern states and the rest of India via Bangladesh through the Chittagong international port, top official said here on Saturday.

The Bangladesh government has earlier agreed to allow India to use the Chittagong port, about 72 km from Tripuras southern border town of Sabroom.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina jointly laid the foundation stone of the bridge during the formers two-day visit to Dhaka on June 6-7, 2015.

India has completed preliminary work including making detailed project report to build the bridge in Tripura to access Chittagong port to carry goods and heavy machineries for the northeast region, Tripuras public works department (PWD), national highway wing chief engineer Dipak Ranjan Das told reporters.

The DPR after some modification would be resubmitted to the Road Transport and Highways Ministry (MoRTH) next week for release of funds, Das said.

The official said New Delhi would build the double-lane bridge and approach roads both in Bangladesh and India at its own cost and gave responsibility to Tripura PWD to construct the bridge and related approach roads.

Das said that after the finalisation of the tender, two and a half years time would be required to build the 150-metre-long bridge and other necessary facilities.

A joint team of senior officials of India and Bangladesh recently visited Sabroom (in India) and Ramgarh (in Bangladesh) to initiate construction work and finalise other ground works, Tripura PWD minister Badal Choudhury said.

The proposed bridge, to be built at a cost of Rs 94 crore, would be the trading lifeline not only for northeast India but also neighbouring South Asian countries, Choudhury said.

During Modis visit last year, both the countries had signed an agreement promising that Bangladesh would allow use of Chittagong sea port and Mongla river port for the movement of goods to and from India.

Chaudhury said, If Dhaka provides transit facilities to India and if we can use the Chittagong international port and other ports in Bangladesh, commodities and machinery can be transported to the northeast from various parts of India and abroad, saving huge time and money.

The transit between northeast India and rest of the country and abroad via Bangladesh is likely to become a reality in near future, he said.
The US has said that India and Pakistan need to pursue closer relations with each other on the security front, while asserting that there is no justification for terrorism.

We need to pursue closer relations with India, with Pakistan, and they need to also pursue closer relations on the security front, certainly, with each other, state department deputy spokesman, Mark Toner, told reporters at his daily news conference on Friday.

Thats to the benefit of all of us, to be frank, and that includes Afghanistan as well, because there continue to be serious terrorist threats, he said in response to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modis remarks on terrorism during his address to the joint sitting of the Congress this week.

Toner said he agreed with Prime Minister Modis views on terrorism. I do agree with him; theres no justification for terrorism, and we all need to work in a concerted and coordinated fashion to address it, and were trying to do so, the Deputy Spokesman said.

Responding to another question on Modis remarks about the Congress being temple of democracy, he said: We are only one form of democracy; there are many forms in the world. India is obviously the worlds largest democracy. We believe its the best political system out there, but were not saying that our brand, so to speak, is the one for everyone. Were all working to create the perfect democracy.
Building toilets is easy. It is persuading people to use them that is turning out to be the tricky part.

With the 2019-deadline for its ambitious Swachh Bharat mission drawing close, the Centre has set up a panel of ministers to come up with a communication campaign to rope in people as partners for Prime Minister Narendra Modis pet project.

The high-powered committee, chaired by Union finance and information and broadcasting minister, Arun Jaitley, will map and monitor the communication strategy and its implementation for the Ganga Rejuvenation programme as well.

The revised advocacy and outreach campaigns are targeted at influencing behaviourial changes that in turn will accelerate the pace of both missions, officials explained. Innovative media campaigns across platforms and educational tools will be used to improve peoples participation.

While the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to make India 100% open-defecation and manual-scavenging-free, with modern waste management methods by 2019, periodic reviews of the programme have shown that the government has fallen short of relaying the core target of the mission.

The objectives have not translated into action. Getting people on board is imperative for the success of the projects, an official said. Heads of the media units of the government have also be roped in for the mission.

Since both programmes are an inter-ministerial initiative, the high-powered committee also has the task of allocating resources from different ministries for an integrated multimedia campaign.

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Even 48 hours after Kolkata resident Judith DSouza was abducted by gunmen in Kabul in Afghanistan, there is no major headway into the investigation.

Officials from the Indian Embassy in Kabul claimed that Afghan security agencies investigating the case had detained two suspects and are interrogating them. They suspect that Judith was kidnapped by an organised abduction racket for ransom.

Investigation is still on. Afghan security agencies are suspecting that the gunmen hail from the Shomali Plains, a plateau in the north of Kabul. A local security agency has detained two suspects for interrogation. We are keeping our fingers crossed, an official from the Indian Embassy in Kabul. Judith, a resident of CIT Road in Entally here, is a gender specialist with the Aga Khan Foundation and was based in Kabul for the last 16 months.

Around 10pm on Thursday, Judith was heading for her office accommodation in the Taimani region when gunmen stopped her car in the vicinity of the Qala-e-Fatullah area and kidnapped Judith along with her personal security guard and driver. No militant agencies accepted responsibility for the abduction.

People pray for quick return of Judith D'Souza in Kolkata on Saturday. (PTI)

Investigators feel that no terrorist groups are involved in this incident. In all likelihood, she has been held by an organised abduction racket that kidnaps foreign nationals for ransom. There have been a few cases of such abductions in the past in the Qala-e-Fatullah area, an embassy officer said.

The Indian embassy in Kabul has been in touch with Afghan authorities to ensure Judiths safe release. In a tweet, Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, Manpreet Vohra, said, Everyone, especially Afghan security agencies, is working hard on this. Let us pray for early success. We and our Afghan partners will try our best. In Kolkata, local Trinamool Congress MLA Swarnakamal Saha went to Judiths residence on Saturday afternoon and promised all help from the state government.

TMCs Rajya Sabha MP Derek OBrien is keeping a close watch on the case and has also taken up the issue with the external affair ministry.

(With PTI inputs)

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The ruling Congress won four seats, while the opposition BJP secured two and JD-S one seat in the biennial elections to the 75-member Karnataka legislative council on Friday, the state election commission said.

The winners are Allam Veerabhadrappa, RB Timmapur, Rizwan Arshad and Veena Achaiah (all Congress), V. Somanna and Lehar Singh Siroya of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and K.V. Narayanaswamy of Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S).

Of the 11 vacancies caused by the retirement of outgoing lawmakers, election to four seats from two graduates (South & North-West) and two teachers (West & North-West) constituencies in the state were held on Thursday. Counting is on June 13.

For the seven seats, in which lawmakers of the 225-member legislative assembly voted on Friday, the ruling partys all four candidates won on first preferential votes from its 125 members, including the speaker and the nominated lawmaker

A contestant needs a minimum of 29 votes to win a council seat in the state.

With BJP having 44 members, its first candidate (Somanna) won comfortably, while its second candidate (Lehar Singh) secured the required votes (29) from members of other parties and nine independents in addition to his partys 15 surplus votes.

Somanna was re-nominated for the council seat.

Though the JD-S, with 40 members, got its first candidate (Narayanaswamy) to win, its second nominee S.M. Venkatapathi could get only 5 of his partys 11 surplus votes, as six of its rebel members cross voted in favour of Congress and BJP contestants.

JD-S rebel lawmaker Zameer Ahmed, in fact, claimed that he voted for Arshad of the Congress.

Besides Venkatapathi, three independents -B.R. Anil Kumar, K.A. Mohan and V. Hiremath were also defeated in the council poll.
Voting for Rajya Sabha biennial began on Saturday morning as 27 Upper House seats from seven states went to elections.

Altogether, 58 RS seats fell vacant from 16 states over the past two months. Of these seats, 31 candidates have already won unopposed and their results will be formally announced, along with the 27 seats, on Saturday.

Check the final results here.

Moment by moment how the Rajya Sabha polls unfolded...

Warrants being issued against opposition MLAs: Congress

The BJP government in Jharkhand is getting arrest warrants issued against opposition legislators to prevent them from voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress said on Saturday.

The Raghubar Das government is trying to strangle democracy by issuing warrants against legislators who have a right to vote, Congress spokesman Ajay Kumar told reporters here.

This is done at the instruction of the central government, he said.

There was much commotion on Friday night at Medica Hospital here where Chamra Linda, a legislator from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), is being treated. Read more here

# UP BJP lawmaker accuses SP of not letting them vote

BJP legislator, Krishna Paswan called SP MLAs goons and accused them of not allowing the BJP lawmakers to cast vote, according to ANI.

SP MLAs are goons who are openly not letting us cast our vote, they have been exposed: Krishna Paswan, BJP #RSPolls pic.twitter.com/ONiz8TIpHz  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 11, 2016

# Verbal spat between SP and BJP legislator

In Uttar Pradesh, there was a verbal spat between Samajwadi Party MLA Hazi Zamerullah Khan and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Raghunandan Singh Badauriya over their candidates during voting.

# Polling begins in Madhya Pradesh, Ramniwas Rawat casts the first ballot

Voting for the three RS seats from Madhya Pradesh in which two BJP candidates senior journalist MJ Akbar and Anil Dave and Congress nominee Vivek Tankha are in the fray, began on Saturday with MLA Ramniwas Rawat casting the first ballot at the State legislative assembly.

After Rawat who is the Congress chief whip in the State Assembly, BJP MLA Girish Gautam cast his vote. In the polling, 228 members of the House are expected to take part.

# Polling for four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan begins

Elections to the four seats of Rajya sabha today began at the Rajasthan Assembly premises here. Leader of opposition Rameshwar Dusi cast the first vote followed by former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, the assembly spokesperson said.

In the house of 200, the ruling BJP has 160 members and Congress 24. National Peoples Party has four, BSP has three, National Unionist Zamindara Party has two and seven are independents.

Union minister Venkaiah Naidu, BJPs national Vice President Om Prakash Mathur, former RBI official Ramkumar Sharma and member of erstwhile Dungarpur royal family Harsh Vardhan Singh are the BJP candidates whereas Kamal Morarka filed nomination papers as independent candidate.

# Rajya Sabha polls for two Haryana seats begins

Voting began for two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana here today which are falling vacant in August, with three candidates including Union Minister Birender Singh in fray. The Haryana Assembly has 90 members and polling will be held between 9 AM to 4 PM today.

On Friday, the Congress had announced support for INLD-backed Independent candidate and lawyer R K Anand for one of the seat in the biennial elections being held today.

# Voting for 11 seats from UP begins in Lucknow. Total of 12 candidates in fray

@htTweets Polling for Rajya Sabha's 11 seats from UP begins in Lucknow. Total of 12 candidates in fray. Polling will end at 4 pm.  PANKAJ JAISWAL (@augustus29lotus) June 11, 2016

Suspense remains on the fate of senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and the outcome of polls in Karnataka, where charges of large-scale horse-trading have surfaced.

@htTweets BJP supported independent candidate Preeti Mahapatra (from Gujarat) is the extra 12th candidate who caused the voting.  PANKAJ JAISWAL (@augustus29lotus) June 11, 2016

With 30 candidates from eight states already elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, voting for the remaining seats is taking place in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

Charges, counter charges in Karnataka

Amid charges and counter charges of horse trading, fierce contests are on the cards especially in Karnataka, where a sting by TV channels has indicated that parties have big stakes in the polls for the upper house.

In Karnataka, five nominees, including three from Congress and one each from the BJP and Janatal Dal-Secular (JD-S) are in the fray.

The candidates are Oscar Fernandes, Jairam Ramesh and K.C. Ramamurthy (all Congress), Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of BJP and B.M. Farooq of Janata Dal-Secular.

The contest in Karnataka is basically between Congresss third nominee Ramamurthy and JD-S BM Farooq. While Ramamurthy will need 12 more votes, Farooq will need five more votes to win as his party has only 40 lawmakers in the house.

Read | RS elections: BJP tally may go up by 1 seat but minority status to remain

Suspense on fate of Kapil Sibal

In an effort to increase its own numerical strength in the Upper House, where the government lacks majority, the BJP has supported some independent candidates to ensure that the Congress is not able to win any extra seat. It has also fielded its candidates in some states to grab seats from others.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh seems to be more keen to give a strong fight to Congress nominee Kapil Sibal, who also has the support of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

We will be indulging in strategic voting and will ensure defeat of Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party nominees, said BJP spokesman in Uttar Pradesh, Vijay Bahadur Pathak.

The Congress, however, remained confident of winning the seat for former union minister Sibal from UP.

We remain confident that both in Karnataka as well as in UP the Congress party will triumph, party spokesman Manish Tewari said here.

Interestingly, the nomination of Preeti Mohapatra as independent candidate in Uttar Pradesh has been proposed by some BJP legislators making it clear that the saffron party does not want to give a cakewalk to Sibal.

In Uttar Pradesh 12 candidates are in the fray for the vacant 11 seats where the ruling Samajwadi Party has fielded seven candidates while the Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded two. The BJP and the Congress have fielded one candidate each.

With support of Ajit Singhs Rashtriya Lok Dal, SP is likely to easily win all the seven seats. The BSPs two and BJPs one candidate would also probably sail through easily.

Polling for four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan was necessitated as no candidate withdrew their nomination. Four BJP candidates and one Independent candidate, supported by opposition Congress have filed nominations for the four seats.

Read | Parties refuse to lower guard for RS poll, leaders to keep watch on voting

Nominees

Nomination by former Union minister and business tycoon Kamal Morarka on the last day has added more flavour to the contest.

Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, BJP national vice president Om Prakash Mathur, former RBI official Ramkumar Verma and member of the erstwhile Dungarpur royal family Harsh Vardhan Singh are the BJP nominees.

In Haryana, where the BJP does not have adequate numbers to get two candidates elected, the party has nominated Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh as its candidate. With extra votes in hand, the BJP has supported media baron Subhash Chandra, who has filed nomination as an Independent candidate.

Senior lawyer R.K. Anand has also filed nomination in Haryana as an Independent candidate and is banking on support of Congress and opposition Indian National Lok Dal.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has nominated Anil Madhav Dave and M.J. Akbar as its two candidates for the three vacant seats.

With an eye to the third seat, BJP has fielded Vinod Gotiya, a state BJP office bearer, as an Independent candidate. This move of the BJP is seen as a ploy to thwart the election of Congress candidate Vivek Tankha, who is short of only one vote.

With eight votes short for Gotias victory, the BJP is aiming to garner support of BSP and Independent members.

In Jharkhand, where the BJP is assured of Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi being elected to the first seat, it has chosen its second nominee as Mahesh Poddar, an industrialist.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has fielded Basant Soren, son of its chief Shibu Soren. The Congress, which has not fielded any candidate has given support to Soren.

Two of the six Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand are getting vacant this time with BJPs M.J. Akbar and Congresss Dheeraj Sahu completing their respective terms.

In Uttarakhand, where the BJPs move to dislodge the Harish Rawat government did not pay off, it has not nominated any candidate. However, its two leaders Gita Thakur and Anil Goel have filed nominations as Independents against Pradeep Tamta, the joint candidate of the Congress and PDF (Peoples Democratic Front).

Despite BJPs efforts to win extra seats in these polls, the Congress will continue to remain the single-largest party in the 245-member House.

The biennial elections were necessitated as 55 members from 15 states are retiring between June and August. One seat each from Rajasthan and Karnataka have also been vacated -- by Anand Sharma (Congress) and Vijay Mallya (Independent), respectively -- and will also go for polls.

Thirty candidates from various political parties were already declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from their eight respective states in the absence of more contenders.
Mumbai Police rescued almost 30 youngsters, including minors, from a self-proclaimed godman who confined them in a bungalow in Kandivali area, on Friday.

The victims alleged that the spiritual guru had exploited them and forced them to perform physically and mentally torturous religious rituals.

One of the children managed to inform his kin about the exploitation he was subjected to. The kin immediately informed police about the matter, said police inspector Sunaina Nate, Samta Nagar police station.

Acting on the information, a police team raided the premises on Friday evening and rescued 28 people, including 12 minors, mostly hailing from Uttar Pradesh.

Two people  Bhagwandas Tiwari and Devendra Manoj Dube  have been arrested in this connection and further investigation is on, Nate said.
The Madhya Pradesh government is planning to launch a pilot project aimed at capturing Nilgais in the forested areas of Chhattarpur, Shajapur and Morena districts through a trial-and-error method, instead of culling them.

The state wildlife department will also put out advertisements aimed at enlisting the help of interested people and organisations to capture the animals, so they can be shifted to protected zones.

According to wildlife officials, Nilgais have been damaging crops in many parts of the state  including Bhind, Morena, Chhattarpur, Rewa, Satna, Shajapur and Agar districts. The problem came to a head in 2015, when farmers from Neemuch district launched a hunger strike to demand adequate compensation from the state government.

Additional principal chief conservator of Forests (APCCF) RP Singh told HT that the state government has no plans to cull Nilgais. He, however, admitted that capturing the animals could be difficult as forest officials dont even know the dosage of tranquillers required to be administered.

Explaining the reason for the trial-and-error method, Singh said: Nilgais are very sturdy and heavy, but fast. There are few who know how to successfully catch these animals without causing them harm. Moreover, when we chase Nilgais, they end up running very fast and breaking a limb or two  and thats equivalent to death for a wild animal.

The issue of culling wild beasts in human-animal conflict areas hit the headlines recently, when women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi lashed out at Union environment Prakash Javadekar on Thursday over his lust for killing animals.

The Nilgai, Asias largest antelope, is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. Placed in the Least Concern category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it is listed under Schedule IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

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Ahead of BJPs national executive meeting here, rival parties have announced plans for protests in the city though AAP has been denied permission for it, prompting it to move the high court.

Congress said it will observe June 12, the day of commencement of the Prime Ministers visit, as Pol Khol Diwas (Day of Expose) while its youth wing has announced a city bandh on Sunday.

BJPs rivals are hoping to take the sheen off the high-profile event being held by the saffron party here as it gears up for the Assembly elections which are less than a year away.

UPCC general secretary Mukund Tiwari said, We will hold meetings in all the 12 assembly segments of the district to expose the claims made by the Modi government which has failed to fulfill the promises made during the last general elections.

Read: With UP polls in mind, BJP national executive to meet in Allahabad tomorrow

Congress youth wing and its students body NSUI have given a call for a city-wide bandh on Sunday.

Aam Aadmi Party sought permission for staging a demonstration and waving black flags from a safe distance to protest the Prime Minister Narendra Modis maiden visit here.

On June 6, a letter jointly signed by Sanjay Singh, member of the Political Affairs Committee of AAP, and Shimla Shri, the partys national executive member, was submitted to District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar.

The DM replied in a letter that no permission could be granted for any type of protest demonstration during the PMs visit.

Unfazed by the refusal, Shri, who was also the partys candidate from Phulpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, shot off another letter to the DM claiming that their stir was in no way aimed at creating any hurdles in the way of the Prime Minister and requesting for a review of the decision.

Read: Security beefed up in Allahabad for BJPs national executive meeting

A petition has also been filed by the AAP leader in the Allahabad High Court challenging the district administrations refusal to grant permission for staging a demonstration.

However, the matter is not likely to be taken up by the high court before Monday when the national executive meeting would be over, followed by Modis public rally, after which he will depart from the city.
With India trying to boost its relations with African countries, President Pranab Mukherjee will embark on a six-day visit to Ghana, Cote dIvoire and Namibia from Sunday, June 12.

During his trip, President Mukherjee will be accompanied by a minister of state, four members of Parliament, senior officials and a business delegation.

On his arrival, he will be received by vice-President of the Republic of Ghana, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, and will be accorded a traditional Ghanian welcome.

The President will hold meetings with respective heads of the three nations and a number of bilateral agreements are also likely to be signed during the visit.

The President will address a Joint Business Forum and the students and faculty of University of Ghana besides having an interaction with the Indian community at a reception organised at the Indian high commission.

He will also unveil a statue of Mahatma Gandhi gifted by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.

In the second leg of his visit starting June 14, the President will arrive in Abidjan, where he will have a meeting with Republic of Cote dIvoire President Alassane Ouattara and also sign a number of agreements.

In the last leg of his visit, President Mukherjee will arrive in the Namibian capital Windhoek on June 15.

It said during the visit, discussions will be held on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
The polling hall in the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhavan turned into a battlefield as MLAs of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) clashed during voting for 11 Rajya Sabha seats on Saturday.

The process was temporarily disrupted as lawmakers lunged for each others ballot papers in the melee. The legislative assembly principal secretary and returning officer, Pradeep Dubey, had to intervene to calm the agitated legislators and restore voting. Marshals were also summoned to control irate MLAs in to the Tilak Hall where polling was underway.

Pandemonium broke when both parties accused the other of attempting to lure MLAs into cross-voting, i.e., legislators from one party voting for a candidate from another party.

Read | Rajya Sabha elections underway; results likely by 6:30 pm

Talking to Hindustan Times, BJPs Krishna Paswan and Vimala Batham said, The SP MLAs present in the polling hall stopped us from casting (our) vote When we insisted they tried to snatch our ballot papers. We registered protest with the returning officer Pradeep Dubey and demanded security. Later we managed to cast our votes.

The BJP intends to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission against the ruling partys terror tactics adopted by MLAs in the polling hall.

SPs Sankhlal Manjhi and Zamirullah Khan refuted the allegation, countering it with their own. The legislators alleged that the saffron brigade was trying to lure their MLAs to support independent candidate Preeti Mahapatra.

BJP is backing the independent candidate and feared that Preeti Mahapatra will lose. The BJP MLAs were trying to disrupt the election with wild allegations, they claimed.

Read | RS elections: BJP tally may go up by 1 seat but minority status to remain

Matters were already complicated when the SPs Guddu Pandit came with BJP MLA Sangeet Singh Som.

Contrarily, rebel BJP MLA Vijay Bahadur Yadav accompanied SP MLA, Rajkumar Yadav, indicating cross-voting.

Congress Akhilesh Pratap Singh said the BJP leaders indulged in horse trading to ensure victory of independent candidate supported by them.

Unlike the Lok Sabha, there isnt an anti-defection law that penalises cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. Matters get even more knotty as it follows an open, single transferable voting system where candidates are marked based on degrees of preference. To win, a candidate must score a fixed set of votes, failing which, the vote is given to the next preferred candidate, and so on.

The SP fielded seven candidates while the Congress fielded one  former union minister Kapil Sibal, the BSP fielded two and the BJP one. Preeti Mahapatra is the lone independent candidate in the field, but is being backed by the BJP.

Read | Who is Preeti Mahapatra? BJPs last-minute surprise changes RS maths in UP

The leader of SP, Shivpal Singh Yadav, BJP leader Suresh Khanna, BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya and Congress leader Pradeep Mathur were seated in the polling hall to keep watch on the MLAs.

The legislators showed the ballot paper to their leaders before slotting it in the ballot box.

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A recent study found 85% of bread and bakery samples tested in Delhi contained potassium bromate, a known carcinogen. An HT investigation has now revealed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had made up its mind to ban the chemicals use as a food additive four years ago but never implemented its decision.

Potassium Bromate  used to make bread rise  is known to cause cancer of the thyroid, kidney and abdominal lining, and is banned in several countries including the European Union, Canada, China, Australia and New Zealand. The WHO, Food and Agriculture Organisation, and International Agency for Research on Cancer have all found it to be potentially carcinogenic.

Read | No more bread for cautious Delhiites

Following last months revelations by the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment, the FSSAI said it would issue a notification to remove potassium bromate from the list of permitted food additives.

Records of FSSAI meetings accessed by HT, however, show that on June 6, 2012, the food regulator approved the recommendation of its scientific committee to ban the use of potassium bromate as a food additive. The committee had reached this conclusion at its meeting on December 23, 2011. It backed its recommendation by saying safer alternatives were available in the market.

Asked why the ban wasnt implemented all these years, FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said, The notification is a long-drawn process. There has been no consensus among scientists on the carcinogenicity of potassium bromate. The United States has not banned it yet. Plus, the bread industry told us it would not use bromate and we believed it. We were shocked to know about the CSE findings.

Read | Most bread brands contain cancer-causing chemicals: Study

The FSSAI is still to issue a formal order banning bromate though bread manufacturers, in the wake of the CSE study, announced they would stop using the rising agent.

Chandra Bhushan, CSE deputy director general who was part of the Delhi tests, said his organisation had approached the FSSAI several times seeking a notification banning bromate after the regulator approved the scientific committees recommendation in 2012. But when the FSSAI made no such move, we decided to carry out the lab tests as we believed it was important to remove bromate from bread in the interest of public health.

The think tanks report said bromate was allowed based on the assumption that no residue would be found in the final product. However, studies began to find detectable residues of bromate in finished products.

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The Centres special investigation team (SIT) is set to reopen and reinvestigate around 75 closed cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the national capital, a move that could ring political resonance in poll-bound Punjab.

The riots that killed more than 3,000 people were in retaliation against the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

Delhi alone accounted for 2,733 deaths and most of those killed were Sikhs, the leading community in Punjab where assembly polls are due in 2017.

Delhi had 237 anti-Sikh riot cases that were closed because of non-availability of victims or lack of evidence. After reviewing their documents, the SIT has decided to reopen about 75 cases so far, a government official involved in the review process said.

The SIT will issue advertisements regarding these cases and ask victims and witnesses to join the probe.

Read | 84 anti-Sikh riots: Modi govt delaying SIT probe, says AAP

The SIT plans to hold public hearings as well in the next couple months in order to enable people, connected to these cases, to provide information, the official said.

Delhi Police registered 587 cases in connection with the riots. Later, it closed 241 cases but four were reopened in 2006 and one in 2013, which led to the conviction of 35 people. The rest of the 237 cases remained closed.

The SITs decision comes a week after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwals letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a status report of the probe. His Aam Aadmi Party is locked in a triangular electoral battle with the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine and the Congress in Punjab, where the 1984 riots are a sensitive issue.

We will have to wait and see the details of the cases being reopened by the SIT. The point is whether they are against the organisers of the riots or just eyewash like previous probes, said AAP leader HS Phoolka, who works for the riot victims and survivors.

Another point is why they waited so long to decide on reopening the cases. They should have opened the cases one by one rather than wait till now.

Leaders of the Congress, which has been accused of having turned a blind eye to the riots and instigating mobs to kill in some instances, reacted positively to the move.

Read | 1984 anti-Sikh riots: CBI gets 2 months to complete probe

I welcome the move because I have always stood for justice to the riot victims. The SIT must look into all aspects, including the involvement of several RSS workers in the riots against whom cases are registered in police stations, said Captain Amarinder Singh, the partys state unit president and former chief minister.

Former Union minister and chief of the Congress in Delhi, Ajay Maken, said the party wouldnt mind another probe into the riots as long as its fair and based on fact. Probes have been conducted in the past and we are not against any probe ... But should not be backed by political motives and vendetta.

SIT chief and senior IPS officer Pramod Asthana refused comments when contacted by Hindustan Times.

The SIT was set up in February 12, 2015, for six months following a recommendation by a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) GP Mathur. After its term ended, the Union home ministry extended it for a year.

In pics | Glimpse of the 32nd anniversary of Operation Bluestar

In many cases, the SIT had to get the documents laminated as they were in a fragile state as they are more than 30 years old. Many documents were scanned to preserve them digitally, an official said.

Indira Gandhis assassination was carried out in revenge for her decision to send the army to flush Sikh militants out of the Golden Temple, Sikhisms holiest shrine, in Amritsar in June 1984. The operation damaged the shrine, enraging Sikhs who make up around 2% of Indias population.

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The arrest of Sanatan Sansthas Virendra Tawade in Narendra Dabholkar murder case is an attempt to malign its name, the Hindu right-wing organisation said in Mumbai on Saturday.

They previously arrested Sadhvi (Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur) in the Malegoan blast case. She was acquitted after four years as there was no evidence. Similarly they had arrested six Sanatan members in Margao blast case and released them after five years, said Abhay Vartak, Sanatan spokesperson.

Now, Dr Virendra Tawde has been arrested in Dabholkar case. In this way attempts are being made to malign the Hindu outfits, he said.

There is an international conspiracy to destroy the Hindu organisations, he added.

When Congress was in power we experienced repression and conspiracy. Even after the change of government, we are going through the same thing, he said.

Actions of the BJP-led Maharashtra Government were anti-Hindu, he said.

Read | Arrest in Dabholkar case may provide political mileage for BJP

Tawade, a member of Sanatan Sanstha, is accused of conspiring in the murder of rationalist and anti-superstition crusader Dabholkar. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested Tawade from his residence at Panvel .

About Tawdes association with the Sanstha, Vartak said, He is an ENT surgeon and used to come to our ashram for treating the sadhaks (disciples). He was a Sanstha member, but was not holding any post.
If geography determined power, Ambedkar Hostel in Lucknows Hazratganj would rank high in the matrix. Walk up to the terrace and you look out to UPs Vidhan Sabha. Look down and you see the BJP state head office. And next door, a new CM secretariat is under construction.

Inside the Ambedkar hostel live SC and ST scholars of the Ambedkar University. They are surrounded by power. But they know it is a long way before they can exercise meaningful power.

Caste atrocities remain an everyday reality for millions. Dalits strongly feel that a new sophisticated architecture of inequality is also in place. They remain under-represented in public positions. But it is not just a tale of victimhood. Dalits today are more organised and connected. They see themselves as a part of an assertive movement of social justice. They have sympathy for Dalit parties, but criticise the failures. They worry caste is getting reinforced, rather than annihilated  the ultimate vision of their icon BR Ambedkar.

HT explored the nature of discrimination and the current moment in Dalit assertion.

Read: Rohith Vemula: An unfinished portrait

Persistent discrimination

Ajay Kumar Rawat is sitting in his second floor room in the Ambedkar Hostel.

An Ambedkar picture is on the wall of his room; stacks of old Hindi newspapers are piled up; two laptops are strewn on the bed.

In the Ambedkar Hostel in Lucknow, scholars Ajay Kumar Rawat (left) and Lavlesh Kumar (right) believe that Dalit movement is a lot wider than Dalit parties like BSP. (Prashant Jha/Hindustan Times)

From a village in Unnao, Rawat has come a long way. He recently finished his PhD on contemporary Dalit movement in UP. Twenty years ago, my teacher  a Tiwari  in the village used to mock us and say even if three generations of your family come together, you will not be able to study...I credit the state for this hostel room, for a fellowship, for creating a public university which enabled me to finish a PhD.

Rawat is quick to underscore that that does little to compensate for the persistent discrimination. The National Crime Records Bureau data shows that the number of incidents of atrocities against Scheduled Castes increased from 39,408 in 2013 to over 47,000 in 2014. In UP, there were 5,784 incidents in 2012, 6,617 incidents in 2013, and 7,577 incidents in 2014.

Every day reports are tucked away in newspaper briefs  Dalit man shot for fetching water from a government tubewell in UP; Dalit girl assaulted in Chhattisgarh; Dalit killed over land dispute in Chhattisgarh; Dalit woman gang-raped in MP; Dalits face social boycott in Gujarat. Sarita, a student at the Ambedkar University in Mhow, said she felt the era of discrimination was over, until she began her academic research. I did my fieldwork and across villages in MPs Ratlam found persistent untouchability.

A little distance from Ambedkars birthplace, a crematorium and a dharamshala for the savarna samaj, Hindu upper castes. (Prashant Jha/Hindustan Times)

The statistics do not capture the more insidious forms of prejudice  separate plates at a wedding; the decision not to rent out a house as soon as the tenant is found to be a Dalit; the quiet whispers in offices that someone has come from quota; the insistence that ones son or daughter cannot marry below caste; the gang-up against a Dalit student in a hostel and caste-based ragging.

A few miles from Ambedkars birthplace in Mhow, there exist separate crematoriums for Dalits and non-Dalits in Harsaula village. Attached to the crematorium is a dharamshala which proudly announces itself to be that of savarna samaj. Caste is alive and kicking in India.

Institutionalising inequality

But it is the new forms of inequality  for instance, in access to quality education  which worry younger Dalits more.

In Harsaula, Vishnu Malviya, a Dalit politician, looked back at his school years. I went to the government school here, along with children of all other castes. Today, kids of general castes go to private schools; it is mostly Dalit children who go to government school. The quality has dipped and we suffer from disadvantage right from this stage.

Lucknows prominent Dalit activist, Ram Kumar, agreed. Since children of decision makers dont use public education, they do little to improve it. You are depriving Dalits of skills and education to compete at this stage itself. He argues that in the old days, upper castes used the stick and law to prevent others from getting educated. Now it is a more sophisticated architecture.

Dalit students at the State Hostel in Allahabads Cantt Area recently got Ambedkars statue installed. One of the students, Brajesh Kumar (left) believes the root of inequality is in education  and the difference in quality of government and private schools. (Prashant Jha/Hindustan Times)

Affirmative action has created a Dalit middle class. But those who have availed this right have their own stories to tell. A Dalit police official in an eastern UP district told HT there are usually two responses when his colleagues discover his caste identity. First they think this guy has come from a quota, and so must be bad at his job. And then if proven wrong, they think this guy has come from the quota, but is still good. The first response shows contempt; the second is patronising.

Representation remains elusive in key spheres. Take the Allahabad High Court, the centre of the citys life. Advocates Satyaveer Singh and Suresh Chaudhary prefer the term Scheduled Castes to Dalits. Doing a rough back-of-the-envelope calculation, Chaudhary said, There are only 300 or so SC lawyers out of the 10,000 lawyers in the Allahabad court. There is not a single designated senior advocate. And there is one Dalit judge in the court. Singh adds, When there is greater representation, there is greater legitimacy of the court.

Read: Good Shepherd: Dalit thinker Kancha Ilaiah on name, caste

Assertive and organised

Why has the number of reported incidents of atrocities increased? Why is there an air of conflict around caste issues?

Activist Ram Kumar has a one-word explanation: Assertion. In my fathers generation, if a Pandit came along, he would sit on the chair, and the rest would sit on the floor. And now, if a pandit comes, he can sit with us, or can stand and we keep sitting.

Social hierarchy is challenged through these everyday acts. Many upper castes cannot come to terms with this change. They want an older order, which provokes resistance.

Satyaveer Singh (left) and Suresh Chaudhary (right) practice law in Allahabad High Court. They claim that there must be greater representation of Dalits in both the bar and the bench. (Prashant Jha/Hindustan Times)

Back at the Ambedkar Hostel, Ajay Rawat speaks of a new Dalit movement.

The spontaneous mobilisation after Rohith Vemulas suicide across the country was one example. Through social media, we reached Rohith. And Rohith reached us even after his death. Today, if there is a caste atrocity in Rajasthan, a Dalit in Lucknow can go to the Ambedkar statue, and protest with a banner and a flag. Dalit students feel empowered with access to immediate information, and have tools to organise.

And they place their struggle in the wider battle of social justice. We have to ally with backwards, Muslims, and even the poor of upper castes. They need to shed their superiority and we need to shed our inferiority, says Rawat.

The economic shift has also opened doors. Chandrabhan Prasad, a key Dalit thinker, has argued that English language, urbanisation and capitalism will decrease the salience of caste. A new generation of Dalit entrepreneurs has risen. Others in the movement see it as positive, but then question the exclusionary and unrepresentative nature of the private sector. They also believe that this cannot be a substitute for state welfare and social reform.

Read: Death as a Dalit: What Rohith Vemulas suicide tells about India

The elusive dream

Political power has helped, but younger Dalits are clear this is one part of a much wider movement.

Lavlesh Kumar, a PhD scholar in environmental law, hailed BSP for generating awareness among Dalits and empowering them. When Mayawati is in power, Dalits have the confidence to go to a thana to register their FIR. State resources are invested for community welfare.

But he also saw it as another political party, no longer a social movement. Land is central to the Dalit issue. Our slogan was jo zameen sarkari hai, woh hamari hai  government land is our land. But BSP does not focus on land and economic justice.

Activist Ram Kumar says the newer generation of Dalits faces discrimination in colleges and jobs, and is more open to alliances with other groups. (Prashant Jha/Hindustan Times)

Mayawati is also seen as too silent given the contemporary nature of democratic discourse. The party must engage in everyday debates. The older generation of committed cadres is no longer there, and we dont see mobilisation on issues, says activist Ram Kumar, who is a critical sympathiser. In that sense, Dalit society is ahead of Dalit politics.

What perturbs this generation of informed and aware Dalits most, though, is the increasing salience of caste in politics and society. From selection of party office bearers to distribution of tickets, caste is central to politics, says lawyer Suresh Chaudhary. In such a landscape, it is inevitable that Dalits  who have been discriminated on identity lines  would mobilise on same lines too. Many have hailed it as deepening of Indian democracy.

But while it empowers Dalits, it also reinforces caste identities. When I asked Brajesh, a Dalit scholar in Allahabad University, whether the solution is using caste to get to power or the end of caste, he responded, The goal has to be the end of caste. That goal  Babasahebs dream  remains elusive.

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Veteran journalist and political commentator Inder Malhotra passed away in Delhi on Saturday. Malhotra, 86 had been ailing for sometime and was admitted to a hospital where he breathed his last.

Regarded as a chronicler of contemporary political history, Malhotra was the resident editor of The Statesman between 1965 and 1971, moving to The Times of India in the same capacity from 1978-1986.

He was the India correspondent for The Guardian from 1965-1978 and till recently contributed to various publications.

Author of several books, his 1991 best selling, political and personal biography of Indira Gandhi, was recently revised and released with new chapters on what he dubbed as the future of the Gandhi dynasty.

A Panjab University alumnus, Malhotra received the Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. He is survived by his son, painter Anil Revri. Malhotras wife Rekha predeceased him in 2007.

Condoling his death, President Pranab Mukherjee tweeted:

Heartfelt condolences on the passing away of Shri Inder Malhotra, a doyen amongst Indian journalists #PresidentMukherjee  President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) June 11, 2016

In his death, the nation has lost a veteran journalist who served as a role model for others in the profession

# PresidentMukherjee  President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) June 11, 2016

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury also reacted to his death, tweeting: Sad to hear of the passing away of veteran journalist Inder Malhotra. He was insightful & an encyclopedia of political events #Condolences.
The BJPs national executive will begin its two-day meeting on Sunday to fine-tune the partys strategy for the next round of assembly elections in five states, including the high-stake Uttar Pradesh, and give the Narendra Modi-led Central government a pat on its back for its long list of achievements in the two years since it came to power.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah will together inaugurate the meeting of executives, which is expected to adopt three resolutions related to political and the economic issues.

The inaugural, which Amit Shah will address, will be preceded by the inauguration of the national office bearers meeting at 10am on Sunday. Here the agenda for the national executive meeting will be finalised.

Policemen on Saturday check security arrangements at KP Ground in Allahabad, the venue for the 'Rashtriya Karyakarini' meeting of BJP. (PTI)

Modi will address the meetings concluding session on Monday. Later, he will also address a public rally at the Parade Ground.

The aim (of the meeting) will be to come up with a strategy for each of the five states that are going to polls, said BJP national general secretary Bhupender Yadav, adding that the BJP is the party of choice for the people right now. This is evident from the results of the latest polls in different states, he said.

Apart from forming the government in Assam, the BJP won four seats in West Bengal, its best performance yet in the state, and won one seat in Kerala, where its vote share increased.

Taking the party forward would form an important part of the deliberations, he added.

Yadav said that despite adverse monsoon in past two years, the countrys growth rate has remained impressive.

It is in this backdrop that the meeting is going to be held in the city known for its confluence of education, culture and literature, he said.

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The city woke up to a thick cloud cover and thundershowers on Saturday. The Santacruz weather station recorded 36.6mm of rain between 8.30am and 5.30pm, which was 5mm more than the 31.7mm that fell on June 17, 2014 - the highest in a 24-hour period in June that year. However, it was much lower than the 283.4mm recorded on June 19, 2015.

Read more: First shower

The weather bureau said that these were pre-monsoon showers and that the rains have not kept its date in Mumbai, with the normal onset of the monsoon season set on June 10.

The Colaba weather station recorded 3.7mm between 8.30am and 5.30pm. Between 8.30am Friday and 8.30am Saturday, south Mumbai recorded 6.8mm of rain. However, during the same time, the suburbs observed only negligible rainfall.

Weathermen said the onset of the southwest monsoon was expected in Mumbai in the next 72 hours. The monsoon rains have not reached Mumbai yet but the city received a good amount of rainfall on Saturday, said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, India Meteorological Department. The cloudiness is expected to persist as winds are now coming from the sea, bringing in a lot of moisture. We expect thundershowers accompanied by gusty winds over the next 24 hours.

Hosalikar added that the south Konkan areas have been receiving good amount of rain over the last 24 hours with Goa recording 46mm between Friday and Saturday.

Commuters were seen carrying umbrellas on Saturday as Mumbaiites welcomed the downpour. It is such a relief that the rain gods decided to bless the city with much-needed showers. While we fear waterlogging issues, at least a drop in temperatures will be liberating, said Anumita Sarkar, resident of Matunga. Weathermen from private weather forecasting agency Skymet said the city is likely to receive more rainfall than what was observed on Saturday morning through the rest of the weekend.
In the run-up to the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, defence minister Manohar Parrikar visited Ghaziabad on Friday and said the prime agenda for his party this elections will be the issues of gundaraj and corruption.

He was accompanied by Ghaziabad MP General (retd) VK Singh to meet BJP workers and masses and also to spread the word about the achievements of the Modi government in the past two years.

We will be highlighting the achievements made under Modijis leadership. The assembly elections in UP will be fought with an agenda against corruption and gundaraj. It is time the government changed in the state... Corruption is at its peak and the state would be ranked somewhere in the top two most corrupt states in the country, Parriker said.

Targeting the UP government over the recent violence in Mathura, Parrikar said he drives his own car without any security in Goa whenever he is off official duties. But such a sense of security is not there in UP, he said.

Since 2002, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) led governments have ruled the state in alternate terms. Sources said this time, the BJP is vying to form the government in UP by cashing in on the Modi wave that won them 71 seats from the state in the 2014 general elections.

Parrikar said there would soon be a decision about a face for the BJP for the upcoming UP elections.

The question of an outsider (a person from outside UP) is remote and a person from UP will be selected. The state has given some big politicians and the person is likely to be among those. We had no prominent face from the BJP in Assam elections but it hardly affected the results, he said.

The defence minister, however, declined to answer whether the construction of Ram Mandir will be among the major agendas of the BJP in its manifesto for the upcoming elections, saying party president Amit Shah has already spoken on the issue.

With UP assembly elections approaching, the BJP is spreading the word around about Modi governments two years of achievements. There had been several visits by BJP brass to UP, especially western UP, where the party wants to strike a chord with the electorate.

BJP president Amit Shah visited Loni in April for an interaction with farmers under Gram Uday se Bharat Uday  a rural connect programme. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Amroha on June 5.

Two Union ministers, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Mahesh Sharma, also recently visited Noida. During the last week of May, PM Modi and Rajnath Singh visited Saharanpur and showcased the two years of the National Democratic Alliance government and gave a launchpad for the BJPs campaign for the UP elections.

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The post-mortem report of the 62-year-old woman, Mridula Sachdeva, who was bludgeoned to death at her house in Ghumar Mandi on Thursday, revealed she fought bravely with her killer (s) till her head was smashed with a brass statue, before she was gagged.

During the investigation, the police found the keys of a safe, where cash and valuables were kept, missing.

A board of four doctors, including Dr Gurvinder Kaur, Dr Surbhi, Dr Ripudaman and Dr Milan, conducted the post-mortem and confirmed she was gagged. Her autopsy report states her jaw was fractured and there were injury marks on her hands and neck, which suggested the accused must have used a piece of wire to strangulate her, but she gave a tough resistance.

Though the probe is on, the police are suspecting two or more people involved in the murder. One theory suggests one of the killers might have tried to strangulate her with a wire but she, somehow, held it with her hand, and foiled the bid. In the meantime, the other killers might have hit her head with some metal object, following which she was gagged.

After the post-mortem, the police handed over the body to the family. Her daughters, settled abroad, came here to attend the cremation on Friday.

Mridula Sachdeva was found murdered at her house in Dayal Nagar, Ghumar Mandi. A case of murder has been lodged against unidentified persons.

Stolen scooter recovered

After going through the close circuit television (CCTV) camera footage, a suspect was seen driving away the victims Activa scooter. On Friday evening, the police confirmed they had recovered the scooter from Ghumar Mandi. However, the police have not been able to find out the motive behind the killing. Meanwhile, the cops questioned factory workers and domestic help on Friday, but did not a clue.

Meanwhile, the deceaseds pet dog was found unconscious at the crime scene on Thursday. Though the police initially suspected it was also drugged by the killers, they found on Friday that the dog is fragile and ill.

Woman went out of way to buy liquid phenyl before incident

The neighbours told the police they saw the victim around11.30am when she went out to buy liquid phenyl from a street vendor, and after a brief interaction with him she returned. Around 1.30pm, the maid raised an alarm when she discovered the victim lying in a pool of blood.

They said the victim used to always remain cautious of strangers. However, they said she used to keep keys of the scooter in the vehicle.

Her husband Ravinder Sachdeva, who is in a state of shock since Thursday, said he has no idea why anyone will kill his wife. He claimed his family has no rivalry with anyone.

Gaurav Taura, Division Number 8 police station SHO, said they could not get a breakthrough even after questioning employees and ex-employees.

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A disqualified Mumbai-based bidder has moved the Punjab and Haryana high court to challenge the tendering process for making 14 Toyota Land Cruisers bulletproof for the security of high-profile people in the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government of Punjab.

Streit Armoring has alleged the reasons given for its disqualification to be arbitrary, illegal, and against the terms of the tender. It has sought the disqualification order and the award of contract to another company quashed. The high court vacation bench of justice AG Masih and justice Hari Pal Verma adjourned the hearing on Friday, which gives the petitioner liberty to implead successful bidder, Chandigarh-based JCBL, till Tuesday. It has impleaded the director general of police and the inspector general of police (special protection unit) among others.

The tendering process started on March 23 and the tender closed on April 14. The technical bids were opened on April 15 and on May 25 the Mumbai-based company received the letter of disqualification based on grounds that it claims were not part of the original conditions. Clause 12 of the tender required the bidder to have a workshop or support centre in 100-kilometre radius of Chandigarh, submitted the Mumbai company, adding: But we were disqualified on the ground that we did not have a manufacturing unit in Chandigarh.

A letter of association from Toyota Motors, which makes four-wheel-drive Land Cruiser, was also ignored along with the Mumbai companys record of armouring six similar vehicles in the year 2011-12, claims the petitioner. The reasons for disqualification are beyond criterion, the petitioner submitted, adding that the laboratory and field tests required under the contract terms were not conducted for the successful bidders product, so there were doubts about the capabilities of the vehicles it would deliver.

Govt blowing up money on fleets: Channi

Chandigarh: Accusing the Punjab government of misusing taxpayers money, states leader of opposition Charanjit Singh Channi said the transport department had spent more than `97 crore between 2007 and 2015 on the fleets of all ministers, including the CM and deputy CM.

In a statement issued here on Friday, Channi said that details secured under the RTI (Right to Information) Act suggested that the highest amount, almost `18 crore, had been spent in the year 2012-13, and Rs 13 crore in the year 2014-15.

He accused the ruling family of the Badals of reducing the number of beneficiaries in the year 2014-15 under the relief scheme for disabled people and taking more than `2.5 lakh people off the old-age pension scheme in the year 2014-15.
Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday signed a petition to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for allowing the screening of the uncut version of the movie Udta Punjab in the state.

Amarinder took to Twitter stating the Akali-BJP government had brushed the problem under the carpet by making it an issue of morality and integrity. The government has failed on multiple counts to tackle drug proliferation, he alleged.

Captain tweeted: The Ban on Udta Punjab is yet another example of how the Akali-BJP combine has always placed its electoral interest above Punjab. It is a social issue, a law and order problem, not one of integrity or morality as the government would have you believe.

Ban on Udta Punjab is yet another example of how Akali-BJP combine has always placed their electoral interest above that of Punjab (1/6)  Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) June 10, 2016

In a statement, Amaridner said once he took the office as the CM, he would put culprits of the drug menace behind bars, no matter who they were and finish this menace in four weeks.

He said he had also written to the producers of Udta Punjab, requesting them to provide him uncensored CDs of the movie to release it in Majitha on June 17. Since Majitha, like Mexico, is the epicentre of drug trade in Punjab, it was decided to release the movie there, he said.

Amarinder said Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who also heads the Union Information and broadcasting ministry, was only shedding crocodile tears on the Udta Punjab row. It is difficult to believe that the censor board chairman Pahlaj Nihalani was acting without Jaitleys consent and knowledge as he (Jaitley) happens to be his boss, he said.

Amarinder took U-turn on Majithia

AAP campaign committee chairman and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann on Friday criticised Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh for befooling people on the issue of drug menace. Mann said Amarinder, who had earlier been shielding revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia, has now compared his constituency Majitha with Mexico, in an attempt to show that he is against the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader.
Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh during an interaction with party workers in Patiala on Saturday. (Bharat Bhushan/HT Photo)

Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh has invited the Dalit and communist parties into an alliance to avoid the splitting of anti-incumbency vote in the 2017 assembly elections.

Addressing a delegate session of the United Communist Party of India, which has extended support to the Congress, he asked the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) here on Saturday to do likewise or the vote division would benefit the ruling Akali-BJP alliance. Your other choices are a communal Akali-BJP alliance and an anarchist Aam Aadmi Party that has no ideology, leadership, policy, or programme, he told the Left and Dalit leaders.

Will expose Akalis with drug links

Commenting on the Udta Punjab movie controversy, Amarinder said: People need to know who is behind the big problem of drugs and why the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is scared to let the film be released without cuts. The drug menace has not only deteriorated Punjabs law and order but also maligned its image. He threatened to expose the Akali leaders and police officer who had a direct hand in drug trade.

Also read I Capt Amarinder signs petition for Udta Punjab release

Regarding the slapgate incident and a statement from expelled Congress leader Bir Devinder Singh that Amarinder had double standards on discipline, the former chief minister said: The case of Sukhjinder Randhawa is different from Bir Devinders, as both leaders involved have moved on without malice or blackmailing. Bir Devinder and Jagmeet Brar, however, had challenged the high command, including party president Sonia Gandhi, which was unacceptable. Now again Bir Devinder makes unnecessary statements. There is no question of taking him back.

Also read I SAD says Punjab govt not contemplating ban on Udta Punjab; but wants EC to intervene

Hoping to see Rahul as Congress chief

A day before the Punjab visit of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Amarinder said he hoped to see Rahul elevateed as party president in the next AICC (All-India Congress Committee) session. Amarinder, who had advocated recently that Rahul should take over the party, said the focus of his visit was on law and order, besides drugs.

Also read I Rahul to lead Cong dharna on drug issue

CJI urged to base SYL verdict on actual river water amount

Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday requested the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to take note of the actual amount of water in the rivers before deciding the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal issue. Punjab virtually has no water to spare for another states, he said, adding: If the Supreme Court gave an adverse judgement against Punjab, at least 10-lakh acres in the Malwa region would go dry and barren.

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A Punjab Police head constable on temporary duty for the security of former state BJP chief Kamal Sharma was found dead with bullet wounds in Ferozepur late on Friday.

Police said Krishan Kumar, 45, was found dead with two bullet wounds in the chest at his house in the local Khalsa Colony around midnight.

He was posted at Ferozepurs Sadar police station recently and had been sent for the BJP leaders security as one of the regular guards was on leave.

The police said that after having dinner at his house, Kumar went outside in uniform with his service revolver. Around midnight, his wife found him lying on a charpoy in the courtyard. Presuming he was sleeping, she tried to wake him up but found blood oozing from the chest, Vibhore Sharma, DSP, Ferozepur City, said.

He was rushed to hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

He suffered injuries from two shots of his .38-bore service revolver. A probe is on to ascertain whether its a murder or suicide, the DSP said.
Its peak summer and nothing could be hotter than politics in the poll- bound Punjab. Instead of rushing to the salubrious hills, top national politicos are making a beeline for the state in the coming days, turning the heat up several notches.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sarsanghchalak (head) Mohan Bhagwat began his three-day visit to Punjab on Saturday from Gurdaspur where he is attending an RSS shivir (camp). The 20-day shivir will see participation of over 700 RSS workers and Bhagwat will be here for three days. This is Bhagwats first visit to Gurdaspur.

(HT File Photo)

On Monday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will lead a protest in Jalandhar against the drug menace and deteriorating the law and order in the state. Rahuls visit comes amid a raging row over film Udta Punjab. The organisers are mobilising youth to make the protest a success.

Also read I Rahul to lead dharna on drug issue

Uma Bharti in Moga on June 14, where she is expected to talk about the two-year achievements of the Union government. (HT File Photo)

Union water resources and river development minister Uma Bharti would be next to visit the state. She will be in Moga on June 14, where she is expected to talk about the two-year achievements of the Union government and how various schemes started by the centre have helped the people at the grassroots level. She would be staying in Moga for a day and will pay tributes to martyrs at the Shaheedi Park before addressing a public gathering. She will then visit Kurewala in Moga to listen to the grievances of the people.

The Congress is likely to keep the political atmosphere charged with a massive rally planned on June 18 in chief minister Parkash Singh Badals home turf, Lambi, against the recruitment scam. The scam, which involves selective leakage of question papers of various examinations for government jobs, has been linked to a close aide of Badal in the area. An ongoing vigilance bureau investigation in the scam has found that a SAD councillor from Malout, also the right hand of Badals aide, allegedly contacted candidates who paid lakhs to gain access to the question papers. Initially, the rally was planned at Badal village, but the venue was later shifted to the grain mandi in Lambi.

Union finance minister (Photo: LiveMint)

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley will visit Bathinda on June 19 as a part of celebrations to mark NDA governments two years in power. The show is largely for the BJP workers but with elections in the state due early next year, the SAD is planning to turn his visit into a big event. Union minister for food processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal is coordinating with BJP in Bathinda to organise a public meeting for which party workers and people are being mobilised.

Also read I Readying for the FMs visit

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Over 1,800 allottees of Pearl City in Sector 100 and Sector 104, SAS Nagar, are in for further trouble as Justice RM Lodha committee  a Supreme Court appointed panel to work on steps to return money to duped investors  has asked them to prove ownership of plots with a rider that the allotment letters issued by the Pearl Group will not be considered as legal documents. Only 226 allottees have registries in their name.

This means that over Rs 1,500 crore of allottees in Sectors 100 and 104 are at stake. These sectors do not have sewerage connections, internal roads and streetlights. Sector 100 has no streetlights. Pearls City is a project of PACL India Limited has run into rough weather after its chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) Nirmal Singh Bhangoo was booked by the CBI in a Rs 45,000-crore ponzi scam. The allottees are considering moving the Supreme Court and they plan to hold a meeting tomorrow.

Another setback

What comes as a major setback to the allottees the refusal of GMADA to take over the project and carry out development. Sources claim GMADA had told the committee that there are only 46 houses in Sector 100 and another 100 in sector 104. For the rest, it claimed to have no record.

Justice Lodha committee in a meeting held with GMADA officials and allottees has asked allottees to prove that they are owners of the land. So only about 226 allottees who have registry in their name while the rest will have to struggle to prove their ownership. Lodha committee has categorically declined to accept any document of Pearl group, said Kulbeer Singh Sidhu, president, Pearl City Mohali Residents Welfare Association

We had submitted a representation to the committee to hand over the project to GMADA but GMADA had refused to take over the project saying that their role is limited only to external developments, added Sidhu.

GMADA additional chief administrator Sukhjit Pal Singh, said, We had a meeting where the committee asked us about the project and our role with regards to the project. We are now to send few documents sought by the committee by next week.

Request to de-freeze maintenance accounts turned down

What comes as another setback to the residents is turning down of the request of the allottees to de-freeze the maintenance account, so that the maintenance can be carried out. The electricity bills, water have to be paid but the committee refused to defreeze the account. If these bills are not paid the residents will lose water and power connection, said Jaspal Singh, general secretary, Pearl City Mohali Residents Welfare Association.

Investors charge at Pearls Group chairman outside Bathinda court

Bathinda: Scammed investors charged at Pearls Group chairman Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and three others outside the district courts on Friday here after a hearing. Judicial magistrate (first class) Randeep Kumar remanded Rs 45,000-crore-Ponzi-scheme accused Bhangoo, Sukhdev Singh, Gurmeet Singh, and Subrata Bhattacharya in three days of police custody in a local cheating case after Bathinda police brought them on production warrants from Delhi state, which had even sent an escort team along. Bhangoo is chairman-cum-managing director of Pearls Golden Forest (PGF) and Pearls Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL); while Sukhdev Singh is MD of PACL; and Gurmeet Singh and Bhattacharya are group directors.

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560 students were absent for the first half of the Punjab Medical Entrance Test (PMET) that is being held across Punjab on Saturday.

The exam is being conducted online for the first time.

Dr DS Sidhu, registrar of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, said that provisions for 7,892 candidates werre made for the first exam (held between 10 am and 1 pm) out of which 560 students were found to be absent.

Further, 40 students either reached their allotted centres late or had issues with their admission card. Most of these students were from Jalandhar and nearly areas.

Keeping in view their academic future, they are now been allowed to sit in second slot from 2 pm to 5 pm, Sidhu said, adding that nearly 7,900 students will appear for the afternoon batch.

Sidhu added that the university had made control rooms in different locations and, so far, there had been no complaint of technical glitches in the first slot.

Ups and downs

PMET has faced a lot of ups and down this year. The exam was cancelled after the Supreme Court ruling on the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) that made a single test across country mandatory.

After the Centres ordinance, Punjab government announced the date for PMET i.e. June 12. But the exam had to be advanced to June 11 and then was further divided into two halves due to paucity of computers. The exam is being held online.

It is for the first time that students have got an option to submit any objections regarding the question paper and the answer keys which will be uploaded on Sunday. The university will declare the results on June 15.

Bio, chemistry sections difficult: Students

Pushpreet Singh, who gave the exam at the Sirhind centre, said he did not face any technical problem during the exam. The biology section, according to Singh, had at least 15-20 questions which were extremely difficult and seemed out of the prescribed NCERT syllabus.

Harleen Pabla, who appeared for the exam in Landran (Mohali), said that two to three questions in the exam had a few errors in the formulas but she could make out the mistakes and attempted them. Agreeing with Singh, she too found the biology tough.

Some students, though, faced problems in the chemistry section as well.

Sherya Dhir, a student who was accompanied by her father said, It was a balanced paper. It wasnt really tough or extremely easy. I attempted it to the best of my ability.

Complaining about the chemistry portion, a student said, Chemistry was a little tough to crack but the rest was okay. Another student complaining about the exam said, We have given many exams online, so the technical part was not an issue. There was a lot of security as well. Chemistry, however, was difficult to crack.

Navdeep Kaur, another student who hails from Delhi said,I came here for holidays, and came to know about the exam. It was an easy paper.

Mark your dates

Uploading of question paper and answer keys: June 12

Objection to be filed against the question paper: June 13

Date of result: June 15
The Punjab Pre Medical Entrance Test (PMET) is underway in two shifts amid tight security in 15 towns across the state on Saturday. The exam is being conducted online for the first time.

A total of 15,677 candidates are taking the PMET for 700 MBBS and 500 BDS government quota seats in 21 medical and dental colleges in the state.

After the intervention of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot, decided to conduct the PMET in two slots (morning and afternoon) to adjust all candidates within Punjab. The morning session is between 10am and 1pm and the evening session from 2pm to 5pm.

The PMET was earlier planned in a single shift on June 11. Since the examination centres in Punjab were short of computers on that date, new centres were created in Hisar, Kurukshetra, and Ambala in Haryana for candidates from Bathinda, Patiala, and Mohali districts.

All centres in Punjab

The candidates from Pathankot and Amritsar were accommodated in Jammu and Samba areas of Jammu and Kashmir, and a few from Chandigarh were asked to appear at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. As the list of the centres appeared on the university website, the candidates required to appear in Haryana were concerned about their safety during the second round of the Jat quota agitation. Several candidates had approached Badal during his sangat darshan (public contact) programme in Muktsar last Monday. He told the university to conduct the test within Punjab.

The revised plan required a separate question paper for each of the two sessions. The revised list of allotted centres was put up on our website on Tuesday, BFUHS vice-chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur said.

He said given the situation in Haryana, the parents concerns were genuine. Also, since the number of candidates was too high, we had to plan two shifts. We are trying to allocate students the centres nearest to their home district. The reporting time for the second shift is 12.30pm, Dr Bahadur said.

Changes give jitters

Constant changes in this years PMET system have hit the focus of candidates. A parent, Rajiv Batra, said: It was a horrible year for medical aspirants. First, there were uncertainties about conducting the test and then frequent changes in the date (the exam was earlier schedule for June 12). Now at the eleventh hour, they have introduced two shifts.

Both question papers should be of the same level, said Chandigarh-based PMET trainer Dr Arvind Goyal.
The development works of the city are further expected to get delayed as the finance and contract committee (F&CC) of Municipal Corporation Moga has recalled almost all the tenders, of about Rs 22 crore concerning with civil works, suspecting pooling between the contractors.

Now, tenders of as many as 150 works of total 155 will be floated once again under the Punjab urban development mission funds and municipal funds.

During the meeting led by mayor Akshit Jain and deputy commissioner cum MC commissioner along with its members including senior deputy mayor Anil Bansal, deputy mayor Jarnail Singh and councillors Vaneet Sharma and Gurminder Singh Bablu suspected pooling by the contractors.

Despite tenders were called through the e-tendering process, the MC has received single bidder in each category and also, there was less saving in the tendering procedure for the MC.

Most the works were related to civil works including carpeting roads and installing interlocking tiles that were cancelled by the committee.

However, the committee had allotted tenders of works which were found necessary such as installing tree guards, LED lights, and mosquito spray.

Sources said that only single contractor bid the each tender at low overall average savings (OAS) ranging from 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent which is very less as compare to already going works.

Earlier, there were three to four contractors use to bid on each tender and further the ratings will be discussed in F&CC meeting. The tender was allotted to the contractor with maximum OAS, they said.

They said that it was apparent that contractors had pooled the works among them to earn huge profit from works.

Gurminder Bablu said that the same works of interlocking tiles and roads were allotted on the OAS ranging from 15% to 19%.If the tenders were allotted at this low OAS, the corporation would have suffered a loss of crores, he said.

Jain said that the committee had suspected pooling between the contractors who bid at very less percentage and to avoid financial loss to the corporation they have cancelled all the tenders.

Within 15 days, same tenders will be recalled again that development works could not be delayed, he said.
The slow real estate market, which barely had new launches, threw up a surprise this year. Affordable housing pushed up numbers. There was some activity in the market due to projects launched under the Haryana governments Affordable Housing Policy 2013. Prominent developers who are coming up with about 60,000 units under the schemes are Adani Realty, Signature Global and Tulip Infratech. Around 57,000 apartments measuring about 400 to 600 sq ft are up for sale in Haryana.

Urban planners clarify that the Haryana affordable housing policy is meant to attract the middle class earning an average salary of Rs 40,000 per month and is not necessarily for the economically backward class. The housing projects are also located in established sectors. In fact, the prices of these units are close to the market value of other projects in the vicinity but what is offered to the consumer is the super area, not the carpet area. No external development (EDC) or internal development charge (IDC) has to be paid.

Most affordable housing projects in Gurgaon are in the new sectors 58 to 115 under the Gurgaon-Manesar Urban Complex 2031 with some being floated under the Sohna Urban Development Plan. The directorate of town and country planning in Gurgaon has so far issued 35 licenses to developers for an area measuring 202 acres. Of these, nine licenses have been issued in Sohna.

Licences for the Affordable Housing Scheme, launched by the Haryana government, were issued to developers in 2014.

Adani Realty has launched an affordable housing project in Haryana under the brand Aangan in sectors 88A-89A. Sanjiv Tyagi, project head, says that the group has launched around 838 units under the scheme and is waiting for environment clearances. We may also add another 300 units to the same project and have applied for additional license. We are also hoping to come up with more projects under the segment, probably beyond Panipat, he says.

Signature Global recently raised Rs 150 crore from ICICI Prudential Fund to launch its fifth affordable housing project, Orchard Avenue, in Sector-93,Gurgaon. On offer are about 729 units of 1BHK and 2BHK in a price band of Rs 13.80 lakh to Rs 22.17 lakh at a carpet area cost of Rs 4,000 per sq ft. Pradeep Aggarwal, co-founder and chairman, Signature Global Group, says, We currently have a pipeline of more than 7,500 homes in Gurgaon. The group already has projects in Sectors 107, 93, 81, 71 and 103. Under this scheme, EDC and IDC have been waived and builders exempted from service tax. We plan to launch four more projects in this segment this year.

Who can go in for affordable housing? People with a salary of around Rs 40,000 per month paying a rent of `15,000 per month can opt for it. They can access around 90% home loan with a tenure of 20 years  to be paid in just six installments, he explains.

Under the time-linked plan, if the cost of the unit is Rs 22,17,125, the buyer will have to pay 5% of the total cost of property at the time of application and 20% at the time of allotment. The first installment (12.5%) of the cost of the property will have to be paid after six months, the second after 12 months, the third after 18 months, fourth after 24 months, the fifth after 30 months. The last installment is paid after 36 months of the date of allotment.

Haryana affordable housing scheme offers concessions such as additional floor area ratio and service tax exemptions.

In Gurgaon, affordable housing has been launched in sectors where density has reached its optimal level for group housing societies. The floor area ratio (FAR) offered is more than what one would expect in a normal group housing project. Instead of 1.75, a developer gets 2.25 (about 35% more) to develop this format. While a clubhouse might be missing, basic facilities such as creche, community hall etc are included in the projects.
Social housing and affordable housing are two different things. Affordable housing is targeted at the middle income group and not the economically weaker class, but buyers often decide to give affordable housing projects the miss because these are largely seen as catering to the lower income group.

Urban planners say that while its intentions are laudable, the government needs to research what consumers want in order to make affordable housing projects scalable. Apart from the preferred size to a buyers basic requirements the government needs to find out more about how much ownership housing is actually required versus rental housing. At present, most governments rely on census data that is collected once in a decade. More frequent sources of reliable data are needed.

Affordable housing is not just about the price tag, its also about creating more housing supply in the market. The demand-supply dynamics that apply to group housing complexes are applicable to affordable housing. In todays economic scenario, there may not be many takers for this housing format as there is already an oversupply of housing in certain micro markets.

Even if the government is controlling the price, the target audience is still the same. The spatial understanding of demand that gives an idea about how much stock should come up in an area is inadequate. Also, the government is not taking into account the rental housing market, all these policies are pushing only ownership housing, says Mukta Naik, senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Research, India.

Practically a person may want to live close to his place of work and may want certain convenience factors such as transportation etc and all those may be absent in these areas. Therefore, he may want to rent rather than buy property as an investment. Gurgaon city has a substantial mobile population that would much rather want to rent a house than own it, she says.

Cities needs to analyse how much ownership housing they actually require.They also need to formulate housing policies on the basis of feedback at the ground level. Most governments at present rely on census data that is collected once in a decade. There need to be more frequent sources of reliable data, she adds.

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The first look poster of Telugu film Gauthamiputra Satakarni, the ambitious new film starring actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, was released late on June 10. The actor aces as a warrior in the midst of a battle field. The side-angle shot shows just the face, bruised, muddied and a tad exhausted. Scenes from the battlefield with horse-borne fighters and flags fill up the rest of the frame with Balakrishnas face dominating it.

The actor, who celebrated his birthday on June 10, will be seen in the role of an unsung warrior from Satavahana dynasty (2nd century CE), situated in the present-day Deccan plateau.

Read: Gauthamiputra Satakarni to star Shriya Saran and Balakrishna

At first instance, the 56-year old Balakrishna looks a bit old for a ferocious warrior. We have seen quite a few of them in popular Indian cinema of late (Ranveer as Bajirao, Prabhas as Amarendra Baahubali and Rana as Bhallaladeva).Still its too early to comment on what the film is about.

Read: Kabir Bedi to star in Balakrishna-starrrer Gauthamiputra Satakarni

The historical drama, which will also be the actors 100th, will be directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Krish and will also star Hema Malini and Kabir Bedi. South Indian actor Shriya Saran will be Balakrishnas leading lady.

Being shot now, the next schedule of the film will begin in Hyderabad on Balakrishnas return from the US. The actor is in the US to attend a charity-related event.

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Three months after the untimely death of popular Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani, the new Kerala government is seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation. The Kerala police probe has yielded nothing and is getting nowhere.

The state government has written to the Department of Personnel and Training requesting that the (CBI) be asked to investigate the mysterious death of the popular actor on March 6.

Read: Mystery shrouds south Indian actor Kalabhawan Manis death

Manis brother RLV Ramakrishnan welcomed the move. We had raised this demand and spoken to all concerned and finally this has come. The truth has to come out, he said.

Read: Popular Malayalam actor Kalabhavan Mani dies

Mani, 45, who acted in 200 films in Malayalam and other languages, was admitted to a hospital in Kochi on March 4. Said to be suffering from a liver ailment, he died two days later.

Read: Kalabhavan Mani death | Kerala Police register case of unnatural death

Forensic experts said an insecticide, called Chlorpyrifos, was found in the actors body, leading his family to believe that there was foul play involved in Manis death.

At the time of his death the actor had been staying at a 30-acre farmhouse near Chalakudy in Thrissur district, away from his home where his wife and daughter reside.

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Vikram Chandras Sacred Games is just the beginning. You can expect to soon see content in Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Gujarati on Netflix.

For starters, Hindi and Marathi will feature in Sacred Games  which was announced this week as Netflixs first original series in India, a market it entered six months ago.

The source novel is set in 1990s Mumbai, and paints a layered, moving and unerringly authentic portrait of the citys underbelly at a time when that term still meant shootouts in the street and fugitives hiding in alleyways.

The show, being produced in collaboration with Anurag Kashyaps Phantom Films, will seek to recreate the local flavour, suspense and drama of Vikram Chandras 900-plus-page magnum opus, with its gangsters, cops, starlets and corrupt politicians.

Read: Heres our complete guide to Netflix in India

Great stories like Sacred Games transcend borders, says Jessica Lee, Netflixs director of communications for Asia. Netflix is all about bringing such great stories to a global platform. We are already on the lookout for new and compelling stories from India. We are looking at creating local titles and pursuing quality Bollywood titles, notable indie films and the best of regional cinema  whether Tamil, Gujarati, Punjabi or Marathi  for the Indian audience. Ultimately, Indian cinema will not only be for India but will be available to over 81 million Netflix members across 190 countries.

Just around the corner, on July 7, Brahman Naman, a coming-of-age comedy by Indian director Q, will be available globally on Netflix. As will Kashyaps Raman Raghav 2.0, which premiered at the Cannes film festival this year.

We may be different culturally but we all seem to love a great story. We saw this with Narcos, which was 75% Spanish and told the tale of the daring Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, and with the docu-series Making a Murderer, about a murder in a small Wisconsin town no ones heard of. Both ranked among the top 10 most viewed content in nearly all of our markets where they became available, says Lee. So we look for talented storytellers with a strong track record who have stories they are passionate about telling.

Read: This app lets you access Netflixs entire global library in India

The partnerships are crucial too. Phantom will help recreate Chandras novel onscreen in part because Anurag Kashyap has a history of rendering the underworld in films such as Black Friday, the Gangs of Wasseypur movies, and the upcoming Udta Punjab.

Growth in original series continues to expand, added a Netflix spokesperson. We released nearly 450 hours of global original content in 2015 and are planning over 600 hours in 2016.
Actor Mahhi Vij decided to move to Mumbai for a career in showbiz when she was just 17. There were financial issues and lifestyle changes. But the actor says that she braved it all.

The actor rose to fame after playing the role of Nakkusha in the show Laagi Tujhse Lagan and after that there was no looking back.

I come from a middle-class family. When I shifted to Mumbai I told my father that I will never be a burden on him. So there were times when we did not have money to pay rent and I did not have courage to tell my father. But somebody up in the heaven was looking after me and I would bag some project and would be able to afford the expenses. So my struggle would be over before it would even start, she says.

Read: I still get nervous before any performance: Mouni Roy

Stardom started sinking in when Vij met strangers who started to recognise her.

I had gone to a very small village near Pune with a population of I think 50 people. I didnt even know if they had a television or not. They came up to me and said Nakku. I was so surprised. I was travelling once and a 80 year old woman came up to me and said that I am her favourite. That gave me a lot of happiness, says Vij.

Actor Mahhi Vij says that when she met her husband actor Jay Bhanushali, it was love at first sight.

What was it about her husband Jay Bhanushali that made her realise he is the one for her before they tied the knot in 2011?

With Jay it was love at first sight for both of us and we immediately decided to get married. I told him that I dont want to get into a relationship. If you are game for getting married then only we would move forward to knowing each other and he agreed. I liked that bit about him that he is so committed, says Vij

Read: TV industry is organised in a disorganised way: Mohit Raina

The actor confesses that reports of trouble in her married life with Bhanushali had upset her and family a lot. Its not about us. It is about our families feeling bad after reading stuff about us. They are getting old and we should just give them happiness and not sleepless nights.

Trivia

Favourite food: Rajma Chawal

Describe yourself in 3 words: Honest, loyal, loving

Things fans dont know about Mahhi Vij: I am highly emotional. I am very fast in whatever I do. I am a foodie. I am a little lazy when it comes to gymming.

Any phobia: I have many phobias. I have phobia of heights and creepy crawly creatures. I cant be in a dark room.

What turns you off in people: I dont like fake people.

Your notion of success: Getting respect by everyone.

Your pillar of strength: My father

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Television is known for its hectic work schedules. So we decided to talk to actors and ask them how they manage to work and fast for Ramzan at the same time.

Actor Hiba Nawab says that although she finds it tough to fast and work at the same time, she tries her best.

For actor Hiba Nawab, work is as important as fasting and she makes it a point give it her best. I make it a point to keep roza and pray to Allah every time. Sometimes, the schedule is hectic and the heat takes a toll. On such days, it gets tough. I ensure that even if I am unable to observe a fast, I pray to Allah since it is Ibadat ka mahina, she says.

Actor Zain Imam says that on days he misses his fast, he feeds the poor.

Although he tried to fast on as many days as possible, actor Zain Imam makes up for the days he doesnt , by feeding the poor. Keeping roza while shooting often gets a tad difficult but if you have a connect with God, the day just passes by. I try to make up for the roza I miss, by feeding the poor because this is the month when all your deeds are written and sins are easily forgiven, he says.

Read: Jodha Akbar and other TV shows: How the actors cope with shooting in hot, open locales

For music composer Wajid Khan, Ramzan means family time. (Hindustan Times)

Ramzan is a time to spend with the family for composer Wajid Khan, who is currently mentoring participants in an ongoing reality show. Ramzan is the month of patience. Since childhood, we are observing Roza, so we are used to getting up early in the morning. Actually, for us it is a get-together too. I try not to miss work as that is also important. For this holy month, our entire family eats, sits and prays together for Sehri and Iftar. It is fun as we spend time for this holy reason which usually does not happen throughout the year because of our busy schedules, he says.

Actor Adaa Khan fasts on her days off as she finds it difficult to work and fast on the same day.

For actor Adaa Khan, its tough to fast continuously with work, but she makes sure to not miss it on her day off. I started keeping Roza from the time I was nine years old. I only fast during my day-off because being an actor, you have to talk a lot in front of the camera and that makes you thirsty. So I dont fast whenever I am working. Specially during this weather, you sweat a lot and then you want to drink a lot of water which you cant, she says.

TV actor Mohammad Nazim says that although he is shooting abroad, he makes sure to fast everyday.

Actor Mohammad Nazim is currently shooting abroad, but he makes sure to fast daily. Keeping roza is very important to me. I am shooting in Australia at the moment. Its tough to fast in a foreign country, but I am somehow managing it. In fact, I even go to the gym during these days, he says.

Actor Ayub Khan says he is used to keeping Roza while working after years of doing it.

Actor Ayub Khan says that fasting while working becomes easier with time. I have been in the industry for long enough to get used to this kind of schedule and work hours. I always fast during Ramzan and so it has become very natural to me. Irrespective of my shoot I continue to follow my routine and it doesnt affect my shooting schedule in any way. The starting days are always a struggle but later your body and mind gets used to change, he says.

Follow @htshowbiz for more.
Afghanistan on Saturday hailed Washingtons decision to expand the US militarys authority to tackle a resurgent Taliban insurgency, saying the support will boost the capacity of struggling local forces.

The decision will allow US troops, who have been in a training and advisory role in Afghanistan since the start of 2015, collaborate more closely with local forces in striking the Taliban.

We welcome the US announcement of broader involvement in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, defence ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri told AFP.

We may not need more boots on the ground, but we need their advisors and we need them to equip our air force. Their involvement will increase our capacity in operations on the ground.

The US announcement comes after Afghan forces, beset by record casualties, desertions and troop shortages, suffered a string of setbacks last year at the hands of the Taliban.

We welcome measures taken by the US as our strategic partner to fight terrorism, said deputy presidential spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashimi.

Some 9,800 US troops remain in Afghanistan in an advisory capacity, down from a peak of around 100,000 in March 2011. That number is set to drop to just 5,500 by the years end.

An American defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said despite the expanding role the US troops would still not be involved in direct combat.

Still, the new announcement is fraught with political sensitivities as it marks a departure from President Barack Obamas earlier commitment to end the grinding conflict and pull US troops out of Afghanistan.

Obama last month authorised a rare US drone strike deep inside Pakistan, killing Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a raid which highlighted an aggressive new push to target the insurgents.

The US presidential election is coming up this year and Obama needs to show that the war in Afghanistan is still important, Kabul-based military analyst Wahid Taqat told AFP. He cannot afford to let Afghanistan fail.
Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has pledged allegiance to new Afghan Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, whose predecessor was killed in a US drone strike.

The pledge came in a 14-minute audio and video message posted online, the US-based monitor SITE Intelligence Group said on Saturday.

We pledge allegiance to you on jihad to liberate every inch of the lands of the Muslims that are invaded and stolen, from Kashgar to al-Andalus, from the Caucasus to Somalia and Central Africa, from Kashmir to Jerusalem, from the Philippines to Kabul, and from Bukhara and Samarkand, it quoted Zawahiri as saying.

The message included images of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011.

Akhundzada was named by the Afghan Taliban as their new leader last month in a swift power transition after officially confirming the death of Mullah Mansour in a US drone strike.

An Afghan man reads a local newspaper in Kabul with photos the former leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, who was killed in a US drone strike. (AP)

Akhundzada, formerly one of Mansours deputies, faces the enormous challenge of unifying an increasingly fragmented militant movement.

The drone attack that killed Mansour, the first known American assault on a top Afghan Taliban leader on Pakistani soil, sent shockwaves through the insurgent movement which had seen a resurgence under Mansour.

He was killed just nine months after being formally appointed leader following a bitter power struggle upon confirmation of founder Mullah Omars death.
Gawker Media on Friday filed for bankruptcy, seeking to sidestep a shutdown from a $140 million judgment for releasing a Hulk Hogan sex tape in a lawsuit bankrolled by a Silicon Valley billionaire.

Following the bankruptcy filing, the embattled US media group said it had reached a deal to sell its media brands to publishing group Ziff Davis.

The moves come with Gawker under fire for its no-holds-barred approach to celebrity coverage, but with questions also raised about whether powerful interests can use their resources to silence media for unfavourable coverage.

The filing in New York follows the whopping jury award earlier this year for releasing a tape of pro wrestler Hogan having sex with a friends wife.

The case drew heightened attention when Silicon Valley titan Peter Thiel acknowledged that he had helped fund the litigation and others against Gawker, with whom he has feuded for years since it outed him as a homosexual.

The filing in federal bankruptcy court in New York lists assets in a range of $50 million to $100 million, and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million.

It seeks protection of its assets under Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code.

The Gawker statement offered no financial details but said the media assets would be sold free and clear of legal liabilities and maximize value for all stakeholders.

It said the sale will be conducted through a bankruptcy court supervised auction, in which other bidders may also participate.

Ziff-Davis known for its PC Magazine among others, is part of the j2 Global digital media group. The deal calls for acquisition of the website Gawker as well as other brands including Gizmodo, Deadspin and Lifehacker.

Gawker founder Nick Denton appeared to dig in his heels in the feud with Thiel. Even with his billions, Thiel will not silence our writers, Denton said in a tweet.

Our sites will thrive -- under new ownership -- and well win in court.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday vowed to hunt down those behind the recent targeted killings of bloggers and minorities as police detained over 3,000 people, including 37 suspected Islamists, on the first day of a nationwide anti-terrorist drive.

Where will they hide in Bangladesh, Hasina asked during a meeting of the Awami Leagues working committee, and warned: No one will get away.

Its not a tough task to find them. They will be brought to justice, Hasina told the meeting at her official residence, the Gana Bhaban.

Its just a matter of time, added the Awami League chief.

Inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Hoque said the week-long drive was aimed at dismantling all terrorist outfits and their networks in the country.

On Friday, a Hindu monastery worker was hacked to death in Pabna district.

Alamgir Kabir, the districts police chief, said the motive behind the killing was not yet known.

Of the 3,192 arrested, 1,861 were held after arrest warrants were issued by court, police said in a media release on Saturday.

The decision to crack down on Islamist sympathisers was taken on Thursday, five days after the murder of decorated police officer Babul Aktars wife Mahmuda Aktar Mitu in Chittagong.

Mahmudas murder was strikingly similar to the attacks carried out by suspected Islamist militants on secular writers, bloggers, online activists and people of different religious views.

Bangladesh has been facing a surge in violent attacks in recent months.

This Feb 20, 2016 file photo shows local residents watching a police raid on a building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (AP file photo)

A number of secular writers, bloggers and publishers were killed or seriously injured in attacks carried out by extremists since 2013.

The wave of suspected militant attacks since last year, which has left more than 30 dead, has put Bangladesh in the spotlight in the global arena.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for 21 of the attacks while al Qaeda has claimed most of the rest, according to monitoring group SITE Intelligence.

The government, however, denies the presence of the groups in Bangladesh and has blamed home-grown militants for the killings.

Condemning the killings in the name of religion, Hasina said that Islam does not permit taking anyones life.

What kind of religious practice is this killing of innocent people, she asked, adding that the attacks were aimed at spoiling religious harmony in Bangladesh.

She once again blamed the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and its ally the Jamaat-e-Islami for the recent killings.
The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft set off late Friday from Pennsylvania, aiming for New York and a fly-over of the Statue of Liberty in the latest leg of its bid to circle the globe using only solar power.

Swiss founders and pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg hope to demonstrate how pioneering spirit, innovation and clean technologies can change the world

Andre Borschberg took off from Lehigh Valley to New York, the 14th leg of Round the World Journey and marks the final US leg.

The flight, conceived to fly around the Statue of Liberty and in front of the skyline of Manhattan, is part of the attempt to achieve the first ever Round-The-World Solar Flight.

The aircraft, with Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg at the controls, took off from Lehigh Valley Airport shortly before midnight, a live video feed showed. The flight to New Yorks Kennedy Airport was expected to take three hours.
The Indian government is going to be Americas great ally and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.

Read:When it comes to Modi, theres a new symphony at play in US Congress

In a major foreign policy speech in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obamas policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.

I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modis leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length yesterday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas, Ryan said.

Read: In rousing speech to US Congress, PM Modi signals new moment in ties

He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.

Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryans speakership.

On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the Prime Ministers address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader.

Read: US indispensable partner; terror is incubated in Indias neighbourhood: Modi

A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi. I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. Thats one thing that we need to nurture and grow, Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.

And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, hes a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. Hes bringing needed reform to the country, Ryan said, according to the remarks released by his office.

Thats the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon. That stands in stark contrast, I would argue, to the Obama foreign policy of the last eight years where we have neglected our allies and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries, said the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Except for his comments on India, Ryan slammed Obamas foreign policy.

We know that this new Obama foreign policy concept, leading from behind, can now be declared an unambiguous failure. It is making us unprepared. It is reducing our military capability and strength, he alleged.
Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has called India a great ally, one with which America should build an alliance and build upon it.

The new Indian government is going to be a great ally for ours, and we have better security cooperation with them, Ryan said at a leading think tank on Thursday, the day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of US congress.

Read: When it comes to Modi, theres a new symphony at play in US Congress

He added: Thats one thing that we need to nurture and grow. And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, hes a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. Hes bringing needed reform to the country. Thats the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon.

Modi, who became only the fifth Indian prime minister to speak to a joint meeting of congress, was Ryans first joint-address speaker since he took office in October 2015.

Read: Modis US policy: Can India shape an Asian Century without China?

Speaker Ryan also went further that all his predecessors, hosting an official lunch on Capital Hill, home to US congress, for Prime Minister Modi.

The speaker went on to cite India, and bilateral relations, as a contrast to rest of President Barack Obamas foreign policy which, he said, neglected our allies, and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries.
At least 20 people were killed in suicide and car bomb blasts, claimed by Islamic State, near Syrias holiest Shia Muslim shrine in a Damascus suburb on Saturday.

State television showed debris, mangled cars and wrecked shops in a main commercial thoroughfare near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, in an area where at least three bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State have killed and wounded scores of people this year.

The ultra-hardline Sunni militants of IS, whose many foes are advancing on a number of fronts in both Syria and Iraq, are avowed enemies of Shias, whom they consider a heretical group within Islam.

State media said at least eight people were killed. But the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll had risen to at least 20, including at least 13 civilians, with the other victims coming from pro-government militias. It said the number was expected to rise because many of the scores of wounded people were in critical condition.

Islamic State said two of its suicide bombers had blown themselves up and operatives had detonated an explosives-laden car, according to the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency.

The Sayeda Zeinab shrine is a magnet for thousands of Iraqi and Afghan Shia militia recruits who go there before being assigned to front lines, where they fight against the Sunni rebel groups trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Almost every Shia militia fighter bears insignia on his combat fatigues with the words For your sake, Sayeda Zeinab.

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, doctors treat a man at a hospital in Damascus who was injured in the bombing attack in the Sayeda Zeinab suburb, Syria on Saturday. (AP)

Sectarian split

The heavily garrisoned area near the shrine is also a well known stronghold of Lebanons powerful Shia Hezbollah group, an Iranian-backed movement that is one of Assads chief allies.

Non-jihadist rebels say Irans strong military intervention on the side of Assad, alongside its backing of other Shia militias, is fuelling the sectarian dimension of the nearly six-year Syrian civil war by drawing even more radical foreign Sunni jihadists into the country.

Separately, US-backed Syrian forces made new territorial gains against Islamic State on Saturday, moving closer to another of its major strongholds in northern Syria, according to the monitoring group.

Syrians gather around burning buildings after a bomb attack at the Sayeda Zeinab suburb in Damascus, Syria on Saturday. (AP)

The Observatory said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), bringing together Kurdish and Arab fighters, were now almost 17 km from the city of al-Bab, an Islamic State stronghold north east of Aleppo.

The SDF on Friday cut off the last route into the encircled town of Manbij from al-Bab after over a week of advances around that area, allowing it to lay siege to the large town from all directions, the monitor said..

In other frontlines in northern Syria, two rebel sources said Russian and Syrian jets stepped up their relentless aerial bombing of their positions in the northern city of Aleppo.
Queen Elizabeth II marked her official 90th birthday on Saturday by taking salute at a special military parade in London where one-year-old Princess Charlotte proved to be the star attraction.

The royal baby made her first public appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony in her mother Kates arms.

Her father Prince William and brother Prince George, 3, were by her side as part of the annual tradition where the monarch makes an appearance to view the Royal Air Force (RAF) fly past in her honour.

Both baby royals, third and fourth in line to the British throne, were dressed in pale colours, with George wearing white while Princess Charlotte wore a pale pink dress.

(REUTERS)

Earlier, Kate and William joined the Queen and the Royal Family for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony.

The traditional parade was this year celebrating the monarchs 90th birthday, who wore an unusually bold dress and hat combination of bright green that caught the eye of many.

They travelled from Buckingham Palace to the Horse Guards in horse-drawn carriages, where thousands of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the Royal family.

Members of the royal family stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony on Horseguards Parade. (REUTERS)

There, the Royal family watched the parades as the Queen inspected her soldiers.

Salutes were fired across the UK.

In the afternoon, the royal barge Gloriana led a flotilla of about 50 boats in a pageant down the River Thames, carrying figures including five-time Olympic gold rower Sir Steve Redgrave.

Guardsmen arrive back at Buckingham Palace from Horseguards Parade after the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony in central London. (REUTERS)

Visible in her vibrant ensemble, the Queen smiled and waved to crowds as she was driven with her husband and Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, who wore a ceremonial red military uniform, in an open-top carriage up the flag-lined Mall.

Queen Elizabeth celebrates two birthdays as part of a royal tradition, dating back over 250 years.

The actual date of her birth is April 21, 1926.

But her official birthday is marked in Britain on a Saturday in June with Trooping the Colour.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has slammed US President Barack Obama for endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate despite being under criminal investigation.

Trump, however, said he was ready to face Clinton in the November elections, which he claimed would attract the largest ever voter turnout.

You have a President coming out and endorsing somebody who is under criminal investigation. Is this supposed to be the way the country supposed to be? Trump told his cheering supporters at an election rally in Richmond, Virginia on Friday.

This was Trumps first public rally since Obama endorsed Clinton as Democratic presidential nominee against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

The rally at spacious Richmond Coliseum attracted several thousands people. But the arena having a capacity of 13,500 was more than half empty.

Trump said the rally was organised at a short notice of less than one day.

The real estate mogul from New York said he would make a major policy speech on Clinton in New Hampshire on Monday. To the cheering of his supporters, Trump described this as a crooked Hillary speech.

There is so much corruption. If the system works, she is not allowed to run. It is really unfair for the other people, Trump said referring to a latest news report that an Indian American Rajiv Fernando was appointed to the important International Security Advisory board because of his alleged massive donations to the Clinton Foundation.

The Advisory Board advises the State Department on nuclear weapons and other issues of national security. Based out of Chicago, Fernando is a securities trader president of Chopper Trading.

According to ABC News, Fernando was a major bundler for the Obama Campaign, raising more than $500,000 for his re-election cycle. And before his appointment at the State Department, he gave between $100,000 and $250,000 to the William J Clinton Foundation.

Trump cited this as another example for corruption by Hillary Clinton. He made a contribution of $250,000 and all of a sudden hes on this very important and vital board, he said.

Reiterating that Clinton should not be allowed to run for the elections, he said he is ready to run against the former US Secretary of State and exuded confidence of winning the election.

Trump said the debate against Clinton would be the biggest debate in the history and would be the biggest voter turnout in the history of this country.

Countries like China and Mexico, he alleged are destroying the United States. He reiterated that he would make the wall on the Mexico border, which some day may be called as Trump Wall. Someday, people would call it a Trump wall, he said, adding this would be a strong, tall and beautiful wall.

Our taking is being taken advantage of because we have very stupid people representing in trade. It is not going to happen. We are losing badly. We have the smartest people in the world. But we are using dumbest people, he alleged.

Trump claimed that companies would start setting up manufacturing plants in the US, because there would be consequences for moving jobs overseas. We are going to bring jobs back to America, he said, adding his administration would lower taxes and simplify tax codes.

Hillary Clinton is going to raise taxes beyond anyones imagination, he claimed.

Polls are looking good in Virginia, he said. Pollsters are saying that Virginia is a key swing state for the November general elections. He claimed that he would win the presidential elections in Florida and New York.

Unless we win in November, it means nothing. It would be waste of time and money, he said and asked people to come out and vote in large numbers in the November general elections.

I am the least racist person that you have ever looked at, he said, referring to the allegations that he is a racist.

Trump lashed out at Clinton for not using the term radical Islamic terrorism because she does not want to offend Obama. Because she does not want to go to jail. The system is rigged. Bernie found it out, he said.

If we had guns in those rooms, and bullets going in opposite direction, not so many people would have been killed, he said. We are going to win again and we are going to kick ISIS, we are going to win in trade, we are going to win on the Supreme Court... we are going to win so much that you people are going to (get) sick and tired of winning. We are going to win, win, win, he said.

Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor to the Trump Campaign, alleged that as Secretary of State, Clinton gave a prominent national security post dealing with nuclear security to someone who paid five million dollars to the Clinton Foundation.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has cleared two projects worth billions of dollars for building a gas pipeline and upgrading the main line of Pakistan Railways to improve traffic for a bilateral economic corridor, the media reported on Thursday.

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), a finance arm of the government, gave the nod for both projects ahead of loan negotiations with China, The Express Tribune reported. China will provide loans equivalent to 85% of the cost of both project.

According to documents, the cost of upgrading Pakistan Railways main line and establishing a dry port near Havelian is $8.2 billion, which the Chinese government will finance with a $7-billion concessionary loan.

The project is part of the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is covered by the framework agreement for the corridor that was signed during the April 2015 visit of the Chinese president to Pakistan.

In the railway project, 15% of the cost will be borne by Pakistan and 85% will be financed by Chinese financial institutions. Pakistan Railways currently accounts for less than 4% of the countrys traffic volume, which the government intends to increase to at least 20% by 2025.

The project envisages upgrading the railways main line from Karachi to Peshawar with a length of 1,872 km, including the 91-km Lodhran-Khanewal section and 55-km Taxila-Havelian section.

The major work will involve upgrading 1,598 km of double and single track and overhauling 930 km of double line. The construction of a 676-km new track from Lalamusa to Peshawar, construction of tunnels, bridges and culverts along with allied structures and facilities for 25-ton axle load capacity are also part of the project. The project is planned to be completed in two phases in five years by 2021. The first phase will be completed by December 2017 and the second by 2021.

The CDWP also cleared the Gwadar-Nawabshah LNG terminal and pipeline project at an estimated cost of roughly $2 billion, including a $1.4-billion Chinese loan.
Pakistan has been asked by the United States to put its case of joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) before the 48-member countries rather than seeking individual endorsements for joining it.

Islamabad had earlier this week, sent letters to American officials and lawmakers, urging them to support its bid for joining the 48-member club that controls access to sensitive nuclear technology, reports the Dawn.

The 48-nation NSG held a special meeting in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday to consider applications from India and Pakistan.

Both New Delhi and Islamabad possess atomic weapons but are not signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

When it became obvious that China will not allow India to join the NSG on Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the US State Department urged Pakistan to present its application before the entire group.

When asked why Washington wasnt backing Pakistans application, spokesman, Mark Toner, said, Thats a collective decision reached by the members of the group.

India is also pursuing membership into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, but certainly, if Pakistan wants to pursue that, thats something for all the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to consider, he added.

US President Barack Obama, who met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Tuesday, after the meeting announced that the United States strongly supported Indias bid to join the NSG.

On being suggested by a journalist that the US position on this issue may further strain already tense relations between India and Pakistan, Toner urged Pakistan to stop terrorists from using its soil to conduct operations inside India.

We believe that Pakistan and India stand to benefit from practical cooperation and encourage direct dialogue aimed at increasing cooperation and reducing tensions, he said.

And that includes steps by Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to plan attacks in India and that Pakistan takes steps to address or to go after all the terrorist groups that are currently using its territory, he added.

He said that bilateral relations with India and Pakistan were separate and stand on their own merits, and so its not prudent for the US to view its security cooperation in the region in kind of a zero-sum game - or zero-sum terms.

I think its important for the countries of the region that they all have constructive security relationships with each other. And thats Pakistan, thats India, and its also Afghanistan, he said.
The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft flew into New York past the Statue of Liberty completing the US leg on Saturday of a record-breaking bid to circumnavigate the Earth powered only by solar energy.

The plane, which is no heavier than a car but has the wingspan of a Boeing 747, is being flown on its 35,000km round-the-world journey by two pilots taking turns, Swiss entrepreneur Andre Borschberg and psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard.

Its absolutely incredible, said Borschberg over a live video feed as the iconic statue lit up the night below him. Its a dream here.

The light, slow-moving aircraft landed at New Yorks John F Kennedy International Airport, one minute ahead of schedule at 3.59 am after a five-hour flight from Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.

People watch the arrival of the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft following its successful landing at JFK International Airport in Queens, New York on Saturday. (AFP)

Photographers in New York harbour captured the innovative solar powered aircraft as it flew over the Verrazano Bridge, circled Lady Liberty and cruised the Manhattan skyline before turning south to land.

I felt like a three-year-old kid looking at the Christmas tree, it was so beautiful, Borschberg told a news conference after landing.

It was the 14th leg of an east-west journey that began March 9, 2015 in Abu Dhabi, and has taken the aircraft across Asia and the Pacific to the United States with the Sun as the planes only source of power.

The journey so far included a stretch of five nights and five days from Japan to Hawaii, which broke a record for the longest uninterrupted journey in aviation history.

But a third of the journey remains. From New York, the Solar Impulse team will attempt to cross the Atlantic, then fly through Europe and on to the Middle East back to Abu Dhabi.

The single-seat aircraft is clad in 17,000 solar cells. During night-time flights it runs on battery-stored power.

It typically travels at a mere 48 km per hour, although its flight speed can double when exposed to full sunlight.

Piccard, a balloonist who made the first non-stop balloon flight around the world in 1999, talked about the symbolism of the Statue and changing definitions of liberty during the course of history.

In the 21st century I believe liberty is to get independent from fossil fuels and pollution, he told a news conference.
Pakistans army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the US to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.

General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson in Islamabad on Friday.

In a late night statement, the army said Gen Raheel demanded targeting of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.

Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, COAS reiterated Pakistans resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism, it said.

It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on May 21.

The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.

Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistans sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, it said.

Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.

He said all stakeholders need to understand Pakistans challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.

Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate, he said.

He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.

Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Ministers Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated.
AMERICAN INGENUITY

I enjoyed H.W. Brands Coca-Cola Goes to War (August 1999) and thought your readers would like to know of yet another way Coke went to war, or at least the bottle did.

During World War II, our battalion commanders jeep driver, an enterprising soldier from Brooklyn, had a novel way of obtaining liquor from home. His mother filled a Coke bottle with rye or bourbon, cut a loaf of bread in half, partially hollowed out a socket in one half, placed the bottle in the bread, joined the two halves together, then wrapped and sent the package through the mail. Liquor was among the restricted mailing items, but the bread always made it through the Army Post Office system. The contents were doubly protected by the thickness of the bottle and by the hard loaf (the bread turned to the consistency of stone by the time it reached its destination).

So, for a few minutes each month or so, the jeep driver was king. He enjoyed the liquor, but I always thought that he equally enjoyed beating the system, thanks to the Coke bottle.

William B. Holberton

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

A CASE OF IDENTITY

I would like to bring to your attention an error spotted in Undermining the Molly Maguires (August 1999). The article states that Michael Doyle was one of four convicted murderers hanged on June 21, 1877, at Mauch Chunk jail, yet Michael Doyles name appears again on a Pinkerton list of Mollie Maguire fugitives reproduced on page 62. The caption states that of those listed, only Thomas Hurley was ever apprehended. Can I assume that the oversight is in the caption?

Edward Greaney

Kailua, Hawaii

Editors note: Michael Doyle of Mount Laffee, Schuylkill County, was hanged at Mauch Chunk for the murder of mine superintendent John P. Jones. Another man with the same name lived in Shenandoah, Schuylkill County, and was an alleged accomplice in the murders of foreman Thomas Sanger and miner William Uren. This Doyle fled Pennsylvanias coal region and was never captured.

MARTYRS NOT MURDERERS

The hanging of 10 men on one day, June 21, 1877, essentially for being Molly Maguires, remains the worst judicial atrocity in American history. These men are true American martyrs to labor and to the Civil Rights movement.

James J. Dillon

Long Island City, New York

MEMORIAL TO LOST LIVES

I congratulate you on Gregory Crouchs article, The Point of No Return, (June 1999). This tragedy is close to my heart. My brother, Gordon Overshiner, was one of the 23 boys who lost their lives on the USS Young during the navys worst peacetime disaster. At the time I was only seven years old, and 18-year-old Gordon had been in the navy for only three months.

Last year I visited the sight of the catastrophe, near Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where I was a guest at a ceremony held to commemorate the tragedy that had occurred 75 years earlier. I was the only one attending who had actually lost a close relative in the disaster, and I was treated with dignity and honor. A memorial to the 23 boys was dedicated, taps was played, a gun salute echoed out across that terrible span of water, and a lei was dropped from a helicopter. It was a fitting tribute.

Audrey Humburg

Campbell, California

WHO CAME FIRST?

Depending on the criteria that you use, John Hanson (Americans, June 1999) might not have been the first president. You could argue that Peyton Randolph was the first, since he was president of the First Continental Congress when it was called into session in 1774. If independence from Great Britain is used as a starting point, then John Hancock would be the first, since he was the president of the Continental Congress when the Declaration of Independence was adopted. It could even be argued that both Samuel Huntington and Thomas McKean were presidents before John Hanson, as they were presiding over a government that was in existence and functioning before the Articles of Confederation was formally adopted by all the states in 1781.

Larry Vigon

Chicago, Illinois

STORMY WEATHER

I read with much interest the letter from Craig Mitchell (August 1999) about the typhoon on Okinawa in October 1945. I was there, on a PT tender, the USS Portunus, anchored in Buckner Bay. We were awaiting our turn to take on fresh water, after which we were due to leave for the States. When news of the typhoon came, all ships that were able were ordered out to sea to ride it out. We couldnt see the sun, stars, or moon for all this time so we were unable to take any sightings and did not know where we were. All we could do was head into the wind and pray. We heard many SOS calls over the radio but of course were unable to help.

Since the ship pitched and rolled so much it was difficult to sleep in a bunk. I strung my hammock on the bridge and lashed myself in so that when the ship rolled I was over water, but at least I was comfortable.

When we returned to port after the storm blew itself out it was to scenes of devastation that reminded me of the New England hurricane of 1938.

Norman D. Sills

Salisbury, Connecticut
THE FIRST TO FIGHT

When I received the October 2000 issue, I eagerly turned to the article about the 54th Massachusetts Voluntary Regiment (A Gallant Rush for Glory by William C. Kashatus), but to my dismay I found it to be a rehash of the same tired old storythe glorious 54th Massachusetts proves to the nation what the first black unit could do.

At least one other black volunteer unit has far more weight to its claim of being the first under arms or in combat. The 1st Kansas Colored Infantry was sworn in as a regiment on January 13, 1863. Its colonels date of rank was preceded only by the commander of the 1st South Carolina Colored Infantry, not by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. As Kansas was a free state, this means that the 54th was not the first black unit under arms from the free North. Also, the 1st Kansas Colored took part in its first major battle at Honey Springs in the Indian Territories on July 17, 1863. Together with a surprisingly diverse group of volunteers (white, assorted Indian tribal bands, and blacks) and a small force of Regulars, the outnumbered Union troops turned back invading Rebel forces in an action with more far-reaching results than those achieved by the Union attack on Charlestons defenses.

Charles Temm, Jr.

Salem, Alabama

William C. Kashatus replies: Mr. Temms contention that the 1st Kansas was the first black infantry to see combat from the free North is arguable at best, considering that many of the men who filled the ranks of that infantry were runaway slaves from Missouri. Nor did the 1st Kansas July 17 engagement at Honey Springs precede the 54ths skirmish at James Island, South Carolina, which occurred the day before, on July 16, 1863. To suggest that the 54ths famous assault on Fort Wagner is a tired old story is to ignore the contemporary relevance of that significant event.

The 54th may not have been integrated in manpower, but it certainly was in spirit. Shaw and his white officers refused pay until their black troops were given the same salary as white soldiers. They served with the knowledge that they, like their men, would be put to death if captured. The officers not only fought alongside their men but were also among the 271 killed during the siege of Wagner.

At a time when the most pressing social issue in this nation is the troubled state of race relations, the story of the 54th cannot be told often enough, especially to the younger readers of American History.

CLYDE BARROW PRAISES HENRY FORD

In The Raid on Eastham (October 2000), John Neal Phillips mentions the Ford V-8 coupe that infamous gangsters Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow used as a getaway car during their clashes with the law in the 1930s.

An interesting footnote to the article is that on April 13, 1934, a little more than a month before his final showdown with the law, Clyde took time out of his busy criminal career to write a letter to Henry Ford extolling the virtues of Fords V-8 engine. Barrow told Ford he admired the machines getaway power. He explained that his evaluations were based on experiences that hasent been strickly legal.

The original handwritten letter, complete with misspellings and grammatical errors, is on display at the Automobile Pavilion of the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Joe McElwee

Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania

STEPHEN AMBROSES BOOK

In reference to The Central Pacific Attacks the Sierra Nevada from Stephen Ambroses Nothing Like it in the World (October 2000), isnt it time to admit that, your warm feelings for your former colleague and his skill as a historian aside, there is simply nothing new to say about the building of the transcontinental railway and the ensuing scandals?

Another more extensive history of the subject has just been published. David Howard Bains book Empire Express is exhaustive but not exhausting. Ive added it to my extensive railroad library.

Martyn J. Hodes

San Diego, California

INSPIRED BY THE GREAT ORATOR

Even though I have read much about the John Scopes trial, I found Evolution on Trial (August 2000) to be an interesting article. What I found even more fascinating was the accompanying Time Traveler section on Dayton, Tennessee, which stated that William Jennings Bryan founded Bryan College in 1930. That would have been impossible, as he died five days after the July 1925 trial ended.

C.J. (Linda) Hart

New York City, New York

Editors reply: The movement to found Bryan College started at the beginning of the Scopes trial, when local Dayton business and professional people interested in building a Christian college approached William Jennings Bryan for his assistance in organizing it. Bryan attended committee meetings and looked at various sites during the trial, but he died shortly after the trial ended. It took five more years to build the college, and the school opened in 1930. Although Bryan was the inspiration for the college, and it was founded in his honor, he was not technically one of its founders.
After the Battle of South Mountain, Maryland, on September 14, 1862, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia retired to the hills overlooking Antietam Creek. There, with his back to the Potomac River, Robert E. Lee planned to gather his widely scattered divisions and strike back at Major General George B. McClellans Army of the Potomac. Lee had originally planned to push his invasion farther into Northern territory, but the inexplicable loss of his battle plan, contained in Order 191, had forced him to cut short his campaign. Yet Lee still remained optimistic. He had full confidence in his men and officers. He wanted one more chance to bring his combined army together and make another stand on Maryland soil, convinced that such a blow would inspire the South, demoralize the North and bring vacillating Europeans into the Confederate camp. Lee waited for McClellan to make the next move.

McClellan, in his usual methodical manner, pursued his nemesis at a respectful distance. He felt leery about pushing Lee too hard and constantly demanded more reinforcements from Washington. Through faulty intelligence and his own misjudgment, McClellan believed that Lees army outnumbered his own, when in actuality McClellan outnumbered Lee almost 2-to-1. Only when McClellan felt he had a proper reserve force would he consider bringing on another general engagement with the ever dangerous Lee.

It was not until two days after the Battle of South Mountain that McClellan again felt confident enough to take on Lee. He blamed the long delay on the fog and his own uncertainty concerning the enemys strength. After extensive personal reconnaissance of Lees 4-mile-long defensive line west of Antietam Creek during the morning and early afternoon of the 16th, McClellan finally decided to throw the weight of his army across the creek to the north of Lees position and strike the Confederate left flank.

At roughly 2 p.m. on September 16, McClellan ordered Maj. Gen. Joseph Fighting Joe Hooker to cross the creek with his I Corps to attack and, if possible, turn the enemys left flank. Their objective was to gain the divide between the Potomac River and Antietam Creek. Once there, they were to incline to the left, following the high ground, and anchor themselves on the left flank of the Rebel army.

I Corps had been encamped between the forks of Big and Little Antietam creeks since the night of the 15th, and the veteran troops had been marching and fighting since the start of the Peninsula campaign five months earlier. On the morning of the 16th, they received their daily ration of sugar, coffee and a few pieces of hardtack and spent the day lounging in the vicinity of the Corse house and Pry mill. For hundreds of soldiers in the I Corps, those would be the last rations they would receive.

At approximately 4 p.m., Hooker finally began to move his corps across the Hitt Bridge, known to the soldiers as the Upper Bridge, over Antietam Creek. The divisions of Brig. Gen. George G. Meade and James B. Ricketts crossed over the stone bridge while Brig. Gen. Abner Doubledays division crossed downstream at the nearby Pry mill ford.

As soon as the I Corps got underway, Hooker rode back to the Pry house, where McClellan had established his headquarters, to obtain further orders. The prominent house provided a tremendous view overlooking the creek and the distant fields beyond the opposite bank. While there, Hooker was informed by McClellan that he was at liberty to call upon reinforcements if he should need them, and that upon their arrival they would be placed under Hookers direct command. With this promise in mind, Hooker returned to his marching troops.

At the bridge the Federal vanguard, consisting of Meades division, had crossed to the west bank and proceeded for roughly a mile down the Williamsport Road. There, the troops turned off the road and moved cross-country through fields and wood lots to their left; the direction of the march was perpendicular to the creek. Their objective was to find the Hagerstown Pike and the Confederate left flank. Soon after filing off the road, the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, a headquarters detachment screening in advance, reported having been fired upon by Rebel pickets.

The 3rd Pennsylvania, with Hooker at the head, had crossed earlier at the ford in advance of the infantry column. Upon reaching the opposite bank, a squadron consisting of Companies C and I was ordered directly west to determine the enemys position. Guided by a local farmer, the squadron, under the command of Captain Edward S. Jones, began moving down the M. Miller farm lane in columns of two. Since the afternoon had already passed and the sun was quickly setting, Hooker called out after Jones: Double up those dragoons! Theres a damned sight to do, and damned little time to do it in!

Jones squadron had not gone far before it saw Confederate videttes rapidly withdrawing to the rear. As soon as Jones saw the Rebels disappear into the East Woods, he halted his advance. He fully appreciated the need for coordination and wanted the column on his right to get into position before bringing on an engagement. Jones troopers, standing mounted in the open, soon became conspicuous targets for enemy sharpshooters hiding in the East Woods. An annoyed Sergeant Thompson Miller ordered Private John McCoubrie, a noted regimental marksman, to dismount and try to pick off the troublesome sharpshooters. Four other men also dismounted, and when a particularly pesky Confederate stepped out from behind a tree for another shot, the Federals unleashed a volley and cut him down.

Hooker, accompanied by his staff, soon approached the halted squadron and after a few minutes gave the order to resume the advance. The troopers spurred their horses and charged at a gallop, driving the Rebel pickets deeper into the East Woods. The Federals dashed after the fleeing Rebels until they suddenly came face to face with an enemy battery that cut loose a load of canister at a range of only 30 feet. Miraculously, not a single man was hurt, and only one horse was wounded. Finding the woods full of Confederates and the recently acquired position unsuitable for cavalry, the troopers rapidly fell back to safety.

The Confederates had not remained idle while the Federals began their flanking movement. Major General J.E.B. Stuarts cavalry had been stationed on the armys far left to watch for Federal activity. Confederate videttes posted near the Hitt Bridge had instantly spotted the crossing and reported it to General Lee. Lee had immediately responded by ordering Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood to move his division to the left and meet the newly perceived threat.

Hoods division, consisting of two bri-gades, had been resting in the fields near Dunker church when the order was given to fall in. They immediately advanced to their left and formed a line. The divisions left rested on the Hagerstown Pike and extended east along the south edge of D.R. Millers cornfield for a few hundred yards into a wood lot, which later became known as the East Woods. Hood wrote of his men, They were in high spirits and defiant, even after great fatigue and hunger. Like Hookers I Corps, the troops had been almost constantly on the move since June. The division was sorely in need of shoes, clothing and food; they had been issued no meat for several days and little or no bread. Instead, these battle-hardened veterans had been forced to subsist on green corn and green apples since nearly the beginning of the campaign.

While Hoods division was advancing to its new position, the men suddenly found themselves exposed to Federal artillery. The 20-pounder Parrott guns began firing across the creek from a ridge next to the Pry house. The heavy, long-range fire was only slightly effective, but it was terrifying. Lieutenant Colonel P.A. Work of the 1st Texas remembered: The enemies shells passed over and above us from 20 to 50 feet. The lighted fuses as plainly visible as the glow worms light. A private and a lieutenant in the 4th Texas were severely wounded by the fire. Colonel W.T. Wofford, commanding the famed Texas Brigade, wrote: We formed a line of battle and moved up to a corn-field in our front and awaited the advance of the enemy. Who had by this time opened on us a brisk fire of shot and shell from some pieces of artillery whichwounded one officer and some dozen men.

One 1st Texas sergeant recalled an incident that occurred while his regiment was going into line: Jeff Bowman stole away from the company and secreted himself in the upper story of a building near where the Yanks were crossing the creek and at about one hundred and fifty yards from them. From a window in the house he could see them distinctly and could not resist the temptation to shoot. He fired about sixty shots at them before they located him and dislodged him. They trained a piece of artillery on the house and when the first shot passed through it Jeffskeddadled back to camp. It is highly probable that Jeff did effective work in that little battle staged all by himself.

Around the time the Federals were in transit across the creek, the 4th Texas Infantry, commanded by Captain W.H. Martin, was ordered forward as skirmishers for the brigade. The Texans advanced nearly a half mile to the front of the Confederate line. There they took up an excellent position along the fence line on the northeastern face of the East Woods. To their front was a clear field of fire. From there they would await the menacing enemy advance.

The remainder of the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, minus Jones squadron, had remained in front of the infantry column marching up the Williamsport Road. Upon reaching the Smoketown Road, the cavalry turned off, heading to the south. As soon as the Federals had turned off the Williamsport Road, Hooker personally directed the 13th Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry to advance as skirmishers to a section of woods that lay to the left of the division front.

The regiment was led by Colonel Hugh W. McNeil, a capable volunteer officer with three fights under his belt. McNeil, who was dismounted, walked over to Lieutenant William E. Miller, commanding Company H of the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, and asked him where he was going. Miller replied that he had been ordered to find the enemy. McNeil asked if he would like some company.

The 13th Pennsylvania was not chosen simply by chance. Most of the regiments members had been lumberjacks when the war started. They were nearly all over 6 feet tall and, being backwoodsmen, were considered better than average marksmen. The regiment was also distinctive for two other reasons. First, it was the original Bucktail Regiment of the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles. They were also nicknamed the Wildcats for their tenacity in battle. Second, the regiment was armed with Sharps breechloading rifles. Hooker had complete confidence in their reputation and fighting ability, and for this reason he gave them the honor of leading his corps in battle.

The skirmish line was a familiar position for the Bucktails, who had performed this perilous duty on several previous battlefields. They deployed behind the cover of a thin woods in the steadily increasing darkness. If a fight was to take place, it would have to be soon. The 13th would begin its advance with 237 men.

Eight companies of the 3rd Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry were also deployed as skirmishers and sent toward the stand of woods (the North Woods) on the division right. The main column remained massed in battalions in the division front, ready to resist the Confederate cavalry that was still visible on the flank and in front of the command.

During the Federal deployment, Rebel artillery had begun firing. Augustus T. Cross, an officer serving on the staff of Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour in Meades division, was killed by the fire. Federal artillery was ordered over the open ground in front of the massed division and positioned on a high ridge. The Union gunners immediately began to reply to the enemy artillery and attempted to suppress its unrelenting fire.

After their initial deployment, the four Bucktail companies began advancing to the southwest. Two companies were sent out on each side of the Smoketown Road while a cavalry screen remained in advance of the infantry skirmishers. The other six Bucktail companies remained in reserve and followed within supporting distance.

The skirmishers proceeded steadily but cautiously for roughly three-quarters of a mile before they met the Confederate skirmish line. Everything had remained relatively quiet until the Federals reached the Line farm lane. From there they could see the Confederates far to their front, positioned behind a fence in front of the East Woods. In front of the Rebels was a plowed field with only shallow furrows to provide cover. The main body of Confederates had remained in the cornfield and were presently masked from Union view by the trees. Around 6 p.m., the Federals made their first contact with the Confederate pickets.

As soon as the Federals came into the Confederates range, the Southerners opened a raking fire, which the Bucktails promptly returned. The reserve companies were immediately called up to add their weight to the attack, and an extended line of battle was formed. The cavalry screen immediately fell back under the intense fire and allowed the infantry to take up the fight. Two Confederate batteries entered the rapidly growing fray. One, posted on the left of the Bucktails, began firing shot and shell. The other, stationed on their right, fired canister. For those caught in the skirmish, there was nothing gradual about the clash. The Bucktails regimental historian wrote, Its momentum was more sudden and vicious than anything they had seen before.

The Bucktails, stuck in an exposed position, instantly began catching the withering fire coming out of the woods. They stood resolutely under the hail of destruction for nearly 15 minutes, the fire never slackening. Then Colonel McNeil gave the ominous order to charge and drive the enemy from the woods. McNeil gallantly placed himself at the front and center of the regiment and led them across the plowed field. With no cover to protect them, the men advanced in full view of both forces, Confederate fire creating gaps at every step.

The gallant Bucktails advanced to within 75 yards of their goal before throwing themselves to the ground. The Rebel fire had become so murderous that the regiment could no longer advance in textbook fashion. Had the regiment been armed with conventional muzzleloaders, all hope would have been lost. Instead, the men were fortunate enough to have the option of lying flat on their stomachs to fire and reload their breechloaders. They would only have to rise off the ground to return fire. In this manner, the Bucktails managed to reply with a steady rate of fire that assured their survival.

In spurts, the Pennsylvanians began to rise and advance a few furrows at a time, only to drop back down to the earth. Soon the Bucktails were only a few rods from the Confederate-held fence line. A few paces from the woods, Colonel McNeil sprang up, crying, Forward, Bucktails, forward! As he spoke, he was hit by a Minie bullet in the chest and instantly fell dead. A mad fury seemed to grip the Bucktails at the sight of their fallen colonel, and they rose up en masse, although greatly outnumbered, and drove the Rebels from the fence line. From tree to tree in the smoky woods, the men battled like furies, driving before them the traitors who had killed their beloved colonel. Along with the loss of McNeil, the regiment lost 29 killed and 65 wounded during the charge.

The men in the 4th Texas stationed behind the fence recalled the scene much differently. They remembered that after becoming hotly engaged with the Bucktails, they had firmly held their ground without giving an inch. It was not until they had expended all their cartridges that they reluctantly fell back 900 yards into the cornfield. Either way, the woods were now at least temporarily under Federal control.

Just as the 4th Texas was leaving the woods, the 5th Texas, commanded by Captain Ike Turner, which had originally been stationed on the right of the brigade, was ordered to advance to the 4ths relief. The 4th, as it fell back, passed to the right of the 5th and formed on its flank. Quickly the troops charged into the woods and ran right into the advancing Bucktails. Turner gave the order to commence firing, and a volley poured forth from the Confederate muskets. The Southerners managed to stop the Federal advance and force it back to the eastern edge of the trees. The Texans lost only one man in the process. Again the Confederates had gained a temporary hold on the woods, as more Federals moved up to support the Bucktails. Not until 8 p.m. was the Texas Brigade forced to retire, having expended most of its cartridges.

The 18th Georgia, commanded by Lt. Col. S.Z. Ruff, had advanced to the left of the 5th Texas. Through the cornfield and into the East Woods the soldiers steadily tromped, their advance helping to drive Seymours Federals through the trees. In the process, they captured some members of the 1st and 3rd Pennsylvania reserves. Among the prisoners were some unfortunate drummer boys whose drums were happily confiscated by Rebel musicians, who had lost their own drums at Manassas.

As darkness descended upon the field, Colonel Evander M. Laws brigade, which consisted of the 4th Alabama, 2nd Mississippi, 11th Mississippi and 6th North Carolina, had also advanced from the fields in front of Dunker church to positions south of the East Woods on either side of the Smoketown Road. From there they supported the skirmish line of Woffords brigade. During this advance, Colonel Phillip F. Liddell of the 11th Mississippi infantry was mortally wounded. Lieutenant General James Longstreet would later describe Liddell as an officer of great merit, modesty, and promise. Near Laws brigade, Confederate artillery added their weight by shelling the Federal positions north and east of the East Woods.

In the Federal rear, Seymour, seeing that his skirmishers had seized the fence line and disappeared into the woods beyond, ordered forward the rest of his brigade. The men in the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th Pennsylvania reserves moved promptly and with great spirit. They passed the Bucktails chaplain, W.H.D. Hatton, who had stayed behind with Colonel McNeils body and covered it with a blanket. The chaplain had also been left to watch over three captured Confederate soldiers. He would remain there, performing his solemn duty, until the next morning.

Seymours troops were soon closely engaged with the Texas Brigade and with the Rebel artillery positioned in the cornfield beyond the woods. Their timely arrival, however, assured a lasting Federal foothold in the woods.

To the right of Seymour, Meades two other brigades, commanded by Colonel Albert Magilton and Lt. Col. Robert Anderson, formed into battle line. Meade then ordered them forward into the woods to support the embattled Seymour. Captain Dunbar Ransoms 5th U.S. Artillery Battery was moved to the front of the infantry at the western edge of the woods.

From there the gunners opened a destructive enfilading fire on the Confederate batteries and infantry that had remained in the cornfield. This fire quickly forced the Southern batteries to switch positions to meet the new and unexpected threat. From their new positions, the Confederate gunners commenced to shell the woods and the ridge the Yankee artillery occupied behind it.

Captain William Poagues Rockbridge Artillery battery was one of the recipients of the unwelcome Federal fire. It had been positioned earlier in the day by Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson himself and was now located on the extreme left of the Confederate line, west of the Hagerstown Pike on a knoll in front of Brig. Gen. David Jones division. Poagues artillerymen had barely unlimbered their three guns, two 10-pounder Parrotts and one bronze Napoleon, when they were ordered to silence an enemy battery that was firing at them from roughly 600 yards to the north. They began exchanging shots with Federal artillery in positions south and southwest of Millers farm. Poague recalled: He could not get our range somehow, and overshot us. His shells were easily traced by the burning fuses from the time they left the mouth of the guns. He claimed to have silenced the Federal battery after 20 minutes of spirited firing.

Wofford, commanding the Texas Brigade, did not feel as sanguine about his artillery support. I feel it due to truth to state that the enemy were informed of our position by the firing of a half dozen shots from a little battery of ours on the left of the brigade, which hastily beat a retreat as soon as their guns opened upon us, he later reported.

During the cannonade, Poagues battery received a couple of unexpected visitors. The first, a newly commissioned young lieutenant, spurred his horse around among the guns, calling out, Let em have it! A few minutes later another visitor to the battery brought a few chuckles. A man of unusual large size, with sword dangling at his side, came bounding from our right at a full run, Poague noted. A large log a few steps in our rear was his goal as a place of safety, and over it he leaped and was instantly concealed behind it. He had scant time to adjust himself before the log was struck a crashing blow by a single solid shot. He reappeared as part of the upheaval; but, regaining his feet, broke for the woods with the speed of a quarterhorse, and with a greater confidence in distance than in logs.

To the south, near Dunker church, Confederate artillery commander Colonel J.B. Walton ordered Captain John Reillys battery to participate in the shelling of the woods. Reilly fired until his rifled ammunition was exhausted. Since he could only fire into and over the East Woods, his shots had no perceptible results. As a result of the fire, Reillys men drew heavy Federal fire upon themselves. For the Confederate gunners in Captain W.R. Bachmans battery nearby, it was an extremely frustrating situation because they had orders not to return fire. The Federal artillery was also busy shelling the artillery south of the East Woods and soon forced those Rebel batteries to retire to a safer locale.

During the firing, Hooker could be seen everywhere along the front lines and was busy posting artillery and supervising the movements of his infantry. His habit of being close to the firing line would cost him the next day.

The I Corps itself had not advanced very far before McClellan and his staff, hearing the crescendo of battle, joined Hooker west of Antietam Creek. McClellan wanted to see firsthand how the advance was progressing. Hooker told McClellan his corps was small, only 12,000 men, and if McClellan intended to have him attack the whole Rebel army, he would need immediate reinforcements. Hooker concluded by stating that if such reinforcements were not forwarded promptly, or if another attack was not made on the enemys right, the Rebels would eat him up.

Luckily for all those involved, the sun had already set and darkness had covered the battlefield. At 9 p.m. a light rain began to drizzle down, soaking the exhausted men on both sides. The firing, which had risen so quickly, just as quickly withered away. Hooker would have to wait for morning to renew the fightingthe pitch-black night gave him no other choice. The general was heard to mutter, If they had let us start earlier, we might have finished tonight.

The stillness was broken only by desultory small-arms fire and an occasional artillery round. The two forces were ordered to sleep on their arms, within a few yards of each other. Seymour informed Hooker that his men were sleeping feet to feet with the Rebels. Sporadic firing continued in the darkness, but the main fighting for the day was over.

Not until midnight did Hooker get the reinforcements he had been promised earlier in the day. Major General Joseph Mansfield, commanding the Federal XII Corps, arrived over the same ford and bridge that Hooker had crossed eight hours earlier. Mansfield bivouacked a mile to the rear of Hookers command on the farm of Joseph Poffenberger. There was no doubt that the fighting would resume as soon as it became light enough to distinguish friend from foe.

Most of the men realized they would not be issued any food that night and would be lucky if they could grab a few hours of rest. Only darkness separated them from another day of fierce fighting. Throughout the night, nervous pickets maintained an unusually sharp fight in the tension-filled darkness, as both sides realized the magnitude of what the morrow held in store. The picket fire on Seymours front became so intense that Hooker himself rode out from his headquarters in the Miller barn to check the reason for the clatter. Only the dead were allowed any rest that night.

The casualties inflicted during the brief skirmish were never reported by either side. So many field officers in Hoods division were wiped out by the fighting on the 17th that few reports were ever made. Most officers who survived both days engagements lumped the battle casualties together. The count was close to 100 on each side.

But casualties alone do not make a battle significant. Longstreet wrote, The sharp skirmish that ensued was one of the marked preliminaries of the great battle, but the Federals gained nothing by it except an advanced position which was of little benefit and disclosed their purpose. There is the keyMcClellan had tipped his hand as to his intentions and thrown away any chance of surprise. Because of that premature disclosure, Lee felt confident enough to shift the majority of Jacksons command and some of Longstreets to the north end of his line. When Hooker attacked more aggressively on the morning of the 17th, he met not an exposed Confederate flank but a glistening array of bayonets and stacked artillery. Instead of driving Lee into the Potomac as McClellan had planned, the day would end in a bloody stalemate. The skirmish deemed too unimportant to mention in official reports had, ironically, assured that the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia would survive to fight another day.

This article was written by Scott Hosier and published in the September 1998 issue of Americas Civil War magazine.

For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Americas Civil War magazine today!


Fact Or Fiction?

Readers responded in force to our first-ever use of historical fiction: Lee in the Wilderness, an excerpt from Jeff Shaaras The Last Full Measure that appeared in our June 1998 issue. Here is a sampling of those responses.

I thoroughly enjoyed the excerpt from Jeff Shaaras The Last Full Measure. I met him a few years ago during a book signing, and I sensed not only his love of history, but also his love of the story behind the history. When I read The Killer Angels by Jeffs father, Michael, suddenly I saw the Civil War not as masses of faceless soldiers in blue and gray, but distinct individuals with unique personalities.

Janet L. Bucklew

cwbkworm@pipeline.com

I applaud your decision to devote a few pages to this new Civil War novel. For many entering the field of study of Civil War history, it is daunting to go through the many fine tomes of battles and leaders, learning who was who and trying to keep the names and dates in some semblance of order. But students of the Civil War are a fairly literary ilk; I think theyll be able to tell the difference between your usual fine articles and this equally fine piece of historical fiction.

Janet Whaley

Glendora, California

Even though this is the first time you have published fiction, I sincerely hope it will not be the last. I use Civil War Times extensively in my seventh-grade reading classes. One of my reading course goals is for the students to be able to compare and contrast history writing and historical fiction. Now I can use Civil War Times even more.

Doug Voerding

dvoerding@wm.k12.mn.us

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the excerpt of The Last Full Measure, but I do not think that any fictional material should be included in the magazine. It is only a matter of time before this fictionalized account is cited in some new writing as a reference of something said by one of the personalities in the book.

Jay M. Marrone

jcarol@azstarnet.com

As an Army retiree and a Vietnam vet, I find the factual aspect of military history critical. A veteran will be tempted to tell a war story just a little better (fiction) than how it happened (fact). Civil War Times has been a non-fiction publication for 36 years and should stay the same. No room for fiction. Use the Reviews section for book excerpts.

Ron McWaters

Marietta, Georgia

Shame on you! Fiction in Civil War Times Illustrated is unthinkable. I doubt I shall renew my subscription.

William W. ODonnell

Little Rock, Arkansas

More Than One Man

I would like to thank you for your travel article (One Mans Museum, June 1998) on General Sweenys Museum. With all the information coming out on the war in the East, we sometimes feel like a voice in the wilderness.

I would like to make a few corrections. General Thomas W. Sweeny was not from Missouri. He was born in Cork, Ireland, before coming to the United States and living in New York state. He was stationed in Missouri for a good part of 1861. He was at the St. Louis Arsenal and was placed in charge of Federal troops and the volunteers that went to Springfield, Missouri. He fought and was wounded in the Battle of Wilsons Creek on August 10. After a long and distinguished career, Sweeny retired as a brigadier general and died in Astoria, Long Island, New York, on April 10, 1892.

The museum is not a monument to General Sweeny, but rather to all men and women in the Trans-Mississippi who died fighting for their convictions, whether from the North or the South. They have been forgotten heroes until recently, as more books are shedding light on their sacrifices. Nor is it a one-man museum; I must do justice to my loyal and understanding wife, Karen. It really was her idea to build the museum in the first place. It was her desire to inform the schoolchildren in this area about the rich history that exists all around them; the schoolbooks they use many times forget that the war was out here, too.

Dr. Thomas Sweeney

Republic, Missouri

Latest Last Full Measure

I was surprised to read that Jeff Shaara had titled his new book The Last Full Measure. Wasnt that title copyrighted in 1993 by Richard Moes book The Last Full Measure: The Life and Death of the First Minnesota Volunteers, published by Henry Holt and Company?

Gustave F. Jacob

Rapid City, South Dakota

Editors Note: The phrase the last full measure is drawn from Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address and thus cannot be copyrighted. In this case, the mention of the 1st Minnesota sets Moes book apart from Shaaras.

Dont Ask

Regarding the letter titled Dont Ask, Dont Tell? (June 1998), I would like to inform William Schweikert that no evidence exists (published or not) that intimates that Major General Patrick R. Cleburne was gay. Randy Shilts, in his book Conduct Unbecoming, took the commonly practiced act of sharing sleeping accommodations with fellow officers and men during the Civil War (particularly during winter campaigns) and gave it a late 20th-century spin. Susan Tarleton, Cleburnes fiancee, is probably spinning in her grave at the mere mention of such an ill-founded accusation.

Bill Gurley

Little Rock, Arkansas

Patrick Cleburne was one of the most gifted of the Confederate generals. Lets not start mixing up 20th-century politically correct nonsense with 19th-century history. I neither know nor care about his sexual preference.

Jack Kime

Maryville, Illinois

Fuel For An Argument

The capture of the Ad-Vance (Mouth of the South, June 1998) when the steamer ran low of coal led to heated words and conflicting statements between Vance and the Confederate government. J.A. Willard, naval coal agent, reported on November 28, 1864, that the extraordinary statement ventured upon by Gov. Vance, in his late annual message, that the loss of the Advance is attributable solely to the impressment of coal by the C.S. Government, has very little foundation in fact. Flag officer R.F. Pinkney added a month later: No coal was taken from the Advance, nor any belonging to her, for the Tallahassee, or any other vessel.

Sanford Strausberg

Ormond Beach, Florida

Erratum

June: ReviewsThe review of Philip Katchers The Civil War Source Book faulted Katcher for identifying Henry Wirz as commandant of Camp Sumter instead of Andersonville Prison. Katcher was correct; Camp Sumter and Andersonville Prison were one and the same, and the official title was Camp Sumter.



 1998, Cowles History Group, Inc., a division of PRIMEDIA Enthusiast Publications. Allrights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express

written permission of PRIMEDIA Enthusiast Publications is prohibited.
THE WOMENS WAR

Finally a leading Civil War magazine recognizes the fact that Rosie the Riveter started many years before World War II (Women in the Civil War, special issue, August 1999), when American wives took the place of their husbands working in munitions factories when the men went off to war. They managed the family farms and plantations, spied for both the North and South, and worked as nurses in the hospitals and on battlefields. Some of the women were so intense that they donned uniforms and fought for their cause. All the above, with graphics, actual artifacts, and clothing from the era are currently on exhibit in the Bardstown, Kentucky, Women of the Civil War Museum. We feel that we are the first to recognize the need to portray the role women played. This new museum is a recent addition to our present Civil War Museum, which is recognized as one of the finest in the country.

Rita Herrmann

Curator, Women of the Civil War Museum

A DOUBLE STANDARD?

Disloyalty, sedition, revolt, rebellion, insurrection, uprising are synonymous and describe the Sheltons and Franklins reaction to their sovereign state of North Carolinas secession from the Union. By their actions thereafter, they were guilty of treason against their home state as well as the Confederate States of America.

The Sheltons and Franklins became enemies of the state when they committed guerrilla warfare against their state and, thus, against the Confederacy. The soldiers were only doing their duty against their recognized enemy.

Disappointingly, the authors version smacks with sympathy for the woman obviously crazed with bitterness and hatred. Nancy selected her and her sons destinies, and she alone is responsible for their deaths. Nancy should have been hanged for treason.

I take a different view from that of the author. From my observation, conception, and interpretation of the facts as presented, the Confederate soldiers were performing their wartime duty against an enemy who was actively trying to kill themas proven by past skirmishes. The Sheltons and Franklins were the enemy of the state because, as recorded, they had performed villainous acts of treason, warfare, and murder against North Carolina and the Confederate States of America.

If this same scenario had occurred in Pennsylvania instead of North Carolina with the family being pro-Confederate and the soldiers Union, would the author have constructed this same message of sympathy and support for the law violators? I think not.

Frank Warren

Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Editors note: The article was based solely on the account of William Bud Shelton, a descendant of Nancy Franklin. It is the only existing written account of her story. The article pointed this out clearly and admitted an inherent bias.

THE MEANING OF BUFFALO

Buffalo Soldiers in Black and White (February 1999) mentions the use of the term buffalo in eastern North Carolina. It was used by Confederate soldiers elsewhere as well. It referred to Unionists from eastern Tennessee as well as North Carolina.

Lieutenant Colonel W. Stringfield was an officer who served in eastern Tennessee in 1864. He kept a diary that contains two references to Buffalo. His entry for February 1 read:

Carters Depot, TennReturned from a five days scout in Grasy Cove etc. Back to our old Stamping groundguarding bridges seems to be my fateI will submit for a while& in the mean while hunt Buffalo hunting to pass away time.

For February 14, his entry was:

Valentines day. I recd one pretty little missiveThanks to my sweet IncongWent Buffalo hunting to day and caught a tar tan.

I believe buffalo was a derisive term used by Confederates to describe any Unionists hiding in the mountains of eastern Tennessee and North Carolina to avoid conscription.

The article lumps all buffaloes together as pro-Union vigilantes. There were three distinct groups: the outliers, who fled to escape the draft, the deserters who had gone AWOL from the Rebel army, and the outlaws who would rob from either side. Not all outliers and deserters became bushwhackers. Many became Union soldiers when the Federal armies came close enough for them to enlist. When the Unionist North Carolinians of the U.S. 2d North Carolina Infantry were captured at Plymouth, North Carolina, in 1864, Major General George E. Pickett had 22 of them hanged, alleging they were deserters. Such men deserve a better description than vigilante.

Jim Maddox

Johnson City, Tennessee

RESCUE AT SANTA ROSA ISLAND

I read with great interest the articles about Florida in the war in your June issue. Pertaining to the Confederate attack on Santa Rosa Island on October 8, 1861 (Floridas War of Nerves), I thought this excerpt from a letter of Dr. J.H. Randolph, whose son William was with the Confederate forces at Pensacola, might be of interest. The letter was written to my wifes great-grandfather, George Fairbanks, and was dated October 17, 1861.

The absorbing topic with us is the late attack on the enemy on Santa Rosa. You have read all the particulars, but some personal items may interest you. William was detailed to accompany the expedition but Col. Anderson would not allow him, & went himself in command of one half of the forces. When the retreat was ordered Doctor Gamble seized a Federal boat and placing five of our wounded in it put off directly across the bay for our camp, drawing fire of the fort upon his boat. Five shot (cannon) were fired at him.

Arthur J. Lynch

Los Altos, California



1999, Cowles History Group, Inc. d/b/a PRIMEDIA History Group, a division of PRIMEDIA Special Interest Publications.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express

written permission of PRIMEDIA is prohibited.
A visitor to the town of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, in 1876 looked in amazement at the rough terrain and tall mountains surrounding it and asked, How did the people here ever find this place? Yet it was its location in the heart of coal country that made this small eastern Pennsylvania town on the Lehigh River a major transportation center for the states mining industries.

By the 1950s, the coal industry had declined, bringing the neighboring communities of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk down with it. Desperate to recapture their nineteenth-century prosperity, the two towns decided to merge, change their names, and look for a way to attract visitors. It took the death of a famous American athlete with absolutely no connection to the area to give them a new lease on life.

When Jim Thorpe died in 1953, his home state of Oklahoma lacked the funds to erect a fitting tribute for him. His widow, hearing about the Mauch Chunks impending name change during a visit to Philadelphia, approached town officials with a proposal. If they would organize an appropriate burial spot and memorial to her husband in their community, they could name their new town after him. In 1954 they did just that, and in the years since, Jim Thorpe has become a popular tourist spot that overflows with crafts and antiques shops, art galleries, and boutiques. A 20-ton granite memorial situated in a small park on the east side of town marks the burial place of the famous athlete.

One of Jim Thorpes historic attractions, standing on a hill overlooking the railway station, is the Asa Packer Mansion, built in 1860 by one of the nations wealthiest tycoons. Asa Packer made his money by building his own canal boats to bring coal to market and later backed the new Lehigh Valley Railroad.

Another place of interest is the Old Jail Museum, which sits high on a hill toward the upper end of the main street (West Broadway). From 1871 until 1995 the building housed the Carbon County prison, and it was one of the sites of the Molly Maguire executions starting in 1877. The two-story jail, built of hand-cut stone and set into the side of a mountain, contained 28 cells that each housed two prisoners, 16 dungeon cells for solitary confinement, and the wardens living quarters. Three cells for women prisoners were added in the 1950s. When a new Carbon County jail opened in January 1995 and the old jail closed, local residents Thomas and Betty Lou McBride purchased the building. The couple restored the prison and opened it to visitors in April of that year. I wanted to preserve a piece of history. Its a landmark, said Thomas McBride, a soft-spoken man with a passion for Molly Maguire history who sometimes conducts jail tours himself.

The main cell block has seen few changes since it opened 128 years ago. Visitors enter through the original wooden door and are met with a chilling reconstruction of the gallows used to hang all seven of the Molly Maguires executed in Mauch Chunk. On June 21, 1877, more than 250 people crowded into the cell blocks two tiers to watch the first round of executions. Reporters stood on the upper level for a good vantage point, while witnesses, officials, and doctors sat in rows in front of the gallows. (McBride noted that most of the medical doctors in the area asked to see the hangings.) The convicted murderers, Alexander Campbell, Michael Doyle, John Donahue, and Edward Kelly, were hanged simultaneously. Another Molly Maguire member, Thomas Fisher, was hanged on March 28, 1878; James McDonnell and Charles Sharp went to the gallows on January 14, 1879.

The jails main area is flanked by the 8-by-13-foot cells, each secured by two doors, an outer oak padlocked door and an inner door made of iron bands and locked by a bar and padlock. The cells, cold and damp, remain just as they were when prisoners occupied them less than five years ago. The main area is lit by a skylight, but the meager daylight that reaches each cell does so through a high, narrow, six-inch-wide window that is secured by bars.

The jail tours main attraction is cell number 17, which contains a faint handprint on the wall. According to legend, just before his execution, one of the Molly Maguireseither Campbell or Fisherplaced his hand on the wall and declared that his handprint would remain there forever as a sign of his innocence. McBride said that the wall has been cleaned and painted many times in the years since, but the handprint always returns.

Like the handprint, memories of the Molly Maguires refuse to fade from Jim Thorpe. During the local St. Patricks Day parade each year, members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (an Irish fraternal organization) place a large, green-tinted chrysanthemum wreath bound with a black ribbon outside the main door of the Old Jail Museum to commemorate the men who were hanged there.

The Mollies are remembered elsewhere in the region. The Historical Society of Schuylkill County in Pottsville displays portions of the ropes used to hang the men, trial transcripts, and a revolver used by an adversary of the Mollies; and what was once the headquarters of alleged Molly boss Jack Kehoe in Girardville is now a bar run by Kehoes great-grandson. To get a sense of the conditions the Mollies and their fellow miners experienced, visitors can stop by the No. 9 Mine Wash Shanty Anthracite Coal Mining Museum in Lansford and see a collection of mining memorabilia, while the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine in Ashland offers tours of an anthracite mine.

Christine Techky
When Dillinger walked out of the Biograph Theater, he saw a bunch of men staring at him and reached for his .38.

The moonless night was pitch dark but the G-men shut off their headlights as they approached a rural Wisconsin inn called Little Bohemia. They didnt want John Dillinger and his gang of bank robbers to see them coming. When the feds slipped quietly out of the cars, guns ready, they spotted three men hustling out of the darkness and into a Chevy coupe. The Chevys lights flashed on, music blared from the radio and it took off.

Stop! the G-men yelled. Federal Agents!

The car kept going. The feds unleashed several bursts of fire from their Tommy guns. The Chevys windshield shattered, its tires popped and it rolled to a halt. Inside, one man was dead and two were badly wounded. None was Dillinger. The three men were local workers who happened to stop at the inn for a drink.

At the sound of gunfire, the real bank robbers inside Little Bohemia bolted, darting out doors and leaping from windows, shooting as they fled. The G-men responded by blasting the lodge, then turning to fire at the cars as they raced away from the site.

When the shooting stopped and the smoke cleared, one federal agent was dead and two lawmen lay wounded while Dillinger and his cronies slipped away unscathed.

It was April 22, 1934, and once again the elusive John Dillinger had escaped his pursuers, making monkeys of the cops whod been chasing him for months.

Seventy-five years ago this summer, Dillinger and a dozen other outlaws were the stars of the Great Depressions greatest showa cops-and-robbers soap opera complete with blood, sex, death, money and amazing, hair-raising escapes. Newspapers, eager to cover their exploits, invented colorful nicknames for themGentleman Johnny Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Alvin Creepy Karpis, Ma Barker, Bonnie and Clyde, and Baby Face Nelson.

They were bank robbers, which was not an un-popular occupation in 1934. In the depths of the Depression, bankers were even less beloved than they are in 2009. In the 20s, banks speculated in stocks, then went bust, leaving depositors high and dry. In the 30s, banks foreclosed on farmers whod been devastated by drought, forcing thousands off their land. By 1934 many Americans smiled when banks got robbed, and in movie theaters, audiences applauded when newsreels showed pictures of Dillinger.

You robbed the bank, did you? a North Dakota farmer asked a member of Ma Barkers gang. Well, I dont care. All the banks ever do is foreclose on us farmers.

The savviest bank robbers knew how to capitalize on their Robin Hood appeal. When the governor of Oklahoma offered $1,000 for Pretty Boy Floyds capture, Floyd wrote a letter of protest: I have robbed no one but the monied men.

The famous criminals of the 30s differed from the celebrated crooks of the previous decade. The gangsters of the 20s were men of the sinful cities, many of them immigrants. The bank robbers of the 30s were country boys and girls, all-American bands of homegrown sociopaths from the heartland.

Charles Pretty Boy Floyd was an Oklahoma farm boy who robbed small-town banks, survived several shootouts with lawmen and liked to hide out with his Oklahoma relatives, drinking Choctaw beer and baking pies.

Ma Barker was a short, dumpy Oklahoma farm wife who wore overalls, liked jigsaw puzzles and raised four sons, all of them criminals. J. Edgar Hoover described her as a vicious, dangerous and resourceful criminal brain but that was just propaganda. Neither Ma nor her sons were very bright. The real brains of their gang was Karpis, a Kansas kidnapper with a scary stare that earned him the nickname Creepy.

Baby Face Nelson, a member of Dillingers gang, was born Lester Gillis, son of an Illinois tannery worker. As a teenage mechanic, he fixed cars, then started stealing them, and earned his nickname when a woman hed robbedwho happened to be the wife of Chicagos mayortold a reporter he had a baby face.

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow grew up in the slums of Dallas, children of poor farmers whod moved to the city. Clyde ushered in a movie theater, played the saxophone and burglarized stores. Bonnie waited on tables, read movie magazines and longed for excitement. Havent been anywhere this week, she wrote in her diary in 1928. Why dont something happen? They met in 1930, fell in love and drove aimlessly around America with their pet rabbit Sonny Boy, robbing stores and rural banks. They might have remained obscure petty crooks if police hadnt raided their hideout in Joplin, Mo., in 1933. In the shootout, Clyde and his brother killed two cops before the gang escaped, leaving behind a camera containing pictures of Bonnie and Clyde smooching and fondling guns. Printed in countless newspapers, the photos made them famous.

But not nearly as famous as Dillinger, whose career in crime was wilder than anything Hollywood could concoct. Son of an Indiana grocer, Dillinger took to crime in grade school, forming a gang called the Dirty Dozen and heisting watermelons. He dropped out of school, joined the navy, then deserted. Back home, he mugged a grocer and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. After nine years, he was paroled in May 1933. A month later, he gathered some friends and robbed a bank. The gang made off with $10,600 and celebrated by robbing a grocery store and a pharmacy that night.

Dillinger used his loot to bribe somebody to smuggle guns to his pals in prison. In September, they escaped, only to learn that Dillinger had been locked up in Lima, Ohio. So they stormed the jail, killed a sheriff and freed him. Then the reunited outlaws raided two police arsenals, stealing guns, ammo and bulletproof vests.

Soon the well-armed gang commenced robbing banks. In October 1933, they hit one in Greencastle, Ind., emptying the vault of nearly $75,000. In November, they raided one in Racine, Wis., wounding a teller and a cop and escaping in a blast of gunfire. In January 1934, after a three-week vacation in sunny Florida, they hit a bank in East Chicago, Ind., stealing $20,000. A cop fired at Dillinger, hitting his bulletproof vest. Dillinger was unhurt, but the cop was killed with a blast from a Tommy gun.

Now wanted for murder, Dillinger fled to Tucson, where he was recognized, captured, shipped to Indiana and locked in the Crown Point jail. There, the warden let reporters interview Dillinger, who joked about his crimes.

How long does it take you to go through a bank?

One minute and 40 seconds flat, he said, smiling.

The reporters loved Dillingers bravura performance and lamented that a murder conviction would send the wonderfully colorful character to the electric chair. But that didnt happen. On March 3, 1934, Dillinger, waving a pistol, captured Crown Points warden and several guards, locked them in a cell and fled in the wardens car. Before leaving, he showed them his gun. It was a fake that hed carved out of wood.

You should have seen their faces, Dillinger wrote in a letter to his sister. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Dillinger wasnt the only one laughing. Newspapers mocked Americas hapless cops and prison guards. The snickering incensed J. Edgar Hoover, who was then the obscure head of the Justice Departments obscure Bureau of Investigation. Hoover saw Dillinger as a way to win publicity and power for his little outfit. He ordered his Chicago bureau chief, Melvin Purvis, to find the infamous outlaw.

But Purvis and his G-men proved inept. They raided the wrong apartments in Chicago and Minneapolis, and when they hit the right apartment in St. Paul, Dillinger escaped in a blast of Tommy gun bullets. Then came the debacle at Little Bohemia, which ended with a G-man and an innocent bystander dead and Dillingers gang still at large. Two weeks later, they robbed yet another bank, this one in Fostoria, Ohio.

COMIC OPERA COPS, read a headline in the Milwaukee Sentinel.

Reporters speculated that Hoover might be fired for the botched job. He wasnt. Instead, he doubled the size of his anti-Dillinger squad and dubbed the outlaw Public Enemy Number One, a phrase the newspapers loved.

Hoover also offered a $10,000 reward for information on Dillingers whereabouts. That did the trick. A Chicago madam named Anna Sage informed Purvis that her roommate was Dillingers girlfriend. Sage said she was going to the movies with the happy couple the next night and agreed to wear a bright orange skirt so the G-men could pick her out of the crowd.

When Dillinger walked out of the Biograph Theater with the two women on Sunday, July 22, 1934, he looked around, saw a bunch of men staring at him and reached for his .38. The G-men instantly blew him away.

The news spread fast, crowds flocked to the Biograph and souvenir-seekers dipped handkerchiefs in the blood on the sidewalk.

In Washington, Hoover promised that the law would soon catch up with the rest of Americas infamous bank robbers. He was right. Bonnie and Clyde were already dead, riddled with dozens of bullets in an ambush in Louisiana in May. In October, G-men led by Purvis gunned down Pretty Boy Floyd. A month later, the feds killed Baby Face Nelson in a gunfight that left two G-men dead. In January 1935, the feds managed to corner Ma Barker and her son Fred in a Florida cottage and blew them away.

By then, only one of the public enemies was still at largeCreepy Karpis. Hoover, whod been mocked because hed never personally made an arrest, was determined to collar Creepy himself. In April 1936, G-men informed their boss that theyd found Karpis in New Orleans. Hoover immediately flew down so he could join the squad that nabbed Creepy as he sat in a parked car.

Put the cuffs on him, boys, Hoover said.

Alas, nobody had remembered to bring handcuffs. An embarrassed agent used his tie to bind Creepys wrists. The headline in the next days New York Times read, KARPIS CAPTURED IN NEW ORLEANS BY HOOVER HIMSELF.

The era of the bank robbers was over but their legends lived on. Like Jesse James, Billy the Kid and other Wild West desperadoes, the 30s outlaws became part of pop culture. Hollywood has produced three movies called Dillinger and two called Baby Face Nelson. Pretty Boy Floyds story was chronicled in a Woody Guthrie song, a Larry McMurtry novel and at least three films, one starring Fabian. Bonnie and Clyde were immortalized in a Merle Haggard song and a blockbuster 1967 movie starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. Their stolen, bullet-ridden death car is still displayed in casinos. Shelley Winters played Ma Barker in the 1970 movie Bloody Mama. The rock band Jesus Lizard cut a song called Karpis. And the Indiana Welcome Center on Interstate 80 houses the John Dillinger Museum, where visitors can buy a keychain decorated with a replica of Dillingers famous wooden gun.

This summer, the big-budget movie Public Enemies features Johnny Depp as Dillinger, Giovanni Ribisi as Karpis, Stephen Graham as Nelson and Channing Tatum as Floyd.

But posthumous fame is a thrill that nobody lives long enough to enjoy. The real winner of the 30s war on crime was Hoover. When that war began, he and his little investigative bureau were virtually unknown. When it ended, Hoover and his newly re-named Federal Bureau of Investigation were famous, hailed in newspapers, radio shows, comic strips and James Cagneys hit movie G-Men.

The debacle at Little Bohemia could have cost Hoover his job but he was a genius in the arts of bureaucracy and public relations and he convinced Congress to grant him more money, personnel and power. For the next four decades, he reigned as the undisputed dictator of a law enforcement agency that frightened criminals, spies, dissenters, congressmen, even presidents.

A few weeks after Dillingers death, Hoover ordered his underlings to create a display outside his officea glass case containing the bank robbers gun, straw hat and death mask. The strange shrine remained until Hoover died in 1972.

When the director was an old man, an interviewer asked him to name his greatest thrill.

Hoover didnt even have to ponder the question. The night we got Dillinger, he replied.

Peter Carlson is the author of K Blows Top: A Cold War Comic Interlude Starring Nikita Krushchev, Americas Most Unlikely Tourist.
Recently, archaeologists published a discovery made in Jordan. With the help of satellite imagery and drone photography, they stumbled upon a huge ceremonial platform bang in the center of the ancient city of Petra.

The aerial images showed a building on top of a platform in Petra, which is situated in today's Jordan.

The findings were published by Sarah Parcak and Christopher Tuttle in a report, explaining that the monument has been "hidden even in plain sight". The discovery tends to be twice as impressive because the platform measures 184 by 161 feet, with the length of an Olympic swimming pool and double its width, according to National Geographic.

"Petra is an outstanding site to test new survey technologies," wrote archaeologists Sarah Parcak and Christopher Tuttle. "Even after two centuries of fieldwork in Petra and its environs, new discoveries and identifications of monumental structures continue to be made."

Impressive details of the building's architecture include a large staircase sloping down to the east and a wall of columns on another side. The most ancient pottery has been discovered here around the site, indicating that it could be over 2,150 years old.

"I'm sure that over the course of two centuries of research [in Petra], someone had to know [this site] was there, but it's never been systematically studied or written up," Tuttle told the magazine. "I've worked in Petra for 20 years, and I knew that something was there, but it's certainly legitimate to call this a discovery."

No one so far paid much attention to its intricacies, as it looked like terraces that are common today, said Tuttle.

Petra was once the capital city of the Nabataeans, an Arab tribe. It was founded in the middle of second century B.C., but abandoned by the seventh century A.D. at the end of the Byzantine period.

It became known to the western world only in the 19th century. Petra is more familiar as a backdrop for the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

YouTube/Shanti Universe

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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
The chorus of doom surrounding the financial future of the oil sector added another voice last week, the consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

The firm revised earlier rosy predictions and is now forecasting that global oil demand could peak in 2030 if electric cars gain momentum and the world shifts to more recycled plastic, a major market for petroleum.

The firm raised the specter that global oil demand would top out around 100 million barrels a day - only 6 million more barrels than the world uses now.

That's a long way from the forecasts laid out by most oil companies. Exxon Mobil, for instance, is predicting oil demand will rise 20 percent through 2040.

Carbon rules delayed, but not the debate

The Obama administration's plan to slash carbon emissions from the power sector might be held up in the federal courts, but that hasn't done anything to quiet debate in Congress.

With the so-named Clean Power Plan scheduled for a hearing before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in September, the question is what happens to all those deadlines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency when it released the final rule last year.

States were supposed to begin submitting their initial compliance plans this year, with the first round of emissions cuts beginning in 2022.

Now Republicans like Sen. James Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, want to see that work brought to a halt.

"The highest court in this country, the Supreme Court of the United States, put a hold on the Clean Power Plan and all associated deadlines, because it has serious concerns over the legality of this rule," Inhofe, an Oklahhoma Republican, said in a hearing last week.

"As such, no state should fear any penalty for heeding the Court's direction," he added.

According to Senate Democrats, 14 states are still moving toward meeting the carbon reduction plan despite the stay - and no, Texas is not among them.

And while Democrats are urging these states on, they worry that uncertainty hanging over the plan will delay a reduction in carbon emissions.

"One thing we can all agree on: The major job we have here is to provide a certain predictability for business," said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.

A smaller frack-tion of imported oil

The U.S. fracking boom brought huge wealth to rural areas and big stock gains for many oil drillers - at least until the bust, anyway.

But a less discussed side effect is the degree to which it has reduced U.S. dependence on oil from abroad.

Fracking, the popular term for the hydraulic fracturing drilling technique, helped propel the country to No. 4 on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's annual energy security ranking, which measures how likely or unlikely a country's energy supply is to be disrupted.

No. 1 on the list was Norway, which is not only rich in oil and natural gas but also relies on hydropower for a significant proportion of its electricity. Next on the list, which ranks only the world's 25 largest energy consumers, are Mexico and New Zealand.

Not surprisingly, Ukraine, which relies on Russia for natural gas and was invaded by that country two years ago, ranked dead last.

Once again, Saudi Arabia and a dozen affiliated oil nations have decided not to intervene in the crude markets they once controlled. The media and traders buzzed expectantly, once again, as OPEC's chief oil strategists withdrew into closed-door meetings in Vienna on Thursday, only to emerge without plans to raise oil prices. Once again.
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HAVANA - Six airlines won permission Friday to resume scheduled commercial air service from the U.S. to Cuba for the first time in more than five decades, another milestone in President Barack Obama's campaign to normalize relations between Cold War foes.

The airlines - American, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest and Sun Country - were approved by the Department of Transportation for a total of 155 round-trip flights per week. They'll fly from five U.S. cities to nine cities in Cuba other than Havana.

U.S. law still prohibits tourist travel to Cuba, but a dozen other categories of travel are permitted, including family visits, official business, journalist visits, professional meetings and educational and religious activities. The Obama administration has eased rules to the point where travelers are now free to design their own "people-to-people" cultural exchanges with little oversight.

Most of the airline service is expected to begin this fall and early winter, the department said.

Approval is still required by the Cuban government, but the carriers say they plan to start selling tickets in the next few weeks while they wait for sign-offs from Cuba.

More than a year ago, Obama announced it was time to "begin a new journey" with the communist country.

"Today we are delivering on his promise," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

As it considers opening routes to Havana, the department's selection process has been complicated because airlines have requested far more routes than are available under the U.S. agreement with Cuba. A decision on Havana routes is expected later this summer.

The routes approved Friday were not contested because there was less interest among U.S. airlines in flying to Cuban locations other than Havana. The routes are for service from Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Cuban destinations are Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba.

Currently charters

All flights operating between the two countries are charters, but the agreement the administration signed with Cuba in February allows for up to 110 additional daily flights - more than five times the current charter operations.

Security assessments

The Transportation Security Administration is in the process of completing a security review of Cuban airports expected to have direct flights to the United States, and it is working with the Cuban government to schedule and complete the security assessment of any additional airports that propose to begin service, the agency said.

American Airlines has been the most aggressive in its approach, requesting more than half the possible slots to Havana plus service to five smaller Cuban cities. It has a large hub in Miami, home to the largest Cuban-American population. The Fort Worth-based airline has also been flying on behalf of charter companies for the longest time, since 1991.

Cuban aviation officials say they are ready for the extra flights but that questions remain, especially at Havana, about where the extra planes will park.

There has been plenty of interest by Americans in visiting Cuba since relations between the two nations started to thaw in December 2014. Nearly 160,000 U.S. leisure travelers flew to Cuba last year, along with hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans visiting family.

Prices for an hourlong charter flight now are about $500. Commercial airlines will probably offer flights for significantly less, although none has publicly discussed pricing. The check-in process for charters is also a cumbersome one, and the companies lack the traditional supports of commercial aviation such as 24-hour customer service.
As it looks to navigate a period of more modest energy prices, BP said Friday that it would merge its oil and gas operations in Norway with Det norske, a Norwegian exploration and development company.

The deal, with the much smaller oil company controlled by the Norwegian industrial giant Aker, appears to be a way for BP to slim down while keeping a hand in Norway, a major oil and gas producing nation. The new company, to be called Aker BP, will also use its heft to take advantage of a weak energy environment to make targeted acquisitions.
Tumbling crude and natural gas prices have weakened the energy industry's influence in Washington as cutbacks in the oil patch have spread to the nation's capital.

Casualties include the army of lobbyists battling new regulations and the rosters of trade groups trying to elect friendly candidates in November.

The Independent Petroleum Association of America, a trade group in Washington, has shed about 100 members in the past year, as low prices force oil and gas companies to merge, declare bankruptcy and scrutinize every transaction, including as much as $60,000 they send the trade group in annual dues. At the National Stripper Well Association, another trade group, officials started a monthly payment plan to keep some members on their rolls. But they've still lost about 10 percent of their lineup.

Even the biggest industry group - the American Petroleum Institute - waived dues briefly last year.

The fight is on

"When everybody starts looking at their bottom line, trade association dues can be the first to go," said Tim Charters, vice president of governmental and regulatory affairs at the stripper well group, which represents the producers, owners and operators of marginal, low-producing wells. "At the same time, this is when you need D.C. representation because the fight is on. With everything that's rolling out of this administration and the presidential election on the line, we need to be right here in the middle of the fight."

The industry already feels battered by a two-year slump in prices. More than 140 North American oil and gas producers and service companies have filed for bankruptcy since the beginning of 2015, according to Haynes & Boone, a law firm that tracks the industry. Those that survived did so by cutting costs, including laying off 350,000 workers globally.

Now, those cash-strapped oil and gas companies have less room in their budget for advocacy in Washington.

Exploration and production companies spent just $6.2 million on lobbying during the first quarter of 2016 - 17.5 percent less than they did in the same period two years ago, according to public disclosure data analyzed by Bloomberg Government.

The sector is relying on a smaller army of lobbyists to deliver its message to lawmakers - 608 this year, versus 812 at the beginning of the price slide in 2014, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.

Oil companies haven't closed outposts in Washington, but they haven't rushed to fill lobbyist openings, either. Consider Chevron Corp., which reported activity by 13 internal lobbyists at the beginning of this year, down from 15 two years ago. Houston company ConocoPhillips reported lobbying by four employees earlier this year, compared with five in the first quarter of 2014.

Outside consultants

Oil and gas companies also have canceled contracts with outside consultants and lobbyists hired to bring special expertise and personal connections to a single issue. Four lobbying firms reported doing work for Halliburton Co., the oil field services company, compared with six in the first quarter of 2014.

Still, cutbacks in Washington haven't matched the carnage in oil fields. Lobbying experts say there's a good reason for that: The industry knows it's in the middle of an epic battle for survival as climate change concerns drive a wave of new regulations.
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Houston's Westlake Chemical Corp. chased Axiall Corp. for four years and on Friday ended its hostile takeover attempt with an amicable $2.3 billion cash deal.

The acquisition dramatically expands Westlake into one of North America's largest manufacturers of petrochemicals - including vinyls, plastics and chlorine - as the chemical sector continues to consolidate.

The deal, which adds up to $3.8 billion with the assumption of debt, is for $33 per share of Axiall stock - more than a 40 percent jump from the last public offer of $23.35 a share. Other efforts to buy the company date back to 2012.

The deal comes of the heels of other major chemical acquisitions, such as the pending merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont, as well as China National Chemical Corp. buying Switzerland-based Sygenta.

"The U.S. and global commodity chemical industry is still very fragmented, so more consolidation is likely," said analyst Hassan Ahmed of New York-based Alembic Global Advisors.

Westlake, owned largely by the billionaire Chao family of Houston, stepped up its pursuit of Atlanta-based Axiall in January with an offer that was deemed a low-ball opportunistic bid to capitalize on Axiall's stock after it briefly dipped below $10 a share in January. And Westlake accused Axiall management of a track record of failure.

More Information Westlake is buying Axiall for more than $2.3 billion, not counting about $1.5 billion more in assumed debt and liabilities: Westlake Chemical Corp. HQ - Houston Employees - 4,225 2015 revenues - $4.46 billion 2015 net income - $646 million Current market capitalization value - $6.05 billion Axiall Chemical Corp. HQ - Atlanta Employees: more than 5,000 2015 revenues - $3.36 billion 2015 net income - Loss of $816 million (after $864 million in impairment charges) Current market capitalization value - $2.3 billion See More Collapse

"Westlake can take these assets on the cheap and operate them better," said Ahmed, who had dubbed $33 a share as the fair value for Axiall in January.

Westlake had launched a proxy battle to replace all of Axiall's board members, but more friendly talks began in late May.

Those efforts escalated this week after South Korea's Lotte Chemical Corp., which already has a joint venture with Axiall, said it also made a bid for the company. The now-defunct proxy war vote was slated for June 17. So Lotte's undisclosed bid likely pushed Westlake to act and up its offer more sharply, Ahmed said.

The combined Westlake will represent the continent's second-largest maker of PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, and the third-biggest producer of chlor-alkali, used to make chlorine and more. Westlake makes a variety of plastics and vinyls, while Axiall also makes building products like siding, decking and window frames.

"PVC is the poor man's plastics," said Westlake's president and CEO, Albert Chao, noting the cheap production costs and strong global demand. "The U.S. will be a strong place to supply the world's needs going forward."

Similar footprints

Their product offerings and geographic footprints are similar, so they should integrate easily together to greatly expand Westlake's overall market share, Chao said Friday during a conference call.

"The acquisition greatly expands our manufacturing footprint and sets us up for additional growth," Chao said. "Both Westlake and Axiall have very good plants along the Gulf Coast and very good people."

Westlake employs more than 4,200 people, while Axiall has close to 5,000 workers. The acquisition is expected to close by year-end.

Both Westlake and Axiall were rewarded by Wall Street on Friday. Westlake's stock closed at $46.40 a share, up $1.34 on the day, while Axiall surged to $32.56, up more than 25 percent Friday on a $6.75 jump.

Despite Lotte's late intervention, Chao said he looked forward to working with Lotte on its current joint venture, called LACC, which is building an ethylene plant in Lake Charles, La., near the Texas border. Ethylene is the primary chemical building block of most plastics.

Westlake tried to buy the company in 2012, when Axiall was still called Georgia Gulf Corp. The company, which changed its name in 2013, rejected Westlake's offers of $1 billion and $1.2 billion in 2012.

Family leaders

Chinese immigrant Ting Tsung "T.T." Chao, who died in 2008, founded Westlake 1986, and it's now run by his children.

Albert's brother, James Chao, is the chairman. Their sister, Dorothy Chao Jenkins, sits on the Westlake board.

Ahmed said they have a strong history of growth and operational excellence.

"They're all billionaires," he said. "I think that says a lot."
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CALVERTON, N.Y. - A test pilot successfully flew a solar-powered prototype aircraft on Friday for a company that envisions manufacturing a fleet of drones to provide aerial internet service for an estimated 4 billion people worldwide.

The test flight by Luminati Aerospace took place at a former Northrop Grumman defense plant on eastern Long Island that once made military aircraft. Speakers at a ceremony before the flight recalled that Charles Lindberg took off for his historic 1927 solo flight to Paris from an airstrip in nearby Nassau County, and others noted that the spacecraft that landed men on the moon was built in the Long Island suburbs east of New York City.

"This is a dream come true," Luminati founder and CEO Daniel Preston said. "Long Island is known as the Cradle of Aviation, and we want to do our part to keep it here where it belongs."

Pilot Robert Lutz flew the VO-Substrata aircraft for about 20 minutes in the first test flight opened to the public. The white aircraft features wing-mounted solar cells and has a wingspan of about 43 feet. Logos of several companies and other entities involved with its production are plastered on both sides, similar to the sponsor decals on NASCAR race cars.

The prototype aircraft allows for a pilot to control it, but eventually Luminati, which is based in Calverton, will build unmanned drones that can fly at 60,000 feet or more. Luminati hopes to start manufacturing by the end of the year.

Lutz said after his flight that the aircraft is "very birdlike."

"You know, you go up there and you feel like you're in the environment up there with the creatures," he said. "Hawks will be circling around, and they kind of flock to you. It's the only aircraft I've ever flown where I can hear a helicopter next to me. It's a little spooky but pretty cool."

Luminati paid $3.4 million last year to acquire 16.3 acres of land from the operator of a now-closed skydiving facility on the former Northrop Grumman property, and it announced intentions to develop the next generation of drones at the site. Preston, who holds more than 1,200 patents, formerly founded and operated Atair Aerospace from 2001 to 2008.

He has repeatedly refused to disclose the identity of a tech company that reportedly is involved in the enterprise. Google, Facebook and others have have been involved with initiatives in the field.

He confirmed that, besides private business uses for the drones, the company is interested in supplying aircraft for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance uses.

"We view it as our patriotic duty to do so," he said.

He said using technologies combining solar power with wind energy harvesting and using composite materials to make ultralight, ultrastrong aircraft, the goal is to keep the drones airborne perpetually.

"I really can't think of any engineering project today that has a greater social impact than bringing communications for many people in the world that don't have it," he said.
Katie Cokinos worried about the snow.

More specifically, the filmmaker worried about the absence of it as she began shooting her first feature-length film in Saugerties, N.Y., two years ago.

She'd been developing a story about a young woman named Dora, just out of college and carrying more enthusiasm than direction. The character was to undergo a transformation but not a four-season transformation. More a winter-to-spring evolution. And the winter Cokinos envisioned for her film "I Dream Too Much" required a lot of snow.

"I'd started raising money, and suddenly I thought, 'Oh my god, what if we don't get any snow?' " Cokinos says. "My mom lives in Houston and goes to the Greek Orthodox church downtown. She asked me what she could light a candle for. And I told her, 'Mom, we need snow.' So this poor woman, every Sunday, was lighting candles in church for snow."

Whether it was the candles or just winter's will, the plan worked. From early February to March 2014, the snow fell, almost without interruption, providing the necessary atmosphere for the film, which will be screened Tuesday evening at River Oaks Theatre, ahead of its June 21 release.

When Cokinos' friend Richard Linklater, one of the film's producers, visited the set, he was unprepared for the conditions.

More Information 'I Dream Too Much' Screening and conversation with Katie Cokinos When: 7 p.m. Tuesday Where: River Oaks Theatre, 2009 W. Gray Tickets: $8-$10; idreamtoomuch.com "I Dream Too Much" comes to iTunes and Video on Demand on June 21. See More Collapse

"Rick's from Huntsville, and I'm from Beaumont," she says. "So with those backgrounds, it was like we were doing 'Doctor Zhivago.' We had to scrounge through wardrobe to get him a hat."

Linklater laughs at the memory. "It was mighty cold," says the director known for films including "Boyhood" and "School of Rock."

In that white and blue setting, Cokinos set about building a modern coming-of-age story sprouted from her affinity for the works of Jane Austen.

The film follows Dora (Eden Brolin), who has just finished college and wants to spend a bridge year with a friend in Brazil. This doesn't sit well with her mother, who has law school in mind for her daughter. To buy time away from home, Dora volunteers to care for great-aunt Vera (Diane Ladd), who had injured her foot. Dora slowly comes to recognize her relative has lived a life far more interesting than the marginalized version that cornered her as merely the spouse of a late, famous writer.

In an early scene, Dora runs an errand at the local pharmacy. A young man stands nearby as an employee hollers at another about the location of suppositories. Clearly, he's to be the love interest - just not in Cokinos' film, where he's never seen again.

"Instead of a falling-in-love, coming-of-age story, I wanted it to be more of an inward self-discovery," Cokinos says. "She's not ready to fall in love. I worked on the script for a year and a half, and never at any point did I see her falling in love. She needed to be more grounded in who she is. That informed how I shot the film."

"You see so many stories about women that revolve around them seeking a man," Linklater says. "It's like filmmakers can't help themselves. It was so refreshing to see a movie about a young woman based on her interior world, her dreams and aspirations and what happens when they hit the reality of the world. It's almost like 'The Graduate' from a subtle, indie, female point of view. But it's not based on sex, it's based on where's your place in the world."

Thus the snow. Stasis and frustration gradually warm into inspiration.

Though her roots are in Texas, Cokinos now lives in Saugerties with her family. Her husband, Alex Rappaport - a director of photography on projects such as TV's "Swamp People" and "Yukon Men" - served as her cinematographer for "I Dream Too Much."

A few parallels between her life and Dora's bring the story back to East Texas.

Cokinos' effervescent voice gives away her ties to Beaumont, which she left as a teen to attend Texas A&M University, where she studied history and philosophy. There she became deeply interested in cinema, and she started a film society at the school. Her family thought she'd steer toward a career in law.

"I knew when I graduated I wanted to make movies or somehow be involved with films," she says. "My dad was pretty upset."

She moved to Houston in 1986 and started working at SWAMP, the Southwest Alternate Media Project. There she met and collaborated with Eagle Pennell, a pioneer of independent film and creator of the influential 1978 film "The Whole Shootin' Match."

"He was like a big brother to me," she says. "I learned so much from watching him work and from the filmmakers he turned me onto - John Huston, Sam Fuller, Nicholas Ray, John Ford. All those manly-men filmmakers, whose work I love."

She met Linklater at a conference in 1989 and ended up doing some marketing work on his feature-length debut, "Slacker." Cokinos relocated to Austin, and from 1990-95, she was the managing director of the Austin Film Society, taking over for Linklater, who co-founded it. During that time, she'd host filmmakers such as Alexander Payne, who crashed at her home while scouting "Citizen Ruth." She also worked on projects including "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" for which she was a location manager.

She made some short films in the '90s, and in 2000 wrote and directed "Portrait of a Girl as a Young Cat," a well-received hour-long short feature, parts of which she shot in Beaumont.

Eventually, Cokinos moved to New York and married her director of photography. "I write and direct, he shoots and edits," she says. "We started a family. My sister calls me a stay-at-home filmmaker."

Rappaport encouraged her to develop a feature-length project they could shoot near home. Even then, though, the film tied back to her youth.

Her producers (Linklater, Jay Thames and Ed McWilliams) are from Houston, as are her investors, which included the local organization Pantheon of Women. "It's very much a Houston-born film, even though it's buried in 4 feet of snow," she says.

There will be no snow for her next film. Cokinos is working with another Beaumont native, author Lisa Sandlin, whose gritty 2015 crime novel "The Do-Right" earned strong reviews. Cokinos plans to adapt the book.

"I'm so excited to be thinking about another story," she says. "I've been working on 'I Dream Too Much' since 2012. I tell you, you better love the story you're creating because you live with it a long time. And I love the idea of shooting in Beaumont. When we finally get started, it'll be in the summer. Beaumont in August is the exact opposite of New York in February."
Houston's most recognizable po'boy is poised to get even more exposure.

The iconic Antone's Famous Po'Boys is gearing up for some expansion plans that would put its sandwiches into the hands of even more customers.

RANKED: Houston's best chain restaurants

In July Antone's plans to open a new grab-and-go kiosk in the food court of 5 Greenway Plaza (across from the Rice Box restaurant and Greenway Coffee). The kiosk will sell four of Antone's classic po'boys as well as pre-packaged salads, cookies, chips, drinks and local pralines from Becca Reyenga of Eat My Pralines.

That kiosk also represents a strategic step in expanding the Antone's brand. Already another kiosk is being planned for the downtown Tunnels that could open in a couple of months.

"I'd like to create a very repeatable model that we can plug and play in as many high-density places we can  food courts, office buildings, the Tunnels, hospital lobbies," said Jonathan Horowitz, CEO of Legacy Restaurants which owns and operates Antone's and the Original Ninfa's on Navigation. "Maybe if things go well and we prove the concept we can look at airports down the line."

If the kiosk concept flies with customers Legacy could open six to 10 more in the next year.

In addition to the kiosk, Antone's is also working on opening a new store, a 2,500-square-foot restaurant at the Shops at Ten Oaks, 18006 Park Row Drive, in West Houston. The new restaurant will be adjacent to Texas Children's Hospital's West Campus at I-10 and Barker Cypress in a new strop center under construction. The restaurant, which is being built as a prototype for potential expansion, is set to open early 2017. It will have a full menu of po'boy sandwiches, seafood entrees, entree salad, deli sandwiches and sides. Both the new restaurant and the kiosk are being designed by Acumen Design, which did the remodel of Antone's two existing stores.

The new restaurant project is the first new Antone's restaurant since Legacy took over the business (with existing restaurants at 4520 San Felipe and 2724 West T.C. Jester) in 2006.

Horowitz said in addition to scouting new locations for the kiosks, his real estate team is also looking at areas to plant new restaurants.

"We're actively seeking other locations and opportunities," he said. "There's a lot of opportunity in the fast casual segment of the market. That's a significant area of growth in the restaurant industry in general. And the Antone's concept of either the grab-and-go or sit-down restaurants is very appealing to people right now. It would work well in a lot of different areas."

The new ventures would not change Antone's thriving wholesale business that includes sandwich distribution to about 230 grocery outlets in Greater Houston as well as the Galveston, Beaumont, and College Station areas. More than 30,000 sandwiches per week can be found in those markets as well as at grocery stores such as Kroger, H-E-B and Randall's. The company is currently in negotiations with Randall's and Kroger to expand distribution to Austin and into Louisiana by early fall.

While Antone's has been a familiar brand for decades, Horowitz said there are fans who know it only as a grocery store sandwich. That's why the kiosk and restaurant push is important to the brand's future, he said.

"The brand has been here since 1962 and I'd love to introduce it to younger generations. To do that we need to put physical locations in other parts of town," he said. "They need to experience the broader menu beyond the four classic sandwiches in the grocery stores in the area."
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"You speak from the mind, but you sing from the soul," Martin Fein once told Zira Eisenberg. She recalled those words of wisdom at the recent Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Awards dinner, presented by the Holocaust Museum Houston.

Eisenberg's husband, Yossi Eisenberg, like many at the Hilton Americas that night, is a Holocaust survivor.

The 20th anniversary gala, which Fein co-chaired with his wife, Kelli Cohen Fein, celebrated both intellectual and musical expression.

Keynote speaker Ted Koppel, a broadcast journalist and the son of German Jews, warned the some 1,100 dinner guests of America's susceptibility to cyber attacks, given its current financial and political state.

But before the former "Nightline" anchor's address, the poignant program began with a Violins of Hope concert, arranged by Richard Brown.

"At some of the concentration camps, not all of them, the Nazis ordered music to be played by Jewish people held in the camps so that those arriving would feel less stressed," said Ira Perry, executive director of the museum. "Those songs were very important to the Jewish community. They were intended to make everyone more manageable and calm them down."

A video presentation, introduced by museum chair Gail Klein, showed that Violins of Hope founder Amnon Weinstein dedicated his life to restoring the violins played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust as a way of honoring the members of his family who perished. From September 2015 through early January, his work was featured as Violins of Hope Cleveland, an unprecedented collaboration of exhibitions and concerts between Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Orchestra, Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Cleveland Institute of Music, Jewish Federation of Cleveland and ideastream. The project marked the violins' second appearance in North America; many of the instruments had not been touched in 70 years. Weinstein, an attendee, received a standing ovation post-performance.

The awards posthumously honored the four Bielski brothers - Asael, Tuvia, Aron and Zus - who created a partisan camp in the Belarus forests that saved more than 1,200 Jews during World War II. Their story was portrayed in the film "Defiance," starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber.

The Feins, along with co-chairs Rosalyn and Barry Margolis, presented Asael Bielski's award to his daughter, Assaela Bielski Weinstein.

"The connection here really is that Assaela is Amnon Weinstein's wife," Perry shared. "Amnon has restored more than 50 violins, each one has a story, and he is married to the daughter of a Bielski brother. It was a perfect fit."

"We Jews are a mixed bag," Koppel said. "I am in awe of the Bielski brothers, of what they achieved in the forest. There have always been different means of survival."

Past recipients of the Moral Courage Award include Colin Powell, Mia Farrow and Martin Luther King Jr. The message is about fighting hate.

It's a lot of people representing the same beliefs that Lyndon Johnson upheld when he saved at least 42 Jews, Perry said. He took action to grant visas during the Holocaust, despite what it might do to his political career.

At the dinner, Koppel announced that he'd written a jingle poking fun at the presidential candidates. "Whether or not you like it, I'm going to sing about it."

His strategy worked; when the evening wrapped, $1.2 million had been raised to support the museum.
I can't stop reading about Brock Turner.

In January 2015, two Stanford graduate students, biking past a bar, saw Turner assaulting an unconscious, partially clothed woman behind a dumpster. They tackled him and held him until police arrived.

In the trial, prosecutors asked that he be sentenced to six years in prison. Instead, last week, the judge gave him only six months' jail time, along with probation; he could be released by September 2. "A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him," the judge explained.

Notably, Turner is a former Stanford student, a former member of the university's swim team, and white.

Last week, Buzzfeed released the victim's powerful statement about the crime's effect on her life. The 12-page statement went viral  as did the pre-sentencing statement in which Turners dad said that his son's conviction was "a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action.

I can't stop reading about Brock Turner. And I can't stop thinking about the woman he raped.

I AM a woman, so I know what its like to feel vulnerable. To guard your drink, lest someone drop something in it. To make sure the guy your friend is talking to at a party isn't harming her. I have walked to my car at night and looked behind my back, again and again, to make sure no one was behind me.

I have felt that fear.

It was just 20 minutes, Brock Turners dad said. But for the victim, it is much, much more. She described being poked and prodded by doctors shortly after the incident occurred. She said that she took an HIV test, but doctors told her she would need to be retested again, because sometimes the virus doesnt show up the first time. The psychological trauma will probably never go away.

I keep wondering how she felt testifying on the stand.

When they asked her questions like, Are you serious with your boyfriend? or Do you have a history of cheating? or How much did you usually drink?  what did she feel?

What does the constant questioning, second-guessing, do to a victim?

Rape is terrible, all by itself. And on top of that, after Turner changed his story and claimed that she'd given permission, his victim had to prove again and again and again that she was telling the truth. To tell strangers, over and over, how the unspeakable thing had happened to her.

But did it happen? Are you sure? What were you wearing? How much did you drink? Do you remember?

Its just plain wrong. And many of those questions seemed irrelevant to the trial: What she was wearing doesn't show that she gave consent.

Brock Turner may have been drunk, but his victim was unconscious. When she decided to go to a party with her sister that night, she didn't think her night would end up with a stranger taking her behind a dumpster, undressing her, leaving her with dirt and pine needles inside her body.

THIS RAPE victim is hardly the first to be shamed for coming forward. Earlier in April, a report from the Salt Lake Tribune described how women who reported sexual assault at Mormon college Brigham Young would be investigated for Honor Code violations.

In Texas, women at Baylor University told the Houston Chronicle how they felt their university handled victims of sexual assault. Baylor University has recently been under scrutiny for how it handled student sexual assault cases.

One young woman said, "It doesn't feel unsafe to be a woman here," she says. "You just know if something happens, you can't count on the university."

Young women should feel safe coming forward about an incident that isnt their fault. They shouldnt feel shame. They should feel that they have somebody they can count on.

As the Stanford rape victim wrote in her victims statement, It is enough to be suffering. It is another thing to have someone ruthlessly working to diminish the gravity of validity of this suffering.

I don't know the fear she must have felt that night when she realized what had happened. I don't know how it feels for someone to invade your body in the most private and earth-shattering way.

I can only say what it's like to be a young woman who watches out for her safety. Who walked the streets of Austin just like freshman UT student Haruka Weiser, who was recently sexually assaulted and killed on campus. Who is tired of seeing rape victims undergo endless scrutiny and questioning.

Rape victims suffer enough during the act. They relive the incident enough in their own heads. Please, lets stop making them suffer unnecessarily after the act. Enough is enough.

Brooke Lewis (@brookelewisa) received her master's degree in journalism from Syracuse University and is an intern at the Houston Chronicle.
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Women who want to get pregnant are justly fearful of the Zika virus, which can cause microcephaly, or abnormally small brains, in newborns.

But what about the rest of us, who run no risk of pregnancy but will someday soon encounter mosquitos that may carry the virus?

Six cases have been confirmed in Houston, all in travelers who had been to countries where Zika is present. But viruses have a way of spreading, and Zika is likely to appear here, experts say.

When it does, for most people who come down with it, it will mean a few days of misery.

"When Zika enters the body, in a couple of days you break out in a raised rash that's very red," says Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. "It will spread all wwwover, from trunk to neck."

And it will itch like crazy.

Zika also comes with a miserable headache and sometimes conjunctivitis, or pinkeye. "It's not fun," Hotez says.

But for most people, once it passes, it's gone. "Most recover well. That's reasonably clear," says Dr. Janak Patel, professor of pediatrics and director of the division of infectious disease and immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

The virus is transmitted only two ways: via mosquito or via bodily fluids, especially semen. "But I'm guessing that because you're feeling sick, you're not having sex," Hotez says. (And don't.)

Unlike Ebola, it doesn't stay in the system for more than a few days.

In some rare instances, a sufferer will get Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which the immune system attacks the nerves and damages their myelin sheath. The syndrome causes weakness in the limbs and, sometimes, breathing problems or permanent paralysis.

Whether Zika has other "immune-mediated" effects is unclear, Patel says. "It has not been studied long enough to know of other potential complications," he says. "It's too early to say if the general public has to worry."

It hasn't been found yet in breast milk, but Patel says that so far the disease has shown up in countries where alternatives to breast milk aren't common and nursing is therefore clearly best.

He does worry about infants contracting Zika, because they are a group that hasn't been studied yet and the risk to fetuses is so clear. "The brain keeps developing after birth," he says.

A closely related disease, yellow fever, can cause serious encephalitis in infants, Patel says.

Those who already have an underlying disease such as diabetes are likely to do worse with Zika, Hotez says.

In any case, the culprit is literally close to home.

Aedes aegypti is the mosquito that acts as a vector not only for Zika, but dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever as well. Only females bite.

"Aedes aegypti is intimately associated with human existence," Hotez says. They like living near us.

These mosquitoes breed in standing water and never fly more than about 300 feet from their birthplace, Hotez says.

Using insecticides removing standing water (or treating it with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, or Bti) and fixing broken window screens are the best defenses.

The Zika virus has existed in the forests of Africa for centuries without spreading, Patel says, and it's not clear why its territory has expanded recently.

It's not as simple as the ease of international travel. "People have been traveling for decades," he says. "When something jumps, it can be travel, or pressure on the ecosystem, or the virus may have mutated and adapted to a wider range of mosquito vectors."
President Barack Obama on Saturday approved a request from Gov. Greg Abbott for federal aid for the Texas counties hardest hit by the latest run of storms that flooded thousands of homes and streets with reckless force.

Obama declared a major federal disaster in the 12 counties, including Brazoria, Fort Bend and Montgomery, where the powerful storms and flooding swamped cars, ruined houses and businesses, washed out roads and snapped trees and power poles.

The president already had declared disasters in many of the same places after flooding in April - an unfortunate fact that Abbott highlighted in his letter requesting another round of federal help.

ON THE MOVE: What newcomers need to know about flooding, flood insurance

"I would like to thank the President and FEMA for their quick response in granting assistance to those affected by the severe weather and flooding of the past couple weeks," Abbott said Saturday in a statement. "Texans have always risen to meet the challenges they face and this time will be no different. With this latest development Texans can now begin the process of rebuilding their lives after experiencing some of the worst flooding in recent history."

The president granted money for sheltering and local and state response costs. Additional money for debris remains on hold as water continues to recede and pending additional damage assessments.

Other counties may be added to the request once they meet the threshold required by the federal government.

With a presidential declaration, people whose homes were damaged or destroyed can apply for a grant up to $33,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The amount will depend on the severity of the reported damage.

In addition to repair costs, some aid can be used for certain medical expenses, funeral costs and damage to clothing or household items, among other losses.

Abbott has declared a disaster state in 46 counties since June 1, but his request for federal aid only covers those with storm-related damage "of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments."

Abbott wrote that the most recent storms, which began May 26, dumped up to 20 inches of rain in parts of Southeast Texas that typically receive between 40 and 50 inches of rain a year.

Brenham alone had 16 inches on the first day of the storms, shattering the Washington County city's one-day rainfall record by more than 6 inches.

At least 20 deaths

To make matters worse, the region has been pounded with heavy rain for weeks, so the ground already was saturated, the rivers, bayous and creeks already brimming. This latest rain had nowhere to settle.

By the time the Brazos River crested June 4 near Rosharon, it was nearly 10 feet above flood stage, the Nation Weather Service said. Officials expected the river to remain out of its banks through at least Wednesday as the high water makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Cypress Creek and the Colorado, San Jacinto and Trinity rivers also reached major flood stages.

The severe storms were blamed for at least 20 deaths, including nine soldiers who were killed when their truck was overturned by swift water near Fort Hood, north of Austin.

READ MORE: Family uses boat to rescue area pets stranded by flood waters

A Montgomery County man, 77, was swept away while walking outside. In Washington County, the body of a 21-year-old Guardsman was found downstream from where his overturned truck had been located earlier.

"Texas is suffering from disaster fatigue," wrote Abbott, who promised to push for federal relief after an aerial tour of flooded areas near Houston a week ago. "There seems to be nowhere safe from the most recent severe weather."

In all, Abbott said the flooding threatened nearly 90,000 homes and forced mandatory evacuations in Bastrop, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Hood, Parker and Wharton counties.

Officials estimated that the flooding destroyed or damaged more than 5,500 houses and nearly 300 businesses.

Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal said in a statement that he is "very hopeful" that the federal government will move quickly with disaster aid, "given the extent of the damage" from the floods, which ruined nearly 900 homes in the suburban county.

Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert said the county was "very pleased" by the governor's request. "Those folks are going to need all the help they can get," he said.

While a majority of Fort Bend County residents have returned to life as usual as the floodwaters receded this week, Hebert said as many as 30,000 people are continuing to confront the aftermath of "real disaster."

The county reported damage to more than 1,200 homes. There also was roughly $14 million in damage to roads, bridges and water systems, "and that number will only grow," Hebert said.

Water receding

In Brazoria County, the flooding has affected at least 100,000 residents, or roughly one-third of its population, officials said. Floodwaters inundated or cut off hundreds of homes in a slow rise that spread from near Rosharon to Lake Jackson.

The water continued to recede Friday, but officials expected levels to remain high in the south county for days.

"There are areas that are going to have water for several days," said Sharon Trower, spokeswoman for Brazoria County's Office of Emergency Management. "Weeks, possibly."

Harvey Rice and Emily Foxhall contributed to this report.
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Gov. Greg Abbott is seeking federal aid for the Texas counties hardest hit by the latest run of storms that flooded thousands of homes and streets with reckless force.

In a letter dated Thursday, Abbott asked President Barack Obama to declare a major federal disaster in 12 counties, including Brazoria, Fort Bend and Montgomery, where the powerful storms and flooding swamped cars, ruined houses and businesses, washed out roads and ripped apart trees.

The governor's action is a necessary first step before Obama decides whether to release funds to the counties as they clean up from the storms. U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady tweeted that the state's congressional delegation had written Obama in support of Abbott's request. Officials said they expect a decision within days.

The president already had declared disasters in many of the same places after major flooding in April - an unfortunate fact that Abbott highlighted in his letter requesting more federal help. Major storms and flooding have hammered the Houston area on the last two Memorial Day weekends.

"The last year has taken a terrible toll on the people and the property of this state," he wrote Thursday. "Texans are resilient, but few can recover without assistance when disaster after disaster hits in the middle of recovery."

With a presidential declaration, people whose homes were damaged or destroyed can apply for a grant of up to $33,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The amount will depend on the severity of the reported damage.

In addition to repair costs, some aid can be used for certain medical expenses, funeral costs and damage to clothing or household items, among other losses.

Although Abbott has declared a disaster in 46 counties since June 1, his request for federal aid only covers those with storm-related damage "of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments."

Abbott wrote that the most recent storms, which began May 26, dumped up to 20 inches of rain in parts of Southeast Texas that typically receive 40 to 50 inches of rain a year.

Brenham alone had 16 inches on the first day of the storms, shattering the Washington County city's one-day rainfall record by more than 6 inches.

To make matters worse, the region had been pounded with heavy rain for weeks, so the ground already was saturated, the rivers, bayous and creeks already brimming. This latest rain had nowhere to settle.

By the time the Brazos River crested June 4 near Rosharon, it was nearly 10 feet above flood stage, the Nation Weather Service said. Officials expected the river to remain out of its banks through at least Wednesday as the high water makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Cypress Creek and the Colorado, San Jacinto and Trinity rivers also reached major flood stages.

In all, Abbott said the flooding threatened nearly 90,000 homes and forced mandatory evacuations in nine counties, including Brazoria, Fort Bend and Harris.

The severe storms were blamed for at least 20 deaths, including nine soldiers who were killed when their truck was overturned by swift water near Fort Hood, north of Austin.

A Montgomery County man, 77, was swept away while walking outside. In Washington County, the body of a 21-year-old Guardsman was found downstream from where his overturned truck had been located earlier.

Floodwaters remained a risk in some areas. While floodwaters slowly continued to recede Friday in northern Brazoria County, prompting the lifting of some evacuation orders near Rosharon, they were expected to remain high in the southern part of the county for several days.

"The water is pretty much holding. I don't think it's rising at this time," said Sharon Trower, county emergency management spokeswoman. "There are areas that are going to have water for several days, weeks possibly."

Brazoria County officials were offering free water testing to those with wells that may have been contaminated by floodwaters.

Fort Bend County was faring better, with a majority of residents having returned to life as usual since the floodwaters receded earlier in the week. But about 25,000 to 30,000 residents continued to face the aftermath of "real disaster," he said.

County Judge Robert Hebert said the county was "very pleased" by the governor's request. "It's very important," he said.

More than 1,200 homes had been reported damaged. Overall impacts in the county totaled more than $14 million, Hebert said, "and that number will only grow."

The county hoped to begin debris pick-up and home appraisals Monday for residents with affected property, many of whom remained focused on cleaning out their houses, Hebert said. "Those folks are going to need all the help they can get," Hebert said.

Emily Foxhall and Harvey Rice contributed to this report.
At Sharpstown High School in southwest Houston, administrators are doing everything they can to ensure students show up.

Hungry students can find a meal at the on-site food pantry. Students with complicated schedules can attend a lab open six, sometimes seven, days a week. Students with medical issues can visit a clinic on campus. At-need students can get school supplies and clean clothes.

"We take all of the negatives and all of the reasons they can't come to school and take them out of the equation," said Principal Rob Gasparello.

The school's efforts over the past six years go toward combating the underlying causes of chronic absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing 10 percent or more of the school year, affected 6.5 million children nationally and 604,000 in Texas during the 2013-14 year, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Department of Education. A separate report from last year found that during the 2014-15 academic year, around 21,400 Houston Independent School District students were chronically absent, meaning they missed at least 18 days.

Educators and experts say these repeated absences are detrimental to both schools and students, costing districts funding and harming students' academic performance.

Caption: Explore chronic student absenteeism across every school in Texas, based on data collected by the US Education Department. Compare your local school district to similar districts across the state. Chronic absenteeism is defined as a student missing at least 10 percent of school days in a school year for any reason, excused or unexcused. The education department says this is a primary cause of low academic achievement and a powerful predictor of those students who may eventually drop out of school.

"As in life, you have to show up to be able to do well," said Robert Sanborn, president and CEO of the nonprofit Children at Risk. "We still have significant numbers of kids who aren't showing up."

Students can miss school for any number of reasons, but national and local analyses of attendance data point to several categories of students most likely to be frequently absent. Often, issues of poverty and health overlap.

Overwhelmingly, students from low-income families tend to miss school the most. 86 percent of HISD's chronically absent students come from low-income families, according to a September 2015 report on the district's attendance by the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation.

Those children face a number of barriers, including inadequate transportation, working part-time jobs and additional family responsibilities. Older students may be expected to take care of younger siblings or supply part of the family's income, experts say.

Students who are minorities, especially African Americans and Latinos, still learning English or have disabilities also tend to have higher numbers of absences. Low literacy or an inability to understand their teachers may cause students to become discouraged and withdrawn, educators say.

"Each kid has a story," Gasparello said. "It's not always about kids being lazy or they don't care."

'Attendance matters'

Julie Baker Finck, who authored the report about HISD, agreed.

"Attendance matters," said Finck, the foundation's president. "We really need to uncover what some of the root causes or barriers to attendance that kids are having in our community."

Finck's results differ slightly from the national report, which defines chronic absences at 15 days and determined 13 percent of students across the country are chronically absent. Based on Texas' typical 185-day school year, students must miss at least 18 days to be considered chronically absent, which comes out to 9.3 percent of HISD's 231,000 students. Had the study used 15 days as its baseline, HISD's overall percentage would be more on par with the national average, Finck said.

Both the national and Houston reports found that decreased school attendance correlates with lower achievement in the classroom and puts students at risk for dropping out later on.

Lower attendance rates also place significant burden on schools, districts and teachers. Educators are faced with helping students catch up on missed work.

Districts and schools are subject to financial penalties, since Texas uses attendance, largely, to determine educational funding. According to Finck, HISD loses $22.3 million in funding for ever 1 percent reduction in average daily attendance.

Building resources

Keeping students engaged, both inside and outside the classroom, can improve attendance, Sanborn said. Participating in extracurriculars and forming mentor relationships with teachers can bolster students' interest, he added.

Sharpstown High's culture and development of an early warning system based on attendance data makes it a good model, Finck said.

But strong student attendance also falls on parents and the rest of the community, the reports stressed. They recommended using data to intervene early, individualizing resources for students and communicating more with communities.

Families also need to "create a culture of educational expectations" just as much as schools, Sanborn said.

"Both sides need to work at this," he said.

Data journalist John Harden contributed to this report.
Texas students in grades five and eight will not be forced to pass standardized reading and math assessments for the 2015-16 school year in order to be promoted, the Texas Education Agency announced Friday.

Educational Commissioner Mike Morath said reporting issues from the state's testing vendor, Educational Testing Services, were at the heart of the waiver of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STARR) testing for the students.

Morath also canceled the June 21-22 retest program for fifth- and eighth-grade students.

"I apologize for the continuing problems our students and staff are being forced to deal with because of ongoing reporting issues with our testing vendor. Kids in the classroom should never suffer from mistakes made by adults. We intend to hold the vendor, Educational Testing Service, accountable," Morath said in a statement.

A message for comment left with the New Jersey-based testing company late Friday was not returned.

In Texas and elsewhere, attempts to increase accountability in public schools are meeting resistance from parents pushing back against standardized testing. The Texas Education Agency and the STAAR tests came under fire last month from a group of parents suing the department for allegedly ignoring state law in administering this year's end-of-year exams

In most cases, fifth- and eight-graders must pass the reading and math assessment tests in order to be advanced. If that doesn't happen after three tries, a committee made up of a principal, teacher and parents of the student must agree to promote the child.

State law gives the commissioner the ability to waive the law when needed.

Zeph Capo, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, was glad the TEA commissioner opted to waive the retesting and retention requirements.

"It's the very least he could do," Capo said.

An outspoken opponent of such testing, Capo called the entire system, "completely off the rails."

"It's time to rethink the obsession with the high stakes testing," Capo said.

He said they have been working with state officials to develop an academic accountability system that places the students and teachers at the center.

"Under the current system, the teachers are the last people to actually get the results," Capo said.

In March, Texas public school students who took mandatory, computer-based tests faced problems saving their answers, adding a level of stress and confusion to the first day of the high-stakes testing season.

The computer glitches affected students in some of the largest school districts in the area, including Houston and Cypress-Fairbanks along with districts in the San Antonio and Austin area.

The next month, officials with several school districts in the region sent a letter to Morath complaining of problems with the STAAR test, including confusion because of questions that did not have a correct answer.

"Testing irregularities and mistakes created by ETS and the agency will have a negative effect on individual students and on campus and district ratings," the educators said in the letter.

Capo said the profit margin should be removed from the educational system.

"The assessment should take place in the classroom where it belongs," Capo said.
WICHITA, Kan. - Kansas cannot prevent thousands of eligible voters from casting ballots in the November federal election because they didn't prove they were U.S. citizens when registering to vote at motor vehicle offices, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling temporarily upholds a court order that required Kansas to allow those individuals to vote in federal elections even though they didn't provide citizenship documentation when applying or renewing their driver's licenses, as required under Kansas law. The state has said as many as 50,000 people could be affected.

The appeals court said Kansas had not made the requisite showing for a stay pending appeal, but agreed to hear the appeal quickly.

The initial court order was made last month by U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson, who said enforcement of Kansas' proof-of-citizenship law has disenfranchised more than 18,000 otherwise eligible voters. That amounts to about 8 percent of all voter registration applications, "not an insignificant amount," she wrote.

Robinson ordered the state to comply with her ruling by Tuesday.

The state had asked the 10th Circuit to block her ruling, arguing that Robinson's injunction would cause a "heavy administrative burden." The state estimated that in addition to the people whose registrations had already been cancelled or suspended under the law, the order would affect anyone who registers to vote at motor vehicle offices before the November elections. The state estimated that could total 50,000 motor voter applicants.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has championed laws across the nation requiring voter ID to cast a ballot and proof of citizenship to register to vote.

The rulings stem from a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of voters. The organization argues that Kansas is an outlier and that blocking the law would bring the state's registration practices "in line with federal law."

The ACLU notes that Alabama, Arizona and Georgia also have documentary proof of citizenship laws to register to vote, but that Alabama and Georgia don't enforce them. Arizona enforces its law for some registrants but doesn't require applicants registering to vote at motor vehicle offices to submit any additional information beyond what is needed to get a driver's license.

Kansas, which has more than 1.7 million registered voters, has required since January 2013 that new voter applicants provide a birth certificate, passport or other proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.

In her ruling, Robinson said Kansas' law likely violates the National Voter Registration Act, a federal law that requires only "minimal information" to determine a voter's eligibility for federal elections. The law - commonly known as the "motor-voter law" - was designed to make it easier for people to register to vote for federal elections when they get their driver's licenses.

The proof-of citizenship requirement has mostly affected Kansas' younger citizens. Although those between the ages of 18 and 29 comprise only 14.9 percent of registered voters, that age group makes up more than 58 percent of motor-voter applicants whose registrations have been canceled or suspended.
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has granted military commanders new powers to help Afghan troops combat the Taliban, U.S. officials said, in a move that pulls the United States further from the president's goal of ending the long conflict in Afghanistan before he leaves office.

The new measures, approved by Obama late last month, will permit military leaders to send U.S. troops on battlefield missions with conventional Afghan forces, broadening an activity that now occurs only with elite local troops, and will expand the use of U.S. air power for offensive missions against the Taliban.

Officials said the actions will be approved only in limited circumstances when they are expected to have "strategic effect."

"This added flexibility is fully supported by the Afghan government and will help the Afghans at an important moment for the country," said a senior administration official who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Obama's authorization of the new measures is a reflection of the deteriorating security across Afghanistan, where local forces are struggling to contain a resurgent Taliban, as well as al-Qaida and Islamic State fighters, who pose formidable threats after the departure of most foreign forces.

The changes come in response to a request from Army Gen. John W. "Mick" Nicholson Jr., who took command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in March. Nicholson's predecessor, Gen. John F. Campbell, urged the White House to allow more aggressive targeting of Taliban forces before he stepped down this spring.

Nicholson has not yet submitted a formal assessment expected to follow his initial months as commander, officials said, but he had separately asked for the new authorities in response to battlefield conditions in the country.

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, speaking at a conference Friday, said the steps would provide Nicholson "some additional authority to act proactively" to help local forces. "It's a good use of the combat power we have there," he said.

Officials said the new steps, whose details must be fleshed out by military officials in Afghanistan, could, for example, let Nicholson send out U.S. personnel with conventional forces to call in airstrikes when the Afghan government is conducting a specific offensive against enemy forces.

"This is not a blanket order to target the Taliban," another official said.

James F. Dobbins, who was Obama's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2013 to 2014, said the new authorities are an acknowledgment that the administration's earlier decision to limit the U.S. fight there to al-Qaida hasn't succeeded.

How widely commanders apply the "strategic effect" measure will determine the extent to which the authorities thrust the United States back into operations like those it conducted before Obama ended formal combat operations at the close of 2014.

It's not clear what impact the relatively small U.S. force in Afghanistan, even with new operational authorities, can have on the country's vast and complex battlefield.

There are currently 9,800 U.S. service members across Afghanistan. Local forces are hoping to rebound this year from a punishing 2015, when the Taliban captured large swaths of Helmand province and temporarily held Kunduz, a major northern city.
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BEIRUT - Kurdish-led fighters completed their encirclement Friday of a key town held by the Islamic State in northern Syria, part of a Western-backed offensive that could see a major strategic victory over the militants.

The advance on Manbij, near the Turkish border, coincided with a Syrian army offensive supported by Russian airstrikes that brought troops closer to the city of Raqqa, ISIS' de facto capital.

Two years after their blitz across the Euphrates River valley, ISIS militants are coming under increasing pressure on territory they control in Syria and Iraq, as well as on a stronghold in chaotic Libya.

In another battleground of Syria's civil war, minimal food deliveries finally reached the Damascus suburb of Daraya, which has been besieged and blockaded by government forces for nearly four years, but opposition activists said heavy bombardment held up the aid's distribution.

The surrounding of Manbij by the Syria Democratic Forces followed the capture of dozens of nearby villages and farms near the Turkish border by the predominantly Kurdish group.

The coalition, backed by the U.S. and France, has been pressing an offensive since late May to try to capture the Islamic State stronghold, one of its largest in Aleppo province. Manbij is a waypoint on an ISIS supply line between Raqqa and the Turkish frontier.

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an ISIS commander from North Africa was killed in the latest round of fighting. More than 130 jihadists have been killed since May 31, when the SDF offensive began.

If the SDF captures Manbij, it will be the biggest strategic defeat for ISIS in Syria since July 2015, when it lost the border town of Tal Abyad, another major supply route for the militants.

The campaign coincided with a Syrian army offensive that brought troops to about 9 miles from the ISIS-held air base of Tabqa near Raqqa. Backed by intense Russian airstrikes, the Syrian troops seized a major intersection that leads to the air base and nearby oil fields, according to state media and the Observatory.

The latest push by SDF in the Manbij area has almost isolated ISIS positions in Aleppo province from the Turkish border.

In neighboring Iraq, government forces cleared more territory won back from the Islamic State group on the southern edge of Fallujah, held by the militants for more than two years.

Iraqi forces pushed deeper into the city about 40 miles west of Baghdad after a protracted fight this week, under cover of heavy airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition.

Convoys organized by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the United Nations brought food, flour and medical supplies to warehouses in Daraya late Thursday and early Friday, after the U.N. said the Syrian government had approved access to 15 of 19 besieged areas within Syria.

Activists and local council members were to distribute the aid Friday in Daraya, but the Observatory reported new government airstrikes.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault expressed "indignation" at the bombings after the aid delivery and accused the government of "extraordinary duplicity."
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The widow of the late Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee has endorsed state Sen. Rodney Ellis for the seat that her husband held for decades, the senator said Friday.

A letter dated Tuesday and signed by Kaye Lee urges Democratic party district chairs to select Ellis, the longtime Democratic state senator, when they gather later this month. Ellis's top rival in the race for the Precinct 1 seat is Commissioner Gene Locke, a Democrat who was appointed in January to fill Lee's seat by County Judge Ed Emmett, a Republican.

Kaye Lee has not confirmed the authenticity of the letter and did not respond to several phone calls, messages passed through intermediaries and a written note seeking confirmation of her endorsement. Ellis said Friday he had spoken with Kaye Lee after the letter was sent out and said it was genuine.

The letter stresses that Ellis is a "loyal Democrat" and family friend with a track record of electoral success.

"Your vote is much more than electing a replacement for an unopposed term," the letter says. "On June 25, 2016, you will determine if we as a party will continue to have a voice and presence on Commissioners Court for years to come."

"I think it's extremely important," Ellis said by phone Friday of the endorsement, which he called a game-changer. "I'm very honored to have it."

Locke said in a statement this week that he was "surprised" by Kaye Lee's decision, but he added, "I respect her right to endorse whomever she wishes."

Locke's campaign consultant, Keir Murray, added that the commissioner has been unable to reach Kaye Lee to discuss the letter.

Commissioner Lee was nearing the end of his seventh term when he died of a heart attack in January. Because his name was still on the ballot at the time of the Democratic primary in March, party precinct chairs will determine his successor. No Republicans are seeking the seat in the heavily Democratic precinct.

Kaye Lee did not appear at a ceremony Friday honoring her late husband and kicking off the 30th anniversary of the Street Olympics, a summer youth program that was one of his signature programs. Locke attended the event, and spoke positively about El Franco Lee's impact on the community.

Both Ellis and Locke have throughout the campaign recognized El Franco Lee's influence and legacy in the precinct, which covers much of urban Houston, especially north and south.

Locke did take issue with the letter's claim that Precinct 1 funds have not been spent in accordance with El Franco Lee's priorities.

"Unfortunately the funds set aside for those very important projects have been significantly depleted," the letter reads. "I am very saddened by that. Senator Ellis understands financial planning and maximizing dollars and is committed to making sure that the residents of Precinct One continue to receive the services and amenities they have come to rely on."

In his statement, Locke, who has been in office for more than four months, said he has continued all of El Franco Lee's programs, and noted that a balance in Precinct 1 funds is greater than when he took office.

An analysis by the Harris County Budget Office conducted at Locke's request shows that he is spending on average close to $900,000 less per month than Lee did last year.

Locke acknowledged that he has spent more money on street projects and other initiatives in city limits.

"I recognize that politics can be a contact sport, but I draw the line at grossly inaccurate allegations about the management and operation of Precinct One," Locke's statement reads.

Several others, including Houston Councilman Dwight Boykins, have expressed interest in the seat.

Texas Southern University political scientist Michael Adams said that even with Ellis' endorsement by Kaye Lee, the race is still open between Ellis, Locke and Boykins.

Adams said endorsements are important, but "not decisive."

"What is really going to be decisive in the selection is not public endorsements but behind-the-scenes deals and agreements," he said.
Last week I had the pleasure of making my annual pilgrimage to the powertochoose.org site to decide what my best electricity provider option was. You need to hire an assistant enter all the data, then create a spreadsheet to analyze all your options in any kind of meaningful way. The site is a total mess. This week, another study tells us that Texas consumers pay more in deregulated electricity markets. Here are a few other useful links: Texas Considers Scrapping 'Power To Choose' Website Some Say Is Deceptive , Texas' deregulated electricity market, explained and Why People Pay More For Electricity In Houston And Dallas.

Click the gallery below to see a gallery of cartoons by Nick Anderson.
Leadership

Regarding "Dearth of good options leaves us in a dilemma" (Page A21, Friday), Charles Krauthammer misses the whole concept of what is political leadership. Like many of his peers he interprets political leadership to represent only the polled electorate and election financiers. The disillusioned and disgusted with the status quo feel disenfranchised, see themselves marginalized, don't vote and therefore have no voice. This is what has created the great divide in our society.

This governing by polls and funding sources has created a class of political operatives who solely occupy government office space. Hiding behind poll numbers, the career politician says "he is doing the will of the people." If that is the case then why do Krauthammer and political pundits call them leaders? This is not leadership - it is an employee of a select class only.

True political leadership is the harmonization of the representative's own visions with the voting electorate, while listening to the non-voting group with the responsibility to keep all the constituents informed of the truth. It is "leading," negotiating, bringing together all citizens to a more prosperous future while always protecting our democracy. Except for a very few individuals, the Republican and Democratic parties of today have no leaders.

Michael Balahutrak, Houston

Texting

Regarding "Texting and driving" letter (Page A20, Wednesday), when a person eats detrimentally, it kills him or her and no one else. When a person texts and drives, too often it kills an innocent. It's not at all the same. Texting and driving, as well as doing anything distracting while driving, should be illegal. And it's not an accident; it's a preventable crash.

Robert Mueller, Houston

Trump U.

Regarding "Trump U. lawsuit and Texas" (Page A15, May 4), it is apparent that the investigation showed that Trump U. was a scam and a fraud because David Morales - the assistant attorney general in charge of civil litigation at the time of the investigation of Trump U. - says that it was most important that the fraudulent organization be immediately and permanently removed from the state of Texas. He claims full responsibility for the decision to not file suit to recover the millions of dollars Texas were cheated out of by Trump's group.

Morales falls on his sword to protect his old boss from the inescapable conclusion that the decision was a political judgment and probably based on a quid pro quo, such as a later political contribution. And if there was no quid pro quo, why would our governor accept a contribution from a fraud and a con man who had to be immediately and permanently removed from the state?

Michael W. Eheman, Kingwood

Natural gas

Regarding "Texas' deregulated electri- city market, explained" (HoustonChronicle.com, Wednesday), any savings customers are seeing now is due not to deregulation but to an abundance of natural gas, which is used in power plants to gene- rate electrical power. And the abundance of natural gas came from hydraulic fracturing in shale plays like Eagle Ford and the Bakken. When natural gas prices go back up, so will electricity rates.

Gene Lockard, posted via HoustonChronicle.com
GOP politics

Regarding "Dearth of good options leaves us in a dilemma" (Page A21, Friday), Charles Krauthammer is wrong that House Speaker Paul Ryan does not have good options concerning support of Donald Trump.

The speaker pointed out publicly many issues that are in conflict with his values and the values of the Republican Party, many of which would justify not supporting Trump. It is this type of Republican politics - letting the extreme thrive in the party - that produced the fertile space for Trump. Ryan is aware of Trump's problems, but he is unwilling to address them. He and the rest of the Republican Party have not yet realized that they are not the victims but the architects of the problems they are facing today.

Jan Cadik, The Woodlands

Social Security

Keeping Social Security strong and solvent for current and future generations is too important to be lost in the fog of campaign season. It's crucial that Texans, especially the 13 million of us currently paying into Social Security, listen carefully to and carefully consider presidential candidates' plans for keeping Social Security resilient.

The stakes are high. According to the Social Security trustees, benefits will be cut by nearly 25 percent by 2034 if no action is taken. In addition, millions of families today have little savings set aside as they near retirement. Pensions are becoming a rare commodity, and health care costs are on the upswing. What's more, younger workers are increasingly dubious about the program that's been a backbone of retirement security for generations of Americans and think that Social Security may be an empty promise for them.

Every year, our leaders wait and do nothing, finding a solution grows more difficult. So the sooner adjustments are made, the smaller and less abrupt they will have to be. And it all starts with presidential leadership. But regardless of who is next in the White House, Congress will have a key role to play. Two members of the Texas delegation are key leaders with notable sway over Social Security's future: U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady of The Woodlands, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, and U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson of Plano, chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee.

In November, Texans will elect or re-elect 36 men and women to represent them in Washington. As the candidates campaign in their home districts over the next few months, it's a great time to learn where they stand on the future of Social Security.

Bob Jackson, director of AARP Texas

Foster homes lacking

Regarding the article "Shortage of state foster homes forcing kids to sleep in offices" (Page A4, Thursday), the point is made that reducing the caseload of DFPS caseworkers will provide more time to find foster homes for children.

As CEO of DePelchin Children's Center, I wholeheartedly agree with that point but also believe we should take the discussion further. Even if we improve the caseload of our overworked caseworkers, the issue still remains that there are not enough foster parents and therefore foster homes to accept children who enter foster care every day.

DePelchin and many other child placing agencies find themselves in the sad situation at times of having to turn away children because we do not have foster homes for them. We need foster parents willing to open up their hearts and homes to children in need!

In addition to recruiting and training more foster parents, more resources are needed to support existing ones. Foster parents need and deserve better reimbursement rates, quality trauma-informed training, ongoing support and a reasonable level of regulations. As we think about solutions for foster care, I believe we must make improvements not just for the caseworker but for the foster parent as well.

There are many layers to the issues surrounding foster care in Texas, but one of the biggest remains that we need more foster parents to help our children.

Jenifer Jarriel, president and CEO, DePelchin Children's Center
Texas is in a dire situation with its child protective services system. Child Protective Services is grossly underfunded and often locked into crisis mode, with little long-term planning and a lack of focus on true outcomes for children in care. And what's CPS' most recent step toward solving the problem? Its parent agency, the Department of Family Protective Services, is lowering the educational requirements for frontline staff in investigations, conservatorship and family-based services from a four-year college degree to a two-year associate's degree.

CPS is going backward. This would give Texas the dubious distinction as the only state that doesn't require a four-year degree for its caseworkers.

Texas needs to upgrade its educational requirements by hiring more social workers and not by bringing on staff that lacks the education, competency and skills necessary to work and remain at an extremely stressful job. Florida, like Texas, has a high child mortality rate in its child protective services system. So what did Florica's legislature do? Mandate that by 2017, 50 percent of all CPS workers have social work degrees to begin to stem the tide of child deaths.

We believe that Texas CPS is lowering qualifications to counteract the large turnover of experienced workers due to high case loads and low salary. In effect, the thinking appears to be that CPS can keep paying less if the agency lowers the bar for the applicant pool. When workers are less qualified and less skilled, it is the children who really pay the price.

We need to raise our voices and tell CPS and our legislators that this policy change is grossly inappropriate. Hire more social workers, and you will increase retention rates and improve outcomes for kids. Hire fewer, and you put kids' lives at stake.

As citizens, we must make this issue an urgent priority for Child Protective Services. We must show agency leaders that we don't want them further jeopardizing the safety of kids just because they want to pay workers less and relax qualifications that are needed to ensure that only those with the strongest backgrounds work to eradicate abuse and neglect.

This is serious, and we need everyone's support. The National Association of Social Workers-Texas Chapter is working with many statewide partners to fight back against harmful policies that put already vulnerable children at further risk.

Nisenbaum is executive director of the National Association of Social Workers-Texas.

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How much of himself is Rick Perry going to give to Donald Trump and his campaign before the former Texas governor sees that it may not be worth it?

To hear Perry tell it, reality played a key role in softening his stance on Trump. The New York mogul is the presumptive Republican nominee, and the party and its voters are just going to have to accept that he is better than the alternative in our two-party political system. For that, Perry won a place in the speculation about Trumps vice presidential pick, but the trial run seemed to end this week.

Trump told Bloomberg Politics that Perry is not on his shortlist for vice president. I like him, Trump said. Id like to get him involved in some capacity at a high level.

Perry is really never going to live down his most candid, striking criticism of Trump when both men were competing for the Republican nomination. Calling Trump a cancer on conservatism is no small thing, and it's safe the say the former governor meant for it to sting. Perrys comments at the time were reported as his swan song, at least when it came the presidential race. He needed a platform to try to land one final punch on Trump, right before ending his second White House bid.

Heres what Perry said: Let no one be mistaken: Donald Trumps candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised, and discarded. Trumps campaign, he added, is a toxic mix of demagoguery and mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued.

There is, of course, one aspect of this whole story that should be readily acknowledged, which is that Trump is no stranger to shifting his positions to whatever benefits him at the moment. That he now praises Perry  Hes also very good at the border  after tweeting not long ago that Perry did a terrible job with border security shouldnt surprise anybody. Suddenly, he is coming around to Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, too, for that matter.

Thats Trumps record. Whats astounding is that it did not have to be Perrys, especially after a condemnation like the one he leveled at the billionaire.

Perrys long tenure as governor of Texas, where state Republicans of yore figured out how to win sizable support from Latino voters, had an opportunity no other major GOP name could claim. For one, Perry, eager to stay in the conversation, could have had a banner few weeks recently, as the Trump campaign has struggled mightily to deal with the blowback after the latters comments about a federal judge of Mexican heritage.

After throwing his support behind Trump, Perry has come under fierce criticism from the #NeverTrump crowd who cheered his jeremiad last year against the now-presumptive GOP nominee. Since then, Perry has had to defend himself to that crowd. Trump earned the nomination and we need to respect that, Perry told Fox News last month, adding that a Hillary Clinton presidency would be an absolute disaster.

There are plenty of Republicans who agree with the second part but not the first. There are no good choices this November, they say. Maybe theyll write in another candidates name on their November ballot. Maybe theyll stay home, or vote for the Libertarian ticket for president. Whatever the case, Perrys criticism of Clinton never had to include an endorsement of Trump. The former governor has some examples to follow on this path, from Cruz to Mitt Romney. If those two men, who dont come from exactly the same wings of the GOP, are willing to understand the distinction, Perry could have, too. And yes, that logic stands even if Trump got the most votes in any Republican primary in history.

So, now Perry is backing Trump, who  for the moment  likes the former governor. The newfound friendship, though, did not yield a spot for Perry on Trumps VP list. Who knows how many more times Perry will have to defend Trump to stay on his good side? Maybe that will win him a cabinet position in a Trump administration, and it will all have been worth it.
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Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

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For months, analysts have been saying there's little chance of oil ever reaching $100 per barrel again.

But that outlook isn't shared by those investors who are making big bets on oil soaring once more, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Investors have been buying options deals that bet on the resource reaching prices of US$80 per barrel in 2018, US$100 in 2019 and US$110 in 2020, according to data obtained from the U.S. Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. and the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Because of today's low prices, they stand to make some serious money if oil reaches those levels.

They're betting on the belief that low oil prices will lead to producers reduce new development so much that it will create a shortage of oil, Bloomberg said.

"Some hedge funds are betting that oil prices will need to rise sharply to bring demand down again," Bank of America Merrill Lynch head of commodities research Francisco Blanch told the agency.

"Thats why they are buying deep out-of-the-money call options."

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These investors aren't the only ones making big bets on oil. Others have made bets it will reach as high as US$125 per barrel in December 2018, and US$150 in December 2020.

The hedge funds believed to be behind these bets have diversified portfolios, and they've likely bet on many different energy price scenarios. But they stand a chance of making lots of money on this oil-price bet, if it pans out.

And their hopes are not unfounded.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said last month that that a global supply glut could start to ease off as early as this year, CNBC reported.

That could push oil prices higher. And so could an expected drop in oil supply from non-OPEC producers, which is also projected to happen this year.

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And they're not the only ones who think it's possible for oil to return to $100 per barrel. Last year, Gary Ross of consultancy PIRA Energy Group saidcrude could reach $100 per barrel again within five years, Bloomberg reported.

Ross had previously predicted a drop in oil prices that began in 2014.

But predictions of $100 per barrel fly in the face of analysts who see it as unlikely that they'll ever reach those heights again.

Daniel Yergin, a Pulitzer-winning author and vice-chair of research company IHS Inc., told the Associated Press that oil wouldn't reach $100 without "some big surprise or disruption."

And earlier this year, U.K. consultancy Cambridge Econometrics said oil prices could level out at anywhere between $83 and $87 per barrel between 2030 and 2050, if countries start approving lower-carbon policies.

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In that context, investors betting on oil reaching $100 again are taking a big risk. But as is often said, high risk, high reward.

Also on HuffPost:
Starting next month, Canadians won't be able to shop with their Visa cards at Walmart.

The phase-out will begin July 18 at three stores in Thunder Bay.

After Thunder Bay, itll be a phased approach across the country. Its limited to Canada, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal.

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Walmart Canada will no longer accept Visa cards starting next month. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The company told Global News the fees associated with Visa are "unjustifiably high."

We sincerely regret the impact this will have on our customers that use Visa and remain fully committed to reaching an agreement with Visa," Alex Roberton said.

Visa told WSJ the move will have a "negative impact" on Canadian shoppers.

Visa and Walmart have been feuding for years. (Photo: Getty Images)

We are disappointed that Wal-Mart chose to put their own financial interests ahead of their own consumers choice," the company said.

Visa says it offered Walmart one of the lowest fees available to any merchant in the country, according to CP24.

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The two companies have been feuding for years. Walmart sued Visa over swipe fees in New York in 2014, alleging that "Visa's monopoly power has enabled it to dictate price and inhibit competition."

Walmart again sued Visa earlier this year, alleging the company is trying to increase profits by using less-secure methods for debit card verification.

Walmart stores in Canada will still accept debit, Mastercard, Discover Card, American Express, and good old-fashioned cash.

Also On HuffPost:

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Image: Prison. Stock Photo. Pixabay.com

A surge in the use of social media to energize activists unhappy with government policy has alarmed authorities in the former Soviet Union the past few years.

Now authorities have turned this opposition tool on its head by arresting those who make provocative social media posts. Those facing prison on the trumped-up charges include activists and non-activists alike.

Activists have used social media to stoke opposition on a range of issues -- from what they perceive as stolen elections, to crackdowns on dissident activity, even electric-rate increases.

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Some of the efforts have succeeded. When thousands of social-media-galvanized Armenians took to the streets in the summer of 2015 to protest plans by the country's Russian-owned utility to raise electricity rates 17 percent, the government put the increase on hold.

Russia was the first country in the former Soviet Union to arrest people for social media posts. It's difficult to pinpoint when it started -- perhaps as early as five years ago.

But one thing is certain: Last year saw an explosion in such convictions.

Fifty-four people were sent to prison last year under the broad-brush category of hate speech -- most of it online posts. That was five times more than in 2010.

A particularly outrageous case was that of Andrei Bubeyev, a 40-year-old electrician from Tver, whose friends say has a keen interest in politics but has never been an activist.

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Bubeyev has been sentenced to prison twice for online posts -- once in 2015 and once this year.

The first sentence -- 10 months -- came because Bubeyev shared articles, photos and videos from Ukrainian nationalists who oppose Russia's occupation of Crimea and its participation in the war in eastern Ukraine.

One article dealt with the sensitive topic of the graves of Russians killed in the Ukraine fighting. It angered Russian officials because the official Kremlin line is that no Russian troops have fought with the separatists against Ukrainian forces.

The crime Bubayev was convicted of for this first round of posts was "inciting hatred toward Russians."

Bubayev's second sentence, 2 years and 3 months, was for posting a photo of a tube of toothpaste with the caption "Squeeze Russia out of yourself" and an article titled "Crimea is Ukraine," which disputed Russia's claim to the territory.

The laws used to charge him for this second round of offenses prohibit "acts of extremism" and "actions undermining Russia's territorial integrity."

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"Andrei Bubeyev thinks that he was charged as an example so that other ordinary citizens would be discouraged from expressing their opinion" online, said his lawyer, Svetlana Sidorkina.

"He was interested in politics, read the news, shared things, but he did it for himself," his wife Anastasia maintained. The Vkontakte.ru page where he made his posts "wasn't popular -- he only had 12 friends." He couldn't had goaded others into acting against Russian officialdom if he had wanted, she added.

Using Russia's example, Kazakhstan has also been making arrests for online posts the past couple of years.

In November of 2015 alone, it arrested three opposition figures on charges of "inciting social, national, clan, racial, class or religious discord."

The charges brought against the most prominent activist, Bolatbek Blyalov, were for comments in video clips and interviews posted on YouTube.

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Kazakhstan has a law against "circulating information in social media that contains elements of inciting social discord."

It considered bringing charges under that statute, but decided that YouTube did not fit the definition of a social medium. Instead, it charged Blyalov instead under a law that prohibits using mass media to spread social unrest.

The reason that Russia and Kazakhstan are bringing charges over social-media posts is because it widens their net against dissidents.

In most cases, police have been able to nab only a small percentage of activists taking part in a street protest -- which is good odds for the activists.

In addition, most activists have been careful not to say anything in the mass media that would result in their arrests.

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They have been outspoken in social media, however, believing it to be a safe place to air opposition views -- until now.

You can bet that other countries in the former Soviet Union will adopt the Russia-pioneered approach of stepping up social-media arrests to sideline dissidents.

From the authorities' point of view, it's far better to lock up activists before they can galvanize street protests that could get out of hand.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 9: House Speaker Paul Ryan, (R-WI) greets colleagues before a session on 'Protecting the U.S. Homeland' at The Council on Foreign Relations on June 9, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Ryan was to unveil a national security plan during the event. (Photo by Allison Shelley/Getty Images)

Whither the fabled "Party of Lincoln"? That was the question on the minds of many Republicans this week, at least based on how often they used the phrase. Now, we're used to scathing attacks on character being hurled in the frenzy of a presidential campaign. Indeed, it's woven into the fabric of American politics. It's just that in normal years, these attacks are flung across the aisle, at the other party's nominee. It is extraordinary that all of the vicious attacks we're going to feature in our talking points section this week came from Republicans, all aimed squarely at their own party's presidential nominee. Seriously, when in the past have you ever heard the term "unendorse" used? We haven't checked, but we believe it just got coined and added to the political lexicon. It hasn't existed before because the concept hasn't ever existed before (again, in our own memory, at the very least). But we're going to get to all this in great detail later, so let's just move along for now.

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Oh, one technical side-note, before we begin: for those of you anxiously awaiting the results of our "what to call Donald Trump?" contest (which ran last week), compiling the list of anti-Trump statements today took so much time that we're going to have to judge the contest next week. Our apologies for the delay.

In non-presidential news, Paul Ryan definitely fell flat on his face this week. Actually, he fell flat on his face in presidential news as well (in answering press questions after his event), but this week was supposed to be the glorious time when Ryan began unveiling his much-touted Republican agenda -- those things his House would be passing as soon as possible. Ryan deluded himself into thinking he could come up with a legislative agenda acceptable to his House caucus, when he first took the job of leading them. He was going to pass a whole bunch of bills to prove to the country what a wonderful forward-thinking agenda Republicans were capable of. Months of work went into this effort, but in the end Ryan had to severely trim back his own expectations. None of this stuff would be written into actual bills, he explained (while backing down from his grandiose earlier promises), because that was just too hard to do, given all the Tea Party radicals he had to keep happy. Instead, he'd just be listing some vague suggestions, in some white papers nobody would ever read. This week was to mark the first one of these, on solving poverty (by spending less money on the poor, of course). Here is how Dana Milbank of the Washington Post snarkily began his coverage of the event:

Seven white men and a white woman, Republican members of Congress all, boarded vehicles on Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning for a voyage deep into Anacostia, a largely black and poor section of Washington. Their mission: to reassure nonwhite voters frightened by Donald Trump, their party's presumptive presidential nominee. Their odds of success: exceedingly low. The lawmakers must have perceived their mission to be risky, for they traveled with a veritable arsenal: a Capitol Police "mobile command center" truck, a canine unit, four or five squad cars and a half-dozen black police vans. Police closed the street to traffic, and security officials wearing plainclothes and earpieces kept a watchful eye in all directions as a white van disgorged the lawmakers at the residential addiction-treatment program they were visiting. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan zoomed up moments later in his two-Suburban motorcade. The lawmakers, six of them in matching blue dress shirts, sat at a table in the shelter's basement, then invited the cameras in to capture a few seconds of their supportive nods and ingratiating smiles while African-American residents told their tales of recovery. Later, they reassembled outside, where the GOP officials gave a news conference while residents of the shelter, House of Help City of Hope, stood silently, human props in the background.

Ouch. Ryan should be happy he got even snarky coverage, though, because the story of the day became not his poverty white paper, but instead what he had to say about Donald Trump (which we'll get to, later).

Republicans running for office had better get used to what has happened over the past week or two, because it is going to be the "Groundhog Day" event of the entire campaign. The cycle will play out again and again, so the GOP better get used to it now: (1) Donald Trump says something incredibly bigoted, (2) Donald Trump then doubles down, refusing to apologize in any way, (3) every single Republican running for office anywhere is then asked: "So what do you think of what Trump just said?"

That's how it's going to go, so our guess is that Republicans will be thinking about that whole "Party of Lincoln" thing for months to come. "WWLD?" might just become the theme of the entire campaign, in fact.

Many inside-the-Beltway types (even a few Republicans) appear downright shocked that any racism might still exist out there in the hinterlands. Which is why we're ending this intro with the following news: Waco, Texas is finally getting around to desegregating a cemetery. Since it was created (back in 1875), there's been a fence down the middle of the graveyard, complete with separate entrances in the perimeter fence. Black people were buried on one side of the dividing line, white people on the other. And the fence still exists. A city councilman said in 2014: "That should have been taken out 75 years ago," but it took two more years for anything to be done about it. The city's been moving this slow for decades, apparently. From a story a newspaper ran in 1971, a cemetery association leader talked about how "the absurdity of the cemetery's segregating fence" had been discussed "for decades," and added the pithy quote: "I suppose they wanted that so the black ghosts wouldn't go over there and bother the white ghosts." But this absurdity continued for another 45 years and is only now being torn down. In this political season full of talk of building fences, it's good to see at least one racist fence come down, although you have to wonder what, exactly, took them so long?

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The obvious choice for Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week this week would be Hillary Clinton, who clinched the party's nomination with impressive victories in four states this Tuesday, including winning California by double digits.

However, we gave her the award last week (kind of in anticipation), so we're going to just hand Hillary another Honorable Mention instead. Because we really feel that President Barack Obama deserves the MIDOTW award this week, instead.

Obama became relevant to the presidential race this week, as he endorsed Hillary Clinton and began laying out a campaign schedule to travel to the Midwest and other swing states in support of Clinton. Obama also acted as middleman this week, meeting personally with Bernie Sanders before he released his endorsement of Clinton. And then he followed it all up with a hilarious appearance last night on Jimmy Fallon's show.

Barack Obama's poll numbers have been inching steadily upwards since January. On the Real Clear Politics rolling daily average, his job approval is now over 49 percent. Obama has already broken through the 50 percent barrier in many individual polls, and he now seems poised to do so in the average, as well. This will be the first time he'll have managed this feat since the first two months of his second term, so it's no small accomplishment. His approval rating among Democrats is sky-high, and the New York Times points out an odd historic fact: Obama will be the first sitting (second-term) president to actively campaign for his own party's replacement since Ronald Reagan. Al Gore thought Bill Clinton was too toxic (there are many who blame his loss on his refusal to let Clinton campaign for him, in fact). George W. Bush was obviously too toxic -- he hasn't even been to a Republican National Convention since 2004, in fact, because he's still too toxic for the party. This means that Obama giving rousing speeches for Hillary will be the first time a sitting president has done so in a very long time.

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Obama is at his best on the hustings, in case anyone's forgotten. Even his fiercest detractors grudgingly admit "the man knows how to give a speech." Which means this is the start of Obama being in the news in the most positive way possible for months to come -- which will likely push his approval rating even higher.

Obama won't just be campaigning for Hillary, he'll also be publicly making the case for his own presidential legacy. To see him broker a peace between Hillary and Bernie was just the kickoff to the general election season -- a season where Obama will be fully engaged with the voters once again. When we look back at the 2016 election later, this will be seen as the week when Obama got off the bench and started to mix it up again in the world of presidential politics. Which makes him our choice for Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week. Personally, we're looking forward to hearing a few zingers from Obama out on Hillary's campaign trail. And we're definitely not alone in that.

[Congratulate President Barack Obama on his White House contact page, to let him know you appreciate his efforts.]

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is this week's Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week, for fiercely defending his attack on free political expression.

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Cuomo has essentially created a blacklist of people and companies which his state will no longer do business with. Anyone who joins or advocates for the "BDS" movement gets put on the blacklist. Once again: a political stance taken means the state government blacklists you. That should horrify anyone who believes in constitutional government. Whether you agree with the movement or not, such heavy-handed tactics are flatly un-American.

For those unfamiliar with the term, BDS refers to "boycott, divestment, and sanctions" -- political tactics that were used very successfully against the apartheid government of South Africa in the 1980s. Without endorsing the movement itself (plenty of other people are out there to explain the movement or try to convince you to join it, for those disappointed that we're not fully endorsing the movement), we have to point out that these are entirely peaceful measures being urged against the governmental policies of Israel towards the Palestinians. These are not some militant radicals trying to forcibly oust Israel's government. And protesting the policies of the current government of Israel doesn't automatically make you an anti-Semite (if it did, a large portion of Israel's own population would be guilty of the sin).

But to the foes of BDS, the movement is somehow a lot more sinister. The word most often used is "delegitimize" -- that's what BDS is trying to do to the state of Israel itself. The second-most often word used is "anti-Semitic," but that one always gets tossed around in this debate. The pro-Israel people accuse the BDS movement of not being legitimate, and of trying to delegitimize Israel. Here's how Andrew Cuomo explained it in the Washington Post this week:

If you boycott Israel, New York will boycott you. Indeed, a new front has opened in the fight against Israel's existence. Just as the U.S.-Israel relationship has developed a robust and burgeoning commercial dimension, the threats against Israel have acquired one. There are those who seek to weaken and undermine Israel through the politics of discrimination, hatred and fear. New York will not tolerate this new brand of warfare. New York stands with Israel because we are Israel and Israel is us.

Um, no. Israel is not America's 51st state. It just isn't. We may "stand with" Israel" (or other such soaring platitudes) but to say that we are them and they are us is just flat-out wrong. And to call a peaceful movement a "new brand of warfare" is nothing short of propaganda.

Again -- all of this seems obvious even if you don't agree or support the BDS movement. Why were the tactics fine to use against South Africa but somehow "the politics of discrimination, hatred and fear" when used against Israel? That makes no sense.

Cuomo is free -- either as a private citizen or as leader of his state -- to denounce the BDS movement until he is blue in the face. That's called free speech. He is free to argue against it, cajole people to denounce it, or any other action designed to fight against it short of abusing his governmental power.

But for a government itself to blacklist people and companies under its power -- purely over their political beliefs -- is nothing short of totalitarianism. Constitutionally, there are only two choices for any governmental agency to make: either allow all political speech, or none. There simply is no in-between where governments get to pick and choose which political beliefs they will reward. When the KKK wanted to join the "adopt a road" cleanup program in many states, the state could not specifically ban them for their beliefs. They had to either accept them into the program, put up the same sign as they do for everyone else ("this stretch of highway cleaned by...") or they could just end the adopt-a-road program altogether. Schools are faced with the same choice for organizations (many schools tried to ban gay-rights groups like PFLAG, and were told to either allow the group to form or ban all such groups altogether).

Governmental action and speech must be politically neutral. The power of government is so great that it cannot be abused to settle political scores. This is a basic tenet of America, in fact. But apparently it's one that Andrew Cuomo hasn't heard about. Oh, and also that thing about there only being 50 states, too. For his lack of understanding, we hereby award the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week to Andrew Cuomo. Maybe he ought to read up on New York history, specifically how Tammany Hall held so much power through patronage -- or the doling out of plum jobs to those who toed the political line. Such tactics belong on the ash-heap of history, not in new blacklists from the governor's office.

[Contact New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on his official contact page, to let him know what you think of his actions.]

Volume 395 (6/10/16)

If there's one thing Democrats are truly united about this election season, it is the unacceptability of Donald Trump to lead our nation. So it's pretty easy to put together talking points for Democrats to use to express their revulsion of Trump and all he stands for, because all Democrats largely agree on the subject.

This week, however, we're turning the talking points over to Republicans. Because the scathing things members of his own party are saying about him are even more instructive, since there is no question of them being mere partisan attacks. Now, it's a little puzzling why Trump's comments about a judge have lit this fire, since Trump hasn't been shy about expressing very similar sentiments from the day he announced his campaign ("they're rapists"). But for whatever reason, the Republican Party seems to have woken up to the fact that they're about to nominate a racist for president, and some of them are starting to speak out -- very loudly, at times.

Good for them. Better late than never, and all of that. Squaring the circle of "I condemn Donald Trump's racism" and "I'm going to vote for him, and I urge everyone to do the same" has become increasingly difficult. Paul Ryan really set off this stampede (in answer to a question asked at his poverty dog-and-pony show), weakly arguing that Trump would be better than Hillary Clinton:

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I disavow those comments. I regret those comments that he made. Claiming a person can't do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment. I think that should be absolutely disavowed. It's absolutely unacceptable.

But Ryan's still going to vote for the man he's disavowing as absolutely unacceptable: "Do I believe Hillary Clinton is the answer? No I do not."

The New York Post responded with a scathing cover ("I'm with racist"), but comedian D.L. Hughley probably summed it up best: "What [Ryan is] saying is that a racist is better than a liberal." Hughley later added: "I think you can't be a little bit pregnant or a little bit racist."

Michael B. Keegan also raises an interesting connect-the-dots point over at the Huffington Post about the whole fracas, with the beautifully self-explanatory title: "While Trump Makes Racist Attacks On Judge, GOP Holds a Supreme Court Seat for Him to Fill?"

Since it's been such an interesting week, instead of our usual Democratic talking points ripping into Republican positions we're going to present a list of Republican talking points -- because they're doing such a great job ripping into their own party's nominee. Most of these people are still going to vote for and support Donald Trump, although a few are indeed already walking away from him. The first group of these comments all come from a Salon article which helpfully put them all in one place (and these are just the best ones, there are plenty of others listed):

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Senator Ben Sasse [R-NE]:

Saying someone can't do a specific job because of his or her race is the literal definition of racism.

Senator Marco Rubio [R-FL]:

[Judge Curiel] is an American, born in the U.S., a judge who has earned that position. I don't think it reflects well in the Republican Party. I don't think it reflects well on us as a nation.

Ohio Governor John Kasich:

Attacking judges based on their race and/or religion is another tactic that divides our country. More importantly, it is flat-out wrong.

Newt Gingrich:

I don't know what Trump's reasoning was, and I don't care. His description of the judge in terms of his parentage is completely unacceptable.

Senator Rob Portman [R-OH]:

The fact that the judge has a Mexican-American heritage has nothing to do with how you should describe his judicial ability. The guy was born in Indiana. He's as American as I am.

Representative Jackie Walorski [R-IN]:

Questioning a judge's impartiality based on his ethnicity is not only inappropriate, it has no place in American society.

Senator Jeff Flake [R-AZ]:

His statements this week on the judge -- that's a new level... Because it's not just... ill-informed or ignorant statements, but they suggest that when he's president, you know, after November, that... perhaps he ought to go after that judge. That's a whole new level. So that's -- it's very disturbing.

Alberto Gonzales:

The call for a recusal of a judge based solely on ethnicity in my judgment is wrong and to do it publicly in my judgment demeans the judge and really does hurt the reputation of the judiciary, and I just think it was inappropriate the way that Donald Trump did it in this case.

Senator Mark Kirk [R-IL] faces a tough re-election battle this year in a blue state, and he's the first one to "unendorse" Trump. Kirk says he'll be writing in David Petraeus for president when he votes. From what he had to say:

I cannot and will not support my party's nominee for President... I have spent my life building bridges and tearing down barriers -- not building walls. That's why I find Donald Trump's belief that an American-born judge of Mexican descent is incapable of fairly presiding over his case is not only dead wrong, it is un-American.... I think we should send a strong message that racism and bigotry are not going to be tolerated in the party of Lincoln.

From the same article, Senator Jeff Flake had more to say on why he hasn't supported Trump and still won't be:

Let's face it: meet the old Trump, just like the new Trump. We've got what we've got. That's not somebody who can win the White House. "We're going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it" is not a serious proposal. [Voters] want serious proposals on how to deal with this war on terrorism. Saying that you're going to ban Muslims from entering the country is not a serious proposal.

Susan Collins [R-ME] is still on the fence, however:

[Trump's comments] make it very difficult for me. It makes the decision [to endorse him or not] a hard one.

So is Senator Bob Corker [R-TN], who is still holding out for the "presidential" Trump to emerge:

He's got this defining period that's over the next two or three weeks where he could pivot, can pivot, hopefully will pivot to a place where he becomes a true general election candidate.

Good luck with that line of wishful thinking, Senator Corker!

Senator Lindsey Graham [R-SC] urged other Republicans to unendorse their party's presidential nominee:

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If anybody was looking for an off-ramp, this is probably it. [Trump's comments are] the most un-American thing from a politician since Joe McCarthy. [I urge] Republicans who have backed Mr. Trump to rescind their endorsements. There'll come a time when the love of country will trump hatred of Hillary.

From a different interview with Graham:

There are a lot of people who want to be loyal to the Republican Party, including me. There'll come a point in time where we're gonna have to understand that it's not just about the 2016 race, it's about the future of the party, and I would like to support our nominee: I just can't.

Wow -- tell us how you really feel, Lindsey!

A state senator from Iowa, David Johnson, publicly announced he was going one step further, and exiting the Republican Party altogether.

I will not stand silent if the party of Lincoln and the end of slavery buckles under the racial bias of a bigot. [Trump's] campaign to reality TV and large crowds and divisive language and all the trappings of a good show for those who like that kind of approach, and that's what happened in the 1930s in Germany. I think that's all I need to say, but certainly the fascists took control of Germany under the same types of strategies. Mark me down as Never Trump.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell thinks he has the answer: Trump just needs to read prepared speeches from now on. Problem solved! No, really:

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I object to a whole series of things that he's said -- vehemently object to them. I think all of that needs to stop. Both the shots at people he defeated in the primary and these attacks on various ethnic groups in the country.... I think he'd have a much better chance of winning if he would quit making so many unfortunate public utterances and stick to the script.

The Washington Post helpfully explained what McConnell was trying to achieve, in the snarkiest of ways:

This is fascinating stuff on many levels. Note that McConnell "vehemently objects" to Trump's attacks on various ethnic groups, but will continue to support him provided he reads from a prepared script that no longer includes such attacks -- in other words, provided Trump stops saying these things aloud.

That's really the root of the Republicans' problem with Trump, isn't it? "Don, you're not supposed to say this stuff in public," is really what it boils down to. Perhaps Trump himself needs a course from Republican Talking Points University -- are there any openings left for the summer session of "Dog Whistling 101"?

But that's really too much to hope for, for some clear-eyed Republicans. GOP strategist Mike Murphy has a very realistic view of Trump's chances in November:

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To win what Trump would have to do is change the perception women have of him. Because white men are only a third of the electorate. So you can win them by 40 percent and it's still not enough.... He would need to dramatically change the perception people have of him now. And since Trump can't change, I think his answer is less in political strategy and more in a team of shrinks to get him back into some sort of mentality where he understands he has to change. This would require Trump to entertain the possibility that his antics and depravity are alienating a lot of people, and it's not clear he's capable of doing that.

Gotta love that "team of shrinks" jab, Mike! Which brings us to our final Republican angst of the week, from Michael Gerson, who still clings to the notion that his party is somehow better than all those millions of Trump voters are proving it to be:

So what were senior Republicans thinking when they endorsed Trump? I don't want to underestimate the difficulties involved in opposing one's own presumptive nominee. There is tremendous political pressure to be loyal to the team. The arguments against doing anything that might help Hillary Clinton are strong. "This is about moving our agenda forward," said Ryan in justifying his Trump endorsement. Republican leaders, in other words, thought they were in a normal political moment -- a time for pragmatism, give-and-take, holding your nose and eventually getting past an unpleasant chore. But it is not a normal political moment. It is one of those rare times -- like the repudiation of Joe McCarthy, or consideration of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or the Watergate crisis -- when the spotlight of history stops on a single decision, and a whole political career is remembered in a single pose. The test here: Can you support, for pragmatic reasons, a presidential candidate who purposely and consistently appeals to racism? When the choice came, only a handful of Republicans at the national level answered with a firm "no." A handful. It was not shocking to me that the plurality of an angry Republican primary electorate -- grown distrustful of establishment leaders -- might choose a populist who appeals to racial prejudice. It is shocking to me -- and depressing and infuriating -- that almost no elected Republicans of national standing would stand up to it. By this standard, Sen. Ben Sasse is the moral leader of the GOP. But given the thinness of his company, many of us will never be able to think about the Republican Party in quite the same way again. It still carries many of the ideological convictions I share. Collectively, however, it has failed one of the most basic tests of public justice: Don't support racists -- or candidates who appeal to racism -- for public office. If this commitment is not a primary, non-negotiable element of Republican identity, then the party of Lincoln is dead.

Of course, some Democrats have been pointing out for decades now that Lincoln would be horrified at the modern Republican Party (say, from Nixon onwards...). But it's good to see that some Republicans are finally coming around to the same realization. Maybe there's hope, for some of them at least.

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Chris Weigant blogs at:

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

Full archives of FTP columns: FridayTalkingPoints.com
A precedent embalms a principle.



Benjamin Disraeli, 1848 Speech



The rock has cooled. It happened on May 30, 2016, when Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, said it would be "disrespectful" not to support the presumptive nominee of the Republican party whom a majority of Republican voters had selected. That surprised voters who recalled that the New York Times reported that, at a February 19th luncheon of Republican governors and donors, Mr. McConnell said that if Mr. Trump were the party's nominee, it would "be catastrophic, dooming the party in November." In the event of his nomination, Mr. McConnell said: "We'll drop him like a hot rock" in the general election. He went on to say that if candidates felt their own elections were threatened by a top of the ticket Trump, they could run negative ads about him. That was then. This is now and it all shows that a lot can happen in four months if you are Mitch McConnell. A lot less if you are Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is still saying the sorts of things he was saying at the end of February that so offended Mr. McConnell but Mr. McConnell had forgotten all about them until Mr. Trump began making racist comments about the judge who is presiding over the Trump University lawsuit in California. Those comments did not, however, cause Mr. McConnell to withdraw his support. It caused him to express the hope that Mr. Trump would apologize and "get on script" whatever that script may be. Seeking an apology from Mr. Trump is probably a fool's errand but nonetheless, another senator has embarked on that same errand. He is one-time presidential candidate and and long time senator, John McCain.

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Mr. McCain is in a tough fight in Arizona to retain his seat in the U.S. Senate. Because ambition trumps principle in Mr. McCain's case, the Senator has endorsed Mr. Trump, although he coupled his endorsement with a request for an apology. The request made because of comments Mr. Trump had earlier made about service personnel who were captured in Viet Nam. Although Mr. Trump was deprived of the opportunity to serve his country during the Viet Nam war years because of student deferments and a medical deferment he received because of a bone spur on one of his feet, (although he could not recall which foot it was when asked) he attended the New York Military Academy in high school and knows what it takes to be a good soldier and knows what traits define war heroes. And it is that knowledge that enabled him to comment on Mr. McCain's military service. In an interview that took place in June 2015, Mr. Trump said of Mr. McCain that: "He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured." Later in the interview he moderated his comments by saying: "If a person is captured, they're a hero as far as I'm concerned. . . But you have to do other things also. . . ." (Mr. Trump did not limit his attack on Mr. McCain to his status as a POW. Mr. Trump said that not only was Mr. McCain a loser for having gotten captured, he was also a loser for not having defeated Barak Obama for the presidency. As Mr. Trump explained: "He lost and let us down. I've never liked losers." It is impossible to know whether Mr. Trump's self esteem will be affected should he lose the election in November.

Mr. McCain is a generous man, not one to withhold support from a candidate just because the candidate has insulted him. On May 8, 2016, he announced his support of Mr. Trump's candidacy saying it would be "foolish to ignore the will of voters." Nonetheless, Mr. McCain's endorsement came with a wish for an apology. As he explained: What he said about me . . .that's fine. I don't require any repair of that. But when he said, 'I don't like people who were captured' then there's a body of American heroes and I'd like to see him retract that statement." Not that Mr. McCain's support of Mr. Trump depends on a retraction. He's just indulging in wishful thinking.

There's a lot of wishful thinking going around in Republican circles. It's expressed differently depending on who's talking. Senator Susan Collins of Maine has said she will support the Republican nominee. That does not mean she is not concerned about Mr. Trump's racist remarks about the judge in the Trump University lawsuit. Her concern has not, however, caused her to withdraw her support. As she explained, she believes in redemption.

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small desktop world globe showing Syria,Israel,lebanon,jordan, and vicinities

Each year on June 20th the United Nations invites organizations and people from around the world to celebrate World Refugee Day. This is an event that "honors the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence." As I reflect upon this year's focus day, I remember my recent visit to Gaziantep, a Turkish city close to the Syrian border.

Gaziantep is approximately 61 miles from Aleppo, Syria, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site decimated by conflict fueled by Syrian President Bashar al Assad's government loyalists, backed by Russian airstrikes, and between various rebels fighting for freedom and vying for shifting frontlines. Gaziantep hosts more than 350 000 Syrian refugees in various urban centers, disturbingly trending upwards from the 280 000 documented in a Human Rights Watch report of 2015.

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As a humanitarian and artist, part of my job is to take overwhelming statistics of tragedy and horror, and bring the numbers into focus. Each statistic represents a child, a woman, or man, with a compelling story and life. Each statistic represents a family, a journey, a life. Local NGOs working at the grassroots level such as Basmeh and Zeitooneh, a civil society organization started in 2012 run mostly by volunteers, are exemplary in this process. I was fortunate to spend a day at their community center in Gaziantep, interacting with the children enrolled there and the aforementioned volunteers who are also primarily refugees. They are making a quantifiable difference in the worst migrant crisis since World War II.

The center provides early education opportunities and psychosocial support for approximately 90 children and youth ranging from ages 6-18 (although most of the children that I met that day were approximately 6-10 years old). They are supported with activities related to theater, photography, visual arts, choral singing and literacy. The center provides a critical service, considering nearly two-thirds of Syrian refugee children are not enrolled in any formal education institutions. Most of the children and their families are also essentially stateless, forced into the underground economy as child laborers in order to sustain a living. I was informed about one particular youth who would bring a knife to the center as he regularly used it as protection at his afternoon job as a shoe shiner.

The children I met on that particular day were joyful, tightly bound to one other and exuberant in their play, seemingly unaffected by the horrors they came from. This is a testament to the effectiveness of the programming provided to them by Basmeh and Zeitooneh and its adjacent 6-month rehabilitation process. The manager told me that when some of children were first admitted they would only draw pictures with black crayons of headless bodies as that was their predominant experience in the ISIS controlled neighborhoods in Syria before fleeing. I subsequently snapped photos of what they were now producing. Their creations had transformed into beautiful and colorful paintings that stated their rights as a child, along with festive finger puppets to interact with each other and other pieces of art that typified the love they had for this safe space.

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The brave women and men who work and volunteer at the center additionally have their own harrowing tales of escape, forced migration and resettlement in Gaziantep. Their pragmatic resignation to history resonated deeply within me. They were are all fully aware of the images that we have seen throughout this now five year conflict and understood that there is little hope for effective outside intervention. Despite this, they all continue to selflessly commit their energy into the next generation, embodied in the many children at this community center.
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in San Jose, California, U.S. June 2, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Recent Trump outrages have thrown the GOP establishment into a tizzy. Reactions have been varied, ranging from a few brave souls who have denounced their nominee's bigotry to those who continue to hope against hope that Trump will begin to behave more "presidential". Ignored in all of this are two important realities: Trump is Trump; and his message and movement are the handiwork of the very establishment that is now rejecting their creations.

Trump's xenophobic, male chauvinist, and bigoted bullying campaign rhetoric is not an act. It is who he is and it what the constituency that has propelled his candidacy wants him to be. While this simple truth has been self-evident throughout the campaign, the establishment has been in denial, unwilling or unable to confront reality. With every display of brutish behavior, they pronounced Trump fatally wounded--only to discover that his appalling and dangerous attacks on Mexicans, women, Muslims, people with disabilities, news reporters, and incitements to violence against demonstrators--caused his poll numbers to rise.

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Party leaders shouldn't have been surprised, since it was they who set the table for "The Donald". For decades, the GOP has preyed off the fears of white voters who are in economic distress. Since the days of Richard Nixon, they have used subtle and not so subtle racial messages to win support. Whether the targets were "welfare queens", "Willie Horton", or resentment over "affirmative action"--the appeal was the same: "they are a threat to you" and "they are privileged and are taking from you".

With the election of Barack Obama, in the midst of the most severe economic crisis since the Depression, this effort swung into high gear with the Tea Party and "birther" movements. New targets were added--Mexicans ("illegals" and "drugs") and Muslims ("terrorists" and "an existential threat to our way of life").

In each instance, the GOP fed the beast. They funded, helped to organize, and used the Tea Party to win elections, and with "a wink and a nod" they let the "birthers" fester in effort to deligitimize the president. They encouraged and celebrated vigilante actions against "illegals" and callously exploited the fear of Muslims with trumped-up campaigns against Sharia law and TV ads in congressional races charging Democrats with being "soft on Muslims".

All of this created a constituency which Trump, the entertainer, understood and toward whom he directed his campaign. He is but the latest in a long line of demagogues to tap into resentment and fear--following in the footsteps of Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and Michele Bachmann.

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The hope of the Republican Party establishment that Trump would become a more "respectable" candidate has been, in part, disingenuous. If he were not the nominee, they would be thrilled to have him campaigning for GOP candidate. But as the standard bearer, he is an embarrassment.

His racist attack on the judge who is hearing the case against the so-called "Trump University" has left party leaders flailing about. In an effort to distance themselves from his behavior, they have expressed everything from disappointment to disgust. Last weekend, Trump compounded his bigotry by noting that not only did he feel that a judge of Mexican descent couldn't give him a fair trial (because Trump was planning to build a wall between Mexico and the US); he also felt he couldn't trust a Muslim American judge (because he had called for a ban on Muslim immigrants to the US).

While I do not have polling data on Mexican Americans, I did conduct a survey of US voters a few months ago that demonstrates the sad reality that is behind Trump's calculations. American voters were asked "If a Muslim American were to attain an important position of influence in the government, would you feel confident that person would be able to do the job, or would you feel that their religion would influence their decision-making?"

A plurality of voters (46%) said they felt that Muslims would be unduly influenced by their religion. More telling: while a plurality of Democrats (47%) were confident that a Muslim American could do the job, 63% of Republicans said a Muslim couldn't be trusted--including a whopping 75% of voters who said they were Trump supporters.

The bottom line is that Trump didn't create this mindset or this constituency. It was created for him and he is merely playing to the crowd. Instead of hand-wringing, the party leaders who for years have encouraged this phenomenon need to accept their responsibility. It didn't just happen, and Trump didn't will it into being. The fear and/or resentment of Mexicans/Muslims/blacks/strong women/etc has long been cultivated and has now given birth to its evil fruit.

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I warned that this beast would turn on its creators, and now it has. Whining or expressions of disappointment won't make it go away. Decisive action just might. Republicans should repudiate bigotry and demonstrate resolve by listening to those courageous voices who are calling on them to "Dump Trump" and undo the damage they have done to their party and to our country.
President Obama's recent visit to Hiroshima where the President called for a moral revolution against nuclear warfare, resurrects the question about President Truman's moral compass when he authorized the August 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima and the August 9, 1945 bombing of Nagasaki.

Was President Truman justified in obliterating two cities and more than 100,000 Japanese men, women and children? Or was the 33rd President morally courageous when he used atomic bombs to force the stubborn and fanatical Japanese warlords to unconditionally surrender - a surrender that spared the lives of at least a quarter of a million U.S. servicemen, as well as hundreds of thousands of Japanese teenagers and elderly women conscripted to protect Japan from an invasion?

Following VE Day on May 8, 1945 marking the successful end of the war in Europe, Harry Truman and the U.S. allies focused on ending the horrendous war in the Pacific. President Truman and U.S. Allies, including Winston Churchill, demanded in the July 1945 Potsdam Declaration that Japan must agree to an unconditional surrender that would end a brutal war that had already resulted in millions of deaths.

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The problem was the irrational refusal of Japan's military leaders to accept the certain reality that they would ultimately lose the war. Faced with Japan's maniacal commitment to win the war, Truman was advised by the Secretary of Defense, General George Marshall that the Allies' planned invasion of Japan would cost the lives of a minimum of 250,000 U.S. servicemen.

As Commander and Chief of the United States, Truman acted decisively to protect U.S. servicemen from a protracted war against a Japanese culture typified by suicidal Kamikazes pilots. Surrender and defeat were not acceptable options in Emperor Hirohito's Japan.

Truman's reason for the use of atomic warfare is clear in his letter to his wife Bess dated July 18, 1945, just a week before the President issued a military directive ordering the bombing after August 2, 1945. Truman wrote: "I'll say that we'll end the war a year sooner now (with use of the Atomic Bombs), and think of the kids who won't be killed."

In a letter Truman sent on August 9th, 1945 to Senator Richard B. Russell (D-GA), Truman reiterated his thoughts contained in his July 18th letter to Bess Truman: "My object (in using the Atomic Bomb) is to save as many American lives as possible but I also have a humane feeling for the women and children in Japan."

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Importantly, even before the Japanese unconditionally surrendered on August 14, 1945 Truman's repulsion at the devastation of atomic warfare was evident at an August 9, 1945 cabinet meeting. At this cabinet meeting, Truman ordered that there would be no further use of the atomic bomb (a third one was available) unless the President explicitly approved this action. Truman further told his cabinet that the mere thought of decimating another city was horrible, particularly since it would necessarily kill "all those kids."

Three years later on July 21, 1948 Truman told National Security Council and Atomic Energy Commission members that he remained strongly opposed to any further use of an atomic bomb: "I don't think we ought to use this thing (the Bomb) unless we absolutely have to. It is a terrible thing to order the use of something that is so terribly destructive, destructive beyond anything we have ever had."

Truman not only reaffirmed his revulsion towards the Bomb on July 21, 1948 he subsequently took an important step by controlling U.S. military access to atomic and nuclear bombs. After hearing pleas from his senior military advisors that the Joint Chiefs of Staff should control atomic technology, Truman rejected this proposal and instituted the new policy whereby the President and future Presidents would have unilateral control of the Bomb. In taking this action, Truman wisely eliminated the possibility of rogue military officials securing the nuclear codes that have been exclusively in the possession of U.S. Presidents since 1945.

Throughout his Presidency, Truman demonstrated his unequivocal opposition to the use of the Bomb when confronting a possible World War III due to Russia's June 24, 1948 blockade of West Berlin and its 2.5 million citizens, North Korea's invasion of South Korea on June 24, 1950 and China's invasion of the Korean Peninsula on November 6, 1950.

Ironically, the words and actions of our 33rd President during the early years of the Cold War are consistent with and supportive of President Obama's words at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial on May 27, 2016 where the 44th President called for a moral revolution regarding nuclear warfare.

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Bernie Sanders still has a shot. A big one. A shot at being one of the most important leaders of our time. A true revolutionary, perhaps changing the world and our entire democracy. It will not be as President of the United States.

I know that many of you are still holding out for a Claire Underwood moment on the convention floor, but that's Netflix folks...it isn't going to happen.

If Mr. Sanders were to have some huge last minute coup d'etat that changed the hearts, minds and votes of the pledged super delegates, it would have happened already. During the time when he was winning states, he did not collect any super delegates that defected the Clinton camp. Zero. Not one.

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He has lost his bid for the presidency of the United States, guys: it's over...and he knows it.

To string his supporters along, is not only misleading and giving false hope, but it is dividing the party, holding you all as ransom demand, and using you as currency. The man I once publicly supported, sent money to, have written beautiful things about, and have spent time with, has turned into a power hungry politician, who cares about advancing one thing: himself. I will go one step further, and say that he is in fact, a bully.

Hillary Clinton is our nominee, like it or not. Math is not an opinion.

Secretary Clinton is ahead by more than three million people in the popular vote as well, and she just won California. So lets put a lid on it.

But wait! Please hear me out.

All is not lost, and your "revolution" is as strong as ever. If you play this right, it will keep growing. We have the power to take this country back, in a real, and sustained way. The problem here is, that Mr. Sanders isn't leading your revolution. He is slowly revealing, that his agenda, is himself. Don't kid yourself that these closed door meetings with Clinton and Obama aren't to advance one thing: Bernie Sanders.

Otherwise, let me ask you this: If this were about truly changing the country, why isn't Mr. Sanders directing his army to fight for things that we can actually still change? Like House and Senate seats? Why isn't he asking his supporters to make some noise about our still empty Justice Scalia Supreme Court seat? A true leader...leads. These are things we can still change.

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It seems the only thing that Bernie Sanders is asking his supporters to do, is to continue to fight for Bernie Sanders. For a presidential bid, that is over.

Again, for those of you who will say "It ain't over 'til it's over...lets go all the way to the convention floor" I take a deep sigh, and say...why? To divide this party more? There will not be a big Hollywood moment on the convention floor. There may be a ruckus, disruption, hissing, booing, and yelling when they nominate Hillary Clinton, but Bernie Sanders is not going to be the nominee.

Is that what we want? More in fighting? Why? To prove a moral point? To spew more hatred and vitriol at the only chance we have of holding this country steady with a Democrat in office rather than the alternative, Trump?

I know that many of you have hard feelings about Secretary Clinton. Everyone has their personal reasons, I will not debate them here, the past, quite frankly, right now, given our options...is a waste of time.

Here is reality:

In November we have two viable candidate choices: Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Period.

A vote for Jesus, Jill Stein, Mitt Romney, or Ronald Reagan, is a vote for Trump.

No vote, is a vote for Trump.

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You have every right to do as you please. I respect that, and I deeply respect your passion, and fight. Please don't stop. I want real sustained change too. I will fight alongside you.

Bernie Sanders has NOT lost...yet. Although the longer he keeps at this, the deeper the poison sets in. Soon he will have lost his one real chance, at changing the world and going down in history as one of the greatest revolutionary leaders in America...but not like this.

He is gradually losing people like me. People who believed in his message, and believed in him. He is asking you not to row this boat to shore together, but rather to put more holes in it to prove a point, and to make us beg him to come rescue us. That's called power hungry narcissism.

Well, I won't allow that, and I will not cave to any sadistic demands of begging you to vote for Hillary or demands to "win you over". I won't even ask you. I will have more respect for your intelligence, see you as a progressive peer and brothers and sisters in this fight. Then I will row hard enough to do the work of four people if you choose to sit on your hands on election day. I will fight to get us to shore, so that we can build a better America together once we are there.

See you're fighting the wrong fight at this point. We are where we are, and now we need to focus on the alligator closest to the boat. That is Donald Trump. He must be defeated. We will deal with the rest later, as we continue to movement build.

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I don't care about how you feel about Hillary, she sent my little brother to Iraq. I was not happy about that. That is the past, and I am not about to lose the one shot we have of keeping the progressive ball moving up the field.

I can see no other reason now for Sanders to so defiantly fight for a job and not concede, other than ego, loving the crowds, and self advancement. He is using his supporters as currency: don't be fooled.

Sanders has done a phenomenal job of organizing. His supporters have been so passionate, so fierce, so creative, and worked so very hard. Honestly, I applaud you guys, and know that your heart is in the right place. Mine is right there with you. You ran a much better campaign than Hillary has.

I know that you want to change this country, this system, and you know what? You're right. The system MUST change in order for us to have a functioning democracy again. However, real leaders offer solid solutions and give the people in their "revolution" a plan of ACTION. They don't just encourage fights and disruption, although a little disruption is a good thing...they also offer a real plan. I have not seen any of this with Mr. Sanders.

Mr. Sanders has said that real change starts from "the ground up". He is right. I would like to add that leaders do not create revolutions...revolutions create leaders.

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I truly believe that Bernie has been a great catalyst for inspiring people and waking us up. I believe that his messaging has been critical. Bernie has been and can continue to be, a major movement builder, if he could just get out of the way of his own political ambition, personal demands, and ego.

From this "revolution" that is just beginning, a leader, perhaps a person who is even reading my piece right now...maybe it's you...will arise.

I can also however, promise you one thing: this revolution dies on election day if Donald Trump becomes president.

Free college, slaying billionaires, and income inequality will be the least of your worries...we will be hitting the streets fighting to regain our basic civil rights. Hitting the streets that is, if we are even permitted to. Protesters will be arrested...and not in the cute "I just got released an hour later and have a selfie to prove it" way...they may be locked up as political prisoners, and as a writer, I may no longer be able to write pieces like these anymore.

Think I'm being outrageous? Ask yourself what you thought when that reality game show host announced he was running for president a year ago. We all laughed. He is now a heartbeat away from choosing our Supreme Court, and having the codes to start wars. A hot headed, inexperienced, racist, sexist, wants to criminalize choice and sue journalists, game show host, may very well be our next president.

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What's that? You won't let fear dictate your vote? Well, you should be afraid, because this--my friends, is the new reality.
You may have seen recent comments by Big Oil executives conceding the reality of climate change, and recommending a carbon fee as the best solution to climate change. ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson told his shareholder meeting, "Our valuation of those [policy] alternatives suggests that a carbon tax is the most efficient way to implement policy design to influence behavior." Suzanne McCarron, ExxonMobil vice president of public and government affairs, wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "When governments are considering policy options, ExxonMobil believes a revenue-neutral carbon tax is the most effective way to manage carbon emissions." You may have seen even the infamous Charles Koch accept the reality of human-caused climate change. Koch Industries director of environment, health and safety, Sheryl Corrigan, said at a public event, "I think Charles has said the climate is changing. So the climate is changing. I think he's also said, and we believe, that humans have a part in that."

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You may have concluded, "Well, if even ExxonMobil and the Kochs are saying that kind of thing, we must be getting close to a solution." If you did, you would be mistaken. We still need to keep the pressure on against these adversaries.

The problem is that the corporations and political lobbying armadas run by these individuals have not been brought into line with those statements. Indeed, the corporations and political muscle these men control fight aggressively to oppose any action consistent with their recent statements. The statements are window dressing; down on the gun decks, the orders are the opposite.

The proof of this was stark in the vote today in the House expressing opposition to any carbon tax. The American Petroleum Institute, the key lobbying presence of Exxon Mobil and the oil industry, came out for a vote against any carbon tax. "We've had a long history opposing carbon taxes," American Petroleum Institute spokesman Eric Wohlschlegel said when asked about the vote. Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC, sent a letter to every member of Congress lobbying for the anti-carbon tax resolution: "We thank Majority Whip Scalise and House Leadership for bringing this issue to the House floor and we encourage all lawmakers to join them in support of this resolution." Given the political heft of the Koch Brothers' electioneering operation, no one in Congress sees such a letter as friendly advice. Indeed the Koch Brothers' prime political front group, Americans for Prosperity, has threatened "political peril" for those who cross them on climate; that they will be "severely disadvantaged."

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And it's not just a matter of lobbying by Big Oil and the Koch operation on how Republicans ought to vote; given their control over the Republican Party, it is very likely that the vote itself was brought up at their behest.
by Nina Smith, CEO, GoodWeave International

Made by Children. Instead of Made in China or Made in India, what if this was the label inside the neatly stacked sweaters on a department store shelf?

For most major brands, such a designation would be accurate. Despite companies making large investments to secure ethical supply chains, the International Labour Organization estimates that 168 million child laborers and 21 million forced laborers are still toiling in the global economy.

From 2011 to 2013, Fortune 500 companies spent almost $20 billion on corporate social responsibility (CSR), hiring consultants and engaging their own compliance, quality assurance, and monitoring teams.

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While conditions have improved for some, workers at the bottom of the chain remain neglected, because most CSR efforts stop at the factory. Yet products we buy every day, like clothing, shoes and jewelry, involve an unregulated workforce in difficult-to-trace locations, including private homes. It is among these informal workers that labor abuse is the most prevalent and exploitative. Yet the millions of victims remain largely hidden.

The crux of the problem is that most companies do not know this portion of their supply chains. When western buyers go to India, they typically visit factories that are clean, safe, and compliant with their stated labor standards. They do not see the messy network of small producers that may comprise the majority of their production. In India, for example, this informal employment accounts for 84 percent of non-agricultural workers.

This is a risk for businesses that are increasingly held accountable for human rights abuses. Their reputations are on the line, with the prospect of losing customers who are increasingly aware and activist. Consumers and workers are bringing more litigation, related to laws like the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act. For example, Nestle is fighting allegations that child slaves have harvested their cocoa in the Ivory Coast.

Consider also, the UN's new Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 to eradicate forced labor, modern slavery and "by 2025 end child labour in all its forms." This puts a major onus on the private sector to bring forth scalable solutions.

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GoodWeave is the leading organization that has, on a sustained and commercial level, helped companies to map their full supply chains in tandem with investing in community-level interventions to adequately address child labor.

To guide the next phase of our expansion, GoodWeave commissioned a report based on interviews with 70 experts. The findings reveal a disconnect in the market between where investments in preventing child labor are made, and where the problems occur. Dan Viederman, formerly of Verite and now with Humanity United, told us: "The number of companies that have successfully, on a sustained basis, dealt with the issue of child labor is far too close to zero." And Joost Kooijmans, Senior Advisor on Child Labour at UNICEF said: "look at the dirty end, the lower tiers [of production chains]. And there, I don't see many organizations that have expertise in doing this."

The solution to the problem is clear: companies must deploy deep supply chain investigation and remediation. But there is a distinction between ensuring an absence of child labor from production sites, and stopping child labor altogether. To eradicate the problem, we must change the social norms and other conditions that foment exploitation. By opening their supply chains to full mapping and accountability for all producers, industry can take a huge step in achieving both.

Taking this step is good for business. Selling child-labor-free products can lead to higher margins, increased product quality, and more stable sources of supply. Irene Quarshie, Target's Vice President of Product Quality and Responsible Sourcing, reports: "By supporting GoodWeave's mission, our guests can buy...a rug at Target and know they're playing a part in eliminating child labor in the rug industry, and educating thousands of children in India. That's a really big deal, and something we're very proud of."

I frequently visit GoodWeave's Hamro Ghar (Our Home) rehabilitation center in Nepal for rescued child laborers, where 46 children are now in residence. The stories of their experience with abuse play out every day, all over the world. Their circumstances are the direct outcome of corrupt producers literally stealing labor--to the tune of $150 billion in annual profits. We cannot chase down and punish every perpetrator, but we can take their profits away by cutting them out of the market.

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In honor of World Day Against Child Labor this June 12th, I invite more companies to join us in this mission. What the corporate sector can do is take a hard look at their CSR programs and demand full accountability from their supply chains. The year 2025 is coming fast, but it is still possible to meet the UN's goal. These changes in supply chains can happen if the right resources are brought to the table.

Nina Smith is CEO of GoodWeave International, an organization that works to stop child labor and slavery through one of the few sustained, commercial-scale programs to reach the bottom of the supply chain. She has won both the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The International Truth and Justice Project: Sri Lanka (ITJP) has recently released a new report. "Forgotten: Sri Lanka's exiled victims" is essential reading for Sri Lanka watchers.

Seventy-five ethnic Tamils were interviewed for the report, 73 percent of whom had been tortured in Sri Lanka. Fifty-four of the interviewees were members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the separatist group that Sri Lankan government forces militarily defeated in May 2009. Interviews were conducted in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and Norway.

This is another really disturbing and well-researched ITJP report that documents appalling abuses which Sri Lankan security personnel have committed against Tamils: torture, rape, abduction, discrimination, death, and more. It captures both violations that occurred during the end of the war and the post-war period. But it's also a useful and timely transitional justice consultation.

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There are numerous quotes from victims too, as well as a thoughtful analytical section and a range of recommendations. A small part of it - written by a Freedom from Torture consultant - mentions the various challenges that exiled Sri Lankan Tamils face in the United Kingdom.

They may have thought that after having escaped a very dangerous situation in Sri Lanka they would feel safe and welcome here in the U.K. The opposite can often sadly be the case for those attempting to apply for asylum. Interviews by Home Office officials and harrowing Tribunal hearings can make torture survivors from Sri Lanka and elsewhere feel unwanted and disbelieved.

The UN Human Rights Council's (HRC) 32nd session will begin on June 13 and Sri Lanka will feature prominently in the HRC's deliberations this month. Sadly, the situation in Sri Lanka's Tamil-dominated north and east is still dreary. In spite of the unexpected transfer of power in January 2015, the persecution of Tamils has continued. More broadly, Sri Lanka's compliance with the October 2015 HRC resolution (which Colombo even co-sponsored) leaves plenty to be desired. The coalition government needs to do much more - and soon.
Rear view of woman caressing ill man in hospital ward

Twenty years ago, no one in the United States could claim a right to "physician aid in dying" (also called "physician-assisted suicide"). Today, more than 52 million Americans can.

On June 9, California became the fifth state to permit its terminally ill residents to obtain a prescription for a lethal dose of medication, as the End of Life Option Act, which the state legislature passed in late 2015, went into effect. Now, with their physicians' help, patients in California can minimize their suffering at the end of life by hastening their time of death.

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Recognition of a right to aid in dying began slowly.

Indeed, early efforts to legalize the practice failed. Residents of Washington state in 1991 and California in 1992 voted against aid in dying when referenda were placed on the ballot. And in 1997, the Supreme Court rejected a constitutional right to aid in dying. While in that same year Oregon became the first state to allow aid in dying, no other state followed suit for more than a decade.

But by 2008, support for aid in dying had grown significantly. Since then, Washington, Montana, Vermont and California have all changed their laws, and we can expect other states to do so in the coming years.

So why have Americans become more receptive to a practice that was rejected throughout the United States until Oregon changed course? Indeed, why did the California legislature pass an aid-in-dying law in 2015 when its voters opposed aid in dying in the 1992 referendum?

Learning from experience

When aid-in-dying advocates drafted Oregon's law (first passed in 1994 but delayed by legal challenges until 1997), they made a number of important changes to the earlier unsuccessful proposals in Washington and California.

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In a key departure from those proposals, drafters in Oregon did not include a right to euthanasia, which would have allowed doctors to inject a lethal dose of medication into aid-in-dying patients. While physicians can give their terminally ill patients a prescription for a lethal dose of medication, they cannot administer the dose themselves.

The Oregon law also added several requirements to ensure that patients would make an informed and voluntary choice when they exercised their aid-in-dying right.

For example, rather than simply saying that patients have to repeat their request for aid in dying to their physician, as was proposed in the 1992 California referendum, Oregon requires patients to express their wishes multiple times over a 15-day period.

Other states looked to Oregon's model

Once other states saw that Oregon had developed an aid-in-dying law with strong safeguards and that aid in dying could be implemented without evidence of abuse, a right to aid in dying became more attractive.

Most of the states that have recognized such a right closely follow Oregon's approach. The exception is Montana, where the right to aid in dying resulted from a decision by the state Supreme Court. The court did not include the detailed rules seen in Oregon, Washington, Vermont and California, whose aid-in-dying laws were passed through public referenda or legislative action.

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Oregon's track record was especially important for other states. When the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a constitutional right to aid in dying in 1997, the justices observed that many people were worried about the experience with euthanasia in the Netherlands, and there was no experience with aid in dying in the United States to provide reassurance. But later states had a decade or more of data from Oregon before they enacted their laws.

While the laws include a number of safeguards, three are particularly important. Indeed, all five states that have legalized aid in dying include each of the three safeguards.

1. Patients must be terminally ill

Aid in dying is not available until a person has become "terminally ill," which typically means having a life expectancy of no more than six months, even with aggressive medical care. Thus, in Oregon, almost 80 percent of aid-in-dying patients have a cancer that has become untreatable.

California, Oregon, Vermont and Washington all define terminal illness in terms of a six-month life expectancy, while under Montana aid-in-dying law, one is terminally ill when death is expected "within a relatively short time."

This stands in contrast to the Netherlands and Belgium, where aid in dying is available to persons who are not terminally ill. In those countries, there is real concern that aid in dying has been used by patients who needed psychological counseling or other treatments that might have restored their desire to continue living.

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2. Patients must be mentally competent adults

Aid in dying is not an option for children, persons with dementia or anyone else who lacks the mental capacity necessary to make medical decisions. Aid-in-dying patients must be able to decide for themselves about their medical care, and they must reaffirm their desire for aid in dying over an extended waiting period. As in Oregon, aid-in-dying laws in California, Washington and Vermont require patients to express their wishes multiple times during a 15-day stretch.

Aid-in-dying laws in those four states also require two physicians to determine that the patient can make medical decisions, is acting voluntarily and has made an informed choice of aid in dying. In addition, if either physician finds any evidence of a mental disorder, the doctor must refer the patient for evaluation by a mental health specialist. As a result, we have not seen aid in dying in the United States being practiced on patients against their will, without their knowledge or because their families made the choice for them.

3. Aid in dying is not euthanasia

Critically, aid-in-dying patients must perform the life-ending act themselves. Family members or friends can help prepare the lethal drink (typically the prescription medication dissolved in water), but the patients must ingest the drink on their own. No one can do it for them, nor can physicians or other persons inject a lethal drug into an aid-in-dying patient.

By requiring the patient to perform the life-ending act themselves, states can prevent aid in dying from being performed by someone else without the patient's consent. Whether to bring about death remains under the patient's control until the very end.

Experience elsewhere illustrates the importance of a distinction between aid in dying and euthanasia. Much of the controversy about end-of-life practices in the Netherlands reflects concerns that euthanasia is performed inappropriately on children or adults who cannot make their own medical decisions.

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Aid in dying is safe, legal and rare

All of the safeguards have ensured that aid in dying remains a safe and rare event.

After nearly 20 years of legalization in Oregon, aid in dying accounts for less than one-half of one percent of deaths in the state. In addition, aid in dying has not put patients who are minority, uninsured or uneducated at risk. The typical aid-in-dying patient is white, insured and well-educated.

For many patients, a right to aid in dying provides comfort even when not fully exercised. Among patients in Oregon who have received a prescription since 1997, about 35 percent died without taking the medication. Those patients benefited from knowing that they had the option to take the pills if their suffering became intolerable, relieving them of the psychological stress that can accompany the prospect that one's terminal illness will impose even greater suffering.

Allowing aid in dying seems much more like letting seriously ill patients refuse ventilators or other life-sustaining treatment than letting depressed persons choose suicide.

Just as usual end-of-life laws allow patients to bring an end to the dying process by declining chemotherapy, dialysis, and feeding tubes, so aid-in-dying laws allow patients to bring an end to the dying process by taking a lethal dose of drugs. But aid-in-dying laws do not extend their rights to people who might want to end their lives because of psychological distress.

With their important safeguards, aid-in-dying laws have helped dying persons minimize their suffering while protecting against a slide down the slippery slope toward abuse.

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David Orentlicher, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the William S. and Christine S. Hall Center for Law and Health, Indiana University. Dr. Orentlicher previously served as a state representative in Indiana and currently is running for the Democratic nomination in Indiana's 8th Congressional District.
Poor Bernie Sanders. He made his big post-primary return to Washington Thursday, meeting with President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Senate Democratic Leader Reid, ending the day with a rally at RFK Stadium. But to look at the media coverage, it's as though all that barely happened, as the Vermont senator was simply superseded by a rush of big endorsements to Hillary Clinton. I suppose that's what happens when a candidate who vowed to turn the race around with a big win in California instead went down to a 56-43 landslide defeat in the Golden State.

Bernie Sanders, not all that fairly, has something of a reputation as a national scold. Which made his jaunt to the Santa Monica Pier the Sunday afternoon before the California primary he had declared the cornerstone event in his hoped-for reframing of the presidential race a particular delight. With their grandkids delighting in all the amusement park rides, the senator and his deeply politically engaged wife Jane soaked in the Tony Stark-level ocean and coastal vistas as they hit all the funky pier venues.

As a Sanders primary supporter, it was heartening to see Sanders enjoy a nice break from weeks of delivering big rally speeches up and down California as he sought to change the dynamic of a titanic Democratic nomination battle moving inexorably in the direction of the longtime establishment favorite, Hillary Clinton, who had already won 3 million more popular votes.

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But no true advocate, and Sanders is undeniably that, can long resist the siren call of "the speech" -- not incidentally the title of Sanders's 2011 book decrying corporate greed -- and so the man who has succeeded in mainstreaming democratic socialism delivered a very truncated version of his standard rap, urging only slightly bemused stationary bike riders in the charity "Pedal on the Pier" fundraiser to join his crusade for an economy that benefits "more than the one percent."

One finally runs out of continent not long before reaching the end of the Santa Monica Pier, a place which, with its matchless Pacific vistas, at once suggests the limitless possibility of the future and the end of the runway. And it had become apparent that, for Bernie Sanders, the seemingly endless complexity of mounting an incredibly effective insurgent presidential campaign had at last boiled down to two imperatives: Win big in California. And wait for an intervening event, i.e., a Clinton disaster, which would almost certainly have to be an indictment in the former secretary of state's e-mail scandal.

Unfortunately for the courageous Vermont senator, there were already signs that the needed big win would not happen; indeed, that defeat could well be in the offing. As for the e-mail controversy, well, it was largely bogus. To believe in an indictment required a uniquely civilian point of view with regard to security clearances.

Exit polling of the dominant numbers of those who now vote by mail conducted by data guru Paul Mitchell had indicated that the California surge in registration of young voters and independents was not resulting in a surge by those voters in actually voting. Indeed, exit polling among those who vote by mail yielded a big lead for Hillary.

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In order to overcome Hillary's big edge among California's regular voters, Sanders would have to drive a massive turnout of young voters greater than anything he had previously pulled off. And he would have to do it in the face of some major developments, such as the endorsement of Hillary by historically anti-Clinton Governor Jerry Brown (largely on grounds that the general election against a very threatening Donald Trump is already underway), the arrival of both Clintons for a very extensive and intensive series of appearances around the state, and Hillary's own very powerful San Diego speech excoriating the very notion of a Trump presidency. The latter is something we may look back upon as a landmark in this campaign, not just in helping trigger Hillary's big win in the California primary but also in potentially turning the tide against the surge of Trumpism.

As for a Hillary indictment, well, the controversy is mostly non-serious, something ginned up by the House Get-Hillary, er, Benghazi Committee. Sure, it's highly ironic that Hillary, seeking to avoid endless gotcha games over her e-mail traffic, did something which resulted in precisely that, but so what?

Yes, there were a couple thousand classified e-mails. But they were all classified after the fact. And 96 percent of them were classified "Confidential."

Most people with strictly civilian backgrounds, like Jane and Bernie Sanders, don't necessarily understand how meaningless that is. For example, I was 17 years old when I got Confidential security clearance. All I had done was take the Navy oath of office. The "confidential" material in question is about as sensitive as the back pages of the New York Times, sometimes even less. Most of the rest of the e-mails in question were classified "Secret." I got Secret clearance when I was 18 years old.

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Just one percent of the "classified" e-mail in question was judged, after the fact, to be "Top Secret." I had to be a recent college grad to make Top Secret clearance. But my observation all along has been that classification is overused, with different agencies frequently taking divergent views of the same material. If anything, a secrecy mania has accelerated since 9/11.

What Clinton did, which was also not unlike past practices by predecessors, is an embarrassment, but it's not a scandal.

As I noted at the end of May, I didn't believe the polls showing a Clinton-Sanders dead heat in California. I also didn't believe a few polls showing a big Clinton lead.

Around the time of Jerry Brown's Clinton endorsement, my feeling was that Sanders was six or seven points behind and the Clintons were certainly capable of holding on. So why did Hillary win by twice that margin?

I think that most people came to the conclusion that, as Jerry Brown suggested, the general election between Clinton and Trump was already underway. Hillary's dramatic speech so effectively ripping Trump did much to drive that perception. And the Associated Press announcement that -- with Hillary's weekend wins in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and the movement of some super delegates -- the former first lady had commitments from enough delegates to clinch the nomination provided, to mix a metaphor, the cherry on top.

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In that regard, the Sanders election night party, also in Santa Monica, provided an apt summation of the promise and peril of the Sanders movement. The senator spoke very late on Tuesday night, hours after Hillary delivered a poised and polished speech at the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard declaring victory not only for most of the Tuesday contests but for the nomination itself.

More than 3000 devoted Sanders backers were on hand at the Santa Monica Airport to cheer on their champion when he finally spoke. They roared when he vowed to keep fighting for their agenda going forward, but booed when he made a gracious reference to a conversation earlier in the evening with Hillary Clinton.

Before that, the crowd had reacted with anger and incredulity to TV news reports of Hillary's big California lead, crying "Bullshit!" and demanding that the video feed be cut off, which it was.

Thus creating a Denialistan, something all too familiar from how many folks use social media to block out information they simply don't want to hear.

After primary night, I heard from several devoted Sanders followers who, after making the rounds of social media, wondered if various nefarious theories might account for the big reversal of their hopes in California.

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Were California voters biased against a Jewish candidate, one wondered? Not so much. Both California's senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, are Jewish. Which the fellow who asked me about the theory hadn't known. Were votes that would have given Sanders a California victory thrown out by election officials? Not really, since Clinton won by such a large margin and California is not some corrupt back of beyond backwater. And so on.

The idea that most voters would choose to vote for Hillary Clinton seemed anathema to too many folks who should know better.

While the Democratic establishment was clearly for Clinton, any expected favors here and there are simply marginal when one considers that the former secretary of state has a whopping 3.7 million lead in the popular vote, with nearly 57 percent of the votes cast. Of the ten biggest states in the country, she won nine, with Sanders prevailing narrowly only in Michigan. That's Clinton's victory right there, more than accounting for the great bulk of her 375 delegate vote edge among delegates won in the primary and caucus contests, a lead far bigger than that held by Barack Obama when she conceded their hard-fought contest eight years ago.

I know Bernie Sanders know this. He's a very smart guy who lives in the real world. Unfortunately, he is going to have to help some of his supporters to a more grounded understanding.

Sanders and the impressive movement he has built can have a big impact on the Democratic Party and on the next presidency. But not if the next presidency is that of Donald Trump.

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Trump should lose, and lose big. But, even though he is being at last slammed in the media, he can still win. A few things go wrong that can go wrong and the mouth that roared can climb back in the driver's seat.

Bernie Sanders, like his wife, is an American patriot and citizen of the world. He rightly says that a Trump presidency is simply unacceptable for this country, that it would destroy much of what has been achieved and foment chaos around the world. Now, with his campaign about to wind down, he needs to figure out how to get all his people on board in one of the most consequential elections in our history.
By Kate Moran

Entering the sixth year of the Syrian conflict, we've become all-too-familiar with the overtures of international NGOs and governments for humanitarian assistance to mitigate the refugee crisis. Yet such assistance, by and large oriented toward emergency, short-term, and high-impact solutions, frequently overlooks informality: economic activity that is beyond the purview of government regulation, taxation, and observation. While long-term, sustainable solutions are a standard - and important - feature of broader development strategies, such strategies tend to focus on meeting labor needs and promoting the rights of workers within existing, formal markets, without tackling shadow economic structures or those that are subject to them. To be truly effective, humanitarian relief must also take a deeper look at informality, which augments many of the economic challenges faced by the world's most vulnerable populations.

Over 50% of the world's labor force works within the informal sector, without a safety net or legal protection of any type. Most of them are constrained in their access to formalized markets, finance or credit, education, training, or opportunities for career advancement. Theirs is a parallel existence, operating outside both the potential and limitations of the formal sector. Yet the informal sector is a pervasive and persistent economic feature of many developing economies, often contributing to job creation, production, and income generation. Likewise, developing economies have capitalized on the existence of the informal sector to meet the demands of laborers who cannot find opportunities in the formal market. The need to meet such labor demands is of increasing importance, as global crises spike migration and force countries to expand overstretched resources to accommodate the influx.

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Refugees and internally displaced persons, already economically marginalized and at risk for exploitation, become even more so when informality persists and is allowed to thrive. Informality often traps them in a cycle of poverty and social disenfranchisement. Moreover, the informal sector creates space in which human rights abuses, which humanitarian relief seeks to combat and are the core of humanitarian action, are exacerbated.

The Syrian conflict, which has spurred the worst refugee crisis since World War II, has resulted in millions fleeing to neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan--2.5 million, 1.1 million, and roughly 0.5 million, respectively. Hundreds of thousands more have made the dangerous decision to attempt a crossing of the Mediterranean in the hopes of reaching Europe.

Country-specific humanitarian relief plans exist for five countries in the Middle East and North Africa region - Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, and Iraq - as part of the overall strategy for confronting the refugee crisis known at the 3RP: Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan. Economic development features prominently in the plan, and expanding opportunities for refugees within these countries' formal markets is a priority. Yet much work remains to be done to confront the root causes of and address the consequences of informality.

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On the one hand, both the regional and country-specific 3RP plans include well-developed components that focus on advancing policy reform, boosting life-skill and vocational training, and promoting job creation. While these are all positive goals that strengthen the 3RP's potential to have a tangible impact on the lives of Syrian refugees currently working in or at risk of being absorbed by the informal sector, greater emphasis needs to be placed on creating and sustaining linkages between livelihoods and other development components. While the 3RP talks of decreasing "economic vulnerability" of refugees through subsidy programs, of "scaling up" livelihood opportunities, and of increasing the role of educated youth in the economies of host countries, it lacks a clear strategy for drawing correlations between combating human rights abuses and exploitation within the informal sector with the need to facilitate better and longer-term solutions for displaced Syrians.

To be sure, humanitarian assistance and efforts towards mitigation of economic informality are constrained by the specifics in each country. Migratory flows have introduced additional strains to the already overburdened economies and social service structures of Syria's neighbors. Because of this, many host governments have placed limits on Syrians' right to work or pursue economic activity within formal markets. The result is three-fold: shadow economic structures are created, providing unregulated industry competition; large numbers of refugees enter dangerous and exploitative labor situations, increasing the potential for human rights abuses; and the economic potential of refugees remains unrealized. However, greater attempts to incorporate informal workers into the economy and leverage refugees' presence could benefit these host countries.

The 3RP is a good start for Syrians, but what about other refugees and vulnerable communities? Informality and the risks associated with it are not exclusive to displaced Syrians. What about the countries where economic development interventions don't take informality seriously, or don't address it in a comprehensive, intentional way? Informality is a global issue and it continues to thrive in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and in other regions around the world. Only by tackling this informality will broader efforts to address human rights abuses and combat economic exploitation generate results.

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Economic development is the hub around which the many spokes of development revolve; expanding opportunities in formal markets must be a foundational component of development. While humanitarian assistance can and should continue to provide for emergency relief, it must also deepen its engagement with economic development efforts by working to reform the legal and regulatory frameworks that enable informality to thrive, and promoting economic growth that expands formal markets. Ultimately, it will only be these two strategies--short-term assistance and long-term economic development interventions--working in tandem that will reduce exploitative labor, improve global value chains, achieve growth, and provide for communities in a sustainable, comprehensive way. Humanitarian aid to displaced Syrians, should it focus more heavily on tackling informality, would prove more sustainable and provide a replicable model for other humanitarian assistance efforts.
Priyanka Chopra/Instagram

Priyanka Chopra doesnt need a reason to trend, but on Friday she topped the social media charts because of an unusual situation: from a celebrated actor, she had suddenly become the victim of the inherited wrath of a Syrian Christian church in far away Kerala. The Church didnt even care that she was mourning the death of her beloved grandmother.

Priyanka Chopra, the Bollywood hotshot, and some Kerala church? And why the hell should she pay heed to them?

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Thats the story of the Syrian Christian churches of Kerala and their inescapable community writs. Priyanka, or rather her family, was a victim of one of those unwritten rules according to which if you marry outside your community, you are excommunicated. It means that, among other things, you lose your right to be buried in your family church. You cant go to another church or churches of other denominations because you had never been baptised there.

In other words, before your community chieftains, you die as a rogue. And the place for you is not your family vault at the church, but the pit for rogues (thats the exact, most likely figurative, phrase in Malayalam), if at all one exists anywhere.

Priyanka, or rather her family, was a victim of one of those unwritten rules according to which if you marry outside your community, you are excommunicated.

Thats what happened to Priyanka Chopra. Her grandmother, Mary John, was born in Kerala as a Jacobite, one of the groups of native Christians who call themselves Syrian Christians for their imagined lineage. Her family church, St Johns Attamangalm Jacobite Syrian Church in Kumarakom, the place that was made famous by Arundhati Roy and tourism companies, was where she was baptised. As an adult, she went to Bihar to work as a nurse, married a Hindu and continued to live there. In her old age, she told her family that upon her death she wanted to be buried in her family church.

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Not many in Kerala knew that Priyanka had this connection with their state until she, through her grandmothers family, made arrangements for her burial at the Attamangalm church. Priyanka, her mother and a few others flew down with the body for burial, but the church authorities told them that Mary John had married a Hindu, had lived a non-Christian life, and hence she couldnt be laid to rest there. When local and national media reported the development, a nonchalant Vicar of the church, Rev. Fr. Simon Manuel Kidangath, told them that tradition, rules, and the faith of the believers were more important to the church than Priyanka.

Disheartened, Priyanka and her family was about to go back to Mumbai with the body when another clergyman, this time a kinder one, - bishop of the Kottayam diocese of Jacobite Syrian Christian Church Thomas Mar Themothios - offered to help. Although unhappy that they have been unable to fulfil Marys death-wish, the family accepted the alternative and buried her in a Kottayam church under his jurisdiction.

What happened next was even more shocking. The bishop was suspended by his synod. Local news channels and social media went into an overdrive, Priyanka started trending more, and the priest above the priest who suspended the bishop stayed the latter's order. The senior priest obviously sensed that if he didnt do that, it would expose the Jacobite church to unnecessary scrutiny.

The disgraceful experience that Priyanka and her family suffered at the hands of the Attamangalm church is a great example of the vicelike grip that the Syrian Christ clergy.

The disgraceful experience that Priyanka and her family suffered at the hands of the Attamangalm church is a great example of the vicelike grip that the Syrian Christ clergy - not just the Jacobites, but others too - enjoy over their subjects in Kerala. Excommunication is an instrument they use for retaining the communitys honour, which essentially is no different from plain racism, and to bludgeon people into submission.

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In the case of marriage outside the community, it appears to be about purity because the lineage gets disrupted. Take a look at this message from Vicar Rev. Fr. Simon Manuel Kidangath of the Attamangalam church (taken from its website), that denied the burial of Priyankas grandmother: Our perseverances to stay in unceasing loyalty to Holy See of Antioch and all the East our obedience to the Holy Throne is of St. Peter and the Apostolic successor H . H. Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka 1, and H.B. Baseliose Thoms 1, our Diocesan Metropolitan Thomas Mor Themotheos is unquestionably pure and unblemishable (emphasis by the author). The Identity of every Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Christian is this.

Its clearly about loyalty to Antioch (the ancient capital of Syria, now in Turkey), a mythical lineage, and maintaining its purity.

The Asst. Vicar Rev. Fr. Libin Kuriakose Kochuparambil adds his bit to this purity: The Jacobite Syrian orthodox church keeps vigil to follow the apostolic tradition and Episcopal purity (emphasis by the author). The church is proud of the succession from St. Peter, the Apostle to the present patriarch of Antioch.

Excommunication by the church is very common among Syrian Christians even though inter-religious marriages are more regular these days.

Excommunication by the church is very common among Syrian Christians even though inter-religious marriages are more regular these days. Its also routinely used against the families of parish members who dont toe the line of the church. In December last year, in Thrissur, members of the Ollur St Antony Forane took out a public procession against a family because it registered a case against the church for using firecrackers. In retaliation, the parish reportedly passed a referendum and asked the church not to solemnise an upcoming wedding in the defiant family. Reportedly, the family was asked to withdraw the case or face the wrath of the church and the parish.

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The Syrian Christians in Kerala also practised a peculiar inheritance tradition. While the rest of India followed the Indian Succession Act of 1925, in Kerala they went by an archaic Travancore Christian Succession Act of 1916 and Cochin Christian Succession Act of 1921 by which women didnt enjoy the same inheritance rights as their male siblings. Arundhati Roys mother Mary Roy fought against her family, and essentially her community, and went all the way to the Supreme Court to prove them wrong. In 1986, after more than two decades of an epic legal battle, she won the case and got her rightful share of the family property. Ideally, that should have set the record straight; still, many Syrian Christian families follow the old tradition than whats legal.
HuffPost Staff

Sometimes its just 20 minutes of action behind a dumpster. Sometimes its just the time it takes to go up and down an elevator. But lives are deeply altered nonetheless.

The father of a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault made headlines around the world with his plea to the judge hearing his sons case, a letter thats stunning in both its passion and its lack of empathy for the victim.

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He will never be his happy go lucky self with that easy going personality and welcoming smile, wrote an anguished Dan Turner. The boy who loved his ribeye steak and pretzels and chips now eats only to exist. The father saw this as a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action. Brock Turner, champion swimmer with Olympic aspirations, became the victim here as opposed to the half-conscious person he violated behind the dumpster, the one who woke up in a hospital gurney.

The remorse might be real but in the end, its all about Brock, his swimming, his career, his life, his appetite for rib eye steaks. It becomes HIS devastation in a bizarre case of victim-switching.

Its not quite fair to equate this letter, actually written to the judge presiding over the case with a snippet in a society column in an Indian newspaper musing if its time to rethink the reaction to Tarun Tejpal sexual assault case.

But both stories do exist on the same spectrum  a spectrum of privilege extended to people like us where boys will be boys and should be forgiven their trespasses, even a grave error, as long as they are our kind of boys.

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Brock Turner, after all, says his father, has expressed true remorse for his actions that night. And the father can testify to the devastating impact that it has had on his son. The remorse might be real but in the end, its all about Brock, his swimming, his career, his life, his appetite for rib eye steaks. It becomes HIS devastation in a bizarre case of victim-switching.

Tejpal too we are told committed a grave error but the column asks if he deserved such a vociferous dragging through the coals. A charge of sexual assault is downgraded to grave error and we are asked to see the devastating impact it has had on the alleged perpetrator. It becomes about Tejpal or Turners life being ruined. Thats who we are supposed to feel sorry for. As Brock Turner said piously in his statement I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin a life.

Tejpal too we are told committed a grave error but the column asks if he deserved such a vociferous dragging through the coals.

The woman he assaulted replied, Let me rephrase for you, I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin two lives. You and me. You are the cause. I am the effect. You have dragged me through this hell with you, dipped me back into that night again and again. Just because one of the two is not named, does not make her not real.

This is a story about rape and assault. This cannot be explained away as a story about good men who had one drink too many. In text messages to the journalist who accused him of disrobing her and assaulting her in the elevator, Tejpal had insisted it was all drunken banter. In his letter to the judge, Dan Turner blames not his son but Stanford University and its culture of alcohol consumption and partying.

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In fact what we see in both cases is an attempt to blame a larger culture for the actions of an individual. If Turner presents his son as a Midwestern boy lost in Californias den of promiscuity and alcohol, modeled by many of the upperclassmen on his swim team, Tejpal compared his legal travails to an attack on Indian pluralism by communal forces.

The individual meanwhile is mostly responsible for a chhoti si bhool ( a small mistake). As Vasundhara Sirnate writes in The Hindu, What undergirds the chhoti si bhool defence is the idea that even as adults some men cannot and should not be held responsible for their actions. They have made a mistake. They are not essentially bad people, is what this defence argues. The problem is if we start using this defence it makes the law useless.

Tejpal is indeed innocent until proven guilty. He does not deserve a media trial. But that does not mean he deserves a media makeover either.

The law is being asked not to be blind but to remember that Brock Turner was a cleancut Midwestern athlete with a promising future. Likewise in the Tejpal case we are being asked to remember that Tejpal was a liberal lion and this is a time with a need for strong liberal voices. This is also a time when there is need for urgent global action on climate change. That does not mean we should turn a blind eye to the charges of sexual harassment against TERIs R K Pachauri even though that is exactly what happened for the longest time. As Arun George writes in Scoopwhoop, If India's progressive voices are so weak that they require a man accused of rape to be their champion, you know we're really in trouble.

Tejpal deserves his day in court. He deserves to make an attempt at a comeback. He has every right to try and re-launch his Thinkfest. I have been to that festival once and been impressed by the names he drew to it and the conversations it spawned. But the the star power of Thinkfest cannot be a defence for Tejpal, it cannot dilute the severity of the charges against him.

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Tejpal is indeed innocent until proven guilty. He does not deserve a media trial. But that does not mean he deserves a media makeover either. There was much outrage in the United States when Brock Turner only got sentenced to six months in county jail. But as Jezebel pointed out, shocking as that seemed, Brock got more than 97% of men like him. US Justice Department data shows that too few perpetrators of sexual violence will ever go to jail because of the overriding fear among many that the adjudication of sexual assault crimes will punish good young men far more than is necessary.

Tejpal is yet to face his judge. But already we can see an attempt to tell us about the severe impact a conviction might have on him.

The sentencing judge Aaron Persky said while handing out the six month sentence that a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. Tejpal is yet to face his judge. But already we can see an attempt to tell us about the severe impact a conviction might have on him. Even worse, we are being told about the impact it might have on the good fight at a time when regressive thoughts and actions seem to rule.

Tarun Tejpal is an important man, an important forthright journalistic voice, whether you agreed with his politics or not. Brock Turner is a promising young man, the All-American Swimmer who had dreams and ambitions. Their lives are in shambles and we can empathize with that. But as the woman Turner assaulted said in her statement, Your damage was concrete; stripped of titles, degrees, enrollment. My damage was internal, unseen, I carry it with me. You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today.
STRDEL via Getty Images Indian Bollywood actor and director Mukesh Khanna looks on during the first beauty & hair industry Lifetime Achievement Awards in Mumbai on late March 24, 2014. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)

Mukesh Khanna, best remembered for playing Shaktimaan, the Indian superhero, has come out in support of CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani amid the ongoing controversy over multiple cuts in Shahid Kapur's Udta Punjab.

Defending Nihalani's decision about the several cuts the CBFC suggested to the censor board, Khanna said that films in our country should go through censoring to filter out offensive content.

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Criticizing the choice of movies directors make, Khanna went on to say that movies like Grand Masti (2013) runs in India and become a superhit.

I differ from people who say we have freedom of expression. If due to your freedom of expression, our students are going wayward and the landscape of our countrys security is being altered, I would stop them. There has to be censorship. You cant make anything. I am against it. Here in our country a film like Grand Masti runs and becomes a superhit. People say its their freedom of expression. My foot. One should make good films, said Khanna.

Pahlajji is not wrong in certain things. When it is needed, it is needed. Dont call him sanskari. Sanskar nahi rahenge toh aap bhi nahi rahoge (without cultural value system, even you wont exist), Indian Express quoted Khanna saying.

The actor who was attending an award ceremony, when asked about Udta Punjab row said,I have not seen the film so I cant say if its good or bad. But bad things, if any, have to stop. Drug menace is spread all over India. Drugs are mixed with ice cream and sold to children outside schools. Why is that not being stopped? Police doesnt know? Everyone knows about it.

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Yesterday the Bombay High Court has indicated it will allow the release of the filmUdta Punjab, that allegedly portrays the state's drug problem, with only one cut, out of the 13 the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) suggested, paving the way for its smooth launch on 17 June. However, the court has reserved its final order for Monday, 13 June.

Contact HuffPost India

Also see on HuffPost:
Superior Court Briefs: May 31 - June 9

Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Tuesday, May 31.

Ryan Garvey, 41, of Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

Garvey was placed on one-year probation. The charge was in connection with the execution of a search warrant at his home on December 4, 2015.

Keith Larrabee, 22, of North Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.

He was ordered to serve two and a half years at the Berkshire House of Correction. The charge stems from an incident in North Adams involving a 34-year-old man on April 24, 2015.

Shaun Letourneau, 34, of Dalton pleaded guilty to single counts of burning a building and burning wood or other property. He was ordered to serve concurrent two to three years at the Massachusetts Institution at Cedar Junction. Letourneau set fire to a storage shed and shrubbery in Dalton on September 12, 2015.

Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Wednesday, June 1.

Lameek Thomas, 25, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card - his second offense - and single counts of possessions of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and improper storage of a firearm.

He was ordered to serve three to four years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction on the possession of cocaine charge and given concurrent time at the Berkshire County House of Correction on the other charges.

The charges stem from an execution of a search warrant at a home on Dalton Avenue on November 4, 2014.

A single count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony was dismissed by the state.

Richard Holliman, 42, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws, and single counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of morphine with intent to distribute.

He was ordered to serve concurrent 609 days at the Berkshire County House of Correction. The charges stem from the execution of a search warrant on Hamlin Street in Pittsfield on October 1, 2014.

Cases heard before Judge John Agostini on Thursday, June 2.

Robert Brady III, 34, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute - his second offense - and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

He was released on $500 bail. The charges stem from the execution of a search warrant on Burbank Street in Pittsfield on April 14, 2016.

Marcus James, 33, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute - his second offense - and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

He was released on $1,000 bail. The charges stem from the execution of a search warrant on Burbank Street in Pittsfield on April 14, 2016.

Patrick Collins, 34, of Stamford, Vt. pleaded guilty to single counts of possession of suboxone - his second offense - and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license - his second offense.

He was ordered to serve concurrent 90-day sentences at the Berkshire County House of Correction. The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in North Adams on November 13, 2014.

A single count of conspiracy to violate drug laws was dismissed by the state.

Cases heard before Judge Maureen Hogan on Monday, June 6.

Joevany Santiago, 25, of Springfield had a not guilty plea entered on his behalf on a single count of manufacturing cocaine - his second offense.

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $3,500 bail. The charge stems from the execution of a search warrant at 86 West Main Street in North Adams on April 15, 2016.

Cases heard before Judge Maureen Hogan on Wednesday, June 8.

Selvin Gonzalez-Castillo, 22, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of armed assault with intent to murder and aggravated assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $50,000 bail. Gonzalez-Castillo is accused of stabbing a 29-year-old man in Pittsfield on April 23, 2016.

Cases heard before Judge Maureen Hogan on Thursday, June 9.

Michelle Weed, 38, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to single counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

She was ordered to serve one and a half to two years in state prison on the possession of heroin charge and the other charge was placed on file. The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in Pittsfield on January 11, 2016.
Rebalancing China: International Lessons in Corporate Debt

By David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director, IMF

China Economic Society Conference On Sustainable Development in China and the World



June 11, 2016

Shenzhen, China

Introduction

I would like to thank the Chinese Economists Society for this warm welcome. I am honored to join you today for this discussion of Sustainable Development in China and the World.

Shenzhen is a most appropriate place for this subject. The city is a symbol of Chinas rapid rise to prosperity. It has gone from farmland to financial center in a generation, embodying the hopes of modernization and opportunity.

But Shenzhen is also emblematic of what it means to face Chinas changing economic and financial landscape. Over the past year the city has faced unaccustomed uncertainty. Financial markets have lost ground, and rising costs have led some high-profile corporate citizens to shift operations elsewhere in China. These developments underline the challenges that must be addressed to ensure a secure future in a rapidly growing city.

The same can be said of China as it looks to achieve sustained and sustainable development. The same financial market tremors that shook Shenzhen led many Chinese to question how certain they were about Chinas future path. Now some wonder what rebalancing will bring and whether issues like corporate indebtedness and financial sector weakness could alter the trajectory of Chinas new normal.

Chinas challenges are manageable. But rebalancing requires a range of actions  not just making way for the new, but also the smooth downsizing of whatever is outmoded or overbuilt. Each needs to be done in a timely fashion if China is to move along a desirable path and avoid dangerous detours. Whether you look at the history of economic transformations or the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, bold and determined action is rewardedwhile missteps are penalized.

What I propose to do today is discuss the debt issue by taking three themes in turn:

First, describing the IMF view of Chinas economic rebalancing effort;

Second, outlining the scale of the debt issue; and

Third, examining some strategies for addressing corporate indebtedness in light of international experience.

My purpose is to offer the IMFs perspective on policies that have proven effective in other countries facing issues in their development that may have relevance for Chinas. I say this acknowledging that Chinas situation is unique and the scale and stakes of its rebalancing unparalleled.

Rebalancing is an issue that is crucially important to Chinas futureand for the global economy. We have learned over and over in the past 20 years how disruptions in one countrys economy and markets can reverberate worldwide, witness the spillovers from last years sudden instability in Chinese markets. The point is that any discussion of sustainable development must take into account the vulnerabilities facing a systemically important economyand the steps needed to remedy them.

Assessing Rebalancing

Lets begin with the economic rebalancing at the heart of the 13th Five Year Plan, the blueprint for Chinas ongoing development. The strategy is rooted in the understanding that China needs to rebalance its economy. How is this effort progressing?

Growth remains strong by any standard, perhaps with the sole exception being the last 25 years in China itself. Growth in China last year alone added to GDP an amount equivalent to an entire mid-sized European country like Sweden. So it is important to maintain a sense of perspective during this time of change.

On the external front there has been substantial adjustment. The current account surplus has come down from the peak of 10 percent of GDP in 2007 to around 2-3 percent in recent years, and the contribution of net exports, formerly a key driver of growth, has been fluctuating around zero. Last years surge of capital outflows has slowed, and the effective exchange rate has remained broadly stable. A measure of Chinas progress was recognized by the IMFs decision last year to include the renminbi in the basket of currencies making up the Special Drawing Rights after determining it is a freely usable currency.

At the same time, the results of Chinas domestic rebalancing have been mixed. There is moderate progress reorienting the economy from investment to consumption, with the latter having contributed about two-thirds of growth in 2015. Growth is being driven less by heavy industry and exports and more by services and manufacturing for household consumption than in the past. These are important developments.

An area that has seen limited progress, and the one I want to delve into here today, is addressing corporate indebtedness and restructuring. The government is rolling out a reform plan for State-Owned Enterprises and has announced capacity reduction targets in the coal and steel sectors. Yet, with the rapid increase in credit growth in 2015 and early 2016, and the continued high rates of investment, the problem is growing. This is a key fault line in the Chinese economy. It is surely within Chinas powers to address this problem. And it is important that China tackles it soon. The question is how best to do so.

Chinas Debt Problem

To get a handle on the issue, lets take a closer look at Chinas debt profile. Overall, total debt is equal to about 225 percent of GDP. Of that, government debt represents about 40 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, households are about 40 percent. Both are not particularly high by international standards.

Corporate debt is a different matter: about 145 percent of GDP, which is very high by any measure.

By IMF calculations, state-owned enterprises account for about 55 percent of corporate debt. That is far greater than their 22 percent share of economic output. These corporates are also far less profitable than private enterprises. In a setting of slower economic growth, the combination of declining earnings and rising indebtedness is undermining the ability of companies to pay suppliers or service their debts. Banks are holding more and more nonperforming loans, or NPLs. The past years credit boom is just extending the problem. Already many SOEs are essentially on life support.

The Funds most recent Global Financial Stability Report estimated that the potential losses for Chinese banks corporate loan portfolios could be equal to about 7 percent of GDP. This is a conservative estimate based on certain assumptions about bad-loan recoveries and excluding potential problem exposures in the shadow banking sector.

Lessons from International Experience

While China is unique in many respects, it is not the first country to experience corporate debt difficulties. In fact, there is a range of international experience across advanced, transition, and emerging countries. That experience offers three broad lessons:

First, act quickly and effectively, or the problem will only worsen. Company debt problems today can become systemic debt problems tomorrow. Systemic debt problems can lead to much lower economic growth, or a banking crisis. Or both.

Second, when you act, make sure to deal with both creditors and debtors. Some countries have just moved bad loans off bank balance sheets and recapitalized the banks. Companies were left unprofitable. Others have downsized companies or allowed them to go under. Banks were left undercapitalized. It is best to fix both.

And third, when you fix corporate and bank balance sheets, address the governance problems in the corporate and banking sectors that gave rise to the problem in the first place. Otherwise, deflating the debt bubble will bring only temporary effect. A new debt bubble will surely re-inflate if unwarranted lending and borrowing can just resume.

Acting Quickly

The first lesson, to act quickly, is gaining recognition in China. The government clearly recognizes the need to address the issue. In a recent interview in the Peoples Daily, an official described as an authoritative person spoke at length of the need to address the problems of zombie firms and debt overhang.

The head of Huarong Asset Management once succinctly described the policy imperative to act immediately on the debt problem: NPLs are like ice cream cones. If you dont get rid of them, they melt all over your hands, and you dont have anything left to sell.

Deal with Creditors and Debtors

The second lesson, treating the problems of both creditors and debtors, is not easy to do quickly, as it requires several preparatory steps. The experience of recent crises points to the importance of what is often called an enhanced framework led by the government, but relying on the technical expertise of professionals for assessment and mediation. In other words, the process has to be led by business judgment, and not political favor.

A corporate insolvency framework needs to facilitate the rehabilitation of viable firms and the speedy liquidation of nonviable onesdetermined on a company-by-company basis. Corporate restructuring requires an enforcement regime that enables creditors to enforce their claims in a predictable, equitable and transparent manner. This likely will call for both carrots and sticks to enforce payment discipline. Also, banks must always be prudent in recognizing losses and ensure that they have adequate loss-absorbing capacity.

Forms of this enhanced work-out framework were employed here in the Asian region in the aftermath of the 1997-98 crisis. Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand all did so. There was government support for the restructuring process, but that process essentially took place out of court.

Korea offers an interesting example. The controlling shareholders of the conglomerates that dominated the economythe chaebollost power because of court-supervised and out-of-court restructuring. They were not bankrupted, but their ability to borrow extensively from their own banks was restricted.

Debt-Equity Conversion and Asset Management Companies

In some countries, debt-equity conversion played a role. By converting debt to equity, firms financial structure was deleveraged and banks claims were realigned accordingly. But this approach only works if two conditions are fulfilled. First, banks need to be able to assert creditor rights and conduct a triage, distinguishing non-viable firms that need to restructure or shut down. Otherwise the new equity will have no value. And second, banks need the capability to either manage their equity and assert shareholder rights, or the capability to sell equity to investors who can.

In some countries, this has not been possible. More broadly, banks were not motivated to assert their rights as creditors and press for restructuring, either because of cross ownership, conflicts of interest or political factors. In such cases, governments have had to step in and prompt action. In some cases, such as in Indonesia, the situation deteriorated to the point that the banks themselves had to enter the restructuring process, requiring recapitalization.

The recent crises in Europe have placed existing insolvency systems under considerable pressure, leading to the need for government action and legal reforms. In most of these cases, a direct role for government has been limited by the constraints of European competition law. Numerous countriessuch as Italy, Spain and Portugalhave approached this by incentivizing out-of-court debt restructuring with minimal judicial intervention.

One more point to make on restructuring: public asset management companies have been employed in many crises, including in the transition countries in Eastern Europe. This is a mechanism that China is familiar with from the earlier effort to resolve NPLs. It is important to keep in mind that an AMC ought not be a warehouse for bad loans. It has to be viewed as a workout house that leads to restructuring of companies wherever that is needed. That can come from AMC action or from assets being sold off to new owners who press for restructuring.

Those processes can be slow because of the difficulty of establishing proper asset valuations, the challenge of selling assets in thin markets, and the social and political pressures that can accompany restructuring. To address these issues, it is essential to put in place strong governance arrangements guided by commercial principles.

Fix It for Good

Governance is the third lesson of restructuring. To quote the philosopher George Santayana: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it..

In other words, if a country doesnt address the governance issues at the heart of a debt problem, then that problem will inevitably recur. Look at Chinas experience. Early in this century the government relieved the big banks of their legacy of state-owned enterprise NPLs. But here we are again, talking about the threat posed by SOE indebtedness.

So once a problem is fixed, it is essential to take the steps to ensure that it does not re-emerge in the future. As painful as fixing can be, it is often easier than what follows. In part, thats because it is harder to reform once the crisis has eased.

In a different setting, the G-20 is instructive in this regard. At the height of the Global Financial Crisis in 2009, policy makers were under intense pressure to act. At the London Summit of the G-20 that spring, the leaders took important steps that helped turn the tideendorsing a massive stimulus to the world economy, boosting resources to the IMF, and agreeing on measures to strengthen national and global oversight of financial markets. But there was also a need to fix governance--by instituting the concrete financial reforms that would prevent crisis from recurring. That has taken more work and proved longer to achieve, but it was essential. In the U.S., the Dodd-Frank legislation helped strengthen government oversight of financial institutions. In Europe, key steps toward banking union are well advanced, though there is more to do there to strengthen banks. And the IMF and the Financial Stability Board have, in their own areas, brought countries together to help safeguard the global financial system.

Chinas reforms over the past several decades have been sweeping and widespread. But those reforms have done more to liberalize economic activity, creating markets and freedom to compete, than to impose disciplines and hard budget constraints on borrowers. In short, to shore up governance. The lesson that China needs to internalize if it is to avoid a repeating cycle of credit growth, indebtedness, and corporate restructuring, is to improve corporate governance.

Governance certainly must be based on a robust legal framework: the laws and regulations that establish an effective system of insolvency and enforcement that help create payment discipline. But governance also means regulatory and supervisory policies that promote the proper assessment and pricing of risk at the individual loan level. It means robust accounting, loan classification, loan loss provisioning, and disclosure rules. It means a system that avoids moral hazard.

More Than Laws

But governance is not just a matter of laws on the books. It is also about how laws and regulations are implemented. It is the impartiality that transcends special interests and connections. It is the commitment to fix flaws in the system as they emergeand not when they cause a crisis. And it is a matter of strengthening the institutions of corporate governance, particularly to enhance shareholder rights and make public disclosure a priority. All of these factors protect creditorsand borrowersand ensure that the gears of the financial system operate smoothly.

In a system with state-owned enterprises, proper governance also becomes a matter of making companies live within their means and ending government subsidies, including by enforcing hard budget constraints. This is what Poland and other countries in Central Europe did in the 1990s as they made the transition to a market economy. It was an effective approach that helped create impressive and durable economic success stories.

As the restructuring process moves forward, it is perhaps too easy to lump together all SOEs. Rather, it is important to distinguish between well run and badly run companies. Debt can help fuel a well-run business. So it is essential to know what companies are doing with debt: Are they papering over losses? Building capacity that adds to a global surplus? What is their exposure to shadow banking products?

These are the issues that must be addressed as any country makes hard, restructuring decisions. Inevitably, these decisions must be based on hard facts and competent analysisinputs that usually can only be provided reliably by independent experts with experience in valuation, restructuring and debt workouts.

They are also issues that have significant social implications. Corporate restructuring affects the lives of working people and their families. So it is important to ensure that policies are put in place to mitigate the impact of restructuring. The days of Chinas iron rice bowl are gone, but there is still an obligation to ensure that rice bowls are full. In this regard, it is important to note the governments 100 billion Renminbi restructuring fund to absorb the expected welfare costs for an expected 1.8 million affected workers.

One final point: there will always be the temptation to merge a weak state enterprise with a stronger company. But if the going concern simply becomes the rich unclesubsidizing the other companys losses with its own profitsthe problem is not being solved. You are just undermining the profitability of the well-to-do company and depriving the rest of the economy of resources that could be better spent elsewhere. For this type of M&A strategy to work, the strong SOE must have the authority to restructure the loss-making company. Otherwise, its sometimes just best to let a company fail.

Conclusion

To sum up, China faces an extraordinary set of challenges. Growth is slowing, but to a speed that would be the envy of any advanced economy. Nonetheless, corporate debt remains a seriousand growingproblem that must be addressed immediately and with a commitment to serious reforms.

As I have tried to illustrate today, there is a wealth of experience with corporate restructuring in the global economy, including at the IMF. There is expertise drawn from any number of settings, including economies making the transition from state dominated to market driven. The issue is how much a country is prepared to do to avoid repeating mistakes and put in place reforms that can reinvigorate growth.

China has demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to adapt and evolve over the past generation. There is every reason to believe that it can make this transition and ensure that the new normal of the Chinese economy is sustainable development that benefits both China and the world.
Addressing Puerto Ricos Economic Crisis

Washington, DC - In this week's address, President Obama discussed the crippling economic crisis harming 3.5 million Americans in Puerto Rico. Today, the island is spending over a third of its tax revenue on debt payments  and on July 1, Puerto Rico is facing another $2 billion in debt payments that it cannot make. The President said the only way for Puerto Rico to overcome this crisis is by restructuring its debt and finding a sustainable path toward growth and opportunity for its people. But this requires help from Congress in order to give Puerto Rico the tools it needs to restructure its debt.

The President commended the House of Representatives, which overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to address the crisis, and called on the Senate to quickly follow suit.

Remarks of President Barack Obama as Delivered

Weekly Address

The White House

June 11, 2016

Hi, everybody. Today, I want to talk with you about the crisis in Puerto Rico  and why it matters to all of us.

Puerto Ricans are American citizens, just like folks in Maine or Oklahoma or New Mexico. And over the last decade, Puerto Rico has suffered through a deep and painful recession  but unlike the rest of the United States, it hasnt recovered.

Today, the island continues to face a crippling economic crisis. Schools are closing. Power is being cut off at homes and hospitals. Teachers have to choose between turning on the lights or turning on the computers. Doctors cant get medicine to treat newborns unless they pay in cash. And as the Zika virus threatens both the island and the mainland, workers dealing with mosquito control to help protect women and their unborn babies are at risk of being laid off.

Right now, Puerto Rico is spending about a third of its tax revenue on debt payments  far more than anywhere else in America. And on July 1, the island faces another $2 billion in debt payments that it cannot pay.

There is only one way for Puerto Rico to pull itself out of this crisis  and thats by restructuring its debt and finding a sustainable fiscal path toward growth and opportunity for its people. But heres the problem. Right now, Puerto Rico doesnt have the tools it needs to restructure its debt  tools available elsewhere in America.

And only Congress can fix the problem, and put Puerto Rico on a path to recovery.

Thankfully, this week, the House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to address the crisis, and I now urge the Senate to move quickly to follow suit. This bill wont cost federal taxpayers a dime. It doesnt include special-interest bailouts. And it gives Puerto Rico the ability to restructure its debt, safeguard essential services, and provide important protections to public pensions that more than 300,000 folks rely on to retire with dignity.

This bill also includes something else  a temporary system of oversight to help implement needed reforms and ensure transparency. I know that some folks in Puerto Rico are worried about this kind of oversight. But Ive always insisted that any solution to this crisis has to respect the democratic rights of the people of Puerto Rico. And I am committed to making sure that Puerto Ricans are well-represented in this process, so that we can be sure were taking steps that are in the islands best interests.

This bill is not a perfect solution  nobodys saying it is. Thats what happens in divided government. But its the only option on the table to save Puerto Rico from spiraling out of control. And thats exactly what would happen if Congress fails to do its job.

Theres no question this is a trying time for folks in Puerto Rico. Theyve seen too many jobs lost and too many neighbors leave in search of better opportunity elsewhere. Its clear that its time for Puerto Rico to chart a new course and make a fresh start. This bill is just a first step.

We all have more work to do to make sure that the people of Puerto Rico receive the health care they deserve and the good jobs and economic opportunities they need to build a better future for their kids. And I want the people of Puerto Rico to know that my administration is committed to your success. Because youre vital to Americas success.

Thats what this is all about. We dont turn our backs on our fellow Americans. We dont treat folks differently because of where they live. Instead, we treat each other as Americans. We come together, especially when its hard. Thats how weve always set ourselves on a course toward a brighter day.

Thanks everybody, and have a great weekend.
Covid Testing with a Breathalyzer? Bill Gates is Impressed With This Startup Making it Possible
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The internet has erupted in fury after the sentencing of Brock Turner, a star athlete for the Stanford University swimming team, who was convicted of three sexual offences, and more specifically of assaulting an unconscious, intoxicated 23-year-old woman behind a dumpster. Judge Aaron Persky only sentenced Turner to six months in county jail, noting that a harsher sentence would have a severe impact on him.

The victims court statement to Turner  a powerful, harrowing 12-page account of the impact the crime has had on her  went viral, with more than 13m views on Buzzfeed alone. So too, did a letter by Turners father, defending his son  lamenting how his life should not be ruined by 20 minutes of action. A letter by Turners female friend, Leslie Rasmussen, was also released, claiming rape on campuses isnt always because people are rapists. Cue further internet furore. Online campaigns to recall Judge Persky have earned over 500,000 signatures. Think pieces, blog posts, CNN videos, and spoofs by The Onion have been circulated and recirculated on social media, fuelled by vigorous discussions on Facebook and Twitter  marked by hashtags like #BrockTurner and #Stanfordrapevictim.

As a researcher studying the impact of social media on discussions about rape, I am watching a spectacular case study unfold in real time. As an activist, it feels like one case has finally sparked the conversation we need to have about sexual assault  a crime which affects millions of people. And as a rape survivor myself, it feels like for once, the victims voice is being publicly heard and valued. When my own rape took place eight years ago in Belfast, a much smaller scale media flurry ensued. Like the recent Stanford victim, I found myself Googling news stories on my assault, and felt the surreal displacement of reading what complete strangers were saying publicly about something very personal which had happened to me. And yet, nowhere in any of that coverage was there a place for myself, the victim, to speak.

Traditional media provides little platform for the victims side of the story to be heard. There is an assumption we are weak, ashamed, our lives ruined. And when there is the opportunity to speak, we are expected to summarise within a few soundbites, a brief interview, or a short number of words the enormity of an event that has changed our lives forever. Daytime talk shows and news programmes may provide exclusive interviews with brave survivors, but often these focus on the individual emotional suffering of their experience, without linking their case to larger systemic problems in how our society handles sexual assault. And yet, who else but the survivors can provide first-hand knowledge of the many ways in which our criminal justice systems, our educational institutions, and our public discourses fail to adequately address the reality of rape and sexual assault?

What is remarkable about the Stanford assault victims statement is that it was circulated uncut, at 7,244 words, and that it tells her whole story on her own terms. In so doing, it provides a poignant, elegant, undiminished account of the many small and big injustices rape survivors have to face on a daily basis. Despite its length, within the course of a few days, millions had read her statement and were continuing to share and comment on it. That is the power of social media. Unlike television, radio, or print journalism, there is no concern over column inches or expensive airtime, so individual writing can be expansive and more thorough. Social media can document the much longer term, often lifelong impact of rape on a survivors life.

It is clear from my own research, that social media allows readers to connect the dots, between their own experience and the ones they read about, which can be an important part of the healing process. And without social media, we may never have known about the many women who came forward with allegations against Bill Cosby. In the case of Brock Turner, social media has amplified the many thoughts of the public on all sides of the story. Feminists and rape survivors have been vocal in support of the victim, but so too, have meninists and rape apologists in undermining her claims. Likewise, we are hearing from legal scholars and racial inequality activists, comparing Brock Turners sentence to those of black men unjustly imprisoned for rape or black men found guilty in similar circumstances.

Regardless of your own stance, these are all legitimate voices and the opinions of real people  the same people who might be serving on a jury, or reacting to a rape allegation and choosing to believe or ridicule it. These recent outpourings on social media have served as a barometer for what the general public actually thinks about rape. Due to its intersections on class, privilege, criminal justice, and elite institutions, this particular rape has ignited a widespread and furious debate  but one which, most importantly, has at its centre a voice from the victim herself. And in that sense, this case is a game changer.

This article was first published on The Conversation. Winnie M Li is a PhD researcher in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics
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Amal Clooney is to legally represent Yazidi women who have been victims of rape and violence by Isis militants.

The international human rights lawyer will represent the women and attempt to hold Isis to account through the International Criminal Court for their crimes against the Yazidis. One of the women she will represent is the Nobel Peace Prize nominee and campaigner Nadia Murad who escaped from Isis enslavement after being kept as a sex slave by them for three months.

The Yazidis are a religious minority group persecuted by Isis. Earlier this year the UN reported that an estimated 3,500 Yazidi people, mainly women and children, were being held as slaves in Isis-controlled parts of Iraq. In August 2014, the terror group took captive over 2,000 women and killed an estimated 5,000 civilians when they captured northern territories in the country.

Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Show all 15 1 /15 Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Isis in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Isis in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community settle at a camp at Derike, Syria. In the camps here, Iraqi refugees have new heroes: Syrian Kurdish fighters who battled militants to carve an escape route to tens of thousands trapped on a mountaintop Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A pilot based at RAF Marham entering a Tornado GR4 prior to taking off for the reconnaissance mission over Iraq. Several RAF Tornado jets set off from RAF Marham in Norfolk this afternoon to travel to a "pre-position", from where they will fly to northern Iraq to provide improved surveillance of the situation on the ground. The jets, fitted with Litening III targeting and surveillance pods, will be able to fly over the crisis area to provide intelligence and help with the delivery of humanitarian aid Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A British Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR4 aircraft equipped with the Litening III pod from RAF Marham, eastern England, on their arrival at RAF Akrotiri Cyprus for their reconnaissance mission over Iraq Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Aid inside a Royal Air Force (RAF) Hercules C130 J aircraft before being airdropped to civilians in Iraq Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A Royal Air Force (RAF) Hercules C130 J military transport plane at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Britain made a third round of airdrops of supplies to aid refugees stranded on a mountain in northern Iraq, officials said, as Tornado fighters arrived at an RAF base in Cyprus preparing to provide surveillance support for the humanitarian effort Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR4 aircraft, flown in from Britain, stand on the tarmac at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis A displaced man helps a woman, both from the minority Yazidi sect fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Isis in Sinjar town, as they make their way towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Iraqis including Turkmen, Shabaks, Kurds, Yezidis and Christians, fleeing from assaults of army groups led by Isis, take shelter at Bahirka Camp in Arbil Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community look for clothes to wear among items provided by a charity organization at the Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community gather for food at the Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community gather for food at the Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take a sick Iraqi Yazidi woman to the clinic at Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria Iraq crisis: Yazidi nightmare on Mount Sinjar Iraq crisis Sick displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community wait for treatment at a clinic at Nowruz camp in Derike, Syria

Clooney told the New York Times: The European parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the U.S government and the UK House of Commons have all recognised that there is a genocide being perpetrated by IS against the Yazidis in Iraq.

How can it be that the most serious crimes known to humanity are being carried out before our eyes but are not being prosecuted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague?

In a further statement, she said: We know that thousands of Yazidi civilians have been killed and that thousands of Yazidi women have been enslaved, she said. We know that systematic rapes have taken place and that they are still taking place. And yet no one is being held to account, reports Reuters.

Clooney is a barrister for Doughty Street Chambers in London. Other cases she has taken on include that of the Parthenon Marbles. She has also represented the former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko and the Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahey when he was detained in Egypt.
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A Commonwealth Games athlete given just a 1 per cent chance of survival after a near-fatal moped crash in Vietnam has stunned doctors by smiling for the first time since waking from a coma.

Judo star Stephanie Inglis, 27, from Scotland, was injured in a freak accident that saw her skirt get caught in the wheel of a moped in Vietnam last month while she was travelling to her job teaching children English.

Recommended Read more Judo star Stephanie Inglis wakes up from coma

She was taken to hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, and her friends and family hope to get her home to Scotland within the next few days.

A statement on the Save Steph Facebook page said: In less than 24 hours, Stephanie and her parents will be on their way home. Her evacuation team left the UK early hours of this morning and have arrived in Bangkok.

First thing tomorrow morning they will start the handover process with her current medical team and between 7pm and 9pm UK time, assuming this time no tropical storms, the Air Ambulance will leave and commence its Journey to Scotland.

This is a difficult Journey which will stop in India, Georgia and Austria and then its final stage Stephanie Inglis against all the odds will be home.

Today Stephanie was improved enough for her parents to explain what was going to happen, and today during a physio session Stephanie Inglis smiled.

She is in so much discomfort and fighting against all the odds to improve herself when the medical team asked her if she could hold up two fingers, Stephanie did, and then she smiled a small but amazing smile. The doctor was so surprised he started to bow and laugh, because not only did it show that Stephanie understood this instruction, it also showed after all that's happened to her she still had the humour and friendly personality that everyone respects and loves.

Following the accident, Stephanies loved ones set up a fundraising page for the sportswomans medical care which was estimated to be costing around 2,000 per day.
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A 14-year-old boy has been killed after the motorbike he was riding collided with a car on Silverknowles Road in Edinburgh.

The teenager was rushed to Edinburgh Sick Kids Hospital after the 10 June crash, which happened at around 4pm, but died of his injuries on the morning of 11 June.

Recommended Read more Irish teenager dies in motorbike crash on Christmas Day

His passenger, also a 14-year-old boy, was likewise taken to hospital with serious injuries from the crash although his current condition is unknown.

Sergeant Brian Smith of Edinburghs Road Policing Unit said: This collision has resulted in death of a teenage boy and our condolences are with his family at this sad time.

Our inquiries continue in order to establish the full circumstance surrounding this, and anyone who may have witnessed the collision is urged to get in touch.

Were particularly eager to trace the driver of a white Mercedes limousine-style car which was travelling north on Silverknowes Road at the time, as we believe they may be able to assist with our investigation.

Police in Edinburgh are appealing for witnesses to the fatal collision, which involved a white Vertigo motorcycle and a black Toyota Aygo, both of which were travelling northbound.

Following the crash, the road was closed for several hours while ambulance and police crews worked at the scene, and was reopened at around 9.45pm on Friday evening.
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The proportion of Birthday Honours going to women has fallen to its lowest level for four years.

Although women such as Independent columnist Janet Street-Porter, Forces' sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn and Paralympian Martine Wiltshire were honoured, only 46.8 per cent of the 2016 honours were awarded to women. Last year, the figure was more than half (51.2 per cent).

This year's proportion is the lowest since 2012, when just over four in 10 honours (41.5 per cent) went to women.

In recent years, the number has climbed steadily - but 2016 represents an reversal of the trend.

Other women homoured were actress Penelope Wilton, forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black and designer Margaret Calvert, who designed such iconic road signs as the 'Children crossing' sign.

Ms Wiltshire, a Team GB sitting volleyball player and Paralympian, who lost both her legs in the London 7/7 bombings, was awarded an MBE.

People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. The Chancellor argued that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them economic security by reducing the Governments spending deficit Getty Images People news in pictures 4 October 2015 Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston takes a moment in the centre of the field with his daughter Frankie Thurston, holding dark-skinned doll, after winning the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. He had said I think youre a better actor the less people know about you and sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether youre straight or gay, people shouldnt know anything about your sexuality but an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show said, I was just trying to say actors are more effective when theyre a mystery. Right? Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Marion Cotillard has said that there is no place for feminism in Hollywood. Speaking to Porter magazine, she saidFilm-making is not about gender/ You cannot ask a president in a festival like Cannes to have, like, five movies directed by women and five by men. For me it doesnt create equality, it creates separation. I mean, I dont qualify myself as a feminist." Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Paul Walkers daughter, Meadow, is suing Porsche over her fathers death in a lawsuit that claims he was trapped in the burning car because of design flaws and the seat belt. The Fast and Furious star was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in hit a pole in California in 2013. The driver, his friend Roger Rodas, also died when the vehicle burst into flames. AP People news in pictures 28 September 2015 Robert Mugabe waits to address the United Nations General Assembly. The leader of Zimbabwe reportedly exclaimed 'We are not gay!' as he criticised Western nation's "double standards and attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. In 2013 he described homosexuals as worse than pigs, goats and birds. Reuters People news in pictures 28 September 2015 South African comedian Trevor Noah hosts the first 'Daily Show' since taking over from Jon Stewart as host. Stewart had presented the US satirical news show since 1999 and was described by Noah during the show as a 'Political father' 2015 Getty Images People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Sir Elton John may have received a phone call from the real Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin's spokesman announced he had made contact weeks after the singer was duped by pranksters pretending to be the Russian President. Getty People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was mistakenly declared as the artist who produced the Mona Lisa by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It was in fact Leonardo da Vinci. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 A new biography claims Donald Trump expected to be dead by 40 and never marry. The Guardian says the a new book also claims that in 1980, Mr Trump manufactured a fake vice-president of his real estate conglomerate, whom he called John Baron. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 The Dalai Lama has said that Britain's policy towards China is just about 'Money, money, money.' And asked 'Where is morality?' People news in pictures 24 September 2015 Puff Daddy secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (39m) between June 2014 and June 2015.

The 43-year-old said: "I believe the power of sport has healed me, and hopefully I am an example of that.

"But I am not accepting this award just for me. I am going to accept for all those volunteers and all those people that helped put me together, and those that support the power of sport."

A youth worker whose revelations about child sexual exploitation in Rotherham led to the exposure of a scandal that shocked the nation has been awarded the MBE.

Jayne Senior said she was honoured but saddened that the award has come in the wake of so many "ruined and devastated" young lives.

Mrs Senior said the honour is another vindication of her stance in the South Yorkshire town after years of being accused of lying and exaggerating.

But she said this public recognition is "bittersweet" as it comes after the exploitation of hundreds of children in a scandal that could have been stopped if she had been listened to.

In four regions of the UK - Scotland, London, the East Midlands and Wales - more women than men are receiving awards.

In Scotland, the proportion of honours going to women is 54.5 per cent: the highest for any part of the country.

Yorkshire and the Humber has the lowest proportion: just 36.4 per cent.

Of the 477 people being awarded the MBE, just under half (47.8 per cent) are women.

The proportion falls to roughly four in 10 (41.9 per cent) for OBEs and just under a third (32.7 per cent) for CBEs.

But of those receiving the British Empire Medal, a majority - 54.5 per cent - are women.
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Three Iranian men have been pulled from the English Channel off the coast of Sussex after their small boat got into difficulties.

The men were rescued from the water near Hastings in East Sussex on 11 June after an RNLI lifeboat, Coastguard helicopter and Border Force cutter HMC Seeker came to their aid.

Recommended Read more Six refugee children among 13 dead after ferry hits inflatable dinghy

They are currently in the custody of the Border Force, a spokesman told PA, stating: HMC Seeker was deployed immediately and has picked up the individuals on board who are believed to be Iranian nationals. The group will now be processed.

The last rescue in the Channel comes just weeks after 18 Albanian men were saved off the Kent coast when their inflatable dinghy sank.

The three Iranian men were picked up at 9.30am on Saturday follow a string of similar incidents involving Iranian citizens, with two Iranian men plucked from the water on 14 April after calling 999 from their mobile phone when their boat got into difficulty.

They later told authorities they had been at sea for eight hours and had not eaten for two days. They were also without life jackets.

Earlier in the year, in February, five Iranian men were pulled from a sinking dinghy off the coast of Calais after setting off for the UK from Dunkirk.

The latest interceptions of people attempting to enter the UK via boat have prompted warnings from immigration officials that the countrys coast is facing one of its greatest ever breaches from boats carrying migrants to the UK.
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A transgender activist has highlighted the issue of gender identity in legal sexual consent, warning that trans people in the UK may face rape charges and potentially jail if they fail to disclose their gender history to their sexual partners.

Sophie Cook, a LGBT speaker, trans activist and the first transgender newscaster to appear on European terrestrial TV, says that under UK law, deceiving someone about the nature of a sex act makes them incapable of informed consent.

This means penetrative sex may amount to rape if the partner claimed they were unaware of a transgender persons history.

Under Section 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 it is an offence if a defendant intentionally penetrates the vagina or anus of a person, where the other person does not consent and where the defendant does not reasonably believe the other person consents.

Section 74 of the act gives the definition of consent: A person consents for the purposes of this Act if he agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice.

People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Show all 10 1 /10 People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Caitlyn Jenner People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Miley Cyrus Getty People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Kristen Stewart People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Cara Delevingne People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Keegan Hirst People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Ruby Rose People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights St Vincent (who's in a relationship with Cara Delevingne) People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Annie Lennox People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Ellen Page People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Justice Anthony Kennedy

Non-disclosure of gender history can thus be seen as deception and a breach of the Sexual Offences act, challenging the freedom and capacity of a partner to consent to sexual activity.

Ms Cook says: Transgender people are entitled to a private life and the personal choice as to how much of their history they disclose, to the extent that our personal details are locked by HM Revenue & Customs.

By forcing transgender people to disclose their history to prospective partners the law is not only infringing their human rights its also reinforcing the bigoted idea that trans people are in some way abhorrent and something that people need to be warned about.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says it will not automatically prosecute trans people for having sex by deception and each case is treated separately. CPS also has guidelines surrounding transgender equality.

This has been disputed by LGBT activists who argue ambiguity in the system leaves it open to abuse and personal prejudice.

Pervious cases in the public eye have highlighted these ambiguities.

In November 2015, lawyers for Gayle Newland, the young woman jailed for eight years for duping a female lover into thinking she was a man to embark on a sexual relationship, lodged an appeal against her sentence.

LGBT+ rights around the globe Show all 9 1 /9 LGBT+ rights around the globe LGBT+ rights around the globe Russia Russias antipathy towards homosexuality has been well established following the efforts of human rights campaigners. However, while it is legal to be homosexual, LGBT couples are offered no protections from discrimination. They are also actively discriminated against by a 2013 law criminalising LGBT propaganda allowing the arrest of numerous Russian LGBT activists. AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Brunei Brunei recently introduced a law to make sodomy punishable by stoning to death. It was already illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Mauritania Men who are found having sex with other men face stoning, while lesbians can be imprisoned, under Sharia law. However, the state has reportedly not executed anyone for this crime since 1987 Alamy LGBT+ rights around the globe Sudan Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal under Sudanese law. Men can be executed on their third offence, women on their fourth Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Saudi Arabia Homosexuality and gender realignment is illegal and punishable by death, imprisonment, whipping and chemical castration Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Yemen The official position within the country is that there are no gays. LGBT inviduals, if discovered by the government, are likely to face intense pressure. Punishments range from flogging to the death penalty Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Nigeria Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal and in some northern states punishable with death by stoning. This is not a policy enacted across the entire country, although there is a prevalent anti-LGBT agenda pushed by the government. In 2007 a Pew survey established that 97% of the population felt that homosexuality should not be accepted. It is punishable by 14 years in prison Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Somalia Homosexuality was established as a crime in 1888 and under new Somali Penal Code established in 1973 homosexual sex can be punishable by three years in prison. A person can be put to death for being a homosexual Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Iraq Although same-sex relationships have been decriminalised, much of the population still suffer from intense discrimination. Additionally, in some of the country over-run by the extremist organisation Isis, LGBT individuals can face death by stoning Getty

Legal experts warned at the time that the severity of the jail term created a dangerous precedent for transgendered people, pointing out that Newlands sexual assault jail term was tougher than some given to people convicted of manslaughter or child rape.

Speaking in a recent Transjustice conference in London aimed at creating strategies for addressing urgent issues faced by trans and gender non-conforming people in the criminal justice system, Ms Cook reinforced the issue saying: At what point should the disclosure be made? As youre snuggling up in bed? And run the risk of a transphobic assault and potentially worse Or maybe trans people could be made to wear a handy badge on their clothing identifying their history.

If trans people have to disclose this why shouldnt everyone?

Surely a racist could complain to a judge that he felt used after realising that the woman he slept with had previously had a black partner, or the homophobe object when discovering that his girlfriend had experimented with other women at Uni.
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Labours shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has joined calls for former BHS boss Sir Philip Green to be stripped of his knighthood if he refuses to appear before a panel of MPs to face questioning over the companys collapse.

The billionaire high street tycoon has said he is not prepared to participate with the House of Commons Work and Pensions committees inquiry into the 571m pensions black hole left at BHS, unless Frank Field, the veteran Labour MP, resigns as the committees chair.

Mr McDonnell said that Sir Philips behaviour was an insult to the British public.

If he refuses to come before parliament, Green should be stripped of his knighthood, he said, in an article in The Observer, in which he refused to use the businessmans title.

A group of Conservative MPs have already announced plans to write to the Honours Committee calling on it to reconsider Sir Philips knighthood, unless he pledges to cover the BHS pension fund blackhole.

Sir Philips Arcadia Group, which also owns Topshop, Burton and other high street names, sold BHS for 1 in 2015 to the former bankrupt Dominic Chappell, who had no experience of retail.

BHS went into administration in April, and an attempt to find a buyer has failed, meaning that up to 11,000 jobs are set to be lost.

Sir Philip had been set to appear before the Work and Pensions Committee on Wednesday, but in a strongly-worded letter he claimed the outcome of the inquiry had been pre-determined and that Mr Field had set out to destroy my reputation before the hearing.

Mr Field told the Financial Times on Friday that he would laugh if Sir Philip were to offer less than 600m to settle BHSs pension debts.

Responding to Sir Philips call for his resignation, the Birkenhead MP said: The House of Commons decides who chairs these committees, not Sir Philip Green. Its in his interest to turn up.

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Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Rogue trader A French court cut the damages owed by rogue trader Jerome Kerviel from 4.9bn (4.2bn) to just 1m (860,000). The court ruled on that Kerviel was partly responsible for massive losses suffered in 2008 by his former employer Societe Generale through his reckless trades. Kerviel has consistently maintained that bosses at the French bank knew what he was doing all along. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Barclays CEO under investigation for trying to identify whistleblower - Monday Paril 10 Authorities have launched an investigation into Barclays chief executive officer Jes Staley for trying to identify a whistleblower, the bank said on Monday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are both investigating Mr Staley after the bank notified them that Mr Staley had tried to identify the author of two anonymous letters, which were sent to the board and a senior executive in June 2016. 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On Monday, the three were convicted at Southwark Crown Court on accounts including bribery, fraud and money laundering. Mark Dobson, another manager at HBOS, Alison Mills, and John Cartwright were also convicted. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Lloyds chief apologises for damage caused by affair allegations - August 2016 Antonio Horta-Osorio, the chief executive of Lloyds Bank, has broken his silence over allegations about his private life admitting he regrets any "damage done to the group's reputation". In a message sent to the bank's 75,000 employees, the banker said that anyone can make mistakes while insisting that staff had to maintain the highest professional standards. 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Patience with Sir Philip within the Government also appears to be running out, after the business minister Anna Soubry tweeted: Sir Philip needs to understand Parliament is the boss, get a grip [and] get in front of the committee on Wednesday.

In his Observer article, Mr McDonnell accused Sir Philip of an act of vandalism in selling BHS on to someone with so little business experience and with the pension fund in such deep deficit.

The fact he feels he can threaten to subvert parliament is an insult to the British public, he said. If he refuses to come before parliament, Green should be stripped of his knighthood. Parliament should have the right to strip honours from individuals, in my view. This would remove the secret committee network and help restore public faith in the honours system.

A spokesman for the Arcadia Group said Sir Philip was waiting to see how Mr Field responded to his letter before deciding whether he would attend the hearing.

He added: "This doesn't appear to be a proper process any more. This is mob rule."
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The chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee has rejected a call to resign from Sir Philip Green, who accused the MP of attempting to destroy his reputation over the sale of BHS.

Sir Philip wrote a letter to Frank Field MP - head of the Commons inquiry into the collapse of BHS - denouncing his conduct saying he was "not prepared to participate in a process which has not even the pretence of fairness and objectivity and which has as its primary objective the destruction of my reputation".

In the letter, seen by The Independent, the former BHS owner said: "I therefore require you to resign immediately from this inquiry.

"You are not the Pensions Regulator and you have no power over the Pensions Regulator.

"Anything to do with the resolution of the BHS pension issues is in their jurisdiction and not yours and your continued participation in the inquiry will serve only to obstruct a resolution".

The department store chain went into administration last month, leaving a 571m deficit in its pension scheme. In his letter Sir Philip referred to comments Mr Field made to the Financial Times saying the retail magnate should give 600m to the pension fund and if he offered anything less "the committee would laugh at him".

11,000 jobs will be lost when BHS shuts the doors of its 163 remaining shops in the coming weeks (Getty)

Sir Philip suggested he would not attend a committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday unless Mr Field stepped down. A spokesman for Sir Philip's retail group Arcadia later clarified his position to the BBC, saying Sir Philip was waiting to see how Mr Field replies to his letter before deciding whether to attend.

Responding to reports of the letter on Saturday, Mr Field said: We appreciate that Sir Philip is trying to set up a deal for the pension fund, but 600 million is the size of the deficit. That's not jumping to any conclusion, that is a fact.

We very much look forward to hearing his side of the story on Wednesday, he added.

Recommended Read more The demise of BHS is a sickening story of capitalist excess

Sir Philip is the subject of inquiries by the Work and Pensions Select Committee, the Business, Innovation and Trade Select Committee, the Insolvency Service and the Pensions Regulator over the collapse of BHS putting 11,000 jobs at risk.

Sir Philip has been heavily criticised in some quarters for selling the struggling retail chain to a group of investors led by Dominic Chappell, who was formerly bankrupt, for 1 last year. Earlier this week MPs called for him to be stripped of his knighthood.

Last week, the administrator for BHS, Duff & Phelps, said it had not been possible to agree a sale because all the prospective buyers did not have the working capital needed to rescue the firm.

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Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Rogue trader A French court cut the damages owed by rogue trader Jerome Kerviel from 4.9bn (4.2bn) to just 1m (860,000). The court ruled on that Kerviel was partly responsible for massive losses suffered in 2008 by his former employer Societe Generale through his reckless trades. Kerviel has consistently maintained that bosses at the French bank knew what he was doing all along. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Barclays CEO under investigation for trying to identify whistleblower - Monday Paril 10 Authorities have launched an investigation into Barclays chief executive officer Jes Staley for trying to identify a whistleblower, the bank said on Monday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are both investigating Mr Staley after the bank notified them that Mr Staley had tried to identify the author of two anonymous letters, which were sent to the board and a senior executive in June 2016. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures UK to crack down on bank money laundering after reports of 65bn Russian scam, City minister says - March 2017 The Economic Secretary to the Treasury has vowed that the Government will crack down on money laundering practices, after several of the UK's biggest banks were accused of processing money from a Russian scam, believed to involve up to $80bn (65bn). Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former HBOS bankers convicted of bribery and fraud over 245m loan scam - February 2017 Two former HBOS bankers were among six people found guilty of bribery and fraud that cost customers and shareholders hundreds of millions of pounds, the BBC reports. Lynden Scourfield, 54, a manager at HBOS, forced struggling clients to use the services of his friends David Mills, 60, and Michael Bancroft, 73. In return, the two businessmen arranged sex parties, cash and lavish gifts. On Monday, the three were convicted at Southwark Crown Court on accounts including bribery, fraud and money laundering. Mark Dobson, another manager at HBOS, Alison Mills, and John Cartwright were also convicted. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Lloyds chief apologises for damage caused by affair allegations - August 2016 Antonio Horta-Osorio, the chief executive of Lloyds Bank, has broken his silence over allegations about his private life admitting he regrets any "damage done to the group's reputation". In a message sent to the bank's 75,000 employees, the banker said that anyone can make mistakes while insisting that staff had to maintain the highest professional standards. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Christine Lagarde faces court over 340m Bernard Tapie payment - July 2016 The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, must stand trial in France over a payment of 403 million (now 340m, then 290m) to tycoon Bernard Tapie, a France's highest appeals court has ruled. The court rejected Ms Lagarde's appeal against a judge's order in December for her to stand trial over allegations of negligence in her handling of the affair. Ms Lagarde could risk a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros if convicted. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures HSBC senior manager arrested in FX rigging investigation at JFK airport in New York - July 2016 A senior executive at HSBC has been arrested at New York's JFK airport for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to rig currency benchmarks, according to reports. Mark Johnson, global head of foreign exchange cash trading in London, was reportedly arrested on Tuesday. He will appear before a federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Bloomberg said. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Former PwC employees found guilty in 'Luxleaks' tax scandal - June 2016 Two ex- PricewaterhouseCoopers staffers were found guilty in Luxembourg of stealing confidential tax files that helped unleash a global scandal over generous fiscal deals for hundreds of international companies. Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet face suspended sentences of 12 months and 9 months and were ordered to pay fines of 1,500 (1,230) and 1,000 (822) for their role in the so-called LuxLeaks scandal. Despite the minimal sentences, the ruling was described by Deltours lawyer as shocking and a terrible anomaly. The ruling puts on guard future whistle-blowers, Deltour told reporters.The LuxLeaks revelations sped beyond Luxembourg, causing European Union regulators to expand a tax-subsidy probe and propose new laws to fight corporate tax dodging, while EU lawmakers created a special committee to probe fiscal deals across the 28-nation bloc. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Goldman Sachs dealmakers lavished Libyan officials with prostitutes to win contract - June 2016 A former Goldman Sachs dealmaker trying to persuade Gadaffi-era Libya to invest $1 billion with the investment bank procured prostitutes and invited Libyan officials to lavish parties in the hope of winning the business, the High Court heard on Monday June 13.The Libyan Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund is suing Goldman Sachs for inappropriately coercing its naive staff into giving its sovereign wealth fund cash to the bank to invest in products they did not understand. The products were designed to generate big profits for Goldman, the LIA claims.Goldman denies wrongdoing and says the LIA was treated as an arms-length customer Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former boss of BHS said his life was threatened - June 2016 Darren Topp, the former boss of BHS, has said former owner Dominic Chappell threatened to kill him when he challenged him over a 1.5 million transfer out of the business. MPs on the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee asked Mr Topp about a 1.5 million transfer Mr Chappell made from BHS to a company called BHS Sweden. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley admits paying workers below the minimum wage - June 2016 Mike Ashley admitted paying Sports Direct employees below the minimum wage at a hearing in front of MPs. The company founder said that workers were paid less than the statutory minimum because of bottlenecks at security in an admission that could result in sanctions from HMRC. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Mitsubishi admits improper fuel tests - April 2016 Mitsubishi has admitted to using false fuel methods dating back to 1991. The scale of the scandal is only just coming to light after it was revealed in April that data was falsified in the testing of four types of cars, including two Nissan cars. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Quindell, the scandal-ridden insurance firm Quindell was once a darling of AIM but its share price fell in April 2014 when its accounting practices were attacked in a stinging research note by US short seller Gotham City. In August the group was forced to disclose that the 107 million pre-tax profit it had reported for 2013 was incorrect, and it had in fact suffered a 64million loss. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Toshiba Accounting Scandal The boss of Toshiba, the Japanese technology giant, resigned in disgrace in the wake of one of the countrys biggest ever accounting scandals. His exit came two months after the company revealed that it was investigating accounting irregularities. An independent investigatory panel said that Toshibas management had inflated its reported profits by up to 152 billion yen (780m) between 2008 and 2014. Biggest business scandals in pictures FIFA Corruption Scandal Fifa, football's world governing body, has been engulfed by claims of widespread corruption since the summer of 2015, when the US Department of Justice indicted several top executives. It has now claimed the careers of two of the most powerful men in football, Fifa President Sepp Blatter and Uefa President Michel Platini, after they were banned for eight years from all football-related activities by Fifa's ethics committee. A Swiss criminal investigation into the pair is ongoing. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Libor fraudster City trader Tom Hayes, 35, has become the first person to be convicted of rigging Libor rates following a trial at London's Southwark Crown Court. Hayes worked as a trader in yen derivatives at UBS before joining the American bank Citigroup in Tokyo. He was fired from Citigroup following an investigation into his trading methods. He returned to the UK in December 2012 and was arrested following a two-and-a-half year criminal investigation by the SFO. Getty

In a previous letter to Mr Field and his counterpart on the BIS select committee, Iain Wright, Sir Philip accused the MPs of conducting a "trial by media" against him.

He said the pair were "leaping to conclusions before any evidence from any witness has been heard".

Elsewhere, Business Minister Anna Soubry tweeted on Saturday that Sir Philip needs to understand Parliament is the boss, get a grip & get in front of the committee on Weds.
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What is sovereignty anyway?

Funny word. From the Latin, super, above, via Old French, souverain, and the ending changed by association with reign. It means supreme power, and usually refers to that in a nation state.

In the United Kingdom sovereignty lies with that polite fiction, the Crown in Parliament. In practice it lies with Her Majestys ministers, who hold power by virtue of commanding a majority in the House of Commons, and so ultimately it is  in constitutional theory  the people who are sovereign.

Because of our uncodified constitution, there is no limit to the power of the House of Commons except those that it chooses to impose upon itself. If the Commons chooses to cede some of the peoples sovereignty elsewhere, it can always take it back.

Power has been devolved to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, London and local government only because Parliament legislated for it, and it could repeal or change the law at any time. Equally, power has been passed to the European Union by Acts of Parliament. If the British people vote to leave the EU, those Acts would be repealed and the powers taken back.

 Farage refuses to apologise for 'Breaking Point' poster

But if we vote to stay, those powers would stay in Brussels for the foreseeable future, wouldnt they?

Yes. It seems unlikely that there would be another referendum in the next decade or so, even if the eurozone countries decide that they need a closer political union to make the euro currency work. They would try quite hard to do that in a way that did not provoke the UK government into going through this again.

However, for most of the time since we joined in 1973, we seem to have taken the view, as a nation, that this pooling of sovereignty has been pragmatically in our interest. So much so that we have handed over more powers since then  especially in the Single European Act, which created the single market, agreed by Margaret Thatcher in 1985.

The two times when public opinion was most opposed to the loss of sovereignty were after recessions, in the early 1980s and since 2008.

EU referendum - in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 EU referendum - in pictures EU referendum - in pictures A woman in a wheelchair with British and European Union flags shows her support for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union on the day of the EU Referendum in Gibraltar Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures A polling station being used in the EU referendum at Batley Town Hall in the constituency Labour MP Jo Cox PA EU referendum - in pictures People arrive to vote in the EU Referendum at the Library where British MP Jo Cox was shot and fatally wounded last week in Birstall EPA EU referendum - in pictures A man arrives to vote at a polling station for the Referendum on the European Union in north London REUTERS EU referendum - in pictures Voters queue to enter a polling station at Trinity Church in Golders Green in London Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha Cameron leave after voting in the EU Referendum at Central Methodist Hall, Westminster Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn cast his vote at a polling station at Pakeman Primary School in Islington Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures Chelsea pensioners arrive at a polling station near to the Royal Chelsea Hospital PA EU referendum - in pictures A woman wearing an "I'm In" t-shirt, promoting the official "Remain" campaign, leaves a polling station in London AFP/Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures People queuing outside a polling station on Amott Road in London PA EU referendum - in pictures Scotland's First Minister and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Nicola Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell, react as leave after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall in east Glasgow AFP/Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures A man wearing a European themed cycling jersey leaves after voting at a polling station for the Referendum on the European Union in north London REUTERS EU referendum - in pictures Ukip leader Nigel Farage arrives to cast his vote at Cudham Church of England Primary School in Biggin Hill, Kent PA EU referendum - in pictures Justice Secretary and prominent 'Vote Leave' campaigner Michael Gove poses with his wife Sarah Vine after voting in the European Union referendum at their local polling station in Kensington Getty EU referendum - in pictures Nuns leave a polling station after voting in the EU Referendum in London EPA EU referendum - in pictures People arrive to cast their ballots in the EU Referendum in Gibraltar. The United Kingdom and its dependant territories are going to the polls to decide whether or not the the United Kingdom will remain in the European Union Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures A man driving a van covered in stickers urging people to vote for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union drives outside a polling station on the day of the EU Referendum in Gibraltar Getty Images EU referendum - in pictures A sign on a gable wall in Belfast's, Loyalist Tigers Bay urging voters to leave the EU using scripture from Revelation 18:4, as voters head to the polls across the UK in a historic referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union or leave PA

So what is different this time?

In 1984 Mrs Thatcher swung her handbag and secured a rebate on UK contributions to Brussels, a very public assertion of the British interest. The economy was also growing fast, and anti-EC sentiment subsided.

This time, the economy has also recovered from recession, but in a different way, attracting large numbers of central European workers from the enlarged EU, who are entitled to come here under freedom of movement rules. Those rules were mostly relevant to us before the expansion of the EU in 2004 only because they made the lives of expats in Spain easier.

Today immigration is the big issue for the campaign against EU membership. One of the fundamentals of sovereignty is the power to decide who can come into a country and who cannot. We ceded that power in 1973 but it wasnt important until 2004, and it wasnt a problem for large numbers of people until the 2008 financial crash.

So is concern for sovereignty just code for opposition to immigration?

No, because there are other powers that the British Government has given up. But most of them are in our economic interest, or dont matter very much, or arent as bad for us as they were. For example, people stopped complaining about the Common Agricultural Policy years ago.

Most of the silly and semi-mythical things that Boris Johnson goes on about, such as the rules on bananas, are common standards designed to make it easier for us to buy and sell in a market of 500 million people.

Some of Johnsons complaints are more serious. He says that when he was Mayor of London he wasnt able to ban lorries that he thought were unsafe for cyclists, and the Transport Secretary couldnt ban them either. The EU is changing the law on lorries, but not for several years because of the objection of French and Spanish lorry makers.

That is a limitation on our sovereignty, but David Cameron would argue that it is worth it for the benefit of the single market and the influence we have over its rules.

Doesnt Cameron say we actually gain sovereignty by being in the EU?

Yes, although influence might be a better word. His argument is that we have more power as a member of international bodies including the EU. The same arguments apply to Nato and the European Convention on Human Rights (which is separate from the EU although increasingly entwined with it).

Nato membership limits our sovereignty in matters of war and peace: we are obliged to defend our allies. But in return, they are obliged to defend us.

The European Convention and Court of Human Rights is a particular irritation to Theresa May, the Home Secretary, who says we should stay in the EU but pull out of the Convention. She says it prevents the UK deporting undesirables. Its defenders say it forces the UK Government to take seriously its obligation to oppose torture, and not to deport anyone, however undesirable, who is likely to be tortured.

Yes, but what about the EU?

The Prime Ministers argument for the EU is that, if we left, we would still be trying to sell goods and services to the single market, but our government would have no say on the rules of that market.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the single market was a British idea, and that the British economy has benefited hugely from being a part of it. The next phase will be to create a single market in services, especially financial services such as insurance, and if Britain isnt part of the negotiations, it is easy to see how our businesses could be put at a disadvantage.

The mantra of the Leave campaign is take control, but George Osborne is right to point out that this means losing control of other important things, especially those relating to our future prosperity.

So what cant we do in the EU that we want to do?

That might be a better way of asking the question. Ministers often complain about EU regulations, but are less often able to point to specific instances where EU membership has prevented them from doing something that everyone agrees they should be allowed to do.

Apart from immigration and Boriss cyclist-crushing lorries, it is surprisingly hard for Leave to come up with examples. And all these things are a matter of balancing costs and benefits.

The Independent, for example, argues that immigration is a huge benefit to this country. In our view, the disadvantages of freedom of movement, such as high housing costs, are outweighed by the advantages of a strong economy and a dynamic, open society.

Even if you think freedom of movement is a net burden, it might be outweighed by the economic benefits of full access to the single market.

Is a referendum the best way to decide questions of sovereignty?

Mr Cameron said on Tuesday nights ITV programme with Nigel Farage that this referendum is the greatest act of national sovereignty for several years. Which was a powerful point. Given that sovereignty ultimately comes from the British people, it could be argued that there is no purer expression of it than a referendum.

The problem is that there could be a clash between direct democracy and representative democracy. Mr Cameron implies that every 41 years or so we get the chance to pass judgement on the lease of some powers to Brussels, which might be often enough, given that we dont feel strongly enough about it to send a majority of MPs to the House of Commons on a platform of withdrawal from the EU.

As some pro-EU MPs have noted, there is a large majority in Parliament for staying in the EU. Hence the suggestions that the Commons might try to frustrate a vote to leave. It would be unlikely to block the UKs withdrawal from the EU, as that is the explicit question put to the referendum. But it might make it hard for a Johnson-led government to withdraw from the single market and the freedom of movement rules that go with it.

What happens when one expression of sovereignty, a referendum, conflicts with another, a representative parliament, is something that we would find out only if we vote to leave.
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Brexit-backing former minister Iain Duncan Smith has accused Downing Street and the Remain camp of showing panic, after a shock poll for The Independent showed a major swing in favour of Brexit.

On a visit to Harlow in Essex on Saturday, during which he was jeered by Remain backers dressed up as Boris Johnson, the former Work and Pensions Secretary claimed he was astonished at the level of personal abuse.

They are breaking all the normal rules you'd ever make about a successful campaign, he said of Remain.

You never show panic and they are definitely showing panic at the moment. This personal abuse, the old rule of thumb in politics is that once you start getting abused you must be doing something right.

The words from Mr Duncan Smith came after an ORB poll for The Independent which gave Leave a 10-point lead when respondents likelihood to vote was taken into account

The survey of 2,000 people found that 55 per cent believe the UK should leave the EU (up four points since our last poll in April), while 45 per cent want it to remain (down four points).

Even when the findings are not weighted for turnout, Leave is on 53 per cent (up three points since April) and Remain on 47 per cent (down three). The online poll, taken on Wednesday and Thursday, suggests the Out camp has achieved momentum.

Mr Duncan Smith told the Press Association that the poll made it clear the public was responding to the Vote Leave message but insisted that it was all still to play for

 Corbyn describes the Eu he wants to see

Elsewhere, billionaire entrepreneur Sir James Dyson has claimed that Britain would be better off outside the EU.

Sir James said that after Brexit the UK could respond to likely tariffs on its exports by imposing its own tariffs on EU imports, bringing in an extra 10bn for the UK. He also said that freedom of movement rules within the EU had made it more difficult to hire talented engineers from outside the bloc.

The inventor, who is best known for designing a bagless vacuum cleaner, told the Daily Telegraph: We're not allowed to employ them, unless they're from the EU...At the moment, if we want to hire a foreign engineer, it takes four-and-a-half months to go through the Home Office procedure. It's crazy.

Why on earth would you chuck out researchers with that valuable technology which they then take back to China or Singapore and use it against us?

Sir James added that Britain "will create more wealth and more jobs by being outside the EU than we will within it"

Pushing the case to remain in the EU, more than a dozen Nobel prize-winning scientists have warned that Britains place in the vanguard of global scientific endeavour would be put at risk if the country left the bloc.

In a joint letter the group of 13 leading researchers - which includes the discoverer of the Higgs boson and the inventors of graphene  say that the loss of EU research funding was a key risk to British science and accused Brexit supporters of being naive in assuming the funding could be sustained outside the EU or replaced by the UK government.

The Nobel Prize winners letter, signed by Professor Peter Higgs, former Royal Society president Sir Paul Nurse, and Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov, and published in the Daily Telegraph, said the EU contained some of the finest minds and facilities in the world and invested heavily in the UK.

The Brexit claims that the UK could still access funding from outside the EU are flawed, given such access will almost certainly be conditional on embracing the very principles Brexit rejects, especially freedom of movement, the letter states. Science thrives on permeability of ideas and people, and flourishes in environments that pool intelligence, minimise barriers, and are open to free exchange and collaboration.

It comes as MPs urged the Government to bring in contingency plans to protect the UK science sector from the risk of Brexit. In a new report, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee said that the UK had already secured 15 per cent of an 80bn EU research fund  known as Horizon 2020  which would amount to nearly 10bn. Britain is also set to be allocated a further 1.2bn in investment research and innovation projects.

Conservative MP Nicola Blackwood, chair of the committee, said that Switzerlands decision to end free movement of people from the EU had hit its own research sector.

When the Swiss voted to curtail free movement of people, the EU revoked access science funding and collaboration, undermining the country's science sector, she said.

Following lengthy negotiations Switzerland was permitted re-entry to Horizon 2020 but on much more restrictive termsIn light of this, the Government must conduct a risk analysis of the impact that a vote to leave would have on science funding and international collaboration. Ministers must put in place contingency plans to protect us from any adverse consequences for our science and innovation sector as well as consolidating any benefits.

What has the EU ever done for us? Show all 7 1 /7 What has the EU ever done for us? What has the EU ever done for us? 1. It gives you freedom to live, work and retire anywhere in Europe As a member of the EU, UK citizens benefit from freedom of movement across the continent. Considered one of the so-called four pillars of the European Union, this freedom allows all EU citizens to live, work and travel in other member states. What has the EU ever done for us? 2. It sustains millions of jobs A report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, released in October 2015, suggested 3.1 million British jobs were linked to the UKs exports to the EU. What has the EU ever done for us? 3. Your holiday is much easier - and safer Freedom to travel is one of the most exercised benefits of EU membership, with Britons having made 31 million visits to the EU in 2014 alone. But a lot of the benefits of being an EU citizen are either taken for granted or go unnoticed. What has the EU ever done for us? 4. It means you're less likely to get ripped off Consumer protection is a key benefit of the EUs single market, and ensures members of the British public receive equal consumer rights when shopping anywhere in Europe. What has the EU ever done for us? 5. It offers greater protection from terrorists, paedophiles, people traffickers and cyber-crime Another example of a lesser-known advantage of EU membership is the benefit of cross-country coordination and cooperation in the fight against crime. What has the EU ever done for us? 6. Our businesses depend on it According to 71% of all members of the Confederation of British Influence (CBI), and 67 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the EU has had an overall positive impact on their business. What has the EU ever done for us? 7. We have greater influence Robin Niblett, Director of think-tank Chatham House, stated in a report published last year: For a mid-sized country like the UK, which will never again be economically dominant either globally or regionally, and whose diplomatic and military resources are declining in relative terms, being a major player in a strong regional institution can offer a critical lever for international influence.

The Independent poll giving the Brexit camp the lead follows a number of other recent surveys  all showing a vote to leave.

However polling experts believe the Remain camp may pull back as June 23 gets closer.

They say that in previous polls voters tend to favour the status quo when they actually get into the ballot box  as opposed to what they say to pollsters.

However for the polling industry there is a lot at stake in calling the right result. Pollsters completely failed to predict the result of the 2015 General Election and will be desperate to get it right this time.

The EU referendum debate has so far been characterised by bias, distortion and exaggeration. So until 23 June we were running a series of question and answer features that explain the most important issues in a detailed, dispassionate way to help inform your decision.

What is Brexit and why are we having an EU referendum?

Will we gain or lose rights by leaving the European Union?

What will happen to immigration if there's Brexit?

Will Brexit make the UK more or less safe?

Will the UK benefit from being released from EU laws?

Will leaving the EU save taxpayers money and mean more money for the NHS?

What will Brexit do to UK trade?

How Brexit will affect British tourism

What will Brexit mean for British tourists booking holidays in the EU?

Will Brexit help or damage the environment?

Will Brexit mean that Europeans have to leave the UK?

What will Brexit mean for British expats?
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Brexit could cause the European Union to break down by triggering efforts by other nations to secede, the Swedish foreign minister has said.

An exclusive poll for The Independent found that the campaign for Britain to leave the EU has opened up a 10-point lead against Remain in a reversal of the position one year ago.

Margot Wallstrom, the foreign minister of Sweden, said other nations could follow the UK with referendums and demands from reform if it votes Out on 23 June.

Referendum Debate highlights

The spill-over effect will be deeply felt, she said on the BBC's This Week's World programme.

"That might affect other EU member states that will say: Well, if they can leave, maybe we should also have referendums and maybe we should also leave.

"If they stay, it might also lead to other countries saying: 'Well, they negotiated, they asked and demanded to have a special treatment so why shouldn't we?'"

Ms Wallstrom is one of many European leaders hoping the UK will remain in the alliance, saying it was an important trading partner and home to around 90,000 Swedes.

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

Several politicians have raised concerns that Brexit could spark the dismantling of the entire EU, as well as domestic fears that it could threaten the UKs existence by provoking another independence referendum in Scotland.

Former Prime Ministers Sir John Major and Tony Blair called the prospect a historic mistake last week.

US President Barack Obama has been vocal in his support of David Camerons position in the Remain camp, while presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has backed a Brexit.

The survey of 2,000 people for The Independent by ORB found that 55 per cent believe the UK should leave the EU (up four points since our last poll in April), while 45 per cent want it to remain (down four points).

When the findings are not weighted for turnout, Leave was on 53 per cent and Remain on 47 per cent.
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A British businessman has been charged with murder after a Kenyan woman was shot dead at his home in Nairobi.

Richard Alden, 52, appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to murdering 42-year-old Grace Wangechi Kinyanjui, whose family said she had been shot in the back on 4 June at Aldens property in the citys Karen district.

A former lawyer for Alden, Evans Monari, had claimed Ms Kinyanjui had accidentally shot herself while taking a selfie with Aldens gun, however the former Deloitte executive denied this claim and the lawyer is no longer working on his case.

The Alden familys advocate, Tom Okundi, told The Telegraph: "The family of Richard Alden takes serious exception to the unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations concerning the circumstances surrounding the death of Ms Grace Wangeci.

"We wish to inform the general public that although Richard was today charged with the offence of murder, investigations are very much still ongoing. Therefore, it is premature to make any statement which at best may only be aimed at influencing the outcome of such investigations and prejudicing the outcome of the case.

"Richard has cooperated and continues to cooperate with the police in the investigation. We wish to request that the media and the public avoid speculation and allow the case to take its course."

Preliminary findings of the post-mortem suggested Ms Kinyanjui had suffered a broken thumb and stab wounds as well as indicating she had been shot in the back, the victims family said.

Married father-of-three Alden has been declared fit to stand trial and lawyers suggested they would challenge the report in court.
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Forces fighting Isis in Libya claim to have taken the port of Sirte as troops battle to drive jihadists out of their biggest stronghold outside Syria and Iraq.

Militias aligned with the new Government of National Accord (GNA) are being backed by air strikes and bombardment from naval ships as they fight to dislodge militants from the city centre.

Leaders said senior Isis members had fled into the desert to the south, while there were reports of the groups fighters shaving off beards and cutting their hair in attempts to blend in with displaced civilians.

 Libya: UN-backed government forces make gains in Sirte

But hundreds of militants are believed to remain in Sirte, lying in a strategic position on Libyas Mediterranean coastline, and street battles continued on Saturday.

Clashes were focused on the Ouagadougou conference complex, which was built by deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi but has since been used as an Isis command centre and venue for religious instruction and propaganda videos.

Brigades largely composed of fighters from Misrata advanced to the edge of the city centre this week, after launching a counter attack against the so-called Islamic State last month and driving militants back along the coastal road between the two cities.

A source from the operations room told Reuters fighters from front lines in the south of Sirte had looped round along the seafront to capture the port, which lies about three miles east of the city centre.

The brigades have advanced more swiftly than many expected, though their progress has been hampered by suicide bombers, mines, booby-trapped vehicles and Isis snipers.

Mohamed al-Gasri, a military spokesperson based in Misrata, told Reuters: We think that Sirte will be liberated within days, not weeks.

In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Isis fighters parade through in Sirte in 2015 In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Islamic State (IS) group jihadists on the outskirts of Libya's western city of Sirte AFP/Getty In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte A photo of a billboard in Sirte, Libya, listing seven rules for women's clothing, saying they must be loose-fitting and undecorated HRW/social media In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Isis militants process down a street in the coastal city of Sirte in Libya this week; the group has heralded Libya as its strategic gateway to attack Europe AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte An Isis lecture on Sharia at the Ouagadougou complex in Sirte, Libya, in 2016. HRW/social media In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte A sign reading "The city of Sirte, under the shadow of Sharia" as smoke rises in the background while forces aligned with Libya's new unity government advance on the eastern and southern outskirts of the Islamic State stronghold of Sirte on 9 June. Reuters In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Fighters loyal to Libya's GNA prepare to launch attacks against Isis as they continue their resistance on the outskirts of the western city of Sirte Getty In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government are seen during clashes with jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) on the western outskirts of Sirte on June 2, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government fire during clashes with Isis around 14 miles west of Sirte on June 2, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Libya

A separate militia that controls terminals in Libya's oil crescent, the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), said it was advancing towards Sirte from the east after reaching the town of Harawa, about 40 miles away.

Several symbolic and strategic locations have been retaken, local media reported, including the Saadi barracks, where the bodies of executed Isis fighters were allegedly found, the Mahari Hotel and a roundabout where militants previously hung the bodies of killed civilians.

At least 11 fighters were killed and 35 wounded on Friday, pushing the death toll over 100 for GNA-backed groups since operations began in May.

Isis claimed it had killed dozens of enemy fighters in recent days but has not released any statements acknowledged any retreat through official propaganda channels, instead posting footage claiming to prove it is still in control of some areas.

Sirte was Gaddafis hometown and the scene of his death, during the last major battle of the Libyan civil war in 2011.

Isis took advantage of the ensuing chaos to expand into the country, seizing Sirte and 155 miles of surrounding coastline in late 2014 to construct its biggest stronghold outside Syria and Iraq.

A sign reading "The city of Sirte, under the shadow of Sharia" as smoke rises in the background while forces aligned with Libya's new unity government advance on the eastern and southern outskirts of the Islamic State stronghold of Sirte on 9 June. (Reuters)

Civilians trapped by the terrorist group have reported unbearable atrocities, including regular public executions and corpses left hanging or crucified in the streets.

Pro-government militias have been the main fighting force for the UN-brokered unity government formed earlier this year in efforts to stem the bloodshed and chaos following Gaddafis death.

They are being supported by the UK and other nations including the US, which sending a second aircraft carrier and its strike group of guided-missile cruisers and destroyers to bolster operations Mediterranean.

The Ministry of Defence told The Independent it could not comment on reports that British special forces were supporting militias in Sirte, alongside American and Jordanian teams.

The assault on Sirte comes as US-backed fighters in Syria converge on the Isis stronghold of Manbij on three sides, while Iraqi special forces push into the Iraqi city of Fallujah.

The so-called Islamic State has suffered setbacks on several fronts in the region where it captured large swathes of territory two years ago, including the loss of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
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A body washed up on a beach in Brazil three days ago has been confirmed as missing traveller Rye Hunt, police said.

Brazilian police inspector Elen Souto said in statement on Saturday that forensic tests have confirmed the identity of the body, which was in an advanced stage of decomposition and found in Marica, a municipality about 25km from Rio de Janeiro.

Mr Hunt, a 25-year-old electrician who worked at a mine in western Australia, went missing on 21 May after leaving Rio de Janeiro's airport following an alleged quarrel with his friend.

(Facebook/ Find Rye Hunt (Facebook/ Find Rye Hunt)

Mr Hunt and his friend had arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 16 May as part of a world trip. The pair began their journey in south east Asia and planned to spend two months in South America before heading to Europe, according to Bonnie Cuthbert, Mr Hunts girlfriend of five years.

A family statement released on a Facebook page dedicated to finding Mr Hunt confirmed the identification saying: "It is with deep regret and sadness that clinical testing has confirmed that the body found in Marica, 25km away from Rio de Janeiro on 8 June 2016 is that of our beloved Rye Duval Hunt.

We have received this information from the Australian Embassy but this has not been confirmed by the DFAT at this time.

Officials from the Australian embassy will now work with the family in Rio to return Rye to Australia.

Investigators have not been able to establish the cause of death.

It is understood Mr Hunt and his friend had used drugs before going to the airport.

A statement released by the family on 7 June said it was initially believed MDMA had been consumed, however, following reports from those around Mr Hunt in the lead up to his disappearance, which said he demonstrated "irregular and out of character behaviours, such as extreme paranoia, anxiety and fear", it is now believed Mr Hunt may have consumed a different illicit substance, often referred to as NBOMe, thinking he was consuming MDMA.

Bonnie Cuthbert, of Australia, holds a photo of her missing boyfriend Rye Hunt, 25, (AP)

The statement describes NBOMe as "a highly potent hallucinogen and psychedelic".

Without a sample of what was consumed the exact substance that may have been taken by Mr Hunt and his friend cannot be confirmed.

Ms Cuthbert said she had never known Mr Hunt to use illicit substances.

Mr Hunts sister Romany Brodribb said in a statement: We are understandably heart broken. Rye was the youngest member of our family and was known for being loyal, loving, generous, cheeky, and as a brother, totally infuriating! Thinking about life without him is unfathomable. He will be very missed by us all.

Ms Cuthbert said: I feel so blessed to have shared the last five years with my beautiful Big Bear. We have been so lucky to have found and loved each other so deeply. The love Rye and I shared will remain within both of us, forever.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
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A woman in Texas has filed a lawsuit against several police officers and the city of La Joya on claims that she was denied medical attention after being raped by a dispatcher.

The plaintiff is seeking more than $70,000 in damages, according to the lawsuit obtained by Courthouse News, after an "all-night invasion" by former police officer Felipe Santiago Peralez in May 2014.

Peralez began an all-night invasion of plaintiff's body, by inserting his fingers, hands, and other objects into her buttocks and vaginal areas of plaintiff's body," the 38-page complaint reads.

When the woman reported the assault, the sheriff viewed the video recording, and offered her tacos, according to the complaint, and she was then denied medical attention.

In August 2015, a Hidalgo County grand jury indicted Peralez on three counts of violating a persons civil rights and one count of official oppression, CBS 4 News reports. The 24-year-old plead guilty to two counts and was sentenced to 180 days in state jail and 30 days in county jail.

La Joya City Attorney Roberto Jackson, Jr has said that the problems in the lawsuit have already been taken care of by the DAs office.

As far as liability, I dont think we have any. Nonetheless, were going to address it, Jackson told BuzzFeed News. Were not trying to conceal anything from anyone. Some of the allegations, from what I know, its going to be hard to substantiate. Basically, theyre meritless. Im confident that after all is said and done well be fine.
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It's known as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, but now the area around Cambodia's magnificent temple complex at Angkor Watt could be home to even more significant archaeological findings after scientists revealed that cutting-edge laser technology has unearthed numerous vast medieval cities buried under the tropical forest floor  some of them believed to be larger than the countrys capital Phnom Penh.

Researchers believe the metropolises are between 900 and 1,400 years old and lie not far from Angkor Wat, the ancient temple complex in the north-east of the country.

Dr Damian Evans, an Australian archaeologist funded by the EU, has published these findings in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Further investigation into these discoveries could result in groundbreaking developments in our understanding of south east Asian history, Dr Evans told the Guardian.

We have entire cities discovered beneath the forest that no one knew were there, he said.

One of the cities whose existence has been revealed through analysis of data collected in a 2015 aerial study  the most extensive of its kind covering 734 square miles  is located at Preah Khan of Kompong Svay, an archaeological site about which, until now, relatively little has been known.

In a similar study in 2012, Dr Evans and his team uncovered part of the lost city of Mahendraparvata on Phnom Kulen.

An elephant statue in Sra Damrei, part of Cambodia's 'Lost City' of Mahendraparvata, where a vast city has been discovered under the forest floor (Getty Images)

Now they have found evidence of an even bigger area which was once densely inhabited  and could form part of the largest empire on earth at the time, some experts have said.

This time we got the whole deal and its big, the size of Phnom Penh big, said Dr Evans.

Angkor Archaeological Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site, stretches over 400 square kilometres and is home to Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world which appears on the Cambodian flag.

The site is popular with travellers and was last year named the most attractive tourist destination in the world by the Lonely Planet guide.

In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Ancient forest, discovered in February 2014 Ancient forest revealed by storms. The recent huge storms and gale force winds that have battered the coast of West Wales have stripped away much of the sand from stretches of the beach between Borth and Ynyslas. The disappearing sands have revealed ancients forests, with the remains of oak trees dating back to the Bronze Age, 6,000 years ago. The ancient remains are said by some to be the origins of the legend of Cantrer Gwealod , a mythical kingdom now submerged under the waters pif Cardigan Bay In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Medieval royal palaces, discovered in November 2014 Archaeologists in southern England have discovered what may be one of the largest medieval royal palaces ever found  buried under the ground inside a vast prehistoric fortress at Old Sarum. The probable 12th century palace was discovered by archaeologists, using geophysical ground-penetrating x-ray technology to map a long-vanished medieval city which has lain under grass on the site for more than 700 years In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered ca. 1950 The Dead Sea Scrolls are almost 1,000 biblical manuscripts discovered in the decade after the Second World War in what is now the West Bank. The texts, mostly written on parchment but also on papyrus and bronze, are the earliest surviving copies of biblical and extra-biblical documents known to be in existence, dating over a 700-year period around the birth of Jesus. The ancient Jewish sect the Essenes is supposed to have authored the scrolls, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, although no conclusive proof has been found to this effect In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Diamond, discovered in March 2014 This rare diamond that survived a trip from deep within the Earth's interior confirmed that there is an oceans worth of water beneath the planets crust In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Whale skeletons, discovered in February 2014 Chilean and Smithsonian paleontologists study several fossil whale skeletons at Cerro Ballena, next to the Pan-American Highway in the Atacama Region of Chile In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Complete mammoth skeleton, discovered in November 2012 The first complete mammoth skeleton to be found in France for more than a century was uncovered in a gravel pit on the banks of the Marne, 30 miles north-east of Paris. Picture shows experts at work making a silicon cast of the mammoth's tusk In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Million-year-old human footprints, discovered in February 2014 Photograph of the footprint hollows in situ on the beach as Happisburgh, Norfolk In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Terracotta warrior, discovered in June 2010 Chinese archaeologists unearthed around 120 more clay figures in June 2010 excavations at the terracotta army site that surrounds the tomb of the nation's first emperor in the northwestern Shaanxi Province  Jason Lee / Reuters In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Neolithic 'lost avenue' - prehistoric stone circle, discovered in September 1999 The discovery of a Neolithic 'lost avenue' was described as one of the most important finds of the last century. Since the 1700s, archeologists and historians have argued over the existence of the huge sarsen stones, which were unearthed at the site of the world's biggest prehistoric stone circle at Avebury in Wiltshire In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Byzantine mosaic, discovered in February 2007 Plans for a walkway at the centre of the furious dispute over Jerusalem's holiest site were delayed by the discovery of a Byzantine mosaic In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Ancient gold, discovered in March 2014 Gold fitting for a dagger sheath (around 1900 BC.) found near Stonehenge In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799 The Rosetta Stone is a basalt slab inscribed with a decree of pharaoh Ptolemy Epiphanes (205-180 BC) in three languages, Greek, Hieroglyphic and Demotic script. Discovered near Rosetta in Egypt

Dr Evans, a fellow at Ecole Francaise dExtreme-Orient in Siem Reap, used cutting-edge light detection technology known as lidar to conduct his research in the region.

He used scanners to fire lasers to the ground from a helicopter and measure how long it took for each pulse to bounce back, creating an extremely detailed 3D model of the Earths surface.

The technology can penetrate dense forest canopies to detect buildings as well as the remains of roads, aqueducts, caves and manmade borders between different areas.

 Cargo of ancient shipwreck found in Caesarea

I think that these airborne laser discoveries mark the greatest advance in the past 50 or even 100 years of our knowledge of Angkorian civilisation, American archaeologist Michael Coe told The Guardian.

The findings from this study combined with Dr Evanss first lidar survey in the region in 2012 could challenge theories on the development and decline of the Khmer empire, which ruled over most of mainland south-east Asia from around 802 AD and was at its most powerful in the 12th and 13th centuries when it was home to around 100,000 people.

The empire began to decline in the 15th century. It has so far been thought this was largely caused by a combination of the breakdown of the political system, plague, foreign invasion and environmental factors.

The report says that the remarkable findings will help scientists look at what really caused the declined and how the complex relationship between man and its impact on the environment could have influenced this fall.

The report adds that the findings are part of a growing number which are increasingly showing that the extent of anthropogenic changes to natural landscapes during the past few thousand years has so far been substantially underestimated.
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Around 1,600 suspects have been detained in Bangladesh as police attempt to stop a wave of brutal attacks against religious minorities.

Isis has claimed responsibility for several of the murders, including the death of a Hindu man on Friday, as have local militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda.

A series of bloody machete killings, which initially targeted secular bloggers, started in 2013 but the increasing frequency and claims by Isis have alarmed the international community.

Mahmuda Khanam Mitu was murdered in Chittagong (EPA)

Police said officers and paramilitary soldiers were sent out across the country on Thursday, raiding suspected militant hideouts and detaining about 1,600 people by the following night.

But Kamrul Islam, a spokesperson for the Bangladeshi police, said the majority of those arrested were petty criminals.

Only 37 of them are suspected to be radical Islamist militants, including three charged with alleged membership of the banned fundamentalist group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh.

None of the suspects are believed to have organised the attacks, said police as investigations continued.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has faced criticism for failing to prosecute suspects for dozens of killings carried out over the past two years.

Victims include atheist bloggers, foreign aid workers, university professors, gay rights activists and religious groups including Hindus, Christians and Shia Muslims.

 Two gay-rights activists hacked to death in Bangladesh

In a statement issued through its propaganda channels on Friday, Isis claimed its militants were responsible for hacking a Hindu ashram worker to death in the northern district of Pabna.

But Bangladeshi authorities have persistently denied Isis or al-Qaeda have a presence in the country, sparking warnings from counter-terror monitors including the Site Intelligence Group, which urged the government to face the truth.

Ms Hasina announced the anti-militancy campaign after the wife of a police superintendent was shot and stabbed to death on 5 June as she was waiting with her son at a bus stop.

The victim had been an ardent campaigner against Islamist militants and her murder stunned the country's establishment after previous attacks targeted low-profile religious leaders and bloggers.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, the Prime Minister vowed to root out radicals bent on spreading terror and violence in a bid to introduce Islamist rule.

If they think they could turn Bangladesh upside down, they are wrong, she said. They will be exposed to justice in the soil of Bangladesh and their patrons will also not be spared.

In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Bangladesh attacks In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks Hindu ashram worker Nityaranjan Pande, 62, was hacked to death in Pabna on 10 June 2016 AP In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks Hindu priest Anando Gopal Ganguly, left, was murdered in Jhenidah in Bangladesh on 7 June 2016 EPA In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, wife of the Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, was murdered in Chittagong, Bangladesh on 5 June 2016 EPA In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh Students Union arranged a torch procession in protest over recent murders of free thinkers in Dhaka NurPhoto In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks Murdered gay rights activist Xulhaz Mannan, who was editor at Bangladeshs only LGBT magazine Rex In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks A Bangladeshi policeman stands guard at the site of the murder of a law student, hacked to death by four assailants the night before, in Dhaka on April 7, 2016 AFP/Getty In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks People have protested against the murders around the world, seen here in Kolkata AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks A relative of dead Bangladeshi blogger Washiqur Rahman reacts after seeing his body at Dhaka Medical College in Dhaka on March 30 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks People gather on the spot where Bangladeshi blogger Avijit Roy was killed in a street in Dhaka (EPA) EPA In pictures: Bangladesh attacks Bangladesh attacks Bangladeshi social activists shout slogans during a protest against the killing Avijit Roy in Dhaka on February 27, 2015 AFP/Getty Images

The Government blames the attacks on domestic groups aligned with the political opposition, though it has presented no evidence and opposition parties deny the allegations.

The rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said it was concerned that the accusations would lead to efforts to suppress political dissent.

The crackdown is a strategy which the government earlier used to suppress the people's movement, said secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

We fear that they will again oppress the opposition in the name of conducting a crackdown.

The UKs Foreign and Commonwealth Office listed Bangladesh as a human rights priority country in a recent report, saying tensions between the BNP and governing Awami League party were impacting on security as extremist attacks rose.

The assaults have broadly followed the same format, with a group of young men armed with knives or machetes attacking their target in public, shouting insults while hacking them to death and fleeing the scene.

Suspects have been arrested for some of the attacks but none have yet been prosecuted.

Isis has published propaganda images claiming to show militants in Bangladesh, which it calls its Bengal province (Dabiq)

Isis announced its presence in the country late last year and analysts believe they are recruiting from pre-existing extremist groups who have been carrying out attacks since 2013.

It has been increasingly advertising its alleged expansion into the country through official propaganda channels, with two large features on the subject in the most recent issue of its English language magazine.

Calling the faction its Bengal province, it hailed the killing of Hindu businessmen, priests and a Shia preacher.

A militant named as the emir of the faction, Shaykh Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif, vowed to target Shia and Ahmadi Muslims, crusaders, Hindus and missionaries.

Amnesty International has criticised the government for inaction, claiming that it is creating a culture of impunity and failing to address increasing reports of people receiving threats.

The brazen announcement by violent groups that they will continue targeting those they perceive as insulting Islam should shake the Bangladeshi authorities out of their complacency, said Champa Patel, the group's director in South Asia.

Ignoring the problem is not a solution. The authorities must categorically condemn these killings, carry out a prompt, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation, deliver justice for the victims, hold the perpetrators accountable, and protect those still under threat.

Additional reporting by AP
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A British man of Tamil heritage has been detained in Sri Lanka under false charges and has been tortured, according to his lawyers and family.

Velauthapillai Renukaruban, 36, a British citizen who lives in west London, was arrested soon after arriving back in his native country for an arranged marriage, The Guardian reported.

But Mr Renukaruban, who has in the past reportedly associated with the Tamil Tigers militant group LTTE, was arrested on baseless assault charges, his lawyer said.

Recommended Read more Sri Lanka is trampling over the rights of its Tamil population

His family claimed he was abruptly beaten by two men in the street in the northern and strongly Tamil town of Jaffna, then kidnapped and taken to prison where he was tortured and falsely charged with assault. They were told by lawyers he had injuries that were consistent with torture.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) confirmed to The Independent that "we are providing support to a British man who has been detained in Sri Lanka and are in close contact with local authorities to regularly check his welfare is being maintained while he is in prison".

They were not able to comment on the allegations that Mr Renukaruban had been tortured.

His lawyer, Anton Punethayanagam, told The Guardian: The criminal charge upon our client is baseless as the purported complainant is in exile. He did not appear at all and this proves that the police are pursuing a false charge in his name. Our client was never involved in such an assault and we have evidence to confirm this.

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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

Mr Punethayanagam added that he had secretly taken photos of Mr Renukarubans apparent injuries while he was in hospital.

The Independent was not able to contact Mr Renukarubans family on Saturday. However, his sister Velauthapillai Lalitharuby, who also lives in London, said: If someone is arrested on suspicion of having committed a criminal offence in Sri Lanka, a warrant should be produced. But in my brothers case, no warrant was shown.

She continued: My brother and I are very close. He does a lot to look after me. I have been crying since I found out that he has been arrested. I just dont know what to do. I have contacted everyone I can think of to try to get him released and returned to the UK  the Foreign Office and local MPs.

I havent slept since I found out that he had been arrested. Im so afraid of what might happen to him. I wont be happy until he is safely back in the UK.

Since 1976, the Tamil Tigers have aimed to create a separatist Tamil state in Sri Lanka, but conflict with the government led to a protracted and bloody civil war in which human rights violations were committed by both sides. The group was decisively beaten by the Sri Lankan government in 2009.
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Women in China are rallying behind a victim of sexual assault in the United States, who they say faces injustice after her attacker was given a jail sentence of six months.

Brock Turner, a 20-year-old former Stanford University swimmer, was convicted earlier this month of multiple crimes including assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman.

Prosecutors asked Judge Aaron Persky to sentence Turner to six years in prison, but Mr Persky sentenced Turner to six-months, saying, A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him.

The sentence, criticised as being too lenient by campaigners, has attracted the attention of Chinese Feminists who have described the sentence as an injustice.

The group, called Free Chinese Feminists, posted images on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, alongside a statement calling for solidarity with the victim.

Writing on Facebook, the group says: The trauma imposed on the victim is downplayed by the judge, the defendant and his family. This draws outrage all over the world.

We, Chinese... activists, call for selfies with solidarity for the Stanford survivor. Come, Join us! Post your selfies.

Zheng Churan, a prominent Chinese feminist activist has supported the campaign. Speaking to the Guardian, Ms Zheng said: It is unbelievable that this kind of thing could happen in America which claims to be democratic and free.

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 first question I had [after hearing of the ruling] was whether the judge would have given the same sentence had the perpetrator been a talented black student, Ms Zheng said. We want more people to know that it is unacceptable to condemn the victim and it is unacceptable to encourage sexual violence. We want the perpetrator and the judge to see that we women are united and that escaping the correct punishment is not so easy.
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Diners at a "naked" restaurant in Tokyo will be asked to leave if they are obese because it could be miserable for other guests.

Following the establishment of naked restaurants in London and Melbourne, Tokyo is the next city to become home to a nude eatery, albeit one with a stricter set of rules.

The Amrita restaurant, which is due to open next month says it is aiming for a Roman aesthetic, and says that anyone 15kg above the average weight for their height will be refused entry.

Upon arrival, guests will be asked to hand in their clothes, their phones will be locked away and they will be asked to put on paper underwear.

But any guests who are thought to be overweight must also submit to being weighed. If they tip the scales 15 kilos beyond the average weight for their height, they will be asked to leave and will not even be refunded, the restaurant said.

Miki Komatsu, spokeswoman for Amrita, told AFP: If fat people are allowed in it could be miserable for some guests.

In London they allow overweight patrons in and some guests complained they had a terrible experience.

Guests can see the guidelines clearly on our homepage. We are aiming for a sort of Roman aesthetic, like the beautiful paintings you see in museums.

Diners with tattoos also face exclusion from the restaurant, and guests are asked not to cause a nuisance by touching or talking to other guests.

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

Tickets at the restaurant can cost up to 80,000 Yen (524), for food served by musclebound men clad in G-strings and includes a dance show.

Meal tickets, not including a show, will cost between 14,000  28,000 yen (90 - 180).
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An Australian family has been saved by their family dog which woke them up by barking as a devastating fire destroyed their home.

Bill Winter, 67, and his two adult children escaped the blaze, which started in the early hours of the morning at their two-storey home near Brisbane, on the west coast of Australia.

Mr Winter told 7 News Queensland their beagle Snoopy saved the day when the house's fire alarms failed to go off.

"He barked and woke us up. We only just got out," he said.

Owen George, a local fire station officer, told 9 News the dog had saved the family's lives without a doubt.

They did have operating smoke alarms, but because the fire was very intense downstairs there was little to no smoke actually in the upstairs area of the dwelling, he said.

Fire crews extinguished the blaze that destroyed the familys home of nearly 40 years as well as their car and a boat loaded with diesel fuel  luckily, the fire was put out before the flames reached the boats tank.

Everything inside the house was destroyed.

A witness told 9 News: We could see flames from my house about two streets away, a lot of smoke and high flames.

In April, a family dog was called a hero when it led firefighters to two children trapped inside a burning house in Florida.

The firefighters were able to pull their mother to safety from a window, and broke down the front door to rescue their father.

But it was Maxx, a German shepherd, that led them through the smoke to the childrens bedroom, reported Mashable.

Crufts Dog Show 2016 Show all 20 1 /20 Crufts Dog Show 2016 Crufts Dog Show 2016 Bichon Frises prepare for the show Crufts Dog Show 2016 A Yorkshire Terrier peers out from her blanket as she prepares for the Crufts PA Crufts Dog Show 2016 Terriers sit curled together on their grooming table Getty Images Crufts Dog Show 2016 Sonia Merate trims her poodle Layla PA Crufts Dog Show 2016 Eurasian dogs looks out of their stalls Getty Images Crufts Dog Show 2016 Lhasa Apso named Casper wears a wooly hat PA Crufts Dog Show 2016 A handler shows a Maltese during the first day of the Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham Reuters Crufts Dog Show 2016 Mable the Manchester Terrier arrives with her owner for the Crufts Dog in Birmingham) Getty Images Crufts Dog Show 2016 Hungarian Vizsla named Fenix arrives for the Crufts in Birmingham PA Crufts Dog Show 2016 A Standard Poodle jumps up to its handler Reuters Crufts Dog Show 2016 A dog owner arrives with Dalmatians on the first day of the Crufts Getty Images Crufts Dog Show 2016 A poodle jumps as it arrives at the Crufts Rex Crufts Dog Show 2016 A pug named Pickle arrives for the Crufts PA Crufts Dog Show 2016 A Bulldog looks from its cage Reuters Crufts Dog Show 2016 Yorkshire Terriers on show at the annual Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham EPA Crufts Dog Show 2016 A Chinese crested terrier waits for its competition class Rex Crufts Dog Show 2016 A dog performs in the agility section of the annual Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham EPA Crufts Dog Show 2016 A woman walks around with her dog o her shoulder EPA Crufts Dog Show 2016 A Bichon Frise looks out of its pet stroller Getty Images Crufts Dog Show 2016 An owner sits alongside her Eurasian dog in its stall on the first day of the Crufts Getty Images

And in Canada, another German Shepherd called Rex was awarded an honorary medal by a pet care company last month after saving its owners mother from a house fire by dragging her to the door as she slept.

According to The Telegraph, Noreen Lucas had come down with pneumonia and taken a sleeping pill as her son and his partner headed out for the day.

She said she owes her life to eight-year-old Rex.
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New plain cigarette packaging in the UK, Ireland and France will bear a colour deemed the ugliest in the world by researchers in Australia.

Pantone 448 C, also known as opaque couche, is the shade chosen as most likely to put smokers off, a group of academics and market researchers decided after three months of research.

Marketing agency GfK Bluemoon, who headed the project, conducted seven studies with more than 1000 smokers to design the most unappealing packaging possible, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The ugly brown colour has been associated with dirt, tar, and even death, without any positive adjectives, say the researchers, who were commissioned back in 2012.

It had as its aim the antithesis of what is our usual objective, said market researcher Victoria Parr.

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," she added.

Pantone 448 C, also known as 'opaque couche'

The new packets, in Pantone 448 C with off-putting photographs, were rolled out in the UK on 20 May.

France and Ireland have also adopted the decision to end attractively-branded cigarette packets, which was pioneered by Australia in 2012.

Plain cigarette packaging comes into force Show all 4 1 /4 Plain cigarette packaging comes into force Plain cigarette packaging comes into force Pg-23-smoke5-reu.jpg Reuters Plain cigarette packaging comes into force Pg-23-smoke1-reu.jpg Reuters Plain cigarette packaging comes into force Pg-23-smoke2-reu.jpg Reuters Plain cigarette packaging comes into force Pg-23-smoke3-reu.jpg Reuters

The sale of the plain packets is set to become compulsory in the UK from May 2017.

One in five adults is said to smoke in the UK and according to the British Medical Association, smoking costs the NHS 2.7 billion each year.
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At least 20 people have been killed after two explosions hit the suburb of Sayyida Zeinab outside Damascus, a monitoring group has said.

The first explosion was caused by a suicide attacker wearing an explosives belt at the entrance of Ziabiyeh district, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reports.

The second blast was triggered by a car bomb in the main al-Tin Street in al-Diyabia town, according to Syrian state TV.

Isis has claimed responsibility for the bombings through its Amaq propaganda outlet. Amaq say "three martyrdom operations" took place on Saturday using suicide vests and car bombs.

It is not immediately possible to explain the discrepancy between Aamaq's account and those of Syrian state media and activists, who have reported only two explosions.

Destruction at the site of a double bomb attack outside the Sayyida Zeinab shrine (AFP)

The UK-based Saurian Observatory for Human Rights report at least 20 people killed, including 13 civilians, and more than 30 wounded in the blasts.

SANA say 12 people have been killed and 55 injured people have reached hospital, citing medical sources.

Images of the scene on Syria's official Al-Ikhbariya channel showed burned-out cars with plumes of black smoke. Fighfighters were also seen battling to extinguish the flames.

A number of houses have been damaged and a market was set on fire during the incident, SANA reports.

SANA quoted Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi as blaming Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, for being behind the "brutal massacres." The three countries are main supporters of the Syrian opposition trying to remove President Bashar Assad from power.

The suburb is home to one of one of Shia Islam's most renowned shrines.

The shrine, around six miles south of the centre of Damscus, is heavily garrisoned by pro-government forces but has still been the target of several attacks, some of which have been claimed by Isis.

The shrine contains the grave of Zeinab, the daughter of the first Shia imam, Ali, and granddaughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammed. It receives thousands of Shia pilgrims each year.

Sayyida Zeinab has been a frequent target of suicide and car bombings in Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year. Some of them have been claimed by Isis.

In April, at least seven were killed and dozens wounded in an attack on Sayyida Zeinab.

A sting of Isis bombings near the shrine in February left more than 130 dead, most of whom were civilians, according to the Observatory.

In January, another attack claimed by Isis left 70 people dead.

Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Show all 10 1 /10 Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Graffiti on the ancient stones reads in Arabic Shooting without the permission of the chief is prohibited Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Damaged artefacts lay inside the museum of the historic city of Palmyra Reuters Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Syrian pro-government forces rest by Palmyra Citadel as they take control of the city from the hands of Isis Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces The UNESCO world heritage site appears surprisingly intact after its recapture from the militant group Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Many had feared the ancient city would be destroyed following its capture by Isis in May Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Smoke billows from the Palmyra Citadel as Assads forces drive the Jihadist group from the city Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Palmyra is one of the most important cultural centers of the world Unesco says Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces Pro-government forces play football in the streets following the recapture of the city Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces The extent of the destruction caused by Isis 10 month occupation of the city has yet to be fully realised Getty Palmyra recaptured by Syrian government forces Palmyra recaptured by Syrian pro-government forces The City Council of Palmyra building in ruins Reuters

The Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah cited the threat to Sayyida Zeinab as a principal reason for its intervention in the civil was on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

Thousands of Iraqi and Afghan Shia militia recruits, volunteering to fight against the Sunni rebel groups trying to bring down Assad's government, also come to the area before being sent to frontlines across Syria.

They say they come to Syria to defend the Sayeda Zeinab shrine from radical Sunni extremists.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A Dutch woman has been held in Qatar since March after being accused of adultery when she reported she had been raped.

The 22-year-old woman, who was on holiday in Qatar, told authorities she had been drinking at a hotel and returned from the dance floor to her drink, which she believes was drugged.

She said she had woken up the next morning in an unfamiliar room and realised she had had her drink spiked and had been raped, The National reported.

Her lawyer, Brian Lokollo, told NOS-Radio1: She went dancing, but when she returned to the table after the first sip of her drink, she realised that [it had been drugged].She felt very unwell.

A man was arrested in connection with the rape allegation but told police the pair had consensual sex and the woman had asked for money in return, prompting police to arrest the woman on suspicion of adultery.

The woman has denied these allegations a spokesperson from the Dutch Embassy in Qatar confirmed, adding that the authorities in Qatar have kept in regular contact with the woman as the case continues to be investigated.

However, the woman has reportedly not been allowed to leave the country while the allegations are being looked into.

It is not yet clear when the woman will be allowed to return to her home from Qatar, with a court hearing set for 13 June likely to determine whether or not the woman will be charged with adultery.
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Immorality among women is causing a river in Iran to dry up, according to a senior cleric from the Islamic Republic

Seyyed Youssef Tabatabi-nejad, who leads Friday prayers in Isfahan, encouraged the countrys morality police to crack down on improper veiling and suggested womens immodest clothing was having an impact on the environment.

Recommended Read more Father sings happy birthday on Skype to toddler daughter stuck in Iran

In a sermon this week, he said: My office has received photos of women next to the dry Zayandeh-rud River pictured as if they are in Europe. It is these sorts of acts that cause the river to dry up even further, ISNA News Agency reported.

I tell the Communications Ministry to clamp down on the instigators of the networks encouraging immodesty. If you dont do so, then you will have failed to carry out your duty. The Communications Ministry can discover and suffocate these individuals.

If we see a sin its useless that we only bicker about it. The police force can use the [paramilitary] Hezbollahi forces in carrying out their operations to root out vice, he added.

His comments come following an increase in the number of morality police in Iran and subsequent crackdown on women failing to veil correctly, playing music too loudly in their cars or acting in a way that is perceived to be un-Islamic by the authorities.

 Iranian woman disguises herself as a man to sneak into football match

Imam Tabatabi-nejads comments have been criticised by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, with a member of the groups foreign affairs committee, Afchine Alavi, commenting: This reflects the typical mindset of the theocratic regime ruling Iran which is no different to the culture of Daesh (Isis).

Misogyny is a cornerstone of this mindset. The regimes increasing isolation with each passing day results in more brutal methods of suppression being employed by the regime.

The imam has previously made comments that women should stay at home while men work, as well as previously condoning violence against women who do not adhere to the countrys dress code, Iran Wire reported.
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Elated women in Syria have removed their niqabs - the face-covering veil made compulsory by Isis - after their village was liberated from the jihadists.

The village, on the outskirts of the city of Manbij, Aleppo province, was liberated by US-backed Syria Democratic Forces on Friday after SDF soldiers seized control of the final road leading into the Isis-occupied city.

Isis has enforced strict rules including the requirement for women to wear all-black dresses.

A woman in a Niqab stands in her village after Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) took control of it on Friday (Rodi Said/Reuters)

The SDF has now completely surrounded Manbij, cutting off Isiss route to the outside world, ahead of a planned assault to reclaim the city.

 Fallujah civilian speaks out

Manbij was first taken by Isis in 2014, and has been a strategic waypoint for the extremist groups supply line between the Turkish border and their major stronghold in Raqqa.

Around 15,000 residents are believed to have fled the city since Isiss occupation, but it is estimated some 5,000 people remain.

A woman removes her Niquab to reveal a floral dress and purple headscarf (Rodi Said/Reuters)

The SDF, a coalition built between Kurdish groups and Arab allies, has been supported by US-led air strikes.

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

Isis fighters remaining in Manbij have reportedly been burning tyres in a bid to obscure visibility and prevent air strikes.
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Q I wonder if you could advise us of the best fly-less route to Sorrento. Our son is getting married there and my husband had a detached retina two weeks ago and is not allowed to fly. We thought the train would be a good option but not a mountainous route because of the altitude. Any recommendations would be gratefully received thank you.

Mrs Gene Clements

A What a great opportunity. Strikers permitting, you can travel happily and safely to Sorrento - and enjoy spectacular views along the way, as well as a night in a great city.

Because of the stipulation about altitude, the most direct routes won't work for you - they involve going over the Alps. Even the marvellous new Gotthard Base Tunnel, which allows high-speed travel through the Alps, reaches a height of 1,800 feet.

So take the 7.19am train from London St Pancras to Marseille, which gets to the Mediterranean at 2.46pm. You'll have time to stretch your legs and grab a picnic lunch at the market close to Marseille-St-Charles station, before boarding the 3.31pm to Genoa. That will deliver a spectacular coastal journey, and still get you to the hub of the Ligurian coast in time for dinner. Overnight at the Grand Hotel Savoia, almost opposite Piazza Principe station, where advance double rooms cost a very reasonable 161.

Unless you stay around until lunchtime, you'll need to change somewhere on the journey south to Naples; the trip at 7.50am via Milan takes just over six hours, and gets you there in time for a late lunch.

The final leg is, in my opinion, the best section of the whole journey. The Circumvesuviana is a single-track, narrow-gauge line which provides the best little train ride in Europe.

In the course of about 90 minutes it arcs around the Bay of Naples, providing views out to Capri and across the Tyrrhenian Sea before depositing you in Sorrento - with its fine hotels, great restaurants and gelateria in abundance.

The maximum altitude in the whole trip is, as far as I can assess, no more than 700 feet, with that height being briefly and imperceptibly reached during the rush south through France. And on the way back from Sorrento to Naples, you can stick to sea level by taking the fast ferry (a voyage of about an hour), for another perspective on one of Europe's greatest glories.

The source of all wisdom about European (and global) rail travel is Mark Smith's website, Seat61.com, while a firm such as Loco2 (loco2.com) can get all the bookings done for you.

Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader's question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder
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Bern in Switzerland is considered one of the best cities to live in the world.

The Alpine city ranked 14th in the annual Quality of Living Index of one of the world's largest HR consultancy firms, Mercer, and as the second-safest city in the world in the group's separate rankings.

According to London-based think tank Legatum Institute in its annual global Prosperity Index, Switzerland overall is the second happiest, richest, healthiest, and most crime-free country in the world.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider (Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

Glassdoor also showed that Switzerland has the best standard of living in Europe because of its on average high salaries of over 50,000 (39,038, $56,838) and strong purchasing power.

Basically, Bern sounds pretty amazing. Travel experts point out that it's underrated because it is less well known than Switzerland's huge financial hubs, Zurich and Geneva.

So what makes Bern great?

Rebecca Griffiths is a cardiovascular admissions manager for a large NHS Foundation Trust in London, but she went to Switzerland for a month to experience and learn about the healthcare system as part of the multidisciplinary Hope Exchange programme.

"The quality of life in Switzerland, and very much so in Bern, is of a very high standard. People take care of themselves. Work-life balance was good, Griffiths said.

She gave us the inside track on why the Swiss city is so incredible and one of the best places to live and work in the world and how it compares to London:

One of the biggest differences between London and Bern was the incredible scenery.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

"The medieval part of Bern is amazing. The river is also beautiful. It's so clean you can drink from it, and people use it for swimming in the summer, she said.

Even the view from her apartment was vastly different and very calming.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider (Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

Her commute was also a lot less crowded than the London tube network. And if you didn't want to walk, Griffiths said: Bern has excellent public transport, which means your train/bus often arrives early if not on time.

"I like that the whole city was walkable, and I also spent time on the lawns near the public lidos at Marzili. I absolutely loved walking five minutes to work, and I do not look forward to my first cramped train commute when I'm back in the UK, said Griffiths.

Once she got to work, she said the difference in terms of work-life balance was very different. Here she is with Ana, a fellow from the Hope Exchange programme attendee.

She said that the full-time contracted hours are longer than the UK, at around 42 hours per week. However my experience was that everyone made sure to have a proper lunch away from their desks and the workday really did finish at 4 p.m. to 5. p.m.

Staff facilities were incredibly different to those in a UK hospital. For example, there was an outdoor staff canteen area on the roof.

Freshly squeezed fruit juices were available to everyone. Griffiths said that the staff even gave her a tour of their kitchens and all the meals they prepare. Having talking time when sitting down to lunch and eating one of the many delicious hospital meals (who'd have thought) was so much nicer than scoffing lunch quickly while hunched over my desk or rushing to a meeting, she said.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider (Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

"Bern is more relaxed than the other cities of Switzerland and there seems to be a running joke that everything runs a bit slower there too.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider (Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

She said that overall the atmosphere was relaxed and it was perfectly situated to visit other areas like Zurich, Luzern, Biel, Basil and the surrounding mountainous regions.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider (Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

The nightlife was also a lot more upmarket and chilled out.

"My experience was that there is a big focus on nice dinners with good wine/beer, she said, as opposed to Britain's drinking culture.

"The town was often quiet during the week, especially if the weather was bad ...

... but Thursday's were busy due to late-night shopping and there seemed to be an r'n'b/hip-hop scene with lots of promoters and some awesome break dancing near the Bahnhof, said Griffiths.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider (Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

There is also a lot to see and do in terms of culture in Bern. For example, there is the Einstein Museum ...

... and a park full of bears.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider (Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

The food is also meant to be pretty spectacular. Griffiths recommended Steinhalle bistro for trendy, tasty lunches next to Einstein museum and Beaulieu restaurant for a great Rosti  a traditional Swiss potato dish.

There are only five downsides to Bern, Griffiths said. The first was how expensive everything was compared to London. (But this shouldn't be a problem of course if you are on a Swiss salary, which is higher than the UK).

Secondly, if you don't want to get woken up at 5 a.m., do not stay near a church. The bells literally ring every 15 minutes, and it takes a while to adjust, she said.

Thirdly, she said she missed having an Indian curry  a staple dinner dish in Britain. Although I did manage to find a half decent Indian restaurant near the end, I missed making curries at home as the ingredients were so expensive to buy, she said. For example, these usually retail for 1 in Britain but in Switzerland, a jar was being sold for the equivalent of 3.50.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider (Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

Thirdly, she said she missed having an Indian curry  a staple dinner dish in Britain. Although I did manage to find a half decent Indian restaurant near the end, I missed making curries at home as the ingredients were so expensive to buy, she said. For example, these usually retail for 1 in Britain but in Switzerland, a jar was being sold for the equivalent of 3.50.

She said she also missed smoke-free train stations, as the platforms were unpleasant.

And lastly, this creepy, yet hilarious statue of a man eating babies near the landmark Zytglogge tower in Bern.

(Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider (Rebecca Griffiths/Business Insider)

Read more:

 Analysts question the way Apple describes its data

 Mike Ashley has a plan to save BHS with no job losses

 Investors think central banks have lost their power

Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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"The Party of Lincoln is Dying. Thus a headline in The Washington Post this week on top of an article about how far the Republican Party  whose moniker the Grand Old Party harks back to the Great Emancipator and the saviour of his countrys unity in the Civil War  has strayed from the great mans ideals. So much, however, has long been obvious. More pertinent is the question: what comes next?

Imagine the Republican Party as a supermarket product. If the product isnt selling well, managers of the company would change or replace it. Indeed, an in-house post-mortem after Mitt Romneys resounding 2012 defeat (an election Republicans genuinely expected to win), recommended precisely that. The party had to stop marginalising itself, said the report by the Republican National Committee, and boost its appeal to women, minorities and the young.

Instead, the opposite happened. Republicans stuck to the same-old, same-old, concentrating not on making their product more appealing, but on making it harder for consumers to buy the rival one. Hence the introduction of tougher ID requirements for voters in Republican-run states, and other tactics designed to make it harder for poorer people, preponderantly Democrats, to take part in elections.

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'

In short, the party was crying out for someone who claims to know how to run a business. And lo and behold, up pops Donald Trump, who boasts hes the smartest businessman since John D Rockefeller. In doing so, he has blown to bits the coalition forged by Ronald Reagan, the Republicans nominal patron saint.

Broadly, this coalition had three parts: traditional conservatives (including Wall Street, country-club Republicans and advocates of small government); national security hawks and neocons; and social conservatives and evangelicals. Sometimes the parts co-existed uneasily; more often they overlapped. Trump, though, has flouted core tenets of all three.

By no measure is he a traditional economic conservative; he refuses to take an axe to social security. Hes obligatorily hawkish on Americas own security, but is positively Obama-like in his aversion to the sort of boots on the ground adventures in the Middle East and elsewhere favoured by neocons. His past support for abortion rights flies in the face of social conservative dogma.

But none of this has mattered. Trump may change his position on the issues every few days, or even hours. But grassroots Republicans (and not a few Democrats as well) have responded to his call. Whats happened reflects a rejection of politics as usual of which Trump is the antithesis, amid disgust at Washington and the internal games of the ruling class, its disconnect with ordinary America.

And yes, it also reflects the nativism and racism that persists in a party whose citadel is now the South. Republican politicians have habitually used the dog whistle to evoke such matters. Trump has used a megaphone, and in the primaries swept aside the strongest and largest Republican presidential field in memory. No wonder he now politely extends two fingers to the party establishment. Their every criticism only reinforces his appeal to the faithful.

 Trump Seeks to Welcome Sanders Supporters to His Campaign

The tensions between candidate and party are unprecedented. Some conservatives still desperately cast about for a Republican independent to run against Trump. Others fancifully dream of unbinding delegates pledged to Trump at the next months nominating convention in Cleveland. Capping everything was the spectacle of Paul Ryan, House speaker and the senior elected Republican in the land, accusing his partys presumptive nominee of textbook racism in his denunciation of the Mexican-American judge handling the case of alleged fraud at the now-defunct Trump University.

Other members of the leadership have struck a similar note. Yet they hold their noses and profess support for the partys nominee, all the while carefully avoiding use of the T-word. Their confusion is understandable, if not forgivable. The establishment desperately wants to play by the old rules. Instead, it is trapped in the classic Gramscian definition of a crisis  when the old is dead and the new cannot be born. Except that something new must be born.

Recommended Read more Hillary Clinton is on the attack

Whether Trump wins or loses, the old Republican Party will be dead. Should he win, a new ones contours are already plain: right of centre, but populist, nativist and protectionist, with a dollop of authoritarianism. Maybe movement conservatives will reluctantly go along. Maybe theyll form their own party.

But if he loses, it also wont be possible to put Humpty Dumpty together again, as if nothing had happened. Normal service cannot be resumed. Republicans, like the managers of a struggling brand, will face the pre-Trump problem  how to find a new product, and build new policies that appeal to a new majority coalition. Otherwise the Democrats, who have already won the popular vote in five of the past six elections, will continue that streak.

Obviously, the new products exact formula is unclear. But it will surely include a commitment to smaller government  a tenet honoured in the breach by most recent Republican presidents. There has to be less emphasis on tax cuts targeted mainly at the wealthy, predicated on the failed doctrine of trickle-down economics that militates against the interests of the partys working class supporters.

The self-righteous foreign interventionism of the neocons, founded on the dogma of American exceptionalism, will be no more. Parts of the social conservative agenda that especially offend women, and the bigotry that puts off so many minority voters, must also disappear. The process may take a while. This does not mean a surrender to liberalism (as Americans understand the term). What emerges from todays rubble will be a more normal centre-right party.

The tragedy is that its taken a Trump to point the way. In some ways his policies, or what pass for them, fit the new model. In more ways, all too repellently, they do not. The odds are he will lose in November. Barack Obama would thus fulfil his ambition of becoming the first two-term Democrat since Andrew Jackson back in 1837 to hand over to an elected successor of his own party. That would be a landmark. But it doesnt obscure the fact that Americans need a right of centre party that can once again be trusted to run the country.
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I have predicted both outcomes, so whatever the result of the EU referendum I will be able to say I told you so. For a long time I thought Remain would win by a large margin. Then when David Cameron secured modest terms in his renegotiation and Boris Johnson defected, I thought Leave might win.

Now, although there is real alarm in 10 Downing Street, I have swung back to thinking we will vote to stay in. We shouldnt rely too much on the opinion polls  that much we learned last year  and the fundamentals are the economy and the fear of the unknown. On the economy, the Leave campaign is reduced to hoping that voters think lower immigration is worth being slightly poorer than we would otherwise be.

Recommended Read more Sterling falls after Independent poll puts Brexit 10 points ahead

As for the unknown, I dont think the Leave campaign has done enough to persuade people to abandon the devil they know. Peter Kellner, the former president of YouGov, points out that public opinion tends to move in favour of the status quo in the final weeks of referendum campaigns.

I think I am responding, as any good forecaster should, to new information. You may think I am all over the place.

But I do wonder if my judgement might also be influenced by the sheer unthinkability of a Leave vote. By which I mean that if you start to set out what precisely would happen, it quickly begins to feel like low-grade fiction. Not that I personally find the idea of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister as inherently implausible as many people do. Yet everything else seems unreal about what would be a huge shock to the political establishment.

With 12 days to go to the referendum, there wont be many more chances to try to imagine what would happen if we vote to leave. Either we will be going through the anticlimax of a Remain future, or we will be living through the fallout from an unprecedented revolt against the elite.

The immediate political mechanics are straightforward enough, although it feels weird to be calculating the odds of a change of prime minister. Cameron would announce that he will stand down as soon as a successor is elected. That successor would almost certainly be Boris Johnson. His opponent in the leadership election would depend on how Tory MPs react to the shock of a Leave vote. Would Tory Remainers want to put forward a candidate who didnt support the policy mandated by the referendum? Would George Osborne even stand?

Perhaps Theresa May would do well, as the most reluctant of the Cabinet Remainers. But the mood of the party may be such that Tory MPs end up choosing two Leavers, as pro-EU MPs calculate that they need to rally behind a Stop Boris candidate as the lesser of two evils. I have said it before, but Andrea Leadsom may be well placed. Shes a Leaver, shes had a good referendum campaign and shes not Boris. I believe Michael Gove when he says he wouldnt run. He would be Johnsons Chancellor.

So I expect it might be Johnson versus May or Leadsom, and Johnson would probably win because the grassroots party members would vote for him. His win for Leave would have wiped from the record the liberal media elites disdain for his buffoonish campaign. Unless something big, unexpected and negative happens to him, he would be Prime Minister by October.

But that is just the start. Everything else would be dominated by one immovable fact: that the British people have voted for something with which most of their elected representatives disagree.

 Wollaston on Leave defection

Prime Minister Johnson will find himself at the head of a minority in the House of Commons: about 160 MPs, including 140 Tories, a dozen Labour, eight DUP and one Ukip, who support his policy, against 490 who dont. He will be in similar peculiar position to that of Jeremy Corbyn, outnumbered in Parliament but armed with a mandate from outside.

This imbalance has prompted all manner of speculation: that if the result of the referendum is close there would have to be a second one; or that the majority in Parliament would obstruct the will of the people to leave the EU. Neither is plausible. Parliament has to respect the result.

The more subtle obstructionist theory is that the majority in the Commons would try to keep the UK in the single market, with a status like Norways: outside the EU but accepting freedom of movement of EU workers as the price of full access to the EU market. Again, I dont think that is politically possible. The leaders of the official Leave campaign have made it clear that they do not accept freedom of movement, and one of the main reasons for voting to leave is to restrict immigration.

If Britain votes to leave, it would be the first time since the referendum was introduced into the British constitution, by Harold Wilson in 1975, that direct democracy produced a different result from representative democracy. British politics will never be the same again.
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I would like to ask the Secretary of State for Transport just how long travellers from Brighton have to suffer anxiety and chaos caused by the situation with Southern Railway and its "reduced service on some routes due to train crew availability", which is not to be confused with industrial action, of course.

Taking the train from Brighton to London on a Sunday is reminiscent of trying to get the last helicopter out of Saigon as the Vietnam war came to a close. Sardines in a tin have a more orderly configuration than Southern's passengers on these trains, though I grant you the sardines are dead, which is what all the passengers would be if there was an accident on one of these dangerously overcrowded trains. People are sitting in the aisles, on the tables between seats and the lavatories are regularly used as makeshift private compartments, not that anything private is happening.

I send my 14-year-old son back to his school each Sunday on these trains and the hell that breaks loose as the departure indicator lights up with news of a London bound train that has a train crew that are actually fit for work is like a scene from a disaster movie, with people cramming themselves en masse onto the train so as to get a seat: the living nightmare misses only Bruce Willis rampaging down the platform to rescue the more vulnerable passengers.

So, dear Secretary of State, when do you intend to bang some heads together and resolve this issue?

Henry Page

Newhaven

We do not need to take back control

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I burst out laughing every time the likes of Johnson, Gove, Farrage and the rest of the Out campaign bang on and on about how they will "take back control". Its as if that just by mentioning it often enough, it will become true, when in fact it is the most meaningless and misleading statement almost imaginable. We are not a ship or an aeroplane. We are a small island situated in Europe with a hugely complex series of relationships with other countries in Europe, and if we leave the EU, the true fact is we will have no control over the impact events in these other countries will definitely have on us if things fall apart.

Are they really that stupid to believe that if Europe fractures, the eurozone collapses, disorder and disharmony returns and the far right grows well be all right, Jack, because we will have taken back control"? The utter stupidity of such a belief is boggling. Of what will they take control? The world economy? European peace and harmony? Global trade? The EU may not be perfect, it has issues that need to be fixed, but the best way to fix those issues is to be at the heart of the EU where we can use our influence to take as much control of our destiny as is possible.

David Martin

Ilfracombe

Labour has lost the plot on immigration

There is still time for the Remain camp to distinguish between helpful and unhelpful immigration, and explain how they would clamp down on the latter. This is where Labour has lost the plot, and a lot of its traditional supporters.

Patrick Cosgrove

Bucknell

Organisations should declare their interests

Many organisations have come out in favour of Britain remaining in the EU. Some receive funds from the EU. Should they not declare an interest?

William W. Scott

North Berwick

Why doesnt James Dyson lobby the Home Office?

I hate to be the one to break it to James Dyson, but its not just EU countries that have different languages and electrical plugs.

Of course, hes not obliged to export if its too much hassle for him, but I strongly suspect his millions didnt come from nowhere.

And those difficulties he faces if he wants to employ someone from outside the EU? All of the UK Governments making. So might I suggest that, rather than exhorting us to take a step that will leave us all less able to afford his excellent but overpriced vacuum cleaners, he lobby the Home Office to review their rules for non-EU migration instead?

Paula Kirby

Inverness

It is our duty to save the EU

The future of the European Union appears to be in jeopardy, assailed as it is by undemocratic forces from all sides. Is it not our historic mission to continue to help it survive and prosper  from the inside?

David Gist

Address supplied
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"They knew I was being tortured, I have no doubt of that," said Abdelhakim Belhaj of MI6 agents who came to interrogate him while he was in the hands of Muammar Gaddafis secret police.

"I hoped they would do something about it. I was too terrified during the meeting to say out loud what was being done to me because I thought the Libyans [secret police] were taping what was going on. When the Libyan guards left, I made sign movements with my hands. The British people nodded, showed they understood. They showed this understanding several times. But nothing changed, the torture continued for a long time afterwards."

Mr Belhaj was speaking to me in September 2011, in Tripoli soon after the rebels had captured Libyas capital from Colonel Gaddafis regime and two days after we had discovered documents about Britains part in Mr Belhajs rendition at the offices of Moussa Koussa, Gaddafis intelligence chief.

 Libya elects first student union since Gaddafi rule

The former head of the Libyan Islamist Fighting Group was arrested in Malaysia as a suspect during the war on terror. He had applied for asylum to the UK, which was supposedly granted. Instead, British intelligence triggered a chain of events that led to his rendition along with his pregnant wife, Fatima Boudchar, and their children to the regime in Tripoli.

Mr Belhaj and his family had been released from prison by the Libyan authorities a short time before widespread protests began against the Gaddafi regime and had joined the uprising which followed. In December 2011 he announced that he was suing the British Government over the rendition. Scotland Yard began an investigation into the case. Last week the Crown Prosecution Service said that there is insufficient evidence to bring charges against British officials.

The CPS issued a long, detailed statement about the decision not to prosecute. At the time of the discovery of the documents, security sources had said that Jack Straw, then Foreign Secretary, had authorised what happened. The CPS document did not support that claim: who exactly authorised what remains unclear. Straw has always denied the claims made against him.

In Tripoli, Mr Belhaj issued a statement that said: "For many years I have waited and put my faith in British justice ... they say the rule of law in Britain reaches everyone, even the most powerful. Today I wonder if that idea was a myth.

There are claims that the lack of prosecution was a cover-up: an attempt to hide more damaging details being revealed about the relationship between Tony Blairs government and the Gaddafi regime. The claims haven't been substantiated.

But there are other players involved. As Mr Belhaj said during our interview: "There was a queue of people here to see me. The Americans were first, then the British: they knew what was going on. France, Germany, Italy, Spain. They all came with questions. They all dealt with Gaddafi."

Qatar is another player in this matter. After the revolution Mr Belhaj was a candidate in the elections of 2012. He was supposed to be receiving so much backing by the Qataris that a group of students in Benghazi assured me at the time that his party colours were the same as that of Qatar Airways. In fact, there is a definite difference in shades, but the students felt they knew the true colours of the Islamists.

Qatar is also the place that Moussa Koussa, Gaddafis spymaster and Belhajs captor, obtained refuge after the fall of the regime. Moussa Koussa had arrived in Doha via London where he was debriefed. The UK refused requests by Libyan opposition and human rights groups to detain him. Neither Qataris, Mr Belhajs former mentors, or the British government would want their links with Moussa Koussa publicly explored.

The British military establishment was not antipathetic to Mr Belhaj after he sued the British Government. In fact his militias were regarded as prime candidates when Downing Street decided to train Libyan forces two years ago. I can get to see Belhaj at any time, I recall a British general declaring at a meeting in the Ministry of Defence. The training programme, at the end, came to an ignoble end with the Libyan recruits (not from Mr Belhajs militia) sent home from Bassingbourne Barracks in Cambridgeshire after a breakdown of discipline with some of them facing charges of sex assaults.

Mr Belhaj himself supposedly offered training in Libya to Syrian rebel fighters against Bashar al-Assads regime, after meeting members of the Syrian opposition in Istanbul and the Syrian border in 2011. This was before the arrival of the al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra and Isis in Syrias bloody civil war and British and other Western officials held that Mr Belhajs initiative was a good thing.

There are changes taking place in Libya now with international backing for a UN-sponsored administration in Tripoli and progress being seemingly made against Isis in their strongholds. Mr Belhaj may well take a more prominent role in politics and, as we see, realpolitik makes unusual bedfellows. Who knows how what the future holds in the relationship between the UK and the man sent back to Colonel Gaddafi?
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It might seem obscene, even grotesque. But the businessmen, construction giants and entrepreneurs of Lebanon are already planning the rebuilding of a physically shattered and broken nation called Syria. With at least 280,000 dead  the statistics become more wobbly the longer the civil war continues  whats the point of talking about the nations restoration, you may ask? Well, who could be more expert than the men and women who have restored  not very successfully, it must be said  the glories of their own capital of Beirut after Lebanons 15-year civil war?

The great and the good of Lebanons private sector have therefore been meeting to discuss the frightening reconstruction costs of their not very lovable neighbour. The economic losses of the Syrian conflict are estimated, so far, at 185bn and, according to a Syrian consultancy, reconstruction will take between fifteen and twenty years to complete. But why wait till the end of the war? If George Marshall could draw a plan for the reconstruction of Europe before the end of the Second World War, Lebanons former economics minister says, Lebanon must start preparing now for the reconstruction of Syria.

 Residents of Syrias Azaz caught in the crossfire

Brave words from Nicholas Nahas, you may say, but his impatient colleagues expressed much the same optimism at a conference of businessmen in Beirut. The Lebanese are well known as the 10 per cent men of the Middle East and dont want to be left out of the reconstruction profits once the war is over  whoever is then in charge of Syria. There are plans for a massive increase in the capacity of Beirut port and of the small harbour in the city of Tripoli and the reopening of the overgrown airport at Qlaiyat in the far north of Lebanon.

Lebanese banks  and there are seven private Lebanese banks in Syria today  are the only institutions who know how to open enough letters of credit to fund Syrias reconstruction materials: so rebuilding Syria means big profits for them.

Theres even a steam train enthusiast in Beirut who has for more than two years been proposing a four-track electric railway from Beirut port which would speed trains through a vast tunnel in the Lebanese mountains to a marshalling yard in the Bekaa Valley  poor Baalbek, I keep thinking!  from where steel and concrete would be trucked over the anti-Lebanon range to Damascus, Homs and even Hama.

Nabil Sukkar, a development and investment analyst who was a close economic confidante of Hafez al-Assad  father of Bashar  turned up in Beirut to tell Lebanese and UN delegates that priority must be given to the reconstruction of the great Syrian motorways from Aleppo to Damascus and other cities as well as the Syrian harbours of Latakia and Tartous.

But how to blend dreams with reality? Millions of Syrians have fled the war and their children  those in Arab countries, at least  are growing up with poor or non-existent education, despite local and EU assistance. How can legions of young Syrians reconstruct their country if they cannot read or write? True, the ancient centre of Damascus has been largely spared destruction but the old city of Aleppo and its wonderful mosque  and the Ottoman heart of Homs  has been reduced to rubble.

Who will reconstruct the masterpieces of Syrian architecture?

Lebanese architects tried to inspire a recreated but re-imagined Beirut after their own war. They restored the French mandate streets of the 1930s but allowed the bulldozers into the Ottoman ruins. Instead of the popular soukhs that once adorned old Beirut, the new streets are packed with Parisian and Italian fashion houses whose prices only the wealthy can afford. Yet, as economist Marwan Iskandar points out, Lebanons expertise in schooling and hospitals on an international level should help Syria restore its education and health infrastructure.

So do the Syrians and their Lebanese assistants start with the restoration of the beauty that was destroyed  or by reconstructing the huge suburbs whose original slums housed thousands of those whose oppression and poverty inspired the 2011 revolution? There are cynics who claim, rightly, I fear, that much of the destruction has been caused to buildings, which were themselves a scandal of construction. So why not force the thousands of secret policemen to abandon their dungeons and do a proper job of rebuilding their country with their hands?

At the very least, Syrias poor must be given homes of which they can be proud. This is an opportunity as well as a burden. But post-World War Two experience does not, despite the Marshall Plan, hold out much immediate hope. I remember the rusting, corrugated iron nissen huts that surrounded my own home town of Maidstone for years after the war, all that bankrupt Britain could afford families in the decades of austerity. Despite the reconstruction of old Warsaw, the Polish capital and the fire-bombed German city of Dresden were later packed with grey concrete slab apartment blocks which were a disgrace for generations. Syria must not suffer that fate  a recreation of the pre-civil war housing which would only reproduce the same pre-war bitterness.

Recommended Read more Why the US is finally dropping its calls for Assad to go

By chance, Thomas Piketty, Frances brilliant cover-boy economist, has also just been in Beirut, explaining how the Middle East is the most economically inequitable place in the world. Only 10 per cent of its 280 million people benefit from 60 per cent of its revenues, and Isis  the enemy of the world as well as Assad  feeds on the frustration of this inequality. The system favoured by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where supplicants come to seek crumbs from the table, does not work. Piketty favours an Arab Union based on the EU model  some hope.

But of course, the big problems remain. Who will fund the rebuilding of Syria? The Gulf States will surely refuse if Bashar remains. But Russia, China and Iran will assuredly want to put up the cash if he stays. Then it would be the Syrian emigre opposition which would be cut off from the countrys reconstruction. And the US, of course.

Or would a victorious Syrian army become the arbiter and guarantee of Syrias economic future, whoever is the nations official leader? For as we all know, the world loves the military. Just look at the money we  Im including Russia -- have poured over the years into the armies of Egypt, the Gulf, Jordan, Libya, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and, of course, Israel. The Syrian army rebuilds the Syrian nation. A regime tautology, a cliche. But I can already imagine it on the billboards.
German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said officials in the euro area are preparing for the possibility of Britain voting to leave the EU.

As polls suggest the outcome of the June 23 referendum is too close to call, plans for a post-Brexit Europe include the possibility of other countries following Britain out of the 28-nation bloc if Prime Minister David Cameron loses his campaign to stay, Mr Schaeuble told 'Der Spiegel' yesterday.

Planning is being carried out "for all possible scenarios in order to contain the dangers".

Mr Schaeuble said the UK would not be able to enjoy the benefits of the single market without adhering to its rules.

Britain would "have to follow the rules of a club which it just left", he said. Brexit would hurt the UK economy, while Europe will work without the UK "if necessary", he added.

The comments were published the morning after former London Mayor Boris Johnson, a leading Brexit advocate, came under attack from fellow Tory Amber Rudd in an ITV debate.

"You need to look at the numbers," Mr Rudd said in response to a question about immigration. "Although I fear the only number that Boris is interested in is the one that says No 10," she said.

It was the latest in a series of personal attacks, underscoring how alarmed the prime minister's team are by the "Leave" campaign's continued support in the polls. (Bloomberg)
Details of clinical trials involving AbbVie's rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, the world's top-selling prescription medicine, are still being withheld without justification, according to the EU ombudsman.

Humira has been at the centre of a protracted row, with AbbVie battling to keep some data secret in the face of plans by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to make the information routinely available.

Many doctors and campaigners argue that free access to data is essential to inform medical decision-making and allow independent experts to test claims made about drugs.

Two years ago, AbbVie dropped a lawsuit against the EMA after the agency agreed to certain data redactions, resulting in the disclosure of some but not all of the information held by the EMA about Humira. European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly said yesterday that this was not good enough and the EMA was still withholding details from clinical trial reports on the grounds of commercial interest.

O'Reilly said public health was more important than commercial interest and she considered four specific redactions to be unjustified. "I am asking EMA to reconsider the need for these redactions should it receive new requests for access to these reports," she said.

The EMA said it was pleased O'Reilly had found no maladministration in its handling of the matter, adding there was no agreed definition of commercially confidential data.

An AbbVie spokeswoman said the US drugmaker was committed to "responsible" transparency but there was a need to protect commercially confidential information. (Reuters)
Before the crash Dubliner Denis Casey was one of the most powerful figures in Irish business.

Though it has been overshadowed by the drama surrounding some of the key figures in the Anglo saga, Casey's fall from grace is hardly less spectacular.

In 2008 his 1.1m-a-year job running the then Irish Life & Permanent Tsb group put him at the top of the Irish corporate pile.

The group, valued at more than 6bn when Casey took the reins in 2007, was the country's only bank-assurance business - meaning it straddled the worlds of mortgages, insurance and pensions and investments.

ILP was smaller than AIB or Bank of Ireland in overall terms - it had less international reach for one thing - but within the confines of the Irish market it was a huge business. In one way or another ILP's businesses reached into almost every household in the country.

Its chief executive was an important figure.

A mark of his status, and personal standing, is that Casey at various times headed up industry groups like Financial Services Ireland, the Insurance Institute of Ireland. He served as a member of the Financial Regulator's own Financial Services Consultative Industry panel.

There is now a good chance that Denis Casey will serve time. Along with co-conspirators Willie McAteer and John Bowe, he is awaiting sentencing as a convicted criminal.

This week the former group chief executive was convicted of a 7.2bn conspiracy to defraud, after the longest criminal trail in Irish history. In the Casey's case the jury took an age to return the verdict, but it's a situation that would have seemed utterly outlandish in 2007 when, aged just 47, he took over as chief executive of stock market-listed Irish Life & Permanent (ILP).

Casey had worked his way through the ranks over a 30-year career.

He joined AIB straight after school at St Kevin's CBS, in Dublin, moving to Irish Life in 1980.

At one stage he collected weekly insurance payments door-to-door from insurance customers, but training as an accountant, he moved swiftly, methodically up the corporate ranks, in what was a fast growing business.

He eventually saw off a field of internal rivals in the race to replace David Went as group chief executive.

Even at his peak Casey kept a relatively low profile, but was known to be bright, ambitious and hardworking. After losing his job in the wake of the banking crisis - which eventually saw ILP nationalised and its best assets sold - Casey went back to school and qualified as a barrister.

During his trial Casey admitted authorising trades that moved billions of euro into Anglo Irish Bank in September 2008, but argued it was done for a wider good - to support a "pillar" financial institution in the Irish banking system - which his lawyers claimed was the agenda of the Central Bank and regulators.

He denied that he knew anything about how Anglo would account for the deposits.

His barrister, Michael O'Higgins SC, told the jury that his client had been duped by Anglo's decision to account for the transactions on the balance sheet while the State said it was inconceivable that a banker of his experience didn't know that Anglo intended to do this.
The deal will value Eir at 3.3bn

Singapore's state-backed investment powerhouse GIC will become the latest addition to the former Eircom's well-thumbed shareholder register.

The renamed Eir said yesterday that GIC plans to invest up to 230m for a minority stake in the business.

The deal will value Eir at 3.3bn - the same level as a takeover approach from a still unnamed bidder rejected by the company last year.

GIC, which is one of the world's largest global investors, intends to buy the stock at a price of 232 per share from existing shareholders.

The offer creates a so-called liquidity event, or chance to exit, for smaller shareholders including some who have held stakes since swapping loans for equity in the business as a result of the 2012 debt restructuring.

Two years ago the Irish company cancelled plans for a stock market listing, which would have made it easier for the dozens of mainly international funds that own shares to sell down their stakes.

Since then once biggest shareholder Blackstone has cut its stake, selling out to Anchorage Capital Group. Following the deal with GIC Anchorage will remain Eir's biggest shareholder, with over 35pc of stock.

Back in 2009, GIC's home town peer STT, which is also state-owned, bought a majority stake in Eircom for 40m, at a time when the business was struggling under a massive debt pile built up under a series of owners. The move was intended as the prelude to an owner-led debt restructuring, buying STT a seat at the negotiating table.

At one point STT proposed investing a further 200m into Eircom as part of a rescue strategy, but the Singaporean fund ultimately lost control of the restructuring process. Senior lenders, led by Blackstone, were able to wrestle control of the business after Eircom defaulted on its massive debts.

Given Eir's national importance as the country's biggest telecoms provider, and a history of underinvestment linked to repeated changes of ownership, any bid for Eir is likely to raise concerns.

Presiding over the 2012 Examinership, Judge Peter Kelly compared the history of Eircom to a game of "pass the parcel" where everybody won except the parcel.

However, GIC is regarded as a long-term investor, charged with generating returns for Singapore's pension system.

GIC's offer sets the scene for it and Anchorage to coalesce as cornerstone investors, and appears to make a public listing of Eir less likely.

Eir timeline

1999: Privatisation of Telecom Eireann

2001: Eircom sells mobile subsidiary Eircell to Vodafone.

2001: Eircom is bought by Valentia, a consortium led by businessman Tony O'Reilly and is delisted from the stock exchange.

2004: The company returns to the stock market

2005: Eircom buys Meteor for 420m

2006: A majority stake in the group is sold to Australian investment group Babcock and Brown alongside staff.

2009: Singapore Technologies Telemedia buys Babcock and Brown's stake.

2012: Lenders led by Blackstone swap debt for equity to gain control of the company.
Cutting income tax and VAT in the next Budget risks damaging the economic recovery, the Government has been starkly warned.

The huge amount of foreign money pouring into our property market, coupled with a serious under-supply for families seeking a home, have also been identified as key issues by a EU bailout review.

The report includes a warning that recent signals from the Government here about greater spending this year could lead to trouble, unless matched by tax hikes.

But planned cuts to income tax and VAT are noted as potential problems, and the report repeats concerns that the tax base here needs to be broadened.

This is likely to be seen as a call for increases in extra charges such as those on water and property.

The report notes that tax cuts "remain to be specified in detail".

Runaway health budgets, a perennial cause of concern to the Troika, remain a problem, according to the European Central Bank and European Commission.

And a major focus is on the housing system, which the Government this week acknowledged was "totally broken".

"The under-supply of housing remains a prominent issue and needs to be tackled using supply-side measures," the two institutions said after their fifth surveillance mission here. "Careful monitoring of the property market should continue, especially given the high foreign capital inflows into the commercial real estate market, coupled with strong demand."

To sustain growth, housing and infrastructure "bottlenecks" need to be tackled more ambitiously.

And the ECB and the Commission said efforts should continue to improve insolvency and bankruptcy procedures.

"The share of mortgages in long-term arrears has dropped, but is still high at about two thirds of total mortgage arrears," it says.

"Banks need to continue with loan restructurings and with improving the sustainability of restructuring solutions."

Ireland received financial assistance from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund from 2011 to late 2013.

The country is now subject to so-called "post-programme surveillance" until at least 75pc of the aid has been repaid.

The report notes that "Ireland's economic adjustment has been remarkable" since the recession - and it remains the fastest-growing EU economy.

It says: "The challenge for the new government is to maintain the momentum, while mitigating the risk of a return to boom-and-bust cycles."

It says that bank profitability has improved, "though in some cases it remains fragile".

"The current favourable economic and financial conditions provide an opportunity to accelerate the reduction of the still high public debt. Sales of government-owned shares in the domestic banks would further reduce debt."

The report came on the same day as Central Bank stats showed a third of residential mortgages sold to vulture funds were in arrears at the end of March.

Close to 14,500 household mortgage accounts are more than three months behind on repayments, out of a total of 47,400 mortgages that were sold to what the Central Bank calls non-bank entities.

David Hall of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation said the number of loans held by vulture funds that are in arrears is deeply concerning.
'A new report on risks facing Ireland this year notes significant challenges in the areas of housing and homelessness'. Stock photo: PA

The housing shortage will drive up wage demands and damage Ireland's competitiveness, discouraging foreign investment, the Government has acknowledged.

A new report on risks facing Ireland this year notes "significant challenges" in the areas of housing and homelessness.

The report identifies all the main risks which could impact on Ireland this year, including the risk of Britain leaving the EU; a global economic slowdown; fallout from terrorist threats; and the slowdown of investment in major infrastructure, among other issues.

But placing emphasis on the housing crisis, it warns that international companies and workers could be put off coming to Ireland.

It states that "reluctant landlords" have sold their rental properties, further tightening supply, especially in the Dublin area, and leading to a 9pc average increase in rents over the past year. It warns that social cohesion and a rise in homelessness are the main risks, but it also notes another potential side-effect.

It admits that factors including the economic recovery and the continued shortage of housing may drive up wage demands which could erode competitiveness.

"High prices and rental costs could affect Ireland's competitiveness, its attractiveness for inward investment and for skilled immigrants," the report states.

"There are some tentative indications of growing pressure on wages, particularly in some public services, in the form of calls for increasing pay for new recruits and seeking a swifter than anticipated restoration of pre-crisis wage levels for existing staff.

"Such wage pressures risk both direct and indirect implications for competitiveness."

The report notes that the Central Bank's rules on deposits for mortgage approval have dampened down housing price increases. But it also notes the serious lack of houses to buy and rent.

The report notes Ireland is "potentially vulnerable" to multinational corporations moving to other countries and a downturn in business activity on which Ireland is reliant.

The report also expresses concern about the lack of investment in major infrastructure, which was at a peak of 5.2pc of GDP back in 2008.

The authors do not rule out the potential of a big terrorist attack in Ireland - but deem it as 'not likely'. They do, however, warn that Ireland could become a base for launching such attacks, that Irish people could be killed or hurt in such attacks elsewhere, and that Ireland could be hit by the general economic fallout from such attacks.

The potential fallout of uncertainty from a vote by British citizens to leave the EU on June 23 is also cited. Overall, the report notes the high level of uncertainty which would ensue from a Brexit and admits it is hard to assess the detailed effects at this stage.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the report showed there was no room for complacency. "Ireland is a small island nation exposed to global trends and forces."
Prior to joining Apple Music I was a devout Spotify user. To me it was literally the most impressive online service money could buy. Unlimited music for 10 a month, what else could you ask for?

When Spotify came onto the scene in 2008 it took just three weeks of use for me to decide to delete my entire iTunes library. That library was manicured with correct album artwork and track IDs, but it just couldn't compare to the mighty Spotify.

Looking back that was a decision I regretted. While Spotify's service was excellent I couldn't fight the feeling that the music wasn't mine. Granted there was a host of algorithms generating playlists to suit my every need but I had lost the feeling of reward you get when you discover new music for yourself.

To this day that's still a difficult feeling to shake. Music identification apps like Shazam have certainly made it easier but in the world of streaming you can't deny the notion of being corralled into the same type of music as everyone else.

Everything sounds the same because the algorithms have been designed to find music that is similar. As these lines of code develop they will only improve, leaving us with better and better results.

In the meantime however it's back into the pen with the rest of us.

That's why when rumours of Apple's new service started to emerge I got a little excited. News had come out they had poached BBC Radio One legend Zane Lowe to come work in California on a special project.

At the time this could have meant anything. He could have been lined up to be a special tester for Beats for all we know.

Luckily for us this wasn't the case. Zane was tapped up to be used for exactly what he is brilliant at, finding new music and bringing to the rest of the world.

This is where Apple Music began to stand out. The company has said on a number of occasions about developing a hybrid of music curated by a mix of humans and robots.

The result has been a delight. If someone told me a year ago that radio would be at the heart of a change in streaming I would have laughed. But for me that's been the case. With shows from Zane in California to the brilliant Julie Adenuga in London, Beats One has been a very welcome addition to the wonderful world of streaming music.

Don't get me wrong, good music radio is nothing new. But having a radio station right in the middle of your music streaming app is. Having it there gives you a welcome break from going to find something to play yourself. It's so easy to use and it really gives a pay out to the consumer in the form of off beat music.

They also roll out the big names on the station too from the likes of Disclosure to Elton John they're open to trying a lot with a developing audience.

The station isn't always brilliant either. Sometimes there's songs on that make your really think: "Do people actually listen to this?" But for the most part it's all good.

It's in this station wherein lies Apple Music's unique selling point. Having humans in amongst the waves and waves of categorised music is a welcome break and a throwback to how music used to be listened to.

I joined Apple Music when it launched almost a year ago. I took the first free month with every intention of cutting it loose after, but for some reason I decided to throw caution to the wind and rid myself of my Spotify playlists and start all over.

It's not for everyone, but if you appreciate its charm and the excellent presenting it really is a joy to use. Never say never, but Spotify is going to have to bring something big for me to make another switch.
Susan Faludi has written an astonishing book about her estranged father's decision to become a woman.

In early 2004, Susan Faludi, author of the feminist manifesto Backlash, received an email from her father, Steven, revealing that "he" was now a "she", having undergone gender reassignment surgery in Thailand. The news didn't come as a total surprise. Faludi had heard rumours that the father to whom she'd barely spoken in 25 years had been exploring this option, but it was definitely a shock in one other sense.

"I'd always known my father to assert the male prerogative. He had seemed invested - insistently, inflexibly, and, in the last year of our family life, bloodily - in being the household despot. For as far back as I could remember, he had presided as imperious patriarch, overbearing and autocratic, even as he remained a cipher, cryptic to everyone around him."

Now, suddenly, here he was announcing his pristine identity as a woman called Stefanie, declaring: "I have had enough of impersonating a macho aggressive man that I have never been inside."

Soon Faludi is headed to Budapest, where her Hungarian-born father had decamped after his erratic, violent behaviour led to divorce from Faludi's mother, to investigate this cipher further, intending, she admits, to draw up a charge sheet against him. "I wasn't sure I was ready to release him to a new identity; she hadn't explained the old one."

This mindful switch between pronouns becomes a feature of the book. Faludi carefully uses "she" and "her", even while wracked with doubt about her father's new persona, not least when, in the middle of a disagreement, that old prerogative reasserts itself: "I am still your father."

This father figure, what's more, was always an adept liar and fraudster whose lifelong credo has been "getting away with it". A professional photographer by trade, her father was skilled at manipulating images, and Stefanie makes herself no easier to know than Steven, declaring herself to be uninterested in the past, only the future.

Is this, the author wonders, just her father's latest guise behind which to hide the true self? If so, it's not one she finds particularly edifying.

Stefanie declares herself to be a "typical woman" who "loves gossip" and wants girlie chats with her daughter about shoes and make-up. Having spent decades deliberately avoiding cliches of femininity, Faludi recoils from the actions of a father who now wishes to reinforce, rather than challenge, these received ideas. More cuttingly still, Stefi acts as if it is she who has things to teach Susan about how to be a woman. "You write about the disadvantages of being a woman, but I've only found advantages." How infuriating it must have been to hear those words.

Faludi wants to understand her father, but finds that "every road into the interior was blocked by a cardboard cut-out of florid femininity". The author takes refuge in the literature, and talks to doctors, psychologists, and other trans people, but much of what she learns heightens her disquiet. "The woman they had always known they were seemed to be the exact sort of girl I'd always thought of as false," she observes, adding that "genital surgeries and hormone treatments evidently produced not only a new physiology but a new and girlish personality - or rather, an old, old stereotype" of women as weak, passive, emotionally unstable, superficial, interested only in make up, baking, cooing over babies, pleasing men. Far from enabling her to understand her father, her investigations "were having the opposite effect".

What's more, a disturbing edge of sexual fetishism always seemed to be lurking just below the surface. She notes that it's one of the basic tenets of transgenderism that identity and sexuality are different things, but Faludi finds them constantly conflated.

"The transformation from one gender to another was eroticised at every step." The screensaver on her father's computer is of Stefanie dressed as a French maid, with blonde curls like Susan's as a child, reaching down to adjust a stocking, while the 'How To' manuals advise those who think of themselves as women to "practise submission with sex toys in front of a mirror". The idea of submission was never likely to appeal to such a committed feminist. Her father also keeps barging into her room without warning in revealing negligees.

Video of the Day

At this point, the reader is still less than halfway through this blistering, raw, absorbingly written story, and it seems as if promising avenues of exploration are opening up. As Faludi says, the trend since Freud has been to accept that the real psychological origins for a person's behaviour are complex, often hidden deeply from plain sight, but a fear of giving offence to those who identify as transgender has meant that there is no equivalent examination of the range of reasons why a human being might feel they are in the "wrong" body. Accepting their own self-diagnosis without question might avoid confrontation with those for whom transgenderism is a matter of faith, but it does so at the expense of intellectual honesty. What if they're actually "seeking womanhood to reclaim (their) innocence, be exonerated from the sins of (a) a male past", or "craving the moral stature that comes from being oppressed"? Or simply wanting to be a woman to "feel special, celebrated, loved"?

She wants those in the transgender community to ask those questions, but finds that they never do, and dogmatically refuse to. Disappointingly, nor does Faludi in the end, as she veers off instead into extended discussions on Jewish and Hungarian culture and history, as Faludi seeks to discover what role those forces may have played in her father's story. This part of the book is very much a demonstration of the "intersectionality" that now dominates so-called third-wave feminism, as she asks: "Is identity what you choose, or what you can't escape?"

Predictably, she finds it to be a combination of both; but these chapters start to feel like diversions from the real question of how she feels about her father, and the earlier possibility of an unfettered, radical debate about what it means to be transgender, and how we think and talk about it, is ultimately diluted into a simple fairy tale of acceptance.

It culminates in a shocking scene when her father finally talks about the time when, outraged by her desire to attend a Christian summer camp with a friend, he burst into the teenage Faludi's bedroom and repeatedly bashed her head against the floor, shouting: "I created you. And I can destroy you." She asks if he remembers what he said.

"I remember exactly what I said," her father replies. "That they exterminated the Jews, and how could you do this?" Faludi concludes: "I didn't correct her. Whatever the actual words, I understood this is what they meant to her." She reaches over, squeezes her father's hand, and says: "It's okay."

The scene is presented as a touching moment of bonding and forgiveness, but it's genuinely horrifying. Faludi has written with admirable empathy before about the challenges to masculinity in Stiffed: The Betrayal Of The American Man, but she's also spent a lifetime as a feminist refusing to let men wriggle out of responsibility for these explosions of brute male force. Here, she essentially accepts one of the habitual bully's oldest excuses - that he only did it because he loved, and wanted to protect, her; moreover, he did it in reaction to something she had said or done wrong. In other words, she'd provoked it, even though it was commensurate with a long-standing pattern of violent control and manipulation. Her father hadn't even said sorry.

None of this detracts from an astonishing, unique book that should be essential reading for anyone wanting to explore transsexuality's place in contemporary culture, and the eternally unfathomable mystery of families. But it's hard not to conclude that Steven and Stefanie were "getting away with it" one last time.
A GP who admitted exploiting and taking advantage of a former elderly patient, has been struck off the medical register.

Dr Michelle Mellotte (61) from Bannagh Beg Road, in Kesh, was initially suspended from the register on an interim basis in December 2011 and, as a result, has been unable to practice as a doctor in the UK since then.

However, last week the ruling was endorsed, following a hearing by the Medical Practitioners' Tribunal Service, in St James's Buildings in Manchester to determine her fitness to practice. The hearing was conducted in light of an investigation by the General Medical Council.

The tribunal noted that the Fermanagh woman, who did not attend the hearing, did not oppose the GMC's case against her, and in written submissions, Dr Mellotte's legal team stated she accepted the "appropriate sanction" was erasure.

They also said: "She has already applied for voluntary erasure but that was declined, the GMC preferring to hold a hearing. Dr Mellotte has not practiced for many years now and has long since come to terms with the fact that her medical career is over." In April Dr Mellotte was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years after she had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position between January 30, 2010, to April 22, 2011.

Summarising the case against Dr Mellotte, tribunal chairman Sean Ell said that she had "dishonestly exploited and took advantage of" a vulnerable elderly patient, taking from him 10,000 as a loan, none of which she repaid until an investigation by the police began.

Mr Ell said that Dr Mellotte's dishonest action had resulted in a "serious conviction" for fraud by abuse of position.

"She departed from the GMC's guidance in relation to professional standards. This departure, which occurred over a period of time, demonstrated behaviour that fell seriously below the standards expected of all registered medical practitioners," he said.

And he added: "The tribunal has determined that Dr Mellotte has put patients at unwarranted risk of harm, she has brought the profession into disrepute, she has breached fundamental tenets of the profession and her integrity cannot be relied upon."

After considering the evidence, the tribunal directed that Dr Mellotte's name be erased from the medical register. The Fermanagh doctor has 28 days to lodge an appeal before the tribunal's ruling becomes permanent.
A MAN accused of raping and sexually assaulting a young female, both at his home in Dublin and on holidays in Co Donegal, has been sent forward for trial.

The 65-year-old is alleged to have committed the offences on dates between 1991 and 1994.

He is facing trial by judge and jury in the Central Criminal Court.

The accused appeared before Blanchardstown District Court charged with two counts of rape of a female at his west Dublin home on dates in 1994.

Assault

He is also accused of three counts of sexually assaulting the same girl, both at his Dublin home and at a location in Co Donegal, on dates between 1991 and 1994.

A State solicitor said that the book of evidence had been served on the accused, who goes forward to the sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

Judge David McHugh gave the man the formal alibi caution.

Judge McHugh assigned a solicitor, as well as a junior counsel and a senior counsel on free legal aid.

The judge also ordered that a video copy of an interview that gardai conducted with the accused be given to his legal team.
DNA found on the schoolbag of missing schoolboy Philip Cairns (13) will prove central to corroborating that he was murdered by notorious paedophile Eamon Captain Cooke.

Gardai are now investigating whether Cooke (79), who died last week, was responsible for killing the schoolboy in his radio studios in Inchicore in October 1986.

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Main: Philip Cairns; top inset: gardai search the area around the Dodder between Templeogue and Tallaght in their efforts to find Philip in 1986; bottom inset: Philips parents Alice and Philip Gardai search the area around the Dodder between Templeogue and Tallaght in their efforts to find Philip in 1986 / Facebook

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Whatsapp Main: Philip Cairns; top inset: gardai search the area around the Dodder between Templeogue and Tallaght in their efforts to find Philip in 1986; bottom inset: Philips parents Alice and Philip

The schoolboy vanished without a trace as he walked back to his school, Colaiste Eanna in Rathfarnham, on October 23, 1986. His schoolbag was found dumped in a laneway close to his home on Ballyroan Road six days later.

After decades of mystery surrounding the case, a woman came forward to gardai at Terenure in May and nominated Cooke as a suspect.

Cooke (79), a pirate radio DJ who went by the name Captain Cooke and founded Radio Dublin in Inchicore, was found guilty of 42 counts of sexual assault following a trial at the Central Criminal Court in 2007. During his trial, the court heard his young victims dubbed him the Cookie Monster.

Expand Close Pirate radio station DJ Eamon Cooke in his studio (Library picture) / Facebook

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Last month, the woman approached gardai and told them that she saw Philip with Cooke in his radio studios in Inchicore.

She claimed a disagreement broke out  and she saw Cooke strike the schoolboy with an implement. She said she passed out shortly afterwards, and she kept the information to herself for almost three decades.

Gardai interviewed Cooke in the weeks before his death, at a hospice where he was being treated following temporary release from Arbour Hill prison.

It is understood Cooke corroborated some aspects of the womans story and admitted to meeting the schoolboy in his radio studios.

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Philips schoolbag held by gardai Schoolboy Philip Cairns / Facebook

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A woman came forward in May. It took an awful lot of courage for this person to come forward, a source said. They nominated Cooke as a suspect. This case was still under active investigation when Cooke died.

There are two main aspects that investigating gardai are closely examining.

Philips disappearance remains under active investigation and they are now looking at two particular aspects that still need to be corroborated, said the source. One of these aspects is the DNA that was left on Philips schoolbag.

It is understood three DNA profiles have been obtained from the schoolbag.

Expand Close A garda on duty at the laneway on Ballyroan Road, Rathfarnham, from where Philip went missing on October 23, 1986. His schoolbag is on the ground. / Facebook

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Whatsapp A garda on duty at the laneway on Ballyroan Road, Rathfarnham, from where Philip went missing on October 23, 1986. His schoolbag is on the ground.

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Gardai interviewed Cooke twice in the weeks before he died, giving him a number of opportunities to tell them exactly what happened and where Philips body was.

It is believed Cooke would not give this information, though he did verify some aspects of the story.

It is not known how the woman knows Cooke, apart from the fact that she claimed she was in Cookes radio studios when she saw him attack the schoolboy.

At this stage, gardai are not willing to say that the mystery of Philips disappearance almost 30 years ago has been solved.

However, they are treating the womans story as credible.

Philips family have been kept informed of recent developments.

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A garda spokesman said: At this point in time these new lines of inquiry have not yielded positive results, however the investigation is very much active and ongoing.

The studios in Inchicore, where Cooke is alleged to have assaulted Philip, have since been demolished.

During his 2007 trial, the court heard that the father-of-11 had staged an arson attack on the home of one of his victims after she went to the gardai about the attacks.
GARDAI investigating the shooting of Gareth Hutch have arrested a man in connection with the incident.

The 30-year-old was arrested this morning in Dublin and is being detained under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 1997 as amended at a Dublin city centre station.

Father-of-one Gareth Hutch (35), a nephew of Gerry the Monk Hutch, was shot dead as he was getting into his car outside Avondale House flats,where he lived, on North Cumberland Street in inner city Dublin, on the morning of May 24.

He was the latest and seventh fatality in wave of killings in a feud between rival Kinahan and Hutch gangs.
More than one-in-three of the 317 alleged victims of sexual assault who sought help from the busiest treatment centre in the country last year had consumed the equivalent of four pints of beer.

A further 36 women and men, who could not remember if they were attacked, had taken alcohol prior to the alleged assault, according to the annual report of the Sexual Assault Treatment Centre at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin.

The centre said that 32 people treated in 2015 had taken illegal drugs.

It is one of six sexual assault treatment units in the country where alleged victims are medically examined.

The centres - which are located in Dublin, Galway, Cork, Mullingar, Waterford and Donegal - treated 685 women and men last year, an increase of 57 compared to 2014.

Of these, nearly half had consumed the equivalent of two pints of beer in the 12 hours prior to the assault.

The reports, seen by the Irish Independent, follow widespread debate about women and men who are left vulnerable to attack after consuming too much drink or drugs.

The issue led to heated discussion between panellists on topical RTE show 'Cutting Edge'.

The directors of the sexual assault treatment centres have noted the levels of alcohol consumed, but pass no judgment.

The report said 631 of those treated were women and 54 were men, with an average age of 25. The youngest was 13 and the oldest was over 80 years of age. Three-quarters of the clients reported the incident to the gardai.

Six in 10 women were seen early enough to get emergency contraception and others were given prophylaxis for chlamydia and HIV.

The Cork centre said that, of 100 clients, nearly one-in-four had drunk the equivalent of five pints of beer.

The centre also noted the majority of assaults took place between 9pm and 9am. Eight cases took place on a notable day or event, with four on New Year's Day and one on St Patrick's Day.

The centres have received funding this year to implement a secure storage of forensic evidence.

This allows them to store forensic samples for a defined period for people who are uncertain about whether they want to report an incident to the gardai.

As forensic evidence deteriorates quickly, international best practice advocates the collection and secure storage of samples as soon as possible after an incident.

The alleged victim can then evaluate options in terms of engaging with the criminal justice system, with the chain of evidence maintained.
Ana Mirian Romero with her Frontline Defenders award in Dublin. Photo: Conor McCabe

A Honduran activist who endured physical assaults because of her opposition to corporate development has been honoured by a Dublin-based charity.

Ana Mirian Romero received the prestigious Front Line Defenders award for her work in seeking legal recognition of her community's land.

Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson presented Ana Mirian with the 2016 Front Line Defenders award.

Ana Mirian is a member of the indigenous community in Honduras, and has actively fought against the building of a hydro-electric dam that would destroy the livelihoods of locals.

Ms Robinson said Ana Mirian and her family suffer "armed attacks, threats, and harassment" in her fight to have her community's land rights recognised.

In an emotional speech, Ana said she was "overjoyed" Front Line Defenders chose her to receive the prize.

"We don't know what will happen to us, but we are willing and ready to defend what we have," she said.

Front Line Defenders chairman Denis O'Brien said "hope is kept alive" by those "who struggle to defend the rights of others".
Former Justice Minister Des O'Malley has recalled the murder of Det Jerry McCabe as "a most outrageous, savage action".

O'Malley, who served as a Limerick East TD for 24 years, knew both McCabe and his partner Ben O'Sullivan very well. The two men provided Mr O'Malley with an armed escort in his home constituency in "a very uncomfortable blue Vauxhall".

"They were always in good humour," said Mr O'Malley. "One of them would drive the car, I'd sit in the front passenger seat as it was more comfortable and the other one would sit in the back with an Uzi sub-machine gun on his knee."

Mr O'Malley recalled his final meeting with Mr McCabe before the 1996 IRA gun attack.

"[It] was in Adare, where there was a meeting of the British-Irish parliamentary body. There was an awful lot of guards there. I remember meeting them and I said 'Why are they do many guards?' as Adare was a peaceful place.

"Jerry agreed with me, but he said certain people living nearby were 'not peaceful'. And how right he was, because it was they who killed him.

"It was a most outrageous, savage action. People were absolutely revolted by it.

"When I think back on it, there were denials by Mr Adams and co that these people were not in Sinn Fein and the IRA . . . they persisted telling those lies for some time and then they finally had to give in. They were only convicted of manslaughter. The reason for that was Sinn Fein/IRA members intimidated some of the witnesses." As for a future government including Sinn Fein, Mr O'Malley had a short response: "I hope not."

Mr O'Malley praised Anne McCabe, who led a campaign to ensure her husband's killers did not receive any early release.
Superintendent David Taylor (left) with then Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan and then Deputy Commissioner Noirin OSullivan in 2014. Photo: Damien Eagers

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has sought additional information from An Garda Siochana before making its final decision on the alleged leaking of data by the force's former chief press officer.

Superintendent David Taylor has been suspended on a severely reduced salary for more than 12 months after being placed under investigation by a special unit.

He was arrested in May of last year in connection with the alleged leaking of material relating to a case involving two Roma children and their feared abduction.

As head of the garda press office, Mr Taylor was authorised to speak to the media.

During his arrest, Mr Taylor was questioned for 20 hours straight and held in a cell in Balbriggan Garda Station.

The Irish Independent understands the DPP will shortly make its decision on the case and has recently sought "clarification" from the force on a number of matters.

If Mr Taylor is cleared of any wrongdoing, it will heap further pressure on the embattled Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan.

Mr Taylor was closely aligned to Ms O'Sullivan's predecessor Martin Callinan prior to his reirement from the force.

The manner behind Mr Taylor's suspension and the fact that it has lasted for over 12 months has caused serious disquiet within garda and political circles. The special unit tasked with investigating the alleged leaking of material to the media is headed up by Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan's husband, Chief Superintendent Jim McGowan.

Mr McGowan was one of several high-ranking officers promoted just weeks before responsibility for such appointments switches to the new independent Policing Authority.

A former officer with the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI), Mr McGowan went through the official interview process like dozens of his colleagues who were also promoted.

Mr Taylor, a married father who lives in north Dublin, denies any wrongdoing.

He has brought a high court challenge aimed at halting the inquiry.

Under the 2005 Garda Siochana Act, any individual can be imprisoned for up to seven years and hit with a "substantial fine" for the "unlawful disclosure" of information.
A Fianna Fail TD has told how she will oppose any proposed changes to the Eighth Amendment, saying "no doctor" could predict how long a baby would live.

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony believes Ireland's abortion laws should be maintained despite a United Nations ruling that Ireland subjected a woman carrying a foetus with a fatal abnormality to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment which violated her human rights.

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The Cork South West TD told Independent.ie's 'Floating Voter' podcast that she is "very, very pro-life" and it is "probably a red-line issue for me".

"I think that everyone is entitled to a life. I know there are a lot of crisis pregnancies, etc. Nobody expects anybody to bring up a child that they can't bring up or they feel they are not able to. But there are so many childless couples waiting for children," she said.

"My own two sons are adopted so I would have come through a lot of personal issues around all of that, so I'm totally pro-life."

Ms Murphy O'Mahony, who adopted her two boys from Romania and Russia, said she would never seek to force her views on anybody. But she may campaign against the repeal of the Eighth Amendment which gives equal rights to a mother and her unborn child if there is a referendum in the future.

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Asked whether she would offer any lee-way in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, she replied: "But who can tell how long a baby is going to live? No doctor."

The TD said adopting her two sons had helped formed her view on the issue.

"It really opened my eyes to childlessness which is an issue that never comes up in the abortion debate," she said.

In the Dail yesterday, Independent TD Clare Daly said the UN's finding was "a groundbreaking international decision" against this country.

Galway West Independent TD Catherine Connolly said the UN had called on Ireland to change the law on pregnancies involving fatal foetal abnormalities.

"It is important the voices of women are heard in this chamber," she added.

Education Minister Richard Bruton said he did not know how the Government would respond to the United Nations ruling.

But he noted the Programme for Government contains a commitment to set up a citizens' assembly within six months to consider all the issues involved.

Get the latest episodes of the Floating Voter every week by subscribing on iTunes.
FORMER Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has predicted the collapse of the current Government within a year to 18 months.

Mr Gilmore, who was awarded an honorary doctorate at NUI, Galway yesterday said he believed it would be a very small thing that caused the current coalition to become unstuck.

Mr Gilmore said he believed the agreement the Taoiseach had made with Michael Martin would ensure larger issues like budgets did not cause a collapse.

I think where it will come unstuck is when there will be a crisis in a hospital or a crisis in the gardai or some probably very small thing that will get a lot of public attention and media attention and a storm will build up and its the small thing I think will cause the problem and will trigger a confidence vote that will take it down, he said.

He predicted the current coalition would only last for 12 to 18 months adding; Parties in opposition can be put under public pressure as well to pull the trigger and I think at some stage that will happen. Its hard to predict what the issue will be.

Mr Gilmore said the current Government was not working in terms of legislation.

If you look already were four months since the general election there hasnt been a single pass of legislation put through the Oireachtas. I think thats a very big problem because you need all of the time to be updating our laws, he said.

However, he said some aspects of the new politics were good and positive.

I think for example the idea of budgets will be done by parliamentary committee and in a more open way, I think thats a very good development, he added.

Mr Gilmore, who is EU special envoy to the Colombian peace process, also expressed concern about the impact of a British exit from the EU on the Northern peace process saying he believed the outcome was very much in the balance.

He said Britain leaving the EU would make the border a reality again on the island of Ireland.

And if it becomes a physical reality again it becomes part of the politics of the island again and there are a lot of implications from that, he added.

Speaking about the Labour Party, the former leader said he believed it had made the right decision in selecting Brendan Howlin as leader.

However, he said he believed Alan Kelly, who made a bid for the leadership, could take the helm someday.

Describing Mr Kelly as driven, he added: Alan Kelly has a very bright future in Irish politics and can see him leading the party in the future.

He said he believed there were good prospects for the party adding that he was optimistic the fortunes of the Labour Party will recover.

Also receiving honorary degrees at NUIG were Clifden arts festival founder Brendan Flynn, who received a doctorate of laws, Druid Theatre actress Marie Mullen, who received a doctorate of arts, and Galway Contempo Quartet musicians Andreea Banciu, Adrian Mantu, Ingrid Nicola and Bogdan Sofei who received a joint doctorate of music.
Independent Alliance TD John Halligan has stood by his controversial comments over Irish landlords.

The Irish Property Owners' Association yesterday launched a blistering attack on the Minister of State for Education and Skills, after he blamed "landlord speculators" for "driving people into homelessness", and claimed he would "jail the bastards".

Speaking to the Irish Independent last night, however, the defiant Waterford TD said he would "withdraw nothing".

Mr Halligan said: "Are they seriously telling the people of Ireland that some landlords are not exploiting people? They can say all they like, but I stand by the comments now more than ever."

Addressing IPOA members, chairman Stephen Faughnan accused the politician of "incitement to hatred" and called on the Government to consider his position "given his crucial role in Irish education".

Describing the remarks as "despicable", he said: "It is outrageous for a member of the Government to publicly denigrate a body of people who are crucial to solving the housing situation."

But Mr Halligan rebutted: "Tell them to cop on. It's not incitement to hatred - what it is, is telling it like it is."
Michael Moore has a suggestion for Irish politicians agonising over Donald Trump's visit to Clare this month. They should receive the tangerine tyrant off the plane, clap him in handcuffs and haul him away.

"I do think you ought to send officials to meet him - such as your Attorney General," says the Oscar-winning documentarian and thorn in the flank of conservative America.

"I believe Ireland has strong laws regarding hate crimes. Do you let people into your country that propose racism as public policy?"

He was among the earliest to predict Trump's emergence as a mainstream politician, a stunning rise that has seen the reality TV personality wrest the Republican nomination for president from the cold, dead grip of party elites.

Moore watched aghast as the establishment in the United States dismissed the mogul and reality TV star as a carnival distraction. Trump was ludicrous, yes - but he had looked into the hearts of poor white Americans and was telling them what they wanted to hear.

"I was one of the first to say he would win the Republican nomination," nods Moore. "People laughed at me. But I insisted: this guy is manipulating the ignorant and it's easy to fool the ignorant. He doesn't believe half of what he says - and it doesn't matter. With Trump, you never know what he believes and what he doesn't."

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Moore will be in Dublin on Monday to promote his latest documentary, 'Where To Invade Next'. As a proud Irish-American, going back to the old country means a great deal.

"My Irish heritage influences not just my work but my whole life. It has everything to do with how I was raised, what I believe. I know the stories from my grandparents who came to America about 'No Irish need apply'. I was raised with this attitude of standing up for the little guy."

Ireland doesn't feature in 'Where To Invade Next', a surprisingly jaunty travelogue in which Moore traverses the globe, highlighting ways in which sundry countries are superior to the United States (school dinners are better in France, young Slovenians aren't crippled with college debt, etc). He also skipped the UK, feeling its Conservative government too harsh on the poor (Moore spoke passionately against Britain leaving the European Union at a press conference in London this week).

However, Ireland's absence should not be read as a similar slight against Enda Kenny. Rather, he believed going back to his roots would be perceived as biased.

"We didn't go to Ireland because I'm Irish-American," says Moore (62). "I didn't want people to think I was taking the easy way out. People already know what I feel about Ireland."

Moore stays abreast of politics in Ireland and is heartened by the rise of anti-austerity parties here, as he is by the emergence of Jeremy Corbyn at the head of a more militant Labour in the UK. It resonates with Bernie Sanders's run for the White House in the United States.

"I love how Corbyn parallels what has happened with Bernie Sanders and other democratic socialists. In the United States of all places, Sanders has 46pc of pledged delegates [for the Democratic Party nomination]. A socialist - in America. It is astonishing."

What of the argument that, having successfully articulated his vision of a fairer America, Sanders should gracefully drop out and allow his rival for the nomination, Hillary Clinton, concentrate her fire on Trump? With Barack Obama this week endorsing Hillary for president, Sanders is under pressure to stand aside. Moore, however, believes he should remain in the race.

"There is one more primary, in Washington DC. If it was a state, it would be our only black state. Why would you send a message that the only black majority state doesn't have the right to have its voice heard? He is doing absolutely the right thing. We need to take his message - our message - to the convention and fight for these things."

He is, it is obvious, no Hillary fan. "She's a hawk. We are well aware she is to the right of Obama. The chance of there being a war? We are concerned about these things. Her vote for the Iraq war is something we swore we would never forget. That's why we need Bernie's strong voice."

Moore is a surprise, if you know him only from his movies. In films such as 'Roger and Me' and 'Bowling for Columbine' (the 2002 rumination on American gun culture for which he won an Oscar), he can come across as grandstanding and even self-satisfied. In person, though, he's a teddy bear, with a soft speaking voice and a gentle manner. If you didn't know, you would never guess you were talking to one of America's foremost firebrands.

Critics will point out that his work can be simplistic - that Moore is furnishing his base with the same comforting bromides Trump is accused of peddling. Certainly 'Where To Invade Next' is not a nuanced work: it extols the upsides of Europe's cradle-to-grave social welfare model without dwelling on high unemployment or the rise of right-wing anti-immigrant parties.

Standing up for the little guy has also been exceedingly lucrative for Moore. When he divorced film-producer wife Kathleen Glynn in 2013, his net worth was estimated at $50m. He is a signed-up member of the same one percent super-rich his movies have cheerfully pummelled.

Yet speaking to him, it is clear his heart is in the right place and that he is absolutely sincere in his beliefs. Under its breezy exterior, for instance, 'Where To Invade Next' has a powerful message, for Europeans as well as Americans. The movie is a valentine to the Continent's gentler strand of capitalism - our rejection of America's tooth and claw economics.

He hopes people will watch it and remember that being European means believing in something beyond the jungle law of the markets.

"I wanted Americans to see some of the good ideas Europeans live by and practise. I also wanted Europeans to be reminded that they actually have some very good ideas and should not give up or cut back. You need to think twice before you spend any more time trying to be like America."

The Irish Film and Television Academy welcomes Michael Moore to Dublin on Monday for a Q and A followed by a screening of 'Where To Invade Next' at the Irish Film Institute. He will give a master class for filmmakers in association with the IFTA and Screen Training Ireland on Tuesday morning.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has sacked James Reilly as his deputy leader in a move seen as a warning shot to Fine Gael dissidents.

Mr Kenny caused surprise within political circles yesterday after revealing Dr Reilly will now be replaced as deputy leader - just days after he was appointed to the Seanad.

"No, James is not the deputy leader of the party. Obviously, he was the deputy leader and he did a very good job," Mr Kenny said.

Dr Reilly, who lost his seat in the general election, was one of several Fine Gael politicians handed a Seanad seat by Mr Kenny last week.

However, the move to strip him of his deputy leadership is seen as a direct response to Dr Reilly's call for a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment last year.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach said any decision in relation to the Eighth Amendment must not be rushed.

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Mr Kenny said he had received many letters from women who have had abortions and that the Citizens' Convention will not involve politicians.

"This is something that is so traumatic and sensitive and personal for some people and families," he said.

"It has divided Irish society for a long time. I myself have struggled with this. It's a profound issue," he added.

On Thursday, the UN described Ireland's treatment of women carrying a foetus with a fatal abnormality as "cruel, inhuman and degrading".

Mr Kenny said the UN's report was not binding and that TDs will be allowed to "vote with their conscience".

Meanwhile, Mr Kenny said he does not intend to step aside as leader anytime soon and not until the Programme for Government is implemented.

And he would not be drawn on who he believes will replace him or how the handover should take place.

There is a growing view within the party that Mr Kenny will step down as Fine Gael leader at the next election but remain on as Taoiseach until the result.

Mr Kenny also responded to claims by prominent backbencher Kate O'Connell that the recent ministerial and Seanad appoints represent 'jobs for the boys'.

"She has a big future in politics if she wants to stay in it," Mr Kenny said of Ms O'Connell.
Pirate radio station DJ Eamon Cooke was nicknamed The Cookie Monster by his terrified young victims.

Cooke (79), who established Radio Dublin, was found guilty of abusing girls at his home in the city in the 1970s.

In 2007, he was found guilty of 42 counts of abuse  targeting girls as young as seven. Cooke would give his victims money  sometimes even 50p  after the horrific sex acts.

One of the women told the court how she used to lie awake at night convinced she had a baby inside her. Father-of-11 Cooke even staged an arson attack on the home of one of his victims after she told gardai about the attacks. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2007.

One of his victims became extremely distressed after the sentence had been read out and shouted at Cooke: I hope you rot in hell.

Eamon Cooke is a sexual predator motivated by his desire for small children and that is what he is and that is what he always will be, one of his victims said in her victim impact statement.

He had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges during his 2007 trial at the Central Criminal Court.

Cooke, with an address in Tallaght, was granted temporary release from Arbour Hill prison.

He had been staying in a Dublin hospice over the past few weeks because of his deteriorating health. He died late last week.
On the afternoon of October 23, 1986, Philip Cairns never arrived at his school desk.

The 13-year-old schoolboy was a creature of habit, and rarely deviated from his routine, always coming home for lunch.

On that ordinary Friday afternoon, Philip finished his lunch, waved goodbye to his grandmother, and began the journey he had taken each day for the previous six weeks towards his secondary school.

But Philip Cairns never made it back to Colaiste Eanna.

His school friends and family never saw him again.

He vanished without a trace. In the days after his disappearance, the nightmare of the situation began to unfold.

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A nationwide search was launched but the schoolboy from Ballyroan Road in Rathfarnham, Dublin, was never seen again.

His body has never been found.

Initial searches of the Rathfarnham area were fruitless. Hundreds of sightings were reported but none were ever confirmed.

The only clue was a discarded schoolbag, spotted by two girls in a laneway close to his school the following Wednesday.

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Strangely, on the night it was found the bag was bone dry, but it had been raining heavily beforehand.

It was thought the boy's killer, anxious to be rid of evidence or perhaps trying to mislead the gardai, had placed it there, because the lane had been searched several days previously and nothing was found.

The bag contained some of Philip's books, but his geography book and two religion books ('Christian Way 1' and the 'Good News New Testament') were missing.

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His father, Philip Snr, died in July 2014 without ever discovering what had happened to his son.

His mother Alice and his five siblings Mary, Sandra, Helen, Suzanne and Eoin always hoped for his return.

"I always look down at the spot beside the lamppost were his bag was left, and I always wonder. It's very sad," Alice said in an interview last October.

"The day he went missing was the one day that I didn't stand at the gate and watch him walk up the road towards the school.

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"I had an appointment with one of my daughters in the dental hospital that afternoon and so I wasn't at home when Philip left the house."

Alice previously said that "Philip is always there in the sense that he is not there. At Christmas, birthdays, weddings, we think of how Philip should be with us."

Philip's younger brother, Eoin, who was just 11 at the time, relived the mystery of Philip's disappearance when he spoke to Ryan Tubridy on his radio show last year.

"Knowing what we know of Philip, he only had his clothes on and his schoolbag. He only had 50p on him. Knowing my brother, he would not have gone off on a whim. He wouldn't have decided to go on an adventure."

He added: "You have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. More than likely there will not be a happy ending.

"We will more than likely find him rather than him find us." The schoolbag was sealed in plastic and locked in a safe in Rathfarnham Garda Station.

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Speaking last October, on the anniversary of Philip's disappearance, Detective Sergeant Tom Doyle outlined how he believes advances in science and forensic technology could make the bag a vital clue once again.

"At the time it was found in 1986, DNA profiling was a limited concept. There was a danger that testing the bag might produce a mixed profile because the bag could have been handled by many people," Det Sgt Doyle said.

"The key is being able to separate out the profiles of any DNA found on the bag, and technology is increasingly moving in that direction. I am convinced this schoolbag holds the answers as to what happened to Philip," he added.

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A woman came forward to gardai last month, offering a crucial new lead in the case.

Finally, the discarded schoolbag may yield the secrets it has held for the past three decades.
'Greek doctors are so well suited to Ireland. Culturally we're very similar, it's an ideal place for a Greek family to relocate to," says Edel Michailidou.

And she should know.

Originally a Mulvihill from Finuge in north Kerry, the qualified radiographer had to up sticks and leave the family home in Athens with her Greek husband, Dimitris - a civil engineer - and two young sons, Manos and Eddie, in 2012 as the economic crash came toppling down on them.

"We had no choice. Few had work, those who did couldn't get paid. We love Greece, Athens, our homebut we had to get out of there at the time and move back to Ireland," says Edel.

She found work in the radiology department of Kerry General Hospital in Tralee, and after almost two years, the family were able to move back to Athens where they unlocked the door of their home, dusted off the furniture, threw open the windows to allow the sun back in and started all over again. Fourteen months ago she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Maria.

And now Edel is using her own experience to help Greek doctors find work in Ireland. To move from Athens to Athenry.

This weekend her company Medel Recruitment will host two open days informing Greek medics about the work opportunities which exist for them in Ireland, about the way of life and the culture.

"My aim is to work as a contractor for a number of agencies which recruit in Ireland, and the UK. While large agencies do visit Athens occasionally, doctors here are often just names on a database. Many know virtually nothing about Ireland. I want to work on a one-to-one basis with them to make sure they go for the positions which are best suited to them so that they, their families, and their prospective employers in Ireland are happy with the outcome," says Edel.

Since the downturn, Greek doctors have left in their tens of thousands. It's estimated that at least 40,000 have moved to work in Germany alone. Others have left for Sweden, the UK and Switzerland.

"This is the first time that Ireland will be specifically promoted here in Athens as a destination for doctors seeking to leave," explains Edel who appeared on a popular Sky television news programme in Greece this week speaking about work prospects in Ireland.

The Irish Embassy in Athens is backing this weekend's initiative and a diplomat will speak with doctors about what Ireland has to offer while the Medical Association of Athens, is also on board. One recruitment company from Ireland will have personnel available to answer questions and an English-language school representative will be on hand to speak with doctors about the required linguistic fluency.

For 53-year-old cardiologist Emmanouil Kouvousis, the prospect of working in Ireland appeals.

He tells me: "I work as a specialist in my own practice here in Athens and the high levels of tax are crippling. I'm working more and more for less and less. It's not sustainable. Next year we will have to pay between 60 and 70pc in tax on all our earnings starting with the first euro. I am married with two children so I think I will have to leave to work. Ireland is a good option for me."

And Emmanouil explains that the exodus of doctors from Greece is now moving at a faster pace than ever before.

"At least 100 of my former colleagues on my LinkedIn account are now working in Germany. It costs around 100,000 to train as a doctor in Athens so people can't just wait for things to get better."

The standard of Greece's medical schools and the qualifications earned by graduates have long been regarded as being amongst the best in Europe. But these days newly qualified doctors who do get work in Greece can expect to earn just 1,000 a month and pay high rates of tax.

Giorgos Patoulis, president of the Medical Association of Athens, told me: "Recruitment opportunities have come to a standstill in the public sector. The Greek people have to suffer due to financial poverty and, as a result, the private medical sector is also suffering. Furthermore 11.5pc of doctors are unemployed and 16pc are under-employed."

And he added: "Since 2010 the majority of doctors leaving the country are highly qualified medical personnel. Even though there is a large number of unemployed doctors, the healthcare system is crumbling because there is a lack of medical staff, needed by the hospitals, in order to ensure their efficient operation."

Highly critical of austerity measures imposed by the Troika and their devastating impact on the healthcare system, Mr Patoulis hopes that one day the doctors who are leaving will return.

The great irony of course is that while Edel Michailidou helps doctors in Greece to relocate to Ireland, Irish-trained medics are jetting off to the likes of the UK, Australia and Canada.

The Irish Medical Organization has long spoken about a chronic shortage of GPs here, there are up to 300 vacant consultant posts in the country and junior doctors are leaving in their droves. And the HSE, only last month, introduced an interim recruitment pause.

Ireland has the lowest ratio of physicians to patients in Western Europe. The average for the number of physicians per head of population in Ireland is 2.82 per 1,000 compared with the OECD average of 3.3. In Greece the figure is still 6.1.

Dr John Duddy, president of the Irish Medical Organisation, told Review that a lack of clear recruitment policy in the health service here means doctor shortages are likely to continue.

He said: "It's unprecedented that so many consultant posts are vacant across the country and it's really a shame that Ireland is no longer seen as an attractive place to work for those at that level. The recent recruitment pause imposed by the HSE and subsequent clarifications only served to complicate the entire situation and was hugely disappointing and demoralising, not just for doctors in the health service, but for all those involved in healthcare in Ireland."

The potential for Greek medics taking up positions in Ireland could well help alleviate Ireland's staff shortage problem - once recruitment pauses are lifted.

And Dr Duddy admits they would be an asset to any health service. But he added: "Recruitment abroad, though necessary, is not always ideal. It would be best if we could keep the doctors and consultants who trained here in Ireland to stay and work here."

In Athens this weekend Greek doctors will take the first steps towards a future in Irlandia and we'll be fortunate to have them amongst us.
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What will it take to unite Ireland? Opinions are divided

There are those for whom Northern Ireland is a geographical fragment of the UK holding true to empire on its western flanks, and those for whom partition is a century-old wrong that must be overturned. Somewhere in the middle are the persuadables  people willing to accept either unity or union, so long as the justification is logical. One way or another, the unity conversation is in the air.
Anyone remember Alice Cooper singing 'school's out for summer'? Nowadays, the kids are hanging around their bedrooms glaring at screens and overdosing on social media.

Whatever happened to the 'summer job'? What used to be one of the great training grounds for young teenagers is no longer legal for most of them in this new world of health and safety, where we treat kids under 16 as if they need to be kept wrapped in cotton wool.

My first job was at the age of 12, picking fruit on farms in north county Dublin - I don't know who came up with the idea, because we lived in deepest south county Dublin. But off we went on the first bus to Tara Street, where we would join a river of inner city kids on a special train to Donabate.

All day long we would be stooped over picking strawberries and, when the raspberries came into ripeness, we were switched to them. My sister Deirdre maintains that men with dogs and big sticks patrolled the fruit fields like something you would see in movies from the US 'deep south'. What I remember is that the controller thought us trustworthy - and I soon discovered the reason why. With strawberries, you were paid by the punnet, but with raspberries it was by weight - and the savvier kids from the mean streets of the city peed in their buckets to get the weight up!

After two years of that, I got a job cleaning the toilets in Sloopy's - a nightclub in D'Olier Street, which probably looked trendy at night, but when you went into the stale, foul-smelling atmosphere of stubbed-out cigarette butts, spilled alcohol and stale pee the following morning, it was anything but glamorous.

I soon jumped ship after that, succeeding my elder brothers in the Glass Bottle Company in Ringsend doing shift work. I was probably 15 at the time, and worked 8am to 4pm one day, 4pm to 12 midnight the next, and midnight to 8am the following day, and so on - including weekends. Unless you were in the furnace - which was stifling hot with molten glass - it was easy enough, taking bottles off what we call a 'Lir' and stacking them into containers.

I thought I'd received executive promotion when I was put on a screen-printing machine, stamping Coke Cola in hot white paint on the familiar bottles. It certainly encouraged me to think of a career other than the factory floor.

My next step on the summer career ladder was as a barman in The Ennell - my uncle's pub in Mullingar. I usually tended the bar, where the patients from what we called 'The Mental' (the psychiatric hospital in Mullingar) came for a few pints on a Saturday. They were mostly good people with sad stories, abandoned by family and society.

I learned to pull pints, make soup and deal with rows, and I tried to think on my feet - though not always successfully. One evening, my uncle went off to a funeral, leaving me in charge. A few minutes later, two big men came in and ordered two pint bottles of Macardle's ale.

I served them and, in no time at all, there were four, six, eight, 10, 20 people milling around - and I was selling pint bottles of Macardle's by the crate. My uncle came back, looked around in shock and said with a note of dread in his voice: "Are you trying to destroy me?"

They were Travellers, you see - and it was a different era. However, the lads were all in good form, so he shooed them out with a couple of free cases of booze to ease their passage. There were no complaints from these happy customers.

For the final 'summer job' after the Leaving Cert, myself and Charlie McNamara went off to London - with a few pound in our pockets. We had no job, nowhere to stay, but a with vague notion that Shepherd's Bush was a good place to live. After sleeping in a greenhouse, we got a job in what seemed to be a forgotten outpost of the Imperial College London, where we spent much of our time sitting in the canteen having obtuse discussions with our boss. That was 1979 - and on one of our infrequent visits to the pub, I watched the riots that occurred in Northern Ireland. When the time came to go back to Ireland, our boss - who was concerned about us - pleaded with us to stay and not go back to join the IRA.

It was the last summer of the summer jobs - I can't say that I particularly enjoyed them, but I learned a lot along the way about dealing with people on a one-to-one basis. It's something that modern generations seem to forget, with most of them seemingly surgically attached to their various devices.

Apparently, they can work a full 40 hours a week when they're 16. Maybe it's the parents' fault for not pushing them out there to learn more about life than they ever will during so-called 'work experience'.
Significant change happens slowly, but when it's change for the better, it's always heartening to witness. I've been working as a vet in Ireland for twenty five years now, and there is one area in particular where the change has been visible and dramatic. I'm talking about the issue of unwanted dogs.

When I started working as a vet here, I was astonished to discover how many stray dogs were killed in Ireland's dog pounds. The figure was almost thirty thousand every year. That's over a hundred dogs on every working day. This is shockingly high: to put it into context, in the UK, which had around twenty times the human population of Ireland, less than ten thousand dogs were being killed per year.

It was obvious that there was a big problem in this country, and because it was happening behind closed doors, few people realised that it was going on.

The people who did know about it felt incensed, but didn't know what they could do to help. In the end, the solution was started by one of the Local Authority vets who worked on the front line, actually injecting the dogs to put them down. He found it intolerable, so he decided to do something about it. Through the veterinary organisations, he set up a meeting, calling it the National Stray Dog Forum. This was an informal gathering of all interested parties who were concerned about the stray dog problem.

As well as veterinary organisations, there were animal rescue groups, local authority representatives, and other groups like the Gardai and politicians. Everyone agreed that the situation for dogs needed to be addressed, and an action list was drawn up to try to change things.

It's interesting to look at that action list now, to see what has been achieved.

1. Responsible pet ownership was to be encouraged. This was a very broad aim, and some might even call it "waffly". But the truth is that strong efforts have been made to spread the word about the importance of looking after pets properly. The annual spay/neuter awareness week (www.spayaware.ie) has taken place every year since 2001, and this has helped to persuade more people to have their dogs and cats spayed and neutered, having a direct effect on reducing the number of unwanted dogs and cats being born.

At the same time, a nationwide subsidised neutering scheme for dogs was set up by the Dogs Trust charity, and this gave people a financial incentive to be responsible owners. Finally, the new Animal Health and Welfare Act was introduced in 2013, specifying the responsibilities that pet owners have to look after animals in their care.

2. There were a number of issues for local authorities, including the day to day running of dog pounds. Since then, there have been many changes, and dog pounds now work closely with local animal rescue groups to rehome dogs that would formerly have been euthanased. Dog pounds will always face challenges, but the changes to date are welcome, and they've already made a big difference.

3. Microchipping was to be made compulsory. It was recognised that compulsory microchipping of dogs would have a significant impact on the stray dog problem. It took a while for this to be put in place, but since April 2016, every dog in Ireland has had to be microchipped and registered.

4. The dog licence system was to be reviewed. While changes have been made, there are still many issues with how dog licences work in this country, with less than half of dog owners complying with the law. Wise government action is still needed to deal with this.

5. Regulation of puppy farms was to be addressed. Again, new legislation was introduced, with the Dog Breeding Establishment Act 2010. While this is not perfect and does need to be reviewed, it was a step in the right direction. There are misunderstandings here: some people believe that it ought to be possible to farm dogs in the same way as other livestock can be farmed. If you can keep a shed full of sheep or cattle, why not dogs? If you can produce hundreds of lambs or calves to sell, why not puppies? The truth is that there is a huge difference.

Farm animals are produced to be killed and eaten. Dogs are produced to become family members in a human household. To do this successfully, they need to be well socialised from an early age, and if they are kept in barn like conditions with minimal human contact, this cannot happen. The puppy buying public needs to be protected by legislation that ensures that puppies are reared in a way that makes them fit for living in modern homes.

So, given that the action list has been largely completed, what has happened to the numbers of dogs being killed in Irish dog pounds?There is good news here: in the 1990's between 25 and 30000 dogs were killed every year. The most recent figure - for 2014 - showed that less than 3000 dogs were killed: that's a drop of 90%. It's still too many: other countries with similar populations euthanase less than 1000 per year, and that should be our target.

Those involved with animal welfare continue to work to improve life for Ireland's dogs, and we can all play a role. For starters, is your own dog spayed or neutered?

For more, see www.spayaware.ie.
Members of the 27th Infantry Battalion present a tricolour to Kilcurry NS pupils after their original 1916 presentation flag was stolen

Kilcurry National School were delighted to be awarded a new flag marking the centenary of the 1916 Rising by the Dundalk based 27th battalion last week.

Staff and pupils at Scoil Phadraig Naofa were shocked to find the first flag presented to them ahead of the centenary celebrations had been stolen last month.

But there was a happy ending, as after reading about the theft in the Argus, Defence Forces staff made contact with the school to arrange a replacement.

Speaking at the presentation, Principal Frank Short has said that the re-presentation of a tri-colour is a very proud day for the school.'

The flag was presented at a ceremony on Monday morning last with Lieutenant Colonel Walter Hunt, C.S. McElroy and Sergeant Luchesi of the Irish Defence Forces (Oglaidh na hEireann) bestowing the flag to students, Daire Reilly and Jack Murdock on behalf of the Department of the Taoiseach.

The flag was raised to a beautiful rendition of Amhran na bhFiann, while all the students waved replica tri-colours, which they made themselves in preparation of the event.

A jubilant Mr. Short said following the flag's presentation: 'All the children made a little Irish flag and lined a guard of honour to welcome the state representatives to the school.'

Upon hearing of the theft of the flag, the state contacted Mr. Short and expressed their sadness at its theft while insisting that they would provide the school with a replacement.

Lt. Col. Hunt spoke about the symbolic meaning of the flag and gave all present a brief history regarding how the flag came to be.

He then called the school the 'luckiest in the country today,' as a consequence of being re-presented with the national flag.
Thomas Byrne, Fergal Sheehy, Charlie OBrien and Anto Heeney from Coxs Demesne Community Volunteers, with Kayleigh Mulligan of Louth Volunteer Centre and a few of the volunteers that helped with the Saturday clean up

A group of volunteers from the Cox's Demesne area recently took on an area of Oakland Park which has become notorious for illegal dumping to a level which is dangerous for residents in the area.

No task was too big as a large group of volunteers of all ages came together on Saturday - with a follow up day the next Thursday - and tackled everything from household rubbish to burnt-out mattresses.

Louth County Council provided assistance and backing to the clean-up while local Community Scheme workers also gave the volunteers a dig out. Oxigen Environmental donated support in the form of a builder's skip to remove larger materials from the site.

Paul Sloane, North East Account Manager for Oxigen Environmental Services said: 'Oxigen is at the forefront of environmental services provision in Ireland and are proud to based here in Dundalk, we were delighted to support a community initiative which is seeking to improve our local environment'.

The members of Cox's Demesne Community Volunteers carried out their clean up as part of National Volunteer Week.

National Volunteering Week is coordinated nationally by Volunteer Ireland and locally through Ireland's network of 21 local Volunteer Centres and six Volunteering Information Services that cover most counties, of which Louth Volunteer Centre is one.

Louth Volunteer Centre have been supporting residents in the Cox's area to get involved in their community, particularly through volunteer activity such as this clean up, for the past year.

A number of residents' groups are being set up as a result of Louth Volunteer Centre's activity.

If anyone from the area would like to get involved and have more of an input into events and projects in the future please contact Kayleigh on 086 043 1379.
A South Armagh man who crashed into a tree in the early hours of the morning in North Louth was prosecuted for drink driving after he made a statement admitting it to Gardai.

Damien Rafferty, (38), St Patrick's Park, Cullyhanna, admitted driving under the influence at Shortstone, Hackballscross on July 14 2013. Gardai were called to the scene of a traffic accident at around 5am and found that a van had hit a tree.

Gardai said Rafferty was there on his own and he was 'very drunk at the scene'. He was taken to hospital by ambulance but the procedure to take a sample was not adhered to properly and it was invalid.

But on August 28, Rafferty made a statement to Gardai saying he had been drinking and had taken a road he shouldn't have, ending up crashed into a tree.

Judge Alan Mitchell remarked that 'most people would have said nothing' and added that 'if every citizen was as helpful as him' the courts would not be as busy.

Inspector Martin Beggy said he 'had to commend' Rafferty for his admissions' as 'everything was put in the prosecution's basket' by the defendant who was 'very helpful'. He said it was unusual that significant admissions were made in this way.

Rafferty had been out earlier in the night and there had been a row with his girlfriend. He had gone home and had 'a short sleep' after which he got into his van and decided to make it up with her.

Inspector Beggy said homeowners in the vicinity of the crash heard the accident and went to the scene to assist, calling the emergency services.

Solicitor Niall Breen said his client, who has one previous conviction for assault dating from 2007, was before the court 'as a result of his own admissions'. Mr Breen said Rafferty, who his a part-time joiner, had fallen asleep on his couch and woke up around 5am to 'sort out his difficulties' but crashed into a tree.

No private property was damaged and Rafferty 'made full admissions in a cautioned statement in which he said he was very remorseful for his actions'.

The solicitor added the driver 'accepts that he could have killed himself or someone else' by driving with drink on board. In addition, he admitted having no insurance on the van, which was written off as a result of the crash.

Judge Mitchell fined Rafferty 50 for having no insurance and 100 for drink driving. He banned him from driving for four years. The judge said the fines were at a reduced level to reflect the fact that he co-operated to such an extent that in relation to the drink driving, it would have been difficult to prosecute it otherwise'.
Joe Carolan is a patient man. He'd want to be. Change doesn't come quickly but thanks to the decades of groundwork that he, and many others like him, change is beginning to come.

From Rockmarshall, Joe has been in New Zealand for a number of years and works as a senior organiser for Unite, the union. Just last month, after years of work by Joe and many others like him, the Kiwi government has banned controversial zero hours contracts for workers in the fast food and related industries.

He returns to Ireland every two or three years and, from h is perspective of not being here all the time, he's well-placed to see the changes that have taken place in his home country.

'In 2008, it was the end of the boom and when I came back in 2010, it was a big shock to see how bad things were. The last time I was here was in 2013 and I was seeing depression in people.

'Even people I knew who were always a laugh, always good craic, even they were depressed. People were internalising their problems, suicide was happening again and were struggling to cope with everything that they were facing and the pressures they were under'.

Three years later, he's back again and he's appalled by the housing and homelessness crisis. He puts it simply: 'It's a crime. Housing should be nationalised'.

But he feels there is a 'dawn' coming - that there is 'definitely a change coming'. Joe seems to have grounds for his optimism. He has spent his time in Ireland in Summerhill in Dublin, Derry's Bogside and West Belfast. In the elections for the Northern Assembly, leftist candidates Eamonn McCann in Derry and Gerry Carroll in West Belfast cut through the traditional tribalism to gain a seat.

Joe says that the huge vote in February's general election in the South for PBP-AAA candidate, Gareth Weldon, and the election of a record number of the party's candidates in other parts of the country, also points to the coming dawn.

'I saw on the internet the vote for Gareth and I just knew there was an awakening in the Irish people'. The campaign against water charges was 'a catalyst' for the rise of the left. 'We are the country that gave the concept of boycott to the rest of the world and it's working here now'.

But, as he says himself, none of the electoral successes on both parts of the island could have been possible without the years of hard and painstaking work put in on the ground over many years. Just over ten years ago, the campaign against bin charges, in which Joe was involved, saw people jailed.

'In relation to the water charges, people realise they are already paying for it and they are talking to each other about the campaign against the charges, talking to their neighbours. This is community activism and we are leading the way. It's coming from the people themselves and they are hugely resentful of the fact that they have bailed out the banks, are paying more taxes than ever before and are getting nowhere and they are watching how the rich elite in this country are getting wealthier, paying less to the State'.

It is, he believes, part of a global movement, which started with the 'Occupy' activism, the 1%-99% debate, the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party and the recent rise of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders in the USA.

Joe recently met Corbyn's shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell and says the party's new leadership are 'old school, with principals' and are 'willing to support workers', particularly those estimated five million British workers on zero hours contracts.

Academia call these workers the 'precariat', a new class of 21st century worker who are unorganised in the workplace and have no guarantees, even of secure weekly working hours. Unite the union, where Joe is a senior organiser, started to organise in New Zealand in the wake of the 'shock therapy' administered to the country in the wake of a recession in the 1980s that saw the corporatisation od state services.

Workers' rights secured over the previous 50 years were rowed back in many sectors in New Zealand. Three years ago, Unite started agitating for three basic rights - a living wage, the abolition of youth rates and security of hours. They quickly achieved the first two, but the problem of zero hours contracts endured.

Joe and the union focused on the fast food sector, often seen as entry level jobs or the 'bottom rung'. Workers in McDonald's in New Zealand went on strike three years ago and throughout that winter, pickets were placed on the company's headquarters. Workers at other outlets, like KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks started to join the union, while Joe helped to organise workers in the casino sector.

One of the key moves made in the battle was the media work done by Joe and others ahead of the strikes. He sat down with journalists and patiently explained their point of view. This helped to garner support for the workers when the strike got underway and helped to move public opinion in their favour.

Five weeks of 'an energetic and high profile' strike, where the strikers felt that public opinion was behind them, they secured the scrapping of zero hours contracts in these outlets. The momentum of this victory propelled Joe and the campaign to go for an all-out ban on zero hours contracts. And thanks to public opinion and the unstoppable force of it simply being the right thing to do, last month, the legislation making these contracts illegal was passed, unanimously, in parliament. 'You get a victory like that once a decade', says Joe.

On the current political situation in Ireland, Joe says: 'This government arrangement is set up to fail. It's simple - if you want a left wing government, you need more people in left wing organisations'.

As he prepares to return to New Zealand, Joe has renewed optimism. 'There's great hope in Ireland. I like the idea of the unions here returning to the ideals of Larkin and Connolly. You can feel the people power'.
The number of people on the live register in Dundalk showed a marginal increase last month, according to the latest figures from the CSO.

There were 5,354 people in receipt of unemployment benefits in Dundalk at the end of May, up 2.8% on the previous month.

In Louth as whole, there were 12,275 people in dole queues,up 1.1% on the number for April.

Drogheda still retains the highest number of people on the live register.

Responding to the CSO figures Peter Fitzpatrick, said that a reduction of almost 30% in unemployment in Louth over the past five years is proof of the government's commitment to creating sustainable employment.

'When I first entered politics in 2011 almost 18,000 men and women were unemployed in County Louth, and nearly 2,000 Enterprise Ireland and IDA jobs were lost in the county.

'That was five years ago and thankfully things are now changing radically for the better. In November 2015 the number of men and women unemployed in County Louth stood at just over 12,500.

That was a drop of just under 6,000 in the space of five years, a reduction of unemployment in County Louth by almost 30%.

'Many of the new jobs in County Louth have been created by the indigenous small businesses, who have started to benefit from the economic recovery.'

'Louth has also benefited from foreign direct investment. In the last three years one in ten of all foreign direct investment jobs came to the county.'

Companies like PayPal, eBay, National Pen, Sales Sense, East Coat Bakehouse, Prometric and Moorehill lodge are just some of the larger companies in Louth who have been instrumental in creating the new jobs, alongside the many SME's.

But our work is not done and we must continue to build towards full sustainable employment.
Finding summer camps for the kids can be an annual chore for parents as the school holidays approach, but, thanks to a Dundalk man and his new company, there's now a centralised website that could be the answer to mums and dads' perennial problems.

Liam Cunningham from Greenacres is one of the founders of the site, scamps.ie and thanks to his previous incarnation in charge of the Friary Youth Club, not to mention many years spent as a leader at Knockadoon Youth Weeks (KYW) camp in Cork, he knows what he's talking about.

Liam, who founded the company with his brother, Niall, and two other Louth men - Paul Berrill and Patrick Dooley said: 'Scamps is the only one-stop-shop for parents accessing camps in Ireland. Our focus is on promoting the array of camps we have all over Ireland and on making sure parents can easily find the appropriate camp for their child.

'Parents are frustrated at the amount of school holidays, the significant costs of childminding and the multiple internet searches they have to undertake to find a camp that works for their budget, location and child's needs. Scamps addresses all of these issues through a simple, easy-to-use search platform'.

He is a chartered accountant working in Google, while the other three also work full-time in other jobs. The site, which was launched last month, has already attracted major summer camp players including the GAA and Starcamp. Liam said: 'We want to be the booking.com for the summer camps'.
A North Louth nurse has been struck off after lying about how a resident at a care home for people with dementia in Newry was hurt when she fell in her room, the Argus can reveal.

Mary Ellen Donnelly, who is from the Cooley area and is aged in her late fifties, had been a nurse for 36 years at the time of the incident, admitted lying to management at Ashgrove Care Home in Newry and telling a junior colleague to do the same after the accident in April 2014.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing last week found her guilty of misconduct and issued a striking off order. The Argus understands that Ms Donnelly was only registered as a nurse in the North and not in the Republic.

The fitness to practise hearing was told that Ms Donnelly, who first registered as a nurse in 1978, was working a night shift at the care home on April 13 2014 when she went for a sleep break at about 2am.

While taking her break, a health care assistant was alerted by a loud cry. When she went to investigate, the health care assistant found the woman lying face down on the floor, so she alerted Ms Donnelly and asked for assistance because she was not allowed to touch the lady.

Ms Donnelly and her colleague helped the woman off the floor and put her into her armchair for safety.

They both noticed a bruise beginning to appear on her arm, but neither of them had witnessed the accident so they had no idea how it had happened.

The NMC panel said Ms Donnelly told the health care assistant 'not to tell the truth about what had happened and told her to write a false statement regarding the incident, stating that the patient had fallen out of bed and bumped into a locker during the fall, which caused the bruising'.

Ms Donnelly then recorded false information about the incident and the injury into the woman's medical notes.

The NMC continued: 'Further, the registrant did not hand over the true circumstances of the incident to the morning staff at the start of their shift. The patient's next of kin were not informed of the fall'.

Ms Donnelly's lies were uncovered the following night when the colleague who originally alerted her to the accident told senior staff what had happened.

She claimed Ms Donnelly 'pressured her into making a false statement'.

Management at the care home launched an investigation into the allegations and Ms Donnelly was subsequently sacked after she admitted lying about what had happened.

She appealed the decision to dismiss her, but this was upheld by the home and she was referred to the NMC in 2015 by the manager of the centre.

The fitness to practise panel was told Ms Donnelly, who did not appear at the hearing, had applied for voluntary removal from the NMC register on March 10 this year. In her application, she said that she was no longer working as a nurse and had no intention to return to the profession due to ill health.

She also provided a letter from her doctor which said she has experienced problems with her health following the incident.

The application was refused, and Ms Donnelly admitted the five charges that she was facing.

Following the fitness to practice hearing in Belfast, the NMC panel said: 'Ms Donnelly's actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse' and were 'fundamentally incompatible with her remaining on the register'.

'The registrant's position at the home meant that she was dealing with vulnerable patients who required the maximum degree of professional conduct. Her behaviour in failing to disclose and record the patient's fall put the patient at unwarranted risk of harm.

'Her failure to recognise the serious nature of the incident at the time, and her failure to demonstrate any insight, remorse or remediation since that time, suggests a risk of repetition of such behaviour.

'During the home's investigation, the registrant submitted a false statement providing a fabricated account of the incident.

'She then also asked a junior colleague to provide a false account. Whilst she did eventually admit to fabricating the circumstances, this was only after her colleague had whistle-blown. It is believed that the registrant would not have come forward had this not been done'.
A Dundalk teenager has been given a jail sentence of four months after he asked the judge at the district court to send him to prison because he found the temptation of drugs on the outside too much to bear.

Aaron Rochford, Sliabh Foy Park, Muirhevnamor, admitted a number of offences that happened in Drogheda earlier this year. On February 4 Gardai in Drogheda received a report about a break-in to a support service for older people at Haymarket.

It was reported there was someone on the premises and although Rochford ran off, he was caught a short time later with blood on his hands from breaking the window and property from the premises, including some sterling cash, also found on him.

Rochford also admitted causing criminal damage to car in Drogheda on the same day. He broke two windows in the Blue Bar causing 600 worth of damage and compensation had not been paid.

Judge Alan Mitchell heard how Rochford, who has 34 previous convictions, including for criminal damage, theft, burglary and being in a stolen car, had been in care since he was ten years old.

Solicitor Eleanor Kelly said her client's father had 'died from drug-taking' in 2007 and the defendant 'is aware he's going down the same path'.

Ms Kelly said: 'All his offending is from drug taking and drugs are too big of a draw on the outside for him. He fully accepts that he needs help and wants to engage with a drugs counsellor while in prison.

'He's not able to come up with compensation. He wants to change, because if he doesn't get help now, he knows he will end up either in and out of prison or dead.

'When he's clean, he's a very different young man but, unfortunately at this stage, drugs have taken over'. Judge Mitchell imposed a six month sentence, with the final two months suspended for two years. He said: 'Normally people are not happy to go to prison'.

Other charges relating to Rochford, including burglaries, were adjourned to Cloverhill District Court on June 29. Inspector Martin Beggy said the State is waiting for forensics to be completed.
With the recent onset of good weather more and more people are taking to the water to enjoy recreational activities.

However, this has lead to a significant rise in maritime recreational incidents. As a result the Irish Coast Guard, the RNLI and Irish Water Safety advise caution to those engaged in recreational activities in or near water during the current spell of good weather and throughout the summer months.

Gareth Morrison, RNLI lifesaving delivery manager, said: 'As the weather improves we notice an increase in callouts for our lifeboats. Many of these incidents relate to leisure activities where a nice day out has unfortunately ended in a call for help. Seeking some simple advice before you take to the water or coastline could make all the difference. Our volunteer lifeboat crews are always on call but when every second counts in an emergency you need to be prepared.'

Roger Sweeney, deputy CEO of Irish Water Safety, said that 'Ireland averages eleven drownings every month and that constant responsible child supervision will help prevent further tragedies. Parents should check that their local primary school is teaching Irish Water Safety's classroom based curriculum that instils good habits for a safe summer ahead.'

Phil O'Rourke, Wicklow Water Safety development officer, said: 'I would like to appeal to parents and guardians of young children to take particular care of them at or near water, wherever that may be at the beach, rivers, lakes, ornamental ponds or paddling pools and water hazards and indeed slurry pits on farms.'

The ESB has also issued a reminder to people about the dangers of swimming in the ESB reservoir at Poulaphou ca and Golden Falls in Wicklow.
A priest in the Diocese of Cloyne falsely accused of child sex abuse has called on the Catholic Church to put proper structures in place to protect priests who have been the subject of malicious and spurious allegations of child sexual abuse.

Fr Tim Hazelwood (57) from Castletownroche in North Cork has spent the past six years fighting to clear his name after he was accused anonymously of child sex abuse.

He spoke this week of how he was left to his own devices to do so with little support from the church.

Fr Hazelwood, who served in Fermoy, Youghal, Banteer, Dungourney, Charleville, Blarney and is now in Killeagh, said he was going public about his own experience as he knew of other priests who had been similarly abandoned by the Church after they were falsely accused of child sex abuse.

"Priests are sitting ducks for this sort of thing because there is no protection for us within the Church and we live now in a climate both in society and in the church which presumes priests are guilty until they prove their innocence," he said.

Fr Hazelwood said he accepted the majority of complaints made about abuse are genuine and should be fully investigated, but had little time for those who make complaints anonymously and refuse to put their names to accusations - as happened in his case.

"There is no doubt huge damage has been done by clerical child sex abuse and I believe a majority of complaints are genuine. People who put their names forward and go to the gardai would not do so unless they had good grounds for it but anonymous complainants are a different matter," he said.

"Only for the fact my accuser chose to remain anonymous and refused to come forward, I would have been stepped down out of ministry and both my reputation and my life would have been destroyed," said Fr Hazelwood, who said he had no understanding as to his accuser's motives.

Although the Catholic Church's watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children, advised no action should be taken against Fr Hazelwood because the accuser was anonymous, the diocese did inform the gardai and the HSE about the complaint, although neither ever questioned him.

Fr Hazelwood was never given any details about his accuser, who had contacted the Diocese of Cloyne Child Protection Officer, but he was able to identify the man and when his accuser began harassing him with phonecalls and letters he made a formal complaint to An Garda Siochana.

Garda questioned the accuser and sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions, but the DPP opted not to direct a charge of harassment as the DPP felt there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

Fr Hazelwood then raised the matter with colleagues in the Association of Catholic Priests.

He was advised by solicitor Robert Dore who acted for Fr Kevin Reynolds, the Irish priest falsely accused in an RTE television documentary 'Mission to Prey' of raping a Kenyan teenager, to initiate High Court proceedings against his accuser.

"We went to the High Court and I received a detailed signed retraction, an admission that lies were told and a signed apology. My legal fees were paid and a generous donation was paid to my nominated charity, but I got little or no support from the church in the fight to clear my name."

According to Fr Hazelwood, the most difficult aspect of his ordeal was telling his siblings and only two weeks ago once matters were finalised, did he tell his elderly mother.

"That was the most upsetting experience but I was able to tell her it was sorted and I was okay."

While Fr Hazelwood is grateful to the Bishop of Cloyne, Dr William Crean, for standing by him and appointing him a parish priest in the middle of his ordeal, he said he believed that the Catholic Church "cut me loose, hung me out to dry and disowned me".

He said he now believed was time for priests in Ireland to establish a national body, which would lobby the bishops to carry out a review of safeguarding structures so that accused priests are ensured natural justice with a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

"We have rightly and properly protocols in place for the protection of children, but there are no standardised procedures in place with regard to priests who have been accused of abuse. It comes down to each diocese and the individual bishop.

"I was lucky in the sense that because my accuser chose to remain anonymous, I wasn't stepped down out of ministry but that can vary from diocese to diocese and somebody could be stepped down in another diocese on foot of an anonymous complaint which is wrong.

"I struggled between my desire to clear my name and the expectation by others that I would lie low and say nothing but I've decided to go public so that other false accusers know that they won't get away with malicious complaints and so that other priests in the same situation know there is hope."
The Deptartment of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has just launched the 100m Knowledge Transfer Group Scheme.

The Scheme involves discussion groups for farmers across 6 sectors - Beef, Sheep, Dairy, Tillage, Equine and Poultry. The intention is that the discussion groups will provide support to the agri-food sector by building knowledge and skills in producers.

The Knowledge Transfer (KT) Groups will run for a period of 3 years and will be delivered to farmers by qualified facilitators, with the all Groups to be approved by the end of June. Farmers will be required to attend a minimum of 5 Knowledge Transfer (discussion group) meetings in each of the 3 years of the Scheme. Each KT Group must contain between 12 and 18 members. Farmers can arrange for an approved nominee to attend in his or her place. It is also open for farmers to attend two KT Groups in different sectors - for example, one beef Group and one sheep Group. Each participating farmer will receive an annual payment of 750 for fully completing each year of a KT Group. However they will only receive 50% payment in respect of the second KT Group joined. The Dept. will pay KT Group facilitators directly for facilitating and administering the scheme.

In addition to attendance at meetings there is a requirement for farmers to complete an individualised Farm Improvement Plan in conjunction with the KT Group facilitator. This plan will include completion of an E-Profit Monitor; completion of an Animal Health Measure with a DAFM approved Private Veterinary Practitioner; completion of a Grassland Management Plan and completion of a Bord Bia Carbon Navigator. All these parts of the Farm Improvement Plan will need to be updated annually following completion in the first year. Participants will also be required to complete a Farm Health and Safety section with their Knowledge Transfer Facilitator in conjunction with the Farm Plan.

Further details are also available from Teagasc who will be holding information for drystock farmers throughout the county over next week. Teagasc advisers are participating in facilitating KT groups throughout the county and will take applications from drystock farmers who would like to participate in the Scheme.
For those that like a good book to enjoy, especially during the lazy days of summer, then there's none better than 'What she never told me' by Kate McQuaile.

Based in London these days, Kate is a Drogheda woman who attended St Joseph's primary school, ('which no longer exists,' she tells me) and then the Sacred Heart.

She still has relatives around town, but moved to the UK some time ago.

'I wanted to live somewhere else for a while and travel. I was also interested in playing Early Music and knew a lot of people in London, thanks to an annual course that still takes place at An Grianan in Termonfeckin every year.'

She became a journalist - specialising in energy - and loves life there.

'London is great and I can't imagine ever leaving it, although I do like to visit Ireland regularly. It really is true that London is a series of villages. I know a lot of Irish people living here but none from Drogheda.'

She is working hard on a second book, also set in Ireland. 'I have ideas for a third and fourth,' Kate added.

Catch the 'Glitch' show

If the usual efforts of the Calipo Theatre Company are anything to go by, their latest show in mid June is a must.

The Droichead Arts Centre presents a new play by Martin Maguire and directed by Darren Thornton entitled 'Glitch' and is based around an early evening talk show. It's on Wed, Thur, Friday, June 22, 23 and 24 at 8pm.
Watch Out - The Vikings Are Coming! Pirate Princess Ava Dolan (8) leads the Ardglass Vikings to Drogheda for the Irish Maritime Festival taking place on July 9-10

Local companies are invited to be part of the Irish Maritime Festival, taking place on July 9 and 10th next.

The Festival offers great opportunities for local businesses to showcase all they have to offer to an audience of over 40,000 visitors.

Fashion, health and beauty will be a major feature of the Festival in 2016 and this creates more opportunities for local business.

There will be product demonstrations and "hacks and how-to" sessions all weekend with leading hair and beauty stylists. The dedicated Fashion, Health and Beauty zone is sponsored by Fuschia and has a limited number of places for businesses wishing to trade.

Booking a stand couldn't be easier  for the Fashion, Health and Beauty zone call Karen Healy on 086 8557878 or call Bronagh Conlon on 087 2405283 to book a place at the Food Village.

The Irish MaritimeFestival is hosted by Louth County Council and Drogheda Port Company and in association with Maxol. The event is also proudly supported by Virgin Media and Failte Ireland.
Sister Ann was born in Lifford, Co. Donegal in 1929 and joined the Medical Missionaries of Mary in 1947. After profession she studied medicine in UCD.

Her first assignment was to Anua, Nigeria in 1959 and she served there for six years. She then completed postgraduate studies at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, obtaining an MRCOG in 1968. She later obtained an FMCOG (Nigeria), an FRCOG, and was made an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland in 1997.

After working at several other missions in Nigeria, Sister Ann returned to Anua in 1970 as a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology and was also medical superintendent.

In 1990 she established the Family Life Centre/VVF Hospital in Itam, not far from Anua.

This facility was the first of its kind in Nigeria.

Sister Ann returned to Ireland in 2006 for health reasons. She moved to the nursing facility, Aras Mhuire, in July 2008 for ongoing nursing care.

She died there peacefully on 28 May 2016.
'The arch-enemy of compassion is pity.' Sister Ann Ward looks you straight in the eye when she says this, and you get the feeling that she knows a thing or two about the subject.

'Pity puts distance between you and person you are pitying. Compassion puts the two of you on the same level, enabling you to work together to change the situation, or at least to make it more bearable.'

A deep sense of compassion is what drove Ann Ward to leave her Donegal home more than 50 years ago, when she joined the Medical Missionaries of Mary. The same desire impelled her as she entered medical school in Dublin, and later when she pursued her post-graduate studies to obtain her Master's and her Fellowship in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

When her peers at University College Dublin, presented her with the Distinguished Graduate Award for outstanding achievement in the field of medicine, she told them, 'If you found yourself in the same circumstances I work in, you would have done just as much as I have done.'

Sister Ann had previously received international recognition for her 'outstanding contribution to women's health'. Over the years, she was frequently invited to prestigious medical schools or conferences to present papers, or to demonstrate the surgical procedures she has pioneered. But Sister Ann shuns publicity.

'Please don't write about me,' she protests. 'The focus needs to be placed on the women who suffer this terrible condition, and on the services that need to be put in place to bring relief and proper treatment.'

In southeastern Nigeria, more than 3,000 women have now been successfully treated for what is surely one of the most distressing conditions a woman can have inflicted upon her.

Sister Ann's patients come to Itam because of obstetrical fistula, usually vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF). The condition usually develops from prolonged and obstructed labour. Usually the infant is dead upon delivery, and the mother is left with severe internal damage, leaving her incontinent of urine and/or faeces, in acute pain, and with great difficulty in walking.

Added to this is the terrible stigma and the ostracism because of the smell, and the fact that she has no living child. She will probably have difficulty in having another child. In communities where women's rights are not valued, she may even be driven from her home or her village.

'The sad part is that today most of the patients are teenagers whose pregnancies have gone wrong. Unfortunately they never get back to school again because their parents have been let down. The money that was put aside for their schooling is often swallowed up on their treatment instead.'

'Unfortunately, the problem of VVF is growing,' says Sister Ann. 'When I started this work, I thought I would work myself out of a job and that VVF would be unheard of by now. Sad to say, it is on the increase. Not only that, the cases coming in seem to be much worse now, much more difficult. The girls are much younger and, consequently, they are much more damaged. The majority of them, sadly, are damaged for life.

Many specialists from overseas want to spend a short time at Itam to get experience, but this is not a solution to the Nigerian problem.

"They would ask me to let them come and to keep the easier cases for them but I would have to tell them there are no easy cases. They are all difficult and there is no point in coming to learn just the surgical techniques. The post-operative care is critical. You have to be able to stay with these patients and you have to be in this work for the long haul."

'With an illness like this, you have to have somebody that has compassion,' repeats Sister Ann. 'There is no other way it can be done.'

While the situation looks bleak enough, the MMMs and staff at Itam do what they can to make a difference. As part of the primary health care programme, women who are healed from VVF are trained as ambassadors to go back to their villages and explain to the women there how they may get into difficulty in childbirth and the consequences if they don't get help in time.

Many women still feel that their difficult labour is due to witchcraft. Hearing those who have been cured speak about their experiences reveals to them that it is not due to witchcraft, but due to a medical and mechanical difficulty.

It brings them the greatest relief to be freed from their superstitions and to know that they are not bad people and not the victim of a curse.

(MMM website)
An apparent u-turn means a much needed school extension at Scoil Naomh Feichin in Termonfeckin will now not go ahead this year.

Local Senator Ged Nash has expressed his anger at the Department of Education's decision in relation to the new seven-room build.

'Last November, and after many years of solid campaigning by parents, teachers and school management, I secured a commitment from the Department of Education in its 5 year Capital Programme, approved by Cabinet, that the badly needed new extension for Termonfeckin would start construction in 2016.

'I am horrified that the school has now been told by the new government that there are no funds to build the school this year. The resources were available when the solemn commitment was made by the Department - the questions event months on is; where did the money go?

'I met with the school Principal on Friday and have been in communication with a number of local parents who are devastated by the news.

'There is nobody fighting for the South Louth area at the top table and this is a consequence of that. They can count on me to fight their corner,' he stated.

He says he's been in touch with the new Minister for Education to explain the Department's decision and to immediately and urgently row back and make good on the previous government's commitment to build the extension this year.

"The school has gone through all of the necessary actions and they need the green light now,' he stated.
In response to a request from Pope Francis in the Holy year of Mercy, St Peter's has been selected by the Archdiocese of Armagh to hold A Mass dedicated to the Sick and People with disabilities.

This Mass is been organised by Archdeacon Jim Carroll at 11am on Sunday 12 June and is dedicated to the sick and people with disabilities their relatives and friends. All participants will have the opportunity to enter through the Holy door of Mercy.

It is envisaged that a number of organisations will be there to help with the logistics on the day, St John's ambulance, Red Cross, Order of Malta and Irish Wheelchair Association. They would ask that all those wishing to participate to be at the church around 10.30am. All are welcome

Because of this special event on the eve of St. Anthony's feast day there will be no 12.15 mass on the 12th June.
Portmarnock-based theatre company, High Rock Productions is set to launch its new comic sketch show 'Ireland, a Survivors Guide', on June 1 in the International bar on Wicklow Street.

The show is a roller coaster guide to Irish people, culture and customs and previews have been going down a storm with tourists and locals alike.

'The feedback has been fantastic,' said Sean McDonagh. 'This is definitely funnier than the Book of Kells or Kilmainham Gaol,' according to Sean's brother Niall.

The brothers ran a promotional night in February for the Irish Association of Tour guides and the phenomenally positive reaction led to an invite from Failte Ireland to entertain the Foreign Press on St Patrick's day this year.

Sean said: 'We were a little nervous before the gig as we looked around at tables full of tired looking tv crews and journalists from every corner of the world. But by the end of the sketches we had them all laughing - the Chinese, the Canadians, the Indian table - it was amazing to watch.'

The brothers often rehearse in their parent's family home in Portmarnock which makes sense when you consider that their mother, Maeve Ingoldsby is a writer herself with 40 years experience in the business.

'We always show the sketches to her first because she's ruthless,' said Sean, with Niall adding: 'She also makes the best soup in North County Dublin.'

The brothers joined forces in 2011 and set up High Rock Productions named after their favourite local sea swimming spot between Portmarnock and Malahide. They honed their physical comedy skills over the past five years by travelling around the country doing comic sketch shows in Irish for Leaving Cert students .

A Survivor's Guide runs in the International Bar from June 1st, Tuesday to Saturday, at 1pm. The show costs 8 per person with a lunch deal available. Afternoon and evening shows for groups are available by appointment.

Booking at www.irelandasurvivorsguide.com. Enquiries to irelandasurvivorsguide@gmail.com
The Garda band took to the stage in Malahide Rugby Club to help raise funds for Howth RNLI and Malahide Lions Club charities.

Some 150 people attended the event which raised over  2000 for the local good causes.

Conducted by Inspector Pat Kenny, the band kicked off with the rousing traditional tune Sarah's Delight which got the audience tapping their feet.

Garda Charles Kavanagh gave Michael Buble a run for his money with Frank Sinatra hits including Fly Me To The Moon.

The band performed a poignant and haunting rendition of Danny Boy, a tune they usually play at ceremonies to remember their fallen colleagues.

Some of the audience took to dancing in the aisles and singing along to Amarillo and Daniel O'Donnell's hit I just want to dance with you and Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues.

The special guest performance was by the St. Oliver Plunkett Junior School Choir in Malahide, which included boys and girls from 2nd and 3rd class under the guidance of their teachers Annette Curry and Anne White.

They sang a medley of songs including hits by ABBA and rendition of Row Your Boat specially for Howth RNLI.

The event was organised by Malahide Lions Club to help raise money for Howth RNLI and other charities which they support including; St. Francis Hospice, Hugh's House, C.A.S.A., the Caroline Foundation, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland and Laura Lynn.

Donal O'Meara, President of Malahide Lions Club said: 'As first responders the Gardai work closely with Howth RNLI, so it was fitting to have the Garda Band here to help raise money for the local lifeboat.

'Tonight has also helped to raise funds for other charities in the community which support senior citizens and needy families in the locality".

Rose Michael, Howth RNLI Fundraising Chairperson said: 'This evening's event has been a fantastic success. The money raised tonight will help to cover the costs of kitting out and training our crew, and the running costs of the lifeboat.

'With holiday season approaching more people will be taking to the water, it will be a busy time for our volunteer lifeboat crew to be saving lives at sea. We don't receive any funding from government and are totally reliant on the generosity of the community, so every donation is gratefully accepted and greatly appreciated.'
The graduating class of 2016 at Ardgillan Community College left the Balbriggan school with tributes from their principal and year head ringing in their ears.

As the second group of sixth years left this young school, Ardgillan principal, Michael O'Leary spoke warmly about the classes achievements as students and as people during their time at the school.

Mr O'Leary told the sixth years at their graduation ceremony in the school: 'As we approach the end of sixth year I am amazed at the speed at which one year passes into another. I cannot believe that six years have passed since you came through the doors of the college, most of you accompanied by your parents.'

He added: 'From an early stage it became obvious that you were a lovely group of young men and women with enormous talents and potential. These talents have been demonstrated on the playing fields, in the BT Young Scientist competition, in debating and in an array of musical accomplishments. Indeed, our school website is adorned with photographs taken by our sixth year photographers.

'You have the potential to achieve excellent examination results and to fulfil your goals and dreams. Navigating the stormy waters of the Leaving Certificate examinations will become less hazardous if you make the right choices by preparing well and by giving your very best in every examination. Don't look back with regret at what could have been achieved but use all of your efforts and abilities to fulfil your dreams.'

He added: 'I am very proud of the contributions that you have made to the college over the past six years. I wish you long, happy lives and I am confident that you will influence and contribute enormously to society.'

Adding to the tributes to the graduating class was their year head, and teacher at the school, Theresa Gannon. She told the students: 'I have watched each of you as you developed into the young adults you are today, ready for the next step in your journey.

'I am confident you will approach your future learning be it in third level or in your career with determination and a desire to always strive for the best you can give.'

She added: 'Graduation from sixth year brings wonderful opportunities and exciting challenges for the future that await you. The challenges you will face will guide you, the mistakes you will make will remind you that you are always learning.

'This next step on your journey is full of excitement and adventure, there are friendships waiting to be formed, relationships waiting to be had and careers waiting to be carved. Enjoy the journey, class of 2016 and I wish you every happiness in your future.'
St Colmcille's Boys National School is celebrating its golden jubilee this year and is holding a number of events to mark the occasion.

On Monday next (June 13) Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will visit the school to hold a prayer service.

The school will also be burying a time capsule, followed by an open day for parents and the local community to drop in

Local people are welcome to pop along between 2.30pm and 5pm where they will be greeted by new principal Kieran Lyons and all the staff.
Forensic accountants are investigating an alleged fraud resulting in the apparent loss of some 700,000 from the books of Rush Credit Union after the local Credit Union was advised by the Central Bank to launch an investigation.

Accountants from Grant Thornton were called into the local Credit Union in February but it is only now that Rush Credit Union's 12,000 customers are hearing about it.

Those customers were recently written to by the credit union and asked to check that the balances on their accounts were correct but the letter makes no reference to the investigation that is currently underway at the local saving and lending institution.

One member who spoke to the Fingal Independent, said: 'It's very disconcerting as a member that this has been going on for months.

'Apparently they called investigators in back in February and I do think the members should have been informed then.'

The long-time member said of the controversy: 'You tend to expect more from the local Credit Union than a High Street bank because it's more community based. I hope they come through this and everything will work out but it does cast a shadow on the community.'

The local member confirmed he had received the letter from the Credit Union asking him to check the balances on his account and said the letter was 'a worry'.

'They are effectively asking us to audit ourselves as members - I would be expecting them to come to anyone where they find anomalies and this infers they don't know what people have in their accounts or whether they have anything missing.'

In a brief statement on the issue, Rush Credit Union explained: 'In February 2016, the Board of Rush Credit Union Limited appointed Grant Thornton to carry out an independent review on behalf of the Board following the identification by the Board of a transaction requiring examination.

'The external review process is nearly complete and a report is being prepared for the Board. The Central Bank and the Garda Siochana were informed of the situation some time ago.'

Crucially, the Credit Union said that members' saving were not at risk and said: 'The Credit Union continues to operate as normal and provide all usual services to its members.

'There is no implication for the savings of any of our account holders.'

The Irish League of Credit Unions reinforced that point, saying: 'We would like to reassure members that no credit union funds will be affected by the incident and that the credit union is fully insured to deal with such matters.

'Operations at Rush Credit Union have not been disrupted and members can do business with the credit union in the usual way.'

Despite those assurances, members of the Credit Union are concerned and shocked at the news and are asking why they were not informed about the apparent financial discrepancies sooner.
An adult male who fell from Balbriggan Harbour Wall onto the concrete below had to be lifted out of the harbour by two units of the Dublin Fire Brigade assisted by the Irish Coast Guard.

Fire Brigade crews from Balbriggan and a rescue unit from Phibsboro Fire Station went to work alongside the Irish Coast Guard on Wednesday after a man fell into the harbour when the tide was out.

The rescue crews used heavy machinery to haul the stricken man back onto the harbour wall.

Despite a long and hard fall, it is understood the man escaped without major injury and his rescue saw the emergency services work in concert brilliantly to achieve a successful resolution.
Donabate commuters could have a more predictable bus service available to them with news that the National Transport Authority (NTA) is considering providing a 'Real Time Passenger Information' (RTPI) system for the 33B bus route.

Confirmation from the NTA that it is considering the move, came in a letter to Cllr Paul Mulville (NP) who has been lobbying for the introduction of the system on the peninsula bus route.

Cllr Mulville explained why he has called for the introduction of the system on the 33B route, saying: 'Some local bus users have suggested that there should be Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) provided in Donabate, one on either side of the road in the town centre, so bus users will be better informed as to when their bus will arrive.

'Such displays have been provided by Dublin Bus and the RTPI all across North County Dublin, and would be welcomed also on the Donabate Portrane peninsula.

'RTPI displays also encourage more people to use public transport as they help give commuters greater confidence in published bus timetables.'

Cllr Mulville added: 'After raising this matter at the local area committee, I made direct representations to the Department of Transport and to the NTA. I am glad to have received a response from the NTA that although Donabate isn't included in the current phase of RTPI installations, the area will be given consideration when the next phase of installations is being put together.'
A woman who posed as a UN diplomat and took nearly 9,000 from a Japanese woman in Dublin airport has been given a suspended three-year sentence.

Agata Pracz (39) from Swords, pleaded guilty to dishonestly inducing Yumi Takekoshi to hand over 8,990 on July 15, 2014 by promising her access to a container filled with cash

Garda Enda Ledwith previously told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Ms Takekoshi, a 58-year-old Tokyo woman, was contacted through social media site, LinkedIn, by a woman purporting to a be a '"two-star US general' based in Dublin Airport.

The 'general' told Ms Takekoshi a container filled with currency to the value of $10.5 million (6.8 million) was at a bonded warehouse in Dublin and that she would give Ms Takekoshi access to it for the sum of 8990.

As a result, Ms Takekoshi booked a flight and flew into Dublin airport on July 15, 2014 where she met a woman who claimed to be a UN diplomat named Sandra Daly. 'That woman was actually the accused,' Gda Ledwith said.

Pracz took Ms Takekoshi to a bar in Dublin airport and took the money from her, before promising to call her with details of the container full of cash, the court heard.

Sentencing Pracz , Judge Patrick McCartan said he had 'difficulty accepting the case in its entirety'.

Handing down the suspended sentence, Judge McCartan said he hoped he wouldn't meet Pracz again. #If she does drift back into her old practises in which she is well versed, well, I'll be waiting here for you and you won't get a second chance.'
Skin cancer, one of the most common forms of cancer in the Ireland, can be divided into the following different types:

- Melanoma (malignant melanoma).

This type of skin cancer develops from melanocytes.

- Non-melanoma.

These are about 20 times more common than melanomas and are further divided into two main types: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) - skin cancer which develops from basal cells; Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) - skin cancer which develops from cells known as keratinocytes. BCC and SCC occur mainly in white and fair-skinned people, rarely occurring in dark-skinned people.

Basal cell Carcinoma (BCC)

The first sign of a BCC is often a small red, pink or pearly lump which appears on previously normal skin. Although the lump is often dome-shaped, BCC's can vary in shape and colour. They usually grow very slowly and it can take many months for one to grow to a centimeter or more. In time, the lump on the skin may crust over, ulcerate or bleed. BCC's very rarely spread (metastasise) to other parts of the body. However, untreated, they will continue to grow locally and can cause damage to nearby structures. For example, a BCC on the face may erode and damage the nose or ear.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)

Like BCC's, SCC's are more common in older people. A SCC typically develops on the face - most commonly on or around the ears or lips. However, any area of skin can be affected. They typically start as a small crusted or scaly area on the skin. They may grow into a lump which may look like a wart. A SCC may ulcerate or bleed from time to time. As a SCC grows larger and deeper, it damages nearby structures. A SCC may also spread (metastasise) to other areas of the body. However, this is uncommon in the early stages and most SCC are treated before any spread occurs.

Melanoma (Malignant Melanoma)

Melanomas are the least common form of skin cancer. They are, however, the most serious form as they are the most likely form to spread to other parts of the body. Melanoma is twice as common in young women as it is in young men. A typical melanoma usually starts as a small dark patch on the skin (similar to a mole). It can develop from a normal part of skin, or from an existing mole. A melanoma is often different to a mole in one or more of the following ways (summed up as ABCD) - that is:

- Asymmetry - the shape of a melanoma is often uneven and asymmetrical, unlike a mole which is usually round and even.

- Border - the border or edges of a melanoma are often ragged, notched or blurred. A mole has a smooth well-defined edge.

- Colour - the colour (pigmentation) of a melanoma is often not uniform. It may contain 2-3 shades of brown or black. A mole usually has one uniform colour.

- Diameter - the size of a melanoma is usually larger than a normal mole.

It is important to note that some melanomas are not dark, and some melanomas are not typical in how they look. As a melanoma grows on the skin it may itch, bleed, crust or ulcerate.

Treatment

FOR NON-MELANOMA SKIN CANCERS: The overall cure rate is over 95%, even for ones which have been present for a long period of time. The larger they grow, however, the more difficult they are to treat. More extensive surgery or other localised treatments may be needed if they grow large or deep before they are treated.

FOR MELANOMAS: The risk of spread to other parts of the body is high. This is why urgent, early treatment is vital. An operation is usually required to remove the melanoma. If it has already spread to other areas of the body then there is less chance of a cure. Treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy may be used for melanomas which have spread.

Prevention

Most skin cancers are caused by excessive exposure to the sun. We should all limit our sun exposure in the summer months (or all year when in hot countries nearer to the equator) by:

- Staying indoors or seeking the shade as much as possible between the hours of 11am and 3pm.

- Covering up with clothes and a wide-brimmed hat when you are out in the sunshine.

- Applying sunscreen of at least sun protection factor (SPF) 15 (SPF 30 for children or people with pale skin) which also has high ultraviolet A (UVA) protection.

For further information please visit www.cancer.ie or www.irishskinfoundation.ie
Vincent Browne and Lucy Power are congratulated on their retirement by school principal Michael Finn (left) and deputy principals Stella Kehoe and Frank Duke

Lucy Power and Vincent Browne were joined by family, friends and by past and present colleagues in The Ashdown Park Hotel recently to mark their retirement from Gorey Community School.

Paying tribute, principal Michael Finn acknowledged their contributions to the school, and thanked each them individually for their significant contribution to education in their respective areas, namely French and English. Thousands of students have benefited from their well known pedagogical prowess, he said.

Their career trajectories charted the changing educational landscape in Gorey. Lucy was a member of Gorey CBS teaching staff while Vincent taught at the Loreto secondary school before the 1993 amalgamation of Gorey's three second level schools. The values they brought with them became the cornerstone of the new school.

Colleagues Treasa Wemyss and Claire Kinsella acknowledged her Lucy's huge linguistic legacy. They said she imparted a love of French language and culture to many generations of students in Gorey.

Paul McCloskey paid tribute to Vincent's contribution to student education and enlightenment. Reflecting his distinguished contribution to the musical culture, Roisin Dempsey immortalised him in a special version of 'My Way' penned by his English department colleague Eleanor O'Reilly.

The staff and students wished them the very best in their respective retirements.
Woulfe's Bookshop was the venue for one of the big Writers' Week launches this year - Listowel native John Fitzgerald's debut collection of poetry Is Something Lost Until It's Found?

Back from his adopted home of Dublin, John was joined by scores of old pals for the event on Saturday at noon, with Woulfe's packed to bursting.

It was his old pal Cyril Kelly - of Sunday Miscellany fame - who performed the launch honours. "It was a wonderful event full of fun and nostalgia for Listowel, attended as it was by so many of John's childhood friends," Brenda Woulfe told The Kerryman. Civil engineer John has long been associated with the Week, having done workshops over the years.

John (who is a brother of former Boys' School principal Cathal Fitzgerald) was delighted with the reaction to his book.

"It has been one of our biggest sellers," Brenda said.
One of the big prizes for budding scribes remained in Kerry this year as Mercy Mounthawk student Klaudia Simachowicz's star moved into the ascendant at the Listowel Arms Hotel on opening night.

Those not fully acquainted with the whole Writers' Week package might think it simply a series of literary events over consecutive days in Listowel. It is all that of course, but much like an iceberg most of it lies lurking out of sight - in the work undertaken encouraging literary talent across the nation throughout the rest of the year.

To that end, Writers' Week reaches deep into primary and secondary schools right across the country, even venturing to give those with perhaps the least voice in our society a chance to express themselves with the Writing in Prisons competition.

A young Tralee talent shone through this year - Mercy Mounthawk's Klaudia Simachowicz. Klaudia took first prize in the under-18s category for her story Fleeting Seasons, judged a display of rare literary gifts in one so young. Better again, Klaudia won 150 too.
Tralee based author Anthony Garvey who launched the first book in his new childrens series in Listowel this week

Tralee author Anthony Garvey has launched his latest children's book at Listowel writers week.

The book 'Gravespeakers; Maria' is the first book in a series of six works Mr Garvey plans to release over the next 18 months.

Set in Tarbert in County Kerry, the book tells the story of Maria Lyons, daughter of a local undertaker, who discovers on her twelfth birthday she can communicate with the dead.

Maria is one of six children in Kerry who has this power and each of the books will tell the story of one of these children.

"I tested the book out on my own two sons Zach (10) and Samuel (7) reading them a new chapter every night and I have also done readings in over 30 primary schools in Kerry and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive," said Mr Garvey.

Anthony is currently running a competition on www.quinngarveypr.com. The winner will become the main character of book 4 in the series and will contribute to the direction of the story.
Templeglantine fashionista, Tasha O'Connor, received an unexpected the birthday present on Sunday last when she took home the coveted Best Dressed Lady title on the opening day of the June Bank Holiday Race Meeting in Listowel.

Judged by style icon and TV personality, Lorraine Keane, assisted by fashion blogger, Orlagh Winters; she received over 2,000 in prizes, all sponsored by the businesses and publicans of Listowel Town.

Tasha - who was celebrating a joint birthday at the Races with her sister Jordana - wore a blush piece headpiece with flower detail by Marc Millinery Cork, a printed 1950s style dress from ASOS and matching shoes and bag from TX Maxx. Amazingly, she only decided what she was wearing the night before.

First runner up was Grace Flynn from Pallaskenry, who received 1,200 in prizes, and 2nd runner up was Linda O'Brien from Tralee) who won 700 in prizes.

Two other prizes were awarded on the day - the Listowel Races' Classy Lady, which was won by Lisa Martin from Tralee, and the Listowel Races' Best Accessories, which was won by Elaine Kelleher from Kilgarvan, wearing a floral headpiece, featuring actual jelly tots sweet, designed by Tralee milliner Carol Kennelly.
Dr Kathryn Sullivan (right), the first American Female Astronaut to walk in space, visiting her relations, Nora, left and Kathleen OSullivan, at their home in Lauragh on the Beara Peninsula

The first US woman to have ever walked in space, Dr Kathryn D Sullivan, returned to her ancestral home in Lauragh in a warm visit on Monday in which she caught up with second cousins Nora and Kathleen O'Sullivan among a host of other relatives.

Perhaps it is because she is now the head of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that Dr Sullivan was able to time her visit to her grandfather Denis 'Lea' O'Sullivan's home with such unusually brilliant weather.

The sun sure made the family reunion all the sweeter as all caught up on the goings-on since her first, and last, visit here in 2004. A three-time space farer, Dr Sullivan was also part of one of the most critical missions of all time as it was she and her crew mates who deployed the Hubble telescope in 1990, allowing humanity a glimpse of the very birth of the universe. She also served as CAPCOM on numerous other shuttle missions.

Council tourism officer John Griffin - who met Dr Sullivan in Washington on his St Patrick's Day trip with Mayor McCarthy - accompanied her on Monday's visit.

"For such an extraordinary woman she is very personable, carrying her incredible experience and learning very lightly. It was wonderful to see Dr Sullivan meeting her cousins at the home her grandfather emigrated from in the 1890s," Mr Griffin said. It was lift-off from Lauragh on Tuesday for the Sullivan clan as they undertook a tour of the Dingle Peninsula.
Carers who do not automatically quality to receive the annual carers' support grant have been urged to check their eligibility as there is still time to apply.

Over 3,000 carers across Kerry received their Carer's Support Grant last Thursday.

The grant, formerly called the Respite Care Grant, was reduced by 325 in the 2013 budget, before its restoration to its previous level of 1,700 was announced in the last budget.

Carers who tend full-time to more than one person may be entitled to 1,700 per person cared for.

Those who are already in receipt of a Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance were automatically entitled to the grant.

However, Deputy Brendan Griffin urged carers who do not automatically qualify to check their eligibility, as there is still time to apply.

That call was repeated to The Kerryman by Katherine Cox of Caring for Carers Ireland.

"The reaction to the rise in the Carer's Support Grant has been understandably delighted. Many of these carers would not have been entitled to a Carer's Allowance or other payments for one reason or another, so for a lot of people this is the only support they get all year."

"Some people actually think that because they're not entitled to those other payments that they won't be entitled to this payment. But that's not necessarily the case, so I would urge everyone to check if they qualify."

While upbeat about the restoration, Ms Cox repeated that this payment is all that some carers get, and argued that 1,700 is not enough.

Applications for a Carer's Support Grant for any given year can be made until December 31 of the following year. Those who work more than 15 hours outside of the home do not qualify for the payment. Application forms can be found at www.welfare.ie.
Gardai investigating the disappearance of Charles Brooke Pickard from Castlecove in 1991 are following a number of new leads following a renewed public appeal for information on the 25-year-old cold case.

Leeds born father of four Mr Pickard's abduction in April 1991 - thought to be at the hands of a gang led by a former INLA terrorist turned criminal - was the subject of an appeal on last week's edition of Crimecall on RTE.

Following the broadcast - which included an emotional appeal from Mr Pickard's family who are desperate for answers and some measure of closure - gardai said they had received several phone-calls from people with information on the case.

Killarney Garda Superintendent Flor Murphy, who is leading the investigation, said that on the night of the RTE broadcast and the following day they received a number of calls about the case.

Several of the calls have provided gardai with new leads and potentially significant information which will now be fully investigated.

Gardai are continuing their appeal for information.
Fisherman from across the country competed at Oaklands Lake in New Ross to raise money for Pieta House, netting an amazing 4,000, 2,500 more than was anticipated.

The fishermen had a choice of either paying 25 or raising money through a card.

Nicky Croarkin, Patrick Ryan and Stephen Flanagan organised the event in conjunction with a Dublin based angling initiative.

Nicky said: 'All the money is going to Pieta House which is a self harming and suicide crisis centre. They are badly in need of funds and as we all know the current statistics show Ireland has one of the highest rate of suicide. We had hoped to raise 1,500 so we can't believe we managed to raise 4,000.'

Nicky said New Ross Angling Club is trying to get young people to join.

The New Ross fishermen's first team won the competition.

Nicky thanked the Oaklands New Ross Angling Club's Adrian Browne for providing the venue free of charge.

'The local team got the venue looking spectacular for the day and the event was a huge success. We'd like to thank everyone for supporting such a great cause.'
There was widespread sadness following the death of Bridget Rice (nee Tweedy) of Slade, Fethard on Sea, recently.

Bridget, who passed away peacefully on Friday, May 13, aged 67 on her mother Ann's birthday, was a woman who always had a good word for others and who lived life to the full.

Bridget was born in Ralph, Fethard on Sea, to the late George and Anne Tweedy. She had one sister Kathleen Barry and one brother John Tweedy.

Bridget attended Poulfur NS and went from there to working in the Hotel Naomh Seosamh in Fethard on Sea, in the bar, where she met many good friends, including a life-long friend and the her future husband, Richard Rice, who also hailed from Slade.

The happy couple were married in April 1969 and they were blessed with ten children. Bridget reared her children in Slade while Richard was busy working on the farm.

Bridget had many hobbies and interests, including knitting and baking for her family and friends. Her mouthwatering apple tarts were a constant presence in her kitchen.

She also loved her weekly bingo sessions with her sister Kathleen.

Bridget also had a keen interest in walking and could often be seen walking along the coast at Hook Head with her daughters and her brother, John.

A very kind natured woman, Bridget made many friends wherever she went and was always up for the craic.

Her daughter Clare said: 'If you didn't see her you'd know she was there as you'd always hear her great laugh.'

Bridget was a devoted wife and mother and she adored all of her children and grandchildren and was always interested in their lives.

She kept in regular contact with her three sons in Australia and always looked forward to their visits. Bridget passed away surrounded by her family at after an illness in University Hospital Waterford on May 13.

A massive crowd attended Bridget's funeral Mass at All Saints Church in Templetown three days later where her daughter Tricia paid a moving tribute to her mother, describing her as the family's guiding light. She spoke of her mother's great skill, talent and creativity as could be seen in the beautiful knitwear she made.

Bridget was laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery. She is sadly missed by her husband, Richard; children, Ann, Philip, Mai, Clare, Peggie, Pierce, Richard, Nicholas, Tricia and John; by her brother, John Tweedy; sister, Kathleen Barry; her daughters; sons-in-law; daughters-in-law; grandchildren; relatives and friends.

May her gentle soul rest in peace.
Revenue Officers seized 13,000 cigarettes at Rosslare Europort when they stopped and searched a van as it disembarked a ferry from France. The cigarettes were found hidden in a chest freezer unit concealed in the back of the van.

The van was stopped and searched following routine profiling and the combined retail value of the smuggled cigarettes, branded 'Chesterfield Blue', 'Kiss', 'Bond Street', 'American Blend' and 'Bayron' is approximately 6,800 and represents a potential loss to the Exchequer of over 4,100.

An Irish resident was interviewed and a file is being prepared for prosecution.
Irish Ferries is to buy a new 144 million cruise ferry to ply the routes between Ireland and France.

Irish Continental Group plc, parent company to Irish Ferries, said it had entered into an agreement, with the German company Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesselschaft & Co.KG ("FSG"), to build a cruise ferry for ICG at a contract price of 144 million.

The cruise ferry will accommodate 1,885 passengers and crew, with 435 cabins and with capacity for 2,800 lane metres of freight (165 freight vehicles) plus an additional dedicated car deck with capacity for 300 passenger cars.

The agreement between ICG and FSG provides that the cruise ferry is scheduled for delivery in May 2018. 20% of the contract price will be paid in instalments during the construction period. The balance of 80% will be paid on delivery. ICG intend to utilise a combination of existing cash resources and loan facilities to finance the cruise ferry. The pre-delivery instalment payments to FSG will be protected by means of bank guarantees.

This cruise ferry will be designed and built to the highest standards of cruise shipping, and equipped with efficiency and comfort in mind. Emissions scrubber technology (not included in the above price) and ballast water systems will meet current and known future environmental regulations and will deliver optimal fuel consumption while minimising related costs. The cruise ferry will be powered by four main engines delivering 33,600KW of power which will ensure a high degree of service reliability similar to that already achieved by the existing owned fleet of modern cruise ferries.

The cruise ferry will be designed to best meet the operational seasonality of our business. This flexibility in design includes the ability to service all of Irish Ferries existing routes, and will provide even greater route management options. The cruise ferry will also adhere to Ice Class specification which will allow for a wide geographic area of operation.

Passenger facilities will be spread over 4 decks and will offer a choice of 435 cabins to include suites with their own private external balconies, along with deluxe and standard class accommodation.

In addition to a superb choice of bars, restaurants (to include both a la carte and self-service options), special provision has been made for premium Club Class passengers.
The Dunbrody Famine Ship, New Ross, plays host to a special concert involving Savannah Children's Choir and a choir from Raheen NS on Saturday at noon, which the public are invited to attend.

The choirs will be performing a number of choral pieces under the masts of the Dunbrody famine ship. The renowned Savannah Children's Choir, under the baton of Executive Director Roger Moss, are visiting Wexford following an invitation from Cllr Kathleen Codd Nolan, Leas-Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, who extended the invite during a recent Wexford County Council trade visit to Georgia, USA.

The visit by Savannah Children's Choir is seen as further progress in the process of developing and strengthening economic and cultural ties between Wexford and Georgia. It is understood that a trade delegation from Savannah to County Wexford is also planned for later this year.

The visiting choir will be accompanied by Dr Howard Keeley and some his students from the Centre for Irish Research and Teaching in Georgia Southern University who will use the occasion of Saturday's visit to provide information on the links between Wexford and Savannah.

The group will be welcomed to New Ross by representatives of Wexford County Council before joining Sean Connick and the team at the Dunbrody Famine Ship for a tour of the vessel. Following the recital, the children will also spend some time at the Irish National Heritage Park in Ferrycarrig. They will also visit the National Opera House in Wexford where they are due to meet with the world-famous Irish choral ensemble, Anuna.
A Galway teacher has published his first book about thirty Irish men and women who had the death penalty imposed on them between 1922 and 1985 including a Riverstown man, Patrick Kelly who was hanged on the 20th November, 1921, just seven months after the murder of neighbour Mary Breheny (38) who was found on April 18th 1941 lying face down in the middle of river close to her home.

Colm Wallace's book "Sentenced to Death: Saved from the Gallows" is a fascinating reflection on the justice system at the time. Mary Breheny was single and lived alone in a two-room cottage in Rossmore, a mile from Riverstown She was a well-known figure in the area, not least because she was an albino. The cause of death had been strangling and drowning and she had been sexually assaulted.

The Gardai immediately set about questioning the locals on their movements on the night of the murder. Patrick Higgins, walking to a neighbour's house, had seen a man in a black overcoat that he didn't recognise after 8:30pm in the fields beside Ms. Breheny's. John Nangle also stated that he saw the same man on top of the hill but due to the failing light could not identify him.

Patrick Kelly, a local 31-year-old labourer matched this description and had been seen walking from his home in the village of Riverstown in the direction of Rossmore earlier that evening.

He denied this, however, and said that he was in fact snaring rabbits until midnight in Ardcumber and Cooper's Hill woods, which is in the other direction. A rabbit snare had been found close to the body but Kelly asserted that he had not been in the Rossmore area for three months.

Michael "Josie" Baker, who had hired Kelly for the week before the murder to plant potatoes, saw Kelly at 11.30pm on the night of the murder when he walked past his house.

Kelly enquired about the work they would be doing the next day but said nothing else. Baker said that Kelly had come to work the next morning, but unusually was "shaved and cleaned-up".

At 11am, a neighbour told the two men about the suspected murder of Mary Breheny. Baker discussed it with him and asked several questions but Kelly stayed silent. Baker's wife came out at 1pm and gave the men dinner, as well as telling them that it was rumoured that boot tracks had been found going from Mary Breheny's house to the river. Kelly said nothing, but shortly afterwards complained about a nail in the sole of his boot and spent twenty minutes at the head of the field working on it with a penknife. When Kelly came back he was "in good form" and Baker "never saw him work any better."

The Gardai were now observing Kelly and when they examined his clothes they found human bloodstains, some around the fly of his trousers.

Kelly maintained that it was rabbit's blood, but when assured that it was human he said that it must have been his own when he got caught on thorns.

This evidence was inconclusive, however, as it later transpired that Mary Breheny's blood type was the same as Kelly's.

When he was asked for the clothes that he had been wearing on the 17th April, he produced the boots although the sole had recently been changed.

He said he could not produce his overcoat as he had left it in a wood when cutting sticks.

Thomas Sheeran also said that a handkerchief found in the vicinity of the crime scene, brown with blue spots, resembled one that Kelly had lent him at the Ballymote fair the preceding March.

Kelly remarked that "nowadays people would swear anyone's life away."

The Gardai felt like they had enough evidence to move in and Kelly was charged with murder.

He replied "All right." He was brought to trial in Dublin Central Criminal Court on the 21st October, 1941. He stuck steadfastly to his story. He had been on Cooper's Hill snaring rabbits for two hours.

There was no-one else there and he had went home, arriving at 12:10am, stopping only briefly at the houses of Baker and a man called Tivenen. He did say at 9pm, as he was going into the wood, two of Josie Baker's children came by with a pony.

They were adamant that they had not seen Kelly, or anyone else, there.

The prosecution deduced that Mary Breheny had been attacked in the field she always used as a way home.

This was where her parcels had lain and this was where she had been strangled and sexually assaulted by the accused before being dragged to the river by the heels and drowned there. Kelly left her that way to make it look like an accidental drowning.

Defence counsel advised the jury that the evidence against him was scarce.

He could not definitively be placed in Rossmore and could certainly not be placed on Ms. Breheny's property. The man in the overcoat had never been identified as him.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty after a two-hour absence. When asked if he had anything to say to the verdict, Kelly, who had a history of assaulting women, clenched his fists and replied: "Nothing at all."

The judge sentenced him to death and despite several appeals due to the scant nature of the circumstantial evidence, Patrick Kelly was hanged on the 20th November, 1921, just 7 months after the murder of Mary Breheny.

Interestingly, this was the second murder to strike the tiny village of Riverstown in five years. In 1937 Thomas Kelly (17)beat his uncle, Patrick Crefin (60), to death with a hatchet. He was found unfit to plead by reason of insanity.

For more information see the author's Facebook page www.facebook.com/colmwallaceauthor or contact Somerville Press, Dromore, Bantry, Co. Cork. 028-32873
Mairead McGuinness Fine Gael MEP and Vice-President of the European Parliament has commended the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers for introducing the European property valuation standard into Ireland.

This new property valuation standard guarantees a minimum level of education and experience for Valuers conducting residential valuations.

She was in Dublin to present valuation certificates to 57 valuers who have successfully undertaken a course of study to achieve TRV qualification as residential valuers from the European Group of Valuers Associations (TEGoVA) including Sligo's David Reynolds.

The MEP congratulated the auctioneers saying: "Continuous professional development is essential for anyone wishing to progress in their profession. Achieving this standard ensures that as a residential valuer you are qualified to a consistently high European standard of practice. That is critically important for those buying and selling properties and for lenders funding property purchases."
Over a century of butter making came to an end in Achonry last Tuesday when production ceased there.

Redundancy packages have been agreed with the affected 23 or so employees. The plant has been producing butter since 1897 but the popular Connacht Gold brands will instead be produced in at the new Ornua facility in Mitchelstown, County Cork. It has been described as the most efficient butter packing facility in Europe - a state of the art, purpose-built, centre of excellence. The Achonry plant had produced over 4,000 tonnes of butter annually with the milk supplied by local farmers. The Achonry site will continue as a national distribution hub for Aurivo Consumer Foods. Butter production will continue in Aurivo's dairy ingredients site in Ballaghaderreen.

An action group was formed initially to try to prevent the job losses and several public meetings were held but Aurivo pressed ahead with the move.

Achonry Action Group held a number of well attended public meetings in its campaign to "keep the Gold in Connacht."

The company announced last November that it was transferring the butter packing to the facility in Mitchelstown operated by Ornua, the owners of the Kerrygold brand in which Aurivo is a significant shareholder. Aurivo CEO Aaron Forde is also the chairman of Ornua. Chairman of the Achonry Action group Tony Hession told councillors previously that locally produced butter would be sent down to Cork."They're going to take the equipment and re-assemble it in Cork. "The cream will be taken by tanker down to Mitchellstown and taken back up to Achonry, The people have no control in this Co-op any more. We'll have the hall full in Mullinabreena and we'll have one representative from the Co-op. For God's sake let's stand up for ourselves," he said.
Greystones-based company Goldfish.ie have ditched the shirts and ties in favour of a more casual get-up as part of their new 'Sack the Suit' campaign.

The telecoms company, headquartered in Greystones, is shelving dress codes and embracing new trends in an effort to modernise their offices and encourage creativity. They are now hoping to kick off a fashion revolution by encouraging other companies to, quite literally, follow suit.

The Sack the Suit campaign benefits not only the workers, but other members of the locality. CEO of the company Gordon O'Neill recently donated his suits and ties to St Vincent de Paul in Greystones and is asking others to do the same.

'At Goldfish.ie we have a very relaxed approach to our dress code, so my suits were just gathering dust and taking up space,' said Gordon. 'I've sacked my suits, so I'm asking companies to join our campaign and sack their suits too. It will help them modernise and in doing so will also benefit a good cause.'

Staff at Goldfish.ie are currently trying to secure a charity partner for their new campaign but in the meantime, they will send sacks for clothing to anyone who wishes to donate their old suits, dresses and other work clothes.
There will be a very interesting and informative talk in Rathdrum on Monday next on Roger Casement.

Organised by the Rathdrum Historical Society the talk will be given by Angus Mitchell, a noted historian.

Within five years of having been knighted by King George V, Roger Casement was tried for treason and executed by the British on August 3, 1916 - the last of the leaders of the 1916 Rising to be put to death.

Casement is an intriguing and a complex character and was hailed by the British establishment for exposing abuses of indigenous peoples in the Upper Congo and Peru and a man who went to his death for the cause of Irish freedom,

Casement also had family connections with Croneroe in Ashford, now Bel-Air Hotel.

During the talk entitled 'Roger Casement: between history and mystery' Dr Mitchell will attempt to shed some light on this fascinating individual. Dr Mitchell is a leading authority on Casement. He has researched and studied his life and legacy, even travelling widely on the Amazon and visiting places where Casement lived while working as the British Consul General in Brazil.

He edited 'The Amazon Journal of Roger Casement' in 1997 and followed this up in 2003 with 'Sir Roger Casement's Heart of Darkness: The 1911 Documents'.

Dr Mitchell's '16 Lives: Roger Casement' published in 2013 highlighted his uniqueness among the 1916 rebel leaders, charting his change from colonial diplomat, knighted by the realm to strategist for the Irish rebel cause. The final tragic chapter in Casement's life, the events leading to his trial have been edited from his own diary and published by Mitchell in 'One Bold Deed of Open Treason: The Berlin Diary of Roger Casement, 1914-1916'.

The talk will take place on Monday, June 13, at 8 p.m. in Avondale Community College, Rathdrum.
Three buildings in Wicklow got a cash injection last week under the Structures at Risk funding scheme.

Wicklow Parish Church of Ireland received a total of 14,820 under the scheme while Ballymurrin House in Kilbride received 5,000. The biggest cash award went to the Kilmurray Catholic Church Ruin, Kilmurray, Newtownmountkennedy which received 20,000.00.

Nationally a total of 904,530 was awarded to 57 heritage projects under the Structures at Risk Fund for 2016. The scheme provides funding for protected buildings in private and public ownership. The funding being provided ranges from 4,000 per project to over 26,000 per project.

Announcing the funding Minister for the Arts Heather Humphreys said: 'Support for our built heritage, is vital not only for the safekeeping of Ireland's architectural heritage, it also helps to support employment in the conservation and construction industries. Investing in our heritage will also play a very important role in rural regeneration, which of course will be a priority area in my new expanded portfolio.

'Improving the quality and aesthetics of historic structures can add to a community's sense of pride and contributes hugely to the revitalisation of rural towns and villages. Heritage buildings are a very important part of our cultural landscape, and as the economy continues to improve, I hope to be in a position to support the heritage sector to the benefit of communities across the country.'
More than 3,500 students across Wicklow will start their Leaving and Junior Certificate exams today (Wednesday).

A total of 1,553 students - 704 females and 849 males - will undertake the traditional Leaving Certificate while 72 students - 25 females and 47 males - will sit the Leaving Certificate Applied exams.

Meanwhile, 1,889 Junior Cert students, 876 females and 1,013 males, will also get their first taste of State examinations today.

This year's Junior Cert exams will run until Thursday June 23, with more unusual subjects such as Latin, Classical Studies and Ancient Greek making up the bulk of the final few days. The Leaving Cert exams will finish up on Friday June 24 with Religious Education and Applied Mathematics as the final subjects of the day.

Lorraine Gillespie, Deputy Principal at the Dominican College Wicklow, has offered a number of tips to those sitting exams and has urged them to get a good, balanced routine going and to try and maintain a positive attitude.

'Balance is paramount - the basic requirements of a decent night's sleep, eating healthily and getting fresh air and exercise every day are essential in order to keep anxiety at a manageable level,' she advised. 'Don't sacrifice any of these in order to cram!'

Ms Gillespie also recommended short stretch breaks between study periods (approximately every 30 to 40 minutes and preferably outdoors) to boost concentration levels, as well as eating plenty of 'brain foods', such as blueberries.

'Two drop of essential lavender oil on the pillow at night or on a tissue may help to relax whereas burning an aromatherapy oil such as lemongrass may help concentration while studying - remember to follow the correct usage guidelines, however, as too much can be counter-productive,' said Ms Gillespie.

'Study topics that you are most concerned about, or find most difficult, early on in your study schedule each day. Use the methods that work best for you to help memory and recall - whether bullet points, flashcards, visual mind-maps, sticky notes on walls or recording your own voice speaking about a topic and replaying it to yourself later on.'

Ms Gillespie also touched on the importance of students backing themselves to do well and not undermining all their hard work with negative thoughts.

'Telling yourself that you're not ready, that you're going to fail or do badly and that you can't cope will lead you in the direction of that reality,' she said.

'It's essential therefore to train your brain to believe that you are as prepared as you need to be, that you have the knowledge and understanding within to be able to recall and express on paper, and that all shall be well in the bigger scheme of things,' she said.

While it's the students feeling the pressure of the exams, it can be a touch time for parents too as they want to do all they can to help their children get through the experience. Ms Gillespie has urged them to play their part in helping things go as smoothly as possible.

'Parents can help by ensuring that healthy meals are made available during this stressful time, and that external stressors such as conflicts or personal worries are kept at a safe distance from exam students. This will help them to focus on what they need to do over these stressful weeks,' said Ms Gillespie.

'Kind words of support never go amiss - parents should reassure their children that whatever the outcome of these exams, they are loved and supported and there will be a variety of courses and careers open to them into the future.

'This is a time for special minding - even at 17 or 18 your child still needs to know that you are there for them and any practical support you can offer in the form of healthy meals, a clean, tidy study environment at home free of distractions and interference will go a long way,' she added.

The Dominican College Deputy Principal concluded by wishing all students - in her school and beyond - the best over the next few weeks.

'I wish all students the very best of luck at this time, and hope that they will all make every effort to achieve success as a stepping stone to future opportunities,' she said.
Arklow RNLI crew joined forces with the Irish Naval Service last week to come to the aid of four Swedish sailors whose boat was tangled up in lobster pots.

Following reports of a sailing vessel in distress 12 miles South East of Arklow last Wednesday, Arklow Lifeboat Ger Tigchlearr was launched at 6.50 p.m.

On arriving at the scene, they discovered a Swedish sailing vessel had become entangled in a line of lobster pots.

The RNLI crew were soon joined by crew from Irish Naval vessel LE Ciara who was on patrol in the area.

Joint efforts were made to free the entanglement from the vessel but as it could not be fully cleared, the stricken vessel and its sailors were towed back to Arklow by Arklow Lifeboat,

The four sailors and members of Arklow RNLI and the Irish Naval Service came ashore safely at Arklow at 10.30 p.m.

Following the rescue, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer Mark Corcoran hailed the cooperation between all involved in the rescue.

'The success of this rescue was down to the good co-operation between our volunteer crew and the Commander and crew of L.E. Ciara.

'Interagency rescues like this are proof of the worth of ongoing interagency exercises, we are thankful to the Commander and crew of L.E. Ciara for assistance,' he said.
The students at Blessington Community College received a cheque for 500 for their hard work running the student bank.

Last week Orla O'Kelly of Bank of Ireland in Blessington presented the school with the cheque.

The money was donated as a result of the great success of the school branch of the Bank which was run this year by Transition Year students. During the course of the year 50 student accounts were opened through the school bank. Ms O'Kelly expressed her gratitude to the students for all their hard work.
Victoria Beckham has her own fashion empire, four immaculately turned-out children and is considered an international style icon who never puts a foot wrong.

She favours chic, minimalist style and a bad fashion day for Victoria is as rare as her smiling at the cameras.

Expand Close British fashion designer Victoria Beckham poses as she arrives on May 11, 2016 for the opening ceremony of the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. / AFP / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / Facebook

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Whatsapp British fashion designer Victoria Beckham poses as she arrives on May 11, 2016 for the opening ceremony of the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. / AFP / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

But things were pretty different for the former Spice Girl in 2006.

In that year, she walked for Milan Fashion Week, released her second book, starred in her fourth documentary and had yet to make her mark on Hollywood.

But it was the streets of Baden-Baden where the star grabbed the most attention, as she joined the England WAGs in putting on quite a sideshow in the German city.

In fact, England's 2006 World Cup campaign was somewhat overshadowed by the presence of the 'Baden-Baden babes' as they blinged up for the matches.

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The wives and girlfriends of the English team made international news with their lavish spending, wild partying and over-the-top style and it wasn't long before their look was being both emulated - and deried.

Handbags, hair extensions, fake tan, velour tracksuits, bug-eyed sunglasses and Louboutin heels with the signature scarlet soles was the look de rigeur for the team of WAGs that also included Cheryl Cole, Coleen Rooney, Carly Zucker and Elen Rivas.

Expand Close Distraction: The wives and girlfriends of the England team proved to be a major distraction at the 2006 World Cup and Fabio Capello wants no repeat in South Africa. Photo: Getty Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Distraction: The wives and girlfriends of the England team proved to be a major distraction at the 2006 World Cup and Fabio Capello wants no repeat in South Africa. Photo: Getty Images

Victoria led the way with designer-logo ensembles, skintight spaghetti strap tops, plenty of cleavage, too much Roberto Cavalli and short-shorts.

The 41-year-old also appeared to have a different temperament ten years ago when she made headlines for reportedly losing her temper with FA officials over a flight.

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When the private jet that was chartered to take her from Cologne to Sweden was delayed, she allegedly complained that "a dog gets better treatment than this".

Can you imagine the designer losing her cool or sense of style so easily now?

Expand Close Met Gala 2006: Victoria Beckham at the height of her WAG-dom was a gift to the fashion history books. / Facebook

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She's come a long way in ten years.
People surround the body of a Hindu monastery worker killed in Bangladesh (AP)

Authorities have rounded up about 1,600 suspected petty criminals, including some believed to be Islamist radicals, in a nationwide crackdown aimed at halting a wave of brutal attacks on minorities and activists in Bangladesh.

Police spokesman Kamrul Islam said that officers and paramilitary soldiers had fanned out across the country on Thursday night to raid suspected militant hideouts and detain about 1,600 people within 24 hours.

He said the detainees included only 37 alleged radical Islamist militants while most were suspected to be petty criminals.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had announced the planned anti-militancy campaign after the wife of a police superintendent was shot and stabbed to death on June 5.

Meanwhile, the SITE Intelligence Group said the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for killing a Hindu monastery worker on Friday morning.
Brock Turner, right, makes his way into the Santa Clara Superior Courthouse in Palo Alto, Califiornia Photo: Dan Honda/AP

Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in prison (Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office/AP)

Brock Turner, the Stanford University student convicted of sexual assault may have sent a photograph of his victim's breasts to friends during the attack, it has emerged.

Detectives saw a notification appear on Turner's phone reading "WHOS TIT IS THAT" (sic), court documents show. The message came from a fellow member of Stanford's swim team.

Expand Close Brock Turner, right, makes his way into the Santa Clara Superior Courthouse in Palo Alto, Califiornia Photo: Dan Honda/AP / Facebook

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Whatsapp Brock Turner, right, makes his way into the Santa Clara Superior Courthouse in Palo Alto, Califiornia Photo: Dan Honda/AP

Twenty-year-old Turner was arrested in January 2015 after two students witnessed him laying on top of his motionless victim behind a dumpster. The passerbys intervened and held Turner until police arrived

Based on the timing of the message and the fact that the victim's bra had been pulled off one of her breasts, police concluded that Turner had probably sent a photograph.

However, after getting a search warrant for his phone, they were not able to find his phone.

The message was sent in an application called Geoup Mr, which allows any member of a group to delete an image.

A search of Turner's phone found photographs and text messages relating to drug and alcohol use, despite the fact that a key facet of his defence was that he was an inexperienced drinker caught up in the party culture on campus.

Turner was sentenced to six months in jail last week. Once seen as a future Olympian, Turner has also been banned for life by USA Swimming.

The case against one-time Olympic hopeful Brock Turner has gripped the US, with letters to a judge from Turner's family and friends drawing outrage from critics who say they shift blame from a 20-year-old man who won't take responsibility for his actions.

Online inmate records show Turner is expected to be released from the Santa Clara County jail on September 2. He was sentenced on June 2.

County jail inmates serve 50% of their sentences if they keep a clean disciplinary record.

Turner of Dayton, Ohio, was convicted of attacking the woman he met at a fraternity party in January 2015 and was sentenced last week to six months in jail and three years' probation.

The sentence triggered criticism that a star athlete from a privileged background received special treatment. Prosecutors had asked for six years in prison.
Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee. Barack Obama has endorsed her.

He even said that he could imagine no one more qualified for the presidency - not Washington, Adams, Monroe, Jefferson. No, Hillary Rodham Clinton is the most qualified nominee in history. So sayeth Obama.

The polls, however, suggest the American public has yet to warm to her. Why? ABC might have the answer. Their latest scoop is a little Byzantine but I want you to read it. It explains why Ms Clinton isn't 20 points ahead of Mr Trump.

In 2011, when Ms Clinton was secretary of state, a Chicago securities trader called Rajiv Fernando was given a spot on the International Security Advisory Board - a committee of scientists, politicians and experts who advise the secretary of state on nuclear weapons and other security matters.

According to ABC, no one else on this prestigious and sensitive board "could figure out who Fernando was or why he was there".

Mr Fernando was a long-time fan of the Clintons. He was a financial supporter of Ms Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and a generous donor to the Clinton Foundation.

ABC News decided to investigate how this generous man got his position. It found getting answers from the US state department very difficult. Mr Fernando suddenly resigned. What was going on?

It's only now, thanks to a freedom of information request that we have a clearer idea. Newly released emails show that when ABC began its inquiries, the state department acted quickly to "protect the name" of Ms Clinton and to "stall" ABC's investigation - before accepting Mr Fernando's resignation.

And how did Fernando's name get added to a list of potential board members in the first place? Simple: Cheryl Mills, Ms Clinton's then counsel and chief of staff, insisted that it be put there. In an email exchange, a member of staff wrote: "The true answer is simply that [Clinton's] staff (Cheryl Mills) added him Raj was not on the list sent to [Clinton]; he was added at their insistence."

And what's Fernando's current relationship with the Clintons? He's one of Hillary's super delegates.

Throughout their careers, the Clintons have been accused of being too comfortable with the attentions of the rich and powerful - of even trading money for access.

When Bernie Sanders complains loudly about Mrs Clinton's speeches to Wall Street execs, one of which earned her $225,000, he is articulating the feeling of many on the Left that the nominee is tainted by a lust for money. Likewise, one of the reasons why Mr Trump garners some support is because people believe his personal fortune puts him above influence peddling.

Mr Trump calls Ms Clinton "Crooked Hillary". He might be a bigot, he's sort of saying, but he is his own bigot. No one can buy him.

Some are hailing Ms Clinton's nomination as a breakthrough for feminism and the beginning of the fightback against Mr Trump. They're wrong.

She might turn out to be the weakest candidate the Democrats could field against The Donald. He'll have a fun summer playing with her. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Syria's civil war has been going on for six years

At least 12 people have been killed and dozens more were injured after two suicide bombers struck close to the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest to hit the predominantly Shia area in recent months.

The extremist group's Aamaq news agency said there were three attacks carried out by suicide bombers, with two wearing explosive belts while the third was in a car.

Syrian State TV said the blasts in the Sayyida Zeinab area just south of Damascus killed 12 people and wounded 55 others. T he UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 20 people were killed and dozens were wounded in the two explosions.

The blasts came as US-backed fighters in northern Syria intensified their siege on the IS stronghold of Manbij, where tens of the thousands of civilians are trapped by the fighting.

The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), a predominantly Kurdish group, encircled the town after capturing dozens of villages and farms near the Turkish border.

"The push toward Manbij slowed down because of fear for civilians there," said Mustafa Bali, a Syrian journalist who visited the front line.

"All telecommunications with the town have been cut."

The Observatory said tens of thousands of civilians in the town fear bombardment of residential areas at a time when most bakeries have stopped working and food is running out. It said airstrikes by the US-led coalition have killed 30 civilians, including 11 children, since SDF began its offensive on May 31.

Manbij, one of IS's largest strongholds in Syria's Aleppo province, is a waypoint on a key supply line between the extremists' de facto capital of Raqqa and the Turkish frontier.

The suburb where the bombing took place is home to a shrine by the same name, one of the most renowned in Shia Islam.

The heavily guarded shrine to Sayyida Zeinab, the daughter of the first Shia imam, Ali, and granddaughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, receives thousands of pilgrims each year.

State TV aired footage from the blast site, showing several vehicles and shops on fire and at least two buildings whose balconies, doors and windows had been destroyed.

Bloodstains could be seen on the debris-covered road. Fire engines rushed to the scene to extinguish fires caused by the explosions.

State news agency Sana said the first blast was caused by a suicide attacker wearing an explosives belt, while the second was the result of a suicide attacker in a car rigged with explosives.

Prime minister Wael al-Halqi blamed the "brutal massacres" on Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which are the main supporters of the Syrian rebels trying to remove president Bashar Assad from power.

Sayyida Zeinab has been a frequent target of bombings in Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year. On April 25, a suicide car bomb struck a military checkpoint, killing eight people, and in February, a series of blasts killed at least 83 people and wounded more than 170.

In the central province of Homs, a 31-truck aid convoy from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent entered the besieged town of Houla on Saturday, according to ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek.

Mr Krzysiek said the trucks are carrying food for 14,200 families as well as products such as mattresses, blankets, water pumps, hygiene kits, nappies and vaccines. In March, 28 trucks carrying relief entered Houla, he said.

Earlier this week, the UN said the Syrian government had approved access to 15 of 19 besieged areas.

The UN estimates that 592,700 people live under siege in Syria, with about 452,700 of them under blockades by government forces.

Lifting sieges on rebel-held areas was a key demand by the opposition during peace talks that failed earlier this year in Geneva.
ITV's EU debate was awful. I could've learned more about Brexit from watching 'Love Island' on ITV Two. The fault lay not with ITV - although the set looked drearily like a game of 15-to-1 - but with the Remain camp. Specifically Labour's Angela Eagle. Eagle decided this wasn't to be a debate about the EU but a debate about how awful Tories are.

Her persistent line of attack misdirected the other panellists and led to a wasted two hours talking about the NHS, housing and many other things that have nothing to do with the EU. Nicola Sturgeon joined in occasionally. Although at one point she appeared to roll her eyes when Eagle was speaking.

But, Tim, be serious. This debate was only half about the EU. That half of the debate was probably won by Leave who ruthlessly pursued their line about restoring self-government to Britain. That, in fact, is what this referendum is about. Leave says that Brexit would restore sovereignty. Remain says that sometimes it's worth sacrificing sovereignty for a little economic payback.

When it came to discussing what sovereignty actually is, both sides got it wrong. Leave insisted, as it always does, that it's about democracy - when it's not. North Korea is a sovereign state (who'd dare dispute that?!) but not democratic. Remain proved just as sloppy in their thinking when Eagle stated that it was about "having the confidence to go out into the world." Eagle, I suspect, doesn't know how to spell sovereignty. She probably thinks it's like Bitcoin or something.

For the record, sovereignty is simply this: the ability of a state to self-govern. Amber Rudd came closest to accurately defining it - adding that a man stranded on an island might be sovereign but is still starving. Rudd was the strongest performer on the Remain side and, one suspects, had been told she was allowed to go after Johnson as much as she liked. She made a crack about not wanting Boris to drive you home after a party. Quite what it was referring to, we could not tell. Remain threw lots of insults his way but they rarely stuck. He has a Teflon quality.

Indeed, this debate was also half about judging Johnson's fitness to be prime minister. Could he handle two hours of fact-slinging? Would he patronise the women? Would be get bored and wander off? In the end, he did well. Very well. He was on top of the data and threw facts out with ease. He wasn't afraid to attack Dave. And when the jokes came his way he brushed them off with a Reaganesque "there you go again". Most importantly, he was serious. Faced with a TV camera, Boris's temptation can be to seduce and amuse. On this occasion, he showed that he could convince, too. It was a fine first audition.

Not that he necessarily won the night. Gisela Stuart was Leave's most effective spokesperson. Partly because she is Labour and thus obviously not of the view that Brexit will lead to the end of women's suffrage and the return of slavery. Partly because she is German-born and, thus, unlikely to be anti-immigrant. But also because she spoke with reason rather than faux-passion. Nicola Sturgeon was her usual authoritative self. Eagle, as I may have already mentioned, was the pits. If the EU debate really matters as much as she claimed, she shouldn't have wasted our time with a political broadcast for the Labour Party. Her priority, one suspects, is to supplant Jeremy Corbyn as leader of Labour.

Never has a display of naked ambition been so tawdry, shameless and counter-productive. Biggest news of the night: Dennis Skinner has come out for Brexit. Evidently, he doesn't think it'll lead to World War III or child labour. Someone tell Angela. If they can get a word in. (Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
The US Border Patrol officer said he was in fear for his life

The Mexican government has said a man fatally shot by a US Border Patrol agent was a Mexican citizen and it "deeply regrets" the incident.

The foreign relations department said: "Mexico has repeatedly said the use of lethal force in immigration control and border security should be used as a last resort."

Border Patrol officials say the man assaulted the agent after illegally crossing the frontier near Yuma, Arizona, late on Thursday.

The agent said he feared for his life and opened fire after the man hit him in the head and tried to take his gun.

The agent suffered cuts and bruises to his head, face and torso, as well as a concussion. He is on administrative leave.
People and Syrian Army members inspect a damaged site after a suicide and car bomb attack in south Damascus Shi'ite suburb of Sayeda Zeinab, Syria June 11, 2016

Islamic State claimed responsibility for suicide and car bomb blasts that struck a Damascus suburb on Saturday near Syria's holiest Shi'ite Muslim shrine, and a monitoring group said at least 20 people were killed.

State television showed debris, mangled cars and wrecked shops in a main commercial thoroughfare near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, in an area where at least three bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State have killed and wounded scores of people this year.

The ultra-hardline Sunni militants of IS, whose many foes are advancing on a number of fronts in both Syria and Iraq, are avowed enemies of Shi'ites, whom they consider a heretical group within Islam.

State media said at least eight people were killed. But the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll had risen to at least 20, including at least 13 civilians, with the other victims coming from pro-government militias. It said the number was expected to rise because many of the scores of wounded people were in critical condition.

Islamic State, also known as Daesh, said two of its suicide bombers had blown themselves up and operatives had detonated an explosives-laden car, according to the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Washington condemned the attack in the strongest terms. "This terrorist act demonstrates once again the inhumanity and brutality of all that Daesh does and all it stands for," he said.

The Sayeda Zeinab shrine is a magnet for thousands of Iraqi and Afghan Shi'ite militia recruits who go there before being assigned to front lines, where they fight against the Sunni rebel groups trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Almost every Shi'ite militia fighter bears insignia on his combat fatigues with the words "For your sake, Sayeda Zeinab".

SECTARIAN SPLIT

The heavily garrisoned area near the shrine is also a well known stronghold of Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite Hezbollah group, an Iranian-backed movement that is one of Assad's chief allies.

Non-jihadist rebels say Iran's strong military intervention on the side of Assad, alongside its backing of other Shi'ite militias, is fuelling the sectarian dimension of the nearly six-year Syrian civil war by drawing even more radical foreign Sunni jihadists into the country.

Separately, U.S.-backed Syrian forces made new territorial gains against Islamic State on Saturday, moving closer to another of its major strongholds in northern Syria, according to the monitoring group.

The Observatory said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), bringing together Kurdish and Arab fighters, were now almost 17 km (10 miles) from the city of al-Bab, an Islamic State stronghold north east of Aleppo.

The SDF on Friday cut off the last route into the encircled town of Manbij from al-Bab after over a week of advances around that area, allowing it to lay siege to the large town from all directions, the monitor said..

In other frontlines in northern Syria, two rebel sources said Russian and Syrian jets stepped up their relentless aerial bombing of their positions in the northern city of Aleppo.

They said fighters had overnight repelled a major Syrian army attack on the Malah front in an drive to reach the strategic Catello highway, which is the only route in and out of rebel-held areas.

The army has for months sought to advance towards the highway to lay siege to rebel-held areas where over 400,000 people live.

A convoy of aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross entered the rebel-held city of Houla in the province of Homs, the third besieged area to receive supplies in the past 24 hours, aid workers said.

On Friday, aid convoys reached two rebel-held towns near Damascus, marking the first delivery of food supplies to Daraya since 2012, after the government granted permission for the trips, the United Nations said.
<p>Gabe Norris, of Anderson, covers his head as water falls at Water Works pool at the Anderson YMCA.</p>

SHARE FILE PHOTOS Justin Shaprio of Easley flips into Lake Hartwell from the fishing pier at Darwin Wright Park in Anderson. Shapiro said he and his friends planned to return to the park over the weekend. Officials are expecting recreation areas on the lake to be busy over the Memorial Day weekend and have urged people to exercise caution while on the water. A fountain splashes a young boy at Carolina Wren Park. Luke Hill of Knoxville, Tennessee, visiting family in Anderson, gets doused with a bucket of water at Water Works pool at the Anderson YMCA. FILE PHOTOS Children play in the water fountains at Carolina Wren Park as The City Street Band performs during Block Party on June 12.

By Jake B. Grove

The hottest time of the day during the hottest days of the hottest month of the year. It all adds up to summer in the South and finding a way  any way  to cool down is positively necessary.

Whats the best way to cool down? Well, to pour gallons of water over your head, of course.

Good, old-fashioned H2O is the best way to lower your temperature in the heat of summer. But beaches are played out (and crowded), and finding a swimming hole thats not dried up would take that divining rod Grandpa used in the old days. No, friends and families, you need a state-of-the-art water park, and thankfully we have several to choose from.

Water parks in Anderson and Greenville, and some off I85 north and south, provide several aquatic ways to cool off and have fun this summer. From Atlanta to Charlotte, this is your hot fun in the summertime guide to where they are, what they cost and what you can expect when you get there. Some are close, some are a few hours away, but all will give you a great reason to get out of the air-conditioned house, set up your own makeshift slip-n-slide or just dump buckets of water on the kids in the backyard.

NEARBY AND AFFORDABLE

Carolina Wren Park Spray Pad

East Whitner Street, downtown Anderson

Getting cooled off and wet  for free! The spray pad at Carolina Wren Park can do that and give you access to all the fun of downtown Anderson.

The water is on from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 3 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. A regular light show begins at 6 p.m. each day as well.

Oh, and did we mention its free?

Y Waterworks at the Anderson Area YMCA

201 E. Reed Road, Anderson

864.716.6260

http://andersonareaymca.org

Admission: Limited to members of the Y and their guests. Guests pay extra for admission to the facilities.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday; 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Waterworks only will be open on the weekends of May 30-31 and June 6-7. Starting June 8, Waterworks is open daily until Labor Day weekend.

Getting wet is the great joy of summer in the South. But when your community doesnt have a public pool, you find ways to enjoy the water when the heat gets high. Around Anderson, many head to the YMCA for a splashy good time at the Y Water Works.

That great time includes a 30-foot-high tower with double slides that end in a four-foot-deep pool, a kiddie slide for young children and a massive play element that features dozens of sprays and buckets, highlighted by a water tunnel with direct sprays for all ages to play in.

Discovery Island

417 Baldwin Road, Greenville

864.963.4345

www.gcrd.org

Hours: Only open weekends until June 6. After that, Discovery Island is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Admission: $12 for those taller than 48 inches; $8 for those less than 48 inches and handicapped and senior citizens; $4 land lovers

You might have to drive, but Discovery Island is worth the time and effort.

Discovery Island houses a Lazy River, a 30-plus-foot-high tower of dueling water slides, a large play area with water cannons, sprays and buckets, as well as a bevy of seating, shade and three pavilions available for rent for parties.

Food or drink runs between $2 and $4.50. And heres a personal recommendation: Try the smoothie. Its perfect for a hot day in the sun.

Otter Creek

101 W. Darby Road, Greenville

864.834.4108

www.gcrd.org

Hours: Only open weekends until June 6. After that, open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday

Admission: $11 for those taller than 42 inches; $8 for those less than 41 inches tall and handicapped and senior citizens; $4 land lovers

Featuring massive water slides, a large water play area for the kids, a huge splash zone with umbrella waterfalls and slides for all ages, Otter Park is a facility that offers a little of everything for parents of all age children.

FOR A DAY TRIP AND BEYOND

Boomerang Bay and water rides at Carowinds

Carowinds Boulevard, Charlotte, North Carolina

704.588.2606

www.carowinds.com

Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This is where water park fun gets serious. Serious and expensive.

In Charlotte, the Carowinds amusement park has dozens of thrill and childrens rides throughout the park, and that includes a huge area dedicated to water recreation. Called Boomerang Bay, the area features a 1,000-foot-long lazy river, taking guests through North and South Carolina. Down Under Thunder is a four-person ride with high turns and wild dips.

There are two massive slides, one a twisting take down a 370-foot-long chute and the Aussie Twister, that takes sliders through a black hole ride of unexpected insanity. The Great Barrier Reef is the centerpiece, a 25,000-square-foot wave pool that attracts all ages to the water. Pipeline Peak is an 80-foot-high body ride with four slides, including the fastest ones in Boomerang Bay. And, of course, the Jackaroo Landing water jungle gym for children and their parents houses a 1,000-gallon bucket that dumps on expecting and unexpecting revelers.

In addition, outside water rides include Rip Roarin Rapids, a six-person rafting expedition, and the Nickelodeon Flying Super Saturator, a water roller coaster filled with water cannons, water curtains and the chance for the rider to soak those below with a double-barrel bucket drop.

Of course, families will pay a bit to enjoy all this. Food is not cheap, but the price of admission includes full access to the entire park.

Six Flags White Water, Atlanta

250 Cobb Parkway North, Marietta, Georgia

770.590.4067

www.sixflags.com

Six Flags White Water might sound like its part of the main Six Flags park, but its not. This is just a water park adventure, and its huge.

White Water features 22 different water park amenities, ranging from the very mild to the moderate/thrill ride level. They house an activity pool, double-tube slides, quick slides for the thrill-seeker, a rapids ride for families, the 100-meter splash that goes straight down, a three-slide Body Flume for racing one another, a huge Tidal Wave pool, the Tornado (a new tube-slide adventure) and much more. Plus, they have the Dive Bomber, the biggest, highest and longest water slide that White Water has ever seen.

This water park sits on 60 acres in Marietta, Georgia, and costs a bit less than Carowinds. But you dont get access to Six Flags, Atlanta for that price. They do offer discounted tickets if you buy for both parks, and there are group rates available, as well. White Water has a series of eateries throughout the park.

Follow Jake Grove on Twitter @YourHometownFun.
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By Mike Eads of the Independent Mail

Solar electricity is getting cheaper and easier to collect, and a state group announced plans this week to make it more accessible to the 700,000 members who get their power from co-ops across South Carolina.

Spokesman Tim Mays said Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative plans to do a 250,000-kilowatt community solar farm over the next year.

"We're going to construct a community solar farm sometime in the next year with the School District of Pickens County on land up by the Career and Techonology Center and Chastain Road Elementary School in Liberty," Mays said.

A study of electric co-op members around the state found strong interest in solar, but a lack of willingness to pay more for it than conventional electrical service. But 70 percent were open to participating in a community solar program with a solar farm owned and operated by their co-op.

Mike Couik, president and CEO of Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, said the community farms planned by Blue Ridge and the other co-ops would allow members to subscribe to solar-generated electricity without putting panels on their properties.

"It means they don't have to install panels on their roof, nor do they have to worry about their construction and maintenance," Couik said.

Those Blue Ridge and other co-op members who already have their own solar panels can do net metering, in which they sell electricity they generate back to Blue Ridge and it's deducted from their monthly bills.

Rajendra Singh has been waiting for this day for over four decades. The Clemson professor of electrical and computer engineering began researching photovoltaics and solar electricity during the Arab oil embargo in 1973. He was recognized by the Obama administration in 2014 for his work on solar photovoltaics.

Solar panels have become cost effective ways to offset, and in some locations, eliminate reliance on electricity generated by burning coal, oil or natural gas to generate steam to turn turbines.

"It's a very stable market," said Singh. "What is happening now is the cost is going down and the market is growing exponentially. In Texas and Silicon Valley, solar is very big with municipal utilities  some installations cost just three cents per kilowatt hour."

By comparison, electricity customers in South Carolina currently pay about 12 cents per kilowatt hour to light their homes with power generated by fossil fuels or nuclear reactors.

Improving battery technology is helping sell solar panels, too. Tesla Motors, Samsung and others are bringing batteries to market which are supposed to store enough excess electricity generated during the day from solar panels to run homes and commercial buildings overnight.

Singh said that, for all of the advances, old thinking lingers when it comes to big utility companies and public policymakers.

"They will say they love solar, but they have invested so much in other technologies. South Carolina and Georgia are the only states doing new nuclear construction  no one else is even considering it," said Singh.

Singh referred to the reactors under construction at Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle site on the Savannah River and the V.C. Summer site run by SCE&G and Santee Cooper near Columbia. Both projects are behind schedule and billions over their intended construction budgets.

Building large power plants and sending alternating current over hundreds of miles of high voltage wires are slowly giving way globally to community solar and direct current transmission, said Singh, because they are faster and cheaper routes to rural electrification for developing countries across Africa and Asia.

To learn more, visit www.ecsc.org or www.blueridge.coop.

Follow Michael Eads on Twitter @MikeEads_AIM
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By Independent Mail

Bond was set at $12,500 for an Easley man who was arrested Thursday night following a police chase in Anderson. Jose Luis Juarez-Guevara, 34, was arrested and charged with receiving and possessing stolen goods, failure to stop for a blue light, distribution of methamphetamines and driving a vehicle with an expired license, Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart said Thursday.

Police were led on a chase into Anderson County when they tried to pull over a car at Franklin Street and Murray Avenue.

Stewart said a check of the license plate number revealed a suspended tag.

A chase ensued from West Franklin Street to Booker Street to 28 Bypass and then to South Murray Avenue

Juarez-Guevara drove through Stop Sticks at Don Avenue and South Murray Avenue and continued driving.

He reached speeds of about 70 miles an hour during the chase, according to the incident report.

Juarez-Guevara even drove through someone's yard on Interlaken Way before officers finally apprehended him at the intersection of Dobbins Bridge Road and SC 187, according to the incident report. Anderson County sheriff deputies assisted in the chase.

Police found about three grams of methamphetamine was found in Juarez-Guevara's jacket pocket, according to the incident report.

According to the incident report, Juarez-Guevara said he ran because he was scared of police officers.
<p>Photos by Nathan Gray/Independent Mail</p><p>Microbiology students at Tri-County Technical College take a quiz during a class at the collegeas Anderson campus.</p>

SHARE Tri-County Technical College students Shana Datson, right, and Danny Gravely work in the computer lab at the college's Anderson campus. Tri-County Technical College students work on computers in the college's library at the Pendleton campus. Shank Walker, a nursing student at Tri-County Technical College, works in the student lounge at the college's campus in Anderson. Tri-County Technical Collegeas Anderson Campus

By Abe Hardesty of the Independent Mail

Anderson resident Katie McGuire, a second-year nursing student at Tri-County Technical College, calls the Anderson campus a blessing.

Being close to home saves me an hour on each trip, as compared to driving to Pendleton, said McGuire, and when I get there, I cant find anywhere to park. I love coming here.

Down the hall, business management sophomore Jordan Coker reads in the student lounge as he awaits a 5:30 p.m. class. By driving an extra 30 minutes to the Anderson campus, the Pickens County resident remains on pace to enroll at Clemson University in August.

By the time I registered, a lot of classes at Pendleton were full, said Coker.

Those student-friendly benefits were part of the plan when Tri-County Tech opened its Anderson campus eight years ago. The branch, along with a similar campus in Easley and a smaller one in Seneca, has helped the school maintain stable enrollment figures at a time when numbers nationally have declined.

With a fall enrollment of 6,386, Tri-County is the third-largest among the 16 schools in the South Carolina technical college system and the sixth-largest among all state colleges.

Among 2-year schools, only Greenville Tech, at 10,768 students, and Midlands Tech in Columbia, with 9,702, are larger. Among all schools, only USC, Clemson and the College of Charleston are larger.

In terms of terms of successful transfer to 4-year colleges, Tri-County boasts the highest rate among state schools and ranks in the 95th percentile nationally  a big reason the Pendleton campus is a busy spot.

At times, too busy.

Our core campus was stretched beyond its limit many years ago, Tri-County President Ronnie Booth said. The school would be forced to limit its enrollment, he said, without the branch sites at Anderson, Easley and Seneca.

Unless we want to make people come on Saturday morning, theres no place to put them, Booth said of the Pendleton campus. In another 10, 15 years, we could be twice the size we are now. Im not saying that will happen, but it could very well happen.

Of approximately 900 students who attend classes daily at the Anderson campus, about half take courses at Anderson exclusively. Students can get associate degrees in four fields without taking courses anywhere else.

Enrollment might rise dramatically if a new neighbor  a career center under consideration by three of the countys public schools districts at the present site of Lakeside Middle School  develops as planned.

We need to make sure more kids make it from high school to Tech and then to a job or to another college, Booth said. What better way to make some of that happen than to be next door?

Adjunct biology professor Chitra Ghatak said the proximity might attract students less familiar with the college experience. Taking a class here is not nearly as overwhelming as it would be at other schools. There would be a lot of benefits.

The lone Tech building at Anderson features 14 classrooms, a biology lab, a computer lab and a large multipurpose room in addition to a student lounge and administrative offices. A master plan calls for additional construction, Tech spokeswoman Rebecca Eidson said, but no timetable is set.

Campus Director Tim Bowen thinks the career center will escalate the need for expansion on the Anderson campus.

The time is not terribly far away from a need to be adding the footprint, Bowen said. We have the (property) space and I think well soon have the need. Its a matter of funding when we reach that point.

I dont know if anybody knows at this point how much growth well experience, Bowen said. But were going to grow.

The combined resources of the career center, Tech campus and adjacent S.C. Workforce office could be a world-class model in workforce development, Bowen predicts.

Can you imagine representatives of a major company flying in here and in a very short drive, being able to tour great facilities and see how were going to fill that company with all the skilled labor it would need? Bowen asked. If we can put all these elements together, youre looking at what would absolutely be a world-class model.

On the individual level, Bowen envisions fast-track job opportunities without the burden of large college debt.

We have the potential to give an 11th- or 12th-grader some dual-credit classes while hes getting training next door, roll them into a two-year program, and  just two years out of high school, at age 20  that kid gets a good job making $40,000 to $45,000 a year.

Thats the picture were trying to develop, Bowen said. Its all there, if we can put it all together.

Burriss Nelson, Anderson Countys economic development director, said the workforce topic arises often in discussions with potential corporate clients.

When you sit down and talk to companies about job training  about who can operate their equipment without tearing it up  it gives us a strong selling tool, Nelson said. Especially when youre talking about training that would be no cost to them.

Follow Abe Hardesty on Twitter @abe_hardesty
SHARE Mike Gambrell Rockey Burgess

By Kirk Brown of the Independent Mail

State Sen. Mike Gambrell is looking to continue his winning streak on Tuesday while Williamston Town Councilman Rockey Burgess is hoping the third attempt to beat his political rival will be a charm.

Gambrell and Burgess are competing in the Republican primary for a full four-year term in the South Carolina Senate District 4 seat, which covers eastern and southern Anderson County, part of Abbeville County and western Greenwood County.

The winner of the primary will be on the ballot in the November general election. Williamston resident Mark Powell has filed to run in November as a Democrat, but party officials have refused to certify his candidacy and the dispute could be headed to court.

Gambrell, 58, and Burgess, 40, were among five candidates who competed in the March 22 GOP primary to fill the final months of the late Sen. Billy O'Dell's term. Gambrell received the most votes in the primary and Burgess finished second. Gambrell then defeated Burgess in an April 5 runoff before winning a May 17 special election in which he was the only candidate on the ballot.

Gambrell gave up the seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives that he had held since 2007 to serve in the Senate for the final two weeks of the recently completed session.

He voted for a roads bill that is expected to lead to $4 billion worth of highway and bridge projects in South Carolina.

"I wish we had done more, but it is a good kick-start," Gambrell said Friday.

Gambrell said campaigning for four elections in as many months has been grueling.

"It has been very unusual," he said.

A Honea Path resident who owns a trash-hauling business, Gambrell has racked up several endorsements for the primary. He is being backed by the state Farm Bureau, Conservation Voters of South Carolina, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business and the NRA Political Victory Fund. O'Dell's widow also endorsed him before the April runoff.

Burgess said his conservative philosophy and experience as a business owner and town councilman would be assets in the Senate.

He said he would work to restore full state funding for local governments. Next year's budget includes $223.2 million in aid for counties and cities. That amount is a $10.6 million increase over this year but still $90 million less than required under a state formula that legislators have ignored for the past several years.

Gambrell agreed that the General Assembly should comply with the state-aid formula but he said he has been unable to muster enough support from colleagues to do so.

Both candidates are expecting a higher voter-turnout in Tuesday's primary than in their previous matchups in which less than 10 percent of the voters in the district cast ballots.

Follow Kirk Brown on Twitter @KirkBrown-AIM
Pickens County Sheriff Office detective Art Taylor, middle, points to his head talking to SLED investigators and Pickens County EMS workers in front of the home of Susan Hendricks, 236 Pinedale Road in Liberty, Friday morning.

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By Mike Ellis of the Independent Mail

Four people died Friday morning in shootings at adjacent mobile homes near Liberty, authorities said.

While a 911 caller reported the shootings as a murder-suicide, Assistant Pickens County Sheriff Tim Morgan said Friday evening that it was not clear whether another person had been involved in the deaths.

Morgan said the 911 call, around 6:30 a.m. Friday, was from the sister of the owner of one of the homes, Susan Hendricks. Morgan said the sister said that Hendricks' son had shot himself."The caller that called 911 said my sister just called me and said her son just shot himself," Morgan said. "Whether that's accurate or not, I don't know. Anything like this is always treated as a homicide and the rest depends on the results of an autopsy and forensics."

Morgan said forensics could take a long time to process but autopsies typically happen within a day or two. He said that investigators had not been able to determine whether the shootings happened shortly before 6:30 a.m., as the 911 call indicated, or at some earlier time.

Morgan said investigators have been talking to people who may have information about the shootings but no arrests had been made.

Hendricks was seen leaving an ambulance outside the homes Friday and Morgan confirmed that investigators had interviewed her.

A man and woman were found dead in Hendricks' home. A hundred yards away, a man was found dead inside and another man, dressed only in his boxers, was found lying dead on the front yard.

An investigator was overheard saying that the man and woman in the other house had been shot in the head.

The two homes are in a residential area about five miles from Liberty, at the border of Anderson and Pickens counties, in a rolling landscape of winding roads with few stores nearby.

While officials have not disclosed or confirmed any identifying information, family members said they had been told by the Pickens County coroner that two of the men were brothers, Marshall and Matthew Hendricks. They said Matthew celebrated his 23rd birthday on Wednesday and Marshall Hendricks was 20.

Susan Hendricks, who is in her late 40s, and Mark Hendricks, 51, were married and divorced, family members said. They lived in the adjacent homes after he moved back next to her about two or three months ago, according to family members. She kept the last name after the divorce, family members said.

Mark Hendricks, whose birthday was Monday, was found dead inside the second home, with his son Matthew outside lying face up.

The woman who died was Linda Louise, according to her brother and sister.

She had previously fought and beat cancer twice, her siblings said.

Louise's brother and sister said that they are the only ones left out of 11 siblings.

Several members of the families gathered on a lawn across the street and between the two homes, crying as they struggled to understand what had happened.

"That's half of my family gone, in one day, in one tragedy," said Diane Hopkins. Mark Hendricks is her uncle and Hopkins' mother helped raise the boys, so they are more like brothers than cousins, she said.

Susan Gilstrap, the sister of Mark Hendricks' other ex-wife, was among those who were comforting family members.

"I'd seen his truck and trailer on TV and I said, ?Oh, my God, that's Mark's house,' " Gilstrap said.

Mark Hendricks had been living at the trailer for about three months after previously moving out and he came back to spend time with his sons and at his ex-wife's request, Gilstrap said.

Two family members said Hendricks' ex-wife went to a party for his birthday on Monday and gave him a card before being asked by Susan Hendricks to leave.

Susan Hendricks was involved in the April 2006 shooting death of Doyle O'Brine Teague but no charges were filed, according to previous news reports. According to a statement from the coroner's office shortly after the 2006 shooting, Teague had gone into the house uninvited and had threatened to harm Susan Hendricks when she shot him. News reports from 2006 said that Teague lived on the same street as Hendricks.

The investigation into Friday's deaths includes the Pickens County Coroner's Office, Pickens County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Morgan said residents near the homes are upset about the shootings but he does not believe anyone else is in any danger.

"This is something unusual for any community, especially this community," he said. "But we haven't seen any reason people should be alarmed or afraid to go out because of this."

For more information on this continuing story, visit www.independentmail.com.

Reporters Alison Newton, Anna Mitchell and Ken Ruinard contributed to this report.
1. Irrfan Khan has said that our entire country has become Censor Board!

Lending support to Udta Punjab and accusing Censor Board of misunderstanding its actual duties, actor Irrfan Khan came down heavily on the CBFC. He said "It is a certificate board, not Censor Board." Hrithik Roshan also expressed solidarity with the film. Farhan Khan and music band Parikrama have signed an online petition demanding release of the movie without any cuts. The petitions have already been signed by more than 40,000 supporters.

2. Madhuri Dixit has called Sanjay Dutt asking him to not give her reference in his upcoming biopic.

catchnews

The two actors, who were rumoured to be in a relationship in the 90s, parted ways after Dutt was arrested for the 1993 Mumbai blasts. Now according to reports, Madhuri was curious to know whether she is a part of the biopic being made by Rajkumar Hirani. Hence, she called up Dutt to confirm the same.

3. Baahubali 2 team claims the climax will be shot on a whopping 30 cr budget.

indianexpress

As the film's most important schedule will go on floors on June 13, its team is busy erecting the gigantic set. And sources claim that the climax has a budget of 30 crores! The sequel is definitely going to be much bigger and better.

4. Priyanka Chopra makes a special appearance in the video "Don't You Need Somebody" by RedOne.

PC might have returned to India, but she continues to make her mark internationally. Now she has appeared in the video by RedOne that also features Enrique Iglesias, R. City, Serayah & Shaggy. Voila!

5. The makers of Pyaar Ka Punchnama are back with their first web series.

The first episode of the series titled Life Sahi Hai, is a hilarious take on the life of four bachelors and how they deal with the daily household chores. The series stars Suhail Nayyar, Tarun Jain, Siddhanth Chaturvedi and Abhishek Saha.
With every passing minute, more people are joining the raging controversy around Udta Punjab and its fight against the Censor Board. Maverick actor Irrfan Khan has given rather strong reactions on the entire matter. He said he cannot understand why a film that shows the actual reality of a state has become such a huge issue. Everyone agreed whe he asserted that the officials of the board have misunderstood their actual role, which is just to give certification to films. They are now censoring films, which isn't their jurisdiction.

"Our entire country has become Censor Board. If anything comes up, it becomes a huge issue. We should take it seriously, industry should come forward. It is a certificate board, not Censor Board." - Irrfan Khan

At an event, he spoke in depth about the double standards of the CBFC, which was fine with earlier reports that highlighted the looming problem of drug abuse in Punjab, but put it's hammer on Udta Punjab, for no justified reason. Irrfan slammed the system of censoring a movie, saying the government needs to take steps for the betterment of the film industry.

"Industry pays Rs 4,000 crore as tax per year, so there should be some gesture by the government, they should give some 'shaabbashi' (pat on the back)... We all must wake up. Government must think too. Mahesh Bhatt said a film he made 40 years ago is still stuck. We are sleeping. There are a lot of issues which don't reach us. For so many years, some magazines were writing about one state and highlighting the severity of the crisis. After 10 years, a film is made based on the state and it becomes such a big issue. My problem is I don't even know if it is Censor Board or certificate board. These rules were made by British so one individual shouldn't be blamed."

The Kolkata film industry also come out to hail producer Anurag Kashyap's move to drag the Central Board of Film Certification to court for levying 94 cuts on his much awaited and socially relevant film. The officials of Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) in Kolkata said they too "face problems", thus accusing the CBFC of "going beyond its jurisdiction". In a statement to Indian Express, vice-president of EIMPA, Krishna Narayan Daga said his own industry has been victimised enough.

"We too are victims of the whimsical censor board here in Kolkata. They think they have some superpower. We don't get certificates even a week after the committee has seen the film and when our officials go to collect the certificates, they are made to wait for several hours unnecessarily."

EIMPA also held CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani directly responsible for the entire controversy.

"The board's duty is to accept or reject a film. Why should they recommend changing the name of the film or make certain cuts? If a filmmaker makes a film on the Mumbai terror attack, will he name it after Kolkata? Should a film made on the 9/11 terror attacks in United States carry the name of some other country? The chairman is not supposed to watch films. There is a committee for that. Has Nihalani forgotten his own films like Andaz and Haathkadi? India is a democratic country and people should not be stopped from expressing themselves through this form of art."

After Bollywood biggies including Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Karan Johar, Hansal Mehta, Imtiaz Ali, SS Rajamouli, Anupam Kher, Sonakshi Sinha, Shyam Benegal, Mahesh Bhatt, Zoya Akhtar and Sudhir Mishra, even Hrithik Roshan expressed support to the film. Hrithik said he was "proud" of the Abhishek Chaubey-directed film and the censorship controversy surrounding it has brought to light the sad situation Indian films often find themselves in. He took to Twitter to show his solidarity.

#UdtaPunjab brings out d unfortunate condition suffered by films.But fortunately reveals that strangers can stand up n unite 4 justice.Proud  Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) June 10, 2016

We hope the Bombay High Court's judgement on Monday gives the industry some respite. *fingers crossed*

(Also read: B-Town Celebs Among 40,000 People Signing An Online Petition In Support Of 'Udta Punjab')
Gone are the days when the issue of drugs in Punjab was a male-only domain. Several cases have surfaced where it has been found that female members of families have also become addicts along with male members.

AFP

A young businessman from Ludhiana got the shock of his life when he realised that he was not the only one in the family addicted to heroin. His habit had spread to his wife and sister as well.

The young businessman kept his heroin at home, unaware that his wife and sister had started trying it in his absence. The two women got so used to it that when they did not get their daily high, withdrawal symptoms would leave them unnerved, leading to bad fights in the family. It took the businessman some time but he soon realised that the women were addicted to his own addiction.

Why are women getting into drugs?

reuters

Whether it's colleges, universities or homes - women are using hard drugs openly. Dr Jadeep Pal Bhatia, an Amritsar based psychiatrist, who claims to have founded Punjab's first de-addiction centre only for women, revealed that most women who come to the centre are between 18 and 40 years of age. Traumatised by acts of incest, domestic violence, physical and sexual abuse, sex addiction and low self-esteem, they try to find solace in the bittersweet sting.

Families deserting addicted women

Psychiatrist Bhatia also shared another inconvenient truth - in families where both male and female members are addicted, only male members are being sent to rehabs by their families, while female addicts are being deserted.

Reuters

"Two big reasons behind women's drug addiction in Punjab are low-self esteem and upward mobility. The women and girls want to become fashionable and want to show that they are open. The simplest way to reach out to the rich and influential is to join the parties where hookahs, liquor and drugs are served openly," Bhatia told The Mail Today. "The women start with a cigarette or a small peg of wine or liquor. The habit later transcends and they become drug addicts or hardcore alcoholics."

This isn't the only case

Experts say the exact number of female drug addicts in the state is not known but it runs into the thousands. Doctors in Punjab say that this is not an isolated case. They are increasingly coming across instances where the drug habit has trickled down to more than one member of the family, sending alarm bells ringing among professionals working with addicts.

"I never thought my habit would destroy my family to this extent. I now want to get rid of the habit for the sake of my loved ones," the addicted youth in Ludhiana told TOI on the condition of anonymity. He is being treated with his sister and wife.

Couples do drugs together

Professor and Head of Department of psychiatry and drugs at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, doctor Arvind Sharma said that even districts like Faridkot see many cases where young men and their girlfriends become heroin addicts.

Pinterest

"It's a matter of great shame for the deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal who very recently made mischievous claims that only 2 percent of youth are drug addicts in Punjab, while his government has been forced to open drugs rehab centre even for women and that too in a holy city like Amritsar" alleged Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Tuesday. "We are conducting a study in association with Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on epidemiology of substance abuse in Punjab," he said. "We have come across many cases where men and their wives are becoming addicts. This problem has gripped the entire state," said Sharma. The study is expected to be completed by 2016-end.

30% of Punjab's addicts are couples

Dr Ajay Pal Sandhu, consultant psychiatrist at Fortis in Ludhiana, said that they treat around 2,000 addicts. For every 100 cases, around 30 involve the husband and wife being treated together. He claimed that by opening rehabilitation centres for women, the Punjab government had itself admitted to the monstrous drug situation facing not only the male youth, but females as well.

He said there had been various reports and surveys from different universities of the state to international organisations like WHO, warning Punjab of large scale drug addiction among the youth. While demanding an apology from Sukhbir Badal, he said, "We have urged junior Badal to tender a public apology for his utterly false claims of meager drug menace and advise him to initiate the anti drug mafia drive by first arresting politicians responsible for shielding and patronizing drug lords in Punjab" he said.
1. Aviation Ministry Announces New Passenger-Centric Measures, Lowers Excess Baggage Fees Among Others

The aviation ministry has announced a slew of passenger-centric measures including proposing a cap on ticket cancellation charges, increased compensation for denied boarding and steep reduction in excess baggage fee levied by airlines.

According to the new directives of the civil aviation ministry, airlines will have to refund all statutory taxes in case of flight cancellations. In case of flight cancellations announced within 24 hours of departure, the compensation amount has been enhanced to up to Rs 10,000. Read more here

2. Punjab Government Quietly Launches 'Rising Punjab' Campaign To Counter Udta Punjab

Here's how the Punjab government plans to counter the spotlight that the film Udta Punjab is likely to put on drug abuse in the state once it is released. It has quietly launched 'Ubharda Punjab' (Rising Punjab).

Through this programme, started a few days after Udta Punjab's trailer hit YouTube on April 16, the government plans to "develop partnership with the masses to eradicate drug addiction." Read more here

3. Pre-Monsoon Showers Hit Mumbai

Mumbaikars on Saturday morning woke up to heavy rain showers in several parts of the city. The IMD officials, however, clarified that the onset of monsoon over Mumbai is yet to be officially declared. The normal date for onset of monsoon over the city is June 10.

On Saturday morning, rain was witnessed in parts of Parel, Sion, Matunga, Chembur, Andheri and several parts of Thane. Read more here

4. Teachers Should Be Role Models For Students, So Don't Wear Jeans, Says Haryana Government

In a bizarre order, Haryana Education Department has asked government school teachers, both male and female, not to wear jeans. And the order is not just limited to not wearing jeans at work - they can't wear it when visiting the directorate in Chandigarh either.

The government says the teachers should become "role models" for the students and desist from wearing jeans in schools as it is considered improper attire, especially in the rural areas. Read more here

5. Remember The UP Farmer Who Was Mistaken To Be Vijay Mallya's Guarantor? Well, He's Suing The Bank

Manmohan Singh, a small scale farmer from Pilibhit in UP, has filed a defamation case against the Mumbai regional office of Bank of Baroda as well as its local branch for recently freezing two of his bank accounts. He has sought Rs 10 lakh in compensation within 30 days after his account was frozen by the bank over a mistaken identity.

His two savings accounts were frozen in December after the bank mistook him as the guarantor of liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Rs. Rs 550 crore loan with the bank.Read more here

6. Rising Air Pollution Identified As Major Cause For Stroke, Accounts For 30% Of Global Cases

Air pollution has been identified for the first time as a major contributor for stroke leading to death and disability, mainly in developing and middle-income countries like India.

A new study, published in Lancet Neurology, shows air pollution is the third largest cause for stroke accounting for almost 30% of the global stroke burden. Read more here
What would you do if you lost your backpack that had a Macbook Air along with other essentials? You'd probably go file an FIR, feel absolutely distraught for a few days and then carry on with your lives, right? After all, what more can you possibly do? Finding a little backpack in a city like Bombay is harder than searching for a needle in a haystack.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened to Facebook user Amborish Rouchoudhury when he lost his backpack in one of the local trains. But what happened next restored this man's faith in god. God going by the name of Viresh Narsingh Kele.

Facebook/ Amborish Roychoudhury

Viresh, who is a housekeeper with the railways, found the abandoned bag while cleaning the train at the car shed at Panvel, Mumbai. He opened the laptop and found Amborish's name there. Spotting the address in a discarded envelope lying somewhere in the bag, Viresh travelled all the way Amborish's home to deliver the bag to him. Amborish offered Viresh some money, which he later admitted was a bit foolish on his part, but the kind soul refused to accept any form of remuneration. Only a cup of tea, perhaps.

Facebook/ Amborish Roychoudhury

After the Railway Police "couldn't find" the bag after apparently "searching through trains", Viresh, referred to as god for Amborish on his Facebook post, came to his rescue.

Here's the Facebook post -

It's times like this when you realise all's not lost. :)
About 28 youngsters, including 12 minors, were rescued by Mumbai Police from the clutches of a self-styled god-man who held them captive in a bungalow in Mumbai's Kandivali area. The god-man would apparently torture the youngsters physically and mentally by forcing them into performing rituals.

sify

About the incident police inspector at the Samta Nagar Police Station, Sunaina Nate told the media, "One of the children managed to inform his kin about the exploitation he was subjected to. The kin immediately informed police about the matter."

Once they received the information, a team from the Samta Nagar Police Station raided the area and rescued 28 youths, including 12 minors, most of whom were hailing from Uttar Pradesh. They were apparently being subjected to exploitation in the name of religious rituals. When asked about the progress of the case, inspector Nate said, "Two people- Bhagwandas Tiwari and Devendra Manoj Dube - have been arrested in this connection and further investigation into the case is on."
Blaming the decrease in Hindu population in India on impotency of men, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia has urged Hindu men to go home and worship your manhood.

BCCL

Addressing a gathering in Gujarat on Friday, he asked Hindu couples to have more children to counter the growing number of Muslims in India.

Togadia also blamed love jihad and conversion to Christianity for slipping percentage of Hindu population.

Togadia, who is a cancer surgeon by qualification, said tobacco was one of the reasons for impotency, and appealed to Hindu men to give it up.

He also introduced what he claimed was a cure he developed for impotency.

This is a product that I have created. It is available for Rs 600, but Im giving out to you for Rs 500 here. Take this to your wife, ask her to mix it with your meals so that you remain potent and continue to produce children. The Indian Express quoting Togadia reported.

BCCL

He also questioned the Narendra Modi government's policies of development without offering protection to Hindus. The VHP leader said, You are making bullet trains, smart cities, but who will travel in the trains if there is no Hindu?
Anti-harassment cells for women in educational institutes isn't uncommon, but the same facility is not commonly provided to men, mostly because it is assumed that men are hardly at the receiving end. But now, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has introduced a guideline stating that male students can now lodge a complaint against sexual harassment as well.

popsci/Representational Image

Though students are hailing it as a positive step, they also tell us that since male sexual harassment has a stigma attached to it, the guideline can only work if they are given the confidence that they will not be victimised once they lodge a complaint.

So far, no one talked about the rights of men

Aakash Ahuja from Hindu College says that now the fight is about bringing men at par with women in this respect.

"There are talks of feminism and women's rights, but no one talks about the rights of men. There is definitely a stigma attached to male sexual harassment because society cannot imagine a man being harassed. Their masochism is associated with the society's perception that nothing can happen to a man. This is one of the biggest reasons why men do not report such incidents."

dainikbhaskar/Representational Image

Sarabjot Singh, a student of SGTB Khalsa College, says that people should see the guideline as not in favour of a particular gender.

"We should not differentiate between the two genders in this case. People think that men cannot be harassed - if you are being harassed then you are not a man. Even if one male student out of 10 complains after this regulation, I think it is a great step."

'Men have an additional stigma attached to sexual harassment'

Nandita Narain, president, DUTA, and former member of the council for setting up the Gender Neutral Policy in DU explains,

"There were a lot of cases in the University that were reported, and after the 1997 Vishakha judgement, (guidelines dealing with sexual harassment at the workplace), a movement was started. According to that, every institution was asked to set up a policy looking at the sexual harassment cases, so a Gender Neutral Policy was set up under the new ordinance XV-D in Delhi University. It also had representatives from students and teachers who recognized that men can also be sexually harassed. But this was abolished in 2014 with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act. The law is very sketchy and has no student representative," she shares.

indianexpress/Representational Image

But she says the new guideline comes as a positive step which will help male students. She, however, adds,

"Men coming out and talking about harassment has an additional stigma attached to it. It is like a loss of masochism for them. It is a result of societal conditioning."

'They should be given the confidence that they will not be victimized anymore'

Students also tell us that the authorities should treat a complainant in such a way that he should not be afraid to face any societal bias or pressure if he files a complaint.

"If we wish to make this guideline work, then the identity of the person should remain anonymous. Or else they will face biased treatment," says Jayant Rao from Hindu College.

Sidharth from Ramjas College adds:

BCCL/Representational Image

"I don't think it is more about masculinity, it is about losing self-respect. You lose respect in the eyes of society when you are harassed; this is the reason why one should be given the confidence that they will not face more discrimination after filing a complaint."

Nandita Narain also suggests:

"People want a safe mechanism where they are at least given the confidence that their identity will be kept a secret. The students should be given the confidence that they will not be victimized anymore once they lodge a complaint."

BCCL/Representational Image

Some students tell us that they have rarely come across an incident in their college where a male student was the victim of harassment.

Also Read: For The First Time, Male Students Can Now File Sexual Harassment Complaints Against Women, Men And Transgenders In India

Jayant Rao of Hindu College says:

"There are only a few cases that are reported and talked about, maybe because nobody is reacting to these cases. In our society, men hardly talk about sexual harassment - I think this is how we are brought up."

BCCL/Representational Image

Aakash Ahuja agrees and says, "Maybe we don't know about them because they are not being reported. Men are as afraid as anybody else, so they are apprehensive about talking about it."
Nigeria Power brings together the entire value chain to discuss and debate the critical issues facing the Nigerian industry post-privatisation.

With official endorsement by the Federal Ministry of Power: Be the first hear from the new decision makers in this fast-evolving industry.

Part of NOG Week, the largest oil, gas & power gathering in Africa, the Forum provides the unique opportunity to meet the whos who of the entire industry under one roof.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has charged the Federal Government to do everything to ensure that adequate security is provided for the lives and property of Christians in the north.

The call came Following recent hostilities against Christians across some states in the Northern region of the country.

chairman of CAN in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, Reverend Yakubu Pam, in a statement issued in Jos on Saturday, described the circumstances under which Mrs. Bridget Mike Agabahime, 74, and Methodus Chimaije Emmanuel were killed under religious guise in Kano and Niger states respectively as unfortunate, barbaric, and unacceptable in Nigeria.

According to him, the regrettable and uncivilized killings should not be tolerated by people of good will in Nigeria.

Pam also charged the Northern governors to live up to their responsibilities as the chief security officers of their respective states, to provide adequate security for the lives and property of Christians in their states.

He insisted that all Nigerians have equal rights to live in any state of the federation irrespective of their religion, and to carry out their businesses lawfully without anyone causing harm to them.
Former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida is back in Nigeria after receiving medical treatment abroad.

Babangida, while abroad, had been rumoured dead, but it later turned out to be false.

The former president on Friday arrived Minna International airport in a chartered aircraft around 3:30 PM, in company of his son, Aminu, and daughter Halima, and was welcomed at the airport by former governor A A Kure, his son Mohammed Babangida, daughter, Aisha Babangida, close associate, Umar Ndanusa, and former federal permanent secretary, Idris Adamu Kuta.

Babangida did not speak to journalists on his arrival. However, his aides said he will be speaking about his trip later.
President of the United States Barack Obama & his wife, Michelle attended and watched their eldest daughter, 17-year-old Malia Obama, graduate from Sidwell Friends School in Northwest Washington, D.C

According to Washington Post, the president was earlier asked to speak at the commencement ceremony, but he politely declined the offer, hoping to just blend into the crowd and enjoy the ceremony. And thats exactly what he did, taking a seat with the other family members of the private school graduates and watching the entire ceremony, before going on to hug her. The media was however barred from attending.

Source: LIB
Kogi Sate Governor Yahaya Bello, on Friday renamed the Kogi State University in Ayangba after the late first civilian governor of the state, Prince Abubakar Audu.

He said that naming the university was the ultimate honour that could be done to the memory of the late politician who ruled the state twice as the civilian governor from 1991 to 1993 and 1999 to 2003.

Today, and as always, I celebrate the life and times of Prince Abubakar Audu, the first Executive Governor of Kogi State, Bello said.

It is our hope that those who want to lay claim to his legacy will at least develop the same heart for the growth and development of Kogi State that he demonstrated through his lifetime.
What an amazing week it was for fashion! From awards shows to movie premieres  all of our favorite stars on the list stepped out in their most gorgeous outfits.

SEE: LAST WEEKS BEST DRESSED CELEBRITIES

This week, the South Africans pulled out all the stops for the 22nd edition of the South African music awards, held at the International Convention Centre, Durban.

Media personality, Boity Thulo looked stunning in Quiteria & George dress, while Pearl Thusi was flawless in a Rubicon designer white dress. However, our favorite look of the week belongs to Temi Otedola, who rocked a blue Oscar De La Renta dress to the Bvlgari Gala launch in London.

The Fashion blogger reached out to the worlds leading luxury goods brand to make her look glamorous for the Bvlgari Gala launch of their new jewelry collection at the Villa Rothschild, in London.

Who: Funke Akindele

What: The award winning actress look gorgeous in this orange dress she wore to iROKO World and Lebara Play event at the Greenwich ODEON in London.

Who: Ufuoma McDermott

What: The Nollywood actress was one of our best dressed celebrities this week, rocking a black VFL dress for the private screening of New TV series, Duplicity.

Who: Dorcas Shola Fapson

What: It looks like the crop top trend is going to be around for a while  and we love how the gorgeous lady, who plays Sophie in the MTV hit series Shuga, rocked the outfit for the Premiere of Ghana Must Go.

Next stop, the 22nd edition of the South African music awards, which is like the South African Grammy. From short dresses to dapper suits, it was a fashion spectacle on the red carpet.

Next on our list, Shirley Eniang

The blogger and content creator stepped out in a custom made pink dress for a friends wedding this week. For those who dont know, Shirley likes to express herself through fashion, photography and in writing. The 25-year-old is also an expert in beauty tips, sharing them along with look books on her YouTube channel.



Who: Linda Osifo

What: The Actress showed off her curvy figure in this simple but classy purple Ankara dress by Carlistar Couture to a private event.

Five star music boss, E-Money completes the list this week.
Youtube and The Voice Star, Christina Grimmie has died after being shot by a gunman just after a show she held in Florida.

Grimmie was signing autographs just after a performance at the The Plaza Live when the gunman made his way through the crowd of people and shot her. The gunman was only prevented from any possible attack on other people when he was tackled by Grimmies brother.

The gunman shot and killed himself in the ensuing scuffle. Grimmie shot to fame after finishing third in the sixth season of The Voice and went on to amass a fan base on YouTube for her covers of popular songs.
Presumptive Republican Party nominee, Donald Trump might have won the first half in his bid to be the next President of America but the General elections are undoubtedly going to prove tougher.

His opposite number Hillary Clinton has already received the endorsement of President Barack Obama as she hopes to become Americas first female President. Donald Trumps divisive tactics and fiery views on immigration and Muslims have ultimately proved unpopular even with his fellow GOP members.

Former Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is the latest to knock the New York billionaire. In an interview with CNN on Friday, Romney said, I dont see a president of the United States saying things which change the character of the generations of Americans that are following, Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation and trickle-down racism and trickle-down bigotry and trickle-down misogyny  all of these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America.

Romney also categorically ruled out voting for Hillary Clinton; I just cant bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton. I dont think that the policies that she promotes are right for the country,

Romney and other GOP topshots have publicly said they will stay away from the Republican convention where Trump will be officially unveiled as the partys flag bearer.
The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has rejected the new date of June 13th being fixed for the National Youth Service Corps 2016/17 Batch A (Stream II) orientation camp after series of postponements and cancellations .It is based on this that INFORMATION NIGERIA has put together the reasons they cited.

The group said the date coincided with Muslim corps members Ramadan fasting.

They also said dehydration sets in later in the day particularly in the hotter regions of Nigeria

Adequate Sahuur (early morning meal taken approximately between 4 am and 5.15 am) cannot be guaranteed in the NYSC camp.

Also the Futuur (meal taken at sunset to break fast ) be timely as camp schedules are bound to ignore and subsume this very important period.

Also they said attending orientation camp and partaking in the energy-sapping activities on empty stomach is an invitation to health crisis.

They equally said that morning drills in NYSC camps are known to be rigorous and the soldiers in charge will not take excuses

NYSC may therefore be inviting Muslim corpers to step on landmines in the planned orientation camp if it holds as presently scheduled

They also said that the whole month of Ramadan is a period of spiritual dedication.

And lastly they said that there are so many other spiritual exercises in which Muslims must engage during fasting, the tafsiir (exegesis of the Quran) session, the taraawih (late evening supererogatory prayers) and nawaafil (night supererogatory prayers)which the NYSC camp would not permitt them.
Nurses and Midwives at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, on Friday began an indefinite strike.

The nurses and midwives under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) are protesting what they called stagnation, non-payment of salary and inadequate facilities.

We have been having series of problems with LUTH management for a while now which we have made effort to resolve but all to no avail, said Olurotimi Awojide, the State Chairman of NANNM, told newsmen in Lagos.

We have written several letters to them on pressing issues, they are not responding and that is why we are taking this action.

For quite some time now, nurses work at night without light, leaving them with no choice of using torchlight and phones to attend to patients.

This is a teaching hospital and infection control should be our priority and when there are no consumables, water, people improvise to attend to patients, he said.
Western powers have criticised President Bashar al-Assads government, accusing its forces of dropping barrel bombs on the Syrian town of Daraya just hours after it received its first food aid in almost four years. The strikes in Daraya on Friday used crude unguided weapons that kill indiscriminately.

A convoy of trucks carrying food arrived in Daraya late on Thursday, delivering rice, lentils, sugar, oil and wheat flour to civilians for the first time since the government laid siege to the town in late 2012. Assads forces bombarded the town shortly after the delivery, according to a witness and human rights monitors, dropping barrel bombs from helicopters as residents shared food.

Shadi Matar, a local council member, said aid had not yet been distributed because of the intensity of the raids. Jean-Marc Ayrault, Frances foreign minister, accused Syria of extraordinary duplicity over the bombings, which came just as aid workers were beginning to distribute supplies to thousands of desperate people. Ayrault said he was outraged beyond words, declaring the end of an already shaky ceasefire and calling for world powers to meet.

Mark Toner, US state department spokesman, said such attacks are unacceptable in any circumstance, but in this case they also hampered the delivery and distribution of badly needed assistance. Matthew Rycroft, the UKs ambassador to the UN, described the bombing as atrocious. The international community is united around the obligations of the Assad regime, he said.
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has donated an office apartment to the United Nations International Childrens Fund (UNICEF) in Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states. The office will serve as field office for the agency.

Before the opening of the new office apartment, the Sokoto Government and the UNICEF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on child education, health and malnutrition in the state.

The agreement was signed by Tambuwal and UNICEFs Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms Jean Gough.

We have so far met our target for school enrollment for 2016. So signing of this agreement is one event we have been waiting for as it will ensure the improvement of the lives of children in various sectors of development, Tambuwal said.

We look forward to collaborate with any organization across the globe in making the state achieve all necessary needs across all sectors, he added.

The governor assured that the government would remain committed to the course of childrens welfare in spite of the myriad of challenges confronting it.
A man is suing the Harris County Sheriffs office.

Christopher Johnson has said that during his arrest in 2015, two officers strangled him while taking his mugshit.

Johnson who was booked for a drunk driving offense in 2015 said that the police officers were upset he was smiling in the mugshot.

Johnsons lawyers say the event caused him to suffer significant pain and mental anguish.

The county sheriffs office has said that Johnson was uncooperative during the arrest.
Monday, June 13: Chinas National Bureau of Statistics releases May retail sales, industrial production and fixed investment data and the Peoples Bank of China publishes data on new loans for May. Despite small encouragement from better-than-anticipated import and producer price data, there is still cause for concern, with estimates for the total loans outstanding in the country ranging from 200 percent to more than 300 percent of GDP.

Tuesday, June 14: On deck in India is May wholesale price index data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Expectations for the indicator to rise again on higher fuel and food costs. Consensus forecasts are for a reading of 5.39 percent, slightly above the Reserve Bank of Indias target threshold. With many analysts expecting this monsoon season to feature higher-than-normal rainfall, price pressures in the food sector may abate in coming months.

Wednesday, June 15: The June meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee stands to be the biggest event of the week for global financial markets. A speech by Fed chair Janet Yellen suggested that the chances of a rate hike announcement are slim after a weak jobs report for May but left the door open for an increase by September. Not all voices from within the Fed favor waiting, however. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, one of the most hawkish voices in the central bank, has argued repeatedly in recent public appearances that the FOMC has sufficient cause to raise rates.

Thursday, June 16: The Eurogroup meeting in Brussels is likely to focus at least in part on the possible exit of the U.K. from the European Union after the referendum vote one week later on June 23, as well as progress on the Greek debt restructuring plan. During a speech this past week, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi raised urgent concerns over the slow pace of economic reforms within the EU, noting that demographic factors require immediate action to prevent a drag on growth in the region.

Friday, June 17:Finding Dory, the sequel to 2003 Disney aquatic-themed animated film Finding Nemo, opens in theaters. After a disappointing first quarter with earnings that fell short of estimates, Walt Disney Co. is hoping Dory will make the cash register ring this summer. The film got some unexpected  at least unofficially  publicity this past week over whether or not the film features a lesbian couple, a claim that the films producers neither confirm nor deny. With more than 40 million copies sold, Finding Nemo is the all-time best-selling DVD; is the seventh-highest grossing animated film and 35th-highest animated film of all time. Another much-anticipated Disney production is also making a debut this month: Shanghai Disneyland opened its doors June 9.

Saturday, June 18: The Stonehenge solstice celebration is an opportunity for modern-day Druids, hippies and tourists alike to celebrate the shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. While some celebrants may just be there to party, many will be there to marvel at the series of 25-ton stones stacked in a ceremonial circle that still baffles anthropologists as to its original rationale. Along with the winter solstice and the autumnal and vernal equinoxes, the summer solstice is one of the few days a year the monument, which researchers estimate may date as early back as 3000 B.C., is open to the public.
Lemergenza surriscaldamento globale non si arresta. Lo rivela la Nasa (Ente Nazionale per le attivita Spaziali e Aeronautiche) lagenzia governativa civile responsabile del programma spaziale degli Stati Uniti dAmerica e della ricerca aerospaziale.

Secondo lEnte statunitense, infatti, nel 2016 la temperatura globale si e attestata a 1,1 gradi centigradi in piu rispetto al XIX secolo, vale a dire rispetto ai livelli preindustriali (il periodo iniziato a partire dal Settecento in Gran Bretagna e diffusosi nell800 in buona parte del mondo). Nel 2015, evidenzia la Nasa, era gia stata raggiunta la soglia di 1 grado.

Un colpo pesante per la comunita internazionale che, alla conferenza Onu di Parigi sul clima svoltasi nel dicembre 2015, si era impegnata a mantenere laumento del termometro al di sotto dei 2 gradi centigradi, e possibilmente entro un grado e mezzo, entro la fine del secolo. Ma, a inizio secolo, siamo gia a oltre un grado.

Le brutte notizie non finiscono qui. Se dal globale passiamo al locale, di questo passo lItalia risentira (entro il 2100) di un aumento di temperatura ben al di sopra dei due gradi preventivati.

Lo rivela il Wwf (World Wide Fund for Nature), lorganizzazione internazionale non governativa di protezione ambientale piu nota al mondo. Secondo lOng, i cambiamenti climatici in Italia saranno a dir poco preoccupanti. Le migliori e piu avanzate elaborazioni dellautorevole Centro Euromediteraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (Cmcc), indicano  nello scenario ritenuto piu probabile  un incremento della temperatura media in Italia pari a circa 3 gradi per la fine del secolo per lintero territorio nazionale.

Se si considera lultimo trentennio del XXI secolo (2071-2100)  scrive in un comunicato la ong ambientalista  laumento di temperatura giunge anche a circa 4 gradi nel nord-ovest della penisola italiana nel periodo estivo. Nello scenario peggiore, inoltre, laumento della temperatura media in Italia sara invece di circa 6 gradi entro la fine del secolo. Lurgenza dellazione anche nel nostro Paese e ormai e un obbligo civile e morale, conclude il World Wide Fund for Nature.

Emergenza caldo evidenziata anche dalla Coldiretti (Confederazione Nazionale Coltivatori Diretti), la maggiore associazione di rappresentanza e assistenza dellagricoltura italiana. Il 2016  evidenzia la confederazione sorta nel 44  si e classificato al quarto posto tra gli anni piu caldi di sempre, con una temperatura di 1,24 gradi superiore alla media del periodo. Per il calcolo, la Coldiretti si e basata sui dati del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Cnr) che rilevano le temperature dal 1800. Nella classifica degli anni piu caldi dallinizio dellindustrializzazione  e percio dellinquinamento atmosferico su larga scala  ci sono, nellordine, 2015, 2014, 2003 e 2016. Seguono il triste elenco: il 2007, 2012, 2001, 1994, 2009, 2011 e, infine, il 2000.

Siamo di fronte agli effetti dei cambiamenti climatici  scrive Coldiretti  che si stanno manifestano con un pesante impatto sullagricoltura italiana, che negli ultimi dieci anni ha subito danni per 14 miliardi di euro. Si moltiplicano gli eventi estremi, sfasamenti stagionali e precipitazioni brevi, ma intense, e il repentino passaggio dal sereno al maltempo. Siccita e bombe dacqua con forti piogge a carattere alluvionale, ma anche gelate estreme e picchi di calore anomali si alternano lungo lanno e lungo tutta la Penisola. Anomalie che si evidenziano anche in questi giorni  conclude Coldiretti  con lItalia divisa in due, tra un nord dove e allarme incendi e siccita ed il centro sud che e seppellito dalla neve.
If you can, you should really try to spend Bloomsday, June 16, in Dublin once in your life - you'll never forget it, and you'll never see Dublin like this on any other day.

Editor's Note: The below was written by former IrishCentral editor Sheila Langan after she traveled to Dublin to celebrate Bloomsday in 2015.

Its 10 in the morning on June 16, 2015, but the second I turn the corner onto North Great Georges Street in Dublin, any clear indicators of exactly which year or decade it disappears.

Ladies and gentlemen  it would feel wrong to describe them any less formally  mill about, dressed in straw boaters, crisp linen suits, Victorian-era skirts and blouses, parasols in hand. Spectators and tourists brandishing iPhones stand taking photographs at the crowd gathering outside the James Joyce Center at number 35.

Its Bloomsday in Dublin, the day when the worlds of Joyces Dublin of 1904 and the Dublin of today collide for one glorious, very often a raucous, celebration.

How Joyce himself would feel about the day the world, and his home city, in particular, celebrates his novel is a matter of great if somewhat futile debate. The premise of Ulysses  a novel taking place across only one day  was revolutionary at the time. Joyce chose the specific day, June 16, 1904, because it had special meaning for him. It was the date when he first went out' with Nora Barnacle, the woman who would become his wife and his muse.

When Joyce first got word of a Bloomsday celebration  so named for the protagonist of Ulysses, Leopold Bloom  in 1924, he treated it with measured amusement. "There is a group of people who observe what they call Bloom's day  16 June, he wrote in a letter on June 24, 1924, to his benefactor, Harriet Shaw Weaver.

It must have been strange knowing that in his home country, where he had not set foot since 1912, where his book was banned and burned, the place from which he considered himself an exile, there were people celebrating June 16 as Blooms day.

Thirty years later, the most famously documented Bloomsday excursion was planned and (half) executed by a group of Dublin writers, thinkers and drinkers including Patrick Kavanagh, Brian ONolan and John Ryan  half executed because, as this film testifies to, they were too inebriated to continue past Ryans pub, The Bailey.

Nonetheless, for Joyce fans  or even just for people who enjoy a good party  Bloomsday is a treasured occasion to talk about Stately, plump Buck Mulligan coming down the stairs of the Martello Tower; to eat nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried with crust crumbs, fried hencods roes or grilled mutton kidneys; to buy lemon soap; to feast in a pub on gorgonzola sandwiches and burgundy wine, to sing songs about those lovely seaside girls, and to repeat that famous last line  Yes, I said, yes I will, yes,  over and over.

Id celebrated Bloomsday before  with my seven-person Ulysses seminar in college; at the Ulysses Bar on Stone Street in Manhattans financial district; at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side, where Fionnula Flanagan takes the crowd late into the night with her incomparable reading of Molly Blooms soliloquy, the final chapter of Ulysses.

But Id long heard stories, read articles about, and ogled over photos of Bloomsday in Dublin, and, finally, that summer I was fortunate enough to be there as part of a journalists tour hosted by Tourism Ireland.

Read more James Joyce quotes on love and life in honor of Bloomsday

In New York, we have the Fourth of July, we have St. Patricks Day, we have New Years Eve. But Id never experienced anything quite like a city rallying in celebration around a novel and its legacy.

In Dublin, the Bloomsday festival spans six fabulous days. In 2015, being there for only three of them, June 14  16, still provided ample time to enjoy a whirlwind of Joycean activities. Most of these activities  and many more  are back by popular demand for this years Bloomsday Festival, which began on June 4 and runs through to Bloomsday itself, June 16.

It started with a jaunt around the James Joyce Center, housed in a stately Georgian townhouse, which includes an array of permanent exhibitions, from the original door of No. 7 Eccles Street, the house where Leopold Bloom lives in Ulysses, to artifacts from Joyces life right up to his incredibly detailed death mask.

Exiting, we were met with a self-proclaimed Bizarre Bloomsday Brunch and Street Party, which filled North Great Georges Street with picnic tables, song, and dance.

The Center also offers a Bloomsday breakfast on the day itself, complete with the aforementioned fried kidneys, other offal and singing seaside girls, as well as guided walking tours, in which a Joyce enthusiast who knows more about Ulysses than likely 90 percent of the people celebrating in Dublin will take you on a tour of the North Side of Dublin, stopping in front of relevant buildings and corners to read aloud passages.

This is perhaps the most surreal thing about Bloomsday in Dublin. Its been over 110 years since the events of Ulysses took place and were adapted into novel form, and Dublin and Ireland have changed immeasurably since then.

But you can still walk the streets Joyce described, still visit many of the places Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus wandered, as well as the spots Molly Bloom reminisces about as she thinks to herself in bed in the early morning hours.

No Bloomsday experience  or, arguably, any experience in Dublin  would be complete without the award-winning Dublin Literary Pub Crawl, led by actor Colm Quilligan for over a quarter of a century. The tour takes visitors to famously literary pubs in the Dublin City Center  The Duke, ONeills, The Old Stand, and Davy Byrnes, which itself features in Ulysses (Nice quiet bar. Nice piece of wood in that counter. Nicely planed. Like the way it curves, Leopold Bloom describes it.)

Read more Bloomsday: The meals James Joyce would have enjoyed

Joyces life and words impact the tour, but almost more impactful is the sense you get of his predecessors, contemporaries, and successors, such as Yeats, Wilde, OCasey, OBrien, Behan. These same spots  Davy Byrnes in particular  are packed to the rafters during the day on Bloomsday with patrons in Victorian garb.

Also essential, both for Bloomsday and for any trip to Dublin, is a tour of Glasnevin Cemetery  perhaps one of the most fascinating and historic places in the whole city, due to the vast expanse of lives both ordinary and luminary that rest there eternally.

Glasnevin features prominently in Ulysses  in the sixth chapter Hades, Leopold Bloom, friends, and acquaintances travel via carriage to Glasnevin for the funeral of Paddy Dignam. In addition, real-life figures who impacted Ulysses are buried there, including Joyces father, John Stanislaus Joyce.

Joycean tours of the cemetery are available, and on Bloomsday itself the Hades episode is read right there in Glasnevin where it takes place.

Take an excursion to Howth, the quaint, foodie-paradise fishing village on the outskirts of Dublin, and clamber up to Howth Head, the cliff-side trail overlooking the sea. Here, nestled in the flowers and the gorse, is where Molly Bloom recalls Leo proposing to her at the end of her soliloquy.

Lastly, another unmissable seaside venture for Bloomsday is the Martello Tower in Sandycove, where Joyce lived for a short time in real life with Oliver St. John Gogarty, and where the first pages of Ulysses unfold with their stand-ins, Stephen Dedalus and Buck Mulligan.

Officially known today as the Joyce Tower Sandycove, the building houses a museum containing letters, photographs, and personal possessions of Joyce.

On Bloomsday, the single spiral staircase that runs between the floors is jammed with various tour groups and revelers attempting to reach the roof, where Joyce aficionados give dramatic readings of various passages with a view of Dublin Bay in the background.

If its a warm, sunny day, youll likely catch the hilarious juxtaposition of kids in shorts and bikinis leaping into the water as men and women in suits and lace blouses stroll past under parasols.

But wherever your day takes you, make sure you end up back in the City Center for Bloomsday night. Whether its popping into one of Dublins literary pubs, walking along the Liffey towards the James Joyce House on Ushers Island, the house from Joyces short story The Dead, where you can book a Dead dinner experience, or going to one of the planned panel discussions or the festival after-party, it will be a night to remember.

*Originally published in 2015, updated in June 2022.

Have you ever been to Dublin on Bloomsday, June 16? Tell us about it in the comments!
New York Times columnist Dan Barrys new book The Boys in the Bunkhouse tells the incredible true story of the abuse and exploitation of a group of forgotten men in a small town in the American heartland. For 30 years dozens of intellectually disabled boys as they were called were exploited as cheap labor, eviscerating turkeys in return for food, lodging and just $65 a month cash. Barry tells Cahir O'Doherty about a story that changed him, one he found that he had to tell in his new book.

In 2009 a woman visiting her intellectually disabled brother in a run down shelter in Iowa discovered that he had worked for 30 years in the local turkey farm and had only made $86 for his trouble.

Enraged by the squalor that she found him living in, a falling-down shelter known locally as the Bunkhouse in the small town of Atalissa, Iowa, she called state agencies and the newspapers. The men were rescued and the story blew up.

First it was a state-wide embarrassment filling people with outrage, but then this Dickensian tale hypnotized the nation. When New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Dan Barry, 57, read the first account in The Des Moines Register, he was as riveted as anyone else.

I was nosing around some websites for my Times column when I saw a small article that had several phrases that blew the top of my head off, Barry, who writes a recurring column in the Times called This Land, tells the Irish Voice. Thirty-two men with intellectual disabilities all living in an old school house, working in a turkey plant for 30 odd years, eviscerating turkeys and getting paid $65 a month.

The new report had been written in relation to an ongoing lawsuit that was launched after their discovery.

I don't know what it was, but I said I have to write about this. I called the federal lawyer who was representing the men and I told him I wanted to write about it but I had to talk to the men first, Barry said.

The lawyer told Barry that no reporters had ever talked to them. When Barry asked why not he was told that no one had ever asked.

That kind of spooked me about the separation between the non-disabled and the disabled worlds, he says.

Initially Barry imagined going to Atalissa and talking to a dozen of the men for a 1,500 word column. But the deeper he got into it, the more he realized here was a much broader story. It got it hooks into him.

First Barry presented the men's tale as an acclaimed long form feature in the Times. But for me it was more of an outline than the full telling of their story, so I was able to finagle a book contract from that and slow the story down even further and get to know the men more intimately and dig into documents and places as different as Goldthwaite, Texas and Iowa. I just felt this overwhelming need to tell the story, quite frankly.

The new book becomes a portrait not just of the men but behind that of the society that abandoned them, with an examination of the group think or local intimidation that left them to rot unseen and uncared for over three decades of daily exploitation.

We tend to imagine that the government will look out for people in these situations but the lesson here is that it did not, Barry explains.

Many of the men now have PTSD, further complicated by emotional issues. The challenge was to integrate them back into the society from which they had been excluded for so long. And the truth is many of these men could have been living independent lives for decades, but they had to wait so long in a crappy bunkhouse.

Working full-time at a local turkey processing plant for one-third the pay of their able-bodied counterparts, they were roused at 3 a.m. every weekday morning and sent to work for a fraction of the pay of non-disabled workers.

A commitment to social justice quietly animates every page of Barry's book, as does a deep humanity, but first and foremost he's a journalist and he knows this story is remarkable.

I don't fancy myself as a champion of all vulnerable people. I don't think of myself that way although I am who I am and I was raised in a certain way, says Barry.

My father grew up very poor during the Depression in New York and I hear his voice, his raging against the system, still. My mother was from Galway and was orphaned by the time she was 15. The two of them imbued in me a recognition of the need to give voice to the voiceless, the people we ignore or don't see.

But Barry is also interested in a good story.

How American can this be? From Texas to the heartland of Iowa, it's about the people who work to provide the food that we eat, about whom we rarely give much thought, he says.

The inability even today to see people at risk or people who are neglected, even though they are among us, it speaks to all that. It's a challenge to all of us to see what is going on all around us.

The Boys in the Bunkhouse is a luminous story, and often a sad one, with an unexpectedly satisfying and often happy ending, and it some ways it echoes lessons culled from Barry's own life.

My father had it really rough. At one point he was sent to an orphanage himself out on Long Island. Years later when he met and married my mother  they met in Brooklyn  they moved out to Long Island like so many other people, Barry offers.

As they were taking the train out my father started crying because he had passed this orphanage or institution at Farmingdale that he had pretty much put out of his mind and not thought about for many years.

Barry's mother's mother died when she was 10 and her father died when she was about 15. Her family scraped the money together to send her to Brooklyn. She came to America from Galway in about 1952.

A fifteen year old girl from rural Ireland who grew up on a farm, suddenly she's in Brooklyn. That stuns me to this day, her son says.

Both of Barrys parent founds ways to translate their pain and their experience into story telling, and he followed in their footsteps.

They didn't go to counseling, maybe they should have. But they processed it through story telling and being interested in the stories of others. That's one of the gifts they gave me.

After studying journalism at college, Barry went back to digging ditches on Long Island, putting in lawn sprinklers.

I kept flooding places with resumes hoping someone would pay attention. I got hired by a small newspaper in Connecticut, then a mid-level one in Rhode Island, The Providence Journal, a great paper. Over the years I would apply to The New York Times and I think they would laugh at the resume.

His nadir came in the early 1980s when Barry got a chance to become a clerk at the Times. It paid more than what his father was making at the height of his career.

Called in for an interview, Barry wore his father's jacket, belt and tie. The only thing that was mine were my underpants I think, he laughs.

Getting off at Penn Station on Eighth Avenue early in the morning, Barry was approached by a distressed man who was drinking from a bottle in a paper bag. Standing face to face, the man whirled about and hit Barry on the chest with a bottle of Colt 45 beer.

It went all over my jacket. This was about 10 minutes before my interview. I shook the malt liquor off my jacket and I went into the building smelling like I had just come out of McCann's, he recalls.

Barry could tell that the interviewer thought he was just another Irishman who needed to stiffen himself up with a morning drink, Barry says.

It was a mortifying experience. Usually when you go for an interview they will send you a letter announcing the position has been filled. Nothing. It was as though it never happened. I used to imagine for years after my photo was at the security guard desk.

It was fellow writer Colum McCann who dared Barry to complete his new book.

We take these walks and we discuss what's vexing us at the moment. I was telling him about having gone to Iowa and hearing the stories of these men, Barry says.

He gave me something like a dare along that walk. We stopped for a glass of wine. He said, Are you going to write that f***ing story? If you don't write it I'm going to. I was already inclined to figure it out but that definitely got my attention.

If I don't do it this brilliant writer is going to turn it into something magical and unforgettable. I better try my own hand now before he gets there.

Asked what he wants people to know about his new book Barry replied, I don't want them to think it's so sad they can't pick it up. I mean, I understand that and I cried when I was writing it but I want people to know there's also light. There are heroes in this story.

One of the heroes is Barry himself, although he'd bristle at the suggestion, for recording every luminous detail of the long, loveless lives of these abandoned men, in an act of spiritual reclamation that is a joy in itself.
He is almost forgotten now, but James Shields, a Tyrone-born Irishman, represented three different states in the US Senate, which is a record. He also almost fought a duel against Abraham Lincoln.

In a year when elections and politics are foremost in peoples' minds, it is worth remembering the amazing career of Shields (May 10, 1810  June 1, 1879), an American politician and United States Army officer, who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland.

Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history to serve as a U.S. Senator for three different states.

Shields represented Illinois from 1849 to 1855, Minnesota from 1858 to 1859, and Missouri in 1879.

The Tyrone-born Shields was the nephew of another James Shields, also born in Ireland, who was a congressman from Ohio. The younger Shields came to the United States around 1826 and settled in Illinois where he studied and later practiced law. In 1839 he was named Illinois State Auditor. He was not the most popular auditor, especially with a Republican rising star, one Abraham Lincoln.

Shields almost fought a duel with Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1842. Wikipedia noted that Lincoln had published an inflammatory letter in a Springfield, Illinois, newspaper, the Sangamon Journal, that poked fun at Shields, the State Auditor.

Lincoln's future wife and her close friend, continued writing letters about Shields without his knowledge. Offended by the articles, Shields demanded "satisfaction" and the incident escalated to the two parties meeting on a Missouri island called Sunflower Island, near Alton, IL to participate in a duel (as dueling was illegal in Illinois).

Lincoln took responsibility for the articles and accepted the duel. Lincoln had the opportunity to choose the weapon for the duel and he selected the cavalry broadsword, as Shields was an excellent marksman.

Just prior to engaging in combat, Lincoln made it a point to demonstrate his advantage (because of his long-arm reach) by easily cutting a branch just above Shields' head. The two participants' seconds intervened and were able to convince the two men to cease hostilities, on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters.

On July 1, 1846, Shields was commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers to fight in the MexicanAmerican War. He served under Zachary Taylor along the Rio Grande.

Following the war in 1848, he ran for the Senate from Illinois. His election was voided by the Senate on the grounds that he had not been a United States citizen for the nine years required by the United States Constitution: having been naturalized on October 21, 1840. He returned to Illinois and campaigned for re-election, and won the special election to replace himself, and was then seated.

In 1855, he was defeated for re-election, so he moved to Minnesota. He was elected as one of the two first Senators from that state, but his term was only from 1858 to 1859, and he was not re-elected.

Shields then moved to California and served as a brigadier general of volunteers from that state during the American Civil War. He commanded the 2nd Division of the V Corps, Army of the Potomac and was wounded at the Battle of Kernstown on March 22, 1862, but his troops inflicted the only tactical defeat of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson during the campaign.

In 1866 Shields moved to Missouri, and in 1879, he was elected to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Senator Lewis V. Bogy. He served only three months and declined to run for re-election.

Shields died in Ottumwa, Iowa on June 1, 1879. He is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Carrollton, Missouri.

* Originally published in 2015.

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German chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Beijing today for the ninth time since taking office.

The trip comes as she faces criticism at home for failing to speak out more strongly about rights violations in Turkey.

It also comes in the midst of a furious debate over Chinese takeovers in Europe, with some politicians calling for tougher restrictions following a recent offer by home appliance maker Midea for German robotics firm Kuka.

We have a proliferation and intensification of hidden and open conflicts in the German-Chinese relationship, said Sebastian Heilmann, head of the MERICS think tank in Berlin.

We wont be able to avoid tough conflicts with China in the next months and years. This will be a difficult trip.

Ms Merkel is travelling with six of her ministers and a large industry delegation that is expected to include the CEOs of blue-chips like Volkswagen, BMW, Siemens, ThyssenKrupp, Lufthansa, and Airbus.

She will dine with Chinese premier Li Keqiang tomorrow and president Xi Jinping on Monday. In between, she and Li will attend a meeting with business leaders at which German firms are expected to openly voice their frustrations with conditions in the Chinese market.

On Tuesday, she is due to travel to the northern rust belt city of Shenyang to visit a BMW plant.

Between 2005 and 2014, German exports to China more than tripled to 74bn.

In 2015, however, exports to China declined year-on-year for the first time in nearly two decades.
In a statement following the conclusion of its fifth post-programme surveillance mission, the commission reaffirmed Irelands position as the EUs fastest growing economy, with growth now coming from a broader base.

Economic growth is expected to moderate somewhat to around 5% in 2016 and a more sustainable rate of almost 4% in 2017.

The commission warned, however, that additional efforts are needed to make the tax system more efficient and growth-friendly through a shift towards less distortionary taxes.

Identifying the surge in corporation tax receipts, which remains somewhat of a mystery, it said there is scope for broadening the tax base with a view to mitigating revenue volatility.

A number of other challenges are also highlighted by the commission, with the Department of Health in the firing line.

According to the report, improving cost effectiveness in healthcare, especially in hospitals and pharmaceuticals, remains a challenge.

The appointment of Simon Coveney as housing minister is noted, but the housing crisis remains a significant problem.

A new ministry for housing has been created to co-ordinate the broad array of proposed and existing housing policy measures.

"Still, the undersupply of housing remains a prominent issue and needs to be tackled using supply-side measures, states the report.

It also recommends careful monitoring of the property market given the high foreign capital inflows into the commercial real estate market.
The options deals, which brokers said bear the hallmarks of trades made by hedge funds, appear to be based on the belief that current low prices will generate a supply crunch as oil companies cut billions of dollars in spending on developing fields.

The International Energy Agency forecasts that non-OPEC supply will suffer its biggest decline in more than two decades this year.

The market faces a supply crunch in the next 24 months, said Francisco Blanch, head of commodities research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York.

Some hedge funds are betting that oil prices will need to rise sharply to bring demand down again  thats why they are buying deep out-of-the-money call options.

Over the last month, investors have bought call options  giving the right to buy at a pre-determined price and time  for late 2018, 2019 and 2020 at strike prices of $80, $100 and $110 a barrel, according to data from the New York Mercantile Exchange and the US Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.

Even before the most recent flurry, some investors had already built super-bullish positions.

The largest number of outstanding contracts, or open interest, across both bullish and bearish options contracts for December 2018 is for calls at $125 a barrel. For December 2020, its for $150 calls.

Earlier this month, one investor bought more than 4 million barrels worth of call options at $110 and $80 a barrel for 2019 and 2020 in several transactions.

In addition, another 800,000 barrels worth of $60 a barrel call also changed hands.

The deals are public because of new regulations introduced in the US by the Dodd-Frank Act. The disclosures dont reveal the final buyer.
A strategic national risks document released yesterday has included the issues alongside impaired loans and the ongoing housing crisis among a series of financial hurdles the State may struggle to overcome unless they are adequately addressed.

The 44-page report, which is now being sent out for public consultation over the coming weeks, is focussed on a variety of issues including those relating to the economy, environment, social issues, technological developments and international political developments.

However, despite the wide range of issues examined, a number of key moves in the coming months could leave Irelands economy potentially vulnerable to difficulties.

The Government report in particular focuses attention the imminent Brexit vote, which is due to take place in Britain on June 23, saying it could have damaging knock-on effects for this country if it is not handled carefully.

The report also notes at risk of issues should a number of multi-national firms key to jobs growth in this country choose to re-locate to other parts of the world for financial reasons of political changes in nations like the US.

The challenge of impaired loans in Ireland is also likely to impact on the burgeoning recovery if it is not properly addressed, the report says, while it also notes that the Central Bank mortgage limits are exacerbating the housing, rent and homelessness crises.

On non-economic matters, the report points to the differing ways EU states reacted to the migrant crisis as an issue which could hamper cohesiveness in the common market.

It also said that while a terrorist attack by Islamic State or a similar group is unlikely in Ireland, it is still possible and that the country must be prepared for such an eventuality.

The report, which can be read at taoiseach.gov.ie, is currently at draft format stage and will undergo public consultation over the coming weeks.

Views can be sent to nra@taoiseach.gov.ie by Friday July 8.
New figures released by the Central Bank show that more than 13,000 mortgages in arrears of two years or more are now owned non-bank entities, more commonly known as vulture funds.

This represents 26% of all accounts in arrears of two years or more. Of the 13,000 loans, more than seven in 10 relate to owner-occupiers.

The incoming president of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers Alan Redmond called for an urgent review of the role of vulture funds, if any, in Irish society.

Many of these funds are simply driven by greed to flip the properties as quickly as possible with existing tenants often needlessly forced from their homes.

"As we go forward, Irish society needs to look at the notion of selling many more tenanted properties, much in the same way that the commercial sector operates, said Mr Redmond.

The arrival of these vulture funds in the midst of a housing crisis was highly questionable, Mr Redmond said.

The fact that so many homeowners in arrears of more than two years are now dealing with vulture funds rather than the banks that initially issued their loans is likely to increase the focus once again on the role of vulture funds here.

Fianna Fail finance spokesperson Michael McGrath has already warned that the beneficiaries of the countrys economic recovery could be quick-buck merchants  being allowed to ride roughshod over Irish people.

A comprehensive framework of protection for mortgage holders, tenants and SMEs at risk from the actions of vulture funds is needed, Mr McGrath said.

The legislation introduced last year aimed at protecting customers whose loans have been sold to vulture funds has been criticised for failing to regulate the new owner of the loan in favour of regulating the company servicing the loan, that is, dealing directly with the borrower.

Despite a continuing trend of falling mortgage arrears, the number of those mired in the longest arrears of more than two years declined only gradually in the past three months.

There were 35,792 owner-occupier mortgages in arrears of more than two years at the end of March compared with 36,351 at the turn of the year.

Analysts have warned that most of these borrowers have little or no chance of ever repaying their mortgage. A total of 85,989, or 11% of owner-occupier accounts, were in arrears at the end of March.

This represented a decline of 2.6% on the previous quarter. The number of accounts in arrears over 90 days at end-March was 59,700 which is a 3.6% decline on the figure at the end of 2015.

The drop in the number of mortgages in arrears of more than 90 days was the 10th consecutive decline in the number of owner-occupier accounts in arrears.

Merrion Stockbrokers chief economist Alan McQuaid said the figures showed the consistent if gradual decline in mortgage arrears had continued in the opening months of 2016.

As the economy continues to recover, we expect the number of mortgage arrears to decrease further over 2016. For the first quarter of the year, we are anticipating that the number of mortgage arrears fell to 84,000.
The mother and father have been warned they risk having their children being taken into care.

They refused to co-operate with education and welfare authorities who were trying to establish what was wrong with the boy who has not been in school since he was aged nine.

Gardai had to be called to their hearing at Dublin District Court when the mother obstructed proceedings and accused the judge of bullying tactics.

The couple initially faced prosecution after their eldest son, who is in his mid-teens, failed to return to school from September 2014 to May 2015. He went back to school in September last year but additional charges were brought in relation to their younger son.

The case was brought by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, after the parents refused to engage with education and welfare authorities.

Convicting them, Judge John ONeill said he found without a shadow of a doubt that the case had been proved against the married couple, who had contested the case.

He convicted them for not complying with official warnings about school attendance and breaking the Education (Welfare) Act.

For the younger boy, who has not been to school for four years, the judge fined each parent 500. They were found guilty but given the Probation Act on charges relating to their other son. The offence can carry a sentence of a month in jail and a fine of up to 1,000 on each count.

Judge ONeill said their youngest child was the only person suffering; he had not attended school for four years and had no interaction with his peers.

The parents claimed their youngest child was too ill to attend school, but they would not allow Tusla permission to verify this with a doctor. Initially they signed consent forms but later withdrew consent.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny also confirmed that the budget, to be agreed later this year, will include an extra two weeks shared parental leave which would be introduced in 2017.

This could mean there is an extra four weeks leave for parents over the next half year.

Parents would be entitled to an extra four weeks leave by the beginning of next year. All four weeks will be covered by minimum statutory welfare payments.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Kenny confirmed that the package on two weeks paid paternity leave will go before Cabinet next week, with the intention of introducing it in September.

The second matter of extra shared parental leave, also covered by welfare payments, will allow employers voluntarily opt in to pay for cover, he said.

We plan to fund in the budget an extra two weeks shared parental leave so as a result in 2017, new parents will be entitled to an extra four weeks leave funded through the social insurance scheme, he said.

Enda Kenny

Elsewhere, Mr Kenny said the June 23 vote on Britain remaining in the EU would be close. He will next week visit Liverpool and Manchester and Belfast among places where he will campaign for a no vote.

The event in Manchester will also be attended by British prime minister David Cameron. The result of the referendum could depend on the level of turnout, said Mr Kenny.

He pointed to where employers and workers in Ireland had encouraged people to support the Fiscal Treaty referendum vote in 2012.

As is known, there is a two-year buffer or period where Britain would leave the EU if there is a yes vote. However, it is unclear how this would work and what would happen to Irelands trade and border rules with its neighbour.

Mr Kenny said it was his belief that some sort of passport and customs check in the North would be necessary if there was a yes vote and Britain was to leave the European Union.
Callers to 96FMs Opinion Line programme made the allegations in relation to a city centre barbers.

One woman said her son, who has cerebral palsy, was refused a haircut, while another caller said he was refused, and alleged it was because he had been accompanied to the barbers in question by his boyfriend.

Both callers claimed the same man had refused them.

The radio station called to the shop to get a comment but its reporter was asked to leave. Yesterday the Irish Examiner visited the barber shop and was told that there would be no comment and was also told not to return.

One caller to the Opinion Line, Michele Giansanti, said in recent days he attended the barbershop with his boyfriend. He said he had previously been in the shop but the minute I went there with my boyfriend he had a problem with it. He claimed the man he was dealing with in the barbers told him to go elsewhere for the haircut.

Mr Giasanti claimed the man with whom he was dealing had a very bad attitude and alleged his sexuality was the reason for being refused service, adding: My boyfriend is an Irish citizen, so its not a country issue.

A second caller, a woman named Mary who said her teenage son, Thomas, has mild cerebral palsy, also alleged that they had been refused a haircut in the shop.

The caller said her son was in his wheelchair that day as he uses it when he gets tired, and when he was preparing himself to get out of the chair he and his mother were told that the boy could not get a haircut. He looked at my son like he was going to catch something, the caller said.

Both said they were considering making official complaints alleging discrimination.

Another hairdressers, Salon 33 Haircare, has stepped in with an offer to both affected parties. On its Facebook page the shop, in Ballyvolane Shopping Centre, said it would be happy to cater for both callers. We pride ourselves on our customer service, so hopefully well see you all. If not, we genuinely hope your next experience to the hairdressers is a good one.
The Fine Gael leader made the comment after a damning UN report hit out at Irelands rules on the issue.

Speaking at a media briefing 24 hours after the independent UN report criticised Ireland for its role in a case involving a woman forced to travel to Britain after learning her foetus could not survive outside the womb, Mr Kenny said he was acutely aware of the sensitive issues involved.

However, despite growing calls for an immediate referendum on the matter, he repeated the Government view that any potential changes must first be discussed by a non-political and diverse citizens assembly.

Under the programme for government, this group is due to be set up in the autumn to examine a number of unrelated issues.

This [abortion legislation and fatal foetal abnormality cases] is something that is obviously so traumatic and personal for so many people and families. Its part of an issue that has divided Irish society for a very long time, said Mr Kenny.

I myself have struggled with this.

I dont want to interfere with [the citizens assembly]. But I do think that it is important [that a review of abortion laws] be proceeded with in a proper and sensitive fashion, given the many letters I have received from women in particular and in some cases families who have had to go through the trauma of having to be faced with that challenge.

Mr Kenny said that once the citizens assembly examines the issue, its recommendations will be voted on by TDs during a free vote in the Dail, with individual politicians not subjected to party whips.

The matter could lead to a referendum on the Eighth Amendment, but questions remain about what may replace it.

Enda Kenny

Speaking at a separate event yesterday, Health Minister Simon Harris and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe repeated the view that a citizens assembly is the most appropriate way to examine reforms.

Mr Harris denied the plan is about delaying the need to make a decision, insisting it is absolutely not a stalling tactic, quite the opposite. He said there needs to be a new sense of priority and urgency attached to this issue.

While it is not for me to dictate the work plan of the citizens assembly, I think it would be very important for this issue to be amongst the very first it would consider, he said.

Mr Harris, like Mr Donohoe, said the current legal position on abortions in fatal foetal abnormality cases is unacceptable. He said there is absolutely no doubt the views expressed very clearly by the UN now need to form part of the work of the assembly.

Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said the idea of no actions taking place until the assemble is established is absolutely a stalling tactic and must be tackled.

The State is indicted for its position in respect of abortion. It is absolutely a stalling tactic. The issue of legislation for the X case, the history of dealing with this issue, is a history of stalling and it has to stop, she said.
The cases include thefts, burglaries, sexual assaults, and false imprisonment.

A report compiled by Forensic Science Ireland, which has been obtained by the Irish Examiner, said that while it was still early days for the DNA database, the signs were positive that it will be invaluable.

Figures from FSI for the six months to May show:

More than 4,500 DNA samples have been taken and stored in the DNA database;

In excess of 2,500 of these are samples from individuals  suspects and convicted criminals;

More than 2,000 samples have been taken from crime scenes.

In total, up to the end of May, 215 cases that were previously unsolved are now solved, said the report.

The 2,500-plus samples of individuals include around 1,760 taken by gardai of suspects and around 740 taken by prison officers of convicted criminals.

FSI have recorded over 130 incidences where an individual has been linked to a specific crime, ranging from burglary and theft through to more serious offences against the person such as sexual assault and false imprisonment, the report said.

The findings demonstrate the benefits in relation to identifying repeat offenders.

There have also been 25 clusters recorded where an individual has been linked to several crimes, the report said.

DNA Samples

For example, one individual has been linked to 13 burglaries, while another individual has been linked to seven burglaries, which reinforces Garda figures which show that 75% of burglaries are committed by 25% of burglars.

The tool has also been successful in other jurisdictions in identifying and tracking down serial rapists.

Even though it is early days for the Irish DNA database, the signs are positive that it will be invaluable in the fight against volume crime and has begun to assist in redressing the balance between those involved in the commission of serious crime and the investigators tasked with building criminal prosecution cases against them, the report said.

The database, promised by successive governments since 2007, was officially launched by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald last November.

FSI described the database as like a computer bank containing records of DNA profiles coming from two sources: DNA samples from crime scenes, and DNA samples from individuals.

When a crime scene profile is added, it is searched against DNA profiles from other crime scenes, which could indicate a link between the crimes.

It is also searched against DNA profiles of individuals and could provide a match.

Individual DNA profiles operate in a similar fashion.

When a profile is generated from an individual, such as someone arrested, it is searched against all other crime scene profiles.

A match may indicate that the individual may be a suspect for the crime.

The process is known as speculative searching and results can be sent back to gardai for further investigation. The DNA database is operated within the current facilities of FSI, which have repeatedly been criticised as poor.

There have been failed promises by governments to build a new laboratory for more than 10 years.

The Capital Expenditure Programme, announced last September, resurrected the plans but said funding would not be available until 2019, with construction taking three years.

The FSI has criticised the timeframe.
Earlier this year, nine Irish greyhounds were exported from Ireland, via the UK, to race at Canidrome Racetrack in Macau, China.

One of those dogs ran his last race at Curraheen on December 17. Dogs who do not finish in the top three in Canidrome are destroyed.
Peter Kerrigan has carried out multiple break-ins targeting elderly people and is the most wanted criminal among Londons Hackney Police.

He preyed on the elderly, vulnerable and disabled by impersonating a police officer or council official, said Detective Inspector Paul Ridley of Hackney Police.
Wayne ORiordan, of 17 Townsend Place, Greenmount, Cork, was sentenced to three years with the last year suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on a charge of assault causing harm to John OLeary on October 31, 2014. The victim had no interaction with the accused prior to the incident. There was one single punch to the face which rendered the victim unconscious and he fell to the ground, his head suffering a heavy blow against the footpath.

Dermot Sheehan, defending, said ORiordan suffered panic attacks, stayed in his bedroom, and then drank to excess on occasions when he did go out.
Judge Sean O Donnabhain said he could not believe the accused breached his bail.

He cannot be here, he said. He told me he had a job and that would keep him on the straight and narrow, and he would keep away from his ex-partner.

Garda David Barrett said Leslie Murphy had to be arrested last month for turning up outside the womans house again to harass her.

Murphy, with addresses at Nohoval, Co Cork, and Tubrid, Minane Bridge, Co Cork, was sentenced to four years in prison, with the last year suspended. He had previously pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to harassing Elaine Lovell and trespassing at her home at Kinsale, to commit the offence of assault causing harm.

Judge O Donnabhain considered remanding Murphy in custody last month but agreed to grant him bail when he was prevailed upon to release him to take up employment on the basis that it would be a steadying influence in Murphys life.

The offences in the present case occurred around May/June 2015. Murphys ex-partner called the gardai because of threats by phonecall and text from Murphy claiming he was going to assault her and her partner.

Gda Barrett said there was one incident where Ms Lovell was leaning out a ground-floor window having a cigarette when Murphy arrived and pulled at her.

He launched in the window after her. He caught her by the throat on the couch, said Gda Barrett, adding that the relationship had broken down a number of years previously.

Gda Barrett said that all the injured party wanted was for Murphy to learn from his mistakes and stop harassing her and sending nasty, threatening texts.

Murphy was convicted of harassing another woman in 2013 and was put on a bond to keep the peace for three years at that time.

The probation report suggested Murphy underestimated his offending behaviour and lacked empathy.

Dermot Sheehan, defending, said what Murphy told him was completely different to what the probation officer had concluded: He is a very pleasant man to speak to.

Judge O Donnabhain said: This man is a very pleasant man provided he is not outside your door shouting at you, denying the fundamental rights of your home.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner last night, Mr Halligan went further and warned landlords he would take them on and promised during the lifetime of this Dail to bring in legislation to force them to charge reasonable rents.

Mr Halligan was strongly criticised yesterday by a landlords group for his recent comments that speculating landlords were driving people into homelessness and that he would jail the bastards.

The Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) said his remarks had bordered on incitement to hatred and could be contrary to legislation on incitement to hatred and that the junior education minister should seriously consider his Government position given his crucial role in Irish education.

IPOA chairman Stephen Faughnan, in a message to landlord members, said the comments were despicable, filthy, and foul- mouthed and do not represent the crucial role played by the providers of good quality, affordable accommodation to over 700,000 people.

Mr Faughnan added: It is outrageous for a member of the Government to publicly denigrate a body of people who are crucial to solving the housing situation.

Responsibility for rent increases lies solely with successive Government policy which practically insists that landlords should offer a free service to their customers instead of being considered as business partners in the housing solution.

Mr Halligan strongly defended his words last night and went further in his challenge to those operating in the rental sector.

Are they seriously telling the people of Ireland that there are no landlords exploiting people? he said. Are they seriously saying they can justify the increase in rents across the country, higher than before the bust? They dont have the right to charge 200 a week and drive people into poverty.

I will withdraw nothing. They are exploiting people and if I could, I would do something. It is outrageous; they should be ashamed of themselves. Are they exploiting people? Absolutely. There are some good people [landlords]. But theres a sizeable minority out to make a quick buck out of peoples misfortunes.

The Waterford TD said that he will now make it his business to take on landlords.

It is my intention in the lifetime of this Dail to bring in legislation to force landlords to charge reasonable rents, said Mr Halligan. I will take them on.
Let Me Tell You is a new bespoke podcast series from



Hosts Daniel McConnell and Paul Hosford take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments in recent Irish political history from the unique perspective of one of the key players involved.


Organisers of the Our Table event on Oliver Plunkett St said they are deeply disappointed to have to pull the plug on the event.

Cork Midsummer Festival confirmed yesterday that everyone who bought a ticket for the June 26 dinner date will be fully refunded. It is understood that its clash with Euro 2016 games  thousands of fans are expected in city pubs that evening  was among the key reasons for the cancellation.

Up to 12 of the citys top restaurants united for the inaugural long table-style event last year, serving meals to some 400 people at tables set up on the street. Staged as part of the 2015 Midsummer Festival, it was deemed a huge success. Tickets for this years event sold out within days and it was set to be one of the highlights of the festival.

However, Cork Midsummer issued a statement yesterday confirming the cancellation, and saying key stakeholders had encountered unforeseen difficulties presenting the event in the format advertised.

The date for Our Table was set prior to the announcement of the Euro 2016 fixtures, they said. The event plans hadnt factored in the additional numbers of people who would be in the city centre on June 26.

The organisers looked into moving the event to a number of different locations. However, they felt that it wasnt going to live up to last years event or the advertised format. After much consideration, the very difficult decision was made to cancel this years event.

Restaurateur Claire Nash, of Nash 19, said they were disappointed to cancel, but felt they had no option: We had every intention of staging an even better event this year but the logistics were just proving too difficult to organise at this stage.

It takes huge organisation and co-ordination and we felt what was the point in doing it unless we could do it properly. It is essential that Cork is showcased as the producing capital of Ireland, and we felt that we just couldnt deliver, with the expectations that were there after last years fantastic event.

Ms Nash insisted those involved are committed to ensuring a top-quality event is organised for 2017.

Cork Midsummer said all ticket holders will receive a 100% refund, including booking fees, directly into their accounts within three to five working days. They also said they will be actively involved in the consultation process with all the Our Table partners to organise next years event.

The Cork Midsummer Festival runs from June 17 to 19, on June 21, and from June 24 to 26, with more than 40 events staged across the city.
Mr Kenny also confirmed that he held a discussion about a 278,000 European Bank job with Transport Minister Shane Ross, where the latter insisted on an open appointment for the post.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Kenny outlined the minority governments priorities for the year, which include helping families with costs; lowering the USC; and tackling the housing crisis.

He admitted there is a possibility the water charges suspension could be longer than nine months  the current freeze period agreed with Fianna Fail.

Environment Minister Simon Coveney told the Irish Examiner last week that he hoped Brussels would give Ireland some flexibility in terms of the nine-month suspension, in order to allow Ireland go through the review process and the experts.

Asked yesterday about extending the period, Mr Kenny said an Oireachtas committee would examine the outcome of a forthcoming commission on charges, and then decide if nine months is enough.

That can only arise if the committee request it. The legislation, as I confirmed in the Dail the other day, our intention would be that this would be for a nine-month period. But in the agreement that we had, we cant determine whether the committee might look for an extension of that time or not. If they were to request an extension, an extension could be approved by the Dail, but not for long.

Elsewhere, Mr Kenny confirmed he held a discussion with Mr Ross over a senior job at the European Investment Bank.

As reported by the Irish Examiner last week, Alliance ministers said there was debate behind the scenes about the post of EIB vice president, which has a salary of 278,000 a year.

Mr Kenny said:  What I discussed with Minister Ross  we have no difference of opinion here  is a process that can be accountable, transparent and above board for all of these appointments.
Tara Byrd was walking to her car after visiting a petrol station on the northside of Cork City on Thursday night when two suspects, aged around 17 or 18, snatched her handbag which contained her childrens allowance, bank cards, and around 200 she had saved to buy a highchair for her infant son. The pair made off on foot.

Gardai confirmed she informed them about the incident but said a formal complaint was not made. Ms Byrds friends and family, however, wanted the incident highlighted to encourage people to be vigilant.

Earlier this week, her former boyfriend, Michael Lynch, aged 24, was jailed for 30 months for assaulting her at their house on Old Youghal Rd on July 25, 2015.

Lynch, who attacked Ms Byrd because he was jealous of her looking at another man, had denied a charge of assault causing harm.

But a jury at Cork Circuit Criminal found him guilty last Monday of assault. He was found not guilty of threatening to kill Ms Byrd.

The court heard he had poured a kettle of boiling water mixed with sugar over her left leg. Ms Byrd was four and a half months pregnant at the time. In a victim impact statement, she said the attack had a lasting impact on her life, that her confidence and self esteem are at an all-time low, and she doesnt think she will ever have the confidence to wear a dress or a skirt again.

Meanwhile, in a separate matter, a Garda probe is under way after a passenger on a bus suffered a head injury when a brick was thrown at the vehicle and smashed its rear window.

The man was on the 201 northern orbital service at around 6.30pm on Thursday when the incident occurred in Knocknaheeny. Sinn Fein city councillor, Stephen Cunningham, who was also on the bus, branded those responsible idiots.

Bus Eireann said a replacement vehicle arrived to take passengers onwards. Services continue as normal on the route and will not be curtailed, a spokeswoman said. Incidents like this  which are not confined to particular areas  occur from time to time and are in decline.
JOANNA WALSH rushes into the hotel for our interview, telling me shes just come from the Irish Writers Centre. As well as publicising Vertigo, her latest collection of short stories, shes in Dublin interviewing people for the upcoming Irish issue of Granta.

I wanted to talk to, not just Irish writers, but the people who create the structure behind that success, she says, naming The Stinging Fly and Gorse literary journals, the grant system, Aosdana, and her publishers, the innovative Tramp Press.

Then, turning her attention to her own work, she throws herself down, wrinkles her brow in concentration, and launches into 45 minutes of rapid-fire talk, barely pausing for my questions.

Her passion for writing, her intensity and seriousness for her craft, and her sheer almost overwhelming intelligence, come as no surprise. Vertigo, a quite extraordinarily accomplished piece of work, could only have been written by someone with exceptional skills.

Spare in style, the stories are far from conventional; they reminded me a little of Pond, the debut collection from Clare-Louise Bennett released last year; different in their approach, they engendered in me the same heady absorption and constant food for thought.

I do a lot of events with Claire-Louise, says Joanna. Were paired frequently. She is writing about a woman on her own and I write about a woman in relation to her family role, as mother, daughter, wife, but we do have things in common. We both use internal monologue, and we share an interest in how we create subjectivity through language.

My work is to do with the absence of words. I am essentially a minimalist in my writing. I use short words, and I am interested in the unsaid, and in working with the reader so that they can fill those gaps for themselves. Im interested in presenting rather than drawing conclusions. Then people can draw whatever conclusions they want.

Just how does she set about writing the stories?

All my writing comes from my diaries, she says.

I write notes or a turn of phrase. But do I get irritated when I go back to the diaries because I dont know what country I am in or what I am doing; thats not what I write down.

The notes start coming together into clumps; I put those down and see how they look together. I shuffle them and cut and paste. Its like writing from outside. I write down what I want to write about and narrow it down and narrow it down and cut until I have got something, and then make connections between those parts. It feels like shuffling cards. Its the way you deconstruct and reconstruct.

I like writing to examine and grapple with things. Im trying to get language to fit around very complicated ideas; trying to bring words to those things which are in themselves quite abstract and have a system of their own.

Its all so wonderfully well done. Whether she is writing about that tension between adult daughters and their mothers, or of, wandering, aimlessly around a literary festival, always feeling one should be somewhere else, the reader will delight in recognition of the sentiments she evokes. Shes terrific on motherhood, too.

Motherhood is such an impossible ideal to live up to. It has such an impact on womens lives, but makes them feel a failure in some way. In many ways, its not compatible with the idea of independence that we have been brought up to. That other idea, of Western Individualism is pitted against the idea of motherhood and it makes it very difficult for women to consider themselves as human beings.

Joanna came relatively late to writing. She studied English at Oxford University, then she worked as an illustrator, in newspapers and for book publishers.

I resisted being a writer for a long time, she says. I didnt feel I had the authority to be a writer and I couldnt see a space in which to do so. I started writing seriously when my marriage was dissolving. It was a traumatic period, and one in which I thought, I have so little to lose here.

I had no connections. I dont come from a community of writers, and I didnt go to writing school or a university writing course. I was writing in this weird way which is not standard, and it wasnt like the writing I saw in bookshops or newspapers.

Her first collection of stories came out with a small press, in 2013.

It went under the radar, but had a nice review in the Times Literary Supplement.

She followed that with a book of essays called, Hotel. That was based on a time when I was a hotel reviewer and my marriage was dissolving. Pausing, she says, Dissolving is a funny word, isnt it?

Described in the blurb as a memoir, she refers to Hotel as auto fiction.

I like that term, she says. It describes where someone inserts themselves into a fictional narrative as a character, but what I am interested in is telling a thing about personal experiences using a variety of techniques more closely associated with fiction.

Passionate about women writers, Joanna created the twitter hashtag, #readwomen, aiming for equal treatment for women writers. Its been the greatest success. She lives in Oxford, a city, she says, oddly devoid of writers.

Its a myth that Oxford is a writers city, except for people connected to the university. Writers live in places like Norwich and Brighton, and, of course in Dublin, Cork and Galway.

Joanna comes to Ireland often.

I love being involved with all the stuff that goes on in Irish publishing. Im thrilled to be published by Tramp Press; And the journals are far more thriving than those in the United Kingdom. I love the support organisation give writers, and the support writers here give each other.

Its like what Anne Enright said on Mariella Frostrups book programme last year: There is no VIP room here.

She adores reading her work aloud. Reading is a private pleasure, which you can do silently, but I love the space between the listener and the reader. I love the sounds. Writing needs to sound right. I leave things in which are ungrammatical, and I use Americanisms. I do all sorts of things that are unorthodox because I want the writing to sound right. That is the most important thing to me.

Next up, though yet to find a publisher, is a book of essays based on love and the internet.

I am interested in that nebulous space created for relationships online and the difficulty of bringing anything to an end. You can go to the other side of the world or move house and that person is still there.

Meanwhile, Joanna is judging this years Goldsmith Prize.

Im really excited about that, she says. Its for innovation in writing form, and when that is promoted, publishers start looking for that kind of thing. Kevin Barry won it last year for Beatlebone, which I loved. We read 20 novels in two months, and I am not a quick reader, but I am excited about what we might get.

Joannas writing has been universally praised, yet my enthusiasm clearly pleases her.

Breaking into a smile, she says I have read her work well.

I still get excited when I make a connection with someone. I never get over it. The first time I got a good review there were tears in my eyes. It was very moving to me.

Vertigo

Joanna Walsh

Tramp Press, 10
Nah. The real trip is in the booking, the planning and most importantly, the packing.

Yes, thats correct  the packing.

Whether a 5-star luxury getaway to Fiji or a family staycation in the West of Ireland, the key to holiday zen is swapping excess baggage for a few well-chosen essentials.

That said, what suits two weeks on a sun-soaked beach wont exactly cut it on a grand soft day at home; not unless youre comfortable with hitting the local pub in a kaftan and a bikini.

Whats more, prioritising holiday wear isnt exactly an agenda topper, especially when there are 50 other weeks in the year that, by and large, necessitate layers, weatherproofing and bone practicality.

The truth is were not good packers: instead a sure, whos looking at us attitude prevails.

Were thousands of miles away for gods sake!

Perhaps its a combination of distance and being off-duty that invariably causes standards to slip.

Eircom jerseys on the beach, anyone?

That said, theres a fixed fashion menu when it comes to getaway get-ups.

Get em right and youre sitting pretty  be it on a beach or tour bus. No panic buying in the airport.

No GIF-worthy expressions when humidity and skinny jeans conspire to shrink wrap your body.

Consider it a passport to holiday style  one thatll get you from airport to hotel; beach to bar; or camper van to festival  without breaking a sweat.

CITY BREAKER

Look like a local with these street styles

Skirt or Culottes:

Whatever the weather, or the dress code, a skirt makes for cognitive ease. Want to step it up a tad? A pair of culottes will stand you in good stead - comfy yet craftier than a pair of jeans when hustling a booking at a fancy shmancy restaurant. Result. Crinkled pencil skirt, COS, 69

Denim shirt:

Buttoned down, worn open over a top, under a blazer or a cardigan, the layering appeal of a denim shirt is indisputable.

A bona fide box ticker.

Formal chambray utility shirt, Next, 44

Flats:

When factoring in footwear, its best to assume the Goldilocks school of thought  not too high; not too flat.

Aim to walk a decent distance without incurring bunions, shin splints or fallen arches in something that can segue from day-to-evening. Launch sandals, Dune, 85.

Tote bag:

If youre looking to combine a day of sightseeing, lunch and a spot of shopping, youll need one of these. Capacious enough to hold maps, gadgets, souvenirs, your travel buddys belongings (fact: this will happen) and some post-prandial retail therapy.

Michael Michael Kors Jet Set leather tote, The Outnet, was 325; now 195.

RESORT LOVER

Craving the coastal life? Then youll be needing these...

Shirt dress:

Wear it on its own, belted over trousers or opened over a mini dress. More potential than a maxi and oodles more sophisticated.

Best of British silk floral belted shirt dress, M&S, 199

Wedges:

Navigate jetties en route to boat parties with relative ease. As you do. Piperette rope wedge sandals, Moda in Pelle, 75.95; approx. 97.53

Sunglasses:

People-watching on the Croisette is easier (and less obvious) without having to squint  or stare.

Thats just weird. Oversized sunglasses, & Other Stories, 55

Sailor pants: Style with a simple sweater to best brisk seaside breezes.

Sartorial stalwarts whatever the weather. Augustina trousers, Hobbs, 165

GLAM CAMPER

Tents, fields, music, camper vans  the festival circuit is officially open!

Gilet:

The art of layering demands wardrobe wonders like these for keeping warm while looking cool.

Universally festival-friendly too. Leather tassel waistcoat, Penneys, 23

Shorts or Playsuit:

Wet, muddy legs are easier to wipe down than wet, muddy leggings.

RI Studio embellished shorts, River Island, 100.

Boots: With cowboy boots having a redux, theres never been a better time to swap your wellies for a pair. Dont worry about getting them dirty. Lola heeled ankle boot;

Accessorize, 72

Crossbody bag:

Cant exactly put your hands in the air like you dont care if youre worried about someone stealing your bag.

The solution? Crossbody. Always. Marc By Marc Jacobs Espionage 18 canvas bag, Brown Thomas, 295 Brown Thomas, 295

BEACH COMBER

Marbella, Malibu, Mayo  no matter, as long as theres sand, sun and these must-haves...

Elementary but nonetheless, avoid squinting and sunburn with a lightweight straw hat. Black trim fedora, Accessorise, 25.90

Bikinis may divide and conquer but sometimes a bit of coverage goes a long way, especially when worn under a skirt or wide-legged trousers.

Zimmerman Ticking Wrap cutout striped swimsuit, Net-a-Porter, 402

Beach dress:

Beach wear should be breezy and easy. Curious lacing, multiple zips or anything requiring a Venn diagram, it should be avoided at all costs. This seasons off-the-shoulder dress is spot on. Ditto for multitasking sarong skirts and kaftans.

Bardot style dress, H&M, 24.99;

Kaftan, H&M, 29.99

Espadrilles:

Jute does a sole good when flip flops fall flat. Don these for sandy suppers or drinks under the stars. Manebi Los Angelus platinum leather espadrille, Style Ikon, 162

LONG HAULER

Get on board with these airborne essentials and arrive looking refreshed...

Trainers:

The Internationalist is a street style staple for a reason  comfort and globally-recognised cool factor. Wear them with anything and arrive at your destination in style.

Nike Internationalist sneakers, and Other Stories, 90

Cashmere wrap:

Put the kibosh on airport air con and the shock your body feels when landing after a holiday in 40D heat.

Double duty for late al fresco dining. Cardigan wrap, Cocoa Cashmere, 300

Oversized scarf: Wrap not your thing? The oversized scarf will substitute equally well. Oversized wool scarf, and Other Stories, 55

Eye mask: The key to destination- fresh arrivals is sleep.

Block out light without incurring telltale sleep marks with an indulgent (and slightly pricey) silk eye mask. SLIP silk eye mask, Net-a-Porter, 41

STOCKISTS

& Other Stories  www.stories.com Accessorize - Patrick Street 021-4279488; www.accessorize.

com; and other branches Brown Thomas - Patrick Street 021-4805555; www.brownthomas.

com; and other branches Cocoa Cashmere  www.cocoacashmere.

com COS - Wicklow St 01- 6111080; cosstores.com; and other branches Dune - Dundrum Town Centre 01-2169941;

www.dune.co.uk; and other branches H&M - Opera Lane 021- 4278086; www.hm.ie; and other branches Hobbs - Dundrum Town Centre 01-2079619;

www.hobbs.co.uk M&S - Merchants Quay SC 021-4275555;

www.marksandspencer.ie;

and other branches Moda in Pelle  www.modainpelle.

com Net-a-Porter  www.net-aporter.

com Next - Opera Lane 021- 4273572; www.newlook.com;

and other branches Penneys - Patrick Street 021- 4271936; www.primark.com;

and other branches River Island - Opera Lane 021- 4278460; www.riverisland.

com; and other branches Style Ikon - Monkstown 01- 4440128; www.style-ikon.com The Outnet  www.theoutnet.com

TOP TIP

Having trouble deciding what to bring?

Download The Vane app  helps you pack for trips and choose what to wear based on the weather forecast in your location.
THE success of Russias military intervention in Syria has surprised many observers. In just a few months Russian air and naval forces have changed the course of the Syrian civil war. Islamic fundamentalists have been pushed back on a number of fronts. The regime of Russias ally, President Assad, has stabilised, while his western-backed opponents have been forced to accept a ceasefire. Russia and the United States are no longer competitors in the Syrian crisis but partners in search of a durable peace that must marginalise the fundamentalists. Coordination with the ground forces provided by the Syrian army has been central to Russias success. Russias armed forces are under no illusion that air power alone can win wars. The boots on the ground have been provided by Assad while President Putins forces contribute advanced technology, firepower and intelligence.

Vital to Russias military effectiveness has been the reform and reorganisation of its armed forces carried, out after the border war with Georgia in August 2008. Russia won that war relatively easily but not very efficiently.

The 1990s were a period of steep decline for Russias armed forces as Moscow grappled with the sudden implosion of communism and the collapse of the Soviet Union. But since Putin came into office, a significant military revival has been part of his project to reinstate Russia as a great power, capable of global influence and actions. The 2008 border war exposed the need to streamline and modernise the armed forces to make them a more flexible and responsive instrument of Putins projection of Russian power. The first success of these reforms came in the Ukrainian civil war when, in the summer of 2014, Russias covert support for rebels in the eastern Ukraine resulted in a resounding military defeat for the Kiev government.

Russias military performance in Syria and Ukraine belies the stereotype of its forces being crude and unsophisticated, compared to those of the west. Those beliefs have a long history, yet fail to recognise the traditions of creativity and innovation in the Russian and Soviet military. When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union three-quarters of a century ago on June 22, 1941, he believed the Red Army would simply crumble under the might of the German onslaught. Akin to contemporary western advocates of a renewed cold war with Russia, Hitlers perceptions were shaped by prejudices about the crude barbarian Slavic hordes in the east. The Nazis additionally believed those hordes were manipulated by their primary racial enemy  the Jews. Important, too, were German perceptions of Russian forces sorry performance in the 1939-1940 Winter War with Finland.

Adolf Hitler

The spur for that war was Finlands refusal to concede territory the Soviets considered vital to safeguard the security of Leningrad. Moscow expected an easy victory, but the initial Soviet attack on Finland in December 1939 went badly wrong and the Red Army lost tens of thousands of troops. After the Red Army regrouped, a second offensive forced the Finns to accept an unfavourable peace treaty in March 1940.

The Germans wrongly concluded from that weak performance against Finnish forces that the Red Army would be a pushover. Given the Wehrmacht took only three weeks to conquer Poland in September 1939 and subdued France in just six weeks in the summer of 1940, such hubris was understandable.

What the Germans did not appreciate was that after the Finnish war the Red Army undertook a far-reaching examination of its performance. The result was a series of military reforms, including reinstatement into the armed forces of thousands of suspect officers who had been purged by Stalin in the 1930s. So when Hitler attacked the Soviet Union he faced a more experienced and formidable military force than he had imagined.

Operation Barbarossa  the code name for the German invasion of Russia  co-ordinated the June 1941 attack by three million German and Nazi-allied troops (including the Finns) across a 1000-mile front. Its aim was to destroy the Red Army and to conquer European Russia in the course of a single Blitzkrieg  lightning strike  campaign. All went well at first for the German forces who, by September, had captured Kiev, surrounded Leningrad and were ready to advance on Moscow. By the end of the year the Red Army had lost 200 divisions in battle and taken more than four million casualties  losses that dwarfed even the bloody carnage of the First World War. German losses were high, too, with the Wehrmacht incurring nearly one million losses to death and wounding.

Joseph Stalin

The Red Army did, indeed, buckle under the strain but it did not crumble. Crucially, its leadership and political masters modified their strategy and tactics to adopt a more defensive stance. This was distinct from the early weeks of the war when the Soviets had attempted to counter the invasion with massive counter-attacks which achieved little except to expose Soviet troops to defeat by German encirclement.

Stalin took on the role of Supreme Commander but, unlike Hitler, the Soviet dictator did not seek to dominate his generals. Although he did not always take their advice, he learned from their military professionalism and strived to create a coherent and effective high command.

One of Stalins key decisions was to return his Chief of Staff  General Georgy Zhukov  to front-line operations. Zhukov helped to defend Leningrad and was then given command of the Soviet armies defending

Moscow. Crucially, Stalin decided to stay in the Soviet capital rather than flee the city and in early November 1941, on the anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, he delivered stirring patriotic speeches designed to boost the morale of Moscows defenders.

Yet by the end of November advanced units of the German army could see the spires of Moscows Kremlin. However, the Soviets had been husbanding their reserves and in early December Zhukov was ready to launch a massive counter-offensive to drive the Germans back from Moscow. For a while Stalin even hoped to reverse Operation Barbarossa completely and chase the Germans out of Russia altogether, but that was beyond the capabilities of the Red Army in 1941-2.

Wearing the WWII-era Red Army winter uniform Russian soldiers take part in the ceremony commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the 1941 parade at the Red Square in Moscow, on November 7, 2013. In 1941, the Red Army troops marched past the Kremlin and then went directly to the front line to fight the Nazi Germany troops at the gates of the Russian capital. Picture: Vasily Maximov/AFP/Getty Images

Hitlers inability to capture Moscow signalled the strategic failure of Operation Barbarossa. Instead of a quick victory, the Germans faced a long war of attrition on their eastern front  a war that they were doomed to lose now that the Soviet Union was allied with Great Britain and the United States.

In immediate response to Hitlers June invasion of Russia, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared his support for the Soviet Union, while US President Roosevelt authorised American aid to the USSR, although the US did not enter the war officially until the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

Then in 1942 Hitler launched another bold move designed to defeat the Soviet Union before the industrial might and human resources of the allied coalition could be deployed fully. His aim was to capture the Soviet oilfields at Baku and to cripple Stalins war effort by cutting off essential fuel supplies. Hitlers war for oil in the summer of 1942 provoked what was arguably the most important battle of the Second World War  the fight for Stalingrad.

The Germans southern campaign towards Baku began at the end of June and advanced rapidly. But the Red Army fought a far more effective strategic retreat and suffered fewer losses than in 1941. Then, as the Germans reached Stalingrad, the Soviets demonstrated their mastery of military art by engaging them in a costly street-by-street urban battle whilst preparing a counter-strike to encircle 300,000 enemy troops in the city. The Red Armys counter-offensive at Stalingrad in November 1942 was the beginning of the end for Hitler and the Nazis as the Soviets seized the strategic initiative and thereafter inflicted defeat after defeat on the Germans. As Winston Churchill acknowledged at the time, it was the Red Army that tore the guts out of the Nazi war machine. The final victory was delivered in May 1945 when Zhukov captured Berlin and forced the Germans to surrender unconditionally. Hitler was by then dead having committed suicide in his bunker on April 30,1945.

Surviving German generals claimed after the war, they had lost to the Red Army because it had more troops and resources and was better adapted to the weather and terrain of Russia. Hitler was also a convenient scapegoat for Nazi Germanys defeat by a supposedly barbarian and backward nation. His generals declared Hitler to be a poor supreme commander whose strategic errors had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Conveniently, these same generals forgot the bad advice they gave to Hitler. In truth, the German-led forces lost to an army that was better as well a bigger: an army with superior arms, strategy and leadership. Stalin made as many mistakes as Hitler but he learned from them as did the Red Army as a whole. During the war the Red Army developed into a highly effective learning organisation. The experience and lessons of combat and command were assiduously collected, analysed and disseminated. The Soviets kept command structures, force organisation and military doctrine under constant review. Meanwhile, military technology improved steadily and the Soviets made good use of the thousands of tanks, planes and trucks supplied by their western allies.

The Red Army was traditionally offensive-minded and, by 1945, Soviet attack operations were highly sophisticated exercises in the mass deployment of air, artillery, tank and ground forces. When the Red Army invaded Germany in January 1945 it deployed 2.25 million troops, 6500 tanks, 4800 aircraft and 31,000 pieces of artillery.

It was the Red Army that finally defeated Japan in August 1945 when the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, combined with the Americans atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, shocked the Japanese into surrender. The rapid Soviet defeat of the million-strong Japanese Kwantung Army in an operation that ranged over 100s of miles is still studied in military academies across the world.

A Russian soldier waves a flag while standing on a balcony overlooking a square, where military trucks gather, during the Battle of Stalingrad, World War II, Stalingrad (now Volgograd), USSR (now Russia). The soldier has a rifle strapped to his back. Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

After the war, Soviet military innovation continued, so that by 1949 the Soviet Union had developed its own atomic bomb and in the 1950s became the first state to develop intercontinental ballistic missile capability. Although the USSR was not overtly involved in the Korean War of 1950-53, Soviet jets and pilots were more than a match for their US counterparts. During the prolonged war in Vietnam Soviet-supplied missile defence systems were used to defend against American bombing raids. The Soviet AK47 automatic rifle was to become a weapon of choice for both regular and irregular armies.

The Soviet army did not conduct major combat operations until the Afghanistan war in the 1980s but it did police the communist bloc countries with military interventions in East Germany in 1953, Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. The 1981 threat of a Soviet invasion of Poland to safeguard communist rule prompted the Polish government to introduce martial law and to clampdown on the Solidarity movements challenge to the communist system.

The Afghanistan campaign has been portrayed as the Soviet Unions Vietnam: a costly losing war against Islamicist insurgents that began in 1979 and ended in failure when the Soviets withdrew in 1988. But that is not how the Russian military views the conflict. Soviet armed forces suffered 15,000 fatalities but suppressed the insurgency more thoroughly than their western counterparts managed in their Afghanistan war of the early 21st century. When the Soviets withdrew they bequeathed a stable and secular  if authoritarian  regime which only fell to the Taliban when Moscow withdrew financial aid to Afghanistan following the 1991 collapse of the USSR.

The Russians nevertheless chose to learn lessons from the conflict. Above all they noted the dangers of engaging in complex battles from which it is difficult to later withdraw and of mission creep  the broadening or expansion of original military goals after initial successes without sufficient analysis of the likely outcomes. Hence the limited nature of Russias mission in Syria and its relative restraint in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, receives a picture taken in Syria from Col Gen Alexander Dvornikov during an awarding ceremony in Moscows Kremlin, Russia. Dvornikov, who commanded the Russian military in Syria, said in an interview released Wednesday that Russias special forces have helped direct air raids in Syria and Russian military advisers have played a key role in the Syrian armys offensive. Picture: Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik/ Kremlin Pool AP

None of Russias wars were wars fought by choice. In each case Moscows preferred option was to secure a political solution that would achieve its goals. Initially this was true even when confronting Hitler. While Stalin doubted that the non-aggression pact he had signed with Hitler in August 1939 would last, he was prepared to co-exist with Nazi Germany. Hitler initiated hostilities because he feared Soviet power and wanted to liquidate Stalins Jewish-Bolshevik regime. The war unleashed in Russia by the Nazis was no ordinary military conflict. Rather it was an ideological and racist war, a war of destruction and extermination that aimed to kill Jews, enslave the Slavic peoples and destroy communism. This resulted in the death of 25 million Soviet citizens, including a million Jews as the first victims of the Holocaust. Equally horrifying was that three million out of the five million Soviet POWs captured by German forces died in prison. In total the Red Army lost 8 million soldiers and another 16 million were wounded.

On the German side, there were 10 million military casualties including three million dead. This represented 75% of their total losses during the Second World War. The Red Army destroyed 600 enemy divisions  Finnish, Rumanian, Hungarian, Spanish and Italian as well as German. Among the Axis losses were 48,000 tanks, 167,000 artillery pieces and 77,000 aircraft. Meanwhile the Germans destroyed 70,000 Soviet cities, towns and villages together with 98,000 collective farms, tens of thousands of factories and thousands of miles of road and railway track. This was war on a scale unprecedented and unsurpassed.

Some have argued that the Soviet victory over Nazi German was pyrrhic  a victory won at too great a cost. But the alternative prospect of a triumphant Nazi empire ruling Europe would have been far worse. As Russia never tires of reminding the west, the Red Army saved European civilisation as well as the Soviet Union from the Nazis.

The Soviets did not, of course, win the war on their own but in a grand alliance with the western allies of the US, Great Britain and other states  an alliance that, with the addition of China, Vladimir Putin would dearly love to re-create to defeat common enemies in Syria and elsewhere.

Geoffrey Roberts is Professor of History at UCC and the author of Stalins Wars: From World War to Cold War.
Archbishop Justin Welby suggested Queen Elizabeth had sustained the country through war and hardship, through turmoil and change during the St Pauls Cathedral service to mark her 90th birthday.

And he rejoiced for the way Gods loving care had fearfully and wonderfully sustained not only the monarch but the Duke of Edinburgh, celebrating his 95th birthday today.
An international aid convoy has delivered food to the Damascus suburb of Daraya for the first time in four years, but opposition activists said its distribution had been held up by government forces heavy air bombardment.

The opposition-held suburb, south-west of the Syrian capital, has been under siege by government forces since November 2012, and has suffered some of the worst bombardments of the six-year civil war.

Severe malnutrition has been reported among its few thousand residents, due to shortages of food and medicine.

The desperately needed delivery of food supplies by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the United Nations came hours after the UN said the Syrian government had approved access to 15 of the 19 besieged areas.

Last week, a joint convoy of the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and SARC reached Daraya and delivered medicine, vaccines, baby formula and nutritional items for children, but no food.

The UN estimates there are 592,700 people under siege in Syria, with 452,700 of those besieged by government forces. Lifting the siege on rebel-held areas was a key demand by the opposition during indirect peace talks in Geneva, earlier this year.

SARC said the food delivery was co-ordinated with the UN in the Syrian capital. It said food, flour, and medical supplies were delivered.

An opposition activist in Daraya said the government allowed minimal amounts of food stuff into the suburb to create problems between the starving residents.

Nothing has been distributed, so far, and the barrel bombs are falling on the city, said media activist Muhannad Abu al-Zein. They allowed in food stuff for a quarter of the families here.

The UN estimates 4,000 to 8,000 people live in Daraya, which has been subject to a crippling government blockade since residents expelled security forces in the early stages of the 2011 uprising against president Bashar Assad.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which closely monitors the fighting, also reported air strikes on Daraya, yesterday.

An official with the UNs World Food Programme (WFP) said, in a video posted online by media activists in Daraya, that the WFP is delivering assistance to the suburb for the first time since 2012.

He said the WFP had delivered 480 food rations, which would feed 2,400 people for a month.

The WFP official said he had met some beneficiaries of the food aid, and community leaders.

The supply of the very basic commodities is very challenging, so, as a consequence, the prices of the commodities themselves are very high, whenever they are available, he said.

As a result, most families are having to do with one meal, which is not complete as a meal, per day, in order to be able to get by.

An amateur video posted online showed UN SUVs and white SARC trucks driving through sand barriers in the dark, until they were met by opposition fighters.

With 90% of Daraya population fled, remaining near starvation, Assad finally lets in food. https://t.co/iRr0Pe73b8 pic.twitter.com/KDxmFzDLVF  Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) June 10, 2016

Photographs posted online by activists in the suburb showed UN and SARC officials meeting local leaders, and men removing WFP boxes from a white truck.

Among those joining the convoy into Daraya were the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, and Khawla Mattar, a spokeswoman for the UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, according to photographs posted by local activists.

Jens Laerke, spokesman of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said: It was quite a feat, our field colleagues tell us.

"We are very proud of them, today, that they managed to get through all the checkpoints to get in there, deliver overnight, stock what needed to be stocked and provide food for the first time in years to people inside Daraya.
The men, all in their twenties, were found guilty by a Delhi court of robbing and raping the 52-year-old Dane at a secluded spot close to New Delhi railway station.

All the five convicts have been sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment for their offences, additional public prosecutor, Atul Shrivastava, said.
The meeting, reported by several media outlets, came a day after Ms Warren endorsed Ms Clintons White House bid, adding support from the Democrats liberal wing as Ms Clinton seeks to move on from her protracted primary battle with Bernie Sanders.

Former secretary of state Ms Clinton earlier this week secured the delegates needed to win the party nomination for the November 8 presidential election.

Party leaders are hoping Mr Sanders will soon drop his campaign.

Ms Clintons meeting with Ms Warren fuelled speculation she might be under consideration as Ms Clintons running mate. Asked whether she had discussed with Ms Clinton the prospect of being vice president, Ms Warren said she had not, nor had she been vetted.

Having support from Ms Warren would boost Ms Clintons ability to court Sanders supporters who have been fired up against Ms Clinton. Ms Warren and Mr Sanders share views on issues such as reining in Wall Street excesses.

Mr Sanders said he would remain in the race to the final nominating contest in Washington DC, next week but would work with Ms Clinton to defeat Mr Trump.

Ms Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, is also shaping up to be a no-holds-barred critic of Mr Trump and they have had several spats on Twitter.

Mr Trump said Ms Warren was one of the least productive US senators, adding in a tweet: Hope she is V.P. choice.

President Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden also announced their support of Ms Clinton on Thursday, handing her a trio of big endorsements expected to boost her standing heading into the election campaign.

Ms Clinton is dogged by the controversy surrounding her use of a private email server while secretary of state from 2009-2013.

Emails between US diplomats in Islamabad and State Department officials about whether to challenge specific drone strikes in Pakistan are at the centre of a criminal probe involving her handling of classified information, said The Wall Street Journal.

Republicans have consistently criticised Ms Clinton over the server.

We should not live above the law, and that is one of the cardinal sins that Secretary Clinton violated, said House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan.

Ms Clinton has said she did not send or receive any information that was marked classified, and accused the State Department and other government agencies of over-classifying her emails after a judge ordered them released to the public.

After Ms Clinton receiving Mr Obamas endorsement, Mr Trump, who has made extensive use of Twitter during his insurgent Republican presidential campaign, took the opportunity to tweet: Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obamabut nobody else does!

Ms Clintons account quickly responded: Delete your account, in a tweet to her 6.7m Twitter followers.

Within minutes, the phrase, a popular form of online dismissal, became Ms Clintons most popular tweet ever, with more than 194,000 retweets and 213,000 likes.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing of 60-year-old Nitya Ranjan Pandey while he was taking a walk at dawn near his ashram in Pabna, about 275km from Dhaka, local police chief Abdullah Al Hasan said.

He died at the spot, said Mr Hasan.
Israel defended its actions as legitimate steps in order to defend its citizens from terrorists.

The military on Thursday revoked permits for 83,000 Palestinians to visit Israel and said it would send hundreds more troops to the occupied West Bank a day after a Palestinian gun attack killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv.
The local representative of the Italian automaker said on its Twitter account that it regrets the handbook had that effect and that it never meant to be disrespectful.

The booklet was handed out along with an automobile guide to every new car owner. Under the co-pilot section, the booklet advised: If a ladys skirt is too short, we recommend that she travel in the backseat to keep our concentration.
Burma This Week in Parliament (June 6-10)

The Irrawaddy keeps you up to date on the week that was in the national legislature.

June 6 (Monday)

The Union Parliament approved the Presidents proposal for Myanmars ratification of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Association of Asean. Under the agreement, Myanmar diplomats assigned to the Asean Secretariat will receive exemptions and privileges while they are performing their duties, said U Kyaw Tin, deputy minister of foreign affairs.

June 7 (Tuesday)

The Lower House approved lawmaker Khin Nyos proposal which called for the establishment of mangrove swamps in the Irrawaddy Divisions Dedaye Township.

The Upper House approved the electricity laws sent to it by the Lower House with their proposed amendments. It also approved the bylaws for prevention of dangerous chemicals and related materials sent to it by the Lower House with their proposed amendments.

In the Lower House, Myint Oo of Thanatpin Township asked if the new government would follow through with the former governments plan to pay for half of the electricity supply costs in some of the villages in his township. Lower House Speaker Win Myint warned, You are asking about a thing of the past, which was not clearly explained. You need to review you question first to see if it is relevant to the present time or not.

June 8 (Wednesday)

The Lower House approved the proposal of lawmaker Tin Maung Win of Seikkan Township to halt the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) approved jetty project being carried out by Kaung Myanmar Aung shipping company on land owned by the Myanmar Port Authority. The lawmaker said that construction work would block the waterway, negatively affect the nearby Botahtaung Pagoda and increase traffic congestion on Strand Road.

The Upper House approved the draft law to amend the Anti-Corruption Law sent to it by the Lower House. The law has been amended once already.

June 9 (Thursday)

Lower House lawmaker Phyu Phyu Thin asked how long it would take to rebuild the Mingalar Market. The Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement replied that the Rangoon Division Parliament would seek the approval of the divisional government to rebuild the market. The market caught fire in January this year and the damage toll was estimated at over 36 billion kyat (US$27.8 million), according to the Fire Services Department.

In response to a lawmakers question about whether the government planned to reopen the border trade post at Three Pagoda Pass in Karen State on the Thai-Burma border, Minister of Commerce Than Myint replied that it would only be considered after border disputes were settled and the border was demarcated according to international law.

June 10 (Friday)

Lawmaker Htay Win Aung of Dawbon Constituency asked if the government had a plan to disseminate information about the International Declaration of Human Rights at schools and through state media. Education Minister Myo Thein Gyi replied that the Information Ministry would publish photos, articles and interviews about human rights as a priority if they were sent to state newspapers. The Ministry of Education will cooperate with the National Human Rights Commission to provide information about human rights, the education minister said.

The first regular session of the Lower House convened on Feb. 1 and came to an end on June 10. Four standing committees and 15 affairs committees were formed. Nine of 16 bills were debated, seven remain up for debate and two by-laws were approved. Over 6,000 observers visisted Parliament.

The first regular session of the Upper House convened on Feb. 1 and concluded on June 10. Four standing committees and 12 affairs committees were formed.

Nang Than Than Lwin of Hpa-an Constituency asked if the government had a plan to allow instruction of ethnic languages in schools in order to preserve and promote language, culture and literature of the various ethnic groups. The education minister replied that the Union government would continue to cooperate with divisional and state governments to promote the teaching of ethnic languages at state schools.
Business The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (June 11, 2016)

US businesses argue insufficient sanctions relief; Japanese firm hopes to win noodle market share; Heineken faces challenges; Burma tops Mekong region for oil opportunities.

Sanctions Relief Not Sufficient, U.S. Businesses Argue

The American governments recent relaxation of sanctions on Burma is not enough, the US Chamber of Commerce argued in a white paper published this week, calling for the US to normalize relations fully and introduce preferable trade terms to encourage export-led industries in Burma.

A number of state-run companies and banks were removed from US Treasurys Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list in May. The US introduced new measures to smooth financial dealings involving Burma and extended an exemption making it legal for US companies to finance shipments coming through Burmas largest port and airport, which are owned by a company on the so-called blacklist.

But President Barack Obama also extended the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which underpins the sanctions regime against Burma. Advocates of sanctions argue that retaining some targeted measures enables the United States to encourage reform in Burma, particularly for companies with ties to the military that remain sanctioned.

But many businesspeople wanted the act scrapped completely. In a statement Monday, the US Chamber of Commerces senior vice president for Asia, Tami Overby, said that after the successful elections in November, we think its time to normalize this relationship.

Trade, investment and economic growth all promote progress in Myanmar, said Overby. Sanctions do the opposite.

The body representing American business interests issued a white paper that called for sanctions to be totally lifted. It also called for Burma to be included once again in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which would mean Burmese goods could be imported to the US duty-free. Burma was removed from the GSP in 1989 over child labor and forced labor concerns.

Myanmar has benefitted to some extent from its ability to export to the United States, but greater access to the US market would be one of the quickest, most readily-actionable ways in which to support the countrys growth, the white paper said.

It also warned that, with the European Union (EU) already reinstating preferential trade terms for Burma and other countries not holding back on investment, US companies were missing out on opportunities in Burma.

Patience has worn thin, and should the US fail to grow into a significant presence this year, local Myanmar communities believe it may not happen for at least a decade, it said.

Japanese Firm Hopes to Win Market Share With Noodles for Burmese Tastes

Osaka-based Acecook, a company specializing in instant noodles and soups, reportedly wants to begin making noodles in Burma next year, and hopes to be shifting 100 million servings a year of its products by 2020.

Nikkei reports that Acecook will invest about $18.6 million to build a factory in an industrial park in Rangoon and become the first Japanese noodle maker to set up production in the country.

Myanmars growing middle class has begun slurping more instant noodles, the report said. With incomes rising, the market is seen expanding from 420 million servings last year to more than 1 billion in 2020.

Acecook already operates in Vietnam, where it makes products tailored to local tastes, replicating Vietnamese pho, for example. The firm wants to do the same in Burma, and believes it can win a 10 percent market share within the next four years, Nikkei said.

By doing so, Acecook believes it can compete with Thai imported noodles in Burma (It currently imports noodles made by its Vietnamese subsidiary, at an extra cost).

While the Thai versions are mostly based on tom yum soup, Acecook released a new offering this February that has a flavor like the hin simmered dishes of Myanmar, Nikkei reported. That product is priced at around 250 kyat.

Report Details Heinekens Challenges in Burma

Heineken opened its $60 million brewery in Rangoons Hmawbi Township almost a year ago, but the return to the country hasnt been as smooth as the Dutch beer company would have hoped, according to details in an article published this week by the Financial Times.

Faced with having to take on the market dominant, part military owned Myanmar Brewery, which makes the ubiquitous Myanmar Beer, Heineken faced problems before production could even begin, the report said.

Citing Heinekens supply chain director Donald Otten, it said that the companys launch in Burma last yearin a joint venture with tycoon Aung Moe Kyaws Alliance Brewery Companyin fact came half a year later than hoped.

Heineken was delayed by more than three months because customs officers rejected equipment over small errors in the import paperwork  delays Mr Otten suspects were aimed at extracting illegal bribes, it said.

Like all companies operating in the country, Heineken has also had to battle with power shortages, employing a backup generator 44 percent of the time during the hot season in March, according to the Financial Times.

Company officials quoted in the story were generally positive about the brewers chances, and reported that sales targets were being exceeded, despite the teething problems.

There was also good news for the company in February, when it announced it had won back the right to brew its Tiger and ABC Stout brands in Burma. The brands had previously been brewed by Myanmar Brewery, a former partner of Heineken in an aborted 1990s attempt to enter the country.

Burma Tops Mekong Region for Oil and Gas Opportunities

Analysts at U.K.-based BMI Research believe that Burma offers the most opportunity in the Mekong region for investment in extracting oil and gas, with more exploration blocks possibly up for grabs this year.

In an industry trend analysis published this month, the firm said it expects encouraging exploration to be a priority for the new government, since much of the countrys existing natural gas production is pledged to China or Thailand under contracts signed by previous governments.

The popularly-elected political leadership under [President] Htin Kyaw, is widely anticipated to be open to attracting greater international investment into its oil and gas sector, the analysis said.

This increases the likelihood of a licensing round in 2016, which could offer as many as 26 oil and gas blockscomprising 13 onshore and 13 offshore blocks. While the exact date for the bidding round remains unconfirmed, it could pave the way for greater international investment in upstream activities.

The previous government signed production-sharing contracts with a number of international oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell, Thailands PTTEP, and Chevron of the U.S.

BMI Research pointed to the fact that 11 3-D seismic surveys had already been conducted in exploration blocks as evidence that the countrys oil and gas sector would overcome an infrastructure deficit and the current low oil prices.

Myanmar will be the most attractive country in the Mekong region for upstream investments, it said.

Being well positioned for gas exports and home to a rapidly growing domestic market, the below-ground potential and greater certainty in Myanmars economic and political situation will support investments.

German Transport Giant Sets Up Logistics Company in Burma

DB Schenker, a division of the German state-owned railway and infrastructure group Deutsche Bahn AG, has set up a company in Burma to take advantage of rising trade volumes.

A statement said that Schenker Myanmar Company Limited had begun operating as of June 1. The company will manage logistics work for telecommunications and consumer goods clients, while the groups Thai subsidiary will continue to deal with freight customs and transport through its existing office in Rangoon.

Myanmar has seen a significant increase in investments and activities in infrastructure, manufacturing and distribution, since the lifting of sanctions in 2012, the new companys general manager, Nay Htoo Aung, said in the statement.

We can enable the development and growth of the Myanmar market by bringing our expertise and technology in warehouse design & management, as well as employing and training the Myanmar talent pool with warehouse & supply chain management skills, to serve our customers needs.
Dateline Irrawaddy: It is Time for the Government to Clarify its Policies

The Irrawaddy speaks with business reporters Kyaw Hsu Mon and Thit Nay Moe about their thoughts on Burmas economic prospects under the new government.

Thalun Zaung Htet: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, well discuss Burmas economic potential under the new government. The Irrawaddys business reporters Ma Kyaw Hsu Mon and Ko Thit Nay Moe will join me for the discussion. Im Irrawaddy Burmese editor Thalun Zaung Htet.

The new government has been in office for more than two months now, and business circles have complained that President U Htin Kyaw did not talk about economic policies in his inaugural address. Both foreign and local investors have shared this criticism because they are not clear what economic policies the country will adopt. There has been no significant change in the countrys economy over the past two months under the new governments 100-day plan. How much has this upset businessmen and investors?

Kyaw Hsu Mon: As everyone knows, the country faces many challenges and difficulties during the transition. Although the new government has articulated its economic policies, it failed to make the details clear to the public, businessmen and potential foreign investorsthis is what people are currently criticizing. The NLD [National League for Democracy] government has good economic policies in hand, as they took their time designing them with the help of experts. The problem is that they failed to be transparent in explaining them, which made people raise questions. Businessmen now wonder what the economic policies and opportunities are, and how the new government will handle the bad legacy of their predecessor. The new government has not made clear statements regarding various economic sectors such as banking, financial services, production, or exports and imports, which also raises questions. We understand that the government has to give priority to political stability under the current circumstances, but it should also take care of the countrys economy because the economy is the lifeblood of the country. It is time for the new government to clearly elaborate on the best possible policies. It would be best if they do this within the first 100 days.

TZH: There were laws enacted during former President U Thein Seins government, like the Foreign Investment Law and the Myanmar Companies Law. Economic laws, however, are not ready to be put into practice. Businessmen claim that the laws are not ready to attract investment or business. Recently, the US Chamber of Commerce said that the existing economic laws in Myanmar do not offer any protections and they urged [Myanmar] to make sure they do. What is wrong with the laws? Ko Thit Nay Moe, why do businessmen say that the existing laws cant attract foreign investment?

Thit Nay Moe: [Business] laws were enacted under U Thein Seins government. The Foreign Investment Law was enacted in 2012, and the administration also enacted the Myanmar Citizens Investment Law. The two laws were contradictory. Businessmen claimed that the Myanmar Citizens Investment Law favored Myanmar citizens while the Foreign Investment Law favored foreign investors. They tried to combine those two laws, but it couldnt be enacted. A previous Myanmar Companies Act was enacted a long time ago in 1914. This law was amended with the help of ADB [Asian Development Bank], but it has not been passed yet. These two laws directly concern foreign investment. The MIC [Myanmar Investment Commission], which scrutinizes and approves foreign investment had to reform itself, as required by law. To foreign investors, it is not a positive sign that the MIC still hasnt been reformed and that those laws arent yet amended. Until the MIC is reformed, foreign investors who submitted investment proposals cant receive approval. I heard that there are as many as over 100 proposals. This is one reason for slow inbound investment.

TZH: So, you mean nothing is ready yet for investment. The concerned laws arent ready and the MIC isnt ready, so investments arent coming in as part of the 100-day plan. People have said that it was difficult to do business in Myanmar previously because there were sanctions against the country, mainly by the United States. But on May 10, Americans extended their sanctions against our country. This mainly targeted individuals, while sanctions against the government have largely been lifted. Government banks like the Myanma Economic Bank [MEB], Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank [MICB] and Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank [MFTB] were removed from the sanction list. So, it is fair to say that there are almost no sanctions against the government. But then again, lifting sanctions against the government does not immediately bring in investments. There is hardly any suggestion that lifting sanctions against the government will result in inbound investment. Why?

KHM: At the economic seminar between the United States and Burma yesterday, representatives said that sanctions only targeted specific individuals on the SDN [Specially Designated Nationals] list, like top businessmen U Teza, U Zaw Zaw and U Tun Myint Naing of Asia World to name a few. Those who remain on the list are key business players in the country. So, it is doubtful that the SDN does not affect the countrys economy. Regarding sanctions against Burma, there are different views held by the government, Congress and businessmen in the United States. Some of them call for not lifting sanctions on Burma, while others, including some US businessmen, have called for them to be lifted. Both governments need to think about whether the sanctions impact Burmas economy. The US government needs to find out who is affected by sanctions, and whether they are only targeting top businessmen or people at the bottom as well. The Burmese government needs to ask itself if the country is ready for investment if the US government lifts all sanctions and invests in the country. Because Burma has suffered mismanagement and lack of infrastructure for ages, we still do not get full access to electricity. The government needs to question if the country is ready in terms of infrastructure requirements in regards to things like water and telecommunications. Without proper infrastructure, affordable land prices and affordable rent for office spaces, foreign investors wont come. Potential investors will take all these things into consideration. So, it is fair to conclude that foreign investments will not come in if the government fails to consider all of these aspects.

TZH: Our country is a developing country and taking a look at its import and export sector, exports are low and imports are high. For a household, if expenses are large and income is small, it will become poor. In our country, exports are very small, but import volume is largewe import cars and building materials into the country. Ko Thit Nay Moe, what actions is the government taking to boost exports?

TNM: As far as we know, the commerce minister has said that he intends to boost exports three-fold over the next five years. But, our export volume is at an all time low and our import volume is very high, so there has been trade deficit. In the 2012-13 fiscal year, the trade deficit was just over US$225,000, but it increased to $5 billion in the 2014-15 fiscal year because we could not export. The export total was $10 billion in the 2014-15 fiscal year, a small amount compared to our neighbors. Thailands export total was about $220 billion and Vietnams was over $130 billion at that time. So, it is clear that we dont have things to export. To address this situation, the government needs to consider which sectors should be prioritized. The commerce minister talked about boosting exports in the agricultural sector and improving small and medium enterprises [SMEs]. In reality, the agricultural sector receives less than one percent of foreign investment, just around 0.5 percent. So, it will be interesting to see how the new government will handle this. It is a real challenge. Regarding SME development, U Thein Seins government provided loans, but they were not sufficient. The previous government also established SME centers, but businessmen say that those did not succeed. The previous government did something, but it was far from a success. It will be a tough challenge for the new government to handle and improve the failed SME policies.

TZH: So, there are two challenges: to boost exports and to develop SMEs. Regarding the banking sector, we also have shortcomings. One of the main problems is that banks cant provide loans for businesses. What measures has the new government taken to fix this?

KHM: It is critically important that the Central Bank of Myanmar has stable policies and adopts laws that can effectively encourage the private sector. It needs to adopt good regulations that can support local businessmen. We will have to see how much the Central Bank can back up private banks so that they can provide loans to local businessmen. Now, businessmen are pushing the Central Bank to make some of its policies more clear. I think the government needs to handle this in the best possible way if it wants to see private sector development.

TZH: Ma Kyaw Hsu Mon, Ko Thit Nay Moe, thank you for your contributions.
Saturday, June 11th, 2016 (7:58 am) - Score 1,440

A new 100Mbps capable community and government grant funded fibre optic (FTTP) broadband network has officially launched in rural Herefordshire (England) today. The network serves two small rural villages  Dewsall Court and Callow  as well as a few surrounding premises.

The Herefordshire Community Networks (HCN) project is a Community Interest Company (CIC) that was officially formed last October 2015 with the aim of building an ultrafast Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network into the aforementioned areas, which is designed to meet the communitys needs for the next 25 to 50 years.

Funding for the project was secured from a mix of sources, including from within the local community itself and interestingly also through central governmental assistance via Broadband Delivery UKs now closed and business focused Connection Voucher scheme administered by Digital Birmingham. Sadly were not told how much it all cost, but we have asked and will report back.

Construction of the entirely underground network, which was assisted by the Duchy of Cornwall and other landowners in the community who have provided access across their fields, began in February 2016 and completed at the beginning of May 2016. Since then some 28 local premises have already been connected to the service, over half of which are businesses.



Network Map (red line shows the core fibre optic cable) Network Map (red line shows the core fibre optic cable)

Apparently the local BDUK and BT dominated Fastershire project supported the costs to provide the backhaul network capacity for the scheme, which according to their website links into the London Internet Exchange (LINX) and is provided over a local fibre circuit from BTOpenreach (the networks head-end is at New Barn, Dewsall). Specialist network equipment, design and construction was also undertaken by local firm Fibre Options Ltd.

The new network represents a major boost in connectivity for the otherwise remote communities, with key contributions coming from its local directors, broadband champions in the community and network construction by Mike Price of Monkhall Farm, Dewsall, and his team. David Bland, who acts as company secretary, has also undertaken the co-ordination and overall design of the scheme.

Jesse Norman, MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, said: The lifeblood for rural communities over the next 100 years is how we communicate with the outside world. This community network is real progress and the first in my constituency. HCN is enabling businesses and homes in this rural area to access high-speed communications previously only available in some cities. It is going to preserve the welfare of our rural community, and allow us to lead the lives we want to lead.

Mike Price, Local Resident and HCN Team Leader, said: Ive been a farmer all my life and had never seen a piece of fibre until three months ago. The skills needed to lay it are common sense and knowing how to dig a trench. If you had told me last year that I was to build one of the countrys top rural broadband networks I would have said you were crazy. But we were able to do it during a quiet farming season and really enjoyed it. It feels really good to know that weve laid fibre optics which will last not just us, but our children and our childrens children.

As a CIC the network infrastructure is owned by local shareholders and any profits will also be returned to shareholders and other community projects. Unfortunately there are no plans to expand the network further afield, although HCN has said that theyre willing to share their knowledge and experience with other rural communities who want to avoid the long wait for better broadband.

Meanwhile local premises can enjoy a selection of three packages, which start at 35 inc. VAT per month for an unlimited 30Mbps (5Mbps upload) service and go up to 80 for a symmetric 100Mbps business class connection. Its important to remember that this is the total cost and theres no need to pay for separate line rental, which actually makes it pretty good value.

UPDATE 7:34am

Overall the project has so far cost 55,000 for 28 properties widely spread over a 500 hectare area (take up of 65% and growing), with 27k coming from the old connection voucher scheme and 28k from community shareholders using SEIS. At about 2,000 per premise thats not too far off the figure of 1,700 for Phase 2 of BDUK that some areas have used (example).
There are two kinds of people - those that enjoy flipping physical pages and those that like to scroll down on devices. Amazon offers its customers both reading experiences. However, the company has actually seen an increase in the number of paperbacks since the release of the Kindle. Numbers may shift, though with the company's newest release: the Kindle Oasis.

The Kindle Oasis is the thinnest and lightest of its kind and even boasts to be quite book-like. PC Authority notes that Amazon truly has perfected all aspects of their previous gadgets, putting a lot of effort and thought into the item. The Kindle Oasis comes with 10 adjustable LEDs and 300ppi, which allow the user to read with any amount of light, or lack thereof. The battery life has been well improved as well, now allowing for up to 2-months of continuous use without wireless.

The entire thing weighs just less than 130g and fits the average hand for subtlety, ease and comfort. There is a rotating screen and a small ridge beneath the device that makes it easier to grip. Users also have the option to swipe or tap the screen to flip the page, or use the buttons off to the side to do so.

The only possible setback is the price of the Kindle Oasis, which is selling on Amazon for $289.99. If this price is too steep, Amazon does provide other options.

As Know Your Mobile notes, the basic Kindle sells for under $70 and while it comes with a touchscreen display with a resolution of 167ppi, this is the only option to flip pages as it does not come with buttons. The entry level device only comes with Wi-Fi as well and there is no backlight, meaning readers would need a physical light for use in the dark.

Another option is the Kindle Paperwhite, which is available for under $125 and comes with a backlight feature and a touchscreen with 300ppi resolution. It also comes with a 3G option.

The Kindle Voyage, on the other hand, is priced for around $190. It adds a front light option from its predecessors, which changes based on the surrounding light. The Kindle Voyage also comes with buttons, thus giving users a different option to navigate other than the touchscreen.

All in all, the different generations of Kindles simply give users an alternative means to consume books and the ultimate goal is to simply get more people to read.
Hobbits did walk the earth: a group of paleo-anthropologists discovered definitive proof of human species resembling the hobbits in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings."

Recent discoveries do not confirm Tolkien's myth, though. The hobbits are technically classified as homo floresiensis, hominids that co-existed with the homo sapiens 70,000 years ago. The moniker still fits the description, because these hobbits were three feet tall and weighed 70 pounds. Environment apparently factored into their physiology.

Surviving On Meager Resources

The remains were retrieved off the coast of Bali, Indonesia, on an island called Flores. Scientists describe their home as small and desolate, with just enough food to get by. Adam Brumm, an archaeologist with Australia's Griffith University said "clearly there was enough food to survive for a long period of time. But not enough to flourish."

The conditions on the island forced its first dwellers to adapt over time, developing smaller bodies that survive with minimal resources. Other traits that complement the environment were also passed along the generations.

Flores' Dwellers Came From The Mainland

A PRI report speculates homo floresiensis evolved from homo erectus that either reached the island by boat, or were washed ashore by some natural catastrophe. Brumm said the second theory is likely, since boats are concepts well beyond the cognitive abilities of early humans.

It's possible the hobbits were swept onto the island as castaways of a tsunami originating from the mainland. Brumm said this could be confirmed with an excavation at Sulawesi, an island 400 meters north of Flores.

The Christian Science Monitor confirms these hobbits knew how to use tools and create fire. Their prey: dwarf elephants the size of buffalo. It's yet to be confirmed if they killed these elephants for food, since bone fragments discovered didn't show tool marks. It's likely, though, considering the island's meager resources.

"There's a lot of meat and fat on those bones," Brumm said. "You can get enough meat to keep God knows how many barbecues going without ever making contact with the bones."
At Lenovo's Tech World event in San Francisco, Motorola announced its new modular phones Moto Z and Moto Z Force that come with Moto Mods. The Moto Mods are accessories with a 16-pin connector that can magnetically attach to the back of the smartphone in order to transform its functionality.

According to Business Today, by using these mods, the Moto Z and Moto Z Force can be converted into a battery powerhouse, video projector, audio speaker and more. The mods add to the weight of the device and include built-in battery.

The audio speaker mod has got a built-in kickstand. The Insta-share projector mod can project videos and photos up to 70 inches, at a resolution of 480 pixel. The projection can be done on the ceiling of wall.

There is also a PowerPack mod using a 2,200 mAh external battery that can add extra power for up to 22 hours. Additional style shells are available as well. They are designed to change the look of the phone but do not add any functionality.

The future generation of Moto Z smartphones will support all these mods. The Motorola division inside Lenovo is also working on a camera shell. The company has also announced a developer platform that allows developers to create new mods.

According to Irish Examiner, the Motorola Moto Z comes with a body 5.2mm thin, which makes it the thinnest smartphone on the market. The mobile device features a 5.5inch QHD AMOKED display and is powered by a 2.2Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor paired with 4GB of RAM.

The Moto Z comes with microSD slot and is available in 32GB and 64GB storage options. The phone comes with a 2600mAh battery that features Turbo Charing support.

Motorola's modular smartphone has a 5MP front facing camera and a 13MP rear camera. It comes with 4G LTE support, Type-C port for audio, water repellent nano coating, fingerprint scanner and more. The phone runs on Android Marshmallow.

The Moto Z Force comes with the same set of specifications with just some minor changes. It has a 3500 mAh battery and a 21MP rear camera. The shatterproof glass display features Shattershield technology.

Lenovo hasn't release the launch date or the pricing yet. However, it is expected that the Moto Z will become available globally in the month of September.
Lenovo's new concept smartphone and tablet uses a segmented body and flexible screen to convert from handset to watchband.

According to CNET, Lenovo's bendable smartphone concept is called the Cplus. The company's CTO, Peter Hortensius, explained at a press briefing at Lenovo Tech World event that the Cplus will come in two sizes, large and small.

For the moment, the Cplus is not in production, being just a concept device. The mobile phone runs the Android operating system and features a 4.26-inch flexible display. The device will come with 12 color choices.

This is not the first time companies presented concept devices with flexible chassis and displays. Nokia, LG and Samsung have also some bendable device concepts, but so far none have yet launched on the market.

One of the challenges encountered in designing bendable items is placing traditionally inflexible components, like batteries. Crafting gadgets that can handle these usage scenarios is difficult, but Lenovo seems to aim bringing them from the concept stage to consumer goods. The Folio tablet and the Cplus phone come with flexible display panels that allow bending their respective bodies.

According to Engadget, Lenovo has even a sense of humor in its approach to create bendable devices. When bending the Cplus to curve around the user's wrist, the Android phone displays "cracks." However, they are not real but just a software trick that distorts the screen.

On the other hand, the Folio is a more straight-laced concept. The screen bends around of the chassis when the tablet is folded, turning it into a big phone. Aside of its bendable feature, the Folio seems just a regular tablet.

The Cplus concept seems more polished and it is likely that it had a considerable headstart in development. It just remains to be seen if Lenovo will push the Folio and the Cplus concepts to become full-fledged products.
If you don't have security at the cloud layer, you're not really secure.

Wedge Networks, a Calgary, Canadian company specialises in the security of endpoint connections to cloud-based services, providing what might be called a "clean feed".

At a recent conference, iTWire took the opportunity to chat with Frank Wiener, vice-president, marketing, for Wedge Networks.

iTWire: What is your current customer coverage?

Wiener: We have tens of millions of end-point connections, across 17 countries, including CSPs, ISPs, Government Agencies, Hospitals and Large Enterprises.

{loadposition davidh08iTWire: Can you summarise the service you provide?

Wiener: We've got a service, a capability, that removes threats before it's delivered to the customer.

What we're seeing is growth in the service provider sector, where they're taking our product, which is really software, putting it in their data centre cloud, running it on OpenStack or VMWare and using it to clean their customers' broadband data before they deliver it.

They're (ISPs and major service providers) going along to their broadband customers and saying "if you don't have security at the cloud layer, you're not really secure." If you think about it, it's [either] endpoint security, or its perimeter security with a firewall and as we know, everyone's moving content from that enterprise location up into the Cloud; either their own private cloud or a public Cloud.

They're also using DropBox and Google and other Cloud IT applications and increasingly, the users are accessing this content with, not just laptops, but tablets, mobile devices that don't have any security software on them, and the communication is going from the device to that content without ever going to the enterprise.

What I'm highlighting is the fact that they need to think about security as more than just on the broadband to that enterprise location. The message for the enterprise is that your users aren't just in the office; they're all over the place. They're at home, they're in aeroplanes, they're at conferences and they're accessing content that isn't stored in the enterprise  it's stored in the cloud.

When they're doing that, there is no security on that connection. They're not running endpoint security on their tablet or their mobile device, and they're not going though the enterprise firewall.

The cloud provider is providing security that says, a customer who comes in to my cloud can't jump over and see your data, they're providing security between users, but they can't provide the security between the data and the user accessing it  that's the responsibility of the customer. What I'm highlighting right now is the fact that we're trying to raise the awareness that even if you have endpoint security, even if you have a firewall you still have exposure because these communications are increasingly happening and they're outside the security domain that people have today, IF they have a security domain.

Continued on the next page...

iTWire: So, what are the actual benefits?

Wiener: We've been highlighting this model for a while. But obviously there are benefits. First is, it's closing the gap with these things that are connecting to the network that are unsecured. The other is, it applies the security policies to everything that connects to the network. Not just laptops, but tablets, phones, IoT; anything that's connected to that network, we can apply those policies to.

It also is proving to be a great business opportunity for communication service providers to offer this because when you look at the key industry trends; number one, we're talking about security is moving from endpoint firewalls, it's increasingly moving to this cloud layer. The other big trend that's happening is the model is shifting from dedicated appliances to software running in the cloud; an orchestration of this software and these applications.

When you think about businesses and think of it as a continuum of the smallest one-person business to the largest; the large guys all have their own IT staff, planning, they do everything themselves. The small guys don't have a cloud to run their security in and even if they had a cloud, they don't have anybody who knows anything about it. They don't have the skills or the infrastructure. So they really need to get that from somebody else...

iTWire: Not the boss's son!

Wiener: Exactly, exactly. So, we believe the broadband service provider or the mobile service provider is really in the ideal position to offer these security services as a service, as an incremental paid-for service.

iTWire: So, is it more likely that service providers would charge for this service, or would they prefer to simply make it an attribute of the bundled service they're providing?

Wiener: Some of them go through that mental exercise until they realise how much money they would leave on the table and then they realise why would I not charge? Because it is value, it is real value, and customers are willing to pay.

At the conference, Wedge announced that they had joined Singapore's Starhub as a founding ecosystem partner with the launch of the Cyber Security Centre of Excellence. "We believe cloud-based security, and delivering the benefits of Security-as-a-Service to our customers will be crucial as StarHub establishes Singapore's Cyber Security Centre of Excellence," said Dr. Woo Lip Lim, vice-president of analytics and cyber security, StarHub. "Working with industry leaders like Wedge Networks amplifies our ability to deliver excellence in cybercrime prevention and provide valuable services to our customers."

"Nearly every major service provider in the region is evaluating or planning to offer cloud-based Security-as-a-Service to their customers. Leveraging cloud infrastructure to deliver security with performance, scale and efficiency, without requiring dedicated hardware, is a huge asset. The cloud-based approach reduces investment risk, which ultimately allows them to accelerate new and dynamic services," added Gary Tate, Wedge Network's managing director for Asia Pacific.

The author attended the conference as a guest of NetEvents.
Many companies protect their brands by registering domain names that are slight variations on their own, but manufacturers of industrial control systems don't seem to have followed suit, potentially leaving customers open to attack.

Researchers from security consultancy Digital Bond have found 433 so-called "squat" domains whose names are similar to those of 11 industrial manufacturers, and which have been registered by unknown third parties. Some of the domains have been hosting scams, malicious redirects and malware.

Attackers engage in domain squatting for various reasons: to host phishing pages in order to steal credentials, direct accidental visitors to malware, profit from the brand's popularity by displaying ads, or sell the domain to the brand owner for a large fee.

By impersonating the domain names of industrial control systems vendors, attackers could trick factories, public utilities and oil and gas refineries into downloading malware or modified firmware, putting critical assets at risk. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, which are a component of ICS, are an increasingly interesting target for hackers, particularly those looking to do physical damage.

Squat domain names include those that result from typos, such as "goople.com," or that rely on homoglyphs -- similar looking characters -- such as a zero instead of a capital "o."

Attackers also use a technique known as bitsquatting, which involves registering domain names that differ by a single bit from the original, and then relying on memory corruption errors in hardware to lead users to them.

During every DNS lookup or HTTP request, domain names are stored in a computer's RAM as binary code -- sequences of 0s and 1s. If the computer's memory is corrupted, for example due to a faulty memory module, one or more bits can accidentally be flipped.

For example, between google.com and googme.com there's a 1 bit difference -- the representation of the letter "l" in binary is 01101100, and that of "m" is 01101101. So a bit error on a computer where google.com is loaded in memory could lead a user's browser to googme.com instead.

From the viewpoint of a single computer, bit errors are rare. But there are many devices on the Internet, and there are typically multiple instances of a domain name in memory at any time. So the likelihood of a bitsquatting domain attracting accidental visitors is not negligible.

Attackers appear to be aware of this. According to Reid Wightman, the director of the Digital Bond Labs who performed the ICS domain survey, bitsquatting was the third most common technique used to generate the identified squat domains, accounting for 20 percent of the 433 domains.

Wightman presented his findings Thursday at the S4xEurope conference in Vienna.

He also found that 193 of the 433 domain names had an mail exchange (MX) record configured, which means that they were able to receive email.

Of those 193 domains, 22 accepted email for any user, even if the recipient addresses didn't exist. This means that, at least in principle, their owners could intercept private email sent to the real ICS vendor.

In one case, Wightman received a phishing email from slemens.com (SLEMENS.COM) a few months after he tested sending email to a made-up email address under that domain. At some point, the same domain hosted malware.

Another domain, siemsns.com, was found hosting, at different times, a tech support scam leading to a remote access Trojan installer, adware in the form of a browser extension and a rogue survey.

In fact, Wightman found 254 live hosts configured on the 433 squat domains. Almost half of them hosted advertising or for-sale pages, but twenty-eight of them performed suspicious redirects and 10 hosted malware.

The researcher didn't find any malicious programs that specifically targeted industrial control systems, but he found malware for Windows and OS X, including a previously unknown OS X threat that had zero detection rate among antivirus products.

"Someone is going to get nasty with this" and specifically target ICS owners, Wightman said.

Attackers could, for example, register a squat domain and mimic the deep linking structure for a firmware update from a real vendor's website. If such a link is then distributed to users it could make the domain name mismatch harder to spot, he said.

Legally, it can be hard and costly for companies to deal with domain squatting once it happens, because they need to file a complaint and prove trademark infringement, or buy the squat domain from its existing owner for a substantial amount of money. In fact, many squatters register such domains in order to later sell them to brand owners for a significant profit.

It's much easier and cheaper for companies to register potential squat domains early on and protect their brands from potential abuse. There are tools such as dnstwist that companies can use to identify potential squat domains that could affect them.
The ability to print photos from your phone at CVS Pharmacy.

The University of Notre Dame may ping you with details about campus history.

An audio tour when visiting The Broad in Los Angeles .

A Mobile passport at select airports.

The United Airlines app could remind you to download it for in-flight entertainment.



Google offered an example from United, which could ping you with a download to use for in-flight entertainment.

Googles Nearby platform is ready to get a little more in your face. According to the Official Android Blog , Nearby will be able to fire off a notification, when youre near a Bluetooth beacon, with details about apps to download or use based on your location. While the Nearby App isnt new, says an update to Play Services enables devices from KitKat and above to recognize pings from beacons. Google offered a few real-world examples to drive this home:

Another example is a Chromecast, which could alert you that it needs to be set up, instead of you needing to look for it on your list of Bluetooth devices navigate to a setup web page.



Have a Chromecast? Next time it may be asking you to set it up.

Ultimately, the potential for developers lies with how they can create a notification to take you directly to a specific app, action, or to install an app, if its not present. Its like an extension of the physical web feature designed to work primarily with Chrome.

If you want to dive in deeper, you can check out this video from I/O:

This feature could also be a useful aide to Android Instant Apps, once they become a reality, as you could get pinged about an app then use it right away without installing it.

Why this matters: Google has been pursuing all kinds of ways to drive app installs to make your Android phone the center of your computing universe. The Nearby tools, physical web, Tango, VR all demonstrate that the tools we use are about to get more immersive and will tie in directly to the objects around us.
Intel has missed out on the iPhone party until now, ceding big business to other chip makers in the process. But that could be about to change.

Apple will use modems from Intel in some models of its next smartphone, replacing chips from Qualcomm, according a Bloomberg report Friday. An Intel modem will go into iPhones for the AT&T Wireless network in the U.S. and in some international versions, the report says.

If true, it would be a big win for Intel, especially after its decision to cancel its upcoming Atom chips for phones. Intel has kept its modem business alive, in part because it hopes to capitalize on the upcoming move to 5G networks.

Chips from Qualcomm will still be used in iPhones for the Verizon Wireless network and in handsets sold in China, according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources.

Qualcomm supplies all the main modem components for iPhones sold today.

The next iPhone, expected to be called the iPhone 7, is due this fall.

It won't be the first time a major phone maker has used different chips in different regions. In the U.S., Samsung's Galaxy S7 uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820, which has an integrated modem, while in Europe and Asia it uses its homegrown Exynos chips.

One factor in Apple's decision could be that it likes to use multiple suppliers, meaning it's not at the mercy of one vendor if it decides to raise prices, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

Intel may also have offered discounts to Apple, he said. It did something similar with tablet chips used in Android devices, though with mixed success.

Carriers sometimes have a say in the technology used in handsets on their network, and Verizon may have insisted on the continued use of Qualcomm parts of it thinks the technology is a better fit, McGregor said.

In terms of performance, Qualcomm is widely acknowledged to have more advanced modems than Intel. In January, Qualcomm announced its X16 LTE modem, which the company claims supports download speeds of almost 1Gbps. Intel's latest XMM7480 reaches download speeds of 450Mbps.

But modem performance may not make a big difference given that carriers sometimes throttle network speeds.

For Apple, choosing a new modem could mean design changes and getting its phones requalified for networks in multiple countries, making it no small decision, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64.

It didn't have many alternative suppliers to choose from. Qualcomm and Intel lead the market, with Mediatek's technology lagging behind.

By working with both Qualcomm and Intel, Apple will be best positioned to switch to 5G as soon as either company is ready to deliver, Brookwood said. 5G will bring speed improvements as well as better support for the Internet of Things and smart home devices.

Apple may also be looking to use carrier aggregation, which can greatly boost wireless network speeds.

Eventually, Apple may create its own modem chip to integrate with its A-series processors, much as Samsung does today. That can help boost performance and extend battery life, but raises challenges when the combined chip has to be qualified for networks worldwide.
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The latest job creation numbers from the federal government must seem like deja vu to people who follow such statistics, because Wisconsin  continuing a trend that has spanned 15 years  is stuck in the bottom third of the 50-state class.

During 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wisconsin ranked 36th among the states in the percentage of new private-sector jobs. Wisconsin added 31,760 jobs last year, a gain of 1.3% vs. growth of 2.1% nationally.

Same story, different year. Not only has the state ranked an average of 37th in job growth during Gov. Scott Walker's tenure, it was 37th during the first five years of Gov. Jim Doyle's administration before the Great Recession threw job numbers for all 50 states into the garbage.

That suggests job creation is less about partisan answers and more about bipartisan cooperation around strategic actions based on larger, commonly shared economic trends and best practices.

The past week in Wisconsin featured forums that examined those trends and practices through the eyes of outsiders and homegrown citizens alike. Those included visits by the Atlantic Council and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, as well as the annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Conference in Madison. Some broad takeaways:

States, cities and regions that focus on entrepreneurship and building companies from the ground up are more likely to succeed than those that spend time and money on "smokestack chasing."

Tax incentives aimed mostly at incumbent industries don't work, especially if those industries are mature in terms of job creation.

Fence-me-in government regulations or "scared-lawyer laws" stifle economic dynamism by erecting barriers to competition.

Attractive, safe and affordable places to live, work and play really do matter.

Data from the Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation underscored the fact that young companies create most net new jobs in the United States and have done so for decades. As far back as the late 1970s, the pattern has been the same: Older companies (especially those more than 10 years old) tend to add jobs during good times and shed them in droves during bad times.

In fact, since 1988 there have been only eight years in which older U.S. companies added net new jobs and 16 years in which those companies lost jobs or barely broke even. In stark contrast, new companies (five years or less) added at least 1 million jobs collectively in every year since 1988 but one, the peak recession year of 2009. Even then, those young companies produced about 500,000 new jobs.

States, cities and regions that focus too much on raiding companies from elsewhere or cutting taxes without strategic goals in mind "are simply taking away dollars that can be used to support entrepreneurship," said Evan Absher, a policy officer for Kauffman.

Absher, an attorney himself, also criticized what he described as "scared-lawyer laws" that make it harder for young companies to compete for contracts, customers and other business in jurisdictions where such laws are passed. In Wisconsin, where there is tension between state and local governments over the sharing of control, that's an emerging issue. State laws that would restrict certain types of research or make it harder for workers to move within companies have been defeated in Wisconsin  for now  but the threat remains.

While Wisconsin lags in company start-up rankings by Kauffman and others, it looks much better in "Main Street" business rankings and company survival rates.

Absher noted in two forums that while Wisconsin ranked 50th out of 50 states in its 2015 start-up index, the No. 1 ranked state was Montana for per capita reasons. "There are eight people in Montana, and Jeff just started a company," he joked, adding that most ratings should be taken with a grain of salt.

Company survival rates are higher in Wisconsin for many reasons, starting with a stubborn, "I won't fail" streak in many of the state's citizens to realistic company valuations, lower business costs and a public-private support structure for entrepreneurs that has emerged in the past 10 to 15 years.

Other speakers noted factors tied to livability, such as housing costs on the West Coast that can be 200% higher than those in Wisconsin's largest cities.

What's the secret sauce? There's no single make-or-break factor, but healthy entrepreneurial communities exist in places where there's a mix of talent, financial capital, early customers, support services, public policies that promote company creation and a culture that tolerates risk and failure while rewarding innovation, networking and wealth creation.

"Entrepreneurial success is both congregated and concentrated," said Rhett Morris of New York-based Endeavor Insight. That means successful founders tend to locate in cities that are industry hubs, and most job creation is clustered in a relatively small number of companies that crack the code.

Wisconsin may never rank among the biggest job-producing states, but some relatively simple steps could help it move to the top half of the class.

Tom Still is president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Its Wisconsin Innovation Network meets in Wauwatosa. Contact him at news@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com.
Sauce King Dennis Elert concocted a tasty tomato sauce and then found a way to get it mass produced and placed on shelves at Roundys Metro Market and other stores. Credit: Rick Wood

Steve Jagler C-Level SHARE Dennis Elerts Sauce King tomato sauce sits on shelves at Roundy's Metro Market. Rick Wood

The grocery shopper was given one Saturday afternoon assignment by his spouse: Bring home the ingredients needed to make a spaghetti dinner.

His cart fills up with the basics, including pasta sauce, onions, garlic cloves, mushrooms, noodles, Parmesan cheese and ground beef. As he prepares to leave the meat department, the shopper encounters a card table that was set up moments earlier by Dennis Elert. On the table is a cup full of tiny plastic spoons and a bowl full of red pasta sauce.

The shopper samples the sauce.

"It's the best sauce you'll find. It's made right here in Wisconsin," Elert says to the shopper, who promptly replaces the store brand pasta sauce in his cart with a jar of Elert's sauce.

Full disclosure: I was that shopper.

And Elert is "The Sauce King."

That scene, with shoppers sampling and purchasing Elert's Sauce King brand pasta sauce, has been repeated thousands of times over the past 10 years.

Jars of Elert's pasta sauce can be found today on Wisconsin supermarket shelves in Roundy's Pick 'n Save and Metro Market, Copps, Sentry Foods, Balistreri-owned Sendik's Food Markets, Woodman's Foods, Festival Foods and Metcalfe Markets, right next to the larger, more widely distributed brands such as Prego and Ragu.

Most of those national brands found their way to the grocers' shelves through thousands of dollars in trade show displays and advertising.

Elert did it the old-fashioned way: convincing one store manager at a time to try his sauce.

Anthony Kuchinsky, store director at the new Roundy's Metro Market in Shorewood, is among the managers who were successfully wooed by the Sauce King.

"It was twofold. The product is fantastic  it's a quality product. And Dennis' passion for the product really stands out. The man loves his product," Kuchinsky said.

Elert's story is even more remarkable considering the Lt. Columbo-like vibe he exudes. You know the type: He's actually quite smarter than he seems to be at first glance.

Elert still tracks his shipments of sauce jars in a spiral notebook. He doesn't yet have a business card.

"God only knows why I'm good at this. But I just am," he said with a shrug while tending to his jars on the shelves at the Metro Market in Shorewood. "I had no education in marketing on how to do this. I just do it. I go right to an individual store and talk directly to the manager. I get the manager to try it, and they make the case to corporate. Once they try it, they like it, and they keep coming back for more."

The Sauce King's journey began back in 2006, when Elert and his wife, Debbie, lived in Tupelo, Miss.

"I made a homemade batch in 2006, and my wife said, 'That's the best sauce you ever made. Oh, my God. ... Now we have to formulate the product,'" Elert said.

His first batch filled 50 cases of jars. He sold them very quickly at a flea market.

"At that point, we knew we had something," Elert said.

A native of Madison, Elert lost his job as a union welder in Tupelo in 2012 and moved back to Poynette, with a dream of mass-producing his pasta sauce.

"We lost everything in Mississippi," Elert said.

He worked full-time during the week and sold jars of sauce at stores on the weekends.

As he expanded his network of stores willing to stock his jars of sauce, he needed a way to produce them more efficiently. He decided to contract with Create-a-Pack Foods Inc. in Ixonia to manufacture and put his sauce  adhering to his original recipe  in jars.

Elert sold $105,000 worth of jars last year and says he is on pace to pass that mark exponentially this year, although he doesn't have a precise estimate.

Quite accidentally, Elert is on the cutting edge of several hot food trends. His sauce is "all natural" and gluten-free, with no oils, fats, dairy, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup.

The healthful qualities of the sauce, however, are important for Elert, who suffered a series of heart attacks in 2014.

He offers one tip for preparing his sauce in a meal: "Cook it on low heat. Because of the thickness of the sauce, there's not a lot of moisture there. That's why it sticks to your noodles so good."

Looking back, the Sauce King still marvels at his own journey.

"This is what I do. I was a flunky in high school. I was a screw off. I barely got through high school," Elert said. "I was daydreaming about being an entrepreneur, I guess."

Steve Jagler is the business editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Send C-Level ideas to him at steve.jagler@journalsentinel.com.
Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman peformed at Pridefest Friday night. Credit: Sam Caravana

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By ,

Thirteen minutes into Sarah Silverman's set at PrideFest, it started to rain.

"This is not going to help with my abandonment issues," the comedian joked to the scattering crowd.

Huddled under the awnings of nearby vendors, many in the distracted audience began to loudly debate leaving. Meanwhile Silverman, housed by the stage, soldiered on with a story about a drunken evening for one of her sisters.

Those hiding from the rain re-emerged just in time to catch Silverman saying that the lingering laughter from the joke was "relief laughter" that her sister hadn't been raped. Needless to say, without the full story, it was a bit uncomfortable.

And so the tone was set for the evening. Four experienced comedians with massive bravado had to compete with the weather, a nearby dance party and an inattentive audience to land punch lines  some of which still felt like misses. Yet those who remained through non-ideal circumstances were treated to a worthwhile show.

Silverman took to the stage first, hoping to warm it up for her accompanying friends, comedians Dwayne Kennedy, Lizz Winstead and Todd Glass. Sound problems were present from the beginning. Music from the Dance Pavilion at the Johnson Controls Stage rang throughout, and Silverman  who was sucking on a Ricola at one point  struggled to deliver her trademark deadpan comments in the less intimate outdoor setting.

But when she did, they came in full force.

"You can do whatever you want to me," she said. "I will never sue you. I don't want to be a litigious Jew."

Kennedy followed Silverman's opening set, but his commentary on race didn't seem to register with the predominantly white audience. Silverman would later joke that the three black audience members in the front row couldn't leave; turns out they were just getting drinks.

"Milwaukee: This is where everybody in Chicago comes when they want to have fun and not die," the African-American Kennedy said to the loudest cheers of his set. "That's on the brochure."

Following Kennedy was Winstead, co-creator of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and an abortion rights advocate. Winstead delivered the most political set of the night.

"We do not need government regulating our bodies. We have Activia for that," Winstead joked.

By the time Glass took the stage, the sound issues had evened out. Glass talked about how he was comfortable coming out in later in life, but he's not a fan of the language used to describe it. "Can't it be, 'Hey, he bused out of the (expletive) shed?'"

Finally, Silverman  who made brief appearances between her friends' time on the mic  returned to close things out. It was her time on stage that the audience reacted to most, a testament to the comedian's star power. A "Game of Thrones" fan, Silverman was astounded by the lack of neck protection armor provides in the show given the tendency for characters to be beheaded or have their throats slit.

With her voice unchanged, Silverman said, "I am Lewis Black mad about this." It was her most precise deadpan of the evening.

For the audience who made it through the weather and sound issues, it was the exact kind of joke they had come for.
Mother nature decorates with flowers, and her greatest displays grace us in late spring and early summer. From thoughtfully adorned lawns to pops of yellow and purple in highway ditches, this is the time to take in the colors and smells of blooms high and low.

In this showy and fragrant season, there is no better theme for a party than simply flowers,especially if the party is to celebrate a vibrant woman and her soon-to-be baby girl.

Three friends and I collaborated to host a flower-filled baby shower in late May on a brilliantly sunny Sunday afternoon. The mom-to-be is one of those souls who bring light into any room; the weather matched her demeanor perfectly.

We kept the food clean, fresh, and colorful and the decor light and natural. With wonderful women to celebrate, the party exuded feminine elegance and a fluttery anticipation of our friend's summer daughter.

Mediterranean spiced turkey meatballs kept warm in a little slower cooker kicked off a table full of bites and noshes. Rolled with toasted sesame seeds, fresh chives, ground coriander and a sprinkling of cornmeal, these meatballs landed right in the middle of the spectrum  not too greasy nor too dry, wonderful with the dipping sauce we served alongside grilled vegetables.

For a colorful, edible centerpiece for the buffet table, I chose Za'atar Grilled Vegetables with Herbed Greek Yogurt sauce. For this simple preparation, reach for in-season produce so the vegetal flavors really sing. Sturdy asparagus, dainty carrots, portobello caps and summer squash (not yet local, but at least domestic by now) made the cut.

Before heading to the grill, I drizzled on olive oil and sprinkled them generously with Za'atar, an intriguing Middle Eastern condiment made from a blend of herbs, sesame seeds, sumac and salt. Thick, creamy Greek yogurt blended with fresh mint, parsley, garlic and lemon is the perfect foil to the smoky char of the veggies.

Imagine biting into a dessert that is at once creamy, sweet and tangy, floral, juicy and tart. If your mouth is watering already, don't wait for a party to make Lemon Chevre Cheesecake with Honeyed Fruit.

Made without a traditional crust, it's almost airy and melts on the tongue thanks to the smart replacement of goat cheese for classic cream cheese and the whipped egg whites folded in just before baking. A simple toss of sliced fruit (we used strawberries and peaches) in lemon juice and honey sits atop the golden brown cake, its juices seeping in, creating a hundred perfect bites.

Take a page from mother nature's novel: grace your next party with her blooms, let real food's natural flavors shine through, and take things outdoors.

It's easy to get swept up in adorably intricate baby shower themes and party-favor Pinterest crafts. But taking a moment to reflect on the person you are celebrating, and noticing the beauty that's already at your fingertips, lends itself to a fete that is both genuine and stress-free.

SIMPLIFIED SHOWER IDEAS

Make fresh favorsby tucking herbal tea bags, mini honey jars and a single flower into flowery vintage mugs.

Pick a few key recipes, then fill the rest of the buffet table with ready-to-eat favorites like fresh fruit, fine cheeses, rustic crackers and healthy dips.

Ask each hostess(if there's more than one) to bring a bouquet. Then separate the blooms into multiple mismatched vases to use as rustic table decor.

Spread a colorful quiltor two on the lawn for extra seating or relaxing as the party winds down.

Stir pureed strawberriesor raspberries into low-sugar store-bought lemonade (such as Trader Joe's Low Calorie Lemonade) for an all-natural, no-booze "pink drink" to welcome a baby girl.

FRESH AND FUN NO-FUSS BABY SHOWER MENU

Mediterranean Spiced Turkey Meatballs

Za'atar Grilled Vegetables with Herbed Greek Yogurt Sauce

Lemon Chevre Cheesecake with Honeyed Fruit

Berry-Infused Pink Lemonade

Various fruit, cheese, crackers and dips
By of the

A 27-year-old Milwaukee man who prosecutors say repeatedly assaulted and trafficked a teen girl for sex is now charged with trying to intimidate her from behind bars.

John E. Mannery Jr.'s federal court indictment last week joins a list of harrowing trafficking cases in Milwaukee, which has earned a national reputation as a hub of commercial sex exploitation.

High-profile court cases here have revealed generations of pimps and a group of traffickers  some of whom prostituted dozens of women  who regularly participated in "pimp roundtables," during which they discussed their practices.

It's notoriously difficult to collect data about sex trafficking, but experts estimate there have been hundreds of victims in Milwaukee.

The case against Mannery outlines an all-too-familiar pattern in sex trafficking. Prosecutors say he began as a "Romeo" or "romance" pimp who coerced a 16-year-old girl to engage in prostitution by acting like her boyfriend and saying she needed to earn money.

Mannery went so far as to use the alias "Casanova," sometimes shortened to "Nova," authorities say.

Like nearly every pimp, Mannery forced the teen to give him all the money she earned, according to court documents.

And when he felt he couldn't control her through flirtation and loyalty, he escalated to brutal sexual assaults and beatings, including one that caused her to miscarry, court records show.

Mannery faces a dozen federal charges, including child sex trafficking, interstate child prostitution and multiple counts of using the Internet to promote prostitution. The federal indictment comes a month after Mannery was charged in state court with the same offenses.

On Thursday, state prosecutors issued felony intimidation charges against Mannery, who has been jailed since the original charges were filed in May.

"They trying to make it seem like I was the biggest pimp in Milwaukee," Mannery said in recorded jail calls, according to a criminal complaint.

Mannery urged the person on the other end of the call to get the teen victim in the trafficking case to recant to prosecutors.

"Just make sure (expletive) don't come to court, man, that's all I can say," he said on the recording.

Abuse and beatings alleged

Authorities say Mannery, then 26, first met the girl last summer at a gas station near N. 35th and W. Center streets.

State court records outline what officials believe happened next:

Mannery and the teen exchanged phone numbers and the next day, the teen texted him and asked for a ride. Mannery drove her to the Diamond Inn Motel on Fond du Lac Ave.

She told him she was 16. Mannery said he didn't care.

They stayed at the motel for two weeks, smoking marijuana and having sex. Mannery also regularly played with a gun around her.

When Mannery ran out of money, they left that motel and he forced her into prostitution.

Soon after that, he beat her for the first time  leaving her with a gash on her eye, swelling on her head and a busted lip. She begged him to take her to the hospital.

He refused.

The teen continued to stay with Mannery at multiple hotels in Milwaukee County and he coerced her into one or two "dates" each day. Mannery posted online ads for her services from his phone and threatened to kill her if she did not give him all of the money.

She said he starved her and she would beg him for 35 cents to buy Ramen noodles at the gas station.

He became more abusive as time went on, even choking her, and took her to Chicago where he again exploited her. To try to appease him, the girl invited another teen girl to join them at a motel where they all engaged in sex acts. Afterward, he ordered both girls to walk the "tracks"  an area in Milwaukee well-known for prostitution.

Still, the beatings continued.

While they were staying at an abandoned home near N. 19th St. and W. Keefe Ave. in Milwaukee, he repeatedly assaulted her, at one point cracking her tooth.

The teen told police she became pregnant and was two months along when another beating from Mannery sent her to the hospital, where staff told her she had lost the baby.

High-profile pimps

Mannery remained in Milwaukee County Jail on Friday on $70,000 bail. If convicted, Mannery would become the latest in a string of prolific Milwaukee pimps convicted of felonies in recent years.

Several have been sentenced to decades in prison, including Derrick Avery,Todd Carter, Sean Patrick,Augustus Allen and Roy Kennard Weatherall Jr.

Milwaukee's reputation as a hub for sex trafficking stems, in part, from those high-profile prosecutions and other law enforcement actions.

In 2013, a nationwide FBI sting on human trafficking recovered 10 children in Milwaukee  the second highest number in the country.

A study that year by the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission found that 77 children had been sexually exploited in Milwaukee in a two-year period  a number experts said was likely a gross underestimate, as it only tracked the number who had made contact with police.

But there is no reliable ranking of cities in terms of child sex trafficking or the number of children recovered from sex trafficking, according to the Polaris Project, which runs the National Human Resource Center Trafficking Hotline.
Dinorah Marquez leads the Latino Arts String program at Bruce-Guadalupe School at the United Community Center. Credit: Journal Sentinel files

Many people are ending the school year to the music of "Pomp and Circumstance." Congratulations to all the graduates and their families on reaching these important, good milestones.

But I'm ending the school year with a movement from Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" playing in my head.

Somewhat inevitably, the focus in these columns (and in much of the news) is on problems, difficulties and "bad news." This week, I offer nothing about low test scores, budgets, fighting over enrollment "market share" or even what will emerge from the Opportunity Schools/Milwaukee County executive furor.

I offer instead snapshots of good news and good things I've seen and heard this year when it comes to local education.

There's a special page in this mental collection for Dinorah Marquez and about 20 middle school students from Bruce-Guadalupe Community School who performed the Vivaldi piece when I was visiting the charter school on the south side last fall.

Marquez leads the Latino Arts Strings program at the school and at the United Community Center, which the school is part of. The music program has rightfully earned recognition across the United States and beyond for the quality of its performances. What the students played for me was of concert quality  and I mean almost any concert hall you can think of. We should embrace these kids as young Milwaukeeans on the rise.

I was sorry I didn't get to the Milwaukee Public Schools' city-wide music festival a few weeks ago. I'm sure there was a lot of talent on display there. And MPS leaders deserve applause for their efforts to reinvigorate music and arts programs in schools. Those pursuits had dwindled and still aren't at ideal levels, but every step to increase them is a step toward giving kids more reasons to get connected to school and find something they very well might love.

I can easily name MPS, charter, voucher and suburban schools I've visited in the past year where I saw excellence in the work students were doing and in the teaching in their classrooms. Good work and success are all around us, often unnoted and unpraised.

The Public Policy Forum, a civic research organization, released a report recently on the "teacher pipeline," which is to say, how are we going to get enough teachers (and teachers who are good enough) to meet what southeastern Wisconsin will need in the not-so-distant future. I attended a luncheon where the report was discussed.

At the end of a panel discussion that offered a lot of concerns, an audience member asked if there was any good news. Patricia Greco, superintendent of schools in Menomonee Falls, emphatically said yes. Here's what she said, as she re-created it for me later:

"I have never been more proud to work in the field of education and to do the work I do every day. Educators know more about how children learn than we have ever known, and they are using their skills to touch the hearts and impact the lives of children every day.

"Our teachers and staff are highly skilled. Wisconsin has a long history of strong schools. Our teachers and staff members are reaching the widest range of student needs in the most significant way. We have increased student success academically and in preparation for strong transitions to the trades, technical college and four-year colleges.

"There is a lot to debate regarding educational policy and politics. What is clear is we have deeply committed students, staff, and parents working hard together to reach every child. There is a lot to celebrate and many reasons to give thanks."

I agree.

In place of final exams, some classes at Cudahy High School have students do a portfolio presentation, which means talking with a handful of people, mostly adults they don't know, about what they learned in the semester. Last week, I had the privilege of listening to 18 students who were about to graduate. Their thoughts ran often to how they had changed during their high school years.

It was sobering stuff, in many cases. Kids had overcome a lot of heavy personal matters to get where they are now. You might argue it's unfair to ask this of educators, but teachers and other school staff members provide valuable help to many kids that goes far beyond academic skills. Thanks to all those who play such anchoring and nurturing roles in the lives of students at every grade level.

When the Cudahy grads talked about what they learned in high school, their answers focused almost entirely on personal growth, maturity, and emotional and social skills. (Well, one said he had learned punctuation  "I hardly ever used it before.")

A few of their answers:

I learned anger management.

I learned confidence and how to overcome shyness.

I learned to cope with a health issue and not seek pity from others.

I learned to be strong. I don't let negative people affect me anymore.

I learned to overcome depression and suicidal intentions.

I learned how to overcome a lot of family problems.

I learned that it's good to give people a smile when they don't get any smiles at home.

I learned you can take bad situations and turn them positive.

One was asked if she was ready to graduate. "Holding me back is holding me back from the rest of my life," she said. "I'm ready."

I hope the rest of her life is good. And one huge reason she's ready is the teachers and the healthy school environment she was in. Thank you to everyone who was part of creating that for her and thousands like her at schools throughout our region.

Start the Vivaldi. Despite so many things, there was a lot of beautiful music played in our schools this year.

Alan J. Borsuk is senior fellow in law and public policy at Marquette University Law School. Reach him at alan.borsuk@marquette.edu.
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A journalist headed to Jerusalem for a week to research and write an article about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While there, he met people from both sides of the conflict, in Israel-proper and in the disputed Palestinian Territories, who were doing good things, and people who were causing harm.

While there, he met Holocaust survivors whose lives were saved by the Jewish state. He met Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jews, along with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean (Sephardi) Jews. He met black Jews and white Jews. And he met Arabs who stayed in Israel after 1948, when the State of Israel was established, and who are now Israeli citizens, as well as Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza who are still waiting for establishment of a Palestinian state. After a week, he learned that there was too much he didn't understand, so he decided to stay for a month and expand his article to an essay.

During that time, he visited Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Baha'i holy sites, noting that such religious freedom is not granted by most of the nations that surround Israel, many of which are among the world's worst human rights violators. He learned about the narratives of both peoples  histories of hurt, powerlessness, and power; of victimization and determination.

Then he witnessed the work of Palestinians and Israelis who are working to transcend the conflict and build together. He listened to the stories of bereaved family members through the Parents Circle-Families Forum, who are working to bring people together in dialogue and cooperation. He visited Neve Shalom, a village comprised of Israeli Jews and Arabs who are committed to building a shared society. And he saw the work of SHADES Negotiation, a project that creates access to opportunity by training Palestinian and Israeli leaders in negotiation and leadership skills.

After a month, he realized that he couldn't capture the truth about the conflict in an essay, so he decided to stay for a year Nuance, complexity, multifaceted geopolitical challenges  all of these are present in our conversation about Israel and the Palestinians. All of these are absent from the recent decision by the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) to divest from companies "profiting from, or complicit in, human rights violations arising from the [Israeli] occupation, including Caterpillar, HP Inc., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Motorola Solutions, and G4S."

This action reflects a growing propensity of some communities to understand the world in simplistic and unhelpful ways. For them, all challenges are to be understood in black and white, all conflicts require a narrative of good vs. evil, of powerful oppressors vs. powerless victims. They can make no acknowledgment of any Palestinian role as an obstacle for peace. They can afford no recognition that there are larger regional and existential threats to Israel

This unnuanced world view, and the simplistic actions that come with it, do more harm than good. It is proven that boycott and divestment resolutions not only fuel extremism, but also harm the fledgling Palestinian economy, inflicting further pain on the very people that such efforts aspire to protect. Moreover, a religious voice that ignores the humanity of people on both sides of the conflict ends up being a tool in further division and deepening conflict. We ask: Can we find space in our hearts for both peoples?

Equally disappointing is the means taken to build consensus for boycott and divestment. The GMS engaged with a tiny group of anti-Zionist Jews, engaging them as partners and giving them a platform. But the fact that a handful of Jews support boycotts and divestment against Israel does not lend legitimacy to this action. Nor does it justify ignoring the vast and overwhelming majority of the Jewish community, which supports Israel's right to exist and advocates for a two-state solution. Justice cannot take hold when we dismiss or marginalize the vast majority of a community.

While we are heartened by our many Lutheran friends who have reached out to tell us that the recent GMS action does not speak for them, we remain deeply concerned about the trend of choosing self-righteous simplicity in a complicated world. We can do better.

Elana Kahn and Michael Pollack are director and chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
Herbert Diamond, 88, of Fort Lee, N.J., meets with Manisha Parulekar about his end-of-life preferences at the Hackensack Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J., in April. Credit: Associated Press

SHARE A son holds his mothers hand at her nursing home in Adrian, Mich. Associated Press

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This ...is the end ...of my life."

These would be my patient's only words  an economy of phrasing made necessary by an all-consuming air hunger. She had just arrived in the emergency room, Code 3 critical, after a lights-and-sirens ambulance transport from her nursing home.

Awake, alert and intensely focused, every effort of her frail, 90-year-old body was concentrated on the simple act of breathing. Her weak heart and failed kidneys had caused her lungs to fill with fluid, every breath becoming a mixture of water and air. The analogy to drowning is inevitable. As her physician, I was going to have to make some big decisions quickly, including this one: How much should I do to save her life?

Typically, when patients gasping for air and with very low oxygen levels show up in my emergency room, it's obvious what to do first: You intubate them. You put a tube in their mouth down into their lungs and connect them to a respirator. It's an aggressive treatment, and anyone awake for it will tell you it's unpleasant. But without enough oxygen in the bloodstream, bad, often irreversible things happen to the body very quickly.

But this patient wasn't typical. She was old, she had no next of kin, and it was clear that a series of recent medical interventions had failed to stabilize her. She'd been in our intensive care unit three times for over a week in the last four months alone. Her most recent stay had involved a seven-day stint on a respirator. Her eventual discharge to the nursing home was a medical high-wire act; an all-too-familiar pattern of readmission to discharge to readmission was playing out.

Perhaps with this in mind, my patient had months earlier completed an advance directive. I was holding it in my hand. We were allowed to make her comfortable: pain medication, oxygen. Explicitly proscribed were intubation, vasopressor medications to support blood pressure, invasive procedures and chest compressions. Her chart noted that she had been intubated the last time she was at the hospital because, as is often the case, paramedics didn't have the advance directive. The chart also noted she was upset about this.

Here's the thing about advance directives: They are guidelines. They do not have the force of law. This is a good thing. Despite what many of us think, we can't truly anticipate how we will feel when we are about to die. Advance directives are especially valuable when someone has a terminal disease or a stroke, and they want to tell doctors what to do when they can no longer decide for themselves. But with a patient such as mine, who was alert despite her distress, it's much more complicated. The human will to live is powerful. Most of the time when patients truly face death, they insist we do what we can to keep them alive.

And so three minutes after her arrival, my patient was surrounded by doctors, nurses and respiratory techs getting ready to do what we do, getting ready to save her life. An oxygen mask was already placed over her nose and mouth, intravenous lines started, cardiac monitor leads attached. A doctor waited at the head of the bed, sedation medications in hand, poised to intubate.

As the senior doctor on duty, what happened next was my call. I knew her medical history. I knew what her advance directive said. And, most important, I knew what she had said to me minutes ago, when I laid eyes on her: "This... is the end ...of my life." There had been no inflection in her voice. It was not a question.

Before I explain what I did next, I want you to stop and consider what you would have done. I ask because society has been debating for decades the role physicians should play in how and when we die. In June, California will join four other states in allowing doctors to prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill but mentally competent patients.

While I support the new California law, I also worry about its implementation and the gantlet of checks and balances patients and caregivers will have to navigate. Who will be in charge of enforcement? Will there be an appeals process for denials? Can any law codify something as complex, emotionally charged and controversial as end-of-life decisions? In truth, the options aren't black and white but intensely gray, defined by nuance and competing goals, and, in the moment, doctor and patient may struggle to find common ground.

Although the preservation of life is paramount in medicine, the inevitability of death necessitates a pivot at some point by patient and physician. When and how this happens will be different every time. The patient with terminal cancer choosing to forgo chemotherapy is familiar to most of us. But what of the bedridden stroke patient with a failing heart who now requires dialysis or someone with severe Alzheimer's who needs open heart surgery or the alcoholic who will die without a new liver but continues to drink?

As we age or when we become ill, the many decisions we make with our doctor about our care, even small ones, link to create a system of values we will draw upon when our time comes. Put another way, choices about how to live one's life ultimately and simultaneously are choices about one's death. A doctor can inform us, advise us, but in the end  and right up to the end  the choice is each of ours to make.

The Hippocratic oath is both vague and specific about how to manage death. It cautions against "playing God" while acknowledging "it may be within our power to take a life; an awesome responsibility that must be faced with great humility and awareness of one's frailty." What this means is that to first do no harm, you should think about how you would like to be treated in the same situation.

At the patient's bedside, I chose to do less rather than more: "Supportive care only," I said. It was an uncomfortable, conflicted moment for everyone in the room. Our job is to heal the sick and save lives. Then and there, though we could have righted this sinking ship, we did not.

What was left was to bring a measure of comfort to what would inevitably be her death. I gave her a small dose of narcotic in her intravenous line to quiet her air hunger. The effect was almost immediate. Her breathing slowed. Her face relaxed. Her eyes remained open, but she was asleep.

It took about an hour for her to die. First the alarm on the cardiac monitor started going off, unaccustomed to the kinds of numbers it was registering. Then her breathing became erratic  fast and deep, punctuated by long pauses. Her heart rate slowed to 20 beats per minute, then accelerated, then dropped back into the 20s. We disconnected her from the monitor, and the beeping went silent.

I waited and watched for a full 10 minutes more, half expecting her to resume breathing. She didn't. The drugs hadn't killed her. It was the lack of oxygen in her blood. The drugs just made her more comfortable while that process took place  which is what she had wanted.

I have thought a lot about this patient in the months since that night. I know we did the right thing, and I know many doctors who would have done exactly what I did. But I also know many who would have intubated her in the absence of a signed affidavit reaffirming her advance directive.

I can't help wondering if what makes end-of-life decisions so complicated is our definition of medicine itself. The idea of doctoring as a pitched battle against disease is compelling. But it belies the uncomfortable fact that physicians are really more stewards than soldiers. Our patients, and indeed each of us, always die in the end. It's remarkable and good that medicine allows us to live 25 years longer on average than we did 100 years ago. But sometimes my profession forgets that the end point of medical innovation and intervention isn't immortality.

Back in the ER, I completed my patient's medical chart, laboring to put into words the complex choreography of the last hour  a life reduced in death to time stamps, vital signs, monitor readings and the like. Lost in my recounting was the drama of what happened, the nobility of a woman utterly self-aware and in tune with the narrative of her own mortality. She had rejected the false hope of a science that still struggles to understand or communicate its own limitations.

At the end of my shift, the charge nurse reminded me to call the coroner. After giving the coroner my patient's basic demographic information, I was asked the inevitable question  "Doctor, what's the cause of death?" I hesitated  knowing he'd be looking for "cardiopulmonary arrest," "heart failure" or some other expression of convenience. He needed to check a box on a form and yet, I couldn't bring myself to say my lines.

The patient died with a weak heart and failing kidneys, not because of them. I wanted to acknowledge this woman's choice  her role in her death  and ours.

After what must have seemed like a very long time, I spoke. "Natural causes," I said. "She died of natural causes."

Eric Snoey is a vice chair of emergency medicine at Highland Hospital in Oakland, Calif. He wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.
A Medicare recipient talks with her doctor at the Henry Ford Center for Senior Independence in Detroit in 2012. Credit: MCT

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Medicare currently provides coverage for 55 million Americans over the age of 65, and 9 million younger disabled people at a yearly cost of over $600 billion. Its achievement in improving health and reducing suffering has been enormous.

Nevertheless, as our aging population grows, a rapidly increasing incidence of complex and chronic disease will necessitate increased contact with the health care system. Unless innovative Medicare delivery models are developed, we risk overwhelming the Medicare system, and vulnerable elders will do without needed care. Our current delivery system frequently fails to meet the needs of these high-risk patients, particularly for lower-income seniors in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs).

There are currently more than 6,000 designated primary care HPSAs. They have more than 3,500 people per primary care physician. Medicare beneficiaries in HPSAs often experience difficult access to primary care, and their care is often poorly coordinated, leading to frequent hospital and emergency department visits, increased rates of hospital re-admissions and suboptimal outcomes, all driving increases in cost of care.

We contend that redesigning our Medicare delivery system in HPSAs is imperative, if these seniors are to receive the benefits of 21st century medicine at a manageable cost. To achieve this goal, we propose expansion and modification of Community Health Centers (CHCs) by developing affiliated neighborhood clinics, enabling them to serve more seniors with accessible and cost-effective care by providing streamlined access to primary care providers who are expert in team-based adult and geriatric health.

Now completing their 50th year after establishment due to the advocacy of Sen. Ted Kennedy, more than 1,200 CHCs located in every state provide a wide range of services to more than 23 million previously underserved Americans in HPSAs. Federal CHC funding recently has been derived from an $11 billion, five-year growth fund in the Affordable Care Act. This was extended for an additional two years under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015.

A major component of this expansion would be development of these CHC neighborhood clinics. The neighborhood CHC satellite clinic team would be led by a nurse practitioner with advanced competencies in primary care of older adults, leadership, systems-based practice and evidence implementation. This clinic director, enlisting participation of other members of a collaborative care team, would ensure the availability of electronic or personal interaction with other CHC providers as needed.

Primary health care delivered by well-functioning teams leads to better access, patient outcomes, efficiency and greater patient and provider satisfaction. Developing neighborhood clinics utilizing this collaborative practice model could enable CHC expansion in the face of a primary care provider shortage currently limiting expansion.

This proposed neighborhood-based patient care model utilizes collaborative care with clinicians and staff working at the top of their skill sets, enhanced by its extension into neighborhoods and communities where patients live. Compared to the usual visit in a large CHC clinic, team care in these settings could better facilitate many components of care, such as health education, screening and awareness of social determinants impacting health.

This neighborhood approach to comprehensive primary care could be located in urban public housing developments or in rural community clinics. The Electronic Health Record of each patient would facilitate coordinated care across disciplines and with the central CHC in that region. Electronic health records also would serve to convey the perspective of the CHC specialty and subspecialty consultants to the neighborhood-based teams, in response to their input of data and proposed therapeutic plan.

Key to this initiative is the education of nurse practitioners emphasizing expertise in team-based geriatric care. In the past decade, there has been a 142% increase in graduation of nurse practitioners, with current production in this pipeline of greater than 16,000 per year. More of these practitioners must be trained in geriatric care and fully integrated into the delivery system and allowed to practice consistent with their education and training. These clinics would serve to provide training of practitioner candidates to fuel the pipeline for future geriatric practitioners who would direct the collaborative practice of a subsequently increased number of neighborhood clinics.

In conclusion, legislative discussions on redesigning Medicare have been focused on revised payment for physicians. We contend that another important priority for Medicare, requiring immediate attention, must be redesigning the delivery system for an aging population of HPSA seniors. We believe that this can be accomplished by building upon the Affordable Care Act previous CHC support, with expansion of CHCs as described. Furthermore, this proposal would facilitate cost-effective expansion of Medicare if offered to lower-income HPSA residents over age 55, as recently proposed.

This commentary was written by Richard Rieselbach, Eleanor McConnell, Greg Nycz and Kenneth Schmader. Rieselbach is professor emeritus of medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison and is past president of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine. McConnell is an associate professor at the Duke University School of Nursing and the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Nycz is executive director of Family Health Center of Marshfield, Inc., a federally funded community health center. Schmader is a professor of medicine at the Duke School of Medicine and director of the Duke Geriatric Program.
Muhammad Ali's casket arrives at Freedom Hall for his Jenazah, a traditional Islamic Muslim service June 9. Credit: Associated Press

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Muhammad Ali's funeral took place in Louisville last week just as the holy month of Ramadan begins. It's a fitting time for a true Muslim to die, his "greater jihad" finished, while the living practice several of the five pillars of Islam with special prayer, additional charitable giving and fasting

In Islam the "greater jihad" is the inner struggle against negative desires (anger, lust, greed) that hold one back from living a disciplined and compassionate life, which is the core of Islam.

Many Americans were shocked when Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay the day after he defeated Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title in 1964. His name change was denounced by many, including Jackie Robinson and Floyd Patterson, whom Ali would later taunt in the ring by asking him, "What's my name?" Mainstream America at that time perceived his ties to The Nation of Islam as outside the norm for a superstar athlete. Over the years, however, Ali won over his critics by practicing "greater jihad" admirably.

Three times a heavyweight champion who mixed speed and power to "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee," Ali showed himself to be a man of peace in opposing the Vietnam War. Wherever he traveled he was admired, especially in Muslim nations in Africa and the Middle East. In 1990, he went to Iraq to win the freedom of 14 American hostages taken by Saddam Hussein's regime. To all globally, he showed one can be a patriotic American and a devout Muslim, something Americans need to recognize today.

He gave generously of his fortune to charities and medical research. He contributed to the creation of the Muhammad Ali Center, promoting educational and cultural programs in Louisville. After Sept. 11, he publicly denounced the "racist fanatics who call themselves Muslims, permitting the murder of thousands." Most recently, he criticized Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, saying, "We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda."

By the time of his death, Ali had completed his "greater jihad' by channeling his own anger at racism, war and bigotry into constructive pursuits for peace, humanitarian goals and international understanding. Rejected a half-century ago by the white citizens of his hometown of Louisville, thousands of Kentuckians filed past his childhood home in tears last week, leaving flowers and acknowledging that they now see him as the face of true Islam.

A Muslim imam conducted his funeral on Friday. Eulogies were delivered by Bill Clinton, a Christian, and Billy Crystal, a Jew. Even in death, Ali is showing a Muslim's ability to bring together people of different religions, not divide them, a lesson for the entire world today.

Muslims are now renewing their "greater jihad" by entering the 30 days of Ramadan. They will fast during sunlight to develop personal discipline against destructive urges. They will spend extra time in prayer. They will contribute more time and resources to causes alleviating the pain of others. They will reach out in dialogue to promote interfaith understanding across religions.

They, and hopefully we, are inspired by Muhammad Ali "the greatest" in fighting the "greater jihad"  a universal moral challenge for all who aspire to live fully human lives.

Brian H. Smith holds the Charles and Joan Van Zoeren Chair in Religion, Ethics and Values at Ripon College.
SHARE Ashlee Martinson

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Rhinelander - An 18-year-old, convicted of killing her parents in 2015 will spend 23 years in prison after a judge decided Friday evening.

Ashlee A. Martinson was sentenced by Oneida County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bloom to 23 years in prison followed by 17 years on extended supervision. She was convicted in March on two counts of second-degree intentional homicide.

District Attorney Michael Schiek had asked the judge to sentence Martinson to 40 years in prison plus the maximum amount of extended supervision allowed.

She shot her stepfather, Thomas H. Ayers, 37, and then stabbed her mother, Jennifer F. Ayers, 40, more than 30 times in March 2015, according to court documents. She locked her two step-sisters and one half-sister  all younger than her  in a room with food and juice before fleeing the state, according to court documents.

Martinson and her boyfriend were arrested in Indiana and returned to Wisconsin. Investigators did not believe the boyfriend had anything to do with the homicides.

Schiek acknowledged Martinson's explanation for the killings  that the Ayers' home was abusive and she wanted to protect her siblings from her step-father's violence. But he said the court cannot allow society to think that even provoked homicide can be tolerated.

Martinson told investigators that Thomas Ayers had mentally and verbally abused her and that she had seen him physically abuse her mother, siblings and animals, according to court documents. She told investigators that Thomas abused her mother if food was not cooked correctly, something was not cleaned or she did not rub his back as he wanted.

The younger girls also reported abuse, according to court records. On Friday, Bloom heard statements from Martinson's step-sisters.

Thomas Ayers' sister, Sandy Rumore, also testified Friday, saying her family felt that Martinson has denied responsibility for the slayings, though she was convicted in a plea agreement.

Martinson's defense attorneys played videos Friday that included statements by people close to an ex-wife of Thomas Ayers, an ex-boyfriend of Jennifer Ayers, Martinson and those who had been close to her, her two stepsisters and the woman who took custody of the three younger girls in after the homicides.

Over the course of more than 1 hours of video testimony Friday afternoon, the judge heard repeated stories of abuse in the family, much of at the hands of Thomas Ayers. Many of those who testified said they felt bad for Martinson and didn't think she should get a long sentence.
No verdict reached after first few hours of deliberations in Darrell Brooks trial

Jurors began deliberating in the trial of Darrell Brooks Jr., accused in the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade attack that killed six and injured dozens more.
UW-Fond du Lac student Tim Lemond digs at an excavation site at Aztalan State Park led led by Sissel Schroder, a professor at UW-Madison. Students excavating the site have found arrowheads, pottery pieces and evidence of a foundation. Credit: Calvin Mattheis

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Town of Aztalan  In 1830, settlers trekked into southern Wisconsin in search of fertile fields. Instead, they stumbled upon a vast fortress of palisades and mounds so magnificent, the travelers were certain they had discovered the fabled northern Aztec city of Aztalan.

Even after its origin in the Mesoamerican empire was disproved, the name Aztalan has stuck. The remnants of this town, nestled along a shallow bend in the Crawfish River, have generated many other fantastic myths over time  myths that researchers like University of Wisconsin-Madison anthropology professor Sissel Schroeder work to dispel.

Schroeder and her students have been excavating at sites in Aztalan State Park, west of Johnson Creek in Jefferson County, since 2013. They open a field camp each year where the students get valuable hands-on archaeological experience that qualifies them for jobs at archaeological digs. Visitors are welcomed to the dig site to see the archaeology for themselves and are encouraged to participate in its excavation.

On Friday, Kelly Martin, an anthropology and zoology student at UW-Madison, carefully measured the level floor of an excavation pit and shoveled the layer of soil into a bucket to be sifted for artifacts. The sharp corners and walls allow the students to see the profile of the soil layers they have excavated and help put their discoveries in context.

"In order to figure out what this area was used for, we have to come up with our own hypothesis and ways to test it," Martin said. "It's a never ending cycle of trying to figure out the history."

Looking from the excavation tents and over the gently sloping fields of swaying grasses, several large, flat-topped mounds can be seen. These mounds once held buildings  not burials, like some people think  and are flanked by tall posts that mark the spot where the town's walls, or palisades, formerly stood.

They were constructed around the city by interweaving branches between posts and covering them with daub, or clay, that hardened into a barrier that was both flame retardant, a necessary feature in prairie land, and as strong as adobe or cement.

The myth that the prehistoric inhabitants of Aztalan produced bricks originates from the early discovery of daub debris that had been baked by a later fire.

Some structures at Aztalan indicate the presence of the local late Woodland population, while other artifacts show that members of the Mississippian civilization  mound-building Native Americans  also lived here. Learning how these two cultures interacted is part of what Schroeder's research team investigates.

As Emily Eichstedt-Anderson, an undergraduate student in anthropology at UW-Madison, sifted recently shoveled soil through a screen, she listened for changes in the sound of material hitting the grate that might signal the presence of artifacts. She's looking for any pieces that show signs of human activity.

"I used to be really scared of breaking things against the screen, but this stuff is really sturdy."

She and others have filled dozens of bags with remnants of daub, pottery, animal bones, charcoal and stone flakes.

"The best things to find are hickory nuts. They grow in one year, so radiocarbon dating can tell us exactly when that layer of soil was deposited."

Items found are bagged and labeled for later study, said former state archaeologist Bob Birmingham.

"It might take five years to fully clean, catalog and analyze the items found during this field camp," Birmingham said. "Ultimately, the report will contribute not only knowledge of the Aztalan site, but of the Mississippian culture as well."

In addition to using the site to teach her students, Schroeder, along with UW-Madison science writer Kelly Tyrrell, has received a grant from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment to develop an archaeology curriculum based on Aztalan.

They hope that by showing classrooms how archaeological digs are conducted, they will understand this National Historic Landmark's historical and cultural significance.

Melissa Phinney of Fitchburg brought her daughter Samara, 7, to check out the dig Friday to supplement her home school history courses.

"It's one thing to read something in a book," Phinney said. "I want her to stay interested and get practical experience, too."

As Samara dissolved clumps of soil between her fingers she exclaimed, "I think I found some charcoal!"

Phinney smiled, "Anything hands-on is great."

If you go

Students will be working at the site in Aztalan State Park, N6200 County Road Q in Jefferson County, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. next week through Friday. The public is invited to stop by and take part.

The Friends of Aztalan also host a tour that starts at 2 p.m. every Sunday near the temporary visitor's center.

To find out more about Aztalan or to schedule a tour, contact Bob Birmingham by email at birmi@sbcglobal.net or by phone at (608) 241-4958.
Chance Zombor (center) leads protesters in a march around the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility. Credit: Sam Caravana

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Some inmates at Waupun Correctional Institution are refusing to eat food in an attempt to limit the use of solitary confinement, and to improve medical care for inmates with mental illnesses.

The food strike began this past week for at least seven inmates, according to organizers of a Saturday rally in support of the action. Most of those inmates began refusing meals on Friday.

Additional inmates might be involved, said rally organizers Jason Geils and Bernie Gonzalez. But it's difficult to confirm that because the Wisconsin Department of Corrections restricts communicating with prisoners, they said.

At least one Waupun inmate involved in the food strike was transferred to Columbia Correctional Institution, while others were released from solitary confinement into Waupun's general prison population, Gonzalez said. He got his information Friday from inmate Cesar DeLeon, who began refusing to eat food on June 5.

DeLeon believes corrections officials took those steps to prevent the food strike from spreading, Gonzalez said.

"Several inmates have indicated to DOC staff that they are refusing meals," Tristan Cook, department communications director, said in a statement.

"DOC will continue to evaluate and monitor the situation to ensure the health and safety of inmates," Cook said.

In Wisconsin, the maximum term of what the department calls "disciplinary segregation" is generally one year, and can be imposed only for certain offenses, under new rules that took effect in January.

Inmates who use "disruptive, destructive, or out of control behavior" while confined to disciplinary segregation can be moved to "controlled segregation," which is more restrictive. After an initial 72-hour placement, that time can be extended. But the inmate's conduct must be reviewed every 24 hours, according to the rules.

As of March 31, 827 Wisconsin prisoners were being held in restrictive housing, compared with 1,128 on the same date in 2014.

The rally in support of the striking inmates drew around 70 people to Clas Park, near the northwest corner of W. Wells and N. 9th streets, just south of the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

The speakers included former Wisconsin inmates who said they spent portions of their sentences in solitary confinement.

Solitary confinement is often used as punishment for what Alan Schultz and Carl Fields characterized as relatively minor prison rule violations.

A lengthy stay in solitary confinement can be disorienting and can lead to symptoms associated with mental illnesses, Fields said.

"They're sending a lot of people home with these types of conditions who didn't have them previously," he said.

The rally was organized by groups that include WISDOM, a statewide coalition of faith leaders and activists.

WISDOM wants the Legislature to place a limit on the use of solitary confinement and to recognize the United Nations standard that considers more than 15 days in solitary confinement to be torture.

The group also wants an oversight board, independent of the Department of Corrections, to monitor the conditions and use of solitary confinement; an immediate transition to less restrictive housing for inmates who've been in solitary confinement for more than a year; and proper mental health facilities and treatment for all who have been in solitary confinement.

Department officials "cannot be allowed to believe they can get away with this forever," said Chance Zombor, a former inmate.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

The funeral of Muhammad Ali, attended by a throng of 20,000, was the first national funeral for a national hero of the United States that was also a Muslim ceremony or janazah. Muhammad Ali crafted it as a interfaith event, but obviously Islam was central.

The transitions in life from one stage to another are marked in most societies by religious rituals, which are necessarily distinctive. Marriage has commonalities across the religions but the ceremony isnt exactly the same (except where globalization has smoothed out differences). Muslim funerals have their own special attributes. Likely most Americans mainly paid attention to the speeches of celebrities and perhaps remained little aware of the funeral prayer that was said. Still, the Muslim funeral was in our living rooms, held for a person who helped define contemporary American society.

Muslims do not embalm, and usually the body is buried much more quickly than in this instance. In the US, family or close friends wash the body at the funeral home and wrap a shroud around it three times.

The funeral prayer (salat al-janazah) is performed in a side room at the mosque.

Then the body is interred. The body should be placed on its right side, facing toward Mecca, the qibla or point of adoration.

The family may then receive visitors.

The morning period ranges, according to the specific Muslim community concerned, from 3 to forty days, though the bereaved spouse mourns longer.

It is worth thinking about this great three-time heavyweight champion, this conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, this American hero, lying in his grave facing Mecca. The cube-shaped shrine, the Kaaba, is the direction toward which Muslims all over the world set their faces when they pray. An important American is now facing the Muslim holy city, just as for centuries American Catholics have looked to Rome for their spirituality and American Jews to Jerusalem. More recently, American Buddhists have perhaps looked toward Varanasi (Benares) in India.

Muslims pray to Mecca and also are commanded to go on pilgrimage there at least once in a lifetime if they can afford it and are not in debt or in poor health. The Muslim worlds trekking to Mecca has been an important phenomenon in trade and cultural exchange for 1400 years (you meet all kinds of people in Mecca from all around the world).

It was in Mecca that Malcolm X first encountered blonde, blue-eyed Muslims and radically rethought his Nation of Islam beliefs about race. Muhammad Ali made the same journey, from Islam as black nationalism to Islam as universal faith, and in 2005 he took a further spiritual journey into Islam as universal mysticism or Sufism.

Sufism influenced Ralph Waldo Emerson and the American Transcendentalist tradition.

Muhammad Ali learned from the works of Hazrat Enayat Khan, who wrote, The Sufi thinks that we all follow one religion, only in different names and different forms; but behind names and forms there is one and the same spirit and there is one and the same truth. Although Mecca is in Saudi Arabia, a Wahhabi-ruled country with a strict puritanism and creedal religion, the city and its surrounding province are full of universalistic Sufis.

This is what Malcolm X wrote back from his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1965:

 There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white. America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white  but the white attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color.

Muhammad Alis funeral was another letter, this time from Louisville facing Mecca, reminding us of our societys problems with racial and religious prejudice, and of the contribution that Islam can make to opening our eyes to racial and religious universalism.

In these times, when there is so much hatred and fearmongering directed against Islam and American Muslims by prominent politicians, it took Muhammad Alis funeral to bring us all together, and to remind us of our higher American ideals, ideals that have some essential overlap with Muslim universalism.

-

Related video:

ABC News: Muhammad Ali Funeral [FULL MEMORIAL SERVICE]
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TeleSur |  

We call for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all people in need, said a U.N. spokesperson.

An international aid convoy reached Darayaa Syrian town under siege by government forcesin the middle of the night, delivering food supplies for the first time since 2012, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday.

Trucks from the United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent brought a months supply of food for 2,400 people, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said.

It was quite a feat, our field colleagues tell us. We are very proud of them today that they managed to get through all the checkpoints to get in there, deliver overnight, stock what needed to be stocked and provide food for the first time in years to people inside Daraya, Laerke told a news briefing.

Malnutrition has been reported in the rebel-held town, which is only some 12 kms (7.5 miles) from Damascus, where a first convoy with non-food supplies was allowed to enter on June 1.

U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura, speaking to reporters on Thursday, said Bashar al-Assads government had approved U.N. land convoys to 15 of 17 government-besieged areas in June. Air drops remain an option if the convoys did not move, he said.

As well as wheat flour and other foodstuffs, health and hygiene items for Darayas entire estimated population of 4,000 were delivered overnight and will be distributed by Red Crescent workers, Laerke said.

However of course we call for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all people in need, wherever they are, but in particular besieged and hard-to-reach areas where we have still about 4.6 million people living under these conditions in Syria, he added.

Some 1.9 tonnes of medicines for chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes as well as antibiotics and vitamins, from the World Health Organization were on the convoy, spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said.

However, the government did not approve delivery of three burns kits that would have been enough to treat about 30 people with dressings and pain killers, rejecting them from the approved list, he said.

Via TeleSur

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

CCTV: UN delivers food to Syrian town of Daraya for first time
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IMEMC | International Solidarity Movement | al-Khalil Team

For more than seven months, Israeli forces have kept a staircase leading to Qurtuba school and the surrounding neighbourhood in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), under closed military zone (CMZ) orders, blocking access for Palestinians only.

Despite the lifting of the closed military zone (CMZ) in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood and the tiny stretch of Shuhada Street that is still accessible for Palestinians, access to Qurtuba stairs has been kept blocked by Israeli forces for Palestinians to use. The access-restriction only applies for Palestinians though  who are entirely denied the use of the stairs  while settlers are free to use the stairs however they please.

The stairs, right at Daboya checkpoint mark the line where Palestinians are no longer allowed to proceed on Shuhada Street, as from there, on the street, is settlers-only. Therefore, the stairs were a major thoroughfare for Palestinians, as it is the only option to proceed when coming down this tiny strip of Shuhada Street which is accessible for Palestinians. Around 70 families have been depending on the stairs to access their homes through Shuhada Street. All of these families, with their homes further up from the stairs, are now forced to take a longer and more-strenuous detour through olive-groves. These families include old people, women, little children and sick people  none of whom will be allowed passage, regardless.

Additionally, the stairs have been the main access to the Muslim cemetry, as well as the second hand market in the Abu Sneineh neighbourhoood, which regularly attracts hundreds of people. With the access through the stairs closed, Israeli forces are effectively forcing all these Palestinians to take much longer detours, who, depending on the way, might even require a 15-minute taxi-ride.

With settlers, and most often internationals, allowed to use the stairs; there is no reason to keep up with the discriminatory blocking of access for Palestinians. On 1st July 2016, Israeli forces started registering some arbitrarily picked Palestinian families on Shuhada Street for the use of the Qurtuba stairs, refusing to register all the families actually depending on the access through their stairs to reach their homes. The arbitrariness of the Israeli decision  and, at times, the utter ridiculousness  was illustrated when Israeli forces at Daboya checkpoint denied a Palestinian man carrying a watermelon to pass up the stairs despite permission to pass  unless he would leave the watermelon. What kind of threat that watermelon would have posed to the Israeli forces, is a question that will probably never be answered.

This illustrates that the closure of the stairs is deliberately designed to keep Palestinians away  based on the simple fact that they are Palestinians  while everyone else can use the stairs without any problems. With an official closed military zone order in place, at the moment, it remains to be seen whether or not the Israeli forces will uphold this racist strategy which seems to be a continuation at an attempt of forced displacement and, thus, ethnic cleansing first implemented with the CMZ of the whole neighbourhood, now continued on a smaller scale.

Via IMEMC

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

Jerusalem Fund and Palestine Center: Settlements and Occupation: The Case of Hebron and Beyond
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Mustafa Habib | | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) |  

The battle for Fallujah will be long and hard. The Islamic State has prepared for a siege, is relying on foreign fighters and is spreading lies to persuade locals to fight. NIQASH spoke to those on the front line.

In the Nuaimiya area, south of the central Iraqi city of Fallujah, hundreds of members of the Iraqi armys elite counter-terrorism forces are behind three-metre dirt barricades. Only a few meters away from them are fighters from the extremist Islamic State group. Both groups are firing their weapons at one another continuously.

After just a few days of fighting we were able to control this strategic area, Nuaimiya, where there is a large dam, explains Captain Mohammed al-Rubaie, who is fighting here. The Islamic State had cut off the water to the southern part of the country But now weve reached the Shuhada area on the outskirts of the city.

According to al-Rubaie, since the operation to push the Islamic State, or IS, group out of Fallujah started on May 23, counter-terrorism forces have been attacking from the southern side of the city because it is closer to the city centre and because there are not so many agricultural areas here, where the extremists can hide. The federal police forces and Shiite Muslim volunteer militias have been attacking from the northern and eastern sides of the city. Despite his mens fatigue, al-Rubaie says the soldiers are still enthusiastic and they are waiting for further instructions to advance. However they also know that any attack cannot begin without US air support.

Still, even the counter-terrorism force has surprised by the IS groups response and preparation. In the terrain they have captured, they found dirt barricades built by the IS group. The barricades looked like they had been prepared weeks ago, as if the IS group knew which way the troops might come.

At one stage Iraqi commanders believed that the IS group was going to leave Fallujah. Now it seems the battle for the city will be long and hard.

Another surprising discovery were a series of secret tunnels that the IS group apparently planned to use to encircle attackers. The tunnels have caused anxiety among the anti-IS troops, with worries that there are more as yet undiscovered tunnels that could be used to ambush them.

The security forces discovered a big network of tunnels in southern Fallujah, Rajeh al-Issawi, a local politician who heads Anbars provincial security committee, told NIQASH. It was used for hiding and secretly transporting weapons around the city. Its similar to what the IS group did in Ramadi.

According to reports given to the Iraqi armys operations room, based in Baghdads Green Zone, there are estimated to be between 700 and 1,000 IS fighters still in Fallujah. However they are apparently moving around the city very cautiously out of fear of air strikes by the international coalition.

Information is being supplied by informants inside Fallujah, a senior military commander working in the operations room in Baghdad, told NIQASH; he spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject. We get important information from inside Fallujah every day, the source said. We still have many informants inside the city who send us word of the extremists movements and bases.

One of the things that the command had heard was that the head of the IS group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had made major changes to the IS military leadership inside the city, stripping Iraqis of power and giving it to foreign fighters.

A combat battalion, named the Uzbek Battalion, is now fighting the Iraqi army; it has about 300 members from places like Chechnya and Uzbekistan, the military source in Baghdad said. Members of this group are among IS strongest fighters and theyre deployed in all of the groups important cities, such as Mosul, Fallujah and Qaim, as well as in the countryside around Aleppo in Syria.

At one stage Iraqi commanders believed that the IS group was going to leave Fallujah, just as they did other cities like Heet and Al Rutba. However it seems that the extremists have decided to try and defend the city, which they have controlled since early 2014. Now it seems that the battle for Fallujah will be long and hard it is also clear that all parties will need to cooperate: This includes Iran, the US, the Iraqi army and Sunni and Shiite Muslim militias.

Beatings and torture by volunteer militias have already been reported and one official says the worst cases are not even being documented yet.

During the first week or so, the IS groups fighters did not initiate any clashes and withdrew from the suburbs into the city centre. On May 28, the IS group first attacked as Iraqi forces approached Fallujahs southern gates, sending vehicles filled with explosives toward the troops.

The IS group uses dozens of explosive-laden vehicles, suicide bombers and snipers, says Abdallah al-Halbusi, a member of one of the newly formed regiments made up of members of local tribes in Anbar.

The military vehicles that the IS group stole two years ago are now being used as traps, al-Halbusi explains. They can carry a lot of explosives and its very hard to stop them.

The exploding vehicles create chaos and dust, after which dozens of suicide bombers are sent, firing weapons, toward the anti-IS forces. When they run out of ammunition they detonate their explosives and kill themselves.

The IS group also seems to have better snipers than the Iraqi army, al-Halbusi notes. They target the wheels of military vehicles and then when the vehicles are brought to a halt, they attack, al-Halbusi explains. Our only option is to rely on air raids by the US.

A few days ago the IS group released a video that it said had been filmed in southern Fallujah. It showed a member of the Shiite Muslim volunteer militias beating displaced locals with a stick and insulting them. The video was shot by local witnesses and is thought to be genuine but the IS group simply edited it into a longer video that also contained instructions on how to fight the pro-government forces.

The IS group has also tried to spread rumours saying that if the Shiite Muslim volunteer militias make it into the city, then they will kill the local people and steal their property. In some cases they may not be wrong; beatings and torture have already been reported in the media and by local witnesses. One official says the worst cases are not even being documented. The latest media reports revolve around the deaths of around a hundred locals in the Saqlawiyah area, north of Fallujah, apparently buried in a mass grave.

There is no doubt that there have been lapses of discipline and a desire to take revenge on those they suspect of collaborating with the IS group, among members of the Shiite Muslim volunteer militias. Although many in Iraq see them as heroes and defenders, the volunteer fighters, who are not held accountable by any professional military code, have acted controversially in the past.

One of the militias most senior leaders, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes of Hezbollah in Iraq, apparently tried to make amends for some of these infractions. Al-Mohandes met with some of the displaced people of Fallujah who were living in temporary camps around the city.

Why do you treat us like this? one old Iraqi man asked al-Mohandes. We are Iraqis just like you. Why do you allow a young fighter to slap my face and insult me?

Thousands of locals who lived on the outskirts of Fallujah have been able to escape the city; many are now staying in areas controlled by the Iraqi government, albeit in some fairly bad conditions. However those residents inside the central city have not been allowed to leave.

During the first week of fighting the IS group executed a whole family that was trying to escape the city in secret, Anbar provincial council member, Nahla al-Rawi, told NIQASH. This created a lot of fear among the citys population.

Via Niqash.org



Related video added by Juan Cole:

VICE News: Fighting the Islamic State with Iraqs Golden Division: The Road to Fallujah
California Governor Edmund Brown [official website] signed [press release] a bill into law on Friday that attempts to allow undocumented immigrants to purchase healthcare plans. The bill, SB 10 [text] , allows the healthcare exchanges set up in the state to seek a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) [official website] to ensure that individuals who are able to afford healthcare but cannot due to their immigration status are legally able to purchase plans offered in conjunction with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) [text, PDF]. SB 10 would only require the collection of pertinent information in order to establish identity to allow those with an undocumented status to purchase plans without their immigration status being a factor. The bill also mandates that individuals who purchase healthcare under the waiver do so without state and federal assistance or intervention. The bill asks for immediate relief from the federal government in order to ensure the peace and health of the public.

Immigration policy and the ACA, the two issued directly addressed by SB 10, are highly contested domestic policy platforms of the Obama administration. The US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] in April ruled in favor [JURIST report] of House Republicans in a challenge to the ACA. The US Supreme Court [official website] heard [JURIST report] oral arguments also in April in United States v. Texas [transcript, PDF] on the Obama administrations controversial immigration policy. Last week the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] asked [JURIST report] a federal appeals court to vacate the sanctions imposed by a district judge, which are part of the ongoing immigration debate where 26 states sued over the immigration policy. The sanctions [JURIST report] require any DOJ lawyer appearing in court in any of the 26 states to undergo a mandatory ethics class.
[JURIST] South African President Jacob Zuma, along with the state prosecutor, began an appeal on Friday of a ruling reinstating 783 corruption charges [JURIST report] against him. The charges were initially dropped by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) [official website] in 2009, opening his bid for the presidency. The High Court last April ordered a review of the decision of the irrational decision by the NPA. NPA officials, including NPA lawyer Hilton Epstein, believe the court exceeded its authority and that the prosecutors have a certain discretion in deciding when to bring charges. The NPA believes the decision of the High Court will dilute their own power. The corruption charges are linked [BBC report] to Zumas alleged participation in a 1999 arms deal worth billions of dollars and are believed by Zuma to be an attempt to thwart his chances in the upcoming presidential election. The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) called the appeal a delaying tactic.

The South African president has been embroiled in legal trouble for the past several months. Zuma evaded impeachment [JURIST report] in April after the African National Congress (ANC) [official website] reaffirmed its support for the president. The move to impeach Zuma came from opposition leaders after the Constitutional Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in March that he had ignored the order of the Public Protector to personally repay the amounts determined by the National Treasury, as they relate to the non-security upgrades to his private residence. Zuma has been at the center of political controversy for years. Zuma was ousted [JURIST report] as the countrys deputy president in 2005 after an aide was convicted of corruption. He was also charged with rape, but he was ultimately acquitted and reinstated [JURIST report] as African National Congress deputy vice president. In July 2008 the South African Constitutional Court rejected a motion [JURIST report] by Zuma to exclude evidence from the corruption trial. Zuma had argued [JURIST report] that evidence seized in 2005 raids by the Directorate of Special Investigations should be thrown out because the raids violated his rights to privacy and a fair trial. The court upheld the warrants used in the raids, confirming a November 2007 decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal. He was first charged with corruption in 2005, but those charges were later dismissed [JURIST reports] because prosecutors failed to follow proper procedures.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] on Friday cautioned [press release] Israel that their response to the deadly Tel Aviv attack earlier this week may be violating international law by implementing prohibitive collective punishment. The Israeli government cancelled 83,000 travel permits to Gaza and West Bank residents, preventing Palestinians residents from traveling to Israel during Ramadan. They also suspended 204 work permits previously granted to the extended families of the alleged attackers. The High Commissioner condemned the deadly attacks against Israel and expressed that they have an obligation to bring the perpetrators to justice but not to punish possibly thousands of innocent Palestinians in the process. He stated:

We are also deeply concerned at the response of the Israeli authorities, which includes measures that may amount to prohibited collective punishment and will only increase the sense of injustice and frustration felt by Palestinians in this very tense time. The response has included . . . the sealing off of their entire home town by the Israeli security forces.

The attack that triggered the permit action occurred on Wednesday when four Israelis were killed by gunfire and several more were injured.

The increase in violence in the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict [HRW backgrounder] has created a contentious human rights situation. The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT), a body of independent experts, released [JURIST report] closing remarks to its fifty-seventh session in May, expressing concern about the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against Palestinians. An Israeli court in April convicted[JURIST report] Yosef Haim for the 2014 murder of a Palestinian teenager that led to a 50-day war in Gaza. UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories Makarim Wibisono [official profile] resigned [JURIST report] from his position in January, saying that Israel has not granted him access to the Occupied Palestinian Territory after repeated requests.
KEARNEY - A judge went against attorneys' recommendations Wednesday and gave a Kearney man the maximum prison sentence for sexually assaulting a child.

"The act that you committed is reprehensible and intolerable," John Icenogle, Buffalo County District Court Judge told Scott Bevard Wednes-day.

Bevard, 34, was sentenced 2 to five years in prison for felony sexual assault of a child in rural Kearney. The charge involves Bevard subjecting a child under the age of 12 to sexual penetration between November 2005 and November 2006.

Icenogle gave Bevard three days credit for time already served in jail. Under the state's sentencing guidelines, Bevard must serve half of the lower term of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Nearly all prisoners are released after they've served half of the upper term.

Although there was a plea agreement between Bevard's Kearney attorney Jeff Wirth and Deputy Buffalo County Attorney Melanie Young, Icenogle doesn't have to follow that recommendation.

In December, Bevard pleaded no contest to sexual assault of a child, a Class IIIA felony, in exchange for the charge being reduced from a Class IB felony.

A Class IIIA felony is punishable by up to five years in prison, while a Class IB felony is punishable by a minimum of 20 years in prison to life.

During Wednesday's hearing Wirth said Bevard pleaded to the lesser charge after realizing the amount of time he could face in prison if he were convicted on the original charge. Wirth said Grand Island psychologist John Meidlinger determined Bevard was a low to medium risk to re-offend and suggested Bevard undergo intensive outpatient treatment for sex offenders.

Young said the state probation office determined Bevard qualified for probation, but also asked that he be given substantial jail time.

"I don't think the defendant (Bevard) has taken any responsibility for this crime," she said.

Bevard's actions not only traumatized the victim, but financially damaged her family.

"Without his recognition that he has hurt this child, it's going to be hard to treat him," Young said.

As a convicted sex offender, Bevard must now register with the Nebraska State Patrol for the next 10 years.

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CENTRAL CITY  One person died and two were injured after a crash on Thursday in Merrick County.

The two-vehicle accident happened at 3:47 p.m. at the intersection of 14th and T roads in Merrick County, according to a press release from the Merrick County Sheriffs Department.

A red 2006 Mitsubishi was traveling south on 14th Road and entered the intersection while a 2005 Peterbilt straight truck traveling east on T Road entered the intersection. The vehicles were unable to avoid the collision, according to the release.

Theresa Ahrens, 50, of Loup City was the driver of the Mitsubishi and was pronounced dead at the scene. Ahrens had two passengers, Alexis McGann, 15, and Sadie McGann, 17, who were both life-flighted to a medical care facility for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the press release.

A spokeswoman from Litzenberg Memorial County Hospital said the two patients were flown to Bryan West Medical Center in Lincoln. However, a spokeswoman at Bryan West said she didnt have a record for the McGanns and had no further details.

The Nebraska State Patrol, which is investigating the crash, didnt have information on where Alexis and Sadie were from or their relationship to Ahrens.

The truck driver, Jacob Kuntz, 21, of Genoa, wasnt injured or transported.

All involved were wearing seat belts, and alcohol wasnt a factor, according to the State Patrol. All families have been contacted, and no charges were filed.

The Nebraska State Patrol, Central City Police Department, Merrick County Sheriffs Department, Central City Fire and Rescue and the Central City ambulance responded to the crash.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., is trying to knock down a proposal to require women to register for the draft.

This fight  about women in the draft  is entirely unnecessary, Sasse said during a recent floor speech, noting that the draft hasnt been used since 1972. And wisdom should be nudging us to try to avoid unnecessary fighting.

Its a position that puts him at odds with fellow GOP senators from Nebraska and Iowa, who say the time has come for co-ed registration now that all military positions have been opened to women.

That includes Sen. Deb Fischer, Sasses home-state colleague and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

I just think if men are going to have to register for Selective Service, women should, too, Fischer told The World-Herald. Its a responsibility that I think women should meet.

Language to expand the draft was included in the defense authorization bill now pending before the Senate and expected to pass early next week.

The House Armed Services Committee previously approved expanding the draft to women on a bipartisan vote. Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., a member of that committee, supported the change.

But after conservatives objected to the provision, Republicans stripped it out before the bill reached the House floor. That prompted an outcry from Democrats, who said GOP leaders were ducking a fight.

Assuming that the Senate presses forward, the two versions of the bill will have to be reconciled before going to the president.

Reps. David Young of Iowa and Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, both Republicans, said Friday that they are still mulling it over.

I want to bring this up at my dinner table, said Fortenberry, who has five daughters. I would like to hear the perspective of the family.

Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., issued a statement saying he supports the House-passed version, which calls for more study.

In the Senate, Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah have been outspoken in their opposition. Opponents say the change was crafted behind closed doors and would restrict womens freedom.

Various advocacy groups, including the Family Research Council, have denounced the idea of women in the draft.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, is among the supporters and has cited testimony from the top officers of the Marine Corps and the Army, who both favor extending the draft to women.

Other supporters include Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the first female veteran in the U.S. Senate and a member of the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, noted that the Supreme Court once upheld the constitutionality of requiring only men to register on the grounds that women were unable to serve in combat roles. Thats no longer true.

Sen. Grassley supports treating women and men equally as the Constitution requires, according to a statement that also called for studying whether draft registration is needed at all.

Indeed, Sasse questioned why lawmakers would wrangle over expanding the draft when the military is happy with the current all-volunteer approach.

Why are we now fighting about drafting our sisters and our mothers and our daughters into a draft that no one anywhere is telling us that they need? Sasse said.

He described the debate as a partisan culture war and offered an amendment that would drop the draft expansion. In its place, the amendment would end draft registration three years from now unless Congress acted. The amendment also would require the defense secretary to consult military leaders and report back to Congress on the merits of the Selective Service System.

Supporters of including women in the draft have argued that it does not mean they would necessarily be handed rocket launchers and sent into combat.

Conscription does not mean that you would go to the front lines, Fischer said. Right now when people volunteer to be in the military, the military works with them to decide where best to place them. That would continue.
Soon-to-be Bremerton High School graduate Lauren Hollkamp hugs students at View Ridge Elementary School on Friday. Members of the Bremerton class of 2016 visited their former elementary schools, just hours before their graduation ceremony, both to reminisce and to provide an example for the younger students. (RACHEL ANNE SEYMOUR / KITSAP SUN)

SHARE Elizabeth Elam runs through a crowd of Armin Jahr Elementary School students Friday. Soon-to-be Bremerton High School graduates receive congratulations from elementary students on Friday. Members of the Bremerton High School class of 2016 receive congratulations from elementary students on Friday. (RACHEL ANNE SEYMOUR / KITSAP SUN) Jennifer Henderson high-fives Armin Jahr Elementary School students Friday. (RACHEL ANNE SEYMOUR / KITSAP SUN)

By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun

EAST BREMERTON  Armin Jahr Elementary School was larger last time Michael Lehman saw it.

"It shrank!" the cap-and-gown clad Bremerton High School senior exclaimed as he and a bus-full of his classmates approached the school.

Rather, he got bigger.

"I remember walking up to the front desk and not being able to see over it," Lehman said. "And now, I'm like towering over half the teachers."

More than 110 members of Bremerton's senior class made the journey Friday to their elementary alma maters, wearing the same gowns they donned later that night for their graduation ceremony. It's the first year of what the Bremerton School District hopes will become a tradition, as much for the nostalgia the seniors experience as for the inspiration they can provide their younger counterparts.

"I think it's really exciting for them to be able to say, 'I get to wear that someday,'" said Abe Bartlett, Bremerton's senior class president and a former student at both West Hills and Naval Avenue.

The idea came from a Texas high school, whose images went viral after its seniors journeyed the halls of the local elementary schools. Joelle Lovestedt, treasurer of Bremerton's PTSA Council, started promoting the idea; she got support from her colleagues and the district gave the OK.

"I thought it would be 'full circle,' for everybody," she said.

At Armin Jahr and View Ridge elementary schools, many students had made notes to give to the seniors as they made their way through the hallways, gymnasiums and classrooms of their old schools.

"You inspire me to do well in high school and gradguate," one note read. " I want to grow up as you one day!!!"

There were lots of hugs, high-fives and even some tears.

"They're gonna be in college, they'll be older and they will get a good job," pointed out Armin Jahr student Hannah Croll, who said she aspires to be an educator. "It showed me that I can graduate and be a teacher."

"I don't think I knew what college was when I was that little," class of 2016 valedictorian Michelle Asencio said as she boarded the bus back for the high school.

Asencio and other seniors also got the chance to see and thank some of their former teachers. Asencio reunited with her fourth and fifth grade teacher, Rita Dearey, at View Ridge, where she still teaches. Asencio recalled she learned about the University of Washington when she was in Dearey's class.

In the fall, she'll be a student there.

"I got a hug for graduating," she said, "and a second hug for going to the UW."
By Andrew Binion of the Kitsap Sun

PORT ORCHARD  A woman recruited by a suspected meth dealer to help steal money from a bank account  who unbeknownst to the meth dealer was a police informant  this week told a Kitsap Superior Court jury that she called the police after suspects in the case stole her car and then threatened her with a gun.

That call helped police get a head start on the investigation of the death of Robert Archie Hood, 89, who was killed in December as part of a robbery at his Tracyton house.

On Thursday, Alicia Small, 33, said she had never met Robert Lavalle Davis, 47, before he brought her into the alleged conspiracy to take money from Hood's bank accounts using documents stolen from his house. Small told jurors that her boyfriend introduced her to Davis.

Small was facing drug charges and had been working as a confidential informant for Sheriff's Office detectives, though she continued to use meth. She is facing possession of stolen property charges in the Hood case, but told jurors she was promised a lighter sentence for her testimony.

Davis is charged with being an accomplice to Hood's murder. He allegedly helped plan the robbery, took some of the spoils and drove Robert Lee Pry, 29, and Joshua Owen Rodgers Jones, 27, to Hood's residence so they could rob the retired Puget Sound Naval Shipyard worker.

Also currently on trial is Arnold Cruz, 47, accused of helping dispose of Hood's body.

Rodgers Jones, like Pry, is charged with first-degree murder. Pry's sister, Shawna Dudley Pry, 31, is charged with being an accomplice to murder. The two are scheduled for trial in November.

Lawyers for Davis and Robert Pry prodded witnesses about discrepancies in their testimony and statements they gave to investigators.

Another witness for the state, Pry's friend Jacob Scott Spears, 27, told jurors on Thursday that when the two men were reunited in the Kitsap County Jail earlier this year, Pry told him he had been Hood's house and clubbed the 89-year-old.

Pry's attorney, Tim Drury, challenged Spears on the stand, cornering him until he admitted that the specifics he claimed Pry shared with him were circulated in media reports.

"I only know what I was told," Spears said, who exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Pry before testifying. Spears, of Kingston, also told jurors that he carried a letter from Pry to Pry's aunt, asking her to help find people who could discredit the statements made by Ocean A. Wilson, 20, a girlfriend of Pry's. Wilson had testified earlier in the trial that she was in the car with Pry, Davis and Rodgers Jones when Davis dropped off the two men accused of killing Hood.

Small said Davis wanted her help, believing she was a "paper shark," slang for an identity thief.

"He said he had an account he wanted me to work on," Small said, who noted that Davis gave her $1,000 cash. Cash had been reported missing from Hood's house by a longtime friend of Hood's, who regularly checked on the retiree.

"I took it as payment for accounting, doing the account part," Small said, telling jurors that Davis seemed nervous. "I thought he might just have been high."

The night of the robbery, after being recruited to help drain Hood's account and while sitting in a Fife motel room with the group, Small said she overheard chatter of having to dispose of a body, and Davis saying that the "job" had been "messy" or "dirty."

Small tried to use her laptop to transfer money from Hood's account to another, but was unsuccessful. While in the motel room, Small said she got into a "scuffle" with Pry's sister, Dudley Pry, when Small demanded her car back. The car actually belonged to a friend, but Small never saw it again. It was allegedly used by Pry and Rodgers Jones in an attempt to hide Hood's body near Port Ludlow. However, the pair got the car, and their shoes, stuck in the mud, according to testimony, and turned to Cruz for help.

What ended the "scuffle" over the car was Pry threatening to kill her, Small said.

"(Pry) put a gun to my head and told me to stop," Small said.

After having her car stolen, and then being threatened with a gun, Small went back to Bremerton, found a way to leave her new companions and a short time later she said she called Sheriff's Office Detective Jason Bowman, relating what she knew about the robbery.

Small didn't know Hood's full name, but passed along enough information that Bowman was able to identify Hood as the possible victim before he was reported missing by a friend.

In court documents, Bowman wrote that Small contacted him Dec. 19, "upset and crying," asking to speak to him immediately.

Testimony resumes on Monday, and prosecutors told Judge Jennifer Forbes they anticipated finishing their case by the end of the week.
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By Ed Marcum of the Knoxville News Sentinel

They may not realize it, but middle-income families looking to buy their first home might be able to get some state assistance, Ralph M. Perrey, executive director of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, said Friday.

A Tennessee couple with a combined annual income of no more than $62,000 could be eligible for assistance toward buying a home from funds available through the agency, Perrey said.

"The income limits we serve are probably higher than a lot of people would imagine," he said.

Perrey has been making the rounds of news organizations, trying to get the word out about the agency's programs in an effort to increase participation in East Tennessee. He stopped by the News Sentinel Friday.

"Our typical customer is going to come to us with household income of about $58,000," Perrey said. "They have a credit score in the high six hundreds and they need some help from us for their down payment or closing costs in order to buy a house that in this area is worth about $130,000."

The Housing Development Agency works with lenders, real estate professionals, builders, nonprofit and for-profit organizations and planners to help communities meet housing needs. Its mission is to expand affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate income Tennesseans.

The organization does this by offering 30-year mortgages at fixed rates for qualifying homebuyers. Generally, a buyer must meet an income level requirement and be a first-time buyer, but the first-time buyer requirement is waived if the property is in a "targeted" area.

The agency is based in Nashville and most of its activities seem to be in serving counties in Middle Tennessee, Perrey said. However, the agency became aware that East Tennessee, which holds about 40 percent of the state's population, accounted for only about 23 percent of the agency's mortgage business. Perrey said this percentage has held to about 2014, but an effort has been made to increase that percentage by being more aggressive in approaching lenders, real estate agents and others. Perrey and other officials have been touring East Tennessee and the agency has been putting more staff in the counties they serve.

The result, Perrey said, is that in 2015, East Tennessee accounted for about 43 percent of the agency's mortgage business. He said he believes that percentage can go higher.

"So many good things happen to the economy when housing gets going, and housing traditionally gets going when the first time buyer is in the market, and that is an important role that we play," he said.

Information on the agency's programs is online at www.greatchoicetn.com.
The Cave House is one of many historic homes in Abingdon. Legend has it that wolves in a cave underneath the home attacked Daniel Boone.

By Clayton Hensley, Special to the News Sentinel

Virginia is for Lovers, at least that's been the state's tourism slogan for decades. Whether it's a love for history, love for the arts, or a love of adventure, you are sure to find what you're looking for in and around Abingdon, Va.

Known throughout the world for the Barter Theater and the Martha Washington Inn, Abingdon, about 15 minutes northeast of Bristol and the Tennessee border, is the gateway to national trails, small towns filled with surprises and scenic rivers ready to explore.

Strolling through history

Back in 1779, weary travelers would stop at a small tavern along what is now Main Street in Abingdon. The timeworn building with moss-covered roof is still standing and still serving up meals. The Tavern, as it is called now, is the oldest building in this Virginia town filled with antebellum structures and ones rebuilt shortly after the Civil War. That includes the Washington County Courthouse, which comes complete with a Tiffany stained glass window above its entrance.

While the Martha Washington Inn remains the most recognized place to stay the night, many historic homes offer overnight lodging There are even vacation rentals like "The Crooked Cabin" just down the street from The Tavern. Built in 1780, this small log cabin was moved into town in the early 1900s.

Historic Trails

At the height of the Revolutionary War, 400 men gathered in Abingdon to set out on a journey over the mountains and down to South Carolina to fend off the forces of the British Empire. The Overmountain Men, as they were called, were successful in changing the course of the war. Today, the Abingdon Muster Grounds serves as the northern trailhead of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, a motor route following closely the path soldiers took to the battlefield at King's Mountain.

Several miles away, a Class M locomotive sits underneath a large covered shelter. Her nickname is "Mollie," and she represents an era when trains rolled out of Abingdon and creeped up the steep slopes of the nearby mountains to head into North Carolina. The line was called the "Virginia Creeper," named after a native plant, but also a reference to the speed of the trains loaded with freight and passengers.

Today, the rail bed where trains like Mollie used to run is filled with people setting out on foot and bicycles to enjoy the scenic wonders along the Virginia Creeper Trail. Just rent a bicycle at the Virginia Creeper Bike Shop near the start of the trail, or set out on foot and creep along at your own pace as you pass by picturesque farms, rolling hills, the South Fork of the Holston River and the wilds of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.

ADVENTURE Mendota

A new outdoor adventure is drawing people to a remote section of the North Fork of the Holston River. Situated in Mendota near the Washington/Scott County line, Eva Beaule's Adventure Mendota offers kayaking and tubing expeditions as well as a shuttle service for people with their own equipment. The area is called Poor Valley, but its rich beauty makes this a treasure to behold. Just the drive to Mendota leaves you in awe as the steep mountains rise above the landscape and the vibrant colors along the valley floor stretch as far as the eye can see.

The launching point for tubing is beneath a classic (but very steady) swinging bridge hanging high above the river. Just a short distance upstream the water cascades over small shoals in the river. From this point, it takes about an hour to get back to Adventure Mendota. The water is gentle, and although you are almost always in view of the road, don't expect to see many cars. As the river gently curves around a large bend, rocky bluffs on the other side come into view along with the occasional glimpse of wildlife. Kayaking expeditions last even longer, and Eva says that stretch of river is even more remote and beautiful.

Meadowview Miracle

The farm-to-table dining concept is sweeping the country, but in the community of Meadowview, just a few minutes outside of Abingdon, the concept is fueling a renaissance. Buildings on the square that were close to demolition a few years ago are teeming with new life. At the center of this entrepreneurial venture is the Harvest Table Restaurant. Owned by bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver and her husband, Steven Hopp, a former Emory & Henry College professor, the restaurant and the general store beside it have become big draws for tourists and locals alike.

The menu at the Harvest Table changes frequently as the key ingredient of its success has been the idea of always providing locally sourced foods. The seed for this business was planted in Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." Now, her family runs a farm that supplies much of the food for the restaurant. If you can't make it by Meadowview to eat, you might catch the folks at the Harvest Table at local farmers' markets, including the one in Abingdon is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The Country General Store next door operates with a similar goal of offering arts and crafts and locally sourced products, including corn meal and flour produced at the historic Whites Mill, about six miles outside of Abingdon.

Meadowview's entrepreneurial spirit isn't limited to the town square. A new bed-and-breakfast called The Highlander sits along Hillman Highway not far from the town square. It's hard to miss the bright green siding and wrap-around porch.

And while you're in Meadowview, there's a chance you might just get kissed by an alpaca. David and Debbie Mcleish moved to this part of Virginia from Massachusetts. They renovated an old farmhouse and had a couple of horses. However, those horses weren't eating the grass quickly enough, and David found a solution to his mowing dilemma: alpacas. The horses are gone and the Mcleishes now have more than 50 alpacas and a few other animals. The Dreamland Alpaca Farm invites people to come and learn more about the alpacas, get close to them and buy products made with their exquisite fibers.

Emory & Henry College

Statues of American statesman Patrick Henry and Methodist Bishop John Emory stand proudly in front of the Kelly Library on the campus of the college bearing their names. Founded in 1836, this small Methodist college was recently named by Best College Reviews as one of the most historically notable colleges in America, primarily for the role the college played in the Civil War. When nearby Martha Washington College (now the Martha Washington Inn) closed, the women from there ended up coming to E&H. Today, the campus is a National Historic District, with many of its building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In recent years, the college has been working to expand the concept of community beyond just its academic presence. Across the railroad tracks from campus, visitors will find a Macado's Restaurant, a southwest Virginia favorite; the Emory Mercantile; The Emory House Bed & Breakfast; and the 1912 Art Gallery in the historic train depot. Just recently, Emory & Henry opened the McGlothlin Center for the Arts at the center of campus. It houses two theaters, an art gallery and the campus radio station, WEHC-FM. The center is on track to be a regional destination for both the performing and visual arts.
Campbell County Judge Amanda Sammons, left, answers questions from Kristie Anderson's attorney Herb Moncier, right, as she testified Friday, June 10, 2016 about a contempt petition filed against Anderson. Special Judge Darryl Edmondson concluded that Anderson was not in contempt and nothing further could be done in his courtroom. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)

SHARE Special Judge Darryl Edmondson concluded that attorney Kristie Anderson was not in contempt and nothing further could be done in his courtroom Friday, June 10, 2016. Campbell County Judge Amanda Sammons testified about a contempt petition filed against Anderson. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Campbell County Judge Amanda Sammons testifies Friday, June 10, 2016 about a contempt petition filed against attorney Kristie Anderson. Sammons was being questioned by Anderson's attorney Herb Moncier. Special Judge Darryl Edmondson concluded that Anderson was not in contempt and nothing further could be done in his courtroom. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Related Coverage Campbell judge indicted, suspended from bench

By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel

JACKSBORO, Tenn.  A Campbell County judge on Friday insisted she told the truth about her actions in a case but reversed course within minutes of that assertion.

She faces no ethics charges so far in that case.

Campbell County General Sessions Judge Amanda Sammons first testified at a hearing Friday that a Knoxville attorney asked her in September 2014 for criminal contempt action against a fellow attorney in a divorce case. The action is known as a show-cause order and requires the accused party  in this case Campbell County attorney Kristie Anderson, represented by attorney Herbert S. Moncier  to appear in court to answer a complaint of contemptuous behavior.

But when repeatedly pressed to answer "yes or no" on whether attorney Larry Vaughan moved for such an order, Sammons changed course, conceding Vaughan did not.

"I did it on my own volition," Sammons answered.

Vaughan already had denied in testimony earlier Friday that he asked Sammons for the contempt petition against Anderson. A court clerk who witnessed the September 2014 exchange between Sammons and Vaughan also testified Vaughan never asked the judge to issue the show-cause order.

Despite the testimony, including Sammons' reversal on the witness stand, Special Judge Darryl Edmondson said he would not file an ethics complaint against Sammons with the state Board of Judicial Conduct.

"There is nothing that has happened in front of this court  that would require or necessitate this court to take any further action," Edmondson said.

Sammons already faces several ethics complaints, including at least one lodged by a fellow judge. The board, which polices judges, has confirmed an ongoing probe. She is also under a criminal probe by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for allegedly boosting a charge against a LaFollette, Tenn., woman without authority and then lying about it from the bench and in a written order.

The News Sentinel has detailed a series of incidents in which Sammons has been accused of acting without authority, including refusing to drop charges against the wrongfully accused, ordering children removed from their homes and assessing a fee without approval of the state Legislature.

The question of whether Sammons committed perjury arose last week in what was supposed to be a hearing before Edmondson on the contempt action filed against Anderson in September 2014 in a divorce case. Edmondson delayed the hearing after Sammons said under oath it was Vaughan, not her, who sought the action against Anderson. Vaughan wasn't at that hearing.

Edmondson later questioned at last week's hearing whether Sammons may need an attorney. Records show Campbell County's insurer refused to provide one this week, although it is not clear who sought a taxpayer-funded attorney for Sammons. Campbell County attorney Joe Coker has not returned a phone message left Thursday.

Sammons declined after Friday's hearing to answer any questions from the News Sentinel, including whether she has hired an attorney to handle the other probes against her.

Edmondson concluded Anderson was not guilty of criminal contempt. Sammons has alleged in prior court hearings Anderson purposely failed to show up for a hearing in the divorce case that pitted her against Vaughan as a sign of "disrespect" and had a history of contemptuous behavior in Sammons' court in the weeks after Sammons was elected in 2014. There was no proof offered at Friday's hearing that Anderson received notice to show up on the day in question or had behaved inappropriately in Sammons' court.

"The court cannot find any evidence under any version of proof there has been any contempt on the part of Ms. Anderson," Edmondson said. "The court finds Ms. Anderson is not in contempt of court. To make Mr. Moncier happy, I will use the words 'not guilty.' "

Sammons also said at Friday's hearing she "conceded" she wrote a handwritten note on the day of the September 2014 proceeding in question in which she stated, "Judge Sammons issued a show cause for why plaintiff and (Anderson) should not be held in contempt." In that same note, Sammons wrote, "Judge is considering holding both (Anderson and her client) in criminal contempt for 10 days."

Sammons admitted she took the note from the court file after Circuit Judge John McAfee ordered her removed from the contempt case and has kept it in her office since. She denied any nefarious intent, saying she had changed her mind on the overall practice of placing her notes in court files. The timing with McAfee's order, she said, was coincidental.

The News Sentinel has reviewed at least two files this year in which Sammons' notes were included.
Children cool off in the fountains at World's Fair Park on Friday, June 10, 2016. Temperatures are forecast to rise into the mid-90s over the coming weekend. ADAM LAU/ NEWS SENTINEL

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By Benjamin Webb of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Temperatures will reach the mid-90s this weekend as East Tennesseans hit the outdoors for one summer festival after another.

Those events include the Knoxville Track Club Annual Picnic, the Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge, the Big Kahuna Wings festival and the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley's Bark in the Park  all set for Saturday.

The Knoxville Track Club has already announced the planned 7K run will be shortened to between a 4K and a 5K course, citing heat concerns.

Katie Crossen of the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley said "Bark in the Park" is ready for the heat.

"We have multiple cooldown pools for dogs, several misting tents, tons of water and at least one tent where people can sit down and relax in," Crossen said. "The heat may affect turnout. People with longhair dogs may want to stay home, but we hope a lot of people will still show up."

Crossen said that a fundraiser is set for Sunday at Alter Ego Tattoo from 1-3 p.m. for anyone who cannot attend the Bark in the Park event.

Naomi Thompson, festival coordinator for the Secret City Festival, said the staff asks everyone who attends to "hydrate and take it easy," and that there will also be emergency medical workers on site in case of an emergency.

The Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tenn., will also be affected by similar temperatures throughout the weekend.

The temperatures are fairly high, even for this time of the year.

"The normal temperature is around 84 degrees for this time." said Jessica Winton, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Morristown. "This temperature is not unusual. It just has not happened in a while."

Forecasts calling for temperatures exceeding 90 degrees through Tuesday. In addition to the high temperatures, cloud coverage is expected to be low, and rain is not expected until Tuesday.

"Monday will be hit or miss. There's only a 20% chance of rain." Winton said. "Tuesday or Wednesday will be the best bet for rain, although it's a little bit too far out to say with certainty."

According to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, anyone spending time outdoors in such heat should consume plenty of fluids regardless of activity, protect skin with SPF 15 sunscreen or higher that offers UVA/UVB protection, limit exposure to the sun during mid-day hours, wear light-colored and loose-fitting clothing and avoid alcohol.

Infants and children up to 4 years old, people age 65 and older and the overweight are all more susceptible to heat-related illnesses.

For those who plan on staying indoors during the heat, the Tennessee Valley Authority has issued tips on ways to save money on air conditioning during the heat.

The ideal temperature setting for a thermostat is 75 degrees, which will maximize savings. Changes to the thermostat should be only 2 or 3 degrees once every four hours so as not to force the unit to work more than necessary. Curtains should cover the south and west windows to keep sunlight out of the house during the warmest times of the day.
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The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present "The Mysterious World of Lightning Bugs" on Thursday.

Participants will learn about the life cycle of the firefly, what makes fireflies glow, the various species in the area and how to identify the species by their flashes, how scientists and the military have used them and the "synchronization phenomenon"  a rare occurrence where fireflies' lights flash on and off at the same time.

As the sun begins to set, attendees will move outside to observe and attempt to catch fireflies. The fireflies will be released at the end of the evening.

"June is a great time for fireflies," said Niki Nicholas, superintendent of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. "As you may or may not know, a lot of places don't have fireflies. ... It really is an amazing thing to see lights start flashing in the evening."

The event is scheduled from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge, 901 S. Illinois Ave.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park was founded in November to preserve the history surrounding the creation of the atomic bomb.

The park consists of three locations where scientists worked to engineer the weapon: Los Alamos, N.M.; Hanford, Wash.; and Oak Ridge.

This year marks the 100th birthday of the National Park Service.

"The centennial is an amazing opportunity to talk about all the national parks and for people to find whatever park is nearby," Nicholas said.

For more information on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, visit the park's website at www.nps.gov/mapr or call 865-576-6767.
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Conservatives often complain about "the protected class du jour," yet none of these people ever seem to question why it's OK that everyone else needs to be protected from them. The current debate about which bathroom transgender people will be allowed to use is a perfect illustration.

The Republican Party has decided to pass laws regulating who goes to the bathroom and where. Since there is no universe where this is not an intolerable invasion of privacy, they've had to get a little creative. They have attacked transwomen in particular, stereotyping transwomen as some non-specified "threat" to cisgender women.

In reality, during conflicts between transpeople and cispeople in the bathroom, the cisperson nearly always initiates it and usually wins.

Transpeople want the same thing everybody wants from the bathroom they want to do their business and get out. But they have to deal with more than just the possibility someone will question their right to be there. People will often physically attack them for being transgender. The bathroom isn't a place where they are likely to call attention to themselves, and they aren't sneaking into the "wrong" bathroom to engage in criminal activity, whatever some people might think.

The idea that transgender is a "protected class" is patently absurd. Transwomen are targets of violence all through the country, and while there is no directive in our lauded Constitution that says they deserve less protection than their cisgender peers, when a transwoman is murdered, the killer often cites the fact that their victim was transgender as a defense. It usually works.

Transpeople are not putting cispeople into danger. Cispeople might be at risk from other cispeople, but they aren't at risk because of the existence or the bathroom habits of transgender people. Gender identity is not dangerous.

Incidentally, transgender people using the bathroom is not the only thing the Republicans are trying to "protect" us from. Though Tennessee's bathroom bill failed  defeated by two transgender students with a petition, showing that Tennesseeans can sometimes do the right thing  Nashville has thrown other and more successful tantrums about the LGBT community. When the University of Tennessee Office for Diversity and Inclusion made a post suggesting that people use gender-neutral pronouns, the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly succeeded in denying state funding to the entire office. Tennessee has also officially complained about people being allowed to marry the person they choose, and even passed a law specifically legalizing discrimination against gay and transgender people by psychologists.

Conservatives obviously don't like the LGBT community, and they want government intervention to eliminate it. Conservatives have fought to keep "anti-sodomy" laws on the books, they fought against gay marriage, and now transgender people are in their cross hairs as well. They cite concerns about "safety" and "privacy" while gleefully violating the privacy and safety of transgender people.

The rule of law means that all people are protected equally, even the ones you don't like. Perhaps the left could take a hint once in a while and vote these people out of office.

William Plank was born in Annapolis, Maryland, and has lived in Tennessee since he was 6 years old.
The succession feud in the fifth-largest South Korean family-controlled conglomerate Lotte Group, which seemed to end with the victory of the younger brother, is seeing a second round with the latest prosecutors' investigation, industry watchers said Saturday.

The outlook came as prosecutors raided the headquarters of the South Korean retail giant, as well as its six affiliates, on Friday, over allegations of embezzlement and malpractice. The move reflects poorly on Shin Dong-bin, who currently leads Lotte.

Lotte has been immersed in a family feud between the founder's two sons, Dong-joo and Dong-bin, who each claim to be the heir of the conglomerate.

While the elder son, Dong-joo, claimed the Lotte Group founder hand picked him as successor, Dong-bin insisted that his father was unable to make reasonable judgments due to mental health problems. The prolonged family feud virtually came to an end after the founder's second son and incumbent chief won shareholder support in March to tighten his grip on the group.

Industry watchers, however, say the latest probe will hurt the credibility of Dong-bin as the leader, and the elder son may bring up the issue at the shareholders' meeting of Tokyo-based Lotte Holdings, which controls the group both in South Korea and Japan.












China said Friday that it wants to work with Seoul on dealing with illegal Chinese fishing boats operating in South Korean waters.

"China puts great importance on educating its fisherman," China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a response to questions raised by Yonhap News Agency. He added that Beijing respects international treaties on fishing and local laws of countries where its fishermen operate.

Earlier in the day, South Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC) sent military police to crack down on Chinese boats catching fish in neutral waters around the mouth of the Han River between the two Koreas.

It marked the first joint action taken by South Korea and the United States-led UNC in the military buffer zone to drive out illegal Chinese fishing boats as the militarily sensitive region saw a sharp increase in unauthorized Chinese fishing since last year.

Hong further said that the Chinese government has been engaged in "control measures" against (illegal fishing) with provincial governments that are responsible for regulating fishermen.












South Korea's military resumed its crackdown operations near the tense sea border with North Korea Saturday as the country stepped up efforts to drive out illegal Chinese fishing there during the peak season for blue crabs.

On Friday, four South Korean boats carrying military police officers entered the neutral waters where the estuary of the Han River meets the Yellow Sea in South Korea's first joint crackdown operation with the United Nations Command since the border areas were declared a no man's land in the armistice which ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The crackdown team was again sent into the region early Saturday, the JCS said in a press release.

Military officials said about 10 Chinese fishing boats that retreated into North Korea-controlled waters during the initial Friday operation still remained in the same place.

"Today's operation focused on blocking the Chinese vessels' course toward the South Korean side," the JCS said.

June is a high season for catching blue crab in the largely untouched fishing ground, tempting Chinese fishermen to intrude into the militarily sensitive border areas between the Koreas.

South Korea has recently formed a crackdown team of four vessels with 24 military and coast guard forces and UNC Military Armistice Commission personnel as illegal Chinese fishing has soared in the sensitive border areas.












By Choi Sung-jin



Hardly a day passes without some incidental violence or impulsive slaying making headlines in Korea. The entire nation seems to be boiling with rage for one reason or another.



A man in his 50s in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, killed a coworker recently. "I got upset because he tried to talk down to me although we were not so intimate," he told the police. A teenager hit a 20-something woman with a brick in an apartment elevator in Daejeon, last month after he had a quarrel with a school junior.



In February, an owner of a snack house in Seoul killed a customer who grumbled about the taste of his food, stabbing the customer no fewer than 33 times. In April, a citizen threw acid at four police officers, saying they had handled his case improperly.



According to the Korean Medical Society of Mental Health, a majority of Korean adults have problems controlling their rage, requiring anger-control training. Particularly, one in 10 belongs to the high-risk group needing serious treatment. The Health Assurance Review and Assessment Service also said the number of patients with impulse control disorders rose from 3,720 in 2009 to 5,000 in 2013, recording a 32.6-percent rise in five years.



Last year, there were about 150,000 crimes of violence that occurred accidentally, accounting for 40 percent of the total number of violent crimes. Also, about 70 percent of "don't-ask crimes" occur in a fit of rage, according to statistics. More seriously, these hate crimes are not committed by people with mental disorders or who are psychopaths with little emphatic abilities but by ordinary people who just could not control their momentary anger.



Given the statistics that a majority of Korean adults have difficulties suppressing their anger, few can tell who will become perpetrators or who will not, experts say.



Hate crimes also occur often because of anger-control disorders, which are part of impulse control disorders in psychological terms. These mental disorders are common among people who are convinced they are receiving unfair treatment in society. When self-preserving emotions, such as values, desires and beliefs are denied, people experience stress, and when they keep enduring this stress, there come moments when they cannot control their impulses and then attack others, according to experts.



"Anger explodes when people feel they are being ignored or treated as if they are worthless by others," said psychologist Frank Minirth. "In a society of unlimited competition and an environment where one easily gets the sense of relative deprivation, the sufferings from an inferiority complex get more out of hand and can explode all at once."



That Korea has accomplished the fastest economic growth in the world but its quality of life is almost at the bottom suggests much, the experts said.



Korea's life satisfaction ranks at 27th place out of 34 OECD member nations and its welfare and working hour indexes are also close to last. With respect to suicide rate, the nation has long been at the top, maintaining a large gap even with the runners-up.



The experts forecast that Koreans' anger will subside if and when various social structure problems improve and their satisfaction with life goes up. However, the nation needs to manage anger-control disorders as mental illnesses and enhance the treatment system, until then.



"When life gets tough, many people harbor overwhelming feelings. If they fail to resolve their mental pressures every once in a while, they tend to explode when triggered by specific factors," said Jeon Dae-yang, chairman of Korea Association of Criminal Psychology. "It is vital, therefore, for the nation to establish a psychological social safety net."












By Choi Sung-jin



When it comes to environmental hazards and the safety of citizens, this nation seems to keep going backward. People continually ask, "Where is the government?" frustrated with one half-baked superficial countermeasure after another, which fall far short of solving the problems fundamentally.



For example, the environment ministry recently told people not to fry "mackerel" with windows shut, however fine dust is serious outside their dwelling anyway. Faced with mounting public jeers, the ministry later backed off, saying it didn't mean that frying mackerel was the main cause of fine dust.



Still many Koreans say the episode reminds them of a similar announcement last year. When the Middle East respiratory syndrome hit the nation, the health ministry told people not to eat camel meat.



That the grilling of mackerel and other fish with lots of unsaturated fats produces fine dust 27 times more dense than what is normally found in the atmosphere is itself an important piece of information. Only, people can't understand why the government continues to beat around the bush even several years after fine dust emerged as a serious environmental issue.



Driven into a corner, the Park Geun-hye administration said it would shut down a couple of old coal-fired power plants. But environmental groups say the government's long-term energy plan included the construction of new coal-fired plants with a combined capacity five times larger than those it is closing down.



Similar examples of superficial, makeshift countermeasures abound.



When three men gang-raped a female teacher at her official residence on a remote island last month, the education ministry said it would refrain from assigning young women teachers to islands or mountainous areas.



But critics say it is difficult not to send female teachers to remote areas, given that 75 percent of the teachers are women. "Simply separating female teachers from male residents cannot be the solution," said Kwon Kim Young-hyun, a scholar of women's studies.



Pointing out that the government implemented an easy makeshift remedy instead of trying to change the male-oriented culture of Korean society, Kwon Kim said the problem is not women teachers but a situation in which all women can become victims of sexual assaults.



The same can be said about the murder of a woman by a schizophrenic male at a unisex public toilet last month. The immediate response from officials was, first, to build more men- and women-only public restrooms, and second, to enact a law that makes compulsory hospitalization of mental patients easier.



"This measure only shifts the hatred of women to the hatred of the mentally ill, both weak classes of society," the Korea Neuropsychiatric Association stated. "It will only end up encouraging the infringement of the rights of mental patients while doing nothing about misogynic crimes."



Likewise the government temporarily banned school excursions after the ferry Sewol sank off the southwestern coast drowning 304 people, mostly 11th graders on a high school trip.



It was the government that failed to play its role in preventing collusion between bureaucrats and businesspeople in overlooking the illegal renovation of the ferry and then allowing the overloading of cargo on the ship for the sake of maximizing profit while turning a blind eye to the passengers' safety.



In another glaring case, after a former press aide to President Park raised a diplomatic stir and disgraced the government by sexually molesting a female intern while accompanying Park on her U.S. visit, the government hired only male interns for the then Prime Minister Chung Hong-won's visit Thailand several months later.



"The government only deprived women of job opportunities, but it didn't try to rectify the authoritarian culture and distorted sexual awareness prevalent within the officialdom," a feminist said.



All these shortsighted, knee-jerk countermeasures reflect the incumbent administration's shallowness, which cannot be excused by the need to come up with swift countermeasures, safety experts said.




By Choi Sung-jin

North Korea sent an open letter to the United States Friday, calling for Washington to cease its hostile policy toward Pyongyang and stop the annual U.S.-South Korea joint military drills.

"The participants in the joint conference of the DPRK (North Korea's official name), its political parties and organizations sent an open letter to the United States of America on Friday," said the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in an English dispatch monitored in Seoul.

"The U.S. is blocking the historical flow toward peace and unification with unreasonable assertions and hostile behavior," stated the open letter.

Calling for Washington to make a bold political decision of repealing its anti-North Korea policy, the letter continued, "The U.S. would be well advised to choose a new way of thinking and opt for a new practice, away from the old framework of its anachronistic hostile policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, has shackled its thinking and practices for a long time."

Pyongyang also urged the U.S. to stop all military exercises with Seoul on the Korean Peninsula, citing these as the root causes of escalating tensions.

"The U.S. should offer a solution in dealing with those which have nuclear weapons," it said. "America ought to accept frankly our rightful initiatives and proposals for peace."

Amid the tightened international sanctions on North Korea in the aftermath of its nuclear and missile provocations, Pyongyang has also made a series of dialogue proposals to Seoul, which flatly rejected them as political offensives.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday he won't be distracted from his duties as U.N. chief "until the very last minute," amid heightened speculation he may be considering a run for president of South Korea.



Ban, whose second five-year term as U.N. chief ends late this year, has long been talked about as a potential candidate for next year's presidential election in his home country. Even though he has refused to discuss such a possibility, he has never ruled out the possibility, either.



Speculation about his presidential ambitions spiked in recent weeks as Ban said during a visit to South Korea that he would "contemplate" what he would do as a South Korean citizen when he returns to his home country after stepping down as U.N. chief.



"I'd like to make one thing clear again today. As I have been for nine plus years -- this is my last year as secretary general -- I have made it quite clear on many occasions that I will never be distracted from my mandate as secretary-general of the United Nations entrusted by the member states," Ban told reporters at the U.N. headquarters.



"I will exert all my efforts and time as secretary-general of the United Nations until the very last minute of my mandate. That's my answer and this is my firm conviction," he said.



Ban's trip to South Korea drew huge media attention as it came after South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party suffered a crushing defeat in April's parliamentary elections, sparking speculation the party could try to recruit Ban as its presidential candidate.



The trip also included a meeting with retired veteran politician and former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil. Kim was quoted as saying at a dinner meeting Thursday that he got an impression that Ban "appeared firmly determined." (Yonhap)




The price of LITRO gas cylinders would be further reduced in the first week of November in accordance with the

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The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

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PRESS RELEASE

Iran, Russia and Syria Declare a Decisive Battle Against All Terrorist Groups

June 10, 2016 (EIRNS)Following their meeting at Tehran on June 9, defense ministers of Iran, Russia and Syria

"have agreed to step up cooperation in their fight against Takfiri terrorist groups and their sponsors who are to be blamed for the regional crises, especially in Syria and Iraq,"

Fars News Agency reported today.

"We made decisions for what must be done on the regional and operational levels in an agreed upon and coordinated manner,"

Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan said today.

Dehqan reiterated denunciations of support from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia for moderate rebels that he claimed are no different from the Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. The three defense ministers, Russias Sergei Shoigu, Syrias Fahad Jassem al-Freij, and Irans General Dehqan discussed the latest regional development and the ways for expanding fight against terrorism.

Subsequently, Mehr News Agency reported that at the sidelines of the meeting, Irans Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Shamkhani said that with further military cooperation among Iran, Russia and Syria against terrorism, the three countries can also activate their political capacities to achieve a comprehensive strategy to stop war and bloodshed.
PRESS RELEASE

Friedrich Ebert Foundation Scholar: NATO Missile Defense Will Backfire Badly against Europe

June 10, 2016 (EIRNS)In an assessment published for the June issue of the Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft monthly, Anna Maria Kellner, defense policy analyst of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, looks at the ongoing installation of a NATO missile defense system in Poland and Romania. She comes to the conclusion that these facilities are not capable of neutralizing any of the weapons of the terrorists that they are officially designed to do. Neither Iran, nor Syria nor Libya are a threat to NATO.

The missile defenses may have some symbolic value to calm hysterical NATO member states in the east, Kellener concedes, but their net effect on Russia is that Moscow feels understandably provokedalthough none of Russias multiple-warhead missiles is effectively threatened by the facilities. Russia may use the NATO moves as a welcome pretext though, to cancel the INF Treaty and thereby have a free hand to deploy whatever missile systems Moscow believes are necessary; therefore NATOs promoting the missile defense system, would only cause NATO to shoot itself in the foot.
PRESS RELEASE

Frantic Saudis Threaten UN over Yemen Child Deaths Report; Make Lying Claim They Are Stopping Jihadi Funding

June 10, 2016 (EIRNS)Officials from Saudi Arabia stepped up their efforts this week to stop the public from knowing about their record as terror sponsors and killers of children in the Yemen war.

As pressure increases on the United States to declassify documents related to the 9/11 attacksespecially after the May 24 hearing chaired by Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.) that exposed the Saudi hand in terror financing, the Saudis are frantic to stop the flood of exposes of their decades-long filthy role.

In one attempt, the Saudi government staged a press briefing, June 8, via conference call from Riyadh to construct an anti-terror record. Major General Mansour Al-Turki, a spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry said the Saudi government has frozen 117 bank accounts suspected of transferring money to terrorist groups and has prosecuted 240 individuals on charges related to funding terrorism, reported The Hill. The briefing was an attempt to prevent the June 9 House hearing, "Stopping the Money Flow" to terrorists from becoming a repeat of the May 24 indictment of the Saudi role in the House hearing.

Then in an open thug attack, the Saudi government threatened and blackmailed the UN, forcing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to admit that "his decision to remove the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen from the organizations blacklist came after threats," reported RT today.

Ban took out a reference to the Saudi-created coalition behind the war in Yemen from the report, "Children and Armed Conflict," which had said that 60% of the children killed in Yemen (about 750, with more than 1,100 more injured) had been killed by Saudi forces, reported RT. Ban said that the removal was temporary, pending a review by a UN and Saudi committee, and it was "one of the most painful and difficult decisions" he has made, but he did it to prevent "the very real prospect that millions of other children would suffer grievously." This is a sidewise reference to the Saudi threat to stop its funding of UN relief programs.

According to Foreign Policy, senior Saudi diplomats, including Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir, had warned UN officials that Riyadh would stop funding parts of the UN. RT added to this picture citing a Reuters report that

"there was a threat of clerics in Riyadh meeting to issue a fatwa against the UN, declaring it anti-Muslim, which would mean no contacts of OIC [Organisation of Islamic Cooperation] members, no relations, contributions, support, to any UN projects [or] programs."

As reported earlier, the Saudis threatened to sell off the Kingdoms US Treasury holdings if the JASTA bill was passed. Next week, Saudi Defense Minister and de facto Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (son of the allegedly semi-incapacitated King) is coming to Washington to shore up Saudi positioning.
PRESS RELEASE

Washington Times Ad Blasts U.S. Media for Crude, Soviet-Style Propaganda Against Russia; Demands Open Debate

June 10, 2016 (EIRNS)Edward Lozansky and Gilbert Doctorow, of the American University in Moscow and the American Committee for East-West Accord, respectively, ran a full-page ad in the Washington Times on Thursday, June 9. The target: Soviet-style vilification in the U.S. press against Russia.

"The impending failure (of foreign policy) ... and our going over the cliff into World War III has to be the countrys first concern," they write. "Come a nuclear war, which, sadly, is more likely now than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962," all other "issues" are irrelevant.

Yet, from Madeleine Albrights time on, they say, the U.S. mainstream media (MSM) have become "purveyors of the latest press handouts from the State Department," and "picked up the old Soviet style," using it in an "Information War" that demonizes President Putin. The trend has been particularly strong since Putins speech in Munich in 2007, and has been stretched from "the White House on down."

The United States needs a "perestroika," they saya full debate that includes those who dont toe the Administration line of attacking Russia. The ad includes three large pictures of the marches in honor of the "Immortal Regiment" a few weeks ago.
Los Angeles-area gasoline prices rose over the last week and could tick even higher as a result of unplanned refinery outages and delays in the Exxon Mobil Torrance refinerys return to full service, fuel experts said.

Exxon Mobil has restored 50% to 75% of the Torrance refinerys capacity, helping to narrow the gap between the price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the L.A. region compared with the national average, oil industry analysts said. Gasoline prices are about 50 cents a gallon more in the L.A. area than the nationwide average. A year ago, when Torrance operated at less than 20% capacity, that gap was about $1.50.

But analysts say the Torrance refinery might not reach 90% to 100% capacity for several more weeks. In addition to keeping gasoline prices up, the delay in the facilitys full return to service is pushing back the pending sale of the refinery to New Jersey-based PBF Energy until July or August.

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In addition to the repair delays in Torrance, unplanned outages at other refineries in Southern California as well as at a BP refinery at Cherry Point, Wash., which supplies fuel to California, have contributed to rising gasoline prices in Southern California. The rising cost of oil also is helping to raise pump prices.

Gas prices did go up a little faster this week than they have for a while, said Marie Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the Automobile Club of Southern California. The reports of unplanned maintenance outages contributed to that.

Every time theres a delay at Torrance, it literally costs California consumers millions of dollars a day.  Jamie Court, president, Consumer Watchdog

On Friday, the average price for a gallon of regular in the L.A. region was $2.89, compared with $2.38 nationwide, according to AAAs daily fuel price survey. The California average was $2.85.

Gordon Schremp, senior fuels analyst for the California Energy Commission, said even the partially restored operations at the Torrance refinery have helped narrow the gas-price gap between California and the rest of the nation. A full return to service should help save Californians a few cents more, he said.

The good takeaway is [the Torrance refinery] came back and it is making significant contributions to the gasoline market, Schremp said. With a gap of about 50 cents a gallon compared with the nationwide average, its a lot better than 70 cents, 80 cents and over a dollar differential that we saw last year.

Gasoline prices in the L.A. area jumped last summer after an explosion in February 2015 forced the Torrance refinery to operate at less than a fifth of its normal capacity. The explosion destroyed pollution control equipment at the plant.

Loss of refining capacity at the Torrance facility caused gas prices to rise as the plant supplies 10% of the refined gasoline in the state and 20% in Southern California.

Some analysts had expected the plant to return to full service last July. Other projections had the plant fully operating by the end of 2015.

But Exxon Mobil couldnt gain approval for plans to return the plant to service. Californians were left paying high gas prices as inventories dwindled.

At the end of September, PBF Energy said it would purchase the Torrance refinery from Exxon Mobil when the company fully restored the plant.

Exxon Mobil began restarting the plant in May, but Schremp said the company has been unable to demonstrate a minimum of two weeks operation without any problems.

This is like Waiting for Godot, said Jamie Court, president of the advocacy organization Consumer Watchdog. Every time theres a delay at Torrance, it literally costs California consumers millions of dollars a day.

Todd Spitler, an Exxon Mobil spokesman, said the company does not comment on day-to-day operations. But he did say that we continue to make progress on  Torrance refinerys return to full operation.

Spitler and PBF Energy spokesman Michael Karlovich said they still expect to close on the sale in mid-2016.

Bob van der Valk, an independent fuels price specialist, said the oil industry is projecting the sale to take place in August.

A lot of things went wrong when they started up, he said. Its in negotiation.

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ivan.penn@latimes.com

Follow more energy news, follow Ivan Penn on Twitter: @ivanlpenn
Open houses arent confined to Sunday afternoons anymore. In fact, these open houses dont even require stepping through the front door.

Real estate marketing has caught an early virtual-reality buzz, with some homes bought sight-unseen after property walk-throughs done while lounging in bed.

When visiting a home, theres such a brief time period to see things, said Joseph Cilic, Sothebys Brentwood manager. You forget the layout, where your arts going to go. Appointments may be hard to get; with VR, you can tour the house as many times as you want.

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Sothebys Brentwood has used VR to market 12 homes in the last year, and 40 VR homes have been marketed companywide.

Virtual reality is a nascent but fast-growing field, with the technology being used to view movies, enjoy games, shop and even assist with ones knee surgery rehab. VR will have its first billion-dollar year in 2016, according to a Deloitte Global report.

Many real estate firms, like Beverly Hills-based Altman Brothers and Sothebys, use the lower-cost $99 Samsung Gear VR paired with a Galaxy phone and app to show clients a home virtually. Others use more expensive goggles, such as the Oculus Rift ($599) and HTC Vive ($799).

To navigate the virtual spaces, goggle-wearing users swivel their heads to view the immersive surroundings. Focusing on small, target-shaped symbols placed throughout the virtual homes enables the viewer to zoom into the next room.

Trent Vanegas used Sothebys Samsung Gear VR to shop for homes recently.

It made the process fun, said Vanegas, who lives in Toluca Lake and viewed a $5.5-million Venice property, among others. I immediately asked, What more do you have? I went down a flight of stairs, looked out windows to the ocean, could look up and down  I felt I could reach out and touch things.

Vanegas said he would never forgo visiting a home before buying, but international investors sometimes do just that, favoring VR for saving them the time and expense of long-distance flights.

Such investors gather at real estate forums, with buyers considering homes using VR  much like trying on so many pairs of sunglasses.

San Francisco Realtor Roh Habibis $4.2-million Potrero Hill property sold last year at a Shanghai forum via VR.

This feels revolutionary, said Habibi, founder of the Habibi Group, like a game-changer.

The Altman Brothers has marketed 15 homes using VR. Weve had people put on the headset and say, I gotta have it, said marketing director David Vaystub. Then theyll send a business manager out to purchase the home.

To create a VR experience, the property must first be filmed using 360-degree cameras. Many companies use Matterport, a Sunnyvale-based media technology company with a fleet of trained photographers.

The Altman Brothers bought its own Matterport camera for $4,500 and now does its filming in-house. Converting files for VR use costs about $200.

Cardboard goggles  priced at less than $10  are another option for Realtors seeking more pervasive VR marketing distribution. Some Realtors brand the goggles with logos and contact information and send them to potential buyers who use them with smartphones. Others have plans to mass-mail cardboard goggles to select markets  real estate pamphlets for the 21st century.

Several companies are hoping to become the Zillow for VR real estate marketing: Transported, YouVisit and ReallyThere are creating websites to showcase VR homes.

As VR technology advances and price decreases, some expect that personal goggles will become as ubiquitous as smartphones.

When the Altman Brothers first began using Matterport and its 3-D walk-through technology, the experience was only for our super-high-end homes, said Vaystub. Now, every price point demands it. I think the same thing will happen with VR.

hotproperty@latimes.com
It starts with a burp. And she's mad.

Or maybe she isn't mad? Because she's laughing. Or she is mad and she's just pretending to be happy.

Then again, it could just be the laughing gas.

An undercurrent of uncertainty runs throughout Martine Syms' zany but heady video piece, "She Mad: Laughing Gas," which anchors her installation in the Hammer Museum's third biennial, "Made in L.A. 2016," opening Sunday. The seven-minute video is a fictional sitcom episode called "Laughing Gas" that's part of an invented TV series called "She Mad." Based on the 1907 silent film short "Laughing Gas," starring African American actress Bertha Regustus, Syms' piece follows an L.A. graphic designer and aspiring artist named Martine Syms who makes a comically ill-fated trip to the dentist. Syms plays the lead character who may or may not be based on herself, as is the Seinfeldian tradition.

"I'm consciously invoking those tropes," Syms says, sitting in the Hammer's courtyard. "A lot of my work, the subject is film and television itself, and history, and how that kind of coincides with larger cultural history and memory."

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour >>

Syms, 28, is very much of-the-moment. Shes an art darling, with a solo exhibition now at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, inclusion in the Hammer biennial and the ICA show opening at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow, Scotland, in September. Shes also of-the-moment in her approach to conceptual art. Her work is rooted in the tradition of 80s appropriation art, but with a millennial twist. Toggling between publishing, performance, video, essay and photography, she melds images from her life and juxtaposes them against silent films from the turn of the 20th century and contemporary snippets from the Internet, TV and film to probe linguistic and visual representations of gender and African Americans in mass media.

It all simmers into what exhibition co-curator Hamza Walker calls "a wide-ranging bouillabaisse of pop culture."

"It's a portrayal of black middle-class life from a biographical perspective, and she'll appropriate all this other footage to voice: 'How do you see yourself when you weigh yourself against magazine imagery and TV and film? Do you see yourself?' Those are ongoing questions. She's fresh in terms of the range of her source material."

In Syms' "TV episode," after Martine has been doped up with laughing gas and is about to be operated on, she's told about a problem with her health insurance and sent home, still high. As she navigates the public bus and Koreatown sidewalks, a hilarity of sorts ensues  something that comes through in the presentation of the piece even more than the plot. Cameras offer varying viewpoints  head on, over the shoulder, above from the surveillance camera point of view  resulting in four video streams that play simultaneously on a grid of four flat-screen TVs, each with occasionally different soundtracks. Some screens may follow the narrative from different angles, while others intercut seemingly unrelated pop cultural tidbits: clips from Star Trek, SpongeBob SquarePants or The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, with Internet GIFs, YouTube footage and still images from her computer archive.

The result is wacky and fast-paced, a Rubiks Cube-like scramble of imagery bound by a loose, sitcom-simple storyline. Peel back the layers, however, and "She Mad" is teeming with depth, an exploration of race, identity and culture.

"If you would just empty out my brain, it's what I'm thinking about on any given day," she says, laughing. She pauses frequently, thoughtfully, referencing obscure film theory or esoteric essays. Then, just as frequently, she dissolves into giggles, her quick-shifting demeanor echoing the fragmented tenor of her video.

A lot of my work, the subject is film and television itself, and history, and how that kind of coincides with larger cultural history and memory, Martine Syms says. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) (Test)

If that's at all unsettling, Syms says, that's the point. The split screens, blending of truth and fiction, layering of sound and saturation of images are meant to dizzy or destabilize the viewer and to upend assumptions. "So they consider a different experience from their own," she says, later adding: Sure, I'm a black artist. But is that going to align with someone's expectations of black art? I have no idea. And I am not even interested in considering that."

Syms' dentist encounter in "Laughing Gas" is based on truth. She had nearly the same experience while living in the Midwest after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The 1907 silent film short of the same name features a bizarrely similar plot, in which the main character wanders the streets, high, after visiting the dentist. Syms found the parallel funny and the film historically significant.

"It's an early example of black women having a kind of subjectivity," she says.

Syms had all the music in her video composed so that it would be reminiscent of familiar sitcoms. The fleeting close-up shots  a book laying on the floor of her apartment or a block of text on her iPhone  are meant to prompt curiosity, so the viewer will look things up online afterward. She doesn't remember the names of every TV face she appropriated for the video, but no matter. The pictures were chosen only for an expression or feeling they evoke. And the stream of pop cultural imagery is "sort of a collective subconscious, like an ongoing annotation."

Syms grew up in Altadena as the fifth of six siblings. Neither parent was an artist. Her mother was a case manager and her father a survey engineer. But they were culturally engaged, she says, jazz and soul music fans who took the family to museums, concerts and comedy shows.

The independent films of John Waters and George Kuchar were among her early artistic influences. The Pasadena Armory Center for the Arts' after-school classes and the California State Summer School for the Arts program introduced her to experimental films and contemporary art as a teen. At CSSSA, she also discovered the Echo Park Film Center, which would become a lasting influence.

Shortly after graduating from college in 2007, she co-founded the bookstore and project space Golden Age in Chicago. In 2012 she founded the independent publishing company Dominica, which is "dedicated to exploring blackness as a topic, reference, and marker, and audience in visual culture."

I'm a black artist. But is that going to align with someone's expectations of black art? I have no idea. And I am not even interested in considering that.  Martine Syms

So its not surprising Syms calls herself a "conceptual entrepreneur," alluding to the blurring of lines between art and business. To say that she is prolific would be an understatement. In the past six months, she's performed a lecture, "Misdirected Kiss," at the Broad museum in L.A.; showed 30-second video works, "Lessons," at the artist run space Human Resources in Chinatown; and exhibited photography at Karma International in Beverly Hills.

For the Hammer exhibition, which carries the full title "Made in L.A. 2016: a, the, though, only and presents emerging and underrepresented artists, Syms created a wall mural carrying the phrase "Is you is, or is you ain't." She also made an enlarged film still for the exhibit of the original "Laughing Gas" star, Regustus, into which she lasered abstract cutouts.

But there is never, ever, lack of time to watch TV. Syms is a junkie, highbrow and low, she says. "Nashville," "Scandal" and "How to Get Away With Murder" are favorites.

The sitcom, however, with its simplistic plot line, fast-pace and pliability, is what she prefers to work with, artistically.

"I think the sitcom is the format for television," she says. "It's the essential form and it represents more of the canon of TV, which is why I latched onto it."

The title of her own sitcom grew out of a joke with her boyfriend, she says.

She Mad  it's like, 'Are you mad, bro?' It's a meme.

As to whether or not Syms, herself, is actually mad?

"I may be. Or I may not be," she says slyly.

Then she falls into a fit of giggles.

------------

Made in L.A. 2016: a, the, though, only

Where: Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

When: Sunday-Aug. 28. Closed Mondays.

Admission: Free

Info: (310) 443-7000, hammer.ucla.edu

deborah.vankin@latimes.com
One of the few directives that Lin-Manuel Miranda gave to designer Paul Tazewell about his costume for Alexander Hamilton was that he be represented in green  because green is the color of money and thus appropriate for the first secretary of the Treasury.

And indeed, Miranda appears in the second act of Hamilton  the acclaimed hit minting money on Broadway and expected to dominate the Tony Awards on Sunday  in an ostentatiously shiny, silk green coat in the style of the 18th century.

But far more influential as an inspiration for Tazewell was the simple ski cap worn by one of the actors during the rehearsals prior to the shows first readings at the Public Theater in 2014. Okieriete Oak Onaodowan, playing the dual roles of the tailor Hercules Mulligan and James Madison, would show up in a ski cap to ward off the early-year chill.

Tony-nominated costume design Paul Tazewell at a Tony Awards event Monday in New York City. (Gary Gershoff / Getty Images / Tony Awards Productions) (Test)

It seemed so connected to who Oak was as an actor, and I also thought that it connected him to Mulligan because it could live both in the 18th century and in the contemporary world, recalled Tazewell, who earned one of the 16 record-breaking Tony nominations for the show. It gave him, as a tailor interested in clothes, a youthful, playful and more theatrical up-to-the-minute quality. So I thought it was a smart choice to incorporate that kind of thing in order to bridge the gap between their world and ours.

The ski cap was just one detail in myriad images that Tazewell said he mixed into the pot upon teaming up with Miranda and director Tommy Kail, with whom hed previously worked for the Tony-winning musical In the Heights. Having designed period (Doctor Zhivago) and contemporary (Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk) costumes, Tazewell approached the assignment with one primary goal.

In order for it to resonate as strongly as possible, I thought it was important to get beyond our preconceived notions of these iconic figures while honoring how Lin had brought the story to light, he said, referring to Hamilton in all its multicultural, hip-hop glory.

To that end, he researched the 18th century paintings of John Trumbull as well as the mash-up fashions of Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Jean Paul Gaultier and the satiric portraits of Kehinde Wiley, who depicted men and women of color in re-creations of classic portraits.

The first eureka came through the budget limitations imposed by the Public Theater readings. To show the first audiences how the two eras would meet in the look of the show, Tazewell started with a simple parchment-toned silhouette of vest, breeches and boots that then gave way to the blue coats, red trim and brass buttons of Washingtons Continental Army. Most important, no wigs.

The success of the workshop resulted in two guiding principles: First, period from the neck down and modern from the neck up; and second, strip away all the embroidered detail of the 18th century so the audience could move past the distraction of artifice to the story itself.

Actors of color inhabiting the costumes of their ancestors oppressors provided a powerful and paradoxical subtext.

We discovered that the clothes lay very comfortably on the actors, he said. They could relate to the costumes in a very contemporary way with a street exuberance and the beauty of contemporary face and hair. It also informed how they were playing the roles.

Case in point, Daveed Diggs galvanic dual performance of the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.

Daveed Diggs as Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton. (Joan Marcus) (Joan Marcus )

Daveeds own personal style, all that hair, his very lean and tall body, reflected how we would dress him, the designer said. We wanted to take advantage of that and what came together was a realized version of Jefferson, the politician as a rock n roll star.

As for Hamilton, wife Eliza Schuyler and sister-in-law Angelica Schuyler, Tazewell said he traced their respective emotional arcs in color. He dressed Hamilton, the ambitious immigrant, in the neutral tones that yielded to more ornate looks after his successes in battle and politics and that ended in the somber, dark hues of tragedy. He dressed Phillipa Soo, as the long-suffering Eliza, in sympathetic ice-blue. Her smart, dynamic sister, played by Renee Elise Goldsberry, wears solar hues.

Phillipa Soo, left, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones in Hamilton. (Joan Marcus) (Test)

The costumes demanded versatility, not just to execute the kinetic movement of choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler but also to allow lightning-quick changes. Actors move from the boots, breeches and sleeveless vests  inspired, Tazewell said, by the muscular arms of the cast  to full military dress and, in the case of the women, to ballroom gowns and back to the simple, parchment-toned silhouettes of the beginning.

Throughout the whole design process, the smartest thing for Tazewell to do was simply to get out of the way, stripping things down so that his work could breathe more.

Ultimately, I can only finally judge by how I feel about something. Its an intuitive and emotional response to what I see, he said. Thats what I trust.

Follow The Times arts team @culturemonster.
Johnny Depps attorney argued Friday that Amber Heard is avoiding a deposition under oath after she and her representatives have spent considerable time and effort pursuing her allegations in the court of public opinion, according to court documents obtained by The Times.

Heard was granted a temporary restraining order May 27 against Depp after alleging that he had attacked her on May 21, leaving her bruised and terrified, and saying that hed been violent with her throughout their relationship. With a court date set for June 17, Depps legal team now wants to question the actress and her friend Raquel Rose Pennington, who both gave legal statements regarding the alleged physical abuse.

She refuses to produce documents that supposedly support her allegations and she refuses to answer questions under oath..., Depps lawyer Laura A. Wasser told the court in documents. Amber has tried her claims in the media. It is now time for her to do so in a court of law.

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Heard said in a legal declaration that she was not available for a deposition Friday because she was en route to New Jersey to attend Penningtons engagement party on Saturday. The actress also said she needed at least two weeks to obtain the documents  emails and texts between Heard and three others  requested by Depps lawyer.

Heards representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On May 23, the 30-year-old actress filed for a divorce from Depp, who turned 53 on Thursday. Days later she applied for the restraining order. In Heards court filing, she claims that during the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me. I endured excessive emotional, verbal and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him.

In response, Depps team filed a statement that Heard was attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse. It said that Heards petition appears to be in response to the negative media attention she received earlier this week.

His legal team also noted that the actor was willing to agree to a mutual stay-away order because, at the time, he was on tour in Europe with his band Hollywood Vampires.

The actors met on the set of The Rum Diary in 2011, started dating in 2012 after he split with Vanessa Paradis, his partner of 14 years and mother of his children, and got married in February 2015.

MORE AMBER HEARD, JOHNNY DEPP NEWS:

New photos of Amber Heard show bruised eye and bloody lip

Amber Heard was accused of domestic violence by a former girlfriend in 2009

Amber Heard and Johnny Depps court declarations regarding allegations of domestic violence

Amber Heard and Johnny Depps court declarations regarding allegations of domestic violence

Follow Christie DZurilla on Twitter @theCDZ.
After six seasons of the AMC hit The Walking Dead, Norman Reedus could be forgiven if he needed a break from the grim, viscera-splattered world of his motorcycle-riding, zombie-slaying alter-ego, Daryl Dixon.

Except Daryl remains a strong presence in Ride With Norman Reedus, the new motorcycle road-trip-styled unscripted series starring Reedus that premieres Sunday night on AMC. Theres Reedus with friend and fellow actor Balthazar Getty being genuinely impressed by a zombie-themed burlesque show in Las Vegas in one episode, and there he is meeting and greeting a small crowd of fans between twists through a North Carolina highway in another. Anybody ever tell you you look like Daryl from The Walking Dead? one asks.

Its a clear tonal shift from the corpse-riddled end times of Reedus day job, but fame  and the role that helped bring it to him  is never far away.

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Yeah, Im not mad at it, Reedus said, dressed in a dark blazer and henley in a hotel room on a hazy spring day in Beverly Hills. I like having fan interaction and I like feeling like its our show  fans included. You know, its part of [fame] and part of what Ive embraced with it. It gives you strength to keep pushing forward.

That momentum is also a big part of Ride, which allows Reedus to indulge a longtime passion for motorcycles, which began with getting into scrapes on a friends dirt bike when he was 13 years old and continued through his first real job when he moved to L.A. and worked at the since-closed Venice bike shop, Dr. Carls Hog Hospital.

I do some of my best thinking with a helmet on, said Reedus, who compared the riding experience to yoga. Youre aware of everything going on; its not like you tune out what youre doing. But youre by yourself, youre not texting, youre not listening to the radio, he adds with a bit of a sneer (though hes a big music fan).

There are no blind spots, youre kind of wide open and you end up in this Zen sort of state where your head is clear.

There is nobody more passionate about motorcycles than Norman Reedus, said Joel Stillerman, AMCs president of original programming and the man who proposed the idea for the show. Reedus said yes before [Stillerman] changed his mind.

Hes so easy-going and up for an adventure, said Getty of his ride with Reedus. Theres something very youthful about him, and were both big kids, so thats always fun.

The show attempts to reflect that sensibility with a loose, just-hanging-out structure that recalls many travel-tilted programs on basic cable. The first season of Ride encompasses six, geographic-specific, one-hour episodes with Reedus voice-over and in-helmet microphones narrating the experience alongside stopovers. They include visits with sought-after custom bike builders like Roland Sands, snapshots of kitschy local landmarks and, in one instance, a port-a-potty drag race. Think of it as something that could have fallen out of Anthony Bourdains universe except with loving footage of motorcycle parts. (The resemblance isnt a coincidence  two of the writers on Ride have experience with Bourdains series.)

I love that show, so it was always in the back of my mind, Reedus said. Then I watched the cross-world one that Ewan McGregor did [the mid-00s U.K. docuseries Long Way Round]. His is a lot different in that he takes five people and travels across the world and its a longer-distance thing, and ours is a shorter-distance thing and with more people, Reedus explains with a laugh.

His itinerary for the series includes a ride along PCH from L.A. to Santa Cruz to meet the hosts of a motorcycle podcast, a trip to Death Valley with Getty and an all-woman riding club, and a venture through Florida with something of an authority on the motorcycle road trip: Easy Rider star Peter Fonda. It ended up with him showing me the history of the Keys, Reedus said. Hes a legend.

And though Reedus roots in Los Angeles and his current home in New York City draw a clear distinction between his life and the one he occupies on The Walking Dead, he admits that Daryl continues to creep into his life as much as the other way around. The head space of Daryl doesnt really leave my brain, to be honest, he said.

For the past seven years Reedus has also kept a home in Georgia near where The Walking Dead shoots, and he moved his bikes there as well because, as he said, the riding was just too good. For all of his fondness for big-city energy that he references on Ride, he now finds a lot to like in the more wide-open spaces.

I wake up in the morning and shoot a compound bow at trees, have a cup of coffee and go to work, he said. Which I think is a felony in New York.

Follow me @chrisbarton
The American West, which premieres Saturday on AMC, is an eight-part docudrama , officially styled as a limited series, about America between the Missouri River and Pacific Ocean from the end of the Civil War to 1890.  the year of the Wounded Knee Massacre, and the year the Census Bureau declared the frontier settled.

It is not a new story, of course: Ken Burns already put his lavish, quasi-final documentary stamp on it in the 1996, nine-part The West. And the characters highlighted in its opening credits  Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Gen. George Custer, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull  have been stars or bit players in countless other documentaries and dramas. They are stuff of national legendlword missing?, the warring gods of our homegrown mythology.

Whats fresh in this retelling, produced by Robert Redford, is the degree to which it has gone in for re-creation as opposed to documentation, and the fact that it has drafted a pack of movie cowboys, including Tom Selleck, Kiefer Sutherland, Danny Glover, Mark Harmon, Burt Reynolds and Redford himself, as talking-head commentators alongside the customary scholars. There is a smattering , to put it generously, of period ephemera, but we never see a photograph of James or Custer or Sitting Bull, only the actors made up to play them.

With dialogue that might have been whipped together for a middle-school project, its more dress-up than drama, more reenactment than documentary  Americas Most Western. General (later President) Ulysses S. Grant, though often seen, has so little to say I thought perhaps the actor playing him didnt speak English; hes represented mostly in a state of tired contemplation, staring ruefully into the middle distance. , usually with a cigar and/or a glass of something meant to be alcoholic at hand. Others have more to do, but not that much more.

If the series knit-brow seriousness sometimes reads as a parody of seriousness, it also gives it a sense of play; of dress-up; of boys, which is to say men,  in the two hours available for review, it is almost all men, talking about men  running around the forest with guns. (I dont mean that in its disfavor; its what makes it fun, even if fun was not the point.) And it does tease out and knit together themes that can get jumbled up in our fuzzy, fantasy-fed view of history  the way that the story of the West was in part a hangover from the Civil War . or that the coming of the railroad links the career of Jesse James, the Monetary Panic of 1873, the Dakota gold rush, the end of Grants peace with the Indians, and so on .

Some will derive pleasure merely from vetting the authenticity of the clothes and materiel, the accuracy of the action, the appropriateness of the locations. (West Virginia and Utah seem to be where most of it was filmed.) There are many old trains to admire, puffing prettily along mountain riverbeds.

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robert.lloyd@latimes.com

The American West infobox 6/11/16

The American West

Where: AMC

When: 10:10 p.m. Saturday

Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14 with advisories for coarse language and violence)
Actress Carlson Young knows a lot about drama. After all, as Brooke Maddox on the MTV series Scream, she spends a fair amount of time confronting murder in the fictional town of Lakewood.

At home in the downtown Los Angeles loft she rents with her musician fiance Isom Innis, however, Young enjoys a different kind of drama.

We wanted to feel inspired every time we walk in the door, Young, 25, says of their two-bedroom unit. We wanted to create a warm home that features creative design elements that you havent seen 100 times before.

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To assist them in creating distinctive living areas in the large, open loft, Young drafted two close friends who happen to be interior designers: Joyce Pickens of JDP Interiors and Caroline Walkup.

They both have different points of view, Carlson says. Joyce helped us with the studio and bedroom. Carolyn did the kitchen, living room and dining room.

Walking into the loft, the first thing you notice is the surplus of light that streams through tall factory windows, offering stunning views of downtown and the Eastern Columbia building across the street.

At the center of the loft, a vintage wood screen from 1stdibs divides the space and adds a homey feel to what was once a sewing factory.

A comfortable living room with a sectional and wall-mounted television feels both open and private. A second seating area on the opposite wall is partitioned off by a pair of teak bookcase room dividers from CB2.

1 / 24 Kicking back in the downtown L.A. loft are, from left, interior designer Joyce Pickens of JDP Interiors, homeowners Carlson Young and Isom Innis, interior designer Caroline Walkup and Foster the Peoples Mark Pontius. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 24 Musician Isom Innis and his fiancee, actress Carlson Young, relax in the music studio of their downtown Los Angeles loft. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 24 Franny curls up on a midcentury side chair in the sun-filled living room. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 24 Actress Carlson Young relaxes in a vintage hanging chair from Venice Vintage Paradise. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 24 A hanging chair from Venice Vintage Paradise adds bohemian flair to the space. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 24 At the center of the loft, a vintage wooden screen from 1stdibs divides the space and adds a homey feel. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 24 The music room holds a vintage bar cart from Sunbeam Vintage in Highland Park. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 24 Staying Alive in the music room. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 24 A music room in the loft is distinguished by two-tone green walls and a record player that rests on a burlwood Milo Baughman table from Venice Vintage Paradise. Finishing off the room is a print of a famous Richard Avedon photo of English model Jean Shrimpton. I just love Jean Shrimpton, says Carlson Young. It really makes the area. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 24 The couple created an island for the kitchen by topping a commerical cabinet from a restaurant supply store with a Carrara marble top. Wallpaper was added to the base to give it a creative feel. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 24 Interior designer Caroline Walkup painted a peach-colored drip mural to distinguish the entrance from the rest of the open loft. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 24 Carlson Young stands in front of a hand-painted drip wall that defines the entrance to her loft in downtown Los Angeles. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 24 Racing stripes on the wall and Navajo baskets define the dining area in the open loft. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 24 Matte-black walls in the master bedroom create a sophisticated, serene getaway along with midcentury side tables, a tangled chandelier from Schoolhouse Electric and layers of textiles -- fur throws, cotton bedding, kilim and jute rugs. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 24 I wanted a sophisticated, creative but serene bedroom, says Carlson Young. You just walk in and feel comfortable. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 24 The loft is decorated with a number of artworks from the nonprofit Exceptional Childrens Foundation in downtown Los Angeles. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 24 A pair of teak bookcase room dividers from CB2 ($699 a piece) helps define space in the open loft. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 24 At the far end of the loft is a studio for Innis, a musician and producer who has toured and played with Foster the People. In addition to musical instruments, the studio includes a sleeper sofa for overnight guests. Joyce Pickens hung the stunning salon wall featuring framed artwork from the nonprofit Exceptional Childrens Foundation. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 24 Music studio accessories. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 24 In the music studio: a geometric chandelier by Roost. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 24 It was important to create a cohesive vibe, says Carlson Young. We wanted a place where we could be comfortable working and be inspired and feel at home. To judge by Franny, the comfort part appears to function. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 24 A Danish modern love seat from the Hunt in Highland Park is paired with a long, narrow vintage Turkish rug. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 24 A photo booth photo strip hangs in the loft of Isom Innis and Carlson Young. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 24 Actress Carlson Young of the MTV series Scream and musician Isom Innis, who has worked with indie pop band Foster the People, at home in their downtown loft. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

A music room is distinguished by two-tone green walls, a classic bar cart from Sunbeam Vintage and a record player that rests on a burl-wood Milo Baughman table from Venice Vintage Paradise. To add a sense of fun, the couple repainted a rattan chair and suspended it from the ceiling. Finishing off the room is a print of a famous Richard Avedon photo of English model Jean Shrimpton. It really makes the area, says Young.

To establish the kitchen and to add storage, the couple installed an island using a base Young found at a restaurant supply store online and capped it with Carrara marble top. To give it a creative edge, Walkup wallpapered the base.

A bookshelf was added above the appliances for a folksy feel, and wooden bar stools from West Elm add further warmth. A Saarinen tulip table nearby offers a convenient place to sit, eat or relax and helps to create yet another living area.

Balancing Young and Isoms personal tastes, they created a space that they can also entertain in. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times )

At the far end of the loft is a studio for Innis, 28, a musician and producer who has toured and played with Foster the People. In addition to musical instruments, the studio includes a sleeper sofa for overnight guests and a stunning salon wall featuring framed artwork from the nonprofit Exceptional Childrens Foundation in downtown Los Angeles.

We wanted our place to look like a cozy art gallery, says Young.

Matte black walls in the master bedroom create a sophisticated, serene getaway along with midcentury side tables, a tangled chandelier from Schoolhouse Electric and layers of textiles  fur throws, cotton bedding, kilim and jute rugs.

In other fun paint touches, the dining room is differentiated by a pair of black racing stripes that go up the wall and on the front door. To create a unique entryway, Walkup dripped peach-colored paint.

For Innis, who previously rented in Hollywood, living downtown is a welcome change.

Over the years we were spending more and more time downtown, he says. Now we can walk to Staples Center, the Ace, Whole Foods and more.

I love living downtown, adds Young. Theres a creative energy down here. And we love looking at the Eastern building.

lisa.boone@latimes.com

Twitter: @lisaboone19

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Good morning. Im Paul Thornton, The Times letters editor, and it is Saturday, June 11, 2016. Todays sunrise time in Los Angeles  5:41 a.m.  along with several days before and after, is the earliest of the year.

Heres a look back at the week in Opinion.

Brock Turner might be the most hated man in America right now. His father, Dan Turner, is surely a close second.

The elder Turner penned an apparently effective letter to Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky begging for leniency after his son, formerly a student-athlete at Stanford University, was convicted in the grotesque sexual assault of an unconscious woman. Turners letter expressed anguish and heartfelt sympathy  for his son, not the victim.

Los Angeles-based writer Randye Hoder shows why there is so much wrong with the missive:

No doubt, many parents would do everything in their power to protect their children from going to prison, no matter what theyd done; some might argue that its their obligation as parents. And who knows? Given the contentious debate around sexual assault on campus, maybe Dan Turner even convinced himself that his son is not guilty. But make no mistake. After a lengthy trial in which the defense tried to discredit the victim, a jury convicted Brock Turner of assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person; sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object; and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. Fully aware of the details, Turners father maintains in his letter that Brock has never been violent to anyone including his actions in this case. He does not acknowledge that his son has committed a crime, or seem to understand that his sons victim is the one who has truly suffered. The father is only concerned that his son has been deeply altered forever by what he euphemistically calls the events of Jan. 17, 2015. Indeed, he cannot even bring himself to name what his son has actually done, grossly mischaracterizing the rape as 20 minutes of action. It was this sort of callous language that led Peggy Orenstein, author of the new book Girls and Sex, to tweet Monday: I often wonder who raises the young men who assault their classmates on college campuses. Now I know. It's this guy.... How is the son supposed to accept responsibility for his actions when the father cannot? How is the son supposed to learn the difference between sexual assault and sexual intimacy when his father cannot? How is the son supposed to learn that what he did was rape someone when his father insists that all his son did wrong was get caught up in the college party scene?  Click here to read more.

Beware the rape accusation culture. Columnist Meghan Daum warns of a campus climate that allows women (and sometimes men) to think they can reframe consensual  if possibly regrettable  sex into something more nefarious long after the fact. She says the Turner case highlights both the dangers of rape culture and rape accusation culture. L.A. Times

Removing the judge who sentenced Turner to six months in jail: Its complicated, says The Times editorial board. Efforts to remove Judge Persky are underway, proving the truism that people tend to like judicial independence in principle but ridicule it when its exercised in an unpopular way. Whether the judge in this case ought to be removed presents a quandary for the editorial board, which supports Californias system of judicial elections but generally endorses sitting judges in the name of judicial independence. L.A. Times

Bernie Sanders has lost. Truer words about Tuesdays election could not be uttered, but supporters of the Vermont senator running against Hillary Clinton persist in the delusion that their candidate is more electable than Clinton against Donald Trump and has a real chance at winning the Democratic Partys nomination. Says The Times editorial board, No, Sanders has been a formidable contender, but he will not be the partys nominee. L.A. Times

Paul Ryan, you disappointed Jonah Goldberg. The House speaker, says our #NeverTrump columnist, has long felt [like] my kind of politician. But Ryans reluctant embrace of Trump risks seriously setting back the House speakers fiscally conservative agenda, Goldberg writes. L.A. Times

Could a California-style top-two voting system fix Congress? An Opinion piece in the New York Times looks approvingly at the results of Californias primary, which selected two Democrats to face off in November to replace outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer (also a Democrat), and says a similar system in, say, Texas could have prevented someone like, say, Ted Cruz from ever making it to Washington. New York Times

Dont panic, Democrats: Clinton will beat Trump. Author and talk radio host Mark Green, after laying out the demographics and other trends standing in the way of a Trump presidency, sums up his argument with this reassurance: Based on historic trends and their comparative assets, my best guess is that Clinton prevails by at least 53% to 46%, perhaps even a double-digit landslide. The most unpopular presidential nominee ever wont be elected president. At least not if Democrats remember Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes admonition: The way the inevitable came to pass was effort. L.A. Times

Reach me: paul.thornton@latimes.com.
Andy Liberman was excited to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. So excited, in fact, that the 66-year-old mental health advocate wanted to go a step further to be part of the election itself  he became a poll worker.

But when Tuesday arrived, Libermans enthusiasm dimmed when a host of problems cropped up at his Venice election site, which ran out of Democratic ballots. Voters required so many different kinds of ballots it was difficult at first to realize what the correct ballot was to give them, Liberman said, adding that he got about two hours of training beforehand.

And some independent voters were surprised to discover that they had accidentally registered with the ultraconservative American Independent Party, Liberman said. Because of that, they couldnt vote for Sanders in the Democratic Partys presidential primary, which was open only to registered Democrats and no-party-preference voters.

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The election day issues were exhausting to Liberman and other poll workers around Los Angeles County who contacted The Times about their frustrations. They reported poll sites flooded by first-time voters and occasionally plagued by malfunctioning vote-scanning machines and incomplete voter rolls.

Immediately after doing it I swore to myself I wouldnt do the work again, Liberman said of volunteering, adding that he put in 16 hours of work. Despite the long day, Liberman said hes considering helping again in Novembers general election.

The Times covered some of the issues that led to voter confusion, and common themes emerged: Sometimes voters showed up at polling sites and were told they werent listed on the voter rolls even though they had registered. Some were told they were registered for the wrong party, or that they had registered to vote by mail when they hadnt.

Those voters were told to use pink provisional ballots, which can take longer to fill out with personal information and longer for election officials to verify and count.

Not all of L.A. Countys 4,700 polling sites experienced problems, and for many of the countys nearly 5-million registered voters, voting went smoothly. But The Times interviewed several voters at troubled sites who left the polls wondering whether their votes counted. On social media, Sanders supporters raised the specter of alleged voter suppression  rumors that officials want to dispel.

Theres a lot of conspiracies and misinformation thats being distributed around, said Brenda Duran, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, which administers elections.

A series of interviews with L.A. County poll workers painted an occasionally chaotic picture of Tuesdays primary.

Against the backdrop of an unusually emotional presidential primary, temporary volunteer workers put in long days with light training and for a small stipend. Although the countys election guide is 111 pages long, poll clerks arent required to attend training  poll inspectors get 2 -hour sessions. Inspectors have to pick up the voting equipment, set up their sites and clean up at the end of the night.

On Tuesday, some sites encountered vote-scanning machines that didnt work and missing-in-action poll volunteers.

We didnt have any help, the machines didnt work, we got no help from above, said Mary Lou Cook, a longtime polling inspector whose fellow volunteers failed to show up at her east Long Beach precinct. To pick up the slack, she said she worked the site for 15 hours with her husband.

We were there until midnight and we got home just before 1 oclock in the morning, she said, calling the election unusually chaotic.

Poll workers were also confronted by complicated primary rules that placed different restrictions on voting for Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. Voters had to register Republican to vote for Donald Trump, for instance. But no-party-preference voters could vote for Sanders or Hillary Clinton  as long as they requested a crossover ballot.

The rules for the primary, how do I say it, theyre convoluted, said Anne Bannon, a temporary poll worker whose job as coordinator involves troubleshooting problems for inspectors. Theyre really tough rules. Its hard even if you know what youre doing.

The complexities of those guidelines were compounded by state election rules that intended to maximize participation. Late party registration deadlines, which met a surge of registrations in California, were followed by reports that voter rolls were not always complete at L.A. Countys thousands of far-flung voting sites on election day.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles County registrar-recorder Dean Logan said there were isolated occasions where supplemental voter rosters werent brought to the polls.

In addition, those who vote by mail can decide to cast ballots at polling sites. California voters can go to any polling site in their county, but they have to fill out a provisional ballot, taking time and instruction from poll workers.

-------------

For the record

June 11, 7:42 a.m.: An earlier version of this article stated that Californians could cast provisional ballots at any polling place in the state. Voters may vote provisionally at any polling place in their county.

-------------

In particular, there was a lot of confusion about vote-by-mail ballots, said Amy Gottstein, 48, a poll inspector in Santa Monica. People would say, Yeah, I requested it, but I never received it.

Some sites were slowed down Tuesday morning by poll-scanning machines that check ballots for errors. Poll workers reported that some machines unexpectedly required a password when they were booted up that morning, diverting workers to troubleshoot as voters arrived.

Voters often misunderstand that vote-scanning machines are not vote-counting machines, which left some voters at those sites wondering whether their votes would be counted, The Times found.

When you have all these snags, it just compounds everything, said Gottstein, who said her precinct had a malfunctioning machine and two poll volunteers who didnt show up. It was insanity.

Duran, the county elections spokeswoman, said problems with the vote-scanning machines were scattered and that officials were looking into the malfunctions. She said that the election probably went smoothly for most voters.

Some of this, I think, is just probably just the nature of something when youve got an important election  high turnout, said Glenn Bailey, a 60-year-old poll worker who worked at a precinct in Chatsworth. In our case, no one was turned away. We found a way to let everyone vote.

L.A. Countys voting machines are on track to be replaced by a touch-screen system in 2020. Its yet to be seen whether the reboot will mitigate problems in the next primary election.

Our hope is to introduce and implement a new voting system that will deliver an improved and engaging voting experience, one that will leave a positive mark on voters no matter how big or small the election, Logan said in a statement Friday.

matt.pearce@latimes.com

Twitter: @mattdpearce

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The California Coastal Commission on Friday threatened legal action to force Palos Verdes Estates to improve public access at Lunada Bay, the site of one of the states best surf breaks as well as a group of aggressively territorial surfers widely known as the Bay Boys, who aim to keep outsiders away.

If the city fails to comply with state requirements, the agency said it could consider all options to remedy the situation, according to a letter from enforcement officer Jordan Sanchez released Friday.

Noaki Schwartz, a Coastal Commission spokeswoman, said the agency remained hopeful that the city would comply without further intervention but that options include financial penalties or a lawsuit against the city.

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In a letter to the city manager, Sanchez said your latest submittal did not include a response regarding the public access improvements we suggested as a step toward resolving the situation.

The suggested steps, Sanchez said, might include improvements to trails, signage, benches and viewing binoculars, [which] could both clarify the public nature of the area, and help educate all parties about the public rights here, and thereby defuse conflicts.

But the citys most recent response promised only a beach clean-up.

All indications from reports we have received and from our last meeting suggest that you are not moving forward with these improvements, Sanchez said.

The state agency also reiterated a July 6 deadline for the city to submit a proposal for improved public access and a plan to either dismantle or obtain necessary permits for an illegal stone fort built and used by members of the Bay Boys.

The city issued a letter this week saying it would not meet the state deadline to draw up plans for the structure.

City Manager Anton Dahlerbruch said he instead hoped to develop a preliminary plan for the fort by September --- seven months after the Coastal Commission first raised the issue and two months past the states deadline.

The simple structure is made of stone and concrete, and Dahlerbruch said he has been unable to resolve problems over tearing it down.

The complexity of the situation has presented no easy or immediate answer, he wrote.

For decades, witnesses have accused the Bay Boys, some of whom are reportedly middle-aged, of bombarding outsiders with dirt clods, slashing their tires and assaulting them in the water -- sometimes coordinating the attacks using walkie-talkies.

Police reports over the years show that the fort has repeatedly been a site of alleged drug and alcohol use that victims said fueled harassment of outsiders.

One alleged victim said she was sexually harassed and doused with beer in retaliation for appearing in a news article about the problems.

Earlier this year, an El Segundo police officer who says he has been harassed by the Bay Boys joined other alleged victims in a class-action lawsuit.

The officer, Cory Spencer, and Diana Milena Reed, the alleged harassment victim, asked a federal judge to prevent members of the gang from congregating at Lunada Bay.

The suit also targets the city of Palos Verdes Estates, asking that officials be required to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by the surfers.

The Coastal Commission might join the lawsuit if the city does not improve access, Schwartz said.

garrett.therolf@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter: @gtherolf

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For seasoned mariners, it was the job opportunity of a lifetime.

A rare opening last year in the city of Los Angeles small corps of port pilots, who guide cargo ships and oil tankers into the harbor in San Pedro, drew more than 50 applicants, including ships captains and tugboat skippers with many years of experience.

That was no surprise, considering L.A.s full-time port pilots averaged $434,000 in salary and bonuses last year, making them by far the citys highest-paid employees.

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The surprise came when the job went to 33-year-old Michael J. Rubino, whose father is Chief Port Pilot Michael R. Rubino.

The younger Rubino was hired at the recommendation of an interview panel whose senior member was a longtime colleague of his father, port records obtained by The Times show, but the job didnt last long. The leader of the small pilots union questioned Rubinos credentials and asked that the work history he and other candidates listed on their applications be carefully checked  something city officials admit they initially failed to do.

It turned out Rubinos application overstated his tenure as a tugboat captain in San Pedro Bay, a key job requirement, according to Harbor Department emails obtained by The Times. As a result, about a month after Rubino began work in September 2015, he was terminated for failure to meet the minimum qualifications, city records show.

Rubino could not be reached for comment. But he offered his side of the story in an October 2015 letter requesting reinstatement to a training program for pilots in San Francisco Bay, which he had resigned from to take the job in L.A.

My decision to leave San Francisco was to have the opportunity to work with my father in his last few years before retirement, Rubino wrote. That chance eluded him because there are individuals in [the Port of Los Angeles] who are unhappy about me being hired, not because of my actions, but because of my last name.

City rules forbid employees from playing any role, direct or indirect, in the hiring or supervising of their relatives.

Reached by The Times, the senior Rubino said, I recused myself from the entire hiring process.

So many questions I get are tough calls. This is not one of them.  Jessica Levinson, president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission

The firing of the younger Rubino followed a string of recent embarrassments for managers of Americas busiest harbor.

The former port police chief was indicted for taking kickbacks from a company doing business with the port and then lying to federal investigators about it. Federal officials dropped the corruption charges, and the former chief pleaded guilty earlier this year to tax evasion and filing a false statement to the FBI.

Last fall, The Times reported that port officials violated a court order by waiving emissions restrictions and allowing vessels for two shipping companies to spew excessive amounts of cancer-causing exhaust into harbor neighborhoods, where studies show residents already suffer from unusually high asthma rates and Southern Californias highest cancer risk from air pollution.

Ethics watchdogs said the Rubino case was also troubling.

When youre using taxpayer dollars, particularly so many taxpayer dollars, the job needs to go to the best-qualified person, not the son of a boss, said Jessica Levinson, president of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. So many questions I get are tough calls. This is not one of them.

::

Port piloting consists of boating out to ships waiting to enter the harbor, climbing a rope ladder to the deck and then standing on the bridge to provide local knowledge, including advice on currents and navigational hazards, as the the vessel is steered through the congested waterway to the dock.

The stakes are high. Misdirection from a pilot while docking a massive container ship could cause millions of dollars in damage and endanger lives, while an error with an oil tanker could trigger an environmental disaster.

Pilot Service vessel Stephen M. White and crew pass their headquarters building to guide an incoming ship to dock. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )

Pilots say their specialized knowledge of the bay is one reason they are paid so well, and why experience is so highly prized.

When two pilot jobs became available last year because of retirements, port officials said it was the first time since 2002 there had been any openings in the group, which consists of about a dozen pilots, including two chiefs.

With high pay and convenient work schedules, pilots tend to hold on to their jobs for decades. They work four 12-hour days, followed by four days off, and then three days followed by three days off, according to their contract with the city. They are rarely required to venture more than a few miles from shore.

The captain of a large cargo ship, by contrast, often spends months away from home circling the globe and makes on average less than half of what the L.A. port pilots were paid last year, according to industry data.

In 2015, the citys highest-paid pilot was Bent Christiansen, the elder Rubinos co-chief. Christiansen received more than $499,000 in salary and bonuses, city data show. Thats more than twice Mayor Eric Garcettis salary.

As with most city employees, recruiting for port pilots is supposed to follow a rigorous, merit-based process under civil service rules, designed to ensure the most qualified applicant is hired.

Rubino would usually sit on the panel that conducts interviews for new port pilots. He didnt last year because his son was an applicant, port officials said.

Instead, the panel consisted of Christiansen, who has worked with the older Rubino for nearly two decades, the port police chief, Thomas Gazsi, and a fill-in for Rubino, port records show. Christiansen had the responsibility of selecting a replacement for the senior Rubino and he chose Thomas Heberle, president of the Hawaii Pilots Assn., according to port officials.

In an interview, Heberle said he was familiar with the L.A. port and had considered applying for the pilots job himself. He added that he was acquainted with the elder Rubino but didnt know him well, and that it hadnt been a factor in selecting Rubinos son for one of the jobs.

If anything, I think we were a little tougher on him because his dad was the boss, Heberle said.

Some of the other applicants, though, were angry when they learned of the selection.

It was beyond my imagination. I was very upset, said Capt. Bob Koehler, 71, an applicant who said he spent 33 years working for the private firm that provides pilots to the neighboring Port of Long Beach.

The minimum experience required for the job, according to the official bulletin posted by the port, is three years working as the captain or first mate on a large ship, three years working full time as a pilot in a major U.S. port, or three years working full time as the master of a tugboat in San Pedro Bay.

On his application, the younger Rubino indicated he had 36 months or more as a tugboat master in the bay. The application also shows he worked nearly four years for Harley Marine Services, a well-known tugboat company.

After the union questioned his qualifications, city officials asked Rubino to provide documentation from Harley Marine of his time as a tugboat master in San Pedro Bay. He couldnt -- and after port officials called the company, they concluded that Rubino had spent some of his time working in San Francisco and accumulated 33 or 34 months, at most, as a tugboat master at San Pedro, according to a Harbor Department memo.

Asked how Rubino had been hired without the minimum required experience, Port Director Gene Seroka blamed the citys personnel department for failing to verify his work history. The personnel agencys spokesman, Bruce Whidden, said it was the ports responsibility.

Seroka said the Harbor Department will do all of the vetting for high-level job candidates in the future.

If Rubino had gone to work as a port pilot, Seroka said, he would have reported to Christiansen, rather than his father. In Christiansens absence, Seroka added, the chief of port police would have been his supervisor.

The police chief oversees the pilot unit but has no professional experience handling ships, port officials said.

After confronting Rubino about his lack of experience on Sept. 29, port officials put him on unpaid leave but waited a month before firing him. Rubino requested the delay to give him time to find other documentation that might prove he had the required tenure as master of a tugboat. At the same time, he launched his effort to get reinstated in the San Francisco Bay pilot training program, records show.

Pilots in San Francisco also make more than $400,000 per year, according to industry officials, so there is a long waiting list for spots in the training program.

A trainee who resigns has no right to return, according to documents provided by the Board of Pilot Commissioners, which regulates pilots in San Francisco.

Nevertheless, the board allowed Rubino back into the training program. The Port of L.A. terminated him Oct. 29, a day after confirming he had been reinstated in San Francisco.

Allen Garfinkle, the San Francisco boards executive director, said he was never advised that Rubino was being terminated by L.A. officials.

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Transportation officials said Friday that a long-discussed proposal to raise Los Angeles Countys base sales tax by a half-cent to fund transportation investments has undergone a small but significant change: The tax increase would continue indefinitely, rather than expiring after four decades.

Previously, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials had hoped to raise about $120 billion over 40 years to fund nearly two dozen mass transit lines and extensions and 14 highway projects.

A sales tax with no end date would aggressively alter that schedule, allowing Metro to build nine major projects faster and add two more projects to the list, including a second extension of the Gold Line through East Los Angeles and a possible highway through the North County, chief executive officer Phil Washington said Friday.

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We are making a prudent recommendation, Washington said. He added that a tax that does not expire would create sustainable funding for the future.

The announcement was met with mixed reactions from elected officials and interest groups. Some cheered Metros proposals to build some projects sooner but said a sales tax with no sunset, even with oversight measures included, could open Metro to deeper skepticism from the electorate. Others fumed that the modified list of projects to be built still did not include their suggestions.

If were going to do something real about traffic, we need to act now, and we need to be bold.  Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Metros board of directors will decide later this month whether to place the measure on the November ballot. If approved, the tax increase would be the countys third transportation-related levy with no end date. Another half-cent tax hike approved by voters in 2008 will expire in 2039.

To meet the two-thirds voter threshold required for approval, often a high hurdle, Metros measure will need strong voter support in virtually every area of the county. The proposals geographic balance reflects that, with rail and highway projects stretching from the South Bay to the North County and from Westwood to Claremont.

The modified proposal also reflects some criticism that Metro received after releasing the plan to the public in March. After an outcry from a coalition of cities in the southeast county, Metro has proposed to accelerate construction on two phases of a light-rail line from Union Station to Artesia. But the plan keeps in place a four-year gap between construction on the two phases.

For the Record

June 10, 8:57 p.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Metro plan keeps in place a nine-year gap between construction phases of the light-rail line from Union Station to Artesia. The gap is four years.

Metro would also speed up construction on a proposed extension of the Crenshaw Line through the Mid-City area of Los Angeles, including a possible station in or near West Hollywood. Previously slated to open in 2055, it would open eight years earlier, in 2047.

The plan would also speed construction on a train station to connect rail to Los Angeles International Airport. Originally slated to open in 2024, the new plan calls for a ribbon-cutting in 2021.

The competing demands are always road repairs and major projects.  Metro managing executive officer David Yale

If were going to do something real about traffic, we need to act now, and we need to be bold, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. This will not only help ease congestion  it will bring good-paying jobs to our communities.

Metro had proposed sharing about 16% of total revenue, or $19.2 billion, with the countys 88 cities over 40 years. The proposal was met with criticism from some coalitions of local government, who said those funds are not enough to cover repairs for the roads that carry Metro buses.

The competing demands are always road repairs and major projects, said David Yale, a Metro managing executive officer. The proposal released Friday called for a one-percentage point increase in those funds until 2040, and then another increase to 20%.

Still, some representatives said the plan doesnt reflect their needs. Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), whose district could see a light-rail line down Van Nuys Boulevard and a series of upgrades to the Orange Line busway, including a conversion to light rail, said a plan without transit upgrades near Cal State Northridge is malpractice.

Last time around, the Valley got short-changed, Hertzberg said, echoing concerns of Valley residents. When asked whether he would ask his constituents to vote against the tax, he said he would cross that bridge when we come to it.

laura.nelson@latimes.com

For more transportation news, follow @laura_nelson on Twitter.

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With a deadline fast approaching, Los Angeles County officials are turning up the pressure in Sacramento for a change in state law that would allow them to impose a millionaires tax to fund expanded efforts to combat homelessness.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas met one-on-one Wednesday with Gov. Jerry Brown, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and state Senate leader Kevin de Leon to make a pitch for the proposal.

I think I underscored the crisis nature of the matter that is before us, Ridley-Thomas said. What I think is extremely important is for us to have additional revenues on an ongoing basis to satisfy voters that we are serious about addressing the homeless crisis in L.A. County, and I think the state can and should be partners in that.

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The county has rallied support from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, as well as from advocates for the homeless, affordable housing providers, and a group of 29 state lawmakers who are urging the governor and legislative leaders to allow the change.

But the efforts have so far failed to persuade legislative leaders to include the proposal in the budget package to be passed by Wednesday.

Brown has been reluctant to give local governments increased taxing authority, recently vetoing a bill that would have allowed cities and counties to charge their own tobacco taxes.

Of the county income tax proposal, the governor continues to have deep concerns about both this plan and local taxing authority on income, Brown spokesman Evan Westrup said Friday.

A spokesman for Rendon, who has been the focus of much of the county lobbying, said the speaker had not yet taken a stance on the issue.

The proposal has also met with some skepticism from labor groups and others concerned that a county income tax measure would hurt the chances of passing an extension of Proposition 30, a statewide temporary income tax increase, to fund public schools and healthcare.

In response to those concerns, county lobbyists have circulated a memo laying out poll results showing that voter support for the extension was not diminished by the prospect of a homelessness tax measure.

L.A. city and county officials have been casting about for options to raise more money to deal with the regions swelling homeless population, which stood at nearly 47,000 as of this years count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

In February, county supervisors passed a plan to spend $150 million this year and next on a set of strategies to house more people. County budget analysts have estimated that the county would need to spend an additional $450 million a year on housing and services to make a significant dent in the problem, not including the cost of new construction.

A half-cent levy on taxable income above $1 million is projected to raise more than half of that amount. County officials are also looking at other options, including a sales tax or property tax measure or a tax on marijuana sales, but polling has showed the millionaires tax to have the best shot of passing.

A recent poll by the county found that 76% of likely voters polled were supportive of a millionaires tax  enough to meet the two-thirds majority required to impose a new tax.

A separate poll commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is contemplating a transportation sales tax measure on the November ballot, found 79% support for a millionaires tax to address homelessness.

But local governments dont have the authority to raise income taxes on their own, so the state would have to sign off on the deal.

County supervisors have until early August to finalize measures on the November ballot, so the county is pushing for the change to be included in state budget negotiations ahead of next weeks deadline for passage.

If authority is not granted by July 1, the county would not be able to pursue a millionaires tax on the November ballot, although it could place another tax option on the ballot.

The city of Los Angeles is separately contemplating placing a bond measure on the ballot to pay to build more housing for the homeless. But that money, unlike the potential income tax proceeds, could not be used for services like mental health and substance abuse treatment.

abby.sewell@latimes.com

Twitter: @sewella

Times staff writer Liam Dillon in Sacramento contributed to this report.

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Christine Oliver had hoped for a lifetime of memories of her son Louis. She dreamed of birthdays, graduations and career milestones; for a wedding and a first child.

Instead, she is left with nightmares.

Making the decision to remove him from life support. Holding him for his last breath and heartbeat. Planning his funeral, she said tearfully. "[These are] memories a mother should not have of her baby boy.

On Thursday, James Nemeth, a former daycare operator, was sentenced to 29 years and 8 months in prison for shaking and fatally injuring Louis Michael Oliver, who was in his care at the time.

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The 39-year-old pleaded guilty in January to seven felony counts, including corporal injury to a child and child abuse. In his plea, he admitted he gravely injured the child at his in-home daycare in Clairemont on May 23, 2012. The boy died at a hospital the next day.

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Nemeth also admitted choking two children who are related to him and beating them with a belt.

Before his sentencing, Nemeth made a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, saying his lawyer did not give him enough information before he agreed to it. San Diego Superior Court Judge Joan Weber denied his request.

Family members, friends and the childs parents spoke to Nemeth and the court at his sentencing.

Youre not fit to be anywhere but prison, Christina Oliver said. You assaulted and shook my son to death. Im fairly confident Louis wasnt the first baby you shook. These innocent babies and toddlers left in your care have silent voices who are too young to cry out for help. You are evil.

Mike Oliver, the boys father, said, Until a few decades pass and you get institutionalized, I wish you hell and all its amenities.

Winkley writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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A spate of violence in Los Angeles County over a 24-hour period left at least seven people dead and at least five others injured, authorities said Saturday.

A series of shootings kept sheriffs detectives busy from Carson to the San Gabriel Valley until early Saturday, authorities said. One victim was shot as she walked down the street, another while he worked on a car and two others as they were leaving a party.

It was a busy night, Deputy Grace Medrano said.

The violence began about 3:45 p.m. Friday when a gunman got out of a parked vehicle and fired several rounds at a man riding his bike in the 7500 block of Compton Avenue, authorities said. The victim was struck multiple times and later died; the suspect fled in the vehicle.

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About six hours later, two other men were shot less than a mile away. The victims were standing in a driveway when two men rode up on bikes and one pulled out a handgun and opened fire before fleeing, authorities said.

The shooting left one man dead and another in the hospital in serious condition, officials said. Officials said the hospitalized man was expected to survive.

About 1 a.m. Saturday in the same neighborhood, a man was shot to death as he worked on a car in front of a house. That shooting occurred two blocks from the first homicide and about a mile from the second, the Sheriffs Department said.

No arrests have been made in any of the shootings. Crime analysts along with authorities from the Operation Safe Streets Bureau, the gang unit for the department, are looking into any gang ties between the three shootings in the Florence-Firestone area.

We do not know if theres a correlation, Lt. Steve Jauch said.

Three other shootings took place around the county between midnight and 3 a.m. Saturday. In one instance, a woman was walking down a street in Carson when someone approached her from behind and shot her to death. In East Los Angeles, deputies found a man who had been fatally shot lying on the ground on Union Pacific Avenue.

And in the San Gabriel Valley, two men were shot as they left a house party. One died at the scene and the other was in critical condition at a hospital, authorities said.

Those shootings are not related to ones in the southern part of the county, Jauch said.

It was a particularly deadly weekend, but the reason for the spate of violence was not immediately clear, he said.

I dont know, I dont have a causal factor, Jauch said. Thats something were going to look at.

Los Angeles police also had their hands full Friday night after an office-involved shooting in Hyde Park prompted the department to issue a citywide tactical alert. Officer Rosario Herrera said police shot a man after they saw him reach for his handgun near the corner of Slauson and Brynhurst avenues.

The suspects condition was not immediately available, but Herrera said no officers were injured.

Meanwhile, a 10-year-old girl was shot Friday in Boyle Heights in what may have been a gang attack targeting someone else, police said.

The shooting occurred about 6 p.m. near South Chicago Street and Rogers Avenue, when someone opened fire, apparently aiming for a person riding a bicycle, LAPD Officer Mike Lopez said.

The bicyclist was not hit, Lopez said. Instead, the 10-year-old girl was struck in the back of the head.

The girl was being treated at a hospital. The extent of her injuries was not known, but police said she was in critical condition.

The girl was not the intended target, Lt. Kristin Hagerty said.

Los Angeles police also responded to a call about a fatal stabbing in Watts around noon Saturday, said Det. Dave Garrido. A 38-year-old man got into an argument with his half-brother over the care of their bedridden elderly mother, which resulted in a stabbing, Garrido said.

A suspect is in custody and a knife was recovered. The victim died at a hospital.

Sheriffs homicide detectives were also investigating a deputy-involved shooting in Maywood that occurred around 2:30 Saturday afternoon. The suspects condition was not clear, but no deputies were injured, officials said.

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UPDATES:

6:19 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information.

5:05 p.m.: This article was updated with new quotes and more information about the shootings.

4:30 p.m.: This article was updated with information about a deputy-involved shooting.

This article was originally published at 2:55 p.m.
Californias death penalty system has been broken for so long, you could forgive people for thinking that it no longer exists. The last person executed at San Quentin was Clarence Ray Allen, who arranged the murders of three people in Fresno  one who revealed details of a burglary Allen had planned, and two others who testified against him. His January 2006 execution came 23 years after his conviction.

Since then, legal challenges have left California without a constitutional method of executing prisoners. The state has proposed a new lethal-injection protocol, but more lawsuits will likely stall the resumption of executions for the foreseeable future, and an initiative headed for the fall ballot would ban it outright. Its unclear how many executions have been forestalled by the freeze. Of 747 people on Californias death row  most of them men held at San Quentin  only 18 have exhausted their appeals and could be slated for execution should the machinery of death, as Justice Harry A. Blackmun once described it, ever be turned back on.

We hope it wont be. The result of a too-easily manipulated system, the practice is barbaric, immoral and applied disproportionately to people of color. As Paige St. John reported recently in our news pages, there also are many condemned prisoners in California who cant legally be put to death. The Supreme Court has held that the state cant execute someone who doesnt have a rational understanding of why he or she is about to be executed.

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The state historically has argued that it could not acquiesce in removing a convicted killer from death row unless it believed there was a miscarriage of justice. And the mental state of a condemned person does not become a legal issue until execution is near, in part because many forms of mental illness come and go.

But now, under an agreement worked out with the state-funded office that coordinates death sentence appeals, Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris has taken the unusual step of joining the defense in asking the state Supreme Court to invalidate the death sentence of Ronnie McPeters. McPeters, a panhandler convicted of the 1984 murder of Linda Pasnick in Fresno, converses with a nonexistent wife and children, hoards his feces and says hes tormented by the voices of his victims relatives.

One inmate continually bangs his head against the wall, believes he is controlled by computer chips and says he dies every night only to be reborn [every day].

Though we wish that Harris, who personally opposes the death penalty, would use this opportunity to make a broader call for its abolition, we welcome her efforts to move inmates such as McPeters off death row. Working with defense lawyers to identify those ineligible for the death penalty earlier in the appeals process keeps the state from wasting time and resources pursuing executions that are constitutionally barred from occurring. No public interest is served by the state doggedly fighting a battle it knows it cant win, and we hope the state Supreme Court affirms this new process.

What depths of insanity are involved here? One inmate continually bangs his head against the wall, believes he is controlled by computer chips and says he dies every night only to be reborn the next morning. Another seesaws between delusions and catatonia, spending days at a time naked and smeared with his own feces on the floor of his cell. Several have had their appeals indefinitely delayed because they are too incapacitated to assist in their own counsel, yet they remain on death row ostensibly awaiting execution. If theyre too crazy for court, theyre certainly too crazy for the death chamber.

Victims families have legitimate grievances, and a right to want the guilty punished. But executions do not achieve justice; they are revenge killings conducted by the state on behalf of the victims, and serve no broader societal or judicial purpose. And fighting to push the insane closer to the needle moves the practice into the realm of the absurd.

If a condemned person doesnt understand why he or she is to be killed by the state, the state must recognize that and place the convicted in circumstances that will ensure basic constitutional rights are protected. Even the guilty are human beings, and must be treated as such.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Donald J. Trumps presidential candidacy has had many noxious effects, from the coarsening of political debate to the craven decision of many Republican leaders  Speaker of the House Paul Ryan among them  to endorse the blowhard businessman even as they condemn his reckless and racially offensive remarks.

In recent days it has become clear that the Trump phenomenon has caused some of his critics to question  wrongly in our view  two fundamental premises of American democracy. One is the proposition that political protest must be peaceful. The other is that, as the Supreme Court put it in a landmark 1st Amendment case, even hurtful speech on public issues must be protected to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.

Angered by Trumps rhetoric, protesters repeatedly have engaged in violence and intimidation. For example, outside a Trump event in San Jose on June 2, demonstrators jumped on cars, pelted Trump supporters with eggs and water balloons and grabbed Make America Great hats from supporters heads before setting them afire. Several people were caught on camera punching Trump supporters.

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This sort of violence is outrageous, yet some have sought to rationalize such conduct as the logical and perhaps even necessary reaction to Trumps hateful rhetoric. Those who condemn the violence on free-speech grounds are dismissed by some commentators as naive about the threat Trump poses.

In a column in the Huffington Post, Jesse Benn (who describes himself as an engaged citizen and opinionated writer) wrote that denunciations of violence from anti-Trump protesters rest on the misguided view that the divide Trumps exposed is a typical political disagreement between partisans, and should be handled as such... Treating this like politics as usual allows it to become politics as usual, and those who do so risk complicity ushering in a new era of fascist politics in the United States. Violence that takes place at Trump rallies  in support or opposition  is a reaction to the tone hes set, and the blame for it should land primarily on his shoulders.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton didnt go that far, but she, too, linked anti-Trump violence to the Republican candidates incendiary rhetoric. He created an environment in which it seemed to be acceptable for someone running for president to be inciting violence, to be encouraging his supporters, Clinton told CNN. Now were seeing people who are against him responding in kind. It should all stop. It is not acceptable.

Donald Trumps rhetoric ... [is] ugly and offensive. But [that doesnt] justify violence against his supporters or an attack on their exercise of free speech.

Its true that Trumps language, though it falls short of constituting legal incitement to violence, has been ugly and reckless  and this page has called him on it. This, after all, is the candidate who said of a protester that hed like to punch him in the face, and who longed for the old days when hecklers were carried out on a stretcher.

But neither Trumps rhetoric nor the fact that his supporters may engage in violence excuses violence or disruption on the other side. President Obama got it right: We saw in San Jose these protesters starting to pelt stuff on Trump supporters. Thats not what our democracy is about. Thats not what you do. Theres no room for violence. Theres no place for shouting.

Obama made another point that applies not only to violence but to the second challenge to democracy: an unwillingness to let Trump and his supporters have their say. Theres no room, the president said, for a politics that fails to at least listen to the other side  even if you vehemently disagree. That message needs to taken to heart by those who argue that Trumps message is so offensive that it must be suppressed, shouted down or shamed as hate speech.

During the recent academic year, students at several universities criticized pro-Trump slogans that were written in chalk on campus sidewalks. At Emory University, a coalition of student groups complained that expressions of support for Trumps candidacy posed a threat to our democracy and an implicit attack on the Muslim, Latin[o], black and other communities at Emory and across the country. This is not political expression; this is hate speech. In Fresno a third-grader was asked by school officials to remove his Make America Great Again hat because it supposedly caused a substantial disruption [of a]verbal nature and a detrimental impact to school climate.

Many commentators have pointed out that violence by anti-Trump protesters plays into the candidates hands. I know the depths of emotions that have come out, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. But somebody who thinks theyre being helpful by throwing an egg  I would say thats a tactical mistake. Its more than that; its wrong in itself and subversive of democracy.

Donald Trumps rhetoric and much of his platform  deporting 11 million immigrants, building a wall on the Mexican border, forbidding all Muslims to enter the country  are ugly and offensive. But they dont justify violence against his supporters or an attack on their exercise of free speech. There is no Trump exception to the 1st Amendment.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: Heres my open letter to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders:

I am an 84-year-old Socialist from Brooklyn. You have been a hero to me for many years. I am amazed by what you have accomplished. You have succeeded in moving presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party to the left. You created a movement that has involved young voters. You set goals for our government to reach for. The whole world knows who Bernie is and what his beliefs are.

But movements seldom succeed in their first election. The differences between the Democratic and Republican parties are wider than ever before.

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Donald Trump is not capable of being our president. Clinton is clearly better prepared to lead the country both in foreign affairs and domestic issues. Please, Bernie, do what is right and needed for our country. Put your support behind Clinton now to defeat this dangerous demagogue.

Walter Kornbluh, Sherman Oaks

..

To the editor: Sanders got shellacked in California. He has said he will continue to fight until the last primary, and that he will take his fight to the Democratic National Convention next month.

I feel sorry for him because he doesnt understand that he could be on the cusp of greatness.

Clinton has achieved what no woman has in this country. Her legacy is born and created. Sanders could also achieve greatness. There is a difference between getting beat and losing. His behavior, if it continues negatively, will cast him as a loser.

If, on the other hand, Sanders calls his minions to unite, to support the party, to support Clinton, he will be seen as a great unifier who saved the country from Trump.

Carlos Magallanes, Pasadena

..

To the editor: Adopting many of the left-wing positions taken by Sanders supporters into the Democratic Party platform carries major risks. (Bernie Sanders supporters have to face the facts: Hillary Clinton has won, editorial, June 7)

There are millions of moderate conservatives disgusted with Trump and who are potential voters for Clinton. Thus, Clinton will need go out of her way to identify with issues important to them while noting that she will be their president also.

She cannot bring the country together as intended by simply taking far-left stances and and ignoring more moderate conservatives.

John C. McKinney, Cerritos

..

To the editor: As a poll worker, I believe many voters could have avoided problems themselves. (It was just chaos: Broken machines, incomplete voter rolls leave some wondering whether their ballots will count, June 7)

A lot of voters had to fill out provisional ballots after receiving vote-by-mail ballots that they did not surrender to us. If people dont want to vote by mail, they shouldnt request the ballot to do so and then expect to vote at the polls without accounting for the other ballot.

Also, many people did not read directions to vote for only one U.S. Senate candidate, causing ballots to be returned and voters to start all over again. We kept announcing this but it didnt help. People were also confused about voting rules, if they could change parties and so on.

As a reader of The Times, I know that these issues were addressed multiple times well in advance of the election. We all have an obligation to be informed voters. If you are, your next visit to the polls could run much smoother.

Christina Fetcho, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Burbank residents were faced with the sobering reality on Thursday that city officials cannot do much to prevent or regulate small group homes, including sober-living facilities, operating in the city.

More than 40 residents gathered in a meeting room at the Community Services Building and heard city officials and an attorney explain that state and federal regulations limit any actions a local agency can take against such facilities.

NEWSLETTER: Stay up to date with whats going on in your neighborhood >>

Barbara Kautz, an attorney specializing in land-use law who was hired by Burbank in 2014 to clarify the citys housing definitions, told residents that, in most cases, the city must treat licensed and unlicensed group homes the same way it treats single-family homes.

This is due, in part, to the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination based on disability, ethnicity or other criteria, Kautz said.

Under federal law, a disabled person is someone who is either physically or mentally impaired. It also includes recovering drug and alcohol users, Kautz said.

During the past two years, residents have expressed concerns about sober-living facilities setting up shop in their neighborhoods, fearing that recovering drug addicts and alcoholics would negatively impact their standard of living.

On Thursday, residents said they were baffled to hear that most people looking to establish a sober-living facility are not required to get a permit from the city to operate.

Kautz said that the only time such a facility would need a permit is if the group home had seven or more residents in one home.

Kautz said zoning amendments or ordinances that are aimed at controlling or preventing group homes cannot be implemented because they could be cited as discriminatory toward disabled persons and could open the city to lawsuits.

In 2015, the city of Newport Beach paid a $5.25-million settlement after a seven-year legal battle between three group homes, according to the Daily Pilot, a community newspaper in the area.

Attorneys for the facilities argued that Newports ordinance, which required group homes housing seven or more people obtain a permit to operate, was approved to make it nearly impossible to provide housing for recovering addicts.

Kautz said Burbank cannot restrict how far group homes are from single-family homes, limit the number of people in a group home or impose any law that specifically targets group homes.

Burbanks main option to crack down on illicit group homes is to clarify the definitions of a single-family home, boarding house, care facility (licensed and unlicensed sober-living facilities), supportive housing and transitional housing.

The goal is it to make it easier to differentiate between a facility that is or is not operating lawfully, Kautz said.

City staff and Kautz are working on revised definitions of group homes, which will be up for review by the Planning Board at a future meeting.

--

Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
The Macys department store at the Irvine Spectrum Center will close early this year as part of the companys plan to shut 40 locations nationwide as a result of what it called disappointing sales and earnings in the past year.

Four of the stores have already closed. The rest will shut down in early spring and will hold final eight- to 12-week clearance sales beginning Monday.

Macys Inc., which has about 770 locations, announced the store closures Wednesday as a strategy to save about $400 million in expenses.

A company news release said sales declined by 5.2% during November and December, compared with the same period a year earlier. Figures for the Irvine store were not immediately available.

We are making adjustments to become more efficient and productive in our operations, Terry Lundgren, the companys chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. Moreover, we believe we can operate more effectively with an organization that is flatter and more agile so we can pursue growth and regain market share.

The Macys at the Irvine Spectrum Center mall opened in 2002 and occupies 140,000 square feet.

The company said the stores 112 employees may be offered positions at nearby stores. Severance benefits will be offered to eligible employees who are laid off, the company said.

The Irvine Co., owner of the Spectrum Center, announced Thursday that the Macys site will be converted into two buildings containing 20 new stores.

As part of a $150 million plan, the mall also will install new landscaping, outdoor seating and parking garage improvements.

The Macys closing has been contemplated for months and has provided us with a unique opportunity to rebalance Irvine Spectrum Center with additional retail stores, Easther Liu, chief marketing officer for Irvine Co. Retail Properties, said in a statement. We are always exploring how we evolve Irvine Spectrum Centers vibrancy and relevancy to marry with our customers evolving tastes.

The Irvine location is one of three Macys stores being eliminated in California. The others are at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles and Country Club Plaza in Sacramento.
More than 100 spoke and attended a public hearing Saturday at the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa to express both concern and support for a recent plan to close the state-owned facility.

The hearing in Fairviews auditorium was an initial step toward Gov. Jerry Browns austerity proposal last year to transition the centers developmentally disabled residents out of its institutional-style setting by 2021 and into smaller regional centers that are more integrated into local communities. To that effort, Brown has budgeted $78.8 million this fiscal year toward Fairviews closure and two other California facilities like it.

The governors proposal, however, was met with considerable skepticism during the first two hours of Saturdays hearing, which began around 10 a.m. and was scheduled to last until 5 p.m.

Family members of current or Fairview residents expressed worry that their loved ones wouldnt receive the high level of care that Fairview staff have provided for decades.

Maggie Flavia, whose son has lived at Fairview since 1983, was unconvinced that he would receive such specialized care outside the center.

Can the care at Fairview be duplicated out in the community? I say its an impossibility, she said.

For some residents, Flavia added, leaving Fairview is literally a matter of life and death.

1 / 9 Rehab therapist Candace Bartel uses music with a client at the Fairview Developmental Center on Friday. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot) 2 / 9 Program director Carol Lynn Naylor-Pecson chats with resident Dale in the Fairview Developmental Center Creative Hands boutique on Friday. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot) 3 / 9 Officials are hearing public comments on the closure of Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot) 4 / 9 Resident Manny Flores waters lemon trees in the communal garden at the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa on Friday. Officials from the state and the center are hearing public comments on the facilitys planned closure. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot) 5 / 9 Psychiatric tech Mary Quay readies a cake for residents in the club room at the Fairview Developmental Center on Friday. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot) 6 / 9 A resident in the club room at the Fairview Developmental Center chats with visitors as she waits for a cake on Friday. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot) 7 / 9 The Creative Hands boutique at the Fairview Developmental Center. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot) 8 / 9 Residents tend to the communal garden on Friday during a tour of the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot) 9 / 9 An employee, left, and residents of the Fairview Developmental Center chat in one of the communal gardens on Friday. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot)

Michael Fitzgerald told state officials his brother has lived at Fairview for most of his life. There, he lives a very regimented existence, and that works for him.

To rip him away from this place is a discredit to our taxpayers, a discredit to the community, Fitzgerald said. We should be ashamed of ourselves.

A representative with Disability Rights California, a Sacramento-based advocacy group, said it supports the closure, provided that the plan safely transitions Fairviews population into appropriate settings.

State officials have noted that should the center close, its residents will receive individualized care, and that no one will be moved until supportive services are in place, like housing and medical care.

Representatives from Coastline Community College urged that Fairview residents, 114 of whom take classes through the campus, continue receiving their education.

Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Sandy Genis noted that the councils recommendation last year for 500 homes on Fairviews property is a tentative, adjustable number. The homes were part of a proposal to the updated citys general plan, a blueprint-like document for future Costa Mesa development, that the council will adopt later this year.

Those plans may or may not be what ultimately is adopted, Genis said.

The councilwoman and other Costa Mesa residents urged the state to reuse Fairviews land for veterans or homeless services.

Robert Sterling, who works at Estancia High School, said the land could be used for local nonprofits, like Save Our Youth, the Boys & Girls Club of the Harbor Area and Girls, Inc.

We need more real estate for our students, he said.

Ray Ceragioli, president of Fairview Families and Friends, a nonprofit that supports the center, attended Saturdays hearing, but said his organization has not yet taken a stance for or against closing the center.

One of Fairview Friends board members, Terry DeBell, said she felt, based on the mornings testimony, it really highlights what a source [Fairview] has been ... its a very, very special place.

All of Saturdays comments will be summarized into a state Legislature plan submitted by April 1.

The hearing was also videotaped by Costa Mesa Brief and will be available on its YouTube channel.

As of this month, the 114-acre developmental center is home to 244 people, some of whom cannot live independently and require 24/7 care. Fairview currently employs 984 people.

It opened in 1959. Its population peaked in 1967 with 2,700 residents.
Solid Landings Behavioral Health, a Costa Mesa-based drug and alcohol addiction recovery company that agreed this week to close its live-in sober-living facilities in the city, said in a statement Wednesday that the closures are within the companys long-term objectives.

Upon analysis and thoughtful deliberation, we believe that this agreement supports our future strategic plan ... that will help us realize our vision and meet our goals as the top provider of care in this industry, Steve Fennelly, Solid Landings CEO and president, said in a statement.

Fennelly said the move supports its long-term and transformative plan that will shift our treatment services to a more efficient and centralized delivery model, one that will allow us to focus on standardizing and maintaining quality care.

The statement followed Tuesdays announcement that, per an agreement with City Hall, Solid Landings will close 33 of its sober-living homes in town within three years; 15 of them will close immediately.

The company also agreed to drop two lawsuits that challenged City Halls efforts to regulate the rehabilitation industry.

A copy of the agreement, which city officials have called a landmark achievement, was not immediately available for review Wednesday.

City spokesman Tony Dodero said the Solid Landings agreement involved no exchange of money.

We didnt pay them one penny, he said. They didnt pay us one penny.

Dodero added that Solid Landings appears to be shifting away from providing sober-living services for recovering addicts in residential settings.

Solid Landings will continue to operate two counseling facilities in Costa Mesa, but they will be relocated to commercial and industrial areas, Dodero said.

Fennelly said it remains resolute and committed to doing what weve set out to accomplish from the start, and that is to help men and women achieve sustainable sobriety to become productive and responsible citizens in their communities.

Tuesdays news was met with skepticism from Take Back Our Neighborhoods, an informal activist group that has battled both City Hall and the sober-living industry in recent years.

Costa Mesa resident Anne Parker, TBONs spokeswoman, said while the Solid Landings closures appear to be a good thing, hundreds of other homes seem to be staying put.

Its not like sober living is leaving town, she said Wednesday.

Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, who negotiated with Solid Landings on behalf of the city, said the industrys new business model appears to be moving away from bringing clients into urban centers like Costa Mesa and more toward rural areas where all treatment services are centralized in the same location  50 people on a farm, for example.

Based on the Solid Landings agreement, which he called a landmark, watershed moment for Costa Mesa, he expects more operators to leave.

Parker said Righeimer shouldnt receive all the credit. Residents also want such facilities out, she said.

I dont mean to be hostile to kids trying to get better, Parker said, but this problem is getting out of control in Costa Mesa.

Parker led an appeal to prevent Solid Landings from hosting group counseling sessions at an office building on West 19th Street. Solid Landings eventually lost the case at City Hall and took the matter to Orange County Superior Court. It is one of the two lawsuits the company agreed to drop.

Costa Mesa contains some 300 sober-living facilities and group homes, according to recent estimates. About half of those are believed to be related to the drug and alcohol rehabilitation industry. The remainder are other types of group homes, some of which house senior citizens, Dodero said.

TBON launched a service this week at TBONCostaMesa.org intended to help residents address the ill effects of the rehab industry in their neighborhoods, Parker said.

Our goal is to develop awareness and proactivity to protect our neighborhoods from being overtaken and negatively impacted by unlicensed, unmonitored, nuisance group residential properties, the website states.

Dodero said Costa Mesa residents should be aware of the time, legal resources and money City Hall has spent addressing sober-living homes, which are not just a Costa Mesa problem but are problematic throughout Orange County and the rest of the country, he said.

Cities from Delray Beach, Fla., to San Juan Capistrano look to Costa Mesa for guidance on the issue, Dodero said.

The truth is, we are doing a lot, he said. We have code enforcement on a daily basis overseeing this stuff. We have police and fire working together on this issue and providing us with information that we can use for enforcement efforts.
It has been my sincere pleasure to get to know so many of my Costa Mesa neighbors through the work I have done building Costa Mesa Public Square, a Facebook page known as CMPS. Now nearly 7,000 strong, our daily interactions through drought, coyotes, riots, growth, elections, scandal, triumphs, celebrations, memories of yesteryearand excitement for the future are testaments to the strength of our common bonds. We are a family in this city. It has been an amazing journey for me.

My hat is now in the ring for City Council. I support the improvements happening in our city. Making sure this momentum continues is a big part of why I am seeking election. It is also important that I share with you, specifically, what I intend to do as a servant of the people of Costa Mesa.

I pledge to support families. As a mom, I understand the importance of making a better place to live for our kids. I will strive for policies that make neighborhoods safer, enhance family interactions, provide healthy options for play and gives wholesome alternatives for at risk children.

I am committed to a continued, strong relationship with our board at Newport Mesa Unified School District. I will work closely with its leadership to ensure city support is provided to meet the needs of Costa Mesa students. I will be diligent in working to secure revitalized property taxes, which are needed to fund school improvements.

I pledge to continue the work of renewal in our city. I understand the need for safe neighborhoods, modern amenities and infrastructure, strong schools, robust job opportunities and preserving middle-class access to housing. I will work to eliminate crime attractants like problem motels and unsafe, unhealthy, overcrowded housing. I will seek opportunities to repurpose and repair obsolete, environmentally degraded industrial sites. I will actively pursue building our school, infrastructure and park funds through developer fees and expansion of our property and retail tax base.

I pledge to support our police and fire departments. I understand the burden that has been placed upon us with the passage of Assemby Bill 109 and Proposition 47. I strongly support both chiefs Rob Sharpnack and Dan Stefano to increase our capacity in combating these new obstacles. First and foremost, I am dedicated to removing the largest drain on our first responder resources: calls to the problematic motel properties.

In addition, I support the continued recruitment and hiring of first-class officers to increase our police staffing in order to return our specialized units to the streets. I advocate for foot patrols in the areas hardest hit by transient-related crime. I call upon our citizens to join me in making sure Costa Mesa is safe by supporting a See Something/Say Something approach.

I pledge to find even better ways to address the influx of homeless in our city. I applaud the actions of our Homeless Task Force. Its efforts are a model of success in our region. Identifying individual needs, connecting individuals with appropriate services and assisting clients to return to out-of-area family have proven effective. I will seek additional resources to continue our important relationships with organizations like Mercy House and Collettes Childrens Home to fill that gap. I will request the Costa Mesa Police Assn. add a homeless services liaison officer to tie together law enforcement with compassionate service. Finally, some independent groups, while doing admirable work, have become attractants of transiency to Costa Mesa. I will work with local charities and faith-based organizations to assure coordinated partnership between public and private efforts.

I pledge to enforce and strengthen our sober living home ordinances. As an active listener to our community, I have heard the concerned cries from residents regarding the institutionalization of our neighborhoods. I am a proud supporter of Costa Mesas groundbreaking ordinances to address de-intensifying institutional uses in our residential neighborhoods. I congratulate operators who practice good neighbor policies and encourage the community to understand their benefit to our city and their clients. However, I will demand strict enforcement of our ordinances against operators who are non-compliant.

I pledge to get the facts on issues that face our city and put the best interests of Costa Mesa ahead of political advantage. As a first-hand witness to the partisanship that sometimes infects city government, I am fed up with obstructionism based on petty, personal grievance. I vow to look at solutions to city issues based on their merits and not on their political value. I will not pander. I am a straight talker and I am courageous. I will make the tough decisions and I will be accountable for them.

I pledge to represent all residents of Costa Mesa. As a major agent for bringing together differing voices in our city to air viewpoints, I understand the power of community. My door will always be open, I will be available to you. I will advocate for transparency and responsiveness. I will conduct myself with decorum, humility and respect. I will remember I am the face of Costa Mesa in all my official capacities and will execute those duties with honor.

--

JULIE MERCURIO is a candidate for Costa Mesa City Council.

MORE OPINION

From the Boathouse: California spots make family fishing list

Mailbag: Mayor needs to take clear stance on campaign finance

Commentary: As shark sightings on O.C.'s coast rise, something must be done to better protect humans
Orange Countys plan to expand the James A. Musick jail received another nod in court this month, despite concerns from Irvine city leaders who have long fought the idea.

The state 4th District Court of Appeal concluded Oct. 7 that the countys environmental reports for the project were sufficient, rejecting Irvines assertion that the county had failed to properly analyze the effects of the planned $80-million expansion. The city alleged in court documents in 2012 that more study was necessary because roughly 16 years had passed since the reports were conducted.

In 1996, the county completed an environmental impact report for its plan to build out the jail to 7,584 beds by 2030. However, the project came to a halt in the early 2000s because of a lack of funding, court documents state. That changed when the state Legislature passed Assembly Bill 900 in 2007, which provided construction funding for jail expansion projects to deal with overcrowding. In late 2011, the county Board of Supervisors voted to apply for the funds.

It is impossible to predict with precision the micro effects of various stages of construction at precise points in time without also knowing precisely when one will have the funding to implement those various stages of construction, acting Presiding Justice William Bedsworth wrote in the 4th Districts 12-page ruling. The best you can do is come reasonably close. That, the county did.

The county plans to add 896 beds by October 2019 to the existing 1,322 beds at the 100-acre jail, which has housed minimum-security inmates since it opened in 1963 in an unincorporated area adjacent to what became Irvine and Lake Forest. A new visitor and staff parking area, an entrance off Alton Parkway and space for enhanced rehabilitation programs, including social services, healthcare and education, also are in the works.

The courts decision may mark the end of a nearly 20-year legal battle between the county and Irvine, which has filed four unsuccessful lawsuits against the jail expansion during that time. Though the city could appeal to the California Supreme Court, Councilwoman Christina Shea said it is unlikely.

Were at the end of the road, legally, Shea said. Weve spent millions fighting against this outcome and we havent prevailed.

The facility, nicknamed The Farm because of its role of supplying fruits, vegetables and eggs to all jail kitchens in the county, originally held a maximum of 200 male minimum-security inmates. The population now includes men and women who are in jail for crimes such as driving under the influence, drug possession, burglary, prostitution and failure to pay child support.

As the jail grew, the suburban landscape of Irvine also began to expand.

The facilitys proximity to residential neighborhoods in Lake Forest and Irvine, as well as the Great Park and Irvines Portola High School, which is being built, is troubling for city leaders.

Though the jail is generally isolated from the rest of the community, several inmates have escaped over the years and were found elsewhere in the county.

I dont think theres many people who would want to voluntarily live next to a jail, said Irvine Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Lalloway. In my opinion, a correctional facility that may or may not have very serious criminals is incompatible with a residential community.
Taking a peek inside a home thats not yours typically might result in an unintended trip in the back of a police car. But on Sunday, visitors from near and far can legally look inside 12 homes on Balboa Island in Newport Beach.

The Balboa Island Improvement Assn. will present its annual Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., giving residents the opportunity not only to check out their neighbors floor plans but also how they decorate their homes.

The tour began 19 years ago as a way for the association to raise funds for other community events, such as the annual pancake breakfast and Fourth of July parade on Balboa Island, according to Gail Vasterling, who handles publicity for the tour.

This years event features 12 dwellings ranging from cozy cottages built in the early 1900s to homes built a few years ago. The tour will even stop in a room at the Balboa Island Hotel, Vasterling said.

Its a fun outing for people, Vasterling said, noting that people from throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties attend each year. Every home is so unique that you always see something different.

The one detail the homes have in common, Vasterling said, is that they are all beautiful.

Balboa Island is home to dueling banana stands, quaint shops along Marine Avenue and a rich history of families, many of whom first traveled to the area to stay in summer homes. Eventually, many of those families turned their summer homes into year-round residences.

Sue Recker and her family were drawn to the island because of its close proximity to the beach.

Recker, her husband, Ken, and their three daughters lived in Newport Coast for 13 years and often traveled to Balboa Island to go to the beach.

We got to thinking and realized we love it down here  why dont we think about buying a home here, she said.

They decided in 2014 to buy a recently rebuilt 2,800-square-foot home on Onyx Avenue. Reckers home is one of the 12 featured on the tour Sunday.

The two-story home has front and back outdoor decks, four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a small office off the kitchen. Recker says her decorating style pays tribute to the coastal area, with a palate of blue accents.

My kids wouldnt change anything, she said. This is their dream life.

*

If You Go

What: Balboa Island Holiday Home Walking Tour

When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday

Where: 12 stops on the main island

Admission: $25 (includes a tour map)

Tickets and information: (949) 675-1773
Ahoy!

Congratulations, and I tip my captains hat to Everglades National Park in Florida for capturing the best spot to go boating and fishing in the United States. This according to the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundations recently released 2016 Top 100 Family Fishing & Boating Spots in America.

Nice to see that California holds seven spots in the top 100 list, and that three areas are in the top 10. Clear Lake State Park in Clear Lake came in at No. 5, following at No. 6 is Sacramento Rivers Brannon Island State Park, and No. 7 is Dockweiler State Beach in Santa Monica Bay.

To be considered for the Top 100 list, the location must be within driving distance of a large city, have good fishing accessibility and, what I feel is the most important, offer family-friendly amenities.

About 650,000 votes were sent in from anglers and boaters who recommended their top fishing and boating locations. This is a great list to read as we start summer for families wondering where to venture out the next few months, especially when one of the foundations main goals is to get more families out on the water.

In a previous column of mine, I mentioned that fishing and boating are idea for family time.

A survey, by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) showed that fishing and boating are the best ways to spend quality family time together, I wrote in 2009. Furthermore, 87% of Americans believe fishing and boating have a positive effect on family relationships, and 90% believe that fishing and boating help to reduce the stress levels in their lives, not to mention improve your love life.

Also, the survey showed that over half of the population, 55%, had been fishing and boating in the last two years. Now, that is a big percentage of the population for any activity, and most people living by Newport Harbor take for granted how important recreational boating is in our community and the number of people who make their living either directly or indirectly from recreational fishing and boating in Newport Harbor.

Remember, California has two free fishing days in 2016, July 2 and Sept. 3, where you can take someone who has never fished before out with you if you own a boat. You can see RBFFs complete list of the 100 spots here.

Tip of the week: Do you have an EPIRB aboard your vessel?

You know, the emergency position indicating radio beacon that when activated will transmit a distress signal on the 406 MHz frequency. Please inspect your EPIRB before you venture out onto the ocean this summer and see who the manufacturer of the unit is because there is a global recall by Kannad.

The Coast Guard has issued an urgent marine safety alert for all SAFELINK EPIRBs. Kannad Marine issued the recall in April because of a defect in the plastic yellow housing, due to environmental effects. This defect could prevent the unit from working when you need it the most.

The Coast Guard is recommending that if you have a SAFELINK to not use the unit and to replace the unit immediately. You should register your EPIRB on Kannads website so that you can order a replacement unit here, or send an email to safelinkinspection@kannadmarine.com.

The original boating program, Boathouse TV & Radio Shows, has stretched from coast to coast for more than two decades. See the details at www.boathousetv.com, Facebook and Twitter.

Safe voyages!

--

MIKE WHITEHEAD is a boating columnist for the Daily Pilot. Send marine-related thoughts and story suggestions to mike@boathousetv.com or go to boathousetv.com.

MORE OPINION

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A father filed a lawsuit against a Catholic grade school in Glendale on behalf of his teenage daughter, alleging she was wrongfully expelled following false rumors of sexual misconduct.

Roberto Pangilinan claims that his daughter, who had attended Holy Family Grade School for nine years, was expelled during her last semester of eighth grade after she reported being bullied by her peers, according to the complaint filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The lawsuit was filed against the school and its administrators, including Principal Fidela Suelto, Rev. James Bevacqua and Vice Principal Katharine Huntley, along with eighth-grade teacher Ashley Walden and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The causes of action include breach of contract, defamation of character, as well as negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

On Feb. 13, the teenager  who kept a 4.0 grade point average, served as captain of the cheerleading squad and was a member of the Academic Decathlon team  told Walden that her peers were spreading false rumors that she was having sex, and begged the teacher to make them stop, according to the lawsuit.

That week, the principal requested that certain unnamed students provide written statements about the rumor, or they would not be allowed to participate in a class trip to Disneyland.

This appears to be the extent of the investigation into (the students) report of bullying, according to the lawsuit, which later states, None of these defendants talked with the boys parents or questioned the boys extensively or at all about the veracity of their accusations.

Suelto allegedly refused to show the then 13-year-old girls father the statements, but told him that four weeks earlier, she learned that two boys had seen his daughter in the boys bathroom, partially undressed, with her boyfriend.

According to the lawsuit, Suelto did not act on the allegations until the girl reported the bullying.

On Feb. 17, hours after meeting with the teenager and her parents, during which the girl denied sexual misconduct, Suelto informed the girls father via email that his daughter had been expelled and would be escorted off campus immediately.

According to the lawsuit, the school handbook states that expulsion decisions rest with the pastor after a parent-principal conference, but in this case, the principal ended up making the decision on her own the day she met with the students parents.

Additionally, the handbook has special rules for eighth graders, stating that only in exceptional cases shall expulsion of an eighth-grade student who has been in the school one or more years be allowed, and if an expulsion is proposed in an eighth graders last semester, prior approval of the Department of Catholic Schools is required before it can take effect, according to the lawsuit.

After the girls expulsion, Bevacqua told the girls father to move on, as there was nothing he could do.

When Pangilinan hired an attorney, a legal consultant for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles told the attorney that things would get ugly for the teenager if she took the matter to court.

In typical fashion, the Catholic Church attempted to sweep the Churchs mishandling of (the students) discipline under the rug, the lawsuit stated.

Suelto, along with a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, declined to comment on the pending litigation. Bevacqua could not immediately be reached.

Meanwhile, dozens of parents, students and a school employee signed a petition requesting that the girl be reinstated, according to the lawsuit.

The girl is seeking more than $500,000 in damages.

--

Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek
Two La Canada Flintridge residents made successful bids on Tuesday in Californias primary election and will be moving on to the November general election.

Former Democratic state Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, a past La Canada mayor, will face Republican Michael D. Antonovich in the 25th District state Senate race. Antonovich received 57,749 votes, or roughly 39%, according to election results. Coming in next behind him in the six-candidate race was Portantino, with 40,901 votes, or about 28%.

For the last 35 years, Antonovich has been supervisor for the countys 5th District, but term limits approved by voters in 2002 freed up the position for the first time since 1980 and he set his sights on the Senate seat. Prior to serving on the county board, Antonovich was elected to the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees and the California Assembly, where he served three terms.

Portantino served as an Assembly member for the 44th District from 2006 to 2012. He is known for authoring AB 144, which made it illegal to open-carry an unloaded firearm in public.

Portantino is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Southern California, where he has taught leadership.

On his Facebook page Wednesday, Portantino thanked all who made this day happen! Ive said it many times that a person cant run for office alone. It takes support from home and many friends and neighbors coming together to call, walk and help! We had a great team and hundreds of volunteers come out to make our successful night. He went on to thank his family members, wife Ellen and daughters Sofia and Bella, for their ongoing support.

The other La Canada resident who met with high voter approval Tuesday was Debra R. Archuleta, who is seeking a seat as Superior Court judge for Office No. 11. A Los Angeles deputy district attorney, Archuleta captured 515,927 votes, or 47.56%. In November she will face Steven Schreiner, who collected 287,536 votes, or 26.51% of those cast.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), now in his eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, sailed past his opponents in the primary election. Schiff received 81,806 votes, or 70.5%, compared to 21,741 votes for Lenore Solis and 12,492 for Sal Genovese. Schiff will now face Solis in the general election in November.

Schiff currently serves as the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Benghazi Select Committee.

In the eight-way race for the 43rd District state Assembly seat, Glendale Councilwoman Laura Friedman and Glendale City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian led the way and will head to a November runoff.

Friedman received about 32% of the votes, while Kassakhian got roughly 24%, according to the L.A. County Registrar. Friedman garnered 24,372 votes, and Kassakhian received 18,618. Both Kassakhian and Friedman are Democrats.

At his headquarters on election night, Kassakhian said his campaign has been a grassroots effort.

Theres no doubt that, when you look at who our donors are, whos contributed to our campaign, the diversity of the groups that coalesced, the Democratic clubs, theres no doubt in my mind that were the candidate of choice for the people, he said.

Kassakhian has been elected Glendales city clerk three times and said he understands the importance of being responsible to his electorate, and he looks forward to the opportunity to take voters message to Sacramento, if elected.

At her headquarters at Phoenicia restaurant, Friedman said she knows a lot about what people in Glendale have wanted over the years, and shes spent a lot of time learning about their concerns  as well as concerns of the constituents in the rest of the 43rd district.

I feel even more committed after talking to people and seeing how great the need is for change, that makes me energized, she said.

Kassakhian has raised about $685,000 in his bid for state assembly, while Friedman has amassed a war chest of about $665,000.

Two other hopefuls with roots in La Canada, former La Canada Unified School Board President Andrew Blumenfeld and resident Rajiv Dalal, also ran in the Assembly race, with Blumenfeld coming in fourth with 9,554 votes (12.51%) and Dalal in seventh place with 2,238 votes (2.93%).

In the race to succeed Antonovich in his county supervisor seat, his chief of staff, Kathryn Barger, amassed 77,131 votes, or about 30%, according to election results. In second place was Darrell Park, who had 38,911 votes, or about 15%. Barger and Park will square off against each other in the general election in November.
President Obama on Friday declared the hallowed shores of Normandy democracys beachhead as he remembered the Allied invasions as the beginning of a century of freedom movements that spread across continents.

Nations that once knew only the blinders of fear began to taste the blessings of freedom, Obama said.

That would not have happened without the men who were willing to lay down their lives for people theyd never met, and ideals they couldnt live without.

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Obama spoke at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, where nearly 9,400 American soldiers are buried on the bluffs overlooking the English Channel. The blanket of white crosses and Stars of David perched over beaches where 70 years ago Allied forces launched invasions that would liberate France from the Nazis, turn the tide of the war and over the course of months leave more than 425,000 men dead, wounded or missing.

Gentlemen, we are truly humbled by your presence today, Obama said to the veterans gathered in the midday sun for the anniversary ceremony. The aging vets sitting behind him -- some in baggy military dress, canes in hand -- rose slowly, if they could, to accept the applause.

Straying from prepared remarks, Obama noted how this ceremony affected him personally. I dont think theres a time I miss my grandfather more, or a time Id be more happy to have him here than this day.

The visit and reflections on the battles have become something of a rite of passage for American presidents as D-day has grown as a public symbol of the contributions of the Greatest Generation. President Carter became the first to pay tribute to the fallen at Normandy in 1978. Presidents since have seized the chance to offer their retelling of the story.

Obamas visit was his second; he marked the 65th anniversary in 2009. It comes as a president who found easy acceptance of his military agenda in his first term is on defense on several fronts. Obama is facing bipartisan criticism for negotiating with the Taliban for the release of an American soldier. His Veterans Affairs Department is in turmoil as it struggles to provide care for a new generation and has seen veterans die waiting for services. Meanwhile, the president has been under pressure to better explain when he would use U.S. military power, as a civil war in Syria rages on.

On his trip to Europe this week, Obama has struggled to keep his European allies in step on a plan to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin for his annexation of Crimea. And hes spent much of his time reassuring allies he would hold to the NATO treaty promising U.S. defense.

Though largely unrelated problems, taken in sum they raise challenging questions about when to begin and how to end wars in the 21stcentury. The president offered only glimpses of his thinking as he addressed a crowd of foreign leaders and dozens of World War II veterans as well as veterans of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

When the war was won, we claimed no spoils of victory -- we helped Europe rebuild. We claimed no land other than the earth where we bury those who gave their lives under our flag, and where we station those who still serve under it, he said.

And our victory in that war decided not just a century, but shaped the security and well-being of all posterity. We worked to turn old adversaries into new allies.

Nearly 4,500 Allied troops, more than half Americans, died on the invasions first day -- a loss of life that Obama suggested might not have been tolerated in todays hyperconnected, hypercritical culture.

In our age of instant commentary, the invasion would have been swiftly and roundly declared, as it was by one officer, a debacle, Obama said, according to prepared remarks. But a race to judgment does not take into account the courage of free men.

Still, Obama held up the 9/11 generation of soldiers as the heirs to this legacy. He noted the changing face of the military -- paying tribute by name to Staff Sgt. Melvin Cedillo-Martin, an immigrant from Honduras and Spec. Jannise Rodriguez, who earned the title of the 101st Airborne Division Air Assault Soldier of the Year.

They too felt some tug; they answered some call; they said Ill go, Obama said.

The president spoke under the midday sun to several world leaders gathered for the ceremonies. More than a dozen leaders were slated to attend a luncheon at a nearby chateau that once served as a hospital for wounded soldiers. The high-powered meal, which will include Obamas European counterparts, Queen Elizabeth II and Putin, is closed to the media.
Colorado and Washington may have jumped ahead in the race to become North Americas marijuana kings, but Canada is now positioned to take a lead in the booming multibillion-dollar industry.

Canadian leaders could legalize recreational marijuana use as soon as next year, potentially opening the door for pot to be sold at pharmacies and province-run liquor stores. Medical cannabis has been legal in the country since 2001.

Under the new legislation, marijuana growers and distributors in Canada would also find themselves free of the trip wires that make the pot business in the U.S. risky  such as being barred from opening bank accounts or doing business with big-money investors.

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There is a lot of excitement and optimism from marijuana businesses and entrepreneurs in the U.S., who have their fingers crossed that Canada is going to pull this off, says Chris Walsh, editorial director of Marijuana Business Daily, published in Rhode Island.

Canadas expected move to legalize recreational pot wont lead to instant world domination. But the plan represents a huge market for U.S. businesses and investors who have already identified an opportunity north of the border, Walsh says.

Two years ago, Seattle-based Privateer Holdings Inc. became the first American-owned company to open a commercial medicinal cannabis production facility in Canada. Derek Ogden, chief executive of of the Ottawa-based National Access Cannabis network of education clinics, says he believes Canadian pot producers could one day export their product to the U.S. and, conversely, import weed from the U.S., though he acknowledges that would happen only under a reciprocal trade agreement, and only if the U.S. legalizes marijuana at the federal level.

A man smokes during the 4/20 marijuana rally at Sunset Beach in Vancouver, Canada. (Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

Canadian Health Minister Jane Philpott told a United Nations General Assembly in April that the country would introduce legislation next spring to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana.

It would be the law of the land, unlike the state-by-state checkerboard of laws in the U.S. Although a state may legalize marijuana use, the federal government still classifies pot as a Schedule 1 drug, along with heroin and LSD.

Marijuana is a $4.3-billion industry in the U.S. But in Canada, where there are now fewer than 30 government-licensed companies, it generates no more than $150 million in sales.

Former Toronto police Chief Bill Blair, now a liberal member of Parliament, was appointed Canadas marijuana czar by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and asked to figure out where and how pot should be sold. A federal task force is expected to forward recommendations to Trudeau by November.

Ogden, who spent more than 25 years as an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is among those eager to see to see the results of Blairs game plan.

Canadian Health Minister Jane Philpott addresses the United Nations special session on global drug policy in April. (Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press)

Currently, only licensed producers are allowed to distribute medical marijuana by mail to people authorized to use it by a doctor, although thats expected to change by August following a Federal Court ruling this year that ordered Health Canada to allow patients to grow their own therapeutic pot.

Storefront dispensaries are banned in Canada, a point illustrated when police recently raided 43 unlicensed operations in Toronto and seized 595 pounds of pot. Criminal charges were filed against 90 dispensary owners and employees.

But on the West Coast, Vancouver has flouted the law and recently issued its first business license to a medical marijuana dispensary under regulations the city established last June. Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, is planning similar regulations.

Canadian pharmacies have expressed interest in selling medical cannabis, while province-run liquor stores want a piece of the recreational marijuana market  an idea that both Trudeau and Blair support.

Ogden says, Its a matter of time before medical cannabis is legal in the U.S.

On the recreational side, he added, governments like Canadas look at it as a revenue source and feel that it makes no sense to exclude all of this potential money from their coffers when people are going to continue to consume cannabis, and preventing them from doing so legally is just going to drive them to the black market.

Guly is a special correspondent.

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The three Iraqi security force members were perched atop a bridge overlooking the highway bisecting the remains of former boomtown Baiji, shooing away any vehicle without armor plating.

Their eyes compulsively scanned the industrial sprawl of the nearby oil refinery, the citys raison detre, silent and gutted after years of fighting between extremists and pro-government forces, and pillaging.

We have clashes here every day, said one of the men, a federal police officer who identified himself only as Commissioner Alaa. Islamic State fighters come down from the mountains and sneak up on us.

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The city, once a bustling home to 200,000 people, is so utterly destroyed that there is little, if any, hope of rebuilding. It is deserted aside from security forces essentially left to defend a memory of hope amid the remains of buildings wrecked by a hailstorm of burning metal chunks caused by the battles.

Many observers believe Baiji and its refinery, 125 miles north of the capital, Baghdad, will never be rebuilt, destined to remain relics of a countrywide economic arrangement that no longer holds, and a symbol of the governments ability to do little more in some places than to try to keep away insurgents.

It would cost billions of dollars to repair the refinery alone  money that the government, which is facing a budget crisis, does not have. The pipeline network, which once extended to essential sources such as the nearby Ajil oil field, has also been severely disrupted, according to Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad, and many areas where it passes remain under Islamic State control.

But even if the refinery could be repaired, many question whether it is economically feasible to do so in Iraqs current political climate, where the countrys main sects have an increasingly fractious relationship.

Iraqi fighters look at the damage Oct. 17, 2015, after security and allied paramilitary forces recaptured a refinery complex from Islamic State extremists in Baiji. (Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images )

Much of Baijis output relied on a steady supply of crude from the northern province of Kirkuk  which reportedly has about 10% of the countrys total reserve of 140 billion barrels  an arrangement that worked when Iraq was unified under the rule of strongman Saddam Hussein. It is unlikely, however, to continue; the semiautonomous Kurdish administration in the north is intent on severing ties with the central government and keeping the oil.

The calculations for the government are that Kirkuks oil is now disputed and wont necessarily be part of the central governments share, said Abbas Anbori, an advisor to the Iraqi parliaments Foreign Relations Committee. That, along with the high cost of the damage, means ... it may be better to just cancel Baiji  instead of relying on a facility that one day may be again under Daesh and in any case may not benefit the central government, he said, referring to Islamic State by its Arabic acronym.

When the refinery came online in 1982, it was the biggest in Iraq, with four refining units installed in a 10-square- mile complex with easy access to the Baghdad-Mosul highway, the backbone of the countrys road system. Capable of producing 310,000 barrels of oil a day, more than a third of Iraqs domestic energy needs, it gave rise to a host of ancillary industries including fertilizer and vegetable oil factories and a power plant.

The refinerys location along the Tigris River was key to its success: It stood at the center of a spiderweb of pipelines and was the starting point from where roughly 500 tankers would distribute $10 million worth of oil a day throughout the country, according to industry figures in 2008.

Back in the good old days, the government had a grand energy strategy as to how Iraq would look and it was all about linking the country, Michael Knights, an Iraq expert with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said in a recent phone interview.

During the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the vicious sectarian bloodletting that followed, the location also became a liability.

Baiji is the northernmost point of the so-called Sunni Triangle (Ramadi and Baqubah are its other ends), a Sunni Muslim-dominated area that was a major support base for several insurgent groups fighting the Americans, including the progenitor of Islamic State, the Islamic State of Iraq.

The refinery proved a great draw for the insurgents, who would hijack tankers, bleed pipelines or bribe officials to get at the oil. In 2008, the Pentagon estimated as much as 70% of Baijis production, $2 billion in fuel derivatives, disappeared into the black market every year.

But by 2012, the area had stabilized enough for the Oil Ministry to invest in millions of dollars of spare parts for the refinery and a plan to bring its production levels to capacity, said Patrick Osgood, Kurdistan bureau chief for Iraq Oil Report, an industry news service.

Meanwhile, in the 10-year plans of the provincial government, Baiji was to become its largest population center.

Simply, it was the economic lifeblood of our province, said Ismail Haloob, deputy governor of Salahuddin province. Half of our revenue was from there.

All that changed in 2014, when Islamic State blitzed through large parts of Iraq, gaining control of cities such as Mosul, Tikrit and Baiji.

A hard fight began for the refinery. Both sides launched at least 10 major offensives on the area over a period of 16 months, before a combined force of Iraqi government troops and Shiite Muslim factions backed by the U.S.-led coalition ousted the group in October 2015.

But the threat of violence by Islamic State fighters who emerge from the nearby Makhoul and Hamreen mountains has persisted, even though the refinery appears dead.

We are now in a defensive position, but its not secure, said a commander with the League of the Righteous, a pro-government Shiite faction that is the refinerys main security force, who used the nom de guerre Abu Ghassan for security reasons.

The commander refused to allow journalists into the refinery because of the proximity of Islamic State fighters, but he described a facility sprinkled with booby traps that was all but destroyed in the fighting. Wide-scale looting, some of which has been blamed on the cadres of the league, has left the place plundered.

Its not that its not working, its that it will never work  you can say forever, he said.

Knights said the government has focused on building new refineries in Karbala, Baghdad, Maysan and Samarra, areas it is confident of controlling.

Without the refinery in Baiji, there is little reason for residents to return and no incentive for the government to do more than secure the area from militants.

Its not just that Baiji is a possible bastion of the enemy. Its that the economic structure of the country has disintegrated, Knights said. Baiji is a symbol of this  and so the country stays like a broken-backed man.

Bulos is a special correspondent.
Jun 10, 2016, 5:08pm ET

Toyota orders dealers to disclose defective airbags in new cars

Some vehicles are being sold with inflators that will be replaced in a few years.

Toyota has asked dealers to notify customers if they are buying a new vehicle outfitted with a Takata airbag inflator that has been deemed defective.

New-car dealers are typically prohibited from selling any vehicle affected by an existing recall until the repairs have been completed, but the expansive nature of the Takata defect has created an apparent loophole.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took a hard line with Takata when it ordered the company to recall all non-desiccated ammonium-nitrate inflators, adding up to 40 million components. The agency took a softer approach with repair scheduling, allowing automakers to replace inflators in phases. The repairs will start with older vehicles in high-humidity regions, as both time and moisture are the factors that contribute to failure.

Prioritization of older vehicles has led to the conflicting situation for new cars. If automakers switch to Takata's revised inflator design on the assembly line, those same parts are no longer available to fix a long list of older vehicles that are statistically much more likely to experience failure.

Toyota, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen currently use at least one defective inflator design in their current production models. Toyota has estimated that approximately 175,000 vehicles will leave factories with the controversial inflators through July 2017. Only the 2016 4Runner and Lexus GX460 are affected, according to details posted by Reuters.

Several legislators last week grilled NHTSA and DOT officials, pressuring the agency to address lingering safety concerns. Senate Commerce Committee democrats appeared to acknowledge the statistical basis for the phased program, however they argued that consumers should not be left unaware when they leave a showroom with an inflator that may become increasingly dangerous in the coming years.

The NHTSA has not yet acted on the recommendation. Toyota's preemptive actions may reflect an expected shift in the agency's official guidelines surrounding the complex Takata campaigns.
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The Bethlehem Area Public Library on Friday celebrated its new children's center, which opened in late March after a $1.3 million project.

The France L. Barnard Children's Center is named for the former library volunteer whose $300,000 bequest made the center possible along with a $500,000 matching grant from the state. Barnard was a very active volunteer at the library in the 1980s and 1990s; she died in August 2012 at age 88.

The library has been working since 2008 to create a new, larger children's room at its main library as part of its Room to Grow project. The fundraising effort raised $500,000 in private donations.

"Public support from the community was amazing," said Josh Berk, library director. "Over 1,300 individuals, businesses and charitable nonprofits from the community also contributed to the project."

The children's section of the library hasn't changed much since the library opened in 1967.

The nature-themed children's center takes up most of the library's second floor and triples the library's space for its collection of children's books, magazines, educational toys and software. There's also a special section for teens and a dedicated program area in space donated by the R.K. Laros Foundation.

The program space will be used heavily during the 45 summer programs planned for kids and teens.

The center features whimsical seating and shelving and a tree mural on two columns. The library says the most common response from kids has been "awesome."

The first phase of the Room to Grow project involved $1 million of physical upgrades at the main library, including installing a new roof and elevator. The library's South Side Branch got an upgraded children's area in 2013 as part of the project. Renovations to the branch's public areas totaled $500,000.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A group of north Bethlehem residents that has battled developer Abe Atiyeh in the past are wary of his latest plans to subdivide land near their homes.

Developer Abraham Atiyeh's had a contentious history with his property at Dewberry Avenue and Center Street, so neighbors are wary of his intentions with adjacent land. (lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

The Bethlehem Planning Commission on Thursday approved a request by Atiyeh's Pennsylvania Venture Capital to subdivide two acres at 1845 Madison Ave. The land is zoned institutional.

Atiyeh has no plans for the site yet other than the uses allowed under the city zoning, said David Harte, vice president of business development for PA Venture Capital.

Neighbors are concerned because they have spent $30,000 battling Atiyeh over the adjacent five acres at 1838 Center St., said Stewart Early, a member of the North Bethlehem Action Committee.

Atiyeh's history with the adjacent land "raises question about how prudent it would be to trust him," Early said.

Planning Commission Chairman Robert Melosky noted that any plans for the subdivided site would have to come back before city planners.

The planning commission in 2008 approved Atiyeh's plans to build an assisted living facility at 1838 Center St., which is on the corner of Dewberry Avenue. Then he pitched high-end apartments, plans the city zoning board in 2010 rejected because they aren't a permitted use on the institutionally zoned property.

Atiyeh then proposed a joint psychiatric hospital and detox facility on the site, which was an allowed use, but planners rejected it in 2011. Then in 2013, Atiyeh received approval to build a hospital on the site. It remains vacant.

"He seems to go from one inappropriate idea to the next," Early said.

It's been said Atiyeh is working with Acadia Healthcare on the site, but there's been no official confirmation of what will go there, Early said. The residents wonder if it is really going to be a hospital or a drug and alcohol treatment center.

Melosky pressed Harte on the status of the other project.

There have been meetings with city staff on the hospital project and things are going forward, Harte said.

The residents think the subdivision application is incomplete and noted it was disclosed to them less than 30 hours before Thursday's meeting, way less than the 30 days the city requires, Early said.

City planning Director Darlene Heller said the city requested a statement of intent from the developer but it is not a requirement.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and on Facebook.. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Easton Area student hurt in fall, possibly a jump, from school bus

Authorities respond Thursday, June 9, 2016, to the 200 block of West Berwick Street on South Side Easton after a 14-year-old girl was hurt in a fall from the rear door of a school bus. Authorities were investigating whether she had jumped deliberately. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

The condition of a Easton Area Middle School student believed to have jumped from a school bus Thursday appeared to improve Friday, a school district official said.

John Remaley, director of safe schools and police chief for the Easton Area School District, said he got a condition update during an effort to visit the 14-year-old girl at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township. She and her mother were both asleep, but he spoke with a nurse.

"The nurse did tell me that the student was doing better and that the outlook appeared brighter than it had yesterday," Remaley said in an email late Friday afternoon.

The mother of the girl, neither of whom have been publicly identified, told middle school 5-8 Principal Charlene Symia the girl's "doctors do feel more optimistic in regard to her daughter's condition," Remaley wrote.

The girl suffered a head injury about 12:20 p.m. when she went out the rear of the bus in the 200 block of West Berwick Street on South Side Easton.

Investigators said her injuries were consistent with having fallen from the bus but that witnesses say she may have jumped deliberately from the moving bus, in a last-day-of-school tradition.

The investigation was continuing.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Thomas Williams Jr. and Lisa Pektor were named the Lehigh Valley's Man and Woman of the Year for 2016 by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Thomas Williams Jr. (Courtesy photo)

Williams, of Coopersburg, is a 2008 graduate of Lehigh University and the real estate director for Cityline Construction in Allentown. He won the title by raising $115,804 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Lisa Pektor (Courtesy photo)

Pektor, of Bethlehem, is president of PennCap Properties. She participated in the fundraising competition in honor of her grandmother Ruth, who lost her fight with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 10 years prior. Pektor earned the title by raising $73,515.

The Man and Woman of the Year is a 10-week long fundraiser in which candidates compete to raise the highest amount in honor of a local boy or girl who are blood cancer survivors. The titles are then given to the man and woman who have raised the most, all of which go toward blood cancer research.

This year 14 candidates competed to raise a record-breaking $513,083 with help from their campaign teams and community.

Ellen Rubesin, executive director of the Eastern Pennsylvania chapter of the LLS, lauded their efforts.

"They are all passionate and determined individuals, and leaders in their communities," she said in a news release. "Their efforts really go far in bringing help and hope to patients and their families."

This summer national titles will be awarded to the top fundraisers in the country, and Williams and Pektor are in the running.

Those interested in nominating a candidate for the 2017 Man and Woman of the Year can contact the LLS Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter at 484-245-3190 or www.MWOY.org/epa.

For more information on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, visit www.LLS.org.
Probe of cause of house explosion begins, June 5, 2016

Elizabethtown Gas Company and Phillipsburg officials began an investigation Sunday into the cause of a house explosion a day earlier.

(TIMOTHY E. WYNKOOP)

TURKEYS



and other online sites to profit from tickets to Muhammad Ali's memorial service, which the family (and Ali himself, in planning the event) insisted would be free and open to the public. Even with 15,000 seats available for the tribute at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville on Friday, thousands more were turned away when the tickets were offered on a first-come, first served basis.

A Wal-Mart Supercenter is coming to an industrial park along Route 412 in Bethlehem, on former Steel land. This week city officials made it clear

-- a typical big-box building surrounded by parking, like the chain's mall stores -- isn't going to cut it. Officials said they want something different for the gateway space -- a facade resembling connected urban buildings, according to city planning Director Darlene Heller.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that Pennsylvania State Supreme Court Judge

was wrong to take part in a death-penalty appeal in a case he oversaw as a prosecutor. In a 5-3 ruling, the court ordered a new hearing for Terrance Williams, saying Castille's participation in the 2014 appeal violated the convicted murderer's constitutional rights. As the Philadelphia district attorney in 1986, Castille signed off on the death penalty. Later, with the state Supreme Court, he voted to reinstate the death penalty for Williams after a lower court had voided it. Castille, now retired, called the high court's decision "ill thought-out."

TROPHIES

have come to the aid of a Phillipsburg family who had the good fortune to be away when their apartment house was torn apart by an explosion last week. Crystal Hlatky, her daughter Dakota and fiance Stephen Sutton lost all their possessions in the blast, which severely injured a neighbor; other neighbors in a first-floor apartment escaped unharmed. The American Red Cross is assisting the victims, and others have helped with donations of clothing. A

was set up Wednesday to help the trio.

thinks senior citizens in Easton's West Ward should get out more -- in safe, comfortable surroundings where they can meet their neighbors. Wheeler, leader of the community group West Ward WISE, is organizing a series of Seniors in the Park events with free lunches and guest speakers from the Easton Police Department and Easton and St. Luke's hospitals. The get-togethers will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on seven Wednesdays starting June 22. The first one will be at Centennial Park, 12th and Ferry streets.

Two years after graduating from Easton Area High School,

doesn't regret her decision to enlist in the U.S. Army rather than study criminal justice in college. The 20-year-old Palmer Township resident recently completed Airborne school and became the first woman from Pennsylvania to graduate as a combat engineer.

were honored this week with a retirement party at St. Anne School in Bethlehem, where the sixth-grade teachers put in a combined 74 years. Tylenda joined St. Anne School in 1972, planning to switch to a public school job for better pay, but stayed on because of the sense of family at St. Anne. Nelson started teaching in 1973 at St. Francis of Assisi in Allentown, left for several years, then returned to substitute teaching and received a full-time position at St. Anne in 1998.
This week, St Canices and Mountrath Credit Unions joined forces to create a stronger credit union.

As a result, members from Mountrath & District Credit Union have access to the enhanced range of lending and financial services that St. Canices has to offer including, online facilities, electronic payments and extended opening hours.

Also, with accounts now being BIC and IBAN enabled, it means that members from Mountrath can begin to receive payments such as salaries, pensions and social welfare payments directly into their Credit Union account.

Members of both credit unions will also enjoy the added convenience of being able to do business in any of the six St. Canices Credit Union offices located at High Street and MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre in Kilkenny in addition to the Ballyragget, Durrow and Dunnamaggin offices and now also, the office at Shannon Street in Mountrath.

Jenifer Masterson is Chair of the Board of Mountrath Credit Union.

This merger is about serving the present and future financial needs of our members and we are confident that the decision to join with St Canices is the right one.

Experiences of other mergers have shown that members and their local communities benefit as they can be part of a stronger more efficient credit union that will provide greater financial strength and stability, she said.

St Canices Credit Union is Irelands largest community credit union with more than 46,000 members and 265 million in assets.

Having, in recent months successfully merged Durrow and Ballyragget Credit Unions it has also been given the green light to progress discussions with other credit unions and further mergers are likely before the end of the 2016.

To save or borrow from St. Canices Credit Union, you must be a member.

However, joining is easy and youll be in good company with 2.9 million others who have already recognised the benefits of Credit Union membership in Ireland.

For more information on becoming a member, just drop into your nearest St. Canices Credit Union office or visit www.stcanicescu.ie.
Nick Clegg turned to the subject of EU democracy in his Standard column this week.

He was quick to point out the irony of members of the House of Lords castigating the democracy of the EU:

With more than 800 members, the House of Lords is only second to Chinas National Peoples Congress in size and is about as undemocratic: unique in Europe, its members can revise and amend the laws of the land without anyone actually being elected. It is, in short, an affront to the basic democratic principle that those who make the laws of the land should be elected by those who obey the laws of the land. Yet this obvious inconsistency appears to have escaped Lord Lawson et al when they berate the EU as profoundly undemocratic. I find what they do every day in the House of Lords profoundly undemocratic too.

The rest of our democracy is riddled with faults too:

Similarly, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Chris Grayling and the other Brexit ministers appear to be entirely untroubled that they serve in a Government that garnered no more than 24 per cent of the eligible vote. Such an undemocratic outcome  wielding unchallenged power when three quarters of voters either voted for another party or didnt vote at all  is, it seems, acceptable to these high priests of democratic virtue. The truth is that our own democracy is in need of a complete overhaul. Westminster is hopelessly stuck in the past: MPs are not allowed to shake each others hands on the parliamentary estate; we cant call each other by our names and must instead use arcane titles such as my right honourable friend or the gallant and learned gentleman. We are not allowed to clap in the Commons so we register our approval by manically guffawing and waving papers instead.

The EU has its flaws, but its not lack of democracy that causes the problem:

What I would never advocate, however, is that Westminster and Whitehall should be razed to the ground or that we should quit our democratic institutions altogether. Yet that is precisely what Brexiteers are inviting us to do: respond to the flaws in the EU, which are numerous, by turning our backs on it altogether. EU decision-making is complex and laborious. Far from being some superstate rampaging out of control, my experience is that it is simply far too slow at getting things done because everything, by and large, has to be agreed between 28 sovereign countries. It took the EU almost 30 years, for instance, to agree a common definition of chocolate  in part because the continental purists objected to the inclusion of vegetable fat, found in many British chocolate bars, as a key ingredient. A common definition was important to British chocolate exporters because it allowed them, once the vegetable fat dilemma had been resolved, to export to 500 million European chocolate consumers without any impediment. A body that takes three decades to define chocolate can be described as many things  not least slow and bureaucratic  but an undemocratic conspiracy is hardly one of them.

And its not as if we dont get our way:

The fundamental flaw in such a system is not that Britain fails to get its way  we win more than 90 per cent of the decisions taken  it is just that it is tediously long-winded.

You can read the full article here.

* Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online.
THE NEWLY crowned Miss Limerick says she doesnt feel there is enough being done to tackle the high rate of suicide in Limerick.

Aoife McNamara, 18, who is originally from Corbally but moved to Broadford in County Clare two years ago, is keen to pursue a career in psychiatric nursing and has just finished a year of pre-nursing at Limerick College of Further Education.

In Limerick, there is such a high rate of suicide. There are things being done but I don't think it's enough, she said.

I hope to make a difference. It breaks my heart every weekend seeing helicopters out - I dont think it should happen," she said.

When asked if she would like to pursue a career in modelling, she said: I would prefer to get my career first and work as a model part-time.

Aoife took home the sash and crown following a glitzy ceremony at Crush 87 nightclub in Limerick city.

"I was a bit shocked. I kind of froze when it happened and then all my family came running at me and it took me about 10 minutes to get up on the stage," smiled the blonde beauty who was accompanied at the pageant by her parents Lavinia and Michael, brother Paul, 12, and sister Saoirse, 9, and a number of aunts and uncles.

Even my little sister started crying with excitement, Aoife recalled.

We stayed in Crush for an hour and then we went to The Red Hen because they were my sponsors. We stayed there until 2am, then we went home and got food - we didnt get to sleep until half three or four oclock.

Aoife who stands at 5 11also models with the Holman Lee Agency.

I have done a year of modelling with Celia. I have done one or two fashion shows for a breast cancer fundraiser. I had a small bit more confidence because I knew how to walk properly.

A former student of Scoil Ide primary school and Ard Scoil Mhuire secondary school in Corbally, Aoife feels her overall confidence and ability to engage with people stood to her in the Miss Limerick final.

Madeline Mulqueen who was a judge was saying that they were impressed by my confidence and how I hold myself and talk to people. I didnt really get nervous about Miss Limerick and I think that is what stood to me. I dont really get nervous about these things because I can talk to people and I did public speaking in school.

The blonde beauty who will represent Ireland in the Miss Ireland competition later this summer describes her style as laid back which is in keeping with her love of the great outdoors.

On a normal day I would just wear jeans and Converse but going out I would be more into dresses but not too tight or not too short, figure hugging but not showing too much.

She looks up to the Irish models including Rosanna Davison and former Miss Limerick Shauna Lindsay and enjoys walking in the countryside with the family dog.

Out in Broadford there are mountains everywhere. I love nature, walking and looking at beautiful scenery. We have a two-year-old German Shepherd Josie. We love taking her for walks and up the mountains and she loves it too.

I thought when I turned 18 that I would be out every weekend but I dont really go out much.

I love Penneys. I absolutely love Penneys. My dad knows that even if I won the Lottery, its straight to Penneys I would go.

Aoife is keen to use her profile to good use by becoming an ambassador for different charities. I would especially like to help the homeless, cerebral palsy and the Irish Breast Cancer Society. My mam recently got the all clear from breast cancer, she explained.

Aoife was full of praise for the other contestants in the pageant.  They are just amazing. They were really friendly and nice.

I would like to thank my sponsors The Red Hen and Virginias Bridal for sponsoring my make up and my dress. The Red Hen also paid for my hair as well as my entry fee; and thanks to all my family for supporting me.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Laurel Hill student Ciara Buckley from Rhebogue was crowned Miss Crush 87 at the same event.

I am thinking about pursuing modelling or fashion marketing, said Ciara will now compete in the semi final of Miss Ireland. Ciara was accompanied at the pageant by her parents Sharon OCallaghan and Brian Buckley. She is modelling with the Holman Lee Agency and Andrea Roche.

Aoife and I knew each other so we were so happy when the two of us got it, she smiled.

Pageant organiser Celia Holman Lee commended all the girls who entered Miss Limerick 2016.

Its not easy to put yourself forward - it is a very brave thing to do. Many of the girls were bags of nerves. It was all so new to them but I have to say that they really did fantastic. They were so gracious and complimentary to the winner. I am very proud of these young ladies, she said.

X
A HEAVY cloak of silence hung over Adare at 6.53am this Tuesday.

In contrast to the bright, clear blue skies overhead, a sea of pensive faces stood resolutely side by side; some clutching hands, holding tissues, others staring pointedly at the ground, with their own private memories.

Together, each and all remembered a much darker day which happened upon this village, casting a long shadow; two decades long.

Jerry McCabe once said to his wife Ann, perhaps jokingly: The day I go, Ill go big.

But they never expected this. It was a premonition which sadly transpired on what should have been just another ordinary, run-of-the-mill call for duty one June morning.

He left the house before 6am, his wife Ann was at home in Greystones, as their children Stacey, their only daughter and the apple of Jerrys eye, sat her Leaving Certificate and son Ross sat his Junior Certificate.

They had yet to leave the house for school when Ann received a knock at the door. The colour of the inspectors face, who relayed the news, has stayed with her to this day.

On the morning of June 7, 1996, detective garda Jerry McCabe and Ben OSullivan, long time friends, reported for duty at Henry Street garda station. The day was really no different from any other days they commenced for duties, said Chief Superintendent Dave Sheahan.

A duty they had performed previously on so many other days. Others had planned, however, that this would be a day unlike any other. Their actions would be painful and forever etched in the minds and consciousness of us all.

These others, who claimed to embody true Irishness, who claimed to heroically represent us, the citizens of this land, armed themselves that morning with the intent to commit violent, criminal acts against the Irish State.

Despite the passage of time, it remains difficult to speak of the events of June 7, 1996, the day on which the McCabe family and the Garda family suffered such a tragic, cruel and needles loss.

Of the four men who were convicted of his manslaughter  Pearse McAuley, Michael ONeill, Jeremiah Sheehy and Kevin Walsh - the latter three are believed to be living in the Patrickswell area, where they are from. The initial charge of murder was dropped after key witnesses refused to co-operate following IRA intimidation.

Two other men suspected of involvement in the killing are on the run in South America.

Many people acutely remember where they were that day.

Comedian and entertainer Brendan Grace, who appeared in a recent special memorial concert for his friend in the University Concert Hall, said when he got the news the dreadful morning, it was like being hit with a freight train for me.

They were good friends  him and Jerry, and Ben OSullivan, now 72, who was with Jerry, his partner in the force, his best friend, the day he died.

They were good people to have a drink with, good fun, said Brendan.

Ben and Jerry were joined at the hip, the former said, as tears sprung to his eyes under the glare of Adare sunlight and TV cameras this Tuesday morning.

He relived it again, just as he has relived it every day since, some 7,300 days ago.

Those tears were also present when he spoke of Jerry less than a month ago, as he stood next to a bust of his friend in Henry Street, as a memorial concert was announced.

But it was this Tuesdays tribute which brought me to my knees, he said, standing across the road 20 years to the day, the hour, the minute, where it all unfolded in the blink of an eye and lives were changed forever.

His life was somehow, miraculously saved; his friends wasnt.

I felt his pulse, and his pulse wasnt there, he lamented.

My greatest fear was that Id bleed to death. Thankfully that didnt happen but Im not invincible at all. If I was struck where Jerry was struck Id be where he is.

Both detectives, who started in the branch together 23 years previously, were escorting a cash in transit van at 6.50am when their car was struck by a 4x4.

Of the 15 rounds fired, one hit their car, three hit and killed Det Gda McCabe, and 11 struck Det Gda O'Sullivan.

I have come to terms with living with what happened, but I'll never forget it, and all these people here today won't forget it either. Time is a great healer and time thankfully has come to my rescue with regards recovering fully.

Jerry is gone in reality, but in memory he'll never be gone. Jerry and myself joined the detective branch in 1973, on the same day. For the length of time that we served, there was scarcely a day that we were separated because we worked as a team.

Wherever you saw Jerry, you saw me, and regrettably today you see me - without Jerry. A smile is useless unless you give it away, and every time I saw Jerry a smile was evident.

The events of that day are still "crystal clear" in his memory.

"You're not supposed to forget that. You're meant to take up the gauntlet and accept that it happened.

At precisely 6.53am, the six-piece Garda Band played The Last Post, a lament long associated with death and remembrance, traditionally sounded at military funerals.

In Adare, it took on another, more haunting meaning as the village remembered a man of the force killed indiscriminately by members of the IRA during the course of his duties during a botched robbery.

Ann McCabe lined up outside Adare garda station  opposite the post office where her husband was fatally shot  flanked by Ben O'Sullivan to her right, and Willie Jackson, who drove the van to Adare that morning.

To Ann's left stood Chief Superintendent Dave Sheahan, and Superintendents Derek Smart and Tom O'Connor, among dozens of gardai.

It was a solemn, moving occasion where words were few but the emotion of the occasion nonetheless weighed heavily on the family, the gardai and the wider Adare community, who gathered to pay their respects once again.

Supt Sheahan said the words of US President John F Kennedy were particularly true and fitting on this occasion.

A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honours, the men it remembers.

A programme dedicated to the special memorial concert for Jerry McCabe will be broadcast on the Limerick County Matters Show on Irish TV, channel 191 on SKY, this Saturday, June 11 at 5.30pm
Jun 11, 2016, 5 AM

Chris Lazaroff reached his goal of attending a first-day ceremony in all 50 states on June 2, at the Wyoming dedication for the Yellowstone stamp in the National Park Service Centennial pane of 16. He attended his first ceremony in 1982.

By Lloyd de Vries

Some philatelists collect first-day covers or first-day ceremony programs. Chris Lazaroff, a cachetmaker from Simpsonville, S.C., collects first-day ceremonies, and he has now completed his collection, after attending first-day ceremonies in all 50 states.

He is the first person known to have done this.

I attended my first ceremony in 1982 at APS Stampshow in Milwaukee, Wis., Lazaroff said in a recent interview with Linns.

At first, attending ceremonies was a casual pursuit for him, when the events were close by or otherwise convenient.

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However, when Northwest Airlines ran a special promotion of a free flight after two paid flights, Lazaroff said that started me on a journey back in 1989, until June 2 of this year, to complete the quest.

June 2 was the day the United States Postal Service issued its National Park Service Centennial stamps, with first-day ceremonies in 14 of the 16 parks. Lazaroff had needed a Wyoming ceremony for some time, so he left World Stamp Show-New York 2016 to fly to Yellowstone National Park for the dedication of that parks stamp.

The first 40 are easy, because any state is a new one, Lazaroff told Linns. Delaware I went to in 2014. The last time they had a first-day ceremony was 1989.

In fact, Lazaroff made the arrangements for the Oct. 11, 2014, ceremony for the release of the new variety of the Purple Heart stamp (Scott 2704a), at a one-day club show in Dover.

I have helped arrange and put on first-day-of-issue and first-day-of-sale ceremonies to get a couple of states that I wanted knocked off, he admitted.

And what was the best ceremony he attended?

Deep Sea Creatures (Scott 3439-3443, Oct. 2, 2000), Lazaroff said, and only because I was able to get my daughter to speak at that and dedicate one of the stamps.

Another standout ceremony was that for the Wonders of the Sea issue (Scott 2863-2866, Oct. 3, 1994), because the ceremony was held underwater at a shipwreck site in Honolulu, and he was able to wangle a spot aboard the submersible rather than watching the ceremony on a video feed.

Lazaroff likes to say that the worst first-day ceremony is always better than the best day at work, but a possible exception was the Andy Warhol stamp (Scott 3652) dedication in 2002 in Pittsburgh. Its features included only 27 chairs for the audience, an open bar and speakers advancing causes that had nothing to do with either stamps or Warhol.

Achieving his goal of 50 states doesnt mean the end of Lazaroffs attendance at first-day ceremonies. When we finally admit our 51st state, he says, the Postal Service, I know, will have a stamp for that [milestone] in that state. I will be there.

Mystic buys cachetmaker Colorano

At World Stamp Show-New York 2016, Mystic Stamp Co. president Donald Sundman explained why he purchased cachetmaker Colorano in February of this year.

Ive always loved their covers. I think theyre really interesting and theyre popular with our customers, Sundman told Linns. I really bought it for the inventory to sell to my existing first-day customers.

However, he has no plans to continue the line of silk- cacheted covers.

Theyre pretty expensive to produce and their customer base had kind of dwindled to a very small number, so its not economical, Sundman said. But if we can get our costs down, Id like to try making a few special issues and see if its popular enough to cover the cost to make some.

So I may do it from time to time but never every issue, he continued. I wish I could, but there arent enough customers.
On an On is an alternative band based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band consists of Nate Eiesland, Ryne Estwing, and Alissa Ricci. Their record label is, Roll Call Records. This label is based out of Los Angeles, California. I was unable to find much of a back story however, they represent other artists such as Geographer, Wintersleep, royal Canoe, Typhoon, and more.

This song is about missing someones presence, and the whole production of it including instrumentals and lyrics is absolutely beautiful. It is about missing someone and basically picturing if they were there, and how you can drift into that feeling and then enter the realization that they are not there. The instrumentation in this track builds up intensity and emotion ever so well. In the beginning of the song I was not too into the track, as there was nothing really that caught my ear but something told me to continue listening, and as I did was when I discovered how amazing and emotional this song is. One of my favourite lyrics is probably, When I turned and looked to where you should have been I started drifting, because I think that basically sums up the song in just one sentence. I enjoy the slow acoustic strumming throughout the song, and how more instrumentals and back tracking are gradually added in, especially the drums.
A new, comprehensive atlas of worldwide light pollution reveals that one-third of all people cannot see the Milky Way in the sky, including nearly 80 percent of North Americans.

The atlas, painstakingly produced over the course of more than 10 years from satellite data and verified by more than 30,000 on-the-ground measurements, was published today (June 10) in the journal Science Advances. The work describes the effect of the rapid increase in artificial light on the night sky throughout the world, documenting this lesser-known form of pollution that can affect local ecosystems, damage human health and incur large, unnecessary energy costs. The project also offers suggestions for how to reduce light pollution's impact. The researchers also created this video to visualize the extent of light pollution on Earth.

"Of course, there is a connection between the development of a country and the pollution," study lead author Fabio Falchi, of the Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute in Italy (known by its Italian acronym ISTIL), told Space.com. "But this is not a law of nature. The paper suggested [how] to light in a way that pollutes the environment much less." [Photos: Light Pollution Around the World]

"It's a monumental piece of work," Richard Wainscoat, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii, told Space.com. "I think everybody was waiting for many, many years to see this."

Wainscoat, who was not involved in the new study, is a past president of the International Astronomical Union's Commission 50, which works to preserve important dark-sky sites around the world.

Light pollution photographed over California's Joshua Tree National Park. (Image credit: Dan Duriscoe)

Falchi and his collaborators put together the atlas using data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite, the Earth-watching spacecraft whose observations created the famous "Blue Marble" views of Earthin 2012.

Suomi NPP, a spacecraft about the size of a minivan, orbits 512 miles (824 kilometers) above Earth to monitor changes in the planet's climate and help with weather forecasting. Study team members ran that data, and observations from the ground, through light-pollution-propagation software to create a set of maps that determine the light pollution experienced at any given location.

The atlas also allows researchers to pinpoint which places are particularly far from pristine, dark skies. Cairo was the most distant from any region with a view of the Milky Way, Falchi said. Other areas particularly far were the Belgium/Netherlands/Germany transnational region, the Padana plain in northern Italy and the sequence of cities from Boston to Washington, D.C., in the northeastern United States. In some locations including Singapore, inhabitants never experience full night  in fact, the researchers said in press materials, skies are so bright over most of that population that their eyes never fully adapt to night vision.

Light pollution shown for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India using data from the newly released world atlas of artificial night-sky brightness. (Image credit: The authors of the manuscript. Prepared by Fabio Falchi )

Several important astronomy sites are still dark at night, including locations in north Chile, Hawaii's Big Island, La Palma in the Canary Islands, Namibia and the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, Falchi said. Much of Africa, and deserts around the world where the population is low, also offer good skywatching opportunities, he added. However, in many of those places, you can still spot light pollution on the horizon from neighboring areas.

The researchers have prepared an interactive online map hosted by the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Falchi will soon release a printed book through Amazon and CreateSpace called "The World Atlas of Light Pollution" to further document the new research.

The Milky Way galaxy disappears in the light-dome over Berlin in this example of light pollution from Germany. (Image credit: A. Jechow/IGB)

Light's impact

"There's increasing research that shows that exposure to artificial light at night is bad for us physically  [it] confuses our circadian rhythms and contributes to sleep disorders and impedes the production of melatonin," said Paul Bogard, author of the recent book on light pollution "The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light" (Little, Brown and Company, 2013).

"Environmentally, there haven't been a ton of studies, but what we do know are things like the effect on sea turtles, migrating birds, moths,bats," Bogard, who was not part of the new study, told Space.com. "The statistics I always use are, 60 percent of invertebrates are nocturnal, and 30 percent of vertebrate species are nocturnal, so they're relying on darkness to live."

Light pollution shown for the Americas using data from the newly released world atlas of artificial night-sky brightness. (Image credit: The authors of the manuscript. Prepared by Fabio Falchi )

Both Bogard and Wainscoat also brought up the less tangible consequences of a generation unaccustomed to seeing the full splendor of the night sky.

The atlas is "a wake-up call to society," Wainscoat said. "Also a little bit of a wake-up call to astronomers. People need to be able to look up at the sky and be able to imagine and try to understand their place in the universe. If they can't see any stars and they can't see the Milky Way anymore, they're no longer perhaps interested in where we are, in our place in the universe."

(In 1976, Wainscoat drove about 10 miles, or 16 km, outside Perth, Western Australia to see Comet West streak by, an event that he said helped inspire his work as an astronomer. Today, he said, one might have to drive as far as 200 miles, or 320 km, out of that city to see a similar comet.) [Photos: Light Pollution Shines in 'The City Dark']

Light pollution shown for Asia using data from the newly released world atlas of artificial night-sky brightness. (Image credit: The authors of the manuscript. Prepared by Fabio Falchi )

Wainscoat emphasized that the increase in light pollution is gradual, about 5 or 10 percent per year. So it's tough to spot the brightening as it's happening, but the effect over 10 or 20 years is dramatic, he said.

"The disturbing part is, it doesn't have to be like this," Wainscoat said. "There's a tremendous amount of irresponsible lighting throughout the world. It's all based on money and profit, and it's not based on what's right for the environment."

Next steps

To restore Earth's dark sky  an effort that's already underway in certain natural preserves and other regions  it's not necessary to just cut out nighttime light altogether. Instead, the researchers wrote, systems must prevent light from shining upward, use the minimum light needed for any given task (and turn off lights when not needed, as when illuminating a deserted area) and avoid the increasingly common blue-tinged LED lights. These interfere more with human circadian rhythms and scatter more broadly than yellow light by reflecting off air molecules.

Bogard described similar methods in his book.

"Nobody's saying, 'Let's not have light at night.' That's not the point," he said. "The point is that we're using way more than we need to use, and we're using it in ways that are harmful to us and harmful to the environment, and waste money, and actually in many cases make us less safe than we would otherwise be." (For instance, bright lights at night can obscure vision and create disorienting shadows.) [Utah Stargazing: Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival Travelogue]

"We think if some light is good, more light is better, and that's not true," Bogard added.

To expand upon the atlas, Wainscoat said, he would like to see multicolor data from a higher resolution satellite that can send down more detail and more accurately detect blue-tinged light (which Suomi NPP is not sensitive to). Unlike images from the International Space Station, which show smaller patches of Earth in stunning detail, views from most available survey satellites, including Suomi NPP, are hazier once you get down to small features. A dedicated setup could also return information about changes in light pollution over time.

Falchi, too, would like to expand the work to follow how light pollution changes and develops. "At ISTIL, we are working for free in our free time, so research cannot be fast," Falchi said. "If some generous magnate will find our research worth funding, we may expand and work full time on this. We would like to study the variation of light pollution with time and to make maps of the whole night-sky hemisphere for each site."

The Milky Way as seen from Dinosaur National Monument, which straddles the Utah-Colorado border. (Image credit: Dan Duriscoe)

For now, though, the atlas provides the first complete look at light pollution's extent on a global scale, the researchers said in the paper. The atlas can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of light-reduction programs and identify the places that are most in need of protective measures. And it acts as an important reminder about the extent of the problem, the researchers said.

"It's way too easy, with light pollution, to imagine that things aren't so bad," Bogard said. "It still gets dark at night, [or] in the city it's bright, but if you get out into the country, it's still dark. And I think what Fabio's map shows is that neither of those things is true.

"Most of the kids that are born in the states and in Europe have no idea what they're missing, and they'll never have that experience of being overwhelmed and inspired," he added. "That's hard to put a price tag on, but it's still a big problem."

Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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Ardaghs John Duffy may well have been unsuccessful in his bid to become Republic of Ireland Strongest Man 2016 recently, however, he is already plotting his next tilt for the title.

It was the toughest competition I was ever in, revealed 27-year-old John, who finished ninth overall out of thirteen experienced competitors.

He also ended up just two places outside gaining qualification for Irelands Strongest Man Final which takes place on June 26.

I guarantee you, that Ill make the cut next year, he said determinedly. It is definitely my ambition to get there.

Pa ODwyer (Limerick) retained the coveted King Fionn Trophy at Scarvagh House, Armagh on Saturday, May 28 and the six strongmen that will join him in the All-Ireland Final are - Dan Gannon, Nicky Whelan, Conor Kehoe and Gavin Redmond (all from Wexford), Ivan Gannon (Sligo) and Chris Davidson (Cork). Those seven will be joined by five Ulster qualifiers.

John started off well but faded. I was up against the big boys, seeing what it was all about. I just had a bad day. My back didnt hold up too well. As Glenn The Daddy Ross (founder of the Irish Strength Association) was saying, I started off good and died off a bit.

In the first of the six disciplines on the day, Axle Press for Maximum Weight, winner Pa ODwyer lifted 155kg, while John lifted 115 and 125kg, but failed at 135kg. The second event was Duck Walk for Distance (200kg) and John was 7th on 27.85m, with ODwyer 6th on 28.45m.

Third up was the Car Deadlift, and John admitted, The car was crazy heavy, nearly 300kg. Up to that stage, I would have been hoping for fifth place and that would have been great. But it just didnt go my way.

In the Super Yoke (375kg) and Stones of Strength (100kg to 160kg), John finished 12th 13.73m and 11th (pass on 100kg, 115kg, 130kg (22.39 seconds), 145kg fail), respectively.

The sixth and final event was Monster Tyre Flip for Speed Grass (400kg) and John was 8th, with 7 flips.

John said he told Glenn Ross: I know in my own head I should have done a bit better.

He added, Twelve months is a long time to wait to get another chance but that is what Ill have to do.

The Longford man says he will have a competition in Donegal to look forward to over the Summer and another event at Hook Head, Wexford.

His attention will then switch to training in the HorsePower Gym and PFP (Peak Fitness & Performance) Gym in Longford town in preparation for 2017.

Prior to the Republic of Ireland Strongest Man 2016 Final, John remarked, Once I beat two or three lads Ill be happy.

He was happy enough he achieved that target but has set the crossbar higher for next year and best wishes to him in his endeavours.
Tech & Science, Pets & Animal, Local News, Seasonal & Current Events

By Michael Adams Published: June 11 2016

Researches believe they have found evidence that Long Island could be the site of an elusive nursery for great white sharks.

For decades, research on Great White Sharks has been hampered by a lack of knowledge about their breeding grounds. Now, it seems, there may finally be an answer, and its not one a lot of locals are going to like.

OCEARCH, a non-profit marine science organization, has for some time now been tagging Great Whites in an effort to find out where they go to breed. While there is no conclusive evidence proving the theory, researchers have identified Long Island as a potential site for one of these fabled breeding grounds.

Chris Fischer, OCEARCH chairman and expedition leader, elaborated on how a lack of data about where sharks breeds is a significant hurdle to any conservation efforts, as well as the precise impact that sharks have on their ecosystem. Sharks are the balance keepers of our oceans, he says, if we lose our sharks, there wont be enough fish to eat and we will lose our oceans, and thus the planet.

He later reported Weve tagged five great whites on the east coast of the US, and based on some of their migratory patterns, we suspect Long Island, New York may be a birthing site, and added, Those are the areas we need to protect so the ocean is in balance and the fish thrive.

A great white smiling for the camera. Photo by Hermanus Backpackers via Wiki Commons



Long Island certainly has a rather storied chapter of its history devoted to sharks. Star Island Yacht Club hosts an annual shark fishing tournament. Just off the docks, you can find a scale model replica of a shark that Captain Frank Mundus caught off the coast of Block Island in 1964, still the record for the largest fish of any kind ever caught with a rod and reel. Mundus eventually became the inspiration for the character of Quint in Jaws, and the shark he caught, of course, inspired the shark.

Jaws is well known for inspiring a frenzy about shark attacks after it came out, but at least in New York, these fears are largely unfounded. Since 1642, only 30 shark attacks have been reported in the state, there hasnt been an unprovoked attack since 1953 and there hasnt been a fatality of any kind since 1880. Its probably safe to say our fear of sharks is blown out of proportion.

OCEARCH has started a Kickstarter campaign to fund their expedition around the coast of Long Island in the hopes of proving definitively whether or not the island is a breeding ground for Great Whites. This is a break from their usual style of getting funding; rather than appeal for grant money they aim to start a grassroots movement in the state to help change the perceptions people have about sharks in general. We wanted to involve our supporters, our community in this process so we can continue to serve the science communities and future generations while democratizing the ocean space, Fischer said.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Legislator Anker's Office Published: June 11 2016

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker celebrated the 22nd annual Duck Pond Day, hosted by the North Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce at the Wading River Duck Pond.

The 22nd annual Duck Pond Day at the Wading River Duck Pond on Sunday, June 5, 2016, was hosted by the North Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce.

Wading River, NY - June 10, 2016 - On Sunday, June 5, 2016, Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker celebrated the 22nd annual Duck Pond Day at the Wading River Duck Pond. The celebration, hosted by the North Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce, began with a 5k race in the morning to benefit the North Shore Neighbors Breast Cancer Coalition. The event also featured a parade and a crafts and business fair in the afternoon.

The annual Wading River Duck Pond Day is always a wonderful event that I look always forward to attending, said Legislator Anker. Duck Pond Day brings the community together to participate in fun activities, provides an opportunity for small business owners to showcase their products, and is a great way to celebrate of the unique character of the Wading River community.

Duck Pond Day is hosted by the North Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce. For more information please visit here.
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Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri has sworn allegiance to the Talibans new emir, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada. Zawahiris oath of allegiance is included in a newly-released, 14-minute message from As Sahab, al Qaedas propaganda arm. The message was released late yesterday.

Zawahiris oath is delivered via an audio address. Other footage, including two scenes of Osama bin Laden, are included as well.

Zawahiri emphasizes that his oath to Mullah Haibatullah is the same approach bin Laden adopted when he swore his own fealty to Mullah Omar prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and called on Muslims to support the Taliban.

The al Qaeda leaders oath to the head of the Taliban has become especially important for jihadists since the rise of the Islamic State. The Islamic States followers hold up Abu Bakr al Baghdadi (Caliph Ibrahim) as the Emir of the Believers, who rules over a caliphate. But al Qaeda and its members say that the Islamic States so-called caliphate is illegitimate, and the Talibans chieftain is the true Emir of the Believers  a title usually reserved for the caliph.

As the rivalry between al Qaeda and the Islamic State boiled over in 2014, al Qaeda began to aggressively market Mullah Omar as the Emir of the Believers.

In July 2014, Al Qaeda re-released a video (recorded in mid-2001) of bin Laden explaining his fealty to Omar.

My pledge of allegiance to the Emir of the Believers [Mullah Omar] is the great pledge of allegiance, which is mentioned in the chapters of the Koran and the stories of the Sunnah, bin Laden said in the clip. Every Muslim should set his mind and heart and pledge allegiance to the Emir of the Believers Mullah Muhammad Omar for this is the great pledge.

Also in July 2014, al Qaeda published a newsletter in which it reaffirmed its loyalty to Omar, saying the organizations members around the globe were his soldiers.

Just over one year later, however, the Taliban was forced to admit that Mullah Omar had actually passed away sometime in 2013. This meant that al Qaeda was advertising its loyalty to a dead man.

Despite the fact that the Taliban had reenacted Weekend at Bernies with Omar, and the subsequent embarrassment caused by the revelation of his death, Zawahiri quickly pledged his allegiance to Omars successor.

In mid-August 2015, As Sahab released an audio message from Zawahiri in which he swore bayah (allegiance) to Mullah Mansour. The message was similar to the new one released by As Sahab, with a still image of Zawahiri shown throughout as he read his oath to Mansour.

Zawahiri explained that his oath to Mansour was just like bin Ladens pledge to Omar  the same claim Zawahiri now makes with respect to his fealty to Mullah Haibatullah.

Within hours of Zawahiris pledge to Mansour, the Taliban leader publicly accepted Zawahiris oath in a statement released on the Talibans official website. (It appears the Taliban took Mansours statement down after The Long War Journal first reported on it, but the message can be read in full here.)

Mullah Mansour was killed in a US drone strike on May 21 and Mullah Haibatullah was named as his replacement.

Mansour has been eulogized by jihadists around the globe, including al Qaedas branches.

On May 29, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and Al Nusrah Front released a statement of condolences for Mansour, praising his jihad against the Crusaders. The statement by the three al Qaeda branches did not say that they had pledged their own allegiance to Mullah Haibatullah, but this is not surprising.

In al Qaedas hierarchy, the regional branches  Al Nusrah, AQAP, AQIM, Shabaab in Somalia and al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)  swear allegiance to Zawahiri. These groups are then responsible for waging jihad in their designated regions on behalf of al Qaeda. This means that they must follow al Qaedas preferred manhaj (methodology), which includes a set of guidelines for launching attacks.

Al Qaedas regional branches are loyal to the Talibans emir by virtue of their bayah (allegiance) to Zawahiri.

Therefore, al Qaedas members around the globe are now bound by a blood oath to Mullah Haibatullah as well. Although al Qaedas jihadists are technically Mullah Haibatullahs subordinates, history shows that the Taliban leader has little say over al Qaedas operations outside of Afghanistan.

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.
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) has released another message attributed to its emir, Abdul Haq al Turkistani. The audio address, which was posted online on May 30, is the latest indication that Abdul Haq is still in charge of the group.

The US thought it killed the TIPs top man in a 2010 drone strike in Pakistan, but his death was never confirmed.

The TIP claims Abdul Haq was severely injured in the strike and returned to lead the organization in 2014, after recovering from his injuries. He has appeared on at least a few occasions in the TIPs media since then. [See LWJ report, Turkistan Islamic Party emir thought killed in 2010 reemerged to lead group in 2014.]

In the new speech, the man identified as Abdul Haq calls on his followers to wage jihad in any corner of the world, wherever they may be.

Abdul Haq also discusses the TIPs role in Syria and elsewhere around the globe. He says the groups primary mission in Syria is to train Muslims to wage jihad against all enemies of Islam, so they can help their brothers in Sham (Syria).

But the TIPs members in Syria should also be ready to return to China to fight the government in the western Xinjiang province. The Uighur jihadists must be prepared to wage jihad against the infidel [Chinese] occupants in all spheres, Abdul Haq says.

Condemns Islamic State, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

Abdul Haq has especially harsh words for the Islamic State and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).

He denounces the Islamic States so-called caliphate as illegitimate. At one point in the TIP video, a still image of Abdul Haq is juxtaposed with images of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. (See the screen shot on the right.) Abdul Haq delivers a stinging rebuke to Baghdadi and his followers during this scene.

The TIPs emir argues that the Islamic States caliphate lacks the consent of the Muslim community. Because Baghdadi and his subordinates did not garner the approval of Islamic leaders, Abdul Haq says, their state lacks the necessary theological footing. The TIP head also denounces the Islamic States wanton killing of Muslims, as well as the caliphates practice of branding others apostates.

Under the sharia law, a caliphate is not declared by a group of people, Abdul Haq explains, according to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal. It will be created on the basis of sharia rules and unity among the ummah [worldwide community of Muslims].

Al Qaeda and its branches, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, as well as other al Qaeda-allied ideologues have all made this same argument repeatedly.

The IMUs leader, Uthman Ghazi, officially broke from the Taliban-Al Qaeda axis in Aug. 2015, when he swore allegiance to Baghdadi. The TIPs video includes footage of Ghazi swearing his fealty to the Islamic States caliphate. Ghazi is shown on the right side of the screen, with a photo of Abdul Haq on the left. (A screen shot can be seen on the readers right.)

According to Abdul Haq, the IMUs decision proved to be disastrous for the group. He chastises the IMU for abandoning its traditional allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, choosing the path of war against the Taliban. Many IMU fighters who sided with the Islamic State were killed in clashes with the Taliban in Afghanistan shortly afterwards. This led to the collapse of the IMU, according to Abdul Haq.

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, for which the oppressed ummah had great hopes, disappeared, Abu Haq claims.

Abdul Haqs critique of the IMU is especially important. The TIP and IMU are known to have fought side-by-side in Afghanistan for years. For example, the United Nations notes that the TIP has maintained close ties to the IMU.

A member of al Qaedas elite shura council

Abdul Haq, who is also known as Maimaitiming Maimaiti, became the leader of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party (also known as the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement) in late 2003 after Hassan Mahsum, the groups founder, was killed. Mahsum died during clashes with Pakistani troops at an al Qaeda training camp in South Waziristan in Oct. 2003.

Abdul Haq quickly stepped into Mahsums shoes. His succession was not surprising. Abdul Haq helped run the TIPs main training camp in the Tora Bora Mountains prior to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001. The training facility provided rudimentary instruction on light arms to new recruits. Several detainees held at Guantanamo identified Abdul Haq as the chief instructor. [See LWJ report, The Uighurs in their own words.]

US officials at the detention facility in Guantanamo found that the TIPs camp was sponsored by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. Indeed, the UN found that the TIP has received significant support from al Qaeda and the Taliban. The group has had a close financial relationship with al Qaeda and the major sources of funding for its activities came from bin Laden, as well as other sources.

After the Taliban lost control of Afghanistan in late 2001, Abdul Haq helped reestablish the TIPs camps in Pakistans lawless, tribal areas. The Chinese government has pressured Pakistan to dismantle the camps in the past.

In 2005, according to the US Treasury Department, Abdul Haq was awarded a seat on al Qaedas elite shura (or advisory) council. He was designated as an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist by Treasury in 2009. The UN also added him to the al Qaeda sanctions list.

Abdul Haqs influence among jihadists in Afghanistan and Pakistan is readily apparent. He has served as a mediator in disputes between rival Taliban groups, and has also represented al Qaedas shura council in important military matters.

In June 2009, he was reportedly spotted in Pakistans tribal areas attending an important meeting with Baitullah Mehsud, then the Pakistani Talibans overall commander. According to press reports, Abdul Haq and a senior delegation of Taliban and al Qaeda leaders traveled to Pakistans tribal areas to discuss the Pakistani militarys operation in South Waziristan. Among those in attendance was Sirajuddin Haqqani, who was then the operational commander of the Haqqani Network and is now one of the Talibans top two deputies. Abu Yahya al Libi, a senior al Qaeda leader who became the organizations general manager before he was killed in a US drone strike, was also reportedly in attendance.

Like other jihadists in al Qaedas network, Abdul Haq has devoted his time to both guerrilla warfare and planning terrorist attacks.

In early January 2008, according to Treasury, he directed the TIPs military commander to attack various Chinese cities, particularly focusing on the cities holding the Olympic Games. His men planned to sabotage the Olympic Games by conducting terrorist attacks within China before the Olympics began. Abdul Haq has also sent terrorists to the Middle East to raise funds and buy explosive materials for terrorist attacks against Chinese targets outside China.

The TIP is part of al Qaedas network

The TIP is not subtle about its role in al Qaedas international network.

Islam Awazi, the TIPs official media arm, spliced together Abdul Haqs audio message with various images of al Qaeda ideologues and leaders.

Unlike Baghdadi, Abdul Haq has nothing but praise for al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri.

One scene from the video includes photos of several al Qaeda figures at once. A similar image was used in the online banner advertising the production, which can be seen at the beginning of this article.

In addition to Zawahiri, the TIP video shows AQAP ideologues Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari and Nasser bin Ali al Ansi (both of whom were killed in US drone strikes in 2015), Abu Sulayman al Muhajir (a senior al Qaeda religious official in Syria), Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini (an influential jihadi ideologue based in Syria who is likely a senior al Qaeda official), as well as Abu Qatada and Abu Muhammad al Maqdisi (two jihadi clerics who are, at a minimum, aligned with al Qaeda).

The TIP fights alongside Al Nusrah Front, al Qaedas regional branch in Syria, on a regular basis. The group has played a role in offensives led by Al Nusrah in Jisr al Shughur, Hama and Latakia, the Abu Duhour Airbase, the Al Ghab plain, Khan Touman, and elsewhere.

The TIPs arm in Syria has established training camps, including facilities for children.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal. 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.
Luton is a large town, borough and unitary authority area of Bedfordshire. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 258,000. Luton is home to Championship team Luton Town Football Club, London Luton Airport and The University of Bedfordshire. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter. For all the latest news from Luton sign up to our newsletter here.
DeRay Mckesson is a widely known activist in the Black Lives Matter movement and a former candidate in the race for mayor of Baltimore. Hes a high-profile target, and someone finally figured out a way to crack his popular Twitter accountby hijacking his cell phone number, and getting it reassigned to a phone under their control. This was used to push out a message in his account in support of a candidate who he says represents the antithesis of his beliefs. Those tweets have since been deleted and Twitter has restored account access to Mckesson.

A recent acquisition by a site of whats alleged to be 32 million Twitter passwords, coupled with other breaches, password-stealing malware, and other techniques may have led to his password being compromised.

Even though Mckesson said in a tweet that he has two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled on all his accounts, Twitter included, once someone has your password and can receive texts sent to your phone number, theyve obtained two factors: something you know (your password) and something you have (your phone). That part, a phone being something you have, has long been understood to be tenuous, and Mckessons situation helps prove just how fragile that assumption is.

By calling @verizon and successfully changing my phones SIM, the hacker bypassed two-factor verification which I have on all accounts.  deray mckesson (@deray) June 10, 2016

Set a PIN on your carrier account

The three biggest American phone carriers dont require anything but knowledge of what is sadly easily obtainable information in 2016: the last four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). That can be obtained through phishing attempts, any of the large leaks of SSNs from various sites and government agencies that crackers can access, or through reports from background check sites that dont verify who is requesting information.

Some carriers may ask for additional personal or present and past address details for verification, most of which can be found paired with the same leaked SSN or through the background checkwhich relies in part on the same credit reports that the carriers use to ask the questions.

However, you can add a PIN or password to your AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon account that reduces the chance of this happening. (Sprint requires a PIN alongside security questions when setting up an account.) It seems clear that the companies and resellers may have enough leeway for a smooth talker to bypass the PIN or password requirement, but that hasnt been thoroughly tested yet. After this hijack of Mckesson and the recent identity crime against the FTCs chief technologist, Lorrie Cranor, carriers may be instructing their customer-service representations to better resist social engineering.

With AT&T, you enable Extra Security, a feature so hidden I was unaware it existed. It can be set via AT&Ts website or its mobile app; follow AT&Ts instructions. When youre logging in again after youve set the code, you should also refuse the sites offer to bypass the code on subsequent logins.

T-Mobile requires that you call customer service or visit one of its retail stores. It texts you a one-time use PIN that, when verified with a representative, lets you set up a password, which is then required in the future to get information about or make changes to your account.

Verizon can add a PIN to an account through your account controls on its website, via phone support, or in one of its retail stores.

What use is a phone number?

Most 2FA systems designed for consumers and business users (as opposed to those managed by IT departments in enterprises for intranet and network services) either rely entirely on a code sent via SMS, offer that as an option, or use SMS as a backup. That works as long as its assumed that the phone itself, a physical item, has to be stolen, not the phone number, which is effectively an end point handled by the public switched telephone networks call routing system.

While you can use authentication apps that generate time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs), like Authy, Google Authenticator, and several others, so long as SMS is also an option, its the weakest link. Pair that with password and SSN breaches, and the general availability of background information about us to answer common security questions, and that second factor has no value at all. (Biometrics, something you are, are a different matterwhile people have faked fingerprints, its a vastly, vastly higher bar to clear.)

So long as SMS is an option for 2FA, its the weakest link.

Companies retain SMS as an option because of the customer-support burden: its easier to get someone to type in a code sent as a text message than to download, install, configure, and use an authenticator app. But you would think the time is ripe for companies to allow expert users to disable SMS as a backup option, especially since many sites pair turning on 2FA with creating a set of backup, one-time use passwords intended to restore access if one loses access to the authentication app that can generate the appropriate code.

You may look at the FTCs Cranor and DeRay Mckesson, and think, Im not important enough to have someone go to these lengths. Unfortunately, youd be wrong. Identity theft is valuable against nearly anyone with a balance in their bank account or enough credit for a thief to purchase new phones using their account information, which is what happened in Cranors caseits unlikely the criminals knew they were compromising someone at the FTC.

Because we cant control the flow of our fixed, identifying information, like SSN and a past address, nor even our passwords, make sure to turn on extra protection at your carriers right away. Even with 2FA, an account PIN or password can be the only thing keeping a thief from using your identity.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Putting an End to the Cold Political Bloodbath

by Mustafa Khan

In her new book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up, Rana Ayub calls the genocide in Gujarat 2002 as the cold political bloodbath. Narendra Modi and the state machinery under him carried out the genocide calculated to achieve a political purpose. So rich was the result that Modi and his BJP milked the holy cow of the ballot box for more than a decade. And he is doing it even now and on a much larger scale internationally. The recent speeches of Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Shehla Rashid and others show that now more than ever before the knowledge of the full extent is breaking new grounds of learning.

Rana herself comes out with greater detail in her book in which she shows how even the Haren Pandya murder case was a fake encounter. Who stood to gain from it was of course the one responsible for it. Pandyas widow Jagruitys realisation of the fact came later but her father-in-law Vithal knew it as a political assassination. What is new learning in this is that there is need to put an end to this kind of crimes committed most cynically for the hidden agenda of not just Hindutva but also the personal ego (of Modi). There is a long history of the cussed exploitation of religion for personal and party gains in which the interest of India, representing the majority of the people, is sacrificed.

After years of soul-searching the preparation of a bill for the prevention of communally targeted violence was dropped by Parliament because the Hindu party, the BJP, did not accept the definition of minority. Perhaps they would have been overjoyed by the target group as majority and a victim of communal violence. But that would have been like showing a candle to the sun. But more time passed and the need to protect the minorities which suffer the most grew tenfold. It is but natural that those who suffer most in communal violence including caste atrocities are the poor and weaker sections of the society. Another justificatory realisation is that the Modi Government fought the elections and won 31 per cent for the development of the country. Again, the poor and weak were left out of development even after two years in power. So the second anniversary of Modi sarkar coincides with this realisation and none other than Kanhaiya Kumar, Umer Khalid, Shehla Rashid realised it. What is more, they articulated it and they were on the stage and managed the agenda of announcing it. The audience had the time and patience to let the importance of it sink in their minds.

They gave their idea of what India they want to be in the future. The idea of India they have is inclusive and majoritarian. Hindutva was also majoritarian but exclusive and upper-caste based. It left out the oppressed and the poor, namely, the Dalits and Muslims. If the oppressed and suppressed have suffered then it is their turn now as they are the majority of the country. Because only after our stories are heard, said Kumar, in the wake of the attacks that have happened on us, we will realise what we must add to the idea of India.

On the basis of what is happening in the country, we can say with certainty that bourgeois democracy is in danger in this country, and there is no sign of socialist democracy.

Having in mind Prime Minister Narendra Modis speech during the World Culture Festival in India, Kumar said: There can be two ideas of India, either Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or the idea that India must be the most powerful country in the world. The current government supports the second idea and so they are buying planes and tanks worth Rs 6000 crores. We reject this idea of India. We want the idea of India that begins with We, the people of India.

RSS and BJP are not against the minority, they are against the majority, because the majority belongs to the poor, backward and Dalit communities.

Having always uttered the platitude umpteen times, that the whole world is a family and therefore Hinduism is the universe, the Right-wing Hindu extremists failed to see the naked truth that they have always looked askance at the minorities, particularly the Muslims and the Dalits. They presumptuously ignore them and carry on their fixed routines of anti-Muslim and Dalit work. This self-induced delusion needs the prick of a pin to burst it. If Modi is a tiger, then put him in a jungle or keep him in a zoo, if you dont do it, then we will do it. That is our commitment. I have been campaigning all over the country and our biggest victory has been that we have received the most support from Dalit and Muslim communities.1

That kind of support is what Modi had destroyed when he roped in the Charra and Dalit communities in 2002 to kill Muslims. That was also true of Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Dr R.P. Singh and the anonymous man from the Yamuna river habitation who had roped in the Valmikis to kill Muslims. Tehelka had covered the former in its November 2007 issue and Hemant Karkare had retrieved details of the latter from the laptops of Purohit and Dyanand Pandey. Such is the prerogative of the ruling classes that the courts in India do not entertain them as of any evidentiary value. How effete is the system that the Hindutva forces used the same techniques to replicate the genocide in Muzaffarnagar to reap a bumper crop in the 2014 elections and still got away. Many people know why and how Haren Pandya had crossed Modi by not vacating his constituency for the Chief Minister and how he had revealed the substance of Modis instructing the police not to come in the way of the Hindus who would wreak havoc on the three days of February 28 to March 2, 2002. All these were political bloodbaths. Its time to stop all these for the reawakening of learning is too dazzling for the eyes to close. In the meantime the conspiracy of silence of the likes of L.K. Advani deepens. He had demanded change of investigators as far as Pragya Singh Thakur was concerned, but is mum over Haren Pandyas widows wailing and beseeching for justice.

FOOTNOTE
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Prepare, the Muslims are Coming

While Donald Trump forges ahead to be the worlds most powerful CEO and then to keep the worlds Muslims from entering America, Indias own Sangh Parivar trains its young saffron shirts to do one betternamely, to prepare, rifle and lathi in hand, against our own Muslim Indians.

Last week saw a clutch of Bajrang Dal fascists in fierce drill to ward off possible attacks from an enemy who was represented as a man with a beard and wearing an unmistakable Muslim skull cap.

Noticeably, the target was not sporting either a Pakistani or an ISIS flag, leaving one in no doubt that Muslims in general and our own Muslims in particular were meant to be the enemy. Had the target been terrorists or terrorism, surely the additional symbols would have been imperative to the purpose of representation; and one might have expected to see not only saffronite warriors but perhaps a pluralist group of Indian citizens setting shoulder to the patriotic wheel.

When quizzed about the eventwhich has now thankfully drawn legal notice from the local authorities in Uttar Pradesh where elections are due in six to eight months (whereby hangs the true tale of the Sanghs predictable resort to communal polarisation ahead of time)spokes-persons of the Parivar have been saying how routine an exercise such a thing is; after all, such self-defensive drills are habitually imparted in schools and colleges, dont we know? Indeed we do, but in none of those habitual exercises is a bearded man with a skull cap shown to be the enemy. To put the matter starkly: suppose for a moment that such a drill were to be performed by some Madrassa going young Muslims, showing the target to be a man with a vermillion mark on the forehead, what might the Sangh have said?

What clearly should have worried the mighty BJP-led government at the Centre is the inference that its own young satraps do not trust it to protect them from the Muslims of Ayodhya and Uttar Pradesh. Not so; because more than you or I, the mighty Central Government knows for sure what these shenanigans are about and why they are necessary to the Sanghs burning desire to capture Uttar Pradesh, come the elections. Do remember that in the elections just concluded in five States, the BJP could only win onea wholly expected change of government after a fifteen-year-long stint by the Congress in power. Much as that victory is sought to be peddled as a globe-shaking triumph, the reality is that the supposedly defunct Congress has won both a larger share of the vote across the five States, and a considerably larger number of Assembly seats. And there is further bleak prospect of the BJP, in all likelihood, having no success in the forthcoming elections to the Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and, cuttingly, Gujarat Assemblies. Note that in the last State mentioned, the Congress recently swept to victory in some eighty per cent of seats in local elections.

Not having brought the least redress to the people at large, tall promises in the 2014 elections notwithstanding, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh that now rules it with an iron fist has one done-to-death recourse, namely, to give out the call for the nationalistic Hindu nation to keep the swarm of skull caps and beards at bay, or else all may be lost.

Fortunately, this wretchedly destructive gimmick has been yielding fewer and fewer dividends and it is to be hoped that the coming year will see saner politics gather sufficient force to defeat the Sanghs cynically divisive and potentially violent tacticsall of which, dont we know, is marketed under the rubric of nationalism?

A hope must also go out to the United States of America that either Hillary Clinton or the inspiring Bernie Sanders will put paid to the Trumpet that blares doom for politics of reason and universal human values.

Look where you will, and the world seems to be teetering on the edge of that burning lake of fire. Do not forget either that a hundred thousand Jihadis worldwide remain committed to cast rest of the recalcitrant world into that lakea reality that can hardly be met through the politics of imitation.

(Courtesy: Kashmir Times)

The author, who taught English literature at the University of Delhi for over four decades and is now retired, is a prominent writer and poet. A well-known commentator on politics, culture and society, he wrote the much acclaimed Dickens and the Dialectic of Growth. His latest book, The Underside of ThingsIndia and the World: A Citizens Miscellany, 2006-2011, came out in August 2012.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > World Environment Day  June 5, Go Wild For Life

by Mayanglambam Ojit Kumar Singh

On June 5 every year since 1974, people from across the globe have been celebrating the World Environment Day (WED) by taking part in environmental action and becoming agents of change for positive impacts on the planet. The UN General assembly in 1972 designated June 5 as the World Environment Day (WED) marking the first day of the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment. One of the very important resolutions adopted by the same assembly the same day led to the creation of the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). The WED was celebrated for the first time in 1974 with the slogan of Only One Earth. Since then the relevance of this day and themes and slogans of the WED have been on the rise and are made practicable.

This day serves as the peoples day to do something so freely and independently as to take care of the Earth or become an agent of change. The theme for this years WED is on the illegal trade in wildlife under the slogan Go Wild for Life.The Global host country for the WED 2016 is Angola where the official celebrations are taking place. Angola is today seeking to restore its elephant herds and bring peace and prosperity where environment becomes a part of the heart and minds of the people integrated with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Raising the voice against illegal trade in wildlife and supporting and joining the global fight against the illegal trade in wildlife are intended for a secure and more tolerant future. Zero tolerance towards the illegal trading of wildlife is today very much required for ensuring a tolerant future.

Illegal Trade in Wildlife and Biodiversity

Biodiversity, which consists of the species, genetic and ecosystem diversities, is the source of foods, medicines, shelters and innumerable services, is getting eroded due to horribly illegal and criminal means of trading and commodification of the wildlife and their products. Every single species in every possible part of the world is a magic well and consists of products of natural selection and adaptation. If conserved and asked proper questions every species has answers and solutions for every query and problem for us. Biodiversity loss today, unlike the past mega extinctions of the so-called Big Five, is driven mainly by human activities.

Recorded data indicates that wildlife crime endangers iconic species such as elephants, rhinos, tigers, gorillas and sea turtles. Declaration of the extinction of a subspecies of Javan rhino from Vietnam and the vanishing of the last western black rhinos from Cameroon in 2011, disappearance of the great apes from Gambia, Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo, and other countries are all due to the human activities of trading on these wild animals. Besides these, many lesser known species, which however play very important ecological roles (popularly known as keystone species), are also getting exterminated directly or indirectly due to wildlife crimes.

The current trend of the global illegal trade in wildlife for keeping them as pets is extremely unsustainable and is emptying our forests, rivers, skies, villages and mountains to supply a steady stream of romantic and exotic non-native pets to the ever hungry and not-well-aware global consumers. Can you believe that nearly 1.3 million African grey parrots were removed from the continent for the last 30 years for the international pet trade thus threatening the species today? Those places, where once the chirping birds enhanced the siginificance of those spots, are now filed with the dull silences. And the ways these species are brought from their native places to the adopted places and homes are beyond all descriptions of sorrows and pains such as drugging, chaining, starving, crowding and all possible means of tortures.

Illegal Trade in Wildlife and Economy

The illegal trade in wildlife is also causing alarming problems by undermining the economies and promoting organised crime. It is fuelling and feeding corruption and insecurity across the nations. By overexploiting the animals and plants in their natural habitats by means of overfishing, trapping and mutating the natural habitats, the wild lives being are rendered rarer and scarcer sending their commercial values uncontrollably soaring. Brain Horne of the Wildlife Conservation Society reports that certain species of Asian box turtle are now selling for as much as US $ 40,000 per hatchling. Such rampant activities cause loss and destruction of the habitats, loss of livelihood activities of the locals making them even poorer.

Desire for exotic animals, plants and their products are converting the poor residents and tribes in the wildlife habitats and biodiversity-rich countries into poachers armed by organised criminal syndicates. Many a time they outgun the security forces, loot villages and decimate animal populations. Their bloody haul is mostly transported by agents who bribe officials and undermine the security of national states.

Conclusion

The dimension of the illegal wild life trade is very deep and multi-faceted. And hence all possible means to control this crime is welcome. Stricter rules and regulations have to be formulated and implemented well. Understanding that environ-ment is important and at the same time it is fragile must be the guiding spirit of all the awareness programmes. Through the WED celebrations seas of people from different nations and groups have taken part in environmental action of great relevance. By grouping and channelising well the energy of each individual and nation, the WED really has the power to generate humongous positive impacts on the planet. Wildlife and their conservation must be treated as personal issues.

Burning of the 105 tonnes of ivory and 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn in Kenya last April was a timely and symbolic action to end the poaching crisis. Such actions shall signal to the buyer communities and the markets located near to and far from the associated criminal acts. Whoever we are and wherever we are lets Go Wild for Life to inherit a safer and a more tolerable world. Lets allow the wild life to move freely by enabling human transportation and our transports free of the products of wild-life. We must be serious about the wildlife trades and crimes associated with them.

Mayanglambam Ojit Kumar Singh is an Assistant Professor in Zoology, Ramjas College, University of Delhi. He is a Research Scholar of Human Ecology at Ambedkar University, Delhi. He can be contacted at e-mail: ojit102005@yahoo.co.in
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Utkal Gaurab Madhusudan Das as a Protagonist of Gender Equality and Skill (...)

by S.N. Sahu

Late Madhusudan Das was an outstanding personality and influential leader of his time. Born in Odisha on April 28, 1848, he led an eventful life marked by manifold accomplishments in diverse fields. Widely acclaimed for exceptionally high standard of service and sacrifice for the cause of Odisha and India, he breathed his last on February 4, 1934. In 1903 he founded the Utkal Sammilani (Utkal Union Conference) which became the nucleus of the historic movement to unify the Odia-speaking areas and create a separate State of Odisha on the basis of language.

A celebrated lawyer, he is part of the folklore of Odisha for achieving extraordinary excellence in the field of law and jurisprudence. His entrepreneurial skills proved his credentials as a dynamic man with a proven legacy for harnessing the business acumen of the people and developing their skills for economically empowering them and enhancing their self-esteem. The Utkal Tannery he established in 1905 to manufacture shoes and use leather for other economic purposes made a profound impact on Mahatma Gandhi who repeatedly referred to it in many parts of India in the context of his arduous efforts for providing alternative occupations to village people who predominantly depended on agriculture to earn their livelihood. Affectionately hailed as Madhubabu in the annals of modern Odisha, a lot has been written and said about him. It is, therefore, important to throw light on some of the extremely critical and sensitive aspects of his remarkable life which have hardly been discussed and disseminated.

Womens Empowerment through Education

There is a significant gender dimension to one of the epoch-making events of his life. In the year 1848 in which he was born, Jyotiba Phule established the first ever school for girls in our country. It was in the same year that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, the revolutionary document which inspired generations of exploited people to unchain themselves from bondage, exploitation and servitude. The establishment of the first girls school in 1848 by Jyotiba Phule was as revolutionary as the Communist Manifesto. Madhubabu, who was born in the year in which the first school for girls was established, took the initiative to establish the first womens college in Odisha in 1913. He named that college after his adopted daughter, Sailabala, and now it is known as the Sailabala Womens College enjoying high reputation as an educational institution of excellence. The fact that he founded that College in 1913 spoke volumes of his deep commitment to empower women through education and promote the cause of gender equality and womens empowerment. One may say that establishment of the Sailabala Womens College by Madhubabu was as revolutionary a step as the establishment of the first girls school by Jyotiba Phule and publication of the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels.

To further appreciate his decision to establish the first womens college in 1913, we need to understand the developments taking place then, both nationally and internationally, concerning women and their struggle for achieving equality and equal opportunity.

At that time in Odisha itself some of the great minds were exercised by the lack of opportu-nities for girls and women to have access to education. This was evident from a few of the articles written in the 1920s by none other than Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das on womens education in Odisha. In one such article, titled Nari Siksha Brudhi Paiba Kipari(How to Improve Womens Education), he regretted that social traditions and customs prescribing confinement of women to home for doing household and family work impeded the progress of womens education. He, therefore, advocated measures for removing such mindset to ensure womens access to education.

In 1913 at the international level a great churning was taking place for giving women equal legal rights. It is instructive to note that in 1913 when Madhubabu established the Sailabala College, American women in thousands organised a historic march demanding their right to vote which they eventually got in 1920. Similarly in the UK, the suffragette movement, started by women in the late 19th century, had become intense in 1913 inspired by the ideas of John Stuart Mill who advocated womens rights and demanded exten-sion of adult suffrage for establishing a better representative government. It is against that background that we need to understand the pioneering role played by Madhubabu to establish the first womens college in Odisha in 1913.

It is all the more significant to note that the decision of Madhubabu to establish the first ever womens college in Odisha in 1913 preceded the decision of Maharshi Danda Kishore Karve to establish the first ever womens college in erstwhile Bombay on July 2, 1916. That college eventually became the first womens university in the same year following the pattern of the Tokyo Womens University. Such historical back-drops concerning womens struggle for their legal rights and progress in education bring out the revolutionary significance of Madhubabus decision to establish the first ever womens college in Odisha.

In the 21st century world gender equality, womens empowerment and equal status of women with men are considered as major factors for achieving the sustainable developmental goals and countering the ever increasing problems arising out of global warming and climate change. British women themselves issued a manifesto in May 2007, called Womens Manifesto on Climate Change,1 in which they stated: We are also insufficiently empowered in taking action in our own homes to mitigate the effects of climate change, and demanded more education and information so that they could be in a better position to deal with the menace of climate change. Against this background if we look at the decision of Madhu-babu to establish the Sailabala College, we gratefully acknowledge his farsighted approach in empowering women through education in the early part of the second decade of the twentieth century.

Madhubabu opened the Legal Profession to Women Lawyers of India

In the annals of the history for gender equality Madhusudan Das name will shine forever for his exceptional struggle for allowing women law graduates to enter the law profession in 1923. Before 1923, women were not allowed to practice law in courts in spite of possessing valid law degrees on account of the Legal Practitioners Act which allowed only men with graduation degree in law to practise law in courts. When the adopted daughter of Madhu-babu, Ms Sudhansubala Hazra, finished her Bachelor of Law in 1921, she was asked by Madhubabu to apply to the Patna High Court for enrolment as a pleader. The matter was taken up by the full Bench of the Patna High Court which rejected it on November 20, 1921 on the ground of sex disqualification. The said Court held that the legal bar against women to do practice in law courts had to be removed by amending the Legal Practitioners Act and till that was done the High Court had no power to allow her application. She was heartbroken and shattered as her cherished ambition to pursue the profession of law and do practice as a lawyer received a fatal blow. She lost all hope and took a decision not to fight any more. Madhubabu, who was at that time the Minister of Local Government, was determined not to give it up. He drafted a memorial for her and it was sent to the Viceroy in August 1922 seeking for amendment to the Legal Practitioners Act for enabling lady lawyers to enroll as pleaders. A copy of the memorial was sent to the President of the Central Legislative Assembly, Sir Fredrick Whyte, who was then the President of the Central Legislative Assembly. In the enclosed letter he wrote that hardly memorials affecting public interest reached the Viceroy on account of the strength of the cause contained in it and stated that the memorial submitted by Sudhansubala represents the grievances of a class of women who live in seclusion... and This is eminently a case in which public naturally expect personal attention of a Viceroy who is also an eminent lawyer. Then he added: Half of the population of India do not enjoy rights of citizenship of the British Empire. This is due to custom and caste. Government cannot abolish caste and social custom, but it is the duty of legislatures to steer between Scylla of social custom on the one side and the Charybdis of neutral policy of British Indian administration to the harbor of free British citizenship. In other words, he was stressing the point that it was the legislature which should be proactive in taking up issues concerning rights of women without waiting for support from the caste and custom which hindered their progress. He also asked her to appeal to the Privy Council in London.

Accordingly the appeal was filed and the Secretary of State for India was made a respondent. To the utter shock and surprise of Madhubabu, the Privy Council informed its decision that 4000 pounds (Rs 6000) had to be deposited as fees to meet the expenses of the affected party, that is, the Secretary of State for India. He wrote a letter to Mr William Duke, Member of the India Office, on February 8, 1923 seeking assistance in the matter to bring down the fees to be deposited. Inter alia he wrote: The question relates to permission to Lady Lawyers to practice in Courts. If there is any country and where Lady legal practitioners are necessary, it is in India and specially in those Provinces in which the Purdah system is stringent and Purdah ladies are often parties to suits involving decision of rights to properties of immense value. They cannot instruct lawyers of the other sex and consequently they become victims to the dishonesty of unprincipled Gomastas. On March 8, 1923 the agents of the Privy Council sent a letter to Ms Sudhansubala informing that the matter was treated as a public interest and, therefore, no expenses would be required to be paid. Apart from taking those measures Madhubabu took up the matter with a Member of the Central Assembly, Mr H.S. Gaur, and requested him to introduce a Resolution to nullify the prohibition on women to enter the legal profession. He asked Sudhansubala to visit Delhi and meet the President of the Central Legislative Assembly and the then Home Member to sensitise them about the gravity of the matter. She also sent a copy of the memorial to almost all Members of the Assembly in August 1923 to make them aware of the impor-tance of allowing women to become lawyers.

Eventually the Home Member introduced a Bill to amend the Legal Practitioners Act. The second reading of the Bill was completed in September 1923 and no Member opposed it. Ultimately it entered the statute book and became the law of the land empowering qualified women to practise law in the courts of India. Ms Sudhansu Bala enrolled herself as a lawyer on December 12, 1923 and appeared before the Patna High Court as the junior of Madhusudan Das who had by then resigned as the Minister of Local Government. It was because of the untiring efforts of Madhubabu that the women lawyers in India could remove an unjust barrier imposed against their entry into the legal profession. In the process he became the foremost champion of womens rights to become practicing lawyers enjoying equal standing with men lawyers.2

Mahatma Gandhi and Madhubabu

A better and deeper appreciation of Madhu-babus life, work and worldview is possible by referring to Mahatma Gandhi who invoked Madhubabus name in the context of the whole nation whenever issues concerning economic and intellectual upliftment of village people were taken up in numerous platforms centring on the freedom struggle. One comes across at least seven volumes of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi from 1932 to 1945 in which Madhubabus name has been invoked by Gandhiji in the context of a variety of issues affecting our freedom movement.

One may refer to November 18, 1932 when Gandhiji sent a telegram to Madhubabu tendering apology to him for having sent a condolence letter when he was given the false information that Madhubabu had passed away. He began the telegram by stating: Long live Madhusudan Das.3 He went on to say that because of his stupidity he came to believe that Madhusudan was no more and added that God willed otherwise and it was proof enough that He would take more service from Madhusudan for long years to come.4 Gandhiji also issued a statement5 on Madhusudan Das tendering apology to him and it was published in the Bombay Chronicle on November 19, 1932. He did not live long and died in 1934. However, Gandhiji, having been deeply impacted by his exemplary ideas, reflected them in his writings and educated the whole nation for implementing them and reaping benefits for the long suffering people of our country.

Practice of Untouchability, Inferior Quality of Tanning and Economic Degradation

Mahatma Gandhi issued a statement on Untouchability on November 14, 1932 and it was published in Bombay Chronicle the next day, that is, on November 15. In that statement he referred to Madhubabus name and described him as a great philanthropist. Gandhiji also wrote that Madhubabu learnt the modern process of tanning and statistically proved the enormous economic loss suffered annually by our country owing to the superstition of untouchability masquerading under the name of religion.6 It is well known that Mahatma Gandhi understood the human and moral degradation suffered by our people, particularly the so-called untouchables and the country as a whole, on account of the scourge of untouchability. However, he acknowledged that Madhusudan Das proved statistically the economic loss arising out of untouchability.7 He explained it by saying that the higher castes always looked down upon the so-called untouchables who dealt with dead animals and dressed their skin. It is because of that hatred and abhorrence of the high castes for people dealing with dead animals and their skin that adequate skill in that field could not be developed and in the process enormous economic wealth associated with leather and its by-products could not be tapped.8

The economic degradation of India on account of untouchability proved to be a bane on our village economy which always remained woven around agriculture without credible and viable alternative occupations as a source of livelihood for the rural population.

In a piece entitled Advice to a Harijan Worker 9 published in Harijan Bandhu on September 3, 1933 Mahatma Gandhi referred to the plan of some of the Harijan workers to take up leather work and stated that it was not enough to make slippers only. Stressing that the work of tanning assumed more importance for our villages than mere leather work, he asked a question: What did Madhusudan Das do?10 Answering it he stated: He gathered the tanners of Utkal and studied how they did tanning. Then Gandhiji observed that Madhusudan Das was dissatisfied with the level and quality of tanning and, therefore, sailed to Germany, learnt leather work there and brought an expert from that country and set up a factory in Cuttack. It is educative to learn from Gandhijis writings that many so-called untouchables learnt the work of tanning because of the dedicated efforts of Madhusudan Das and wrote: Like Madhusudan Das you should first master the craft. It cannot be done in one months time. You can do very well, if you learn it properly. I can make arrangements for your training.11

The narrative given by Gandhiji about Madhu-sudan Das testified to the deep impact of Madhubabus ideas and activities on his mind. It is proved beyond doubt that he considered Madhubabu as a role model in the field of tanning and projected his Utkal Tannery as a fine example of an enterprise to develop the skills of the people, use animal hides for generating wealth and create a culture of quality consciousness for producing high standard leather products.

Skill Development and Building Human Resources

The entire gamut of work done by Madhubabu concerning tanning and so passionately and eloquently explained by Mahatma Gandhi clearly has significance for our time when so many flagship schemes of the government such as skill development, make in India, quality consciousness and ease of doing business have being launched.

In reaching out to a foreign country like Germany and bringing a German expert and enlisting his talent and expertise to develop skill in India, Madhubabu set an excellent example of an entrepreneur whose sole objective was to empower people with skills so that they could go beyond their traditional profession completely revolving around agriculture. It was indeed a bold and forward-looking vision to uplift the people from poverty as also economic and caste degradation and boost their self-esteem.

Utkal Tannery as an Educational Tannery

Madhubabu breathed his last on February 4, 1934. Seven months later, that is, on September 7, 1934 Mahatma Gandhi wrote a long article entitled Village Tanning and its Possibilities12 in Harijan. He explained in the article that the criminal neglect of the peasants and artisans has reduced us to pauperism, dullness and habitual idleness. He noted: With her magnificent climate, lofty mountains, mighty rivers and extensive seaboard, India has limitless resources, whose full exploitation in our village should have prevented poverty and disease.13 However, he regretted that the divorce of intellect from body (labour), made India perhaps the shortest lived, most resourceless and most exploited nation on earth.14 He then stated: The state of village tanning is, perhaps, the best proof of my indictment.15 In other words, the deplorable tanning industry of the villages was indicative of the decline of Indias rural economy.

In the same article Gandhiji wrote: It was late Madhusudan Das who opened my eyes in the great crime against a part of humanity. He sought to make reparation by opening what might be called an educational tannery. His enterprise did not come up to his expectations, but he was responsible for the livelihood of hundreds of shoemakers in Cuttack.16 While doing so he drew parallel between the research done in Shantiniketan and Sabarmati Ashram in the field of tanning.17 It may be stated that Gandhiji could appreciate the diligence and creative effort of Madhubabu in the field of tanning because of his own effort in Sabarmati Ashram to do research on animal hides so that those natural productive assets could be put to good use.

Utkal Tannery was described by Gandhiji as an educational tannery. He did so after the sad demise of Madhubabu and put it in the pan-Indian context. Gandhiji, through his numerous writings, underlined the deeper and abiding relevance of Madhubabus work and educated the rest of India to learn from his seminal contributions which were of significance for economic empower-ment of the underpriveleged. What is evident from all such narratives of Mahatma Gandhi about Madhubabu was the countrywide signifi-cance of his manifold activities encompassing in their scope the vital issues of India in the third decade of the twentieth century.

Too Much Preoccupation with Cattle breeds Bovine Intelligence

In twentyfirst century India the fraternity of farmers across the country is in despair on account of the appalling state of our agriculture which, due to many factors, has become unremunarative. The decline in agricultural productivity and suicide of farmers constitute a sad commentary on our society, governance and economy. The pitiable condition of agriculture was understood by Madhubabu and we find it in the account of Mahatma Gandhi who referred to the diminishing returns from agriculture and the concomitant misery of farmers working in the field with the cattle and remaining idle for half of the year because of the absence of any other occupation to eke out a living. Gandhiji was distressed at the miserable condition of people and wrote in 1934: ..in the words of Madhusudan Das villagers working with cattle got reduced to the level of the beast, and without proper nourishment, either of the mind or the body and, therefore, without joy and without hope.18

In fact Madhubabus economic activities centring on tanning enabled Mahatma Gandhi to promote the cause of the Swadeshi economy. Therefore, immediately after using the afore-mentioned observations of Madhubabu, Gandhiji wrote: Here is work for the cent-per-cent swadeshi-lover and scope for harnessing of technical skill to the solution of a great problem.

A month later, that is, on October 24, 1934,19 while delivering a speech at the Subjects Committee Meeting of the All India Congress Committee, Mahatma Gandhi commended a resolution for revival of village industries and again invoked the name of Madhubabu. He did so in the presence of other stalwarts of the freedom movement such as Rajendra Prasad and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. In what context did Gandhiji take the name of Madhubabu? He did so by referring to his Harijan tour in Utkal which he undertook on foot and had in his own words an extraordinary experience.21 He narrated with pain and anguish the plight of villagers whose sole source of living was agriculture. Stating that ...farmers do not produce enough even for the seeds, he observed: You can hardly find such poverty anywhere else.22 He referred to the helplessness of village people in such a situation and noted: Apart from India there is perhaps no other country where people depend so completely on agriculture.23

It is against that backdrop that Gandhiji took the name of Madhubabu who had said that village people should be provided with some additional occupation. He also recalled Madhubabus visit to Germany to learn leather work.24 And, above all, Gandhiji remembered Madhubabu coining a phrase called bovine intelligence25 and used it in his speech. Bovine intelligence was used by Madhubabu to refer to the dulled and stunted faculties of villagers on account of their continuous preoccupation with cattle to pursue the profession of agriculture. It will be appreciated better by referring to the words of Gandhiji who said: I have always remembered his (Madhusudan Das) one remark that those who always work with oxen must have bovine intelligence. Our farmers lost their work and became dull-minded.26

The unmistakable impact of persuasive ideas of Madhubabu on Mahatma Gandhi was clearly evident when he summoned Madhubabus name in the presence of outstanding leaders of the struggle for independence and used his ideas in the context of the countrywide movement for a Swadeshi Economy based on indigenous resources of people for liberating India from colonial rule and exploitation.

On different occasions Gandhiji was sharing Madhubabus ideas among the people of our country to sensitise them for developing the human resources of India so that we could boast of what he called the living machines we have.27 It was manifest in his speech28 delivered at a public meeting in Nagpur on February 23, 1935, slightly more than a year after the sad demise of Madhubabu. He said that during his Harijan tour in Odisha he walked in many parts of the State and it was brought home to him that revival of village industries was a categorical imperative to make Khadi universal. He acknowledged that he could not have realised it had he toured by rail or car. Then in his speech he added: As the late Madhusudan Das had said, our villages were fast being reduced to the state of brutes with whom they worked and lived as a result of the forced idleness in which they passed their days. If they continued in that state, he cautioned, not even independence would improve the state of India.29 Those cautionary words of Mahatma Gandhi have become grim realities for our farmers and village people sixtyeight years after our independence causing despair and hopelessness among them.

In the same speech Gandhiji said that no other country in the world except China could boast of the crores of living machines and stressed that India had to employ those human machines which remained idle and make them intelligent machines.30 It is instructive to note that Madhubabus name and ideas were used by Gandhiji when he was articulating his thoughts on human resource development and improve-ment of intelligence of the village people in his speech delivered in Nagpur in 1935. In several other speeches delivered in other parts of India Gandhiji used to refer to the same ideas of Madhubabu to awaken the people and nations consciousness to provide employment opport-unities to the people beyond the agricultural sector.

Bridging the Gap between Intellect and Hand

On March 14, 1940, slightly more than six years after the passing away of Madhubabu, Gandhiji, while delivering a speech at the Khadi and Village Industries Exhibition in Ramgarh, recalled the name of Madhubabu for bridging the gulf between intellect and hand.31 He stated that as compared to the modern city civilisation the handicraft civilisation would endure provided a correlation could be established between brain and brawn.

He then said: The late Madhusudan Das used to say that our peasants and workers had, by reason of working with bullocks, become like bullocks; and he was right.32 Adding further, he continued by saying: We have to lift them from the estate of the brute to the estate of man and that we can do only by correlating the intellect with the hand. Thereafter he observed: Not until they learn to work intelligently and make something new every day, not until they are taught to know the joy of work, can we raise them from their low estate.33

Madhubabu and Leo Tolstoy

It is rather revealing that on October 22, 1937, while speaking at an Educational Conference, Gandhiji drew a parallel between Madhubabu and Leo Tolstoy. He said in his speech: The late Madhusudan Das was a lawyer, but he was convinced that without the use of our hands and feet our brain would be atrophied, and even if it worked it would be the home of Satan. Then he stated that Tolstoy had taught the same lesson through many of his tales.34 All such pronounce-ments of the Father of our Nation brought out Madhubabus high stature and profile and his far-reaching significance beyond the frontier of Odisha and India.

One finds that Gandhiji continued to invoke the name of Madhubabu till 1945. He did so while delivering his speech35 at the All India Spinners Association, organised in Sevagram on March 25, 1945, and that too in the context of his grand quest and plan for moving people from agriculture to other professions, such as spinning and khadi and village industries, for earning their livelihood and putting an end to the dichotomy between intellectual and physical work. He supported his stand and conviction in that regard by saying that ...agriculture by itself cannot develop the intellect as much as khadi and other village industries can. He then added by stating: As the late Madhusudan once said, constant company of bullocks turns men into bullocks.36

The copious references made by the Father of our Nation to Madhubabus contributions for educating the people and nation as a whole testify to the abiding relevance of his work for national reconstruction. In juxtaposing Madhubabus name with the hallowed name of Leo Tolstoy, Gandhiji was underlining the formers global significance. All these bear testimony to his exceptional qualities and deeds which need to be reiterated for the benefit of the younger generation.

A Selfless Leader

To understand many other dimensions of Madhubabu which are of immense significance for India of the twentyfirst century, it is extremely essential to refer to a seminal article The Oriya Movement37, authored by Professor F.G. Bailley and published in The Economic Weekly on September 26, 1959. He has made a striking point concerning Madhubabu and other great leaders of the erstwhile Orissa whom he characterised as leaders with missionary spirit. He explained missionary spirit as that spirit which motivates leaders to sacrifice personal interest and comfort to achieve a goal which is regarded as a moral obligation.38 At that time any one in the erstwhile Orissa who embraced the Bengali language and culture was seen to have been in a superior position to pursue his/her interests. Therefore, Professor Bailley, while describing Madhubabu as the prime mover of the whole campaign of the Oriya movement, stated that if he had wanted to achieve his personal interest he was in a vantage position to do so because of his adoption of Bengali language and culture and ...need never have troubled himself about those of his countrymen who had neither the ability nor the opportunity to do the same.39 Then the noted Professor concluded: Yet he spent his life in fighting for Oriya culture and Oriya language.40 It indeed constitutes a great tribute to Madhubabus personality the defining feature of which was his exalted character and missionary spirit to render service at the cost of self.

Madhubabu adopted Constitutional Method to achieve his Goals

The manner in which Madhubabu and other leaders fought for the cause of the Odia language, culture, nationalism and identity is of great significance for our time. It was based on peaceful and lawful methods without inciting violence and disorder. It is noteworthy that Dr Ambedkar, in his last speech in the Constituent Assembly, had said that if any approach for redressal of grievances would be inconsistent with the Constitution it would result in the grammar of anarchy. In fact Professor Bailley referred to this point in his aforementioned article and wrote that ...Oriya Nationalism advanced its claims largely through diplomatic and constitutional means. There was no resort to violence and no attempt to force the Governments hand by direct action. The strength of the movement rested on the moderation of the leaders and their personal eminence. 41

Madhubabu, as the prime mover of the whole campaign, was a shining example of the leader who held on to constitutional methods to pursue the goals many of which were taken up by Mahatma Gandhi till 1945 in his numerous writings and speeches. At a time when many States of our country, including Odisha, are facing the menace of Naxal violence threatening the constitutional method of governance, we need to stress on lawful means as also the strength of moderation and personal eminence which were amply displayed by Madhubabu and the leadership of that era. He is a role model for the present-day leadership who are responsible for governance of twentyfirst century India. The legacy of Utkal Gauraba Madhusudan Das endures and his life and work offers valuable lessons for human resource development, skill building and the adoption of the constitutional method to address the complex challenges confronted by our economy, society, nation and world as whole. 

Footnotes

1. http://www.wecf.eu/cms/download/2007/Womens_Manifesto_ ClimateChange.pdf

2. Sudhansubala Hazra, How Women Got the Right to Practise in the Law Courts of India in Madhusudan DasThe Man and his Mission (Ed.) by Debendra Das, (Pragati Utkal Sangha, Rourkela, 1998), pages 143-51.

3. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 58, p. 18.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid., p. 19.

6. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 57, November 14, 1932, p. 413.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid., p. 412.

9. Collected works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 61, p. 360-361.

10. Ibid., p. 360.

11. Ibid., p. 360-361.

12. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 64, p. 407-410.

13. Ibid.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid., p. 407

17. Ibid., p. 408.

18. Ibid., p. 409.

19. Ibid., p. 409.

20. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 65, pages. 219-226.

21. Ibid., p. 220.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. Ibid.

26. Ibid.

27. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 66, p. 255.

28. Ibid., pp. 254-56.

29. Ibid., p. 255.

30. Ibid.

31. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 78, pp. 56-58.

32. Ibid., p. 57.

33. Ibid.

34. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 72, p. 361.

35. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 86, p. 103.

36. Ibid.

37. F.G. Bailley, The Oriya Movement, The Economic Weekly, September, 26, 1959. http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1959_11/39/politics_in_orissaivthe_oriya_movement.pdf?0=ip_login_no_cach e%3D927e131d3e62db13b63 df53470ef549d

38. Ibid., p. 1335.

39. Ibid.

40. Ibid.

41. Ibid., pp. 1334-35.

The author was an Officer on Special Duty and Press Secretary to late K.R. Narayanan when the latter was the President of India. He then served as a Director in the Prime Ministers Office. He is now serving as a Joint Secretary in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. The views expressed in the article are personal and have nothing to do with the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > RSS Pracharak Sunil Joshi was 100% Involved in Samjhauta Blasts: Former SIT (...)

by Seema Mustafa

We had confirmed the involvement of the Sunil Joshi group in the Samjhauta explosion and the fact that no one from SIMI was involved, was the categorical response of then Special Investigation Team chief, Vikash Narain Rai, an upright police officer, who had been entrusted with the enquiry of the train explosion in 2007.

In an exclusive interview to The Citizen Rai former Director General of Police (Law and Order), Haryanaspoke of the painstaking investigation, the non-cooperation of agencies, and the fact that he and his team had zeroed in on Joshi and his group for planting the explosive that set the Samjhauta on fire. Joshi was an RSS pracharak and was killed in the winter of 2007 after the blasts by two men who are still absconding.

Rai, who was contacted by News X for his views on June 3, found that a 25-minute interview where he had stated the facts was not telecast by the channel that instead, as clearly part of its official policy, targeted another police officer on the show to take forward the claim that Muslim and not Hindu groups were involved in this case. It was totally insane, unbelievable, he said.

I have been a police officer for 35 years, said Rai still surprised at the levels to which the media has sunk now, and this decision to black out my interview was clearly manipu-lated, either for money or under political pressure. Or, although he did not say it, perhaps for both.

Rai speaks of a meticulous, step by step investigation. The explosives that had been put together to ensure that the fire would expand in a moving train, and not subside with one burst, were planted in suitcases. All of these had been destroyed but, as Rai recalls, we were very lucky to find one such suitcase intact.

The make of the suitcase took the investigators to Indore, to a Raghunandan attache shop.

Rai pointed out that Indore immediately rung bells of SiMI terror as this was a strong base for the Muslim group, but by then reports of Hindu extremist groups operating out of the city were also known. The shop was owned by a Bohra Muslim and had two young employees, a Hindu and a Muslim.

The two boys were questioned intensively and recalled that two young men had come to their store to purchase the suitcase. And that they had returned later in the day to take away the suitcase in a loose cloth cover as they did not want to be seen with it. Rai said that the investigating team found that all the components that went into the explosives were also purchased in the radius of one kilometre from this shop.

He said that the first alarm bells went off for him when the two shop employees, interrogated separately, said that the two men appeared to be Hindus, spoke in a local Indori accent, and were clearly from the city itself.

Various names started surfacing during the course of the investigation but a major lead, Rai said, came from the murder of a local business-man, Sunil Joshi. He was reported to be close to Pragya Thakur. He was killed by two men who have still not been traced. Rai said it could not be confirmed at the time whether the two men, identified at the time, had been killed as well or had fled the country to Nepal or elsewhere. The name of Swami Aseemanand also emerged in the course of the investigation.

The investigating team had by this time established two facts as Rai put it: one, the Samjhauta case involved Sunil Joshi and his men; and two, there was no SIMI or Pakistan hand in this.

The investigation was unable to proceed further, Rai said, by complete non-cooperation from Madhya Pradesh and more specifically from Indore. He said that at one point he stationed himself for several days in Indore but was unable to get the police to cooperate. He said that several policemen told him privately that while he was on the right track there was little they would or could do to help.

Rai said that in meetings held by the Ministry of Home Affairs at the time the Investigating Officers of Malegaon, Ajmer and other such terror attacks would exchange notes pointing towards the involvement of Hindu groups. In Mecca Masjid, several Muslim youth were falsely accused by the invesitgators of that case, and were subsequently acquitted by the courts. Rai confirms this: The investigators of the Mecca Masjid case had arrested wrong people even though the signatures of their case were exactly the same as the Samjhauta case. We did not believe them and subsequently the NIA got those arrested persons discharged/released.

Interestingly Rai recalls a long conversation he had with the then Maharashtra ATS chief, Hemant Karkare. He said that Karkare, investigating the Malegaon blasts, also said that he had considerable evidence that the Hindu extre-mists were involved in this case as well. He told Rai that he was putting the evidence together and would get back to him with more details as soon as he had stitched the loose ends. Rai said that this did not happen as Karkare was murdered soon after in the Mumbai terror attack.

The lack of cooperation from the Madhya Pradesh Government brought Rais investigation to a dead end and later it was passed on to the newly set-up NiA along with some of the other cases. Even here, he recalls, this was done not immediately and only after the second NIA chief had taken over.

The NIA had chargesheeted RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi with the Samjhauta Express train blast. He was considered an important link to the alleged acts of Hindu terror across the country at the time. He was shot dead on December 29, 2007 when he was walking back to his hideout in Chuna Khadan locality in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. As Rai now said, the two assailants identified at the time are still absconding.

Instead the Sunil Joshi murder case, that was at the heart of the Samjhauta Express and other investigations, has been quietly shifted back to Madhya Pradesh with the NIA under the current government claiming it has found no evidence of a terror angle.

(Courtesy: thecitizen.in)
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Truth Is The Casualty

In the present atmosphere prevailing in the country, everything is being politicised, whether the dubious land deals or the racist attacks against African students. Unfortunately, truth is the casualty. Sonia Gandhi has said that the criticism of her son-in-law, Robert Vadra, is political and is directed against the Congress party she heads. Her love for the dynasty has made her ignore the facts.

Vadra got land papers changed when the Congress was in power in Haryana. The land was requisitioned for public interest in Gurgaon. And the then State Government in power gave it to Vadra who made crores of rupees by selling the land to the builders.

A bold IAS officer, Ashok Khemka, brought out the facts but he was punished with innumerable transfers. Now the question has been revived because of Vadras reported link with an arms dealer in London where he reportedly owns a house. Both Vadra and Sonia Gandhi have denied the report and the latter has asked for an impartial, independent inquiry. There should be no hitch, because this is what her critics have been demanding.

The Supreme Court should appoint a special investigation team under its supervision to go into the matter. The investigation should be confined to Vadras land deals and not spread to other things so that the probe is completed within a short time-frame.

Recently, the land deal by Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse and his family has come to light. In fact, land has become a commodity in the hands of political parties which distribute it among its members, judging on the basis of their loyalty to the leader. One common thing is that all political parties, whatever their ideology, are guilty.

When the Congress is in power, it ensures benefits to its own members and when the BJP is in the chair, the beneficiary is from that party. This is happening particularly in the States because land is a State subject. The Centre puts its hand in the till in the name of national interest. But ultimately the purpose remains the same: grabbing the land by hook or by crook.

Foreign Minister Sushma Swarajs defence that there was no racism in the land of Gandhi and Buddha is a strange observation to make in the wake of recent attacks on African students. In fact, we should admit that we are one of the most racist countries in the world. And we should do something concrete to fight against such discriminations.

The remark made by a spokesman of the African students that the Indians do not like Africans has a grain of truth in the sense that we are obsessed with the White. This was probably realised even during the independence struggle.

Jawaharlal Nehru had the vision to open the portals of educational institutions to the African students as soon as India won freedom. He hoped that some of them would occupy top positions in tomorrows Africa, then casting off slavery. His reading turned out to be correct because some of them came to head governments in their respective countries.

Not only that, the African icons like Nelson Mandela personally thanked Nehru for having boycotted the South African Government for its apartheid policy. When I interviewed him at Cape Town many years ago, he said that their icons were Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru, who defeated the British rulers without firing a shot. The reverence that people had for India was visible as well as genuine.

I am shocked over the killing of a Congolese student on a street of Delhi. That the Indians are colour-conscious does not surprise me. Even today, we hail a beautiful woman as mem, which literally means White. We go out of our way to please a White man but shun the Black. This is goes back to the British days when the White ruled us.

I recall an instance when I was studying at Foreman Christian College at Lahore. A History Professor from South India complained that the students bowed when the wife of his colleague, a White man, passed their way but did not even notice when his wife was around.

The colour-prejudice seems to be a part of the Hindu society from ancient times. The saints were conscious of that and would say that Lord Krishna was dark-skinned. This argument does not seem to have made much dent in the thinking of Hindus. Even today, they continue to be the most colour-conscious community.

The economic betterment seems to have made some difference as well. That may be one of the reasons for the instinctive respect that a White man gets because the West has developed economically. But the truth is that slavery at the hands of the White for more than 150 years has instilled an inferiority complex in us. The manner in which history has recorded the 150-year-old rule by the British, too, has made us lose confidence in ourselves.

When I was Indias High Commissioner at London, many well-placed Britons asked me whether it was true that the people wanted them back. I told them that the manner in which we had made a mess of things exasperated the people and it made them think that things were better during the British days. But it did not mean that the people wanted the British back.

The British were among the many rulers that administered the country. Whether they did something good or bad, or both, is to be judged by the people of India. And they have done that in a way because after independence, the parliamentary system was adopted since this was what the British rulers practised, and not the presidential form of government.

That was 70 years ago. And we do feel today that probably the presidential form of govern-ment would have been better because the person in power would have planned his governments future in more secure conditions and with a fixed tenure. It would have meant transparency and would have lessened scams like land deals and racial discrimination.

The author is a veteran journalist renowned not only in this country but also in our neighbouring states of Pakistan and Bangladesh where his columns are widely read. His website is www.kuldipnayar.com
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Assam Assembly Elections 2016: BJP Triumphs and Congress Dwindles

by V. Bijukumar

The election verdict of the Assam Assembly brought some dramatic developments in the politics of the State. It not only brought down the three consecutive Congress governments led by Tarun Gogoi but also consolidated the electoral base of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam. The BJP could form its first government in North-East India through the election in alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF). The verdict also gave some solace to the ruling party at the Centre which failed to make much impact in the States like Kerala, West Bengal, Tamilnadu and Puducherry where Assembly elections were held along with Assam.

The BJPs entry into Assam helped to shed its image as a North Indian party and moved towards emerging as an all-India party. The party made its presence across the State, both in the Brahmaputra Valley and Barrak valley. In the Bengali-dominated Barrak valley, which comprises districts such as Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi, the BJP won eight out of 15 seats leaving the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) with four, and the Congress three. The BJP made inroads into the Muslim-dominated areas as it won 15 seats in 49 Muslim-dominated constituencies in the State.

Apart from winning all seats in Guwahati city, the BJP swept all seven seats in Dibrugarh and all three seats in Karbi Anglong. Moreover, the BJP was able to penetrate into the tea belt showcasing its impressive win. Interestingly, for the first time in the history of Dima Hasao, the BJP candidate, B.B. Hagjer, won the 16 Haflong (ST) constituency. In the Barrak valley, the BJPs lone Muslim winner, Aminul Haque Laskar, a businessman, scripted history by wining from the Sonai constituency.

In the 126 seats in the State, Assembly, the BJP won 60 seats with a vote-share of 42 per cent, its alliance partner AGP secured 14 seats with a vote-share of eight per cent. The BPF, another partner in the BJP alliance, won 12 seats with a vote-share of 3.9 per cent. The BPF, a former ally of the Congress, initially moved towards the BJP for the development of the Bodo Territorial Council (BTC). It has to be pointed out that the BPF ended its ties with the Congress and withdrew its Ministers from the Gogoi Government instigating Bodo tribals against Bangladeshi Muslim migration raising the bogey of threats from migrants. In the 2011 elections, the BPF won 12 seats and joined the Gogoi Govern-ment and broke its alliance with the Congress in 2014. Moreover, the anti-Muslim sentiment generated in the Bodo areas of Assam describing it as anti-Muslim went in favour of the BJP. The three-party pre-poll alliance thus bagged 86 seats with two-thirds majority in the Assembly.

The incumbent Congress party, however, could secure only 26 seats by winning 31 per cent vote-share. The AIUDF, which claimed its base in the Muslim community, won 13 seats with a vote-share of 13 per cent. It has to be reminded that in the 2011 Assembly elections the BJP won only five seats against the 78 seats of the ruling Congress party. The AGP won 10 seats, the AIUDF won 18 and the BPF only 12. By aligning with the BJP in the Assembly elections, the AGP strengthened its position in the State. The AGP President, Atul Bora, was elected to the Assembly in Bokakhat consti-tuency. However, the AIUDF chief, Dhubri, and present Lok Sabha MP lost to the Congress candidate, Wajed Ali Choudhury, from Salmara South constituency.

Electoral Performance Total Seats: 126

Party Seats Won Vote Percentage BJP 60 42% Congress (I) 26 31% AGP 14 8% AIUDF 13 13% BPF 12 3.9%

The BJPs surge in Assam in the Assembly elections can be analysed in the context of its strategic approach in the State. Firstly, the BJP could muster the tacit support of the Bodos, the Tiwas and the Rabhas which enabled the party to make inroads into the minority areas. Secondly, the election saw a strong Hindu consolidation behind the BJP as both Bengali Hindus and Assamese Hindus supported the party. However, the Muslim vote (both Assamese and Bengali Muslims) split between the Congress and AIUDF. Thirdly, the BJPs pre-poll alliance with the AGP and BPF consolidated anti- Congress votes in its favour. It has to be pointed out that just before the announcement of the elections the BJP sealed an alliance with the AGP and BPF. Initially there were local protests from both the BJP and AGP in certain regions like Bongaigaon, Sivasagar, Sonitpur, Amguri and Tezpur against the alliance. However, the BJP leadership could overcome the dissenting voices in forging the alliance. In the run-up to the election, the BJP sealed an agreement with the AGP and BPF to consolidate the Opposition vote against the ruling Congress dispensation.

In fact, such a realist strategy of alliance- building came in the context of two reasons. First, after it lost in the Bihar Assembly elections in October and November 2015, it reversed the partys stand of going it alone in the Assembly elections. Secondly, the realisation that the combined strength of the three-party alliance can combat the Congress. It has to be mentioned that in the 2011 Assembly elections, the BJP won five seats and the AGP got 10 and the BPF 12 altogether with a voting share of 33 per cent. The BJP hoped that a grand alliance can dislodge the Congress regime which wielded political power for three consecutive terms in the State. Perhaps, the reasons for making an alliance rather than going it alone in the State was the realisation of the party of the Bihar experience where it crumbled before a strong Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance. Thirdly, the election verdict, however, proved that the alliance succeeded in preventing the splitting of anti-Congress votes. Fourthly, the BJP succeeded in bringing Tarun Gogois most trusted Himanta Biswa Sharma, who served as the Minister of Health and Education in the Gogoi Government, to the party; he in fact was the mastermind in the BJPs alliance with the other two regional parties in the State. The seven of the ten sitting Congress MLAs, who left the parent party, won on the BJP ticket.

Further, in spite of the above factors which went in favour of the BJPs fortunes in the State, the BJPs victory was related more to the systematic activities of the RSS in the State; that outfit has been quite systematically working in the tribal belt of the State for years. It has to be emphasised that in 1979, the RSS founded its first school, Shishu Shiksha Samiti, in the State and about 500 Ekal Vidyalayas were set up by the RSS in the State over time. The RSS for a long time spread its roots in the State by appro-priating Assams medieval saint, Srimanta Sankardev, for political gains. Sankardev led a reformist neo-Vaishnavite movement against Brahmanism. (Bhattacharjee, 2016) It also actively supported the anti-infiltration of Bangladeshis in the Assam movement of 1979-84 as it believed that illegal infiltration is a threat to national security.

Mosaic of Cultural Diversity

Assam is a complex society which constitutes Assamese Hindus, Bengalis, migrant Bangla-deshis and tribal population considered to be a mosaic of ethno-cultural diversity. The Assamese Hindus are dominant in the Brahma-putra Valley and the Bengalis are dominant in the Barrak valley. Initially, the BJPs traditional stronghold was the Bengali-dominated Barrak valley. As Srikanth argues, although the BJP did not initially get the support of the Assamese Hindus, as early as in 1991, it could make a dent into the Bengali-dominated Barrak valley region, where it won parliamentary seats from Silchar and Karimganj constituencies (in 1999). (Srikanth, 1999, p. 3413) However, in the recent past, in the Brahmaputra Valley too, the BJP wooed the Assamese Hindus by raking up the issue of illegal migration of Bengali Muslims and its impact on the Assamese society. It accused the Congress of playing vote-bank politics of Bengali migrants. In fact, the BJPs promise to check illegal immigration presumably gained wider acceptability among the Assamese elite.

Among all the States in the North-East, Assam is considered to be the gateway to the rest of the States in the region. For quite some time, the BJP is turning its attention to the political developments in Assam and trying to occupy the Opposition space vacated by the AGP. For instance, on December 29, 2014, Amit Shah constituted a five-member committee, headed by its senior leader, S.S. Ahluwalia, to visit and review the condition of tribal victims of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland- Songbijit (NDFB-S) violence in the Assam relief camps. More than seventy tribals were killed in the violence in Assam in attacks by the pro- Bodo militant groups in December 2014.

In fact, a few days before the visit of Shah in April, the BJP Government was contemplating to delink Assam from the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh. The Protocol to the 1974 LBA, signed on September 6, 2011, paved the way for settlement of the outstanding land boundary issues between the two countries. The 2011 Protocol was prepared with the full support and concurrence of the State govern-ments concernedAssam, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal. As agreed upon through several rounds of negotiations started during UPA-II, Assam is set to lose around 268.39 acres in the final arrangement with Bangladesh under the LBA, but does not get any land in return. West Bengal will lose 1957 acres, but get 2398 acres, while Meghalaya will lose 41 acres and get 250 acres in return from Bangladesh. Assam giving up land is part of settling a disputed 6.1 km stretch thats been with Bangladesh since Partition. For quite some time, this is an emotive issue in Assams polarised and volatile politics and the BJPs Assam unit has always opposed the land loss. The BJPs top brass considered Assam a winning prospect and these poll calculations, it was thought, may result in delinking the LBA with Bangladesh for now. Due to the growing resentment against the LBA in Assam, the BJP is revising the actual plan and accordingly the Indo-Bangladesh LBA will now involve only West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya on the Indian side. The Constitution Amendment Bill to ratify the Indo-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement is likely to be introduced in Parlia-ment with a major change by delinking Assam.1

Emergence as a Political Alternative

Before 1991, the BJP was not a significant force in the electoral politics of Assam. In the 1991 Assembly elections, the BJP won 10 seats out of 48 Assembly seats it contested securing a vote-share of 6.4 per cent. In the 1991 general elections, the BJP won two seats with a vote-share of 9.6 per cent. In the 1996 general elections its vote-share went up to 15.9 per cent with one seat. However, in the Assembly elections in 1996 it could manage 10.4 per cent votes winning four seats. In the 2001 Assembly elections in alliance with the AGP the party bagged eight seats and 35.8 per cent votes. In the 2004 general elections the BJP won two seats and in the 2006 Assembly elections won 12 seats with a vote-share of 11.98 per cent. Like elsewhere in India, initially the BJP allied with the regional party, AGP, in the 2006 Assembly elections and 2009 general elections. In the 2014 general elections by winning seven seats (of the total 14 seats) and securing a vote-share of 36.86 per cent the BJP gradually emerged as a credible alternative to the Congress in the 2016 Assembly elections. In the February 2015 municipal polls the BJP made a clean sweep winning 21 municipal boards and 24 town committees compared to the 2009 elections when it won only five municipal boards and 11 town committees.

The BJPs growth in the States politics can be seen in the context of the anti-incumbency against the three consecutive term of the Congress Government and the declining promi-nence of the AGP as an ethno-regional party. In the recent past the State witnessed the erosion of ethno-regional nationalism championed by the AGP in the eighties. It needs to be stated that the Assam movement (1979-84) sowed the seeds of ethno-regionalism which witnessed the emergence of the AGP making inroads into the State politics eroding the Congress mass base. The AGP, which came to power with the cause of Asomiya Nationality and the issue of illegal migration, in course of time diluted its stand on Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983 due to the compulsions of electoral politics. As a result, there was growing disillusionment among the Hindus against the AGP; this created a fertile ground for the BJP in Assam. Over time, the BJP used the issue of illegal migration of Muslims for expanding its mass base in the State. As Srikanth argues, the politics of regional identity had kept Hindutva at bay in Assam for over two decades. But the AGP Governments poor performance and the bogey of Muslim fundamentalism led Bengali and Assamese caste Hindus to the BJP. (Srikanth, 1999, p. 3412) As a result, the AGP, the prominent regional political force, is declining in the State. Moreover, the AGPs alliance with the BJP in the 2006 Assembly and 2009 Lok Sabha elections cost more to the AGP. The BJP could grow at the expense of the declining political space of the AGP. It is argued that the traditional support-base of the AGPthe Assamese Hindus, the Assamese Muslim and tribals gradually shifted their allegiance to other political parties. (Mahanta, 2014, p. 20) The regional agenda of the AGP, especially detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, was hijacked by the BJP. In the recent past, many leaders of the AGP joined the BJP adding further boost to the BJP in the State. In December 2015, the BJP constituted its campaign panel for the Assembly elections 2016 with a number of former All Assam Students Union (AASU), AGP leaders.

Diminution of the Congress

The three consecutive terms of the Tarun Gogoi Government witnessed a strong wave of anti-incumbency and charges of corruption. During the tenure of the Gogoi regime there were many clashes in the Bodo areas in the State, especially between the Bodos and Muslims. The growing resentment against the persisting frequent clashes and the civil administrations failure to rehabilitate the victims of clashes was a further blow to the Gogoi administration. When the Assembly elections were approaching and the BJP was chalking out its strategy to win the elections in the State, the Congress faced disarray within the party and government. In the recent past, many Congress legislators joined the BJP.

In August 2015, in a big embarrassment to the State Congress, former Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma joined the BJP. Himanta, who was Tarun Gogois trusted aide, was disillus-ioned with the Congress due the realisation that his political ambition to become the Chief Minister of the State was dashed by the Congress as Gogoi was promoting his son, Gaurav Gogoi. While contesting such an argument Assam Congress leader Kishore Bhattacharjee said that Gauravs entry into politics has no role in their differences. It started way back when (now Congress MLA) Pijush Hazarika was elected the Assam Pradesh Youth Congress President in June 2008. Then there were speculations in 2012 that Tarun Gogoi would resign as the Chief Minister and become the countrys Vice-President. Sharma was really hoping to become the Chief Minister.2 Further, a section of the Congress questioned Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for promoting his son, the Lok Sabha MP, as his political heir in the State.

The Repeal of IM(DT) Act, 1983

The appointment of Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister of State for Sports, as the President of the State BJP gave further boost to the saffron party. Sonowal, the former leader of the AASU and subsequently MLA of the AGP, switched over to the BJP some time back; he is a crusader against illegal migration of Bangladeshis in Assam. In 2012, he accused the illegal migrants of deteriorating the life of the indigenous people of Assam. He said that in the last 32 years the indigenous people of Assam have been cornered and pushed to the status of minority due to the huge influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.3

The illegal migration from Bangladesh is a sensitive issue in Assam as it had far-reaching consequences in the political, economic and socio-cultural life of the people. It was one fo the biggest issues in the Assam elections since 1985. As stated earlier, the Assam movement projected the demand for the detection and deportation of illegal migrants (often called foreigners) in the State. In its effort to end the movement, the Indian Government formulated the IM(DT) Act 1983 to protect the interest of Assam. According to the Act, anybody settled in Assam before March 25, 1971 was a legal citizen. However, in the rest of India, the cut-off date for acquiring Indian citizenship is July 9, 1948. Further, the person accused had to do nothing to prove his/her citizenship whereas the complainant had to prove that someone was staying illegally. The Act also provides special protections against undue harassment to the minorities affected by Assam agitation. The Act is applicable only to Assam while the other States in India are covered by the Foreigners Act, 1946. The essential provision of the Act was designed to make it difficult for authorities to identify, leave alone deport, illegal Bangladeshi from Assam.

In a petition filed by Sarbananda Sonowal, who was with the AGP, it was contended that the IM(DT) is only encouraging vote-bank politics without addressing the problem of illegal migrants. In July 2005, the Supreme Court observed that the Act was the biggest barrier to deportation of the illegal migrants from the State. The Supreme Court, in its 114-page judgment, stated that the Act has created the biggest hurdle and is the main impediment or barrier in the identification and deportation of illegal migrants. Further, it observed that the presence of such a large number of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, which runs into millions, in fact is an aggression on the State of Assam and also contributed significantly in causing serious internal disturbances in the shape of insurgency of alarming proportions.4

The repeal of the IM(DT) Act by the Supreme Court in 2005 further communally polarised the State. While both the BJP and AGP welcomed the Court verdict, the Muslim communities expressed their anguish. The BJP claimed that discriminatory Act failed to effectively identify and deport illegal migrants in the State but the Supreme Courts observation was a setback to the Congress which was using this for vote-bank politics. After the Supreme Court verdict, the BJP took out a rally in Guwhati in July 2005 demanding the deportation of all illegal Bangladeshi nationals from Assam. It has to be recalled that the RSS and BJP supported the Assam movement to end the illegal migration in the State. Over a period of time, the party shared the sentiments of the AGP on the issue of illegal migration and supported this provision in the Assam Accord of 1984 between the AASU and the Rajiv Gandhi Government.

The Supreme Courts invalidation of the IM(DT) Act was viewed by the AIUDF as the inability of the Congress to defend the Act. However, foreseeing the possible minority resentment against the Congress which had to face the Assembly elections in 2006, the then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, constituted a Group of Ministers to examine the fall-out of the repeal of the IM(DT) Act, particularly its impact on minorities. The BJP and AGP criticised this action and described it as the backdoor entry of the Act.

Even after ten years of repeal of the IM(DT) Act, the issue continues to haunt the politics of the State. The BJP accused the Congress of following a policy of appeasement which created grave security implications for the country. It said the large-scale intrusion of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants had significantly altered the demographic complexion of the North-Eastern States and had serious long-term political, social and economic implications.5 In September 2012, Ram Madhav, the RSS leader, said that we need to detect and defranchise the Bangladeshi infiltrators from the country. There is very little done by the Central Government to deport them, just one per cent per five days, though the rate of infiltration is about 6000 per day.6 The BJPs Vision Document released before the General Election 2014 contained a separate section on the North-East which promised to put an end to infiltration from Bangladesh and vigorously pursue the three D formulaDetect, Delete and Deport (illegal migrants from Assam).7 The BJPs Assam Vision Document for the 2016 Assembly elections also promised to crack down on infiltration and to seal the Indo-Bangla border. It accused the Congress of destroying and changing the demography of the State by encouraging infiltration. The document also promised stringent action against industries and businesses which employ illegal migrants.

In his visit to Assam on April 26, 2015, the BJP President asserted: Bangladeshi infiltrators have taken away everything. They have taken away land of the Assamese people. They have taken away your jobs. They have eaten into the development funds. Yet the Congress Govern-ment does not have the guts to touch them. It is only the BJP which can free Assam from the clutches of the Bangladeshis.8 He also took credit for the process of updating the National Register of Citizens currently going on in the State and said the NDA Government had earmarked Rs 140 crores to the State for this purpose. In his opinion, once the NRC is revised and updated, all the Bangladeshi infiltrators will be exposed. Accusing the Congress of not stopping illegal migration as it is playing vote-bank politics, the BJP President promised to stop illegal migration of Bangladeshis into Assam.9 Setting the agenda for the campaign for the elections, Shah was categorical that the next elections will be fought on this issue. Assam polls will be for freeing the State of illegal Bangladeshi migrants. Assam polls will also be for development of Assam and North-East.

The BJP often depicts a majority of the Muslims as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh who cause imbalance to the States demography and socio-cultural mosaic of the State.

Setting aside its national agenda and issues, the BJP was able to rake up regional issues such as illegal migration, detection and deportation of foreigners which were once raised by the AGP. In fact, the BJP hijacked the regional agenda of the AGP, especially on the issue of illegal migrants. However, though the BJP rakes up the migration issue, it only focuses on the Muslims not the Bengali Hindus whom it considers as its support-base. The BJP, while criticising the illegal migration from Bangladesh, in the recent past took another turn on this issue. The party now welcomed the migration of Hindus from Bangladesh stating that those Hindus who face religious persecution in that country would be accommodated in India and given citizenship. Shah in his visit to the State even asserted that the BJP would provide all support to Hindus who came to India due to religious persecution and promised that the Hindu refugees from Bangladesh will be given Indian citizenship if the BJP came to power in Assam in the 2016 Assembly elections. The communal fervour of the BJP is explicat when it is a critic of the Muslim migrants, and takes the burden of supporting Hindus who came to India because of the so-called harassment and religious discrimination. The saffron partys surprise move, however, created certain resentment in the State when organisations such as the AASU and Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Saba Parishad (AJYCP) alleged that it was in fact diluting its stand on the Bangladeshi migration problem. However, some sections of the State BJP feel that this would lead to the alienation of educated and middle class Assamese away from the party.

For quite some time, Assam is passing through a critical political juncture in which the linguistic chauvinism and ethnic regiona-lism which dominated for decades were overshadowed by the growing tendencies of communal mobilisation. The growing communal polarisation between Bodos and the Muslim minority groups leads to frequent ethnic killings. The Bodo Kacharis, which constitute the largest tribal group in Assam and which account for 38 per cent of the total population of the State, were instigated against the Muslim population in the Bodo areas of the State. However, the BJPs communal polarisation between migrant Muslims and Assamese-speaking Hindus and the tribal communities and migrants paid political dividends to the party.

Conclusion

The astounding victory of the BJP in Assam gave some relief to the ruling dispensation at the Centre after its stunning defeats in the Delhi and Bihar Assembly elections. Rather than seeing it as a victory for Narendra Modi, the result can be viewed as the consequence of communal polarisation, strong anti-incumbency and the vacuum created by the absence of regional forces and secular alternatives in the State. In a closely fought election, regional issues rather than national issues figured throughout the election campaign. The emotive issue of illegal Bangladeshi migration once again assumed the centre-stage in the political domain and gave more political dividends to the BJP. However, the real challenge of the first ever BJP Government in the North-East depends on its approach towards preserving the cultural diversity of the State.

Endnotes

1. The Economic Times, April 13, 2015.

2. The Assam Tribune, August 28, 2014.

3. see Organiser September 16, 2012.

4. IMDT Act is the biggest barrier to deportation, says Supreme Court, The Hindu, July 14, 2005.

5. See BJP (2006), Achievements and Looking Ahead; 1980- 2005", Vol. 9, New Delhi.

6. See Organiser, September 16, 2012.

7. See BJP (2014), Vision Document, 2014.

8. Amit Shah in Guwahati: Get ready to oust Congress in 2016 Assam assembly polls, The Indian Express, April 28, 2015.

9. Only BJP can free Assam from illegal immigration, Amit Shah, The Economic Times, April 27, 2015.

10. Ibid.

References

Bhattacharjee, Malini, 2016; Tracing the Emergence and Consolidation of Hindutva in Assam, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. LI, No. 16, 30, 16 April, pp. 80-87.

Mahanta, Nani Gopal, 2014; Lok Sabha Elections in Assam: Shifting of Traditional Vote Bases to BJP, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XLIX, No. 35, August 30, pp. 19-22.

Srikanth, H, 1999; Communalising Assam: AGPs Loss Is BJPs Gain, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XXXIV, No. 49, December 4, pp. 3412-3414.

Dr V. Bijukumar is an Associate Professor, Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Theory, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He can be contacted at vbiju@yahoo.co.in
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > PM Modi in the US

EDITORIAL

While there is no dearth of national issues hitting the headlines, the focus now has shifted to international affairs not only because PM Narendra Modi is currently in Washington D.C. holding substantive talks with US President Barack Obama on major subjects of special concern to New Delhi.

The latest information from the United States is that Hillary Clinton made history yesterday by winning the US presidential nomination from the side of the Democrats; she thus becomes the first American woman to contest for occupation of the White House, having defeated her Democrat rival Bernie Sanders in the race. However, Sanders has declared: The struggle continues, adding: We will not allow Right-wing Republicans to control our government.

As for Modis trip to the US, the most noteworthy event in the US capital was his address to the US Congress today. As the fifth Indian PM to do so, he brought into prominence the urgency of enhancing the struggle against terrorism, underscoring the fact that not just in Afghanistan, but elsewhere in South Asia and globally, terrorism remains the biggest threat. In his opinion,

In the territory stretching from west of Indias border to Africa, it may go by different names, from Lashkar-e-Taiba, to Taliban, to ISIS.

But its philosophy is common: of hate, murder and violence.

Although its shadow is spreading across the world, it is incubated in Indias neighbourhood...

The need of the hour is for us to deepen our security cooperation.

And base it on a policy

 that isolates those who harbour, support and sponsor terrorists;

 that does not distinguish between good and bad terrorists; and

 that delinks religion from terrorism.

Well aware that several members of the US House of Representatives had conveyed their opposition to religious intolerance in India, Modi in the first half of his speech explicitly pointed out:

For my government, the Constitution is its real holy book.

And in that holy book, freedom of faith, speech and franchise, and equality of all citizens, regardless of background, are enshrined as fundamental rights.

And towards the end of the speech, he underlined:

As we deepen our partnership, there would be times when we would have differing perspectives.

But since our interests and concerns converge, the autonomy in decision-making and diversity in our perspectives can only add value to our partnership.

Needless to mention, Modis hourlong extempore address to the US Congress was punctuated by frequent applause and standing ovations.

The address to the US Congress apart, there were major takeaways from the talks Modi had with Obamathe US extending support to Indias bid to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) while it was simultaneously disclosed that India had cleared all hurdles to become a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR); India and the US Exim Bank deciding to work out an attractive package for delivering AP 1000 nuclear reactors built by Westinghouse to this country; registering considerable forward movement in materialising the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) which will allow the militaries of the two countries to get access to each others facilities; India declaring its preparedness to meet climate change commitments before Obama demits office.

June 8 S.C.
New Delhi: JNU Student Union president Kanhaiya Kumar, along with 42 other JNU students, was taken into police custody for protesting in front of Bihar Bhawan in Delhi.

Kanhaiya had led a march of AISF activists to the Bihar Bhawan in protest of the police crackdown on students of the Patna Arts College in Bihar. The protesters demanded the resignation of the college principal and the cancellation of the ongoing examinations for conducting it afresh.
Vice Adm. Thomas J. Moore relieved Vice Adm. William H. Hilarides as commander, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) during a June 10 ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard.



Moore graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in math and operations analysis. He holds a degree in information systems management from The George Washington University as well as a Master of Science and an engineer's degree in nuclear engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



Since 2011, Moore has headed Program Executive Office Carriers where he led the Ford-class aircraft carrier program, as well as the maintenance, modernization and inactivation of carriers in fleet service. Other assignments include serving as director, Fleet Readiness and as major program manager for In-Service Aircraft Carriers. At the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Newport News, Virginia, Moore served as the overhaul project officer where he led the refueling and complex overhaul of aircraft carriers USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and the first year of the overhaul of USS Nimitz (CVN 68).



"I am honored and humbled to be taking command of such a dynamic, diverse and innovative workforce," said Moore. "There is no other organization in the world that does what the Naval Sea Systems Command does and I'm excited for the challenges and opportunities that are ahead of us."



Following the ceremony, Hilarides retired from the Navy after serving 39 years, including three as NAVSEA commander.



"Serving and leading the men and women of the Naval Sea Systems Command has been the single most rewarding experience of my life," said Hilarides. "Without ships we don't have a Navy, and without the people who build them, repair them and man them, those ships would be lifeless hunks of metal. I wish our entire country knew what you all do for them every day."



Over Hilarides' three-year tour, NAVSEA delivered a total of 19 ships to the fleet including the revolutionary USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), the first of the redesigned Virginia-class attack submarines and dozens of ships out of maintenance availabilities. From June 2013 to June 2016, NAVSEA executed 153,495 separate contracting actions totaling more than $88 billion.



The largest of the Navy's five systems commands, NAVSEA's workforce engineers, designs, build, buys and maintains ships, submarines and combat systems that meet the fleet's current and future operational requirements. NAVSEA's workforce consists of 70,000 civilian, military and contract support personnel at 33 field activities across 16 states.
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Classification society DNV GL announced at the Posidonia trade fair that it had issued the first Clean Lay-up declaration under its newly released classification guideline

The guideline enables shipowners and managers to demonstrate that their vessel is laid up in a responsible manner, taking into account noise, emission and environmental concerns, while fulfilling all safety requirements. Bluewaters Munin FPSO, laid up in Labuan, Malaysia, recently received the first declaration of this kind.

As a result of the tight business climate, we are seeing an increasing number of enquiries from owners and managers who need to put their vessel into lay-up, but want to do this in a way that respects the local environment and the communities around these sites, says Richard Tao, Discipline Leader of DNV GLs Maritime Advisory and Project Manager for the new lay-up guideline.

In response we have developed a new lay-up guideline that brings the best practices in the field together. In it we address a broad spectrum of issues including noise, air emissions (NOx and SOx), onboard waste and hull cleaning. The new declaration can be obtained alongside our current lay-up declaration to ensure that vessels enjoy a safe and responsible lay-up and an efficient and cost-effective recommissioning, he adds.

We are working closely together with DNV GL and the lay-up provider to ensure our FPSO is well managed during this period so that she can be re-activated smoothly when the market turns, says Pieter Dofferhoff, Regulatory Compliance Engineer and Project Manager Cold Lay-up for the Munin FPSO.

We developed a strategy for the clean cold lay-up of our FPSO which meets the requirements of the DNV GL class guideline for lay-up of vessels. This strategy has been completely implemented on board in good cooperation with the crew of the FPSO, the lay-up provider and local authorities in Labuan, he explains.

We also selected a DNV GL approved lay-up provider to carry out the lay-up preservations and maintenance routines during the lay-up to ensure that the integrity of the hull, machinery and other systems are maintained in the best way possible with the least impact on the environment in both normal situations and emergencies, Dofferhoff adds.

In order for a vessel to receive a Clean Lay-up declaration, the following aspects are to be evaluated and assessed in line with the detailed requirements illustrated in the new guideline: mooring arrangement, the safety and security of the vessel lay-up, emergency preparedness, the procedures in place to prevent pollution, air and noise pollution, as well as the antifouling coating treatment and marine growth.

With almost 13,000 vessels in class, DNV GL has the accumulated know-how and insight to advise shipowners on how best to lay up their vessels  from ships to offshore units. The newly revised class guideline for vessel lay-up provides customers our recommended practices, gained from experience during the major lay-ups in the shipping industry of the 1970s, 1980s and 2000s. It provides a systematic and cost-effective approach for preparing vessels for lay-up and maintaining them in a safe and optimal condition during lay-up, says Tomas Solli, Business Development Manager of Offshore Class in DNV GL.
DNV GL has initiated a joint industry project for the design of a state-of-the-art next generation LPG carrier.

LPGreen aims is to develop a more energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and safer vessel for the transportation of LPG products, taking into account existing and future trading patterns and ensuring the overall competitiveness of the concept.

The project will incorporate the latest advances in hull form optimisation, cargo handling systems, engine technology and fuelling options. The resulting concept design will be compliant with the new IGC Code.

DNV GL has brought together experts from across the industry for this project, including Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Wartsila, MAN Diesel & Turbo and Consolidated Marine Management (CMM), each contributing their unique expertise and experience.

The project contains some of the industrys technology leaders to bring innovation in practice, says George Dimopoulos, Principal Specialist at DNV GLs Maritime R&D and Advisory unit in Greece who acts as the classification societys Project Manager for LPGreen.

Using our partners experience, technology expertise and coupling it with state-of-the-art tools such as hull form CFD optimisation and COSSMOS for integrated machinery systems, we are confident that we will develop a competitive, compliant and safer concept vessel, with significant advances in a range of its features, he explains.

The LPGreen project is planned to be completed by the end of this year.

The project partners will investigate the potential for hull form optimization, improved cargo handling and management systems as well as machinery systems integration using the DNV GL COSSMOS tool.

An additional feasibility study will assess the total competiveness of the concept. The LPG concept vessel will include significant improvements in terms of its energy efficiency, environmental track record and the level of safety. The target is a concept that will be ready to be implemented as soon as the project is completed.
Why Samsung Is Not Buying Silver - REDUX

Actually that old headline above is not quite accurate.

However, the implications have not changed - and could be playing out as I write this.

(Silver, despite bearish COMEX positioning, has broken out of a key moving average and seems to be accelerating)

Samsung, the giant electronics conglomerate, formed an agreement with Avino Silver and Gold Mines Ltd. in July 2015.

As of September, Avino has been delivering concentrates as per the original deal.

While silver prices have remained under the exclusive control of the big 8 commercial traders on the worlds largest and most important exchange, things may now be in flux.

Market corners, by nature, (and with or without regulation or enforcement), are unsustainable.

And now weve crossed the rubicon, where a major commercial user is forced to source metal away from the exchange rather disrupt prices to the point of systemic disaster.

Taking delivery of silver futures contracts from the COMEX is hard enough of as it is.

And once the light of awareness illuminates the precariousness of this, COMEX will cease to be the primary source of price discovery.

And we just might be there yet!

**********

Cluff Gold (now Amaro), a gold mining concern focused on West African assets, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Samsung. Under the unusual agreement, the huge Seoul, South Korea based industrial company will be offering substantial funding to the mining concern to help develop its mining portfolio in the initial form of a $20 million unhedged loan facility.

This is the very first financing deal of its kind, where a non-mining concern has shown an interest in a mining company to help provide it with a reliable supply of bullion over the longer term.

For whatever reason, capital from outside the mining industry is now starting to become available to it. Interestingly, the well-known shorts in the mining shares could well be in trouble, although the fact that Samsung is buying into a gold miner highlights the fact that it is probably too late to do the same for silver.

Silver Miners are Spread Thin and at the Mercy of the Banks

Although a desperate need for consolidation exists in the silver mining sector, the capital to do so seems quite hard to come by since miners are typically viewed as risky borrowers by funding banks. This situation creates significant problems for the supply of silver going forward.

If a tech company announced a similar joint venture with a silver miner, it would very likely create an industrial panic and see the price of silver push sharply higher. This move could be large enough to break the global financial system, especially if the famously short bullion banks are not as hedged by offsetting transactions in the OTC sector as they claim to be.

Basically, the worldwide surge in investment demand for silver is competing with constant industrial demand for a metal that is universally believed to be vastly more ubiquitous than it is due to years of extreme price distortion.

Furthermore, silvers monetary history ties it to gold, even though they have different intrinsic values. Nevertheless, no central banks own silver in comparable quantities to their gold holdings.

Impact of the Samsung/Cluff Gold Deal

Overall, as noted by many, including the legendary gold mining CEO, Jim Sinclair, the story is a major game changer that demonstrates substantial international corporate investment in a monetary metal.

It also highlights the persistent undervaluation in the sector, and the desire by industrial concerns to secure their long term supply of a precious metal.

Furthermore, the creative financing deal demonstrates the recognition of the facts that:



(1) Gold mines mine money,

(2) The supply of gold is dwindling and

(3) Gold plays an important role in the high tech industry, which is actually quite minimal compared with silvers broader industrial importance.

The deal also indicates that the precious metals bear market inflicted by widespread hedging of gold shares is now coming to a close. Just think about it, if Samsung or another large tech company tried to source silver in this way, it could very well trigger a spreading crisis.

Precious Metals in the Rehypothecation Era

The Samsung/Cluff Gold deal also comes in the era of rehypothecation, which involves a broker pledging as collateral for a bank loan the securities in customer margin accounts.

Basically, the rehypothecation of assets, which infinitely dilutes claims on real assets, can and will ultimately lead to total losses even for investors who thought that they had strong collateral backing.

Furthermore, the inventory of the world's credible assets is literally evaporating in absence of CapEx spending, which is also one of the reasons behind the ECB's seemingly endless lowering of its collateral requirements.

Why Buy Silver?

Within this investing and supply environment for silver, a substantial buying interest could well have a remarkable upwards impact on the price of silver for the following reasons:



(1) Not much silver left. This is the same reason that central banks are not buying silver. Basically, silver has been dis-hoarded and any major buyer would immediately induce a short covering panic that would end all panics.



(2) Silver miners are spread thin. The supply of silver is largely a byproduct of the mining of other metals because the primary silver producers are still viewed as risky. They also often have trouble finding funding for their mining operations and exploration activities.



(3) Strategic threat. No one wants to be the one that blows the silver market sky high with large purchases, so gradual accumulation often seems a more prudent investment strategy in the relatively thin silver market.



Although Samsung may not be buying silver  yet  this innovative deal with Cluff Gold indicates that conditions are favorable for more finance for supply transactions of this type over the years to come.



For more on buying silver.

By Dr. Jeff Lewis

Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, in addition to running a busy medical practice, is the editor of Silver-Coin-Investor.com Copyright  2015 Dr. Jeff Lewis- 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.

Dr. Jeff Lewis Archive

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Jimmy Mazz.jpg

Singer Jimmy Mazz will perform at Storrowton Tavern on June 21.

Storrowton Tavern and Carriage House is presenting entertainer James (Jimmy Mazz) Mazzaferro in an "America Thru Song" luncheon show on June 21.



The event, which begins at noon, will feature a "surf & turf" luncheon of Yankee pot roast and baked scrod. The meal also includes a summer salad, dessert, and a choice of coffee or tea.

Mazzaferro's performance will feature a musical grand tour of the USA, with his renditions of modern and mid-century classics. Special guests "Sound Impressions" will open the show, which is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m.



Tickets for "America Thru Song" are $25, all-inclusive. Seats can be reserved by calling the Jimmy Mazz Ticket Line at (413) 374-5890.

* * *

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) has announced the date of its annual Taste the View Harvest Dinner and Auction.

Planned for Sept. 23, Taste the View will be held at Quonquont Farm in Whately. Tickets are slated to go on sale later this summer.

* * *

Europa Black Rock Bar & Grille in Ludlow will be hosting a "Songs of the Eagles" evening on June 17. A roast chicken dinner buffet will be served at 6 p.m. with a tribute performance by 7 Bridges Road to follow at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the dinner and show are $45. On Sunday, June 19, Europa will be the site of a Father's Day Cigar Dinner. The event, which starts at 1 p.m., costs $30, tax and gratuity included; a buffet menu of prime rib, shrimp with rice, and "blackened" chicken with Gorgonzola sauce with be served. Reservations for both events are required and can be made by calling Europa at (413) 547-6443.

* * *

Max Burger in Longmeadow will be presenting a Stony Creek Brewery Dinner on Monday, June 20. Scheduled to start at 6 p.m., the event will pair beers produced by Branford, Conn.-based Stony Creek Brewery with Max Burger creations. Five courses are planned, with the likes of crispy prosciutto slides, porchetta (slow-roasted pork), and a fried apple pie to be featured. The beer dinner is $65 per person; contact Max Burger at (413) 798-0101 for reservations.

* * *

The Table 3 Restaurant Group in Sturbridge has announced the start of construction on its new Cedar Street Cafe, a dining venue that will focus on breakfast and lunch.

Located at 420 Main Street in Sturbridge, the Cafe will feature indoor farmhouse dining as well as an outdoor terrace. A late summer opening is anticipated.

Table 3's Executive Chef Enrico Giovannello will be offering a Cooking with Rico session on June 23 starting at 6:30 p.m. The evening's topic is paella; Chef Giovannello will be sharing his secrets for making this Spanish classic.

Contact Avellino in Sturbridge at (508) 347-2321 for information or reservations.


"Truth in menu" is not a new issue for the food service business. For decades restaurateurs have been guilty of little white lies when they use phrasing like "Maine lobster" or "Idaho potatoes."



The current farm-to-table, "locally sourced" movement has, however, raised this issue to a new level. Anyone who dines out has seen the menu cards annotated with the names of local farmers and purveyors who purportedly supplied raw ingredients to that's restaurant kitchen. But just how honest and accurate is that sort of place-of-origin detail?



Too often, "not very" can be the answer.



Laura Reiley, the food critic of the Tampa Bay Times, recently did a little digging into the "farm-to-table" sourcing of various restaurants she'd visited and reviewed.



What she discovered was disturbing. A significant number of the places that claimed they were sourcing their ingredients locally weren't.



The inaccuracies she identified ranged from minor to blatant. Some operators were citing suppliers who, when questioned by Reilly, had no record or recollection of ever selling to that restaurant. Other chefs had growers listed on their menus that were no longer in business.



Some of the miscreant operators Reiley uncovered weren't particularly repentant about the menu inaccuracies they'd perpetrated. When questioned about his sourcing deceptions, one restaurateur remarked, "even bad publicity is publicity."

Reiley isn't the only journalist who's looked into farm-to-table mislabeling. Media outlets in several major cities have done investigative pieces reporting similar local-sourcing menu inaccuracies.

To read Reiley's series "Farm to Fable," go to tampabay.com

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community College's hospitality and culinary arts program and has over 40 years of restaurant and educational experience. Please send items of interest to Off the Menu at the Republican, P.O. Box 1329, Springfield, MA 01101; Robert can also be reached at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com
SPRINGFIELD  A peregrine falcon chick was rescued by Springfield Police officers on Friday night after it may have fallen from its nest on the ledge of the Monarch Place building in downtown Springfield.

A Springfield Police officer who was on patrol in the downtown area said he first sighted the bird wobbling around on the ground near Nadim's Restaurant at 1380 Main St., at approximately 9 p.m.

Police then followed the bird around the building and managed to corral it in a corner between two buildings, away from traffic and passersby.

Police said they believed the animal may have fallen from a nearby building.

A Western Mass News "falcon cam" is set up on top of the Monarch Place building, right next door to Nadim's, and the site has been a nesting place for the birds for years.

Police Capt. Cheryl Clapprood called for state Environmental Police to respond.

Tom Ricardi, a retired environmental police officer, arrived at the scene shortly after the call to assist with examination of the bird.

Ricardi said he would be taking the falcon back to Mass Birds of Prey Rehab Center  a private organization that Ricardi now works for that rehabilitates animals like the falcon.

"She's got a lot of spunk, that's for sure," said Ricardi.

Ricardi said he believed the bird probably fell from the building or hit a sign. "It looks like it's just learning to fly," he said.

The peregrine falcon is one of the world's fastest birds and may possibly reach speeds up to 200 miles per hour, according to The Audubon Society.


Le Speaker de lAssemblee Nationale a fait une declaration a la Chambre lors de la seance parlementaire du 26 octobre 2021 sur des articles de presse concernant le ministre Hurreeram qui avait utilise des mots unparliamentary a lencontre de Shakeel Mohamed.

Honourable Members My attention has been drawn to several media articles which have repeatedly reported that as Speaker I did not call the Hon. Minister Hurreeram to order when he uttered unparliamentary words at the sitting of Tuesday 23 June 2020 to the address of Hon. Shakeel Mohamed. I wish to draw the attention of the House that I called both the Hon. Minister and Hon. Shakeel Mohamed in my office on the same day regarding the said matter. I have deemed it fit to inform the House and the population at large that upon the Assembly resuming on that day, the Hon. Minister Hurreeram tendered his apologies and withdrew the objectionable words twice in the Assembly. Honourable Members Your kind attention is drawn to pages 89 and 90 of the Hansard dated 23 June 2020, which is posted on the website of the National Assembly. I thank you.

Extrait du Hansard du 23 juin 2020, page 89 et 90

Mr Speaker: I will suspend the sitting for 30 minutes.

At 5.13 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

On resuming at 6.01 p.m. with Mr Speaker in the Chair.

Mr Speaker: Please, be seated! Order, please! What is happening?

Hon. Hurreeram!

Mr Hurreeram: Mr Speaker, Sir, I apologise and withdraw what I said. Dr. Boolell: On a point of order. Mr Speaker, Sir, I am referring to Standing Order 48, Disorderly Conduct. I am sure the whole House has heard what hon. Hurreeram has

stated. The conduct is not only disorderly, but what he has uttered is unacceptable. I grant you that hon. Hurreeram has withdrawn. He has apologised, but under the circumstances, in

view of the gravity of what he has said and if I refer to Standing Order 48, in fact, he should withdraw from the House. (Interruptions) For less than that, people have withdrawn from the House. Mr Speaker: Hon. Leader of the Opposition, we should not create a precedent out of that. Listen to my ruling. We should not create a precedent out of that. If not, then the ball

could be in the camp of the Opposition.

Dr. Boolell: Can I have it from the hon. Minister that this will not be repeated again?

Mr Speaker: He has already apologised. Okay!

Hon. Xavier-Luc Duval! (Interruptions) Mr Mohamed: Mr Speaker,

Mr Speaker: I have already given my ruling!

Mr Mohamed: This concerns

Mr Speaker: I have already given my ruling; my ruling is final.

Mr Mohamed: This concerns you.

Mr Speaker: I have already given my ruling; my ruling is final!

Mr Mohamed: This is a new point of order!

90

Mr Speaker: Hon. Xavier-Luc Duval, take the floor!

Mr Mohamed: This is a new point of order!

Mr Speaker: You dont shout! You dont shout! You dont shout! You dont shout at the Speaker!

(Interruptions)

First of all, apologise for shouting to the Speaker!

Mr Mohamed: I apologise for shouting to the Speaker. Very happy? Now, I have got a point of order to raise. He has only apologised, but he has not been specific about what he is

apologising. (Interruptions) Mr Speaker: He said he withdraws whatever he said. Can you repeat it? (Interruptions) Wait! Please! (Interruptions)

Please, allow the hon. Minister to withdraw!

Mr Mohamed: About the thing he said about my father  (Interruptions) Mr Hurreeram: I withdraw, Mr Speaker, Sir, and I apologise again

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by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, June 10, 2016

The Newspaper Association of America brushed aside Web users' legitimate privacy concerns in its complaint to the Federal Trade Commission about ad blocking. That's the gist of a recent Electronic Frontier Foundation critique of the newspaper group's FTC filing.

"Regardless of the reason or effect, users should be able to employ software that provides anonymity from one website visit to the next," the digital rights group says in a blog post.

The EFF's post comes in response to the newspaper group's Federal Trade Commission filing, which argues that ad blockers engage in unfair and deceptive tactics. The NAA makes numerous arguments against ad-blocking companies, including that they effectively allow users to circumvent metered paywalls.

advertisement advertisement

Newspapers using metered billing allow visitors to read a limited number of stories for free, but charge fees to people who exceed the maximum. But some ad-blocking technology enables users to access sites anonymously -- which effectively deprives newspapers of the information they rely on to identify repeat visitors.

The NAA argues that this type of anonymization software violates the "public policy underlying antitrust laws" by posing a risk to consumer welfare.

"Given that subscription efforts are a significant way that publishers support high-quality, professionally edited journalistic content, the offering of technologies that evade these subscription programs undercuts the industrys ability to continue to innovate and meet consumers demands," the NAA says in its complaint.

The NAA adds that consumers are harmed because they don't receive "offers and other communications from publishers about alternatives to ad-blockers."

And, the group says, newspapers themselves suffer because they can't glean subscription revenue from the anonymized visitors.

But the EFF counters that banning privacy tools isn't an answer. "Outlawing privacy-enhancing software simply because it might interfere with the operation of some newspapers metered paywalls would be profoundly anti-consumer," the digital rights group says. "The FTC, which puts considerable resources into enhancing consumer privacy and encouraging the development of new privacy tools, would depart from its mission if it agreed to NAAs request."

The EFF offers a tool, Privacy Badger, which blocks ads and content from ad networks that track users without their permission. The NAA's complaint did not mention Privacy Badger by name, and the EFF says the tool "probably" doesn't affect metered billing plans.

Still, the group writes, efforts to crack down on privacy services poses a threat to Privacy Badger. "A new rule that outlaws efforts to avoid user tracking over time would put all browser-based privacy efforts at risk," the EFF writes.

"Ad-blockers and tools like Privacy Badger put pressure on publishers and ad networks to deliver high-quality ads and avoid violations of user privacy," the organization adds. "The FTC needs to proceed with extreme caution here to target truly deceptive and abusive practices without interfering with Internet users ability to protect their privacy, control their browsing experience, and be active participants in online innovation."
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, June 10, 2016

In a move that was contrary to the holding companys recommendation, Interpublic shareholders voted in favor of a so-called proxy access proposal at the companys annual meeting late last month. Separately, investors at both IPG and Omnicom Groupwhich also held its annual meeting in late Mayvoted down investor proposals to keep the positions of chairman and CEO separate. Those positions are separate now at Omnicom but the investor proposal specified that under future leadership the chairmans post be held by an outside director.

The IPG proxy access proposal, submitted by an IPG investor, details a mechanism for shareholders to propose the election of a limited number of alternative board members under certain circumstances.

In proxy materials issued before the meeting IPG urged shareholders to vote the non-binding proposal down. Among other things, IPG said the mechanism would be disruptive, and that We have an established record of strong governance practices, exceptional performance and strong support from our shareholders.

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An IPG rep noted that over 130 companies have adopted proxy access provisions to date. Omnicom Group did so earlier this year as part of a broader effort to address investor concerns about the makeup of its board.

After the IPG vote on proxy access company Chairman and CEO Michael Roth told shareholders that While the proposal is non-binding, our Board is committed to maintaining sound governance principles and being responsive to shareholder concerns. IPG will engage with shareholders and formulate the best approach to respond to the matter in light of the voting results.

Former Omnicom CEO Bruce Crawford, 87, is the current chairman of the Omnicom board. Current CEO John Wren succeeded Crawford in that role. Close to 40% of the votes cast on the Omnicom CEO/Chairman separation proposal supported the measure. Less than 20% of the votes cast on the similar IPG proposal were in favor of the move. Investors at both companies supported executive pay packages for 2015 by wide margins.
by Larissa Faw , June 10, 2016

SOG Knives & Tools is launching its "Mission-Grade" campaign from Hanson Dodge Creative, its recently appointed AOR.

The creative is designed to expand the customer base of the Navy Seal knife brand of choice to a broader range of hunting, active, and everyday consumers.

The creative juxtaposes mundane tasks performed with normal multi-tools with scenes depicting elite professionals performing these same tasks in situations that are "anything but every day," says the agency.

For instance, one spot shows someone with a SOG tool tightening the screws on the helmet of a man wearing a wingman flight jumpsuit just before he plunges off a cliff.

The new campaign is based on research that today's consumers respect and identify with the people who do it best: the elite. "The people whose jobs, and sometimes their lives, depend on their tools. Their spirit of toughness, their expertise, prowess and demand for the highest standards earn these elite professionals the respect of SOGs target audience. And by association, respect for the SOG brand," the agency stated.

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Digital videos are designed to teach outdoor enthusiasts tasks that can be performed with these knives, including how to start a fire, open bottles and cans, and cut wire.

Ads appear in print publications including Outside, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Field & Stream, and Tactical World. The videos will be distributed via a targeted digital strategy, focusing on YouTube before expanding to other social media channels.

In 2013, SOG first worked with HDC to develop a new brand positioning that included a new tagline, Take Point, and was implemented through SOGs first comprehensive national consumer ad campaign, Rise to the Occasion.
An infestation of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has inched further across the state.

Officials have detected EAB in the Kimball area of Marion County, prompting a county-wide quarantine prohibiting the movement of ash trees and ash tree products. This quarantine has now reached 48 counties in Tennessee. EAB is a destructive forest pest that was introduced from Asia into the United States in the 1990s. It was first detected in Tennessee in July 2010. EAB beetles can kill an ash tree within three years of the initial infestation.

The insects are transported mainly by humans through infected ash nursery stock, firewood, unprocessed saw logs, and other ash products.



Citizens should report any symptomatic ash trees to TDA and follow these simple rules:



 Dont transport firewood, even within the state.

 Use firewood from local sources near where it will be burned.

 If you purchase firewood, make sure that it is labeled and certified to be pest free.

 Watch for signs of infestation in your ash trees.

Visit www.tn.gov/agriculture/topic/ ag-businesses-eab for a symptoms checklist and a map of quarantined counties.



TDAs Division of Forestry estimates that there are 261 million ash trees on public and private land in Tennessee, potentially valued as high as $9 billion.



For more information about EAB and other destructive forest pests, as well as tips for infestation prevention, visit www.protecttnforests.org.
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Following a similar epidemiological study conducted on the similar dengue virus, the group of researchers led by Joacim RocklAv at UmeA University, used a temperature dependent computer model to predict Zika virus infection risks for Europe. The research exploration was undertaken in close collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In the analysis, the researchers overlaid data on monthly flows of airline travelers arriving in European cities from Zika-affected areas, data on month-by-month estimates of virus infection reproduction capabilities of Aedes-mosquito populations in Europe, and human population data within the areas where mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus could be possible.The main findings, presented in EBioMedicine, a journal initiative integrating the Lancet and Cell, are:The risk of mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus is estimated to peak between June and August in parts of Southern Europe (see map)The peak flow of air travelers from regions of the Americas affected by the Zika virus coincides with the peak in the Aedes-mosquitos capacity to transmit the virus.The findings could help European public health officials to identify locations and times where the risk for Zika is heightened.The risk assessment assumes that European Aedes-mosquitos have the same potential to spread the Zika virus as their South-, Middle- and North American counterparts.Earlier research has shown that increasing temperatures will enlarge Europe's seasonal window for the potential spread of mosquito-borne viral disease and expand the geographic areas at risk for epidemics to include large parts of Europe. The threat includes tropical and sub-tropical viruses such as Zika and Dengue.The Aedes mosquitos -- Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus -- are largely responsible for the transmission of the Zika virus. Both Aedes mosquitos are likely to become a fixture in Europe. Historically, Aedes mosquitos were present in many European countries during the first half of the 1900s. Aedes aegypti has recently been documented in Russia and Georgia. And current surveillance indicate that Aedes albopictus are present in much of Southern Europe and as far north as the Netherlands.Source: Newswise
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The research, led by Andrew A. Strasser, PhD, an associate professor of Psychiatry and the director of Penn's Biobehavioral Smoking Lab in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, may inform policy under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Tobacco Control Act.The randomized clinical trial involved 158 non-treatment-seeking smokers who participated in a 35-day study to examine smoking topography behavior, or how a person smokes a cigarette (including the number of puffs and puff volume, duration, and velocity). After a five-day baseline period 80 participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group and were asked to smoke three levels of progressively decreasing RNC cigarettes (during three 10-day periods), and 78 participants served as a control group that smoked their own brand of cigarettes throughout the study. The researchers assessed smoking behaviors and took blood samples to test for various biomarkers throughout the study."Of particular interest is that when smoking the moderate nicotine level cigarettes, participants consumed more cigarettes each day but puffed each less intensely than when smoking their own brand, or compared to the control group. But then daily cigarette consumption decreased and puffing intensity increased for the lowest nicotine cigarette, illustrating the complexities in evaluating cigarette use patterns," Strasser said. "To further add to the complexities, our measures of smoke exposure significantly decreased for the lowest nicotine cigarette compared to the control group, but the intermediate nicotine level cigarettes increased some toxicant exposures while decreasing others."The second study utilized eye-tracking technology to examine how 202 smokers view cigarette advertising with the goal of better understanding how to effectively convey risk to smokers. Specifically, the study focused on whether counter-advertising and corrective messages -- such as adding information in the advertisements informing smokers that lower nicotine does not mean fewer health risks -- could improve smokers' understanding of their risks.The eye tracking results demonstrated that the majority of smokers do not look in the warning label box found in tobacco advertisements, making the text only warning areas currently found in many advertisements an ineffective way to convey risk. By including risk information in the body of the advertisement, smokers were more likely to look at, remember, and believe their risks of using the tobacco product. The researchers suggest these results could support regulation for how tobacco products are marketed."The Tobacco Control Act allows the FDA to regulate tobacco product marketing and advertising so that people are not mislead about harm; and, the FDA can also set standards on cigarette constituent levels, including nicotine, if scientific evidence supports it will benefit public health," said Strasser. "While these studies are scientifically quite different, their results may collectively inform future policy and law by regulating the ways RNCs can be marketed, as well as identifying optimal nicotine levels in cigarettes to reduce exposure to the dangerous substances they contain."Post-doctoral fellows Melissa Mercincavage and Kirsten Lochbuehler were first authors on these publications, which also included Penn researchers E. Paul Wileyto and Joseph N. Cappella.The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Nicotine Addiction was created in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in 2001. Continuously funded by a P50 Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center Grant from the National Cancer Institute and National Institute on Drug Abuse, and additional extramural support, CIRNA investigators conduct interdisciplinary research focused on improving the understanding and treatment of nicotine dependence. The highly collaborative research of CIRNA investigators spans from "cells to society," crossing departments and schools at the University of Pennsylvania and extending to institutions across North America.This work was funded by the University of Pennsylvania Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (P50 179546), a center grant funded by an FDA/NIH initiative, as well as the National Cancer Institute (R01-180929 and R01-120594).Source: Newswise
Motherese refers to the simplified and repetitive type of speech combined with exaggerated intonation and rhythm, generally used by mothers and baby caretakers when speaking to babies. The language used involves simplified vocabulary, melodic intonations and higher pitch, repetitive questioning and a slow and deliberate tempo. Other terms used to refer this kind of child-directed speech are parentese, mommy talk and daddy talk, infant-directed speech and caretaker speech.

This kind of speech is also used by siblings, older children, adults or anyone talking to an infant or a small child. The language and the intonations used help the child to identify the beginning and ending of words and also provide clues to help them acquire the language. The child-directed talk is usually directed from newborn infants to the children aged around 3 years.

The pattern of Motherese is universal and is spoken across most countries and cultures while talking to infants, instinctively, without actually being aware of doing it.

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The Infant's Response to Motherese

The child is exposed to the mother's voice from the prenatal period, when the intonation and pitch of the mothers voice are recognized better by the fetus than her specific speech sounds. After birth, the speech sounds are accompanied by the show of love and affection and is followed by attention to the infants needs. This combination can be the best kind of stimulation the little one gets to make it aware and attentive to its surroundings. Infants have been found to recognize motherese by about five-weeks of age, as they responded to their mothers speaking in higher intonations by increased sucking, as compared to response to a flat and monotonous speech of the mother. Infants have been found to pick up the vocal intonations and base their babbling (Ga Ga Goo Goo sounds) at the age of about 18 months, on these intonations.

Characteristics of Motherese

Motherese is generally characterized by the patterns in terms of mannerisms, speech, language, grammar and voice modulations.

Mannerisms

Mother directly looks at the child while speaking

Visual movements of the face are exaggerated

Voice and speech

Clear articulation and exaggerated mouth movements are used

High pitch, exaggerated intonations and rhythm are used

Varied loudness levels

More fluency in the sentence

Fewer word rate (number of words per minute)

Vocabulary

Usage of restricted vocabulary, introducing new words deliberately

Longer pauses between utterances and after content words

Use of special words and sounds like choo-choo (train), doggy (dog), yucky (disgusting), etc

Repetitive sounds like ba-ba (bottle), mama, dada (daddy), pee-pee (urinating)

Context

Concrete references to here and now, rather than talking about past

More contextual support (as big as this cupboard)

Meaningful sentences with reference to the current action or object

More well-formed and intelligible (clarity in speech) sentences

Language and grammar

Questions to look out for feedback (You are a good girl, arent you?)

Slow speech flow

Simple or incomplete sentences (Mommy coming)

Use of full names instead of pronouns (Did Sam eat it? Its in Sams tummy.)

Repetitions and paraphrasing (Dolly is a pretty, pretty, pretty girl. Arent you pretty?)

Expansion and extension of the sentences spoken by the child (Yes, thats big and beautiful)

Benefits of Motherese other than Language Development

The mother-to-child bonding is much better when there are a lot of verbal interactions between them. The child responds to the mother by looking at the object or the mothers actions and expressions. These interactions also facilitate cognitive development and improve knowledge about the surroundings. For example, the mother says, Thats a large, blue ball instead of Thats a ball. The emotional development is better due to encouragement and the child grows up to be more confident and inquisitive.

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Absence of Motherese during Early Years of Growth

Recent research suggests that the absence of face-to-face interactions between the infants and their depressed mothers have caused disturbances in emotional, cognitive and social development. Depressed mothers usually are not able to modify their behavior in tune with the infant, may be slower to respond to an infant vocalization, have more variable utterances and pauses, and are less likely to utilize the exaggerated intonation patterns that are typical of motherese.

Understanding Motherese

Understanding Motherese is essential to be used while working towards helping a child with delayed speech and language development improve on language acquisition. The delay could be due to various reasons like mental retardation, exposure to many languages in early years, lack of interaction of the child with adults and so on.

Motherese may be helpful in language development in an infant, but it is not imperative for the process of language acquisition. The expressions, attention and the visual cues of the mother encourage the child to participate in the conversation fostering the language acquisition. Infants are seemingly attracted, not only to the manner of motherese, but also to the people who use the speech pattern.
Michael Walton, the executive director at green|spaces, said the Empower Chattanooga energy program is about bringing people together and building stronger neighborhoods.

On Wednesday, the program was recognized as a recipient of the Governors Environmental Stewardship Award in the category of Environmental Education and Outreach. Out of the 11 award winners statewide, green|spaces and EPB were chosen from Hamilton County.



Mr. Walton spoke with The Chattanooga Civitan Club on Friday about the work of green|spaces, a nonprofit located on Main Street whose mission is to advance the sustainability of living, working, and building in Chattanooga and the surrounding region.



He said when talking about sustainability, green|spaces looks at the idea of the triple bottom line, which includes not only environmental sustainability, but also social and economic sustainability.



If you focus on just one,  you get Chattanooga in 1969, where you have people leaving the city in droves, he said.



green|spacess public outreach campaign, Empower Chattanooga, focuses on the sustainability of living. After looking at data showing energy use in the city of Chattanooga, the nonprofit identified neighborhoods where energy use was the highest. They layered those maps with data which located calls to 211 hotlines requesting assistance to pay utilities.



Information from the Chattanooga Area Food Bank showed that 69 percent of their clients were choosing between paying for utilities or paying for food.



We wanted to build this program not based on our preconceptions and what we thought these neighborhoods needed, said Mr. Walton. We wanted to build it on listening.



After hearing the stories of locals, green|spaces responded with activities driven by each neighborhoods particular needs, finding low-cost and no-cost ways for people to save money and reduce their utility bills.



He said many low-income families regularly have to choose between paying utilities and paying for food. Hour-long workshops, taught by residents of the neighborhoods, provide education to such struggling families. These workshops are followed up with energy kits, which provide simple solutions to help people lower their bills.



Mr. Walton told the story of Glenda, a 76-year-old long-time resident of East Chattanooga. Though she lived in a fairly small house, she had a regular electric bill of no less than $250 per month. After her attendance at one of the Empower Chattanooga workshops and some changes at home, her next bill was $67.

Mr. Walton said Glenda saved it forward, using the extra money to buy food for her great-granddaughter and keep her car full of gas so that she could provide transportation to her neighbors without vehicles. Now, she is a block leader for her neighborhood and helps run similar programs.

Mr. Walton also spoke briefly about green|light, a business certification in the city of Chattanooga which helps with employee attraction and retention, stronger public image, cost savings, and environmental stewardship.

He said 90 percent of millennials desire to use their skills for good causes, and 50 percent are willing to take a pay cut to find work that matches their values.

Current green|light certified businesses include the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Flying Squirrel, 212 Market Restaurant, The Crash Pad, The Strand, River City Company, and Ruby Falls. A number of other local businesses, such as Lupis Pizza and the Hunter Museum of Art, are working toward certification.

Mr. Walton also discussed green|spacess NextGen homes. These homes produce as much energy as they consume and also protect and promote the health of the occupants.

Construction will begin on the first house next week, located at 631 Hamilton Ave. A three bedroom, two and a half bathroom, zero energy home, it is priced at $350,000.

Even if you dont buy a NextGen home, however, there are still many opportunities to help.

Were asking everybody in Chattanooga to look for those simple ways that they can save on their own energy bills, said Mr. Walton.

He hopes the community-at-large will follow Glendas example and save it forward by donating on the green|spaces website at http://www.greenspaceschattanooga.org/.

For as little as $8 per month, he says contributions can help Empower Chattanooga educate local people.
Something happened Sunday at First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga that has happened more than 1,000 times in the churchs 176 year history: new members were received into the fellowship. What made this particular Sunday different from all those which preceded it was that three of the new members who joined are men presently serving life sentences at Walker State Faith and Character Based Prison in Rock Spring.

While this isnt the first time that prisoners who are serving sentences are welcomed into a congregation as members in good standing while still incarcerated, it is the first time it has happened at First Presbyterian Church. Mark Casson, an elder at First Presbyterian who also serves as the denominations director of Prison Ministry, and himself a former prisoner, says, I hope that what has been happening at First Presbyterian Church over the past four years as it pertains to prisoners becomes a model for mercy to prisoners throughout the land.

The three men who were welcomed into membership have been long-time mentoring partners with three men from First Pres. In late 2011, the church, at the request of prison officials, created the all-volunteer Community Mentoring Ministry with a view to raise mentors to walk life-on-life with every prisoner desiring a mentor relationship. Mentoring began in June of 2012 when the first 12 men began visiting prisoners about the time the prison was transitioning over to a Faith and Character Based facility, the first and only one of its kind in Georgia. Today, there are 130 mentor-mentee pairs at Walker State involving mentors from 42 different churches in the greater Chattanooga area.

Mentors meet their mentoring partners for nearly two hours every other week. Some of these relationships have been on-going for four years now. It was through this intentional ministry to prisoners that the prisoners began to search out if they could go through membership classes and be received as members of First Presbyterian Church.

The Session, or elders, of First Presbyterian Church met to decide whether it was within its denominational and church policy to allow prisoners into membership. They voted unanimously to allow the prisoners to join. They completed the same training that any new member would complete. They were examined for membership the same way other new members are examined, and they were received right alongside the other new members. The only difference last Sunday was that the mentors stood in the place of the prisoners at the front of the church during the service.

The response from the congregation has been overwhelmingly positive and encouraging, said church officials.






The first annual Make Music Chattanooga, a mix of more than 70 free outdoor concerts and music making events, will make its debut on Tuesday, June 21, from noon-10 p.m. All events of the day will be free and open to the public.

Make Music Chattanooga is part of Make Music Day, a global music celebration that takes place on the summer solstice each year and brings people of all ages and skill levels together to make music. From classical to folk, soul to indie, jazz to country, live music of all kinds resounds on streets, sidewalks, plazas, parks, parking lots, store fronts, restaurants and other public spaces on the longest day of the year.

This years venues include: Tennessee Aquarium Plaza, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Carmike Majestic parking lot, Chattanooga Public Library, Cine-Rama, Coolidge Park, Feed Co. Table and Tavern, Granfalloon, Miller Plaza, Piano Park on Main Street, Riverside Wine and Spirits and Undagrounds Street Studios in various locations.

Highlights of the day include:

10 Hours of Music with more than 60 performances

Instrument Petting Zoo - Hosted by the CSO and Chattanooga Girls Rock

Making a Musical Instrument - Hosted by The Chattery

Street Studios - Hosted by Undaground

Piano Park - Hosted by Buddy Shirk from Summitt Pianos

Community Karaoke  anyone can sing! Hosted by Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, Gig City Productions and River City Company

Miller Plaza All-Day Bash and Grand Finale Party featuring the Communicators

Community Performance of Prince's 1999 (final performance of the night)

Long-Distance Live Duets between the Chattanooga Public Library and the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, VT using the gigabit network and low latency software (Lola)

Music Merch Mall in Waterhouse Pavilion

Get the full schedule and additional details at chattanoogafun.com/make-music-chattanooga.
My gas and diesel are up, it's going up again. Saudi Arabia cut 2 million barrels a day after Biden asked them to produce more. They said they did it for economic reasons. They did. The dollars they receive are worth less because of Biden and his lockstep Dems in congress printing trillions of extra dollars chasing the same amount of goods. The Saudis understand inflation and ... (click for more)
Family members of the victim are hoping Jace shows something more, some sign of regret or sadness, on Friday, when he's set to be sentenced for second-degree murder at a downtown Los Angeles court in what's expected to be an emotional hearing.

Jace, who played a police officer on the FX series "The Shield," will be able to address the judge before he's sentenced, as will the family of his slain wife, April Jace. He faces between 40 years and life in prison.

Jace, 53, admits to fatally shooting his wife in May 2014, once in the back and twice in the legs.

Soon after the attack, Jace told detectives that he had retrieved the gun to kill himself but couldn't go through with it. Instead, he planned to shoot his wife, an avid runner, in the leg so she would feel pain, Jace said in a recorded interview.

Jace did not testify during his trial. His attorney, Jamon Hicks, told jurors that Jace shot his wife in the heat of passion, that he "snapped."

Prosecutor Tannaz Mokayef told jurors that Jace fired a revolver that required him to pull a heavy trigger several times.

"I don't know how you can shoot somebody three times and call it an accident," she said.

She cited testimony from the couple's 10-year-old son, who told jurors that he heard his father say, "'If you like running, then run to heaven,'" before firing the second time.

"Who is going to argue that this was not an intent to kill?" Mokayef said.

Mokayef said the actor was upset that his wife wanted a divorce and believed she was having an affair, although no evidence was presented during the trial that she was cheating.

She said he taunted her after first shooting her in the back, and then shot her in the legs.

After Jace was found guilty last week, an adult son of April Jace said he was hoping the actor will show his feelings at his sentencing.

"I'd just like to see the sadness on his face," Savoy Brown said, adding that when Jace appears emotionless, it makes him wonder: "How can you go that far? How can you say those words? How can you do that?"

April Jace, 40, was a financial aid counselor at Biola University. She was married to Michael Jace for nine years and they had two sons, who were 8 and 5 at the time of her death.

Michael Jace had small roles in films such as "Planet of the Apes," ''Boogie Nights" and "Forrest Gump."
The color-coded Designated Activity Zones are meant to rein in the pushy panhandlers who have flooded the area, in some cases harassing passers-by to take photos with them in exchange for tips. Workers started painting the zones on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Iron Man, the Hulk and Anna took photos with a man and a woman from Iowa, demanded tips and walked off without giving the tourists their requested change, a police spokesman said. Charges against the characters were pending Thursday night.

Under a law signed by Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio in April, street performers and costumed characters can be issued summonses or face arrest if they're caught operating outside the eight designated rectangles. Each area is painted teal and measures 8 feet by 50 feet.

Some lawyers and performers say the new rules infringe on performers' First Amendment rights.

"The legislation has created a no-free-expression zone in the quintessential public space, the Crossroads of the World," lawyer Norman Siegel said.

But attorney Linda Steinman, representing the Times Square Alliance business group, said the new rules are consistent with case law permitting restrictions on the time, place and manner of speech.

"It's not a ban on anything," Steinman said.

Yamil Morales, who dresses as the Mad Hatter from "Alice and Wonderland," said the new rules "are against the Constitution and against the understanding we have with this area."

He added, "There could be a lot of arrests, which is bad because these people have families that they are supporting."

Some of the conflict has been over the expectation of tipping after the performers take pictures with tourists.

Times Square Alliance president Tim Tompkins said that in the past a lot of tourists didn't realize a tip was expected and the performers were often "aggressive about insisting on a tip."

The organization originally handed out fliers to tourists reminding them that tipping is optional. But as the new zones go into effect starting June 21, the alliance will be posting signs with the message, "If you take a photo with an entertainer, please note tipping is expected."

A team of 10 city workers will begin an education blitz next week to inform the performers and the public about the new rules.
The university's regents are set to vote Friday on bestowing an honorary degree from the College of Liberal Arts to Prince Rogers Nelson, who made his home in Minnesota.

University president, Eric Kaler, said in a statement that the process for awarding the degree to Prince began even before his April 21 death. Kaler says an honorary degree is awarded to an individual who has "achieved acknowledged eminence in cultural affairs, in public service, or in a field of knowledge and scholarship."

He says Prince's life and contributions in each of those categories is celebrated by people around the world.

Prince died from an accidental overdose of the narcotic painkiller fentanyl.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is restructuring service areas from 40 to eight districts effective July 1, and as a result, Chattanooga State Community College will no longer be the provider for Adult Education (AE) in this community. AE programs are designed to support adult learners preparing for the high school equivalency test. The new provider in this service area is the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Athens (TCAT-Athens).

A high school diploma is still the most important academic and career credential a student will earn as it is the foundation on which all other degrees are built, said Dr. Flora Tydings, President of Chattanooga State. Chattanooga State remains committed to supporting the career development of adult learners through training and education.

Chattanooga State is exploring ways to provide an additional English as a Second Language (ESL) program for local immigrants as we know there is still capacity for ESL service providers in the community. The College intends to have a decision for the community by the fall semester.

The current Highland Park ABE site is scheduled to close on Thursday, June 16, and the last day providing ABE on Chattanooga States East campus is June 21. This gives the AE team time to wind down operations by June 30.

The final Adult Education graduation for students earning their Tennessee High School Equivalency Diploma will be Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m. in our Gymnasium on our main campus.

It has been our privilege and honor to serve as an Adult Education provider in our community for nearly 30 years, said Dr. Tydings.

For more information on Chattanooga States Adult Services, please contact Marsha Goolesby-Barker, Director of Adult Service at 423-697-4753.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's proposals for sweeping changes to the Pentagon's military and civilian personnel systems were likely to remain just that -- proposals -- on the limited agenda of Congress in an election year.

"We're looking forward to reviewing them" but "it's kind of late in the process to be sending these up," a House Armed Services Committee staffer said Friday on background.

The main proposals from Carter, which require congressional approval, would most likely be shelved for possible consideration next year, when a new administration and Congress will be in place, he said.

The gloomy outlook for the plan on Capitol Hill contrasted with Carter's own remarks in unveiling the proposals in a Pentagon courtyard address on Thursday.

The secretary said "we're pleased with the positive support we've seen" from lawmakers for his so-called Force of the Future initiative aimed at modernizing the Pentagon's bureaucracy along with the personnel system on promotions and career choices.

A senior defense official, speaking later on background, also said the Pentagon had received positive feedback from congressional committee leaders, though the individual would not identify them.

Carter pitched his proposals again Friday at the Defense One Tech Summit in Washington, but he agreed that reaction from Congress thus far to the personnel changes and other efforts at modernization were "mixed."

"Micro-management of the Department by Congress is not the way to go" on his personnel plan, Carter said. "We really thought hard about these things," he said, referring to the service secretaries and service chiefs. "We need to respect the collective leadership of the Department of Defense."

Carter also expressed confidence that his proposals could revive next year, even if he is no longer secretary. He would almost certainly be removed from the position if Trump is elected president, and only slightly less so if if Hillary Clinton won.

Speculation is already rampant that Clinton would choose Michelle Flournoy, the former under secretary of defense for policy, as the next defense secretary.

Carter said he was not thinking past Jan. 20, when the new president will be inaugurated.

"I'm working for President Obama," he said, but he predicted that the work behind the Force of the Future plan would have a long shelf life. "I'm confident that the ideas that we're talking about today make so much sense that they will continue," he said.

Carter's personnel proposals, including revamping the "up-or-out" promotion system for officers, would require major changes by Congress to the 1980 Defense Officer Personnel Management Act.

The current promotion system for officers "can lead to a particular assignment going to the most senior person on the list, even if someone else a bit lower down would be more effective in the job," he said.

"It also means that high-performing officers who get selected for promotion a year or two ahead of theirs peers often have to wait in line behind everyone else more senior -- sometimes for a year or more -- which prevents putting their talent to use as soon as it may be needed," he said. "It's counter-productive."

Carter said he was seeking from Congress a relaxation of the strict timelines that dictate how long an officer can stay in one rank before promotion to the next to avoid penalizing officers who decide to pursue graduate degrees or take "non-traditional" career paths. He recommended allowing the services to defer promotion boards for such officers.

On the civilian side, Carter said he was seeking authority from Congress to hire directly out of college, "and make no mistake -- this is going to be huge. I can't emphasize that enough."

Currently, when a Pentagon recruiter meets a student well-suited for a particular job, the student is referred to the USAJOBS website, he said. That can lead to 90 days of paperwork, not counting a possible security clearance, he said. To speed the process, the secretary wants the authority to make a tentative job offer to a recruit immediately.

The response from veterans organizations to Carter's plan was lukewarm at best, even from those who were willing to offer a comment.

"We'll continue to follow this but we're not taking a position," said retired Col. Jonathan Withington, public relations director of the Military Officers Association of America. "What was lacking was detail" in the proposals, he said. "There's a lot of work left to be done between Congress and the Department of Defense," he said.

A similar response came from Joe Davis, the long-time chief spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "We're evaluating it," he said of the plan, but the organization was not ready to take a position.

"Soon this year will be over and we'll have a new administration," Davis said. It was an open question "whether all these issues will be tabled" until then, he said.

--Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

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Children in the greater Chattanooga area have a unique opportunity to learn the importance of community service and how they can make a difference, during service camp Aug. 1-5. This will be the eighth year that the Jewish Federation and the First Church of the Nazarene have worked in partnership to help children of all faiths understand how to act compassionately, said Michael Dzik, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation.

Children who have taken advantage of Philanthropy Camp and Camp Tikkun Olam as elementary and middle school students have the opportunity to use their camp experience for community service credits. This year alone Chambliss Childrens Center, Chattanooga Area Food Bank, Chattanooga Nature Center, Neema Resettlement, Calsted Senior Housing, The Samaritan Center, Metropolitan Ministries, Humane Educational Society, and HART Gallery among other local nonprofit organizations are all providing opportunities for children to assist them in fulfilling their missions. Religious institutions including Bnai Zion Congregation, Mizpah Congregation, Anglican Church of the Redeemer and others will provide lessons in compassion.

This year the majority of the camp counselors and co-director bring years of community service experience to camp. The Co-director for Philanthropy Camp is A. J. Morgan. A.J. is a senior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he is pursuing a degree in Food Science and Technology. A Baylor graduate, he has received numerous awards for his dedication to community service. At UTK he serves as a Clinic Vols volunteer, offering basic first aid to local Knox County schools which cant afford nursing staff. He serves as an Ignite Serves Team Leader teaching freshman about the importance of giving back to the global community. A.J. served as Philanthropy Camps Lead Counselor for two years.

This years Lead Counselor is Rachel Raisin from Dalton, Ga. She has the distinction of being the longest serving counselor for camp, 7 years. A recent GPS graduate she was awarded the Patsy Williams Scott Service Award, was the only teen to present a TedTalk in Chattanooga, and has held several leadership positions.

Camp Counselors were all selected for their backgrounds in community service and their leadership experience. All of the counselors additionally receive additional training in first aid and. group activities. Additional four teens from the Hadera region in Israel will be assisting with an afternoon of global service programming.

Camp Tikkun Olams Coordinator this year is Kristen Schwindt. Kristen is working on her Masters Degree in Social Work at Southern Adventist University and in interning under the Jewish Federations Director of Social Services, Rebecca Peck. She is uniquely qualified to lead the hands-on service projects for this years 7th through 9th grade Camp Tikkun Olam.

Philanthropy Camp is a one-week day camp designed to provide children (rising first through rising sixth grade) with opportunities to give back to others and to understand the positive differences they can make in their community. Through hands-on-activities, games, field trips, speakers, art and drama, campers will explore the concept of and the relationship between philanthropy, faith, family and community. A community lunch with elders and local leaders, learning songs in English and Hebrew, and creating Caretown (a recyclable model community based on what campers have learned) are all part of the camp experience. Arts educator Lolly Durant (visual art), an Israeli cultural emissary, and trained teens are all key members of the camps leadership team.

Camp Tikkun Olam (rising seventh through rising ninth grade) is designed to provide hands-on service to local non-profit organizations, discuss the mission of those organizations, and at the end of camp award a small financial donation to one of the organizations. This year campers will use videos to document the good work they have accomplished during camp.

Camp takes place from Monday Aug, 1 through Friday Aug. 5 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with early drop-off starting at 8:30 a.m. and late pick-up until 4:30 p.m.. The cost for camp is $120 per camp and $110 for each additional sibling. A limited number of scholarships are available.

Philanthropy Camp and Camp Tikkun Olam are joint programs of Chattanooga First Church of the Nazarene and the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga. These camps are open to all children regardless of religious affiliation.
Earlier today, I laid out a high-level overview of the cases both for and against the Braves trading Julio Teheran. While there are certainly some gray areas in making a decision  every player, no matter how good, becomes tradeable once the value received in exchange reaches a certain point  weve asked the entire staff at MLBTR to offer its thoughts on whether the Braves should be open to making a move or should hang onto their best starting pitcher.

You can read the above-linked post for more info on the 25-year-old righty. Or, skip right ahead to the opinions of the MLBTR team:

Tim Dierkes: As the saying goes, Better the devil you know than the devil you dont. Teheran has been in the Braves organization for nearly a decade, and they know him better than anyone. It was that familiarity that led them to sign him to a deal guaranteeing $32.4MM back in 2014, a fairly aggressive extension for a pitcher with less than two years of Major League service time. Research from Matt Swartz has shown that it is hard to avoid lemons when signing away free agent pitchers from other teams. The Braves may have good money to spend this winter in advance of their new stadium opening, but in addition to the issue of the Other Peoples Players premium Swartz discovered, the free agent market for starting pitching looks historically bad. Even with Teheran, the Braves will need to add significant starting pitching if they hope to contend in 2017. Verdict: Retain him.

Steve Adams: Theres virtually no scenario in which trading Teheran makes the Braves better in 2016, and theyd be hard-pressed to find a deal that makes them definitively better in 2017  the year in which they supposedly aim to contend in a new stadium. The Braves have stocked their farm with pitching depth, but Teheran is their best pitcher in the Majors right now, and his $32.4MM contract has enough surplus value that the asking price could (and should) reasonably rival the Shelby Miller haul. A return of that magnitude strikes me as extremely unlikely, and given the backlash theyve had from fans in John Coppolellas first season as general manager, moving the teams clear top starter for more young pieces wouldnt sit well with their audience. Verdict: Retain him.

Jeff Todd: As things stand, Teheran has had great results in three of his four full seasons in the majors. Hes young, he racks up innings, and he has an appealing contract. On the other hand, he doesnt have elite swinging strike rates, isnt much of a groundball pitcher, and has always outperformed ERA estimators  yes, even in 2015  which have recently viewed him as a ~4.00 (and change) performer. In large part, then, his value is dependent upon whether one believes thats sustainable. Hes still a nice piece regardless, and at worst he provides Atlanta with a sturdy mid-rotation piece as it exposes its top prospects to the majors, but Im actually in favor of looking to sell while the gettin is good. Teherans value is up, especially with a mediocre set of fellow trade targets and a seemingly barren free agent starter crop coming this winter, and frankly Im not bullish on Atlantas 2017 outlook. Too many things need to go right, and the lackluster overall free agent class may not be conducive to building out a competitive roster for a reasonable price. PR considerations aside, a deal that includes at least a high-quality, advanced position-player prospect makes sense to me, even if a truly premium youngster cant be had. Verdict: Shop him.

Mark Polishuk: The Braves long-stated plan was to return to contention when their new ballpark opens in April 2017. While that timeline may have been pushed back a bit thanks to their terrible record this season, the organization obviously still wants to be competitive sooner rather than later. Even if they wait until 2018 to make a push, thats still well within the life of Teherans contract and the prime of his career. If Im the Braves, I hang onto Teheran now (barring a Godfather offer from another team, of course) since Id find myself looking for a Teheran-type of pitcher within a year or two anyway. Verdict: Retain him.

Charlie Wilmoth: Not to straddle the fence, but I think the Braves should strongly consider trading Teheran but keep him if they dont get a return they like. A rebuilding team should consider trading any veteran starter in the midst of a good year. You never know when a pitcher might lose velocity, get hurt, or decline for other reasons, so keeping Teheran to pitch for a bad team is risky asset management. Teheran and Shelby Miller are different types of pitchers, but Millers case demonstrates that principle. Even leaving aside the terrific return the Braves wouldnt have received if they hadnt dealt Miller, how bad would it have been for Atlanta if the Braves had kept him and then he had a 2016 season like the one hes having now with the Diamondbacks? On the other hand, Teheran is only 25 and is under control and cheap through 2020, so he could easily be part of the next good Braves team. Add in that the Braves would surely like to play well next season for the opening of their new ballpark, and there are compelling reasons to keep Teheran around. Id try to deal him, but if the offers are underwhelming, holding on is reasonable too. Verdict: Hung jury!

Connor Byrne: The crop of starters who are expected to be available prior to the trade deadline looks mostly unappealing, as does the upcoming class of free agents, so the rebuilding Braves should at least shop Teheran. The next several months could serve as the perfect time frame for the Braves to get more for Teheran than hes worth. If they put Teheran on the block and dont get a palatable enough offer, then keeping him wouldnt be the worst thing in the world. With his team-friendly contract, Teheran wont have to perform like much more than a back-end starter to provide value over the next few years, meaning the Braves wont be in a negative position if they retain him. However, by no means should John Coppolella be so intent on acquiring a young, established major league hitter in return for Teheran that he summarily spurns other offers. Teherans only a year removed from a 4.00 ERA season with a below-average 2.34 K/BB ratio. Were not talking about a Jose Fernandez-esque superstar here; rather, Teherans contract and durability are arguably the two best things he has going for him. The Braves shouldnt need to be overwhelmed to trade him, then, even though Coppolella said otherwise last month. Verdict: Shop him.

Thats where we stand, but well also open this one up to our readers with a poll (Link to poll for Trade Rumors mobile app users):
BROOKLYN, MI - The Ford Shelby GT350 pace car was warmed up early Saturday morning at Michigan International Speedway.

While going 105 mph, Darrell Wallace Jr. answered questions from media members and talked strategy for Saturday's Menard's 250 presented by Valvoline Xfinity Series race, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 11.

Wallace Jr. said MIS is the fastest place the Xfinity Series comes to, as drivers don't let off the gas in the corners at speeds just shy of 200 mph. He added that he prefers to take his No. 6 car to the top side of the race track, as cars get "stacked up" on the bottom, especially on restarts.

The 22-year-old Mobile, Alabama native sits ninth in the points, 100 markers behind points leader Daniel Suarez.

In Wallace Jr.'s only Xfinity race at Michigan, in 2015, he finished 15th. He said his LoudMouth Exhaust Ford Mustang has a shot at winning on Saturday.

He was 14th quickest in both practice sessions Friday. His top average lap speed of 189.384 mph, going around the two-mile track in 38.018 seconds.

The Roush Fenway Racing driver has also raced twice at MIS in the Camping World Truck Series, finishing 21st and 11th.
Perrin Brewing Veterans Pale Lager

Once again, Perrin Brewing in Comstock Park is donating one dollar from every pint sold of their VPA beer to the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.

(courtesy photo)

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN-Can drinking a beer help a veteran? It can this week, with the introduction of Perrin Brewing Company's special release brewed up to help raise money for the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. Along with their sponsorship of the Grand Rapids Freedom Cruise, Perrin is serious about supporting our veterans.

This will be the fourth year that Perrin is working with the Freedom Cruise to help "Finish the Mission". Together they are raising money to help complete much needed repairs and updates at the home, as well as provide money to individual veterans in need.

Jarred Sper, one of the owners at the brewery, said Perrin has a very personal stake in this partnership. They have three veterans employed, including Sper himself, who was a Marine. "It's very important for us to be involved in a genuine and authentic way with this cause" he said.

With that in mind, each year Sper and the crew brew a special beer just for the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. The "Veterans Pale Lager" is a light, traditional American lager. When I tried it, I found it to be very approachable, very light, and easy drinking. As you can see in the video, it's crushable.

In years past, Perrin brewed a VPA, or Veterans Pale Ale. This year they switched to the lager style, something that takes a bit more time, but is worth it for the nice crisp finish that the lager style imparts.

$1 of each pint sold will go directly to the home to work on capital improvements. You can also grab the very fetching "woodland camo" crowler to go if you wish. Last year, the beer helped to complete work on the band shell on the grounds. This year they are working on rebuilding the solarium.

The Freedom Cruise this year takes place from June 14-18. Throughout the week, you can participate in various activities honoring and supporting our veterans.

The actual cruise takes place on Saturday, June 18. Start at one of these locations, and bring a flag:

The Kent City Lounge

Lake Michigan Sports Bar

Honey Creek Inn

Garage Bar

Village Motor Sports

VFW Post #7729 - Muskegon

The Vestal Inn

Shots On the River (West River Drive)

The Bow Tie Tavern

The Score Restaurant

Putt Putts

American Legion Post #459

Or meet at the veteran's home at 3:30. There will be a special program honoring our World War II and Korean War veterans, plus classic cars, bikes, food and, of course, Perrin Brewing's Veterans Pale Lager.

Can't make it out to the Cruise? Just stop by Perrin throughout the summer and order up a VPL. You get a great, classic American style beer, all with the knowledge that you are helping those who have served with every sip.

Perrin Brewing co-owner Jarred Sper shares a VPL with Amy Sherman and John Gonzalez.

Amy Sherman is on the Life + Culture Team for MLive. She covers food, beer, travel and Michigan's Best along with John Gonzalez. Email her at asherma2@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or Periscope.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- A dumpster fire exposed the Michigan Theater and adjoined Liberty Street businesses to flames shortly after noon, Saturday, June 11.

The incident shut down East Liberty Street traffic outside the famous art house between Maynard and State streets for close to two hours.

No one was injured in the incident, and the fire was extinguished around 12:40 p.m., said an acting Ann Arbor Fire Battalion Chief on scene. The north, right side of the building -- which houses the East Liberty Street Tropical Smoothie Cafe -- was exposed to a few flames but nothing substantial, officials said.

The Tropical Smoothie Cafe, 607 E. Liberty St., was closed during and directly following the incident. Ann Arbor fire officials said they don't yet know how the fire started or if any of the businesses' workers were to blame.

Emily Fischer, a University of Michigan student and Tropical Smoothie Cafe staff member, said they were alerted to the fire near the establishment by Michigan Theater staff and were unaware of how it started.

Callers reported seeing smoke but not flames coming from the north side of the building.

Ann Arbor residents and window shoppers stopped to gawk at the commotion, which also slowed midday foot traffic in the area. The Michigan Theater's Cinetopia International Film Festival was showing films at the time.

Officials from the Michigan Theater and Cinetopia confirmed that the theater was not shut down and films continued to show throughout the ordeal. Still, many theater patrons and those arriving to attend shows took time to check out the buildup of police and fire crews before heading back in.

Normal traffic between Maynard and State streets resumed around 2 p.m.

Ben Solis is an intern with MLive & The Ann Arbor News. Email him at bsolis@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter @bensolis1.
Declaring summer is officially here, Chief Justice Sharon Lee and Tennessee Bar Association President William L. Harbison, have issued a joint proclamation announcing Seersucker Day for the legal community on Thursday, June 16.

That date marks the annual Bench Bar luncheon, which will be held in Nashville as part of both the Tennessee Judicial Conference and Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) summer meetings. All lawyers are encouraged to wear seersucker, which comes in the form of suits, shorts, shirts, and skirts, on that day. Seersucker is traditionally only worn between Easter and Labor Day  and now, it will be worn in honor of this day in June.

While the Senate proclaimed National Seersucker Day in 1996 to be held in June of each year, the tradition ran its course as of June 27, 2012. In the late 1990s, Mississippi Senator Trent Lott decided the time had come to revive a long-forgotten Senate tradition and to add some southern taste to the Senate. He selected a nice and warm day in the second or third week of June to be designated Seersucker Thursday, but the tradition died out until two years ago.

In 2014, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy successfully advocated for the return of Seersucker Day.

Seersucker is more than a fabric, he said. It is also the melding of fashion with comfort.

The lawyers and judges of Tennessee will celebrate the tradition and the newly declared Seersucker Day next week given the importance of establishing civility and fashion in the legal profession.

Whereas, in the immortal words of Joseph Haspel, Hot is hot, no matter what you do for a living,and the wearing of seersucker has been known to cool tempers and promote great civility among lawyers, reads the proclamation, signed by both Chief Justice Lee and TBA President Harbison, a Nashville attorney.

The typically striped cotton fabric originated in western India but soon became a signature look of the United States in the early 20th century because its breathable and pre-rumpled surface made it ideal for the intense humidity of summer. In 1907, a New Orleans merchant began searching for lightweight suits that could withstand the summer heat, humidity, and sweat. Seersucker, named with Persian words sheer and shaker (meaning milk and sugar) was born and soon became a southern fashion staple.

Today the courts continue to celebrate the unique and functional fashion statement.
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David Winters, D.O., with CHI Memorial Family Practice Associates in Ooltewah, received the Patriot Award from the Employer Support of the Guard Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense office. This award honors employers who support National Guard and Reserve members by offering flexible schedules, time off before and after deployment, caring for families and granting a leave of absence if needed.

Eric Tinkham, certified medical assistant (CMA), works with Dr. Winters and nominated him for this award. As a member of the 230th Sustainment Brigade, a unit of the Tennessee Army National Guard, Tinkham spends one weekend each month on duty. He says Dr. Winters supports his military missions by making sure their weekend shifts at the office do not interfere with his military training.

The Patriot Award was created by ESGR to publicly recognize individuals who provide outstanding patriotic support and cooperation to their employees, who, like the citizen warriors before them, have answered their nations call to serve, says Chris Cole, Tennessee ESGR volunteer and area vice chair.

Tinkham has been with the National Guard almost 19 years and says Dr. Winters is the best boss hes had. Tinkham says they make a great team. We both have the same mission and that is taking care of patients and making sure they get the best care.

CHI Memorial Family Practice Associates is located at 6401 Mountain View Road, Suite #109, Ooltewah, TN 37363. For more information about this practice, or to make an appointment, call (423) 495-5951.
11.06.2016 LISTEN

Dentaa Amoateng - CEO OF GUBA Enterprise, comprising of the GUBA Awards, GUBA Expo, GUBA Foundation and GUBA Careers Fair, has been appointed as the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). The appointment comes under the Queens Birthday Honours List (2016) in recognition of her services to UK-African Diaspora Relations.

The Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) is awarded for a significant achievement or outstanding service to the community and Dentaas work with her various organisations have made the appointment possible.

Dentaa Amoateng is best known as an entrepreneur, actress, TV presenter, producer, manager and philanthropist. Her work with GUBA led to her being named the 2011 Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year in the Future 100 Awards. In 2013, she was further honoured for her achievements, receiving the annual African Women in Europe Award and being described by the organisers as a diligent entrepreneur and visionary and female icon to the British-African community. Dentaa won the prestigious Events Organiser title at the Women4Africa Awards the following year and in October 2015 The Leadership of Young Professionals & Youth Coalition (YPYC) awarded her The Young Female Professional Role Model of the Year.

In acceptance of her appointment, Dentaa acknowledges:

I am very honoured and ecstatic to have been considered for the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. This is beyond my imagination and I am truly grateful for this honour. Improving African affairs within the UK, is one of the key objectives of my organisation - GUBA Enterprise, thus, this honour goes to show a commitment between maintaining and advancing the relationship between Ghana and the United Kingdom. 

The Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards was set up in 2010 to highlight and acknowledge the achievements of Ghanaians/Africans within the United Kingdom. GUBA has since expanded its branches from an awarding body to a more diverse organisations such as:

GUBA Foundation - charity setup to tackle underrepresented health issues within the African and Caribbean community in the UK. The foundation is currently working to raise funds to purchase 100 incubators in a bid to tackle Infant Mortality in Africa.

The GUBA Expo - a platform for Small and Medium Businesses to exhibit their products/services whilst engaging with industry personnel on business growth strategies.

GUBA Careers Fair is an opportunity for Africans living in the UK to establish employment connections with international companies outside of the UK. The aim is to create an internationally skilled and creative workforce in Africa and the UK.

GUBA is exceptionally pleased and humbled by this appointment and will continue to work to improve UK and African relations.

For more information about the work of Dentaa Amoateng, visit: www.dentaa.com and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentaa

To find out more about our various organisations, visit: www.gubaawards.co.uk , www.gubafoundation.org and www.gubaexpo.co.uk

Ceo Dentaa Giving Her Speech At The Guba 2015 Awards
11.06.2016 LISTEN

Somewhere in Bogoso, Egya Badu, a peasant farmer, enters his pocket, fetches his last one-Ghana pesewa, raises his damn head, shakes it hardest and begins to purr, Mahama Must Go. In Tema Community One, a young lady who lost her job to dumsor is yet to stop raining insults and curses on Mahama and his administration. Soon, she also begins to sing Egya Badus Mahama Must Go. Also in Atonsu, Kumasi, Uncle Sammy, a lawyer who has had to park his car in his garage for months now because he cannot afford the cost of fuel, has added his voice to the chorus, Mahama Must Go. In Apremdo, Takoradi, a young teacher, with his family, is packing back to the village while he sings Mahama Must Go with bitter heart. The recent hikes in utility bills have intimidated him to leave the city and resettle in the village.

From the West to the East, and from the North to the South of Ghana, we seem to have reached a consensus; Mahama Must Go. Prior to election 2012, this Mahama Must Go song was here with us, but in a different rendition. And Ghanaians sang it with verve. Did Mahama go after the elections? No! Four years down the line, this same Mahama Must Go track is back with a bang, and again, Ghanaians are humming it in unison. Though voters are yet to construct and join long queues for election 2016, I have this deep feeling that again, itll be a one-touch win for Mahama and the NDC. Please are we ghosts? Is it ghosts from the Takoradi European Hospital Cemetery who steal themselves back to the land of the living to vote for Mahama? Does Mahama do cemetery to cemetery campaign? No, we cant be ghosts! We are goats. Goats dont have feelings. Its only the goat that can be kicked a million times with a metallic shoe, and will still bounce back to continue the mischief it did not complete.

If we truly feel the pinch of dumsor. If we claim there have been unprecedented hikes in utility bills. If we really believe our economy is in bad shape as we have on our lips every passing minute, why do we keep voting for the same person we have hanged by the neck as the imp responsible for our sorry fate? Are we goats?

Do I conclude that we are pathetic pretenders who turn into ghosts on election days? Could it also be Mahama is doing an excellent job but we are either afraid or ashamed to acknowledge this fact in public? Do I smell ingratitude? Or simply, we are goats!!

JET ALAN.

The writer is a blogger @ www.ghanawrites.com and

http://standupgh.com
And again, it is here. The Accra floods. This is not the first time. And it sure won't be the last of its kind. Elsewhere, Daddy Mahama has called Uncle Oko Vanderpuye to ring the flagstaff house bell and summon the team; the Red Cross, the National Disaster Management Committee, and a couple of pot-belly ministers.

Elsewhere, Uncle Oko has mobilised some insulting bags of rice, sugar and toiletries. They're for the victims; poor citizens who have lost their cars, their buildings, their life-time savings and investments; their sweats. Poor citizens who have lost their relations to floods. They will be compensated with chicken thighs and rice.

Somewhere in Takoradi, a writer has pulled his long quill and has dragged his parchment close to him, ready to scribble lines of tears, of fears, and of lame blame like I'm doing here. So the million dollar question is, ARE WE GROWING JUST TALL? Can't we grow a bit wiser?

How much money has Ghana not received to end this annual floods? How many promises have not been made to make this flood a thing of the past? Are our leaders sick-headed? Or we, the masses, are rather insane?

Flashback to March 10, 2012, graphic.com reported, Ghana Gets $795m To Reconstruct Accra Drains, Western Rail Lines

Also on Thursday, June 5, 2015, Mahama's words on age-long flood that has become a mass annual celebration reads I have directed the finance minister to release funds for the construction of storm drains; and I promise this floods will not happen again in future Where did the money go?

Are we serious as a people? Truth be told, our leaders are simply heartless, but the blame can't be heaped on them entirely. Can't we make any conscious effort to safeguard our very own property and precious lives if our leaders failing to be responsible? Or we have lost our sense of responsibility to the previous floods? I'm tired of crying.

JET ALAN.

The writer is a blogger @ www.ghanawrites.com and

http://standupgh.com
"...The idea of reviving the Komenda Sugar Factory goes back many decades. Seeing as there does not appear to be significant private sector interest..., and given the unemployment situation..., it is completely understandable that government would want to reactivate the project...". That is your opening sentence, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe... So, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe, with all your college degrees and the brainy powers you control at IMANI, would it not have been a tad more useful if you had bothered to educate "young" Mr. Mahama about the true antecedents of the Komenda Sugar Factory?..Or, are you, Franklin Cudjoe, simply too young yourself, too ignorant, bitter, and superficially too boastful in your no-holds-barred, property-owning capitalist suit-and-neck-tie?...So, IMANI man, tell us how much of that UK-DFID money you and IMANI have taken to keep your consequential IMANI mouthpiece shut about the $6 billion lost oil revenue as you dwell on little sugar crumbs from the high tables, whilst Ghanaians are made the poorer...(Frankin Cudjoe, IMANI, plus commentary by Prof Lungu, 9 June, 16).

Dear reader, you've just read the opening sentence to Franklin Cudjoe's critical essay on the Komenda Sugar Factory.

"The idea of reviving the Komenda Sugar Factory goes back many decades...da da da...da da da"

In the last essay in our "Only Mad 60-Year Olds Blame Nkrumah" series, we touched on the fact that some youth and others are aggrieved for a good reason. They are aggrieved that Kwame Nkrumah's legacy and his commendable achievements for Ghana have largely been censored out of official records in Ghana. Those repressed records include government-approved reading materials used by Ghanaian students and youth.

From our vantage position, we understand perfectly why coup plotters and "rascal civilians" like Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, abetted and bankrolled by the Johnson CIA, would destroy public records, proscribe the CPP for a generation and more, and censor all the remaining public records they did not, or could not, destroy.

Their goals:

(1) To hide the fact that they directly acted as agents for Johnson's CIA

(2) To justify their treasonous actions against Ghana through lies and fabications

(3) To install their version of Darwinian, property-owning plunder and sale of Ghana's natural and cultural resources

(4) To physically erase Kwame Nkrumah's achievements from the Ghanaian memory.

However, in 2016, a solid 50 years and 4 months after Kwame Nkrumah's government was overthrown, it is difficult for us to understand how Franklin Cudjoe of IMANI, a "Think Tank" operating in Ghana that professes objectivity, fairness, and accuracy, thinks that starting a policy critique from "the 75%" is not a discredit to himself, to his "Think Tank", and to every other "Think Tank" organized and/or operating Ghana.

IMANI's Franklin Cudjoe starts his critical essay about the NDC government's policy on the Komenda Sugar Factory with:

"The idea of reviving the Komenda Sugar Factory goes back many decades..."?

Da da da...da da da!

How did it all begin, Franklin Cudjoe?

How is it that you can assume you can actually educate "young" Mr. Mahama and your readers starting at that "75%"?

You know, the fact is, the Komenda Sugar Factory was commissioned in 1960 under the leadership and government of Kwame Nkrumah. And it was a very useful economic project, the type they call "industrial". Millions of cubes and bags of sugar from Komenda served nearly a generation of Ghanaians, adding to their economic gains, welfare, and happiness.

The Komenda Sugar Factory was never a Guggisberg factory.

So, Mr. Cudjoe, tell us how it hurts if you are not totally ignorant of the "real situation"!

Tell us how bitterly it hurts to learn from GraphicOnline, a "Government-owned mouthpiece nonetheless, that a far superior, more historically grounded, and objective introductory sentence/paragraph about the state of the Komenda Sugar Factory is of this nature:

"...The sugar factory, which offered employment to the community and others from far and near, was established by Ghanas first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and became defunct in the 1980s as a result of inadequate funding and bad policies....", (GraphicOnline).

Or, you, Franklin Cudjoe, using your IMANI mouthpiece, could even have gone nuclear!

You could have borrowed and utilized the style of Mr. Eric Bawah who began his 8th June essay on the same subject, thus:

"President Mahama told Ghanaians that he was the only President of Ghana, who was born after independence...If yours sincerely is to go by what he said then the president was born too late to see the Komenda Sugar Factory, which was established in the early sixties by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah...I was schooling in Takoradi when the Komenda Sugar Factory was operating fully and even had the opportunity to do some vocational employment there anytime we had our long term vacation....Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was a visionary leader who thought ahead...To begin with, the CPP government brought in specialist to make feasibility study of the intended sugar factory and they recommended special sugarcane species to be planted and to be used as a raw material for the intended factory. Before the factory was built, the country had huge sugarcane plantation stretching all the way from Winneba Junction to the outskirts of Cape Coast..."

Dear Reader, needless to say, we encourage you to read the entire article by Mr. Eric Bawah (referenced under Sources). And that goes for "young" Mr. Mahama, also.

We also recognize that the reader knows that most grade school students understand that to objectively communicate information about a case as may be demanded of a student by a teacher, one must objectively start from the beginning. One simply cannot ignore the beginning and hope to receive an "A", or even a "B".

We like to think that is the brilliant, intellectual, downright honest way - to begin your story, your critique, your analyses, with a meaningful record of antecedent(s). The intellectuals, when it is full-throated, call it "Literature Review", but a simple sentence would have sufficed in this case for "Background".

In college and within business and professional circles as well, one does not dismiss or ignore the beginning, the background, the forerunner, unless one is a political pimp, or ideological hack, or just plain mad.

The way we see it, only bitter politicians and others with self-serving ideological agendas render accounts of events and episodes starting from the "75%", or from the middle at best, neglecting all antecedents.

That is precisely what Franklin Cudjoe did, for reasons best known to the IMANI man.

And so, we will today declare that IMANI's Cudjoe has now joined the ranks of the bitter ones, those who neglect pertinent Ghanaian history, those who destroy Ghanaian history, and those who repress Ghanaian history, for ideological and political reasons, among others.

While the Cudjoe-types articulate at the 75%, the likes of Akufo Addo and Bawumia simply ignore the middle. They ignore the middle when it serves their interests because they and their followers can't bring themselves to appreciate what Kwame Nkumah did, what Nkrumah left, for all Ghanaians no matter where they come from, from Komenda to Adomi, to Yeji.

That is why more than a decade into the 21st century, they talk in the fashion of Rip Van Winkle:

"... We have to make a deliberate effort to move on from the Guggisberg, raw material-exporting economy to a new economy that can deliver prosperity for our people. And this is the path the next NPP government hopes to pursue, if, by the Grace of God and your votes, we are elected into power..." (Nana Akufo Addo, 2012).

And this:

"... Dr. Bawumia assured the Diaspora of the NPPs plans to ensure real macroeconomic stability underpinned by fiscal discipline indicating that the resulting economic transformation will move Ghanas economy from the Guggisberg economy to an economy that will add value to our natural resources..." (http://politics.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201207/89914.php).

Yep, start re-building Ghana from that "Guggisberg economy".

Nice try, fellas!

It is the foundation Kwame Nkrumah built that Ghana needs to develop upon, not a self-serving colonialist's pet dream for their colony, stupid!

That, in fact, is the total essence of the Komenda Sugar Factory, today.

And the recently re-constructed Adomi Bridge, too.

For, if young Mahama and his team had bothered to learn about those antecedents, they would have spared us all these electronic and tabular missives.

Start re-building Ghana from that "Guggisberg economy" and you will forever assign Ghana to the oligarchic-neocolonial fangs of global capitalist conglomerates, 21st century-style.

Symbols matter too, we must remind you bitter ones!

So, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe, with all your college degrees and the brainy powers you control at IMANI, would it not have been a tad more useful if you had bothered to educate "young" Mahama also about the true antecedents of the Komenda Sugar Factory, how we all got here, in the first place?

Or, are you, Franklin Cudjoe, simply too young yourself, too ignorant, bitter, and superficially too boastful in your no-holds-barred, property-owning capitalist suit-and-neck-tie?

We must end now!

But before that, tell us IMANI, tell us about the $6 billion lost oil revenue and your astounding silence.

Tell Ghana, Mr. Cudjoe, tell Ghana IMANI, tell 'em how much of that UK-DFID money you have taken thus far to keep your consequential IMANI mouthpiece shut about that $6 billion lost oil revenue, as you dwell on little sugar crumbs from the high tables, whilst Ghanaians are made the poorer, from Komenda to Adomi, to Yeji.

"...Has any governments house been in order in this country first before venturing into profitable business?...", you ask in the end!

Well, that, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe, dear IMANI man, we must leave to you and the brainy minds at IMANI to answer.

Answer your own self-important and self-absorbing question in your luxury.

So it goes, Ghana!

SOURCES:

1. Franklin Cudjoe. IMANI: Komenda Sugar Factory and unforeseen challenges, ( http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/IMANI-Komenda-Sugar-Factory-and-unforeseen-challenges-445595 ).

2. StarrFMOnline. Komenda Sugar factory was commissioned for votes  Minority, ( http://www.starrfmonline.com/1.9288521/ ).

3. Eric Bawah.. Sugar Factory without sugarcane = White elephant, ( http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Sugar-Factory-without-sugarcane-White-elephant-445923/ ).

4. Daily Graphic. Welcome back, Komenda Sugar Factory, ( http://www.graphic.com.gh/editorials/welcome-back-komenda-sugar-factory.html/ ).

VISIT FOR MORE INFORMATION:

www.GhanaHero.com .

Read Mo'! Listen Mo'! See Mo'! Reflect Mo'!

Prof Lungu is Ghana-Centered/Ghana-Proud!

Subj: IMANI represses history with "Bitters" not from Komenda Sugar Factory.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/professorlungu .

Support Fair-Trade Oil Share Ghana Campaign/Petition.

https://www.change.org/p/ghana-fair-trade-oil-share-psa-campaign-ftos-gh-psa/ .

Brought to you courtesy www.GhanaHero.com9 June 16.
Until we come clean about our true selves, our anticipated change will prove nothing but a mirage. Like a failing child, we may content ourselves with lame excuses of not having good teachers or teachers who never turn up in class, amidst a host of other convoluted and contrived explanations forgetting that such a reserved perimeter is the coveted habitual dwelling of non-achievers and ne'er-do-wells.

Our previous article posed the question: Are Africans Lazy? As with most such questions, ours elicited varying responses offering grist to the mill and essential pabulum for a healthy debate.

This article adopts a firm and strong stance that a significant number of people on the continent are perhaps lazy; and by making such a bold assertion, ours is not just to point fingers, but to proceed to suggest practical solutions to shake the domineering laxity that hangs over the continent.

Indeed, there is a time to bask in the glow of continental pride, and there is equally a time to come face to face with our nauseous problem and begin to fix the withering issues that hold us back. We may continue to join a certain disconcerting procession in chanting and exulting the emperors shiny new clothes when in actual fact we are only deceiving ourselves. Lets confront the unbearable truth: the emperor is naked; and we are not impressed by his dangling bits!

If there is anything that should point out our rather indolent proclivities and legendary faineance, it is that when other continents are galloping in terms of advancement and development, we are still struggling to feed ourselves, and basic things like uninterrupted electricity supply etc. remain a luxury in many parts of the continent.

The pressing and daunting issues that we face on this continent must call our minds back to something at the heart of our problem. Rightly, this article, with sagacious intent, sidesteps what has and continues to be a staple of our problems: leadership.

Talk about any problem on the continent, and the first thing that comes up is that our leaders are not so good. In fact, it is not an erroneous statement, but how long are we going to keep talking about our leadership (or governments) as being the all-encompassing reason for our current failing state?

As writers, we sometimes make the mistake of placing one bad label on Africa or painting the whole continent with one brush as though Africa were a country. Now, while this kind of veritable synecdoche has some truth in it, it may not always befit the situation of the whole continent. However, considering the greater problems which the continent faces, even in those supposed parts where we may point to as being success stories, their underbellies reveal the same canker that is visible in great swathes of the continent. Thus, the intractable issue forces itself back up and demands to be given attention and consideration.

Without focusing overly on the issue of leadership and how our leaders have failed us, the lens zooms in on the typical African and his way of life. Like the earlier analogy, even in a class with bad teachers or teachers who fail to turn up, there are studious students who find a way to excel in their studies. They do it by rejecting the view that a rather errant and arrant impostor of a tutor should decide their precious fate. And this happens to be a big factor missing in many lives dwelling on the continent.

Fear of Success

Underneath the garbled hoard of excuses is the uncovered truth of the typical Africans fear of success. Perhaps, this is a contentious statement at first sight, and one that some would be in haste to discard or to pooh-pooh before even considering its merit. A relevant statement that could lead the thought process is this: Do we really value, honour and reward success?

On the day that success is restored to its rightful place and position and celebrated for what it is, that is the day that many who have increasingly held onto their quilts with clenched fists as they turn like the hinge of a door on their mats will fling aside their languid temperament and begin to aspire to barrier-breaking greatness.

This fear of success has never been fully discerned, and likewise never fully dealt with to ensure that more people become inspired to work harder. Even among close friends, this fear of success which stilts and stifles people, leads them to act in a counterproductive manner. Increasingly people who are truly successful, who would be more open to share their success to inspire others, are nevertheless driven back into their shells and never step forward to attempt greater heights. Over time, these people rest on their laurels and begin to slide backwards.

Another observed manifestation is that people believe that when they are hard working and achieve much, they would become the target of envy and attack. Yes, there are people in Africa who will never work to be rich as it will make them rather feel endangered. In such a draining culture, how many will be prepared to push themselves to rise to the beckoning uncrowded summit?

The Extended Family System

True to form, human nature corrupts what should be brilliant systems. Out there in the West, there are people who have become lazier and are unwilling to give their best because work does not pay. In fact, for some, there is no point in returning to work (because of benefits), and increasingly their leaders are furiously probing their brains to find ways and means to solve this recurrent issue.

Right on our shores, a big factor that has and continues to make more Africans lazy is the extended family system. How sad. Believe it or not, for a significant number, this is what lies at the root of their laziness. It is the case of the many learning to rely on the few. And if they are in a family with someone overseas, the motivation to do very little cannot be greater.

As a truth, some will continue to live off the generosity of the few, almost as a lifestyle, and as long as they can receive handouts and pittance will never fling aside their garbs of otiosity. It is not hard to surmise that this issue on a wider scale is still at the heart of why a continent blessed with valuable resources still cannot stop its unquenchable desire for aid. When will we be weaned off our aid? If a vast number of our people are not as lazy as we are, then we should be able to feed ourselves and help feed others in not-so-rich natural resource continents. Here again, our contrived excuses are many. But when will the light dawn that our numerous excuses will not ferry us to our stately and sterling dreams?

The General Conditioning

Like begets like!

A visit to Europe and an observation of some Africans reveals that its our conditioning right here on the continent that has made us who we are. After all, there are some who today rightly labelled as lazy, but then tomorrow, they find themselves overseas, and all of a sudden they are different people. A welter of factors account for such marked transformation, and for some it is a mixture of being unable to receive state handouts and the desire to survive which leaves them with little choice but to get off their backs and commit themselves to serious work. Moreover, in some of these countries, hard work pays, and its rightly rewarded which emboldens their resolve to work harder.

Talking about this conditioning, it may merit a brief mention of what for some must be the source and cause of all our issues. Indeed, their main morsel of factors being the leadership on the continent must equally receive a mention. In that regard, African governments must create the environment conducive for a reconditioning of the general temper of her citizens.

The ideas above are true and coupled with the previous articles view that we exhibit the signs of laziness i.e. giving excuses and loving sleep, we may now proceed to consider how we may fix the laziness that may be witnessed on the continent.

Reward Genuine Success

Africans must change their views about success. Right here, the instantaneous finger pointing has to stop. The notion that when a person is successful it means they must have cut corners must stop; and this calls for us to alter our thinking!

People who achieve success should not be brought low and humiliated; instead they should be feted and celebrated. A shift in how success is treated and handled is a major and practical step that we can take which will begin to influence the youth in particular and teach them the value and reward of hard work. After all, if most of the people who enjoy wealth are corrupt politicians, drug dealers, and internet fraudsters; how many more young people will value work?

Overhaul Educational Systems

Sometimes it is hard to admit that this may be a failed generation. If such a premise holds, then we may have to concentrate more on the youth to shape a better future for the continent.

We must re-evaluate how and what we are teaching and training students on the continent. Our goal should be to produce students with the best possible start who can step up and fully fulfil their potentials.

We must teach the youth in particular to believe in themselves. Yes, they must not bask or dwell in vacuous pride about being Africans but rather as people endowed by the Creator with innate gifts and relevant talents waiting to be tapped for the benefit of Africa and the world at large. Indeed, they must know that their true value and potential may provide a better avenue for them to become the outliers rather than being part of the prevailing statistic.

In the changing face of globalisation and advancement, our students need to learn that being idle is largely a choice. To bestead a rational cause of action, our curricula must include the vital element of entrepreneurship that should equip our students to think outside the box and find opportunity where they would have seen and complained about problems. With such motivation and drive to be change agents and solution finders, being jobless and waiting for some corrupt governments to think and create unavailable jobs for them will not arise, and thus the case of unemployment and idleness will be significantly reduced.

A Call to Autarky

It is a known truth that Africa has vast arable land begging to be put to good use. In fact, closely examined, the vital factors needed for autarky (economic independence or self-sufficiency) are present. Africa has a growing population, and with a determination to acquire and maximise the needed technology, her insatiable thirst for imported goods will be slaked. Accordingly, a consistent quest for autarky should result in a certain awakening where people who have given up hope and fallen into a general state of gloom about the continents problems and are just happy to do nothing and idle about will see and grasp the grand opportunity that will be presented as we gallantly march along that enchanted and enlightened track.

As a suggestion, if in our quest to feed ourselves, the incentive to go into farming, for example, suddenly becomes a desirable path for young people to pursue and forego fleeing our shores as they offer themselves to the malignant and unforgiving mercies of the scorching desert or the unstable temper of the raging seas; if instead, much incentive is provided for them to pursue agriculture as a viable and respectable means of survival, then by this singular act, we will not only feed ourselves and be self-sufficient, but a major problem of youth employment and idleness (together with its attendant challenges) will be greatly reduced and addressed.

The economic interplays and how they will help in fixing Africas laziness problem cannot be fully exhausted in this piece. However, what cannot go without mention is that although all the variables are not favourable to us, we cannot equally set up shop and continue blaming the indices.

If there are malevolent factors and adversarial forces that dont augur well for us and will prove our undoingas even this call for autarky will be undermined by contrary and partisan intereststhat in itself should not discourage us.

As a continent, we must, if we are serious about fixing our laziness and idleness problem, do and put in place measures that will enable and engender economic growth, breathtaking development and boundless prosperity. Among others, policies pursued must make it conducive for businesses to flourish and create more rewarding employment. Power or electricity supply must be made available and at a cheap cost for industries to operate for increased industrialisation. Moreover, high taxes which make it difficult for businesses to expand and to employ more people must be identified and adjusted.

Having revolved in our minds the penetrating question of whether Africans are lazy, and consequently flung the charge, we are nevertheless convinced that the right step of admitting the African laziness problem should broach the subject and begin a vital and engaging discourse on tackling this menace head on.

Following this honest admission to its logical conclusion, and aided by clear heads and cogent reasoning, we should be further actuated to seek practicable and workable solutions including the few that have been highlighted above. If we resolve to do so, then from the dreary and dingy dungeon of false pride and empty contentment, we will step onto the lightened path that will lead to a significant change in the affairs of the continent. For, on the day that we fully expunge the binding label of being a lazy continent, we will surely be on track to believe more, do more, and ultimately achieve much more than we thought was humanly possible.

Angelina K. Morrison & Charles Anyomi

For correspondence, please write to [email protected]
Not every work done by a child is child labour. Children can be involved in activities that enhance their social integration in family and community. This is necessary for their balanced development; and is not what is classified as child labour. Child labour refers to activities done by children which are detrimental to their health education and development. In practical terms, defining child labour becomes difficult because many apply their subjective opinions as a yard stick. Often such opinions may be erroneous and where the opinion leaders are prominent, their wrong views may mislead many. Again, there are some who imply that because they were involved in child labour and have survived, it is not a problem. For one child that survives exploitative work, many other child labourers are abused and deprived of their fundamental human rights and future economic opportunities. Therefore, it is important to maintain standardized and notions of child labour so we can properly identify it and address it effectively. There is a global consensus on what child labour is. The concept is clearly expatiated in international instruments such as ILO Conventions 138 and 182. In Article 28: 2 of the 1992 Constitution, child labour is clearly proscribed, to wit: every child has the right to be protected from work that threatens his health education and development. The following illustrations are provided to enhance clarification of what child labour is not and what it actually is:

Scenario 1:

Kofi is a 14 year old in a rural community. He is enrolled in basic school but does not attend school frequently because he has to help on the family farm during planting and harvest seasons. Is Kofi engaged in child labour?

Scenario 2:

Amina is a 16 year old who has completed basic school and needs some money to support her parents send her to Senior high school. Her auntie offers to help by bringing her to Accra and gives her out to a market woman who hires out Amina to carry heavy loads (kayayo) for traders. The money she earns is given to her madam with the hope that at the end of her stay she will be given what she needs to go to SHS. The market woman uses some of the money and also gives some to Aminas auntie every month. Is Amina in child labour?

Scenario 3:

Obeng is 15 years old and in JHS 3. He is an orphan and has been living with his grandma from a tender age. He works in a galamsey site, from where he gets more than enough money to take care of his grandma and two siblings. He is not consistent with school. His intention is to forget about school after JHS. He wants to own a galamsey operations. Is Obeng in child labour?

Scenario 4:

Kyewaa is a 13 years old primary six pupil. After school each day she goes to the market to help her Mum do some more selling. The market is not too far and she does not stay too long before returning home to do her homework and help fix supper. Is Kyewaa in child labour?

The best way to appreciate the concept of child labour may be from the perspective of international instruments and national legislation and policies. International instruments are adopted after rigorous validation processes which lead to a general consensus among nations. That is why it is not fair to say things like some people sit somewhere and make laws for other countries. International instruments, such as the ILO Conventions on child labour are a reflection of cross-national consensus.

According to ILO convention 138 on minimum age, each country shall specify a minimum age for admission to employment or work. This age shall not be less than the age of completion of basic or compulsory education; and in any case shall not be less than 15 years. In Ghana, according to the labour law, the minimum age for admission to employment or work is 15 years. This means that anybody less than 15 years engaged in employment or work is in child labour. Employment or work refers to economic activity. Economic activity refers to any activity that brings economic benefit such as income or otherwise. The matter becomes a little delicate when the economic structure of a country is so informal that it is difficult to separate economic socialization from economic activity. But this dichotomy may be important because in the setting of many developing countries, children socialize and integrate into their families and communities through activities that may be of economic benefit to themselves, family and community. From this perspective; it may be useful to further interrogate the practical import of ILO Convention 138 on minimum age for admission into employment or work. However, for now it is clear that any child below 15 years admitted into employment or work is in child labour. There are almost two million children in child labour today, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) child labour survey reported in 2014. This is not the best for our country.

Apart from general child labour which is largely determined by large, there is also what referred to as Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL). This is elaborated in ILO Convention 182. Each Member State which ratifies Convention 182 commits to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency.

There are four categories of Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL). The first refers to all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflicts. Slavery may include conditions under which one loses one or more of his fundamental human rights. The second category of WFCL refers to the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. Thirdly, the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular fir the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in relevant international treaties. Forth, work which by its nature or circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children. The specific activities under this category may vary from country to country and so the types of work hazardous to the health safety or morals of the child are determined by each country. In determining hazardous work, the ILO recommends that consideration should be given the following types of work: work which exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse; work underground, underwater, at dangerous heights and in confined spaces; work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools, or which involves the manual handling or transportation of heavy loads; work in an unhealthy environment which may, for example, expose children to hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations damaging to their health; work under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours, or during the night or work where the child is unnecessarily confined to the premises of the employer. In Ghana, there is a Hazardous Activity Framework (HAF) developed by the Ministry of Employment and labour relations (MELR) which spells out the specificities. Some of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) identified for elimination under the National Plan of Action (NPA) include child rafficking, Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC),mining and quarrying, fishing, commercial agriculture, domestic servitude, ritual servitude (e.g. trokosi), manual head porterage (kaya/kayayo).

Ghana has ratified both Conventions 138 on minimum age and 182 on worst forms of child labour. Yet one out of every five children is in child labour. There is wide ignorance, denial and wrong justification of the menace, even among prominent persons and national leaders. This can be reversed if extensive awareness and education is made on the concept of child labour. healthy training of our children to balance academic education with practical education and vocational skills is what our culture teachers us. Child labour is not part of our culture in Ghana.

By SOMOPAC (Social Mobilisation Partners against Child Labour)
11.06.2016 LISTEN

"On the day the LORD gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the LORD in front of all the people of Israel. He said, 'Let the Sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon." Joshua chapter ten, verse twelve.

There is no limit to what God can do to bring about His purposes in our life. When He is involved, definitely, nothing shall be impossible. Yes, most Christians don't actually graduate into this higher faith in God because they have not released themselves to this particular divine reality. Yes, with God nothing is impossible. And when the bible says nothing it absolutely means nothing. Jesus took it further when He also said that nothing shall be impossible to them that believe in God Almighty. But, why are we most times not operating in this truth? Why are most things impossible to us?? The truth remains that when we have God's kind of faith, walk in His words and very importantly WORK with Him, nothing shall be impossible for us. True! Did you get something from here? Please note my choice of words. Let's go back to our text.

Joshua and the Israelites were about battling a gang of about five enemy countries; a confederation of enemies. You know, sometimes they come like bees; united in evil. United just to attack God own or His purpose. Satanic gang-up. I have personally seen them before. But the word of God also said that SURELY THEY SHALL FALL! Praise God! Once, Joshua got the assurance of victory from God, he immediate moved towards the battle field. God had said to him, "For I will give you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you." I thought you would jump up and shout amen. That message is for you! This year, your enemies (whether united, hidden, confederated, large, determined, etc.) shall not be able to stand up to you in the mighty name of Jesus!

Israel and their great leader traveled all night from Gilgal and took their enemies by surprise. Wow! All night?? Midnight warriors are you listening? Midnight is when you launch surprise, deadly, destructive attacks on your enemies. Now, it is also instructive that they took off from Gilgal. Gilgal is a place of total consecration, place worship, a place of re-dedication, etc. And this is where you must launch out against your enemies and situations this year, if you really want to be a victor.

As the Israelites and God Himself battled the enemies, Joshua did what no man has ever done before. He broke the natural protocol and a very strange one at that. He asked the sun and the moon to stand still until he has defeated all their enemies. And instantly, these great heavenly elements that are several times larger than this our planet earth stood still. They immediately obeyed! Wow! Listen here, "The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as a normal day. The LORD fought for Israel that day. Never before or since has there been a day like that one, when the LORD answered such a request from a human being." My God! Breaking protocol indeed! I see God answering and giving you victory as never seen before in Jesus' name! We will continue next week. God bless you!

Rev. Agbo is the author of the book Power of Midnight Prayer. Website http://www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo Email: [email protected] Tel: 08037113283
More women are being appointed to leadership positions in Botswana with the country being among the top ten countries in the world when it comes to its number of female CEOs, reveals the annual Grant Thornton survey.

One of the driving forces behind the fiscal strength of one of Africas top economies is Botswanas Central Bank Governor, Linah Mohohlo; a woman who has twice been chosen as Central Bank Governor of the Year for the region, has served on the Commission for Africa and is credited for her role in establishing Botswanas sound monetary policy and good credit rating and investment profile.

She is one of many women in leadership positions in Botswana  a country that is rated among the top 10 countries in the world for female CEOs. The latest Grant Thornton annual survey , released in March 2016, revealed that there was an increase of 7% to 23% from last year for women in leadership positions in Botswana. The country beat many industrial countries like Germany (with a dismal 15%) and Japan with a poor 7%.

This is good news for the economy  research shows that gender diversity is good for business. There is plenty of research showing that gender diversity has many benefits for companies, comments leadership development practitioner Liz de Wet from the UCT Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB). She says a recent study by Gallup found that gender-diverse business units have better financial outcomes overall than those dominated by one gender.

Botswana has over recent years made great strides towards gender equality with several government policies and initiatives in place to promote women in business, to help them with networking, recognition in the workplace and guidance in career development.

Mohohlo herself has said: We have to make sure that women are equal partners in efforts to turn the corner. If women were to take part, wed begin to see not just good governance but also leadership from a political and business standpoint.

A key part of such a strategy around gender empowerment is education. Botswana has a slightly higher percentage of women in primary and secondary schools, according to stats from Unicef .

Mark Farrar, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), says there is also a high percentage of women enrolling for qualifications with AAT. The company is a UK-based qualification and professional body for vocational accountants operating in over 90 countries with over 135,000 worldwide.

Farrar says it is no coincidence that so many women in Botswana are turning to financial qualifications. Financial skills are in high demand in Botswana where government has been diversifying the economy over recent years to try and shift the countrys dependence on its rich diamond reserves  which some say will last only another two decades.

Although small when compared to neighbouring South Africa, the banking sector is growing too with new products and services delivered to customers. Some financial qualifications, like those from AAT, can be studied part-time, as well as full-time and are open to students with little to no previous experience. They offer students like payroll executive Stephinah Jeremiah, 28 a way onto the corporate ladder.

AAT changed my life, says Jeremiah, explaining that the financial skills she learnt while doing her accounting qualification ensured that she was able to get a job right away. I did not have to wait after varsity like other students who struggle with job opportunities.

AAT offers the popular AAT Accounting Qualification. No prior qualifications are needed and students are taught financial skills that they can use straight away in the work place.

It is a link to the world of finance, as well as a stepping stone to the world of business and entrepreneurship, which many women are keen to join.

This was the case for Tsholofelo Moitobo, who started her own management company after completing her AAT Accounting Qualification, compiling tax returns and doing accounts for companies.

An accounting background is very important for business. Botswana has many opportunities for women to start businesses but they can only succeed if they have an accounting background, says Moitobo.

I am now managing two successful companies thanks to it, says Moitobo, who believes more women would benefit from the kind of qualification she got.

AAT provides an opportunity for people in Botswana to gain practical skills that will help progress their careers in finance, says AAT CEO Mark Farrar. Botswana has our largest cohort of students outside of the UK and perhaps it is so popular because it offers a vocational route into the accountancy profession without needing to go to university first.

While the future does look bright for Botswana, challenges do remain. Despite the progress made for equality and diversity, there still are gender-related obstacles, says Central Bank Governor Linah Mohohlo. More women need to be empowered through appointments to senior positions in both the public and private sectors for which they qualify and in which they excel, precluding the need for affirmative action.

Mohohlo, who grew up in rural Botswana, worked hard to make her way to the top. While she acknowledges that women do encounter resistance, she believes in being confident and self-motivated.

I dont think anyone who wants to succeedmale or femaleshould concentrate on hurdles because you will find them if you are looking for them, and I have been just too busy to spend time looking for obstacles.

Moitobo agrees but says without financial skills and qualifications, she would not be where she is today. A financial skills qualification was my door to happiness and riches. I am now managing two successful companies thanks to it. It really has empowered me.

To find out more about AAT, contact Nicky Burke at [email protected]
Sir, looking back, what is your major regret in life, for which you will caution the youth to avoid? Akyena Brantuo asked him.

Going into politics. Combining business and politics is dangerous. Looking back, that was my regret. The young ones must avoid this. He answered. Do not marry business with politics because if care is not taken, your business will be at a risk. I am just lucky to h`ave survived it. He concluded.

The Hon. Seth Adjei Baah, made this remarks on Tema based Ahotor 92.3fm on Wednesday 8th June, 2016 whenhe became the latest successful public figure to feature on Heroes of Our Time with Akyena Brantuo.Heroes of Our Time with Akyena Brantuo is a live radio mentorship program on Ahotor 92.3fm every Wednesday 7pm to 8.30pm.

The one timeMember of Parliament for the Nkawkawconstituency also said what pushed him into entrepreneurship and businessis hardship. Necessity is the mother of all inventions. Look around you, where you find difficulties and challenges that isexactly where opportunities exist.

At age 18, when the Hon. Seth Adjei Baahs father passed on, family traditions were supposed to be respected and strictly adhered to.In his case, his uncle was supposed to marry his mother, something he vehemently opposed. He was never in support of that idea. And he suffered for that, his family members neglected him. That was the beginning of his struggles in life. However, the saying proved true that every misfortune is a blessing in disguise. His familys open hostility towards him became the springboardon which his table top business grew to becomeSHAABA group of companies, an empire that today boast of shopping malls, mineral water production, building and road construction company and a number of hospitality entities including the plush Ramada hotel in Nungua barrier.

When he was rejected by his family, he recounts how he worked his way to finance his secondary school education in St. Peters Secondary Schoolby hawking exercise books.

But Godis always faithful, he says. He recounts how God touched the heart of a member of the church of Pentecost to teach him how to make Dont touch me soap for free, a local business venture which became the backbone of his success after having starved himself considerably to be able to save 50 cedis as his initial investment in thisnew soap business. At the age of 23, he had employed two people in his own company. Wow!

Today, Hon Seth Adjei Baahhas become a successful businessman, executive member of reputable business associations. He is the president of Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a board member of the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, Council member of Reagent University College, Accra and the Board Chairman of SHAABA Group etc.

The Hon. Seth Adjei Baah who is 56 years and hails from Kwawu Asakraka in Nkawkaw, had very useful advice for the youth drawingon the principles that kept him at the top all these years

Firstly, he emphasized on education. Heinsisted that if uneducated entrepreneurs are able to succeed so much then educated ones can do more. Underscoring this point with his own life that the essence of education made him go for BSc(Hon), Business Administration even when he was 40years and still went ahead for his masters in Governance and Leadership at the age of 50.

Secondly, he had advice for the young people with beautiful ideas yet without money to implement them. He encouraged them to beinnovative in their thinking, and, openly discuss their ideas with others who also have the finance but without the ideas. And even where such help delay, such entrepreneurs ought to press on. Keep selling your ideas to people, help will surely come. Ideas and businesses are like seeds,they take time to grow and fruit. He added.

The rest of his advice for the potential entrepreneur are as follows,

Learning to live within ones means.

The culture of saving.

Leading by example.

Having the attitude of hard work and honesty.

Learning to start small.

Not giving up on your dreams.

Turing adversaries into opportunitiesetc.

In conclusion, he urged individuals to chase their dream but admittedthat not all persons can be entrepreneurs. Some of us work excellently as supporting cast whilst others do better leading. Just discover who you really are.

File on Friday 10th June, 2016

Cephas Migbordzie.

E-mail [email protected]

Bright Amuzu.

E-mail [email protected]
Charlotte Osei

11.06.2016 LISTEN

As our lead story warns, the Electoral Commission risks having a very big mess on its hands, whether the elections are on November 7 or December 7, with potentially one million individual cases of objections for magistrates to adjudicate before a full and complete register can be compiled before the 2016 general elections. This would all be as a result of one thing: a stubborn EC that knows what it has to do, yet determined not to do it.

The Supreme Court has ordered the EC to delete the names of the millions of people who registered using NHIS cards and offer them the opportunity to re-register if indeed they are Ghanaians and of age. This is because several foreigners managed to get on Ghanas electoral roll illegally using a card that could be possessed by even tourists visiting Ghana.

Instead of going ahead with impartial zeal and professionalism to give effect to the court order, the EC has rather been looking at all disingenuous ways to wriggle out of it. The EC knows very well that it would not be able to delete the names of those who registered with NHIS cards. And, the reason is simple. There is no way the EC can identify them because at the point of registration no document can specifically show which document the registrant presented as proof of citizenship.

The EC told the Supreme Court that it could identify NHIS card registrants by going back to all the 14 million Voter Registration Form 1As to look through every single one of them. This, unfortunately, is most insincere and frankly shameful. Even if the EC can be credited with proper record-keeping, the Form 1A has no place where registrants were asked to indicate the kind of ID used. In fact, the only space indicated on Form 1A is specifically for a holder of National ID card to indicate its serial number. The National ID card, which the EC in 2012 anticipated would be available to all citizens, did not materialize.

This means that the EC knows it cannot honestly go through the literal process of identifying all the affected names, delete them and give those eligible the opportunity to re-register, as ordered by the court.

But, that is not to say the EC cannot effect the order. The EC knows it can do so and the only way it can do so is by allowing every registered voter to go through the process of biometric verification/authentication/validation.

The court order was also for dead people to be deleted. A validation process would automatically eliminate all dead people since the dead cannot walk out from their coffins to the exhibition centres to be validated.

By demanding of every voter, whether they used NHIS cards or not, to come out to their polling stations with an acceptable ID to be validated during the exhibition exercise, the EC knows it would effectively kill four notorious birds with one stone: (1) foreigners (2) dead people (3) minors and (4) emigrants, since in order to register to vote you must ordinarily reside in the electoral area you are registering.

But, the EC apparently has no intention to do what is right but to stick doggedly to using the discredited challenge procedure available at the exhibition stage of the provisional register of voters.

Yet, it was this same EC that admitted in its response to the NPP on December 30, 2015, that, as compared to other African countries, Ghana has a far larger percentage of its population on the register because, "Processes for challenging registration of prospective voters in other jurisdictions are more effective?" Why does the EC insist on using a process itself considers to be ineffective to effect the provision of a clean register? Amazing!

Indeed, the VCRAC Crabbe Panel Report does not see the challenge procedure presented by the exhibition of the voters register as a good enough measure for removing invalid names from the list.

The report argued, judging by the sheer numbers, the Electoral Commissions proposition to display the register, with political party representatives, the Electoral Commission and citizenry to identify and point out invalid names, is not a viable approach. Particularly when the persons who identify these records are expected to expend their time, energy and resources not only to provide the evidence but also to testify before a court of competent jurisdiction.

The stubborn posture of the EC only gives the unfortunate impression that the EC has signed a pact with the devil to give Ghana a bloated register for 2016. The 7 Commissioners still have time to kill this sad and potentially dangerous impression. It is their call.
Tennessee tax revenues exceeded budgeted estimates in May, driven primarily by sales taxes. Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Larry Martin on Friday announced that overall May revenues were $1.0 billion, which is $41.3 million more than the state budgeted.

Total reported receipts in May reflect significant improvement over this time last year, and were driven primarily by sales tax receipts, Commissioner Martin said. Franchise and excise taxes fell short of May 2015 figures and were also below the monthly budgeted estimate. All other tax collections, taken as a group, were above the May estimate.

General fund revenues were more than the budgeted estimates in the amount of $37.4 million while the four other funds that share in state tax revenues were $3.9 million more than the estimates.

Sales taxes were $33.5 million more than the estimate for May and were 6.49 percent more than May 2015. May receipts reflect retail business activity that occurred in April. For ten months, revenues are $345.0 million higher than estimated. The year-to-date growth rate for ten months was 7.81 percent.

Franchise and excise taxes combined were $6.9 million lower than the budgeted estimate in May, and the growth rate over May 2015 was negative 18.63 percent. For 10 months revenues are $286.7 million more than the estimate and the year-to-date growth rate is 3.75 percent. However, adjusting for last years very large one-time payment the underlying growth rate is positive 13.38 percent.

Gasoline and motor fuel revenues for May decreased by 1.10 percent compared to May 2015 and were $1.1 million lower than the budgeted estimate of $73.0 million. For ten months revenues have exceeded estimates by $32.0 million.

Tobacco taxes were $3.9 million above the May budgeted estimate of $19.9 million. For 10 months they are $14.7 million more than the budgeted estimate.

Inheritance and estate taxes were $0.9 million below the May estimate. On a year-to-date basis revenues for 10 months are $14.2 million more than the budgeted estimate.

Hall income taxes for May were $6.3 million more than the budgeted estimate. For 10 months, the Hall tax is $50.8 million above the budgeted estimate.

Privilege taxes were $0.3 million more than the May estimate, and on a year-to-date basis, August through May, revenues are $23.6 million more than the estimate.

Business taxes were $3.9 million more than the May estimate. For 10 months revenues are $14.6 million more than the budgeted estimate.

All other taxes were above estimates by a net of $2.3 million.

Year-to-date revenues for 10 months were $798.4 million more than the budgeted estimate. The general fund recorded $735.8 million above budgeted estimates and the four other funds were $62.6 million more than the budgeted estimate.

The budgeted revenue estimates for 2015-2016 are based on the State Funding Boards consensus recommendation of Dec. 16, 2014 and adopted by the first session of the 109th General Assembly in April 2015. Also incorporated in the estimates are any changes in revenue enacted during the 2015 session of the General Assembly. These estimates are available on the states website at http://www.tn.gov/finance/article/fa-budget-rev.

On Nov. 13, 2015, the Funding Board met to hear updated revenue projections from the states various economists. Meeting again on Nov. 23, 2015, the board adopted revised recurring revenue growth ranges for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The current fiscal years revised ranges recognize growth in total taxes from a low of 2.80 percent to a high of 3.30 percent, and a general fund growth from a low of 2.90 percent to a high of 3.40 percent.

On April 14, in the second session of the 109th General Assembly, the legislature passed the 2016-2017 budget, which included the Funding Boards current year revised ranges. The governor signed the appropriations bill on April 21.

With passage of the appropriations act, Public Chapter 758, the General Assembly recognized an additional $376.1 million in total tax revenue and a corresponding increase in general fund revenues in an amount of $355.0 million for the current fiscal year.
Twenty eight (28) volunteers who are members of the Volta Region Students Association of Ghana (VORSAG) from the Universities of Ghana, Education, Cape Coast, Science and Technology and Energy and Natural Resources have commenced their 2016 Annual Volunteer Teaching Service in eight (8) selected junior high schools across the Ho West District.

In its third year, the programme is collaboration between the Member of Parliament for the Ho West Constituency, Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah who sponsors the programme financially and VORSAG which provides the human resources (volunteers). The District Education Directorate is responsible for selecting the beneficiary schools using a criterion of performance during the previous years Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). As part of the programme, the host communities and schools provide accommodation for the volunteers and also feed them throughout their stay. This years programme which started on Thursday, June 2 is expected to end on Thursday, June 30 with the volunteers departing on Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2, 2016.

Most of the volunteers are sent to the worse performed schools during last years BECE. Their presence and works in these schools are expected to serve as sources of motivation for the students. Aside teaching various subjects to support the regular staff of the schools during the day, the volunteers are also expected to hold early morning and evening classes for the students each day to help them cover a lot more topics in the various subjects. They are to use these extra periods to specially prepare final year students of the schools on specific topics ahead of their final examinations (BECE) which is scheduled to start on Monday, June 13, 2016.

Schools benefiting from this years programme include Gbadzeme JHS, Biakpa JHS, Kpedze Awlime E.P. JHS, Holuta/Aflapke JHS, Avenui E.P. JHS, Tsito E.P. JHS, Saviefe Agokpo JHS and Dzolokpuita D/A JHS.
President John Mahama has declared that his party has no fears of opposition political parties copying the ideas contained in the manifesto of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to him, his party will not be discouraged from launching its manifesto ahead of other political parties because of fears that some of their ideas will be duplicated.

Speaking at an event in Accra to celebrate the partys 24th anniversary, President Mahama said, we as a party will not say that we will not launch our manifesto because we are afraid someone will copy it. Our ideas are original and we will launch our manifesto and if anybody wants they can copy us.

Our manifesto will engage Ghanaians

President Mahama noted that the NDC's manifesto will be geared towards engaging Ghanaians in a manner that will allow them to effectively communicate the ides in their manifesto.

Our manifesto which contains a detailed blueprint will soon be launched and we will take the opportunity to engage Ghanaians in a conversation around the manifesto to foster understanding and insight into exactly what we have to offer them.

We wont attack EC

Our campaign will be based on the issues that matter most to our people. Neither shall we make unwarranted attacks in critical state institutions like the Electoral Commission, the NDC flagbearer added.



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Ashanti Regional Police have arrested two suspected armed robbers in connection with a robbery incident at Kwamang Rural Bank which resulted in the death of a staff of the Bank.

Issa Amadu and Mamud Adams were suspected to have shot the staff of the Bank, traumatizing two others after robbing the Bank of an undisclosed amount.

Before the attack on the bank, the suspects were granted bail for snatching a motorbike and allegedly attacking travelers in a highway robbery at Nsuta-Asuafua-Atwea.

The deputy Ashanti Region Police Commander ACP Osei Ampofoh Duku said investigations have shown that the same motorbike snatched was used in the bank robbery by the same suspects.

"The teacher who lost his motorbike in the March 31 robbery travelled after the incident and so could not assist the police in their investigation by production of papers covering the motorbike.

"However, he returned last week to present the documents to show ownership of the motorbike which had been impounded and which were used by these two suspects.

"So the suspects reported last Friday and were rearrested and detained. They are suspected to have committed the Kwamang rural bank robbery and we are working on that," he said.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com
The Deputy Communications Minister has allayed fears of an outright sale of the Electricity Corporation of Ghana.

Felix Kwakye Ofosu says government's decision to allow private sector participation in the electricity distribution sector is fundamentally different from the sale of the company as happened to Ghana Telecom under the erstwhile New Patriotic Party.

Speaking on Joy FM's news analysis program, Newsfile, Saturday, Mr Kwakye Ofosu said 30 concessionaires have so far approached government with proposals to take over aspects of ECG operation.

He says government is yet to select any of the concessionaires and sign a contract that will allow the private investor manage some aspect of the ECG operations.

He was not clear exactly which area of operations the investor will manage but was emphatic however that the equipment and assets of ECG will still remain the properties of ECG even if the contract with the investor comes into force.

The debate to, or not to privatize the ECG, has been longstanding with several governments playing coy over the matter.

President John Mahama however triggered the debate this week when he sought to justify some amount of private sector involvement in the operations of the ECG.

The president cited the protestations that came with the liberalisation or privatization of the telecom sector in the early 90s but said the bold decision taken at the time to allow private sector participation has proven to be a wise decision.

He said "there is inefficiency at the downstream distribution of the electricity sector. The system is not working. if it's not working you fix it by taking risk. If you are willing to take risk you will not make progress."

Critics against the privatization of ECG have been quick in chiding the president for supposedly taking the easier option.

They would rather the government pays the debts it owed to ECG and signing a better performance contract with managers of the company.

On Newsfile, Felix Kwakye Ofosu said government has already taken a decision to allow private sector participation and the justification for that is clear and beyond debate.

"There are some inefficiencies in the operations of ECG. Their service delivery is not up to scratch; something has to be done," he stated.

While he understood the concerns of the ECG workers who are protesting the privatization of the company, he said, the government will seek the larger interest of Ghanaians and not a section of Ghanaians.

"When GT was sold people lost their jobs, but is the company not functioning?" he said adding he is yet to hear any argument that undermines the need for private sector participation in the electricity distribution sector.

A New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Bosumtwe, Simon Osei Mensah says concessionaire is still part of privatization and wondered what the deputy minister was talking about by creating the impression as though concessionaire was alien to privatisation.

He said the country will be exposed to high risk if the concessionaire is just as inefficient as the current managers of ECG.

He would rather alternative measures are considered in resolving the inefficiencies at ECG.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
11.06.2016 LISTEN

The family of late veteran actor, Nii Odoi Mensah, have released the obituary of the late veteran actor.

The ace veteran actor ,Nii Odoi Mensah who died on the 12th of April, 2016 in China where he had undergone a kidney transplant is due to be buried on Saturday 18th June,2016 at the La Cemetery.

According to Ezekiel Mensah, a junior brother of the late veteran actor who spoke with Razzonline.com on behalf of the family,all the necessary arrangements to give their beloved departed actor a befitting burial have been done:

"On behalf of the family, i will like to announce that all the necessary arrangements for the final funeral rites have been done...the date remains unchanged ..that is Saturday 18th June,2016 at the forecourt of the Ghana International trade fair company in La from 6am to 9am then internment at the La public Cemetery... all are cordially invited", Ezekiel told Razzonline.com

The late Nii Odoi Mensah was the former president of the Actors Guild.
By Lydia Asamoah, GNA

Accra, June 10, GNA - The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, says empowering girls to prevent HIV among adolescents is a key requirement to achieving an AIDS-free generation.

This is because adolescent girls and young women, aged 15 to 24 in Africa, are especially vulnerable to the epidemic that sadly continues to record new cases among adolescents.

Speaking at the Side Event of the UN High Level meeting on HIV and AIDS in New York, Mrs Mahama said every hour in Africa 26 adolescents, aged 10 to 19 years, were infected with HIV leading to an estimated 250,000 new HIV infections in Africa alone.

She said globally, while new HIV infections had declined by 38 per cent over the last 15 years, sadly new infections among adolescents were increasing.

'In high burden countries of sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls contribute a significant 30 per cent of all new HIV infections,' Mrs Mahama said.

The Side Event, which was attended by all African first ladies forming the Organisation of African First Ladies Association (OAFLA) and other development partners including UNAIDS, UNFPA, Gates Foundation, and adolescent representatives, was on the theme: 'Breaking the Silos: Empowered Adolescent Girls at the Centre of the Response'.

Mrs Mahama said in spite of the challenges great progress had been made in achieving 'our objective of universal services for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support'.

As the President of OAFLA, Mrs Mahama welcomed the delegates to the meeting explaining that OAFLA advocates for effective strategies towards the elimination of HIV and AIDS, the reduction of maternal and child mortality, and the empowerment of women and children.

She said in all its activities, adolescent girls were at the heart of OAFLA's mission, because a more alarming statistic showed that adolescent girls and young women had up to eight times more infection and were likely to become HIV positive about five years earlier than their male peers.

'Very sadly only 15 percent of young women and adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa know their HIV status,' she said.

Overall, AIDS-related illnesses are the leading cause of deaths among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa and the second leading cause of death globally.

'Clearly, Africa's adolescents are seriously affected by this epidemic; and our adolescent girls and young women are very vulnerable to HIV infection and AIDS related deaths.

'Although this vulnerability is not fully understood it is driven by lack of empowerment and compounded by other structural, social and biological factors including harmful gender norms such as early and forced marriage with its effects and engagement in age-disparate sex and oftentimes forced transactional sexual relationships,' she said.

Other factors are gender based violence, increased genital inflammation, inability to negotiate monogamous relationships, condom use, and/or male circumcision, inability to take decisions on matters of their own health and well-being as well as inadequate access to comprehensive sexual education and reproductive health services.

'There is also the experience of food insecurity and poverty; and we have a vicious cycle driven by dependence.

'It is against this background that OAFLA has placed importance on adolescents, in its current strategic plan, 2014 to 2018,' Mrs Mahama said.

That strategic plan would help in advocacy for the adoption of policies that promote services for adolescents to raise awareness and mobilise resources in support of programmes on adolescent reproductive health needs. Mrs Mahama, therefore, urged her fellow first ladies to make conscious efforts and commitment to address adolescent needs, especially for girls, saying the SDGs have provided a clear framework for adolescent girls across sectors like education, health, gender equality, reducing inequalities, and partnership.

GNA
By Hafsa Obeng/Jonathan Akrong, GNA

Accra, June 10, GNA - A Caterer, Stella Osei Amankwa, on Friday appeared before an Accra Circuit Court for defrauding two persons to the tune of GH463,470.00 under the pretence of securing them and six others visas.

She pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail in the sum of GH500,000.00, with three sureties. She is also to post a security deposit of GH150,000.00 as well as deposit her passport.

The case was adjourned to July 7.

Prosecuting Detective Chief Inspector Isaac Agbemehia told the court that the complainants are Nana Kwabah II, a traditional ruler and Jennifer Naaba trader, both residents of Tarkwa, whiles the accused person a is a self-acclaimed caterer and lives in Ashaiman.

He said in the month of October, 2013 Nana Kwabah II, met the accused person on a social media dating site known as Badoo and became friends. The accused person made a representation to the complainant and introduce herself as an American citizen who lives and works at the United State of America (USA).

He said in the course of their friendship, Stella paid a visit to the complainant at his base in Tarkwa claiming she had arrived from the USA. She spent five days with the first complainant and during her stay; the complainant introduce her to his relatives including the second complainant, Jennifer as his fiancA from the USA.

Prosecuting Detective Chief Inspector Agbemehia said when she was leaving Tarkwa, the accused person told the family of first complainant that her father is a Doctor in the USA and could process travel documents for the complainants to travel to USA.

He said based on her assertions the accused person collected GHC6000 from Nana Kwabah II through mobile money transfers to secure a flight ticket for him to travel to visit her in the United States.

Stella latter called Jennifer on MTN number 0244250979 claiming she was calling from the USA on MTN roaming service. The accused told her that in appreciation for the kind reception she was given by the complainants whilst in Tarkwa, her father Doctor Opare had decided to secure visas for her and people of her choice if they were interested to travel and live in America for a fee.

The prosecution said, Jennifer also informed others about the travelling opportunity and they expressed interest.

Following that, the accused person collected a total amount of GHC457, 470 from Jennifer through series of mobile money transfers to secure her with visas for herself and six others.

Prosecuting Detective Chief Inspector Agbemehia said Stella however failed to secure the visas and went into hiding.

He said Jennifer, who became suspicious about Stella's disappearance reported the matter to the police who tracked and arrested.

During investigations, she claimed she gave the money to doctor Opare but could not assist the police to trace the said doctor.

GNA
11.06.2016 LISTEN

Accra, June 10, GNA - Alhaji Bashiru Nii Narh Alema, the Klottey Korle Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has advised the executives of the constituency not to grant interviews to radio stations without authority.

He said this would help prevent unnecessary personal attacks of some prominent personalities in the constituency.

Alhaji Alema, who gave the warning in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the attitude of some executive members left much to be desired.

He said comments made by some executive members against important personalities on radio could best be described as 'wicked propaganda.'

Alhaji Alema said everybody in the party was important and nobody should make a mistake to oust any member, adding; 'this is the time for executives and supporters to put aside their personal differences and help ensure victory come November 7.'

Alhaji Alema said although propaganda was an essential ingredient in politics, maligning and unguarded comments should not be entertained.

'Let us put a stop to jumping from one radio station to another to make uncomplimentary remarks about our brothers and sisters,' he said. Alhaji Alema urged the Klottey Korle NDC supporters and sympathizers to eschew any form of negative conduct that could mar the fortunes of the party in the constituency.

GNA
Buhari one-year anniversary has been anything but glorious. It has been pitiful compare to his last time around. It is a different era, yet Buhari has done what most Northern rulers do best. When he loaded his personal staff with Northerners, some of us defended him based on the fact that he was overthrown in a palace coup. He has gone further by reserving most of the strategic positions with Northerners as if Southerners and Federal character do not exist.

Late Idiagbon might have taken more heat than he deserved during the first coming of Buhari as military dictator. They ruled by fiat, regardless of what others thought. Idiagbon and the Supreme Military Council then had more impute in order to gratify Buharis power base. Eventually, they confirmed his fears and overthrew him and Idiagbon. In this case, we realize that Osinbajo is in a civilian democracy. A Vice-President is used as the President deems fit.

Idiagbon was in a way more powerful than Osibanjo as the military dispensation gave them the clout to carry out War Against indiscipline. Most of the people that voted for Buhari this time around wanted some grip on the national purse that was looted beyond reason with so much impunity. This gave Buhari an edge over the former President Jonathan. As far as those that voted for him are concerned, he has somehow lived up to it but below expectation.

Some of us would want him to go further. While we do realize constrains of democracy, the rule of law and due process, there are ways of confronting a killer disease if the life of the country is at stake. The same way western countries confront terrorism before it devours their cultural or normal way of life. They created task forces, detentions and outside jurisdictions.

Buhari could have gone as far as Obasanjo did with the atmosphere of accountability and the fear of consequences for the type of impunity we saw in the last Administration of President Jonathan. Ribadu was forceful, visible and acted as a deterrent for corruption under Obasanjo. He even claimed he used OBJ to investigate his friends and challenged anyone to point to any head of state that gave an investigating officer so much leverage and power.

Buhari Administration is a mixed bag. We are disappointment that he found ways to install his Northern agenda, which was expected but unable to find ways to fight corruption vigorously. He should have gone further and investigated some of those in his party. It is actually difficult to differentiate between PDP and APC crooks since each has many crossed-overs. If he had fought corruption harder, some of us may forgive his Northern dominated government like others.

Since he has not performed as well as expected, he exposed the penchant of Northerners to dominate every government they form without regards to fairness, decency and Federal character as stipulated in the constitution so that every part of the Country feels represented. Unless Buhari step up his fight against corruption, including those in his party like OBJ did and find way to include Southerners fairly in his Government, he is heading for another failure.

People confuse a buoyant economy driven by value and productivity with paper profit driven by corruption. These problems are further compounded because statistics can be used to justify sleaze in an Administration that was bound for a fall sooner than later. As value added markets can be justified so can fake economists prop up sleaze. Take foreign investment portfolios that scout developing countries looking for where to make quick paper profit in stock markets.

They blame this Administration for not making enough foreign allocations available to them so that the Country could default and pack up quicker if it could not meet its essential obligations.

Buhari did not ruin the economy he inherited ruins. Censure Buhari for another important blind spot where he seems helpless in is inability to secure peace and harmony within his reach. The marauding Fulani herdsmen going on a killing spree across the Country must be brought to a stop. No country can allow others within the same country to go into private property with the excuse that it is nobodys but Gods land. This is what they will never tolerate in their own land.

Unfortunately, Buhari seems helpless and speechless with the feeble excuse that they are foreigners invading his country because of ECOWA agreement. Even when we know these same Fulani herdsmen are checked, controlled and deterred in other countries around Nigeria. If we cannot control herdsmen within our borders, there is no way we can control those coming in. If Nigeria is the only place such impunity exist, invitations are out for others to come in.

However, we know the atrocities of these herdsmen in our own countries for almost a century and the only reason it goes on is because they have backers and sponsors in high places among politicians and Armed Forces. It got to a stage in Plateau, junior military officers chose and pick whom to obey. Indeed, the owners of the cows are the rich calling for Southern or government subsidized ranches to avoid responsibility: burden at home, be educated or provided with jobs.

Disgruntled Nigerians that voted for Jonathan in the last election but lost have not relented. They have continued to hinder and obstruct every move Buhari makes. Every government must expect critics and some bitter disillusions because of their loss. It becomes cynicism when they have nothing to offer but the same former Administration that brought the country to its knees and stole all the funds needed to clean up polluted environment and help those in dire needs.

Every solution they give is to plunge the country into darkness to that it can disintegrate faster. They know full well they have nothing better to offer. These are the type of cynics that drive those who voted for Buhari and still criticize him constructively, to defend him. We know they are not serious because all they want is to see the ruins of the same country they derive their rights and sustenance from. Every place on earth is sick of their cries and cannot survive within.

It is unbelievable that some constituted aggrieved organizations are ready to blow up the Country unless Buhari stop probing them for corruption and sleaze in the last Administration. Here we are saying Buhari has not done enough on corruption, some people want amnesty for corruption. If they were not serious, we would take it as a joke. Bode, Sule, Tompolo, Chukwu, etc. images have suddenly turned into saints and virgins blackmailing the Government or else.
The Chattanooga Area Food Bank announced Friday a strategic partnership with TVA in support of rural Tennessee hunger relief efforts. The partnership with the Food Bank is part of TVAs valley-wide efforts with regional Feeding America food banks who serve the Tennessee valleys most vulnerable rural counties. TVA volunteers and donated funds will be used to underwrite Food Bank mobile pantry distributions throughout the summer and fall.

Year after year, TVA generously supports the Chattanooga Area Food Bank," said Chattanooga Area Food Bank President and CEO Gina Crumbliss. "Were incredibly grateful for their partnership and their support of hunger relief efforts throughout the Southeast Tennessee region. Through this years commitments, the Food Bank will reach hundreds of food insecure families throughout Tennessees rural communities.

TVA was founded on a mission of service, said Gail Rymer, TVA director of Public Relations and Public Information. Our partnership with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank continues that mission by allowing our employees to directly help the people in the communities where they live and work.

TVA staff will volunteer to distribute food during a Food Bank mobile pantry distribution on Tuesday, June 14, and Tuesday, July 12, at Meigs Middle School from 8:30-11 a.m.

Many people in the Food Banks rural service area lack reliable access to transportation as well as healthy foodwhich means they dont have a way to reach a food pantry, feeding programs or the Food Bank itself. Mobile Pantries are an easy way to take food to thousands of people in the Food Banks 20-county service area, said officials.

Mobile pantries are packed full of fresh produce, meat and bread to ensure the Food Bank is not only feeding, but nourishing, those who need it, said officials. Each delivery is tailored to the group being served: students, families or seniors. Approximately 250 families are reached at each mobile pantry distribution.

Collectively, the regional Feeding America food banks estimate more than 10,000 childrenand their familieswill ultimately benefit through this years partnership with TVA. Each food bank identified the most vulnerable counties in their service area (as defined by Feeding Americas Map the Meal Gap) and will implement half-day mobile pantries distributing food directly to community members.

Currently, 17.1 percent of the Tennessee population is considered food insecure. The food insecurity rates in the Food Banks service area range from 15-18 percent, with some of the greatest needs in the most isolated rural Tennessee counties including: Bledsoe, Grundy, Marion, Meigs, Rhea, and Van Buren. Child poverty rates in all of the Tennessee counties served by the Food Bank far exceed the national average of 22 percent, with Grundy County topping the list at a 40 percent child poverty rate.
Berlin (AFP) - A crate containing hundreds of pieces of ammunition went missing during an Air France flight taken by German soldiers to Mali, the German military said Saturday.

"We are still looking for it," said a spokesman for the army's logistics department, confirming a report in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

The German troops left Berlin for Bamako on May 28 aboard a commercial Air France flight that stopped in Paris.

Their service weapons and ammunition were registered and placed in the hold. But when the flight reached Mali, a plastic crate containing 880 pieces of ammunition was missing.

The German military has filed a case with Berlin police.

A defence ministry spokesman told AFP that "the responsibility lies with the airline."

Air France had not responded by Saturday afternoon to a request for comment from AFP.

Germany is taking part in the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and also has 200 soldiers in the country as part of a European mission to train Malian troops.
11.06.2016 LISTEN

African art, like any great art, some would say, in any case more than any other, and for a long time if not always, is first of all in man, in the emotion of man transmitted to objects by man and his society.

This is the reason why one cannot separate the problem of the fate of African art from the fate of the African man, that is to say the fate of Africa itself.

Aime Cesaire, Discours sur lart africain. (1)

Several media have reported that the Musee du quai Branly, Paris, which experienced some difficulties at birth about receiving an appropriate name, and finally settled simply with the name Musee du quai Branly, after the quay where it is located, will change or modify its name to Musee du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac when the former French President, Jacques Chirac passes away. (2)

According to the the issue of Le Monde of 21June 2006, (a day after the museum was opened), Jacques Chirac had expressed the wish not to have any grand work named after him, as was the French tradition when a President died. His predecessors have Centre Pompidou and the Bibliotheque National Francois Mitterrand named after them. He did not want his name to be inscribed in concrete for posterity. It seems this wish will not be respected and like his predecessors, he would have a most controversial museum named after him when he passes away. As Le Monde explained, the Musee du quai Branly owes its existence to the efforts of Jacques Chirac who had been convinced of the need for such a museum by his friend, Jacques Kerchache, a dealer in non-Western Art, whom he met during holidays at a beach on the island of Mauritius. (3)

This modification or amplification of name will come as no surprise to those who have some idea about the origins of the museum. (4) Sally Price seems to have anticipated this change of name some years ago when she entitled her excellent book, Paris Primitive: Jacques Chiracs Museum on the Quai Branly (5)

Poster for the exhibition in honour of former President Jacques Chirac at the Musee du Quai Branly, Paris.

We have always maintained the position that where the West places looted or stolen African artefacts or whom the West praises for contribution to the looted lot, is in principle, not our primary concern. Whether the French place looted African artefacts in Musee de lHomme or build a new museum for the artefacts, as in the case of the Musee du quai Branly, the status of the artefacts remains the same: illegal and illegitimate. (6)

Notwithstanding this self-imposed limitation, we reserve the right to comment on any matter that might mislead the reader or create a false impression and might contribute to a wrong appreciation of exact relations between Africa and the West. Besides, we are interested in knowing where our artefacts are and who is keeping them. Many African peoples are not exactly aware of where their looted artefacts are in the West where they cannot obtain visa for visit. It is interesting to note that many members of the Benin delegation to the Benin exhibition Benin-Kings and Rituals; Court Arts from Nigeria in 2007, in Vienna, were seeing many of the artefacts for the first time since they were stolen by the British in the notorious Punitive Expedition in1897 and sold to German and other Western museums. The British Museum was not among the organizing museums of the 2007 Benin exhibition although it did lend some objects but not the iconic hip-mask of Queen-Mother Idia.

An exhibition will be held at the Musee du quai Branly in honour of Jacques Chirac from 21 June to 9 October 2016, Jacques Chirac ou le dialogue des

cultures, showing 200 selected artefacts that have a link to the former President. The poster shown above has been issued in connection with the coming exhibition. We do not have any official or other interpretation of the image of Jacques Chirac that almost merges into an African mask. Does this imply that Chirac in his activities acted like an African or became an African? Or that the French President acted in the interest of Africa? In any case, the unusual merging of the image of a former French President with a mask from a foreign culture, for that matter an African culture, needs to be fully explained. We hear already people talking about Chirac, lAfricain and thus starting a myth about the relationship of the former President with Africa, putting him perhaps in a more favourable light.

Before anyone gives the misleading impression that in his inaugural speech at the opening of the Musee du quai Branly, the French President fought for Africans and African art, we should be reminded of what the former Malian Minister of Culture, the great Aminata Traore, correctly stated about the fundamental contradiction lying at the basis of the establishment of the new museum: our artefacts have a right of residence in a place where we ourselves are not allowed to enter and we are requested to celebrate with the former colonial power and witness our own defeat, decline and impotence. (7)

In his statement at the opening of the Musee du quai Branly, Jacques Chirac blamed the miserable state of the African peoples and others, not on Western slavery, colonialism and imperialism but on History.

France wished to pay a rightful homage to peoples to whom, throughout

the ages, history has all too often done violence. Peoples injured and

exterminated by the greed and brutality of conquerors. Peoples humiliated

and scorned, denied even their own history. Peoples still now often

marginalized, weakened, endangered by the inexorable advance of modernity.

Peoples who nevertheless want their dignity restored and

acknowledged. (8)

History, in the abstract, is blamed for the parlous state of the African and Asian States. Even at this stage, Westerners are not willing to admit that the Western colonial system was a criminal and devastating enterprise that left many countries and peoples in abject conditions. Slavery and colonialism which enriched the Western world are passed over quietly and certainly not directly mentioned. The pseudo-humanist tone of the French President did not deceive anyone and certainly no African or Asian conversant with the colonial enterprise would be deceived by such statements.

The massacres and exterminations of African peoples, the enslavement of our brothers and sisters, the humiliation and denigration ensuing, and the exploitation of our natural resources were not organized by History. The British, Belgians, French, Germans and Portuguese were the organizers of unspeakable sufferings on the African Continent and this must be said without fear or hatred for the benefit of all. (9)

The homage by the Musee du Quai Branly to Jacques Chirac is designated, Jacques Chirac ou le dialogue des cultures. As we have insisted in our writings, there cannot be any genuine dialogue so long as the past relations of slavery and colonialism are not honestly approached on both sides. A background of unexamined resentments and unexplored suspicions, compounded by the traditional Western arrogance and assumptions of congenital superiority, even when the West is holding our looted objects, clearly cannot be conducive to genuine understanding even if some Western individuals declare themselves free from such complexes. We need a general change of attitude by a sizeable part of the society concerned. This has so far not been demonstrated in any Western State even though remarkable individual persons may have made the transformation.

We are not concerned with assessing whether Jacques Chirac deserves the honour of having a museum named after him that holds looted African and Asian artefacts but contains no French or European artefacts; a museum that was tainted with illegality even before its birth not only by the two museums that would provide it with looted objects but also by the illegal acquisition of looted Nok pieces for the Palais des Sessions where objects for the future museum were kept. This is a matter for the French people. The opinion of Africans and Asians whose artefacts are in the museum has not been requested. It is an incredible paradox of our times that, contrary to all laws, morals and religions, Western museums seem capable of generating honour or an aura of honour from contested assemblages of looted/stolen artefacts of others despite vehement protests from the angry dispossessed owners who regard their spoliation as daylight armed robbery. Western armies staged such daylight robberies in Beijing, China 1860, Maqdala, Ethiopia, 1868, Kumasi, Ghana, 1874, and in Benin, Nigeria, 1897.

The Chinese, Ethiopians, Ghanaians and Nigerians have never forgotten such defeats and humiliations. They probably can never forget such humiliations so long as those looted objects are displayed by Western museums as trophies of conquerors and signs of superiority. It is also in the nature of so-called ethnological objects that they shout their origins. Even the youngest visitor to the museum would ask Where did it come from and how did it reach here from Africa?

We will also avoid discussing the merits of the Chirac Government for another basic reason: to avoid what we call displacing the issue or argument. Supporters of holders of illegal and illegitimate artefacts of others are very good at displacing issues. Instead of concentrating on the issue of legitimacy and legality, irrelevant arguments are brought in about how efficient the present illegitimate holders are, as opposed to the rightful owners. We are also informed about how secure Western museums are as opposed to African museums, even though there have been spectacular robberies in Western museums. We hear also Western climates are better for preserving African artefacts even though these artefacts were made in Africa and stayed there for centuries before the Europeans stole them. We hear often that the West has air-conditioners and similar modern devices.

What is clear is that that many Westerners do not wish to admit that these looted and stolen artefacts ought to be returned or some arrangements be made with the rightful owners in Africa and Asia. This should have been done as part of the Independence process if the West really sought to create better relations with the new States, free of fear and resentments.

Westerners who have several anniversaries and commemorations in a year often

tell us Africans to forget the past whenever slavery, colonialism and looted

artefacts are mentioned. They do not seem to realize that this advice would put

us exactly where we were supposed to be at the beginning of Western

colonization: peoples without history. Nobody ever advises the Greeks, the

Italians, the British or the French to forget their histories. The general

insensitivity of our contemporary Westerners is what discourages many Africans

from discussing with them. One gets the impression that most of them have not

heard about the colonial period or do not understand what colonial rule meant

for Africans.

French or other Western celebrations of their presidents or other leaders cannot be viewed by Africans outside the general framework of our relations with the West if we are not to falsify our own history.

But what are African States and their cultural officials saying? Are they using every opportunity to request the return of the looted artefacts or are they keeping silent, as if they were not concerned? What is Nigeria, with its claim to leadership in this as in other areas saying? We have read information praising France and presenting France as model for restitution of cultural aretefacts but there is not a word about the three looted Nok pieces in the Palais des Sessions, held by the Musee du quai Branly.

Are Nigerian officials more concerned by other matters in Paris than by national treasures that are illegally held there, undoubtedly with a post factum consent of the government? This is of doubtful legality, insofar as a government cannot retroactively accord legality to the illegal purchase of looted artefacts prohibited by law from exportation outside the country. Governments are also subject to the internal laws of their countries. (10)

Given the prevailing neo-colonial relationships and the widespread pragmatism, some African States and museums may already have sent congratulatory messages in order to initiate their invitation to the opening of the forthcoming exhibition in honour of Chirac. Hopefully they are not preparing to celebrate this change of name. If they do celebrate, they must ask themselves what they are celebrating

Frequent demonstration of lack of self-respect and the absence of adherence to principles and consistent policies are clearly not likely to contribute to the restitution of any of the thousands of African cultural artefacts that are in Westerns museums and homes.

Cultural heritage constitutes an inalienable part of a peoples sense of self and of community, functioning as a link between the past, the present and the future;

It is essential to sensitize the public about this issue and especially the younger generation. An information campaign may prove very effective toward that end;

Certain categories of cultural property are irrevocably identified by reference to the cultural context in which they were created (unique and exceptional artworks and monuments, ritual objects, national symbols, ancestral remains, dismembered pieces of outstanding works of art). It is their original context that gives them their authenticity and unique value. (11)

Kwame Tua Opoku, 7 June, 2016

Face pendant, Baule, Cote dIvoire, now in Musee du quai Branly, Paris, France.

NOTES

1.  Lart africain comme tout grand art, me dira-t-on, en tout cas plus que tout autre, et depuis si longtemps si ce nest depuis toujours, est dabord dans lhomme, dans lemotion de lhomme transmise aux choses par lhomme et sa societe.

Cest la raison pour laquelle on ne peut separer le probleme du sort de lart africain du probleme du sort de lhomme africain, cest-a-dire en definitive du sort de lAfrique elle-meme 

Aime Cesaire,  Discours sur lart africain 

in Annick Thebia-Melsan, Aime Cesaire : Pour regarder le siecle en face, (2000, Maisonneuve & Larose, p. 25). The above extract has been taken from a brilliant statement Aime Cesaire wrote , in response to Andre Malraux who had given a statement on African art at the opening of the Colloque sur lart dans la vie du people, Dakar, 30 March-7 April 1966. (Translations from the French are by K. Opoku.) Even Andre Malraux, a man of culture, could not avoid declaring that African peoples must forget their past. Malraux had declared that what the African masks represented, like what the European cathedrals represented, was lost for ever. Africans must take into account the changes in African art and society. They must build the future on the basis of a present which did not have the same relationship with the past as it was previously. The magic world that the masks created could no longer be found again. Cesaire however argued that African art depended on the African who depended on a future Africa which had not been cut off from its traditions. See Aime Cesaire, Etudes litteraires, vol 6, no.1, 1973, pp. 99-109. http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/500270ar Malrauxs idea suggests an African art developing with no connections to the much admired sculptures whereas Cesaire correctly points out that African art is a reflection of African society and one cannot separate the one from the other. African traditions are still with us.

Perhaps Malraux, a French intellectual and a Minister of Culture under General Charles de Gaulle, aware of the importance of African art, especially African sculpture, for modern art, could probably not imagine a situation where African sculptures would be removed from French museums and leave French artists without the inspiration that undoubtedly comes from the massive presence of African art objects in France. His ideas and theories had to ensure the continued presence in France of the looted/stolen artefacts from Africa and Asia that fill French museums and homes. The universalist theory he supported was on the assumption that Europeans would annex or detach African artefacts from their social and historic context whereby the objects lose their functions in their society and become art in the imaginary museum. We are certainly not confusing the universal museum of James Cuno and Neil MacGregor with the musee imaginaire of Malraux. The effect of both conceptions is to leave the looted African artefacts in Western museums. For a useful explanation of Malrauxs museee imaginaire, see Derek Allen, Andre Malraux, The art of the museum, and the digital musee imaginaire

http://www.home.netspeed.com.au/derek.allan/musee%20imaginaire.htm

See also, Jean-Pierre Zarader, Andre Malraux-Les ecrits sur lart, Editions Cerf, Paris, 2013.

The theme of Andre Malraux and Africa can be pursued further with the

publication by Presence Africaine, Malraux et lAfrique, Actes du colloque international, 2012.

2. New name for the Musee du quai Branly in Paris?

theartnewspaper.com/.../new-name-for-the-mus-e-du-quai-branly-in-paris

http://myinforms.com/en-us/a/30557918-new-name-for-the-muse-du-quai-branly-in-paris/

Musee du Quai Branly to be renamed Musee Chirac | Bruno ...

brunoclaessens.com/2016/04/musee-du-quai-branly-to-be-renamed...

New name for the Musee du quai Branly in Paris? - Arts ...

www.newslocker.com/.../new-name-for-the-muse-du-quai-branly-in-paris

http://www.france24.com/fr/20160414-le-musee-quai-branly-portera-bientot-le-nom-jacques-chirac

www.france24.com/fr/20160414-le-musee-quai-branly...nom-jacques-chirac

Le Musee du Quai Branly portera aussi bientot le nom de Jacques Chirac www.boursorama.com  Actualites  Generales  France

Le musee du Quai Branly bientot renomme Jacques Chirac selon "Le ...

www.huffingtonpost.fr/.../musee-quai-branly-jacque.

3. Jacques Kerchache (1942-2001) spent six months in jail in Gabon for illegal

export of artefacts. In many Western circles offences relating to artefacts of

non-European peoples are regarded as mere adventurousness, a mark of youthful

exuberance and presented as badges of honour or bravery. Kerchache, a

multitalented personality, was equally hated and admired. President Chirac

wrote in an homage to Kerchache: Jacques Kerchache etait mon ami. (Jacques

Kerchache was my friend) in Jacques Kerchache, Portraits Croises,

(Gallimard/musee du quai Branly, 2003) The book contains many positive

assessments by his friends and those who knew him well. See also the

catalogue, Jacques Kerchache-Itineraire dun chercheur dart, 2003 in which

President Chirac states that it was on the advice of Kerchache that he decided to

create the Musee du quai Branly and praises the genius of Kerchache :

On the other hand, we have some very damaging critical assessment of Kerchache by Bernard Dupaigne, former head of Musee de lHomme, in his book, Le scandale des arts premiers- La veritable histoire du muse du quai Branly, (Edition Mille et une nuits, Paris, 2006).Sally Price has an interesting and useful chapter on Jacques Chirac and Jacques Kerchache, entitled Jacques and Jacques in Paris Primitive, Jacques Chiracs Museum on the Quai Branly, University of Chicago Press, 2007, pp.1-18.Benoit de LEstoile has some pertinent remarks on Kerchache in Le gout des autres-De lexposition coloniale aux arts premiers, Flammarion, 2007, pp. 261-287.Jacques Kerchache published books on African art, including, LArt africain, Citadelle et Mazenod,1988.

4. K. Opoku,  What are they really celebrating at the Musee du quai Branly, Paris?

http://www.modernghana.com/news/689178/what-are-they-really-celebrating-at-the-muse-du-quai-branly.html

5. University of Chicago Press, 2007. See a review of this book, The Logic of Non-Restitution of Cultural Objects www.museum-security.org/2007/11/the-logic-of-non-restitution-of... The French version of Sally Prices book leaves out the name of Jacques Chirac in its title, Au musee des illusions: le rendez-vous manque du quai Branly. Denoel, Paris, 2011. It would be interesting to see whether the second edition of the French version will somehow restore the name of Chirac on the cover.

6. K. Opoku, Musee du quai Branly, a museum for the art objects of others or for the looted art objects of others?

http://www.museum-security.org/2007/08/benin-to-quai-branly-a-museum-for-the-arts-of-the-others-or-for-the-stolen-arts-of-the-others/

K. Opoku, Briton of the Year: Neil MacGregor, www.elginism.com/british-museum/british-museum-director-is-briton...

7.Aminata Traore,  Ainsi nos uvres d'art ont droit de cite la ou nous sommes, dans l'ensemble, interdits de sejour  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminata_Traore

Amina Traore in interview

8. Allocution de M. Jacques Chirac, President de la Republique

a loccasion de linauguration du musee du quai Branly.

(Paris, 20 juin 2006) https://pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/editorial See Annex I. for the English text.

9. Caroline Elkins gives us a gruesome picture of British imperialism in Kenya in her book, Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britains Gulag in Kenya 2005,Henry Holt and Co. Cecil Rhodes & De Beers: Genocide Diamonds | The Espresso ...

Adam Hochschild has dealt with the cruelties of the Belgians in King Leopoldts Ghost: A Story of Greed,Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa,2012, Pan,Main Market Edition.

The literature on Germanys cruel rule in Africa is extensive. David Olusoga and Casper W.Erichsen,The Kaisers Holocaust Germanys Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism, Faber and Faber, 2010; see also K.Opoku, Have Germans Finally Acknowledged Their Extermination Wars Against The Herero, Nama, San And Damara As Genocide?

https://www.modernghana.com/.../have-germans-finally-acknowl..

The classic on colonial misrule is Andre Gide,Voyage au Congo, Gallimard,1955. Another classic on the cruel nature of French colonial domination is Terre dEbene by Albert Londres, Arlea, Paris,1922. We have also the legendary text from Aime Cesaire, Discours sur le colonialism,Presence Africaine,1955. A good English translation is by Joan Pinkham, Discourse on Colonialism, Monthly Review Press,New York,2000.

A report commissioned by the French Government contained such damaging matters that it was decided not to publish it: Le rapport Brazza. Mission denquete du Congo: rapport et documents (1905-1907) published in 2014 by

Le Passager Clandestin,with a preface by famous French historian,Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch,

10. Folarin Shyllon, Negotiations for the Return of Nok Sculptures from France to Nigeria  An Unrighteous Conclusion,

Art, Antiquity and Law8 (2003): 133-148 .See also. http://portal.unesco.org

See Sally Prices account of the illegal acquisition of the Nok pieces in Paris Primitive, pp.67-80; K. Opoku, Revisiting Looted Nigerian Nok Terracotta Sculptures in Louvre/ Musee du quai Branly, Paris,

http://www.museum-security.org/2011/07/kwame-opoku-franco-nigerian-agreement-on-lootedstolen-nok-sculpture/

11. Conclusions of the Athens International Conference on the Return of Cultural Objects to their Countries of Origin Athens, 17-18 March 2008. http://portal.unnesco.org

Nimba shoulder mask, Guinea, now in Musee du Quai Branly, Palais des Sessions, Paris, France.

ANNEX

OPENING OF THE MUSEE DU QUAI BRANLY SPEECH BY PRESIDENT JACQUES CHIRAC

12 November 2007. English text from Australian Government, Australian Council for the Arts australiacouncil.gov.au/.../speeches/opening-of-the-...

Address by M. Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic, at the opening of the Musee du Quai Branly, Paris, and Tuesday 20 June 2006.

Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Abdou Diouf, Secretary-General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Prime Ministers, Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends.

It is an immense joy and thrill for me to be here with you, who have come from all over the world, to open the Musee du Quai Branly today. Thank you kindly for accepting my invitation to this opening, which, I think, is an event of great cultural, political and moral significance.

A visit to this new institution dedicated to other cultures will be at once a breathtaking aesthetic experience and a vital lesson in humanity for our times.

As the world's nations mix as never before in history, the need for an original venue was felt, a venue that would do justice to the infinite diversity of cultures and offer a different view of the genius of the peoples and civilisations of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.

Moved by that sense of respect and acknowledgement, in 1998 I decided to create this museum, in agreement with the prime minister, Lionel Jospin.

France wished to pay homage to peoples to whom, throughout the ages, history has all too often done violence. Peoples injured and exterminated by the greed and brutality of conquerors. Peoples humiliated and scorned, denied even their own history. Peoples still now often marginalised, weakened, endangered by the inexorable advance of modernity. Peoples who want their dignity restored.

This is the spirit behind the declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples that we are drafting in Geneva and on which I know the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, and my friend Rigoberta Menchu Tum place great importance.

This is the spirit, Eliane Toldeo, in which I hailed the election of your husband as president of Peru. This is the reason that inspired me, Paul Okalik, Premier, to travel to Nunavut, with our mutual friend, Jean Chretin, in 1999.

Central to our idea is the rejection of ethnocentrism and of the indefensible pretension of the West that it alone bears the destiny of humanity, and the rejection of false evolutionism, which purports that some peoples remain immutably at an earlier stage of human evolution, and that their cultures, termed "primitive", only have value as objects of study for anthropologists or, at best, as sources of inspiration for Western artists.

Those are absurd and shocking prejudices, which must be combated. There is no hierarchy of the arts any more than there is a hierarchy of peoples. First and foremost, the Musee du Quai Branly is founded on the belief in the equal dignity of the worlds cultures.

I would like to pay homage today to the men and women who inspired the museum, starting with the late Jacques Kerchache.

With him, in 1992, while in different parts of the globe the quincentenary of the discovery of America was being celebrated, we decided to organise a major exhibition in Paris dedicated to the civilisations of the Greater Antilles, and in particular to the Tano Indians of the Arawak group, the people who welcomed Christopher Columbus to the shores of the Americas but were subsequently exterminated. It is also to Jacques Kerchache that we owe the admirable rooms of the Pavillon des Sessions at the Louvre.

I also extend my warmest thanks to all the men and women who helped bring the Musee du Quai Branly into existence and who surpassed themselves to ensure that everything was complete on time.

Jean Nouvel, Gilles Clement, and their teams, who have crafted a building of masterful architecture, suffused with respect for the visitor, the environment, the works and the cultures that produced them.

Germain Viatte and the curators, whose superb museography interweaves approaches and dissolves the artificial distinction between art and anthropology, affording visitors the pleasure of discovery and sensitivity and inviting them to open their eyes and broaden their horizons.

Stephane Martin and his staff, who administer this original institution and will assuredly make it an uncontested centre for education, research and dialogue and a venue for contemporary art, testifying to the vitality of the cultures to which it is dedicated. A vitality to which the magnificient Australian Aboriginal ceilings testify.

I also express my profound gratitude to all the patrons who have rallied round the project and supported it so generously.

The Musee du Quai Branly will, of course, be one of the largest museums dedicated to the arts and civilisations of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, with a collection of almost 300,000 pieces, including exceptional works, such as this totem pole from British Columbia and the splendid monumental Djennenke sculpture from the Bandiagara Plateau in Mali.

But it is much more than a museum. By multiplying viewpoints, the venues ambition is to render the depth and complexity of the arts and civilisations of all those continents. In so doing, it seeks to encourage a different - more open and respectful - view in the broadest possible audience, by dispelling the mists of ignorance, condescension and arrogance that, in the past, so often bred mistrust, scorn and rejection.

Far removed from the stereotypes of the savage or primitive, the museum seeks to communicate the eminent value of these different cultures - some of which have been lost, many of which are endangered - these "fragile flowers of difference" in the words of Claude Levi-Strauss, which must be protected at all costs.

Because "the first peoples" possess a wealth of knowledge, culture and history. They are the custodians of ancestral wisdom, of refined imagination, filled with wonderful myths, and of high artistic expression whose masterpieces rival the finest examples of Western art.

By showing that there are other ways of acting and thinking, other connections between beings, other ways of relating to the world, the Musee du Quai Branly celebrates the luxuriant, fascinating and magnificent variety of human creativity. It proclaims that no one people, no one nation, no one civilisation represents or sums up human genius. Each culture enriches humanity with its share of beauty and truth, and it is only through their continuously renewed expression that we can perceive the universal that brings us together.

That diversity is a treasure that we must preserve now more than ever. In globalisation, humanity is glimpsing the possibility of unity, that age-old dream of the Utopians, which has become the promise of our destiny. At the same time, however, standardisation is gaining ground, with the worldwide expansion of the law of the market.

But who can fail to understand that when globalisation brings uniformisation it can only exacerbate tensions between different identities, at the risk of igniting murderous violence? Who does not feel a new ethical imperative, faced with the confusing questions thrown up by the rapid development of scientific knowledge and our technological achievements? As we search falteringly for a development model that would conserve our environment, who does not seek another way of looking at man and nature?

That is also the idea behind this museum. To hold up the infinite diversity of peoples and arts against the bland, looming grip of uniformity. To offer imagination, inspiration and dreaming against the temptation of disenchantment. To show the interactions and collaboration between cultures, described by Claude Levi-Strauss, which never cease to intertwine the threads of the human adventure. To promote the importance of breaking down barriers, of openness and mutual understanding against the clash of identities and the mentality of closure and segregation. To gather all people who, throughout the world, strive to promote dialogue between cultures and civilisations.

France has made that ambition its own. France expresses it tirelessly in international forums and takes it to the heart of the world's major debates. France bears it with passion and conviction, because it accords with our calling as a nation that has long prized the universal but that, over the course of a tumultuous history, has learned the value of otherness.

Ladies and Gentlemen, more than ever, the destiny of the world lies in the capacity of peoples to have an enlightened view of each other and share their differences and cultures, so that, in its infinite diversity, humanity can gather around the values that unite it.

May the visitors who pass through the doors of the Musee du Quai Branly be filled with emotion and wonderment. May they come to realise that this knowledge is irreplaceable. May they in turn become bearers of the message of peace, tolerance and respect for others.

Thank you.
I had a deep conviction just last night that my hustle is about to intensify, mainly because I recently started to execute my plan of action as a social entrepreneur. So I spent last night and early this morning meditating on the priceless spirit of this piece of writing.

Okay, hustle today; enjoy riches tomorrow. Is that a highly problematic philosophy to prosecute? It actually works perfectly since it sums up the success story of a real filthy rich individual. Believe it or not! If you implement it, you will reap the rewards; but if you ignore it, prosperity and greatness will always elude you.

Moreover, it saddens me that the vast majority of Ghanaian youths are desperate for riches but are surprisingly lacking in hustle. I laugh when I hear young people dream of becoming millionaires one day, yet they are unwilling to be hustlers today. It is absolutely impossible unless they become corrupt African politicians, fraudsters, demon worshippers or gain million dollars worth of inheritance.

To me, jobless graduates are the laziest people in our part of the world. Do you know why? These folks have little or no regard for hustle, however, they have the guts to blame the government, economy, family and the educational system for their self-imposed predicaments. Funnily enough, they lament their untoward conditions rather than hustling now to emerge wealthy in the near future.

Also, I will be extremely shocked to see non-hustling colleagues of mine surpass me in wealth terms in future. Well, you may think my posture looks condescending. Actually, I mean; while a chunk of my contemporaries are compelled to literally chase higher, diverse and superb academic qualifications, I keep hustling hard and smartly with my unrivalled potential to the detriment of my academics. Because, academic qualifications can never override hustle in any way when it comes to gaining riches. Besides, "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work," Stephen King revealed.

And nothing on earth can convince me that I cannot establish a writing empire in the world when I have started my own writing firm with no capital, assets, employees, business links etc. but my spirit of hustle. For Kanye West was turned down by several record labels when he dropped out of college to pursue full-time music. He defiantly pressed ahead with his musical ambitions, and he is now worth over $140 million as a multiple Grammy award-winning rapper. In fact, his success story exemplifies " hustle today; enjoy riches tomorrow." Remember, hustling really epitomises Swami Sivananda's quote, "Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success."

Source: sirarticle.blogspot.com
The Country Manager of MODEC, Neil Woodcock has called for a larger representation of skilled local human resource in the Ghanaian oil and gas industry.

According to him, there is a gap in the skill sets needed for the oil and gas industry.

Majority of indigenous people who call themselves 'welders and fabricators' do not have any formal education and practical training as well as the required international certifications, he said.

He stated that he lack of certification has made it difficult to engage them in the upstream petroleum sector.

In light of this, MODEC, in collaboration with Tullow Ghana Limited, has funded and constructed a state-of-the-art Welder Training Centre at the Regional Maritime University (RMU) in Accra.

The 1.6 million dollar training centre is expected to spearhead Ghana's quest to become a major energy hub in the Region.

The first of its kind in Ghana, the centre is equipped with the best welding equipment and training technology in the region.

It will be accredited by the American Welding Society (AWS) and its training programmes will be in modules which will accommodate 20 students at a time.

This partnership between MODEC and RMU is a mutually benefiting enterprise, said Ing. Papa Benin, Project Manager MODEC.

In that both organizations get the opportunity to leave footprints in Ghana's agenda of becoming labor sufficient in the oil and gas industry and the destination for internationally accepted training programmes and institutions, he added.

The Regional Maritime University (RMU) a Maritime Educational and Training Institution based in Accra, Ghana sought to bridge this gap by launching its Offshore Oil and Gas Safety Training Centre in February 2010.

The centre was set up to provide cost effective training to Ghanaians to augment the Local Content and Local Participation in Petroleum Activities Policy Framework of the Government of Ghana.

However, due to a shortfall in proper facilities, it lacked the capacity to churn out properly accredited welders to feed the labour needs created by the new oil and gas industry.

Expressing confidence in the initiative, Ing. Addy Lamptey, Provost of the Regional Maritime University, said the project will significantly benefit RMU and raise its profile as a destination for high quality educational and technical training programmes.

The University is excited at the prospect of now being in the position to provide internationally accepted training and accreditation to boost the labor pool for the Oil and Gas Sector and the engineering associated companies in the country and the region at large, he said.

The Welder Training Centre is expected to accept its first class of students in July, 2016.



By: Norvan Acquah  Hayford/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
By Belinda Ayamgha, GNA

Accra, June 11, GNA - Ghana would hold the maiden the ECOWAS Industrial Summit on July 21, 2016, to bring together stakeholders to deliberate the Sub-region's industrial development to enhance the socio-economic wellbeing of citizens.

The Summit, which originally was to be organised by the ECOWAS Commission Secretariat, would now be hosted by Ghana with the participation by other ECOWAS-member countries.

The ECOWAS Commission had notified Ghana of its inability to co-organise the Summit due to some internal challenge from its reorganisation activities.

The Government thus took full responsibility for the organisation, and a planning committee consisting representatives of the relevant ministries, departments and agencies, began its work in September 2015.

Dr. Ekwow Spio Garbrah, the Minister of Trade and Industry, at a media launch of the programme, said the Summit was very critical for Ghana's future and its economy.

He said the Government had invited ECOWAS ministers and industrialists, as well as potential investors outside the Sub-region in Africa, and in Europe, Asia and the United States, to participate in the Summit.

Dr Spio-Garbrah said in view of the importance of the Summit, the Government had invited key personalities such as the Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the President of the African Development Bank, saying those two played critical roles in the industrialisation of Africa, especially in the agro sector.

The one-day summit would be held at the Accra International Conference Centre with President John Dramani Mahama as the Guest of Honour.

A meeting of African Free Zones Association to deliberate the utlisation of free zones to improve Africa's competitive and manufacturing proficiency, among other issues, would be held the day before the Summit.

The Summit would immediately be followed by the Ghana-China Investment Forum, which would look at investment opportunities in Ghana for China, the next day.

Dr Spio-Garbrah said China had made a name for itself on the global scale as an export-oriented industrial nation and was now looking to relocate some of its factories to other parts of the world, including South East Asia and Africa because of the rising costs of labour in China.

'It makes more sense for them to ship their equipment to Africa to process goods to supply the West African Sub-region,' he said. 'They've written to us along those lines and Ghana intends to become the hub for the West African Sub-region for industrialisation purposes.'

The Trade Minister said Ghana was the most logical destination suited to some kinds of industry, in spite of some challenges, including unreliable and inadequate power supply.

He urged the private sector and businesses in Ghana to support the Summit as they stood to benefit from a vibrant industry and increased investment.

GNA
Johannesburg (AFP) - A potentially explosive report into corruption allegations against South African President Jacob Zuma will not be released on Friday as expected, lawyers said during last-minute court proceedings.

The investigation by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela was to be unveiled in Pretoria, one day before she steps down from a job in which she has regularly clashed with the president.

Madonsela's report probed allegations that Zuma allowed the wealthy Gupta family to have undue influence over government, even having the power to nominate cabinet ministers.

Zuma, 74, has survived a series of damaging scandals while in office, but has faced increasing criticism as the economy stalls and after the ruling ANC party suffered unprecedented losses in local polls.

Zuma and David van Rooyen, a minister implicated by the investigation, both launched court action to prevent the planned release of the report on Friday.

They have complained they were not given enough time to respond to Madonsela's questions.

"Our client has taken the decision in the exercise of her discretion not to release the report (today)," a member of Madonsela's legal team told the High Court in Pretoria.

Another court hearing on Zuma's attempt to block the report is scheduled for Tuesday.

The president was last week quizzed by Madonsela as part of the probe.

Van Rooyen replaced trusted Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in December, but was removed from the job after only four days, following a market plunge and political outrage.

Under Madonsela, the Public Protector's office has gained a reputation as a formidable corruption buster, handing down scathing findings against Zuma, state agencies and public companies.

She leaves office after completing her non-renewable seven-year term.
you are here:
The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana.
Rauner Vetoes Another Major Human Services Spending Bill

By aaroncynic in News on Jun 10, 2016 10:51PM



Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner speaks at an event in Springfield. Photo by Aaron Cynic

Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed a $3.9 billion spending bill today, a predictable move that will leave already financially beleaguered social service agencies and schools underfunded.

The State has gone too long without a balanced budget. State vendors and service providers have gone too long without payment. We need real solutions to our fiscal problems, not unfunded, empty promises, wrote Rauner in a letter to members of the General Assembly published by Capitol Fax. Today I return Senate Bill 2046 and implore the General Assembly to pass a complete, balanced budget for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017.

The veto is the latest in what is now almost a year-long war of words between the governor and Democratic lawmakers thats made Illinois the only state in the union to go without a budget for FY16. In his letter, Rauner added:

Without a balanced budget, an appropriation is just an unfunded, empty promise - a check written from an over-drawn bank account...The only way to ensure that social services are fully funded is to pass a balanced budget, where spending is in line with revenues.

Getting spending in line with revenues however could be almost an impossible task, given that the governor has said he wouldnt approve any measures to do that without acceptance of pieces of his Turnaround agenda. Critics of Rauners proposals have called them non-budgetary items and said they would weaken labor in favor of big business. Given that some of the measuresincluding changing the states tax code from a flat one to a progressive one and closing corporate tax loopholeswould impact some of the governors wealthiest donors, its likely hell find any way to fight them.

The spending bill was approved by both the House and the Senate in April and wouldve provided funding for human service agencies for the current budget year, which will end in just 20 days. A spokesperson for Senate President John Cullerton said while the veto was disappointing, it underscores the need for immediate action on the balanced, bipartisan emergency budget for human service providers that has been on his desk for nearly a month.

That proposal would provide an immediate injection of $700 million for social service agencies - many of which would be forced to make additional cuts or close altogether. "While this is not a permanent solution to Illinois' budget impasse, it is a positive sign that bipartisan compromise can be found to benefit citizens who rely on critical state services, wrote State Rep Carol Sente in a press release published by the Tribune.

Rauner however, has been dismissive of that measure as well, the Tribune reports.


A private US railway company abruptly backed out of a deal with a Chinese consortium on Wednesday to build a high-speed rail line from Los Angeles, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada.

XpressWest Enterprises, a passenger rail venture supported by a Las Vegas hotel and casino developer, announced nine months ago that China Railway International USA Co would build the line. CRI is made up of State-owned railway equipment subsidiaries and service providers.

The sudden change of direction caught many by surprise, including CRI, which said breaking the deal was irresponsible and a violation of the agreement it had signed last year with XpressWest.

In a statement posted online, XpressWest said it was constrained by US government regulations.

"Our biggest challenge continues to be the federal government's requirement that high-speed trains must be manufactured in the United States," it said. "As everyone knows, there are no high-speed trains manufactured in the United States. This inflexible requirement has been a fundamental barrier to financing high-speed rail in our country."

XpressWest and CRI agreed in September to advance the substantial work already completed by XpressWest.

The 370-kilometer XpressWest high-speed railway project  also called the Southwest Rail Network  would connect Southern California with the Nevada gambling mecca using advanced tracks and equipment.

"The unilateral announcement violates the cooperation framework agreement signed by the two sides, which stipulates that one side should not release related information without approval by the other. The executive is responsible for the joint venture," said an official at CRI who did not want to be named.

The official said China Railway Corp Group, the main shareholder and the country's railway service provider, will take all necessary measures to ensure that its interests in the US are protected.

CRI, is a consortium of China Railway Construction Corp, China Railway Corp Group, China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, China State Construction Engineering Corp and China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group.

Construction work was planned to start as early as September this year, with total investment estimated at $12.7 billion.

"Traditionally, a weak global economy generates additional demand for all types of protectionism," said Luo Renjian, a researcher at the Institute of Transport Research at the National Development and Reform Commission. "China is especially targeted as a primary manufacturing rival and a serious threat to US industrial jobs in the manufacturing, transportation and telecommunication sectors."

Luo said such protectionism should not be allowed to pressure Chinese railway equipment providers and infrastructure construction companies.

Both CRI and XpressWest said their governments have much to talk about, especially regarding global and regional challenges and fair opportunities for US companies to choose global partners.

Ma Yu, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said there has been an obvious rise in global trade protectionism, in particular from the United States and its close trading partners, including Turkey, India and the European Union.
Should we raise the minimum wage to $15 nationwide? Should we give every American a minimum income for life -- perhaps $13,000 a year, as conservative pundit Charles Murray suggested recently in the Wall Street Journal?

These ideas, which are being debated with escalating excitement, have the allure of being dead simple. As a rallying cry, Fight for fifteen! sounds a lot better than, Lets raise the minimum wage to a reasonable level commensurate with the strength of different regional economies.

The latter is, more or less, what New York state did when it passed its $15 wage law last year. Politicians hiked the minimum wage faster in New York City, but slower in other, less bustling, parts of the state. Obviously, a dollar goes a lot further in Albany than it does in Manhattan.

If the nation gave everyone a basic minimum income, people might start to think more seriously about geographic arbitrage: migrating where the cost of living is cheaper. A frugal person could head to Beckley, West Virginia; or Danville, Illinois; or Rome, Georgia. -- which the Bureau of Economic Analysis says are some of the least expensive places to live, taking into account average local rents and prices.

Of course, you could move to these places right now, but you might have trouble finding a job that pays enough to make it worthwhile. With the boost of a minimum basic income, you could afford to take a bigger pay cut yet still end up feeling richer.

Pew recently did a fun calculation showing the metropolitan areas where wages were highest after adjusting for the local cost of living. Weve (somewhat) replicated those results showing the top 10 places with the highest wages before and after applying BEAs cost adjustment.

Some places, like San Jose, California, and San Francisco, have high wages even relative to their sky-high local rents and prices. The wages in oil towns like Midland and Odessa begin to rival the wages in coastal cities once you adjust for purchasing power.

(Some data notes: This is using data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages covering the entire year of 2014 . Some of the differences between places may reflect different mixes of part-time and full-time workers. The latest calculations for local cost of living only cover 2013, so we used those . The BEA releases its own cost-adjusted estimates of local incomes, but thats total income -- including rental income, capital gains, government transfers, etc. Were just interested in labor market earnings.)

There are is pretty similar to calculations that Richard Florida did at CityLab a few years ago . He went further, though, in an effort to investigate why some places have such higher costs of living. Rent, of course, is a big reason why coastal metros are so expensive. But the cost of living is also correlated with higher economic activity and more educated workers.

One spot of good news: There doesnt seem to be any correlation between high local prices and income inequality. Heres a scatter chart to illustrate. Each dot represents a metropolitan area. Dots toward the left side have lower costs of living. Dots on the right side of higher costs of living. Dots near the top have higher income inequality. Dots near the bottom have lower income inequality.
June 08--Determined to press the Texas Democratic Party to adopt a more aggressive stance on climate change and hydraulic fracturing, an Austin environmental activist is gearing up for a guerrilla maneuver on the floor of the partys state convention next week in San Antonio.

Jere Locke, who runs the nonprofit Texas Drought Project and has long been involved in environmental matters in Central Texas, has recruited volunteers to gather thousands of signatures during the convention, to be held June 17-18, in a bid to force stronger language onto the partys platform.

The platform serves as a guiding document for the party and its candidates. For the Democrats, who hold no statewide elected offices, the platform is also meant to serve as a sort of blueprint back to victory, one that balances convictions with pragmatism for a party whose members range from the liberal bastions of the big cities to the more conservative oil and gas fields south of San Antonio and in West Texas.

Currently, the state Democratic Party platform says the state is blessed with natural gas and oil resources and new hydraulic fracturing technologies for extraction have opened up vast resources.

Locke said the language is too rosy on fracturing, in which millions of gallons of water, mixed with sand and chemicals, are injected into rock thousands of feet underground to extract natural gas. Environmentalists say fracturing and related industrial activities have led to groundwater contamination, air pollution and earthquakes.

The platform calls for a verifiable and thorough review of the deleterious effects of hydraulic fracturing -- but Locke says that needs updating because deleterious effects have been documented.

The Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, has documented no contamination of groundwater. And natural gas companies argue the fuel burns cleaner than coal.

But Locke wants the party to adopt language calling for a ban on new hydraulic fracturing operations.

Dissatisfied with early discussions on the state party platform advisory committee on which he sits -- Locke said the reaction has been lukewarm about more aggressive language -- he says he is preparing for the petition drive. He will need to get signatures from at least 4,500 delegates, or about half the total delegate count, to get his language in the party platform.

Were going to take it to the floor, said Locke, adding that he recently bought 140 clipboards and has been busily recruiting volunteers to work on the delegates at the convention. Were interested in winning, but also in educating people.

Locke said he suspected that utility companies that sponsor the convention had played a role in what he deemed watered-down language: CenterPoint Energy, Atmos Energy, Luminant, Oncor and TXU Energy are among the events business sponsors.

But Manny Garcia, a Texas Democratic Party deputy executive director, said the sponsors played no role in constructing the party platform.

The platform is done out in the open, Garcia said. He himself is on the committee: All he has to do is work with his colleagues on the committee and work with the committee chair to get it done.

Another Austin environmental activist, Karen Hadden, who has previously worked on party platform language, said some of the energy and environmental language, last adopted in 2014, needs some strengthening.

Some people will try to do that, and some people will fight it, she said. But I dont think theres anything out of the ordinary.

The platform-writing process is consensus driven, said AJ Durrani, a former Shell executive from the Houston area who also serves on the advisory committee.

Every member of that committee has a feeling about how that platform should be written, he said. Whenever you have a committee of people, the result is a collective statement that one person might not want, but that most everyone might agree to.

___

(c)2016 Austin American-Statesman, Texas

Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A little bit of West Texas can be seen on todays broadcast of the Tony Awards. Michael Arden, a former Pickwick Player and 2000 Trinity School graduate, is up for best director of a musical for Spring Awakening by Deaf West Theater. But in his eyes, he and the show have already won.

Based on the 1891 play by Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening is a rock musical set in late-19th-century Germany about teens who begin to confront their feelings and responses to love, sex and a rebellion.

Hours before rehearsal began on Thursday for a performance by his cast at the awards, the Tony nominee spoke with Midland Reporter-Telegram about the shows humble beginnings, directing his partner and what his acceptance speech would be if he won.

MRT: Congratulations on the nomination. Lets start with the obvious. How does it feel to be up for a Tony award?

Arden: It feels incredible, but more than anything, Im happy this company will get to perform on Sunday at the Tonys and show American Sign Language (ASL) on this platform of prime time. Thats so exciting and even bigger than the award.

MRT: Why is that?

Arden: Its a milestone in terms of inclusivity both for theater and media. We had the first person in a wheelchair perform on Broadway.

MRT: What is your relationship with Deaf West?

Arden: Before them, I didnt know a deaf person. Life leads you down an unexpected corridor and it will never be the same. I made my Broadway debut through Deaf West in 2003 with Big River and now Ive directed this show with them. I love the culture and its welcomed me so Im really fighting for them.

MRT: The show started in Los Angeles where Deaf West is based. How has the journey been to receiving a nomination for Best Revival of a Musical?

Arden: Back then, we were raising money on Kickstarter to put this on in a 99-seat theater. We were using furniture from my living room and clothes from my closet. Fast forward and were performing at the Tonys. I think why were here today is because we set out to create a piece of theater that could touch and help people and do something special. That was our goal all along.

MRT: So there were no original plans for Broadway?

Arden: Never. As we began to do it here, the show didnt change. We retained the cast and it really became even more special.

MRT: How did ASL affect the show with its heavy topics and dramatic exchanges?

Arden: We didnt change the words of the play, but it made the context much more immediate and engaging. As it unfolded itself, it became more poignant.

MRT: How was your Pickwick experience?

Arden: Pickwick Players was the greatest thing that could have happened -- both that and Midland Community Theatre. Had I not had Pickwicks to go to and a circle of friends who cared about something and doing creative, who knows where I might have ended up? I feel so lucky that I was able to get a head start on my life as an artist.

MRT: What did you learn then that has stuck with you?

Arden: It wasnt just about training artists. Doing a play forced us to collaborate and problem-solve. Its learning how to build communication. Pickwicks gave me tools to develop and sharpen as an actor and a person. I cant imagine anyone who has been in the Players where it hasnt affected their life down that road as an adult.

MRT: For Spring Awakening, can you talk about the cast and using sign language?

Arden: On top of learning their lines, hearing actors had to learn them in ASL which was an arduous process. Deaf actors performed in ASL only. Then the band provided voices for deaf actors. Everyone had to come in and learn new skill. And they had to learn how to follow ASL. It was a big step outside of their comfort zones but it also eliminated any ego.

On top of that, there are different signs for the same words, but I had to figure what looked best on each actor. Theres a choreography to it and even in rehearsing for Sunday, Im still fitting the right signs, but I never wanted the experience to favor one audience over the other.

MRT: Your fiance, Andy Mientus, was part of the cast. How was it to direct your partner?

Arden: I had trepidations at first. He replaced someone along the way but he had played the role on the first national tour so he knew the part. I was scared of the nepotism of it all but it was a complete joy and more than anything, hes an incredible and smart actor. Creatively, we were on the same page and respect each other. Plus, we shared the cab ride home.

MRT: There was an online fund to help send the cast to the Tonys to perform. How was it to reach your goal?

Arden: We met it yesterday morning, actually. That was so thrilling. The show closed six months ago and it wasnt built to make money so we had to pay for things to get the show done. Then we had to pay to get our cast there but the reason we are performing is because of the people who supported us and thats how this all started. Its the perfect bookend to this show.

MRT: Have you thought about if you won?

Arden: (Laughs.) Well, yeah, Ive daydreamed and imagined. What would be incredible is if the show won Best Revival, but to me, I feel like we already won. To be remembered six months after we closed never happens so its exciting that were here and invited to perform. If we win, it would be a huge celebration of diversity and if I accept an award, it would be for everyone whos been told because of who they are or their lack of ability that they cant. You can do anything.
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One of six men arrested last weekend and charged with online solicitation of a minor was a former youth pastor of an Odessa church. The pastor of Westwood Baptist Church on Friday released a statement regarding the arrest of Matthew Holman, 35.

It is with great sadness that we have to address this issue. Matthew Holman, who has been in the employ of the church as youth minister since mid-January, was dismissed from this position as of June 5, Weeks DuBose said. The privileges of church membership were withdrawn from Matthew as well. There have been no reports or questions of impropriety regarding Matthew from anyone.
In 2014, Mrs. Chen, too old to care herself, was sent to a senior home by her oldest son, who visited her routinely and paid for her stay.

Known as "parent abandoners," some offspring leave their elderly parents at retirement homes without paying for the bill.

But when the son passed away last year, the responsibility of caring for the old lady fell to her youngest son. However, he never stopped coming back after a few visits.

With an almost 20,000 yuan bill, or US$ 3,038, left uncovered, the senior's home tried to get in touch with him, only to find that he had changed his phone number and moved from his former residence.

Such phenomena abound in China's major cities and are becoming increasingly common.

Parent abandoner

The retirement home, an alternative to stay-at-home care, is now being taken advantage of by some disloyal offspring who wish to avoid their familial responsibility.

Called a parent abandoner, they send parents to a nursing home, leave some money behind to cover the cost and then never come back.

Wang Fei, director of the Yihe retirement home in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, recalled that the most impressive "deserter" was a young man who claimed to be so preoccupied with business that he had to leave his parent at the retirement home for "better" care.

He was said to have left 1,400 yuan, almost US$ 212.7, and signed a service agreement with the senior's home. But he never came back.

"We later found out that his phone number and address were false," said Wang. Her firm has no choice but to cover the rest of the costs.

In an attempt to control parent abandoners, some retirement homes conduct reference checks for their potential customers and even make written guarantees for the minimum number of visits during a parent's stay.

However, such measures have mostly proved to be in vain.

"They just come and pay the money, then leave," said Wang who pointed out that even volunteers visit the elderly more often than the seniors' own children.

The "old" problem

The number of people aged 60 and above in China is expected to jump from the current figure of 185 million to 487 million by 2053, according to figures from the China National Committee On Aging.

As China's population ages, new problems will appear.

This January, three siblings were accused of criminal abandonment and sentenced to six months in prison with one-year probation on allegations of refusing to support their parent and delaying payment to a retirement home.

Most of the cases that occur in retirement homes can't constitute criminal abandonment, because they are not serious enough to be prosecuted, said Huang Wentao, a lawyer at Chunyi law firm in Henan Province.

Some experts suggest that China could draw lessons from overseas and set up a property trustee system for the seniors.

"There still needs to be a lot of legislation for this to work," said Huang. "But whether at home or the retirement home, the elderly have a lawful right to be taken care of."
The differences between China and the U.S. over the South China Sea issue have become a matter of concern and even anxiety. But some of the perceptions in the U.S. and elsewhere about Chinas policy and intentions in the area are misplaced. A pressing task is to understand the facts and Chinas intentions correctly so as to avoid real danger and consequences as a result of misinterpretation and miscalculation.

The issues in the South China Sea revolve around territorial and maritime jurisdiction. China believes it is doing nothing more than maintaining and defending legitimate territorial claims and maritime rights. Reclamation and construction works have taken place on islands and reefs that have long been under Chinas control, and many of the facilities are for civilian purposes and public good, such as navigation and rescue services, emergency relief, scientific research, and environmental protection. There are limited defense facilities, but they do not represent a militarization of the area. We believe that recent statements and military deployments by the U.S. have had the effect of escalating tension in the region and, if not curbed, risk the very militarization we all wish to avoid.

Some people have called on China to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and to agree to international arbitration, which was initiated by the Philippines. But these same people are denying Chinas rights under the convention. Our view is that the convention does not cover sovereignty and territorial issues -- yet the very subject of the arbitration is territorial sovereignty. China will therefore neither participate nor accept the arbitration, for we maintain that the tribunal has no jurisdiction in this realm. Besides, it is ironic that the U.S. seeks to use against us a United Nations convention that it itself has refused to ratify.

The concept of freedom of navigation is frequently used to justify actions by the U.S. in the South China Sea. This is an additional irony. The U.S. has used freedom-of-navigation operations to challenge the very concept as it was defined by the convention, believing treaty provisions would restrict its navys ability to move freely around the world.

Worst of all, Chinas policy on the South China Sea has been grossly misperceived as a strategic move to challenge U.S. dominance in the Asia-Pacific region and the world. Some people even go so far as to raise the idea of a so-called Asian version of the Monroe Doctrine. However, China believes that the concept of sphere of influence is out-of-date in the 21st century. China consistently strives for regional cooperation, and we respect Americas traditional presence and legitimate interests in the Asia-Pacific region. The reality is not that China is trying to drive anyone out, but that there are attempts to deny Chinas legitimate and expanding interests in its own region.

Indeed, China has long called for peaceful and direct negotiations with relevant claimant states to manage and eventually resolve the South China Sea disputes. This remains unchanged -- just as we remain open to working to forge a code of conduct for the region with the 10 ASEAN countries.

China-U.S. relations are too important for us to allow them to be hijacked by the South China Sea issue. We may have major differences, but we also share important interests, including maintaining regional peace and stability, supporting freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, and resolving disputes through peaceful negotiations and diplomatic dialogue. The region should not become a competing ground for China and the U.S. In fact, we have significant potential for cooperation in this region and beyond. Witness our coast guards, which patrolled jointly to enforce the fishery rules in the western Pacific.

The good news is that leaders in China and the United States have demonstrated the political will to manage our differences and keep them under control. We continue to talk. We on the Chinese side are ready to work in a constructive manner -- and we are hopeful that the U.S. will demonstrate the same spirit.

Cui Tiankai is the Chinese ambassador to the United States.

The article was originally published on Bloomberg website on June 1.
"If it requires removing all cabinet ...
White House Facebook posting announcing the Yosemite visit View Photos

Yosemite, CA  To take in the great American outdoors, the White House has announced the President, with family in tow, will take a summer trip that includes heading to Yosemite National park.

The visit is to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Americas National Park system. On the White Houses Facebook page, the President posted his plans enthusiastically stating, I want to make sure that the whole world is able to pass on to future generations the God-given beauty of this planet. The posting also includes this video titled POTUS in the Wild noting the 250 million acres and national parks the President has visited and encouraging the public to take in all the beautiful landscapes offered.

The Commander-In-Chief, First Lady and both daughters are expected to make the trek to Yosemite next week sometime between Friday and Saturday. The First Family will also head to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, which officials there are already touting on their Facebook page exclaiming, We are so honored and excited to share this news.

Security is expected to be heightened for the visit, but no details have yet been released from Yosemite officials.
HWY 49 crash and fire View Photos

Update at 5:20 p.m.: Cal Fire reports the fire is contained at under 10 acres.

Update at 4:55 p.m.: The CHP reports Highway 49 has reopened and there are no injuries involved in the wreck. However, Cal Fire reports the fire has grown to 10 acres.

Update at 4:30 p.m.: Firefighters are battling a 6 to 7-acre fire after a vehicle hit a cable pole along Highway 49 near Buckskin way in the San Andreas area. Cal Fire reports the rate of spread is moderate. The highway was shut down for about 15 minutes but officers are now directing one-way traffic control and traffic is backed up.

Original post at 4:15 p.m.: San Andreas, CA  Firefighters are heading to a vehicle and vegetation fire in the San Andreas area.

The CHP reports a vehicle struck a pole and caught on fire. The flames have spread to grass along Highway 49 and Buckskin Way near the San Andreas Airport, according to Cal Fire. The highway is completely shut down. Motorists in the area are going to want to slow down and use caution. We will bring you more details as soon as they come into the news center.
Tuolumne County voters View Photos

Sacramento, CA  California election officials report although there are still several million votes left to be counted, it is unlikely to make a difference among most contests including the Democratic presidential race.

Nearly 2.6 million ballots have yet to be counted in Californias presidential primary election, according to Secretary of State Alex Padilla. If all the ballots are certified, he concludes that will put the states voter turnout at around 8.9 million, or 49 percent, which surpasses the 31 percent of registered voters who casts ballots in the 2012 presidential primary. However, this years projected total is 9 percent less than the 58 percent turnout in 2008, as earlier reported here.

The survey released by Padillas office showed that out of the unprocessed ballots at 58 county elections offices, Los Angeles County had the most remaining with nearly 616,000 outstanding votes to count. In the state, over 6 million ballots have been tallied to date. The final count does not have to be certified by counties until early July. Padillas office notes that the remaining ballots are unlikely to change the Democratic presidential race away from nominee Hillary Clinton to challenger Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

As previously reported, the race between incumbent Sonora Councilmember Bill Canning and former member Matt Hawkins has widened. Updated local election results can be found here.
Yosemite, CA  It can be challenging to find a space at the Yosemite National Park prompting a new pilot program to be tested on two upcoming weekends.

Now visitors can reserve spots thanks to a pilot program that guarantees day-use parking in Yosemite Valley the weekends of June 25-26 and July 2-4, 2016. The only condition is that you have to arrive before 11:00 a.m. at the lot located directly west of Yosemite Valley Lodge and South of Camp 4 adjacent to shuttle bus stops, which will transport travelers to destinations in the park.

A total of 150 parking spaces are available each day during those weekends. To reserve your spot, click here or call 1-877-444-6777. There is a $1.50 per transaction with no refunds or cancellations if you arrive after 11:00 A.M.

Park officials state the goal of the program is to reduce visitors parking frustrations while ensuring all parking stalls are utilized and to encourage the use of free transit within the park. The program will be evaluated for its effectiveness once completed. If deemed successful, park officials indicate the program may be extended throughout the remaining summer season to include Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday weekends.
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The second time is the charm for the launch of a rocket carrying a secret satellite from our Space Coast.

United Launch Alliance launched a classified intelligence mission aboard a powerful Delta IV Heavy rocket Saturday afternoon from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The Delta IV Heavy rocket departed from Complex 37 at 1:51 p.m.

On board and heading to orbit, a National Reconnaissance Office satellite -- a top secret mission that is classified per national security guidelines. The launch was delayed 48 hours due to weather. But Saturday it all came together with a flawless countdown.

The Delta IV Heavy rocket, one of the most powerful in the world, stands at 235 feet and weighs more than 1.5 million pounds once fuel tanks are filled to capacity.

At about 9:36 a.m. Saturday ULA said that fueling was underway for the launch:



Due to the secrecy surrounding the launch, ULA will only be releasing limited information about the progress about the upper stage engine firings and release of the payload.

It will be a quick turnaround for launches at the Cape Canaveral AFS., SpaceX will take the stage this upcoming Wednesday, sending two communication satellites to orbit.
As one Orange County independent movie theater looks to expand, theyre hoping a donation will help them be more inclusive in the process.

Enzian received a $9,000 donation from a long-time supporter

The money was used to purchase special closed-captioning glasses

Enzian hopes a future expansion will allow for more programs

This week, Enzian Theater received a $9,000 donation from long-time theater supporter, Clinton Foulk. The theater used the money to purchase six sets of special closed-captioning glasses, helping those who are hearing impaired understand the on-screen dialogue.

The 86-year-old man said he had two motivations: helping Enzian with expansion and improving his own experience, as he, himself, wears hearing aids.

We are so grateful and very excited, said Valerie Cisneros, the marketing manager at Enzian. Our goal is to always be more inclusive, offer more to the community.

Cisneros, 27, was a longtime patron of the theater before she headed up marketing operations.

Enzian is more than a movie theater. Its a place where the community can gather and share meaningful experiences. Its a place where you can find films you cant find anywhere else, she said.

Friday, more than 100 children from Park Maitland poured into the theater, located nearby. The kids rounded out their last day of a three-week camp by catching a movie and munching on snacks.

Its going to be really exciting because its our first time doing this. We get to eat popcorn and sit and watch the movie, said 12-year-old Bobby Simon. Its just so cool since its right by our school. And we could come here all the time if we want.

Meanwhile, the non-profit theater is raising millions in donations towards expansion. So far, they have raised $4.5 million of the $6 million dollar construction goal.

Were limited by this single screen. Were hoping that by adding two additional screens, that well be able to offer everything the community wants and more, said Cisneros.

They currently run 1,100 programs a year, with their ten-day Florida Film Festival as their flagship event. In the future, with more space, Cisneros said Enzian hopes to host other types of fests, including partnering with Hispanic and LGBT communities.

I love seeing someones face light up when they walk into the theater for the first time, she said.
Eight local and area 4-H members, including two from Plainview, are among the 70 Texas 4-H members who were awarded $1.26 million in scholarships from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The scholarships were announced Thursday, June 9, during the Texas 4-H Roundup in College Station.

Texas 4-H selected the students, who will each receive a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo $18,000, four-year scholarship.

Miranda Hastey, a recent graduate of Plainview High School, and Abbey Maresca, who graduated from Plainview Christian High School, were the two recipients from Hale County.

Castro County 4-H had one scholarship recipient, Roxanne Wilhelm.

Lamb County 4-H had four to receive scholarships, Patricia Azua, Joseph Burt, Hunter Kloiber and Joseph Stewart.

Swisher County 4-H had one recipient, Tizzy Walker.

Texas 4-H prepares students to be mindful of agriculture and to know the importance of education, and theyll carry these values with them, regardless of their future endeavors, said Joel Cowley, Houston Stock Show president and CEO. That makes this scholarship program a special tradition for both organizations.

Texas 4-H is one of the shows oldest scholarship programs, with the first scholarship awarded in 1957. Since then, Texas 4-H members have received more than 2,270 scholarships from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The 70 scholarships awarded at the 2016 Roundup represent just a portion of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeos 2016 educational commitment of nearly $26 million to scholarships, research, endowments, calf scramble participants, junior show exhibitors, School Art participants and other educational programs.

These scholars will have another opportunity in their college careers to receive additional financial support through the shows Achievement Scholarship Program. The program allows college students currently receiving show scholarships to apply for an additional $4,000 per semester, for up to four semesters of their junior and senior years of undergraduate studies. The Achievement Scholarships allow each student the possibility of receiving a maximum of $34,000 in scholarships from show.
The growing popularity of online auctions has paid big dividends for Hale County, generating more than $325,000 in the past six years.

We tried traditional auctions in years past, usually at the Ollie Liner Center, explains Precinct 4 Commissioner Benny Cantwell. But they were never really successful. We sold vehicles and other items, but they usually went pretty cheap.

The county had a little better success when offering retired vehicles and equipment at the annual farm equipment harvest auctions since they drew larger crowds. Of course, part of the profit from each sale was used to pay commissions to the auctioneer.

I was looking for other options when I stumbled across Lone Star Auctions, Cantwell said. I talked to them and it seemed pretty simple. All we had to do was take a picture and write a description, and they did the rest. We didnt have to load everything up and take it anywhere. It is all done online, with the buyer coming to pick up the stuff they buy.

The countys first Lone Star Auction was in August 2010, and it generated $8,740. Since then, the county has held 11 online auctions with a total income of $325,017.50. There are normally one or two auctions per year. The most recent closed May 15, 2016, with proceeds of $44,610.

We started out paying a commission to Lone Star, but signed a new contract in 2014 or 2015, Cantwell said. Thats when they quit charging us. Now, the buyer pays all fees.

While the county hasnt sold much heavy equipment through online auctions, it has offered backhoes, front-end loaders, vehicles, furniture, trailers and a variety of other items. Heavy equipment, including motorgraders, is normally purchased with a guaranteed buyback provision from the dealership.

Weve sold some decent pieces of equipment as well as items which were totally unusable, Cantwell said. Weve sold horses, donkeys and even a llama. And weve sold several pickups for much more than what we were offered for trade-in. (Commissioner) Mario Martinez had a pickup that sold for triple what he had been offered, and (Constable) Mark Mulls Tahoe brought double what had been offered.

Online auctions have drawn local buyers as well as those from throughout Texas and surrounding states. Weve have people drive in from El Paso, the Gulf Coast, and Colorado to pick up stuff. Some items have been sold three times, after bidders paid for them but never picked them up.

Among more popular auctions were those featuring items involving drug seizures, as well as things confiscated or found by law enforcement or the court.

Our auctions have ranged from a single item to as many as 120-130 lots, whatever we have available, Cantwell said. Among more unusual items were four or five gas yard lights at the courthouse. A man from Seminole bought them for $75 each. They were basically just poles, although one still had a head. He was here to pick up a trailer, so he loaded up the poles and took them with him.

It takes time to take pictures and write up the descriptions, but the auctions have been very successful in bringing revenue back to the county, Cantwell said. Weve really had good success with specialty items, such as from the Appraisal District.

Cantwell and fellow commissioners are now going through items stored in the courthouse basement and elsewhere, including desks, chairs and other furniture, to see if they are suitable for auction. Well probably have another sale before the end of the year.
The Plainview/Hale County Crimestoppers Committee will pay a reward of up to $550 to anyone with information that will lead to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for the following crimes:

--On June 6, someone entered a building at 710 Milwee and took a North American red enclosed trailer, Traiger grill, 12 firearms and an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency.

--On May 21, someone took two Kubota riding lawn mowers and a Kubota ATV from James Bros. Implements, 3201 N. I-27.

The Plainview/Hale County Crimestoppers Committee will pay a reward of up to $350 to anyone with information that will lead to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for the following crimes:

--On June 8, someone entered 1113 Joliet and took a dryer, plasma TV, Vizio DVD player and a red colored string weed trimmer.

--On June 1, someone took a Murray lawnmower and string weed trimmer from a garage at 1621 Utica.

--On June 3, someone entered 1207 W. Ninth and took an assorted knife collection, RC model cars, floor mats and a BMX bicycle.

--On June 2, someone entered 108 SE Ninth and took a washer, dryer, 55-inch TV and a king size box frame and mattress.

--On May 25, someone entered 1613 Oakland and took a 60-inch Vizio TV, and a 55-inch Vizio TV.

--On May 26, someone entered 1311 Smyth and took a Stratocaster electric guitar, a Peavey guitar, Sony PlayStation 2, PlayStation 1, skull ring and three gift cards.

--On May 19, someone entered 2401 E. Fifth and took a Kenmore washer and dryer.

Fugitives: Crimestoppers will pay a reward of up to $250 for information that leads to the arrest of the following persons. Warrants have been issued for their arrest. Callers can contact the Hale County Sheriffs Office Warrants Division at 296-2724 or contact the Crimestoppers Hotline.

--Jose Bernardino Ojeda, 24, Hispanic male is wanted for possession of controlled substance.

--Christopher Jay Davis, 26, white male is wanted for bond surrender.

--Randall Keith Alexander, 21, white male is wanted for a sexual assault.

--Lorenzo Pineda Alvarez, 62, Hispanic male is wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

--Manuel David Cervantes, 33, Hispanic male is wanted for motion to revoke probation possession controlled substance.

--Pierre Chico Hawkins, 41, black male is wanted for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

--Arthur Larry Lewis Jr., 51, white male is wanted for aggravated sexual assault.

Anyone having information on the above crimes or any other crimes occurring in Plainview or Hale County can contact the Crimestoppers Hotline at 293-8477 (293-TIPS). All calls will be confidential.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloys line-item vetoes to the budget sparked a week long back-and-forth between his administration, Democratic lawmakers and Republican legislative leaders.



The exchanged peaked Thursday with a series of statements and responses from legislative leaders from each party calling the other side hypocrites, and continued Friday with Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, saying Republicans vote against the interests of poor people.



House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, began the exchange with a letter to Malloy Monday questioning his decision last week to use line-item vetoes to cut $22.5 million from the budget, including $20 million in municipal aid.



Malloys chief of staff, Brian Durand, responded two days later saying in his own letter that the cuts were made because of the legislatures approval of a measure to require insurance companies to cover 3-D mammography and not approving Malloys proposed bail reform.



Whether the offsetting reductions are to municipalities or other programs, we need to be sure that we are cutting only what is absolutely necessary, she said.



Durand said the 3-D mammography bill, which Klarides championed, carried increased costs for the state, while bail reform, which she publicly opposed, would have helped the state save $15 million by closing a prison.



Durand said it would be irresponsible to sign a budget that would be out of balance the moment he signed it, and noted Republicans proposed closing a prison in their own spending plan last session.



Klarides and Senate Minority Leader Leonard Fasano, R-North Haven, then sent a letter to Democratic legislative leaders seeking support to override the vetoes.



To do so, two-thirds of lawmakers in each chamber, both controlled by Democrats, would need to agree to go against Malloys veto.



Along with municipal aid, Malloy also cut $1.7 million for the Connecticut Humanities Council and $775,000 for federally qualified health centers.



The governors vetoed line item cuts to the budget show a disregard for the groups we have constantly made our priority to protect, the two Republican leaders wrote. They also accused Malloy of trying to inflict pain on lawmakers who opposed bail reform.



Duff, who sets the Senates calendar as majority leader, responded with a statement Thursday saying the level of hypocrisy in the Republicans request is mind-boggling.



If you cut down all the trees in all the forests of our beautiful state you still wouldnt have enough paper to list all the times Republican legislators voted to cut various types of local funding  oftentimes for education  and services for the poor, including health care, he also said.



He also said Republicans are solely focused on winning legislative races in November. Fasano issued his own statement later in the day saying the irrational and baseless response from Duff is rooted in fear.



He specifically criticized Duffs complaint that the Republican budget proposal was out of balance  they adjusted it days later after hearing from nonpartisan legislative analysts  and said the roll over Democrats continue to support the disastrous fiscal policies of the administration.



Duff issued another statement Friday calling it absurd for Republicans to be concerned about the budget cuts. He also said Republican votes against the Earned Income Tax Credit and minimum wage increases demonstrate that they dont share concerns of lower-income residents.



Now, with an election looming, they say they care, Duff said. What a coincidence.



msavino@record-journal.com 203-317-2266 Twitter: @reporter_savino






HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  A nonprofit agency that provides confidential help to Connecticut health care professionals suffering from behavioral or mental health issues, drug dependency or other medical issues is hopeful a six-month delay in funds it expected from a special state license fee will soon be cleared up.



The Health Assistance InterVention Education Network has been struggling financially for several months and the organizations executive director, Maureen Sullivan Dinnan, has feared the organization would have to scale back or possibly shutter its consultation and support services. HAVEN matches professionals with care while monitoring their progress and managing cases.



But HAVEN officials were surprised Friday to receive a contract with the Department of Public Health for them to review.



Im very encouraged that this is now going to be starting these discussions, Dinnan said. These funds are essential for us to continue.



Currently, the independent corporation, founded by various state medical associations, works with about 300 health care professionals.



Department of Public Health spokeswoman Maura Downes said the money will eventually reach HAVEN. She said the delayed release of funds has nothing to do with state budget problems and the money has not been spent.



Downes said the funds will be distributed to HAVEN once the state has a signed contract with the organization, a process thats been delayed for several reasons, including the difficulty of trying to isolate a $5 increase state lawmakers added to annual license fees for certain medical professionals. She confirmed a contract was sent Friday to HAVEN for review.



HAVEN was still reviewing the document. Its unclear whether the group will agree to the terms and when the money will ultimately be released.



Weve been working on this for months to get this resolved, Downes said. Unfortunately, its taken longer than anyone realized to calculate what that amount of money is and to come up with a contract.



The General Assemblys Office of Fiscal Analysis has estimated the extra $5 fee would generate $450,000 this year. The fee took effect in October. State law required the transfer quarterly, beginning in January. The extra money was supposed to help compensate HAVEN for a predicted caseload increase after the General Assembly also expanded the list of health care professionals who must now report when they suspect a colleague is having a problem that could affect patient safety.



Dinnan said HAVEN has received more professionals seeking referrals for care but no extra money. She said the program, which has five staff and about 20 volunteers, needs funding for two more case managers and a medical director with specialties that meet the demand for services.



Downes said the Department of Public Health has determined it collected $146,000 in the quarter it began charging the extra $5 fee. She said that money will eventually be sent to HAVEN. She said its unclear how much HAVEN can expect annually because the number of license renewals fluctuates considering theyre renewed on a licensees birth date.






NORTH HAVEN  Firefighters battled a structure fire on Mansfield Road early Saturday morning, according to fire officials.



At this time, the fire is considered highly suspicious, Chief Paul Januszewski said in a statement. Anyone with information regarding this mornings incident should contact the fire department immediately.



The call came in around 4:54 a.m., Januszewski said. When fire crews arrived at the vacant property, a three-car garage was engulfed in flames.



Due to the location and time of day, notification to the department was delayed, Januszewski said.



A tanker was requested from the Wallingford Fire Department to assist in extinguishing the fire. There were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation.






PLAINVILLE  A second man faces charges after police said he was involved in an assault outside the Imperial Buffet in March.



Luis Omar Santiago-Arroyo, 37, of 931 West Main St., New Britain, was arrested on Thursday and charged with second-degree assault, risk of injury to a minor, second-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree assault and breach of peace.



Luis Santiago, 47, of 931 West Main St., New Britain, was previously arrested and charged with risk of injury to a minor, conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, third-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, and breach of peace. Police noted the two men are brothers and Santiago-Arroyo goes by the first name Omar, the report said.



According to the arrest warrant, on March 5 police responded to a report of a large fight outside the Imperial Buffet on New Britain Avenue around 8:41 p.m. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a group of five people and were told two men fled the scene. Officers determined the five people were at the restaurant together when the two men walked by their table, the warrant said. An argument ensued, and the two groups went outside, the warrant said.



A fight broke out, and during the incident Santiago began physically fighting with a juvenile in the other group, the warrant said. Santiago-Arroyo intervened and struck the juvenile in the head, causing him to become unconscious, the warrant noted. Santiago got into another physical altercation with an adult in the other group and Santiago-Arroyo hit her in the head as well, causing her to fall, the warrant said. Police spoke with witnesses, and could not determine who started the fight, the warrant said. The juvenile was taken to a hospital and was treated for a concussion, the warrant noted.



Police identified Santiago as one of the men involved, but were looking for information to identify the second man, the warrant noted. Santiago eventually told police the second man was Santiago-Arroyo, his brother visiting from Puerto Rico, the warrant said. Santiago-Arroyo was released on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in Bristol Superior Court on June 20.






NEW BRITAIN  A Southington woman charged in a fatal crash in April was ordered under house arrest during a court appearance on Friday.



Krista Pikora, 26, of 2118 Meriden- Waterbury Turnpike, Southington, was charged Thursday with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, second- degree assault with a motor vehicle, driving under the influence, reckless driving and failure to drive right.



On April 30 around 12:19 a.m., Pikora was driving her Jeep on West Center Street, near Summit Street, when she crossed the centerline and struck a Kia Spectra head on, according to her arrest warrant. Brandon Caron, 30, of 45 Willis St., Bristol, who was driving the Kia, was taken to Waterbury Hospital in critical condition and later died. His passenger and girlfriend, Kelly Brennan, 26, of Southington, was also seriously injured.



Pikora, who was also seriously injured in the crash, turned herself in to police Thursday morning and was released without bond after being arraigned in Bristol Superior Court.



During an appearance Friday in New Britain Superior Court, Judge Joan Alexander placed Pikora under house arrest with GPS monitoring and ordered her not to drive. She is allowed to go to court hearings, medical appointments, school and work. According to statements in court, Pikora is seeing a therapist. The case was continued to July 15.



Police said Pikora had been drinking at three establishments on the day of the crash. She went to 66 Church in Naugatuck from about 1 to about 8p.m., then met her boyfriend, Ryan Lair, and family at Smokin With Chris in Southington, then went to Friends Cafe, also in Southington, until just after midnight, the warrant said. At each of the establishments, Pikora had alcoholic drinks, including craft beers, a margarita and a shot of whiskey, the warrant said. Lair, a Southington police officer, bought her the shot of whiskey and was with her at Friends Cafe, the warrant said. Lair drove Pikora back to her car, which was at Smokin With Chris, the warrant said.



Police viewed security footage from the establishments and noted that at Friends Cafe Pikora was stumbling and falling before leaving with Lair, the warrant said. Lair told an investigating officer that he drove Pikora from the cafe to her car so that she could follow him home. Captain Lowell DePalma said the department would be investigating Lairs actions.



John Williams, a New Haven attorney specializing in police misconduct and criminal defense, said he does not think the officer will face civil liability.



I think the law is pretty clear, if youre a police officer or not, you dont have a duty to stop someone from driving drunk, Williams said.



Lairs actions, however, could result in administrative charges by the police department, according to Williams.



Jeremiah OConnor, a Meriden attorney, said such cases are dependent on specific facts, such as whether or not an off-duty officer purchased alcohol for someone.



He agreed there is no legal requirement that anyone, civilian or an off-duty officer, stop someone from driving drunk.



Morally wrong and legally wrong are very much two different things, OConnor said.



OConnor also believes the officer is likely to face administrative charges.






A woman struck and killed by a paratransit bus after the driver dropped her off at a busy San Francisco intersection was identified Friday as an 86-year-old city resident, officials said.

Lurilla Harris, who was identified by the medical examiner, was struck and dragged through the intersection of Geary Boulevard and Franklin Street around 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, police said.

Harris was run over by the SF Paratransit bus  a service contracted by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency for people with disabilities  that she had just gotten off, authorities said.

Harris was dropped off on the east side of Franklin and was using a walker to cross in front of the northbound bus when the driver hit and dragged her nearly 30 feet, said San Francisco police Lt. Steven Ford.

She was trapped beneath the bus and was pronounced dead at the scene, Ford said.

Allen Pross of San Francisco was driving back from a doctors appointment when he pulled up to the intersection in his minivan around 10:45 a.m. and saw the woman attempting to cross Franklin Street against the light.

He said Harris walked in front of the paratransit bus, but stopped and appeared to use caution as cars in the next lanes sped by. As she took a step back in front of the bus to avoid the traffic, the bus driver accelerated and struck her, Pross said.

The driver began to accelerate, knocking her and her walker to the ground, Pross said. I watched in complete shock, expecting him to quickly stop and get out of his vehicle to aid her. Several nearby pedestrians started yelling in vain, Stop, stop. You've hit someone.

He said the bus continued over the womans body and did not stop until it made it to the other side of the intersection.

Pross described the incident as gruesome and said it will be nearly impossible to shake what he saw from his memory.

The only consolation I have found is that once she was knocked down, I do not believe that she was conscious to feel the tremendous trauma that occurred to her body, Pross said. This is a day I will not soon forget.

Police officials continued to investigate the crash on Friday and said the driver was cooperating.

Kevin Schultz and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kschultz@sfchronicle.com and jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: KevinEdSchultz @JennaJourno
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UC Santa Cruz officials have suspended a fraternity, a sorority and six students who were arrested last week after federal agents and local police seized thousands of tablets of the drug MDMA during raids on three off-campus residences.

The interim suspensions, announced in an email to students Tuesday, will last until the campus own judicial proceedings are complete. The accused students also face criminal charges ranging from conspiracy to possession of a controlled substance.

We hold our students to a high standard and care about the well-being of every member of our campus community, Alison Galloway, provost and executive vice chancellor, said in the email, encouraging students with drug or alcohol problems to seek help through various campus offices.

On Friday, three off-campus residences were raided by investigators who were tipped off by Homeland Security and a San Jose postal inspector that suspicious packages from overseas were headed for the Santa Cruz addresses.

The bust turned up about 5,000 tablets of MDMA, also known as Ecstasy. Police estimated the street value at more than $100,000.

Officers arrested Mariah Dremel, Benny Liu, Cesar Casil, Hoai Nguyen, Cecilia Le, all age 21, and Nathan Tieu, 22, and accused them operating a drug ring. The first four were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and possession of a controlled substance for sale. Nguyen and Le were arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance.

The students are all out on bail, and charges had not been filed as of Wednesday morning.

The students are members of the Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity and the alpha Kappa Delta Phi sorority, both of which are affiliated with the campus. Some of the arrested students hold leadership positions in the groups, according to Galloways email.

In separate statements, national leaders of the fraternity and sorority said they sent cease-and-desist orders to the Santa Cruz chapters and that the incident does not reflect the values of the organizations.

The six students did not immediately respond to requests for comment by email. A man who answered the phone at Dremels family home declined to comment.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
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To read the poems of Rita Dove, to go where they take you, is to follow her deeply into a series of themes and their subsets: African-Americans in history and right now, ideas of indenture and independence, sex, travel, language (she compares commas to miniature scythes), family, motherhood, roomy adult love and whatever is coming out of the radio.

The verse in Doves career-spanning new Collected Poems: 1974-2004 demonstrates that this poets work leans, too, on the consolations of food: fried fish and hominy, martinis and beer, caviar and sour herring.

Bee vomit, a boy tells his sister in one poem, thats all honey is.

In another, theres this snapshot of the breakfast table: You are mine, I say to the twice-dunked cruller/before I eat it.

Perhaps you grew up, as I did, attaching your addiction to reading with an addiction to eating. (Come for the erudition; stay for the early onset diabetes.) So, it seems, did Dove, who recalls in In the Old Neighborhood, one of her most evocative poems:

Candy buttons went with Brenda Starr,/Bazooka bubble gum with the Justice/ League of America. Fig Newtons/ and King Lear, bitter lemon as well/ for Othello, that desolate/conspicuous soul.

More Information Collected Poems: 1974-2004 By Rita Dove W.W. Norton, $39.95 See More Collapse

There are so many casual pleasures in Doves poetry that the precision and dexterity in her work  the darkness, too  can catch you unawares. Take for example Parsley, the final poem in her collection Museum (1983).

Parsley. Its a garnish. Its also the word that Rafael Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic, used in 1937 to send thousands of immigrant Haitian cane-cutters to their deaths. He identified the Creole-speaking Haitians by having his soldiers demand they pronounce the Spanish word em>perejil/em> (parsley). They were killed if they could not properly roll their Rs.

Doves poem about this massacre is among her most ambitious and assured. She moves between perspectives. At one moment we are in the cane fields, the next Trujillos palace. She pivots formally, too, between hints of the sestina and the villanelle.

In Trujillo we witness homicidal glee but also a bruised humanity. Dove writes:

The general sees the fields of sugarcane,/ lashed by/ rain and streaming./ He sees his mothers smile, the teeth/ gnawed to arrowheads. He hears/ the Haitians sing without Rs/ as they swing the great machetes:/ Katalina, they sing, Katalina,/ mi madle, mi amol en muelte. God knows/ his mother was no stupid woman; she/ could roll her Rs like a queen.

Dove was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1952. Her father was one of the first black chemists in the American tire industry. She was a gifted and determined student. She studied in West Germany on a Fulbright scholarship and received her MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop in 1977. Her first book of poems, The Yellow House on the Corner, was published in 1980.

She won a Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for Thomas and Beulah, a collection based loosely on the lives of her maternal grandparents.

In Thomas and Beulah, she woos back her memories of her own family and through them scrutinizes the moral arc of the 20th century.

A poem from that collection, Wingfoot Lake (Independence Day, 1964), so well observed that your heart and your internal cinema struggle to hold all it puts on display, begins:

On her 36th birthday, Thomas had shown her/ her first swimming pool. It had been his favorite color, exactly  just/ so much of it, the swimmers white arms jutting/ into the chevrons of high society./ She had rolled up her window/ And told him to drive on, fast.

From 1993 to 1995 Dove served as Poet Laureate of the United States.

The collections that followed her term were Mother Love (1995), the haunting On the Bus With Rosa Parks (1999) and American Smooth (2004).

American Smooth sprang from Doves interest in dance, its strictures and freedoms. She refers to it in one poem, in a metaphor for writing poetry, as such perfect agony/one learns to smile through.

A fox trot is compared to Nat King Coles slow satin smile.

Thanks to the magic of YouTube, there are videos of the author dancing the tango, the rumba, the samba, the waltz, her regal head titled upward like Nefertitis.

Collected Poems: 1974-2004 somewhat curiously omits Doves most recent book, Sonata Mulattica (2009), about the life of the biracial violinist George Bridgetower, perhaps because that volume is more a book-length poem than a collection.

I am not a fan of most travel poems, at least not the ones that advertise the writers international fellowships and scrutinize Italian statuary and English shrubbery. Doves poems of this nature are better than most. Shes funny; shes after experience; her opinions are fresh.

She has opinions on many things. In the Used, from Mother Love, she asks:

Have you ever tried silk sheets? I did,/ persuaded by postnatal dread/ and a Macys clerk to bargain for more zip./ We couldnt hang on, slipped/ to the floor and by morning the quilts/ had slid off, too. Enough of guilt / Its hard work staying cool.

Doves poems have earthiness, originality, power and range. Despair and loss are among her central themes, but so is the hunt for bedrock human pleasures. As she writes in a poem called Rusks,

As my mama always said:/ half a happiness is better/ than none at goddam all.
Historian Karl Jacoby was driving near the Texas-Mexico border when he was stopped by the U.S. Border Patrol, the agency charged with keeping Mexicans out of the United States.

He explained, to their dismay, that he was writing a book about a Texan who had tried desperately to cross into Mexico.

In the completed book, The Strange Career of William Ellis, Jacoby has pieced together of the life a former slave who transformed himself into a wealthy Mexican.

Ellis was born to a mixed-race mother on a cotton plantation in Victoria one year before slavery ended, but found transformation in San Antonio, then the hub of commerce between the United States and Mexico.

He was born in between in multiple ways, Jacoby said. There was this fault line between slavery and freedom and what that might mean. There was also a fault line between the United States and Mexico.

Both nations were courting immigrants as business boomed in the Gilded Age at the end of the 19th century.

More Information The Strange Career of William Ellis: The Texas Slave Who Became a Mexican Millionaire By Karl Jacoby W.W. Norton, $27.95 See More Collapse

Victoria was the outer fringe,where the Mexican ranching frontier and United States cotton culture met, Jacoby said. San Antonio was the hub of transport across the border to Monterrey. Then the trains came and opened it up, and everything exploded.

Ellis had a knack for language and soon served as an interpreter while working in the leather and wool trade.

Its remarkable  the boldness of what he did, Jacoby said. Its easy to locate in historical records  he took out a full page ad in the city directory. He flipped the script. Instead of being a worker in someones store, all of a sudden he was running a large concern and doing it quite publicly.

The newly renamed Guillermo Eliseo set up shop in the center of downtown commerce  Military Plaza.

He wasnt hiding on the outskirts, Jacoby said. He was out in the open.

That was important to Ellis/Eliseos success, said the author, who teaches at Columbia University.

Slaves from Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico had been escaping in large numbers across the border to Mexico.

After being granted their freedom, African-Americans were quickly mired in Jim Crow laws that largely nullified it.

Ellis was code-shifting, Jacoby said. While passing is to completely surrender yourself to a new identity, he was strategically moving back and forth. He would rupture the stereotype of the African-American and play on the stereotype of the Mexican, so he could make his way in this world.

Ellis brother-in-law was the only African-American physician in San Antonio at the time and lived just a few blocks from Ellis, but in the city directory a C next to the doctors name signified him as colored. In a San Antonio that was then a third Tejano, no such C appeared initially by Ellis/Eliseos name.

Ellis kept one foot in his African-American past through heavy involvement in the largely black Republican Party, but it proved his undoing, Jacoby said.

When the dots were finally connected between the freed slave and the Mexican businessman, Ellis vanished, only to reappear in New York City as an even more flamboyant Mexican businessman, this time on Wall Street.

The book plays on the trickster of African-American fiction, Jacoby said.

The trickster is a character who simultaneously creates order and disorder, Jacoby said. In doing so, the trickster shows you where the boundaries are. Ellis was able to transgress every boundary U.S. culture tried to place on him.

His dual life also reflected the differing views on race in the United States, where a single drop of African-American blood classified a person as black, and Mexico, where the mixed race Mestizo was revered, Jacoby said. Despite its own history of slavery, Mexico disavowed the concept long before the United States.

It all underscores how basically fictional race is, Jacoby said.

The book presents Ellis as a dreamer/schemer whose big plans proved as much fantasy as fact.

Jacobys initial interest in Ellis was sparked as a graduate student when he read of a plan Ellis organized to bring freed U.S. slaves to Mexico as sharecroppers. The plan eventually failed.

Ellis did have some success with controlling water companies in New York, but his far-flung adventures also included business failures, near misses and intrigue. His early trade negotiations with Ethiopia even brought him under suspicion of a murder that Jacoby gives little credence.

You could never have made this story up, Jacoby said of Elliss life. What I love about history is its capacity to surprise me. When you can grasp the unexpected, it makes you reconsider your conceptions of the past.
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STAMFORD  A boat is a hard thing to miss in Connecticut. So a dearth of 14,000 over the last decade has some boating enthusiasts concerned about their whereabouts.

New state figures show the number of recreational boats plying Connecticut waters have dropped 10 percent since 2006, and registrations are down to levels not seen since 1990.

Where did they go?

Thats a good question, said Kathleen Burns, executive director of the Connecticut Marine Trades Association, which represents the recreational boating industry in the state. Burns and her organization have been examining the declining number of registered boats for years.

I think there are a variety of things going on. Some of those are indicative of other industry challenges like the overall economy and how we are growing, Burns said. I think the economy has played into it since 2008. The recreational boating industry was greatly impacted by the recession.

Back-to-back hurricanes, Irene and Sandy, didnt make a recovery any easier, she added.

The new data from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) shows 98,361 boats were registered last year in Connecticut  the fewest in 25 years  and a far cry from a peak of 112,319 in 2006.

In Stamford, the number of boats kept at city-owned marinas has dropped more than a quarter over the past 10 years, which includes the loss of Cummings Park marina in 2011 to Superstorm Sandy.

Last year, in the two remaining marinas, 322 slips were rented and boaters have claimed 300 so far this year, according to Frank Fedeli, supervisor for the citys permitting office. That compares to a combined 456 rented slips at Cove Island, Cummings Park and Czescik marinas a decade ago.

Changing of the guard

Todd Breden, general manager of Brewer Yacht Haven on the East Branch of Stamford Harbor, said his 368 slips are 82 percent full. He said as more older boaters stop going out on the water, there are fewer from younger generations taking their place.

What I have seen is a kind of changing of the guard, he said. We have a lot of customers passing away or reaching an age where they are getting out of boating. There are just not as many new boaters coming into the industry than those going out.

The marina launched last year the Freedom Boat Club, an alternative to owning a boat geared toward younger people, in hopes of getting them interested in yachting. Breden said the club now has 25 members in Stamford, mostly young, who book time on four center console motor boats ranging from 22- to 24-feet long.

We started it because we are trying to introduce boating to new people and give them an opportunity to get out on the water for an inexpensive price, he said.

Capt. Henry Marx, owner of Landfall Navigation, the West Side marine supply and training center, said Stamford lost its status as a boating center when Building, Land and Technology demolished Brewers Yacht Haven West in 2011.

We used to have boatyards, now we have restaurant row and brownfield, he said.

But he said the boating industry, which is now offering 20-foot center console motorboats for $100,000, is also to blame.

You want to know why boating is in decline? The boating industry is pricing itself out of the market, Marx said. You say whats wrong with boating is everything costs too much, but that is because nobody wants a simple boat anymore.

Quiet waters

The scene on the water has drastically changed over the years, Marx said. He said he sailed to Mystic on Memorial Day weekend in 2015 and noticed only a handful of recreational boats on the water during his 100-mile trip home along nearly the entire states coastline on a bright sunny day.

Thats not the way I remember Memorial Day in the 50s and 60s, he said.

Tim Rath has been noticing fewer boats in Stamford Harbor since the recession in 2008. His perspective is unique. He spent 40 summers working with Shippan Scuba Diving Service cleaning the bottoms of as many as 60 boats each day in Fairfield and Westchester counties.

Rath, 58, who recently retired, remembers the days in the 1980s when buying a boat was challenging because there were no slips available in Stamford Harbor.

Rath expected the demise of Brewers Yacht Haven West, one of the Northeasts largest full-service marinas with its 360 slips, to send boats to the harbor's other marinas.

But the 2,000 slips in the harbor still are not full.

Now you can find one just about anywhere you want, Rath said. Its a shame.

Rath said it isnt just the local boats that are missing. Many of the big boats, the 100-footers that were registered out of state but spent a lot of time in the harbor, have also disappeared.

Wealthy people are leaving the state, he said.

Eleanor Mariani, director of the DEEPs boating division, said part of the problem could be attributed to millennials who havent taken up the hobby.

According to a recent article in Soundings Trade Only Today, the average boater is about 55 years old and that age increases by about six months every year.

Mariani also noted many people are now enjoying the water in other ways like standing up on a paddleboard or in a kayak, neither of which need to be registered.

I dont know whether people just arent boating anymore, she said. I think in the last few years with the economy, people just havent had the disposable income and with the higher gas prices, it has slowed down. Hopefully, that will turn around.

jnickerson@scni.com;
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Albany

Here is the upshot of an audit released Friday by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli: Without revenue from Video Lottery Terminals, the New York Racing Association's thoroughbred operations wouldn't be financially able to stand on its own four hooves.

The comptroller concluded, for example, that NYRA's numbers-crunchers left out the costs of pension and retiree health benefit obligations in proclaiming a $1.7 million surplus in their racing operations for 2014.

Had they accounted for those costs, NYRA would have had a $11.5 million deficit in 2014, according to the audit.

Overall, the comptroller's audit found NYRA's traditional racing operations alone led to a $109 million deficit over five years.

"NYRA relies on Video Lottery Terminals to stay in the black, but that revenue stream isn't guaranteed to continue as strongly, especially as new casinos open up across the state," DiNapoli said in a prepared statement. Three new upstate gambling casinos are set to open in the next year.

"NYRA needs to come up with a plan to make money on racing operations, especially as it seeks to return to private control," DiNapoli added. "Without such a plan, NYRA's long-term solvency could be a long shot."

The audit covered 2012, 2013 and 2014. NYRA holds the franchise to operate the thoroughbred tracks at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga.

DiNapoli also questioned some of the association's expenses, including the $4.3 million on consultants NYRA used and a $250,000 bonus paid to CEO Christopher Kay.

NYRA's General Counsel Joseph Lambert said the bonus was in keeping with what a compensation consultant advised.

Lambert also said by excluding pension obligations, NYRA is merely focusing on operations rather than items that are beyond their control.

But state auditors responded that retirement costs  which are, in effect, personnel costs  should be within management's control.

NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna in a prepared statement added that "the purpose of the OSC's audit was to determine if NYRA received, spent and accounted for its revenues and expenses properly. The OSC's report clearly states that we did."

"This finding has been previously reported by our accounting firm, KPMG, who has issued a 'clean audit' for each of the last four years," he said.

The report came out a day before the famed Belmont stakes set for Saturday, during a crucial period for NYRA's future.

Lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are looking at competing plans to bring control of the not-for-profit association back to private hands.

NYRA has been controlled by a special state-controlled board since 2012, following a period in which it was mired in debt and reeling from a scandal over betting payouts.

Among the sticking points now between lawmakers and Cuomo are the number of appointments the governor would get on a new, privately controlled NYRA board. Cuomo wants to appoint four; a legislative proposal calls for two members on a 15-member board.

Also at issue is how much of the video gaming money should go to NYRA.

There is an estimated pot of nearly $60 million for capital improvements and operating expenses flowing from the VLTs each year, but the Cuomo plan would lower that to $46 million. More money could be negotiated in the annual state budget under the Cuomo proposal, according to those who have viewed it.

NYRA and track supporters, maintain the VLT money amounts to a mortgage payment from the state rather than a subsidy, since NYRA deeded the land at their tracks in Saratoga, Aqueduct and Belmont to New York when the association was flirting with bankruptcy.

NYRA's McKenna in an additional statement said, "NYRA conveyed over $1 billion worth of land and intellectual property to the state in exchange for VLT payments to be made annually over a number of years. What would be the point of conveying land without receiving money in return, and using that money to help run the business?"

He added, "There was never any requirement, contrary to the OSC claim, that NYRA must have a budget that determines profitability exclusive of those VLT funds. Instead, NYRA has used those funds to support jobs in the state's agriculture and tourism sectors, and also serve as the cornerstone of the horse racing industry in New York, an industry that generates a $2 billion economic impact."

"The VLT money is contractually owed for land that was given to the state,'' added John Hendrickson, who until recently was a non-voting advisory NYRA board member appointed by Cuomo. "They are not support payments; they are mortgage payments."

Hendrickson resigned last week, saying he was frustrated with what he believes are counterproductive moves and proposals by the governor, especially regarding the VLT money.

Hendrickson said NYRA uses the same accounting practices that government agencies use.

State and local governments in New York have been accused by fiscal conservatives of underemphasizing the looming costs of pension benefits as the workers age and more public-sector retirees collect benefits.

There are just three days left in the legislative session.

If the lawmakers and governor don't agree on re-privatization the special state-appointed reorganization board  which was in place during the audit period  would likely remain in place.

rkarlin@timesunion.com  518-454-5758  @RickKarlinTU
Growers are gearing up for the sweet, but short, strawberry season this year with many in the area aiming to open their fields to pickers this weekend and next week.

Behind California and Florida, Michigan ranks among the leading strawberry-producing states. Last year, Michigan farmers produced about 2.8 million pounds of strawberries, with a production value of over $4.3 million, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

This years crop is just about ready to be picked.

Jacques Orchard, at 2275 N. Iva Road, in Hemlock, about a 20-minute drive from Midland, says its 4,000 strawberry plants have had very little frost damage.

It looked really good until we had this drought, owner and farmer Lynne Jacques said. (The strawberries) look great, but we really need this rain.

The orchard hopes to open Wednesday, June 15. Hours are dependent on the crops and Mother Nature (the berries need warmer, wetter weather). Jacques suggests those wanting to pick call before coming out (989-642-3522). Prices are $1.90 a pound; $3.50 a quart; and $25 a flat, which yields about eight quarts. The farm has mostly the jewel variety of strawberry, a firm and wide berry with good flavor.

Further south, Poindexter Farms in Wheeler says it has bumped up its starting date and pickers may come out starting today. The farm address is 10241 E. Harrison Road, about a 30- to 35-minute drive from Midland. U-pick price is estimated at $1.75 per pound. Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the farm says people should call (989) 842-3520 or check its Facebook page for the latest information.

Other U-pick farms in the area:

 Hemmeters Farm Market in Saginaw. U-pick ready after June 12. Address: 4050 Lawndale Road. Drive: about 20 minutes. U-pick price: $2.25 per pound. Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The farm says it is still irrigating its three to four strawberry varieties and anticipates a plentiful yield.

 Berry Creek Farms in Bay City. U-pick ready: call (989) 684-1655 for latest updates and prices. Address: 6745 South Euclid Ave. Drive: 20 to 25 minutes. Hours: vary/limited.

 Saginaw Valley Sod Farm in Saginaw. U-pick ready: call (989) 781-2680 for latest updates and prices. Address: 11285 Gratiot Road. Drive: 25 to 30 minutes. Other products: raspberries, blueberries, asparagus.

Not able to pick? Some farms offer pre-picked berries and even homemade jams.

Need more berries? Venture to Michigans fruit belt.

Berrien and Van Buren counties, at the southwest edge of the state on Lake Michigan, and Leelanau County, near Traverse City, are the states largest strawberry-producing counties, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Or, consider growing your own: strawberries are the most popular small fruit for backyard growers and are well adapted to most areas in the state, says Michigan State University Extension.

If youre not into strawberries, give currants a try.

Coons Berry Farm, in Coleman, bills itself as one of the only commercial growers of the tart berry in the state. Owners Yulia and Jerry Coon grow black currant, red currant, red raspberries and gooseberries, which are similar to currants. The farm turns its currants into syrup, teas and vinegars.

Currants are very tart, so you cant really eat much off the bush, Yulia Coon said. You have to make something out of them. When you cook currants, theyre a lot better than raw.

Coon says people usually make jams and jellies.

Theyre very nutritious, she said. They have all the (same) nutrients that blueberries do, but a lot more of them.

But, youll have to wait a few more weeks for a taste: Coon says their currants should ripen by the first or second week in July. The farm charges $3 per pound. U-pick hours are to be determined; Coon says to watch the farms Facebook account and www.coonsberryfarm.com.

This is going to be our second season, she said. It looks pretty good for this year. The berries are still green and small, but theyre growing.

Summer gets sweeter with blueberry, raspberry and blackberry seasons right around the corner.

Michigan was the nations leading producer of cultivated blueberries in 2014, yielding 99 million pounds valued at $123.8 million, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center.

Locally, there are at least two fields in Midland County: Cooks Choice Produce, south of town at 1938 E. Bradford Road, www.cookschoiceproduce.com; and Beards Lakeview Farm, at 4413 Water Road in Sanford, www.beardslakeviewfarm.com. Both blueberry and raspberry seasons usually span late June to October.
On June 14 to 16, church representatives from across Europe will gather in Netherlands to address challenges relating to refugees arriving in Europe.

Within the three-day consultation and gathering, the participants will examine the churches' response through discussion, solidarity visits and prayer. They will collaborate on future necessary action.

During the said consultation, refugees and asylum seekers' first hand experiences will be the center of discussion. They will personally provide testimony and the participants will be visiting a church near Amsterdam to visit temporary housing and meet as well other refugees.

On June 15, a commemoration service will take place at the Keizersgracht-Kerk in Amsterdam for persons who have lost their lives.

Ecumenical organizations and representatives from churches together with experts in European affairs will contribute to the said program.

The themes will include the trafficking and smuggling of immigrants and refugees, policy and legal aspects, case studies from the Netherlands and theological responses.
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Surveillance cameras outside an Ace Hardware store near Hobby Airport captured the violent moment on Thursday when a small, single-engine airplane crashed into the parking lot, killing all three people on board.

As seen in the footage, the shadow of the plane, a Cirrus SR-20, covers the lone car in the lot on Telephone Road at about 1:15 p.m. and then crashes violently onto it in a freefall.

The surveillance video shows few pedestrians got close to the airplane right after it crashed, but instead viewed the scene from a distance. One man approached the plane moments after the crash and quickly stepped away. Some smoke can be seen ascending from the front of the aircraft. Debris was scattered across the parking lot. A propane tank in the same parking lot can be seen in the video, just behind the spot where the plane hit the car.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Tom Latson said during a Friday press conference that security footage from the store revealed the plane was relatively wing-level, relatively nose-level and spinning counterclockwise to the left when it crashed onto a car in the parking lot at 6860 block of Telephone Road.

Latson told reporters noon Friday that the air traffic controller at Hobby airport directed the pilot to fly around the airport and retry landing a second time. The controller told the pilot that the plane was too high up on the second approach and would have to try re-entry a third time.

"And for some reason, the air traffic controller directed them to go around," Latson said. "The pilot made a right turn, was directed to land on runway 35, to the north. During that second approach to runway 35, the pilot was again instructed to go around because the pilot appeared to be too high." It was during the fly around on the third entry that the plane began to fly slow and low, according to witnesses that spoke to authorities.

"Witnesses saw the plane bank to the left and impact at the 6800 block of Telephone," Latson said. He said that he didn't know the level of the pilot's experience or how the pilot flew. The pilot was also instructed to fly into a different runway on the second attempt. It's unclear to Latson why this instruction was made.

I have confirmed with the fixed-base operator at the Norman (Oklahoma) airport that the plane was topped, it should give five hours of flight time, Latson said when asked if the plane crashed due to lack of fuel. The airplane departed from the airport in Norman at about 10:15 a.m. Thursday for the flight to Houston, and crashed approximately 3 hours later.

Latson noted fuel tanks on the plane were completely disrupted, so officials will have to investigate the fuel lines to see if an empty tank was a factor in the crash.

The plane comes equipped with an emergency parachute, which did not deploy before the crash.

The parachute, which is activated via a handle in the plane's cockpit, was still in its casing, although the rocket motor used to deploy the chute was ejected on impact.

Investigators do not currently know if the handle was pulled, but a digital record of what happened will be analyzed at a later date, according to the NTSB.

Latson confirmed the pilot was a woman and that he did meet with the family of the three victims.He did not disclose their names or any additional information about them.

However, in a Facebook post on Thursday, the Thunder Valley Raceway Park in Noble, Okla. identified the victims as Tony Gray, his wife Dana and brother Jerry.

"Everyone at (Thunder Valley Raceway Park) would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the Gray family. We have no words to describe the loss to the (Thunder Valley Raceway Park) family, as the Gray family have been long time racers, sponsors, and friends at the track," they said in the Facebook post. They ended it with: "Race in Peace."

FAA records list a Dana Frances Gray from Moore, Okla., as having a license to be a private pilot. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the airplane is owned by Safe Aviation LLC in Moore, Okla.

An investigator with the NTSB on Thursday said the tower at Hobby Airport told the pilot the airplane was approaching the runway at too high an altitude.

"On the second approach, they were also too high. The air traffic controller again directed the aircraft to go around," said NTSB investigator Tom Latson.

As it was making a third attempt to land at Hobby, the airplane apparently stalled and lost power. Witnesses saw it dive nose-first toward the ground, Latson said.

The airplane collided with a car but narrowly missed any nearby buildings, power lines and a propane tank. There were no other reported injuries.
SAN ANTONIO  An 18-year-old man faces a capital murder charge for the shooting death of a store clerk earlier this week during an attempted robbery, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

Olanda William Taylor was arrested Friday without incident on an unrelated warrant with the help from the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force. He was questioned by the homicide office and a warrant for capital murder was issued against him. He is currently booked into the Bexar County Jail.
Courtesy photo

After pleading guilty to murder for killing his girlfriends mother, Garry Armstrong, 28, was sentenced to 40 years in prison Friday.

The victim, Niki Hall, 40, was shot in the chest and left arm early on Nov. 5, 2012 in the front of her home in the 5700 block of Woodgreen on the Northeast Side. Her husband, awakened to the sound of the gunshots, told police that Armstrong, then 24, had called her phone shortly afterward and when he picked it up, was saying derogatory things, according to published reports.
SAN ANTONIO  San Antonio police say a motorist is in serious condition Saturday after allegedly drunkenly crashing into two vehicles, including one driven by an off-duty deputy, on the Northwest Side.

Emergency personnel responded at about 3:45 a.m. Saturday at Loop 1604 near Bandera Road.
Here in Wisconsin, where sausage is a sign of celebration, its hard to understand links being used as political weapons.

But thats what happened last week in the nation of Georgia, where protesters turned a vegan cafe in Tbilisi into a real sausage fest. Far-right extremists wearing sausages around their necks attacked the Kiwi Cafe, throwing meat on patrons plates and inciting a brawl. Theres no better way to say up yours than to befoul an enemys lunch of zucchini with chickpea and mushroom stuffing.

Cafe staff described the incident as an anti-vegan provocative action, linking the attack to neo Nazis who support fascist ideas. The clash spilled into the street after the attackers were asked to leave, The Guardian reported. Some involved suffered minor injuries, but the perpetrators  some of whom carried slabs of meat on skewers  fled before police could grill them.

The use of sausage for anything but merriment elicits head-scratching in Wisconsin, where friends and family gather to watch brats fry. Theres something about the smell of sizzling sausage that can bring anyone  labor and management, paper and plastic, Donald and Hillary  together in a spirit of goodwill.

Not so in Georgia, where theres strife even meat cant cure. The cafes attackers pulled out grilled meat, sausages and fish and started eating them and throwing them at us, a statement from the cafe read. They were just trying to provoke our friends and disrespect us. Throwing masticated meat at ones political adversaries? The Lincoln-Douglas debates it was not.

The cafe has been targeted before, as the sausage swarm has been casing the joint. According to the statement, the meatheads had come a month earlier to ask whether foreigners or members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community frequented the cafe. Those people, as opposed to troublemakers wearing meat necklaces, are to be viewed with suspicion.

The sausage attack generated concern because it came just three days after a march by right-wing nationalists. Some fear the incident could mark the emergence of organized action by Georgian ultra-nationalists. Give them sausages or give them death.

It remains unclear whether the meat assault was merely a prank that turned violent, or an organized political action by Georgian nationalists spurred on by recent Independence Day celebrations.

What is clear is that Georgians use of sausage in marking Independence Day is quite different from what were used to in the U.S. Here, bratwurst and Polish sausage bring people together over a July Fourth barbecue. We may have our differences, but for meat well meet partway.

But in Georgia, meat has become a political wedge. Dont expect the Kiwi Cafes regulars and the marauding meat mongers to break bread anytime soon. The cafe has pledged to stay open and remain ready to accept all customers regardless of their nationality, race, appearance, age, gender, sexual orientation, or religious views.

This is sure to fire up the sausage slingers, who dont want foreigners, homosexuals or vegans around. To be frank, further unrest seems likely.

Were fortunate to enjoy peace these days in Wisconsin, but we had our dark times a few years back when labor and management were getting along about as well as paper and plastic.

No matter where you are, politics can be an ugly animal. You know what they say: Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made. Or to see them being chewed up and thrown at you while youre enjoying zucchini with chickpea and mushroom stuffing.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department.

Thursday, June 9

11 a.m.  Twenty-two locks were cut off storage units at a Larkin Township business between 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. Thursday. It is not known if anything was stolen.

11:31 a.m.  A deputy was sent to the emergency room for an assault. The patient, a 15-year-old Lee Township male, had been in a fight with a 14-year-old classmate at school.

11:48 a.m.  A Jerome Township man reported someone tried to file a tax return in his name.

12:23 p.m.  Property was stolen from a vehicle in the 2000 block of Brookfield Court.

12:31 p.m.  A Hope Township woman reported receiving a check for $1,850 in the mail with instructions to buy two Moneygrams to send to Florida and keep the remaining $350. The check was a scam.

2:32 p.m.  A deputy is investigating a case of fraud that occurred when someone withdrew $170 from an ATM in Jerome Township with a credit card that belongs to someone else.

2:57 p.m.  Gasoline, valued at $48.17, was stolen from a Coleman gas station.

8:07 p.m.  A deputy was sent to Jerome Township for a report of a hole in a roadway. Water had eroded the ground under the pavement, causing the pavement to collapse. The road commission was notified.

8:35 p.m.  A Midland woman, 42, was arrested for third-offense drunken driving and a probation violation following an incident in Larkin Township.
Sometimes, when a relationship begins to sour, making that tough phone call is inevitable.

Beeeeeep  beeeeep  beee  call answered.

Uncomfortable silence.

I know youre there. Im not surprised youre so quiet  youve often been at a loss for words with me, and I imagine thats because you really dont know me that well  but I know that youre the one whos not doing so well these days. Still, I really need to talk to you because  well, you know why. Donald Trump. Hes coming to San Antonio next week. So I figured Id reach out to you before its too late.

More uncomfortable silence.

OK, we dont have until November, so Ill make it quick. For years, you were riding around with the Rush Limbaughs and Ann Coulters and Joe Arpaios and everyone who loved them, so it seemed you didnt want anything to do with the likes of me or people like me. And even though you never came out and said it, your less tolerant friends did. They were really mean, and you never told them to shut up.

But I paid attention and liked a lot of what you were saying. Sometimes there is unfairness in life, but Im not a victim. I work hard; my military parents raised me to believe that some values are worth risking lives for. I believe in self-determination, building wealth and creating opportunities for those who will help us become a better nation. Things are complicated, but I have faith that good people eventually figure things out. Most of all, I believe that life isnt red or blue and that we need people with different ideas to adequately represent us.

Despite your angry friends, I felt we were getting to know each other. Some of your friends seemed to understand me. I admit I was a little tense about that hanging chad stuff but, in time, I grew to like and understand W. I liked McCain until I got to know Sarah Palin, but I really liked Mitt and, in time, warmed up to Paul Ryan. And you know I loved Jeb, and how jealous I was of Marco Rubios potential until he threw out those weak-sauce insults ...

Still more silence, hinting that I should get to the point.

So, yeah, about next week. I feel like were back to the days of the mean team, only now, it seems as if you know better but are just going along with the popular kids and their ugly ways. You and all of the voices of reason seem to have folded and given up completely. You cant deny the conversation  the protesting, the fights, the insults, the behavior in general  is getting so much uglier. And thats hurting everyone.

I get it. A lot of people are willing to overlook the meanness for the sake of a win. But I cant. Thats why I called. I had to speak up.

Im just hoping youll be brave enough to speak up, too.

Call ended?

mariaanglin@yahoo.com
One step forward, three steps back. This exemplifies the world of Mexican-Americans who have fought for Texas to be more inclusive in the teaching of Mexican-American studies in public high schools.

A couple of years ago, educators and advocates of Mexican-American studies cheered when the State Board of Education voted in favor of the creation of instructional resources for the teaching of the subject. The exuberance eroded the past few weeks as the Texas Education Agency released its samples of materials to teach Mexican-American studies.

The sole book in the social science category is Mexican American Heritage. The book contains very little information about the authors (Jaime Riddle and Valerie Angle) and publisher (Momentum Instruction). The authors are not known as experts in Mexican-American studies, and they lack the appropriate academic credentials.

Background checks reveal that Riddle has an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a graduate degree from Pat Robertsons Regents University. She is associated with pro-life and Christian causes. Angle does not have an advanced degree but has taken a course on the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Angle markets herself as a secret weapon for the overwhelmed woman.

Background checks link the publisher to Cynthia Dunbar, a far-right conservative who served on the Texas State Board of Education from 2007 to 2011. She is the author of a book titled One Nation Under God: How the Left is Trying to Erase What Made Us Great. Dunbar points out that the goal of her book is for readers to fervently grasp the biblical function of civic government as it was envisioned by our Founding Fathers.

A sprinkling of basic errors is found within the span of a few pages. It incorrectly claims that Mexican-Americans moved in large numbers to New York during the World War II era; that Operation Bootstrap created a guest-worker program, and had relevancy to Cubans and Central Americans; that Cubans became the second-largest and Puerto Ricans the third-largest group of Latinos in 1960 (in fact, the order is reversed); and that Puerto Ricans were driven to the U.S. mainland by a Communist takeover in the 1960s.

The long history of Mexican-Americans in the United States is largely ignored. Mexican-Americans are presented largely as immigrants who resist learning English and being part of the United States. The authors view illegal immigration as the cause of economic and security problems and poverty, non-assimilation, drugs, crime, and exploitation.

The authors also are highly critical of the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s, arguing that the movement and its adherents sought to destroy U.S. society and reclaim lands that Mexico lost to the United States. Oddly, the book includes an entire section devoted to the Cold War and what it dubs the Sovietizing of Latin America.

The book also presents a sanitized and whitewashed version of many important events affecting the Mexican-American population. For example, the Zoot Suit Riots involving the beating of Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles is presented in a few general sentences omitting much detail. The Felix Longoria incident is mentioned in passing, devoid of specifics on why the decorated World War II soldier, denied a wake service, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The book also features great exaggeration. Mexican-Americans are presented as graduating from prominent universities between 1880 and 1930. The book claims that during the 1950s, more money suddenly became available for scholarships and financial aid to help communities like Mexican-Americans, and that after World War II, every American president decided to aid the crusade for political and social equality among American minorities. It is asserted that the Brown vs. Board of Education decision (1954) dealt a death blow to Jim Crow laws and segregation practices. The authors suggest Mexican-Americans and Latinos are now well-represented in the U.S. government on local, state, and federal levels.

What the authors say about Latinos clashes with the reality of governmental policies that have turned back the clock on voting rights, school desegregation and more.

The authors cheerfully proclaim, Both federal and state governments are motivated to help minorities succeed, and are willing to allocate many resources to aid them. Governments sponsor Latino scholarships, loans, and financial aid. They provide welfare for poor families and subsidize Latino advocacy groups, such as the National Council of La Raza.

Somehow, the Texas Legislature has not received this memo.

While the books title focuses on Mexican-Americans, the authors essentially treat Mexican-Americans and Latinos interchangeably. More disturbing is that only a portion of the book focuses on Mexican-Americans.

An analysis of photographs and sidebars show that whites rather than Mexican-Americans disproportionately adorn the book. The book includes 115 pictures of identifiable people. Of these, only 14 are of Mexican-Americans. There are 32 photos of whites, 27 of Mexicans (from Mexico), 14 of Latin Americans, 12 of Europeans, and 16 of others. And Mexican-American women are missing, featured in only seven of the total of 186 photos and sidebars.

The book includes 71 sidebars featuring identifiable persons. Of the 71 sidebars, only 13 concern Mexican-Americans. The book contains 27 sidebars of whites; eight of Mexicans; six each of Europeans, Latin Americans, and Spaniards; and five of others.

The book is largely devoid of citations to support the authors writing. Aside from 61 references for particular sidebars containing verbatim passages from original sources, only 28 citations are included to support writings in the remaining 416 pages. The vast majority (21) of the 28 citations are from materials first published more than a century ago; only three are from works published since 2000. Only one source comes from the research of Latinos.

Mexican-Americans  and more broadly, Latinos  have been commonly excluded from the teaching of U.S. and Texas history. Despite the long presence of Mexican-Americans in the U.S., they are routinely treated as an invisible group that has made minimal contributions to the history, culture and economy of this country.

As a way to be more inclusive of the Mexican-American experience, the State Board of Education voted for the creation of instructional materials for teaching Mexican-American studies. Through their book Mexican American Heritage, Angle, Dunbar and Riddle have warped, misrepresented and blemished the Mexican-American experience.

Hopefully, educators in school districts throughout Texas will see the sham that Mexican American Heritage represents and decide not to adopt it.

Rogelio Saenz is dean of the College of Public Policy and holds the Mark G. Yudof Endowed Chair at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is the co-author of Latinos in the United States: Diversity and Change.
In November, Americans will choose their next president. They will also be choosing, in a very real sense, whether their health care should follow market principles or depend on increased support from the federal government.

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, wants to improve on the Affordable Care Act. Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, wants to repeal and replace it, but its uncertain what that replacement might look like.

A similar discussion has been going on in Russia for almost a year.

The U.S. health care system has shifted toward an increased government role, with the current debate  thanks to Bernie Sanders  being whether this transition should be to single-payer. In Russia, the debate is whether private companies should play a larger role in health care.

The Russian health care system, established in 1991, was inherited from the Soviet Union. Its main principle: universal access to treatment for all citizens. The Russian state is supposed to guarantee everybody any kind of needed treatment (including dental), and it doesnt matter how much this costs.

This is just theory; in practice, this is a promise impossible for the government to keep.

As in the United States, the Russian health care system is financed through taxes. All workers pay 5.1 percent of their monthly wages. These payments go into the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund. That budget this year is slated to be 1.7 billion rubles ($25 million), less than 4 percent of Russias gross domestic product.

The fund sponsors a big network of state clinics and hospitals. It pays for treatment, and the wages and resources needed for health care. The official deficit of the fund is 27 million rubles ($403,000), but this figure is misleading. The budget, in fact, doesnt cover all the demands of the health care system.

Only 11 percent of doctors in state clinics are satisfied with their pay (in the private sector that number is 71 percent). On the other hand, according to the available data, the demand for treatment is twice what the government is able to provide.

While the system is supposed to be free, patients out-of-pocket expenses for treatment reaches 3.4 percent of GDP, almost equal to state expenses.

This money is spent in three ways. Doctors in state clinics get bribes because their wages are low. Patients pay them. My mother, for example, had to pay $1,000 for an operation on her leg. Patients also pay if they simply want better treatment. The level of state care is quite low. And some patients, tired of long lines, start ignoring the state health care insurance and essentially finance a private one.

This has not gone unnoticed, and there is now a push to match the promise with reality.

Because of Russias economic situation, state spending on health care would be extremely difficult to increase without raising taxes. That would be a burden to already struggling taxpayers.

And if taxes cant be increased, the decision is whether to reduce medical expenses or enter into some kind of private-public partnership that more closely resembles what is already happening.

If people are already paying for treatment in governmental clinics, why shouldnt Russia make this practice legal?

Under this theory, some would still get free state treatment  for example, people with disabilities, children younger than 18 and the elderly. But for all other citizens, the government would limit the number of annual medical treatments citizens are entitled to receive, as well as certain treatments. This would then stimulate the demand for private health insurance.

But even if the Russian government would enact this reform, private insurance and private treatment might not be the answer to all the health care problems. We can see this from the American health care model.

The structure of the market does not allow demand to shrink, and it risks the creation of monopolies, which would diminish competition among providers.

And both systems face similar trends  among these, an aging population and more children born with ailments that require long-term treatment.

Moreover, the health care industry demands increasing levels of resources. The most effective treatment is the most personalized. This is expensive. And even if some types of treatment become cheaper for the individual, for society the price will grow because of demand.

So no matter how disparate the structures of the American and Russian health care systems are, they will be facing some of the same unpleasant dilemmas.

Perhaps, the two countries solutions will meet in the middle.

Anastasia Manuylova is a Russian journalist at a daily business newspaper, Kommersant, in Moscow. She was visiting the San Antonio Express-News and the United States recently as part of a program with the International Center for Journalism.
Even Donald Trumps defenders on the right are hard-pressed to argue that he is conservative. He is, nonetheless, a conservative dream candidate.

Few politicians in memory have so powerfully tapped into and expressed the conservative id, which has long yearned for a Republican politician willing to heap the verbal abuse on the Clintons and, especially, on the media that they so manifestly deserve.

Except on cable and talk radio, the conservative id tends to get smothered by the hated Republican superego, i.e., the establishment of campaign consultants, donors and opinion-makers who worry about things like propriety and scaring off swing voters.

Since Trump has no superego keeping him in check  he doesnt care about political rules or personal manners  he can unleash unbridled hell on Crooked Hillary and the dishonest media.

At a news conference about the money he raised for veterans groups at an Iowa event this year, Trump called one reporter a sleaze and another a real beauty (it wasnt a compliment). He displayed a smash-mouth disregard for the media horde that is deeply satisfying for every Republican who wishes a Bush, McCain or Romney had done the same.

They say that Trumps garish wealth is aspirational  people think that if they were billionaires, they would spend with the same conspicuous consumption. For lots of Republicans, Trumps outrageous treatment of the media is just as aspirational  if they had the opportunity to tell off any mainstream reporter, they would resort to all the same insults.

What is policy or knowledge compared with this moving feast of contempt for the rights enemies? Trump could promise to nationalize the banks, and as long as he was calling a reporter a guttersnipe every day, hed probably still pass muster with his supporters.

A central insight of the Trump campaign was captured in the philosophy inculcated in the salespeople of Trump University: You dont sell products, benefits or solutions  you sell feelings.

Trump is channeling legitimate feelings. The media is biased and highhanded, and deserves to be taken down a notch. Too often, Republicans resort to a defensive crouch in the face of criticism. The conservative writer Rick Brookhiser has said of self-flagellating Republicans, In their hearts, they know they are wrong.

Trump knows hes right  or at least adopts a posture of supreme self-confidence  even when hes wrong. Ultimately, the medias offense in the matter of Trumps veterans funding was to call him on not yet having fulfilled his promise to make a highly touted $1 million contribution, but he acts like he is a modern-day Clara Barton who cant catch a break from the heedless jackals of the media.

If Trump has an elemental appeal to his supporters, he also drags down the right to its lowest common denominator. Forget the philosophers, the books, the ideas, the policies, the intellectual infrastructure of conservatism developed over decades  insulting the right people is just as, if not more, important. Forget the centrality of personal probity and trustworthiness, elevated into a fever pitch during Bill Clintons presidency  the cardinal virtue is sheer combativeness.

Forget the suspicion of state power and the fear that it can be wielded to punish those who antagonize people in high office  it all depends, apparently, on who is punishing whom.

At a time when conservatives are rightly consumed with preserving free speech from left-wing antagonists, they are rallying around a man who has made an art form of shutting down critics through lawsuits real and threatened; who muses about changing libel law to make silencing unwelcome voices easier; and who wants the government to use antitrust law to crack down on a newspaper owner whose publication features coverage he doesnt like.

The id may be a powerful force, but no one ever said it is pretty.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
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Donald Trump has been picking on Mexicans all campaign long, but this time he has picked on the particularly wrong Mexican. And revealed himself as a racist  again.

In this case, the Mexican is federal Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, who is presiding over the lawsuit against Trump University, which, from documents whose release the judge allowed recently, was, for many clients, to a university what a con game is to legal commerce.

Trump recently suggested that Curiel is biased because he happens to be, we believe, Mexican. Actually, Curiel was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrants, which makes him as American as all other Americans. He is Mexican-American, yes, but much like Trump is an American of Scot and German ancestry.

Which, I guess, means that, as president, Trump should recuse himself from any decision having to do with NATO, or other items having to do with U.S. and United Kingdom or German relations.

Aside from the fundamental misunderstanding of the judicial system and the questions this presents for Trumps fitness to appoint judges, the charge of bias against Curiel actually can be boiled down to questioning the judges allegiances. He is, to Trump, Mexican, which means he isnt really, you know, fully American. He is the other, unable to look past his ethnicity to uphold U.S. institutions or do his job correctly.

Its a sorry charge, seemingly undiminished through U.S. history in some circles by reality  not the least of which involves a whole lot of Mexicans fighting in their birthplaces wars or otherwise serving in the U.S. military bravely and honorably in the 20th and 21st centuries and before.

And in Curiels case, serving as a federal prosecutor taking on the Mexican cartels that Trump says he wants to protect us from.

A credible death threat put Curiel under the around-the-clock protection of U.S. marshals before his appointment to a state judgeship by then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, in 2007 and to a federal judgeship in 2011 by President Barack Obama.

Trump tried to walk back his statement. Sorry, you cant unring a bell. One can only presume Trump questions the allegiance and judgment of all of Mexican heritage  as if were the only ones to question the practicality, legality and humanity of that border wall or the deportation of 11 million or so people.

Curiels alleged bias comes because Trump has pledged to build that wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. So, Trump said, the judge should have recused himself, not only for that, for other things.

Curiels real offense is that he hasnt ruled as Trump would have him rule  summary dismissal of the suit.

So, lets say this judge was named Curry instead of Curiel. Lets say this judge had Scot and German roots, and had a fondness for trash-talking billionaires running for president who bluster about making American great again.

Should he recuse himself? Not unless there was some public statement for the candidate. And, from all indications, Curiel hasnt publicly offered any such views for or against Trump. Trump recently said its possible that Muslim judges would also rule against him. Given how many he has insulted  women included  would there be any fair judges possible in any Trump case?

If there was a real case for recusal, Trump and his attorneys should have made that motion at the beginning. And one wonders how that would have gone.

Your honor, we make a motion that you recuse yourself.

On what grounds, counselor?

Well, it has come to our attention that youre a Mexican and our client wants to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.

Dismissed. Move on.

Curiel stands biased in Trumps eyes because of his heritage. So can we assume that all white judges should recuse themselves in cases in which minorities are involved? Nonsense.

This is just another example. Trump is unfit for office, not because of his heritage, but because of what he says and does.

o.ricardo.pimentel@express-news.net

Twitter: @oricardopimente
This year marks the 100th anniversary of womens suffrage in Manitoba. Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) wanted to mark this occasion somehow, but we didnt have enough content for a full exhibit; Mennonites had been disenfranchised for their refusal to fight in the First World War, so neither men nor women were allowed to vote.

Since the suffrage focus didnt work, we decided instead to mount an exhibit celebrating the broader history of Mennonite women. Often when we talk about Mennonite women in history, we concentrate on their role in the home, raising and feeding their typically large families. This is a story that our outdoor village already tells well, so when Curator Andrea Dyck and I were planning this exhibit, we wanted to tell a different story.

What about the women who, for one reason or another, stepped outside of the traditional female roles of wives and mothers? Our exhibit Beyond Tradition: The Lives of Mennonite Women is about women who influenced the decision to immigrate, worked outside the home during a period when this was still unusual, sought larger roles within the church, and became the heads of their families in times of need. By stepping outside of Mennonite tradition, either by choice or by circumstance, these women made space for themselves within their communities and expanded what it meant to be a Mennonite woman.

We are making it a priority to feature individual women who did extraordinary things. Take Helene Reimer, for example, who received the Order of Canada for her services in the field of nursing. Gertrude Klassen, also known as Trutje, maintained a successful chiropractic practice while fostering fifty-three children over thirty years. Ann (Klassen) Wiens was a missionary and advocate among the indigenous peoples (Enlhet, Nivacle, Ayoreo) in the Chaco region of Paraguay; in one encounter, she traded her necklace for a warriors spear (which you will see on display).

MHV is also hosting an exhibit by Paul Reimers Advanced Photography students from the Steinbach Regional Secondary School. In this series of photographic essays, the students reflect on the women in their lives and the ways they have stepped beyond tradition. This exhibit has already been installed in MHVs Auditorium.

Beyond Tradition: The Lives of Mennonite Women will be open to the public on Tuesday, June 14. The exhibits will formally be launched on Monday, June 13 at 7:30 PM at MHV. This event is open to the public.
Posted on 06/11/2016, 10:00 am, by mySteinbach

Manitoba Sustainable Development advises that construction on the seawall project at Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park has progressed to the point that the main beach has officially re-opened.

The seawall was heavily damaged by a storm last spring, but repairs and improvements are nearing completion and the public will now be allowed to access the main beach. Other work continues and there are some areas with new sod or grass seed that cannot be fully used yet. Additional finishing work on the sidewalk will continue for the next two to three weeks, so visitors are asked to follow signage and use the gravel path to the beach.

Improvements to the seawall and surrounding area will provide additional flood protection to the community and improve amenities for this popular summer destination. Construction continues on the north beach, but it is expected to reopen later this summer. While visitors can now enjoy the main beach, they are asked to respect the construction zone and avoid fenced-off areas.

The main beach at Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park and the west beach at Grand Beach Provincial Park have recently been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag certification for excellence in water quality and environmental management.

The Blue Flag program requires beaches to be reviewed on 33 criteria related to water quality, environmental education, environmental management, safety and services. The standards ensure the beach is protected and that public use will not harm its ecosystem. In Canada, the Blue Flag program is administered by Environmental Defence, a national environmental charity.
After Tuesday night, Bernie Sanders infinitesimal chance of winning the Democratic nomination rests on one possibility: that Democratic superdelegates will overturn the will of the voters.

This is no small irony: Sanders spent much of his campaign railing against superdelegates and fighting to eliminate the practice of giving party officials and establishment types a say in the nominating process. But the only thing keeping him in the race is the vain hope that superdelegates, the vast majority of whom support Hillary Clinton, will defy the popular vote and throw their support to him.

Little noticed in Clintons resounding victories in California and New Jersey Tuesday: She clinched an outright majority of regular, pledged delegates. Her 2,203 (to Sanders 1,828) are a majority of the 4,051, even before the District of Columbia has the final Democratic primary next week. If there were no such thing as superdelegates  as Sanders claims to desire  Clinton already would have won.

For some context: Clintons lead of nearly 400 pledged delegates is triple the lead Barack Obama had over Clinton when the 2008 primaries ended. Clinton has won 13 of the past 19 Democratic contests, compared with Obamas wins in three of the last 10 in 2008. Clinton has won 15.6 million votes, which is 3.7 million more than Sanders has received. As for the Sanders claim to have brought new voters to the party, turnout has been lower than it was in 2008.

By Sanders own argument, superdelegates have no right to overturn the result of the popular vote. On June 4, 2008, Sanders, who hadnt endorsed during the primaries, decided to back Obama  days before Clinton dropped out and months before superdelegates voted. At the time, Sanders hometown Burlington Free Press wrote: Sanders said he held off supporting either of the Democrats because he has made it a custom not to support any Democrat for the presidential nomination until the party had chosen its nominee.

So why isnt Sanders using the same standard now, even though Clinton has an outright majority of pledged delegates and a lopsided number of superdelegate commitments? Call it the politics of pique.

Politico, in an extensive look at the waning days of the Sanders campaign, described a candidate aggrieved. Sanders is himself filled with resentment, on edge, feeling like he gets no respect  all while holding on in his head to the enticing but remote chance that Clinton may be indicted before the convention, Edward-Isaac Dovere and Gabriel Debenedetti wrote. His guiding principle under attack has basically boiled down to a feeling that multiple aides sum up as: Screw me? No, screw you.

Politico reported about an email from the Sanders rapid-response director about the campaigns scorched-earth position against the Democratic Party in Nevada, just to pick up two ... delegates in a state he lost. Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver replied that Sanders himself is driving this train.

So, if this is all about Sanders hurt feelings, let us praise and affirm him. He has run a brilliant campaign, invigorated the left, pushed Clinton in his direction and made his populist politics ascendant in the Democratic Party. He is entitled to his share of happiness. Hes good enough, hes smart enough and, doggone it, people like him.

But its time to abandon the canard that he is saving democracy in his bid to rid the party of superdelegates. In the young history of superdelegates, there never has been a case when party-appointed delegates overruled the popular vote  even in 2008, when Clinton had early commitments from most of the superdelegates. Had Sanders won the popular vote, they would have swung to him, as they did to Obama.

Sanders seemed to be of two minds Tuesday night when he delivered a speech alternately defiant and conciliatory.

He vowed to continue the fight in the next primary, in Washington, D.C., and to take our fight for social, economic, racial and environmental justice to Philadelphia for the Democratic convention.

But he also said that we will not allow Donald Trump to become president of the United States, and that, in regards to Clinton, our fight is to transform this country and to understand that we are in this together.

As the crowd cheered Sanders in California Tuesday night, The Washington Posts Robert Costa reported, his wife whispered to him: Theyre still with you.

They are. And Sanders can either lead them to work with Clinton for the ideas he believes in  or to nurse pointless grievances over a race Clinton won, fair and square.
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By Melhor Leonor of the Naples Daily News

Collier County students are outpacing the state in performance on Florida's standardized math exams, according to data released by state education officials Friday.

In a memo, state education officials praised Collier's Algebra 2 passing rate  53 percent  which surpassed the state average of 40 percent and improved from the district's 44 percent rate last year.

Performance in the state's Algebra 1 and Geometry exam also show overall improvement, outpacing statewide performance.

The numbers are part of the state's release of 2015-2016 standardized test performance data posted Friday.

In English Language Arts, Collier County's passing rate improved by close to two percent to 55 percent.

The improved rate, however, is bolstered by students in grades 6 through 10. Performance among students in grades 3 to 5 remained stagnant, with fewer third-graders passing the exam.

Performance in science for fifth grade students and Biology students declined. Slightly fewer students passed the state's Biology end-of-course exam, with 68 percent scoring a Level 3 or higher. The average passing rate in the state is 64 percent. Last year, 70 percent of Collier's cohort received passing scores, compared to 65 percent statewide.

Among fifth grade students who took the state's science assessment, half received passing scores, compared to last year's 52 percent rate. Collier's performance is below the state average of 51 percent, which also declined since last year.

Improved is the number of students in the 8th grade who passed the state's science assessment or Biology end-of-course exam. That number is 54 percent, compared to the state's 50 percent passing rate.

In the state's U.S. History end-of-course exam, fewer Collier County students received passing scores, 69 percent compared to 70 percent last year. Still, the district's performance remains above the state's 66 percent rate, which is unchanged from last year.

Sixty-eight percent passed the state's civics end-of-course exam, a slight improvement from last year's rate.
<p>Florida Gulf Coast University students circulate through campus on Monday, Oct. 13, 2014, in Fort Myers. A (David Albers/Staff)</p>

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By Maryann Batlle of the Naples Daily News

New university student housing is in the works in Estero.

Land clearing that happened on the northeast corner of Three Oaks and Estero Parkways is in preparation for The Reef, a privately owned multi-family development anticipated to house Florida Gulf Coast University students.

The Reefs planning team is expected to make a public information presentation during the villages Design Review Board meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the fire district headquarters on Three Oaks Parkway.

The Reef was supposed to be just another phase of neighboring student housing complex Coastal Village but is now being rebooted entirely under different ownership.

The at least 23-acre property has been approved for up to 164 dwelling units in 14 buildings, according to Lee Community Development online records.

Joe McHarris, of McHarris Planning and Design, said The Reefs developer chose to change the design of his buildings to reflect Esteros visual requirements.

McHarris is a member of the Design Review Board. He is expected to present the plans Wednesday before the village board members but has to excuse himself from any voting related to The Reef because of his firms involvement.

The Reefs buildings will feature tile roofs, textured stucco and have a more defined entrance, McHarris said.

We came up with a look that would look good for them and to give them a different identity than their neighbor (Coastal Village), McHarris said.

And because The Reef is hewn from Coastal Village, it now seeks to add its own clubhouse and pool area, according to updated plans and McHarris.

Both changes will likely require development order amendments that would trigger further village review, McHarris said.

Another public information session will be held during Wednesdays Design Review Board meeting to introduce a proposed two-story, 18,913 square foot specialty veterinary clinic.

The site property address is 10100 Arcos Ave., which is on the east side of Three Oaks Parkway and just north of Corkscrew Road.

Florida Veterinary Referral Center, which is proposing the clinic, already has a smaller location in Estero.
Worker Isaac Ramirez shovels dirt in an escavator for the redevelopment project in Bonita Springs on June 8, 2016. (Erica Brechtelsbauer/Staff)

SHARE Local buisnesses sit behind the construction on Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs on June 8, 2016. Merchants along the redevelopment project route have complained about problems with parking and access to their stores. (Erica Brechtelsbauer/Staff) Worker Mario Badillo Rincon takes a break to send a text along Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs on June 8, 2016. The construction is part of the city's redevelopment project plans. (Erica Brechtelsbauer/Staff) Ongoing traffic passes on Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs through construction on June 8, 2016. The construction is part of the city's redevelopment project. (Erica Brechtelsbauer/Staff)

By Patrick Riley of the Naples Daily News

As completion for Bonita Springs' ambitious downtown redevelopment project nears the midway mark, local business owners and developers are gearing up to move into the revamped Old 41 Road corridor with projects  big and small.

The city's investment into the area  $18.6 million in stormwater drainage, parking, roundabouts and road improvements  is already paying dividends, city officials say.

Since Bonita Springs announced its vision for a walkable, bikeable downtown artery, which has long lived in the shadow of faster and bigger U.S. 41 to the west, business owners, artists and developers have approached the city, wanting to be part of the new downtown, City Planner Jay Sweet said during a council workshop last week.

"Development needs confidence," he said. "And I think that's the one thing that this council has done since 2012. They have instilled confidence in what's going to happen downtown."

The city envisions a mix of commercial, residential and public spaces for its new downtown. Along Old 41 Road, numerous mixed-use developments are either in the planning stage or under construction.

A southern portion of the corridor, a trapezoidal area framed by the railroad tracks to the west, Tennessee Street to the north, Old 41 Road to the east and Southland Drive to the south, could become an industrial arts district.

"They're wanting to do some microbreweries, artist lofts, cottages, any arts that are dealing with metal works  everything interior though, to the building," said Jacqueline Genson, planning and zoning manager for the city's community development department.

Genson likened it to similar districts, popping up in cities across the country.

"It's a totally different scale, because it's more dense, but Milwaukee has the Third Ward District, where it's just you're repurposing buildings or at least creating that industrial arts feel," she said.

Just north of the proposed industrial arts district  at the southeast corner of Old 41 Road and Dean Street  a 272-unit gated community is expected to break ground later this year. Two blocks north on Old 41 Road, another mixed-use development with 48 dwellings and retail space is being built.

The residential space is needed, Genson said.

"You need bodies downtown or else the businesses aren't going to thrive," she said. "Especially during the summer months when our seasonal population isn't here."

Developer Tony Mansolillo, 71, and his partner  real estate attorney Marc Shapiro  intend to bring even more living quarters downtown.

The duo is in the process of filing an application with the city to build a 92-unit, mixed-use, Old Florida-style development, spread out across five, four-story buildings near the intersection of Terry Street and Old 41 Road.

Three of the buildings would have dwellings above a total of 27,200 square feet of commercial space with 60 percent of that space dedicated to retail and 40 percent to offices. The other two structures would have parking on the ground floor and residential units above.

All apartments will be for sale and the commercial space will be rented out. A pizza place, Irish pub, Mexican restaurant, law firm and insurance company already have expressed interest, Mansolillo said.

The project  two years in the making  would include elevators in each building, a park commemorating Bonita Springs' fallen soldiers, and a public kayak launch that would flush paddlers from a tributary into the Imperial River.

Mansolillo said he wants his project to reflect the community around it and be accessible to all.

"I believe in open space," he said. "I won't build walls. I'm an urbanistic builder."

The fact that the city is pumping money into its downtown redevelopment played a key role in his decision to buy properties along the Old 41 corridor, Mansolillo said.

"It's the only reason why I'm here," he said.

And he is not alone.

Since the city started its visioning process for downtown, nine properties along Old 41 Road have sold, according to a council workshop presentation last week.

"Significant increases in values have happened downtown since this has happened," Sweet said.

Some property owners outside of the city's redevelopment master plan for the corridor have expressed interest in being added to the downtown plan, he said.

"Whether that's a good idea or not we need to evaluate, but I think that their intent is noteworthy," Sweet said. "They see value to being in the downtown."

Some projects, including Mansolillo's, may require changes to the city's master plan which is tied to its comprehensive plan. Those changes, depending on their scale and impact, could take some time.

"Some of the people have been a little dissuaded when we've explained that to them," Sweet said. "But that's the way it was adopted and put into place."

But not all projects downtown are as large in scale as Mansolillo's.

Take for instance, James Mitchem's plan to turn a shuttered, former auto mechanic transmissions shop on the southeast corner of Childers Street and Old 41 Road into a glassblowing studio.

Mitchem, 35, and his business partner Chris Teegardin, 35, want to transform the 1,500-square-foot, tin-roof building into a place where they can sell and display their art and offer classes and workshops.

Next week, Mitchem is scheduled to meet with the city and pitch his proposal. He says his vision for the space aligns with what city officials are trying to do downtown.

"They want to make a walking arts district and every successful walking arts district I've been to  Asheville, North Carolina, is a fantastic example of a small town/city that has a walking, shopping arts district and there are multiple glass studios, because it's amazing to see," he said.

If the city greenlights his plan, Mitchem wants to offer programs for at-risk youth, bring other glassblowing artists to his store in Bonita Springs and showcase his work to passers-by.

"If we're working, the garage door will be open, because we need the ventilation," he said. "Even if we're not trying to do a live demo, if someone is standing on the sidewalk, they're probably going to get a show."

Mitchem, who has lived in Bonita Springs for 13 years, said he and his partner could have taken their production to any other industrial park, but chose Bonita Springs because they wanted to grow their business there.

"Bonita is finally taking off," he said. "But they're still trying to keep that small-town charm and I love it. And I just want to be right in the middle of it."
A framed portrait of Collier County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Mark Lucente, along with his badge, stands at the front of the auditorium during a memorial service for the fallen corrections officer Friday, June 10, 2016, at New Hope Ministries Church in Naples. (Luke Franke/Staff)

By Alexi C. Cardona of the Naples Daily News

A deep commitment to serving others defined the life of Collier County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Mark Lucente, even in times when he wanted to serve himself.

Lucente, a corrections officer since 1999, dreamt of being a road patrol deputy. He didn't want to work in the jail forever, but he knew he was serving a good purpose. He prayed with inmates. A fierce believer in God, he spread his faith to those in the jail in hopes they wouldn't relapse into criminal behavior.

So strong was his dedication to that mission that when he was offered the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a cruiser, he turned it down.

"He had the opportunity to become the deputy he wanted, but he felt bad about leaving the ministry he had at the jail," said Don Tomei, senior pastor of Restoration Church in North Naples. "He refused the job because he didn't want his own desires to get in the way of what he thought was right to do."

The 48-year-old corrections officer was on his way to work May 26 when he died in a three-car crash on Interstate 75 near Daniels Parkway. Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Greg Bueno said the crash is still being investigated.

Collier sheriffs corporal killed in crash remembered as man of faith

Related: Collier sheriffs corporal killed in crash remembered as man of faith

On Friday, about 100 family members, friends and coworkers gathered at New Hope Ministries in East Naples to honor the life of a man who dedicated himself to spreading the word of God, even if it meant risking his life to do it.

"If Mark committed to something, he did it full-force," said Teresa Brininger, his sister. "He lifted weights in high school and ended up competing in bodybuilding. He became an infantry soldier at 28. But the most memorable thing about Mark is he loves his God. His faith guided his actions and words."

Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said the corporal embodied the mission of the sheriff's office.

"The agency has a philosophy of service to others before self. He lived that on-duty and off-duty," Rambosk said."

Lucente went on mission trips to the Middle East to distribute bibles at least twice a year. He'd been everywhere in the Middle East except Saudi Arabia and Iran, according to his friend Daryl Broyles.

"He knew he was going into danger visiting those places," Broyles said. "He was prepared to not come back."

Lucente was fearless in spite of the danger. Brininger said her brother lived his life well. A photo slideshow played during the service showed Lucente carrying a machine gun and sleeping in a trench when he was in the U.S. Army. He was photographed smiling in front of Asian temples and by the ocean. In every photo, he smiled.

"He served his country, he served his God," Thomas said. "He even made friends of people who could've been the enemy. He paid his dues. He's gone home."
Collier board backs another village in rural panther habitat

Brightshore could have as many as 2,000 homes and up to 120,000 square feet of commercial space in rural east Collier County.
Next Tuesday, June 14 is Flag Day. So in honor of the day and in response to a May 25 article in the Herald regarding Ronald Perrys comments on the Hallie Peace park, I went to investigate the parks condition and history.

There are 25 flags in excellent condition flying at the park. One is an MIA flag that was put up very recently. Three large floodlights illuminate the flags at night. There are six park benches in good condition. There are approximately 31 markers on site, of which six are brass plaques with green oxidation on them.

A granite stone sits at the base of 24 of 25 flags. The stones are hard to read and weathered. They are in need of re-etching or highlighting. Some stones need to be reattached to their cement bases/collars. Of the stones, nine refer to motorcycles or ABATE (an anti-motorcycle helmet group). One refers to the National Rifle Association and guns. The remainder are sponsored by veterans groups, patriotic councils, a union, commercial business concerns and the Burish family.

The grounds are well mowed and well kept. Dead trees have been removed and the picnic areas are well policed. On the three occasions I have visited the park, it has been empty. The north part of the park is quiet, green and peaceful.

At the north parking lot, a monument of granite is erected with a bronze plaque on it that reads, Dedicated to the memory of the Veterans who died in service of our country. This area replaces the memorial elm trees planted under the sponsorship of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls Womens Clubs in 1923. Erected 1957.

I then researched the park itself. The land was first used as a wayside in memory of soldiers killed in World War I (see above). The elms the plaque refers to were planted along what is now County Hwy. OO (then U.S. Hwy. 53) in 1923. Over the years the elms died or were cut down due to traffic accidents and other natural hazards.

In 1999, the Town of Hallie purchased the wayside for $1 after the public bathrooms were removed due to issues involving public morals. A group of citizens wished to convert the wayside park into commercial property to increase tax base and jobs in the town.

After the town purchased the property, then state Sen. Dave Zien and Bill Bottoms (an Eau Claire man who was active in veterans groups and is now deceased) pushed the Town Board into the current design. SEH did the site work and concept drawings for free. Mr. Zien and Mr. Bottoms informed the Town Board that the veterans groups would maintain the park.

In all matters concerning veterans I consult two very reliable sources: Mr. Leroy Jansky, a Vietnam veteran, and Mr. Vern Normand, a Korean veteran. On May 28, I had a chance to speak with both of them while we were putting flags on veterans graves at Prairie View Cemetery.

The story is quite simple. The veterans and other groups that were to maintain the park could no longer do so. Mr. Bottoms died and Mr. Zien drifted off. Mr. Normand funded some of the improvements himself, and kept up the area as best he could over the last seven years, with the village taking on more and more responsibility for the park.

Mr. Normand explained that the size of the flags did decrease because donations could not keep up with the wear, tear and size of the flags. The village apparently paid for the utilities on site. Members of Station 1 of the Chippewa Fire District assisted in helping maintain the flags and did some flag pole maintenance (I was on a couple of those crews).

About two years ago, Mr. Normand turned the remaining money for the flags over to the Village Park Board, and it has been maintaining the park and flags since.

Both Mr. Normand and Mr. Jansky know of but are not familiar with Mr. Ronald Perry. If he had ventured 100 yards to the north, he could have read the memorial marker dedicating the wayside to the deceased veterans of World War I. In a simpler time and place, people were content to honor their veterans in a quite dignified way.

That is what we need to return to  not the hypocrisy of massive flags, plaques, military hardware and slogans like Wisconsin, where eagles soar and Harleys Roar. That is claptrap. Nor should we allow only people who belong to motorcycle clubs to dictate public policy to the Village Park Board.

The Lake Hallie Park Board has been a good steward of the park. Mr. Perry, who does not live in the village nor pay taxes here, should confine his remarks to issues in Augusta, where he lives.
By Alexandra Glorioso, alexandra.glorioso@naplesnews.com

Before Francis Rooney the businessman became Francis Rooney the ambassador, he donated $82,000 to the campaign of the man who would give him the job: President George W. Bush.

Rooney, his wife and his companies also gave $25,000 to the national Republican Party, which was helping Bush's 2004 re-election effort, according to campaign finance data from the nonpartisan organization Center for Responsive Politics.

Since the early 2000s, Rooney, a first-time candidate now running for Congress, has earned a reputation as a major donor who has raised millions of dollars mostly for Republican politicians across the country. He's also known for having a network of wealthy friends who can raise a lot of money in single events for candidates and the GOP.

Rooney, his wife and his companies have contributed at least $6.2 million since 2003 to federal races, campaign finance data from the Center for Responsive Politics show. Employees from his companies have given nearly $600,000 of their own money to campaigns during that same time period, the data show.

During Bush's re-election campaign, Rooney earned the elite fundraising title of Ranger, meaning he was among the top fundraisers who "bundled" $200,000 or more for the candidate from his personal network. A bundler helps raise money from others for a candidate.

"You don't become Ambassador (to the Holy See) unless you are a top tier fundraiser," said Rockie Pennington, a Republican political consultant out of Tallahassee. "They don't just pass those things out like jelly beans. That is a coveted position, and you would only get it if you were a top Bush supporter."

Rooney's connections will make raising money for his campaign to succeed U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson that much easier, Pennington said, because he will have an "electronic Rolodex" on speed dial that he's used to help other candidates get elected. And if those people trust Rooney to the point where his reputation will garner checks for other candidates, they'll certainly trust him enough to underwrite his own candidacy.

"They will help him quickly," Pennington said.

The politically entrenched businessman openly acknowledges he's helped a lot of candidates get elected  in fact it's part of his own campaign brand. But he said he's never received anything in return, including an ambassadorship. Rooney said Bush would have considered him for the position in 2005 regardless of his fundraising. Rooney was friends with the Bush family for some time before Bush's re-election.

"George Bush personally picked his ambassadors, and knew me for many, many years, going back to 1989. There were a lot of people who gave a whole lot more than I did," he said.

Rooney said despite his status as a top fundraiser who has helped elect some of the most powerful politicians in the country, he remains an outsider.

"I don't feel like an insider," Rooney said. "I feel like a businessman from Muskogee, Oklahoma."

State Sen. Garrett Richter, who has endorsed Rooney, said Rooney will appeal to both insiders and outsiders in the election, because it depends on "how you define outsider."

He's never held political office and isn't a "political climber," Richter said. But at the same time, "he would arrive well known in Washington" because Rooney has been involved for a number of years on the national level.

All of this would "give him a prominent seat at the table," Richter said.

More than $2 million of Rooney's donations went to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the super PAC, Right to Rise, that supported his recent presidential bid. Rooney, his wife and his businesses also gave $1 million to 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's super PAC, Restore Our Future, and nearly $1 million to the super PAC started by Karl Rove, American Crossroads, according to Responsive Politics data.

Even though he financially favors presidential races, he's generous to a variety of candidates in a number of places, campaign finance records show.

Rooney, his wife, and his two companies, Manhattan Construction and Rooney Holdings, have given to races in at least 35 states across the country. His company, Rooney Holdings, gave $4,000 to Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky, in 2014 when he ran against Democratic candidate and attorney, Alison Grimes. Between 2010 and 2012, he, his wife and his companies donated a total of $12,100 to Rep. Michele Bachman of Minnesota. He, his wife and his companies contributed more than $100,000 to former House Speaker John Boehner over the years.

In Florida, where he contributes the most, he's given over $150,000 to Rep. Vernon Buchanan, Jacksonville, who sits on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which has control over tax policy, international trade, health care, welfare, Social Security, and Medicare.

Rooney, his wife and his companies also have given to state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, Clawson, former Rep. Gary Aubuchon, and former Rep. Trey Radel, all of whom either held the seat he is currently seeking or campaigned for it.

Rooney, his wife and his companies also have given to Democrats, $41,275 in total. Most of this money  $32,175  went to candidates in Oklahoma.

"You don't live in a state like Oklahoma and not give to a few Democrats," he said. "Oklahoma like much of the South, was basically all Democrats."

Rooney said he was a Democrat when there were still conservatives in the party. "But as soon as the Republican Party got traction in Oklahoma, I switched over," he said.

Rooney's company, Rooney Holdings, also gave $1,000 to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she was running for U.S. Senate in New York in 2008, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Pennington said Rooney's unusual choice to move from being a behind-the-scenes donor to an in-the-limelight candidate is par for the course in Florida this year. He went beyond the now-obvious comparisons to Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, Clawson, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott  businessmen who entered politics  to races happening right now throughout the state.

"These are socially conservative people who feel like they're losing their America," Pennington said. "This is the year of the outsider, very successful men and women who are fed up with politics as usual and are deciding to get involved."

This rational is in line with what Rooney has said about his own motivation for running.

When Rooney announced he was running, he said he was "done supporting people who are career politicians." That frustration has become a kind of platform for him, not entirely dissimilar to Trump's.

"I think the key is for him to sell to these voters, and he has to be genuine about it, that he is as upset as they are about the political class," Pennington said.
FILE - Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino speaks at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md., Thursday, March 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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By Brent Batten of the Naples Daily News

Author, radio talk host and itinerant congressional candidate Dan Bongino has filed paperwork to run for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Curt Clawson.

The former Secret Service agent says the statement of candidacy he filed June 3 with the Federal Elections Commission is a strong indication that he will join the Republican primary race, which also includes former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican Francis Rooney and Chauncey Goss, a Sanibel City Council member and son of former Representative Porter Goss in the Republican primary field.

"I don't see any reason not to get in," he said Friday.

In 2014 Bongino ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. House seat in Maryland, narrowly losing to Democrat John Delaney in a predominantly Democratic district. In 2012, he won the Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat from Maryland but lost to Democrat Ben Cardin in the general election.

Bongino, who lists his address as Palm City, is a former New York City police officer and member of the United States Secret Service.

He wrote a best-selling book published in 2013, "Life Inside the Bubble," about his time protecting presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

A subsequent book, "The Fight: A Secret Service Agent's Inside Account of Security Failings and the Political Machine," was published in January and also made it onto The New York Times best sellers list.

Bongino does a podcast for Conservative Review and sits in for nationally known radio hosts Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. He also fills in at 92.5 Fox News radio in Fort Myers.

In 2012, local radio host Trey Radel capitalized on his on-air popularity to beat Goss and a strong field of Republicans to win the party nomination, and eventually the seat now being vacated by Clawson.

Bongino's regular trips to the Fort Myers studio have familiarized him with the district. He said he recently bought a property in the 19th District, which includes coastal Collier County and most of Lee County.

He said he would look to continue with Clawson's efforts to reduce Lake Okeechobee discharges, a problem he is doubly familiar with as a resident of Palm City, where lake discharges to the St. Lucie River wreak havoc similar to that experienced along the Caloosahatchee River.

His law enforcement experience would also be an asset in Congress, he believes.

A combined approach of federal state and local assets should be employed to fight crime, especially in Fort Myers, where crime inhibits economic growth, he said. "Nobody's going to open a business if they think they're going to get robbed," he said.

A small number of habitual criminals are responsible for most of the crime, he believes. "We're going to get that .001 percent of the people off the streets. We're going to do it fast. I watched (former New York City Mayor) Rudy Giuliani do it quickly. Literally within a matter of weeks," he said.

Acknowledging the name recognition and financial backing enjoyed by both Goss and Rooney, Bongino says he plans to outwork them by walking the district and talking to voters.

"You're going to see everyone else on TV. You're going to see me knocking on your door," he said.

His experience running for office in Maryland taught him there's no substitute for grass roots campaigning and face to face contact with voters.

Bongino says he doesn't know Goss or Rooney and hears nothing but good things about them as individuals. But he lays claim to a more conservative philosophy and outsider status. "I don't think people are looking for D.C. connections in this race," he said.
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John E. Ryan, Naples

Fiscally irresponsible

The suggestion of some candidates for Collier School Board that the board should refuse to accept $57 million annually as a protest for the Title IX regulations regarding bathroom facilities for transgender students is fiscal irresponsibility.

Any concerns they have should be left to the governor and attorney general of Florida. The idea that one county School Board will be able to change federal policy is absurd. More importantly, if implemented, it would only hurt the children.

This issue will ultimately be resolved by the federal courts.

Candidate Stephanie Lucarelli is correct when she stated at a public forum that such action would make the board a laughing stock.

Prior to the issuance of the federal regulation, I know of no news report that transgender students in Collier County were having a problem. Apparently, if issues arose, the superintendent and her staff were dealing with it, without publicly embarrassing the students or their parents.

I have decided to support Lucarelli for School Board. She is a graduate of Rutgers University, B.S., she is a certified science teacher, a former vice president of Naples Park Elementary School PTO, and has served as a Collier substitute teacher since 2013. She has four children in the Collier County school system and a demonstrated commitment to all the children of Collier County.
SHARE Collier County superintendent Kamela Patton

By Kamela Patton, Superintendent Collier County Public Schools

Congratulations to the Class of 2016!

With the familiar notes of Pomp and Circumstance in the background, more than 2,800 students and their families celebrated the incredible milestone of high school graduation on June 3.

Our goal in Collier County Public Schools is for all students to have a pathway upon graduation. For many of our students, that means continuing education at colleges and universities. Still others will enter the military, the workforce, or pursue additional training through career and technical education.

Many of our graduates will enroll at one of our fantastic Florida colleges or universities such as Eckerd College, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida SouthWestern State College, Florida Southern College, Florida State University, Immokalee Technical College, Lorenzo Walker Technical College, University of Florida, University of Miami, and Stetson University.

We also have a number of students heading out of state. Here are just some of the more than 170 institutions  a more extensive list can be found on our website (www.collierschools.com): American University, Bethune-Cookman University, Boston College, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, The Culinary Institute of America, Duke University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Emory University, George Washington University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Johnson and Wales University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, New York University, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Tufts University, University of Massachusetts, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, and Yale University.

Eight of our students have received full appointments to service academies, including the United States Air Force Academy, United States Military Academy, and United States Naval Academy.

A majority of the students in the Class of 2016 have earned college credits through Advanced Placement (AP), Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) and dual enrollment courses. We are CCPS Proud!

In March, we held a virtual town hall on Funding Your Child's Educational Future, comprised of an expert panel with three satellite locations and great student, parent and community participation. All of the incredible town hall resources can be found on the CCPS webpage (www.collierschools.com/Page/7905).

We are excited to share that the Class of 2016 has earned more than $34 million in scholarships, a record-breaking year as this is an increase of more than $4 million from last year!

The CCPS database contains information on more than 250 college scholarships and continues to be a great resource for students and parents. New scholarships are continually added. Additionally, concerted efforts to increase awareness regarding completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will pay off for CCPS graduates as well, as there are many avenues to fund continuing education at colleges, universities, and career and technical institutions.

Whether you are the Class of 2016 or the Class of 2028  our current kindergartners  we are proud of the many successes the students have had this year.

This year students at all levels have participated in academic competitions, seventh-graders visited Florida Gulf Coast University through the 7th-grade College and Career Experience, hundreds of band students marched in national parades, three high school students earned private pilot licenses  culminating in the Class of 2016 crossing the stage. This definitely is an exciting time for the district. The successes of CCPS students are amazing.

We are so proud of the incredible collective efforts that resulted in CCPS being an "A" rated district.

Success is a partnership of parents, students, educators and community members. The Class of 2016 is a direct reflection of the strong commitment to education in our community. Today's learners are truly tomorrow's leaders! Your #CCPSSuccess makes us #CCPSProud!
SHARE Stephen Vale 2016 Valedictorian Marco Island Academy

By Stephen Vale, Valedictorian, Marco Island Academy

Faculty and staff, fellow MIA graduates, family members and friends: It's a true honor to stand before all of you to deliver this year's valedictory address. It's also a bit intimidating and a bit strange, given that I already graduated from college last month and still don't have a high school diploma yet!

As I sat down a week ago, thinking about what to write for this speech, it was tempting to go with the two common trends I found on Google: first, reminisce about our high school years together and, second, offer some practical advice for the future. Then I thought, this is my speech and I'll think outside the box a bit. After all, I certainly haven't had a normal high school experience from the time I decided to give the whole dual-enrollment program a shot at Florida SouthWestern State College back at the beginning of my junior year.

While it was definitely tough being away from all of my classmates for the past two years and missing out on all of the fun and exciting things at MIA, the experience has been a very good one and has offered me some amazing opportunities and rewarding challenges. It has also offered me some awkward moments, like getting stared at on the first day of every class by college students wondering why a middle schooler was sitting next to them.

So, for the sake of this speech, I would like to look at our school as a model of how seemingly impossible dreams can become reality and how great successes can come from small beginnings.

From its initial development in the 1960s and up until just five years ago, Marco Island never had what the original founders always had in mind for the island: a high school. It was only after years and years of tireless work, namely on the part of Ms. Jane Watt, that the vision came into clarity and finally into modules and boardwalks.

Just look at how much we've achieved since those first days back here at The Family Church: We were mentioned by The Washington Post as ranking among the most challenging high schools in the country and the top in the county; our very own governor, Rick Scott, recently made a special visit to the campus all the way from Tallahassee; and we have a $10 million gymnasium taking shape as we speak. Who could've predicted all this just five years ago?

And so, I think it's very appropriate and very fortunate for us to have the unpredictable success of MIA to think back and reflect on as we move into whatever the future holds for each of us. College is an amazing experience, no doubt, but it can also make you feel like one tiny fish (or manta ray) in a huge ocean of taller, smarter and better-looking fish.

One thing I've definitely learned is that everyone else is feeling the exact same way we are and that oftentimes our human nature makes us react in ways to exert our own height, intelligence and good looks just to make us feel better  when, in fact, we're feeling pretty inadequate and scared on the inside. Life is just weird like that (trust me, I plan on continuing to study psychology), but try not to fall into this trap and lose sight of what really matters to you and where you would like to be headed.

Ironically, the same day I sat down to write this speech, my siblings caught sight of some strange black mass that washed up on the beach overnight. It was a massive manta ray. So I decided to research a bit about this mascot of ours, and I really didn't seem to find much of importance at first.

However, the more I thought about it, there is one strange fact about manta rays that does fit: believe it or not, manta rays spend the majority of their lives alone out there in the big ocean. While this might seem a bit sad, it drives home the point that they do their own thing and don't feel pressure to follow a school of others wherever they may lead. For us, it's so important to always follow whatever it is that provides a source of excitement and passion for life  whatever that may be.

In my own family of 11, those interests and passions have ranged from the Catholic priesthood and real estate to culinary school, cosmetology and even songwriting.

As cliche as it might seem, I thought it fitting to end with some contemporary song lyrics that drive home this point (that way, every time you hear it on the radio, it will serve as a reminder for you, even years or decades from now). Well, here it goes:

R&B: "God made my mold different from the rest, then he broke that mold so I know I'm blessed" (Aloe Blacc, "The Man")

Pop: "Don't you ever, ever feel like you're less than, less than perfect" (P!nk, "Perfect")

Rap: "We started from the bottom, now we're here" (Drake, "Started From The Bottom")

Country: "'Cause when push comes to shove, you taste what you're made of. You might bend till you break, 'cause it's all you can take. On your knees, you look up, decide you've had enough. You get mad, you get strong. Wipe your hands, shake it off. Then you stand." (Rascal Flatts, "Stand")

And so, in closing, congratulations to us, the 2016 graduates of Marco Island Academy  may we ever be those independent manta rays that never lose sight of our amazing and humble beginnings.
Tammy Garrett: Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award finalist Meet Tammy Garrett and her cause, Rapahope Children's Retreat Foundation. Tammy is one of four finalists chosen for the Betty Jane France Humanitarian award for her dedication to helping children.
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents allocated an additional $4 million Friday for Memorial Union renovations after unforeseen problems for the project.

The additional funding for the revamp, which was originally slated for roughly $46.5 million, will come from the remainder of the projects available borrowing capacity, said Shauna Breneman, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Union.

We are taking extra care to preserve the historic, artistic touches that are part of what makes Memorial Union so unique and are addressing project needs, such as replacing some food service equipment, she said in a statement.

During the restoration, project officials found that historic plaster, flooring and terra-cotta would need to be replaced following infrastructure changes, such as the installation of new HVAC system and audiovisual equipment, Breneman said.

Some of the existing plaster and flooring in the Old Madison Room, the der Rathskeller dining room and the Trophy Room will be replaced, she said.

Cracked portions of the terra-cotta on the Unions east wing exterior that have further deteriorated since the projects start also will be repaired or replaced.

Its common for unexpected issues to come up while renovating a historic building, Breneman said.

The first phase of the renovation project, which is the first comprehensive renovation of the Union since 1928, wrapped up in January 2015. Work on the second phase began in summer 2015.

Breneman said the project is still on track for its 2017 completion date.

In their request to Regents for additional funding, Union leaders said they ran into additional need for asbestos abatement and that hidden structural conditions required changes to the buildings current mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems.

The request also said that underground utilities needed to be replaced and that the Union needed new kitchen equipment, among other unforeseen renovation costs.

The Union overhaul primarily addresses the buildings infrastructure and includes the installation of new fire protection systems and alarms and the replacement of other mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.

About 60 percent of the projects costs come from gift funds. Neither the renovations nor the Wisconsin Union are taxpayer-funded, Breneman said.
The returns on private commercial mortgage investments held by life insurance companies are on the rise, according to numbers released Friday by the LifeComps Commercial Mortgage Index.

These investments generated a 3.39% total return for the first quarter. The 12-month return improved to 3.73% from 2.51% in preceding quarter.

Higher income and price appreciation added to the total return, fueled in part by lower Treasury yields.

Retail loans performed the best during the quarter, with a 3.58% return, followed by office properties with a 3.47% return and apartment loans with a 3.41% return. Industrial performed the worst on a quarterly basis, with a 2.92% return.
(NaturalNews) Another nail in the coffin of the once-great nation that was America occurred just recently, thanks to a ruling by a federal judge in a case that should never have even made it to court.As reported by The Associated Press (AP), U.S. District Judge David Campbell cleared the way for thousands of young illegal immigrants in Arizona who were protected from deportation by President Obama's executive action to now be able to apply for and receive driver's licenses.The ruling was a preliminary injunction against the state from being able to enforce Gov. Jan Brewer's policy of denying the younger illegal immigrants licenses, as part of the state's efforts to keep its elections fair and equitable.The injunction, which took effect Dec. 22, was supposedly just a formality that builds on a ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the nation's most liberal, in July.The AP reported:Obama's executive action is applicable to illegal immigrants younger than 30 years old who allegedly came into the country before their 16th birthday (though honestly, there is no real way to be able to verify how old they really were when they actually got into the country), have been in the U.S. at least five continuous years (again, verification), are enrolled in or have graduated from high school or a GED program, or have served in the U.S. military.In addition, the AP noted, under Obama's action applicants could also apply for two-year renewable work permits.In August 2012 Brewer issued her own executive order that directed state agencies to deny driver's licenses and additional public benefits to illegal immigrants who got work authorizations under Obama's action.Attorneys for the state argued that Brewer's order came out of concerns of liability and the aim of reducing the risk to taxpayers of licenses being used to improperly access public benefits. Other proponents of Brewer's action noted that the licenses could also be used to vote in elections -- a right that non-citizens do not possess in Arizona or the U.S. in general.Immigration rights advocates complained, however, that her rule change made it harder or even impossible for young illegals to participate in essential activities like going to school and stores, as well as finding and holding a job.The AP further reported:How the judges on the appeals court could possibly know what was in Brewer's heart and mind when she issued her order -- other than what she publicly stated as the reasons for doing so -- is anybody's guess. It's also hard to see how a court could find that preventing non-citizens from participating in activities reserved only to citizens by law -- like voting -- isin the state's interests.After Obama, via executive memorandum, directed the Department of Homeland Security in November to broaden his 2012 order, Arizona joined 23 other states in a federal suit alleging that he overstepped his constitutional powers in a manner that will simply worsen humanitarian crises along the U.S. border.All changes to immigration law should be done through Congress, the plaintiffs in that suit argue.
(NaturalNews) Democrats are falling all over themselves to offer all kinds of goods, services and benefits to the hordes of illegal aliens pouring across the southwestern U.S. borders in Texas and Arizona, but they have so far shown little similar compassion for American veterans and homeless persons, even after the VA was recently outed as having some vets die while awaiting care.Such examples include efforts by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has convened with a number of non-profit organizations to shelter illegal immigrant children and others in the city while they wait for a taxpayer-funded court hearing on whether they can legally remain in the country.As reported by"Before you get partisan, before you tell me where you are on immigration, these are children. As a father, who are we as Americans if we do not step forward first?" Garcetti asked, noting, "I see this as not just a moral issue but as a practical one."But indeed, such statements and sentiments arein and of themselves, because they seek to preempt any opposition by framing it as somehow. Such purveyors of what is and is not "compassionate" can't seem to conjure up the same level of emotion when it comes to providing similar benefits for Americans who are down on their luck and who, at one point or another, probably paid for a portion of some of the benefits being given to those who break our laws to come here.In LA, homeless activist Ted Hayes, who has lived in the city for 30 years, is opposed to the idea of housing the illegals. He says there are American kids on city streets who need the help first."It's kind of a slap in the face to U.S. citizens," Hayes told KCAL 9. "It's embarrassing. It's hurtful. Because it's like a father saying that he loves children outside of the family more than he loves his own.""We feel for them," he continued, referring to the illegal alien youth. "We feel their pain. But we are feeling pain of our own children first."None of that seems to matter to Garcetti and those who support his position, as he uses similar language to justify taking care of illegal children that could be used to justify taking care of American children in the same circumstances."These kids who are isolated, alone, maybe are doing the right thing, maybe have made mistakes -- forget all that first," he said. "Let's get them some place safe and secure. Let's get them legal representation, which is what this country has always stood for."That's not true, but that's the going mantra for supporters of his position: "We've always been a country that does this." In fact, an honest look at U.S. immigration law throughout the country's history will show that, no, the U.S. in fact didalways lay down the welcome mat at our borders. And once upon a time, we required things of immigrants that we don't require now, such asand the learning of our culture and language: [ http://www.immigrationpolicy.org ].Bottom line: There is nothing wrong with having compassion and being charitable to those in need, but when a nation's leaders neglect their own people in favor of others who may not have our nation's best interests at heart, that signals a disconnect that will lead to a further exacerbation of tension between the masses and the ruling class.
Big Tobacco

Pension fund tobacco investment "outrageous," says cancer researcher

USS's lame defense

One in five deaths caused by smoking

Smoking

(NaturalNews) Researchers in the UK who have dedicated their careers to fighting cancer were shocked to learn that their pension funds have invested hundreds of millions inScientists who receive their funding from Cancer Research UK (CRUK) are also participants in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), a pension fund whose latest annual report reveals a 211m investment in British American Tobacco (BAT).The BAT investment is the pension fund's fifth biggest equity holding.Although CRUK ensures that its own employee pension funds are not invested in tobacco companies, the academic posts funded by the charity receive their pensions through the USS, which was worth 49 billion in 2015.One such CRUK-funded researcher, who chose to remain anonymous, toldCRUK's tobacco policy manager, George Butterworth, acknowledged the problem:However, the USS defends its investments in Big Tobacco, claiming that it is working with tobacco companies in an effort to "improve ethical, environmental and governance standards."The USS maintains that it is "an active and responsible shareowner, an approach which USS's trustee believes will protect and enhance the long-term value of the fund."From a statement released by the USS:In other words, the USS thinks it can be a positive influence on an industry responsible for one in four cancer deaths, and one which has consistently lied and cheated its way into billions in profits - with absolutely no regard for the millions of people it has addicted and killed.According to Action on Smoking & Health (ASH), tobacco is responsible for more than 20 percent of all deaths in the United States. http://www.natural.news ) killed an estimated 100 million people during the 20th century and could kill as many as 1 billion in this century.It's no wonder that UK cancer researchers are outraged to find that their pensions are invested in an industry that causes the very problem they are committed to fighting.As Prof. Martin McKee, European Public Health Association president, put it: "Given the hard work of so many of its members to eliminate the scourge of tobacco-related death and misery, it is simply unacceptable that USS should continue to invest in this discredited industry."
On Friday, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Southern California. While it did not cause any damages, it triggered more than 450 aftershocks that led many West Coast residents to worry.

This recent earthquake was centered on the San Jacinto fault, one of the region's most active faultlines. And because it runs through many populated areas, it poses a great risk--maybe even greater than the San Andreas fault, which is more popular.

What is the San Jacinto fault?

The San Jacinto Fault Zone runs 210 kilometers, including the Coyote Creek fault, according to the Southern California Earthquake Center of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Nearby communities include San Bernardino. Loma Linda, San Jacinto, Lytle Creek, Anze, Hemet, Ocotillo Wells and Borrego Springs.

The epicenter of Friday's quake was near Borrego Springs.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the fault cuts into the middle of the Inland Empire, which means it can affect more people if ever it moves and ruptures.

San Bernardino, in particular, is a major concern as it reportedly has the largest concentration of brick buildings that are very vulnerable and high risk during earthquakes.

Southern California at risk?

In the same report in the Times, Caltech research professor for geophysics Egill Hauksson said most earthquakes felt in Southern California are on the San Jacinto fault.

In 1987, the Superstition Hills earthquake hit east of San Diego with magnitudes of 6.5 and 6.7 It cost $3 million in property damages, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

With the growing population in the areas on the San Jacinto Fault Zone, a future earthquake of that magnitude can cause even more severe damages.

Big One prediction?

But a study released earlier this year revealed an even more terrifying scenario: a possible 7.5-magnitude earthquake if both the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults rupture together.

The study by Stanford researchers revealed that the deadly 7.5-magnitude earthquake that hit Southern California in December 1812 was most probably caused by the slippage of San Andreas that triggered the second fault, which was San Jacinto.

It showed that with the rupture of multiple faults, more powerful temblors and damages are possible.

Julian Lozon, the author of the study, said their research shows that the San Jacinto fault also plays an important role, as it can influence the San Andreas fault, which cause stronger earthquakes but lesser damages since it is situated in more isolated areas.

Published in the journal Science Advances, the study can boost our understanding of earthquakes and be better prepared and equipped should a Big One come our way. It can not only improve earthquake models, but also awareness among people.

"People shouldn't just be thinking about the San Andreas Fault," Lozos said.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene of two-car collision that happened late Friday night in South San Francisco.

The crash occurred just before midnight, around 11:55 p.m. at the intersection of Airport Boulevard and Pine Avenue, according to police Lt. Keith Wall.

Two vehicles collided with each other as one was traveling southbound and the other was traveling northbound, Wall said.

The collision caused the southbound vehicle, a Honda Civic, to strike a tree, cutting the vehicle in half. Two passengers inside that vehicle, identified as an 18-year-old San Francisco woman and a 21-year-old Brisbane man, died at the scene, according to Wall. The driver of the Honda suffered minor injuries.

An investigation revealed that the driver of the Honda, 19-year-old Joshua Matthew Maldonado was recklessly driving at a rate of 80 to 90 MPH in a 35 MPH zone, according to investigators.

Police said Maldonado "displayed the objective signs and symptoms of being under the influence."

Officers arrested him for two counts of second degree murder and two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, along with charges related to driving under the influence.

The victims' names are not being released at this time, pending notification of their families.

Two occupants inside the vehicle traveling northbound, a Mazda, escaped injury, Wall said.

Traffic in the area was closed as officers investigated the collision, however, roads have since reopened, Wall said.
home Tech Microsoft Surface Phone release date, specs news: Flagship delayed to 2017?; 8 GB RAM, QWERTY keyboard hinted

Users will have to wait a bit longer before they see Microsoft return to the smartphone business with the Microsoft Surface Phone. The latest reports claim that instead of coming out this year, the release was moved to spring next year, but for a good reason.

Microsoft will reportedly wait for the Redstone 2, the next Windows 10 update that should give the company from Redmond more features to play with on the Microsoft Surface Phone. This will also allow Microsoft to use new-generation hardware on the smartphone.

With regard to the features already planned for the Microsoft Surface Phone, a tech insider by the name Nokibar claims the flagship will sport a built-in QWERTY keyboard complete with a kickstand.

With it, the Microsoft Surface Phone should be able to transform into a Surface Pro-style device. After all, it already has the look of the popular laplet from Microsoft, at least based on the leaked image provided by Nokibar.

The same tipster claims that the handset will come with a 5.7-inch 2K display and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 processor. Nokibar also corroborates the report about Microsoft's plan to wait for Redstone 2 before it launches the Surface Phone.

In another leak by Mobipicker, the Microsoft Surface Phone will reportedly have three variants. The low-end model comes with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. A more premium version will allegedly boast of 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.

None of those already-beastly models will compare to the Microsoft Surface Phone's most superior edition, which allegedly comes equipped with 8 GB of RAM and 500 GB of storage. Some media outlets suggest this might be too outrageous to happen despite the possibility.

However, nothing won't stop Microsoft if it yearns to return to the smartphone world with a bang. To top it all off, the Microsoft Surface Phone is reportedly getting a 20-megapixel Carl Zeiss camera.

If these leaks are accurate, the competition will definitely have something to fear in the Microsoft Surface Phone when it releases in spring next year.
Several efforts are taking place to remove Judge Aaron Persky from the bench, including a petition, official recall and a letter from a state senator asking the judge to resign.

On Friday, a petition with more than 1 million signatures calling for the immediate removal of the Santa Clara County judge was delivered to the state's judicial commission.

Organizers said the move is just the beginning of several efforts to remove Persky. Friday's event combined two of those efforts, one using the judicial commission and the other a voter-based effort. But there is no guarantee either will happen.

Persky has become a target for sentencing former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to just six months in jail for sexually assaulting a woman outside a fraternity party last year.

"We're here today because Brock Turner made a choice to rape a woman," said Melissa Byrne, who represents the woman's advocacy group UltraViolet.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance has the power to remove Persky from the bench, but on Friday said it had no comment on the matter.

The commission was not present when the group delivered the signatures.

"Hopefully, one day people will listen to survivors as opposed to leaving boxes on ledges," Byrne said.

There is also an official recall effort for Persky, which is being led by Stanford law professor Michele Dauber.

Pesky ran unopposed in Tuesday's election and is expected to begin a new six-year term in early January.

"We're going to wait just a little bit in order to roll out the exact timeline, but we're very confident it will go forward," Dauber said.

Getting official signatures for the recall effort likely will not begin until the judge starts his new term next year.

State Sen. Jim Beall along with more than a dozen legislators are also calling for Persky to resign.

"This has to be reviewed in terms of performance of the judge," Beall said. "I think it calls into question his decision-making process."

Beall signed a letter that was sent to the district attorney's office and judicial commission asking for a review of the case.

The letter comes following the release of the full court file, which includes pictures of Turner smoking marijuana.

The pictures contradict a letter Turner sent to the judge before the sentencing, which he claims he had little experience with alcohol or drugs.

But text messages, including some with an apparent drug dealer, paint a different picture.

On several occasions, Turner used the N word and referred to smoking weed, drinking and dropping acid.

The documents also show Turner inappropriately touched a woman at a party the week before the sexual assault. And on the night he was arrested, he received a group message referring to a picture of a naked woman.

Based on time stamps, prosecutors speculated he may have photographed his victim during the assault. But investigators were unable to find the photo, which was sent through a messaging app, GroupMe.

Detectives noted the app allows users to delete photos.

"His prior involvement with drugs and alcohol suggest he should have been much more responsible for his actions that night," legal analyst Steven Clark said.

Clark said Persky's sentence is legal, but also notes the public outcry could spark legislative change to increase sentencing for sexual assault cases.

"It may be this is a vehicle for legislative change when it comes to sentencing of sexual assault, but I don't think it will affect Judge Persky in this particular sentence," Clark said.
A German shepherd puppy that was stolen from a 14-year-old boy at gunpoint has been reunited with her family, police said late Friday.

The dog was taken from the teen on Thursday while he was walking the dog in his San Leandro neighborhood, according to police.

The boy, whose identity has been protected because he is the victim of an armed robbery, said he was unsure if he would ever see his beloved dog again.

He was "surprised and excited" on Friday when San Leandro officers called him to say that a man had returned the pup to the police department.

Police officials said that the man who returned the dog was not connected to the theft, and that he had instead heard news reports and recognized the pup as the newly-purchased canine that a friend bought off the street for a few hundred dollars.

"This is a tremendous ending for us," said Robert McManus of the San Leandro Police Department." lt's not very often that we're able to solve cases like this, and in a case like this, it's equally as important not only to catch the armed robbers...but to return the dog to the 14-year-old boy."

Detectives said two men armed with a pistol approached the teen in the 1500 block of Dayton Avenue in the city's Washington Manor neighborhood and stole the 3-month-old canine named Maya.

No other information was immediately available.

Police are expected to release further details on Saturday.
The mother of a 25-year-old woman brutally killed in Concord is speaking out.

Andrella Bohanna buried her youngest daughter, Poinsettia Parks, six days ago. In an exclusive interview with NBC Bay Area on Friday, Bohanna said her daughter was beaten so badly her face had to be reconstructed.

Authorities confirm the man accused of killing Parks is now being held at the county jail after being extradited back from Nevada, where he turned himself in.

"You worry about your child every day," Bohanna said. "Every day."

Parks' body was found last month in a pond at Newhall Park, not far from Bohanna's Concord home.

"Her head was split across the top of the forehead," Bohanna said.

Blunt force trauma is the official cause of Parks' death.

"Her nose was smashed in her chin. She didn't have it," Bohanna said. "Part of her face was gone, so they had to reconstruct her face."

Authorities believe Erick Nelson killed Parks, who Bohanna said was pregnant with his child.

"Poinsettia was trying to get away from Erik," Bohanna said.

She claims he was physically abusive and needed treatment for a drug problem.

"He was using meth," Bohanna said. "She had found a pipe."

When Parks tried to break off their nine-month relationship, she claims Nelson became enraged and starting stalking her at Safeway, where she was a security guard.

Bohanna said her focus now is finding justice.

Nelson denied NBC Bay Area's request for a jailhouse interview. He is scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges on Thursday and is being held on $3.5 million bail.

A GoFundMe page has also been set up for Poinsettia Parks.
Officials at the Fort Hunter Liggett army base in California said Friday there was no active shooter at the camp.

"The installation received an unconfirmed report of an active shooter which appears to have resulted from a miscommunication from ongoing training activities. The installation has been searched and cleared," the base's Facebook page said.

A spokesman said earlier that the base was on lockdown and police were investigating a "possible shooting situation."
Two people were killed and at least 12 others  including a 5-year-old girl  were wounded in shootings during the first five hours of the weekend in Chicago.

The most recent homicide happened Friday night in the South Chicago neighborhood, according to Chicago Police.

A 27-year-old man was outside in the 8900 block of South Brandon about 9:35 p.m. when two gunmen got out of a car, walked up and opened fire, striking the man repeatedly, before they drove off, police said.

The man was taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital, where he later died, police said. The Cook County medical examiners office did not immediately confirm the fatality.

Investigators think the shooting was gang-related.

A man was killed less than an hour earlier in an Englewood neighborhood shooting that left another man wounded on the South Side.

The men, ages 26 and 27, were outside in the 200 block of West Garfield about 8:45 p.m. when two gunmen walked up to them and opened fire before running away, police said.

They were shot multiple times and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the younger man later died. The medical examiners office withheld his name pending family notification.

The condition of the 27-year-old, who suffered chest and leg wounds, was stabilized, police said.

Investigators think the shooting was gang-related.

The most recent nonfatal attack left a 17-year-old boy critically wounded early Saturday in the South Side West Chatham neighborhood.

The boy was on a porch in the 8800 block of South Princeton at 1:30 a.m. when three males shot him in the head, police said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition.

A man was seriously wounded less than an hour earlier in a shooting on the Near West Side. The 23-year-old was on the street in the 1600 block of West Maypole about 12:15 a.m. when a male in orange clothing shot him in the neck and left leg. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition, police said.

Late Friday, a 24-year-old man was shot in the Far South Side Roseland neighborhood. He was shot in the leg about 11:40 p.m. in the 11300 block of South Normal and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in fair condition, police said.

A man and a woman were injured in separate West Side shootings about the same time Friday night.

A 22-year-old man was walking about 10:45 p.m. in the first block of North Latrobe in Austin when he heard shots and realized hed been hit. He suffered a gunshot wound to the back and was taken to Mount Sinai, where his condition was stabilized, police said.

A 51-year-old woman was outside about the same time in East Garfield Parks 300 block of North Central when someone in a maroon van shot her in the left ankle, police said. She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.

About 35 minutes earlier, two men were shot in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood. The men, ages 20 and 22, were walking north in the 1700 block of South Wolcott about 10:10 p.m. when they heard shots rang out and they realized theyd been hit, police said. The 20-year-old was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition with gunshot wounds to the back and arm. The older man was shot in the right arm and taken to University of Illinois Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

A 24-year-old man was shot and at Foster Beach earlier that evening near Uptown. At 8:52 p.m. he was at the beach in the 5100 block of North Simonds Drive when someone approached him and fired shots. He suffered graze wounds to the chest and neck and was taken in good condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, police said.

A man was wounded in a shooting less than an hour earlier in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. About 8:10 p.m., the 25-year-old was driving in the 3000 block of West Jackson when a van pulled alongside him, stopped in front of his vehicle, and two people wearing masks got out and opened fire before driving away, police said. The man was shot in the right elbow and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.

The weekends first shooting left a 5-year-old girl and a 34-year-old woman wounded Friday evening in the South Side Marquette Park neighborhood.

They were on a sidewalk about 8 p.m. in the 6700 block of South Artesian when someone walked out of an alley and opened fire, striking the girl in the foot and the woman in the left ankle, police said.

The woman drove them to St. Bernard Hospital, where the womans condition was stabilized. The girl was transferred to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition, police said.

It was unclear if they were the targets of the shooting.
The family of a teen shot and killed by Chicago police in 2013 could be closer to finding resolution after a federal judge continued a civil trial that was scheduled to begin later this month.

The final moments of Cedric Chatman, 17, were caught on surveillance video when he was shot by a pursuing police officer in January 2013. The officer told investigators he believed Chatman had a gun and he feared for his partners life.

The video was made public earlier this year.

An attorney representing Chatmans family in a wrongful death lawsuit against the city said the video shows Chatman running from the police, but not carrying a weapon or making any movements towards the officer.

Investigators did not find a gun. But they found an iPhone box next to Chatman.

While details have yet to be released, any potential settlement would need to be approved by city council.

The city law department declined to comment.
A woman has been charged in connection with the "minor explosion" that took place in the bathroom of a Target in north suburban Evanston, police confirmed Saturday.

Heidi Schmidt, 44, of the 4000 block of W. Crystal St in West Humboldt Park, is charged with one felony count of aggravated arson, and one felony count of unlawful possession of an explosive or incendiary device, according to Evanston police.

Police took Schmidt into custody based on witness accounts and video footage, and determined throughout the course of the investigation that she was inside the stall at the time the explosion occurred, police said.

Authorities responded to the incident around 4 p.m. Wednesday in the bathroom of a Target in the 2200 block of N Howard St. It involved a plastic water bottle, police said, and even though no injuries were reported, shoppers were shaken up.

"It's scary," said Bobbi Santo who was at the Evanston Target on Wednesday. "I think it's just a new wave of behavior that's being executed by people who have no rearing or morality."

Damage was contained to the one bathroom, according to police. Officials said items were also recovered from the bathroom that are commonly combined to produce a chemical high, but can become volatile and explode in the mixture process. Schmidt was not injured in the incident, according to police, and left the scene prior to the arrival of emergency personnel.

Police and fire officials, as well as the Cook County Bomb Squad, remained on the scene for several hours into the evening, collecting evidence and bringing in bomb-sniffing dogs.

"There were no threats or other suspicious activity prior to, or since the incident occurred," the Evanston Police Department said. Authorities confirmed that detectives are not looking for any additional suspects, and added "there is no indication that the incident is related to any policies that the Target store has in place."
Mayor Curt Balzano Leng said the town and the Hamden Police Department are becoming closer to installing at least three new surveillance cameras in the areas where the trail intersects with Alling Street and with Dudley Street, not far from Dixwell Avenue.

It's primarily to deter any criminal activity or any unsavory activity that might occur," said Leng.

Police Chief Thomas Wydra told NBC Connecticut that no single event prompted plans for new cameras, though there have been issues with violence and gunfire on the canal trail in the past. Also, in August 2015, police said a man exposed himself to a 70-year-old woman who was walking along the trail.

Some frequent canal trail users, such as Yolanda Alica, welcomes the idea of having surveillance cameras.

Its great. I would love it," she Alica. "That would make me want to come back more often.

Other trail visitors wonder if cameras in such a public place would be such a great idea.

Too many cameras in our lives are probably not going to be a good thing," Marta Dabis, who was riding her bicycle through Hamden from her home in New Haven.

Mayor Leng said the approximately $20,000 needed for the new cameras, as well as a new emergency call box, has already been secured. The town legislative council is expected to approve the police department's plans. The new cameras could be up and running by next month, said the mayor.

Leng said the town and the police force are aware of the delicate balance between privacy and public safety.

If youre in a public space trying to do something thats not legal or is highly inappropriate, you should think twice about doing that because its possibly going to be on camera," said Leng.
home World UN deems Ireland's abortion laws cruel and inhuman

The United Nations deem that the Irish government's abortion laws are cruel and inhuman after an Irish woman, who couldn't get abortion in her own country, was forced to travel "while carrying a dying fetus at her own expense" in 2011.

"Many of the negative experiences she went through could have been avoided if [she] had not been prohibited from terminating her pregnancy in the familiar environment of her own country and under the care of health professionals whom she knew and trusted," read a statement from the ruling of a panel of UN human rights committee experts.

According to The Guardian, Amanda Mellet was prevented from undergoing an abortion even after doctors declared that the fetus she was carrying had congenital defects and would either die in the womb or after birth. Mellet was forced to travel to the United Kingdom and then return 12 hours after the procedure because she could not afford spending any more a the round trip travel already cost her a3,000.

The UN's human rights committee called on the Irish government to reform its abortion laws and to prevent similar incidences from happening in the future. One of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, the international body also judged that it was cruel, inhuman, and degrading. They mandated the government to compensate Mellet for her expenses.

Leah Hoctor, the regional director for Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights and also the same person who submitted the complaint to the UN, considers UN's ruling as significant as it provides encouragement to lawyers working on abortion cases in countries with restrictive abortion laws.

Mellet also released a statement after the ruling wherein she expressed her hope that Irish women "will be able to access the health services they need in our own country, where we can be with our loved ones, with our own medical team, and where we have our own familiar bed to go home and cry in."

Simon Harris, the country's health minister, called the committee's report a "landmark ruling" and then echoed the same sentiments of the international body as to amending the laws and preventing similar violations in the future.
A woman was transported to the hospital after suffering from burns sustained from a structure fire in New Britain on Saturday, the fire department said.

New Britain Fire Department responded to a two-alarm house fire on 163 Miller Street at 1:28 p.m.

The apartment affected with smoke and water damage was on the first floor of the two-family building, officials said.

Firefighters said they were able to rescue the woman they found in a burning room of the apartment. The victim sustained an undetermined amount of burns to her body and suffered smoke inhalation.

The woman was transported to a local hospital before being transferred to the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital, according to the fire department.

The other occupant of the building was no present during the incident but was displaced due to the fire, officials said.

The fire was declared under control at 1:43 PM.
Prosecutors say an Alcoa plant worker in Texas who stole tools and parts then resold the items faces up to 20 years in prison for the $1 million scam.

Jack Kennedy of Houston pleaded guilty Friday to wire fraud. The 56-year-old Kennedy remains free on bond pending sentencing in federal court in Victoria.

Prosecutors say Kennedy worked for Alcoa World Alumina LLC in Point Comfort, dealing with inventory and ordering supplies. The fraud ran from 2008 through late 2011. Kennedy was arrested in 2014.

Investigators say Kennedy sold the stolen equipment at a discount to a supply and salvage company in Tonawanda, New York, then shipped the items. Payments were mailed to Kennedy's home.

Prosecutors have said there was no immediate evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the New York company.
Arlington police released surveillance video Friday of an attempted kidnapping at a gas pump last week.

In the video, recorded June 2 at a gas station near Pioneer Parkway and Texas Highway 360, a man is seen filling up his rental car when a second vehicle pulls up behind him and two men wearing masks jump out. The victim runs toward the store, but a gunman gives chase and grabs him before he reaches the door, pulling him back into the parking lot.

Meanwhile, the second masked man rifles through the victim's car.

The two perpetrators soon get back into their car and drive away.

Police believe the victim was targeted because he might have been carrying cash or valuables. They say the incident was not random, and that the perpetrators were likely following the man to the gas station with the intention of robbing him.

Arlington police released surveillance video Friday of an attempted kidnapping at a gas pump last week.

Arlington Police Lt. Christopher Cook said a gas station employee is seen on the surveillance video holding the front door closed, thinking the store was about to be robbed. The employee was simultaneously dialing 911 and immediately opened the door to allow the victim inside as soon as the gunman ran back to his car

Cook said the business owner's children were inside the store and he didn't want the gunman to come inside with his kids there.

D/FW Airport Police said a 42-year-old man was at the Shell gas station at the south end of the airport when he confronted people breaking into his car, and was later found dead about two miles away.

Officers released the video because it was so similar in nature to the attack Thursday near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport that left a man dead. Arlington police will not say the two cases are connected at this point, but they are looking at that as a possibility.

The man in the Arlington attack was able to escape, and nothing of value was stolen before the perpetrators sped away, police said.

Arlington police have been in contact with the FBI regarding the attack last week, and there have not been any arrests in either incident.

Anyone with information that could help Arlington police is asked to call Detective Jeremy Houchin at 817-459-5301. Anonymous calls may be placed to Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS.
The aggravated kidnapping trial for Enrique Arochi will remain in Collin County, District Judge Mark Rusch said Friday.

The defense argued that Arochi cant get a fair trial in the county because of the massive publicity that has surrounded the case since Arochis arrest in December 2014. The judge ruled that this publicity, although extensive, was not prejudicial, allowing the trial to remain in Collin County.

Christina Morris parents said the ruling will allow them to return home after each days court proceedings, the Dallas Morning News reported. They continue to actively search for their daughter, who is still missing.

Arochis trial is set for Sept. 6 in Collin County, after being delayed due to several unsuccessful motions by the defense to have evidence suppressed. If convicted, he faces a sentence of between 5 and 99 years or life in prison.

Arochi is accused of kidnapping Christina Morris from the Shops at Legacy in Plano in August 2014.
The pilot of a plane that crashed near a Houston airport halted a third attempt to land just before it plummeted to the ground, killing all three inside, the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.

It's unclear whether the pilot made a distress call just before the crash that happened Thursday afternoon near Hobby Airport, NTSB investigator Tom Latson said, and that initial information indicates the female pilot didn't make any other calls to air traffic controllers after she waved off the third landing attempt. He described the crash as a "violent impact."

"During this (third) approach, the pilot decided they would make a go-around themselves without direction and announced they were going around and began climbing out to the north," he said, adding that pilots are allowed to wave off an approach if they are not comfortable with it.

Audio posted on the website liveatc.net showed that the female pilot was told at least twice to turn around and make another attempt to land. She was also told that she was she's flying too high and has to turn around to land at Hobby Airport.

The pilot can be heard nervously laughing as she says, "Trying to get down again." An air traffic controller says "no problem."

Just before the crash, a traffic controller says: "Ma'am, ma'am, straighten up, straighten up."

Records in the Federal Aviation Administration registry show the plane was registered to Safe Aviation LLC in Moore, Oklahoma, and had been manufactured in 2012. Officials with Safe Aviation could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday, and a phone listing for the company could not be found.

The NTSB is still trying to determine how much flying experience the pilot had, Latson said, but that she had been flying the plane since the Oklahoma company that owns it bought it in 2012.

Authorities have not released the names of the three victims, but Moore, Oklahoma, Police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis told KOCO-TV that Dana Gray was the pilot, and the passengers were her husband, Tony Gray, and his brother Jerry Gray. Lewis also told KFOR-TV that Dana Gray was a "very, very safe pilot."

The plane took off from Norman, Oklahoma, and had just been refueled, meaning it had about five hours' worth of fuel, Latson said, though he noted that it isn't clear whether the plane could have run out of fuel because both tanks ruptured in the crash.

The flight-tracking website FlightAware showed that in the last 15 minutes, the plane's altitude greatly fluctuated, going from 1,800 feet down to 200 feet and back up to 1,200 feet before crashing.

NTSB's final report on the crash will take six months to a year, Latson said.
Michael Jace, an actor who portrayed a police officer on the TV series "The Shield," was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison Friday for fatally shooting his wife in front of their two young children in their Los Angeles home.

Before the sentence was handed down, Jace spoke for the first time in court, saying there was "no justification for my actions that night at all, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain I have caused everyone ... There is no replacing April."

The woman's mother, Kay Henry, quickly walked out of court after Jace maintained that "there was no premeditated anything."

"I realize it doesn't bring her back," Jace said, turning to tell her family members, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Jace was convicted of second-degree murder last week by a jury of six women and six men that deliberated for about two hours before finding the 53-year-old guilty in the killing of April Jace on May 19, 2014. He was also convicted on a special allegation charge that he used a handgun.

During the trial, the couple's 10-year-old son testified that he saw his father bring his mother into a hallway, where she fell down. "Then my dad said, 'If you like running, run to heaven, and then he shot her," the boy told jurors.

According to prosecutors, the actor was upset his wife wanted a divorce and was obsessed with the belief that she was seeing someone else.

Jace waited in their Hyde Park home in the 5400 block of Brynhurst Avenue and when his wife arrived, he shot her once in the back, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The defense memo requested the minimum sentence prescribed by law.

"Outside of this tragic killing, Mr. Jace has been a law-abiding citizen who has never been convicted or even arrested for a crime," defense attorney Jamon Hicks stated in a sentencing memorandum. "This was truly an anomaly for Mr. Jace."

The defense said there was no evidence that Jace was brewing and plotting the demise of his wife of nine years, and that the prosecution had "oversold this case" by pursuing a first-degree murder conviction.

One of Jace's attorneys, Jamon Hicks, conceded that Jace shot his wife once in the back and then twice in the legs. But he questioned whether the actor would have premeditated the shooting knowing that the children would be there.

Jace is best known for his role as Los Angeles police Officer Julien Lowe in "The Shield." He has also appeared in such films as "Forrest Gump," "Boogie Nights" and "Planet of the Apes."
A day after news broke that Oakland's police chief was leaving his post after 19 years in the department, Mayor Libby Schaaf on Friday made it formal: Sean Whent no longer has a job as the city's top cop.

She confirmed what also emerged Thursday night, that BART Police Chief Ben Fairow will serve as interim chief. Reporters from the East Bay Express tweeted that Schaaf was poised to fire Whent, although Schaaf refused to specifically answer that question or any other reason for Whent's reason for leaving at a news conference Friday.

Chief Whents decision to resign was a personal choice which we respect, was all Schaaf would say.

City Councilman Larry Reid does not buy the reasoning given for Whent leaving his post.

"If that's the spin they want to put on it, so be it," Reid said.

Reid said he talked to Whent late Thursday and said the chief was upset, alluding Whent was forced out.

"He wasn't ready to leave," Reid said. "I mean this is a man who takes great pride in servicing the people of Oakland and being the head of our police department."

Whent's departure comes just weeks after Greg Suhr stepped down as police chief in San Francisco. And last fall, San Jose Police Chief Larry Esquivel left his department after being asked to lead Tracy's police department.

Whent's departure also comes at a time when the historically troubled Oakland department is investigating allegations that several officers had sex with an underage girl. Four officers were put on leave because of the investigation. Two of those officers have since resigned.

The Alameda County district attorneys office still is reviewing the police departments initial investigation of the sexual misconduct allegations, Schaaf said Friday.

Federal courts have appointed outside monitors charged with overseeing reforms at Oaklands police department since 2003, after repeated corruption scandals in the force. Monitors have faulted the departments management and internal investigators with failing to hold Oakland police accountable for misconduct.

Whent, who didn't attend the news conference, said he is proud to have served Oakland over the course of two decades.

When I took this job three years ago as interim chief, I vowed to help move the department forward and make Oakland safer by forging a stronger relationship with members of this diverse community," he said in a statement. "I am proud to have done that. I know that the vast majority of the men and women who work for the Oakland Police Department share this commitment and will continue to demonstrate it with every call for service.

On Friday, Councilman Noel Gallo said he was surprised, and guessed it might have been because of the "pressure he was under."

Late Thursday night, Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, echoed her shock.

"I'm grateful for the chief's service and am sorry to see him leave the Oakland Police Department," she said. "I think this chief was committed to making structural changes. I think it is a loss for our city."

Gibson McElhaney said she hopes Whent's replacement "will continue the good work he has done" but she worries "this could be a setback."

The new interim chief was sued last year by the widow of the late BART detective Sgt. Thomas "Tommy" Smith Jr., who alleged that BART chiefs routinely send officers into high-risk search areas without properly trained SWAT officers. Smith was killed accidentally by a colleague during an apartment search of a robbery suspect in Dublin.

Groups such as the Anti-Police Terror Project, cheered the sudden announcement about Whent's departure.

On its Facebook page, the group wrote that this is a "victory the people should claim."

NBC Bay Area staff and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Following the Brock Turner sentencing controversy, Stanford activist groups are rallying to force the university to release the names of students found responsible for sexual misconduct on campus.

The Stanford Survivor Solidarity Network started a Change.org petition on Thursday, calling for the school to release the names of those students who have violated Title IX policies related to sexual assault and misconduct.

The petition creator has pointed to the number of sexual assaults as reason to release the names. The university reported 26 on-campus rapes in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education.

One student is sexually assaulted every two weeks at Stanford, wrote the petition creator. Im afraid for my safety, knowing how many of my friends have suffered from sexual violence and coercion at the hands of my classmates.

The creator continued: What happens in the cases of sexual assault and sexual misconduct that do not result in expulsion?

A list of Title IV violators living on campus is typically not released to the student body. A spokesperson for Stanford told NBC Bay Area that the school is unaware of any other college that releases a list, and said it could potentially threaten student safety.

If a student poses a threat they will face discipline including expulsion, the spokesperson told NBC Bay Area. As with other universities, Stanfords process for all student discipline matters provides for confidentiality of student identities and outcomes.

Activist groups outside the Stanford community have also called on the elite college to improve its response to sexual assault.

Ultraviolet, a feminist organization that submitted a petition Friday to have the judge in the Turner case ousted from the bench, will be at the Stanford commencement on Sunday to protest the school and Santa Clara County's handling of the case.

In addition two three large bicycle billboards, the group has commissioned a plane to fly over the university stadium ahead of commencement with the banner "Protect Survivors. Not Rapists. #PerskyMustGo."

Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, who is also an outspoken activist fighting against college rape culture, tweeted out the petition to her thousands of followers. NBC has reached out to Dauber for comment.
A 10-year-old girl was wounded in a drive-by shooting in Boyle Heights Thursday, but the victim was not the shooter's intended target, police said.

The shooting occurred at about 6 p.m. near the intersection of Rogers Avenue and Chicago Street, according to Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.

Police said the girl was walking to a nearby market for a soda with her sister when she was struck in the back of the head. She was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center where she underwent surgery and was listed in critical condition.

Family members said doctors removed a bullet that was partially lodged in the back of the girl's head. She was expected to be OK.

The girl's sister, who was not identified, said she heard the shooting and thought it was "fireworks."

"The people were shooting and that's when my sister fell," she said. "I tried to pick her up but that's when I saw the blood coming out."

The intended target of the shooting was a man on a bicycle, but he was not hit, Lopez said. Three shots were fired. The man remained at the scene and was being interviewed by police.

The victim's sister said there were four people in the car involved in the drive-by shooting.

Investigators said they were hoping surveillance video near the scene will help them locate the vehicle connected to the drive-by shooting.
If you've ever approached a rabbit, perhaps to place some vegetables in his vicinity before quietly departing, you know that the long-eared jumper can be off in a flash.

The same holds true for the rabbits currently visiting downtown Los Angeles, though we know when they'll leap out of town: After a short staying ending on Saturday, June 11.

But they aren't the wee nose-twitching forest denizens you might expect; these rabbits are behemoth inflatables, and they glow, too, come nightfall.

The over-sized hares, which are located at three spots during their LA sojourn, are all part of "Intrude," an art installation by Amanda Parer, an Australian artist who created the installation to call attention to the damage often done by a species that arrives late to a particular landscape.

"Rabbits first traveled to Australia on the ships of the First Fleet and were brought ashore in cages in January 1788 at Sydney Cove -- the site of my proposed installation 'Intrude,'" the artist writes on the project's Pozible page.

The fact that the artist's inflatable rabbits are plush-seeming, like illustrations straight from a childrens book, draws further stark parallels to the environmental issues their Australian introduction created.

Art that's cute from a distance, but with an urgent message, and a title that says much? "Intrude" encapsulates all of these things.

Where can you view the rabbits? Make for Bank of America Plaza, Wells Fargo Center, and Figat7th, through June 11.

Where else have they been? New York and Houston were their first two stops on their American tour, and Denver is next. A swing into Portugal follows, with a visit to Memphis, Tennessee early in 2017.
Hundreds of cyclists rode in silence Saturday, to honor a beloved teacher killed in a hit-and-run crash in Santa Clarita last month.

Roderick Bennett was riding his bicycle on Placerita Canyon Road, just east of the 14 Freeway, on May 25, when he was struck by a driver who took off, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The 53-year-old was a well-regarded math teacher and band director at Arroyo Seco Junior High School in Valencia.

"He was the kind of teacher that would open his doors at lunchtime," said Mike Kuhlman, the assistant superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District. "The kids would come in and have a jam session.. loving to hang out with Mr. Bennett."

Students, family and friends of Bennett met at 9 a.m. and rode from Arroyo Seco Junior High School to Santa Clarita City Hall. Riders reamined silent throughout the ride to honor Bennett and others who have been victims of fatal traffic collisions.

The driver in the crash, Lucas James Guidroz, turned himself in to authorities two days later, after officers found his vehicle in Canyon Country. Guidroz faces felony charges in connection with the fatal collision.
Police were asking for the public's help Friday in identifying a driver who left the scene after striking and seriously injuring a 4-year-old boy who was walking in a crosswalk in South Los Angeles.

The boy, who was walking with his 8-year-old sister, was hit by a tan or beige Dodge minivan about 4:20 p.m. on Wednesday at the intersection of Figueroa and 43rd streets, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

"The driver slowed down and then drove away south on Figueroa Street without stopping to identify himself or (render) aid as required by law,''

according to a police statement.

Paramedics rushed to boy to a hospital, where he is listed in serious condition, police said.

Anyone with information about the suspect was urged to call South Traffic Division detectives at (323) 421-2500 or the division watch commander

at (323) 421-2577. Anonymous tips can be provided through Crime Stoppers by calling (800) 222-TIPS.

Anyone providing information that leads to an offender's identification, apprehension and conviction or a resolution through civil compromise could be

eligible for a reward of up to $50,000.
Zachary Christian alerted NBC4 to what he thought was a blatant attempt to make money off someone's ignorance of California law.

"Basically, they're extorting people just to go down to the beach," he said.

We met Christian and also met Lilly, a tourist from Australia, when we went to investigate the alleged beach access fee at Paradise Cove in Malibu.

"I came from paradise to a pretend paradise and I had to pay to go and see it," Lily said. "We weren't allowed in unless we paid a $20 membership fee, so we turned around and walked back."

We found locals just as upset, so we went to see for ourselves.

"We're charging for a daily beach club membership," said an attendant at Paradise Cove. "Just to have access to the restrooms, the bathrooms, the restaurant."

When we said we didn't need access and just wanted to enjoy the beach, she responded: "Go straight and to the left of the pier, because the rest is private property."

Under California law, no beach is private. We wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt to explain. She said, "the dry sand I guess technically is private property."

Here's what we found out: Paradise Cove is private property but the beach is not. The owners have a right to charge to use the restaurant, parking lots and bathrooms, but beach access is free by state law. We took the complaints to the California Coastal Commission.

"We've started our investigation so we can't speak too freely about what's going on now," said Andrew Willis, a Coastal Commission enforcement supervisor.

Willis investigated Paradise Cove in 2014  the last time they were threatened with $11,000-a-day fines for gating off the pier and charging people for walking onto the beach. He's part of the new investigation into similar allegations.

"We have the full force of the Coastal Act and the remedies and enforcement provisions of the Coastal Act at our disposal," he said.

Paradise Cove is owned by Kissel Company, Inc. On their website, there's no mention of walk-in fees, but when we tried the same site on a mobile device, they listed the $20 fee under the tab "beach info." After our attempts for comment Thursday, the mobile site changed Friday to mirror the desktop website. And our calls for comment from the Kissel Company have not been returned.

For now, the Coastal Commission says people need to know they have a right to access the beach free of charge.

The Coastal Commission says even if the Cove makes claim that people are misunderstanding their daily beach membership fee, it could be illegal simply because it's misleading. As for staying only to the south of the pier, if you're not a guest at the Cove - that's also not true. You have access up and down the coast - but near the restaurant, best to stay south of the high tide line.
A suspect was wounded in a police shooting in the Hyde Park section of South Los Angeles Friday night.

No officers were injured in the shooting, which occurred about 8:45 p.m. in the area of Slauson and Brynhurst avenues, Los Angeles police Officer Mike Lopez said.

The wounded man was taken to a hospital, but no information about that person's condition was immediately available.

A citywide tactical alert -- requiring all on-duty Los Angeles Police Department officers to continue with their patrols until called off -- was issued in connection with the officer-involved shooting, Lopez said.
In California, an appellate court ruling upheld the status quo - applicants who want a license to carry a concealed weapon must show good cause.

An 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said law enforcement officials can require applicants for a concealed weapons permit to show they are in immediate danger or have another good reason for a permit beyond self-defense.

Hailed as a victory by gun control advocates, the ruling said people do not have a right to carry concealed weapons in public under the Second Amendment.

In San Diego County, the sheriff required applicants to show supporting documents such as restraining orders against possible attackers to show good cause for a permit. The requirement prompted a lawsuit by residents who were denied a permit.

"Good cause requires more than just saying I want a concealed weapon for self-defense, said Robert Faigin, legal advisor for San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore.

Applicants must establish they have been threatened through a restraining order, for example.

There has to be some type of circumstances that are different from the mainstream that establish the necessity to carry a concealed weapon, Faigin said.

Licenses can also be given to some businesses where people carry a large amount of money.

Paul Neuharth, the attorney for the San Diego man who filed the case, said there is no uniformed definition of good cause statewide.

He also said if the courts can not infringe upon guaranteed rights like free speech and freedom of religion, why is the Second Amendment different.

"It should be given the strength of all the other amendments," Neuharth said.

Gun rights advocates were disappointed by the ruling.

Ari Belkin from the Gun Range San Diego said this it creates an open invitation to criminals who aren't going to abide by the law anyway.

There's only one way to stop a bad guy with a gun and that's a good guy with a gun, Belkin said.

California generally prohibits people from carrying handguns in public without such a permit. State law requires applicants to show good moral character, have good cause and take a training course.

Plaintiffs are hoping to take the case to the United States Supreme Court.
Venerable community traditions are often saddled with heavy words, words like "hallowed" and "time-honored" and "vital" and "lofty," which are all fine and good but remarkably limited.

And, truth be told, a bit stodgy.

Because sometimes traditions can be "fun" and "light" and "syrupy" and "butter-scented," especially when they revolve around the first meal of the day.

Look to Santa Ana, and the Santa Ana Breakfast Club, an up-with-the-dawn civic group that began many decades ago. The club first formed in 1928, and the Santa Ana Breakfasteers kept the meal-oriented meet-ups going for years beyond, with sepia-sweet photos and newpaper articles telling the tale of a town that kept in touch over plates of egg, toast, and similar.

Now breakfast is back in the streets of Downtown Santa Ana, at least for one day: Sunday, June 12. Locals will pay homage to the memory of that long-ago club with a feast of chilaquiles, pancakes, coffee, and juice, eats which may be enjoyed while dining at the tables lining La Calle Cuarto, a major thoroughfare of downtown.

The City of Santa Ana and the downtown business district are the organizers of the 4th Street-based celebration, while area chefs will be at the grills, whipping up a fortifying alfresco treat.

Tickets? They're five dollars a pop. Full tables for your party? They're a hundred bucks each and can seat eight people. Going on at the same time? The Downtown Santa Ana Farmers' Market, Frida's Cinema's Sunday Matinee (look for vintage cartoons to keep the kids in stitches), and live tunes, as well as activities for the younger attendees.

It's a reminder that sweeter doings of long ago don't have to just exist within scrapbooks of the local history society.

Once and awhile a tradition as light-hearted as a street breakfast can be revisited, with charm and chilaquiles, giving neighbors a chance to catch up, hobnob, or just picnic outside on a pretty June morning.
A Santa Clarita boy got a heartwarming surprise Friday when he was reunited with his brother, a United States Airman, at his sixth grade graduation.

Devan Altmayer was sad to learn his brother, U.S. Airman Dylan Ryndak, would not be attending his graduation. But what he didn't know was that his family had secretly planned a surprise visit from his brother, who had been deployed for more than a year.

When James Foster Elementary School Principal Deborah Bohn announced a "special guest" during the ceremony, Devan looked around and was stunned to find his 19-year-old brother walking in.

"I was speechless," Dylan said, "I couldn't believe he was here to see me graduate."

The pair gave each other a long hug before another brother ran up to join them for the emotional embrace.

"I miss him a lot. I'm glad he's here now," Dylan said.

Ryndak was given a two-day leave to attend the ceremony and said it was important he was there to witness the special moment, especially because the trio of brothers have all now graduated from the same elementary school.

"[I'm] pretty excited to come out here and watch him do the same things I did," Ryndak said.
A photo of a Maine teenager sitting by herself at her birthday party is going viral and prompting people to send her cards.

The photo of 18-year-old Hallee Sorenson was shared on Facebook by her cousin, Rebecca Guildford of Oxford, Massachusetts, who wrote that Hallee has autism.

"Hallee is funny, sweet, caring, smart, an athlete, a jigsaw puzzle champion, a wonderful student, and a best friend to all. Hallee is an amazing person  a person I am proud to be related to," she wrote. "She is also a person who just happens to have Autism. She has never let that small detail define who she is as a person  which is why I refuse to use it as something to describe her."

She described the heartbreaking scene at Sorenson's last birthday party  the teen had sent invitations to classmates and other friends, and was excited to go bowling with them.

"Hallee sat at her party anxiously waiting for her friends to arrive so they could have fun," Guildford wrote. "But Hallee's friends would never arrive. Not a single one."

It was Sorenson's 18th birthday. What should have been a milestone of adulthood was instead painful and lonely, Guildford wrote.

"My cousin is a beautiful young woman who will always have the mind of a child," she wrote. "She was heartbroken and beyond sad. She was hurt."

Guildford wants her cousin's next birthday, in July, to be special. She is asking people reading her Facebook post to send birthday cards.

As of Friday morning, the post had been shared more than 136,000 times and received dozens comments from people pledging to send cards.

When Guildford first posted the photo, she hoped she would convince 50 to 100 of her friends to send cards to Hallee. Now she has been deluged with emails, including ones from Ireland, Italy and France.

"This has blown up to something I couldn't have even thought of in my wildest dreams," she said. "It's overwhelming, but in a good way. I definitely never saw this coming."

If people take one message from the photo, she hopes it is to be kind to one another, she said. Hallee still remembers her disappointment last year, she said.

"I'm hoping that with all of this that we're able to replace those negative memories with some really good, strong, awesome memories of what a birthday really should be like," Guildford said.

Guildford noted that many people have been asking about sending gifts, and that while her family appreciates the sentiment, "gifts truly aren't necessary. A nice card would be just fine!!!"

People who wish to send cards may direct them here:

Hallee Sorenson

34 Wellesley Way

Bangor, ME 04401

"Hal loves getting mail  this would be the best birthday gift she could ask for," Guildford wrote.
Hialeah Police arrested five men for their suspected involvement in a carjacking Thursday night.

Hialeah Police spotted a 2013 white Hyundai Genesis that was reported stolen in an armed carjacking out of Miami. Officers attempted to stop the stolen vehicle near 766 E 25th Street in Hialeah.

According to officers, the vehicle refused to stop and fled from police. The vehicle then crashed into a resident's fence near the corner of Lejeune Road and 17th Street.

Luby Louis, 26, Johnny Lemorin, 17, Quayon Moorer, 19, Tharron Lawton, 15, and John Wooden, 19, bailed from the vehicle and fled from police on foot. Police say the men were found hiding in backyards and sheds.

All five men were arrested and charged accordingly.
It was a dramatic day in court Friday for the attorney of the mother accused of double murder in Miramar.

Sophia Hines, 40, has given no explanation for her actions, but family members claim she suffers from postpartum depression. Her children, 7-month-old St. Leo and 3-year-old Ariel, were found dead on Wednesday.

Police said Hines told them she smothered her children to death.

"Ms. Hines is going to be held no bond at this time," the judge said during Friday's hearing.

Hines did not appear in bond court. Her lawyer was there and said Hines is simply incapable of appreciating what has happened.

"She's in no shape to appear. She's currently in a catatonic state. I spent three hours with her yesterday. I've never seen anything like it. Severe case of postpartum depression," said Betsy Benson, public defender.

Hines' family in Philadelphia didn't even know she was visiting South Florida. Her husband said he thought she was in New York, and that he never suspected any mental illness severe enough to lead to a tragedy.

The public defender said Hines was being treated for postpartum depression in Philadelphia, but obviously, it wasn't enough.

"I've spoken with the family. She has two grown children to whom she was a great mom and something happened that turned into a horrible tragedy that no one can imagine," Benson said.

Hines was being held in the protective custody wing in the psych ward at the Broward County Jail under suicide watch.

Meanwhile, St. Leo and Ariel's daycare in Philadelphia held a candlelight vigil and balloon release in honor of the kids Friday evening.
The local woman who was brutally assaulted by her Craigslist roommate spoke out after spending nearly a month in a coma. In February, Danielle Jones was close to death after her roommate allegedly bludgeoned her.

Jones walked into court Friday to face her alleged attacker Byron Mitchell.

"I think that he knocked me out before everything happened so I don't remember what happened," Jones said. "I would probably ask him why he did it."

"For the record, that by the grace of God, the victim is present in court today," Jones' attorney said during the hearing.

But Mitchell refused to show up. The duo met through a Craigslist ad for a roommate and he moved into her Miami apartment.

"He seemed really very nice. His resume said that he went to college, that he was in the military, so he could have fooled anyone," Jones said.

Then on Valentine's Day, Mitchell told police he acted in self-defense when Jones attacked him with a knife.

"To say that I attacked him? I wouldn't attack anyone," Jones said.

Mitchell is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder and could get life in prison if convicted. However, his defense attorney said there's more to the story but didn't explain further.

Mitchell remains behind bars with no bond. His trial has been scheduled for Sept. 6.
Miami-Dade Police Department is searching for a woman missing since Thursday who is considered to be endangered.

Jennifer Bennett, 27, was last seen near the 600 block of NE 179th Terrace in Miami. She was last seen wearing a black blouse and blue jeans.

According to authorities, Bennett left her home around 5 p.m. to meet with a friend. Bennett has not been seen or heard from since, however, her vehicle was found abandoned on the side of the road.

Anyone with information about this missing person should contact the Miami-Dade Police Department at (305) 418-7200 or Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
An international student from Sweden who was shot during an armed robbery in Wynwood is speaking out from his hospital bed.

Frank Hammar, a student at Miami Ad School, spoke from his bed at Jackson Memorial Hospital Friday as he continues his recovery from two gunshot wounds.

"This one guy comes up to me with the gun drawn next to me and starts telling me to take out my stuff, put everything on the floor," Hammar said, describing the Tuesday night shooting.

The 28-year-old student said he had just finished dinner with his parents at the Wynwood Diner and had sent them off with an Uber driver when two men approached him, one brandishing a weapon. Hammer gave up his phone but kept his wallet.

"I told them that you guys are really screwing me over if you take this," Hammar said. "The other guy said something like 'blast him or pop him' and the guy with the gun fires two bullets."

Hammer was struck twice in his abdomen and crawled for help.

"The Miami EMS system is really great. They were able to rescue him really fast and bring him to the trauma center really fast and this saved his life," JMH's Dr. Antonio Marttos said.

Hammer said he feels fortunate.

"It was only when I saw a lot of blood when I thought I might bleed to death," he said. "I am just so lucky and thankful for all the doctors here."

Hammar's graduation was Friday night but his parents attended and proudly accepted his diploma on his behalf. He addressed his fellow classmates via Skype.

"I got so lucky in all of this. I'm so lucky to have you all throughout this. I have never experienced such overwhelming support before in my life," he said.

Hammar even made light of what happened: "I love you all, and my final advice is carry a fake wallet while walking through Wynwood."

Police are trying to find the two men who put Hammer in the hospital. Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

Click here for Hammar's GoFundMe page
Cellphone video of a car barreling down a narrow bike lane over a small bridge in New York City is the latest example of the fraught battle for space between cyclists and drivers, they say.

Bicyclist Steven Stones, who recorded the video, was riding his bicycle to work Friday morning when he looked up and saw a Volkswagen sedan barreling toward him, taking up almost all of the bicycle-only path on the Pulaski Bridge connecting Brooklyn and Queens.

"When you see a car coming at you, it's not the greatest feeling in the world," he told NBC 4 New York.

The sedan had a dashboard placard that read "official clergy business," according to Stones. It had somehow managed to squeeze itself onto the narrow bike path -- clearly marked and separated from vehicle lanes by a cement divider -- at the bridge's entrance in Long Island City.

Even more mind-boggling, the driver seemed to make it all the way to the end of the path in Greenpoint.

Other drivers who travel the bridge say they couldn't see how he missed the signs.

"You can see the bike and the reflectors that divide the path," said one woman. "It's very noticeable."

It's unclear why the driver was on the path. There's no record he was cited, but Stones said it seemed the driver thought the bicyclists were actually in his way.

"He started flashing his lights -- I don't know what he was trying to accomplish, like trying to say 'get out of my way?'" he said.

Bicyclists say the battle to co-exist with drivers in a city where two wheels are becoming increasingly common rages on -- but no one could have imagined this bike path would become the latest battleground.

The Department of Transportation said it has placed a barrel at the entrance to bike path in Long Island City and will address any signage needs.
A group of girls attacked a woman on the subway, punching and kicking her before running away at a Brooklyn station, police say.

Police say the four girls got into a dispute with a 21-year-old woman on board a southbound A train in East New York the night of Friday, May 27.

They began assaulting her, pummeling and kicking her, and then ran off the train when it pulled into the Broadway-East New York station, according to police.

The victim suffered bruising to her head but refused medical attention at the scene.

Police are searching for the girls. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
Straphangers waiting for the subway at City Hall Friday afternoon sprang into action when they saw a man lose consciousness and fall onto the subway tracks, dramatic witness video shows.

Gothamist, which obtained video of the good Samaritan rescue, reports the passengers were waiting for the R train at City Hall at about 2:30 p.m. when a man in his 50s to early 60s fell onto the tracks.

"This huge person just fell, and the sound was horrific," Sumeja Tulic, a CUNY student who witnessed the rescue and recorded the video, told NBC 4 New York.

"At that point I thought, 'This is when I will see for the first time somebody dying in front of my very own eyes,'" said Tulic, who's studying journalism.

But three men suddenly jumped onto the tracks, and Tulic instinctively began recording.

"I sort of saw that they were doing something amazing. I have to say it's a professional sort of thing, like, 'oh, my God, I hope they will succeed and I want people to see this," she said.

The video shows the men pushing the unconscious man up onto the platform, where several people rushed over to help pull him up. The men on the tracks quickly bound back up onto the platform, again with the help of bystanders on the platform. The good Samaritans then pressed an alarm to warn the conductor.

The man began regaining consciousness about two minutes later, when the next train pulled into the station.

Tulic said everyone else was asked to leave the platform, including her, but the rescuers stayed with him.

"It was like a melting pot of goodness," she said.

The FDNY said the man was taken to Bellevue Hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. It's not clear what caused him to lose consciousness.

It was the second time in less than a month that bystanders jumped onto the subway tracks in lower Manhattan to rescue a fallen man. Last month, a 19-year-old man jumped onto the subway tracks at Canal Street to move an ill man out of the way of an oncoming train. The teen made it back onto the platform with the help of another bystander seconds before the train pulled in.
ISIS militants killed at least 30 people, most of whom were women and children who were trying to flee the Iraqi city of Fallujah, NBC News reports.

Militants attacked those who were trying to flee the ISIS-held city, according to a military spokesman, who did not say how many people were injured in the attack.

A source in Fallujah told NBC News that ISIS militants  whose own families left the city  demanded that women and children remain in Fallujah.

"ISIS militants told men that if they want to leave the town, so they are free to do that, under one condition, not to take their families with them, and if they tried to do so they would kill them," the source said.

Fallujah has been held by ISIS for more than two years. An estimated 30-40,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the city.
It's Queen Elizabeth II's birthday  still.

If it seems like the British queen celebrated her 90th birthday just a few months ago, that's because she did. On April 21, to be exact, when much of the nation came together to praise her long and constant reign.

But in the arcane ways of the British monarchy, that doesn't stop her from marking the event again with three days of festivities that started Friday with pomp, pageantry and prayer at St. Paul's Cathedral.

The British sovereign has two birthdays each year: One on the actual date of their birth and the other one in early June, when London's royal parks usually bask in sunshine.

The service Friday  which coincided with a 41-gun salute to honor the queen's husband, Prince Philip, on his actual 95th birthday  included other 90-year-old speakers. Among them were naturalist David Attenborough, who read from the works of 90-year-old Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond, and Hilda Price, a woman born on the same day as the queen.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, set the tone by reminding Britain of the queen's long life and dedicated service.

"We look back on Your Majesty's 90 years in the life of our nation with deep wonder and profound gratitude," he said. "Through war and hardship, through turmoil and change, we have been fearfully and wonderfully sustained."

The monarch, dressed in a primrose yellow coat-dress and matching hat, turned to smile at a crowd of well-wishers singing "Happy Birthday" as she climbed the cathedral steps.

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Prince William and his wife Kate, Prince Harry and dozens of other royals joined politicians and the wider community in a thundering rendition of "God Save the Queen."

The festive Trooping the Color parade will be held Saturday, the queen's official birthday. The event is expected to draw throngs of Britons and visitors to Buckingham Palace for a possible balcony appearance by the senior royals.

On Sunday, the Mall in front of the palace will host lunch for roughly 10,000 charity workers, patrons and members of the royal family.

Street parties are planned in many locations, including some in Commonwealth countries and also in the United States.

British newspapers have been filled with paeans to the queen, and editorials urging the public to show its gratitude for her long reign.

After the three-day extravaganza, the queen is expected to turn her attention to the horse racing season and her lengthy summer holiday in Scotland.
Weary Republicans are looking for assurances that Donald Trump can maintain the discipline needed to stay on message as he prepares for a bruising general election run-up against Hillary Clinton.

Trump's conciliatory, teleprompter-guided victory speech Tuesday appeared to stave off at least for the time being  a near-GOP revolt over his racially divisive attacks against the American-born judge of Mexican heritage hearing the case against his now-defunct Trump University.

As he kicks off his general election campaign with a scheduled speech Friday, a thorny question has arisen: How does the party keep Trump in check?

"A primary campaign against 16 opponents is very different and combative in a different way than a general election against a well-organized, well-funded Clinton machine," said Rep. Chris Collins, who has been helping to coordinate Trump's outreach to Congress.

Collins said he understood there would be lingering questions about Trump after the distracting episode, but said the speech was part of what he sees as a "total pivot" by the candidate.

"Mr. Trump is a very smart guy and wants to win," he said after a weekly gathering with Trump staff on Thursday. "I'm convinced we'll see a very disciplined GOP nominee moving forward."

The judge episode arguably marked the biggest crisis of Trump's campaign to date, and sparked a series of phone calls from concerned Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, pressing the gravity of the situation.

"I explained exactly what I thought about that comment. I said it publicly and I said it privately," Ryan said in an interview that aired on "Good Morning America" Friday.

"I don't know what's in his heart," he added. "But I do think, hope and believe that he's going to improve the tenor of the campaign, the tone of the campaign, the kind of campaign that he's going to run."

It remains to be seen, however, how deeply Trump has internalized the message. Since launching his campaign, Trump has pushed back against calls by some of his closest aides and family members to adopt a more "presidential tone." His fiery language and penchant for controversy has earned him endless free media attention and energized voters during the primaries, helping him secure victory.

"You think I'm going to change? I'm not changing," he boomed at a press conference recently.

Again and again, he has delivered conciliatory victory speeches, only to turn up the heat against his rivals in his campaign speeches. Trump's first test comes Friday evening as he appears in Richmond, Virginia  his first campaign rally since the primary season came to a close.

Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski dismissed the idea of an intervention, and downplayed the significance of the victory speech, noting that Trump has used teleprompters on multiple occasions to deliver specific remarks.

"From time to time, he'll use it. But's a function of the audience and what he wants to say. I can guarantee you this: in Richmond tonight, it will not be a teleprompter speech," he said.

Indeed, Trump was already showing signs on Friday that general election Trump will sound a lot like the Trump displayed through the primaries.

"Pocahontas is at it again!" he Tweeted Friday morning, using his favored nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who officially endorsed Clinton Thursday evening and met with her Friday, fueling speculation that she's being considered for a running mate. "Goofy Elizabeth Warren, one of the least productive U.S. Senators, has a nasty mouth. Hope she is V.P. choice."

To try to keep Trump, who is notoriously resistant to advice, on track, some on his team are turning more to his grown children  Eric, Don Jr. and Ivanka, as well as Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner  in the hope that they can exert influence. In addition to giving them more public roles, some campaign aides have been pushing for them to travel more with the candidate, according to a person familiar with the efforts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about private discussions.

The goal is to try to keep Trump on message, while asserting more control over Lewandowski, who is a constant presence by Trump's side. Lewandowski led Trump to victory in the primary with the motto "Let Trump be Trump," and has long resisted suggestions that Trump needs to change his tone.

Lewandowski pushed back against the notion that Republicans are looking for Trump to tone down his rhetoric and stressed the candidate is not going to change.

"I don't know if they're saying we need to rein him in. They are not used to a presidential candidate who speaks from the heart and talks the way the American public speaks. They are used to politicians who are all talk and not action. That's not Mr. Trump," Lewandowski told the Associated Press, adding, "His messaging is not going to change going forward."

Still, supporters say they're confident that Trump is growing into his new role.

"I think Donald is learning how to be a candidate," said John Catsimatidis, a major New York donor, as he left a closed-door gathering with Trump on Thursday. "I think he's getting better and better at it."

Others, however, remain doubtful.

"You know, I think everybody can change. The question is does he have the self-discipline and some control over his ego to be able to say 'I'm wrong' every now and then?" said former Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma on "Morning Joe" Thursday. "And I haven't seen that."
A Rancho Bernardo High School senior got a heartwarming surprise at her graduation in San Diego on Thursday.

Camille Morris was reunited with her father, Master Sergeant Derrick D. Morris of the United States Marine Corp in a surprise visit during graduation.

Camille said goodbye to her father last year when he was deployed overseas. When she found out he couldn't make it to her high school graduation, she was disappointed.

Rancho Bernardo High School Principal David LeMaster asked Camille to join him during his graduation speech. He recalled meeting Camille and learning that her father was serving overseas.

LeMaster contacted Morris to plan the surprise  which Morris said, was nine months in the making.

Morris served in Iraq, Kosovo, and is currently deployed to Kuwait in support of Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) referred to as Operation Inherent Resolve.

He flew in Tuesday night, but no one from his family knew he was back. He said he knew it would be an emotional reunion  and he was right.

Eyes full of tears, Camille rushed to her father during the ceremony.

It was well worth, Morris said, speaking of the moment he hugged his daughter. Im a very proud father, very proud.

Morris said up until the reunion, he had only been in contact with his family through text messages and emails.

Text messages only say words but it doesnt have feelings. Its not like youre there, you can hold them, kiss them, touch them every night, he said.

Morris said he put a whole years worth of emotions into the hug he gave Camille on Thursday.

If I had to rank one of the best feelings of my life, this would rank very high. Best moment in my life is being a proud dad and being able to make it all the way back to San Diego to see my daughter graduate, he said.

Morris is currently on leave.
A van crashed into a store front in College Park, Maryland, late Friday night, injuring the driver, according to police.

The University of Maryland police said the building is an apartment complex, called The Domain, in the 3700 block of Campus Drive. It is a privately owned luxury apartment building with stores located on the ground level.

The van crashed into the Gateway Market store front around 11:35 p.m. The store was closed at the time, so no one was inside when the collision occurred.

The driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police have not identified the driver or said if any charges will be filed.
Three women were injured Friday in a three-car crash in Bedford, New Hampshire

Route 101 was closed for over an hour after the crash around 11:15 a.m.

Police say a 41-year-old Manchester woman was speeding in a 1998 Toyota Camry and passing cars when she slammed into a 2000 Honda CRV driven by a 68-year-old Milford woman.

The Honda was sent off into the trees as the Camry hit a 2015 Nissan Rogue head on, injuring the 78-year-old Bedford woman driving it.

All three women were taken to area hospitals. Their injuries are all considered serious but not life-threatening.

The crash remains under investigation.
State Police intercepted a suspicious package being shipped to 28-year-old Brett Delong in Bedford, New Hampshire, Thursday.

The package contained approximately one pound of Marijuana.

Authorities searched Delong's residence after obtaining a search warrant and found 81 Marijuana plants, four additional pounds of processed marijuana and four ounces of MDMA, "Molly". The estimated street value of the drugs seized is approcimately $190,000.

Police also found a Marijuana growing operation and evidence of the distribution of controlled drugs.

Delong was taken into custody without incident. He was arraigned at the District Court of Merrimack and is being held at Hillsborough County jail for lack of cash bail.
Police detectives searched a residence at 1 Rickey Lane in Wareham, Massachusetts, Friday morning regarding the distribution of illegal narcotics.

A bedroom search resulted in the discovery of 8 grams of suspected fetanyl, which is one of the strongest opiates on the market and more poetent than heroine. Also discovered in the bedroom were 19 Amphetamine pills, along with digital scales and sandwich baggies.

William Affonso, 26, was arrested at the scene and was later arraigned at Wareham District Court on charges of Possession with intent to ditribute.

no other residents at the address were arrested for drug offenses.
A Maine high school senior is opting out of his graduation ceremony after school officials told him he couldn't wear an Army sash over his gown.

Nineteen-year-old Greg Woodworth of Topsham says he will have his own graduation ceremony Sunday at American Legion Post 202 instead.

The Portland Press Herald reports that Woodworth, a senior at Mount Ararat High School, was told by school officials that he couldn't wear his Army sash because they want "unification around the school" at graduation.

Woodworth is headed to Fort Benning in Georgia in July to train to become an infantryman. Woodworth says his parents agree with his decision not to participate in the high school graduation ceremony scheduled for Sunday.
Several police agencies in Massachusetts offer to buy back weapons from gun owners around the state on Saturday.

In an effort to reduce gun-related deaths, cities throughout Middlesex County offered $5-$200 gift cards in exchange for ammunition and guns, advertising a no questions asked policy at each location.

Any time we can get weapons or guns, pistols, even replicas, off the street, it's a good thing for lawn enforcement and it's a good thing for the community, said Stephen Kervick, an armorer for the Cambridge Police Department.

In 2015, Cambridge recovered 55 guns while hosting a similar event. This year, they brought in 22. However, the interest prompted Belmont, Arlington, Somerville and Waterville to also participate, in conjunction with the Middlesex County Sheriffs Office.

My nephew was dating one of the teachers that was killed in Sandy Hook, said Cambridge resident, Manny Lusardi.

After learning of the event, Lusardi dug up two BB guns he had found left in a playground and brought them to police.

I think this is the first step in the right direction, he said of the initiative. Its one more life possibly not taken.

Community members helped raise money to provide the gift cards police gave in exchange for the weapons. Bishop Brian Greene of the Pentecostal Tabernacle, who helped host the event in his parking lot, said it was a chance for them to potentially lower the number of gun deaths in the state.

I'm not under the delusion that this is going to be the cure all, explained Greene. But any, even if it's just 1%, but anything that can help I think we should do.

Future buy back events in Middlesex County will be held at the Somerville Department of Public Works on June 25, 2016 and the First Parish Church in Watertown on June 18, 2016.
A teacher in Hartford is being praised for her actions during a lockdown at Prince Technical High School.

Cellphone video shows the teach armed with what appears to be a plastic pole, ready to strike the intuder.

The lockdown was prompted by a threat that ended up being a hoax.

A mother of one of Paula Butterfield's students is thanking the teacher for her heroic actions.

Shamikia Pitts said Butterfield, a biology teacher, did an excellent job.

"Thank you. I really appreciate everything you've done for children! And mine of course," Pitts said.

"She's a hero. She's really, really awesome. She did a good job!" Pitts added.

Butterfield is seen on a quick cell phone video shot by Pitts' daughter. Right in the middle of a lock down at A.I. Prince Technical High School in Hartford Thursday morning.

State and local police swarmed the school after a threat was made on social media about shooting up the school lunch room.

Shamikia Pitts told NBC Connecticut, "When I asked Camani (daughter) she said the teacher grabbed a pole that was inside a plastic thing in a closet. And she came out, stood at that door and whatever she heard at that door she was gunna swing at it. Whatever would've came her way, she would've gotten them!"

Shamikia said she got a frantic phone call from her 10th grader Camani Bell Thursday morning, who was inside that classroom along with 15 other teenagers.

Superintendent Dr. Nivea Torres told NBC Connecticut, "The safety of our students is always our top priority. The example of Mrs. Butterfield demonstrates the commitment of all Prince Tech educators and how seriously we take that responsibility. We are also very grateful for our partners with the State Police who responded quickly and determined that there was not a threat."

There have not been any arrests following yesterdays incident and State Troopers tell us this is the fifth school threat they've responded to this academic school year.
Robbery victim, Ignazio Chermesino of Dedham, Massachusetts died on Saturday morning.

Chermesino, 89,hailed passer-bys to contact Dedham police before he was transported and hospitalized.

He was injured during a robbery of his home located on Upland Road on May 27, 2016.

An autopsy will be conducted, and the investigation into the robbery is continuing with the possibility of adjustment to the charges against the suspect.
Donald Trump returns to New Hampshire Monday for the first time since his win the state's primary back in February.

He'll hold some fundraisers and give a speech.

To some voters, it appears his campaign has had very little presence in the Granite State since the primary, but the state co-chair says differently.

While Trump has had only one paid staffer at his Manchester office for the last four months, Stephen Stepanek tells necn it's the volunteers who are carrying Trump's momentum.

"We have a strong and robust volunteer group here that we kept active," Stepanek said.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has kept five paid staffers in New Hampshire, but the Democratic nominee doesn't yet have a campaign headquarters there.

"You have to remember Hillary just clinched the nomination the other day, so these things take a little bit of time," said Democratic Strategist Sean Downey.

Downey says no office, no problem.

"There hasn't been any kind of lull in excitement, we've got thousands of volunteers ready to go do the work," Downey said Friday.

Both campaigns are ramping up, increasing the number of paid staffers in the state, opening more field offices, and getting the ground game running again.

"Republicans rely on volunteers, people enthusiastic about the cause," Stepanek said. "The Democrats rely on paid people to do it."

Downey says that's a ridiculous claim.

"I've been around New Hampshire for a long time, I've never seen that -- I've never even heard of that, to be honest with you," he said. "Our ground game is superior."

Some of the latest polls show Clinton and Trump neck and neck in New Hampshire. We'll have to see which party is most convincing to undecided voters over the next five months.
Who is The Daily News Athlete of the Week? Here are the 7 nominees.

high-school
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 56F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds overnight. Low 34F. Winds light and variable.
News18  Blogs  India

Manohar Parrikar, The Diplomat

File photo of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. (Reuters)

Enough attention has not been given perhaps to the fact that as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was crisscrossing West Asia, Europe and Americas over the last one week, his Defence Minister Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar was addressing the intellectuals in Singapore and holding serious discussions with top leaders of Vietnam, including its President, Prime Minister and defence minister. While in Singapore Parrikar was highlighting India's strategic vision, in Vietnam he was holding high level bilateral talks on the entire spectrum of defence cooperation initiatives, including possible sale of supersonic missile BrahMos to the Southeast Asian country.



In fact, one development that has gone relatively unnoticed is the greater frequency and visibility of Parrikar in foreign countries these days. During the last one year, he has visited officially Japan, South Korea, Russia, the United States, China, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Vietnam. I do not know whether Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has visited so many countries of extreme significance during the same period.



Be that as it may, one should consider this to be a positive development. What this means is that a rising India has discovered the virtues of what is called "defence diplomacy" in an international environment in which it has few adversaries but more partners. The term "military diplomacy" or "defence diplomacy" has gained currency after the demise of communism in East Europe during 1990s. In order to ensure that the armed forces of the erstwhile communist countries realise the value of democracy, which, in turn, requires "the civilian control of the military", the NATO-countries undertook extensive programmes like "Partners for peace" throughout Eastern Europe.



One remembers in this context the famous remark of the former US defence secretary Robert Gates that "the capability of America's military to redress the trials of the modern age lay not in its capacity to drop bombs, but rather in its ability to look beyond the use of violence and embrace alternative means of promoting its interests". Likewise, from India's point of view, defence diplomacy should be construed as any military activity with an expressly diplomatic purpose. Its formats could be either bilateral and multilateral contacts between senior military officials or bilateral defence cooperation or training of foreign military personnel or provision of expertise and advice on democratic control of armed forces or contacts and exchanges between military personnel, and ship visits or provision of military equipment and other material aid or bilateral and multilateral military exercises for training purposes.



Viewed thus, it is important to note that in 2015 alone India undertook as many as 18 military exercises- naval, army and air force- with 13 countries. This was probably the largest that the country has had in recent years. It is also worth noting that for the first time Japan joined India and the United States in the Malabar exercises in the Bay of Bengal and there was the first-ever maritime exercise with Australia. Add to this the fact that India in the last 18 months has also launched maritime security dialogues with Australia, China, France, Japan and the United States. All "these allow us to share security perspectives and explore possibilities of cooperation", Parrikar said at Singapore.



It is not that Parrikar is the first Indian Defence Minister to practice such defence diplomacy. His predecessor during the Congress rule, AK Antony, had also visited a number of important countries, including the leading ones in Southeast Asia, China, Australia and Russia. But it is to be admitted that the Modi government seems to be an intense practitioner of this diplomacy. In fact, not long ago, Parrikar had revealed that India was planning to export defence materials and training military personnel to a significant number of countries. "At least 38 countries are sending their defence personnel for training in India. We are encouraging them. We are giving them more slots. We are also considering to supply some sort of defence materials through export or through line of credit to the countries so that they can depend on India for their defence," he said.



Parrikar, however, did not reveal the names of these countries. He said he would not be able to reveal names of the countries which are sending their personnel for training due to "security reasons". However, he added, "India does not want to dominate any other country but increase its own strength through partnership and friendship."



It may be noted here that though defence diplomacy was not in the public parlance before 1990s, India, as the inheritor of the British legacy, had practiced it in the South Asian neighbourhood soon after independence. But this phase did not last long, with the then political leadership preferring what strategic expert Raja Mohan calls "military isolationism". It was only after the end of the Cold War, particularly after the demise of the Soviet Union, that India started realising the value of defence diplomacy. It all began with the United States through service to service interaction between the armed forces in the early 1990s, thanks to the so-called Kickleighter proposals, named after the then US commander of the Pacific Armies.



Today, India is actively pursuing defence diplomacy in many parts of the world. And here one of the focused areas happens to be Indo-Pacific region. Following the enunciation of India's Look-East policy in the 1990s, India has established substantive defence cooperation and military exchanges with all the major Southeast Asian countries. In fact, its defence diplomacy has extended to cover countries in West Asia, Central Asia, Northeast Asia and Austrasia. The Indian Ocean region has been also another focused region in this regard. To be specific, India maintains defence and military relations with Mauritius, Seychelles, Mozambique, Madagascar, Maldives, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, Republic of Korea, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Israel, Oman, Iran, UAE, Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia, Namibia, Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, the USA, Brazil, UK, France, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Belarus, Germany, Greece, Italy and Australia.



Talking specifically of the South East Asia or the Asean countries, India unveiled the Milan multilateral exercises in 1995. It has now been institutionalised as a biennial event that draws in a large number of countries in the Indo-Pacific littoral. In 1996 India joined the security forum of the Asean, the ARF (Asean Regional Forum). In 2005, the Asean leaders invited India to join the East Asia Summit process that was to focus on broader political and security issues facing Asia. In 2010, India participated in the first expanded gathering of the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting that was dubbed ADMM Plus (Asian Defense Minister Meeting Plus).



The ADMM-Plus (comprising 10 ASEAN countries plus eight others: Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States) has been focussing on five priority areas of cooperation: humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), medicine, maritime security, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism. In June 2013, there took place a unique military exercise in Brunei involving seven ships, 15 helicopters and around 3200 personnel from 18 different countries, including India, Japan, China, Singapore, the US and Vietnam, proving that the ADMM-Plus was a great forum of military confidence-building measures.



However, the fact remains that despite the increasing relevance of defence diplomacy, there are rooms for improvement in India's institutional capability to leverage the military element of national power. All told, India has not been able to establish a presence in the Asia-Pacific region commensurate with its strategic interests. Nor has it assisted properly friendly foreign countries in developing their defence capabilities. And that has been primarily due to the lack of adequate political support and poor coordination between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Hopefully, things will now change, given Parrikar's recent assertions and foreign visits.
Saina Nehwal entered the finals of the Australian Open in Sydney on Saturday after a convincing win over fourth seed Wang Yihan from China in the women's singles semi-finals. Kidambi Srikanath, however, lost in his semi-finals match against Hans-Kristian Vittinghus.

Saina was at her dominating best in the opening game. She executed her plans perfectly and zoomed to a 15-6 lead against Yihan. The Indian came up with some sharp angled returns to bamboozle the Chinese. Her slices and smashes were stiff and sharper then Yihan, who seemed off-colour.

In the second game, Saina did not allow the intensity to slip and rode on Yihan's sluggish movement and inconsistent strokes to once again open up a 11-4 lead with a cross court return as they moved to the interval.

After the break, Saina continued playing her own game, often reprimanding herself or accepting a missed chance during a rally. She changed the pace and came up with a wide variety of strokes to make Yihan run across the court.

Her attacking winners gave her results as Saina reached her match point when Yihan hit the net. The Indian failed to reach for a back hand return, netted a stroke before grabbing the final point when Yihan found the net again.

Srikanth put up a good fight against Danish opponent Vittinghus, losing the first game 22-20. However, Vittinghus powered ahead in the second game and won 21-13.

With inputs from PTI
THIS KONYAK warrior is wearing his valour on his body. The nine brass heads define the number of heads he had hunted down and the tattoo on his body is a rare art, reserved for the bravest of the brave.

Konyaks are known to be one of the most traditional of Naga tribes. They were the last of the tribes to convert to Christianity, this only after the Church allowed them to continue with some of their traditional practices. The practices included not burying the heads which were hunted and stored by the tribe.

Amongst the tribes in the Naga Hills, 'head' was highly revered. It was believed that the head is where the soul resides. It is the focal point of a man's energy, spirit and life. Thus when the brave warriors brought back the heads of the enemies, it meant they were bringing prosperity and fertility to their tribe. Thus began the cult of headhunting, which dominated much of the narrative of the Naga tribes, till it was banned in the 1940s. Though some records seem to suggest, a few instances of headhunting was seen as late as the late 1960s or even after that.

The headhunters were decorated leaders of the tribe. They had special tattoos, often done by the queen herself, covering the entire upper body and the face. These tattoos were seen as medals of their valour, symbol of manhood. Old timers recount how men without tattoos often went without brides.

Tattoos were not just reserved for the headhunters. Each had a different meaning, signifier of the tribe. Each tribe had its own distinguishing mark. These helped them to identify their own, especially when confronted with a headless body.

There were tattoos for women too, some signified marriage, some child birth, rites of passages in the present life and into the next one too.

In areas around Chandel (Naga dominated hill area in Manipur which shares its border with Myanmar), some tattoos of medicinal significance were also found.

Impact of Christianity and Modern Life

Then came Christianity and the modern way of life. Old traditions were frowned upon and soon almost forgotten. As the tribes began imbibing modern ways of life, education and a stable life, these traditional tattoos and symbols have lost their proud presence in the society. No more are the youth adorned with the mark of their tribe, nor did the village belle, check out the tattoos before the biceps. The art form was almost on the verge of extinction.

Since the last evidence of headhunting was found in the late 1960s and early 1970s most of the headhunters in the tribes are octogenarians. The body art which they proudly display are often lost with them. This man embodies the last of those brilliant necklace tattoos. (See image below)
New Delhi: Capping airfares could be counter-productive for majority of passengers as airlines might hike the floor prices, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Saturday.



His remarks came days after he ruled out the possibility of capping airfares in the backdrop of passenger complaints of arbitrary tariff hikes, saying competition among the airlines will take care of the problem.



"The idea is not to regulate for the sake of regulation. We don't want to push up the cost of tickets for the majority," Raju said while unveiling passenger-centric measures to make air travel more hassle-free.



When asked about the possibility of capping air ticket prices, the Minister said floors and caps did exist before 1994.



"So do we want to make it a regulated affair or not? If you put a cap, the floor will go up. This is the problem...," he noted.



Citing an analysis about fare movements done in 2015, the Minister said then it was found that only around 1.7 per cent of the tickets were priced higher. The analysis was carried in the wake of concerns expressed by Parliamentarians about steep fluctuations in air ticket prices.



"This is a thing that had come in Rajya Sabha first. We had analysed the whole thing and then on the discussion itself we realised that 1.7 per cent of the tickets were on the higher side. So less than 98 per cent of the tickets were reasonably priced," he said.



In an interview to PTI, earlier this week, Raju had said competition among the airlines would take care of the problem and that restricting the airfares would not make good business sense as it could also jeopardise the government's regional connectivity plan.



On capping airfares, Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey on Saturday said it is an issue which continues to be under consideration of the Ministry.



"A final view of course is to be taken. The examination of the issue is very much continuing," he added.



Meanwhile, the Minister declined to comment to a query related to his aide Appa Rao's alleged contacts with arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.



"We will take it separately. We don't want to mix it. This priority (on passenger centric measures being announced) I don't want to lose out on it," Raju said.



He was asked whether investigation agencies have come back with additional information on the Rao issue.



When asked about his comments that Air India's books are so bad that there would be no takers even if it is offered, Raju said, "I will take it another time. This is not the time for it."
The CBI in its earlier raids had recovered several SIM cards, cell phones and data from Tawde's residence last week and got some hints regarding the crime.



We need to look at the larger picture- the organisation the arrested man belongs to is the same outfit from where another arrest was made in the Pansare case. This link is important, "Dhabolkar's wife Mukta said.

The CBI on Saturday remanded a Sanatan Sanstha activist Virendra Tawde to CBI custody till June 16 after her was arrested in connection with the murder a rationalist Narendra Dhabolkar from Pune.Rationalist Narendra Dhabolkar was murdered on the morning of August 2013 in Pune.Virendra Tawde who belongs to the Hindu Jan Jagruti group has been taken into custody but his role in the crime remains unclear.Tawde was arrested by the CBI in Navi Mumbai.Dr Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead by unidentified men who fled in a two wheeler post the incident.The case was being probed by the Pune police & the Mumbai Police Crime Branch before being transferred to the CBI.Expressing satisfaction over the arrest, Dhabolkar's wife Mukta asked the investigating agency to see if there is a common link between Dhabolkar's death and Govind Pansare's murder who was also killed in a similar fashion.Public Prosecutor expressed hope that the arrest in the Dabholkar murder might help further the investigation, although it was a bit delayed.Sanathan Sanstha however defended Tawde and said that their member who is an ENT surgeon is a very polite person."We are very surprised and sad that a person like him has been arrested. But we believe in the justice system and most importatntly we believe in god that truth will prevail and Dr. Tawade will be declared innocent, " a spokesperson added.
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties of the liquor baron Vijay Mallya, worth Rs 1,411 crore, in the Rs 900 crore IDBI Bank loan default case on Saturday.



The assets included bank balance of Rs 34 crore, a flat each in Bengaluru and Mumbai (2,291 sqft and 1,300 sqft respectively), an industrial plot in Chennai (4.5 acres), a coffee plantation land in Coorg (28.75 acres) and residential and commercial constructed areas in UB CITY and Kingfisher Tower in Bengaluru (84,0279 sqft).



Mallya, whose defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore to various banks, left India on March 2.



The agency registered a money laundering case against him and others based on an FIR registered last year by the CBI.



Recently, it has moved the special court seeking to declare Mallya a proclaimed offender after he refused to appear in person before the ED for questioning.







ED Sources said, "We are seeking to invoke the India-United Kingdom Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to extradite him from Britain."



(With inputs from PTI)
Dr Virendra Tawade, a member of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, has been arrested by the CBI in connection with the killing of social activist Dr. Narendra Dhabolkar. The arrest was made in Mumbai on Friday and he was present before a Pune court on Saturday which sent him to CBI custody till June 16.



This is the first arrest in almost three years since Dabholkar, a rationalist and anti-superstition activist, was shot dead by unidentified assailants while on a morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013.



The CBI has conducted several raids at Tawde's residence since last week. The agency reportedly recovered evidences which links Tawde with Dhabolkars murder. However, his exact role in the crime is yet to be ascertained.



The case was initially being probed jointly by the Pune & Mumbai Police before it was transferred to the CBI in 2014.



Tawade's arrest comes as a major breakthrough because of the eerie similarity between killing of Dabholkar and other activists like Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi.



Tawde will be produced in Pune's sessions court on Saturday.




Hyderabad: Breaking traffic rules in Hyderabad will not just cost the violator his or her driving licence but also hamper the chances of getting visa for travelling abroad or getting a new job. The Hyderabad Traffic Police is making data of those convicted under various traffic violations public.



Despite repeated awareness campaign by the Traffic Police against drunken driving, officials say people don't obey basic traffic rules. Over 1500 people have been imprisoned for drunk driving till May 2016.



But careless attitude may prove to be a deterrent for offenders applying for visa or a job.



"Photographs and complete details on the conviction and violations can be known about the person. If someone wants to hire a driver, you can check the background. Even US embassy and other consulates may use such data," Hyderabad DCP Traffic AV Ranganath said.



Acting on the Supreme Court's directions, Hyderabad Traffic Police has decided take strict action against repeat offenders by suspending their driving licence.







According to police, in the last three months, over 500 driving licences have been recommended for suspension to the transport department.



In cases of drunk driving, licence will be suspended if the offender is caught for the second time. In other traffic violations like using mobile phone while driving and jumping signal, licence will be suspended if caught thrice.



"Earlier violations were booked only on vehicle. Now the new system that we have adopted in Hyderabad is driver centric challan. The history of offenders in our data is being used to recommend suspension of licence," Ranganath said.



Show cause notices are being served to violators by the transport department seeking explanation. But with photographic records of violations with the traffic police, the process is merely a formality.



The transport department can suspend the licence from three to six months, depending upon the gravity of violation. A benchmark has been set by Hyderabad Police that other police forces should follow.
New Delhi: The drug menace could turn out to be a major election issue in Punjab, that goes to the polls early next year, and the swirling controversy over the film 'Udta Punjab' is an indication.



Even as film makers and political circles debate on the alleged "political motives" behind making such a movie and how it can influence the political outcome in elections, old timers in the state and those in the know recall that the film 'Maachis' by noted filmmaker Gulzar did influence voters' minds in 1990s.



"One is not sure how much 'Udta Punjab' will decide the political course in Punjab but film 'Maachis' released in 1996 did spark off political debate on police excesses and circumstances surrounding the rise of Sikh militancy in Punjab," Chandigarh-based journalist Gajinder Kumar told IANS.



Picking up as many as 75 seats in the 117-member state assembly, Shiromani Akali Dal of Parkash Singh Badal had stormed to power in the state ousting the Congress in the 1997 assembly elections.



The film 'Maachis' actually portrayed a story in which an innocent village boy next-door is transformed into a terrorist after police ill treats his friend for no reason and frames the innocent youth in the name of police investigation and interrogation.



With stars like Om Puri, Tabu and Chandrachur Singh, among others, the film 'Maachis' earned critical appreciation and also commercial success.



Interestingly, in 1970s, the film 'Aandhi', starring noted actors Suchitra Sen and Sanjeev Kumar, had run into controversy.



In recent past, too, films like 'Dev' by Govind Nihlani and 'Bombay' by Mani Ratnam were influenced by politics of the day.



However, Punjab watchers say the tables seem to have turned this time against the Akali leadership as they have been in power for the last 10 years, during which the drug menace spread its tentacles in the state.



Worse for the Akali leadership and especially for the Badal family, those close to the family have been also at the receiving end of allegations for involvement in the drug business in the state.



In 2014, the then Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, brother-in-law of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, was accused of involvement in the multi-crore drug trafficking racket by an arrested cop Jagdish Singh Bhola.



In fact, officials in the intelligence agencies and the Union Home Ministry admit that in Punjab, drug abuse is not just a social menace but has emerged as a major money spinner during the last few years.



The political row over the film 'Udta Punjab' is no surprise as the political class has been well aware of the issue.



In fact, in March this year, seeking to take the battle to the Akali-BJP combine in Punjab, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi had said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Akali Dal should have listened when people were complaining about drug problem in Punjab, but they always ignored it, saying that there is no such problem."



"Punjab has a crippling drug problem. Censoring #UdtaPunjab will not fix it. The government must accept the reality and find solutions," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet this week after the controversy broke.



Even Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders like Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have more than once admitted that the drug menace is a reality in Punjab.



The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Admi Party (AAP), which is keen to give a tough fight in Punjab polls, has also blasted the Akali-BJP government on drug smuggling.



AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal launched a scathing attack on the Punjab Congress and Akali Dal alleging that both the parties have "ruined" every household there through "corruption" and "drugs".



According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, in 2014, 556 kg of opium and 636 kg of heroin were recovered in Punjab.



But the Akali leadership maintains that even other states have the problem.



The drug business has assumed an ominous spectre over the decades even in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Manipur and Assam.








Mumbai: Director Sudhir Mishra on Firday said he hopes that filmmaker Shyam Benegal's report, as part of a committee to revamp the censor board, is implemented soon.



"I hope Shyam Benegal committee's report is implemented very soon because he is the most idealistic and knowledgeable filmmaker we have in the country. I think it is a great idea that the government made him the head of the committee, which will relook censorship and certification in the time of the internet," Mishra said.



"This is a very old set of rules you work with. Time has totally changed. I think it will be implemented very soon," the 'Yeh Saali Zindagi' helmer said at a screening of films directed by The Homeless Children of Vatslya Foundation on Thursday.



Benegal was handed the responsibility of revamping the guidelines in the censor board, with numerous established names such as Kamal Haasan, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra among others in the committee, in January this year.



The committee submitted its report in April.



He added, "Cinema is a voluntary act; you buy a ticket and then watch it. If you don't want to see it, you walk out. I mean everybody is entitled to his or her view so if television, media is allowed their point of view then why not filmmakers?"



"We are not saying don't criticise the film; see it, criticise it, but don't stop it from viewing. Don't stop its release."



The debate on the working of the censor board has been triggered by the current impasse between the board and the film "Udta Punjab" over too many cuts suggested in the film by the board.



Backing the film, Mishra said, "This is not a new thing. When I made 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi' and 'Dharavi', I had to face same kind of problems. I think one individual or a set of individuals can't determine the morality of the country. Audience has a mature view."



Should under-fire Pahlaj Nihalani, the head of the Central Board of Film Certification of India, be replaced? Mishra replied, "I don't talk about individuals. We are only saying there is a certification board, you only certify and work within the constitution and the set parameters."



Mishra is coming up with a political thriller 'Daasdev', starring Richa Chadha, Aditi Rao Hydari and Rahul Bhat in lead roles.








Allahabad: The two-day Bharatiya Janata Party National Executive meeting begining Sunday will focus on the NDA government's achievements and strategise to expand the party base. The meeting is unlikely to discuss the chief ministerial candidate for Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls slated for early 2017.



In the meet, BJP will target the Akhilesh Yadav governnment on its track record on law and order citing recent violence in Mathura in which 29 people were killed.



According to sources, BJP Parliamentary Party will decide on the UP chief minsterial candidate and not the executive board.



The national executive board is expected to pass one political and one economic resolution.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah, senior members of the Union Cabinet, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and members of Parliament will take part in the meet.



"I would have called it as sounding the poll bugle for UP assembly polls but PM Modi held a rally in Saharanpur last month. Nevertheless, Allahabad has been the state's political epicentre and the place where stalwarts ranging from Jawaharlal Nehru to VP Singh have learnt their ropes. And a party meeting organised here will certainly have a catalytic effect on our efforts to bring about political change in Uttar Pradesh," said BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh, who has been camping in the city since Thursday.



Enthusiasm is palpable among party foot soldiers as for the first time since its establishment three decades ago, the BJP has chosen the city for holding its national executive.



Almost all the streets and roundabouts are dotted with billboards or posters welcoming Modi and other leaders to the city and exhorting residents to turn out in huge numbers for the rally which will be held on Monday, immediately after the conclusion of the meeting.







There are also any number of posters displaying the header 'Mission 265 Plus' a term coined by Shah who has repeatedly exhorted workers to aim at achieving a thumping majority for the party in the 403-strong UP assembly.



Some of these posters stand out for making a demand that Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi be declared as the party's chief ministerial candidate.



However, party spokesman Shrikant Sharma said "such decisions are taken at the Parliamentary Board meeting which is usually held in Delhi. National Executive is not the place for making such an announcement".



The BJP at present has less than 50 MLAs in a 403-member house, a massive decline since the 1990s when it used to be the top political group in the state.



The party owes much of its recent buoyancy to its dramatic comeback in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when it contested 78 out of 80 seats and romped home with a stunning tally of 71.





It was the best ever performance by the party in the state, which has been credited, in a large measure, to Modi's decision to step out of Gujarat and contest from Varanasi and also the organisational skills of Shah, who was then the national general secretary in-charge of the state.
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday while addressing the press conference after the BJP National Executive Meeting said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised the expansion of the organisation.



Singh told journalists in Delhi, "PM is happy, we have reached new height with 11 crore members".



Warning the party workers to stay away from negativity, PM emphasised that the party workers must have creativity in the way they function, Union home minister said adding that Modi during his address has also asked the party workers to make good use of social media.



The government's achievement on the front of electrification of villages was also the part of PM's address. "We've successfully reached our target to provide electricity to villages that have been deprived for 65 years."



Modi while talking about good governance has also said, there is not any allegations of corruption on the government in the last 22 months and our only mantra for good governance is vikas, vikas, vikas, Rajnath said.



The two-day National Executive meeting of BJP which began in Delhi on Saturday had ended on Sunday.






Union Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday showered praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him "God's gift to India". Naidu also termed the Prime Minister as a "messiah of the poor".



While moving the political resolution on the last day of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive, the Union minister said, "Modi is god's gift for India. He is the messiah of the poor. He inherited challenges in each and every sector. He is steering clear of them."



A message in this regard was also released by the office of the Urban Development minister.



Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, however, clarified that the statements made by Naidu were not part of the political resolution.



Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP workers not to get distracted by irrelevant issues raised by the Opposition, adding that the primary focus should be to move forward with government's agenda of development.



The BJP's two-day national executive came to a close with Modi calling on the party workers to aggressively market the government's policies and achievements.



The party now aims to re-focus its political narrative around the poor and farmers, strongly sticking to its stance on nationalism.



(With PTI Inputs)
The Shiv Sena on Saturday took a dig at its ally Bharatiya Janata Party with some Shiv Sainiks releasing posters online mocking the promises made by the Narendra Modi government.While one poster called Modi's promises of building toilets under Swachch Bharat a 'jumla', another claimed to expose the poor disbursal of funds under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.Another poster mocked BJP MP Sakshi Maharj and showed a graph which claimed that crime against women have gone up under the Modi regime.While the Shiv Sena has not officially endorsed the social media attack on BJP, sources in the party say it is a reaction to some BJP supporters mocking Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on social media.
The telecom service providers on Friday presented a 100-day action plan to the government on call drops. They said to collectively set up 70,000 base transceiver stations (BTS) within that time-frame.



"The telecom operators have presented a four-point action plan to the Department of Telecom Secretary J.S. Deepak and other government officials. Firstly they said they will set up 70,000 BTS across the country in 100 days to address call drop problems.



Secondly, the operators said optimisation of network will be done in all 22 telecom circles in the country. Thirdly, they sought government's help in addressing interference issues by people like setting up of illegal mobile repeaters to boost signals," Rajan S. Mathews, Director General, Cellular Operators' Association of India.



Gopal Vittal, Bharti Airtel's CEO for India and South Asia, Sunil Sood, Vodafone India's CEO, Himanshu Kapania, Idea Cellular's Managing Director and Sanjay Mashruwala, Reliance Jio's Managing Director among others attended the meeting as COAI members.



"They have proposed a 100-day action plan," DoT Secretary J.S. Deepak said, adding, "I don't think, in my personal view, someone should go to jail every time a call drops."



Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently said he has an open mind on empowering the telecom watchdog to impose penalties on operators for call drops and poor service quality, but will wait for a formal request.



"If the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) approaches us in a structured manner about the legal architecture we will consider it with an open mind," Prasad told IANS in a recent interview.


Dallas (US): A police officer has shot and wounded a man outside a Dallas airport after the man attacked a woman believed to be the mother of his children and then threatened the officer with large rocks, police said.



Police Chief David Brown said Shawn Nicholas Diamond of Edgewood, Maryland, advanced menacingly with a rock in each hand toward an officer who had his gun drawn outside the Dallas Love Field terminal on Friday, telling the officer, "You're going to have to shoot."



Diamond was in stable condition at a Dallas hospital, Brown said at a news conference. The chief said Diamond's ex-girlfriend was driving him to the airport for a flight home when he hit her.



After arriving at the airport terminal, he said, Diamond was pulling his luggage from the woman's car when he grabbed a traffic cone, smashed the car's windshield with it, then began picking up large landscaping rocks nearby and hurling them through the car's windows.



Silent surveillance video showed a police officer intervening and aiming his handgun at Diamond when he began advancing menacingly with a rock in each hand. When Diamond darted around the officer, the officer shot him and ordered him to stay down.



The officer fired several more shots when Diamond got up and began running. Another officer is seen on the video brandishing a stun gun but apparently never fired it. The officer who shot Diamond has been removed from patrol duty pending an internal review of the shooting, Brown said.



However, "the video is pretty telling," the chief said. Diamond had left his job in Maryland on Monday and flown to Dallas to visit his ex-girlfriend.



He was arrested on Thursday in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton and charged with criminal mischief after destroying city-owned trees valued at USD 3,700 by driving recklessly, Carrollton police spokeswoman Jolene DeVito said. Diamond was booked into Denton County Jail and released on bond yesterday.



A video posted by Instagram user @flashyfilms and credited to Bryan Armstrong also shows the commotion on the curb outside baggage claim at Dallas Love Field.



Amid the sound of nine gunshots and an officer's shouts to "get down," some people scramble while others stand watching before officers order them back inside. Toward the end of the video, one officer is seen pointing his gun at someone near the glass exterior of the airport.



Officials said one bullet hit an exterior glass wall and the rest hit the suspect.



Dallas police Sgt Mike Beattie, who is stationed at Love Field, says that the bullet that hit the glass wall outside the airport's baggage claim area didn't penetrate it because of the protective film. One officer at the scene, who would not be named, said he was told that the victim "absorbed" all the other bullets.
Islamabad: Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the US to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.



General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson on Friday.



In a late night statement, the army said Gen Raheel demanded targeting of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.



"Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, COAS reiterated Pakistans resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism," it said.



It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on May 21.



The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.



"Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb," it said.



Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.



He said all stakeholders need to understand Pakistan's challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.



"Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate," he said.



He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.



Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated.
On Sunday, will Broadway's runaway hit run the trophy table?

As far as musicals go, the real nail-biter at this year's Tony Awards ceremony is not whether "Hamilton" wins a bunch of prizes. Because it will. The question is whether it wins them all.

Well, not all all, of course: It can't grab a statuette for best revival or for best featured actor in a play. But it is possible that its 16 nominations, a record, could result in 13 Tonys  one more than reigning champ "The Producers," which in 2001 scooped up 12 wins  including for best musical, the evening's most coveted award.

And given the remarkable hoopla surrounding "Hamilton"  a level of public and media enthusiasm unlike anything I've witnessed in two decades of covering theater  wouldn't a history-making sweep be a fitting capstone for a groundbreaking musical about the making of history?

I will be rooting for "Hamilton" to rack up the lucky 13, and not just because it makes a better story to write up in the press room of New York's Beacon Theatre, the hall on Manhattan's Upper West Side from which CBS will broadcast the three-hour proceedings, hosted by James Corden. No, it's because "Hamilton" deserves them.

It's because the theater community needs to acknowledge with outsize emphasis what this work and its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, have done: made seeing this musical a national obsession, and musical theater a vital link, again, at last, in the American cultural chain.

A total blowout, one in which "Hamilton" wins more than half of the prizes handed out in 24 categories, is not a done deal by any means. Recognition by the 700-plus Tony voters for some of the exceptional talent in other Broadway shows this season may deny "Hamilton" the top spot on the all-time leader board.

What follows, then, is a primer on the potential Tony night returns, for musicals and others, what to look for in key races, and how history may in fact be made.

- The locks

Consider seven categories sewn up by the front-runner: best musical; best original score (Lin-Manuel Miranda); best book (Miranda, again); best direction of a musical (Thomas Kail); best performance by a featured actress in a musical (Renee Elise Goldsberry); best performance by a featured actor in a musical (Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff or Christopher Jackson) and best orchestrations (Alex Lacamoire).

If "Hamilton" falters in any of these categories, chalk it up to the madness of this year's national election campaigns infiltrating Broadway.

- The toss-ups

Four of the down-ballot races  the three visual-design categories and the award for best choreography  may swing to other shows.

One of the most hotly contested races is between Andy Blankenbuehler, who devised the sensational, almost continual movement in "Hamilton," and Savion Glover, whose enchanting tap choreography is the most elevating element of director George C. Wolfe's "Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed."

The costume designer par excellence for "Shuffle Along," Ann Roth, could slip past the innovative Paul Tazewell of "Hamilton"; and the set and lighting designers of the satirical "American Psycho" might have been stronger contenders against "Hamilton" and "Shuffle Along" if the musical had not closed Sunday. (It's not a strict rule, but the voters tend to favor current hits.)

Miranda's claim on a separate record  that is, to be the first person to win a best-actor Tony as well as the awards for book and score  is on the line in the category of best actor in a musical. Nominated for his portrayal of Alexander Hamilton, Miranda faces formidable competition from his buzz-attracting cast mate, Leslie Odom Jr., who portrays Aaron Burr.

If the "Hamilton" vote ends up being split between them, the potential exists for another estimable candidate to glide in: the well-liked Danny Burstein, who should have won a Tony a few years back for his turn as Buddy in the most recent revival of "Follies" and could be honored this year for his endearingly human Tevye in the fine, new revival of "Fiddler on the Roof."

- The spoiler

Were "Hamilton" to waltz away with the dozen trophies to be awarded in the categories above, it would still have to get past Cynthia Erivo to carry home the full basket of 13.

Who is Cynthia Erivo, you ask? Well, if you have to, it means you haven't seen or heard about her rafter-raising work as tragic-to-triumphant Celie in the revelatory Broadway revival of "The Color Purple." The British actress thrillingly anchors this admirably pared-back show  the deservedly odds-on winner, by the way, of best revival of a musical. And by many accounts, the Tony for best actress in a musical is hers to lose.

Phillipa Soo, whose Eliza Schuyler in "Hamilton" radiates its own softer magnetism, gives Erivo a good fight. But even if the Tony voters are getting behind a "Hamilton" landslide, this is the contest that you would most expect to hold the musical back. And given the breathtaking size of Erivo's performance, there's absolutely no injustice in losing to her.

- The new plays

You live in hope that some day the Tony ceremony's producers, directors and writers will find a way to present the nominated plays on television with the kind of verve that attends the sequences featuring the musicals.

That hope is renewed especially vigorously this year because of the exceedingly interesting quartet of dramas nominated for best new play: "Eclipsed," Danai Gurira's story of women kept as concubines by a Liberian warlord, which had its debut in 2009 at Washington, D.C.'s Woolly Mammoth Theatre; "The Father," about the impact of Alzheimer's on an elderly man, by France's Florian Zeller; Stephen Karam's family tragicomedy, "The Humans"; and Englishman Mike Bartlett's ingenious "King Charles III," a take in the style of Shakespeare on the succession to the British throne after Queen Elizabeth II.

The decision probably comes down to the two American plays, "Eclipsed" and "The Humans." My money is on Karam's exquisitely constructed, character-driven exploration of the financial, medical and emotional pressures bearing down on an average middle-class American couple, their grown children and a grandparent in the throes of dementia.

- The older plays

Best revival of a play features several robust contenders. It's the one category in which I have serious worries that the winner will be one of the least-worthy choices.

"Long Day's Journey Into Night," with Jessica Lange and Gabriel Byrne, is a workmanlike treatment of Eugene O'Neill's masterpiece and nowhere near as exciting or special as the pair of nominated revivals directed by Ivo van Hove: Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge" and "The Crucible."

"Bridge" should win for van Hove's breathtaking achievement of stripping the play down to its rawest, most captivating elements. But the voters may be thinking more conventionally and elect the safer route represented by "Journey."

- A few other notables

In the categories covering acting in plays, my votes would go to Mark Strong in "A View From the Bridge" for best actor and Sophie Okonedo in "The Crucible" for best actress. But look to Lange (or perhaps Lupita Nyong'o in "Eclipsed") and Frank Langella in "The Father" to ascend the podium.

In the supporting contests, I'm all in for Reed Birney and Jayne Houdyshell, who play the struggling parents in "The Humans." And on that score, the Tony electorate and I may be in full agreement.
Longtime Rep. Bob Goodlatte faces a challenge from the hard right Tuesday, as the 6th Congressional District Republicans head to the polls for the primary Tuesday.

Harry Griego, a pilot based out of Roanoke County, has made rounds to conventions and local committees, saying Goodlatte has not done enough to advance the conservative cause.

Goodlattes campaign has reached out to the district, which stretches from his Roanoke County home in the southwest to Warren County in the north, focusing on the longtime congressmans resume and a conservative agenda.

The district includes Lynchburg and Amherst County and northern Bedford County. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Election Day voters in the district may go to their general election polling place. Absentee voting will continue through Saturday with the Registrars Office open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day. Virginia does not register voters by party, so any registered voter in the district may participate.

Goodlatte won his first election in 1992, and has been chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee since 2013.

Congressman Goodlatte looks forward to continuing to serve the men and women of the Sixth District who have entrusted him with this great responsibility, Campaign Manager Dan Webb said in an emailed statement Thursday.

When reached by phone Thursday, Webb asked questions be sent by email. He answered in a written statement.

Greigo served in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard for 23 years, and now flies for Gama Aviation, according to his campaign. He lost the House District 17 race to Del. Chris Head, R-Botetourt, by 132 votes last year.

Griego could not be reached through a spokesman Thursday.

Our incumbent has a long history of capitulation and compromise, Griego said at the 6th Congressional District convention last month.

Greigo has fired at Goodlatte, saying the incumbent is an establishment figure who does not represent conservatives, an attack made throughout the party this season. He said Goodlatte has supported budgets that funded the Affordable Care Act as well as policies of President Barack Obama.

Whether it was supporting legislation that repealed the major pillars of Obamacare and sending it to the Presidents desk, or actually working with the Senate to force the President to sign into law delays of the employer mandate, [Independent Payment Advisory Board], and Cadillac taxes, Bobs sustained efforts to repeal Obamacare are having an effect, Webbs statement said, disagreeing with Griegos assertion.

Griego is only the second Republican challenger Goodlatte has faced in 13 election cycles. He defeated Karen Kwiatkowski out of Shenandoah County with 66 percent of the vote in 2012.

He has faced outside-the-party opponents eight times, including his first election bid.

Goodlattes campaign continues to scoop up money ahead of the primary, adding to a massive war chest. According to pre-primary reports last week, he had more than $1.32 million compared to Greigos less than $700.

On Tuesday, the Goodlatte campaign filed two 48-hour notices required for donations of $1,000 or more within 20 days of an election. The days reports showed seven donations totaling $11,400 from political action committees and individuals.

The winner will face Democrat Kai Degner  who announced his candidacy Saturday and received the Democratic nomination Tuesday  in the Nov. 8 general election.

The Realtor, communications training consultant and two-term Harrisonburg councilman entered the race after Warren County Democratic Committee Chairman Tom Howarth dropped out last week for health reasons.
Who is Cassie Lang - the comic history of the new Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania teen hero

Cassie Lang is the daughter of Ant-Man - but she's got a superhero legacy all her own as both Stature and Stinger
City celebrates

The Medulla Art Gallery collaborated with the Port-of- Spain City Council to produce the exhibition which featured several local artists works on display.

Spoken word artiste Derron Sandy produced a piece called I Port of Spain which took the audience back in time to the very beginning of the capital city and brought them up to present day.

He was well received by the audience.

Breanne Mc Ivor also did her poetry Painting Port-of-Spain at Sunrise as seen through the eyes of her grandfather David Mc Ivor.

Songbird Marilyn Williams also entertained the audience with several songs before Newtown Playboys Steel Orchestra took over.

Mayor of Port-of-Spain, Keron Valentine, thanked Geoffrey MacLean of Medulla Art Gallery for the fine job on the exhibition as he welcomed his guests including MP Adrian Leonce, Atlantic LNGs Gordon Deane and Terry Walker, designer Anya Ayoung-Chee, several of the artists and members of the Port-of-Spain City Council.
St James honours

The reason for the nice vibes was the news officials received that the Ministry of Community Development, Culture Affairs and The Arts had approved funds for the staging of the We Beat Pan Parade.

There was a smile on Peter Kanhais face, he is a man who knows all about funding, having chaired the Sport and Culture Fund over the last five years and being involved in the Pan Movement for quite some time.

But Kanhais presence at the Amphitheatre had nothing to do with funding. He was there representing and supporting Kanhais Roti, this years We Beat honoree.
$2.5B taken to avert crisis

At one point, in his 15-minute speech, Imbert said the drawdown was not required for any specific item of expenditure. He said it would add revenue to fund, all our expenditure commitments; both current and capital expenditure. Yet at another point, Imbert said Government had to act, to pay salaries or pay for critical and essential goods and services. At various points, Imbert deemed criticisms of the drawdown from the HSF as absurd, erroneous, misconceptions, inaccurate, totally false and misleading, as he defended his, for the service of Trinidad and Tobago in 2016 response, given earlier this week in the Senate to requests for a detailed breakdown of what areas the funds would cover. The Minister further said Government could have withdrawn as much as $4.5 billion and will consider making more drawdowns if the need arises. No Parliament approval is required, he said.

In conclusion, the HSF still has over US$5.3 billion and Government cannot whimsically use it as a bran tub, as incorrectly claimed by the Leader of the Opposition, Imbert said.

In his statement, Imbert said Government had to act to avert a crisis. Since September 2015, the PNM Government has had to manage the finances of Trinidad and Tobago, with its account permanently in overdraft, courtesy the UNC, Imbert said. In May, because of the severely depressed revenues from petroleum, the overdraft reached 100 percent of its limit. And unless urgent action was taken, Government would have been unable to pay salaries or pay for critical and essential goods and services. He said that in accordance with Section 15 of the HSF Act, the Ministry of Finance decided on a drawdown from the HSF in the amount of $2.5 billion (US$375 million) out of the legally permissible TT$4.5 billion. This was the only available source of funds in May 2016. If we had not done this, the Government would have been guilty of fiscal irresponsibility and the country would have been in a crisis. He said allegations from the Opposition that the money would be used for electioneering were untrue. The HSF drawdown was simply to finance the well-known budget deficit, not for any item in the budget in particular. When I used the term for the service of Trinidad and Tobago in 2016, that is exactly what I meant.

In every appropriation bill presented in this House for the last 30 years, it is clearly stated up front in all the Budget documents that the appropriation is required for the service of Trinidad and Tobago, which simply means to pay the countrys bills. In response, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said Imberts statement was tantamount to no statement and lacked the details people were expecting. It is a repetition, Persad-Bissessar said of the statement. Which bills? What specific items and projects? That statement was really a waste of Parliamentary time.

People were waiting with bated breath to hear what this money was being used for. There was no indication, just a statement that it was to pay bills and deal with the Budget deficit. Imbert said for the period October 1st, 2014 through September 30, 2015, the revenue from petroleum was only TT$11.6 billion, or TT$7.5 billion below the projected petroleum revenue of TT$19.1billion for fiscal 2015. He said the amount now available for stabilization purposes in fiscal 2016 was TT$4.5 billion.

On future possible drawdowns, the Minister said, At this time, we envisage no further draw-downs in fiscal 2016, but if it becomes necessary to provide the required support for Government expenditure in 2016, we will consider all options for financing the service of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, including the remaining available drawdown from the HSF for 2016. Imbert also said the projected shortfall in income from all revenue streams in 2016 is close to $10 billion.

He denied it would be cheaper to borrow, saying such a claim was totally false and misleading. He said the increase in value of the HSF for 2015 was a mere 1.6 per cent, from US$5.653 billion in December 2014 to US$5.745 billion in December 2015. Of the plan to reform the HSF through legislation, Imbert said, Between March 2012 and June 2015, the previous Government had more than ample time to introduce the amendment but it did not happen. It is however, this Governments intention to undertake the necessary public consultation and bring the Amendment to Parliament before the end of this year.
$25,000 found in Hyatt carpark

A 24-year-old Parliament Clerk, on his way to work yesterday at the International Waterfront Centre in Port-of-Spain came across two bundles of hundred dollar bills, totalling $25,000 in the carpark of the nearby Hyatt Regency.

The young man, instead of pocketing the wads of cash, secured all of the money and reported the find to his supervisor at the Parliament Tower who in turn advised him to report it to officers of the police unit based at the Parliament Tower.

The clerk then made his way to the Port-of- Spain Criminal Investigations Department (CID) where he handed over the cash to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ajith Persad. The officer commended the young man for his honesty.

Police Constable Anil Bharat was then assigned by ASP Persad to carry out enquiries into the matter.

Newsday understands that camera footage will be sought from the Hyatt to ascertain who may have accidentally dropped the cash in the car park and other enquiries will be made from officials at the Hyatt Hotel to assist in locating the owner of the money.

Yesterday, the Good Samaritan Aqyei Seon Hazelwood told Newsday that he was feeling extremely proud of himself for handing over the cash and urged other young people in the country to practise honesty.

He told Newsday that shortly after 9 am, he was in the Hyatt car park and was assisting an elderly woman by opening the door of the car park, when he saw the bundles of cash of $100 denomination in two bundles.

I looked around to see if there was anyone around looking for the cash but except for the elderly woman and myself there was no one around.

Hazelwood said he took possession of the money and was advised to make a report to the Port-of-Spain CID and was pleased with himself where he was highly commended by ASP Persad who urged to continue to practise honesty in his life ahead. Asked by Newsday what prompted him to take the decision to hand over the cash to the police, Hazelwood said: I am an honest person, my parents always taught me to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I thought about that.
Dillon: PM is well protected

Speaking with reporters following the adjournment of the House of the Representatives yesterday, Dillon disclosed that he met with Rowley at the Prime Ministers official residence in St Anns earlier in the day. Asked if he was summoned to the residence by Rowley, Dillon replied, No, I was not called to the residence. I was at the residence. He indicated the primary reason for his visit was not about the Prime Ministers security detail .

Anytime I visit the Prime Minister, and I visit him from time to time, it includes a number of issues including his security of which I am responsible for as Minister of National Security. Dillon reminded reporters that Rowley is also the chairman of the National Security Council (NSC) and we discuss issues from time to time. Asked if any change had been made to the Prime Ministers security detail, Dillon said, Matters concerning the Prime Ministers security will always be addressed by me as Minister of National Security. He added, because of the profile of the Prime Minister, I would not discuss matters of his security in the public domain. On reported complaints of the Special Branch officers, Dillon replied, That is a separate issue. The Head of Special Branch is looking into it based on that report. Asked whether such a complaint was unprecedented, Dillon stated, It is unprecedented as far as I know .

Something like that should not been discussed in open forum that it has been. There are avenues of which you can air your concerns. He identified the Head of Special Branch, the Acting Commissioner of Police and himself as three of the avenues that aggrieved Special Branch officers could have sought redress from. Dillon declined to comment, when asked if Defence Force personnel had assumed bodyguard duties for the Prime Minister, as a result of the Newsday report. During the sitting of the House, while Rowley was in the Parliament Chamber, Special Branch officers were also present .

(See Page A7)
Ease up for tired officers

Special Branch officers, numbering 35, who were assigned to the Prime Ministers Security detail; as well as those employed at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Official Residence in St Anns, complained to the Police Social Welfare Association (PSWA), that the 24-hour shift was taking a toll on their well-being as well as the quality of their family life.

Additionally, they felt that they were not being adequately compensated for the 24-hour schedule.

PSWA President Ag ASP Anand Ramesar wrote to Commissioner Williams on Thursday, outlining concerns expressed by Special Branch officers.

Yesterday, the Acting Commissioner met with Acting ASP Ramesar at Police Administration Building in Port-of- Spain.

The meeting was called to allay the concerns of the Special Branch officers.

I met with the Acting CoP and the matter was discussed at length.

The Acting CoP said enquired into the issue and a directive has been given for the working routine for the officers guarding Prime Minister Rowley to be revised, so complaints reported to the Association would not re-occur, Ramesar told Newsday.

The Association considers the discussion to be very cordial and we appreciate the swift response from the Acting Commissioner in this matter.

Issues were also addressed regarding other public figures, the President and the Attorney General and similar reassurances were given. Newsday understands the reason for the 24-hour work week was because of a manpower shortage at Special Branch.

This was as a result of a number of Special Branch officers being out of the country for training, but now they have returned the manpower strength has returned to normal and this will result in a change of working hours for those Special Branch officers assigned to the Prime Minister, the President and the Attorney General.

Acting ASP Ramesar said that he will be meeting with the police representative for the Special Branch to inform him of the outcome of yesterdays meeting.

Yesterday, Former Minister of National Security Gary Griffith issued a press release stating, This is the procedure for ALL Head of States worldwide, and this is because VIP Close Protection cannot work on an eight hour shift, as the persons being secured, being President or PM, do not work an eight hour work day, so if he/she starts work at 8 am and after 6 pm, he is in a Conference etc, the Security Teams cannot switch shift, as he is outside of a secure environment, such as the Residence etc and this would be a security breach. Griffith also noted that over 90 percent of the Defence Force work the same 24 hour duty. Griffith suggested the authorities may need to move in a similar manner to the US Presidents Secret Service, whereby they are NOT an arm of any Police Service but a highly trained Law Enforcement Unit specifically earmarked to secure the President and family.

LATEST: Special Branch police stationed at the security checkpoint towards the residence of the Prime Minister at La Fantasie Road, St Anns, had at 9.15 am on Thursday cause to stop the male driver of a station wagon vehicle proceeding along the driveway to the compound of the residence. The driver was found to be in possession of an apparatus used to smoke marijuana.

The individual who is employed with a contracting company engaged in barbed wire fencing the compound of the residence was arrested and was expected to be charged yesterday.
Recall of Sleep

Apnea Device

Is Not Going Well
(Newser)  Six airlines won permission Friday to resume scheduled commercial air service from the US to Cuba for the first time in more than five decades, the AP reports. The airlinesAmerican, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest, and Sun Countrywere approved by the Department of Transportation for a total of 155 roundtrip flights per week. They'll fly from five US cities to nine cities in Cuba other than Havana. US law still prohibits tourist travel to Cuba, but a dozen other categories of travel are permitted, including family visits, official business, journalist visits, professional meetings, and educational and religious activities. The Obama administration has eased rules to the point where travelers are now free to design their own "people-to-people" cultural exchanges with little oversight.

Most of the airline service is expected to begin this fall and early winter. Approval is still required by the Cuban government, but the carriers say they plan to start selling tickets in the next few weeks while they wait for sign-offs from Cuba. The routes include service from Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Fort Lauderdale. The Cuban destinations are Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba. All flights currently operating between the two countries are charters, but the agreement the administration signed with Cuba in February allows for up to 110 additional daily flightsmore than five times the current charter operations. (Read more Cuba stories.)
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.
Los Angeles:

A California man was sentenced to 32 months in prison for conspiring to skirt US sanctions against Syria by sending tactical military equipment to jihadists in the war-torn country.

Amin al-Baroudi, 50, a Syrian-born naturalized US citizen, pleaded guilty in January to purchasing tens of thousands of dollars worth of tactical equipment, including night vision rifle scopes, speed loaders and bullet proof vests, destined for Ahrar al-Sham, an insurgent group fighting to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Ahrar al-Sham frequently fights alongside the Al-Nusra Front, Syrias Al-Qaeda affiliate that has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, authorities said yesterday.

According to court documents, Baroudi and his co-conspirators traveled with the military goods aboard commercial flights to Turkey and then smuggled them into Syria. Baroudi was accused of making two such trips in February and March 2013.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Richmond:

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has slammed US President Barack Obama for endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate despite being under criminal investigation.

Trump, however, said he was ready to face Clinton in the November elections, which he claimed would attract the largest ever voter turnout.

You have a President coming out and endorsing somebody who is under criminal investigation. Is this supposed to be the way the country supposed to be? Trump told his cheering supporters at an election rally in Richmond, Virginia yesterday.

This was Trumps first public rally since Obama endorsed Clinton as Democratic presidential nominee against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

The rally at spacious Richmond Coliseum attracted several thousands people. But the arena having a capacity of 13,500 was more than half empty. Trump said the rally was organised at a short notice of less than one day.

The real estate mogul from New York said he would make a major policy speech on Clinton in New Hampshire on Monday. To the cheering of his supporters, Trump described this as a crooked Hillary speech.

There is so much corruption. If the system works, she is not allowed to run. It is really unfair for the other people, Trump said referring to a latest news report that an Indian American Rajiv Fernando was appointed to the important International Security Advisory board because of his alleged massive donations to the Clinton Foundation.

The Advisory Board advises the State Department on nuclear weapons and other issues of national security. Based out of Chicago, Fernando is a securities trader president of Chopper Trading.

According to ABC News, Fernando was a major bundler for the Obama Campaign, raising more than USD 500,000 for his re-election cycle. And before his appointment at the State Department, he gave between USD100,000 and USD250,000 to the William J Clinton Foundation.

Trump cited this as another example for corruption by Hillary Clinton. He made a contribution of USD 250,000 and all of a sudden hes on this very important and vital board, he said.

Reiterating that Clinton should not be allowed to run for the elections, he said he is ready to run against the former US Secretary of State and exuded confidence of winning the election.

Trump said the debate against Clinton would be the biggest debate in the history and would be the biggest voter turnout in the history of this country.

Countries like China and Mexico, he alleged are destroying the United States. He reiterated that he would make the wall on the Mexico border, which some day may be called as Trump Wall. Someday, people would call it a Trump wall, he said, adding this would be a strong, tall and beautiful wall.

Our taking is being taken advantage of because we have very stupid people representing in trade. It is not going to happen. We are losing badly. We have the smartest people in the world. But we are using dumbest people, he alleged.

Trump claimed that companies would start setting up manufacturing plants in the US, because there would be consequences for moving jobs overseas.We are going to bring jobs back to America, he said, adding his administration would lower taxes and simplify tax codes.

Hillary Clinton is going to raise taxes beyond anyone imagination, he claimed. Polls are looking good in Virginia, he said. Pollsters are saying that Virginia is a key swing state for the November general elections. He claimed that he would win the presidential elections in Florida and New York.

Unless we win in November, it means nothing. It would be waste of time and money, he said and asked people to come out and vote in large numbers in the November general elections.

I am the least racist person that you have ever looked at, he said, referring to the allegations that he is a racist. Trump lashed out at Clinton for not using the term radical Islamic terrorism because she does not want to offend Obama. Because she does not want to go to jail. The system is rigged. Bernie found it out, he said.

If we had guns in those rooms, and bullets going in opposite direction, not so many people would have been killed, he said. We are going to win again and we are going to kick ISIS, we are going to win in trade, we are going to win on the Supreme Court... we are going to win so much that you people are going to (get) sick and tired of winning. We are going to win, win, win, he said.

Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor to the Trump Campaign, alleged that as Secretary of State, Clinton gave a prominent national security post dealing with nuclear security to someone who paid USD five million to the Clinton Foundation.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Washington:

Expressing concern over the security situation in Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama has approved broader role for his troops stationed in the war-torn country to help Afghan forces effectively carry out anti-terrorism operations.

What these authorities will allow is it will allow US forces to engage in similar efforts to accompany conventional Afghan security forces when they undertake operations, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

What this would allow is the US forces to be more proactive in supporting conventional Afghan forces as they take the fight to the Taliban. And this means, in some cases, offering close air support, or it means, in some cases, accompanying Afghan forces on the ground or in the air, Earnest explained.

Noting that to this point, US forces and NATO partners have, in some situations, been accompanying Afghan special operators, Earnest said this authority would allow the American forces to accompany conventional Afghan forces in certain situations, but when theyre accompanying them, they continue remain focused on the advice-and-assist mission that theyve been carrying out now for almost two years.

The US, he said, continues to be concerned about the security situation in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a dangerous country. It has been for some time now, and it still is today, he said.

I dont think anybody, from the President on down, was under the illusion that after a couple of years of being responsible for the security situation of their own country, that the Afghan government and Afghan security forces would eliminate entirely the threat from the Taliban or any other extremists in that country, Earnest said.

The White House Press Secretary praised the Afghan security forces for a remarkable willingness to fight for their country. The forces are resilient, even in those situations where they do encounter operational or even strategic setbacks, he asserted.

Theres been a willingness on the part of the Afghan forces to reorganise and take the fight back to their adversaries. Some of that is evidence of a successful effort on the part of the United States and our NATO partners to train Afghan forces, but some of that is also the built-in national pride of Afghan security forces to fight for their country and to counter the threat from extremists, Earnest said.

Noting that when the Taliban carries out a bombing in Kabul or anywhere in the country, most of the victims are

Afghans, Earnest said so it makes sense that Afghan security forces would feel, as a point of national pride, a desire to eradicate those violent extremists from the midst of their country.

That resilience and that commitment to fighting for their country has shown on the battlefield. The question I think has simply been, what else can the US do to support them in those efforts?The President feels strongly that the Afghans must remain in control of the security situation in their own country, he said.

The US combat role in Afghanistan ended at the end of 2014, and the President is not considering restarting it, he added.

But the question is, is it possible for us to be more proactive in supporting conventional Afghan security forces? And we anticipate that by offering them more support in the form of advice and assistance, and occasionally accompanying them on their operations, that they are likely to be more effective on the battlefield, he explained.

Thats the goal here, and thats the goal that the United States has pledged for years now, which is to support the Afghan central government and support the Afghan security forces as they provide for the security situation in their country, Earnest said.

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New Delhi:

Polling is being held today in the crucial election to 27 Rajya Sabha seats in seven states, with a keen contest on cards in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana. While 30 of the total 57 seats in the current round of biennial elections to the Upper House have already been decided without a contest, the fate of candidates for the remaining 27 seats will be decided by this evening when the results will be announced. Polling began at Assembly premises in the state capitals at 9 AM and will continue till 4 PM.

In Haryana, where polling is being held for two seats, Union Minister Birender Singh from BJP is assured of a comfortable win. Independent candidate R K Anand has got the backing of Congress and its rival INLD, making it an uphill task for media baron and BJP-backed Independent candidate Subhash Chandra.

In Uttar Pradesh, where elections are being held to 11 seats, interest is centred around a fight between former union minister Kapil Sibal and BJP-backed independent socialite Preeti Mahapatra.

Sibal will need the support of BSP, which has 12 votes more than necessary for the success of its own candidates Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth.

BSP supremo Mayawati has maintained suspense over her partys support in Uttar Pradesh. But Sibal can draw heart from the fact that she has already extended backing for a

Congress candidate in Madhya Pradesh by promising one vote required for senior Supreme Court lawyer Vivek Tankha, fielded by Congress. Congress has 29 MLAs and needs the backing of five more to see Sibal through.

The ruling SP has fielded seven candidates including Amar Singh and Beni Prasad Verma, who both rejoined the party recently, and Reoti Raman Singh. Its seventh candidate is, however, short of 9 first preference votes. SP has been promised backing by Ajit Singh-led RLD which has 8 MLAs.

The BJP has fielded Shiv Pratap Shukla, who is sure to get elected on its own 41 MLAs, and has offered 7 surplus votes to Mahapatra.

Karnataka, where four seats are up for grab, is poised to witness a battle between the ruling Congress and the JD(S). Union Minister Nirmala Seetharaman of BJP, who needs just one vote more than the partys strength of 44, and former union ministers Jairam Ramesh and Oscar Fernandes of Congress are sure of victory.

With 122 members, Congress has a surplus of 33 votes after ensuring the victory of Ramesh and Fernandes. It has fielded former senior IPS officer K C Ramamurthy as its third candidate for which it requires 12 more votes.

With 40 members, dissidence-hit JDS is in an unenviable position as five MLAs have virtually raised a banner of revolt amid reports that they might indulge in cross voting to help Congress.

JDS needs five more votes for its candidate B M Farooq, a corporate personality, to sail through but is struggling to keep the herd together.

Allegations of bribing JD(S) and Independent MLAs marred the polls in Karnataka though the Election Commission rejected demands for cancelling them.

In Madhya Pradesh, while ruling BJP, which has 164 votes, is assured of victory of its candidates M J Akbar and Anil Dave, a fight is on for its third candidate Vinod Gotia, who faces a tough challenge from Vivek Tankha of Congress, as he needs 10 more than the 48 surplus votes his party has.

A candidate in Madhya Pradesh needs 58 votes for victory. Tankha, whose party Congress has 57 votes, appears comfortably placed after BSP announced the backing of its four MLAs.

Rajasthan is another state where Congress, with 24 MLAs, has forced a contest by backing an Independent candidate Kamal Morarka. A candidate needs 41 votes to win.

With 160 members in Rajasthan Assembly, the BJP is certain of victory of Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, its Vice President Om Prakash Mathur, former RBI official Ram Kumar Sharma and Harsh Vardhan Singh, a member of the erstwhile Dungarpur royal family.

The fourth BJP candidate needs only four more votes to sail through, which the party expects to get from two MLAs of National Unionist Zamindara Party and three Independents.

In Jharkhand also, a close contest is possible where a united opposition can upset the ruling BJPs calculations. But its first candidate and Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is sure of victory. The BJP has 43 MLAs on its own and enjoys the support of six more MLAs of its allies.

JMM supremo Shibu Sorens son Basant is pitted against BJPs Mahesh Poddar. However, if Congress (6), RJD and rest of the opposition come together and back the JMM candidate, Basant can look at victory.

Uttarkhand, where election is only for one seat, Congress nominee Pradeep Tamta is set to sail through needing just two additional votes apart from his partys 26 and ally PDFs six.

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Hyderabad:

Two labourers were killed when the roof of an under-construction building collapsed on them in the wee hours today at Hussaini Alam area here , police said.

The incident occurred at around 1.20 AM when the slab of the second floor of the building suddenly collapsed resulting in eight workers getting trapped under the debris. While six of them managed to get out two remain buried, Hussaini Alam Police Station Inspector G Shyamsundar said.

The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital. The deceased were identified as Venkataiah and Ananda, belonging to Mahabubnagar district of Telangana, he said.

The slab which collapsed was laid at around midnight and police were also investigating if there was any quality issue pertaining to construction material resulting in the mishap, the Inspector said adding further probe is on.

A GHMC official, who visited the spot said the site where the construction was going was under dispute and a court case was going on in this regard.

We are verifying if necessary permission was taken or not for construction of the building and based on it action will be initiated against those responsible, the GHMC official said.
Lucknow:

The Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh today saw cross-voting by a BJP MLA while another party legislator claimed that she was prevented from voting. BJP MLA Vijay Bahadur Yadav cross voted in favor of a Samajwadi Party candidate. I voted on the basis of development done by the Chief Minister and I am ready to make any sacrifice, he said.

BJP MLA from Khaga Fatehpur constituency, Krishna Paswan alleged she was prevented from voting while MLA Sangeet Som alleged that there was misbehavior with his party legislators.

SP MLA Guddu Pandit alleged that he and his brother received threats.

I and my brother are being given life threats, Pandit alleged. His brother Mukesh Sharma said that he has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India.

Every thing is recorded, he said. UP minister and MLA Abhishek Mishra said that party would win all seven seats on which it had fielded its candidates.

Peace Party chief Mohammed Ayub, who has four MLAs, said that his party would vote in favor of Congress.

Constitutional action will be taken against those violating the whip, he said.

Former UPPCC chief and MLA from Lucknow Cantt Rita Bahuguna Joshi said former union minister Kapil Sibal would get more than required votes. Senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that party was confident of victory.

We already have 29 MLAs and we are getting support of other parties. BJP, which has only 41 votes, is short of support for the independent candidate backed by it, he said.

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Chennai:

The Madras High Court has declined to grant bail to three Canadian nationals, allegedly involved in several cases of ATM fraud here, and directed a local court to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis without adjournments and bring it to a logical conclusion, preferably in three months.



Justice S Vaidyanathan, who heard the criminal original petitions by Sugananthan, Muralidharan and Prakash, declined bail to the trio and said their intention seemed to be to escape from the country.



The petitioners, along with three others, had allegedly attempted to withdraw money using fake ATM cards at the Canara Bank inside the domestic airport at Chennai and several ATMs in the city in 2013.



They were caught at the airport on May 29, 2013 while trying to withdraw money from an ATM and booked under various sections of IPC and Information Technology Act, 2013.



The HC had earlier granted bail to the petitioners and they had travelled to West Bengal on August 19, 2014, where they were arrested again and booked under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and remanded to judicial custody.



Meanwhile, the Cyber Crime Police, Chennai, had issued a lookout circular against the trio and moved the Madras High Court for cancelling their bail, following which a team was despatched to that state.



The trio were brought back here and lodged in Puzhal Central Prison.



When their bail plea came up on June 9 this year, the prosecution argued that since the petitioners were foreign nationals, they may leave India any time.



The judge also noted that they had supressed the fact that a criminal case was pending against them in Chennai during a hearing in a lower court at Bangaon in West Bengal.



Moreover, the trio had also been caught while trying to withdraw money from an ATM.



Dismissing the petition, the judge noted that serious allegations have been made with regard to ATM fraud and the HC expects the trial court to take up the case and bring it to a logical conclusion, preferably within three months.

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NEWTOWN  A black bear was struck and killed by a car on I-84 Friday night, State Police said.

At about 7:30 p.m., Gilda Mancuso, 61, of Naugatuck, was driving a 2010 Chevy Cobalt eastbound in the left lane, when the black bear tried to cross the highway near Exit 11.

Mancuso swerved to avoid hitting the bear, but she struck it in the left lane. The car then struck a wire guardrail. The vehicle traveled about about 40 feet before crossing over the wires, where it came to a controlled rest in the median.

Mancuso and her passenger, an 11-year-old girl, were not injured, but the bear died on impact, troopers said.

It was uncertain who removed from the dead bear from the highway and whether it was the same bear that was tranquilized and captured in Danbury on Friday afternoon. That Danbury male bear weighing about 235 pounds was released back into the woods.

Dennis Schain, state Department of Energy and Environmental spokesman, said the Danbury bear was released and DEEP does not disclose specific locations where the bears are released into the wild.

The bear population continues to grow and expand in Connecticut. Virtually eliminated by the mid-1800s, black bears began to return to the state as forest was cleared for farmland began to regrow. Black bears have now been spotted in almost every community in the state, including large cities, such as Hartford, New Haven and Stamford.

DEEP says there were 4,488 sightings of bears from Jan. 7, 2015 to Jan. 1, 2016. That figure is down from the more than 4,600 sightings in 2014. So far in 2015, Between June 13, 2015 to June 8, 2016, there were 94 sightings of bears in Newtown alone.

The statistics have no way of indicating whether the same bear was spotted on more than one occasion in a given town or whether the same animal was seen multiple times in a variety of municipalities.

Last April, a bear was struck and killed on I-84 in Southington.
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NEW MILFORD  A massive fire destroyed a Bonnie Vu Lane home Friday afternoon, witnesses told the News-Times.

The building is a pile of rubble, said Brandon Merritt, a neighbor who said he was the first on the scene and called 911.

The fire was reported about 1 p.m. and just minutes later, Merritt said, the two-story Colonial house collapsed.

A family friend, Douglas Skelly, said no one was injured in the blaze, but that they lost everything.

The house is a total loss, he said.

Neighbors believe there were no adults home when the fire started. Merritt said at least two of the homeowners three children were home and escaped uninjured.

They walked out of a fully burning building, he said.

Litchfield County Dispatch said it had sent mutual aid from Washington and Bridgewater. Other departments on the scene included Water Witch Hose, Brookfield and Northville.

Bonnie Vu Lane is west of Poplar Street and north of Hartwell Road.

Mayor David Gronbach said the town would be helping the displaced residents.

The concern now is for the family to make sure they have all the support that the town can offer to help them in their time of need, he said in an email.

Just hours after the fire, an online campaign was launched on GoFundMe.com, Love On Lance & Family, to raise money for the family.

The house, which was built in 1996, is owned by Lance Brevard.

Fire officials were not available for comment.

noliveira@newstimes.com, 203-731-3411, @olivnelson
BRIDGEWATER  A 36-year-old woman was killed early Saturday morning after a head-on collision on Route 67, State Police said.

Jessie Mayer, of Bridgewater, was driving a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta south on the state road, when Donald Mcguinness, who was traveling north in a 2000 Dodge Durango, crossed the solid double-painted lines and collided with Mayer around 2:18 a.m., according to an accident report from Connecticut State Police.

Mayer and Mcguinness, 23, of New Milford, were both taken to Danbury Hospital. Mayer died her from injuries, police said.

Police described the area where the accident occurred as a straightaway.

The crash investigation is still ongoing.

Anyone who witnessed the crash should call (203) 267-5200.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, has described the statement by Rav...

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, has described the statement by Ravi Naik, a former Indian Chief Minister, on Nigerians as condescending and unacceptable.In a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Dabiri-Erewa said the call by Naik for a ban by the Central Government of India on Nigerians from entering the country was rather unfortunate.Naik had reportedly referred to Nigerians as Negroes causing problems in Goa and other parts of India.They create problems everywhere. We do not want Nigerian tourists.The Nigerians should be asked to leave India, we dont want Nigerian tourists.The Government of India should ban Nigerians from entering India, he had stated.The SSA said though the statement of Naik was personal to him and does not represent the Indian government, such comment was demeaning and condemnable of a former high ranking government official.Dabiri-Erewa said: As Nigerians, we respect humanity and will not descend so low to use derogatory words even for Indians in Nigeria who are involved in illegal activities. Rather, we will allow the law to take its course.She, however, reiterated her calls on Nigerians in the Diaspora to be law abiding as any Nigerian found guilty of breaking the laws of any land will have to face the consequences.She stressed that Nigeria will not tolerate any condescending comments on her nationals as respect begets respect.Kiran Kandolkar, Goa spokesman, has demanded an apology from Naik over the controversial statement.Ravi Naik should tender an apology. The statements made by Naik are insulting and uncalled for, Kamdolkar said.
A 32-year-old kidnapper Ifeanyi Obi, a native of Abia State has accused former Lagos State Governor and current Minister for Power, Works ...

A 32-year-old kidnapper Ifeanyi Obi, a native of Abia State has accused former Lagos State Governor and current Minister for Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola of pushing him into crime.Obi is one of the 3 members of a kidnapping gang arrested at their Lagos hideouts by operatives at the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, SIRT.The arrest was in connection to the kidnap of a four-year-old boy, Alonge Oluwa Tumishe, who was abducted in January 2013 on his way to school at Ishaga area of Lagos State, by a five-man kidnap gang, who took him to Abeokuta, Ogun State and received a ransom of N5 million before he was released.Obi stated that his shop at Ladipo Spare Parts Market was demolished by the Fashola government in 2012, and he became frustrated.He lamented that his frustration led him to Paul who eventually led him to kidnapping. I am not married. I came to Lagos in 2008. I am not educated. I am from a very poor family.After serving my boss for seven years at Ladipo, my boss settled me with his shop and some money. From there, I started doing my own business.On December 28, 2012 I was at my village and I got news that former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola had broken our shops.When I returned to Lagos, I couldnt find any of my goods. A few days later, one of my customers called me to bring a spare part for him at Abattoir, opposite an RRS base from where he took me to the shop of a Mopol mans wife and he introduced him to me and we became friends.I told him that I wanted to sell my SUV and I needed money to start afresh and that I had lost all my money in my shop when it was demolished because I stocked my shop before travelling for Christmas.He told me that there was job that would pay me good money. He told me that the man was very rich and would easily pay. After the ransom was paid, I was given N700, 000 as my share. Obi narrated.
Sophists played important roles in the development of the Greek political system. It is believed that democracy as a system of government ...

Sophists played important roles in the development of the Greek political system. It is believed that democracy as a system of government originated from there. These sophists were known for their great oratorical skills, with firm grasp of logic and rhetoric.The Agora, a place reserved for public/political discussions and debates was their centre, where they tested their power of conviction and competed with one another. The one with a the best argument got the applauds and heart of the people. Social policies were often formulated from the outcomes of these discussions and debates.However, these sophists were also notorious for their cunning and often dubious mannerism. Their sugar-coated tongue often diverted the attention of the people from the real matters at stake. They could argue convincingly that white was black and vice versa, dragging the people along with them.And because of their crafty nature, they often fell out with philosophers like Socrates and Plato, who were more interested in feeding the people with the truth, no matter how bitter it sounded.Coming to Nigeria, many have observed how polished President Buhari's cabinet appears to be; men and women with eminent and staggering personalities. It is often difficult to raise a voice of opposition when they speak because of their far-reaching power of conviction, similar to the Greek sophists. This was first noticed during the ministerial screening at the Senate, when all the nominees were never short of words to defend their stand.However, Nigerians are gradually waking up and are becoming tired of words without action. The information minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed was the first 'victim' of this awakening. Nigerians gradually started finding loopholes in his arguments and eventually denounced him for being economical with the truth. The minister's name was consequently changed from 'Lai Mohammed' to 'Lie Lie Mohammed' with reference to his alleged sly nature.Another minister that has come under observation is the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun. The masses are becoming tired of her facts and figures without equivalent improvement in the country's economy. The people are no longer serenaded by her flawless accent and diction, and are rather demanding action and results. Some quarters have even dubbed her as inexperience in handling the massive economic crisis facing the country. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala may not have a foreign accent, but to them, she appears better for the job. They have advised Buhari to eat the humble pie and ask for the latter's help to revive the ailing economy.Babatunde Fashola is yet another minister who most Nigerians are not very pleased with. As governor of Lagos, he achieved giant strides and distinguished himself among other governors. Unfortunately he is yet to replicate these achievements in his recent appoint as minister of works, power and housing. In spite of the several town hall meetings, which are by the way similar to the Agora of ancient Greece, it has all been words with little or no result. Electricity supply in the country has continued to dip in spite of numerous plans and policies churned out by Fashola. Many have argued that his position as head for three major ministries have inundated him. In his defence, Fashoal claimed that he has not been overwhelmed, saying that the ministries he is handling are actually connected to one another. Results however say the contrary.The Vice President as well has been accused by some for his tepidity. Where was he when President Buahri registered Nigerian in an Islamic coalition? Nigerians expect VP Osinbajo, who is a christian cleric, to be the moral stronghold of the government, dissuading the federal government from policies with serious ethnic, religious and moral implications.Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has been fingered as one of those who have caused problems with his words. Many believe he is a major contributor to the security problems rocking Rivers State. The Rivers State government have even threatened to take legal actions against him. This obvious bad-blood between Amaechi and the incumbent governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, is echoed in almost all interviews he features in. He spares no opportunity to slam Wike's government.Succinctly, Buhari and his minister are therefore urged to talk less and act more. The several town hall meetings, television and radio interviews held across the country would be totally unless if Nigerians do not experience meaningful improvement in the general standard of living. It is time to set the ball rolling and show Nigerians what they have to offer. 2019 is not as far as President Buhari and his ministers think.
According to recent reports, doctors in the UK who examined President Muhammadu Buharis ear infection have cleared him to travel back to ...

According to recent reports, doctors in the UK who examined President Muhammadu Buharis ear infection have cleared him to travel back to Nigeria next week. A presidential source told newsmen that Mr. Buhari was likely to leave London for Abuja next Thursday.The source disclosed that the Nigerian president spent a day at a hospital in London where he underwent a series of tests to diagnose the nature of his ear ailment and a course of treatment. He declined to name the hospital where Mr. Buhari was seen.According to the source, the doctors in the UK determined that President Buharis ear got infected after one of his doctors in Abuja cleaned his ear when he complained about a substantial loss of hearing from that particular ear. The presidential source stated that a female Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor treated the president. He said Mr. Buharis ear was cleaned again, and antibiotics applied to it. After just two days in the UK, Mr. Buhari reportedly proclaimed that his ear was feeling fine, according to our source.SaharaReporters learned that President Buhari has returned to the Nigerian diplomatic residence in London known as Abuja House where he intends to spend the rest of his time in the UK.Another source in London disclosed that doctors in the UK had also prescribed a chest x-ray for Mr. Buhari to determine the cause of his persistent cough. The source said he was not aware what the result of the x-ray was.A source familiar with the goings-on in the UK told SaharaReporters that Mr. Buhari was expected to travel back to Abuja by next Thursday if every goes well.
In a statement issued by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Nigerian army has confirmed the ...

In a statement issued by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Nigerian army has confirmed the retirement of some officers which include; Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, Colonels, Lieutenant Colonels and a Major.The statement reads,The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the general public that quite a number of senior officers of the Nigerian Army were retired from service yesterday.Those retired were mainly some Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, Colonels, Lieutenant Colonels and a Major. Their retirement was based on Service exigencies. It should be recalled that not too long ago some officers were investigated for being partisan during the 2015 General Elections.Similarly, the investigation by the Presidential Committee investigating Defence Contracts revealed a lot. Some officers have already been arraigned in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).The military must remain apolitical and professional at all times. We must applaud and support this laudable and bold initiative by the government.
Albania are winless in six matches against Switzerland, losing five of those games.

The sides last met in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. The Swiss won 2-0 at home in September 2012 and 2-1 away in October 2013. Xherdan Shaqiri scored in both matches.

Albania's total number of goals (seven), shots on target (28) and crosses from open play (93) were the lowest totals of any side who successfully came through Euro 2016 qualifying.

During qualifying they hit 20% of passes long - Northern Ireland (21.9%) were the only finalists with a higher figure.

No Albanian scored more than once in qualifying. Six different players netted for them - while they also benefitted from one own goal.

They only conceded five times in qualifying, but in their subsequent five friendlies they have kept just one clean sheet (against Luxembourg).

The Swiss have never reached the knock-out stage at the finals of a European Championship and have only won one of nine matches at the tournament (D2, L6).

That win came in their final group game at Euro 2008, against Portugal, when they had already been eliminated.

Xherdan Shaqiri created 32 chances during Euro 2016 qualifying. Only three players (Miralem Pjanic, Ivan Rakitic and Kevin De Bruyne) had better records.

The Swiss scored 10 goals from set pieces in qualifying (seven from corners, three penalties) - which is more than any other side. However, six of those goals were scored against San Marino.





Possible line-ups





Albania: Berisha; Hysaj, Cana, Mavraj, Agolli; Kukeli, Xhaka, Roshi, Abrashi, Lenjani; Sadiku.

Switzerland: Sommer; Lichtsteiner, Schar, Djourou, Rodriguez; Behrami, Dzemaili, Xhaka; Shaqiri, Seferovic, Mehmedi.

The two countries are more than 500 miles apart, but Albania against Switzerland is arguably the first derby match at Euro 2016 - thanks to the remarkable links between the two sides.Ten members of Albania's squad were either born in Switzerland or grew up there, with seven of those even playing for the Swiss at under-21 level before switching allegiance.Conversely, six Swiss players have family links to Albania or Kosovo. That includes soon-to-be Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka.Both Granit and brother Taulant were born in Basel to parents who are ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, and represented Switzerland at youth level. However, Taulant - who is 18 months older - made slightly slower progress at club level and was persuaded to change nationality.
Ex-militant leader, Mr. Africanus Ukparasia a.k.a. Gen Africa, has warned that the Federal Governments plan to negotiate with the Niger ...

Ex-militant leader, Mr. Africanus Ukparasia a.k.a. Gen Africa, has warned that the Federal Governments plan to negotiate with the Niger Delta Avengers will breed more criminals and further encourage militancy in the region.He also alleged that a former militant leader founded the Avengers to blackmail the Federal Government to drop his corruption case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).Ukparasia expressed readiness alongside other ex-militant leaders in the region to fight and capture the said former militant leader and his lieutenants for the Federal Government to face the law.He dismissed the threat by the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Front (JNDLF) to bomb the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the Police Headquarters, Defence Headquarters and other national assets in Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna as a mere threat, saying that they (militants) know one anothers capacity in the Niger Delta and none should bite more than they can chew.He said: We thought the Niger Delta Avengers were agitating for the development of Niger Delta region, which has nothing to do with the former militant leaders corruption case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).The South South governors should maintain their reputation and be sincere to agitate for the development of the region.He advised the Federal Government and President Muhammadu Buhari not to succumb to dropping corruption cases against indicted individuals in the region as such will tarnish the image the country.
The House of Representatives yesterday rejected an agreement reached between the Federal Government and MTN that the telecoms giant shou...

March 31, 2017  N30 billion; March 31, 2018  N55 billion; December 31, 2018  N55 billion; March 31, 2019  N55 billion and the balance will be on May 31, 2019  N55 billion.

Tender an apology in line with the apology previously tendered in correspondences relating to this matter to the Government of Nigeria and Nigerians within the one month of the execution of this Agreement;

Subscribe to the voluntary observance of the Code of Corporate Governance for the Telecoms Industry and would ensure compulsory compliance when the said Code is made mandatory for the telecommunications industry; and

Undertake to take immediate steps to ensure the listing of its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as soon as commercially and legally possible after the date of execution of this Settlement Agreement.

Both parties agreed that the terms of settlement cannot be altered, varied, annulled or modified in any respect, except by writing duly executed by both parties; and the terms of settlement constitute all the terms and conditions of the settlement and supersede and replace any previous offers, representations and terms.

The House of Representatives yesterday rejected an agreement reached between the Federal Government and MTN that the telecoms giant should pay a reduced fine of N330 billion ($1.7bn) as against the N1.04 trillion ($5.2bn) originally slammed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)..The NCC had on October 20 last year imposed $5.2 billion on the company for allegedly undermining efforts by the Nigerian government to tackle security challenges and the war on terror and allied crimes, as the telecoms operator allegedly refused to deactivate unregistered mobile phone lines on its network.Both NCC and MTN had confirmed the development in separate statements yesterdayThe Director of Public Affairs of NCC, Mr Tony Ojobo, said in Abuja that MTN would pay the fine in six tranches over the next three years.The amount, according to him, includes the goodwill payment of N50 billion earlier made by MTN to the government.He said:The balance of N280 billion will be made in six tranches in the following order:By the terms of agreement, MTN will pay N30 billion into NCCs Treasury Single Account (TSA) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 30 days from the date of the agreement dated June 10, 2016.Other dates of payments include:The agreement and resolutions were signed by Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar G. Danbatta; NCC Commission Secretary, Mr. Felix Adeoye; Chief Executive of MTN, Fredinand (Fredi) Moolman and MTNs Company Secretary, Mrs. Uto Ukpanah, and witnessed by Mr. Tony Ojobo, NCC, Director, Public Affairs; Mr. Usman Malah, Chief of Staff to the EVC, NCC; Ms Helen Obi, Assistant Director, Legal, NCC and Ms. Amina Oyagbola, Corporate Executive, MTN.Danbatta at the signing of the agreement said it was taken based on professionalism and global best practices, and in line with the NCC core value to be fair, firm and forthright.He added:  the Commission has always carried industry and stakeholders along in taking transparent regulatory actions, adding that at no point will the regulator do anything to jeopardize the business health of the entire sector.We were careful not to take decisions that were likely to cripple the business interest of the operators we regulate. Besides, the downturn of the global economy is biting hard on everybody and every sector, so we must therefore be sensitive and flexible in our decisionsThis perhaps is one of the attractions of the global communities to the activities of the Commission through multiple awards recently.MTN,in its own statement,undertook to: subscribe to the voluntary observance of the Code of Corporate Governance for the Telecommunications Industry and will ensure compulsory compliance. The company also undertakes to take immediate steps to ensure listing of its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as soon as is commercially and legally possible.Always ensure full compliance of its license terms and conditions as issued by the NCC.MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ferdi Moolman offered the companys  most sincere apologies for the series of unfortunate events that led to the imposition of the fine. He said: It was of critical importance to reach a solution that would be of universal benefit to all stakeholders given the importance of the ICT industry in Nigeria and its tremendous impact on socio-economic growth. Along with the authorities, we believe that has been achieved.Regarding the companys undertaking to list, Moolman said MTN Nigeria is undoubtedly one of Nigerias success stories. Broader public participation exemplifies this.The initial fine of N1.04 trillion was first adjusted by 25% to N780 billion.MTN deemed the fine inimical to the sustainability of its business and sought judicial determination in December 2015 to protect the extensive local ecosystem, valued and supported by MTNs business.However in February 2016, at the request of the Federal Government, the company announced the withdrawal of its case against NCC and made an initial goodwill payment of N50 billion in order to create a conducive atmosphere for further negotiations.Commenting on the final resolution of the NCC fine, MTN Group Executive Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko expressed his thanks to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the spirit in which the matter was resolved saying  this is the best outcome for the company, its stakeholders, the Federal Government and the Nigerian people and the relationship between MTN, the Federal Government and the NCC has been restored and strengthened.Yesterdays announcement immediately sent shares in the telecoms provider soaring in South Africa.The shares surged 18 percent to 146 rand after the announcement in their biggest jump since April 2000. They have shed 22 per cent since the fine was announced.A few days before the imposition of the fine, MTN had said its Nigerian operation lost 5.1 million subscriber lines in the month of August to the deactivation of incomplete SIM registrations ordered by NCC.This led to MTN cutting its full-year forecast for subscriber numbers.Rejecting the deal yesterday, the House of Representatives issued an invitation to the Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu to come and shed light on it on Monday.Moments after news of the deal broke, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Communications, Mr. Saheed Fijabi, told reporters he did not understand the sudden shift in position by the NNCC on the fine.He dismissed the agreement as unacceptable.It came to us as a surprise to hear that MTN is paying N300bn. How can they be paying that amount when the minister told us that everything was stalled pending the outcome of our investigation? Fijabi asked.As a House, we have opposed the reduction of the fine because there is no provision in the NCCs Act that the fine can be reduced. In fact, Section 21 of the Act stipulates that even the CEO of a defaulting firm can be made to pay additional fine of over N200,000 on each of the lines.The lawmaker said ordinarily, MTNs total fine should be doubled to about N3 trillion and not even the N1.4 trillion they were asked to pay.The committee chair noted that it was wrong to accept a reduction while the House was investigating the ongoing negotiations between the Federal Government and MTN on the fine
The joint revolutionary council of the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), which claims to be the highest organ of all the freedo...

The joint revolutionary council of the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), which claims to be the highest organ of all the freedom fighting body in the Niger Delta, has declared ceasefire.The group had earlier threatened to launch six missiles in the region and to also shut Nigerias airspace, but it said it decided to do otherwise after the federal government offered to dialogue.However, JNDLF said government would have to comply with its demand if it wants the momentary peace to be sustained.Some of the groups demands are the immediate release of Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), reversal of the order to freeze the bank accounts of Government Ekpemupolo, better known as Tompolo, establishment of Matitime University in Okerenkoko, Delta state, among others.The group said Niger Delta governors are its representatives and threatened to go after them if they betray the region.We shall continue to engage in dialogue if our demands are met. Our representatives for the dialogue, especially the governors and others will not betray our demands with the federal government. Any betrayal on their own part shall be viewed as betrayal of the entire region and we shall go after them immediately as they know our mode of operation in which they will not escape from us, JNDLF said in a statement.There is no gainsaying that we made our earlier promise to launch six missiles simultaneously against some targeted areas. But this was waved aside as a result of appeals made to us through email by the federal government and some international nations to open talks with Buhari.We saw some genuine aspiration on the part of Buhari, who made several contacts to us to see reason with them over the issue of under-development of the region. And since he (Buhari) had set the ball rolling for a clear negotiation with us, there is no problem without solution. We have therefore declared ceasefire in order to negotiate with the government if it is a true reflection of what they have in mind to develop the Niger Delta region.The group said it was more interested in negotiating with the government on the basis of developing the Niger Delta rather than giving out monetary compensation.It also demanded the implementation of the report of the 2014 national conference, and the removal of Paul Boroh, coordinator of the presidential amnesty programme.We are not ready to negotiate with the federal government for the sake of monetary benefit to us but how genuinely the government will develop the region is at the centre of our discussion and anything less than that we will continue our struggle without further warning to the federal government, the statement read.We demand the immediate implementation of the report of the 2014 national conference report, failure of which Nigeria will forcefully break-up. Oil-polluted lands in the Niger Delta must be cleaned up, while compensation should be paid to all oil-producing communities, e.g. Chevron fire outbreak of gas explosion in Koluama, Bayelsa state and Bonga Oil Spill in 2011;We also demand the immediate release of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) and Dr. Nnamdi Kanu.We also want the removal of Brigadier General Paul Boroh (rtd.) as Amnesty Coordinator. He does not understand the programmes and policies of the Amnesty and does not know us to the grassroots. Hence he should be replaced with Dr. Felix Tuodolo who has been in the struggle of non-violence since 1980 and he was the designer of the amnesty programme.We carried out all these attacks on oil and gas pipelines in the region because of the statement made by President Buhari that he will develop those areas that gave him 95% votes during his presidential election last year. We, the Niger Delta people only gave him 5% hence we vowed that our oil money will not be used for the development of any other region.Despite the declaration of the JNDLF, the Niger Delta Avengers, the group which has led the attacks on oil installations since the resurgence of militancy, blew up pipelines in Bayelsa state on Friday.
A pipeline of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) in Kurutie, Warri South West Local Government area of Delta State and an E...

3:am of Friday @NDAvengers blow up the Obi Obi Brass Trunk line belonging to Agip ENI. It is Agip's Major Crude oil Line in Bayelsa State. June 10, 2016

A pipeline of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) in Kurutie, Warri South West Local Government area of Delta State and an ENI AGIP pipeline in Bayelsa Stae were in ruins yesterday after the latest in the long list of sabotage acts by Niger Delta militants.The NPDC pipeline was attacked on Thursday evening and the AGIP trunk line early yesterday.The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) claimed responsibility for the Bayelsa sabotage, boasting on its twitter handle: It is AGIPs major crude oil line in Bayelsa State.The two attacks came despite the deployment of military personnel to the creeks of Warri and other parts of the Bayelsa/Delta states axis of the Niger Delta and the peace initiative of the federal government to enable dialogue with the militant groups.The Avengers had earlier disowned anybody or group purportedly discussing on their behalf with the Federal Government, adding, If the Federal Government is discussing with any group they are doing that on their own.They also have blown up installations of Dutch-British Shell and U.S.-based oil company Chevron, halving the countrys production to about 1.2 million barrels a day.Itsekiri youth leader and activist, Chief Ayirimi Emami, had faulted the quick withdrawal of troops from the waterways despite lack of firm commitment from the militant groups and vulnerability of oil assets.It was gathered that the Federal Governments delegation is being led by Petroleum Resources Minister Ibe Kachikwu while a former consultant to the Delta State Government is representing the militants at the talks.Oil industry sources in the area are blaming the escalating attacks on the failure of the security operatives, particularly men of the Nigerian Navy, to man and secure the waterways around vital oil installations and platforms in the areas.Several sources told our reporter that the military operations in the region before the ceasefire by the FG had also failed to curb attacks because they were more reactional than proactive.The view is shared by security experts, oil workers and community leaders in the region, who lamented that military operations have mainly focused on communities rather than protection of the facilities and restricting the masterminds.One of the sources who spoke with our reporter from Escravos confirmed hearing a loud bang that shook everywhere on Thursday night.We later found that it was a manifold that was bombed, and as I am talking to you now, no security operatives have visited the site of the attack. We are talking about over 12 hours ago.Behind us here is a strategic NGC facility (location withheld), which is left unprotected and with easy access for anybody. These are the kind of places that the JTF and the Navy should be providing cover to, but they are not doing it.When you hear that more troops were deployed to the creeks, did it stop the attacks? No, because the troops were mostly interested in going to communities in Gbaramatu, not to secure facilities.As a result, while they are focusing on communities, the militants are bombing oil installations.Are you not surprised that despite the advance notices the security operatives get, the attacks continue and nothing is coming out of the so-called arrests that they have been making? So where is the breakthrough? our source queried.An Ijaw leader, Chief Favour Izoukumor, had earlier advised the Federal Government to invest in intelligence gathering, noting that what led to the renewed attacks had been subject of rumour and murmurs in the past.His words: I believe that before anything will happen, the people would have been talking; like all those expression of annoyance and things like that. This is information that neutral persons could have gathered as information and make a genuine recommendation.The country cannot always be left to situations that will leave it to suddenly shock Nigerians and the international community.The reason this has continued to happen is because we do not have an effective intelligence gathering system. It is not effective enough.I am using this opportunity to call on the President to invest more on the agencies responsible for intelligence gathering.Once theintelligence gathered is accurate, you will always get the right information when looking for Avengers or pipeline vandals and then be able to take the appropriate steps.Meanwhile, Itsekiri youth leader and activist, Chief Ayirimi Emami hinted that the Federal Government might have made a tactical blunder by withdrawing troops from the creeks before security assurance that such move would halt the attacks.Reacting to Thursday nights attack, Chief Emami said the Federal Government succumbed to cheap blackmail and propaganda by the militants who accuse the military of pillaging communities.I dont support the military molesting and maiming innocent citizens, but I think the Federal Government ought to do its job and not succumb to the cheap blackmail and propaganda that led to the withdrawal of troops from the waterways because that has led to more attacks.Government should not be swayed by some individuals whose only interest is enriching themselves from the militancy and destruction of oil facilities and terrorism in the name of agitation, he added.
Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Command at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos yesterday arrested two Chinese nationals...

Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Command at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos yesterday arrested two Chinese nationals for attempting to smuggle elephant tusks and Pangolin out of the country.The items, consisting 678 pieces of elephant tusks and eight sacks of Pangolin weighing over 381 kilogrammes, are prohibited under law. Export of such commodity, according to Customs, contravenes Schedule 6 of the Nigerian Exports Prohibition List, which prescribes as illegal, any attempt to export wild animals and endangered species.Area Comptroller of the Command, Frank Nduka Allannah, told reporters that the smugglers had been remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Customs at the Lagos Airport pending further investigation. The impounded items, especially the Pangolin, which is said to be the most trafficked endangered animal, was meant for export where it would have been used for Chinese medicine.According to Allannah, the impounded items will be handed over to the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).He explained that officers at the Export Shed of the MMIA intercepted the prohibited items while the Chinese who claimed ownership of the items were trying to smuggle them out of the country. He added that upon physical examination of the items, the Chinese were subsequently arrested and are still in custody.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, was on Friday hosted by the indigenes of Ile-Ife, Osun State, resident in the United St...

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, was on Friday hosted by the indigenes of Ile-Ife, Osun State, resident in the United States.The monarch, with his entourage, was received at the J.F. Kennedy Airport, New York, by leaders of Ife indigenes and other Nigerians in the US on Thursday.A New York City Senator, Kevin Parker, and the Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams, said the city had secured a proclamation to declare Monday, June 13, 2016 as Yoruba Day.They said the action was to honour the monarch.According to a statement, the Ooni has also been billed to visit President Barack Obama at the White House, where he will receive an award.The statement added that a number of programmes had been scheduled to honour the traditional ruler while in the country.As part of activities in his visit to the US, the Ooni will on Sunday, June 12, 2016, be the Special Guest of Honour at the prestigious Odunde festival.The festival, which promotes the culture of the Yoruba race, was created in 1975 by Lois Fernandez and Ruth Arthur, and attracts about 500,000 people annually.The event will provide an opportunity for the monarch to interact with the over 3,000 Ife indigenes in the US on how to develop Ile-Ife.The statement said, On the same day, the Museum of the Contemporary African Diaspora Arts will receive the monarch in a private reception as well as a public forum session.Expected at the event will be Brooklyn Borough President and a New York City Public Advocate, Leticia James. The monarch will then move to the Mid-West and other parts of the country to attend economic and leadership summits before being received by President Barack Obama through The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighbourhood Partnerships.The Chairman of the Grand Reception Planning Committee and one of the leaders of Ife Ooye North America group, Chief Olubunmi Awopileda, said, All Ife natives in the US are excited and energised for this epochal occasion. It will be an occasion to showcase our very rich culture with our king as the symbol.
Tears flowed freely on Friday at the Ikoyi Cemetary, Lagos, as the remains of Adesola Ogunmefun and Olufunmilayo Odusina, two University ...

Tears flowed freely on Friday at the Ikoyi Cemetary, Lagos, as the remains of Adesola Ogunmefun and Olufunmilayo Odusina, two University of Lagos post-graduate students who drowned and died during one of their friends birthday party at a private beach in the Lekki area of the city on June 6, 2016, were finally laid to rest.An emotional tribute service which started as early as 11:00am, saw family members, friends and well wishers of the departed young women pour out in droves to bid them farewell.In glowing words, mourners at the event paid tributes to the victims who many described as very charming and promising.Sunmibola Ogunmefun, a sibling to the late Adesola, said even though the family is in mourning, they are consoled by the good life she lived and impact she made during her sojourn on earth.Very simplistic, youve never been the kind to take things too seriously and your smile is from ear to ear. Keeping malice with you was futile, youd always find a way to break the icenever one to hold grudge.Sola, in your short years on earth, youve connected us with so many people and your death has brought reconciliationyou are indeed a special one, she said while paying homage to her late sister.Modupe Mujota, a boss to the late Adesola, described her as not only a workaholic but also a young lady with a warm heart.In her tribute, she said, Desola took care of me. She would wake me up daily at 6am and like a child I would often beg her for 15 more minutes. As many times as I asked, she would oblige me, she was that caring.Desola, our loss is heavens gain, light it up as always with your brilliant smiles. We love you dearly.Born on April 12, 1989, Adesola attended the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria Staff School Ikeja, Lagos, Home Science Association of Nigeria Secondary School and Covenant University before proceeding to the University of Lagos for a Masters degree in International Law.Until her painful demise, she worked as Personal Assistant to the Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology, Ogun State.Odusina equally described as an easy-going and lovable young woman, was born on February 13, 1991.
'You know you did this,' teen's cousin says to fatal hit-and-run driver
The commander and three members of an Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office internal investigations unit abruptly resigned on Friday.
Community

Its now easier than ever to connect and chat with others in your local area. You can connect with your community by asking general questions, give area updates and recommendations and even let your community know about local events that are taking place.
Big Data to Transform Social Science Research Huge amounts of data have the potential to change long-standing paradigms

Highlights Social scientists asking previously unanswerable questions

Researchers use data to analyze human behavior

Humanities scholars explore ethical, philosophical questions

Making inroads in health policy, medical malpractice EVANSTON, Ill. --- Until recently, it was nearly impossible for social scientists like David Figlio to study and track large groups of children over time. Governments couldnt maintain the data, and regardless, they werent keen on sharing. As computing power increased, however, Northwestern Universitys Figlio figured out how to access and merge a remarkable repository of government statistics involving 2 million Florida schoolchildren. He has since created the nations first massive data set containing matching birth and education records, information that is changing the type of real-world problems social science researchers can solve. Data science is an extremely important scholarly pursuit in its own right, said Figlio, an economist and director of Northwesterns Institute for Policy Research. But its also a tool that allows social scientists, business scholars, legal scholars, humanists and others to do their work differently. Though best known for transforming the physical and life sciences, the data science revolution also has inspired researchers who traditionally work with smaller data sets in fields such as economics, political science, geography and sociology. The use of big data in the social sciences has the potential to change long-standing paradigms, experts say, because it allows scientists to ask  and try to answer  previously unfathomable questions, including ethical and philosophical concerns raised by technological advancements.

Its not the data per se that are so revolutionary; its finding what we can do with them. David Figlio

Orrington Lunt Professor of Education and Social Policy The promise of the big data movement is that the numbers hold the answers to fundamental questions of businesses, governments and social sciences. Its not the data per se that are so revolutionary; its finding what we can do with them, said Figlio, the Orrington Lunt Professor of Education and Social Policy. One of his studies indicated that children with a heavier birthweight did better in school later in life. These types of results could have long-ranging effects, such as prompting doctors to reassess the need for early inductions. Across Northwestern, researchers and students in the humanities, education policy, marketing, social media, law and other areas are measuring how humans behave by using the extreme computing power that has evolved over the last few years to make new types of social, archival and wearable data. Theyre arming police officers with a novel crime-fighting tool: advanced data analysis and potentially life-saving intelligence. Theyre looking at how people manage their availability in the 24/7 digital world. And theyre working with real-time data and partnering with companies, disrupting the traditional relationship between marketers and consumers. The experts at Northwestern University Information Technology (NUIT) host popular training sessions and workshops to identify skill gaps, propose remedies and connect researchers who may have very different backgrounds. Northwestern University Libraries also offers workshops on data science, and librarians help faculty curate and manage unwieldy data. We can see what a humanist is doing and think about how that applies to a computer science researcher, said Joseph Paris, associate director for research at NUIT. Is there an opportunity for collaboration? Figlio, who spent more than a decade building relationships and trust, was one of the first people to obtain government records with an eye to improving education policy. His team is examining the construction of next-generation data sets that link administrative data, such as welfare and school records, to population data, such as births and deaths. Old school surveys are still useful. But for the price of just one survey, we can do enormous amounts of social science research that can directly translate into policies and practices that people wouldnt have been able to uncover previously, Figlio said. Old school surveys are still useful. But for the price of just one survey, we can do enormous amounts of social science research that can directly translate into policies and practices that people wouldnt have been able to uncover previously, Figlio said.

Bringing high-tech to legal research Read more about the research of Northwestern Law's Bernie Black, which focuses on health policy and medical malpractice  utilizing a high-security NUIT computer. Read the Interview

A behavioral approach to big data Can we figure out how humans behave by analyzing big data? Its a central question for researchers inside the School of Communications Social Media Lab, who are using statistics to sort out how people behave in the digital world, including coping with around-the-clock availability and using anonymous platforms. One series of studies looking at text messages and deception explores why, for example, some people lie to their friends about when they first read a text. The phenomenon has been dubbed butler lies, after the fibs a butler might have told to cover for his employer. The lies are important because they allow us a way to preserve relationships, said Jeremy Birnholtz, director of Northwesterns Social Media Lab. By understanding how people use and craft butler lies to manage their availability, we can devise better ways to cope with the instantaneous nature of the system, which is offering more information about when and where youve opened a message. Birnholtzs team also has amassed more than 2 million yaks, or posts on the anonymous platform Yik Yak, from 35 college campuses. The data suggests that anonymous online behavior depends in part on whether you feel like a disconnected individual or part of a group, said Birnholtz, an associate professor in the School of Communication who has worked with Facebooks core data science team. Were looking for linguistic cues like using we versus I or positive vs. negative emotion words to see which identity people are drawing on, Birnholtz said. As the data sets grow, however, new problems crop up. Researchers are limited to what a server can see; yet servers rarely capture a complete picture because not everyone uses a search engine, Twitter or has a Facebook page. Moreover, researchers normally try to stand apart from the world theyre observing. But in the social sciences, the rampant use of the big data system is breaking down the wall between the researcher and reality, said James Webster, a professor in the department of communication studies. Using data science in the physical world, such as predicting the weather, wont change the weather. But in the social world, making a prediction based on an analysis can affect what the researcher is observing. Google doesnt just measure the popularity of websites. It creates popularity, said Webster, author of The Marketplace of Attention: How Audiences Take Shape in a Digital Age. We just have to overcome the irrational exuberance and realize the data isnt perfect and that it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, Webster added. While at the same time, we have to stay mindful that its capable of generating insights not otherwise possible.

Helping companies reach consumers In the commercial world, big data has upended the traditional marketing paradigm, according to studies from Medills Integrated Marketing Communications Spiegel Research Center that analyzed staggering amounts of big data. For more than a century, marketers completely controlled their messages, creating and broadcasting advertisements to passive consumers. Today, consumers often unwittingly act as foot soldiers when they write reviews about good or bad experiences with brands or post to social media groups. Working collaboratively with other schools, including Northwesterns Kellogg School of Management, as well as with major companies like IBM, Peapod and comScore, IMC researchers have studied how participating in social media discussions and writing or reading negative comments about a product influences future purchases. The data is far more accurate and precise than self-reports of the past, because researchers are analyzing actual consumer behavior. Were able to test ideas in the real world and give them evidence-based suggestions on how to respond to negative customer comments, said Ed Malthouse, Theodore R. and Annie Laurie Sills Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications. Were also able to help stimulate discussions that will make customers more loyal in the future. Reviews matter, IMC researchers have found, and shoppers are more likely to buy a product rated between 4.2 and 4.5 stars in online reviews. A perfect 5.0, however, is a little too good to be true, the study indicated. Apps are also important; people who shop with an app place larger orders  and shop more often  than those who dont, according to a study using data from the online grocer Peapod. The research also suggests that we shop differently on mobile devices because of the small screen; were more likely to use phones or tablets for routine or habitual purchases and desktop computers for things that require research or consideration. This environment is very different from before, and companies are struggling to adapt to the new conditions, Malthouse said.

Aiding law enforcement Police departments also are struggling to find their way, but they often simply dont have staff available to them with the advanced statistical training or resources to analyze the overwhelming amount of data. Under the guidance of adjunct lecturer Mark Iris, mathematically gifted students in the Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS) program help analyze large amounts of data for police departments, which can then be used to help illuminate misconceptions and better inform policy and operations decisions. One recent MMSS project that examined crime by location in Houston according to an analysis of micro hotspots, was published in The Police Chief, the lead publication of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Since Iris began matching students with police agencies that have high volumes of data, the teams have worked on more than 30 projects, initially in Chicago and more recently in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, and in Philadelphia and Houston.

The Impact on How We Work Kellogg School of Management believes that business leaders need a working knowledge of data science to reap its rewards. Learn how Kellogg is Training Managers

Asking the tough questions The overriding question, of course, is: What about the humanities? Scholars like Sylvester Johnson believe that data scientists of the future, including those trained at Northwestern, should be prepared to weigh ethical and philosophical ramifications intertwined with technological advancements. What does it mean to be human in a world dominated by intelligent machines? asked Johnson, an associate professor of African American studies and religious studies. The humanist perspective is vital to the development of artificial intelligence. Johnson became fascinated with data science while devising an algorithm to help analyze an old, particularly voluminous text. He was struck by the fact that he was using artificial intelligence to categorize words and meaning. The ability to be cognitive, to think and reason  soon those characteristics, long thought to be distinctly human, may no longer belong exclusively to us, Johnson said. The whole point of the science behind big data is really to make the machines do that on a greater scale with greater efficiency.

Listen: Professor Sylvester Johnson Discusses Using Artificial Intelligence to Analyze a Large Volume of Text and Categorize its Words and Meaning Audio Transcript
The primary election season is over for everyone except the District of Columbia, which goes through the motions Tuesday, but that doesn't mean there's a lull in the political world. There's a lot going on, even though the Nov. 8 general election seems a long way off.

Senate debate debateable

Brad Howard, campaign manager for Democratic Senate candidate Baron Hill, said Libertarian candidate Lucy Benton agreed to holding debates, but Hill and Howard are still waiting to hear from the Todd Young campaign.

The Indiana Debate Commission generally sponsors debates for Senate and gubernatorial debates.

Remember when there was a gubernatorial in Merrillville in 2008? That's when there was so much flooding in Northwest Indiana that it took me hours to drive from Munster to Merrillville.

Register marks

The Lake County Democratic Central Committee and the Lake County Young Democrats plan to start the Register the Region campaign at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Visclosky for Congress campaign office, 7895 Broadway, Suite W, Merrillville. The original press release for Register the Region is attached for your reference.

They hope to register 10,000 new voters and get a 100,000-vote win for gubernatorial candidate John Gregg, the Democrat running against Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, and Libertarian Rex Bell.

Up Hill's battle

The day before tomorrow's Indiana Republican Party State Convention in Indianapolis, Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill announced a list of endorsements for his campaign for attorney general. Local names among them include:

Mike Gonder, LaPorte County GOP chair.

Mayor Jon Costas, Valparaiso.

Mayor Blair Milo, LaPorte.

Jeff Drinski, Newton County prosecutor.

Brian Gensel, Porter County prosecutor.

McCormick spices

Jennifer McCormick, who is seeking the Republican nomination for superintendent of public instruction at tomorrow's state GOP convention, announced a string of endorsements. Local names on the list include: Chuck Williams, of Valparaiso, District 1 chairman; Michael Simpson, Porter County chairman; state Sens. Ed Charbonneau, District 5, Brandt Hershman, District 7, and Rick Niemeyer, District 6; and state Rep. Bill Fine, District 12.

McCormick is superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools.

Appointments

Gov. Pence recently named several members to various state boards and commissions. Among them are David V. Pranckus, of LaPorte County, reappointed to serve a two-year term through June 30, 2018, on the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, and Nathaniel Z. Cain, of Lake County, appointed to serve a three-year term through June 15, 2019, on the Indiana War Memorial Commission.

Viewing a hearing

U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, a Munster native, chaired Thursday's House Budget Committee hearing focused on the need to control automatic spending and unauthorized programs. Rokita serves as vice chairman of the House Budget Committee.

The hearing featured David M. Walker, the former Comptroller of the United States, Stuart M. Butler of The Brookings Institution, and Lily M. Batchelder of New York University School of Law as witnesses.

Click here for seeing as well as hearing.

Clinton in lead

Rasmussen Reports, which tends to skew conservative, released a report Thursday showing Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump, 42-38. That leaves a lot of leeway for the undecideds to affect the Nov. 8 outcome.

Taking high ground

A marijuana advocacy organization called Higher Society is suing Tippecanoe County over access to the courthouse for a public forum. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed suit on behalf of the organization. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Hammond.

Coats attacks weapons procurement

Retiring U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, on Wednesday took a shot at the Department of Defenses Weapons Acquisition System, the process by which the DOD procures weapons systems or related items from various defense contractors.

Coats said the current process needs to be reformed because it is wasting taxpayer dollars.

Since 1990, the Government Accountability Office has included DODs Weapons Acquisition System on its annual High Risk List because of the programs vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement. Coats said.

One example of a program that was initiated but never finished is the development of a new helicopter for the president, said Coats. After 9/11, it became clear that Marine One was outdated, especially its communications and security capabilities, and DOD initiated an effort to build a new helicopter. Without appropriate guidelines, the DOD tacked on many more add-ons over the years and ultimately the new helicopter weighed so much that its mission capability was compromised. It might seem obvious that billions should not be spent on a new helicopter without a complete design, but unfortunately this is exactly what happened. Ultimately, the entire project was scrapped in 2009, costing taxpayers $3.7 billion.

Union endorsements

The Indiana AFL-CIO endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Baron Hill, the candidate announced Wednesday. The United Steelworkers endorsed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Are you surprised that unions are endorsing Democrats?

Back to college affordability

State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, attended the recent Midwestern Higher Education Compacts Executive Committee meeting in Chicago. The group aims to furthering regional access to, research in and choice of higher education for the citizens residing in the Midwest.

Hearing from legislators and higher education leaders from around the Midwest is extremely valuable, Charbonneau said. Understanding what other states are doing to promote higher education is a good step forward in determining what programs and opportunities could be successful here in Indiana.

Charbonneau said the group spent a lot of time on affordability and how to ensure all individuals have the opportunity to attend college.

Kirk drills VA secretary

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, RIll., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, met Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald to discuss his 2017 appropriations bill, Hines VA Hospital and accountability at the VA.

McDonald is a Gary native.

Roaches and mold in facilities where we feed and care for our nations heroes is unacceptable, Kirk said. Secretary McDonald understands my priority in the bipartisan Veterans funding bill: end the culture of corruption at the VA and hold VA facilities to the same standards as private hospitals. I discussed these concerns with Secretary McDonald today and I look forward to continuing to work with him to ensure our veterans receive the care they deserve.

Jim Pressel fundraiser

Today is the deadline to RSVP for a $100 fundraiser for Republican Jim Pressel, who is running for state representative in District 20. Jeff and Gail Johnson are hosting the event at 6 p.m. June 25 at their home in LaPorte. It's an adults-only event. Visit www.jimpressel.com/johnson or call (219) 362-6865.

Holding your own?

If you're planning a fundraiser for a candidate, or if you're the candidate and someone is planning it on your behalf, send the details to doug.ross@nwi.com for possible inclusion in a future NWI Opinion blog post.
Hoist Liftruck expects significant growth after recently landing a deal to make private-label pneumatic tire forklifts for market leader Toyota Material Handling U.S.A. Inc.

Toyota has consistently demonstrated the ability to produce results with the products it distributes, and we feel our pneumatic tire trucks will be an excellent addition to their product lineup, said Stu Jacover, vice president for strategy and development for Hoist Liftruck.

We are excited to partner with TMHU on this project, and we are confident this will be integral to our mutual growth.

Hoist Liftruck new business development and property manager Vince Flaska said it would be a similar agreement to the Chinese company, Foxcann, manufacturing iPhones and other Apple products. Hoist will make Forklifts that range from 22,000 to 72,000 pounds that will be sold under the Toyota brand name.

So far, the company has made about 30 of the forklifts at its new 550,000-square-foot factory on Railroad Avenue in East Chicago.

The high-capacity forklift market is an important segment of the material handling industry in North America, said TMHU President Jeff Rufener.

We are committed to our role as a full-line supplier, and we are proud to partner with Hoist to offer Toyota dealers and customers a broader selection of high-capacity forklifts made in the U.S.

Hoist Liftruck currently is making the forklift for Toyota dealerships in North America, but expects eventually to expand production to meet demand in South America, Europe and the rest of the world.

Its huge, Flaska said. Its just going to grow. Toyota has a huge brand name.
The career-focused college is closing most of its locations nationwide after running into legal issues. Its parent company Education Management Corp. recently reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over false claims and agreements with 39 state attorney generals to end investigation into its recruiting practices.

Education Management Corporation has made the decision to not accept new enrollments into programs at 22 locations of the Brown Mackie College system of schools, spokesman Bob Greenlee said. We remain committed to assisting currently enrolled students in successfully completing their programs of study. Our goal is to ensure that currently enrolled students receive an education that will equip them with the skills and expertise they need for practice in their chosen field.
PORTAGE  Two teens are facing charges after they allegedly admitted to police they shot a rabbit because they were bored.

A 16-year-old girl was charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and transported to the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center following the incident. Charges also were filed against Cameron Coylette for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was released.

According to a police report, police were called shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday to the 2600 block of Hamstrom Road.

A witness told police he saw someone in a dark blue Jeep shooting a weapon from the vehicle in the area. Police spotted the Jeep and stopped it at the corner of Central Avenue and Airport Road.

According to police, Colyette, 18, told officers he and the girl had gone to a friend's house to engage in target practice. He told police they "got bored" and decided to drive home. On the way home, they spotted a wild rabbit in the area of Hamstrom Road and Defiance Avenue.

Colyette told police he stopped the Jeep and he and the girl loaded a pellet rifle. He said he handed the rifle to the girl, who then aimed the rifle out of the window and shot the rabbit.

According to police, the girl said she shot the rabbit.

Police later found the rabbit dead on the northwest corner of Hamstrom and Defiance "in a small pool of blood with obvious wounds to its head."
CEDAR LAKE  Police say a Schererville man with a lengthy history of traffic violations fled the scene of a car crash Thursday night in the 10900 block of Parrish Avenue in Cedar Lake.

Nicholas D. Harsany is accused of driving his black Hyundai off the roadway and onto a residents lawn just after 6:30 p.m. Thursday. His vehicle also struck a pole, a white fence and a mailbox. Power lines were hanging along the roadway.

Police also observed an alcoholic beverage lying on the driver's floor board.

After questioning medics on scene, police were told the driver had fled on foot. Harsany was later located by Cedar Lake police.

He now faces charges of operating a vehicle while being a habitual traffic violator, operating while intoxicated and refusing a chemical test, operating while intoxicating and endangering a person, and failure of duty for leaving the scene of an accident.
VALPARAISO  Washington Township High Schools 70 graduates were greeted by cheering family members and friends Saturday as they filled the James Dold Gymnasium for their commencement ceremony.

Principal Jerry Hale started the ceremony with a few thoughts and final words of advice.

Soon to be graduates, now is the time to take control of your life, Hale said. Up to this point, school has been mandatory. Starting today, you will hopefully be making a decision to put yourself in the drivers seat. Not the passengers, where you have been all of these years.

If you choose to be in the drivers seat, youll be able to control your journey. To be in the drivers seat, you must live your dream, not someone elses. You determine what you want, you just have to go after it.

The Senator choir performed Drew Pearson and Greg Holdens Home, and a group of seniors performed Wherever You Go.

Valedictorian Noah Masson gave a three-point thesis of advice to his classmates and thanked teachers, friends and family members for guiding him through high school.

Know who you are. This one is cheesy, and Im not sorry, Masson said. I would like to leave you all with a quote from Harvey Fierstein. Accept no ones definition of your life, but define yourself. As you continue on through life people will try to tell you who you are, but you need to continue to stay true to yourself.

Salutatorian Kelsey Vinzant expressed how bittersweet graduation is, and how thankful she was to have known everyone at her school.

Not very many schools provide an environment like ours where you grow up knowing every single detail about every single one of your classmates, Vinzant said. Here at Washington Township weve become a family, and as happy or sad it is to admit it, this is probably the last time we will be like this, together as one, ever again.
CROWN POINT  Temperatures hovering in the mid-90s and high humidity greeted those attending Fridays kickoff of the two-day Crossroads Hometown Festival Days Corn Roast and Family Fun Day on the Square.

So did the aroma of ethnic and festival foods, the squeals of youngsters enjoying activities in the Kids Zone and the camaraderie of multiple generations coming together to celebrate the start of summer. Sitting at a picnic table or walking, festivalgoers munched on ears of steamed corn prepared by the South Lake County Shrine Club.

We brought in 140 cases. There are four dozen ears of corn in each case, said Richard Wright. We set up about 7 a.m. and started steaming the corn at 2:45 p.m. "Ninety percent of the money we collect (from sales) is given away, donated to the Crown Point Fire Department, of course the Shriners Childrens Hospital and Orak Shrine. All the time is donated.

For some, this festival sponsored by the Crossroads Chamber of Commerce is an annual tradition.

We come here every year. Its a great way to kick off the summer, said Keerie Prasopoulos of Crown Point, who attended the festival with husband, Jim, and their daughters, Hailey, 13, and Lauren, 11, and dog, Max.

We like eating food from local vendors, said Jim Prasopoulos, an opinion shared by Lauren, who gave a thumbs up to the corn. Crown Point is a great community. Its very friendly.

Chuck Brenner, of Crown Point, sat on one of the benches in the shade of the old courthouse trees, enjoying an elephant ear as the powdered sugar fell on his slacks and shoes.

He should have worn white, chuckled his wife, Carol. We come every year. We cant wait for it. The Shriners corn is to die for.

For the Espinoza family of St. John, the 2016 festival was a new experience and a family-friendly one.

Weve driven by (the festival) by accident before. This time we caught it, said Armando Espinoza, sitting at one of the many picnic tables as his 6-1/2 year-old son, Ryan, munched on an ear of corn.

I like vegetables, the youngster said between bites.

However, when mom, Gabriela Espinoza, and 4-year old sister, Alina, returned with chocolate-covered bacon and chocolate-covered strawberries with sprinkles, Ryan quickly handed his dad the corn and reached for the bacon.

Yum! I could have this every day, Ryan said.

Alina saw a picture of the strawberries when I pulled it up on Facebook. All day shes been saying I want that. I want that, Gabriela said with a smile as the children enjoyed their treats. Ryan has a chocolate mustache. Now thats a sign of a good festival!

Mark Terry, of Merrillville, attended the festival for the first time with friend Lessie Smith.

Im here every year, Smith said. We came here to have the pierogies. The Polish is something new for me. Its delicious.

Staying hydrated was especially important in Fridays heat, she said.

We brought water and Gatorade, Smith said. Try the lemonade. Its wonderful.
GARY  Delegates and organizers of the National Black Political Convention ended their meeting with a swarm of angry, sometimes contradictory, pleas, impressions and demands put forward over the last two days in response to creation of a new black agenda.

Many speakers criticized the mass incarceration of black men and women, the failures of public education, gang violence, inadequate housing, disinvestment and poverty in black-majority zip codes.

Complaints about unwarranted police shootings prompted panelist Kayla Hicks to say she is married to a black police office and he and other black officers deserve the black community's support.

Empress Chi, self-styled founder of the Million Women March, issued fiery condemnations of "police and government terrorism," including some schools in which the curriculum is controlled "by the people trying to destroy us."

One delegate demanded more black governors, legislators and the same proportion of black government officials as the county's 13 percent African-American population.

Former Gary Mayor Richard Hatcher warned black officials have to improve the black community's conditions, "or it would be better if they were never elected."

A call for respect of black elders clashed with a complaint about black men who abuse women and drag them into illegal drug trafficking.

Spencer Overton, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, said a study of black attitudes toward gun violence shows a need for greater government oversight of gun dealers rather than more harsh punishment for gun violators, and trust-building steps with police, including civilian oversight boards.

Linda Haithcox Taylor, the convention's lead organizer, said they will release their conclusions in the near future.

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, of Chicago, told a luncheon audience at the convention, "There are some who have said we would always be behind, we would always be a problem, that we would always be the issue. And people even had the nerve to ask sometimes why we haven not made any more progress."

Davis said, "The hands that used to pick cotton now help pick presidents."

Davis said many demands of Gary's 1972 convention remain unrealized. "What really can black people do to change our status in this country? Unity is the most powerful weapon any group can have.

"We have difficulty making decisions. We will talk at a meeting for two or three hours and still can't decide what we are going to do, because everybody wants their own way. We must learn to give and take a little bit more."

E. Faye Williams, president of the National Congress of Black Women, said, "Don't let this be another convention where you go home and forget what we pledged."
INDIANAPOLIS  An East Chicago steelworker defeated last month in the Democratic primary for Indiana House District 2 is challenging the residency of the election winner, Earl Harris Jr.

Rosa Maria Rodriguez, who got the second-most votes in the four-candidate race, filed paperwork with the Indiana secretary of state Friday claiming Harris is not a bona fide resident of East Chicago.

She said Harris should be considered an Indianapolis resident, because he owns a home in the state's capital city for which he received a homestead tax credit, which only is available on an individual's primary residence.

The four-member Indiana Election Commission is required to rule on Rodriguez's challenge to Harris' ballot eligibility by Wednesday.

A commission meeting has not yet been scheduled.

If Rodriguez persuades at least three of the commissioners that Harris is ineligible, Democratic precinct committeemen from the portions of East Chicago and Gary included in House District 2 would select a replacement candidate for the November general election.

Harris did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Rodriguez's challenge.

He previously said that he moved from Indianapolis to East Chicago to live with his mother following the March 23, 2015, death of his 73-year-old father, longtime state Rep. Earl Harris Sr. He is their only child.

Harris Jr. is registered to vote in Lake County, and his candidacy filing lists the same address as his mother, state Rep. Donna Harris, D-East Chicago, who was elected by precinct committeemen on April 18, 2015, to complete her late husband's two-year term.

Donna Harris chose not to seek election in her own right, citing health issues, which led to the four-way primary contest to succeed her.

Her son prevailed on a platform of furthering the economic development, educational and environmental policy efforts begun by his father and continued by his mother.

No Republican currently is on the ballot seeking to represent the heavily Democratic district.
GARY  Military veterans can meet with prospective employers and learn about federal and state benefits to which they may be entitled during an Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs outreach event Wednesday.

The free program runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Ivy Tech Community College, 1440 E. 35th Ave., Gary.

"The event is an opportunity to increase awareness of available resources for veterans as a result of their military service," said Deanna Pugh, IDVA director of veterans employment and education.

More information about the Region event, and veteran benefits generally, is available online at: in.gov/dva.
CROWN POINT  This weekend is gearing up to be a hot and muggy one for the Region, with local meteorologists recommending people take it easy.

Were not breaking any records, but youll definitely notice (the heat), Mark Ratzer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville, Illinois, said Friday.

Saturday should be mostly sunny with a high near 93, with heat index values as high as 97, according to the NWS in Romeoville.

With festivals and outdoor events drawing folks outside and into the scorching heat, Ratzer urged seniors, children and those with respiratory illnesses to stay hydrated and not overexert themselves.

A spokesman for Franciscan Anthony Health-Crown Point said Friday the hospitals emergency room has not yet experienced an uptick in heat-related illnesses.

Severe weather







The NWS has issued a hazardous weather outlook for a large area of Northwest Indiana, with a possibility of strong storms Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

These very warm temps can lead to a fairly unstable atmosphere, Ratzer said.

Sunday will be considerably cooler, with highs in the low to mid 70s along the lakefront and highs in the low 80s near southern Lake County.

Monday will be mostly sunny with a high near 92.

The NWS is forecasting a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms early Saturday night. Sunday will be mostly sunny with a high near 80 and northeast winds of 10 to 15 mph.

The Times has an online map that lists available cooling centers in the area. People are asked to call the phone number provided ahead of time to verify hours.

The map is available at the link.
LAPORTE  A 21-year-old Gary man's body was found after midnight Saturday following a five-hour search of Pine Lake.

Jeremy Dabney apparently drowned Friday night after jumping from a pontoon boat with friends, Department of Natural Resources Sgt. Shawn Brown said.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday morning at IU Health LaPorte Hospital, said LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan.

Dabney's body was found after a search using sonar equipment brought in by Indiana conservation officers. His body was in approximately 30 feet of water and approximately 300 feet from shore.

LaPorte County Sheriff's SCUBA and Michigan City Police SCUBA teams began the search after police received a call about 6:45 p.m. Friday.

Dabney and friends had rented the boat and were enjoying the warm weather when they decided to take a swim. Brown said Dabney was not a strong swimmer and the water was calm.

As the group returned to the pontoon, Dabney began to struggle. Two people in the group attempted to help, but they began to be pulled under, so they returned to the boat to call for help, authorities said.

Sullivan said he anticipates the cause of death to be asphyxiation due to drowning, and he urged swimmers to wear lifejackets.

"It's a sad day," he said. "Pine Lake is small and calm, but it still demands respect. Swimmers need to wear a flotation device."

Multiple emergency crews, including the LaPorte Fire Department; LaPorte County EMS; Center, Coolspring and Kankakee Township volunteer fire departments; LaPorte County Emergency Management Agency; LaPorte city police; and Indiana Department of Natural Resources assisted in the search and recovery.
SCHERERVILLE  The town will use its portion of the income tax refund from the state of Indiana to help repair some roads, making the municipality eligible for a grant from the Community Crossing program.

We have no intention to put a wheel tax on our residents, Councilman Rob Guetzloff said at last weeks Town Council meeting.

Three tentative projects will be submitted via a letter of intent to the Indiana Department of Transportation including patching some of Kennedy Avenue north and portions of the downtown area, Public Works Director Jeff Huet told the council.

If we get one of our projects funded, Ill be happy, said Town Manager Robert Volkmann. It is safe to say we are ruling out a wheel tax.

Huet also told the council that INDOTs road work on U.S. 41 goes from the Red Robin restaurant at 1401 U.S. 41 in Schererville to the traffic signal at West 133rd Avenue in Cedar Lake.

Currently INDOT is concentrating on the south end, but we will probably see more activity in the next two to three weeks, he said.

In other business, the council awarded the contract for the Crestview Drive sanitary sewer reconstruction project to Schererville-based Rex Construction recommended by Neil Simstad of NIES Engineering Inc.

Six bids were submitted and opened on Monday, ranging from Rex Constructions low bid of $201,233.50 to a high of $504,161.94, Simstad told the council prior to the vote.

This project will replace the sanitary sewer and water main service connection to the town in the area east of Indianapolis Boulevard.

The council also heard about specific road closures when the 25th annual Celebrate Schererville Parade steps off at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Roadblocks will be set up on all side streets in and around Joliet Street and Austin Avenue starting at 4:30 p.m. Austin Avenue will be closed at U.S. 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. In addition, Joliet Street will be closed from the intersection of Joliet Street and U.S. 30 to the intersection of Joliet Street and Austin Avenue during the parade.
LAKE STATION  If the city decides to sell its water department, it could provide a way to wipe out Lake Station's $12 million of debt, Mayor Christopher Anderson said.

The City Council in March authorized appraisals of the department, but it hasn't been decided if the operation will be sold. During Thursday's council session, Anderson said one of the appraisals valued the department at just below $17 million. The other valued it at slightly more than $21 million.

Anderson said the two companies that completed the appraisals are now collaborating to determine a final value for the department.

Anderson expects that figure will be available by the June 23 council meeting. After reviewing that information, the council could determine if Lake Station will accept offers for the Water Department, he said.

The minimum amount for which the city would sell the department would be the final figure that will be established by the two appraisers, Anderson said.

He said Lake Station has about $12 million in debt. Although no action has been taken regarding the potential water department's sale, the city would use funding from the transaction to pay off that debt, Anderson said.

City officials haven't indicated how any remaining money from a potential sale would be used.

Indiana American Water has expressed interest in purchasing the department, and it paid for the appraisals. Anderson said Lake Station also has been in contact with Aqua, another private water company.

If the city obtains offers for the department, there would be a series of public hearings about the matter. Representatives from private water companies submitting offers likely would attend those hearings to provide information about their companies and how the water utility would operate.

Those sessions also would give residents opportunities to share their opinions of a potential sale.

If the council chooses to accept an offer for the department, it would require approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission before it would become effective, Anderson said.

This isn't the first time Lake Station has considered selling its water operation.

Councilman Rick Long said a private water company several years ago made an offer to purchase the department, but the administration then decided against it.

Selling the department could bring immediate financial improvements to the city, but officials have discussed some potential drawbacks in past meetings.

Lake Station generates funding through its water rates, but the community would no longer take in that money if the city stops operating the department.

Although Lake Station would stop collecting money through water rates, a private water company would pay property taxes for its facilities in the city, Anderson said.
There is a place where hope abounds and dreams are not impossible, no matter how high the odds seem stacked against success. Its a place first conceived of by Father Michael Campagna more than 60 years ago, when he had a vision of restoring hope and building dreams for troubled boys whom society had given up on. Today, that vision has grown to include some 350 at-risk boys and girls helped annually by Campagna Academy.

Even though some of the particular issues facing todays youth differ from those of past generations, the commitment to serving children and their families remains the same. Our vision for helping at-risk kids and families hasnt changed, and thats something were very proud of, says Elena Dwyre, CEO of Campagna Academy. Because the needs of today are different than those of 60 years ago, were always looking at whats currently needed.

Campagna Academy offers a variety of programs designed to help and fully support at-risk youth and their families, including the recently expanded Northlake program, which offers residential treatment for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As Dwyre explains, there is limited availability in the Region for youth in need of this type of program, which is why Campagna Academy recently renovated one of its cottages to make room for additional in-need youth. This allows us to accept an additional 12 individuals in the Northlake program, Dwyre says. Were very excited about that.

Other programs offered include therapeutic foster care, vocational counseling, individualized education plans, and dialectical behavior therapycognitive therapy specifically tailored to treat those with self-harm behavior such as self-cutting and suicidal ideation.

Campagna Academy also provides intensive treatment for youth with severe, chronic mental health issues. We offer a full continuum of care aimed at helping youth make a full transition back home and to their communities, Dwyre says.

And, just as substance abuse is a growing problem for youth nationwide, Dwyre points out that 44 percent of youth coming into Campagna Academyincluding 47 percent of incoming Lake County youthhave issues specifically related to substance abuse. We provide an intensive outpatient substance abuse program, and its the only residential IOP program for youth offered in the Region, she says. Campagna also offers on-campus support through Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous.

Campagna Academy depends upon and appreciates the support of Schererville and the surrounding community. The support from Schererville, including the police and fire departments, and the community at large, has been phenomenal, Dwyre raves.

There are myriad fundraising, informational and volunteer opportunities available year-round for the local community. A foster care open house is hosted on the fourth Tuesday of every month to provide information to those who are interested in becoming foster parents. Campagna Academy holds a popular, annual Cruise for Charity which provides lucky donors with the adventure of embarking on a Navy Pier yacht and enjoying a gourmet menu, open bar, music and the chance to bid on items at a silent auction. The upcoming Road Zombies Rukus Car and Bike Show on Saturday, Aug. 27, still has car and vendor spots open, and includes the eclectic thrill of tricycle drag racing. And on Saturday, Oct. 15, participants can Run for the Roses in Campagna Academys annual 5K, Gold Cup Series Race.

With more than 250 employees, Campagna Academy is one of Scherervilles major employers, but Dwyre says that its a wonderful resource for the Schererville community, too. Tours of our facility are available, our gym can be rented, and outside youth and adult groups can reserve our low-ropes course. We want the people of Schererville to be just as proud of Campagna Academy as we are of Schererville.
Steven Handel enjoys helping the people of his local community.

Most of the time, he does so by working with customers and small businesses as an assistant vice president and branch manager for First Midwest Bank in Dyer. But a couple of years ago, he decided he wanted to go beyond his day job and find another meaningful way to get involved and gain a greater sense of belonging in the Schererville/St. John/Dyer area.

Thats when he found the Schererville Rotary Club, the local branch of the massive international organization dedicated to serving humanity across a wide array of outreach efforts. As the current president of the Schererville Club (a one-year term that ends in July), Handel has found the ideal opportunity to really connect to the community around him.

What first drew you to the Schererville Rotary Club?

What appealed to me most was the sheer size of the Rotary International organization, which includes over 1.2 million members serving in countries all across the globe. Any organization that large that I could join on a local level in my own community was really exciting to me.

I was also drawn to all of the humanitarian efforts that Rotary does around the world. Any project that Rotary takes on has to fall into one of several specific categories: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education or growing local economies. Once I realized the sheer scope of the work that Rotary does on a daily basis, I was hooked.

How does the Schererville Rotary Club make a positive difference in the community?

The Club is a great way for people to get plugged into the community. The friends and mentors Ive developed during the short time Ive been in the Club have been invaluable to me. I have a great group of like-minded people that want to be involved and give back to the communities they serve. When organizations are looking for people to get involved in their causes, they usually come talk to us at Rotary.

What are some of the Clubs most noteworthy programs, events and functions?

We sponsor the Interact Club at Lake Central High School, which is the local version of Rotary International's service club for young people ages 12 to 18. This is one of the programs Im the most proud of. Its really great to see the young people get involved in their community and begin to foster Rotarys motto of service above self.

Through Interact, we also provide the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), a leadership program coordinated by Rotary Clubs around the globe. In conjunction with the RYLA, each year in our district we sponsor several high school students to attend a four-day program at Camp Tecumseh in Brookston, Indiana. Topics covered at the camp include decision-making, critical thinking, communicating effectively, public service, contemporary problems and career development.

The Club also partners with the St. Francis Center of Franciscan St. Margaret Health in Dyer, which is an adolescent residential treatment program for male and female youths, ages 12 through 18. Every year the Club provides pumpkins and candy for all the kids at Halloween, as well as stockings and gifts at Christmastime.

We are also very proud of the pavilion shelter that we sponsored and built at Rohrman Park in Schererville.

What are you most proud of in your work with the Schererville Rotary Club?

Im really proud of the work we do with the youth of the tri-town area. Whether its handing out scholarships at Dollars for Scholars or passing out Halloween candy at St. Francis, its extremely fulfilling to actually see that youre making a difference in the life of a child. We make sure that we set aside time in our meetings to read all of the thank you cards and letters we receive from the kids that we serve. Its my favorite part of any meeting.
CHESTERTON  The state and its partners unveiled new technology Friday morning aimed at enhancing safety and catching truckers who may be breaking the law.

The pilot program, designed and funded by Kapsch TrafficCom of McLean, Virginia, uses scales embedded in the roadway along with cameras and laser measuring devices to weigh, measure and gather information on semi-trailer truck traffic.

That information will be compressed into a single record that will present a picture of a vehicle to determine if it is in compliance, said Steve Sprouffske, manager of commercial vehicle enforcement at Kapsch.

Sprouffske said the technology will collect information 24/7 whereas weigh stations are not open around the clock. He added similar technology is being used in France and the Czech Republic.

Kapsch, along with the Indiana Department of Transportation, Indiana Department of Revenue, Indiana state Police and Purdue University announced the program during a press conference and demonstration at an Interstate 94 weigh station just east of Chesterton.

INDOT Commissioner Brandye Hendrickson said the pilot test of the truck enforcement technology is important in that the state is expecting large increases in truck traffic and must have its infrastructure ready. She said the program is a "21st Century approach to weight compliance and trucking safety."

This is the first pilot test of its kind in the United States, said Lauri Brady, business developer for Kapsch.

The technology was installed a few weeks ago. It has begun collecting data. Representatives of the Purdue University School of Engineering will conduct an assessment of the technology and are due to turn over a report to the state sometime in the fall. It will be up to the state then to determine if it wants to adopt the program not only along its interstates, but on other roadways frequented by large truck traffic.

The idea, said officials, is to be able to catch trucks who are not in compliance, either with weight limits or with various certifications. Inspectors can then issue citations and work to bring trucks into compliance. In the long run, it will bring increased revenue into the state.

Gary Langston, president of the Indiana Motor Truck Association, said his group endorses the program.

"The sound of trucks is the sound of commerce," said Langston, adding safety is the number one priority of his industry.

The program, he said, will help gain a level playing field by bringing all truckers who cross Hoosier highways into compliance.

If the pilot is deemed successful, Brady said Indiana legislators will have to take action to allow the technology to be used to cite overweight vehicles. Present state law requires an inspector to weigh a vehicle in person to issue a citation for an overweight vehicle.

Brandy said the pilot is being funded through Kapsch and there are several possible funding models available if the state were to adopt the program. She did not provide costs for the equipment or the pilot operation.
This Sunday's Puerto Rican Day parade in Brooklyn will be more than a cultural celebration. As borough reporter Jeanine Ramirez explains, it's also a way to improve police-community relations.

The sounds of bomba and plena music are so infectious that they have members of the NYPD dancing at a warmup for the Sunset Park Puerto Rican Day Parade and Festival, which will take place this Sunday after the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in Manhattan.

Some previous celebrations in Brooklyn have been marred by clashes with police  something organizers have been working to prevent. Dennis Flores is the founder of El Grito de Sunset Park, a neighborhood activist group that has recorded clashes with the police.

"Unfortunately in the past, there were unpermitted parades that happened here, said Flores, a parade organizer. But naturally after the Manhattan parade, they come to the neighborhood. They want to continue to celebrate. That brought about unnecessary confrontations with the police."

Last year, Flores group got a permit to make the Brooklyn celebration legal, and it's got another one this year: a step organizers see as a way to improve relations with the police. "We want our police officers to meet the community half way, help build a relationship and work together," he said.

Flores says having a new Captain at the 72nd Precinct is promising. Emmauel Gonzalez grew up here and has been meeting with the community weekly.

"We have a new program called the Neighborhood Coordination Officer's program where the police officers are getting more involved with the neighborhood, he said. We teach them organizational skills and how to prepare better for the parade."

This year's event is dedicated to Yvonne Cruz, a longtime resident who recently died of cancer. Robin Padro, a local artist, is painting a mural in her image. "I grew up here. So it means a lot to do something in the community," he said.

Actor J.W. Cortes, who's from Sunset Park and stars in TV's Gotham, will be the parade's padrino, or head patron. "Look how far we've come and it's great to be coming back home," he remarked.

Even the classic cars club is revving up. Hector Rodriguez, a parade participant is proud to be a part of it. "This is my hobby. This is my life, he said. All my life savings went in there. But this is what I love."

He, like the rest of the parades patrons share a love for Puerto Rico and the pueblo of Sunset Park.
Police are looking for the driver they said was involved in a fatal hit-and-run in The Bronx early Saturday morning.

It happened around 12:40 a.m. near East Tremont and Mayflower Avenues near the Bruckner Expressway.

Police said 26-year-old Giovanni Nin of The Bronx was riding his bicycle along East Tremont, trying to cross mid-block, when he was struck.

Officials declared Nin dead at the scene, according to the police report.

Investigators said the driver drove off in a light colored SUV and headed eastbound on East Tremont Avenue.
Muhammad Ali was hailed as the people's champ, and thousands of fans  from heads of state to celebrities  packed an arena in Louisville, Kentucky to say goodbye to the greatest with both laughter and tears.

Muhammad Ali's final farewell began with a motorcade procession through the streets of his beloved Louisville, which brought the storied city of his birth to a near-standstill. Pall bearers included actor Will Smith and boxers Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. Then came the main event: an interfaith service that was both poignant and, at times, funny.

Reverend Kevin Cosby of St. Stephen Church in Louisville kicked off the laughs. Before James Brown said I'm black and I'm proud, Muhammad Ali said I'm black and I'm pretty, he joked.

Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun remembered Ali with an impassioned speech. Heavyweight champions come and go, but there was something about Muhammad Ali that was different. And the key moment when he had that recognition  he used it to stand up to an immoral war and say I wont go, he remarked.

Former President Bill Clinton was among the mourners as well. He refused to be imprisoned by a disease that kept him hamstrung longer than Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in South Africa, he mused.

Comedian Billy Crystal joined in the commemoration by highlighting Alis trademark with that gained him the nickname The Louisville Lip: I rope-a-dope Foreman  Im so fast at 33 years old  Im so fast I can turn off the lights and be in the bed before the room gets dark.

While he and I had a treasured relationship the genius of his love was through the love for my father, added Ambassador Attallah Shabazz, Malcolm Xs daughter.

The most emotional eulogies were reserved for his family, though. Alis widow, Lonnie Ali spoke of his relationship with his hometown. Muhammad never stopped loving Louisville and Louisville loves Muhammad, she said.

Maryum Ali, Alis Daughter echoed the sentiment: We will forever cherish the 74 years you graced this earth. You will be greatly missed but now we send you off in celebration. A blown kiss and prayers as you enter your final round.

Muhammad Ali was 74 and he "shook up the world" to the very end.
A historic worldwide voyage that set sail from Hawaii docks in the East River, and receives a special honor from the United Nations on World Oceans Day. NY1's Cheryl Wills has the story.

History was made Wednesday in the shadow on the United Nations (U.N.) as a traditional Polynesian deep-sea canoe called the Hokulea reached New York, and was honored for promoting environmental awareness of the world's waterways.

It's powered by the wind and waves, its crew uses the stars to navigate, and there are no modern instruments.

It was a rare treat for New Yorkers to get a glimpse of what Nainoa Thompson, the Polynesian Voyaging Society master navigator, said is the "spaceship of his ancestors" thousands of years ago.

"It was the idea, the vision, and the light that would strengthen us in our resolve to sail around the world and do what we can with what we have to protect the oceans on our planet," Thompson said.

On the docks of Long Island City, there were dances and blessings for the double-hulled canoe.

It has sailed 26,000 nautical miles across five oceans, with port stops in 27 countries, since it left Hawaii in 2014.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the canoe on Wednesday, which was World Oceans Day, and praised its mission.

"The way we treat our oceans affect their future," the U.N. secretary-general said at a press conference.

Hawaiian officials say the canoe is the pride of the state.

"The fact that they sailed all the way from Hawaii, halfway around the world, and are now in New York, with Ban Ki-moon, gives great pride to everyone here," said Kirk Caldwell, the mayor of Honolulu.

"And recognizing that the Earth itself is an island and this promise made and promise kept is that our oceans don't divide us, but connect us," said William Kenoi, the mayor of Hawaii County.

So far, the canoe has been seen by more than 45,000 people in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, and Brazil.

The Polynesian Voyaging Society also has an educational component that allows students to virtually set sail.

The mission of Hokulea is continuing. To track it, visit www.hokulea.com/track-the-voyage
In the indictment, filed in the Southern District in Manhattan, prosecutors said that doctors were paid as much as $3,000 per speaking engagement and that the events were held in fancy restaurants. Rather than inviting doctors who were new to using the product, the guests were often friends of the speakers, or were doctors who had already attended similar events and were unlikely to learn anything new. Sign-in sheets contained signatures that were forged to make the events look legitimate, the prosecutors said.

Image The spray Subsys, Insyss only product, contains fentanyl. It is approved for use only in cancer patients.

After the dinners, the doctors and sales representatives sometimes left for a strip club, where the doctors were not asked to pay a cover charge or for their drinks. Instead, they were entertained at a reserved table with bottles of liquor, according to the indictments.

But all of this attention did not come free, prosecutors argued: Mr. Roper and Mr. Serrano expected that the doctors would return the favor by prescribing more Subsys.

One top speaker, according to Mr. Ropers indictment, was paid $147,245 in speaking fees in 2014 and accounted for about $1.2 million in prescriptions of Subsys that were reimbursed through Medicare. Another doctor singled out in the complaint was paid $112,340 in speaking fees in 2014 and prescribed $1.4 million worth of Subsys that was paid for by Medicare, according to the indictment. The doctors were not named in the indictment.

Approved in 2012, Subsys is a form of fentanyl that is sprayed under the tongue and is approved for use only in patients who have cancer and experience pain even though they are already on round-the-clock painkillers. Fentanyl can be deadly if it is prescribed in large doses to someone who has not already become tolerant to opioids.

Despite the drugs tight restrictions, sales of Subsys have been strong, taking in $330 million in 2015. Although Insys was an early favorite with Wall Street, it has struggled as it has faced questions about its marketing practices. Its stock is down more than 50 percent in the last year, and fell more than 12 percent on Friday alone.

In 2014, an analysis by the research firm Symphony Health found that just 1 percent of prescriptions for Subsys were from oncologists, those who would be most likely to treat cancer patients. Doctors who prescribe Subsys must take a test that proves they understand the drugs risks. But according to the indictment on Thursday, Mr. Roper gave a doctor answers to the test questions.
The Gawker Media Group is up for sale. The question now is not just who will buy it, but what exactly they will be paying for.

The company on Friday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced the beginning of an auction process to sell itself. The decision came after a year of escalating controversies and setbacks at Gawker, culminating in a $140 million legal judgment in a lawsuit by Hulk Hogan and the revelation that the suit had received financial support from the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel.

But while companys public image  and troubles  have centered around its aggressive and boundary-testing flagship news site, Gawker.com, potential buyers may be interested in a less visible part of its business: e-commerce.

In recent years, Gawker Media has tried to build up its e-commerce revenue  earned from lucrative commissions taken from referrals to sites like Amazon  as a hedge against an increasingly uncertain online news environment, in which platforms like Google and Facebook take ever-larger shares of advertising revenue.
Toyota said on Friday that it had instructed its dealers to disclose which of its new cars still use airbags that may deteriorate over time and become prone to violent ruptures. And the automaker said it had instructed dealers to tell potential buyers about the issue.

Last week, a Senate report highlighted the continued use of defective Takata airbags in new models sold by at least four automakers: Toyota, Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler and Mitsubishi.

Toyota and Fiat Chrysler had initially refused to name new models that contain airbags that are deemed especially risky, and will need to be recalled by 2018 under a plan laid out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Because the cars do not need to be recalled until then, automakers are technically not required to disclose that those cars contain the defective airbags.
A general contracting company was convicted of manslaughter and other charges on Friday in the death last year of a construction worker at a Lower Manhattan building site.

Justice A. Kirke Bartley Jr. of State Supreme Court in Manhattan found the company, Harco Construction, guilty of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, both felonies, and reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, in the death of Carlos Moncayo, 22, an immigrant from Ecuador who lived in Queens. The company was acquitted of one additional charge of reckless endangerment.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorneys office argued that Harco had ignored repeated warnings about dangerous conditions at a site on Ninth Avenue in the meatpacking district, not far from the High Line. The judge agreed, and found that the companys negligence had contributed to the collapse of a 14-foot trench on April 6, 2015, when Mr. Moncayo was crushed by thousands of pounds of dirt.

The company now faces possible fines up to $35,000, and sentencing is expected on July 13. No trial date has been set in the cases against the other defendants  two construction managers and an excavation subcontractor  who also were indicted after an investigation that involved the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the citys Investigation Department and Police Department.
It was 1970 in Harlem, a vibrant neighborhood struggling with poverty, neglect, drugs and crime amid the turmoil of the civil rights era. Against that troubled backdrop emerged a young congressman named Charles B. Rangel.

In January, for the first time in nearly half a century, someone other than Mr. Rangel, who is retiring, will represent Harlem in Congress.

While Harlem has sent the same man to Washington all these years, Harlem itself is no longer the same. The neighborhood, and much of the rest of New Yorks 13th Congressional District, which also includes Washington Heights and parts of the Bronx, has been transformed by gentrification, immigration and other demographic shifts.

The political power of Dominicans is on the rise, while the influence of Puerto Ricans has dwindled. Many whites have moved in and many blacks have moved out. The districts boundaries were redrawn a few years ago to include areas of the Bronx, adding more Hispanics as well as African immigrants.
It is among the success stories of industrial New York: A warehouse that once housed a copper company was transformed into a film studio replete with stages, sound rooms and sets as the city experienced a boom in film and television production.

Eastern Effects, the company that built the studio, started in 1999 with a single employee in an apartment-size office and grew to include a small complex of buildings in the gentrifying area around the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. Large segments of The Americans, the show on FX about Cold War spies, were shot there.

But this week, the company learned that it would most likely have to leave the warehouse, home to most of its production space, within five years. The parcel, at 270 Nevins Street, was selected by the city and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency to be used in its cleanup of the area, part of an agreement that was made final on Thursday.

In its cleanup of the canal, declared a Superfund site in 2010, the E.P.A. worked with the city to find a location for an eight-million-gallon sewage tank to help curb discharge during heavy rains.
D.C.A.S. is proceeding to remove two use restrictions that were imposed when the Rivington House property was sold by the city in 1992, the July memo explained, one limiting use to nonprofits, the other to health care providers. The department expects to have a formalized deed modification approved by the Law Department in July, according to the memo, copied to two members of Mr. Shorriss staff.

Allure Group went into contract to sell the building to developers on May 11, 2015, the same day that the city ran a public notice in the City Record about the plan to lift the restrictions, and five days after the May memo.

Mr. de Blasio has said he did not find out about the questionable deals surrounding Rivington House until he heard about it from the media. City Hall officials have said that Mr. Shorris and others, who were scrambling to address the issue in early March, did not bring it to the mayors attention because they were still gathering facts.

The subject also did not come up, City Hall officials have said, during a meeting between Mr. de Blasio and Mark G. Peters, the commissioner of the Investigation Department, at City Hall on March 1, the same day that officials have said the agency began its inquiry. The city also halted all new deed changes that day.

Mr. de Blasio has since said that the administration was misled by Allure Group, a contention bolstered early this week by the state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, who, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, described the company as an unscrupulous player whose promises had been broken in prior sales. Mr. Schneidermans office has moved to block any new purchases of nonprofits by Allure Group as the investigation continues.

Our responsibility to protect the integrity of ongoing reviews prevents us from commenting on this, said Eric F. Phillips, who was appointed as Mr. de Blasios press secretary on Friday. Asked if the administration was walking back from its previous statement, he said no.

The memos, weekly agency reports that are usually circulated as attachments, touched on a number of issues being handled by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services; neither discussed the possibility of converting the nursing home into apartments.
5. Threats of violence toward a judge isnt going to fix rape culture. We as a society and particularly us men need to have constructive conversation around resolving this.

 Kevin Jack McDonagh on The Timess Facebook page, responding to an article about the Stanford rape case. The judge has been criticized for sentencing a Stanford student, Brock Turner, to only six months for sexual assault.

6. Women can prepare themselves for reality by reading her statement  yes, agreed  but it is young men who need to read her statement and then no longer pretend that they are going to be getting 20 minutes of action when they force themselves on a woman without consent. Or worse, as in this case, without the woman being conscious.

Let this womans brave statement peel the blinders off young men who rationalize this behavior and who have been steeped in a culture that allows these behaviors to seem normal and then go unpunished (if one is white and privileged).

 Rachael in New York, referring to the statement made by the victim in the Stanford case.
It is distressing, but not surprising, that the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, succumbed to pressure from Saudi Arabia to erase a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen from a list of armies that kill and maim children. What is surprising is that Mr. Ban made the incident public and declared that the sort of pressure he came under was unacceptable.

He was right to do so: Saudi Arabia stands doubly named and shamed  for supporting a coalition that contributed to most of the deaths and injuries to children in Yemen last year and for leaning on Mr. Ban by threatening to withhold financing from humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, South Sudan and Syria.

For many people, the affair will not come as a shock. The United Nations has developed an unenviable reputation over the years for hypocrisy in its approach to human rights. The United Nations Human Rights Council is famous for the human-rights violators who have figured among its rotating membership, which currently includes Saudi Arabia.

As for Saudi Arabias threat to withdraw financial support, the United States, while not making threats on this scale, has itself refused to pay its dues, both to achieve policy objectives and to reform a bureaucracy that Congress has long regarded as bloated.
A RETIRED mechanic and a fourth-grade teacher from my home state, Russell and Christine Kazda, are having a tough time getting by. While Mrs. Kazda still teaches, Mr. Kazda suffered an injury last year and retired early after a 30-year career. Over the years, the Kazdas did what they were supposed to do and saved for retirement. They made it clear to their retirement advisers that they wanted to invest conservatively  then they had to dip into their savings earlier than expected.

The Kazdas are struggling not because they didnt save enough but because, in their own words, they naturally assumed that the financial professionals advising them were acting in our best interests when urging them to transfer $172,000 of their retirement savings into investment products falsely peddled (according to a legal claim they have filed) as low-risk.

The Kazdas didnt know their advisers were pocketing almost 10 percent in commissions by aggressively selling them inappropriate investment products. After a few years, their life savings had fallen by $125,000.

According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Americans lose an estimated $17 billion in retirement savings each year because of misleading advice of the type that the Kazdas received. And now, the Chamber of Commerce and others that benefit under the current system are fighting to make sure people keep losing that money.
Thursdays cordial get-together between Bernie Sanders and President Obama was a good deal shorter than the eight years that Mr. Sanderss fervent supporters had hoped he would spend in the Oval Office. Still, it said much about the improbable success of a candidacy that had far more impact than anyone predicted when Mr. Sanders, a 74-year-old Vermont socialist with a Brooklyn accent and no big-money backers, launched his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination with a 10-minute, sparsely attended news conference in the marble glare of the Capitol. There he promised a movement which says we have got to stand together as a people and say that this Capitol, this beautiful Capitol, our country, belongs to all of us and not the billionaire class. If in the end he couldnt succeed without money from the billionaires, he added, hed at least show what a sad state of affairs that is for American democracy.

He didnt succeed, but he gave a heavily favored establishment candidate with a long list of impressive credentials  outspoken first lady, United States senator and secretary of state  numerous nervous moments. Unkempt and impatient, often angry, Mr. Sanders projected a shambling charisma that caught the spirit of the time. He divined and channeled the lingering pain of a middle class battered by recession and feeling shut out of a recovery in which Wall Street prospered while factory workers, farmers, students and veterans continued to struggle.

He exhorted Americans to use the power of democracy to force change  in contrast to Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, who also promised to elevate the nations disaffected but did it mainly by scapegoating the weak.

Mr. Sanders forced Hillary Clinton to pay attention to much of this message. In order to appeal to his followers in the months to come, she will be challenged to generate the same passion, especially among the young, who at rally after rally sat through an hours worth of economic lecturing from a wild-haired man they found to be honest and authentic. It may have been the same lecture over and over again, but die-hard supporters trailed him like fans of the Grateful Dead, attentively listening for occasional improvisations in his shouted assaults on the status quo. On Thursday night, at what may prove to be Mr. Sanderss final rally, some 3,000 people turned up in Washingtons R.F.K. Stadium to cheer his commitment to them.
I doubled down on therapy, and I beat back the dread long enough to sign up for my 25-year reunion last month. I wanted to show my daughters the campus. I wanted to show off my new husband. I wanted to reclaim my college experience, to feel, or at least act, as if I belonged there, too.

So I sent in my check, and I rolled my eyes at the pre-reunion announcements, especially the one describing our class jackets fit as akin to Ralph Lauren Polo blazer for the men, or Brooks Brothers for women. Not my brands. I forwarded the jacket note to friends, asking, now do you see why I am dreading this?

As it turned out, the jacket was lovely. Look, Mom, said my 13-year-old, and pointed out that sewn into the lining were the names of every member of the class. There was no asterisk beside my name with the notation Writes beach books. At the class dinner, I hugged my old classmates, and the women with whom Id picketed what were then all-male clubs, and the student magazine colleague who remembered my pseudonym, Liz Sistrata, and if any of them thought I was a terrible writer, they were too polite to say so. If theyd followed the Great Chick-Lit Debate, it seemed as if their takeaway was simply Jen is a published author.

The overall pleasant evening has led me to the painful realization that Ive spent 15 years insisting that books like mine deserve a place on the shelf, and maybe I dont entirely believe it myself. Why else was I so willing to give credence to the naysayers and have trouble hearing the readers who said my books gave them comfort, kept them entertained, made them feel less alone?

It made me think about numbers, and how I can tell you, with nary a Google, that only 9 percent of the top-grossing films released last year were directed by women; or that women hold only 19 percent of the seats in Congress; or how in 2015 The New Yorker had 232 female bylines, and 453 from men.

Maybe whats behind the inequity isnt just a lack of opportunity, but a lack of confidence, an inability among women, or just me, to step up and say My work matters, and to really, truly believe it. Maybe Im not the only one struggling. What did I miss, spending 15 years in a defensive crouch? What is the world missing, when so many of us are reluctant to submit our work, to try for the big job?
Hamilton mistrusted the political capacities of the common people and insisted on deference to elites. In a speech delivered at the Constitutional Convention, Hamilton praised the hierarchical principles of the British political system. He argued, for example, that the new American president and senators should serve for life. Many of the Convention participants feared the excess of democracy, but Hamilton went much further. He wanted to bring an elective monarchy and restore non-titled aristocracy to America. The people are turbulent and changing, he declared. They seldom judge or determine right. They must be ruled by landholders, merchants and men of the learned professions, whose experience and wisdom travel beyond the circle of their neighbors. For America to become an enduring republic, Hamilton argued, it had to insulate rulers and the economy as much as possible from the jealous multitude.

One of the musicals most memorable scenes portrays Hamiltons debate with Thomas Jefferson over the establishment of a national bank. What it doesnt convey is Jeffersons populist resistance to an economic plan that, in his view, supported the rule of commercial oligarchs who manipulated credit and currency at the expense of debtors and yeoman farmers. Instead, Mr. Miranda stages a confrontation between a hypocritical republican slave owner and an abolitionist visionary (A civics lesson from a slaver, a scoffing Hamilton says in response to Jefferson. Hey, neighbor, your debts are paid cause you dont pay for labor) that conceals as much as it reveals.

Hamiltons opposition to slavery  reflected, for example, in his being a founder of New Yorks Manumission Society  was not central to his political vision. The musicals suggestion that had he not been killed in the duel with Aaron Burr, Hamilton would have gone on to play an important role in the abolitionist struggle is fantasy. Even the lionization of Hamilton as the exemplar of Americas immigrant ideal neglects his ultimate endorsement of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, which made it harder for immigrants to become citizens while allowing their deportation if they were suspected of disloyalty (he urged exceptions, though, for some foreign merchants and those whose demeanor among us has been unexceptionable). Jefferson led the opposition to this policy, and his victory in the presidential election of 1800 brought most of its provisions to an end.

Our point is not that Mr. Miranda should have offered a more balanced portrayal of Hamilton. But the aspect of Hamiltons life he celebrates  the self-making entrepreneurialism of the American dream  cannot be fully understood without including, indeed without highlighting, Hamiltons insistent and emphatic inegalitarianism. Hamilton and his contemporaries understood these seemingly contradictory positions as two sides of the same coin. Ignoring one side, as Mr. Miranda has done, obscures their connection both then and now.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Ecuador in April that killed at least 410 people and injured more than 2,000 emotionally devastated the country and caused enormous damage. A disaster that severe can often lead to a downturn in tourism, but that may not be the case in Ecuador.

Travel specialists say that the earthquake likely wont affect tourism because the epicenter of the quake was on the countrys northwest coast, a region dotted with beachfront resorts that are popular getaways for locals but not with international tourists.

Although about half of these hotels were destroyed, according to Gabriela Sommerfeld, the general manager of Quito Tourism, Ecuador travel representatives say that their clients are still interested in visiting the country.

Ginny Caragol, an Ecuador expert at the New York City-based travel consulting firm Valerie Wilson Travel, said that none of her clients with coming trips to the country had canceled or postponed their plans. The earthquake was devastating, but it happened in a pocket of the country where not many international travelers go, she said.
Michael G. Hubbard, the speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, whose sharp-elbowed approach to politics propelled the Republican Party to dominance in his state, was convicted Friday on 12 felony ethics charges, leaving him stripped of power and facing the possibility of decades in prison.

The verdict, at the end of Mr. Hubbards trial in the Lee County Circuit Court, deepened the political crisis in Alabama, where some of the most influential state officials are facing inquiries and threats of ouster. In recent weeks, the troubles of Mr. Hubbard, who had wielded a level of influence that easily rivaled Gov. Robert Bentleys power, played out in public as prosecutors portrayed him as financially desperate, privately frustrated and criminally culpable for misconduct under the very ethics law he had helped to strengthen.

Although jurors acquitted Mr. Hubbard on 11 counts, his conviction on the remaining dozen charges prompted his removal as the leader of the House. Mr. Hubbard, who was convicted of improperly soliciting benefits from lobbyists and voting in favor of a measure that helped a company for which he consulted, faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.

We hope that this verdict tonight will restore some of the confidence of the people in the state of Alabama, said W. Van Davis, who oversaw the public corruption inquiry that led to Mr. Hubbards indictment in October 2014.
WEST

California: Police Chief Quits in Oakland

Chief Sean Whent of the Oakland police has resigned amid an investigation of sexual misconduct allegations involving several officers. Chief Whent said in a statement late Thursday that he had worked to make the city safer by forging better ties with its diverse communities, and that the vast majority of Oakland officers shared that commitment. He gave no reason for stepping down. Chief Whent made his own decision about leaving the job, Mayor Libby Schaaf said Friday. The long troubled department is investigating allegations that several officers had sex with an underage girl. Two officers have resigned and two others remain on paid leave. Prosecutors are reviewing the Police Departments initial investigation of the allegations, the mayor said. Ben H. Fairow, deputy police chief at the regional transit system, replaces Chief Whent. (REUTERS)

California: Admiral Pleads Guilty in Fraud Case

A Navy admiral will be sentenced in August after pleading guilty to lying to federal authorities investigating a $34 million fraud scheme involving a Malaysian contractor. The officer, Rear Adm. Robert Gilbeau, 55, becomes the highest-ranking military official to be taken down in the widespread scandal and is believed to be the first active-duty naval flag officer to be charged in federal court. At a hearing in San Diego on Thursday, Admiral Gilbeau stood before the judge with a small, fluffy white service dog and told the court that he was guilty as charged. He declined to comment after the hearing. The prosecutor, Mark Pletcher, said details would emerge at his sentencing hearing Aug. 26 when evidence would show Admiral Gilbeaus pervasive attempt to mislead the investigation. The case involved the contractor Leonard Glenn Francis. His company, which has provided fuel, food and other services to Navy ships in Asia for two decades, overbilled the maritime branch by more than $34 million, according to court documents. He is awaiting sentencing. So far 14 people have been charged in the case  including 11 current or former Navy officials. Half of them have pleaded guilty. (AP)
Senator Bernie Sanders plans to meet with several of his most important supporters and advisers in Burlington, Vt., on Sunday, as he faces increasing pressure to drop out of the Democratic presidential race.

The Vermont senator and his wife, Jane, will both attend the meeting that will center, in part, on the state of the race.

He and Jane invited a couple dozen key supporters from around the country to come to Burlington, Michael Briggs, a spokesman for Mr. Sanders, said. It will be a broad-ranging discussion.

While Hillary Clinton now has enough delegates to clinch the nomination, Mr. Sanders has refused to concede.
WASHINGTON  With their nomination contests finally locked up, Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump sought to rev up their core supporters on Friday during dueling speeches in which each cast the other as unfit for the presidency.

Mixing policy arguments with personal attacks, the presumptive nominees clashed from across the capital as they previewed the arguments they will take to the country over the next five months.

For Mr. Trump, who suffered perhaps the most damaging week of his yearlong campaign, a forum for evangelical Christians proved to be an unlikely haven, while Mrs. Clinton was greeted with cheers and pink Hillary signs as she vowed to protect womens rights from Mr. Trump and the Republicans.

Anyone who wants to defund Planned Parenthood and wipe out safe, legal abortions has no idea whats best for women, Mrs. Clinton said of Mr. Trump at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event here. After all this is a man who has called women pigs, dogs and disgusting animals.
Fuel breaks carved in the vegetation after the 2013 fire stopped this weeks fire from reaching the town. Only a handful of structures had been lost by Friday. In 2013, 127 homes burned.

Weve learned our lesson in the hardest possible way, Chief Palm said.

From a home in town, an emergency shelter in nearby Prescott and at the incident command post in Peeples Valley, Yarnells neighbor to the north, Chief Palm and four others talked about what they learned from the two fires they experienced  and what they would rather forget.

Chuck Tidey, 69, president of the Yarnell-Peeples Valley Chamber of Commerce



After the smoke cleared and the devastation of the 2013 fire came into full focus, Mr. Tidey helped pull together a group of volunteers to rebuild homes and soothe broken hearts in Yarnell. He was attending one of the groups regular Wednesday meetings when somebody called to tell about the follow-up fire.

I was, like, a fire? Were still recovering from a fire, Mr. Tidey said.

Im not really worried about now. Im worried about a week or two from now. We kind of suck it up and go on. But its when the time passes and people start thinking about it thats dangerous. Theres all sorts of dark feelings that bubble up, a lot of sadness. Right now, were just marching ahead.
As downtown theaters start their summer vacations, take it as a sign: Its time to go outside. Beginning on Thursday, June 16, the River to River Festival, gracing the nooks and crannies of Lower Manhattan as well as Governors Island, hosts some of the citys most rewarding dance offerings. And theyre free.

Eiko Otake, who presents an installation of video material and uses her seeming fragility to explore trauma and loneliness, appears in the flesh in A Body on Governors Island (Sunday, June 19) and A Body on Wall Street (June 21 and 22). The excellent hip-hop dancer and choreographer Ephrat Asherie collaborates with Ehud Asherie, her jazz pianist-composer brother, in Riff This, Riff That (June 20 and 21) to illuminate the musicality between jazz and hip-hop. And Luciana Achugar closes the festival with An Epilogue for Otro Teatro: True Love (June 26), in which she breaks down the barrier between audience and performer to create a communion ritual, in which the audience  she hopes  will be moved from apathy to empathy. (rivertorivernyc.com)
Kenneth S. Axelson, a J. C. Penney executive who was foisted on New York City Hall as a deputy mayor during the 1975 fiscal crisis to restore integrity to the citys extravagant budget, and who left after a year with his goal largely accomplished, died on May 23 in Rockport, Me. He was 93.

The cause was chronic kidney failure, his son Stephen said this week.

Mr. Axelson, at the time a senior vice president for finance and administration at the department-store chain, was enlisted by Mayor Abraham D. Beame at the urging of Gov. Hugh L. Carey of New York and the bankers and other bondholders who had precipitated the crisis by refusing the citys routine request to borrow more money.

As the first deputy mayor for finance, Mr. Axelson profoundly influenced the administrations grudging response to what Mayor Beame himself acknowledged were years of fiscal gymnastics that had burdened the city with a $3.3 billion cumulative deficit. The annual operating budget then was about $12 billion.

When Mr. Axelson returned to the private sector in 1976, Felix G. Rohatyn, the chairman of the Municipal Assistance Corporation, which was created to borrow on the citys behalf, said Mr. Axelson had provided a level of integrity to the citys numbers, and a degree of trust, that was unparalleled.
Forty scholars responded  enough to get a handle on where consensus does and does not exist.

Identifying a consensus for the least-great vice president was easy. Spiro T. Agnew, Richard M. Nixons first vice president, was the runaway winner, with the votes of more than half of the experts. The man was a crook, one scholar remarked. (All responses were anonymous, to encourage candor.)

Identifying the greatest vice president was not so easy. You might be surprised that topping the list, at 20 percent support, was Dick Cheney. But this was a bipartisan group, and tied with Mr. Cheney was Walter Mondale. (Mr. Cheney was also high on the list of worst vice presidents, ranked third for undermining the presidency, as one scholar put it.)

The rationale behind the selections of Mr. Cheney and Mr. Mondale, two very different leaders, was the same: They both oversaw radical transformations of the institution of the vice presidency.

Most will remember Mr. Cheneys enormous influence in the George W. Bush White House, which some went as far as to call a co-presidency, but Mr. Mondales approach to the office during Jimmy Carters administration was equally pathbreaking. In a December 1976 memo to President-elect Carter, Mr. Mondale, a former senator from Minnesota, outlined what would become the modern vice presidency, in which the vice president would gain unprecedented access and influence in policy deliberation and action.

But being a great vice president is not the same thing as being a great running mate. The choice for best strategic selection was dominated by Lyndon B. Johnson, with more than 70 percent support  a reflection of his ability to unify the party and, most important, carry Texas, the battleground state he called home. Without Johnson on the ticket, it is very likely that, in January 1961, John F. Kennedy would have remained in the United States Senate and Nixon would have been president.
Last year, Guatemalans watched in awe as their president, Otto Perez Molina, and his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, were charged in a kickback scheme and forced from power. This month brought a startling revelation from the countrys attorney general, Thelma Aldana: Investigators have determined that the case that brought down Mr. Perez Molina was just a sliver of a sprawling criminal enterprise run by the state.

Ms. Aldana said that at least 70 people in the countrys political and business elites have been implicated in money-laundering and bribery schemes that bankrolled Mr. Perez Molinas party and his cronies. Investigators are poring through more than two million seized documents as they continue to map out what Ms. Aldana described as a state that had been co-opted by crooks.

For many years corruption was tolerated, which led to impunity, Ms. Aldana said in an interview. That allowed these criminal structures to strengthen.
NOT long ago I wrote an essay on how to talk about environmental issues with conservatives. Talk persuasively, that is, not confrontationally. A conservative promptly replied that I was afflicted with fundamental ignorance, and possibly worse. The gist of it was that conservatives are already environmentalists, and the rest of us are just too stupid to recognize it. I put on my cheerfully positive face and suggested that he amplify his point by listing 10 pro-environment actions by conservatives in this century. (O.K., maybe that was my passive-aggressive face, given that George W. Bush was president for eight of those 16 years.) He replied with more name-calling.

This is a shame, because conservatives used to be almost by definition conservationists, focused on preserving our shared heritage from destructive influences. You can, in fact, date the rise of the conservation movement as a political force in this country to a December 1887 dinner party of wealthy big game hunters, largely Republicans, hosted in a Madison Avenue house by Theodore Roosevelt (still a hero to many modern conservatives, despite certain progressive leanings). He and his guests that night formed the Boone and Crockett Club, dedicated to preservation and management of game.

Putting to work their considerable social and political clout, as well as their money, they went on to save the bison from extinction, greatly expand the national park system, and help establish both the National Wildlife Refuge System and the United States Forest Service. The Lacey Act, still our most important law against wildlife crime, was largely their doing. Ducks Unlimited, a Boone and Crockett offshoot, became an early force for wetland conservation.

This natural link between conservatives and conservation lasted through much of the 20th century. Conservatives may complain about oil companies being shut out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but most of the credit for protecting that habitat belongs to Dwight D. Eisenhower, who also signed the nations first air pollution control law. Richard M. Nixon, not otherwise a candidate for sainthood, changed the way the nation lives, breathes and does business, establishing the Environmental Protection Agency and enacting the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act, among other major environmental initiatives. George H. W. Bush, finally, began to take conservation in a new market-based direction, pushing through a cap-and-trade system in 1990 that enabled industry to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions, which causes acid rain, far more quickly and cheaply than anyone imagined possible.
Not only that, but were paying $64 a day to keep them in jail  not because of what theyve done, but because theyre poor.

This is as unconscionable in 2016 as it was in 1830, and it is a system found across the country. In the last 25 years, as mass incarceration became increasingly costly, states and localities shifted the burden to criminal offenders with an explosion in special fees and surcharges. Here in Oklahoma, criminal defendants can be assessed 66 different kinds of fees, from a courthouse security fee to a sheriffs fee for pursuing fugitive from justice, and even a fee for an indigent person applying for a public defender (Im not kidding: An indigent person is actually billed for requesting a public defender, and if he or she does not pay, an arrest warrant is issued).

Even the Tulsa County district attorney, Stephen Kunzweiler, thinks these fines are a ridiculous way to finance his office. Its a dysfunctional system, he says.

A new book, A Pound of Flesh, by Alexes Harris of the University of Washington, notes that these modern debtors prisons now exist across America. Harris writes that in Rhode Island in 2007, 18 people were incarcerated a day, on average, for failure to pay court debt, while in Ferguson, Mo., the average household paid $272 in fines in 2012, and the average adult had 1.6 arrest warrants issued that year.

Impoverished defendants have nothing to give, Harris says, and the result is a system that disproportionately punishes the poor and minorities, leaving them with an overhang of debt from which they can never escape.

The Supreme Court has ruled that people should be jailed only when they refuse to pay, not when they cant, and in theory safeguards protect the indigent. In practice those safeguards are chimerical, and the poor are routinely jailed for being poor. The way forward is to curb these fees, end the use by courts of private collection companies that add their own charges to the debt, and limit court debt to some percentage of a persons income.

For now, some of the sums owed are staggering. Job Fields III told me he owes $70,000 in fees and fines. It seems impossible, he said, but Ive got to think positive. Cynthia Odom told me that she owes $170,000 and constantly struggles with whether to pay the electricity bill, buy food for her two kids, or pay down the debt and stay out of jail.
Republican leaders laid out a blueprint for the revival of their party after the defeat of Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race. If Hispanics think we do not want them here, they will close their ears to our policies, the so-called autopsy report warned, noting that Mr. Romney had received 27 percent of the Latino vote, down from George W. Bushs 44 percent in 2004. Quoting Dick Armey, the former House Republican leader from Texas, the report cautioned, You cant call someone ugly and expect them to go to the prom with you.

Yet now, Republicans are doing just that. Donald Trump has emerged as the partys standard-bearer while scapegoating Latinos and other minorities to stoke the fears and resentment of working-class white voters. Mr. Trump insists he will win Latino votes, yet he began his campaign by promising to build a wall along the border with Mexico to block out the people Mexico is sending to the United States, claiming: Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. He recently created another wave of consternation by accusing an American-born federal judge of being biased because of his Mexican ancestry.

The Trump candidacy has put other Republican candidates in a bind. They can tie their lot to his immigrant-bashing campaign and hope that voter-suppression tactics will blunt the growing segments of the electorate galvanized by the prospect of defeating him. Or they can disavow him, recognizing that further alienating nonwhite voters will do severe damage to the party in the long run.

Besides being self-defeating, vilifying groups of people is morally abhorrent. Republicans are signaling to millions of citizens and aspiring Americans: Youre not welcome here; this is not your home.
Each Saturday, Farhad Manjoo and Mike Isaac, technology reporters at The New York Times, review the weeks news, offering analysis and maybe a joke or two about the most important developments in the tech industry.

Mike: Hail, Farhad!

Did you like that intro? Im getting really into Game of Thrones this season, and I think thats what people used to say when they first saw one another. Well, that or Hodor.

Farhad: I read the Game of Thrones books. Hodor, said Hodor is really one of the greatest sentences ever written. Anyway, yes, hello, Mike.

Mike: Hodor, Farhad. Hodor. Anyway, on with the news.

I believe we have officially slipped into the doldrums of summer with slowing tech news. Nonetheless, some stuff happened.
FertilityIQ, which went online this year, provides extensive assessments of doctors, clinics and treatment protocols from patients who fill in detailed questionnaires about their experiences.

For couples trying to make one of the most important and expensive decisions of their lives, useful data has been sparse. Dr. Christo Zouves, a San Francisco infertility doctor, said FertilityIQ had information that nobody has ever really collected before. Because of the expense, time commitment and emotional stress involved, You cant really afford not to have all your ducks in a row before you initiate that first cycle.

Though most applaud FertilityIQs efforts, some in the field are skeptical of a website that offers reviews of doctors and clinics in a manner that some have compared to Yelp. As with Yelp, the reviews are subjective and may reflect individual biases that create a skewed portrait.

I would not want to choose my doctor based on a website, said Dr. Michael M. Alper, medical director of Boston IVF and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard Medical School. If a relative needed cardiac surgery, would you go to a website and choose? It could be very misleading.

Dr. Alper, who has practiced infertility medicine for 30 years, noted that web surveys could provide inaccurate assessments, and that FertilityIQ, being so new, is relying on limited responses for individual doctors. Many of the doctors listed on the site have scores based on just one or two patient reviews.

If you look through history, doctors and IVF centers have equated quality with pregnancy statistics, Dr. Alper said. Whoever had the highest numbers had the best quality. But the problem is, you can control your statistics by how you treat and who you treat. Patients with complex problems may be turned away, and the best doctors who take on the tougher cases will have more failed attempts and generate lower ratings, he said.

Mr. Anderson is aware of such concerns and acknowledges that the site is a work in progress. But it has already evaluated more than 80 percent of all American fertility doctors and includes assessments from 5,000 verified fertility patients, meaning they have produced a bill to authenticate their treatment, he said. Tens of thousands of patients have visited the website, he added.
Area 1 was founded by three former N.S.A. analysts, Mr. Darche, Oren Falkowitz and Phil Syme. The three sat side by side at Fort Meade, tracking and, in some cases, penetrating adversaries weapons systems for intelligence. A little over two years ago, they decided to start their own company and raised $25.5 million in funding from major venture capitalists and security entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, including Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and Cowboy Ventures, and security veterans like Ray Rothrock, the chief executive of RedSeal, and Derek Smith, the chief executive of Shape Security.

What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? Whats their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Learn more about our process.

Area 1 is a new player in threat intelligence, a nascent subsector of the security business that includes companies like iSight Partners and Recorded Future that track attackers in underground web forums and on social media, gleaning intelligence about them.

Threat intelligence is still more art than science. The jury is still out on whether companies are equipped to use that intelligence to thwart hackers. Area 1 claims that it can head off attacks through the compromised servers it is tracking. It can also use its vantage point to see where attackers are setting up shop on the web and how they plan to target their intended victims.

A handful of Area 1 customers confirmed that its technology had helped head off attackers. One client, a chief information security officer at a large health care provider, said the health care sector had been slammed by digital criminals and governments in recent years. He asked that the company not be named, to avoid becoming a more visible target.

He credited Area 1s sensors with blocking several attacks on his network, helping his company avoid the fates of the health insurer Anthem, which was breached by Chinese hackers last year, and a growing number of hospitals hit by attacks that have forced them to pay a ransom to get important information back.

Mr. Smith, the chief executive of Shape Security, said Area 1 gave his company warning of three attacks before they happened, providing time to block them. Mr. Smith said he was impressed enough that he made a small investment in Area 1.

Many of these mom-and-pop shops are ambivalent because the attacks dont directly impact their business and revenue, he said. Meanwhile, they unwittingly operate this attack infrastructure.
Major Langford, who works full time in the Army Reserve, served two tours in Iraq while on active Army duty and earned a Bronze Star for outstanding dedication to duty during combat while with a military police battalion, a spokesman for the Army Reserve said. He has received other decorations, including the Army Good Conduct Medal.

The events that led to Major Langfords arrest began Thursday afternoon when he insulted a mosque member doing construction work near the mosque and then left packages of bacon at the mosque entrance, according to the authorities and witnesses.

Advocacy groups say pork is often used to insult Muslims, whose religion does not allow them to eat it. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said the act constituted a desecration of the place of worship.

Witnesses say the suspect left and returned to the Masjid Al Madina mosque several times in his truck, prompting tense moments inside while children were sheltered in the back of the building. The authorities said there were no injuries.

At one point, the suspect followed one member home, resulting in the stalking charge, according to a news release from the sheriffs office. The mosque member tried to evade him but could not.
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fla.  As the airboat skimmed across the shallow water, scattering blue dragonflies and launching a heron into the air, Keith Price squinted into the sun and relished the isolation of Floridas unrivaled river of grass.

Then he cut off the deafening motor, making the silence in the park all the sweeter, turned his one working ear my way, and asked, Isnt this beautiful?

No answer was required, but the question itself was a kind of lament. Private airboating inside the pristine Everglades National Park, a pastime that stretches back decades, will officially end with Mr. Price and others like him. For Mr. Price, 62, it is the latest broadside against the unique but dwindling culture among devotees of the park known as Gladesmen, their traditions curbed over time by restrictions on hunting and camping, development booms and other modern-day intrusions.

This is the only part of the park where you can ride your own airboat, said Mr. Price, who calls himself a citizen of the Everglades and is the president of the 65-year-old Airboat Association of Florida. Why wouldnt I want to pass this on to my kids and grandkids.
Its a very, very common practice, said Sheena R. Hamilton, an employment lawyer at Dowd Bennett in St. Louis who represents companies in workplace cases. Ive never recommended a settlement that didnt have a clause like that.

But former Abbott employees said the provisions had stopped them from speaking openly with elected officials or appearing at congressional hearings.

It is very frustrating that you cant share your story with the public, said one former Abbott manager, who had worked for the company for 13 years, rising to an important supervisory position. He had prepared a 90-page manual for his foreign replacements showing how to perform every detail of his work. With a disabled child who requires medical care, he said he had to take his severance and its nondisparagement clause, since it extended his medical benefits. So he asked to remain anonymous.

Ive been laid off before, I can understand that, he said. But these visas were meant to fill in gaps for resources that are hard to find. This time the company actually asked me to transfer my knowledge to somebody else. That changes the equation.

According to federal rules, temporary visas known as H-1Bs are for foreigners with a body of specialized knowledge not readily available in the labor market. The visas should be granted only when they will not undercut the wages or adversely affect the working conditions of Americans.

But in the past five years, through loopholes in the rules, tens of thousands of American workers have been replaced by foreigners on H-1B and other temporary visas, according to Prof. Hal Salzman, a labor force expert at Rutgers University.
Latest Line of Attack: Defining Trumps Soul

To voters in New Hampshire, the video of Donald J. Trump seemingly mocking a reporter with a disability was well known by the time the Feb. 9 primary arrived. The super PAC backing Hillary Clinton is banking that it will be unfamiliar and off-putting to a general election audience in several swing states, and it is using the video in an ad called Grace.

THE MESSAGE The ad tells the story not through news reports, but through the eyes of a family with a disabled daughter. Pictures of Grace, a girl born with spina bifida, show her at birth and through childhood, smiling broadly in her wheelchair. As her parents, notably from Ohio, a major swing state, tell the story of her early life, the ad segues to video of Mr. Trump flailing his arms before cutting to a photo showing the reporter he was criticizing at the time, Serge Kovaleski of The New York Times, who has a condition that limits the functioning of his joints.

When I saw Donald Trump mock someone with a disability, it showed me his soul, Graces father says in the ad. It showed me his heart. And I didnt like what I saw.

THE IMPACT The ad feels a little over-focus-grouped, as variations of the phrase mocked a person with a disability come four times in about 30 seconds. But the ad was also deemed highly effective when it was tested before various audiences.
Mr. Trump also attacked Mr. Romney, calling him a choker and saying he didnt work like he should have worked when he was the nominee in 2012. Once Mr. Romney lost, Mr. Trump added, he should have gone off into the sunset.

You dont sit there jealous and sick to your stomach, he said.

A day earlier, Mr. Romney, in an interview with CNNs Wolf Blitzer, said he feared that Mr. Trumps election would lead to trickle-down racism that would change the character of the generations of Americans that are following.

Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, gently chided Mr. Romney on Twitter on Friday, writing, Respect Mitt and differences but couldnt disagree more.

Adding that the Supreme Court was too important to lose for generations, Mr. Priebus ended his post, Lets stop this and unify.

Mr. Trump and the party have gotten a late start on fund-raising for the general election and need as many of the partys reliable donors as they can attract. At Mr. Romneys donor retreat on Saturday, Mr. Priebus was more pointed, telling donors opposed to Mr. Trump that the party would win with or without you, according to an attendee present for his remarks.

A representative for Ms. Whitman did not respond Saturday to a request for an interview about her comments. Ms. Whitman, according to one of the people present, did not stop at comparing Mr. Trump to Hitler and Mussolini. She also warned the gathering that if Republicans compromised on their principles to win an important election, they would be entering fraught territory.

What happens next time? she asked, implying that it could lead to more compromises and more candidates like Mr. Trump.
The scenes blend like images from a kaleidoscope. A woman, blond, jubilant in a white dress, shown magnified on a convention center screen in San Francisco. It is Geraldine A. Ferraro in 1984 accepting the Democratic nomination that made her the first woman in the nation to be tapped by a major party to run for vice president.

Turn the lens. A woman, blond, in a white tunic, smiling, arms thrown wide at a rally in Brooklyn this past week. It is Hillary Clinton claiming the Democratic nomination, the first woman to become the presidential standard-bearer for a major party.

There are those who now say that a woman running for president was inevitable, that the 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling that Mrs. Clinton talks about are just time moving on. There are the sighs that Mrs. Clinton is the wrong woman, the unexciting woman, the compromising woman. And there are those who say they could never vote for a Democrat, particularly this one.

But it took 32 years to get from one scene to the other, so a look back to the Ferraro campaign can tell a lot about how the country has changed, and how it has not, through these decades of cultural ferment over the roles of the sexes.
Analysts at Boeing and elsewhere have been re-examining their models of how the aircraft operating under autopilot might have responded to an initial loss of power on one side of the aircraft, and, up to 15 minutes later, on both sides. The simulations assume the right engine ran out of fuel first, because over its years of service that engine on the aircraft had tended to burn slightly more fuel than the left engine, according to records from Rolls-Royce, the engines manufacturer.

The three countries bankrolling the search for the missing Boeing 777-200 agreed in April last year not to expand the search area unless new information provided clear clues that the plane was somewhere else.

So far, no evidence has emerged that would justify an expanded search, Mr. Dolan said.

While the search for Flight 370 is already the largest and most costly in aviation history, relatives of passengers on the plane have called for it to be extended, as have many scientists, pilots, hobbyists and others mesmerized by the mystery of its disappearance.

There is no reason we should give up the search  at least they have to give us an answer, said Steve Wang, a technology company salesman in Beijing who has served as an unofficial spokesman for the families and whose 57-year-old mother was on the plane. Everything about MH370 remains a mystery  what happened, and how?
DHAKA, Bangladesh  More than 3,000 people, some of them known Islamist militants, have been arrested in a series of police raids intended to quell a wave of deadly machete attacks against bloggers, minorities and others, the police said Saturday.

The roundup began last week after militants killed the wife of a police superintendent who had been investigating the machete attacks. Over the course of the week, the police said, they killed five militants in shootouts. They were members of the Jamaatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, one of two groups that the authorities believe are behind most of the attacks, the police said.

Many citizens criticized the government for not taking action sooner against the militants, who have created a climate of terror since they began murdering secularist bloggers and others more than three years ago.

Since 2013, bloggers, freethinkers, religious minorities, foreigners, gay activists, followers of more liberal strains of Islam and others have been killed in attacks carried out mostly by groups of young men wielding machetes.
The Chinese system is not transparent in any way, said Arthur L. Caplan, a medical ethicist at New York University. I do not trust Chinese bioethical deliberation or policy. Add healthy doses of politics, national pride and entrepreneurship, and it is tough to know what is going on.

Image Photographs on the walls of Dr. Rens lab at Harbin Medical University showed his experiments on body transplants in mice. The mice lived only for a day after the procedure. Credit... Gilles Sabrie for The New York Times

Some Chinese researchers are also concerned that the experimentation is going too far, too fast.

I dont want to see Chinas scholars, transplant doctors and scientists deepening the impression that people have of us internationally, that when Chinese people do things they have no bottom line  that anything goes, said Cong Yali, a medical ethicist at Peking University, referring to Dr. Rens plans.

The Chinese government invested 1.42 trillion renminbi ($216 billion) in scientific research and development last year, compared with 245 billion renminbi in 2005, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Last year, researchers at Sun Yat-sen University, in the southern city of Guangzhou, altered a gene in the human embryo that causes thalassemia, a rare blood disease, using a technique developed in the United States. The experiment crossed an ethical line, some scientists in China and abroad said, because the changes would be inheritable if conducted on viable embryos. (The experiment used unviable embryos.) That could pave the way for permanent gene modification for qualities such as looks or intelligence.

Despite the concerns, in April another team in Guangzhou altered embryos to make them H.I.V. resistant. Internationally, some scientists criticized the experiment, citing a lack of consensus on the ethics of such work.

The team, from Guangzhou Medical University, said that significant technical issues remain to be addressed. It added that on ethical grounds it would not advocate genome editing on viable lines until after a rigorous and thorough evaluation and discussion are undertaken by the global research and ethics communities.
BEIJING  Cheng Nan has spent years trying to ensure that her 16-year-old daughter gets into a college near their home in Nanjing, an affluent city in eastern China. She wakes her at 5:30 a.m. to study math and Chinese poetry and packs her schedule so tightly that she has only 20 days of summer vacation.

So when officials announced a plan to admit more students from impoverished regions and fewer from Nanjing to local universities, Ms. Cheng was furious. She joined more than 1,000 parents to protest outside government offices, chanting slogans like Fairness in education! and demanding a meeting with the provincial governor.

Why should they eat from our bowls? Ms. Cheng, 46, an art editor at a newspaper, said in an interview. We are just as hard-working as other families.

Parents in at least two dozen Chinese cities have taken to the streets in recent weeks to denounce a government effort to expand access to higher education for students from less developed regions. The unusually fierce backlash is testing the Communist Partys ability to manage class conflict, as well as the political acumen of its leader, Xi Jinping.
Dr. Tawde is associated with a division of Sanatan Sanstha, an organization based in Goa that immerses its followers in a regimen of meditation and chanting, offering what it calls an escape from addiction and materialism. The groups founder, a former hypnotherapist known as His Holiness Dr. Jayant Athavale, has called the shooting a blessing from God because Dr. Dabholkar had escaped dying from old age.

Image Dr. Dabholkar, a physician who spent his adult life crusading against spiritual practices he considered fraudulent, was shot to death. Credit... Associated Press

At the time of his murder, Dr. Dabholkar had been lobbying intensively for the passage of legislation banning a list of mystical practices, including animal sacrifice, the magical treatment of snakebites and the sale of magic stones.

He had many enemies, having spent decades trying to weaken the pervasive cultural influence of gurus, godmen and religious activists in India. Among his endeavors was a roadshow in which activists performed what some people called feats of magic, such as lying on a bed of nails, in order to debunk them. They told crowds, Just remember, miracles can never happen.

Hamid Dabholkar, Dr. Dabholkars son, said that several years ago Dr. Tawde and his father had lived in the same city, where Dr. Tawde led violent protests against his father over the issue of ritual immersions of Hindu idols in rivers and lakes. Dr. Dabholkar opposed that practice, saying it polluted natural water sources.

Later, Mr. Dabholkar said, Dr. Tawde confronted his father over the legislation against black magic. It indicates that it was cooking for a long time, planned and executed in cold blood, Mr. Dabholkar said.
Months of life on the streets have taken a toll on Mr. Ohs health. Still, during the election, he campaigned for hours every day for a human rights lawyer who championed the families cause. The lawyer won a parliamentary seat by beating a former presidential aide of Ms. Park.

Mr. Ohs wife also became a full-time activist, passing out leaflets about the Sewol disaster. The couple live off the savings for their sons education and funds pooled together by families and supporters to pay for equipment and expenses.

The few nights Ms. Kwon spends at her home, she sleeps with a portrait of her son beside her. She still pays to keep her sons cellphone number active. On May 5, Childrens Day, she texted him: My dear only child, I am sorry.

On Jan. 12, the day her son would have graduated from Danwon High School in Ansan, she visited the school alone at night. All but one of her sons 32 classmates had died. Their classroom had been turned into a temporary memorial, its desks overflowing with flowers, chocolates and letters.

My dear son, thank you for letting me know what happiness was, Ms. Kwon wrote in a letter that night. I will find out why you had to die. I can. I will. Because I am your mother.
CAIRO  A political dissident from Bahrain, who was recently released from prison after the government there faced international outrage, said on Saturday that she had fled the country after she was threatened again with detention.

The dissident, Zainab al-Khawaja, had been one of the last vocal pro-democracy activists remaining in the country amid a five-year government crackdown on dissent. Since facing an uprising in 2011, Bahrains ruling monarchy has imprisoned prominent activists and opposition leaders or stripped them of citizenship. Other dissidents have either quieted their criticism of the government or left the country.

Ms. Khawaja, 32, a dual citizen of Bahrain and Denmark who was imprisoned along with her infant son, was released on humanitarian grounds in May, and left Bahrain for Denmark last week. She said in an interview that Bahraini officials had warned the Danish Embassy that if she did not leave, she would be rearrested within months and separated from her son.

I have been arrested 11 times, she said in a telephone interview from Denmark. I have done all I can do inside of prison.
Thats good news. And its an opportune time to consider whether we should take steps that would keep prices moving in the right direction: upward.

Im not a fan of expensive gas for its own sake. I drive a car, mainly on weekends, and prefer to pay less to fill the tank, like everybody else. But rock-bottom prices encourage behavioral patterns that arent beneficial  not if we want to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

The markets are likely to do that job for a while. While they have given up some ground lately, oil prices have almost doubled since February, so we can expect that gas at the pump, which typically trails wholesale oil prices, will continue to climb in the short term. No one knows, of course, where oil or gas prices will be a year or two from now.

But another measure to raise prices and affect consumer behavior has long been favored by a broad consensus of economists. That is a national tax on carbon or, more narrowly, a booster tax on oil or gasoline  all of which have been opposed by Congress. On Friday, the House of Representatives voted, largely along party lines, against both a carbon tax and a tax on oil.

Nonetheless, a broad carbon tax or a narrower gasoline tax surcharge would generate revenue that could go toward neglected infrastructure, like bridges, tunnels, trains and subways, or toward improvement of renewable energy sources, reducing dependence on fossil fuels directly. But it could also be used to offset cuts in other taxes, as proposed in Washington State. Either method could make gasoline, and other forms of carbon, expensive enough to make people think twice before burning it.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.  Amin al-Baroudi wanted to do the right thing in Syria, but knowing what the right thing is in a quagmire like the Syrian war isnt always easy.

Al-Baroudi, 50, of Irvine, California admits now that he went astray: In addition to performing humanitarian work, al-Baroudi also sneaked rifle scopes, night-vision goggles and other military gear to rebel fighters seeking to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The problem, prosecutors say, is that the group Al-Baroudi was helping, Ahrar el-Sham, frequently fights alongside the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra.

On Friday, a judge sentenced al-Baroudi to nearly three years in prison for violating U.S. sanctions in Syria.

Al-Baroudi, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Syria, apologized for his conduct at the hearing.

I came to realize theres no right way to do the wrong things, al-Baroudi wrote in a statement that his lawyer, Anthony Capozzolo, read when Al-Baroudi became too choked up to maintain his composure. I simply pray for my old country to exit this crisis and enjoy  what my family enjoys in this country.

Capozzolo asked the judge for a sentence of probation or to sentence al-Baroudi to the six months time he had already served since his arrest in December. He said al-Baroudi was motivated to act by his own life experience growing up in the town of Hama, where tens of thousands were massacred in 1982 by Assads father, Hafez al-Assad.

Hes not a for-profit mercenary, Capozzolo said. Mr. al-Baroudi was trying to help, although in a fully misguided way.

Prosecutors say al-Baroudi illegally exported the tactical gear to Syria from late 2011 to 2013. In 2013, al-Baroudi realized his actions were under scrutiny when he was stopped from boarding a flight back from Turkey to the United States. After that, al-Baroudi turned his efforts to purely humanitarian work, working with the humanitarian arm of a Syrian opposition coalition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Martinez did not dispute al-Baroudis good intentions, and said the government took that into account in filing the charges, which allege a violation of sanctions rather than supporting a terrorist group. But she still argued for a sentence of nearly four years, saying his actions were dangerous.

His knowledge about Syria made abundantly clear he knew how dangerous what he was doing was, Martinez said.

U.S. District Judge Liam OGrady echoed prosecutors concerns.

You had no control over who was going to use those items once they got into Syria, OGrady said.

Federal prosecutors have found themselves prosecuting defendants on all sides of the Syrian conflict. Just this week at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, a grand jury indicted an individual who prosecutors say was part of the pro-Assad Syrian Electronic Army and helped hack computer accounts associated with perceived enemies of the regime.

On Thursday, a northern Virginia man, Mohamad Khweis, made an initial appearance on charges that he joined the Islamic State and spent time at a safe house in Syria where he expressed his willingness to serve as a suicide bomber.
Hillary Clinton, distrusted by most Americans and generating little enthusiasm even among supporters, has fallen behind Donald Trump in the polls. Her antidote? A brutal attack on his foreign policy views.

Clinton is the Democratic neoconservative, a veritable goddess of war, who backed every major conflict fought by the U.S. over the past quarter century. Her needless foreign adventures turned out badly, creating new crises and consequent demands for more intervention and war.

Clintons basic message was that Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit for the presidency. Nevertheless, common sense occasionally surfaces in the Trump world view. It never makes an appearance as Clinton backs Washingtons attempted domination of the globe.

Ultimately, she is most appalled that Trump appears to oppose the conventional wisdom that Washington is destined to micromanage the world. Her dedication to a status quo which has failed so badly warns Americans about her likely (mal-)performance as president.

For instance, she began by posing a choice between a fearful America thats less secure and less engaged with the world, and strong, confident America that leads to keep our country safe and our economy growing. However, Clinton-backed military interventions have left America poorer and less secure.

In her speech she imagined Trump leading us into war just because somebody got under his very thin skin. But she apparently doesnt require even that much justification for going to war. She has backed U.S. involvement in virtually every unnecessary, foolish, expensive conflict.

She pushed her husband to remake the Balkans, tearing apart some nations and supporting other artificial states. She strongly supported the Iraq invasion, one of Americas worst foreign policy blunders.

She backed doubling down in Afghanistan in a foolish attempt at nation-building. She orchestrated the campaign in Libya, which resulted in a failed state, loose weapons, civil war and a vacuum filled by ISIS. She advocates that the U.S. get more involved militarily in Syria.

Yet she believes this list of mistakes entitles her to the presidency: Im proud to run on my record.

In her speech, she said we need to stick with our allies, which make us exceptional. And our allies deliver for us every day.

This is one of the silliest things shes ever said, quite an achievement. America is not exceptional because dozens of whiny dependents expect the U.S. to subsidize, coddle, reassure and defend them. Actually, nations all over the world are begging Washington to do so.

Clinton endorsed diplomacy and, specifically, the Iran nuclear accord. Shes right, but though Trump has been inconsistent on Iran, he appears to be more open to diplomacy elsewhere, especially in dealing with China and Russia. His policy, despite the bluster, appears to be more pacific than Clintons.

She also argued that We need a real plan for confronting terrorism, but she failed to mention the most obvious point. Stop blowing up other nations. Stop creating enemies around the globe. Terrorism is evil and awful, but it almost always is a political act directed against outsiders, including Americans.

Clinton advocated that Americans stay true to our values. Her criticisms of Trumps grotesque behavior struck home.

Yet her public values are worse: a belief in global social engineering, a willingness to go to war for frivolous reasons, a commitment to power over liberty, a willingness to wreck entire nations while pursuing failed policies. Clinton, too, is not qualified to be commander in chief.

Clinton made a case against herself, as well as against Trump. Whatever happens in November is likely to leave Americans in greater danger.

Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and a former special assistant to President Reagan. He is the author of Foreign Follies: Americas New Global Empire.
Several members of Laguna Beach High Schools dance company will stand together June 15 in matching lilac leotards to perform a 60-minute rehearsed ballet class before an adjudicator from the American Ballet Theatres artistic board of examiners. They have been preparing all year for this chance to demonstrate their technical ability against the certified curriculum of one of the leading national ballet companies.

Im excited and a little bit scared, said junior Paige Kesler. Just because were going to have someone who is so amazing in the dance world sitting right in front of us.

While Laguna Beach High Schools dance program has for years maintained a strong ballet presence, this is the first year its students have studied the ABT national training curriculum. This eight-level course incorporates elements from the French, Italian and Russian schools of ballet and is the standard for all ABT pre-professional training programs.

Dance director Estee Carrizosa, in her second year of teaching at Laguna Beach High School, saw the certification program as a way to motivate her students. And even though the initial rigor of the program took some time to adjust to, the challenging material proved to be instrumental to the students growth as dancers.

(The dance students) have hated me and they have loved me some days, said Carrizosa. But the reality is that ballet can help them with their confidence and their grace, and I think theyve seen the transfer of knowledge to other styles of dance.

The more popular dance styles of contemporary, hip hop and jazz that students often perform at pep rallies and community events are all supported by regular ballet training. Even those in the beginning dance classes have to dress in proper ballet attire a couple of times a week as way to engage with the art form and show respect for its stature.

Because this is a public high school instead of a private dance studio, it allows for a wider range of students to be exposed to ballet, said ABT affiliate teacher Amy Macon, who has been training the advanced dance class for the exam. I know all of these students come from different backgrounds and it is so exciting for me to see them get the (ballet) bug.

Comparable to the advanced placement tests that high school students prepare for in other subject areas, the ABT certification exam requires dance students to demonstrate a mastery of skills as they correspond to a particular level of training. The Laguna Beach High students will be evaluated for proficiency of level 3A and can pass with varying levels of distinction, including pass, pass with merit, pass with honors and pass with high honors.

I think going up against something like this shows were determined, said freshman Phoebe Radisay.

Added senior Alex Lewis: And well have this rewarding feeling after all of our hard work. The dance world is demanding, and now weve had a taste of what it takes.

Noting that the dance program at Laguna Beach High falls under the Regional Occupation Program, Carrizosa says she feels like its her responsibility to show the students what dance looks like in college and as a career. She sees ballet as an instrumental ingredient for both pathways and also brings in modern dance companies and Los Angeles hip hop choreographers to work with the students.

I dont want them to say, Im only a hip hopper, or, vice versa, only a ballerina, said Carrizosa. This has opened their eyes a lot more.

The students say they feel like more well-rounded dancers and that taking ballet for up to four hours a week has a lot to do with that. From improved musicality in hip hop to more balanced turns in contemporary, the students are prepared to adapt to multiple styles and techniques of dance.

Ballet is the foundation, said sophomore Maxcy Grasso, who also enjoys tap dancing. You can always improve no matter how good you think you are, and thats the work ethic you can use in everything.

Contact the writer: 714-796-6026 or kwright@ocregister.com
Orange Countys second-largest school district may opt not to place a proposed $889 million bond election on the ballot in November  but instead ask voters to approve smaller bond elections tailored to local needs to upgrade aging schools.

The Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees discussed options Wednesday night and directed staff to investigate how smaller bond elections  crafted by city or by area  might look.

The district spans 200 square miles in South Orange County and has more than 50,000 students in seven cities and unincorporated areas. There are 62 schools, nearly 70 percent of them more than 20 years old and 30 percent at least 40 years old, the district reported.

A 2009 facilities master plan identified more than $800 million in needed upgrades. That study has since been updated, and officials said the need worsened when the recession crippled the districts budget, leading to deferred maintenance.

The district has data on its website specifying what improvements are planned school by school, trustees said Wednesday. But there was concern that voters may not grasp that when asked to vote on nearly $1 billion to improve dozens of schools from Aliso Viejo to San Clemente.

I would hate to see us fail at this, Trustee Jim Reardon said.

A community facilities committee formed in 2015 developed 24 recommendations, headed by putting a general-obligation bond before voters and seeking matching funds from the state.

A decision on what kind of bond issue to possibly place before voters could come at the next board meeting at 7 p.m. June 22 in district headquarters at 33122 Valle Road in San Juan Capistrano.

District staff reported that a survey in May found that 62 percent of Capistrano Unified voters would support an $889 million general-obligation bond measure if it were put on the ballot in November. But trustees expressed concerns about putting out a big-dollar bond when people in Dana Point, for example, may not want to pay to upgrade schools in Mission Viejo or vice-versa.

Were rolling the dice on one big bond, Reardon said. Were taking an enormous chance 

Smaller bond elections could focus on each of the districts seven cities, perhaps with boundary variations to consider that many students attend a high school outside of their hometown, trustees said. Individual elections would take more work to produce, trustees said, and would require citizen oversight for each bond.

But voters could better grasp what improvements they would be investing in at local schools that are familiar to them, they said.

The people out there want a voice, Board President Amy Hanacek said.

Capistrano Unified is doing fine academically, Superintendent Kirsten Vital and her staff said at a community meeting in San Clemente in April. The district describes itself as the top-performing large public school district in the state, and officials cited a 97.2-percent graduation rate and 25 career pathways the district offers students to become successful adults.

But they said aging facilities and deferred maintenance during the economic downturn need to be addressed.

Contact the writer: fswegles@ocregister.com or 949-492-5127
Abu Anas al-Falluji gives each of his three children a 5-milligram tablet of Valium at bedtime to help them sleep through the thud of rocket and mortar fire as Iraqi forces battle Islamic State. And, he says, to dull any pain if the familys home is hit.

Life in Fallujah  the first Iraqi city to fall to the extremists and now a major test of their staying power  is full of grim routines. Each night, al-Falluji says goodbye to his wife, just in case. She wears trousers to bed. Should we die and people have to dig us out of the rubble, her body and legs wont be exposed, he explains in a phone interview from the city.

The U.S.-backed fight to recapture Fallujah is in its third week. Victory there would open the way for a campaign to liberate Mosul and eject Islamic State from its last major stronghold in OPECs second-largest producer. But any setback could deal a fatal blow to Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadis government, already beset by popular protests and sectarian strains.

Sectarian Strife

Fallujah has been central to more than a decade of violence in Iraq. It was the first city to rise up against the U.S. occupation after the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003. In March 2004, four American Blackwater contractors were burned to death by extremists, their charred bodies dragged through Fallujahs streets and hung from a bridge. U.S. forces bombed the city for months.

A decade later, sectarian tensions made it easy prey for Islamic State. The jihadist group benefited from the alienation and rage that Fallujahs Sunni Muslims felt toward the new Shiite rulers in Baghdad.

Islamic State also has a lot at stake in Fallujah, and thats clear from the way its reporting the battle, according to Charlie Winter, senior research associate at Georgia State Universitys Transcultural Conflict & Violence Initiative. In other cities where it was under attack, the group barred members from discussing operations. This time its practically live-blogging the unfolding siege.

It cant be seen to abandon Fallujah, said Winter, who studies the groups propaganda. To give up without a fight would fatally damage its narrative.

Islamic States self-declared caliphate is under attack on several fronts. In Syria, government troops and Kurdish forces are advancing toward Raqqa, its de facto capital. The groups Libyan affiliate has suffered reverses.

But in each country, the groups fighting against Islamic State are divided among themselves.

In Fallujah, Shiite militias backed by Iran are playing a key role alongside the Iraqi army in the fight to recapture a largely Sunni region. Thats raised concerns about a sectarian killing spree if the city is freed, since some Iraqi Shiites see all the countrys Sunnis as being Islamic State collaborators.

In a video widely circulated on social media, Aws al-Khafaji, head of the Abu Fadhil al-Abbas militia, declared: There are no patriots, no real religious people in Fallujah, its our chance to clear Iraq by eradicating the cancer of Fallujah.

Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday that it had received credible allegations of summary executions, beatings and enforced disappearances by government forces since the battle for Fallujah began.

Restraint Urged

Iraqs top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has urged restraint, while Abadi has ordered the arrest of fighters accused of abuses. In other towns captured from the jihadists, the worst fears mostly havent been realized.

Still, the lack of unity among the different groups working to free the city is delaying its advance, said Sheikh Majeed al-Juraisy, a tribal leader from Garma near Fallujah in interview from Erbil. No one on the ground can tell you how long this battle will take, he said.

Iraqs soldiers and militiamen face an enemy that, according to residents, spent the past two years digging elaborate tunnels and underground bunkers from which it can stage surprise attacks.

Iraqi forces reached the outskirts of the city last week, then ran into fierce resistance and called in reinforcements. The U.S. is supporting the campaign with airstrikes against Islamic State positions.

Inside the city, clashes intensify at about 8 p.m. every night. Some shells land but dont explode, and Islamic State fighters scramble to save the TNT, al-Falluji said.

Residents like him  his name has been changed to prevent retribution  are trapped. Theyre left hoping that a government victory wont be followed by a resurgence of the sectarian bloodshed that gripped Iraq after the U.S. invasion.

Twisting Narrative

There are as many as 90,000 people stuck in the city, according to the United Nations, even after thousands escaped in the past week. The UN says militants may be using human shields.

Winter, the Georgia State scholar, says Islamic State is highlighting the danger of Shiite militias overrunning Fallujah to scare people into acquiescence. Its a key way for them to perpetuate their hold. And if a government victory was followed by the feared bloodbath, Islamic State could exploit that for propaganda and turn a potential defeat into something useful, he said.

Islamic State is also using plain force to keep the citys population from fleeing, al-Falluji said. If they catch men trying to escape they hit them with sticks. And they order the women to go back.
BEIRUT  Relief trucks finally delivered food aid for the first time in four years to Daraya, the rebel-held Syrian town just outside Damascus that has come to symbolize the suffering of civilians trapped by the war, the United Nations said Friday.

But even as the relief convoys success was announced by the World Food Program, the U.N. anti-hunger agency, residents of Daraya were reporting that Syrian military aircraft were bombing the town, making it difficult to distribute the food. They also said the amount delivered was roughly half of what was needed.

People didnt come in large numbers to receive the convoy, they were afraid of the bombing, Amjad Abbar, a member of a local council in Daraya, said by telephone, over which sounds of explosions and aircraft could be heard in the background. Several barrel bombs have fallen, he said.

The Daraya food delivery, a joint operation of the United Nations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent that had been repeatedly delayed, illustrated the multiple frustrations confronting relief providers in the Syrian conflict.

While President Bashar Assad has pledged under international pressure, including from his Russian allies, to allow aid into areas beyond those controlled by the government, he has created what critics describe as a bureaucratic tangle of obstacles that has effectively stalled many deliveries.

Assad also has not stopped attacks on rebel-held areas, creating security risks for aid providers. And in a new sign of Assads apparent unwillingness to negotiate an end to the war, he vowed this week to recapture every inch of Syria lost to his array of enemies over the past five years.

The United Nations has been pressing the Syrian government for unfettered access to 19 besieged areas controlled by insurgents, where hundreds of thousands of people have little or no access to food and medicine.

With the Daraya delivery, as well as a Friday delivery to Douma, another rebel-held town, the World Food Program said it had now provided assistance to more than 1.4 million vulnerable people across Syria in the first few days of June. But that is far from its goal to reach 4 million people.

It also remains unclear whether the government will allow further deliveries to areas that already have received one or two shipments.

The World Food Program said in a statement that the Daraya convoy included food baskets with enough staples  rice, lentils, chickpeas, beans, bulgur, oil, salt and sugar  to feed 2,400 people for a month. The convoy also delivered enough bags of flour to feed 4,000 for a month.

The operation began late Thursday and lasted until 3 a.m. Friday, when the convoy departed, U.N. officials said.

Incredible feat! Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, wrote on Twitter. Finally food + other supplies to ppl under siege in #Daraya. Were v proud of our field colleagues.

While Abbar welcomed the supplies, he said there were 8,000 people living in Daraya, so it will be necessary to divide up the supplies when it is safe to retrieve them. The food baskets wont cover the whole number, he said. Every person wont get one whole basket.
As early as 1694, the Massachusetts Bay Colony allowed jail confinement for people so furiously mad as to render it dangerous to the peace or the safety of the good people for such lunatic persons to go at large.

Unfortunately, it remains disturbingly the same today, according to an Orange County grand jury investigation released this week.

Jail is the primary treatment facility for Orange Countys mentally ill, and at any given time one in five county inmates  roughly 1,200 people  suffers from a documented mental health issue, the grand jury found.

Despite improvement over the last several years, the jail system still lacks sufficient manpower, training, facilities and expertise to address the needs of most mentally ill inmates, and can actually make matters worse, the grand jury said.

The jail systems acute lack of mental health beds  just 120, when 10 times more could be filled on any given day  means severely disturbed inmates can wind up in safety cells as a substitute for treatment.

PADDED WALLS

A safety cell can be described as a small locked cell with padded walls from floor to ceiling, a closed viewing panel, food slot, and a thin, bare mattress on the floor next to a grated hole in the floor, which serves as a toilet, said the investigation.

The padding in the cell isnt intended to prevent self-injury, according to the report, but it may lessen the effect depending on how much time is spent trying to self-inflict injury between 15-minute observation periods.

The report also noted that the cells dont have sinks for washing hands, but that lights are on at all times and cameras make it possible for inmates to be observed from the nursing station at all times. Also, inmates are allowed to wear only a safety gown, which resembles a hospital gown but is made of heavier fabric. This also is a way to prevent suicide.

And, the report continues, other practices also are aimed at preventing people from doing harm to themselves:

According to Sheriff Safety Cell Policy (2104.3), Correctional Health Services staff may withhold the mattress and/or safety gown if deemed a hazard, which renders the inmate naked on a lightly padded floor  Several staff stated that it is cold inside the cell.

When the Grand jury inquired as to how an inmate stays warm, one staff member suggested the inmate roll into a ball. Other staff had no answer at all.

ONE OF FIVE

In what the grand jury called the first in-depth investigation into the plight of mentally ill inmates in Orange Countys jail system, it found that, between January and October 2015:

 10,586 inmates entered the system with a mental health diagnosis;

 2,962 other inmates were diagnosed with acute mental illness;

 13,548 mentally ill inmates were moved through the Orange County jails over a 10-month period.

Most mentally ill inmates  about 89 percent  were housed with the general jail population, where theyre more likely to be be sexually assaulted, attempt suicide, and break rules that lead to harsh disciplinary action, the grand jury said. These inmates might receive medication for psychiatric symptoms, but they dont receive therapeutic treatment.

During the 10 months tracked for the report there were 77 safety cell admissions, according to Correctional Health Services. Inmates spent from one to five days there, with about 40 percent locked in the cells for more than one day; 30 percent in for two days; and 10 percent for three days or more.

Inmates are often forcibly medicated prior to being taken to a safety cell and usually fall asleep, a Correctional Health Services clinician told the grand jury.

The criteria for removal from a safety cell are vague.

REMEDIES

In 2011, mental illness and law enforcement collided in deadly fashion.

Kelly Thomas, a mentally ill man, died after a conflict  then a beating  by Fullerton police. Thomas, a schizophrenic, wasnt taking his medication, and police werent sufficiently schooled in spotting such behavior and de-escalating conflicts.

In the wake of Thomass death, Orange County adopted the controversial Lauras Law. It empowers officials to order severely mentally ill people into court-imposed outpatient treatment, even if that treatment is against the patients wishes.

The grand jury commended the county for its rollout of Lauras Law, as well as for other improvements made after a U.S. Department of Justice probe of O.C. jails in 2014.

The grand jury also made 17 specific recommendations to improve the treatment of mentally ill inmates behind bars, including developing specific therapeutic and educational programs; clearly defining entry and exit criteria for safety cell use; beginning a debriefing protocol to reduce safety cell use; hiring more psychiatrists; and collecting and analyzing data on the mentally ill population.

County and jail officials have 90 days to respond in writing to the grand jury, but this week they were digesting the 60-page report.

Theres a lot in this, Orange County Sheriff Lt. Mark Stichter said Thursday. We absolutely adhere to and provide mental health and medical services to those inside the jail, as per the constitution.

I can tell you personally, having watched the process from the time they come into custody, that its absolutely amazing what our mental health and medical services staff do to provide care to a wide variety of inmates with a wide variety of issues.

WERE TRYING

There is of course room to improve, Stichter said. The Sheriffs Department is seeking grants to offer more services, and will be able to do more when the expanded Musick jail facility finally comes online over the next few years.

In the meantime, he said, the department tries to avoid using safety cells, sending inmates there only when they become a danger to themselves or others. It provides a safe place for them to calm down for a while, Stichter said. When theyre in those cells, theyre constantly monitored.

While the grand jury drew clear parallels between the de-institutionalization of the mentally ill in the 1960s and 1970s and their growing population in jail cells today, those that are in custody have committed a crime in violation of the penal code, Stichter said. Theyre in jail waiting to go to court and havent been able to bail out.

The issue is not unique to Orange County. Several bills are pending in Sacramento to help address the problem, and Gov. Jerry Brown got behind $2 billion plan to build housing for mentally ill homeless people throughout the state.

State Sen. John Moorlach, who championed Lauras Law as a county supervisor, has introduced a bill that would allow millionaires tax funds from Proposition 63 (a 1 percent levy on those earning more than $1 million, to pay for mental health services) to be used for crisis stabilization services.

That, he said, provides counties with the flexibility to fund outpatient care, as well as help ensure emergency department access for patients.

People seem to understand that we have to do more for the mentally ill homeless, who are often winding up in jail, Moorlach said. The question now is, what are the best models?

The Sheriffs Department wants to know that, too.

These are the kinds of questions we talk about constantly, Stichter said. Everybody is trying. Its a conversation thats taking place in every single police department.

Contact the writer: tsforza@ocregister.com
IRVINE  Aliza Asad has lived through numerous occasions that made her cringe during her four years of college  including when she was pulled aside at LAX for a five-hour interview by immigration officials.

At times, Asad said, she reconsidered, or even rejected, certain aspects of her Indian, American, Canadian, Muslim and female identity.

But I dont regret any of these interactions, conversations or cringes, said Asad, who grew up in Anaheim Hills. Without them, I would be the same know-it-all freshman that entered UC Irvine four years ago.

Asad shared the story with 840 fellow social science graduates and their family and friends who packed the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine on Friday afternoon, as the student speaker at their commencement ceremony.

They are among the more than 8,000 Anteater students who will be receiving their diplomas over four days of ceremonies scheduled through Monday.

Chancellor Howard Gillman told the graduates that while they have earned their degree, their education has just begun.

Keep learning  not for the grade, or for credits toward a degree, or for the career, but for yourself, for the sheer pleasure of it, he said. Understanding what it takes to have an educated opinion is the entire point of coming to a great university.

Norbert Negrea earned a masters degree in demographic and social analysis after completing his bachelors degree at UC Irvine. The 23-year-old is the first one in his family to graduate from college.

I feel really proud for them, Negrea said. I just kind of wanted to make sure my family feels the same pride. It feels like an accomplishment that everybody kind of struggled through. It means a lot. It was a new experience for everybody.

This year, half of the degrees at UC Irvine will be awarded to first-generation college graduates like Negrea, according to the university.

UC Irvines commitment to serve low-income and first-generation students is what made him return to the school for his masters degree, Negrea said.

They have programs and initiatives that are trying to let those students flourish, he said. To have those kind of initiatives is really allowing those students to grow and make an impact in their communities rather than being a university thats only catering to other prestigious students.

Devi Madhavan, 22, of Orange, graduated with a degree in international studies and economics. She wants to become a diplomat working for the U.S. Department of State.

Madhavan said shes learned the importance of connecting with fellow students and professors and cherishing every moment spent with them.

Theres a lot you can learn in the classroom, but theres more you can learn outside the classroom, she said. Through those experiences, what youre learning in class becomes more important because you know how to apply it.

Gillman urged graduates to hold on to the frame of mind they acquired at UC Irvine  to settle differences of viewpoint not through coercion, mockery and violence, but with ideas, arguments and votes.

You are the light and the hope of the world, he said. We are counting on you.

Contact the writer: 949-445-6397 or tshimura@ocregister.com
Cops accused of brutality. Serial killers. Teenagers on trial for gang rape.

Over the past four decades, Irvine attorney William Kopeny had an impact on almost every high-profile case in Orange County and beyond.

And while many of his best-known clients were publicly reviled, Kopeny was known as one of the strongest constitutional scholars of his generation  and as a warm, funny friend.

Any case of any significance would have his mind print on it, for sure. Somebody would have called him, said criminal defense attorney John Barnett, also a heavyweight in Southern California legal circles.

He touched so many lawyers in so many cases. I consulted him on almost every single case I had of any significance, and he played a major role in all of them.

This week, the requests for help became calls of condolence after news that Kopeny died Tuesday morning of a heart attack at age 65. His death stunned Orange Countys legal world, where Kopeny held court after graduating from USC Law School and passing the bar in 1974.

Kopenys career started in the Orange County Public Defenders Office in 1980, where he stayed for five years before switching to private practice.

Among dozens of cases, Kopeny helped defend Theodore Briseno, one of four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating Rodney King, an event captured famously in a 1991 video. Barnett said Kopeny came up with the defense plan for Briseno, pushing hard to hold the trial in Simi Valley instead of downtown Los Angeles, where the jury pool would be more diverse.

The case was won or lost when he did that, Barnett said. Briseno and the other officers were acquitted in that court.

He was a fierce advocate, but not an obnoxious guy, Barnett added. He not only could answer your questions, but he knew what other questions to ask.

Kopeny consulted on the case of three teenagers, one the son of a high-ranking Orange County sheriffs official, accused of sexually assaulting an unconscious girl. The boys ended up going to prison in 2004. And Kopeny helped represent serial killer Randy Kraft, dubbed the Freeway Killer, convicted in 1989 of murdering 16 men, although the number was suspected to be higher.

The harder the case, the more likely Kopeny would be called.

Bill Kopeny was the dean of appellate practice, said attorney Paul Meyer. Brilliant. Funny. And a true friend. This shining star will never be replaced. He was the best of the best.

Attorney Jim Riddet consulted with Kopeny on dozens of cases.

I used to call him my brain trust. When I had a legal question, I got on the phone to Bill Kopeny, Riddet said. I dont know what were going to do without him.

A memorial will be held Monday at 11:30 a.m. at 25555 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills.

Contact the writer: tsaavedra@ocregister.com
SANTA ANA  A 23-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday to a drunken driving crash in which the SUV he was driving erupted into flames just before two California Highway Patrol officers rescued him, a woman and their two young children.

Leonardo Morales pleaded guilty to single counts apiece of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and driving with a blood-alcohol level exceeding the legal limit of .08 percent or more causing injury as well as two counts of child abuse and endangerment, all felonies.

He also admitted sentencing enhancement allegations of inflicting great bodily injury, causing great bodily injury on a child younger than 5.

Morales, scheduled to be sentenced July 19, also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended or revoked license.

Morales was behind the wheel of a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe that slammed into a tree on the northbound Costa Mesa (55) Freeway offramp to 17th Street at the Tustin/Santa Ana border about 3:50 a.m., April 13, 2015, according to CHP Officer Florentino Olivera.

Two CHP officers patrolling the area saw flames at the scene of the crash but were too far down the offramp to respond to the emergency, so they called it in to dispatchers, Olivera said.

Because of their quick response, he said, two other officers were able to get to the victims before it was too late.

When CHP Officers Daryl Hansen and Timothy Montoya got to the scene of the fiery crash, they saw Morales lying on the ground, a panic-stricken toddler dashing around and 22-year-old Kathy De Rosa stuck in the front passenger seat, Olivera said.

The 2-year-old was running around and crying and pointing at the car, he said.

As the two officers worked to pull De Rosa out, Montoya heard a baby crying in the back seat. The baby was face-down, bloodied, on the floorboard of the rear drivers side seat, Olivera said.

By then the car was fully engulfed in flames, he said.

Montoya quickly snatched the baby and ran her to safety, Olivera said. The two officers also managed to get De Rosa out of the SUV.

The two adults were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and their children were taken to Childrens Hospital Orange County, Olivera said.

The 9-month-old had serious lacerations to her legs and feet, according to Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi.

The 2-year-old boy sustained a head injury and a deep bruise on his head, the captain said.

Morales sustained a back injury and De Rosa had cuts to her face, according to Concialdi.
In Carl Cannons column, Blessed are the peacemakers [Opinion, June 5], the author ticks off the foreign-policy successes of both Bill and Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately, Cannon turns a blind eye to the downsides of their respective achievements.

While Bill Clinton did play a role in forging a workable Northern Ireland peace agreement, intensive diplomacy had already been underway for a period of time. Clinton also exerted efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but progress and security have never materialized.

Moreover, Clinton blew the few chances he had to capture or kill Osama bin Laden.

In recent weeks, the Democrats have been tripping over themselves as they strive to outduel one another in their rants against Donald Trumps foreign policy views. However, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have had minimal success in foreign relations. Cannon claims that the current administration has crafted a number of agreements with China, Hamas, Iran, and Russia.

What he conveniently ignores is the fact that these autocratic regimes have a track record of cheating, or reneging, on negotiated treaties. Although the Clintons have been active in attempts to solve worldwide economic and security issues, its difficult to find their enduring successes based on the aggressive behavior of a number of authoritarian states in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Before the Democrats accuse Trump of being an ignorant fearmonger, they ought to survey a global landscape littered with the wreckage of failed foreign policies over the past seven years. Trump did not contribute to these failures, nor did he appease Americas adversaries as he snubbed our allies. It was Clinton, John Kerry and Obama who did a fine job of eroding liberty, peace and security.

Christian Milord

Fullerton

Overboard on Ali

Muhammad Ali was not a hero in any sense of the word. He was an anti-American, anti-Semitic draft dodger. The real heroes were the men who fought on D-Day. Thank God for Vin Scully for telling some great stories about D-Day while calling the Dodger game or no one would even have known what day it was. While Muhammad Ali was a great boxer, thats all he was. Nothing more.

Adriana Salerno

Fountain Valley

Dissing D-Day

A famous boxer and humanitarian dies, and, for three days, the Register is full of tributes to the man, which is fine and deserved. However, on June 6, 1944, the invasion of Normandy began and on its beaches thousands of brave young American men were killed defending their country and fighting to keep it free. How were they recognized for just one day? By two cartoons, one by Mallard Fillmore on the Opinion page and the other next to a puzzle.

It seems to me that, for one day, at least one article remembering them could have taken the place of dogs for adoption or festivals. As for me, I say Thank you, and bless you for your sacrifice for us, to have the Stars and Stripes to salute, rather than a swastika.

Lee Newman

Santa Ana

Pain patients not abusers

Re: The subtle and damaging power of pain killers [Local, June 5]: The dark side of opiate pain medications has received a great deal of attention in the news, social media and the professional medical literature. The risk of opiate addiction is real and has taken the lives of many youth in Orange County and throughout America, including many talented celebrities.

While this aspect of opiates is a major concern for physicians who prescribe these powerful painkillers, the great benefit these medications offer to patients who suffer from acute and chronic pain conditions has been essentially ignored in the discussion.

Who would deny pain medications to a patient with a leg fracture or other acute painful condition? However, sometimes the pain does not go away after an injury or surgery, many medical conditions result in chronic pain that severely limits mobility or the ability to participate in activities patients would like to enjoy.

There are many non-narcotic modalities to treat pain, such as physical therapy, acupuncture and chiropractic care, along with the use of interventional techniques to inject nerves, tendons, ligaments or areas of the spine with powerful anti-inflammatory steroids that are effective in relieving pain.

Despite these interventional treatments, opiate pain medications are still required for many patients with severe pain syndromes to achieve significant improvement in their quality of life. Chronic pain patients are so grateful for these medications, without which some would be bedridden.

So we must be sensitive to not lump chronic-pain patients who use powerful painkillers properly prescribed by physicians, together with individuals who have an addiction disorder and obtain these opiates, usually without a prescription, who often do not even have pain. We can be certain that no individual who overdosed on heroin obtained the heroin by prescription. These are two completely different populations, and we are unfairly implying that every patient taking prescribed pain medications is an addict.

As tragic as these overdose situations are to family, friends and society, we must be cautious not to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship by an over-reach of government reaction, where chronic-pain patients are denied access to physician-prescribed and properly monitored opiate therapy.

Andres Betts, M.D.

San Clemente

pain specialist

Water district woes

Mark Abramowitz argued convincingly for recalling Yorba Linda Water District board members to bring about responsible leadership and a new board culture [Urgent need to overhaul water board, Opinion, June 5]. If Mr. Abramowitz would carefully investigate the Irvine Ranch Water District, he would find no difference between the two boards. IRWD board members have consistently and unanimously approved rate increases year after year, swelling district cash reserves to well over $250 million.

The IRWD board does not represent the public, as it is responsible to do. It represents IRWD staff and management. Our rate increases have long been capricious and arbitrary, designed only to increase IRWD coffers and pay for generous salaries and retirements.

John Jaeger

Irvine
LONDON  Britain celebrated Queen Elizabeth IIs 90th birthday and her service to the country Friday with solemn pomp, pageantry and prayer at St. Pauls Cathedral ahead of a weekend of festivities.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, set the tone by reminding Britain of the queens long life and dedicated service. In essence, he said the nation was lucky because Elizabeth only became queen by chance.

We look back on Your Majestys 90 years in the life of our nation with deep wonder and profound gratitude, he said. Through war and hardship, through turmoil and change, we have been fearfully and wonderfully sustained.

The celebration has been a lengthy affair, starting with her real birthday in April. The monarchs official birthday is traditionally celebrated in June when Britains weather can be more favorable.

The monarch, dressed in primrose yellow coat-dress and matching hat, and her husband Prince Philip attended a service of thanksgiving at St. Pauls Friday, on what is Philips 95th birthday.

She turned to smile at a crowd of well-wishers singing Happy Birthday as she climbed the cathedral steps.

Among those offering tribute was the popular naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough, who read a short story by Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond. Both men turned 90 this year and attended the service.

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Prince William and his wife Kate, Prince Harry and dozens of other royals joined politicians and the wider community in a thundering rendition of God Save the Queen.

The traditional Trooping the Color parade will be held Saturday, the queens official birthday. The event is expected to draw throngs of Britons and visitors to Buckingham Palace for a possible balcony appearance by the senior royals.

On Sunday, the Mall in front of the palace will host lunch for roughly 10,000 charity workers, patrons and members of the royal family.

Street parties are planned in many locations, including some in Commonwealth countries and also in the United States.

British newspapers have been filled with paeans to the queen, and editorials urging the public to show its gratitude for her long reign.

Philip, who has heart disease, missed an engagement recently due to health issues but is expected to participate throughout the weekend.

After the three-day extravaganza, the queen is expected to turn her attention to the horse racing season and her lengthy summer holiday in Scotland.
Newport Beach-based real estate investment firm Hager Pacific Properties has acquired four properties for $35 million in California and Wisconsin. Two properties are in Buena Park: a 41,715-square-foot ice cream plant on 5.5 acres of land at 6400 Regio Ave.; and a 42,988-square-foot milk plant on nearly 5 acres of land at 6408 Regio Ave. The milk plant is leased for seven years. The ice cream plant will be leased for a short term. The remaining properties are in Oakland and Milwaukee. Hager Pacific is a $2 billion real estate investment firm that owns 110 properties in the U.S., including six in Orange County.

A Bacchus Office Park building at 9150 Irvine Center Drive has sold for $2.2 million. Irvine-based Wind Water Realty represented the seller, Kwikcash Inc. The buyer, represented by Investment R/E Source, was Gerayli LLC. The two-story, 4,960-square-foot office building was owner-occupied. The previous owners signed a one-year lease for the upper floor. The buyer will occupy the ground floor. The Bacchus Office Park, near the Irvine Spectrum, was built by Bacchus Development in 2007. Bacchus has developed roughly 1 million square feet of office buildings in Irvine since 2003.

The Bendetti Co., an Irvine-based commercial real estate investment company, has acquired two new properties in Nevada. The first acquisition was Southern Way, a three-building center consisting of 631,115 square feet in Sparks. The second acquisition was Spice Island, a 165,000-square-foot building also located in Sparks. Bendettis portfolio now totals more than two million square feet of industrial property. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Tim Markel has been promoted to president of Murow|CM, an Irvine-based land development consulting company. Markel joined the team in 2013 as the chief operating officer. He will continue in his current responsibilities. In his new role, Markel will oversee accounting and operations functions and seek opportunities outside the Southern California market.

Melissa Lancaster has joined Seattle-based Kidder Mathews as a senior property manager in the firms Irvine office. Before joining Kidder Mathews, Lancaster was with Essex Realty Management where she managed a 300,000-square-foot portfolio consisting of office, retail, and mixed use properties. Before that, she was with The Irvine Company where she managed a 900,000-square-foot single-tenant building.

CBRE Group has hired Mark Seferian as a first vice president. He joins the companys national restaurant practice and will be based at the companys Newport Beach office. Seferian previously worked for Bloomin Brands Inc. where he was real estate director. In his position he oversaw all real estate development activity in the western U.S. for core brands such as Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill, Carrabbas Italian Grill and Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. Seferians prior positions also include director of real estate development for Darden Restaurants Inc.

Travis Fidel has been hired as an associate at SRS Real Estate Partners Newport Beach office. He will focus on single-tenant, net-lease investment properties, 1031 exchange buyer tracking and fulfillment, and cross-selling NNLG listed inventory. Fidel previously worked at CBRE Inc.

HOTEL NEWS

Laguna Beach-based Montage Hotels & Resorts has named its Baltimore hotel Sagamore Pendry Baltimore. The Pendry is a boutique urban brand that started in 2014. The Baltimore hotel will open in 2017. Montage manages several luxury resorts, including the Montage Laguna Beach.

Send real estate transactions,

executive promotions, honors

and related high-resolution

photos to Samantha Gowen at

sgowen@ocregister.com.

Please allow at least one week

to publish.
SACRAMENTO  Almost everyone has some idea for fixing whatever is wrong in Sacramento, ranging from new campaign spending limits to a requirement that legislators wear NASCAR-style sponsor logos. Such reforms, however interesting they might sound in theory, never change anything.

The problem, of course, is the state government is so big and spends so much money that lobbyists will always try to control and influence it. Real reform would mean reining in the power of government  an idea thats never on the table.

Does that mean we abandon any hope of making state government more accountable? Probably not, but its important to focus on reforms that work  rather than simply venting our populist anger.

One of the most significant proposed reforms since the passage of property-tax-limiting Proposition 13 in 1978 is headed toward the November ballot. Backed by former Republican state Sen. Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo and funded by moderate GOP donor Charles Munger Jr., The California Legislature Transparency Act is far more significant than its title would suggest.

The initiative has such potential to shake up the way legislation is passed that legislative leaders spent the week trying to undermine it. Backers of the Blakeslee/Munger measure have submitted a million-plus signatures. It is likely to pass by overwhelming margins. Opponents only way to derail it is to confuse voters by placing a similar-sounding, but weaker, measure on the ballot and passing a related reform in the Capitol.

The transparency acts main provision requires that all bills must be in print in their final form, and available to the public on the internet, for a minimum of 72 hours before a vote can be taken.

Legislators often pass gut-and-amend measures in which the original bills language is stripped out and replaced with something completely different. The transformed bill is rammed through in the final moments of the session. Often, legislators havent even read the details of what they approved. No one  except for the legislative leaders and lobbyists who cobbled together the bill  knows what happened until its too late to do anything about it.

The initiative also requires all committee hearings to be recorded (audio and video) and made publicly available within 24 hours. It gives the public the right to record hearings and floor sessions with their own phones and recorders.

The measure is based on the simple concept that openness leads to better government and less bad behavior.

No wonder the Legislature is scurrying for an alternative. Many lawmakers want an alternative, SCA14, to go on the same ballot. If this constitutional amendment passes with more votes, the Blakeslee-Munger initiative would not go into effect. SCA14, passed in committee, pretends to deal with the 72-hour transparency issue but critics say its so laden with loopholes it renders the reform nearly meaningless.

For instance, SCA14 requires a 72-hour notice only in the second legislative house. Instead of expanding transparency, it would allow one house to game the system  and foist gutted and amended bills on the other house. SCA14 also removes the transparency acts language that would void any law passed in violation of the rule. Without that language, legislators could ignore its provisions and pay no price for it.

Ironically, legislators also used the gut-and-amend process to pass in committee Assembly Bill 884, which deals with the public-recording portion of the Blakeslee-Munger initiative. Because this is a legislative measure and not a constitutional amendment, the Legislature can change any of its provisions with a simple majority vote.

The initiative allows recordings to be used for any legitimate purpose, but AB884 changes that to any legal purpose. With a simple majority vote, legislators can once again make it illegal to use video for campaign ads. Thats an almost-certain violation of the First Amendment that exists in current law, but would be repealed by the initiative.

Opponents say some of the most important legislation would not have passed because the 72-hour rule would have given opponents time to organize to stop it. If thats the case, why dont we just dispense with the entire legislative process and let leadership hammer out all bills in secrecy?

Im being facetious, of course. In reality, legislators should stop ramming things through at the last minute. They should respect the public and give all groups  pro and con  time to weigh in. Thats how democracy is supposed to work. Clearly, the Legislatures latest actions show the transparency act is likely to have a real impact in the Capitol.

Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute. He was a Register editorial writer from 1998-2009. He is based in Sacramento. Write to him at sgreenhut@rstreet.org.
Ever since Elon Musk founded a start-up space company 14 years ago, the goal has always been the same: Establishing a colony on Mars. Now hes finally beginning to reveal how he plans to get there.

Starting as soon as 2018, Musks SpaceX plans to fly an unmanned spacecraft to Mars. The unmanned flights would continue about every two years, timed for when Earth and Mars are closest in orbit. If everything goes according to plan, they would build toward landing the first humans on Mars in 2025, Musk has said.

But in an interview this week, Musk laid out additional details for the first time, equating the spirit of the missions with the settlement of the New World by the colonists who crossed the Atlantic Ocean centuries ago. And he acknowledged the immense difficulties of getting to a planet that is, on average, 140 million miles from Earth.

The months-long journey is sure to be hard, risky, dangerous, difficult, Musk said, but he was confident people would sign up to go because just as with the establishment of the English colonies, there are people who love that. They want to be the pioneers.

Before those pioneers board a rocket, though, the unmanned flights would carry science experiments and rovers to the planet, Musk said. The equipment would be built either by SpaceX or others.

The early flights also would let the company better understand interplanetary navigation and test its ability to safely land craft on Mars.

Essentially what were saying is were establishing a cargo route to Mars, he said. Its a regular cargo route. You can count on it. Its going to happen every 26 months. Like a train leaving the station. And if scientists around the world know that, they can count on that. And its going to be inexpensive, relatively speaking, compared to anything in the past. Then they will plan accordingly and come up with a lot of great experiments.

The mission is all the more audacious in that SpaceX is a private company without the resources of a government agency. NASA has previously said it would provide technical support for the 2018 mission, though not financially, in exchange for what it said was valuable descent and landing data to NASA for our journey to Mars, while providing support to American industry.

NASA is planning its own manned Mars mission with the goal of landing in the 2030s. But some in Congress have indicated they are inclined to steer the agency back toward a moon mission first.

SpaceXs 2018 trip would use the companys Dragon spacecraft, boosted into space by Falcon Heavy, a massive rocket powered by 27 first-stage engines.

When it flies for the first time later this year, Falcon Heavey will become the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two, SpaceX says. It will have more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, or about the equivalent of 18 airplanes of 747 size.

The rocket needs to be big. The Dragon spacecraft would become the largest object to land on the Martian surface by a factor of 10, Musk said.

That would make it one of the most ambitious Martian landings ever attempted  and difficult. Of the 43 robotic missions to Mars, including flybys, attempted by four different countries, only 18 have been total successes.

The latest, a NASA mission, delivered the unmanned Curiosity rover, which is now roaming the planet.

Some have pointed out that Musks timeline is exceedingly ambitious, especially considering SpaceX has yet to fly the Falcon Heavy or land Dragon by using its own engine thrust, which is a key component to landing in the relatively thin Martian atmosphere.

By the next launch window, in 2020, Musk said, the company aims to have flown at least two Falcon Heavy rockets and Dragon spacecraft, loaded with experiments.

By that time there will be quite a few organizations ... that are interested in running experiments on Mars, he said.

In 2022, Musk said, he hopes to launch what the company refers to as the Mars Colonial Transporter, designed to bring a colony to Mars. He declined to provide too many details, saying he would unveil the system at a conference in September. But he was clearly excited about the prospect and could barely contain himself.

This is going to be mind blowing, he said. Mind blowing. Its going to be really great.

At another point he said, Im so tempted to talk more about the details of it. But I have to restrain myself.

Still, he said that the first mission wouldnt have a huge number of people on it because if something goes wrong, we want to risk the fewest number of lives as possible.

And he acknowledged that the company will have to get lucky and things go according to plan to hit a launch window for manned flight in late 2024, with a landing in 2025.

But I do want to emphasize this is not about sending a few people to Mars, he continued. Its about having an architecture that would enable the creation of a self-sustaining city on Mars with the objective of being a multi-planet species and a true space-faring civilization and one day being out there among the stars.

He said he hadnt yet figured out who would be the first to go or how they would be chosen. But he said they would be pioneers willing to take the risk.

Hopefully theres enough people who are like that who are willing to go build the foundation, at great risk, for a Martian city.

Its dangerous and probably people will die  and theyll know that, he said. And then theyll pave the way, and ultimately it will be very safe to go to Mars, and it will very comfortable. But that will be many years in the future.
Officials from Grace University in Omaha met Friday to discuss how the school would continue to provide Christ-centered education to men and women of faith.

Leaders of the Christian college in Little Italy have said its undergoing a period of instability and transformation, The World Herald reported this week.

In letters addressed to alumni and students, school officials have asked for financial support as the schools board of trustees analyzes every aspect of the school and embarks on a significant restructuring and reorganization.

Friday, the board approved the schools operating budget for the 2016-17 academic year and reviewed various quarterly reports. Graces executive team  which includes a new CEO and interim president  took part in the meeting to discuss its vision for the college.

Last month, the board unanimously appointed William Bauhard as CEO and John Holmes as interim president. The CEO position is new to the school.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1192, emily.nohr@owh.com
Regional convention: Jehovahs Witnesses are inviting the public to attend their annual regional convention July 1-3 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. The event is free of charge. The theme of this years event deals with the subject of loyalty. The event will include content aimed at helping people develop stronger bonds with friends, family members and with God. The program will feature presentations including 35 video segments plus two films. For more information, go online to jw.org.

Organ concert: The final dedicatory recital featuring the newly installed Wilhelm organ at St. Marys Church, 3529 Q St., will be presented at 3 p.m. Sunday. The organist will be Michael Bauer. The concert is free and open to the public.

Worship times change: St. Paul United Methodist Church, 5410 Corby St., is beginning its summer worship hours for June, July and August. Sunday morning contemporary worship will be held at 9 a.m. in the churchs fellowship hall and traditional worship at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary. The Saturday evening service will continue at 5 p.m. in Roth Chapel.

Scripture Study Series: The Rev. Scott Hastings will present a three-night Scripture Study Series on Mary at St. Leo the Great, 1920 N. 102nd St. The study will be held at 7 p.m. June 16, 23 and 30. Call 402-397-0407 for reservations and information.

Breakfast fundraiser: The youth of Trinity United Methodist Church will hold a breakfast fundraiser from 8 to 11 a.m. on Sunday in the Johnson Community Center, 8009 Q St. in Ralston. Cost will be $6 for adults and $3 for children 10 and younger. Plan to come and enjoy pancakes, sausage and eggs.

Church anniversary: Pilgrim Baptist Church, 2501 Hamilton St., will celebrate its 99th anniversary on Sunday with two worship services. The theme of the celebration is 99 Years of Laboring to Advance the Kingdom of God  1 Corinthians 3:9. The day will begin at 8 a.m. with morning prayer, followed by Christian Education and Morning Worship at 10 a.m. Special guests for the 4 p.m. service include the Rev. Dr. Selwyn Q. Bachus and the Salem Baptist Church, the Rev. A.J. Wagstaff and King Solomon Baptist Church and the Rev. Kenneth Allen and Zion Baptist Church. Bachus will speak at the afternoon service, Wagstaff will serve as the worship leader and Allen will provide words of encouragement to the church. The public is invited to attend. For more information, call 402-341-6270.

Mass, talk and healing service: Alan Ames will present a Mass, talk and healing service at St. James Catholic Church, 4720 N. 90th St., at 7 p.m. Friday and again at 5:30 p.m. on June 18 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 5419 N. 114th St. For more information, call 402-333-4831.

Organ recital: St. Mark Lutheran Church, 1821 N. 90th St., will feature a free organ recital featuring David von Behren at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Following his Omaha engagement, Von Behren will perform a showcase recital at the Oregon Bach Festival on July 2 and a solo recital at Lincolns First Plymouth Church on July 22.

Spirituality Day: The Rural Central Deanery of the Omaha Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women is hosting a Spiritualty Day, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Sacred Heart Parish Center, 2300 Madison Ave., in Norfolk, Nebraska. Guests can bring their favorite coffee cup and a journal. The events costs $10 per person. Registration is at 9:30 a.m.
The 150-foot line of people heaving boxes from the supply truck to the supply room paled in length to the total length of toilet paper inside those boxes.

About 50 people formed a snake-like human conveyor belt and unloaded 240 boxes of toilet paper from a delivery truck Friday at the Siena-Francis House homeless shelter. Many of those unloading were either staying or seeking help at the shelter, while others were volunteers.

Toilet paper may not be the first necessity that comes to mind, but in a shelter serving more than 500 people per night, two-ply can be in short supply.

In partnership with paper manufacturer Outlook Nebraska Inc., First Data donated more than 56,000 rolls of toilet paper to the shelter. It was the largest single supply drive in the shelters 41-year history.

Even when we have some toilet paper in stock, we always need toilet paper, said Tim Sully, the shelters development director. And so really weve come to rely on First Datas supply drive, and specifically the toilet paper, as how we go about our business every year.

The Siena-Francis House, at 1702 Nicholas St., provides food, water, clothing and a roof to Omahas homeless, as well as helping with addiction recovery.

In total, 56,438 rolls of toilet paper were donated to the shelter. About 35,000 arrived Friday, Sully said.

Sully guessed the shipment would last six or seven months. The remaining rolls will come once theres room for them in the shelter.

First Data employees also donated 942 pairs of jeans and 260 boxes of trash bags.

Kayla Miller, 26, began seeking treatment in the shelters substance addiction program June 1. She said helping to unload the supplies was a good teamwork exercise. She was grateful for the donations.

Everybody helping each other teaches us to work together, Miller said. You dont get that a lot out on the streets.

First Data has donated supplies to the shelter for about six years, said Ginger Smith, company vice president.

Lots of people take it for granted, right? Smith said of the toilet paper. Its something we all just expect to be on the roll when youre there.

After reading a 2015 article in The World-Herald about the annual supply drive, Sandy Shupe with Outlook Nebraska approached Smith with a proposition: Buy toilet paper from Outlook for the shelter and Outlook will match each purchase with a donation, roll for roll. The First Data-Outlook partnership yielded 39,940 rolls. The additional 16,498 rolls were donated outside of the partnership by First Data employees.

Theyve got our backsides covered, Sully joked.
Woman, her two children mowed down by train; Suicide not ruled out

Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor fights against child labour: Will it work?

Feature

oi-Oneindia

By Maitreyee Boruah

Sunil Kumar (10) works in a roadside dhaba in Hebbal, Bengaluru. His parents, who are construction labourers, never sent Sunil to a school. The young boy has been working in the dhaba for the last two years. He earns around Rs 5,000 a month. Like Sunil, there are 8.2 million child labourers under the age of 14 years across the country, according to India's 2011 Census report. The report was released recently.

"Out of 8.2 million child labourers, over two million are very young children between 5 and 9 years. Millions of children have no access to basic food, shelter, education, medical care or security," adds the report.

Moved by the plight of these underprivileged children, Bollywood star Anil Kapoor will be part of a campaign to raise awareness against child labour.

"Every morning over 8 million children in India go to work instead of going to school. Our economic progress loses a lot of meaning if hundreds of thousands of children have no hopes of a future," Anil told reporters, ahead of the International Day Against Child Labour. The day is commemorated across the globe on June 12.

The Bollywood star is the Goodwill Ambassador for child rights organisation, Plan India. He will campaign for the NGO's new initiative to raise awareness and inspire action to pull millions of children out of all forms of labour, said a statement.

Bhagyashri Dengle, Executive Director of Plan India, says, "As a part of our vision for 2020, Plan India is committed to improving the lives of 2 million children and youth, through direct programme interventions and by working in close collaboration with the Government and other partners to ensure that no child is left behind."

Sunil tells OneIndia that he wants to go to a school someday. "I want to become a teacher and teach poor children who can't afford to go to schools," Sunil adds.

In May last year, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal to ban employment of children under 14 years in all kinds of commercial enterprises. The original Child Labour Prohibition Act of 1986 banned employment of children below 14 in only 18 hazardous industries.

In spite of all these laws, child labourers are everywhere to be seen. Hardly any action is taken against those who employ or engage children as workers.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Saturday, June 11, 2016, 11:58 [IST]
Both Congress and BJP are finding it tough to pick a face for UP election

Feature

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

The high-profile election battle in UP is not very far but both the national parties---the Congress and BJP---are struggling to find the suitable face to put up.

Both national parties are facing a common challenge: The face for UP

And both the parties have very little to choose from. While the Congress is, as usual, is confused over which Gandhi to go for---Rahul or Priyanka; the BJP can't decide a face who can be accepted as an alternative to the popular Varun Gandhi.

The two regional parties---ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), however, have no leadership problem. Their concern is more about anti-incumbency and corruption, respectively.

But the Congress and BJP's dilemma raises serious question on their ability to do well in UP in the next election, the result of which will be a precursor to the Lok Sabha election of 2019.

Hapless Congress has now resorted to ist last weapon: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

The former party has lost its base in the crucial state to such an extent that it now has to fall back on either of the siblings to save its face. The Congress though had the Gandhis based in Delhi and UP as its powerhouse but it never required any member of the first family to give it a face in the provincial elections earlier. The Nehrus and Gandhis always played their role at the national level though they had an influence in UP.

But what if the final weapon also fails to do it for Congress?

This time, after two back-to-back dismal performance in UP in the 2012 Assembly election (20 of 403 seats) and 2014 Lok Sabha election (2 of 80 seats), the Congress is virtually depending on the Gandhis to save it in all 403 Assembly seats of the state so that the hope of returning to power at the Centre in 2019 is not shattered completely.

The BJP's problem of choice is more democratic than that of the Congress

But this may be is the final resort for the Congress. If it involves Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too in this election besides its chief Sonia Gandhi and her deputy Rahul and yet fails to produce any magic, it could be all but over for a party which is already witnessing threatening implosions.

Strategist Prashant Kishor is trying permutations and combinations about Rahul and Priyanka so that the ultimate weapon doesn't lose its edge, but without any organisational strength to compete with the three powerful rivals, can only the change of face deliver any good on the ground?

BJP's problem is more democractic

The BJP, on the other hand, has a more democratic problem. In a bid to tackle Mayawati whose rainbow social coalition in the state has put her rivals in a spot in the past, the saffron party has a serious problem in choosing who over who.

Varun Gandhi or Rajnath Singh?

While surveys showed Varun to be the preferred candidate and Smriti Irani not getting much support, the reports about Home Minister and former UP chief minister Rajnath Singh have not found sympathy from many party supporters. In fact, two former BJP Mps have even accused Singh of dividing the backward community to help the ruling SP by prescribing a system of quota within quota.

Rajnath wasn't a successful CM nor will the Brahmins like his elevation

Singh did not have an impressive record as the chief minister of UP between 2000 and 2002 and neither the Thakur leader's elevation will be a happy sight for the Brahmins, who have traditionally enjoyed the clout in the BJP, but have not seen an equally towering leader since the exit of Atal Behari Vajpayee.

But with many BJP leaders now sidelined, Rajnath might be the only option for the BJP

But at the same time, with many top BJP leaders now being sidelined, Rajnath has remained the only veteran shoulder for the party to bank on. Kalyan Singh has been asked to chip in but he is too old now to become the CM.

The BJP top brass is under more pressure since the party succeeded in the Assembly election in Assam by projecting a CM candidate in Sarbananda Sonowal. But the task of picking a consensus chief ministerial candidate in UP is by no means an easy task.

Both the national parties are hence faced with a similar problem, though from a different perspective. It will be interesting to see who comes up with a better solution.
Explained: UK referendum on EU membership on June 23

Feature

oi-Shubham Ghosh

A referendum will be held on June 23, 2016, to decide whether Britain would remain or leave the European Union. Let's take a look at issues that are related with this important episode in the history of Europe:

What is a referendum?

A referendum is a polling in which everyone or almost everyone having the age to vote give an answer to the question in "Yes" or "No". Whichever side gets the simple majority of more than half becomes the winner. [Will India benefit from Brexit? Pros and cons]

Why a referendum is being held on UK's remaining in EU?

Prime Minister David Cameron had promised that if he had won the national election of 2015, he would hold the referendum in reponse to the growing call from Mps of his own Conservative Party and the UK Independence Party (UKIP).

The parliamentarians argued that Britain did not have any say since 1975 when it had decided to stay in the EU in a referendum. They feel the EU has undergone a big change in the last four decades and is controlling the country's daily lives more. Cameron took the initiative to "settle this European question in British politics".

What will be the referendum question?

"Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?"

What is Brexit?

Brexit is a short term to define the episode of the UK leaving the EU. It has been formed by merging the words 'Britain' and 'exit'. It is on the lines of Greece's exit from the EU which was termed 'Grexit'.

Who can vote in the referendum?

All British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens aged over 18 who reside in the UK, along with UK nationals living abroad and have been on the electoral register in the UK over the past 15 years. Members of the House of Lords and Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar are also eligible for the referendum, unlike in the general elections. Citizens from EU countries other than Ireland, Malta and Cyprus will not get a vote.

About the voting procedure

The procedure will be similar to that which is followed during other elections. A registered voter will be sent a card informing him/her about the timing and venue of the voting on June 23. Upon arriving at the polling station, the voter will be given a piece of paper with the referendum question mentioned in it. The voter will have to mention a 'X' in the box which reflects his/her opinion with a pencil. There is also the option of voting by post.

Who wants UK to exit EU?

The British people are quite divided on the question, as latest opinion polls have shown. The UKIP, which did well in the 2015 general election, campaigns for the UK's exit. Also about half of the Conservative Mps, including five cabinet ministers and several Labour Mps and the Democratic Unionist Party are also in favour of their country's exit.

Why do they want to leave the EU?

They are of the opinion that the EU is imposing too many rules on business and charges too much money as membership fees giving little in return. They want Britain to take full control of its borders and check the number of people setting foot in its territory to live or work. One of the main principles of the EU membership is free movement which means one doesn't want to have a visa to go and live in another member country of the EU. They are against this and do not favour the idea of a "United States of Europe" evolving.

Who wants UK to stay in EU?

PM Cameron himself is in the favour of the UK staying in the EU. He, in fact, has also succeeded in getting some power back from it. Sixteen mambers of his cabinet also want the same. While the Conservative Party has chosen to be neutral in the campaign, the Labour Party, Scottish National Party, Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru don't want the UK to leave the EU. Other powers like the US, France and Germany also want the UK to stay in the EU.

Why do the aye-sayers don't want to leave EU?

They say Britain gets a big boost from the EU membership---it makes transactions with other EU nations easier and that the country's economy gets a boost through the arrivals of the immigrants and it helps pay for the public services. They also believe that Britain has a better security as a member of the EU and should not be alone.

What is EU?

The EU is an economic and political cooperative venture and includes 28 European countries. The idea surfaced after World War II and the EU evolved over the years to boost besides economic cooperation, mutual security. The EU has grown as a "single market" allowing goods and people to move, establishing the idea of a single unit. It has its currency---Euro, its own parliament and also rules covering several areas like environment, transport, consumer rights and even mobile phone charging.
26/11 Mumbai attack investigation opens Pandora's Box, gets a fresh twist

India

oi-Pallavi

New Delhi, June 11: It is known to the world that the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai happened just as India-Pakistan home secretary level talks ended in Islamabad on November 26, 2008.

However, after 7 and half years, it has come to light that the then home secretary Madhukar Gupta and some other senior officials were persuaded by the hosts (Pakistani officials) to stay back for a day at the picturesque hill retreat of Murree.

Although the reason that the Pakistanis offer is that the Indian delegates should have met the interior minister, who was then travelling. A former official who was working with the ministry at that time said, "It does raise questions as to why the Pakistanis insisted on the Indian delegation staying back an extra day after the home secretary-level talks had already concluded. Gupta was told on November 26 that he could call on the interior minister only on November 27, 2008, as the latter was travelling."

Interestingly, the place where they were shifted had weak phone signals, which isolated the entire team from the attacks at homeground. Unfortunately, that cost athe Indians a tad too much as security deployments were delayed.

The 10 terrorists struck between 8pm and 9pm on November 26 and the home ministry got into action around 9.40pm. According to an ex-bureaucrat, Gupta, on learning of the Mumbai strikes from a private person, called up special secretary (internal security) in the home ministry M L Kumawat, who was managing the initial response as per instructions of then home minister Shivraj Patil, around 11pm.

So it was left for Kumawat to pilot the initial counter-response and ask NSG to rush to Mumbai. This, while then joint secretary (north-east) Naveen Verma and under-secretary (internal security) R V S Mani reportedly manned the home ministry control room that night.

However, the question remains as to why was the offer to stay back (that too at such a location) and the acceptance made? Was it to delay the responses at the Indian front in combating the 10 LeT terrorists? This still remains to be answered.

OneIndia News
BJP leader killed by Naxals in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh

India

oi-PTI

Raipur, Jun 10: A BJP leader, who was a member of the zila panchayat, was today hacked to death by Naxals in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. Ramsai Majji (64), resident of Sangampalli village, was killed near his house late this evening, Bijapur SP K L Dhruv told PTI.

A retired government school principal, he was also a Bijapur zila panchayat member, he added. According to preliminary information, a group of Maoists asked him to come out of his house around 8.30 pm.

Later his body was found nearby. The village is 3 km away from Madded police station. Security forces have launched a combing operation in the region to nab the assailants, the SP said.

PTI
'BJP will soon project CM candidate for UP polls'

India

oi-PTI

Ghaziabad, Jun 10: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said BJP will soon project its chief ministerial candidate for Uttar Pradesh where Assembly elections are slated to be held next year.

Hitting out at Samajwadi Party government over the Mathura violence, he said it is the biggest failure of the state government which has also failed to control 'goonda raj' in the state.

Addressing a press conference on the occasion of Vikas Parv, he said people in the state were feeling betrayed and it is an appropriate time to change the government by voting against it in the upcoming polls, he said.

Highlighting the achievements of the NDA government during its two years in power, he said the Jan Dhan Yojna was successful and the Centre was giving financial support to economically weaker sections in its 59 schemes.

He said honouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal, about 1.5 crore people gave up subsidy on their gas connections and farmers were getting the benefit of agricultural insurance scheme.

On a question on AgustaWestland scam, he said the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and other agencies are probing the case and the Defence Ministry is not concerned with it. Only after the final investigation report, will the ministry work on it. Any person found guilty of corruption will not be spared.

On Bramhos missile, he said it is the effect of Make in India that the country was getting orders of arms and ammunition from abroad. Parrikar attended two other programmes of traders and RSS. He was accompanied by Union Minister V K Singh.

PTI
Danish tourist rape: DNA report nails accused, all 5 given lifer

India

oi-Pallavi

New Delhi, June 11: The Danish tourist, victim to a gangrape and robbery incident in New Delhi in 2014 has finally found justice. The forensic tests conducted in India produced similar results to the forensic investigation carried out by the Department of Forensic medicine in Denmark.

Both the tests implied that Mahender alias Ganja (25), Mohd Raja (23), Raju (23), Arjun (21) and Raju Chakka (30) were the culprits.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 81,000 each on Raju and Raju Chakka, Rs 91,000 each on Mahender and Mohd Raja and Rs 1,01,000 on Arjun respectively.

The judge said that the court should ensure that a befitting judgement should be passed, keeping in view of the atrocity of the crime, the manner in which it was committed and the state of the victim.

The DNA tests were done from the clothes of the victim that was seized from the spot in the night of the incident. The DNA profiling of the samples from the clothes matched with those of the accused, thus nailing them in the case.

The court said in a 69-page judgement that these five were the culprits who lured the woman to secluded spot close to the railway station and responsible for raping her and looting her at gunpoint.

On January 14, 2014, the Danish tourist was walking through an area of narrow lanes near Delhi's Paharganj district, which is a haven for backpackers. She stopped by these men and sought help to locate her hotel. On the pretext of helping her, the men led her to a secluded spot and raped her.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 11, 2016, 11:24 [IST]
Who will taste Hilsa fish for Rs 22,000?

India

oi-Pallavi

Kolkata, June 11: The 'Jamai Shashthi' that was observed by the Bengali community on Friday last was special for the jamais (son-in-laws) for more than one reason.

Apart from the pampering they get, the news of a Hilsa fish worth Rs 22,000 must have made their day. A Bengali specialty, Ilish Bhapa was never so special. But with the soaring price of the luxury fish, Bengalis make do with an ocassional smell and touch at the market.

However, apart from the price that is shocking people across the country, there is something else that is even more surprising- somebody bought it. The four and half kilo fish was bought by a retailer from Gariahat Market in posh South Kolkata.Sayed Anwar Maqsood, secretary, West Bengal Fish Importers' Association and a wholesaler in Howrah had bought the fish from Naaz Fish Company of Myanmar.

Interestingly, when he placed the fish on auction, there were buyers who were bidders who were desparate to buy it.

"This is the biggest Hilsa I have sold in my career and I never saw a bigger Hilsa at this time of the year. You get the best ones only during monsoon," said Maqsood.

Meanwhile, other parts of Kolkata celebrated Shashthi with a middle-class melee, comprising of gifts for their son-in-laws and a platter of mouth-watering dishes.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 11, 2016, 13:35 [IST]
Indian lady abducted: Afghan abduction cartel behind it?

India

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, June 11: As efforts continue to secure the release of Judith D'souza an Indian aid worker in Afghanistan, information trickling in suggests that it may not have been the handiwork of the Taliban.

As per the information shared with New Delhi, the abductors are likely to seek ransom and this has indicated that it could be the job of a organised cartel.

While at first it was believed that the abduction may have been the handiwork of the Taliban, investigations now suggest that it was an abduction for ransom.

There are several such cartels which operate in Afghanistan who thrive on ransom money. Sources in Delhi informed that all attempts are on to secure her release.

These cartels have been targeting aid workers and professionals in the past as well. It has become a thriving industry in Afghanistan and this year alone has seen 39 abductions.

Working on leads:

For now the investigators are working on the leads. Two persons have been questioned already. From what the investigations have revealed so far, it becomes clear that the kidnappers wanted money.

At first they attempted to steal the car in which Judith was travelling. However they decided against it and abducted her, the accounts given to the police by the driver has revealed.

Indian woman's abduction in Kabul a month after security advisory was issued

It was only last month that the Embassy of India had issued a security alert to all Indian citizens residing in Afghanistan. It had also warned Indians travelling to Afghanistan warning that a persistent volatile situation exists in the country.

All Indians residing in Afghanistan and Indian travellers to Afghanistan are advised that the security situation in Afghanistan remains highly volatile.

Terrorist attacks have taken place in many parts of the country against a variety of targets including foreigners and are expected to continue. There is also the risk of kidnapping and hostage taking throughout the Afghanistan," the advisory further read.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 11, 2016, 11:17 [IST]
Karnataka MLC polls: In Lehar Singh's victory, a strong message to the Advani camp

India

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, June 11: When the BJP won Karnataka in 2009, the party looked invincible and ready to rule the state for the next ten years. However the party collapsed like a pack of cards and faced its worst split as a result of it tallest leader B S Yeddyurappa walking out.

The Yeddyurappa faction always blamed the L K Advani camp for the mess. Yeddyurappa too felt that Advani was being unfair and making all attempts to break him so that he could push his candidates into the fray.

Today in the Karnataka BJP the only way is the Yeddyurappa way. The victory of Lehar Singh in the MLC polls is just one indication of that. To refresh one's memory Singh was the same persons suspended from the party for making anti Advani remarks.

Resort politics- Why did Karnataka MLAs leave together but return individually?

Backed by Yeddyurappa, a message to Advani:

BJP leaders in Karnataka say that had Advani been at the helm of affairs, Yeddyurappa's return would have been impossible, leave alone Lehar Singh's victory. Singh's candidature was backed by Yeddyurappa and he had issued a directive that this candidate must win at any cost.

Singh's victory does not come as a surprise, but there is a loud message. Yeddyurappa and his loyalists had always complained about interference by the Advani camp. Singh too had backed Yeddyurappa to the hilt when Advani had insisted that he be removed as the CM.

Singh had dashed off a letter in 2013 to Advani stating that his attitude towards the party in Karnataka unit was strange and not gracious. Instead of consoling us and sympathising with our loss, you have insinuated us and belittled our hard work, he said. You (Advani) are being contradictory, partisan and shielding your own role in the decline of the party in Karnataka.

The Advani camp obviously miffed with the remarks had spared no time in suspending him from the party. When the MLC polls were announced in Karnataka, Yeddyurappa had no doubt in his mind that Singh would be one of the candidates. He backed him to the hilt and sent out a message to the Advani camp- " I am the boss."

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 11, 2016, 13:19 [IST]
After the 'Jihad' comment, Patil now claims \"I never said it\"

Karnataka RS polls: Cong wins 3, BJP 1, JD(s) none

India

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, June 11: The results in the Rajya Sabha polls in Karnataka were on expected lines with all three Congress candidates winning.

The BJP's Nirmala Sitharaman too won as expected. The JD(S) however which is facing a rebellion failed to ensure a victory for its candidate.

Oscar Fernandes and Jayram Ramesh of the Congress won after they bagged 47 and 46 votes each. The number required to win was 45.

K C Ramamurthy of the Congress got 52 votes. The ten independents and 8 MLAs from the JD(S) voted for Ramamurthy.

It may be recalled that when Ramamurthy's candidature was announced he was falling short by 12 votes.

This had led the Congress to whisk away ten independents to a hotel in Mumbai to avoid poaching. All the independents voted in favour of Ramamurthy thus taking the Congress' tally in Karnataka up to 3.

The BJP's Nirmala Sitharam is also through to the Rajya Sabha with 47 votes. The JD(S) however was the big loser and was unable to elect its candidate Farooq.

He got 33 votes. The JD(S) has a strength of 45 in the House. However 5 MLAs had rebelled and voted for the Congress in the council elections held yesterday. Today another 7 voted from the party voted against their own candidate.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 11, 2016, 19:11 [IST]
Tuesday is now No Meeting Day in Haryana and officers to be with people on Friday

No jeans for Haryana school teachers? Khattar govt bars teachers wearing jeans

India

oi-Reetu

New Delhi, June 11: The BJP government in Haryana is said to have barred school teachers from wearing jeans.

As per the order issued by the office of the director of elementary education, the district education officers have been asked to ensure that teachers do not wear jeans when they go to school or to the office of the education department.

While the four-line order said wearing jeans to work was not appropriate and the teachers should wear formal clothes, it did not attribute any particular reason for it.

According to reports the order reads, "It is observed that teachers of primary and middle schools come to schools wearing jeans. Further, they come to the office of the education department wearing jeans, which is not appropriate. Kindly ensure that teachers wear formal clothes in schools and not jeans."

Meanwhile, the Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday denied that his government had issued a directive to school teachers in the state asking them not to wear jeans to work.

"No, there is no such order that has been issued by the state government. And, if someone has said anything like this, then we take it back, but no such thing has happened," Khattar said.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Saturday, June 11, 2016, 15:25 [IST]
Launch of Hindi version of MBBS course books will bring positive change in country: PM

No truth in Amit Shah's claim on assistance: Telangana govt

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Hyderabad, June 11: The Telangana government on Saturday termed as false the claim by BJP President Amit Shah that the central government gave Rs 90,000 crore to the state in the last two years.

Finance Minister E. Rajender told reporters that there was no truth in Shah's statement.

He said the state got only Rs 36,000 crore as its share in the central funds.

Addressing a public meeting in Nalgonda district on Friday, Shah had stated that the Narendra Modi government gave Rs 90,000 crore during the last two years but these had not reached the people.

Rajender said after the BJP came to power, the Centre had reduced funds for central government-sponsored schemes.

The minister said the Centre had agreed to compensate the state for loss of revenue on account of Value Added Tax (VAT) but nothing was done. He said the state should get Rs 7,000 crore as compensation.

Rajender said the Centre had done nothing for the unemployed during the last two years.

Claiming that Telangana was in the forefront in implementation of welfare schemes, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and central ministers have praised the state for this.

IANS
Photo-finish in some seats likely in Saturday's Rajya Sabha polls

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Jun 11: A down-to-the-wire contest is likely in some of the seats in the high-stakes Rajya Sabha elections in seven states on Saturday, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana, where the fate of candidates including senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and senior lawyer R K Anand will be decided.

While 30 of the total 57 seats in the current round of biennial elections have already been decided without a contest, Saturday's polls will decide the fate of remaining 27 as BJP and Congress will be engaged in a keen battle for some of the states.

Allegations of bribing JD(S) and Independent MLAs have marred the polls in Karnataka but the Election Commission has rejected demands for cancelling them.

All eyes are on Uttar Pradesh, where elections are being held to 11 seats. Interest is centred around a fight between Sibal and a BJP-backed independent socialite Preeti Mahapatra.

Sibal will need the support of BSP, which has 12 votes more than necessary for the success of its own candidates Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth.

BSP supremo Mayawati has maintained suspense over her party's support in Uttar Pradesh. But Sibal can draw heart from the fact that she has already extended backing for a Congress candidate in Madhya Pradesh by promising one vote required for senior Supreme Court lawyer Vivek Tankha, fielded by Congress. Congress has 29 MLAs and needs the backing of five more to see Sibal through.

The ruling SP has fielded seven candidates including Amar Singh and Beni Prasad Verma, who both rejoined the party recently, and Reoti Raman Singh. Its seventh candidate is, however, short of 9 first preference votes. SP has been promised backing by Ajit Singh-led RLD which has 8 MLAs.

The BJP has fielded Shiv Pratap Shukla, who is sure to get elected on its own 41 MLAs, and has offered 7 surplus votes to Mahapatra.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, June 11, 2016, 9:11 [IST]
India-Russia agree to set up last two units of Kundankulam nuclear power plant

Second unit of Kudankulam nuclear plant likely to restart today

Kudankulam nuclear plant's unit-2 to be operational in two weeks

Kudankulam plant granted time till April 2022 to set up facility for storage of nuclear fuel

Top Russian honour for Kundankulam N-plant director

India

oi-Oneindia

By OneIndia Defence Bureau

New Delhi, June 11: Director of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) site Ramayahi Shanmugam Sundar has been awarded the prestigious Order of Friendship by Russia.

Russian Ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin presented the coveted award in the presence of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Saturday (June 10).

The Order of Friendship was established in 1994 to reward Russian and foreign citizens for special merit in promoting peace, friendship, cooperation and understanding between nations.

Tatiana Kutinova, Press Attache, Embassy of the Russian Federation in New Delhi told OneIndia on Saturday that the award was declared via a decree by the Russian President Vladimir Putin in January this year.

"We kept the award at the Embassy as he (Shanmugam Sundar) couldn't receive it earlier," Tatina said.

According to the text of the decree, signed by Putin, R S Sundar "was awarded for the major contribution to the implementation of the NPP Kudankulam Project."

"The construction process of new blocks at the Kudankulam site is progressing in accordance with the perspective plan of Russian-Indian cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. Unit-2 of the KNPP is ready to produce electricity and will be connected to the national grid in a few days," the Russian ambassador said.

While receiving the award, Sundar expressed his gratitude for the recognition of the labour of all Indian workers and specialists engaged in the implementation of the project.

The Kudankulam NPP is being built with Russian technical assistance under the inter-governmental agreement signed in 1988.

In 2014, India and Russia signed a general framework agreement for construction of the second stage, including the third and fourth blocks.

Oneindia News
Bihar: When asked to take off hijab to check for bluetooth device, Muslim student leaves exam centre

Central team roped in as dengue cases in Bihar rise to over 5000

Bihar: Toppers' muddle 'kingpin' Bachha Rai in police net

India

oi-PTI

Patna/Hajipur, Jun 11: The alleged kingpin of the toppers' scandal in Bihar Intermediate examination, Bachha Rai was arrested after he surrendered at Bhagwanpur police station in Vaishali district.

Bachha Rai, who is Secretary-cum Principal of controversy-hit Bishun Rai College, arrived at the Bhagwanpur police station to give himself up from where the police arrested him, Hajipur police sources said.

"We have arrested Bachha Rai," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on merit muddle in Bihar's +2 examination, told PTI. Maharaj said the police had been on hot pursuit of the accused and netted him today.

Bachha Rai is the Secretary-cum Principal of Bishun Rai College in Vaishali district from where Arts and Science toppers Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shrestha belonged to respectively. "We will interrogate him intensively," Maharaj said.

Bachha Rai, a known supporter of RJD, had been allegedly eluding from police in the case. Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had recently alleged that everybody knew that Bachha Rai had worked more than Lalu Prasad to ensure victory of Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap from Raghopur and Mahua seats in Vaishali respectively.

The probe has indicated that Bachha Rai was a key player in the case with the help of Bihar School Examination Board, police said.

Besides Arts and Science toppers, the third ranker in the Science stream Rahul Kumar, whose result has been cancelled by the board along with that of first topper Saurabh Shrestha after a re-test also hailed from the Bishun Rai College.

Bachha Rai's daughter Shalini Rai is one of the named accused in the FIR lodged in the case with Kotwali police station in Patna.

PTI
Consider paid if broken: Gujarat to not fine for traffic violation till Oct 27

Vibrant Gujarat '17 themed 'Gujarat Connecting India to World'

India

oi-PTI

Ahmedabad, Jun 11: Gujarat Connecting India to the World will be the theme of Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit, to be held in January, 2017, a top government official said today.

"Gujarat boasts of being one of the leading states in manufacturing sector and is recognised as India's growth engine.

We are going much beyond this time as our motto for next Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit to be held on January 10-13, 2017 will be 'Gujarat Connecting India to the World'," said Arvind Agarwal, Additional Chief Secretary of state's Industries and Mines department.

"We have reached a stage where we can actually be the window to many foreign investors coming to India and for Indian states to know how to woo the world. We believe that because of its industry and economy, Gujarat can take a leadership role to connect India to the world," he said.

Agarwal was speaking at the 6th MSME Convention organised by the All India Management Association (AIMA) here.

"Gujarat is already a national leader in 15 out of 25 sectors identified by the Centre for its Make in India programme," he said, adding that the state is trying to strengthen other six sectors, while the remaining four do not apply to the state.

Agarwal said that the state has taken reasonably good benefit of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), which was introduced nearly a year ago to support funding needs of MSMEs, with Gujarat-based micro enterprises having made available Rs 60 crore of loan so far.

"To boost further investment in the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) sector, the state government is considering ways to create framework to attract private equity funds in small businesses.

For the first time, a state government has started the concept of promoting startups at the idea stage itself," he said.

Under the new Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum scheme, which is meant to promote ease of doing business for MSMEs, as many as 42,800 MSMEs have been registered till March 2016, with total number of MSMEs registered with the state government from 2006-2015 being about 3.76 lakh, which is the second highest after Tamil Nadu, he added.

Of the 42,800 MSMEs, about 33,000 are in micro sector, 9,500 in small sector, and 430 in medium sector, he said.

Gujarat's biennial event 'Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit' is the pet initiative of former state Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

PTI
Obama approves 'broader role' for US military in Afghanistan

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Jun 11: Expressing concern over the security situation in Afghanistan, US President Barack Obama has approved broader role for his troops stationed in the war-torn country to help Afghan forces effectively carry out anti-terrorism operations.

"What these authorities will allow is it will allow US forces to engage in similar efforts to accompany conventional Afghan security forces when they undertake operations," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

"What this would allow is the US forces to be more proactive in supporting conventional Afghan forces as they take the fight to the Taliban. And this means, in some cases, offering close air support, or it means, in some cases, accompanying Afghan forces on the ground or in the air," Earnest explained.

Noting that to this point, US forces and NATO partners have, in some situations, been accompanying Afghan special operators, Earnest said this authority would allow the American forces to accompany conventional Afghan forces in certain situations, but when they're accompanying them, they continue remain focused on the advice-and-assist mission that they've been carrying out now for almost two years. The US, he said, continues to be concerned about the security situation in Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan is a dangerous country. It has been for some time now, and it still is today," he said. "I don't think anybody, from the President on down, was under the illusion that after a couple of years of being responsible for the security situation of their own country, that the Afghan government and Afghan security forces would eliminate entirely the threat from the Taliban or any other extremists in that country," Earnest said.

The White House Press Secretary praised the Afghan security forces for a remarkable willingness to fight for their country. The forces are resilient, even in those situations where they do encounter operational or even strategic setbacks, he asserted.

"There's been a willingness on the part of the Afghan forces to reorganise and take the fight back to their adversaries. Some of that is evidence of a successful effort on the part of the United States and our NATO partners to train Afghan forces, but some of that is also the built-in national pride of Afghan security forces to fight for their country and to counter the threat from extremists," Earnest said.

PTI
World Day Against Child Labour: Every third child labourer in Bengal is illiterate

Kolkata

oi-Shubham

Kolkata, June 11: Almost one-third of the child labourers in West Bengal in the age group of 5-14 years cannot write their names, an analysis of the latest Census data by Child Rights and You (CRY) has revealed.

This means that one in every three child labourers in the state within the said age group is illiterate. This is the grim reality of children, who work for more than six months in a year.

Even for children who support the family economy by working for less than six months in a year, which is a very common feature in West Bengal, the situation is equally, if not more, bleak. [International Missing Children's Day on May 25: Bengal presents sorry picture in India]

48% of these workers have compromised their education

As findings point out, 48 percent of these marginal workers have compromised their education as well.

A close look at the National scenario also reveals similar trends. As per Census 2011 data, close to 1.4 million child labourers in India in the same age group are denied of their right to education, while a shocking 2 million of the marginal workers are illiterate.

Further district-level analysis of the state scenario shows that illiteracy among working children is highest in North Dinajpur, Maldah and Murshidabad districts with an average of 40%, followed by Purulia with a comparatively lower 30.3%.

Kolkata fares better with less than 15%

However, districts like East Midnapore, Kolkata, Howrah and North 24 Parganas fare better with less than 15%, as the data have revealed.

What experts said

Atindra Nath Das, Regional Director of CRY East said: "There is a high potential of early school leavers and those not learning at school to remain outside the world of employment. These children, when they grow, remain at a risk of not having secured jobs and thus remain trapped in the intergenerational cycle of poverty and deprivation. It is imperative to relook at what we as a nation are investing in our children's education. We are approaching 6th Anniversary of Right to Free and Compulsory Education and it is crucial that state reviews its strategies in order to reverse this worrying trend."

School drop-outs

Cross-analysis of out-of- school-children data from West Bengal reveal that while 4.3% of students drop out from school during upper-primary level of education, the drop-out rate skyrockets to 18.3% at the secondary level. With the education indicators for these children plummeting, the reasons why we face this challenge needs to be addressed too.

"India's legal framework is based on the assumption that children can work and still be educated. The numbers stated earlier blatantly contradict this assumption and are evidence enough that this needs to change, for main child labourers (children who work for more than six months in a year) as well as the marginal ones (children who work for less than six months in a year)."

"In 1992 ,when India ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a reservation was made in article 32, wherein the Government of India articulated that it would progressively ban all forms of child labour. Now, after 30 years since the Child Labour Law came into force, India has the opportunity to amend the law in favour of its children," Das added.

Glaring gap between law and reality

However, the proposed amendment in the Child Labour law (CLPRA) leaves a glaring gap in the prohibition of labour for children under the age of 14. The new law also allows children in this age group to work in family occupations after school hours.

The Census 2011 data for children engaged in work states that 6.5 million children in India in the age group of 5 to 14 years work in agriculture and household industries. This makes a staggering 64.1% of child labourers in this age group. Further state-level findings show that 53 percent of working children in West Bengal are engaged in similar areas of work.

CRY's on ground experience reveals that a large number of children engaged in these occupations are working with their families, thus exempting them from the proposed ban. Allowing children to work in family enterprises is likely to have far reaching implications affecting not only their education and learning outcomes but also their health and overall development.

Komal Ganotra, Director, Policy and Advocacy of CRY said, "Working children and those working long stretches before and after school hours have issues of inattentiveness and tiredness in school, lesser attendance, lack of play time and social bonding after school which subsequently leads to drop out and hampers their growth and development."

"It is absolutely disheartening to see a 37% increase in child labourers in the category of 5-9 years in the last ten years. In tender years where they should be learning to hold a pencil, they are compelled to take up the burden of playing economic roles."

"Given our current structures of education and labour department and the existing social fabric, it is a matter of great concern to monitor children juggling economic roles while assisting in family employment post-school. This will go against the spirit of Right to Education which needs to be viewed as an equal opportunity to study and learn rather than just mandated hours of schooling. For the learning outcomes to improve our children thus needs to be exclusively in school and learning," Ganotra said.

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When the polls closed in California Tuesday night, June 7th, the report was that 100% of the votes had been counted, and Clinton won by 440,000 votes.

Winner H. Clinton

55.8%

votes- 1,940,580

Delegates- 338

B. Sanders

43.2%

votes- 1,502,043

Delegates- 207

http://www.politico.com/2016-election/results/map/president

On Friday, June 10th, California Secretary of State Padilla announced that over 2,400,000 ballots- mail-in and provisional, had not yet been counted!

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-primary-20160607-htmlstory.html

Precise turnout figures for this year won't be known for days because mail ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted if they're received in election offices by Friday. Los Angeles County alone estimated it had 570,000 ballots left to count.

Nearly 650,000 Californians registered to vote in the last 45 days before the deadline, giving the state a record primary election registration of 17.9 million.

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By William Boardman

Reader Supported News







"Why do we come to this place, to Hiroshima? We come to ponder a terrible force unleashed in a not-so-distant past. We come to mourn the dead, including over 100,000 Japanese men, women and children, thousands of Koreans, a dozen Americans held prisoner."

The sterile language of a detached president illustrates how far we are from facing the reality of our own government's deliberate atrocities. Hiroshima was certainly destroyed, abstractly, with "a terrible force unleashed" -- but by no one? In the president's passive parsing, it's as if he thought it was an "act of God." More honestly told: President Truman approved the atomic bombing of Japan, which was carried out on August 6, 1945, by a Boeing B-29 named Enola Gay, after the pilot's mother, that dropped a uranium-235 fission bomb cutely nicknamed "Little Boy" on a largely civilian city, killing an estimated 140,000 people (thousands of whom were vaporized without a discoverable trace, while thousands more died from radiation effects over ensuing years, a death toll made worse by US denial of radiation danger and strict censorship of any public discussion during the occupation). Hiroshima was one of the greatest military massacres in history, eclipsing American massacres of Native Americans by several orders of magnitude.



In his initial announcement of the Hiroshima bombing, President Truman said, misleadingly, that the bomb had "destroyed [Hiroshima's] usefulness to the Army." In a radio broadcast three days later, Truman falsely characterized Hiroshima as "a military base." Hiroshima was not a military base, though it had some relatively unimportant military installations. Hiroshima was chosen as the A-bomb target in part because it had so little military significance that it was one of the few Japanese cities that had gone almost un-attacked by the daily American bomb runs. Because it was largely intact, Hiroshima was ideal as a place to demonstrate the A-bomb's total destructiveness.

The US chose an almost undamaged city full of civilians as the target that would best bring the Japanese to their knees. Now that is something to "ponder," as Obama suggested, but chose not to do. It doesn't take much pondering to begin to wonder whether incinerating thousands of civilians might not be a war crime. It would be, if it happened today. During World War II, the laws of war made it a war crime for armies on the ground to attack, harm, and kill civilians. The laws of war did not specifically apply to aerial warfare, and so all sides cheerfully murdered civilians from the air with the kind of legalistic self-righteousness only corrupt lawyers can create. That's why there were no war crimes trials for any of the horrendous bombings of the war -- Rotterdam, Shanghai, Coventry, Cologne, Warsaw, Tokyo, to name a few.



Are war crimes actually war crimes until they're illegal?

The Anglo-American firebombing of Dresden in February 1945 burned tens of thousands of people alive, including mostly civilians and prisoners of war (one of whom was Kurt Vonnegut, who survived). The actual death toll is unknown, with good faith and politically-motivated estimates ranging from 25,000 to 500,000. The US firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945 killed more than 100,000 people and destroyed more than 15 square miles of the city. By any reasonable moral reckoning, all these air campaigns were war crimes, crimes against humanity in the most obvious sense. American history teaches us that World War II was a just war, "the last good war," and there's a case to be made for that. It was also, on all sides, a ruthless criminal enterprise.

None of this very real history was part of Obama's speech in Hiroshima. American presidents are not expected to be truthful, and would likely be crucified if they were. Once Obama acknowledged the "terrible force unleashed" out of nowhere by nobody, he shifted to a conventionally maudlin but politically shifty call "to mourn the dead," whom he listed by category. First he somewhat lowballed the Japanese dead, consistent with US policy for 71 years now. Then he mentioned "thousands of Koreans," a reference to Korean forced labor that would play well in Seoul if not Tokyo. And then he referred to those 12 "Americans held prisoner," for decades an official secret, in part because other POWs who survived were suffering from radiation sickness and the US government didn't want anyone to know about that.

Now the first sitting president of the US has visited Hiroshima, has solemnly visited a scene of American crime, and has been greeted with equally hypocritical solemnity by a Japanese government whose own hands are just as dirty and whose own current ambitions are as imperial as America's in Asia. Obama's speech would have you believe that that his goal is to "eliminate the existence of nuclear weapons" and to mark "the start of our own moral awakening." That doesn't fly when he's making nice with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose goal is to re-militarize Japan and eliminate all pacifist tendencies from its constitution. Obama is an enabler of Japanese militarization, not only for the sake of arms sales, but also as a "response" to China's agitation over US provocations under the strategic umbrella of Obama's "pivot to Asia."

Why does Obama address Hiroshima in the passive voice?

The conventional wisdom and mainstream media call Obama's trip to Hiroshima "historic" because he's the first US president to go there, not because there's anything actually historic about the visit. Politically, the Hiroshima event appears to be pretty reactionary on both sides. Before Obama in 2016, Richard Nixon went to Hiroshima in 1964, before he was president, and former president Jimmy Carter went there in 1984 when he, too, pledged to "eliminate nuclear weapons from the face of this earth." Early in his presidency in 2009 in Prague, Obama echoed this sentiment:

So today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. [Applause.] I'm not naive. This goal will not be reached quickly -- perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence. But now we, too, must ignore the voices who tell us that the world cannot change. We have to insist, "Yes, we can." [Applause.]

But this was only a sentiment, expressed in campaign rhetoric. America had made no such commitment, even if the president was sincere. America is a long, long way from making such a commitment. American presidents and candidates still talk about using nuclear weapons as if that were a sane option. Yes, the Obama administration negotiated a new treaty (START) in which the US and Russia each agreed to deploy no more than 1550 strategic nuclear warheads and bombs each. That's a cap, but a high cap. And it applies to no one else, leaving the UK, France, Israel, China, India, Pakistan, and even North Korea a rational basis for each having its own 1550 nukes. The US currently says it has 1528 warheads and bombs deployed, ready to use. The US also says it can "maintain a strong and credible strategic deterrent while safely pursuing up to a one-third reduction in deployed nuclear weapons from the level established in the New START Treaty." [Emphasis added.]

Both Bushes reduced nuclear weapons more than Obama

At its peak in 1967, the US had more than 30,000 nuclear warheads, both deployed and in reserve. By September 30, 2014, the total was 4766 warheads. This represents roughly a 10% reduction since Obama took office. Among other presidents, Reagan maintained the US nuclear arsenal at well over 20,000; George H.W. Bush cut the greatest number of warheads of any president (41% of more than 20,000); and George W. Bush cut the greatest percentage, 50% of slightly more than 10,000 when he took office).

To get Republican support for the START treaty in 2010, President Obama had to promise to improve and expand the US nuclear arsenal in other, creative ways. Obama's nuclear "modernization" plans, insofar as they're known, will cost the US an estimated $1 trillion over the next 30 years (more than $30 billion a year). "Modernization" includes things like nuclear-tipped cruise missiles or new, "smaller" bombs that might be politically easier to use. By today's standards, the Hiroshima bomb is "small." (Nuclear modernization is also intended to upgrade "a command and control unit tasked with coordinating the operational functions of the nation's nuclear forces [that] still uses 8-inch floppy disks and runs on an IBM / Series 1 computer " first produced in 1976" even though the Pentagon says "it still works.")

Factors like these -- the slow pace of reducing redundant weapons and the willingness to risk a renewed arms race with nuclear "modernization" were enough to arouse one Democratic senator -- but only one, Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts -- to criticize the president:
The recent death of Harambe, a silverback gorilla at Cincinnati Zoo that was shot dead after a boy fell into the gorilla enclosure has triggered a fierce debate.

Our reactions to this tragic incident has been very polarized. Some expressed fury at the zoo's decision to kill the gorilla and rallied behind the "justice for Harmabe" tag, while others called for charges against the three year old's mother. And in perhaps what is a reflection of the hypocrisy and intolerance hidden in us, many others trivialized the death of the 17 year old Gorilla.

" It's a Gorilla; Get Over it" read the title of one column, while another called the decision to shoot the gorilla an obvious one.

Just a day after the incident, the child's mother took to social media to defend herself from criticism, but did not think Harambe deserved a word of condolence. To the prosecutor who refused to press charges against the child's mother, it didn't matter that Harmabe is a fellow primate with 98% genetic similarity with humans, he was still an animal.

So what if Harambe is "just" a gorilla? They are self-aware sentient beings that share many of our traits like having complex emotional feelings and a desire for social groups. Recent studies find that gorillas make tools like our own ancestors.

What justifies the superiority of humans over gorillas, is it our better intelligence? But if we are going to value individuals on their intelligence, we will be condoning the killings of intellectually disabled persons, something no civilized person would deem acceptable.

On the other hand, it is equally arguable that the life of an animal belonging to a critically endangered species, like a silverback gorilla is worth more than the life of a member of an overpopulated species.

While we can endlessly argue the superiority of one species over the other, one thing is clear: our view as the superior species is based on prejudice. The prejudice that had led to us to believe in the superiority of one race over another in the not so distant past, the prejudice that fueled Alexander Stephen's infamous defense of slavery in the Cornerstone speech.

Ironically, those who mock the outpouring over the death of Harambe those fighting against racial intolerance. "Black Lives Matter" activists who believe the protests over the shooting of gorilla is misplaced because in their eyes the shooting of black men does not result in comparable protests are not only factually wrong, but are unwittingly justifying the mentality that discriminates those different from us -- whether "those" belong to a different species or a different race.

The endless debates that have hogged the social media since the fateful Saturday cannot bring Harambe back to life. But the least we can do is to recognize and respect the sentient beings we share this planet with, whether they are put on display like Harambe or being silently sliced into our sandwiches.








by Walter Brasch



The U.S. Senate--under the leadership of Mitch McConnell who once said his primary mission was to see that the Senate didn't agree with anything President Obama said or did, and to limit him to one term--continues to be one of the nation's leading obstructionists. This time, the Senate isn't meeting to advise or consent to the President's nomination of Chief Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.

Garland was valedictorian in his class at Harvard College and magna cum laude from the Harvard law school. He worked in the Department of Justice before becoming the chief judge on the D,C. Court of Appeals, having been confirmed by the Senate, March 1997.

The reason for the judicial committee not to meet to even discuss the nomination to the Supreme Court, according to the Republican members, is not because of the judge's qualifications--where he was widely praised by plaintiffs and defendants, Democrats, Republicans, and most third parties--but because they don't believe a president in his last year of office should nominate Supreme Court justices, even though six justices were nominated and appointed by the Senate since 1900 in a president's last year of office.

The following scene reflects what may be what the Republicans apparently want in a Supreme Court justice.

Facing the Senate Sub-Committee on Obstruction of American Life was President Obama's latest choice for Supreme Court justice.

"Have you now or have you ever led anything and did you ever have any opinions?" asked the committee chair, Sen. Porkbelly Pineapple.

"I once led Boy Scout Troop 7 on a Wilderness hike," said the nominee. "But I never told them they must be led or that they should follow my example or that they couldn't have any opinions about the hike."


Hillary Clinton - Caricature

(Image by DonkeyHotey) Details DMCA



As a woman, as a strong feminist, I am deeply offended by the media's disingenuous proclamations of Hillary Clinton's "nomination" (which she has not as of yet actually received) as a "historical moment for women." This is "fem-washing"--akin to "green-washing". It is coopting the actual uplifting of women and focusing instead on the symbolism of a woman leader. Applauding the rise of a woman to power who's actions do not support the lives of actual women (and other living things) is its own form of sexism--it is reinforcing the belief that we are no more than our bodies. Also this glorification of the gender of a political candidate distracts from the real problems that effect woman's lives. Of the issues that women face, the one that a president can most effect is the distribution of wealth in this country. Since 70% of those in poverty are women, income inequality is absolutely a "woman's issue." In this time of the shrinking middle class, "money" is the biggest concern for most women.

Empowering women--furthering feminism is much more than the symbolism of select women in positions of power. Throughout history women have reigned as queens and priestesses, yet the majority of women's status has still remained low.

Real feminism, in addition to giving woman and girls all of the opportunities in society, also incorporates feminine values into cultural norms and governance. For instance, aside from rare exceptions, women have always been opposed to war. The classic Greek play "Lysistrata", first staged in 411 BCE, depicts this universal truth, as it dramatizes the women of Greece refusing to sleep with their husbands in an attempt to end the Peloponnesian War. War does not benefit women. Women lose sons and sweethearts to war. In invaded countries women are raped, displaced and killed. Women have nothing to gain from war. There is no heroism, no brotherly camaraderie, no coming of age adventures.

However this aversion to war is apparently not shared by Hillary Clinton. While Secretary of State she conducted military coups in Honduras, Haiti, Ukraine and Libya. These violent oustings of leaders of sovereign countries have led to more chaos, war and poverty. In reporting the brutal torture and sodomization of former ally, Libyan Prime Minister, Muammar Kaddafi, she gleefully bragged, "We came, we saw, he died." Hundreds of thousands of women in these countries have suffered immensely as a direct result of her actions. This is not a woman who deserves to represent our gender.

We elect presidents to do a job. They are not spokes-models. They are not symbols. We are not going to personally date them. Of course we need more women to be elected to all branches and levels of government, but not as appeasements and distractions as our wealth, our youth and our national soul is squandered in endless, unnecessary wars, invasions that starve our education and healthcare systems, and decrease our national security and our standing in the world.

Ironically, the candidate in this election who most exemplifies the feminine value of compassion and who would do the most to end poverty for women, is actually a man. That candidate is Bernie Sanders, not Hillary Clinton. I too would like to have a woman president, but not this woman. What is most important now is that the feminine values of compassion and fairness are furthered. And for this reason, a Bernie Sanders presidency would actually be historical, for he would bring peace and prosperity--he would truly improve the lives of women, not just be a hollow, empty symbol--mocking the advancement of women.

(Article changed on June 12, 2016 at 01:19)

(Article changed on June 12, 2016 at 05:28)
"American Idiot" is not a great American musical. But the show, currently running at Triangle Productions' the Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, is a striking pairing of art and science.

The art is Green Day's score, comprising about two-dozen radio-friendly pop-punk jewels that lyrically illustrate American anxieties at the turn of the millennium.

The science is the lead actor's unstoppable, sweat-proof eyeliner that defies smudges and smears, though he's on stage for 90 percent of the 90-minute, intermission-less production. Is it Urban Decay? MAC? Revlon?

Maybe it's Maybelline.

To his credit, Dave Cole, under all of that tenacious, precisely drawn guyliner, helps transform a mediocre rock soap opera with a skeleton story into something a tad meatier.

As Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong's fictionalized doppelganger Johnny, the show's master of ceremonies and narrator, Cole is mightily magnetic. His guitar strumming is spot-on for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and other acoustic numbers, and his voice judiciously avoids Armstrong's signature sneers and nasal tones. Cole somehow inhabits a character that's woefully underwritten, emerging as a sympathetic, if whiny, pseudo-rock star. After the set, you just want to buy the guy a beer. And some shampoo.

Beyond Coles' role, though, there isn't much else going on dramatically. Much of the time, the show comes off like a grand, live performance listening party for "American Idiot" (2004) and tracks from the band's follow-up album, "21st Century Breakdown" (2009), with one surprise '90s nugget tossed in.

Line of the Night: "I read the graffiti

In the bathroom stall

Like the holy scriptures of a shopping mall

And so it seemed to confess

It didn't say much

But it only confirmed that

The center of the earth

Is the end of the world"

Strengths: The music: simple melodies and straightforward imagery. If you see the show, don't listen to the albums beforehand, and you'll be surprised at just how many tracks you remember.

Vocally, Kimo Camat as Johnny's buddy Tunny, pours life into "Are We the Waiting" and Lauren Steele takes "21 Guns" to such fresh sonic heights you wish her character, "Whatsername," was fleshed out and given an actual name.

The show is also clever programming, coming not long after Triangle's blockbuster spring production of "Heathers: The Musical," a comedic look at '80s competitiveness and materialism gone to the extreme. ("Heathers" is up for multiple Drammy awards later this month.) With its early '00s wasteland-scapes, "American Idiot" could be the anti-"Heathers."

And Triangle plunked down plenty of green for the production, which includes elaborate floor-to-ceiling scaffolding, eight video screens and dynamic, concert-ready lighting. Light designer Jeff Woods and set builder Demetri Pavlatos put every cent to effective use.

Weaknesses: Songs like "Rock and Roll Girlfriend" and "Favorite Son" have been stubbornly shoehorned into the book wherever Armstrong, and the play's co-adaptor Michael Mayer, thought they might fit. Conventional or not, there's a reason why most musicals start with a story and work outward toward a score.

On top of this, the three plotlines that form the book are as tired as Von Dutch trucker hats, Juicy Couture tracksuits and anything Abercrombie. Johnny's heroin addiction follows a predictable course with no fresh insights, for example. And a scene where Tunny sings while stripping down to his undies to join the army is pinched right out of "Hair."

Oh, the dancing. Too often, Sarah Mishler Martins' choreography is a hot messy mash-up of incongruent steps. For one count the kids are gleefully bopping about like air-popped popcorn, and the next count they're shaking their fists in angst-fueled insubordination. It's like "Disney's High School Musical Takes a Road Trip to the 2001 Vans Warped Tour." The chaotic kinetic messages are confusing: Are you kids raging against the machine, or are you just throwing a tantrum because Hot Topic ran out of "Team Edward" V-necks?

Best Blooper: Heather, the girlfriend of Johnny's other buddy Will, appears singing "Dearly Beloved" while holding a positive pregnancy test stick. This is February, according to the video screens. She gives birth in May.

Takeaway: Though the cast and their mascara are strong, this is a rickety, live video-style rendition of two of Green Day's later, career-renewing albums.

-- Lee Williams, for The Oregonian/OregonLive

***

"Green Day's American Idiot"

Where: The Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, 1785 N.E. Sandy Blvd.

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, through July 2

Tickets: $15-$35, trianglepro.org or 503-239-5919
weyerhaeuser_ap.JPG

Retirees said they were told both verbally and in writing that they were told they would receive medical benefits for life, a perk that attracted them away from hourly union jobs.

(AP photo)

Former Weyerhaeuser Co. employees have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company in hopes of regaining retirement benefits.

Four employees filed the case in federal court in Eugene, Oregon, on Wednesday, arguing that Weyerhaeuser failed to keep its promise of lifetime health care coverage for salaried employees,

.

"I retired in 1991 and received health care benefits for me and my wife for 24 years before it was cut off," said Jim Kepner, one of the plaintiffs, in a statement. "It was a complete shock and betrayal of Weyerhaeuser's commitment to me when I was hired to see what was promised as a lifetime benefit completely eliminated,"

The case would affect between 4,000 to 5,000 retirees and spouses nationwide.

The Federal Way-based forestry company has said it did not make any legally binding promises to workers. Weyerhaeuser has 21 days to file a response to the complaint.

To cut medical costs, Weyerhaeuser ended a post-Medicare health care account for all former salaried employees who retired after 1990 in January 2015. The account paid for premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs, vision and dental expenses not covered by Medicare. At the time, the company estimated the change would save it $70 million over the employees' lifetimes.

Retirees said they were told both verbally and in writing that they were told they would receive medical benefits for life, a perk that attracted them away from hourly union jobs.

"That benefit was part of the compensation package that these retirees accepted when they started their careers with Weyerhaeuser and passed on other opportunities in exchange for Weyerhaeuser's promise of a secure retirement that included lifetime health care benefits," said plaintiff's attorney Michael Haglund in a statement.

___
In the past three years, 188 children out of 15,000 people screened have come to Multnomah County's health department with enough lead in their blood to cause alarm. Not a single one got it from drinking water.

And nearly 600 people were screened for lead in their blood last week after Portland Public Schools officials revealed that drinking fountains and sinks at two schools had unsafe levels of lead in the water. Only two showed elevated levels of lead in their blood and required further testing.

It's not clear where they got it. But experts say it's not likely from water.

Most children in Multnomah County get lead in their bloodstream the same way most of the nation does -- through the air. More than half of the county's lead investigations point to lead paint or inhaled dust as the culprit. The next biggest group - nearly 15 percent - are people who come from countries where they were exposed to high levels of lead.

As worrisome as lead in schools' water might be -- the federal government says that no level of lead in a child's blood is safe -- experts say it's far from a top contributor to lead poisoning.

Grandma's prized Mexican pottery is more likely to be the culprit than water.

Where does lead in our water come from?

Portland's water is effectively lead free when it leaves the Bull Run watershed. But when it arrives in some high-risk homes and buildings, it can contain dangerously high lead levels.

That's because Portland's water is corrosive and can leach lead from plumbing. High-risk homes are considered those built between 1970 and 1985 that have copper pipes with lead solder connections. Lead is also associated with brass plumbing fixtures.

Portland Public Schools told The Oregonian/OregonLive this week that officials don't know the cause of high lead levels in schools. They said it "could" be lead solder, pipes or faucets. But they declined to identify what is believed to be the main source.

Officials last conducted district-wide lead testing in 2001. Officials also detected high lead in the early 1990s. They subsequently implemented a flushing program to ensure students wouldn't consume water that stood in pipes overnight.

Asked whether Portland Public Schools had failed to perform analysis about the underlying source of lead in recent decades, Courtney Westling, a spokeswoman, wrote: "These are questions we have as well." She pointed to an outside investigation that will "get answers" that will be provided publicly.

Asked what role the city's water plays in the release of lead, she wrote: "We can't comment on the city's water quality."

Andy Fridley, the district's senior manager for environmental health and safety, was more definitive about lead sources when responding to a parent in February.

"The contaminates (lead and copper), if present, come from the system piping," wrote Fridley, who is now on paid leave pending a district investigation.

-- Brad Schmidt

That is not to say that exposure from water should be ignored. Howard Mielke, a research professor at Tulane University, said children's sensitivity to lead makes them the "canary in the coal mine" for widespread exposure. He said children have developed learning disabilities from only 2 micrograms per deciliter of lead in their blood -- the federal acceptable level is 5.

Lead poisoning can cause a wide range of health issues, including behavioral problems, learning disabilities, seizures and coma.

But Mielke said water is not usually the worst offender. Often, it's when people try to remove lead paint. Lead paint in old houses might chip and peel - or be sanded off -- releasing lead particles that are then inhaled. "There is so much evidence on lead based paint that we forget, when it is disturbed, that is when it is a problem," Mielke said.

Portland Public Schools waited more than a month to notify parents and school administrators that drinking water at Rose City Park School and Creston Elementary posed a potential health hazard. Water fountains and sinks in the two schools tested positive for lead levels well above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "action level" of 15 parts per billion.

Yet, emails obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday showed administrators and officials ignored -- and sometimes mocked -- concerns that students were still using these water sources.

But even if school water was spiking the lead levels in children's bodies, pinpointing a school as the source will be tricky. County spokeswoman Julie Sullivan-Springhetti said drinking water is one of the hardest sources of lead to track.

"You don't know where they're drinking, how often they're drinking," Sullivan-Springhetti said. "You might have assumptions about where people get their water during the day. Not even those of us who are aware can for sure say where I drank water today. You're at a restaurant, you're at mom's kitchen sink, you live between two different parents..."

And when lead is found in water, investigators must determine whether it's from lead solder in pipes, the fixtures themselves or some other source.

Still, children shouldn't be exposed to any amount of lead in water, and if it's present, it should be fixed, Sullivan-Springhetti said.

"We need to assure that the water in buildings for public consumption meets" federal standards, she said.

Portland Superintendent Carole Smith put two of the district's top facilities and safety officials on paid leave this month.

The county conducted blood screenings for students and pregnant staff members over two days at Rose City Park School and Creston Elementary and found two children with elevated lead in their blood.

The tests were for small amounts of blood and can produce false positives. It's up to parents to take those children to a doctor for follow-up tests that will determine whether they truly have too much lead in their blood. Then Multnomah County will investigate where the lead came from.

Sullivan-Springhetti said the county will report the results of the investigation when it is over.

There are many ways for lead to enter the bloodstream. Most often, it is inhaled. Tiny particles disperse from flaking lead paint, or drift up from the soil during the dry months of the year.

When lead is ingested, it usually dissolves in stomach acid. Adults usually absorb only about 1 percent of the lead that enters their bodies, storing it in bones and teeth. The rest passes out as waste. But for children, only 34 percent passes as waste, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the days before and after The Oregonian/OregonLive broke the news about Portland Public Schools' lead problem, parents were outraged at the district's delay in taking action.

"As a public health professional, I really must say that this apology is much too little and much too late. The lack of urgency on PPS' part is appalling," one parent wrote in an email obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive. "The cognitive health effects of lead for young children is well documented; best practices are well documented."

-- Betsy Hammond

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com

503-294-5923

@MollyHarbarger
After Union Pacific's fiery oil train derailment in Mosier last week, the railroad company repeatedly emphasized its record and commitment to safety. But federal records and newly released inspections from the Oregon Department of Transportation raise serious questions about the company's claims.

No railroad in the country has paid more in penalties in the last two years than Union Pacific, which federal regulators fined more than $7 million in 2014-2015. And state inspections conducted just a day before the derailment found repeat safety violations that Oregon's top rail official said were "absolutely" concerning.

The inspections obtained Friday by The Oregonian/OregonLive show Union Pacific conductors left their locomotives unattended without brakes set at least 11 times in April, May and June at two yards in Portland.

Though Union Pacific management was notified about each violation, the problem persists, the records showed.

The lapses could have allowed a runaway train, a safety expert said.

It's the train equivalent of leaving your car sitting in neutral instead of putting it in park with the emergency brake on, said Michael Eyer, a retired state rail safety inspector.

On flat ground, that's fine, Eyer said. But even the slightest grade can lead to a runaway train - a particular concern for oil trains. A runaway train hauling oil crashed and derailed in Lac Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013, killing 47 people and destroying part of the small town.

"If we're on an incline, which most track has, it can be imperceptible that you have movement," Eyer said. "They can start rolling. It's very serious. You just can't do that."

The problems discovered in the state inspections don't appear related to the cause of the June 3 oil train accident in Mosier. Union Pacific has said a preliminary investigation found the derailment was caused by a track defect - a fastener that held a railroad tie to the rail.

Hal Gard, the Oregon Department of Transportation's rail administrator, said the state targeted Union Pacific's yards because "there had been a history of violations that we thought were concerning" in Oregon.

He said inspectors repeatedly visited the yards - under the Fremont Bridge along the Willamette River and near the St. Johns Bridge - to send a message.

"That was intensive and intentional to get attention and make a point that something's going on here and the program needs to be tightened up," Gard said.

At least two of the locomotives were connected to other cars when engineers left them. The inspections don't specify what the cargo was.

Inspectors also found cars unattended without brakes on three times in Portland, The Dalles and Springfield. The violation in The Dalles, in April, noted 30 cars without the brakes properly engaged.

Reached late Friday, Justin Jacobs, a Union Pacific spokesman, said he was unfamiliar with the inspection results.

"Our safety record is very good and we stand by it," Jacobs said. "We take that obligation very seriously and we commit that to our customers and the communities in which we serve."

The state's rail inspection program, expanded in 2014 by former Gov. John Kitzhaber after the increase in oil train traffic statewide, found other recurring problems with Union Pacific's operations throughout Oregon. The company moved 6,937 tank carloads of oil along the Columbia River and through the Interstate 5 corridor last year.

At least four times since September 2015, inspectors have found Union Pacific's switches unlocked - in Nyssa, The Dalles and Portland. That would allow a person walking past to simply pull a lever to route a train onto a side track, Eyer said.

"Someone could throw a switch and derail the whole train. That is a very serious issue," Eyer said. "A train coming along would find itself at 40 mph suddenly running out of track or running into a parked train."

Though the Oregon Department of Transportation conducted the inspections, the agency doesn't levy fines. The violations are sent to the Federal Railroad Agency for enforcement. That is the agency that penalized Union Pacific $7 million in the last two years for safety violations nationwide.

-- Rob Davis

rdavis@oregonian.com

503.294.7657
Air near Reed College has levels of the cancer-causing heavy metal hexavalent chromium that slightly exceed state health goals, but the amount doesn't pose a public threat, regulators announced Friday.

Results from an air monitor west of the college showed 1.4 times more hexavalent chromium in the air than what the state considers acceptable. The metal is used in a number of industrial processes, and in very high doses causes asthma-like symptoms.

"We're obviously very concerned about the data," said Kevin Myers, a spokesman for Reed. "We're concerned about the long-term health risks and we're going to monitor it very closely."

The finding is the latest installment in Portland's ongoing air toxics saga. The revelation of heavy metals in the air near two glass-making companies earlier this year roiled the city and caused the state to dramatically increase oversight and promise regulatory action.

At the levels released Friday - the first results for the air monitor near Reed - the hexavalent chromium could cause three deaths for every two million people who breath the air 24 hours a day, every day, for 70 years. That's one and a half more deaths than the state's health benchmark. It would take about 25 times as much of the metal to trigger immediate health concerns.

The risk to Reed students is virtually nonexistent: At the rates state regulators found, there would be one extra cancer death for every 13 million students who attend the college. About 1,400 students enrolled in fall 2015.

The results are part of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's ongoing mission to identify the source of hexavalent chromium in Southeast Portland.

Bullseye Glass used hexavalent chromium and other heavy metals to make stained glass. It voluntarily stopped in February in response to a request from the department. Nonetheless, state officials recently took samples from a Bullseye air duct to test for the metal, said Oregon Health Authority toxicologist David Farrer.

Reed is about a mile and a half from Bullseye.

Bullseye vice president Jim Jones said the company hasn't used the metal for months, and that what's in the air isn't coming from his plant.

The department is examining other potential sources, too.

Officials also took two samples of cement from Lehigh Cement Co., a Southeast Portland company that Farrer said moves cement but doesn't make any. Hexavalent chromium can be produced in the making of cement, Farrer said. The company is located at 4035 SE 22nd Ave.

Another possible source is diesel from the many trucks that Farrer said come and go from Union Pacific's Brooklyn railyard to the west of Reed and Bullseye.

Most likely the metal can't be attributed to just one source, said Brian Boling, the Department of Environmental Quality official overseeing the tests.

"It's much more complex and it takes time to understand," he said.

A significant limitation with Friday's results is that they're an average of only 19 days of air monitoring, Boling said. Numerous seasonal factors can affect the average results, which is why he said a year's worth of data would be more reliable. Rain, for example, can clear the air of dust and, with it, heavy metals. And changes in wind direction can send more or less of a pollutant from a point source.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

503-294-7674; @fedorzarkhin
Gresham homicide.jpeg

Annastasia Diane Hester called 911 shortly after 3 a.m. on June 10, 2016, to say she'd been stabbed. The stabbing happened at her apartment in the 100 block of Southwest Eastman Parkway in Gresham.

(Tony Hernandez/The Oregonian)

Annastasia Diane Hester

Police have identified the woman stabbed to death Friday in her apartment as a 36-year-old Gresham resident.

Annastasia Diane Hester called 911 shortly after 3 a.m. to say she'd been stabbed, Gresham police said in a news release. Authorities said she had multiple stab wounds.

She later died at a hospital, police said. They haven't identified a suspect.

Her apartment unit is in the East Park Apartments off the Springwater Corridor in the 100 block of Southwest Eastman Parkway.

Authorities are searching surrounding areas, processing the crime scene and trying to speak to anyone in the vicinity who may have heard or seen anything, police said.

Search and Rescue volunteers are also searching for clues along the Springwater Corridor, police said.

Police ask anyone with information about the incident to call the department's tip line at 503-618-2719. They remind people to lock their doors and windows at night, as well.

The case is under investigation.

-- Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
1warren.JPG

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy 2016 National Convention, Thursday, June 9, 2016, in Washington.

(The Associated Press)

By Amber Phillips

Up until Thursday evening, Elizabeth Warren was the only female Democratic senator who hadn't endorsed Hillary Clinton. In fact, she was one of the last high-profile members of the Democratic Party to endorse her.

Yet, more so than any other Democratic senator, there is buzz that Clinton will or should pick Warren as her vice presidential running mate. Given her holdout on coming on-board Team Clinton, it's worth asking: Does Warren have a chance at the job?

Warren told Rachel Maddow on MSBNC on Thursday she's not being vetted for the job and she's happy with her current one. But despite what she says, it seems like Warren might be interested. Reuters reports that people close to her say she's considering the pros and cons of being Clinton's veep. Harry Reid reportedly wants her to be the pick. And she gave a closely watched, fiery speech Thursday for the sole purpose of knocking Donald Trump down a peg or two.

In fact, almost out of nowhere, Warren has gone from watching the campaign on the sidelines to becoming one of Trump's loudest critics -- especially on his home turf, Twitter.

In a lot of ways she makes sense as the pick. But did Clinton's most conspicuous holdout this primary campaign play her cards right to get it?

We can see both sides. On one hand, she played the primary brilliantly for promoting her brand of liberal politics and drawing the debate to the left. But that's not the same as saying she set herself up to be a running mate, and we could easily see how her unusual approach could backfire with Clinton.

Let's run through the arguments.

---

Yep. By staying out of it, she kept herself in it.

"Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is playing the long game to get exactly what she wants out of presidential politics - specifically, to make economic populism go mainstream. And so far, it's working out pretty great."

That's what we wrote back in December for a piece headlined: How Elizabeth Warren is winning the Democratic primary. I argued that by keeping her distance, Warren ensured her presence -- and potentially game-changing endorsement -- was felt. It appeared to play a role in helping pull Clinton to the left on economic policy.

Now that the primary is just about over, Warren's silence may have an added benefit of making her voice louder.

When she does flex her political muscle for Clinton -- like going on a Twitter tear against Trump or giving a speech calling him a "nasty, loud, thin-skinned fraud" (an excerpt from Thursday's speech) -- it makes the kind of news Democrats want to see: Donald Trump + colorful insult.

Warren's attacks are buzzy in part because they are rare and she was not an official Clinton surrogate. When she speaks, it resonates. And that's something the Clinton campaign arguably needs when they're going up against a guy who can single-handedly dominate a day's news cycle with one tweet.

What's more, by not endorsing Clinton early on, Warren likely maintained her goodwill with Bernie Sanders backers who might otherwise have dismissed her. Which means that if Clinton is looking for Sanders-esque running mate, Warren certainly looks the part.

"What he did was powerfully important," Warren told Maddow on Thursday. "He ran a campaign from the heart."

--

No. Why would Clinton reward Warren for not getting on-board - and arguably helping Sanders?

Fact: The Clinton camp is all about loyalty -- perhaps to a fault, some would say.

"Lawyers! Aides! Advisers! No presidential candidate has ever been as defended as Hillary Clinton," claimed Sarah Ellison in Vanity Fair in November, arguing that such a team could be her downfall.

Clinton surrounds herself with intensely loyal aides because the candidate herself values loyalty. It's something the Clintons are known for -- along with punishing those who run afoul of them. (They even reportedly have assembled a hit list, according to a book by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes.)

If Clinton has hard feelings about Warren's non-endorsement, of course, she's kept it to herself.

But given how she's put loyalty front and center over the years, it stands to reason that Clinton would want it from her No. 2 as well. Warren's lack of an endorsement during most of the primary could be construed a lot of ways, but not as something she did out of loyalty to Clinton. And it's not a stretch to think that an earlier Warren endorsement might have foreclosed some of the momentum Sanders gained among liberal voters who also like Warren a lot.

That's a big strike for Warren's veep chances, especially since "when picking a vice presidential nominee, the single most important factor is chemistry," The Fix's Chris Cillizza pointed out in April, as he argued that Clinton wouldn't pick Warren.

---

The wildcard: Politics

Another fact: The Democratic presidential nomination went on longer than most expected and exacerbated divisions between the party's progressive and central factions.

As Sanders makes his gradual exit from the campaign (he indicated as much after a meeting with Obama on Thursday), party leaders are carefully watching to see how wounded their party is post-primary. If things are bad, there's a solid case to be made that Warren, the liberal hero to many Sanders backers, is the best salve to help heal those wounds.

It's hard to say whether that's actually the case. While Clinton was giving her history-making speech Tuesday, some Sanders supporters booed her. Polls also suggested that Sanders could win California in one final, defiant swipe at the establishment.

But Clinton won California by 13 points. And as Cillizza pointed out recently, a March Post-ABC national poll found that 77 percent of liberal Democrats said they would be satisfied with Clinton as their party's nominee. History suggests that even disenchanted Sanders supporters will come around - just like Clinton backers did for Barack Obama in 2008.

A complex mixture of politics, personality and personal choices will probably factor into whether Warren will eventually end up as Clinton's vice presidential pick. Given all that, it's tough to say whether Warren's unusual approach to this primary helped or hurt her chances for the job.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post
A puppy stolen at gunpoint from a 14-year-old boy in San Leandro has been found safe, police said.

The boy was walking a 3-month-old German shepherd when two men brandished a gun, took the puppy and fled, police said.

Nothing was taken, just the dog, said Lt. Robert McManus, a spokesman for the San Leandro Police Department. He said the incident marked the first dog-napping his department has investigated.

The holdup unfolded Monday, when the teen took his puppy  named Maya  for an evening stroll on Dayton Avenue.

About 8:30 p.m., the boy and his dog were confronted by two men who rolled up in a light-colored car. The passenger got out and tried to snatch Maya, but the boy resisted. Then the driver emerged with a gun.

Maya is a purebred black shepherd, a breed thats fairly common in the Bay Area  which doesnt make it any less desirable, said Rebecca Katz, head of Oakland Animal Services.

People dog-nap all kinds of dogs, sometimes for breeding, sometimes for fighting, Katz said.

Police continued to hunt for the robbers Friday morning. Later in the day the puppy was found safe, McManus said.

Anyone with information can contact the San Leandro Police Departments Criminal Investigation Division at (510) 577-3230.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: rachelswan
The Michigan fire marshals appointee to the states 17-member construction code commission would have to be a certified fire protection specialist under bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Gary Glenn, R-Midland.

The House has unanimously approved House Bill 5102 on a 108-0 vote. The legislation now goes to the Senate for consideration.

The bill was developed at the initiative of Midland Fire Chief Chris Coughlin to ensure fire safety is taken into account during the commissions discussion and adoption of statewide building codes and standards. The fire chief approached Glenn with the idea to make sure at least one person on the commission has fire prevention training.

Chief Coughlin recognized a potential improvement for the construction board and I was very happy to put his idea forward in the Legislature, Glenn said. Buildings definitely need to be solidly constructed using the latest advancements from the building trades, and they also need to include fire protection safety features and plans that can be reviewed by an expert in the field.

It was an honor to work with our local fire chief to make sure someone with fire safety training is on the commission, and I look forward to joining Chief Coughlin and Sen. Jim Stamas to get this bill through the Senate and to the governor.

The bill stipulates the specialist training be approved by the National Fire Protection Association.

Currently, there are no requirements for the fire service commission member  the state fire marshal or designee  because the fire service is made up of many disciplines, such as suppression, rescue and hazmat handling.

Under HB 5102, the state fire marshal would recommend eligible candidates to the governor from a list of qualified individuals submitted by statewide associations of fire chiefs, fire inspectors and firefighters.
RED FLAG-Alaska 16-2

Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) ME1 Liew Liqiang, a 425th Aircraft Maintenance Unit (AMU) weapons load technician assigned to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., secures a tension wire on a GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb prior to an afternoon sortie June 7, 2016, on the Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska flight line. The correct application of this wire ensures the proper launch of the GBU-12 from an aircraft where the missile will then guide itself to the pilots intended target with incredible precision. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Elias Zani/Released)
The third edition of an outdoor arts fair and the opening of three summer exhibits at Illinois Wesleyan University and the McLean County Arts Center are set to enliven the local art scene in the week ahead.

For lovers of art in the open air, the third annual Inside Out Arts Fair returns June 18 to Sugar Grove Nature at Funks Grove.

The free event, which premiered in 2014, is billed as a daylong, art-centered collaborative experience for all ages. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Featured will be an art show and sales, demonstrations, educational activities, hands-on art and nature experiences, an Irish music jam session, performing arts groups, food for purchase and more.

The event is a collaboration between Inside Out: Accessible Art Cooperative and Sugar Grove Nature Center. More details are at www.insideoutartcoop.org.

Also set for June 18 is the opening of a summer exhibit that spans an area artist's career in Illinois Wesleyan University's Merwin and Wakeley Galleries.

Alpha and Omega, on view through Sept. 1, is a retrospective show spanning the 45-year career of Urbana-based artist Glen C. Davies, who has worked as a billboard artist and sign painter, eventually opening a mural painting business.

Davies' works reside in a number of public and private collections, including Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, the Krannert Art Museum in Champaign and the Georgia Museum of Art.

An opening reception is 1 to 4 p.m. June 18, with a talk by Davies at 2 p.m. Summer hours are noon to 3 p.m. Friday through Monday. The galleries will be closed July 4 and 5. For more information call 309-556-3822.

Also opening summer runs are two new exhibits debuting with receptions from 5 to 7 p.m. June 16 in the McLean County Arts Center in Bloomington.

In the Armstrong Gallery through Aug. 6 is micro<MACRO, a mixed media group exhibition featuring more than 60 MCAC-affiliated artists who were invited to create an artwork in any media about the conceptual possibilities of scale and perspective.

In the Brandt Gallery, also through Aug. 6, is "The View From Here, featuring photography by four McLean County residents  Marty Gerwick, Mabel Lux, Tim Stone and Britten Traughber  who have developed a series of photographs highlighting a significant facet of the community.

They include urban details of towns, seasonal images of nature and rural landscape, the night skies of McLean County and portraits of area 10-year-old youth.
Television screens just keep getting bigger, which is great if you're an avid binge-watcher, but not so convenient if you're trying to decorate a living room or bedroom with one wall dominated by a huge glass rectangle.

"TVs are kind of a necessary evil," says Marianne Canada, digital host and design expert at HGTV.com. "We want them to be big and have that great picture quality. But you run into that problem of having, literally, this big black rectangle pulling focus in your den or living room."

Los Angeles designer Theodore Leaf, host of "Living Big Under 1,000 Sq. Ft." on Apple TV's new channel The Design Network, finds that people are resisting the idea of organizing their living space around a screen. Yet they want the option of a great viewing experience when the mood strikes.

In rooms where windows provide a good view, things get even more complicated: "How do you orient the furniture to embrace the view, but obviously live a normal life and watch television?" Leaf asks.

Here, Leaf, Canada and Caleb Anderson, co-founder of the New York design firm Drake/Anderson, offer creative advice on decorating around a television and even (shhh!) finding ways to hide one in plain sight.

Make it blend in

Some homeowners opt to fill one wall with built-in bookcases, leaving space at the center to hang a TV. It's an attractive option, but custom built-ins can be expensive, says Anderson, and are a fairly permanent choice.

A more affordable approach: Fill the wall with individual shelves arranged around the television. "Use floating shelves or shelves with really beautiful brackets," says Canada, and fill them with mementoes, books and some baskets where you can stash your streaming device or other tech items.

Another option is arranging paintings, framed photos and other decorative items around your television to create a gallery wall, so the screen blends in with other pieces of art. Anderson recently worked on a project in Florida where he created an installation out of circular pieces of art around a television, drawing focus away from the screen.

Make it disappear

For small spaces and bedrooms, Leaf is a fan of hydraulic lift cabinets. What looks like a simple sideboard actually has your TV hidden inside. At the push of a button, the top opens and your TV lifts out.

"I have a client that just has an incredible view," Leaf says, "but she has three kids and they love to watch TV in bed." A hydraulic cabinet placed in front of a window solved the problem.

Some lift cabinets can be set on a timer linked to an in-home tech system. "It will wake you up with the TV lifting out of the cabinet and the lights going on," Leaf says.

Another trick for hiding a large TV: Hang sliding pieces of reclaimed wood on tracks affixed above and below the TV. Slide these "barn doors" out of the way when it's time to watch TV. "That definitely goes with a more rustic vibe," Canada says.

Anderson agrees that camoflauge can be the solution: He has designed a dramatic custom cabinet with mirrored doors and a TV hidden inside.

If you truly want your TV to disappear, Leaf recommends switching to a retractable screen with a retractable hidden projector in the ceiling.

To save money and effort, you can even skip the screen by hanging a lightweight piece of art where you'll be watching, and painting that wall a crisp, solid white. When it's viewing time, simply take down the art and turn on the projector.

Feature it

"Televisions by nature are very modern  hard corners, dark color," Canada says. And even if your decor isn't modern, think about "having fun with your television instead of fighting with it."

One DIY approach: She suggests attaching a wooden frame to the outer edge of your TV (you can make it from pieces of molding, or buy and paint one to suit your style). This works for living rooms and especially bedrooms, "where you can get a really ornate, pretty frame, distress it and then hang it above a dresser," Canada says. It "helps soften a TV in a room that's very soft."

If you'd prefer not to attach things to the TV, mount something behind it: Hanging rustic or reclaimed wood behind the television, Canada says, "gives your eye something else to look at."
BLOOMINGTON  Charles and Donna Bruno and Ralph and Nola Johnson aren't ready for skilled nursing care but are glad to know that it will be available just down the hall.

"If we have to go to a facility, this is the best possible thing you can dream of," Nola Johnson, 89, said Friday after a tour of the health care pavilion of Luther Oaks on Bloomington's southwest edge. "It's a beautiful place."

Luther Oaks, 601 Lutz Road, has completed construction and furnishing of its 16,500-square-foot, $8 million addition that will allow Luther Oaks to expand to skilled nursing care. The skilled nursing unit will be for residents who need long-term care or short-term rehabilitation, said Executive Director Tim Kmetz.

The unit is connected by walkway to the existing retirement community, which includes 90 independent living apartments, 39 assisted living apartments and 18 memory support apartments.

"This will make our community more attractive than it is because we will offer the full continuum of care," Kmetz said. "Residents already will know the nursing staff so individualized care needs will be more fully met."

The Brunos and Johnsons have been residents in Luther Oaks' independent living apartments since they opened in August 2007.

"It's a wonderful home for us," said Charles Bruno, 88.

Nola Johnson said "If you're lonesome, you can go to the library and there's always someone to talk with."

As to the skilled nursing unit, "It's nice to know it's there when we need it," said Donna Bruno, 82.

State regulators approved the project in 2014 after Luther Oaks scaled back an earlier, larger plan. The state rejected the original plan when Luther Oaks' competitors argued that there were enough nursing home beds in Bloomington-Normal.

Luther Oaks revised its proposal to specify that its nursing unit would accept only residents from Luther Oaks' three existing units who need a higher level of care.

The new unit consists of 18 private rooms with bath, dining and lounge areas, a nurses' station with medical supply and exam rooms and conference space.

The only remaining work is landscaping. The unit may open following Illinois Department of Public Health inspections and approval, which are expected this summer.

"We have a waiting list," Kmetz said. "We expect to fill our rooms fairly quickly. Residents and residents' families are looking forward to this phase of our campus being operational."

Luther Oaks has about 110 full- and part-time employees. Kmetz is in the process of interviewing and hiring another 25 employees for the new unit.
BLOOMINGTON  A majority of Bloomington aldermen aren't convinced that sharing sales tax money with the town of Normal is a good idea, and they say that skepticism is shared by many of their constituents.

"We're talking about something in concept and the devil is in the details, but it seems to me that we can probably work those details out," said Mayor Tari Renner, noting the idea will be discussed at a City Council work session at 5:40 p.m. Monday at City Hall before the 7 p.m. regular session.

"The question coming before the council would be: In concept, is this something you think we should pursue? Here are some of the advantages, but here are some of the concerns as we are going forward," he said.

No vote is planned Monday, which suits most of the nine aldermen, who were surveyed via email by The Pantagraph. Aldermen Kevin Lower of Ward 1 and Joni Painter of Ward 5 appear to oppose the idea outright; the other seven offered varying degrees of criticism or support but shared a desire for more information before deciding.

"I am opposed to sharing sales tax with Normal," said Painter, who added that constituents who have contacted her are "adamantly opposed."

Ward 4 Alderman Amelia Buragas took a somewhat different view: "Normal has asked us to consider the proposal, and I think we should. This would be a significant change that could be beneficial to our community. It also comes with risks."

Ward 2 Alderman David Sage said he has "some very deep concerns" about the proposal, which calls for pooling the sales tax revenue from the Twin Cities and giving 60 percent to Bloomington and 40 percent to Normal, based on relative population and/or gross sales tax revenue. The intention is to cut down on competition for businesses and create a more united front for economic development.

The Twin Cities took in about $46 million in sales tax last year. Bloomington, which collected $27.9 million last year, according to state figures, would lose about $360,000 of that to Normal under a 60-40 split.

Sage said he wonders whether now is the right time to do it, and his constituents are asking him why the city wouldn't use its own revenue for its own infrastructure and capital needs.

Renner said he and Normal Mayor Chris Koos have discussed sharing sales tax revenue for several years, but talks intensified after Destihl, Dick's Sporting Goods and Kroger announced in the past several months they were moving facilities from one community to the other.

"I am not certain that a shared sales tax is something that is in the best interest of the people we represent in Bloomington, said Ward 6 Alderman Karen Schmidt, who said she wants to hear more about how sharing sales tax would help the city, what issues it would address and whether there are other ways the municipalities can work together on "whatever this is trying to solve."

Ward 7 Alderman Scott Black also offered a list of questions: "What communities in Illinois have moved to a shared sales tax model? Was it based on population? EAV (equalized assessed valuation, which defines the property tax base)? How long would such an agreement last? Which communities were on a shared sales tax model and are no longer? Why?

"These types of questions and a robust public discussion are important steps before making any final commitments," Black added.

"I think we need to get a solid historical perspective of the breakdown of sales tax dollars," said Ward 3 Alderman Mboka Mwilambwe. "Our recent budget projections and the ongoing state budget crisis suggest that we have very little room for error."

Ward 8 Alderman Diana Hauman and Ward 9 Alderman Jim Fruin said they don't know enough yet to make an informed decision.

"At a high level, it seems to hold more potential positives than liabilities," said Hauman, noting a deal would have to benefit both the city and the town. "If we were to share sales tax, it would be a step toward further developing our relationship with Normal."

Fruin sees the move as a step toward a greater focus on "one community."

"Let's start with something like shared revenue and let's grow with it," he said. "Let's grow with shared fire stations, libraries and all kinds of other things."

Buragas, Sage and Lower said recent business moves across the border were driven more by business's own needs and not government incentives.

"This shared taxation concept appears to be a 'solution' looking for a problem," said Lower. "Bloomington and Normal have shared our local community as cohesive neighbors for the past century and a half through fair-minded leadership who did not purposefully attempt to unfairly attract local businesses or citizens across civic boundaries."
BLOOMINGTON  A Bloomington Fire Department hazardous-materials team was called to a home west of the city Friday night after a resident found a vial containing a fluid believed to be a chemical irritant in an old safe.

Officials ultimately decided to turn the vial, which remained sealed, over to the secretary of state's bomb squad late Friday night for disposal.

The call came about 6:30 p.m. from a home on Oak Hill Road, about 2.5 miles west of Bloomington, McLean County sheriff's police said. The Dale Township Fire Department and the city's hazmat team handled the incident, and the section of street immediately in front of the residence was cordoned off.

Bloomington Fire Chief Brian Mohr said at the scene that the vial, which was about 8 inches long and resembled a test tube, never posed a threat to the public.

The hazmat team initially planned to "overpack" it in another container to protect it, but firefighters later decided just to secure it until the secretary of state's bomb disposal squad could take it, Mohr said.

The hazmat team left the scene about 11:30 p.m.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website has reports of hazmat incidents involving safes equipped since the 1920s with theft-deterrent devices containing vials of tear gas and other irritants.

Mohr said the chemical in the vial likely is such an irritant.

Mohr said residents who find containers of unknown materials should call a professional environmental cleanup and disposal company.

While no one was evacuated, a few neighbors left voluntarily and could not return through the cordon, Mohr said.
Legal proceedings, such as an adoption hearing, are usually uneventful and straightforward. But a judge in Grand Rapids, Michigan allowed for a special kind of adoption process to take place in her court room. Case workers arranged a Disney-themed session to make a little girl's dreams come true and it became a truly magical moment for her.

Judge Patricia Gardner of the Kent County's 17th Circuit Court came as Snow White, while the other witnesses were dressed in Disney princess costumes. This was the day Danielle Ross, 5, would learn she would now be known as Danielle Koning. Her adoptive parents, Jim and Sarah Koning, were in on the surprise as well.

"The look on her face was priceless," said Sarah, via ABC News, when Danielle watched case workers marching in the courtroom in their Disney gowns. This started off as a simple request from one of the social workers handling Danielle, but pretty soon, others were in on it as well.

Judge Gardner told USA Today that she has never seen this done in court before. She also said that adoption hearings can be quite difficult for children, but this particular scenario made one child feel a lot special.

Danielle and the Konings initially met in 2014 when they became her foster parents. But right there, Sarah knew she already wanted to adopt the little girl, along with another foster sister, Neveah, 1.

This little girl's Adoption Day was made magical with Disney Princesses. https://t.co/3Osr6abJJf pic.twitter.com/ONn6hhZbGh  The Next Family (@thenextfamily) June 9, 2016

Adoption process takes months or years before the court makes its final ruling. It didn't become very easy for the family at first, as Danielle once told her social workers she wanted to leave the Koning's home. This was around the time she learned her real mother no longer has parental rights over her and she has been challenged to make the transition, per MLive.

Eventually, Danielle got around to calling the Konings mom and dad, especially after realizing she's with a safe and stable family. Now, they can finally be a real family in the eyes of the law as Danielle has gotten her happily ever after. Watch Danielle's adoption proceeding with some Disney princesses in the video below:
Oh no! It seems that the Duggars should make more efforts to save their spinoff show, "Jill & Jessa: Counting On," which is reportedly on the verge of cancellation. In fact, rumors have it that TLC is ditching the controversial family for good.

Following Josh Duggar's sexual molestation and infidelity scandals last year, TLC axed the family's long-running show, "19 Kids & Counting." But in December 2015, the network decided to run a three-part special titled, "Jill & Jessa: Counting On," which only highlighted the appearances of the elder Duggar siblings and Josh's wife Anna as they deal with the scandals.

'Jill & Jessa: Counting On' Cancelled?

Despite raking good ratings, the Duggar family's show, "Jill & Jessa: Counting On," is reportedly in danger of getting cancelled. The reason? Several advertisers apparently withdrew their financial support to the show, saying they can't promise to stay supportive of the Duggars, The Stir reports.

The Duggars' show cancellation rumors were also intensified by the reports claiming TLC has no official plans to renew the series for another season because of the insufficient entertaining plotline and new content. In addition, many showbiz insiders also speculated that Jim Bob's efforts to keep the show on air failed.

The Duggars' Campaign To Save 'Jill & Jessa: Counting On'

Speaking of Jim Bob's failed efforts, rumors have it that the Duggar family reportedly launched a social media campaign to save "Jill & Jessa: Counting On" from getting cancelled by TLC. According to BreatheCast, the controversial family is telling its producers the show still have a solid fanbase by launching hashtag #BringTheDuggarsBack campaign on Twitter.

To keep the storylines in "Jill & Jessa: Counting On" interesting, Jill Dillard and John-David reportedly added some attention-grabbing twist in the show. As a matter of fact, Jill revealed that the Dillards were looking for her husband Derick's biological grandma.

The Duggars Filming New Season Of 'Jill & Jessa: Counting On'

In spite of the rumors claiming "Jill & Jessa: Counting On" will be axed, Inquisitr recently revealed "four signs" that reportedly indicated the show is bound for another season. These signs include: updated Facebook page, Jill and Derick Dillard's quest to find the long-lost biological grandmother, 18-year-old Joy-Anna Duggar's work experience with her brothers and lastly, Jill Duggar's 25th birthday special tribute video last month, courtesy of TLC.

To further support these signs, The Hollywood Gossip also claimed that "Jill & Jessa Duggar: Counting On" has secretly filmed the second season of the show. But do you finding a long lost relative will be enough to keep the show interesting?

The Dillards Accused Of Making Profit For Their Ministry In El Salvador

Meanwhile, Jill and Derick Dillard have been plagued with harsh criticisms again after they were accused of making money off the people in El Salvador. As per Design & Trend, the "Jill & Jessa: Counting On" couple was criticized over a photo posted on Instagram, showing a campaign of their ministry to help sell the jewelry made by the women in El Salvador.

Jewelry on the display table this weekend made by local women to sell as part of our ministry. #economicempowerment #praiseJesus A photo posted by Derick Dillard (@derickdillard) on Jun 5, 2016 at 6:00pm PDT

Unfortunately, fans slammed the couple, accusing them of using the women and the jewelry to make profits. But the Dillards are no strangers to this kind of accusations since they have also been accused of misusing mission donations in the past.

Do you think TLC will cancel the Duggars' show, "Jill & Jessa Counting On?" Share your thoughts below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
For "Nashville" fans who are disappointed that ABC cancelled their favorite, do not worry because "Nashville" Season 5 has found a new home. According to reports, CMT just revived the series for a new season. Learn the details here.

'Nashville' Season 5 Confirmed

According to Tennessean, CMT just confirmed "Nashville" Season 5. A unique deal was closed last Thursday after weeks of negotiations. And finally "Nashville" fans' wish to see the musical drama for another season is granted.

"CMT heard the fans. The wave of love and appreciation they have unleashed for Nashville has been overwhelming," said Brian Philips, CMT President. "We see our fans and ourselves in this show and we will treasure it like no other network. Nashville belongs on CMT."

According to RollingStone, aside from airing on its new home network, "Nashville" Season 5 will also be available on Hulu, where the episodes of the previous seasons are currently available for streaming.

'Nashville' Fans Petitions For The Show's Return

According to the reports, fans banded together and launched a social media campaign to revive "Nashville." Lionsgate began pitching for other networks and found a welcoming and warm embrace from CMT.

Although "Nashville" Season 5 is confirmed, there's a drawback. Sources told Rolling Stone that Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere may not join the rest of the "Nashville" cast in their move to CMT. However, some remain hopeful that one or both can still make it in the new home network.

"Nashville" Season 5 has new showrunners. Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick, who are popular in their iconic series "thirtysomething" and "My So Called Life" just signed for the series before the last season ended.

"Nashville" Season 5 is expected to return this fall.

Are you happy that "Nashville" has found a new home? What do you expect from "Nashville" Season 5?
A teachers' union leader is urging Pope Francis to intervene over a "culture of bullying" at a Catholic school in Liverpool. Peter Glover, an executive member of the National Union of Teachers, claimed that past staff members at St. Oswald's Catholic Primary School in Old Swan felt "upset and oppressed" after they were bullied out of the school.

The Appeal To Pope Francis To Interfere Over A Catholic School's Culture Of Bullying

Glover told Liverpool Echo that he has sent an appeal to the Vatican, urging Pope Francis to take action of the complaints from the past staff of St. Oswald's Catholic Primary School. The union leader said that the culture of bullying by the Catholic school's management is already alarming and there is an independent evidence to support this allegation.

"They found the regime was awful... People feel frightened to speak out and lots of people are very upset," Glover stated.

Pope Francis has not yet replied to the union leader's appeal. On the other hand, the Archdiocese of Liverpool that runs St. Oswald's Catholic Primary School stated that it did not receive complaints about the alleged culture of bullying. It will, however, conduct an investigation to address the issue.

Staff Member, Parent Confirmed Culture Of Bullying At The Catholic School

A staff member at St. Oswald's Catholic Primary School, who requested anonymity, confirmed Glover's claims. She stated that just like the complaints of the past staff, the present employees of the Catholic school are suffering from the culture bullying, pushing them in a state of "despair" and "all-time low" morale. She added that they felt guilty for the students because they are too depressed and stressed to perform their jobs as educators.

In an email to Liverpool Echo, a parent has also justified the culture of bullying at the Catholic school. She said that she is concerned of her sons because they would always go home with stories of teachers crying.

Pope Francis On Catholic Schools

In his past speeches, Pope Francis has been very vocal about the need to reform Catholic schools. In November 2015, US News reported that Pope Francis urged Catholic schools to make education affordable for everyone.

Pope Francis has also recognized that teachers and staff members are undervalued by some Catholic schools. "It was his (Pope Francis) hope that countries around the world would come to appreciate the important role that teachers play and show their value accordingly," Robert Bimonte, president of the U.S. National Catholic Educational Association, stated.

What can you say about the Catholic school's alleged culture of bullying? Should Pope Francis intervene? Leave some comments below.
Kate Middleton has always been hot in the eyes of the spectators and her absences in some of her royal duties make critics tag her as a lazy one. Are her lazy ways rubbing off her husband, Prince William?

Prince Philip, the Duke's grandfather who just turned 95, was supposed to attend a military engagement on May 31 in Orkney, Scotland for the Battle of Jutland centennial celebration. However, the Duke of Edinburgh was not able to attend the commemorations following his doctor's advice. The palace notified the organizers the day before the event that Queen Elizabeth II's husband won't make it. Their daughter, Princess Anne, filled in for Prince Philip instead. That made many wonder where the future king is, Celeb Dirty Laundry reported.

Apparently, Prince William was off-duty as a royal that day and his schedule was "private." He was with the Duchess of Cambridge and their two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, attending a horse trial event. That's why he couldn't go up north and wear his uniforms to pay respect to U.K. veterans on behalf of his grandfather, CDL noted.

Queen Elizabeth poses with Prince Philip in the latest royal photo: https://t.co/aeyqVOtsKh #Queenat90 pic.twitter.com/dF86aK83DZ  E! News (@enews) June 10, 2016

In other news, Prince Philip celebrated his 95th birthday on Friday, June 10. The royal consort has always been the strength of Queen Elizabeth II and the British monarch (via E! News). The two have been married for 68 years and have been through a lot, no doubt. Until now, the Duke of Edinburgh always accompanies his queen wife, whenever possible with his health, in her royal engagements.
Nothing beats the connection of a mom and her child that even after years of distance, the invisible cord would have only become sturdier. Maria Mancia of California only had an aging photo of a toddler to remember her lost son with but last Thursday, the picture turned into a grown-up man, 22-year-old Steven Hernandez.

The mother of five, Maria Mancia, couldn't believe her ears when investigators knocked on her California home and delivered the good news (via New York Daily News). The son who she had been looking for years and have managed to reconcile with the fact that they might not see each other again, is coming home after two decades of being apart.

Investigators from San Bernardino County District Attorney's Child Abduction Unit, Michelle Faxon and Karen Cragg, were able to track Maria Mancia's son in Puebla, Mexico. Using DNA and employing the help of the Department of Justice, they found the 22-year-old aspiring law student with the same background as the son Maria Mancia had lost (via San Bernardino Sun).

When the investigators saw the young lad outside a university he was enrolling at, they requested to conduct an investigation concerning his dad who was missing at that time. They did not tell Steven at first that his mom, Maria Mancia was looking for him.

We used a ruse to contact him. We told him we were investigating his father and we needed his DNA to help locate his father. We didnt want to scare him off. We werent sure what the circumstances were down there. We had to tread very carefully, Cragg told The Associated Press as per Huffington Post.

Steven and Mancia weren't informed that the investigators planned to get a DNA test. Upon obtaining Steven's DNA sample, it was taken to the Department of Justice Lab for testing with Mancia's sample already on hand. Two weeks later, Cragg and Faxon got the results and graciously, it matched. All of a sudden, Maria Mancia has a fifth son and Steven Fernandez has a mother (via Huffington Post).

Shortly after, the mother and son met each other after 21 years at the District Attorney's Office. At first, it felt strange to warmly hug a person with a face they don't recognize at all but family would always be family and Steven Fernandez, minutes after, was already wiping the tears of his long lost mother (via San Bernardino Sun).

It was easy to take Steven Hernandez to America because he is a U.S. Citizen. Now, he plans to study law in the U.S. (via San Bernardino Sun).

21 years ago, Steven was kidnapped by his father Valentin Hernandez. Maria Mancia and Hernandez had been dealing with marital problems when one day, she comes home with her husband and their son gone. Thereafter, she called the relatives of Hernandez but they wouldn't tell her anything. Fortunately, the case landed in San Bernardino's Child Abduction Unit and now she and her son had finally reunited.

"Now this anguish I've carried is gone now that I have my son back. I spent 21 years looking for him not knowing anything," Maria Mancia said as quoted by ABC 7.
"Die Hard" actor Bruce Willis and US Vice President Joe Biden were the 2016 recipients of the Freeing Voices Changing Lives Award by the American Institute for Stuttering. Both Bruce Willis and US Vice President Joe Biden suffered from stuttering from childhood but were fortunate to overcome the speech impediment.

According to The Hollywood Reporter Bruce Willis, with the help of family and friends, recalled beginning his struggle with stuttering at six years old. Among the memories Bruce Willis shared about his life, the "Die Hard" actor spoke about his experience in being bullied because of his stuttering and learning to defend himself.

Bruce Willis advised Freeing Voices Changing Lives gala attendees never to feel inferior or an outcast for any reason, not even a speech impediment as stuttering. The "Die Hard" actor also shared wisdom with parents as Bruce Willis reminded them to remain patient with children who stutter.

Bruce Willis explained that stuttering causes a lot of frustration in an individual, who suffers from the impediment. "It's easy to get frustrated with a child who stutters, but believe me, the one who stutters is much more frustrated," Bruce Willis said.

Patience, listening and encouragement are among the things that Bruce Willis recommends to parents whose children struggle with stuttering. Positive reinforcement also offers valuable healing help according to Bruce Willis.

US Vice President Joe Biden, on the other hand, had a colorful time demonstrating to the gala crowd how he stuttered when he was young. As members of the crowd laughed at his demonstration, US Vice President Joe Biden took the opportunity to highlight how laughter is not the best response to someone who suffers from stuttering.

According to US Vice President Joe Biden, people who suffer from stuttering have remarkable courage. "When you persevere in the face of struggle, you discover strength you didn't know you had and, I guarantee, you will need someday," US Vice President Joe Biden said.

The King's Speech on the life and struggle of England's King George VI is one of the most popular celebrations of triumph over stuttering. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Associaton 75% of pre-schoolers, who develop stuttering, are able to regain normal speech within months of stuttering.

Some do so naturally, while others overcome stuttering through speech therapy. The Freeing Voices Changing Lives benefit gala raised $700,000 for the American Institute for Stuttering.
It is already a given fact that mental health is essential at every stage of life, whether from childhood to adolescence and through adulthood. Unfortunately, almost 10 percent of the world's population are suffering from mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

Did you know that mental health problems are costing the global economy almost $1 trillion (651 billion) in lost productivity annually? As previously reported, a research study, which was published in Lancet Psychiatry and conducted by the World Health Organization, revealed the total cost was reportedly equivalent to 12 billion working days or 50 million years.

Higher Education Is Facing A Mental Health Crisis

Speaking of mental health issues, an alarming observation was recently reported about a mental health crisis in the education sector, particularly in higher education. According to Quartz, the supposedly happy and fun memories of university life has been tainted by debilitating stress that amplified the need for mental health services in several higher education institutions.

The said mental health crisis even incited policy vicissitudes. In California, lawmakers proposed a bill to fund the students' mental health services at various public colleges while the University of California vowed to expand its mental health budget for its students.

Mental Health Crisis In Education

College students are not only the school group that is vulnerable to mental health issues. As a matter of fact, mental health issues begins at an earlier age, where anxiety and depression often spiked up in teenagers who are in high school.

Mental health issues, however, often rise during college, where several students experience challenging times for the first time with no family and familiar environments to rely on. Due to these reasons, the patterns of loneliness increase.

Mental Health: Not A 'White Person's Disease'

Meanwhile, mental health problems in the black community is reportedly considered as a "white person's disease." It is also rarely discussed within them. However, mental illness affects everyone regardless of race, gender or sexuality.

Sadly, the stigma over mental health problems in the black community is profound, in which seeking professional health is deemed as a weakness, Huffington Post reports. Despite being a prevalent social issue, mental health is not a topic that is talked about in the community, noting the fact that some even experienced bullying and ridicule from their own family members.

Why Black People Suffer More From Mental Illness

Based on a 2012 report from Ebony, one major reason that black people suffer more mental illness was psycho-social reason. Due to their socio-economic status and poverty, not to mention the crimes in African-American communities, black people felt oppressed and discriminated hence, they developed mental illness rapidly.

Do you think having a better mental health infrastructure in colleges and universities will solve the mental health crisis in the education sector? Share your thoughts below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
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A two-vehicle collision Friday afternoon ejected a 2-year-old, sending the toddler to the hospital via helicopter, according to a San Bernardino County fire official.

No one else was injured in the collision at Armagosa and King Ranch roads, said firefighter Ryan Vaccaro.

He did not know how the crash occurred or how many other people were involved.
Listening to President Obama the other day, we learned of the wonderful financial growth made possible under his leadership the past eight years. Things like a 5 percent unemployment rate. But, the reality is, time probably did not permit him to include the following:

 With the new accounting methods, those who have quit looking for work are no longer counted, so the real unemployment rate is about 10 percent. In many ZIP codes it is double that.

 Additionally, there was not time to tell you his administration is the first in American history to rule over this country for eight years with a growth rate of less than 3 percent.

 I wish there had been more time so he would have mentioned, in addition to the 9 million new jobs added, that in 2017, 9 million more people who have health insurance through their employer are going to lose it under Obamacare.

Quite the accomplishments. And Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, told us this week that she plans to continue the presidents successful fiscal policies.

Bob Haunschild

Hemet

Self-defense not a right?

Re: No constitutional right to carry concealed weapons [News, June 9]: To the judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as Donald Trump would say, youre fired.

Seven of you favor the rights of criminals to carry weapons but not the law-abiding to be able to defend themselves, their families and property. You must truly be senile and have shown you couldnt care less about us.

Since law-abiding citizens are disallowed from carrying concealed weapons, any and every level of law enforcement agency should be barred from carrying a concealed weapon too.

Next, no judge or politician should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon and we know very well they do. As for even thinking of enforcing laws on the books when a weapon is used in a crime, just throw those worthless non-enforced laws out.

Jon Fleischer

Hemet
Edgar Canyon, Edgar Canyon Road, and Edgar Canyon Nature Park  in the Cherry Valley area near Beaumont  are named for Dr. William F. Edgar, who bought land that included the canyon in 1859.

Edgar was born in Kentucky on Jan. 8, 1824. His family later moved to Missouri. He graduated from the University of Louisville in 1848 and was commissioned as an assistant surgeon in the Army in 1849. He was assigned to a regiment that came to Oregon, then was placed under Maj. (later Gen.) Phillip Kearney and his 1st Dragoons and came to California.

It was during that time in California, or on a later assignment starting in 1857, that Edgar first saw the San Gorgonio Pass area and appreciated its beauty.

Various sources say he bought land in the Pass area in 1859. It is said that Edgar planted the first fruit trees and vineyard in the Pass. He later established the first winery as well. As he continued his Army career, Edgar left the land in the care of his brother, F.M. Edgar.

In 1865, Edgar married his wife, Catherine, who was several years younger. Edgar was in charge of a number of hospitals during the Civil War and of decommissioning hospitals after the war ended, jobs that wore him down to the point of ill health.

After leaving military service in 1869, he retired to his land in the Pass to recover. After remaining at his ranch for a year or two, he recovered sufficiently to resume his career as a physician. He and his wife moved to Los Angeles, where he practiced for an additional five years.

The 1880 federal census agricultural schedule reported that Edgar owned about 2,100 acres of land in the San Gorgonio Pass. Of that land, 4 acres were tilled and 25 acres were devoted to orchards, pastures or vineyards.

In the previous 12 months, he had sold $1,000 in farm products and paid about $600 in wages to farm hands. There were just a few farm animals on the property, probably enough to supply anyone living there with meat, milk and eggs. That seems to show that Edgar never really used the land intensely for farm production.

After Edgar retired again, various documents such as voter registrations and census records show him going back and forth between living on his ranch in the Pass and living in Los Angeles until he sold the San Gorgonio land in 1886. He lived out the rest of his years in Los Angeles. Edgar died in 1897 and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery in that city.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Edgar Canyon was a popular camping spot. It was frequently mentioned in Riverside newspapers that individuals or groups vacationed there.

As Beaumont grew, a reservoir and water wells were developed in Edgar Canyon to supply water to the developing town. Today, Edgar Canyon continues to supply water to Beaumont and is now within its city limits.

If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at backinthedaype@gmail.com.
Scott Shafer, Hemets volunteer motorcycle traffic cop, was surprised by Tuesdays defeat of the proposed Measure E public safety sales tax that would have bolstered police and fire services in the city.

He heard too much support on Hemet streets to think it would fail.

I thought it would pass as well. I even bet a Jerseys Mikes sandwich that the increase would pass. Raising the sales tax on a sandwich about 6 cents didnt seem like much to fund more officers.

I paid my debt with a No.13 Italian sub Friday after the vote came in around 62 percent, just short of the two-thirds needed for approval.

Hemet proposed a 1 percent sales tax increase that would go to the police and fire departments over 10 years. There was a great campaign by supporters of Measure E countered by an effective effort by the Hemet Taxpayers Association to successfully thwart the increase.

I would like to see them go for it again, Shafer said.

In the meantime, the 54-year-old retired Riverside County sheriffs deputy will continue to patrol city streets as Hemets only regular motorcycle cop.

Despite financial challenges, the cash-strapped city can afford Shafer. He writes tickets for free.

He volunteers because he loves his work and likes helping a depleted department with officers he enjoys being around.

I was startled in December to first see Shafer in a Hemet police uniform astride a motorcycle with his radar gun trained on busy Stetson Avenue.

The departments five-bike traffic unit was mothballed in 2009.

Sgt. Nate Miller only occasionally patrols on days off, with his pay coming from a traffic safety grant. Officers on regular neighborhood patrol focus on crime, not bad driving. Dave Brown, Hemets police chief, said they pull over drivers only when they see especially dangerous behavior.

Shafer was recruited to patrol after his fiancee, Tracie Palmer, the police departments training and personnel manager, told the chief that the retired deputy had moved to Hemet with time to spare. Shafer agreed to undergo training and ride for free.

Brown said Shafer provides an important presence on the street during a time of cutbacks. Brown said his department has 62 officers, down from a high of 88 before cuts.

Raising the citys sales tax from 8 to 9 percent would have boosted the force to 108, which Brown said is needed to fight crime in a town hit hard by the economic slump.

Brown said he will get by with his budget like he has for many years. He supports any future efforts of San Jacinto Valley residents to try for a sales tax hike.

Brown appreciates the volunteer help of Shafer.

Shafer believes it would be possible to overcome the deficit with another campaign for a public safety sales tax at the right time. He not only thinks Hemet streets need well-staffed traffic patrols but believes overworked officers in all departments deserve the relief of a larger force.

He said he witnessed consistent support for police. He said that every day, while parked by homes with his radar gun out, resident after resident walked up to him to voice backing for the measure.

Even when I would write a citation, they were positive about it, he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9078 or bpratte@pressenterprise.com
Liberias Ebola outbreak is over. But Dr. Gillian Seton said the country and the hospital where she serves as medical director are still beset by sometimes overwhelming problems.

Seton, 35, is a graduate of Loma Linda Universitys School of Medicine and has spent the last two years at Adventist Health Internationals Cooper Hospital in the capital of Monrovia. She arrived just as the Ebola epidemic was being identified. Cooper stayed open during the chaotic months that followed.

Seton was in Loma Linda last week, visiting with friends and the administrators that help support Cooper Hospital. She addressed the School of Medicines graduating class on May 28. On June 1, she took some time to talk about the ongoing challenges she and her co-workers face.

Trained as a pediatric surgeon, Seton said she is sometimes unprepared for the medical conditions shes confronted with. One male patient had a dermatologic problem that left his body covered with sores. Shes seen patients suffering from overdoses of local herbal remedies. And there are complete mysteries.

We always see some weird things that we cant figure out, Seton said.

Many patients are in critical condition when they arrive, having tried other remedies or hospital treatments.

We typically have the worst cases, she said, like 17-year-olds with liver failure. Theres a high rate of hypertension in the country. Stroke is, by far, the biggest killer in my hospital.

In one day, she said, the hospital lost five patients to stroke.

Another thing is orthopedics, Seton said. We see really complicated cases.

Traditional doctors in small communities will bind broken bones with splints made of leaves and bamboo. If a patient does get an actual cast, it often gets soggy from the intense humidity and becomes ineffective. Shes currently treating a patient with a six-month old break in both bones of the lower leg.

That was my first (such) case, she said, and Im hoping the leg will survive.

Shortages of equipment and supplies mean constant innovation.

I didnt have an anesthesiologist for a long time, she said, so I had to learn how to do spinals and heavy sedation.

Much of what she does would not be possible without help from Loma Linda, she said.

It takes 100 to 1,000 people to make me as effective as I can be there, she said.

She calls on a regular basis to consult with other physicians and talk to administrators about the needs of the hospital.

She and I communicate, I would say, close to monthly on average, said Donn Gaede, director for the Global Health masters of public health degree and chairman of the board for Cooper Hospital. Theyre doing much better now. Im personally excited about the progress.

Cooper, Gaede said, is one of more than 200 hospitals worldwide that are part of Adventist Health International, with which Loma Linda University is affiliated. He said the goal is for each of those hospitals to be self sustaining. But during the Ebola crisis, neither Cooper nor an Adventist hospital in Sierra Leone were able to do so.

We did some fundraising and put out the word to our supporters, Gaede said. We were able to use that to provide salary support during the crisis.

We wouldnt be financially open without Loma Linda, Seton said.

And though she made it through the Ebola crisis without getting infected, she said work at the hospital is a constant challenge. Working there has taught her more, she said, than she ever could have learned in the United States.

There were a whole lot of things out there that I didnt know, she said.

She sees all kinds of cases she never imagined having to treat. The learning curve is steep, she said, and she doesnt always get it right. So, shes had to learn to live with failure as well.

Every doctor has to face it, Seton said. We all make mistakes. You see these beautiful people that didnt need to suffer or die if youd made the right call. In some ways, the guilt is a way to hold myself accountable. Ive had a lot of people die that I know their family members. I see their grief.

She said she never realized how powerful that grief can be.

In the operating room, she said, You physically take control of someones life. Thats very egotistical, but thats the mindset surgeons get into. And you fail. And its very personal. If you dont cope with it, that grief gets under your skin.

And when deaths come back-to-back, such as the day the hospital lost five patients to stroke, the emotions build.

You never get the chance to go through the grief before the next one, she said. I found my patience was gone. I was yelling at people and throwing things.

She tried to control it by counting to 10 before saying something or taking an action.

I couldnt even get to one, she said.

It took awhile, she said, but she finally got a grip.

I realized, doing this is not who I want to be, she said.

On the positive side of things, there is Devine, a now 2-year-old boy that she took under her wing when his mother was too sick with malaria to care for him after giving birth two months early. Devine was in bad shape. And when Seton went to check on him in the nursery, she found he wasnt breathing.

His heart stopped and we did chest compressions for six hours, she said.

She took him with her to her living quarters in the hospital.

I got attached, she said. They wanted me to adopt him at first, but I didnt think that was practical. But Im happy to be his honorary auntie. Hes our little mascot.

Seton says she worries about the young boy when shes away. Shes also concerned about what will become of the hospital and its staff when her mission is over. Shes been able to draw on resources through her Loma Linda connections and shes learned how to skirt much of the corruption that might keep equipment and supplies from reaching the hospital.

I really like Liberia, she said. I like the challenge. But the frustration seems to grow. Its a little bit daunting to know that youre putting the effort in and when you leave, its going to revert back. It doesnt matter how much I sweat and cry and bleed, its going to go back to the way it was before.

Loma Lindas Gaede says he hopes that wont be the case. He said doesnt want to see the progress Seton has made lost when she ends her five-year mission in 2 years.

Were probably going to be trying to find another mission doctor, he said. Im fairly confident we will find another surgeon. The long term plan is to build a new hospital.

Seton said having gone through the Ebola outbreak and dealing with the malaria and typhoid that are common in the country, having dealt with deaths from stroke and other ailments, shes learned one important thing.

The best sound in the world now, she said, is to hear a healthy newborn cry.

Contact the writer: mmuckenfuss@pressenterprise.com or 951-368-9595
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the City Councils Tuesday, June 7, action. The council did not change the citys existing policy stating that previous felony convictions do not disqualify residents from serving on city commissions, boards and committees.

Despite a proposed change, Moreno Valley will continue to allow residents with felony criminal convictions to serve on city commissions, committees and boards.

The council changed several policies for city advisory boards in order to create but more consistent rules Tuesday, June 7 but not that one.

Under the rules, adopted unanimously by the City Council, applicants will continue be subject to the same rules as those who register to vote and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. California law states that anyone over 18 not in prison or on parole for a felony conviction is eligible to vote and run for office.

Councilwoman LaDonna Jempson made her unexpected admission at the meeting during a discussion of the proposal.

Thirty-two years ago, I made some bad decisions and associated with some bad people, she said. The result of that is I am a convicted felon.

My hopes are people will focus on the life that Ive lived in the last 31 years of serving my community, Jempson said.

Jempson, 60, said she was 26 and living in San Francisco County when she became involved in a tumultuous relationship. She said she was abused and forced to commit a theft at a bank for which she worked to ensure her safety and her childs.

It was the beginning of the worst time of my life, Jempson said.

After the crime, Jempson said she fled to Alaska. Nine years later, Jempson said she returned to California and turned herself in. She said she spent 45 days in jail and was sentenced to 60 days of house arrest and three years probation. The San Francisco County Superior Court records could not be confirmed Friday.

During an emotional interview Friday, Jempson said she felt compelled to talk about her past because people recently have threatened to disclose her criminal record to promote other candidates. Given that and the topic of Tuesday nights discussion, Jempson said she shared her experience.

Jempson pointed to a list of civic duties and volunteer positions she has held in Moreno Valley in the past three decades, including local chapters of Soroptomist, a volunteer organization to improve the lives of young women; the Parent Teacher Association; Historical Society; Chamber of Commerce; and her church.

Jempson said the Riverside County District Attorneys Office pulled materials from City Hall on Friday to investigate allegations that she had lied on public documents but found no evidence of wrongdoing. A district attorneys spokesman and city officials could not be reached.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9558 or ighori@pressenterprise.com | 951-368-9644 or poneill@pressenterprise.com
Fridays early morning wake-up call courtesy of a moderate earthquake in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park was triggered by a hitch on a feisty fault that slices through populated areas of Inland Southern California.

And the question some are asking in the wake of the 5.2 magnitude shaker centered 15 miles southeast of Anza: Could it unleash a far more damaging quake under Hemet or Moreno Valley or San Bernardino?

You can probably guess the answer. Scientists dont know.

We cant say anything based on this mornings event, beyond the fact that we are going to have aftershocks, Jennifer Andrews, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, said in a phone interview Friday.

Andrews said there is a 5 percent to 10 percent chance that any one earthquake will turn out to be a precursor to a larger temblor.

Still, the quake felt in a wide area from Palm Springs to Los Angeles to San Diego raises concerns, said Tom Rockwell, an earthquake geologist at San Diego State University.

The interesting thing about this earthquake is it occurred on the south-central part of the San Jacinto fault, which last sustained a large earthquake  a 7.3  on Nov. 22, 1800, very early in the historical record, Rockwell said.

Quakes of magnitude 7 or greater with the potential to cause significant damage tend to strike this section of the fault, essentially the part in San Diego County, every 200 to 250 years, he said.

We are coming into the window when a larger earthquake is possible, he said. And, for that reason, whenever we see a moderate quake on the fault, we worry that it might be a foreshock.

That next big quake could be confined to that section  or radiate up into Riverside and San Bernardino counties, he said.

The San Jacinto fault isnt as dangerous as the infamous and widely feared San Andreas fault, which intersects the San Jacinto in Lytle Creek Canyon. But Rockwell said the San Jacinto fault can generate devastating quakes of up to magnitude 7.5.

Its still a significant seismic hazard, said Frank Vernon, a research seismologist at UC San Diego.

While what happens next isnt known, what is known is the section responsible for Fridays shaker has a reputation for being irritable.

Its a particularly complicated and active area of the San Jacinto fault, Andrews said.

Vernon said there have been no fewer than five quakes of about magnitude 5 or greater there since the turn of the century. The others were in 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2013.

Of late, the section in Riverside and San Bernardino counties has been less active. But it is no less dangerous, Rockwell said.

According to the Southern California Earthquake Data Center, a 6.8 magnitude quake rocked the town of San Jacinto on April 21, 1918.

Rockwell said scientists also know from geology studies that a temblor of magnitude 7.5 ruptured along the fault in December 1812 in the Mystic Lake area of what is now southeast Moreno Valley. He said the energy ripped north along the fracture, likely causing the San Andreas to move  because quakes occurred on both faults at the same time.

Earlier this year, UC Riverside researcher Gareth Funning and a team of scientists published a study based on 1996 seismic activity in Pakistan that found energy can travel far along one fault and trigger quakes on another fault.

Fridays quake shook up a Borrego Springs resort. But authorities reported no significant damage.

Next time could be different.

Any time you have a moderate earthquake like this, its a wake-up call, Rockwell said. And he wasnt talking about being jolted out of bed.

We should all have food and water stored, he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9699 or ddowney@pressenterprise.com
Riverside Countys new master trails plan for Box Springs Mountain Reserve unveils a vision for a network of nearly 70 miles of sustainable paths with scenic views, technical challenges for hikers and mountain bikers and new routes to the mountains Big C, a UC Riverside homecoming ritual cancelled last fall over safety concerns.

The plan is part of an effort to help maintain locals access to the reserve and its wild trails after Metrolink trains began running on the Perris Valley Line on Monday, June 6.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission in late May put up a six-foot-tall fence for 2,000 feet along the railway between Big Springs Road and Mount Vernon Avenue to stop University neighborhood residents and UCR students from crossing the tracks at Islander Park to hike the popular Big C Trail and other parts of the reserve.

There are no crossing gates, warning lights or signs at the tracks there.

RELATED: Moreno Valley urging residents to take a hike

Pedestrian crossings there, which are illegal, drew mounting safety concerns as the transportation commissions upgrades to the 24-mile Perris-to-Riverside railroad track extension were completed in May. After decades of scant use by slow-moving freight trains, the railway will now serve up to 240 Metrolink trains a month.

Yet before any trail upgrades can get underway, stakeholders must determine whether to build a tunnel or bridge across the upgraded tracks to a new or existing Big C Trail up Box Springs Mountain, buy land and finance construction.

At this point, everybody is kind of on hold as we try to resolve what gets built and what were applying for, said Jeff Greene, chief of staff for Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, whose office has been involved in work on the issues.

A FABULOUS RESOURCE

Protecting access to the 3,400-acre reserve  an important natural corridor thats home to hidden springs, abundant wildlife and one of the regions most popular hiking areas  was one reason the local land preservation group, Friends of Riversides Hills, sued to stop the $248 million commuter rail line extension.

The master plans creation was overseen by the Riverside County Regional Park & Open-Space District, which manages the reserve, and funded with $189,000 from a court-approved settlement to Friends of Riversides Hills.

RELATED: Officials working on track safety

The $3 million settlement directed the transportation commission, which owns the tracks, to reduce train noise and grant residents access to the reserve, an open space also used by bears, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, burros and burrowing owls.

In addition, the settlement provided funds to buy land, build trails and help residents reduce train noise on their properties, said Gurumantra Khalsa, president of Friends of Riversides Hills and a University neighborhood resident.

The reserve currently holds seven established trails totalling 17.25 miles: Two Trees, Skyline Loops 1 and 2, Edison, Sugarloaf, the M above Moreno Valley and the favorite yet unofficial Big C Trail, a roughly mile-long route with deeply rutted sections on steep, eroding slopes.

The master plan calls for 68.5 miles of interconnected trails that would include two loops circling the base and mountaintops, three short vista trails and a paved, multi-use path along the Perris Valley Line between Moreno Valley and UCR that may be used by bicycle commuters and students.

The plan also proposes new staging areas and trailheads that could include toilets, corrals, water, picnic tables, benches, shade trees, hitching posts, bike racks or parking. Trailheads would have fewer amenities.

Existing trails would be rerouted to make them more sustainable and environmentally friendly and to create more challenging routes through boulders and rock slabs for hikers, trail runners and mountain bikers.

Some informal trails could be added to the system, which would contain more neighborhood access points to increase connectivity for the most residents from all the surrounding communities, Khalsa said.

Once its completed and built, itll be a fabulous resource, he added.

Plan consultants estimated trail work could cost up to $74,000 per mile, although much could cost far less and some would cost more. The plan doesnt estimate total cost, said Riverside County Regional Park & Open-Space District Resources Bureau Chief Keith Herron.

A SAFE SOLUTION

Project partners including the county, preservation group, city, UCR and RCTC must agree on the next steps to tackle, including whether a tunnel or bridge can be built across the tracks at Islander Park, then create a construction plan before federal and state grants are sought. No meetings are set, he said.

Islander Park may get a staging area to provide access to the lower circumference trail, the multi-use path and two new C Trails: a 3.75-mile main trail with long, gentle switchbacks across the face of the mountain and a 2.5-mile technical C Trail. The heavily damaged existing Big C Trail would be abandoned.

Without such a crossing, C Trail access would be at Blaine Street, a car ride away from the UCR campus and much of the neighborhood. Students are unlikely to go that far, and campus officials are considering how much to pitch in for a tunnel or bridge, UCR Director of Local Government and Community Relations Jeff Kraus said.

We think there needs to be a solution thats closer to campus than Blaine. A safe solution, he said.

RCTC posted No Trespassing signs and mounted a rail safety educational campaign before weekend test trains began running Oct. 31. The agency supports the plan and agreed in the settlement to allow a crossing that complies with state and federal laws for rail right-of-way, said commission Deputy Executive Director John Standiford.

Friends of Riversides Hills paid for the plan to support county grant applications and expects to provide matching funds, but cant finance the entire project, Khalsa said.

The group is working on cost estimates for low-cost track crossings after the county and RCTC estimated a tunnel or bridge could cost $2 million. The group hired retired State Parks Director Pete Dangermond to coordinate certain issues including land acquisition, Friends of Riversides Hills board member Kevin Dawson said.

The fence is temporarily blocking access to the reserve from a large chunk of the University neighborhood, Khalsa said.

Weve got more trains, weve got more traffic, we have less access, said Khalsa, adding the group is trying to get access restored as quickly as possible.

After nearly 60 years of UCR homecoming hikes on the existing Big C Trail, the event was cancelled for the 2015 homecoming in November after someone from RCTC called the universitys alumni foundation and asked them not to hold the hike, said Kraus, who doesnt know if the hike will be held this year.

He couldnt confirm reports that someone from RCTC told foundation workers Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies, who police Metrolink, would cite hikers for trespassing on homecoming.

Standiford said that was possible.

We might have, he said. Its entirely out of safety. There are trailheads in the area where that trail can be accessed without having to cross the tracks there.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9444 or shurt@pressenterprise.com
UPDATE (Tuesday, June 14): Procession route for body of San Bernardino firefighter, a Canyon Lake resident

San Bernardino fire officials notified firefighters Friday that one of their own perished in an accident Thursday while on vacation at Lake Powell.

Engineer John Ruppert died after being electrocuted while repairing a houseboat on Lake Powell, Utah with his family.

He was 35.

One of my greatest fears has been notifying you all of a tragic event involving one of our fire family members, Chief Tom Hannemann said in a prepared statement to firefighters. The details are still developing, but this is what I know as of now. Engineer John Ruppert was electrocuted yesterday (Thursday) on Lake Powell while attempting to repair the house boat he and his family were vacationing on. John succumbed to his injuries.

A team of Rupperts coworkers are traveling to Utah to bring their fallen comrade home.

Ruppert is survived by his wife Kristen and their two children.

Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.
Environmentalists and other organizations are turning up the heat under international food and beverage provider Nestle as a legal challenge to the companys water operations in the San Bernardino National Forest heads toward a long-awaited federal court hearing Monday.

The hearing to address Nestles permit for water operations at Strawberry Creek watershed is scheduled before Judge Jesus G. Bernal at 9 a.m. in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

During a digital town hall Thursday evening, one of the plaintiffs in the case against the United States Forest Service, called for an informational picketing at as many Sprouts Farmers Market locations as a possible on July 9 to seek removal of the Arrowhead spring water brand from store shelves.

Based in Phoenix, Sprouts operates more than 200 stores across the country.

We selected Sprouts because they emphasize the sustainability issue, Tim Molina, spokesman for the Courage Campaign, said in an interview Friday.

Molina said a few weeks ago, his organization and Sprouts executives met about Nestle and asked them to pull their product from Sprouts shelves.

There was no sense of urgency (at Sprouts), Molina said. So we want to put pressure on management.

Shoppers at Sprouts are choosing products that support their healthy lifestyle, said Jane Lazgin, a Nestle Waters North America Inc. spokeswoman said.

Americans are drinking more water  bottled and tap  than any other type of beverage. And, drinking more water is being encouraged by health professionals across the U.S., she said.

In order to provide our bottled water products to people, we must be good stewards of water sources and the surrounding environment, Lazgin said. Functioning continuously from Strawberry Canyon for more than a century points to our effective and sustainable management. And, thats done with the shoppers at Sprouts and other outlets always in mind, she said.

Nestle Waters has assured us that the allegations being made are false, said Diego Romero, a Sprouts spokesman in Phoenix. Specific questions about their bottling and sourcing practices should be directed to them. We will continue to monitor the situation and, as always, will listen to our customers feedback.

Christopher Hogan, spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association, said discouraging people from drinking water is not in the public interest and will increase the likelihood that they may opt for an unhealthy sugar-sweetened packaged drink instead.

The Courage Campaign, Center for Biological Diversity and Story of Stuff Project filed a lawsuit last October claiming that the Forest Service allowed Nestles pipelines, pumps and other structures on federal land for too long after the special use permit expired  28 years ago.

Forest Service officials say verbally  and in court filings  that when those permits expire they remain in effect until renewed or denied.

In November, the three plaintiffs filed a motion for a summary judgement asking for the federal court to quickly rule on the case they filed in October, so that Nestle does not continue to bottle millions of gallons of water, during a drought, from one remote canyon in the San Bernardino National Forest.

On April 20, Judge Bernal asked the plaintiffs and the Forest Service, the defendant, to file briefs addressing whether or not the plaintiffs are entitled injunctive relief.

The hearing Monday is anticipated to deal largely with the plaintiffs request for a decision without a trial and whether injunctive relief would be an appropriate remedy, officials close to the case say.

Earlier this month, the state Water Resources Control Board confirmed it had launched an investigation into Nestles water rights in the San Bernardino National Forest, adding a new lawyer of scrutiny to Nestles operations  one proceeding independently of the coming courtroom showdown.

Activists from the Story of Stuff Project, the California-based Courage Campaign Institute and the Center for Biological Diversity announced plans in a news release for a rally Monday morning outside the federal court building in Riverside as Bernal considers the challenge to Nestles operation.

I hope and pray that justice is done, Steve Loe, a Yucaipa resident who spent more than 30 years as wildlife biologist in the San Bernardino National Forest, said Friday, in a telephone interview.

Loe said he spent the last two years of his career  in 2006 and 2007  working on a Forest Service program to get about 800 cabins in the San Bernardino Mountains to stop taking water from streams, an action requiring many to spend between $6,000 and $8,000 to put in water tanks.

Loe said that historic year-round water flow from Strawberry Creek is unusual in the entire San Bernardino Mountain range and for that reason, many animals, insects and plants, including endangered species, are impacted.

But the historic flow is being threatened, given Nestles continued withdrawals, which was 36 million gallons last year, the heat and sparse rainfall this winter.

There is no doubt that these extremely low flows will greatly reduce areas of surface water and habitat capable of supporting endangered and sensitive species as well as riparian vegetation, he wrote in an email earlier this month.
The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS on Friday said notable progress has been made in its plan to establish a single currency by 2020 and the adoption of a single biometric identity card for member states.



The Liberian Ambassador to Nigeria, Professor Al-Hassan Conteh, stated this in Abuja, while speaking on behalf of the Permanent Representatives of Member States to ECOWAS at the 41st Anniversary of the Commission.



News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ECOWAS had fixed January 2015 for the implementation of the common currency project in West Africa but was later shifted to 2020 because member states were not able to satisfy criteria for it.



Conteh who was not categorical on the progress, expressed satisfaction on the the level of achievement made so far by the Commission on the common currency for the region.



He however said that the Commission had also achieved notable feats in other areas of strategic planning and cooperation.



Since ECOWAS launched vision 2020 to transform ECOWAS from ECOWAS of States to ECOWAS of people, our Community has accomplished meaningful targets and objectives in strategic planning.



Among these is the adoption of a common passport for the movement for the free movement of community citizens in member states.



Progress has also been made in trade liberalisation, customs union, favourable industrial policy, mines development, agriculture and environment, infrastructure-transport, telecommunications and energy, he said.

According to him, the organisation has put in place a coordinated capacity for organising efficient regional response against epidemiological challenges, including the Ebola Virus disease.



He said that the Commission was working relentlessly on the implementation of its vision 2020, to create a borderless, peaceful, prosperous and cohesive region.



He said that the Commission was also poised to build on governance where people have the capacity to access and harness its enormous resources through the creation of opportunities for sustainable development and environmental preservation.



He assured that the permanent representatives of members states were ready to play their part in moving the communitys agenda forward. Professor Amadu Sesay, from University of Ilorin who presented a paper entitledECOWAS and peace support operations in West Africa: opportunities, challenges and threats urged the leaders to rise up to the task.



The professor of International relations said that creation of ECOWAS had brought about some opportunities, but the leaders should work towards exploring them for the development of the region. Sesay, said that the peace enjoyed in the region was part of the achievement of the Commission and the leaders should leverage on it for the benefit of the citizens.



Dr. Tony Elumelu, who represented ECOWAS staff at the event, said that the staff were determined to form a formidable workforce that will weather all storm and remain strong.



Elumelu, while appreciating the financial predicament that confronted the Commission, called on member states to assist in providing necessary funds to achieve its mandate

Source: bellanaija.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Deputy Communications Minister has allayed fears of an outright sale of the Electricity Corporation of Ghana.



Felix Kwakye Ofosu says government's decision to allow private sector participation in the electricity distribution sector is fundamentally different from the sale of the company as happened to Ghana Telecom under the erstwhile New Patriotic Party.



Speaking on Joy FM's news analysis program, Newsfile, Saturday, Mr Kwakye Ofosu said 30 concessionaires have so far approached government with proposals to take over aspects of ECG operation.



He says government is yet to select any of the concessionaires and sign a contract that will allow the private investor manage some aspect of the ECG operations.



He was not clear exactly which area of operations the investor will manage but was emphatic however that the equipment and assets of ECG will still remain the properties of ECG even if the contract with the investor comes into force.



The debate to, or not to privatize the ECG, has been longstanding with several governments playing coy over the matter.



President John Mahama however triggered the debate this week when he sought to justify some amount of private sector involvement in the operations of the ECG.



The president cited the protestations that came with the liberalisation or privatization of the telecom sector in the early 90s but said the bold decision taken at the time to allow private sector participation has proven to be a wise decision.



He said "there is inefficiency at the downstream distribution of the electricity sector. The system is not working. if it's not working you fix it by taking risk. If you are willing to take risk you will not make progress."



Critics against the privatization of ECG have been quick in chiding the president for supposedly taking the easier option.



They would rather the government pays the debts it owed to ECG and signing a better performance contract with managers of the company.



On Newsfile, Felix Kwakye Ofosu said government has already taken a decision to allow private sector participation and the justification for that is clear and beyond debate.



"There are some inefficiencies in the operations of ECG. Their service delivery is not up to scratch; something has to be done," he stated.



While he understood the concerns of the ECG workers who are protesting the privatization of the company, he said, the government will seek the larger interest of Ghanaians and not a section of Ghanaians.



"When GT was sold people lost their jobs, but is the company not functioning?" he said adding he is yet to hear any argument that undermines the need for private sector participation in the electricity distribution sector.



A New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Bosumtwe, Simon Osei Mensah says concessionaire is still part of privatization and wondered what the deputy minister was talking about by creating the impression as though concessionaire was alien to privatisation.



He said the country will be exposed to high risk if the concessionaire is just as inefficient as the current managers of ECG.



He would rather alternative measures are considered in resolving the inefficiencies at ECG.

Source: myjoyonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
A lil while ago, Greens leader Richard Di Natale found himself staring at accusations he hadnt properly declared a business interest to the Senate.

Claims were spinning around that the government wasnt made entirely privy to the goings-on at his farm  and the powers that be need to be informed of this sort of thing so pollies cant, you know, obviously bend the rules in their favour to make a quick buck.

Well, in the end, Di Natale cleared the whole shebang up, and we were left thinking thatd probably be the last we hear about politicians conveniently forgetting to declare their business interests.

LOLNOPE.





Liberal candidate for the Victorian seat of Calwell John Min-Chiang Hsu just made the Di Natale ordeal look like some kind of well-meaning prank, cause the bloke somehow forgot to alert the party to his Frankston brothel.

We can only assume when the party asked if he, uh, owned any brothels, he responded thusly:

The Victorian Liberal Party issued a statement on the issue this arvo, saying Hsu has resigned, with immediate effect, as an endorsed candidate of the Liberal Party and has resigned as a member of the party following the discovery.

In a move that would defy belief if we hadnt already become so numb to Australian politics, Hsu attempted to deny owning Paradise Playmates (the best brothel in Frankston, fyi), despite documents showing the joint is tied to a man with identical deets.

Its important to note the place is legal and regulated by the state, but still. Damn, son.

Hsus sudden absence from the election  and from the party  means the Libs wont be able to pit a challenger against the rusted-on Labor incumbent Maria Vamvakinou, who has held Calwell for fifteen years.

All because the ownership of a real-fkn-life brothel somehow escaped the memory of a legitimate political candidate. Weve said it before, and well say it again: Bring on July 2. Now. PLEASE.







Source: The Age.

Photo: Facebook.
TRUMP INDIANA RALLY SPEECH ART.jpg

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign stop at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Sunday, May 1, 2016, in Fort Wayne, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Follow live updates here

Presidential candidate Donald Trump will return to Pennsylvania Saturday for the first time since securing the delegates needed to win the Republican Party's nomination.

Trump, following a campaign appearance in Tampa, Fla., will hold a rally at 3 p.m. in a hanger at Atlantic Aviation in Moon Township, near Pittsburgh International Airport.

To attend the free-admission event, register here.

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has announced she will appear in the Pittsburgh area on Tuesday. The time and location have not yet been announced.
School's out for summer, which for some students brings pool parties and idyllic weeks at camp. For children who depend on school-provided meals, though, the end of classes can mean the start of increased hunger.

More than 18,000 students in Dauphin County schools - 53 percent of the total enrollment - received free or reduced-price school meals in 2015, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. While local programs and soup kitchens provide students with meals when school lets out, the number of children who can access food assistance in the summer is far lower than during the school year.

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank expects to serve 2,300 meals a day to children in six counties through its partnership with the USDA's Summer Feeding Program, said David Lloyd, Youth Programs Manager at the Food Bank.

"We're trying to reach as many [children] as we can," Lloyd said, adding that the sites offer "a good, nutritious meal" that complies with USDA nutrition guidelines.

Federal dollars from the USDA will enable the Food Bank to operate 55 sites in Dauphin, York, Lancaster, Lycoming, Cumberland, and Northumberland counties. On an average day, Lloyd predicted that the sites will serve a combined 450 breakfasts, 1,500 lunches, and 350 dinners.

Each site offers meals depending on its own hours, and not all programs will run all summer long. The USDA operates an informational hotline, 1-866-3-HUNGRY, that parents can call to find a site near their home.

Click on this link to see a regional food bank locator map.

Lloyd said that the food bank determines its feeding sites by fielding sponsorship requests from community centers and summer programs. In order to be eligible for sponsorship, a site must serve an area where 50 percent or more children are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

The neighborhood Center, 1801 N. Third St. in Harrisburg, is one local organization that partners with the Food Bank to receive USDA funding for meals. Tameka Lester, the center's healthcare projects coordinator, said the Neighborhood Center expects to feed 91 children and teenagers a day through their programs.

Lester noted that a typical breakfast at the Neighborhood Center consists of a cereal or muffin with juice or fruit. Lunch is a sandwich on a wheat bun served with fruit, vegetables, and milk.

"Local churches also donate their time and services, and what we don't get from them we get from the food bank," Lester said.

Area soup kitchens also absorb the work of feeding children in the summer. Chucky Palmer, director of the soup kitchen at St. Francis of Assisi at 1439 Market St. in Harrisburg, said that an average of almost 30 children come to the soup kitchen during the summer, compared to the five or six a day that she might see when school is in session.

According to Rev. E. Orlando Reyes, the soup kitchen is funded by an annual grant from the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and donations from the community. He called the influx of children a "blessing," but said that the summer months stress their resources.

"We have to increase the amount of food we receive in the summer," Reyes said. "We're asking for more food to be able to feed all of them."

Palmer said that the items they need in the summer include juice, hot dogs, and hamburgers. While they generally do not have a shortage of volunteers to staff the kitchen, she said that "Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the days when we might be short on volunteers."

"We can always use an extra pair of hands," Palmer said.

Those interested in volunteering or donating to the food bank can call the St. Francis parish office at 717-232-1003.
WWII remains.jpg

In this undated photo provided by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. John F. Prince of New York City is shown.

The U.S. military says it identified Prince's remains, which are being returned for burial on New York's Long Island.

Prince was among the 35 Marines whose remains were found last year on Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, scene of a bloody three-day battle in November 1943. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency via AP)
marine recruit_o.jpg

Middletown grad Trevor Fuller wearing the red sash given to him by his Marine recruiter.

(Submitted )

The June 2 article ("Student barred from wearing military sash at graduation; school promises changes") describing Middletown Area High School graduate Trevor Fuller's six-year enlistment commitment in the U.S. Marine Corps illustrates a passion and enthusiasm for the military which is extremely rare today.

He will receive quality training and instruction that no college or university in this country can provide. He is indeed an inspiration to his peers and he is obviously proud of his military fraternity as his shoes - displaying a "spit shine" - clearly reflect.

Semper Fidelis.

FLOYD M. BATURIN, Harrisburg
State University Faculty Protest Over Contract Dispute

The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties' talks with State System of Higher Education managers on Friday led faculty union President Ken Mash to question if the system is begging the faculty to go on strike.

(File photo/DAN GLEITER, Pennlive)

Negotiations on a long-term contract between the faculty union and managers of the 14 state universities ended on Friday with the two sides still willing to talk but clearly nowhere near a settlement.

The sides had exchanged proposals on Thursday during a session that lasted four hours minus a short lunch break. The State System of Higher Education's was 146 pages; the faculty's, seven.

Faculty union President Ken Mash said after Friday's contract talks with State System of Higher Education managers, "The faculty were upset before this and I think they will be more upset after this."

Friday's talks covered only half of the system's proposal, but that was enough for Ken Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, to reach this conclusion: "The faculty were upset before this and I think they will be more upset after this."

The faculty union, which represents 5,500 professors, is approaching a full year since its last contract expired on June 30. The sides tried to reach an agreement on a one-year contract extension but those efforts failed primarily over health benefit changes. Now they are turning their attention to a longer-term proposal.

The system's offer seeks to make changes to multiple parts of the collective bargaining agreement that impact temporary faculty, paid sabbatical leave, online learning, health benefits, and more.

It doesn't touch on any pay raises, which it said are usually addressed in the latter stages of talks. The current base salary for full-time faculty ranges from $46,609 to $112,239. Part-time faculty are paid a minimum of $5,838 per three-credit course they teach.

The union's latest proposal covers a four-year period that would be retroactive to last June. It seeks far less tinkering with existing working conditions while providing to increases in the current health care coverage and pay increases.

The comprehensive nature of the contract changes the system is seeking conveyed a message to the leader of the faculty union that the system is in no hurry to achieve a settlement.

"It's almost like they want us to go on strike," Mash said.

System spokesman Kenn Marshall said that is not the system's preference but "that's their decision if they want to walk out on students. That's who they are walking out on. They are not walking out on us. It's a decision only they can make."

Marshall characterized the union's proposal as one that ignores the financial situation many of the universities are facing with enrollment declines and rising costs.

Friday's talks were the first since the sides last met at the end of April. They plan to meet again in two weeks to complete their review of the system's proposal and discuss the faculty's demands.

Among the changes that the system is seeking is an increase in the cap on the number of temporary full-time faculty a university can employ, raising it to 30 percent of the faculty from the current limit of 25 percent. Marshall said only one or two universities are even close to the 25 percent cap now.

In addition, the system wants to raise the number of courses that temporary full-time faculty teach to five per semester, from four. In exchange, they would not be required to conduct research or provide additional service to the university.

Marshall said this is not increasing the temporary faculty to work more, but rather shifting their workload. This change could possibly allow universities to add more courses or sections of courses, while freeing up tenured and tenure-track faculty to do more scholarly research or university service.

Mash sees this proposal as harmful to the quality of education that attract students to the system's universities in the first place. He said they are drawn by having the opportunity to interact and get to know tenured and tenure-track faculty members who are highly qualified in their discipline.

At the same time, Mash argues the system is looking to exploit temporary faculty by asking them to work one more class without increasing their pay "effectively cutting their salaries by 20 percent" while proposing to increase the cost of health care benefits that the system wants all faculty members to bear.

What's more, the union says the system's proposal also seeks to permit people without master's or doctoral degrees to teach courses; give administrators unfettered ability to move faculty among departments and teaching sites; and eliminate professional development funding.

"We think this is an attack," Mash said. "Virtually all the members of our bargaining unit will be upset by things in this proposal but even more than that we truly believe this is an attempt to alter public education as we know it in Pennsylvania."

Marshall acknowledged the important role faculty play at the universities, but added the outcome of the talks has to be fair to everyone, especially students.

"Students are going to be our top priority every minute at the table," he said.

The faculty at the 14 state universities have come close on several occasions to striking since the system formed in 1983 but has never actually called one.

In April, faculty union delegates voted to postpone a strike-authorization vote until this summer or early fall. If a majority of faculty approve a strike- authorization, that would give Mash, in consultation with the union's negotiating committee, the authority to call a strike.

The universities where the faculty involved in this contract dispute work enroll more than 100,000 students. They include Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester universities.
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Whitmer and Dixon highlight differences in final debate

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican challenger Tudor Dixon stepped up the rhetoric in their second and final debate before the Nov. 8 election,.
According to state law, fines, penalties, and license money shall be appropriated exclusively to the use and support of the common schools ... . An exception is fines for overloaded vehicles. Seventy-five percent of those funds go to state highways; 25 percent go to the county general fund where the fine or penalty is paid. Fifty percent of money forfeited or seized in enforcing drug laws goes to counties for drug enforcement. Vehicles seized in drug law cases may be used by law enforcement agencies or sold with the proceeds going to schools.

County Court

Traffic Sentences

Kevin Rinke, 33, 2815 10th St., traffic control device violation and no operator's license, $100 fines and $48 court costs.

John Reeder, 68, Bellwood, traffic signal violation, $75 fine and $48 court costs.

Tammy Zwingman, 42, 3555 30th Ave., speeding, 80 mph in a 60 mph zone, $75 fine and $48 court costs.

Andrew Gehring, 29, Platte Center, over axle weight, $75 fine and $48 court costs.

Bonnie Cyza, 70, 2076 141st Road, failure to yield right of way, $25 fine and $48 court costs.

Jonathan Canaday, 26, Minneapolis, Minnesota, speeding, 81 mph in a 65 mph zone, $125 fine and $125 fine and $48 court costs.

Jory Holland, 25, Plainview, speeding, 82 mph in a 65 mph zone, $125 fine and $48 court costs.

Joseph Wemhoff, 66, 4508 23rd St., traffic signal violation, $75 fine and $48 court costs.

Damien Will, 23, 1921 17th St., no motorcycle operator's license and fictitious license plates, $125 fines and $48 court costs.

Corey Preister, 21, Humphrey, fishing regulation violation, possession of a large-mouth bass under size limit, $100 fine and $48 court costs.

Michael Cieloha, 30, 22776 310th Ave., speeding, 116 mph in a 60 mph zone, $300 fine and $48 court costs.

Samuel Lozano Jr., 24, 4151 E. 28th Ave., operating an unregistered motor vehicle, $25 fine and $48 court costs.

Leo Adams, 73, Colon, improper lane change, $25 fine and $48 court costs.

Tyrone McHugh, 31, 2808 20th St., over axle weight, $150 fine and $48 court costs.

Dennis Everson, 65, Yankton, South Dakota, speeding, 70 mph in a 55 mph zone, $75 fine and $48 court costs.

Joshua Peirce, 20, 2880 Eastbrook Drive, No. 2, careless driving, $100 fine and $48 court costs.

Emmanuel Hernandez-Ramos, 30, Madison, speeding, 91 mph in a 65 mph zone, $200 fine and $48 court costs.

Dustin Masek, 27, Norfolk, speeding, 71 mph in a 65 mph zone, and no seat belt, $50 fines and $48 court costs.

Criminal Sentences

James Hitz, 44, 1574 41st Ave., animal at-large, no proof of rabies vaccination and no city license, $75 fines and $49 court costs.

Natalie Snyder, 21, 18845 295th St., no proof of insurance, $50 fine and $49 court costs.

Adam Bomberger, 34, 2044 Highway 275, Lot 20, driving under suspension, $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Abbi Zywiec, 30, 1451 21st Ave., driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a accident, six months probation, $650 fines, operator's license revoked for 60 days and $49 court costs.

Benjamin Mendoza-Solis, 54, Carriage House Estates, No. 73, no operator's license, $175 fine and $49 court costs.

Randy Walnofer, 43, 4413 17th St., second-offense offensive dog and license required, $75 fines and $49 court costs.

Krystle-Rose Holdorf, 29, 3208 15th St., attempt of a Class I misdemeanor, $49 court costs.

Tylor Cemper, 22, Bellwood, sale of cigarettes or tobacco to a minor, $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Haley Faulkner, 35, 1816 11th St., destruction of property by an animal, $50 fine and $49 court costs.

Keila Mauricio, 27, 1921 17th St., unlawful acts-license/driving, $75 fine and $49 court costs.

Ruth Tercero-Zacarias, 20, 217 E. 22nd St., No. 37, driving under suspension, $150 fine and $49 court costs.

Todd Dreifurst, 48, 1255 48th Ave., attempted terroristic threats, 30 days in jail, credit for three days already served, 12 months probation and $49 court costs.

Travis Hammons, 31, 2022 11th St., driving under the influence of alcohol-.15+, two days in jail, 12 months probation, operator's license revoked for one year and $49 court costs.

Jeremy King, 36, Yutan, no proof of insurance, $50 fine and $49 court costs.

Craig Nickolite, 28, 3463 53rd Ave., No. 2, driving under the influence of alcohol-.15+, two days in jail, credit for one day already served, six months probation, operator's license revoked for one year and $49 court costs.

Dillon Perry, 28, 12 Sandy Point Drive, second-degree trespassing and disturbing the peace, $150 fines, $90 restitution and $49 court costs.

Emil Staroscik, 22, 3104 21st St., driving under the influence of alcohol, 30 days in jail, six months probation, $500 fine, operator's license revoked for six months and $49 court costs.

Kirsten Wanna, 25, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, second-degree trespass, 45 days in jail, credit for 12 days already served, and $49 court costs; third-degree assault and theft-unlawful taking $0-$500, 75 days in jail, credit for 23 days already served, and $49 court costs.

District Court

Criminal Sentences

Jonathan Palmer, 24, Columbus, accessory to a felony and attempted possession of a deadly weapon, three to five years in prison, credit for 139 days already served.

Jesus Rodriguez-Diaz, 22, 1604 Third St., delivery of a controlled substance, two years probation and court costs.
Detention Center

The inmate count at the Platte County Detention Facility on Friday was 66, with 36 from Platte County and 30 from out of county.

Police

May 21

11:20 p.m.  At the intersection of 23rd Street and 26th Avenue, Brendan Ritzdorf, 20, 2864 45th Ave., was cited for a traffic signal violation.

May 23

1:34 p.m. - At 3010 23rd St., Melissa Fuerhoff, 38, 2965 Linden Drive, was cited for shoplifting, seven counts.

May 28

10:22 a.m.  In the 2600 block of 14th Street, Rafael Romero, 43, 2512 15th St., was cited for a learners permit violation and expired in-transit decals.

10:35 a.m.  In the 2600 block of 12th Street, Mikaela Kozak, 31, Monroe, was cited for operating an unregistered vehicle.

8:18 p.m.  In the 1600 block of 40th Avenue, Andrew Ganow, 18, 2010 Seventh St., was cited for leaving the scene of an accident, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

8:18 p.m.  At 2010 Seventh St., Jordan ODey, 18, 665 Second Ave., was cited for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

June 2

11:32 a.m. - In the 2800 block of Eighth Street, Jose Velez, 23, 3114 38th St., was cited for driving under suspension and possession of marijuana-one ounce or less.

June 3

7:15 p.m.  In the 4000 block of 23rd Street, Dustin Anderson, 33, Genoa, was cited for speeding, 44 mph in a 35 mph zone, and no seat belt.

9:04 p.m.  In the 4000 block of 23rd Street, Erick Reyes, 24, 3317 25th St., No. 49, was cited for operating an unregistered vehicle and speeding, 45 mph in a 35 mph zone.

June 5

1:42 p.m. - In a parking lot at 3010 23rd St., traffic accident. Drivers were John Jacobitz, 66, 4816 34th St., and Beatriz Velasquez, 33, 1866 28th Ave.

6:07 p.m.  In the 400 block of 33rd Avenue, Silvano Andrade, 36, Grand Island, was cited for speeding, 63 mph in a 40 mph zone, and no operators license.

6:42 p.m.  In the 400 block of 33rd Avenue, Derek Dickey, 35, 1822 Fifth St., was cited for speeding, 53 mph in a 40 mph zone.

June 7

8:59 a.m.  In the 2200 block of 23rd Street, traffic accident. An unknown vehicle stopped suddenly and was struck from behind by vehicles driven by Stephen Petersen, 35, 3813 Adamy St., and Elizabeth Votava, 73, 46 Cottonwood Drive. The unknown vehicle then left the scene.

8:01 p.m.  In the 600 block of Fifth Street, traffic accident. Drivers were Jo Krueger, 66, 323 27th St., and Alyssa Rodriguez, 16, 1221 11th St.

June 8

11:28 a.m. - At the intersection of 11th Street and 18th Avenue, traffic accident. Drivers were Shantelle Bender, 17, 763 11th Ave., and Cory Mentink, 40, Stromsburg.

11:59 a.m. - At the intersection of 14th Street and 30th Avenue, traffic accident. Drivers were Kathryn Karmazin, 66, Norfolk, and Linda Price, 51, 4227 60th St.

2:44 p.m.  Burglary at 4517 24th St., under investigation.

June 9

8:16 a.m. - Theft at 3010 23rd St., $120 loss.

12:32 p.m. - Theft at 958 26th Ave., bicycle stolen, no loss amount.

4:16 p.m. - Theft at 1473 44th Ave., bicycle stolen, no loss amount.

Sheriff

May 31

5:39 p.m. - On Highway 22, three miles east of Monroe, a vehicle driven by Michael Jenny, 40, 3122 35th St., struck a deer.

June 8

7:10 a.m.  Criminal mischief at 7305 53rd St., switchbox damaged, no loss amount.

3:18 p.m.  Criminal mischief two miles east of Genoa on Low Road, $200 loss.

10:45 p.m. - On 190th Street, four miles southeast of Genoa, a vehicle driven by Shawna Booth, 36, Genoa, struck a deer.

June 9

4:45 p.m. - Traffic violation at the intersection of Lakeview Drive and 48th Avenue, Pamela Hahn of Columbus cited for speeding.

Fire

June 8

11:30 a.m.  Accident at the intersection of 18th Avenue and 11th Street, no transport.

1:33 p.m.  In the 3000 block of 40th Avenue, medical.

3:24 p.m.  In the 2400 block of 18th Street, medical.

June 9

11:21 a.m. - In the 3400 block of 51st Avenue, medical.

1:34 p.m. - At the intersection of 23rd Avenue and 24th Street, medical.

8:12 p.m. - Structure fire at Archer Daniels Midland on East Eighth Street, electrical fire.

9:41 p.m. - In the 100 block of Carriage House Estates, medical.

June 10

5:15 a.m. - In the 26900 block of 145th Street, medical.
SUN LAKES, Ariz.  Regina Bradley Luchtel, 87, of Sun Lakes, Arizona, was born on Aug. 13, 1928, and died on Saturday, June 4, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona.

She was raised in Columbus, attended Kramer High School in Columbus and was a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in education. During her time at the university she met the love of her life, Harold Dutch Luchtel, and three days after her graduation, they married on June 8, 1950.

In 1952, Jean and Dutch moved to Leigh, where the family grew to include three children. In 1960, they moved again to Columbus to join other family members in managing the Columbus Bank. Jean was a director of Columbus Bank & Trust Co. for many years. They retired to Spirit Lake, Iowa, in 1988 and then moved to the warmer climate of Sun Lakes, Arizona, in 1992.

Jean was involved in community service as an "ambassador" for the Palo Verde neighborhood introducing new homeowners to the many activities and opportunities available as well as creating several social opportunities that would bring together residents on a regular schedule. She was famous for her parties and her many, many friends.

Jean was active in many craft areas including: glass jewelry, beading, lapidary, knitting, 3-D paper, decoupage, paper-mache and polymer clay. As a dear friend said upon her passing: "She worked really hard to live a full creative life by helping others enjoy their personal talents and their amazing communities."

Jean was preceded in death by her husband; parents, Elmer and Addie Bradley; and daughter, Ann Richards (April 2016).

She is survived by her two children, Linda Labenz (Robert) of Goodyear, Arizona, and Larry Luchtel (Del Kolve) of Hollywood, California; as well as three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Sun Lakes, Arizona.
Sweet Leogang, Austria... A few months ago those stone pillars were all covered with fresh pow during WhiteStyle and now they look down on FMB World Tour's best dirt jump riders gathered to fight for the 26TRIX 2016 title.

As always - Leogang's crowd is warming bikers while not giving a damn about their wheel sizes.

All the joys of being a dirt jumper.

The course this morning was wet and slow. But the sunny day definitely helped to make it run smoothly.

Bienve is collecting karma point for the finals.

"Is it windy yet?"

Attention! New kid on the dirt radar is here. Meet Emil Johansson from Sweden. 16 years old and rocking like a pro already (straight outta Mr. Soderstrom's style wings). Emil did splendidly and pulled combos cleaner than 'you know who.' 5th place for the grom, and a Wild Card entry for Munich Prime Line! Will he survive the Diamond Series treatment?

Gemma is here!

Mr. Bezanson can probably 360 any jump you could throw at him.

Drew visited Leogang straight after X Games in Austin but his MTB debut is still getting on slowly. Despite being a bit sore after Swatch Rocket Air he managed to pull massive flat spins but it wasn't enough to even scratch the final list.

Geoff is one of the judges at the 26Trix competition.

Mr. Bizet is back in the business with his big smile and great tricks like this perfect flip tuck no hander! We're keeping our fingers crossed for Antoine to finish this season without any injuries as he is on his way to dominating FMB World Tour.

Perfect 360 tailwhip by Peter Kaiser.

Anthony is back strong for the new season of competitions. He went far above the rest of the pack on Leogang's jumps but also tried new things like his personal variation of a Cashroll.

Wear gloves, kids...

Great surprise from the young Sweed. He got to the finals by storm.

Such a stylish oppo-invert-one-foot.

One of many reasons why Diego qualified in the number one spot.

Big oppo 720 on the last jump from Antoine. He's back in the mix.

After timed training, downhillers found some time to enjoy slopestyle runs over the course. They even found some time to introduce those 'old school' 26-inch lovers to electricity.

Tomas Lemoine didn't show many new things during qualification but it was still enough to place him on the top 15's hot seat.

Anton Thelander missed his luck on this flip opposite tailwhip and ate dirt hard. Heal fast buddy!

Hmm... tastes like dirt.

Yannick is pumped after his good finish at FISE. Now, he wants more...

Double downside tailwhip by Pavel.

Weather is always the biggest factor at outdoor events. Leogang's one was kind enough to 'shut up' by the end of the day and let riders fly without any turbulences.

Carson earning points in the quali round.

Ride or Die

Yannick is still rocking with 29 years on his ID and 18 on the course. This guy knows how to stay consistent.

Sam Pilgrim working hard on his vlog.

Nicholi Rogatkin is hungry for the overall dominance in 2016.

Single, double or triple? You never know with Nicholi!

Sweet tailwhip on a hip jump.

Style for miles!

Mr. Genon went classy through the course leaving us speechless yet hungry for his 'winning run.'!

Petr has got everything to be on a podium... Well, except luck.

Truck to decade from Thomas.

Germany's own Nico Scholze was the one to watch if you are into FMX style. It not only made him grab 8th spot in qualifying, but also the Best Trick trophy and a Wild Card spot for Munich Prime Line along with Emil Johansson!

Ready to rumble.

Pavel Alekhin is getting used to brakes but the mellow course of 26TRIX didn't need them. Experience is flowing from our Russian friend who knows there is no dead sailors allowed on the contest course. He cased a flip double whip, but managed to squeeze in a barspin on the speed jump and finish his run. Next time he went for the same combination as Diego and made it. Same jump - same problem bailed out Torquato Testa from the top 15 as he missed just one trick.

Carson felt like home in Austria. Clean and easy runs made him score 9th spot.

Yannick 'posing' for Geoff's photos.

Beautiful flapspin from Louis.

Huge flip whip from Anthony Messere.

Diego Caverzasi had the run of his life is Austria. Backflip barspin to late tailwhip? Pumped BMX's tricks made him win qualifications!

Massive super-whip from Marel Durbau.

Stretching it the Spanish way with Bienvenido Aguado Alba. His La Poma friend, Adolf Silva needs to be mentioned here as probably the first ever MTB rider that pulled a double flip in his quali run. He dead-sailored the next jump and finished up with a double flip tuck no hander attempt on the last one! Barcelona is a state of mind...

Adolf Silva going big! Double seat grab superman!

Alfie spinning it mid-course!

Antoine Bizet should keep his line from qualification runs and spice it up.

Daryl was out of luck in the qualification round.

Lucky 7th position in qualis for the young Canadian.

Mehdi Gani is one of those riders we always keep an eye on. Consistency, great combinations and down to earth attitude are his key factors to placing high in the rankings. Make it count Mehdi!

The man of the day!

1st. Diego Caverzasi 2nd. Antoine Bizet 3rd. Mehdi Gani Congratulations and see you next year!

History in the making in Leogang! Another 26TRIX has ended but not in the sun rays as we all have expected. Heavy rainfalls that splashed on the Austrian mountains called off the finals on one of the most prestigious dirt contests of the year. Yet, Saturday's qualifications were crazy enough to make history on the Leogang's course. Those who held back and went for the easy runs may be bit grumpy know, but Mother Nature is not an easy woman. Unexpected rotation on the podium is always a good thing to watch, so we hope you will enjoy this photo epic by Bartek Wolinski and Szymon Nieborak. Some new faces on the big jumps roster are about to show up.Results here.
Chris Moorman Signs as an 888poker Ambassador

June 10, 2016 Matthew Pitt Editor

The United Kingdoms Chris Moorman has signed a deal with 888poker that sees him become the newest ambassador for the company.

Moorman is regarded as one of the best online poker tournament players of all time. With almost $13.4 million in online winnings, Moorman is on top of the online all-time money list; nobody has yet won more than $10 million.

Of that impressive total, approximately $175,000 stems from his play at 888poker, where he was called "WhatWudJSay. However, Moorman's moniker at the site is now "888moorman" to reflect his ambassador status.

It isn't only the online world where Moorman excels, his live cashes add up to more than $4.1 million and include a World Poker Tour title and a World Series of Poker Europe Main Event runner-up finish.

Speaking of his decision to sign for 888poker, Moorman said: "888 is doing big things and really is working hard to expand their reach in poker. Things like sponsoring the WSOP and the Super High Roller Bowl have shown they are committed to their growth of the brand and I can't wait to see what they have coming up in the future."

Moorman was also full of praise for the structure of 888poker's tournaments, stating that the site seems to have more standard speed tournaments compared to some rivals offering more turbo structures.

Fans of Moorman should be delighted to learn that part of his deal requires him to interact with them on the streaming site Twitch. Moorman plans to stream some of the final tables he'll inevitably reach, giving fans an insight into how the great man plays.

The signing of Moorman is a major coup for 888poker and further strengthens its already impressive roster of ambassadors. Moorman joins forces with Kara Scott, and three-time WSOP bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche as the sites sponsored pros.

Moorman is currently in Las Vegas for the 2016 WSOP where he is looking for his first gold bracelet. He has one cash to him name, this coming in the Colossus II event, and will no doubt have several more by the time the Series draws to a close.

Want to stay atop all the latest in the poker world? If so, make sure to get PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
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Donald Trumps response to President Obamas endorsement of Hillary Clinton as president is in. He took time  in between gloating tweets about his 13 million primary votes  to take a shot at both the president and the presumptive nominee.

So having referred to Clinton as Obama plus! on Thursday, and taking to Twitter as usual, Trump sent this message to America:

Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obamabut nobody else does!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2016

Its funny Trump should mention nobody wants another four years of Obama. Because he says his 13 million votes show that he is the one Americans want. He even claimed hed have more than he did if he hadnt had so many opponents, tweeting the other day, I would have had many millions of votes more than Crooked Hillary Clinton except for the fact that I had 16 opponents, she had one! and Sean Hannity crowed, @RealDonaldTrumps Historic 13 Million Primary Votes Compared To Every GOP Nominee Since 1908.

Somebody else had more votes than Donald Trump too, back in 2008. Somebody named Barack Obama, with 17,584,692 votes. And somebody else, named Hillary Clinton, with 17,857,501.

According to Real Clear Politics, Hillary finished 2016s primary race with 15,729,913 votes, 2+ million more than Trump (hence Trumps insecurity on the issue) and Bernie Sanders with just under Trumps total, with 12,009,562. Put in perspective, Trumps self-aggrandizement seems unwarranted.

Never mind a fact that slips Trumps mind: he didnt face all 16 candidates in the primaries. His chief opponents were Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Marco Rubio, who all managed a few million votes apiece. The others all less than a million, from Ben Carsons 825,501 to Rick Santorums 16,625. If anything, the quality of Trumps opposition makes it a surprise he did not do better. At least, if hes as yuge and successful as he claims.

And here is another problem with Trumps math: if you take all the votes cast for the other Republican candidates, you get more than 15 million votes against Trump: 15,284,153 just between Cruz, Kasich, and Rubio, not including the second tier candidates. Trump, as he is eager to point out, had 13,406,108.

So the number of votes against? Thats another record. One you wont see Trump bragging about.

Trumps need for affirmation is best shown, and the whole silly charade exposed, by a retweet, however: WHERE IS THE REPORTING, lovusa4 asked in the original tweet. According to lovusa4 (and apparently Trump  he retweeted it after all), Trump got MOST VOTES FOR PRESIDENT IN HISTORY OF USA.

As Philip Bump of The Washington Post pointed out,

That record is held by Barack Obama, who received 69.4 million votes in the 2008 general election.

But nobody wants four more years of Barack Obama? The guy with the actual record number of votes cast for him? Whose approval rating keeps going up and up?

The fact is, Donald Trump is nowhere near as popular as he claims. He is at least, if not more unpopular than he is popular. Which will be a problem in the general election. Philip Bump points to the primary election totals (excluding the Democratic vote in the District of Columbia) which are 28.9 million and 29 million for Republicans and Democrats respectively. Meaning Trump is going to have to find more voters. He sure isnt likely to engage anymore at the rate he is going.

What hes done so far is about the best he is likely to do as he continues to offend just about everybody who is not one of Fox News demographic of white Christian males. And there are plenty of Christians who arent impressed with Trumps alleged embrace of their religion.

If Trump wants to turn the 2016 election into a referendum on Barack Obama, he might have bitten off more than he can chew. Because not only does Gallup show Obamas approval rating up to 53 percent as of Friday morning  higher than Ronald Reagans 50 percent in June 1988  but the trend has been steadily upward since November 2015.

Hillary Clinton is leading Trump in three national polls on top of it all. The results of her Twitter trolling of Trump yesterday are unequivocal: Trumps response netted him far fewer retweets and likes than Hillarys original tweet.

Lets face it: her outperforming Donald Trump in the primaries is just the icing on the cake. Unfortunately for Donald J. Trump, it looks like Americans would be plenty happy with four more years of Obama, or, as he puts it, Obama Plus.
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An investigation into voter fraud by the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office caught the attention of the California State Attorney Generals Office into possible voter intimidation.

According to the ABC affiliate KDRV, about a week before the primary, deputies went door-to-door to the homes of Asian Americans of Hmong descent threatening them with arrest for voter fraud.

The Deputies:



went door to door, arrived with rifles, and listed the punishment for voter fraud, it was a case of voter intimidation.

Hmong (Pron: Mung), were key allies with the CIA against the North Vietnamese and Vietcong during the Vietnam war as they guided the soldiers through the thick jungles of Vietnam. After the fall of Saigon, those lucky to escape were evacuated to the U.S. Hmong people migrated to the central part of California, trying their best to assimilate.

Many still suffer to this day from PTSD from the war as well as those who were left behind, only to be escape their plight of death for supporting the U.S. Hmong are the poorest of the poor in the Asian and Pacific Islander culture, with many on social services. Cultural shock is still a problem too as many are incarcerated for crimes that are part of the Hmong culture for thousands of years.

Their children, the second generation or U.S. born Hmong tend to do better but racism and yes, voter intimidation still persist. Also, there has been a rise of Hmong Street gangs too in California and their new enclave in Minnesota. Those who escaped Southeast Asia still feel the pressure but this time its in their new homeland.

Though Sheriff Lopey has said that there is allegation of voter fraud, there were no arrest whatsoever as many Hmong folks vote Democratic. Because of the door-to-door threat of arrest, many stayed home and not voted. Oh and California does not require voter I.D. to vote, as your home address would suffice.

According to the CBS affiliate KTVL,

Lopey said about 200 applications looked questionable.



Deputies and state investigators went to the addresses listed on those applications. The areas included the Klamath River Country Estates, Mount Shasta Vista and Mount Shasta Forest area.

Youre supposed to use an address, youre supposed to have a primary residence, or at least a domicile at the location, and some people used incomplete information, Sheriff Jon Lopey said.

Sheriff Lopey said some applicants used parcel numbers which is not a residence indicator.

Many of the Hmong family live in the same dwelling as other families. Since many are extremely poor, many live with other family members to make ends meet. So if for example, John Smith lives at 123 Main Street, while John Doe may also use the same address with no relations, there may be a conflict. Also, if someone is homeless and lives under a bridge, the homeless person can use their County Department of Social Services address as a mail box for government-type maillike their drivers license or I.D.

Apparently, the Hmong people who voted Tuesday were not arrested as their vote were cast, but many were sufficiently intimated to not vote, as many fear deportation back to a country that wants them dead.
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By Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters)  As lawmakers across the United States battle over whether to allow transgender Americans to use public restrooms that match their gender identities, universities are scrambling to ensure that dorms meet federal standards.

At a time of year when the nations 2,100 residential colleges and universities are sorting out student housing assignments, they also are poring over a May letter from the Obama administration that thrusts them into the national debate on transgender rights.

Known as the dear colleague letter, it makes clear that federal law protects transgender students right to live in housing that reflects their gender identity.

Schools that fail to provide adequate housing to transgender students could face lawsuits or the loss of any federal funding they rely on.

Although hundreds of universities had begun to offer gender-inclusive housing in response to student demand in recent years, many are now reviewing or expediting their plans so they can provide the option to incoming students for the first time this fall.

The policies are intended not only to accommodate transgender students, university officials say, but to help siblings, gay students who want to live with straight friends of the opposite gender or simply groups comfortable with mixed-gender housing.

The May letter from the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice invoked Title IX, the 1972 law prohibiting gender discrimination at schools that receive federal funds.

Title IX and the dear colleague letters make all of us, all institutions, more accountable for students who may be on the margins, said Darryl Holloman, dean of students at Georgia State University, which offered gender-inclusive housing options for the first time in the 2015-2016 academic year.

ONLY A MATTER OF TIME

There are no official U.S. statistics on the number of colleges that offer gender-inclusive housing, although a count by Campus Pride, a non-profit that focuses on supporting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in U.S. higher education, found it could be as low as one in 10.

The author of that study, Genny Beemyn, director of the University of Massachusetts at Amhersts Stonewall Center, acknowledged the count, which shows just 203 universities, may underestimate the number of schools that offer gender-inclusive housing.

More and more schools are grappling with it, Beemyn said. Its only a matter of time until this becomes a much bigger issue.

Universities in the Northeast and along the West Coast have been quickest to allow gender-inclusive housing, with those in the South and religiously affiliated schools least likely to do so, according to observers, including Demoya Gordon, transgender rights project attorney with Lambda Legal, an LGBT rights advocacy group.

The Association of College and University Housing Officers-International has seen an increase in the number of questions it gets about transgender housing, said spokesman James Baumann.

It is certainly something that has gained momentum, Baumann said. When I first started 10 years ago the questions was, Should we? And now the question is, How can we?'

The same letter that has universities examining their transgender housing policies sparked a broader fight by telling U.S. public grammar and high schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that reflect their gender identities.

Thirteen U.S. states joined a lawsuit accusing the Obama administration of overreaching, attempting to add transgender protections to a 1972 law that never mentioned the subject.

LESS OPPOSITION

The university moves have been less controversial in part because the population affected is one of the segments of society most comfortable with transgender issues.

Some 57 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds told a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken April 14 through May 3 that they believed people should use public restrooms that match the gender with which they identify. That is a far higher percentage than the 40 percent of Americans of all ages who held that view. The poll included responses from 6,723 people and has a credibility interval of 1.4 percentage points.

Few students are choosing gender-inclusive housing. At Georgia Techs Atlanta campus, 42 out of some 4,100 students housed in dorms sought it last year.

When Johns Hopkins University first offered it in the 2014-2015 academic year, 30 out of some 2,500 students enrolled, a number that doubled to 60 the following year.

There are certainly some transgender students for whom it matters a lot but if its a gay man whose best friend is a lesbian and they decide they want to live together, this is an option, said Demere Woolway, director of LGBTQ life at the Baltimore university.

College officials interviewed also emphasized they have no plans to phase out traditional gender-segregated housing.

We have students  who want to maintain spaces where they are with people who have the same gender identity, said Elizabeth Lee Agosto, senior associate dean of student affairs at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, which has offered gender-inclusive housing since 2007. Its important to have the full spectrum.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Bill Trott)
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The crowd chanted, Build that wall, Donald Trump went over and hugged an American flag, and the xenophobic and racist impulses of the Republican Party were on full display.

Video:

Here is a better look at Trump hugging the flag:

Trump pauses during a "Build That Wall!" chant to hug one of the three American flags on stage behind him. pic.twitter.com/4LkYHdE0c8  Shaquille Brewster (@shaqbrewster) June 11, 2016

What Trump is selling is the exact opposite of the values that the United States of America was founded on. The United States is a nation of immigrants, but the Republican Party has nominated a man who wants to keep immigrants out.

Donald Trump isnt embracing the values that our flag represents. He is destroying them. Republicans have substituted xenophobia for patriotism, and their racist warping of everything that this country is supposed to stand for was captured in a single moment while Donald Trump spoke in Florida.

Trump and his supporters represent a knee-jerk reaction to the changing of America. They represent a reaction against change and diversification, and the desperate pleas for a wall were symptomatic of their desire to block progress in our country.

The xenophobic bigotry and racism that is the beating heart of the Republican Party have never been clearly captured than when Trump hugged the American flag in Tampa.
If you're still changing your engine oil every 5,000 miles, or even 3,000 miles, then you may be just be flushing money.

Most new vehicles sold today can go at least 7,500 miles between oil changes, and sometimes more than 10,000, says Mike Calkins, technical services director for the AAA travel services organization.

Calkins listed two key reasons most new vehicles can last far longer between oil changes. Many use synthetic oil or a blend of synthetic and conventional oils that maintain their lubricating properties longer, and most late-model vehicles come with oil life monitors that signal when it's time for fresh oil based on how the car is driven instead of mileage or time.

Some oil life monitors are based solely on mileage (the type of monitoring system should be explained in the owner's manual), but most current systems do much more.

"The more sophisticated systems take into account the number of cold starts, outside temperature, average engine temperature, vehicle speed, and a whole range of other operating parameters. There's an algorithm that calculates oil life based on those, and they're quite accurate," he said.

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Mercedes-Benz, for example, uses full synthetic oil, and some owners have reported that the oil life monitor didn't call for an oil change until 15,000 miles, Calkins said. On General Motors vehicles, most of which use a synthetic blend, surveys have shown that under normal driving the monitor will typically call for an oil change every 7,000 to 8,000 miles, but with mainly highway driving it can stretch to 10,000 miles.

Towing puts more stress on the engine and the oil inside it, and the monitor may signal a need for new oil every 5,000 to 6,000 miles. Towing falls under what auto manufacturers refer to as "severe service" that calls for more frequent oil changes and other routine maintenance. Frequent short trips and cold engine starts also qualify as severe.

"With these oil life monitors, it is absolutely essential that the vehicle owner use an oil that meets the manufacturer's specifications," Calkins said. "Those systems are calibrated based on using oil that meets certain standards. Toyota says if you use full synthetic oil, it's a 10,000-mile oil change interval. Toyota also says that if you use a semi-synthetic or conventional oil, the oil change interval is 5,000 miles."

In addition, the oil has to be the correct viscosity (such as 5W20) and "service classification" set by the manufacturer and certified by the American Petroleum Institute.

Every oil isn't suited for every engine, and using the wrong oil can even void the engine warranty. How do consumers know they're getting the right oil?

Calkins says to choose a quality repair shop that shows customers it uses the correct oil for a particular vehicle. "Another way is to educate yourself and get out the least-read book in history, the owner's manual. Turn to those boring pages in back that list the specifications and find out what your car is supposed to use."

The owner's manual also will recommend intervals for oil changes and other maintenance.

For those who drive only 6,000 miles or less per year, Calkins said manufacturers typically recommend changing the oil once a year. Moisture and other contaminants can build up in the oil, especially with frequent cold starts and short trips, so owners shouldn't let it go more than a year.

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With synthetic oil and synthetic blends more common today, Calkins said many vehicles no longer qualify for $20 to $30 oil changes. Instead, the cost often is in the $60-$70 range. That means that frequent oil changes, long regarded as "cheap insurance," aren't as cheap as they used to be.
Jobless rate

Not adjusted, jobless rate in May in metropolitan areas in Minnesota:

Duluth: 5.1 percent

Mankato: 2.7

Minneapolis-St. Paul: 3.1

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Rochester: 2.7

St. Cloud: 3.3

Minnesota: 3.3

United States: 4.5

Initial claims for unemployment insurance

In 11-county southeast Minnesota region

May 2016: 1,174

April 2016: 906

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March 2016: 1,070

February 2016: 1,394

January 2016: 1,870

December 2015: 2,717

November 2015: 2,333

October 2015: 958

September 2015: 793

August 2015: 802

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July 2015: 1,161

June 2015: 1,334

May 2015: 1,009

April 2015: 1,034

March 2015: 1,336

February 2015: 1,485

January 2015: 1,939

December 2014: 3,203

November 2014: 2,418

October 2014: 1,174

September 2014: 995

August 2014: 817

July 2014: 1,093

June 2014: 1,354

May 2014: 1,216

April 2014: 1,405

March 2014: 1,599

February 2014: 1,668

January 2014: 2,183

December 2013: 3,466

November 2013: 2,178

October 2013: 1,498

September 2013: 1,089

August 2013: 1,078

July 2013: 1,415

June 2013: 1,358

May 2013: 1,686

April 2013: 1,538

March 2013: 1,454

February 2013: 1,478

January 2013: 2,471

December 2012: 2,880

November 2012: 2,458

October 2012: 1,648

September 2012: 1,144

August 2012: 1,199

July 2012: 1,569

June 2012: 1,525

May 2012: 1,597

April 2012: 1,419

March 2012: 1,706

February 2012: 1,904

January 2012: 2,815

December 2011: 3,013

November 2011: 2,734

October 2011: 1,673

September 2011: 1,300

August 2011: 1,632

July 2011: 2,470

June 2011: 2,060

May 2011: 1,686

April 2011: 1,771

March 2011: 2,128

February 2011: 2,064

January 2011: 3,075

December 2010: 3,371

November 2010: 3,336

October 2010: 2,256

September 2010: 1,842

August 2010: 1,725

July 2010: 1,795

June 2010: 2,041

May 2010: 1,418

April 2010: 1,889

March 2010: 2,524

February 2010: 2,633

January 2010: 3,276

December 2009: 4,780

November 2009: 3,531

October 2009: 2,679

September 2009: 2,199

August 2009: 2,337

July 2009: 2,789

Source: Minnesota DEED

Area employment

Jobs in May and change from a year ago for Rochester metropolitan area (Olmsted, Dodge and Wabasha counties):

Total Nonfarm, 118,121, 1.5%

Total Private, 105,551, 1.4%

Goods-Producing excl. Ag., 15,182, -0.5%

Mining, Logging and Construction, 4,674, 3.7%

Manufacturing, 10,508, -2.3%

Trade, Transportation & Utilities, 18,385, 2.1%

Wholesale Trade, 2,996, 5.7%

Retail Trade, 12,637, 3%

Transportation and Warehousing, 2,752, -5.6%

Information, 2,015, 1.1%

Financial Activities, 2,682, -0.4%

Professional and Business Services, 5,877, -1.8%

Educational and Health, 47,586, 4.2%

Leisure and Hospitality, 10,117, -4.7%

Government, 12,570, 1.9%

Federal Government, 953, -1.9%

State Government, 1,559, 4.7%

Local Government, 10,058, 1.8%

Source: Minnesota DEED

Monthly housing data

Residential sales in southeastern Minnesota in April, with change from a year ago.

New listings: 778, up 0.4 percent

Pending sales: 682, down 0.3 percent

Sales: 663, down 6.5 percent

Sales, year to date: 2,127, down 4.2 percent

Median sales price: $165,500, up 4.1 percent

Average days on market before sold: 69, down 14.8 percent

Average days on market, year to date: 82, down 15.5 percent

Source: Southeast Minnesota Association of Realtors

Single-family home construction

Permits issued in Rochester

May 2016: 52

April 2016: 33

March 2016: 31

February 2016: 15

January 2016: 25

December 2015: 42

November 2015: 23

October 2015: 49

September 2015: 27

August 2015: 33

July 2015: 29

June 2015: 48

May 2015: 19

April 2015: 22

March 2015: 30

February 2015: 19

January 2015: 21

December 2014: 27

November 2014: 18

October 2014: 35

September 2014: 23

August 2014: 60

July 2014: 38

June 2014: 41

May 2014: 35

April 2014: 25

March 2014: 28

February 2014: 14

January 2014: 11

December 2013: 22

November 2013: 26

October 2013: 34

September 2013: 23

August 2013: 21

July 2013: 39

June 2013: 33

May 2013: 28

April 2013: 39

March 2013: 29

February 2013: 15

January 2013: 19

December 2012: 14

November 2012: 22

October 2012: 23

September 2012: 22

August 2012: 38

July 2012: 39

June 2012: 32

May 2012: 22

April 2012: 29

March 2012: 32

February 2012: 20

January 2012: 6

December 2011: 16

November 2011: 23

October 2011: 16

September 2011: 19

August 2011: 18

July 2011: 8

June 2011: 26

May 2011: 14

April 2011: 19

March 2011: 24

February 2011: 8

January 2011: 3

December 2010: 15

November 2010: 21

October 2010: 14

September 2010: 10

August 2010: 15

July 2010: 23

June 2010: 12

May 2010: 20

April 2010: 25

March 2010: 27

February 2010: 8

January 2010:13

Source: city of Rochester
Two years after making a flashy return to Minnesota with a Rochester shop, Dunkin' Donutshas signed a franchise agreement to bring three more locations to the region.

The Massachusetts doughnut maker announced Thursday that it has signed a deal with new franchisees Oliver Schugeland David Schooffto open three new restaurants in Mankato. The first one is slated to open in 2017.

Mankato is leaping ahead of Rochester, which was expected to have about five locations by now.

Rochester Retail Services, a division of the Kahler Hospitality Group, opened a shop here in June 2014 at 15 First Ave. SW in its Kahler Grand Hotelcomplex in the heart of downtown. It was the first one in Minnesota since 2005. Dunkin' said then that Rochester Retail Services would be opening five more shops in the next few years.

That changed last fall , according to Dunkin' Donuts Senior Director of Franchising Patrick Cunningham.

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"Rochester Retail Services, the franchisee of record, will continue to own and operate the existing restaurant in the Kahler. However, they will not develop more Dunkin' stores as we previously reported," he said in October.

When announcing the coming Mankato shops, Dunkin' said franchise opportunities remain available in Rochester. Plus, "to help fuel additional growth in the market, special development incentives are available."

In Mankato, the new franchisees have more than 45 years of combined experience in business and real estate development.

"We have a passion and loyalty for the Dunkin' Donuts brand and look forward to opening our restaurants in the years to come," stated Schooff.  Jeff Kiger
MINNEAPOLIS  Contract talks are set to resume in the hopes of avoiding a strike by nearly 5,000 nurses at five hospitals in the Minneapolis area.

Negotiators from the Minnesota Nurses Association and Allina Health on Friday agreed to a federal mediator's request to resume negotiations, which they'll do on Monday.

The nurses rejected Allina's latest contract offer on Monday, saying it would shift too much of the company's health care costs to the nurses. Union leaders have set a one-week strike to begin June 19 by nurses at Abbott Northwestern, Phillips Eye Institute, United, Mercy and Unity hospitals.

Allina has said its metro-area hospitals will remain open if the nurses go on strike.

The walkout would be the first in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since a one-day strike in 2010.
MINNEAPOLIS  Cliffs Natural Resources brought more good news to northeastern Minnesota's Iron Range on Thursday when the company said it will restart operations in August at its United Taconite mining facilities, two months earlier than previously announced.

Cleveland-based Cliffs announced the early restart after reaching a contract with U.S. Steel Canada to supply the majority of its iron ore pellet requirements for the second half of this year. That follows a 10-year supply agreement announced last week with another major steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, which had led the mining company to plan on reopening United Taconite in October.

United Taconite employs about 450 people at its mine in Eveleth and processing plant in nearby Forbes. They were idled in August amid a global steel industry slump blamed on Chinese dumping of cheap subsidized steel that led to more than 2,000 direct layoffs on the Iron Range. The aftershocks from the shutdowns cost the regional economy more than 3,000 other jobs.

But the federal government has since imposed stiff tariffs on Chinese steel products, giving some relief to the domestic steel industry. And Chinese officials promised U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew this week that they will rein in steel production.

The relief is starting to be felt in Minnesota, by far the largest iron ore-producing state. Last month, Cliffs, the country's top iron ore mining company, recalled more than 400 workers at Northshore Mining in Babbitt and Silver Bay, the first major callback on the Range in several months.

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"The vast majority of the steel companies in North America are currently enjoying stronger order books, and their demand for high quality iron ore pellets from a reliable supplier is increasing," Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a statement. "With that, Cliffs' business continues to gain very positive momentum, with the improvement of the existing business with our long established clients and the addition of new ones."

However, U.S. Steel's Keetac operation in Keewatin remains closed, as are Mesabi Nugget near Hoyt Lakes and Mining Resources in Chisholm. Most of Grand Rapids-based Magnetation's plants also are closed.
Barbara Wilson's final message to her daughter was "thank you."

Wilson had planned to leave her husband the next day, and Melissa Ische texted her mother to say she'd help move her out. She never got the chance.

"I got the last text from her at 8:29 p.m. telling me 'thank you,'" Ische recalled. "He called me at 9:09 p.m. and told me, 'Don't bother coming to pick up your mom. Just call the morgue.'"

Delbert Wilson, 56, killed her in their Mankato home before turning the gun on himself. Barbara Wilson, 54, left behind 13 grandchildren, four children and nine siblings.

She was one of at least nine women killed by domestic violence in Minnesota this year. That includes five in the past two months. Among them was Trisha Nelson, who died in a busy Plymouth intersection after her fiance shot and ran her over; Courtney Monson, shot by her husband while hiding in the basement with three of her children; and Tasha Hanson, found dead in the woods after her boyfriend strangled and beat her.

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Experts say it will take more than law enforcement to make it stop. In several cases this year, police never heard from the victim.

"It's difficult to understand sometimes how it can happen or why it can happen," said Ramsey Police Chief Jeff Katers. "I think we're always looking for the why. Why did this happen? And sometimes, we don't always have the answers."

About 80 percent of all female homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner or ex-spouse. About 20 to 30 Minnesotans per year have died in domestic violence during the past decade, according to the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women.

The data make it clear intervention happens too late, said Liz Richards, the coalition's executive director.

"There is sort of an assumption out there that what needs to happen is people should call law enforcement and that's going to solve the problem," she said. "But as we say, we're never going to stop domestic violence if we focus only on the intervention that happens after violence occurs."

There often are signs of trouble, and everyone in contact with potential victims should look out for those signs, she said. Threats are a big red flag. Significant criminal history is another.

Early intervention outside of the criminal justice system also is key. One program showing promise starts the conversation in health care settings.

The project tested how teenage girls' perception of domestic violence changed with time after talking about it with their medical providers.

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Not all 136 teens in the program saw a benefit. But a University of Minnesota evaluation of the program found a significantly lower percentage of teens reported being in abusive relationships a few months after visiting the clinics  17 percent at the start of the program and 11 percent after.

More teens also learned about available resources and almost half the girls left an older boyfriend by the end of the study.

It's easy to fall into hopelessness when seeing stagnant homicide numbers, and it's going take significant commitment across all levels of service to prevent future deaths, Richards said.

"What are we doing within our schools? How do we deal with this within our health clinics? What are we doing in terms of what messages we provide within families and communities in terms of the expected roles people play," she asked. "How do you deal with conflict?"

Ische said her mom was good at making things seem OK even when they weren't. She said she wishes there was something she could've done sooner and recalled not believing at first that Delbert Wilson had killed her mother.

"I just thought it was a dry threat, maybe he was just trying to scare us into not coming to get her," she said, her voice trying to hold back tears. "Getting that news that she didn't make it was really, really hard."
Prosecutor in police shooting to enter alcohol program

MINNEAPOLIS  The prosecutor whose office won a recent conviction in the high-profile case of a Minneapolis police officer who killed an unarmed woman says he will be entering a treatment program for alcohol issues.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman issued a statement Friday saying he was evaluated for alcohol issues and agrees he needs treatment. Hell be entering a program Monday.

Freeman announced last week that he was taking a medical leave, but didnt say why.

His Friday statement says he has also worked to stabilize his "unacceptably high blood pressure." He says hes determined to reclaim his health and hopes to be back to work in mid-June.

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Last month, a jury convicted Mohamed Noor of murder in the 2017 fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia who called 911 to report a possible crime.

Minnesota seeks to add Purdue Pharma owners to opioid suit

ST. PAUL  Minnesotas attorney general is asking a state court for permission to add the owners of drugmaker Purdue Pharma to a lawsuit that seeks to hold the company responsible for the opioid addiction crisis.

Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma makes OxyContin and has been the subject of legal action in nearly every state.

Attorney General Keith Ellison wants to add eight members of the Sackler family to Minnesotas lawsuit. He says the Sacklers, who own and operate Purdue, were involved in deceptive marketing tactics and strategies to sell more opioids, despite knowing the risks.

If a judge approves, Minnesota would become at least the 11th state to take legal action against one or more members of the Sackler family.

A family spokeswoman issued a statement denying the allegations, calling the lawsuit a misguided attempt to place blame where it doesnt belong.

Man holed up in hotel surrenders to police

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BROOKLYN PARK  Authorities say a standoff at a Brooklyn Park hotel ended after more than six hours when a man suspected of assaulting his girlfriend surrendered to police.

SWAT officers and crisis negotiators were called to the La Quinta Inn early Friday after a woman reported she was being assaulted by her boyfriend and threatened with a gun. Police say the standoff began at 3:30 a.m. and ended when the man was arrested at about 9:50 a.m.

Authorities say the woman was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Police say the 31-year-old suspect was not carry9ing a gun but it was unclear if there were any weapons in the room.

The suspect, who has not been formally charged, has previous convictions for drug possession, motor vehicle theft, aggravated robbery, making terroristic threats, drunken driving and burglary.

Jail inmate accused of running prostitution ring

MORA  An inmate at the Kanabec County Jail is charged with running a prostitution ring from his cell.

Thirty-eight-year-old Daniel Ellington is charged in Washington County District Court with two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of promotion of prostitution.

Prosecutors say Ellington communicated with a prostitute by text and "promoted and profited" from her activities in Woodbury last month.

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East Metro Sex Trafficking Task Force director Imran Ali says Ellington was 100 miles away and incarcerated, yet was promoting prostitution and profiting from it. The task force began investigating after a Woodbury detective found an online ad entitled "Blonde Bombshell."

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Kanabec County Sheriff Brian Smith says Ellington used a jail-issued iPod to text and paid a certain price for each message.

 Associated Press
It's time for Bernie Sanders to step down.

His young supporters will be disappointed for the rest of their lives, but it's time for Bernie to join the cast of "Saturday Night Live."

He fought hard and if nothing else he showed the America people how to deliver a speech full of stale socialist ideas with a lot of honesty and pizzazz.

Hillary and Trump are vying to get Bernie's enthusiastic army to enlist on their side.

Trump is hallucinating. Hillary is only dreaming.

When Bernie's army is disbanded, whether it's tomorrow or after the convention, they're not going to change uniforms and join Hillary, Trump or anyone else  unless Jon Stewart decides to run.

They're going back to their dorms and parents' basements to play video games or plan their summer vacation in Europe.

Most of them signed up for Bernie's children's crusade not because they wanted to put an old socialist in the White House, but because he promised them free stuff.

Stuff like a free college education and free healthcare and free dry-cleaning services.

Now that their dream of free grad school is gone, they're no longer interested in politics.

Most of Bernie's college kids look to me like they don't understand that there's this concept people used to call "work."

They're in that "Gimme, gimme, gimme" mode  the belief that because you breathe you deserve to be given free stuff that your parents or taxpayers have to pay for.

It's much worse today, but that attitude of entitlement was just getting started back in the 1960s. I admit as a college dropout I even tried to take advantage of it  until my "old-fashioned" parents set me straight.

As I write in my new book, "Lessons My Father Taught Me," after I quit the University of Arizona after a minute and a half, I knocked on my father's door in L.A.

No answer.

I knocked on my mother Jane Wyman's door.

No answer.

When I called them on the phone, they answered.

"I'm home," I said.

"No you're not," they said.

"We paid your bills while you were in college, but you dropped out. Now it's your turn. You need to find a place to live. Get a job. The gravy train is over."

I moved in with some friends and got a job on a loading dock, thanks to my sister Maureen.

I worked at Asbury Transportation Co. from 5 at night to 1:30 in the morning loading oil well freight onto trucks that went to the fields in Bakersfield.

That's exactly where I was the night my father won the election for Governor of California in 1966.

My parents taught me if you want to go anywhere in life, you're going to need a strong work ethic to get you there.

My father was tough, but my mother Jane made him look like Mister Rogers.

When I started my radio talk-show career in the early 1990s, I was driving 262 miles a day roundtrip from L.A. to San Diego.

I was not getting paid because we were trying to start a national show. I had two kids and a wife and not enough money.

I called my mother and whined, "Can you help me out?"

"I have a suggestion for you," she said before she hung up on me.

"Shut up and keep driving. Nobody died and said you didn't have to pay your dues. You have to pay them like everyone else. That way when you're a success you'll appreciate it. If it's given to you for free, you'll never learn to appreciate it. So shut up and keep driving."

I shut up and kept driving. I finally got the lesson about hard work and that show lasted from 1992 to 2009, when I walked away from talk radio.

It's too bad the kids in college today  Bernie's kids  don't have parents as tough  and smart  as I did.
After four years, Rochester Public Schools plans to cut the Student and Family Engagement program, or S.A.F.E. , next year.

The college and career readiness program is for underserved youth and their families, according to the district, and features weekly "talk the talk" sessions to make connections with community members through service learning and focuses on financial literacy and civic mindedness.

But some in the community are questioning the district's proposal to cut the S.A.F.E. program from next year's budget, especially as the district is ramping up its equity efforts to cut disparate discipline against students of color .

"If you have a program that's working, why eliminate that," said Don Barlow, a pastor with Rochester Community Baptist Church and a school board candidate. "The S.A.F.E. program, and (its coordinator) in particular, have demonstrated a proven success track and record. It's a program that has helped extend the educational profile of the Rochester Public Schools."

The decision to cut the program comes after last fall, when the district entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, which found the district disproportionately disciplines students of color. The agreement requires the district make some very specific moves in an attempt to remove the disparity, such as hiring three equity specialists and a principal to specifically review discipline data.

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The district added these equity specialists and Afolabi Runsewe, principal on special assignment, as well as an American Indian liaison position this year.

Assistant Superintendent Brenda Lewis said these positions won't replace the S.A.F.E. program but will do many of the same things. She also pointed to recently implemented listening circles, which are a time for students to gather in small groups with equity specialists and talk.

"It will look different, but I feel through other programming we'll still be able to ensure that our students are successful," Lewis said.

But S.A.F.E. program advocates say it's a proactive approach, whereas the other new positions are reactive approaches, which attempt to address issues after they already have come up. Each week, students, teachers, school counselors and community members gather to work on academic, leadership and career and college readiness goals, while the equity specialists have a greater focus on discipline.

They say the S.A.F.E. program has a greater emphasis on academics than the other positions, such as pushing kids to take upper level honors and AP courses.

Much of the program was financed by grants from Mayo Clinic, United Way of Olmsted County and Olmsted County Community Services. If the budget is approved, the program's coordinator, Regina Seabrook, won't be employed with the district.

"As you know ... the district every year has to make some difficult decisions with respect to being fiscally responsible and balancing our budget," Lewis said.

But others say this comes after the district said it would be able to avoid budget cuts after a referendum was approved by voters in November .

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"I think it does send a kind of potentially confusing message to the community when decisions like this are made," Barlow said.

United Way of Olmsted County President Jerome Ferson said the organization has no other plans for the $37,000 set to be disbursed to the district in July to fund the program and "anticipates being partners until we hear otherwise."

Ferson said all of the United Way's programs are evaluated for effectiveness every six months, including the S.A.F.E. program.

"They have always met their milestones and have been effective in helping students overcome barriers in entering college or the workforce in their chosen career area," Ferson said.

With a July deadline, the proposed budget likely will be voted on and approved at the board's June 21 meeting.

School board chairman Gary Smith said he doesn't necessarily see any relation between the OCR agreement and the work of the S.A.F.E. program.

Those efforts are going to continue; that's not predicated on one program or one approach," Smith said. "There's other things the district is doing to work with all our students."

But others say the program has shown success, and The Commission, a young professionals' organization, works with the S.A.F.E. program and has done events such as mock interviews and career panels.

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Sunny Prabhakar, the organization's co-founder, said the program has been "really valuable," and he's seen students respond really well to events with The Commission.

"I kind of subscribe to the old adage, 'if it's not broke, why fix it?'" Barlow said. "There was a working system, and that was a known, so you're eliminating a known in favor of adopting an unknown."
Amber Kohnhorst, the hiker who fell nearly 100 feet onto a ledge in the Cane Beds of Arizona, is finally out of the hospital and at home in Wisconsin.

Initially when Kohnhorst fell in a remote location and couldn't get up, she thought she was going to die. She even prepared notes on her cellphone to say goodbye to family and friends.

"I thought, if I do die, at least I died doing something that makes me happy," she told Inside Edition from her hospital bed at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where she works as a nurse.

Just 17 days after her rescue and multiple surgeries on her spine, sacrum and ear, Kohnhorst is starting to mend.

Shortly after the accident, Kohnhurst was receiving treatment at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah. On May 31, Kohnhorst and her mom, Nanette Kohnhorst, were able to fly to Rochester, and she was admitted to Mayo.

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Kohnhorst was admitted to Mayo's ortho/trauma general care, where she was examined and tested for the progress of her injuries. On June 5, she had an operation to fix her broken nose. This is the latest surgery she has had.

The fall from the cliff broke Kohnhorst's back in three places. The worst fracture is called an H-type fracture, which means her sacrum is split down and across. It's a unique fracture. Kohnhorst has been placed in a brace and has been told no walking, lifting or twisting for up to 10 weeks  something the active 25-year-old is having a hard time coping with.

"It's the time we do everything, and I'm stuck inside. But I'll get over it, I just have to remember that it's one year; it's only 10 weeks, and hopefully, after that I can do more," she told KIMT-TV.

Like a good nurse, Kohnhorst is doing well with physical therapy and her road to recovery.

While Kohnhorst's overall appearance and bruising are greatly improved, she still is dealing with several medical issues, mostly neurological, related to her spinal injuries.

"She had to have an angel on her side because every time we look at the picture of the fall, it's just amazing that she's here," her mother told KIMT. "Everybody is in awe. So I guess God has a plan."
After eighth grade, Thomas Trahan made the 1,100-mile move from Houston to Rochester  by himself.

The then-14-year-old came to a city he'd never seen before to live with a new family  a move made because of Rochester's A Better Chance program. The local chapter of the national program brings "talented inner-city youth" and gives them a "little boost" so they can attend John Marshall High School.

After completing a 40-page application, he was accepted to the program in Rochester and moved in with Breanna and Joe Bly, who run the local program. Today, the purpose of that 1,100-mile move will be realized, he'll graduate from John Marshall.

"Going from what was familiar, to something that was unknown, it was difficult," Trahan said. "Leaving what's familiar kind of stung a little bit."

Though he quickly acclimated to the weather  and actually prefers the cold  other parts of the move weren't so easy for Trahan.

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In Texas, he went to an all-minority school where he was bullied for being one of the lightest-skinned students and carried that with him in the move to Rochester  he was shy and quiet at first.

The move to the Rochester A Better Chance house, located on Second Street Southwest, also was a major shift from the sprawling acreage of the Texas ranch his grandmother raised him on. He was used to doing chores and having responsibilities that tied up his time, such as caring for the family's chickens and horses.

Trahan looked for an outlet for all of his excess energy and found one: writing and speech.

"If I don't write, all the things I experience and all the things that make me who I am start eating away at me," said Trahan, who joined speech and JM's newspaper staff. "Writing is like a window; it gives me the opportunity to express my feelings without doing something rash."

At first, following the move, Trahan said, he had up a wall, and eventually, writing helped him break that down. His sophomore year he penned an essay, "Dear Guardian," which was prompted by Tim O'Brien's novel, "The Things They Carried." He wrote about the burdens that affected him, and it also acted as a letter to his guardians, in which he apologized for his failures.

"It took me a while to realize that no one here is trying to hurt me, and it took a while to lower that," he said. "When that happened, the possibilities were endless."

He said the premise of the essay was addressing his failures and explaining how he felt to his guardian.

"I know I fail at a lot of things, but I'm trying," he said. "Because I don't know what's to come in life, and just the aspect of not knowing keeps me up at night sometimes," he said. "I'm trying to do the best I can, but I feel like I'm failing at the same time and failing in front of my guardian."

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When he presented his essay, at a speech banquet, his host mother cried, and he said it allowed her to see some of the things he was struggling with, which he hadn't ever planned to share.

Growing up in Texas

Life was a "little bit rough back home," Trahan said. Separated from his parents at a young age, his grandma took in him and his sister.

A teacher, she was disciplined and always kept them ahead of schedule in their studies. In seventh grade, he switched from a public school to a college preparatory school, which introduced college-level workloads for the first time. After he graduated valedictorian from that program, his grandmother pushed him to apply for A Better Chance program.

He knew being away from home would be difficult, so he settled on Rochester because the program's family aspect really stuck out to him. Uneasy with the move at first, he called home to Texas every day. Now, he laughed, his grandma is lucky if he calls every two weeks.

The move introduced him to things such as snow for the first time, he said, but it also forced him to grow up quickly.

"It's always fun looking back and seeing the transition that you went through," he said. "It was good being away from home because it gave me the experience I needed to grow up quickly."

His definition of family expanded, evidenced by the broken railings and cracked walls at the Blys' house, left from time spent wrestling with his nonbiological brothers, one from California and another from Chicago, and the Blys' son, Stephen.

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"It's like the brothers I've never had," he said. "We all became brothers in the end."

When people ask about his mother, he jokes, "Which one? I have three," pointing to two that are in Rochester: his host family, the Fletchers, and the Bly family, with whom he lives.

"I've met so many people here, so if I ever need anything, I know who I can call or who can help."

But because he left home at 14, he said heading to college in the fall will be that much easier. After graduation, he plans to attend Sam Houston University in Huntsville, Texas, for a double major in criminology and psychology, in hopes of getting into the field of forensic science.

Though he'll miss weekly visits to Caribou Coffee for strawberry banana smoothies and the cold winters, he'll miss his Rochester family most.

"It's going to be interesting because I created bonds with them, so I when I leave it's going to be an emotional moment  but I'll stay in contact."

John Marshall High School class of 2016

John Marshall High School top graduates
In Olmsted County last year, 149 women were arrested for new drug charges but opportunities for long-term residential rehabilitation were severely lacking in the area.

Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge of Rochester plans to reconcile that situation by constructing a new 31,000-square-foot residential rehabilitation facility for women at its campus on Assisi Heights Drive Northwest in Rochester.

Adult and Teen Challenge opened a men's rehabilitation facility in Rochester in January 2014. That facility serves 31 men in short-term programs and 50 men in long-term programs. The facility has capacity for 93 men total.

The men's programs have had outstanding results , said Tom Truszinski, center director for Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge in Rochester  but the need for women's treatment is equally urgent.

"What we're hearing from the community is that there is a greater need for women than men," Truszinski said.

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Private fundraising and a land purchase opportunity came together at the right time for Adult and Teen Challenge to move ahead. They negotiated a land purchase agreement with the Sisters of Saint Francis for three acres adjacent to the existing men's facility.

The women's center will have capacity for about 80 women in both short-term and long-term programs, under Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge's licensing for Rule 31 licensed treatment and a co-occurring dual diagnosis approach to treatment and rehabilitation.

The foundation of Adult and Teen Challenge's rehabilitation is to prepare clients to succeed as members of the community. Its approach was justified by a Wilder Research study that found 74 percent of graduates six months after graduation remained sober, employed and in healthy environments.

Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem, a key player in establishing a drug court in the county, wrote a letter of support for the expansion plans, as did Olmsted County Community Services Director Paul Fleissner.

Truszinski has seen the programs work for men, and he is excited to see them work for women, too.

"Most of our (graduates) are making incredible names for themselves out in the business world, out in labor areas," he said. "We're having graduates from our program now come back and want to hire more guys because they understand the discipline and the structure that they've gotten while they're here."

The women's facility is planned to have a few features the men's facility does not, including family visiting areas for mothers to stay connected with their families and children. Keeping families close together was one of the driving factors behind creating a women's facility.

"We want to help foster the rebuilding and the restoration of family. So to have it right here (in Rochester) is crucial," Truszinski said.

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The new building is expected to cost about $6.2 million. It is being funded entirely by private donations and private foundation contributions. About $4 million already has been raised from individual donations ranging from $5 to $3 million, Truszinski said.

The building plans have been cleared by the city of Rochester, and construction is on pace to begin late this month or early next. Opening is scheduled for fall of 2017.

For more information on Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge, see mntc.org.
Two people were killed and a third is hospitalized in critical condition after a motorcycle and a vehicle collided head-on Friday afternoon on Marion Road in southeast Rochester.

Rochester police said that two adults on the motorcycle  Curtis Buxton, 56, and Jennifer Buxton, 44, of Rochester  were killed. Jacob Sappington, 20, was transported by ambulance to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys Campus, where he is listed in critical condition.

Police said a vehicle driven by Sappington collided with the motorcycle on the 2400 block of Marion Road about 3:40 p.m. Friday. The cause of the crash is under investigation, which includes work by the police department's forensic mapping unit.

Sappington required extrication by the Rochester Fire Department before being transported to the hospital.

The Mayo One helicopter was warming up for takeoff before it was canceled. When a second request came in to transport the survivor, an instrument light came on the dash and the helicopter was "shut down as a precaution," according to a Mayo Clinic spokesman.

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The Mayo One unit was still part of the response team, but arrived at the scene in an ambulance instead.

After the potential malfunction, Mayo One was shut down for the night due to safety concerns related to thunderstorms and high winds. It's unclear if the helicopter would have been cleared for service had the bad weather not moved in; a mechanic is required to clear any issues, but that typically occurs quickly, according to the Mayo spokesman.
Following a hot, sunny day, much of southern Minnesota was hit hard by thunderstorms and high winds Friday evening that uprooted trees and caused other chaos across the region.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for portions of Northeast Iowa, Southeast Minnesota and Southwest Wisconsin. Gusts of wind were expected to hit 50 mph, while heavy rain and hail was possible.

So many trees were damaged  including some that were totally uprooted  in Red Wing that the city sent out notice that its solid waste campus would be accepting debris at no charge between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Public works crews also will be sent out Monday to collect remaining branches and trees placed in the boulevard.

Flash flood warnings also were in effect for most of Goodhue County and portions of Wabasha County. Three inches of rain had fallen by 6 p.m. between Red Wing and Goodhue, according to the Weather Service, which says flash flooding "is expected" in Goodhue, Frontenac, Vasa and Frontenac State Park near Lake City.

Trees were reported down throughout Dodge County.

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The state softball tournament in Mankato was delayed for hours on Friday due to thunderstorms that produced lightning and heavy rain.

The storms are expected to dissipate for the weekend, where the temperature will soar into the 90s on Saturday before cooling slightly to sit in the low 80s through Tuesday.
ST. CHARLES  The results are in for the St. Charles School Board.

The district surveyed residents about how they voted and why concerning the $18.23 million May 3 bond referendum that failed by a vote of 858-506. Of the 451 survey respondents, roughly 29 percent said they supported the $8 million expansion of the high school gymnasium.

That number tracks near the percentage that voted for the referendum, 37 percent.

"I would say that was probably the biggest thing," St. Charles Superintendent Mark Roubinek said about the gym expansion's effect on the vote. "It did not have support."

Of the five projects mentioned in the survey  the gym or activity center, expansion and renovation to the elementary school, renovation to the high school science classrooms, secure entrances at both buildings, and general maintenance or remodeling at district facilities  only the gym received less than 50 percent approval. Respondents could vote for more than one item on the survey.

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Roubinek said he anecdotally heard several reasons for the failure of the bond referendum. Overall cost and tax impact were mentioned by several people, he said. In the survey 55 percent listed cost as a reason they did not support the referendum.

Among those who said it would impact their vote, twice as many said a potential 40 percent reduction for agricultural properties would help nudge them toward a yes vote. That remedy for farmers is part of the ongoing funding debate in St. Paul.

Most reasons voters nixed the bond in May, though, circle back to the gym expansion. Roubinek said he has been told the space being asked for was too much, and the gym was seen as more of a want than a need. "They've said it's kind of an extracurricular, so it's not a vital part of the education process," he said.

Roubinek said the board will have some time to decide whether or not to put a revised bond referendum on the November ballot. "It should be an interesting discussion Monday night," he said, referring to the next scheduled school board meeting. "There won't be any hard, fast decisions right away."

Other items of interest on the agenda for Monday's 6 p.m. meeting at the high school library include an update of summer construction, a report on the Whitewater Country Coalition's search for community support for its drug-free campaign  the coalition did not qualify for a Federal Drug Free Community Grant for 2017  and a 10-cent price increase for school breakfasts and lunches.
MINNEAPOLIS  University of Minnesota regents have approved a 2.5 percent tuition increase for Minnesotans who attend the Twin Cities campus.

The budget approved Friday means resident tuition on the Twin Cities campus will rise $306 to $12,546 a year. But President Eric Kaler says many undergraduates won't feel the increase and some will enjoy a cut because the extra cost will be offset by scholarships.

Regents also approved a 7.5 percent increase for new nonresident students from states without reciprocity agreements. The increase is capped at 5.5 percent for returning nonresidents.

Tuition will be frozen for resident undergraduates on the Duluth, Crookston, Morris and Rochester campuses.

Six protesters were arrested and led away from the meeting in handcuffs after they refused a police order to leave. They were cited and released.
So just who does Donald Trump think is impartial enough to give him a fair hearing in the ongoing civil lawsuit over his defunct -- and probably fraudulent -- Trump University?

We already know it's not Latinos.

And over the weekend, just in time for Ramadan, the litigious, presumptive GOP presidential nominee told CBS News host John Dickerson that he also doesn't think that he could get a fair hearing from a Muslim judge either.

So who's left?

The only safe conclusion is that it's the 11 white people - eight men and three women, all of them conservative - that Trump has shortlisted for the U.S. Supreme Court seat held by the late Antonin Scalia.

Thus, a judiciary under a President Trump would look a lot like America: If he was in possession of a time machine and could roll back the clock to, say, 1955 when whites held a lock on American society and ethnic and racial minorities were largely consigned to the corners of public life.

Despite mounting pressure from his fellow Republicans, Trump has refused to back down from his starkly racist language concerning U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is hearing the class action suit against Trump University.

In interviews and on the stump, Trump has accused Curiel of being biased against him and a "hater" because he's "Mexican" and because Trump has vowed to build a wall along the United States' southern border with Mexico.

That Curiel is an American citizen, born in Indiana, and the child of Mexican immigrants, seems not to bother Trump at all. He has called for "someone to look into" Curiel and his handling of the case.

Trump doubled down Sunday in the CBS interview when Dickerson, referencing Trump's proposed Muslim travel ban, asked the candidate whether a Muslim judge would be similarly biased against him.

"It's possible, yes," Trump told Dickerson, according to The New York Times. "Yeah. That would be possible. Absolutely."

Trump dismissively called Curiel, who, as a federal prosecutor, faced death threats from a Mexican drug cartel and spent most of a year in hiding as a consequence, "a member of a club or society, very strongly pro-Mexican, which is all fine."

"But I say he's got bias," Trump continued, with no other grounds for such an assumption than, apparently, his own built-in prejudices. "I want to build a wall. I'm going to build a wall. I'm doing very well with the Latinos, with the Hispanics, with the Mexicans, I'm doing very well with them, in my opinion."

The interior of his own cranium may be the only place Trump is doing well among Latino voters. In an April poll commissioned by an immigrants' rights group, just 11 percent of Hispanic voters approved of Trump, compared to 87 percent who disapproved, The Washington Times reported.

Trump's Archie Bunker-esque propensity to Balkanize his fellow Americans by their race and ethnicity ("Look at my African-American over there," he said, calling out a black supporter at a recent rally) is bothersome enough.

But even more disturbing is what Trump's comments about Curiel and a hypothetical Muslim judge reveal about his views, not only on the judiciary, but how he might deal with the third branch of government were he to win the White House.

As president, Trump could set his Justice Department loose on judges he considered a "disgrace" like Curiel, as Peter Beinart observed in The Atlantic recently, or those he believes have treated his administration unfairly in any of the countless of civil actions routinely brought against the federal government.

Trump appears to believe that "judicial bias" is exhibited any time a judge refuses to give him his way. That's an attitude more befitting a petulant adolescent than the Leader of the Free World.

And, if we're to judge by his latest remarks, the only person Trump thinks can give him a fair shake is someone who looks exactly like him.

With exception of the mirror in his gold-plated penthouse, that rules out pretty much everyone.

And that might be the way a President Trump would prefer it.
LINCOLN  Authorities are looking for two escaped prison inmates who stole a pickup and crashed it in Lincoln on Friday.

Armon Dixon, 37, and Timothy Clausen, 52, are both considered dangerous.

Both men are believed to be wearing tan pants and gray, long-sleeved shirts.

At 2 p.m., Lancaster County Sheriff's deputies were on Saltillo and Bennet roads and on U.S. 77 near there after someone reported seeing two people who matched descriptions of the inmates running through a cornfield nearby. A helicopter was also circling the area. Officers also checked in the area of Saltillo and 27th Street.

Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister confirmed that authorities are searching the area but couldn't confirm if the people spotted in the field are the suspects.

The chief said local, state and county law enforcement are working together to find the men and to figure out how they got away from the Correctional Center.

Dixon is black, 5-foot-9, 152 pounds with brown eyes. He is serving 158 to 278 years for charges including first-degree sexual assault, robbery, first-degree assault, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, robbery, theft by receiving and possession of a controlled substance, according to the state Department of Correctional Services.

Clausen is black, 5-foot-8, 160 pounds with brown eyes. He is serving 50 to 55 years for first-degree sexual assault of a child and tampering with a juror, according to the Corrections Department.

At 9:30 Friday morning, a witness told police she saw two men in what looked like prison inmate uniforms acting suspiciously near Warlick Boulevard and U.S. 77. She said the men were running and looked like they were panicked.

Soon after, a pickup was stolen from the Christ's Place Church, 1111 Old Cheney Rd., Lancaster County Sheriff's Capt. Ben Houchin said late Friday morning.

Nebraska State Patrol troopers saw the stolen pickup in the area and chased it, picking up help from sheriff's deputies, Houchin said.

The pursuit continued north on 14th Street for about six minutes until the patrol ended it near 13th and F streets when speeds reached about 65 mph. The stolen pickup crashed into a parked SUV and two men ran from the scene a few minutes later, about 10:30 a.m., at 18th and F streets, Houchin said.

At a Friday afternoon news conference, Bliemeister said authorities have confirmed the two men who ran from the wreck are the two escaped inmates.

"We believe both of these individuals are dangerous," Bliemeister said. "We believe they are a threat to public safety."

When asked about noon if prison officials knew about an escape, Corrections Department spokesman Andrew Nystrom said they were doing a head count then. Officials confirmed at 1:40 p.m. that Clausen and Dixon were missing from the Lincoln Correctional Center near Pioneers Park. Bliemeister said law enforcement were notified about 12:30 p.m. about the escapees.

Nystrom couldn't immediately say what time the inmate count began or how long afterwards they confirmed two were missing.

Dixon is serving what amounts to two life sentences for the 2009 home-invasion rape of a stranger in her Lincoln apartment and for raping and robbing a convenience store clerk the same year.

The crimes left women in north Lincoln on edge.

"It is very difficult to imagine more serious and more terrorizing and more awful crimes," Lancaster County District Judge Jodi Nelson said in 2012 when she sentenced him for the break-in rape.

In that case, Dixon got 80 to 140 years for raping a woman at knifepoint and holding her hostage for nearly 10 hours. She said he pushed his way into her apartment, pulled a gun on her and her 3-year-old son, then raped her with her son in a room down the hall, at one point holding a knife to both of them. Then, she said, he left with bedding and condoms after forcing her to bathe and clean the bathroom with bleach.

Dixon also got 70 to 120 years for raping a woman outside of a convenience store near 55th and Superior streets as she arrived at work early on March 21, 2009.

At trial, she testified that a man in a ski mask approached her outside the store just before 5 a.m., pinned her against a propane tank cage, whispered that he'd been watching her and then forced her behind the store and raped her. He then took her inside to get money from the safe before hog-tying her with a belt and plastic bags. After he fled, a police dog led officers to a condom with Dixon's and the victim's DNA on it.

Clausen, originally from Omaha, spent time in jail for burglary and attempted escape beginning when he was 18 years old. He was released in 1991.

According to a post on its website, the Omaha Police Officers Association said Clausen raped and killed a disabled man he met in a Council Bluffs, Iowa, bar in 1992. The Nebraska Supreme Court overturned his conviction due to ineffective counsel and he pleaded guilty to manslaughter to avoid a retrial. He was also convicted of felony escape from the Douglas County Correctional Center while awaiting trial. He was sentenced to 13-39 years in 1995.

In 2012 he was granted parole and, according to court documents, shortly after he began sexually assaulting a girl younger than 12. After he was arrested, he tried to tamper with witnesses. He pleaded guilty to witness tampering and a reduced charge of attempted first-degree assault of a child and was sentenced in 2013 to 51-55 years.
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WASHINGTON  The morning after, the nation awakes asking: What have we done?

Both parties seem intent on throwing the election away. The Democrats, running against a man with highest-ever negatives, are poised to nominate a candidate with the second-highest-ever negatives. Hillary Clinton started with every possible advantage  money, experience, name recognition, residual goodwill from her husband's successful 1990s  yet could not put away until this week an obscure, fringy, socialist backbencher in a country uniquely allergic to socialism.

Bernie Sanders did have one advantage. He had something to say. She had nuthin'. Her Tuesday victory speech was a pudding without a theme for a campaign without a cause. After 14 months, she still can't get past the famous question asked of Ted Kennedy in 1979: Why do you want to be president?

So whom do the Republicans put up? They had 17 candidates. Any of a dozen could have taken down the near-fatally weak Clinton, unloved, untrusted, living under the shadow of an FBI investigation.

Instead, they nominate Donald Trump  conspiracy theorist (from Barack Obama's Kenyan birth to Ted Cruz's father's involvement with Lee Harvey Oswald), fabulist (from his own invented opposition to the Iraq War and the Libya intervention to the "thousands and thousands" of New Jersey Muslims celebrating 9/11), admirer of strongmen (from Vladimir Putin to the butchers of Tiananmen).

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His outrageous provocations have been brilliantly sequenced so that the shock of the new extinguishes the memory of the last. Though perhaps not his most recent -- his gratuitous attack on a "Mexican" federal judge (born and bred in Indiana) for inherent bias because of his ethnicity. Textbook racism, averred Speaker Paul Ryan. Even Trump acolyte and possible running mate Newt Gingrich called it inexcusable.

Trump promptly doubled down, expanding the universe of the not-to-be-trusted among us by adding American Muslims to the list of those who might be inherently biased.

Yet Trump is the party's chosen. He won the primary contest fair and square. The people have spoken. What to do?

First, dare to say that the people aren't always right. Surely Republicans admit the possibility. Or do they believe the people chose rightly in electing Obama? Twice. Historical examples of other countries choosing even more wrongly are numerous and tragic. The people's will deserves respect, not necessarily affirmation.

I sympathize with the dilemma of Republican leaders reluctant to affirm. Many are as appalled as I am by Trump, but they don't have the freedom I do to say, as I have publicly, that I cannot imagine ever voting for him. They have unique party and institutional responsibilities.

For some, that meant endorsing Trump in the belief that they might be able to contain, constrain, guide and perhaps even educate him. To my mind, this thinking has always been hopelessly misbegotten but not necessarily  nor in all cases  venal.

Which brings us to the matter of Paul Ryan, now being excoriated by many conservatives for having said he would vote for Trump.

Yet what was surprising was not Ryan's ever-so-tepid semi-endorsement, which was always inevitable and unavoidable  can the highest elected GOP official be at war during a general election with the party's democratically chosen presidential candidate?  but his initial refusal to endorse Trump when, after the Indiana primary, nearly everyone around him was falling mindlessly, some shamelessly, into line.

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That was surprising. Which is why Ryan's refusal to immediately follow suit created such a sensation. It also created, deliberately, the time and space for non-Trumpites to hold the line. Ryan was legitimizing resistance to the new regime, giving it safe harbor in the House, even as resisters were being relentlessly accused of treason for "electing Hillary."

In the end, Ryan called an armistice. What was he to do? Oppose and resign? And then what? What would remain of conservative leadership in the GOP? And if he created a permanent split in the party, he'd be setting up the GOP's entire conservative wing as scapegoat if Trump loses in November.

Ryan had no good options. He chose the one he felt was least damaging to the conservative cause to which he has devoted his entire adult life.

I wouldn't have done it but I'm not House speaker. He is a practicing politician who has to calculate the consequences of what he does. That deserves at least some understanding.

One day, we shall all have to account for what we did and what we said in this scoundrel year. For now, we each have our conscience to attend to.

Charles Krauthammer is a columnist for the Washington Post.
Republicans can't have it both ways: If you say you intend to cast your ballot for Donald Trump, that's an endorsement. You can be for him or against him, but not both.

So don't even try to take the untenable position that Rep. Bill Flores of Texas, chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee, tried to outline. "I will vote for him," Flores said, "but in terms of getting my endorsement, I don't endorse people that bash a judge based on his ethnic heritage."

You just did, Congressman.

Equally absurd, and even more cynical, is what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is doing: encouraging Trump to pretend to be something he is not. "Using a prepared text last night and not attacking any other Americans was a good start," McConnell said, referring to Trump's teleprompter-assisted speech Tuesday evening. "I think it's still time for him to act like a presidential candidate should be acting. So I haven't given up hope."

Face reality, Senator. The old saying about putting lipstick on a pig comes to mind.

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Why are Republicans gasping as if Trump's racist screed about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit against Trump University, came as a complete surprise? You mean they're just noticing Trump's bigotry?

Have McConnell and the rest forgotten that Trump launched his campaign a year ago with a vicious attack on Mexican immigrants? "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best," he declared. "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

Those were practically (BEG ITAL) the first words out of candidate Trump's mouth(END ITAL). Then, in due course, came his call to bar all foreign Muslims from entering the country  religious bigotry to go along with the ethnic-racial kind. Anyone paying attention must notice how Trump habitually speaks of "the Hispanics" and "the African-Americans" as if we were foreign and unknowable, the way a 19th-century British colonialist might have held forth about "the Malays." Now, all of a sudden, Republicans are shocked and outraged?

It is ridiculous for Trump supporters to hope he will be able to maintain a facade of dignity and decorum until Election Day  or even that he will try to do so. First of all, he's not very good at it. His "on-message" performance Tuesday was wooden and, frankly, boring. Scripted Trump is more likely to put the world to sleep than set it on fire.

Moreover, Trump clearly believes his success thus far has come largely because he is so unlike traditional politicians. "Politicians are so politically correct anymore, they can't breathe," Trump told The New York Times on Tuesday, hours before his low-key speech. "The people are tired of this political correctness when things are said that are totally fine. It is out of control. It is gridlock with their mouths."

So how long does anyone think Trump will be able to keep his own big mouth gridlocked?

I realize that Republican officials are in an impossible position. Many of them are appalled by Trump. Yet they are also beholden to a GOP base that made Trump its clear choice in the primaries. Only a few have dared to say publicly that they simply cannot vote for this man as president  so far. It seems inevitable that there will be more.

Trump told Time magazine Wednesday that he was "disappointed and surprised" at Republican criticism over the Curiel episode. "I had just won more votes than anyone in the history of the party, so I was a little bit surprised when they said that. I didn't think it was necessary. But you know, they have to say what they have to say. I'm a big boy. They have to say what they have to say."

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That does not sound like a man who is chastened. That does not sound like a man who is willing to get with the program.

"At least he's not Hillary Clinton," goes the Republican refrain. That is certainly true. Strip away the party labels, and you have one candidate who objectively is qualified to be president and one who manifestly is not. You have one candidate with a progressive agenda and one with a personal agenda.

At the end of the GOP convention, one presumes, balloons and confetti will rain down from the rafters. Republican leaders can stand and cheer the nomination of Donald Trump  or they can stay home and denounce it as the travesty it is. They can't do both.

Eugene Robinson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post.
Change within a city can bring tough decisions.

In Austin, such a decision was made this week as the Austin City Council voted 5-2 to approve a $35 million r ecreation center project with the YMCA.

The public-private partnership shows promise for creating a center in the heart of Austin that will be envied by nearly any community. It will likely be an economic boon to the city as it attracts new visitors to the community, but it will be much more.

It will also provide healthy options for city residents through such amenities as an indoor playground, an aquatic center, community spaces, workout rooms and a running track. While YMCA funding means part of the facility will be available only to members, the public dollars ensure public access for certain features.

Unfortunately, the project wasn't a slam dunk. The fact that it will replace the city's historic power plant is a concern. Efforts to save the facility for renovation for apartments or other uses, however, have failed to gather steam, making the building another empty structure being maintained at a cost to taxpayers.

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As much as we'd like to see such structures given new lives, it's not always feasible.

In the meantime, the joint city-YMCA rec center project has the potential to enhance the downtown area as Austin continues its Vision 2020 initiative aimed at economic growth and improving the quality of life in the city.

The challenge in making the decision doesn't lessen the potential benefits.
If a party could declare moral bankruptcy, today's Republican Party would be in Chapter 11.

This party needs to just shut itself down and start over  now. Seriously, someone please start a New Republican Party!

America needs a healthy two-party system. America needs a healthy center-right party to ensure that the Democrats remain a healthy center-left party. America needs a center-right party ready to offer market-based solutions to issues like climate change. America needs a center-right party that will support common-sense gun laws. America needs a center-right party that will support common-sense fiscal policy. America needs a center-right party to support both free trade and aid to workers impacted by it. America needs a center-right party that appreciates how much more complicated foreign policy is today, when you have to manage weak and collapsing nations, not just muscle strong ones.

But this Republican Party is none of those things. Today's Republican Party is to governing what Trump University is to education  an ethically challenged enterprise that enriches and perpetuates itself by shedding all pretense of standing for real principles, or a truly relevant value proposition, and instead plays on the ignorance and fears of the public.

It is just an empty shell, selling pieces of itself to the highest bidders  policy by policy  a little to the Tea Party over here, a little to Big Oil over there, a little to the gun lobby, to anti-tax zealots, to climate-change deniers. And before you know it, the party stands for an incoherent mess of ideas unrelated to any theory of where the world is going or how America actually becomes great again in the 21st century.

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It becomes instead a coalition of men and women who sell pieces of their brand to whoever can most energize their base in order for them to get re-elected in order for them to sell more pieces of their brand in order to get re-elected.

And we know just how little they are attached to any principles, because today's Republican Party's elders have told us so by (with a few notable exceptions) being so willing to throw their support behind a presidential candidate whom they know is utterly ignorant of policy, has done no homework, has engaged in racist attacks on a sitting judge, has mocked a disabled reporter, has impugned an entire religious community, and has tossed off ignorant proposals for walls, for letting allies go it alone and go nuclear and for overturning trade treaties, rules of war and nuclear agreements in ways that would be wildly destabilizing if he took office.

Despite that, all top Republican leaders say they will still support Donald Trump  even if he's dabbled in a "textbook definition" of racism, as House Speaker Paul Ryan described it  because he will sign off on their agenda and can do only limited damage given our checks and balances.

Really? Mr. Speaker, your agenda is a mess, Trump will pay even less attention to you if he is president and, as Sen. Lindsey Graham rightly put it, there has to be a time "when the love of country will trump hatred of Hillary."

Will it ever be that time with this version of the GOP?

Et tu, John McCain? You didn't break under torture from the North Vietnamese, but your hunger for re-election is so great that you don't dare raise your voice against Trump? I hope you lose. You deserve to. Marco Rubio? You called Trump "a con man," he insults your very being and you still endorse him? Good riddance.

Chris Christie, have you not an ounce of self-respect? You're serving as the valet to a man who claimed, falsely, that on 9/11, in Jersey City, home to many Arab-Americans, "thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down." Christie is backing a man who made up a baldfaced lie about residents of his own state so that maybe he can be his vice president. Contemptible.

This is exactly why so many Republican voters opted for Trump in the first place. They intuited that the only thing these Republican politicians were interested in was holding onto their seats in office  and they were right. It made voters so utterly cynical that many figured, Why not inflict Trump on them? It's all just a con game anyway. And at least Trump sticks it to all of those politically correct liberals. And anyway, governing doesn't matter  only attitude.

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And who taught them that?

But it does matter. I know so many thoughtful conservatives who know it matters. One of them has got to start the NRP  New Republican Party  a center-right party liberated from all the Trump birthers, the Sarah Palins, the Grover Norquists, the Sean Hannitys, the Rush Limbaughs, the gun lobby, the oil lobby and every other narrow-interest group, a party that redefines a principled conservatism. Raise your money for it on the internet. If Bernie Sanders can, you can.

This is such a pivotal moment; the world we shaped after World War II is going wobbly. This is a time for America to be at its best, defending its best values, which are now under assault in so many places  pluralism, immigration, democracy, trade, the rule of law and the virtue of open societies. Trump will never be a credible messenger, or a messenger at all, for those values. A New Republican Party can be.

If you build it, they will come.

Thomas Friedman, a Minnesota native, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Times.
So Hillary has supposedly broken through the glass ceiling by being the first woman to achieve a major party nomination. Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir are yawning in the great beyond, especially since they never asked voters to vote for them because of their lady parts. And they made it entirely on their own, rather than on the tails (heh) of her husband. Somehow I cant escape thinking of Shattered Glass, the movie about fabulist Stephen Glass; like Glass, Hillary makes everything up. Bernie? Bernie who?

Anyway, extra big bonus line up this week.





And finally (or up first for those of you who read this feature from the bottom up). . .
Yesterday on CNN, Mitt Romney ruled out supporting Donald Trump on grounds of character. Romney called Trump a racist, referring repeatedly to trickle-down racism, by which I take it he means racism inspired in future generations by a racist president. When asked at the end of the interview by Wolf Blitzer whether he thinks Trump is a racist, Romney wouldnt quite say that, but instead responded that Trumps comments, time and again, appeal to the racist tendency that exists in some people. Here is the video; it is only about a minute and a half:

I find the willingness of Republican leaders to allege that Trump is a racist disheartening, if not shocking. We expect that kind of calumny from the Democrats; they accuse pretty much all of their opponents of being racists. (Has Romney forgotten that the Democrats called him a racist, over and over, during the 2012 election? If you have forgotten too, just Google Mitt Romney racist.)

Romneys Exhibit A as evidence of Trumps racism were his comments about the Trump University judge, which have been discussed ad nauseam. But, while Trumps attack on Judge Curiel may have been stupid, it wasnt racist. He merely agreed with liberals that a person of Mexican descent may be biased against Trump because of his position on immigration. What is wrong with that? Ann Coulters epic rant is correct:

The entire media  and most of the GOP  have spent 10 months telling us that Mexicans in the United States are going to HATE Trump for saying hell build a wall. Now theyre outraged that Trump thinks one Mexican hates him for saying hell build a wall.

What else has Trump done that could arguably be racist? His proposed ban on Islamic immigrants if often cited, but that is silly since Islam isnt a race. Moreover, if he would improve how he articulates his proposalit isnt feasible to ban Muslims from immigrating to the U.S., but it would be easy to suspend immigration from majority-Muslim countries, except for refugees from religious persecutionit would be good policy, in my opinion. Likewise, it is absurd to argue that Trumps stated intention to carry out his constitutional duty by enforcing the immigration laws is racistyet that claim is frequently made.

Trump has been in the public eye for decades. He has made plenty of enemies and, like any famous, arrogant person, he has lots of detractors. Yet to my knowledge, no one who actually knows Trump or has dealt with him calls him a racist or bigot of any other stripe. Unlike Hillary Clinton, he has never been heard to call anyone a f****** Jew bastard.

By endorsing the Democrats baseless attacks on Trump, Mitt Romney is doing a terrible disservice, not just to the Republican Party, but to the United States of America.
At least 12 senior officers of the Nigerian Army, including Generals, have been sacked over alleged involvement in the Ekiti governorship election scandal and defence contract related offences, an official statement said Saturday.

Although the Army failed to disclose names and number of the affected officers, it was on record that more than a dozen top officers were handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for investigation over alleged defence procurement fraud.

Some others were probed for alleged misconduct during the last general elections.

The decision to sack the officers was reached following a meeting of army council on Thursday, the statement said.

The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the general public that quite a number of senior officers of the Nigerian Army were retired from service yesterday, said Army Director of Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman.

Those retired were mainly some Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, Colonels, Lieutenant Colonels and a Major.

Their retirement was based on Service exigencies. It should be recalled that not too long ago some officers were investigated for being partisan during the 2015 General Elections.

Similarly, the investigation by the Presidential Committee investigating Defence Contracts revealed a lot.

Some officers have already been arraigned in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). People should therefore not read this out of context.

The military must remain apolitical and professional at all times.

We must applaud and support this laudable and bold initiative by the government.

The Army had last year sent 12 Army officers to the EFCC for investigation.

Mr. Usman had in a statement issued last year said the indicted officers comprised three serving Major-Generals, one retired Major-General, three Brigadier-Generals, four Colonels and a Lieutenant Colonel.
The suspected leader of a gang that that allegedly kidnapped and killed an army colonel in March, has narrated how the operation was carried out in Kaduna.

Police say Emeka Okeke is the leader of a four-man gang that abducted and killed Colonel Ismaila Inusa on March 26.

Mr. Okeke and other members of the group were paraded by the police before the media on Thursday.

He said their target was the army officers car, and that they sold it for N800, 000.

Mr. Okeke said, One Sunday evening, we were on patrol for an opportunity target of any motor we see to snatch.

It was in the process that we saw Colonel Inusas motor from Police College and followed him down to Refinery Junction where we snatched the car. Immediately, we handed over the car to Dan-Sokoto and he took it away.

He said the colonel was thereafter taken to Abuja Road bye-pass and was asked to lie down and relax his mind.

We are only interested in the car, not his life. I told him, you are bigger than this car, and if you live

you will buy another car, Mr. Okeke said.

Shortly after then, he said he wanted to drink water. So I went to the car to bring pure water for him and as I bent down to give him water, he snatched the gun from me and quickly removed the magazine.

Unknown to him, one bullet was already in the magazine. So, he was holding the gun and I was holding the mouth. We were dragging possession of the gun. At a point, the gun nozzle was facing me and he attempted to pull the trigger, but he could not do that.

I succeeded in turning the gun to his direction and he pulled the trigger and fired and killed himself. He nearly killed me, Mr. Okeke said.

When asked about the whereabout of the other members of his gang members at the time he was struggling with the Colonel, the 44-year-old Mr. Okeke said, They all ran away.

We are not assassins, we didnt know he was even a military officer. It was like a week after we killed the Colonel that we started reading on the pages of newspapers and on social media that the man we killed was a senior military officer, he said.

He said himself and his group specialized in car snatching and that the Colonels Mercedes Benz car was sold for N800, 000.

The Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu, gave the names of the other members of the gang as Ebele Precious, 41; Chijioke Ugwanyi a.k.a. CJ, 42; and Ibrahim Kabiru, a.k.a. Ustaza, 23.

The commissioner also said that one AK 47 rifle, one pump action gun, four pistols and ammunitions were recovered from the suspects.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Archdiocese, Mathew Kukah, has called on Nigerians to avoid making the health of Nigerias public figures a subject of political discourse or speculations.

He spoke in reaction to the controversy recently generated by the ill-health of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently in the United Kingdom where he is expected to see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialists over infection in his ear.

Mr. Buharis health became a subject of speculations last month following his repeated suspension of scheduled official trips as well as denials by his aides.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Saturday, Mr. Kukah noted that leaders of some popular nations of the world had serious health challenges, which were managed to avoid undue public attention.

He specifically noted that a former US President, Ronald Reagan, suffered from Alzheimers disease for most part of his tenure in office but that nobody knew what the former president was going through.

I do not think that the health of any Nigerian should be the subject of politics or speculations, he said.

It is something I find so troubling because nobody does the things we do in Nigeria.

Reagan was suffering from Alzheimers and for the greater part of ten years nobody had the slightest idea, what was happening to Reagan.

Mr. Kukah noted that the duty of all Nigerians was to pray for Mr. Buhari.

On the agitation for the realisation of a separatist Biafra by some Nigerians in the South East zone, the clergyman said the matter should be properly handled, especially because the country practices a representatives democracy.

He said, I think the question we should be asking is: what right do people have to express themselves? We are in a democracy and people should be allowed to express themselves because ours is a representative democracy.

There are representatives and if people want to stop being a part of Nigeria there is a process for achieving that.

The second point is that we cannot speculate as to intentions and motives unless you legitimately bring a person to court and say why have you done X Y Z? You can only speculate. And I dont think we should be depending on speculations.

Mr. Kukah said the problems of Nigeria were partly because its founding fathers tampered with the provincial system government, but added that there was hope for the nation.

He further noted that another major challenge of Nigerias democracy was the lack of citizens participation in governance.

There is a lot that is wrong with Nigeria as we are structured now. Nigeria is the only country in Africa that was colonised by Britain, but tampered very well with the provincial arrangement, he argued.

A major challenge of Nigerias democracy is the abject lack of citizens engagement in debating, and more importantly, shaping public policies that often have dramatic impact on their lives.

Mr. Kukah said the Kukah Centre, which he founded, was already putting together a programme aimed at bridging the age-long communication gap between the masses and the leaders.

He explained that the said programme, which would be called Fix Nigeria Initiative, would attempt to address the challenges of Nigeria and proffer lasting solutions.

The importance of robust debates can never be overemphasized in a democracy, the clergyman stated.

If free and fair elections mark the basic validation of democratic mandates, citizens involvement in public policy-making is the oxygen for democratic governance.

We are very confident that Nigeria can and must be fixed. But this can only happen when public officials and citizens pull together to create, in line with The Kukah Centres vision a more humane, democratic and free society where citizens can live in real and true freedom unencumbered by any structures of exclusion on the basis of ethnic, religious, social status, economic or gender differences.

It is in part to address this problem that the Kukah Centre was established to serve as a platform for mediation between the government and the people.
A University of Benin student has been denied graduation for three years despite meeting all academic requirements. His lecturers and examination officials said they were too busy to compile his records.

Temidayo Awoyemi, 26, had eagerly hoped to fulfill his dreams after graduation from the schools department of chemistry. He has spent three years since completing his studies, without graduation.

Officials in his department and faculty said they had had no time to process his records in the last two years.

The faculty checker, Professor Anthony Imiavan, in charge of scrutinizing students records, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the student had no case to keep him from graduating.

A spokesperson for the school told this newspaper the case was strange, and assured it would be resolved quickly.

Despite that assurance, the school has yet to act on the matter more than a month after.

Long wait

Like many other students of the school, Temidayos problem began in his final year when his department said his West African Senior Secondary School Certificate was not in its records. At least five other students in his class had the same problem.

After losing the 2012/13 school session to a six-month strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities, Temidayo hoped he would be quickly let go the next session once he provided a copy of the missing certificate.

He submitted the certificate to the chemistry department and began to wait for clearance since 2013/2014 session. Two years after, he is still waiting for the school to process his result for graduation.

The process of clearing him requires the approval of his course adviser, Wayne Omagamre; faculty checker, Professor Anthony Imiavan; the Head of Department, Professor James Okuo; and Dean, Professor Sunday Omosigho.

The officials consistently said they had been too busy to attend to the case, the student told PREMIUM TIMES.

Even after the course adviser claimed that he had done his own aspects of the work, the faculty checker, Prof. Imiavan, especially, has refused to check my results for years now for whatever reasons I dont know, Temidayo said.

From my understanding, the department has no problem with my result. I dont have any criminal record. But I dont know why the officials have refused to process my result.

The universitys spokesperson, Michael Osasuyi, said the case was unusual. Mr. Osasuyi assured that the matter was receiving the vice chancellors attention.

The various authorities that are concerned with this matter are now working on it. Once the vice chancellor gets a report on it, you will be able to get a feedback, Mr. Osasuyi promised, more than a month ago.

This reporter visited the school three times within a month, but got no feedback indicating there has been no progress on the case.

When contacted, Mr. Okuo, who is the HOD, visibly angry, questioned this correspondents interest in the case and ordered him out of his office.

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES by telephone, the faculty checker, Prof Imiavan admitted the student had no case, but that an individual does not approve a result alone.

Thereafter, he hung up and refused to respond to subsequent calls.

The University of Benin has lately been dogged by scandals involving harassment of students by lecturers.
The failure of the National Hospital in Abuja to inform a federal court of the transfer of Olisa Metuh, former spokesperson to the Peoples Democratic Party, to a Lagos hospital, was because the hospital could not issue a referral to a junior hospital, Mr. Metuhs lawyer has said.

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday accused the National Hospital of treating the court with levity by not informing it of Mr. Metuhs transfer.

Mr. Metuh is standing trial for alleged corruption and the court had earlier turned down his application to travel abroad for medical treatment. Mr. Metuhs referral abroad was issued by the National Hospital.

The court was forced to adjourn Friday after it was informed of Mr. Metuhs transfer to Lagos.

But the judge said the National Hospital had failed to write the court notifying it of the transfer.

He hinted at conspiracy and warned that heads will roll if he ordered the probe of the Abuja hospital.

But Mr. Metuhs lawyer, Emeka Etiaba, said the management of the National Hospital declined to issue a recommendation letter or write the court because the hospital had earlier recommended Mr. Metuh to a foreign hospital, which it believed was the best option for the PDP leader.

According to Mr. Etiaba, the hospital management believed it was the best hospital in the country and would not refer a patient to a smaller hospital.

He however said the new hospital, where Mr. Metuh was being treated, The Lagos University Teaching Hospital, had written to the court.

The National Hospital stated clearly that they are number one in Nigria, and that they cannot refer a person they had advised to go and get treatment in a foreign hospital, to a lower hospital in Nigeria.

The situation we find ourselves is similar to that in the Bible where it was recorded that God swore by his name because there was no higher being, by whose name he could swear, said Mr. Etiaba.

The letter from the new hospital said Mr. Metuhs condition was critical, requiring urgent evaluation and further action.

He is currently on strict bed rest. He is to have an MRI on the thoraco lumber and lumbo sacral spines, the letter said. The result of which will be useful for further evacuation and management expectedly over the next 2-3 weeks.
The pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere Renewal Group, has called on the Federal Government to release the official result of the June 12, 1993, Presidential Election, which was won by M.K.O Abiola.

In a press statement signed by its chairman, Olawale Oshun, to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of June 12, the ARG said President Muhammadu Buhari, as the beneficiary of a ballot revolution that mostly mirrored that of 1993, owed Nigerians the duty of declassifying the result, particularly now that 23 years had elapsed and the Official Secret Act could no longer be binding on the document.

ARG, according to the statement, believe releasing the result would reverse the stigma occasioned by the foolish act of canceling that election, adjudged to be the most peaceful in the history of Nigeria.

The group said releasing the result would also open up the hypocrisy of military rule and help project democracy as a better form of governance.

June 12 is no longer a struggle but now an obligation, the statement said.

The people have played their own part.

It is now the obligation of the beneficiaries of that struggle to set the country on a truly democratic path by deliberately replacing every stamp of military rule on Nigerias nationhood, including the imposed governance structure and constitution, through democratic rights and tenets. There is no alternative way to deepen democracy in Nigeria.

Let nobody be deceived. Until the federal government takes conscious steps to restructure Nigeria, the country will continue to wobble from one crisis of nationhood to another.

The group further stated that continuing to ignore calls to publish the result would amount to a tacit support by elected officials for everything that transpired during the military era, a reason that, it said, military rule had transited to do or die politics and citizens believed they had a right to take up arms against their country.

ARG therefore called on President Buhari, as a former military ruler and now a self-confessed democrat, to see himself as best poised to help Nigeria make this transition.

This can be his best legacy and the starting point, we dare say, is to release the June 12 presidential election result and its winner appropriately recognised and honoured.
Ten Boko Haram members were killed by troops of the Nigeria Army in a major operation in the border areas of Borno State during which two of the insurgents were captured alive, a military statement said.

A woman, who was held captive alongside her suckling baby, was rescued in the raided camp located in Gamboru Ngala Local Government area of Borno State.

Spokesman for the Nigeria Army, Sani Kukasheka Usman, said the soldiers of the 3 Battalion, 22 Task Force Brigade, embarked on the operation after receiving intelligence about the insurgents location on Friday.

Mr. Usman, who is the Acting Director Army Public Relations, said the troops were able to kill 10 Boko Haram terrorists, captured 2 alive and rescued a woman with her baby that were held hostages by the terrorists.

Part of Colonel Usmans speech reads that, The troops also recovered several equipment, arms and ammunition that include 6 AK-47 rifle magazines, 56 rounds of 7.62m (Special) rounds of ammunitions, 1 bundle of detonating cord, a Manual on how to prepare Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) 2 rifle magazine pouches, a Techno IPad, a Nokia mobile telephone handset and 1 Gionee mobile telephone handset.

Others include 1 Digital Multimetre, 6 SIM cards, 3 Memory cards and 1 Airtel Modem containing memory card also. The troops also recovered a wristwatch, 2 Islamic books, an empty bag and 2 Motorcycles.

He said the captured terrorists are undergoing preliminary interrogation, while rescued woman and her child are receiving necessary attention pending onward movement to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp.

In a similar encounter, the army spokesman said another element of the Battalion also conducted another fighting patrol to Wumbi village based on received information on the presence of remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in the area. The patrol team recovered 157 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition and 37 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition.
The Kaduna State Police Command has stepped up security following attacks on the residents of the state by a new deadly group called Yan Shara.

The spokesperson of the command, Abubakar Zubair, stated this in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday.

Yan Shara, which means Sweepers in Hausa Language, has carried out series of attacks on some residents of the state, using dangerous weapons like knives.

Its members, which comprise mostly young adults, now operate in major towns in Kaduna, including Tudun wada, Unguwan Rimi, Kakuri, Unguwan Dosa and Kawo.

Mr. Zubair said though the police were not aware of some of the attacks, the activities of the group had been put under control by the force.

He said, The Kaduna police have all the information about the activities of the gang in some part of the state that include Tudun Wada and Rigasa area and have taken all the necessary steps to bring that to a stop. We never had any other report of such activities from groups like that in recent time.

The case of Unguwan Rimi and Unguwan Dosa are new to me now but the police will step up and find out what actually happened. The police are not taking it lightly with such activities of hoodlums in the state anymore.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai had recently assured residents of the state of his administrations resolve to ensure that the activities of the group were not only curtailed but also totally eradicated.

The governor, who spoke when he visited a victim of the group, Emmanuel Francis, at St. Gerard Hospital Kaduna, warned the people of the state not to impose the tenets of their religions on others.

We implore everyone to do their duty to uphold peace and security in Kaduna State. We should not allow differences in faith to be a barrier to harmony or a cause for conflict. Nobody can impose the tenet of his faith on another person, Mr. El-Rufai said.

The decision to observe any religious activity is the prerogative of the individual. Let us all remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the security agencies.

Mr. Francis, a Christian, was attacked last week by suspected members of the group for eating during Ramadan.

A resident of Kakuri, Bala Awwal, has narrated how Mr. Francis was attacked by the group.

Mr. Awwal recounted that the victim was attacked in Kakuri area last Tuesday by members of the group while he was having lunch.

He said the members of the groups protested that he was eating at the time Muslims were observing their fast.

They even stabbed the man, he explained lamentably, adding that it was the prompt intervention of the police that saved him from death.

Mr. Awwal said the police had made some arrests in the area.

Also speaking, on Mal Mustapha, said many of the members of the Yan Shara were residents of the same areas where the activities had taken place.

As a community leader, we keep telling people in the Mosque and gathering to be cautious of these boys, Mr. Mustapha said.

Nobody knows what their motives are or what they intend to achieve with such activities. We are calling on the Kaduna state Police and the government to in a matter of urgency hasten taking action on this groups activities in the state.

A resident of Unguwan Dosa, Bello Sani, said he narrowly escaped being lynched last week when the group attacked him on his way from the mosque where he had gone to pray.

He said, It happened after the last prayer of the day, Ishaa at Unguwan Dosa. I was going home from the mosque in Unguwan Dosa when I saw people running and coming my way.

At first I thought it was a riot. Then one lady who was running overtook me and was shouting run! run! run! the sweepers are coming. I did not understand what she meant by sweepers until I saw some shops close to me closing down and also telling me to run.

However, before I could run fast, one among them hit me with a big stick on my back. I was able to jump in to a house close to me forcing them to retreat.

Describing the experience as horrific, Mr. Bello said he was very scared because he did not know about the group until last month a friend who lives in Tudun-Wada told hold him about it.
Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has warned governments against taking decisions contrary to religious believe.

In his remarks at the 11th Annual Ramadan Lecture on the topic, Who is a Muslim organized by Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, and Voice of Nigeria, VON, on Saturday in Kaduna, the governor said: Any government that its decision is contrary to religion, that government is in trouble.

The governor was referring to the controversy generated by the states religious bill that has attracted negative responses from both Christian and Muslim scholars in the State.

The governor, who was represented by Namadi Musa, his Special Adviser on Islamic Religion, called for the prayers of the people of the state and Nigeria as the state goes forward to introduce a religious bill in the state.

We need your prayers,as we move forward to introduce religious bill in the state.

God knows we are doing it with clear intention. As human, we are also bound to make mistake, he added.

He appealed to the Minister of Information and Culture to reverse the decision of relocating the upcoming 12th lecture to Abuja.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, represented by Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, the Director General of NTA, announced the relocation of the subsequent 12th Annual Lecture to Abuja.

I wish to announce to this gathering that we have decided to relocate the 12th Annual Ramadan Lecture to Abuja.

He commended all those who supported the previous lectures up till the 11th lecture that has been conducted in Kaduna.

Yahaya Abubakar, the Etsu Nupe, Muhammadu Isa Muhammadu, Emir of Jamaa, Shiekh Muhammad Bin Uthman and representative of the Shehu Idris, Emir of Zazzau, were among dignitaries who attended the Lecture.

Mansur Liman, DG FRCN, and Osita Okechukwu, DG VON, were among those dignitaries who were notably absent.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




PEORIA, ILL., June 10,2016 /PRNewswire/ --

CATERPILLAR INC. FILES FORM 8-K

PEORIA, Ill.- June 10, 2016 - Caterpillar Inc. ("Caterpillar") (NYSE: CAT/Euronext: CATR) informs its stockholders that today, a Form 8-K has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

The Form 8-K notes amendments to the Caterpillar 's Bylaws and provides voting results for each of the matters submitted to a vote of stockholders at Caterpillar's annual meeting of stockholders held on June 8, 2016. This Form 8-K, and all previous Forms 8-K in respect of Caterpillar, can be found on the SEC Internet site (www.sec.gov).

Caterpillar files electronically with the SEC required reports on Form 8-K, Form 10-Q, Form 10-K and Form 11-K; proxy materials; ownership reports for insiders as required by Section 16(a) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and registration statements on Forms S-3 and S-8, as necessary; and other forms or reports, as required. All of the forms and reports filed electronically with the SEC are available on the SEC Internet site (www.sec.gov).

Caterpillar also maintains an Internet site (www.Caterpillar.com) and copies of its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to these reports filed or furnished with the SEC are available free of charge through Caterpillar's Internet site (www.Caterpillar.com/secfilings) as soon as reasonably practicable after the relevant document has been filed with the SEC.

CONTACT: Rachel Potts, Corporate Public Affairs, Office, +1-309-675-6892

This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire.

SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.
LONDON, June 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EY has entered a strategic five-year commitment to support The Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) initiative. Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation, 100RC is a global collaboration of some of the world's largest organizations. These organizations provide financial and logistical guidance, strategic advice to develop and implement solutions and share leading practices and lessons learned to the 100RC network of cities.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130701/NY40565LOGO-b

As part of the initiative, EY firms will provide advisory and other services to member cities across a range of projects including smart transport, asset information, digital, job creation, inclusive growth and emergency management. They will help cities assess their risks and opportunities and position city governing bodies to manage related projects and strategies.

Bill Banks, EY Global Infrastructure Leader, says:

"We have long admired the purpose, ambition and scale of the 100 Resilient Cities organization. Being a part of this collaboration positions EY firms to provide member cities across the world access to our global network of advisors who bring a wealth of experience supporting urban planning and management. While infrastructure is a part of this equation, we will also be involved in drafting recommendations to address many of the environmental and societal challenges facing cities of the 21st century, like health care, economic development, education and job creation. The cooperation is a unique way of looking at how we make our cities smarter and much more sustainable."

The 100RC platform is comprised of organizations across the private, public, academic and non-profit sectors, which then work with the member cities. Organizations aligned to 100RC are dedicated to providing these cities with recommendations that integrate big data, analytics, technology, resilience land use planning, infrastructure design, and new financing and insuring products among others.

Liz Yee, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Solutions at 100 Resilient Cities, says:

"EY is a global leader and we are proud to have them as a member of the 100 Resilient Cities platform. Their experience in providing key transaction advisory services will help guide members of the 100RC network as they develop and implement resilience strategies to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing cities due to globalization, urbanization and climate change."

Notes to Editors

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by EYGM Limited, a member of the global EY organization that also does not provide any services to clients.

About 100 Resilient Cities

100 Resilient Cities (100RC), pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation, helps cities around the world become more resilient to social, economic, and physical challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century. 100RC provides this assistance through: funding for a Chief Resilience Officer in each city who will lead the resilience efforts; resources for drafting a Resilience Strategy; access to private sector, public sector, academic, and NGO resilience tools; and membership in a global network of peer cities to share best practices and challenges. 100RC currently has 100 member cities.

Related Links

http://www.ey.com



SOURCE EY
At the opening address, Jun Murai, Professor of Keio University and Founder of the WIDE Project, said: "Internet infrastructure is the backbone of today's digital economy. Innovative technologies to build advanced networks and operations are critical to powering this Internet infrastructure, and international collaboration among governments, enterprises, industry alliances and academic and research institutions will be central to accelerating innovation to create winning outcomes. Today in Japan, it is encouraging to see the collaborative efforts of leading ICT companies such as Huawei advancing digital and driving future opportunities."

Rapidly developing Asian Internet economies, led by China, Japan, and South Korea, have become major global drivers

During a discussion on "Internet Development in Asia", Professor Murai, together with Kuo-Wei Wu, Board Member of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), William Dong, President of Huawei IT Solution Sales Department, and Kei Furuta, Representative Director of Equinix Japan, shared their insights on the status, trends, opportunities, and challenges of Asia's Internet development. As the engine of the world's economic growth, Asia is leveraging existing ICT infrastructure built during the last Internet boom to accelerate the mobile Internet. In the past, the West influenced the East on new technologies. In the Internet era, innovations are gradually moving from East to West.

As enterprises embrace the application-centric cloud era, new ICT becomes the corner stone of the new industrial revolution

During a discussion on cloud-based industry opportunities, guests from the University of Tokyo, Deutsche Telekom, Intel, and Huawei shared insights on how cloud is driving enterprise development and growth. Stefan Gubi, Senior Vice President of MNC Sales and Service and IoT Push Programs at Deutsche Telekom AG, said: "The European cloud market is growing at an annual rate of 21%. New digital business models require Hybrid & Multi Cloud solutions. Strong partner ecosystems will become a key success factor in the cloud and big data market. Deutsche Telekom has established a robust end-to-end ecosystem from hardware to software and platform. Deutsche Telekom offers a full-range cloud portfolio to meet customers' multi-cloud needs." In March 2016, Deutsche Telekom and Huawei announced the launch of Open Telekom Cloud, which can be directly and easily accessed by users via public networks. With the Open Telekom Cloud, Deutsche Telekom is able to provide convenient and flexible customization services for all enterprises, large and small.

Joerg Welters, CIO of Huawei Global Cloud Business, shared the company's successful deployment of "Open, Hybrid, and Industry Clouds." He discussed how to effectively use technological innovations and business models based on cloud computing to drive enterprise transformation. Welters believed that most existing public clouds have been built to address the needs of Internet businesses. Hybrid clouds will drive and support industry and enterprise transformation, supplementing public clouds and bridging the gap between traditional legacy IT and a cloud-native architecture. Hybrid and industry clouds will become the mega-trends of cloud transformation in the foreseeable future.

During industry digital transformation, the whole network will use a data center-centric architecture to accommodate all network functions and service applications. By 2025, 70-80% of the systems will be deployed on large-scale data centers, while software-defined networking (SDN), network functions virtualization (NFV), and hyper scale will become forces of change.

Hiroshi Esaki, Professor of the University of Tokyo and Director of the WIDE Project, summarized that cloud has become a basic infrastructure service for enterprises. Only those industry players who can fully understand and follow the trend will gain competitive advantages. The creation of a cloud-based society requires the collaboration and joint efforts of all relevant stakeholders and regional organizations.

The "Cloud-based Enterprise Transformation" process requires the concerted efforts of the whole ICT industry to build an open, healthy cloud ecosystem. Huawei has deployed more than 160 cloud data centers and 700,000 cloud computing virtual machines across the globe. Huawei has been chosen as a digital transformation partner by many leading companies from a variety of sectors. In line with the Business-Driven Innovative ICT (BDII) approach, Huawei is committed to implementing open innovations, working with partners and customers to build healthy cloud ecosystems in the industry, and leading the new ICT era.

To learn more information about Huawei at Interop Tokyo 2016, please visit http://enterprise.huawei.com/topic/interop2016_jp_en/index.html

SOURCE Huawei
DUBLIN, June 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Knee and Hip Replacements Market (By Type, Material, Fixation, Approach): Opportunities and Forecasts (2016-2021)" report to their offering.

The Global Knee and Hip Replacements market is projected to exhibit a CAGR of over 5.15% during 2016-2021. On the basis of market segment, the market has been segmented into two categories namely; Knee replacements and hip replacements market with its sub segments.



Due to the growing problem of osteoarthritis, bone preservation, less healing time and technological advancement like minimally invasive surgeries has led to an increase in the knee & hip replacement market. Countries in emerging economies are increasingly becoming the focus point of the manufacturers given the huge demand for knee and hip replacement surgeries.



Improvement in technology with increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes and the inclination of young population has been driving the market. Lack of awareness combined with higher cost of surgery has hampered the growth of the industry. Rising Prevalence Of revision surgeries combined increasing capabilities of implants in emerging nations, leading to medical tourism have grown over the years. Focus has shifted towards the emerging markets like Asia Pacific and South America driven by medical tourism.



Companies Mentioned:



Acumed

Exactech Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

Mathys Ltd Bettlach

Medtronic PLC

Smith & Nephew plc.

Stryker Corporation

Think Surgical, Inc.

Wright Medical Group.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc.

Report Structure:



1. Research Methodology



2. Executive Summary



3. Strategic Recommendation



4. Product Overview



5. Global Knee and Hip Replacement Market: Growth and Forecast



6. Global Knee & Hip Replacement Market: By Type (Knee Replacement, Hip Replacement)



7. Global Knee Replacement Market: By Type (Total Knee Replacement, Partial Replacement, Revision Knee replacement)



8. Knee Replacement Market: By Material (Metal alloys, ceramics, plastics)



9. Knee Replacement Market: By Fixation Procedure (Cemented Fixation, Cement less fixation, Hybrid fixation)



10. Global Hip Replacement Market



11 Hip Replacement Market: By Type (Total Hip Replacement, Partial Hip Replacement, Hip resurfacing)



12. Hip Replacement Market: By Procedure (Direct Anterior Approach, Anterolateral Approach, Posterolateral Approach)



13. Hip Replacement Market: By Fixation Procedure (Cemented Fixation, Cement less fixation, Hybrid fixation)



14. Hip Replacement Market: By Material (Metal-on-Polyethylene, Ceramic-on-Polyethylene, and Others (Metal-on-Metal, Ceramic-on-Ceramic, Ceramic-on-Metal))



15. Knee and Hip Replacement Market: By Region

16. Europe Knee and Hip Replacement Market



17. North America Knee and Hip Replacement Market



18. Asia Pacific Knee and Hip Replacement Market



19. RoW Knee and Hip Replacement Market

20. Market Dynamics



21. SWOT Analysis



22. Porter's Five Forces Analysis - Dental Implant and Prosthetic Market



23. Policy and Regulatory Landscape



24. Competitive Landscape



25 Company Profiling



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ms4wth/global_knee_and

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

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com



SOURCE Research and Markets
BOSTON, June 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RISI, in cooperation with FOEX, today announced the successful completion of Stage 1 of a pilot program to launch a new index to measure month-to-month change in US NBSK net prices.

The pilot program kicked off with market consultation in Q4 2015 and actual contributions starting in January, 2016.

"RISI and FOEX have spent the past two years researching a NET price index solution for US NBSK. The new PIX NBSK Net Change Index is tracking month-to-month changes in weighted average net prices. FOEX is taking the lead in producing the index using their trusted PIX methodology," said Matt Graves, SVP, RISI Indices.

FOEX and RISI continue to operate as separate price reporting agencies. The current RISI US NBSK effective list prices and spot prices will continue uninterrupted. The current PIX US NBSK price will continue until further notice.

"It is critical that we have actual market participants involved in the testing and validation of this new index. We now have enough contributors for a viable index, however, we will continue the pilot phase through August in order to build up 6 months of solid history," said Martti Airisto, Director, FOEX.

During the pilot period, the index will be available only to those who contribute data.

To see a sample of the new index and learn more, contact Martti Airisto at FOEX: martti@foex.fi

About FOEX Indexes Ltd (www.foex.fi)

FOEX Indexes Ltd is a specialised provider of audited, trade-mark registered pulp, paper, recovered paper and wood based bioenergy/biomass price indices. FOEX is based in Helsinki, Finland.

About RISI (www.risi.com)

RISI is the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. The company works with clients in the pulp and paper, packaging, wood products, timber, biomass, tissue and nonwovens industries to help them make better decisions.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, RISI operates additional offices throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia.

For Press Enquiries, please contact:

Martti Airisto

E: martti@foex.fi

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080521/NEW122LOGO

Related Links

http://www.risiinfo.com



SOURCE RISI
BAAR, Switzerland, June 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Weatherford International plc (NYSE: WFT) (the "Company" or "Weatherford") announced additional amendments with respect to the previously announced offers (as amended, the "Amended Tender Offers") by Weatherford International Ltd., a Bermuda exempted company and indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the Company ("Weatherford Bermuda"), and Weatherford International, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and indirect subsidiary of Weatherford Bermuda ("Weatherford Delaware" and, together with Weatherford Bermuda, the "Offerors") to purchase for cash Weatherford Delaware's 6.35% senior notes due 2017 (the "2017 Notes") and Weatherford Bermuda's 6.00% senior notes due 2018 (the "2018 Notes"), 9.625% senior notes due 2019 (the "2019 Notes") and 5.125% senior notes due 2020 (the "2020 Notes" and, together with the 2017 Notes, 2018 Notes and 2019 Notes, the "Notes").

The additional amendments provide for:

(i) an increase in the aggregate maximum purchase price (excluding accrued interest) of Notes the Offerors are offering to purchase from $2.1 billion to $2.6 billion (the "Amended Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price");

(ii) an increase in the consideration offered per $1,000 principal amount of the 2019 Notes and 2020 Notes as shown in the table below;

(iii) an elimination of the $275.0 million cap on the aggregate principal amount of 2020 Notes Weatherford Bermuda is offering to purchase; and

(iv) Weatherford Bermuda having closed by the Early Settlement Date (as defined below) an offering of senior notes, in one or more tranches and with terms and conditions satisfactory to Weatherford Bermuda (the "Senior Notes Offering"), that provides gross proceeds of at least $1.5 billion (an increase from the previously announced amount of $1.1 billion) (the "Amended Financing Condition").

This announcement amends Weatherford Delaware's and Weatherford Bermuda' Offer to Purchase, dated June 1, 2016, as amended by the press release filed on June 8, 2016 and as hereby further amended, the "Offer to Purchase"). Other than the amendments described above, all terms and conditions in the Offer to Purchase remain unchanged.











Dollars per $1,000 Principal Amount of Notes Title of Security CUSIP Number Aggregate Principal Amount Outstanding Tender Cap / Initial Tender Cap Acceptance Priority Level Tender Offer Consideration/ Previously Announced Tender Offer Consideration Early Tender Premium Total Consideration/ Previously Announced Tender Offer Consideration Weatherford Delaware's

2017 Notes 947074AJ9 /

947074AF7 /

U94320AC9 $600,000,000 N/A 1 $1,020.00 $30 $1,050.00 Weatherford Bermuda's

2018 Notes 947075AD9 $500,000,000 N/A 2 $1,025.00 $30 $1,055.00 Weatherford Bermuda's

2019 Notes 947075AF4 $1,000,000,000 N/A /

$250,000,000 3 $1,070.00 / $1,065.00 $30 $1,100,00 / $1,095.00 Weatherford Bermuda's

2020 Notes 94707VAA8 $773,088,000 N/A / $100,000,000 4 $915.00 / $910.00 $30 $945.00 / $940.00

Holders of Notes that are validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 16, 2016 (the "Early Tender Date"), and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Amended Tender Offers will receive the applicable Total Consideration (as set forth in the table above) for such series, which includes the early tender premium for such series of Notes set forth in the table above (with respect to each series of Notes, the "Early Tender Premium"). Holders of Notes tendering their Notes after the Early Tender Date will only be eligible to receive the Tender Offer Consideration (as set forth in the table above), which is the Total Consideration less the Early Tender Premium.

All Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Amended Tender Offers will receive the applicable consideration set forth in the table above, plus accrued and unpaid interest on such Notes from the last interest payment date with respect to those Notes to, but not including, the applicable Settlement Date (as defined below). Tendered Notes may be withdrawn from the Amended Tender Offers prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 16, 2016 (the "Withdrawal Deadline"), unless extended by Weatherford Bermuda or Weatherford Delaware. Holders of Notes who tender their Notes after the Withdrawal Deadline, but prior to 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of the day on June 30, 2016 (the "Expiration Date"), may not withdraw their tendered Notes.

The Offerors reserve the right, but are under no obligation, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions (including the Amended Financing Condition) to the Amended Tender Offers, to accept for purchase any Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Early Tender Date, at any point following the Early Tender Date and before the Expiration Date (the "Early Settlement Date"), subject to the Acceptance Priority Levels (as set forth in the table above), the Amended Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price and proration. The Early Settlement Date will be determined at each Offeror's option and is currently expected to occur on June 17, 2016, subject to all conditions to the Amended Tender Offers (including the Amended Financing Condition) having been either satisfied or waived by the applicable Offeror. If the Amended Financing Condition is not satisfied or waived by the Early Settlement Date, the Offerors reserve the right, but are under no obligation to accept for purchase any Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Early Tender Date, at the Early Settlement Date, subject to an aggregate maximum purchase price of $1.1 billion (the "Initial Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price"), the Acceptance Priority Levels, the Initial Tender Caps (as set forth in the table above), and proration. Irrespective of whether an Offeror chooses to exercise its option to have an Early Settlement Date, such Offeror will purchase any remaining Notes that have been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Expiration Date and that such Offeror chooses to accept for purchase promptly following the Expiration Date, subject to the Initial Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price or the Amended Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price, as applicable, the Initial Tender Caps, as applicable, and proration (the "Final Settlement Date," the Final Settlement Date and the Early Settlement Date each being a "Settlement Date"). The Final Settlement Date is expected to occur on the first business day following the Expiration Date. Regardless of whether the Amended Financing Condition is satisfied or waived by the Early Settlement Date, Holders tendering Notes pursuant to the Amended Tender Offers will receive the applicable Total Consideration or the Tender Offer Consideration (as set forth in the table above).

Subject to the Initial Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price or the Amended Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price, as applicable, the Initial Tender Caps, as applicable, and proration, the Notes accepted on any Settlement Date will be accepted in accordance with their Acceptance Priority Levels set forth in the table above, with one being the highest Acceptance Priority Level and four being the lowest Acceptance Priority Level. All Notes tendered before the Early Tender Date will be accepted for purchase in priority to other Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date, even if such Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date have a higher Acceptance Priority Level than Notes tendered prior to the Early Tender Date.

Acceptance for tenders of any Notes may be subject to proration if the aggregate principal amount for any series of Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn would cause the Initial Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price or the Amended Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price, as applicable, to be exceeded. Acceptance for tenders of 2019 Notes and 2020 Notes may be subject to proration if the aggregate principal amount of the 2019 Notes or 2020 Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn is greater than the applicable Tender Cap, if any.

The consummation of the Amended Tender Offers is not conditioned upon any minimum amount of Notes being tendered. However, the Amended Tender Offers are subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions in the Offer to Purchase, including the Amended Financing Condition.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are the dealer managers in the Amended Tender Offers. Global Bondholder Services Corporation has been retained to serve as both the depositary and the information agent for the Amended Tender Offers. Persons with questions regarding the Amended Tender Offers should contact Deutsche Bank Securities at (toll-free): (855) 287-1922 or (collect): (212) 250-7527, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at (toll-free): (800) 558-3745 or (New York): (212) 723-6106, RBC Capital Markets, LLC at (toll-free): (877) 381-2099 or (collect): (212) 618-7822 or Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at (toll-free): (866) 309-6316 or (collect): (704) 410-4760. Requests for copies of the Offer to Purchase and other related materials should be directed to Global Bondholder Services Corporation at (toll-free): (866) 807-2200 or (collect): (212) 430-3774.

None of the Company, its board of directors, the dealer managers, the depositary or the information agent or any of the Company, the Offerors or their respective affiliates, makes any recommendation as to whether holders of the Notes should tender any Notes in response to the Amended Tender Offers. The Amended Tender Offers are made only by the Offer to Purchase. The Amended Tender Offers are not being made to holders of Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such jurisdiction. In any jurisdiction in which the Amended Tender Offers are required to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Amended Tender Offers will be deemed to be made on behalf of the Offerors by the dealer managers, or one or more registered brokers or dealers that are licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction.

ABOUT WEATHERFORD INTERNATIONAL PLC

Weatherford is one of the largest multinational oilfield service companies providing innovative solutions, technology and services to the oil and gas industry. The Company operates in over 100 countries and has a network of approximately 1,100 locations, including manufacturing, service, research and development, and training facilities and employs approximately 33,100 people.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined under federal law, including those related to the Company's potential securities offering and tender offers. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "may," "should," "could," "will," "would," and "will be," and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Such statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Known material factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by such forward-looking statements are described in the prospectus as supplemented, which is a part of the registration statement, and the risk factors described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 and those risk factors set forth from time-to-time in other filings with the SEC. Weatherford undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except to the extent required under federal securities laws.

Investor Contact:





Krishna Shivram +1.713.836.4610 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer



Karen David-Green +1.713.836.7430 Vice President  Investor Relations, Corporate Marketing & Communications

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/19990308/WEATHERFORDLOGO

Related Links

http://www.weatherford.com



SOURCE Weatherford International plc
His address was a prism into the trials and tribulations that Americans have endured during the 20th and 21st centuries.

Takei recounted growing up with Mexican American families on Los Angeles' Eastside, not far from Cal State LA. But that life was interrupted when World War II broke out. He and his family were among more than 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry in the U.S. who were rounded up and sent to internment camps.

Living behind barbed wire at Camp Rohwer, in the swamps of Arkansas, and Camp Tule Lake, on a scrub-covered plain of northern California, left a lasting impression.

"I can never forget the tall sentry towers with the machine guns pointed down at us. I remember the search light that followed me when I made the midnight runs from our barrack to the latrine," he recalled. "Throughout my acting career, because of my childhood imprisonment, an unjust incarceration, I have always been mindful of the preciousness of my rights as an American as well as my responsibilities as a citizen."

Takei, who earned a B.A. and M.A. in theater from UCLA, has more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television guest-star roles to his credit. He boasts more than 9.7 million fans on his Facebook page and has used the platform to advocate on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

He was a former board member of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and helped establish the Arts in Transit program, which led to each Los Angeles Metro station having its own distinctive artwork. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission and received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, from Japanese Emperor Akihito for his contributions to improving relationships between the two nations.

In closing his Commencement address, Takei noted that the democratic process can be unruly, even unjust. But as Americans, he told the crowd, we have a responsibility to be engaged and to strive to make our country a better place for all people, regardless of their differences.

"We, your generation and mine, have a challenge to boldly go where we have never gone before," he said, referencing a well-known line from the opening of Star Trek. "Let us learn from the lessons of history, and, as the founding fathers did, shape a new nation to fit the ever advancing, constantly innovating, dynamic challenges of the 21st century," Takei said. "Let us boldly go where we have never gone before."

Contact: Robert Lopez: (323) 343-3044 [email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160611/378194

SOURCE California State University, Los Angeles
HOUSTON, June 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, in Caracas, Venezuela, authorities from the governments of Aruba and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and officials from Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) and CITGO Aruba, gathered to witness the execution of a commercial agreement between CITGO Aruba and the Aruban government that will reopen a 209,000 B/D refinery located in San Nicolas, Aruba. In attendance at the event were the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro; the Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Eulogio del Pino; the Prime Minister of Aruba, Mike Eman; the Aruban Minister of Economy, Communication, Energy and Environment, Mike de Meza; and the President and CEO of CITGO Petroleum Corporation, Nelson P. Martinez.

Following several months of negotiations, officials from the Aruban government and CITGO Aruba, announced plans to reactivate operations, which had been idled since 2012, through a refining facilities 15-year lease agreement, with a 10-year extension option. CITGO Aruba, a group of operating companies under PDV Holding (a PDVSA subsidiary), will operate the facility with CITGO Petroleum Corporation providing services to the group.

"This project will transform the refinery into an upgrader for Venezuelan extra-heavy crude within 18 months to two years. This process - which will require an investment ranging from $450 to $650 million, to be obtained from external financing sources - can be compared to a large turnaround. This is an area in which CITGO is well positioned to provide technical expertise and services," Martinez said, adding that with these changes, the refinery would become a successful economic venture for all parties.

"This has been a very well thought-out process which involved the participation of the best available technical consultants from CITGO and PDVSA, as well as the input of several leading international refining industry consulting firms, such as KBC Advanced Technologies, KBR of Germany and others that assessed the project's technical and financial viability," Martinez added.

Once the adaptation process has concluded, the facility will upgrade extra-heavy crude from the Orinoco Oil Belt, transforming it into intermediate crude, which in turn will be sent on to the CITGO refining network in the United States for further processing, Martinez explained. At the same time, naphtha will be sold to PDVSA for use as diluent for its extra-heavy crude.

A complementary project under consideration would allow the utilization of excess natural gas available in the Paraguana region of Venezuela. Besides the significant energy cost savings in operations that this would generate, using natural gas would substantially reduce refinery emissions and contribute to environmental protection efforts in the region, the CITGO CEO said, adding that the construction of a gas pipeline linking the coasts of Venezuela and Aruba, which are just 17 miles apart, is being evaluated towards this end.

"This is a very strong project from both the technical and financial perspective. It is a strategic partnership that will benefit CITGO Aruba, PDVSA, Venezuela and Aruba through operations that reduce costs in terms of transportation, energy and storage needs, fully utilize existing infrastructure and maximize the benefit of extra-heavy crude oil production from the Orinoco Oil Belt, the largest oil reservoir in the world," Martinez concluded.

About CITGO

CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information visit www.CITGO.com.

SOURCE CITGO Petroleum Corporation

Related Links

http://www.CITGO.com


BEIJING, June 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the recent groundless reports, claiming that "AccorHotels attempts to join forces with HNA to counter Jin Jiang Hotels", HNA International Hotels & Resorts Management Co., Ltd. ("HNA Hospitality Group") issued the following statement:

As of now, HNA Hospitality Group neither has discussed with French AccorHotels Group on the equity acquisition, nor plans to have such discussion. Relating reports are false.

As a global leading hotels group, HNA Hospitality Group is on the mission to establish a Chinese hotel brand. At the same time, HNA Hospitality Group actively fulfills a company's responsibilities in the society, with the dedication in creating a healthy market environment for the hotel industry with stakeholders, including the government, investors, industry peers, and customers.

HNA Hospitality Group has always been cautious with investments, following industry standard business codes and company work rules strictly, and will not participate in hostile bidding with any projects.

HNA Hospitality Group reserves the rights to pursue any legal rights available should any individual or company discuss project acquisition in the name of HNA Hospitality Group without authorization.

HNA Hospitality Group declares the statement hereby.

HNA International Hotels & Resorts Management Co., Ltd.

June 10, 2016

SOURCE HNA Hospitality Group
The digitally stunning presentation, held at Grand Connaught Rooms, was created in collaboration with renowned design studio Universal Everything and soundtracked by London duo Raime. It featured a 360-degree immersive installation that took models and attendees on an uplifting journey through pop-digital weather systems. Inspired by the physics of the environment, MCM traversed wind, rain, sun, and various landscapes and cityscapes to illustrate the brand story of 'made to move,' all the while paying tribute to the brand's travel heritage and Munich origins.

MCM and Raeburn architected their collection around five key aesthetic attributes: seasonless, sustainable, unisex, multifunctional, and mobile. The aim was to design a new wardrobe for the global nomad and reimagine travel for future-facing millennialsa generation which embraces functional aesthetics and a sustainable consciousness at the same time.

Raeburn's collection "remade" MCM's iconic Visetos canvas into trench coats, parkas, bombers, and riding jackets, giving a contemporary twist to the chic material that has signified luxury travel for four decades. Form and function were at the heart of each design, such as a camo pattern inspired by Visetos materials and sonic prints illustrating movement. At the same time, innovation was central to the collection, specifically through the use of breakthrough fabrics and higher sustainable standards, such as Schoeller 4-way-stretch and Ecoalf Nylon. All fabrics within the collection meet the criteria of the bluesign system for sustainable textile production.

Other stars of the collection were a series of modular 3-in-1 bags that allow endless user customization. Taken from the iconic MCM backpack and inspired by military repurposing, they serve multiple purposes for numerous occasions. One of the elements is a core day bag with carry-on handle that can be zipped together on a yoke system to be worn as a backpack. Top-opening options highlight the ease of utility.

In addition to the 25-piece collection, the show also featured iconic Spring/Summer 2017 MCM accessories, such as bags, sneakers, and sunglasses. In remembrance of the birthplace of the brand MCM, Christopher Raeburn reinterpreted the colours of the Bavarian flag and executed the entire collection in a youthful palette of dove grey, crisp blue, and lemon yellow.

"Both our brands stand for craftsmanship, which we wanted to reimagine as a unique capsule collection," said MCM. "Each item stands for exceptional quality, is crafted from high-tech, sustainable material, and represents MCM's values of being a functional and mobile brand. Christopher is an amazing talent in that field and we are delighted to have created this collection with him."

"MCM is an iconic global brand, and I'm excited by the opportunity to showcase our creative partnership together at London Collections Men," said Christopher Raeburn. "I found it thrilling to collaborate with a like-minded brand that shares my passion for innovation and sustainability. Together, we have created a new vision of travel and luxury for the 21st-century global nomad."

The innovative, first-of-its-kind presentation received a landmark unveiling across the digital web: live-streamed across a host of global social media channels as well as the mcmworldwide website. For the first time ever, the label streamed a fashion collection via a mobile platform directly onto users' phones, creating an international hive of social excitement. The presentation was also broadcast through the emerging Korean mobile app "V-live" and the Chinese version "XianDanJia" which function much like TV channels in Asia.

The collection marks the first of several bold strides MCM is undertaking after having recently committed to becoming fully sustainable by 2020. During the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference in April, MCM also announced its partnership with (RED) by committing to a contribution of $10 million across the next decade to support the organization's global work. Following such advances, the collection made use of innovative new materials while maintaining a sense of luxury and quality. By driving such innovation, MCM continues to build on its promise of sustainable luxury and unparalleled 21st-century creativity.

WWW.MCMWORLDWIDE.COM

About Modern Creation Munchen (MCM)

MCM is a luxury travel goods and accessories brand with an attitude defined by combining a contemporary aesthetic and focus on functional innovation with the use of cutting edge techniques. Founded in 1976 at the pinnacle of Munich's creative renaissance, today, through its association with art, music, technology and travel, MCM embodies the bold, irreverent and aspirational. Always with an eye on the new, the driving force behind MCM centers on revolutionizing classic design with futuristic materials. Cross-pollinating its Western and Asian heritage, the brand draws reference from Munich to Seoul. Appealing to the Global Nomad generation - dreamers, creatives and digital natives - MCM's millennial audience is ageless, genderless, empowered and unconstrained by rules and boundaries. This is New School Luxury.

MCM is currently sold in 430 stores in 35 countries including Munich, Berlin, Zurich, London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo.

About Christopher Raeburn

Christopher's pioneering work has brought sustainable design to a mainstream fashion audience embodying luxury with integrity. The brand currently has over sixty stockists worldwide and has received ongoing endorsements from respected institutions and journalists. Accolades include Breakthrough Designer at the British GQ Man of the Year Awards, as well as Designer Business of the Year and Menswear Brand of the Year at the UK Fashion & Textiles Awards. In her review of the Autumn  Winter 2014 'POLARIS' menswear collection Suzy Menkes said "It is Mr Raeburn's clear vision of clothes that protect man and the planet that make him an original and exceptional designer".

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160610/378018 )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160610/378019 )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160610/378020 )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160610/378021 )

SOURCE MCM

Related Links

http://WWW.MCMWORLDWIDE.COM


INDIANAPOLIS, June 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- New data from a study funded by Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) show that how healthcare professionals and people with diabetes communicate - as well as the perceived quality of the personal relationship between the parties - directly impacts knowledge of the disease by patients, distress related to living with diabetes, important care activities, such as frequency of self-monitoring blood glucose, and insulin adherence. Six abstracts from the Multinational Observational Insulin Progression (MOSA1c) study, which was led by Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital, are being presented at the 76th American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.

Multinational Observational Insulin Progression (MOSA1c) study

"We know from many studies that the majority of patients with type 2 diabetes using insulin are not achieving glycemic control," said Seoyoung C. Kim, M.D., associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and lead investigator. "While the data from MOSA1c confirms these findings, more concerning is that despite less than one-third of patients achieving glycemic control in this two-year observational study, only about 40 percent of patients with sub-optimal control added additional diabetes medication. In addition, because the relationship between patients and healthcare professionals may have an effect on the amount of distress patients feel and, in some cases, the level of A1C, we recognize that how we communicate to patients and how patients receive that communication really matters."

Data from over 4,200 patients in 18 countries were monitored in a non-interventional manner for two years across North and Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Other findings included:

Improvement in the patient-healthcare provider relationship was associated with a lower level of diabetes-related distress, higher diabetes knowledge scores, positive attitudes towards self-care, such as frequency of self-monitoring blood glucose, and higher self-reported adherence to the prescribed treatment. 1

Patients who were younger, more highly educated and living in Asia were found to be more likely to have their insulin therapy progressed. 2

were found to be more likely to have their insulin therapy progressed. Younger age, higher baseline A1C level and use of NPH insulin were significantly associated with a higher A1C level at the end of the study, adjusted for adherence.3

"MOSA1c provides a broad view of clinical, psychosocial and health system factors available and will serve to create a greater understanding of needs within each system," said David Kendall, vice president, Global Medical Affairs, Lilly Diabetes. "These data can help us better understand why so many patients using insulin are not achieving glycemic goals. We know that this is a complex multi-factorial issue and it is critical to take into account the specific cultural, social and individual barriers people with diabetes face when adjustment of insulin therapy is considered most useful."

The results are an important step forward in helping the diabetes community understand insulin progression to help healthcare providers determine the right therapies at the right times for each patient. Given the complexities of available therapies across the globe, this should be an increasing area of research focus to help address this overwhelming public health issue. As a result of these findings, Lilly will be reaching out to diabetes experts from all regions included in the study in the coming months in order to gain a broad cross-cultural perspective on how best to explore the wealth of information from MOSA1c.

About MOSA1c

MOSA1c is a large, comprehensive study which examined associations between patients' backgrounds/behaviors, healthcare settings, healthcare provider relationships and treatment outcomes for type 2 diabetes in a long-term prospective manner and followed more than 4,000 adults and 220 healthcare providers in 18 countries around the world. More than half of the people studied were in emerging markets, where the need is great and data has been limited. Ages ranged from 20-79 (50 percent male) with a wide range of socioeconomic status, including education levels, employment and insurance type. The study not only provides breadth that helps reveal patterns of treatment on a global scale, but also depth into the lives of the participants that can make the data truly meaningful.

About Diabetes

Approximately 29 million Americans4 and an estimated 415 million people worldwide have type 1 and type 2 diabetes.5 Type 2 diabetes is the most common type, accounting for an estimated 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes cases. Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the body does not either properly produce or use the hormone insulin.4

About Lilly Diabetes

Lilly has been a global leader in diabetes care since 1923, when we introduced the world's first commercial insulin. Today we are building upon this heritage by working to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes and those who care for them. Through research and collaboration, a broad and growing product portfolio and a continued determination to provide real solutionsfrom medicines to support programs and morewe strive to make life better for all those affected by diabetes around the world. For more information, visit www.lillydiabetes.com or follow us on Twitter: @LillyDiabetes.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels.

P-LLY

References



1 Linetsky B, Curtis BH, Rogers JR et al. The effect of the patient-physician relationship on insulin progression, diabetes distress and HbA1c control over time: Insights from the MOSA1c study. Data presented at the 76th American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, New Orleans, LA.

2 Kim SC, Eddings W, Rogers J et al. Effects of patient, physician and health care environment factors on insulin progression in patients with T2DM: the MOSA1c study. Data presented at the 76th American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, New Orleans, LA.

3 He M, Curtis BH, Eddings W et al. Factors associated with insulin adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes: the MOSA1c study. Data presented at the 76th American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, New Orleans, LA.

4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/statsreport14/national-diabetes-report-web.pdf. October 2014.

5 International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 7th edn. Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation, 2015. http://www.idf.org/diabetesatlas.

Refer to: Julie Williams, [email protected], 317-627-4056

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160609/377471-INFO

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company

Related Links

http://www.lilly.com


LOS ANGELES, June 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California (RMHCSC) awarded 94 accomplished college-bound seniors scholarship funds totaling $288,000 during a celebratory event at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The scholarships and medals were awarded during a recognition ceremony where recipients were honored and commended by their families, school counselors, RMHCSC representatives, and Southern California McDonald's owners and operators. Chris Pan, founder of myintent.org gave an inspiring keynote message before the celebrations ended with photos and well wishes.

Since 1990, RMHCSC has awarded more than $5 million in total scholarship funds to Southern California high school students to help make their dreams of a college education a reality. Funding for these scholarships is made possible through the fundraising efforts of local McDonald's owner/operators and corporate staff. The McDonald's Operators' Association of Southern California (MOASC) pays for administrative costs of the scholarship programs, including the production and distribution of applications and the recipient recognition event.

The chapter provides scholarships through four programs each year: RMHC African American Future Achievers, RMHC Asian Pacific American Students Increasing Achievement (ASIA), RMHC Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources (HACER) and RMHC Scholars. Scholarship funds can be applied to tuition, fees and other appropriate educational expenses. Applicants are selected because of their academic achievement, community involvement and recommendations from teachers, counselors and community leaders.

"The scholarship luncheon is a great opportunity to recognize our scholarship recipients for their hard work in front of their friends, family and McDonald's franchisees," said Vince Bryson, CEO, RMHCSC. "We are committed to providing opportunities and resources that strengthen families and are inspired by what these students have accomplished and are looking to achieve."

Recipients of RMHCSC scholarships are selected through a rigorous application process and represent the highest caliber students in the five counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura. These scholarships give the recipients an opportunity to pursue their education goals and help ease some of the collegiate financial burden. Interested applicants can begin the process for 2016 scholarships in October, 2015.

About McDonald's Operators Association of Southern California

The McDonald's Operators' Association of Southern California (MOASC) is comprised of more than 600 franchised and company-owned McDonald's restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Follow us on Twitter: @McDonalds_SoCal.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California

For more than 35 years, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California (RMHCSC) has been dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children and families across Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. RMHCSC helps families with critically-ill children stay together, connecting them with others facing similar challenges through its six Ronald McDonald Houses in Bakersfield, Loma Linda, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Orange and Pasadena and two Ronald McDonald Family Rooms. One of the few chapters to operate a cost-free, medically supervised Camp Ronald McDonald For Good Times, RMHCSC helps children with cancer and their siblings rediscover childhood and develop the self-esteem and self-efficacy often lost as a result of the disease. The organization also provides funding through its Community Grants Board to deserving non-profits that improve the lives of children and funds four college scholarship programs that help exemplary high school students pursue the education of their dreams. More information about RMHCSC and its programs can be found at www.rmhcsc.org or on www.Facebook.com/RMHCSoCal and @RMHC_SoCal.

Contact: Jaime Botello

Porter Novelli

(310) 754-4126

[email protected]

SOURCE Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California

Related Links

http://www.rmhcsc.org


If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
London/Islamabad, June 6 : Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's health has improved considerably since his open heart surgery last week, his son Hussain Nawaz said on Monday, with daughter Maryam Nawaz revealing that the premier was likely to be discharged from hospital on Monday afternoon.

The prime minister's daughter Maryam Nawaz tweeted that "Doctors are satisfied with PM's progress and latest reports. All being well, Insha'Allah PM will be discharged this afternoon".

Earlier, Hussain Nawaz said the prime minister has started oral intake of food and water, and his blood test results have improved as well.

Prime Minister Sharif takes a stroll every hour on doctors' orders, added his son.

Maryam Nawaz also said that Sharif's recovery was on course. She tweeted: "PM's recovery on course. Was made to walk several times in the corridor during the day, and up and down a flight of stairs twice."

Hussain said the doctors had advised that Sharif should take rest for a week and a half after he is discharged from hospital.

Maryam also update the media about Sharif's plans to return home.

Sharif underwent open-heart surgery at a London hospital on May 31 and was moved to an intensive care unit in a stable condition post-surgery.

He is expected to return to Pakistan before the end of Ramadan in the first week of July, Maryam said earlier.

"Three of his arteries were blocked. It will take five or six days for the prime minister to get discharged from the hospital and we expect that he will return home in three to four weeks," she had said.
Raigad (Maharashtra), June 6 : The Maharashtra government will make efforts to secure a place for the imposing Raigad Fort, the erstwhile capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhonsle, in the UNESCO world heritage list, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced here on Monday.

He said it is a matter of concern that the historic fort atop a steep hill does not figure on the world heritage sites and the state would not rest till the site secured its rightful place in the Unesco list.

"There are several forts in Maharashtra... but none of these figure in the Unesco. We will ensure that this (Raigad fort) gets recognition internationally," said Fadnavis, to thunderous applause, in his address at the 343rd commemoration ceremony of Chhatrapati Shivaji's coronation which took place here on June 6, 1674.

In this context, he said that Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje, a descendent of the great warrior king, had discussed the issue with him as well as plans to develop and conserve the fort as well as its surroundings for future generations.

For this, the state government has approved a Rs 5 billion development plan, including development of 21 villages within a seven km radius of the fort, to boost tourism in the region.

Fadnavis became the first chief minister ever to attend the solemn ceremony and took part in the coronation rituals performed on Chhatrapati Shivaji's statue by Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje.

A 100-page coffee table book "Rajdhani Raigad" giving rare historical insights into Raigad accompanied by an aerial picture of the fort clicked by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, was released by Fadnavis on the occasion.

The book, the first-ever coffee-table presentation by the state government, is the culmination of joint efforts of Aniruddha Ashtaputre, Vilas Kane, Sadashiv Tetvilkar, Dilip Balsekar with inputs from Shri Shivaji Raigad Smarak Mandal.

Thousands of people from all over Maharashtra had started for the gruelling 1,737-step climb to the hilltop fort, 2,700 feet above sea level, from Sunday onwards for Monday's ceremony.

The historic fort, mostly in ruins and now accessible even by an aerial tramway within 20 minutes, was a witness to a glorious era of Maratha history which started with Chhatrapati Shivaji's coronation, and it was from here he laid foundation of the 'Hindavi Swarajya'.

Presently, Maharashtra has four world heritage sites - the Elephanta Caves off Mumbai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, the Ajanta-Ellora Caves in Aurangabad and the Western Ghats.
London, June 8 : British Prime Minister David Cameron held an unscheduled press conference to denounce "complete untruths" from Brexit campaigners.

Cameron on Tuesday called on millions of people to vote in the June 23 EU referendum before a midnight deadline, and urged Britons to back his call to stay in the European Union, Xinhua reported.

The Vote Leave group responded to Cameron's attack, saying he was in a blind panic over the referendum.

In the latest poll published on Tuesday, ICM put Leave at 48 percent, against Remain's 43 percent. Other polls on Tuesday put Leave ahead, but by smaller margins.

Cameron said his decision to hold the briefing came after watching reports of related campaigns on national television programmes.

He accused the Leave group of telling "complete untruths" to Britons, particularly the claim that Britain's EU rebate was at risk.

The Leave campaign is fronted by a number of senior members of his Conservative Party, including his own Justice Secretary Michael Gove and former Mayor of London Boris Johnson who now sits as a MP in the House of Commons.

Cameron said the Remain campaign was supported by credible independent experts who had warned about the consequences of Britain's exit from the EU.

He cited Janet Yellen, chairwoman of the US Federal Reserve, who issued the latest warning on Monday, saying Britain vote to exit the EU could have significant economic repercussions for the US.

In the Leave camp, Britain's Independence Party MP Douglas Carswell responded: "The In campaign is in a blind panic. Cameron's renegotiation was a failure. No one believes he got a deal worth the paper it was written on. Now people are rejecting his campaign of fear."

Meanwhile, a number of London-based newspapers said Britain may stay in the EU single market no matter what the result of the June 23 referendum would be.

The Times carried the headline: Pro-Euro MPs could defy Brexit Poll Victory. It warned that MPs could fight a rearguard battle to stop Britain from exiting the single market.

The 'i' newspaper carried a similar headline, saying pro-Europe MPs will challenge the public vote. It warned that MPs may use the House of Commons to fight a guerrilla campaign to keep Britain in the single market.

The newspaper said fewer than 200 of the parliament's 650 MPs support the Leave campaign, and the pro-Remain majority could "shape the means of exit" as Britain "disentangles" itself from the EU.

A Leave campaign spokesman told the Daily Mail: "If you vote Leave, Britain will negotiate a British option which will end the supremacy of EU law and take back control of our borders and our democracy and our economy."

The Remain campaign told the newspaper: "The Leave campaign can't tell us what would happen if we vote to leave. At every point, they have admitted they 'just don't know.' Leaving Europe would be a leap in the dark that would damage our economy, lead to price rises and job cuts."

Leading gambling organisations, or bookmakers as they are known in Britain, have slashed the odds on the Leave campaign winning in the referendum. Punters wanting to have a flutter on the result have found major bookies, Coral, has cut the odds on the Brexit vote from 5/2 to 7/4, while odds on Remain winning have been lengthened from 1/7 to 4/11.
New York, June 8 : UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has hailed the efforts made by India and the US to join the Paris Climate agreement, an official statement said.

"The Secretary-General welcomes the domestic steps being undertaken by both countries to join the Paris Agreement as soon as possible, including in 2016, and their collaborative efforts to address climate change," the press statement, released on Tuesday, said.

According to the statement, the Secretary General further lauded the resolve made by the two countries to pursue low greenhouse gas emission development strategies and successful outcomes this year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Montreal Protocol, the International Civil Aviation Organisation Assembly, and the G20.

The joint announcement by India and the US, which follows the G7 Ise-Shima Leaders' Declaration, and the historic April 22 signature ceremony for the Paris Agreement demonstrates the growing momentum towards the rapid entry into force and successful implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a three-day visit to the US. During his meeting with President Barack Obama, climate change was one of the major topics of discussion.

India has agreed to join the Paris Cop 21 agreement "as soon as possible", sources said.

As of today, 177 Parties have signed, and 17 have ratified the Paris Agreement, the statement added.
United Nations, June 9 : Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the commitment of India and the United States to Paris Agreement on Climate Change and their mission to reduce greenhouse gases as a sign of the growing global momentum for implementing the pact.

Ban has commended "the joint statement on climate change made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama, announcing their support for early entry into force of the Paris Agreement," Ban's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Wednesday.

"The announcement is one of a number of events that demonstrates the growing momentum towards the rapid entry into force and successful implementation of the Paris Agreement," Dujarric added.

In their joint statement Tuesday in Washington the two leaders reiterated their nation's ratify the agreement, the US this year and India to start preparations for it without a stated target date.

Obama is likely to bypass a hostile Senate and ratify it through an executive agreement. Modi does not need parliamentary approval to ratify it. The ratification of both India and US would be likely be required to reach the thresholds of the proportion of greenhouse gas emitters needed for the Paris Agreement to come into force.

Dujarric said Ban "is further encouraged by the resolve of India and the United States to pursue low greenhouse gas emission development strategies and successful outcomes this year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Montreal Protocol, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly, and the G20."

The Montreal Protocol provides for phasing out substances that endanger the ozone layer like hydrochlorofluorocarbons used in refrigerators. The ICAO pursues efforts to reduce greehouse emissions by aircraft. G20, the group of major economies, is committed to introduced heavy-duty vehicle standards and efficiency to reduce emissions.
Kabul, June 11 : Efforts are on to secure the release of an Indian woman development worker abducted by unknown gunmen in the Afghan capital, media reports said on Saturday.

Judith D'Souza, 40, who works for the Agha Khan Network, an NGO, was seized around midnight Thursday in Qala-e-Fatullah area of Kabul.

TOLO News said Afghan security agencies did not comment on the abduction.

D'Souza had reportedly worked for the NGO for a year and was due to leave for India soon.

On Friday, her family in Kolkata urged the Indian and Afghan governments to act fast to secure her release.

"We want the government to return our daughter," said Gloria D'Souza, the victim's mother.

The Indian embassy here is in touch with senior Afghan authorities over the kidnap saga.

"Afghan officials have said they are doing everything possible to secure the early release of the woman," TOLO News reported.
Kolkata/Kabul, June 11 : The Afghan and Indian governments are working at "various levels" to secure the release of an Indian woman development worker abducted in Kabul, her brother said on Saturday.

Judith D'Souza, 40, who works for the Agh Khan Network, an NGO, was seized by gunmen around midnight Thursday in the Qala-e-Fatullah area of Kabul.

"As of now efforts are being made at various levels within the governments of India and Afghanstan," Jerome D'Souza tweeted.

Afghan media reports also said that efforts were on to track down Judith but did not provide details. The kidnappers are suspected to be Islamists.

Sympathisers and well-wishers are appealing to the governments of both countries on Facebook page 'Bring Back Judith' and on Twitter to press for Judith's swift and safe release.

D'Souza had reportedly worked for the NGO for a year and was due to leave for India soon.

On Friday, her family in Kolkata urged the Indian and Afghan governments to act fast to secure her release.

"We want the government to return our daughter," said Gloria D'Souza, the victim's mother.

The Indian embassy in Kabul is in touch with senior Afghan authorities over the kidnap saga.

"Afghan officials have said they are doing everything possible to secure the early release of the woman," TOLO News reported.
New Delhi, June 11 : Veteran journalist Inder Malhotra died at a Delhi hospital on Saturday. He was 86.

Malhotra is survived by his son Anil Revri. His wife Rekha Malhotra died in 2007.

The veteran journalist was on life support for the last few days at Max Hospital, Saket.

The cremation will take place at Lodhi Road electric crematorium on Sunday morning.

Malhotra began his career with the United Press of India (UPI) and later worked at The Statesman and The Times of India, New Delhi. He also contributed for The Guardian.

His publications include 'Indira Gandhi: A Personal & Political Biography and Dynasties of India And Beyond'.

He was working on a book 'Indian Security: Past, Present and Future'.

Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted: "One of the doyens of political journalism Inder Malhotra passes away. Saw India from Nehru to Modi. RIP."

Another journalist Chandan Mitra tweeted: "I am blessed to have been guided by Inder Malhotra at The Statesman, my 1st job. He was a 24A7 journalist, a pillar of 4th Estate. RIP Inder."
Bengaluru, June 11 : The ruling Congress on Saturday won three seats and the opposition BJP one seat in the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

The winners are Oscar Fernandes, Jairam Ramesh and K.C. Ramamurthy (all Congress) and Union Minister for commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman of the BJP.

Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) candidate B.M. Farooq failed to get the required votes to win the contest for the third seat, as seven of its 40 lawmakers in the state legislative assembly 'cross voted' in favour of Ramamurthy, defying the party's whip.

Fernandes and Ramesh got 46 votes each, while Ramamurthy secured 52, and Sitharaman bagged 47.

Farooq had to be contended with just 33 votes.

As the ruling party (Congress) has 123 lawmakers in the 225-member assembly, election of Fernandes and Ramesh was a fait accompli, while Ramamurthy required at least 14 more votes in addition to the 31 surplus votes as the two former central ministers bagged 46 votes each.

With seven JD-S rebel lawmakers, nine independents and five members from regional outfits voting for Ramamurthy, he secured seven more (52) than the minimum 45 votes required to win the seat.

Though the BJP has 44 lawmakers in the assembly, Sitharaman secured three more votes from members of the regional outfits BSR-C and KJP.

In the 225-member legislative assembly, which is the Electoral College for the RS election, the ruling Congress has 123 members, BJP 44, JD-S 40, independents nine, BSR-C 3, KJP 2, SKP 1, KMP 1, speaker 1 and nominated 1.

Election to the four seats were held as scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Vidhana Soudha in the state secretariat here after the Election Commission rejected JD-S plea to postpone or countermand following a sting operation on some independents and its lawmakers by two national news channels on June 2.

The election was held to fill the four vacancies caused by the expiry of the six-year term of four erstwhile members from the state, including Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, Fernandes, Aayanur Manjunath and tycoon Vijay Mallya, who resigned on May 4 before his term could end on June 30.
Chandigarh, June 11 : Media baron Subhash Chandra was on Saturday elected to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana, triggering a blame game involving the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

At least 14 votes were rejected in the 90-member assembly.

There was high drama in the assembly complex and counting of votes was delayed for over two hours following objections raised by various parties.

Union minister Birender Singh was also elected to the Rajya Sabha. He secured 40 votes.

Chandra, an independent candidate supported by the BJP, scraped through amid political drama during the vote count.

He defeated another independent candidate, Delhi-based lawyer R.K. Anand, who was supported by the INLD and the Congress.

While Chandra got 24 votes, Anand managed only 15.

Leader of opposition and INLD leader Abhay Chautala accused Congress legislators of getting their votes rejected during the election on Saturday.

But Congress legislator Karan Singh Dalal blamed the INLD for Anand's defeat.

"No votes of the Congress were rejected. You can check from the assembly records. INLD legislators got their votes rejected after Anand (supported earlier by the INLD) expressed faith in the Congress leadership," Dalal alleged.

He said that only the vote of Congress legislator and spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala was rejected.

Surjewala's vote was cancelled following an objection raised by BJP chief whip Gian Chand Gupta. Surjewala allegedly showed his vote to another party leader, Kiran Chaudhary.

While Birender Singh's election was a foregone conclusion, the fight was between the BJP-supported Chandra and the INLD-Congress backed Anand.

On Friday, the Congress openly came out in support of Anand.

The INLD and Congress have 19 and 17 legislators in the Haryana assembly respectively. Had they all voted for Anand, he would have won easily.

BJP minister Ram Bilas Sharma and Anil Vij said the party was always confident of winning both Rajya Sabha seats in the election.
Panna, June 11 : Tigress T-5 was found dead with injuries on her body in Madhya Pradesh's Panna Tiger Reserve on Saturday.

According to the reserve administration, injuries on her body suggest that the animal may have died in a territorial fight with another big cat.

Tigress T-5 was one of the first big cats brought to the reserve in 2009 after it lost all of its tigers.

T-5 was brought here from Kanha Tiger Reserve.
Keith Marston is quiet about his service in Vietnam. For a long time he would not even tell people he had served there.

My friends knew, but for those that didnt, I didnt even bring up that Id been in Vietnam until the mid-80s.

Keith joined the Army in September 1967. His military experience started with a miscommunication. I was at one of my hangouts in Mechanicsburg and my mother called and said, Youre supposed to be leaving today. I didnt know that, so I left the next day. Thats how my Army experience started.

Keith was assigned to a training unit at Sand Hill, one of the two major training areas at Fort Benning. A major training post, Fort Benning is the home of the infantry, and known for red clay, pine woods, fire ants, cacti, and high heat and humidity. That was late September, early October in Georgia. Youd get up in the morning and it was freezing, and by afternoon you couldnt stand it because it was so hot.

It wasnt anything I had been used to. Wed run in the morning, three or four laps around the mess hall area, a lot of physical stuff. Marching, shooting. Shooting the M-14 was the fun part. Id hunted before I went in the Army, so I was pretty good at it.

Keith described how the drill sergeants could always find a reason to punish soldiers as part of their training. I come back from the rifle range one day, they said, Clean your rifle. For every speck of dirt we find youll do 10 push-ups. So I turned in my rifle, they inspected it, and said 40 push-ups! I said What are you talking about? But I had four pockets unbuttoned on my uniform; I got 10 push-ups for each unbuttoned pocket.

Keith was assigned to Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, then Fort Hood in Texas before being sent to Vietnam in March 1969.

My first impression was What did I get myself into? Youre busy getting issued stuff and you really kind of overwhelmed because you dont know where you are going or anything. I came in at Tan Son Nhat. From there I went to Red Beach, 263rd Maintenance Company, which at the time was called Avel, just a little bit north of Da Nang.

Avel is short for aviation electronics. Keith was assigned to the critical task of repairing communications equipment on aircraft. We repaired anything to do with the radio from the antenna to the frequency selector. At one point I went to Vung Tau for a couple of weeks for some training, I dont remember what it was, and while I was there I actually walked past one of the radar sets I went to Fort Monmouth to train on. That was the only time I ever saw one. I didnt do the job I trained for the whole time I was in Vietnam.

Whatever came in the door, we fixed. We saw some pretty beat up aircraft. We had a Chinook we were just pulling parts off of. Wed get radios in that had holes in them, things like that.

Daily life

The living conditions were typical. We lived in what we called hooches, six of us to each one. Plywood about 4 feet up the sides, then screens, a door at each end, and a tin roof. Surrounding them were piles and piles of sandbags. Between every other hooch was half of a corrugated steel pipe, and that was where you went if there was a mortar attack or that kind of thing. We had a mess hall Id put up against anybody. It was really good. The only time we had anything other than that ... was when we had guard duty, we had c-rations. Some of them werent as bad as what a lot of people think.

Though he was tasked with repairing communications equipment, guard duty was inevitable.

Wed go out on the perimeter. We had a guard tower with sandbags around it. There was a lower level with a bunk. Thered be two of you on guard, one would go down and rest and the other would stay on guard. You had a Starlight (night vision) scope you could see with, it made everything look green. I didnt do guard duty a lot, a few nights. On the south side there was a Seabee battalion, so we only had a three external perimeter sides. Of course when the helicopters would come in at night and land, they had big spotlights so that just destroyed your night vision.

I was alright (in the towers). They werent that far apart, so if the guys in the towers on either side of you were paying attention, youd be okay. I wrote my mother about one time the lieutenant was up in my tower and he saw something in the perimeter and got all excited about it. I told him not to worry about it, it was just a dog. You pay attention. You dont know whats going to happen.

Another duty soldiers had in Vietnam was human waste disposal. Most soldiers remember it, few talk about it.

Wed had 55 gallon drums that were cut a little short of half and had handholds cut into them. And we had outhouses, we built them up and had Avel spelled out in tile in ours. I dont recall if it was a two or a three holer, but at the back there was a door that lifted up and gave access to the drums. We had a local who helped us, and him and the guy who had the duty would load them on a truck and take them to the far corner of the compound. Youd get some diesel fuel, saturate them and light them up. When you were done burning, you had some ash left to dump, then youd take them back where you got them.

Not everyone had to sit down. So you had a little area that was maybe 3 feet wide, almost like the bottom half of a phone booth on three sides. They had a galvanized piece of pipe stuck in the ground at an angle with a piece of cloth over it, and thats where you went. It was right along the road that came down between our compound and the runway, so you couldnt be bashful.

Keith recalls an accident that happened during his deployment.

In April, after I got there, there was an ammo dump a couple of miles down the road, and the story is that a local was burning brush or trash or something and it got away and into the ammo dump. We could watch the thing burn and watch the explosions. And in the smoke in the air you could see the shock wave coming in the smoke in the air. We got on the roof of the hooch and when a shockwave got overhead the front of the hooch would bow in, and the back would bow out from the concussion. They were building new barracks near the dump, they were destroyed, the main PX, it was destroyed. I wrote home about it, and my mother said there was a little article in the paper about it.

Keith says he felt reasonably secure, but remembers always being somewhat on edge.

We were always aware of the general situation. Where we were, there was a beach and an inlet that was almost circular, and where it went out to the South China Sea there were pretty good sized hills. One hill was ours, one hill wasnt. On occasion wed watch the fire back and forth, wed watch the gunships where every few rounds is tracer and you could see the red lines of fire. You could hear, on occasion, not very often, you could hear the B-52s. When they dropped the bombs you wouldnt hear the airplanes, but youd hear the whump when the bombs went off. You were always aware of where you were.

Most of his time was spent working.

We had regular hours with two shifts. You came in at seven in the evening work until six in the morning. Get off, go get breakfast, get some sleep. At 6 at night youd get up, go get supper, and at 7 oclock youd go to work.

Coming home

I was in Vietnam for 13 months. I came home through Fort Lewis, Washington. I never saw any of the trouble that some people had. In Mechanicsburg youre not going to get that type of thing. Youve got the Navy base, New Cumberland, the War College, Letterkenny, all of this around, its a military area. There was never any name calling or any of that that I heard.

If you came home with less than five months you got an early out. Thats why I was there 13 months, I extended for a month. I didnt have reserve duties, so that was the end of my military involvement. Thirty-one months of service. I did not consider staying in. I think because of the public attitude at the time, that was probably consciously or subconsciously that was my motivation to get out.

His homecoming included a special welcome.

While I was still over there my parents wrote me a letter and said Theres a girl here who wants to write you, is that okay? Sure, fine. And the girls sister went to her and said Hey, he wants you to write him, is that OK, do you want to write him? She said Yeah. So when they came to Middletown to pick me up at the airport she was along. This last November we celebrated 42 years of marriage. That kind of sticks out a little bit.

Reflecting on the war, Keiths opinions are familiar to many veterans.

I think they ought to let the military fight the wars and let the politicians do whatever they do. I understand the purpose of it, its the same way now and it was the same way in World War II: if you dont stop them someplace, where are you going to stop them? Or are you going to stop them?

Asked if he would recommend military service to young people today, Keith does not hesitate to give his opinion.

Military service is what you make of it. I would recommend it to anyone. I have thought it should be mandatory, but I know thats not going to happen. The experience I had, I wouldnt trade it for the world.
Dhaka, June 11 : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday vowed to hunt down those behind the recent targeted killings of bloggers and minorities as police detained over 3,000 people, including 37 suspected Islamists, on the first day of a nationwide anti-terrorist drive.

"Where will they hide in Bangladesh," Hasina asked during a meeting of the Awami League's Working Committee meeting, and warned: "No one will get away".

"It's not a tough task to find them. They will be brought to justice," Hasina told the meeting at her official residence, the Gana Bhaban.

"It's just a matter of time," added the Awami League chief.

Inspector General of Police A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque said the week-long drive was aimed at dismantling all terrorist outfits and their networks in the country.

On Friday, a Hindu monastery worker was hacked to death in Pabna district.

Alamgir Kabir, the district's police chief, said the motive behind the killing was not yet known.

Of the 3,192 arrested, 1,861 were held after arrest warrants were issued by court, police said in a media release on Saturday.

The decision to crack down on Islamist sympathisers was taken on Thursday, five days after the murder of decorated police officer Babul Aktar's wife Mahmuda Aktar Mitu in Chittagong.

Mahmuda's murder was strikingly similar to the attacks carried out by suspected Islamist militants on secular writers, bloggers, online activists and people of different religious views.

Bangladesh has been facing a surge in violent attacks in recent months.

A number of secular writers, bloggers and publishers were killed or seriously injured in attacks carried out by extremists since 2013.

The wave of suspected militant attacks since last year, which has left more than 30 dead, has put Bangladesh in the spotlight in the global arena.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for 21 of the attacks while Al Qaeda has claimed most of the rest, according to monitoring group SITE Intelligence.

The government, however, denies the presence of the groups in Bangladesh and has blamed "home-grown" militants for the killings.

Condemning the killings in the name of religion, Hasina said that Islam does not permit taking anyone's life.

"What kind of religious practice is this killing of innocent people," she asked, adding that the attacks were aimed at spoiling religious harmony in Bangladesh.

She once again blamed the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and its ally the Jamaat-e-Islami for the recent killings.
Kabul, June 11 : A blind police officer was on Saturday appointed the district police chief in the restive Uruzgan province of Afghanistan, local media reported.

The move by the Ministry of Interior was described as unprecedented. Local officials said the appointment of commander Shah Mahmood was due to his 14 years' experience with the Afghan National Police forces, Khaama Press reported.

Mahmood assumed charge as the district police chief of Dehrawood district. He has previously served as the security chief of Tarinkot city, the provincial capital of the province.

Mahmood is said to be an arch foe of the Taliban group and reportedly lost his eyes due to a bomb explosion by the Taliban militants.
London, June 11 : In grand celebrations to mark her 90th birthday, Queen Elizabeth II sported a daring neon green outfit as she greeted the public, impossible to miss in her horse and open carriage, even past the thousands of viewers and hundreds of marching officers.

Celebrations began with the traditional Trooping the Colour, a spectacular display of more than 1,400 officers and men in their famous red jackets and black bearskin hats, with 200 horses and more than 400 musicians.

The whole royal family -- including young Prince George and Princess Charlotte -- joined the nation's longest-serving monarch on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for a wave to the people and an exhilarating flypast.

Princess Charlotte also made her first public appearance with the rest of the royal family, joining older brother Prince George and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The 13-month-old tot looked adorable in a pale pink dress with a matching bow pinning back her hair as the whole family -- including Prince Harry, Prince Charles, Duchess Camilla, the Duke of York and his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie -- greeted the gathered crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft used in the 1940s Battle of Britain took part in the flypast, capped off with the air force's famous Red Arrows flying with red, white and blue smoke in the trail.

In her younger years, the Queen would ride side-saddle on horseback to greet the public.

Her choice of colour for Saturday's outfit triggered a social media storm, with Twitter users celebrating the monarch's fashion sensibilities with "neon at 90".

The Queen's real birthday is on April 21, but official celebrations always take place on June 10, and often for a whole weekend.

Before the festivities, a new photograph of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who turned 95 on Friday, was released to commemorate their joint birthdays.

The pair attended a thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Friday, where they were joined by other members of the royal family and politicians, past and present.
The main premises of the Facebook contest LlamaElSalvador.com has prepared for its customer is that all dads have super powers and special lessons to teach: with a word, a hug, a bossy voice or a vibrant temper. That being said, the challenge is to remember the significant lessons Salvadoran fathers taught their children. The prize offered is $10 free Voice credit the customers can use to call their fathers on Fathers Day.

The rates for calling El Salvador are 10.9/min for Claro landlines, 16.6/min for all other landlines and mobiles, and 4 for an SMS. This means that the Facebook contest offers the customers 91 minutes to call Claro landlines or 59 extra minutes to call all other landlines and mobiles.

Role models or best friend, fathers are always there for their children to show them how things work in this world. They can turn from the biggest fans to the hardest opponents, but some lessons should be learn the hard way. But after all the ups and downs, no matter how close or how far, fathers are those key figures in everyones lives and they deserve a proper celebration. The contest starts on June 14 and lasts for two days, the winner being randomly selected on June 16.

In addition to the Voice Credit service, LlamaElSalvador.com also offers Mobile Recharge and Virtual Numbers. Mobile Recharge is a service through which customers can recharge phones anywhere in the world. The process is fast and secure and the credit reaches its destination instantly. The mobile operators available for recharges to El Salvador are Tigo, Movistar, Claro, and Digicel.

Virtual Numbers are monthly subscriptions through which customers pay a low monthly fee and receive unlimited calls from another country. The people calling the Virtual Number only pay the rate of a local call. LlamaElSalvador.com offers Virtual Numbers in 38 countries.

Customers express their opinions about LlamaElSalvador.com and its offers on review websites. One of them says Extremely pleased with service, reliable, clear, fast, trustworthy. I have used LlamaElSalvador.com for a few years, and have always experienced a great service, affordable rates, clear communications, able to provide my relatives with minutes on their phones with bonuses that enhance their value.

All LlamaElSalvador.com promotions and offers can be found on their Facebook page: Facebook.com/LlamaElSalvador.

About LlamaElSalvador.com

LlamaElSalvador.com is an interactive website designed by KeepCalling, a global telecommunications company registered in 2002 in USA. KeepCalling provides its services to hundreds of thousands of consumers and businesses, with a focus on customer satisfaction. In 2014, Inc. Magazine listed KeepCalling as the 18th fastest growing company in the telecommunications industry in US.
The complexity of clinical protocols in the early-phase clinical trial industry is continuing to increase at a rapid pace, including the need for enrollment of patients with acute and chronic diseases into Phase I and Phase II trials. In order to remain at the forefront of these trends, SNBL CPC is very pleased to expand its collaborative relationship, with University of Maryland, Baltimore(UMB), by working directly with the University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty physicians. This relationship will make patient recruitment services accessible to the biopharmaceutical industry within an even broader range of diseases.

The carefully developed plan for collaboration will allow for patient referrals across all disease states/departments, utilization of specialty equipment/testing at the University, and physician participation as a Primary Investigator or Sub Investigator, in their area of expertise. Patients enrolled will have access to all specialty and subspecialty services available at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Additionally, the University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty physicians will be integrally involved in the care that patients receive. The collaboration is a long standing effort between the President of the University Dr. Jay A. Perman, Dr. E. Albert Reece, the Dean of the School of Medicine, and Dr. Ryoichi Nagata, Chairman and CEO of SNBL Group, and Takeshi Yamakawa, CEO and President of SNBL CPC.

According to Dr. Ryoichi Nagata, Chairman and CEO of SNBL Group, since the inception of our company in 2005, SNBL CPC has continued to lead the way in high quality execution of increasingly complex early phase clinical trials. The expansion of the collaboration with the University of Maryland, Baltimore to include patient identification services is yet another example of our market-leading position.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore is also very pleased with the expansion of the collaboration with SNBL CPC. Dr. Jay A. Perman, President of the University of Maryland Baltimore, said SNBL CPC has been an important member of the Maryland biotech community and a strong collaborator with UMB since it moved into the University of Maryland BioPark in 2005. We are excited to be working even more closely with SNBL to assist the biopharmaceutical industry in developing more efficacious and safer medicines.

Dr. E. Albert Reece, Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, adds The University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty physicians, who work at the University of Maryland Medical Center, practice discovery-based medicine, applying the latest advances in biomedical research to the care they deliver to patients. This partnership with SNBL CPC will give us the opportunity to offer innovative treatments to an even broader population.

If you are interested in learning more about the collaboration between SNBL CPC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, please address your questions to:

Christopher Hickey, MBA

Vice President of Business Development

SNBL Clinical Pharmacology Center, Inc.

800 W. Baltimore St., 5th Floor

Baltimore, MD 21201

Email: chickey(at)snbl-cpc.com

About SNBL CPC:

SNBL CPC is a 40,000 square foot, 96-bed clinical pharmacology research facility located in the University of Maryland BioPark in the heart of Baltimore, Maryland. Equipped with a state-of-the-art facility and bolstered by a vibrant research community, SNBL CPC specializes in complex Phase I-II trials, including TQT, FIH, and Challenge studies, in therapeutic areas including immunology/infectious disease, neurology, respiratory, dermatology, and more. SNBL CPC conducts clinical trials from multiple sectors, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, academia, and the government. SNBL CPC offers full service support of clinical trials through its in-house resources, expert partners from surrounding universities and practices, and vetted subcontractors. These services include medical writing, patient recruitment, clinical conduct, regulatory submission, and data management.

For further information about SNBL CPC and how it can support your early phase drug development, please contact Chris Hickey (chickey(at)snbl-cpc.com) or the client service team (bd(at)snbl-cpc.com), or visit http://www.snbl-cpc.com.

About University of Maryland, Baltimore:

UMB is Maryland's only public health, law, and human services university. Six professional schools and a Graduate School confer the majority of health care, human services, and law professional degrees in Maryland each year. Under the leadership of President Jay A. Perman, MD, the University is a leading partner in the redevelopment of Baltimores Westside. The University of Maryland BioPark, which opened in October 2005, promotes collaborative research opportunities and bioscience innovation. Sponsored research totaled $499.6 million in Fiscal Year 2015. With 6,329 students and 7,119 faculty members and staff, the University is an economic engine that returns more than $15 in economic activity for every $1 of state general funds appropriation. The University community gives more than 2 million hours a year in service to the public.
Chad Roberts, Vice President of Technology

Oklahoma City-based real estate tech startup CrowdSeekr.com is pleased to announce the addition of Chad Roberts as Vice President of Technology. Roberts, a native of Weatherford, Oklahoma and a graduate of Oklahoma State University and Colorado Technical University, comes to CrowdSeekr with over ten years experience in enterprise data integration. He resides in Edmond, Oklahoma with his wife. Among other duties, he will be responsible for developing technologies to optimize data collection and promote customer engagement.

CrowdSeekr is a great company bringing additional value to a growing industry. Im very excited for the opportunity to be a part of it, Roberts said in a recent interview.

CrowdSeekr CEO Ashley Smith looks forward to collaborating with Roberts. Chad is a very talented and creative developer. We are lucky to have him as our Vice President of Technology, she said.

CrowdSeekr.com is a leading aggregator and search engine for real estate crowdfunding investment opportunities. It was founded in 2015 by e-commerce attorney Ashley Smith and commercial real estate professionals Tim Strange and Marylee Strange. CrowdSeekr currently has listing partnerships with six real estate crowdfunding platforms. Real estate crowdfunding is among the fastest growing segments of equity crowdfunding. Billions of dollars have been raised for real estate projects using crowdfunding since 2013.
Bastille, the first cybersecurity company to detect and mitigate threats from the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced it has been selected as a Top 100 North America award winner. Bastille was recognized for its groundbreaking security solution that detects and analyzes all the data transmitted within the enterprise via radio frequencies (RF) at 60MHz  6GHz, which includes cellular, Wi-Fi, and more than 100 IoT protocols. Bastille provides unparalleled situational awareness to security threats and anomalous behavior contained across the full wireless spectrum within the enterprise.

We are honored to be recognized by Red Herring as one of the top 100 private companies in North America, said Chris Risley, CEO, Bastille. This esteemed industry award speaks to the importance of our ongoing work and will only fuel our mission to continue protecting enterprises across the globe from IoT threats.

Red Herring Top 100 America enlists outstanding entrepreneurs and promising companies. It selects the award winners from approximately 1,200 privately financed companies each year in the US and Canada. Since 1996, Red Herring has kept tabs on these up-and-comers. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, YouTube, Palo Alto Networks and eBay would change the way we live and work.

In 2016, selecting the top achievers was extremely difficult, said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. The variety, depth, disruption and traction we saw from the early stage companies to those with significant scale made it one of the toughest vintages to judge. The North America winners are representative of the amazing ecosystem that never ceases to astound, with new and experienced entrepreneurs continuing to push the barriers of innovation. As one of the winners, Bastille should be proud of its accomplishment under such strong competition.

Bastille is the first company to detect and mitigate the rapidly emerging threats to the enterprise that are the unintended consequence of the Internet of Things. Bastille helps enterprise security teams protect corporate airspace by scanning the entire radio frequency (RF) spectrum, gaining visibility into devices that operate on more than 100 distinct protocols.

For more information on Bastille, visit http://www.bastille.net and follow them on Twitter @bastillenet and LinkedIn.

About Bastille

Launched in 2014, Bastille is pioneering Internet of Things (IoT) security with next-generation security sensors and airborne emission detection, allowing corporations to accurately quantify risk and mitigate 21st century airborne threats. Through its patent-pending, proprietary technology, Bastille helps enterprise organizations protect cyber and human assets while providing unprecedented visibility of wireless IoT devices that could pose a threat to network infrastructure. For more information, visit http://www.bastille.net and follow them on Twitter @bastillenet and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

Noe Sacoco

LMGPR

408.340.8130

noe(at)lmgpr(dot)com
Click Consult specialises in SEO for the charity sector Our bespoke organic search (SEO) strategies use a targeted, campaign-focused approach to improve each websites authority through high quality content marketing and outreach

The international development and relief charity is dedicated to the prevention and alleviation of poverty anywhere in the world by providing grants, items and services to individuals in need, as well as other charities or organisations.

Human Appeal is just the latest charity to engage with Click Consult to enhance its online visibility - and the not-for-profit sector is an area in which the Cheshire-based agency specialises.

Matt Bullas, founder and CEO of Click Consult, says:

Not-for-profit organisations recognise they can trust Click Consult to raise their organic profile and increase the quality of their traffic, while remaining true to each ones core values and objectives.

The outstanding work weve produced for Oxfam, St John Ambulance and the Royal Air force Museum, amongst others, demonstrate our commitment, integrity and passion for delivering results by ethically improving their ability to reach out to their audience.

How do we achieve this? Our bespoke organic search strategies use a targeted, campaign-focused approach to improve each websites authority through high quality content marketing and outreach. All of this is underpinned by a sound understanding of both the short and long-term goals of our clients, and ongoing enhancement of technical factors of our clients websites to ensure there are no barriers to performance in search engine results.

Click Consults work for Oxfam has achieved high acclaim, recently winning one of marketings most prestigious awards  The Drum Search Award for Best Charity/Not for Profit Campaign for SEO  for its innovative and passionate campaign for Oxfam Unwrapped, featuring social media, earned media and design work.

Matt continues:

Were delighted to be working with such a worthwhile organisation as Human Appeal, and were looking forward to delivering a strategic organic search marketing plan that helps its vision to save more lives and protect those in need.

About Click Consult:

Located in North West England, Click Consult is a multi award-winning search marketing agency with a focus on organic (SEO) and paid search (PPC), with over 70 professionals employed and with a portfolio of over 80 clients from across the UK.

The agency also provides a range of other services, including content, outreach, social engagement and conversion rate optimisation (CRO), as well as international and multilingual search marketing. Click Consult is a Google AdWords and Microsoft adExcellence certified company.

As well as winning an organic search award at The Drum Search Awards 2016, Click has been a finalist in the European Search Awards 2016, and shortlisted by the Recommended Agencies Register (RAR) Digital Awards 2016, Click Consult has been ranked within Econsultancy's 'Top 100 Digital Agencies' in 2015, and named as one of Prolific North's 'Top 50 Digital Agencies' in 2016.

Click Consults recent client wins include eTyres, Home Let, Flogas and Oxfam and current client portfolio includes Truprint, Chill Insurance, Netflights, Virgin Balloons, ABTA, LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor and Act-On.
Google, Tata Trusts launch 'Internet Sathi' in West Bengal to empower rural women

Published: June 11, 2016

The Indian unit of search giant Google Inc and Tata Trusts have jointly launched Internet Saathi program in Purulia district of West Bengal.

The initiative has been launched as part of Googles Helping Women Get Online campaign, in order to create awareness about the benefits of Internet among women in rural India.

Key facts

The initiative will initially be rolled out with an objective to reach 1 lakh women in over 400 villages in Purulia district.

It will focus on training women and larger communities to learn and explore various uses and benefits of the Internet.

Tata Trusts will play a crucial role in training women master trainers called saathis identified from Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Womens federations.

Google will provide the tablet and mobile devices along with training material. It will also train the master trainers.

The initiative includes an awareness module, coupled with hands-on training modules on how to use the Internet, using mobile devices in their local languages.

Internet Saathi program was launched in July 2015. So far it has trained and benefitted over 2 lakh women across villages in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Google under its Helping Women Get Online has already trained over 2 million women across the country.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2016

Topics: Digital literacy  Google  Internet Sathi  Tata Trusts  West Bengal  Women Empowerment

Latest E-Books
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Brooklyn native Carmen Farina became chancellor of the New York City Department of Education in January 2014, after nearly 50 years working and earning accolades throughout the city in such positions as teacher, principal, district superintendent, and deputy chancellor for teaching and learning. Her district, the largest in the United States, serves 1.1 million students in more than 1,800 schools. Among the priorities she has emphasized since assuming her position are collaboration, trust, and accountability in the education system, and rigorous Common Corebased standards to raise student achievement. Early in her term she has been lauded for her role in overseeing the expansion of prekindergarten for all four-year-olds and creating a new department to support English-language learners. More recently, her department gained attention this spring when it entered a three-year agreement (beginning next school year) with Amazon to provide digital textbooks and other digital content to New York City schools via a private marketplace.

How do the use of e-books and the technology surrounding them align with your goals for N.Y.C. public schools? What are the benefits of working with Amazon in this area?

As a lifelong educator and someone whos been in New York City public schools for 50 years, Ive learned that the way we make the best decisions is listening to our teachers, administrators, and school communitieswhat do they need, and how can we support them? For years, our schools have expressed concerns around not having enough space for textbooks, books being lost or physically decaying, difficulties exchanging book licenses with other classrooms and schools, as well as the fact that its been tough for them to compare book options and prices. Many science and social studies teachers also want access to the broad range of primary resources that are available as e-content. Thats where the Amazon contractthe new e-book marketplacecomes in. We hear from our schools that theyre excited about this new option, and we look forward to many of them taking advantage of it.

The other piece thats very exciting about the new e-marketplace is that we were able to bring Amazon and the National Federation of the Blind to the table for an agreement that will improve e-book accessibility for the blind and visually impaired nationwide. Im committed to meeting the needs of all our learners, and this is a real step forward.

Do you see a move away from print materials and books in the classroom?

Not necessarily. First and foremost, our focus is always on strengthening instruction. The e-book and e-content marketplace means that all New York City schools will have the ability to harness new technologies in this way, but we realize every school is different and has different needs. Some may transition more toward using e-content; others may continue to rely heavily on print materials and books. The most important thing for us is giving schools the option, and then providing the support they need to really take advantage of it.

What are your thoughts on the importance of providing technology experiences for students?

Its incredibly important. You have to remember that todays students are digital natives, so if were not taking advantage of their natural interest and familiarity with technology, were missing a really big opportunity. And when we think about what you need to succeed in college and careers in todays world, its imperative that our kids understand technology and how to create and solve problems with it. We also need our math and science majors in college, and the people who work in the technology industry, to look more like the broader populationmore women, and more African-Americans and Latinosand we have to start that work early.

One of the initiatives thats part of our agenda to increase equity and excellence across our public schools is Computer Science for All. Were going to bring computer science to every elementary, middle, and high school by 2025. I had the pleasure [on June 1] of announcing the progress weve made at an elementary school where students were learning new vocabulary and concepts like conditionals and loops on and off the computer; over 200 schools have already signed for new computer science next school year.

Where do STEM and STEAM fit into the big picture of N.Y.C. schools use of technology?

STEM and STEAM are the way of the future; were laser-focused on increasing equity and excellence in these fields. Not only are we investing heavily in STEM, but were changing the way we teach it in our schools. Last year, we published a new STEM framework for schools, a document to guide them in integrating STEM concepts and hands-on learning across multiple disciplines, and engaging families, businesses, and colleges and universities in this work. And weve invested in new STEM professional development. Through our STEM Institutewhich we also started last yearwell over 1,000 teachers have attended intensive workshops around cutting-edge STEM subjects and strategies, from the science of cooking to engineering and robotics for early elementary grades, and brought that work back to their schools.

Our amazing New York City public school teachers attend these sessions during their spring and summer breaks; they know that high-quality STEM education makes a difference in preparing our students for college and careers in the 21st century, and theyre putting in the work to make it a reality.

What do the N.Y.C. schools do to encourage summer reading for students?

Two of my priorities as chancellor are promoting a love of reading among our students, and preventing summer learning loss. Through our N.Y.C. Reads 365 initiativewhich we announced last fallweve created new, age-appropriate, high-interest reading lists from pre-K to 12 and have worked to get those titles into schools, libraries, and community-based organizations. We see our parents as partners, and so weve engaged them around this work and highlighted the new lists and the importance of reading through parent-teacher conferences, our website, and parent communications.

Were also excited to roll out a new Summer in the City approach to summer school this year. Were expanding to reach 150,000 students, with new curricula, college-level and STEM-focused enrichment, and visits to New York City cultural institutions.

How To Keep Kids Reading During Summer

What Publishers Are Doing to Strengthen Summer Reading

Are Publishers Influenced by Teacher and Librarian Feedback?
Archive Dive

The late Muhammad Ali appeared in the pages of PW several times, perhaps most notably in our coverage of a press conference he gave at the 1975 American Booksellers Association meeting. There to promote his memoir, The Greatest, Ali reassured the assembled press that hes the greatest fighter, not the greatest writer. I didnt write the book, he said. I just told them what to write. Among those in attendance: his editor, Toni Morrison. Then there was the time he sent us a telegram correcting a story wed run about his memoir, which he told us would be the greatest book to come out in our history.

From the Newsletters

Tip Sheet

Daniel Saldana Paris, author of Among Strange Victims (Coffee House), picks 10 essential Spanish-language books.

Childrens Bookshelf

Get ready for some midnight parties: we take a look at what bookstores are doing for the publication of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Scholastic/Levine).

Religion Bookline

Three religion publishers are reissuing books by and about Daniel Berrigan, the radical Jesuit priest who died this spring.

Global Rights Report

The Finnish Snow White trilogy, already sold in more than 50 territories, is coming to America.

PW Daily

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Sign up for these and other great, free newsletters.

Its been a very good month for Andrew Michael Hurleys The Loney (HMH). For the fourth week in a row, its the most popular review on publishersweekly.com.

Blogs

ShelfTalker

Bookseller Kenny Brechner attempts to change the conversation about Amazon: its not about individual bookstores, its about a threat to local communities.

Podcasts

Week Ahead

PW senior writer Andrew Albanese on whether digital fatigue is behind the slump in e-book sales, and whether libraries may be feeling that fatigue, too, as they prepare for the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando.

More to Come

Interviews from the floor of Awesome Con in Washington, D.C., including one with Andrew Aydin, cowriter of Rep. John Lewiss acclaimed graphic memoir, the March trilogy.

KidsCast

Amy Young talks about A Unicorn Named Sparkle (FSG), about a girl named Lucy whose dreams of a pet unicorn are thrown for a loop when the animal that shows up looks a bit... goatish.

LitCast

Lara Naughton discusses her recovery from abduction and assault as well as the work she does to help others with similar experiences, as detailed in her memoir, The Jaguar Man (Central Recovery).

PW Radio

Author Michele Borba discusses her new book, Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World (Touchstone).
Bloomsbury Closes Double with NBA Finalist

In a world English rights deal, Nancy Miller at Bloomsbury acquired two novels by three-time National Book Awardfinalist Gail Godwin. The first book in the deal, Grief Cottage, is about a boy who, after his mothers death, is sent to live with his artist aunt in coastal South Carolina. Once in his new surroundings, Bloomsbury said, he is drawn to an abandoned cottage and the haunting mystery of what happened to its inhabitants. Moses Cardona at John Hawkins & Associates represented Godwin, and Grief Cottage is slated for a June 2017 release.

Moss Gets Graphic, and Goes Adult, at Conari

For Red Wheel/Weisers Conari Press, Christine LeBlond took world rights to Marissa Mosss debut adult novel, Last Things. Moss is a childrens author known for her bestselling chapter book series Amelias Notebook. Liza Fleissig at the Liza Royce Agency, who represented Moss, said the books in the Amelias Notebook series have, to date, sold more than five million copies. In Last Things, a graphic memoir, Moss tackles her husbands battle with ALS and how, Fleissig said, she and her sons found the resilience to reshape their family. The book is slated for spring 2017.

Coscarelli Brings Vegan Treats to Clarkson Potter

Chloe Coscarelli, executive chef and co-founder of the restaurant By Chloe, sold her latest vegan cookbook to Clarkson Potter at auction. Amanda Englander took world rights to the currently untitled work, which will feature 150 comfort food recipes. Coscarelli, whose fast-casual vegan restaurant has locations in New York City and Los Angeles, and is coming soon to Boston, published her last three cookbooks (including Chloes Vegan Desserts) with Atria. Known for being the first vegan chef to win Food Networks Cupcake Wars, Coscarelli also regularly appears on the Today show. Alyssa Reuben at Paradigm brokered the deal.

Macmillan Kids Inks Brosgol to Triple

Eisner Awardwinner Vera Brosgol (Anyas Ghost) closed a three-book world-rights deal with Macmillan Childrens Books. Judy Hansen at Hansen Literary brokered the agreement, for two picture books and one middle grade graphic novel, with Roaring Brook Presss Connie Hsu and First Seconds Mark Siegel. Brosgol will write and illustrate both picture books for Roaring Brook; the first, set for September and called Leave Me Alone!, is about, Macmillan said, a grandmothers epic quest for quiet. The second picture book is currently untitled. The middle grade book is a graphic memoir called Be Prepared that recounts the authors time at a Russian Orthodox summer camp in Upstate New York.

Clare Closes Double at Imprint

In a second deal at Macmillan Childrens Books, Erin Stein acquired world rights to Gwendolyn Clares YA novel, Ink, Iron and Glass, for her new imprint, called Imprint. Jennifer Azantian, who has an eponymous shingle, represented Clare, selling two books in the deal. Ink, Iron and Glass, which is Clares debut and is scheduled for a winter 2018 release, features a 17-year-old named Elsa who is living in an alternate version of 19th-century Italy. Azantian said the novel follows Elsa as she is forced to leave her home in order to enlist the help of a secret order and a handsome mechanist to save her mother and protect a powerful objecta book with the power to edit the real world.

Correction: An earlier version of this story identified Chloe Coscarelli as the owner of By Chloe; she is executive chef and co-owner of the restaurant.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.A study of North Carolina and four other southeastern states found evidence that coal ash ponds consistently contaminate nearby lakes, rivers and groundwater, Duke University scientists say.

The effects may last for years, even when ponds are no longer used, the peer-reviewed study found. It appeared Friday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Toxic metals such as arsenic and selenium, which occur in ash, were found in water near ash ponds at all 21 power plants in the study. Concentrations were above federal standards, meaning they threaten people or wildlife, in 29 percent of the water samples from rivers and lakes.

With over 500 coal ash ponds in the southeastern U.S., the results presented in this study suggest significant releases of coal ash-impacted water to the environment, the study concludes.

The study was financed by the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit business that represents advocates in lawsuits against Duke Energy and other utilities over ash contamination.

Test wells have already shown that groundwater under all 14 of Dukes power plants in North Carolina is contaminated by ash. The unanswered question is whether contaminants have reached communities near the power plants.

Duke Energy says there is no evidence that has occurred. State environmental officials have found contaminants in hundreds of private wells near N.C. power plants, but say they might occur naturally.

The Duke University study did not look at private wells, although scientists are working on that now.

But the study provides new scientific footing for the ongoing debate over ash, said Avner Vengosh, a Duke professor of geochemistry and water quality.

Were trying to provide the science that a lot of people have debated, but without the tools, he said. It goes both ways, both against the utilities and against the advocates.

The Duke study looked at state data for 156 wells that monitor groundwater under North Carolina ash ponds.

The study found high levels of boron, an element that is an indicator of coal ash, in 58 of the wells. It found contamination above federal water standards in 48 of them, although ash elements were detected in some wells but did not break federal standards.

Duke Energy found support in the study for its position that ash does not need to be excavated from many of its 33 N.C. ponds.

Its interesting that this Duke University study, funded by SELC, recognizes that even excavation is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and that smart closure requires ongoing monitoring and engineering  exactly the approach weve been advocating, spokeswoman Erin Culbert said.

Duke Energy will monitor groundwater for years under any method used to close the ponds, as legislators ordered in 2014, Culbert said.

The Southern Environmental Law Center said the study it financed supports advocates insistence that ash be excavated from all Dukes ponds.

It is true that it may be necessary to do more  contaminants may be left behind because of years of irresponsible coal ash storage by Duke Energy, said attorney Frank Holleman. But the first, essential step is to get rid of the source of the contamination  the tons of coal ash, containing toxic substances, sitting in these unlined, leaking pits saturated by groundwater.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality said it had not reviewed the study and had no comment.

The study also analyzed the effect of leakage from ash ponds into rivers and lakes in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia.

In nearly all cases, high levels of boron were associated with the fingerprints of coal ash identified by the different forms of chemical elements. More study is needed of the magnitude and long-term environmental effects of ash ponds, the researchers said.
Bronze Twist Oval Hinged Bangle by Bronzo Italia is rated 3.5 out of 5 by 15 .

Rated 5 out of 5 by RoseGirl216 from Pretty in Rose I ordered this in a size small in the rose gold color. The bracelet is substantial and oval-shaped. I have a 7 inch wrist and the fit is perfect for me with a little drape. I'm glad I purchased it "As Is" to receive the discounted price. Now I just hope it does not turn from its original color.

Rated 5 out of 5 by emilyr from Houston from Pretty This is very pretty and the small fits well. The clasp is secure. You'd think this was genuine sterling silver because that is how the white looks. Expensive. Just a great bangle and value.

Rated 4 out of 5 by Jackie D C from I Bought Three I love these bracelets. I wear them all together on same wrist. I just noticed that I see a bronze color coming through the white. Hopefully it doesn't get any worse. I now think the rose color would have been a better choice. It seems every time I really like something that I got from QVC something goes wrong. I just hope no one else notice the bronze color.

Rated 1 out of 5 by Paplover1 from Wish I could keep This bracelet is what I have wanted and is a beautiful design. The fit is true to size which I find hard to get in a bracelet. The color is very brassy and looks like something very cheap you would purchase at a 5 and dime. I hate to do it but it is going back. I am hoping another company makes one like it but I can't live with this brassy look, next to my gold it stands out as cheap. I would label this as defective in color matching.

Rated 2 out of 5 by juls731 from Hollow??? Mine was broken at the clasp but when I did try it on there was no weight to it. It looked and felt like a 20 dollar piece. Over priced!!!

Rated 3 out of 5 by mizheart2 from loved it at first... I have had this bracelet for about six months and the color has begun to wear off. Now mind you I wear this practically everyday so I expected some wear but it's beginning to look rose gold. The clasp is also loose. I have cleaned it several times but that does not really help. I know it's too late to send it back but I will try anyway.

Rated 4 out of 5 by happyinPortland from Color Disappointing I like the style & quality of this bracelet but I prefer a more buttery shade of gold. Maybe this is what European 18k looks like - it was alittle too brassy for me. I have Bronzo pieces I love like the panther link watches. I own the gold & white in those watches. I have the white in this bracelet that I love. I wear it all the time next to other sterling braclets.
WASHINGTON -- The Caligulan malice with which Donald Trump administered Paul Ryan's degradation is an object lesson in the price of abject capitulation to power. This episode should be studied as a clinical case of a particular Washington myopia -- the ability of career politicians to convince themselves that they and their agendas are of supreme importance.

The pornographic politics of Trump's presidential campaign, which was preceded by decades of ignorant bile (about Barack Obama's birth certificate and much else), have not exhausted Trump's eagerness to plumb new depths of destructiveness. Herewith the remarkably brief timeline of the breaking of Ryan to Trump's saddle.

On May 3, Trump won the Indiana primary, ending competition for the Republican nomination. On May 5, Ryan said he still was not prepared to endorse Trump. That day Trump responded that he was not ready to endorse Ryan's agenda. This was not news, considering that Trump has campaigned against every significant element of this agenda -- entitlement reform, the rule of law, revival of Congress as a counter to the executive overreach that Barack Obama has practiced and that Trump promises to enlarge upon.

On May 12, a Trump meeting with Ryan resulted in a cringeworthy joint statement that had to be read to be properly disbelieved. The two spoke about the "great conversation" they had about "our shared principles." They celebrated their "many important areas of common ground" while offhandedly mentioning "our few differences." Those who know, or thought they knew, Ryan doubted that he could name a single shared principle, and he did not do so.

In spite of, and in conspicuous dissonance with, the May 12 happy talk, Ryan continued to withhold his endorsement. Perhaps he hoped that Trump, at age 69, was going to mend his manners.

Instead, Trump dragged a personal problem, his coming trial on fraud charges associated with Trump University, into the presidential campaign. Having first done so in February, on May 27 he again attacked the "Mexican" judge (born in Indiana, 1,332 miles from Mexico) who will preside at the trial, asserting that the Hoosier Mexican was unfit to preside because his ethnic heritage would incline him against Trump, the wall-building scourge of Mexican rapists. On May 30, Trump again attacked the judge, again embracing the identity politics that actually characterizes contemporary progressivism: An individual has, always and only, the interests and motivations of his race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

By June 2, Ryan had heard enough. He endorsed Trump. He did so because President Trump would sign Ryan's House "agenda." Well.

Since May 5, the Hamlet of southeastern Wisconsin had indeed learned something. He had learned Trump's contemptuous response to his scruples. Trump's response was an insouciant intensification of his anti-institutional politics -- the judicial system, too, is "rigged." Ryan limply described Trump's attack on the judge as thinking "out of left field" that he could not "relate to."

All supposedly will be redeemed by the House agenda. So, assume, fancifully, that in 2017 this agenda emerges intact from a House not yet proved able to pass 12 appropriations bills. Assume, too, that Republicans still control the Senate and can persuade enough Democrats to push the House agenda over the 60-vote threshold. Now, for some really strenuous assuming: Assume that whatever semblance of the House agenda that reaches President Trump's desk is more important than keeping this impetuous, vicious, ignorant and anti-constitutional man from being at that desk.

Some say in extenuation of Ryan's behavior that if he could not embrace Trump, he could not continue as speaker. But is Ryan, who was reluctant to become speaker, now more indispensable to the nation's civic health than Trump is menacing to that health? Ryan could have enhanced that health by valuing it above his office.

In March, Trump said of Ryan: "I'm sure I'm going to get along great with him. And if I don't, he's going to have to pay a big price." Ryan has now paid a staggering price (BEG ITAL)by(END ITAL) getting along with Trump. And what did Ryan purchase with the coin of his reputation? Perhaps his agenda.

In Robert Bolt's play "A Man for All Seasons," Thomas More is betrayed by Richard Rich, who commits perjury to please the king, in exchange for being named attorney general for Wales. Says More: "Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. ... But for Wales?" Or for the House agenda?
The construction of a modern railway bridge across the Lehigh River to create a connection between two divisions of Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad (RBMN) has been assured with the announcement of a second $5 million grant by the Pennsylvania State Transportation Commission.

The $14 million project, known as Nesquehoning Bridge Phase II, will create a direct route from Philadelphia to Binghamton, N.Y., which supporters say will create a substantial economic benefit to eastern central Pennsylvania including Carbon, Luzerne, Schuylkill and Berks Counties. The bridge is 1,200 feet long.

Andrew M. Muller, Jr., CEO, noted that this is a project that has been pursued since the late 1990s and has been enabled by the administrations of Governors Tom Wolf and Tom Corbett plus a number of key members of the General Assembly, including Senators John Yudichak (D-Luzerne, Carbon), David Argall (R-Schuylkill, Berks), and Representative Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon).

This new transportation infrastructure will create a stronger economic base for Carbon, Luzerne, Schuylkill and Berks Counties, not to mention the eastern portion of our Commonwealth, Muller said. It would not have happened without the enthusiastic support of our legislative delegation.

The RBMN railroad is privately owned and growing, Muller said. Our success is closely tied to the economic expansion of the communities that we serve, and this new infrastructure will enable us to improve our service to help grow these areas. That means more and better jobs for everyone.
A top goal of Russian foreign policy is to erode Western opposition to its aggression in Ukraine. But many of Moscow's tactics are clumsy and self-defeating. Not surprisingly, the European Union is likely once again to renew sanctions.

Some in Europe are uneasy with the robust sanctions imposed in response to Russia's aggression in eastern Ukraine, especially those in the financial and energy sectors that harm economic interests in the sanctioning countries.

Last month in Japan, however, G-7 leadersincluding UK Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzibacked them. The sanctions were linked to Russia's complete implementation of the Minsk agreements and respect for Ukraine's sovereignty.

To seek relief from Western sanctions, the Kremlin is waging a campaign of public distortion and intimidation aimed at splitting Europe from America, and Europeans from each other.

Many of Moscow's foreign policy tactics are clumsy and self-defeating.

And there are, to be sure, troubling indications of support for sanctions relief, such as from leading German Social Democrats and the French Senate, which on Wednesday voted a nonbinding resolution calling for a gradual and partial lifting of sanctions, plus dark rumors that Hungary's right-wing government may seek to block consensus on sanctions renewal at this month's European Union summit. But Russia's overall effort is weakened by internal contradictions.

How has Moscow erred? Seeing Europeans as weak, unprincipled and gullible, the Kremlin angers and dismays them by its war on Ukraine and associated propaganda. A similar error in the early 1980s caused Moscow to fail to achieve its top foreign policy goaldissuading NATO from deploying Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) missiles in Europe as a counter to comparable Soviet SS-20 missiles.

As Mark Twain observed, History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. How so with Moscow's policies on missiles in the 1980s and Ukraine today?

In the 1980s, Soviet propagandists hoped to weaken the commitment of the UK and West Germany to deploying NATO INF missiles by lambasting British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Today, Russian propagandists back British exit from the European Union, opposed by Cameron; they attack Angela Merkel; and in France they support populist leader Marie Le Pen, who opposes Hollande.

In the 1980s, the Soviet war of Afghanistan and support for martial law in Poland undermined Moscow's effort to charm the West into scuttling its missile plan. Now, Moscow's attempt to weaken Western sanctions is being undermined by its backing of repeated violations of the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, called for in the Minsk agreements, and by military intimidation tactics in the Nordic-Baltic region.

The downing of passenger airliners played a role then and now. In 1983, two months before INF missiles were to be deployed, the Soviets downed Korean Airlines 007, causing 269 deaths. In 2014 over Ukraine, Russian forces or their proxies shot down Malaysian Airlines 17, causing 298 fatalities. In both cases Moscow showed no contrition, thereby hardening attitudes in the West.

In November 1981, President Ronald Reagan proposed the elimination of INF missiles in Europe as part of a dual-track policy of preparing to deploy the missiles along with negotiations to eliminate the need for them. NATO did deploy in late 1983, but four years later a treaty embodying the zero option was concluded. Today, NATO's dual tracks seek full implementation of the Minsk agreements while at the same time beefing up security and economic aid to Ukraine and strengthening the alliance's military capabilities in Central Europe and the Nordic-Baltic  where the foreign ministers of Finland and Sweden were recently included in NATO deliberations for the first time.

Then, credible INF negotiations were important for preserving NATO unity on missile deployments. Today, Western insistence on implementation of the Minsk agreements  whatever their deficiencies  is vital for retaining European backing of sanctions. In the early 1980s, Western unity was strained by differences over the transfer of technology to the USSR for construction of a large gas pipeline from Siberia to Europe, and by President Ronald Reagan's plan for a futuristic initiative to develop defenses against long-range ballistic missiles, which would have violated the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. Today, the West has no internal disagreements of comparable importance, making it harder for the Kremlin to fracture consensus.

These factors, taken together, undermine Moscow's aim of weakening Western opposition to Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Propaganda and deception by Russia Today and Sputnik appear to be less than effective. Even so, heightened leftist and nationalist pressures in Europe could wear down support for sanctions. The West must bend every effort to maintain a unified position on them.

Broader public opinion may be amenable to holding the line. In mid-May, the favored Russian performer in the wildly popular Eurovision Song Contest lost to the Ukrainian entry. The Russians cried foul, claiming that in their voting, other European countries had politicized the contest. This may not have been a case of Russian paranoia. Nobody likes a bully.

William Courtney is an adjunct senior fellow at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and was U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia. Michael Haltzel is a senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations of Johns Hopkins.

This commentary originally appeared on Newsweek on June 11, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
A renowned figure in Europes broadcasting industry has warned that physical limitations could hamper the uptake of Ultra HD services, not least among them the need for short viewing distances.

Addressing the UHD Forum in Lucca, Italy, Phil Laven of the DVB controversially fundamentally questioned as to whether the consumer industry actually needed 4K. The answer to him was a resounding no.One of the key problems, Laven proposed, concerned viewing distance. Making a comparison with the evolution of the previous generation of broadcast technologies, Laven stated that while for a HDTV set the optimal viewing distance was three times picture height, for 4KTVs this was half this amount.This would mean that with a viewing distance of 23m, as is generally the case in European homes, there would need to be a screen size of around 106. With normal-sized sets it would mean viewing distances of well under a metre, something that Laven doubted anyone would find acceptable.Analysing other key commercial development parameters, Laven noted the lack of standards in the industry. He believed that a single standard for Ultra HD would be ideal but conceded that it would be difficult to achieve Everybody would be happy with it except for the manufacturers who would have to pay for it themselves, he observed. We need future proof standards for Ultra HD and we need to recognise that these will be in use for 20 years. [Defining] 4K was the easy bit.
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 06/10/2016



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
The Red & Black has been a leader of University of Georgia news since its founding in 1893, but a lot goes on in the world beyond the Arch. From Washington, D.C., to California, here is a brief roundup of what stories made headlines this week.
The impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident, the largest marine oil spill in history, is still being felt by some today. Researchers from the Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf (ECOGIG), headed by Chief Scientist Dr. Iliana Baums of Pennsylvania State University, have planned a 12-day expedition to the Gulf to study the impact of the spill on deep sea coral and the surrounding ecosystem commencing June 11.
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Q. Raising Shasta Dam to increase water flowing throughout California would submerge and/or destroy more landmarks sacred to the Winnemem Wintu, according to the tribe. The original building of the dam already made many of the tribe's most sacred places inaccessible and blocked part of the salmon run. What should we do regarding protecting sacred places versus providing resources for most Californians?

Jews in Redding share the spiritual pain felt by the Winnemem Wintu tribe from the loss of their sacred gravesites. The early Highway 299 bisected the Jewish cemetery deeded in 1872 to the Hebrews of Redding. Broad based community efforts in 1990 helped preserve access to just one gravesite by getting it declared an historical monument. A large portion of the cemetery is still not safely accessible.

Raising Shasta Dam is another public works project that benefits many at a significant religious sacrifice of a few. We need to stop viewing every issue as a benefit-loss issue, but instead as a zero-sum issue.

The California Environmental Quality Act has provisions to assure an equitable balance between conflicting public interests. Elected officials and governmental agencies will often respond to public pressure. Let your actions and letters show them you care. Use social networks to lobby for better alternatives.

George Wandrocke, lay chaplain

Temple Beth Israel, Redding

A moral decision on this issue would need to address the greater common good versus the individual good for a particular segment of our population. Some 1.5-million-acre feet of storage would be a significant addition to our water reserves, especially when anticipating future drought.

It's also likely that the draw-down would be fairly rapid so that those sacred sites that still now exist would be exposed and usable for a major portion of the year for ritual activity. If the design aspect can do as little harm as possible, compensate the tribe as required by law, and minimize the disruption to their sacred sites, it could be a responsible and respectful approach. Perhaps these kinds of sites could be memorialized to educate people in general and devise ways to increase our overall respect for the native people who use them.

Deacon Mike Evans

Sacred Heart Church, Anderson

Raising the dam will harm the Winnemem Wintu people who already have been harmed by the dam. Shasta Dam flooded most of their sacred sites and traditional homelands, including their cemeteries. Raising the dam will flood out the little that remains. For a traditional people deeply tied to the land, further flooding would be worse.

For too long, dams have been used to solve our water problems with no consideration given to the community and environmental impacts. Raising the dam would also violate the California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, further threaten distressed salmon populations and the communities and jobs that depend on them, and would cause untold harm to the Native American people and culture.

There are other smarter and cheaper ways to provide California the water it needs over the long term.

Amarjit Singh

The Sikh Centre, Anderson

Honor the sacred

And the whine for more! More! More!

Will not be needed.

Dennis Kessinger, Zen Buddhist

Redding

Decisions like this take stepping back and looking with a larger view. Does this really "benefit most Californians?" Many say it only benefits corporate agriculture. Are there other measures that can be taken instead, such as reducing water-consumptive farming and cattle-raising practices? And, finally, does it benefit the planet as a whole? There are whole ecosystems that will be disturbed or destroyed by this process.

In other words, what it takes is a real, honest, ungreedy holistic look. We tend to be very egocentric in our decisions. But with 7.5 billion people on the planet, and the planet showing its inability to sustain that many people using current practices, what is best for the whole? Throughout the world, corporations are taking away native habitat without regard for anything except their bottom line. At some point we need to say, "There's a better, healthier way." I believe this is one of those times. There are better ways.

The Rev. David Robinson

Center for Spiritual Living, Redding

Next week's question: Does your faith tradition have a view/decree regarding capital punishment? If so, for which crimes?
SHARE FILE- In this May 2007 file photo, the Penobscot Narrows Bridge dwarfs a sailboat passing underneath, in Prospect, Maine. The elevator serving the world's tallest bridge observatory has inconvenienced passengers on separate occasions by stranding them and forcing them to trudge down flights of stairs in the nine years since it opened, according to state documents. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

By DAVID SHARP, Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  The elevator serving the world's tallest bridge observatory on the Penobscot River has inconvenienced more than 200 passengers on 20 separate occasions by stranding them and forcing them to trudge down 25 flights of stairs, according to state documents.

But the state Department of Transportation says the elevator is completely safe and that those incidents account for a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of passengers who've enjoyed the attraction since it opened in 2007, offering stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean and Maine's islands and forests.

"We get the occasional complaint from a passenger who was impacted by having to exit via the stairway but we get far more praise," said the MDOT's Rick Dubois, who's responsible for the elevator.

The glassed-in observation deck with panoramic views opened to the public nine years ago following completion of the $84 million Penobscot Narrows Bridge that carries U.S. Route 1 traffic across the Penobscot River between Verona Island and Prospect, about 117 miles northeast of Portland.

Touted as a "crown jewel of coastal Maine," it's a popular attraction for travelers headed to Acadia National Park and eastern Maine, with more than 50,000 visiting annually.

Maine's tallest elevator lifts passengers 42 stories  higher than the Statue of Liberty  and was constructed with the latest safety features, officials said. If the elevator breaks down, visitors have to walk down stairs that exit outside on grounds well above the observatory lobby where they caught the elevator.

The length of the elevator shaft, the sensitivity of the safety sensors and Maine's harsh elements have all combined to cause niggling problems for the attraction that operates during Maine's busy tourist season between May and October, according to the MDOT.

Bouncing children  including one dancing "Gangnam style"  accounted for some of the dozens of elevator shutdowns. Generally, the elevator was out of service for only minutes and there was little inconvenience.

According to state transportation figures provided to The Associated Press through the Freedom of Access Act, there were more than 130 reported anomalies, which an independent consultant says is a high number. Many glitches were fixed by resetting switches or rebooting the computer, while others necessitated repairs, state spreadsheets indicated.

The total cost for maintenance and repairs reached nearly $400,000  covered by ticket revenue collected by the Friends of Fort Knox, which operates the attraction, Dubois said.

Andy Kohl, from The Elevator Consultants in Chicago, said the numbers surprised him, both in terms of frequency of repairs and out-of-pocket expenses. The state spent enough on repairs to buy a new elevator, he said.

"The numbers of calls and the amount of money don't jibe with a system that's newly installed. This thing is less than 10 years old," said Kohl, who spoke in general terms because he's not familiar with the specifics of the elevator system in Maine.

The performance has improved since repairs in 2009 and 2012 replaced corroded electronics and sealed them to keep out moisture, Dubois said.

Overall, he's satisfied with the performance.

But the problems have been frequent enough that there's a sign posted in the lobby so riders can review procedures for an "unanticipated delay."

Unless the delay exceeds 60 to 90 minutes, passengers are urged to stay put and enjoy the view. Snacks, water and a portable toilet are provided.

The Department of Transportation would prefer to have visitors wait rather than walk down stairs that lead to U.S. Route 1, requiring officials to stop traffic. The risk of someone being injured in a fall on the stairs is far greater than any concern with the elevator, Dubois said.

Tourist Norman Ridley, who recently visited from England, had made plans months ago to take the elevator to the top of the observatory. During his visit, he found out it was closed. He said he was "disappointed" but was grateful he wasn't at the top had the elevator had failed.

"We thought this to have been a one-off incident, but it is saddening to realize it has happened more often than that," Ridley said. "It seems poor maintenance has spoiled a lot of people's ability to experience what should be one of American's architectural achievements."

___

Online:

Bridge website http://maine.gov/mdot/pnbo/
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By Monty Hight

Q: My brother-in-law claims the California DMV code says it's legal to pull RV trailers with a class C license with no additional requirements required.

I say that:

1. Towing a trailer or fifth-wheel weighing more than 10,000 pounds requires a notation on the driver's California license showing that the driver is qualified to tow such a trailer.

2. Towing an RV, fifth-wheel and a second trailer, such as a boat trailer, requires a class A license in California.

These restrictions were presented to our RV club by a California Highway Patrol commercial enforcement officer in Redding about two years ago. Has the law changed since then?

You are correct. A driver must have a fifth-wheel recreational trailer endorsement added to the class C driver's license to pull a fifth-wheel recreational trailer weighing more than 10,000 pounds, but not more than 15,000 pounds. This endorsement is not required if the driver has a class A or noncommercial class A driver's license.

Q: What are the rules for pulling doubles? I pull a fifth-wheel trailer and would like to pull my boat behind the trailer. The boat trailer is about 16 feet long, and my fifth-wheel is 37 feet but overlaps the truck by about 4 feet and weighs 14,000 pounds.

I've read that, when pulling doubles in Calfornia, neither trailer can be longer than 25 feet. Is that right? I've seen many doubles that are obviously over that limit. What license would I need for doubles? I currently have a basic class C.

A California resident towing doubles is required to possess a commercial class A license with endorsement for doubles, and a medical card. The overall combined length (front bumper of front vehicle to rear bumper of rear vehicle) cannot exceed 65 feet. This measurement does not include the load (in this case, the boat), only the vehicles. The overall length including the load cannot exceed 75 feet (with few exceptions). For example, bumper to bumper can be up to 65 feet. If the boat overhangs past the rear bumper, it cannot exceed 75 feet from front bumper to rear of boat.

Q: Can you address Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010? The other day I was talking with my neighbor and he was quite confused by the program.

CSA 2010 is a national safety initiative to more effectively identify and quickly intervene with large truck and bus drivers and carriers who are not complying with safety rules to make the roads safer.

CSA 2010 is being field-tested in several states, and to date, the results have been extremely encouraging. The test states are expanding their safety impact by contacting more carriers, identifying specific safety issues and achieving remedies. However, California is not one of the states being field-tested. For the most part, California's Motor Carrier Permit Program already is complying with what CSA 2010 promotes. More information is available at http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Outreach.aspx.

Speaking of trailers ...

After much consultation with the CHP Motor Carrier Safety Unit, I would like to issue a reminder to those folks who have a horse/equine trailer that has both the addition of "living quarters" for humans as well as a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 or more pounds. Remember that the vehicle is no longer a recreational vehicle but a commercial vehicle. You are subject to a Motor Carrier Property Permit if the trailer plus the load exceeds 10,000 pounds in gross weight.

Confusion lies between what distinguishes a recreational trailer and a commercial trailer. If you have a fifth-wheel toy hauler with a gross vehicle weight rating of 11,000 pounds, your trailer is classified as a recreational vehicle. If you have a horse/equine trailer (designed to transport horses) with a living quarters added to it, you have a commercial trailer.

The difference between the two is the design of the trailer. The fifth-wheel toy hauler's design is for human habitation, with the capability of transporting off-highway vehicles. The horse trailer's design is for the transportation of property (horses), with or without the living quarters.

So the primary question is: What purpose was the trailer originally designed for?

Should you have any questions on the correct classification regarding your trailers or driver's license endorsements, contact the CHP's Motor Carrier Unit at 225-2098.

With all the different types of vehicles on our roads, the intent is to make certain that all our vehicles are safe and being operated by properly licensed persons. So while you are cruising down the highway and towing your trailer at 55 mph, please enjoy the ride.

Monty Hight is a retired CHP officer. He can be reached at montyhight@charter.net.
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By Alayna Shulman of the Redding Record Searchlight

While it's been illegal for years in California to keep a pet in a hot car, the person who tries to free a trapped animal can get in trouble themselves for the damage their act may cause. That's why many see the punishment pet owners face as little consolation  animals can easily die by the time an officer gets there to legally free it and write up charges.

A new bill making its way through the state Legislature aims to change that  dubbed the "Right to Rescue Act," Assembly Bill 797 would give legal protection to those who  after a series of steps is taken  feel they have no other choice but to break into a hot car to save an animal's life.

"We want to make sure that we get the protections that are needed," said Assemblymember Marc Steinorth, who introduced the bill.

Steinorth, who represents the 12th district that includes sweltering cities such as San Bernardino, said it's important for potential rescuers to realize that there are still many legal requirements they'd have to meet if the bill passes.

"This bill does not just give legal immunity to break a window," he said.

Specifically, pet rescuers would have to:

Use every reasonable way they can to find the pet's owner;

Call law enforcement before breaking the window;

See whether doors are unlocked or there's a less damaging way to get into the car, including if the animal can fit out an opening in the window;

Stay with the animal near the car but out of the elements until law enforcement arrives.

Steinorth said some naysayers characterize the bill as enabling vigilantism and would pave the way for lawsuits about biting, items stolen from a car that was legally broken into and more.

But he said those are just "red herrings," and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and Humane Society of the United States are on board with the bill.

"I don't think it's a legitimate concern at this point," he said. "We're working ... to make sure that this is a bill that does not cause undue work to different organizations that would have to respond."

The bill is currently on the Senate floor, so Steinorth said he hopes that if it passes, it could get governor approval later this year. In the meantime, here's what you need to know about animals in hot cars, according to Shasta County Animal Regulation:

If you leave your animal in a hot vehicle and animal control decides it needs to be freed, it could cost you up to $500 and six months in county jail

Heatstroke signs in dogs include: exaggerated panting, the sudden stopping of panting, a fast or unsteady pulse, excess drooling, an "anxious or staring" expression, weakness, muscle tremors, lack of coordination, bright red tongue and lips that may later turn blue, convulsions, vomiting, collapse and coma.

Certain breeds are at higher risk of heat-related conditions, including very old and very young animals, short-snouted breeds and those with a thicker coat.

If an animal appears to be in serious danger, you can call 911, the Animal Regulations dispatcher (530-245-6540) for county incidents, Redding's animal control at 530-241-2550, Anderson's at 530-245-6526 or Shasta Lake's at 530-275-7480, depending on where you are.

If you end up in the position of taking an animal for emergency care after hours, VCA Asher's Hilltop Drive hospital just north of the corner of Cypress Avenue is open 24 hours a day, though you need to use the side entrance and be buzzed inside after hours.

If a dog is showing signs of heatstroke, immediately move it to a cool and shady place while wetting it with cool  but not cold  water, particularly on exposed skin, since it's easier for the coolness to be effective there. Giving it very cold water to drink or bathe in is dangerous because the extreme contrast in temperatures could cause it to go into shock.

Fan the animal vigorously so that the water will evaporate and simultaneously cool it.

Give the animal cool but not cold water to drink, if it's able to.

If the animal's condition hasn't improved in 30 minutes, it's considered a medical emergency and requires an immediate trip to the veterinarian

In notoriously hot Shasta County, Animal Regulations officers say there have already been several reports of animals left inside cars this season. There also have been several reports of animals stuck in baking truck beds, officials said.

Both local advocates and Steinorth say the ideal situation would be for pet owners to leave their animals at home in the first place when it's hot.

"The main point I would like people to understand is, if it's a very hot day, leave your animal at home," Steinorth said.

And day-to-day errands aren't the only situations that call for common-sense pet ownership.

Animal Regulation reminds people traveling with a pet to find a safe boarding place if they don't think they'll be able to stay with the animal at all times.

In addition, heat-myths such as that pets will be fine if you leave the windows cracked or park in the shade do "very little to help," according to Animal Regulation.

Pet owners in hot areas also need to keep temperature in mind for daily walks, particularly since animals' paws are exposed to potentially scorching ground.

According to animal regulations, asphalt can be 143 degrees on a relatively mild 87-degree day. So if you can't hold the back of your hand to the ground for 10 seconds without it being uncomfortable, it's too hot for an animal's paws, the skin of which can be destroyed in less than 60 seconds of such contact.
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Lassen voters reject State of Jefferson

Voters in Lassen County shot down a referendum on the State of Jefferson in Tuesday's primary election, according to unofficial results.

A little more than 57 percent of voters cast their ballots against Measure G, which asked if they would support Lassen County separating from California to become part of a new State of Jefferson.

About 5,400 total ballots were cast.

On March 17, 2015, Lassen County supervisors voted in favor of Jefferson, but on the condition that the voters weigh in as well.

Measure G's results are nonbinding.

"All across the board the politics of fear were rejected by the politics of hope and the 'Jeffersonians' were soundly trounced. The best their candidates in Lassen could do was about 30 percent and the Measure G results blow a big hole in their aspirations," said Jim Chapman, chairman of Lassen County Board of Supervisors, in a news release from the anti-split Keep It California group. "They have no coastline on the west and have lost half of their border with Nevada."

Citing a lack of fair representation, the State of Jefferson movement has worked toward splitting off from California. The idea dates back to the 1940s, when Northern California and Southern Oregon residents started the movement to protest the roads' poor conditions.

It quickly evaporated when Japan declared war on the United States in 1941, but has resurfaced several times since then.

Burning logs spread Siskiyou's Pony Fire

The lightning-caused Pony Fire grew to 889 acres in the Klamath National Forest on Friday morning.

The fire is burning in extremely steep terrain with a lot of the fire being spread by burning logs rolling downhill.

The Siskiyou County blaze is about 15 miles southwest of Happy Camp and west of Highway 96 near Pony Peak, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Ian Shackleford said.

It's burning within the area torched in 2001 by the Swillup Fire. Crews made good progress Thursday repairing and improving old containment lines on the northern and western sides of the fire, officials said. A total of 814 personnel were on the fire. Six helicopters and an air tanker were assigned to support ground operations.

The flames were most active on the southwest edge near Pony Peak while on the northeast side, the fire was backing down toward Swillup Creek.

Meanwhile, the 5-acre Dillon fire, southwest of Dillon Creek, is 80 percent contained.

Current fire information, including road closures, is available on the InciWeb website inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4769.

Shasta-Trinity holds fee-free Saturday

Shasta-Trinity National Forest will host a fee-free day Saturday at several recreation sites as part of National Get Outdoors Day.

Fees will be waived at these campgrounds and recreation facilities in the Shasta and Trinity Lake areas: The boat ramps at Antlers, Bailey Cove, Centimudi, Hirz Bay, Jones Valley, Packers Bay, Minersville and Pine Cove.

In the Weaverville and Big Bar areas: Big Flat and Burnt Ranch. At Hayden Flat and Pigeon Point, the fee waiver applies to the family campgrounds only, not the group campsites.

In the South Fork Management Unit: Basin Gulch, Hell Gate and Forest Glen.

In the Shasta McCloud Management Unit: Tarantula Gulch Day Use Area (McCloud Reservoir boat ramp).

To find the sites, go to the Shasta-Trinity website at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/stnf/recreation, scroll down to the interactive map and click on the Forest Service shield in an area you want.

No DUI arrests at checkpoint

Nearly 1,000 drivers passed through a DUI and driver's license checkpoint Thursday night in Redding, but no arrests were made for drunken driving.

Redding police manned the checkpoint from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Placer Street between Airpark Drive and Mesa Street.

A total of 984 vehicles were screened by officers with 13 drivers stopped for further investigation. Two of those drivers were given field sobriety tests and passed, police said.

Four drivers, however, were cited for having a suspended or expired driver's license. One person was cited and released for outstanding warrants. Four vehicles were towed for various violations.

Attempted murder charges dropped

A case against two men accused of trying to rob an employee of a Redding hydroponics business, which itself would end up being robbed later on, can move forward, but not with attempted murder charges, a Shasta County Superior Court judge ruled Friday.

Judge Daniel Flynn found enough evidence existed for Felix Reuben Ayala, 36, and Jose Orlando Luna, 51, to stand trial in the attempted robbery and shooting at Brennan Tinsley's Shasta Lake home Oct. 2.

Both men had been arrested Oct. 30 on suspicion of robbing Tinsley and several others at the Bare Roots Hydroponics & Organic Supply store days earlier.

When Tinsley saw Luna's photo in the news, he told police he recognized him from the home robbery and shooting, which didn't injure anyone, Redding police investigator Brian Torum said.

Tinsley told police two men, later identified as Luna and Sergio Martinez, had come to his doorstep, one with a pistol, Torum said. Tinsley grabbed a shotgun and opened the door, but the gunman got the better of him. A scuffle ensued and the gun went off, but no one was hurt severely, Torum said.

Martinez and Luna are suspected of attacking Tinsley while Ayala is suspected of coordinating it, Torum said.

Martinez is in custody in New York on murder charges unrelated to this case, Torum said.

Flynn said the evidence points to the shooting being accidental, so he tossed the attempted murder charges. However, he found enough evidence for them to stand trial on the charges of attempted robbery, assault and burglary, with enhancements for using a firearm.

A settlement conference has been set for July 8.
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By Nathan Solis of the Redding Record Searchlight

Shasta County will hire 31 new employees and increase spending by nearly $16 million this fiscal year.

Shasta County supervisors approved a $437 million fiscal budget earlier this week, a $15.6 million increase from last year's spending plan.

Most of the new positions will be in the Health and Human Services Department, including mental health clinicians.

Supervisor Leonard Moty said most of the money for the new positions is coming from state funds targeted to certain programs.

"It's not the county saying this is where the money is going to go. It's the state giving money to provide those services," said Moty.

Health and Human Services, which includes Mental Health, Mental Health Services Act, Public Assistance and Public Health, will have a total budget of $173.6 million, offset by revenue of $161.3 million.

This year's general fund has $77.4 million in expenses, but so far only $62.5 million in revenue, leaving a $14.8 million gap.

"We wish the revenue was higher," said Shasta County CEO Larry Lees.

The sentiment expressed during the budget hearings was spending money in certain ways could end up saving money. County officials pointed out investment in mental health programming will help save the county money in the long run, as sending patients to out-of-town hospitals are not covered by Medi-Cal.

A contingency reserve, or a cushion for any surprises to the county, was set at $6 million and will go toward commitments made by the board during the year.

Those commitments include the reopening of the Sheriff's Burney substation and an assisted outpatient treatment program, which will be a three-year pilot program.

The public safety budget, which includes the District Attorney's Office, Probation Department, Sheriff's Office, work release program and Public Defender's Office, will be $69.8 million this fiscal year.

Administrative fiscal chief Bebe Palin voiced some concern for a flat statewide sales tax. About $7.1 million is generated through that tax, Prop. 172, and goes to the District Attorney's Office, Probation and the juvenile rahabilitation center.

Several departments saw increases in their budgets for Mental Health Services, Public Health, Public Assistance and roads.

During the budget hearing, Moty expressed concern for road repairs in the county. Public Works Director Pat Minturn said funding generated for road repairs in the county typically comes from a gasoline tax, but that has been declining in recent years. Moty moved to have $1 million earmarked for road repair, but no specific locations were mentioned during the hearing.

That motion was approved and will have to come from the capital outlay fund.

Aside from road repairs, Palin said this year's list of capital outlay projects is one of the larger ones she's seen during her time as the fiscal chief. It includes repairs to the county jail's heating and air conditioning and a remodel of the county coroner's office for $746,649.

The county also purchased some properties this year to accommodate the shuffling of departments who had to vacate a building in downtown Redding to accommodate construction for the new county courthouse. The new buildings were purchased and will serve as an asset to the county, said Lees.

They include two buildings on Court Street for county probation, $1.4 million and a building on Park Marina Circle for the Sheriff's Office, $2.8 million.

Palin said this year's budget was the byproduct of department heads making difficult decisions and the county being fiscally responsible with spending.

"It was a lot of give and take, but it was civil discourse," Palin said.
Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight

Prisoners spend time in the recreation area Friday at the Siskiyou County Jail.

SHARE Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Siskiyou County Jail corrections deputy Robert Turner sits in central control of the Siskiyou County Jail on Friday. Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight A measure to raise sales taxes in Siskiyou County to pay for a new jail is going down in defeat.

By Sean Longoria of the Redding Record Searchlight

The fate of a half-cent sales tax in Siskiyou County appears grim this week as voters have not yet mustered the required two-thirds support to pass the tax to fund $9 million toward the jail project.

But even with uncounted votes, the outcome is unlikely to change.

Colleen Setzer, Siskiyou County clerk and registrar of voters, said late Friday her office still has about 1,500 votes to count from mail-in and provisional ballots.

The office legally has 28 days from the election to count and certify the results.

"The best estimate I can give is the entire 28 days," Setzer said of her timetable to count the outstanding ballots.

The tax had about 51 percent of the vote as of Friday afternoon, well below the required threshold. Nearly 7,100 people approved the measure, but the margin is only about 200 votes.

The county, however, may look to voters again in November to fund the $9 million deficit, which would bolster some $27 million in state funding for the project.

Sheriff Jon Lopey said he, county administrators and the Board of Supervisors could discuss later this month adding a general tax and advisory measure to the November ballot. Such a question would require only a simple majority, while the advisory measure would direct the county to use the money for the jail.

"We're kind of emboldened by the support we've received," Lopey said, noting without an ability for the county to raise the $9 million deficit, "the project could be dead."

At stake for Siskiyou County is $27 million in state funding for the jail, which would nearly double the current space available. The Sheriff's Office last month released crime data showing an increase in both violent and property crimes and Lopey himself has noted the exiting 107-bed jail is nearly full most days with inmates.

The county also needs to secure a two-month extension from the California Board of State and Community Corrections, which awarded the money for the jail and gave the county until September to commit to building the jail or lose the grant money, Lopey said.

The results of Tuesday's election bear striking similarity to Redding's own Measure F, a public safety tax that received a majority of support in 2014 though that approval hit below required two-thirds threshold. Redding itself is seeking a general tax for public safety in November, following the success of such votes in Anderson and Red Bluff.
At least 30,000 paramilitary jawans will participate in events organised in state capitals and other prominent cities across the country to make the June 21 international Yoga Day celebration a success.

A high-level meeting of the Committee of Secretaries decided that the celebrations must be participated by at least 1,000 central paramilitary force personnel at each locations in ensuring the grandeur of the event across the country.

At the main event, to be held in Chandigarh with the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at least 2,000 paramilitary jawans will take part in the event.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police has been made the nodal force for the Chandigarh event. The forces primary mandate is to guard the Sino-Indian border, sources said.

According to a circular, a minimum of 1,000 personnel of paramilitary forces will be deployed in concerned state capital and cities for participation. The event will be held at 28 prominent cities or state capitals.

Every state capital will have a nodal force like the Central Reserve Police Force, the Border Security Force, the Central Industrial Security Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Sashastra Seema Bal and the Assam Rifles and they will ensure the jawans participation with common dress -- white T-shirts and black track pants.

The paramilitary forces were told to organize Yoga Day events in all state capitals where state governments are not involved. State governments of a few non-BJP rule states are not organising the celebration, sources said.

Image used for representational purposes only.
Amid mounting pressure with regard to alleged irregularities in the class 12 examinations in Bihar, Vishun Roy College director-cum-principal Bachcha Rai -- who had been absconding ever since his name cropped up in the case being probed by the Special Investigation Team -- surrendered on Saturday.

Rai arrived at the Bhagwanpur police station to give himself up from where the police arrested him, Hajipur police sources said.

"We have arrested Bachha Rai," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on merit muddle in Bihar's +2 examination, said.

"We will interrogate him intensively," Maharaj said.

Rai, a known supporter of RJD, had been allegedly eluding from police in the case.

Police will produce him before a local court by evening.

A police complaint had been registered against four students -- Sourabh Shrestha, Rahul Kumar, Ruby Rai and Shalini -- and Bachcha Rai in connection with Bihar School Examination Board merit muddle.

Another key accused, former BSEB chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh is still absconding.

Following the furore over the Bihar Board examination toppers being unable to answer basic questions related to their stream eventually leading to a re-examination, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had last week said that the guilty won't be spared, adding the investigation into this matter will be done with a criminal angle.

The Bihar Police SIT had on Thursday arrested five persons in connection with the state board exams scam.

The BSEB has since cancelled the results of two toppers, including Sourabh Shrestha, of the Intermediate (Science) exams after they failed to prove their merits in a re-test.

The board had on June 3 asked Sourabh and his college mate Rahul Kumar, who were among the 13 toppers from the arts and science streams in the Class XII examinations, to reappear in a re-test following a controversy over their merits.

Saurabh from the Science stream, who had secured 485 out of 500, was caught on camera failing to answer basic questions.

Ruby Rai, the arts topper, from the same college failed to take the re-test on Friday citing health reasons. Rai had secured 444 marks out of 500 in the Arts stream. However, on camera she did not even appear to know the number of subjects in her course.
Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the United States to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan terrorists and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.

General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson in Islamabad on Thursday.

In a late night statement, the army said Gen Raheel demanded targeting of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.

"Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, COAS reiterated Pakistans resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism," it said.

It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on May 21.

The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.

"Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb," it said.

Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.

He said all stakeholders need to understand Pakistan's challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.

"Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate," he said.

He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.

Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated.
Image courtesy: Sahil Salvi

Pre-monsoon showers hit Mumbai on Saturday.

The meterological department has predicted that rain accompanied by thundersquall is likely to lash the metropolis and its suburbs during the next 24 hours.

Image courtesy: Sahil Salvi

The rains came as a relief to many residents who had been bearing the brunt of the heat over the last few weeks.

Some even took to social media to express their feeling. Take a look:

Image Courtesy: zsarath/Instagram

Image Courtesy: tumhara_jai/Instgram

Image Courtesy: nishadbarde/Instagram

Image Courtesy: bhide10/Instagram

Image Courtesy: culinarycultblog/Instagram

Image Courtesy: medhakranti/Instagram

Image Courtesy: kushalsanghvi/Instagram
Rebellion by Congress MLAs in Haryana helped BJP-backed Independent candidate Subhash Chandra score an upset victory as Congress stalwart Kapil Sibal pulled it off in Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha polls in which union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Birender Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and M A Naqvi won comfortably.

Senior Congress leaders Oscar Fernandes and Jairam Ramesh were elected from Karnataka where cross-voting by rebel JD(S) MLAs enabled the ruling Congress gain a third seat.

Former IPS officer K C Ramamurthy won the seat defeating JD(S)-backed Independent candidate B M Farooq, a businessman, in the third seat.

Haryana

The major jolt for Congress came in Haryana where the party suffered through heavy cross-voting by its 14 MLAs that led to the defeat of the party-backed Independent candidate R K Anand who was mainly fielded by its arch rival INLD.

Subhash Chandra, a media baron, defeated Anand, a senior lawyer and a former MP, after 14 votes of Congress were rejected, state Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma told the media in Chandigarh.

Even before the elections, there was speculation that the overwhelming majority of the 17 Congress MLAs, owing allegiance to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, would not toe the party line on supporting Anand.

In the 27 seats spread across seven states that were up for grabs, 11 went to BJP, 6 to Congress, 7 to Samajwadi Party, 2 to BSP and one Independent. Thirty of the 57 seats in the current round of biennial elections were decided without contest last week.

In Haryana, while BJP leader Birender Singh was assured of a comfortable win for one seat, the main centre of interest was the fight was between Chandra and Anand for the other seat.

The Haryana assembly has 90 members. Out of 90 votes, Birender got 40 votes while Anand got 21 and Chandra got 15 votes while 14 votes were rejected.

After rejection of 14 votes, Birender Singh needed just 26 votes for his own win and his 14 surplus votes were transferred to Chandra as second preference votes, taking the total number of his votes to 29, Rambilas Sharma said.

Singh rejected allegations of horse trading. "Congress votes were found to be invalid. After votes which were needed for my victory, the share of my votes got transferred to

Chandra and this took tally of his votes to 29," he said.

After Anand's defeat, leader of opposition in Haryana asembly and Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala blamed the Congress for it.

"Congress party's 14 votes were rejected because they registered their votes with another pen other than the one provided by the returning officer to record their votes in the voting compartment," claimed Chautala.

Uttar Pradesh

Former union minister and Congress heavyweight Sibal managed to defeat BJP-backed Independent candidate and socialite Preeti Mahapatra, wife of a Mumbai-based businessman, without the anticipated support of BSP whose two candidates Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth won comfortably.

In Uttar Pradesh, all major political parties ensured victory for all their candidates despite cross voting.

The results showed that the BSP, which had backed Congress RS nominees in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, chose not to transfer its surplus votes to any other party candidate in UP.

Besides Sibal, the others who made it to the Rajya Sabha from the state are two recent returnees to SP-fold Amar Singh, Beni Prasad Verma, Kuwar Rewati Raman Singh, Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, Sukhram Singh Yadav, Sanjay Seth and Surendra Nagar (all SP), Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth (both BSP) and Shiv Pratap Shukla (BJP).

Although Sibal got through, the 29-MLA Congress suffered a jolt with Sibal getting only 25 first preference votes despite 8-member RLD committing four votes each to Congress and SP.

There were 12 candidates for 11 Rajya Sabha seats in UP and to secure a seat in Rajya Sabha, a candidate required 34 votes.

Cross voting took place in polling as Samajwadi Party fielded seven candidates but the seventh candidate was short of nine first-preference votes for victory.

Although SP managed to ensure victory of all its seven candidates, only three were through in the first round of counting, reflecting that the contest was close for the ruling party.

Bahujan Samaj Party chose not to transfer its 12 surplus votes with it two candidates Mishra getting 39 votes and Sidhharth 42.

The last-minute entry of Preeti Mahapatra, wife of a Mumbai-based businessman, in the fray which forced a contest, managed just 18 first preference votes and conceded defeat even when the counting in further rounds was on.

Madhya Pradesh

In Madhya Pradesh, the results were on expected lines as BJP candidates M J Akbar and Anil Dave and Congress' Vivek Tankha were elected even as BJP-backed Independent candidate was defeated.

BJP's bid to spoil the Congress candidate's chances by fielding its leader Vinod Gotia as an independent candidate did not succeed. Gotia got 50 votes -- 48 surplus votes of BJP and two independents -- against the 58 required for win.

Senior journalist M J Akbar and state BJP leader and strategist Dave polled 58 votes each, while Tankha secured 62 votes -- 57 from Congress, four from BSP and one independent, returning officer Bhagwandas Israni said.

BSP supremo Mayawati had issued a whip to its four MLAs to vote for Tankha.

Karnataka

If it was the Congress at the receiving end in Haryana, revolt-hit Janatal Dal-Secular suffered the humiliation in Karnataka with eight of its MLAs cross voting in favour of the Congress.

Congress' candidate Ramamurthy chalked up a resounding victory securing 52 votes, aided by the support of Independents and JD-S rebel MLAs, defeating JD-S-backed nominee B M Farooq who managed 33 votes against the party's strength of 40 in the Assembly.

"Eight MLA's have voted against the JD-S in the Rajya Sabha election in favour of Congress. On Sunday, in the party's meeting, we are going to take action against them according to provisions of the party constitution," JD-S spokesman Ramesh Babu said.

Rebel JD-S MLAs who cross-voted are Zameer Ahmed Khan, Chaluvaraya Swamy, Iqbal Ansari, Balakrishna, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, Gopalaiah, Bheema Nayak and Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, Babu said, admitting the loss much before polls ended.

The Congress with 122 members was assured of two seats for Ramesh and Fernandes and with a surplus of 33 votes, the party fielded Ramamurthy.

The required strength for victory was 45 votes.

Nirmala Seetharaman secured 46 votes with the BJP, which with 44 members was short of one vote, making up the shortfall comfortably.

Jharkhand

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Mahesh Poddar bagged the two Rajya Sabha seats for BJP from Jharkhand.

Poddar won on Naqvi's first preference votes. While Naqvi got first preference vote of 2900, the surplus 264 votes went to Poddar making his count 2664 and pushing JMM's Basant Soren to the third position with 2600, election officials said.

Out of total 81 MLAs, 79 cast their votes, they said. JMM MLA Charma Linda and Congress MLA Devendra Singh could not cast their vote.

Earlier, in the day, the police said JMM MLA Chamra Linda was arrested following a 2013 arrest warrant in connection with a scuffle with the guards near the assembly gates.

The Congress MLA also could not vote as he too faced an arrest warrant.

But another Congress MLA Nirmla Devi, who too is facing a warrant, managed to cast her vote as she was escorted by JMM working president and former chief minister Hemant Soren into the assembly.

Meanwhile, social activist Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, a descendant of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

Sambhaji Raje is from the direct lineage of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Rajarshi Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj of Kolhapur who had funded the movement led by Dalit icon B R Ambedkar for justice to the depressed classes for some time, sources said.

He is involved in ensuring harmony among various social groups in Maharashtra and in efforts for restoration of forts in the state, they said.

The nomination of Sambhaji Raje comes after Pranav Pandya, head of All World Gayatri Pariwar, declined the honour last month, saying atmosphere in the Upper House was not conducive for him.

"I don't think the atmosphere in Rajya Sabha is conducive for me. It will never be," he had said, giving reasons for declining the nomination.
See what to expect in coming months along I-69 Finish Line corridor

As the leaves begin to fall and air temperatures begin to cool, the 2022 road construction season will soon slow down.
Broadwind Towers on Friday was saluted by the Army Reserve for its support of an employee whose dates of military commitment kept changing.

Sgt. Francisco G. Hernandez, a welder at Broadwind, returned in April from a 28-day deployment to Guatemala. During Hernandez's absence, the company had to make adjustments to cover his duties. But the timeline kept changing.

'We had to change his orders four times,' said Lt. Col. Andrew Scott DeJesse, commander of the 413th Civil Affairs Battalion, which has two companies stationed at Dyess Air Force Base. 'His company commander had to tell Sgt. Hernandez, and Sgt. Hernandez had to turn around and tell his employers. They had to adjust their schedule.'

When the final order came down, Hernandez and Broadwind had barely a week to get everything together. Plans had to be made to cover Hernandez's night shift.

This wasn't the first adjustment Broadwind has had to make to accommodate Hernandez's military commitment. He began working for the company in May 2015, and a month later was gone for 23 days for training.

Hernandez said the company had no problems with that.

'I worked for other employers that weren't always so supportive, didn't really respect me being in the military,' he said. 'It was always a constant drama, 'Oh, you've got to leave again?' I've never had this problem here.'

On Friday, Stephen Marak, plant manager, received a certificate of thanks from the Army Reserve on behalf of the company.

Marak said Broadwind has no problem supporting the military, and the only unusual thing about Hernandez's most recent deployment was the short notice.

DeJesse said such deployments are common, and that the unit's personnel could be deployed anywhere in Central America.

In his recent deployment he was tasked with coordinating medical assistance for the residents of San Marcos, Guatemala. The task is scheduled to end later this month.

Members of the battalion routinely undergo deployments that can last anywhere from two weeks to several months. In addition to the two companies at Dyess, there are three more stationed in Lubbock.

Employer cooperation is valued, military officials said.

'We greatly appreciate employers supporting the soldiers,' DeJesse said. 'Without employers' support, these soldiers couldn't serve.

'We don't want to disrupt a civilian career. When you have an employer that's on board, that makes life a lot easier.'
THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR

SUP Abilene and Abilene Yoga House has planned 'The Longest Day' event from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 18 at SUP Abilene at Fort Phantom Lake, 9 Cherokee Circle, to raise funds and awareness benefiting the Alzheimer's Association. The day's events include sunrise yoga with Karen Rampy, paddleboard yoga instruction at 3 p.m. with Camie Garvey. Kayak and paddleboard rentals will be their standard rental fee from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. See SUPAbilene.com for more information on rentals.

The Longest Day was established by the Alzheimer's Association in 2011 on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, to symbolize the long journey that those with Alzheimer's disease face. Call 800-272-3900 or visit our website for more information: http://alz.org/northcentraltexas/in_my_community_102686.asp.

WINE AND WISHES

The third annual Wine & Wishes benefiting Make-A-Wish North Texas is scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Grove at Denton Valley in Clyde, Texas.

It will be a night of wine and food truck tastings, live music, raffle items and granting a wish live at the event.

Sponsorship levels and individual tickets are available for purchase

For more information, contact the West Texas Region at 432-683-WISH (9474).

FEELING CREATIVE?

The Abilene Creative Arts Club elected new officers at its May meeting for the 2016-17 year. Elected were Doris Kinney as President, Shirley Minzenmayer as Vice President, Janet Jergins as Secretary, and Lucy Smith as Treasurer. The club welcomes residents who are artistic and creative to become members. Call Lucy Smith at 325-660-3487 if you're interested in joining. Dues are due before July 1.

Meetings are held monthly from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on the second Saturday, September through May, (no meeting in December) at Buffalo Gap Historic Village's Rode Gallery. For more information call Doris Kinney 325-660-6834.

Look for paintings by members at the Taylor County Court House Lobby, Bogie's, and Cypress Street Station, with a live paining demonstration outside the restaurant during ArtWalk.

OPERA OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUMMER

The 2016 Summer HD Encore Season of 'The Met: Live in HD,' the Metropolitan Opera's popular award-winning series of live transmissions in movie theaters around the world, begins June 22 with a performance of Puccini's Tosca at 7 p.m. at the Century 12, 3818 John Knox Drive.

Other performances are Donizetti'sL'Elisir d'Amor eon June 29, Puccini'sLa Bohemeon July 13, and Mozart'sCosi Fan Tutteon July 20.

A list of theaters, as well as showtimes, can be found by visiting www.metopera.org/hdlive.

For information on locations and tickets, visit the above website or call 1-800-638-6737.

Mail information to Jan Woodward in care of 'Around Town,' Abilene Reporter-News, P.O. Box 30, Abilene, TX 79604. Email address is jan.woodward@reporternews.com or fax information to 325-670-5242. Deadline for submission is noon seven working days before publication.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Hillcrest Church of Christ, 650 E. Ambler Ave., has scheduled 'Scar Force' from 6 to 8:15 p.m. June 19-22 and 7 to 8 p.m. June 22 for children ages 4 through fifth grade completed, register at www.hillcrestonline.com

Calvary Baptist Church, 1165 Minter Lane, will have VBS from 6 to 8 p.m. June 13-15 for children in grades K-5. Call 325-672-6313 if you need a ride.

REDEEMING THE TIME CONFERENCE

Bill Cloud of Shoreshim Ministries will speak at 7 p.m. June 17 and 18 at Hope 4 Life Church/Tikvah L'Chaim Messianic Ministry, 3502 Rebecca Lane. He will share some of his insight into Biblical Judaism and the relationship to Christianity.

Cloud is a featured speaker in venues throughout the country and has appeared with notable teachers such as Hal Lindsay, J.R. Church, Jack Van Impe, John Hagee, Grant Jeffrey, Perry Stone, Tim La Haye, Chuck Missler, the late Yacov Rambsel and the late Zola Levitt. He has also made several appearances on a variety of television broadcasts seen on TBN, Daystar, Inspiration, SkyAngel, WHT, and TCT.

Call 325-692-7009 with any questions.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Abilene, 1541 Sayles Blvd., welcomes people of all religious beliefs and those who chose not to believe in any organized religions to hear a talk on chirality, molecular arrangements that affect the Universe at 11 a.m. Sunday. For more information visit www.uuabilene.org.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL INFORMATION WANTED

Information about churches' Vacation Bible School for the summer can be included in this column. Please send information on the theme, time, date, church address, ages involved, and contact number, to woodwardj@reporternews.com or fax to 325-670-5242.

Send news of your religious organization or group to Religion Editor, Abilene Reporter-News, P.O. Box 30, Abilene, Texas 79604; fax it to 325-670-5242; or email it to jan.woodward@reporternews.com. Deadline is noon Monday.
HASKELL  A cloud of uncertainty for 134 employees of the Rolling Plains Regional Jail and Detention Center in Haskell lifted this week when they received word that they would be keeping their jobs for a few more months.

Haskell County Judge David Davis confirmed Friday that a contract has been extended through the end of 2016.

'We are currently working through specifics, but I can confirm that the contract between the owners of the facility, and Emerald (Correctional Management) has been extended through the first of the year,' Davis said. 'This extension, which has been approved by both parties, allows Emerald to seek other populations, while still operating the facility.'

In April, the Reporter-News reported that the 134 employees could face potential face layoffs June 9, the result of plans by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to move the center's almost 500 detained immigrants to a new facility in Alvarado, near Dallas.

'The ICE contract has been pulled from Haskell,' Davis said again.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, two employees of the prison said they believed they would not be laid off, in part because Emerald had been running help-wanted advertisements in the local newspaper for nurses, assistant wardens and other positions.

Rolling Plains houses both male and female populations with a total capacity of 555 beds. Davis said 48 beds are reserved for county inmates, but noted there generally are fewer than 25 Haskell County inmates in the facility at any time.

In addition to the ICE contract, the facility also has contracts with Baylor and Throckmorton counties. Those contracts remain in effect.

Rolling Plains is the largest employer in Haskell County. The staff includes a full-time medical staff, programmatic staff, administrative staff, correctional staff and approximately 20 volunteers from the community.

'As a community, we're all proud they have come to this agreement,' Davis said. 'We are looking forward to getting another population, and we are doing all we can to assist Emerald.'

Davis said another ICE contract is being sought, as well as recruiting populations from outside Texas.

Representatives of Emerald, which has operated the facility since 2003, did not return Reporter-News requests for comment.
Incident reports released Friday by the Abilene Police Department:

Incorrect license plates, 500 block of E.S. 11th Street, Thursday

A 53-year-old man was arrested after a traffic stop. Police said the license plates belonged to a 1998 GMC pickup, though the man was driving a 1991 Chevy Lumina. The man told police he knew the plates didn't match vehicles and that he had displayed them since he purchased the vehicle.

Shoplifting, 3400 block of North First Street, Thursday

An employee of a business told police someone used a fake charge account to purchase almost $1,350 in merchandise.

Assault, 4900 block of W. Stamford Street, Thursday

A woman told police by phone that her ex-boyfriend punched her several times and pulled her hair during an altercation at a northside hotel. The incident happened Saturday or Sunday, police said. She told police she was sore all over.
Analysis

With Hillary Clinton now considered by most the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, Abilene politics watchers shared opinions with the Reporter-News on the race ahead.

Clinton's battle with fellow candidate Bernie Sanders has been back and forth, with Sanders securing a swathe of major primary wins along the way.

But in the end, politics is about numbers, said Paul Fabrizio, political science professor at McMurry University. And Clinton has emerged as the one who has them.

Both Clinton and Sanders supporters knew the only number that mattered was 2,383, Fabrizio said, the number of delegates the Democratic Party said a candidate needed to win the nomination.

Over the last four months, Clinton has consistently won more votes and more delegates than Sanders has, Fabrizio said.

'From the Iowa caucus on Feb. 1 onward, both camps knew that Hillary Clinton had control of the process better than Bernie Sanders,' Fabrizio said. 'Her outreach to regular Democrats, including the 700 people who would become superdelegates, her appeal to minority voters and her organization in all the states was simply superior to Sanders.'

Clinton beat Sanders 'fair and square,' using the rules that were in place during this election season, he said.

Abilene Christian University political science professor Neal Coates said that Clinton had been 'spoken of for months' as the person most likely to carry to Democratic nomination.

'If we were surprised by anything, it was that it took her the entire primary season to become the presumptive nominee,' he said. 'The other thing surprising in this primary season was the large number of votes from young Democrats for the socialist Bernie Sanders.'

Sanders has spent the last several months refusing to acknowledge the electoral reality of the number of required delegates, Fabrizio said.

That's actually something that he is within his rights to do, he said.

'He and his supporters can keep on campaigning and claiming that they are fighting for a revolution,' Fabrizio said.

But from Fabrizio's perspective, Sanders' camp is a 'minority revolution.'

'At some point they will either accept the reality of the numbers and support Hillary Clinton or they will keep on fighting, possibly hurting Clinton's chances to win the general election, or maybe just becoming irrelevant to the election process,' he said.

At best, Sanders can angle for a good speaking spot at the Democrat Convention in July, some progressive changes in the party platform and a chance to introduce legislation in the U.S. Senate next year, Fabrizio said.

Coates predicted a long, divisive general election season, characterized by negative campaigning on both sides.

'Many voters won't pay attention because of the negative tone, except perhaps when Donald Trump says something outlandish,' he said. 'Come late October, many voters will have a difficult time deciding for whom to vote for president, thinking that truly this will be an election to choose the lesser of the two evils.'

Many voters will think that 'it is a shame that both major party candidates seem to have sunk to new lows, and will miss having a candidate who offers a positive and forward-looking message,' he said.

Fabrizio said this will be an election in which people will be more likely to vote against a candidate, rather than in favor of one.

'Never have we had an election with such high 'disfavorability' ratings as we do this time,' he said. 'This means that it will be hard for the candidates to get new support so they will instead spend much of their time talking down about their opponents.'

Fabrizio said in a Trump versus Clinton contest, both candidates will have to work to ensure that their respective party's base supports them.

Generally, the party that is least united loses in November, he said.

Fabrizio said that most Big Country GOP faithful supported Ted Cruz, noting that Cruz's delegates will be at the national convention.

'While they will support Trump, will they support his ideas on the party platform? Right now, Cruz himself is quiet,' he said. 'He has not endorsed Trump and has been quiet about what he wants his delegates to do at the convention. My guess is that eventually they will come around and support their party's candidate.'

Ed Conley, chairman of Taylor County's Democratic Party, said a number of 'prominent Republicans' have told him they will vote for Clinton 'because she is a known quantity and everybody prospered when Bill Clinton was in office.'

'In my opinion, the Republicans will deserve and regret a Trump Presidency,' he said, though he also said that 'personally, I have a feeling that somehow the Republican Party can worm their way out of this destructive situation.'

Winston Ohlhausen, chair of the Taylor County Republican Party, said he was and remains a fan of Cruz, but felt that either Clinton or Sanders would 'get us a socialist.'

'I think if Trump stays Trump, he'll beat her easily,' he said. 'A lot of her and Bernie's people realize something's wrong and things need to change, and the Democrat side thinks socialism is the answer  but that's what got us in this mess.'

Ohlhausen said Trump should talk about conservative solutions that resonate with voters, being careful to explain those concepts clearly.

'So much depends on how the message is presented,' he said, adding that he was worried about the candidate's portrayal by Democrats and mainstream media.

'If Trump will not shy away from telling what freedom and the American way can do, I think he possibly can even run away with it if we can keep the establishment from messing him up,' he said.

Trump's election is important, Ohlhausen said, because of issues such as the appointment of future Supreme Court justices, a situation in which he sees the 'future of country is at stake.'

'There's where I'm hoping, even though I'm still a Cruz guy, that Trump won't let that (conservative) message be drowned out,' he said. 'I do believe (Trump) loves America, and he's sick and tired of us being second and third best.'

FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT?

The historic nature of the Clinton victory  potentially the first woman to win a major party's presidential nomination  could help smooth a path for Sanders supporters to join her campaign, Fabrizio said.

'The chance to make Clinton the first woman president might be enough to get many Sanders supporters to join in a real political gender revolution,' he said. 'At least, that is how the Clinton people are trying to sell what is happening now.'

On Clinton's presumed nomination, Conley said 'most developed nations have elected a woman chief executive,' including India, the 'largest democracy in the world.'

Women have had the right to vote for only 96 years, and no woman has ever won a national office in this country before, Fabrizio said.

'The symbolism of a woman at the top of a ticket is telling in what it says about equality and ambition and political dreams,' he said. 'This is a big deal.'

Assuming Clinton wins, hers could be an election children will learn about 'in school like they now learn about Kennedy's, or Obama's, or Lincoln's or FDR's,' Fabrizio said.

'The deeper question still to discover is whether electing a woman as president leads to different government decisions and policies,' he said. 'History will have to tell us that.'
Halloween events, fall festivals pack October in Abilene, Big Country

From family-friendly to frightful, there are plenty of opportunities to don the costumes and scare up some treats.
Longtime banker Syd Niblo may be remembered by many as the man who oversaw construction of Abilene's tallest building, but his family recalls him as a man of wit and good nature.

Niblo, a lifelong resident of Abilene, died Thursday. He was 80.

'He never said anything bad about anybody,' said Cheryl Niblo, his daughter-in-law.

He was not, however, one to suffer pretense gladly, according to his wife, Evelyn, and daughter Ellouise Sweetser.

'Oh, he could hit them with a riposte if he thought they were getting haughty,' Evelyn Niblo said.

Sydney Niblo was born into a pioneering Abilene family (his grandfather was Dr. Jim Alexander) and he graduated from Abilene High in 1954. Except for going to Austin to attend the University of Texas, where he received a degree in finance, Niblo never lived anywhere else, nor was he tempted to, family members said.

'He was always going to be an Abilene boy,' Evelyn Niblo said.

Niblo got into banking upon his graduation from UT in 1959, working at Southwest Savings; Bank of Commerce, where he would become president in 1965; and First State Bank, where he served as president from 1978-1989.

During Niblo's tenure at First State Bank, the bank built a 20-story building, now known as the Enterprise Building, at 500 Chestnut St..

'He always had an interest in architecture and landscaping,' Evelyn Niblo said. 'He was instrumental in designing that building. That was certainly a big part of his life at the time.'

First State Bank went under in 1989, along with many other banks in Abilene, during the oil bust of the late 1980s. In 1993, Niblo and three other Abilene bankers were sued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for $4.9 million amid allegations of approving bad loans. The suit was settled for a fraction of that amount in 1995.

After retiring from banking, Niblo became involved in development, developing the Saddle Creek subdivision in south Abilene.

Niblo, however, may be best remembered for his civic work. He was named Abilene's Citizen of the Year by the Abilene Chamber of Commerce in 1979. His list of civic involvement is almost too long to enumerate.

He was president of the Chamber of Commerce; chairman of Citizens for Better Government; president of the Exchange Club; president of the Hendrick Medical Center Foundation; campaign chairman for the United Way; and president of the West Central Texas Municipal Water District Board.

Evelyn Niblo said her husband received two plaques for his work with the United Way. One was similar to those given to every campaign chairman. The second, which still hangs in his office at his home, reads 'Hell of a Job.'

'It was tough raising money,' Evelyn Niblo said. 'He pulled it out of the fire for them.'

Syd Niblo also served on the boards of the Abilene Industrial Foundation, the West Texas Fair Association, the West Texas Rehabilitation Center, the Small Business Association Community Advisory Board and St. John's Episcopal School, in addition to boards dealing with business development and the American Heart Association.

In 1982, the Reporter-News named Niblo, who was 46 at the time, the fifth most influential Abilenian.

'Whatever he was asked to do, he was adamant about making sure the job was done right,' Evelyn Niblo said.

His family recalled him as a man of particularly good humor, especially when it involved the family's menagerie of pets.

Those pets included a raccoon that once suffered, shall we say, a serious issue involving its rear end during a party. Evelyn Niblo said her husband grabbed the critter and walked into the shower  still wearing his suit.

Another time, son Tom's boa constrictor got loose in the house while he was away at college. The snake wrapped itself around Syd Niblo, who was able to go to his son's room, shake off the snake, slam the door and demand that his son come back from Austin and pick it up by the next morning.

Then there was the time the Niblos' two peacocks flew up onto the neighbor's roof. Syd Niblo answered the neighbor's call with aplomb, his wife recalled.

'He said, 'That's OK. We won't charge you anything for it,'' Evelyn Niblo said.

In addition to his wife, Syd Niblo is survived by son Tom Niblo and his wife, Cheryl, of Abilene; daughter Ellouise Sweetser and her husband, Luke; and four grandchildren.

A service will begin at 11 a.m. Monday at Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St. Arrangements by The Hamil Family Funeral Home.
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Afghan officials say gunmen affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) extremist group have killed six police officers in the restive eastern Nangarhar Province, which borders Pakistan.

The insurgents reportedly attacked the administrative headquarters in Haska Mina district in the early hours of June 11.

Officials said 15 IS fighters were killed and seven wounded in the battle.

Nangarhar has long been plagued by insurgent groups.

In recent months, government troops backed by air strikes have claimed success against IS fighters, who are believed to be former Taliban members.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa


Afghanistan has welcomed Washingtons decision to give the U.S. military greater authority to help Afghan forces battle the Taliban.

Defense Ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri told the AFP news agency on June 11 that U.S. forces involvement will increase our capacity in operations on the ground.

Waziri said: We may not need more boots on the ground, but we need their advisors and we need them to equip our air force.

Shah Hussain Murtazawi, a presidential spokesman was quoted by the dpa news agency as saying on June 11 that Afghan forces indefinitely need air and ground support from our American ally, along with assistance on intelligence.

The White House says U.S. troops are not taking on a new mission in Afghanistan but rather will more proactively support Afghan government forces both in the air and on the ground.

Some 9,800 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan in an advisory and training capacity.

That number is set to drop to just 5,500 by the end of 2016 but the pace of that decline has yet to be decided.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, and AP
Russia continues to strike targets across Ukraine, causing damage and killing civilians, as its forces are preparing for battle in the strategic southern region of Kherson, Ukrainian officials and the military said.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, Russian protests, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said early on October 26 that more than 40 settlements were hit by Russian strikes during the previous day.



Russia used a combination of air strikes, rockets, and missiles to hit Ukrainian targets, the General Staff said in its morning report.



In the central city of Dnipro, at least two people, including a pregnant woman, were killed in the Russian bombardment, regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenlo said.

In the southern city of Kherson, Russian forces are digging in for the "heaviest of battles," said Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

A Ukrainian counteroffensive has driven Russian forces back in the region, where the provincial capital of Kherson has been in Russian hands since the early days of the invasion eight months ago.

"With Kherson, everything is clear. The Russians are replenishing, strengthening their grouping there," Arestovych said in an online video late on October 25.

Russia-installed authorities are evacuating residents to the east bank of the Dnieper River as Russian forces prepare to defend the city, he said.

"It means that nobody is preparing to withdraw. On the contrary, the heaviest of battles is going to take place for Kherson," he said.

Zelenskiy on October 25 reiterated a pledge to retake the city of Kherson, the loss of which would be a big setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Of the four Ukrainian provinces partially occupied by Russia that Putin proclaimed to have seized last month, Kherson is arguably the most strategically important.

It controls the only land route to the Crimea region that Russia illegally annexed in 2014 and the mouth of the Dnieper River that that bisects Ukraine.



Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden warned Russia on October 25 that the use of a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine would be an "incredibly serious mistake."

Moscow over the weekend claimed Ukraine is preparing to use a so-called dirty bomb on its own territory, drawing immediate dismissal from the United States and other countries that have backed Ukraine.

Kyiv and its allies suspect Russia might have made the claim to set up a "false flag" attack in which it would use a dirty bomb itself but would blame the attack on Ukraine and use it to justify the use of conventional nuclear weapons by Moscow.



"Let me just say Russia would be making an incredibly serious mistake were it to use a tactical nuclear weapon." Biden told reporters. "I cannot guarantee you that it is a false flag operation yet. We dont know. But it would be a serious mistake."

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu presented no evidence for the claim when he spoke on October 23 with his counterparts from several NATO countries, including Britain, France, and the United States, who dismissed the claim after the series of calls.

WATCH: Speaking to Current Time in Riga on October 22, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot change the course of war in Ukraine by dropping nuclear bombs.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on October 25 that Washington's refusal to take note of Russia's warning was "inappropriate given the seriousness of the threat we are talking about."

A dirty bomb would use a conventional warhead to create an explosion that would spread radioactive, biological, or chemical materials over an area.

Moscow took its accusations against Ukraine to the UN Security Council on October 25, and the country's UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said afterward that Russia was "satisfied because we raised the awareness."

Speaking to reporters, he added: "I don't mind people saying that Russia is crying wolf if this doesn't happen because this is a terrible, terrible disaster that threatens potentially the whole of the Earth."



The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said earlier on October 25 that it is preparing to send inspectors to two Ukrainian sites in the coming days in reaction to Ukraine's request for an inspection following Russia's claims.



Enerhoatom, Ukraines nuclear energy operator, issued a statement on October 24 voicing its concern that Russias statements may indicate that Russia is preparing an act of nuclear terrorism.

Russian troops have occupied Ukraines Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, since March. It is still run by Ukrainian engineers though Russia claimed after its illegal annexation of the Zaporizhzhya region that it is on Russian territory.

Enerhoatom said that Russian forces have carried out unauthorized, secret construction work over the last week at the plant in the area of the spent nuclear fuel storage facility.

Russian officers controlling the area wont give access to Ukrainian staff or monitors from the IAEA that would allow them to see what they are doing, the operator said.

Enerhoatom added that it assumes the Russians are preparing a terrorist act using nuclear materials and radioactive waste stored at the plant.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, BBC, and Reuters
Thousands rallied in the Serbian capital on June 11 in the latest in a series of protests against demolitions in a popular Belgrade area marked for a real estate project financed by the United Arab Emirates.



Protesters demanded that Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali resign and those behind the nighttime destruction of a block of houses in April be punished.



That demolition took place on April 24 in the arts and nightlife district of Savamala, where several buildings were demolished in the night by mysterious masked men.



Some protesters wore balaclavas to mock the demolitions, while banners read "Masks have fallen, when will the government?" or "Belgrade is our city."



Prime Minister-designate Aleksandar Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party dismissed the gathering as a "circus" organized by opposition parties.



The Belgrade mayor -- a close ally of Vucic -- has played a key role in in the $3-billion deal with UAE investors to build a Dubai-style business and residential complex in the run-down urban area by the Sava River.



Critics say the project in unsuitable for Belgrade and they also allege corruption.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP
As the extremist group Islamic State (IS) and its rival Al-Qaeda have captured pieces of Iraq, Syria, and other countries in the region, they have had to balance their global aims with the specific local concerns of the communities under their control. Al-Qaeda's latest attempt to do so shows that its leaders believe they can rally Syrians to their cause by appealing to a deadly, particularly Syrian form of sectarianism.

All Salafi jihadists reject the idea of al-qutariyyah, or Muslims' division into what they consider artificial states. This is part of why Islamic State has been so fixated on the destruction of state borders, like the one separating Iraq from Syria. But while IS has relentlessly suppressed local difference and impressed its supranational identity on its subjects, Al-Qaeda has proved more willing to accommodate local priorities. Unlike IS, which has deployed its conquered territories and peoples in the service of its own universal war, Al-Qaeda and its affiliates like Syria's Al-Nusra Front have sought to install themselves as the vanguard of Sunnis' existing national or regional armed struggles.

These organizations' goals are all, ultimately, global. Yet Al-Qaeda has advanced its aims by speaking the language of local conflict. Now, with the latest video address from supreme Al-Nusra Front religious official Sami al-Oreidi, we can hear an example of how Al-Qaeda argues for jihad in Syrian vernacular.

Oreidi's speech comes after Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri's May 8 audio message, titled Hasten To Syria, in which Zawahri emphasized the centrality of Syria within the global jihad.

Sami al-Oreidi's June 3 Ramadan video address, titled When The People Of Al-Sham [Syria] Have Been Corrupted, Then There Is No Good Left In You, is a sort of companion piece to Zawahri's message. But where Zawahiri directed a message about Syria's factional rebel politics to a narrow audience of militants and fellow-traveling Islamists, Oreidi seems to have made an appeal for jihad to Syria's Sunni public on Syrian terms.

Fueling Jihad

In the video, Oreidi situates Syria's war within an overarching struggle between truth and falsehood. Yet he argues for that war in terms of Syria's special religious significance, Syrian history and, in particular, Syria's specific sectarian resentments. It turns out that, when the Al-Nusra Front and Al-Qaeda want to tap into an indigenously Syrian sentiment to fuel their jihad, they look to toxic -- even genocidal -- sectarianism.

First, though, Oreidi opens by pointing to Syria's religious symbolism, citing instances in which the Prophet Muhammad attested to Syria's importance. The title of the video has itself been relayed from a saying of Muhammad. According to Oreidi, "God on high made the devotion of the people of Al-Sham, or their corruption, the measure of the state of the Islamic nation."

Oreidi recounts how Syria and Damascus were the center of the Umayyad Caliphate, a period he says was "akin to a historical miracle," and one that witnessed the spread of Islam and a flourishing of scholarly and economic life.

Syrians today are restoring that historical prestige, Oreidi says:

Here is Al-Sham today, shaking off the dust of humiliation and shame, and attempting to return to its glorious history -- after the Nuseiri sect [a derogatory term for Alawites, the sect to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs] first surrendered Muslims' land to the Jews and then seized the system of rule and power in Al-Sham  to begin a new stage in the struggle between the people of Truth and the people of Falsehood.

As a model, Oreidi holds out Marwan Hadid, who founded the militant Muslim Brotherhood splinter group the Fighting Vanguard and agitated for Sunni rebellion before dying in a Syrian prison in 1976. Hadid remains a symbol of Syrian Sunni militancy and, posthumously, has been adopted as one of the forefathers of jihadism. In Oreidi's telling, Hadid recognized the "Nuseiri" [Alawite] plot to wipe out Syria's Muslims. Thus, Oreidi relates:

He spoke the truth. He argued for the illegitimacy of the infidel's rule over Muslims and argued for jihad against this infidel regime, and he worked to spread the spirit of jihad in Muslims' hearts and those of his followers.

Much of the upper tier of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, bound together by intermarriage and kinship networks, hails from the Alawite sect, and Alawites have historically been represented heavily in the country's elite military and intelligence services. Over the course of the country's ongoing civil war, the regime has rallied support from the country's Alawite community -- as well as members of the country's other sects, including the Sunni majority -- to defend the Syrian state against what it has argued is the threat of oppressive Islamist theocracy and genocidal terror.

And the verdict on Syria's Alawites, Oreidi makes clear, is death.

Oreidi cites medieval Islamic jurist Imam al-Ghazali, who wrote, "Proceed with [the Alawites] as you would with apostates.... The land must be purged of them." He also quotes Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyyah, himself Syrian and among the formative influences on modern Salafism:

This people called the "Nuseiriyyah" [Alawites], along with all types of esoteric Qarmatians [a Muslim sect that fused elements of Shi'a Islam and Persian mysticism], are more infidels than the Jews and the Nasara [Christians]; more infidels, in fact, than many polytheists. Their harm to the nation of Muhammad, peace be upon him, is greater than the infidels waging war on it.

To conclude, Oreidi warns that the struggle ahead will be costly and divisive, but that this price must be paid to distinguish the righteous. Lastly, he calls for the Islamic country's scholars to speak the truth, as Ibn Taymiyyah once did.

Oreidi's call for the extermination of Syria's Alawites was the speech's most attention-grabbing element, but in many ways it was nothing new. The Al-Nusra Front has gained a reputation for "moderation" in large part thanks to the comparison with the hyperextreme, murderous Islamic State. Yet the Al-Nusra Front has set itself apart mostly with its comparatively reasonable treatment of fellow Sunni Muslims -- not heterodox Islamic sects like Shi'a or Alawites.

'Expect An Ugly Death'

Al-Nusra Front leader Abu Muhammad al-Jolani actually commented on Syria's Alawites in a May 2015 Al-Jazeera interview:

Even after all the massacres [the Alawites] have committed against us, our religion is one of mercy, and we're not criminals or murderers. We fight those who fight us, and we fight to stand up against oppression. Even the Alawites, if we clarify their mistakes to them and how they've left their religion [Islam], and they renounce [Alawism], lay down their arms, and wash their hands of the actions of Bashar al-Assad, then we would consider them safe. In fact, we would take responsibility for protecting and defending them.

Some mistakenly interpreted Jolani's remarks as newly tolerant or conciliatory, but implicit in what he said is that Alawites are apostates from Islam. The message was that if they do not repent and convert en masse to Al-Nusra's vision of Islam -- another sort of cleansing -- they can still expect an ugly death.

This sort of hostility to Alawites and other heterodox Muslim sects goes beyond jihadism, of course. Given Ibn Taymiyyah's foundational influence, it is arguably hardwired into Salafism, and it has resonance even among some who subscribe to less austere varieties of Sunni Islam.

But in Syria, anti-Alawite antipathy is also tangled up in decades of oppression by a regime dominated by a single, largely Alawite clique. When Jolani listed Sunni Syrians' grievances against Syria's Alawites, they were temporal, not theological: barrel bombs, torture, and rape.

Oreidi's latest address puts a scholarly sheen on the same sort of sectarian anger. Oreidi has attempted to build a bridge between Al-Qaeda and Syria's Sunni public. And between global jihad and Syrian concerns, he seems to have calculated that sectarian revanchism is the common ground.


Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti has called on the European Union to maintain sanctions on Russia, saying Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region was the Kremlin's "first experiment" with fueling separatist conflict.

Meeting with visiting Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka on June 10, Timofti said that, long before the Ukraine crisis, which provoked the sanctions on Russia, Moscow backed independence efforts in Transdniester, and it continues to hinder Moldova's efforts to integrate with the European Union.

"Russia's interest in preserving its influence in this zone is a serious obstacle on the way to Moldova's rapprochement with the European Union," and that is why U.S. and EU sanctions are needed and should stay in place, he said, according to a statement from his office.

Timofti said Russia has continued to support Transdniester's separatist efforts. The breakaway region declared independence from Moldova in 1990 but has not been widely recognized as a state.

Moreover, Russia appears to be behind attempts to spread a separatist policy elsewhere in the country even today, Timofti's press service quoted him as saying.

Timofti stressed the need to withdraw Russian soldiers and weapons from Transdniester in compliance with commitments made in a summit declaration by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 1999.

Based on reporting by TASS and Publika TV


KYIV -- Since her release from Russian captivity last month after nearly two years, Ukrainian airwoman Nadia Savchenko has called for talks with Russia-backed separatists about the war in eastern Ukraine and further prisoner exchanges.



And to the critics who have dismissed prospects of such talks as impossible, she has a message: Try a stint behind bars.



"I have spent two years in jail for nothing," Savchenko told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service in an interview. "Try to do the same. If you want to persuade people that you are right, try to spend time in jail."



Savchenko, 35, has raised hackles among some Ukrainian officials for saying she is willing to negotiate directly with separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine, where more than 9,300 have been killed since hostilities erupted in April 2014.



But after her experience on the frontline of the war, in Russian captivity, and visiting eastern Ukraine recently, she says such direct talks are crucial, as are conciliatory steps like an amnesty for locals who took up arms against Kyiv but did not commit serious crimes.



"If we can't make peace, then [the war] will last forever," she said. "And that has already become a burden for everyone. Everybody is fed up with that. People are tired. People want to live in peace."



 Russian court in March handed Savchenko a 22-year prison sentence after finding her guilty of involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists covering the conflict. She denies the charges and says she was abducted in June 2014 by separatists in eastern Ukraine and smuggled into Russia.



She was freed last month in a prisoner swap for two Russians alleged to be military intelligence officers who were convicted in Ukraine of fighting alongside the separatists.



Since returning to Ukraine following 708 days in Russian custody, Savchenko has been hailed as a hero.



She has since taken her seat in the Ukrainian parliament that she won while jailed in Russia in 2014 on the party list of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Fatherland Party.

So far, Savchenko has appeared intent on building on her political capital as an outsider in Ukraine's rough-and-tumble politics, which has long been plagued by rampant corruption and cronyism.



"Our politicians still behave as if they are kings as it used to be in the Soviet Union and as it is still in Russia," she said. "I want ordinary people to see me, and therefore I will continue traveling across the country, visiting villages."

WATCH: Savchenko On Meeting Ordinary People Across Ukraine





While lobbing broad criticism at her fellow lawmakers and government officials, Savchenko said that for the time being she will refrain from criticizing Tymoshenko and pro-Western President Petro Porosehnko, who was elected following the ouster of his predecessor, Kremlin ally Viktor Yanukovych.



"I think it is easy to criticize, standing on the Maidan," she said, referring to the Kyiv square where mass protests culminated in Yanukovych fleeing to Russia. "Now I am a politician myself. And I understand that it is not an easy job. But I will not criticize either Yulia Volodymyrovna [Tymoshenko], or Petro Poroshenko, before I am better than them."



Showered With Flowers, 'Pelted With Stones'



Savchenko took swipes at both military top brass and government officials while positioning herself as an ally to the soldiers in the trenches and civilians she says have been betrayed by those they elected.



"It seems to me that the generals and commanders I have met, before the war they felt very comfortable and immune from punishment in the corrupt system. Now they have started getting scared," she said.



Meanwhile, she said her brief time in parliament so far has convinced her that "up to 95 percent of this government is not of its people."



"People gave so much, and those who came to the government, they do not do anything," Savchenko said. "Who is controlling everything there, I still do not know."



A Gallup poll in December showed mounting mistrust among Ukrainians in the country's political leadership, with Poroshenko's popularity (17 percent) slipping below that of Yanukovych's before he fled in February 2014.



A government shake-up in April landed Poroshenko ally Volodymyr Hroysman in the prime minister's seat with urgent calls in Ukraine and the West for speedy progress on financial and political reforms, including the fight against corruption.

WATCH: Savchenko Calls For "Fair And Transparent Elections'





Savchenko is now calling for early parliamentary elections to reinvigorate the country's politics. She says the government has failed to make good on its promises to the electorate following the overthrow of Yanukovych. But she says she is not planning a revolution.



"Everyone expected that Savchenko will come with a saber in her hand and bring people to the streets for the third Maidan," she said, alluding to the 2004 Orange Revolution that also brought thousands to the streets of Kyiv.

"No, I will not do that," Savchenko added. "I do not have that level of trust from people. I will not be able to persuade people, to control them. And to just drown Ukraine in blood again and start slicing it in pieces -- that is a bad option."



She said that just as she "did not exclude that I would be showered with flowers" upon her return to Ukraine, she concedes she may face a political backlash.



"Now I do not exclude that I might be pelted with stones," she said.



'Good Neighbors'



Given the Kremlin's military seizure and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in March 2014 and the ensuing war in the east, Russia and Ukraine "will never be brotherly nations like before," Savchenko said.



But she voiced optimism that the two countries could become "good neighbors" given the numerous families of both Russian and Ukrainian heritage who live on both sides of the border.



"I think it is possible," Savchenko said. "I think it will be more possible when the leaders are changed. One leader cannot run the country for life. hat is not correct. I think fresh blood must come and reset, and that will be in Russia."



She warned that it will become increasingly difficult to "deal with Russia" the longer President Vladimir Putin's grip on power remains tight, and she accused him of suffering from growing political "senility."



But, Savchenko said, there are "people" and "movements" capable of changing political winds in Russia.



"It is very hard for them there because of the heavy pressure. But I think in the future it will be possible," she said.

Written by Carl Schreck based on an interview with RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service; translated by Merhat Sharipzhan
The Ukrainian lawyer for former Russian prisoner Yevgeny Yerofeyev has filed a libel lawsuit against Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Ukraine's chief military prosecutor Anatoliy Matios.

The suit filed by attorney Oksana Sokolovska on June 10 demands that Poroshenko retract an allegedly false claim that she dragged out the procedure of setting her client Yerofeyev free to delay a prisoner swap of Yerofeyev and another Russian prisoner, Aleksandr Aleksandrov, for Ukrainian military aviator Nadia Savchenko, who was imprisoned in Russia.

The suit says Poroshenko made that statement at a news conference on June 3. The prisoner exchange occurred on May 25.



Sokolovska said the claim has been detrimental to her business reputation and dignity. She is demanding that Poroshenko call a news conference to withdraw the claim.

The lawsuit also demands retraction of a televised statement by Matios charging that the lawyer had coordinated her actions with Russia's State Security Service, the FSB.

It demands information about any unauthorized investigations of her by Ukrainian authorities as well as $4,000 in compensation for "moral damage."

Matios told Ukrainian Channel 5 that he is prepared to prove the lawsuit is groundless.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax


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Castrate Brock Turner!

And ditto for the California judge who dished the rich, white college student a cushy six-month sentence in the now-notorious Stanford rape case.

Social media  and, therefore, traditional media  have boiled over in this seemingly outrageous case of white privilege, cronyism surrounding one of the worlds most prestigious institutions, and wrist-slapping in the midst of an epidemic of campus sexual assaults.

There are a million or so signatures on the online petition to jerk Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky from the bench, after he sentenced the 20-year-old star swimmer to just six months for last years disgusting sexual assault of a passed-out woman after a frat party.

You probably know the details. Two grad student heroes, Carl-Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson, nabbed Turner while he was assaulting a students 23-year-old sister behind a dumpster.

Turner, who was booted immediately from Stanford, initially was charged with rape, but that charge was dropped because his acts did not meet that standard under California law.

Testimony concisely reported by the Stanford Daily showed Turner was intoxicated  twice the legal limit  and his victim, whose blood-alcohol level was three times the limit, had blacked out. Medics had to painfully pinch her fingernails to get her to respond.

She had no idea what happened to her.

The defense argued she had consented, and there was no one to deny it.

The jury of four women and eight men deliberated two days before convicting Turner of sexually assaulting an unconscious and intoxicated person.

Presentencing statements made by Turner, his father and some of his friends are infuriating and seem to excuse his behavior and blame the victim.

Persky fanned the flames by saying during the sentencing, A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.

He also said he had to ask himself, Is incarceration in prison the right answer for the poisoning of (the victims) life?

Turner also will be a registered violent sex offender for life.

Comparisons with other cases certainly make it easy to scream white privilege.

In April, former Vanderbilt University football standout Cory Batey, who is African-American, was convicted of aggravated rape in a similar case. He faces 15 to 25 years in prison.

A big difference: Videos and photos show him carrying the victim into a dorm room, where he and his friends allegedly raped her.

Yes, this Brock Turner case certainly is maddening, but here a few pertinent details:

Persky initially was appointed to the bench in 2003 by then-Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat and fellow Stanford alum. He is known to be a fair judge, standing up for victims of hate crimes and sexual assault.

Santa Clara deputy public defender Gary Goodman told The Associated Press that Perskys sentencing in the case was the right decision. He is an absolutely solid and respected judge, Goodman said.

A presentencing report  required in these cases  scored Turners threat history and future risk for reoffending as low.

Nationally known Richmond attorney Steve Benjamin said, It is difficult, if not impossible, to second-guess situations like this. We dont have all the information available to the sentencing judge.

But I know these modern times call for Turners and Perskys heads.

Even Vice President Joe Biden penned a passionate summary of his outrage and sympathy for the victim.

I know my words cant ease this fury. We should be outraged.

I write this column because I dont want it to happen again.

If you read the testimony, there were so many places it could have been avoided.

Where were the men of that fraternity making sure their guests were safe? (The victims sister had helped take another intoxicated woman home, according to testimony.)

And why so little mention of a bedrock problem  people drinking or opiating themselves into oblivion without backup?

In 2014, we watched the surveillance video of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham staggering around Charlottesville alone before being targeted by serial killer Jesse Matthew.

I see it here in Richmond, young women staggering out of bars at closing time, alone, walking down dark streets.

Its heartbreaking and scary.

Some of my colleagues get angry with me when I talk about this.

Do you feel the same way when you see a man walk out drunk? one co-worker asked.

No. I know some men get raped and murdered, but usually its a woman who is victimized. And, usually, the perp is a man.

Weve seen the numbers  the epidemic of campus sexual assault.

And we see the photos of the victimizers: nearly all men.

Friends, Ive said this again and again: Testosterone is the most dangerous substance on earth.

The vast majority of sex crimes, from rape to pedophilia, are committed by males.

You parents out there probably worry a little about some crazy, lonely woman stealing your child because she doesnt have one.

But your real fear is a male predator, right?

I know theres a growing conventional wisdom that men and women are the same, that we just need to train our boys better not to take advantage of anyone, under any circumstances.

And the latter is certainly true.

But boys and girls are not the same. Its why there have been separate bathrooms, why there have been dress codes.

Despite our best intentions, there are scary monsters among us of all types. Some are just plain predators, and others can turn into one.

Its up to all of us to be on the alert, to look out for one another like those two wonderful Stanford grad students, to make sure were not so passed out and alone that were an easy mark and cant help the predator get the sentence he deserves.

Go ahead, shout for the heads of this rich, white punk and his judge.

But thats not going to stop the next one.
A Petersburg drug dealer has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for fatally shooting a Chesterfield County couple inside their hotel room during a crack cocaine deal that went horribly awry.

Marcus D. Harmon, 25, gunned down William Billy Thurston III, 39, and his girlfriend, Kimberly Eledge, 35, during an apparent dispute over money for drugs inside the couples Loyalty Inn hotel room at 25 South Crater Road in Petersburg. After the killings, Harmon  a felon with a record of drug and larceny convictions  left a trail of boot prints with the couples blood leading from their room to a sidewalk outside, according to trial testimony.

Harmon was convicted during a two-day jury trial in March that featured testimony from several inmates who said Harmon admitted to the April 3, 2015, killings while he was locked up with them at Riverside Regional Jail. When the defense questioned their sincerity  claiming they were seeking special treatment in exchange for their testimony  the inmates said their only motivation was justice for the slain.

Im hoping that justice is served and he gets some time for what he did, inmate Michael Walker, serving 36 years for robbery and gun charges, testified in March. It was a hideous act. People got murdered for no reason.

Inmate Marquis Cook, serving a 25-year sentence, expressed similar sentiments:

I felt that when he had told me the situation, that I felt bad for the victims, Cook said. I see the type of guy (Harmon) is in the (jail) pod, destroying people, using his (murder) charge as an influence to rob people and all that. I mean, this is a bad guy. He killed people for petty reasons, and I felt it wasnt right, and I felt like I needed to report it.

Testifying in his own defense, Harmon admitted shooting both victims but indicated it was in self-defense after Thurston cut him on the throat with a knife and Eledge jumped on his back during a struggle inside the hotel room.

I did not aim, Harmon testified, according to a transcript of the trial. I just picked that gun up and just started shooting. I didnt aim at nobody.

Thurston, who was employed by Sookum Contract Services at Fort Lee, was shot once in the face at point-blank range. Eledge, his girlfriend of two years, was shot six times, mostly in the head. Harmon acknowledged under cross-examination that he continued to shoot Eledge after she went down.

A Petersburg Circuit Court jury found Harmon guilty of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter in the two killings  reduced from two counts of first-degree murder  along with an accompanying firearm charge. The panel recommended a prison term of 33 years.

A judge on Thursday imposed the full sentence.

Harmon testified that Thurston and Eledge called him regularly for drugs and that the majority of time theyd be at a hotel room.

James Tucker, a co-worker of Thurstons, testified that neither Thurston or Eledge had vehicles, so he dropped the couple off at the Loyalty Inn after he and Thurston got off work on the afternoon of April 3. Along the way, they stopped at an ABC store and a 7-Eleven for food and drink.

They would do that, you know, sometimes on the weekends, Tucker said of the couple, adding he was unaware they used crack cocaine.

A motel surveillance video showed a man who Harmon later acknowledged was him arrive twice in a Nissan Maxima  once at just after 10 p.m. and again well after 11. The killings were reported to police about 11:30.

Inmates testifying for the prosecution told somewhat similar stories about what led to the shootings, based on what they said Harmon told them in jail.

Cook testified the dispute stemmed from the couple owing Harmon money for drugs and that he had given them credit for a transaction earlier in the day. Cook said the couple called Harmon later that night, saying they had the money they owed and wanted to buy more drugs.

But when Harmon arrived, the couple apparently did not have all the money, triggering a dispute, Cook testified. Harmon pulled out his gun, causing Thurston to jump in front of Eledge to shield her. Harmon then began beating Thurston, and Eledge jumped on Harmon to help her boyfriend. It was then, Cook said Harmon told him, that Thurston cut him on the neck.

During the ensuing struggle, Harmon grabbed his gun and shot Thurston, then Eledge.

Harmon claimed he grabbed Thurstons knife before fleeing. About a month after the killings, Harmons family gave police a knife that Harmon asserted was the knife used to stab him. A DNA test on the knife produced inconclusive results. A photo of Harmon taken after his April 5 arrest showed what appeared to be a small cut on his neck  a wound Harmons brother described in testimony as a gash requiring hospital treatment.

Harmon claimed to have sold the 9 mm pistol used in the killings.

Two inmates testifying against Harmon said his self-defense story was essentially a ruse.

He indicated to me that he was going to beat the case because he was going to make up a self-defense story stating that the dude had cut him across the neck or whatever, Cook testified. They didnt have no evidence on him.
ROCKY MOUNT - A Rocky Mount man who sparked a brief standoff last summer after informing police of a break-in he was committing pleaded guilty this week to drug possession, assaulting a law enforcement officer and maliciously wounding a police dog.

Justin Wayne Hodges, 28, entered his pleas Monday in Franklin County Circuit Court and is due to be sentenced Aug. 24.

Commonwealth's Attorney A.J. Dudley said at the plea hearing that on Aug. 5, Hodges phoned 911 and told a dispatcher he'd broken into a home but did not know his whereabouts.

"He was speaking somewhat erratically," Dudley said. "He said there was no way he was coming out of that house alive and if law enforcement entered, they would get hurt."

He said the dispatcher remained on the phone with Hodges for over an hour and 20 minutes and urged him to come out of the house. As they talked, investigators traced Hodge's location to a home in the 400 block of Old Carolina Road in Rocky Mount.

It remains unclear whether he had a connection to that residence or why he broke in.

Officers arrived at the home and warned Hodges three times to come out, Dudley said. When they finally went in after him, they found him on a bed, talking on the phone, but he jumped up and attacked Franklin County Sheriff's Sgt. Terry Dameron.

Hodges told them, "You have a gun. Shoot me," Dudley said in court. At that point Dameron's police dog, Rex, entered the fray. Dudley said Hodges grabbed Rex by the collar and proceeded to shake him and kick him in the ribs and face before he could be overtaken and arrested.

The drug charge against Hodges stemmed from a pipe found on him that later tested positive for methamphetamine.

Rex, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, required treatment for his injuries but recovered.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump brought his campaign to Richmond on Friday night, and ripped Gov. Terry McAuliffes order restoring the rights of more than 200,000 felons who have served their time.

Weve got to win this state of Virginia, Trump said early in his remarks at the Richmond Coliseum.

This whole thing with the prisoners (is) not sounding too good, right? Where murderers can vote and all these people can vote, I dont think so, he said.  I dont know; doesnt sound good.

Hopefully the court will act quickly  200,000 people and many of these people, look, its not supposed to be the way it works, folks.

GOP leaders in the state legislature have filed suit in the state Supreme Court to block the Democratic governors order, which they say exceeds his authority under the state constitution.

Republicans also charge that McAuliffes motive is to speed registration of thousands of new voters to help his friend, Hillary Clinton, win Virginia in November. McAuliffe says his action was not politically motivated and that it was the right thing to do.

Trump and Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, are stepping up their efforts in Virginia, one of a handful of swing states that are likely to determine the outcome of the Nov. 8 election.

Trump is embarking on a week of visits to swing states, including Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Clintons Virginia campaign terms this her Virginia Kickoff Weekend, with phone banks and voter registration events in Richmond, Alexandria, Norfolk, Staunton, Fredericksburg, Blacksburg and Winchester.

We love you, Richmond, and we love you, Virginia, said Trump, who touted his Trump Winery in Albemarle County and his golf course in Loudoun County.

Over the next five months, Im going to be here a lot, Trump said.

Youre going to be so sick of me in Virginia. Youre going to say, Please dont come back. Please dont come back, he said.

During his stump speech, Trump derided President Barack Obama as incompetent, termed Clinton crooked, and called Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Pocahontas. Warren has said she has Native American heritage.

Trump said he would love it if Clinton chose Warren as her running mate, calling Warren one of the worst senators in the entire United States.

Trumps rally at the Coliseum was his third stop in Virginia on Friday.

He first met with key members of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., at the Williamsburg Inn, then held a fundraiser at the Richmond International Airport for high-dollar donors, who put up $25,000 per couple, $10,000 per photo or $2,700 to be at the VIP Roundtable for access to the reality TV celebrity and billionaire.

At the Richmond Coliseum, Trump supporters toted signs that read: The Silent Majority Stands with Trump  though some would-be supporters may have been distracted by a weekend trip to the beach, high school graduations or the Tim McGraw concert at Altria Theater.

Security was heavy, with Richmond Police, State Police and the U.S. Secret Service congregated at every curve of the Coliseum, inside and out.

Obama, who endorsed Clinton this week, carried Virginia in 2008 and in 2012. Clinton has the backing of the states top-tier Democrats, including McAuliffe, who led Clintons 2008 bid for the Democratic nomination; and Sens. Timothy M. Kaine and Mark R. Warner, both touted as potential running mates for Clinton.

At the Coliseum on Friday, Trump picked up the endorsement of state Sen. Richard H. Black, R-Loudoun, who had been a key backer of Sen. Ted Cruzs Virginia campaign.

The rally drew vocal but limited numbers that occupied about two-thirds of the floor in the Coliseum and left a number of seating sections on the lower level unoccupied.

Black, a Vietnam veteran, met in April with Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom Black sees as a protector of minority Christians.

Black said Friday that if Clinton, a former secretary of state, were elected, she would stack the U.S. Supreme Court with Marxists like youve never seen before.

Corey Stewart, a Prince William County supervisor who heads Trumps Virginia campaign and is seeking the GOP nomination for governor in 2017, made reference to the private email scandal that has dogged Clinton.

No one is more qualified to go to prison, said Stewart, referring to Obamas endorsement of Clinton as the most qualified candidate to run for the White House.

Many high-profile Republicans have recently criticized Trump for arguing that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel has a conflict of interest in presiding over cases against Trump University because of his Mexican heritage. The judge was born in Indiana.

At the Richmond rally Friday night, Trump said he is the least racist person that youve ever seen.

Before Trumps event, a handful of Richmond-area Democrats held a brief rally of their own outside the Coliseum, where they denounced Trump as misogynistic and a threat to womens health due to his views against abortion.

Donald Trump has consistently diminished the role, the authority, the intellect, the character of women, said Del. Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond.

A group of Democratic protesters stood behind a fence and chanted as Trump fans walked toward the arena. The group held signs reading Trumps agenda: Punish women.

For the health and safety of all Virginia women, we must repudiate Mr. Trump and the Virginia GOPs dangerous views, said Del. Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond.

Trump has said that without the womens card, Hillary would not be a viable person to even run a city council, said Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, who is running for Congress in the 4th District.

Dismissing the most qualified candidate in history because she is a woman may be outlandish for everyone else, but not for Donald Trump.

Trump stayed for 20 minutes after speaking, signing autographs on Make America Great Again hats and Trump campaign signs.

I think hes the man for the country said Chesterfield resident John Gunsolley, 42, an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention from the 7th District, who was among the hundreds hoping to press flesh with the candidate.

We need a change in Washington, and Hillary doesnt provide that.

Nicole OKeefe and her family came away with a Trump autograph, and confidence that Trump, in her estimation, means what he says.

He really wants to make America great again  he really does, she said. He says what middle-class America is totally feeling, about politicians, Washington. You just cant trust them.

Not everyone in attendance was persuaded Trump will get the chance to make America great again.

He spent too much time attacking other people rather than saying his vision, said Stephanie Jarrett, 22, who came from Fairfax County with two girlfriends to see Trump.

Jarrett, a Republican who previously supported Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said she was disappointed in the size of the crowd. She said that once supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., unite behind Clinton, the turnout for Democrats will carry them to victory.

He wont win, Jarrett said of Trump. But hes my candidate, and he attracts so much attention its just exciting, she observed, a 70s rock blared in the emptying Coliseum. Its a Trump epidemic.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will campaign in Hampton Roads on June 21 as part of a two-day swing-state trip that also will take her to North Carolina and Ohio.

No details have been released about the site of the event a week from Tuesday.

The Clinton campaign said the former secretary of state will discuss her vision of an America that is stronger when it is united, and lay out what is at stake in November.

Clintons planned campaign stop and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trumps Richmond rally on Friday night underscore that Virginia again will be a key battleground in the presidential election.

Trump said in Richmond on Friday night that weve got to win this state of Virginia and that he plans many more campaign appearances in the state before the Nov. 8 election.

Clinton headlined get-out-the-vote rallies in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads a day before the March 1 Super Tuesday primary. Former President Bill Clinton attended a similar rally in February at the Hippodrome Theater in Jackson Ward.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Coal ash ponds at Dominion Virginia Power stations in Bremo Bluff and Chesterfield are among 21 facilities in five states leaching contaminants into surrounding water, in some cases in excess of federal standards for drinking water and aquatic life, according to a report by Duke University scientists published Friday in a scientific journal.

The magnitude is different for various reasons, but the evidence for leaking was everywhere, said Avner Vengosh, a professor of geochemistry and water quality at the Dukes Nicholas School of the Environment.

Vengoshs team took 39 samples from surface water and seeps from berms ringing the unlined ponds at seven sites in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia. The scientists also examined water chemistry data that had been compiled by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality from 156 shallow groundwater monitoring wells near coal-ash ponds at 14 power stations in that state.

The work used forensic tracers, distinctive isotope ranges of boron and strontium, two elements found in coal ash effluent, a technique that Vengosh says enables scientists to distinguish between boron and strontium from other natural sources and the particular isotopes unique to coal ash.

At sites in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia, the high concentrations of boron and strontium and the distinctive isotope variations found were strong evidence for the discharge of coal ash pond water to local surface water the report says.

The peer-reviewed study, published by Environmental Science and Technology, a publication of the American Chemical Society, was paid for by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which has been waging legal battles against coal ash facilities in North Carolina and Virginia and pressing state agencies for more protective closure requirements.

The team did not test groundwater in Virginia as part of the study and Vengosh said the researchers did not ask for access to Dominions property or the network of monitoring wells installed near the ash ponds. A Dominion spokesman, Robert Richardson, said the company would review the study.

Barry Sulkin, an environmental scientist and co-author of the study, said that while in most cases coal ash facilities are legally permitted to discharge to surrounding waterways through regulated outfalls, where contaminants are generally required to meet certain limitations, the teams findings shows the ponds are also leaking in other, unpermitted ways.

For both Virginia sites, the James River upstream of the facilities was used to set background levels for concentrations of a range of substances, from boron and strontium to arsenic, chromium, iron, lead, selenium, vanadium and zinc, among others.

At Bremo, samples were taken from Holman Creek, a leak from the ash pond wall that was running toward the river and the river itself downstream of the power plant, Vengosh said. One test, for example, showed arsenic at a concentration of 45.4 parts per billion, more than 45 times background levels and 4.5 times the federal Environmental Protection Agency drinking water maximum contaminant level of 10 parts per billion. Another test showed arsenic at 10.7 parts per billion.

At Chesterfield, boron was eight times background levels in one sample and more than four times higher in another. Arsenic was 17.4 parts per billion in one sample, 17 times the background level and well above the federal maximum contaminant level. One test also found a concentration of selenium, a metal that can be toxic in certain concentrations, above the EPAs National Recommended Water Quality Criteria for Aquatic Life, which the agency says is the highest concentration of specific pollutants or parameters in water that are not expected to pose a significant risk to the majority of species in a given environment.

In both sets of tests, though not in every instance, concentrations of other metals, such as iron, vanadium, zinc and manganese, registered many times background limits. Others, like chromium and lead, were barely above background testing levels, if they showed up at all.

Pursuant to new federal regulations on coal ash facilities that came in the wake of major spills in Tennessee and North Carolina, Dominion and Appalachian Power are currently in the process of closing ash ponds at six facilities across Virginia, though some environmental groups and lawmakers have said the plans dont go far enough to protect water sources .

Vengosh said his team is also examining water from wells near coal ash site in North Carolina and would consider well testing in Virginia depending on funding availability.

The networks of monitoring wells at coal ash sites have identified localized impacts on station property, but no impacts have been identified offsite, said Richardson, the Dominion spokesman.

Those monitoring networks will be expanded under the permit process for capping the existing ash ponds, and sampling will be conducted for at least 30 years, he added.

Only two coal-ash facilities in Virginia, Dominions Chesapeake Energy Center and Appalachians Clinch River plant, are currently subject to surface water monitoring, said Ann Regn, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Both are subject to additional testing because of unique permit requirements.

Each of the facilities is different as to what is being discharged, she said.

The operator is usually responsible for conducting the sampling and reporting to DEQ, which conducts broader evaluations of water quality across the state.

She said the department would examine the Duke report. All we can say is its interesting, theres a lot of information to look at, Regn said.

The DEQ considers its existing standards and regulations adequate, though Regn added that how the ash is managed is subject to the legislative process and noted that the EPA declined to classify it as a hazardous waste in its landmark 2014 coal ash rule.

We havent seen any evidence of harm to the environment, she said. Were pretty confident that how weve been handling it all these years has been appropriate.

Jamie Brunkow, the James River Associations Lower James riverkeeper, said the Duke results confirm longstanding suspicions about the unlined pits that comprise the vast majority of coal-ash storage sites. With most of Virginias facilities currently planned to be capped in place, he hoped the Duke results will inform the upcoming debate on permits DEQ is considering for Chesterfield, Chesapeake, Clinch River and elsewhere.
An effort to ease traffic congestion caused by The Lockn Music Festival is in the early stages.

Virginia Department of Transportation contractor Kimley Horn is performing a study under an on-call contract with VDOT. Kimley Horn received the go-ahead last month for the study requested by Nelson County and festival organizers, according to VDOT Lynchburg District Planning Manager Rick Youngblood.

Youngblood expects to have the first project meeting with Kimley Horn in the next month.

Its always been recognized that 29 can only do so much, that the secondary roads can only do so much, Youngblood said, referring to the four-day event that draws tens of thousands of people to a county of 15,000.

Snarling traffic on U.S. 29 ahead of the inaugural Lockn in 2013 lead to a new management plan in- and outside the site. Weather and its ripping winds cut off the first day of the festival last year, negating preparations that counted on festival goers coming in over the course of two days.

The only entrances into Oak Ridge other than U.S. 29 are secondary roads, Youngblood said.

The main focus of the study is on U.S. 29/Thomas Nelson Highway. On the opening morning of the festival, traffic can back up for miles. The study also will look at the secondary roads and intersections around Oak Ridge Estate in Arrington, the main Lockn festival grounds, and Nelson County Preserve next door, which was purchased by festival organizers.

While Lockn hit its peak at 34,000 visitors in 2014 and dropped to 25,000 people last year, the study will examine events ranging from 25,000 people to 75,000 people.

Lockn co-founder Dave Frey said 50,000 is about the maximum number hed want to see for an imbedded camping event, such as Lockn, but he could see much larger one-day shows for noteworthy acts. The field at Oak Ridge can reasonably hold 135,000 people, he said.

The study is meant to address not only the traffic for festival goers and residents, but also for people who pass through the county on U.S. 29. The road is designated as a road of statewide significance, meaning it is used by travelers, commuters and haulers to get through Virginia.

Youngblood also expects the study to look into the festivals impact on roads and other state infrastructure.

Lockns visitors and those who come for other events such as The Festy Experience are part of a broader Nelson County tourism plan that includes the line of craft alcohol makers on Virginia 151 nearby. VDOT released a study of that corridor in 2013, which has influenced state money for improvements.

It is very important that not just the visitors have a great experience arriving and departing, but that our residents and businesses have the same experience during what is a very, very busy four days, Nelson County Economic Development and Tourism Director Maureen Kelley said.
A mild political protest outside the Richmond Coliseum turned confrontational on Friday night as presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump addressed a rally of supporters in the partly filled arena.

Punches were reportedly thrown at police as a group of more than 100 protesters arrived at the Coliseum after marching from a rally in Monroe Park.

Police said five people were detained and one of them was charged with disorderly conduct outside the Coliseum, where hostility arose at about 9 p.m. between what appeared to be Trump supporters and Trump protesters while the candidate spoke inside. Punches were thrown as protesters started scuffling with police, who brought out riot shields.

At least two men were taken aside by police. One man was handcuffed and left over a fence on a side where protesters were gathered. Police set up the fence to separate protesters from Trump supporters, but one apparent Trump supporter made his way to the protesters side, engaging in a shouting match with them until police pulled him away.

Earlier, Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said the protest was so peaceful in Festival Park across from the Coliseum, Its not even a protest.

But Durham said police were ready for the marchers, whose progress was marked by a police aircraft making a wide circle over downtown Richmond.

Well be prepared for whatever they present to us, the chief said at about 8 p.m., the scheduled start of the Trump rally.

Protesters in Monroe Park said they also were prepared for confrontation with police  as leaders advised participants to carry two bottles of water, one to drink and the other to flush pepper spray out of their eyes.

No Trump. No KKK. No fascist USA. (Expletive) Trump! the group chanted as they began a march that blocked part of northbound Belvidere Street. Others chanted, Black lives matter!

Police had vowed not to allow violent confrontations between protesters and Trump supporters like those that occurred a week earlier after a Trump rally in San Jose, Calif.

We dont want to be a story, Durham told reporters Thursday. We refuse to let anybody come here and tear our city up.

At least three volunteer legal observers for the American Civil Liberties Union at Monroe Park were on hand to ensure peoples rights were not violated.

One volunteer said the crew would record interactions between residents and police, as well as any interactions in which someones rights potentially are being violated.

As Corey Stewart, Trumps Virginia chairman and a Republican candidate for governor, arrived at the arena, he said he expected a peaceful evening, unlike the chaos that has erupted outside Trump rallies elsewhere.

Theres just a different level of civility here in Virginia, Stewart said.

Among the police precautions was a policy of keeping the plaza around the Coliseum clear of anyone who wasnt entering the arena for the rally or gathering in Festival Park to protest. Durham said he created the public safety zone on advice from law enforcement officials in California. Unless you go in, you dont need to be hanging around in case something happens, he said.

Initially, at least, the protests sounded like a pep rally, with a group chanting Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has to go, as the candidates supporters walked up the center steps to the Coliseum entrance. One group offered white roses and signs of peace  Build Kindness, Not Walls.

Jason Aldrich, 32, of Richmond used a Trump Bucket to pick up cigarettes and other trash for more than an hour.

I figured theres enough hate going on now. This is where Im putting my hate. It gets something done, Aldrich said.
Charles Faulconer just celebrated his 90th birthday, but he still remembers being wounded and rescued on the front lines of World War II at 18 years old.

It was near the end of the Battle of the Bulge, the largest battle fought on the western front during WWII, in February 1945.

I wasnt but 18. I said, nothing can happen to me,  Faulconer said. Laying there I didnt think I was going to die or anything.

He remembers drifting in and out of consciousness as the wounded and German prisoners alike were taken by boat to Wallendorf, a town on the Luxembourg-German line.

I thought I was captured. They were talking this foreign language but they didnt have battle gear on, but I didnt understand exactly what they were doing, Faulconer said.

They were taking the German soldiers, as well as the patients, across [the river] and when I saw the Red Cross on the ambulance knew that I wasnt captured.

His wartime service recently was recognized with a French Legion of Honor medal, the highest decoration bestowed in France. Established in the early 1800s by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Legion of Honors distinction is comparable to that of the U.S. Medal of Honor.

Faulconer was one of four men honored with the distinction during a ceremony in Roanoke last weekend.

Back at home, proudly holding the medal by its red ribbon, Faulconer shared his story in front of a wall displaying his other medals. A deep picture frame holds, among others, a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Faulconer said his new medal will have its own frame.

Faulconer arrived in France in January 1945 and remembers it was so cold and snowy that frostbitten feet were common.

It was early February when he occupied his post near Wallendorf. A warm spell was just starting to melt the knee-deep snow, he said.

He pulled a color aerial map from a manila folder and traced the spots around Wallendorf he remembered  his foxhole on a hill across the Our River from the town, the river and where two bridges used to span it.

On Feb. 7, I dug into a foxhole and then [the Germans] made the invasion at two oclock in the morning; they just shelled this town, Faulconer said. It was about 45 minutes; it was just like daylight.

He remembered being on the front line and hearing the Germans screaming mimis, shells that dont do a whole lot of damage but make a lot of noise.

You think youre going to get hit by them, Faulconer said.  The artillery practically just tore that town down and we went in and captured the Germans. Not too many were in there, a whole bunch of them got killed.

After they captured the town and got back to the top of the hill near Wallendorf, Faulconer was hit by artillery shrapnel. It was the night of Feb. 8; he said he wasnt found until the next morning.

He was taken and treated in the 100th Hospital in Bar-Le-Duc, a French hospital.

He had been hit in nine places, had a broken left ankle, a damaged right kneecap and shrapnel in the middle of his leg and both tendons in his feet.

He was flown to Paris, then London. He stayed in a London hospital until going back to the United States on June 10. Back in the states, he remained hospitalized until V-J Day, the end of the war with Japan.

After another hospital stay, Faulconer was transferred to Fort Oglethorpe in northern Georgia, where he was put on light duty. His responsibilities at the time were an hour to an hour and a half of morning reports.

Faulconer remembered with a laugh one morning he received a phone call saying everyone was to line up in the morning to take exercise.

I said, you mean me? Faulconer said. He said, yes, I mean everybody.

After marching for about a mile and a half, Faulconer said he heard his name over the loudspeaker and was taken by Jeep back to the hospital. Shortly after, he received a disability discharge.

I was a little disappointed that they discharged me because I was disabled, Faulconer said. I knew I wasnt able to go back on my job.

Stateside, he eventually went to Virginia Commercial College, a business school in Lynchburg, under the GI Bill, then worked in a store before taking a job as postmaster for 26 years. He retired from the postal service at age 52.

Faulconer and his wife, Louise, have been married 65 years this month. They are natives of Monroe and knew one another before he went to war.

He didnt talk about it for many years, she said.

I saw other guys that didnt talk and I knew theyd been and why would I bring up something? Charles Faulconer said.

I really didnt have anything to brag about.
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Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

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Early this week, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, made what sounded like a pretty charming pledge he obviously knew everyone would want to hear.

It was in connection with that evil called government-spawned-and-nurtured corruption that everyone has been protesting loudly about, over the years.

And now that its got to the point where hes just sick to death of hearing it everywhere he goes, this time hes made up his mind hed put an end to this madness once and for all.

Besides, now that hes obviously made his mark indelibly clear in his country having been its Prime Minister for sixteen years, wouldnt this be the right time also for lousy corruption to be eliminated completely from Samoas public service?

And then the United Nations Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (U.N.-P.R.A.C.) Project turned up last week with the idea of helping to achieve just that, and today Tuilaepa is delighted.

Tasked with the job of organizing an Integrity Workshop for Senior Government Officials from around the Pacific, they were directed to:

(Improve) the understanding of participants about the U.N. Convention Against Corruption, overviewing the existing integrity mechanisms and also stimulating the adoption of measures aimed at delivering public services more efficiently.

The story is that Samoas Public Service Commission and more than 30 senior government officials from the Samoa government, took part in the workshop.

And then the time for Tuilaepa to speak came, and like its always been at a time like this one, he was in his element. He spoke in Samoan and his prepared statement was in English. The English version was delivered to this newspaper.

In the English version, he wrote: Each and every Samoan has every right to expect their elected leaders and public servants to remain ethical and honest, in return for paying their taxes.

They place their trust on you as the public sector to make the right decisions that will not in any way harm their livelihoods.

He went on to urge public servants to place emphasis on their responsibility to achieve an honest, ethical and trustworthy public sector, adding that there is nothing more valuable than the principles of honesty and integrity.

Tuilaepa also reminded that the price of dishonest and unethical behavior is paid (for) by the average citizen. Because every cent you misuse and misappropriate contributes to a bigger problem, which ultimately affects the life of the ordinary person.

He added: Less money trickles down to the village school that is in need of more books or teachers; or to our public hospital that needs more doctors and resources; or to improve the quality of our roads, particularly for the rural communities.

Hes absolutely right. But then why didnt he insist to the public servants over the last sixteen years that they were duty-bound to do all these things?

Indeed, why was it that such caring and compassionate advice had not been properly acted upon when all that time many out there in the villages were groveling in abysmal poverty and hardship, as a result of government abrasive corruption?

Incredible! Wonderful!

Whats so sad about all this though is that it now looks as if the past is repeating itself.

Around that time when Tuilaepa spoke before a gathering of visiting regional ministers right here in Apia, he gave a startling performance so that everyone in the audience was visibly impressed.

In his address, he made it quite clear that whatever administration he would be involved in would be guided by accountability, transparency and good governance.

And with that pledge he won everyones support; in fact, he had in a jiff become his guests idol and their champion.

Along the way though, with Tuilaepa now holding the position of prime minister, something apparently went wrong somewhere, and Tuilaepa reneged on his promise.

As a result, realizing that there was really nothing he could do, he decided right there to just abandon accountability, transparency and good governance, once and for all.

Anyway everyone knew what went wrong, but then by that time corruption had become so alluringly widespread, it was impossible for even Tuilaepa to keep it under control.

It other words, it was allowed to run wild and as it turned out, only the most resourceful in the government then  there were just a handful of them at the time and everyone knew who they were anyway - actually benefitted handsomely from corruption.

That reminds about the former Tautua Samoa Partys Shadow Minister of Finance, Afualo Dr. Wood Salele who at that point, recommended that perhaps the government should set up an Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

He said this tribunal would look into instances of alleged corruption once they were identified, such as the ones that had been reported by the Controller and Auditor General at the time, and backed up by the Officers of Parliament Committee.

Incidentally, the instances of alleged corruption discussed here, were attributed to certain senior government public servants.

Said Afualo: No one is above the law including the Prime Minister and all of us. If we break the law we will have to make sure that justice will be served.

But that cannot be fulfilled unless we have the Anti Corruption Tribunal.

He also said: I know Tuilaepa has been saying that we have the Ombudsman and of course we know that.

But we have seen a lot of cases now where people are not satisfied with the mandate of the office, so we really need to make sure that what they do will be fulfilled.

He added: But what we are really after is to make sure that there is justice, and that would be the responsibility of this Tribunal.

They will refer everything to the National Prosecution Office.

Afualo said the way he saw it, the government has been unable to address issues of corruption and abuse of power over the years.

We all know that there is so much corruption in the government, he said, and he then spelt out that the solution would be the establishment of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

Obviously his advice was frowned upon, shunned, and then dismissed on the spot, and now that Afualo is no longer in Parliament, his dissenting voice is sorely missed.

Still, if he had even just a tiny influence on Prime Minister Tuilaepas decision to now focus on reviving accountability, transparency and good governance in his government, with the idea of ridding the public service of corruption once and for all, then that is enough.

But then on the other hand, who cares anymore. Because the way we see it, by the time Tuilaepa will have got everything under control, including rearranging this countrys Constitution with the idea of renaming it Christian Samoa, it will still be too late.

In other words, any radical change of this nature is not going to make a speck of a difference with the way home-grown corruption, is planning to turn this country into the ISIS of the South Pacific.

ISIS of the South Pacific?

Now that would be a wonderful name for a small country such as ours, and we have no doubt Tuilaepa would readily agree; he may even love it to tatters for all we know.

Sure, he would even love the idea that there would be no need to worry any more about such things as accountability, transparency and good governance, or even lousy corruption for crying out loud.

Since by that time, all those things that had been keeping Christian Samoa a happy and free country would have been thrown away, after it had been christened as ISIS of the South Pacific.

Now Tuilaepa should love that too. Since all that he has to do now is tell the United Nations to forget about funding such things as Conventions Against Corruption, but instead teach us how to fight wars since we are now heading towards becoming the ISIS of the South Pacific.

We wonder how hed take that one though? It would be wonderful really to know.

Anyway, in the wake of all these wonderfully controversial issues that have been bombarding us relentlessly over recent weeks, we received a letter to the editor, signed by Ola Fia.

Slightly edited and published in the Samoa Observer on 5 May 2016, it said:

Dear Editor,

Now is Stui talking about a new legislation that will reflect our Christian living, cultural practices, and modern day disciplinary measures?

Have our Christian values and our Churches becoming a corrupted business machine?

Are the pastors and the churches caring only about their pocket books, about keeping themselves wealthy while the members of the churches are croaking in poverty?

Do you think this is the time for the churches to step in and help?

When the leader changes the system, what do you expect from everyone else? Modern day disciplinary measures are meant to follow the laws, are you following the law Stui and your Cabinet?

When you break the law, we have a justice system to follow. Unfortunately, for us in Samoa, there are separate laws for Stui and his cronies, and different ones for us the public.

For example, a worker went to prison for stealing $50 tala, but a Cabinet Minister did not go to prison for corruption, that cost millions of tala.

The problem were facing here is more than school fighting; its a part of the social problems that Stui and his govt. have been doing nothing to address.

When students dont have hope for a future, no employment for younger generations, hardship, cost of living, a lot more, they fight.

Now do we eat all those fancy multi-story buildings in town? Dont think so.

My suggestion is to stop corruption and stop wasting our public money, but improve our social and economic way of life, and I can tell you a better country and its citizens, is the result.

Good luck to Stui and his govt. Now solve those problems.

Have a peaceful Sunday Samoa, God bless.
Most people do not waste a single thought about where their meat comes from when cooking at home. This might even less be the case when eating out in a restaurant.

But what if the origin of meat does not only have influence on taste, but could also guarantee that it might be healthier for the consumer?

In a report provided in November 2014 by the World Bank, an international financial institution that provides support for developing countries as part of the United Nations, it is stated that 60% of the meat sold in Samoa is imported from overseas. Most likely, this kind of meat descends from factory farms in which chickens, pigs or cows are forced to lead a short life under pathetic conditions. But not only the given conditions for these animals are bad, this treatment can also directly affect the health of the meats consumer in a bad way.

This affection is for instance caused by the fact that animals in factory farming are fed huge amounts of antibiotics to keep them healthy.

This has been verified for meat originating from countries all around the world, including New Zealand and Australia. As a side effect, this nurturing with too much anti-biotics creates a nidus for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the end, this can infect the consumer of the meat.

As a result of this infection, the efficiency of antibiotics might no longer be guaranteed against these kinds of bacteria, presenting modern medicine with a serious problem.

The only logical way to prevent the impact of this dangerous development in the food industry is to fall back on a manageable number of livestock animals in an appropriate environment, which most likely can be found in local farming. A way of farming that is already practiced in Samoa.

But now, the demand for such products seems to find its way into the minds of those who understand the serving of food as an important service for society: the restaurants.

Businesses like Apias Sails Restaurant openly speak out about the demand for organic meat. We would love to offer the opportunity for our customers to choose between the regular meat we serve, which already is up to really high standards, or the locally produced, organic meat, said Owner Lyvia Black.

But with Samoan businesses like Sails Restaurant simply demanding organic meat for their use, it is still a difficult way to establish this different culinary lifestyle in the country, as the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries was able to explain to Weekend Observer.

Concerning this kind of meat, I would agree that on the health side, it is better than what you find in industrial farming, said Tony Aiolupo, Principal Research Development Officer of Animal Protection and Health Division (A.P.H.D.) at the Ministry.

But Mr. Aiolupo, who formerly worked as Senior Meat Inspector for the Ministry, did also point out the problems that occur with the term organic.

Ive seen that around town, theres sometimes a meeting of agricultural church groups. When they do bring in their products from the harvest, they tend to sell chicken as well. The problem one could see with that is simply, that there are no certifications which mark the product as organic or not in Samoa.

According to Mr. Aiolupo, the classification of food products should not be there to confuse the consumer in the end but rather to create clear and understandable information.

With the term organic and the term naturally produced, we are speaking about two definitions which might sound similar, but they can have completely different meanings. It certainly is another opportunity for the marketing of the products, but without clear structures, it is difficult to establish this kind of food.

With these clear structures as well as the demands coming from the food service industry itself, Mr. Aiolupo would not see a problem for organic meat to find its way to the consumers.

With a certain demand for it, it could certainly enrich our variety of food in the country. At the bottom line, it all comes down to the market. When theres a market for it, the ministry can come up with any ideas at any time but it is up to the local farmers. If theyre interested in applying this way of organic meat production, why not?

As Mr. Aiolupo explained, meat is not the only area where consumers tend to utter a certain demand for organic food. Also, this trend recently was picked up by the Samoan authorities.

At the moment, the government is pushing organically produced crops.

The enquiry in this specific area has shown that people are willing to think about what they eat and this could be the same in terms of meat.

I am aware that nowadays, people are more health conscious. Still, the privilege of such products belongs most likely to people who can afford buying such [organically produced] goods, but if theres more of it available as well as with a growing demand from the restaurants, this could change.

This change could in the end also lead to an actual certification for organic meat in the country, so that a healthier and also more sustainable way of eating might be achieved in Samoa, Mr. Aiolupo concluded.
The Ministry of Police are going undercover in their search to find members of the youth accused of beating up people in town and taking their food.

Police media spokesperson, Maotaoalii Kitiona confirmed they have not made any arrest yet.

We dont know where they come from, he said.

But we are going undercover to catch them. This is town where people from around the island come to so its very easy for the offenders to move in commit the crime and leaveso its difficult in that sense to catch them.

Maota said he only has reports from two weeks ago where a group of people were allegedly attacked behind the government building.

There were two girls and a boy who were approached by these young people and they reported it to police, he said.

Police are regularly patrolling town and we also warn members of the public to go where there is light and safe. It makes it easier for us to aid them when in need.

Maota made it clear that gangs are not allowed in our country and such is clearly identified under the law.

Claims that a youth fellowship program held infront of the government building will be stopped in the governments push to prevent the incidents could not be confirmed.

According to Maota, there has been no official word of the cancellation of the show but the government sees that the initiative is not what it was proposed to do.

The youths have made it something else, he said.

Its been used by youths to meet with their friends and cause trouble. Just like the hip hop programme in the past they damaged government vehicles and properties. This is common when there are people who come in drunk and others drink there while others are just there to watch.

Police is continuing their investigation into the youth gang.

Last Saturday workers from a restaurant in the township of Apia were the latest victims of the series of attacks in town from the youngsters.

The group of young people confronted the workers asking for their bottles and food. When they were told to leave by the workers the group retaliated and started throwing stones.

Three weeks ago a young man who went to buy some food from Pinati restaurant was also attacked from behind and had his food taken.
The 3D printer, a unique machine that can produce continuous materials, will be instrumental in helping a Dutch architect build a Mobius strip shaped house. The project was first unveiled in 2013, but the planned construction was announced last June 8, Wednesday. The house will be shaped like an infinite loop which has neither beginning nor end.

The device is just like any typical printer. However, instead of using ink and paper, liquid will be combined with sand to solidify the material. Janjaap Ruijssenaars, a Dutch architect is hoping to build what he calls the "Landscape House" using the said 3D printer. The printer is designed by Enrico Dini, which can print six metre by six meter square and five to 10 Millimetre layers, NDTV reported. The final tests are ongoing in Amsterdam where the machine is set up in a warehouse.

The 3D printer was not originally intended to print the building, but was used because of its practical purpose in construction. Ruijssenaars wanted to make it like the planet Earth, a shape without a beginning or end. However, according to him, it does not have to be exactly in a circular figure, but a Mobius strip, which has the same shape principle as the earth, Phys.Org reported.

According to reports, the structure that Ruijssenaars plans to build is within a floor space of 12,000 square feet. They will start building it in sections using the D-shaped printer. The materials will be made using a plastic which is heavily based in plant oil, an eco-friendly and waste-free structure. It was also used by architect Andrea Morgante in 2009 to build a 3 metre high pavilion. Architects of Softkill Design also announced a proposal to print a house based in bone structures in October.

The 3D printing project is scheduled to start constructing in the next few years, but it is not the first of its kind. Same projects were already made in China and Dubai.
Scientists have uncovered a new species of cave worm. Interestingly, these worms have never seen sunlight, growing and thriving instead inside poisonous sulphur caves.

The newly discovered worms are blood-red in color. If that is not interesting enough, the scientists claimed that these worms are growing in a dank, hostile atmosphere no human can survive in.

According to Science Alert, these worms are bonafide extremophiles, which means that they can live well in very extreme conditions, physically and geochemically. Humans will die in these conditions but these worms will thrive.

The worms have been named Limnodrilus sulphurensis, in light of their survival and growth in hellish, gaseous environment. They were first discovered by biologist David Steinmann.

When Steinmann was exploring Sulphur Cave in Colorado's Steamboat Springs back in 2007, he came across these weird-looking worms that are very small and as thin as pencil lead. They look somehow transparent, with their blood-red coloring stemming from...you guessed it, their blood.

Steinman however, was not able to determine that the worms were new species until he conducted more than 1,000 hours of lab work. Steinmann shared his experience to National Geographic, with the discovery and said getting into the cave where these worms were thriving was quite "foreboding." "You have to climb and crawl down a wet muddy slop that's stinky and smells like rotten eggs," he explained.

He also told National Geographic that the cave was not friendly to humans. "It's belching toxic gases," Steinmann shared. "In the winter, you can see steam coming out. You have to stoop down and squeeze through to get into the first room. Once you're in there, it's totally dark, he added.He also explained that inside, there is sulphuric acid strong enough to burn holes in clothes.

Still, even though the cave was not easy to navigate, seeing the worms thrive in these conditions is a positive thing for the biologist. "One of the exciting factors about these [cave worms] is that they show life can survive in toxic environments," Steinmann revealed to John Wenzel at The Denver Post. "They prove that life can survive by metabolising hydrogen sulphide, which is toxic to us, and then those things can be eaten by things like worms or other creatures to create a food chain."
Philips has carved a name for itself in the consumer electronics market and now it may find itself a pertinent one in the healthcare industry. This is if its new camera that can monitor patient vital signs from affair proves to be revolutionary as claimed.

With the evolving state of healthcare services, everyone is familiar with the drill where doctors and nurses need to take vitals of patients on occasion. That would require them to be near the patient to record the proper readings.

But the new innovation from Philips may soon change all that with its new camera. The new Philips camera is capable of a patients absolute oxygen saturation of arterial blood (SpO2) from across the room. Such was published via this months issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia.

How does it work?

The Philips camera can reportedly do the trick when the patient is in frame. From afar, the camera can monitor a patients pulse by measuring light reflected off their forehead. Aside from that, it can also measure a patients breathing rate also, done through the monitoring of body movements unseen to the human eye.



Clinics and hospitals follow a standard protocol when it comes to monitoring heart rate, arterial blood oxygenation, respiration rate, and activity of patients to help determine health-related issues and concerns they complain about.

The new method should do away with the traditional method of strapping devices to the body. Further, the new healthcare innovation may address an ongoing issue tied up with the strapped contact sensors such as newborn babies.

Vital signs monitoring is crucial across all types of care settings, but for patient populations with specific conditions, managing their care in a less intrusive way is critical in order to avoid unnecessary distress, Philips Patient Care & Monitoring Solutions CEO Carla Kriwet.

Philips contactless alternative can provide key advantages in such cases where skin damage among fragile patients is concerned, not to mention the freedom to select a more physiologically central location with a possible faster response rate.

This new breakthrough study from Philips holds an interesting twist in the healthcare sector, a new contactless monitoring solution that should help in delivering accurate measurement of key vital signs among patients.
The week saw a lot of top personalities falling prey to hackers, seeing their social media accounts breached. Among the people who fell prey were Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and celebrity Kylie Jenner.

Seeing that botch were high profile individuals, normal beings may end up thinking that they are the least ones that may end up as the next victim. That was before word came out that over 32 million Twitter credentials that included passwords surfaced.

Does this now raise the alarm to re-check your Facebook, LinkedIn or even Twitter account and change passwords? Some may have already done so by now but Twitter Trust and Security Officer Michael Coates believes that there should be more to that.

As far as Twitter is concerned, Coates urges users to enable the two-factor account authentication which would force users to employ an additional login verification process to ramp up security on their social media account.

Other than that, Coates reminds users a thing or two about passwords. One is that individuals should not use the same password on other accounts. An example was that of Zuckerbergs case.

Per our previous post, it was mentioned how the Facebook founders LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter accounts were hacked in what was tied up to a LinkedIn data leak that happened back in 2012. When Zuckerbergs account was hacked, the Facebook mogul was forced to change his passwords.

Coates advises users to seek aid from password manager apps like 1Password or LastPass to ensure that their passwords are unique and secure to douse any potential mischief that hackers would be up to.

Twitter Comes Clean, Blames Hacked Sites and Malware

The social media outlet Twitter has been singled out as the main target but the company has denied such claims. Coates claims that they have already made investigations on the issue and said that the breaches may have originated from other sites or through malware.

"In each of the recent password disclosures, we cross-checked the data with our records," he wrote. "As a result, a number of Twitter accounts were identified for extra protection. Accounts with direct password exposure were locked and require a password reset by the account owner."
If there was any doubt about what Parliament intended in 1955, its intention is even clearer in light of the 1988 amendments to the Code, when buggery and bestiality were divided into two separate provisions. The offence of bestiality was extended to include those who compelled its commission or who committed it in the presence of a child.



It is difficult to accept that Parliaments intention was to protect children from seeing or being made to engage in sexual activity with animals only if it involved penetration. Parliament must have intended protection for children from witnessing or being forced to participate in any sexual activity with animals. This wider protection for children can also be inferred from the other changes to the Code in the 1988 Amendments, introducing the offences of sexual interference, sexual exploitation, and invitation to sexual touching, all of which protected minors and none of which required penetration. As a result, by 1988 the language, history, and evolving social landscape of the bestiality provision leads to the conclusion that Parliament intended, or at the very least assumed, that penetration was not a necessary element of the offence.



The absence of a requirement of penetration does not broaden the scope of bestiality. It is more a reflection of Parliaments common sense assumption that since penetration is physically impossible with most animals and for half the population, requiring it as an element of the offence eliminates from censure most sexually exploitative conduct with animals. Acts with animals that have a sexual purpose are inherently exploitative whether or not penetration occurs, and the prevention of sexual exploitation is what the 1988 Amendments were all about.




New reports suggest Google's much awaited Nexus 2016 is being manufactured by China-based tech giant, Huawei. Huawei is the same company which developed Nexus 6P for Google last year.

The partnership was confirmed by Charlene Munilall, Huawei South Africa Consumer Business Group General Manager. In an interview with Gearburn, Munilall revealed that Huawei will be manufacturing Nexus 2016.

"We're doing the Nexus again this year, by the way," she said casually. Munilall, however, did not offer any details about the Google Nexus 2016 specs, release date and price.

Recently, in a recent interview with Walt Mossberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said fans can be assured of significantly enhanced next Nexus experience. Pichai mentioned that the company would put "more thought" into its Nexus line of smartphones.

"You'll see us hopefully add more features on top of Android on Nexus phones," he said. "There's a lot of software innovation to be had."

The CEO also added that the search giant would be "more opinionated" about the design of the phones. When asked whether Google plans to build its own phones from scratch, Pichai said the company's plan is still to work with OEMs to manufacture phones, but the company will oversee all aspects as far the as the development of the Nexus products is concerned.

It is rumored that HTC is developing two new Android N devices for Google, and the devices are internally named as S1 and M1.

The Nexus 2016 is expected to run Google's latest OS iteration- Android N. It is rumored that one of the Nexus smartphones will boast a 5-inch display whereas the high-end version would pack a 5.5-inch display. The handsets are rumored to feature 3D Touch-like functionality with Snapdragon 820 chip processor and 4 GB RAM.

The Nexus 2016 device is also expected to consist of Google Photo backup feature with enhanced camera specs. As nothing yet has been officially announced about the Nexus 2016, we advise our readers to take the information with a grain of salt.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Unity Sunday will kick off a 15-day service project, ServeFlo, hosted by Helping Florence Flourish.

Unity Sunday will be celebrated June 12 in several participating churches across Florence County.

The goal is to promote unity through teaching of and praying through the same topic and the same scripture on the same day, said Frances Swink, co-chairwoman of the Racial Bridging Focus Group. The topic is to love your neighbor, which Christ defines both as people who look like us and people who are different from us.

Unity Sunday is centered on the scripture Ephesians 2:14, which teaches that there is no true unity without Christ, Swink said. Participating churches will incorporate the scripture into their services on Sunday.

Some churches will show unity by worshipping with other congregations on Unity Sunday. First Presbyterian Church Associate Pastor Chris Handley said his church is teaming up with New Life Assembly of God for worship service. The two congregations will worship together Sunday at First Presbyterian Church in Florence.

Handley, who is also a Helping Florence Flourish team leader, said the aim of ServeFlo is to be a visible demonstration of the unity of Jesus Christ.

The first week of ServeFlo will include appearances from Jonathon Katov , director of The Open Table, at local churches and organizations meetings. The goal of The Open Table is to bring together a group of people to surround a person that is in a difficult situation and walk with him or her for a season in an effort to bring him or her from poverty to community.

Katov will begin his tour throughout Florence at 9 a.m. Sunday in the First Presbyterian Church fellowship hall. He will visit other places throughout the week.

Handley said a ServeFlo rally will be held next Saturday, the main service day.

Anybody, really, who wants to be involved, can be, Handley said. Well start with a rally on June 18 at the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center amphitheater at 8:30 a.m., and then well send everybody off to their service projects.

Teams from churches and ministries will spread out across Florence and complete service projects from June 12 to June 26. Projects will be completed in several locations including schools, Lighthouse Ministries and House of Hope.

Handley said some groups will spread mulch in area parks and complete repairs at local homes.

Opportunities for service are available across the city.

Were only limited by the number of volunteers that join us, Handley said.

People who want to sign up to participate still have a chance to do so. Registration can be completed at www.helpingflorenceflourish.org.

A lot of churches are signed up to participate, and Handley said he is encouraged.

(The goal is) to be a visible demonstration of the unity of the body of Christ in Florence, and work with people of good will that want to come alongside, Handley said. Its important to realize that, too.

Call 843-662-2583 for more information.
The way we were: Agricultural, predominately illiterate, high infant mortality rates, low life span expectancy and frequently unavailable and inadequate medical treatment was the norm. Creature comforts were cigarettes, chewing tobacco, moonshine, water from a well bucket, mule for plowing, cow for milking, chickens for eggs, a wood-burning stove, cane pole for fishing, outhouse with a Sears catalog, candles, non-processed food and thank goodness, homemade quilts. Very few of these spoiled folks are still alive to recall the blasts from the past, which included two world wars, premature and early death, poor industrial working conditions, a dust-bowl occurrence, depressions, and virtually no women or minority rights.The way we are: Today we have automobiles, electricity, hospitals, schools, discretionary time, literacy, instant communications, improved equality and civil rights, technology evolution, and astounding information availability.

How did we get here? Government grants, loans, subsidies, tax incentives to individuals, nonprofits, corporations, local and state governments have greased the welfare wheel.

How are we going to maintain and improve? Since there is a direct positive measurable correlation between education and a countrys economic prosperity, our emphasis should be on education and development of needed job skills. Recognize that our most valuable resources are our human resources. Do we want to invest in production or prison?

Democracy is a relative new way of governing. We must continue to modify and adjust our form of government to the circumstances that develop; embracing the new challenges, not fearing them. It is a team effort with no quick fixes. It might help if some of our leadership actually spent some time in the trenches of everyday life.

DENNIS TAYLOR

Florence
Thumbs up to S.C. Sen. Hugh K. Leatherman Sr.

The Republican from Florence is running for re-election Tuesday in the Republican Party primary. He has two challengers: Richard Skipper, formerly the chairman of the Florence County Republican Party, and Dean Fowler, the Florence County treasurer. But youd swear this strictly is a race between Leatherman and S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley.

As the president pro tempore of the Senate and the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Leatherman has been called arguably the most powerful person in the state. We see no need for the word arguably. From the standpoint of whats good for Florence County, we are pleased to be represented by the most powerful person in the state. We believe he has wielded his power well on our behalf without abusing that power at the detriment of the rest of the state.

We are puzzled about why outsiders are trying to tell Florence County residents that we would be better off with a rookie senator in the Statehouse. Leatherman has been in office for 36 years. He should be congratulated for his many years of great public service, not criticized. He did not become powerful overnight. He worked hard and earned that power.

Haley is making this a power struggle, and Skipper seems to be a pawn in her push. Groups such as the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity plus Haley and her A Great Day SC group are financing a smear campaign against Leatherman. In recent days, a surge of junk mail has filled local mailboxes. Almost all of it has trashed Leatherman. Lets call it what it is: garbage. In the past two weeks, he has called much of the material lies.

Little of the literature actually evens mention Skipper. Ive had no input with the ads being referred to, he told the Morning News on Thursday. That disconnect is troubling. Skipper is a good man, and he might make a fine legislator someday, but that time is not now.

Florence County needs somebody who will fight Haley when she vetoes a farm bill, as Leatherman did successfully and thankfully. It needs somebody who got something of a road plan done when it looked as if all was lost during this 2016 session. It needs somebody who has improved roads in Florence County and will continue to do so. It needs somebody who has brought industry and jobs to a neglected region in the state. It needs somebody who has been an avid supporter not only of K-12 and higher education but of early childhood education.

The state needs Leatherman, too. He gets much of the credit for funding that will go toward deepening the Port of Charleston. Hes one of the people most responsible for bringing Boeing to South Carolina.

In recent years, the Morning News has backed away from making endorsements routinely in local, state or national races, but were making an exception in this race.

We urge you to vote Tuesday for Sen. Hugh K. Leatherman.

Thumbs up to those who voted Tuesday in the special election for the Florence City Council District 2 seat. Unbelievably, only 728 of 8,186 registered voters showed up at the precincts. Congratulations to Pat Gibson-Hye Moore (37.4 percent) and LaShonda NeSmith (24.3 percent), the top two vote-getters in the five-candidate race. They have advanced to a June 21 runoff. In honor of Ed Robinson, who served the district for 25 years before he died unexpectedly earlier this year, can we get a better turnout at the polls then?

Thumbs up to the Florence Area Literacy Council for its lip sync battle Thursday night at the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology Center on the Florence-Darlington Technical College campus. This was a fresh and fun approach to the nonprofits annual Novel Event fundraiser. Divided into 10 groups, contestants were quite entertaining. Energy filled a big room. Money was raised for a very good cause. Congratulations to the winners. HopeHealth won first place, followed by the South Carolina Highway Patrol team. Andrea Frondorf and Irish Joseph finished third.

Thumbs up to Hank, the service dog that died Tuesday after serving the Florence County Sheriffs Office since 2007. The German shepherd was won by the sheriffs office in 2007 at a conference in Atlanta. As a full-service patrol dog, Hank was a valuable member of the sheriffs office. "Hanks mere presence was responsible for numerous suspects surrendering without incident," Maj. Michael Nunn said. Hank, who retired from active duty on July 15, 2015, only had one partner and handler. That was Sgt. Anderson Beane. Sheriff Kenney Boone said Hank and Sgt. Beane reached "legendary status" within the sheriff's office as well as with other agencies. "The bond that develops between these K-9s and their handlers is something really remarkable," Boone said. "We are grateful for Hanks years of service and he will always hold a special place in our hearts."

Thumbs up, thumbs down is a regular feature of the Morning News and appears each Saturday on our Opinion page. We seek nominations for both good and bad deeds from our readers. Send nominations to us by email at letters@florencenews.com. Be sure use the word thumb in the subject and include a contact number. Thumbs can also be mailed to us c/o The Morning News, 310 S. Dargan St., Florence, S.C., 29506.
caconservative said: Are you the same guy who sided with the Court on the gay-marriage issue? Didn't read your post evaluating and excoriating the law the Court created in that issue. Did I miss it? Click to expand...

I can disagree with the SC. I do so in many cases. In particular, I think their ruling in Citizens United hurt your country. However, I think they did their job. They evaluated the law in terms of the meaning of the constitution as they understand it and that is their conclusion. I did not say their conclusion was wrong based on that criteria, I said it was wrong in terms of what it does to the country.They did not write a new law, they ruled the law as written was invalid. Big difference.Now it is the function of government to enact new legislation to change things if possible and if appropriate.As in this case. I personally don't like this decision. But they ruled based on their interpretation of our constitution equivalent. The ruled that the current law is weak in this matter.Thus, parliament now can write a new law or amend the existing law to correct things if they feel it is needed. But as I said, there are other animal cruelty laws that often result in stiffer sentences than non-violent or coerced rape so I question whether this has much impact other than how perps will be charged in any future instances of such actions.
A pilot and their passenger had to make an emergency landing on Friday in a farm field adjacent to Highway 99E north of Halsey.

The engine on the Van's RV-6 stalled while the aircraft was at 2,000 feet en route to Eugene from Scappoose. There were no injuries reported from the accident and members of the Oregon State Police and Linn County Sheriff's Office responded to the incident.
Reports of elevated levels of lead and radon in the drinking water and classrooms of some Portland schools have prompted mid-valley districts to plan tests of their own.

Gov. Kate Brown has issued a directive to the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority to review water quality in schools and develop recommendations. ODE, with the support of health experts at OHA, will work with school districts and child care programs to implement the plan this summer, providing information and technical support to schools and child care programs.

Albany schools already do annual water tests at Tangent, Fir Grove and Clover Ridge because those schools are on wells, Superintendent Jim Golden said.

However, he told the Albany School Board on Monday, the district plans to test all buildings once classes dismiss next week.

"We were already planning to test all schools for radon this summer and we will also test water quality for all of our schools," he told the Democrat-Herald.

The Corvallis School District announced Tuesday night that it was working with a consultant to develop a plan to do water quality testing at all of its schools this summer. The district's announcement said they also do annual testing on their buildings on well water, including Mountain View Elementary School, but it had last done a district-wide test of all fixtures in 2002. At that time they replaced some fixtures and pipes to meet water quality standards.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there are no "safe" levels for either lead or radon, a radioactive gas that occurs naturally in rocks and soil and can seep into buildings.

The EPA has not set a maximum contaminant level for either, but it does set treatment techniques.

For lead, additional steps to control pipe corrosion, including replacing lines, are required if more than 10 percent of tap water samples exceed 15 parts per billion.

Radon is measured in picocuries per liter, a measure of radioactive decay. The EPA has set an action level of 4.0 picocuries in homes and schools.

Oregon lawmakers voted in 2015 to require schools to develop radon information and testing plans by 2021, with goals to test schools for radon at least once every 10 years.

Tests earlier this spring found two Portland schools with lead levels higher than 15 parts per billion. Separate tests found 121 classrooms in 26 schools with radon levels above the 4.0 level, although lower than 10, according to a memo to the district's board of education.

Albany last tested for radon in 2001, following a similar radon scare in Portland, and found elevated levels in just one room: the library of Oak Grove School.

Tests found 6.7 picocuries per liter of air initially and 6.0 picocuries about a month later. District officials shut off exhaust fans, closed room doors, opened air dampers and blew outside air into the library to increase air pressure and block radon from rising.

Two Albany schools  Clover Ridge and Tangent  tested positive for slightly lead levels in late 1999. The district turned off drinking fountains, provided bottled water and flushed the systems daily until pipes could be replaced the following year.

Lead tests are done regularly at the schools on wells, and in spot checks when people have concerns, said Doug Pigman, Albany's director of facilities. No elevated levels have been found.

Lead can enter drinking water when pipes that contain lead become corroded. Structures built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder.

Pigman noted the Albany district has undergone several plumbing retrofits with its most recent bond measure, which helps reduce the risk.

Lebanon, Harrisburg, Scio, Central Linn and Sweet Home school districts say they will be developing plans for radon tests this summer.

Some districts, like Albany, already test for lead because their schools depend on wells.

That's the case for Sweet Home, said Kevin Strong, the district's business director. Tests for lead are conducted every three years at Holley Elementary; Crawfordsville, which houses Head Start and the Linn Benton Lincoln Education Service District's early intervention program; and Pleasant Valley, which houses Little Promises Child Care. Those tests have come back with either undetectable lead levels or levels well below 15 parts.

Sweet Home Charter School performs its own tests and last checked in 2013, Strong said. Those levels also were below 15 parts.

Strong said sample collection bottles are on order and will be used to test water at the high school, junior high, Hawthorne, Foster and Oak schools.

All Lebanon schools on wells also are tested on a regular basis, said Bo Yates, assistant superintendent. Radon testing plans are in the works for this summer.
The Albany Downtown Association has two new parklets that are taking shape in the 300 block of First Avenue West and the 100 block of Broadalbin Street S.W.

The parklets are small seating areas that include benches and tables where residents or visitors could sip coffee, play checkers, enjoy a bite to eat or just relax.

Our goal when we came up with this was to get people to spend more time downtown enjoying the sights, said Peggy Burris, executive director of the ADA.

She hoped the seating areas would serve as makeshift living rooms downtown.

The parklets, which were installed on Memorial Day, will be in place from May to November, though the month of October might depend on the weather, Burris said.

The parklets were created with $8,000 in transient lodging tax funding.

The city provides about $49,000 in hotel and motel tax money every year to the ADA for downtown improvements and programs, and these draw visitors to the city and its shops and stores, Burris said.

The ADA needed to receive City Council and Central Albany Revitalization Area approval for the parklet project, and the Albany Police Department also provided input and design suggestions to maximize safety.

They wanted to make sure they would be very visible from the street. They wanted to make sure they would be safe for the public to use and not be a place for our homeless population to rest and sleep on. We had them take a look at them and they were comfortable with the design, Burris said.

The ADA is responsible for keeping the parklets clean and watering plants for the seating areas.

The idea for the parklets was brought forth last fall by Bob Richardson, city of Albany planning manager, who also is a member of the ADA's design committee. Burris said Richarson noticed parklets popping up in other cities, such as Portland and San Francisco, and thought they could enhance Albany.

Christina Larson of Albany firm Varitone Architecture donated her time to design the parklets, and her boyfriend, Sean Knowles of the Albany Box Company, donated his time to put together the wooden furniture.

They should last a very long time. These are all cedar and they wont be out during the winter months, Larson said.

Burris said that local art such as sculptures eventually will be incorporated into the parklets. Wed like to find a way to also hold paintings there, too, Burris said.

Traditional parklets take parking spaces out of circulation, but ADA representatives didnt want to make parking more of a hassle for downtown shoppers. Albanys parklets were made out of preexisting seating areas.

The parklet on First Avenue is on Wells Fargo property, while the Broadalbin parklet was created around four metal benches that were already in place.

The locations we selected had lots of potential, but they werent very inviting.  (They were) Very plain. Very sterile, Burris said.

Warm wood, green plants and flowers changed things, she said.

Both parklets are no-smoking areas that have trash bins nearby.

Burris is already looking at creating more parklets in downtown Albany.

People love the look of them and the idea behind this, she added.
Another day, another lawsuit filed against the state by a local government. This is getting to be old hat.

This latest complaint involves a new plaintiff  the city of Corvallis, instead of Linn County  but the case should be of interest to residents throughout the mid-valley: The lawsuit challenges Senate Bill 1573, which allows cities to annex land without a public vote, provided certain conditions are met. The bill affected the 35 cities in Oregon, including Albany, whose charters require public votes on annexation. In a recent case, residents of Jefferson learned that they no longer had the right to vote on a proposed annexation that is working its way through the towns government.

Senate Bill 1573 was part of a package of four bills that aimed to address affordable-housing issues throughout Oregon. The package, a priority for Portland-area lawmakers, was among the high-profile legislation rammed through this years short legislative session. (This is the spot in the editorial in which we renew our frequent complaint that the Legislatures short sessions have gone considerably beyond the boundaries voters intended.)

The citys lawsuit argues that Senate Bill 1573 is unconstitutional in part because it does not comply with state constitutional provisions limiting legislative authority. The lawsuit also argues that the bill is an unconstitutional limit on the right of local voters to enact and amend their own city charters.

The lawsuit was filed in Benton County Circuit Court, but its a reasonable bet that any decision from that court will be appealed to the states Court of Appeals and, eventually, the state Supreme Court. (If the initial ruling goes against the city, it would be up to the City Council to appeal, but wed be surprised if the council backs down at that point.) A variety of other local governments will be watching this case with considerable interest.

Despite the obvious differences between the political climates in the city of Corvallis and Linn County, a common thread runs through the annexation lawsuit and at least one of the lawsuits that Linn County has filed against the state: Both the annexation case and Linn Countys suit challenging the increase in the states minimum wage (another measure passed in the short session) on some level test the limits of the states authority over local governments.

At least some local governments (especially in the states less populated areas) feel as if their concerns and issues have been given short shrift by the state. It's no surprise that local governments are pushing back. (mm)

Celebrating Hemp History Week

You might have missed this during the hubbub surrounding Memorial Day and graduation and whatnot, but today marks the end of Hemp History Week, and the U.S. Senate on Friday passed a resolution marking the occasion.

There is a serious point to this: Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have teamed up with Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul in past sessions to sponsor the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, which would remove hemp from the federal governments Schedule I controlled substance list and classify it as a nondrug as long as it contained less than 0.3 tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

This common-sense legislation, which would make it much easier for U.S. farmers to grow industrial hemp (an extremely useful crop), still has not managed to win congressional approval. (This could well be the only issue on which Wyden, Merkley, McConnell and Paul all see eye-to-eye.) Congress should not wait for Hemp History Week to roll around next year to take action. (mm)
While it's tough to see the stars from the city, many Americans don't have to travel too far to see the celestial sights from a dark location. There are now 11 certified dark-sky areas in the United States and you'd be extra lucky if you lived on or near the Colorado Plateau as eight of those areas are located there. The International Dark Sky Association (IDA) encourages people all over the world to preserve the views of the stars; there's even an application process to get recognition for regions where great efforts are made to reduce the impact of light pollution. Check out the spectacular nighttime views at five of these U.S. dark-sky preserves. 1) Grand Canyon National Park (Nevada)

The Grand Canyon just received provisional dark-sky status in an announcement made public Monday (June 6). The IDA said that the park had one of the most complex applications ever seen by the group, because there are so many lights on the rims and inside of the canyon. The park now has three years to change two-thirds of the park's lights to meet IDA's lighting requirements. "Grand Canyon plans to complete the necessary lighting improvements to receive full IDA Dark Sky Park certification in 2019 -- the 100th anniversary of the national park," the IDA wrote in a press release. 2) Death Valley National Park (California)

Death Valley is famous for being extremely hot during the summer, but that harsh climate gives it an advantage -- city dwellers don't want to be anywhere near the place. This means that many of its skies are practically free of artificial light. However, as cities such as Las Vegas continue to grow, its status as a "gold" (highest tier) dark-sky park could come under threat. The IDA said that brighter skies could also affect the local wildlife. "Much of the night sky above the desert floor is near pristine and, in many places, offers views close to what could be seen before the rise of cities," the IDA wrote on its website. 3) Great Basin National Park (Nevada)

Great Basin is a dry place that has other precious things besides night-sky views. The park has a bunch of ancient bristlecone pine trees and a neat area known as the Lehman Caves, replete with features such as stalactites and stalagmites. The park, the IDA wrote, is fortuitously situated because it has one of the lowest populated areas in the lower 48 states. "The typical basin-and-range topography of the Great Basin serves to help shield the site from skyglow from distant cities," the IDA added. "The result is a truly notable dark-sky resource worth protecting." 4) Natural Bridges National Monument (Utah)

If you want to see spectacular natural bridges, this park is definitely the place to be. These fragile, incredible structures are created when water moves through the canyon's stream bed. Over time, erosion makes them collapse. In between gawking at the nearly gravity-defying structures, however, the IDA says that it's worth going because the park has an "almost perfect lack of light pollution." Like many other parks in the U.S., this park also prides itself on offering public astronomy programs. 5) Big Bend National Park (Texas)
If you want to monitor mammal populations, how about looking in the guts of a blowfly to see where it's been, or ... on what it's been?

Researchers from the University of Malaya wanted to test the effectiveness of just that approach, so they examined blowfly gut DNA material culled from tropical forest reserves in peninsular Malaysia. They wanted to see what mammal evidence might lie within and then compare those results with traditional mammal survey approaches such as scat collection, wire cages, capture nets and camera traps.

RELATED: Top 10 Camera Trap Wildlife Photos

The annoying flies are a good place to look for evidence of mammals in the neighborhood, after all. They aren't terribly choosy about their dining habits and spend time feasting on the waste, wounds and carcasses of wild animals, unwittingly becoming samplers of mammalian DNA.

According to the researchers, blowfly-gut DNA found a wider body-size range of flying and non-flying mammals, compared with more traditional approaches.

The fly guts even tipped researchers off to a near-threatened species -- a dusky leaf monkey -- that had not been detected by the usual methods.

The guts also topped camera traps -- among the most popular mammal-survey tools -- at uncovering the presence of the widest groupings of flying and tree-living creatures.

WATCH VIDEO: "What Happens When a Fly Lands on Your Food?"
A giant tarantula from Africa has become the latest poisonous critter that scientists believe may hold the key to possible treatments for human neurological disorders that could be controlled with compounds the spider makes to kill its prey. This week researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, published a study where they isolated two compounds that activate one of the nine pain pathways that connect our nerve cells to our brain. These pain pathways are really sodium channels that control the flow of ions and electrical energy. RELATED: Tarantulas Get Clumsy When It's Hot "The thing that made this discovery interesting was the toxins that we found target a specific sodium channel which is involved in generating nerves and muscles," said Jeremiah Osteen, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSF and lead author on the paper published in the journal Nature. "It's hard finding agents like toxins or small molecule drugs that will stimulate one [channel] and not the others. Osteen is a biochemist and doesn't actually have to handle the six-inch long animal, whose scientific name is Heteroscodra maculata, or the Togo starburst tarantula. "Our collaborators in Australia are the tarantula wranglers," Osteen said. "What we are looking for is activators of the pain pathway." WATCH: How Pain Works

Osteen says they occasionally do genetic work on the tarantula's venom sac to figure out what kinds of proteins are expressed. "It's pretty scary to have them around," he said. Osteen said the new toxins can now be used as a highly selective tool for manipulating this type of sodium channel, which also has been implicated in neurological disorders unrelated to pain, from epilepsy to autism to Alzheimer's disease. "The challenge in treating these disorders is you want to tune the function of the channels to get them back to baseline," he said. "You want drugs to boost the activity, or turn the gain down. We found a way to isolate one of nine pathways." RELATED: Can Venom Save Lives? Still, it might be a long way to go from isolating a compound to developing a drug that can help people. Researchers have been looking at toxins from the deadly marine cone snail that uses its poison to paralyze fish in its South Pacific habitat for decades. Despite several clinical trials, only one drug has been brought to market after federal approvals - Ziconotide in 2004  which is used to combat chronic pain. "There's a long and challenging pathway for all these discoveries to convert them into a safe drug for patients," said Greg Bulaj, assistant research professor at University of Utah, where he studies the biochemistry of cone snail toxins. Bulaj says the UCSF work is promising. "Preclinical and clinical validation of this new analgesic mechanism and novel tarantula toxins could be very compelling." SEE PHOTOS: Giant Spiders to Freak You Out

style="text-align: left;">You almost feel for them, spiders. They can't help being what they are, and yet almost no one is happy to see them. Especially true when they have exceedingly long legs, thick bodies and a general mien that makes you turn quickly in some other direction. Photos don't bite, though, so let's take a look at some honking-big spiders -- with Halloween on the way, we may as well get started freaking ourselves out. Shown here is the Brazilian wandering spider (a.k.a. Phoneutria), a feisty and venomous crawler from South America. Just four years ago it took home an award from the Guinness World Record people for the title of "most venomous" spider. This spidey's legs can span nearly 6 inches, its body just shy of 2 inches. It gets its name thanks to its preference for strolling along the tropic floor at night seeking out prey, rather than building webs or hiding out someplace waiting to strike. During the day, it lays low wherever it's convenient -- even inside banana plants, which is how it get its nickname "banana spider." NEWS: Puppy-Sized Spider Romps In Rainforest

style="text-align: left;">Not to be outdone is a spider that's been making a big splash of late, with an entomologist's blog about his encounter with one. It's called the Goliath bird-eater (a.k.a., Theraphosa blondi). It can weigh in at almost 6 ounces and it's been known to reach nearly a foot in leg-span. The "bird eater" moniker must be there to warn birds away, though, because this spider doesn't typically eat birds as a matter of, er, course. It will regularly eat small land animals such as frogs, lizards, and snakes, however. Spiders Have Personality Too

style="text-align: left;">Meet the golden-silk orb weaver spider. Step into its parlor, if you must. Don't be fooled by its deceptively gentle-sounding name. The female golden-silk orb weaver's body alone can reach 2 inches, its legs can stretch to more than 5 inches, and it's even been observed killing and eating tree snakes. What's more, a study published earlier this year found that these spiders, when living in urban areas, are growing even bigger than usual. Interesting side-note: The golden-silk orb weaver also belongs to the oldest surviving genus of spiders, Nephila, which has a fossil in the record that dates to 165 million years ago. Look If You Dare: Ancient Spider Family Album

style="text-align: left;">The Brazilian salmon pink bird-eating tarantula has a leg-span that can reach 11 inches and weight that can tip the scales (well, for a spider) at about 3.5 ounces. Despite its name, it's not confirmed that they actually eat birds any more than do the Goliath bird-eaters. Instead, they dine on insects or the random small amphibian or reptile. Instead of making a web, it takes its prey by quick-strike ambush in the open. Bat-Eating Spiders Are Everywhere
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has announced the appointment of French curator Clement Cheroux as senior curator of photography. The position oversees the Department of Photography and its renowned collection of more than 17,000 photographs  half the works of art in the entire SFMOMA collection.

Cheroux takes over from the retiring Sandra Phillips. Over 29 years as head of the department, she built the collection to its position of prominence and set the stage for the establishment of the Pritzker Center for Photography, the largest such facility in any American museum. Phillips will become emeritus curator effective July 1.

The museum also announced a significant gift: 78 photographs by 25 top artists, including 14 works by Andre Kertesz, as well as pictures by Vito Acconci, Lee Friedlander, William Wegman, Garry Winogrand and others. The donation comes from Lisa and John Pritzker, whose earlier cash contribution led to creation of the Pritzker Center as part of SFMOMAs recent expansion.

Cheroux, 46, comes to the museum from the Musee National dArt Moderne at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, where he is chief curator of the department of photography. He joined the Pompidou in 2007, having lectured on the history of photography at the University of Paris I, Pantheon-Sorbonne, the University of Paris III and the University of Lausanne. He has published some 40 books and catalogs on photography and served as executive editor of the magazine Etudes Photographiques, published by the Societe Francaise de Photographie.

Im very happy to move to San Francisco, where it seems that things are happening in photography, Cheroux said by phone from France. On a trip to California last year, he said, I was so impressed by the new building, by the quality of the private collections. ... I did not feel the same dynamism in L.A. when I was there.

Spent a year in U.S.

In 25 years of working in the field, he has spent only one year in the United States, on a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton beginning in 2004.

In Paris he oversees a larger collection (40,000 works) than SFMOMAs, with a smaller curatorial staff (four additional curators and a collections manager, compared with San Franciscos four curators, two curatorial assistants and a department administrator).

He has organized or co-organized more than 20 exhibitions on modern and contemporary photography, including shows on artists known primarily as photographers, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, and artists who worked in other media (Edvard Munch, Constantin Brancusi). Perhaps the most intriguing title was for his 2012 exhibition Shoot! Existential Photography, which took its inspiration from a carnival-game picture of the philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

Cheroux earned his doctorate in art history from the University of Paris I, Pantheon-Sorbonne, a masters degree in Aesthetics, Technology and Artistic Creation from the University of Paris VIII and a degree from the Ecole Nationale Superieure de la Photographie, Arles.

20 candidates for job

SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra said Cheroux understands the whole history of photography. ... He has a great scholarly background, but also a kind of openness to current developments.

Benezra said, Photography, even at this late date, is still a relatively small field. He and Ruth Berson, deputy museum director of curatorial affairs, spoke to about 20 serious candidates during a yearlong search.

Cheroux takes up his new job in January. In his first days, he said, he will try to follow the track of Sandra Phillips, learn what is in his new collection, and get to know the staff. He is already at work on a major retrospective (300 works) on the photographs of the highly influential American Walker Evans (1903-75), which will be on view at SFMOMA from October 2017 to February 2018, following a spring 2017 opening at the Pompidou.

Charles Desmarais is The San Francisco Chronicles art critic. Email: cdesmarais@sfchronicle.com Twitter: Artguy1
Jacom Stephens/Getty Images

A 19-year-old man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of second-degree murder and driving under the influence after he crashed his car in South San Francisco late Friday, resulting in the deaths of his two passengers, authorities said.

An 18-year-old woman from San Francisco and a 21-year-old man from Brisbane died in the crash, according to police. Both were thrown from the 1994 Honda Civic that Joshua Matthew Maldonado was driving after he shaved another car on Airport Boulevard at Pine Avenue and then struck a tree alongside the road, police said.
A black dog with a sharp nose helped unravel a 73-year-old mystery that led to the Bay Area return Friday of the long-lost remains of a fallen Marine from World War II.

For the family of Pfc. John Saini, the wait that began with a telegram in 1943 and stretched through the decades is over.

Its a relief to have my uncle finally home, said his nephew, also named John Saini, after being presented with the remains at a brief ceremony at San Francisco International Airport attended by 17 members of the Saini family of Healdsburg. This is a day my grandparents wanted but never lived to see.

The private was a 20-year-old soldier and a recent graduate of Healdsburg High School when U.S. forces stormed the Tarawa Atoll, about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, in November 1943. He was one of more than 1,000 U.S. troops killed as the Americans drove the Japanese from the islands. After the battle was over, however, the military couldnt find his grave.

There the matter stood until last year, when a team of volunteer searchers from History Flight, a Florida charity that attempts to find the unmarked graves of American warriors, heard a bark from an aging Labrador retriever named Buster, a cadaver dog, during their search of the Tarawa battle zone.

The dog had come across an unmarked trench that an electronic scan revealed to be the final resting place of four dozen servicemen. It was not far from the lagoon where the bloodiest part of the landing battle was waged. Military investigators confirmed that one of the servicemen was Saini.

On Friday, his body was flown from Hawaii to San Francisco, where the family was reunited in a brief ceremony by the side of the plane.

None of the family members at the airport had ever met Saini, but all knew his story. His niece, Liz McDowell, fought back tears as she recalled how her grandparents never seemed to be the same after receiving that telegram from the military, saying their son was presumed dead.

This is stirring emotions that I cant even describe, she said, leaning on a cousin for support. There wasnt a lot said about this in our family. But we felt it.

Sainis remains will be reburied Saturday at Oak Mound Cemetery in Healdsburg next to those of his parents.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Mark Noah is founder of History Flight, which has identified the remains of 100 servicemen in Europe and Asia over the past 13 years. He said the group strives to give the identity and the dignity back to the families.

Every time you do it, its like putting a little piece of America back in America, Noah said.

Valentina Saini, the 2-year-old great-grandniece of the fallen Marine, held a small U.S. flag on a stick by the side of the plane in San Francisco and stood as quietly as a 2-year-old girl can stand. But she did ask her elders, over and over, why her great-granduncle had to die.

You never have an answer for that, John Saini said.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com
The June election has just passed, and in the opportunistic, dog-eat-dog world of San Francisco politics, you know what that means. Get ready for November!

The June election was rather sleepy, but the November ballot is already shaping up to be very long and filled with controversial races. Sleepy? Nah. Think wide-awake and fueled by a triple espresso.

For starters, the presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump should motivate San Francisco voters to turn out in huge numbers. Already, were hearing projections of voter turnout over 80 percent, perhaps even trumping the 81.2 percent of city voters who turned out to vote for Barack Obama in 2008.

Fun fact: The highest voter turnout in the city in generations was 86 percent in 1960 when John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon. San Franciscans have always liked their high-stakes presidential elections.

The expected high turnout is motivating politicians to throw just about everything at the ballot to see what sticks. Heres a roundup of some of the most interesting and contentious races. Get ready for a barrage of television, Internet and mailer ads. Dont say we didnt warn you.

State Senate: Supervisor Scott Wiener was expected to beat Supervisor Jane Kim by double digits in the June primary, but that didnt happen  and the two head to the November finals in about as close to a dead heat as you can get.

Political consultant Jim Ross, who is not affiliated with either campaign, said this is the first big one-on-one, citywide election since Gavin Newsom beat Matt Gonzalez for mayor in 2003. (With district races for supervisor and instant runoffs to determine the winner of crowded mayoral fields, that kind of race is mostly a distant memory.)

Citywide makes it more interesting, Ross said. You have to campaign everywhere, so its not just the Mission, but also the Sunset. Its not just the Marina, but also the Excelsior.

And dont forget Daly City, too. The Senate district includes not just the city, but the northern part of San Mateo County.

Supervisors: All six of the odd-numbered supervisorial races are on the ballot  three are wide open, with Supervisors David Campos, Eric Mar and John Avalos termed out. Their districts are expected to become hard-fought battlegrounds between moderate and progressive candidates. Dont be surprised to see more than $1 million spent in each one.

Supervisors Norman Yee and London Breed have strong challengers in their districts, and so far, Supervisor Aaron Peskin is the only one on the ballot expected to coast to victory.

Sales tax hike: In perhaps the oddest pairing since Tony Bennett and Lady Gagas album of duets, homelessness and transit will appear together in one measure in hopes of persuading voters to raise the city sales tax from 8.75 percent to 9.5 percent.

Advocates for both were working on separate sales tax hikes for November until joining forces in hopes that one tax hike is an easier sell than two. But to make matters more confusing, the tax hike itself wont actually spell out that the money will be used for homeless services and transit improvements.

Thats because a tax increase earmarked for a specific purpose needs two-thirds of voter support, while a tax increase that doesnt have a specific purpose just requires a simple majority. A separate Charter amendment on the ballot will state that if the tax hike passes, two-thirds of the expected $150 million raised annually will go to transit and one-third to homelessness.

It was a methodology that provided both clarity and the greatest chance of success, said Supervisor Mark Farrell, chairman of the budget committee, who is co-sponsoring the plan that was led by Avalos.

Soda tax: The citys 2014 effort fizzled like a flat Coke, but Supervisor Malia Cohen is trying again. This time, her chances are better because of the way the tax is structured. For one thing, its a 1-cent-per-ounce tax rather than 2-cents-per-ounce. Also, it wont be earmarked specifically for childrens nutrition and physical education programs, so unlike last time it needs just a majority and not two-thirds of voter support.

Noncitizen voting: In another try-try-again effort, Mar wants to make it legal for immigrants living in the country without documentation to vote in school board races if they have children in the public schools. The idea has been before voters twice previously, in 2004 and 2010, and failed both times. Mar has said he thinks Trumps anti-immigrant rhetoric will prompt a backlash, and voters will finally approve the idea.

Lowering the voting age: Another effort to rework voting rules comes from Avalos and would allow those as young as 16 to vote in elections. Currently, the voting age is 18. If the measure passes, San Francisco would become the first major city in the country to lower the voting age.

Public advocate: Campos is behind a measure to create a new elected office: public advocate. The advocate would look after the publics interest at City Hall and would oversee the Office of Citizen Complaints and the Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement.

These are just some of the measures expected to be on the ballot, as well as the BART board, community college and school boards. Like we said, get ready.

P.S. Theres a familiar face running for school board. Mark Sanchez, who served on the school board from 2000-08, is running to rejoin the group. The Cleveland Elementary principal has one goal: finally build teacher housing, something that was discussed when he was on the board all those years ago.

He said the district has to hire 400 to 500 new staff this summer because of turnover due to high housing costs, the subject of a recent Chronicle special report. At Cleveland, one teacher is homeless and has been couch-surfing with friends for a year, Sanchez said.

Theres been some movement, but I think it needs to be more aggressive, he said of dealing with the teacher housing crisis. Its a tsunami that people are just kind of waking up to.

Heather Knight is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer who covers City Hall politics. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com, Twitter: hknightsf
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As World War II raged, many San Franciscans were probably surprised to run into groups of fit young German men wandering around town, shopping and going to movies.

These odd visitors had ended up in San Francisco as a result of one of the weirder episodes of the war. They were the marooned Germans of Angel Island.

The strange saga started Aug. 19, 1939, when a German luxury liner called the Columbus sailed from New York with 750 passengers, mostly Americans, and 579 German crew members on a 12-day cruise to the West Indies.

As John Soennichsen writes in Miwoks to Missiles: A History of Angel Island, the ship was not filled to capacity. With German troops massing on the Polish border, pleasure cruises were not at the top of most peoples agendas.

The long shadow of the war soon fell upon the Columbus. When it arrived in Martinique, the German crew was not allowed ashore. On Aug. 26, Capt. Wilhelm Daehne decided to cut the cruise short and began heading back to New York.

The Chronicle

But on the way he received a secret message from Berlin, ordering all German merchant ships either to return to a German port or seek refuge in neutral ports, and not to enter a U.S. port except in extreme emergency.

Odyssey on the seas

Daehne proceeded to Havana, where the U.S. passengers were disembarked and returned to New York on an American liner. Within the week, Germany invaded Poland, setting off World War II  meaning that if the Columbus were to get back to Europe, it would have to break through a British and French blockade.

Daehne sailed to Veracruz, Mexico, where the Columbus took on enough fuel for 40 days at sea and was repainted a military gray. On Dec. 14, it departed for Oslo.

But Hitlers navy was not destined to enjoy the services of the cruise liner. On Dec. 19, a British destroyer, the Hyperion, approached it at high speed about 400 miles off the coast of Virginia, fired two shots across its bow and ordered it to stop.

Daehne immediately gave the order to abandon ship and dispatched a special scuttling crew. With an hour, seawater was pouring in the seacocks and the Columbus was ablaze. Two crew members died  the other 577 were taken aboard the U.S. cruiser Tuscaloosa, whose crew had watched the confrontation from a distance.

As the Tuscaloosa entered New York Harbor, the Germans cheered and waved their hats. The crew was quarantined on Ellis Island.

U.S. guests

Daehne asserted that since they were merchant seamen, the Germans were legally entitled to 60 days freedom in port before being deported. An immigration official stated they were guests of the United States government.

The Chronicle

But it soon became clear that the U.S. government did not know what to do with its unusual guests. Were they really merchant seamen, entitled to 60 days leave? And if they were, how were they to be sent home through the allied blockade?

Whats more, they were experienced sailors who would be an asset to the German navy. Britain, at war with Germany, would never consent to their being repatriated.

Finally, the U.S. government decided to send the 514 crew members of military age by train to San Francisco, where they would be shipped home via the Pacific. The two trains carrying the Germans were met in Reno by German Consul Fritz Weidemann, who had made arrangements for them to be picked up by a Japanese ship.

However, the ship was spooked by three allied warships waiting outside the Golden Gate and refused to pick up the Germans. Instead, they were taken to Angel Island.

Summer resort

A purgatorial saga now unfolded. Authorities had 186 crew members held at the Immigration Station and 328 at the Quarantine Station. The immigration commissioner said that they would be there for two weeks at the most and that they would find the island like a summer resort.

The latter proved to be distinctly untrue, especially for the men at the Immigration Station. Bunks, some caked in mud and even blood, hung four high on chains. At night, the Germans were locked in with no bathroom facilities.

Although conditions gradually improved, no homeward-bound ships were forthcoming. The problem of what to do with the crew was growing more pressing, and the German Consulate complained that the men were virtual prisoners. The U.S. labor secretary said she was racking her brains trying to come up with a solution to what a newspaper called one of the most unique problems of World War II.

In March 1940, 35 older crew members were sent to Genoa aboard an Italian freighter via the Panama Canal. Another group soon followed. Both ships were boarded by the British in Gibraltar, and the Germans were sent to a French prison camp.

Seeing the sights

For the remaining 451 crew members, life on Angel Island was monotonous, but not onerous. They were well fed, well housed and given the run of the island. Shore leave was generous at first, and they attended the Worlds Fair on Treasure Island, wandered about San Francisco, and went to parties and movies.

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But some of the crew were accused of spreading Nazi propaganda, and widespread anti-German feelings among San Franciscans created ill will. After a fire burned one of the buildings in the Immigration Station, the remaining Germans were sent in March 1941 to an internment camp near Roswell, N.M.

Roswell, where a notorious UFO sighting would take place six years later, was an appropriately extraterrestrial site to conclude this Twilight Zone-like episode.

Soennichsen notes that one of the people who saw the train off was Mrs. Alex Rolfes of San Francisco, who had married a crew member a week earlier. She was not allowed to visit the camp, but she and her husband were sure the war would soon be over and they would be reunited.

Instead, the war dragged on for four more years. Only then, six years after they were held at Ellis Island, were Rolfes and the other crew members released. They had spent almost the entire war in detention.

Gary Kamiya is the author of the best-selling book Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco, awarded the 2013 Northern California Book Award in creative nonfiction. All the material in Portals of the Past is original for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: metro@sfchronicle.com

Trivia time

Previous trivia question: What famous San Franciscan was known as the generous miser?

Answer: James Lick.

This weeks trivia question: Where was the Times movie theater, and how much did it charge for a double bill in 1969?

Editors note

Every corner in San Francisco has an astonishing story to tell. Gary Kamiyas Portals of the Past tells those lost stories, using a specific location to illuminate San Franciscos extraordinary history  from the days when giant mammoths wandered through what is now North Beach to the Gold Rush delirium, the dot-com madness and beyond. His column appears every other Saturday, alternating with Peter Hartlaubs OurSF.
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Its not just a 6-foot chain-link fence thats keeping children out of the new Mission Bay Childrens Park  red tape is also to blame.

The 2.4-acre park, which is at Long Bridge and China Basin streets not far from Mission Creek, was finished in March. The playground was supposed to open this spring. But now, that wont happen until next month  at the earliest.

I can understand the frustration from neighbors if they see the park completed, and its not open, Public Works spokeswoman Rachel Gordon said. To go through the public process takes time. This is a brand-new neighborhood that was built from scratch. The improvements and assets are not done overnight, and we need to make sure everything is done safely and responsibly.

Though the playground has been completed for months, it took longer for the city to finish infrastructure work. A former industrial area, the neighborhood was once home to shipyards, railroads and warehouses before being redeveloped. Public Utilities Commission crews had to install and test streetlights around the new park, and the developer needed to finish surfacing the surrounding streets. City regulations mandate that all work be finished before opening the new park.

The Board of Supervisors also still needs to approve the playground, and there is a final review period to make sure the work was done to city standards.

Supervisor Jane Kim, who represents the district, filed a waiver to expedite the process, which typically takes 60 days. The waiver would essentially backdate the park acceptance legislation and pass the paperwork straight to the board, skirting the 60-day review process. After a final signature from Mayor Ed Lee, the playground would finally open.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

Meanwhile, Mission Bay residents continue paying special taxes to maintain the new park in their neighborhood  which they cannot even use. The special fees go to improvements and services within the neighborhood alone.

The Mission Bay Development Group, which built the park, didnt respond to calls from The Chronicle.

I am extremely frustrated that the park is not open, Kim said. With the increasing number of families now living in the area, we needed this park opened yesterday. We are now working on expedited legislation and interim licensing to speed up the park and streets acceptance process.

Neighbors have long been frustrated with the bureaucratic holdups. In February, an exasperated neighbor used bolt cutters to pop a lock on the chain-link fence.

For one day, the playground was flooded with children and families. But the next day, the fence was doing its job again and children could only stare at the primary-colored equipment behind the metal mesh.

Its just sitting there, and it looks done, said Kristina Alagar Cordero, who lives in the neighborhood. To have this park look totally and completely done but inaccessible is mind-boggling. Its strange to the families that live in the neighborhood, especially as it is transitioning and becoming more dense. You need space for kids to play.

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Instead, Cordero wheels her 4-year-old, Elise, and 3-year-old, Oliver, to a Potrero Hill playground to play. She purposefully skirts the playground to prevent tears, she said.

Kwanua Robinson, who rents an apartment across the street from the park, said neighbors received little information about the holdups and have been left hanging. Her 3-year-old, Kaiden, plays at a park near AT&T Park but is getting too old for the equipment.

The other moms and I often discuss it amongst ourselves, trying to figure out what is going on, she said.

I still havent gotten a clear sense of why its not open. The last story I heard was that there was still construction going on in the area. Its ironic because thats where we live. I dont see what the difference is, us being able to live here but not allowing our children to play here, too.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: LizzieJohnsonnn
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For much of her year and a half in office, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf praised Police Chief Sean Whent as a tough crime fighter with a good heart  the kind of person who could bring much-needed stability to a police department that for years had cycled through one chief after another.

But in recent months the department was beset by questions about the discipline of its rank and file  and late Thursday, Whent became the latest chief to abruptly leave Oakland.

It was his decision, a tight-lipped Schaaf said at a City Hall news conference Friday, in which she alternately praised Whent for his accomplishments and deflected questions about whether she or the citys court-appointed police monitor had pushed him out.

By the time Whents resignation was announced to the media just before 11 p.m., Schaaf had already tapped Benson Fairow, the deputy police chief at BART, as his interim replacement.

City Administrator Sabrina Landreth said at the news conference that the departments future rested on an institution, not an individual.

For a while, that institution was making apparent progress under Whent after years of turmoil. Then came a series of disciplinary cases, the most prominent involving four officers who were accused of sexual misconduct.

Two of them resigned last month. On Thursday, Contra Costa County prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to file criminal charges against one of the two, former Officer Terryl Smith, who had been investigated for allegedly forcibly sodomizing an 18-year-old woman.

Schaaf said Friday that she was extremely angry about the misconduct allegations. But she also emphasized that Whent himself had never been the subject of a misconduct investigation.

Other officers had landed in trouble in recent months. Officer Cullen Faeth was charged with misdemeanor battery, public intoxication and trespassing after he allegedly tried to break into a home in Oaklands Redwood Heights neighborhood in December and attacked a woman who lived there. In February, Officer Matthew Santos was arrested for allegedly pulling his gun on a man painting Santos apartment in Emeryville. Santos was fired shortly thereafter.

The string of problems was dismaying to officials who had seen Whent seemingly stabilize a dysfunctional department.

Chief Anthony Batts quit in 2011 after receiving a scathing report from Robert Warshaw, the court monitor assigned to ensure that the Police Department was implementing reforms ordered by a federal judge. Batts successor, Howard Jordan, left suddenly in 2013 amid a spike in violent crime and a wave of anger over how police were handling Occupy protests. Interim Chief Anthony Toribio, who came in after Jordan, lasted only two days.

We made the most significant progress under Chief Whent that we had in a decade, said City Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney.

She said Whent, who is white and rose through the Police Department ranks, had made particular progress in improving relations with Oaklands African American residents.

He apologized for the injustices that the black community in Oakland has suffered, McElhaney said, referring to a public mea culpa that Whent offered during a Black Lives Matter forum at City Hall in January 2015. That doesnt just happen under any leadership.

For a while, Whent had the enthusiastic support of both Schaaf and Warshaw, raising hopes among some officials that the Police Department might finally get out from under a federal courts oversight. That oversight stemmed from a scandal in the early 2000s involving four officers who called themselves the Riders, who were accused in civil and criminal proceedings of beating West Oakland residents and planting evidence.

As the recent misconduct cases mounted, Schaaf continued to tout the citys drop in violent crime under Whents tenure. But it was clear Friday that she was tired of scandals among the rank and file.

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Certainly crime control is an important part of the chiefs job, but department discipline is also an important issue, said Tony Ribera, a retired San Francisco police chief and director of the International Institute of Criminal Justice at the University of San Francisco.

He noted similarities between what happened to Whent and former Chief Greg Suhr in San Francisco, whose officers were involved in several controversial shootings even as he publicly insisted that the department was trying to change. He resigned under pressure last month.

You ask yourself, How many of these things can be blamed on the chief? What would I have done? Ribera said. Its not a simple answer.

Schaaf said Friday that Oakland had started a national search for Whents replacement, even as San Francisco is casting about for a successor to Suhr.

Whent could not be reached for comment.

Ribera said the average tenure of a police chief nationally is about 2 years. Its particularly hard to keep stable leadership in politically volatile cities like Oakland, as its string of chiefs since 2011 shows.

And then the question becomes, Can you attract good candidates? Ribera said. Will people want the job?

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: rachelswan
Affordable housing, the issue that has dominated San Francisco politics for the past three years, is suddenly the hot topic at the state Capitol in Sacramento.

That might seem like a good thing, but not all San Francisco housing advocates are happy.

In a move that came as a total surprise even to insiders such as state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who is the chairman of the Senate budget committee, Gov. Jerry Brown introduced legislation last month to streamline the environmental review process for proposed housing projects that are consistent with local zoning.

If enacted, the proposal would allow planning staff to rubber-stamp what are known as by right housing developments that conform to the citys zoning and include 10 percent affordable units, or 20 percent if the project is not close to public transit. It would allow developers to avoid the lengthy public environmental review process that addresses concerns about the impacts on traffic, wind, shadows and noise. Activists often use the review process to win concessions on affordable units, open space and other public benefits.

Reducing regulation

At a news conference on his revised budget, Brown laid out his argument for the plan, complaining that it costs $500,000 to produce a unit of affordable housing in San Francisco and suggesting that it needs to be less expensive and faster to put up residential units.

The general idea is if you want some assisted housing, youre going to have to reduce some of the regulatory burdens that are faced by developers, he said.

While he has not explicitly said so, the consensus in Sacramento is that the reforms Brown is proposing are part of a quid pro quo: He agreed in Thursdays budget deal to spend $400 million on statewide affordable housing that Democrats wanted, but the money wont be released until the by-right language is agreed to.

Not surprisingly, market-rate developers across the city are cheering Browns proposal, which has the potential to reduce the citys expensive and time-consuming approval process. Outside of San Francisco, the initiative could force antidevelopment suburban and rural communities to accept badly needed multifamily housing.

I would view housing reform as one of the major pieces of unfinished business for Jerry Brown, said Gabriel Metcalf, the executive director of the generally pro-development San Francisco urban think tank SPUR, which has come out in support of the legislation. He was an urban mayor. He understands the planning process. And I think he is hoping to leave things a little better than when he arrived, in terms of Californias housing crisis.

But in San Francisco, which produces more affordable and market-rate housing than most other California cities, Supervisor Aaron Peskin calls the legislation a huge giveaway to developers. He points out that the city has produced 13,391 market-rate housing units since 2010 and 7,064 affordable units. San Francisco has 11,000 entitled units and another 20,000 in the approval pipeline, more than any other city in the state.

On Tuesday, Peskin introduced a nonbinding resolution at the Board of Supervisors proposing that Browns plan include a performance provision, under which cities that are successfully building affordable units  at least 25 percent of production  be exempted from the by-right approval process. But a vote on the resolution was delayed until this Tuesday after Supervisor Scott Wiener introduced an amendment to the resolution that calls for changes to Browns legislation but not an outright exemption.

Considering cities results

Leno said he supports a performance provision for cities, like San Francisco, that are getting it right.

No one else is near (San Franciscos) numbers in terms of affordable housing production, he said. And we are surrounded by water on three sides. The cost of construction here is not comparable to anywhere else in the state.

Leno also said that a major change like the by-right legislation deserves far more scrutiny. This is a major change in complex land-use law with a one-size-fits-all solution which could have far-reaching and unintended consequences, Leno said.

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Opponents of the bill say that rather than using the current approval process to stop development, San Franciscos affordable housing advocates use it to get more below-market units, more space for blue-collar jobs, more open public space and better design. If given the choice, profit-driven developers would not agree to those enhancements, resulting in lower-quality developments with fewer affordable units and public benefits, said Peter Cohen, who heads the Council of Community Housing Organizations.

This is a terrible bill for San Francisco and other high-price cities where gentrification is a very real problem, Cohen said. Its crude politics in a political pressure cooker. You have to look at the track record of cities and respect where (affordable housing) is being produced.

While San Francisco may be a top performer in producing affordable units, Metcalf said proof that the citys housing policies are not working is that it has the highest costs of housing in the United States. He said Browns bill will help the city generate more market-rate and publicly subsidized housing.

San Francisco has not been a good actor in terms of creating a predictable and transparent process in which housing that fits within (the citys) zoning is allowed, he said. The governors reforms would be helpful. It will not solve all our problems. It can be undermined in a lot of ways. But it will be a step in the right direction.

Chiu wary of further vetoes

For Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, the situation is politically perilous. Brown has vetoed several affordable housing bills he introduced. He doesnt want to see that happen again. And while he agrees that affordable-housing-producing cities like San Francisco should be allowed flexibility, he understands that in most parts of the state, the approval process is used to block affordable housing, not squeeze more of it out of developers.

There are other jurisdictions around the state that have not focused on affordable housing to the degree we have done so in San Francisco, Chiu said. Across the state, a lot of my California counterparts are happy with this because they are trying to build housing and are getting stopped by true NIMBYs who use (the environmental review process) to stop affordable housing.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: sfjkdineen
Elizabeth Holmes just signed up for her own version of the Hunger Games this summer.

The embattled Theranos founder and CEO, soon to be played by actress Jennifer Lawrence in a movie based on her companys recent battles, has agreed to present the companys blood-testing technology at a major medical conference Aug. 1. Its the first time Holmes will come face to face with her peers  and critics  in the scientific community, after insisting for years that she couldnt reveal the details of her Edison technology lest rivals copy it.

Holmes can expect a tough audience, especially given the controversy over whether Edison actually works. Last month, the company notified patients and doctors that it was voiding tens of thousands of test results going back two years. But the real blood sport will come after the presentation, when 200 members of the national media will question Holmes about the cornucopia of investigations Theranos faces from the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies.

She quickly attracted a $9 billion valuation, a deal to put clinics in Walgreens drugstores, and the fawning coverage of national publications like Fortune and the New Yorker.

But Theranos technology has proved flawed. And a fair question to ask is whether Holmes Silicon Valley-style secrecy, appropriate for unveiling a flashy new piece of consumer electronics, is appropriate when patients health is at stake.

Experts in microfluidics, a key aspect of the technological blood-testing frontier Theranos has staked out, would normally present studies and answer questions from other scientists at the annual conference of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

Weve been aware of Theranos for some time, said Molly Polen, a spokeswoman for the association. Weve been asking Holmes to speak for a few years now.

Under fire from all sides, Holmes finally accepted the groups offer to speak at this years conference in Philadelphia.

This is the place for her to showcase her technology to experts in her field and to determine whether it has validity or not, Polen said.

Real questions linger over the companys inventions and its operations. Theranos said only 1 percent of its test results were voided or corrected. But the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency that regulates blood-testing labs, has proposed sanctions including shutting down its Newark lab, where it found severe lapses, and banning Holmes from the business for two years.

After months of bad headlines, Holmes clearly wants to go on the offensive and prove Theranos bona fides to scientists who actually know how blood testing works. But the press conference is what baffles me: Why would Holmes wants to talk to the media when federal prosecutors are investigating Theranos for allegedly misleading investors about its technology?

Two things come to mind, said Eric Havian, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Bay Area and now a partner with Constantine Cannon law firm. She is absolutely convinced that she has nothing to worry about. And shes ignoring the advice of her lawyer.

Federal prosecutors will no doubt take notes, he said. Most criminal defense attorneys are conservative and would see little benefit to a person under investigation speaking to the media, Havian said.

She should be very strategic and selective in picking places where she can hopefully establish herself as a person who knows something, said Jennifer Jones, a public relations consultant in Woodside. But why is she doing the press conference? Given that she is under investigation, that seems like a crazy idea.

Plus shes not effective at this press stuff.

At a Fortune magazine forum in November, Holmes seemed to agree, while suggesting Theranos problems were ones of style, not substance.

Im definitely not a PR person, she said.

Yet Holmes seem to revel in doing things differently and tackling problems she might not seem suited to handle, which is probably why she got in trouble. Holmes dropped out of Stanford to found Theranos, which promised to revolutionize health care with an inexpensive and noninvasive way to diagnose diseases.

As Theranos problems unfolded, Holmes appeared slow to grasp the severity of her situation. She certainly understands it now.

Holmes recently recruited Brooke Buchanan as a Theranos spokeswoman. Buchanan, who served as press secretary to Arizona Sen. John McCain during his presidential campaign in 2008, has aggressively pushed back against negative coverage. Buchanan did not respond to a request for comment  which may be smart, given the circumstances.

But I wonder if Holmes, perhaps encouraged by Buchanan, is being a little too aggressive in answering her critics.

For if the scientific meeting and the press conference that follows are her Hunger Games, the odds most definitely dont seem in her favor.

Thomas Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: tlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: ByTomLee
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A fire sale was under way at Yahoos company store at its Sunnyvale headquarters last week. A rack with gray T-shirts emblazoned with Yahoos famous exclamation mark were slashed 50 percent to $6 each, all to make way for new merchandise, staffers said.

Thats not the only sale going on in Sunnyvale.

Local leaders and businesses are preparing for the worst as Yahoo continues to explore a sale of its Internet properties. Theyre monitoring whether Sunnyvales third-largest employer will cease to be an independent, publicly traded company. And if its parts will be sold off to private equity or folded into a company like Verizon or AT&T.

Whoever is the buyer of this, our intention and hope would be that they would go ahead and house as many of those workers in Sunnyvale as possible, said Sunnyvale Mayor Glenn Hendricks.

Yahoo has been paring down its presence in the Bay Area. Last year, the Internet pioneer had nearly 4,000 employees in Sunnyvale. This year, it has let go more than 200 workers at the headquarters. The move was part of an effort to bring Yahoos workforce down to around 9,000 employees worldwide. Analysts anticipate that any corporate buyer of Yahoo would continue to cut jobs, especially if there are overlapping positions in areas like sales and administration, or move them outside the Bay Area.

One of the potential buyers that some analysts see as the front-runner to own Yahoo is Verizon. The telecommunications giant isnt interested in buying Yahoos real estate, and recently bid around $3 billion for just its online properties, according to the Wall Street Journal.

If Yahoo sells the office space it owns in Sunnyvale, that would put more than 1 million square feet back on the market, according to CoStar Portfolio Strategy. Thats roughly 8 percent of the total office space in the city, according to first-quarter Colliers International data.

Mark Ritchie, president of the Ritchie Commercial real estate firm, said he doesnt think Yahoo would have trouble selling the property to other companies or investors looking to lease out offices. Sunnyvales two largest employers last year were Lockheed and Apple. Apple has been snapping up large swaths of real estate in the Bay Area and signed a long-term lease on an 18-acre Sunnyvale site last year.

Sunnyvale office space is still very much in demand and vacancies are low, Ritchie said.

Yahoo is also trying to sell 50 acres in Santa Clara, with Chinese electronics maker LeEco reportedly interested.

Sunnyvale restaurants popular with Yahoo employees are bracing for a decline in sales if it is sold.

We could lose a lot of customers, said Marina Gonzalez, a store manager at Middle Eastern restaurant Dish n Dash on North Mathilda Avenue. A large chunk of the lunch crowd is from Yahoo, and roughly once a month, the company sends over catering orders for the restaurants popular wraps and other items.

Edward Fike, president of Hobees California Restaurants, said that while sales at its Sunnyvale location may take an initial dip if Yahoo were to leave, hes confident that the restaurant chain can make it up when the new tenant moves in.

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When a major player leaves town, theres usually a hole thats filled pretty swiftly, Fike said.

Some analysts anticipate that the final round of bidding for Yahoos Internet business would take place in July, with a sale in the fall. A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment on the sale process, or on whether employees would stay in Sunnyvale if Yahoos core business were sold.

City Councilwoman Tara Martin-Milius says Sunnyvale has a diversity of tech companies, and while she is sorry that things arent going better for Yahoo, there will probably be interested in other businesses that would like to move into the city.

Its always sad to see somebody leave, but it makes an opening for somebody else.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer David R. Baker contributed

to this report.

Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: thewendylee
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Thanks to a glut of new high-end apartment buildings, some Bay Area landlords are offering incentives such as free rent for a month or more, six months of free parking, free electricity for a year or up to $1,500 in gift cards. Some are waiving application fees and cutting security deposits to $1,000 or less on units that rent for $3,000 a month and up.

Matt Knutson and his girlfriend just signed a lease on a junior one-bedroom in the Solaire, a new building near Rincon Hill a few blocks from his current apartment. Their rent will be $3,490 a month, which is about what they are paying now for a true one-bedroom thats a little bigger. But the Solaire is brand-new and has far more amenities, including a rooftop deck, state-of-the-art gym and bike room. Plus the couple got one month free rent.

Its not unusual for new complexes to offer one month of free rent during whats called the lease-up period until they stabilize at around 90 percent occupancy. Developers want to get heads in beds as quickly as possible, said Alexander Goldfarb, an analyst with Sandler ONeill + Partners.

But with so many buildings opening around the same time, the incentives are getting bigger and spreading to somewhat older buildings that compete with new ones. South of Market, South Beach, Mission Bay and Potrero Hill are San Franciscos ground zero for new construction  and rent concessions. On Craigslist last week, you could also find free rent offers in the Tenderloin and Hayes Valley neighborhoods, as well as in more than a dozen Bay Area cities, including Novato, Tiburon, San Mateo, Redwood City, Santa Clara, Pleasanton, San Ramon and San Jose.

Many large apartment buildings are owned by apartment real estate investment trusts. At an industry conference last week, several REIT executives noted that rent growth in the Bay Area has fallen sharply from last years breakneck pace. Although job growth in the region has also slipped, they said the main culprit is new supply and that concessions will abate once the bulge of new apartments is absorbed.

About 12,300 new units are expected to hit the market in the San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland metro areas this year, according to Axiometrics. Thats up from roughly 7,000 last year and 6,700 the year before. Next year, the total is expected to drop to around 9,300.

In Northern California, about 70 percent of the new units scheduled to open this year will begin leasing in the second and third quarters, creating a supply delivery issue, Michael Schall, CEO of Essex Property Trust, said at the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts Investor Forum in New York.

Lease-ups are dictating price and using concessions that are six to eight weeks in certain submarkets, he said. The weak submarkets he named were SoMa, the Peninsula and North San Jose. Based in San Mateo, Essex owns 60,000 units in coastal California and Washington.

Pricing power erodes

Early this year, Equity Residential was able to charge 5 percent more when it signed new leases in the Bay Area, its chief operating officer, David Santee, said at the same conference. But literally in probably three to four weeks, as we began to enter the peak leasing season, we saw that pricing power erode from 5 percent down to 1 percent, where we are today. That was kind of the impetus behind the companys June 1 announcement that it is lowering its revenue forecast for 2016.

The Chicago company is the nations largest apartment REIT. About 20 percent of its assets are in the Bay Area. Its stock has fallen 7 percent since lowering its forecast. Other apartment REITs have fallen in sympathy, including Essex (7.9 percent), UDR (6.4 percent) and AvalonBay Communities (5.5 percent).

In a presentation prepared for the forum, UDR said new and renewing leases on Bay Area apartments open at least one year grew 5.6 percent in April and May. Last year, they grew 11.9 percent in the same period. The slowdown was far greater on new than renewing leases.

Denvers UDR owns 12 apartment communities in the Bay Area that offer a variety of incentives. At the Edgewater in San Francisco, it has been offering free rent for one month on vacant apartments, or six weeks free if you tour and sign a lease the same day. Its was also offering a $99 deposit (with approved credit) and a years worth of free parking (on one unit only). At Channel Mission Bay in San Francisco, it was offering a $1,000 gift card, and at Almaden Lake Village in San Jose, a $1,500 card. It was advertising a free year of electricity on three units at Bay Terrace in San Mateo.

UDRs newest building, 399 Fremont in the Rincon Hill area, opened in March and is now 43 percent leased. The 477-unit building is offering one month of free rent.

Its hard to say what impact incentives are having on rents. Some firms that report average rental rates factor in freebies and some do not.

Axiometrics, a research and consulting firm, does adjust for rental incentives. It said that the average rent in San Francisco was $3,252 in May, up 2.3 percent from the previous year. Rents grew 9.2 percent the previous year.

In the Oakland metro area, the average rent, adjusted for incentives, was $2,411 in May, up 5.2 percent from the year before. The previous year, rents grew 14.4 percent.

Abodo.com said that rents in San Francisco, not adjusted for incentives, fell to an average of $3,929 a month in June, down 7 percent from last month.

Giving tenants a month of free rent is the same as cutting the rent by 8.3 percent. So why dont landlords just cut rents?

On lease-ups, tenants walking in the door are wowed by the $2,000 gift card or one month free. They are expecting something like that up front, said Robert Stevenson, a senior real estate analyst with Janney. Keeping the rent high also makes it easier to raise the rent come renewal time, he said.

Suppose a landlord discounts the rent on a $3,000 apartment by 8.3 percent, to roughly $2,750. One year later, conditions have improved and he raises it to $3,150. Thats a 14.5 percent increase. If he had kept the rent at $3,000 and offered one month free, the increase to $3,150 is only 5 percent  much easier for the tenant to stomach.

Also, if a developer plans to sell an apartment building to a buyer, they would rather show a rent roll of $3,500 a month than $3,400 or $3,300 a month, Goldfarb said.

Renters looking for deals should focus on new apartment buildings, assuming they can afford the sky-high rents. Some developers are anxious to get their buildings stabilized so they can replace construction financing with a mortgage, said Drew Babin, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

They should also look at apartments that compete with new ones.

Competing with new

Afi Valizadeh is a San Francisco real estate broker who helps investors buy condominium units and then finds tenants for them. She specializes in District Nine, the area south of Market where most of the new construction is. We do condos at the Madrone, Arden, Lumina, Infinity, Beacon, she said. These units compete with new luxury apartment buildings such as Azure, Jasper, Potrero 1010, MB360 and 399 Fremont.

All of a sudden the (apartment buildings) started offering one month free, six months free parking, Valizadeh said. Now prospective tenants come to me and say, look at all this inventory out there. I want this (unit) for this much. They are offering me prices now.

Valizadeh said she cant offer free rent. We just give them really reasonable prices.

Rents in her buildings have dropped 15 percent on average since last year. Rents in the Madrone were $5,500 last year, this year they are $4,500 for the same two-bedroom, she said.

In older buildings and more affordable parts of the Bay Area, rents are holding up better than they are in the hot San Francisco neighborhoods. Essex and UDR both noted that their B properties are outperforming their A properties.

Everything getting built is very high end. If the high rents in SoMa start dropping, eventually people will move to the city from the suburbs and rents will become more affordable for everyone, Babin said. But it might take rents in the city not growing at all for years for it to transpire, he said. In the meantime, you are only helping out people with a lot of money.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: kathpender
Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office

A man wanted in an Oakland killing shot himself Friday after an hours-long standoff with sheriffs deputies in Santa Barbara County and was airlifted to an area hospital in critical condition, officials said.

The suspects self-inflicted gunshot wound came less than a day after he allegedly shot a 30-year-old man to death in East Oakland, according to authorities.
Among the many reasons Im grateful to Muhammad Ali  the champion boxer, courageous activist and American hero who died last week  is that hes the reason for my familys Greatest Email Thread of All Time.

GETT isnt quite as catchy as GOAT, the preferred nickname for Ali among his fans. (It stands for the greatest of all time, and I dare anyone to argue with me that the three-time heavyweight champion was not.)

But it seems fitting that Ali, he of the flying feet and the faster tongue, inspired us to greater heights of storytelling this week.

Like all family lore, its hard to tell when it started. But a dig through my inbox shows that it probably began on June 4, when my father decided to email a group of his siblings and children with news about what he was seeing in Louisville, Ky., Alis hometown, where my father just happened to be working last week.

It was a sweet, poignant message  the mayor had ordered flags to fly at half-staff, hed spotted people crying in the streets  and he ended it by saying that he planned to walk along Muhammad Ali Boulevard in respect for our collective hero.

That couldve been that.

But these are my family members. Everythings an opportunity for a little friendly competitiveness.

I will never forget Ali, wrote my Uncle Jeff. I served on his security detail when he spoke at San Jose State years ago.

At this point I intervened. Jeff was going to have to provide more detail.

Ive never heard that story, I wrote.

Challenge accepted.

Referencing a yellowed version of the student newspaper from San Jose State dated May 20, 1971, Jeff launched into an account of Alis visit to the school.

It was a glorious day, he wrote. The visit, he said, had come about as a result of the students, who spent their own activity fund on Alis speaking fee because the college administration  like most institutions at the time  was opposed to having Alis antiwar self on campus.

Ali offered anyone in the audience $1,000 in cash money if they could prove him wrong regarding his position that (African Americans) must become true equals in America, Jeff wrote, because racism was the worst problem facing the world.

I asked if he could share a copy. (Pass go and collect $200 if youve correctly identified my family role as the Skeptic.)

My cousins chimed in  they, too, loved the story and wanted more. We younger folk began a lively side discussion about what it must have been like at San Jose State in those years, the university that was also home to Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the African American Olympic athletes who did black power salutes on the winners podium during the 1968 Olympic Games.

Jeff said hed ask my aunt, Dianne, to scan the newspaper article that hed kept in his memory box for all of these years.

Sure, Dianne said, and funny enough, she had her own story about Ali.

Her story was from Alis later years  the years when Parkinsons had slowed his tongue, allowing him to become the apolitical figure of peace that everyone loved.

Ali had come to Marcus Bookstore in Oakland, Dianne said, and she and her daughter, who was small at the time, had gotten there too late for his talk. The store was scheduled to be closing, and there was a long line of people stretching out of the store and around the block. So she put her daughter on her shoulders in the hopes that shed get a glimpse of the great man.

Ali looked up and saw her in the window, Dianne wrote. And he told the staff person that there was a kid outside who should be let in.

Ali said hello to her daughter and let her proud mother take a picture of the two of them together. She included the (adorable) picture in her email.

The story brought tears to my eyes. It also spurred my uncle to get to a scanning machine.

A couple of days ago I got a PDF in my inbox.

Heres the article, in all of its politically incorrect glory! Jeff wrote.

It was a clip from the Spartan Daily about Alis 1971 campus visit.

My uncle wasnt lying about it being politically incorrect  lets just say that theres a gulf between what you could print in a student newspaper in 1971 and what you can print in a family newspaper in 2016  but what struck me was the picture that ran with it. It shows Ali kissing a baby from the crowd, along with a gentleman in a zebra-striped dashiki identified as one of Alis bodyguards. Hes a handsome guy, but hes not my uncle.

But you know what? Ill get more details at the next barbecue.

In the meantime, Im keeping that PDF  and our email thread  in my digital memory box.

Caille Millner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cmillner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: caillemillner
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Two Solano County men were arrested Wednesday after police said they drugged and sexually assaulted two unconscious teenage girls.

Suisun City residents Rashad Perkins-Stovall, 19, and Carlos Brown, 27, were booked into the Solano County jail on suspicion of raping a victim unconscious of the nature of the act, rape in concert with force or violence, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, sexual penetration with a foreign object with a drugged victim, and possession of child pornography  all felonies.

They additionally face a misdemeanor charge of annoying a child under 18, authorities said.

Suisun City Police Department, joined by the FBI, served a search warrant on a house in the 500 block of Chyrl Way, where Perkins-Stovall was arrested. Brown was arrested later in the evening in Fairfield on another arrest warrant, police said.

The victims, ages 14 and 15, were acquaintances with their attackers, said Sgt. Jeff Henderson, a Suisun City Police Department spokesman. Perkins-Stovall and Brown are friends, he said.

One of the victims was assaulted by both men, but not simultaneously. The other was assaulted by one. Police would not release which victim was attacked by both men, Henderson said.

The department was investigating two isolated events per victim, but it was possible they were assaulted more times. Investigators believe the men drugged the girls before assaulting them at a house in Suisun City, Henderson said.

One of the victims realized what had occurred afterward and contacted police, who began investigating two weeks ago, authorities said. Police have not found additional victims, Henderson said.

Brown was a registered sex offender based on a prior felony conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, police said.

Perkins-Stovall and Brown were being held at Solano County Jail on $300,000 bail.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: JennaJourno
Booze, pot, cigarillos  all in one place.

The Chronicles front page from June 11, 1965, covers a proposal to drop the states drinking age to 18, testimony that grade-schoolers were smoking cannabis, and a judges decision to sentence a 15-year-old to six months on a minor pot charge.

And there was a big bookie raid to boot.

A special Federal Grand Jury indicted 17 persons  including Sheriffs Captain Alvin Prara, 46, of San Mateo, and former San Francisco Police Inspector Joseph F. Farrell, 56  on an assortment of bookmaking charges yesterday, the story read. Prara was accused of taking a payoff of $300 per month per telephone from a Peninsula bookie who did a business of $1.8 million in three years, and Farrell was accused of being the go-between.

As for the booze rule: Nevitt Sanford, who has 32 years experience in personality and social research, proposed yesterday that California lower the legal drinking age to 18, a story by Chronicle correspondent Donovan Bess read. He also proposed that the colleges and universities of the state permit drinking on campus  and allow professors and students to gather together over beer in campus pubs and symposiums.

Modern-day Socrates-Plato-Aristotle relationships would proliferate, no doubt.

In more serious news  its freak-out time, 1960s Bay Area parents: Grade-school children as young as nine years old are using marijuana in Marin County, Grand Jury Foreman George R. Scott told reporters yesterday after jurors heard juvenile witnesses in secret session, the story read.

Smoking marijuana is better than drinking whiskey, one of the young witnesses said. My old man drinks hard whiskey and its done him more harm than marijuanas done me.

Touche, kid.

Thats not to say the authorities werent serious about the devils lettuce. Juvenile court Judge Raymond J. OConnor yesterday demonstrated that he intends to treat marijuana more seriously than a number of San Francisco teenagers apparently do, another story read. The judge consigned a 15-year-old boy for a minimum of six months to Log Cabin Ranch, the citys juvenile rehabilitation center, for acting as a go-between in the sale of three marijuana cigarettes.

For all the outrage around marijuana, no one seemed to mind the cloud of death hovering around tobacco users. The Chronicle featured a front-page ad for Robt. Burns Cigarillos, for the man on the move.

See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspaper's history.

Chronicle Covers is a yearlong project highlighting one classic Chronicle newspaper page from our archive every day for 366 days. Library director Bill Van Niekerken, producer s Kimberly Chua and Michelle Devera , and editorial assistant Jillian Sullivan contributed to the project. Tim ORourke is the executive producer and editor of SFChronicle.com. Email: torourke@sfchronicle.com Twitter: TimothyORourke

(Click to enlarge)




The Ministry of Industry and Trade decided to import around 100,000 tons of sugar this year to meet growing demand in the local market, said the government online news portal.

Under the commitment made with the World Trade Organization, each year, Vietnam has to import a fixed quota of sugar from foreign countries with an on-year increase of five percent. This year, the import quota of sugar is around 85,000 tons.

However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that Vietnamese enterprises have faced difficulties amid the continuous rise of sugar prices, making them unable to buy enough sugar for processing activities. In addition, many traders tend to keep sugar in stock to wait for further price hikes, exacerbating the problem of sugar supply shortages.

On June 1, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the plan to immediately import 100,000 tons of sugar in addition to the quota of 85,000 tons to meet sugar demands of Vietnamese enterprises.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that each year, Vietnam produces about more than one million tons of sugar. This year, sugar output will fall by 200,000 tons due to the prolonged drought caused by El Nino while the demand for sugar grows by 100,000 tons.

Based on the above figures, the Ministry of Industry and Trade sent a proposal to the Prime Minister, asking for an additional 200,000 tons or sugar imports to push up the quota to 285,000 tons.

Related news:

> Anti-smuggling forces likely to own confiscated illegal sugar

> Sugar factory fined $21,500 for pollution, mass fish deaths in Thanh Hoa river
Is it true? That we dont make anything in the U.S. anymore? That all our production has moved to China? That manufacturing has left California and isnt coming back? That its too expensive to manufacture in the Bay Area? While many people think this  and there are reasons why they do  none of these statements holds today.

Manufacturing is in the early stages of a renaissance that will change our idea of what it means to manufacture. But we need to rebuild our pipeline of manufacturing industry workers and update those skill sets. Legislation before the Legislature now would strengthen programs at the states community colleges to train workers for these new jobs.

The governor is requesting $248 million in new funding for career technical education in his 2016-17 budget. A significant share of that funding would be distributed on a regional basis (not just to individual campuses) to ensure widespread collaboration with industry. Such an investment would help ensure manufacturings future in Californias economy.

Ask most people what they think of when they hear the word manufacturing, and they describe large factory floors with hundreds or thousands of relatively low-skilled assembly-line workers. While those places do exist, 21st century production is far different.

For example:

Complex products  from aircraft parts to, in the not-too-distant future, human organs  can now be produced from a growing array of materials with 3-D printing. This is enabling swift, customized production that serves local or specialized markets. With the growth of online commerce, consumers are increasingly demanding products (clothes or shoes custom-designed for a personal fit) that both meet their expectations and are immediately available.

Robotics and the Internet of Things  machines that are connected by sensors, and both generate and respond to big data  are enabling sophisticated processes that can produce high-volume goods with great precision.

Of course, Asian and other countries have access to these technologies, too. But labor rates in China are rising, and the cost savings relative to manufacturing in the United States  while still substantial  are shrinking. With labor becoming an ever-smaller part of production costs, Chinas advantage shrinks further. Add to that the desire of many U.S. manufacturers to shorten supply lines, better manage quality and retain the many benefits of U.S. research and development lost when production is off-shored, and we have a new competitive landscape.

Transformation is under way, and change is accelerating. Whats the takeaway for California and the Bay Area?

Dont write off manufacturing. California is the largest manufacturing state in the nation. While overall employment has dropped, it has grown in key sectors, including medical devices, beverages (beer and wine) and biopharmaceuticals. The growth weve seen is built on our competitive strengths of technological innovation, established R&D efforts and a focus on high-value lifestyle products. This is particularly true for the Bay Area. Tesla Motors, for example, has spawned a regional network of automotive suppliers decoupled from Detroit.

Do what we can to keep down costs for business. For example, we could reform the California Environmental Quality Act, which was designed to protect the environment but is increasingly used by opponents to kill or delay construction of new manufacturing plants, often for non-environmental reasons.

Encourage public and private maker spaces. These are places where entrepreneurs can build prototypes and try out their ideas using shared equipment that would be otherwise beyond their reach. Tech Shop, a maker space that started in the Bay Area, is a good example. SFMade, which provides space to help small manufacturers in San Francisco get going, is another.

Invest in our manufacturing workforce. More than half of production workers are older than 45, with a growing number nearing retirement. Thats why funding for training requested in the governors budget is vital. Schools already have created the Bay Area Community College Consortium to align educational priorities and industry needs so business gets the workers it needs and graduates find work for which they trained. In the future, community colleges want to develop a $10 million, 10-campus network of maker spaces to open across the state by December 2017. The $248 million for workforce training on the table now represents an important revitalization of career technical training, which the state has for too long neglected. The Legislature should approve the governors request.

Lets be clear: Primarily because of automation, most of the manufacturing jobs that have gone away arent coming back. But for California, the new manufacturing world offers high-quality, high-skill jobs to those who acquire the technical skills. Manufacturing jobs bring solid  and, recently, rising  incomes. Manufacturing is important to a balanced economy  and something we all should care about.

Sean Randolph is senior director at the Bay Area Council Economic Institute (www.bayareacouncil.org). To read the institutes report on Reinventing Manufacturing, go to http://bit.ly/1tmRNsZ. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.
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A federal appeals court ruling on concealed weapons laws has given Americans another reminder of whats at stake in Novembers presidential election.

By a 7-4 vote, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a century-old California law that requires gun owners to get a permit from local law enforcement to carry their concealed weapons in public.

The ruling overturned a 2014 lower-court opinion and contradicts a 2012 appeals court ruling against a similar law in Illinois.

Thus, the issue of whether an individuals right to possess a handgun for self-defense extends beyond the home could be headed for a showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 2008 struck down a Washington, D.C., handgun ban on the grounds that it encroached on the Second Amendments right to keep and bear arms.

The ruling in that 2008 case  Heller vs. District of Columbia  was 5-4. The late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion. The vacancy created by his death would appear to leave the court evenly split on the reach of gun-control laws.

Assuming the Republican-controlled Senate maintains its blockade against President Obamas nomination of U.S. District Judge Merrick Garland, the presidential election could well tilt the high courts approach to guns, among other issues.

Democrat Hillary Clinton has been a steadfast supporter of sensible gun-control laws, while Republican Donald Trump has promoted an expansive interpretation of the Second Amendment throughout the campaign.

As recently as Friday, the candidates reaffirmed their views on guns. This issue is not going away.
CINCINNATI  The As are getting no closer to victory with two days remaining on their eight-game trail of dismay and despair.

Theyre 0-6 and found a new way to lose Friday night: by outpitching and outhitting their opponent. Their 2-1 loss to the Reds was their most winnable and most disturbing of the lot.

This one sucks, Sonny Gray said. I dont really know any other way to put it.

There was no better way. Gray was in control most of the evening and didnt yield a hit until Tucker Barnharts one-out single in the sixth, and the As had nine hits to the Reds five. It seemed one-sided, except on the scoreboard. Except with the execution.

The momentum turned in the sixth and seventh innings because of As mistakes. They ran themselves out of a sixth-inning rally, and Grays two wild pitches in the seventh helped the Reds score their runs.

In a season of streaks, good and mostly bad, the six-game skid  three losses in Houston, two in Milwaukee and Fridays opener at Great American Ball Park  is Oaklands longest to date.

Theres no outward frustration. Theres no dissension in here, catcher Stephen Vogt said. Obviously were sick of losing. I dont know any better way to say that.

Vogt hit a fourth-inning homer, and the As could have tacked onto the lead in the sixth. Their baserunning stifled them, however.

Khris Davis, who along with Danny Valencia returned to the lineup after missing the Milwaukee series, was at second when Yonder Alonso hit a pitch off the right-field wall, and Davis made it only to third. Alonso hesitated between first and second and was an easy out.

Marcus Semien hit a chopper to third and Davis was out at the plate, but Semien stole second with two outs and eight-hole hitter Max Muncy at the plate. That permitted Reds pitcher Anthony DeSclafani to intentionally walk Muncy and face Gray, who struck out.

In American League games, its not an issue to leave first base open with two outs because pitchers dont hit. But this was National League baseball played in a National League park, and the As didnt adjust.

Sonny pitched a great game. They just beat us in one frame, basically, Davis said. Offensively, we couldve helped him out more. I had a baserunning mistake, and we didnt get the job done with a runner on third and less than two outs.

The Reds scored both seventh-inning runs with two outs. Brandon Phillips took second on Grays first wild pitch and scored on Adam Duvalls double barely past Valencia at third. After Duvall took third on an infield single, he scored on another Gray wild pitch, his 11th, most in the majors.

Said manager Bob Melvin: He can throw some pitches that change directions. Hes a tough guy to catch. He bounces some balls. Its all part of the game.

Gray: Theyre sinkers and I guess just a little too much in the dirt there. Its very unfortunate it happened like that.

Vogt: Ive got to catch those balls. Sonny has late life on his fastball, and nobody knows that better than me. Ive got to do a better job. Those pitches cant get by me.

In his second start since coming off the disabled list, Gray lasted 72/3 innings. The As were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position (the Reds were 2-for-3) and left nine on base (the Reds left three).

John Shea is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jshea@sfchronicle.com Twitter: JohnSheaHey
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A retired Petaluma firefighter who presumably drowned in Lake Countys Clearlake on Tuesday is the latest of three who are believed to have died in the past two weeks in the sprawling lake 100 miles north of San Francisco.

Sheriffs deputies combed the waters near Konocti Bay on Saturday in search of Mike Haberski, 59, who went sailing alone Tuesday evening and hasnt been seen since, said Sgt. Andy Davidson. Its not clear how Haberski was separated from his sailboat, but no foul play is suspected.
WASHINGTON  In April, the email in-boxes of energy executives filled with alerts from the nations top corporate law firms. The subject: the multistate investigation into whether Exxon Mobil committed fraud by publicly discounting the impact of fossil fuels on climate change.

For years, similar efforts to hold energy companies and governments liable for the warming of the planet had moved through the court system with little fanfare or success. But with state governments probing Exxon Mobils public and internal statements on climate change, lawyers warned their clients to get ready.

There is escalating effort to bring pressure to bear on companies with respect to their public securities statements on the effects of climate change, New York law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman said in a letter.

For oil executives, the investigations into whether their industry suppressed findings and misled investors, policymakers and the public about global warming not only raise the prospects of criminal charges, but add momentum to a legal campaign that many analysts have compared to the decades-long battle against Big Tobacco. As in the early days of tobacco litigation, environmental advocates and their lawyers have had few victories, but say each case has opened new areas of inquiry, tested legal strategies, and revealed more about what energy firms and regulators knew about climate change  and when they knew it.

Environmental advocates have won recent small victories in court, adding momentum to the global campaign. In April, a federal judge in Oregon ruled that a case against the U.S. government for inaction on climate change could proceed, explaining that the alleged valuing of short term economic interest despite the cost to human life required examination by the courts.

A court in the Netherlands ruled last year that the government, in the interest of protecting the low-lying country, must reduce carbon emissions 25 percent by 2020  a ruling the Dutch government is appealing. And in Ohio, a federal appeals court opened the door to more climate change lawsuits when it said a power utility did not need to have violated federal clean air laws to be held liable for pollution in a civil suit.

If you look at the history of tobacco litigation through the first several decades, the result was always the same. The plaintiff always lost, said Carroll Muffett, president of the Center for International Environmental Law. With each new case more information came to public light. And thats what were seeing here, as more and more evidence comes to light that shows the company had clear notice of climate risk.

Energy industry lawyers, however, dismiss comparisons to the tobacco litigation, and see a futile attempt by environmentalists to upend decades of U.S. case law. Courts have traditionally ruled that to hold defendants liable, their actions or product must be directly linked to damages caused to plaintiffs, said Kevin Ewing, an attorney with the Houston law firm Bracewell.

Tobacco was shown to cause specific harm to specific individuals, he said in an email. Not so with climate change, where we cannot yet discern the factual connection between a companys conduct and individual harm, even though we can observe the global effects of climate change at large.

High court ruling

Largely the stuff of legal theory, environmental lawyers have argued for years that governments and companies are legally obligated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the interests of protecting mankind from rising oceans, severe storms and the other effects of climate change. They had little success, with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2011 that the federal government alone had the power to control carbon emissions, which are legal are under air pollution laws all over the world.

But the recent entry of state prosecutors into the legal battle opens up a new line of inquiry: Did fossil fuel companies mislead their investors and the public on their own views on climate change and the risk it posed to their business?

The comparisons with tobacco have only increased with the involvement of 17 attorneys general, led by New Yorks Eric Schneiderman, who in November disclosed his investigation of Exxon Mobil In 1998, attorneys general from 46 states won a landmark, $200 billion settlement from the tobacco industry.

The similarities are obvious: wealthy, powerful industries facing teams of government and plaintiffs attorneys over the alleged harm caused by their products. Many of the same lawyers involved in the tobacco lawsuits, are reprising roles in climate change cases.

Ted Wells, the attorney for Exxon Mobil in the climate change inquiry, also represented Phillip Morris. And former Justice Department attorney Sharon Eubanks, who ran the governments tobacco litigation team and now works as a plaintiffs attorney, has called on federal prosecutors to pursue a possible racketeering case against oil companies  the theory being that they conspired to deceive the public just as a federal judge ruled in 2006 tobacco companies had done.

But some legal scholars are skeptical that the case against the oil industry is as cut and dried as that against tobacco, which was found to have kept secret critical research proving nicotine is addictive and causes cancer. As yet, there is no evidence of any oil company hiding research on climate change.

In addition, the questions around the causes and implications of climate change persisted among scientists for so long that holding a company liable for espousing a dissenting view could prove legally difficult, said David Adelman, an environmental law professor at the University of Texas.

The legal standard of fraud is a clear misrepresentation of fact, he said. With climate change, its a hard argument. You have to think about how knowledge and understanding changed over time. The further you go back in time, the harder its going to be to make a case of fraud.

In the late 1990s, as the public debate around climate change reached fever pitch, former Exxon CEO Lee Raymond traveled to Beijing to speak to the World Petroleum Council. Seven years earlier, a U.N. panel of scientists published a paper connecting global warming to modern societys dependence on oil and coal, which produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that trap heat in the earths atmosphere.

CEO skeptical

But Raymond, who held a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota, questioned the scientific basis for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat the greenhouse effect.

Leaping to radically cut this tiny sliver of the greenhouse gas pie (that comes from human activity) on the premise that it will affect climate defies common sense and lacks foundation in our current understanding of the climate system, Raymond said in the speech.

The following year a leaked memorandum from the American Petroleum Institute, working with Exxon, Chevron and the Alabama power firm Southern Co., laid out a public relations strategy in which the industry trade group would recruit scientists and lobby media outlets to cast doubt on the science that blamed global warming on fossil fuels.

Victory will be achieved when average citizens understand (recognize) uncertainties in climate science, the memo said. Recognition of uncertainties becomes part of the conventional wisdom.

As climate science has advanced, and eliminated most of those uncertainties, the 1990s public relations campaign has cast a shadow from which many energy companies are unable to emerge  no matter what they do to reduce carbon emissions. Southern, for instance, touts that it has cut carbon dioxide from its power plants by 25 percent as it has shifted from coal to natural gas over the past decade. Exxon protests that its unfair to suggest that the company fully understood the effects of climate change decades before the worlds leading scientist did.

Thats not a credible thesis, spokesman Alan Jeffers said. Our understanding of the science evolved as everyone elses did.

San Ramons Chevron and the American Petroleum Institute declined to comment.

The recent legal rush follows the revelation last year that Exxon had engaged in climate change research in the 1970s and 80s, and was warned by its own scientists of the growing threat, as reported by Inside Climate News and the Los Angeles Times. But the cases against the oil and gas companies face many hurdles.

If the attorneys general pursue criminal charges, they must overcome statutes of limitations  five years in many states  that have long expired since the events of the 1990s. In civil cases, plaintiffs attorneys must directly link the actions of energy companies to harm suffered by individuals  a difficult standard to meet, legal specialists said.

James Osborne is a Houston Chronicle staff writer.
Photo: CDCR / /

A Death Row inmate housed at San Quentin State Prison slipped out of handcuffs Thursday evening and used his shackles to attack a correctional officer, officials said.

Jesse Manzo, a 27-year-old gang member, was being escorted to his cell after a shower around 5 p.m. when he somehow got loose from his handcuffs and used them as a weapon, said officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Vietnams Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical (BSR) is in the process of selecting a consultant to arrange funding for an expansion project at its Dung Quat refinery, newspaper under the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported June 10.

BSR is wholly owned by state-owned PetroVietnam and is the operator of the 6.5 million ton/year refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai.

Part of Dung Quat refinery. Photo by VnExpress/Tri Tin

No potential name was disclosed.

Talks with potential foreign investors to sell stakes to secure funding for the expansion project have failed to reach any conclusion in recent years. Russia's Gazprom Neft in January decided to put on hold discussions for acquiring stakes in the refinery. It said it will consider buying the stakes in other opportunities in the future.

BSR said it is working on a plan to privatize the refinery under the direction of PetroVietnam and the central government. The central government expects the sale of BSR shares to be completed by the end of 2017.

Former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in December 2014 approved PetroVietnam's $1.8-billion plan to expand the Dung Quat refinery capacity to 8.5 million tons/year by 2022 from the current 6.5 million tons/year. The government has said Vietnam will finance the expansion itself if it could not reach a deal with foreign investors.

BSR in late August 2015 awarded U.K.-based Amec Forster Wheeler the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) the contract for the expansion project at the refinery.

Construction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021 and the expansion project is targeted to start commercial operations by 2022, BSR said.

Currently Dung Quat meets more than 30 percent of Vietnam's demand for oil products with the remainder coming from imports.

Related news:

> Vietcombank lends $90 million to Dung Quat oil refinery operator

> Vietnams sole oil refinery imports crude oil first time in nine months

> Vietnams sole oil refinery asks to self-regulate import duties
In the firestorm over the short sentence Judge Aaron Persky handed down to convicted Stanford sex offender Brock Turner, Persky is painted as a callous enabler of the status quo, seemingly more concerned with the plight of the victimizer than the victim. News references to his biography (former Stanford athlete) and his rationale (a prison sentence would have a severe impact on Turner) jump out as red flags for bias. For anyone whos read the victims heartbreaking and eloquent letter to Turner, lashing out at Persky feels like the only humane response. And that impulse has coalesced into a wave of anger: A petition to recall Persky has garnered more than a million signatures, and jurors are refusing to be seated in his courtroom. But in recent days, two public defendersincluding well-respected feminist Molly ONeal, head of the Santa Clara County public defenders officehave come out in support of the judge, and the sentence he handed down. And their reasons take the long view of how the criminal justice system ought to be treating first-time sex offenders.

The culture of mass incarceration has warped our psyches into thinking that lengthy jail or prison terms are always the answer to criminal behaviors like sexual assault, Sajid Khan, a San Jose public defender, wrote in a blog post this week. Theyre not.

To be sure, the legal minds weighing in on Turners sentence have been all over the map. Attorneys have sounded off to the Los Angeles Times that Perskys sentence was too lenient; Santa Clara County DA Jeff Rosen agreed, but still backed up the judges performance.

But other attorneysincluding Khan, ONeal, and San Francisco deputy public defender Sandy Feinlandmaintain that Turners punishment of jail time, probation, a felony conviction, and the lifetime requirement to register as a sex offender is being mis-characterized as a slap on the wrist," as Feinland puts it.

According to Khan, the media are treating Turners jail time as the sum total of his sentence. But its not six months and hes off scot free, Khan tells us. Turner also faces three years of probation, where hell be required to undergo alcohol treatment, sex offender treatment, or any step the probation officer deems necessary. If he were to violate probation by failing to do those things, or even committing a misdemeanor, Mr. Turner could still go to prison for up to 14 years. That prison term is hanging over his head.

In Khans view, any first-time offender with an otherwise clean record deserves the same judicial discretion. I think it is more rehabilitative for the offender to receive rehab services and show themselves worthy of participating in the community, he says. If they succeed, we as a society all win. If they fail probation, they go to prison.

Over the past couple of years, California has begun to disentangle itself from the rigid approach to sentencing that kicked into gear with 1994s three strikes law. A more recent shift in the national conversationone California is leadingemphasizes prevention and rehabilitation over years in prison. Khan doesnt want to go backward: I think for too long our judges lacked the discretion to take a holistic approach to sentencing, and it has resulted in harsh sentences that prey on underprivileged and minority members of our community.

Turner is neither underprivileged nor a minority. But Khan worries that outrage over his case could have unintended consequences. I would hate for this sentence to be condemned to the point that the reaction is to the other extreme, which ends up leading to more harsh sentences for my underrepresented, poor clients. Of Perskys decision, he adds: I want the system to operate this way for everybody. This is the holistic workup that should be done for every defendant, whether white, black, or Latino, or rich or poor.

Of course, some of the outrage over Turners sentence is rooted in a suspicion that Turner got off easy because of his race, background, and privilege. Anecdotally, Khan believes theres nothing about Perskys judicial record that points to a double standard for white and minority offenders. In fact, many colleagues in my office that appear before Judge Persky believe that a public defender client who wasnt white or affluent would have received the same type of sentence from him, he writes.

All important things to consider before signing that recall petition.

Correction: An earlier version of this story suggested that San Francisco deputy public defender Sandy Feinland considers Turner's sentence "anything but light." That is his view of probation for sex offenses, but not necessarily Turner's sentence. Feinland's comment has been updated to reflect his view.

This article originally appeared on ModernLuxury.com.
1 Ballon fall: A balloon handler fell to his death in an upstate New York accident. Ryan Almeter, 34, was holding onto the basket allowing passengers to get off when wind caused the balloon to take flight Friday night, state police said. The balloon climbed to about 100 feet when Almeter let go of the basket and fell to his death. The balloon was part of a festival called Balloons Over Letchworth in Livingston County, about 50 miles south of Rochester. State police say the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been contacted about the accident.

2 Suspect lassoed: A rancher in Oregon jumped on his horse and lassoed a man who was trying to steal a bicycle in the parking lot of a Walmart, police said. Robert Borba was in the parking lot of the store in Eagle Point on Friday when he heard a woman screaming that someone was trying to take her bike. Borba, 28, said he quickly got his horse out of its trailer, grabbed a rope, and lassoed the man around the legs. I use a rope every day, thats how I make my living, Borba said. If it catches cattle pretty good, it catches a bandit pretty good. Police arrested Victorino Arellano-Sanchez on a theft charge.
1 Speaker convicted: A jury convicted Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard on 12 charges of violating the state ethics law. The jury returned the verdict Friday night after deliberating for seven hours. Hubbard faced 23 felony ethics charges accusing him of using political positions as House speaker and chairman of the Alabama Republican Party to make money and solicit financial favors from lobbyists and company owners. Prosecutors said he used the power of his office to improperly benefit his companies.

2 Mosque threatened: An Army Reserve officer left bacon at a mosque and brandished a handgun while threatening to kill Muslims, North Carolina authorities said Friday. The threats began Thursday when members of the mosque in Raeford noticed open packages of bacon near an entrance, according to the Hoke County Sheriffs Office. Advocacy groups say pork is often used to insult Muslims because their religion doesnt allow them to eat it. Later, the suspect, Russell Thomas Langford, 36, was back at the Masjid Al Madina mosque and made death threats, authorities said. No injuries were reported. Sheriffs Capt. John Kivett said Langford was a major in the U.S. Army Reserve. Langford faces several charges, including ethnic intimidation and assault with a deadly weapon.
NEW YORK  The solar-powered airplane on a globe-circling voyage that began more than a year ago in the United Arab Emirates reached a milestone Saturday, completing a trip across the United States with a Statue of Liberty fly-by before landing in New York.

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport at 4 a.m. after a four-hour 41-minute flight of about 165 miles from Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania. Its trip across the U.S. mainland began April 24, when Solar Impulse landed at Moffett Field in Mountain View from Hawaii.
Police inspects the site where Loc set his family on fire. Photo by VnExpress/Kh.Uyen

A 23-year-old man, Loc, burned his family alive on June 10 in an act of revenge after his wifes family forbade his love for juvenile sister-in-law.

Two years ago, Loc and Khen from the Central Highland province of Dak Lak got married. The couple, together with Khens 13-year-old sister subsequently moved to Ho Chi Minh City in search for jobs.

Just several days after Khen gave birth to a boy, Loc started to beat and verbally abuse Khen in an attempt to divorce her so that he could be with his sister-in-law.

Khens family fiercely opposed the affair. In response, Loc had threatened to kill the entire family many times.

Six months ago, the couple separated and Loc moved out to a house 10 kilometers away from Khen's family.

At midnight on June 9, Loc entered Khen's house and poured gasoline over his wife, son, his wifes sister and 40-day-old niece who were asleep in an attempt to kill them and himself. At that time, his parents-in-law were sleeping in the garret.

Upon hearing the screams of our daughters, I and my wife woke up and run downstairs. I saw my girls and my grandchildren burning like a torch. Our house is only about four meters square with only one door and a lot of stuff in the way, making it realty hard to escape, the father said.

Loc died while others have suffered serious burns.

The four victims now are in life-threatening conditions. The possibility of death is high, especially for the two children, a doctor at Dak Lak Hospital said.
One day after the search for the British tourist Aiden Webb ended with his body being handed over to his family, a heated controversy has broken out online in Vietnam on whether or not the countrys rescue team were too slow.

The six-day search and rescue operation for the 22-year-old backpacker Aiden Webb has drawn international attention since he was reported missing on June 3 while attempting to climb Fansipan Mountain in northern Vietnam.

Before vanishing in the Hoang Lien Park, Webb was able to send his girlfriend a map of his whereabouts.

Responding to the search outcome, hundreds of readers commented on VnExpress.

According to Le Anh Dzung, Deputy Chief of Sa Pa District Police, the plan to mobilize a helicopter was ruled out due to bad weather conditions.

We were obstructed by the treacherous terrain of Hoang Lien Park, the strong wind and thin air at high altitudes. Therefore, we could not send a helicopter to take his body and had to depend on human efforts. Dzung spoke to the press on June 11.

A wide-scale search operation on the ground in Hoang Lien National Park was carried out one day after Webb was reported missing, with the participation of 200 rangers, police, trained dogs, and locals from San Sa Ho Hamlet, who know the area best.

Rescue team trying to carry Webb's body to the nearest cable cart before heading to Sapa. Photo by SunGroup.

A group of Vietnamese also helped by using camera drones to scour the area from a height of 2,800m.

The search on Fansipan Mountaint, dubbed "the roof of Indochina", turned out more difficult and involved more dangers than it may seem.

Giang Le, a member of the camera drone team who volunteered to join the search after the plea of Webbs family, said in a post on his Facebook account:

Pouring rain in the previous days made it harder for us to trek on the slippery mountainous terrain, not to mention all the heavy devices that our team had to carry along. [] We had to fly the drones in the windy and foggy weather for 20 minutes. We scoured over ravines and steep cliffs and almost lost two drones to strong winds and thick haze on the mountain. The first team sent a few members to the ground to search for him while drones would be flying above their heads to lead the way.

Speaking to VnExpress, Giang Le added, The unfavorable weather made all search activities difficult: thick haze of fog and canopies of tree leaves hampered the control signal to the drones. And even though we could zone the area to search within a few hundred meters based on the victims initial coordinates, the hilly terrain and the wet, slippery forest floor still made it really tough for everybody to move around on the ground.

The drone team even tried to climb up the 45-meter high cable pylon No.4 in hope of detecting any sign of Aiden from above.

It was a 45 meter pylon, erected near the highest mountain in the country. We were almost out of our breath on the way. The thin air at high altitudes only made the matter worse. Our legs were shaking and our hearts felt like they might beat out of our chests. We had to scream to lift up the spirit, some of us started to think about their family, their wives, and their kids at home. [] And then our team had to jump from the pylon into the cart, which looked just one meter away and was in the middle of the air. But for that young British who we all had never met, everybody took another risk and jumped, shared Giang Le.

Fansipan is a favorite destination for Vietnamese and overseas trekkers.

Lonely Planet, the popular travel guide book described it as accessible year-round to sensibly equipped trekkers in good shape, but dont underestimate the challenge. It is very wet, and can be perilously slippery and generally cold.

The guide advises against ascending the roof of Indochina if the weather in nearby town Sapa is poor. "Limited visibility on Fansipan can be treacherous," said the guide adding that hiring a reputable guide is "vital".

Many experienced Vietnamese trekkers believe that the British climber chose the hardest way to conquer the mountain, which resulted in extreme difficulties for the search operation.

Aiden Webbs body was found on June 9, near the location that his girlfriend gave the local authorities. However, the rescue team could not access his position immediately.

We found him at a narrow and deep ravine, surrounded by steep cliffs. There was no other way for our team to access him but climbing down from the Pylon 4. A member of the rescue team who carried the victim out of the ravine to the nearest cable cart, police officer Nguyen Tuan Anh, told VnExpress.

Even though it was just two kilometers away from the pylon, it took us three hours to reach to the victim because of heavy rain and rough terrain. It got dark once we got there, so there was nothing we could do but to stay at the scene waiting until the next morning, said Tuan Anh.

The body of British backpacker was retrieved to Sapa District Hospital on June 10 before being handed over to his family.

The direct reasons that led to the death of 22-year-old British climber Aiden Webb have been confirmed as exhaustion, severe injuries after the fall and starvation in harsh weather, concluded Lao Cai provincial police on June 11 after post-mortem examination.

According to the representative of Lao Cai Police, the autopsy results showed no foul play was involved in his death.

No surgical autopsy was conducted at his familys request and the handover procedure was completed in the same day.

Webb's father also offered a sum of money in payment for the effort of the rescue team, to which they declined, according to Nguyen Xuan Truong, deputy chairman of Sa Pa District Peoples Committee.

Related news:

> The tough road to bring Aiden Webb home from the roof of Indochina

> Body of missing Brit Aiden Webb found on Mount Fansipan

> Drones, rescue dogs scour Mount Fansipan in search for missing Brit Aiden Webb
Rescue team trying access the body of Aiden Webb at the scene. Photo by VnExpress Anh Tuan

The direct reasons that led to the death of 22-year-old British climber Aiden Webb have been confirmed as exhaustion, severe injuries after the fall and starvation in harsh weather, concluded Lao Cai provincial police today after post-mortem examination.

Following six days of searching, at 4 p.m. local time on June 10, the body of British backpacker Aiden Webb was retrieved to Sapa District Hospital before being handed over to his family.

According to the representative of Lao Cao Police, the autopsy results showed no foul play was involved in the death of Webb whose body was discovered by rangers on Mount Fansipan on June 9.

Before the body handover, the victims father has signed a confirmation that the reasons for Aiden Webbs death was falling while climbing, causing severe injuries in his arm and knees, which led to exhaustion and starvation in harsh weather, the representative added.

No surgical autopsy was conducted at his familys request and the handover procedure was completed yesterday, on June 10.

Aiden Webb, 22, was reported missing on June 4 when he was attempting to climb Fansipan, Indochinas highest mountain, in the northwestern province of Lao Cai.

His aunt, Lisa Shaw Webb, raised the alarm via a widely-shared Facebook post, saying he was last seen on Friday on Mount Fansipan in Hoang Lien National Park. His father and uncle had flown into the country to join the search for the 22-year-old.

Webb, who was described as an experienced climber, was travelling in Vietnam with his girlfriend Bluebell Baughan at the time.

On June 6, Baughan revealed in an interview with the press that her boyfriend had been able to alert her via text message that he had slipped and fallen by a waterfall, hurting his knee and arm. Webb also sent her a map of his whereabouts before his phone ran out of battery.

It sparked a wide-scale search operation in Hoang Lien National Park, with the participation of 200 rangers, police, locals and trained dogs.

A group of Vietnamese also helped by using camera drones to scour the area from a height of 2,800m.

However, authorities said the search became more difficult due to the dense forest and steep terrain.

The operation ended when park rangers discovered Webb's body at the bottom of a deep ravine six days after he was last contacted.

Fansipan, known as "the roof of Indochina", is a popular destination for Vietnamese and overseas trekkers.

This is not the first time an incident involving tourists climbing Fansipan has happened.

In 2001, a 17-year-old British girl fell 150m to her death on the mountain during a school trip to Vietnam.

The previous tragedy occurred in 2013 when a Vietnamese university student named Pham Ngoc Anh, 20, disappeared on his way down from the peak. His body has never been found.

Related news:

> Body of missing Brit Aiden Webb found on Mount Fansipan

> Search for Aiden Webb on Fansipan as it happened

> Missing British tourist injured on Vietnam's highest mountain
China has for decades been involved in a dispute with many countries in the region over the territorial jurisdiction of a number of islands in the South China Sea (Vietnams East Sea).

Involving third parties in territorial disputes in the South China Sea (Vietnams East Sea) will only fan tensions in the region, Russian Foreign Ministrys official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on June 10.

"Russia is not a party in territorial disputes in the South China Sea (Vietnams East Sea) and will not be dragged into them," Zakharova said. "We principally do not take any side," she added.

"Consultations and talks on territorial disputes in this region should be held directly by involved parties in the format that they themselves deem appropriate. We proceed from the fact that the key to resolving disagreements in the region may become the construction of new security architecture in the Asia-Pacific based on collective non-bloc approaches and norms of international law," she said.

U.S fighter jets on standby at the upper deck of a USS George Washington aircraft carrier while a U.S. Cowpens ship pass during a media tour at the South China Sea, 170 nautical miles from Manila September 3, 2010. Photo by Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

"We call on all partners to actively participate in the implementation of the Russian initiative on developing framework principles of strengthening security and cooperation in the Asia Pacific. On our part, we will continue supporting the efforts of China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries in developing a code of conduct in the South China Sea (Vietnams East Sea)," she concluded.

Beijing has for decades been involved in a dispute with many countries in the region over the territorial jurisdiction of a number of islands in the South China Sea (Vietnams East Sea), where significant reserves of hydrocarbons have been found. This refers, above all, to the Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. Other claimants are Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan. As of the end of 2013, China has been engaged in large-scale hydro-engineering and construction work on the expansion and development of the territories under its control.

Related News:

> China eyes turning South China Sea (Vietnam's East Sea) islands into Maldives-style resorts

> China could build nuclear plants for South China Sea (Vietnam's East Sea), paper says

> U.S. to give Philippines eye in sky to track South China Sea (Vietnam's East Sea) activity
The Vietnamese government will criminalize discharge of toxic substances to the environment, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday at an event to enhance the relationship between the business community and the media.

For the discharge of pollutants [in such quantities and concentration] that cause serious damage to the country, or offences against the society that kill people, we need to file criminal charges against those cases, said the Prime Minister.

Vietnam is still trying to handle the mass fish deaths which have hard hit the countrys central coast provinces, killing a huge amount of fish at both aquatic farms and in coastal waters.

The phenomenon was first recorded two months ago in the central province of Ha Tinh. Fish raised in farms near the provinces Vung Ang Port were found dead on April 6, with more subsequently washing up on local beaches.

The problem quickly spread to the nearby provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien  Hue along a 200km stretch of coast.

Suspicion has centered on Formosa - a Taiwanese steel company in the Vung Ang Economic Zone which has installed a wastewater pipe going out at sea. A few days before the fish started washing up, the company had flushed the pipe for cleaning. About 300 tons of imported chemicals that the company used are believed to be extremely hazardous.

As of April 25, around 70 tons of fish had reportedly washed up in these provinces.

The government admitted that it has been too slow to respond to the incident due to a lack of experience.

Vietnam has asked international experts to help local scientists and government agencies to determine the cause for the fish deaths.

Earlier this month, at a governments press conference, Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said scientists have identified the cause for the mass fish deaths and the government will make the investigation findings public later this month.

Last month, a sugar factory was blamed for causing a mass fish deaths in the northern province of Thanh Hoa after having illegally discharged untreated wastewater into the river. Local aquatic farming suffered huge financial losses as more than 18 tons of fish were killed and at least 34 farming households were badly affected.

Related news:

> Mass fish death cause identified, results yet to be announced

> Thanh Hoa authorities confirm pollution as cause of mass fish deaths

> Vietnam too slow to act on mass fish deaths: Government office
Forbiden island: Three documents a foreigner needs for a vacation in Co To

Co To is a rare island in northern Vietnam that offers real oceanic experience thanks to its offshore location. However, the crystal clear water there is almost exclusive for those with Vietnamese citizenship. VnExpress parts the sea and brings the island closer to you.

Being a lovely island places Co To on travelers radar, but its proximity to the border has put it under authorities strict control. Any attempt to reach the beauty by foreigners is met with paperwork that turns the preconception of easy traveling in a country like Vietnam upside down. However, the reward is worth a try, and with a little attention, it's not that big of a hassle.

Tour operators have turned down many requests for a trip to Co To by foreign tourists, but fortunately, the gate is still ajar for those working in Vietnam. You just need to prove you have a job here and allez hop. Here's the list of required documents:

Companys stamp verification

Business registration

Employment confirmation letter from your boss

All these papers are easy to acquire at your workplace, only notarized copies are accepted. You also need to fill out a form to request for access to restricted area and borderland. (Download it here)

The papers go to the immigration office of Quang Ninh Province in exchange for an approval to visit the island.

If all of the above still sounds alien to you, some tourism agencies offer the service at a price of $100, while an actual tour to Co To costs you only around $80.

Now take a look at the land to see if its really worth your time and patience.

Related news:

> Take a walk on the wild side across island causeway

> Untouched island hides pristine treasures off central coast

> Paradise lost on Ly Son Island
Former Attorney General Eric Holder has come out against proposals in Chicago and New Jersey to require fingerprint background checks of drivers for ride-hailing platforms such as Uber and Lyft. Why would Obamas onetime top lawman come out against regulation that is supposed to protect the riding public? Credit the intersection of two forces. First, Holders tony corporate law firm, Covington & Burling, represents Uber. Also, as Holder sees it, requiring drivers to submit fingerprints may have a discriminatory impact on communities of color.

I was surprised to read about Holders opposition, as I have trouble seeing Holder as a model for social justice. As deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, Holder gave a neutral-leaning to positive recommendation for the pardon of billionaire Marc Rich, who fled to Switzerland to evade fraud and tax evasion charges. As President Obamas first attorney general, he was so stingy with the pardon power that political scientist P.S. Ruckman wrote that inmates seeking clemency had a better chance of being struck by lightning.

Besides, law enforcement relies on fingerprinting because it works. According to the National Rifle Association, gun buyers must undergo fingerprint checks in some states. California teachers submit fingerprints for criminal background checks. California drivers are fingerprinted. I get into my gym thanks to a fingerprint scanner and swipe my index finger to open my phone. Dont tell me, I said to myself, Holder has joined gadflies who question the validity of fingerprints the way others oppose vaccinations.

Black mens burden

Holder is no such animal. In a letter to Chicago Alderman Anthony Beale, Holder explained that while fingerprint checks are a valuable law enforcement tool, they often do not indicate whether a person who was arrested was even charged or ultimately convicted. Thus, mandatory checks can prevent people from getting a job even if they were never found guilty of a crime. Because black men are arrested more than white men, the policy affects men of color disproportionately.

Pro-fingerprint politicians frame their stance as a matter of fairness. New Jersey limousine drivers must undergo fingerprint background checks. Ergo, the Limousine Association of New Jersey favors the same for ride-hailing service drivers to adequately protect the riding public.

Uber contends it can check drivers backgrounds more thoroughly with databases that probe applicants driving records, criminal history and more. According to a fact sheet, Uber does not contract with drivers who have three or more moving violations in the past three years, have been cited for driving with a suspended or revoked license or without insurance in the past seven years, or were convicted of drunken driving or reckless driving in the past seven years.

Also, the market provides protections that regulation cannot deliver. Because technology identifies passengers and drivers, there is no anonymity. Riders rate drivers; drivers rate riders  an incentive for good behavior. Theres no place to hide, said Matthew Feeney of the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute. No transportation model is risk-free, Feeney noted, but: You would have to want to be caught to commit a crime in an Uber car. It is a detectives dream.

On television, fingerprinting is the gold standard for identifying suspects, but, Feeney noted, its an incomplete tool for screening for criminal convictions. Feeney said he believes politicians who push for more regulations for ride-hailing operations care about public safety, but there is also the chance that theyre motivated in part by protectionist or anticompetitive feelings about taxis.

Ubers blog notes that Alderman Beale says he wants to level the playing field, but the answer is to introduce new commonsense rules for taxis, NOT to impose the same bureaucratic regulations on ride-sharing apps like Uber.

Focusing on Houston

Uber and Lyft left Austin, Texas, last month after voters rejected a measure (greased liberally with ride-hailing company capital) to end taxi-style regulations that included fingerprinting. The next battleground is Houston. Lyft left Houston in 2014 when it passed similar regulations. Uber Houston now offers provisional permits for drivers for 30 days, after which they must get fingerprinted. An Uber executive who did not want to be named told me fingerprinting is expensive and time-consuming.

San Francisco has seen sharing-economy startups operate outside the law, then try to work with local lawmakers. Compromise gets startups only so far. See how Airbnb worked to license and tax short-term rentals to get in the good graces of City Hall. Now the Board of Supervisors is threatening large fines and even criminal charges. Trusting City Hall is like thinking you can deal with the Mob.

Debra J. Saunders is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dsaunders@sfchronicle.com Twitter: DebraJSaunders
Sometimes you wish a show could just dispense with its superfluous elements. Like plot.

To enjoy Duck Lake, written by PianoFights resident sketch comedy group, Mission CTRL, and directed by Siobhan Marie Doherty, you almost dont need to know that its about a production of Swan Lake by director Berri Cantaloupe (Becky Hirschfeld) whos been named best up-and-coming director for 10 years straight in rural Canada and always for different versions of Swan Lake. (This years theme: Shakespearean musical.)

The pleasures of almost certainly the worlds first ballet-horror-comedy, as the shows marketing cautiously attests, are in its copious sight gags  quacking bearded men (Jack Madans, Ray Hobbs and Sean Conroy) wearing tights, tutus and duck flippers and doing plies; a prosthetic bosom that Berri calls the teat of creativity and from which she forces her actors to suckle  as well as in its ridiculous lines  Arent swans just like super-hot gooses?  and its bond with the audience. In one scene on opening night, in the office of local Mounties Bill (Brian Bacchus Kennedy) and Merve (Dan Linley)  aptly rendered on a shoestring budget by set designer Hannah Barnard-Henke  the sound cue of a phone ringing felt like it came in almost as much to put the kibosh on the audiences laughter, which was threatening to make the actors themselves smile, as because it was part of the script.

That community feel is a big part of what makes PianoFight such a success. Founded in 2007, the company last year opened a new venue in the Tenderloin with a full bar and restaurant and multiple theaters, where it hosts a vast array of artists and groups. On any given night, theres a good chance that the bar patron sitting next to you is about to perform a cabaret act a few feet away or that the audience member across the aisle at a 10:30 show just performed earlier that night. Youre part of the family just by walking in, and its impossible not to feel that kinship with the actors. Youre rooting for them at the same time that you kind of hope theyll break character and crack a smile with you.

So with Duck Lake, you could almost do without the backstage romance between Odette (KC Gleason) and Prince (Edwin Jacobs), though both actors bring sass and verve to their performances, as well as with some of the scenes detailing just how disastrous Berris Swan Lake has become: Local Jet Skiers (Kyna Wise, as well as Kennedy and Linley), fond of referring to each other not as bro but the sublingual bruh, take over as second choices and in one case third choice for the leads, who must speak in iambic pentameter.

Mission CTRL first performed Duck Lake four years ago, and that version ran almost three hours, while this years clocks in at just 90 minutes. Yet the script feels like it could still use some tightening, not to focus on narrative, but to let the shows zany, convivial spirit thrive. In a way, its a problem inherent in sketch comedy: How do you write characters and story that are worthy of your jokes when your form tends to rely on easily recognizable situations and stock characters? Mission CTRL doesnt answer that question with Duck Lake, but it does make you want to see what they come up with next time around.

Lily Janiak is The San Francisco Chronicles theater critic. Email: ljaniak@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LilyJaniak

Duck Lake:

By Mission CTRL. Directed by Siobhan Doherty. Through June 18. $20-$25. PianoFight, 244 Taylor St., S.F. www.pianofight.com.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYd6-3pqs68
DHAKA, Bangladesh  Authorities have rounded up about 1,600 criminal suspects, including a few dozen believed to be Islamic radicals, in a nationwide crackdown aimed at halting a wave of brutal attacks on minorities and activists in Bangladesh, police said Saturday.

The attacks  including upon two Hindus in the last week  have alarmed the international community and raised questions about whether Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas secular government can maintain security for minorities in the Sunni Muslim-majority country.

Police and paramilitary soldiers fanned out across the country Thursday night, raiding suspected militant hideouts and detaining about 1,600 people by late Friday, police said.

The majority of those detained are described as petty criminals. Only 37 of them are suspected to be radical Islamic militants, according to police spokesman Kamrul Islam. Those include three charged with alleged membership in the banned militant group Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh.

Hasinas government has faced criticism for failing to prosecute suspects for at least 18 killings carried out over the past two years. Victims include atheist bloggers, foreign aid workers, university professors, gay rights activists and religious minorities including Hindus, Christians and Shiite Muslims.

Hasina had announced the anti-militancy campaign after the wife of a police superintendent was shot and stabbed to death on June 5 as she was waiting with her son at a bus stop. The victim had been an ardent campaigner against Islamic militants, and her murder stunned the countrys establishment.

Speaking to Parliament on Wednesday, Hasina vowed to root out radicals bent on spreading terror and violence.

If they think they could turn Bangladesh upside down, they are wrong, she said. They will be exposed to justice in the soil of Bangladesh and their patrons will also not be spared.

The attacks have followed a pattern: A group of young men wielding knives or machetes approach their victim, perhaps while strolling down the street or relaxing at home. The attackers shout hateful language, then hack and stab at the victim before disappearing, often without a trace. Many victims are killed with a machete blow to the back of the neck.

Authorities have arrested suspects in some of the 18 attacks, mostly low-level operatives accused of following orders to carry out attacks, but none has been prosecuted. Police have said they are waiting until investigations are complete before taking any suspects to court.

Amnesty International has criticized the government for inaction, saying it is creating a culture of impunity. It also said authorities are failing to address increasing numbers of reports of people receiving threats.
1 Afghan air strikes: After months of debate, the White House has approved plans to expand the militarys authority to conduct air strikes against the Taliban when necessary as the violence in Afghanistan escalates, senior U.S. and defense officials said this week. Several officials said the decision was made in recent days to expand the authority of U.S. commanders to strike the Taliban and better support and assist the Afghan forces when needed in critical operations, using the U.S. troops already in the country. The 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan would still not be involved in direct combat.

2 War on Boko Haram: Nigers defense minister says his country and Chad will send troops to neighboring Nigeria to fight Boko Haram extremists. Hassoumi Massaoudou said the military deployment by the two countries is meant to secure their borders from Islamic militants who have staged several attacks in recent weeks in Niger, including one in Bosso that killed at least 26 soldiers. The two countries, along with Cameroon and Nigeria, are part of a multinational force committed to fighting Boko Haram. The seven-year insurgency by the Nigeria-based extremists has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced 2.7 million people.
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BEIRUT  Two suicide bombers struck close to the Syrian capital Saturday, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens more in the latest attack to hit the predominantly Shiite area in recent months, state TV and an opposition activist group said.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombings through its Aamaq news agency, which said there were three attacks carried out by suicide bombers. Aamaq said two attackers were wearing explosive belts while the third was in a car.

Syrian State TV said the blasts in the Sayyida Zeinab area just south of Damascus killed 12 people and wounded 55 others. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 20 people were killed and dozens were wounded in the two explosions.

The blasts came as U.S.-backed fighters in northern Syria tightened their siege on the Islamic State stronghold of Manbij, where tens of the thousands of civilians are trapped by the fighting. The Syria Democratic Forces, a predominantly Kurdish group, encircled the town after capturing dozens of villages and farms near the Turkish border.

The push toward Manbij slowed down because of fear for civilians there, said Mustafa Bali, a Syrian journalist who visited the front line. All telecommunications with the town have been cut.

The Observatory said tens of thousands of civilians in the town fear bombardment of residential areas at a time when most bakeries have stopped working and food is running out. It said air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition have killed 30 civilians, including 11 children, since the offensive began on May 31.

Manbij is on a key supply line between the extremists de facto capital of Raqqa and the Turkish frontier.

The suburb where the bombing took place is home to a shrine by the same name, one of the most renowned in Shiite Islam. The heavily guarded shrine to Sayyida Zeinab, the daughter of the first Shiite imam, Ali, and granddaughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, receives thousands of Shiite pilgrims each year.

State TV aired footage from the blast site, showing several vehicles and shops on fire and at least two buildings whose balconies, doors and windows had been destroyed. Blood stains could be seen on the debris-covered road. Fire engines rushed to the scene to extinguish fires caused by the explosions.
Adidas has ended its partnership with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West over his offensive and antisemitic remarks. The German sportswear company said Tuesday in a statement that it does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech" and called Yes recent comments and actions unacceptable, hateful and dangerous." It comes after Adidas faced pressure to cut ties with Ye, with celebrities and others on social media urging the company to act. It said at the beginning of the month that it was placing its lucrative sneaker deal with the rapper under review. Adidas is just the latest company to end connections with Ye, who also has been suspended from Twitter and Instagram.
ELKO  The graduating classes of Elko and Spring Creek walked across the stage Friday to receive their high school diplomas.

Spring Creek graduated 214 students this year. Student Body President Logan Patton and senior class president Dakota Green served as student guest speakers for the ceremony.

Spring Creek Principal Keith Walls said he was happy to have the community support at the ceremony.

This turnout at graduation is the highest turnout of support from the parents, he said. It shows in the kids that they raised.

Elkos ceremony included 293 graduates. Hannah Margolis gave the senior address on behalf of the class of 2016.

Elko Principal Tim Wickersham said he was proud of the collective effort of his graduating class and noted that his graduates were going to a variety of places to continue their education.

Were very proud of them. Theyve earned over $2.5 million in scholarships. Weve got kids going to GBC. Weve got kids going to Boise State. Weve got kids going to Utah. Weve got kids going to Ivy League schools like Dartmouth, he said. Were very proud of them. This is the culmination of a very successful year for Elko High School.

Wells also had their graduation ceremony Friday evening, handing out diplomas to 26 students. Demar Gale and Deseret Johnson were honored for their academic achievement.

Carlin graduated 23 students on Friday evening Cody Brown, Marsha Davis, Gabriel Wilkerson and Seierra Stoddard-Wilkinson were recognized for their academic achievement.
WASHINGTON: U.S. President Barack Obama formally threw his support behind presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in a web video on Thursday.

"I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office," Xinhua quoted Obama as saying in the video posted on Clinton's Facebook page.

"I'm with her. I'm fired up and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign with Hillary," Obama said.

The former first lady said on Twitter that she was "honoured" to have the president's support and her campaign announced that Obama would join Clinton for a public event next Wednesday in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Obama's endorsement came just moments after his meeting with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Clinton's rival in the nomination race, and according to Earnest, Sanders "was not surprised" by Obama's endorsement.

Although he still declined to endorse Clinton at the moment. Sanders told reporters after the meeting that he would do everything "to make sure Donald Trump does not become president of the US."

He said the real-estate mogul "would be a disaster" for the US.

As the Democratic primary season was all but over, the notion of party unity had become a crucial topic in the Democratic field.

So far, Sanders had offered mixed response as to what his next step would be after being mathematically eliminated from the race.

Clinton became her party's presumptive nominee this week after winning primaries in California, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.

Sanders had earlier pledged to continue the fight into the national convention in July when party nomination would be formally announced. However, he later indicated that he would "assess" his path to victory in the wake of California's primary which was held on Tuesday.

Clinton notched an easy victory by two-digit lead in California.

Despite the urgency to unite the party, the White House on Thursday said it was up to Sanders to make the decision as to when and how he ends the campaign.

"Sanders has more than earned the right to make his own decision on his own timeframe about the future of his campaign and the president certainly respects the important work that the Senator has done on the campaign trail," said Earnest in the daily briefing on Thursday.

Read Also: President Obama Endorses Hillary Clinton; Sanders Vows To Help Defeat Trump

Clinton Creates History, Becomes First Woman Prez Nominee

Source: IANS
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A brigade of 420 trucks holding 4,000 cubic yards of concrete arrived in St. George on Saturday to begin the finishing touches of the foundation of the New York Wheel.

Calling the concrete pour, which began at 3 a.m. and is set to continue until 6 p.m., "a construction milestone," Rich Marin, NY Wheel CEO, donned a hard hat and construction vest, and led media on a tour of the site that will house the $580 million, 630-foot-tall tourist attraction by the end of 2017.

"The project has many, many milestones and this milestone is an important one because we are transitioning from creating the foundation to creating the base for the wheel," said Marin.

"What we are doing today is called the mass pour," he added.

CONCRETE POUR

The concrete pour signifies the beginning of the end of work -- started last year -- on the NY Wheel's foundation. A second pour will take place June 25 during a similar time frame.

Marin's tour led media through the five-acre construction site, into the parking garage, which is under construction, and onto the roof of the garage for an up- close view of the construction taking place and concrete being poured.

"The center point of the wheel will be 30-feet higher than the top of that building. (an apartment building directly across from the site). This gives you a point of reference of how big this is," said Marin.

The tour culminated at the top of the wheel's parking garage where Marin was again able to illustrate the magnitude of the wheel by explaining it will be five times the height of lighting structures surrounding the neighboring Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

He also showcased the top of the garage, which once complete will have a "green roof," with 268 trees, a great lawn, picnic area, and concert space. It will hold about 5,000 people, said Marin.

NEXT PHASE OF CONSTRUCTION

The next phase of work on the wheel will include building the wheel itself, from the bottom up.

"The next step is taking the wheel pad and having the pedestals that the legs stand on (erected). They each weight 110 tons. They are coming in from Montreal. They will basically form the foundation of the wheel," explained Marin.

"Then, in October the legs will be raised and the spindle will be put on. That's about a five month process to put the rim of the wheel on. It's a long process because they have to put it on with temporary spokes. They are big, red solid spokes," added Marin.

Other work, happening simultaneously, includes the second phase of construction for the garage. "This will take you from an 820 to 950 parking spot garage. We expect the garage to be complete by Dec. 1," he said.

In addition, the main terminal -- that will be the hub of wheel operations -- will be built between now and November, said Marin.

WHEEL PARTS

Marin said all the wheel's future parts are currently being fabricated in different areas of Europe, including the wheel's "legs," which are being made in Italy, said Marin.

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In this photo released by Jean Revillard/ SI2, solar-powered airplane Solar Impulse 2, piloted by Swiss adventurer Andre Borschberg, flies over Manhattan in New York Saturday, June 11, 2016 shortly before landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 has landed in New York City on the latest leg of its globe-circling voyage. It had left Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania late Friday. (Jean Revillard/ SI2 via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) -- The pilots of a solar-powered airplane on a globe-circling voyage that began more than a year ago said their flight over the Statue of Liberty before landing in New York inspired them on their mission to promote a world free from reliance on fossil fuels.

"Today, liberty is about finding and promoting renewable sources of power," said Bertrand Piccard, the initiator and one of the pilots of the Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2. "Our mission is to demonstrate that just the energy of the sun can give us enough power to fly day and night."

Piccard and Andre Borschberg, who flew the plane to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, arrived Saturday from Pennsylvania at 4 a.m. after a 4 hour-41-minute flight.

"It was really gorgeous," Borschberg said of the aerial view of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. "I felt like I was a young child in front of a Christmas tree."

Their trip across the U.S. mainland began April 24, when Solar Impulse landed in Mountain View, California, after flying over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on its way from Hawaii.

Piccard said the pair hoped to leave sometime next week on their journey across the Atlantic Ocean toward Europe. He said weather conditions will dictate when they embark and a decision will likely be made in flight as to where they land -- either Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal or elsewhere.

Across the U.S., they stopped in Phoenix; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Dayton, Ohio, home of aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright; and Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The Solar Impulse 2's wings, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night. Ideal flight speed is about 28 mph, although that can double during the day when the sun's rays are strongest.

The trip began in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. The plane had a five-day trip from Japan to Hawaii, where the crew was forced to stay in Oahu for nine months after the plane's battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan.

___
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In addition to mats on the floors, in the yoga studio at The Willow Pilates and Yoga, hammocks that resemble cocoons are suspended from the ceiling.

The hammocks allow those in the class, taught by Jennifer Smith, to defy gravity and get deeper into poses than they could during a more traditional yoga class.

One participant, Amanda Angri, says she had never heard of aerial yoga before she joined the class, which she has been attending for seven months. "I've seen results very quickly, it's a lot of strength that you need to pull yourself up," she said.

Brianne Barry has also been taking the class for about seven months, and although she says that, in the past, she has had trouble sticking to one activity, aerial yoga has held her attention due to the enjoyable environment, a supportive instructor and friendships formed in class.

Aerial yoga is viewed as a pathway to joint mobility, stress relief, decompression of the spine and enhanced muscle strength.
ELKO  Steve Christean proudly held up the piece of paper that he received in the mail from the governor on Thursday. He had been notified earlier by email that Gov. Brian Sandoval wants him to assist in making long-term plans for the states LGBT community.

Sandoval proclaimed June 11, 2016 as Elko Pride Day in Nevada. The document also mentions that the first gubernatorial Gay Pride proclamation in the United States was signed in 1996 by Nevada Gov. Bob Miller.

To me this just shows that a high ranking official in our state recognizes what I am trying to do with this event, Christean said.

This weekend marks the second annual Pride Festival in Elko, organized this year solely by Christean. The event welcomes and acknowledges LGBT lifestyles and serves as a communication platform for the movement.

The event is open to the public and involves activities Saturday in City Park and at the Red Lion Inn and Casino.

Christean wants to display the proclamation at the festival and hopes to install it at the future Diversity Center.
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"We were backing across the dam and had the dozers in reverse when the dam fell through," he said. "It caved right in front of us. While we were backing away, we kept thinking it was going to cave behind us and take us with it. But it never did."
A Phillip man charged with trafficking heroin was allegedly found with nearly $400,000 in cash in his home and spent up to $3000 a week on his addiction, a court has heard.

The ACT Magistrates Court was told Chang-Kee Song, 42, arrested on Friday night, was believed to be part of a wider network of drug trafficking being supplied from interstate.

A detective senior constable said police had observed the defendant doing three to four deals a day, with his phone tapped for several weeks.

The mobile phone  held by police since his arrest  received 17 calls between midnight and 8am Saturday from people seeking to arrange to meet him at his work, the detective said.

But the duty defence lawyer said the defendant was not acting for financial gain.
Residents of a seniors lifestyle and aged care village will call on the ACT government for help after continually missing out on sleep due to an all-hours generator on the site for the capital's new hospital.

The management of the Kangara Waters retirement home at Belconnen said residents were concerned about noise from three generators on the University of Canberra Public Hospital construction site, with fears the problem will worsen as more are needed for the expanding build.

An artist's impression of the new University of Canberra public hospital.

Stig Anderson, the chief strategy officer of IRT, who own the residential centre, said the head contractor's repositioning of the generators and erection of a temporary hay bale wall around the one operating "24/7" had not solved the problem.

"Unfortunately our residents continue to be disturbed by noise from the generators, particularly at night when they are trying to sleep," he said.
AMMA Private Equity, the outfit behind IPO hopeful Guvera, misled early stage investors when it claimed to have investment bank JP Morgan on board to manage its public listing.

Comforted by the apparent involvement of a major investment bank, dozens of accounting firms, including PwC, introduced the company to its clients as a potential investment opportunity.

Guvera co-founders Claes Loberg (left) and Darren Herft. Credit:Wayne Taylor

In a promotional brochure distributed in recent months the "private equity" firm used the following to introduce itself to potential accounting firm partners: "Guvera is now 'LIVE' in 20 countries with over 10 million registered users and in April 2015 announced the appointment of JP Morgan as the company's exclusive financial adviser to place $100 million pre-IPO. JP Morgan will act as lead financial adviser and investment bank for IPO."

But a spokesman for JP Morgan Australia told Fairfax Media the bank had never signed up to act on an initial public offer for Guvera. The JP Morgan spokesman said the bank did briefly enter a deal with Guvera in early 2015 to manage a $100 million pre-IPO, but never proceeded.
Each year in Australia, more than 12 million fluffy chicks are tossed alive into an industrial grinder or suffocated with poisonous gases, simply because they're male.

The mass killings, which have long been part and parcel of the egg industry, could soon come to an end, with researchers now able to identify the sex of chicks before they've hatched.

In the US this week the United Egg Producers pledged to stop the mass culling of male chicks by 2020, or as soon as it's "economically feasible" and an alternative is "commercially available", according to animal welfare group Humane League, which sparked the talks.
Seventy-five thousand Telstra customers across the country experienced network outages on Saturday.

Internet ADSL and NBN services were down in some areas of NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA, SA and Tasmania.

Telstra has been hit by another service outage. Credit:Louie Douvis

Irritated Telstra customers took to Twitter, with the hashtag #telstraoutage trending.

The website Aussie Outages received hundreds of outage reports since about 11am on Saturday.
ELKO  What do young women wish they knew before leaving high school? Is it how to dress for a first job, how to speak, what comes next, or is it understanding what is important and valuable to them?

Women in most, if not all, career fields are experiencing a constant evolution, even in mining.

I think that in the industry and in careers in general, women are being empowered more to do different things, said Newmont Mining Corp.s External Relations Specialist Lisa Becker.

Historically, mining could never be a womans career as it was considered bad luck for a woman to be underground. Over time norms change along with societal directionality and such attitudes are now unheard of.

I think for a long time things were kind of muscle memory  Now, rather than people discouraging women from different things, and testing out different careers, theres a lot more encouragement, she said.

Soroptimist International of Elko helped answer the multitude of questions teens are faced with as they enter the adult world, with a program known as Dream It, Be It April 6 at the Elko Conference Center.

The event ended with a keynote speech by Becker, who discussed women in mining and encouraged the girls to find their inspiration. She said each step taken is part of a greater journey  much like that of women in the industry Becker represents.

For generations, weve been telling young girls that you can be anything you want to be, you can do anything that you want to do, but that truly hasnt always been the case. Youre in the generation where it is actually possible to do what you want to do.  Take some inspiration from these amazing women in mining, said Becker.

Newmont is also supportive of the event and other initiatives to educate young women about the industry, she said. The mining company made a donation to the nonprofit to help support Dream It, Be It.

In fact, the corporation has different initiatives focused on educating young women about mining opportunities.

In the past Newmont has provided outreach to schools  even at the high school level  universities and engineering schools, specifically some of its partner universities, said Becker.

Newmonts four highest-tier partner universities are: University of Reno, Montana Tech, University of Arizona, the Colorado School of Mines and South Dakota School of Mines.

Impressionable minds are given the ability to reach higher through discussions asking them if they have considered avenues such as geology, engineering or even becoming a haul truck driver.

I think a lot of it is about making them more aware of what options are out there, rather than those that might have been more frequently just in front of their face, she said.

In fact, the safety record of women haul truck drivers is better than men, because they are less likely to have accidents or to damage the equipment, said Becker, explaining this lends to the equipments safety record being better as well.

What inspires you?

Im not here to tell you what your future is going to look like, or what it should look like. There are some things that nobody can tell you, things that, eventually, you just have to figure out for yourself, but I can tell you how I went from being you sitting out there in the audience today, to being me standing up here in front of you, said Becker, giving her address.

She told her life-story -- illustrated by photos -- of growing up in Elko, graduating with a degree in fine arts and working at Newmont.

Becker showed two short videos: one on women in mining, and another on the science of the power pose. She encouraged the girls to find their inspiration and told them that each step taken is part of a greater journey.

I enjoyed presenting to them and trying to be an inspiration to the young ladies, she said, thanking Elkos Soroptimists for inviting her to speak and tell her story.

Becker said she wished this has been around when she was graduating high school, to receive real-life information before going out into the real world.

We know how critical it is for young women to be inspired, and given the courage that they need to do what they want to do, and we always appreciate the opportunity to mention careers in mining for women as well, she said.

Revamping Its Strategy

In order to reach as many youths and young adults as possible, Newmont is retooling its strategy to increase its success when conducting educational outreach in schools or similar programs.

We want to be as effective as possible and include messaging as early as grade school to young kids by including them in these activities, and asking young boys and young girls, but also asking young girls if they want to be equipment operators, or if they ever want to be a geologist or ever want to work underground. So, just kind of have that conversation more regularly from an early age to sort of expand their horizons and open their minds to what opportunities are out there, said Becker.

Additionally, the North American mining corporation has created focus groups with young women at the university level to discuss their concerns about entering the industry, discussing what they perceive to be opportunities or hurdles to see if there is anything that can be done to change the perceptions and try to improve their ability to get into the industry, she said.

Career Mentoring Program

The goal of Dream It, Be It is to educate young women and give them access to role models.

In fact, before the conclusion of her interview with the Mining Quarterly, Becker wanted to put forth a call to action for women who currently work in the mining industry to remember that they are role models for women and girls of all ages, and to remember they are spokespeople for the industry, who can serve as inspirations by utilizing where they are at to aid other women in making important decisions in their lives.

Figures that have shaped industries, past and present, can serve as icons in the lives of those making crucial decisions; even educationally based programs have the ability to serve as a compass or mentor.

Dream It, Be It is a support, career mentoring program for teen girls, said Elkos Soroptimist President Elaine Cassell, explaining the event serves as a good way to reach out to as many teens as possible and to give them the extra information, knowledge and a leg up to start off when they get out of high school.

The conference is for all high-school-age girls. It is in its second year and has grown since its inception in participation and subject matter.

There were 60 girls in 2015. This year 115 signed up, and there was participation from more Elko County schools, which included Carlin, Elko, Spring Creek, Owyhee and West Wendover.

In addition to Beckers motivational speech the nonprofits event provided resources on financial planning, womens safety, understanding healthy relationships, how to dress for success and interview tips, what to do with ones mangy mane in the morning, how much blush is too much, and setting goals through the creation of vision boards.

Safety First

Elko Police Officer Shane Daz spoke to the group about the importance of safety, especially to be aware of your surroundings, he said.

Lets say youre going to the Wal-Mart late at night, or something like that, you want to park in a well lit area and make sure you know whats around you: vehicles, people, said Daz, later explaining to shop for essentials during later hours so one hand is free.

In furthering this point, he discussed distractions specifically in connection to texting or talking on the phone. These activities can deter from awareness.

Pepper spray and even keys can serve as weapons in an emergency. Also, not walking between vehicles at night is a safety precaution.

Routines are deadly, said Daz, making one of his final points.

This is complicated to get out of but important to remember as, for instance, a stalker will look for when someone is most vulnerable, he said.

The teens fielded Daz with many questions ranging from how to become an officer, what to do if youre kidnapped, and what is the best course of action when being stalked. One young woman asked with the caveat of the stalker being an officer.

Am I in a healthy relationship?

Many commonly assume abuse is only physical. Nor is it widely known domestic violence is not limited to marriage. In fact, there are four types of abuse: sexual, emotional, physical, and stalking or mental.

By sharing her personal story about a college boyfriend and facts on domestic violence, speaker Marianne McKown, of the Elko Daily Free Press and Mining Quarterly, was able to connect, bring about and engage participation in the conversation.

Some asked how they could help friends. Others gained a deeper understanding of emotional abuse such as a partner talking down to the victim, constantly wanting to know where he or she is at, or dictating the victims whereabouts.

Statistics show it takes approximately seven times for a victim to leave the abuser, sometimes ending in death.

McKown passed out pamphlets from the Committee Against Domestic Violence and explained it offers help in getting restraining orders, making escape plans and there is someone to talk to with a victims advocate.

Abusers will try to separate you from your support structure, she said.

When trying to help a friend in an abusive situation, McKown suggested questioning him or her about the relationship such as, is your significant other the first person you want to tell when something wonderful happens?

Tank top or collared shirt?

Kristi Hansen of the Red Lion spoke about dressing for success and gave interview tips.

Guess what? The second you walk into a job interview, Im judging you. First impressions actually do mean everything in the business world, she said, explaining an employer is looking for the best person for the job.

Kristi Hansen, of the Red Lion, said dressing well and looking the part is about representation. As for the interview, try to stay relaxed and remember all interviews are formal.

Your profession is going to be representative of how you dress, she said, giving tips such as wearing muted colors for make-up, tattoos should be hidden, take out or cover piercings, and black is great for business apparel.

An employer wants the best person for the job, which can include being well-rounded not only intelligence but in a polished responsible look.

Also, Hansen suggested before interviewing to go into the establishment and see how the employees dress.

What happens if you cant afford to look the part? Hansen suggested Dress for Success  a charity that promotes economic independence by providing work attire.

What shape is my face?

Many professionals say hygiene is important in appearance, said Niki Taylor, owner of TNT Hair & Nail Salon in Spring Creek.

Beautys an outward expression of an inward feeling, said Taylor.

Appearance is the first thing people notice, she expressed before breaking the youths into two groups: one focusing on proper application of makeup and the other on hair styling tips.

Taylor discussed make-up, shaping eyebrows and reminded the students that appearance and eye contact is important in an interview.

Trista Bloomfield focused on hair. She showed different face shapes and how they correspond to the best individual hairstyles.

You are your best masterpiece, she said.

Continuing Success

With continuing success the club hopes to pursue this event again next year, said Juli Nelson, a chair of this years program.

Were very fortunate that the school district is on board with us and they bused the girls to us from all the high schools, said Cassell, discussing how the program has garnered incredible community support through outlets such as raffle prizes, goodie bags and giveaways.

Teachers and Communities in Schools helped chaperone the event.

To me, its important that these girls get all of this extra information so that they can make the best choices in life, to make their lives better. If they can dream it, they can be it, Cassell concluded.

To plan Dream It, Be It on the local-level took careful preparation and gathering career-oriented people to present to the girls what it takes to pursue a career after high school, said Nelson.

She said the community sponsorship of items for the girls helps those who participated leave here with something to remind them of what they learned today.

Nelson also pointed to the enthusiasm and interaction between the teens and the presenters, calling it fantastic.

Kadi Douglass, a Spring Creek sophomore, said she participated in the program last year and would do so again next year.

She said this year it was much bigger. However, she was leaving with information that can not only help herself, but also a friend.

Its eye-opening. I didnt realize how much you needed to do as a girl  you have to be presentable and theres so many lines you can cross that you have to be careful of, said Tessa Duncan, a West Wendover High School senior.
On Friday, a Tesla spokeswoman said in an email that "to remove any doubt," the automaker would modify the language of the documents to make clear that the goal "is to benefit customers, while not harming us for doing a good deed." She did not elaborate on how it would be changed. The safety agency said in a statement that the changes were satisfactory, without elaborating. It described its review of the Model S suspension as "a routine data collection," adding that it had not found any safety issues so far and that Tesla was cooperating. In agreements like the one Cordaro signed, Tesla refers to the repairs as a "gesture of goodwill," made without "any admission of liability or wrongdoing or acceptance of any facts." That statement alone is uncontroversial. It is standard legalese protecting Tesla from admitting any wrongdoing by way of making a repair, said David Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown University and a former director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Muzzling consumers

But he said two other provisions in the contract were problematic in that they seemed to muzzle consumers: asking car owners to waive the right to future legal action and to keep the entire incident confidential. "You agree to keep confidential our provision of the good will, the terms of this agreement and the incidents or claims leading or related to our provision of the good will," the Tesla document said. Tesla said it was "preposterous" to suggest that it was trying to prevent owners from reporting safety problems to the NHTSA or any other government agency. But Vladeck said that distinction was unimportant. "Most reasonable consumers would interpret this as a provision prohibiting them from talking to anyone, including government or lawyers or anybody else," he said. Tesla was founded in 2003 with the idea of establishing battery-powered cars as a viable emissions-free replacement for the internal combustion engine and challenging many auto industry conventions. It sells cars directly to customers without franchised dealers, a practice that has led to legal battles in several states. The company is also building a gigantic battery factory in Nevada and often announces news in Twitter posts by Musk.

The use of nondisclosure agreements with customers appears to be highly unusual in the auto industry. Ford, General Motors and Toyota all said they did not have customers sign confidentiality agreements in exchange for fixing cars that have broken down. Joan Claybrook, a former head of the NHTSA, said requiring customers to keep quiet about repairs aroused suspicion. "I don't know why they'd do that," she said. "It makes it seem like they want to cover something up." 'Toothless' Leonard Lance, a Republican representative from New Jersey, introduced legislation in US Congress in April that would prevent companies from including nondisclosure clauses in consumer contracts. California, where Tesla is based, enacted a similar law in 2014. News of Cordaro's breakdown and the nondisclosure agreement he signed was trumpeted by auto bloggers tracking suspension problems in the Model S, a luxury sedan whose pricing starts at about $US70,000.

The NHTSA website lists 33 complaints received since October about suspension failures in the car, Tesla's top-selling model. Cordaro, an auto enthusiast who used to make hot rod cars, said Friday that he did not think the agreement barred him from talking to the safety agency or anyone else about the breakdown his car suffered in late April. When he reviewed it, Cordaro concluded that "it was basically toothless," he said. "It only keeps me from talking about the costs and filing a lawsuit." Once his car was repaired and returned, he filed details of his suspension issue with the safety agency and a few weeks later got the broken ball joint from Tesla and sent it on to the NHTSA. But he was nevertheless upset with how Tesla has dealt with what he thinks could pose a serious safety concern. "If it had happened on the highway, it could have been catastrophic," Cordaro, 61, said by phone while driving his Model S. Cordaro said he was further annoyed because Tesla, in its blog post about the Model S suspension and confidentiality agreements, suggested his breakdown had resulted from hard driving.
The ACT government should be commended for finally releasing a plan of management for the much-loved Albert Hall that saves it from future development.

There can be no argument that it has been a long time coming but now that it has finally been tabled in the Legislative Assembly there is light at the end of the tunnel for those who have long campaigned for the hall's protection.

The Friends of Albert Hall have described the final plan as a major achievement in ensuring the hall remains in public management.

The result is a win for people power following a revolt in 2007 when the National Capital Authority planned a whiz-bang new precinct around the hall.
My thanks for all the correspondence from all you Fairfax readers, regarding my item on the hideousness of the upper house member Robert Borsak's boasting of having shot elephants at six paces, and eating them. Illustration: Reg Lynch I received 98 per cent support, and the only correspondence that disagreed was predictably written in crayon. The best response of the lot, however, came from a comment written below the piece, from a reader. "I think shooters should hunt each other in special reserves," "Boukefalos" wrote. "This would add a lot more excitement and greater skills to the thrill of hunting. Those who survive could feel very smug in the knowledge they've done their bit for animal conservation and the ones that are killed would die similarly happy. This would also give them an appreciation of what the animals must feel when they are hunted, as hunters say they like to bond with their prey." Brilliant. Serious question for all you big bully-boy hunters who call it sport to shoot defenceless animals  who, like the execrable Borsak, think you can prove your "manliness" in this manner. How many of you would venture into the bush, into the jungle, to slaughter animals, if you knew there was even one chance in a hundred that one rabbit was in there with a small calibre revolver to fire back at you?

Crickets. You cowards. You heard me. Not a winner You know those films that look so absolutely fabulous in the trailers that you go to see them, only to find that the producers really have plucked the best 90 seconds out of the two hours, and there really isn't much left over after that?

Well, Money Monster, with George Clooney and Julia Roberts, which I saw with Mrs TFF last weekend, was like that. The premise was fascinating, the set-up pretty strong, but, somehow ... it just didn't quite work. Jodie Foster is a fabulous actor, but as a director, I'm not sure that brilliance is matched. (Mind you, my view might be coloured by the fact that when I interviewed Foster in 2007 at the Park Hyatt, I had the distinct impression I must have had dog poo on my shoe throughout, so spectacularly did her nose wrinkle. But, no, it was just me!) Joke of the week In late 1996, just after Bill Clinton had beaten Bob Dole in the presidential election but before the inauguration, Bill and Hillary are in the presidential motorcade just leaving Little Rock, Arkansas, heading back to the airport, where Airforce One is awaiting to take them back to Washington. As they pass by a tiny, dingy little garage on the edge of town, just as dusk falls, Hillary points it out and says, "You see that garage, Bill? I used to go out with the man that owns that garage."

Wryly amused, the president chortles and says, "That is amazing, Hillary! Just think, if you had married him, you'd be the wife of a garage proprietor." "No, Bill," Hillary says firmly. "If I'd married him, he'd be president." They said it "Do it once, do it right, and do it with fibre." This line from the independent candidate for New England Tony Windsor, on the subject of the NBN, drew huge applause from the Q&A audience, and afterwards on Twitter.

"Most of the ALP's promises on funding start with 'b', most of the LNP's promises start with 'm.' Bernard Keane, Crikey's political editor, on Sky News. "Don't let anyone tell you that great things can't happen in America." Hillary Clinton on getting the Democratic Party's nomination. "The last time there was this much excitement was when Hugh Jackman came to town."

Gerald  no last name given  a resident of Picton, about having Malcolm Turnbull visit the town. "That's a slap in the face to the voters of this nation." Pauline Hanson after Malcolm Turnbull said she wasn't welcome in Parliament. "What do we have to say to get the message across?" Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Kyle Stewart about the fact that people still try to drive through flood waters despite all the warnings not to. Do you really want to know? It starts with "OI!" and ends with "cking idiots!"

"I am not guilty, Your Honour." Former NSW minister Eddie Obeid, accused of wilful misconduct. "There was no one else in the entire NSW police force who could deal with these issues, other than you?" Jeremy Gormly, Counsel Assisting the Lindt Cafe inquest, asking the police negotiator commander if he had really been trying to control five situations in NSW including the siege. "That's the case. That's the protocols."

"Graeme", the Negotiator Commander in reply. "We are up for it! We will be back bigger and better than ever before." Mark Doepel, Coogee SLSC president, refusing to allow this week's storm damage to get him down. They breed them tough, down Coogee way, and I have the scars to prove it. "When we get up in the morning it's smoothies: mango, berries, flaxseed, chia seed and spinach. By 9am the kids have had a full rainbow of food." Sydney-sider and vegan, Amanda Brewer, has moved on from the idea she grew up with, of meat and three veg.
Victorian Coroner Steve Olle's recent updated submission to the state parliamentary committee of inquiry into end-of-life matters is important because it illuminates events of which the community is probably unaware. It can help the community understand why the committee this week handed down an historic recommendation that the law be changed to enshrine the right of terminally ill people, under strictly regulated circumstances, to choose the timing and means of their death. This is a change for which I have been advocating for many years, and I welcome the committee's finding, which came after an extensive 10-month inquiry. It supports the findings a few years ago of a Senate inquiry, and comes as the parliaments of South Australia and Tasmania are considering a similar, enlightened evolution of the law. It is in line with the desires of the community  as many as eight in 10 people now support the legalisation of physician-assisted death. Not suicide: Terminally ill patients who choose to die using Nembutal experience the antithesis of violent and secretive endings. The committee has recognised that elsewhere in the world such legislation has worked well, and that there are effective safeguards against greedy and manipulative relatives. It is crucial that people understand this is about giving people who are suffering terribly and are close to death the right to choose. It is most certainly not about giving doctors the right to decide who lives or dies. Assuming a bill is introduced into the Victorian parliament, I urge Victoria's political leaders to give their colleagues a free, or conscience, vote on the issue.

Coroner Olle detailed the deaths of 240 Victorians between 2009 and 2013 who were experiencing "irreversible decline" in their health due to cancer or other irreversible conditions. The report recognised two broad groups  those with a terminal illness or in the terminal phase of a terminal illness, and those with an incurable chronic illness, either progressive or stable (an advanced incurable illness). These conditions included motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes or chronic musculo-skeletal conditions. Olle reported that one-third had chosen poisoning with prescription drugs (prescribed in order to alleviate their intolerable suffering); hanging was adopted by a quarter; firearms by a further 14 per cent; and the remainder utilised self-laceration or deliberate vehicular contact. All of these deaths are highly likely to be violent, lonely, and undiscussed, resulting in grievous shock to family and friends. Yet there is a non-violent way which some people resolve such problems, and that is by the ingestion of Nembutal. The Coroner is aware of this, since the Coroners Prevention Unit has done "extensive research on fatal Victorian overdoses involving pentobarbitone". When such overdoses have occurred with medical advice, every encouragement is given to discuss the context of the decision with family, and to encourage them to be present to say goodbye  for many, a moment to be remembered with gratitude and warmth. A number of such deaths occur, which are not reported to the coroner, because the death is imminent and no-one has cause for complaint. Hence the Coroner's statistics in this area are inaccurate to a significant degree. The Coroner has conducted an inquest into such a death  that of Beverley Broadbent. Her GP had signed a death certificate indicating a fatal heart attack, and it was not until there was media attention to the death that the Coroner became involved. Her GP then said, "I had a choice between doing what was technically correct (reporting the death) and doing what was the particular wish of a woman whom I had known and respected for 15 years. I chose the latter, as I felt it would dishonour Ms Broadbent and our professional relationship to do otherwise". Many doctors do likewise, seeing no point in subjecting a dying person's family to the anxiety of a police inquiry, and a delay to funeral arrangements. The nurse who was with Ms Broadbent when she ingested Nembutal stated that "she died serenely in her bed about 30 minutes later". It is reliable. How do I know? Because I have provided such medication to a number of people, and been present when they have taken it on a number of occasions. The vast majority of these deaths are unknown to the Coroner because everyone involved is grateful for a good death. There is no complaint and thus, no report.
Van Gulik's choices show how difficult it was  and is  to imagine the way people thought and acted a thousand years ago, even in a culture that had attained a high level of civilisation. It has only been comparatively recently that French historians of the Annales school made a concerted effort to focus not on the deeds of great men but on the lives of ordinary people in the Middle Ages. The goal was to understand the "mentalites" of the age  roughly, the attitudes or world views.

Van Gulik kept the inaccuracies because he appreciated how the Ming authors had avoided the supernatural element that played such a prominent role in early Chinese fiction. Judge Dee had to be a man of reason, a strict Confucian who often expressed his distaste for the excesses of the Daoists, and the political intrigues of "the Buddhist crowd".

The charm of the books lies in the author's attention to historical detail, which is handled lightly but accurately, according to the scholarship of the 1950s and '60s when the books were written. Van Gulik was aware of the anachronisms in the Ming account and chose to retain them in his own stories.

Mention the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) and I think of Robert Van Gulik's character, Judge Dee  the Sherlock Holmes of ancient China. Di Renjie (c.630-c.700) was a real magistrate of the Tang period but became the fictionalised hero of a series of detective stories set in those times. The inspiration came from a story written during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which Van Gulik  a Dutch diplomat and celebrated linguist  translated into English.

Camel rider and camel, earthenware with pigment from the Tang: Treasures from the Silk Road Capital.

Faced with an exhibition such as Tang: Treasures from the Silk Road Capital at the Art Gallery of NSW, one's greatest desire, and hardest task, is to try to imagine the way people of that era saw the world. It requires a leap of the imagination not assisted by an advertising campaign seen around town. When bus shelters all over Sydney have pictures of a female figurine, asking us: "Was she the first to wear the pants?" or the ceramic shell of a drum being ascribed to "China's first boy band", we have surrendered to the imbecility of our own pop culture.

Despite the advertisements Tang is a beautifully designed exhibition that seems to have been too large for a single floor, and not quite big enough for two. As a result the works are allowed a generous amount of space, with small objects that might have been clustered together given their own display cases. Murals have been reproduced on large screens, while the crowning glory is a 3-D simulation of one of the most heavily decorated caves at Dunhuang. Pass an iPad in front of a gridded wall and ceiling, and the Buddhist paintings are reproduced on the screen in sharp detail. We may be catching a glimpse of the future of exhibition design, if not the future of travel.

The heart of the Tang empire was the ancient capital of Chang'an, now modern day X'ian. Cao Ying, the AGNSW's curator of Chinese art writes: "For more than two centuries, Chang'an became the biggest and most advanced city in the world, leaving a legacy in urban history that has echoed down the ages." What made the city remarkable was that it had been carefully planned in accordance with the principles of Feng Shui, and laid out in such a manner the aristocracy were housed in the east and the merchant classes in the west. There were large, well-organised markets where goods from the Silk Road were bought and sold.

At its height, Chang'an was the very definition of a cosmopolis, home to thousands of foreigners and tolerant of different religions. Such conditions are conducive for social and cultural progress, and the Tang era is widely viewed as a golden age in Chinese history. Its openness stands in contrast to the insularity of later dynasties, notably the Ming, which turned its back on an era of maritime exploration and banned ocean-going vessels in 1436. This move would leave China a backward nation, unprepared for the assault on its sovereignty that came with the Opium Wars of 1839-42.
But the national tour comes at a difficult time for Australia's leading Indigenous contemporary dance company. The sudden death in April of music director David Page, at the age of 55, has cast a pall over the tight-knit crew of dancers. Some speak of David only in the present tense, struggling to comprehend his absence. Bangarra Dance Theatre's Waagenga Blanco will perform in the company's new show. "We see David as our song man," Jasmin says. "Traditionally, your song man is the one who sings all the ceremonies, whether that be for funerals or joyful dancing or initiation. They are chosen from a very young age and are the holder of the songs. "David was kind of like our nucleus. He was able to give us the songs that we do our contemporary modern ceremonies to." Bangarra's Waagenga Blanco is the lead in new work Nyapanyapa. Credit:Nic Walker

The Helpmann Award-winning Indigenous composer and actor was the musical heartbeat of Bangarra, composing scores for 27 of the company's 35 major works. He composed Macq for its debut performance in 2013 and was updating the work when he died. His score marries traditional language and song with contemporary music and spoken word. The warning whine of mosquitoes sounds before there's anything to see on the pitch-black stage. Later, the tinkle of harpsichords clashes with the whistle and wind of the bush. There are big bass lines and starkly beautiful piano chords. Macq is a dark, uncompromising work. But David chose to leave the audience with something more than desolation. "One of his biggest strengths is that he brought heart to our shows and especially to Macq," Jasmin says. "Even though it's really dark, he really wanted to create a sense of hope in the music as well. He just kept saying: 'Let's put this extra sound in here, just to give the dancers something to cling on to, something to give them a bit of hope'." Testament to strength

Macq depicts a struggle between dancers Daniel Riley as Macquarie and Beau Dean Riley Smith as D'harawal man Bundle, who was an unwilling guide to the soldiers who killed and beheaded his people. The pair are also co-creators of a separate work for OUR land people stories called Miyagan, which celebrates the resilience of their Wiradjuri kinship system, in western NSW. They met in 2013  when Beau joined Bangarra  and discovered they were cousins. Their shared heritage traces back to a great-great-grandfather who lived on the Talbragar Mission near Dubbo, in the early 1900s. The mere fact that the men found each other in a big city so many generations later, is testament to the strength of Wiradjuri family ties. Daniel is 30, with a lean frame and fair skin, and moved around as a child, from the Gold Coast to Sydney's northern beaches and then Canberra. He knew nothing of his Indigenous roots until the age of 9 or 10, when his dad told him that his own father was a Wiradjuri man. Beau is 25 and slightly stockier than his cousin, with a soft voice and thick black beard. He was born in Dubbo and raised in Culburra Beach, on the NSW South Coast, but regularly travelled back home to Wiradjuri country, to stay with kin.

He and Daniel returned there this year for a family reunion, camping on the former mission site on the Macquarie River. "It was the first time in my life that I felt that connection to a specific place," Daniel says. "That's what this whole work has been to me, about finding my identity." Life was hard on the mission  occupants were denied access to much of their traditional language and culture. But Miyagan (which means "our family") instead focuses on the small joys they found there among family. The men fished when the river was full, and the women gathered water, often spilling their load while stumbling up its steep banks. "It was an aggressive place but there was a lot of peace out there," Beau says. "There are simple, beautiful stories. I always feel happy when I go there because I know that's where my family come from. It's 40,000 years of a family tree and it gives me a sense of pride knowing how strong it is." Family is a word that carries weight among the close clan of dancers at Bangarra, who come from all parts of Australia. David's death has ripped a large hole in their own kinship system. "We lost our song man. He was like the heartbeat, he was the one who kept the beat going," Beau says, drumming his fingers on the table. "The songs will continue but, I don't know," he says, his voice fading. "It is hard."

Daniel says he's coping with the loss by drawing on the resilience of the Wiradjuri. "It's the strength of the storytelling and the strength of that bond that is helping us heal and helping us to get out of bed every day, and come to work and tell the stories on the stage." Roy David Page's own story started in Brisbane in 1961, as the eighth child and second son of Roy and Doreen Page. He was a son, brother, uncle and cousin, and a proud gay Munaldjali and Nunukul man. An obituary by his family, published in May, described him as a humble person who always made time for his family. "Page had an innate talent for giving voice to country and to land that could awaken emotions from deep within," it said. "He always remembered names and always remained your friend." Stephen Page, who politely declines to discuss his brother's death, says art and movement can help bring healing. "We're always using art as medicine, whether we are grieving or wanting to make a point," he says. "Art is another way of language to tell stories, especially dance, because you are connecting the mind, body and spirit at once." His own piece for OUR land people stories was inspired by the life and works of visual artist Nyapanyapa Yunupingu, who is based in north-east Arnhem Land. "Nyapanyapa is a spirit of 60,000 years," he says. She made me think about the greatness and oldness of our storytelling and how it still has potency and strength in the contemporary world."

Stephen, who turned 50 in December, says the next generation of storytellers at Bangarra are finding a similar strength of spirit. "I go and spy on them and they have so much movement in them, and here I am moving like an old tortoise," he says. "With something like Macq, I love the idea that you have a generation today who are quite confident in telling their own accounts of history that has always been told through white fella's eyes. There were a lot of massacres in this country and we don't talk about them. "But here you have this youth today who are so empowered and proud of their culture that they are accepting those massacres as a positive thing. They are saying 'This empowers me to move forward, because we're such a resilient race'." Uncompromising account Jasmin Sheppard says that message of resilience runs through the three parts of OUR land people stories, which has been dedicated to David Page. The D'harawal remain strong, two centuries after the Appin massacre. The Wiradjuri kinship system survived the strains of life on the mission. Nyapanyapa Yunupingu has found healing and reawakening through art.

For her own part, Jasmin says she was determined to give an uncompromising account of Lachlan Macquarie's role in the massacre. The man behind the monuments was complex and contradictory. He organised annual picnics at Parramatta for the land's traditional custodians to break bread with white settlers. He counted many Indigenous people as friends, yet ordered some be hanged from trees as a warning to their kin. It's time to stop running from this history, she says. "Why don't we just face it and own it, and then we can move forward together. Instead of shying away from the truth, when you tackle it head on then you can find some healing." Her piece features a traditional D'harawal mourning song, by several women in unison. "The women were the ones who had to care for the bodies of their fathers, their brothers, their uncles, their sons, their husbands. They're the ones who had to find the strength within them, in their culture and in that song to keep going, and to band together and find healing," she says. "To me, Macq is really about resilience as well. Even though it is really dark, I think it's amazing that after everything that has happened, the D'harawal are still here all these years later - they are still practising culture, they are still unearthing their identity." David would have been proud to see his score form part of a broader story about strength and hope, she says. They worked closely on the piece. David often talked about the need to move beyond Australia's dark past. "We spoke a lot when we created Macq about the importance of hope and resilience. I think they are important to everyone," Jasmin says.
A Hero In France

ALAN FURST

A Hero in France Alan Furst

WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON, $32.99

The 15th of Alan Furst's historical espionage thrillers, A Hero in France, is set in German-occupied France during WWII. It follows an agent of the Resistance, codenamed Mathieu, who smuggles downed RAF pilots to safety over the Spanish border. Mathieu has a girlfriend who knows nothing of his clandestine activities, and colludes with fellow Resistance members who range from a club owner to a high-society lady. Furst is known for his meticulous research on both sides of the war, and the villains of the piece are accurately drawn. If you're already a fan of Furst's books, you'll doubtless find this one diverting, though it feels a bit formulaic compared with his best. If you're new, try something else: his shipbound spy novel, Dark Voyage, is a great place to start.
Akram's War

NADIM SAFDAR

Akram's War Nadim Safdar

ATLANTIC, $27.99

A devout Muslim and former sergeant in the British Army, Akram Khan is intensely alienated. He grew up in a country where anti-Pakistani prejudice was rife, experienced a loveless childhood, and has a wife (by arranged marriage when they were teenagers) who refuses to have sex with him. His embrace of an extreme form of Islam provides a sense of moral superiority, but also serves to further isolate him. Forsaking grievance for martyrdom, Khan decides to become a suicide bomber, planning to detonate himself among crowds on Armistice Day. On his way, he meets a prostitute with a heart of gold, and engages in a lengthy  and unbelievably silly  conversation with her. Understanding the seductions of radical Islam is no doubt an important task, but Nadim Safdar's prose is so pedestrian and littered with cliche, Akram's War comes across as unconvincing soap.
Time for sleep

Sad news that after 13 years Sleepers is shutting up shop. The women behind the small literary publisher, Louise Swinn and Zoe Dattner, have decided to stop publishing new books or their annual Almanac. Sleepers had no recurring Australia Council funding and would apply for funding for a batch of books. But when the last three books were not funded, the cost was not sustainable. "If we thought it was a one-off, we'd find a way, but there is such a lack of stability at the moment," Swinn said. "It is very precarious. It is hard to imagine funding being restored so we could rely on it." Sleepers specialised in introducing new voices and Swinn said there were now a lot of younger publishers in the big houses looking for emerging writers. She was particularly proud of the Almanac in which Sleepers had published more than 300 new voices. "Reading the submissions and finding a voice of someone we'd never heard of writing world-class literature was always a shock." Backlist titles are still available.

Stellar prizes for women

In all the excitement about the Stella prize, the Kibble and Dobbie awards tend to get overlooked. The former is the $30,000 prize given to an established woman writer. This year's shortlist consists of Elizabeth Harrower (A Few Days in the Country and Other Stories), Drusilla Modjeska (Second Half First) and Fiona Wright (Small Acts of Disappearance). The latter, worth $5000, is given to a first-time published author. Shirley Barrett (Rush Oh!), Magda Szubanski (Reckoning) and Lucy Treloar (Salt Creek) comprise the shortlist.
ELKO  The fire in Jerritt Canyon Gold LLCs roaster last summer sparked a change in safety by recreating a surface mine rescue team and a renovated facility.

In fact, teamwork and preparation can be essential to many operations and Jerritt Canyon is no exception in its endeavor to upgrade its facility and reorganize its surface mine rescue team.

The surface mine rescue team will be trained for all contingencies including firefighting, emergency medical and Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard or HAZWOPER.

One thing about this team is it is employee driven, said Genalee Jones, safety and training coordinator.

She told the Mining Quarterly in an April interview that to exemplify their dedication, the men are even coming in on their days off as they are volunteering to do this. This is not being required by a supervisor.

The program is looking to have 30 people trained in the aforementioned areas, said Safety Manager Kellie Munger.

This initiative was started in the beginning of September, said Jones, explaining there are currently 27 people, and over half of the team will be trained after the completion of a couple more classes  July is the goal.

We want these guys to understand their health and their safety is our No. 1 goal, for sure, out there at Jerritt Canyon, said Munger, explaining the mine site once had a surface mine rescue team or emergency medical group.

She said she thinks people lost interest because there wasnt enough push for training.

We see and recognize the need for the surface group, therefore, we pushed for it, she said.

Jerritt Canyon has one of the oldest mills in the industry and they are working on becoming a far safer location for employees, according to Munger.

Jones added that a first-aid triage center has also been created. Munger compared it to a mini-doctors office, with a bed and everything.

The fire on July 30, 2015, was met with the responsibilities of those at the site, who had previous training.

That is where we really recognized the need to put together a more efficient team, said Munger.

However, this surface team is not helping to reinvent safety but to reinvent itself. Some of the same men from previous team rejoined, however, others just might be waiting for what is in store.

I think those that didnt rejoin, at this time, are probably standing back wanting to see just how far it goes. I think they were let down in the past, from previous ownership, which is understandable by all parties, said Munger.

The new owners have stood behind every decision in order for this team to be successful, she said.

The mine was acquired by Sprott Mining from Veris Gold Corp. in 2015.

Part of ensuring the success of the rescue team is an upgraded rescue bay, which holds HAZWOPER training, clothing, suits, Scott air packs, firefighting turnouts and more.

Additionally, there is an on-site facility where the team can complete classroom training.

From the first time I went up there, from the fire to the last time I was up there, night and day between the house cleaning and the way, when you approach the mine site, just the pride, the difference, said Brian Burgess. You can tell under the new ownership people are taking more ownership of themselves, more pride that is being presented up there.

It is through Burgesss business CSPDER Rescue (Consulting Services Program Development for Emergency Response) the training in EMS hazmat and fire is being coordinated.

CSPDER Rescue has been open since 2009, he said.

Team members come from all areas of the facility such as the truck shop, mill maintenance, mill ops, security and admin, said Munger.

We are a team no matter what position we are out there, she said. Although it was in reference to the title she holds at Jerritt Canyon Gold, Munger described a sentiment that seemed to be shared by all who spoke to the Mining Quarterly.

Well have here fairly soon, start establishing whos going to do what, she said, discussing that rescue teams always work according to a delineated job list.

Actually, how it works is the first one on site is in charge, until somebody else is there  that has more experience  to take over, and so, their job could be incident commander up into an hour until somebody is there to relieve them from that position, she said.

Its the same with a first-aid medical situation: the first one on scene is in charge until someone with more experience is there to help.

The Training

Its going to be all-hazard type response, said Burgess, explaining part of the efforts being done with this team is to organize it in a similar manner as a volunteer fire department.

All-hazard meaning anything from first aid, to hazardous materials, to fire response and basically to an operations level, he said.

As the training continues, that knowledge will be increased to technician level, even including rope-rescue type training.

Right now, its all basically in the operations realm, said Burgess.

One of the main focuses of the training is a focus on life and public safety, according to Troy Phelps, the district fire management officer with the U.S. Forest Service: Humboldt - Toiyabe National Forest, North East Zone, who aided in training the team.

He described the focus of this training as two-fold. Public safety looks at the infrastructure of both roadways and structures, while natural resources include threatened or endangered species and protecting areas of recreation.

Theres so many things out there that we value. So, were trying to protect it, said Phelps, explaining the surface mine rescue team in question gives a local resource when focusing on these incidents.

The training brings participants to a Firefighter II status giving more aid on the fire-ground, because they not only fight fire but they also understand tactics, strategy and terminology, he said.

In addition to that, the forming team understands mine equipment operations and, through the possibility of agreements, that machinery can be used if a fire comes close to a mine.

The training initiated a "pre-attack plan" for the mine site and additional training on how to address and work together to manage a wildland fire on a forest or mine, said Phelps.

Its a tool with really endless options, he said, complimenting the program and the men in it in their understanding of the complexity of fire and their intrigue.

The class the Mining Quarterly was able to observe discussed all manner of topics concerning wildland fires, from fuel arrangement  how fuel spreads over a certain area  the difference in fire size compared to direct sunlight on vegetation to sagebrush being a primary fuel carrier in Nevada.

These guys are asking me questions, theyre charged up about it, he said.

The Team

The team is starting to get going, but they are teeming with anticipation to save themselves and their workplace, and learn as much as possible.

In all honesty, the location, where were at, resources arent readily available and weve got a lot of stuff to protect, said team captain and coordinator Ruben Ramirez, discussing the major risk at Jerritt Canyons remote location.

We kind of brought it upon ourselves to be ready, have the knowledge and kind of get the team going, he said.

I believe that were here to learn more of what we know and practice makes perfection, said Jorge Ramirez, a team member.

We just want to save ourselves, save where we work at and theres a lot of things that we could lose over there if we were not prepared, he said.

If anything, the team is truly in its inception and preparation mode: it is getting the fundamentals in the form of training, the materials, tools and gear needed, said Ruben Ramirez.

Another component is getting to know one another so as to evaluate strengths and weaknesses and, in a sense, establish a hierarchy.

You feel more part of a team. Were doing so much progress. We like to say were locked and loaded. Every step were taking were going forward, said Jorge Ramirez, describing how they feel better now than before.

At this time, the underground mine rescue team is contracted out to Small Mine Development, which has its own underground team.

Ruben Ramirez said the hope is to get everyone on equal footing.

Starting in May were going to fire up through Jerritt at our underground facility. Were going to strive to get everybody comfortable and helping out in an underground environment  so that way were ready to go, whether it be surface or underground, he said.

Even if SMD Underground needs us  were going to give them a hand. Were going to be there for them and I know theyre going to be there for us, said Jorge Ramirez.

Were prepared. Were certified now, he said.
Great novels catch fire early. Something on the page ignites  a detail or turn of phrase, an observation that provides a sharper focus on the world. We recognise their charge at once, these books (every reader has a list) that burn in our minds and light our days.

Two years ago, the Boston-born Ottessa Moshfegh received the Fence Modern Prize in Prose for her debut novel, McGlue. The year before, she won the Plimpton Discovery Prize for stories published in The Paris Review.

McGlue unfolds on the 19th-century seas. The dark observations of its titular narrator, a man often too drunk to remember his actions, namely whether he killed a man and if that man was his best friend, produced a buzz among readers, and particularly among young writers, which makes the publication of Moshfegh's Eileen seem like a cultural event.

Eileen Dunlop  "a fabulous shoplifter", "the skinny girl with no mother and little hope for a husband"  relays this story from her 70s, focusing on events that changed her life nearly half a century before during her employment at a New England juvenile detention centre. She has no real friends, only imaginary ones, and wastes her days in X-ville. "Imagine an old man walking a golden retriever, a woman lifting a bag of groceries from her car," Moshfegh writes. "There was really nothing so very wrong with the place. If you were passing through, you'd think that everything was fine there."

Eileen thrives on such deceptive placidity. Early on, Moshfegh informs us of the undertow that Eileen feels in X-ville as she provides a "snapshot of the world before everything in it changed for me". The placidity, along with an ominous tone, produces a slow narrative ascent and reveals Moshfegh as a writer less invested in what happens in her story than in how it unfolds. Its arc  low, eerie and heralding turbulence  never attains the thriller or mystery status that it promises.
One of the most anticipated releases of 2016, The City of Mirrors is Justin Cronin's final book in the trilogy that began with The Passage (2010) and continued in The Twelve (2012).

The City of Mirrors, by Justin Cronin.

The sprawling plot begins when a dozen death-row inmates are infected by the United States military with a rare virus discovered in the Bolivian jungle. The experiment is an objectively terrible idea, and the inmates are immediately endowed with super-human strength, a strange green glow and an insatiable thirst for blood. Vampires, by any other name, and Cronin has plenty: "fliers", "glowsticks", "dracs", "dopeys" and, most commonly, "virals".

From this point onwards, the story is a prolonged anxiety attack about the end of the world. The trilogy is populated by dozens of vividly drawn characters  scientists, military officers, nuns, bus drivers, housewives and, years later, the inhabitants of the First Colony  all of whom are running for their lives. At the centre of it all is Amy, the young Girl From Nowhere, who may or may not be able to save the world.

The Passage spans almost 100 years, The City of Mirrors a thousand more. This book is a culmination of an epic saga, built on a mythology that runs so deep that it needs to open with a brief precis, written as a Biblical text, of everything that occurred in the first two volumes.

The novels shift back and forth in time, revealing the backstories of certain characters and depending on where, and when, the story takes place, the enemy can be either monster or man. George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is referenced heavily throughout; just as a small group of survivors regain a foothold in the war against the virals, their fellow humans reveal a breathtaking capacity for evil.
You'd have to be 'Blind Frederick' not to notice there's been much ado about Shakespeare lately. The 400th anniversary of his death this year has inspired everyone from the Stratford-upon-Avon tourism people to Paul Kelly to put on a bit of a show. As Jeanette Winterson told us, they're flogging Shakespeare T-shirts and underpants. Winterson's contribution to Shakespeare mania is The Gap of Time, her contemporary retelling of The Winter's Tale. It's a wonderful challenge to rewrite the Bard  and fair enough, since he rewrote most of his source material. But what of those who write about Shakespeare? A scene from the Franco Zeffirelli film Romeo & Juliet. Comic book author Matt Sturges discovered the 'fun' side of Shakespeare watching the film at school. This, it seems to me, is the biggest challenge of all. What can you say that hasn't been said a thousand times before? It may well be the only approach to writing about the Bard is to get personal: to say what he means to you. So I welcome Shakespeare & Me, an anthology of essays edited by Susannah Carson and newly released in paperback, in which well-known writers, actors and directors from Antony Sher to Ralph Fiennes give us their individual take on their hero. It's a bit uneven, as you might expect with any such collection, and some essays made more of an impact on me than others: I found the actors' experiences particularly compelling.

One of the most important themes to emerge is how to present Shakespeare to young people  and how in the past we have largely failed at it. Over and over again, the essayists lament how boring and baffling it was to read Shakespeare in the classroom. Perhaps the biggest hurdle was Romeo and Juliet. Because it's about teenage lovers, teachers often thought it suitable for teens  but that didn't make it any easier to understand or appreciate. The tragedy was a huge sticking point for some. Maxine Hong Kingston writes that her students during the Vietnam War found the play a horror story and couldn't bear the unhappy ending. Comic book author Peter David sat in a teenage audience to see the Baz Luhrmann film: they were flabbergasted and outraged when the lovers both died, even though the prologue had told them this was going to happen. "How is it that I'm so dumb when it comes to Shakespeare?" writes Matt Sturges, another comic book author. His early experiences were all utterly mysterious: watching his brother playing Laertes in a school Hamlet when he was 5, or watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon with a parody of Juliet in the balcony scene. As with most of us, it took him ages to realise that "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" doesn't mean "Where are you, Romeo?" but "Why is your name Romeo?". In ninth grade, as a reward for reading the play "in a stultifying monotone that only a room full of bored teenagers can employ", the class got to see a video of the Zeffirelli film. Sturges was amazed to discover that Shakespeare is funny and dirty: Mercutio makes a dick joke and the class got to see Juliet's boobs.
US talk show queen Ellen DeGeneres is bewildered her call to protect the Great Barrier Reef has sparked a backlash in Australia.

DeGeneres made headlines earlier in the week with the release of a video public service announcement as part of the Remember the Reef campaign.

Ellen DeGeneres is returning to stand-up after 15 years. Credit:Jason Merritt

The comedian was criticised by Nine Network's Today Show co-host Karl Stefanovic and bombarded by tweets from Environment Minister Greg Hunt.

"I put out a PSA because I do believe we should protect our oceans and protect the reef, and I don't know what's controversial about that," DeGeneres said.
Sharon's moment kissing Willa when she was pregnant and needed comforting. "It is one thing to go to Africa and do short-term things and come back but it was a real risk to throw everything in and go over there full time," she said. "Zimbabwe was in freefall at the time that I arrived; one year to the date of my friend's death, there was escalating political violence. I arrived at a time when tens of thousands were fleeing the country. Once Sharon got to know Lady well she would often come when called. "No one was working with elephants any more, people were fleeing, chaos was happening in Zimbabwe, there was opportunity for me to step in and start working with them."

The former information technology consultant began working with the presidential elephants outside Hwange National Park's borders, so named after Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe decreed them protected. Wilma loved sleeping on the bonnet of Sharon's 4WD. Credit:Sharon Pincott Sharon documented the cuts and tears of the 300-odd elephants, along with their unique tusk formations, to try to tell them apart and name them. It was during these early days she learnt they were becoming ensnared in wire trapping devices set up by poachers. Sharon formed a unique bond with the Presidential elephants Credit:Sharon Pinott

"Elephants walk into them regardless and get trapped, they can break free but the wire is embedded in a part of their body, if they are smaller it might be around neck or head, or if it is a big elephant it can get caught around their trunk or their leg," she said. "These injuries will kill if left because they can go septic. Sharon's book, Elephant Dawn. "Within months of arrival, it was not only documenting elephants, I was involved in trying to save elephants injured in wire snares." Land grabs threaten presidential elephants

But life did not run smoothly for Sharon. She went up against one of Mugabe's political appointees, who claimed the wildlife land she was working on as his own and began sport hunting on the property. "That was horrific for me, I wasn't going to let this happen, I had got to know the elephants so well, I was already helping them out from snares, I considered them part of my own family as they considered me part of theirs," she said. "I went to battle against one of President Mugabe's key politicians on behalf of the elephants." After 16 months, Sharon managed to get the politician "thrown off" the land. However, she was not forgotten. "When you go up against someone like that they don't forgive or forget," she said.

"He stayed in the area, then all sorts of things happened. I was accused of being a spy working for the Australian government, in Zimbabwe they hang spies. I found myself on the wanted persons list in 2006. "Because I had some politicians on my side, I just dug my feet in more and more, the more they wanted me gone the more I was determined to stay and fight for these elephants and the land for these elephants. "It was a scary time, a lot of intimidation, harassment, threats." Elephants "helped me rebuild my spirit" Sharon said the elephants she had given up her corporate life for gave her the strength to continue fighting.

"I would often go out in the four-wheel-drive, I would sit up on the roof at their height and be one with them and part of their family especially under a full moon where there was no snares, gunfire, that helped me to rebuild my spirit despite all the other stuff," she said. "It was the highs of being out with the elephants, especially under a full moon. "Elephants were in my blood by then." Losing a friend It was towards the end of her 13-year-old stay in Zimbabwe that Lady, one of Sharon's most-loved elephants, died.

"Lady was such a friend to me, it sounds silly but think about your dog and what it means when one often dies," she said. "Lady disappeared for good, I never found her body. It took me 10 months to admit to myself she was gone. "I watched the effect of her death on her daughters, her sisters and the split that then happened with her family." Same problems all over again Lady died in 2013 and towards the end of that year, the same piece of land was claimed again by someone else.

"We were back to the beginning, we had to start over again, I was reliving the same problems over again," she said. By this stage things had gotten so "bad and so mad" with the country that Sharon felt she couldn't trust anyone any more and made the difficult decision to come back to Queensland. "It was a really hard decision, these elephants, Lady was dead some others were dead, but by now we were talking 525 elephants at the time of me leaving, to walk away from that was the hardest decision I have ever made," she said. Not ready to leave Africa Back on the Sunshine Coast, Sharon keeps an eye on her Zimbabwean elephant family and has begun making plans to go back to South Africa to continue her work with Africa's giants.
But that's OK, right? Once he wins the election  still the most likely result of this eye-glazing, never-ending campaign  things will change. The real Malcolm will emerge from his conservative chrysalis like a beautiful socially progressive butterfly and lead us into a bright, shining future.

But Bowen wasn't finished. Turnbull is not an adherent of Karl Marx, he explained, but rather American comedian Groucho Marx, who once proclaimed: "Those are my principles and if you don't like them ... well, I have others." It was a pithy new way to say what we all know: Turnbull has abandoned his beliefs for the sake of party unity.

The audience at the April 30 event  to support Labor's candidate for Wentworth, Evan Hughes  was momentarily perplexed. Turnbull was a lot of things, but a communist? Hard to believe given they were gathered just a short walk from the former investment banker's $50 million harbourside mansion.

This seems to be the hope  or even the assumption - among many left and centre voters who still want to believe in Turnbull. That once he's won his own mandate at the ballot box, his conservative colleagues will calm down and fall in line; that he'll finally have the power and authority to lead them, rather than be led by them. That climate change, same-sex marriage and republicanism will all be back on the agenda. That he'll ditch the slogans and start treating us with the respect he promised us when he took the top job.

Don't be so sure. It's time to consider the very real possibility that this is as good as a Malcolm Turnbull prime ministership gets: cautious, indecisive, uninspiring and unprincipled. Hostage to the right and haunted by Tony Abbott's ghost.

If Turnbull were to win a thumping victory on July 2, increasing his majority in the lower house, we might see more of the "real Malcolm"  whatever that means at this point. But that's simply not going to happen. The best he can really hope for is that he limits his losses to a handful of seats. Most governments go backwards in their second terms  John Howard did in 1998, and so did Labor in 2010 - so it would be hard to hold him responsible for a natural correction of four or five seats. This sort of result might give him some latitude to start making some decisions unpopular with the party's right wing.

But if the polls are correct he's on track to lose more seats than that. He may scrape back in on a knife-edge. He may even lose his majority and be forced into some sort of deal with the crossbench. This sort of result would not give him the authority he needs to take the party  or the country  in a new direction.

The conservatives would be emboldened, rather than quieted. Abbott's supporters would claim their guy could have done better. They'll point to 2013 and say actually, he already did. It wouldn't take long for Turnbull's leadership to come under pressure. That's not to say he'd face a challenge in the near future  the party will not return to Abbott and the other contenders are more long-term propositions - but leaders without internal authority must always watch their back. Just ask Julia Gillard.
The Coalition is set to retain the Brisbane seat of Bonner comfortably, in a sign Labor is failing to make inroads in the key Queensland marginals it needs to win to be in with a chance on July 2.

While the seat has changed hands at every election since it was created in 2004, new ReachTel polling commissioned by Fairfax Media shows the Liberal National Party's Ross Vasta on track to win easily.

The poll shows Mr Vasta leading Labor's Laura Fraser Hardy by 56 per cent to 44 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, which would be an improvement of his 54/46 result at the 2013.
Age: 26

26 Occupation: student and paralegal

student and paralegal Family: partner

partner Lives: Candelo, Bega Valley. Lived in Eden-Monaro for a year; family connections to the area

Candelo, Bega Valley. Lived in Eden-Monaro for a year; family connections to the area Political experience: first-time candidate

Standing strong on climate change is an issue for the whole nation but Eden-Monaro can benefit from jobs created in the renewable-energy industry, Greens candidate Tamara Ryan says. The first-time candidate, paralegal, and student says the electorate has the opportunity for more solar and wind farms.

"We see it as a good way to use Australian-made steel as well as creating jobs for young people who really need it. In order to stay below the two degrees the earth is getting close to, we need to push for higher targets on renewable energy and sustainable emissions. Our target is 90 per cent renewable by 2030."

Greens candidate for Eden-Monaro Tamara Ryan.

A need for better public transport in regional areas is another priority, she says: the Greens support high-speed rail connecting Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne and a reliable bus service between Queanbeyan and Canberra.
Some of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's closest advisers have been drawn into a heated shouting match with a local Greens protester during a campaign stop on the Sunshine Coast.

Senior Turnbull confidantes Senator James McGrath and principal private secretary Sally Cray asked, respectively, who paid for the activist's unemployment benefits and how she would fund hospitals when challenged on the Adani coal mine and healthcare cuts.

"Don't want to answer the hard questions!" the protester yelled out as the Prime Minister walked ahead.

"The Adani coal mineIf it was a country, it would be the seventh highest polluter in the world. What are you going to do about that, Mr Turnbull?"
"To get a Senate seat now you have to achieve the quota on primary vote, it is effectively a first-past-the-post system for the Senate," Economou says. And for that reason, he predicts, Muir is doomed. Clive Palmer with his MPs and ally Ricky Muir in 2013. Credit:Rob Homer "The whole point of reform of the Senate electoral system was to eliminate him, and he will be eliminated." Muir, as you might expect, isn't so sure. But in many ways he would be the last person to know. Polling for the job he is trying to win back doesn't exist. This week he only had $5500 in publicly raised funds to campaign with. And he has the whole of Victoria to cover, an impossible task. He tends to stick to Gippsland where most of his support is, and where his home is, although he has been to Geelong and also Wangaratta so far in this campaign. The Senate voting changes threaten crossbench senators' seats including those held by John Madigan, centre, David Leyonhjelm, Ricky Muir, Glenn Lazarus, Dio Wang and Bob Day. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

His party's machinery is minimal. He has five on his staff, plus his wife. One in Canberra, four in Sale. A fundraiser was held last weekend in Sale at $28 a head, in a pub. Eighty people came. That's a nudge over $2000. It costs $2000 to even register a candidate for the Senate, which Muir did on Thursday, from his own pocket. So what is this? Naivety? He would have been paid around $1 million for the usual senatorial six-year term had it lasted that long but he in effect voted for an election  with new Senate voting rules  when he voted down the Australian Building and Construction Commission Bill in April. The bill aimed to reprise a Howard-era construction industry watchdog, fiercely opposed by the union movement. Ricky Muir with his Holden Calais 'PLTCLY INCRCT' at a workshop in Sale, Victoria. He built the vehicle for burnouts, and is participating in the Bairnsdale Burnout Competition. Credit:Paul Jeffers The whole point of reform of the senate electoral system was to eliminate him, and he will be eliminated. Dr Nick Economou from Monash University Muir supports union issues. He worked in a sawmill as a supervisor before becoming a senator, was born in Maffra in Gippsland to a family he has called "working class" and identifies himself as "blue-collar". He could have rolled over and voted for the bill and saved himself the grief of a double-dissolution election and pocketed $190,000 a year plus allowances. But he didn't. He went with his conscience and voted it down.

He joked this week that he would get out his guitar and become a busker if he lost his Senate job in the July 2 election. "But that isn't going to happen," he says. "I've got to sound confident here." But seriously, I asked Muir. What will you do? There have been suggestions through his term as a senator for Victoria that the Labor Party was interested in him. "No one from Labor has ever approached me," he says. "Put it this way  someone once told me politics is like a magnet and it keeps pulling you back and I can see myself doing something in politics either in the state or federally." Having tasted aspects of public life and advocacy  and talking about issues to groups of people  he would also like to be some sort of consultant to industries he knows about, most likely the car industry. It all began with the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, after all, campaigning around road quality, car manufacturing and fuel issues.

The Muir family has eight trail bikes at home. Once, when he was teaching his daughter, then aged five, to ride, he ended up splayed in an electric fence. "She still talks about the time she ran daddy over," says Kerrie-Anne Muir. He builds cars, fixes cars, drives cars and four-wheel-drives. He also shoots. Of course just after he was elected the elitist knives were out and he was accused of being an unintelligent bogan, among other things. He managed a disastrous interview on TV with Mike Willesee  "I have always been exceptionally bad at forgetting that one word in a sentence that I really need to say," he said this week. He was also seen in a video throwing kangaroo poo around and talked about staying in caravan parks in Canberra. "I've never seen such personal vilification of someone in the Parliament since Pauline Hanson," says Economou. "Almost from the moment he was mentioned as a senator people started to lampoon him." Even now, Muir rarely wears a suit. He did in the Senate, but nowhere else. He loves public events because, he says, unlike mainstream politicians no one is there to attack or second-guess him and it means he can talk to ordinary Australians about their lives. Most of this week  in Morwell, Sale, Melbourne, Warragul and Bairnsdale  he wore blue jeans and a shirt. At an event with intellectually disabled people in Morwell he mixed easily and held a captive audience while he chatted about Lego, Hummers and dirt bikes.
ELKO  The new Hampton Inn under construction on the Gold Dust West property is nearing completion, according to General Manager Mike Hachquet. If plans progress on schedule the hotel will open in mid-to-late July.

This is one of the hottest franchises going now, said Hachquet. It has always been part of Jacobs Enterprises to incorporate a hotel. We are happy to help the economy.

Over the last four years the company has looked at several hotel brands. They decided on the Hampton Inn because it is one of the leaders in the country.

Its a great location, Hachquet said. Its close to the Newmont and Goldstrike offices and most of our growth is on Mountain City Highway.

The new hotel will have 80 rooms and employ 23 people, some of which have already been hired. Steed Construction out of Idaho has been doing a lot of the work on the structure but they have hired a number of local subcontractors. Farr West Engineering, an Elko company, has been working with the process since its inception.

Hachquet claims the hotel will generate more money for the casino and bring more room tax to the community. He foresees a combination of both leisure and corporate clients coming to the new facility.

There are a shortage of rooms in Elko during events, Hachquet said. Our corporate people were here and could not stay through Friday because of the Expo.

Besides Gold Dust West, other businesses in the area hope to proper with an influx of nightly visitors.

The manager at Sierra Java, which is located across the street from the new hotel, will likely experience increased sales.

We are looking forward to it opening, said Rae Sanchez. We are hoping it helps out.

Jobs are still open for the hotel and Hachquet encourages people to visit the website at gdwcasino.com.

We are still looking for positions, Hachquet explained.
Nick (Nikolce) Veljanovski was 28 when he went missing on June 11, 2014. "Unlike most other losses, there is no finality, no ability to have the ceremonies we are used to having as a Western society," said Simoncini. "The biggest thing we find is that ambiguous loss is hard. You can't even grieve because you have a double-edged hope that they will be found. "Months can turn into years, which can turn into decades but they never had a graveyard or a tombstone where they can grieve." Joanne Ratcliffe went missing 43 years ago. Her sister Suzie has set up a support group for families of missing persons. Days have turned into two years for the family of Nick (Nikolce) Veljanovski, who was 28 when he went missing on June 11, 2014 in Bundeena in Sydney's south.

"It is torture," said Nick's mother Sylvia Veljanovski. The past two years had been exhausting, physically and emotionally, says Veljanovski, who has since been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. "It is just awful not knowing, if he is safe, is he well? Our life has been in limbo and we can't seem to let go or move on. There are so many unanswered questions, it is hard to plan anything or do anything." Since her son's disappearance, she often has trouble sleeping. With the anniversary approaching, she said the sleeplessness and middle of night fears and anxieties were worse. "It is like a tape, you go over and over it," she says. "Sometimes I have trouble just breathing. I have never known pain like this."

Veljanovski's response is not unusual. "It is about looking for answers, and asking all the questions that occur in the wee small hours, that often don't get put into words," Davies says. "Families do revisit what happens, and go over and over the conversation ... It is a way of looking to make sense of something that makes none." The Veljanovskis, who live in Bankstown, have taken the unusual step of offering a $50,000 reward for credible information that helps them find their son. Nick's mobile phone, keys and wallet have not been found. The car he was driving  a blue Honda Jazz  was found early the next morning at a parking lot on Beachcomber Avenue near the start of the Jibbon Point Trail, a popular walking track in the Royal National Park near Bundeena. About 4pm on June 11, 2014, Nick spoke with his girlfriend of more than nine years. That was the last time anyone heard from him. Initially his family thought he had a minor argument with his girlfriend, now they believe the two had broken up. Nick had also called in sick from work that day.

Like many families of missing people, the Veljanovskis have conducted their own searches. Nick's father David and brother Jim have plastered the National Park with missing signs, and travelled up and down the coast to publicise his disappearance and chase leads. Jim also runs an active Facebook page. The family urges anyone who may have seen Nick to contact Crimestoppers. Despite a comprehensive air, sea and ground search, no trace of him was found, according to police handling the case. The police have now referred his disappearance to the coroner for a ruling after concluding Nick is, in all probability, dead. The family does not believe this is true. In NSW, the police are required  following a recent change  to report a missing person to the coroner after 12 months when the person has not been located and there is no sign of life. A study, published in the March update of the Journal of Law and Medicine, doubted the coronial process offered "resolution to the ambiguity of families of missing people". "It may offer a legal resolution, but it did not necessarily provide emotional closure," wrote Stephanie Dartnell, who works with Davies, and co-author Jane Goodman-Delahunty.

In many cases, inquiries dragged on for years: 52 per cent took 10 years to finalise. One took 68 years and three months. Out of 322 missing persons cases investigated by the coroner in NSW from 2000 to 2013, 94 per cent resulted in a ruling that the person was probably deceased. Despite that, the coroners were mostly unable to give an exact date or time of death. Suzie Ratcliffe, who set up the Leave a Light On group to support families of missing persons like her own, is critical of the bureaucratic processes and time a coronial inquest can take. "It is heartbreaking enough for any family when they lose somebody, but to have something go on for so long, it just draws the pain out." Ratcliffe was not even born on August 25, 1973, when her sister Joanne, 11, and friend Kirste Gordon, 4, went missing during an AFL game at Adelaide Oval.

Ratcliffe believes her father was killed by grief, ultimately dying of cancer eight years after Joanne disappeared. Until the day he died, her father kept searching. She still hopes for answers. "It is 43 years in August, and we are still hoping that one day we will get answers to where Jo was laid," she says. "We just want to bring her home so we can bury her with respect and love, which so many families of missing persons have been denied." She is not alone in still wondering. Others still want answers 40, 50, and in one case, 60 years after the person disappeared. Going missing was not a crime, says Ratcliffe who urged those who had done so to at least contact their families to let them know they were alive. Davies said her support group never used the word "closure" because for many families there would never be an answer, despite a coroner's ruling.
Elderly NSW residents are bearing the brunt of a blow-out in elective surgery waiting lists, which have reached a record level of 74,351 patients.

Waiting times for treatment of non-urgent but debilitating conditions have stretched to a record 229 days.

The wait for cataract removal in NSW public hospitals is three times longer than the median Australian wait.

Elective surgery waiting lists are rising at public hospitals as increased activity in emergency departments takes away beds and resources, says the Australian Medical Association, which has called for sustainable funding for both.

Waiting times have increased by eight days since March 2011 when the NSW Liberals and Nationals won government, and the waiting list had leapt by 8300 patients, says NSW Labor's health spokesman Walt Secord.
Scientists working in the mine's temporary lab operate in a confined space. Credit:Mark Killmer At 600 metres underground, it starts getting warm. By one kilometre down, the temperature is hovering between 35 and 40 degrees. The dust in the air is as fine as talcum powder. It's humid. But it won't be like that inside the purpose-built lab, which will be set at a comfortable 18 degrees year-round. Scientists will be able to shower and change into a clean pair of clothes before they begin working  although the hard hat, vest and boots are not negotiable. It is after all, a working mine. The temporary lab, in one of the Stawell mine's tunnels, will be replaced once the new lab is completed in 2017. Credit:Rajat Malhotra Among the mind boggling experiments to take place a kilometre underground will be the search for dark matter  that invisible cosmic glue with so much pulling power that it is able to hold our universe together. It accounts for 84 per cent of the universe but scarcely anything is known about what it is.

"Dark matter is one of the great mysteries of our time," says Swinburne University astrophysicist Alan Duffy. "This experiment is truly groundbreaking and it will place Stawell at the forefront of one of the biggest quests in science." Professor Elisabetta Barberio believes it will be Nobel prize-winning work Credit:Eddie Jim This experiment is truly groundbreaking and it will place Stawell at the forefront of one of the biggest quests in science. Swinburne University astrophysicist Alan Duffy. In the four decades since American astronomer Vera Rubin first proposed there was another form of matter binding the universe, dark matter has stubbornly remained one of modern physics' most important and tantalising questions. What we do know is that dark matter is the reason galaxies exist. It provides the gravitational seed for the galaxy to grow. It gets its name because it does not interact with light. It's the dark side of the universe.

The tunnel leading to the lab, one kilometre underground. Credit:Justin McManus If the international team of scientists do strike gold in their mine lab in Stawell, Melbourne University's Professor Barberio has no doubt it will be Nobel prize-winning work. "What we know about what the universe is made of is the tip of the iceberg," she says. "If we understand dark matter, we will understand how the big bang occurred and how the universe evolved and how it might continue to evolve." Melbourne University scientists John Koo and Francesco Tenchini will be among the team hunting for dark matter. Credit:Justin McManus Duffy, one of the project's chief investigators, agrees.

"If you can actually identify the particle, or whatever that dark matter is, that is Nobel prize-worthy. There is no doubt about that." But why a mine? Why does the hunt for the elusive dark matter that holds the universe together have to be undertaken a kilometre underground by researchers trucking to and from the lab, wearing hard-hats and high-vis vests? Simple. It's a way of escaping the constant stream of cosmic radiation arriving on Earth from space. The kilometre of volcanic rock between the mine's surface and the cavernous laboratory acts as a natural barrier, blocking most radiation within the first few hundred metres. However having gone to some trouble to escape cosmic radiation, scientists still have to consider other sources. For a start the laboratory's basalt rock walls are a source of radiation, albeit at very low-levels. Ditto for the scientists.

Even at the lowest levels radiation is enough to contaminate the super-sensitive experiment, which relies on materials being extremely pure to eliminate radioactive "noise". A collection of seven sodium iodide crystals, each weighing six kilograms, will act as a target for the ghostly dark matter that has made it underground. The ultra-pure crystals, custom-made for the Stawell experiment by Princeton University, boast extraordinary low levels of radiation. When a dark matter particle strikes the crystal's nucleus, light will be generated, transformed into energy and collected. This energy is what the researchers are looking for  it will tell them about the mass of dark matter particles. Of the more than 10 laboratories in the northern hemisphere already hunting for dark matter so far only one, DAMA/LIBRA at Gran Sasso near the central Italian town of L'Aquila, has detected strong evidence of dark matter. That was in 1998.

"There is a quest all over the world to repeat this experiment and see it," says Barberio, who was a key member of the international team that confirmed the Higgs boson or "God particle" in 2012. Physicists have long wondered if there are seasonal differences in the amount of dark matter that reaches Earth. Due to be completed in 2017, the Stawell laboratory is the best candidate to settle this dark matter dilemma because it is the only laboratory in the southern hemisphere. If Stawell experiments conducted in December and June deliver the same result as the Italian experiments conducted in the same months, then it will confirm that the amount of dark matter reaching Earth is not seasonal. "If we can do the same experiment and get the same results here in the southern hemisphere ... we will know that we have discovered dark matter," Barberio says. "That's big."

All will not be lost if the results from the twin experiments differ. While scientists will have to accept they were unable to detect dark matter, they will have gathered enough information to rule out other hypotheses. Given the mystery surrounding dark matter, this would still be an achievement. Meanwhile, there will be any number of other experiments going on at the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory, with its low-radiation environment a valuable setting for groundbreaking work in chemistry, biology and even defence science. For example, Duffy says, we don't know how cells deal with radiation damage, which can lead to cancer, or how they grow without radiation because we are never in an environment free of radiation. Experiments could also lead to new gold mapping techniques which involve taking an X-ray of land around a mine. "Just as an X-ray is blocked by a bone in your arm, so too is radiation from space blocked by things like gold," Duffy says. "This will allow us to see a shadow and locate the gold."

"There are a lot of cool technologies and applications that you can pursue when you build something as unique as this underground lab," he says. While there is much excitement within the scientific community, enthusiasm for the project is shared far beyond the boundaries of the mine, which sits in a bush setting two kilometres out of Stawell. The Northern Grampians Shire Council has been an active supporter of the project, well-aware that the international attention will put the Wimmera town on the map and generate jobs. Mayor Cr Murray Emerson also hopes the underground physics laboratory will inspire a generation of local students to pursue a career in the sciences. He is so enthusiastic that he has visited year seven students at the local secondary school to talk about the benefits of finishing school and the opportunities a career in science can present. With international partners including the Universities of Rome, Milan and Princeton, as well as the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics, it's an easy sell. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also sees the global picture. When he announced the state government would chip in $1.75 million to convert part of the gold mine into a particle physics lab last November, he enthused that it could possibly be "the world's next great scientific discovery".
A man has been charged with murder after a 38-year-old man was fatally stabbed at a Cranbourne home on Friday night.

Emergency services were called to a house in Camms Road about 9.10pm after receiving reports that a man had been stabbed.

Two 13-year-old boys have been cautioned over a series of recent fires in Ballarat.

Paramedics tried to save the injured man but he died at the scene.



Homicide Squad detectives and police remained at the scene early Saturday morning.
Police have charged a 64-year-old man with a string of rapes and other child-sex offences dating back to the 1970s.

He was arrested in New South Wales and extradited to WA on Friday.

The accused man faces a total of 64 charges relating to sex offences dating back to the 1970s. Credit:Craig Sillitoe

Police allege that between 1978 and 1983 he sexually abused ten children who were under his care at the Warminda Hostel in East Victoria Park.

The boys and girls were between 10 and 16-years-old at the time.
A Perth woman has been arrested and charged after leaving two children, aged six and four, home alone while she flew overseas.

On Wednesday, police went to an address in Cloverdale and found the young children inside. There were no adults in the home and the door had been left unlocked.

A Perth court has to determine if the child accused of rape understands what is going on in court. Credit:John Donegan

Detectives from the Child Abuse Squad discovered that they had been left alone since Tuesday.

The children were taken into care.
This month, a Christian grocer and the wife of a police superintendent who had been cracking down on militant attacks were killed in separate strikes. Last week, a Hindu priest was killed in south-western Bangladesh. Ashamoni, widow of slain blogger Niloy Chatterjee, whose pen name was Niloy Neel, weeping at her house in Dhaka last year. Credit:AP Police counter-terrorism unit chief Monirul Islam said the killings were organised by two militant Islamic groups that have gathered volunteers and recruits, trained them and eventually seeded them into cells run by a commander. They have tried to pick their targets with care, with the aim of gaining support from the public, he said, and trained teams of killers. Their goal was to convert Bangladesh's mixed secular and religious culture to an Islamist one, Islam said. Bangladeshi authorities say that they now believe they have identified the top leadership of the two groups they say are responsible, and that they are preparing to round them up. Bangladeshi activists in Dhaka last year called for a half-day strike to demand the arrest of the assailants of secularist bloggers and publishers. Credit:AP

A nation with a Muslim majority adjoining eastern India, Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in a vicious war in 1971 and established a secular, democratic government. A military coup in 1975 led to more than three decades of mostly military-backed governments sympathetic to Islamic fundamentalists, until a secular government returned to power in 2009 with an overwhelming majority. But secularism is far from universally accepted in Bangladesh, and has always had to contend with a conservative Islamic culture. While the killers' strikes often appear random, Chief Monirul Islam says the terror campaign was conceived by the militant groups quite deliberately as a response to mass protests in early 2013, known collectively as the Shahbag movement. Inspired by a group of bloggers who advocated an end to religion-based politics. The father (left) and son (centre) of secular publisher Faisal Arefin Deepan at his funeral last year. Credit:AP War crimes prosecutions have been a particular source of anger for Islamists. They were shelved during the period of military-backed rule but revived under the new democratic government in 2009. Four of the five convicted and executed in the latest round of trials were leaders in the country's largest Islamist political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, outraging Muslim fundamentalists and others. Two groups in particular took up the fight against secularism, Monirul Islam said. One, Ansar al-Islam, is led by a fiery cleric and a charismatic, well-trained operational commander, both of whom Islam declined to identify because they are being watched. Its leaders command about 25 trained killers, some of whom have been involved in three or four attacks, he added.

The second, the Jama'atul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, is the reorganised offshoot of a group banned in 2005 for setting off nearly 500 bombs simultaneously around the country. The Islamist groups appear to have reacted quickly to the Shahbag movement, mounting their first fatal attack in February, 2013, against a blogger who wrote critically of Islam under the pseudonym Thaba Baba. It was carried out by a group of students from North South University in Dhaka, who were incited by the sermons of the spiritual leader of Ansar al-Islam at the time, a 45-year-old cleric named Jasim Uddin Rahmani. Thaba Baba's picture was found on Facebook, one of the militant students, a 24-year-old named Faisal Bin Nayeem, said in his court confession. They then searched for someone matching it at the Shahbag protest, still underway at the time. Eventually, they identified a 32-year-old architect, Ahmed Rajib Haider, as Thaba Baba. After studying Haider's routines, three of them surprised him outside his house around 9pm. Nayeem said he drove his machete into the back of Haider's neck and hit him twice more as he fell forward. Over the next two months, two more bloggers were killed. Police began arresting the North South University students who were involved in killing Haider, and also caught Rahmani, the cleric who inspired them. Monirul Islam said he believes these arrests stopped Ansar al-Islam - also known as the Ansarullah Bangla Team - from killing more people in 2013 and 2014. But the group reorganised the terrorist cells, he said, and the killing resumed.
The students gathered in a place they called Forum Square, a covered atrium at the university in Port Moresby. Bright young minds crowded onto the floor in their hundreds, others dangling their legs from the rafters above, refusing to attend class.

After five weeks of chants, petitions and demands for Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill to resign, on Wednesday the students stepped up their protest  they attempted to march on parliament to support a no-confidence motion in the government.

Outside, police waited for them with tear gas and guns. When the students emerged, police opened fire.

"All the police are accomplices of Peter O'Neill and will not let us go," one of the students, Jeremiah Yakap, told Fairfax Media during the chaotic hours that followed.
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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

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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

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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
WILLEMSTAD  Ennia, the largest insurance company in the Dutch Caribbean, has been financially weakened by its owner, the Iranian-American businessman Hushang Ansary.

This emerges from a secret De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) report, which has been seen by the Financieele Dagblad (FD) (Dutch Financial Newspaper). The document is dated June 2015.

Ennia spent the last few years certainly three quarters of its reserves in two controversial agreements with owner Ansary, the newspaper reported.

Some 570 million were taken by the wealthy businessman from Ennias resources to invest in other companies within the group owned by Ansary. It is a so-called pocket-pocket transaction in which the profit actually stays within the company.

The DNB now shows that tens of thousands of policyholders of the insurance company are now without sufficient provision of insurance and they are not even aware of this.

The draining of the insurance company happened under the watchful eye of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten (CBCS).

Sources report to the FD that the DNB management was already warned in 2011 about the practices. The regulator called for an investigation four years later.

DNB has doubts about the integrity of fellow supervisor CBCS in Curacao. Its such a mess in the CBCS, DNB requested additional powers, and got it, to act on CBCS territory.

That emerges from the FD investigation in response to lingering problems in the insurance company.

Source Curacao Chronicle
53 Pregnant Women Have Been infected with the Zika Virus, 10 in Third Trimester

There is obviously a lot of rear and trepidation in the United States about the progress of Zika Virus. Spread primarily by mosquitos (but also by humans through sexual and other contact), the disease causes some pregnant women to deliver infants with Microcephaly. The US has more screeen doors and windows, and also less standing water than some Latin American countries, which may make it less vulnerable to the Zika virus. Here is the report from Health Mexico:

 In the last report, 222 cases were detected, of which 53 are in pregnant women.

 Mexicos Ministry of Health monitors cases of transmission of this virus.

Accompanied by the general directors of Epidemiology, Cuitlahuac Ruiz Matus, and the National Center for Gender Equity and Reproductive Health, Ricardo Garcia Cavazos, he said that according to the latest epidemiological report, are confirmed 222 cases in Mexico, of which 53 are pregnant women.

June 8, 2016: With specific strategies, such as the dissemination between health institutions of the Technical Guideline for the Care and Monitoring of pregnancy and its relation with the zika virus, in Mexico are strengthened actions to address this disease, reported the Undersecretary of Prevention and Promotion of Health, Pablo Kuri Morales.

In the announcement at a press conference, of the recent scientific evidence published in the New England Journal of Medicine, about the association of the zika virus and the probability of developing microcephaly during the first months of pregnancy, doctor Kuri Morales said that the fact that a pregnant woman is infected with zika virus, does not necessarily mean that the fetus in gestation will develop microcephaly.

Of the 53 women in pregnancy, of which seven gave birth successfully and 46 remain in monitoring, from these last, nine are in the first trimester of pregnancy, 27 in the second trimester and 10 in the third.

"The ultrasounds practiced, refer normality in the development of the embryo and its components such as the placenta and the amniotic fluid."

He noted that 51 hospitals in 22 states of this country have equipment to detect microcephaly.

Mexicos Undersecretary of Prevention presented in detail the strategies against the zika virus, such as staff training and specialists contracting; plus a budget of more than 800 million pesos for vector control, among other actions.

Kuri Morales insisted people to participate and follow the recommendations: wash, cover, turn and throw any container that can collect water, to prevent the proliferation of the mosquito that spreads zika virus, dengue and chikungunya, especially during the next rainy season.
LA Film Festival Spotlight on the "U.S. Fiction Award" Winners

The Santa Monica Observer was privileged to interview Remy Auberjonois, his wife, Kate Nowlin, and his father, Rene Auberjonois, on June 3, 2016, to discuss their award-winning drama, "Blood Stripe".

"Blood Stripe" follows a female U.S. Marine Sergeant after she returns home from her third tour of duty in Afghanistan, wracked by crippling Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Disconnected from her home life and no longer able to cope in an urban setting, she escapes to a picturesque summer camp she attended as a child. But the deep emotional scars from her military-related physical and sexual trauma continue to haunt her.

"Blood Stripe" held its World Premiere on June 2, 2016, at the Los Angeles Film Festival to a sold-out audience. The film was so well received that it was later screened to a second sold-out audience on June 7. On June 9, "Blood Stripe" won the "U.S. Fiction Award", one of the top juried prizes at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Remy Auberjonois, who co-authored and made his directorial debut in "Blood Stripe", is known for his work as an actor in films such as "Michael Clayton" and "The International", and for his work on the television show, "The Good Wife". Kate Nowlin, who co-authored and plays the lead actress in "Blood Stripe", is known for her work in the films "Young Adult" and "The Adjustment Bureau", as well as for her parts on television shows, such as "Law and Order". Rene Auberjonois, who plays an important, supporting role in "Blood Stripe", is a highly acclaimed actor known, among other things, for portraying Father Mulcahy in the Robert Altman film, "M*A*S*H", being the voice of Chef Louis who sings "Les Poissons" while trying to cook Sebastian in Disney's "The Little Mermaid", and for lead roles on the television shows "Benson", "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", and "Boston Legal". He also won a Tony award on Broadway for his performance in the stage musical "Coco" (about the life of Coco Chanel), alongside actress Katherine Hepburn.

OBSERVER: When they wrote the screenplay, did Remy and Kate intend to cast the entire family in the film?

RENE AUBERJONOIS: No. It just worked out that way. They always knew that the lead was going to be Kate. But I don't think they knew that their daughter would be a character in it or that I would be a character in it. When they first said that they wanted to make a movie, I jokingly said to them, "What's my part?" and they both looked at each other - looked a little uncomfortable - and they said, "You know Dad, this film is about people in Northern Minnesota and you don't really play those kind of people. You're kind of more high falutin"... so I was originally being turned down by my own son and daughter-in-law. But sitting here now so many months later, I still have to deal with the complexity of being directed by my son. The most difficult part was not wanting to fail him, and that put a kind of a pressure on me that I've never experienced as an actor.

OBSERVER: The film is in competition for the "U.S. Fiction Award". Do you think the film will win a prize?

RENE AUBERJONOIS: Listen, it would be nice if they are acknowledged for their work, but this is a film that no one who sees it is going to forget that they've seen it. So whether it wins a prize - of course that would be nice - but I don't think that's what everybody's focus is on. The focus is trying to get it distributed, to get it out there to an audience that can relate. It is not an easy subject in the sense that it is asking you to deal with a difficult subject, so we'll see. [Several days after this interview, "Blood Stripe" won the "U.S. Fiction Award".]

OBSERVER: How did the idea for the film come about?

REMY AUBERJONOIS: I had grown up hearing about my Dad working on Altman films and I know that some of the experiences he had were very intensive, and there was an aspect of the idea of movie making - that communal living/working - that was really appealing to me. In thinking about trying to make a movie - a situation like that - sounded like a lot of fun and also a focused way to work and get a lot of work out of people in a short period of time.

KATE NOWLIN: We were inspired by Camp Vermillion and we knew we could use it as a good base location. House people. And also bring them to a really majestic place.

Then the story came. There are a lot of servicemen and women throughout the state of Minnesota. We shot in the Iron Range and there are a lot of people who enlist to get out... to get an education... to get income. And Remy knew that he would want to track one primary character through the film, and because of my stature, physically, we realized that I could be a soldier. I started reading about it. There was a woman from that town on the lake that was named "Soldier of the Year" by Army Times months before. And the more research we started to do - looking at women in the military, which I had never previously paid much attention to - I recognized that that could be me. And we ran from there.

OBSERVER: Did you receive any special training to get into physical shape for the part?

KATE NOWLIN: Yes, I did about three and a half months of training prior to the shoot. I started in early May and we were shooting in August. I had two different trainers. And they put me through different forms of "bootcamp" as best they knew how. I say that in quotes because it was nothing like bootcamp. I was in the gym being pushed and building muscle. I was putting myself through something I hadn't done before to get stronger. There is a question and debate around women's physicality and whether they are strong enough to serve. Whether they belong in the military. Female Rangers were going through that trial as we were editing the film. I thought it was very important to create a real portrait of strength because they are strong enough. I worked hard for that.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: There has been a tremendous amount of discussion about women serving in the military, but when we started writing the film in October of 2013, women were not allowed to serve in combat according to Pentagon policy (although they had been for quite some time). And then it was December 2015 - we had finished the film and were submitting to festivals - by December 2015, the Pentagon declared all combat roles across all branches of the military open to women. So that span of time with us working on the film coincided with this massive shift in official recognition of what these women were already doing and have the capacity to continue to do. So now you have the women who passed the test to become Army Rangers, which is the most physically demanding thing you can do, so those barriers were coming down and that coincided with us working on the film, which is just our luck in terms of being filmmakers. We knew as we were starting that these were going to be stories that were going to start to be told, and we wanted to be, as best we could, at the forefront of that kind of narrative treatment of that subject.

OBSERVER: Did you know that you were going to have a 16-day shoot?

REMY AUBERJONOIS: No! If we had known, we might not be here.

KATE NOWLIN: Our Director of Photography, Radium Cheung, almost quit when we told him. He said, "We can't do that!"

REMY AUBERJONOIS: We had originally been working with a 24-day shoot schedule. We started writing by October 2013 and we were shooting by August 2014. We got a full commitment for financing and started the ball rolling and started spending money, making commitments, making obligations, and then, of course, in typical indie fashion, the financing fell through. In a lot of situations, that movie might then fall apart, but we knew that the camp was going to be undergoing a massive construction project after the summer of 2014, and we also knew that this story was very timely and we didn't want to lose our window to be some of the first [filmmakers] to treat it. So when the financing fell through, the community of family and friends really stepped up. We received so much tremendous support and generosity that we were able to put together a smaller financing package which required a shorter shooting schedule. We made a lot of adjustments to the script. We combined locations where scenes happened. We trimmed certain things down. We were in pre-production when it happened, so we just kept going.

RENE AUBERJONOIS: You were going to make this film no matter what because I remember when it got dicey, which always happens with movies - financing always falls through - you have to keep juggling and moving and there was a certain point where I thought, "Well they are just not going to be able to do this," and they said, "We will shoot this on iPhones if we have to. We're gonna make this film." I think that commitment and sense of "F--k it, we are gonna make this movie," was what made friends... people who didn't have vast amounts of wealth... they just recognized that this movie had to be made and they were going to make it no matter what, so people just came forward.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: People stepped up - it was amazing. It came from our connections and people loving and believing in us, and it also came from the strength of the story and the necessity of it, and people recognized, "Yes, this is a real thing that needs to be told and it isn't being told and I would love to help them do that." And that went from the people who gave us money, the people who came to work for very little money, the actors and the crew who all chose to do it. We really did it in 16 12-hour days. Kate was doing those scenes in two takes. We were shooting things with minimal set-ups, minimal coverage.

KATE NOWLIN: And that's the commitment and I think that really is the subject matter. I really do. It got bigger than us quickly when we decided to tell a story like this. We knew we were in the service of something that was unique and brought so many people together. I remember I was in the gym when I got the call that the money was gone. The original commitment. And it felt like the wind got knocked out of me, and my trainer looked at me and he was like, "You get back up." We were going. The train had left the station and out of the good will of those near to us and far, it came together in the most astounding and affirming way.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: And it continued to do so because after we finished production, we spent all the money we had getting those 16-days in the can, and even some money we didn't have. Then we had to regroup and we had a Kickstarter campaign which we raised money to finish paying our bills and to fund our post-production. We raised $115,000.

OBSERVER: Wow!

KATE NOWLIN: Our goal was $60,000. We raised that in eleven days, and then we kept going. It was unreal.

RENE AUBERJONOIS: I became the Donald Trump of the Twittersphere. I was relentless. I had this Twitter account that I had for a couple of years to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. But it became clear that this would be a great route. So I went from 9,000 followers to 48,000 followers. And people would give five dollars or ten dollars.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: The Kickstarter phenomenon is so amazing because everybody gets invested. You put $5 in. You put $250 in. We had some people who contributed at a very high level. Those people who could. But there were people who contributed $1 or $5 and that energy... Those people get invested and they tell their friends and they watch it religiously and everybody likes to see, "Oh, they hit that mark!"

RENE AUBERJONOIS: But also you had a teaser. It wasn't like a blank slate and we want you to help us make the movie.

KATE NOWLIN: Our editor, Jeremy Kotin, cut a really beautiful teaser together with footage that just worked, and our co-producers, Sky Weiss and Julie Christeas of Tandem Pictures, were masterful at helping us preserve the heart and integrity of the story and really get it down to the bare-bones of what we needed.

RENE AUBERJONOIS: The bottom line is that, when you talk to experienced directors, most of them will say that 85-90 percent of my job is casting it correctly because if that doesn't happen, then the ship has sailed and you're lost. Well, that was already taken care of with Kate. Kate's performance reminds you of Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby". She achieved the physical, but also the depth of the emotions. The other thing is, a lot of what directors do has nothing to do with art. After the casting, it has to do with answering a million questions and juggling and playing the chess game of getting it done in the most efficient way, but also getting it the way you want it to be. And so having spent a life with this man as a child saying, "Why is your room such a f--king mess?", [laughs] it was pretty impressive that he went on to direct a feature film!

OBSERVER: One of the things we really appreciated about this movie is that it strayed from the typical Hollywood formula. Kate's character doesn't find a new hot love. Everything just isn't okay. There isn't some sob story at the end. All these contrived cliches that are used by Hollywood to deal with difficult situations and create a happy resolution - you just left all of that aside.

KATE NOWLIN: We defied it.

RENE AUBERJONOIS: What I love about the film is that it leaves so much unsaid while telling everything. When they first were taking this script out, we sent it to a producer that I've worked with - a very smart man - and his immediate reaction was, "Well, it has to have a happy ending. You can't end it like that."

KATE NOWLIN: He offered to give us money if we changed the ending...

RENE AUBERJONOIS: Yeah, right.

KATE NOWLIN: And put Charlize Theron in my part.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: These stories don't have neat endings. It's too complex and too large. And there are too many different versions of the story to boil it down to one. And the fact is, because we weren't making a Hollywood movie, we weren't beholden to Hollywood interests. We were able to acknowledge and dive into those complexities. The film didn't have to have a happy ending. We could treat the subject matter in the way we felt as artists it should be treated.

KATE NOWLIN: We were students of this subject matter in a lot of ways. We brought our own personal things to bear. I have some experience with trauma... physical trauma. And the more we learned... that spoke to us as we constructed and crafted this story, and the truth is that what I was so compelled by is that it is very hard to return. It is hard to go away and to have this kind of experience and ever come home again. And believe me, I wanted some peace for my character. Is there a moment when she can talk in the chapel and unload and heal? It just never felt right. We were also compelled to represent a depiction of a person who is unable to speak.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: Our story is about what happens in the 129 days before [Kate's character] can get treatment at the VA. What is the impact of that waiting period on the people who need treatment? Not all of them need it. This isn't the only version of this story. The woman who was named "Soldier of the Year" by Army Times - she turned immense personal tragedy into something very positive. We were interested in the other side of that coin and telling that story. But it's not to say that this is the only story of people returning from Afghanistan.

KATE NOWLIN: Of course not. We were just compelled, and we felt we had permission because we had creative control to shine light there.

OBSERVER: One thing we really liked about Kate's character is that she was a hero. She was never a victim. Things may have happened to her as a consequence of her bravery, but it isn't because she was a victim.

KATE NOWLIN: Correct. That was conscious. These people are survivors. They are strong. It was vital that while she is burdened, she is not the victim.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: That is what is so important with the depiction of women on film. As an actress, Kate had played a number of characters who were victimized. So much of the depiction of what we see at the very beginning of so many Hollywood television shows after 9 PM - the teaser is of a woman who has been victimized and then that is the launching-point of the story.

RENE AUBERJONOIS: I also think that it's important to talk about, not only what's happening to Kate's character, but what happens to her community [after she returns from service] and how they try to deal with a situation like this that is not simple. Whether it's her husband... Whether it's Dot, who runs the camp, who recognizes right away that there is something here that needs to be taken care of, or whether its the bumbling minister that I play who doesn't really know how to deal with something this complex. I love the fact that the film is about one person's journey, but no journey goes without extending ripples throughout the community that the person moves through. And that is one of the things about this situation - people coming back from war or any kind of trauma. What it does to people more than just themselves individually. So, that's important to see.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: There was a quote that we had read when we were working on the movie that said, "PTSD is a cultural malady," and we were very interested in the way in which our culture deals with this now. We have been fighting these wars of which we have largely been kept unaware. We don't see a lot of the war imagery...

KATE NOWLIN: We've never seen the bodies.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: We don't see people coming back. So, there is this disconnect culturally between the real facts of the war and the impact. There are many cultures that have ritualized processes by which they reintegrate their warriors, and there is a process by which that warrior is accepted back into the community. That warrior processes the experience of war, and the community accepts that this was the necessary thing to happen for the community, and now he must reintegrate. We don't have rituals like that and we don't have that as a general culture, in my experience. We've lost that. We were very interested in the fact that in this small, mechanized world that we live in you could be in-country and then you're done with your service or you get injured and thirty-nine hours later you're walking back home.

KATE NOWLIN: At your kitchen sink... The level of awareness, vigilance, defensiveness that you have to sustain to be there during war - the life and death every day - that is the brutal adjustment. That is what we are trying to depict. She cannot put this down. This vigilance doesn't go away. She has just been fighting for her life. The minutia and the focus and the way that these survivors are living day to day is astounding to me and I don't know how you normalize after that.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: In these wars, too, certainly the very intensive combat roles have been occupied by men, but the lack of front lines and the gorilla-nature of the warfare means that during the whole situation you're living in a heightened sense of awareness, no matter where you are and what you are doing.

KATE NOWLIN: I believe Afghanistan is the longest war that we've been engaged in to date, and because it's a volunteer army, these people aren't just going on one tour. We've read a lot about Vietnam - there are a lot of comparisons drawn. Most people who were drafted did one tour. Now people are doing three, five, six tours. It's repeated. That is also taking a toll and affecting our servicemen and women in a new way. Most of them are going on multiple tours. Three seems to be the average number.

REMY AUBERJONOIS: Women have an added layer with Military Sexual Trauma. There is a lot of iceberg in this film. There is a disease around sexuality. There is a moral injury. And a lot of people, not just women, suffer from MST. It is often not reported.

KATE NOWLIN: There is a good bit of disorientation. Disassociation. Related to trauma, as well.

OBSERVER: Where does this movie go from here? You've obviously premiered the film at the LA Film Festival. What's next?

REMY AUBERJONOIS: That's a good question. We are developing a distribution strategy. There are different routes. We are talking with the producers about what would be the most advantageous strategy. We will see what kind of interest we get from distributors. A traditional distribution model may or may not best serve this film. There are potentially educational distribution possibilities for this film. There is special theatrical distribution. And there is traditional theatrical and digital distribution. Now that it has premiered, we are going to get reviewed. We understand that it's not a conventional sell of a movie. We are working on developing that strategy now.

OBSERVER: Do you have any other projects in the works?

Daniel Margolis "Blood Stripe" Director Remy Auberjonois and Actress Kate Nowlin are on the red carpet at the LA Film Festival's Opening Night Premiere on June 1, 2016

REMY AUBERJONOIS: This has taken up a lot of time and attention. Getting to this point. But I have a slate of things in development. I have a couple of series ideas. I have two more movies that we are beginning development on.

RENE AUBERJONOIS: My part?

REMY AUBERJONOIS: Oh yes, I am really working on developing parts for my Dad first. [laughs] I have another movie to shoot in Minnesota - a dark contemporary themed film, and then one that's a completely different milieu - like Hollywood in the 70's. So, we will see which one I get more traction on. Kate has a project she's developing.

KATE NOWLIN: I have been commissioned to write a pilot for a series I would like to shoot in Minneapolis.

OBSERVER: Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.
Exabeam Selected as a 2016 Red Herring Top 100 North America Winner

SAN MATEO, CA  (Marketwired)  06/10/16  , the leader in user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) for security, has been named a winner of the Red Herring Top 100 North America Award  a prestigious list honoring the years most promising private technology ventures from the North American business region.

Stolen credentials make cybercriminals invisible to nearly all security solutions, said Nir Polak, CEO of Exabeam. We are honored to receive this award as it validates our approach and drive to provide the most innovative, most effective, solution to find the bad insiders and imposters in your infrastructure before they can make off with your data.

Red Herring Top 100 America selects award winners from approximately 1,200 privately financed companies each year in the US and Canada. Its editorial staff evaluates companies on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technological innovation and intellectual property, DNA of the founders, business model, customer footprint, and market penetration. This assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the track record and standing of startups relative to their sector peers.

In 2016, selecting the top achievers was extremely difficult, said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. The variety, depth, disruption and traction we saw from the early stage companies to those with significant scale made it one of the toughest vintages to judge. The are representative of the amazing ecosystem that never ceases to astound, with new and experienced entrepreneurs continuing to push the barriers of innovation. As one of the winners, Exabeam should be proud of its accomplishment under such strong competition.

This is the fifth award recognition for Exabeam this year. The company was recently named the , , was selected as a finalist for , and was named a finalist for .

Exabeams solution leverages existing log data to quickly detect advanced attacks, prioritize incidents and guide effective response. The companys Stateful User Tracking automates the work of security analysts by resolving individual security events and behavioral anomalies into a complete attack chain. This dramatically reduces response times and uncovers attack impacts that would otherwise go unseen. Built by seasoned security experts and enterprise IT veterans from Imperva, ArcSight and Sumo Logic, Exabeam is headquartered in San Mateo, California and is privately funded by Aspect Ventures, Icon Ventures, Investor Shlomo Kramer and Norwest Venture Partners. Visit us on or and follow us on .

Chris Fucanan

AquaLab PR for Exabeam

(916) 684-9781
Altus Group Welcomes Angela Brown to Board of Directors

TORONTO, ONTARIO  (Marketwired)  06/10/16  Altus Group Limited (Altus Group or the Company) (TSX: AIF), a leading provider of independent advisory services, software, and data solutions to the global commercial real estate industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of Angela Brown to its Board of Directors.

Ms. Brown is an experienced executive with more than 25 years in the payments industry, including merchant acquiring, consumer and commercial payment products, payment processing and merchant acceptance. Ms. Brown currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Moneris Solutions Corporation (Moneris). Prior to joining Moneris, Ms. Brown was Group Executive, Enterprise Development, Merchants & Acceptance, for MasterCard Worldwide. She was responsible for cultivating MasterCards relationship with merchants, creating new merchant value propositions and expanding the reach of MasterCards network. Previously, Ms. Brown spent 13 years at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce within the ATM and Cards divisions.

In addition, Ms. Brown sat on the Board of Vital Processing Solutions (now wholly owned by TSYS) which provides merchant acquiring processing systems to U.S. financial institutions. She also served as a Board Director on the Transition Board of Acxsys Corporation, guiding Interac debit network strategies in Canada from 2008 to 2010.

Ms. Brown graduated with a Masters degree in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Company, we are delighted to welcome Angela to the Board and look forward to her contributions, said Raymond Mikulich, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Altus Group.

The appointment of Ms. Brown to the Board brings the number of directors to nine, eight of whom are independent.

About Altus Group Limited

Altus Group Limited is a leading provider of independent advisory services, software, and data solutions to the global commercial real estate industry. Our businesses, Altus Analytics and Expert Services, reflect decades of experience, a range of expertise, and technology-enabled capabilities. Our solutions empower clients to analyze, gain market insight and recognize value on their real estate investments. Headquartered in Canada, we have approximately 2,300 employees around the world, with operations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Our clients include some of the worlds largest real estate industry participants across a variety of sectors. Altus Group pays a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share and our securities are traded on the TSX under the symbols AIF and AIF.DB.A.

For more information on Altus Group, please visit: .

Contacts:

Altus Group Limited

Ali Mahdavi

Investor Relations

(416) 234-3660
Insider: How Colts will try to help Sam Ehlinger in first NFL start
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"3D Printing Will Rock the World" by John Hornick describes how the new technology will fundamentally change the way people manufacture on the ground and in space. (Image credit: John Hornick)

Three-dimensional printing, also called rapid prototyping, has finally started to go mainstream. Companies like MakerBot create home versions of machines that use computerized blueprints and extruded plastic to make objects, which were once limited to design firms.

In space, the ability to 3D-print parts would mean that a longer mission could avoid carrying spares, instead bringing only the raw materials. This would make repairs and experimentation much easier.

As the technology becomes more common, 3D printing will fundamentally alter the way people manufacture things, on Earth and in space, said John Hornick, an intellectual property lawyer and a partner at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P. Hornick recently published a book, "3D Printing Will Rock the World" (CreateSpace independent publishing platform, 2015). [3D Printing: 10 Ways It Could Transform Space Travel]

John Hornick, author of "3D Printing Will Rock the World" (Image credit: John Hornick)

In his separate essay "3D Printing Our Way to the Stars," Hornick noted that NASA has already experimented with 3D printing. The agency emailed the blueprint for a wrench from NASA's Huntsville Operations Support Center to the space station, which has a 3D printer on board, and the wrench was successfully printed out. Made In Space, Inc., the company that designed the space station's 3D printer, said the machine could reproduce about a third of the spare parts the station needs. Meanwhile, companies like Aerojet Rocketdyne have experimented with 3D printing in metals, which could make it possible to create rocket engine parts more quickly and cheaply than with traditional methods.

In the new book, Hornick also cited a number of advances in 3D printing that would have space applications, such as Boeing's patent application for a 3D printer that can print in any plane. Ordinarily, a 3D printer builds layer by layer, and would require some kind of gravity. Boeing's design can build layers in any orientation, and actually suspends the part, levitating it with magnetic fields or sound waves. Such a machine would allow for building parts in microgravity environments  either in Earth orbit or on a trip to Mars.

Made in Space team members Adam Ellsworth, Brinson White and Jason Dunn wave to the camera while testing multiple 3D printers in zero-gravity. (Image credit: Made in Space, Inc.)

Space.com talked with Hornick about his book and the future of 3D printing.

Space.com: What do you want people to take away from your book?

John Hornick: It's kind of a book to educate people on where the technology is now. The general public believes 3D printers are machines that make Yoda heads. I also want to educate industry [about 3D printing], that it's far enough along that they should consider it, how it can help them or how it can hurt.

Space.com: How did you come to write the book?

Hornick: The way I got into this several years ago was a friend sent a video of a machine printing out a wrench. I thought, "This is a joke." But it wasn't. Then at Johns Hopkins [University in Baltimore], they said people were working on printing human organs.

The press articles kept saying it presents a lot of intellectual property issues, but they never said what. I'm an intellectual property attorney, so I said, "I am going to figure out what they are." I started looking to see what work [our firm] had done in this space, and I decided to formalize that practice. I created a database. There was so much information and so much happening, I wanted it at my fingertips. I thought I really had enough information for a book, and my interest was way beyond the law. In some ways, it wrote itself.

Space.com: You foresee a golden age of distributed manufacturing?

Hornick: I think it's coming. We're starting to see distributed manufacturing. Right now in the 3D printing industry [there] are these small businesses  some are traditional machine shops with 3D printers. A lot of their customers are local. There are already hundreds of these around the United States. We've had these shops for years, but most were doing rapid prototyping. As the technology gets more sophisticated, you might have something like a UPS store. [UPS announced it would offer 3D printing services in 2014.] [UPS is] big into industrial capabilities in retail locations. I think you might have some things in the home, some on the internet and some down the street. There's no reason to think the technology won't improve over time.

Whether we have that, it depends on how corporations decide they want to deliver things to us, if they want to continue to make things in a factory or if they can farm it out to customers.

A liquid oxygen/gaseous hydrogen rocket injector assembly built using 3D printing technology is hot-fire tested at NASA Glenn Research Centers Rocket Combustion Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio. (Image credit: NASA Glenn Research Center)

Space.com: You say in the book that people have a natural tendency to make things. But wood shops are available to millions of people, and most people don't make tables and chairs. How do you reconcile this?

Hornick: I'm a woodworker and I do make furniture. One limiting factor is need. I haven't had a project in the wood shop for a while, because I don't need anything. There are people who might use it regularly or only for cutting a board that you need. 3D printing is different. There, you have the ability to make things that you need.

If you need a replacement part for something in your house and you can print that out, or print some kitchen device that you want just by hitting download and hitting print  or a product that you can customize  there may be people who might build that way. It all depends on how deeply the technology wiggles its way into our lives and how easy it is to use.

Space.com: In your book you say that innovations in 3D printing could make a big difference in space, and you cite Boeing's development of a printer that works in several orientations, without the need for a single flat platform. Wouldn't you need to carry the raw materials with you?

Hornick: Yes, 3D printing in space requires having the right materials handy, and in sufficient quantity. With increasingly versatile machines and materials, it would not be necessary to stock every material under the sun (or moon). And stocking basic materials to 3D-print replacement parts (and getting them into space) would be easier than stocking every spare part that may be needed.

In this artist's rendering, a 3D printing robot pours layer after layer of hardened lunar dirt and dust onto an inflatable dome shell, 3D printing a lunar base. (Image credit: ESA/Foster + Partners)

Space.com: Do you see something like a Star Trek replicator? That would mean control of materials at the molecular scale.

Hornick: Not quite like that. What I often say is something from Bill Gates  we overestimate what we can do in two years and underestimate what we can do in 10 years. Very versatile machines that can make a wide range of parts in the home and business as well, that's doable. 3D printing isn't new, where nobody has a use for it yet. The technology has been around for 30 years, and it's not going to go away. The question is how much more ubiquitous it's going to be. I just think it's impractical to think it won't get faster and easier over time.

Right now, people think of 3D printing as layer by layer. But there are some new processes that take that and they change it. Disney had a patent application [filed in April 2016]. They had a machine that makes a whole part in a vat of photopolymer, curing it [heat treating it to set the plastic] as a whole part at once.

Space.com: What about intellectual property? What are some of the issues in a world where one can duplicate products?

Hornick: There are some startups working on this problem. Some want to create a digital kernel, embedded in the system specifications and maybe even the materials. Yes, [widespread 3D printing] could lead to total product anarchy. That's a real concern. But I'm anxious to see the market solutions. I think the market will come up with solutions to the problem.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
According to Stephan Breitenmoser, an expert on European law at the University of Basel, Switzerland's status would hardly be enough for the British. Additionally, he says, it is very difficult to make bilateral agreements with the EU. "The more specific the field, the more complicated it becomes," says Breitenmoser. The idea that Britain would attain Switzerland's status in the span of just two years -- the shortest length of time it would take for Brexit to become a reality -- is hard to imagine.

That is particularly true since the EU would have little reason to make similar concessions to the Brits as they do to the smaller nation of Switzerland. An example: Switzerland's agreements with the EU on the freedom of movement of workers are static. Prior to July 1, 1995, the Swiss adopted all EU regulations pertaining to freedom of movement. But the Swiss are not required to automatically adopt all EU regulations on freedom of movent that have been passed since. Rather, they were able to negotiate with Brussels which regulations they would accept. The future of that special status is currently in question because Switzerland is seeking to introduce an annual ceiling for the number of immigrants it is willing to accept.

"The static agreements hardly make sense for the EU anymore because of the rapid development of the laws," says European legal expert Breitenmoser. He believes it is unthinkable that Brussels would make such a deal with Britain.

Whether that's true remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that the Brits can't have everything. It won't be possible for the UK to turn its back on the EU politically while still maintaining all of the economic advantages of the single market.
It is, in a sense, Teagle's European building. The structure was built with nearly 150,000 pounds in EU regional development funds, and the firm received an additional 40,000 pounds to create a webpage in eight different languages. Teagle says the application process for funding "was very complicated." On the other hand, he admits: "I expect it to be complicated if someone gives me money."

Teagle is a calm, reflective man. "We are very grateful for the EU support that we have received," he says, but notes that this is not nearly as important as global trends like China's appetite for dairy products, the fluctuating exchange rate of the pound and the euro, and the conflict in Ukraine, a country that used to be the company's third-largest market. "These are really the levers that in recent years have created or undermined jobs in the Teagle business," he says.

His firm, he adds, could also survive outside the EU. But he doesn't harbor a great deal of sympathy for Brexit supporters, in part because they are led by the political clown Johnson. "Does that make me want to think that it's a serious campaign?" he asks.

Roger Jenkin has received 150,000 pounds -- and still favors Brexit

The two young calves are thirsty and still wet behind the ears. One was born yesterday, the other today. Roger Jenkin is laboriously trying to teach them how to feed from a plastic feeder with rubber teats that provide a flow of warm milk. "Normally my daughter does this," the 54-year-old says apologetically.

The Jenkins operate a dairy farm with 600 cows on the Lizard Peninsula in southern Cornwall. It is a remote, bucolic location that is only accessible via narrow country lanes. But just like on German farms, this rural bliss has been threatened ever since the EU abolished its milk quota and prices went into freefall.

"We're losing about 5,000 pounds a month," says Jenkin. His daughter and son would like to take over the farm, "but they would like to make some money from it."

Jenkin doesn't hold Brussels responsible for the drop in prices, but rather the overproduction of individual countries. The family has expanded the farm with some 150,000 pounds in EU funding, yet Jenkin still favors Brexit. "I just feel that we're paying too much in and not getting enough back," he says.

But what will happen to the EU subsidies that British farmers have, at least until now, received for their milk? Jenkin believes that they can be replaced. Following a Brexit, he is convinced that UK customers would be happy to pay a few pennies more for domestic milk. "They are obviously more British-minded than European so they would want to buy from their country."

Paul Trebilcock mistrusts the EU -- but is even more wary of his own government

Ironically, it is ultimately a representative of the Cornish fishermen who calls into question such optimistic assumptions about Brexit, despite the fact that this traditional sector has voiced more frustration with the EU than any other industry in Cornwall.

"The heart cries get out," Paul Trebilcock says about the EU as he looks at the port of Newlyn outside his office window. Just outside of the six-mile zone reserved for the local fishery, French ships regularly sail into view. They pull tons of haddock out of the water while British fishermen can do nothing but look on.

The waters off Cornwall belong to a zone in which EU fishing quotas have accorded France two-thirds of the haddock catch. The British are only allowed to pull in around 10 percent.

"That fosters some very strong anti-EU feelings," says Trebilcock, who used to work as a fisherman himself. Today, he is the head of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation and well-versed in protests against EU regulations. When George Eustice, the Cornish-born minister of state for farming, food and marine environment, recently agreed in Brussels to a fishing ban for a species of ray, Trebilcock wrote to him that this was "almost the epitome of bad governance," and contended that it destroyed every remaining shred of trust in the European Commission.
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The world's most powerful woman doesn't dare. Of course Angela Merkel is urgently hoping that Britain will stay a part of the European Union, but the German chancellor prefers not to say it too loudly.

On June 2, Merkel made a small exception, which the British media in turn described as her "strongest intervention in the Brexit debate so far" and even a breaking of her "self-imposed silence." During a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Merkel's Chancellery, a BBC journalist asked the German leader if the possibility of Brexit concerned her.

In a lengthy yet circumspect reply , she said negotiations were better conducted internally than publicly. She didn't really offer anything memorable -- except, perhaps, at the end of the press conference, when she offered: "I don't want to give rise to any misunderstandings -- the people in Britain are the ones who have a say here, who are the ones to decide."

But the angst is mounting in German political circles -- fears of Brexit. So too are fears that passionate appeals from Germany for Britain to remain in the EU may have exactly the opposite effect, instead providing fuel to the Brexiteers.

The Message from the UK: Stay Out of It

It has been reported that the Brits themselves requested German and other EU leaders to remain restraint on the issue. British Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly made the request as he negotiated for special concession for the United Kingdom in February with other EU leaders in order to make continued membership more attractive to his people. The message was to stay out of the debate -- no interviews with the British press and no appearances addressing the issue in the UK, so that Brexit backers wouldn't be able to turn around and say: This is exactly what bothers us, this endless paternalism and heavy-handedness from Berlin and Brussels. In a recent interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said, it would be "intelligent and correct to remain as silent as possible."

At the same time, the German government has many reasons not to keep mum, because the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU would be a disaster for Germany.

And it's by no means just the threat of turbulence on the financial markets or other economic consequences that concerns German politicians. Britain is Germany's third largest trading partner, with an export volume of 89 billion in 2016. More than 2,500 German companies are active in the country. Conversely, around 3,000 British companies also have subsidiaries in Germany. In the absence of the single market, these tight connections would become more complicated.

For Germany, however, what is at stake is more fundamental. European consensus is an intrinsic part of Germany's postwar identity; the aim of a united Europe as an official national goal is anchored in the German federal constitution. If Britain were to bid adieu, it would deal a blow to the EU from which it would be very difficult to recover. And this at a time when the EU already finds itself in the middle of an historic crisis.

In Berlin, politicians fear that Brexit would further strengthen those forces that appear to be pulling the EU apart. In the east, where much-cited European solidarity has been pushed to the limits. In the south, where economies still haven't recovered from the euro crisis. And everywhere where right-wing populists and euroskeptics are on the rise. If the Brits go, it could send the signal that Europe is cracking.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble believes it is entirely plausible that other European countries could follow the British example and then leave the EU. "That cannot be ruled out -- it is conceivable theoretically," the politician, a member of Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union, told SPIEGEL. "How, for example, would the Netherlands react, as a country that has traditionally had very close ties to Britain?"

German Needs Britain as a Counterweight to France

But that's not all. The cherry picking and eternal special requests from other EU member states in the future may be irritating, but there's an even bigger issue: Germany needs Britain inside the EU as a partner and as a market-friendly counterweight to socialist ruled France. This has become even more important with the recent cooling of relations between Germany and France, a pairing once described as the motor of Europe. In many areas -- including the single market, free trade, competitiveness, cutting of red tape, and particularly in economic and finance policy -- Germany and Britain have similar interests.

Without Britain, which is also a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a nuclear power, the EU's importance in foreign and security policy would also decline dramatically. "This Europe would be taken less seriously," warns Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). Merkel's foreign policy advisor in the Chancellery, Christoph Heusgen, says: "Without having the British as a partner, the EU would not have the same weight as an EU with the British." And even though Britain wouldn't, of course, disappear from the world stage, Brexit would still force Germany to take on greater responsibility within the EU.

It's little surprise, then, that officials in the Chancellery these days are closely monitoring each new poll in Britain. In or out? At the moment, the race is extremely close, but it is safe to say that Brexit fans have definitely caught up in recent weeks.

So far, the word has been that Merkel still has no plans to woo the British in the final leg of the Brexit campaign. But behind the scenes, officials have been preparing for the worst for some time now. In his SPIEGEL interview, however, Merkel's finance minister, Schauble, sought to reassure, saying, "Europe will also work without Britain if necessary."
Prime Ministers resignation will be the beginning of fight

Azat Arshakyan, an ex-member of Armenia's Supreme Council, considers the EEU to be just a club, which has several member states, There are leaders of some states in our Eurasian club, who havent been changed for many years. But, in our country, fortunately, the institute of the president, the main corruptor, was removed by Constitution, he highlighted. At present, when Prime Minister declared fight against corruption, Mr Arshakyan offers the Armenians to start a new movement, Fight against corruption means making the country democratic. There must be scandals, resignations. We have foreign base in our country, the Russian troops, which can interfere in our affairs. It is also the result of corruption. The ex-member of Armenia's Supreme Council doesnt believe that the head of the Government is able to fight corruption. Prime Minister is one of the main corruptors of Armenia. He cannot fight corruption. He must resign and it will be the beginning of the fight. It isnt possible that the country is getting poorer, but Prime Minister is getting richer, noted Mr Arshakyan. He also adds that Europe periodically provides money to Armenia for fighting corruption and other negative phenomena. World gives us money, but it is given to the same corruptors. It means they give cheese to mice and tell to eat. Mr Arshakyan hopes that new perestroika will kick off in the Eurasian region, and that we will leave all the unions imposed on us.
A young man was shoved onto the Tube tracks after an argument at Bond Street station.

Shocked commuters looked on in horror as the 20-year-old was pushed off the edge of a Jubilee line platform during a row on Thursday night.

Police have launched an investigaton after the victim, from Lewisham, reported the incident at about 10pm.

The man was taken to hospital but escaped the ordeal with just cuts and bruises.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Langley, of the British Transport Police, said: We are investigating after a man was pushed onto the tracks on a Jubilee line platform.

Following an argument with another man inside the station a few minutes earlier, the 20-year-old victim was pushed onto the tracks before quickly climbing back onto the platform."

The man who pushed the victim boarded a Jubilee line train northbound immediately after the incident and remains at large.

Detectives are now reviewing CCTV to try to track him down.

He is described as being white, in his early-to-mid-20s, clean shaven, short black hair, around 5ft 7, slim build, wearing black trousers and a light blue shirt.

DCI Langley added: This was a busy platform in central London and I would urge anyone who witnessed the events at Bond Street to contact us immediately.

It is vital that we find the person responsible for this shocking offence, and we will do everything we can to identify him and deal with him accordingly.

Although no trains were approaching on this occasion and he was not seriously injured, the outcome could have been much more serious."

Anyone with information should call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016, quoting 661 of 9/6/16. They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
H ackney residents are set to become vigilantes after signing up to a scheme to catch reckless drivers in the borough.

The east London borough is the latest in the capital to allow people to take policing on roads into their own hands.

The Community Roadwatch scheme, led by Transport for London (TfL), provides residents with radar speed guns and hi-vis jackets and allows them to catch rule-breaking drivers.

People who sign up to take part in the scheme are trained up by PCSOs and police volunteers, who then accompany them at the roadside.

While out on duty, the vigilantes measure the speed of drivers but participants are not allowed to use the radar guns on their own streets to ensure impartiality.

Drivers caught breaking the speed limit are sent warning letters, but those travelling at high speeds could face immediate action by the police.

Steve Burton, TfLs director of on-street operations, said: Community Roadwatch is a great example of our local safer transport teams working to improve road safety in local neighbourhoods.

The Community Roadwatch scheme started in Bexley and Croydon in August 2015 and has since been rolled out to 14 other boroughs including Greenwich, Haringey and Ealing.

TfL said it hopes to roll out the scheme to all London boroughs by the end of the year.
A man who died after being hit by a car in south east London has been named by police.

Paul Weidlich, 54, was hit by a grey VW Golf on the Creek Road bridge in Deptford on June 4.

Mr Weidlich, from Greenwich, suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital by ambulance, but he died a short time later.

The driver of the car stopped at the scene.

Crash: The damaged car at the scene / @MattB7872

A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and has been bailed until September.

Officers from the Roads and Transport Policing Command based at Catford are continuing to investigate.

Anyone with information should call the witness appeal line on 020 8285 1574 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
I t was the week that saw the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and thousands of revellers drinking on the Underground in protest at the 2008 drinking ban.

Around three million people gathered on the streets of London to attend the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The princess took the role of Head of State after the death of her father, the King George VI, a year previously. The event reached 20 million viewers and was broadcasted in 44 languages.

In 2008, thousands of revellers made a defiant stand by spending the night drinking at several Underground stations. They were protesting against the drinking ban on the Tube, which would come into effect the following day. Police were forced to close six Tube stops and arrested 17 people.

This week in London trawls the archives to bring you the key events that have taken place in the capital during the past century.

London Live's Toby Earle takes a look back at some of the highlights from the first week of June.

He finishes with the Queen Elizabeth II sailing down the Thames to celebrate the 60th anniversary of her coronation in 2012.
Zhirayr Sefilyan: Large amounts of money behind Artsakh issue (video)

The developments during April war were like a planned war. All the measures of solving this issue have already been exhausted and at present they resort to that measure, thinks Zhirayr Sefilyan, member of New Armenia public salvation front. He advised not blaming the army for this, Serzh Sargsyan is to blame. The lost posts can be easily returned, but the hands of our army are tied. Zhirayr Sefilyan states that the ruling regime in Armenia is mainly concerned about the preservation of the power, and nothing has hindered them in the implementation of it, One of those measures was selling our country part by part. All we have witnesses during these years how those people made use of the external factor and sold our country part by part and were able to maintain their power. The freedom fighter declares bearing full responsibility that now the turn to sell Artsakh has come, For prolonging his power Serzh Sargsyan manipulates the solution to Artsakh issue, getting promises in return, large amounts of money are also involved in all this. According to Sefilyan, for many years the authorities tried to set the people the way so that the majority agrees to cede the liberated territories, This regime failed in setting our people in that way. While touching upon the return of Samvel Babayan and the processes following it, Zhirayr Sefilyan singled out one odd fact. It is strange that a personality like Samvel Babayan, who was high ranking military official, knew many secrets, was absent from his homeland for many years. The society must want to know which the reasons were for which the commander of the winning army was abroad for so long. Zhirayr Sefilyan spoke about the process of establishing a committee for not allowing return of territories to Azerbaijan. Figures rejecting Madrid principles will be included in it. This committee will include members not only from Yerevan, but also Artsakh and we should also turn to the figures living abroad. It is known that Samvel Babayan spoke about the possibility of supporting some political force in the future. Can Zhirayr Sefilyan see such a possibility with them, maybe in the expected committee? Why not? Why not? I said that I wont announce names, there will be meetings, and our people will be operatively informed, he said. Watch the video for details!
P rincess Charlotte covered her ears during the flypast as she appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony with the rest of the Royal Family for the first time.

The Queens one-year-old great granddaughter  held in her mother the Duchess of Cambridge's arms  had one hand in her mouth and the other covering her ears as the military aircraft fly overhead in tribute to Her Majesty on her official 90th birthday.

It is her first appearance in public since posing with the Queen and her other grandchildren and great-grandchildren for a special royal portrait in April.

A Spitfire and Hurricane, made famous in the Battle of Britain, and also modern jets like the multi-role Typhoon fighter while the Red Arrows were among the 29 aircraft taking part in the RAF display.

Prince George, 3 in July, made his second balcony appearance for Trooping the Colour.

This time he was not held but stood as his father, Prince William pointed out the planes.

Princess Charlotte makes debut on Buckingham Palace balcony 1 /8 Princess Charlotte makes debut on Buckingham Palace balcony Balcony Princess Charlotte was held by the Duchess of Cambridge REUTERS/Toby Melville Royal family Princess Charlotte made her debut on the balcony alongside her brother Prince George REUTERS/Toby Melville Admiration The royal family gaze up at the fly past REUTERS/Toby Melville Delighted Prince George appeared to be excited to see the aircrafts fly over Buckingham Palace REUTERS/Toby Melville Young royals The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess Charlotte REUTERS/Toby Melville Fly past The Red Arrows fly past Buckingham Palace  MOD Crown copyright 2015

Huge crowds  the largest since the Diamond Jubilee celebrations  amassed in the Mall to catch a glimpse of the Queen, dressed in unmissable vibrant green, and the rest of the Royal Family on the balcony.

Earlier many thousands had lined the streets to take part in the Queen's official birthday celebrations

Trooping the Colour 1 /13 Trooping the Colour Waves Prince Philip waves to crowds as he and the Queen travel to Horse Guards Parade for Trooping the Colour AFP/Getty Images Trooping the Colour Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh leaving Buckingham Palace in central London to view the Trooping the Colour ceremony Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Carriage The Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Cambridge travel in a carriage to Horseguards Parade with Prince Harry REUTERS/Toby Melville Spectators Crowds stand in the Mall complete with balloons and flags REUTERS/Toby Melville Crowds Crowds stand in the Mall for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony REUTERS/Toby Melville Union flags Flags adorn the Mall to honour Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday REUTERS/Toby Melville Guardsmen Guardsmen prepare on Horse Guards Parade REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Marching band The band entertains the crowds before the royal procession make its way down The Mall Steve Parsons/PA Wire Top hats Officials prepare on Horse Guards Parade for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Mini guardsman A young boy dressed in a Guardsman outfit before the royal procession makes its way down The Mall from Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour Yui Mok/PA Wire

Before the fly past the Queen attended the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, which included 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses and more than 400 military musicians.

It has been the focus of the monarchs birthday celebrations since the mid-1700s

Family gathering: the Royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony / REUTERS/Toby Melville

Prince Harry accompanied the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall in another carriage, who both looked glamorous, dressed all in white.

Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice followed their grandmother's lead by opting for colourful outfits, with Beatrice wearing an orange fascinator and Eugenie modelled a feathered hat.

One of the traditions of the event is for the monarch to arrive on horseback, and although the Queen could not, Prince Charles, Prince William and Princess Anne all did so in her place.

But the conditions got too much for one guardsman, who collapsed during the ceremony and was then stretchered away by officials.

Out cold: the Guardsman after fainting / Reuters

It is not uncommon for a soldier to collapse at the event, with it happening before in 2013 and 2011, while a guardsman also passed out during rehearsals for this event last month.

Guard collapses at Trooping of the Colour ceremony

The reason is usually a combination of the temperature - today a balmy 22C - and the heavy uniform and bearskin hats the soldiers have to wear.

The spectacle in Whitehall honoured the Queen's enduring ties with her Armed Forces and officially marked her milestone anniversary.

Over the weekend the nation is celebrating the monarch's long and rich life that has seen her become the longest reigning and oldest monarch in British history.

Princess Anne's son, who is running the Patron's Lunch, said: "The majority of the time she (the Queen) is representing these organisations which she is a patron to.

TODO: define component type apester

We came up with the idea of why don't we do a street party," he said, adding that "the pieces all started to fall together.

Asked how receptive the Queen was to the idea, he said: "Well fortunately, we did sort of run the idea past a number of her staff beforehand, and it wasn't until I saw her that she said 'I hear you're up to something' so I had to confess.
A Guardsman lies face down on the ground after fainting during the Trooping the Colour ceremony for the Queen's 90th birthday.

Other members of the procession rushed to the man's aid after he collapsed in the early stages of the celebrations near Buckingham Palace this morning.

The man was then lifted onto a stretcher and carried away in front of worried spectators during the event to honour Her Majesty.

Guardsmen have fainted in previous years during the ceremony - often thanks to a combination of high summer temperatures and a heavy uniform which comes complete with a bearskin hat.

Out cold: the Guardsman after fainting / Reuters

Thousands of royal fans had gathered outside the gates of Buckingham Palace to see a glimpse of the Queen and other members of the royal family as they make their way to Horse Guards Parade.

Panic: A guard rushes to the man's aid after he collapsed / Reuters

The military spectacle - also known as the Queen's Birthday Parade - takes on greater significance this year as the Queen turns 90.

Carried off: Other guards rushed to the man's aid / Reuters

Later on in the day, members of the Royal family gathered on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

Trooping the Colour 1 /13 Trooping the Colour Waves Prince Philip waves to crowds as he and the Queen travel to Horse Guards Parade for Trooping the Colour AFP/Getty Images Trooping the Colour Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh leaving Buckingham Palace in central London to view the Trooping the Colour ceremony Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Carriage The Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Cambridge travel in a carriage to Horseguards Parade with Prince Harry REUTERS/Toby Melville Spectators Crowds stand in the Mall complete with balloons and flags REUTERS/Toby Melville Crowds Crowds stand in the Mall for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony REUTERS/Toby Melville Union flags Flags adorn the Mall to honour Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday REUTERS/Toby Melville Guardsmen Guardsmen prepare on Horse Guards Parade REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Marching band The band entertains the crowds before the royal procession make its way down The Mall Steve Parsons/PA Wire Top hats Officials prepare on Horse Guards Parade for the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Mini guardsman A young boy dressed in a Guardsman outfit before the royal procession makes its way down The Mall from Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour Yui Mok/PA Wire

One-year-old Princess Charlotte made her first appearance on the balcony as thousands of people looked on in raptures.

Trooping the Colour is part of a weekend-long series of celebrations marking the Queen's Birthday, and follows Friday's poignant national service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral, and on Sunday the informal Patron's Lunch street party for 10,000 will be held in The Mall.
A teenager was injured after a ghost train carriage derailed at a fairground.

The 14-year-old boy suffered a serious leg injury after the ride carriage came off the track at the funfair at Westway Common in Caterham, Surrey.

A witness told The Sun the carriage had gone up to first floor height when it crashed down to ground level.

They said: There was one boy in it. He was shaking as paramedics stood around him.

Other fair goers posted pictures of the derailed ride carriage on Facebook on Friday evening.

Angie Nokes said: Accident at Caterham Funfair today - a cart on the ghost train smashed through the wall on the upper level and dropped to the ground, one teenage boy got out in time but another was taken to hospital with leg injuries.

Not sure exactly what happened as only saw the aftermath, but some people said another cart smashed into the back of this cart forcing it off the track and through the wall

Another witness, Rob Holmes, said he could not believe what he saw.

He added: We heard people screaming from the side of the ride. The ghost cart SMASHED through the side of the ride and threw two boys through the air.

They were laying on the ground hurt, but we called them a ambulance [sic].

A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokesman said they were called at 6.41pm on Friday and sent one ambulance to the scene.

Paramedics treated a 14-year-old boy for serious leg injuries before he was taken by ambulance to East Surrey Hospital.

A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said they had been informed about the incident by the emergency services.
T hree Iranian men have been rescued from a sinking boat off the English Channel coast after they got into difficulty.

A rescue operation to save the stranded trio was scrambled at 9.30am on Saturday after Dover coastguard received an alert.

Lifeboat crews and a police helicopter were also deployed as part of the search and rescue operation.

Rescuers said the three-metre dinghy the men were in had started to fill with water.

The trio, thought to be Iranian nationals, were picked up the Border Force cutter HMC Seeker near Hastings in East Sussex and have since been moved to Dover.

A Border Force spokesman said: "HMC Seeker was deployed immediately and has picked up the individuals onboard who are believed to be Iranian nationals. The group will now be processed."

It comes two weeks after 18 Albanians were rescued from an inflatable boat after it started to sink in the English Channel.

Two British men, also on board the boat, have been charged with immigration offences.

In a statement, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "The boat has now been located and the incident has been handed over to UK Border Force."
A n Italian newspaper has come under fire after it distributed free copies of an annotated version of Adolf Hitlers Mein Kampf.

Milan daily Il Giornale offered the book for free to whoever bought the newspaper and first instalment of William Shirer's `'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."

The newspaper is currently publishing volumes exploring Third Reich history.

Italys prime minister Matteo Renzi described the newspaper as squalid but the owners defended the decision by arguing that reading the book is the "true antidote to the toxins of national socialism."

Editor Alessandro Sallusti stressed the version available to readers included critical commentary by an Italian professor of contemporary history.

Mr Sallusti added he wanted to make people understand "where and why absolute evil was born".

However, he acknowledged that protests over the publication were "legitimate" and even "understandable."

One Jewish community leader, Renzo Gattegna, expressed outrage at the promotion and described it as `'indecent" of Il Giornale to publish Hitlers writings.

Hitler wrote the book, which translates as "My Struggle", in 1924 while he was in prison for a failed coup against the new German Republic.

Additional reporting by Reuters
A Londoner was dramatically rescued in New York after an attempt to watch the sunrise led him to helplessly drift along the Hudson River for more than two hours.

Teenager Armaan Raj Munglani said he started writing goodbye messages to his family after he became marooned on a makeshift dock that snapped free from a marina in New Jersey.

The 19-year-old left the apartment in Jersey City he was staying in to head to Battery Park on the opposite side of the river in the early hours to watch the sun come up.

He wandered onto a dock at Newport Yacht Club and Marina when suddenly a piece he was standing on broke free with him on it.

Rescuers said he was lucky to be alive after he floated on the 8ft piece of wood for more than two hours in choppy waters dodging large ferries in the busy harbour.

He told the New York Post: As soon as I got on it, the rope that actually tied it to the dock just came off. So now I am stuck on this piece of wood and I have no idea what I'm going to do.

I tried to maneuver myself back but the current was too strong and its just taking me out into the Hudson. Now I really know Im screwed.

There are big barges, big cruise shipsI start seeing them and Im just like, Im dead meat.

However, Mr Munglani was able to call for help when he regained phone signal.

The New York Fire Department said the teenager was scared to death as two rescue boats were rushed to his aid and took him to dry land after he had travelled for around two miles.

Captain Louis Guzzo said: "This thing shouldn't have been on a lake, let alone in the New York Harbour.

"It was incredibly unstable and hes lucky to be alive.

"He had ridden the current on his makeshift platform all the way from Jersey City, with the wind blowing so hard that there were whitecaps on the water.

"It was very choppy, and very dangerous. The harbour is busy, even at night, and he didn't come up on the radar.

"This could have ended badly."
A drug addict has admitted offering her 11-year-old daughter to an alleged sex abuser in exchange for heroin.

April Corcoran, 32, is said to have given the child some of the heroin and now faces life in jail in the US.

At a court in Ohio, she pleaded guilty to charges including human trafficking, endangering children, and "corrupting another with drugs", US media said.

Corcoran is alleged to have offered her daughter to drug dealer Shandell Willingham in exchange for heroin.

Willingham, 42, faces accusations he forced Corcoran's daughter into sex acts which were filmed between February and June 2014.

The alleged victim is said to have told her father and stepmother what had happened after moving in with them.

WCPO News reported Corcoran's lawyer, James Bogan, as saying that his client "wishes to take responsibility for her actions".

He added: "She does not wish to have her daughter go through further trauma by having to testify at trial.

"And, she knows that a sentence that amounts to life in prison is a very realistic possibility."

Ohio Attorney General, Mike DeWine, described the case as "sad beyond measure".

He added: Instead of protecting her daughter, the mother saw her as a way to get drugs because the lure of heroin was apparently too strong.

Corcoran is due to be sentenced on July 19.


O bese diners will be asked to leave a naked restaurant because it could be miserable for other visitors.

The Amrita restaurant, which is set to open in Tokyo, has said that anyone 15kg above the average weight for their height will not be allowed to dine.

The restaurant, which opens on July 29, will ask guests to check in their clothes and put on paper underwear when they arrive.

Anyone who is thought to be above the average weight for their height will be weighed and ejected if deemed to be overweight.

Those who are asked to leave will not be refunded, the restaurant said.

Miki Komatsu, spokeswoman for Amrita, told AFP: If fat people are allowed in it could be miserable for some guests.

Guests can see the guidelines clearly on our homepage. We are aiming for a sort of Roman aesthetic, like the beautiful paintings you see in museums.

People with tattoos are also banned from the restaurant and diners are asked not to cause a nuisance by touching or talking to other guests.
A public swimming pool has reportedly banned women from wearing 'burkinis'.

The swimsuit, which is typically worn by Muslim women, is a full body suit which also has a head scarf attached.

But they have been banned from an indoor pool in Neutraubling in southern Germany after they elicited complaints after a women-only swim day, local media said.

The Mittelbayerische reported a young woman wore a 'burkini' to swim and take part in aqua aerobics but other women complained about her choice of swim attire.

The complaints were reportedly escalated to the town hall and a ban was then placed on the non-typical swimwear.

The town mayor Heinz Kiechle told the newspaper the ban is in line with a policy which requires general typical apparel to be worn while at the swimming pool.

He said the pool is publicly financed for all residents and it would not make sense to make dress code exceptions for individual religions.

He added: This also contradicts the fundamental ideas of integration and mutual understanding, which is always being discussed in many towns.
Serzh Sargsyan visits Embassy of the Russian Federation

Today, on the occasion of the State Holiday of the Russian Federation  Russia Day, President Serzh Sargsyan visited the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Armenia. He congratulated Ambassador Ivan Volynkin and the entire staff of the Embassy and wished them all the best also the well being and prosperity to the people of Russia. The President of Armenia watched the festive cultural program prepared by the employees of the Embassy. On the occasion of the holiday, President Serzh Sargsyan sent congratulatory messages to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the RF Government Dmitry Medvedev. In the congratulatory message addressed to the President of the Russian Federation, President Sargsyan noted with satisfaction that the strategic nature of the Armenian-Russian cooperation, which is based on the friendly and brotherly relations of the two peoples, constantly reveals itself on the bilateral interstate level, as well as in the cooperation in the framework of international and regional settings. I am confident that through the joint efforts we will be able to promote future development of the entire complex of our bilateral relations and implement reached agreements which are aimed at maintaining development in the atmosphere of stability and security, reads the congratulatory message of the President of Armenia. In the congratulatory message addressed to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, President Sargsyan noted that this remarkable holiday is inseparably tied to the profound transformation in Russias vital activities and is aimed at the prosperity of the citizens and strengthening of Russias role on the international arena.
Serzh Sargsyan hosts members of the Council of the European Youth Forum

Today, Serzh Sargsyan hosted the members of the Council of the European Youth Forum who have arrived in Armenia for a regular gathering of the Council. The President of Armenia welcomed the members of the structure, which has become a large platform for the cooperation of the youth organizations of Europe, and expressed hope that the Yerevan meeting of the structure, which is interacting with over a hundred of national youth councils and international youth organizations, will be productive and the young people will also have an opportunity to familiarize with the historical and cultural heritage of Armenia, make new friends, which according to the President will enhance and develop close cooperation among young people representing different countries. I would like to stress that I always meet with great pleasure with the representatives of youth organizations and with young people in general because it is the shortest and most efficient way to learn about the vision of the new generation. Your mission - to enhance and increase the role of young people in all areas of the European public, is in full accord with our policy. We always welcome participation of Armenias youth organizations in the pan-European structures and their involvement with them for one simple reason  our system of values is a part of the European system of values. I am very glad to see you in Armenia. I hope your works will be very productive, said President Serzh Sargsyan and expressed readiness to answer all questions raised by the participants of the meeting. Representatives of the European Youth Forum thanked the President of Armenia for receiving them and spoke about their activities and goals. They also asked the President of Armenia about the reforms conducted in our country, including already adopted constitutional reforms, inquired how they relate to a broader involvement of the youth and youth organizations in the decision making processes, what is Armenias state policy on increasing the role of the youth, on allowing the young people to fully use their potential, on receiving education and later on finding their place at the labor market. The participants of the meeting stressed the importance of peace and stability in the region and in the world in general lest the present and the future of the young people are not endangered. In this context, the young people asked the President of Armenia about the NK peace process and problems which the conflict creates for the youth. President Sargsyan gave detailed answers to these and many other questions raised by the participants of the meeting and wished them success in their future endeavors.
It was Dec. 3, 2015 when Deuel County Deputy Mike Hutchinson was shot four times as he prepared to serve a warrant. After parking in the driveway of a Big Springs, Nebraska home and stepping out of the car he was shot immediately, never able to defend himself.

Now, after months of recovery, still facing even more months of recovery, he finds out his employer, Deuel County, had asked Blue Cross Blue Shield to drop his health insurance coverage. At least that is what the letter from Blue Cross to Hutchinson said, We (Blue Cross) recently received information to terminate your Blue Cross and Blue Shield group health care coverage because your employer requested this action.

What! This must be a mistake. But apparently not. The Deuel County Commissioners met this week and declined to take any action to restore Hutchinsons insurance or to make any other arrangements to continue to pay for health insurance.

I dont want to believe the Board is that uncaring, that cold to refuse to back up an employee who nearly gave his life to protect county citizens. I want to believe that for whatever reason there was some legal snag or concerns about setting a precedent that would place liability on county taxpayers that was the reason for no action.

Even so, the county board needs to remedy this and soon, and above all they must do the right thing; county liability or not! This isnt a legal matter. This is a matter of humanity. Lets treat people like people for crying out loud and let the legal chips fall where they may.

If our government is so tied up with rules and regulations, labor laws and attorneys, that we are unable to make no-brainer decisions like this one appears to be, restoring health insurance to Hutchinson, then we need to change government. If that means the county taking lumps in a courtroom, so be it. Right now they need to simply do the right thing, and work through the consequences later.

Maybe that is being too risky in this litigious society. Maybe it would expose the county to added expenses and possible lawsuits and defense costs. So, whats the point? I would hope the county would just do the right thing and make sure Deputy Mike Hutchinson is taken care of, that this group policy or equivalent is restored immediately.

The county has put this off until their next meeting. I hope it is so they can investigate their options to best take care of Mike. I hope it is not to avoid the moral obligation they have regardless of what legalities surround the issue.

Government, even at the county level, is there to serve its constituents, and to provide a staff of employees to carry out those duties. Therefore the county also has an obligation to those employees. Lets hope this issue is resolved soon, that Mike Hutchinson continues to heal and recover so he can return to work, and lets hope the county commissioners will do the right thing by all concerned and help this process come full circle.

Yes, no? Let me know at greg.awtry@starherald.com.

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Consumers are getting more comfortable paying for things with their phones, and that has banks thinking more and more like marketers.

Armed with troves of data on what consumers buy, when and where, financial institutions have started sending coupons and offers from stores straight to customers mobile devices.

Banks have a big advantage in this era of hyper-personalized marketing: They know every spending habit of every customer. For example, a fast-food chain can send a coupon to someone who actually bought a fast-food meal using his debit card in the past month, rather than one who dines once a week at an upscale restaurant.

Consumers need a reason to use a digital wallet, said Jen Roberts, president of strategic alliance and loyalty solutions for JPMorgan Chase, which is developing a digital-payments service that customers can use at retail stores, in apps and on the web.

The bank has signed up Starbucks and Shell gas stations to accept Chase Pay in their physical stores later this year. Coupons, rewards programs and loyalty points will play an important role as the digital-payments service develops, Roberts said.

When you look at solutions that are out there, theres a reason why they havent taken off to the degree they were expected to, she said. If we dont do this, someone else will.

Banks are building up their marketing machines as they seek growth outside their traditional lending businesses while competing with Google, Apple and Samsung Electronics, all of which have a head start in mobile-payment technology.

The move to serve up coupons and offers might also help improve customer loyalty  particularly among millennials, who surveys show are more prone to switching banks than their elders.

Total revenue from third-party offers through mobile wallets with more than one credit or debit card will surpass $37 billion in the United States in five years, according to payments researcher Crone Consulting. And banks could generate at least $316 per customer a year by delivering ads and offers via their mobile wallet apps.

You are talking about doubling or tripling their revenue per account, said Richard Crone, chief executive of Crone Consulting. They cant walk away from this market; its theirs to lose.

Cardlytics, which partners with banks on card-linked offers that give customers cash back when they use their cards at participating stores, sees an 8 percent average click-through rate for offers online or via email or mobile apps.

About one-third of those clicks translate into redeemed offers, the company says. By contrast, other digital ads click-through rates typically hover around 1 percent.

The Atlanta-based startup, with 40 percent to 50 percent annual revenue growth, is considering going public, according to Lynne Laube, president and co-founder. The largest banks using Cardlytics, whose partners include Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc., make $50 million a year from the service, Laube said.

Since banks have access to vast amount of personal spending data, privacy remains a concern.

For Cardlytics program, for instance, banks provide anonymized data, and Cardlytics only knows that a customer designated by a random number shopped at a particular store on a certain day over the previous month, and matches that information with an advertiser that needs to reach that kind of a shopper. Currently consumers can only opt out of the program  a setup some privacy advocates dislike.

Any kind of use of data should be entirely opt in, said Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union. It should not be up to the customer to go out of their way not to be watched. Still, he said that if the technology is done right, theres no reason that it cant be done in a way to protect privacy and even improve it.

Recently banks have tested new ways to expand their marketing reach. In April, U.S. Bank started a pilot program in Lawrence, Kan., where consumers can use its mobile app to receive deals from about 20 local merchants as well as register a payment card. Every time they shop, deals are automatically presented at the time of purchase.

When we were doing research with consumers around offers, what we heard is, I dont have an efficient way to know what offers are available in my communities from small businesses, said Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer at U.S. Bank.

One Nevada Credit Union, which has been offering cash back rewards to members through Cardlytics for about two years, just started pitching coupon offers through its mobile app, which is now actively used by about 35,000 people.

The credit union hopes to launch its own wallet, where it will post offers from merchants, in order to make up for revenues lost elsewhere, such as in interchange fees banks receive to facilitate transactions, said Paul Parrish, chief operating officer at One Nevada Credit Union.

Interchange in its current form is going to continue to diminish, Parrish said. You got to look for strategies to help offset that.
Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Mirandas megahit musical about our most charismatic Founding Father, stands poised to sweep the 2016 Tony Awards when they are presented Sunday night.

St. Louis theatergoers will be among the first to see the show on tour. It will play the Fox Theatre in the 2017-18 season.

Competition to book the tour was high; the show is so popular that it has been difficult to buy tickets in New York, even at inflated rates. Some brokers charge over $1,000 a seat.

How did the Fox manage to book it?

Perhaps its an acknowledgment of the ongoing success of the Fabulous Fox Theatre and our incredible audience  or its as simple as how the show needs to move across the country, said Kristin Caskey, president of Fox Theatricals. The company  which produced last seasons Tony-winner for best musical, Fun Home, and is a producer of one of this years nominees for best play, The Humans  also books the theater on Grand Boulevard. Whatever the reason, we are thrilled to be one of the early cities lucky enough to welcome the phenomenon that is Hamilton.

The show will also open in September in Chicago for a run currently scheduled for six months and in 2017 for five months in Los Angeles.

Dates for the productions run here have not yet been determined. However, patrons who have subscriptions for the coming season, 2016-17, will be first in line to buy tickets for 2017-18. They will be able to guarantee their seats for Hamilton before tickets are available to the general public.

During the 2016-17 season, the Fox will present A Gentlemans Guide to Love and Murder, Fun Home, Finding Neverland, An American in Paris, Something Rotten and Cabaret. The other shows in the 2017-18 season will be announced later.

Based on Ron Chernows biography of Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton is up for 16 Tony Awards, the most in Tony history. Miranda, 36  the author, composer and star of the Broadway production  received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in drama for Hamilton, a musical acclaimed by critics and audiences alike.

Michelle Obama called it the best piece of art in any form that I have ever seen in my life.

With a multiracial cast and a score that includes hip-hop, the show is both historic and contemporary. Peter Kastor, chair of the history department at Washington University, says that Hamilton alone among the founders suits this treatment.

Hamilton was born in the West Indies to an unmarried woman and arrived penniless in colonial New York. He went on, however, to be George Washingtons right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and to serve as the countrys first secretary of the Treasury. He was only 47 when Aaron Burr shot him to death in a duel.

Hamilton is an exciting, romantic figure  a Horatio Alger figure, Kastor said. He arrives in New York City and masters it, through his own hard work and talent.

The musical, Kastor said, emphasizes some aspects of Hamiltons career at the expense of others that are no longer so appealing (such as his elitism regarding government). But Kastor has already enjoyed the Grammy-winning cast recording, and he looks forward to seeing the show for himself.

This is a musical that got America interested in federal debt assumption, he said. Thats one of the most important things about the early federal government, and this show has a whole song about it! I take my hat off to it.
In this installment of our occasional Snapshot Q&A series, we speak with St. Louis native BT Urruela, an Army veteran, model, inspirational speaker and, as of a few weeks ago, a featured bachelor on a TV dating show. But his real love is writing romance novels.

Currently seen in  Coupled, 8 p.m. Tuesdays on Fox

High school?  Rockwood Summit, Class of 2004

Now lives  In Tampa, Fla.

His story  An Army veteran, Urruela lost his right leg at the knee after a roadside bomb exploded in Iraq. My commander was killed, and the four others of us were badly wounded. For two years, doctors tried to save what was left of my leg, but we eventually made the decision to amputate.

His motto  When youre met with your own physical limitations, dont give up, never quit, just adapt!

On helping others  After suffering post-traumatic stress himself, Urruela co-founded VETSports, a nonprofit organization to help veterans make the transition back to civilian life through organized team sports. I think we need to pay more attention to veterans issues.

Transition to modeling  When photographer Michael Stokes asked him to pose as part of an awareness campaign for wounded veterans. That led to some romance novel covers. After I posed for him, I started getting offers.

But it didnt stop at covers  Ive always been a writer. Thats my passion. I posted some short stories online, and an author asked me to collaborate. Urruela and K.L. Grayson published A Lovers Lament last year. She happens to live outside St. Louis, and we met up when I was home for Christmas. The book has a military theme, and she brought me in to ensure it would be authentic. For me, it was a nice entry into the writing world.

Up next  Ive written my first solo book, Into the Nothing, which Im self-publishing on June 21. Its set in Truman Valley, Mo., and is the story of a troubled man who can change everything hes ever known.

Why a dating show?  I was called by a casting company for a different show, which didnt involve dating. They liked me, and then they called me about this one.

And he jumped at the chance?  No way. I was completely against it. I never watch those kinds of shows, and its not my style. My family convinced me to go for the adventure, to get out of my comfort zone.

Did he enjoy it?  For the most part. It was really beautiful there (on the Caribbean island of Anguilla), and I met some really great people.

How did the dating match-ups work out?  You know I cant say.

On missing St. Louis  Ive been in Tampa four years, and its a great place, but I come home a lot. Most of my family is still there. My dad is in Washington, and my sister is in Hazelwood. I love Imos pizza, Russells in Fenton, the Hill, and 100 percent the Cardinals.
ST. PETERS  Jenny Ayres desperately needed a fresh start.

So, with the help of her family, she packed up her two children and moved a year and a half ago from Clearwater, Fla., into a home her mother owns in St. Peters, according to neighbors.

Despite the move, Ayres brother Leon said that Jenny had been struggling.

Ayres, 37, and her two children, Jordie Hines, 10, and Jada Hines, 5, were killed Thursday night in a fire at their home in the 1800 block of Elm Tree Street.

St. Peters police asked the Major Case Squad to help investigate the deaths, and they were waiting for results of an autopsy Friday. Authorities said in a news release that they think this was an isolated incident and there was no danger to the public.

Leon Ayres said police told the family Thursday that they suspected foul play.

The fire was reported about 6 p.m. Thursday. Firefighters found Jordie and Jada, then Ayres, inside the home. The children were taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Ayres was dead at the scene, police said.

It is unclear how many people are living in the home. Sherry Lange, 54, who lives across the street, said Ayres, the two children, Ayres sister and the childrens grandmother had moved into the home. According to the St. Charles Assessors documents, the home is owned by Denise Ayres, Jennys mother. Lange said Ayres sister moved out about six months ago.

Leon Ayres described his older sister as troubled, insecure and paranoid. She really loved her children, he said, and he doesnt want to believe that she had something to do with the deaths.

She had some drug-related habits that really got to her in the past, Leon Ayres said. We moved her up here to get her away from that stuff, and we got her into rehab. You can stop by as much as you want and still not really know, you know? I knew she was unstable.

The family is not aware of any drug problems since Jenny Ayres moved to St. Peters, Leon Ayres said.

Jenny shared her history of drug addiction with Lange, Lange said, saying she was trying to straighten it all out.

She had rough times, Lange said. She admitted she had a problem.

Leon Ayres said that his sister had become paranoid. She feared her food had been tampered with at a fast food restaurant. When Jenny got a new phone and phone number, she panicked when Leon called her on her new line through Facebook Messenger, saying she worried there was some government involvement in tracking her phone number.

Leon Ayres said Jenny was in between jobs and struggled with interviewing because she was insecure that someone would find out about her substance abuse history. He said she also might have suffered from a mental illness, and family members had taken her to medical appointments to get help. He said he wasnt sure whether she continued to make it to those appointments after she got her own car.

I know she was not happy, he said. And maybe there are a million things that we could have and should have done.

Friday afternoon, Leon was supposed to pick up Jordie and Jada for a weekend at his lake house.

The two children attended Fairmount Elementary in the Francis Howell district, and were going to the districts summer school program, according to a statement sent to parents Friday from Fairmount Principal Sue Sharp.

It is a sad day in the Francis Howell School District, Sharp said in her statement.

Lange and other neighbors said the two children were lively and well-liked on the street.

The kids, they loved life, Lange said. That little girl, I talked to her two days ago, she was looking forward to her first day in kindergarten in the coming year.

Jordie, she said, loved school and loved animals. The second day he lived here, he went around the neighborhood and introduced himself to everyone, Lange said.

A family friend has organized a crowdfunding page for funeral costs. By Friday afternoon, $3,010 had been raised.

Mark Schlinkmann of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this article.
ST. LOUIS  Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce says shes protecting crime victims and witnesses from potential harm by withholding their information from defense attorneys.

Her prosecutors have, for at least a decade, stripped out dates of birth, Social Security numbers, telephone numbers and addresses from police reports before providing them to defense attorneys.

But Mary Fox, head public defender in St. Louis, says that long-standing practice violates Missouri Supreme Court rules and deprives defendants of their constitutional right to a fair trial.

That legal fight, which played out Friday before St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael K. Mullen, has been brewing since last year when Foxs office sued Joyce to stop the practice.

In Fridays hearing, Joyces chief trial assistant, Beth Orwick, asked Mullen to reverse his own May 26 order that prosecutors disclose identities and last known addresses of victims and states witnesses in 172 cases whose defendants are represented by the St. Louis public defenders office.

A Missouri Supreme Court rule requires the disclosure. Orwick reluctantly acknowledged that Joyces office has willingly violated the rule for years after Mullen repeatedly challenged her interpretation.

We believe the rule is unconstitutional, Orwick told the judge. What were trying to do is change the law. Someone needs to take the lead, your honor, and thats what were doing.

Replied Mullen: Youre trying to keep information from the other side.

Mullens blanket protective order that applies to the 172 cases in question allows prosecutors to continue removing Social Security numbers and personal identifying information of police officers. It prohibits public defenders from sharing the last known addresses and phone numbers with their clients, their friends and relatives.

The arguments aired Friday touch on similar issues outlined in a pending appeals case set for August dealing with redacted victim and witness information in 14 other criminal cases in St. Louis. That appeal was filed by Joyce against Mullen. Orwick asked Mullen on Friday to rescind his order and grant hearings in each of the 172 other cases to enable victims and witnesses to testify to whether their personal information should be removed from police reports. Orwick said Mullens order does not give the people their chance to participate in the criminal justice system.

Mullen did not issue a ruling Friday but appeared likely to side with the public defenders offices request, saying hearings for each case would cause a huge clog in the criminal justice system.

Fox, the district public defender, has claimed in court filings that Joyces prosecutors have systematically withheld witness and victim information without seeking protective orders, which Fox called an abuse of power. Fox acknowledged that witness safety was a concern in some cases but said that generalized, non-specific fears of retaliation are not good cause for granting protective orders.

On Friday, Fox cited more than a dozen cases in which Joyces office sought to seal personal information in police reports for cases that have already been adjudicated and of witnesses who are relatives or friends of defendants. Charges in at least one of the cases had already been dropped. Fox also said that Joyces office had failed to cite examples of any defendants posting sensitive information online and that revising the Supreme Court rule might better be addressed in the Missouri Legislature.

The existence of the internet coupled with a defendant charged with a criminal offense in possession of police reports does not in itself create or show good cause, Fox said in court papers.

Joyce said in an interview this week that she wanted the courts or lawmakers to change a 1979 Missouri Supreme Court rule that requires prosecutors to give defense lawyers information and statements of witnesses to be called at trial. Joyce says the rule is obsolete because it predates the internet and social media that have made sensitive information easy to share publicly.

Theres a lot of dangerous gun-violent criminals out there who want to kill witnesses against them, and its insane for us to give them a road map as how to find witnesses, Joyce said in an interview this week. And its just a very real thing thats happening more and more these days.

Joyce pointed to a fatal shooting April 24 of Frankie Phillips, 42, in the 4200 block of Iowa Avenue. Phillips would have testified the next day in an assault case against Frank Roberson, 47, who was charged with wounding Phillips in a shooting in September. Joyce said she didnt know if Phillips was killed because he agreed to testify but said she thought it fair to assume that (Phillips) information was provided to the defense.

Police are still investigating Phillips shooting death. Joyce has put out a plea for additional witnesses.

Joyce says that witnesses are routinely made available to the defense for depositions and that withholding of personal information is necessary for their protection.

But Fox argues that defense attorneys should be able to contact and interview witnesses free of interference from prosecutors.

In March, Franklin County Circuit Judge Gael Wood, a special judge appointed to hear the lawsuit against Joyce by the public defenders office, endorsed an agreement that prosecutors disclose when they remove information from the reports.

The agreement also requires defense attorneys to give Joyce at least five days notice before challenging redactions in court. A hearing in the case is set for June 22.
Officials said the plane had mechanical issues at 12:08 p.m. and the pilot, with a passenger on board, decided to land the plane in an area where a road was under construction and was closed. No one was injured.
Each year, millions of young Indians log on to matrimonial sites and begin to search for a spouse. Users can make their match by identifying criteria such as ethnicity, caste and religion, which offers them some middle ground between casual dating and traditional arranged marriages.

But now the Indian government worries that sites such as Bharat Matrimony and Shaadi are being misused, and that instead of sifting through options online and choosing a spouse quickly, young people may be logging onto matrimonial sites looking for dates, not marriage.

Thats why Ravi Shankar Prasad, Indias minister for communications and information technology, has announced new guidelines that will require users to state they are creating accounts strictly in order to seek out a lifelong partner, not a one-night stand.

We have approved the standards to check cheating on such websites, he said.

Those standards including confirming the users intent to enter into matrimonial alliance and that the user information is correct.

The new government advisory will also require the websites to clarify that they are for matrimonial purpose only and not a dating website and should not be used for posting obscene material.

The sites themselves already make pretty clear what theyre there to do. On the front page of Shaadi, for example, the registration form says Meet someone for keeps! with a photo of a young, smiling couple in the background.

Bharat advertises its sign-up sheet as the 1st step toward a happy marriage!

According to Bharat, each month some 50,000 people get married with the help of their site.

And in a 2015 interview with the New York Times, Bharats founder and CEO boasted about how the two parties looking for a match are the ones who are primarily involved in the process.

Twenty years ago, parents chose the matches, he said.

Now parents are largely playing supporting roles, and the brides and grooms are in the drivers seat.

But as parents take more of a hands-off approach, the government is moving toward a hands-on one. Maybe its just the American obsession with Tinder, the app that allows for easy one-night stands, that the Indian government is trying to avoid. And if thats the case  can we really blame them?

Last year, Vanity Fair followed a few New York 20-somethings as they spent a night swiping through the app to look for casual sex.

You could talk to two or three girls at a bar and pick the best one, or you can swipe a couple hundred people a day  the sample size is so much larger, one of the young men said. Its setting up two or three Tinder dates a week and, chances are, sleeping with all of them, so you could rack up 100 girls youve slept with in a year.
LEETONIA, Ohio  When Jennifer Sekerak took son Joshua for his age-one check-up, the pediatrician saw no need to test for lead poisoning. The baby wasnt yet walking, she recalls the doctor saying, so was unlikely to be playing around hazards like lead paint.

Over the next year or so, Joshua was twice hospitalized for mysterious symptoms. He began refusing food and eating dirt. There was violent head-banging, sleeplessness, skin lesions, vomiting.

He stopped talking, he wanted to eat dirt, and he would scream like a banshee, Sekerak said. To be honest, he was like a wild animal.

Once, Joshua was rushed to the hospital in Boardman, Ohio, and diagnosed with severe anemia, a common finding in lead-poisoned children. Hospital staff told Sekerak her son, enrolled in Medicaid, might have lead poisoning. But the hospital, Akron Childrens at Boardman, did not test his blood for lead, she says. Citing federal privacy rules, a hospital spokeswoman declined comment.

At the mothers urging, a new pediatrician tested him at age two. His blood lead concentration was 19 micrograms per deciliter, nearly four times the level Ohio defines as lead poisoning and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers elevated. Had Joshua been tested earlier  as Medicaid and Ohio rules required  the family could have more quickly removed him from a lead-infested rental house, Sekerak said.

Joshuas case is not unique, a Reuters investigation found. Nationwide, millions of children are falling through the cracks of early childhood lead testing requirements.

Blood lead tests are mandated for all children in 11 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. In addition, Medicaid requires that the one-third of all U.S. children enrolled in the program, which provides health care for low-income and disabled people, be tested at ages one and two. Some other states mandate tests for all children in areas with exposure risks, such as housing with lead paint or lead-tainted soil.

Yet, in a review of data in nearly a dozen U.S. states, Reuters found just 41 percent of Medicaid-enrolled one- and two-year-olds had been tested as required. And in some states requiring tests, more than half the children were missing a test.

The full scope of under-testing is impossible to gauge: Data tracking testing rates and results from the CDC, Medicaid and many state health agencies is incomplete and unreliable. The CDC said its own tracking of lead poisoning rates isnt conclusive, citing insufficient data from states and changes in testing patterns that make comparisons over time challenging.

Yet Reuters documented a sweeping testing gap in the data that could be verified.

The shortfalls leave some children vulnerable to prolonged lead exposure, among the most insidious, and preventable, early health risks. Lead poisoning can lead to a lifetime of severe mental and physical ailments.

Some 500,000 U.S. children under age six have blood lead levels of 5 micrograms per deciliter or higher, the CDC estimates, the level at which it suggests public health actions.

When we fail to provide lead poisoning tests to children who need them, its a tragedy, said Dr. Leonardo Trasande, associate professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine. Unfortunately, a lot of pediatricians and health care providers have taken their eye off this ball.

Concerns about lead exposure grew dramatically after news that the water supply in Flint, Michigan had been poisoned.

Michigan does not require universal testing for lead exposure, and state officials only began to acknowledge a serious water contamination problem in Flint months after a local pediatrician showed them evidence: Lead levels in her patients blood were spiking over the CDCs threshold.

If you dont test, you never really know, said Joel Schwartz, an epidemiologist at Harvard Universitys school of public health. You might think you dont have a problem, and you might be wrong.

A nationwide problem

Reuters reviewed data from state health departments, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the CDC. Reporters sought testing information from health departments and Medicaid program administrators in each state, interviewed more than two dozen health experts, and spoke with 15 families whose children were poisoned.

Symptoms of under-testing span the country:

 Pennsylvania has childhood lead-poisoning rates nearly double Flints. But the state doesnt require universal blood testing, so just 26 percent of children are tested by age three.

 At least three states  Utah, Kansas and Alaska  said they do not recognize or follow a federal requirement to test Medicaid children.

 Among the U.S. children for whom two tests are required by age three, millions receive no test or just one. Rates vary widely by state. Top performers test 80 percent of children repeatedly. South Carolina tested as little as 5 percent of Medicaid-enrolled children in 2014.

 After lead abatement efforts triggered a decades-long decline in child lead poisoning rates, the trend appears to be stalling. Based on testing results reported to the CDC, the percentage of children with blood lead levels double the agencys threshold has remained steady, about 0.6 percent, the last five years.

The testing shortfall is one reason the CDC is unlikely to achieve its goal of eradicating lead poisoning among U.S. children by 2020, public health specialists say.

There are many causes for the gaps. Surveillance funding and data collection have been cut, and many states rely upon parental questionnaires to identify at-risk children to test. Several leave the testing option to pediatricians.

Testing guidelines, and the questionnaires, mostly target children in areas where older housing can expose them to lead paint. They often do not address another important risk, lead-tainted drinking water.

Ironically, the United States success in reducing lead poisoning is one reason for testing lapses. Lead was banned from most paints in 1978, from gasoline in the early 1980s, and, more recently, from new household pipes and fixtures. Average childhood lead levels have fallen by more than 90 percent since the late 1970s. Since then, however, research has shown that even low levels of exposure can stunt a childs development.

Symptoms of poisoning  neurological impairment and behavior disorders  can be hard to distinguish at first. Once enough lead accumulates in blood and bone, the damage is irreversible. Negative health impacts of lead can begin at blood concentrations below the threshold used by the CDC, which says no level of exposure is safe.

Lifelong stigma

Ingesting lead can sicken people of any age, but it takes the heaviest toll on small children, whose developing bodies readily absorb it.

By school age, children with a history of lead exposure can exhibit poor attention and impulse control, with lower intelligence and academic performance  a stigma that can follow them through life.

The lower your IQ, the more trouble learning, the more likely you are to drop out of school, to be delinquent, to be incarcerated, said Dr. Morri Markowitz, director of the lead poisoning program for the Childrens Hospital at Montefiore in New York City.

Although many exposure impacts are irreversible, poisoned children can benefit from therapy aimed at improving cognitive abilities. A high test result should be followed quickly by informing the family of lead risks, or intervention. Home inspections may spot sources of poisoning to be fixed.

As recently as the 1990s, the CDC recommended tests for all U.S. children. Since then, its guidelines have changed. The CDC still says all at risk children should be tested but now encourages some states to devise a targeted approach.

After a 2012 budget cut, the CDC was forced to slash funding to states for lead poisoning prevention programs by some 90 percent. Though much of the funding was restored, several state health agencies cited dwindling CDC funding for their lead poisoning programs as one reason more children arent tested.

More than a dozen states do not report local testing results to the CDC. In many states using a targeted approach, parental questionnaires help decide which children to test, based on risk factors such as living in older housing.

Around 25 million older U.S. homes or apartments contain lead paint, with most located along the East Coast and in the Midwest.

Yet Flint serves as a potent reminder old paint isnt the only exposure risk. Lead can leach into drinking water from pipes, a problem discovered recently in Mississippi, Ohio and at New Jersey and Oregon schools. Lead-tainted water from unregulated private wells is also a danger for up to six million Americans, Reuters reported in March.

Soil, cookware, and some imported toys, candies and spices can contain lead. Parents with careers or hobbies involving lead items  such as oil drilling, hunting or fishing  may bring the risks home.

Reuters reviewed the risk-assessment questionnaires health clinics give to parents in a dozen states. None asked about potential water contamination from lead piping or sink fixtures.

Before Flint, lead risks were not being recognized as much, even though the research shows that there is no safe level of lead in blood, said Dr. Jennifer Lowry, a pediatrician at Childrens Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Chair of the Council on Environmental Health at the American Academy of Pediatrics, she supports universal testing.

A blood lead test is the only cheap and reliable way to identify a lead-poisoned child. Finger-prick testing at a pediatricians office can provide initial results in three minutes. The tests range in cost, from as little as $7.

Roots of failure

In Ohio, Joshua Sekerak wasnt tested until he was two years old. He should have been tested a year earlier, because he was on Medicaid and lived in a high risk area.

Ohio mandates universal testing for children in ZIP codes where old housing is prevalent. About two-thirds of the states children should be tested under those rules. Ohio also requires tests for Medicaid children.

Actual testing falls short of Ohios guidelines, mirroring the U.S. problem.

Last year, Medicaid recorded payment claims for 41 percent of one- and two-year-olds enrolled in the insurance program in Ohio. The states Medicaid administration said some additional children were screened for free, but did not quantify how many.

Among all Ohio two-year-olds, less than a third got tested in 2014, state data show.

In Cleveland, a staggering 13.7 percent of children tested had lead levels above the CDCs threshold, state data show. Following the contamination in Flint, 4.9 percent of children exceeded the threshold.

California, the nations most populous state, requires tests for all Medicaid children. Medicaid paid for enough lead tests to cover just one in three enrollees, last years claims data showed. Improvements are needed in testing and reporting, the states Department of Health Care Services told Reuters, vowing to redouble its efforts.

In some states, the testing gap is small. Vermont and Massachusetts screen around 80 percent of children repeatedly.

But across all 11 states that require universal screening, millions miss out.

Only a fraction of the children who should be tested are being tested, said Dr. Stanley Schaffer, who runs a pediatric program in industrial Rochester, New York.

New York State law requires testing for all children at age one and again at two. But statewide, only 55 percent of children have received their two required tests by age three, state data shows. Outside New York City, the rate drops to around 40 percent. In some counties, its below 10 percent.

Schaffer pushed measures to test as many children as possible, and the rate at his pediatric ward now reaches 90 percent.

Among the reasons for under-testing: Some doctors dont order the tests or are unaware of the rules; children miss appointments or parents dont follow up on test referrals; Medicaid and health departments do little to enforce testing requirements.

Medicaid has required testing of enrolled children since 1989, a CMS spokesman said. Arizona, the only exception, received a Medicaid waiver authorizing it to test only some enrolled children. To get it, Arizona showed it collects ample lead surveillance data to ensure at-risk children are referred for blood testing.

But health administrators in at least three other states told Reuters they do not require testing or recognize the federal mandate.

There is no requirement in Kansas for Medicaid-enrolled children to be tested for blood lead levels, said the states Department of Health and Environment.

Utah and Alaska also said they dont require testing. In Utah, health official Sam Lefevre said the state has lower than national average lead poisoning rates, and its Medicaid children were not at higher risk.

That several states do not recognize the Medicaid requirement drew surprise from attorney Jane Perkins, a child healthcare advocate at the National Health Law Program.

In the 1990s, Perkins led a successful nationwide class action lawsuit to force laggard state Medicaid programs to comply with testing requirements. Now, Perkins says, her litigation team is investigating whether these states are flouting requirements.

Away from the cameras

Flint has become a symbol of mass failure to protect low-income children. When President Barack Obama visited May 4, he urged all Flint parents to have their childrens blood tested for lead.

Less attention has been drawn to regions with higher lead poisoning rates.

A year after Flints switch to corrosive river water, nearly 5 percent of children tested there had blood lead levels above the CDCs threshold. In as many as 11 states, the rates of poisoning surpass that mark, according to the agencys data.

Across Pennsylvania, 9.4 percent of children tested in 2014 had levels above CDCs threshold, a state report said. There are probably a thousand kids in Philly with lead levels over 10 (micrograms per deciliter) and that number should be zero, said Donna Cooper, executive director of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Public Citizens for Children and Youth.

For at-risk children, testing should continue after age two, experts said.

In the Bronx, a four-year-old named Jaida was only recently discovered to have lead poisoning, with blood levels more than four times the CDC standard. That prompted inspections of the home where she lives with her mother and grandmother. Old lead paint was found on walls.

Jaida, smiley and energetic, has had hyperactivity and therapy for a speech impediment, said her grandmother, who had contractors removing the old paint.

In the meantime, Jaida and her mother lived in one of four lead-free apartments at Montefiore hospitals lead safe house, designed to keep children away from the homes where they were poisoned while lead is removed. The safe house is often full, said program director Markowitz.

In Ohio, after Joshua Sekerak was diagnosed with lead poisoning, weeks passed before a state inspector arrived at the family rental home. It was infested with lead paint, paint dust and contaminated soil.

Before Joshuas diagnosis, his family was unaware of the lead exposure dangers, and their century-old rental house had passed a building inspection. With word of their childs illness, the family moved to a new, lead-free home.

At age four, Joshua has the verbal skills of a child half his age. He uses diapers and drinks from a baby bottle. He needs therapy and psychiatric medications.

The special needs pre-school class Joshua attends recently sent the family a nylon harness device, to prevent injuries, and he is harnessed during the ride to school in the districts van for children with disabilities. His attention span is around 15 seconds.

Shortly after Joshuas lead poisoning was discovered, doctors told Serenak he also qualified for an autism diagnosis.

At home one recent morning, Joshua showed a fascination with railroads. He lay down next to a toy track, repeating choo-choo train. He fixated on a tablet video of a freight train crushing a can on the rails, banged on doors and stared out the window.

When his dad came home from working on a farm, Joshua ran to him with a hug.

The house is several blocks from a busy freight train crossing. Jennifer Sekerak has installed alarms on the doors, but is haunted by the possibility Joshua may find a way out. If that happens, he will go straight for the train tracks, she said.

I wish hed been tested earlier, the mother said. I dont know who to be angry with  the doctors, the landlord, myself?
Can we be assured that the plant will not pollute our land or water supply so that we are not discovering something decades later like so many areas in Missouri?
A MUM who was told she had breast cancer twice in 12 months has been chosen to start Race for Life events in Stratford-upon-Avon and Coventry this month.

Dr Melanie Griffiths, from Kenilworth, said being diagnosed a second time was like Groundhog Day because it meant repeat treatment on the opposite breast exactly a year after her first diagnosis.

Now the 49-year-old mum of two will share her story on stage in front of more than 3,000 women in a bid to highlight the importance of early diagnosis and funding for research.

She is urging anyone who can to join in Race for Life after volunteering to help out at the Ragley Hall event on Thursday 16th June and at Stoneleigh Race for Life on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th June.

Melanie who is head of service improvement at Warwick Hospital said: Never in my mind did I think that there could be another cancer growing in my opposite breast after all the chemotherapy I had.

It was very difficult to cope with. We were just getting back to normal and then all of a sudden every day was like Groundhog Day. I started chemotherapy treatment exactly a year and two days after the first dose.

Melanie was first diagnosed in September 2011 after finding a lump while taking a shower: I felt fairly confident it would be fine so I went for the test results on my own. I was completely shell shocked by the news.

Melanies husband Gary, who runs Conquira Ltd home design in Balsall Common, immediately rushed to hospital to be by her side.

I remember feeling real anxiety about the impact the cancer diagnosis would have on the people around me, said Melanie whose children were aged 11 and 13 at the time.

My daughter asked me the inevitable question - was I going to die? But I treated it like it was, a problem we could deal with.

Gary held the fort throughout my treatment and, at one stage, my son and his friend did a charity head shave without me knowing  he just came home one day with no hair. That was quite emotional.

Melanie underwent surgery to remove the lump followed by six months of chemotherapy and three weeks of radiotherapy.

She returned to work in June 2012 but a routine mammogram in September revealed that, although the primary tumour had been successfully treated, there were abnormalities in the opposite breast. Further tests revealed a completely new cancer had developed.

First time round youre paranoid youre going to develop cancer somewhere else, said Melanie. The second diagnosis just doubles that anxiety so I had to keep reminding myself that, thanks to advances in cancer therapies, treatment had worked the first time.

It completely takes away that feeling of invincibility you have. Youve got to remind yourself to be grateful for every day rather than have the expectation youre going to live to 100. Thats hard to get your head around.

During the second round of treatment Melanie was referred to Shakespeare Hospice in Stratford upon Avon where she received psychological and emotional support.

Without that support I would have struggled to complete the repeat chemotherapy and recover so well, she added.

Now I feel ready to reach out and support others. I was so lucky to be supported by some amazing people and organisations but I'm sure not everyone is so lucky. The cancer journey is a tough one and no one deserves to travel it alone.

Melanie will start the 5km and 10km Race for Life at Ragley Hall in Alcester at 7.30pm on Thursday, as well as the Stoneleigh events in Kenilworth. She has also volunteered as a marshal at Alcester Race for Life and Kenilworth Pretty Muddy.

Cancer Research UK spokeswoman Paula Young said: Were immensely grateful to Melanie for giving up her time to volunteer at Race for Life and for being brave enough to speak on stage.

Her story illustrates just how important funding for research is. One in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives but by getting sponsored to help fund life-saving research, participants will be helping more people survive and enjoy more precious moments with their loved ones.

Cancer Research UKs Race for Life, in partnership with Tesco, is an inspiring women-only series of 5k, 10k and Pretty Muddy events which raise millions of pounds every year to help fund life-saving research.

To enter a Race for Life event visit www.raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.
CHICAGO, June 11, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bermudas reputation as a quality jurisdiction was reinforced during media interviews, high-level business meetings, and networking events in Chicago heading into the weekends Louis Vuitton Americas Cup World Series.

From left, Economic Development Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons, Deputy Mayor of the City of Chicago Steven Koch, and BDA CEO Ross Webber Economic Development Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons, Dr. Phil Levy of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and BDA CEO Ross Webber

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5aeb8dde-4626-4b6f-adf4-4decf4cd869d

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3c169291-49ee-4743-9b71-8f893d73aa02

Economic Development Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons and Bermuda Business Development Agency CEO Ross Webber took part in several meetings and interviews as part of an ongoing advocacy campaign to differentiate Bermuda from other international financial centres and underscore its globally-respected record. Among the highlights, the Minister was a guest on The Opening Bell with Steve Grzanich show on Chicagos WGN radio station Friday: http://wgnradio.com/2016/06/10/the-opening-bell-06-10-16-what-bermuda-thinks-of-the-panama-papers/. Gibbons and Webber also held meetings with respected international economist Philip Levy of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Deputy Mayor of the City of Chicago Steven Koch.

It has been a genuine pleasure to meet some key Chicago figures and share information with them about Bermuda and what makes it unique as a business domicilewe appreciate their time and interest in Bermuda, said Gibbons, who was interviewed by Grzanich, a veteran radio newsman who anchors the early-morning business show geared to entrepreneurs and investors.

The Minister spoke to Grzanich about Bermudas quality reputation as an international financial hub, particularly in the wake of attacks on offshore centres related to the Panama Papers, as well as Bermudas global economic contribution, the islands reinsurance sector, its respected regulatory environment, and the Americas Cup 2017.

These were messages he and Webber underscored in fruitful conversations with both Deputy Mayor Koch and Dr. Levy. Chicagoan Koch is a former Wall Street financier who spent more than 20 years with Credit Suisse specialising in mergers and acquisitions and investment banking, before being named to his current post by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in August 2012.

Dr. Levy is a senior fellow on the global economy at the Council, a non-partisan think-tank that conducts research and influences public discourse on critical global issues. He previously served as a senior economist for trade for President George W. Bushs Council of Economic Advisers and was a member of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rices Policy Planning Staff; he currently is also a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

Gibbons and Webber discussed Bermudas advantages and challenges as an offshore centre with Dr. Levy, as well as the islands global economic contribution, worldwide treaty partnerships, OECD affiliations and historic beneficial ownership register, along with global economic issues and Bermudas historic relationship with the United States.

Koch, an avid sailor, invited the Minister and BDA CEO to his office at Chicago City Hall Friday afternoon, where they discussed Bermudas 2017 hosting of the Americas Cup and its projected economic benefits, as well as tourism initiatives and perceptions of Bermuda in the US.

Deputy Mayor Koch was very familiar with Bermudas blue-chip reputation and he recognised its elite status and the fact that in the financial community, Bermuda is thought of differently when compared to other offshore domiciles, said Webber. That was reassuring, and it pays tribute to the efforts Bermuda and its international business sector have made to ensure the jurisdiction is known as a quality brand.

Noted Gibbons: Chicago and Bermuda, despite their obvious differences, share many economic synergies, including a reliance on trade and tourism. The Americas Cup is also a strong connection, as Chicago was one of the contenders to host the 2017 event. Deputy Mayor Koch was gracious about Bermuda winning this honour, and we had an in-depth talk about the events economic benefits. We also shared useful information on mutual efforts to increase business investment and tourism competitiveness in both our jurisdictions.

The BDA also partnered with the BTA and Goslings to host a Bermuda networking dinner for Chicago-area corporate and tourism representatives Thursday night, including several former Bermuda residents.

CONNECTING BUSINESS

The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business here smooth and beneficial.

MEDIA CONTACT: Rosemary Jones Communications Manager [email protected] 441 278-6558 441 337-4696

Source: Bermuda Business Development Agency
LAS VEGAS, June 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bluewater Technologies has been honored with a Samsung Smart Signage Award for Platinum Partner of the Year at InfoComm16 in Las Vegas, an annual event for the professional audiovisual and information communication industries.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160610/378182

Platinum Partner of the Year recognizes a leading Platinum Partner for achievements in consistent and successful display implementations, revenue attainment and customer commitment.

"The annual Samsung Smart Signage Award celebration gives us an opportunity to recognize the outstanding achievements of our ProAV Dealers and their contributions to the signage industry," said Ed Abrams, Vice President of Marketing, Samsung Electronics America. "We take great pride in recognizing the partners and projects that represent the driving force of innovation in the ProAV industry, and congratulate the well-deserved winners."

"Our relationship with Samsung is paramount to our customers success," said Jeff Day, CEO, Bluewater. "Samsung's platform gives us an ability to accelerate the outcomes that our customers' are seeking, with products and service that exceeds the quality we expect for commercial product."

Samsung offers a diverse range of smart signage solutions, from seamless video walls and fine pixel-pitch LED to outdoor displays and collaborative e-boards, designed for retail, corporate, QSR, education and other business environments.

For more information about Samsung smart signage solutions, please visit www.samsung.com/prodisplay.

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.

Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology. A wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA delivers a broad range of digital consumer electronics, IT and home appliance products. Samsung is the market leader for HDTVs in the U.S. and one of America's fastest growing home appliance brands. To discover more with Samsung, please visit www.samsung.com and for the latest Samsung news, please visit news.samsung.com/us and follow on Twitter @SamsungNewsUS.

About Bluewater Technologies Group, Inc.

Bluewater works with agencies, producers, exhibit houses, architects, and consultants to create moving live event and AV technology experiences for strong brands. Founded in 1985 in Southfield, MI as a rental shop, Bluewater now operates four distinct business units: Meeting & Event Technology, Audio Visual Integration, Experiential, and Fixtures & Displays. All 200 of our employees work toward a commitment to deliver flawlessly on every project we engage. To learn more visit www.bluewatertech.com or contact us at [email protected].

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/bluewater-technologies-receives-samsung-smart-signage-award-for-platinum-partner-of-the-year-300283311.html

SOURCE Bluewater
VMware joins Dell IoT Solutions Partner Program at Executive tier

Exara, FogHorn and DGLogik promoted to Associate tier partners by demonstrating value to Dell IoT customers; Eurotech, Nokia and V5 Systems join as new Associate partners

Dell and Intel announce 16 winners of an IoT Contest Connect What Matters with $600,000 in total prizes

ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Dell today announced new and promoted partners to the Dell Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions Partner Program and winners of the Connect What Matters IoT Contest. The addition of VMware, Nokia, Eurotech and others to the program allows Dell to provide more technology choices for customers and unlock new market opportunities. The promotion of DGLogik, Exara, and FogHorn from Registered to Associate tier demonstrates that partners can advance in the program based on established success criteria.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160608006095/en/

Dell is also celebrating the one-year anniversary of the formation of its IoT division, signifying its commitment to the advancement of data-driven innovation and digital transformation. While Dell has many years of experience helping organizations harness, manage and analyze sensor and machine data, the launch of the IoT division and Dells first purpose-built IoT solution, the Edge Gateway 5000 Series, was an important step toward enabling real world IoT solutions for businesses.

Were proud of the progress that weve made this past year, said Andy Rhodes, executive director, Commercial IoT Solutions, Dell. With the launch of the Edge Gateway and Embedded Box PCs, our quickly growing partnership program and now our successful IoT Gateway Contest, our efforts underscore Dells deep commitment to driving IoT adoption for real world use.

Dell and Intel hosted the Connect What Matters IoT Contest from October 2015 to March 2016 to encourage businesses large and small to submit interesting, practical, data-driven ideas. The platinum winner is V5 Systems, a provider of portable, solar-powered security and Industrial IoT solutions. This technology can be deployed without being tied to power or data cables for applications from law enforcement to agriculture to other outdoor uses. The portable units contain analytics, multiple sensors (including video, acoustic and chemical detection), power, computing and Wi-Fi and cellular communications. V5 evolved its intelligent security platform to support more use cases and technologies by working with Dell OEM Services to provide intelligent gateways for use at the edge of networks expanding Industrial IoT applications.

Gold winners include:

Eigen Innovations who built a video analytics solution that leverages thermal imaging cameras and PLC/sensor data for real-time process and quality control

Iamus leveraged its IoT platform and facilities management expertise to build a unique smart streetlamp solution for various applications in smart city project.

n.io applied its unique technology to turn a manually-dependent, subjective farming operation into a highly-instrumented and autonomous example of precision agriculture

RiptideIO created a packaged software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution designed to scale in small retail building spaces

Software AG built a predictive maintenance solution that includes in memory edge analytics for acting on collected machine data in real-time

Silver winners include AZLOGICA, Blue Pillar, Calibr8 Systems Inc, Daliworks, ELM Energy, Independent Automation, Onstream, PixController, Inc., PV Hardware and We Monitor Concrete.

Based on TECHnalysis Researchs Enterprise IoT survey, regardless of company size, many organizations are interested in working with systems and operations integrators that specialize in IoT. Dells continued expansion of its IoT Partner Program, which now consists of almost 50 companies, is designed to offer customers a broad spectrum of industry-specific expertise in conjunction with Dells reputation as a global leader in computing technology.

Additionally, VMware has qualified its new Liota (Little IoT Agent) open-source software development kit (SDK) with Dells IoT hardware, providing customers with further choice for IoT gateway management and the ability to build apps on Dells gateway. Liota also acts as a bridge to VMwares AirWatch and VMware vRealize Operations to allow customers to configure, monitor and deploy millions of things from one console, view device health and act on anomalies as they arise. With Liota open-source SDK, developers can write applications that interact with any data center component, over any transport, for any IoT gateway.

In the spirit of the program, three partners that have demonstrated differentiation have been promoted from the Registered to Associate tier. DGLogik offers an end-to-end platform for Industrial IoT and Building Automation applications with a particular focus on enabling the rapid creation of rich data visualizations with its DGLux offering. Exara is collaborating with Dell and Intel to deliver digital oil and gas production optimization solutions that leverage software-based edge data management technology. Exaras software delivers machine data at any fidelity, any view and always on-demand to enterprise customers and applications without compromising existing industrial control system security or service levels. FogHorns platform is purpose-built to enable edge intelligence and analytics for gateways in Industrial IoT use cases, hosting high performance processing, analytics, and heterogeneous applications closer to control systems and physical sensors. Also joining the program as new Associate partners are KMC Controls, Eurotech, Nokia, and V5 Systems.

Supporting Quotes:

Working with Dell has allowed us the opportunity to expand our product offering and our product vision with the Industrial IoT as our primary focus, said Mazin Bedwan, Co-Founder and President, V5 Systems. We have integrated the Dell IoT gateway into our technology offering taking edge computing and Industrial IoT to the outdoors, where it belongs.

Working together with our customers and partners, including gateway vendors such as Dell, VMware is paving a way for IoT innovation across industries, said Bask Iyer, chief information officer, VMware. Our Liota open source SDK provides the libraries to develop apps that connect and orchestrate data and control flows across things, gateways and the cloud.

As IoT moves from hype to reality, the diversity of applications and use cases among the IoT Innovation contest winners clearly demonstrates the value developers and customers can capture by implementing real IoT solutions, said Jonathan Ballon, vice president in the Internet of Things Group (IOTG) and general manager of the Markets and Channels Acceleration Division from Intel. Through our partnership, Dell and Intel are able to provide re-usable building blocks that will help these applications scale in the future.

Additional Links

About Dell

Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. Dell takes a pragmatic approach to the Internet of Things (IoT) by building on the equipment and data you already have, and leveraging your current technology investments, to quickly and securely enable analytics-driven action. With a comprehensive solution portfolio including edge gateways and powerful analytics tools, Dell reduces the complexity, lowers the risk and increases the speed of deploying IoT initiatives. For more information, visit www.dell.com/IoT. Follow us at @Dell on Twitter and Dell Internet of Things on LinkedIn.

VMware, AirWatch, vRealize, and vRealize Operations are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160608006095/en/

Dell Inc.

Sarah Luden, 512-300-4354

[email protected]

Source: Dell Inc.
Final results from Phase 3 EPOANE 3021 study also showed significantly fewer patients needing transfusion and significant improvements in quality of life

COPENHAGEN, Denmark & BEERSE, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Janssen-Cilag International NV today announced results from the international Phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study, EPOANE 3021. The study demonstrated the efficacy and safety of EPREX (epoetin alfa) as a treatment for anaemia, in adult patients with low or intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), as classified by an International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS).1 EPOANE 3021 data were presented at the 21st Annual Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Abstract P248).

These data, along with three registry studies from across Europe, have been submitted to the French health authority Agence Nationale de Securite du Medicament et des Produits de Sante (ANSM), as the reference health authority for EPREX (epoetin alfa) within the mutual recognition procedure, to extend the existing marketing authorisation in Europe. A decision is expected in the coming months.

EPOANE 3021 was designed to evaluate whether epoetin alfa improves anaemia in patients with MDS, versus placebo over 24-weeks of treatment. It consisted of 130 randomised patients, with 85 patients receiving epoetin alfa. Results showed that compared to placebo, patients in the epoetin alfa arm demonstrated a statistically significantly higher erythroid response rate (according to IWG2006 criteria) in the first 24 weeks, the primary endpoint of the study (31.8 percent vs. 4.4 percent, p

Anaemia affects the vast majority of patients with MDS and contributes substantially to their symptoms. However, there are currently no approved erythropoiesis stimulating agents approved for treating anaemia in lower-risk MDS patients, said Pierre Fenaux, M.D., PhD., principal investigator of EPOANE 3021, and Professor of Hematology, Hopital St Louis/Universite, Paris, France. These data provide important evidence that epoetin alfa can effectively manage lower risk MDS-related anaemia, beyond transfusion, and without any impact on progression to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

EPREX (epoetin alfa) has shown great potential across a range of indications throughout its clinical development programme. We are excited to be building on this evidence base once again, with the findings of this new study demonstrating the meaningful difference this medicine can make to patients with MDS-related anaemia. Were also extremely pleased to see the improvements in quality of life offered by EPREX, where alternative treatment options have so far been limited, said Jane Griffiths, Company Group Chairman, Janssen Europe, Middle East and Africa.

For more information on the EPOANE 3021 data presented at EHA 2016, please view the abstract online.

#ENDS#

About the EPOANE 3021 Study1

EPOANE 3021 was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre clinical trial investigating the efficacy and safety of EPREX (epoetin alfa) as a treatment for anaemia, in adult patients with low or Intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), as classified by an International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS). Results demonstrated that 31.8 percent of patients treated with epoetin alfa achieved the primary endpoint of erythroid response versus 4.4 percent of placebo patients (p achieving an erythroid response (pp=0.046). Epoetin alfa demonstrated a statistically significant improvement of quality of life in responding patients.

There were no new safety signals for epoetin alfa from the study and safety findings are consistent with the known safety profile of epoetin alfa. The proportion of patients with at least one treatment emergent adverse event (TEAE) was numerically higher in the placebo group compared with the epoetin alfa group (88.9 percent vs. 77.6 percent). Drug discontinuation due to adverse events was 10.6 percent in the epoetin alfa group versus 13.3 percent in placebo. Four patients in the epoetin alfa arm (4.7 percent) and none in placebo reported a thrombovascular event (TVE). There were four fatal outcomes in the epoetin alfa arm versus one in the placebo arm; none were reported to be related to the study drug. During the study, progression to acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) was similar between groups (3.5 percent in epoetin alfa; 4.4 percent in placebo).

About Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of diverse bone marrow disorders in which the bone marrow does not produce enough healthy blood cells.2 The low numbers of normal blood cells (cytopenias) eventually cause symptoms, including infection, anaemia, spontaneous bleeding, or easy bruising.2,3 The natural course of MDS is highly variable, with overall survival ranging from a few weeks to several years.4 MDS is primarily a disease of the elderly with a median age at diagnosis of 70 years, but it can affect younger patients as well.4 The incidence in Europe is about four cases per 100,000 per year, reaching 40-50 per 100,000 in patients aged 70 years and over.4

Approximately 60-80 percent of patients with MDS experience symptomatic anaemia,5 which can significantly reduce quality of life and often requires repeated blood transfusions.2 Controlling anaemia and improving quality of life are the principal aims of treatment in lower risk MDS patients.4 At present, blood transfusions are currently the only approved treatment option; however these lead to iron overload, which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.4,5

About EPREX (epoetin alfa)

EPREX (epoetin alfa) is an erythreopoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) that works by stimulating the production of red blood cells (RBCs).6 ESAs are an important treatment option for patients with certain types of anaemia, including chemotherapy-induced anaemia and anaemia due to chronic kidney disease. Without ESAs, patients with certain types of anaemia may require regular blood transfusions to maintain RBCs at concentrations necessary to sustain normal oxygen levels throughout the body.4

EPREX is currently indicated for the treatment of:6

Symptomatic anaemia associated with chronic renal failure (CRF): In adult and paediatric patients aged 1 to 18 years on haemodialysis and adult patients on peritoneal dialysis. In adults with renal insufficiency not yet undergoing dialysis for the treatment of severe anaemia of renal origin accompanied by clinical symptoms in patients.

Adults receiving chemotherapy for solid tumours, malignant lymphoma or multiple myeloma, and at risk of transfusion as assessed by the patients general status (e.g. cardiovascular status, pre-existing anaemia at the start of chemotherapy) for the treatment of anaemia and reduction of transfusion requirements.

Adults in a predonation programme to increase the yield of autologous blood. Treatment should only be given to patients with moderate anaemia (haemoglobin concentration range between 10 to 13 g/dl [6.2 to 8.1 mmol/l], no iron deficiency) if blood saving procedures are not available or insufficient when the scheduled major elective surgery requires a large volume of blood (4 or more units of blood for females or 5 or more units for males).

Non-iron deficient adults prior to major elective orthopaedic surgery having a high perceived risk for transfusion complications to reduce exposure to allogeneic blood transfusions. Use should be restricted to patients with moderate anaemia (e.g. haemoglobin concentration range between 10 to 13 g/dl) who do not have an autologous predonation programme available and with expected moderate blood loss (900 to 1,800 ml).

About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies

At the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, we are working to create a world without disease. Transforming lives by finding new and better ways to prevent, intercept, treat and cure disease inspires us. We bring together the best minds and pursue the most promising science. We are Janssen. We collaborate with the world for the health of everyone in it. Learn more at http://www.janssen.com/emea. Follow us at www.twitter.com/janssenEMEA.

Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding product development including a potential new indication. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialise, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Janssen-Cilag International NV and/or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: challenges and uncertainties inherent in product research and development, including the uncertainty of clinical success and of obtaining regulatory approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges to patents; manufacturing difficulties and delays; changes in behaviour and spending patterns or financial distress of purchasers of health care products and services; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2016, including in Exhibit 99 thereto, and the company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. None of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies or Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.

###

References

1. Fenaux P, Santini V, Aloe Spiriti MA, et al. Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study evaluating epoetin alfa versus placebo in anemic patients with IPSS Low-Int1 risk MDS. Presentation at 21st Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA), Copenhagen, Denmark; 9-12 June 2016; abstract P248. Available at: http://learningcenter.ehaweb.org/eha/2016/21st/133235/pierre.fenaux.randomized.double-blind.placebo-controlled.multicenter.study.html?f=m3 Last accessed June 2016.

2. MDS Foundation. Understanding myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Available at: http://www.mds-foundation.org/what-is-mds/ Last accessed June 2016.

3. Cancer Research UK. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Available at: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/cancer-questions/myelodysplastic-syndromes-mds Last accessed June 2016.

4. Fenaux P, Haase D, Sanz GF, et al. Myelodysplastic syndromes: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol. 2014;25(Suppl.3):iii57iii69.

5. Shenoy N, Vallumsetla N, Rachmilewitz E, Verma A, Ginzburg Y. Impact of iron overload and potential benefit from chelation in low risk myelodysplastic syndrome. Blood. 2014;124:873-81.

6. Electronic Medicines Compendium. Eprex 10,000 IU/ml solution for injection in pre-filled syringe. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/29446 Last accessed June 2016.

June 2016

PHEM/EPR/0516/0001

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160611005018/en/

Janssen

Media Enquiries:

Natalie Buhl

Mobile: +353 (0)85-744-6696

Email: [email protected]

or

Investor Relations:

Lesley Fishman

Phone: +1 732-524-3922

Louise Mehrotra

Phone: +1 732-524-6491

Source: Janssen
NEW YORK, NY and WASHINGTON, DC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/11/16 -- The Embassy of Switzerland in the United States and the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York are proud to welcome the Solar Impulse 2 to New York City on the last leg of the Swiss solar airplane's flight across the United States. As part of its around-the-world journey, the Solar Impulse 2 flew by the Statue of Liberty and landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Led by Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, the Solar Impulse 2 team will organize several activities in New York, inspiring audiences with their innovations in clean technology while preparing for their next crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Solar Impulse 2 (SI-HB) took off from Lehigh Valley yesterday evening at approximately 10:30 p.m. EST for its last leg across the United States toward New York. Early this morning, before landing at JFK Airport, the Swiss solar aircraft completed a fly-by of the Statue of Liberty, one of the most iconic symbols of hope, freedom and pioneering spirit for people around the world.

After a break during the winter months, on April 21, the Solar Impulse 2 resumed its flight from Honolulu, determined to finish its world tour. Bertrand Piccard piloted the airplane across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to California, flying three days and nights without fuel, landing at Moffett Federal Airfield near San Francisco. The aircraft then made its way across the United States, landing in several American cities for planned events with partners in Phoenix, Tulsa, Dayton, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and finally New York City.

Speaking on behalf of the Swiss Confederation, Ambassador Andre Schaller, Consul General of Switzerland in New York, stated: "We congratulate the two Swiss pilots. They are more than record-breakers and modern-day heroes. Their solar plane does not carry passengers, but inspiration. If you can fly around the world without a single drop of fuel, the sky's the limit for solar power and clean technology. They also show us that we can make change happen with the pioneering spirit of enterprise. The picture of the Swiss solar plane circling round the Statue of Liberty in New York speaks louder than a thousand words."

Throughout their stay in New York, the pilots will meet with the press and the public at several activities organized with partners. The events will provide the opportunity to present the human endeavors involved in flying day and night without a drop of fuel and also promote the messages of sustainability, innovation and clean tech that the Solar Impulse 2 is carrying around the world.

With the support of the Department of Education of the City of New York, the United Nations Environment Programme, Covestro and the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York, the Solar Impulse 2 will engage with five hundred students from five different schools representing the five boroughs of New York City on Wednesday, June 15. Inspiring the next generation is one of the main goals of the Solar Impulse 2, which has devoted several communication tools especially to youth engagement.

"If only just one of the students from one of the five schools representing all five boroughs of New York City will get inspired by this unbelievable project and in so doing he or she will get a better chance of success in his or her life, we will have achieved a lot," stated Eric Goldstein, chief executive of the Office of School Support Services, who is responsible for managing over a million meals a day for students at NYC schools and over 8,000 school buses in New York City. The Office of School Support Services will organize the transportation to JFK for the 500 students.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is also an important partner of the Solar Impulse 2 and Bertrand Piccard is a UNEP Ambassador. At the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on April 22, 2016 (Earth Day), the Solar Impulse 2 took part in the official ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York. From the cockpit of SI-HB in flight, Bertrand Piccard called UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Swiss Vice President Doris Leuthard for a livestreamed conversation during a side event at the UN. Both politicians compared the Solar Impulse 2 endeavor to the first flight to the moon. During its stay in New York, there is a special exhibit on the Solar Impulse 2 organized by UNEP at the UN headquarters from May 30 to June 16.

UN Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner stated, "Bertrand, Andre and the entire Solar Impulse team continue to awe and inspire the world with their record-breaking flight. They are showing us with every leg flown that the clean technologies and renewable energy systems we need for a sustainable tomorrow already exist today. Their pioneering journey has significance for the future of everyone on the planet. Even for those New Yorkers who have seen everything, the arrival of a plane that has circled the world powered only by the sun is sure to impress."

The Solar Impulse 2 is the Swiss ambassador for clean technologies and innovation. Having assembled the most advanced technologies for developing and constructing a solar airplane, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg join a series of companies from Switzerland, Europe and the United States that are addressing environmental challenges through renewable energy. The Solar Impulse 2 believes in a future that is clean, reflecting the Swiss Confederation's support for innovative, new, clean technologies that can create a more sustainable future for generations to come.

For more information:

Solar Impulse Press Team

[email protected]

U.S: (347) 650-2460

International: +41 (0)58 219 24 60

Media Backgrounder available here

Quick access to pictures: www.flickr.com/photos/solarimpulse

Quick access to HD Footage here

Solar Impulse Press Corner (for latest news, HD photos and videos, etc.): press.solarimpulse.com

Login: Solar Impulse 2

Password: zerofuelairplane

About the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York

The mission of the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York is to represent, defend and promote the interests of Switzerland and of Swiss citizens in New York and the Northeast United States. In order to strengthen Swiss-American relations, friendship and common understanding, the Consulate General supports many projects and events throughout the region that aim to further develop a dialogue of exchange between Swiss and Americans in all fields of life. For more information, please visit the official website: http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/reps/nameri/vusa/cgny.html or https://www.facebook.com/swissconsulatenewyork. You can also follow the Consulate on Twitter and Instagram @SwissCGNY.

Contact: Giorgio PompilioDeputy Consul GeneralTel.: 1-212-599-5700, ext. 638157 [email protected]

Source: The Embassy of Switzerland
By Crispian Balmer

ROME (Reuters) - An Eritrean man extradited to Italy from Sudan this week and accused of being a human-trafficking boss has denied the allegation and says he is the victim of mistaken identity, his lawyer said on Friday.

If confirmed, it would be a huge blow to Italy and Britain, which had combined forces to track down alleged trafficker Medhane Yehdego Mered and had hailed his deportation from Sudan as a rare victory in the fight against people smuggling.

However, when photographs of the detained man were released after his arrival in Rome on Wednesday, family and friends said he was an Eritrean refugee named Medhanie Tesfamariam Berhe.

Italian magistrates interviewed the suspect for the first time on Friday in front of his lawyer, Michele Calantropo.

"My client has denied all the allegations and says he is not the person in question," Calantropo told reporters outside the Rome jail where the interrogation took place.

"He is another man ... and doesn't understand the meaning of this arrest," he said, adding that Berhe was a simple carpenter.

Italian magistrates and the British National Crime Agency, which played a central role in the operation to seize Mered, have said they are looking into claims they got the wrong man.

Mered, nicknamed "the General", had been heard on intercepted telephone calls boasting about cramming more people onto rickety boats to make the dangerous crossing from Libya to Italy than other traffickers did, prosecutors have said.

A legal source, who declined to be named, said Italian and British investigators had given the Sudanese authorities precise information about the mobile phone Mered was using and believed the arrested man had been in possession of the phone.

However, Italian authorities did not have any access to him in Sudan following his arrest on May 24, the source said.

Palermo Chief Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi has played a central role in the Mered investigation, but he has distanced himself from the arrest operation.

"The arrest, delivery and extradition to Italy were officially communicated by the National Crime Agency and Sudan authorities through Interpol," he told Ansa news agency.

Calantropo said his client did not say why or when he was arrested. "He didn't explain that to me. We are still waiting for the paperwork from Sudan," he said.

The detained man will remain in jail until the Italian investigators have fully established his identity, the legal source said, declining to speculate how long that might take.

(Reporting by Cristiano Corvino and Gabriele Pileri in Rome and Wladimir Pantaleone in Palermo; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Lisa Donnelly, pictured at her sentencing on Thursday, had mulitple aliases that were not checked by the prosecution.

An accomplished fraudster has now pulled off the ultimate swindle: she's escaped a jail term after the court failed to see through her fake identities.

Lisa Donnelly pleaded guilty to fleecing a 92-year-old woman of her life savings.

Judge Christopher Field sentenced her to home detention. He cut her some slack because, he said, she had led a relatively crime-free life.

KENT BLECHYNDEN/ FAIRFAX NZ Donnelly, then known as Lisa Clement, pictured at her sentencing in 2004 after she defrauded the Ministry of Social Development of $1.9 million.

But he was never told of previous convictions she'd racked up under multiple aliases, including a notorious $2 million fraud.

READ MORE:

* Caregiver charged with fleecing elderly woman of most of her life savings

* Support for starting driving ban after jail

He was unaware that Donnelly used several aliases, including the name Lisa Clement, when she famously defrauded the Ministry of Social Development of $1.9 million.

MAARTEN HOLL/ FAIRFAX NZ Donnelly is pictured here outside court in Wellington in 2004 with her Louise Sziranyi.

She had also racked up more than 40 other convictions between her three aliases.

Media reports when she was first caught in 2003 said Clement "failed spectacularly" to conceal her fraud and her resulting extravagant lifestyle.

Among the bizarre purchases found stashed in her Wainuiomata home were a model rainbow trout, 54 statuettes of cats, 18 James Bond Swatch boxes, assorted James Bond cosmetics, a Barbie & Bond two-figure boxed set, a Holden wall clock and a radio-controlled model Aston Martin.

COLIN SMITH Judy Ashton, whose daughter Debbie was killed by a recidivist drink-driver who was treated as a first-time offender by the courts, says there needs to be a law change that stops people from hiding behind different identities.

But despite all this, this week the prosecutor and the judge remained oblivious to her fraudulent alter egos.

The victim's family is "gobsmacked" at the courtroom blunder and resulting lenient sentence.

Police are now investigating why their prosecutor was unaware of Donnelly's history, despite it having been headline news around New Zealand.

SUPPLIED Debbie Ashton was killed after recidivist drink-driver Jonathan Barclay crashed into her. He was fined $500.

Earlier this year, Donnelly pleaded guilty to dishonestly using the bank card of the senior Waiheke Island woman whose home she visited regularly as a care assistant with Waiheke Health Trust.

In 2004 Donnelly had been jailed for more than five years after swindling $1.9 million while working for Work and Income New Zealand, by billing the ministry with phony invoices, while also claiming $14,000 in benefits.

In 2015 she got hold of the Eftpos card belonging to a woman in her care and siphoned $36,000 out of the victim's account.

Judge Field said the offending was aggravated by the vulnerability of the victim, but he sentenced Donnelly to just 150 hours community work and seven months home detention.

He said reports provided to him showed Donnelly had a history of dishonesty pre-1992. But Judge Field said that didn't warrant an uplift in her sentence.

After the sentencing Donnelly's lawyer, Adam Couchman, brought the matter back after realising neither the prosecution nor the judge were aware of Clement's significant criminal history.

But Judge Field declined to re-sentence Donnelly, saying he did not want to "tinker" with the original sentence. "I don't feel comfortable sentencing and resentencing," he said.

Couchman said Donnelly's criminal convictions were encapsulated in a pre-sentence report written by Probation Services, but believed it was the responsibility of police, not defence, to ensure the court had the relevant information.

"I can certainly say the Probation Services were in the clear, they had all the correct information. It's the police that didn't have the correct information. The question is, would it have made a difference? I don't think so."

He believed home detention would still have been available to Donnelly, although the prosecutor told Judge Field at the time that given Donnelly's history they would have argued for a higher starting point that would have seen her become ineligible for home detention.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed it is the role of prosecution services to ensure all details relating to a defendant are before the court. "The Court can only decide on the information it has before it, and it is the role of the prosecuting agency to ensure all information regarding defendant's identification is complete before it is put before the Court," a spokesman said.

Auckland City Police prosecutions manager Sergeant Martin Cahill said police were "looking into" why they weren't aware of the alias. "When forming a prosecution case police use verified identification information such as fingerprints, photographs and DNA to establish whether someone has an alias," he said.

"Police always strive to get the best result for victims and, in this case, we are looking into why we were not aware of the alias, as part of our consideration into whether we will appeal the sentence."



Family of the victim said the sentence was inadequate.

Granddaughter Claudine Crabtree said the family was "bloody disappointed" with the outcome, with any appeal likely to drag out for months. "We were gobsmacked that all her history hadn't come to light," she said. "It's a really big oversight and frankly it's not good enough."

Auckland University law academic Dr Bill Hodge said judges were within their right to insist a faulty decision be sent for appeal rather than recall it.

"Let's say there's a sentence and the media pick it up and there's sort of an outcry  'oh gee, why do you slap him with a wet bus ticket when he should have gone to jail for life'  and that sort of thing," Hodge said.

"The next day the judge says 'gee whiz there's a lot of hostility, I better recall this and do it again', and I don't think we want that.

"It may well be inadequate or faulty on some grounds, but it's very difficult for a judge to say 'I'm gonna run this again'.

"If this judge is saying as far as I was concerned it was a done deal and it wasn't simply an adjournment for further arguments to be made, he could justifiably say to himself look to me it was a done deal and the only avenue is appeal."

HISTORY OF DECEPTION

In 2000 Lisa Donnelly was going by her married name of Lisa Clement and gained employment at Work and Income through an employment agency by falsifying her job application form.

She added an extra middle name and lied about her date of birth, subsequently covering up her historical convictions and the fact she was receiving benefits from Work and Income.

Over 28-months she billed Work and Income nearly $2 million through 67 fake invoices.

Donnelly was caught when a manager discovered part of a forged document bearing his name on a photocopier near Donnelly's desk.



She was found to have a number of aliases including Lisa Ramsbottom, Lisa Donnelly and Lisa De Silva, and had managed to hide her history.

"She lived in Wainuiomata, she did not pull up to the front door in a Jaguar, she did not wear a fur coat. She looked like an ordinary person, " the Ministry's then-chief executive Peter Hughes said at the time.

NOT THE FIRST TIME

Recidivist drink driver Jonathan Barclay should have been behind bars for his appalling driving history when he crashed into 20-year-old Debbie Ashton in 2006, killing her.

He had previously been jailed for driving offences but after participating in the witness protection programme he was able to get a new license under a new name.

When he was again caught drink driving the courts treated him as a first time offender and was fined $500.

A month later, Ashton was dead.

An inquiry was held, and in the resulting 2008 report written by Kristy McDonald QC, said it fell to police to develop better systems to ensure the identity of recidivist offenders with aliases not go ignored.

Mother Judy Ashton said a decade on from her daughter's death it was clear police systems still needed work.

"I think that unless there's a law change that stops a person from changing their name then this isn't going to stop," she said. "It's a mockery where we have these people coming before the courts but with different names.

"Yes maybe the police have slipped up, maybe the courts have slipped up but people shouldn't be in a position where they can change their names and change their identities."
Sir Graham Latimer was laid to rest at Te Paatu Marae, south of Kaitaia on Saturday.

One of the county's most prominent Maori leaders has been laid to rest.

Sir Graham Latimer's coffin was led through a New Zealand Defence Force guard of honour as he made his final journey from Te Paatu Marae, south of Kaitaia on Saturday.

Draped in a feather cloak, the coffin was then placed upon the waka, Te Au Kaha, to the sound of a lone warrior voice calling: "Ko au, ko ia. Ko ia, ko au. I am he and he is I.'

KEVIN STENT/ FAIRFAX NZ Sir Graham Latimer was laid to rest in Kaitaia.

The waka was towed down State Highway One to the cemetery at Pamapuria where Sir Graham was buried beside his wife, Lady Emily Latimer.

READ MORE: Sir Graham Latimer remembered for progressing Maori rights

Throughout the week, hundreds of people from all walks of life - gangs members, community workers, church, iwi and political leaders  travelled to the Far North to honour Sir Graham.

MAORI TELEVISION Draped in a feather cloak, Sir Graham's coffin was then placed on a waka.

During Saturday's service, the NZ Maori Council chair, Sir Eddie Taihakurei Durie, said he would never forget Sir Graham's gift of persuasion.

"I didn't hear much difference between what he was saying and what the protest movement was saying. He would put it differently but he could put it in a way that governments wouldn't feel threatened," said Sir Eddie.

Hone Harawira also told mourners that many didn't realise just how much Sir Graham could pull strings. He may have been the National Party's vice president, but behind the scenes he was instructing protest.

"Sir Graham would say I haven't had a call from the Prime Minister for quite some time. Get out on the streets and cause some more trouble! He was able to keep tabs on everybody in society, even the ones fighting against him," said Harawira.

Latimer took on the Crown in 1987 by famously mortgaging his own farm with Lady Latimer's support.

It led to a Court of Appeal case that protected Crown assets from being sold off by new State-Owned Enterprises rather than being returned to Maori under the Treaty of Waitangi.

In 1980, he was made a knight.

Yet he frequently took on the government in his role as chairman of the Maori Council

He went on to chair the Crown Forestry Rental Trust, to be appointed a member of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.

Bishop Kito Pikaahu said Sir Graham descended from leaders, but never blew his own trumpet.

He died at his home near Kaitaia last Tuesday. He was 90 years old. He was carried from his marae for the last time to the sound of the conch.  Maori Television
An Australian tourist who "joked" about jumping off an AirAsia flight to Bali has been banned from returning to Indonesia for six months.

Aaron Gerrard Dolden, 25, from Sydney, was detained on arrival at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport on May 27 after he was accused of endangering the safety of the flight under aviation law.

Airport authority officer Ade Yuliana said AirAsia crew reported Dolden said he would jump from the plane before the meal was served.

Supplied Aaron Gerrard Dolden's action was found to be an "unruly act" carried out under the influence of excessive alcohol and not premeditated.

Ade said on Friday Dolden had been found not to be in breach of aviation law.

However he and another man, Pasalic Alen, 27, would be banned by the Immigration Department from visiting Indonesia for six months for being unruly passengers.

"Let this be a lesson, that everybody has to obey the law of the country, wherever they are," Ade said.

Dolden, Alen and nine friends had been travelling on a Sydney to Denpasar flight for a week's holiday in Bali.

An airport authority letter said it had been determined the "unruly act" was carried out under the influence of excessive alcohol and was not premeditated.

It was also determined the incident was not related to any mental disorder or radical movement.



In an unruly passenger flight explanation letter, crew reported that the group had made a nuisance of themselves by repeatedly pushing the button requesting a flight attendant, asking crew for beer and bothering other passengers.

They also reportedly made fun of crew members, blocked the toilets and made a "recording of a crew's body with phone".

Ade said the AirAsia crew reported a man saying he would jump from the plane before the meal was served. "There were a group of 11 men near the lavatory. They were noisy," he said.

In an interview with AirAsia safety and security officer Suradi Haryanto, Dolden said he was only joking and didn't mean he would jump off the plane.

"I was chatting with another group of young men, talking about skydiving," Dolden said according to the transcript.

"At that time my friend said he often goes skydiving and I joked back by saying: 'Don't worry I will be the first person to jump from the plane right now'. The crew talked to me and said I couldn't say that and that security would be called upon arrival. I then said: 'We are not scared of security'."

Ade said airport authorities had contacted the immigration department, who would soon return Dolden's passport.

"Upon which he will return to his country soon," Ade said. "He's also been blacklisted from entering Indonesia for the next six months. He is not under arrest."
CB ordered to allow Auditor General to probe T-bond deals View(s):

Central Bank (CB) Governor Arjuna Mahendran and his Deputy Governor P. Samarasiri came under fire this week over their refusal to allow the Auditor General (AG) access to information pertaining to allegedly tainted Treasury bond sales. On Wednesday, they were intensively questioned by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) over the refusal and eventually. Mr. Mahendran, who had been allowing his deputy to answer all the questions, responding to a question by COPE Chairman Sunil Handuneththi had agreed to provide the information before June 15, informed sources said. The Governor has denied any wrongdoing in a February 2015 bond deal which drew allegations that his son-in-laws family firm, Perpetual Treasuries had unduly benefited from inside information.

After COPE at an earlier hearing had instructed the AG to submit details of bond transaction over a period of time, officers of the AGs department had gone to the CB but on arrival were refused access to files. The visiting officers had then asked CB officials to give a letter in writing stating their refusal. Realising it would backfire on them, CB officials had then allowed selective access to the files. Even through this process AG officials were unable to get all the information that is required for a laid down format for audit. It appeared that the CB officials were trying to block the information and make it impossible to obtain, one source said.

However when asked for reasons for the refusal, Mr. Samarasiri is learnt to have informed COPE that the CB took the position that this was sensitive information that cannot be divulged to the public. COPE members are learnt to have raised strong objections to this explanation and countered by saying that the AG is an authorised officer who also has provision to decide which is sensitive information and which is not. COPE, which is preparing the committees first ever quarterly report to Parliament, is learnt to havse completed the examination of 20 other state-owned organisations barring the CB. The banking regulator was ordered to furnish the information before June 15 and also provide access to the AG. The COPE report has been delayed due to the inability to get the required information on bond trades from the CB, the source said.
Ceylinco Life donates classroom for special-needs children in Mannar View(s):

Ceylinco Life recently presented a purpose built classroom to the Sithyvinayakar Hindu College in Mannar, a government school of 1,700 students and 80 teachers. This was the 65th classroom building built and donated by Ceylinco Life under a corporate social responsibility initiative of the company to help rural schools in underserved areas of the country. In a media release this week, the company said the ceremonial handing over of the building to the school was attended by the Zonal Director of Education in Mannar, the Assistant Director of Education and the Divisional Education Officer of Mannar.

Commencing with a classroom built for the Tissa Primary School in Lunugamvehera in 2004, the company said Ceylinco Lifes schools infrastructure project has traversed the length and breadth of Sri Lanka, assisting schools in diverse locations such as Jaffna, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Sittandy, Mollipatana Ayithyamalai, Embilipitiya, Nivitigala, Beligala, Avissawella, Deniyaya, Kamburupitiya, Bandarawela, Haputale, Rambukkana, Kandy, Pilimatalawa, Madulkele, Rikillagaskada, Rajawella, Matale, Galgamuwa, Padaviya, Boraluwewa, Anuradhapura, Moneragala, Anamaduwa and Matugama.

A classroom building is currently under construction at a school in Kilinochchi and will be handed over later this year, the company said. Besides contributing to the development of infrastructure in needy schools, the company also funds and coordinates a series of free medical camps across the country each year under its Waidya Hamuwa (Meet the Doctor) programme and donates essential equipment and infrastructure to hospitals. -(NG)
Government reverses liquor licence policy for tourisms sake By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

Having pledged to eliminate tobacco and alcohol menace from the country, the government is now well and truly on reverse gear to promote liquor sales for the sake of tourist development in the country. This policy reversal came to light following the decision taken at a high level meeting of the government think tank to relax the 500 metre requirement for issuing liquor licences to Tourist Board-approved hotels, restaurants and liquor bars. According to the present regulation, the location of premises for operation of licences in respect of sale of liquor off the premises should be 500 meters away (as the crow flies from boundary to boundary) from schools and places of public religious worship and in respect of licences for selling liquor for consumption within the premises.

However in recent times, there are glaring examples of wine stores and supermarkets selling liquor which are often in front or near places of religious worship of different religions and schools, violating the 500 metre-rule. The relaxation of the 500 metre rule will be implemented under the supervision of the Treasury Secretary. According to the Presidential Media Unit, 349 liquor bar licenses were cancelled by the President in March last year as they were operating in violation of the Excise Act regulations.

Among cancelled liquor bars most of them were operated near to schools and places of religious worship. The new move comes about a year after the Presidents orders to shut down such liquor dens. On hearing this decision, the Ven. Anuradhapure Sumanasara Thera, former Principal of Subhadrarama Pirivena, told the Business Times, the action of the government reminds him Dawal Miguel Rae Daniyel or Jekyll and Hyde and the old saying Redda Asse Mahattaya  wearing patriotic tunic over the US suit.
Lankaputhra Bank slips show in Chairman drama By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

Embroiled already in controversy over allegations of corruption by the Rajapaksa regime at the state owned Lankaputhra Development Bank (LDB), its present Chairman Lasantha Goonewardenas appointment has been invalidated by the Central Bank, a year after assuming office.

The Bank Supervision Department of the Central Bank in a letter addressed to the General Manager/CEO of the LDB rejected the appointment of Lasantha Goonewardena ? as the Chairman as he is not fit and proper to hold office. Under provisions (Section 42 (2)) of the Banking Act of No. 30 of 1988 a director of a bank should be fit and proper in terms of his academic and professional qualifications; not involved in fraud, deceit, dishonesty or any other improper conduct, among other matters.

In this respect, the appointment of Mr. Goonewardena  who is a member of the United National Party Working Committee, has been refused by the regulator citing the above provisions, but the refusal was made nearly an year after the said officer had assumed duties. However, the Treasury-appointed Chairman said that he believed he had the adequate qualifications to assume office and continue in his position. Further the letter states that there are two more reasons for the refusal of his appointment based on a special examination which was carried out in 2015 of the LDB where it has been found that Mr. Goonewardena has failed to comply with directions pertaining to Corporate Governance under Section 3 (5) (ix) of the Banking Act Direction No. 12 of 2007.

In this regard, the Chairman is not allowed to engage in activities involving direct supervision of key management personnel or any other executive duties whatsoever. However, Mr. Goonewardena at a media conference held at the LDB auditorium on Thursday admitted to getting involved in such operations of the bank as he deemed it necessary in order to avoid alleged corrupt practices taking place within the institution.

The Supervision Department has also cited in its letter the meeting with the Chairman and the GM where the Central Bank had warned Mr. Goonewardena against divulging confidential information regarding creditors. Mr. Goonewardena has failed and/or been negligent to maintain the duty of confidentiality in his capacity as the Chairman of LDBL in violation of Section 77 of the Banking Act, the letter states.

According to the legal provision it is noted that every director, manager, officer or other person employed in the bank should maintain secrecy of all transactions of the bank, its customers and the state of accounts of any person and all matters relating thereto. Following this letter, the Chairman had requested a meeting with the Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayaka together with the LDB Board of Directors. At the meeting which was held for less than 20 minutes the Governor had informed that the original of the fax of the letter sent by the Central Banks Supervision Department to be returned to the bank once the original is received, the notes of the meeting which were also signed by the Chairman (and seen by the Business Times), read.

However, Mr. Goonewardena, on the sidelines of the media briefing on Thursday, told the Business Times that the Governor had not recalled the letter at the meeting and that this particular letter was still with the bank. On the other hand, he noted that they had sent an appeal to the Central Banks Supervision Department pertaining to the reasons cited in the March 24 letter stating the chairman could not continue in his capacity to hold office. Despite this claim by Mr. Goonewardena, another letter signed by the LDB Company Secretary Gamini Pitipana addressed to Public Enterprise Development Ministry Secretary Ravindra Hewawitharana states that the Central Bank Governor had recalled the said letter considering the clarifications given by the Chairman and the Board of Directors of Lankaputhra Development Bank.

This letter had been sent with an attachment of the minutes of the meeting with the Governor. When queried by Mr. Goonewardena about the recall of the Central Bank letter by the Governor, he noted at the media briefing that it was not recalled and that action would be taken against the Company Secretary for stating this. The Chairman pointed out to the Business Times that the Governor had only asked to submit an appeal to the Central Bank. Mr. Goonewardena is not just accused of being unfit for the post he holds but has been questioned for several actions taken by him at the inquiry held by the Committee of Public Enterprises (COPE) on March 23, 2016 since he assumed office.

During the COPE meeting it was queried why the minimum number of board members had not been appointed yet and it was also noted that about four members had rejected appointments to the board as well. In this regard, the Public Enterprises Development Ministry and the Cabinet would be informed of filling the required vacancies. I have been involved in a number of institutions, Mr.Goonewardena explained adding that he had also been part of the Lions Club where he was elected as a District Governor as well, citing it as a qualification for the job.
Work on the longest overhead bridge in Sri Lanka inaugurated View(s):

The construction work on the proposed Rajagiriya overhead bridge which is considered to be the longest in the country was inaugurated in front of the Welikada Police Station, Rajagiriya this week under the patronage of the organiser of Sri Jayawardenapura, Kotte and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Harsha De Silva and Minister of Higher Education and Highways Lakshman Kiriella. In a media release, the Road Development Authority (RDA) stated that the 534-metre-long four lane Rajagiriya overhead bridge will be the longest of its kind in Sri Lanka. Dr. de Silva has stated that the first phase of this project is due to be completed at the end of next year and the second is scheduled to be completed in late 2018.

It is estimated that generally more than 100,000 vehicles move across the Welikada Junction Rajagiriya daily. These vehicles running from the main road as well as from the other lanes are causing heavy traffic congestion to the motorists. Irrespective of by-roads, about 30,000 vehicles enter into Colombo City on a daily basis by using this main road. About 17,000 of these vehicles directly travel towards Colombo without using by-roads while the remaining 13,000 use by-roads. When these vehicles enter the main road from by-roads, it causes delays for the vehicles which are travelling on the main road, Dr. De Silva said. Therefore our expectation is to use this flyover for the vehicles which travel directly to Colombo and for those which travel from Colombo to Battaramulla.

The experts in the field of transportation have stated that this will be a solution for the heavy traffic in the city. The average speed of a vehicle from Diyatha Uyana to Devi Balika Vidyalaya is about 2.5 to 3 km per hour as a result of this heavy traffic congestion. In the evening, this speed is about 9 km per hour. It is estimated that the speed recommended for the section from Diyatha Uyana to Devi Balika Vidyalaya would increase up to 20 km per hour. According to experts in this field, it takes on 50 per cent of the present period of time taken to travel from Nelum Pokuna to Battaramulla under this project. This project will be funded under the relief credit line by the government of Spain and the value of the investment will be approximately Rs.500 million. -(NG)
Yahapalana Govt. must uphold the trust placed in good faith by the people COMMENT View(s): View(s):

When the United National Party (UNP), the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and a coterie of small parties formed a formidable alliance which met with success when Maithripala Sirisena won the January 2015 presidential poll, many Sri Lankans were elated. A few problems arose thereafter  problems that one would expect in an uneasy parliamentary co-habitation of this magnitude. However, the UNP and the Maithripala-led UPFA faction secured enough seats at the August 2015 general elections to form a government. Many voters who backed this regime placed their trust in this government in the hope that they would see an end to the earlier era of threats, intimidation, mismanagement and corruption.

Yahapalanaya or good governance was the flag-bearer of the new regime or so the people thought. Everything would be transparent. Now good governance is being dragged through the mud, transparency is being throttled by the day and even reasonable and right-thinking political and non-political architects of the wave that transformed this country in January 2015 are fast becoming disillusioned. Key appointments have gone wrong, new subjects allocated to Ministries (such as Finance, Public Enterprises Development and National Policies and Economic Affairs) have created confusion. An element of chaos and interference has crept into the public service.

Disenchantment is growing. One group of senior officials who have been making regular trips to the Financial Crimes Investigation Division to give statements over decisions made by political appointees (chairmen of state organisations and ministers under the previous regime) fear they would have to take the entire blame for those bad decisions. Frustrated, some are considering retirement without seeking extensions. An example of the chaos:

The re-allocation of subjects from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Public Enterprises Development (subject of Sri Lanka Insurance) led to a tussle over positions as T.M.R. Bangsa Jayah, Managing Director and brother-in-law of Ravi Karunanayake refused to quit, when Public Enterprises Development Minister Kabir Hashim brought in changes. In a more recent fiasco, the Central Bank  CB (Director of Bank Supervision) rejected the April 2015 appointment of the Chairman of Lankaputra Bank under fit and proper rules of the Banking Act.

Lankaputra Bank and CB

That decision, however, was only conveyed in a letter dated 24th March 2016 (a year later  when the Chairman should have gone home in April 2015). In another curious development, the same letter rejecting the appointment accuses the Chairman of irregularities during the past few months. Why the CB should in the first place even examine irregularities by the chairman and comment on them, when it has rejected his appointment, is puzzling.

Affairs at the CB after the tainted Treasury bond transaction in February 2015, just as Arjuna Mahendran was appointed Governor have also been very dismal to say the least. As our lead story overleaf suggests, CB officials have been accused of withholding information from the Auditor General, the countrys chief accounting officer. That is only the tip of the iceberg. The conduct and behaviour of the CB Governor are under intense scrutiny by the public, in many forums.

Much of these frustrations against the decisions of the Governor are reflected in this weeks Business Times Poll on the re-appointment of the Governor. A high-ranking law officer with close links to the government had this to say: The Governor should have resigned soon after the bond scam occurred. Even one element of doubt, a question mark or suspicion is enough to erode public confidence. These are important positions that need public confidence which has been lost, clearly.

One of the respondents in the poll said: He (Mr. Mahendran) will always be operating under a dark cloud as long as his son-in-laws business is involved. He should get out for the sake of the credibility of the government as well as for the sake of his own name. The issue of whether or not he is innocent does not play any part in this. It is an obvious conflict of interest and this should have been foreseen by those who appointed him in the FIRST place. They only TALK of good governance; they have no clue as to how to set about achieving it.

Only the good resign

Unfortunately in Sri Lanka, only the good people resign, and the bad remain. Take the case of this weeks sudden departure of Wildlife Conservation Department Director-General, Sumith Pilapitiya, a respected professional. He resigned on a matter of principle, serving as a rare lesson to all those who aspire to high office in government. Dr. Pilapitiya, an environmental scientist, agreed to take up the position on condition that he is allowed to work by the book. He went on record in a newspaper interview that if asked to bend the law or rules, he would quit. And thats what he did. It takes courage to take such a stand in an environment of still-corrupt politics and bootlickers.

Bringing the CB under the purview of the Prime Ministers Office from the Ministry of Finance (apparently since the Finance Minister had some foreign exchange issues earlier and that could have been a perceived conflict of interest) has worsened the situation. For example Minister Karunanayake has told the media that he has nothing to do with the CB. However, his signature appeared on a new currency note, alongside Mr. Mahendran, in May 2015, when at that time too, the CB was under the Prime Minister (PM). What if, in a hypothetical case, a new currency note is issued tomorrow? Whose signatures would it or should carry as per Monetary Law Section 53 (2) which states that every currency note shall bear the signatures in facsimile of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance and of the Governor of the Central Bank ?

These ambiguities need to be corrected since many provisions in the Monetary Law constantly refer to  in consultation with the Minister handling the subject of finance (which for all purposes is Mr. Karunanayake). Appointments to the Monetary Board also need to be examined objectively. For instance, the Monetary Law only bars a person who is a member of Parliament, provincial councillor, public officer or director or shareholder of any (other) banking institution from being appointed by the President as the Governor. (See box for details) Clear guidelines on appointments in other countries Such appointments in other jurisdictions (countries) have clear standout clauses where the head of that central bank must be of good moral conduct, among other values and disciplines, which are missing in local laws.

The head of the Singapore Monetary Authority, for example, can be removed if he is mentally disordered and incapable of managing himself; becomes bankrupt; is convicted of an offence involving dishonesty or moral turpitude; and or guilty of misconduct. In the Maldives, the Governor should have at least 10 years combined experiences in business, economic affairs and finance; work ethics, not be a criminal and not be a member of a political party. It also has better rules in appointing members to its version of Sri Lankas Monetary Board. For example, two appointees from the private sector who shall be capable persons of recognized standing and experience in the economic sector shall be appointed. Such guidelines are missing in the appointments to the Monetary Board here.

This means that anyone can be appointed  and that is how in recent times the three members of this board (drawn from outside) come from backgrounds like garments, tea, media and law but without any economic acumen. (See box) Ironically, while the appointment of directors to commercial and specialised banks must be approved by the CB under strict fit and proper criteria, the same rigid process doesnt apply in the selection of the Governor and members of the board. (See box for rules) In the conduct of monetary affairs, the decisions of the Monetary Board under the current Governorship have come in for both praise and criticism. The report card so far is mixed with views and comments expressed by economists of the calibre of retired central bankers like Nimal Sanderatne, W.A. Wijewardene and Sirimavan Colombage.

Monetary Board admits

However, last weeks acknowledgement by the Monetary Board (after being silent for so long on bond issues) that there may have been a lack of good practices in the conduct of money market auctions, is perceived by the public as an admission of guilt that something appeared to be amiss earlier. It was a better late than never statement, said one economist. Now Mr. Mahendrans term of office ends on June 30 and the President has to decide on the next appointment.

Presidents consideration

In this act, the President needs to ask himself, among other matters: Is there public confidence in the Governor?Have his actions over the past 15 months brought disrepute to the position and the institution?Is he an exemplary officer, of good conduct?What bearing would his (Presidents) public call for Mr. Mahendran to resign (soon after the February 2015 bond fiasco) have on the impending decision? In the absence of guidelines that other jurisdictions have (as pointed out earlier), the President and the PM need to dig deep into their conscience, amidst growing public anger, in taking a decision on the appointment of the Governor.

As stated earlier, present rules relating to appointments and dismissals are irrational. The Monetary Board can sack a director of a bank for misconduct while its own actions (members of the board) cannot be challenged by the appointing authority if there are serious allegations.

Furthermore, a director of a bank can be dismissed at any time, while the Governor cannot be easily dismissed for misconduct or any other offence (see box) as the law stands. The holder of this office can choose to resign or stay on till full completion of the six-year term of office.

The law states that a person shall be disqualified for appointment as the Governor of the Central Bank if  . In the meantime, there hasnt been any impartial investigation into allegations surrounding the February 2015 bond issue. While a committee of UNP-affiliated lawyers issued a tame report (in fairness to them, their mandate was limited), a petition to the Supreme Court seeking leave to proceed was dismissed, a move which the Governor says has cleared him. That is not correct.

The Court refused leave on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove that their fundamental rights had been violated by the bond issue and related matters. It was not a case of exonerating the Governor. Thus an impartial investigation needs to be held by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption where a complaint has been filed and also the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) which was recently told the shocking news that the Auditor General had been refused access to CB documents pertaining to bond transactions.

Still not in the clear

The Governor is still not in the clear. Only a proper examination of the bond issues and related matters by an independent tribunal (in this case COPE) can clear the air. Until then, the Governor lives under a cloud of suspicion, and as long as his son-in-laws family firm is involved in the money markets, uncertainty and suspicion will continue to trail him. Those who argue that the Governor of the Central Bank is not a public figure and unnecessary fuss has been made over various aspects of his lifestyle, need to read the section (below) on the website of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It says:

Few personalities are so close yet so distant to Indias populace as the Governor of the Reserve Bank and few evocative of his awe and mystique. Close, because virtually every individual, be he ever so poor or so rich, carries on his person the promise and signature of the Governor. Distant, because central bankers are traditionally conservative and publicity shy. Awe, they command as the custodian of the countrys reserves and defenders of the external value of the currency. And, mystique they possess as purveyors of money, the commodity all desire but so few understand.

It further said: Behind the mist, and shorn of the public perception, the personality of the Governor assumes importance in a specific context, the Governor, more than any public or private functionary in the country, has the mandate of securing the monetary stability of the country. This impinges on the day to day life of ordinary citizens. The Right to Information Act also covers the RBI providing citizens of India access to information under the control of public authorities to promote transparency and accountability in these organisations.

More transparency needed

That kind of transparency is needed at the CB and today, even more so under the governments own principles of good governance, as the Governor and the decisions he makes impact on the lives of every Sri Lankan. The President now has to decide on the re-appointment or appointment of a new individual to the post, a decision that would have a significant bearing on the lives of everyone, given that divisions in the government have emerged with SLFP Ministers publicly demanding the Governors removal.

A huge responsibility is cast on the President  a mere stroke of a pen, a signature  as it may seem, but an act that must be exercised with great care, caution and dignity, and on his part also heeding the advice of the Prime Minister, who wants Mr. Mahendran to continue. Napoleon Bonaparte once said: The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people. But because of the silence of the good people.

The President and all organs of government are repositories of trust placed in good faith by the people.

They must not let down that trust and good faith, whatever the odds. It is not all dark clouds for the government. If not for the President and the PM the freedom to criticise and hold leaders including the President and the PM accountable, would be missing. In that, there is some comfort and hope that the right decision would be made in the affairs at the Central Bank.

Monetary Law provisions pertaining to appointments Disqualification for appointment as Governor, or as member of the Monetary Board

11. (1) A person shall be disqualified for appointment as the Governor of the Central Bank if

(a) he is a Member of Parliament, or a member of any Provincial Council or any local authority; or

(b) he is a public officer or judicial officer within the meaning of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, or holds any office or position (other than an academic position) either by election or appointment, for which salary or other remuneration is payable out of public funds or the funds of any local authority; or

(c) he is a director, officer, employee or shareholder of any banking institution (other than the Central Bank).

(2) A person shall be disqualified for appointment as a member of the Monetary Board under paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of Section 8 if 

(a) he is a Member of Parliament, or a member of any Provincial Council or any local authority; or

(b) he is a public officer or judicial officer within the meaning of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, or holds any office or position (other than an academic position) either by election or appointment, for which salary or other remuneration is payable out of public funds or the funds of any local authority; or

(c) he is a director, officer, employee or shareholder of any banking institution (other than the Central Bank) or any other institution supervised or regulated by the Central Bank.

12. (1) The Governor of the Central Bank shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance;

Removal from office of Governor or appointed member:

16. The President may, on the recommendation of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance, remove the Governor or an appointed member from office

(a) if he becomes subject to any disqualification mentioned in section 11; or

(b) if he becomes permanently incapable of performing his duties; or

(c) if he has done any act or thing which, in the opinion of the President is of a fraudulent or illegal character or is manifestly opposed to the objects and interests of the Central Bank; or

(d) in the case of the Governor, if he acts in contravention of subsection (2) of section 12.

Banking Act of 1988  Part VI This refers to disqualification for appointment as director, secretary of licensed commercial banks:

42. (1) No person shall be appointed, elected or nominated as a director of a licensed commercial bank or continue as a director of such bank unless that person is a fit and proper person to hold office as a director of such bank and if he is not prevented from doing so by any provision of this Act or of any other written law.

(2) In determining whether a person would, for the purposes of sub-section(1) be considered to be a fit and proper person, the following matters shall be taken into consideration:

(a) that such person possesses academic or professional qualifications or effective experience in banking, finance, business or administration or of any other relevant discipline;

(b) that there is no finding of any regulatory or supervisory authority, professional association, any Commission of Inquiry, tribunal or other body established by law in Sri Lanka or abroad, to the effect that such person has committed or has been connected with the commission of, any act which involves fraud, deceit, dishonesty or any other improper conduct;

(c) that such person is not subject to an investigation or inquiry consequent upon being served with notice of a charge involving fraud, deceit, dishonesty or other similar criminal activity, by any regulatory authority, supervisory authority, professional association, Commission of Inquiry, tribunal or other body established by law, in Sri Lanka or abroad;

(d) that such person has not been convicted by any Court in Sri Lanka or abroad in respect of a crime committed in connection with financial management or of any offence involving moral turpitude;

(e) that such person is not an undischarged insolvent nor has he been declared bankrupt in Sri Lanka or abroad;

(f) that such person has not failed, to satisfy any judgement or order of any court whether in Sri Lanka or abroad, or to repay a debt;

(g) that such person has not been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction in Sri Lanka or abroad, to be of unsound mind;

(h) that such person has not been removed or suspended by an order of a regulatory or supervisory authority from serving as a director, Chief Executive Officer or other officer in any bank or financial institution or corporate body, in Sri Lanka or abroad;

(i) that such person has not been a director, Chief Executive Officer or held any other position of authority in any bank or financial institution 

i. whose license has been suspended or cancelled;or

ii. which has been wound up or is being wound up, or which is being compulsorily liquidated, whether in Sri Lanka or abroad.
Beware of false fortune tellers! View(s):

We are fond of trying to read our future. We go behind soothsayers or fortunetellers who mislead us. There are so many who come up with fortune tales when a misfortune happens. Of course with the genuine divine power and with the development of brain power certain factors are predictable.

During the last Vesak season many were involved in charitable and religious observances. If not for such acts, the misfortunes that took place later may have been more devastating. We had severe floods and landslides, one of the worst disasters in recent decades. But these gave us an opportunity to reflect more deeply on what we are doing or where we are going. I wrote articles that were published in the Sunday Times and Irida Lankadeepa last week. I wanted to show readers some realities.

We have to learn from the past and think of the future by judging the present. Let us look at the two disasters  the floods and landslides from May 15 and last Sundays inferno at the Kosgama Army camp. Many are aware how we dared to venture into into conflict areas during the war to help the needy. Most of us seem to have forgotten the past. For some the past is distasteful. If it is so we have to organise the people and be ready for any eventuality. We have to rise again, casting away our differences. It is the responsibility of the clergy and politicians to lead the people to this awareness.

The office of the Leader of Opposition was given to a Tamil party not as a right, but as result of a decision taken by the learned to show magnanimity. It was not given to the Tamil people as a right or an obligation but to encourage everyone to live and build the country in peace. When the posts of Chief Justice and Governor of Central Bank are now held by Tamil gentlemen, if some people or groups try to fan the ethnic flame, they should be immediately and effectively stopped.

In my article last Sunday, I tried to put forward the idea that after considering our past and taking into consideration the future of our younger generation, and in line with the vision of this Vesak season, we try to cultivate good qualities of charity including loving kindness, equanimity and peaceful coexistence. We have too often been raising ethnic or religious issues and fighting over them. Those who inflame religious conflicts do it with the aim of dividing the people. It is a matter for regret that some religious leaders and government leaders do not realise this. It will affect our future. Recently I tried to advice organisations that were highlighting and giving prominence in the newspapers to provocative speeches and actions of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jeyaram Jayalalithaa. It is a shame that some people in Sri Lanka try to highlight what she says or does.

Some of our local publications splash pictures of women and these cause concern or controversy. Some women do not seem to worry about what they wear or how they pose. There appear to be no precepts in this country to show the correct path to parents and children.

I wrote the articles last week with the hope that our leaders and people will work in peace and unity. If the Kosgama inferno is only an accident and not an act of sabotage, then it would not be so bad. Accidents can occur at any time and may affect anyone. We often take things for granted and find some excuse, like what court jester Andare had resorted to. The authorities must not hide the facts but disclose what really happened at Kosgama. When tragedies such as this happen, the correct story should be told.

I have heard that a person who stayed behind to protect his house and property during the Kosgama explosions died due to the unbearable sound. Many people may have gone blind and become deaf or mentally disturbed due to this? Are we taking a proper survey of all these people? Without focusing on those who died, the Government, other responsible authorities and benefactors need to look after those who survived and have suffered huge losses. We have to rise up to the occasion and help all those who have suffered due to this calamity.

If the well water is affected, the Government and volunteer organizations should provide drinking water to each house. If not, diseases will spread. I am writing this with great concern, since much help is needed at this time. We can learn lessons from history. When the tsunami came the rulers were not in the country and we did not get all the help we needed. When soldiers died in the war, the then President J.R. Jayawardene promoted them posthumously and the families benefited due to enhanced pensions. Protests were not made. The government must disclose the reasons for the Kosgama inferno and explosions. Mistakes can happen. If it is due to someones fault, that person should be punished. Some living in this country would have made money out of armaments. This can become a source of income for them. There are opportunists everywhere.

The Lord Buddha has preached about doing business in an ethical way. He advocated that it be done for the public good. Sometimes this can be an opportunity for those interested in public tenders as they can make quick money. We have drug peddlers and those who make a big business even in the health services. We still have people living on money they make from bribery and corruption. Think of all these. Those who love this country and are aware of the truth are requested to come forward to help Sri Lanka in its hour of need. We will try to do what is possible.

Joy and Happiness to everyone! Write to us:

Ven Galboda Gnanissara Thera, Podi Hamuduruwo, Sahana Sevaya, Gangaramaya, 61, Sri Jinarathana Road, Colombo 02
Joint Oppositions no-confidence move backfires, but Unity Govt. cannot rest on its laurels By Chandani Kirinde- Lobby Correspondent View(s): View(s):

The haste with which the Joint Opposition (JO) group in Parliament rushed to bring a No-Confidence motion against Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, which, in effect, questions the legitimacy of the entire Government, only helped the UNP-SLFP unity Government to put to rest, speculation of rifts within its ranks, and put on a united front. The result was the motion being defeated by a majority of 94 votes, with 145 voting for and 51 against.

President Maithripala Sirisena spent most of Thursday at his office in Parliament when the motion was debated. He also spent close to an hour inside the Chamber, as the debate was in progress, while senior Government members, including SLFP members, led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, spoke in defense of the ruling coalitions Finance Minister.

The JO group on its part, was ill prepared for the debate on a motion they themselves had authored, falling back on allegations they have repeated ad nauseam, in and outside Parliament, on the poor state of the economy and wrongdoings by the Finance Minister, but failed to make a strong case against him. The absence of former President, now Kurunegala District MP Mahinda Rajapaksa, either during the debate or at the time the vote was taken, was itself a telling fact that the JO group did not expect to pose a serious challenge to the Government by way of such a motion. Leader of the Group MP Dinesh Gunawardena said on Friday, the whole idea of the motion was to expose Government corruption, and they never expected it to be passed, but in the lead up to the debate, the Group members themselves hinted that some SLFP members in Government would break ranks and vote in support.

The Government on its part, had a well thought-out plan to counter the Opposition allegations, and it was four senior SLFP members in Government, Ministers Mahinda Amaraweera, S.B. Dissanayaka, Sarath Amunugama and Mahinda Samarasinghe who not only countered the JO charges against the Finance Minister, but also did not shy away from stating their loyalties were firmly with President Sirisena.

Minister Dissanayaka said that a No-Confidence debate against Minister Karunanayake can be interpreted as No-Faith motion directed against the Government and the President, who is the leader of the SLFP. We, in the SLFP, cannot support such a motion because, this is against the leader of our own Party who is also the head of this Government, said Minister Dissanayaka.

Chief Opposition Whip MP Anura Dissanayaka whose party, the JVP too, voted in support of the motion, single-handedly made a better case than the entire JO group speakers put together, as to why the Finance Minister should answer some serious questions about the unfair burden being heaped on the public by way of increased taxes, when the Government has been lavish in its allocation of monies to buy luxury vehicles for its members. The Value Added Tax (VAT) has been expanded to cover sectors which were hitherto exempted from it. Now a person who buys a lunch packet has to pay VAT on it. Taxes have been imposed on the private health sector utilised by millions of people in the country. Even a person selling betel leaves has to pay VAT, he charged.

Opposition Leader TNA MP R. Sampanthan whose party stayed away from the Chamber during the vote, said that there is room to be not totally satisfied in the way the Finance Ministry has dealt with Finance proposals, as far as Parliament is concerned. He cautioned the Government that the people were watching, and that each cent of public money should be utilised for the benefit of the people.

The former Secretary General of Parliament, Priyanee Wijesekera in her book, Parliamentary Practice in Sri Lanka, states that a motion of No-Confidence is the most potent device available to the Opposition to challenge the legitimacy of the Government, and should not be resorted to lightly. This is a good thought to bear in mind by the JO group which has been in haste to bring No-Confidence motions against ministers in this Government, without the necessary ammunition to convincingly defend their own motion. Its also unlikely, the public of this country have forgotten that many in the JO group were ministers in the former regime which casually bypassed Parliament, while allocating billions of rupees in the interests of a few individuals, and Parliamentary control of public finances was grossly disgraced. Hence, convincing the public that they have turned over a new leaf by being in Opposition for just 18 months, may not be easy.

The only hiccup the Government had to face this week was the breakdown of the sound system inside the Parliament Chamber on Wednesday, when the No-Confidence motion was to be debated. It was postponed to Thursday, to restore the audio facility.

For now, the Government has come out looking stronger, with the convincing defeat of the No-Confidence motion, and a strong show of unity, but it will not have much time to rest on its laurels. The move to allocate millions for its members to buy new vehicles is drawing some of the harshest criticism this Government has had to face since taking power, and it is unlikely to subside, unless the allocations are scrapped. Its also time for the Government to put its money where its mouth is.
President promises urgent action to reduce CoL, vows to strengthen economy By Our Political Editor View(s): View(s):

During exclusive interview with the Sunday Times, huge ammunition depot explodes; Kosgama like Syria, questions as to whether full story will be told

High priority for lasting reconciliation; those against it are traitors and extremists

Sirisena gives details of what has been done, says time needed for full probe on big corruption cases

For President Maithripala Sirisena, an afternoon siesta is not an affordable luxury. On rare occasions, when the rigorous routine of his office compels the need for some rest, he seizes the opportunity. Last Sunday was one such occasion.

Yet, he was mindful of the engagement at 5 p.m. at his official residence at Paget Road, a tree lined area. It is a stones throw away from the 88-year-old historic Senior Police Officers Mess (SPOM) at Keppetipola Mawatha and overlooks the lush green playground of Sirimavo Bandaranaike Balika Vidyalaya.

A few minutes ahead of time, he walked in to a lounge wearing a checked bush shirt and trouser to greet me. No photographs please. I am just out of bed, he said laughingly. We adjourned to his conference room in the connected adjoining building. He asked a staffer to switch on the microphone and began to answer my questions.

A few minutes into the Q & A session, an aide interrupted. He handed in to President Sirisena a typed strip of paper. As he read through, his facial expressions showed concern. He reached out to a telephone on the conference table and asked the operator that he be connected to Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Chrisanthe de Silva. A brief conversation ensued. I heard the President tell him to act immediately. Vahaama gatha yuthu piyawara ganna or immediately take measures that are necessary, he directed.

With that over, Sirisena turned to me and said that the Armys ammunition depot at Kosgama was on fire. He nodded as I told him this was their Central Armoury and was located in a built-up area. He did not realise then that the fire would turn out to be the worst in the Armys peacetime history. Thousands living around the complex were affected. Houses were destroyed, some occupants losing all their worldly possessions, animals died on the spot and vehicles were badly damaged. The raging fire lit up the night sky. It was not just small arms ammunition that exploded like the rapid burst of crackers. As it spread, Multi-Barrel-Rocket shells and anti-tank ammunition began to explode. Artillery shells were strewn all over, some shells falling inside houses through the roof. Luckily, the triggering mechanism in them had been stored in accompanying boxes as is the usual practice. They are connected together in the battlefield. This explained why scores of unexploded shells were strewn around near civilian houses and shops.

The night around the Salawa army complex was reminiscent of one during the height of the separatist war. The aftermath was no different. Secondary explosions that were triggered by the fire prevented troops from moving in. They waited helplessly till late next day before venturing out. Covers have now been placed to conceal from the public eye some of the damage caused. It is a supreme irony that an Army installation of such prime importance, protected on a number of occasions from Tiger guerrilla attacks, should become a towering inferno that destroyed even surrounding houses when there is no war. This week, the area looked like a war-battered zone, much like those projected in news pictures of the fighting in Syria. Now the question asked by most people is whether the real truth behind what triggered the fire would ever be known.

It was in this Central Armoury that all imported military hardware was first stored before being sent out to installations in former battle areas. There were at least two known instances where Tiger guerrillas made plans to blow up a storage facility at Salawa. In one instance, after the State Intelligence Service (SIS) reported that a group was conducting surveillance in the area, whilst staying in an unknown location in Avissawella, action was initiated. This included the deployment of members of the Tiger guerrilla breakaway group led by Karuna alias Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan to locate those suspected. The group had thereafter withdrawn. On another occasion, on June 3, 2008, SIS operatives arrested a guerrilla group which had found shelter in an estate line room in Yatiyantota. They possessed C-4 explosives, grenades, gelignite sticks and T-56 assault rifle ammunition. They were handed over to the Yatiyantota Police. The group was to confess that one of their targets was the ammunition depot at Salawa. They had planned to wreak havoc.

Ahead of the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas, part of the Salawa stocks was shifted to Veyangoda. The move was to make way for the Armys Volunteer Force Headquarters to be located there. Until then, the premises were occupied only by the Logistics Command. The inferno has prompted the Army, the Navy and the Air Force to review their storage facilities. Large stocks of outdated military ordnance that lay at Kankesanthurai are to be brought down to Kalpitiya to be destroyed. Earlier, such stocks were dumped in mid sea. However, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) had raised objections to such a move. The Air Force is shifting some of the stocks from near Colombo to Ampara.

Details of the massive fire and its aftermath appear in reports elsewhere in this newspaper. A tri-services Board of Inquiry has been appointed to probe the tragedy. It is headed by Air Vice Marshal Kishan Yahampath, Director, Ground Operations of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) and includes Rear Admiral Dharmendra Wettawe, Director, Naval Operations and Brigadier Dhananjith Karunaratne, of the Armys Engineering Services. In addition, an Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and an Army bomb disposal specialist will also be part of the Board.

Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiaratchchi told the Sunday Times, We are having an open mind. We will not speculate. We will await the report of the tri services Court of Inquiry and the findings of other investigations that are underway. Other state agencies conducting investigations are the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Government Analysts Department. Yet, it has now become fashionable for both political and military leaders to be liberal with their comments on such situations though what they say is more fiction than facts. A military official said the fire at Salawa would have been caused by lightning. If he was correct, every week an ammunition dump would have erupted in flames since rains and lightning have become a common feature during the ongoing monsoon. Another top military official claimed there would have been much more damage if not for the fact that the items had been better stored. It has already come to light that improper storage was cause for the biggest ever damage. A Cabinet minister said the fire was the fault of the previous Government and not theirs. As an irate Joint Opposition leader remarked, thank God he did not blame the recent rains, resultant floods and landslides also on the previous Government. Far from convincing a discerning public, such remarks only end up as poor reflections on those who make them. Yet, they do not realise that they are made to look fools in the public eye.

President Sirisena continued to receive reports periodically that Sunday on the status of the fire. At one point, he answered a phone call from Defence Secretary Hettiaratchchi who was in Singapore to attend the Shangri La dialogue. This is an inter-governmental security forum held annually by the International Institute of Strategic Studies. He told him to return to Sri Lanka immediately.

President Sirisena answered questions posed to him. Here are the highlights:

Q: It is one and half years since your victory at the Presidential election. Are you satisfied with the way things have unfolded?

A: There are many reasons why we can be happy about. I can say that because I took over a country which did not have proper democracy. The country was plagued with corruption. There was disregard for human rights and fundamental rights. The judiciary was corrupt and the country was burdened with debt. The foreign debt remained at Rs. 9,000 billion.

The country was facing many challenges. There were fears that military leaders and politicians who directed the war against the LTTE would be hauled up for war crimes. There was talk about some offering to face the electric chair than allow this. There was a threat of economic sanctions being imposed against us. Two such measures had become effective when we took over. One was the ban on fish exports to the European countries. The other is the GSP plus tariff concessions to the garment sector. Both were stopped.

Within the country, natural resources were being destroyed with the influence of local politicians. Forests were being denuded. There were rackets over mineral resources such as sand, stones and ilmenite. Corruption was taking place from the top to the bottom. Local politicians were allowed the free will to act in any manner they wanted. They were involved in rape, murder and misused their powers. There was mistrust and uncertainty among the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. Though the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was militarily defeated within the country, their ideology remains. Outside the country the LTTEs networks remain. Some of the former LTTE leaders living overseas are trying to achieve their goal of Eelam and divide Sri Lanka.

Therefore, because of the factors I have mentioned, many powerful nations and the UN had distanced themselves from Sri Lanka. The World Bank, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the ADB (Asian Development Bank) had distanced themselves too, without providing much assistance. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the agency which provides development assistance, also kept away. There was a strong campaign over allegations of war crimes. This was over incidents which took place in the final stages of the separatist war. Neighbouring countries too had distanced themselves. There are many other reasons I can point out. But, I took over a country which was shunned by other nations.

In the past one and half years what I have been doing is to reverse these adverse issues and trends. Today no country can live in isolation. If a country tries to live in isolation, it cannot progress. We live in a hi-tech world. Therefore we need high-technology to develop. We need to provide knowledge to the younger generation. Also we need support from economically strong countries to salvage this country which has debts amounting to more than Rs. 9,000 billion.

One of the main achievements in the past one and half years was the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. This was a great achievement for democracy. The Executive powers exercised by the President have been transferred to Parliament to the maximum possible extent. This was done through a Supreme Court determination without recourse to a referendum. The Constitutional Council has been established. Through this nine Independent Commissions have been set up. Bribery and Corruption, Police, Human Rights, Public Service and Audit Commissions are among them.

Also nations which had distanced themselves and the UN are now friendly with us. The loud cries of war crimes allegations have receded. The loud cries for setting up War Crimes Tribunal to probe the allegation have ceased too. The talk of facing an electric chair has ended. The ban on fish exports to EU countries has been lifted. All countries have turned out to be friendly. The shortcomings in the judiciary have been reduced and a strong judiciary has been restored.

Our foreign reserves are being improved. The trade balance between imports and exports is being narrowed. The destruction to natural environmental resources has been reduced. Annually we have 5,000 new kidney patients. The main reasons have been the excessive use of agrochemicals. We have controlled the use of it.

About 20 percent of the countrys population suffers from malnutrition. To minimise this, we have introduced different programmes. With the help of the Customs and the Police, we have launched a strong campaign to prevent the smuggling and distribution of narcotics in the country. To minimise the damage from pesticides we are promoting organic fertilizer. We have started a campaign among the farmers. These are some of the many achievements. Therefore I can be happy about my past one and half years in office.

Q: There are accusations that an important pledge you made during both the presidential and parliamentary elections  bring to justice the corrupt elements in the previous Government  has not been fulfilled. Why is this?

A: The kind of corruption we are investigating is not like probing a case of someone stealing a bunch of bananas in a village. There are powerful politicians and businessmen involved. They have used their knowledge and skills to carry out such corrupt activity.

Investigations cannot be completed in a month or two. In other countries these investigations take seven to ten years. We cannot enforce the law of the jungle. We are carrying out impartial investigations. The law should be implemented properly. There cannot be human rights violations or violation of laws in the process. We have already filed several cases and several investigations are nearing completion. Some large scale financial frauds are being investigated with the assistance of foreign countries. Among the countries providing technical support are the United States, Britain and India.

I have also strengthened institutions such as the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC), the Police Special Crimes Investigation Division and the Criminal Investigation Department in an effort to take action against those responsible for corrupt acts.

Q: You have declared that for any probe on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, there will be no foreign judges. Is that the official position?

A: Yes. Very clearly we do not need foreign judges. We can resolve any problem within the country without foreign intervention. If necessary we can obtain foreign technical support. That again will be without any commitment or conditions attached.

Q: What is the position of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) with one faction supporting your predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa?

A: I was sworn in as President on January 9, 2015 and it was on January 13 that I was called upon to take over as President of the SLFP. That is something which I did not expect. However, in our manifesto we had mentioned that the two main parties would work together to form a government. That came as strength for us to pass the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Some said though I took over the party, I do not have the support of some members.

However, during the last May Day rally (in Galle) it was shown that there were an overwhelming number of SLFP supporters who backed my leadership. We are strengthening the party. It has suffered two electoral defeats at the last Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Therefore the party is being revamped.

Q: One of the accusations is that you re-appointed on the National List to Parliament UPFA candidates who were defeated at the general elections. Some argue that they did not win the mandate of the people. Was it intended to strengthen your grip on the party rather than the country?

A: They were defeated at the parliamentary elections by their own party people who worked against me. They were not defeated by the people. Some SLFP leaders defeated them in an organised manner. That was an unnatural defeat. Some have come first in the previous elections in their respective districts. I require persons who have long-term political experience in the SLFP to carry on with the work of the Government. Therefore, I appointed them on the National List.

Q: how do you see the National Unity government working? Is it any different to the cohabitation government of 2001-2004 which collapsed in three years?

A: This is the first time in more than 60 years that the main political parties in the country have come together to form a government. This is something new. Also it is complicated and not so simple. Therefore, the people can see shortcomings in the system. These two parties were bitter rivals. This marriage is a difficult one. It is not easy. We are continuing that difficult job. As a government, we have had success. Some say the Government is not stable and weak. I reject this claim. Those who say so are those who are against the Government.

We have strengthened democracy. Human rights and fundamental rights have been strengthened. Judiciary has been strengthened. The reconciliation process too has been strengthened. Things which should have been done by the former government, in the post-war period for reconciliation, to reduce fear and mistrust among communities were not carried out.

Reconciliation is something which cannot be built with cement, bricks, concrete or tar. We are aware why a separatist war came about. More than the war, in victory we should take into consideration the reasons which led to the war. We should take precautions to prevent the recurrence of such war. If the youth in the north take up arms again, it is a defeat for the country. We should stop it. To do that, we should resolve their issues.

Reconciliation should be strengthened. An acceptable programme should be put in place. The message of the importance of Reconciliation should be delivered to the Sinhala Buddhists in the south, than to those living in the north. More than 100,000 persons displaced by the 26-year war live within and outside the country. Some live in India and some in Western countries. This nation belongs to all. Therefore national unity should be strengthened.

Q: How will you deal with those who want to stymie your efforts towards reconciliation?

A: Those who work against this are Jathi Dhrohio (traitors). If they work against this, we consider them as Anthavadhin (extremists). There are extremists both in the south and north. There are extremists outside the country as well. They try to interrupt or scuttle this programme. We will deal with them firmly.

Q: You have gained the support of Western countries, but what about the relations with China?

A: With China, too, we have good relations. I have another invitation from China to visit that country. Last month I met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his invitation. Therefore we have good relations with all countries. This is a result of our balanced foreign policy.

Q: Another issue which the people are blaming the Government is the rising cost of living. What is your position?

A: That is correct. The cost of living has increased. It is causing difficulties to the average person. One of the reasons is that we have been compelled to take measures to resolve the issue of the huge foreign debt amounting to Rs. 9,000 billion. This has resulted in the rise of the cost of living. I believe that the people should receive relief soon. I will be submitting proposals to the Government to this effect soon.

Q: Can you comment on the state of the economy?

A: There are shortcomings in the management of the economy. I accept it. We need to take corrective measures.

Q: Have you any new plans for this?

A: Yes, I will be submitting proposals to strengthen the economy and reduce the cost of living. They are now being studied.

Q: There has been a clamour by sections of the Government and the Joint Opposition not to re-appoint Arjuna Mahendran as Governor of the Central Bank. What is the position?

A: (He laughs and says) there are a few more days to decide on that.

As he rose from his seat, President Sirisena reiterated that the results of a Government cannot be all shown in just one and half years. There is a lot more to do. We need time for this. We will overcome the challenges and build a better country. I need the support of everyone for this, he concluded.
When the old jalopy wont do View(s):

My dear Ministers and Deputy Ministers who have been allocated luxury vehicles,

I am writing to congratulate you on being allocated billions of rupees to purchase luxury vehicles for yourselves. After passing the 19th Amendment to the constitution and setting up a Government of nearly one hundred ministers, this must rank as the greatest achievement of yahapaalanaya!

Some people are making a huge fuss about this, asking why our ministers should travel in such luxury when the most comfortable vehicle for the vast majority among us is a three wheeler, but surely you are entitled to such privileges  especially after having spent so much getting elected to Parliament.

Others are angry because it was not so long ago that Long John was saying that there were too many vehicles in the country. He also said that many people who owned vehicles were not qualified to own one. John has his own way of saying things, but he told the truth and sometimes, the truth hurts.

No one is more qualified than you to own these luxury vehicles because you represent us  even if some of you lost the election and Maithri took you back through the national list. Of course, doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, professors, scientists shouldnt consider themselves more qualified!

Over 1.1 billion rupees have been allocated to buy thirty two luxury vehicles for ministers and deputy ministers. That means each and every man, woman and child in this country of 22 million people is paying 50 rupees for your vehicles. That is not much, is it, being less than the price of a loaf of bread?

People in our paradise have short memories. Recently, we were shown pictures of how thousands of vehicles were being used by Mahinda maama and his associates. We were told that will not happen again. That maybe why they want to buy luxury vehicles and distribute them among all of you.

Some others  especially the rathu sahodarayas and the Joint Opposition fellows  are complaining that you should not be doing this when you are asking the rest of the people to tighten their belts because there is no money left in the Treasury and you are imposing a VAT on almost everything.

I see no reason why you shouldnt pamper yourself while the rest of the country is going through a hard time. Surely, you cannot be expected to wait until everything is hunky dory in paradise and everyone is rich enough to afford a car. That could be well past the next election which you may lose!

Then, some people are complaining that you shouldnt be doing this at a time many people have lost their houses through floods and landslides and are still waiting for relief and there has been another disaster at Kosgama. I think these are rather foolish arguments that dont make any sense at all.

If there are floods and landslides, shouldnt you be buying the best vehicles on the market that can withstand such disasters, so that you would be able to visit those areas and provide relief? If you buy a cheaper vehicle, as some people have suggested, you might get caught in the floods and drown!

In fact, I think the vehicles you have been allocated, even though some of them cost 60 to 70 million rupees each, are not good enough because they are not blast proof. After what happened at Kosgama last week, all of you should be asking for blast proof vehicles instead of those you have been given.

Rajitha and Gayantha did a good job of justifying the need for these vehicles. Rajitha explained how only the best cars  and not average Japanese cars  were needed to travel through our difficult terrain. Gayantha said these vehicles were not that expensive. Pity they didnt say all this before the election!

Anyway, dear ministers and deputy ministers, I dont think you should worry too much about those criticising you. The Joint Opposition cant do much except shout. This was proven by the no-confidence motion against Ravi, when even Mahinda maama didnt turn up to vote for the motion.

If the going gets tough, you can follow Maithris example. He opened the doors of Presidents House and said what a humble man am I?. You too can open the doors of your luxury vehicle, allow the public to have a look- and maybe even take them for a ride. After all, that is what you do all the time!

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: The latest I heard was that the Green Man had put a stop to importing your vehicles until all the houses destroyed in the floods and landslides and the blast at Kosgama were rebuilt. This chap is a real spoilsport, isnt he? Little wonder that people say he doesnt have the common touch and doesnt know the pulse of the people!
Choose the right healing process View(s):

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has allayed the long entertained apprehensions within the Armed Forces whether they are going to be sacrificed at the altar of political expediency by throwing them before an international tribunal that will inquire into allegations of violations of International Humanitarian Law for committing the crime of safeguarding the security, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of this country.

The National Unity Government dilly-dallied on this crucial question for a tinge longer than it should have. President Maithripala Sirisena who was earlier emphatic that there would be no international tribunal, reiterated this in his exclusive interview published today in the Sunday Times. While the so-called International Community (read Western powers) were baying for the blood of the countrys then political leadership and the Armed Forces for not listening to them when they wanted ground military operations halted against the LTTE back in 2009, the ground political situation has changed since then.

The then President and Commander-in-chief has been ousted from office and the then Army Commander is now a cabinet minister in a Government that has found favour with those who instigated a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva calling for a probe into what for all intent and purposes are war crimes.

The fact that Sri Lanka co-sponsored this resolution together with the US when it came up last year has been strongly criticised, while the Foreign Ministry strenuously argued that co-sponsoring meant the country managed to water-down a harder hitting original draft and avoided a vote which we kept losing during the previous Government.

In the face of such a politically motivated call at the UN forum, many Sri Lankans at the time advocated a credible internal investigation. The then President was misled by his Foreign Minister to believing that the US was not serious  but it was, the sticking point being the international flavour to the probe.

The 2015 resolution referred to international judges and technical support but when the new UNHRC chief visited Sri Lanka he left a window open to allow Sri Lanka a credible internal investigation. The 32nd sessions of the UNHRC begin tomorrow in Geneva and the Jordanian prince who heads the UN body is expected to say something on the current status of the resolution.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera who seems to be handling the issue on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka went on record last week in this newspaper to say it was too early to speculate on what kind of mechanism would be in place for the inquiry. On the other hand, international NGOs are issuing reports calling for a more sustained adherence to the resolutions wording.

The Foreign Minister also went on record to say that the domestic mechanism that would investigate the purported allegations of violations of International Humanitarian Law (read war crimes) had not yet been put in place.

This is going to be the major headache for the Government. Clearly, the move to investigate the Armed Forces via a war crimes tribunal by whatever name one calls it is not going to be a popular move for the Government; not with the Armed Forces and not with the majority of the people of this country who are grateful to the military for ending an insurgency that ran for 30 bloody years due to the cocktail of caste politics in the North; ethno-economic issues in the Souths dealings with the North, and geo-political hegemony politics in the region.

US President Barack Obama visiting Hiroshima on the 71st anniversary of the dropping of the Atom bombs over the city quoted from the Hibashuka (stories of the survivors) and related one of a woman who forgave the pilot who dropped that deadly bomb. He spoke of the human race as one family and he spoke of how two sworn enemies are today the best of friends, doing more for their people by partnership than by war.

So too must that spirit pervade an internal conflict that afflicted a country like Sri Lanka. On the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Japan, president Obama met President Sirisena and said his country was there to help Sri Lanka.

The terrible insurgency that sought to dismember Sri Lanka into another Cyprus took a heavy toll in the life, liberty and economic upliftment of all our people. A country that took off economically in the post-1977 period leaving most other South Asian nations, including India behind slumped with the eruption of the separatist insurgency. The 1983 riots were a watershed and the Tamil diaspora that the riots triggered was to reverse the strides the country had made, economically.

Today, the diaspora, bitter about what happened, is trying to pull down the country and those remaining in it, including the minorities as sweet revenge. The Northern Province Chief Minister, in whom there was hope of reconciliation and rehabilitation with a Government that was put in place by both the majority and the minorities together, has been a pawn in the hands of this diaspora.

Ask the ordinary people of the North and many will say that the elected representatives of the North are more concerned about Geneva than Jaffna. These people want to get back on their feet having suffered more than anyone else during the war years. The North is replete with new problems; the narcotic Kerala ganja to alcoholism to the lack of water to the problems of the fishermen staying at home in the face of Indians poaching in the Palk Strait and the farmers tilling the barren land with little support from the authorities.

On the other hand, Jaffna, the citadel of the North is probably the fastest growing city today outside Colombo as the doing diaspora lends a hand to uplift the people as against the talking diaspora.

The Government has established, or proposes to establish a Task Force, a Truth Commission, a Permanent Office for Missing Persons and signed an International Convention for the protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. The Human Rights Commission must be given more strength, but never should the Government underestimate the undercurrents of the military, which it may need some day in the future.

What the UNHRC wants to do may not be the way forward; it certainly is not the only way to go. It must not make a delicate situation worse and at a time when healing is the best option, opening of old war wounds is not an option for the whole country.
Kids Essays View(s):

Instant Food

Instant food or convenience food are the foods that are usually ready to eat without further preparation. Though they are easy to eat, they are not suitable for our health. Because of their busy lifestyles, people have got used to going to shops and buying these instant foods. Various food additives, preservatives and colouring are added to foods like instant noodles, meatballs, sausages and short-eats etc. in some hotels and restaurants, previously made mixtures are used to make food.

There are many harmful effects of eating this kind of food. Day by day, people in our country get non communicable diseases like Diabetes, Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, Cancer and many more. The life expectancy of these people is gradually decreasing. Though these foods give a pleasant smell and taste, it can cause long term diseases.

Considering the past, people were very healthy because they only ate healthy food which did not contain harmful things, but now nearly everybody in the world has these diseases.

So what should we do to prevent this? We have the ability to cook healthy food instead of eating instant food. Then we will be able to protect ourselves and save the money we spend on instant food. So let us eat healthy and be healthy!

Sanara Kothalawala (Grade

Yasodara Vidylaya, Colombo 8

My school

My school is Musaeus College. There are many

students and

teachers in my school. My school colours are blue and yellow. My school is celebrating its 125th birthday this year. My school is the best school in Sri Lanka.

I love my school.

Esheli Ranawaka (6 years)

Musaeus College

My mother

My mothers name is Nuzha Shamroz. She is 29 years old.

My mother has two sons.

My brother Umar and I.

My mother cooks tasty food.

She washes my clothes and helps me with my homework. She takes me for swimming classes. She likes to watch TV.

My mothers favourite food is chocolate cake and her favourite drink is vanilla milk. My mothers favourite colour is red. She has a lot of red shalwars. My mother teaches me a lot of good things.

She is the best mother in the world. I love my mother a lot.

Naqeeb Shamroz (7 years)

Zahira College

Animals

As I was sleeping on my soft white pillow

I dreamed I saw a tree called a Willow.

I could hear the wind rustling in there

And the fairies singing happily there.

I could hear the clock ticking away

And the owl joyfully hooting away.

The frogs were catching some tasty flies

While the beautiful fairies were asleep in the night.

The bats were flying high in the sky

And eating fruits and playing with the fireflies

The mermaids were swimming in the sea

And the dolphins were jumping above the sea.

I saw that it was so beautiful

I also wanted to stay there too.

I liked the animals the best of all

But nothing is better than my little house.

Miriam Ranjithan

(8 years)

St. Lawrences Convent

My trip to Nuwara Eliya

When I got my school holidays I asked my father, For this vacation where are we going? He said we are not going anywhere because our little princess was not well. After hearing that, my elder sister and I were very sad. On April 12, my mother was packing our bags so we asked her where we were going and she said we were going to Nuwara Eliya. We shouted Hooray!

We started our journey at 7a.m.

On the way we went to Leisure World and had breakfast. In Yatiyantota we had lunch at our aunts house. After lunch we went straight to Talawakele. On the way we saw lots of natural sceneries and tea estates. Then we went to see Devon Waterfall. We took some photos there. After that we went to the Waterfall Villa and stayed there for one day. It was a nice place and we could see Devon Falls from there. In the morning when I opened the window I got fresh air to breathe.

We next went to Ambewela. There we saw goats, cows, bulls, calves and rabbits. I saw the milking of cows. After that we met our uncles family. We came to the town and had our lunch. Then we went to see Nuwara Eliya Town, Victoria Park, Gregory Lake. Afterwards we went to Hilltop View Resort and stayed there. The next morning we went boat riding on the Gregory Lake. Then we went to the mosque for Friday prayers. Later we went to see the Mackwoods Museum and tea estate and we had our evening tea there. Then we came to the Strawberry Farm and saw strawberry trees and baby strawberries. After seeing all this we came back home.

It was a memorable trip for us.

Usman Hunaisdeen (Grade 3)

Lyceum Int. School, Nugegoda

William Shakespeare

Out of all the famous people in the world, Shakespeare is my favourite.

He was born in 1564 near London in

the city of Stratford-on-Avon.

His father was a leather merchant.

He was third of six children.

In his Grammar school he learnt poetry, history, Greek and Latin.

His wife was Anne Hathaway.

They had a daughter and twin boy and girl. They were Hamnet and Judith.

The daughter was Susanna.

He wrote plays and was an actor as well. Some early plays are Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Nights Dream. They had their plays in a theatre called the Globe Theatre. Some of his other plays are Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. Later he became very rich and bought a large home called New Place. He also became famous for his poetry and sonnets. He died on his 52nd birthday.

He is credited with introducing nearly 3000 words to the English language. It is said his works are second only to the Bible.

Kavindu Munasinghe (Grade

Lyceum Int. School, Wattala

The most interesting storybook I have read

Children enjoy reading storybooks. I have read many storybooks. Reading is my hobby. Amba yaluwo is my favourite storybook.

The story is about two children. The story teaches us to be helpful and to be kind.

The author is Mr. T. B. Ilangaratne. The book helps to develop healthy attitudes. The story is interesting and enjoyable. The book helps to develop good values. Readers get much pleasure by reading the story. Readers get much knowledge by reading the story.

The story is important to children.

Sesadi Gamage (Grade 7)

St. Anthonys Convent, Kandy

My first day at school

My father took me to the school. I still remember my first day at school. It was a joyful day. My father met the principal and

I got admission to the first standard.

My Grade 1 class teacher is Mrs. Chinthika. She welcomed me. She was very smart and so kind. She has a charming personality. She asked my name. There were many colourful toys in the class. In the break I started to play with my classmates.

S. Sathurjanan (Grade 3)

Sussex College, Bandarawela

If I had wings

Wings, having wings is very special. Only lucky people like angels get wings. Birds also have wings. Wings are very special things from God to the birds. Whoever has wings can freely fly forever.

If I had wings I will explore the whole universe. I can go to other countries without any passports.

I can go to forests and eat a lot of fruits and also bring some for my family members. I will also help the poor by giving them food and water. I will go to my friends houses.

Wings are very useful for people.

I will also shelter my wings when rain comes. I will never walk if I had wings. If I had wings I will be the happiest person on Earth. I wish I had wings.

Zaina Rajap (Primary 5)

Adventist Int. School, Negombo

Lets go green

Happy is the man who acquires the habit of loving the environment. Showing love and affection to the beauty of the environment is called eco-friendliness.

Today Earth is commonly known as the Green Planet due to its illustration with many forests of trees. The trees provide a hub of activities for man as well as animals around him. Trees help to maintain the water cycle and also maintain the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere. Trees provide timber, fruits, vegetables, medicines, shade and many other useful things.

Deforestation of trees would create a drought like living place. Today man, in order to construct new factories, houses, farms cut down trees.

If trees are cut down the oxygen we breathe will decrease resulting in an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Deforestation also leads to global warming. Carbon dioxide harms the Ozone Layer so that ultra violet rays might enter the Earth and this results in skin cancer. This will also melt down the icebergs due to excess heat and resulting in land areas sunken by water.

If people acknowledged the adverse effects of cutting trees, water crisis would be minimized. So lets spread this green umbrella all over Sri Lanka and practice the saying if you cut one tree plant ten more.

Savindu Herat (Grade 10)

Royal Int. School, Kurunegala
ABBA reunite for anniversary performance View(s):

Fans were dreaming for years that the group ABBA will reunite. They waited and then taken by surprise at a private function held in Stockholm, Sweden when all four members of the onetime Swedish super group came on stage to mark their 50th anniversary on June for a rare sing-along. Pictures of the rare event are now online they show them singing and hugging each other. ABBA came to the fore in 1974 with the song Waterloo which won the Eurovision song contest. The group comprised Agnetha Faltstog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson and Anni-Frida Lyngstad, split up in 1982. They sold over 380 million albums. There were many rumours and stories floating around, some credible about ABBAs reunion for years.

New music by David Bowie could be on the way by the late David Bowie. Reports indicate his long term producer Tony Visconti is negotiating with the Bowie management to release the previously unreleased songs. Bowie released his last album Blackstar on his 69th birthday, two before he died of cancer.

The Revolution has announced they have recorded music with Prince to make two albums. The band was the backing band for Prince during his Purple Rain era. The band claims the recordings are at the late musicians Paisley Park.

Eric Clapton has collaborated on two new songs for the next Rolling Stones album. The recording came about by coincidence as Clapton was working in an adjoining studio when he was asked to join in for a jam session. The recordings took place at the studio in Chiswick, West London with producer Don Was.

Drake has managed to add another week to the tally his song One Dance, has at the No:1 position on the UK singles chart. This week One Dance has clocked eight weeks. The song has now equalled the eight week reign of Rihannas Umbrella back in 2007. One Dance moved 85,000 copies.

The highest new entry on the chart was at No: 6 for Clean Bandits Tears which debuted at the high spot. The song came out on 27th May with it popularity receiving a boost with a live performance at the Britains Got Talent contest finals recently. Tears is dance, synthpop and classical crossover track which a trade mark for Clean Bandit. The song also features the vocals of Louisa Johnson who was the X-Factor winner in the UK in 2015. Tears will feature on Clean Bandits next album. It is the fifth top 10 hit for the band.

A very catchy song called This Girl by Kungs Vs Cookin On 3 Burners has made a dash from 29 to No: 10 on the UK singles chart. The person behind the success of the song is Kungs, a French DJ and remixer who has taken the laid back track by the Australian Hammond organ trio Cookin On 3 Burners, increased the bpm by spicing it up with trumpet riffs, tropical jazz sound and a deep house melody. Kungs who is 19 years old and has already remixed material by Bob Marley, Lana Del Rey and the Lost Frequencies among others. This Girl is his big break out hit which has also helped Cookin On 3 Burners.

UK TOP 10 TW LW 1 1 One Dance  Drake ft:

Wizkid & Kyla

2 2 Cant Stop The Feeling 

Justin Timberlake

3 3 This Is What You Came For  Calvin Harris ft: Rihanna

4 5 No Money  Galantis

5 4 Cheap Thrills  Sia

6  Tears  Clean Bandit ft: Louisa Johnson

7 6 Too Good  Rihanna ft: Drake

8 12 I Hate U I Love U  Gnash ft: Olivia OBrien

9 7 I Took A Pill In Ibiza  Mike Posner

10 29 This Girl  Kungs vs Cookin On 3 Burners
Salvage presents Bad to the Bone for our four-legged friends By AnneMarie De Silva View(s): View(s):

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.  Gilda Radner (American comedian and actress)

Sri Lankan rock giants Salvage are gearing up for a concert in aid of Adopt a Dog in Sri Lanka (ADSL) to raise funds for their favourite four-legged friends. Bad to the Bone will be held at Which Way West (at the Liberty Arcade) on June 18 at 7 p.m.

ADSL is a social-media based welfare group that rescues stray animals. The group is currently facing difficulties running their operations due to a lack of funds. Their operations have resulted in Rs. 800,000 worth of bills in veterinary costs, shelter costs and sterilisation camp costs that need to be paid.

Salvage teamed up with ADSL to present Bad to the Bone, a fund-raising concert to help the welfare group continue its operations across Sri Lanka.

The band consists of Chrisantha CC De Silva on vocals, Shalinda Halpe on lead guitar, Sajana Bupathi on rhythm guitar, Udaya Wickramage on drums and Suren De Kauwe on bass. The concert will feature Salvage, former TNL Onstage winners Constellation and The Ringmasters Jam led by Bernard Boteju from Circus Cult.

Bad to the Bone will also feature some surprise acts that, we hope the audience will love. Weve collaborated with these amazing artistes before on an amazing project, and were sure this one will be a killer performance too, says Shalinda lead guitarist of Salvage.

The Sunday Times caught up with Shoba Wijekoon, team member of ADSL who said all the team members and fosters are volunteers. During the floods we saved 25 dogs and pups with the help of Embark. Some of the rescued dogs have already been re-homed, she said.

The other team members of ADSL are Natty De Silva, Nuushani Ediriweera, Amandani Ariyarathne, Manoja Weerakkody, Nicolie Sympson and Yasmine Samarasinghe.

ADSL has fed over 600 dogs in Kelaniya, Kaduwela and Malabe as a result of so many people donating rations at the three collection points after the floods, Shoba said.

The team uses Facebook as a platform to connect with potential fosters and adopters. Although their main goal is to re-home dogs and puppies, they help stray dogs and any other dogs that are brought to their attention via social media. The team works alongside veterinarians and fosters to feed, treat, sterilise and re-home dogs as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Bad to the Bone is the perfect opportunity for dog lovers especially those who would like to help but cannot adopt or foster a dog to support ADSL in running their operations, .

Tickets priced Rs. 1,000 are available at Which Way West, Giovannis, Cult Studios and TNL Radio Station.

For more information on ADSL, visit www.facebook.com/adoptadoginsrilanka
Strains of music in unusual spaces Text and pix by Dilantha Dissanayake View(s): View(s):

How does one combine a career in architecture and a passion for writing and performing music? Aditi Veena or Ditty uses innovative spaces to captivate her audience with beautifully prepared spoken words and a natural gift for entertaining.

Born and raised in New Delhi she is well used to the live music scene in her hometown. Yet with time she has moved away from traditional venues to give a more intimate and personal experience to her audience.

She started to sing at the tender age of 14, at her schools contemporary western music choir and along the way taught herself to play the guitar and trumpet. The later which her father played while he was at school.

Her current Mumblings EP brings out her love of music, poetry and art. If you have ever longed for the years gone by, when you bought music and you had a piece of tangible art, then I would suggest seeking out Ditty. The Mumblings EP is a small booklet that folds out into a poster containing the interactions and impressions of four men in her life. Represented by animals  they are her father, brother and two ex-boyfriends. The booklet has charming innocent illustrations with lyrics in a stylistic font befitting the images. At the back you are lead to a website with a unique code that allows you to download the tracks.



She makes a living by day as an architect, which is the reason she initially moved to Sri Lanka after coming on a diving holiday, being impressed as well as inspired by the buildings and motifs. She has gigged around the island extensively. I have played in many gigs and bars and clubs both here and at home, I got freaked out with people talking and consuming while I was amplified in the corner so I tried to play with non traditional spaces, experimenting with how that effects the performance and experience. Of late she has played at the Prana lounge in Colombo, the arena was a small corridor with a vaulted ceiling where the music gently floated through the audience and more recently assisting in a warrior yoga session at Sri Yoga Shala, Unawatuna.

Ditty is currently planning events which would see her busk on the streets more, interacting with her audience and writing relevant music. Presently writing Poetry from Ceylon about her latest experiences, I can comment easily, it becomes more fluid and less restrictive. She recently performed a humorous yet caring piece called Food City at Melo Manic Sessions in Galle.
Flood victims cry: Wheres all the foreign aid? By Anushiya Sathisraja Anger grows among those left destitute View(s): View(s):

Grama Niladharis are under fire from flood victims along the banks of the Kelani who say that none of the foreign aid they have heard about is reaching them and that many who have lost their homes and belongings have not received any help at all.

Three weeks after floods ravaged many of the areas adjoining the Kelani river communities are waiting for the government machinery to move in to provide aid, rebuild houses and provide other relief.

Flood victims stranded in Kelaniya, Kelanimulla and Angoda areas, this week, claimed there was no responsible officer at grassroots level to monitor the process of distributing dry rations to the destitute.

Grama Niladharis have provided packages worth Rs. 1,500 of essential food items to residents in Kelanimulla and Angoda but there are complaints that the package was only worth Rs. 1,000 and that it was enough only for two days.

Where is the foreign aid going? B.R. Ishara, 27, a resident of Kelanimulla asked. There are about 25 families in this lane  none of us got any aid from the government during and after the floods.

We asked the Grama Niladhari to provide some food packets since we did not get anything but the Grama Niladhari said they could not give this to only a few people, she added.

I distributed to the victims what the other government officials provided me, the Grama Niladhari for the Kelanimulla area, K.D. Sandarekha, protested.

Questioned about foreign aid, she replied, I was not informed by any of my senior officials about foreign aid: I only distributed the items given by our government. We didnt ask senior officials for tents, tarpaulins, generators and so on.

We have set up 25 Disaster Management Centre (DMC) units in 25 districts, DMC Deputy Director Pradeep Kodipilli said. A large volume of relief materials have been dispatched to the respective districts to be handed over to the Divisional Secretaries.

The District Secretaries of each district should be responsible for distributing the relief material. At the village level, the Grama Niladharis are responsible for distributing relief material.

He also explained the mechanism by which foreign aid would reach the public: the foreign aid will be taken over by the Ministry for Disaster Management and transferred to the District and Divisional Secretariats and finally to the Grama Niladharis to be given out to flood victims. Any remaining stocks would be kept in government storage at Orugodawatte.

Virtually none of the flood victims in the Kelaniya area has eceived foreign relief materials. When asked about this, the Minister of Disaster Management, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, said all the items had been distributed to District Secretaries offices islandwide according to their requirements.

But this is at odds with other reports. We did not receive any foreign relief items from the District Secretarys office other than the essential items packages, the Divisional Secretary for Kolonnawa, A.U.K. Dodanwala said.

Some people who were trapped in unreachable places have received no attention while those staying by the roadside gained the bulk of the food and dry rations. Government officials who provided dry rations did not want to venture down lanes to check on damage, said Angoda resident H.A. Sumithra.

We were helpless without food, water and electricity, and were given food by the non-governmental organisations, said housewife R.D.P. Chandani. We badly need sanitary wear, womens clothes and medicines for children.

I ask the government to prevent this flooding rather than give out flood relief.

Sixty-five-year-old D. Hettiarchchi, a shop-owner in Kelaniya, said for seven days after the floods no government official had visited him.

Last week, Grama Niladharis visited my house and estimated there had been Rs. 400, 000 worth of damages to the house but damage to furniture was not taken into account, Mr. Hettiarchchi said. He added that he was not sure when he would teceie any money.

Schoolchildren sitting for the GCE Advanced level examination in a months time are left without textbooks, uniforms or shoes.

Mother of two, H.A. Shiromi wept and pleaded with the government to at least to give financial help to buy books for her children. All the money I and my husband earned has been lost, she said.

I dont even have a pair of shoes or a uniform to wear or books to take to schools. Im waiting till someone provides me some clothes, books and stationery items to go to school, said GCE O-Level student G.A. Hiruni Nithya.

One worker struck a conciliatory note: We need to accept the truth that the Grama Niladharis office has also been affected by the floods but as responsible government officials they should have found alternative methods to help the victims, 27-year-old W.T. Roshan said. Mr. Kodipilli said the DMC had set up a hotline, 1717, that people could call regarding emergency situations in their areas.
ICG refutes Jayalalithaas complaints against SLN By Kumar Chellappan, our Chennai correspondent View(s): View(s):

Indias Coastguard (ICG) has rebuffed complaints by Tamil Nadu (TN) Chief Minister (CM) Jayalalithaa Jayaram, saying there are no instances of the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) trespassing the Indian side of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and arresting TN fishermen.

ICG Director General, Rajendra Singh, told journalists on Friday, his institution was constantly interacting with the fishermen, through our community interaction programme, to educate them.

We have held 236 programmes in 2016 alone and our teams are reaching out to villages along the TN coast and educating the fishermen not to cross the IMBL, be it between India and Sri Lanka, or Pakistan or Bangladesh, or Myanmar, Mr Singh said. He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Indo-Korea Joint Maritime Exercise Sahyog-Hyeoblyeog 2016 being held off the Chennai coast.

The ICG chief also said the force would strengthen its air surveillance in the region by inducting 14 helicopters from next financial year. The indigenously built Chetak helicopters do not have the ability to go over deep sea, with each sortie lasting only one or two hours. The twin-engine Eurocopters can make longer trips and can fly continuously for six to seven hours, said Singh.

Mr Singh revealed that the ICG is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Coastguards of Sri Lanka and Myanmar to conduct joint exercises. Through these periodic exercises, the forces of the countries share real time information and issues related to pollution, search and control, piracy and day-to-day information.

Significantly, Mr Singhs remarks come a day after the TN CM wrote a strongly-worded letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that fishermen from her State were facing daily threats of harassment and abduction at the hands of the SLN, while they fish in their traditional fishing waters in the Palk Bay. This is the second letter in a week sent by Jayalalithaa making allegations against the SLN.

Sri Lankas strategy of not releasing the boats while releasing the fishermen and thus throttling the livelihood of the fishermen is causing immense frustration among TN fishermen. I urge you to take this up with the highest authorities of the Sri Lanka Government and ensure the immediate release of our fishermen and their fishing boats, said Jayalalithaa in her letter.

Jayalalithaa wants Narendra Modi to restore the traditional rights of TN fishermen by annulling the ill-advised Indo-Sri Lanka agreements of 1974 and 1976 urgently. She said there were 21 fishermen and 92 fishing boats in the custody of the Sri Lanka authorities.

The Modi Government at the Centre is in a predicament, as it does not have an absolute majority in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House). Hence, it is dependent on regional parties such as the All India Anna DMK and Trinamool Congress.

This is the second time in two years the ICG is declaring that the SLN is a good friend of the country, and has never ever attacked any TN fishermen. In an affidavit filed with the Madras High Court earlier this year, the ICG told the Madras High Court, The SLN has not attacked even a single fisherman on the Indian side of the IMBL.
Kosgama inferno: Armys loss more than Rs. 5 billion By Damith Wickremasekera View(s): View(s):

Army chief says stocks of multi-barrel-rocket ammunition were to be resold to suppliers

Looters on the rampage; damaged houses and shops robbed

The devastating fire at their Central Armoury in Kosgama last Sunday has caused a loss of five billion rupees or more, Army Commander Chrisanthe de Silva said yesterday.

While the reconstruction of the installations has begum, he told the Sunday Times the premises will no longer be used to store ammunition. Stocks that have remained are now being moved out to areas that are not heavily built up civilian locations, Lt. Gen. de Silva said.

His remarks came as the Government Valuers yesterday began costing the damage caused to the civilian sector. Their work will continue today. Some 650 houses have been completely or partially destroyed. This is besides shops and other buildings, Colombos District Secretary Sunil Kannangara told the Sunday Times.

One of the main problems arising out of the fire is looting. Sabaragamuwas Deputy Inspector General Rohan Dias said so far 28 cases of grave crime where persons had looted goods from shops and houses had been recorded. One such case was the looting of a restaurant where foreign liquor stocks had been stolen. Police have increased patrols in the Salawa (Kosgama) area to prevent similar incidents. Some1,190 complaints have been recorded until yesterday.

Among the large stock of ammunition destroyed were artillery rounds and multi-barrel rocket ammunition that was to be resold to the supplier after as it was found to be redundant, the Army Commander said.

He added: After I assumed office, I found that there were large quantities of ammunition left. Since there were no use of keeping such large quantities, I proposed that before the period expires the stocks be disposed of and we get fresh stocks with less quantities keeping to the requirements of national security.

He said in April this year the Cabinet of Ministers had given approval for the re-sale at prices lower than what was paid for the purchase.

Lt. Gen. de Silva said some groups were collecting the metal casings of different types of ammunition believing that they had a re-sale value. He said the Police had been told to deal with them.
Little guardians of their very own hill ROAR by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society aims at making schoolchildren in the area of a World Heritage Site little researchers and scientists in restoring a rainforest. Kumudini Hettiarachchi reports View(s): View(s):

As rain and sunshine played hide-and-seek last Sunday and mild to heavy showers won the day, whooping with joy, knots of schoolchildren clambered up Diyakotha Kanda in the Kalutara district on the border of the Sinharaja Rainforest, a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site.

This is their very own kanda (hill) and on World Environment Day many were the people who had travelled to their tiny village of Dikhena all the way from Colombo to tell them that a helping hand would be extended to turn them into small researchers and scientists, in a project to be implemented here.

It is ROAR  Reforestation Of A Rainforest  that the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) will set in motion to ultimately make the villages around Diyakotha Kanda the protectors and guardians as well as beneficiaries of what is in their backyard. The main sponsor of the project is the Rotary Club of Colombo West, while the co-sponsors are Bureau Veritas and Textured Jersey Lanka Plc.

For, chattily  after the schoolchildren are told to come down the hill immediately as with the rains, the rocks scattered up the incline could tumble down  they are quick to relate how Diyakotha Kanda was mantled with rainforest similar to Sinharaja, not so long ago.

However, the rape and ravage by fire of Diyakotha Kanda have stripped it of its rich rainforest cover and the children shudder at the recollection of how the flames not only devastated the trees and plants but also left a beautiful python, several porcupines, hares and numerous other creepy-crawlies very burnt and very dead.

Earlier, a mix of girls and boys, from five schools in the area gathered at the Dikhena Kanishta Vidyalaya not only to greet the visitors from Colombo but also to serve them with large mugs of steaming kola-kenda to be drunk with bites off pieces of melt-in-the-mouth kithul hakuru(jaggery).

The visitors had woken up early morning, hit the Matara Expressway, exited at Dodangoda and wended their way through the still-stirring towns of Matugama, Agalawatte and Badureliya, taking the right turn to Hadigalla.

The sleepy village of Dikhena is about 15km down a winding, off-the-beaten track, flanked by lushly-green foliage, with streams bubbling along. A rare bus plies on it, while teachers and students were seen straggling along for the function on World Environment Day.

The guests from WNPS, Rotary Club of Colombo West, Bureau Veritas and Textured Jersey Lanka Plc., have come a-visiting to assure not only the schoolchildren but also their teachers and parents that they will help restore Diyakotha Kanda to what it was before. This would be while making the children partners in this project to revive the rainforest that had draped this hill before human intervention destroyed the fauna and flora and made way only for kekilla to take root in the nutrient-sans soil.

Back in 2009, although a restoration attempt had been made by the WNPS and one school by planting 500 plants at Diyakotha Kanda, due to people setting fire to this forest patch, the project had fallen by the wayside. Amateur enthusiasm, inadequate funds for capacity-building and absence of supervised scientific analysis too had contributed to its downfall.

It is with renewed vigour that the WNPS and five schools in the area are now set on making the five-acre (two-hectare) plot of which they have been made the guardians, by the Forest Department, a successful reforestation project.

The vision to be soon turned into reality with the launch of ROAR last Sunday is re-activating the WNPS Schools Nature Clubs in the area, educating, training and capacity-building of the children, teachers and parents and fostering the continued stewardship of the restored forest as a template for replication across the country utilizing Nature Clubs. Then not only locally but also internationally Diyakotha Kanda will draw researchers to study this living laboratory.

The WNPS hopes to make villages, through successive generations of schoolchildren, the guardians of the forests in their areas. The schools which are initially involved in the ROAR project are Dikhena Kanishta Vidyalaya; Badureliya Model Vidyalaya; Ingurudaluwa Kanishta Vidyalaya; Hedigalla Colony Maha Vidyalaya; and Gurulubedda Kanishta Vidyalaya.

Explaining that Diyakotha Kanda is a symbol of a rainforest, WNPS President Prof. Lakdas Fernando gently points out to the children how they have had a pharmacy in their backyard and also a vital oxygen-producing machine. In other parts of the world, people have to carry a bottle of water in one hand and a bottle of oxygen in the other. But in Dikhena, everyone has fresh water as well as fresh air. Therefore, it is important to protect what nature has bestowed on them.

This is why the goal of ROAR is to restore and link a thriving Diyakotha Kanda to the Sinharaja Rainforest, making it a contiguous whole, he says, stressing the importance of connecting fragmented eco-systems.

Rainforests are easy to destroy but difficult to re-grow, says Prof. Fernando, adding that the ROAR project will encourage generations of schoolchildren to track the progress of a rainforest from planting to completion by maintaining data scrupulously and keeping records of the fauna and flora that inhabit the plots allocated to them.

The schoolchildren who are involved in the ROAR project would also be given a hands-on knowledge in conservation as well as training in presentation skills, project management, data analysis and much more which would help them in their future careers.

At the simple function in Dikhena, the Rotary Club of Colombo West was represented by Chairman and Rtn. Jit Seneviratne, Bureau Veritas by Chanaki de Costa and Textured Jersey Lanka Plc. by Rasika Gunawardena. The Principal of the host school, Dikhena Kanishta Vidyalaya, is Renuka Karunaratne.

Meanwhile, WNPS General Secretary, Rohan Wijesinha fervently appealed to schools from other areas to seek partnerships with the five schools engaged in the ROAR project at Diyakotha Kanda.

Then they too can have plots allocated to them for their own research on the reforestation of a rainforest, he added.

ROAR step by step It is environmental expert Vimukthi Weeratunga who takes the children through the stages of the ROAR project, which would follow the guidelines of ecological restoration. Stage I  Establishment of fast-growing shade trees such as Kenda, Bu-kenda and Gadumba which will thrive in soil lacking nutrients. This is needed as true rainforest tree species at different levels will not grow as there is no shade at present. These fast-growing shade trees will also destroy the problematic kekilla layer, which in turn will leave a thick carbonic fertilizer layer. Stage II  Planting of short-term shrub species such as Bovitiya, Wal-mussanda and Kirilla, so that when they too wither and die, more nutrients will be added to the soil. Stage III  Introduction of climax species such as Hora, Boo Hora, Kekiriwara and Thiniya to make the area a complex forest. The emigration of species will occur after such restoration, with insects, invertebrates, birds and small mammals making this area their home. Gradually, species inter-connection will accelerate, the food chain will get strengthened and there will be co-existence.
Setting out to help young people achieve their goals By Minushi Perera View(s): View(s):

If you want to have a successful outcome you have to have a successful social environment, said internationally renowned award- winning scientist and human performance expert, Dr. Dragos Bratasanu, at a recent forum in Colombo. His topic wasThe Future of Leadership: Exponential thinking.

Thirty two-year-old Dr. Bratasanu, was the keynote speaker for the CXO forum organised by Sri Lanka Institute of Training and Development held on June 10, at the Jubilee Ballroom of the Galle Face Hotel. He was here to share the successful leadership programme at NASA.

Born and raised in Romania during years of economic hardship, Dr. Bratasanu was brought up with the belief that life was a struggle and poverty an everyday reality. In college he studied engineering, to please his parents. He went through, he says, a rough patch in life and spent his free time in the library reading on ancient spiritual editions, leadership, team building, marketing and entrepreneurship.

When he was 24 years old, Dr. Bratasanu had an ambition to go on an expedition to the North Pole and South Pole. He contacted travel agencies, airlines and camera companies to enlist them in his project to their mutual benefit. It took him one year to plan and organise his expeditions.

His perseverance paid off and he embarked on the expeditions to both the North Pole and the South Pole. On his return home after this great achievement he was determined to find a way to help young people accomplish their goals just as he did. He went on to work for NASA and and became a consultant of NASAs leadership programme.

Dr. Bratasanu is the Founder and President of Success Engineering Corp., a company focused on providing cutting-edge sustainable solutions for enhancing personal and organizational success.

He also holds a Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Siegen in Germany and is a graduate of the Business & Management Department at the International Space University Space Studies Programme 2012 hosted by Florida Institute of Technology and the NASA Kennedy Space Centre.

He is the author of Engineering Success which describes how NASA builds leaders and teams. He also directed the movie Amazing You, a breath-taking journey of personal fulfilment, with NASAs top leaders and other international personalities. As a speaker, he has addressed audiences in all five continents.

As advice for the young generation, he says they need to find the courage to live true to themselves no matter what the social environment pushes them to do.

The movie Amazing You directed by Dr. Bratasanu will be screened at the Galle Face Hotel on June 15. The film is open to all.
Visiting the Veddahs, 1899 By Richard Boyle View(s): View(s):

The most impressive thing about them was their unhuman apathy and utter lack of interest, a peculiarity of the lowest types of man  Hiller & Furness, Notes of a Trip to the Veddahs of Ceylon (1902).

Between the early research on the Veddahs by the Swiss naturalists Fritz Sarasin and his second cousin Paul Sarasin from 1883 to 1907, and the more scholarly achievements of the British husband and wife team, Charles and Brenda Seligmann, evident in The Veddas (1911), there was a visit to the tribe by another, but this time unrelated, pair  the Americans H. M. Hiller and W. H. Furness.

Their account was published as Notes of a Trip to the Veddahs of Ceylon (1902). Hardly a substantial piece, as indicated by the title, it nevertheless contains some informative descriptive passages that provide an interesting sketch of life of the Veddahs (colloquially the Wanniyala-Aetto or forest people) at a time when many of the tribe had never met a white man.

The lead author, Dr Hiram Milliken Hiller Jr. (1867-1921), an American physician, medical missionary, explorer and ethnographer, travelled widely in Asia and Oceania collecting cultural, zoological and botanical samples for museums; and for his lectures and publications.

But it was Hillers friend, fellow physician and co-author, Dr William Henry Furness III (1868-1920), a member of a socially prominent Philadelphia family, who inspired the four expeditions on which they jointly embarked. They were sometimes accompanied by another mutual friend, photographer Alfred Craven Harrison Jr. (18691925), who provided some valuable shots of the Veddahs for Notes of a Trip.

In 1893 Furness accompanied a patient to Japan and returned tattooed to the waist with nineteen large cases of curios and the desire for future travel to the East. So he proposed an expedition to collect artifacts, whose ultimate destination was Borneo to search for Dayak headhunters.

So in October 1895, Furness and Hiller left America, sailed to Japan, then on to Borneo. They explained to a newspaper reporter en route that their expedition was a private one, financed by Furnesss father, and their aim was to collect specimens for the University of Pennsylvania. It was reported that they wished to secure the most perfect collection possible.

They intend making a journey across Borneo and as much of the country that has not been visited by a white man. The trip is fraught with considerable danger, the reporter advised his readers.

After spending four months in Borneo, during which they visited the Dayaks despite the perils posed, they travelled to Singapore, Saigon and China before returning to their homeland in December 1896 via Japan and Hawaii.

In May 1897 they travelled to Borneo once more to study the Dayaks employing another complex itinerary (Kalimantan, Sarawak, Malaya), before their return in September 1898. Their research on the tribe was published as The Home-Life of Borneo Head-Hunters: its festivals and folklore (1902), authored by Furness.

Their third expedition was on an eastwards rather than westwards track. They set off from America for England in June 1899, travelled from London to Marseilles, before boarding a ship bound for Asia. The voyage took them through the Suez Canal and on to Colombo.

They had learnt that the Veddahs are classed in three groups, according somewhat to the localities in which they live. Those living near the coast are by far the most civilized; they associate freely with their Singhalese neighbors, devote themselves to fishing, and, in appearance only, differ from the primitive Singhalese living in the same region. These are known as the Coast Veddahs.

Next in point of development are the Village Veddahs, living in the Bintenne, whose distinguishing feature is that they make an attempt at building huts, and collect together in family groups: they are nomadic, and live in one place only as long as the natural products of the surrounding jungle are sufficiently plentiful to support their lazy existence.

In the third group are the Rock Veddahs, on account of their inability, or disinclination, to build houses and hence their mode of life in caves. They are the most exclusive of the groups, and almost never come into contact with the Singhalese, and do not associate with each other in tribal life but band together only in small family groups.

The Americans took the train to Kandy, marvelling at the way the railway line winds in and out and through and over the hill-tops, where at times one seems verily to overhang precipices or to glide bird-like over the sunny valleys.

After several days in the Hill Capital they left in a sort of wagonette drawn by two Australian horses. Our first stage was the rest-house in the village of Teldenia over a hard, well-built road running through a fairly populous country, cultivated with groves of cocoanut, cacao, and coffee. At the Mahaweli River we were ferried across on two dug-outs, fastened together with a bridge of planks.

From Teldeniya they travelled to Madagoda (?), the end of the cart track, where they acquired porters and set out next morning on foot to a village with the large name of Waragantotta(?). The head-man, who had interacted with Westerners before, came to greet us with such exuberant welcome that he did not take time to adjust under his Singhalese skirt the shirt he had donned in our honour. While we were talking, however, he was correcting this trifling detail, and a coat, a deer-stalker cap, and a large pair of blue goggles [blue-tinted spectacles/goggles were popular in the 19th century], were hastily brought from his house, to complete his toilette.

They crossed the Mahaweli, once again on a pontoon ferry, and reached Alutnuwera (Mahiyangana). Here is the remnant of a large city, and the huge brick dagoba [of the Raja Maha Vihara, the oldest in Sri Lanka, which marks the Buddhas visit], now standing in ruins [reconstruction only began in 1953] at one side of the village street. Its crumbling brick and stone bear evidence of its great age.

The custodian of the local resthouse informed them of a settlement of Village Veddahs near what the authors refer to as the Horra-Bora tank, more properly the Sorabora Wewa, a masterpiece of ancient Sri Lankan irrigation technology with a unique rock-cut sorowwa, or sluice-gate. But the Rock Veddahs lived much

farther away, an impossible venture with the limited time available. So the pragmatic team decided to visit the Village Veddahs and send local Sinhalese to fetch some Rock Veddahs.

The authors observed that on the surface of the Sorabora ducks and divers in large flocks disport themselves, crocodiles bask lazily in the sun on inviting rocky isles, and lotus and other aquatic plants grow in profusion. We followed the jungle path along the eastern shore, sometimes over outcrops of granite, or down by the waterside, close to the big pads and blooms of the yellow lotus.

After following our guide through thick undergrowth, suddenly we came into a cleared space where there was the merest excuse for a hut, and beside it a man and a woman squatting and cooking something in an earthenware pot, which rested on a fire of twigs and branches; a little beyond them were more huts and more women and children  lo! the Village Veddahs.

The elderly man and woman had between them scarcely a yard of coarse cloth as clothing, their hair hung loose in disheveled twists and strings about their faces, and they both squatted so low that their knees stood up above their shoulders. But the most impressive thing about them was their unhuman apathy and utter lack of interest, a peculiarity of the lowest types of man.

Inevitably, writing on the Veddahs during this period was subjective, comparative, and much else besides. John Capper, the respected editor of the Times of Ceylon, reveals typical prejudice in The Duke of Edinburgh in Ceylon  A Book of Elephant and Elk Sport (1871). The Veddahs were unwashed, uncombed, and all but unclad, carrying primitive bows and arrows. There they stand, in a close compact group, with matted hair and haggard features, resting on their bows.

Hiller and Furness continue: Although we came upon them unexpectedly, and although, as they told us later, they had never before seen white people, nevertheless, neither of them showed the slightest astonishment or interest in our appearance; both glanced up for a second, and then cast down their eyes, and continued silently shelling the seeds out of the lotus pods besides them.

The name of this village is Mukulugulla [?], which means plenty of bugs [?]. No doubt it justifies its name. The government demands a name for each village for the purposes of record, and this name was the head-mans own selection. To be considered civilized, and receive redress for wrongs, adult male Village Veddahs must pay a tax of one rupee per annum. They invariably borrow the money from the Singhalese, and then worked off the debt as porters or cultivating maize.

The authors state that the village consisted of about twenty-five Veddahs, of which seven were taxpayers. Of relative interest: The Department of Census and Statistics reveals that the Veddah population in 1891 was a mere 1,200, but by 1901, two years after the visit of the Americans, the population had swelled to 4,000.

The chiefs house was made of four upright posts and a flat thatched roof of palm leaves, but without walls or flooring. Two huts were shaped like A tents, one thatched with coarse grass, the other covered with the large circular leaves of the lotus. The remaining two huts were shaped like wall tents, the roofs of grass and walls of bark.

The cooking was all done out of doors, at a fireplace of three stones; and the cook was honored by having a seat, either a block of wood or the dried skin of the Axis deer [Sri Lankan axis deer] or Muntjac [barking deer]. We expected to find the village reeking with refuse and decaying game, but the place was free from smells and really clean.

The men wear a very simple garment; about three yards of calico being sufficient to form a loincloth. They use that part of the cloth that encircles the waist as a pocket to carry betel-nut, food, etc., twisted into its folds. This also acts as a belt, through which they thrust the handles of their short axes when travelling in the forest.

Hiller and Furness found the womens garment was less scanty but usually topless: a piece of calico fastened around the waist like a Malay sarong and hanging to about the ankles. To this at times is added another strip, covering the breasts.

When I met the late Veddah chief Tissahamy at Dambana in 1986, during the production of the documentary Old Trails, New Paths for the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, he wore a sarong, but younger members of the community (including his son, Uruwarige Wannila, the present chief) used span-cloths. The women had adopted the redda-hatte (cloth and jacket).

Returning to 1899, Hiller and Furness observed: None of them is tattooed, and they wear very few ornaments. Both sexes, however, perforate the lobe of the ear, and through the opening pass a wire, strung with beads or seeds. The women sometimes enlarge this perforation and wear in it a plug, made by rolling a palm strip into a cylinder.

The team was not made aware of the Veddahs worship of dead ancestors, the nae-yaku or relative spirit, but it was made aware of the importance of charms. They seemed to have little or no idea of religion, but have a firm faith in charms against all dangers. In the chiefs hut we found a book made of palm leaves; it was filled with various charms, written in Singhalese characters. One consisted of a sentence naming various parts of [the] Buddhas garments, [which] should be repeated thrice upon meeting a bear.

Another object for the working of charms and for purposes of divination we found in the shape of a stone, tied about with a piece of bark, which is consulted in cases of sickness. When the Veddah offers these prayers, he holds in his hands a stick, from which the divining-stone is suspended; if his prayer is heard the stick swings to and fro like a pendulum; if the evil spirit will not grant his prayer, the stone remains at rest.

After leaving the so-called village of bugs the Americans were visited at the Mahiyangana resthouse by the chief of the Rock Veddah village and four young followers. For some reason many of the photographs taken for the book were of these Rock Veddahs rather than the Village Veddahs, perhaps because they were more uncivilized, more proficient at archery, and performed a dance in the style I remember well from Dambana.

The old chief sang or chanted in a dismal minor key, and the men, keeping step with the dancing, twisted and turned, stamping the earth alternately with the heel and the ball of the foot. Their arms hung loosely from their shoulders, and swung with the motion of their bodies; their eyes were fixed on the ground at their feet, and their hair was shaking forward, half obscuring their faces.

The Americans departed soon after this ritual. The chief, followed by each of his men in turn, grasped our hands, wished us good luck or words to that effect, and left us to return again to their rocks, their beds on the ground, and to the ceaseless struggle for existence, with the odds in favor of famine, sickness and wild animals.

The text of Notes of a Trip to the Veddahs of Ceylon can be viewed at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001869719
A case of our very own Animal Farm View(s):

Many years ago, I remember reading for the first time George Orwells classic Animal Farm. In very simple terms, the plot of Orwells story is about a group of animals which, tired of suffering under the tyranny of Mr. Jones who owned the farm in which they were living, band together and revolt to drive the farmer off. Having successfully defeated and chased off the farmer who had for years controlled and exploited them, these animals, led by the pigs, take over the running of the farm and establish their own idealistic society. They even promulgate their own Seven Commandments of Animalism  a sort of principles of Yahapalanaya  of which the most important commandment was All animals are equal.

Initially the farm functions very well, all the animals working hard to bring to fruition the high ideals of democracy and good governance on which their revolution was founded. Gradually however, the pigs who establish themselves as the ruling class in this new democratically governed farm start enjoying the perks of office  and steadily work to consolidate their power. Manipulating and controlling the new state for their own benefit, the pigs in time take on more and more of the ways of the humans they displaced  and the animals who fought with high hopes to establish a free and just society on the farm find themselves betrayed into even worse servitude by their new leaders.

At the end of the story the ruling pigs have become so much like the former human owner  wearing clothes, trying to walk on two legs and drinking whisky  that the reader is left in no doubt about Orwells satirical intent. He tellingly makes the point that even the most idealistic revolution, even a peaceful one effected through the ballot, can deteriorate in time so that the gullible masses find themselves betrayed and exploited by the very rulers they helped put into office.

I was musing about Orwells Animal Farm these last few days as I see more and more evidence of our present rulers betraying the ideals upon which they put themselves forward for election in 2015. Mahinda Rajapaksa, whatever good he did for our country by leading the nation to victory over the LTTE, had by that time squandered the goodwill of a grateful people  and was presiding over a regime that had established a reputation for corruption and nepotism, run by folk who viewed their time in office as an opportunity to plunder and feather their nests rather than an opportunity to serve and better the lives of the people.

All that, we gullible folk believed, would change when Maithripala Sirisena bravely challenged (some might even say betrayed) his leader  and was elected to office on the promise of Yahapalanaya or good governance.

But less than two years since the slogan of Yahapalanaya was coined, we see the same old rackets being perpetrated by the new rulers and their henchmen  the only difference being that those who cried foul when Mahindas people were up to these activities are now subverting any criticism and indulging in the very same activities themselves.

Three years ago we groaned under the weight of a huge taxpayer-funded cabinet of ministers. Today, we find that the number of ministers is no less than 90  although I may be wrong, since the President is quite capable of having appointed a couple more since I wrote this article. Whether they are officially appointed as cabinet ministers, state ministers or deputy ministers, they all call themselves amathithuma  and they are all entitled to very comfortable salaries and perks.

And like Lakshman Kiriella has shown us, these perks extend to giving letters to supporters recommending them for jobs as lecturers in universities  and appointing almost a hundred co-coordinating secretaries and over fifty advisors in his ministry. These jobs for his boys will all be paid for out of the taxpayers money. Perhaps these folk wont have much to coordinate or advice at the ministry  but he probably hopes that all these people he provides appointments for will work for him when he next has to face an election.

I am sure that with the Presidents need to win over those in his political party who at present appear to be favouring Mahinda Rajapaksa, there will be an opportunity for more wavering SLFPers to become recipients of ministerial positions  in fact Sri Lanka may well have a hundred ministers before long!

And if each minister appoints as many advisers as Lakshman Kiriella has done, we in this country might soon have about five thousand advisers in the many ministries that have mushroomed into existence!

The sad fact about our President is that for years he was someone who had never ever expected to even get halfway up the ladder of political greatness.

So now that he, through no great talent on his part (except perhaps the courage to challenge the powerful incumbent President) unexpectedly got propelled to the top, he has reached a stage where he appears to be too stunned to do anything further except regularly appoint more ministers in a move to ensure that he stays on in power.

And sadly for all of us who genuinely love this country, we are coming to realise that the very people who got rid of Mahinda Rajapaksa are gradually developing into an administration that, just like in George Orwells Animal Farm, is beginning to look and behave just like the administration they replaced.
Drug trafficking: A joint operation produces results View(s):

By B.Anton Jeyanathan

It was heartening to note that the Sri Lanka Navy and the Police Narcotics Bureau jointly detected a large quantity of heroin, reportedly about 110 kgs, on board a boat which had entered the Galle area. According to the media and the newspaper reports, on information received from the Police Narcotics Bureau, having co-ordinated with the Sri Lanka Navy, the boat was intercepted off Galle where the detection was made. There had been altogether around 14 suspects or so, who were from Iran, and Pakistan. To my recollection, this is the first time a boat has been intercepted in the Sri Lankan waters where foreign nationals manning the boat, were engaged in drug trafficking. Consequent to this some Sri Lankans too have been arrested who had connections with the illegal import of heroin.

Joint Enforcement Task Force

I have been campaigning for a Joint Enforcement Task Force under the control of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) which should be tasked with interdiction of large scale heroin, cocaine, ganja etc, which come into our country from Tamil Nadu to convenient landing points in our country. Illegal drugs are brought in by fishing boats belonging to Sri Lankan fishermen in the Negombo, Chilaw, Beruwela, and Wattala areas, who receive the consignments in mid sea from larger boats which originate from Indian waters. Interdiction and interception of boats, yachts, ships etc, entering Sri Lanka waters is not a difficult task. We have a fleet of naval vessels, we have an Air Force, the Police Department, Customs and the Excise Departments who jointly could plan out the seizure of illegal drugs which are brought in by such boats and ships, preventing drugs entering our country.

Drug Intelligence Unit

Under the control of the (NDDCB) a vibrant unit should be set up comprising selected officers of the Police Department, Customs, Navy and Excise Department, to form this Drug Intelligence unit, to gather and collect information on the smugglers and financiers who are the king-pins who bring in large stocks of heroin illegally.

Our countrys status

In the categorization of countries by the Drug Law Enforcement Agencies our country is categorized as: a drug producing country, a drug consuming country and, a drug transshipment country.

a) A drug producing country  Our country cultivates cannabis (ganja), and thereby falls into the category of a drug producing country.

b) A drug consuming country  The number of drug dependents has been on the increase year by year, thereby it falls into the category of a drug consuming country.

c)  A drug transshipment country  Lastly, due to the strategic position of our country in the Indian ocean, our country has been used by drug smugglers to make use of our shipping facilities to transship heroin and cannabis (ganja) to European countries through our country. The recent detection of an Iranian owned trawler seized by the navy assisted by the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) personnel off Dondra Point is undeniable proof that our country is a drug transshipment area.

In a recent news item, it was reported that the (PNB) personnel were able to apprehend Maldivian nationals engaged in drug trafficking, in Colombo, with the intelligence passed on to their local counterparts, by the Maldivian Drug Authority.

Drug Liaising Officers

Almost all countries who have their ambassadors or high commissioners in our country, have a Drug Liaising Officer (DLO) attached to the embassy staff to monitor the drug trafficking operation in our country as well as to assist the local drug enforcement agency in apprehending drug smugglers. Most of the (DLOs) have been very helpful to the PNB in passing on information about transshipment of drugs being smuggled into our country for the PNB to take necessary action to apprehend the suspects.

Drug consumption is on the increase which cannot be denied by any drug enforcement agency in our country. There is a high demand for heroin, and the detection of cocaine indicates that there are drug dependents on cocaine too in our country. Another aspect of drug smuggling which needs to be given close attention is the smuggling of ganja from across the Palk Straits to the entry points at Velvettiturai and Point Pedro in the Northern Province. The LTTE was known for making use of these entry points to smuggle illegal drugs and illegal arms. Velvettiturai and Point Pedro have been well known smuggling entry points for opium for many decades. Well known smugglers illegally brought in opium and transported the opium to Colombo where there was a high demand at that time before heroin replaced it as the drug of choice.

The combined effort has brought in results. Recently Sagala Ratnayaka, Minister of Law and Order, addressed the UN and vowed to eradicate this menace in our country. The new IGP who was at one time the Director of the PNB, has jump started his activities against the drug menace by addressing the members of the PNB as well as by participating in programs against drug abuse. What is necessary is action and not mere words.

Conclusion

The NDDCB should take immediate steps to set up a joint operation unit comprising members of the PNB, Customs, Navy, Air Force, and Excise Department, to interdict and prevent the supply of illegal drugs from across the Palk Strait as well as though local entry points, airports or ports etc.

The setting up of a Drug Intelligence Unit should be the next priority if we are to outwit smugglers and financiers who have a network of suppliers of illegal drugs. It may not be possible to cover the entire open sea area, but nothing is impossible if we could plan out surveillance and supervision of well known smuggling entry points to prevent drug smugglers as well as smuggling of arms from across the Palk Strait by drug smugglers and by the supporters of the LTTE. Let us act swiftly and decisively, before our future generation of youths is swallowed by the drug dragon.

(The writer is a retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Police.)
Minister of Public Security Sen. Lieut. Gen. To Lam and Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla (Source: VNA)

During a courtesy visit to Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla on June 10as part of the trip, Minister To Lam asked the Vice President to create conditions for cooperation in security between Indonesian agencies and Vietnamese counterparts in the interests of the two countries people and for regional and global stability.

The minister affirmed Vietnam always treasures the friendship and collaboration with other regional countries and ASEAN member nations, including Indonesia.

He held that the partnerships between the two countries as well as between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and Indonesian agencies have grown remarkably over the past while.

Lam told his host that during this trip, his ministry and Indonesian relevant agencies discussed issues of shared concern and consented to do their utmost to lift the bilateral ties to a new height, contributing to strengthening solidarity and unity in the ASEAN community.

For his part, Vice President Jusuf Kalla expressed his delight at developments of the long-standing friendship between Vietnam and Indonesia in politics, economy, trade, security and national defence, affirming that Lams visit will help deepen the bilateral strategic partnership./.
The winners of the home renovation show Our First Home have got their first home, for real this time and its in Tauranga.

But it seems even taking out the competition with a profit of $99,000, as well as $100,000 in prize money, wont necessarily get you your dream house in Auckland.
Investigations continue into police shooting a man in Paeroa yesterday.

A post-mortem was completed today as part of a police investigation and as a result of the findings, police can confirm the man was shot in the torso as he allegedly threatened police staff who were responding to the incident.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Bruce Bird says in a police release the man armed with police approached police. As a result a number of shots were fired from the front seat of a patrol car at short range.

He has then moved back from the officers away from the patrol car where he attempted to follow police instructions however collapsed from his injuries, says Bruce.

Once the situation was secure, the attending police staff immediately commenced first aid and CPR.

We can appreciate that this was a fast moving and traumatic event for those involved, including family members who were present.

Bruce says New Zealand Police extend their deepest sympathies to the mans family and loved ones.

Police have this afternoon met with his family and have spoken with them about the findings of the post-mortem.

While the Ppolice investigation into this matter continues, we must also be mindful that a further two investigations are being completed  one by the Independent Police Conduct Authority and another by the Coroner.
A gun-wielding man has been taken into custody by police after stand-off at service station in the township of Mercer.

Police confirmed the situation had been resolved at 1.35am, with the man arrested and the Waikato Expressway reopened.
THE CENTRAL ORGAN OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF VIETNAM The Voice of the party, State and Vietnamese people on the internet

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The Sephora inside the Indian River Mall's JCPenney has its soft opening June 11 and grand opening June 17. (KELLY TYKO/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

By Kelly Tyko of TCPalm

Black Friday is coming early for makeup fans.

The new Sephora inside the Indian River Mall's JCPenney celebrates its grand opening at 10 a.m. June 17 with freebies for the first customers.

Being among the first customers also has its perks on June 18 at Treasure Coast Square mall in Jensen Beach when the new Torrid store opens at 10 a.m.

For both grand openings you'll want to set your alarm clock early.

Check out the new additions ahead of time: Sephora's soft opening is Saturday and Torrid's is June 14.

SEPHORA

If you're not familiar with the high-end cosmetics retailer, be prepared to enter an emporium for one-stop beauty shopping.

The new 2,400-square-foot Sephora inside JCPenney is in the center of the store and carries about 50 brands.

"We're definitely going to be a skin care focused store," said Kelly Filippone, the store's beauty manager. "We'll still have our cosmetics and all of our fun makeup but we want to make sure everyone is good underneath that too."

The store offers mini makeovers and has Color IQ, Sephora's exclusive shade-matching system.

JCPenney and Sephora have been partnering since 2006 and there are more than 570 of the beauty spots inside JCPenney stores and 380-plus stand-alone Sephora stores in malls.

JCPenney Sephoras are about half the size of the stand-alone cosmetic stores.

But there's a perk in shopping at a JCPenney Sephora  double rewards.

You can use earn points on your purchases with both Sephora's Beauty Insider program and JCPenney Rewards.

For the grand opening, the first 100 shoppers ages 13 and older in line before 10 a.m. will receive gift cards with mystery values worth up to $100. There will be 94 $5 cards, five $50 cards and one $100 card.

The line will form by the south men's entrance of JCPenney, which faces State Road 60, store manager Charlie Nardi said.

The first 650 shoppers will get a free makeup bag stuffed with samples.

When Treasure Coast Square's Sephora had its grand opening in May 2015, the first shoppers lined up around 5:15 a.m.

Many high school students told me they skipped class for the freebies and by the time the doors opened, more than 200 people were in line.

I suspect it will be similar at Indian River Mall, especially since school is out for the summer.

"I think it's going to bring people to the store and to the mall that we've never had before," Nardi said.

TORRID

Launched in 2001, Torrid is a trendy fashion retailer that sells apparel, accessories and lingerie inspired by and designed to fit young women who wear sizes 10 to 30. The store also has shoes up to size 13.

"Our customers love our fashion collections and exceptional fit, and have been very vocal about wanting us to expand our store base," Torrid CEO Lisa Harper said in a news release. "Sixty-eight percent of women in the U.S. wear our sizes, but this market represents only 17 percent of the women's fashion retail industry."

The 3,499-square-foot store is between Victoria's Secret and the Pink store.

The first 50 customers at the June 18 grand opening will receive a mystery gift card. The mall typically opens for mall walkers at 9 a.m. on Saturdays.

New and current Torrid Insider rewards members can enter for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree and can take advantage of other opening specials.

TIPS TO SHOP SEPHORA

Rewards programs: As a member of Sephora's Beauty Insider, you'll earn points on all purchases, which can be redeemed for samples. You can also earn points with JCPenney Rewards on Sephora purchases. Make sure to give your phone number at checkout or use your JCPenney credit card.

Buy the kits: You can try out new products and save money by buying the Sephora sampler and value kits.

Birthday freebie: Sephora Beauty Insiders get a birthday gift. The current birthday freebies are the choice of a Marc Jacobs Beauty set or a Fresh skin care gift. Sign up to become a Beauty Insider here.

More tips: Find additional tips on how to shop and save on makeup here.
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By Anthony Westbury of TCPalm

Dozens of St. Lucie County investors lost millions when Riverside Bank crashed and burned in 2010. So how do those people feel when they see bank founder Vernon Smith's name still emblazoned on two buildings at Indian River College?

Not too good.

Not all of those who lost life savings or retirement nest eggs were wealthy. Plenty of Riverside Bank employees lost everything, too.

Yet, despite a new report from the Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General that revealed more insider dealings at the bank in its final months, college officials remain tight-lipped about making changes to the Vernon Smith Treasure Coast Public Safety Complex, or the Vernon & Brenda Smith Center for Medical Education on the main campus in Fort Pierce.

Paying big money for naming rights for public buildings is relatively new on the Treasure Coast, but it's a trend that IRSC has encouraged for a while. The main campus boasts the high-tech Kight Center for Emerging Technologies, named after Lon and Audrey Kight; the McAlpin Arts Center; and several rooms at the Schreiber Center at the St. Lucie West campus. The latter was named in honor of former Tribune columnist Strelsa Schreiber without donations for naming rights.

Under construction are two more buildings: the Brown Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the William & Helen Thomas Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Center.

The collapse of the housing and financial markets in 2007 caused serious hiccups in the flow of big donor money to other educational institutions.

Take Florida Atlantic University, for example. FAU courted investment guru Barry Kaye for years to endow a number of buildings on its Boca Raton campus.

Kaye and his wife, Carole, wrote large checks to have their names engraved on the Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium and on the Carole and Barry Kaye Great Hall in FAU's alumni center.

Then in 2007, FAU announced a $16 million pledge from Kaye, a self-made insurance mogul and author of the book "You Buy, You Die, It Pays." It was the largest pledge in school history. With state matches, giddy school officials announced, the $16 million could grow to $32 million.

Not surprisingly, FAU decided to rename its business school the Barry Kaye College of Business. Yet by 2009, serious doubts began to set in about Kaye's ability to honor his pledges. His lucrative life insurance business had fizzled. Kaye told FAU officials he would have to downsize his contributions.

Nevertheless, school officials accepted a smaller check for $3.9 million. However, by August 2009, Kaye had missed a payment and FAU trustees decided to strip his name from the school of business.

It should be noted there's no indication that Vernon Smith has stopped paying for naming rights at Indian River State College. Yet some investors who lost millions in Riverside Bank's collapse feel Smith's name on a college nameplate is inappropriate.

Joey and Annette Miller, who own St. Lucie Battery & Tire, feel betrayed by Smith, a former friend.

A recent federal government report on the bank's final months accuses Smith and high-ranking bank officials of poor investment choices and writing off loans to the board and their family members.

While the bank struggled in the summer of 2009, the bank asked Miller to put up real estate as collateral for loans. Meanwhile, Smith sold 4,000 shares for $1 million, $250 per share, to R. William Becker and Mary Ann Becker from May 2008 to July 2008, according to a pending civil suit.

In a separate case in 2010, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation ordered Smith to repay $600,000 to an insurance company for Riverside stock later determined to be worthless.

Ann Decker, executive director of the IRSC Foundation, did not reveal the size of Smith's pledges to the college, or whether they were up to date. She alluded in a written statement Friday to the need for IRSC to foster private support for its operations.

"College facilities are named to recognize donors and supporters who have made significant and lasting contributions toward the enhancement of the College, including facility construction and expansion, instructional and technology innovations, student scholarships and other improvements to benefit students. State funding simply does not meet all of these needs, and private support makes the difference between mediocrity and excellence at IRSC, while also helping to keep tuition and fees affordable for students."

IRSC spokeswoman Michelle Abaldo added, "we respect the exemption on disclosure of donor information according to state law."

Translation: We don't have to tell you how much Smith donated, and we need the money anyway because of state budget cuts.

It's interesting to note on the IRSC Foundation website that naming opportunities "permanently link your name to one of IRSC's facilities." I wonder if that was written before the recession?

I hope those explanations from the college satisfy angry investors and former bank employees who lost everything. They must be burned up every time they drive past those names on the wall.

I know I would be.

Anthony Westbury is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. This column reflects his opinion. For more on St. Lucie County topics, follow his blog at TCPalm.com/westbury. Contact him at (772) 409-1320 or anthony.westbury@scripps.com.
WASHINGTON  Lawmakers are expected to start ironing out the details of a spending bill to combat Zika in the coming week, more than four months after President Barack Obama first asked Congress for nearly $2 billion to fight the mosquito-borne virus that has been linked to birth defects and paralysis.

A final compromise still could be weeks away and is expected to be far below the presidents request. Lawmakers probably will agree on a figure between the amounts approved by the House, which proposed $622 million, and the Senate, which proposed $1.1 billion.

Its not clear how much a final agreement would do to quell growing anxiety in Florida, where people are besieging some congressional offices with Zika-related concerns, and where Gov. Rick Scott keeps asking Washington for help.

This is a health emergency, (but) what we have is a political problem, said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., flanked by medical experts, at a news conference this week. We have a bunch of people around here dragging their feet. Its time to act.

On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took action by awarding nearly $700,000 in emergency funding to Florida for epidemiology and laboratory staff, equipment and supplies, including $500,000 for seven Florida counties to enhance mosquito control efforts to combat the Zika virus.

Those counties are Martin, St. Lucie, Broward, Palm Beach, Osceola, Hillsborough and Orange counties, according to a CDC news release.

Few issues have rallied such bipartisan agreement among Florida officials. Zika has drawn together top Republicans Scott and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio with top Democrats Nelson and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

That shared sense of urgency likely will be on display Wednesday when members of the state congressional delegation meet with top public health officials to highlight the need for a Zika bill.

Florida leads the continental U.S. in Zika cases. The 175 cases reported so far spread among 20 counties (including three new cases Friday) means roughly 1 of every 4 people diagnosed with Zika on the mainland lives in the Sunshine State.

And with warm, humid weather beginning to smother the Gulf Coast and South Atlantic, experts say the threat of a potential epidemic grows every day.

Scott met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill last month to push for a funding solution. Hes also requested help from the Obama administration, such as 5,000 Zika preparedness kits and resources to enhance mosquito surveillance and abatement. On Thursday, he asked for 1,300 antibody tests for pregnant women and new mothers who want to find out whether theyve contracted the virus.

It might already be too late, according to Peter Jay Hotez, dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Hotez said health agencies along the Gulf Coast dont have the resources to conduct the kind of surveillance and abatement necessary to detect or prevent a locally acquired case. To date, all of the cases on the continental U.S. have involved someone who was infected outside of the U.S.

Hotez said at a news conference this week hes more worried about expectant mothers in Florida than in Brazil, where thousands have been infected, largely because the disease has probably peaked in Brazil and authorities there are laser-focused on combating it.

If I were a pregnant woman, Id feel safer in Rio than on the Gulf Coast, he said.

If constituent contacts with congressional offices is any measure, theres plenty of worry across Florida.

U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Bonita Springs, frequently hears those concerns when hes at events, grocery stores and coffee shops in Southwest Florida, said his chief of staff, Pat Cauley.

In an email to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, a Bradenton woman said she was worried about her pregnant daughters unborn child.

And as part of a recent video in which he answers constituent mail, Rubio read a similar email from a concerned Hollywood, Florida, woman with an expectant daughter in Miami and a cousin from the North whos pregnant and unwilling to visit South Florida because she doesnt want to expose herself to Zika.

Scott often raises the specter of Zikas impact on Floridas $67 billion tourism industry as a key reason for action.

U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, who along with Wasserman Schultz is one of two Florida lawmakers who will help negotiate a final Zika bill, expects a deal and vote by early July if not sooner.

I understand completely. The people in Florida expect answers, he said. But nothing moves that fast in Washington.

Rooney, who voted for the $622 million bill, said the administration has plenty of money now to handle any emergency requests until a bill passes. And if more is needed after that, Congress is ready to approve extra funding next year.

Theyre not going to be short on the money they need to stop Zika from becoming an epidemic in this country, he said. We will do what it takes to stop this. Im not going to have on my hands as a negotiator the stain of having been part and parcel to letting Zika get out of control. I can tell you that.
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, pictured in this 2014 file photo, is not running for re-election in his District 18 seat. Instead, he is campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio. (XAVIER MASCARE-AS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

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By Ledyard King, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON  Unless Marco Rubio runs for re-election, Democrat Rep. Patrick Murphy is the favorite to win Florida's Senate race in November.

That's not the analysis of an independent political handicapper or the wishful musings of a Democratic operative. It's the reluctant conclusion of Rep. Tom Rooney, a Republican congressman who once mulled his own run for Rubio's seat until he determined it was too steep a climb.

"There's still time for one of those guys to break out and get the kind of name ID to beat Murphy," said Rooney, R-Okeechobee, referring to the five major Republican candidates vying for the nomination: Rep. Ron DeSantis, Rep. David Jolly, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, and businessmen Todd Wilcox and Carlos Beruff.

"But on paper, basic politics 101 says a Dem wins that seat unless he's going against a sitting incumbent nine times out of 10 because it's a presidential year in a purple state," Rooney said. "This seat is Murphy's to lose unless one of our Republicans can break out and mount a challenge. It's very difficult on paper but not impossible."

Polls generally show Murphy, who represents the Treasure Coast, up a few points over his primary opponent, Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson. A recent Quinnipiac University poll also showed Murphy slightly beating potential GOP opponents in head-to-head matchups.

But those same polls also show that a large swath of Florida voters  as many as one-third  remain undecided.

Rooney would like Rubio to reconsider his pledge not to run and recently sent him a text message urging him to do so. Rubio never responded.

"Even if I was running a perfect campaign at this point, I would be behind Murphy," Rooney said. "With an incumbent like Marco, we have a chance."

Rubio instead has been getting behind the candidacy of his old pal, Lopez-Cantera. It's highly doubtful he'll change his mind and run for re-election, even with the race seen as potentially critical in deciding which party controls the Senate next year.

As for Republicans' chances, Rooney said it's much better to run in 2018 during an off-year election. But Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, arguably the state's most popular statewide-elected official, likely will be favored to win a fourth term no matter who runs against him.

GRAHAM, MURPHY VOTE AGAIN WITH GOP

Florida's two most centrist congressional Democrats  Gwen Graham of Tallahassee and Patrick Murphy of Jupiter  had another chance to break from their party Friday. And they took it.

This time it was in support of a GOP-authored resolution opposing President Obama's call for a $10-per-barrel tax on oil. The president proposed the fee in February in his budget plan as a way to pay for an ambitious clean transportation agenda.

The idea was never going to go far in a GOP-controlled Congress. But House leaders wanted to get lawmakers on the record. The resolution passed 253-144 with 23 Democrats voting in favor.

Connecticut Democrat John Larson, who voted against the largely symbolic measure, told The Associated Press it amounted to little more than "a messaging opportunity" for Republicans.

Murphy, who is running for Senate this year, and Graham, who has talked about a possible run for governor in 2018, have voted with Republicans several times this term.

Graham angered some progressive supporters by siding with the GOP on approving the Keystone XL pipeline, increasing the number of hours an employee must work per week to qualify for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and opposing Obama's nuclear deal with Iran.

Murphy, a former Republican, has drawn the scorn of his Senate primary opponent, liberal firebrand Alan Grayson, for supporting the Keystone pipeline and for voting with a handful of other Democrats to create the House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks.

Neither Murphy nor Graham backed another nonbinding resolution the House put forward Friday "expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy." On that one, they were in the Democratic fold.

JEB WEIGHS IN ON TRUMP'S ATTACK ON JUDGE

Former Gov. Jeb Bush re-emerged this week on the presidential front  sort of.

As fellow Republicans scolded Donald Trump for racially tinged statements made against a federal judge, Bush chimed in on Twitter: "Donald Trump should retract his comments, not defend them. There is no place for racism in the GOP, or this country."

Bush has not said much publicly about Trump since the real estate mogul slapped the "low-energy" label on the former Florida governor and helped send him packing from the presidential race in February.

In a Facebook post last month, Bush congratulated Trump for winning the delegates needed for nomination but said he would not vote for the bombastic billionaire because he "has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character  has not displayed a respect for the Constitution  and is not a consistent conservative."

He has since focused on other pursuits, such as helping Republicans retain control of Congress and education reform.

But Trump's comments, made over several days, were apparently too much. And not just for Bush.

House Speaker Paul Ryan called the comments "textbook" racism.

Trump claims the federal judge hearing the fraud case against former Trump University is biased because of his "Mexican heritage." His remarks have been compared to the Communist witch hunts conducted by Sen. Joseph McCarthy and have pressured GOP leaders to pull their support for Trump.

Contributing David Jackson, USA TODAY

Contact Ledyard King at lking@gannett.com; Twitter: @ledgeking
PORT ST. LUCIE  A lawn maintenance worker was seriously injured after she was hit by a car Saturday afternoon in the 1600 block of Southwest Gatlin Boulevard, Port St. Lucie Police Department spokesman Sgt. Frank Sabol said.

The woman was cutting grass about 3 p.m. in the median at Gatlin Boulevard and had walked off the curb and in the roadway where she was struck by a brown Toyota, Sabol said.

The 4-door Toyota was traveling west when it hit the lawn maintenance worker.

'The guy clipped her. It's just an unfortunate accident,' Sabol said. 'It was not a hit and run.'

Sabol said she was flown to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce in serious condition.

No more information was available.

This story will be updated.
With the UN celebrating International Children's Day last week, Celia Morris celebrates some of the best children's books out there.

1) Geronimo Stilton, Elisabetta Dami

Supposedly written by the eponymous scaredy mouse himself, Geronimo Stilton is a series containing very little not to love  primarily, a journalistic rodent dressed in a green suit and going on adventures that hed really rather not. (If youre going to look at any book in this series, make it Four Mice Deep in the Jungle  a true classic.)

2) Cat Royal, Julia Golding

A series set (mainly) in 18th century London that sees Cat Royal  scrappy, argumentative, loveable  living in a theatre on Drury Lane. These are stories about the important things in life: sticking up for people, staying true to yourself, and punching anyone who says otherwise squarely on the nose.

Image: Quentin Blake

3) A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket

Undoubtedly one of the weirdest, most extraordinary series to ever grace the book-bag of nine year old me, and I havent found anything written for children since that rivals this particular strain of the bizarre. Seriously  let me know when you next read a book that leaves you puzzling over who wrote it, when and where it is set, and whether Beatrice sank (if you know, you know).

4) The Time Wreccas, Val Tyler

A book that is now sadly out of print, The Time Wreccas is something magical that you should definitely grab if you ever see it going second-hand. Im pretty sure I still have somewhere the terrible drawings I did of its main protagonist  Snot, one of the many Wreccas that live below our feet, determined to cause mayhem for the Guardians who take care of time for us.

5) Spartapuss, Robin Price

Ancient Rome is ruled by cats and it is everything you never realised you wanted. Although my knowledge of the history is pretty much nil, I have been assured that the series is delightfully accurate  ignoring the overabundance of felines. And, even if not, the puns are irresistible (see other titles in the series: Catligula, Budicat!, Die Clawdius, etc)

6) Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl

Its hard for me to consider my favourite childrens books without a dozen by Roald Dahl springing to mind. Im writing about Fantastic Mr Fox because its the first book I can ever remember reading, which has got to be because it lives entirely up to its name: most things by Dahl are fantastic, but especially this story about witty, tricksy Mr Fox.
If you find yourself constantly constipated but aren't sure why, you might want to have yourself checked by a doctor as it could be a sign of a viral infection.

A new study conducted by Yale University has found that developing chronic constipation may already be a symptom of genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by two strains of the herpes simplex virus (HSV).

Researchers saw that the microbe was very much capable of invading the spinal cord of its host and causing severe damage to the colon.

Herpes is known to affect an estimated 650 million people in the world. While many patients don't typically show any symptoms of infection, there are some that develop an outbreak of blisters in affected parts of their body.

About 15 percent of women who have been infected by HSV experience difficulty in passing urine. They may also develop rash, pain, sensory loss and even constipation.

To find out what exactly causes these additional symptoms, immunobiology professor Akiko Iwasaki and her colleagues at Yale examined a possible connection between the herpes simplex virus and problems with the digestive tract.

The researchers made use of mice models infected with the first strain of the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1). Mice typically show a different set of reactions to the infection compared to humans, but some of these symptoms are similar, such as difficulty in passing urine and constipation.

The team discovered that the HSV-1 was able to move from the genital area to their colon through the spinal cord in one-third of the mice models.

After invading the mice's colon, the HSV-1 caused significant swelling. The microbes also killed off the neurons in the colon and disrupted the animals' natural digestive process.

Iwasaki and her colleagues believe that this phenomenon occurs not only in mice but in human HSV hosts as well.

Iwasaki explained that other forms of the herpes virus, such as the chicken pox virus, cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus, have also been discovered to invade the colon of humans who develop chronic constipation.

She said that when doctors can't seem to find a possible cause for sudden chronic intestinal problems, their patient could have contracted a viral infection.

Avoiding Genital Herpes

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), genital herpes is one of the most common forms of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States. Recent data show that about one in every six Americans between 14 to 49 years old is infected with genital herpes.

The agency said the only way to avoid contracting this particular STD is to avoid having oral, anal, or vaginal sex.

If having sexual activity is unavoidable, people are advised to maintain a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who does not have STD, or at the very least use protection, such as latex condoms, every time they engage in sexual intercourse.

The results of the Yale University are featured in the June 8 edition of the Cell Host & Microbe journal.

Photo: Manuel Medina | Flickr

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A new treatment that combines chemotherapy and stem cell transplant can help in the fight against aggressive multiple sclerosis (MS), experts said.

In the new method called autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), doctors use chemotherapy to destroy the immune system and then use a stem cell transplant to help rebuild it using the patient's own stem cells.

In a small clinical trial, researchers analyzed the effectiveness of the new treatment in 24 multiple sclerosis patients from three Canada-based hospitals. The patients were between the ages of 18 and 50 years old.

Out of the 24 patients, 23 individuals experienced a great reduction in their disease's progression. Unfortunately, one of the patients died from liver infection. The findings were published in The Lancet journal.

These 23 patients no longer required medications for their multiple sclerosis. For almost eight years, eight patients showed continued improvements in their condition.

"These patients had highly active MS with lots of relapses and lots of ongoing damage to their brain, but we've been able to stop that," said Dr. Harold Atkins, the study's lead researcher. Atkins is also a clinical hematology associate professor at the University of Ottawa.

Atkins added that there are many medications and treatments available for multiple sclerosis that help slow down or temporarily stop the disease from progressing. The new treatment appears significant because it has an enduring effect on the patients.

Atkins cautioned that the new treatment is not applicable for all multiple sclerosis patients. The severity of the treatment, as well as the side effects, make the method not advisable for MS patients with advanced disabilities, in which the treatment will not work.

Moreover, the new method requires the destruction of the immune system, which means the patient will have no protection against infections.

Atkins added that the new treatment should only be given to patients with the most aggressive form of MS before the disease can do "real damage."

Multiple sclerosis is a condition wherein the body's own immune system attacks the nerve linings in the spinal cord and the brain. The majority of MS patients receive their diagnosis in their 20s and 30s.

In Canada, there are about 100,000 multiple sclerosis patients, many of whom are diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 40 years old. The condition can affect hearing, balance, mobility, memory and even vision.

"This treatment does offer hope, but it's also an aggressive procedure that comes with substantial risks and requires specialist aftercare. If anyone is considering HSCT we'd recommend they speak to their neurologist," said the MS Society's head of clinical trials, Dr. Emma Gray.

Photo: Jessie Jacobson | Flickr

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India has rejected Google's Street View service, which makes use of 360-degree cameras mounted on vehicles, boats and more for high-quality panoramic views of streets.

The Home Ministry has vetoed the deployment of Google's image-gathering technology, citing security risks.

According to a report from the Hindu, officials in the country are worried that Google's Street View could leak out information about sensitive defense facilities. The Ministry further adds that Google's service cannot be monitored after it launches, which can cause vulnerabilities to national security.

Google's proposal to implement its service in India was rejected by the government in February, in the wake of the Pathankot Air Force Station shooting. Seven people, three of which were part of the security forces, died in the confrontation. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the terrorists located the airbase with the help of Google's mapping service.

The government accused Google of showcasing high-resolution photographs of both defense facilities and nuclear power plants.

Currently, only a limited number of Unesco monuments show up in Street View for India. Those who wish to behold the wonders of the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, the Gateway of India and Humayun's Tomb can do so with Google Street View. However, you would be hard-pressed to use Street View in India as you would in any western country.

India is one of the blooming markets for internet-related services, and getting a green light on its service would be huge step forward for Google. The competition intensifies, as Amazon and Apple are courting the government to deploy their operations in the country. Just last month, Apple announced the opening of a facility in Bengaluru, during Tim Cook's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It seems that Google hopes for the regulator to be more lenient in the future. A different report indicates that the Indian government will revise Google's request for Street View access once more, after the Parliament ratifies its 2016 Geospatial Information Regulation Bill.

The bill reads that permission from a government authority becomes mandatory before "acquisition, dissemination, publication and distribution" of geospatial information in India.

This is not the first time that Google Street View has faced harsh times in the country.

The first security concerns were apparent as early as 2011, when the Google Car taking captures for Street View was stopped by the Bangalore police.

BBC reports that the officers informed Google that the city was "highly sensitive," hosting defense and research institutions.

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With a $140 million lawsuit hanging over its head, Gawker Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, June 10.

Along with declaring bankruptcy, owner Nick Denton also put the company and all seven of its brands and assets up for sale through an auction.

The digital media company Ziff Davis has put in an opening bid, which reportedly was between $90 to $100 million.

Interestingly enough, although Ziff Davis showed interest in buying all Gawker Media properties including Gizmodo, Kotaku and Jezebel, Gawker.com was not mentioned when describing how acquiring these sites could benefit the company in a memo written by CEO Vivek Shah.

However, since Gawker Media is in auction, the company could be sold to the highest bidder. According to the company's bankruptcy documents filed in the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court, its assets are between $50 and $100 million. The company was previously estimated by Denton to be worth around $300 million.

But that was before the trial. All of this all dates back to the lack of journalistic integrity Gawker showed when it published a video of famed wrestler Hulk Hogan having sex back in 2012. Hogan, with the financial help from venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal Peter Thiel, then took the company to court for the invasion of his privacy and was awarded a $140.1 million settlement. (Thiel also has a vendetta against Gawker after the website insensitively reported on his sexuality back in 2006.)

Putting the company up for sale only goes to show how much the Gawker ship has been sinking after the Hulk Hogan lawsuit. And it could be a way to avoid paying the large fine.

Hogan will still see his money eventually, just not all of it. With the company now in auction, proceeds would go toward paying Hogan, but since the company is bankrupt he won't be getting all of his $140.1 million.

It's important to add that Gawker has plans to appeal the lawsuit verdict, but Hogan's lawyer revealed they will still pursue the case in any court.

And so the bidding begins.

However, there has been trouble in the water way before the Hogan incident went down. Gawker has always been known to be a bit controversial, but the site may have pushed the envelope multiple times in the past. Some stories shifted from being news to be more as pieces that humiliated its subjects - case in point with Thiel.

Thiel was bashed by the site for his business failures, and his sexuality was outed - a complete invasion of privacy. Thiel has since made it his mission to take down Gawker.

Prior to the lawsuit case when Hogan sued Gawker Media for releasing the tape, the company sold a minority stake to the investment company Columbus Nova Technology Partners.

The Gawker auction is expected to take place in July.

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The Dead Zone that grows annually in the Gulf of Mexico could stretch to over an area the size of Connecticut, according to new predictions. In all, this area of the Gulf where little life can exist will cover near 5,900 square miles.

The hypoxic zones are created because of the runoff of agricultural waste into waterways. Phosphorus and nitrogen from fertilizers and waste from livestock can rob regions of water bodies of their oxygen. As a result, plants and animals in the area are unable to take in the vital element, and die of suffocation.

Although the size of the dead zone may sound large, the predicted area is about average for the summer season, researchers contend.

The Gulf of Mexico is known for its great diversity of life, including many species essential for commercial and recreational purposes.

"Dead zones are a real threat to gulf fisheries and the communities that rely on them. We'll continue to work with our partners to advance the science to reduce that threat. One way we're doing that is by using new tools and resources, like better predictive models, to provide better information to communities and businesses," said Russell Callender of the National Ocean Service.

The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force has struggled since 2001 to bring the average size of the dead zone in the waterway down to and average of 1,950 square miles. However, the size of the hypoxic zone averaged 5,941 square miles between 1995 and 2015.

"And while the latest forecast calls for an average-size dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, it is important to recognize that these averages are unacceptable," said Don Scavia, an aquatic ecologist from the Graham Sustainability Institute. "The bottom line is that we will never reach the action plan's goal of 1,950 square miles until more serious actions are taken to reduce the loss of Midwest fertilizers into the Mississippi River system."

A series of four computer models were used to develop the new prediction. Individual models varied in their analysis between a low of 5,204 square miles to a high of 6,823 square miles.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) develops predictions each year for the extent of hypoxic zones in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Lake Erie and Chesapeake Bay.

Although researchers have developed their prediction for the Gulf of Mexico, the actual extent of the zone will depend on several environmental factors, including tropical storms and hurricanes.

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Potentially dangerous "super bacteria" have been detected in several popular tourist spots and venues for the upcoming 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, raising concerns that the city's waterways are unsafe.

Two separate, unpublished studies found drug-resistant microbes off beaches in Rio that will host swimming events, as well as in a lagoon where canoe and rowing competition will take place.

The findings contribute to the list of areas known to be affected by bacteria that are typically found in hospitals. Experts are also worried about the immediate risks to people's health.

Findings Of The First Report

A 2014 study had revealed the presence of super bacteria off one of the beaches in Guanabara Bay, the location for wind-surfing and sailing events during the Olympics.

Now, the first of the two reports described the presence of microbes at five of the city's most prominent beaches, including Copacabana, Leblon, Flamengo, Botafogo and Ipanema.

This study, which went through internal reviews at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, analyzed water samples gathered between September 2013 and September 2014.

Researchers found the following:

1. The highest presence of super bacteria was detected at Botafogo beach.

2. In Flamengo beach, where viewers will watch sailors compete, the super bacteria were detected in 90 percent of the water samples.

3. In Copacabana, the location for triathlon and open-water swimming, 10 percent of the samples contained the super bacteria.

4. The water samples from beaches in Ipanema and Leblon, which are most popular among tourists, tested positive for microbes 50 and 60 percent of the time, respectively.

Findings Of The Second Report

The second report conducted by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation found genes of super bacteria in a river that flows into Guanabara Bay as well as in a lagoon in Rio.

This study, which has been peer-reviewed, investigated samples taken in 2013. Scientists discovered that the lagoon is a possible breeding spot for super bacteria.

Why Was There A Contamination?

According to experts, waste from countless hospitals and thousands of households pour into rivers, storm drains and streams that crisscross Rio, enabling the super bacteria to move outside hospitals.

Professor Renata Picao, lead author of the first report, says the contamination of beaches in Rio is the result of lack of basic sanitation in the metropolitan area.

"These bacteria should not be present in these waters," says Picao. "They should not be present in the sea."

Picao and other experts say there have been no significant improvements in sewage infrastructure to address and improve the situation.

In 2009, cleaning the city's waterway was expected to be one of the legacies of the Olympic Games. A high-profile promise in the official bid document ensured Rio's win of the right to host the event.

However, according to Reuters, the goal has become a failure as athletes lament the stench of sewage in the area.

Meanwhile, the contamination has driven federal prosecutors and police to inspect whether the city's water utility Cedae has violated environmental regulations by lying how much sewage it treats.

Cedae denied the allegations, saying that the contamination must be caused by illegal dumping into storm drains.

Health Risks

The super bacteria detected in the studies can potentially cause meningitis, as well as hard-to-treat pulmonary gastrointestinal urinary tract and bloodstream infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the super bacteria may even contribute to death in half of infected patients.

Still, Valerie Harwood, who is an expert at antibiotic-resistant bacteria and was not involved in the study, says the genes of super bacteria discovered in the Rio lagoon were probably not dangerous if taken in by themselves.

The genes are like candy that need to be eaten up by other organisms in order to become harmful. If a person ingests the infected organism, it will make its way through the gastrointestinal tract and then make the person ill.

Photo : Rasvan Orendovici | Flickr

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A 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook Southern California early Friday morning, June 10, at about 1 a.m. The event's aftershocks were felt in Los Angeles and throughout San Diego County.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) first reported the earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1. Later on, the agency revised it to 5.2 magnitude.

A series of smaller aftershocks followed, which included to 3.5-magnitude quake in Borrego Springs at 4:14 a.m. This has caused a minor rockslide on the Montezuma Valley Road, which is about 14 miles from Borrego Springs.

The 5.2-magnitude earthquake last Friday resulted in around eight aftershocks within 3 hours and 10 minutes. The strongest aftershocks were the 3.5-magnitude quakes that happened at 1:06 a.m., 1:33 a.m. and 4.14 a.m.

"We get a magnitude 4 or 5 pretty regularly here," said seismologist Jennifer Andrews from California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

The San Jacinto Fault

So far, there are no reported injuries or substantial damages in the Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties linked to Friday's 5.2-magnitude earthquake. However, the recent shakes might serve as a wake-up call for many people who live in Southern California.

The recent earthquake happened near Southern California's most active fault, the San Jacinto Fault. The shake happened near the area where a 6-magnitude quake occurred in 1937 and a 5.3-magnitude quake in 1980. Experts have warned that the San Jacinto Fault is a major threat to people living near the area.

"Because the San Jacinto fault cuts into the middle of the Inland Empire - instead of the edge of the desert - it cuts through a lot more people. There's just more people directly living on this fault," said geophysics professor Julian Lozos from the California State University, Northridge in a March interview.

The San Jacinto Fault spans 130 miles. It extends from the San Bernardino County's Cajon Pass all the way to the Mexican border. Its massive length could explain why the event last Friday was felt all the way to the border, explained Caltech geophysics research professor Egill Hauksson.

Since 1937, a total of 19 quakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or higher have been reported on the fault, added Hauksson. The USGS said that the 1918 earthquake on the fault resulted in one death and huge damages to properties in San Jacinto.

During the 1987 Superstition Hills earthquakes, whose magnitudes were reported at 6.5 and 6.7, Imperial County suffered property damages amounting to $3 million.

Photo: Rob Bertholf | Flickr

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For hospital and health care workers, hand hygiene has probably become second nature. But what if they actually need to be supervised in order to constantly keep their hands clean?

Doctors and nurses are not spared from the so-called Hawthorne Effect, where peoples behavior changes when they know they are not being watched, according to new research from the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) in California.

The study found a grave difference in hand hygiene compliance at the hospital when health professionals were undergoing evaluation (and they knew it) and when they were not.

[We saw] a very consistent trend that our Infection Prevention nurses were seeing something different (from) what volunteers were seeing, SCVMC infection prevention (IP) analyst Maricris Niles told ABC News, pertaining to the nurses noting much higher compliance rates.

Could it be that compliance struck different observers in varying ways? Not really, as it actually boiled down to the Hawthorne Effect.

Compliance rate observed by IP nurses was at 57 percent, while hospital observers  high school and college-age volunteers trained to conduct those assessments and who likely blended in the crowd  recorded only around 22 percent.

IP nurse Lisa Hanford noticed this herself: nurses glancing up and seeing her would start using rubbing alcohol, versus when she would observe them secretly and they were not really lathering up.

These findings, presented at the Association for Professionals Infection Control and Epidemiology meeting in North Carolina, emerge as a crucial issue in hospitals and health care centers nationwide, as pathogenic bacteria and organisms are often transmitted from patient to patient and end up on the hands of hospital personnel.

A separate study in March found that 1 in 4 elderly patients carried superbugs or drug-resistant bacteria on their hands. Seniors who visited nursing homes and other post-acute care facilities, too, were expected to keep acquiring new superbugs during their stay.

The San Jose hospital is currently working on a number of interventions to drive compliance rates higher. One technique is to publicize such adherence data, something that can make competitive hospital departments respond positively.

In early May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began to further promote hand hygiene compliance among hospitals through the Clean Hands Count Campaign.

No measure of hand hygiene is perfect, reminded epidemiologist Dr. Sharon Wright of the Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center, pinpointing, for instance, that directly observing hand hygiene practices is laborious and could overestimate overall compliance numbers.

The guidelines actually vary, too, but doctors and nurses working in ICUs may need to clean or wash their hands more than a hundred times during their 8-hour shift.

To Wright, the hope is for clinicians to feel funny whenever they pass alcohol dispensers and dont use them  just like wearing ones seat belt in the car.

Photo: SRG Picker | Flickr

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NASA announced on Friday that the Juno spacecraft, which is designed to explore the Jupiter system, is now just 11.1 million miles and 26 days away from its intended destination in space.

On Monday, July 4, the space probe will activate its main rockets for 35 minutes in order to get itself aligned with the giant gas planet's polar orbit.

NASA expects this latest endeavor to be a daring mission, as Jupiter is known to have the harshest levels of radiation in the Solar System. Developers of the Juno spacecraft made sure that it is well equipped to fully explore the gas giant's environment.

Scott Bolton, lead investigator for the Juno mission from the Southwest Research Institute in Texas, explained that the spacecraft is steadily closing in on its planned rendezvous point at about 4 miles per second.

However, they expect Juno to pick up speed significantly by the time it gets closer to Jupiter because of the planet's powerful gravitational pull. They estimate that the spacecraft would achieve a speed of more than 40 miles per second right before they would be able to fire up its rocket to get into orbit.

Bolton and his colleagues are using the remaining weeks to reassess all aspects of the Jupiter orbit insertion (JOI) plan. This is when they determine every possible scenario involving Juno's entry into the planet's orbit and find out if they need to address any part of the process.

There are two scenarios that the researchers have identified so far. The first one involves the ability of the spacecraft to come out of its safe mode, which was created to keep Juno operational in case it encounters anomalies or any unexpected conditions. The second one involves initiating a minor update to the spacecraft's software.

Juno project manager Rick Nybakken said they have now entered the last test and review stages of JOI plan as part of their final preparations for Juno's entry into the Jupiter system's orbit.

"Throughout the project, including operations, our review process has looked for the likely, the unlikely and then the very unlikely," Nybakken said.

"Now we are looking at extremely unlikely events that orbit insertion could throw at us."

One of the main objectives of the Juno mission is to discover clues regarding Jupiter's origins, particularly those that could point to when and how it was formed. Mission scientists will also try to determine how the giant gas planet was able to evolve over time.

To accomplish these goals, Juno will collect data on the water and ammonia levels found in Jupiter's atmosphere. These could help determine which of the existing theories on the planet's origins makes the most sense.

Juno will also examine the gravitational and magnetic fields around the gas giant in order to find out if it has a solid core and, if it does have one, how big its core could be.

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If you are on the U.S. network operator Verizon Wireless and own the latest flagship Samsung Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge smartphones, then you will be pleased to learn that the carrier is pushing out the June patch for the two handsets.

Earlier in June, we reported that Samsung was pushing out the June security patch for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge in Spain. So it comes as no surprise that the update has made its way to the U.S.

Verizon began rolling out its monthly Android security patch for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge on Friday, June 10.

"Verizon Wireless is pleased to announce a software update for your device. This software update has been tested to optimize device performance, resolve known issues and apply the latest security patches," notes the carrier. Adding that the "current software update gives you the most up to date Android security patch on your device."

The June security patch for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge from Verizon has the software version MMB29M.G930VVRU2APE1 and is an over-the-air (OTA) update.

The patch addresses a severe security susceptibility, which could potentially allow "remote code execution on an affected device." The vulnerability could compromise the security of the affected Android device through several methods such as web browsing, MMS (when processing media files) and email.

This critical security vulnerability was brought to light by Google in the June Android security bulletin. However, Android users can breathe easy, as Google disclosed that the vulnerabilities were not exploited so far and no devices were affected. Nevertheless, it advises that all users of Android-powered mobile devices download the security patch when it makes its way to their device.

Verizon has been prompt when it comes to pushing out software updates for its variants of the Samsung devices. Earlier in May, the carrier rolled out an update for the older-gen Galaxy S6 edge and the Galaxy S6, which not only brought in its folds bug fixes but also addressed the bloatware and Google Play issues users were encountering.

Moreover, in March, as we reported, the U.S. carrier pushed out a firmware update for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones to counter the Wi-Fi connectivity issues on Android Marshmallow.

Samsung is not the only OEM whose phones get swift security updates on Verizon. The carrier also rolled out Android security patch for the LG G4 and LG G3 in March.

Since the June security patch is being pushed out by Verizon in phases, it could take some time before it hits your Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge smartphone. To manually check if the patch is available for download, navigate to Settings > About Device > Updates > Check for Updates.

Remember to have over 50 percent charge and a stable Wi-Fi connection before you download the patch.

Photo: Andri Koolme | Flickr

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The Venezuelan government expects the immediate release of the plane held in Argentina after the release of its 19 crew members; the foreign minister of this Caribbean nation, Carlos Faria,... | Read More
Images from the video clip show an employee at a Hanoi hospital receiving envelopes from patients' relatives.

The oncology hospital of Hanoi, Hospital K, said Friday a doctor will be reprimanded after she was seen in a video footage receiving what seemed to be envelopes of money from patients' relatives.

The doctor "violated code of conducts for doctors," according to the hospital management, who refused to identify her.

The footage has sparked an outcry after it was posted online on June 2.

In the footage, a woman in white coat received a stack of envelopes from some other people who said they had written the patients' names on the envelopes.

The woman can be heard saying that she would receive the envelopes and pass them on to "surgeons." But she refused to receive the envelopes for "anesthesiologists."

After the video went viral, Hospital K suspended the doctor involved.

Tran Van Thuan, the hospital's vice director, claimed that it was the first time a doctor of Hospital K was accused of receiving bribes.

However, according to the Ministry of Health, Hospital K topped the list of hospitals being complained about staffers' illegal brokering and demands for bribes.

Last month, a doctor and a nurse at the hospital were censured for receiving a patient's money.
A file photo shows Doctor Vu Van Quyet, head of the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Hanoi.

A doctor in Hanoi has been accused of unfairly discriminating against a patient after he refused to perform a surgery on her, allegedly because she works as a journalist for a news website that has damaged his reputation.

Duong Quynh Trang said she was recommended to see Dr Vu Ba Quyet, head of the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, to have a surgery to remove a tumor in her uterus.

She claimed it was fine at the beginning of their meeting on March 20 and Quyet even scheduled an operation for her on the same day.

But when he asked her about her job and she replied that she had just graduated from a journalism school, the doctor changed his mind and canceled the surgery.

According to Trang, Quyet said that reporters had written many bad things about him.

Trang said she tried to convince him by saying that she was a new graduate and has yet to be employed by any newspaper, but the doctor refused to budge.

Nguoi Dua Tin news website, where Trang works as a freelancer, reported on Tuesday that when it called Quyet to question his decision, the doctor said that he had the right to choose his patients.

You the media have the right to write; I have the right not to perform a surgery, he reportedly said over the phone.

'Wrong accusation'

The National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology reported the case to the Ministry of Health on Wednesday, saying that Trang's accusation was wrong and Quyet had refused the surgery even before knowing about her job.

Speaking to Thanh Nien, the doctor said he could not agree to perform the operation because he has been fully booked until April and Trang's case is not an emergency.

In cases when a surgeon is requested by a patient like this, he or she has the right to say no especially when the schedule is already full, Quyet said.

The doctor told local media that he had recommended two other doctors to Trang, but she called him again and insistently asked him to be her surgeon.

She said that she is working for Nguoi Dua Tin, and I told her, Your news office set me up once,'" Quyet said, admitting to having an antipathy with the news website.

Quyet said that in the past there was a patient who requested him to perform a surgery on his wife at a private hospital.

At first he refused because he was too busy at his hospital, but he finally took the case.

Soon after the operation, Nguoi Dua Tin published a report on the case, saying that he was greedy and turned the private hospital into his hospital's "backyard" to charge high fees on patients.

"The private hospital and the patients negotiated on the fees themselves and I had nothing to do with that," Quyet said.

To be honest, I do have an antipathy for that news website. But as I said, I did not refuse Trang's case because of her profession.
Hiep Van Le, 67, seized by US police on Wednesday for killing his daughter and her husband.

A Vietnamese-American man has been charged with murder after police say he shot and killed his daughter and her husband in Annandale, Virginia early on Wednesday morning.

Hiep Van Le, 67, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, local news website wtop quoted Fairfax County police as saying.

According to investigators, an argument began between Le and his son-in-law, 45-year-old Dang Ngo around Tuesday midnight, and escalated when his daughter, 40-year-old Sophia Le, became involved.

Hiep Van Le then allegedly pulled out a gun and started shooting.

Ngo was struck and killed outside the home, and police say Sophia Le was injured inside the home.

Reports of the shooting Wednesday triggered a heavy police response  patrol officers, SWAT, police dogs and a police helicopter  to the scene at around 1:30 p.m.

Police then found Sophia Le injured inside the home. She was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, but later died from her injuries.

Hiep Van Le was also found inside the home and taken into custody. Two young girls and a teenaged boy were home at the time. Police say they were not injured.

Police say Hiep Van Le and the victims all lived at the home.
Chinese authorities are investigating playing fields at some of Beijing's top elementary schools after children reportedly fell sick from exposure to artificial turf.

Youngsters have suffered nose bleeds and allergic reactions after using running tracks, in the latest health scare to rock a country where safety standards are a major concern.

The news comes less than two months after reports that hundreds of students had been sickened elsewhere in China because of their school's proximity to shuttered chemical plants.

The Beijing probe, which began last week, sparked a wave of anxiety online, with hundreds questioning the country's commitment to protecting one of its most valuable assets: its youth.

The reports are a "nightmare", said one comment on China's popular social media platform Weibo.

"Where is the Chinese dream for those children?" it asked.

Toxic air and poisoned food already create dilemmas for Chinese concerned about their children's health.

Frequent reports of early onset cancer and respiratory ailments create a climate of fear for parents, many of whom who have only one child thanks to China's once strict birthing policies.

But the Beijing cases are particularly unsettling because they have occurred at schools attended by children of the capital's well-to-do.

"If Beijing is like this, it's even harder to imagine those campus fields in other cities," one commenter wrote.

In April, news outlets reported that almost 500 students were sickened after a top middle school relocated to a site close to decommissioned chemicals factories.

An undisclosed number of young people were diagnosed with leukaemia and lymphoma, both diseases often linked to pollution exposure.

In Beijing, authorities have vowed to deal with the issue and plan to release a report on the materials used to build the track next week.

In the meantime, a team of six doctors has been dispatched to check into any health effects, a statement from a Beijing education office said.

But the reassurances left commenters unmoved.

"It's no use to punish severely the school or the construction team," one commenter said.

The real question that needs to be asked is "how could this kind of product receive approval? What were the safety inspectors doing?"
Hunters who travel to Africa to shoot big game had been keeping a low profile in the aftermath of global outrage provoked by the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe last year. Now theyre fighting back.

The conservation arm of Safari Club International, which suspended the membership of U.S. dentist Walter Palmer for shooting Cecil, has published research that says trophy hunting contributes $426 million dollars to eight, mostly poor sub-Saharan African countries and employs 53,000 people.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc. banned transporting animal trophies, and tighter hunting rules were introduced after Palmer shot the 13-year-old male lion, who was part of an Oxford University conservation project, after he wandered out of Zimbabwes Hwange National Park in July. Such restrictions threaten a vital source of income for one of the worlds poorest regions, according to SCI, home to the worlds largest collection of hunting records.

Theres certainly some negative impacts that have been realized in the aftermath of that incident, said Matthew Eckert, director of conservation at the Safari Club Foundation, SCIs conservation arm, which funded the report. Its drawing more attention from the public to one side of the perspective, thats the animal activist, the animal-rights movement. Theyre being blinded and not seeing the importance of hunting to conservation and the people.

Each year between 2012 and 2014 almost 19,000 international hunters, mostly from the U.S., visited the eight African countries studied in the report, spending on average two weeks and $26,000. Most of that spending is in remote rural areas where people have limited economic opportunities, it said.

By providing jobs and income to local communities, hunting conveys a positive value to wildlife which incentivizes communities to protect game species and the land they, and all wildlife species, depend upon, the report said.

Thats not an argument that sits well with animal-rights organizations, which say hunting is too lightly controlled and in South Africa, the most popular destination, land owners are driven to breed animals with the biggest horns or unusual coat colors that do little for conservation. In the rest of Africa, its mainly wild animals on government or community land that are hunted. Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia were included in the study along with South Africa, where trophy hunting accounts for about 3 percent of the tourism industry, which also offers whale viewing and beach holidays.

When you hunt its supposed to be selective but trophy hunters tend to just want the biggest trophies, said Isabel Wentzel, a spokeswoman for the South Africas National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Its a free-for-all.

Black mane

Hunting groups are coming under pressure from animal-rights activists to reform their practices after the slaying of Cecil, whose striking black mane was a popular tourist attraction, exposed the scale of Africas hunting industry. Palmer was forced to temporarily close his dental practice in Minnesota as demonstrators and news crews congregated at the clinic. Toy, stuffed animals were left in the doorway.

After Cecil was killed, United and Delta joined a number of airlines including Emirates and Deutsche Lufthansa AG from stopping customers from transporting big-game hunting trophies as cargo. To import lion carcasses to the U.S., hunters must prove to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that hunting in the country of origin enhances populations.

I hope that a single incident which was an international sensation and phenomenon driven by an emotional response doesnt impact negatively a conservation mechanism of sustainable use, Eckert said.
Singapore is prepared to prosecute any Indonesian companies found responsible for the fires that produced hazardous ash clouds last year, a minister said, standing his ground even as recent efforts to take firms to account drew ire from the countrys largest Southeast Asian neighbor.

Under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act of 2014, Singapore has ordered six suppliers of Indonesias Asia Pulp and Paper Group to provide information on steps they are taking to prevent fires on their land, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said in an interview on June 7. APP, one of the worlds largest paper producers, didnt reply to e-mailed requests for comment, while its parent company didnt reply to calls for comment.

We are standing on high moral ground," said Masagos. "We have the support of the international community. We are not doing anything criminal nor wrong. We are just asking for the companies and the directors to own up and be accountable for what theyve done.

The six companies have been told that Singapore has the right to bring their directors to court, and firms involved in haze-producing fires face fines of up to S$100,000 ($74,000) a day for every day of fire, the minister said.

Singapore, often among the worst hit by haze from forest fires that periodically envelope swathes of Southeast Asia for weeks at a time, enacted the 2014 law to address the pollution as Indonesia struggles to prevent the flares. Caused mainly by palm oil planters and pulp and paper companies using fire to clear peat swamp land in South Sumatra and Kalimantan, the haze has become a public health issue in Singapore, pushing the city-states Pollutant Standards Index to dangerously high levels at times.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, backed Singapores plans to wield heftier fines against overseas polluters as long as sovereignty is respected, before he took office in 2014. Last year, severe haze from fires in Indonesia caused Singapores three-hour index to peak at 316, near the 321 level reached in 2013.

The pollution forced Singapore to shut down schools and cost the economy an estimated S$700 million in 2015, Masagos said in March. Besides prompting school closures and disrupting sea and air travel in the region, the smog also forced some in Indonesia to flee their homes and cost Southeast Asias biggest economy $16.1 billion of losses, according to World Bank estimates.

Giving opacity

Masagos, 53, a former minister of state at Singapores Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he doesnt believe that pressuring Indonesian companies to comply with Singapore laws will hinder bilateral relations with Indonesia.

We do respect Indonesias sovereignty, even their right not to divulge the information we have asked for," he said. However, by doing that they give opacity, they give cover to these companies and indirectly encourage such acts to continue, and in the end their own industry can be affected.

Last month, Indonesias Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar told an environmental news website that some joint collaborations with Singapore on forestry and haze issues could be terminated after a review. She made the comments days after Singapore issued a court warrant to detain an Indonesian company director who failed to appear for an interview with authorities in Singapore.

Singapore this week said it is offering assistance including aircraft to Indonesia to support its fire mitigation efforts, as it has every year since 2005.

Singapore is currently focused on its own legal approach, though if that doesnt work, the city state can look at international avenues, said Masagos when asked about other options. Malaysia is considering a similar law to Singapores on haze, he said.

According to the Washington-based World Resources Institute -- which has worked with Google Inc. and forestry agencies in Indonesia to use satellite imaging to pinpoint and respond to wildfires -- at the peak last year Indonesias daily emissions of pollutants were the same as the U.S. because of the haze and the fires.

Kotaro Tamura, an adjunct professor at Singapores Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said that Singapore may find it hard to prosecute Indonesian companies and risks a backlash from its neighbor. In the end, both countries may find it easier to opt for arbitration by a third party such as the United Nations, or the International Court of Justice, he said.

Its tricky, the bilateral approach," Tamura said. "I think he is just showing a strong intention, by going public, he said, referring to the Singapore minister.
The Yemen conflict has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since March 2015

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday criticized Saudi Arabia and its allies for resorting to "undue pressure" to remove the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a UN blacklist by threatening to cut off funding.

Ban's decision to take the coalition off the list of child rights violators triggered a storm of protest from rights groups who charge the UN chief caved in to Saudi pressure and damaged the world body's credibility.

In his first public remarks about the uproar, Ban said he took the "painful and difficult" decision when he faced the "very real prospect" that millions of children would suffer if countries de-funded many programs.

"It is unacceptable for member-states to exert undue pressure," Ban told reporters. "Scrutiny is a natural and necessary part of the United Nations."

The United Nations blacklisted the coalition after concluding in a report released a week ago that it was responsible for 60 percent of the 785 children killed in Yemen last year.

But in an embarrassing climbdown for the United Nations, Ban announced on Monday that the coalition would be scratched from the list of shame pending a joint review with the Saudi-led alliance.

Saudi Ambassador Abdullah al-Mouallimi denied that his government had put pressure on the United Nations to reverse its decision by threatening to cut off millions of dollars in funding.

"We did say that such a listing and such unfair treatment would obviously have an impact on relations," said Mouallimi.

"But we did not use threats or intimidation and we did not talk about funding," he added.

UN officials and Security Council diplomats confirmed that the Saudis had "whipped up a lot of supporters" to pressure Ban to make the changes, and threatened in particular to withdraw funding from the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.

Saudi allies weigh in

The Saudis enlisted their allies in the Arab League, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council to wage a full-on campaign for the list to be changed.

The coalition launched an air campaign in support of Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in March 2015 to push back Huthi rebels after they seized the capital Sanaa and many parts of the country.

The war has killed some 6,400 people, with more than 80 percent of the population in desperate need of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.

Speaking to reporters after Ban's statement, the Saudi ambassador maintained that the decision to withdraw the coalition from the list was "final, irreversible and unconditional."

Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the United Nations Abdallah Al-Mouallimi speaks at the UN headquarters in New York on January 22, 2015.

Ban said he stood by the report and warned that "the content will not change."

He acknowledged that "the impression is not a good one" from the decision to de-list the coalition, but he argued that there were more important issues at stake.

"Because of this, you can't burn down the whole house," he said.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Saudi and Yemeni governments were fully briefed on the content of the report in March, rejecting claims by the Saudi ambassador that Riyadh was not consulted.

The UN chief appealed to member-states to defend the reporting mechanisms used by the world body such as the children in armed conflict annual blacklist.

The blacklist was established by a Security Council decision in 1999, but the council has been silent on the dispute over the coalition's listing.

The controversy over adding the Saudi-led coalition to the blacklist followed a similar uproar last year over the decision to exclude Israel over the deaths of 500 children in the war in Gaza.
The decision reinforces existing California law that requires applicants to have a valid reason to carry a firearm

In a ruling sure to stoke the gun debate in the United States, a federal appeals court on Thursday said Americans have no constitutional right to carry concealed weapons in public.

A divided 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, said counties in California could require people seeking permits to carry concealed weapons to show "good cause" when submitting their request.

The decision reinforces existing California law that requires applicants to have a valid reason to carry a firearm.

"We hold that the Second Amendment does not preserve or protect a right of a member of the general public to carry concealed firearms in public," the judges said in 7-4 vote.

The court's decision, which affects nine Western states, overturned an earlier ruling by three judges on the same panel who struck down a policy applied by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

'Devastating impact'

California's Attorney General Kamala Harris, whose office had appealed the initial ruling, welcomed Thursday's decision as a sensible move in the fight against gun violence.

"The devastating impact gun violence has on our communities underscores the need for common sense gun safety laws," Harris said.

"The court's decision is a victory for public safety and sensible gun safety laws.

"The ruling ensures that local law enforcement leaders have the tools they need to protect public safety by determining who can carry loaded, concealed weapons in our communities."

However the National Rifle Association, a powerful lobby group, blasted the ruling as "out of touch" with reality.

"This decision will leave good people defenseless, as it completely ignores the fact that law-abiding Californians who reside in counties with hostile sheriffs will now have no means to carry a firearm outside the home for personal protection," Chris Cox, the NRA's legislative chief, said in a statement.

He added that the ruling underscores the importance of the 2016 presidential election.

"It is imperative that we elect a president who will appoint Supreme Court justices who respect the Second Amendment and law-abiding citizens right to self-defense," he said.

The case before the appeals court stemmed from lawsuits involving two California men -- one from San Diego county and the other from Yolo county -- who in 2009 were denied licenses to carry concealed firearms in public for failing to show "good cause."

Thursday's ruling could end up being appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.

Gun violence is a hot-button issue in the United States where readily-available firearms claim about 30,000 lives each year.

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, has called for "comprehensive gun safety reform," while her Republican rival Donald Trump has been endorsed by the NRA.
Not guru of our imaginations While I appreciate Michael Short's apologetic attempt to reconcile the perceived conflict between the ACL and the teachings of Christ himself, I do feel that he has built his case around a straw-man Messiah. It is always so culturally convenient to claim that since Jesus was radical, progressive and attacked injustice, he must therefore have been, and continues to be, an ongoing champion for the individual rights of all minority groups. This, quite frankly, is an extraordinarily strained reading of the gospels. Jesus also never shied away from affirming where God's ideals for his human creation were at odds with the prevailing culture, and still needed to be adhered to. I can only do my best to encourage readers to make a judgment based on the words of the most influential and divisive man in history himself, rather than the ambiguous and politically correct guru of our own wishful imaginations. Peter Waterhouse, Craigieburn A surreal, repugnant comparison Michael Short's observation that the ACL has a twisted way of upholding Christian values reminds me of a point made by author Christopher Hitchens, that if you want to make good people to do wicked things you'll need religion. The ACL certainly fit this description with their repugnant comparisons of the rise of LGBTI rights to the rise of Hitler's Nazi regime in Germany, an attempt so surreal one could be forgiven for thinking they'd adopted a Monty Pythonesque approach to lobbying. The ACL would do well to display the more appealing human values of humility, dignity and compassion rather than resort to delivering hurtful communiques on LGBTI issues.

Paul Miller, Box Hill South In the news No gain, long-term pain I would like to expand on Adam Morton's article about securing affordable, long-term rental accommodation ('The pain of renting', 5/6) by suggesting that it is being made more difficult by the proliferation of apartments available for short-term lease. As more owners, tenants and companies let or sublet flats and apartments for short stays, fewer premises remain available for long-term tenancy; and those that do become more expensive to rent. John Harber, South Yarra

Fix supply If demand for rental accommodation is increasing the way Adam Morton's article suggests, renters will be in for an increasingly tough time. Private rental accommodation is provided by investors. The less attractive this form of investment is, the more likely investors will move to alternative options, reducing the available rental stock. Negative gearing proposals will take some investors out of the market; greater tenant rights will make the investment proposition even less attractive. What we really need is a mechanism to increase total supply, not just shift existing property stock between these groups. Lowering capital gains tax on new homes would encourage investors to build new houses while exiting the existing house market. That would mean greater housing affordability when buying, without the negative impact on rentals. Mark Cassar, Essendon Let's cap rent rise, too The story of Rachael Laidler having to choose between her rental accommodation and her dog (5/6) shows up the glaring inconsistencies in the Victorian housing market. It is time to look closely at untrammelled negative gearing and to learn from countries overseas who cap rent increases.

Kristen Chisholm, Warrandyte Migrant friendly The Sunday Age editorial (5/6) equates the Citizens Electoral Council with the anti-immigration, anti-Islam groups of the "far right". The authors accuse the CEC, lumped in with the Australian Liberty Alliance and the Rise Up Australia Party, of having a "platform built on petty prejudice ... masked by an innocuous sounding party name". In fact, for nearly three decades the CEC has called upon Australians to welcome migrants and refugees of all faiths and nationalities. Andrew Blanchard, Henley Beach, SA Xenophon hits jackpot

Nick Xenophon and the Greens have hit the big time ('Gambling cash targets Xenophon', 5/6). It warms my heart to read that the Australian Hotels Association, in protecting their alcohol and gambling industry, have dug deep to throw money at the two major parties in their fight to fend them off. I'm not surprised that both the Coalition and the Labor Party have lost their moral compasses in continuing to accept hundreds of thousands of dollars from these peddlers of misery. Like politician's perks, it's time we had a good look at political donations. David Legat, South Morang On the money The Greens and Xenophon should be proud of being the target of the gambling and alcohol industry. It also exposes the nature of donors to two major parties; there can be no real democracy when parties depend on industry interest groups' money. Fethon Naoum, Portland

Henny pennies Liam Mannix's article ('Free range? It's all a bit scrambled',5/6) highlights that profit is, once again, the motivator; the laying hens' welfare is not considered. Di Cornelius, Seacliff Park, SA Too many one-offs Whenever a negative story is reported about aged care, peak bodies representing the providers claim this negative story is a "one-off incident". John Kelly's response to my recent opinion piece is one such example (Letters, 5/6). The federal government's recent Future of Australia's aged care sector workforce (2016) received 73 submissions from staff and relatives who are extremely concerned about standards of care in aged care homes. It is clear from these submissions that many aged care homes employ an inadequate number of staff. In some instances, there is only one registered nurse on duty in an aged care home with 150 or more residents. In some cases, relatives feed, shower and dress residents because staff are too busy. When the call bell is used to get assistance to walk a resident to the toilet, no staff may be available. How many "one-off incidents" are required to indicate systemic failure?

Sarah Russell, Northcote Statistics damning Aged and Community Services Australia CEO John Kelly has clearly failed to read the many submissions from families and staff made to multiple inquiries into aged care. Worrying are the many allegations of poor care, cost cutting and diversion of resources from care to meet the demands of a competitive market. Major changes are needed starting with the collection and comparison of accurate data about failures in care, staffing and expenditure. Lynda Salta, Ivanhoe Time to listen

The arrogance of the letter by John Kelly is symptomatic of much that is seriously wrong with the aged care sector. Residents are starting to be heard  and what they say about standards in many so-called "care" premises is deeply unsettling. Australia may be a good place in which to to get sick  can it be said that it's a good place to get old? John Simpson, Melbourne Profits from costly care If John Kelly talked to many of the relatives of clients at the for-profit facility where my mother lived you'd find many other complaints that were never properly addressed. We all realise that aged care is costly, but so often it seems that services are being cut back, while profits continue to climb. Therese Pitcher, Blackburn

Invest in education The Turnbull government tells us that we can't afford the Gonski reforms that would help to address our falling education standards. On the other hand, it says government spending on the construction of submarines is not a cost but an investment. If education is not also viewed as an investment, Australia will soon have a workforce incapable of constructing submarines or anything else. Kerryn Garner, Preston On a hunch

Derryn Hinch's Senate campaign seems to be more about populism than policy (Extra, 5/6). Of his eight key policies, five are primarily responsibilities of the states. For instance, should he be elected to the Senate, Hinch would be unable to do much about bail and parole reform. However, like most populists, Hinch hopes voters will not bother with such technicalities. Instead, he appeals to voters' "common sense", an expression used by many people who are unable or unwilling to frame their views in rational argument. Rod Wise, Glen Iris Asylum shame Eva Orner and Steven Glass (Opinion, 5/6) expose the sneakiness and hypocrisy of our political class. The Prime Minister assures us that we are the second most generous participant in the UN resettlement program  which accounts for less than 5 per cent of refugees who seek protection. And our share, as one of the wealthiest countries in the world? A whopping 5000. Norman Huon, Port Melbourne

Blindly taken in 'Politicians must come clean ...' (Opinion, 5/6) highlights how offshore processing was never a good idea, and the government's insistence on locking up innocent and vulnerable people, including children, has led to deaths and psychological harm. We take in a minuscule number of refugees and can't process them speedily. Why do Australians continue allowing themselves to be taken in by the myths served up by successive governments? Irene Goldwasser, St Kilda Sold a short line 'A tale of two broadbands' (5/6) shows how the Turnbull government is selling us way short. Using two different technologies and the upkeep for the copper line will cost us more in the long run, and stifle the innovation and agility this government is pushing.

John Finlay, Balaclava Less than purr-fect Pity the ladies ('For all the cats we've loved before', 5/6) didn't leave their half a million to conserving Australian native animals. Michael Read, Ashburton Rattus outranks
Le Nevez describes his character as "soulless". Elizabeth Debicki co-stars with Le Nevez in The Kettering Incident. "He's empty on the inside so his avaricious nature is just to consume as much as he can, whether that be drugs, sex, money." Expectations are high for the show, a $14 million production that takes over the Monday night timeslot from Game of Thrones. It picked up the special jury prize at Paris's Series Mania Festival in April and is set to be distributed by BBC Worldwide. "It was to be more of an HBO-style, European, Scandi-noir style show," Le Nevez says. "They wanted to try and create something like that."

Shot on location over five months in 2014 in southern Tasmania, The Kettering Incident draws inspiration from the epic landscape as well as the island state's violent convict history and ongoing environmental conflicts. "The nature of Tasmania is very different from the mainland," Le Nevez says. "It certainly has this majestic Gothic quality that during those winter months really shines." Sitting outside a hotel on rugged Bruny Island, looking out at choppy seas and cloud-covered mountains, he adds: "It isolates you too  the way great wildernesses do. It inspires as much as it oppresses you." Le Nevez says the landscape affected both the writing and the actors, particularly his co-star Debicki: "She was exposed to the environment unlike any other actor." He says Debicki, who is shooting a film in Los Angeles, is "a beautiful, intelligent, complex actor who sacrificed her physical well-being during the shoot.

"For many of those early months [when] we were filming in August and September, she was shooting nights dressed in only one or two layers until three or four in the morning." The Canberra-born Le Nevez has built an award-winning acting career in film and television since graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1999. His recurring role in Offspring opposite Asher Keddie has given him celebrity status and Logie nominations for most popular actor. Other television credits include Love My Way, Love Child and ABC telemovie Parer's War. The 37-year-old Le Nevez, who also plays legendary racing car driver Peter Brock in Network Ten's upcoming Brock, says his characters, whether good or bad, are imbued with his personality. "I can be a little bit abrasive," he says. "I can be demonstrative at times. I can be quick to judge. I can have a short temper. Dutch is all those things."
A Labor government would spend an extra $2 billion on hospitals over the next four years but leader Bill Shorten is making no promises about restoring $50 billion in longer-term funding cut by the Coalition.

Mr Shorten will make the funding commitment on Sunday as he seeks to shift the campaign focus back to health.

The announcement will come alongside a new Labor TV advertising campaign featuring former prime minister Bob Hawke, who urges support for Mr Shorten and rails against the "privatisation" of Medicare.

The Turnbull government in April promised states an extra $2.9 billion in hospital funding over the forward estimates but Mr Shorten says Labor will provide $2 billion more on top of that.
The federal Greens will push for a national standard for free-range eggs that would slash the number of farm hens per hectare by 85 per cent.

Should the party gain the balance of power, Queensland Senate candidate Andrew Bartlett said it would push to crack down on what constituted a free-range egg.

The Greens say free-range eggs should live up to their name. Credit:Justin McManus

It came just over two months since state ministers signed off on a controversial "free-range" definition in March, which stated eggs must come from hens with meaningful and regular access to an outdoor range and a stocking density of up to 10,000 birds per hectare.

But Mr Bartlett, the former national Democrats leader, said that needed to be reduced to 1500 hens per hectare.
At a meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council held on Friday in Luxemburg EU ministers failed to agree on visa liberalization for Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo and Turkey.

"We also talked about visa liberalization today. We progress on all proposals, including Turkey, but we have not taken a decision yet. Some member states have expressed concrete worries withholding the informal agreeing at this moment. We will continue to address these worries to come to an agreement for visa liberalization for the four countries [Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo and Turkey] if they meet the criteria as soon as possible," Dutch State Secretary for Security and Justice Klaas Dijkhoff said at a press conference after the meeting.

Dijkhoff did not told journalists what countries opposed the visa liberalization issue and what arguments they gave, while journalists mentioned Germany, Italy and France as key opponents of the decision.

Member of the EC in charge of Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said: "We exchanged views on the commission's visa liberalization proposals for Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo and Turkey. The commission has been very clear in its recommendations. I hope that progress in the EU Council and Parliament will come soon."

"The EU presidency [of the Netherlands] thinks it is good to know what the problem is so we can keep working and solving it. We are still working on [] get things approved. When it comes for the other countries some of them do not meet criteria on this point at this time. So we have to wait until the commission reports that they do The progress is still the key driver," arguments said, explaining the discussion of the via liberalization issue.
When Australian business titan Ken Myer publicly backed Gough Whitlam to become prime minister in 1972 it sent shockwaves through his family, his company and the broader community.

Then-CEO of the Myer retailing behemoth, Ken's endorsement was unprecedented: a wealthy businessman calling for an end to 23 years of conservative rule in favour of a progressive visionary.

It was influential too, and Whitlam certainly appreciated it. He later offered Myer the job of governor-general. Myer declined, so the job eventually went to John Kerr  and the rest, of course, is history.

But the Myer apple doesn't fall far from the tree. More than 40 years later Ken's eldest son  the normally media shy Michael Myer  has decided to make his own public endorsement: of the Australian Greens.
Little things can make a place feel like home. For Jai Jaru, who has known stretches of homelessness, it's sitting on a couch instead of a bench, having a door to close and a fridge for milk.

Her life was thrown off course by mental illness and a brutal assault. She has slept on the streets and in refuges, and knows the line into homelessness is easily crossed.

Jai Jaru, with her dog Bella, was homeless. Her life was thrown off course by illness and an assault. Credit:Louise Kennerley

"I'd say 70 per cent of our population come from pretty normal backgrounds, with good education, good employment," she said. "It takes a single horrific turn, or bits and pieces that just coincide, and you implode."

She first went to Sydney Homeless Connect as a guest and is now a volunteer. The annual event at Town Hall links people to the services and care they need, putting them on the path to finding a home, a job, security. "To have all these things in the one place, on the one day, can really ignite the process of change," she said.
Belizes reefs have been on the World Heritage In Danger list since 2009, due to a range of issues including invasive species, oil and gas exploitation, and inappropriate visitor accommodation and associated infrastructure. Tourist numbers recently reached a high of 968,131 cruise arrivals in 2014. What can we learn from these numbers? The first thing to note is that the Great Barrier Reef has, to date, avoided being listed as World Heritage In Danger, thanks to last years successful campaign by the federal and Queensland governments  although there is no guarantee it will not be added in the future.

But what do the statistics above tell us about what happens to tourism numbers when World Heritage sites are officially listed as In Danger? Galapagos suffered a very slight downturn in tourism after it was added to the In Danger list in 2007, but since then tourism has continued to grow, and today numbers are higher than they have ever been. In Belize, tourism has fluctuated since the site was listed as World Heritage In Danger in 2009, but here too, tourist numbers today are at record highs despite the fact that these reefs remain on the In Danger list. Finally to the Everglades, which has been placed on the World Heritage In Danger list twice  both times at the request of the US government. This shows that, while sites can be taken off the list if their prospects improve, not all governments think that an In Danger listing is itself a bad thing. Certainly, Everglades tourism numbers do not seem to have suffered since it was placed back on the list in 2010. Why did the United States lobby to have the Everglades officially described as In Danger, while Australia fought to keep the Great Barrier Reef off the list? As Carol Mitchell, Deputy Director of the South Florida Natural Sciences Center, has explained, the In Danger listing makes it clear to the national and international community that the Everglades still needs attention. Mitchell wrote to me:

Tourists already know the Great Barrier Reef is threatened Despite what the Australian government and many tourism operators would like to believe, the threats to the Great Barrier Reef are already widely known, because they have drawn global media attention. How this translates into the perceptions of prospective tourists in not yet clear. But the indications from elsewhere around the world is that In Danger listing does not have a significant impact on tourism, and presumably we could say the same about inclusion in documents such as UNESCOs tourism report. Many other factors are far more important to tourists, including the economic situation, access, weather events, service quality and, importantly, a sites relative quality compared to alternative destinations.

Tourism operators are increasingly recognising that the Great Barrier Reef faces myriad threats, and that its outlook is poor. Many people agree with Tony Fontes, a dive operator from the Whitsunday Islands, who previously told me that an In Danger listing might actually be the catalyst to ensure the GBR is properly protected. Recently, other GBR tourism operators have spoken out about the worst crisis ever faced by the GBR, with some 200 businesses and individuals pleading with the government to tackle climate change and the many other threats that together threaten the Reefs future. What needs to be done? Ignoring the indisputable fact that the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem is under unprecedented pressures will help neither tourism nor the environment in the long term. A more effective strategy would be for the relevant agencies and operators alike to create realistic expectations, and responsibly inform tourists of the real situation. University of Queensland professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg has summed up the situation:
The sound of steel on steel, the sight of heraldic colours and the smell of blood.

Or, in the case of the Historical Medieval Battles at Fort Lytton National Park this weekend, at least two out of those three.

Team Havoc (NSW) and Team Kraken (Victoria) battle it out at Fort Lytton. Credit:Michelle Smith

History buffs  and violence buffs, for that matter  have converged on the 19th century garrison to battle it out old-school style for the inaugural HMB Queensland Cup.

Representing home turf was the Queensland Vultures, a 13-strong team consisting of 11 men and two women, taking on teams from across Australia and New Zealand across this weekend, including the New South Wales Havoc and Victoria Kraken.
The daughter of a couple who chose to die together rather than decay physically and mentally say a committee's recommendations for physician-assisted death do not go far enough.

Scientists Patricia and Peter Shaw were not terminally ill but chose to end their lives on their own terms in October last year. Their story elicited powerful responses from thousands of Australians.

Scientists Pat and Peter Shaw died in a suicide pact in October 2015.

But recommendations made following Victoria's End-of-Life Choices inquiry, released on Thursday, limit physician-assisted death to the terminally ill in their final months.

The Shaws were both 87 and, having lived full lives, felt their minds and bodies were starting to give out. Both had written of wanting to avoid further deterioration in letters before their deaths.
The mysterious locks dangle from a metal frame outside an apartment tower on a grey, bustling street in Melbourne's CBD. There are seven of them, each with numbers or names stuck to them with masking tape, hanging from a guard which circles the street tree.

So what are they?

Key safes attached to street furniture in Melbourne's Spencer Street. Credit:Pat Scala

The oversized locks are actually miniature safes  inside them, keys or swipe cards.

It is a sight that represents the pointy end of the city's booming Airbnb and short-stay apartment industry.
He said there could be a need for similar programs in some primary schools  but they would need to be framed in the context of social cohesion and respect.

"You would hardly want to be speaking to primary school kids about violent world events unless it is something they are already talking about," Professor Barton said.

"Getting these programs right at any age group is difficult and it is only something we have been doing in the past two years because the need has become apparent."

He said he had not heard of any cases of Australian primary school students being radicalised, but children could be exposed to dangerous influences at a young age.

One Victorian teacher, who did not want to be named, said there was not enough focus on preventing radicalisation in younger children.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has said that it is appropriate to create a united agency investigating into crimes in the economy sphere.

"I am deeply convinced that the country should have the united agency, as the United States has the financial investigations service. The police are ready to eliminate the economy protection department, plus tax police, and the K service should be removed from SBU," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He said that the authorities' will is required to create the united agency to investigate into economic crimes.

"I think that today there is no political will in the country to close the K department in SBU, for example," he said.
The former Stanford swimmer whose six-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman set off a national uproar about binge drinking and sexual assault sought at his sentencing to minimise his experience with alcohol before he came to the university. But court documents released Friday suggested that Brock Turner had familiarity in high school with alcohol and marijuana.

In photos and phone messages, Turner appears to be holding a pipe for smoking marijuana, as well as talking about drinking and buying drugs.

In a June 2014 exchange, after he was asked "Did you rage last night?" Turner replied he had spent an hour and a half drinking, documents show. Messages extracted from his cellphone include repeated exchanges from that year, when Turner was in high school, about buying and using drugs, including marijuana.
Karen Greenberg, director of the Centre on National Security at Fordham University, said undercover operations had become the norm for the FBI in the most recent Islamic State cases, with little debate or understanding of how the bureau actually conducts its investigations, especially its online stings. An FBI SWAT team deployed in Los Angeles earlier this month. Credit:AP "I think the FBI is really going down the wrong path with a lot of these ISIS cases", she said, using a common acronym for the Islamic State, also known as IS. In Rochester, New York, a paid informant went undercover and drove a man suspected of being an Islamic extremist, Emanuel Lutchman, to a Wal-Mart in December to buy a machete, ski masks, zip ties and other supplies for a would-be terrorist attack on New Year's Eve. Because Lutchman, a mentally ill panhandler, had no money, the informant covered the $US40 ($54) cost. Michael German, a law professor at New York University who worked as an undercover agent for the FBI for sixteen years, in New York, May 12, 2016. The FBI has significantly increased its use of stings in terrorism cases in hundreds of investigations into Americans suspected of supporting the Islamic State group. ?They?re manufacturing terrorism cases,? says German. (Nancy Borowick/The New York Times) Michael German, a law professor at New York University who worked as an undercover agent for the FBI for sixteen years, in New York, May 12, 2016. The FBI has significantly increased its use of stings in terrorism cases in hundreds of investigations into Americans suspected of supporting the Islamic State group. ???They???re manufacturing terrorism cases,??? says German. (Nancy Borowick/The New York Times) Credit:New York Times

In North Carolina, an undercover agent pressed another suspect, Justin Sullivan, on whether he was willing to commit acts of terrorism for the Islamic State - "do you think you can kill?" the agent asked in one online message - before giving him a silencer for an AR-15 assault rifle in June 2015. And in Washington state, an undercover informant paid $US1100 to Daniel Franey, a former soldier, for acting as a lookout on several trips to buy duffel bags filled with assault weapons for a possible attack last summer. James Gonzalo Medina, who the FBI arrested for allegedly planning to attack a Jewish centre in Miami. Credit:Miami-Dade Corrections The FBI arrested all three suspects before any attacks occurred, and has used similar undercover techniques to prosecute dozens of others it believes had ties to the Islamic State, court records show. The FBI has about 1000 open investigations into "homegrown violent extremists", which it defines as Americans motivated by a foreign terrorist group, including the Islamic State, to conduct attacks at home, officials said. They said a "significant number" of cases - hundreds in all - had entailed undercover operations against people suspected of being Islamic extremists, but that the FBI did not have precise numbers.

Emanuel Lutchman, a mentally ill panhandler suspected by the FBI of being an Islamic extremist. Credit:New York State Department of Corrections Only about 30 per cent of the first few dozen prosecutions until late 2014 appear to have relied on evidence gathered through undercover operations. That number climbed to about 45 per cent by early last year, with a string of undercover prosecutions in New York, Minnesota and Illinois. And since February 2015, about 40 of 60 Islamic State prosecutions, or 67 per cent, have been based on undercover operations. In the most recent case, prosecutors two weeks ago charged a Bronx man, Sajmir Alimehmeti, 22, with travelling to Europe twice to try to fight with the Islamic State. He met with at least three undercover agents during the FBI's investigation. FBI officials said any increase in undercover activity probably reflected the emergence of what they believed to be a larger and more dangerous pool of Islamic State suspects. The officials said there had been no deliberate decision or policy change to rely more heavily on undercover agents. Often, the targets in the stings first attracted the FBI's attention for espousing what agents saw as support for the Islamic State or violent extremism online, on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. The FBI insists that its agents comb these sites not as "thought police", but rather to look for people who are threatening acts of terrorism.

In northern Illinois, for instance, an undercover agent sent a friend request on Facebook to Hasan Edmonds, a National Guardsman who had published posts on social media that the FBI had deemed alarming. Over the next several months, Edmonds and the undercover agent exchanged numerous online messages, discussing the possibility of travelling to the Middle East to help the Islamic State, or perhaps mounting an attack at the Illinois armoury where Edmonds trained. "Oaths have been given," Edmonds wrote to an informant in one online message in January 2015, according to a criminal complaint. "When the time is right we will strike." A few days later, Edmonds wrote that he and a cousin were anxious to help the cause and "would love to do something like the brother in Paris did" - a reference to the terrorist attack a few weeks earlier on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The undercover agent responded by suggesting to Edmonds that if he could not make it overseas to fight with the Islamic State, he could show his commitment and achieve martyrdom in the US, court filings said. The online messages led to a meeting in person in March 2015 between a second undercover operative and Edmonds' cousin, Jonas Edmonds, prosecutors said.

Weeks later, the cousins were arrested at Chicago Midway International Airport - with Hasan Edmonds apparently on their way to the Middle East - and charged with terrorism-related offences. Both men have pleaded guilty and are facing long prison sentences. In that case and in many others, FBI undercover operatives have let plots play out until a suspect acquires a weapon, for instance, or buys a plane ticket to Turkey en route to Syria. Officials said they were keenly aware that such cases would almost inevitably lead defence lawyers to charge that the FBI had illegally entrapped their clients. That is why, the officials said, they often gauge suspects' commitment to carrying out an attack and give them an "out" to back away. The stings have left many Muslim leaders wary, even as the FBI has sought to build bridges to Muslim Americans. At mosques in Oregon, imams sometimes warn of FBI informants and caution "that we have those among us who are not with us," said Tom Nelson, a Muslim lawyer in Portland who has represented a number of local men in terrorism-related cases. His message for his Muslim friends, Nelson said, is blunt.
An alternate version of the Stanford University rape case, where Brock Turner sexually assaulted a young woman behind a dumpster, has been spinning in my imagination since last January, when I first heard of his arrest.

In my version, he recognises that what happened on Stanford's campus after a party was rape. He comes to understand that intoxication is not consent. He takes responsibility for his violent "action" that irreparably harmed another human being, instead of blaming them on alcohol. Rather than spending a year and a half honing his story, making excuses and lawyering up, he pleads guilty.

Brock Turner and his father Dan Turner in court. Dan Turner offered supportive character testimony.

He looks his victim squarely in the eyes and says, "I'm sorry. I had no business putting my hands on or in you after you were no longer able to give consent. I should have helped you to safety instead of running and lying about why I did. I will do everything I can to spare you any further pain. I will spend the rest of my life educating young people about consent and sexual violence."

Then he serves his punishment  perhaps even a sentence mitigated by his understanding of the crime, his taking responsibility, even his character references  because he gets it. He bears the weight of his guilt, and in doing so eases the burden of his victim.
Beirut: Two suicide bomb attacks have struck close to the Syrian capital Damascus, killing at least eight people and wounding more than a dozen others, state television and an opposition activist group say.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombings through its Aamaq news agency, which said there were three attacks carried out by suicide bombers.

Syrians gather around damaged buildings after the attack in Sayyida Zeinab, Damascus. Credit:SANA/AP

Two Islamic State attackers were wearing explosive belts while the third was in a car, Aamaq reported.

It was not immediately possible to explain the discrepancy between Aamaq's account and those of Syrian state media and activists, who reported only two explosions.
Washington not ready to return to ordinary relations with Russia over situation in eastern Ukraine - State Dept

The United States is not ready to return to its erstwhile relations with Russia because of the situation in eastern Ukraine, U.S. Department of State spokesman, Mark Toner, said during a Twitter conference on Friday.

"There can be no return to ordinary relations with Russia, given Russia's actions in eastern Ukraine," he wrote on the State Department's official Russian-language service on Twitter.

The two countries "should have the possibility to hold talks when they need to," he said.

In particular, "the U.S. believes that the path Russia must follow to have the sanctions lifted is via full implementation of the Minsk commitments," he said.

"Ukraine made efforts to implement the Minsk agreements," he said.

"We are concerned by violations along the ceasefire line, involving the heavy weaponry prohibited by the Minsk agreements. We are certain that the only hope to reach progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements is to end violence by the joint troops of Russia and separatists, stop the intimidation of OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] monitors and give them full access to the separatists-controlled areas," Toner said.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 9, 2016 -- AutoNation, Inc. , America's largest automotive retailer, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Centennial Chrysler Jeep, located in Denver, Colorado. This acquisition will expand the Company's footprint to 18 stores in the Denver market. In 2015, the store sold over 3,000 new and used retail vehicles, with approximately $110 million in annual revenue. This will be AutoNation's 30th FCA store. The Company expects to close the acquisition in the third quarter of 2016. The transaction is subject to customary terms and conditions, including manufacturer approval.

Mike Jackson, AutoNation's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, stated, "We are pleased with the opportunity to expand the AutoNation Brand in the Denver Market. This acquisition will complement our existing footprint on Arapahoe Road, an attractive auto retail location. We look forward to welcoming Centennial Chrysler Jeep and its 83 associates to AutoNation."

About AutoNation, Inc.

AutoNation is America's largest automotive retailer, currently owning and operating 367 new vehicle franchises from coast to coast. AutoNation sold its 10 millionth vehicle in 2015, the first automotive retailer to reach this milestone. A commitment to delivering a peerless experience through customer-focused sales and service processes is what drives AutoNation's success. AutoNation supports the Breast Cancer Research Foundation through its Drive Pink Campaign. AutoNation is transforming the automotive industry through bold leadership, technology and innovation.

Please visit investors.autonation.com, www.autonation.com, www.autonationdrive.com, www.twitter.com/autonation, www.twitter.com/CEOMikeJackson, www.facebook.com/autonation, and www.facebook.com/CEOMikeJackson, where AutoNation discloses additional information about the Company, its business, and its results of operations.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:
2016 Honda Civic Coupe Earns IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ Rating

SEE ALSO: Totally Honda

TORRANCE, Calif.Jun 10, 2016; The sporty, sophisticated and dramatically redesigned 2016 Honda Civic Coupe can now lay claim to safety leadership after earning the highest available collision safety rating of TOP SAFETY PICK+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) when equipped with Honda Sensing. All 2016 Civic Coupes earn the top GOOD rating in each of five IIHS test modes, including small and moderate overlap frontal collisions, side impacts and roof crush protection.

The 2016 Civic Coupe joins the 2016 Civic Sedan, 2016 Accord Sedan, 2016 Accord Coupe, 2016 CR-V and 2016 Pilot SUV in applying Honda Sensing technology and earning an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating.

The 2016 TOP SAFETY PICK+ designation is reserved for vehicles that have an available front crash prevention system and earn an ADVANCED or SUPERIOR rating from the Institute. In 12 mph and 25 mph tests at the IIHS track, the 2016 Civic Coupe with Honda Sensing successfully avoided collisions, earning a SUPERIOR rating for front crash protection from the IIHS.

"We're proud to add the 2016 Civic Coupe to a growing family of Honda vehicles that employ our Honda Sensing technology and earn top crash safety ratings," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. "Honda Sensing and systems like it are changing the conversation around vehicle safety performance from crash protection to crash avoidance, and we will continue to expand Honda Sensing to additional models as we work toward our vision for a collision-free society."

Standard on the Civic Touring Coupe, the Honda Sensing suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technology can reduce the potential of a collision or mitigate its severity, alerting the driver and taking emergency action when a collision is determined to be imminent. Honda Sensing uses both millimeter wave radar and a monocular camera to sense and respond to detected road hazards. Honda Sensing technologies on the 2016 Civic Coupe include:

Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) 1

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) integrated with RDM 2

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) integrated with CMBS 3

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low Speed Follow 4

Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) 5

Road Departure Mitigation (RDM)6

The greater use of high-strength steel and advanced crash engineering features, including Honda's next-generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, a new crash stroke front frame structure and tailor-tempered B-pillars and rear frame structures, help better protect occupants in a collision while minimizing vehicle weight for superior fuel efficiency. In addition, standard passive safety features on the 2016 Civic Coupe include a new front passenger's safety vent airbag, SmartVent front side curtain airbags and side curtain airbags with rollover sensor.

All 2016 Civic Coupe models also come standard with Vehicle Stability Assist with Traction Control, 4-channel Anti-Lock Braking System with Brake Assist; a highly responsive, fully independent suspension; Motion-Adaptive Electric Power Steering; a Multi-Angle Rearview Camera; Expanded View Driver's Mirror; indirect tire pressure monitoring system; and Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) child seat mounting system.

About Honda

Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles with advanced safety technologies sold through approximately 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Fit, Civic and Accord passenger cars, along with the

HR-V, CR-V and Pilot sport/utility vehicles, the soon-to-be-launched Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan.

Honda has been producing automobiles in America for 33 years and currently operates 19 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2015, more than 99 percent of all Honda vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

Honda Commitment to Safety

Honda has a long history of leadership in the development of advanced technologies designed to enhance the safety of all road users, including automobile occupants, motorcycle riders and pedestrians. Today, Honda is working toward its vision for a "zero-collision society" and is targeting a 50 percent reduction in fatalities in its vehicles by 2020, compared to 2000 levels, and zero fatalities in Honda vehicles by 2040.

Toward this goal, the company is broadly applying its Honda Sensing suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies that can help mitigate the potential for or severity of a collision. Thanks in part to the widespread application of Honda's next-generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, Honda is also among the industry leaders in earning top collision safety ratings from the U.S. government and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), including top IIHS collision-safety ratings for six top-selling U.S. models  Accord Sedan, Accord Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Coupe, CR-V and Pilot.

1 CMBS cannot detect all objects ahead and may not detect a given object; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and other factors. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. System designed to mitigate crash forces. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions

2 LDW only alerts drivers when lane drift is detected without a turn signal in use. LDW may not detect all lane markings or lane departures; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and road condition. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions.

3 FCW cannot detect all objects ahead and may not detect a given object; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and other factors. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. FCW does not include a braking function. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions.

4 Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with low-speed follow cannot detect all objects ahead and may not detect a given object; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and other factors. ACC should not be used in heavy traffic, poor weather or on winding roads. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions.

5 LKAS only assists the driver in maintaining proper lane position when lane markings are identified without a turn signal in use and can only apply mild steering torque to assist. LKAS may not detect all lane markings or lane departures; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and road condition. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions.

6 Road Departure Mitigation only alerts drivers when lane drift is detected without a turn signal in use and can apply mild steering torque to assist driver in maintaining proper lane position and/or brake pressure to slow the vehicle's departure from a detected lane. Road Departure Mitigation may not detect all lane markings or lane departures; accuracy will vary based on weather, speed and road condition. System operation affected by extreme interior heat. Driver remains responsible for safely operating vehicle and avoiding collisions.

The Most In-Depth Honda Vehicle Shopper's Research - Anywhere!
2016 Canadian Grand Prix - Friday







Times tumble on opening day in Montreal

Lewis topped both sessions with Nico second in FP1 and third in FP2

A 1:14.212 from Lewis in the afternoon session saw him eclipse the 2015 pole time by 0.181s

Both drivers ran the SuperSoft and UltraSoft compound tyre in the morning session, the Soft and UltraSoft in the afternoon session

Driver Chassis No. P1 P2 Lewis Hamilton F1 W07 Hybrid/01 22 Laps 1:14.755 P01 43 Laps 1:14.212 P01 Nico Rosberg F1 W07 Hybrid/03 30 Laps 1:15.086 P02 46 Laps 1:14.738 P03

Weather Clear, dry, mild Temperatures Air: 12.8  20.0C Track: 25.4  45.5C

Lewis Hamilton

Its been an awesome day. This has always been a strong circuit for me and Im really enjoying being back here again. Ive generally been really happy with the car so far. The focus today has been on working hard to make sure we have a good understanding of the tyres. Im enjoying myself and hoping the weather stays like this over the weekend for all the fans out there in the grandstands.

Nico Rosberg

Generally I feel good in the car. But getting the tyres working is not so straightforward here, so that needs some further analysis tonight. I lost most of my time in the first sector  possibly because of tyre temperatures. So, that part of the lap is the main area to work on and find some improvement for qualifying. The long runs have looked good so far, though. Its been great to see so many spectators out there already today and Im sure there will be an awesome atmosphere over the weekend.

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical)

Its great to have some decent weather after freezing conditions yesterday  particularly for the fans, who have come out in their thousands. The main interest of the day was to see how the three different tyre compounds functioned on low and high fuel. We managed to complete our programme without any major issues and both drivers are fairly happy with the balance of the car. Its difficult to compare lap times precisely with everybody running slightly different programmes  but our performance looks reasonably strong. Weve still got a lot to do to be fully prepared for qualifying  and in a shorter timescale than normal too. Weve had normal running hours today  but curfew begins an hour earlier tonight, as we lose an hour tomorrow with the early start to FP3 and Qualifying. The team in the garage have a tough evening ahead to get the cars prepared.
A Crimean court has sentenced resident of Kyiv region Andriy Kolomiyets to ten years' imprisonment in a high-security prison, the Crimean Human Rights Group reported quoting Kolomiyets's defense lawyer Mykhailo Kushpel.

The court sentenced Kolomiyets to six years for the alleged attack on the Ukrainian Berkut riot police officers in Kyiv during the events on the Maidan and to four years for the alleged possession of drugs, the Crimean Human Rights Group reported on its official Facebook page.

"During the hearing, the lawyer of Kolomiyets submitted documents from the Prosecutor General's Office, which said that Andriy Kolomiyets is not involved in the case on the attack on Berkut officers in Ukraine. The agency's response contains the information that Ukraine is really investigating a criminal case about an attack on Berkut officers during the protests in Kyiv in 2014. There were 33 people who received injuries of varying severity and one of them died. At the same time, the response of the Prosecutor General's Office has the information that those employees of Berkut, in attacking whom Kolomiyets is accused, the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies did not apply, and victims in this case are not," the report says.

Kyiv region resident Kolomiyets was detained on the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria in May 2015 on suspicion of drug possession, but his lawyer identified a number of procedural irregularities that cast doubt on the suspicion of drug possession.

After the detention, the Ukrainian was brought to Crimea and charged with attempted murder of two of the Crimean Berkut officers. According to the lawyer, prosecutors presented as the evidence only two black-and-white photographs of the allegedly burnt uniform of these Berkut officers.
Whiskey has made a tremendous comeback. After decades of decline brought on by a global love affair with vodka, whiskey is suddenly booming. More and more, everyone wants to try new whiskies, and the whiskey whose sales have grown the mostby a huge percentageis Irish whiskey. From 2002 to 2015, sales of Irish whiskey in the U.S. have grown by an astronomical 642 percent, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

So, as distilleries open in Ireland at an ever accelerating pace, including several relatively large ones, some are wondering: could Irish whiskey be the next Scotch?

Stop and think first. What does that question mean? Scotch is by far the biggest player in the overall category, twice the size of second-place American whiskey. Of the worlds five major whiskey producing areasScotland, the U.S. (Kentucky and Tennessee, mostly), Canada, Japan, and IrelandIrish whiskey lags far behind in last place and would have to grow a lot and for a long time to catch up with Scotch in terms of volume or even dollar sales.

The curious thing is, Irish whiskey once was a serious, head-to-head challenger to Scotch. In the 1800s it was a global commodity. There were distillers all across Ireland. But Prohibition in the U.S., Irish Republics post-independence trade war with England, and the trade embargoes and blockades associated with World War II combined to bring Irish whiskey low. The only reason Irish has been able to grow so rapidly in recent years and still be in last place is because it all but disappeared in the 60s.

The industry wisely consolidated and merged, and now it is strong once again. Though it is still small in comparison to Scotch, if you measure preeminence in respect, acclaim, and variety, Ireland does indeed pose a challenge.

Ask most Americans about Irish whiskey, and their knowledge begins and ends with Jameson and Bushmills, and perhaps Tullamore Dew. Its not much different in the rest of the world, outside of the actual island. But those three brands encapsulate why Irish whiskeys potential is so great.

Jameson is the driver of Irish whiskeys growth, the biggest Irish brand in the world. It is made at the Midleton distillery, near Cork. Like blended Scotch, Jameson combines two types of whiskey: a relatively mild-flavored whiskey distilled to a high proof and barrel-aged for a minimum of three years; and what is called single pot still whiskey, made from a unique blend of malted and unmalted barley, which gives it a fresh, grassy, almost fruity character like no other. (You can taste pot stills unique flavors unblended in Jamesons stablemates Redbreast and Green Spot.)

Bushmills, made in Northern Ireland, is the other Irish brand with which most people are familiar, and is much more similar to Scotch. Like Scotch, Bushmills is either a blend of malt and grain whiskies, or a pure single malt whiskey, matured in a combination of used bourbon, sherry, or port barrels. But whereas most Scotch whisky is double-distilled, these whiskeys are triple-distilled. (Midleton also distills its whiskey three times.) The extra distillation yields a smoother character that some people find more appealing than the more intense character of Scotch.

Tullamore Dew differs in that it combines all three types of whiskies used by the other two brands: grain, malt and single pot still whiskies. The Tullamore Dew distillery closed in the 50s, so it currently blends whiskies purchased under long-term contracts from Midleton and Bushmills. But there is a large new Tullamore Dew distillery (in Tullamore) making malt and single pot still spirit, also triple-distilled. Next year what was made there will start to legally become whiskey after three years of aging in the barrel.

Just in those three distilleries there is already more variety than in Scotch. Then add the double-distilled and sometimes peat-smoked whiskies made at Cooley and Kilbeggan (where the Kilbeggan, Tyrconnell, and Connemara brands are made), the varied and innovative whiskies being produced at the new Teeling distillery in Dublin, and the dozens of new small distilleries in Ireland, and you have a whiskey homeland with great potential.

The near future will see a growing number of interesting and delicious Irish whiskies from an increasing number of distilleries. The whiskey industry looks to become an important part of the Irish economy again. And, of course, we get to reap those benefits.

So, will Irish be the next Scotch? Well, youd have to talk to the bourbon distillers about that.
Readers of former Staff Sergeant Clinton Romeshas intense and brutal memoir Red Platoon will first meet a junior soldier, Specialist Zach Koppes. Hes a general-issue infantryman, rousted from his cot a few minutes earlier than his scheduled guard shift is meant to beginnot for any call to action, but so Koppess team leader could make an early-morning latrine call. The sun has barely begun to rise over Combat Outpost Keating in eastern Afghanistan, 14 miles from the Pakistan border, and the October 2009 morning seems routine.

Koppes is an average, everyday soldier, a young kid on his first deployment, said Romesha, talking about his book with The Daily Beast from his home in North Dakota. Got a little secret hidey-hole where he can read his magazines and think its going to be an easy day,

At that moment, Koppesas in copacetic, Romesha writesand the men of Bravo Troop, 3-61 Cavalry, 4th Infantry Division, are minutes away from a ferocious Taliban assaulta well-known battle thanks to Jake Tappers The Outpost, and because Romesha would receive the Medal of Honor for his actions that day.

At 6 a.m., hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked from multiple directions, using the high ground to assault COP Keatings low position. It was a well-planned, well-rehearsed, full-on assault meant to overrun and destroy the Americans entire position.

Red Platoon is Romeshas own account of the 13-hour battle (written with co-author Kevin Fedarko), gathered through interviews between Romesha and his comrades.

A critical take on memoirs from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq might divide them into two extreme camps: the snarky, above-it-all distance of ironic rumination on mistakes and angst, or fairy tales of superhero operators saving the day while accompanied by implied swells of a patriotic soundtrack.

Red Platoon is one of a handful that successfully focuses almost entirely on the brutality and violence of combat without mawkish uber-patriotism or plaintive regret. It is hell in a very small place.

In The Outpost, Tapper provided what Romesha calls a successful big-picture look at the bad decisions leading to COP Keatings creation in a terrible, indefensible position on a plateau surrounded by high ground.

Red Platoon supplies the complementary close up, zooming in on the desperation of a minute-to-minute fight for survival that not all will win. Of the 52 soldiers at COP Keating, half would be injured and eight would die. The events for which Romesha received the Medal of Honor are never specifically pointed out. Instead, the days violence and the desperate tactics of Romesha and his comrades blend together until its difficult to grasp why any single act would deserve the Medal of Honor more than any other.

By presenting the battle in a rush of shifting action and intensity, the story lets Romesha direct attention at the handful of soldiers he believed deserved more notice.

Take Koppes, for example, a typical junior-enlisted Joe, no Special Forces type, no Seal Team 6 superman.

When the Taliban assault began, Koppes was cut-off from the rest of the men, isolated and alone in a Humvee, holding down his roadside perimeter position for 14 hours without relief.

Nobody would have faulted him if hed said he couldnt hold that position anymore and was falling back, Romesha said. But he locked down the whole eastern side of the camp, with nobody beside him to help. Id describe him as the platoon clown, until shit got serious.

Koppes had kept his focus on what he could controlthe battle he could see from his Humvee turret.

First Lieutenant Andrew Bundermann had much broader concerns, Romesha writes, thrust into Keatings command with the normal commander away from the base. When the battle began, Romesha writes, the place to which Bundermann was accustomed to going was the [.50 caliber machinegun] truck. The destination to which hed raced at the start of virtually every engagement  but like it or not, the command post was where he belonged. Every tactical decisionall of that responsibility, all of that burdenrested directly on Bundermanns shoulders.

Bundermann would broadcast the message Enemy in the wire just the second time, Romesha writes, that a broken arrow, all-hands-on-deck-help-us-now message was sent since Hal Moore did it in the Ia Drang valley in 1965. Sustained by air support, refusing to give ground, and finally taking the fight back to the enemy, the COP Keating defenders held their position.

Romesha said that Bundermann and some of the men did not participate as extensively in The Outpost or other accounts as others did, letting their roles fall into the background. It is to these menthose who lived and the eight who died that Romesha felt a special loyalty; by conducting his own research, Romesha could fill in certain blanks.

The meat of Red Platoon came from Romesha and Fedarkos cross-country tripsabout eight from California to Alabama, Alaska to Minnesotato reconnect with Romeshas fellow veterans. To build the first-hand account, the men crosschecked recollections and examined the official record to see where memories diverged or matched with history.

With any of these guys, its about what theyre not saying, and the body language in which theyd say a certain phrase or relate a certain moment. We had to sit face-to-face and be right there, Romesha said. Lot of emotional stuff. We tried not to hard-charge it, but tease things out and get the whole picture.

When first approached to write a book, Romesha was ambivalent if not downright dismissive. He was worried that his I would overwhelm the story of the other menin fact, the word I does not appear until page 12.

Some of the guys, and some of the families approached me, and said if anybody can tell the story, it would be me, he said, and I kind of rolled that in my head a little bit. I did get the national attention that if I open my mouth, people will listen. Other guys went back to their everyday lives.

The book needed to be a labor of love, to let those guys tell their story, veteran to veteran, with somebody who was right there with them.

Fedarko structured the narrative while Romesha went round-and-round with the narrative, reading aloud to get the right tone, bouncing it off friends and family to ensure it sounded like him.

Through the interviews, the sensory overload of the past could be translated and triangulated among the multiple perspectives, he said, arriving at a soldiers truth, even if certainty remains elusive.

No way in hell its perfect, but with the first-hand accounts and the official records, we got pretty damn close, he said.

Romesha and Fedarko give retroactive credit, correcting the record of their memories wherever they can.

It turns out, for example, that Apache helicopters arrived within the battles first hour, providing vital air support, whereas in the soldiers memories those helicopters didnt arrive until hours later, a misperception of explosions at eye level, instead of looking up at the sky, Romesha said.

Photographs provide objective truth. Throughout the book, images introduce faces of soldiers and physical landscapes that match up with the narrative, a more effective choice than an out-of-context photo insert. A picture of Observation Point Fritsche shows a tiny compound of plywood and sandbags, on a low plateau surrounded by high groundan exclamation point about the isolated, extreme conditions, Romesha said.

Red Platoon is a soldiers story, told bluntly. Romesha dogs out those he feels deserve it: a former commander, a few U.S. soldiers who dont measure up, and Afghan soldiers who abandoned their positions and fled. Romesha said an earlier group of Afghan soldiers were much more professional and battle-ready, but were replaced by those he felt were sub-par.

Even fellow Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant Ty Carter comes in for a ribbing: to save the outposts aid station from a fire, Carter chainsaws down a tree, which falls the wrong way and almost crushes two men. Still, it did save the aid station. Mission accomplished, more or less, Romesha writes.

Its not an intentional dig, Romesha said, but theres always more to the story than whats on the surface.

Red Platoon refers to Romeshas fellow Medal of Honor recipient in unexpected ways, such as Carters heroic transition. Romesha writes that at his pivotal moment, Carter was about to rise above his reputation as an oily, smooth-talking douche bag [from a pre-deployment disagreement with a fellow soldier] and find his center as a soldier.

With help from Romeshas close friend Sergeant (and later Lieutenant) Brad Larson, Carter would rescue the fatally-injured Stephan Mace, keeping him alive long enough for surgery, futile though it was. Romesha presents the account of this rescue effort like he does the rest of the battlein intense detail, but with no other special focus. Among the decorations, Larson and Bundermann would receive the Silver Star, and Koppes a Bronze Star with Valor.

Carter received the award for a few specific actions, and Romeshas citation makes clear how wide in scope his valor was considered to be. Its only the third time in U.S. history that more than one man was awarded the Medal for the same battle and theyve both entered a brotherhood that stands apart.

Inside that society, Romesha says, is an ironic common bond: the members feel that they dont deserve to be part of it.

Once awarded the Medal, Romesha spoke to other recipients, to try and get a handle on this new responsibility and identity. One of the first he met was retired Lieutenant General Robert Foley, a Medal recipient from the Vietnam War.

To Foley, Romesha said among his first words were, Why me? Foley told him, Those words have come out of all of our mouths. The reason is because the men on the ground felt that you did something that went above and beyond.
Today, I dont want to talk just about achieving your dreams. I want to talk about preparing yourself for the rejection and failure you must overcome on the way to achieving your dreams.

To do that, I will talk a little bit about the trajectory of my own career and some of the lessons I learned that might be useful to you.

I remember when I was eight years old, I loved reading novels. But at that age it seemed to me that writing novels must be the most difficult profession in the world, because having to write that many pagesenough to fill a whole bookseemed like a feat of superhuman proportions. So even though I loved reading novels, I never thought in a million years that I would end up writing them.

I remember sitting on my bed when I was 13 and crying because I didnt know what profession I wanted to go into, what career I wanted to have, or what I wanted to do with my life. What I did know was that I wanted to get going on working on my career immediately. But how could I work on it if I didnt know what it was going to be? When my mother saw me crying on my bed, she asked me what was wrong, and when I told her, she was a bit baffled and tried to comfort me, telling me (as I knew she would) that I didnt need to worry about that at my age and that I had plenty of time to figure it out much, much later. I actually ended up figuring it out very, very soon afterwards because I was attending the American School of Paris (we were living in France at the time), and my school curriculum included a creative writing class. In that class we had to write one short story a week. I had never written fiction before, but when I started writing stories for that class, the reactions I got to my stories from teachers, students, and family were extremely positivemore positive than for anything I had ever done in my life until then. This gave me a huge high. And I knew I wanted to experience that high over and over again for the rest of my life. So thats when I realized I wanted to be a writer.

I knew I still had a lot to learn. I immersed myself in everything having to do with trying to become a writer. I read writing magazines such as The Writer, Writers Digest, and Poets & Writers. I read books on the craft of novel writing. I read interviews of writers and author biographies. I wrote part of a novel on my own, outside of school.

After high school, I applied to a college in America that offered Creative Writing as a major, which was not common at the time.

In college, since my dream was to become a novelist, I wanted to do more than what was required in my creative writing classes. In those classes, you just had to write a couple of short stories per semester, and do a few writing exercises. I wanted to write a whole novel, outside of class. But I was still very intimidated by the huge number of pages needed, to fill up a whole book. It seemed like it would be a demoralizingly endless endeavor, and I was a bit impatient. So I decided to write a whole novel in one month. That meant 10 pages a day. I filled the pages with anything, off the top of my headI mean, it was a story, it wasnt a shopping list, but it wasnt a very carefully thought out story. I focused on getting those 10 pages written each day as quickly as possible. All I cared about was that they were written, not that they were good. And so the result was a very bad novel. I showed it to only 3 people. The first person said, If I were you I wouldnt show it to anyone. That was my mother, who had always loved my short stories, but not so much this novel. The second person I showed it to tried to be polite about it. That was my best friend. The third person I showed it to was cringing so much while reading it, that she could not even read past the second page. And that person was me. Thats right. In fact, Ive tried a few times in my life to read that novel but can never get past the second page.

So even if it wasnt a good novel, I had nevertheless written a novel, and this had given me some confidence in my ability to write that many pages. So I decided I should try again, but this time I would give myself more timeI would write a novel in two months. So thats what I did, and this novel was also bad. And this depressed me greatly but at least I had gotten the message, which was: I had to stop writing a certain number of pages a day and instead focus on quality, because filling all those pages was really not the hard part after all.

After college, I enrolled in Columbia Universitys MFA program in creative writing. There, I started writing a new novel, paying no attention to how many pages I was writing, and instead focusing only on quality. I was lucky to have a wonderful teacher there (who was also an editor at The New Yorker) and she loved my novel. She asked me if I had an agent. When I said no, she recommended me to a very good agent, who sold my novel to Viking. I was 24 years old, and very quickly, that novel was published in translation in 15 other countries.

So, remember that high, that I had experienced when I was 13 and that I wanted to experience over and over again? Well, I was feeling itso strongly, in fact, that I had trouble sleeping at night. It was an incredibly exciting time when my foreign publishers would fly me over to do interviews and promotion in various countries.

And now Id like to talk about rejection and failure.

A few years ago I wanted to get some feedback on a novel I had just finished writing, which would become my third published novel. So I asked an old friend from Columbia graduate school if she would be interested in having us critique each others novels. She had written a novel that she had put away in a drawer after hardly sending it out to any agents. She said she had stopped submitting it because she could not bear the rejections. I assumed her novel was perhaps not a very strong one, not ready to be published. When I started reading it, I realized that was not the case. I was impressed with her novel and was sickened by the thought that she would never give it a decent chance to find a publisher. I told her so, but she still refused to submit it. This drove me crazy, so I asked her if I could submit it to an agent friend of mine, on her behalf, as long as the agent promised to send his response to me, not to herthis way she would never need to hear about his possible rejection. She relented and allowed me to send it to the agent. After he read it, he contacted me to say he wanted to represent it. And not only did he represent it, he also sold it to a big publishing house, Crown. My author friend was thrilled. Ive since had lots of other very talented friends who are aspiring writers and whove written one or more novels, but they refuse to send them out for fear of rejection. I plead with them, but they dont budge.

I can understand their impulse to protect themselves from rejection. Like most writers and people in any profession, Ive experienced my fair share of rejections and I know theyre excruciatingly painful. But one has to be willing to endure that pain. There are so many examples of well-known writers who endured dozens of rejections before their novels got accepted. And in some cases those novels werent just published but became hugely successful. Even J.K. Rowling, the bestselling author of the past twenty years, was rejected twelve times before her first Harry Potter novel was accepted. Most successful people, in any profession, do encounter setbacks, disappointments, rejections, and failures throughout their careers, not even just in the beginning. Successful people work through failure, they try again, and are able to maintain enough optimism and motivation to keep building, keep improving, keep progressing, even though they know some of these attempts will fail too.

This advice might be especially important for women. And Ill tell you a little anecdote.

There is a literary magazine called Tin House. The editor of Tin House, a man called Rob Spillman, was distressed when he realized his magazine was publishing a lot more male writers than female writers, but he hadnt noticed this at first because he never really paid much attention to gender. But once he started paying attention, he said he noticed a big difference between how men and women submit their fiction to his magazine. Or, more precisely, a big difference in the way they react to his rejection of their work. He said that when he rejects female writers they are five times less likely to send him something again, even after he explicitly says, Please send me your next thing, whereas 100 percent of men will send him something again after being rejected, even if he says, Please dont send me something ever again. Three seconds later, he gets more.

This is not a scientific study, its purely anecdotal, so who knows if theres this same pattern on a large scale in the world. But still, its interesting to think about.

So just think of it this way: the more rejections you get and are willing to get, the likelier you are to succeed eventually, because youre giving yourself more chances.

In this world, women and minorities often encounter a fair amount of conscious and unconscious sexism and racism. I hope you will fight it when you see it, whether you see it outside or at home; in others or in yourself.

Three years ago I was hanging out at home one evening, browsing Wikipedia, when I noticed something strange. I could see that for the past few months Wikipedia editors had been removing women from the category called American Novelists and dumping them in a smaller subcategory called American Women Novelists. And they were leaving only male novelists in the main category.

I wrote about my discovery in an op-ed in the New York Times, even though I knew it would probably get some people angry at mespecifically the people on Wikipedia who were doing this, and their friends. Sure enough, it did. My life became very stressful for a while; these people attacked me online, wrote vicious lies about me. But the positive thing that came of my op-ed is that those Wikipedia editors had to stop removing women from the American Novelists category. The world would not let them continue once this was exposed. So Im glad I did it. We often hear people say, If you see something, say something. Those are wise words, and not just regarding suspicious-looking packages. By speaking up, you may be putting yourself at risk, but youre also making the world a better place.

And finally, the last thing I would like to say is that if you encounter a difficult time in your life, an upsetting time, I think you might discoverand perhaps you already havethat often some of the most wonderful things come from bad times. My favorite example in my own life was when I finished writing one of my novels, and sent it to my agent. It was a dark comedy with a very pessimistic view on love. I was 34 years old, had not been lucky in love, had only had bad relationships, and had come to the conclusion that successful romantic relationships didnt exist, that there were no happy couples, that couples who appeared happy were actually just pretending to be happy and were probably fighting behind closed doors. And thats what my novel was about. When I finished writing it and sent it to my agent, 9/11 had just happened. Everyone was depressed, and the last thing they were in the mood for (including my agent) was a dark comedy about the nonexistence of love. So my agent told me that my novel was just too dark (even though I, personally, found it quite funny, especially before 9/11). She said it wasnt ready to be sent out to publishers and that I should work on it more. I was extremely disappointed because I had worked on it not for one month, not for two months, but for a couple of years and had high hopes for it.

Out of a kind of despair, I decided to form a writing group consisting of my writer friends, and we would meet on a regular basis and critique one anothers novels, just like in those creative writing workshops I had enjoyed so much. One of the people I invited into the group was not a friend of mine, but a friend of a friend whose reading I had been to six years previously. He and his writing had made a strong impression on me, and even though I had met him only that one time and had not seen him in six years, I contacted him through our mutual friend and asked him if hed like to join my writing group. He said yes. He became the great love of my life and weve been together now for 14 wonderful years. If my agent had liked my novel right off the bat, I would not now be with this wonderful person, and I would probably still be writing novels about the nonexistence of love.

In closing, Id like to encourage you all to dive, headfirst, into the pursuit of your dreams and keep moving forward. Keep working towards your dreams with the right mix of urgency and patience. Urgency will help you make the most progress wherever and whenever you can. Patience will help you navigate the obstaclessome expected, some unexpectedthat get thrown in your path. Dont let the hard times bring you down too much, because remember that those hard times will often have a silver lining. Whatever you set out to achieve, its best to enjoy the journey, however long it takes.

Amanda Filipacchi is the author of four novels: Nude Men (Viking/Penguin 1993), Vapor (Carroll & Graf, 1999), Love Creeps (St. Martins Press, 2005), and The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty (W. W. Norton, 2015). Her fiction has been translated into 14 languages and been anthologized in The Best American Humor 1994 (Simon & Schuster),Voices Of the X-iled (Doubleday), and The Good Parts: The Best Erotic Writing in Modern Fiction(Berkley Books).
Ferris Buellers Day Off just turned 30. Yes, the ultimate high school movie has officially outgrown its twenties. The Matthew Broderick-helmed ode to Chicago, charisma, and truancy was written, directed, and produced by John Hughes, the same man behind other 80s teen favorites, including The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Pretty in Pink. In addition to effectively breaking the fourth wall, Ferris Buellers Day Off became Hughess highest grossing domestic release of all time. More importantly, it supplied a generations worth of 80s kids with inspiring yearbook quotes and slacker inspiration. In honor of Ferris Bueller and the fact that movie fandomlike high schoolnever ends, weve assembled a list of 20 things you didnt know about the iconic film, with help from IMDb.

1. John Hughes wrote the first draft of Ferris Buellers Day Off in six days.

2. The films takes place on one day; specifically, June 5, 1985.

3. Cindy Pickett and Lyman Ward, who played Ferriss parents, married in real life after filming the movie.

4. Clearly, love was in the air for the Bueller family: even though they played siblings, stars Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey would later become engaged after meeting on set.

5. To produce the desired drugged-out effect for his role as the drug addict in the police station, Charlie Sheen stayed awake for more than 48 hours before the scene was shot.

6. The fictional Shermer High School is a pivotal location in Ferris Buellers Day Off, Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles. But Ferris Buellers Day Off actually features an exterior shot of Hughess own high school, Glenbrook North High School.

7. Alan Ruck was 29 years old when he played the role of teenager Cameron.

8. Most of the license plates in the film are abbreviations for titles of movies by John Hughes. Katies = VCTN (National Lampoons Vacation); Jeannies = TBC (The Breakfast Club); Toms = MMOM (Mr. Mom); Rooneys = 4FBDO (Ferris Bueller's Day Off). The exception is Camerons Ferrari, with a license plate that tellingly reads NRVOUS.

9. At one point in the film there was a line that Ferris was going to say about how come next year, Ill be the first kid to ride on the Space Shuttle. It was even featured in the preview for theaters. However, less than five months before the films release on Jan. 28, 1986, the Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch, resulting in the deaths of all seven people aboard. On account of this tragedy, John Hughes had the preview recalled from theaters and the line was edited out of the final film.

10. The shot of Ferris playing the clarinet was done on the spot. Someone spotted the instrument as part of the set and Matthew Broderick said he could play it, which of course he couldnt.

11. Ferris changes nine times before ever leaving the house.

12. John Hughes can be seen in a tiny cameo in one of the early Chicago downtown montage sequences, climbing across traffic, from right to left of screen, wearing a light blue jacket and big 80s hairdo. Hughes has another unplanned appearance in the film: the hand that presses the speaker button on Camerons phone belongs to the director himself. When the crew left, Hughes took the camera and shot the scene since no one else was getting it right.

13. Rob Lowe, John Cusack, Jim Carrey, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., and Michael J. Fox were all considered for the role of Ferris Bueller.

14. Anthony Michael Hall turned down the role of Cameron to avoid being typecast. Meanwhile, Molly Ringwald allegedly wanted the part of Sloane, but was denied by Hughes, who told her that the part wasnt big enough for her. A competing rumor claims that Hughes didnt think Ringwald was elegant enough for the role, and found Mia Sara more refined.

15. The Ferrari belonging to Camerons father wasnt a real Ferrari. Because it was too expensive to rent one, three replicas were madeusing an MG chassiseach with a fiberglass body.

16. The synchronized dance set to Twist and Shout borrows from Michael Jacksons Thriller choreography.

17. The band Rooney is named after the principal in the movie, Ed Rooney. The ska punk group Save Ferris similarly took its name from the Hughes flick.

18. There is a poster for Simple Minds song Dont You Forget About Me on Ferriss wall, a track that was previously immortalized in 1985s The Breakfast Club.

19. Ferriss line about Camerons house being very pretty and very cold was originally supposed to be said by Allison in The Breakfast Club regarding her home life.

20. Pretty In Pink also came out in 1986. Together, Pretty in Pink and Ferris Buellers Day Off grossed more than $110 million that year.

21. Whenever Mr. Rooney and Ferris have a conversation with each other, only one of them speaks throughout the entire conversation; the other is completely silent.

22. John Hughes told Ben Stein, who had a degree in economics, to present an actual economics lecture in his scenes. Hence nothing Stein says (aside from the roll call) is scripted.

23. The Cubs game depicted in the movie that Ferris and his friends attend was an actual game played against the Atlanta Braves on June 5, 1985.

24. In earlier drafts of the film, Ferris had two additional younger siblings. When it came time to edit, the final draft actually has evidence that Ferris does in fact have younger siblings, such as drawings on the fridge and a family photo seen in his dads office.

25. The drawing on the refrigerator in the Buellers kitchen is actually a drawing of John Hughes, drawn by his 6-year-old son.

26. The Ferrari was originally supposed to smash through the window of the garage and land in the backyard. Unfortunately, it over-shot its mark and hit a fence that was dividing the house from the yard next door.

27. The final scene in the garage was shot in early fall, so each of the leaves on all the trees outside had to be hand-painted green every morning before shooting. In the shot looking up from the wreck at the three friends, the reflection of a yellow tree can be spotted in the window.

28. While a rumored sequel was much-discussed, Matthew Broderick ultimately felt that the film didnt need a sequel, and that the movie was about a specific time and place and didnt need updating. However, Broderick did agree to a Ferris Bueller Honda commercial for the 2012 Super Bowl.

29. Ferriss synthesizer is an E-mu Emulatorwhich in 1985 would have cost $8,000.

30. In early drafts of the script, Sloanes last name was Tandy. She was eventually re-named after Sloane Tanen, daughter of then-Paramount head Ned Tanen.
MISRATA, Libya  The weathered concrete of checkpoint 50 shimmered out of the endless beige desert south of Sirte, that strategic city on the coast that has become the most important Libyan stronghold of the so-called Islamic State.

Abu Anas and his extended family, in a convoy of a 15 cars, pulled up to the roadblock slowly, nervously.

The men, women and children, wedged uncomfortably among their worldly possessions, hold their breath. Theyd survived for a year under the brutal ISIS reign by adhering to its myriad laws, and keeping out of trouble. Most of their neighbors left the city months ago, amid a fresh wave of executions and dwindling supplies.

Now forces loyal to the countrys nascent unity government were advancing into the jihadi stronghold from three sides, bringing with them war and destruction. The family decided to leave before it was too late.

Where are you going? Why are you leaving Sirte? barked a masked ISIS fighter peering into the window of the first car in the convoy. Behind him, in the blistering heat, 10 militants clutching assault rifles guarded the concrete structure. Its one of three identical gateways east, west and south of the city, built by toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi to glorify his beloved hometown.

The jihadist didnt bother listening to the reply.

Stay and defend yourselves, your city, he ordered, waving the convoy away and sending it back to town.

No car would pass there.

Its been weeks now that residents of the mid-coastal city have been barred from leaving by the insurgents, who are panicking as their North African caliphate is being chipped away. Forces loyal to the United Nations-backed unity government in Tripoli have entered the city from the west and are closing in from the east and the south. Without civilians to use as shields, the militants know the town will become a free-fire zone.

If Sirte can be taken from ISIS, the impact on migrant smugglingwhich ISIS has made an industrycould be profound, and Europe would find itself at least a little bit safer. But for now, the main concern of innocent people in Sirte is survival.

Abu Anas and his family got out, finally, by taking the dangerous cross-country desert smuggling routes, which wind through Libyas vast empty quarter. Days later, from the safety of Tripoli, he told us his story.

According to Ahmed, another resident who is still inside, the insurgents have even sent back people in urgent need of medical care that is not available in the embattled city, Were staying putall the roads are closed, he told The Daily Beast via messages, as the mobile network was down. We dont know what ISIS is doing exactly, but they are fortifying the town. Were all just waiting for the war to come.

As Abu Anas recalled, much the same thing had happened in the last days of the Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The people of Sirte were ordered to stay put. Five years on and its happening all over again, said Abu Anas.

Sirte was the final battle in the NATO-backed uprising, and the scene of Gaddafis dramatic death in what had been a hopeful revolution. But by last year it had become a perfect target of ISIS domination. More than 2000 fighters are thought to be based in the city no. Foreign insurgents, mostly from Tunisia and Sub-Saharan Africa, account for more than 85 percent of the group, according to Sirte Member of Parliament Ziad Hadia.

The country, strangled by fighting between fiefdoms of ex-rebels, has collapsed amid civil war.

In the Spring of 2014, the armed Islamist coalition Libya Dawn seized control of Tripoli, forcing the then newly elected parliament to operate over 1,500 kilometers to the east in Tobruk. Dawn set up a rival parliament and government and claimed to hold the west, roughly dividing the country in two.

Exploiting the lawlessness, returning Libyan veterans of the Syrian conflict convinced local extremists in the eastern city of Derna to pledge allegiance to ISIS a few months later, but had to struggle to put down a local uprising. So in early 2015 Abu Bakr Baghdadi dispatched high-ranking ISIS operatives to Sirte to try again to establish a foothold for his caliphate.

Post-revolution Sirte had been largely forgotten by both sides of Libyas new civil war and was only nominally claimed by forces loyal to Dawn. In May 2015 they surrendered to ISISs superior firepower. By early this year, a steady flood of foreign fighters, and successful recruitment from within Gaddafis disaffected tribe, helped ISIS swell its ranks to some 5,000 men. They formed camps in the western city of Sabratha to train a steady flow of Tunisian jihadists, four of whom were smuggled back into Tunisia last year, killing over 60 foreigners in attacks on the Bardo National Museum in Tunis and the Sousse holiday resort.

In a series of takeovers near Sirte, some bloody and some bloodless, the group conquered a 250 kilometer stretch of coastal territory on the doorstop of the lucrative oil crescent and, crucially, of Europe.

Western nations, including the U.S., U.K. and Italy, who had watched the expansion of ISIS with horror, vowed to send some 6,000 troops to conquer the jihadistsif a unity government could be formed.

After months of false starts, last December the UN pushed through a peace deal and formed the Government of National Accord (GNA) headed up by local MP Faiez Serraj. The former businessman was forced to sail into Tripoli in a small boat in March, as Dawn militias fired at planes attempting to land.

Despite the war-drums sounded by militiamen, Dawn appeared to crumble as the GNA took over in Tripoli. Instead resistance came, politically and unexpectedly, from the parliament that needs to approve the GNA for it to legally function. It continues to operate an almost independent state, maintaining its cabinet, its army and separate National Oil Corporation that has tried to sell crude. This month it printed its own bank notes.

So it was with cynical shrugs that Libyans greeted the GNAs announcement on May 5 that it had formed a military command to take back Sirte. This came just a week after powerful Gen. Khalifa Hiftar, a former exile in Northern Virginia, and commander-in-chief of the so-called Libyan Army, had announced his own plan to retake the jihadi bastion, and had mobilized troops in the direction of the city.

But, to the surprise of many, the GNA has successfully absorbed the ragbag of armed groups along the west coast who once answered to Libya Dawn and who had been fighting ISIS for years

The GNA now says it has some 5,000 troops fighting in its Bunyan Marsus, or compact building operation, and that they have made unprecedented gains.

Right now we have advanced into the city, but were dealing with ISIS with extreme caution, Mohamed al-Ghasri, spokesperson for the operations room, which is based in Misrata, told The Daily Beast.

The operation to take Sirte will not last for much longerwere talking days, he added.

In the last week the offensive has captured the towns main power station, and Ghardibya airbase, cutting off major supply routes to the jihadists. GNA allied warplanes bombed positions in Sirte and on Thursday naval forces, under the GNA, claimed control of the waters off the city, preventing jihadists being able to flee by sea.

Friday they advanced into the city itself and began poundings ISISs incongruous headquarters: the sprawling Ouagadougou conference centre, built by Gaddafi for lavish African Union soirees.

The countdown has begun, GNA forces said on Twitter.

In the east the Petroleum Facilities Guardssoldiers tasked with guarding Libyas lucrative oil crescent who have recently pledged allegiance to the GNAretook Ben Jawad, Nofliya and Huwara, the three villages along ISISs 250 kilometer strip of caliphate.

Ghasri said they had only stalled a full advance because thousands of innocent residents still are trapped inside Sirte. Right now there are still civilians in the city and ISIS is using them as human shields so we cannot go in, he said.

If we find a way to get the civilians out it would be just a matter of hours for us take Sirte back.

People who cant leave and have only sporadic contact with outside world, say they can hear the fighting drawing close.

We are terrified we hear the shelling and bombings, everyday in even the eastern outskirts, Ahmed wrote to The Daily Beast. The war is so close.

The fighters who once manned checkpoints and a busy Sharia court house in the city centre, are now busy building trenches and sand berms.

Food prices have more than tripled as ISIS diverts food, medicines, fuel and cash to its fighters, meaning basic necessities for civilians have to be smuggled in through complex desert routes.

Only the poorest couldnt get out of Sirte, most have moved to the suburbs were they can access the desert supplies, Ahmed added.

A year of ISIS has left its mark. Human Right Watch in a May report counted at least 49 people who had been executed: decapitated or shot on charges of spying, insulting God, and sorcery. Residents who fled the city spoke of weekly floggings, and crucifixions for those who flout ISISs rules which ban everything from smoking to pop music.

Sitting in a scrubby living room on a ramshackle street in Misrata, 280 kilometers west of Sirte, tribal elder and now refugee Hajj Mohamed plays a video on his mobile. It was recorded at the end of 2015, and shows two men being beheaded with a four-foot saber in front of a crowd in Sirte.

The two bewildered men in orange jumpsuits are forced to their knees as their supposed crimes are read out before their heads are cut off.

One of them is my friend, he was beheaded for being a sorcerer but he was actually a homoeopathist, says Hajj Mohamed, his voice flat.

Hajj Mohameds own son was killed fighting ISIS last summer while in the ill-fated local resistance brigades. He fled soon after and since then has been assisting Sirtes displaced people, helping them find temporary homes.

In another room, reserved for women, Om Walid, who had just arrived from Sirte, talked about forcing her 12-year-old daughter to wear a full niqab covering every inch of her body and face.

We cant walk anywhere without men, they tore down any posters showing womens faces and hid all the mannequins. They even removed all the shampoo bottles with female figures on them, she said.

She smuggled her teenage sons out after militants turned up at her home and demanded they sign up.

Before the recent bout of fighting, the jihadists imposed a curfew between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., when male citizens were forced to undergo extremist indoctrination at Gaddafis Ouagadougou centrethe same complex now under GNA fire.

Said, a medic who was forced to put up a TV screen in his clinic that played an endless loop of ISIS victories, has recently arrived in Tripoli. He said there was a medical crisis in the city as 90 per cent of the staff manning the hospitals had fled. Its been over a year since life saving dialysis medicines and vaccines have been accessible in the town.

One of his close friends, accused of being with the security services, was crucified last year. They strung him up first while he was still alive and put a sign around his neck, and then they shot him up there, he recalled.

They usually do the crucifixions on Zafran roundabout, and leave the bodies for a few days.

ISIS, he claimed, is largely bolstered by foreign fighters. There was a bewildering array of nationalities of fighters, who range from Africans to Southeast Asians.

Most of those at the checkpoints dont even speak Arabic, he told The Daily Beast.

Said claimed the group also is recruiting from a stream of impoverished migrant laborers, most of whom are in the country trying to eke out a living before taking the perilous sea crossing to Europe. We noticed painters, construction workers, plasterers, odd-job men joined ISIS and were suddenly given money, had houses and cars to drive.

There is talk of livestock herders from Chad, and Sudan joining the Islamic State. Its clear theyre bribed, he added.

Hajj Mohamed, agreed, saying Isis also go to local farms in Sirte and offer migrants three times what they are being paid. That is how they recruit, he added.

In February a U.S. airstrike on ISIS training camps in Sabratha and subsequent raids on the area by local forces, has constricted the flow of Tunisian fighters.

In desperation, and facing the destruction of its caliphate, ISIS is believed to be paying penniless migrants hundreds of dollars per month to man checkpoints and outposts, several Libyan officials told The Daily Beast.

ISIS pay them as much as 1,000 euros a month to encourage them to join, said a Ghanian pusher, whose job is to connect migrants to Libyan king pins.

Migrants arrive in Libya in the southern part of the country after crossing the desert for several days and spending upwards of $400 just to cross the border from places like Niger, he said.

They have to pause in southern cities like Sebha to make more money to travel north. There they struggle to survive amid brutal kidnappings for ransom, and some are tempted there to join ISISs ranks for the free ride to the coast, and the promise of protection and accommodation.

The strategic positioning of Sirteon the coast and at the crossroads of roads south, east and westalso allows Isis to make tens of thousands of dollars a month from the illegal smuggling trades. Intelligence officials in Libya told The Daily Beast they operate people trafficking, gun running and drugs smuggling routes, from the south to cities along the coastline. They make the most of their money from the sea crossings to Europe.

Migrants and refugees in Libya now pay smugglers as much has $1,500 for a seat in a rickety wooden boat or a rusty scow to try to get to Europe. Smugglers can make upwards of $400,000 per boatload they send across.

The multimillion-dollar business has been massively lucrative for ISIS, and it has had resources, including arms, that are the envy of its opponents.

On the front line near Sirte, fighters opposed to ISIS say theyve felt like sitting ducks.

We are operating with what we haveno night vision goggle, rifles with a range of just 500 meters, and no body armor, commanding officer Mohamed Bayyoud, 35, told us in April.

We have men enough to carry out to the job but we are in dire need of sophisticated weapons, he said.

Wearing mismatched fatigues, a camouflage-colored Stetson and, somewhat incongruously, civilian loafers, the former lawyer cut a strange figure when checking on his men, who were stationed at this front line checkpoint for just 24 hours at a time because of the punishing stress levels.

We are all that stands between ISIS and Europe and yet the world doesnt care, he told The Daily Beast.

Recognizing the concerns, in May the U.S., the U.K., the EU and the UN pledged to partially lift the arms embargo by penciling in exemptions to allow weapons to be funneled to the GNA.

Delays continued, however, amid fears thatseparate from the battle against ISIS- that arming one side of an ongoing civil war would only escalate the conflict. Its still not clear how much control the GNA has over its own forces, and whether they would turn their new weapons on their old enemy, Gen. Hiftar, and his Libyan Army.

Hiftar himself last month publicly denounced the GNA, saying it would be unthinkable to join their forces after ignoring repeated warnings from the unity government that launching his own battle for Sirte could be punishable by law.

There are fears that if and when ISIS is forced out of its capital, with Libya still bitterly divided and without a functioning army or police force, an insurgency would quickly be able to take root again.

In the middle are the civilians, who have weathered five years of lawlessness, and now find themselves in yet another war zone.

We all hope that any side gets rid of ISIS, whoever it is, we dont mind, said Ahmed, as his Internet began to flicker off.

We just want to get on with our lives.
At least one-third of all the food I buy for home use can truly be termed local, and at this season with farmers markets in full bloom, that score might rise to 70 percent. Yet I do not buy those fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, and poultry because they are local; I buy them because they are the very best available at this time. I therefore consider myself a bestavore.

Among reasons that I am not a locavore is that I have never really heard a firm definition of local. Should I hold out for the corn and tomatoes grown on Long Island instead of those from farther away farms in New Jersey? And what of Pennsylvania? (Solution: I buy the Long Island corn and the Jersey tomatoes, both being the better choices.) And to be a true locavore, would I have to forego citrus fruits, pineapples, avocados, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, and the heady spices of far-off exotic lands? I certainly applaud the farm-to-table movement and the encouragement of small farmers growing organically and reviving many long-forgotten, excellent seed strains. But nature being what she is there are differences in terroir and in strains that do their best in one particular climate.

The example here is peaches. As good as they can be when properly ripe from my local tri-state area, I have never had even one as richly golden and honeyed as the Georgia freestones. And so once each year in early summer, I order those sweet Georgians from Hale Groves. Similarly, once each winter I order Floridas Indian River white grapefruit from the same source that I consider the worlds best. (Both of which I tested anonymously for my book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die.) No citrus is local for New Yorkers and markets here tend to feature only pink-to-red- grapefruit that lack the icy-yet-sunny tartness of the whites. Those peaches and grapefruit are my way of renewing the benchmarks that enable me to make more satisfying choices among second-bests.

Buying only what is in season is another admirable precept of locavores. But I generally shun such fruits and vegetables because they are rarely good, cases in point being big hollow Driscoll strawberries from California and fibrous bitter asparagus from Latin America. I do however buy dark, winey frozen wild Maine blueberries when our locals are at an end.

The viewpoint of localism that I tend to agree with is that of Thomas Keller who has been castigated for offering supposedly non-local foods at both his magical French Laundry in the Napa Valley and at the stunning Per Se in New York. He prefers lobsters from Maine, butter from Vermont, lamb from Pennsylvania and he values the very local herbs and vegetables from his own and other neighboring farms around Yountville. His view is that anything that can be at his door within 24 hours of being harvested or produced is local enough for him. He feels, rightly, that it is his job to provide the very best in the world to his guests. (To be sure the volume of the upscale foods he buys is small, and even trucks traveling to farmers market often 3 to 5 hours each way leave imprints on the environment.) When I once toured his sparkling French Laundry kitchen, he offered a taste of his richly complex Manini olive oil from Italy. Ive never found a California olive oil that I really like, he explained. So how could he serve something he considers inferior to his guests?

Another consideration to me is perhaps either philosophical or political (or both) especially on an international basis. I believe that trading with far-flung places helps form links between people. Making deals, meeting and breaking bread with counterparts, and becoming interdependent can result in friendships, understanding, and respect, or, less happily of course, their opposites.

Most of all in keeping with their goal to reduce air pollution, sincere locavores should stay home or not travel any farther than they can mostly under their own power. That means walking, skating, biking, riding horseback, swimming, rowing, sailing, or gliding. Then they would not be flying across the country in giant jets to lecture us, thereby leaving big carbon footprints in the sky.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that it is important to begin the procedure of formation of the Supreme Court of Ukraine in September and form it by the end of the year, the president's press service reported on Thursday.

The press service said that at a meeting of the National Council on Anti-Corruption Policy devoted to the implementation of the judicial reform, Poroshenko welcomed the adoption of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine in part of justice and the law on the judicial system and the status of judges. The president said that this would help to fully reboot the judicial branch.

Poroshenko is confident that with the creation of conditions for the reboot of the judicial power, the formation of principally new infrastructure for the fight against corruption in Ukraine has been finished.

"But the courts must be cleared of corrupt officials in order to eliminate corruption," the president said.

The head of state welcomed the abolition of judicial immunity and introduction of their declarations of revenues and expenditures.

According to him, efficient cooperation of the High Qualification Commission of Judges, High Council of Justice, National Anti-Corruption Bureau and other law enforcement and fiscal authorities facilitates greater quality of contests.

"For today, scrupulous lifestyle monitoring, declarations of revenues and expenditures, declarations of family ties, control of the Public Council will allow us to expect an efficient judicial system shortly," the head of state said.
Sunday

Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, 217 W. 26th St. in Downtown Bryan, presents vacation Bible school on the subject of Joseph: From Prison to Palace, from noon to 3 p.m. Classes will continue from 5 to 6 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday. Vacation Bible school is for children ages 3 to 11 and includes games, Bible stories, crafts, and more. Registration forms are available on www.standrewsbcs.org. 822-5176.

Unity Spiritual Center of the Brazos Valley, 4016 Stillmeadow Drive, Bryan, will have services at 10:30 a.m. Call 324-9857 or unityspiritualcenterbv.org.

Trinity Baptist Church, 1070 N. Harvey Mitchell Parkway in Bryan, will host Awana Clubs for children ages 3-12 from 5 to 7 p.m. The meetings will consist of scripture memorization, games, a light meal and a short devotional. Club meetings will continue at 5 p.m. every Sunday during the school year. 571-1404.

Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, 217 W. 26th St. in Downtown Bryan, will have services on its summer schedule at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Nursery care is available during both services, and children's chapel will be during the 10:30 a.m. service. All are welcome. Standrewsbcs.org. 822-5176.

Faith United Church (UCC), 2901 Austin's Colony Parkway in Bryan will have 9:15 a.m. Sunday study, 10 a.m. fellowship, and 10:30 a.m. worship. Pastor Karl's message is "Oil, Tears and Jesus." All are welcome. Faithuccbryan.org.

First Christian Church, 900 S. Ennis St. in Bryan, will gather for worship at 10:45 a.m. Guest Minister Bob Richards' sermon topic will be "An Unexpected Truth: Getting More than You Bargained for," based on Luke 7:36-8:3 and Galatians 2:15-31. Sunday school classes for all ages begin at 9:30 a.m. and a nursery is available. Youth groups meet at 3 p.m. 823-5451 or firstchristianbcs.org.

St. Francis Episcopal Church, 1101 Rock Prairie Road in College Station, will celebrate Holy Communion at 8 a.m. (Rite 1) and at 10:30 a.m. (Rite 2). Bags of flour and sugar will be collected for the food pantries in Iola and Bedias after the 10:30 a.m. service. Blessed prayer shawls will be available for those in need or for giving thanks. Adult Sunday School meets at 9 a.m. and Children's Chapel begins at 10:30 a.m. Contact us for information about additional services and Bible classes during the week. 696-1491 or stfrancisbcs.org.

Covenant Presbyterian Church, 220 Rock Prairie Road in College Station, will hold worship service at 10:30 a.m. The Rev. Jonathan Murray will preach on "Whose Rules?" Classes for all ages meet at 9:15 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship. 694-7700 or covenantpresbyterian.org.

Unitarian Universalist Church of the Brazos Valley, 305 Wellborn Road, will meet at 10:30 a.m. The Rev. Aaron Stockwell will preach on "For Flowers That Bloom." Please bring a flower to the service to learn about the Flower Celebration, one of our truly Unitarian observances. 696-5285.

Mount Nebo Missionary Baptist Church, 3610 Plainsman Lane in Bryan, will have Sunday school classes for all ages at 9:15 a.m. and Morning Worship Service at 10:30 a.m. 846-4753.

Monday

First Baptist Church, 2300 Welsh Ave. in College Station, will host its weekly bible study on Mark, 1 Peter and 2 Peter at 7 p.m. 779-7700.

First Baptist Church Bryan, 3100 Cambridge Drive in Bryan, will host its weekly Bible study fellowship session at 6:55 p.m. BSF is an international, interdenominational women's study group. This year's topic is the Book of John; there is also a children's program. Bsfinternational.org.

Tuesday

Eagle's Nest Praise and Worship Ministries will be opening a free prayer line from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The prayer line number is 775-1513, and calls will be answered by a trained prayer ministry associate. The prayer line is coordinated by pastors Gary and Sheila Jones.

Wednesday

Faith United Church, 2901 Austin's Colony Parkway in Bryan, invites men of all ages to Wednesday morning coffee and guy talk at 10 a.m. All are welcome. Faithuccbryan.org.

Upcoming

Christ Holy Missionary Baptist Church, 1119 Arizona Street in College Station, will hold its 36th Church Anniversary and Homecoming Celebration on June 26. There will be an 11 a.m. service featuring Pastor A.C. Clark III of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and a 3 p.m. service featuring Pastor A. David Ellison of New Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Former Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine of disgraced ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's times Oleksandr Sukhomlyn has been detained and arrested. He is charged of embezzlement of state-owned assets and causing damage of some UAH 5 billion to Ukraine, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has said.

"Today we can tell about the first results in the episode concerning the criminal schemes of Kurchenko [a crony of Yanukovych, businessman Serhiy Kurchenko] We jointly with law enforcers yesterday detained one of the organizers of the criminal scheme to steal liquefied gas, the active member of the criminal group, citizen Sukhomlyn," Lutsenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Saturday.

The investigation believes that, while serving as head of the auction committee for selling oil, gas condensate, liquefied gas and coal, Sukhomlyn acted in collusion with Yanukovych, Kurchenko, and former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov to misappropriate liquefied gas produced by the state companies Ukrgazvydobuvannia and Ukrnafta worth over UAH 2 billion, Lutsenko said.

"As the head of the auction committee, Sukhomlyn [...] systematically took steps to eliminate competition at specialized auctions, at which liquefied gas was sold to private households, and controlled Kurchenko's scheme, making sure that not part of liquefied gas necessary to households but all liquefied gas that was produced in the country was sold at these specialized auctions to firms affiliated with Kurchenko without competition and was then resold at filling stations," Lutsenko said.

As a result, this liquefied gas was sold at filling stations at a market-based price rather than at a discounted price set by the government, which enabled the group to receive excessive profits in an amount over UAH 5.5 billion, he said.

Lutsenko said that the Holosiyivsky district court in Kyiv arrested Sukhomlyn with a UAH 100 million bail option.

He was detained in Kyiv.

The ex-official did not resist and thought at first that he had been apprehended for a traffic violation, Lutsenko said.

The former official has been charged under Ukrainian Criminal Code Article 255, Part 1 (the establishment of a criminal group) and Article 191 Part 5 (major embezzlement of state property).

Searches are currently under way in four regions of Ukraine, where Sukhomlyn and his relatives have lived and worked.

"The investigation is taking active steps to identify other members of Yanukovych's criminal group staying in Ukrainian territory," Lutsenko added.

Sukhomlyn served as a deputy economic development and trade minister in the government led by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov in 2010-2013. He was a member of the committee for special auctions in which the state companies Ukrgazvydobuvannia and Ukrnafta sold liquefied gas.
New Burlington Area Homeless Shelter director carrying mission forward

The new executive director of the Burlington Area Homeless Shelter says she's excited for her new role and here to serve the community.
Lutsenko: there are options to exchange two Russians charged in May 2 Odesa events case if political will showed

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has said that there are options to exchange two citizens of Russia Yevgeny Mefedov and Maxim Sakaukov who are suspected in the May 2 Odesa events case to two citizens of Ukraine Yuriy Soloshenko and Hennadiy Afanasyev, who were convicted in Russia.

"I would like not to comment on the issues linked to the possible swap of our prisoners of war or hostages who are staying in the hands of terrorists and their masterminds in the Kremlin When the fates of our prisoners are at stake, I would like not to violate agreements by any word. There are different ways, including at the pretrial investigation, court hearing and conviction stages. We can resolve the issues if there are political agreements," Lutsenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Saturday.

He added that he is not a participant of these agreements.
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WILTON  Wilton police have released the identity of the contractor who died Friday morning after being electrocuted the previous day while working near power lines.

Police identified the victim as 44-year-old Marco Silva of Danbury, also known as Marcos DaSilva.

The Connecticut Medical Examiners Office completed an autopsy Friday afternoon and ruled the cause of death as electrocution.

Silva was a private contractor replacing utility poles for Eversource Energy near 31 Rivergate Drive.

He was employed by KTI Utility Construction of Wilton.

Silva was taken by the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Norwalk Hospital, where he died.

A preliminary investigation showed that Silva was in the process of placing a pole when he fell to the ground from a standing position. Police were called at 12:34 p.m., Wilton police Capt. John Lynch said.

Police said that a follow-up investigation is being conducted between police, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Eversource Energy.

At the scene Thursday, a truck with a large auger could be seen, with the auger arm extended upward near power lines. The road was closed for several hours between Blue Ridge Lane and Pilgrim Trail.

OSHA confirmed it has begun an investigation.

An Eversource spokesman declined comment and deferred questions to the Wilton Police Department.

No further information is expected to be released from the Wilton Police Department, however, the case remains open at this time, Lynch said.

Electrocution is the second-most common cause of workplace deaths in the U.S. after falls, according to OSHA.

In 2014, 74 workers were electrocuted in the U.S., accounting for 8.5 percent of workplace deaths. Falls were blamed for 349 deaths, or 39.9 percent of workplace deaths.
NORWALK  The $3.6 million special education fund has been unanimously approved by the Common Councils Finance Committee.

We approved it  with very little debate, Common Council Chairman Bruce Kimmel, who is also chair of the Finance Committee, said the Thursday night vote. Were thrilled.

Though a dispute erupted during the Board of Estimate and Taxation meeting on Monday about how much the city and the schools would be contributing to the fund, a new resolution was agreed upon.

On Thursday the Finance Committee approved the citys contribution of $1.1 million for the first year of the plan. That number will be put to vote to the Common Council meeting on Tuesday, the last step in the approval process.

The Special Education Fund aims to reduce the number of special education students from Norwalk who are going to school outside the district, while simultaneously offering more and better special education programming in-house.

The latest of three Capitol Region Education Council, or CREC, studies in the last 10 years indicated that special education programming in Norwalk was getting worse each year. It showed how the high number of out-placed students, a symptom of Norwalks lack of local special education services, was seriously draining the citys resources.

Children with special needs in this city for many years have not been receiving a quality education, Kimmel said. Because of that, many of those students have opted out and applied successfully to go to school in different districts and Norwalk has to pay the bill.

With the new resolution, the school and the city will alternate contributions for the first two years, with the third year finances left open-ended.

The tax board was put off by the school boards original request on Monday because it front-loaded the citys contributions in the first two years, slotting the school boards $1.3 million contribution for the third year.

I thought that was a reasonable request, Chairman Michael Lyons said about the push to rearrange the funding allocations. He said the tax board rarely makes multi-year commitments, and he understood their hesitation.

Trying to project today what insurance funds will look like two years from now is educated guesswork, so we were OK with  (putting) off determining how we fund the third year until were close enough that we know what the numbers are, Lyons said.

On Tuesday, the Common Council will put to vote the allocation of $1.1 million toward the Special Education Fund, with $100,000 from the schools insurance fund. That will give a total $1.2 million toward first of the three years slated to overhaul the special education system in Norwalk.

The agreed upon resolution has the schools paying $1.2 million out of their insurance fund for the second year, and calls for a reconvening of the city and school boards to come to an agreement on financing the remaining $1.2 million.

Lyons said this new resolution did make the school board a bit more vulnerable than the original plan.

Theres a small risk, he said, about not getting the funds they need and might not be able to afford the third year.

But he said he highly doubts there will be a problem. The city is to sign a memorandum of understanding acknowledging that the special education plan required $3.6 million. Lyons said that would make it difficult for them to justify walking away from funding the third year.

Nothing in life is certain and I think you have to go forward with the best available and try to make it work, he said.

Kimmel said he expects the special education fund to receive unanimous approval by the Common Council meeting on Tuesday.

While throughout the approval process there have been questions about how to fund the plan, there never seemed to be a question about whether it was needed. Lyons said the special education fund is like a military surge: Norwalk has been applying the same amount of pressure to fix its special education programming for a while, but the time has come to take more radical action.

Weve been caught in this rut and we couldnt get out of it because we couldnt get that extra surge of funding, said Lyons. But now, I think were finally in a position where we can do that.

SFoster-Frau@CTPost.com; @SilviaElenaFF
Senior leaders from the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Healthcare System will hold a Veterans Town Hall meeting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 14, at the Madison County Administration Building.

The meeting is designed to gain open and honest feedback from veterans, their family members and other beneficiaries.

Marcena Gunter, public affairs officer with the VA St. Louis Healthcare System, said the event is part of an effort by VA facilities around the nation to improve communication with its constituents.

The goal is to give veterans the opportunity to hear from VA administration leadership about current programs and changes in programs that may affect them, she said. And its a way for us to hear from them about the challenges they face and the problems they may have with the services so we can better serve them.

Gunter said the meeting is open to the public and all state and local veterans affairs service providers are invited.

It's also a great opportunity for the family members of veterans who are on active duty who may be getting out of the military soon to come and learn about programs that they can benefit from, she said.

In 2014, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald directed all VA healthcare and benefits facilities to begin the process of holding town-hall events.

VA officials felt it was important to listen and communicate directly with those that use the system in an effort to build trust with veterans as well as improve services.

A concurrent resource fair will be held at the Edwardsville town hall meeting and will have providers on site to answer questions about health care eligibility, applying for benefits, information on mental health services and burial benefits.

Devon Neal, office manager for the Madison County Veteran Assistance Commission said the local office will be at the meeting.

Neal said the county commission serves approximately 5,000 veterans from Madison and surrounding counties annually.

We think this is a wonderful way for our veterans to voice their concerns they have about assistance programs, Neal said. We will be there and have a table set up and want to hear what veterans have to say.

Gunter said different representatives from the VA will be at the meeting to address specific needs of individuals.

We will have representatives from many different programs on site to assist the veterans with their needs, Gunter said. Caring for veterans is a calling, and our first commitment is to provide veterans and their families the timely, quality care and benefits they have earned and deserve through their service.

The event is open to the public, including veterans; family members, or other beneficiaries, as well as congressional stakeholders, veterans service organization, non-governmental organizations and community partners.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) India  Fri, June 10 2016

Leveraging yoga as a popular health practice among Indonesians young and old, the Indian Embassy and Consulate General in Indonesia will be organizing events in five cities across the country to celebrate the second annual International Day of Yoga (IDY), which falls on June 21.

Echoing last years IDY celebrations, the Indian Embassy will host a series of early-morning yoga sessions in Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya in East Java and Medan, North Sumatra, from June 18 through 26.

This year, the events will expand to include an afternoon yoga practice at the iconic Prambanan Temple, a 9th century Hindu temple complex on the outskirts of Yogyakarta, on June 26.

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If Constitutional court decides to cancel lustration, Rada to amend law and pass it again - Lutsenko

If the Constitutional Court of Ukraine decides that the law on lustration does not meet the Constitution of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada would amend it and pass it again, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has said.

"My position is that the cancelation of lustration is an attempt to eliminate the consequences of the revolution. I am sure that this is one of the effective ways of lustration using civilized procedures instead of post-revolution incidents," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Saturday.

He said that the law on lustration requires revision.

"Its authors should make amendments mentioned by the Venice Commission. This is work of lawmakers," he said.

"I personally don't allow for the possibility of cancelling lustration. If the Constitutional Court decides to repeal it for this or that reason, I am convinced that the parliament, and primarily the faction that I headed until recently [...], will make amendments envisioned by the Venice Commission and pass this legislation once again," he said.
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Linkedin Ina Parlina and Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) JAKARTA/SEMARANG  Fri, June 10 2016

The government has finally secured financial closure from Japan for a highly anticipated mega power plant project in Batang, Central Java. The question now is: Whats next for other major projects?



President Joko Jokowi Widodo promised on Thursday that the government would resolve any problems hindering the development of power plants and other infrastructure projects.



He reiterated the governments commitment in front of a high-ranking audience at a ceremony marking the financial closure of the Batang project at the State Palace.



The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has agreed to provide a US$2.05 billion loan to PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia (BPI) to develop the 2,000-megawatt coal-fired power plant.



It is touted as the largest power plant in Southeast Asia and is part of Jokowis ambitious plan to procure an additional 35,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity across the archipelago.



Its prestigious status, however, was marred by delays and triggered doubts among investors over the governments commitment to attracting foreign investment. Problems faced by the Batang project include land acquisition and legal issues.



Even Jokowi admitted the Batang project was slightly behind schedule. The project tender was signed in 2011 and construction was actually scheduled to begin in 2012, but the project itself only saw a groundbreaking ceremony last August.



This is a major project that can send a message that the government will intervene to help solving the existing problems, Jokowi said during Thursdays event.



The President has instructed his cash-strapped administration to draft financial schemes and conduct feasibility studies for numerous national strategic projects to allow the private sector to participate in the financing.



Garibaldi Thohir, the president director of PT Adaro Energy, which is a member of the BPI consortium, expressed similar optimism, saying that the governments commitment served to motivate the firm.



BPI president director Mohammad Effendi added that the financing scheme provided by the JBIC worked to the benefit of all parties. I must say that this is not only profitable, but also workable, based on our calculations, he said.



Thursdays ceremony also saw the signing of five toll road concession agreements.



The road projects consist of the Tebanggi Besar-Kayu Agung road, which is a part of the Trans Sumatra toll road project, the Manado-Bitung road in North Sulawesi, the Balikpapan-Samarinda road in East Kalimantan, the Pandaan-Malang road in East Java and the Serpong-Balaraja in Banten.



Except for the trans-Sumatra toll road, all the projects are being financed by public-private partnership (PPP) schemes, similar to the Batang power plant.



Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution backed the President, saying that the government remained committed to supporting infrastructure development, including by involving private and state enterprises.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Batam  Fri, June 10 2016

A local councillor and scholar has question the existence of the defense office in Batam, saying that its duties not only overlapped with the existing military office but it will also create problems in the state administrative structure.

Surya Makmur Nasution, a councillor with the Riau Islands Legislative Council (DPRD), said he was not aware of the presence of the provincial defense office in Batam. I just heard it. I think the presence of a defense office in the Riau Islands province is not necessary, he said Thursday.

He said the presence of a defense office in the province would overlap with the existing military offices at regency levels.

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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 11, 2016

In relation to prolonged delays in land acquisition for public parks and cemeteries, Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama has blamed civil servants at the Jakarta Parks and Cemetery Agency for intentionally obstructing the process.

Ahok said he planned to dismiss most officers in the agency in the near future.

If I only dismiss the head of the agency, Ratna Diah Kurniati, it might not be effective. Most employees in the agency, including Ratnas subordinates, should also be dismissed, Ahok said at City Hall on Friday.

Ahok referred to a particular land acquisition project in the capital that has been delayed, the procurement of the former British Embassy complex in Central Jakarta. Ahok had in fact given a deadline of no later than May for the agency to finalize the land purchase, so that the city could start converting the area into a public space for residents to stage rallies. However, as of this month, the agency has not completed the purchase.

As the agency has been using administrative problems as an excuse for the slow process, Ahok has suspected the agency of being controlled by a land mafia who keep complicating the acquisition so that they can profit from the delay.

Ahoks patience is apparently running out following the Supreme Audit Agencys (BPK) report on the 2015 financial report of the Jakarta administration, which shows that the Jakarta Parks and Cemetery Agency had opened four bank accounts using the names of the agencys offices in North, West, South and East Jakarta, without Ahoks knowledge and approval.

The former East Belitung regent also discovered reportedly fictitious graveyards in the city, which were mentioned in the audit report but actually did not exist. (dmr)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 11, 2016

Winning the Serpong-Balaraja toll road project in March, publicly listed company Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) now seeks to finalize a loan syndicate deal to finance the Rp 5.18 trillion (US$389.62 million) project.

Bumi Serpong president director Fransiskus Xaverius Ridwan Darmali said negotiations were ongoing with numerous banks, including leading lenders Bank Mandiri and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI). He confirmed that the amount of loans committed was around Rp 4.2 trillion.

"Yes, it will be around that number. We have been talking with one bank, but probably it will form a loan syndicate with other banks," he said on Friday in Jakarta.

Currently, Bumi Serpong has outstanding debt of Rp 2.05 trillion from Bank Mandiri and Rp 151 billion from BRI.

The property company with the largest land bank in Indonesia is in a consortium with Transindo Karya Investama, Sinar Usaha Mahitala and Astra Group's PT Astratel Nusantara for building the 30 kilometer toll road.

Bumi Serpong, part of Sinarmas Group's real estate empire, owns a 50 percent share of the toll road project after winning it over a consortium led by Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada, a publicly listed company controlled by MNC group. (ags)
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Linkedin Michael Astor (Associated Press) UN  Sat, June 11, 2016

Countries committed to nearly doubling the number of people who receive life-saving HIV treatment over the next five years as a high-level United Nations conference devoted to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 drew to a close Friday.

During the three-day-long meeting, countries also saw the U.N.'s 193-member states commit for the first time to monitoring the quality of treatment, with a goal of getting 90 percent of those receiving anti-retroviral medicine to reduce their viral load to the point where it is undetectable  something that improves quality of life and reduces the risk of transmission.

"It's a paradigm shift. What it's going to do is put the focus on quality. Instead of how many people have access to treatment now it's for how many people is the treatment working properly," said Sharonann Lynch, HIV & TB Policy adviser for Medecins Sans Frontiers.

In 2015, there were some 36.7 million people around the world living with HIV and about 17 million of them have access to anti-retroviral medication, according to the U.N.

At the conference, countries also committed to reducing the number of new HIV infections to below 500,000 a year by 2020, down from 2.1 million in 2015 and bringing the number of annual AIDS-related deaths to under half a million in 2020 from 1.1 million last year.

"Today is the day that we collectively say that we will end the AIDS epidemic by 2030," said General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft. "We must pay greater attention to equality and inclusion, uphold human rights and speak out against stigma and discrimination."

The United Nations is now looking to raise $13 billion over the next three years in support of these goals.

Conference organizers said while remarkable progress has been made since the last United Nations meeting on AIDS in 2011, much remained to be done.

"For the first time in history we can say that in Africa there are more people on HIV treatment than there are new HIV infections," said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe.

Still, the number of new HIV infections among adults has remained mostly unchanged since 2010 and key populations like young women, sex workers, prisoners, gay men, transgender people and intravenous drug users continued to be left behind.

On Thursday, the U.S. announced it would start a new $100 million Key Populations Investment Fund, intended to reach these people most at risk.

"Too many leaders say they support the end of AIDS and claim to stand with the people facing the life-threatening effects of bigotry and discrimination on full display during this week's negotiations. But for many governments these are just words_they fail to take action where it counts," Asia Russell, Executive Director of the Health Global Access Project, said in a statement. "We are therefore heartened to see the U.S. government pledging funding to directly confront the human rights violations that keep quality, evidence based prevention and treatment services from key populations around the world."

Cultural sensitivities continued to be an obstacle to combatting the disease, U.N. officials conceded, and a number of non-governmental organizations representing gay and transgender people were excluded from attending the conference after a number of conservative countries objected to their presence.

Those countries also were accused by many anti-AIDS groups of working to weaken the final outcome document. (ags)
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Linkedin Edith M. Lederer (Associated Press) UN  Sat, June 11, 2016

France's foreign minister warned Friday that Israel's ban on Palestinians entering its territory following the "abominable" attack on a popular cafe in Tel Aviv could escalate violence instead of focus attention on the need to pursue peace.

Jean-Marc Ayrault reiterated France's condemnation of the attack, which killed four civilians, but was critical of Israel's response.

Israel imposed travel restrictions Thursday on Palestinians and sent hundreds of additional troops into the West Bank. On Friday, the military announced it was closing the West Bank until the end of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot on Sunday due to security concerns, except for "humanitarian and medical" cases and for Palestinians to worship at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

"The decision by the Israeli authorities today to revoke tens of thousands of entry permits could stoke tensions which could lead to a risk of escalation," Ayrault told a small group of reporters. "We must be careful about anything that could stoke tensions."

France currently holds the presidency of the U.N. Security Council and Ayrault was at U.N. headquarters to preside over an open council debate on the protection of civilians in peacekeeping operations.

Last Friday, France hosted an international meeting in Paris attended by more than two dozen Western and Arab countries to try to come up with a new strategy for Mideast peace and revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which have been all but dead for two years. The participants welcomed the "prospect" of a conference with both parties later this year.

"There must be a political initiative from the international community to create conditions to appease the situation and return to negotiations," Ayrault said.

"We need intense mobilization to start something new to force the parties, who will all be invited in the second part of the year to our conference, to talk to one another again," he said.

Ayrault told a news conference later he plans to set up working groups to see what incentives can be offered to the Israelis and Palestinians to come back to the negotiating table.

Earlier, he urged a halt to Israeli settlement building which he called a "serious provocation."

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War. It withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but nearly 600,000 Israeli settlers remain in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The Palestinians claim all three areas for a future state, a position that has wide global support. Similarly, the international community widely sees Israeli settlements as illegal or illegitimate, and a major obstacle to peace. (ags)
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Linkedin Franklin Briceno, Joshua Goodman (Associated Press) Lima  Sat, June 11, 2016

The man who stands most to benefit from Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's presidential victory in Peru may be his defeated rival's father: imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

Kuczynski began the task of forming a government Friday after his rival Keiko Fujimori conceded defeat in Peru's closest presidential contest in five decades. His margin of victory was less than 43,000 votes  or 0.2 percentage points.

Even more challenging is his position in congress, where Fujimori's party, smarting after a bitter campaign, holds 73 of 130 seats and his own bloc has just 18.

Analysts say his best chance to ease hostility could be in releasing Alberto Fujimori to house arrest, freeing him from the prison where he is serving a 25-year sentence for corruption and supporting death squads during his autocratic rule in the 1990s.

During the campaign, Keiko Fujimori signed a pledge never to issue a pardon  a move intended to mitigate fears her father would be pulling the strings in her government. Kuczynski may be more flexible.

In first interview as President-elect, he reiterated that he opposes pardoning Fujimori, but would sign legislation giving older inmates including the 77-year-old Fujimori the right to house arrest.

Still, he said he had doubts whether Fujimori's Popular Force party would push for such an outcome because many hardliner loyalists would consider it a political defeat.

"They want him to walk out the front door, but there was a conviction," Kuczynski told Semana Economica magazine.

Kuczynski's rise to power was in many ways accidental. The businessman had shown few political instincts and in February his poll numbers were sinking him deeper into a crowded field. But he began rising as two stronger candidates were disqualified on technicalities and fears grew that Fujimori would bring back the corruption and criminality associated with her father's rule.

Now that he's won, he must take reins one of South America's most ungovernable countries, one awash in illegal proceeds from cocaine trafficking and where social tensions stoked by multinational mining projects frequently erupt into deadly unrest.

At 77, Kuczynski will be Peru's oldest president when he is sworn in July 28 and, as a former Wall Street investor who has spent much of his life in the U.S., he has a notable lack of appeal among the country's poor. TV comedians love to ridicule his "gringo" accented Spanish.

The campaign left a bitter residue in part because Kuczynski accused his rival of being the harbinger of a "narco-state" after it was leaked to the media that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was investigating a major donor and secretary general of her party for money laundering. In conceding, Fujimori blasted politicians, business leaders and members of the media for orchestrating a "hate-filled" campaign to discredit her candidacy.

Still, there are reasons why the two could find common ground on many policies. Kuczynski supported the younger Fujimori in the 2011 runoff won by President Ollanta Humala, both share a pro-business agenda and about a third of her lawmakers are newcomers who could be ripe for switching loyalties in Peru's notoriously free-wheeling congress.

If she proves obstructionist, Kuczynski can also call congressional elections  an option he already said he'd be willing to use as a last resort.

Harder to appease may be Peru's left, which is feeling emboldened after delivering, albeit begrudgingly, the votes Kuczynski needed to erase a nearly 20-point lead for Fujimori following the first round of voting.

Leftist activists staged the biggest street demonstration Peru has seen in a generation on the eve of voting to reject a return of a Fujimori to the presidential palace.

Failure to take them into account "would be a total betrayal of the people who got him over the hump," said Steve Levitsky, a Harvard University political scientist who has spent two decades studying Peru. "He will pay a cost. There will be marches." (ags)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 11, 2016

A maginificent display of fireworks marked the opening of the 49th Jakarta Fair on Friday. The annual event will be held from June 10 to July 17 at the Kemayoran Fair Ground in Central Jakarta.

Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, and JI Expo managing director Prajna Murdaya jointly opened the event.

Organizers expect five million of visitors this year, hoping that transactions will reach Rp 5.8 trillion (US$436.58 million).

"The number 489 is a lucky number according to Hokkien language. I hope we all have full wallets and can shop at the Jakarta Fair," Ahok said jokingly at the opening ceremony, referring to the fact that this year is Jakarta's 489th anniversary .

Ahok said he hoped that the event would boost city's economy and that many visitors would celebrate the Idul Fitri holday at the venue.

A total of 2,700 companies have booths at Jakarta Fair and approximately 150 musicians have been invited to entertain shoppers. (bbn)
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Linkedin Arif Gunawan Sulistiyono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 11, 2016

Indonesias social media networks have once again shown their might, as an impromptu donation campaign raised more than Rp 80 million, or around US$6,000, in less than 12 hours, in support of a mother crying on TV as Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) personnel took away the food she was selling.

The footage shows the elderly woman crying and begging the officers not to impound the food she sells for a living. However, what she received was a bitter demonstration of power, when the Satpol PP personnel did their duty and confiscated her products before leaving her weeping.

Her only wrongdoing was to sell food at midday during Ramadhan, an "act of crime as a result of egocentric rules that persistently plague the country during the Muslim fasting month.

The heartbreaking incident, recorded by Kompas TV in Serang, Banten, on Friday, went viral on social media.

During the interview, Serang Satpol PP head Maman Lutfi told the Kompas TV reporter that the food stall was a legitimate object for the raid for opening during the day and serving food.

"The restaurants and food stalls in Serang are serving food to those who are not fasting," he said while leading the operation on Friday, adding that dozens of stalls had been targeted in the raid and their food impounded.

Several food stalls owners said they did not know there was a rule prohibiting them from selling during the day. Others said they needed the money for living, especially ahead of the Idul Fitri festival.

Stand up

Responding to the incident, a twitter user named Dwika Putra Hendrawan on Saturday morning decided to launch the #StandupSerang movement. He initiated a Rp 10,000 fund-raising campaign to help the woman and other victims, providing his bank account for the donation.

Instead of being angry, let us fight against the arrogance with real action. Let us help the mother in Serang whose food was impounded. The donation will also go to other food vendors who cannot make a living due to Ramadhan raids, he said in his twitter account.

After just 8 hours, he reported to have raised more than Rp 20 million in donations, meaning more than 2,000 social media users took part in the impromptu charity. In an update at 12 p.m. he said he had collected more than Rp 80 million and kept going.

He planned to close the donation at 12 pm on Sunday. Im ready to take the responsibility of all the money I have raised in this charity. I will make sure that not a penny will be misused, Dwika said. (ags)
Amendments to law on lustration to be initiated at Ukrainian Rada to prevent its repeal

The People's Front faction at the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada will initiate amendments to the law on lustration next plenary week so as to prevent attempts to stop lustration in the country, Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko, a member of People's Front, said on Saturday.

"If such a decision is made [by the Constitutional Court, on repealing the law on lustration], People's Front's position will be very clear and tough: the parliament should vote a bill and resume its effect if the Constitutional Court invalidates some of its provisions," Petrenko told journalists in Kyiv on Saturday.

Amendments to this law were submitted to the parliament several months ago, and they have been cleared with the Venice Commission, and therefore the Rada "can vote for them without any worries in a package," he said.

"I will address the parliament next week, and the Popular Front faction will insist on voting for these amendments, so as not to allow for stopping lustration in Ukraine," Petrenko said.

Petrenko pointed out that Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andriy Parubiy had earlier proposed that he submit a new edition of the law on lustration to the Rada on his own behalf.

"My personal position as a citizen and as justice minister is that lustration in Ukraine should be preserved and completed. The Verkhovna Rada has every reason for this, and this is our duty to Ukrainians. The people stood up during the Revolution of Dignity, among other things, to demand the purification of the government bodies from the group close to Yanukovych," Petrenko said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 11, 2016

Police have arrested two credit card counterfeiters who used sophisticated scam techniques, the National Polices special economic crimes director, Brig. Gen. Agung Setya, said on Friday.

The two perpetrators are RF, 42,and YAE, 23, both from Bandung, said Agung, adding that RF was a counterfeiter, data forger and fund transfer receiver, while YAE was the owner of an electronic data capture (EDC) machine and fund receiver.

He explained that the arrest followed the misuse of a credit card at a hotel in East Jakarta on May 28. The next day, police investigated and found evidence of a laptop and a credit card suspected to be the results of cloning of the details of a bank customer. The perpetrators were arrested on May 30.

Agung said the offenders had prepared debit cards from various banks that are no longer used, as well as a debit card with a magnetic strip without a bank logo. They would enter details such as a series of numbers, name and a credit-card issuing bank by copying the data from the website onto a laptop connected to a skimmer machine.

After the data was copied, they would swipe the credit card onto a skimmer machine to transfer the data. The suspect worked together with the EDC owner, said Agung, adding that the two had earned Rp 600 million (US$ 45,146) from their criminal acts since July 2015.

He added that the suspects would face a maximum 20-year prison sentence. (liz/bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 11, 2016

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar wants to establish a special penitentiary for terror convicts to prevent the spread of radical teachings among inmates.

The current penitentiary system, which detains people convicted of various crimes, had provided sites for radicalization as radicals sought to spread their ideology to other criminals, Boy said.

"We want a special penitentiary to separate them as it's quite dangerous when [other inmates] are put together with terrorist convicts," Boy said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.

The special penitentiary would also optimize programs tailored to terror convicts, Boy said.

Such concerns have grown on the heels of the recent arrest of three suspected terrorists by the polices Densus 88 antiterror unit in Surabaya, East Java. Two of the suspects were allegedly radicalized by terrorist inmates when they served time in prison, Boy said. (afr/dan)
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Linkedin (Associated Press) Pennsylvania  Sat, June 11, 2016

A solar-powered airplane has left Pennsylvania for New York City on the latest leg of its globe-circling voyage.

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 took off from Lehigh Valley International Airport late Friday. It will soar over the Statue of Liberty and fly into New York City, landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday.

The plane originally was scheduled to head to the Big Apple Monday night but showers and thunderstorms moving through the area caused it to be grounded.

The plane had been in Allentown since May 25.

The voyage began March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Stops were made in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. (ags)
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Linkedin Intan Tanjung (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 11, 2016

Are you a fasting traveler who wants to visit cities in Southeast Asia this Ramadhan? Check out our recommended Muslim-friendly districts in Bangkok, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City where you can find halal food for iftar, or mosques to perform your praying rituals.

Singapore

Famous for its combination of Malay-Singapore culture, Kampong Glam district has a proud and eclectic history, culture and glamorous lifestyle. To learn more about its unique cultural blends and history, one can visit the Malay Heritage Center Museum that opens every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Sunday.

Strolling around the area, there are two mosques nearby, the Sultan Mosque on 3 Muscat Street and Burhani Mosque on 39 Hill Street; both are just two minutes walk from Kampong Glam. Visitors hunting for fabrics or unique merchandise can explore shops in the surrounding district, while those who are more interested in vintage art for home decoration can go to the Heritage Shop, which opens from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. For iftar, head to Bussorah Street where Kampong Glam Cafe serves Malay and Indonesian halal foods.

(Read also: Indonesia declares Ramadhan begins Monday)

Those already familiar with Kampong Glam could consider exploring Katong district, which features Singapores vibrant peranakan (straits Chinese) culture and unique architecture, food as well as crafts. Expect to enter a traditional house and marvel at interesting antique collections and a small gallery that displays traditional heritage such as a Malay wedding dress and kasut manek or sequined sandals made by using traditional techniques, as part of your itinerary.

At dusk, fasting travelers can taste the country's legendary laksa at 328 Katong Laksa or local and international halal foods from Macau and China in a restaurant adorned with distinct peranakan decorations at Katong Kitchen. The nearest mosque to visit is Khalid mosque at 130 Joo Chiat Road.

(Read also: Singapore introduces book vending machines)

Bangkok, Thailand

Sukhumvit is perhaps the longest and most vibrant street in Thailand where malls, office buildings, restaurants, bars and hawker food stalls predominate. While it may not be a particularly Muslim area, the street is still a congenial destination for those traveling during Ramadan.

Consider savoring authentic Middle Eastern, Arabic and Indian foods at Sukhumvit Road Soi 3/1, also known as Soi Arab, while enjoying the energetic atmosphere of the diverse crowd. The nearest mosque in the neighborhood is Baan Don Mosque.

(Read also: Break the fast in style at these hotels in Jakarta)

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

While exploring this city, head to District 8 to visit the home of the Champa, a small Muslim community, which is a hangover from the ancient Champ Kingdom, according to Republika.

You can find Islamic schools and Malay halal food in the neighborhood, and visit the Jamia Al-Anwar mosque on 157B/09 Duong Ba Trac to perform prayers. For halal food options, head to Kedai Makanan Halal Idriss for halal Vietnamese cuisine with an authentic Vietnamese atmosphere. (kes)
(lead article)

SWP: Capitalism wastes human ability, potential

Tenn. worker: We sure need something different!

Militant/Maggie Trowe

MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Campaigners for the Socialist Workers Party talked with unionists at the 7 a.m. shift change at the Kelloggs plant here June 6, where members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union fought a nine-month lockout in 2013-14. Some remembered that SWP members walked the picket lines and covered the fight in the

Were a little more unionized and a little stronger, said Steve Boswell when he pulled his car over to talk. But were still fighting for our back pay and benefits.

Kelloggs thought wed be forced to accept concessions, said maintenance worker Todd Parnell. The workforce here is half Caucasian and half African American, and the bosses thought we wouldnt be able to unify. But we came together. Things are different than they used to be.

Parnell subscribed to the Militant, seven workers bought single copies of the paper and two made contributions totaling $12.

This response is common, as the Socialist Workers Party campaigns across the country, from here and Minnesota to Washington state, discussing and debating the way forward for working people with workers on their doorsteps, as well as at picket lines and at factory gates.

Teams campaigned here and in Nashville, Chattanooga, Jackson, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Lebanon, Knoxville, Alcoa and Johnson City May 29-June 6.

We sure need something different, because its going the wrong way, Joey Yopp, a retired gas company worker from a union family, said June 4 at his door in Memphis. Yopp has been favorable to Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. He and many others signed to put the Socialist Workers Party presidential ticket of Alyson Kennedy and Osborne Hart on the state ballot.

The same day John Benson talked with Robin Long on her porch. Long has a chronic illness and is on disability, but would like to find work she could handle. Just because youre disabled doesnt mean you cant do anything useful, she told Benson.

Under capitalism theres a tremendous waste of human potential and creativity, he agreed. Long signed to put the SWP ticket on the ballot. This means I could have someone to vote for, she said.

In Nashville June 2 John Miller called his wife, Pascale Killian, to the door to talk about the SWPs political perspective. Killian, a nurse, subscribed to the Militant and got a copy of Is Socialist Revolution in the U.S. Possible? Its getting closer than it was a few years ago, she said, referring to the books title. Miller signed to be an SWP elector.

During nine days of door-to-door campaigning, Socialist Workers Party supporters collected 456 signatures and secured 11 electors, sold 38 Militant subscriptions and nearly 100 single copies and more than a dozen books.





SEATTLE  SWP presidential candidate Alyson Kennedy visited Spokane, Washington, June 4-7 to join the picket line of International Association of Machinists Local 86 members at Triumph Composite Systems and to discuss the partys revolutionary working-class program with area workers on their doorsteps. She was joined by Mary Martin, SWP candidate for governor of Washington; Eleanor Garcia, SWP candidate for U.S. Senate from California, who works for a nonunion Triumph plant in Los Angeles; and supporters.

The Triumph workers have been on the picket line since May 11, fighting company demands to keep a divisive two-tier wage scheme, deny pensions to new workers and raise health care costs (see article on front page).

The visit came as SWP supporters were wrapping up a three-week effort to introduce the party across the state, win new readers to the Militant, familiarize workers with books from Pathfinder Press on working-class history and the SWPs program and gather signatures to put Kennedy and Hart on the ballot. In Spokane, 10 of the 111 workers who signed got subscriptions. Statewide more than 1,650  well over the 1,000 requirement  signed to get the party on the ballot.

Where I work, a lot of workers have been quitting because we havent got a union and get just $12.50 to $18 an hour, Stephan Teah, an assembler at Exotic Metals, which like Triumph makes parts for Boeing, told Kennedy. When I found out that workers at Triumph were fighting for better conditions, I said Yes! I drive by the picket line every day and wave.

Oppose assault on Trump supporters

Socialist Workers Party campaigners talked about a variety of political questions in the news as well as how the working class needs to organize independently of the bosses and fight to defend the interests of all the oppressed.

The physical assaults on Trump supporters are an attack on the working class, Kennedy told many workers she met in Spokane, referring to the June 2 attack on people leaving a rally in San Jose, California. Workers were sucker-punched coming out of the meeting, and had eggs and other objects thrown at them, she said. The liberal press and left-wing groups that claim Trump is a fascist actually see those who back him as the real danger and view them as stupid, reactionary trash.

These growing attacks on our class show we need to organize to fight for workers power, Kennedy said. And they are making some look to the Socialist Workers Party.

One man who answered his door said he was backing Donald Trump because he has something different to offer. Kennedy responded that workers need to organize and prepare to fight for political power themselves. His wife came over. I dont like any of the other candidates, she said. I like what you say and the fact that youre a worker.

Three others in the house joined in, all saying they were attracted to Bernie Sanders. All five signed the petition, and they got a subscription.

Kennedy and Martin were interviewed by Spokane radio station KYRS.





MINNEAPOLIS Hi, my name is Candace, I say. If you have a moment Id like to tell you about my organization, the Socialist Workers Party. We think that organizing working people ourselves is the answer to the crisis we face. The door swings open. Come in. Sit down.

In the past two weeks, hundreds of doorstep and living room discussions about the crisis of capitalism and the revolutionary perspective put forward by the SWP have taken place in over 25 towns and cities across Minnesota. As a result, over 100 people have signed up for subscriptions to the partys newspaper, 25 purchased books and many made financial contributions. Some 1,500 have signed petitions so far toward the 2,400 goal to put the SWP ticket on the ballot.

We need to do in this country what the Cuban workers and farmers did in 1959 and take political power, said Lisa Rottach, talking with retired Marine Ron Dalrymple at his door. I was stationed in Guantanamo, he responded, referring to the military base Washington imposed on Cuban territory. After further discussion, he purchased a subscription to the Militant to learn more.

Pam White described her many years work as a nursing assistant. They dont care about the patients. Its hurry them in and hurry them out, she said. I prefer non-union, but from the changes Ive seen, now I think we need unions.

SWP campaigners are meeting workers with struggle experience. An older worker in Austin remembered the party from the 1980s strike of packinghouse workers there against the Hormel Corporation. A woman in Osseo described the successful organizing drive of her workplace into the Teamsters union. A union healthcare aide said that she will be walking the picket line with the Allina nurses if they vote to strike against concession demands.





Related articles:

US socialist candidate joins with striking workers in Quebec visit

Communist League in Australia: Workers need to organize independent of bosses

The political war on the working class







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(front page)

Were fed up with two-tier pay, say aerospace workers

Militant/Mary Martin

SPOKANE, Washington  Union members at Triumph Composite Systems walked out at the former Boeing plant here May 11, after voting 93 percent in favor of striking.

The 400 members of International Association of Machinists Local 86 are fighting to restore pensions for newer workers and end a two-tier wage scale imposed by the company three years ago. They are also opposing the companys proposal to remove the cap on workers insurance costs. The plant produces components for Boeing aircraft interiors.

Picketing June 4, machinist Dwight Devine wore a union T-shirt that read One equal team, opposing the two-tier wages the company imposed in 2013 after union members rejected a concession contract but voted not to strike. New hires start at a significantly lower rate and never reach the pay of more senior workers. The company says it has to cut costs, Devine said. Its inconceivable for them to take a pay cut or to cut their profit margin.

The same contract replaced pensions with a 401(k) retirement savings scheme for workers hired after 2013.

On June 1 the company published an Open letter to our employees and the Spokane community in the Spokesman Review, in which it defended its course and declared its willingness to talk to the union.

The IAM sent the company a letter saying it should contact the union, not the newspaper, if it was ready to talk.

On June 6 signs on the picket line that read Lockout replaced the signs reading Strike. Steve Warren, the business agent for Local 86, told the Militant the union has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board accusing the company of unfair labor practices. We believe this will result in a determination that this is a lockout, he said.

Triumph Group Director of Corporate Communications Michele Long told the Militant the company had no comment.

Unionists say members of the National Association of Letter carriers, United Steelworkers and the engineers union SPEEA, as well as nurses, teachers and others visit their picket lines. Local businesses donate water and food.

The IAM 751 District Council based in Seattle, which includes workers at Boeing, contributed $100,000 to a hardship fund for the Triumph workers.

This fight is about stopping the erosion by management of unions across the country, said mechanic Greg Buckles. For the past year, he said, workers in the plant have been wearing union buttons that read, Have you started your independent strike fund? in preparation for the strike.

The company also prepared, and has brought in replacement workers. Every morning at shift change, unionists line up at the plant gate as five or six partially filled buses of strikebreakers roll in.

We are solid. We are finally tired of the way they treat the workers. Getting back pensions is the number one issue, said Ryan Van Valkinburgh, 38, an assembler in the plant. We also dont want the two-tier wages and the health care costs with no limit. And we definitely dont want our jobs going to Mexico. He was referring to the fact that Triumph has moved some work from Spokane to its plant in Mexico.

Sue Six, 52, has worked at the plant for three years and assembles ducts. In 1999 I went to the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, she said. Ill never forget a woman from Mexico who gave a speech about the conditions workers face there, including $2 a day wages. How can you live on that? Thats why we cant be saying foreign workers are taking our jobs. We should welcome them and stick together.

In a way I have to thank the company for the strike and bringing us together. Before I didnt know these peoples names or where they worked, Six said, indicating other pickets. Now we talk every day. Now we are stronger.





Related articles:

Oregon oil train crash highlights danger of smaller crew

On the Picket Line

Farmworker convention discusses fights to build union





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Cuban leader at NY conference: End US embargo, return Guantanamo!

NEW YORK  The restoration of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuban governments was a victory won thanks to the steadfastness of Cubas revolutionary leadership and the resistance and dignity of the Cuban people, said Josefina Vidal, the Cuban foreign ministrys director general for U.S. affairs.

She was speaking together with Jose Ramon Cabanas, Cuban ambassador to the U.S., and Jeffrey DeLaurentis, U.S. charge daffaires in Havana, at a featured workshop during this years conference of the Latin American Studies Association. Their counterposed remarks underscored Washingtons continuing efforts to undermine Cubas socialist revolution, as well as the Cuban leaderships determination to defend it.

More than 6,000 professors, graduate students, publishers, writers and others attended some portion of the conference, held here May 27-30, which featured some 1,400 panel discussions and other events. The large majority were from the United States, Canada and Latin America, along with others from Europe and Asia.

A notable feature this year was the largest participation from Cuba ever. According to leaders of the delegation, 260 Cubans were granted visas to attend, while 50 were denied by the U.S. State Department.

Several dozen panels took up Cuba-related topics, including U.S.-Cuba relations since December 17, 2014, when Washington and Havana publicly announced steps that led to the reestablishment last year of diplomatic ties. The U.S. government unilaterally broke relations with Cubas revolutionary government more than five decades ago.

End embargo, leave Guantanamo

In her presentation, Vidal outlined several areas in which Cuban authorities were making or seeking progress in relations with Washington, including direct mail service between the two countries, cooperation in combating drug trafficking and migration talks. Nonetheless, she stressed, Washington continues its decades-long trade embargo against Cuba, its occupation of Guantanamo against the will of the Cuban people and its policy of granting expedited U.S. residency to Cubans who reach the United States outside legal channels. The U.S. government continues to pursue its goal of bringing about internal changes within Cuba, she said, in violation of the Cuban peoples right to decide their own affairs.

DeLaurentis, the ranking diplomat at the U.S. embassy in Cuba (the Obama administration has made no nomination to fill the post of ambassador), spoke glowingly about Barack Obamas visit to Cuba in March. He reiterated Washingtons support for the private sector in Cuba and its unhappiness that, among other things, Cuban laws do not allow U.S. companies that might operate on the island to freely hire and fire workers.

Questioned by audience members about the U.S. occupation of Cuban sovereign territory at Guantanamo, DeLaurentis curtly replied, Gitmo is not on the table. Vidal reiterated that the only resolution of that issue is the unconditional return of Guantanamo.

Asked by John Kirk, a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, about the U.S. governments Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program, DeLaurentis made it clear Washington has no intention of ending that policy, which encourages Cuban medical personnel serving abroad to desert and move to the United States.

Ambassador Cabanas urged supporters of Cuba to lobby Congressional representatives and educate them and others about the need to lift the U.S. embargo against Cuba.

Many other panels at the LASA conference discussed a broad range of topics, especially the growing economic, social and political crises in Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Puerto Rico and other countries.

Hundreds of participants at the conference opening session gave an enthusiastic welcome to a large group from Brazil wearing No to the coup T-shirts, in opposition to current impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff. Delegates expressed approval for an emergency resolution denouncing the impeachment process in Brazil as antidemocratic.

Other panels took up subjects such as U.S. immigration policy, gender studies, contemporary literature, Black rights, Chinese investment in the region, prison reform, agricultural policy and the fight for womens right to choose abortion. In most Latin American countries, abortion remains severely restricted or even banned; only in Cuba is it available to women as a basic health matter and free of charge.

One center of informal exchange was the large book exhibit area. At the Pathfinder Press booth, titles explaining the world capitalist economic crisis were among the most sought-after, as were books about the Cuban Revolution.

A well-attended book launch at the exhibit hall featured Pathfinders most recent book, Its the Poor Who Face the Savagery of the US Justice System: The Cuban Five Talk About Their Lives Within the US Working Class. Speaking were American University professor Phil Brenner, a prominent figure in Cuban studies; Raul Rodriguez, director of the University of Havanas Center for Hemispheric and U.S. Affairs; and Mary-Alice Waters, Pathfinder president and the books editor.

During the conference, New York and New Jersey groups in solidarity with Cuba hosted a reception and dinner for the Cuban delegation, attended by more than 150 people, including Ambassador Cabanas, Vidal, and Rodolfo Reyes, Cubas ambassador to the United Nations.

That gathering heard much-appreciated remarks from Miguel Barnet, president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba and a member of Cubas Council of State; well-known poet Nancy Morejon; and economist Antonio Romero of the University of Havana. Romero explained the challenges the Cuban government is today confronting in the context of the world economic crisis and Washingtons intensified efforts to undermine Cubas socialist revolution.







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US, Tehran-led Fallujah offensive adds to sectarian conflict in Iraq

Military offensives by the Iraqi and Syrian governments and by Kurdish forces were underway in early June to capture cities controlled by Islamic State. The government of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has backing from Moscow in the air and Tehran on the ground. Washington is aiding Iraqi and Kurdish forces with airstrikes and some ground forces. The Iranian government backs Shia militias in Iraq.

Washington has collaborated with Moscow and Tehran to try to stabilize the Mideast in its imperialist interests. Deeper dependence on the Iranian rulers involvement was a central goal of the nuclear agreement President Barack Obama reached with Tehran last year. One result is fraying of the U.S. rulers longstanding alliances with the governments in Saudi Arabia and Turkey. At the same time, national and sectarian tensions continue to sharpen throughout the region.

Iraqi government soldiers and Shiite Muslim militias, backed by U.S. air strikes, began an assault May 23 on Fallujah, 32 miles west of Baghdad. All towns and villages on the city outskirts were reported captured by the end of May. Fallujah, with a predominantly Sunni Muslim population, was taken by reactionary Islamic State forces in January 2014.

There are up to 1,000 Islamic State fighters in Fallujah now and some 50,000 civilians  some being used as human shields. The city, which once had a population of 300,000, was the scene of fierce fighting during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and remained under U.S. military occupation until 2009.

The offensive has exacerbated sectarian friction between Iraqs minority Sunni population and the majority Shia-led government. On June 2, Iraqi Speaker of Parliament Salim al-Juburi, who is Sunni, urged Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to enforce discipline among the government forces attacking Fallujah, following reports of abuses against civilians. Abadi has sought to downplay the role of the Iran-backed Shiite militias, which have a record of brutal reprisals against Sunnis. In a move to avert Sunni protest, Baghdad ordered the militias to stay on the outskirts, slowing the offensive.

Sunni politicians in Iraq have condemned the involvement of the militias and of Iranian military officers under the command of General Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds special forces of Irans Revolutionary Guard. We are Iraqis and not Iranians, said member of parliament Hamid al-Mutlaq.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir accused Iran May 29 of interfering in Iraq and causing sectarianism. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded by calling the criticism arrogant and saying Tehran would stay as long as Iraq wants us to.

Fracturing of Iraq

Increasingly Iraq has split into three distinct ethnic regions, registering the failure to establish a stable capitalist regime in Baghdad following the 2003 invasion by Washington and London. There are growing calls for autonomy among Iraqs Sunni population, concentrated in the north and west, who say the government in Baghdad has marginalized them. The Kurds  an oppressed nationality living in territory of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran whose aspirations for independence have long been thwarted by imperialist and regional governments  have established their own autonomous region and government in northern Iraq.

The assault on Fallujah has put on hold plans announced by Washington and Baghdad earlier this year for an offensive to retake Mosul, Islamic States biggest stronghold in the country. Some 5,000 Kurdish Peshmerga forces, however, began an offensive May 29 to push IS out of villages east of Mosul.

In Syria, some 30,000 Kurdish and Arab fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by the Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG), began advancing from the north toward the city of Raqqa May 24 backed by U.S. airstrikes. The city of 200,000 is Islamic States de facto capital.

Meanwhile, forces of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russian airstrikes, began an attack from the southwest June 1. This is the first time in two years Syrian government forces have entered Raqqa, demonstrating the gains the regime is making with Moscows support.

The Syrian Democratic Forces began advancing simultaneously on the city of Manbij near the Turkish border. Capturing the city would sever a vital supply route for Islamic State and strengthen Kurdish control over territory in northeastern Syria. Previous efforts to take Manbij have been slowed by Turkish shelling. Ankara labels the YPG terrorist and opposes the development of a Kurdish autonomous zone.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Washington June 5 of having a double standard for its collaboration with the YPG. He called on the U.S. government to join forces to open a new military front in Syria. The Turkish government reinforced its garrisons along the Syrian border in May.

Since the collapse last July of a ceasefire with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Ankara has mounted a military assault on cities and towns in Turkeys predominantly Kurdish southeast. Thousands of dwellings have been destroyed and 355,000 people displaced. Ankara claims 5,000 PKK fighters have been killed in both Turkey and Iraq.

Last December Turkey deployed some 150 troops to Iraq, where it carries out airstrikes against PKK bases. In May the foreign ministers of Iraq and Russia demanded Ankara withdraw these forces.





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(editorial)

The political war on the working class

Blame the Trump voter for the drop in the labor force, declared columnist Rex Nutting on the news siteJune 3.Older, uneducated whites, he said, have disproportionately given up looking for a job, while those with a college diploma do well. Its the degree, stupid, Nutting concluded.

The white American underclass is in thrall to a vicious, selfish culture whose main products are misery and used heroin needles, sneered Kevin Williamson in the National Review in March.

Their contempt is typical of the mounting propaganda war against the working class, from both the left and right of capitalist politics. The hysterical denunciations of Donald Trump are not aimed at the bourgeois politician, but rather at the workers whove turned out to hear him, fed up with politics as usual and the effects of capitalisms slow-burning world depression and non-stop wars.

There is a growing openness among workers to discuss and debate the broadest social and political questions. This is above all what the ruling class fears.

The bosses and their spokespeople denigrate workers, trying to convince us not only to accept deteriorating conditions of life, but to blame ourselves. If we dont have a college diploma, unemployment and low pay are what we deserve. Health problems and addictions are a consequence of lifestyle choices resulting from our ignorance. And on it goes.

Such anti-working-class slanders have long been directed against workers who are African American. Today they are also aimed at poor Hispanics and poor whites  that is, our whole class.

This propaganda war is articulated above all by voices among the self-designated meritocracy, a high-earning professional and upper middle-class layer seeking to justify its wealth and position.

The new book Are They Rich Because Theyre Smart? Class, Privilege, and Learning Under Capitalism by Jack Barnes, national secretary of the Socialist Workers Party, explains the rise of this meritocracy and sharpening class inequality in the United States, and answers the anti-working-class propaganda war of the mouthpieces for capitalism.
The Ukrainian presidential administration's military spokesman Andriy Lysenko has denied reports of an attempted breakthrough by Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region deep into the area controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

"This is disinformation, the ATO [anti-terrorist operation] forces remain at their positions, and the ATO line remains invariable," the spokesman told Interfax-Ukraine on Saturday.
Prince Harry said the best birthday present the Queen could get would be a day off so she could lie about and do nothing.

The Queens grandson chatted animatedly to guests at Londons Guildhall at a reception marking her milestone anniversary.

Grenada High Commissioner Karl Hood spoke to Harry about the Queens official 90th birthday celebrations in the crypt of the City of Londons historic building.

The Queen greeting Prince Harry (Julian Simmonds/The Daily Telegraph/PA)

He said the best birthday present would be to have a day off, so she could lie about and do nothing, Hood disclosed.

Acting High Commissioner for Dominica, Janet Charles, revealed that Harry said the Queen should be putting her feet up, but had wanted to attend the service of thanksgiving in St Pauls Cathedral for the public.

He was talking about his grandmother. He said she should really be putting her feet up but she wanted to be here for the people, Charles said.

The Queen with Karl Hood (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

He said he hopes theres many more years of that to come.

She added: Hes such a charming person. I asked him if I could have a photograph with him he said he couldnt as he had to obey the rules.

But he said Im sure well meet again.
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The incoming new government of the Philippines has indicated a desire for talks to solve its territorial dispute with China, igniting hopes that a fresh atmosphere can replace the chaos in the South China Sea that has characterized the past few years.

China has responded warmly by vowing to treat the Philippines as a "partner of priority" in regional cooperation.

Salvador Panelo, spokesman for President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte, said on Thursday that the incoming leader has "determined on friendly ties with China".

"The new Philippine government will carry out bilateral talks with China," Panelo said in Manila, according to China News Service. He made the remarks at an evening party marking the 41st anniversary of diplomatic ties. Duterte will take office on June 30.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said at the event that good relations between Beijing and Manila are in line with the basic interests of the two peoples, the news report said.

"The Philippines is an important country on the Maritime Silk Road and a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank," he said.

China is willing to view the Philippines as "a partner of priority" in the Belt and Road Initiative, in regional trade, industrial capacity cooperation and other areas, the report quoted Zhao as saying.

"We're willing to work with the new government of the Philippines to draw a new blueprint to lead bilateral relations back to the channel of healthy development," Zhao said, drawing applause from the audience.

Perfecto Yasay, the incoming Philippine foreign minister, said on Thursday in an interview published in the Chinese Commercial News that he will "invite China to join us to ensure peaceful settlement of our conflicts and difficulties".

Duterte said earlier that he would consider bilateral dialogue with China on the South China Sea issue if multilateral talks fail to make progress.

China's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday insisting on bilateral negotiations with the Philippines to solve the South China Sea issue. It said Manila had shut the door to dialogue by seeking to settle the dispute through the international tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

A ruling by the international arbitration body is expected within weeks. The process was launched by the Philippines to challenge China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Beijing has expressed strong opposition to the move, the Foreign Ministry statement said.

The Chinese Society of International Law on Friday released a paper saying any award by the tribunal is "null and void". It said the body's claim of jurisdiction, issued in October, filled with errors both of fact and the application of law. It cited six major errors by the tribunal.

"Political decisions will have no legal effect," the paper said.
CEO Bill Hu wants to make his company an 'affordable luxury' brand, offering unique and personalized accessories

Bill Hu is just 28, but he is sort of a pioneer in using three-dimensional printing technology to make custom jewelry in China.

Now CEO of Shanghai Malianghang (Hong Kong) Design Co Ltd, Hu not only possesses a rigorous thinking mode, but also has a perceptual style like artists.

In 2007, he went from his hometown of Shanghai to England to study industrial and product design, but wasn't happy until he earned a master's degree in his dream subjects of art and photography in 2012.

On his return home next year, Hu established Malianghang with an angel investment from his first employer, an apparel company.

Malianghang rolled out its first products last year, and according to Hu, the company has witnessed a monthly sales growth of almost 30 percent since then. It is the first such firm in China to offer 3-D printed jewelry.

In a recent interview with China Daily, Hu spoke about Malianghang and his plans for its future.

Hu said he started the business because he sensed the opportunities brought on by the booming internet market in China, which he called "much more intriguing" than the European market.

Young people in China, he observed, have a unique understanding of their own choices, and their aesthetic tastes are improving.

"In the past, the Chinese people, let's say those born after the 1980s, didn't buy clothes by themselves until they went to college," Hu said.

"But people born after the 1990s, under the influence of internet, are beginning to buy their own clothes at a much earlier age, for example in junior high school, or even in primary school."

Before he decided to pursue custom-made jewelry as his business field, Hu said he considered various options including apparel, shoes and artwork.

His experience in using industrial 3-D printers in the college laboratory made the choice all the more easier.

"The internet offers users a chance to customize exclusive jewelry, and they are willing to participate in the design process," Hu said.

Currently, the company offers products in four categories. Customers can submit designs online and a team of professional designers will bring them to life, using 3-D printing technology. Jewelry and fashion accessories can be made in silver or gold.

The firm's latest product is the "message" line where customers are able to get their messages printed on the jewelry.

The company also notes that its prices range from 218 yuan ($33) to 3,000 yuan.

"I have bought two necklaces from Malianghang," said Zhong Yue, who works for an internet company. "Their products are trendy and affordable."

The company has teamed up with major e-commerce firms like JD.com and Tmall to sell its products online.

However, Malianghang has no immediate plan to launch its own app. It would rather concentrate on better customer experience.

In Hu's eyes, Internet Plus is not simply the establishment of online marketing channels, but the innovation of the company's cultural gene.

He was quick to point out that all of his staff were born after the 1980s, with the oldest person born in 1981.

The ultimate goal of Malianghang, Hu continued, is to build an "affordable luxury" brand which will offer unique personalized accessories for everyday wear.

"This matters not only price, but also an exclusive user experience by means of internet development."

To facilitate that experience, the company has developed a mature online management system.

As for the future plan, Hu predicted that the company would finish A-round financing by the end of this year.

It is also planning to open the first retail store in Shanghai in 2016 and up to 30 nationwide within three years.

"We are setting up these stores so that consumers can feel our products. But the main channel remains online," Hu added. "Through the internet, Malianghang offers the costumers an easy way to express their unique personality, and guides them to think about 'What do I really want? What uniqueness do I want to express? How can I shape it?' "
As second cop dies, Phuket Police Chief declares deadly cop gunfight case closed

PHUKET: Pol L/Cpl Wongsathon Theparan, 21-year-old junior officer of the Kathu Police (Thung Thong) involved in the shootout with another police officer in Phuket Town early this morning, has died from his injuries.



By Darawan Naknakhon

Saturday 11 June 2016, 06:02PM

Phuket Provincial Police Commander Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen (left) pays his respects to Lt Thamarong Suwanchatree of the Phuket City at a funeral service at Wat Wichit Sangkaran in Phuket Town this afternoon (June 11). Photo: Darawan Naknakhon

The news comes as Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Police, announced today (June 11) that with L/Cpl Wongsathons death, the investigation into the deaths of the two police officers who opened fire at each other closed.

Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Col Peerayuth Karajadee confirmed today that he received formal notification of L/Cpl Wongsathons death at 12:40pm.

Col Peerayuth declined reveal any further details of the deadly shootout between the two police officers.

The investigation is ongoing. We need to question all people at the scene who may be witnesses to the incident, Col Peerayuth said.

Officers will question Sen Sgt Maj Nattachai Phonoy of the Phuket Immigration Police at Phuket International Airport, who had an altercation with L/Cpl Wongsathon and was injured prior to the shooting, he added.

L/Cpl Wongsathon was shot three times by Lt Thamarong Suwanchatree of the Phuket City Police after Lt Thamarong approached him to enquire about a shot L/Cpl Wongsathon had just fired into the air, near the Seahorse Circle in Phuket Town at about 12:30am today.

L/Cpl Wongsathon fired the odd, angry shot after an altercation with yet another Royal Thai Police officer, Sen Sgt Maj Nattachai Phonoy of the Phuket Immigration Police, who had refused L/Cpl Wongsathon and his friends entry to a local pub as they were unable to present identification.

Sen Sgt Maj Nattachai Phonoy was moonlighting as a security guard at the Haopan pub when the incident occurred.

Witnesses reported that when Lt Thamarong, who was having dinner with friends in a restaurant nearby, approached L/Cpl Wongsathon, the junior officer opened the door to his pickup and fired once directly into Lt Thamarong, delivering a fatal shot that killed Lt Thamarong. (See story here)

However, Phuket Police Chief Col Teeraphol announced today that the investigation into the shootout was now closed.

We will no longer investigate any wrongdoing between the two men who have now died, but the investigation into the other aspects of the case will continue, Col Teeraphol said.

However, Col Teeraphol praised the work ethic of Lt Thamarong. He never stopped working. He did not neglect his duty as a police officer, even when he was off-duty, he said.

This incident happened because of bad tempers, and bad tempers led to violence. This happens anywhere in the world, and police are not exempt, he said.

The decision to not pursue any charges for the fatal shootings between the two police officers comes just 18 days after police posthumously charged an 18-year-old Rohingya man with attempted murder after he was shot dead by an immigration police officer.

The Rohingya man, named by police as Mohammadkhawnee, was charged with attempted murder after he was shot dead by Phang Nga Immigration officer Snr Sgt Maj Thinakon Noosawas. Snr Sgt Maj Thinakon claims the he fired in self-defence after Mohammadkhawnee started throwing large rocks downhill at him. (See story here).

Meanwhile, a funeral service for Lt Thamarong at Wichit Sangkaran Temple on Narisorn Rd in Phuket Town began this afternoon.
Five brothel execs face human-trafficking charges

BANGKOK: Police have pressed human-trafficking charges against five executives of Nataree massage parlour who were arrested following a raid on Tuesday (June 14).

policecrimecorruptionsex

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 11 June 2016, 12:10PM

Female migrant suspects detained in Tuesdays raid at Nataree massage parlour on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok cover their faces while walking into the Criminal Court where police investigators asked to detain them for 12 more days for further questioning. Photo: Patipat Janthong / Bangkok Post

The five suspects, including Pong-anan Khanaket, who is believed to be more senior than the other four, along with 121 female prostitutes were detained following the raid on the massage parlour on Ratchadaphisek Rd.

The five ran the parlour operations, police said.

Pol Col Thepphithak Saengkla, a senior police investigator at Huai Khwang Police Station, said police have pressed charges of human trafficking and sheltering illegal migrant workers against them.

Of the 121 detained women, 77 are migrants, including some from Myanmar and Laos.

Among the migrant suspects, 57 of them were charged with not having work permits while the remainder were charged because their work permits did not correspond with their jobs.

Meanwhile, 23 Thai women over the age of 18 were released after they were fined for working in a brothel.

All 77 migrants also face the same charge of working as prostitutes in a brothel, said Pol Col Chayut Marayat, deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureaus Division 1.

According to police sources, of the 121 women detained in Tuesdays raid, 15 of them -- two Thais and 13 from Myanmar  are under 18.

Police sought the courts permission for a further 12-day detention order for the 57 illegal migrants along with the five executives since the investigation has yet not ended.

Police also objected to bail, reasoning they do not have residential addresses where they can be located. The court approved the requests.

Meanwhile, public prosecutors on Friday (June 10) filed a lawsuit with the court against the remaining 20 migrants after they confessed to working in the brothel and doing jobs they are not permitted to do.

The court fined them B4,000 each for working illegally and B500 each for working in a brothel. They were released after being fined.

Ronnasit Phrueksayachiwa, an investigations director at an anti-human-trafficking organisation, provided Huai Khwang police investigators with a number of audio recordings yesterday containing interviews conducted with some of the women who claimed they had been lured into prostitution at Nataree massage parlour.

Pol Maj Gen Piyaphan Pingmuang, deputy spokesman of the National Police Office (NPO), meanwhile, said that national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda had instructed the MPB to speed up its probe to find out who were actually involved in the alleged payment of bribes by Nataree massage parlour bosses to police and other state officials.

Pol Gen Chakthip had also assigned Pol Maj Gen Chetsada Yaisun, chief of the discipline division of the NPO, to take part in the Metropolitan Police Bureaus investigation into the alleged bribe payments by the brothel to certain police and state officials, said Pol Maj Gen Piyaphan.

Read original story here.
Policeman dead, another critical in Phuket Town shootout

PHUKET: A Phuket City Police officer is dead and an another police officer is in critical condition following a shoutout between an officer moonlighting as a Phuket Town pub security guard and a group of officers looking to enjoy* the nightlife venue.

policeviolencedeathhomicidecrime

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Saturday 11 June 2016, 09:18AM

Police arrived with Kusoldharm rescue workers to find L/Cpl Wongsathon Theparan of the Kathu Police (Thung Thong) slumped in the drivers seat of his Isuzu pickup truck. Photo Eakkapop Thongtub

Lt Thamarong Suwanchatree of the Phuket City Police with a serious gunshot wound to the left side of his chest. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Vachira Phuket Hospital. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Pol L/C Wongsathon Theparan of the Kathu Police (Thung Thong) is in critical condition after the shootout near a Phuket Town pub. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Lt Col Taksin Pinyathepprathan of the Phuket City Police was called at 12:40am to investigate shots fired near the Seahorse Circle in Phuket Town.

Police arrived with Kusoldharm rescue workers to find L/Cpl Wongsathon Theparan of the Kathu Police (Thung Thong) slumped in the drivers seat of his Isuzu pickup truck, parked next to Kao Tom Sor-eung Restaurant, on the east side of the Seahorse Circle.

L/Cpl Wongsathon had three bullet wounds: two in his chest, and one in his leg.

On the ground next to the pickup was Lt Thamarong Suwanchatree of the Phuket City Police with a serious gunshot wound to the left side of his chest.

Both men were taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where Lt Thamarong was pronounced dead on arrival and L/Cpl Wongsathon remains in critical condition, Col Taksin told The Phuket News.

A third officer, Sen Sgt Maj Nattachai Phonoy of the Phuket Immigration Police, who suffered a minor head injury when he was pistol-whipped by L/Cpl Wongsathon, is recovering from his injury at Phuket Provincial Hospital in Rassada, he added.

Witnesses reported that L/Cpl Wongsathon came with four friends wanting to go into the Haophan restaurant and pub, a live music venue across the circle, where Sen Sgt Maj Nattachai was moonlighting as a security guard, Col Taksin explained.

However, Sen Sgt Maj Nattachai refused to let the group in without first seeing some identification, he said.

Apparently angered by being asked to present identification, which L/Cpl Wongsathon did not have on him, the group left and returned to the pickup truck parked near Kao Tom Sor-eung.

Sen Sgt Maj Nattachai followed and asked some questions, to which L/Cpl Wongsathon pulled out a .357 handgun out and struck Sen Sgt Maj Nattachai on the head before firing once into the air, said Col Taksin.

Sen Sgt Maj Nattachai ran back to the Haopan restaurant, but Lt Thamarong, who was having late-night dinner with friends at Khao Tom Sor-eung, came out to investigate the gunshot he had heard.

Lt Thamarong approached L/Cpl Wongsathon, who was still sitting in his pickup truck, and according to witnesses, L/Cpl Wongsathon opened the car door and fired at Lt Thamarong at close range, he said.

Lt Thamarong reeled back and fired three times into the truck, hitting L/Cpl Wongsathon with all three shots, Col Taksin noted.

We are continuing our investigation into the shootings, he added.

* In the initial report, The Phuket News was told the group of officers were looking to inspect the Haopan pub. This was later corrected by Col Sanit.
Road accident kills 11 school staff in Chon Buri

BANGKOK: Eleven staff from a Bangkok elementary school were killed when their people carrier flipped over and caught on fire after a tyre burst, an official said on Saturday (June 11).

transportdeathaccidents

By AFP

Saturday 11 June 2016, 11:54AM

The wreckage of the van after the accident that killed 11 people inside. Police said the vehicle flipped over and caught on fire following a tyre burst on the Chon Buri-Bangkok Motorway in Chon Buri province late on Friday. Photo: FM91 traffic radio station / Facebook

The accident took place Friday evening (June 10) on a motorway in Chon Buri province as the teachers and other school staff travelled back to Bangkok from a seminar in Rayong province.

The vans tyre burst and it turned over before catching on fire, an official from the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department told AFP.

Photos published in local media showed the toppled vehicle engulfed in flames on the side of the road.

The passengers were from a small private elementary school in eastern Bangkok.

Four survived the accident with injuries, the disaster official said.

A school employee told AFP the schools director was driving the vehicle and was among the injured.

Despite relatively good infrastructure, Thailand has the second most dangerous roads in the world in terms of per-capita deaths, according to data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) in a 2015 report.

The WHO estimates about 24,000 people die each year in traffic accidents on Thailands roads.

Only Libya records a greater number of fatalities per capita.
Sam Kong Underpass to open both ways as ground lanes closed for resurfacing

PHUKET: The ground-level lanes of the bypass road from Tesco Lotus to the Darasamut Intersection at Central Festival Phuket will be closed for 20 days from June 19 as road resurfacing works are carried out.

transportconstruction

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

Saturday 11 June 2016, 10:10AM

The Sam Kong Underpass will be open to traffic in both directions for the first time from June 19 as the ground-level lanes around the underpass are resurfaced. Image: Highways Dept

The southbound lanes approaching the Sam Kong Underpass will be closed from midnight to 2am on Monday (June 13) while electrical works are carried out. Image: Highways Dept

The Sam Kong Underpass will be open to traffic in both directions for the first time from June 19 as the ground-level lanes around the underpass are resurfaced. Image: Highways Dept

During this period, both the northbound and southbound lanes of the Sam Kong Underpass will be open to all traffic, meaning uninterrupted traffic in both directions through both the Sam Kong Underpass and the Darasamut Underpass at Central Festival Phuket.

Chalermpon Wongkietkun Project Engineer from the Highways Department told The Phuket News, Motorists coming from Samkong wanting to turn north onto the bypass road will have to cross the Sam Kong Intersection and continue on Phra Phuket Kaew Rd, then make a U-turn and rejoin the bypass road.

People coming from Samkong wanting to head south will have to do the same as above, but will have to make a second U-turn in front of Keehin on the bypass road and then come back and go through the Sam Kong Underpass.

Those coming from Kathu and wanting to head southbound along the bypass road will have to follow the same route, he said.

Meanwhile, from midnight until 2am on Monday (June 13) the bypass road southbound lanes approaching the underpass will be closed from the Srisuchart Grandview housing estate to the Sam Kong Intersection while electricity works are carried out.

Motorists heading southbound along this section of the bypass road are advised to turn left onto Soi Srisuchart, then turn right onto Pracha Uthit Rd, turn right again onto Yaowarat Rd, then continue to rejoin the bypass road, where they should turn left to continue their journey south.
BRUSSELS, June 10 -- China and the European Union (EU) held their sixth high-level strategic dialogue here Friday, with both sides pledging to further cooperation in various areas.

The event was co-chaired by visiting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

China sees the EU as a comprehensive strategic partner for mutual benefit, Yang said, adding that deepening China-EU relations was not only in line with both demands on economic and social development, but also conductive to global peace, stability and economic recovery.

The two sides agreed to implement the consensus reached by both leaders at the 17th China-EU Summit held in June last year that enhances synergy between their development strategies, and deepens cooperation on trade, investment, infrastructure connectivity, digitization, legal affairs, and facilitation of people-to-people exchanges, Yang said.

They also agreed to accelerate negotiations on bilateral investment agreements and to inject more vigor into cooperation on political security, technology innovation, maritime economy, ocean technology, and cultural tourism, he added.

The EU and China will enhance coordination and ensure the success of the 18th China-EU Summit scheduled in Beijing next month, Yang said. As well, they agreed to join efforts with relevant parties to make the upcoming G20 Summit produce positive outcome, he noted.

Mogherini said China is a key cooperative partner of the EU and the two sides conducted fruitful cooperation on a wide range of fields, bringing pragmatic benefit to both sides.

She praised China's constructive role in coping with global and regional challenges, saying strengthened EU-China dialogues and policy coordination would help generate more cooperative outcomes and solve international and regional hot issues.

Yang also met with Deputy Belgian Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders on Friday. During the meeting, Yang said China would like to advance cooperation with Belgium in such areas as micro-electronics, aerospace, nuclear energy, biological medicine and environment protection.

Earlier on Thursday, Yang also met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. He expressed the will to work with the EU to cement cooperation in politics, trade and the people-to-people exchanges.
Since 22 January 2013 when the Philippines unilaterally initiated arbitration with respect to certain issues in the South China Sea (Arbitration), China has maintained its solemn position that it would neither accept nor participate in the Arbitration, having stated that the tribunal constituted at the unilateral request of the Philippines (Arbitral Tribunal or Tribunal) manifestly has no jurisdiction. On 7 December 2014, the Chinese Government released the Position Paper of the Government of the Peoples Republic of China on the Matter of Jurisdiction in the South China Sea Arbitration Initiated by the Republic of the Philippines (Position Paper), which elaborated on these positions. The Chinese Society of International Law strongly supports the positions of the Chinese Government.

China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands and the adjacent waters. The core of the disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea is issues of territorial sovereignty resulting from the Philippines illegal seizure and occupation of certain maritime features from China in the Nash Islands, and issues concerning maritime delimitation between the two States. These are also exactly the essence of the Arbitration instituted by the Philippines.

On 29 October 2015, the Tribunal issued its Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility (Award on Jurisdiction or Award), in which it found that disputes between China and the Philippines concerning the interpretation or application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS or Convention) existed with respect to the matters raised by the Philippines in all of its Submissions. The Tribunal further found that it had jurisdiction over some of the Submissions made by the Philippines, and reserved consideration of its jurisdiction with respect to the other Submissions to the merits phase. This finding is full of errors in both the determination of fact and the application of law, at least in the following six respects:

First, the Tribunal errs in finding that the claims made by the Philippines constitute disputes between China and the Philippines concerning the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS;

Second, the Tribunal errs in taking jurisdiction over claims which in essence are issues of sovereignty over land territory and are beyond the purview of the UNCLOS;

Third, the Tribunal errs in taking jurisdiction over claims concerning maritime delimitation which have been excluded by China from compulsory procedures in line with the UNCLOS;

Fourth, the Tribunal errs in denying that there exists between China and the Philippines an agreement to settle the disputes in question through negotiation;

Fifth, the Tribunal errs in finding that the Philippines had fulfilled the obligation to exchange views regarding the means of disputes settlement with respect to the claims it made;

Sixth, the Tribunals Award deviates from the object and purpose of the dispute settlement mechanism under the UNCLOS, and impairs the integrity and authority of the Convention.

The Chinese Society of International Law is of the view that having jurisdiction over the claims is a prerequisite for the Tribunal to initiate its proceedings on merits, and a basis for the validity of any final decisions. In the present Arbitration, the Tribunal does not have jurisdiction over any of the claims made by the Philippines. Its Award on Jurisdiction is groundless both in fact and in law, and is thus null and void. Therefore, any decision that it may make on substantive issues in the ensuing proceedings will equally have no legal effect.

I. The Arbitral Tribunal errs in finding that the claims made by the Philippines constitute disputes between China and the Philippines concerning the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS

The Arbitral Tribunal recognizes that, under Article 288(1) of the UNCLOS, its jurisdiction is limited to disputes concerning the interpretation and application of this Convention (Award, para.130). The Tribunal also recognized that, to find its jurisdiction in the present Arbitration, it must be satisfied that 1) disputes existed between China and the Philippines with respect to the claims made by the Philippines, and 2) the disputes, if they existed, concerned the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS. It concludes that disputes between the Parties concerning the interpretation and application of the Convention exist with respect to the matters raised by the Philippines in all of its Submissions in these proceedings (Award, para.178). This conclusion, however, is untenable.

1. The Arbitral Tribunal erroneously determines that the relevant claims constitute disputes between China and the Philippines

A dispute in an international judicial or arbitral procedure is a disagreement on a point of law or fact, a conflict of legal views or of interests between two persons (Award, para.149, quoting from Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions, Jurisdiction, Judgment of 30 August 1924, PCIJ Series A, No.2, p.11). This classic definition of dispute has been followed extensively in practice by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and other international judicial or arbitral bodies.

In international practice, to determine the existence of a dispute, one must first demonstrate that specific subject-matters on which the parties disagree have come into existence before the judicial or arbitral proceedings are initiated. As the ICJ pointed out in 2011 in the Georgia v. Russian Federation Case, a State, prior to the initiation of proceedings, must refer to the subject-matter of the treaty with sufficient clarity to enable the State against which a claim is made to identify that there is, or may be, a dispute with regard to that subject-matter (Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation), Preliminary Objections, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2011, p.85, para.30, emphasis added). Second, apart from the existence of subject-matter of disagreement, one must also demonstrate that there is clash of propositions or point of contention on the same subject-matter or claim. In the South West Africa Cases, the ICJ held in 1962 that to prove the existence of a dispute, [i]t must be shown that the claim of one party is positively opposed by the other (Award, para.149, quoting from South West Africa Cases (Ethiopia v. South Africa; Liberia v. South Africa), Preliminary Objections, Judgment of 21 December 1962, I.C.J. Reports 1962, p.328, emphasis added). Therefore, a mere assertion by one party does not suffice to prove the existence of a dispute. It must be shown that the parties maintain opposing attitudes or opposite views on the same subject-matter. It is based on these criteria that the ICJ has found the existence of a dispute in a number of cases (See e.g., Alleged Violations of Sovereign Rights and Maritime Spaces in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia), Preliminary Objections, Judgment of 17 March 2016, pp.29-32, paras.67-79; Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation), Preliminary Objections, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2011, pp.84-85, paras.30-31; East Timor (Portugal v. Australia), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1995, p.99, para.22).

In the present Arbitration, it is obvious that the Tribunal did not follow the above-mentioned rules and practice of international law in determining the existence of disputes. To take a few examples:

In its Submission No. 3, the Philippines argues that Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Dao) generates no entitlement to an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. In order to prove that this claim constitutes a dispute between China and the Philippines, it must be shown, with factual proof, that prior to the initiation of arbitration the Philippines had made such a claim to China and the claim had been positively opposed by China. The Tribunal should have done this, but it did not.

In its Submission No. 4, the Philippines argues that Mischief Reef (Meiji Jiao), Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Jiao) and Subi Reef (Zhubi Jiao) are low-tide elevations that do not generate entitlement to a territorial sea, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. In order to prove that this claim constitutes a dispute between China and the Philippines, it must be shown, with factual proof, that prior to the initiation of arbitration the Philippines had made such a claim to China and the claim had been positively opposed by China. The Tribunal should have done this, but it did not.

In its Submission No. 6, the Philippines argues that Gaven Reef (Nanxun Jiao) and Mckennan Reef (Ximen Jiao) (including Hughes Reef (Dongmen Jiao)) are low-tide elevations that do not generate entitlement to a territorial sea, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. In order to prove that this claim constitutes a dispute between China and the Philippines, it must be shown, with factual proof, that prior to the initiation of arbitration the Philippines had made such a claim to China and the claim had been positively opposed by China. The Tribunal should have done this, but it did not.

In its Submission No. 7, the Philippines argues that Johnson Reef (Chigua Jiao), Cuarteron Reef (Huayang Jiao) and Fiery Cross Reef (Yongshu Jiao) generate no entitlement to an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. In order to prove that this claim constitutes a dispute between China and the Philippines, it must be shown, with factual proof, that prior to the initiation of arbitration the Philippines had made such a claim to China and the claim had been positively opposed by China. The Tribunal should have done this, but it did not.

As is clear from the above analysis, the Tribunal should have concluded that the above-mentioned claims of the Philippines did not constitute disputes between China and the Philippines. But, regrettably, the Tribunal does not apply the above-mentioned requirements to the Philippines claims, one by one, in accordance with international law. It attempts to infer the existence of disputes between China and the Philippines with respect to the above claims, simply by bundling them together and asserting that they reflect a dispute concerning the status of the maritime features and the source of maritime entitlements in the South China Sea (Award, para.169, emphasis added). By generalizing claims regarding the status and maritime entitlements of specific features into a general disagreement concerning the status of maritime features and the source of maritime entitlements in the South China Sea, the Tribunal, sub silentio, replaces one concept with another, in order to conceal its incapability to prove that the Philippines claims regarding the status and maritime entitlements of the nine features constitute disputes between China and the Philippines. The Tribunal then attempts to justify its approach by asserting that a dispute concerning the maritime entitlements generated in the South China Sea is not negated by the absence of granular exchanges with respect to each and every individual feature (Award, para.170), without giving any legal ground for this assertion, and further, says only evasively that it must distinguish between the dispute itself and arguments used by the parties to sustain their respective submissions on the dispute (Award, para.170). The conclusion of the Tribunal is thus unconvincing.

In fact, there exists no real clash of propositions between China and the Philippines with respect to the latters Submissions No. 3, 4, 6 and 7. China has always maintained and enjoyed territorial sovereignty over the Zhongsha Islands (including Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Shoal)) and the Nansha Islands (including the above-mentioned eight features such as Meiji Jiao (Mischief Reef)) in their entirety. It has neither expressed its position on the status of individual features referred to by the Philippines such as Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Shoal), Meiji Jiao (Mischief Reef) and Renai Jiao (Second Thomas Shoal), nor claimed maritime entitlements based on individual features in question, each separately as a single feature. The Philippines, on the other hand, formulated its claims on the status and maritime entitlements of certain individual features as separate features. These facts reflect that the propositions of China and the Philippines concern different issues and do not pertain to the same subject-matters. There are no positively opposed disagreements, thus no disputes, with respect to the same subject-matters.

It is undeniable that disagreements exist between China and the Philippines with respect to issues regarding the South China Sea. However, the disagreements, in essence, concern territorial sovereignty over certain features and maritime delimitation between the two States in the South China Sea, and constitute no dispute with respect to the claims advanced by the Philippines. An international judicial or arbitral body shall address real disputes between real parties with respect to real issues. However, in the present Arbitration the Tribunal distorts Chinas arguments and erroneously finds that there exist disputes between China and the Philippines over the latters claims.

2. The Arbitral Tribunal erroneously determines that the relevant claims concern the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS

Even if a claim constitutes a dispute, the Arbitral Tribunal would still have no jurisdiction over it if it does not concern the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS (UNCLOS, art. 288). Obviously, the interpretation or application of general international law, including customary international law, shall not be regarded as falling within the scope of the Tribunals jurisdiction. As written by Rothwell and Stephens, both Australian international lawyers, [t]he Part XV dispute settlement mechanisms ... do not have jurisdiction over disputes arising under general international law (Donald R Rothwell and Tim Stephens, The International Law of the Sea (Hart Publishing, 2010), p.452).

In the present case, in its Submissions No. 1 and 2, the Philippines in essence requests the Tribunal to declare that Chinas maritime entitlements in the South China Sea are beyond those permitted by the UNCLOS and thus are without lawful effect. The Tribunal finds that the relevant dispute between China and the Philippines is a dispute about historic rights in the framework of the Convention, and a dispute concerning the interpretation and application of the Convention (Award, para.168). However, historic rights had come into existence long before the conclusion of the UNCLOS. Although the nature and scope of historic rights remain undetermined, it can be safely asserted that they originated from and are governed by general international law including customary international law, and rules of customary international law regarding historic rights operate in parallel with the UNCLOS. Accordingly, disputes concerning historic rights do not concern the interpretation or application of the Convention. In the Continental Shelf Case?between Tunisia and Libya, the ICJ pointed out in 1982 that the notion of historic rights or waters  are governed by distinct legal regimes in customary international law (Continental Shelf (Tunisia v. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1982, p.74, para.100). Ted L. McDorman, a Canadian international lawyer, also wrote that, whether historic rights exist is not a matter regulated by UNCLOS  when these rights involve fisheries and the resources of the continental shelf UNCLOS does become engaged (Ted L McDorman, Rights and jurisdiction over resources in the South China Sea: UNCLOS and the nine-dash line, in S. Jayakumar, Tommy Koh and Robert Beckman (eds.), The South China Sea Disputes and Law of the Sea (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014), p.152).

To prove that a dispute concerns the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS, it is not adequate to show that it falls within the purview of the Convention. It must also be shown that the dispute is related to certain substantive provisions of the Convention, and a real link exists between them. In the M/V Louisa Case, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) stressed in 2013 that it must establish a link between the facts advanced by [the Applicant] ... and the provisions of the Convention referred to by it and show that such provisions can sustain the claim or claims submitted by [the Applicant], in deciding whether the dispute between the parties concerned the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS (The M/V Louisa Case (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines v. Kingdom of Spain), ITLOS Case No.18, Judgment of 28 May 2013, p.32, para.99). In 2012, Wolfrum and Cot, both sitting in the present case, stated in the Ara Libertad Case that [i]t is for the Applicant  to invoke and argue particular provisions of the Convention which plausibly support its claim and to show that the views on the interpretation of these provisions are positively opposed by the Respondent (The ARA Libertad Case (Argentina v. Ghana), Provisional Measures, ITLOS Case No.20, Order of 15 December 2012, Joint Separate Opinion of Judge Wolfrum and Judge Cot, p.12, para.35). Furthermore, in the Georgia v. Russian Federation Case, Judge Koroma observed in 2011 that a link must exist between the substantive provisions of the treaty invoked and the dispute ... any jurisdictional title founded on CERDs compromissory clause must relate to, and not fall outside, the substantive provisions of the Convention (Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation), Preliminary Objections, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2011, Separate Opinion of Judge Koroma, p.185, para.7).

In the present Arbitration, with regard to the Philippines Submissions No. 1 and 2 concerning historic rights, the Tribunal makes a sweeping conclusion that the relevant claims constitute a dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS, without identifying which specific provisions that the dispute relates to, and whether a real link exists between the dispute and the specific provisions. The conclusion is thus groundless in law.

II. By exercising jurisdiction over subject-matters about territorial sovereignty in essence, the Arbitral Tribunal acts ultra vires, beyond the authorization of the UNCLOS

Under the UNCLOS, the jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal is limited to any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention (UNCLOS, art. 288(1)). This naturally does not cover disputes concerning sovereignty over land territory, which are beyond the purview of the Convention. That sovereignty over land territory is a matter beyond the scope of the interpretation and application of the UNCLOS was upheld by the Tribunal in 2015 in the Chargos Marine Protected Area Arbitration under Annex VII of the Convention (See In the Matter of the Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration (Mauritius v. United Kingdom), PCA Case No.2011-3, Award of 18 March 2015, pp.88-90, paras.213-221). This is further confirmed by the stipulation on the exclusion of matters from compulsory conciliation in the UNCLOS. Article 298(1)(a), while laying down the obligation of accepting compulsory conciliation for States Parties that have made an optional exceptions declaration, provides that any dispute that necessarily involves the concurrent consideration of any unsettled dispute concerning sovereignty or other rights over continental or insular land territory shall be excluded from [the compulsory conciliation]. With disputes concerning sovereignty over land territory excluded from compulsory conciliation which is a complementary mechanism to compulsory procedures provided for in Part XV, Section 2 of the UNCLOS and does not entail binding decisions, there is no reason why they are not excluded from arbitration, which is compulsory third-party procedure entailing binding decisions.

In the present Arbitration, in an attempt to circumvent the above-mentioned jurisdictional hurdle, the Philippines tried its best to conceal the intrinsic linkage between its claims and the issue of territorial sovereignty, and requested the Tribunal to rule on the limits of Chinas maritime entitlements, the status and maritime entitlements of relevant features, and the lawfulness of Chinas maritime activities in the South China Sea, without deciding on the territorial sovereignty over any maritime features. In this regard, China rightly stated in its Position Paper that [t]he essence of the subject-matter of the arbitration is the territorial sovereignty over several maritime features in the South China Sea, which does not concern the interpretation or application of the Convention (See Position Paper, Section II).

The Arbitral Tribunal, however, did not accept Chinas above position, holding that it does not accept, however, that it follows from the existence of a dispute over sovereignty that sovereignty is also the appropriate characterisation of the claims the Philippines has submitted in these proceedings (Award, para.152). The Tribunal itself creates two criteria for the determination that the Philippines Submissions could be understood to relate to the issue of sovereignty, i.e. (a) the resolution of the Philippines claims would require the Tribunal to first render a decision on sovereignty, either expressly or implicitly [the first criterion]; or (b) the actual objective of the Philippines claims was to advance its position in the Parties dispute over sovereignty [the second criterion] (Award, para.153). The Tribunal then proceeded to find that neither of the situations was the case, and none of the Philippines Submissions reflected disputes concerning sovereignty over maritime features. This finding, however, is completely erroneous.

1. The objective link between the Philippines claims and the issue of territorial sovereignty over certain maritime features in the South China Sea is such that a decision on the latter is the precondition to deciding on the former and the Tribunal errs in treating the former in isolation from sovereignty

In its application of the first criterion mentioned above, the Tribunal holds that [t]he Philippines has not asked the Tribunal to rule on sovereignty and, indeed, has expressly and repeatedly requested that the Tribunal refrain from so doing. The Tribunal likewise does not see that any of the Philippines Submissions require an implicit determination of sovereignty (Award, para.153). It simply subscribes to the one-sided statement of the Philippines without giving any reasoning. Nor did it examine the objective link between the Philippines claims and the issue of territorial sovereignty.

As a matter of fact, there is an inextricable link between the Philippines claims and the issue of territorial sovereignty between China and the Philippines. In order to address the Philippines claims, the Tribunal must first ascertain territorial sovereignty over certain maritime features in the South China Sea. According to the principle the land dominates the sea in international law (North Sea Continental Shelf, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1969, p.51, para.96; Aegean Sea Continental Shelf (Greece v. Turkey), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1978, p.36, para.86), territorial sovereignty over the land is the basis of and precondition for maritime entitlements. As pointed out by the ICJ in several cases, maritime rights derive from the coastal States sovereignty over the land (Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain, Merits, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2001, p.97, para.185), and [i]t is the terrestrial territorial situation that must be taken as starting point for the determination of the maritime rights of a coastal State (Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain, Merits, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2001, p.97, para.185; Territorial and Maritime Dispute between Nicaragua and Honduras in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Honduras), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2007, p.696, para.113). Maritime rights under the framework of the UNCLOS are based on a States sovereignty over land territory. The Convention recognizes at the outset in its Preamble the desirability of establishing through this Convention, with due regard for the sovereignty of all States, a legal order for the seas and oceans. It is self-evident that no due regard could be paid to the sovereignty of relevant States if maritime rights are decided upon with the relevant territorial sovereignty unresolved. Therefore, the ascertainment of the scope of a States territorial sovereignty is the prerequisite for the determination of its maritime rights according to the UNCLOS.

Specifically, the Philippines claimed in its Submissions No. 1 and 2 that Chinas claim of maritime rights in the South China Sea extended beyond those permitted by the UNCLOS. The Tribunal held that the claims reflected a dispute concerning the source of maritime entitlements in the South China Sea and the interaction of Chinas claimed historic rights with the provisions of the Convention and that it is not a dispute concerning sovereignty (See Award, paras.164, 398 and 399). However, without first having determined Chinas territorial sovereignty over the relevant maritime features in the South China Sea, the Arbitral Tribunal will not be in a position to determine what maritime rights China enjoys and the extent to which China may claim maritime rights therein, not to mention whether Chinas claims exceed the extent allowed under the Convention. Hence, without first resolving the issue of territorial sovereignty over relevant maritime features between China and the Philippines, the Tribunal is not in a position to decide on the Philippines Submissions No. 1 and 2.

The Tribunal held that the Philippines Submissions No. 8 through 14 concerned the lawfulness of Chinas activities in the South China Sea and not sovereignty, which are concerned with the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS (See Award, paras.173, 405-411). However, to determine the lawfulness of Chinas activities in the South China Sea, the Tribunal has to first decide on the holder of maritime entitlements with respect to the maritime zones where the activities took place, which derives from the sovereignty over the land territory. Chinas activities in the relevant maritime zones are lawful acts in exercise of its sovereignty over the features and in enjoyment of maritime rights derived therefrom. With respect to the Philippines claims, it would be impossible, without first ascertaining the sovereignty over the features in question, to determine the entitlements with respect to the maritime zones, and to further decide upon the l of Chinas activities in issue.

The Tribunal held that the Philippines Submissions No. 3 through 7 concerned the status and maritime entitlements of Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Dao) and eight other features, and did not concern sovereignty over the features (See Award, paras.169-172, 400-404). It put the cart before the horse and acted contrary to the UNCLOS, by determining that it had jurisdiction over the claims, with the sovereignty over the features undetermined.

First, the maritime entitlements generated by a maritime feature belong to the coastal State that has sovereignty over the feature, rather than the feature itself. The UNCLOS, in its regulations on the territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, explicitly ties the maritime entitlements to the coastal State in respect of the maritime zones in question. For instance, regarding the territorial sea, [t]he sovereignty of a coastal State extends, beyond its land territory and internal waters and, in the case of an archipelagic State, its archipelagic waters, to an adjacent belt of sea (UNCLOS, art.2(1), emphasis added). The contiguous zone is a zone contiguous to its territorial sea in which the coastal State may exercise the control with respect to customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary matters (UNCLOS, art.33(1), emphasis added). The exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, in which the coastal State has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over certain matters (UNCLOS, arts.55, 56). And the continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin (UNCLOS, art.76(1), emphasis added). As written by Klein, an Australian international lawyer, [maritime entitlements] are rights of sovereignty, of sovereign rights to the marine resources, and of jurisdiction over activities occurring in designated marine areas ... These entitlements belong to a state, a political entity, and have no relevance to a physical land mass (Natalie Klein, The Limitations of UNCLOS Part XV Dispute Settlement in Resolving South China Sea Disputes, p.18,http://ssrn.com/abstract=2730411,last visited 8 June 2016). Therefore, when not under State territorial sovereignty, maritime features do not generate any maritime entitlement by themselves.

The wording of Article 121 of the UNCLOS regarding the regime of islands shows that whether an island or a rock can generate maritime entitlements is closely related to the coastal State it belongs to. Paragraph 1 of the Article provides a general definition of islands, and paragraph 2 provides that the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of an island are determined in accordance with the provisions of this Convention applicable to other land territory (emphasis added). It follows that Article 121 shall be interpreted and applied in conjunction with other provisions of the UNCLOS regarding maritime entitlements, rather than in isolation. It also follows that for the determination of maritime entitlements generated by an island, as those generated by other land territories, the determination of the coastal State is the prerequisite. Treating rocks as a special category of islands, paragraph 3 of the Article stipulates that [r]ocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf, which indicates that such rocks shall have territorial sea and contiguous zone. To determine whether a maritime feature is a rock, one should examine whether it can sustain human habitation or economic life of its own, for which one should further examine the relation between the feature and the relevant State in terms of the population, society and economy. Therefore, to determine the maritime entitlements concerning its territorial sea and contiguous zone is also dependent on the ascertainment of its coastal State. The ascertainment of the coastal State in respect of relevant maritime features is the prerequisite for the determination whether they are rocks and what maritime entitlements they can generate. Maritime entitlements of features cannot and shall not be determined with their coastal States undetermined.

Second, the Philippines claims regarding the status and maritime entitlements of relevant features, before territorial sovereignty over them is determined, do not constitute real disputes. The Philippines argued that [t]he maritime entitlement that feature may generate is ... a matter for objective determination, and the same feature could not be a rock if it pertains to one State but an island capable of generating entitlement to an EEZ and continental shelf if it pertains to another, therefore sovereignty is wholly irrelevant (Award, para.144). Again, the Arbitral Tribunal subscribes to the Philippines position that the claims do not concern sovereignty over maritime features, without any analysis on this point (See Award, para.153). If the questions whether a maritime feature, as an object of international law, is an island, rock, or low-tide elevation and whether it can generate an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf are considered in isolation from its holders sovereignty, there will be no real disputant party, as a subject of international law, and these questions can not constitute a real dispute. The Philippines thus lacks the legal standing to request arbitration on such a hypothetical question. It is obvious that in the context of the Nansha Islands where China and the Philippines have disputes on the territorial sovereignty over some maritime features, maritime entitlements shall not be considered in isolation from the sovereignty over relevant land territory.

Third, whether or not low-tide elevations can be appropriated is a question of territorial sovereignty in itself and beyond the scope of the UNCLOS. The Philippines in its Submission No. 4 requested the Arbitral Tribunal to declare that Mischief Reef (Meiji Jiao), Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Jiao) and Subi Reef (Zhubi Jiao) are low-tide elevations ... and are not features that are capable of appropriation by occupation or otherwise (Award, para.101). In this connection, China pointed out clearly in its Position Paper that whether or not low-tide elevations can be appropriated is plainly a question of territorial sovereignty (Position Paper, para.23). The Tribunal concluded without reasoning that [t]his is not a dispute concerning sovereignty over the features, notwithstanding any possible question concerning whether low-tide elevations may be subjected to a claim of territorial sovereignty (Award, para.401). China expressly maintains that the above-mentioned maritime features are a part of its land territory, while the Philippines, by claiming them as part of its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in its Submission No. 5, takes them as part of the seabed and subsoil. The Philippines does not recognize the nature of relevant maritime features as land territory. According to the UNCLOS, a low-tide elevation is a naturally formed area of land which is surrounded by and above water at low tide but submerged at high tide (UNCLOS, art.13(1), emphasis added). Regarding low-tide elevations as part of the seabed and subsoil of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf is clearly inconsistent with the UNCLOS.

Low-tide elevations are distinct from islands. The UNCLOS is silent on the question whether low-tide elevations can be appropriated. But it is clear that land territory in international law includes both continental and insular land territory. Whether low-tide elevations can be appropriated concerns the question whether they have the qualification to constitute land territory, and further the question who is entitled to appropriate them. Both questions are issues concerning sovereignty over land territory and beyond the scope of the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS. In practice, the nature of low-tide elevations was addressed by the ICJ in 2001 in the Qatar v. Bahrain Case and in 2012 in the Nicaragua v. Colombia Case, but the Court made no reference to the UNCLOS (See e.g., Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain, Merits, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2001, pp.101-102, paras.205-206; Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2012, para.26). This also illustrates that the question whether low-tide elevations can be appropriated is beyond the scope of the UNCLOS. The Tribunals arbitrary decision to exercise jurisdiction over the issue whether Mischief Reef (Meiji Jiao), Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Jiao) and Subi Reef (Zhubi Jiao) are capable of appropriation is thus groundless in law.

2. The Arbitral Tribunal selectively neglects the real object and practical effect of the Philippines initiation of the Arbitration, namely to deny Chinas territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea

In its application of the second criterion (see above), the Tribunal determines arbitrarily without any analysis that [it] does not see that success on these Submissions would have an effect on the Philippines sovereignty claims, and decides that the claims do not concern sovereignty (See Award, para.153). The fact is, however, that the Philippines claims are all directly aimed at denying Chinas territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea, thus concern the issue of sovereignty.

There is abundant evidence showing that the real object of the Philippines in initiating the South China Sea Arbitration is to deny Chinas territorial sovereignty over Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Shoal) and the Nansha Islands.

For instance, on 22 January 2013, the day of the initiation of the Arbitration, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs released a Q&A on the arbitral proceedings (See Statement of Secretary Albert del Rosario: On the UNCLOS Arbitral Proceedings against China to achieve a peaceful and durable solution to the dispute in the West Philippine Sea, http://www.gov.ph/2013/01/22/dfa-guide-q-a-on-the-legal-track-of-the-unclos-arbitral-proceedings/, last visited 8 June 2016). It explicitly described the purpose of the case as to protect our national territory and maritime domain (Question 1) or to defend the Philippine territory and maritime domain (Question 3), declared not surrendering our national sovereignty (Question 15), and stressed that [o]ur action is in defense of our national territory and maritime domain (Question 26).

In the 2014 State of Nation Address (SONA) Technical Report, published by the Office of the President of the Philippines in July 2014, the development of the South China Sea Arbitration was presented under the title of Protected Territorial Integrity through the Promotion of the Rule of Law (See The Office of the President of the Philippines, The 2014 SONA Technical Report, pp.64-65, http://www.gov.ph/2014/07/28/2014-sona-technical-report/, last visited 8 June 2016). In the 2015 SONA Technical Report, published in July 2015, a summary of the further development of the Arbitration was placed under the title of Protected our National Territory and Boundaries (See The Office of the President of the Philippines, The 2015 SONA Technical Report, pp.61-62, http://www.gov.ph/downloads/2015/2015-SONA-TECHNICAL-REPORT.pdf, last visited 8 June 2016).

It is thus obvious that the real object of the Philippines in its initiation of the Arbitration is to legitimize its unlawful seizure and occupation of some of Chinas maritime features in the Nansha Islands. That it has not asked the Tribunal to rule on sovereignty is nothing but an outright lie.

In hearing a case, an international judicial or arbitral body is obliged to examine all relevant official statements made by the parties in and outside the court or tribunal, to define accurately the real object of the claims. In the Nuclear Tests Cases, the ICJ stated in 1974 that the Court must ascertain the true subject of the dispute, the object and purpose of the claim ... it must take into account the Application as a whole, the arguments of the Applicant before the Court, the diplomatic exchanges brought to the Courts attention, and public statements made on behalf of the applicant Government (Nuclear Tests (Australia v. France), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1974, p.263, para.30; See also, Nuclear Tests (New Zealand v. France), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1974, p.467, para.31). This requirement was reiterated by the Court in 1995 when it examined the relevant situation of its 1974 Judgment (New Zealand v. France) at the request of New Zealand (See Request for an Examination of the Situation in Accordance with Paragraph 63 of the Courts Judgment of 20 December 1974 in the Nuclear Tests (New Zealand v. France) Case, I.C.J. Reports 1995, p.304, para.56). In the present Arbitration, it is extremely abnormal of the Tribunal to turn a blind eye to the real object of the Philippines in its initiation of the Arbitration, so clearly stated in the materials presented above.

In addition, the Arbitral Tribunal fails to evaluate objectively the practical effect of its processing of the Philippines claims on Chinas territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea. In the Award, the Tribunal expresses its intention to ensure that its decision neither advances nor detracts from either Partys claims to land sovereignty in the South China Sea (Award, para.153). However, in practical terms its establishment of jurisdiction over and endorsement of the Philippines claims will inevitably detract Chinas territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea.

China has always enjoyed sovereignty over the Nansha Islands as a whole. For instance, both the Declaration of the Government of the Peoples Republic of China on the Territorial Sea of 1958 and the Law of the Peoples Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone of 1992 expressly provide that the territory of the Peoples Republic of China includes, inter alia, the Dongsha Islands, the Xisha Islands, the Zhongsha Islands and the Nansha Islands. The Nansha Islands, which consists of a large number of maritime features, is included in Chinas land territory as a whole. The islands, reefs, islets and shoals, as components of the Nansha Islands, are all part of Chinas land territory. The Philippines, by claiming that features such as Mischief Reef (Meiji Jiao), Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Jiao) and Subi Reef (Zhubi Jiao) are low-tide elevations and are incapable of appropriation, directly aims at challenging Chinas territorial sovereignty over the Nansha Islands. If the Tribunal takes jurisdiction over and supports the claims, it will amount to an attempt to deny Chinas territorial sovereignty over the Nansha Islands as a whole.

The Tribunals possible support for the Philippines claims regarding the status and maritime entitlements of certain maritime features each as a separate single feature will likewise amount to, in practical terms, an attempt to deny Chinas territorial sovereignty over the Nansha Islands as a whole. The Nansha Islands, taken as a whole, is capable of generating a territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. The purpose of the Philippines, in requesting the Tribunal to decide on the status and maritime entitlements of a small number of selected maritime features of Chinas Nansha Islands, is to deny Chinas maritime interests based on the Nansha Islands as a whole to further deny Chinas territorial sovereignty over the Nansha Islands.
Hughes State Attorney finds no facts to support investigation into Noem airplane use

The Hughes County States Attorney found Tuesday that there were no facts to support a criminal prosecution" for Noem's alleged misuse of the state airplane.
The Philippine government has been behind the intensifying tensions in the South China Sea, a former diplomat of the country told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Alberto Encomienda, former secretary-general of Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center of the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department, said: "China has been for the negotiations all along, but from the beginning we are not."

The Philippine Foreign Affairs Department said it has conducted over 50 consultations and negotiations with China from 1995 to 2012, which did not happen, said the diplomat, who was then in charge of the negotiation "before it exploded."

Encomienda noted that China "has been sending quiet feelers to improve relations."

"Prior to the 2005's APEC (forum summit), China sent two delegations to the Philippines, and invited delegations from the House of Representatives to Beijing. We never gave this much attention. After the summit, China sent feelers to the Philippines again, we never responded," he revealed.

The former Philippine maritime official also said that China should not be demonized in terms of the South China Sea issue, since it was the Philippines who first engaged in reclamation activities in South China Sea, building airstrips on China's Zhongye Island.

"We were the first to do reclamation in South China Sea. So we cannot demonize China for reclamation," he said, revealing that the airfield on Zhongye Island "was built on top of live coral reefs."

Encomienda also lashed out at the United States for its mounting military presence in the South China Sea and its purpose to set the Philippines against China on this issue.

"The U.S. is very against China's reclamation in South China Sea ... Look, how much China is spending to reclaim those reefs? Nothing compared to what the U.S. spent on the Philippines for EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement). In short, China is reclaiming reefs, but America is reclaiming the Philippines," he said.

After President Benigno Aquino III's first state visit to the United States in 2010, "everything that came up as the Philippines' South China Sea position has something to do with 'rule-based' and 'legal framework.' But these are rule basis determined by the U.S.," said Encomienda.

The former diplomat emphasized that the Philippines "is in urgent need of an independent foreign policy."
Philippine diplomats have urged President-elect Rodrigo Duterte's government to launch bilateral talks with China to settle the long-running South China Sea territorial dispute between the two sides.

The call came as the Chinse Foreign Ministry on Wednesday issued a statement on settling disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea through bilateral negotiations.

DISPUTE SHOULD BE SOLVED BY BILATERAL TALKS

"You can't resolve an issue without talking to each other," the Manila Times, one of Philippine's major newspapers, cited Lauro Baja, former Philippine foreign affairs undersecretary and ambassador to the United Nations, as reporting on Friday.

Tension between China and the Philippines have heightened in recent years over the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. In 2013, the Philippines unilaterally initiated an arbitration case against China over the dispute from an international tribunal in The Hague.

Rosario Manalo, Philippines' former foreign affairs undersecretary for international economic relations, said the best thing for both the Philippines and China is to "sit down and talk".

Manalo said that everything can be resolved through bilateral negotiations.

"We should start talking about how to share the fruits of the tree through exploration," the Manila Bulletin, Philippine's another major newspaper, quoted her as saying.

Baja noted that the questions of territorial integrity or maritime entitlement will not be solved solely on legal ground.

"What the department (foreign affairs) or the Philippines may have missed is that they relied too much on the legal ground," he said, adding "Second, we relied too much on the panel and we put all our eggs in the panel."

With Regard to the arbitration, he said he believed that it will not be a total victory for the Philippines nor a total loss for China.

"I think they will come to a decision where there will be opportunities for China and the Philippines to engage in bilateral talks," Baja said.

THE UNITED STATES SHOULD BE KEPT OUT

Manalo, who was the head of the High Level Task Force on ASEAN charter, said the only way to solve the dispute in the South China Sea is to diplomatically talk with China.

Manalo saw no need for the United States to join the negotiations as it doesn't have any claim in the disputed waters in the South China Sea.

"We can't pursue multilateral talks... What's the interest of the United States in us? Do they have any claim to the Philippines or China's territory? The problem is only between us and China," she said.

A U.S. expert suggested the other day that the Philippines could take its case to the United Nations Security Council if China will not abide by the court ruling.

Baja dismissed the recommendation by Ernest Bower, a senior adviser to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said that China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, will surely veto such a move.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

By Maksim Tsurkov, Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:

Iran and the International Bank of Azerbaijan have agreed on the generalities of issuing the $500 million loan for construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section, says Ali Noorzad, deputy minister of roads and urban development of Iran.

The details of the loan are currently being discussed, he told Trend June 10.

"Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev visited Iran in May, familiarized himself with the course of implementation of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway project and now we are discussing the cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan on construction of the Rasht-Astara section," Noorzad said.

"The International Bank of Azerbaijan will issue a $500-million loan to this project, the generalities are agreed, but we are discussing the details and loan conditions right now," he added.

The Rasht-Astara railway section is expected to cost about $1.1 billion, and Iran is attracting half of this sum through the loan from the International Bank of Azerbaijan.

Noorzad didn't specify the source from where Iran plans to obtain the remainder of the funds.

The Rasht-Astara section will be linked to Azerbaijan through the Astara (Iran) - Astara (Azerbaijan) railway, the construction of which is now underway.

Noorzad added that the railway's another section - Qazvin-Rasht - is ready by 93 percent and will be completed by March 2017.

He said the construction of the railway's sections is planned to be completed in three to four years, but that depends on attracting foreign investments.

The Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway is a part of the North-South transport corridor. The North-South international transport corridor will link Northern Europe and South-East Asia. It will serve as a bridge to connect the railways of Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.

Initially, three to five million tons of cargos per year will be transported via the corridor, and the volume will increase up to 10-12 million tons in the future, according to preliminary estimates.

---

Follow the authors on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov , @dalgakhatinoglu
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by some light rain this afternoon. High 73F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 47F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
The alleged kingpin of the toppers' scandal in Bihar Intermediate examination, Bachha Rai was arrested after he surrendered at Bhagwanpur police station in Vaishali district.

Bachha Rai, who is Secretary-cum Principal of controversy-hit Bishun Rai College, arrived at the Bhagwanpur police station to give himself up from where the police arrested him, Hajipur police sources said.

"We have arrested Bachha Rai," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on merit muddle in Bihar's +2 examination, told PTI.

Maharaj said the police had been on hot pursuit of the accused and netted him on Saturday.

Bachha Rai is the Secretary-cum Principal of Bishun Rai College in Vaishali district from where Arts and Science toppers Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shrestha belonged to respectively.

"We will interrogate him intensively," Maharaj said.

Bachha Rai, a known supporter of RJD, had been allegedly eluding from police in the case.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had recently alleged that everybody knew that Bachha Rai had worked more than Lalu Prasad to ensure victory of Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap from Raghopur and Mahua seats in Vaishali respectively.

The probe has indicated that Bachha Rai was a key player in the case with the help of Bihar School Examination Board, police said.

Besides Arts and Science toppers, the third ranker in the Science stream Rahul Kumar, whose result has been cancelled by the board along with that of first topper Saurabh Shrestha after a re-test also hailed from the Bishun Rai College.

Bachha Rai's daughter Shalini Rai is one of the named accused in the FIR lodged in the case with Kotwali police station in Patna.
Congresss Pradeep Tamta on Saturday defeated Independent candidate Anil Goel to win the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand and become the first Dalit from the hill state to make it to the Upper House of Parliament.

A total of 58 members of the state Assembly cast their votes out of which 32 went to Tamta and 26 to Goel, Vidhan Sabha Secretary Jagdish Chandra said.

BJPs Bhimtal MLA Dan Singh Bhandari had resigned from the Assembly yesterday, bringing down the partys tally in the House to 26, while all 32 members of the Congress-PDF combine cast their votes. Congress has 26 MLAs and PDF six.

Though the victory of Tamta, a prominent Dalit leader from Kumaun region, was a foregone conclusion with the numbers heavily stacked in favour of the ruling combine, initial opposition to his candidature from within the partys state unit and the alliance had given rise to the possibility of last minute cross voting.

However, after the Congress high command intervened, Congress-PDF alliance put up a united face and threw their combined weight behind Tamta.

BJP tried to cash in on the sulk of a few leaders over Tamta's candidature but failed. Chief Minister Harish Rawat said though BJP was not contesting officially, it had fielded Anil Goel and Geeta Thakur, two known party leaders indirectly as Independents. Thakur retired from contest at the eleventh hour leaving Goel in the ring to take on Tamta in a straight fight.

BJP's hopes of the Independent backed by the party making a dent in the Congress-PDF combine came a cropper as the entire chunk of 32 votes of the alliance went to Tamta.

Tamta had represented the Almora seat in the 15th Lok Sabha.

The Congress' victory in the Rajya Sabha is being seen in political circles here as another setback to the BJP which is still smarting from the jolt of Harish Rawat's victory in the floor test on May 10 and reinstatement of his government.
The Congress on Friday ridiculed BJP president Amit Shah for his statement that US support for India's bid to enter the multi-lateral export control regimes MTCR and NSG will "pave the way for India to become an important arms exporter", by saying that the BJP "needs to understand that MTCR was about controlling proliferation of missiles and not becoming an arms exporter".

Congress also stressed that no significant decision in favour of India came out of the NSG meeting that took place on Thursday night in Vienna.

It said China was a spoiler in India's bid to enter the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

"Never ever in the past, in almost three decades, has China taken such an absolutely hostile position to India on the question of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari.

"The most amusing comment on the Prime Minister's foreign visit actually came from the BJP president (Amit Shah). He said that if India becomes a part of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), we will become a major arms exporter.

"When I read the statement in the paper, I thought it could have been a misquote, but then I went back and checked and it was not a misquote -- possibly the BJP needs to understand that the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is about controlling proliferation of missiles," said Tewari.

"It is not about making a country into a net arms exporter. So, this is the limited understanding which the BJP and its president unfortunately have about international affairs," he added.

To a question that with regard to Switzerland, Mexico and USA, India needs their support for entry into NSG and whether it was not an accomplishment to address the joint session of the US Congress, Tewari said: "The fact is that it was in September 2008, that the concerted diplomacy of the UPA government broke the Nuclear apartheid which had been in place for two-and-a-half decades, commencing with India's first peaceful nuclear explosion in 1984.

"It was the UPA government which was successful in getting a waiver from the Nuclear Supplies Group for the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement.

"NSG operates on the process of consensus. Even if one country objects to the entry of a new member, that country unfortunately does not get included. The manner in which this government has conducted its foreign policy over the past two years, rather than consolidating that window which was opened by the UPA, they have in fact, endeavoured to lose that window," said Tewari.

"And that is why unfortunately, when the NSG met last night (Thursday), on the question of admission of new members essentially to consider India's application, nothing really came out of that meeting and so in real terms, it has really been a set-back for India rather than something to be proud of," he added.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his five-nation tour, including to the United States, Congress said that 'not a single new idea came out of his US visit.'

"Insofar as the USA is concerned, in the past 24 months, there has not been a single new idea, a single big idea in the Indo-US relationship. The only one thread which the NDA-BJP Government and the Prime Minister have been taking forth is the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Energy Pact which was incubated and finally consummated during the UPA government," said Tewari.
Two persons died in an incident of gas leak on board INS Vikramaditya, which was undergoing maintenance repairs at Karnatakas coastal town Karwar, on Friday evening.

Maintenance work was being undertaken in the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) Compartment of the vessel.

Four people - two naval sailors and two civilian workers- were rushed to Naval Hospital at Karwar following the leak this evening.

Two persons, namely Shipwright Artificer Class 4, Rakesh Kumar and Shri Mohandas Kolambkar, an employee of M/s Royal Marine, succumbed due to gas inhalation, a Navy statement said.

The condition of the other two is said to be stable.

The Navy has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

The World Bank (WB) mission headed by Angela Prigozhina, the bank's private and financial development sector leader, will arrive in Baku June 13, the Baku office of the WB told Trend June 11.

The aim of the mission is to get acquainted with the situation in the financial sector of Azerbaijan and summarize the results of the Capital Markets Modernization Project, which ends in late June 2016.

The mission will stay in Baku until June 17.

The WB allocated Azerbaijan a loan of $12 million, while the total project cost is $15.8 million. The project is financed at the expense of credit resources of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD is part of the WB group).

In addition, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) approved the allocation of technical assistance in the amount of $1.6 million for the two components within the Capital Markets Modernization Project in Azerbaijan - improving the legal framework and development of new financial incentive instruments on the market. Also, some 2.2 million manats were allocated by the Azerbaijani government.

Azerbaijan joined the WB in 1992.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member Virendrasing Tawde in connection with the murder of noted rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013, the first in the case by the agency.

He was arrested late Friday night from Panvel near here and will be produced before a special court in Pune this afternoon.

The Samiti is linked to Goa-based radical Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha, which had come under the scanner for the murder of another rationalist Govind Pansare in February 2015.

"CBI has arrested Virendra Singh Tawde in an ongoing investigation of a case related to murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar.

"He will be produced today (Saturday) around 3 pm in designated court, Pune. Investigation is continuing," CBI Spokesperson Devpreet Singh said.

This is the first arrest in the case after Mumbai High court in May 2014 handed over the probe to the CBI in the fatal shooting of Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, in broad daylight on August 20, 2013.

The killings had sparked outrage in the country with several eminent writers and other personalities returning their awards over "rising intolerance".

A major break through

The agency had recovered some material during its earlier searches in connection with the murder case which brought the needle of suspicion on Tawde, believed to be an ENT surgeon and an alleged follower of 'Sanatan Sanstha' activist Sarang Akolkar, against whom Red Corner Notice was issued by Interpol in July 2012 in connection with the 2009 Goa blast case on NIA request, CBI sources said.

The sources said CBI had questioned him, in different sessions, since June 2 when his residence was searched.

The residences of Tawde and Akolkar were searched by the agency which recovered several SIM cards, cell phones and data from computer, they said.

They said the two were investigated after the agency found some "cyber forensic evidence" about their alleged role in the murder case of Dabholkar.

Thirty-four-year-old Akolkar is suspected to be one of the key conspirators in the murder of Dabholkar. He has been on the run ever since his name cropped up during NIA investigations in the Goa blast case.

NIA had secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him in 2012 but security agencies are yet to track him down.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday appealed to pilgrims going on the annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra not to do anything that might tarnish India's image.

This Yatra goes through the territories of two countries, Sushma Swaraj said while flagging off the first batch of this year's Yatra here.

When we step into China from India, they all judge and know our behaviour and culture, she said.

So please do not do things that you do knowingly or unknowingly in India but are not acceptable in their country.

This year, 1,430 pilgrims are going in 25 batches through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim.

This is against last year's 999 pilgrims in 23 batches. Both the extra pilgrims and batches will be going through the Nathu La Pass route that was thrown open by China last year.

Sushma Swaraj said that steps have been taken to ensure continuous tracking of the Yatra.

Earlier what happened was that though our liaison officer could stay in touch with the pilgrims, he used to lose contact with us once he crosses the border, she said.

This time we have arranged for a phone that will help him stay in touch with us continuously.

The Minister said that now the government can stay updated with the condition of the pilgrims and medical facilities whenever needed would be extended.

Sushma Swaraj also said that the Nathu La Pass route being motorable, senior citizens and elderly people could also now undertake the Yatra.
A 22-year-old Dutch woman is being held in Qatar on suspicion of adultery after she said she was raped while on holiday there, her lawyer and Dutch media said on Saturday.

The woman says she was drugged in a hotel, and that she realised she had been raped when she woke up in an unfamiliar apartment.

"She was arrested in March on suspicion of adultery, which means having sex outside marriage," lawyer Brian Lokollo told Dutch radio NOS-Radio1.

A Dutch foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the arrest but said the young woman, whom she named as Laura, has not been charged.

Daphne Kerremans added that "the enquiry is ongoing" and that Dutch authorities are in regular contact with Laura.

The woman's lawyer said that the case concerns a trip his client made in March to a Qatar hotel where the consumption of alcohol is allowed.

"She went dancing but when she returned to the table after the first sip of her drink, she realised that" she had been drugged, Lokollo said.

"She felt very unwell," he added.

The young woman remembers nothing more until the following morning when she woke up in a totally unfamiliar apartment "and realised to her great horror, that she had been raped," he said.

The suspected rapist was also arrested but insisted that their night together had been consensual and that the woman had even asked for money.

"She completely denies these accusations," Lokollo said.

A court hearing is set to take place on Monday and the foreign ministry hopes a decision on whether to charge the Dutch woman will be taken.

A 24-year-old Norwegian woman who brought a rape complaint against her boss was jailed for 16 months in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates in 2013 for so-called indecent behaviour, perjury and alcohol consumption. She was later pardoned by the authorities.
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

PREPARING FOR SHAVUOS

Shavuos is called Zman Matan Toraseinu. Originally, this event occurred in the Hebrew year 2448 (3324 years ago). As we know, Rav Dessler in his Michtav MEliyahu explains that time does not flow as a straight line, but rather as a circle. The day of Shavuos which is the 6th of Sivan is, therefore, the very day that we received the Torah.

Similarly, the Nesivos Shalom explains that just as the Torah is eternal, so too is Kabalas HaTorah eternal. Each and every year there is a new Kabalas HaTorah. In other words, Shavuos is not just a commemoration of our receiving the Torah  it is receiving it once again.

Receiving the Torah is monumental. The entire essence of the nation of Israel is only for Torah (Sefer HaChinuch 273). The entire universe, heavens and earth, were only created for the sake of the Torah (ibid). Receiving the Torah, therefore, requires much preparation. Indeed, the Torah tells us in Parshas Yisro that we needed to prepare for three days  Heyu nechonim lshloshes yamim (Shmos 19:15).

One of the preparations that we make for receiving the Torah is that we learn Pirkei Avos on every Shabbos between Pesach and Shavuos. The Midrash Shmuel explains, One who will be learning Torah must first know its method of study and how to treat Torah. Therefore, so that the heart of each member of Klal Yisroel will be ready to accept Torah with a complete heart and to properly observe it, they enacted the learning of Pirkei Avos.

ZENITH OF OUR GROWTH

Let us also recall that Shavuos represents the zenith of our spiritual growth. When we left Mitzrayim we were on the lowest level of Tumah  impurity. In a matter of 49 days we experienced record spiritual growth to the point where the nation of Israel at the time was greatest generation that ever lived.

NO LIMIT TO OUR MITZVOS

We should also be aware that there is no limit to the heights and growth we can accomplish in our ruchniyus  indeed in any Mitzvah. This can be seen from a passage of the Targum Yonasan on Sefer Rus. Boaz tells Rus that he is aware of both how she came and joined up the nation of Israel, and also of all the Chessed that she had performed with her mother-in-law. The Targum Yonasan on this Pasuk explains that because they were written next to each other and said in the same breath, these two Mitzvos were equal to each other.

This is somewhat mind-boggling. Rus was a princess of Moav, a very powerful nation. It is a remarkable notion that one of the top women in society would give it all up to become a lowly member of the Jewish nation that must take Tzedakah. Is this lofty Mitzvah equal to the mere Chessed that she does with her mother-in-law?

The answer, according to Rav Henoch Leibowitz ztl. is that there is no spiritual limit to any Mitzvah that we perform. If we do a Chessed, any Chessed, with the right intentions and Kavannah  it can be equal to the greatest of Mitzvos.

EREV ROSH CHODESH IS PREPARATION TIME

The Shla HaKadosh explains that Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan (Monday Before Shavuos this year) is a special time of preparation in terms of Teshuvah, Tefillah and Tzedakah. This may be based upon the Rashi in Parshas Yisro (19:1-2) that the nation of Israel did Teshuvah on this day when they travelled from Refidim.

The Psukim in the Torah give us the pre-history of Matan Torah:

On Rosh Chodesh Sivan itself Klal Yisroel entered Midbar Sinai, a place wherein Har Sinai is located.

On the second of Sivan Moshe was told and gave over to Klal Yisroel the two Parshios of Atem Raisem and You shall be for Me a nation of priests and a holy nation. This was when they answered, Everything that Hashem spoke  we shall do.

On the third of Sivan Moshe related to Hashem the words of the nation. Moshe was then told of the Mitzvah of separating.

On the fourth of Sivan Moshe was told to go to the nation and sanctify them. He then told them to prepare themselves for three days.

The Mechilta (Parshas Yisro) explains that part of the preparations involved the utter unity of the nation  VaYachon Sham Yisroel blev echad kish echad  with one heart, like one man. It is clear from this Mechilta that there are levels of Dveikus and holiness that cannot be achieved alone but only through a joint and communal effort. We achieved this level at that time. It was through this unique achdus that we merited to say Naaseh vNishmah  we will do and then we will listen.

Ultimately Hashem placed the very mountain above them like a barrel. The verse tells us that they stood under the mountain  vayetzatzvu betachtis hahar (Shmos 19:17) Rashi explains Kafah aleihem har kgigis.

THE THREE DAYS OF HAGBALLAH

The essence of these days, according to the Shaar HaMelech, is to separate ourselves from all the vanities of this world to be prepared to greet Hashem. In each and every year we should look at ourselves as if we are preparing ourselves for Kabalas HaTorah on the mountain of Sinai.

The separation means to focus on things spiritual, and avoid an emphasis on aspects of the physical world that take us away from concentrating on Hashem and upon our relationship with Him. Our brachos should therefore be recited with more intensity and concentration, we should avoid unnecessary window shopping and looking at catalogues. Rather, our focus should be on three more important things: 1] improving on Davening, 2] on focusing more on the life lessons inherent in our Torah studies, and 3] upon Chessed. Each of these three brings us ever closer to Hashem Yisbarach.

OTHER NAMES OF SHAVUOS

Another name for the Yom Tov of Shavuos is Atzeres. There are actually two Yomim Tovim with this name. Both of them have a unique and special quality to them that no other Yom Tov has. Shavuos is achieving a state of being alone with Hashem. The Bais Avrohom explains in terms of the Dveikus that can be achieved through the Yomim Tovim that Pesach is considered like the period of engagement and Shavuos is like the very wedding itself. When the mountain was placed upon the nation of Israel like a barrel  it was likened to a Chuppah.

The closeness to Hashem that we achieve at Matan Torah makes Shavuos the ideal time to celebrate the first fruits of the Seven Species with which Eretz Yisroel is blessed. During this time the first fruits were harvested and brought in decorated baskets to the Beis HaMikdash. Thus, another name for Shavuos is Chag HaBikkurim (the Festival of the First Fruits).

Shavuos is also the time when we celebrate the abundant wheat harvest that Hashem has given us. This is why it is called Chag HaKatzir (the Feast of Harvest). It is because Shavuos is also the beginning of the wheat harvest that we bring the shtei haLechem (two loaves) as a meal-offering in the Beis HaMikdash.

SHAVUOS CUSTOMS

No Bloodletting or Testing

The Talmud (Shabbos 129b) tells us that a celestial damager was sent out against the nation of Israel on the day before Shavuos. Its name was Tvoach. By virtue of Klal Yisroel having accepted the Torah, they saved themselves from the destructive fate of Tvoach. On the eve of Shavuos we do not engage in any form of bloodletting because of the dangers involved. Indeed, the sages forbade doing so on every Erev Yom Tov on account of Shavuos. The Minhag is cited by the commentators (Darchei Moshe CM 468:3) and the custom in Klal Yisroel is to avoid it unless there is medical need.

Some people have the custom to sleep on Erev Shavuos in order to be able to stay up the entire night on Shavuos. The Mogain Avrohom (OC 290) quotes the Sefer Chasidim that when Erev Shavuos falls on Shabbos, it is forbidden to say that one is resting so that he or she can be awake for the night of Shavuos.

The Minhag of Grass and Trees in Shul

There is a Minhag mentioned by the Ramah in Shulchan Aruch (OC 494) to place grass, flowers, and trees in Shul on Shavuos. One explanation for this is found in the words of the Levush (Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe):

It commemorates the grass that surrounded Har Sinai at the time of Matan Torah. As the verse states, the sheep and flocks may not graze.. The indication is that grass grew there. It is a worthwhile Minhag to continue because it helps us relive the experience at Har Sinai  an experience that we actually go through once again.

Another explanation is that it commemorates the bringing of the Bikkurim the first fruits, which were made from baskets woven and decorated from and with grasses and flowers (Ziv HaMinhagim).

Another explanation is that Moshe Rabbeinu was saved on the banks of the Yeor which had grassy knolls (Chiddushei HaRim  the Gerrer Rebbe).

The Brisker Rav explained that the decorations are a minimum form of decoration and show us that the only means in which one can acquire Torah is if we are satisified with the minimum and not pursue luxuries and other forms of consumption. Grasses are mentioned in this vein in the Gemorah Eiruvin 22a by Rabbi Adda Bar Ahava ( Moadim LSimcha p. 402).

The Minhag of Milchigs

The Ramah mentions that it is the custom to split the meal on Shavuos, where the first half of the meal is comprised of dairy foods and the second half is comprised of meat foods. Although it is no longer the custom to split the meal, we do have the custom to eat dairy foods on Shavuos. The reason for this custom is to remind us that when we received the Torah we were taught the laws of preparing the meat in the proper, kosher manner. Since we were unable to this immediately, we consumed only dairy foods at the time.

Waiting for Nightfall

Although generally we are permitted to bring in Shabbos or Yom Tov slightly earlier than is required, in regard to Shavuos the custom is not to pray immediately but to wait for nightfall. The reason is that we want to count the Omer completely and perfectly. Doing so would entail making sure that the last day is complete.

The Minhag to Stay Up All Night

Although the custom is not mentioned in the Talmud nor in the Shulchan Aruch, the custom has developed in Klal Yisroel to remain awake the entire night of Shavuos and to study Torah. The Seforim HaKedoshim explain that one who stays up all night studying Torah merits Gilui Shechina revelation of Hashems Divine Presence on that night.

The Kaf HaChaim (OC 494) writes that women who have the custom of counting the Omer can indeed partake in perfecting the Tikkunim involved in the Mitzvah of Sfiras haOmer by learning at night as well. Other Poskim explain that there was no Minhag for the women to stay up as well.

Shavuos Davening

The Shacharis and full Hallel of Yom Tov are recited. The reading of the Aseres HaDibros takes place on the first day of Shavuos. This is followed with Mussaf and the Birkas Kohanim. On the second day Megilas Rus is read before the reading of the Torah. It is preceded with the Piut of Akdamus.

Why We Read Megilas Rus

There is a debate among the Poskim as to whether our custom to read the Megillah of Rus on Shavuos is a full-fledged obligation or a Minhag. The reason why we read the book of Rus is to teach us that Torah is only given through hardship and poverty (Yallkut Shimoni 596). Another reason is that the entire episode took place during the Zman HaKatzir  and Shavuos is known as Chag HaKatzir too. A third reason is so that we will have read all three parts of the TaNaCh on the day of Matan Torah (Otzer HaMinhagim).

The Piut of Akdamus

The Piut (supplication poem) was written by Rav Meir Ben Yitzchok Shliachtzibbur, a Rishon that is often quoted by Rashi and Tosfos (See, for example, Rashi on Tehillim 73:12 and Tosfos RH 11a). It is a double Aleph Bais poem that describes the greatness of the Creator of the world, the nature of Malachim, and the loftier stature that the nation of Israel has above the angels themselves. One section of it describes how, kavyachol, Hashem is longingly desirous of Klal Yisroel learning Torah and desires their prayers. It ends with the statement that who hear (and absorb the depth and meaning of the piut) will merit to be among that group that will merit fantastic miracles on the great day.

The Piut is recited in Aramaic so that the Malachim will not understand it, hear it and take it for their own use. It should remain special for the Jewish people alone. It is the only Piut which is recited while the Sefer Torah itself is lying on the Bima. This demonstrates how very special it is.

Yizkor

On the second day of Yom Tov (the first day in Eretz Yisroel) after the Torah is read, a special prayer of Yizkor is recited as is done on all second day Yomim Tovim. We daven for and pledge Tzedakah in the merit of those in our family who have passed on. It is the custom in Klal Yisroel for everyone who still has both parents to leave the shul during the recitation of Yizkor.

YOM TOV HALACHOS

Like on Shabbos, there exists a prohibition of performing Malacha on Yom Tov. The admonition against certain Malachos should be used as a means of coming closer to Hashem as well. What is Malacha exactly, and how can it be used as a tool for greater closeness to G-d?

Malacha is not defined as work, necessarily. Malacha is defined as a certain, specific type of creative act. More precisely, Malacha is defined as the specific creative acts that were necessary to create the Mishkan, the resting place for Hashems concentration of the Shechina Presence here on earth.

Our refraining from such creative acts on Shabbos and Yom Tov is the collective flag of the Jewish people. Just as any nation is proud and salutes its national flag, so too is the observance of Shabbos and the holidays the flag of the Jewish people. The flag symbolizes and embodies our belief that the world was created for a purpose by a kind and benevolent Being who rewards good and punishes evil. A focus on this idea will cause us to become ever closer to Him. Mere contemplation of it when we refrain from Malacha achieves this end.

While the definition of Malacha is the same for both Shabbos and Yom Tov, the Torah made some exceptions for Yom Tov. The Torah states that actions that are necessary for people to eat are permitted on Yom Tov. This is called Ochel Nefesh. Not all actions, however, are permitted for Ochel Nefesh purposes. If the food preparation could have been done with equal freshness and results before Yom Tov, and one had the time opportunity to do it then, then it may only be done with a shinui on Yom Tov itself. There are some Malachos on Yom Tov that are forbidden or very different even when it comes to food preparation.

It is also important to know that one may never do Malacha on Yom Tov during a Bain HaShmashos  twilight that immediately followed a Yom Tov. Why is this so? Because we do not know exactly when the day changes from one to the other. It is forbidden to do Malacha on Yom Tov for another day. Thus we might be doing Malacha on Yom Tov for another day which is forbidden.

One is also, of course, not permitted to perform any Malacha on the first day of Yom Tov for the second day of Yom Tov  even if the preparations involve no Malacha. This is called Hachana and something in which we must be very careful. The Yom Tov is very special and acts performed on it must be limited only to the needs of that Yom Tov.

May it be Hashems will that we merit a complete and full Kabalas HaTorah this year!

The author can be reached at [email protected]
This past Tuesday, David Duke, that proverbial fount of informed discourse, made a series of bizarre and baseless remarks about Jews on his radio program.

This should come as no surprise; Duke has made a career out of spouting disgusting theories and beliefs  statements and positions that 99.99% of American citizens have the good sense to ignore. But Duke has sensed the medias thirst for controversial headlines tied to Donald Trump and so he has developed a habit of invoking Mr. Trumps name to draw eyes and ears to his message. This most recent bout of nonsense from Duke achieved his aim of attracting attention when outlets like CBS News and Politico.com made the decision to elevate Dukes remarks and report them as news because, in CBS view, Duke claimed that Jews are zeroing in now on Donald Trump in an organized effort to derail the New York businessmans presidential campaign. The truth is that nothing Duke says is worthy of anyones attention. When the media reports Dukes racist and anti-Semitic ramblings, the side effect is that they shine a spotlight on what Duke is saying and help him achieve his goals. Those of us who wish to live in a society that is free of prejudice and hatred have a duty to stand up and represent those ideals; but Duke is not looking to have an open or honest dialogue about race or religion in America, he is looking to spread white supremacy and anti-Semitism. We would all be better served to leave Duke alone in the sad, dark corner of the world that he inhabits.

As an advisor to Mr. Trump, who has worked for him for nearly two decades, I want to make several things clear. I do not wish to spend any more time thinking about Duke than is absolutely necessary to set the record straight. My hope is that the media and the public will note the facts below and join me in clicking the mute button once and for all on future diatribes from Duke.

1. Mr. Trump has disavowed Duke and anti-Semitism and has turned his attention to the issues that really matter to the American people. As Mr. Trump has stated many times, but bears repeating here, hate has absolutely no place in our politics or in our society.

2. What millions of American Jews know very well  yet seems to elude Duke  is that Mr. Trump is a lifelong friend of the Jewish people and supporter of the State of Israel. If Duke and his modest listenership wish to rally behind a presidential candidate inimical to Jewish people, theyll need to look elsewhere!

3. If Duke were in any way associated with Mr. Trump, then Dukes regular stream of hateful invective might be newsworthy. But Mr. Trump has never been associated with Duke in any way. Nor does Mr. Trump share in Dukes reprehensible views. Mr. Trump is running for president in the firm belief that all Americans  of every race, color and creed  are bound together in the common purpose of Making America Great Again. Lets not give Duke a platform to amplify his twisted, bigoted beliefs by reinforcing the thoroughly discredited myth that the two men bear anything whatsoever in common. They most assuredly do not!

Jason Greenblatt is an Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of The Trump Organization and a Co-Founder of www.inspireconversation.com. Follow Jason on Twitter @JasonDovEsq

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The presidential race shifted to the nations capital Friday, with Democrats executing a carefully orchestrated plan to unify their party around presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton.

Her likely general election rival, Donald Trump, continued his months-long effort to win over the Republican base, with events wooing top donors and evangelical voters.

With the primary contests all but over, a series of top Democrats formally announced their support for Clinton, headlined by the glowing endorsement of President Barack Obama on Thursday.

Within hours, Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined that effort, both backing Clinton and signaling to many of Sanders supporters that its time to unite around the partys presumptive nominee. Clinton and Warren met privately for about an hour Friday morning at Clintons home in Washington, intensifying speculation that the progressive stalwart may be tapped for the vice presidency.

If you really want to electrify the base youve got to get somebody whos been speaking to the base and is going to turn the base out, said Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., one of Sanders top supporters in Congress. He said he and other progressives would be thrilled if Clinton tapped Warren for her ticket.

Democrats in Washington are eager to unite their party against Trump and avoid a lingering intraparty spat. Primary rival Bernie Sanders, whos vowed to take his political revolution to their national Democratic convention in July, has been stressing his determination to defeat Trump, perhaps signaling that he may exit the race or at least shift his focus away from Clinton after the final primary election next Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

On Friday, he retreated to his home in Burlington, Vermont, to plot his next steps.

Clinton, meanwhile, delivered her first speech since becoming the presumptive nominee, addressing advocates at Planned Parenthood, the womens health organization and abortion provider. The nonprofit was a strong champion of Clinton in the primaries, giving her its first endorsement in their 100-year history.

Describing Trump as someone who doesnt hold women in high regard, Clinton launched into an unabashedly feminist attack on her GOP rival, arguing he would take the country back to when abortion was illegal, women had far fewer options and life for too many women and girls was limited.

When Donald Trump says, lets make America great again, that is code for lets take America backward,' she told the cheering audience.

Trump, who has also faced resistance from corners of his party, addressed a gathering of conservative evangelical voters at the Faith & Freedom Coalitions Road to Majority conference not long after Clinton spoke.

Facing criticism for suggesting a judges Mexican heritage biased him in a case against the now-defunct Trump University, Trump struck a more welcoming tone.

No one should be judged by their race or their color and the color of their skin, he said. Were going to bring our nation together.

Reading mostly from teleprompters, he declared Clinton unfit to be president while vowing to restore faith to its proper mantle in the U.S.

As he took the stage, Trump boasted of the support he received from evangelicals in the Republican primary and touted his opposition to abortion rights and commitment to religious freedom  issues he rarely discusses in other settings. Seizing on social issues, Trump claimed Clinton would appoint radical judges who would abolish the Second Amendment and destroy the rule of law.

In a new dig against her email scandal, Trump proposed tough new ethics rules to restore dignity of the office of the secretary of state and challenged Clinton to drop her support for increasing refugee admissions and instead support a new jobs program for our inner cities.

It was one of several examples of Trumps burgeoning populist attacks against Clinton, whom he painted as indebted to big money. He claimed her immigration, education and trade policies would harm working families and plunge our poor African-American and Hispanic communities into turmoil and even worse despair.

Her policies will be a crushing blow to all poor people in this country, he said.

He also accused Clinton of failing to understand the gravity of the risk posed by Islamic extremism, and faulted her for wanting to allow more Syrian refugees into the country.

Hillary will bring hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of whom have hostile beliefs about people of different faiths and values and some of whom absolutely and openly support terrorism in our country, he claimed. We have to temporarily stop this whole thing with whats going on with refugees where we dont know where they come from. Clinton has proposed allowing 65,000 Syrian refugees into the country each year.

His speech was interrupted by several protesters, including one woman who screamed Refugees are welcome here! as she was escorted out of the room.

Many evangelical and conservative leaders remain deeply skeptical of Trumps candidacy a resistance that was underscored by the speakers who proceeded him on Friday.

Former rival Carly Fiorina, who spoke immediately before Trump, failed to mention her partys presumptive nominees name a single time during her remarks, which heavily criticized Clinton.

Meanwhile, in his long-expected endorsement, President Barack Obama pointed to Clintons grit and determination but also called for embracing Sanders economic message, which has galvanized liberals and independents. Obama sought to reassure Democrats that Clinton shares their values and is ready for the job.

The president plans to campaign next week with Clinton in Green Bay, Wisconsin, marking his first major foray into the 2016 campaign.

It was a wonderful, meaning endorsement in every way, said Clinton, sipping an iced chai, during a stop at a muffin store in Washington.

(AP)
Far from ending the two wars he inherited from the Bush administration, Barack Obama is wrestling with an expanded set of conflicts in the final months of his presidency, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Libya and Syria, with no end in sight. In Afghanistan, where a Taliban resurgence has upset Washingtons exit strategy, Obama is giving the U.S. military wider latitude to support Afghan forces, both in the air and on the ground.

The White House says U.S. forces are not taking on a new mission in Afghanistan but rather will more proactively support government forces. That amounts to an acknowledgement that the Afghans need more help than the Pentagon had anticipated last year, and it is a signal to allies not to abandon the U.S.-led coalition. Defense Secretary Ash Carter will be discussing this next week in talks at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan are scheduled to drop to 5,500 by the end of this year, but the pace of that decline has yet to be decided. One factor in deciding future troop levels is the extent to which NATO allies are willing to remain involved in training and advising the Afghans.

Five years ago this month, in announcing the beginning of his effort to wind down this war in Afghanistan, Obama declared that the tide of war is receding. He had ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq, but since then has gradually expanded a renewed U.S. involvement there against the Islamic State group. He also put U.S. warplanes in the skies over Libya in 2011 in the name of preventing a slaughter of civilians, only to see chaos ensue, and now small teams of U.S. special operations forces have been involved in activities there. Libya, along with Syria and to a lesser extent Afghanistan, became a breeding ground for extremism in a wider conflict against the Islamic State.

The administration says it remains committed to a partnership with Afghanistan to ensure that it does not revert to a haven for al-Qaida or other extremists with global reach, as it was before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In a letter to Obama last week, several former U.S. ambassadors to Kabul and five retired U.S. generals who commanded American troops there urged that the president keep current troop levels through the end of his term, allowing his successor to consider next steps. They argued that Afghanistan remains important to the broader campaign to defeat global terror movements.

If Afghanistan were to revert to the chaos of the 1990s, millions of refugees would again seek shelter in neighboring countries and overseas, dramatically intensifying the severe challenges already faced in Europe and beyond, they wrote. Afghanistan is a place where we should wish to consolidate and lock down our provisional progress into something of a more lasting asset.

With U.S. special operations forces already focused on al-Qaida remnants in Afghanistan, the Afghan government says it can handle the Taliban if the U.S. expands its air support. That is at the core of Obamas decision, disclosed Thursday, to authorize U.S. commanders to increase air support and to allow U.S. soldiers to accompany and advise Afghan conventional forces on the ground in the same way they have been assisting Afghan commando forces.

This will make a difference on the battlefield, Carter said Friday, by enabling U.S. commanders to anticipate situations in which U.S. support is needed, rather than to be reactive. He did not mention it, but an illustration of the problem with being reactive is the Talibans takeover of the northern city of Kunduz last September, which was reversed only after U.S. special operations forces intervened. The intervention, while ultimately successful, led to one of the worst U.S. mistakes of the 15-year war when an AC-130 gunship pummeled a hospital, killing 42 people.

Carter said the changes Obama approved amount to using the forces we have in a better way, as we go through this fighting season, adding, Its a good use of the combat power we have there.

Gen. John F. Campbell, who was the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan until March and was among the retired generals who signed last weeks letter to Obama, said in an interview Friday that although he had not seen the specifics of the White House decision to expand U.S. military authorities, he welcomed the move. Before Gen. John Nicholson succeeded him in Kabul in March, Campbell urged the administration to grant expanded authorities to assist the Afghans, arguing that they faced an especially difficult fight against the Taliban this summer.

I had asked for more authorities for the commander on the ground to help the Afghans out, and if this is what that is, I would be all for it, he said. We have an ally there that we need to continue to support.

(AP)
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

Trend:

Armenian armed forces have 25 times violated the ceasefire with Azerbaijan on the line of contact over the past 24 hours, said the message from Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry June 11.

Armenian armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns.

Azerbaijani positions were shelled from the positions located near the Chayli village of the Terter district, Garakhanbayli, Horadiz and Ashagi Seyidahmadli villages of the Fizuli district, as well as on nameless heights in the territory of the Khojavand district.

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.
Weary Republicans are looking for assurances that Donald Trump can maintain the discipline needed to stay on message as he prepares for a bruising general election run-up against Hillary Clinton.

Trumps conciliatory, teleprompter-guided victory speech Tuesday appeared to stave off at least for the time being  a near-GOP revolt over his racially divisive attacks against the American-born judge of Mexican heritage hearing the case against his now-defunct Trump University.

As he kicks off his general election campaign with a scheduled speech Friday, a thorny question has arisen: How does the party keep Trump in check?

A primary campaign against 16 opponents is very different and combative in a different way than a general election against a well-organized, well-funded Clinton machine, said Rep. Chris Collins, who has been helping to coordinate Trumps outreach to Congress.

Collins said he understood there would be lingering questions about Trump after the distracting episode, but said the speech was part of what he sees as a total pivot by the candidate.

Mr. Trump is a very smart guy and wants to win, he said after a weekly gathering with Trump staff on Thursday. Im convinced well see a very disciplined GOP nominee moving forward.

The judge episode arguably marked the biggest crisis of Trumps campaign to date, and sparked a series of phone calls from concerned Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, pressing the gravity of the situation.

I explained exactly what I thought about that comment. I said it publicly and I said it privately, Ryan said in an interview that aired on Good Morning America Friday.

I dont know whats in his heart, he added. But I do think, hope and believe that hes going to improve the tenor of the campaign, the tone of the campaign, the kind of campaign that hes going to run.

It remains to be seen, however, how deeply Trump has internalized the message. Since launching his campaign, Trump has pushed back against calls by some of his closest aides and family members to adopt a more presidential tone. His fiery language and penchant for controversy has earned him endless free media attention and energized voters during the primaries, helping him secure victory.

You think Im going to change? Im not changing, he boomed at a press conference recently.

Again and again, he has delivered conciliatory victory speeches, only to turn up the heat against his rivals in his campaign speeches. Trumps first test comes Friday evening as he appears in Richmond, Virginia  his first campaign rally since the primary season came to a close.

Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski dismissed the idea of an intervention, and downplayed the significance of the victory speech, noting that Trump has used teleprompters on multiple occasions to deliver specific remarks.

From time to time, hell use it. Buts a function of the audience and what he wants to say. I can guarantee you this: in Richmond tonight, it will not be a teleprompter speech, he said.

Indeed, Trump was already showing signs on Friday that general election Trump will sound a lot like the Trump displayed through the primaries.

Pocahontas is at it again! he Tweeted Friday morning, using his favored nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who officially endorsed Clinton Thursday evening and met with her Friday, fueling speculation that shes being considered for a running mate. Goofy Elizabeth Warren, one of the least productive U.S. Senators, has a nasty mouth. Hope she is V.P. choice.

To try to keep Trump, who is notoriously resistant to advice, on track, some on his team are turning more to his grown children  Eric, Don Jr. and Ivanka, as well as Ivankas husband, Jared Kushner  in the hope that they can exert influence. In addition to giving them more public roles, some campaign aides have been pushing for them to travel more with the candidate, according to a person familiar with the efforts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about private discussions.

The goal is to try to keep Trump on message, while asserting more control over Lewandowski, who is a constant presence by Trumps side. Lewandowski led Trump to victory in the primary with the motto Let Trump be Trump, and has long resisted suggestions that Trump needs to change his tone.

Lewandowski pushed back against the notion that Republicans are looking for Trump to tone down his rhetoric and stressed the candidate is not going to change.

I dont know if theyre saying we need to rein him in. They are not used to a presidential candidate who speaks from the heart and talks the way the American public speaks. They are used to politicians who are all talk and not action. Thats not Mr. Trump, Lewandowski told the Associated Press, adding, His messaging is not going to change going forward.

Still, supporters say theyre confident that Trump is growing into his new role.

I think Donald is learning how to be a candidate, said John Catsimatidis, a major New York donor, as he left a closed-door gathering with Trump on Thursday. I think hes getting better and better at it.

Others, however, remain doubtful.

You know, I think everybody can change. The question is does he have the self-discipline and some control over his ego to be able to say Im wrong every now and then? said former Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma on Morning Joe Thursday. And I havent seen that.

(AP)
Farerwell: John Walden will leave when Argos owner Home Retail Group was merged with Sainsbury's

It seemed almost inevitable that Argos boss John Walden would step down when the business was sold to Sainsburys.

Yesterday Sainsburys confirmed that 56-year-old Walden would leave when Argos owner Home Retail Group was merged. Sainsburys finance director Jon Rogers will take over.

But perhaps what staff hadnt expected was the gushing self-congratulatory letter they received from Walden.

Perhaps in an attempt to ensure his time at the retailer was held in fond regard, Walden, who was paid 2.75million last year and could make as much as 5million from the merger, sent the four-page long, 1,664 word missive to the chains 50,000 employees.

In it he thanks them, but then goes on to describe how he turned around Argos from the moment he joined in 2012.

Argos was in a challenging position, having suffered significantly during the preceding four-year period. Much of its historic advantage had eroded, he wrote.

In great detail he outlines eight areas where he believes he has helped transform the store and make it a success.

These include creating a better website, digital stores, faster delivery, and a number of partnerships it had struck with the likes of Google.

I could go on for many more pages; these are only the tip of a massive iceberg of your accomplishments over a surprisingly short time.

But then he does continue for another page, laying out some of the financial achievements of his time in charge.

American Walden, a married father of five sons, lives in London but is understood to be considering moving back across the Atlantic for his next job.

As part of his pay packet at Home Retail he receives a cash allowance for flights to the US.

The former boss of US chain Best Buy finishes by thanking staff and said: I believe in each of you, and have taken seriously my responsibility to help create a better future for you and your families.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

Trend:

Azerbaijani MPs Kamran Bayramov and Malahat Ibrahimgizi will discuss the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the 92nd seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA), to be held in Kyiv, Ukraine, Trend learned from the Azerbaijani parliament June 11.

Malahat Ibrahimgizi will inform the participants of the seminar about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the recent developments on the frontline, and the current situation.

The seminar will also discuss the unresolved conflicts in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijani MPs will leave for Kyiv June 13.

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.
City dealmaker Guy Hands has withdrawn his case against Citigroup over the 2007 buyout of music label EMI, which saw him lose 156million.

Hands brought to an end almost seven years of on-off litigation over the disastrous deal struck by his private equity firm Terra Firma.

He had alleged that he had been mis-led by Citigroup bankers over the 4.2billion deal. He was seeking damages of 1.5billion.

Battle: Guy Hands tried unsuccessfully to sue Citigroup in the US, but the case was terminated in 2014 and it is being heard in the High Court in London

But yesterday Handss lawyer confirmed Terra Firma would not be moving ahead with the case, and Hands would retract the claims against Citigroup.

We are very pleased that Terra Firma has unreservedly withdrawn the allegations, agreed to the dismissal of the proceedings and will pay Citis costs in relation to this matter, a Citigroup spokesman said in a statement.

The latest court case over EMI, the home of musicians including The Beatles, Coldplay and Katy Perry, began only on Tuesday.

Hands had previously tried unsuccessfully to sue Citigroup in the US.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

Trend:

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) will operate extended hours in connection with the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe, to be held June 17-19 in Baku, CBA told Trend.

Changes were made to the CBA work schedule to ensure that the guests and thousands of tourists, who will visit Azerbaijan during the F1, are provided with unhindered access to banking services, in particular currency exchange.

The CBA will intensively provide the local banks with currency in cash on a regular basis, including non-working days.

Meanwhile, special brochures have been distributed to Baku hotels for the tourists and foreign guests to get familiar with the protection elements on the national currency banknotes and the banknotes' design.

The banks' branches and offices located in the center of Baku will work extended hours on June 10-21, in line with the recommendations from the Financial Market Supervisory Body of Azerbaijan.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:

Airbus A320 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC (AZAL), which was flying from Baku to Dubai, has made an emergency landing at the Sharjah International Airport, a source in the Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport told Trend June 11.

Sharjah International Airport is a key one for the Air Arabia budget carrier and is located 15 kilometers away from Dubai.

The plane, which took off from Baku at 09:00 (GMT+4 hours), was supposed to land at the Dubai International Airport at 11:55.

"However, in connection with holding the event of national importance, the Dubai International Airport was closed for flights," the source said. "The AZAL plane got permission to land at the Sharjah International Airport. In the near future, the plane's passengers will be sent to Dubai on buses."

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
El Salvador, ranked one of the most dangerous countries in the world, has nearly halved its staggeringly bloody monthly murder rate amid a fierce crackdown on fearsome gangs.

But analysts pointed out that the number of homicides this year is still above where it was the same time last year, and warned that the government offensive against the gangs needs to continue to break them apart.

Justice and Security Minister Mauricio Ramirez said Thursday that the "extraordinary measures" El Salvador has employed "have managed to reduce the crime rate by more than 50 percent."

Isolating gang bosses in prison, sending in elite troops and police to arrest gang members, and erasing gang graffiti from the streets of at least one town all appear to be bearing fruit.

Some 353 murders were recorded in each of the months of May and April, according to the Institute for Forensic Medicine.

While that is still high, it is significantly less than the 611 homicides in March, 644 in February and 740 in January.

However the total number of murders so far this year, 2,721, is still higher than the 2,188 registered for the same period in 2015.

That underlines El Salvador\s notoriety as the country with the most murders per capita in the world outside of a war zone.

El Salvador\s government in April started its crackdown in a bid to roll back that reputation and to challenge the perception that it had lost control of swathes of territory to the gangs.

Ramirez acknowledged that "to maintain security and the positive results so far, we have to keep control over the penitentiaries," where gang bosses are now barred from receiving visitors and cell phone signals are blocked.

Juan Ramon Medrano, a university professor and analyst, told AFP that the first phase of the government\s plan to reduce the number of murders "is working."

But, he said, "the current success is going to depend on keeping up a sustainable tactical offense over the duration."

No let-up should be given in the efforts to bust the gangs\ leadership and to prevent them winning back turf from the authorities, he said.

The head of the national police force, Howard Cotto, also said that, beyond the operations by the security forces, "citizen participation in prevention tasks, such as tip-offs," had an important role to play.

Part of the reason El Salvador has made progress this time against the gangs is that it has put thousands of soldiers onto its streets to back up the police.

The deployment helps to contain gang members, who are said to number around 70,000, of which some 13,000 are already behind bars.

The operations have resulted in the deaths of several gang members and the arrest of dozens on various charges.

"What is happening is a remilitarization of public security," an analyst, Roberto Canas, told AFP.

Under the urban operations and pressure of the joint army-police crackdown, the gangs "are changing" and in some cases are moving out to rural areas to escape the law enforcement heat, he said.

Jannet Aguilar, director of the Public Opinion Institute of the University of Central America, said the gangs "are being neutralized" but were not disappearing from the communities they lived in.

"The gangs are in a time of falling back. But recent history has shown that they soon manage to get around the application of the law, to be able to develop the illegal economy they thrive on."

A recent study by El Salvador\s central bank estimated that the cost of the violence in the country to the state, households and businesses was $4 billion, or 16 percent of gross domestic product.

The government has allocated around half that amount over the next five years to finance its security plan, branded "Secure El Salvador."

Late last month, lawmakers approved a government bond issue worth $152 million which will go to giving pay hikes to the police, army and prisons on the frontline of the fight against the gangs.

SOURCE: AFP
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:

A foreign company will be involved in creation of the free trade zone (FTZ) in the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Azerbaijan's Alat township, said Taleh Ziyadov, head of the port.

He made the remarks during the first meeting of the working group for creation of the FTZ.

Ziyadov said the creation of the FTZ in the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Alat will contribute to turning the port into a transportation and logistics center in Europe.

"Negotiations have been held with a foreign company that specializes in the planning and management of free trade zones, and it will soon join the creation of the free trade zone in Azerbaijan," he noted.

Ziyadov didn't specify the foreign company's name.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree March 17, 2016, on measures to create a free trade zone type special economic area in the Alat township of Baku's Garadagh district.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Gunmen marched into a remote mountain village in Mexico and killed 11 members of the same family, including two children, apparently over "personal conflicts," authorities said.

Five women, four men and two girls were killed in the pre-dawn attack in El Mirador, a community in central Puebla state, near Oaxaca.

Two other girls were wounded in the attack and were taken to a hospital.

Witnesses identified two assailants and recognized one of them as a man who allegedly sexually abused one of the dead women nine years ago, resulting in the birth a boy, according to the state prosecutor\s office.

The woman\s current partner, who was killed, was stabbed several times and had "more wounds than the other" victims, the office said in a statement.

The two assailants fled toward neighboring Oaxaca state. Authorities in both states are searching for them. The hamlet is so remote that it is only accessible on foot.

"It was an act of revenge," said Vicente Lopez de la Vega, mayor of Coxcatlan, the municipality that oversees El Mirador.

"To kill 11 people like that, you don\t have feelings. It\s alarming," Lopez de la Vega said.

The prosecutor\s office said the gunmen "arrived on foot where the family was located, fired several times and left on foot."

Pistol and rifle bullet casings were found at the scene.

Government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they was not authorized to speak publicly, said the attack took place inside one home.

Two witnesses have been placed under state protection.

An official at the prosecutor\s office had earlier said that authorities were investigating whether the crime was related to organized crime or a family dispute.

The village is inhabited by Evangelicals who broke away from another community of Catholics, El Potrero. But the mayor said the two villages respected each other.

"It\s a community in harmony, but things change. There\s immigration. Many go north of the country and to the United States. Sometimes when people come back the harmony is lost," Lopez de la Vega said.

It is the latest murder to rock Puebla, a region that has been relatively spared the drug violence that has plagued other parts of Mexico.

In March, an undetermined number of human remains were found in various acid containers in a rural area.

In April, four bodies were found inside a burnt car near Veracruz, an eastern state beset by murders and disappearances linked to drug cartels. Two of the bodies belonged to sisters of a jailed Zetas drug cartel member, Veracruz authorities said.

That same day, three other bodies were found in the same area near a facility of state-run oil firm Pemex.

Late last month, four people died when gunmen linked to fuel thefts opened fire in the village of La Purisima, a region where rival gangs seek to control such illegal pipeline taps.

Puebla has also seen a spate of mob lynchings of crime suspects.

SOURCE: AFP
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Beer of the Week will review a different beer purchased in one of Wichita Falls local stores each Friday. Those featured will range from new beers recently stocked or released, to longtime favorites of the hosts or suggestions made by store clerks.

Like craft beer, hard cider has surged to popularity, or rather re-popularity, over the last two years.

And just as craft beer has begun to occupy a good portion of taps and beer fridges in Wichita Falls, hard ciders are beginning to do the same.

Made in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas, Bishop Cider Co. believes its cider is equal parts art and drink  a point it drives home with its colorful, animated characters that grace the label of the bottled products, as well as the careful, meticulous ingredients used for each cider.

Crackberry, a combination of blackberries and cranberries made by the cidery, was found on the shelves of Local Boys Liquor at the reasonable price of $5.49 for a 750 ml (slightly more than 25 ounces) bottle. Bishop describes the cider as being stripped of all other nonsense, and just one sip and youre hooked. Based on its description, price and the colorful bottle label, it was deemed worthy to be the first cider sampled on the Brew Review.

Two things youll notice first about Crackberry  its reddish-purple pour and its sweet, berry scent that emanates from the bottle once opened. The smell is slightly reminiscent of Welchs fruit juice, but with an aroma of alcohol underneath.

At 6 percent alcohol by volume, you will get a boozy tinge to the drink, but it is nothing that makes it less drinkable. Crackberry is also light on carbonation, adding to its drinkability.

Cranberry is extremely present in taste and is a welcomed flavor in this cider. The blackberry, however, does not come through as strong in this concoction.

The cider attempts to balance its tartness and sweetness evenly. Based on the preferences of the Brew Review crew, the drink can either be too tart or too sweet.

Despite these critiques, it was well agreed that Crackberry was a pretty good cider, just not a great one. For that, we collectively give it a sip slowly.

Heres how we broke it down:

Crackberry

Hard Cider made with cranberry and blackberry

ABV: 6.0 percent

Available: On tap and in bottles

Orlando's Rating: Sip Slowly.

For a cider, it is well-made. I really liked the cranberry flavor, as opposed to the traditional apple cider, but the blackberry just was not there for me. I would have liked a little more tart, too. It tastes too sweet for me. That might also be me not being much of a cider person, though.

Chris' Rating: Sip Slowly.

I get the cranberry, the tartness and the booziness, but I just dont get the blackberry. Its an interesting craft product and an interesting idea to combine the flavors, but I think its more middle-of-the-line as far as ciders go. The label is pretty funny, though.

Lauren's Rating: Sip Slowly.

When I first drank it, it was too tart, almost like a sour candy. Other than that, it was pretty easy to drink. I put a bottle stopper on it and put it in my fridge after filming. A few days later it was pretty gross  almost like wine-lite. I think some people hyped this up too much for me.
Reggie Milam, lower left, is the owner of Dance, Etc. and has been teaching dance for more than 40 years. Her studio is celebrating a milestone. Milam opened Dance, Etc. in Fort Worth 30 years ago and then in Wichita Falls 20 years go. She operated both locations for a time before closing the one in Fort Worth. The studio's 30th anniversary dance recital is Saturday evening at Memorial Auditorium. Times Record News file

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By Times Record News

Dance, Etc. will celebrate a milestone during its recital Saturday, which will be presented at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium.

The dance studio, owned by Reggie Milam, is celebrating the 30th year of its founding in Fort Worth and its 20th year of its opening in Wichita Falls.

"What's cool about this year's show is 99 percent of the songs being done have been featured in a show over the past 30 years. Either they've been rechoreographed or restaged," Jamie Via, one of the dance instructors at Dance, Etc., said.

About 300 students are learning the art of dance at the studio.

"When she started, she had 25 dancers," Via said of Milam.

The staff has grown to include 11 teachers.

The youngest students, the tots, range from 2 to 5 years old, and adult students also take dance at the studio. Classes include ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical/contemporary, pointe, hip-hop, modern, primary dance, social dance and Zumba.

Milam, who grew up in a business family  Nacol's Jewelry  began teaching at age 16 for Lucille Doran at the Lucille Doran School of Dance in Wichita Falls. She then studied dance at Texas Christian University for a year and studied independently while teaching in Virginia, Louisiana, Maryland, California and Texas.

Milam opened Dance, Etc. in Fort Worth in 1986 and the Wichita Falls studio in 1996. She ran both studios for seven years, splitting time between Wichita Falls and Fort Worth until 2003, when she sold her Fort Worth studio.

Admission is free to Saturday's recital.
USA Today Network Archives photo The Eastside Interdenominational Ministers Alliance will sponsor a community picnic with hot dogs, hamburgers and neighborhood fun from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday in Spudder Park.

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Beverly Drive United Methodist Church, 813 N. Beverly: An Emmaus background training session will be from 10 a.m. to noon June 11. The youth group will serve lunch as a fundraiser June 12. The United Methodist Women will meet at 6 p.m. June 14. Members will lead services at Faith Mission at 7:30 p.m. June 20.

Eastside Interdenominational Ministers Alliance: The alliance will sponsor a community picnic from 8 a.m. to noon June 11 in Spudder Park. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and drinks will be served, and ministers from alliance member churches will be on hand to help with the fun. Call the Rev. Clarence Hightower, alliance president, at 782-7328 for information.

Fain Presbyterian Church, 2201 Speedway: June 12 will be Mission Kids Sunday, when members will collect nonperishable food and toiletries.

Faith Baptist Church, 3001 Southwest Parkway: The FaithKidZ musical Bible camp will be from noon to 5:30 p.m. July 11-15. Children who have completed kindergarten through fifth grade will engage in Bible activities while preparing a musical presentation. Register at the church website or call 692-4220.

Faith Village Church of Christ, 4100 McNiel: "Monsters  Don't Be Afraid!" vacation Bible school will be from 6-8 p.m. June 19-22, with classes for ages 2 through adult.

First Christian Church, 3701 Taft Blvd.: Upcoming FCC Goes to the Movies presentations will include the original "Star Wars" at 7 p.m. June 11 and "Up" at 3 p.m. June 16 and 7 p.m. June 18. The Young Disciples group will have a swim party 1-4 p.m. July 12 at 5104 Navajo Trail. Upcoming ministry meetings include evangelism at 6 p.m. June 14 and education at 6 p.m. June 21. Call 692-2282 for child care during either meeting.

First Christian Church of Iowa Park, 210 E. Cash St.: On July 12, the church board will meet at 9:30 a.m. and a potluck lunch will be served after the morning service.

First United Methodist Church, 909 10th: Music and Arts Camp for children who have completed kindergarten through sixth grade will be 9 a.m. to noon June 13-17. Cost is $30. The Adventures in Missions group, for children who have completed third through fifth grade, will visit the Wichita County Humane Society and play at Jump for Joy from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 21. Cost is $7 per child. The second annual Summer Block Party will be 6-8:30 p.m. June 23 in the church park, with food and family fun.

Floral Heights United Methodist Church, 2214 10th: A potluck farewell dinner will be at noon June 12. Meetings June 13 will include the senior adult council at noon and the family ministry team at 6 p.m. The children's mission staycation will be 6-8 p.m. June 17 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 18.

Friberg-Cooper United Methodist Church, 5511 Old Friberg Church Road: Church members will serve the meal at Faith Mission June 16. Movie night will be at 6:30 p.m. June 17; bring snacks and a friend.

Grace Church, 5214 Stone Lake: "Fam Jam" family vacation Bible school will be 6-8 p.m. June 13-15.

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 4605 Cypress: Meetings June 13 include the outreach committee at 5:15 p.m. and the church council at 6:30 p.m. The men's Bible study, "Theology on Tap," will be at 7 p.m. June 14 at Bricktown Brewery in Sikes Senter. The Bible class will resume at 9 a.m. June 16. Pairs & Spares will have a cookout at 6 p.m. June 18.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 1501 Ninth St.: Family vacation Bible school will be June 12-16 for children in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and their parents. Sign up by calling 723-5288.

Saint John Baptist Church, 1009 Flood: Youth Day will be celebrated during the 11 a.m. service June 12, when the Rev. Kerry Thomas will be the speaker. Vacation Bible school will be 5:40-8 p.m. June 12-17. The theme is "Submerged  Finding the Truth below the Surface."

St. Paul Lutheran Church, 11th and Holliday: Vacation Bible school will be 6-8 p.m. June 12-16, with music, Bible stories, crafts and games. The men's Bible study group will meet at 9 a.m. June 13.

University United Methodist Church, 3405 Taft: Help is needed June 14 to put out flags in honor of Flag Day. Angel Wings members will collect and deliver snacks to Patsy's House at 9 a.m. June 18. Donations should not include any peanut products. Volunteers are needed to help prepare items for the Pumpkin Patch bazaar. No crafting experience is necessary.

Wesley United Methodist Church, 1526 Weeks: Members of the junior high group will attend camp in Bridgeport on June 13-16.
Bees working in a hive owned by Kerry Roach, justice of the Federal Courthouse in Wichita Falls. Roach took up beekeeping about eight years ago.

SHARE photos by TORIN HALSEY/TIMES RECORD NEWS Federal Magistrate Kerry Roach enjoys beekeeping in his spare time. He takes care of nine colonies of bees with about 70,000 bees each. TORIN HALSEY/TIMES RECORD NEWS Federal Magistrate Kerry Roach inspects one of the hives he cares for on his property. The bees pollinate and search for nectar in a 3-mile radius from their colony. TORIN HALSEY/TIMES RECORD NEWS Worker bees construct the honeycomb attached to a wooden frame in a hive cared for by Kerry Roach. Roach is also the Federal Magistrate for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas.

By Christopher Collins of the Times Record News

Federal magistrate judge Robert "Kerry" Roach will retire from his judicial post later this month, but he still will preside over the Queen and her court.

On Wednesday afternoon, the part-time judge and former attorney donned a beekeeper's jacket, latched on a floppy veil and set fire to a handful of torn newspaper stuffed into a metal canister. He mashed on an accordionlike button to produce a puff of smoke before marching toward the back fence of his south Wichita Falls home.

"Now we're in their arena," Roach said, the sun beating down overhead, the din of buzzing insects growing louder as he pried open the top level of a man-made beehive.

Numbering in the thousands, bees dribbled out from their hidy-holes to become a cloud.

Unflappable, Roach continued his inspection of the hive, a process by which the structure is dismantled and reassembled piece by piece to evaluate the health of the colony. The inspection is of critical importance for the bees and beekeeper, Roach said.

And in that respect, the duties of a beekeeper aren't a whole lot different from those of a judge. Both human and bee communities work best when each member helps the other, and also when someone is charged with maintaining order, Roach said.

"That colony is a society, and we live in a society. Things work in our society because we recognize, obey and accept certain laws," he said. "I suppose now I'll just magistrate a different group of society."

The 73-year-old magistrate judge hasn't always been a beekeeper.

Roach, a man of formidable height, a booming voice and expressive features, worked in the late 1960s as a construction litigator in Fort Worth. A job opportunity sent him to Wichita Falls on a "blustery, cold, cold winter day," and weather not withstanding, he stuck around.

In 1980, Roach was appointed to serve as magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas, located in downtown Wichita Falls. He retired from practicing law in 2009 but continued to work part-time in his judicial capacity.

The bees began buzzing in Roach's head after he received a gag gift for Christmas in 2008: "Beekeeping for Dummies." The judge put the book "on a shelf far, far away," but eventually ran out of other reading material. When Roach finally did pick it up, he was hooked, he said.

Soon after, Roach and his wife Sharon drove to Texarkana to pick up two colonized beehives, though at that point Sharon was not yet sold on the idea of keeping bees at home. On Wednesday, Roach emulated his wife's initial reaction with an extended, high-pitched screech.

"She was not happy with being in the same car with unhappy bees," he said.

But eventually they both grew accustomed to sharing their property with honeybees, and the number of hives in their backyard grew from two to nine. The Italian honeybees Roach cultivates generally are nonaggressive and can produce 50 to 100 pounds of honey per hive.

The product is marketed as kerrysbees honey and sells for $7 a pound.

Roach, who also is the president of the Red River Valley Beekeepers Association, said he worries about the future of the honeybee here and abroad. He identified three "vectors" that pose the greatest risk to the population: pests, pesticides and genetics.

In the last 10 years, bees have dying at an "unprecedented rate," bringing about an estimated $2 billion loss in domesticated honeybee production in the United States, according to an article published in Mother Jones magazine. The Varroa mite, along with the use of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, are thought to be two of the major factors in the mass die-offs.

Genetics  specifically those regarding how well bees tolerate mites and insecticides  also play a role, Roach said.

"About 30 percent of the food you like to eat (is pollinated by) bees," he said. " ... We have to pay attention to the problem. It doesn't do any good to sit and piss and moan."

One way the public can help bee numbers rebound is by using insecticides sparingly and by being aware of "the necessity of balance," Roach said. Fingers crossed, the judge hopes the pollinators will perk back up.

Until then, he'll continue collecting heaps of homemade honey from his own backyard.

"I can't play golf seven days a week," he said.

Roach officially trades his judge's robe for a beekeeper suit June 23.
Contributed graphic

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By John Ingle of the Times Record News

The U.S. House of Representative vote Thursday night to set up a control board to handle the finances and restructuring of debt for Puerto Rico was to avoid an all-out bailout.

District 13 Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, said Friday morning he would not have supported a bailout for the U.S. territory that would involve taxpayers' dollars. The measure passed by the House on Thursday is similar to what Congress did in 1995 when it created a financial control board to lift Washington, D.C., out of its fiscal woes, and was done before that for New York, Philadelphia and other cities facing financial crisis.

The board would be selected by top leaders in Congress including Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, both of whom will choose two appointees, one each by the House and Senate Minority leaders Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid, and the seventh by President Barack Obama.

The House passed the legislation 297-127 including 158 Democrats and 139 Republicans voting in favor of H.R. 5278, while 24 Democrats voted against it along with 103 Republicans. The bill now goes to the Senate where Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said it will likely adopt the House version.

Thornberry said having a board handle the fiscal responsibilities of Puerto Rico, with a population of more than 3 million, could avert harmful effects on the mainland from fiscal and health fronts. As it is now, Puerto Rico will default on a $2 billion debt payment on July 1 if no payment is made.

"If things deteriorate and they default on these big bond payments, then, No. 1, there will be a lot of pressure to have some sort of bailout," he said. "Secondly, if people can't work and there's not money to feed them, as I say, everybody in Puerto Rico is a citizen of the United States and can come here to the mainland. So you could see large numbers of people fleeing the economic chaos that would result from the economy just collapsing."

Puerto Ricans fleeing the island hoping for a better opportunity also means the possibility of more carriers of the Zika virus coming to the mainland. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were about 1,260 reported locally acquired cases of virus as of Wednesday.

Thornberry said lobbyists for the bondholders attempted to curb the legislation, but were unsuccessful. Years of irresponsible spending, little effort to grow the economy and bloated, unsustainable government benefits and pensions led to the crisis.

"It ought to be a warning to all of us that you can go down that path by making irresponsible fiscal decisions," he said.

Thornberry said there is some concern the Senate might not be able to act on the legislation before July 1 because it is in the midst of working on its military spending bill.
File photo English language learners historically have one of the lowest graduation rates of any student group and are at risk of dropping out if they do not receive adequate bilingual education.

By Christopher Collins of the Times Record News

Editor's note: This is the first installment of the Times Record News occasional series, Equity in Education. The series examines disparities in funding, quality of instruction and other arenas at campuses in the Wichita Falls Independent School District.

English-language learners  students whose primary language spoken at home is not English  sometimes do not receive the full benefit of bilingual education funds in Wichita Falls Independent School District elementary schools.

A Times Record News investigation revealed that in the 2014-15 school year, WFISD elementary schools with the highest numbers of English-language learners did not receive as much bilingual support as schools with fewer students in that classification. It also showed that while the number of English-language learners has steadily increased in recent years, the district is spending significantly less overall on bilingual funding.

Case in point: Zundy Elementary, which in 2014-15 had the highest number of students classified as English-language learners in the school district, was allocated about $32,000 for bilingual programs. By contrast, Southern Hills Elementary received $237,000 but had fewer students in need of bilingual programs in that year.

Even Crockett Elementary, which has two-thirds fewer English-language learners than Zundy, received about $94,000 for its bilingual programs, almost three times Zundy's budget.

Scotland Park Elementary, with the second highest number of English-language learners in the school district, was allocated only $22,000 for bilingual education. Neither Scotland Park nor Zundy had a bilingual teacher on staff in 2014-15, school district data shows.

Students classified by school districts as being English-language learners are already at risk because of the socioeconomic and cultural background they come from, and without effective bilingual education programs, they also are in danger of dropping out of school, said Maria Arreguin-Anderson, president of the Texas Association for Bilingual Education.

"The resources (English-language learners) have access to are certainly very, very different depending on the campus and the location  but they should be proportionate," Arreguin-Anderson said. "Some students, when they enroll, and they come from another country, they're tasked that year with learning the language and the academics. But after two or three years of instruction in a language they do not understand, they gradually begin to become discouraged."

Deborah Palmer, the bilingual/bicultural program coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin, referred to discrepancies in bilingual spending at WFISD as "fairly drastic inequities."

"If these funds are not going where they should, it is a serious issue," Palmer said.

In emailed responses for this story, the WFISD said the socioeconomic status of students and the grades they attend are factors in determining allocations for bilingual programs. The district also said student mobility between campuses and school districts may have played a role in the apparent inequity.

Spokeswoman Ashley Thomas wrote that the district spent $700,000 more on bilingual programs than the TEA required it to and has passed all "compliance testing" for the 2014-15 year. Thomas did not address specific funding discrepancies among WFISD campuses.

MORE NEED, LESS MONEY

Southern Hills Elementary's $236,000 budget for bilingual programs is the highest of any campus in the school district. It received more than Zundy, Scotland Park and Lamar elementary campuses, though those schools had a higher percentage of students classified as English-language learners, data shows.

Funding for bilingual programs fluctuates wildly between WFISD elementary schools, and allocations do not appear to be based on the number of English-language learners at the campuses or what percentage of the student population they make up.

Bilingual programs for English-language learners are mandated by the TEA, the regulatory agency overseeing Texas public schools. The agency's rules require that school districts with more than 20 students who speak the same language in the same grade be provided with some type of bilingual education.

"Experience has shown that public school classes in which instruction is given only in English are often inadequate for the education of (ELL) students," said Lauren Callahan, a TEA spokeswoman. "The mastery of basic English language skills is a prerequisite for effective participation in the state's educational program. Bilingual education and special language programs can meet the needs of those students and facilitate their integration into the regular school curriculum."

The agency defines an English-language learner as a person who is learning English and who has a different native language. In Texas, most English-language learners are Hispanic and of Mexican descent.

Public school districts are required to annually submit to the TEA the number of English-language learners at each campus and how much is spent by the district for bilingual education at those campuses. The Times Record News analyzed data submitted by WFISD, finding that schools with the highest numbers of ELLs did not receive the most bilingual funding in 2014-15, and also that bilingual funding for some schools decreased even as the number of English-language learners increased.

From 2013-14 to 2014-15, Scotland Park Elementary's large English-language learner population rose by about 10 percent. Logically, funding for bilingual programs would have been increased by the same percentage  instead, the school's bilingual budget was slashed from $180,000 to $22,000.

The decrease can be partly explained by the loss of 2.5 bilingual instructors at the campus from one year to the next, but it's not clear if the teachers resigned, were fired, or moved elsewhere in the district. It's unknown why they weren't replaced.

And while some WFISD campuses do not appear to receive a proportional share of funding for bilingual education, others are minimally funded or not funded at all, despite having a small number of English-language learners, data shows.

In 2014-15, Fain Elementary received no bilingual funding but had five English-language learners enrolled. Fowler Elementary was not allocated any funding for its 11 ELLs.

Greta Benavides, WFISD's foreign language and ELL coordinator, wrote in an email to the Times Record News that English-language learners have "different needs and require different levels of intervention and support."

Schools such as Fain or Fowler may share a roving bilingual instructor, as their small ELL populations don't necessarily require a dedicated, on-site teacher, Benavides wrote.

"Some campuses have higher-needs students than others, and these include their ELLs," she wrote.

Benavides acknowledged difficulty in staffing classrooms for some English-language learners, calling it "a challenge for all school districts in the country."

To the question of why bilingual dollars do not appear to be spent proportionately with the number of English-language learners at some campuses, Benavides wrote that the district's funding decisions could be affected by number of students at the campus, the languages they speak, the socioeconomic status of specific campuses and which grades those campuses teach.

"Numbers will always drive our allotment of funds as a first criteria, but grades, languages and language proficiency will impact the decision too," she wrote.

Still, the district did not specifically address the funding discrepancies at its campuses. It remains unclear why some schools receive so much and some receive so little.

INEQUITY GROWS IN FUNDING SHORTFALL

Funding for the WFISD's bilingual programs has decreased by half since its peak of $2.1 million in the 2012-13 school year. By 2014-15, overall district funding had fallen to $1.2 million, despite a slight increase in students classified as English-language learners.

In that time, the number of English-language learners enrolled in WFISD schools ticked up from 896 in 2013-14 to 914 in 2014-15. Some experts said the district's drop in overall funding likely can be traced back to the state level, where funding weights created in the 1980s haven't kept pace with current student needs.

The state of Texas established the funding weight  the percentage of money paid by the state to individual districts on a per-student basis  in 1984, setting the weight for English-language learners at a 0.10 multiplier. Schools may get an additional allotment for students who are English-language learners and also are economically disadvantaged.

Bilingual education advocates have called for the English-language learner funding weight to be increased to meet the growing demand for programs. Though the number of English-language learners has increased from 200,000 to almost 1 million since 1984, the funding weight has not been increased in that time.

"The population keeps growing and the amount of money there to support them has not grown. Now with higher standards in place, it takes more training and curriculum materials," said Delia Pompa, a former TEA bilingual programs supervisor and current senior fellow of the Migration Policy Institute. "You need the kind of supports in place that only money can pay for."

Research also has shown the state's funding-by-weight system may be inherently flawed because it's prone to manipulation at the school district level.

In a scathing report released this year, the Texas Public Policy Foundation reviewed the state of Texas' public school funding system, finding it to be inequitable both between school districts and between campuses within the same school district.

"District adjustments and student weights  beneficial in theory  have led to inequity in practice because they provide the basis for political gamesmanship," the report reads. "In practice, the weights are outdated, inefficient and more influenced by political strategy than student needs. If this were not the case, if the primary concern were student equity, then all students in the same program (such as bilingual education) would receive the same allotment regardless where they live."

Last year, the Texas Supreme Court heard arguments in Clint Independent School District v. Sonia Herrera Marquez et al., in which parents alleged the West Texas district was not funding its campuses equitably.

A more affluent high school in the district was allocated $10,000 per student by the Clint ISD, while two high schools in less well-to-do areas received significantly less, the plaintiffs charged. But after bringing the case to Texas' highest court, it was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction  justices told plaintiffs they'd have to seek relief through the school district before filing suit.

Similar school funding lawsuits are being fought all over the nation, including in California, Kansas, Florida, New Mexico and South Carolina.

It's difficult to tell what exactly the $1.2 million in bilingual funding goes to in the WFISD.

Experts say it's generally the case that the highest cost is for certified teachers, but in 2014-15 the school district reported having only 5.4 bilingual/ESL teachers for its more than 900 English-language learners.

Other money could be spent for instructional materials in Spanish and English, tutors, equipment and computer software.

Schools across the state are struggling with less funding for bilingual education, but administrators have to be diligent in doling that money out fairly to campuses that need it the most, said David Hinojosa, national director of policy for the Intercultural Development Research Association in San Antonio.

"I think (low state funding) is certainly part of it. Districts sometimes do not have those opportunities because they don't have the resources available for it," Hinojosa said. "But that does not mean districts should not be attempting to institute bilingual programs with the highest fidelity for those students.

"It's not an excuse not to offer bilingual programs," he said.

CAUSE AND EFFECT

Fewer than 20 percent of English-language learners who graduate from WFISD high schools are ready for college in the subjects of English and math, data shows.

Only 14 percent of ELLs in the Class of 2014 were college-ready in English/language arts, compared to a district average 69 percent, and only 14 percent of graduating ELLs were ready for college-level math work, compared to the district average of 66 percent.

There were zero English-language learners in that graduating class who were deemed college-ready in both subjects.

WFISD English-language learners also consistently had lower passing rates when compared to scores attributed to non-ELL students in the district, TEA data shows. ELL students did especially poorly in fifth grade STAAR science testing, where they had a passing rate of 22 percent, and in the seventh grade writing test, which showed a 15 percent passing rate.

The only subject passed by a majority of English-language learners in all grades was mathematics. Tests in all other subjects  reading, writing, science and social studies  were failed by a majority WFISD's bilingual students.

The Times Record News analysis revealed a direct correlation between funding for bilingual programs and STAAR test scores in the 2014-15 school year in the WFISD.

Zundy Elementary, which received a disproportionately small funding allotment for its large bilingual population, did not breach a 50 percent passing rate in any testing subject. English-language learners at highest-funded Southern Hills Elementary, however, performed markedly better in every subject, failing only the fourth grade reading exam.

Lamar Elementary, which received more bilingual funding than Zundy but less than Southern Hills, had STAAR scores in the middle of the two for its English-language learners. Despite failing two testing subjects, ELL students at Lamar still performed better than Zundy in every state test they participated in.

It may already be too late for some of the English-language learners who haven't received an adequate bilingual education in the WFISD, said Arreguin-Anderson, the Texas Association of Bilingual Education director. A lag in education for those students becomes apparent in middle school and puts English-language learners at risk of dropping out.

"By the time the school year ends, we realize the students have acquired some language skills but they're behind academically," she said. "They start to just be absent, even though they're in the classroom. Later they choose to drop out. It's no surprise that many minority students do not even consider college as a possibility and struggle with high school graduation."

The difficulty of learning in a foreign language can be compounded by the fact that many English-language learners have more challenging home lives than their English-speaking peers, Arreguin-Anderson said. Because their parents do not speak English, it's difficult to get help with homework outside of school.

Some parents of English-language learners are not in the country legally, and elementary students must struggle with the notion that their mother, father or other family members could be deported.

"They may be in a difficult situation academically and linguistically, and now you don't know if your entire family will be there tomorrow for dinner," Arreguin-Anderson said. "You don't know if you'll have to move to a different location. So for children whose lives are always threatened by different factors, and we expect them to also exceed academically, it's very difficult."

English-language learners who graduate from high school have a competitive edge in the job market, especially in Texas, where bilingualism is a sought-after trait in applicants. Research gathered in 2012 by the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies found Latinos who spoke Spanish and English made an average of $15,000 more than Latinos who spoke English only.

"As they become a bigger part of our population, we need to make sure they're prepared just like everybody else is prepared," said Pompa, the senior fellow at the National Migration Policy Institute. "The population is growing all over the country. We've got more and better research on how to teach these children, so there's not any excuse for not teaching these students well."

RELATED: View documents related to WFISD's elementary schools' budgets and academic indicators below
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WASHINGTON  Republicans can't have it both ways: If you say you intend to cast your ballot for Donald Trump, that's an endorsement. You can be for him or against him, but not both.

So don't even try to take the untenable position that Rep. Bill Flores of Texas, chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee, tried to outline. "I will vote for him," Flores said, "but in terms of getting my endorsement, I don't endorse people that bash a judge based on his ethnic heritage."

You just did, congressman.

Equally absurd, and even more cynical, is what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is doing: encouraging Trump to pretend to be something he is not. "Using a prepared text last night and not attacking any other Americans was a good start," McConnell said, referring to Trump's teleprompter-assisted speech Tuesday evening. "I think it's still time for him to act like a presidential candidate should be acting. So I haven't given up hope."

Face reality, Senator. The old saying about putting lipstick on a pig comes to mind.

Why are Republicans gasping as if Trump's racist screed about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit against Trump University, came as a complete surprise? You mean they're just noticing Trump's bigotry?

Have McConnell and the rest forgotten that Trump launched his campaign a year ago with a vicious attack on Mexican immigrants? "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best," he declared. "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

Those were practically the first words out of candidate Trump's mouth. Then, in due course, came his call to bar all foreign Muslims from entering the country  religious bigotry to go along with the ethnic-racial kind. Anyone paying attention must notice how Trump habitually speaks of "the Hispanics" and "the African-Americans" as if we were foreign and unknowable, the way a 19th-century British colonialist might have held forth about "the Malays." Now, all of a sudden, Republicans are shocked and outraged?

It is ridiculous for Trump supporters to hope he will be able to maintain a facade of dignity and decorum until Election Day  or even that he will try to do so. First of all, he's not very good at it. His "on-message" performance Tuesday was wooden and, frankly, boring. Scripted Trump is more likely to put the world to sleep than set it on fire.

Moreover, Trump clearly believes his success thus far has come largely because he is so unlike traditional politicians. "Politicians are so politically correct anymore, they can't breathe," Trump told The New York Times on Tuesday, hours before his low-key speech. "The people are tired of this political correctness when things are said that are totally fine. It is out of control. It is gridlock with their mouths."

So how long does anyone think Trump will be able to keep his own big mouth gridlocked?

I realize that Republican officials are in an impossible position. Many of them are appalled by Trump. Yet they are also beholden to a GOP base that made Trump its clear choice in the primaries. Only a few have dared to say publicly that they simply cannot vote for this man as president  so far. It seems inevitable that there will be more.

Trump told Time magazine Wednesday that he was "disappointed and surprised" at Republican criticism over the Curiel episode. "I had just won more votes than anyone in the history of the party, so I was a little bit surprised when they said that. I didn't think it was necessary. But you know, they have to say what they have to say. I'm a big boy. They have to say what they have to say."

That does not sound like a man who is chastened. That does not sound like a man who is willing to get with the program.

"At least he's not Hillary Clinton," goes the Republican refrain. That is certainly true. Strip away the party labels, and you have one candidate who objectively is qualified to be president and one who manifestly is not. You have one candidate with a progressive agenda and one with a personal agenda.

At the end of the GOP convention, one presumes, balloons and confetti will rain down from the rafters. Republican leaders can stand and cheer the nomination of Donald Trump  or they can stay home and denounce it as the travesty it is. They can't do both.

Eugene Robinson's email address is eugenerobinson@washpost.com.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

The World Bank (WB) Regional Director for the South Caucasus Mercy Tembon will arrive in Azerbaijan on June 13, the WB Baku office told Trend June 11.

During her visit, Tembon will hold a number of meetings with representatives of the Azerbaijani government, and will take part in a seminar for employees of the WB Baku office.

Tembon's visit will last until June 15.

She has been the WB regional director for the South Caucasus since October 1, 2015.

Tembon joined the WB in 2000 as an education specialist in the Human Development Department in the Africa Region. She has held various positions, including an extended acting country director post for Tanzania and her most recent assignment being country manager for Burkina Faso.

Azerbaijan joined the WB in 1992.
BALLSTON SPA  A former Circus Cafe employee found guilty of stabbing a coworker during dinner service two years ago was sentenced in absentia Friday to 20 years in state prison.

David Hernandez, also known as David Hernandez Rodriquez, was also given five years of post-release supervision and a one-year jail sentence on a charge of criminal possession of a weapon, according to the Saratoga County District Attorney's office.
MILTON  A Saratoga County man faces a DWI charge after crashing his motorcycle Friday night, the Saratoga County Sheriff''s Office said in a statement.

Michael Szot, 70, of Rock City Falls, was traveling westbound on his motorcycle on State Route 29 at Old Route 29 around 9:30 p.m. when he failed to negotiate a curve in the road, according to the sheriff's office. He then crossed the fog line and onto the gravel shoulder, where he lost control of the motorcycle and crashed. A 911 call alerted authorities about the single vehicle collision.

Szot was taken by ambulance to Albany Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition, authorities said. He was issued citations for failing to maintain lane and driving while intoxicated, the sheriff's office said.

The incident remains under investigation and additional charges are possible. The Sheriff's Office was assisted at the scene by members of the Rock City Falls Fire Department, the Community EMS Corps, Galway EMS and the New York State Police.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  Drivers headed through Saratoga Springs on Saturday should expect significant delays and road closures near and along the city's main thoroughfares.

The city's Flag Day Parade is scheduled to begin at noon, starting on North Broadway and finishing around 2 p.m. at Congress Park. The staging area for parade participants will be on North Broadway and side streets, including Rock, North Circular, First and Second streets.

Broadway will be closed to all traffic from Route 50 to Circular Street. Drivers should expect significant delays during the parade at the intersection of Broadway, Route 50 and Van Dam Street.

A full list of street closures is below:

 North Broadway closed from Arterial Route 50 to East Ave./ Third St. (The East Ave./Third St. intersection will be open to eastbound/westbound traffic however no turns onto North Broadway will be allowed).

 CV Whitney Highway/Arterial Route 50 (southbound) will be reduced to one lane and traffic will be diverted onto Van Dam St. when there are division breaks in the parade.

 Van Dam St. (eastbound) will be open to allow traffic to proceed to the CV Whitney Highway/Arterial Route 50 when there are division breaks in the parade. (No turns onto Broadway will be allowed).

 Ellsworth Jones Place at Broadway, Walton St. at Broadway, Division St. from Broadway to Woodlawn Ave., Spring St. from Broadway to Putnam St., and Congress Ave. from Broadway to Hamilton St. will be closed to all traffic.

 Lake Avenue at Broadway-Traffic will only be allowed to travel westbound when there are division breaks in the parade. Otherwise, all traffic will be stopped while the parade is in progress. (No turns onto Broadway will be allowed.)

 Church Street at Broadway-Traffic will only be allowed to travel eastbound when there are division breaks in the parade. Otherwise, all traffic will be stopped while the parade is in progress. (No turns onto Broadway will be allowed.)

 Washington St. from Broadway to Federal St. will be closed to all traffic. Eastbound traffic will be sent to Federal St.

 Broadway from Circular St. to Congress Ave. will be closed to all traffic. Northbound traffic will be diverted to Circular St.

 Bus stops along Broadway (including the stop in front of Congress Park) will NOT be accessible during the parade.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 10

By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) doesn't abandon crediting of the project on expansion of gas and condensate output at Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field, Nariman Mannapbekov, ADB country director in Azerbaijan, told Trend June 10.

"Discussions and due diligence are ongoing regarding possible support from ADB for the Shah Deniz Stage II gas field expansion," Mannapbekov said.

He said that the potential for direct loans and partial credit guarantees for the benefit of third party commercial lenders are being discussed.

According to the ADB's investment plan on the second stage of the Shah Deniz field's development, posted on the bank's website, it is proposed to allocate $1,505 billion for the project.

The contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field was signed on June 4, 1996. The field's reserve is estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.

The shareholders in the contract are: BP, operator (28.8 percent), AzSD (10 percent), SGC Upstream (6.7 percent), Petronas (15.5 percent), Lukoil (10 percent), NIOC (10 percent) and TPAO (19 percent).

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
Holycross based retired solicitor Chris Kavanagh launched his third book 'Memoirs of a Small Town Solicitor' in The Source Library recently, with Judge Gerard O'Brien performing the launch.

The book followed on the heels of The Yellow Diamond and A Fortune in Diamonds and is the latest publication from the Sue Ryder resident who practiced as a solicitor in Zimbabwe for 47 years.

However, while the book contains many stories and anecdotes of a legal nature, it also deals with his experiences as a mountaineer, his service as a Commissioned Officer in the Rhodesian Armed Forces, a part-time policeman, an actor, a matchmaker, an undertaken, his encounters with wild animals and his activities with the Rotary Club - many Rotarians were present for the launch of the publication which was well received by all those in attendance.

The book also describes Chris' first marriage to Hildegard in Switzerland and his second marriage to Wendy in Cape Town prior to their move to Ireland in 2006 - home to many of Chris' ancestors. It is a beautifully crafted publication, well written, easy to read and allows the reader a chance to get to know the central character, his fears, his worries, his joys and his experiences. He offers worthwhile commentary on many social issues and an insight into many events occurrences, practically unheard of in these parts. And, there is a very easy conversational type flow to the book which is very pleasing to the reader.

Having been incarcerated in an Zimbabwe prison for a time, Chris has many very interesting stories to tell and he does just that in his book which is lavishly illustrated with colour photographs. The incarceration occurred in 2002 when the Presidential election was being held. He, along with thousands of others were removed from the polling stations on suspicion of drawing more than one ballot paper - a ploy to ensure that they never got to vote. Chris was housed in a cell meant for six people which actually contained 38, for four days until Robert Mugabe had won the election.

He tells of the people housed in the cell with him and how he felt sure disease would ravage the inhabitants before their release. He returned home from prison, showered for an hour, burned all his clothes to kiil the infections and noticed how his legs had received multiple bites all over from insects.

Chris tells of his time as a police officer when a call came through to the station to say that a riot was taking place in a beerhall. He rushed to grab the one police truck only to discover that it had been nabbed by another officer who told him that she was going to investigate a strange light in the east.

The last time I recall anyone going to investigate a strange light in the east, there were three wise men and a virgin involved. There are none of those in this police station. I need the keys of the Isuzu now, he told the officer before making off to quell the riot.

Chris recalls how he was losing clients as a solicitor by having to arrest them as a member of the police - naturally he was not allowed to act as prosecutor and defence attorney at the same time, but the scenario just illustrates how crazy the situation was in Zimbabwe at the time.

'Memoirs of a Small Town Solicitor' recalls events filled with humour, terror, sadness and joy. This self published book, which costs 15 is a compelling read and really draws the reader into the life of the author. The book is available from Chris himself at the Sue Ryder Homes in Holycross village, just up from Holycross Abbey. For anyone who likes a good tale it is well worth a read.
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[June 10, 2016] Palmera Communications Group, Eutelsat Americas and Newcom Partner to Provide Emergency Humanitarian Satcoms in Ecuador

Palmera Communications Group (PCG), a US provider of rapid-reaction communications solutions to disaster, war zone and crisis areas, announced the successful deployment of emergency communications using capacity on Eutelsat (News - Alert) Communications' (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) EUTELSAT 115 West B satellite to facilitate the relief effort in the earthquake zone in Ecuador. NewCom International, a SpeedCast (News - Alert) Group company that specializes in satellite communications for Latin America, facilitated PCG's emergency communications systems through its teleport in Lima, Peru. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160610005797/en/ Palmera Communications VSAT in Pedernales, Ecuador. (Photo: Business Wire) Shortly after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador's central coast on 16 April, PCG quickly sent a team and VSAT earth station to Manta, Ecuador, in coordination with the Ecuadoran Air Force. The PCG team and its donated communications equipment flew from California to Manta, Ecuador, on a Citation CJ4 business jet provided courtesy of Estrella Aviation in Phoenix, Arizona. From Manta, PCG traveled overland with the Ecuadoran Air Force to Pedernales, where PCG installed and activated a 1.2-meter VSAT system using an iDirect (News - Alert) platform, on the EUTELSAT 115 West B satellite. The VSAT is located at the Air Operations Control Center, from which the Ecuadoran Air Force coordinates all earthquake relief operations in the area. Eutelsat Americas' supply of capacity for dedicated Internet bandwidth is facilitating the Ecuadoran Air Force's relief coordination and communications for at least three mnths.



"It was our honor and privilege to provide this necessary communications equipment and service to the Ecuadoran Air Force as they work tirelessly to provide urgent relief to those affected most by this devastating earthquake," said Mike Labriola, founder of PCG. "My personal connection to Ecuador began in my teens, when I spent a summer in Cuenca. I will never forget the genuine kindness and generosity of the Ecuadoran people." "By enabling communications networks to be immediately restored, satellites are literally a vital technology in the event of natural disasters. We didn't think twice about making satellite capacity available to Palmera for relief operations in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Ecuador," said Patricio Northland, CEO of Eutelsat Americas.

"Our entire team was very pleased to be able to help Ecuador during these hard times," notes NewCom CEO Jaime Dickinson. "This project was close to our hearts because I lived in Ecuador during my teenage years and have many friends there who were affected. Knowing that we were able to facilitate PCG's rapid-response emergency communications solution with our Peru teleport and technology was very important to us." About Palmera Communications Group Palmera Communications Group (PCG) specializes in the rapid deployment of satellite and wireless communications solutions to government and enterprise customers in remote, crisis and disaster areas, whether natural or man-made, anywhere in the world. PCG was founded and is managed by the same experienced team behind TigrisNet (www.tigrisnet.net), Iraq's premiere wireless and satellite communications provider since 2003. PCG and TigrisNet were modeled after a highly successful communications project conceived and developed by the same team during and after the war in Kosovo. That project grew to become Kosovo's premier communications company. For more about PCG please visit www.palmeracomms.com About NewCom International NewCom International, a SpeedCast Group Company, is a global satellite and terrestrial communications provider and engineering firm headquartered in Miami, Florida, with world-class teleports in Miami and Lima, Peru, and offices in Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Africa. We specialize in the design, implementation, operation and management of critical integrated voice, video, data, content and security solutions for government agencies, financial institutions, oil and gas, mining companies, the maritime industry, ISPs, broadcasters and other business sectors. NewCom's vast services portfolio includes turnkey education, telemedicine, public safety, and disaster recovery solutions for rural government projects, high capacity/low cost satellite solutions for the mining, oil and gas sectors, cellular backhaul solutions, content distribution solutions, SCADA, and ATM primary and contingency solutions. For more information, please visit: www.newcominternational.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160610005797/en/

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'A true blessing:' Meet the family behind the viral photo from UK's scrimmage

Micheal McGuire didn't know his photo was going to go viral after he rushed to meet his family at the Blue-White Scrimmage in Pikeville on Saturday.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:

The recent terrorist attacks in Kazakhstan's Aktobe were plotted by adherents to Salafism, a movement within Sunni Islam, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at a meeting of the country's Security Council, TASS news agency reported.



"We already know that it was a terrorist raid by a group of followers of the non-traditional religious movement of Salafism," Nazarbayev said, calling attacks by terrorists "senseless and cruel".

"Ensuring in the republic freedom of religion, we at the same time intend to give a resolute rebuff to all who, hiding behind religious slogans, will shatter the situation in the country," he said.

Nazarbayev instructed the government to develop, within a period of two months, a package of legislative initiatives in the sphere of counteraction to terrorism and extremism, turnover, keeping and sale of weapons, in the sphere of regulation of migration and religious associations.

"Tranquility and stability in our country are the basic conditions for the development of our state and the achievement of all our goals," he said.

It was reported earlier that a group of religious radicals attacked two gun stores and a military garrison in Aktobe on June 5. Seven people, including three servicemen and four civilians, were killed in the attack.

Security forces killed 13 and detained nine attackers the same day, and six others were declared wanted. Kazakh special services announced the killing of five other extremists June 10.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 11

By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:

Ashgabat hosted business talks with the delegation of the UK's leading companies specialized in the field of oil and gas business, said the Turkmen Ministry of Oil and Gas in a message.

Issues related to the opportunities and forms of mutually beneficial cooperation with the enterprises of Turkmenistan's oil and gas industry was the main topic in discussions.

"Representatives of the companies emphasized their high-level interest in the establishment of partnerships in the promising Turkmen oil and gas market, presented their capabilities in the supply of new equipments and innovative technologies for the oil and gas industry, and the provision of services in this sphere," said the message.

The message also said Turkmenistan seeks for cooperation in the field of exploration, mining and processing of hydrocarbon resources, for the construction of gas processing facilities, major infrastructure projects to transport oil and gas.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 11

By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend:

The sixth meeting of the Turkmen-Afghan intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation is planned to be held June 15 in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, said the Turkmen government in a message June 11.

Cooperation in trade, oil & gas sector, the energy industry, transportation and communications, and agriculture are on the meeting's agenda.

Preparations for the Turkmen-Afghan intergovernmental commission's meeting have been recently discussed by the Turkmen Cabinet of Ministers with participation of the President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Addressing the meeting, Berdimuhamedov said his country consistently supports the provision of international assistance to the Afghan government, to help the effective integration of the neighboring country to regional and international economic processes.

Such large-scale projects as the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) railway prove that.

Turkmenistan is supplying electricity and liquefied gas at a discounted price to Afghanistan.

Turkmenistan is also building social facilities in Afghanistan, and assists in the training of the Afghan youth and specialists.
This week in storage (well, the week prior) found us in hot, humid, steamy, rainy, sweaty and wonderful Taipei for Computex 2016. All brutal combinations of heat and precipitation aside, Computex was yet another exciting affair for storage, even though the show overall felt a bit wilted this year. Perhaps my personal perception is due to a seemingly flat year in terms of whizbang product announcements on the PC side. It might be that CES Asia, which occurred in Shanghai a few weeks prior, stole some of the Computex thunder from the cloudy Taipei skies.

There was still plenty to gawk at whilst rudely blocking the aisle, such as the Adata DRAMless SSDs or its latest Tigershark SSDs. True to Chris Ramseyer's Computex predictions, several vendors uncorked 2 TB SSDs, including Micron's 3D NAND-powered 2100 series, the Patriot Ignite, and the Corsair Nuetron XTi. Micron unveiled its forthcoming high-performance Ballistix M.2 SSDs, and Areca also unveiled its new high-capacity Thunderbolt 3 products.

Intel also joined in with a 3D XPoint demo, and as usual, Intel's as-yet undefined type of memory impressed us with its speed. More details also emerged on the Kaby Lake/NVDIMM front, which will be one of the vehicles that speed 3D XPoint into the system.

Self Serving Survey Says Your SSD Is Going To Die And Take Your Data With It

Another week, another self-serving survey. Self-serving surveys are (unfortunately) becoming increasingly popular among the storage marketing folk, and the more panic-inducing the survey, the better.

The process is simple: A company typically commissions a survey that justifies some aspect of its business model, thus drawing attention to the relevance of its products or services. The company then sends out a culled portion of the responses, preferably something shocking, as a press release to the awaiting news world. The media regurgitates the data, usually with little to no fact checking, thus placing said company directly in the limelight. Advertising by way of survey, what wonders the world beholds.

The latest hot topic is a press release from Kroll Ontrack titled "Data Loss from SSD Technology Increases with Wider Adoption." My eyes instinctively narrow at the sight of the title, as it is akin to saying "The Sky Is Blue, and Other Assorted Painfully Obvious Statements of Fact." There is no perfect data storage device known to man, so data loss is a given. Naturally, there will be no data loss if no one uses the storage device, and of course, data loss from any storage medium will increase with more use.

The survey goes on to reveal that, of nearly 2,000 respondents, 38 percent had an SSD failure. Of the 38 percent that experienced a failure, two-thirds permanently lost the data stored on the SSD. This means that roughly 24 percent of the respondents to the survey had lost data on an SSD. Curiously, there is no mention of how many reported lost data due to an HDD.

Queue the end-of-the-SSD-world headlines as some rush to proclaim that SSDs are failing at spectacular rates and that users likely will not be able to retrieve the data. The first tip-off that the survey is somewhat skewed comes in the form of the 92 percent of respondents that use SSDs, which is far above the mix of normal users that have SSDs in their systems. (SSDs make up only 10 percent of brand new desktop PCs, for instance.)

If we take a second to dig into the single annotation on the survey, we see that the survey pool consists of 1,849 Kroll Ontrack data recovery customers. This is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, as data recovery customers have already experienced a failure and the resultant data recovery or loss.

In Kroll Ontrack's defense, it does note in the press release that the survey consisted of its own customers. Self-serving surveys can backfire though, as it is easy to misunderstand the context of a survey. For instance, if we consider that the respondents are all Kroll Ontrack customers, one might surmise (perhaps incorrectly) that Kroll Ontrack was unable to recover data from failed SSDs two-thirds of the time. This does not engender much faith; perhaps other companies are more successful.

In either case, it is important to note that the responses are not indicative of either the failure rate or recover-ability of SSDs as it pertains to the general population.

All storage devices suffer failures. There are significant hurdles to recovering data from SSDs, as there are with all forms of data storage. Fortunately, most SSD failures are in the SSD controller or logic and not a physical failure of the actual medium (NAND). This increases recover-ability. Clever data recovery vendors work with SSD manufacturers to understand the device, and thus recover the data.

HDDs (arguably) suffer a higher rate of physical damage to the actual storage medium (platters) due to head crashes. Head crashes consist of the heads colliding with the platter, usually due to shock or vibration. This literally scrapes away the data, which renders it unrecoverable (we are also scratching at this topic, as it would take several pages to explain SSD vs. HDD failures).

SSDs are nearly impervious to shock and vibration, and publicly released SSD failure rate data from vendors indicates that SSD failure rates hover in the tenths of one percent, whereas the HDD AFR (Annual Failure Rate) is usually in the 4 to 8 percent range. It is hard to accurately gauge the typical HDD failure rate due to a lack of industry disclosure, which alone speaks volumes.

SSDs are more reliable than HDDs, but all storage devices will fail, given enough time. All data will be lost eventually, and it does not matter where it is stored. As always, we should store data on several different storage devices, and at multiple locations, to mitigate risk.

Of course, these surveys are tightly controlled affairs; I have yet to see a company promote a "survey" that states it is irrelevant, or that its product/service is only marginally important.

This Week's Storage Tidbit

NVMe is coming soon to a network near you.

NVMe is best known for its use as a storage protocol designed specifically for non-volatile memory (such as flash) that reduces latency and system overhead while boosting performance. The new protocol has gained broad industry acceptance for DAS (Direct Attached Storage) implementations, meaning directly inside of the computer or server.

The obvious performance and efficiency gains from NVMe are wonderful inside the system, but it was only a matter of time before our engineering friends decided to bring NVMe out of the box. The new NVMe over Fabrics 1.0 specification allows the protocol, which typically communicates over the PCIe bus, to communicate over other interconnects (such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand and others).

PCIe can be used to connect servers, but it has length restrictions that limit applications, such as with the technique employed in the FSA 200 we recently evaluated. Expanding NVMe over the various networking options extends the range of shareable storage in datacenter applications and also provides much better performance than competing protocols.

Protocol perfection is not achieved when there is nothing left to add, but rather when there is nothing left to remove. NVMe revolutionized storage performance by peeling back the performance-inhibiting layers of storage abstraction, and extending the speedy protocol over the network promises to revolutionize the performance of shared storage, as well.

Paul Alcorn is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware, covering Storage. Follow him on Twitter and Google+.
European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc on Friday expressed the clear position that the European Commission does not intend to change the existing guidelines regarding the taxation of shipping activities

European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc on Friday expressed the clear position that the European Commission does not intend to change the existing guidelines regarding the taxation of shipping activities.

Bulc gave a press conference together with the presidency of the Union of Greek Shipowners.

"The Commission is aware of the improtance of tonnage tax for Greece and other EU member states and is not considering to change the guidelines on the issue," she underlined.

Bulc outlined the Commission's priorities in the shipping sector. "Shipping is a global activity and for this reason we are in contact with the International Maritime Organization (IMO)," she said.

Among the Commission's priorities is the emphasis on technological developments, the protection of the environment and security in shipping.

In this context the European Commission is promoting better digitization conditions for a single European transport market, and better potential for investments. It will also announced the creation of a special electronic trading platform for the maritime sector, at a conference in Rotterdam in June.

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
Bankers are expecting to be notified soon about the line up to lead Saudi Arabia's debut international bond transaction after pitches took place in Riyadh.



The Kingdom is likely to hire from the list of banks that underwrote a $10 billion loan in May, which was coordinated by JP Morgan, HSBC and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, though a number of others were also involved.



The hiring process took a step forward this week after several banks vying for the mandate met Saudi officials. Even so an imminent deal is unlikely as documents have yet to be readied, according to bankers familiar with the matter, who reckoned post-summer was more probable.



One banker who attended the meetings said that an overall issuance programme was discussed, not just the specifics about the forthcoming deal.



"We all have an idea of what they need to do and what they can do," he said.



The sovereign is expected to raise at least $10 billion as it seeks to tackle its burgeoning fiscal deficit, although some bankers speculate it could be more.



"So long as they create a coherent story for investors, I don't see them having any problem raising more than $10 billion," said a debt capital markets official at a firm chasing the mandate.



A banker in the Middle East agrees that Saudi has the potential to issue one of the biggest bonds in emerging markets history. "We are assuming it will be somewhere around $15 billion, give or take a few billion either side."



However, with the sovereign likely to become a regular borrower, it may decide to hold back from issuing too much in this first transaction to avoid overwhelming investors.



Another issue will be pricing. With no outstanding curve, the process to gauge fair value will be as much art as science. Other similar-rated sovereigns, such as Abu Dhabi and Qatar, will be used as reference points.



"I would expect them to pay a premium over Abu Dhabi," said one banker at another firm chasing the mandate. "As for Qatar it depends on the size. I wouldn't expect them to come inside Qatar but I wouldn't expect a big premium either."



Abu Dhabi's May 2026 bonds are trading at a yield of 3.14 per cent, according to Eikon or Z-spread of 165bp. Qatar's June 2026 notes are at 3.42 per cent yield or spread of 194bp.



Abu Dhabi and Qatar proved that there's plenty of demand for Gulf sovereigns, with both generating huge books, enabling them to print jumbo deals. Abu Dhabi raised US$5 billion through its trade in April, while Qatar's US$9 billion offering last month is the biggest deal in history by a Gulf issuer.



Qatar arguably got too greedy, given the deal was just over two times covered. Its five and 10-year tranches traded down in the days following the deal, though the shorted-dated note is now above re-offer.



Saudi Arabia's entry into the market will come as it seeks to rein in a budget deficit that hit nearly US$100 billion last year. Earlier this week, the Kingdom unveiled an economic reform plan that seeks to overhaul policy. One of the key aims of the plan is to balance the budget by 2020.  Reuters
Saudi Arabia plans to loosen the countrys strict visa requirements in an effort to attract foreign capital as the kingdom seeks to diversify its economy away from oil.



A mechanism to issue visas to investors more quickly will be announced soon, reported Bloomberg citing the Commerce and Investment Minister Majid Al Qasabi.



There is no doubt that the existence of a swift mechanism to get a visa is necessary, he told a news conference in Jeddah, where ministers are presenting a multi-year plan to overhaul the economy.



Authorities in the worlds biggest oil exporter are trying to boost foreign direct investment in non-hydrocarbon industries to counter the drop in crude prices.



The kingdom is 82nd among global economies in the World Banks Doing Business index. It is ranked 15th among the G-20 nations.-Bloomberg
Oman's government is keen to develop its RO300-million ($775 million) medical city project in the Barka region of the sultanate on a public-private-partnership (PPP) model, said a report.



The flagship healthcare venture will feature a cluster of world-class tertiary care hospitals, medical college and R&D (research and development) facilities, reported the Oman Observer.



The medical city, which will come up in a five million sq m area, boasts an array of speciality hospitals offering a total of 1,200 beds, it stated.



In addition to a dedicated paediatric hospital and general tertiary care hospital, the complex will also include a trauma centre, rehabilitation centre, neurology centre, diagnostic radiology centre, medical laboratories centre, medical college, and research hub, the report said.



Earlier this year, the ministry had signed an MoU that secures the support of the Supreme Council for Planning and the wholly government-owned sovereign wealth fund, Oman Investment Fund (OIF), in the execution of the landmark project.



PPP has long been the cornerstone of the governments strategy for attracting private investment in the electricity and water sector, a policy that is also sought to be progressively promoted in a number of other infrastructure sectors, including ports, logistic chains, civil aviation, solid waste management, said the report, citing a senior official.



The PPP model delivers outstanding outcomes in the provision of large-scale public services, stated Dr Fabio Scacciavillani, the chief economist at OIF.



Contracts based on a PPP framework help improve transparency, enhance accountability, reinforce responsibility, and establish performance benchmarks for the benefit of the citizens. PPP is not merely a cost-containment exercise; it sets standards of excellence; it enables the delivery of professionally managed public services according to international best practices, he added.
Emirates Glass, one of the largest processors of flat architectural glass in the Middle East region, has secured two projects worth Dh1.25 million ($340239) in Pakistan, thus reinforcing its growing reputation in markets across the globe.



Emirates Glass is a subsidiary of Dubai Investments, the leading, diversified investments conglomerate listed on the Dubai Financial Market, and also a part of Glass LLC, the first glass holding company in Middle East.



As per the deal, Emirates Glass will supply 7,000 sq m of its energy-saving reflective coated glass worth Dh350,000 ($95,266) to the head office of leading telecommunications company Telenor in Islamabad and 5,000 sq m of material worth Dh900,000 ($244,972) for Bakht Tower in Karachi.



Both the Bakht Tower, a mixed-use commercial and luxury residential building overlooking Karachi beachfront and the tallest building structure in Pakistan, and Telenor HQ projects are expected to be completed by the end of this year.



Emirates Glass said the new project orders are a strong endorsement of its growing reputation in Pakistan and the company is eyeing strong growth over the next few years  particularly for high performance, eco-friendly glass which significantly reduce energy costs.



The Emirati company, which currently supplies glass across the region and beyond, is also targeting steady growth in its export markets.



"These projects in Pakistan are a testimony to the growth potential of the high-quality, energy-efficient products from Emirates Glass," remarked Rizwanulla Khan, the executive president for Emirates Glass.



"The company has an excellent portfolio of projects in the Gulf region and beyond, which has cemented its credibility as a trusted supplier of glass products," he added.



According to him, the EGL has witnessed significant growth in the past 24 months with sales of over Dh250 million ($68 million).



It has also achieved record sales of over Dh150 million ($41 million) in 2015 alone.



This year, the company is expecting steady growth with total sales in the region of Dh190 million ($52 million), he added.



Glass is an inherent part of the construction industry in the region, and with over $2.8 trillion forecast to be spent on construction in the GCC countries, there is huge demand for cut-to-size, sustainable, post-temperable coated glass products for both commercial and residential projects.-TradeArabia News Service
Forces aligned with Libya's unity government said on Friday they had taken control of the port of Sirte, making further gains in Islamic State's North African stronghold.



Brigades largely composed of fighters from Misrata advanced this week to the perimeter of Sirte's city centre, after launching a counter attack against Islamic State last month and driving the militant group back along the coastal road between the two cities.



The brigades are part of an operation backed by Libya's U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), which arrived in Tripoli in March and has been gradually working to establish its authority.



Western powers see it as the best bet for trying to unite Libya's political and armed factions against Islamic State and for restoring some stability to the oil-rich North African country.



A source from the operations room in Misrata said fighters from the front line in the south of Sirte had looped round to the seafront to capture the port, which lies about 5 km (3 miles) east of the city centre.



The brigades have advanced more swiftly than many expected, though their progress has been hampered by suicide bombers, mines and snipers.



Clashes in Sirte on Friday left 11 brigade members dead and 35 wounded, the operations room source said. More than 100 fighters from the GNA-backed brigades have been killed and more than 500 wounded since the campaign to recapture Sirte began in early May.



Islamic State started expanding into Libya in 2014 as the political turmoil and conflict in the country worsened. It took full control of Sirte last year, but has struggled to retain territory or win support elsewhere in Libya.



As the brigades based in Misrata have advanced on Sirte from the west, a separate force that controls some of Libya's key oil terminals and is also aligned with the GNA has pushed Islamic State back from the east. They reached Harawa, a town about 70 km from Sirte, on Thursday.-Reuters
Saudi Arabia is likely to start privatising its postal system by early next year, telecommunications minister Mohammed al-Suwaiyal said, in a test case for a series of state asset sales.



Under economic reforms announced this week, the kingdom aims to privatise companies and services in many areas, from health care to housing and municipal government, to boost efficiency and ease pressure on state finances in an era of cheap oil.



Saudi Postal Corp, with over 10,000 staff, will be one of the first to be offered to investors. Suwaiyal said that in preparation, the government was looking at a plan to create a postal holding company which would own subsidiaries operating services such as mail, courier delivery, e-commerce and financial remittances.



Authorities are studying issues such as how much of Saudi Postal would be sold and whether the stake would be offered to the public in an initial public offer of shares or to local or foreign strategic investors, he said.



"I cannot set a time frame but I expect by the start of 2017 the picture will be clear and execution starts."



The government hopes privatisation will allow the state to cease financial support for Saudi Postal - annual government subsidies to it are projected to fall to zero by 2020 from SR2 billion ($533 million) now - while boosting its performance, so that its revenues rise to SR2.75 billion in 2020 from SR1.02 billion in the latest year.



"Currently Saudi Postal depends on subsidies from the state. Privatisation will empower it."  Reuters
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 11

By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:

Turkmenistan is preparing to host the first UN Global Conference on Sustainable Transportation in November 2016, said the country's government in a message June 11.

The issue on preparation was discussed at the Turkmen Cabinet of Ministers' meeting. The meeting's agenda covered a large number of topical issues.

Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said the development of the transport infrastructure is one of the priorities of the policy of Turkmenistan, which jointly with neighboring countries implements big projects.

"They open up enormous opportunities for the optimization of traffic flows in Eurasia, providing access to the sea terminals of the Black Sea and Baltic regions, South and South-East Asia, the Middle East, as well as to powerful economic centers, such as China, India, Pakistan, and countries of the Asia-Pacific region," said the message.

Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railways, road and rail bridges over the Amu Darya River, airports, motorways, the international sea port of Turkmenbashi city are intended to become the important links of transport communications' international network.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

By Fatih Karimov - Trend:

Almost 80 percent of Iran's crude oil export contracts to Europe became operational, Mohsen Ghamsari, director of international affairs at National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC), said.

Iran has signed contracts to export 600-700 thousand barrels of crude oil to various European refineries on a daily basis, of them almost 80 percent have became operational, Ghamsari said, SHANA news agency reported June 11.

He further said that Spain's Cepsa, Italy's Iplom and Saras as well as Greek Hellenic Petroleum have signed deals to purchase crude oil from Tehran.

The aforementioned firms carry the purchased crude oil consignments by themselves, he said, adding, some of the deals are long-term contracts.

Ghamsari also said that Tehran has also sold an oil consignment to Shell Company in the form of spot cargo.

The Iranian official added that talks are underway with leading European firms including Shell on crude oil sale.

Iran's crude output stood at 4.2 million bpd before the sanctions, some 2.3 million bpd of which used to be exported. Under the sanctions the output fell to 3.3 million bpd while the exports dropped to 1 million bpd.

Since the sanctions were lifted in January, Iran has increased the crude export to some 2.2 million bpd aiming to redeem its previous place in the world market.

Iran's oil output also reached 3.5 million barrels per day in April, according to the OPEC.
A Correspondent

Amritsar, June 10

The Punjab State Ministerial Staff Union (PSMSU) has announced to initiate protest against the state government for its alleged anti-employee policies. Leaders of the association after a meeting here today said the ministerial staff workers in all government departments would wear black badges as a mark of protest against the state government on June 13 and 14.

Association general secretary said employees would observe a pen down strike for the three days starting from June 15. He said earlier, the union had given a notice to the government regarding their demands, which had not been fulfilled till date.

The employees stated that due to the RTI, RTS and regular retirements of the government staff, the work load was increasing with each passing day.

Association leader Gurinder Singh Sodhi said a meeting of the state body of the association would be held on June 18 to plan the next course of action. Another leader Asunil Kumar said employees of various categories had been discriminated in the pay commission reports.
Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, June 11

Panchkula-based real estate broker Manav Malhotra, who duped many, including serving Indian Army Colonels and Shimla MPs brother in the tricity, of their hard-earned money, has his nexus spread in Delhi,NCR and beyond.

Following a news item by Chandigarh Tribune about the cheating case yesterday, it came to light that 15 more persons were allegedly duped by him from Gurgaon and nearby areas on the promise of providing them 2 BHK flats at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan.

He showed us property at Bhiwadi with the project named Carbe India Buildtech, the property belonged to somebody else, but he claimed he was a partner in the property. The flat was priced at Rs 25 lakh and he got the money ranging between Rs 5 and 16 lakh, initially. However, he later failed to give the property or refund the money taken. To some customers, he issued cheques but they bounced, shares Gurgaon resident Rahul Kaushik.

Rahuls father Rattan Kumar Kaushik was allegedly duped of Rs 16.5 lakh, while his brother-in-law Sunil Sharma of Rs 12.5 lakh. Also, Gurgaon-based advocate Ritu paid around Rs six lakh and Dilreet Grewal Rs four lakh as earnest money, but have got nothing in return. They all paid the money in 2013 but have been fighting cases in courts to get their money back ever since. Malhotra showed the property in Bhiwadi to all of them. The affected parties have even approached the Commissioner of Gurgaon. However, the accused has been on the run. In one of the cases here, his bail application has also been rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. His wife Neetu Malhotra said he was innocent.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 11

Panjab University has emerged as a favourite destination for international students. In the 2015-16 session, the PU is reported to have 205 students from overseas, which is 40 per cent higher than the 2014-15 session.

The PU spokesperson said there had been a substantial increase in the number of foreign students. He said 146 international students from 15 countries enrolled in the session 2014-15, which increased to 205, including 69 girls, in the session 2015-16. Online queries from international students had also increased significantly.

PU Dean International Students Prof Deepti Gupta said the PU hosted nearly 205 foreign students from 19 countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Africa, Brazil, Italy, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Dubai, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.

As many as 61 foreign students are doing PhD, 53 are doing postgraduation and 91 are doing graduation from the PU. As many as 295 are studying in different affiliated colleges of the PU in Chandigarh.

LLB has emerged as the big draw for international students pursuing bachelors degree. Most of the international students in these courses are from Canada and the US. Twentyeight international students each are studying Law from the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS), 26 international students are doing bachelors degree in dental sciences (BDS) from the Dr HSJ Institute of Dental Sciences. Eight students are pursuing bachelors degree of pharmacy from UIPS, four students are doing undergraduate courses in economics and three students are pursuing bachelors degree in engineering from UIET.
Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Jassia/Rohtak, June 11

Rohtak residents have been put to inconvenience, as government functionaries, including key administrative, revenue and police officials, are occupied in monitoring the Jat agitation or preparing for Yoga Day slated for June 21.

Senior administrative officers said work was getting neglected or delayed.

Policemen and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the districts Jassia village near the site of Jats dharna, while no concrete action has been taken against protesters violating Section 144 of the CrPC for the past one week.

The police said an FIR had been registered against organisers of the protest and nobody would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

The dharna by Jats, meanwhile, entered seventh day today, with several protesters going on hunger strike.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 11

The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) will urge the state government to pay Rs 150 crore as general provident fund (GPF) to its employees.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the HRTC today. The board decided to request the government to form a committee headed by the Chief Secretary to decide on the payment of the GPF.

The Board of Directors also decided to write to the government for conversion of the HRTC into roadways. It implies that they want the state government to take over the roadways corporation. At present, the HRTC is a public sector unit and in case, it is made roadways, it shall become a government department and all liabilities of the employees will pass on to the government.

Transport Minister GS Bali said the last three years GPF had been cleared. Since the present government has taken over, all dues of the employees have been paid by the corporation. The pending GPF pertains to the stint of the previous BJP government, the minister said.

The Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of the HRTC employees had called for a strike on June 14 and 15. Bali said the HRTC had given benefits of Rs 500 crore to its employees in the last three years.

The board today approved Rs 10 crore as special increment and Rs 20 crore as overtime/ travelling allowance. It also gave its nod to increase the washing allowance from Rs 30 to Rs 60. The monetary relief given on sudden death of a serving employee under benevolent fund has been enhanced from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh and for retired employees from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000, the minister said.

Bali said pension dues would be cleared by the end of this month. He alleged that despite the monetary benefits given in the last three years, a few employees, who were suspended for indiscipline and misbehaviour, were influencing the JCC and pressurising the management by threatening strikes and protests.

He alleged that the employees were the office-bearers of the Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh (BMS), the trade union wing of the BJP.

The HRTC is a disciplined organisation and no one will be allowed to vitiate its working environment, he said.

The minister urged the people of the state to make an alternative travel plan to avoid inconvenience during the JCCs strike. He also warned the employees of strict disciplinary action if the general public was harassed. Earlier, in the morning, JCC members raised slogans against the Transport Minister.
Rajouri, June 11

Troops of the 38 Rashtriya Rifles and the Rajouri police this morning busted a militant hideout in Thanamandi tehsil of Rajouri district and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition.

Army sources said the operation was launched in collaboration with the personnel of the Special Operations Group of the Rajouri police after specific inputs about the militant hideout in a forest adjoining Phangai village.

The hideout was in a natural cave at Lakrewali Gali near Dera ki Gali, a tourist spot, and was busted this morning after taking every possible security measure, said a senior Army officer.

An Army spokesperson said the recovery included one AK-47 rifle with two magazines and 115 rounds, one Chinese pistol with a magazine, four Chinese grenades and four under-barrel grenade launcher (UBGL) rounds.

The grenades and UBGL rounds were destroyed on the spot by the troops while the arms and other ammunition was handed over to the police for further investigation and legal action, he added.  OC
Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 11

The concluding function of the much-publicised Abhinav Gupt yatra was held peacefully this afternoon at the Kheer Bhawani temple in Ganderbal district.

However, the Sangh Parivar leadership is not convinced with the immature decision taken by the coalition regime, of which the BJP is a partner, to ban the yatra without going through the historical facts.

As the BJP ministers in the coalition were echoing the anti-yatra statements of their PDP colleagues in the government, Dattatreya Hosabale, Sah-Sarkaryawah of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) especially came to the Valley to attend the concluding function of the yatra to give a message to the saffron party.

The participation of Hosabale, who is the third in command in the RSS, in the concluding function of yatra is an indication that the Sangh Parivar had made it a point to ensure the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage.

The RSS had thrown its weight behind the yatra, being conducted under the aegis of Acharaya Abhinav Gupt Sheshadri Samroh Samiti, headed by Art of Living Foundation founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

After its annual executive meeting in December 2015, the RSS had announced to take off the yatra to celebrate the literary and spiritual contributions of Abhinav Gupt, a prolific Shaivite philosopher from Kashmir who is believed to have died on January 4, 1016.

Sources said the decision of the state government to ban the yatra had not gone down well with various organisations of the Sangh Parivar because the announcement to not allow the yatra was taken after pressure from Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other separatist groups of the Valley.

The BJP ministers were asked to convey this message (the handling of the yatra) to the coalition partner PDP because there is a feeling (among Sangh Parivar) that succumbing before the separatists on such issues is giving a wrong impression, said a senior Sangh Parivar leader on condition of anonymity.

The BJP representatives in the government also failed to take up the issue effectively before the coalition partner, he added.

On Thursday, when government spokesman and Education Minister Naeem Akhter announced that no such yatra would be allowed in the state, none of the BJP ministers countered his statement.
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 11

In a significant development, Art of Living Foundation founder and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar met chairman of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in Srinagar on Friday evening.

They discussed the current situation in Kashmir and the way forward.

During the meeting, Mirwaiz told Sri Sri that the military approach adopted by New Delhi over Kashmir would not work. He told the spiritual leader that he had expected the Narendra Modi government to take forward former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees approach to its logical conclusion but unfortunately that had not happened.

Mirwaiz told him that New Delhi would have to engage Pakistan over Kashmir.

In a statement, the Hurriyat said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar met Mirwaiz at his Nigeen residence on Friday evening during which they discussed the prevailing situation in the Kashmir threadbare.

Sri Sri expressed his desire to hold a Sufi conference in Kashmir on the pattern of his previous event at the banks of the Yamuna in Delhi.

Appreciating the social work done by Sri Sri, Mirwaiz told him that the prevailing situation in Kashmir was worrisome and the policies being formulated at the government level were against the interests of the locals, the statement said.

It said Mirwaiz also apprised him of the government imposed restrictions on the movement and freedom of the separatist leadership of Kashmir and termed the responses as a routine government affair.

Mirwaiz told him that in an effort to push the people towards the wall, the government was trying to implement policies which would change the local demography and the population ratio.

Mirwaiz told him that Kashmiri Pandits are an integral part of Kashmirs social and cultural milieu, but unfortunately their return is being politicised and an impression is being created that Kashmiri Pandits are not secure living with the Kashmiri Muslims, though both communities share close social and cultural relations, it said. The Hurriyat has always stood for the dignified return of Kashmiri Pandits, Mirwaiz said.
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Allahabad, June 11

BJP president Amit Shah has declared incumbent Samajwadi Party as his partys chief opponent in the 2017 UP elections, a move that has come despite growing buzz about Mayawati and its chief BSP in the poll-bound state.

While his strategic attempts to prop up Mulayam Singh Yadav as the BJPs rival number one appear aimed at confusing voters and diverting attention from a surging Mayawati, political observers believe Shah would have to come up with a more innovative plan to upstage and alienate Mayawati from her traditional vote bank.

The SP will be the main challenger... there is no confusion about it, Shah recently said, downplaying Mayawatis prospects. Likewise, other party leaders too are going to the town claiming the BSP will not pose a major threat to the BJP. Before any Assembly election, leaders from rival parties make a beeline to the party they believe holds a better chance to win... No prominent leader has joined the BSP lately. In contrast, we (BJP) are flooded with such requests, they claim.

Comprising upper castes (largely Brahmins and Banias) and Dalits, the vote bank of both the BJP and the BSP overlap to a large extent. The BJP believes the voting pattern the two castes followed in the Lok Sabha poll will be repeated in the Assembly elections too.

By letting them think the SP has a better chance, the BJP is trying to keep them away from the BSP. Alongside, by propping up the SP, it is trying to ensure a triangular contest. Muslims, who are expected to vote tactically to ensure the BJP stays away from power, are a big challenge. By helping the SP fight anti-incumbency and ensuring division of anti-BJP votes among the BSP, SP and the Congress, the BJP is trying to establish multi-cornered contests in the state, they say.
Tehran, Iran, June 11

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iran has started exporting iron ore to Turkmenistan from Sangan Minerals Complex, according to CEO of Iran's East Railways Mohammad Ebrahim Eqbali.

He explained the first cargo consisted of 726 tons of hematite iron ore, the IRIB reported June 11.

The official added that Iran plans a monthly export of 100 thousand tons of the ore to Turkmenistan.

Pakistan, China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkmenistan, and Iraq were the main destinations for Iran's exported iron ore.

Iron ore was at the top of the list of Iran's exported non-oil goods in 2013 but it dropped to the fifth place in the following year.

Iran seeks to form an international consortium to find new markets for its iron ore, to eliminate China's dominant share of the Islamic Republic's iron ore exports.

Alireza Siasi, the secretary of Iran's Iron Ore Producers and Exporters Association said the country should establish a competitive market and export iron ore to countries other than China, the Islamic Republic's ISNA news agency reported Nov. 5.

"Some decisions are forecastto be made on the issue before 2015," he added.

In recent years China has imported 2.5 percent of its iron ore demands from Iran, over 90 percent of Iran's total iron ore exports.

Iran's iron ore exports witnessed significant fall during the recent months. Tehran exported 7.75 million metric tons of iron ore, worth $510 million during the 7-month period from March 21 to Oct. 22, 2015, which indicates a fall by 34.84 percent in terms of volume and a decline by 31.23 in terms of value respectively compared to the same period of preceding year (Iran's fiscal year starts on March 21).
Yash Goyal

Jaipur, June 11

The BJP on Saturday won all four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan, while the Opposition led by the Congress suffered another defeat as Kamal Morarka, a former Union minister, lost the poll battle.

BJPs four candidates, including Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, party vice-president Om Prakash Mathur, Dungarpur's royal family scion Harshvardhan Singh and Dalit leader RK Verma won the biennial poll.

Independent Kamal Morarka, supported by the Congress, NPP, BSP and Independents, lost the battle.

Of the 199 votes that were polled, Naidu and Mathur got 42 votes each, while Harshvardhan and RK Verma polled 40 votes each.

Morarka got 34 votes, while one vote was cancelled as a legislator had left a tick mark on the ballot paper, according to the Election Officer.

BSP MLA BL Kushwaha was denied permission by the High Court to cast his vote as he was accused in a murder case in 2014 and is jailed since then.

I would like to thank people of Rajasthan and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje who managed the poll process effectively, Naidu told reporters outside the Vidhan Sabha building.

I will not take part in the state politics but will give my best support to the state in its developmental activities. I do not understand why the Congress put up its candidate with support of others when it had no significant numbers to win even one seat as it has got only 24 MLAs, he said.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot attacked Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for keeping all 160 BJP MLAs, four Independents and two NUJP MLAs in barabandi (captivity) for three days. It showed that she (Raje) had lost the confidence of her party MLAs as they did not vote independently and freely, Gehlot said.

In the name of training camp and to educate them on the process of voting, the BJP had kept all its MLAs, four Independents and two NUJP legislators at a hotel away from Jaipur for three days.

All MLAs were brought under tight security and vigilance in four luxury buses for voting one after another. They were allowed to use their mobile phones and personal (official) vehicles after the polling ended.
New Delhi, June 11

The raw video footage of the controversial February 9 JNU event, on which a sedition case was registered against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and two others, has been found to be authentic by the CBI forensic lab, police claimed on Saturday.

The raw footage of the event, obtained from a Hindi news channel, was sent to the CBI forensic lab here for examination along with camera, memory card, a CD containing the clip, wires and other equipment, they said.

The CBI lab sent a report to Delhi Police's Special Cell on June 8 saying the raw footage was authentic, a police source said.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep confirmed the receipt of report but did not divulge the details.

Earlier, Delhi Police had sent four video clips of the event to Gandhinagar-based Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) which in its report, in May, had said that they were genuine.

However, a Delhi government-ordered probe, into a set of seven video clippings of the controversial event sent to the Hyderabad-based Truth Labs, had found two clips to be manipulated while others as genuine.

Police, however, maintained that the FIR into the matter was registered on the basis of the raw video footage, obtained from a news channel on a CD, and not on the clippings which were aired on TV channels.

In the FIR, police had claimed that in the video a group of students, led by JNU student Umar Khalid, could be seen raising anti-India slogans, 21 of which were mentioned in an interim report filed a few days later into the case.

Kanhaiya, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested in February and later granted bail in the case, which is now being probed by Delhi Police's anti-terrorism unit Special Cell.  PTI
Mumbai, June 11

The CBI has arrested Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member Virendrasing Tawde in connection with the murder of noted rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013, the first in the case by the agency.

He was arrested late last night from Panvel near here and will be produced before a special court in Pune this afternoon.

The Samiti is linked to Goa-based radical Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha, which had come under the scanner for the murder of another rationalist Govind Pansare in February 2015.

The CBI has arrested Virendra Singh Tawde in an ongoing investigation of a case related to murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar.

He will be produced today around 3 pm in designated court, Pune. Investigation is continuing, CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh said today.

It is the first arrest in the case after the Mumbai High court in May 2014 handed over the probe to the CBI in the fatal shooting of Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, in broad daylight on August 20, 2013.

The killings had sparked outrage in the country with several eminent writers and other personalities returning their awards over rising intolerance.

The agency had recovered some material during its earlier searches in connection with the murder case which brought the needle of suspicion on Tawde, believed to be an ENT surgeon and an alleged follower of Sanatan Sanstha activist Sarang Akolkar, against whom Red Corner Notice was issued by Interpol in July 2012 in connection with the 2009 Goa blast case on NIA request, CBI sources said.

The sources said CBI had questioned him, in different sessions, since June 2 when his residence was searched.

The residences of Tawde and Akolkar were searched by the agency which recovered several SIM cards, cell phones and data from computer, they said.

They said the two were investigated after the agency found some cyber forensic evidence about their alleged role in the murder case of Dabholkar.

34-year-old Akolkar is suspected to be one of the key conspirators in the murder of Dabholkar. He has been on the run ever since his name cropped up during NIA investigations in the Goa blast case.

The NIA had secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him in 2012 but security agencies are yet to track him down.

Meanwhile, Dabholkars son Hameed termed the arrest of Tawde as the first big step by the CBI in the right direction.

He, however, added that had this action been taken immediately after Dabholkars murder, subsequent deaths of Pansare and Kannada scholar M.M. Kalburgi could have been avoided.

Though, the action has come very late, it is still a big step in the right direction by CBI. Hope the investigators reach the main perpetrators with this arrest and also arrest other suspect Sarang Akolkar, he said.

Medha Pansare, daughter-in-law of Govind Pansare said, Since the role of such extremist outfits has been exposed in Pansare and now in Dr Dabholkars case, we demand that government should take stern action against such outfits.

She also demanded that the CBI team, investigating Dabholkars murder and Special Investigation team, working in Pansares case, should co-ordinate with each other to look for similar links as in both cases the same outfit is allegedly involved.  PTI
Mumbai, June 11

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today attached assets worth Rs 1,411 crore of liquor baron Vijay Mallya and one of his companies in connection with its money laundering probe into the alleged IDBI Bank loan default case.

We have attached properties worth Rs 1,411 crore (as per the market value) of Vijay Mallya and UB Limited under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, an ED official said.

The assets brought under the provisional attachment order include bank balance of Rs 34 crore, a flat each in Bengaluru and Mumbai (2,291 sq ft and 1,300 sq ft, respectively), an industrial plot in Chennai (4.5 acres), a coffee plantation land in Coorg (28.75 acres) and residential and commercial constructed areas in UB City and Kingfisher Tower in Bengaluru (84,0279 sq ft).

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The agency, in a statement, said the order was issued as investigation found that some of the properties were being disposed of by the accused so that further action undertaken by the agency under PMLA can be frustrated.  PTI
Kabul, June 11

Efforts are on to secure the release of an Indian woman development worker abducted by unknown gunmen in the Afghan capital, media reports said on Saturday.

Judith DSouza, 40, who works for the Agha Khan Network, an NGO, was seized around midnight Thursday in Qala-e-Fatullah area of Kabul.

TOLO News said Afghan security agencies did not comment on the abduction.

DSouza had reportedly worked for the NGO for a year and was due to leave for India soon.

On Friday, her family in Kolkata urged the Indian and Afghan governments to act fast to secure her release.

We want the government to return our daughter, said Gloria DSouza, the victims mother.

The Indian embassy here is in touch with senior Afghan authorities over the kidnap saga.

Afghan officials have said they are doing everything possible to secure the early release of the woman, TOLO News reported.  IANS
Nagpur, June 11

In what is described as the countrys first, a female infant with a severe genetic disorder and near-total missing external body skin was born here early on Saturday, a doctor said.

Its the first Harlequin Baby in the country. The infant is born blind and the chances of her survival are uncertain, said paediatrician Dr Yash A Banait, who was involved in the rare delivery along with obstetrician-gynaecologist Dr Prachi Dixit.

Born around 12.45 am at Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, the first child to a farmer couple from Wadi, the child is currently in the NICU and being attended by a team of medicos who were conducting a series of tests and investigations on the baby.

The child presents a sad picture with large parts of her body without skin and internal organs visible. Her palms, fingers and toes have barely developed.

There are two reddish swabs in place of her eyes and her nose is just two holes from where she breathes and ears are practically missing on her face.

Dr Yash Banait said such children have severely cracked skin which makes it difficult to maintain body temperature and they become prone to infections.

Renowned paediatrician Dr Avinash Banait said there was a similar case in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, in 2014, but it would not be medically proved.

Besides, there have been only around a dozen-odd such recorded cases in medical history since 1750.

The first such child was born in April 1750 in South Carolina, US, and there are reportedly around a dozen such cases recorded in that country.

One such child Nusrit Shaheen was born in 1984 to a Pakistani woman and four of her children had the same disorder and died at an early age.

Another such male child was born in 2013 to a woman in South Africa and was given a slim survival chance, but lived more. IANS
Washington, June 11

The Indian government is going to be Americas great ally and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.

In a major foreign policy speech here in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obamas policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.

I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modis leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length yesterday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas, Ryan said.

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He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.

Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryans speakership.

On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the Prime Ministers address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader.

A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi.

I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. Thats one thing that we need to nurture and grow, Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.

And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, hes a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. Hes bringing needed reform to the country, Ryan said, according to the remarks released by his office.

Thats the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon. That stands in stark contrast, I would argue, to the Obama foreign policy of the last eight years where we have neglected our allies and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries, said the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Except for his comments on India, Ryan slammed Obamas foreign policy.

We know that this new Obama foreign policy concept, leading from behind, can now be declared an unambiguous failure. It is making us unprepared. It is reducing our military capability and strength, he alleged.

It is confusing our allies and incentivising our adversaries. And all that does is tempt fate. So we are saying weve got to reset our system. Weve got to restructure and reaffirm our foreign policy, in particular our military policy if we want to prevent these problems on the horizon from getting out of control, Ryan said.

In response to a question, he said Modis address to the joint session of the Congress was a great day.

So we just heard the Prime Minister of India at the Capitol Hill yesterday. It was a great day. He spoke before Congress and it was a great moment for the growing friendship between our two countries. The main reason I think this moment was so notable is that nowadays its so rare, Ryan said referring to the bipartisan support that India-US relationship enjoys in the Congress.

On the past seven years, our friendships have frayed.

Our rivalries have intensified. Its not too much to say that our enemies no longer fear us and too many of our allies no longer trust us, he said.

In the Republican document on foreign policy and national security released by Ryan, the party said India and the US working together for betterment of the world.

We must also embrace emerging partners that could help keep the peace in their region and beyond, the document said.

India, the worlds largest democracy, shares common interests with the worlds oldest democracy, the United States and we must build upon that foundation to work together in shaping world events, it said.

As part of its objective of advancing American interest, the 25-page document calls for deepening relations with emerging powers like India.

The foreign policy document released by Ryan is also critical of the Pakistan policy of the Obama Administration.

The Obama Administration failed to prioritise economic growth in its approach to foreign aid and development, preferring high-profile presidential initiatives and short-term responses such as loan guarantees and enterprise funds, it said.

In places like Pakistan, the administration has made major investments in infrastructure but failed to accomplish the reforms necessary to create a positive environment for economic growth. Without reform, these initiatives will do little to improve livelihoods, the policy paper said.  PTI
New Delhi, June 11

Rebellion by Congress MLAs in Haryana helped BJP-backed Independent candidate Subhash Chandra score an upset victory on Saturday as Congress stalwart Kapil Sibal pulled it off in Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha polls in which union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Birender Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and MA Naqvi won comfortably.

Senior Congress leaders Oscar Fernandes and Jairam Ramesh were elected from Karnataka where cross-voting by rebel JD(S) MLAs enabled ruling Congress gain a third seat.

Former IPS officer K C Ramamurthy won the seat defeating JD(S)-backed Independent candidate B M Farooq, a businessman, in the third seat.

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The major jolt for Congress came in Haryana where the party suffered through apparent deliberate wrong marking of the ballots by its 14 MLAs that led to the defeat of the party-backed Independent candidate R K Anand who was mainly fielded by its arch rival INLD.

Subhash Chandra, a media baron, defeated Anand, a senior lawyer and a former MP, after 14 votes of Congress were rejected, state Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma told the media in Chandigarh.

Read: BJP wins all 4 Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan



Even before the elections, there was speculation that the overwhelming majority of the 17 Congress MLAs, owing allegiance to former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, would not toe the party line on supporting Anand.

The Congress also failed in its attempt to secure victory for JMM candidate Basant Soren, son of party supremo Shibu Soren, backed by it in Jharkhand where a ruling BJP nominee Mahesh Poddar won by a whisker after an arrested JMM MLA and a Congress MLA facing arrest could not vote.

In the 27 seats spread across seven states that were up for grabs today, 11 went to BJP, 6 to Congress, 7 to Samajwadi Party, 2 to BSP and one Independent. Thirty of the 57 seats in the current round of biennial elections were decided without contest last week.

Former union minister and Congress heavyweight Sibal managed to defeat BJP-backed Independent candidate and socialite Preeti Mahapatra, wife of a Mumbai-based businessman, without the anticipated support of BSP whose two candidates Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth won comfortably.

In Uttar Pradesh, all major political parties ensured victory for all their candidates despite cross voting.

The results showed that BSP, which had backed Congress RS nominees in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, chose not to transfer its surplus votes to any other party candidate in UP.

Besides Sibal, the others who made it to the Rajya Sabha from the state are two recent returnees to SP-fold Amar Singh, Beni Prasad Verma, Kuwar Rewati Raman Singh, Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, Sukhram Singh Yadav, Sanjay Seth and Surendra Nagar (all SP), Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth (both BSP) and Shiv Pratap Shukla (BJP).

Although Sibal got through, the 29-MLA Congress suffered a jolt with Sibal getting only 25 first preference votes despite 8-member RLD committing four votes each to Congress and SP.

There were 12 candidates for 11 Rajya Sabha seats in UP and to secure a seat in Rajya Sabha, a candidate required 34 votes.

Cross voting took place in today's polling as Samajwadi Party fielded seven candidates but the seventh candidate was short of nine first-preference votes for victory.

Although SP managed to ensure victory of all its seven candidates, only three were through in the first round of counting, reflecting that the contest was close for the ruling party.

Bahujan Samaj Party chose not to transfer its 12 surplus votes with it two candidates Mishra getting 39 votes and Sidhharth 42.

The last-minute entry of Preeti Mahapatra, wife of a Mumbai-based businessman, in the fray which forced a contest, managed just 18 first preference votes and conceded defeat even when the counting in further rounds was on.

In Haryana, while BJP leader Birender Singh was assured of a comfortable win for one seat, the main centre of interest was the fight was between Chandra and Anand for the other seat.

The Haryana Assembly has 90 members. Out of 90 votes, Birender got 40 votes while Anand got 21 and Chandra got 15 votes while 14 votes were rejected.

After rejection of 14 votes, Birender Singh needed just 26 votes for his own win and his 14 surplus votes were transferred to Chandra as second preference votes, taking the total number of his votes to 29, Rambilas Sharma said.

Singh rejected allegations of horse trading. "Congress votes were found to be invalid. After votes which were needed for my victory, the share of my votes got transferred to Chandra and this took tally of his votes to 29," he said.

Chautala blames Congress for Anand's defeat

After Anand's defeat, leader of opposition in Haryana Assembly and INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala blamed Congress for it.

"Congress party's 14 votes were rejected because they registered their votes with another pen other than the one provided by the Returning Officer to record their votes in the voting compartment," claimed Chautala.

In Madhya Pradesh, the results were on expected lines as BJP candidates MJ Akbar and Anil Dave and Congress' Vivek Tankha were elected even as BJP-backed Independent candidate was defeated.

BJP's bid to spoil the Congress candidate's chances by fielding its leader Vinod Gotia as an independent candidate did not succeed. Gotia got 50 votes -- 48 surplus votes of BJP and two independents -- against the 58 required for win.

Senior journalist M J Akbar and state BJP leader and strategist Dave polled 58 votes each, while Tankha secured 62 votes -- 57 from Congress, four from BSP and one independent, returning officer Bhagwandas Israni said.

BSP supremo Mayawati had issued a whip to its four MLAs to vote for Tankha.

If it was Congress at the receiving end in Haryana, revolt-hit Janata Dal (Secular) suffered the humiliation in Karnataka with eight of its MLAs cross voting in favour of Congress.

Congress' candidate Ramamurthy chalked up a resounding victory securing 52 votes, aided by the support of Independents and JD(S) rebel MLAs, defeating JD(S)-backed nominee B M Farooq who managed 33 votes against the party's strength of 40 in the Assembly.

Congress with 122 members was assured of two seats for Ramesh and Fernandes and with a surplus of 33 votes, the party fielded Ramamurthy.

The required strength for victory was 45 votes.

Nirmala Seetharaman secured 46 votes with BJP, which with 44 members was short of one vote, making up the shortfall comfortably.  PTI
New Delhi, June 11

Social activist Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, a descendant of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji, was on Saturday nominated to Rajya Sabha.

Sambhaji Raje is from the direct lineage of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Rajarshi Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj of Kolhapur who had funded the movement led by Dalit icon B R Ambedkar for justice to the depressed classes for some time, sources said.

He is involved in ensuring harmony among various social groups in Maharashtra and in efforts for restoration of forts in the state, they said.

The nomination of Sambhaji Raje comes after Pranav Pandya, head of All World Gayatri Pariwar, declined the honour last month, saying atmosphere in the Upper House was not conducive for him.

"I don't think the atmosphere in Rajya Sabha is conducive for me. It will never be," he had said, giving reasons for declining the nomination.  PTI
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will visit Norway to hold talks with the European country's officials and participate in an international forum, Press TV reported.

Zarif and his accompanying delegation will leave Tehran for Oslo on Sunday night for a two-day visit to hold negotiations with Norwegian authorities and take part in the Oslo Forum, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari told IRIB on Saturday.

He added that the top Iranian diplomat will also hold meetings with senior officials of countries attending the international event.

Zarif will then visit Berlin for a few hours to meet with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier before flying back to Tehran, Jaberi Ansari said.

It is also likely that Zarif will meet and hold talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is due to attend the Oslo Forum, on the sidelines of the event.

Around 100 prominent mediators of armed conflict and peace process actors from around the world will gather in Oslo, Norway, on June 14-15 to share their experiences of peacemaking as part of the 2016 Oslo Forum.

The Oslo Forum is widely regarded as the leading international network of armed conflict mediation practitioners. It regularly convenes senior conflict mediators, high level decision makers, key peace process actors, analysts and experts from a variety of institutional backgrounds in a series of informal and discreet retreats.

Co-hosted by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, the Oslo Forum features an annual global event in Oslo and is complemented by regional retreats in Africa and Asia.
Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Allahabad, June 11

Though Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are still months away, the grand preparations by the BJP for its two-day national executive beginning here tomorrow is an indication on the kind of battle that would be fought.

Billboards and posters of BJPs prominent leaders have come up in every nook and corner of Allahabad, a city that is historically as well as politically significant. The BJP is attempting to bring back into focus the region that once used to be the Congress garh (stronghold), and to which the ruling Samajwadi Party and its arch rival Bahujan Samaj Party now stake claim.

This is the first time that the BJP has chosen the city for its national executive. Senior members of the Union Cabinet, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and MPs will participate in the meet. While issues of national importance too would be discussed, main focus would be on the UP elections. Party leaders say the alleged goonda raj unleashed by the ruling SP, Mathura violence and political patronage enjoyed by land-grabbers would be highlighted. As the partys top brass gathers here to build the mahaul (atmosphere) to achieve the target 265-plus set by party president Amit Shah for the 403-member Assembly polls next year, its internal dynamics and politics are also coming to the fore through some posters and billboards dotting the city.

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While most of the posters are part of morale-boosting efforts, welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders to the city and exhorting people to attend his rally scheduled for Monday, some seek support for Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi as the partys chief ministerial candidate. This is despite the top leadership making it clear that a decision on the issue would be only after taking into consideration various factors, including the caste equation. Then there is a section that says such key decisions are taken at parliamentary board meeting, and not the national executive.

Aiming to build a pro-BJP atmosphere, party cadres are traversing the streets on two-wheelers and rickshaws, carrying party flags and posters and playing Mera Desh Badal Raha Hai, the song released by the Modi government on the completion of its two years in office.

UP is not like Assam. It is a complicated state and the BJP has to take on the might of strong regional parties like the SP and the BSP. Therefore, the CM candidate should be accepted not just by all castes but also all factions within the state, a leader said. The buzz, meanwhile, is that Home Minister Rajnath Singh may be declared the chairman of the election campaign committee. The BJPs current strength in the UP Assembly is 41. But its dramatic comeback in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when it managed a stunning tally of 71, its best-ever performance, has heightened the partys hopes. We hope to repeat the General Elections magic, a leader said.
My translation will interest you from its form, and also in many respects in its detail: very un-literal as it is. Many quatrains are mashed together: and something lost, I doubt, of Omars simplicity, which is so much a virtue in him  I suppose very few People have ever taken such Pains in Translation as I have: though certainly not to be literal. But at all Cost, a Thing must live: with a transfusion of ones own worse Life if one cant retain the Originals better. Better a live Sparrow than a stuffed Eagle  Edward FitzGerald to E.B. Cowell, 1859

B.N. Goswamy

Not more than a few short weeks back, I was walking through the corridors of the sprawling Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad, when the Director of the Museum, Dr. Nagendra Reddy, who was kindly taking me around, gently directed me to the Library of the Museum. I had been to the Museum on my earlier visits to that city, but never seen the Library. It was some kind of a revelation, for it felt as if one had walked back into time: the Library was, like thousands of antiques and other objects that the Museum houses, something that Sir Salar Jung III, former Prime Minister of the state of Hyderabad, after whom the Museum is named, had personally owned once. Shelf after shelf filled the space, books on the most diverse of subjects, including evidently some rare or precious volumes, jostling one another. Dr. Reddy asked an assistant to pull out one of these: a most sumptuous looking edition of one of the great classics of English literature  even if it is essentially a translation  Edward FitzGeralds rendering of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Even as I began to turn, gingerly, the pages of that exquisitely bound and printed volume that dated back a hundred years and more, the verses, read long ago but embedded in my memory, started to surface in the mind: Awake! For Morning in the Bowl of Night/ has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to flight ; The Moving Finger writes, and, having writ, moves on. and so on. Page after illuminated page here embellished the verses: cursive calligraphy, arabesque ornamentation, the occasional image, all adding to the aesthetic impact. I decided right then in my mind to research the names of the printers and binders of the book, as also to tie down some facts and dates relating to Omar Khayyam and FitzGerald. Some I knew, but others needed to be confirmed.

First, however, about the printers and binders, in their times called the Rolls Royce of Book-binding, about whom I knew nothing till now. Sangorski and Sutcliffe: two men, both English, who took up, at the turn of the century, the art of book-binding of the kind that prevailed in the Middle Ages. Jewelled bindings, using metalwork, semi-precious stones, ivory, and rich fabrics, is what they began to specialize in, creating a sensation in the publishing world. Some of the finest books to be produced at that time were made by them, each a masterly creation in its own right. The volume in the Salarjung library, with its glistening peacock motif on the cover, owed itself to them.

Omar Khayyam, as one knew of course, was born in Nishapur in Iran, in 1048. He came from a family of tent-makers  khayyam-s, makers of khaimas  but turned, unexpectedly, into a scholar, writing learned treatises on algebra, geometry, astronomy and philosophy. His name, however, has survived most as the author of the Rubaiyat  quatrains, that is four-line verses  that were a well-established form in Persian poetry. It was not until 1461, however, that someone created an exquisite little hand-written volume of the Rubaiyat with 158 of Omars poems. That volume, naturally in Persian, was purchased several centuries later by Sir William Ouseley (17691842), a collector of manuscripts, who then left it along with many other items to the Bodleian Library at Oxford. In 1856, a scholar named Edward Cowell (18261903) chanced upon this book. Cowell had taught himself Persian and other languages at a very young age and he showed the book to his friend, Edward FitzGerald (18091883), whom he had been persuading to learn Persian. FitzGerald came from a well-placed family and had friends in the literary world of the times which included Thackeray, Tennyson and Carlisle. Himself, he wrote some poetry and prose but was most at home in translation work. The newly-learnt Persian now came into play when he was introduced to Omar Khayyams rubaiyat. A love affair as it were with Omar Khayyams work developed. He could not tear himself away from those rubais: simple as they were but marked by such profound emotion and wistful melancholy. However, it was no literal translation of the Persian verses that he was after  he called his work transmogrification, change in appearance or form in other words; his endeavour was to create a thing that must live.

Even though FitzGerarlds work has run into hundreds of editions and reprints since then, it is of interest that the first edition, published in 1859 by Bernard Quaritch, consisted only of 250 copies. Of these the poet took 40 himself; the rest remained with the publisher who had priced them 1 shilling a piece. Almost nothing sold, however; two years later the price was reduced to 1 pence, and the books were put outside the publishers shop in a bin. Someone, it has been recorded, bought a copy at that price and presented it to Dante Gabriel Rossetti  poet and painter, so much a part of the Art Nouveau movement  who picked up some more and shared them with some icons of the art world, among them Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, Richard Burton, and John Ruskin. Thomas Hardy and T.S. Eliot were to follow. Soon nearly everyone knew and could recite: Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough/A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse  and Thou.

A footnote: Speaking of Omar Khayyam, I do not know how many are aware of the translation in Urdu of his rubais by poet Naresh Kumar Shaad. Verses like:

Hui jo shaam to bolaa woh peer-i maikhana

arrey, woh rind kahaan hai saboo ka diwaana?

Bulaao jaldi se usko keh uska jaam bharein

mabaada maut na bhar daaley uska paimaana.
Pushpa Girimaji

For a big party organised in our house to celebrate my grandchild's first birthday, I had hired the services of a caterer. Before engaging his services, I had sat with him and worked out the entire package, including food, water, short eats, soft drinks, paan and even the tips to be given to the persons, who would be serving food. I had even specified the time period when I would require their services - from 7 pm to 11 pm.

However, on the day of the party, the young men that the caterer had sent not only insisted on leaving at 10.30pm, a lot before many of the guests had eaten, but started demanding a bigger tip than what was settled upon with the caterer. As the caterer's phone was switched off, I could not talk to him either and had to pay whatever was demanded to save myself from embarrassment before the guests. But the entire episode completely spoilt the celebrations and I now want to teach the caterer a lesson. Can I file a complaint before the consumer court?

You can hold the caterer guilty of providing deficient service on several counts. First of all, his men did not stick to the time schedule agreed upon and left early, causing you considerable inconvenience, besides embarrassing you before your guests. Second of all, they did not deserve any 'tip' for the deficient service that they had rendered. But here, they insisted on a bigger tip, which was also contrary to the terms of the agreement between you and the caterer. Third, the caterer, who could have intervened and resolved this issue, was not even available on phone; he had switched off his mobile. So, on all these counts, you can file a complaint against the caterer (he is also vicariously liable for the behaviour of his employees) and demand compensation. If there has been any other deficiency in the services that he rendered, in terms of quality of food or quantity, you could add those too in your complaint.

Can you quote a case to help me with this? Are there such cases?

Well, your case reminds me of a somewhat similar case decided by the Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum about two years ago. It pertained to the behaviour of the 'ghoriwala' hired for the wedding procession of the complainant's son.

In this case, Deepak Jain's complaint was that he had hired the services of a wedding band for the wedding of his son on February 2, 2013. The package included shehnai, dhol and ghori for a total of Rs 42,000. He had made it absolutely clear that he did not want any haggling for tips in front of his guests and so the tip to be paid to the ghoriwala was also fixed at Rs 500 and specified in the agreement.

However, on the day of the wedding, the mare attendant misbehaved and demanded more money on the ground that the marriage procession was going to a big hotel! He also exploited the appearance of dark clouds in the sky and the anxiety of the baratis to reach the venue before it started raining to push up his demand.

Upset over the tantrums of the ghoriwala and the harassment caused by him on the day of the wedding, Jain filed a complaint before the consumer court, seeking damages. Since the service provider did not appear despite notice, the Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum II gave an ex-parte order in which it held the service provider guilty of deficient service. It held that the ghoriwala not only created a scene, but also humiliated the complainant and caused him mental agony and distress. Such acts and conduct amount to deficient service and the band was vicariously liable for the conduct of its representative, the ghoriwala. It, therefore, directed that the complainant be paid Rs 10,000 towards compensation and costs of litigation (Shri Deepak Jain Vs Shiv Mohan Band, case number: 131/2013, decided on 11-2-2014).

In your case, the complaint is even more serious because the men that the caterer had sent to serve the food also left much before the agreed time, causing you and your family a lot of inconvenience and embarrassment in front of the guests. Such shoddy service is unacceptable and you must hold the caterer accountable.
Kamaljeet Kaur

Come June, holidays put a spring in our steps and a lark in our dreams. Our urge to fly out of our little shells makes us escape to a cool hill station, a beach resort, an adventure camp, a foreign shore or an exotic destination. We return with sweet memories of nature, cities, countries all captured in our mobiles, which we proudly upload on the social media. But in all this travel and tourism hoopla, how many faces, anecdotes and relationships do we bring back home?

Cut to a few decades back. June spelt fun with near and dear ones. Bags packed, we were off to meet our grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Warm homecomings, grandmas luncheons, late night banter, playing with the neighborhood gang till moms final summon were the norm. Vacations extended from at least two weeks to not less than a month. The stay became more like a second home. Long walks to city parks, frequent visits to famous landmarks, family picnics and binging at roadside kiosks

We took back home memories of places, people and their experiences. Our baggage was full of new friendships, minor tiffs, casual scolding, little pearls of wisdom and mysterious bonds. Holidays became a big melting pot of families and friends. One-on-one interaction gave an insight into human nature and the odd-even aspects of life. We even perhaps learnt the first lessons of life during holidays.

Today, a vacation has become an elaborate mission. It is more of a date with nature and historical places. Our little neigbourhood friend Ankit has been to the Andamans, Kerala, Srinagar, Singapore and Switzerland in all of the five summers he has seen to this day. We envy his topographic knowledge of these places, but pity him when he longs for little moments of warmth and mischief. He looks up with awe when his father narrates his childhood tales of climbing trees and plucking fruits with cousins in his native village.

Contrarily, the trend today is to move out of our routine enclosures to spend quality time in new surroundings. We avoid dropping by at relatives or friends during vacations. In the present nuclear set up, living with just parents and a sibling (if any) deprives a child of the warmth of near and dear ones. As a result, children get into the habit of living in the comfort of their solitude and find it difficult to adjust to new environment and people. In such a situation, mingling with cousins during vacations at least enables kids to become more socially tolerant.

However, this might not be the case with some. Gurvinder, a friend and avid traveler has his own reasons of regretting his childhood vacations with his family. Delhi was my destination every year. Meeting the same relatives, going to Appu Ghar and India Gate were the only getaways. It was boring. Now that he can pitch for his own tours, Gurvinder is going places literally. But he makes it a point to travel in a group so that he has a new set of friends added to his list every year. He returns home refreshed with memories of new places as well as faces.

Holidays indeed give an opportunity for rejuvenation. Exploring new places and a communion with raw nature gives an inexplicable high. To the chosen few, it even provides a haven for self actualization and inner peace.

But the social animals we are, we cannot rule out the importance of relationships. We need to look for a middle path to enrich ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally. The next time we plan an exotic tour, we could include a brief stopover to meet relatives and friends. Or better still, we can take them along for a touring family carnival. The more, the merrier!

Transport and technology have no doubt made the world a global village, but isnt it still love that makes the world go round?
Hugh & Colleen Gantzer

On the long and rising road, through the scrub lands of Madhya Pradesh, we time-travelled 700 years into the past. This was Turkish terrain: the Tughlaks ruled and they had appointed the Afghani Ghuris as their governors: a rough warrior family to control a fractious land.

The Ghuris settled into their job only too well. Governor Dilawar Khan Ghori, sensing the declining powers of his overlords, declared himself independent of distant Delhi. His son, Alp Khan went even further. When he ascended the throne in 1405, he changed his name to Hoshang Shah and shifted his capital to Mandu: a fortified, 633 metre-high, plateau.

History scrolled vividly through our minds as we wound our way up the tableland. Scrub lands gave way to rock-strewn, sub-montane slopes. Rising organically out of the bush and boulders, crumbling sentry-posts and watch-towers sped into view. Afghan architecture has a rugged, no nonsense, assertive grace. But as we drove though the tall gates of Mandu, we realised that when the Afghans had been replaced by the Mughals, the fortress had acquired a certain, dreamlike, quality about it and it soon became a place where great Islamic emperors unwound with their concubines. Ghiyath-ud-Din, the ruler and pampered son of the founder of Mandu, had a seraglio of 15,000 women, a bodyguard of 500 beautiful Turkish females and an equal number of exquisite Abyssinian damsels. In spite of this, he found time to build the unique Hindola Mahal: the Swing Palace. It got its name from the fact that its massive, arched, walls slope inwards like the supports of a gigantic swing. It was, probably, an audience hall with fretted stone screens which are works of art. It is easy to imagine the king holding court, surrounded by his glittering amazons: a powerful potentate in every sense of the term!

We strolled down the main road of Mandu and to the stone stairs of the Jahaz Mahal: the so-called Ship Palace. Its a massive, sprawling structure with squat towers, arches, pavilions and terraces. It thrusts out into a lake and, does manage to capture an air of cruising festivity in a traditional, heavy-handed, sort of way. Today, water-courses still curl with stylised formality, cupolas rise like the conical crowns of turbans, and where the tinkling laughter of women once filled the corridors, mynahs trill before they take wing. Mughal Emperor Jahangir was enchanted with the Jahaz Mahal and spent a blissful holiday here, besotted with the love of his life, the beautiful and intriguing Nur Jehan.

Mandus founder, Hoshang Shah, took a more serious view of life; and of death. His tomb, some way down the road from the Jahaz Mahal, is a sombre, hulking, structure with massive, fortress-like walls and crowned with a heavy dome! His most majestic monument, however, rises deeper in the village: the impressive Jami Masjid. The emperor did not live to see it completed but even in its present form, it is powerful. The best view of the mosque can be had from the Ashrafi Mahal, across the road from the mosque. It was started as a school by another great ruler of Mandu, Mahmud Khalji. Then he decided to raise it and dedicate it to his victory over the Rana of Mewa in Rajasthan. Curiously, the Rana also celebrated his victory in that battle and raised his famous Tower of Victory in Chittor.

Finally, we visited the Palace of Baz Bahadur built around a jade-green tank, and the legendary pavilion of his beloved, Rupamati: a shepherd girl with a beautiful voice. The so-called Rupamatis Pavilion was really a lookout post for vigilant sentries. As for Baz Bahadur: when the Mughals invaded his territories in 1561, the timid king fled leaving Rupamati behind. The honourable Mughal General, Adham Khan, treated the captured Rupamati with great respect but she committed suicide. She must have been heart-broken when she realised that her Baz the Brave was no bahadur!

But theres no reason why you should allow this harsh reality to dispel the other soft, romantic, legends of Mandu!
Harish Khare

I tend to think that the Badals (that means the father, the son and the brother-in-law) make a very smart and very shrewd team, but I am sure no one on the Badal bench would have thought of asking the censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani to come and pinch-hit for them in this match against Anurag Kashyap and his Udta Punjab.

Well, it only shows what happens when underequipped men (or women) are asked to guard the ramparts. Mr Nihalani's behaviour in the controversy can only be described as deeply disappointing. For anyone holding a public office, his utterances should embarrass even the most saffronite of the saffronites. This, though, is a matter to be sorted out between this small man and the other small men who appointed him as our censor chief.

The creative community can only keep its fingers crossed. It is reassuring that so many Bollywood artistes, such as Priyanka Chopra and Aamir Khan, did not feel intimidated and have spoken out against the censor board's overreach. Even that very careful man, Amitabh Bachchan, has been constrained to protest Nihalani's war on Udta Punjab.

The Badals are streetsmart enough to realise the damage Mr Nihalani has done to them. He has simply confirmed the rumour. Punjab does have a drug problem. In his clumsy handling of Udta Punjab, the censor chief has invited attention to the political dimension of the drug problem.

I thought it was downright silly of Mr Nihalani to suggest publicly that the Udta Punjab producer had taken money from the Aam Aadmi Party for making this film. In one stroke, the Censor Boss has done an enormous favour to the AAP, and, correspondingly, has further damaged the Badals' already bruised image. This was one Nihalani intervention the Badals could have done without. He has made the Badals look guilty.

Nihalani could have made a reasonable case that he was trying to curb vulgarity in films. From all accounts, Kashyap has been very, very creative with using expletives and other colourful phrases. A principled position on using explicit cuss words would have produced a different debate. But then, Mr Nihalani could not help being himself. He reduced the whole thing to a mohalla-level brawl.

Admittedly, one film or a controversy about a ban of a film does not bring about a total transformation in the public mood. But Punjabs political mood is definitely in a flux. The Udta Punjab episode is one more turn of the screw against the ruling party. A totally avoidable headache.

A Kolkata-based cousin wanted me to read a small monograph, Doing Time with Nehru, written by her school-friend, Yin Marsh. The monograph is a first-person account of how the ethnic Chinese community was treated once the India-China war broke out in 1962. Yin, then 12 years old, found herself among 2,000 Chinese-Indians who were rounded up, quarantined and interned in a camp in the Rajasthan desert.

The internment was a clumsy affair. The lower-level Indian bureaucracy had no idea how to keep an ethnically different group as prisoner. Yin and her family were tickled to learn that they were housed in the same bungalow where Nehru lived when he was interned by the British years before, so we felt very privileged. It felt like we were doing time with Nehru.

Though most of us remember the humiliation of our defeat in the 1962 war, this monograph reminds us of our dormant racism, how even a great, large-hearted man like Nehru countenanced this utterly unfair treatment of the ethnic-Chinese. Yin writes of a The Foreigners Act and Order that was passed in November 1962 and which gave license to the native Indian population to harass the ethnic Chinese in many different ways.

The internees were mostly offspring of mixed marriages and had been living in north-eastern India for generations, yet they were subjected to a hostile treatment. This impression stayed with me for a long time after we left the camp and drove home the point of how arbitrary and unjust the Indian government policies had been. The border war lasted just a month but the internment camp operated for five-and-a-half years.

Yin writes that though with the passage of time and maturity, I have overcome the anger that has been bottled up for years, she reminds us that this shameful chapter in Indias history was successfully suppressed for fifty years.

THIS week, the journalistic fraternity lost an old-fashioned practitioner of the craft. KK Katyal, long associated with The Hindu, passed away.

For years, he led The Hindu's national reporting team in Delhi. For some years, he was my boss at the newspaper, but he always treated me, and all other junior colleagues, with respect and consideration.

He belonged to the pre-electronic media era, when journalism was a serious calling and journalists were taken seriously and respected. And, he was very respected.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, he remained single-mindedly devoted to journalism and its inherent nobility. No ambassadorships for him, no high-commissionership either. No hankering after a Rajya Sabha seat.

His family came from Jhang (now in Pakistan), and in his later years, he became an active voice in promoting greater interaction among Indian and Pakistani journalists, as a necessary requirement for a better relationship between the two countries. He deserves a last salute.

WE are told that a number of gurus are going to be descending on Chandigarh in the run-up to the Mega Yoga Event on June 21. Sri Sri Ravishankar has already put in an appearance. Other yoga-entrepreneurs are scheduled to arrive and do their bit to create a 'mahaul' for the Prime Minister's Event.

These swamis remind me of a drill that used to take place in the insurgency-infested Kashmir valley some time ago: a road-opening party was sent out to sanitise a route before a substantial posse of soldiers and officers could be allowed to traverse that stretch of the road. The sarkari babas are doing a similar exercise.

From media reports, it can be gathered that many serving army and police officers attended a reception for Sri Sri Ravishankar at a private residence. I do not know if these officers consider themselves as the babas devotees. Nor do I know if the service rules frown upon such intermingling between officers and religious figures. But, it would be most unfortunate if any serving officer saw any collateral benefit from being seen in proximity with a godman who is known to enjoy the Prime Ministers political confidence.

I think a totally unhealthy precedent was set last year when the Chief of the Army Staff persuaded himself to join Narendra Modis yoga show at Rajpath. Now, junior officers feel emboldened in crossing the line.

The argument that yoga is above politics is a false pretence. The political nexus of these babas is hardly a secret. And everyone knows how these sarkari babas use their political connection to advance their business interests.

They all want to become raj prohits, if not raj gurus. Perhaps, they have in mind Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari as the role model. Old-timers still recall the tall, muscular, well-toned yoga master make a remarkably striking figure in a single white linen dhoti, as he strode in and out of Prime Minister Indira Gandhis residence. He was written about in the national and international media for his proximity to and influence over Indira Gandhi, how he had the ear of that prime minister and how he could get this or that minister in and out of her cabinet. He had his own aircraft, his own ashram-city, and his own television show on Doordarshan.

Whereas Swami Dhirendra Brahamchari operated during the austere, socialist days, the modern-day sarkari babas make a prosperous breed in these days of corporate greed and middle class affluence and confusion. Yoga is becoming a handy camouflage for both political and business calculations.

And, after that reinvigorating Surya Namaskar, do have a cup of coffee.

kaffeeklatsch@tribuneindia.com
Vijay C Roy in Chandigarh & Sanjeev Sharma in New Delhi

FROM head to toe, from mind to heart, and from wander lust to luxury, you name it, they have it. Wealth has had several siblings; one of them is e-commerce in the retail world these days. A growing number of apps riding on the back of startups, with some angel investors emerging from nowhere, are navigating mindshare, keeping their nose to the biz grindstone, and in the process, fueling the go get it attitude. Life looks simpler, at times beautiful.

Take a look: Shopping: Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong; mobile wallet: Paytm, Freecharge, Oxigen; chatting: Trulymadly, Tinder, WeChat, Airline booking: IndiGo, Air Asia, Jet Airway, plus more; groceries: Bigbasket, Pepper Tap, AskMeBazaar; movie ticket booking: BookMyShow, PVR, INOX, Cinepolis; Travel: Makemytrip, Goibibo, Yatra; Taxi booking: Ola, Uber, Meru, Taxiforsure. And what have you.

Mobile app usage in India rose 131% over the last year, outpacing the global average, according to panelists at the Apps India conference 2015. Additionally, smartphone users have been tapping into ecommerce apps more often this year (54% in May 2015, compared to 21% May 2014).

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Industry sources say since most start-ups and ecommerce companies have launched their own apps, the demand for app developers has increased by more than 30 per cent over the past two years. Yet, finding the right developer remains a challenge even though each year, about 15 lakh students graduate as engineers in India. The app development segment, on its part, requires engineers who can work on both Android and iOS platforms.

According to a report by independent mobile industry market research and consultancy provider, Research2Guidance, India is slated to become one of the biggest players in the global app market by 2016, overtaking leading smartphone app markets such as the US, and five Western European Union countries.

The new wave

Manaswi, a PR professional in Delhi, spends the one hour she commutes to her office glued to her phone. The 25-year-old isnt hooked to WhatsApp or Facebook. She browses for latest clothing, gadgets, phones and checks out the latest deals on Flipkart and Amazon. A for lunch, she considers her options on like Zomato and Foodpanda.

Many like her are opting to download apps of their favourite ecommerce ventures and use these slickly designed products rather than browser-based variants.

According to estimates, over 70 per cent of the traffic is driven by smartphones and mobile users, the e-commerce firms are not taking any chances but ensure that they should have both desktop as well as app models.

In recent past companies like Flipkart, Myntra etc partially rolled back their mobile app only plans. No company can deliver extraordinary customer experience without having a mobile app in todays world. However, forcing users to stick to a channel might not work in favour of companies. It makes sense for the ecommerce players to have both desktop as well as mobile app models.

According to rough estimates, the current rate of conversion through mobile is around 50 per cent, which is decent. Moreover, with the penetration of mobile wallet in the country increasing, it is estimated that in the near future, transactions would increase dramatically. So, every e-commerce player present on the desktop have mobile apps also, said Amarjeet Singh, senior partner, KPMG, a consulting firm.

From ecoms top shelf

Nilotpal Chakravarti, associate vice-president, The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), says online travel in India, over the years has been the largest digital commerce segment in terms of revenue generation. Online retail is catching up fast and is expected to match travel in revenue by this year.

Cash-on-delivery (COD) is one of the key growth drivers for the growth of online retail and is estimated to account nearly 50 per cent online retail sales. Chakravarti says the total digital commerce market in India was valued at Rs 53,301 crore in December 2013 and grew 53 per cent through 2014 and reached Rs 81,525 crore by the December 2014. The industry was estimated to grow further and cross Rs 1 lakh crore.

Amazon, which is among the dominant online retail platforms along with Flipkart and Snapdeal, is betting big on India. We continue to look at India as a key growth region and are committed to invest aggressively and transform the way India buys and sells, an Amazon spokesperson told The Tribune.

Estimates are that the ecommerce industry has grown at a rate of 50 per cent on a yearly basis. A spokesperson for Snapdeal said this growth has been driven by changing demographics, increasing smartphone penetration and several other macroeconomic factors. The rapid growth has led to a significant rise in consumer expectations and therefore, evolution in offerings by e-commerce players.

Snapdeal is altering its business model to focus on growth. At Snapdeal, we believe, the true value of ecommerce can be measured by how significantly entrenched it is in the lives of customers and the convenience it provides. We have recalibrated our vision from an outcome metric like gross merchandise value (GMV) alone to a more growth-focused proposition like building habit commerce and repeat purchase, the company said.

Assocham-Forrester

Online travel has seen growth across all subcategories including car rentals, airlines, hotels and travel review and info sites.

Users seek info on travel options on a regular basis, with the Railways being the largest target. One out of every 5 online users in India visits the Indian Railways site.

Retail category penetration is up to 65 million unique visitors a month registering an annual growth of 55%. Apparel has been the fastest growing subcategory.

Roughly 60-65 per cent of the total ecommerce sales in India are being generated by mobile devices & tablets.

New marketplace

Internet and Mobile Association of India says the number of mobile Internet users in India may reach 371 million by June this year. The number was 306 million in December 2015.

American Express-Nielsen survey

Online shopping overtakes social networking in India as Indians voted online shopping (98%) as the top reason to access internet; closely followed by social networking (96%).

Shopping, travel and utility bill payments comprise a major chunk of online spending.

Average online monthly spend of Indians is Rs 9,400. In metros, this is Rs 10,900 while in Tier-1 cities it is Rs 8,000. Across cities it can touch an overall ticket size of Rs 16,000.

So, what will you buy?

Snapdeal claims to be Indias largest online marketplace. With 35 million-plus products across 800-plus diverse categories from over 125,000 regional, national, and international brands and retailers. Snapdeal says it currently has more than 3,00,000 sellers onboard  the highest among e-commerce marketplaces.

However

A report by Kotak Institutional Equities says a tightening funding environment has prompted stricter evaluation of business models.

Tight funding environment is leading to consolidation in several ecommerce verticals. Hyperlocal players seem to be worst-hit: Peppertap has shut its grocery delivery business and is now focusing only on logistics. Roadrunnr is reportedly merging with food-ordering app Tinyowl.

Yahoo-Mindshare
Shiv Kumar in Mumbai & Charu Chhibber in Chandigarh

IN celebration of life, death is a like a song interrupted, something of a cruel leveler. How do we look at the interregnum  the celebration and the grief? There could possibly be a way to live on, for others, defeating death. Ask Rajinder Kaur, she'd tell you the worth of both. A coordinator for cadaver organ transplant in Chandigarh, she'd also tell you what it takes to give life after a life gone.

"Very often, people who are highly educated do not agree to donate an organ of their brain-dead family member. They usually react with anger at first. Then there are those who are poor and less educated only some are willing," says Rajinder Kaur.

She has much more to talk about:

May 13: Jasbir Singh (30), a labourer, died at PGI after a road accident. His family donated his kidneys and corneas, which were transplanted to four patients. "We have taken a pledge to motivate others to donate their loved one's organs and give the precious gift of life to others," said Jasbir Singh's father Som Nath.

May 12: Pawan Kumar (55) of Yamunanagar lives on in four others. "Even in his death, he has done what he lived for by saving the lives," said Pawan Kumar's son Munish Kumar Gulati.

April 28: Sourav Duvedi (23), died in a road accident. He saved five lives as his parents donated his liver, kidneys, eyes and pancreas. "We'll see our son in the people who got a new life because of him," says Sourav's father Tilak Raj.

According to a study, 150,000 people in India are awaiting a kidney transplant; however, only 3,000 of them are able to receive a transplant. And 90% of people on the waiting list die without getting an organ.

That's a situation 15 years after India passed the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, allowing organ retrieval from the brain-dead patients. There's good news, however. Though PGI sees nearly 120 brain-dead patients in a month, the institute does not have a long list of cadaver transplants. However, the number is quickly picking up. A total of 196 cadaveric (only from brain dead patients) donations have taken place to date, including 160 kidneys, 28 livers, four hearts and six pancreases.

Out of these, 26 donations were made in 2015, said Dr Vipin Kaushal, additional professor, department of hospital administration, PGI, who is also nodal officer of Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTO). As a result, PGI achieved the highest rate (24.64) of organ donation per million in the country.

And Mumbai is seeing a spurt in organ donations with 72 cadaver donations being reported in the last four-and-a-half months alone. These have been broken into 22 liver transplantations, 11 heart and 39 kidney transplantations. Donors and recipients vary across genders and age groups and hail from different economic strata of society, according to the Directorate of Health Services (DHS), Mumbai.

How it's done

"When we explain the benefits of cadaver organ donation, the benumbed family members do listen in frustration. By the time we meet them a second time, half of them agree," says Rajinder Kaur.

Typically, a donation happens after a patient has been declared brain dead by doctors at a hospital. Immediately, coordinators/counselors try to get the consent to harvest the organs.

The organs are kept alive scientifically and transported quickly to the hospital where the patient is admitted for transplantation.

Green corridor

Earlier last month, the heart of a road accident victim from Pune was harvested and brought to Mumbai by road where it was transplanted on a 14-year-old recipient. The journey along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway took just 1 hour 35 minutes.

Within minutes, teams of traffic police created a roadmap: over 150 police personnel blocked the road to prevent any bottlenecks on the path through which the ambulance carrying the heart was to pass.

The ambulance left Pune's Ruby Hall Clinic at 1.38 am and reached Mumbai's Fortis Hospital via the Mumbai-Pune Expressway at 3.13 am where Dr Anvay Mulay of the hospital's Cardiac Transplant Team conducted the transplant.

In Chandigarh, Rajiv Kumar Ambasta, DSP (Traffic), says it needs a lot of coordination to ensure that an ambulance is not stuck in traffic at any point. "There is no space for error as a little delay can lead to trouble," he says.

Hand transplant in Mumbai

KEM Hospital, run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, is all set to become the first hospital in Maharashtra to carry out hand transplants. The hospital awaits the go-ahead from the state government to carry out this procedure, officials said. After about a year of a transplant, the new limb becomes 90 per cent normal, says Dr Vinita Puri, Head, Department of Plastic, Reconstructive Surgery and Burns, KEM Hospital.
Deepender Deswal in Hisar, Sunit Dhawan in Rohtak & Ravinder Saini in Rewari

SHARE a hookah with an angry Jat, you'd know if it's small storm or a looming battle. When the blistering sun beats down on a handful of protestors, their cause gets even more amplified; the government gets roughest of tongue-lashing as tactics for reservation agitation is exchanged over mobile phones, undeterred by any fear of state intelligence men in plainclothes. Several protestors are furious over the state government's "deceitful," actions, but they know the Jat Stir-II isn't about anger alone.

About half a km from the NH-10 in Mayyar village of Hisar, the hotspot of Feb agitation, about 100 men have dug in their heels for over a week. State president of the All India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) Satbir Punia is wary of reporters. Whenever he talks, he is tailed by a few men from state intelligence. "We are treated well at the dharna site. We also enjoy the hookah. They offer us access to routine discussions, though they also have private conversations, we get the whiff," says an official.

Punia is hopeful of a "revival" of the stir. "We have enough supporters; we can gather more people. But there is no need for a show of strength at this point. The government is playing all kinds of tricks, but we are not bogged down," says Punia.

Rambhagat Malik, a Samiti functionary, says threats of disqualification in recruitment in defence forces and the police have been held out and sarpanches have been warned that development grants to the villages could be cut.

In Rohtak, mostly elderly men participate in the protest at Jassia village on the Rohtak-Panipat National Highway. They are getting more support from women and youth. Advocate Ashok Balhara, who also heads the Rohtak district unit of the All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti, says the state government was employing delay tactics, but the community members were prepared for a long and peaceful protest. "Bad elements are being taken out so that the community is not defamed," he says.

Devender Hooda, a farmer-cum-social activist of Jassia village, says the community members are adamant on reservation. Om Prakash, the sarpanch of Khidwali village, says the more the state government tries to suppress the agitation, the more intense it would become.

In Rewari, Jats owing allegiance to Yashpal Malik, chief of Akhil Bhartiya Jat Aarakashan Sangharsh Samiti (ABJASS) are staging dharna at Paranpura village, located on the border of Haryana and Rajasthan. Resentment and annoyance against the state government is clearly visible.

"The government has punished the innocent youth belonging to the community for participating in the agitation. We want to prove that Jats can also run a peaceful agitation. We are giving sufficient time to the government to act," said Jeet Ram Lour, Rewari district press secretary of ABJASS.

He warns: "We will not hesitate to block roads and disrupt rail movement if ABJASS decides. The government will be fully responsible for anything untoward."

Mada Ram (95), who is the eldest among the protesters and leading the sit-ins in Pranpura, says the government had promised the community financial aid and a job to the family members of those who died during the Feb stir. Nothing has happened. We'll fight till the end to get justice."

The Jats from nearby villages have started gathering at the dharna site. Organizers say arrangement for lunch and dinner has been made and some protesters spend the night at the site too. There are around 70 Jat-dominated villages in Rewari and most of them are located in Bawal assembly segment.

"A non-committal attitude of the BJP government towards our demands and actions such as issuing notices seeking details of our property are annoying us," says Mahender Singh, a retired policeman, who comes to Pranpura from Banipur a good 12-km distance.
Himanshu Kumar Lall

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 11

Academy Cadet Adjutant (ACA) Rajendra Singh Bisht bagged the most coveted Sword of Honor for being adjudged the best all round Gentleman Cadet from the regular course and the bronze medal for standing third in the order of merit.

Bisht comes from a humble background. He was born in Bareilly, home to Jat Regimental Centre, and belongs to Ranikhet where Kumaon Regimental Centre is located. He grew up dreaming about a life in the Army as these regimental centres had always motivated him to don the olive green. He dedicated his success to his father Gopal Singh Bisht and mother Vimla Devi.

Bisht, an alumni of Sainik School, Gorakhal, said hard work is the only way to achieve the desired goals. Youths of the nation should come forward to join the military forces as this was the noblest of professions, he added. Before joining to the IMA, Bisht was a bronze medalist in the National Defence Academy.

Another awardee, Battalion Under Officer Aman Dhaka from New Delhi, who won the gold medal, decided to join the Indian Army as his father had always motivated and wanted him to join the forces. He said it was a very special day since his dream of joining the Army was fulfilled.

Silver medalist Senior Under Officer N Dinesh Kumar from Tamil Nadu is an alumni of Sainik School and has no Army background.
The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 (SI-2) plane is headed to New York as part of its zero-fuel round-the-world flight, Sputnik reported.



Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard are the founders of the Solar Impulse project and both are taking turns piloting the single-seater SI-2 during the round-the-world flight, which started in March with the plane's departure from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.



"This flight will bring Solar Impulse over the Statue of Liberty to New York City, with a final landing at JFK [airport]. Over the past month, Solar Impulse 2 has crossed the United States, the land of pioneers - flying over the Golden Gate Bridge and now we will finally be flying over the Statue of Liberty," Solar Impulse said on its live broadcast and flight map page.



The plane departed for the 14th leg of its flight from Lehigh Valley in the US state of Pennsylvania late on Friday (03:18 GMT on Saturday).

"Andre Borschberg will take the airplane to the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, a stretch that Bertrand Piccard will soon attempt to cross," Solar Impulse said on its updates page.

SI-2 is expected to return to Abu Dhabi after reaching New York.



SI-2 can reach a maximum speed of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour. Its wingspan is 72 meters (236 feet) and the weight is only 2,300 kilograms, or 5,070 pounds, equivalent to that of a car. The plane is powered by sun energy collected by over 17,200 solar cells covering its wings, fuselage and tailplane.

The aircraft's prototype is Solar Impulse , which was used by Borschberg to conduct the world's first ever manned 26-hour solar-powered flight in July, 2010.


Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 11

Uttar Pradesh continued with its tradition of sending a larger number of young officers to the Indian Military Academy. The latest data compiled by the IMA clearly highlights that out of 565 Indian Gentle Cadets, the maximum number (98), who joined the elite Indian Army, were from Uttar Pradesh. It is followed by Haryana and Bihar which sent 60 GCs each to the Army while Uttarakhand stood third with 52 GCs.

There was no representation from Tripura, Pudducherry, and Arunachal Pradesh while a GC each was from Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Goa. A total of 36 passing-out GCs were from Maharashtra, while 35 GCs belonged to Rajasthan and and 32 to Himachal Pradesh. The state known for its bravery, Punjab, this time sent only 27 GCs to the Indian Army while Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala sent 15 GCs and 16 GCs, respectively.
Dhaka, June 11

More than 3,000 persons, including 37 militants, have been arrested across Bangladesh in a sweeping crackdown on Islamists to halt a wave of fatal attacks on minorities and secular writers, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today vowed to catch "each and every killer".

The militants arrested were operatives of the outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the outfit believed to have carried out most of the attacks on secular and liberal activists and minorities, including Hindus and Christians. Bangladesh launched the drive after a high-level meeting held by Inspector General AKM Shahidul Hoque on Thursday. The anti-militant drive involved the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh and the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion. Bangladesh has been witnessing a string of brutal attacks by Islamists.  PTI
Beijing, June 11

China plans to instal tsunami detection buoys in the disputed South China Sea and waters east of the Ryukyu Trench and Taiwan Island to firm up its hold on the disputed region.

They will be linked to international tsunami warning networks, providing early warnings for Chinas east and south coasts and nearby countries, said Yuan Ye, director of the tsunami warning centre of the State Oceanic Administration.

Some buoys have been installed west of the Manila Trench, which has the potential to generate a tsunami event in the South China Sea, Yuan was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency today.

China argues such measures are aimed at helping countries in the region to cope up with natural disasters. It recently opened a light house saying it helps navigation in the region.

China claims almost all of South China Sea as its own.

However, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area.

Located along the earthquake zone of the Pacific Rim, China faces threats from regional and trans-ocean tsunami.

In particular, those originating from the Nankai Trough and Manila Trench may seriously threaten the South China Sea, the Xinhua reported.

Chinas tsunami warning network can warn of events in the whole Pacific within five minutes, in the northern and western part of the ocean in one minute and in the South China Sea in 30 seconds.

The network receives data from about 800 tide and current stations and 60 tsunami detection buoys around the world, in addition to 112 tidal stations along the countrys own coast.

In the first 15 years of the 21st century, more than ten tsunami disasters were recorded, compared with the average level of one in every six years in the previous century.  PTI
Beijing, June 11

China has termed the cancellation of a contract by a US firm with a Chinese rail consortium to build a prestigious high-speed railway line linking Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles as a mistake and warned of legal action.

The China Railway, reacting to the news of cancellation of the contract, said that the Las Vegas-based XpressWests unilateral cancellation of a high-speed railway contract with its subsidiary is a mistake and irresponsible.

The China Railway said in a statement that the US company had breached a cooperation agreement by unilaterally announcing the termination.

It opposed the US companys decision and has been dealing with the case according to law, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The US private company said on Thursday that it had terminated its joint venture activities with CRI (China Railway International USA Co Ltd regarding high-speed passenger rail between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

In September last year, XpressWest and CRI announced to establish a joint venture to build the Southwest Rail Network that will connect Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles in California.

The two sides planned to start construction on the 370 km line in September 2016 with an initial investment of USD 100 million.

XpressWest said the decision to end the relationship has been taken due to problems with timely performance and challenges that had come with the Chinese companies being grouped under a consortium called CRI.

The merger faced problems in obtaining required authority to proceed with required development activities.

The cancellation is a major blow to Chinas ambitious plans to market its bullet train technology outside the country.

Already the $5.5 billion deal to build Chinese high speed train in Jakarta.

China is actively lobbying to build bullet trains in India, Malaysia and Singapore.

The Chinese railway is conducting feasibility study for High Speed train between Chennai and New Delhi.  PTI
Islamabad, June 11

Pakistans powerful Army Chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the US to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.

General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson here on Friday.

In a late night statement, the Army said Gen Raheel demanded targeting of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, the COAS reiterated Pakistans resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism, it said.

It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on May 21.

The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.

Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistans sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, it said.

Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region had to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.

He said all stakeholders needed to understand Pakistans challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.

Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate, he said.

He said Pakistan is committed to working for a long-term peace process for Afghanistan under the four nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.

Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Ministers Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated. PTI
Omaha (US): Billionaire Warren Buffett has again auctioned off a private lunch to raise money for a homeless charity, and this time the meal goes to the highest bidder for $3.4 million. In 2012, the winner paid $3,456,789 to become the most expensive individual charity item ever sold on eBay. Six of the past eight winners paid more than $2 million to dine with Buffett, the investor who leads the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. The only limit on lunch conversation is what Buffett might invest in next, but any other topic is open. AP

Reporter attacked on live TV in US

Philadelphia: A Telemundo reporter has been punched in the face during a live TV broadcast in Philadelphia. Iris Delgado was wrapping up a report outside City Hall on Thursday when a woman approached her. Footage shows the woman tapping Delgado's right arm and saying, "Excuse me, excuse me." The woman then bashes Delgado in the head and slaps her face. The district attorney's office says Waheedah Wilson has been charged over the assault. AP

An app that puts you to sleep

Toronto: A Canadian researcher has created an app that uses a method that essentially scrambles ones thoughts and keeps the mind off issues that may prevent sleep. A racing mind, worries and uncontrollable thoughts are common bedtime complaints among poor sleepers, said Luc Beaudoin of Simon Fraser University, who has created the mySleepButton app that uses what Beaudoin calls a cognitive shuffle, or Serial Diverse Imagining (SDI). However, SDI is not without its challenges. "The human brain is a 'meaning maker' or a sense-making machine," he said. IANS
Dubai: Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has pledged allegiance to new Afghan Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, whose predecessor was killed in a US drone strike. The pledge came in a 14-minute audio and video message posted online, the US-based monitor SITE Intelligence Group said on Saturday. The message included images of Qaida founder Osama bin Laden. PTI
Richmond (US), June 11

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has slammed US President Barack Obama for endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate despite being under criminal investigation.

Trump, however, said he was ready to face Clinton in the November elections, which he claimed would attract the largest ever voter turnout.

You have a President coming out and endorsing somebody who is under criminal investigation. Is this supposed to be the way the country supposed to be? Trump told his cheering supporters at an election rally in Richmond, Virginia yesterday.

This was Trumps first public rally since Obama endorsed Clinton as Democratic presidential nominee against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

The rally at spacious Richmond Coliseum attracted several thousands people. But the arena having a capacity of 13,500 was more than half empty.

Trump said the rally was organised at a short notice of less than one day.

The real estate mogul from New York said he would make a major policy speech on Clinton in New Hampshire on Monday. To the cheering of his supporters, Trump described this as a crooked Hillary speech.

There is so much corruption. If the system works, she is not allowed to run. It is really unfair for the other people, Trump said referring to a latest news report that an Indian American Rajiv Fernando was appointed to the important International Security Advisory board because of his alleged massive donations to the Clinton Foundation.

The Advisory Board advises the State Department on nuclear weapons and other issues of national security. Based out of Chicago, Fernando is a securities trader president of Chopper Trading.

According to ABC News, Fernando was a major bundler for the Obama Campaign, raising more than $5,00,000 for his re-election cycle. And before his appointment at the State Department, he gave between $1,00,000 and $2,50,000 to the William J Clinton Foundation.

Trump cited this as another example for corruption by Hillary Clinton. He made a contribution of $2,50,000 and all of a sudden hes on this very important and vital board, he said.

Reiterating that Clinton should not be allowed to run for the elections, he said he is ready to run against the former US Secretary of State and exuded confidence of winning the election.

Trump said the debate against Clinton would be the biggest debate in the history and would be the biggest voter turnout in the history of this country.

Countries like China and Mexico, he alleged are destroying the United States. He reiterated that he would make the wall on the Mexico border, which some day may be called as Trump Wall. Someday, people would call it a Trump wall, he said, adding this would be a strong, tall and beautiful wall.

Our taking is being taken advantage of because we have very stupid people representing in trade. It is not going to happen. We are losing badly. We have the smartest people in the world. But we are using dumbest people, he alleged.

Trump claimed that companies would start setting up manufacturing plants in the US, because there would be consequences for moving jobs overseas. We are going to bring jobs back to America, he said, adding his administration would lower taxes and simplify tax codes.

Hillary Clinton is going to raise taxes beyond anyone imagination, he claimed.

Polls are looking good in Virginia, he said. Pollsters are saying that Virginia is a key swing state for the November general elections. He claimed that he would win the presidential elections in Florida and New York.

Unless we win in November, it means nothing. It would be waste of time and money, he said and asked people to come out and vote in large numbers in the November general elections.

I am the least racist person that you have ever looked at, he said, referring to the allegations that he is a racist.

Trump lashed out at Clinton for not using the term radical Islamic terrorism because she does not want to offend Obama. Because she does not want to go to jail. The system is rigged. Bernie found it out, he said.

If we had guns in those rooms, and bullets going in opposite direction, not so many people would have been killed, he said. We are going to win again and we are going to kick ISIS, we are going to win in trade, we are going to win on the Supreme Court... we are going to win so much that you people are going to (get) sick and tired of winning. We are going to win, win, win, he said.

Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor to the Trump Campaign, alleged that as Secretary of State, Clinton gave a prominent national security post dealing with nuclear security to someone who paid USD five million to the Clinton Foundation.  PTI
At least 31 Daesh terrorists were killed Friday in northern Syria during an operation by Turkish Armed Forces and the U.S.-led coalition, a Turkish military source said Saturday, Anadolu reported.

A total of 33 Daesh targets were hit by Howitzers, the source said, adding that targets included gun emplacements, Katyusha rocket launchers and mortars.

U.S.-led coalition forces also launched nine airstrikes on Daesh positions - five in Jakka, and another four in the rural areas of Doudyan - the source said, adding that the joint operation had killed an estimated 31 Daesh terrorists.

The airstrikes also reportedly destroyed six Daesh defensive positions, five truck-mounted rocket launchers, three fortified buildings and three mortar emplacements.
The Kraftwerk Westfallen coal-burning power plant is pictured on May 23, 2011 in Hamm, Germany. (Photo : Getty Images/Lars Baron)

Iceland has discovered an innovative way to handle climate change, global warming and the increasing levels of pollution that lead to such environmental problems. The first of its own kind of power plant in Iceland has devised a method to turn carbon emission into stones.







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The team working on the innovation achieved this breakthrough, published in the journal Science, in just a few years. Usually, it takes a lot of time for the researchers to think through such an innovation and make it operate in reality. The project, dubbed CarbFix, collaborates engineers and scientists from different universities across the world and Reykjavik Energy, the Icelandic energy company.



The technique used by the researchers buries carbon in basalt rock. Basalt is one of the most common rocks found all around the globe. Thus, there are high chances of this technology to be scaled up and used across different industries in the world.



"The current consensus is that it would take up to thousands of years to mineralize CO2," Sigurdur Gislason, co-author of the study, told CNBC. "But we can show you can mineralize CO2 within two years. That is pretty amazing, because mineralizing is the safest way of storing CO2."



The researchers working on the CarbFix project have been trying to inject water and carbon dioxide into an underground well lined by basalt. The well is situated near Iceland's Hellisheidi geothermal power plant.



In fact, capturing carbon dioxide and sequestering it to an underground source has been discussed in the past as one of the promising ways to reduce the emissions. However, this is the first time that a research team has been practically able to do that.



Different ways to sequester the gas have also been discussed, including the use of empty underground aquifers, unminable coal seams and old oil wells. However, the novel method devised by the team in Iceland makes use of carbon dioxide mixed with water. The mixture is injected into an underground basalt rock.



The basalt rock, in turn, reacts with underground minerals to produce a new form a solid rock that does not leak. In addition, it does not pose any kind of threat to the environment.



The following video talks about the CarbFix project:






127th Tournament Of Roses Parade Presented By Honda (Photo : Scott Brinegar/Disneyland via Getty Images)

Shanghai Disneyland, the biggest and the most expensive international resort, will be opening in China on June 16 which has a distinct Chinese feel.



The nearly 1,000-acre, $5.5-billion development in Shanghai features two hotels, 100-acre lake and even an interactive Storybook Castle. Unlike Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland, which are very similar to the U.S. theme park, the Disneyland in China mixed Disney features as well as some Chinese architecture and customs.



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A good example is the Chinese zodiac sign animals which were represented by different Disney Pixar characters. Also, instead of an American-style Main Street, the main promenade is called Mickey Street.



During its soft opening, the park was visited by thousands of people wherein some even caused damage to the park and littered everywhere that is why the government issued some points to remember when visiting the park. Also, visitors complained about long queues and wait-times that reach up to five hours just to get a ride.



The project which is a joint venture between the U.S. company and Shanghai Shendi Group, targets the upper middle class which could double 100 million by 2020. The Chinese tourism industry currently represents $610 billion in spending both in the area and in abroad and because of Shanghai Disneyland, this is expected to double by 2020.



"China represents a great market for the Walt Disney Company because our stories are not only known here but they are universal in appeal, they touch people's hearts all over the world, no matter what country, no matter what culture," said Disney CEO Bob Iger, according to NBC News adding that the park is the biggest step that the company has taken in any overseas market.



Meanwhile, over 3,000 distinguished guests, celebrities and government officials will be present during the opening presenting creative acrobatics, costumes, choreography, and technology including dazzling lights, Disney music, pageantry, special effects and fireworks.



There will also be custom musical arrangements by pianist Lang Lang for the Frozen song, "Let it Go" and the song that is especially written for the opening entitled, "Ignite the Dreamer Within" Other songs that will be performed by Shanghai Symphony, conducted by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon composer Tan Dun are "Once Upon a Dream," "Heigh Ho" and "Some Day My Prince will Come," ABC 7 reported.



Fans of Disney don't need to go the China to celebrate the "Grand Opening Celebration of Shanghai Disney Resort" since it will be simultaneously aired on Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD on June 16, 8 pm EST and will be replayed on June 17 at 10Pm EST.






OKLAHOMA CITY  Gov. Mary Fallin on Friday signed the fiscal year 2017 budget bill to fund state government.

Lawmakers on the final day of the legislative session last month gave approval to a budget for the coming fiscal year that begins July 1.

Senate Bill 1616 appropriates $6.8 billion. It relies in part on a $200 million bond issue, which had been an issue of contention for some lawmakers.

Legislators had $1.3 billion less to spend for the fiscal year 2017 budget due to tax cuts, a downturn in energy prices and an inability to significantly reduce tax credits and incentives designed to generate economic activity.

Fallin vetoed a portion of the bill that required the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to pay $473,283 for volunteer fire department workers compensation premiums for fiscal year 2017.

Volunteer firefighter coverage will not be affected by this line item veto and volunteer firefighters will retain the same workers compensation coverage currently provided, Fallin stated in her line-item veto message.
Skinner Trace which is off the S.S. Erin Road is experiencing major land movement which has 
This week, Insight hears from first responders at emergencies, hearing how they felt, why they acted and the responsibility of being first on the scene.

Whats it like being first on the scene of an emergency? How do we react to being thrown into a situation way outside our comfort zone?

Whether were trained emergency workers or just out surfing with a mate, there are varied responses to being first on the scene. Some react without thinking, driven by a base instinct to jump in and help without concern for getting hurt. Others freeze to take stock of the situation, consider the potential dangers and weigh up the risks and benefits before diving in. Some remain aloof, or flee altogether.

What would you do if a colleague or fellow student suddenly fired bullets around the room, killing and injuring many? Youre near the door, a clean escape is simple, you could just follow your classmates to safety. Or do you push forward and try to stop the gunman in his tracks? This is the situation Alastair Boast found himself in.

In March, Joel Trist was out surfing when his nearby friend was attacked by a shark. Joels instinct to save him kicked in immediately. The potential for the shark to attack again only crossed Joels mind as he paddled Brett to shore.

Responding to emergencies is part of Peter Davidsons job. But his fortitude was truly tested during the infamous 1998 Sydney-Hobart yacht race as he was pushed to his limits, and managed to save eight sailors in one treacherous hour.

Guests include:

Joel Trist, Surfer

All of a sudden I heard this terrible scream  from the amount of splashing I thought, well, this is happening  Hes getting attacked by a shark.

Agie Krowka, Off-duty ICU nurse

Its fifty times harder when its someone that you actually know.

Alastair Boast, Former Monash University student

As I turned I saw a student in the back corner of the room, and he was the only one standing. And he was sort of looking down at something, and in that moment, I stood up and charged.

Brett Inder, Professor, Monash University

Bravery expresses itself in lots of different ways.

Mark Kempton, Helicopter pilot

And that is one of the most difficult things to deal with in our industry: that you cant save everybody.

Peter Davidson, Rescue paramedic

I just thought it was absolutely impossible. I didnt think I could rescue anybody, and I just thought they were going to perish.

Lydia Johns-Putra, Urologist

It was apparent that the only way to remove this man was to amputate both his legs.

Tuesdays at 8.30pm on SBS.
NITV series Colour Theory returns tonight exploring the worlds of our contemporary indigenous artists.

Tony Albert, host, says: Being featured as one of the first artists in Colour Theory only four years ago, I never imagined I would be hosting this third iteration. It is an honour and a privilege. This new series showcases the diverse cultural expression of Australia, where through art, we can come to understand the world we live in.

The stories, passion and talent of the artists featured is incredibly inspiring  despite their differences in geography, medium, artistic training and conceptual concerns, they are all united by a sense of pride and belief in their culture.

Episode One: Julie and Clive Freeman

The unique artistic partnership of Julie Freeman and her son Clive is at one with their Galamban (home country), revitalising traditional cultural practices by exhibiting them within the context of contemporary art. As Yuin cultural custodians, they employ the materials of country to tell stories of country. Reeds, shells and ochre gathered from the shores of Wreck Bay, on New South Wales south-coast, all find a place in the vibrant artistic panoply of their lives. Yet, this is not a tradition trapped in the past. Clives art expresses new pathways for translating an ancient heritage in a contemporary world, whist Julie reveals that there is more to this art than meets the eye  sometimes the hands that make things are not only yours.

Sunday 12 June, 9pm on NITV.
Tinder App (Photo : Facebook)

Tinder is reportedly banning all users under the age of 18 from using its dating app. The age requirement has been 13 years old since the social network was launched in 2012. In the past teens were matched up with other people in their age group, but starting next week no under-aged teenagers will be allowed to use the mobile platform.



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Tinder told Tech Crunch that Tinder has made more than 11 billion matches since its launch. However, because of its responsibility to gauge its users' experiences it will end service for users under 18 years old.



The so-called "swiping app" will start the new policy next week. It will affect less than 3 percent of the dating app's global user base, according to PC Magazine.



Tinder CEO Sean Rad also recently promised a user-friendly experience for transgender customers. However, the company provided few details about the app's new filters.



The dating app has made several changes lately. They include the new "Super Like" that lets someone know they are a one-in-a-million person, and the option to add work and education information in user profiles. Tinder also tested profile-sharing with friends.



Meanwhile, Tinder co-founder Whitney Wolfe has launched the location-based social/dating app Bumble. It only allows women to start chats with dating matches.



The company takes quick action against anti-women comments. A user named "Connor" was recently publically shamed after he got angry when a female user asked what kind of work he does for a living.



Connor claimed that female users like "Ashley" often ask about his career and how much money he makes. He stated that he put his job in his profile to test female Tinder users.



Bumble added a blog post that called Connor a small-minded, woman-hating man. He was also blocked from the social app.



In related news, supporters of real estate billionaire Donald Trump have launched a new dating service for fans of the GOP presidential candidate, according to The Sun. It is found at TrumpSingles.com.



The site was launched by California TV producer David Goss. He explained that some of the bold comments made by the conservative politician have made it harder for his supporters to get dates.



A mobile app for fans of The Donald is set to launch during the next week.



Here's how to use Tinder:






"There's a saying that Paris is Portugal's second city," laughs Gabriel dos Santos, a 20-something Frenchman who, like so many fans at Portugal's open training sessions, proudly identifies himself as Portuguese-French.

"The capital is Lisbon, then Paris. There might be 11 million people in Portugal but everywhere, and in France in particular, there's many, many more."

France is home to the world's largest Portuguese expatriate community, with well over a million people self-identifying as being of Portuguese extraction, the majority of them based in the Paris area. When Portugal meet Austria at Parc des Princes on 18 June, that is sure to create an electric atmosphere.

Three of Fernando Santos's squad  Raphael Guerreiro, Anthony Lopes and Adrien Silva  were born in the UEFA EURO 2016 host nation and Lopes yesterday said he hopes the expat community here "will ensure we are the best-supported side after France".

After a rousing reception at Orly Airport on Thursday, A Selecao were whisked off to their training base in Marcoussis, 30km south of the capital. There, around 2,000 fans clad in Portugal, Benfica, Porto and Sporting shirts packed into the French Rugby Federation (FFR) headquarters to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

"I was born in France to Portuguese parents, so I have two hearts," Dos Santos said as chants of "Portugal! Portugal!" rang out from the stands. "It's like playing 'em casa' (at home) for the team. I remember the Portugal v France game at the Stade de France in 2014 and it seemed that there were more Portuguese fans than French ones."

However, while young and old cheered Portugal on, almost all the chat is in French; the children wearing 'vermelho e verde' (green and red) face paint are chanting "Allez Portugal!" in their native language, not Portuguese.

"Lots of people consider themselves Portuguese even though they were born in France, have French passports and only speak French, like me," Paris-born Susette Simoes tells EURO2016.com. "The Portuguese community here integrates well into society, theres a great vibe," adds Phillipe Moreira, who says he has raised his children as he was: "With two cultures."

That might create something of a conflict of interest in the event of Portugal meeting France at the finals. "If Portugal play France, we'll end up crying because one of the sides will be on the end of a defeat!" Simoes conceded. "It will be hard, we want both teams to win and do well." Moreira concurs: "I have a divided heart. It's difficult. I'm supporting Portugal but also France."

Dos Santos, meanwhile, hopes that the teams are on a collision course: "I want a Portugal  France final. France won in 1984, in 2000, whereas Portugal has never won so it's their turn!
Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.





I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.





More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.





The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.





About me:

I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.

Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).

Age: 42

Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.





I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
The situation in ATO area escalated yesterday. The pro-Russian illegal armed groups launched 46 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO press center.

"In Donetsk direction, the enemy fired grenade launchers and 122mm self-propelled guns thrice on the defenders of the town of Avdiyivka," the statement reads.

In Mariupol direction, the enemy fired mortars 12 times on the Ukrainian positions near the town of Krasnohorivka and the village of Novotroyitske. The Russian-backed mercenaries also opened fire from small arms, machine guns and grenade launchers of various systems near the town of Maryinka, and the villages of Shyrokyne and Talakivka.
President Petro Poroshenko approved the Agreement between Ukraine and Slovakia on Amendments to the Agreement between Ukraine and Slovakia on Local Border Traffic of May 30, 2008.

The press service of the Head of State reported.

The Foreign Ministry must ensure the signature of the Agreement and fulfill all internal state procedures necessary for the Agreement to enter into force.

The Agreement provides for the simplified border-crossing procedure for the residents of the border area and the right of continuous residence in the frontier zone of another country within 90 days. It also extends its effect additionally to 30 settlements of Ukraine.

Respective amendments will contribute to the further development of contacts between citizens of the two states.

ish
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will meet with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness Pope Francis, on June 17.

The press service of the Head of State reported.

"On June 17, 2016 President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will meet with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin," the statement reads.

According to the press service, Cardinal Parolin will pay a visit to Ukraine from June 15 to June 20.

ish
The European Union is slowing down the process on abolition of visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens, in spite of the positive recommendation of the European Commission.

An Ukrinform correspondent reported about such results of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting, which ended in Luxembourg on Friday.

"We also talked about visa liberalization today. We can see the progress of all the proposals, including Turkey [now we are talking about Georgia and Ukraine] but we have not yet made a decision. Some member states express concern at the moment. But we will continue to address these concerns within the framework of the visa liberalization process in these countries," State Secretary of Security and Justice of the Netherlands Klaas Dijkhoff said.

Despite the fact that Ukraine has met all the requirements for the granting of visa-free regime with the Schengen area, Europe is not ready to make an appropriate decision.

ish
Russian journalist Yevgeny Kiselyov has written an open letter to President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko to resolve the issue on granting political asylum to Russian opposition members.

The text of the letter is available on Novoe Vremia portal.

"We are talking about the fate of Russian opposition members, who are at the forefront of the fight against Putin's regime. Many of them are considering Ukraine as a country of possible political asylum and do not know what difficulties they can face," he writes.

The journalist emphasized that most of them did not think of political emigration, they just needed support.

Kiselyov also mentioned that the criminal case was initiated in Russia because he supported Nadiya Savchenko in his statements.

The Russian journalist asked the Ukrainian President to meet to discuss this issue.

ish
Ubers new service schedules rides up to one month beforehand

Uber App (Photo : Facebook )

Uber will now give users the option to schedule its ride-sharing service up to 30 days in advance. The new service was first available on June 9, Thursday in Seattle, and will quickly expand to other cities. It will help busy people such as those who need to make early travel plans.



Uber chose to launch the new service in Seattle because developers there built the system. In addition, the largest city in the Pacific Northwest has many business travelers.



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Tom Fallows is Uber's director of global experiences. He explained that the target market of Scheduled Rides includes people who make detailed plans and have full schedules.



For example, vacationers and businesspeople might have an early-morning flight. They can now order an Uber weeks or a month before their trip and not worry about getting a taxi to the airport.



App users can schedule an Uber ride using their business profile. They have to select a route, date, and time.



Uber customers can also change their schedule before the driver is dispatched. After they receive a push notification and the driver is on the way, Uber app users have 5 minutes to cancel without paying a penalty, according to The Seattle Times.



Scheduled Rides has the same pricing as regular Uber trips and can increase due to surge pricing. This is caused by very high demand such as during Monday mornings or big holidays.



The new service will only be available on the lowest-cost UberX at first. However, the company has plans to expand Scheduled Rides to other Uber lines including black cars.



Fallows explained that Uber's scheduling system has complex algorithms. It includes many factors to pick the right time to ask a driver to pick up a customer, including the distance, traffic jams, and the chance a driver will accept a scheduled ride.



In related news, the French government has fined Uber about $900,000 for providing illegal ride-sharing, according to Engadget. It was for its UberPOP service.



Uber ended the POP service last summer. It allows the use of vehicles owned by non-professional drivers.



An Uber spokesperson said that the company's ride-sharing service in France that uses over 12,000 pro drivers and serves 1.5 million passengers will not be affected by the heavy fines.



Here's a video on Uber drivers taking legal action:






Vitamin deficiencies can cause migraines; Watching for these 3 signs of vitamin deficiency can help avoid health complications

Vitamin deficiencies can cause migraines; Watching for these 3 signs of vitamin deficiency can help avoid health complications (Photo : YouTube/ Douglas Bowker )

According to a new study, individuals who are more likely to have migraines are also likely to have mild deficiencies in coenzyme Q10, riboflavin and vitamin D.



Scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center examined data on people with migraine and checked their baseline blood levels of folate, coenzyme Q10, riboflavin (B-2) and vitamin D.



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They found that 15% of study participants have riboflavin levels below the normal reference range. About 30% of participants had levels of CoQ10 at the low end of the normal reference range. Lower vitamin D was observed in almost 70% of study participants.



Scientists discovered that people with chronic migraines were more likely to have deficiencies in coenzyme Q10 than people who had episodic migraines. Young ladies and girls were more likely to have CoQ10 deficiencies at baseline than young males and boys. Also, young males and boys were more likely to have deficiency in vitamin D, Daily Mail reported.



Earlier studies have shown that specific vitamins and vitamin deficiencies may be essential in the migraine process. However, studies that have used vitamins to prevent migraines have had conflicting success.



A few studies have demonstrated that a migraine raises the risk of mortality and heart disease in ladies. No studies have found the actual cause of migraines.



Suzanne Hagler, lead author of the study, said that more studies are required to explain whether vitamin supplementation is effective in people with migraine in general, and whether people with mild deficiency are more likely to benefit from vitamin supplementation.



Watching for these 3 signs of vitamin deficiency can help people avoid health complications.



Leg Cramps



Muscle cramping is usually a sign of vitamin deficiency, and this frequently shows up as nighttime leg cramps. People should consider their intake of vitamin B12, vitamin D and calcium to see if they may be lacking some essential nutrients.



Anemia



Anemia is generally linked with iron deficiency. However, deficiencies in folic acid or vitamin B12 can also cause anemia, WebMD reported. If people have been feeling inexplicably tired recently, or experience symptoms such as spooning of the fingernails, in which the nails take on a concave appearance, they may be experiencing anemia.



Changes In Nails, Skin or Hair



If a person's nails were once strong and hard, but have suddenly begun cracking or splitting, it can be a sign of missing nutrients. Also, if a person's hair suddenly begins falling out, or becomes brittle or weak, or their skin becomes irritated and dry, this could indicate a deficiency. Nutrients that may be lacking include omega fatty acids and B vitamins.


John Min-Chiang Hsu (Photo : Facebook/John Min-Chiang Hsu)

He works as a massage therapist and is the Liberal Party candidate for the electorate of Calwell in Victoria, but because of accusations that he is a brothel owner, John Min-Chiang Hsu has dropped out of Australias election.



But he stressed that he does not own Paradise Playmates which charges $90 for sex and has a reputation for being the best brothel in Frankton. Hsu was linked to the sex trade enterprise because the brothel was registered to a business at his address, reported Adelaide Now.



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These are false allegations. Completely false. I dont know why they are being spread by email, said Hsu who resigned from the party and stepped down as a candidate.



Paradise Playmates is owned by Victoria Angels Brothel & Escort Agency which has the same name and address used by Hsu, according to ASIC documents.



Following his announcement, Hsu removed photos of his campaign on his Facebook page, which he apparently took down also. The party confirmed that Hsu had resigned from the party and discontinued his candidacy. But the Liberal Party, in a statement, said, Today it has come to the attention of the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division) Mr John Hsu, endorsed candidate for the Federal Division of Calwell, had not fully declared his business interests prior to applying for endorsement as required under the Partys rules.



According to party sources, Hsu paid a deposit for the business but has not received any profits from the brothel. His name is listed on the brothel documents since January 2016. The birthday of the brothel owner and the ex-Liberal Party candidate is July 26, 1984.



Hsu also owns three other massage clubs  sometimes suspected as fronts for prostitution. These are the CBD Massage, Five Star Massage and Sabaydee Thai Massage Day Spa, all operated by Beautiful Life Natural Therapies, registered in Hsus name, reported The Age.






Over the past few years, social media has emerged as a powerful tool to express one's feelings, especially those of the students.

By collecting and analyzing 100,000 tweets that cited universities' Twitter handles and were posted between March and April this year, CollegeStats.org examined what students are tweeting to gauge their feeling towards their institutions based on the predominance of positive and negative words.

The research calculated sentiment in a range from -1 to 1, and deliberated a score between 0 and 1 as positive sentiment.

Schools that boasted the highest average Twitter sentiment include Virginia-based Old Dominion University and James Madison University, Temple University in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Syracuse University in New York, and Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Tweets aimed at these universities trended more positively rather than trending negative or more neutral.

By logging into Twitter, prospective students can keep a tab on what's happening in the school and administrators, on the other hand can join in to address concerns or simply to appreciate the kudos.

Institutions that boasted the most positive words per tweet include Gonzaga University located in Washington State, Earlham College in Indiana, Illinois-based Bradley University, Juniata College in Pennsylvania, and Drury University in Missouri.

The schools that weren't as much popular among their students include West Virginia-based Glenville State, University of Missouri, Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, Bowdoin College in Maine, and Washington University in St. Louis.

The report does not analyze the possible reasons for the positive or negative results. While there is no confirmation whether there is a room for a causal relationship, at least two of the institutes that garnered the most negative word counts - Bowdoin College and St. Louis-based Washington University - have faced negative press over the past few years, US News reported.

For instance, St. Louis-based Washington University have been nagged at for being among the least economically diverse in the entire U.S.

However, the institute has worked out a few amendments in a bid to change that.

As far as Bowdoin College is concerned, members of the student body have been labelled racially insensitive citing a few theme parties: a "tequila party" where several students donned sombreros; a gangster party where a few students flaunted baggy clothes, cornrows and gold chains in style; and Cracksgiving party, where students posed as Native Americans in order celebrate Thanksgiving.

Universities are well-acquainted with social media, and so are their students. While some institutes garner loads of love from their students on social media, others don't quite get that kind of attention.
Skin color has reached another glitch in the southern African nation of Malawi. Where albino people are being hunted and murdered for their limbs which are eventually sold as ingredient to witchcraft potion.

In February, Edna Cedrick's 9-year-old albino son was violently snatched from her arms by a mob of people. Her son is now dead due to the recent wave of abductions and killings. This inhuman movement targets the victims' body parts which are sold and used in potions made by witch doctors who claim to bring good luck and prosperity, Tech Times reported.

Cedrick shared with the Associated Press their tribulation last month while holding the murdered albino boy's surviving twin brother who happened to also be affected with albinism. During that unfateful night, the mob kicked their door, torn their mosquito net and snatched one of the twins while her husband was away. Recently, another fatal attack occurred involving a 38-year-old albino father Fletcher Masina, whose limbs were gone missing when his body was recovered.

Activists in Malawi have initiated demonstration to protest and call for firm penalties for the perpetrators. Malawi President Peter Mutharika dubbed the killings disgusting and formed a special committee to focus on the issue, Tech Times added.

This gruesome trade stems from the belief that albino people's bones have gold restrain. Also, sex with an albino person is falsely assumed to miraculously cure HIV.

Malawi authorities have recorded 18 albino murders and abduction of five others in the past 19 months. However, International Amnesty fears higher data due to undocumented cases in rural locations. Since November 2014, at least 69 crimes in total have been recorded. The killing surge is also thought to be caused by mass unemployment and drought, International Amnesty reported.

Violence against albinos could be prominent not just in Malawi but also Burundi and Tanzania, the United Nations warned last year.

Albinism is a congenital condition marked by lack of pigmentation in skin, eyes and hair which affects up to one out of 15,000 in sub-Saharan Africa, along with one out of 20,000 in Europe and North America.
University of Arizona President Ann Weaver Hart is set to leave her post by the time her contract expires on 2018.

Hart did not seek a contract extension as the UA president looked forward to returning to being as a teacher. Hart cites that she would rather return to full-time faculty work, and a "citizen of the university," as AZ Central reported.

The State Board of Regents announced Hart's decision on Friday. The regents have expressed their support for the UA president's decision, of which the entire choice was Hart's as Chairman Jay Heiler stated.

Heiler has also laid down plans of ABOR to continue working with Hart until her contract expires, and the board will start seeking for a replacement by fall.

It is reported that the board's search would be nation-wide and a comprehensive strategic review of a replacement would be conducted.

Hart's contract would run up to June 30, 2018. The UA president, along with ASU President Michael Crow, were given contract extensions, as well as six-figure bonuses last September for having met the board's set goals, which were related to increased bachelor's degrees, higher enrollment rates, and other academic issues.

It was specified in Hart's e-mail to her colleagues that she came to the realization of not extending her contract when Hart was presiding over her 14th commencement as university president. Hart states that she is proud of her and the University of Arizona's accomplishments, and the time has come for Hart to assess her future, according to The Daily Wildcat.

Hart intends to stay at the University of Arizona, but as a full-time faculty teaching, and being a citizen of the university.

The UA president is not free from controversy as she was recently involved in an issue that led to a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission.

Hart was discovered to have accepted a side job, while being university president, as a board member for the company that has ties with DeVry University. The for-profit university was allegedly misleading students regarding job prospects, of which DeVry denies any wrongdoing.
Legislators are proposing an increase in tuition fees for nonresident students at the University of California.

Following a controversial state audit, which revealed the extensive growth of nonresident enrollment at the University of California, lawmakers seek to improve in-state enrollment numbers, The Mercury News reported.

The Assembly proposal is set to be debated during the last few weeks of the state budget negotiations. The proposed increase would be a 10 percent cap for nonresident enrollees, along with tuition hikes that would push the current annual nonresident tuition of $37,000 to $54,000 in six years.

It is reported that the main purpose of the increase was to fund an undergraduate expansion that plans to build 30,000 new spaces for California residents by 2022.

The proposal has not escaped its fair share of doubts. University leaders and students alike fear that the proposal could cause further instability with the state budget, and deter talented nonresident students from even considering enrolling in the University of California, according to CNN.

Elaine Howle, state auditor, fears that the university's decision to increase its fees to nonresidents has made it more difficult even for California residents to gain an admission to the university. Howle argues that the decision might have caused an extensive amount to residents, as well as their families.

Nonresident undergraduates now make up more than 20 percent of the student body. The University of California defends that its practise of recruiting a significant amount of out-of-state enrollees was necessary to make up for the budget cuts that the institution was suffering, as The Sacramento Bee reported.

Meanwhile, critics have played down the recruitment of nonresident students, and argued that qualified California high schoolers are finding it hard to get an admission to the university, as of which the University of California denies.

In light of recent events, Hillary Clinton has endorsed the proposal to limit its out-of-state enrollment.
Customers buy milk powder in front of Mead Johnson milk powder products, where an announcement reading 'the callback of overseas Mead Johnson products will not involve the Chinese market' is placed, at a supermarket on February 25, 2006 in Ningbo of Zheji (Photo : Getty Images/ China Photos)

China will be stricter to all baby formula producers, both local and foreign in selling their products. Since several numbers of contaminated milk cases have been reported over the years, baby formula producers are now required to register and secure permits from China Food and Drug Administration.



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Baby formula producers that use imported raw materials must indicate the country or place where it originated. In a statement obtained by Xinhua, ambiguous phrases such as "imported milk," "from foreign pastures," or "imported raw materials" will not be allowed under the baby formula registration regulation.



Baby formula labels and instructions should not use claims, including "good for brain," "improve immunity" or "protect intestinal tracts," it said. The new food safety regulation stemmed from the contaminated milk scandal that killed six and made thousands of kids sick in 2008. During that time, milk was found contaminated with industrial chemical melamine.



The upsurge of contaminated baby formula in China led to increasing demand for imported milk. It also increased the occurrence of fake baby formulas.



China authorities arrested nine people connected with the production and selling of counterfeit baby formula under popular brands, Beingmate and Similac in April. They also confiscated 65,000 fake trademarks, more than 20,000 empty cans and nearly 1,000 cans of milk powder.



It was the latest in a string of food safety scandals in China since the 2008 incident. To arrest the food safety problems, the sale of fake infant formula over the internet was also monitored by the Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration.



It was revealed that 17,000 cans of fake baby formula were sold that cost nearly US $309,000 (2.0 million yuan). In 2015, 700,000 tonnes of infant formula were manufactured. It accounts for the 65 percent of its annual sales.



Beginning April 8, China has required imported infant formula and dairy products producers to follow more stringent regulations, including Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) plant registration, Chinese labeling, application documents for inspection, infant formula registration and pre-market approval documents, according to Dairy Reporter.



The rules have become tighter since May 25 after the Chinese authorities have announced new supervision requirements for Cross-border Ecommerce (CBEC) retail imports.



Check out more details on China's contaminated baby formula:






The aid delivery is the first of a number of convoys Egypt plans to direct towards besieged Syrian towns

Egypt has delivered the first batch of food aid to the besieged Syrian town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta, said Mohamed Tharwat, the charge daffaires of Egypts embassy in Damascus in press statements Friday.

The aid convoy is from donations by Syrian expatriates in Cairo.

"In cooperation with the United Nations and the Syrian Red Cross, Egypt succeeded in delivering the first batch of food aid, such as flour, halvah and readymade chicken in cans, to Douma," Tharwat said.

He noted that other aid batches will follow, saying that the embassy is planning to deliver aid to other besieged Syrian cities.

Tharwat noted that Egypt is the first country to deliver aid independently of the umbrella of the UN and aid agencies.

For more than two years, the territory of Eastern Ghouta, which is a large area located near the capital of Damascus, has been under a siege by both forces of the ruling regime and rebels, leaving its population in dire need of food, fuel and services.

Egypt has long been involved in responses to the Syrian humanitarian crisis, hosting a large population of Syrian refugees, more than 140,000 of whom are registered with the UNHCR.

Cairo's stance towards the Bashar Al-Assad regime is neutral. It has neither called for him to stay nor to step down since turmoil erupted in Syria in March 2011.

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Church News  October 20, 2022 LIGHT OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH Needing Answers We want God to be like FedEx and deliver overnight. Things dont happen that way, but in...

Church News  October 13, 2022 LIGHT OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH Natures Therapy The pine tree with its solemn dignity lifts its branches to the sky as if to give...
Bill Nash

SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Star columnist Bill Nash stands next to his first car a Ford Pinto.

I'm not sure it's the same for women, but I think every man remembers his first car. I certainly do, but, then again, mine was quite memorable. It was a Ford Pinto hatchback.

I can tell you're smirking, but I thought it was pretty cool. I bought it used in 1976 for $800. I'm not sure what model year it was, but it was relatively new since Ford didn't start making the hatchback model until 1972.

It had an AM radio, and none of today's standard luxuries. I had to crank down the windows, there was no air conditioning and no cruise control. The interior was all black and, in the summer, I could have probably fried an egg on the black plastic seat upholstery. But it was mine and for the first time in my life, I had complete freedom of movement. And monthly credit card statements from Shell for gas and repairs.

The Pinto, of course, was not one of Ford's better decisions. It was intended for people like me who wanted a modern design but were unable to afford the very sexy and successful Mustang. The Pinto was a lot of things, sexy I discovered, was not one of them.

My Pinto's exterior was green. But it was a shade of green that doesn't occur in nature, or Disney, or LSD hallucinations. I could always find it in a parking lot. But that was part of the deal with the Pinto. They were manufactured in colors that reflected their decade. Ford built the Pinto from 1971 until 1980. In the 10-year model run, more than three million were produced. Relatively few blew up. But explosions are the Pinto's legacy.

I won't go into the whole story because it has already left a permanent black mark on Ford's reputation and was certainly not their finest moment as a corporation. In a nutshell, the Pinto had a design flaw that allowed the gas tank to rupture in a rear-end collision. That led to fires, explosions and deaths. Ford ultimately decided it was cheaper to pay the anticipated claims from the design problem than to fix it.

When that was revealed, it sealed the fate of the Pinto. But despite the explosions, and being named as one of the 50 Worst Cars of All Time by Time magazine, the Pinto still has its fans. The Ford Pinto Car Club of America holds an annual "Pinto Stampede," a four-day drive that ends at the Carlisle Ford Nationals  the largest Ford car show of the year.

This year's stampede will take the drivers along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina where, presumably, they won't follow each other too closely. About 50 Pintos and their owners are expected to participate.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the first Pinto rolling off the assembly line. Entry level models of those cars were priced at about $1,850. Out of curiosity, I checked the classifieds section of the Pinto club's website to see what Pintos were selling for today. There was quite a price range.

A California owner was offering a blue 1971 model for $3,700 or the best offer. Another was selling a 1974 model that looked suspiciously like my old car, for $6,000. But the one that really got my attention was a bright orange 1978 model in Ohio being sold for $800. That price sounded right.

I'll never forget my little green Pinto. It wasn't very sexy, and it may or may not have been worth $800, but at least it didn't blow up.

Bill Nash is a Star columnist. Contact him at bnash805@aol.com. His novel, "Stolen Dream," is available at www.billnashonline.com, on Amazon.com or as an e-book.
Authorities monitored social media pages created by the activists that stated that Tiran and Sanafit islands were Egyptian, not Saudi-owned

A Giza Terrorism Circuit Court sentenced Saturday seven activists to eight years in prison over illegally protesting in Kerdasa district 25 April against the Egypt-Saudi Red Sea islands deal.

The defendants were also ordered to pay a fine of EGP 500. They can still appeal the sentence.

On 27 April, the seven activists were arrested after authorities monitored their creation of social media pages that stated that Tiran and Sanafir islands were of Egyptian owned.

Hundreds of activists opposing the Red Sea Islands deal were sentenced to various jail terms and monetary fines in recent weeks over their participation in thw 25 April protests, pre-empted by the police before they could take place.

Most of the jail sentences were, however, overturned following appeals.

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SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Ventura County Fire Department

By Megan Diskin of the Ventura County Star

A Ventura County sheriff's deputy was injured when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a vehicle Friday near Fillmore, officials said.

The crash was reported between a Ventura County Sheriff's Office motorcycle and a vehicle about 5:30 p.m. near South Sespe Street and Bardsdale Avenue, the California Highway Patrol reported.

A helicopter was sent to the scene in the Bardsdale community to take the deputy to Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura.

Sheriff's Capt. Bill Schierman said the deputy was conscious when he was transported and did not have any significant injuries. The deputy, who was working out of the Thousand Oaks station, was admitted to the hospital overnight as a precaution, Schierman said.

The Ventura County and Fillmore fire departments responded.
SHARE STAR FILE PHOTO After a decade as Ventura County's representative on the Metrolink board, Moorpark Councilman Keith Millhouse is stepping down.

By Mike Harris of the Ventura County Star

After a decade as Ventura County's representative on the board of the regional Metrolink commuter railroad, Moorpark Councilman Keith Millhouse announced Friday he would step down in September.

Millhouse said he was emotionally burnt out from the job, particularly the aftermath of a string of deadly Metrolink commuter train crashes  one in 2005 in Glendale that killed 11 people, a second in 2008 in Chatsworth that killed 25 people, including 21 from Ventura County, and a third last year in Oxnard that killed the engineer. The Glendale crash occurred a week after he became a board member, he said.

Metrolink operates trains on nearly 400 miles of track in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

"We've gone through unspeakable tragedy, we've cried, we've picked ourselves up, and worked on rebuilding the agency," Millhouse, 55, said in announcing his retirement at the Metrolink board meeting in downtown Los Angeles. "And we've led the way in rail safety in this country. We've saved countless lives as a result of our efforts with PTC (positive train control), cameras and new rail cars."

But, he said, he always wonders when talking to people impacted by the crashes, especially the one in Chatsworth, "whether they somehow blame me for the accident ... I'm haunted by not being able to go back and change that situation.

"Every single time I take the train and I go around that curve in Chatsworth, I'm reminded of that awful day," Millhouse said. "And for the longest time, I felt personally responsible every day for the safety of the passengers and the crew. And while ultimately we have that responsibility, I had taken it to an unhealthy level."

The Ventura County Transportation Commission board, which appointed Millhouse to the Metrolink board, will appoint his successor from among its members, likely in September, commission Executive Director Darren Kettle said. Millhouse is the current chairman of the commission, a position he said he will stay in.

Kettle praised Millhouse's tenure on the Metrolink board, which he chaired from 2009-11.

"He has been so committed to representing Ventura County on the Metrolink board," Kettle said. "For so many years he has caused so many positive things to happen by his leadership. It's going to be a tremendous loss not have his leadership at that level with his knowledge of rail."

Metrolink CEO Art Leahy also applauded Millhouse.

"Director Millhouse has been one of the most influential and passionate board members Metrolink has had in the agency's nearly 25-year history," Leahy said. "He has been a champion for the advancement of rail safety and public transportation throughout Southern California. We will miss the hard work and dedication he has continuously shown while serving on the board."

Millhouse is an attorney who has been a Moorpark councilman since 2000.
SHARE Oscar Almeida and his son, Allyn Almeida, patrol Libbey Bowl during the Ojai Music Festival as part of an all-night security detail. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Gilbert Cabrera takes a snack break at Libbey Bowl during the Ojai Music Festival. Cabrera is part of an all-night security detail. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Veteran Gilbert Cabrera checks a gate during at all-night security watch at the Ojai Music Festival. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Oscar Almeida and other veterans start their security duty at 10 p.m. and work until 8 a.m.

By Tom Kisken of the Ventura County Star

Of the 973 seats at Ojai's Libbey Bowl, one was occupied at 1 a.m. Friday.

In it sat Gilbert Cabrera, an 83-year-old veteran with bad knees who parachuted out of Army planes in the early 1950s and helped test atomic bombs in the Marshall Islands after that.

Hours after the final note of the opening night of the 70-year-old Ojai Music Festival, he clutched a long flashlight and wore a jacket that said "Condor." Two-way radios poked out of coat pockets.

The south Oxnard man was here as part of an all-night detail of aging Army Airborne vets that helps guard the globally known festival from vandals and trespassers.

And he was waiting for a raccoon.

The critter, always the same one, usually shows up at 2 a.m., sometimes later, venturing near a stage that, on this night, held a kettle drum and a cymbal with massive pianos tucked out of sight.

The raccoon stands more than 2 feet tall. All the vets who rotate on security shifts throughout the festival know him. Once, Cabrera watched him liberate tacos from their paper wrappers.

"He walks around real quiet like," Cabrera said with a soft chuckle. "If he doesn't like what he hears, he takes off. But if you leave a little food for him, he'll turn around and come back and take it."

CAROUSERS, SPIRITS

The music festival wraps up Sunday after four days of national premieres and eclectic performances  one featuring toy pianos  that will have brought some 2,500 music aficionados to ticketed events. Other attractions, including a street party concert Sunday evening in Santa Paula, are free.

The vets, all former paratroopers, some in their 70s and 80s, have been coming here every night of the festival and several nights before for more than a decade.

In warm jackets and Army Airborne caps, they watch over the stage from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Sounding gaptoothed whistles at the sight of a stranger, they patrol empty sidewalks marked with paper lanterns and vendor booths dressed in green linens.

They're a storytelling, opossum-scouting security blanket. If something happens, they alert Ventura County sheriff's deputies, who also patrol here.

It's almost always quiet duty. Once, a man tried to break into a festival building but he was too drunk to pose any kind of threat.

"He barfed all over the place. Then he staggered off," said Oscar Almeida, remembering another time when millennials caroused in a gazebo.

"I said, 'You got 10 minutes. If I come back and you're here, I'm calling the black-and-whites," he said.

He didn't have to call.

FINDING KITTENS

Almeida speaks with authority. The Ventura resident was a military police officer in the 1960s. He's also leader of the Condors, a chapter of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat team. His group provides the security guards.

The money paid to the vets goes to help fund the Condor chapter, allowing them to send out burial details, help out vets in need and hold a Christmas banquet.

They are an aging, dwindling group. Before his security shift, Almeida attended a wake for his cousin and fellow Condor Willie Duarte. An Airborne veteran like the rest, he died on Memorial Day.

Duarte was 85, a legendary and edgy practical joker whose antics involved prosthetic limbs and twisting another car's side view mirrors.

"He always left you laughing," said Almeida, "or he left you mad at him."

Almeida drove trucks for 35 years as a Teamster. He brings his 48-year-old son, Allyn, with him to Libbey Bowl. Allyn was diagnosed with Down syndrome. His father doesn't like the stigma of labels.

"He's my son," he said, noting Allyn often spots outsiders on the festival grounds before anyone else.

"We've never treated him as 'Down syndrome,'" he said. "He goes everywhere. He does whatever he wants."

Together, they watch the sun rise during their shifts. Once, they found a litter of kittens in the huge sycamore that sprawls alongside the bowl's seats.

They can take turns napping on brown sofas in a lounge decorated with festival pictures. Almeida usually stays on patrol. It's been harder to sleep since his wife, Gloria, died of ovarian cancer in 2011.

They were married 44 years. She's the one who convinced him to get a tiny diamond earring. He keeps a picture of her in the bedroom and at the bottom of the stairs so he sees her every morning and every night.

"She was quite a woman," he said.

WORRYING SPOUSES

They pass the time with stories  about seeing the Dodgers in Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, about Almeida's father who served in World War II and is still kicking at 93 and about jumping out of planes.

Almeida said he wasn't scared because he knew what was coming. Cabrera said everyone is scared.

"All you know is that the door is out there and everyone is going out the door," Cabrera said. "The guy that's really scared, his knees will buckle. He'll fall down."

Cabrera served stateside, at Fort Bragg from 1950 to 1953, during the Korean War. Afterward, he was a laborer on a team that tested atomic weaponry in places like the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

He came home, got married and spent 35 years building levies and driving bulldozers for the Ventura County Flood District. He has an opinion on everything including the presidential race.

He's a Democrat. He will vote for Donald Trump.

"He's going to bring jobs," he said. "He told foreign countries that if they're going to bring goods here, they're going to pay duties."

Cabrera lives in south Oxnard with his wife, Rosie, in the home they've owned for 46 years. She worries about his security shift.

"All wives worry," he said.

After being relieved at 8 a.m. Friday, the vets slept for an hour or two. Then they formed as a color guard at Willie Duarte's funeral.

A rotating shift meant they were set to return to Libbey Bowl for another 10 hours on Saturday night.

Cabrera said he does it because the money helps the Condor chapter, giving him and other paratroopers a way to stay together.

If he stopped, he would miss his friends. He would miss the stories. He would miss the raccoons.
JOE LUMAYA/SPECIAL TO THE STAR TLC Director Linda Nelson looks at a few of the dogs in the Simi Valley pet rescue organization's care as she contemplates where to go now that the facility must be out of its current quarters on or before June 21.

SHARE JOE LUMAYA/SPECIAL TO THE STAR TLC volunteer Kathryn Rutherford starts to pack away dog food as the Simi Valley pet rescue center prepares to close unless it can find new quarters by June 21. JOE LUMAYA/SPECIAL TO THE STAR TLC volunteers Katherine Banyasz (from left), Amanda Goelz and Victoria Cole take three of the center's dogs for a walk. Unless it can find new quarters, the Simi Valley pet rescue operation will close June 21; it is being evicted from its current location. JOE LUMAYA/SPECIAL TO THE STAR TLC volunteer Lynn Abroms (left), of Thousand Oaks, walks one of the dogs around the Simi Valley pet rescue center as fellow volunteer Carol Gonzales prepares to pack away some items in preparation for the location's closure.

By Michele Willer-Allred, Special to The Star

A Simi Valley nonprofit known for its work helping local dogs find homes needs a little help of its own.

Tiny Loving Canines, which has specialized in saving small-dog breeds since June 2009, is facing eviction and will have to relocate from its home, the entire second floor of a building at 1736 Erringer Road.

The eviction notice appeared Friday morning, stating that TLC must vacate the property on or before June 21. The nonprofit has 57 dogs in its care and must find homes for them by that date, according to TLC Director Linda Nelson.

A boutique at the same location that raises funds for TLC also must move.

Organization officials hope that by reducing adoption fees, they can get all the dogs out by Monday. The fees, which are tax-deductible, are now $100 for any dog older than 6 months, down from $200 to $500, depending on the age of the dog.

All the dogs have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. A veterinarian check is included in the fees.

Since becoming a rescue organization in 2009, TLC has found homes for 2,723 animals, many of them pulled from Ventura County Animal Services shelters. Now that those shelters are overcrowded  with 600 animals there earlier this week in facilities designed to hold 350  the dogs currently at TLC won't be going back there, so they need homes, Nelson said.

On Monday, TLC lost by default in a court case involving the organization and the property owner that Nelson declined to discuss because of legal reasons. She said TLC had never had a citation, not even a warning, for any violation as a rescue organization and always kept the center clean.

She also said the $5,000-a-month rent was always paid and there weren't complaints by neighboring tenants.

"It was just a bad fit," she said.

Property owner Peter Cohen could not be reached Friday for comment.

This is the second time in two years TLC has had to move.

TLC had been operating rent-free for more than three years at the Simi Valley Town Center mall. But mall management told the nonprofit in May 2015 that due to redevelopment, a permanent location could not be offered.

TLC eventually found the 4,400-square-foot center on Erringer and spent thousands of dollars on renovations. The city even awarded TLC a $10,000 grant to help with the move.

Nelson said the organization has more than 50 volunteers who are helping with the move and providing foster care for as many dogs as they can until a new location is found.

"I'm so upset. It's my life here," said Kathryn Rutherford, a TLC volunteer who manages the boutique and is fostering some of the dogs. "All the volunteers are devastated. We can't understand why it's happening."

Nelson said while they'd still like to find a place to lease from a willing landlord, the ideal situation would be for TLC to buy its own commercial property.

"Commercial landlords do not like to lease to rescue organizations, and we know a permanent place of our own will be the solution to many of the obstacles we have had to overcome, which distract us from the mission of saving lives," she said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up at http://www.gofundme.com/27ugb64.

The center will be open from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. visit http://www.tinylovingcanines.org for more information.
RICHARD QUINN/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Barry Grafe (left) is welcomed to Friday's finish line at San Buenaventura State Beach by his wife, Sharon Grafe, at the end of Day 6 of the AIDS/LifeCycle ride, which began Sunday in San Francisco and ends Saturday in Los Angeles.

SHARE RICHARD QUINN/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Riders head down the bike path as they approach San Buenaventura State Beach at the end of Day 6 of the AIDS/LifeCycle ride, which began Sunday in San Francisco and ends Saturday in Los Angeles. RICHARD QUINN/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Shelley Weir (left) and Eric Ducat cheer on riders in the AIDS/LifeCycle ride as they finish Day 6 at San Buenaventura State Beach. RICHARD QUINN/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Anton Gill (left) and Anthony Gawlik relax in their tent after completing Day 6 of the AIDS/LifeCycle ride at San Buenaventura State Beach. RICHARD QUINN/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Riders head down the bike path as they approach San Buenaventura State Beach and the end of Day 6 of the AIDS/LifeCycle ride, which began Sunday in San Francisco and ends Saturday in Los Angeles.

By Anne Kallas, Special to The Star

With about 2,400 riders, 650 volunteer "roadies," 80 support staff members and dozens of others making food and bringing water, the annual AIDS/LifeCycle ride is a movable city heading down the California Coast.

On Friday, the city moved into Ventura.

About 1,700 tents were set up at San Buenaventura State Beach as riders finished the stretch from Lompoc, Day 6 of their 545-mile bicycle journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Shawn Silver. of Walnut Creek, who was wearing an HIV Positive Pedalers shirt, was among the first-time riders with AIDS/LifeCycle. The ride raises money to support the HIV/AIDS-related services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

"It's been awesome," he said. "I had no expectations, and it's been great. There's the fellowship with other people and a community of helpful people with the experience of HIV."

The experienced rider admitted that his legs "have never been this tight."

"This is definitely a challenging ride," he said.

Silver said that he when he was diagnosed with HIV in 1988, "it was a death sentence. Now it's a manageable chronic disease, but it's not curable."

Gina Scialabba, who is on her third AIDS/LifeCycle ride, met up Friday with her partner Jess Jurva, a fifth-year veteran. All riders must raise at least $3,000 to participate.

"The Los Angeles LGBT Center offers medicinal care, and this ride brings awareness," Jurva said.

Scialabba said she wasn't enjoying the weather, with overcast skies keeping temperatures down.

"I prefer it when it's hot," she said. "I'm freezing, and it's hard to get my blood flowing.

Scialabba said she got involved with the ride because "I had a boss who was gay. He started doing the ride and created attention. Then, over the years, I met a family touched by AIDS and I realized how important it was to create awareness on my own."

Chris Richey, director of marketing and communications for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, noted that over 15 years, the ride has raised more than $220 million  $16 million this year alone. He said the goal of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and a coalition of other groups is to eliminate new HIV diagnoses. Right now, 3,200 new cases are diagnosed each year across California.

But even with the number of new cases on the decline and an increasing efficacy of medications to combat HIV/AIDS, the struggle continues.

"The stigma still remains," Richey said. "That's why we need to remain vigilant."

He said the ride not only raises awareness locally as people stop along the coastal route to tell their stories, but also across the U.S., as most people use social media to raise money.

Rico Avila, of San Francisco, is on his fifth AIDS/LifeCycle ride.

"I originally did this to challenge myself, but then I connected with the community. I work with musicians, and one I know is HIV-positive," he said. "Events like this and other similar events have put a dent in AIDS."

Riders will begin leaving Ventura at 7 a.m. Saturday for the finish line at Fairfax High School, 7850 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles.

On the Net: http://www.aidslifecycle.org
Contributed Photo/City of Ventura Drawing show rendering of mixed-use project planned on Poli Street across the street from City Hall.

SHARE Contributed Photo/City of Ventura Rendering shows mixed-use project proposed for Telegraph and Day roads. Contributed Photo/City of Ventura Simulation shows how Auto Center billboard could look traveling on Highway 101.

By Arlene Martinez, amartinez@vcstar.com

Four times a year, Ventura planning officials give elected officials a heads-up on new projects submitted to the city.

On Monday night, Community Development Director Jeff Lambert gave the City Council details about the five that came in between February and April:

AUTO CENTER AMENDMENT: Located off Olivas Park Drive, plans call for widening Auto Center Drive and allowing for a larger digital billboard about 220 feet from the freeway and a smaller one near the dealerships. The sign nearest Highway 101 would be 63 feet across and 27 feet high, and would sit on a pole 82 feet high.

REACTION: Council member Christy Weir was most critical, saying some residents see billboards as a "visual blight." She said, "We are in a never-ending competition for bigger and brighter with pretty much every other city."

Council member Mike Tracy, the body's liaison to the auto center, called the project a major component of the city's economy. "It's our No. 1 source of sales tax revenue," he said, drawing $4 million annually. Tracy said the sign was one of the state's oldest, noting that it still uses incandescent lighting. Because Ventura competes with so many other dealerships, including Oxnard, the sign will be an important part of ensuring its success, he said.

WHAT'S NEXT: Design Review Committee, Planning Commission and back to the City Council.

PATAGONIA EXPANSION: Plans for this property call for tearing down an existing two-story, 16,000-square-foot building at Santa Clara and Olive streets and replacing it with a four-story, 49,000-square-foot building.

REACTION: Council members Carl Morehouse and Weir questioned whether the project would respect Patagonia's other building across the street  the historical Great Pacific Iron Works  and the area. "Yes, you can guarantee that," Lambert said.

Weir also said she hoped the trees represented in the renderings actually come to fruition. "I just want to make sure what we see is really what we get," she said.

WHAT'S NEXT: Design Review Committee.

FARMWORKER HOUSING: The 24 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units are part of the previously approved UC Hansen Trust Specific Plan at Saticoy Avenue and Highway 126.

REACTION: Council member Cheryl Heitmann said it was difficult to comment on a project that's "so sketchy," referring to the lack of detail available. Weir said she hoped, even though it was affordable, that the housing would be built well. "We aren't as proud of them as maybe we could be if they (builders) did a better job on the details," she said.

WHAT'S NEXT: Design Review Committee.

COLLEGE AREA MIXED DEVELOPMENT: Called The Tides, the project at Telegraph and Day roads would have 23 apartments and 2,200 square feet of commercial space that includes an unspecified drive-thru.

REACTION: Because this is across from a proposed Starbucks drive-thru (on the other side of Day Road), some council members expressed concern about the traffic flow. Weir said it was a "busy, weird intersection. ... Looks a little crazy to me, access-wise."

Morehouse wasn't a fan of the architecture, and Heitmann wondered about the parking, saying the area already had parking problems.

WHAT'S NEXT: Design Review Committee.

DOWNTOWN MIXED DEVELOPMENT: At this site, off Poli Street and near California Street, there would be 12 residential units and just under 1,300 square feet of commercial space.

REACTION: To lift a phrase from the '90s comedy show "In Living Color's" "Men on Film" sketch: "Hated it!" The council had no shortage of negative things to say about the sleek, modern lines so close to City Hall and other historic Victorian homes. "This is totally uninspiring," council member Neal Andrews said. Council member Jim Monahan said it reminded him of the much-maligned SOHO project off Ventura Avenue. Heitmann called it an "eyesore." Weir went further, saying it was "really horrible. ... It's just a big mistake in every way."

Not only that, it would block views from parts of City Hall, they said.

WHAT'S NEXT: Design Review Committee. Or, perhaps, back to the drawing board.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with correct information about the distance of the Auto Center sign to the freeway.
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SkyRose Ranch, a 22,000-acre retreat in San Miguel, is a place where our warriors  men and women who have sustained visible and invisible wounds on the battlefield  can undertake a journey of healing and restoration and become the people they were created to be.

An estimated 2.4 million veterans served in Iraq or Afghanistan. About 460,000, or 20 percent, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or some form of major depression, with many suffering from alcohol dependency, homelessness and unemployment upon their return. And according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, we are witnessing an alarming number of suicides committed by veterans every day.

SkyRose Ranch was built with them in mind, and it is where veterans groups like the Mighty Oaks Warriors Foundation host programs. Many of the warriors come to SkyRose hopeless and broken but leave with a renewed sense of purpose.

The various programs rely on peer-to-peer methods of facilitated recuperation, emphasize the role of faith in the healing process and challenge the warriors to overcome past experiences and move forward into a life of purpose.

Take, for example, Joseph Molis, a Marine Corps combat engineer, Purple Heart recipient and Iraq veteran. Joe was injured when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device, killing members of his team and severely injuring him.

After returning home, Joe struggled with traumatic brain injury, PTSD and re-integration issues. He also wrestled with addiction, isolation, criminal behavior and a marriage on the brink of collapse. He entered the Mighty Oaks' Fight Club, a program that teaches veterans to "fight through" challenges that stifle success through peer-based instruction. After a week of one-on-one counseling; classes on forgiveness, legacy, honor, brotherhood, faith and family; and bonding-type recreational activities, he graduated. The Fight Club experience radically transformed him and restored his marriage, and now he's out changing the world.

Joe is typical of the 944 warriors who have completed the program. The Fight Club challenge is "to reject passivity, accept responsibility and lead courageously." Each graduate receives a symbolic personalized rudis  a wooden sword given to a gladiator when he is freed.

Mighty Oaks' mission statement is based on Isaiah 61.3: "To build leaders of leaders. To rise up from the ashes; they will be called Mighty Oaks of Righteousness."

To date, not a single graduate has committed suicide.

The facilities at SkyRose are first-class and disabled-accessible. The warriors are fully sponsored, either through the Serving California Foundation or Mighty Oaks. It costs $2,000 to put each veteran through the program.

Currently, there are over 150 veterans waiting to attend. Unfortunately, the longer they wait, the greater the likelihood they'll harm themselves. This year alone, seven veterans waiting to get in have committed suicide. This sad fact is unacceptable, and we need to generously support these brave men and women in uniform who have put themselves in harm's way to keep us safe.

This month, the state Assembly approved AB 1672, legislation aimed at expanding the reach of veterans' treatment courts in California so every veteran who has committed a low-level offense can have his or her case heard by a judge who understands the special needs of veterans. I'm not only happy to serve as a co-sponsor but also am committed to funding half of a state-commissioned study.

We owe it to our veterans, whether dealing with the trauma of war or in trouble with the law, an opportunity for a brighter tomorrow and a life filled with hope.

B. Wayne Hughes Jr. is a businessman, philanthropist and founder of SkyRose Ranch.
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The votes cast in Tuesday's primary election are still being counted, but one outcome is certain: California's political rules affect who wins and loses.

That was certainly true at the presidential level, particularly in the down-to-the-wire duel between Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

The Democratic Party's arbitrary assignment of delegates by congressional district is one example, as is allowing decline-to-state voters to participate, but only if they request special ballots.

The impact of rules on the political game is even more evident in the 100 legislative seats that are up this year. Two game-changing rules, adopted a decade apart, have completely transformed how men and women get elected to the Legislature.

In 2000, the Legislature's majority Democrats placed Proposition 34 on the ballot, telling voters that it would "clamp a lid on campaign contributions" and reduce the influence of special interest money in politics.

Their chief goal was blunting efforts by political reform groups to place tighter limits on contributions, but an ancillary motive, as I and other analysts pointed out at the time, was to have "independent expenditures" play a bigger role in campaign finance.

The reason is simple: If someone else spends money on a candidate's behalf, particularly attacking an opponent, it allows the beneficiary to remain unsullied while allowing the source of the spending to remain obscure.

Far from limiting special interest money, Proposition 34 opened the floodgates. IEs, as they're called, have grown exponentially since 2000, with at least $28 million reported for this week's primary.

The expansion of IEs has much to do with the second big rule change: adoption of a "top-two" primary system in 2010, via a measure reluctantly placed on the ballot by majority Democrats as the price for securing enough Republican votes to pass the 2009-10 budget.

Under Proposition 14, the two highest vote-getters in a primary, regardless of party, face each other again in November, and it's been the vehicle for business interests to build a bloc of moderate Democrats and stave off legislation pushed by unions, environmentalists and other liberal groups.

Business  joined this year by charter schools and other education reform groups  have spent lavishly, via IEs, to boost simpatico Democrats into runoffs with more liberal Democrats in key legislative districts.

Unions, environmental groups and their allies can do the same, of course, for their preferred candidates, but they also face something of a conundrum.

Most of the major measures headed for the November ballot are sponsored by liberal interests  topped by the union-backed measure to extend temporary taxes on high-income Californians.

They may have to choose between pumping money into ballot measures and propping up their preferred candidates as business spends tens of millions more on IEs in key legislative races.

Dan Walters writes for the Sacramento Bee. Email him at dwalters@sacbee.com.
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The protection of sensitive lands from aggressive or premature development through the direct democratic process is of continuing importance to Ventura County citizens. The primary purpose of the county and city SOAR renewals is to extend the initiatives' sunset date to 2050. What this means is, until 2050, development proposals for SOAR-protected agricultural or open-space land must win voter approval before the site can be rezoned. The intent of the SOAR voter-initiatives is clear.

However, as reported in The Star's May 30 story, "Ventura initiative may have issues," Ventura Planning Manager Dave Ward said, "In this current (renewal) proposal, the areas of the coastal zone are excluded from the ordinance (initiative) draft." A staff report also states: "Coastal zone parcels are excluded by (the new initiative) eliminating substantive reference to 'comprehensive plan.' No 'city vote' would be required if these were proposed for redesignation and annexation."

In 2005, Ventura rewrote the city's chief planning document, changing its name from "comprehensive" to "general" plan. When that 2005 general plan was adopted, the city failed to update its Local Coastal Program as required by the Coastal Commission. The result: The city's former comprehensive plan is still used in the coastal zone as the last version of the city's general plan certified by the Coastal Commission.

However, city staff's concerns that the coastal zone parcels won't be protected under the new SOAR are incorrect. First, the original SOAR and Hillside Voter Protection Area initiatives and the new initiative (which combines those two) all used a contemporary city land-use map to identify protected sites that would require a city vote for development. The map in the new initiative petition clearly shows the coastal-zone parcels as protected, and courts consider maps to represent precise boundaries.

Second, the renewal initiative specifies that: "To the extent 'general' is used in place of 'comprehensive,' or vice versa, no difference in meaning is intended." Because of this stipulation, reference to the comprehensive plan was not eliminated.

The ordinance directs that "comprehensive" and "general" be used interchangeably.

Third, the 2005 general plan itself, under the California Coastal Act, states: "The general plan also satisfies state requirements for the city's Local Coastal Program." The city's failure to update the program should not affect a citizen voter-initiative renewal. Courts have carefully and liberally guarded citizens' initiative rights.

Also, it shouldn't be implied that only the comprehensive plan is used in the city's coastal zone.

Current development-notice signs posted in the city's coastal zone refer to general plan zoning that didn't exist in the comprehensive plan. Without the required Coastal Program update, development proposals now go individually to the Coastal Commission for approval.

Because this method has been used for 11 years and counting, it is imperative that the SOAR renewal (when approved by voters) is included in both the general and comprehensive plans.

When the environmental impact review for the 2005 general plan occurred, the original SOAR and hillside initiatives were embedded in the plan and, in fact, helped it meet stringent state requirements.

The preservation of agricultural and open-space lands is so essential, the state mandates that general plans have "open-space elements" with detailed long-term preservation planning for these lands.

The purpose is "to assure that cities and counties recognize that open-space is a limited and valuable resource which must be conserved wherever possible" and to discourage "premature and unnecessary conversion of open-space land to urban uses ..."

For the reasons stated above, the SOAR renewal initiative does protect coastal zone parcels and must be included in the comprehensive and general plans.

The city's failure to update its Local Coastal Program cannot interfere with citizens' rights to preserve agricultural and open-space lands for the health and benefit of our community.

Diane Underhill is president of Ventura Citizens for Hillside Preservation.
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Dr. George H. Hubert passed away this month. He's been out of the limelight since his semiretirement a few years ago, but if you or any family or friends had anything cardiovascular done at Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center since the 1970s, you have Dr. Hubert to thank for it. He was a colleague and associate with whom I was affiliated from 1980-95 and again recently.

George moved himself and his family in the 1960s to a sleepy little town in the Conejo Valley most famous for a place called Jungleland. He was one of the first dedicated cardiologists in the region. In a deal with the Lynn family, he set up shop in the hospital rather than in a private office outside, which was certainly more traditional.

In the early 1970s, he was joined by Dr. John Ellis, who remains with the practice today. Together, they embarked in building a heart program for Thousand Oaks and the entire Conejo Valley. They recruited a cardiac surgeon named Dr. Harold Tsuji and created a relatively full-service cardiovascular practice that soon began serving a wider region in Ventura County. The first Ventura County coronary angiogram, first open heart surgery, first angioplasty and first coronary stent were all done at Los Robles because of Dr. Hubert's vision.

I joined this group in 1980, when I left the departments of cardiology and cardiac surgery at Cedars-Sinai. I intended to go back to my native San Francisco, but even at Cedars-Sinai, I had heard about this little heart program in Thousand Oaks. I visited them, fell in love with the area and decided to join what Dr. Hubert created. I'm sure George and John thought that I, as a Chinese American, would be a soft-spoken, calm and relatively meek individual. Surprise.

Under Dr. Hubert's umbrella, we added more diagnostic and therapeutic cardiovascular services to Los Robles. The caliber of the work was excellent by any standard, and the reputation of cardiovascular services in the Conejo Valley grew disproportionately to the size of the program. It was a great cardiovascular team, rapidly responsive to emergencies because our offices were in the hospital. Dr. Hubert was often there until 11 p.m., a testament to his dedication to the patients at Los Robles.

Dr. Hubert was one of the best interventional cardiologists I had ever known, and I had supreme confidence that anything that could be done in the cath lab to open blocked blood vessels would be done successfully by him.

He was a superb technical physician who undoubtedly saved many lives.

The cardiac cath labs at Los Robles are eponymously named in his honor and in appreciation for the decades he dedicated to build a top clinical program in a community hospital.

Almost everyone in Thousand Oaks knows someone whose life has been touched by Dr. Hubert and the program he started almost a half-century ago. It was a privilege to know Dr. Hubert and to work with him in those days when health care was more personal.

My sincere condolences to his wife, Kelly; and his children, Babette, Todd and K.D., and Kim, who was lost tragically in the 1980s. They are justifiably proud of this husband, father, grandfather and superb clinician. And the public, as am I, should be as well.

Irving Kent Loh, M.D., is a preventive cardiologist and the director of the Ventura Heart Institute in Thousand Oaks. Email him at drloh@venturaheart.com.
The health ministry has closed a private hospital in Egypts coastal city of Alexandria for committing violations, including the refusal to provide medical treatment to two teenagers who were badly injured in a road accident.

Earlier this month, photos showed a teenager laying on a mattress placed on the sidewalk of the private hospital Talaat Mustafa while covering his naked body with a blanket. The photos, which went viral on social media, were taken after the hospital refused to let him and his nephew check in because they were unable to pay fees for medical treatment.

Both teenagers were suffering from serious injuries to the skull and bone fractures which resulted from a road accident while they were riding a motorcycle.

Although the closure decision was announced on Saturday, the ministry said that it was following up on their case and that both teenagers were referred to Ras El Tin public hospital last week where they are currently receiving treatment.

Meanwhile, the deputy head of Alexandria's health directorate said in press statements on Saturday that the hospital was also closed for committing other violations including operating a dentistry clinic and test lab without a license.

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Early media reports of the shooting at UCLA on June 1 said a student disgruntled over a grade shot and killed his professor, then turned the gun on himself. While different information later came to light, the initial scenario remains a real concern on college campuses.

Many may think such concerns are a gun issue  and I don't disagree  but it's also an issue of grades and how they have become the goal of schooling rather than learning.

For almost 20 years, I have been a professor in higher education, teaching people who want to be or who are K-12 teachers. Over time my views about grading have changed significantly, marking a progression of my experiences as a student into one of a professional committed to student learning.

My experiences as a student taught me the goal was the grade I received, and in many classes my grade was directly affected by other students' grades, based on some "curve." It was a sorting tool  much like the hat in Harry Potter  with the decision being made by my own self in relation to the group. As a high school teacher and later as a new professor, I was fine with this outlook on grading. I "taught" them, and student scores determined the grades. I worried about giving too many A's and what others would think of the rigor of my courses.

But then something changed. I taught a class on "authentic assessment." Investigating, creating and teaching this class turned the notion of grading on its head. I began to view the people in my classes not as "students" but as "learners."

I became irritated with the questions of "how many pages do you want?" and "what should the project look like?" These were questions of "good students," not questions of inquiring minds. I realized our system creates good students who follow the rules, fill in the blanks properly and turn in all the homework for a grade. But in college, they face a harsh reality of dual expectations  keep all those behaviors, and question the world, too.

Sometimes those two things are mutually exclusive. I want my students to reach for knowledge for the sake of knowing, especially if they are going to be my daughter's teacher someday.

So I stopped giving tests that were easy to grade. I started giving long-term assignments that required them to understand the content in relation to their future classroom. They were graded but given all the criteria for grading ahead of time.

I allowed flexibility on due dates because not all learning happens by the arbitrary dates on my syllabus. I allowed students to redo assignments for full credit to show mastery of what they learned. Yes, I had to give them grades because that is the system in which I work, but I also gave them the feedback to succeed, and not all did.

Many will say, "Grades are important for their future." My response is, "How many people are 'graded' in their jobs? Evaluated, sure. But graded, with your grade determined by how well your co-workers perform?"

I wish our system was different. The pressure for many to achieve good grades is real, but I wish it was about learning and not just grades.

Well, at least it is in my classes.

Jeanne M. Grier is a professor of secondary education at CSU Channel Islands.
AP file art Legendary Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully is one of the California icons that the Banc of California touts as customers.

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If California were a bank, what sort of bank would it be?

Banc of California has a new, intriguing answer. In just six years, "California's bank" has emerged as one of America's fastest-growing banks  from $700 million in assets in 2010 to nearly $10 billion today. Since the end of 2014, it's been the best performing bank stock in the country, while pursuing a strategy even Bernie Sanders might love: serving the state's diverse array of small and mid-sized businesses.

More than 100 banks have California branches, many of them community banks that seek to serve the same people as Banc of California. But Banc of California's focus on defining itself by its Californianess is unmatched  and noteworthy for any enterprise, especially in a globalized era when consolidation across borders is all the rage in industry.

Banc of California bills itself as "California Strong," touts California icons among its customers (Wolfgang Puck, Vin Scully), and builds partnerships with USC, San Diego State, Pepperdine, and Los Angeles Unified School District "Partnership" schools associated with former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a bank adviser.

In so doing, Banc of California is betting that a grounded-in-the-Golden-State enterprise can prosper in this new and different California era, when, for the first time, the majority of Californians are born and raised in the state.

"What's good for California is good for the Banc of California," the bank's chairman and CEO, Steven Sugarman, 41, who grew up in Fullerton, told me recently at the bank's headquarters in Irvine.

Sugarman argues that California's economy is so varied and peculiar that it needs banks with deep local knowledge to serve it effectively. While bigger corporations dominate other state economies, California's business base is "very democratic," in Sugarman's words, with properties owned by individuals and families. Since so many Californians work for themselves, even very creditworthy people don't qualify for traditional mortgages.

The bank's data also suggests that businesses owned by Latinos and women are far more creditworthy than many lenders have recognized. To better reach those customers, Banc of California in 2014 acquired Banco Popular's 20 Southern California branches.

In this context, California is not just a state but a business model; to attract diverse businesses, Banc of California needs to show commitment to communities. This is one reason why the bank has prioritized its Community Reinvestment Act lending  to community development projects  and trumpets its "Outstanding" rating in such lending at every opportunity.

The strategy has critics; many banks consider CRA lending an unprofitable chore. In a conservative banking world dedicated to the wisdom that "anything that grows fast is a weed," Banc of California's rapid success can be seen as suspicious, perhaps predicated on ill-advised pricing or risky lending.

Sugarman says the bank invests heavily in risk management and in hiring people who really understand the state's markets. The rapid growth is in part a function of launching a bank in the wake of a massive recession that left an enormous void as California-based banks failed and consolidated.

Sugarman also makes a strong case for a sort of California patriotism in banking. When Californians bank with national or multinational banks, their deposits are loaned or invested outside California. Banc of California is busy pointing this out to California governments and nonprofits still banking with bigger banks. The bank also wants to expand in Northern and Central California.

Will this California model endure? A bank tied to a state as volatile as California can expect a bumpy ride in the long term. But the Banc of California makes a compelling case that it pays to bank on California.

I dropped by its Pasadena branch recently. Within 30 seconds, I'd been offered coffee, a cookie and a chair. Then a young banker asked me: "Where are you from in California?"

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zocalo Public Square.
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To developers

"The cost of doing business" just became a little more painful for housing developers in Ventura with a soon-to-be-implemented, one-time fee for each acre-foot of new water needed for their development. While an added expense, one can't escape the inevitable. California's water supply has always been a roaring rapids or trickling stream cycle. It's trickling now. The fee will help Ventura find ways of boosting its strained supplies.

To hikers

The Backbone Trail that winds from La Jolla Canyon in Ventura County through the Santa Monica Mountains to Will Rogers Historic State Park in Los Angeles County has received the imprimatur of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The National Recreation Trail designation recognizes the efforts of local communities to provide outdoor recreational activities. After 40 years in the making, there is only one thing to say about the Backbone Trail  go take a hike. The fresh air will do you good.

To voters

You were handed a raw deal when The Associated Press reported on the eve of Tuesday's California presidential primary election that, by its count, Hillary Clinton had cinched the Democratic nomination. Voters have been told for years that their votes count. How many voters stayed home Tuesday because, when they heard the news, they realized that this time a vote for a presidential nominee no longer mattered?

To fans

What can you say? He was "The Greatest." The death of Muhammad Ali at age 74 leaves a huge void in the world of sports. He was not merely a superb boxer, he also fought for the principles of freedom, justice and peace. In a world of conformity, he dared to be different by expressing a simple, eloquent outlook on life that everyone should take to heart: "I don't have to be what you want me to be."

To history buffs

The failure of the St. Francis Dam north of Santa Clarita in 1928, California's second-worst disaster after the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, is regarded as the nation's worst civil engineering accident of the 20th century. The wall of water that flooded south through Fillmore, Santa Paula and Bardsdale left 531 people dead. The disaster hasn't really gotten that much attention, but that could soon change. A bill to commemorate the disaster has been introduced in Congress. It should be quickly passed.

To Camarillo

Your police force is to be commended for seeking to make the streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists alike. The increased use of nonmotorized means of getting around has increased the risk of injuries and fatalities for walkers and bike riders. While motorists share the biggest burden of avoiding tragic incidents because of the sheer weight and speed of the vehicles they drive, pedestrians and bicyclists are no less absolved from following the rules of the road. The streets belong to all  share them as if your life depends on it.

To music lovers

The 70th Ojai Music Festival is in full swing. It started Thursday and continues through Sunday, ending with a free street party in Santa Paula beginning at 6 p.m. Flautist Claire Chase, founder of the International Contemporary Ensemble, predicts the Santa Paula event will be "a big, honky-tonk, jam session, throwdown party." Ma Ventura can honky-tonk all she likes. Pa will merely throw himself down and listen.

To Fillmore

It was a tough call, but your City Council was right in passing stricter regulations on short-term housing rentals. Several cities have grabbled with this concept recently. Fillmore's regulations fall somewhere between Ojai's outright ban and Ventura's easier permit process. If a resident wishes to rent out a home to short-term guests through one of several Internet websites, it is only proper that he or she adheres to rules all cities place on the hospitality industry.
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One clear precedent emerged Tuesday night from California's primary election: There will be no Republican contending this fall for the U.S. Senate seat about to be vacated by the retiring Democrat Barbara Boxer  the first time a race for a statewide office has devolved into a one-party affair.

The reason is clear, too. Not only did the GOP fail to field a truly formidable Senate candidate this year, but the party had only one hopeful among its five (somewhat) significant springtime candidates with any experience in elective office.

Keep this up and the GOP will be seeing many more big Democrat-vs.-Democrat contests.

By contrast, the Democrats fielded two electoral veterans  two-term state Attorney General Kamala Harris, also a former two-term district attorney of San Francisco, and 10-term Orange County congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.

The returns left little doubt that Republicans could have won a place on the fall ballot if their vote had not been completely fractured.

Instead, all five at least somewhat well-known GOP hopefuls stayed in the race to the bitter end (which ended bitterly for them all), even though their party probably could have won a November slot if four of them had dropped out and essentially instructed Republican loyalists to vote for the remaining survivor.

This actually should have been done before the March 16 filing deadline if the party expected to make a Senate run in the fall. Instead, the last of the GOP candidates to file  Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ron Unz  waited until that very date before submitting his papers. A party once known for its firm internal discipline had none this year.

Even when polls repeatedly showed GOP candidates drawing less than 10 percent each among likely primary voters, none dropped out to let Republicans coalesce around someone.

The reason for all this was as clear as the result: No GOP candidate cared much if their party fielded no autumn candidate.

All were apparently content to leave that election strictly to the Democrats, with GOP voters perhaps a moderating influence, as they often have been in all-Democrat races for state legislative district jobs.

Those one-party races have been common since voters adopted the "top two" primary election system as required under Proposition 14 in 2010, but until now, not for a choice top-of-ticket job. It's bound to leave rank-and-file Republicans frustrated.

"I doubt this will have long-term ramifications for the party," said Palo Alto legal arbitrator George (Duf) Sundheim, the leading vote-getter among the GOP Senate candidates and one of two former state Republican Party chairmen who insisted on staying in the primary.

"Yes, it would be helpful to other candidates further down the ballot to have a Republican at the top of the ticket, but with the top two primary, we're simply going to get situations like this from time to time."

Not exactly a cry of despair for the party he once headed.

Unz, the author and chief funder of the 1998 Proposition 227, which all but ended bilingual education in California, said, "The truth is, I probably don't care whether there's a Republican candidate in the runoff.

I've never been anything but a registered Republican, but I've been disappointed with the positions many Republicans have been taking lately. And from the other two Republicans in this race, I did not see anything interesting.

"To win, any Republican would need a lot of crossover voters, but it's difficult to see two longtime party functionaries managing that."

Unz began by admitting he expected to lose the primary, but he wanted the bully pulpit the campaign offered for talking about how to preserve Proposition 227.

The result leaves the field to Harris and Sanchez, with the winner likely to be the one who can attract the most Republicans this fall.

Neither came close to dominating the spring campaign, both falling far short of the vital 50 percent benchmark.

Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com.
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The city of Moorpark took the appropriate move this week to challenge a Ventura County decision that would greatly increase the number of gravel trucks rumbling through the city.

The Moorpark City Council approved a $100,000 legal fund to hire a law firm and file a petition Thursday in Ventura County Superior Court asking a judge to overturn the county Board of Supervisors' approval of the gravel project.

The city is alleging the county violated the California Environmental Quality Act.

In early May, the Board of Supervisors followed an earlier approval by the county Planning Commission and agreed to an expansion of the Wayne J. Sand & Gravel gravel-mining facility outside of Moorpark. The permit would last until 2043 and increase the excavation area from 48 to 134 acres and production from 270,000 tons to 700,000 tons a year.

The city's beef is not over the expansion of actual gravel mining  it is over the approval of up to 300 truck trips per day from the gravel mine on Highway 23 through downtown Moorpark and onto Los Angeles Avenue.

In its argument, the city claims the county failed to fully study the impacts of that increased truck traffic and demands the approval be overturned.

This, of course, is not the city's first fight over truck traffic through Moorpark.

In fact, that battle could be seen as one of the area's longest-running governmental feuds, as the city has taken on local and state agencies, as well as private industry, in an effort to place some controls over the use of heavy trucks through Moorpark.

Before this move, the most recent city action regarding trucks was to cut a deal with the folks seeking to truck sand to Broad Beach in Malibu. That deal called for the trucks to bypass Moorpark.

We took the city to task for that effort, not because it was wrong to try to lessen the amount of truck traffic, but because the city pushed the problem off onto adjoining communities without ever involving them in the conversation.

That resulted in the county joining the city of Fillmore in suing Moorpark over the agreement.

Now the city and county are back in court over trucks, with the tables reversed as to who is the plaintiff and who is the defendant.

The county argues that the increase in Wayne J. sand truck traffic is allowable under current standards. Wayne J. says it won't conduct its additional daily trips during peak traffic times. That, says the county, means the additional runs will create a "less than significant" impact.

We join Moorpark in disagreeing with that conclusion.

We would hope that at some point we might convince the judge or a state transportation official or whoever is involved to take a drive from the Wayne J. mine, down the two-lane Grimes Canyon Road, then take that no-stop left onto Broadway and pass all those farm fields. Then continue on until the highway makes a sweeping nonstop right onto Walnut Canyon Road, taking you past homes whose driveways abut the highway, past a marked crosswalk coming from the nearby Boys & Girls Club, past City Hall and the Library, and through downtown with its mix of markets, restaurants and other stores.

That's where this project will send 240 or more gravel-laden trucks every day.

Moorpark would love some agency to step up and endorse the long-held dream of a Highway 23 bypass around the city.

But until that happens, the impact of truck traffic on this city and its residents must be considered and mitigated.


The Nellis Support Team (NST) and Las Vegas Country Club will celebrate Independence Day and honor our military as it hosts 100+ family members of deployed Nellis and Creech Air Force Base Airmen.

The celebration will feature childrens activities with games, prizes and giveaways and treats.

The Nellis Support Team provides support to the Air Force commanders, the Warfare Center, and Nellis/Creech Air Force Bases on issues such as encroachment, zoning, and other issues that may directly or indirectly impact the mission of the US Air Force Warfare Center. This is accomplished by ensuring Nellis Support Team awareness of Nellis/Creech issues, and by generating local, state, and national support.


Life at The LINQ Promenade will be a little sweeter this summer. European gelato brand, Amorino, is bringing the magic of authentic traditional Italian ice cream to The LINQ Promenade in July, with the opening of its flagship U.S. location.

Amorino is known for their unique flower shaped cone, with unlimited flavors available on each creation. Each gelato recipe requires ingredients sourced from worldwide locales so theyre at their peak when used. Inside the shop youll find an assortment of traditional and seasonal flavors  think mangos from India, vanilla from Madagascar, chocolate from Ecuador, and Pistachio Bronte from Sicily. The eatery also will sell other decadent treats, including gelato-filled macarons, specialty coffee, crepes, waffles, hot cocoa and chocolates.

Amorino Las Vegas is owned by Jeremy Decherchi and Nicolas Mouillon who also own and operate the Amorino located at the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets, 625 S. Grand Central Parkway. Previously, there was an Amorino inside Town Square, but that location is being relocated and reimagined into the flagship at The LINQ Promenade. The new store will occupy 1,500 square feet and have capacity for about 50 people inside the high-end space.

Were so excited to open Amorinos U.S. flagship on the Las Vegas Strip, in an iconic location like The LINQ Promenade, said co-owner Jeremy Decherchi. We cant wait to have our customers see the beautiful space, and enjoy themselves while taking in the sights and sounds of The LINQ Promenade.

The newest Amorinos interior will feature a fiINSERT , sofas and other luxurious seating to provide comfort and respite to locals and tourists alike. This new location will create about 30 new jobs for Southern Nevadans. The new Amorino is slated to open around the time of the downtown locations first anniversary, a significant milestone for the Amorino Las Vegas team. Founded in 2002 by two Italian childhood friends, Amorino is the very essence of traditional Italian gelato. With numerous shops all over the world, Amorino differentiates itself through its iconic presentation of the gelato as a flower, constructed petal by petal with as many flavors as you want. Amorino is an international brand with 150 stores worldwide and 15 stores located in The United States.


Famed TV personality, Farrah Abraham, spent the afternoon partying at Ditch Fridays at Palms Pool & Dayclub on June 10 (Photo credit: Joe Fury).

Photo credit: Joe Fury.

Abraham who sparkled in a sexy, barely-there yellow sequin bikini, spent the afternoon celebrating the birthday of her good friend, Heather Marianna, local Beauty YouTuber and star of Bravos Tour Group.

Photo credit: Joe Fury.

The dynamic duo was all giggles while making their way over to popular social influencer, Kirill Was Here, best known for his wild party antics, where Abraham requested he do a champagne shower on Mariannas backside.

Photo credit: Joe Fury.

Abraham cheered him on before grabbing a bottle of champagne herself and joining in on the action. When Kirill, who was also celebrating a birthday, was presented with an over-the-top birthday presentation featuring jumbo score cards, a sparkly red Mercedes SUV kids-size power wheels and a boob-themed cake, the trio went wild.

Abraham was overheard talking about her quest to find true love. Abraham announced earlier today on her Facebook that she would be appearing on Patti Stangers new million dollar matchmaking show on WE TV, Millionaires Club, which premieres July 8.
Egypts foreign ministry sent condolences to the Ethiopian people who are involved in their own fight against terrorism

Egypt strongly condemns the attacks against the African Union military base in Somalia that killed 43 Ethiopian soldiers on Thursday, foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said Saturday.

"We send our condolences to the Ethiopian people and to the families of the victims as Egypt supports the African Union and the Somalian government in its fight against terrorism," Abu Zeid said in a statement.

The attack, which took place in the central town of Halgan, was carried out by Somalia's Al Shabaab militant group against a military base for the African Union's AMISOM force.

The base is made up of troops from African nations supporting Somalia's Western-backed government and army in the fight against the al Qaeda-linked militants.

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According to VCA, the company is completing the procedure to dissolve.

Aim Star Network Vietnam Ltd. is headquartered at 239 Xuan Thuy street, Cau Giay district, Hanoi. The legal representative is Thai national Panint Jhonlerkieat, who holds the position of managing director.

Aim Star Network sells cosmetics and personal care products. Besides Vietnam, it also operates in the US, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. Aim Star Network Vietnam received the license to conduct direct selling activities in November 2014.

Thai cosmetics and personal care products are very popular in Vietnam due to their reasonable price and high quality. In March, another Thai direct selling company, Giffarine Skyline Unity, which also sells cosmetics and personal care products, said that it was investing in a joint venture in Vietnam that would start operation by the end of 2016.

Talking to the Bangkok Post, Giffarine president Nalinee Paiboon said the company plans to hold 20 per cent of the joint venture, while the remaining 80 per cent will be owned by its partners, a group of Thai businessmen. In addition to Thai products popularity among Vietnamese consumers, Paiboon named the big population and the countrys high economic growth relative to other ASEAN countries as the reasons the company sees huge opportunities in direct sales in Vietnam.

Prior to Giffarine Skyline Unity, another Thai firm directly selling cosmetics and personal care products, Kangzen, set foot in Vietnam in 2014.

According to market research company Euromonitor, Amway Vietnam Ltd. was the leading player in direct selling in 2015 in Vietnam, with a 21 per cent market share. Amway has been preserving its superior position in the Vietnamese market since 2010.
The new rice variety (TEJ Vang) provides high rice yielding potential and strong protection against the bacterial leaf blight (BLB), a dreaded rice farming disease that causes considerable yield loss for farmers especially in the wet season.

According to local statistics, BLB is rampaging across the country in both summer (wet) rice season and spring (dry) rice season.

Based on data from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), BLB could reduce rice yields by 30 per cent to 70 per cent depending on the stage of infection, environmental conditions and rice seasons.

There is no crop protection product that could cure this disease effectively in rice. In such a challenging scenario, for the very first time in Vietnam, Bayer is introducing TEJ Vang.

Harnessing new technology by integrating a combination of multiple BLB resistance genes, TEJ Vang stands out from currently marketed BLB tolerant hybrid rice varieties.

The combination of multi BLB-resistant genes gives TEJ Vang protection against the majority of BLB pathogen races prevalent in Vietnam.

At Bayer we are committed to harnessing innovative science to help tackle challenges in agriculture. TEJ Vang is a revolutionary solution to help Vietnamese rice farmers combat BLB effectively as well as ensuring high and quality yield, said Kohei Sakata, managing director and country head of the Crop Science Division, Bayer Vietnam.

Commenting on this innovative technique, Cao Thi Thanh Huyen, head of Haiphong City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said, Our country in general and Haiphong city in particular is annually facing an increasing potential of BLB disease occurrence. TEJ Vang could help shield farmers from the disease and protect farmers yields compared to the severe yield loss of other traditional inbred or even regular hybrid varieties. Our Department welcomes Bayer to continue to introduce other new hybrids resistant to salinity, sub-mergence that would benefit our farmers nationwide.

TEJ Vang has obtained full national regulatory registration on April 15, 2016.

Since early 2013, advanced farmers in key rice producing provinces across Vietnam have participated in trials and witnessed the superior performance of TEJ Vang on their fields.

They will also be the first farmers to apply this revolutionary technology in Vietnam for this summer planting season.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. In fiscal 2015, the group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR46.3 billion ($52 billion).
The property market in the central city of a Nang has seen growth in major segments such as condotel, condominium and hospitality markets in the first half of this year. - Photo batdongsandulich.vn

According to the report on properties in Da Nang in the second quarter, CB Richard Ellis Viet Nam Ltd Company (CBRE Viet Nam), one of the foreign property service providers in the country, reported that Da Nang's condotel market in the first half of 2016 showed a strong increase in new supplies with 2,436 units from six projects.

New supplies caused the average asking price of high-end projects to go down by 4.8 per cent and mid-end projects increased slightly by 0.4 per cent compared to Q4 2015 while prices at luxury projects kept unchanged.

In terms of sale activities, as of end of May 2016, those projects that were launched in the beginning of the year recorded an average sale rate of 63 per cent, while projects that were just launched a month ago still have a low sale rate.

"Overall, both the condotel and second home markets saw lively movement in sales activity in 2015 and the first half of 2016, especially in increasing sales at launched projects. In particular, vacation projects managed by well-known operators offering fixed annual returns are proving attractive to investment buyers," Marc Townsend, managing director of CBRE Vietnam, said.

Meanwhile, the condominium market started in 2016 with a strong increase in new supply. In the first half of the year, there were 1,000 newly launched units, an increase of 44.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y). The asking price of the high-end segment remained unchanged at US$1,623 per sq.m.

In the first five months of 2016, CBRE recorded an estimated 1,000 sold units in the condominium market, up by 74.6 per cent y-o-y.

Regarding the outlook, Townsend said, "Asking prices are expected to remain stable in most projects in the next quarter. Developers will continue offering incentives to encourage prompt payments. Notably, the new housing law which came into force on July 1, 2015, will bring opportunities for foreigners who are allowed to enter Viet Nam are also able to own condominiums and are able to lease, mortgage, contribute as capital, gift, bequest, exchange, etc. However, at present, the number of successful transactions made by foreign buyers has not increased dramatically due to a need for clarification on the legal situation, though there is clear foreign interest in the vacation property market."

CBRE Viet Nam also reported that in the hospitality market, in the first five months, Da Nang welcomed a total of 1,471 new rooms from one five-star hotel, four four-star hotels and six three-star hotels, increasing the accumulated three- to five-star supply to approximately 11,275 rooms, of which three-star hotels make up the largest proportion of 41 per cent.

From 2016 to 2018, the market is expected to welcome more than 3,000 new rooms from 16 under-construction projects. Of these, over 90 per cent will be beachfront properties.
Black bears have been blamed for eight fatal attacks in Akita prefecture between 1979 and 2015 AFP/Raymond Roig

TOKYO: The body of a fourth victim suspected of being killed by a bear in the past three weeks was found in a forest in northern Japan on Friday, reports said.

The badly mauled corpse has yet to be identified, but police in Akita prefecture were searching for a 74-year-old woman named as Tsuwa Suzuki, who was reported missing a day earlier, according to local media, which cited police.

Hunters killed a bear just 10 metres from the spot where the woman's remains were discovered in a mountain forest in Kazuno city, in Akita, though it remained unclear if she was killed by that animal, reports said.

Last month, three men, two in their seventies and one in his sixties, died in apparent bear attacks while out harvesting bamboo shoots in three separate incidents. The severity of their wounds have led experts to suspect bears were responsible.

A local veterinarian said that as the attacks happened within the same area and in such a short timeframe, the same bear was likely responsible.

"After tasting human flesh, the bear may have learned it can eat them," Takeshi Komatsu told Japan's Kyodo News agency.

City officials warned locals not to go into the mountains and have set bear traps.

The total number of fatal bear attacks in Akita between 1979 and 2015 was just eight, the local Kahoku newspaper said, citing a prefectural official, who added that the recent spate of killings was "unusual".

Suzuki, who lives in Towada city in neighbouring Aomori prefecture, is believed to have gone to the area to pick edible wild plants, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK. A car, thought to be hers, was found close to the scene.

Bear sightings in Japan's rugged north have already surpassed 1,200 this year, almost double that of last year, with some even spotted near residential areas.

Earlier this month, a seven-year-old boy was found safe after being abandoned by his parents in a bear-inhabited forest on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

He survived for nearly a week after being left at the side of a road in dense mountain woods as punishment for throwing stones at passing cars.
An MC from the program will provide participants with interesting information and knowledge about composers and their masterpieces.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts Serenade in G major, K. 525 Eine Kleine Nachtmusik will be performed by the String Group and Ludwig Van Beethovens Piano Concerto No 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19

Arrangement for Piano and String quintet: Von Vinzens Lachurer will be played by pianist Nguyen Thi Uyen Sa and the String Group.

During the second half of the show, Sa will perform Henry Cowells Three Irish Legends and join violinist Ho Dang Hoi in two pieces, Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor, Op. posth by Frederic Chopin and Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20 by Pablo De Sarasate.

The show will be wrapped up by Franz Liszts Hungarian Rapshody No. 2, S 244 and Astor Piazzollas Libertango by Nguyen Thi Uyen Sa and secondo pianist Mr. X and the String Group.

Spectators should contact Ms. Han on 0937 374 510 for tickets which are priced at VND100,000 per person.

The event will take place at the concert hall of the HCMC Conservatory of Music at 112 Nguyen Du Street in District 1.
In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said that this is the Governments first policy which has a long-term vision on business development.



The resolution affirms the important role of businesses, particularly private ones, in the nations industrialisation and modernisation cause, which also serve as a driving force to enhance the economys competitiveness in the integration process, Loc stated.

According to the business leader, what is the most impressive about the resolution is the new way of thinking which emphasizes drastic action and no backward-looking talks.



With the resolution, the Government is striving to be more conscientious and professional in supporting the business community, said Loc.



Not only the VCCI or associations, but businesses themselves are also encouraged to make recommendations on measures to address difficulties in administrative and institutional reforms related to enterprises operations.



To put the resolution into reality, he suggested the Government and ministries give detailed instructions and take specific action to reduce administrative burdens and abuses of power at local offices, to create a level playing field among businesses, he added.



Together with Resolution No.19 on improving the business environment and increasing national competitiveness, Resolution No.35 will surely bring about a lot of positive changes, helping the business environment in Vietnam meet regional and international standards, Loc affirmed.

Resolution 35 has also set the goals of raising the number of enterprises to 1 million in 2020 from 515,000 at present. The private sector will contribute about 50% of GDP. The social labour productivity will rise 5% per year. Every year, around 30%-35% of Vietnamese enterprises will launch creative renovation activities.
US President Barack Obama boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (Photo: AFP/Yuri Gripas)

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has ordered the US military to tackle the resurgent Taliban more directly - in tandem with Afghan allies, officials said on Friday (Jun 11), ratcheting up a 15-year conflict he had vowed to end.

US forces have been in an advisory role in Afghanistan since the start of 2015 and were only authorised to hit Taliban targets for defensive reasons, or to protect Afghan troops.

The changes mean US troops can now work more closely with local fighters in targeting the Taliban.

"US forces will more proactively support Afghan conventional forces," a senior administration official told AFP.

The official, who asked not to be named, sketched plans to provide more close air support and to accompany Afghan forces on the battlefield. But "this does not mean a blanket order to target the Taliban," the official cautioned.

Obama was elected in 2008, promising to end one of America's longest and most gruelling wars.

The first US troops arrived in Afghanistan 15 years ago, after the Taliban government refused to turn over Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and more than 2,000 US personnel have died in the ensuing war.

Afghan security forces last year took the lead in ensuring security across the country, but suffered a devastating string of setbacks at the hands of the Taliban.

Some 9,800 US troops remain in Afghanistan in an advisory capacity, down from a peak of around 100,000 in March 2011. That number is set to drop to just 5,500 by the year's end.

Currently, US forces are mainly confined to ministries or bases. Only special forces assist their Afghan counterparts on the battlefield.

A US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the changes mean US troops can now embed with all Afghan troop units, not just their special forces.

Still, he said, US troops won't be fighting on the front lines against the Taliban, and will stay in an advisory role. "It's for key things that will result in a very significant strategic gain in their efforts," the official said.

TALIBAN STRENGTHS

The campaign to neutralise the Taliban has suffered multiple setbacks in the twilight of Obama's presidency and Afghanistan's fledgling security forces have struggled in the face of bloody Taliban assaults.

More than 5,000 Afghan troops died last year alone, prompting Obama to indefinitely postpone the withdrawal of US troops.

Afghan authorities on Wednesday recovered the bullet-ridden bodies of 12 security officials captured by the Taliban in eastern Ghazni province. Gunmen kidnapped 40 others.

Local support for US efforts has been undermined by the unintended killing of Afghan civilians. Last year, US missile strikes on a hospital in Kunduz killed 46 people and prompted worldwide outrage.

At the same time, diplomatic efforts to engage the Taliban appear to have broken down. The United States killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a drone strike in Pakistan last month.

Obama then warned that the organisation's new leadership would fight on. "We anticipate the Taliban will continue an agenda of violence," he said during a visit to Japan.

Obama's latest Afghan decision would appear to push any brokered solution well beyond his presidency. But it could also significantly boost Afghan forces, who currently have limited close air-support capacities.

That could help bridge the gap before the delivery of dozens of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft over the next 18 months.

"We are going to do what we can to enable Afghan forces to achieve strategic effects on the battlefield," a second US defence official told AFP. "What we are doing now is taking a look at the battle space and making sure we provide the things we can," he added.

"It's not just about a wide blanket to strike the Taliban whenever we want, it's about the core mission of protecting the ANDSF (Afghan National Defence and Security Force)."
The project, jointly implemented by the Korea Foundation and UN Habitat in Vietnam , was part of the Korea Foundation Community Art Exchange Programme that targets improved living conditions for locals and brings fine art closer to the public.



The painted houses are expected to lure visitors to Tam Ky, while enabling locals to express their characteristics through painting as part of the creative community art.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Park Kyoung Chul, Korea Foundation Director in Vietnam, said that the project not only creates a chance for the two sides to exchange and share ideas on community art organisation and development, but also contributes to changing the face of the villages and boosts tourism.



The project will also make locals houses real art spaces, he said.



Earlier, a group of RoK artists came to the site to design ideas for the wall-paintings. The walls have also been cleaned to get ready for the paintings.



As scheduled, the project will finish by June 28.
The Ilya Muromets icebreaker is unveiled during a launching ceremony at the Admiralteyskie Verfi shipyard in Saint Petersburg, on June 10 2016. (Photo: AFP/Olga Maltseva)

SAINT PETERSBURG: Russia on Friday (Jun 10) floated a new icebreaker for its navy, the first in about 45 years, in a further sign of Moscow's growing military focus on the Arctic.

Built at the Admiralty Shipyards in Saint Petersburg, Russia's second largest city and home to its Baltic fleet, the Ilya Muromets is the first of a series of icebreakers ordered by the defence ministry in recent years.

"In 2017 this icebreaker will join the Northern Fleet to ensure our priorities in the northern basin," Admiral Igor Zvarich, who heads the technical department of the Russian navy, said during the ceremony.

The Ilya Muromets is an 85-metre (280-feet) long electric-diesel powered icebreaker with a deadweight of 6,000 tonnes and is designed to help the deployment of the navy in icy conditions as well as escort or tow other ships.

It can cut through ice of up to one metre thick and travel the entire 5,600 kilometre (3,500 mile) length of the Northern Passage, according to the defence ministry.

"Until now we didn't have military icebreakers," said Igor Korotchenko, a pro-Kremlin pundit who edits National Defence magazine.

"It is necessary for the smooth movement of warships and support ships of the Northern Fleet, for delivering cargo to military bases," he told AFP.

BIGGEST ICEBREAKER FLEET

Interest in the Arctic has grown in recent years as rising temperatures open up shipping routes and make hitherto inaccessible mineral resources easier to exploit.

Russia has made the region a priority in its new military doctrine, building a string of bases and holding war games there at a time when parts of the polar region are contested by different nations.

Last year Russia filed a claim in the United Nations over a vast swathe of the region, including the North Pole. The government estimates that the Arctic shelf contains some 4.9 billion tonnes of hydrocarbons.

Speaking at a conference on Thursday, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who oversees the defence sector, said the government also plans to refurbish its Arctic air force and even build a testing range for new technology developed for the harsh climate.

Alexander Khramchikhin, an analyst at the Institute for Political and Military Analysis, said Russia's fleet of icebreakers is already bigger than that of other countries combined.

As the Arctic becomes more open to navigation and exploration, "it will need to have military cover," he told AFP.

The Ilya Muromets is just the first of several icebreakers to be completed in Russia in the coming years.

Last month the Admiralty Shipyards signed a new contract with the defence ministry for two Arctic corvettes, capable of acting as ice breakers, which will be armed with cruise missiles and delivered in 2020.

Construction for those two ships will begin in the autumn, said company chief Alexander Buzakov.

Russia's Rosatom nuclear agency, which manages the country's fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, is also expecting three new ships, including the world's biggest and most powerful icebreaker called Arktika, which will be floated next week.
The test papers for several subjects of the Thanaweya Amma high school exams were leaked online last week

Egypts education minister told parliament Saturday that he requested the Internet be disconnected in the country an hour before high school exams, to prevent online cheating, but his request was denied.

Minister El-Hilali El-Sherbini said his request was deemed against the law and the constitution, and thus the education ministry attempted to find other methods to prevent cheating, state news agency MENA reported.

These methods include using cell phone jammers to disrupt cell phone signals inside classrooms. But officials found it unfeasible, as it would cost around EGP150 million.

The minister was speaking in front of parliament after the test papers for several subjects of the Thanaweya Amma (General Secondary) high school exams were leaked online last week.

The leaks prompted officials to cancel the religious studies exam Sunday as well as to investigate possible leaks from within the ministry.

El-Sherbini defended his ministry, saying they have been making efforts since February to prevent exam leaks.

The ministry conducted a study, according to the minister, with finding stating that it is hard to completely eliminate online cheating.

He added that the ministry cancelled a number of examination venues known for group cheating in the past year, and instead referred students to other secure locations to sit their exams.

The minister also said that exam papers have been transported to a number of governorates using military aircraft and that the interior ministry have been securing the transfer of exam papers by road.

Around 600,000 students are sitting the exams this year. The Thanaweya Aama exams are a do-or-die for Egyptian high school students, since the outcome dictates who among them goes on to what college, if any.

Last week, a number of Facebook admins were arrested on charges of leaking the exams online, while 12 education ministry officials are also being investigated in connection to the exam leaks.

The 12 officials are reported to be employees in the printing houses the education ministry assigned to print the exam papers, or in the ministry's examinations centre.

Meanwhile, head of parliaments education committee, Gamal Sheha, told MENA that the majority of parliamentarians were angered and shocked by the exam leaks and that their anger is a reflection of feelings on the Egyptian street.

Sheha added that the current examination system is outdated and that the exams, evaluations and university acceptance criteria have to be changed.

The current system is a remnant from the first half of the 20th century and no country still applies it, he stated.

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Egypt has long maintained that the Ethiopian dam  currently under construction  would affect its supply of Nile water

Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Saturday his country supports the Ethiopian peoples right to development through the Renaissance Dam but also stressed that the Nile River is the Egyptian peoples only source of potable water, a presidential statement read.

In his meeting with the irrigation and agricultural ministers, El-Sisi said that a spirit of positivity should prevail over the negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati told the president that the impact studies would include the mechanisms for the filing of the dam's reservoir.

Egypt has long maintained that the Ethiopian dam  currently under construction on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia's highlands  would affect its supply of Nile water.

Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are currently conducting impact studies on the dam.

It would also include guidelines on how to operate the Ethiopian dam in coordination with other dams in Egypt and Sudan, so it would not negatively affect any of the three countries.

In May, Ethiopian Communications Minister Getachew Reda, speaking to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, said the dam has become a "reality" and that "no matter what happens, things will not change."

He added that 50 percent of construction work on the dam had been completed and most of the dam's civil engineering projects were finished.

When turbines are installed, 70 percent of the project will be complete, he said.

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Afghan officials said Islamic State militants have killed at least six security forces, including a district police chief, in a predawn attack in eastern Afghanistan.

The assault on the police headquarters in the Haska Mena district in Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan, triggered an hourslong intense firefight that left at least 15 Islamic State assailants dead and seven wounded, a provincial government spokesman said.

The timely arrival of reinforcements enabled Afghan forces to defeat the attack, Attaullah Khogyani told VOA, although at least six other policemen were wounded.

Local media and residents, however, reported at least 11 security personnel were wounded and six of them were in critical condition.

The heavily armed attackers reportedly managed to enter police headquarters in the surprise assault before being pushed back.

Mosque hit

In the neighboring Rodat district, an improvised device planted in a mosque detonated during Friday prayers, killing at least four worshippers and wounding more than 70 others. The prayer leader was among the dead.

The United Nations condemned the targeting of civilians as a war crime and demanded the perpetrators be held accountable.

The Islamist Taliban denied it was behind the bombing.

Afghanistans Nangarhar province is where Taliban insurgents are active, but IS fighters have also set up bases in some remote border districts and have occasionally engaged in bloody clashes with the Taliban.

U.S. drones and Afghan fighter planes have been frequently targeting IS bases in Nangarhar since the beginning of the year and have claimed to have degraded the group's efforts to expand its influence to other Afghan regions.

Meanwhile, Afghan authorities have reported no progress in their search for a kidnapped Indian woman from the Aga Khan Foundation.

Judith DSouza, 40, was abducted by unknown gunmen in Kabul Thursday evening while she was returning home from work. Indian officials say they are in touch with Kabul to secure here safe release.
Al-Shabab militants in Somalia say they have executed two of their members, both of them recruited from Kenya, for disloyalty and anti-Islamic activities.

The two Kenyans and a Somali man executed at the same time were killed in Somalia's Middle Juba region on Friday, local residents told VOA's Somali Service. The executions also were reported on an al-Shabab website.

In the Bay region, four other men were executed Friday, accused of spying for Somali, Kenyan and U.S. intelligence agencies, according to a statement issued on social media by the extremist group. It said one of the four was accused of facilitating the drone strike in September 2014 that killed al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, also known as Abu Zubayr.

The two Kenyan fighters who were executed in Jilib town were identified on al-Shabab's website as Abdullah Abdulhamid Faraj and Jared Mokae Omambia.

Blamed as 'facilitators'

Faraj, from Mombasa, Kenya, had been accused of "facilitating" killings of Muslim preachers in Kenya, VOA Somali reported. Omambia, who was from the western Kenyan city of Eldoret, was accused of working with Kenyas anti-terrorism police unit.

Victims of the mass execution Friday in the Bay region's Bulo Fay village included 26-year-old Mohamed Aden Nur Hassan, who was beheaded. The al-Shabab website said he had been accused of providing key information that led to the death of al-Shabab commander Godane/Zubayr.

Al-Shabab said Muhiyadin Hirab Ahmed, 27, accused of betraying the leader of the Westgate Mall terror attack in Nairobi, and two others were killed by a firing squad immediately after they were pronounced guilty.

Recording of verdict

The extremists also released audio of an al-Shabab "judge" delivering his verdict against Hassan. The judge said Hassan has provided information that allowed U.S. forces to pinpoint the location of former militant chief Zubayr, contributing to his death. Hassan was accused of involvement in drone strikes that killed two other top al-Shabab commanders: Amniyat commander Abdishakur Tahlil in December 2014 and the militants' external operations chief Yusuf Dheeg the following February.

Hassan was suspected of passing on mobile telephone numbers for two of Zubayr's close associations that fixed their location in Barawe, the southern Somali port that was an al-Shabab stronghold at the time. Ten days after that information was passed to the CIA, al-Shabab officials have said, missiles launched by U.S. warplanes and drones killed Zubayr.

The raid that eliminated Godane/Zubayr was hailed as a major success at the time. One month later, Somali government troops and allied forces from the African Union regained control of Barawe, which al-Shabab had controlled since 2009.

Barawe has a proud commercial and cultural history dating back more than 500 years. But its politics have been turbulent for centuries, with multiple episodes of colonial occupation, including by European powers.

Muhiyadin Hirab Ahmed, executed at the same time as Hassan, was accused of working with Kenyan counterterrorism units following the Westgate Mall terrorist attack, which killed nearly 70 people. The information Ahmed allegedly provided led to the killing of Aadan Garaar, the suspected Westgate attack mastermind, in March 2015.

Also executed Friday in the Bay region was Hassan Diriye Osman, 42, whom al-Shabab accused of providing informants to Kenya intelligence in Gedo region. However, relatives of Osman told VOA he was an innocent schoolteacher. They said he had been missing since 2014.

The fourth victim of the Bula Fulay execution squads was Hussein Nunow Nagay, 36, accused of giving the Somali intelligence agency information about Al-Shabab fighters' movements.


California's fast-changing demographics are reflected in the state's top two candidates for the U.S. Senate. Analysts say the two women, who are members of ethnic minorities, highlight the Republican Partys challenge of competing in a state where immigration has reshaped the political map.

For the first time, a Republican candidate will not appear on the ballot in a California statewide race. Voters have selected two Democrats to compete for the seat of retiring U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer: California Attorney General Kamala Harris, an African-American, and U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez, who is Hispanic.

Harris led a crowded field of 34 candidates in the June 7 primary election, where she received 40 percent of the vote, more than double what Sanchez drew. The top Republican, Duf Sundheim, a former state party chairman, received just 8 percent and failed to gain a place on the general election ballot.

This has happened before only in congressional and state legislative races, said former Republican strategist Dan Schnur, who is now an analyst at the University of Southern California. He said voters approved the top-two qualifying system in 2010 with the goal of favoring more centrist candidates.

"This is the first time," Schnur said, we've seen it at the statewide level [where] the Republicans are simply not in a position to compete.

Minorities as majority

The unprecedented contest is partly the result of shifting demographics. Hispanics, Asian-Americans and African-Americans together make up more than half of California's 39 million residents. The state's 15 million Hispanics became the largest ethnic group in 2014, edging out non-Hispanic whites. California's Hispanics and African-Americans overwhelmingly vote Democratic, and the state's Asian-Americans have been moving in that direction for two decades.

Democrats have an advantage in party registration, with 45 percent of California voters registered as Democrats versus 27 percent as Republicans.

Have Republicans failed to keep up?

"The simple answer is absolutely," said Greg Nordbak, the former mayor of the California city of Whittier. Political offices in California cities are nonpartisan, but Nordbak, a Republican, said, The Democrats as a party do a much better job of telling their story.

He believes that Hispanics  who make up nearly 40 percent of the population, and a smaller but growing part of the active electorate  are a natural fit with his party because they are hardworking, proud and [have] a strong sense of family values.

Inclusion recommended

Is California's system unfair in placing the top vote-getters in the primary election on the final ballot?

No, said Republican Barbara Stone of the Los Angeles County Lincoln Clubs, a Republican organization. "It's not the primary system. It's the party, which needs to be much more inclusive."

California Hispanics began abandoning the Republican Party in 1994, when then-Governor Pete Wilson, a Republican, endorsed a voter-sponsored initiative called Proposition 187. The measure, which restricted public services for illegal immigrants, passed but was overturned in court. Hispanics widely saw it as anti-immigrant.

This year, Hispanics have been registering new voters in response to statements by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has said that Mexico is sending some rapists and drug dealers to the United States. He has promised to build a wall along the southern U.S. border, which also angered many Hispanics.

While Trump points to some Hispanic supporters, his candidacy is ensuring a "massive flight of moderate and liberal-leaning independents from the GOP [Republican Party] to support Democratic candidates," said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, an African-American commentator.

In heavily Republican rural regions and inland cities in California, candidates often talk about illegal immigration, said political scientist Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He said the talk appeals to some Republicans "even though it's not good for the Republican Party statewide."

Odds on Harris

Harris is favored to win the November election to replace Boxer, a Democrat who has held her Senate seat since 1993. Harris is better known in northern California, where she was a prosecutor, and Sanchez in the southern part of the state, where she represents a district in Orange County that was once a stronghold of Republican incumbents. Sanchez holds centrist positions on the economy and national security, and is more friendly toward business, said analyst Schnur.

"Harris is much more a classic progressive Democrat," he said.

Political scientist Guerra said Sanchez could win some Republican support, but must be careful that her appeals do not alienate progressive Democrats. She should do well among Latinos, but faces an uphill battle against her rival, he said.

Colleague for Feinstein

Whoever wins in November, a woman of color  and a Democrat  will hold a major statewide office as one of two U.S. senators from California. The other is Dianne Feinstein, also a Democrat.

Commentator Hutchinson sees the Senate race as "simply a side note to the demise of the GOP as a major force in California politics."

Republicans say their party's message should have broad appeal. Their state platform speaks of free markets, family values, opportunity based on merit, and protection of individual liberties.

California Republicans have the values to turn this country around, said Nordbak, but he added that until they express their message more effectively, there are fewer and fewer of us every year and we are losing a pure numbers game.
President Barack Obama is Hillary Clinton's most important supporter now that her campaign for the presidency is moving past Democratic Party infighting and is focusing on the general election in November, but their relationship was not always so cozy. Just eight years ago, it was downright hostile.

After remaining neutral during months of primary elections, caucuses and campaigning, Obama enthusiastically and emphatically endorsed Clinton once political experts said she was all but certain to win the party's nomination at its national convention next month.

The president said his support was based on Clinton's judgment about issues of national importance and her commitment to our values."

Look, I know how hard this job can be," Obama said in a campaign video released Thursday by the Clinton campaign. "Thats why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact, I dont think theres ever been someone so qualified to hold this office.

Im with her. Im fired up, and I cant wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary.

Eight years is a long time in U.S. politics, though. The president's exuberant comments this week contrasted sharply with his less-than-flattering words about Clinton in 2008. Democratic Party infighting then was all about the battle between a young African-American senator from Illinois and his congressional colleague from New York, a former first lady with eight years of White House experience at her husband's side.

The 2008 campaign made clear that U.S. Democrats would put forward a unique and unprecedented presidential candidate. Voters and party elders had not yet decided, however, whether that would be the first black man or the first woman to seek the nation's highest office with backing from a major political party.

At a rally in Iowa before the primary campaign had even gotten into full swing, Obama said Clinton voted and talked just like George W. Bush, the Republican president at the time.

He painted her as a Washington insider with loose political convictions, and that became a cornerstone of his campaign. A leaked strategy plan by the Obama campaign showed the plan to defeat Clinton in the primaries was to challenge her character fault line.

Several of Obamas close advisers urged him to highlight her shifting positions on issues such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which she initially supported but then opposed, or gay marriage, a policy that she had first opposed, then supported.

Back in 2008, Obama said he was not in favor of same-sex marriage, although he supported other civil rights for gay couples. In fact, he had flipped his own position once before  declaring himself a supporter of same-sex marriage in 1996, then saying years later he opposed it on religious grounds. President Obama reversed course again in 2012, when he told the nation he had gone through "an evolution" on the issue, and now supported marriage rights for homosexual and lesbian couples.

Clinton's switch to support for gay marriage in 2008 may have had something to do with her aggressive campaign against Obama. The future president's advisers certainly thought so.

Shes driven by political calculation, not conviction, regularly backing away and shifting positions on issues ranging from war, to Social Security, to trade, to reform, they wrote in their strategy memorandum. She prides herself on working the system, not changing it  rebuffing reforms on everything from lobbyist donations to budget earmarks.

The strategy worked for Obama then, as he went on to defeat Clinton decisively before the party convention. Almost eight years to the day after she announced her 2008 presidential candidacy was over, the American political establishment confirmed her victory over Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont, in the 2016 race.

Now it appears that Obama's 2008 strategy against Clinton is being taken up by her expected Republican opponent in the general election, Donald Trump.

Trump posted a video Friday on Facebook that was linked to an Obama radio ad from 2008, with the caption, I rarely agree with President Obama  however he is 100% correct about Crooked Hillary Clinton. Great ad!

The old attack ad criticized Clinton for supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement, the pact by the U.S., Mexico and Canada that then-Senator Obama asserted cost South Carolina thousands of jobs. She also was under fire for her vote in Congress in support of sending U.S. troops into war in Iraq years earlier. The message from the Obama team was that Clinton was whats wrong with politics today.

Despite the heated campaign rhetoric, Clinton bowed out of the race gracefully when her path to the White House became mathematically impossible. And after meeting privately with Obama, she went on to become one of his most vocal supporters during the general election campaign.

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman and strategist for Obama in 2008, recently told National Public Radio the two senators were able to talk through their differences before the general election campaign eight years ago, and that Clintons speech endorsing Obama was an enormous step forward in terms of bringing the party back together.

The relationship between Obama and Clinton became much warmer, and quickly. Obama went on to defeat Republican nominee John McCain, a senator from Arizona, and take office as the 44th U.S. president, the first African-American to hold the office, in January 2009. The new president appointed Clinton to his Cabinet as secretary of state, and she traveled the world as America's top diplomat until 2013, when she stepped down to begin preparing for her own future presidential bid.

A few days before Clinton formally resigned, Obama told an interviewer (on CBS-TVs 60 Minutes program) he thought she would go down in history as one of the finest secretaries of state the United States has ever had, and he praised their friendship.

By the time Hillary joined the administration, I felt very confident and comfortable in our working relationship, Obama said. What did evolve was a friendship, as opposed to just a professional relationship. Friendships involve a sense of trust and being 'in the foxhole' [weathering opposition] together.

Clinton said this week how much she valued the "strong, substantive endorsement" by the president.

"Obviously I value his opinion a great deal personally," she told an interviewer (Bloomberg News). "It's just such a treat, because over the years of knowing each other, we've gone from fierce competitors to true friends."
If you talk to evangelical Christians at the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition conference being held this week in Washington, you may be tempted to assume Donald Trump has the evangelical vote safely wrapped up.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee addressed the annual gathering of religious conservative activists here Friday, as part of his effort to court what could be a decisive voter bloc in November's general election.

If an informal poll of attendees at the conference is any indication, Trump may be succeeding. All conference-goers interviewed by VOA said they planned to vote for Trump, and many insisted they'd do so enthusiastically.

"I'm for Donald Trump because he says what we feel," said Jean Migdon from Wall Township, New Jersey. "I believe that God can use him. And I think that's who God has for us."

Many evangelicals have expressed reservations about the thrice-married former casino mogul who once famously boasted that he's never had to ask God's forgiveness for anything.

Alan McDowell from Covington, Kentucky, said he specifically takes issue with Trump's controversial comments toward women and minorities, which many have described as sexist and racist.

"I don't agree with him on everything," McDowell said. "He does seem a little bit on the discrimination side, but what can you do?"

Trump promises to 'restore faith'

In his address Friday to the conference, Trump largely stuck with standard Republican talking points, but appeared to make a special effort to use language that appeals to religious conservatives.

He promised to "restore faith to its proper mantle in society." He spoke of "shared values" and said he wanted to "uphold the sanctity of life," phrases he has not frequently used on the campaign trail.

Partly with the help of teleprompters, Trump also avoided any major mishaps such as those that occurred during past efforts to woo evangelicals. (He once drew laughter from an evangelical audience when he incorrectly referred to a book of the Bible as "Two Corinthians.")

Not everyone buys it

But it is not clear how much Trump succeeded in winning over those evangelicals who remain skeptical of his candidacy.

Notably, among the prominent evangelical speakers that preceded Trump on Friday, only one mentioned him by name.

And others were quick to point out that a Washington conference of political activists is not exactly representative of the diverse evangelical demographic.

"Black evangelicals, brown evangelicals, young evangelicals  they're not going to support Donald Trump, because Donald Trump is a racial bigot," insists Jim Wallis, a prominent progressive evangelical activist and author.

"This is a man who boasts about his adultery, who boasts about his sexual behavior, who is an utter materialist, who exploits the poor with his casinos, who is overtly textbook racist," Wallis told VOA. "This is a gospel issue. It's non-negotiable."

Will Trump change?

It's not just progressive evangelicals who don't like Trump.

Dr. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's policy arm, is one of many conservative evangelical leaders who have been outspoken in their opposition to Trump.

Moore has urged evangelicals to not support Trump as the "lesser of two evils," and even engaged in a high-profile Twitter fight with the ex-reality TV star.

"My primary prayer for Donald Trump is that he would first of all repent of sin and come to faith in Jesus Christ," Moore told the Christian Broadcasting Network this week.

Even at the conference, there were some who appeared to waver in their support for Trump.

Rachel Metzel, a 21-year-old from east Texas, said she plans to vote for Trump, but said it bothers her that he sometimes objectifies women.

"Of course it does," she said. "But our answer is that we will pray for him. We believe in a real God who makes changes, so we're hoping that Donald Trump will be able to alter himself."

How confident is she that Trump will actually be able to change?

"Well," she said, "I guess that just depends on how big you think our God is."
A Florida woman pleaded guilty Friday of spying for China and conspiring to commit international money laundering.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Amin Yu, 54, "admitted to secretly serving as an agent of the Chinese government" by illegally exporting technology related to marine submersibles to a state-run Chinese university.

According to the plea agreement, Yu obtained the marine technology between 2002 and 2014 from companies in the United States and then exported it to China by filing false custom claims and significantly undervaluing the material.

Florida prosecutor A. Lee Bentley said Yu "made hundreds of thousands of dollars by acting covertly in Orlando on behalf of the Chinese government and by skirting U.S. export laws and regulations."

The Justice Department said Yu faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to commit money laundering. She is scheduled to be sentenced in August.
Iraqi government forces met heavy resistance from Islamic State militants in their weeks-old offensive to retake the Anbar provincial town of Fallujah. Two suicide attacks also hit a revered Shiite shrine in Damascus.

Iraqi government forces and their Shiite militia allies fought to wrest the Anbar province bastion of Fallujah from Islamic State militants Saturday amid conflicting reports on progress.

Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi claimed during a visit to the battle zone Saturday that government forces were advancing along a new front from the west of the city.

He says the Iraqi armys Eighth Brigade has entered the western districts of Fuleihat and Subeihat and is advancing toward the Bou Alwan bridge.

Fighting raged along three fronts, but government attempts to push into the southern district of Shuhadah appeared to meet heavy resistance, despite government claims that elite counterterrorism units were just 3 kilometers from the city center.

Al-Jazeera TV reported that IS militants had repulsed government forces trying to enter Fallujah from the south. The TV channel also claimed that IS suicide attacks on government forces north of Fallujah had caused heavy casualties. VOA could not independently confirm either report.

Iraqi media showed video of women and children fleeing the city, amid reports of dire sanitary conditions and widespread malnutrition.

In Syria, a pair of suicide attacks rocked the capital, Damascus, Saturday morning, causing numerous casualties, according to state TV. A TV correspondent said one blast, near a market, might have claimed more lives but for the light Ramadan traffic.

Heavy plumes of black smoke engulfed the scene of the first explosion in the Sayeda Zeinab district, as firefighters poured water on blazing wreckage.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Sayeda Zeinab blast, which struck the area near a revered Shiite shrine. The district normally has Shiite visitors from neighboring Lebanon, Iraq and Iran.

A number of explosions have targeted Sayeda Zeinab during the past several years, threatening to exacerbate already heavy sectarian tensions.
President Barack Obama's special envoy in the fight against Islamic State painted a portrait of the terrorist group as an organization in decline Friday, saying it had lost about 50 percent of its territory in Iraq, including access to the border region to Turkey.

Brett McGurk told White House reporters that morale among IS fighters was plummeting, illustrated by their own videos of leaders executing fighters on the battlefield and by increasing desertions. He said IS propaganda statements acknowledged the loss of territory and asked potential recruits to go to Libya instead of Syria.

Asked about the status of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, McGurk said he had "no reason to believe that he is not still alive," though he has not had any public appearances since late last year.

McGurk said that as the self-proclaimed leader of a caliphate, Baghdadi normally would have been expected to speak to his followers at the start of the holy month of Ramadan. He said Baghdadis reticence to appear in public showed that the groups confidence was waning.

The envoy did not mention unconfirmed reports by a local source in Iraq alleging that Baghdadi and other Islamic State leaders were wounded Thursday in a coalition airstrike on one of their command headquarters near the Syrian border. The reports have not been independently verified.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul released a statement Friday claiming that the Obama administration was trying to spin a narrative that IS is on the run. The Texas Republican said he instead sees the militants on the march.

McCaul recently returned from a trip to several war zones in the Middle East. He said that in addition to a presence in Syria and Iraq, IS and its affiliates have gained a foothold in so-called "provinces" across the Middle East and North Africa, from Algeria to Pakistan  areas he said were ideal spots from which Islamist extremists could wage war on the West.

"Anywhere where you see failed states and power vacuums, these are launching pads for external operations, he said.

Presidential envoy McGurk acknowledged that there were still tremendous challenges ahead in the fight against Islamic State. On Tuesday, Obama will be meeting with his top national security advisers at the U.S. Treasury Department to discuss efforts to deprive the group of funding.
Pro-government Libyan forces battled the last remaining Islamic State fighters in the center of the Libyan port city of Sirte early Saturday, with a spokesman saying top IS leaders had fled into the desert to avoid the onslaught.

General Mohammed al-Ghasri also told reporters that fighting in the city was confined to areas near a downtown conference center, which IS fighters had converted into a command post.

The Associated Press quoted the general as saying British and U.S. experts were assisting his forces by providing logistical support and intelligence on IS suicide bombers, while helping with strategical and tactical planning.

Pro-government militia from the western city of Misrata reached Sirte's outskirts earlier in the week, despite being slowed by mines and attacks by suicide bombers.They began the battle for Sirte, former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's hometown, in early May. The U.N.-backed Libyan government said more than 100 government forces had been killed and more than 400 wounded in the battle to take the city.

Al-Ghasri's forces are backing the newly formed Government of National Accord (GNA) and its presumptive leader, Fayez Al-Sarraj  widely seen in the West as Libya's best hope for stability in an otherwise chaotic country.

Sarraj and other key members of the national unity government were smuggled into Libyan territory by sea earlier this year, with broad European and U.S. backing.

Libya has been in chaos since Gadhafi was toppled and killed in 2011. Rival armed factions have spent the last five years trying to grab power and take control of Libya's oil industry.

The fight for oil fields and refineries has led to devastating fires and damage and has destroyed the Libyan economy. As as many as 1.3 million of Libya's 6.3 million people need humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations.

The turmoil also has opened the door to extremists, such as Islamic State, to grab territory.

IS last year took control of Sirte, the only major IS-held city outside of Iraq and Syria. The Islamist militant group, however, has struggled to gain territory in Libya, and the loss of the Mediterranean city would be a major blow to IS.
Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for suicide and car bomb blasts that struck a Damascus suburb on Saturday near Syria's holiest Shia Muslim shrine, and a monitoring group said at least 20 people were killed.

State television showed debris, mangled cars and wrecked shops in a main commercial thoroughfare near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, in an area where at least three bomb attacks claimed by IS group have killed and wounded scores of people this year.

The ultra-hardline Sunni militants of IS, whose many foes are advancing on a number of fronts in both Syria and Iraq, are avowed enemies of Shia, whom they consider a heretical group within Islam.

State media said at least eight people were killed. But the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll had risen to at least 20, including at least 13 civilians, with the other victims coming from pro-government militias. It said the number was expected to rise because many of the scores of wounded people were in critical condition.

IS group, also known as Daesh, said two of its suicide bombers had blown themselves up and operatives had detonated an explosives-laden car, according to the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Washington condemned the attack in the strongest terms. "This terrorist act demonstrates once again the inhumanity and brutality of all that Daesh does and all it stands for," he said.

The Sayeda Zeinab shrine is a magnet for thousands of Iraqi and Afghan Shia militia recruits who go there before being assigned to front lines, where they fight against the Sunni rebel groups trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Almost every Shia militia fighter bears insignia on his combat fatigues with the words "For your sake, Sayeda Zeinab".

Sectarian Split

The heavily garrisoned area near the shrine is also a well known stronghold of Lebanon's powerful Shia Hezbollah group, an Iranian-backed movement that is one of Assad's chief allies.

Non-militant rebels say Iran's strong military intervention on the side of Assad, alongside its backing of other Shia militias, is fuelling the sectarian dimension of the nearly six-year Syrian civil war by drawing even more radical foreign Sunni militants into the country.

Separately, US-backed Syrian forces made new territorial gains against IS on Saturday, moving closer to another of its major strongholds in northern Syria, according to the monitoring group.

The Observatory said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), bringing together Kurdish and Arab fighters, were now almost 17 km (10 miles) from the city of al-Bab, an IS group stronghold north east of Aleppo.

The SDF on Friday cut off the last route into the encircled town of Manbij from al-Bab after over a week of advances around that area, allowing it to lay siege to the large town from all directions, the monitor said.

In other frontlines in northern Syria, two rebel sources said Russian and Syrian jets stepped up their relentless aerial bombing of their positions in the northern city of Aleppo.

They said fighters had overnight repelled a major Syrian army attack on the Malah front in an drive to reach the strategic Catello highway, which is the only route in and out of rebel-held areas.

The army has for months sought to advance towards the highway to lay siege to rebel-held areas where over 400,000 people live.

A convoy of aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross entered the rebel-held city of Houla in the province of Homs, the third besieged area to receive supplies in the past 24 hours, aid workers said.

On Friday, aid convoys reached two rebel-held towns near Damascus, marking the first delivery of food supplies to Daraya since 2012, after the government granted permission for the trips, the United Nations said.

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The high court in Malawi has banned so-called witch doctors in a bid to reduce demand for albino body parts. Malawi's albino association has praised the ruling, but traditional healers have vowed to fight it, saying they are not involved in magic or murder.

The high court's ruling last week stemmed from a complaint filed by three residents of the city of Mzuzu in northern Malawi. One of them said she paid a witch doctor a lot of money after he promised a charm that would make her ex-lover take her back.

"One of the clients was complaining that the source of the deaths of albinos in the country is these witch doctors because what they do is that they prescribe body parts of albinos, like bones," said George Kadzipatike, the lawyer for the complainants.

Those false claims have led to an alarming uptick in attacks on albinos in Malawi in the past two years.

The judge issued an injunction against what he called "witch doctors, traditional healers, charm sellers, fortune tellers and magicians," and ads for their services.

The ban will not go into effect until the plaintiffs pay to publish the injunction in local media for seven consecutive days.

Herbalists' response

Traditional healers, known locally as herbalists, say they will challenge the ruling. They say they are not involved in magic or the trafficking of albino body parts.

"To us, it is unfair because there is no way we can combine human body [parts] and something which is going to be consumed, said Robins Zaniko, the general secretary for the International Traditional Medicine Council of Malawi. Because what we mainly give out to people is traditional medicine, which is consumable. We give people [medicine] to drink, to eat so that they can be cured from their various diseases."

He says no herbalist has been among those arrested in connection with recent albino killings.

Timothy Mtambo, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, says banning all herbalists is not the answer.

You can't say we are banning everyone, he said. I would say we should have found mechanisms to make sure that we deal with those that are suspected and prove that [they] are responsible, rather than making a decision which is wholesale."

In Malawi, it is common to consult herbalists for ailments such as mental illness, epilepsy and impotence.

"There are times when we go to the hospitals [and] they tell us that there is no medication, so we instead go to the herbalists," said Mbayani resident Enock Chigalu.

At least 18 people with albinism have been killed since November 2014, and five more are missing, according to an Amnesty International report released this month. Amnesty says police have not done enough to investigate the crimes, and the punishments doled out are too lenient.
June is a month of high school and college graduation for millions of American families and the Obamas are no different.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle proudly watched their older daughter, Malia, accept her high school diploma Friday at Sidwell Friends School in Washington.

The president said earlier that he would probably end up "sobbing" as he watched his daughter end a major chapter in her young life.

He called Malia "one of my best friends."

Malia turns 18 on July 4. She is taking a year off before entering Harvard in the fall of 2017.

The White House has not disclosed what she plans to do during her year away from the classroom.

Friday was actually a double celebration for the Obamas. Their younger daughter, Sasha, celebrated her 15th birthday. She also attends Sidwell Friends.
Bangladesh authorities said they arrested 37 suspected jihadists Saturday as part of a nationwide crackdown following a series of deadly attacks on minorities and secular activists.

Police sources said that this bring to more than 2,500 the number of suspected radicals detained after an anti-militant drive was launched across the Muslim-majority country Friday.

Police have also seized one weapon, explosives and ammunition, a senior police officer said.

The police crackdown is taking place as Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to catch "each and every killer."

A wave of killings in recent months stretched from the capital Dhaka to remote parts of the north and coastal south.

A Hindu monastery worker was stabbed to death in the northwestern district of Pabna Friday, and a U.S.-based monitoring service reported Saturday that Islamic State extremists have claimed responsibility.

In other attacks this week, the wife of an anti-terrorism officer was stabbed and shot, an elderly Hindu priest was found nearly decapitated in a rice field, and a Christian grocer was hacked to death near a church.

Islamic State or a South Asian branch of al-Qaeda have claimed responsibility for most of the latest attacks.

Hundreds of Hindus, Buddhists and Christians protested on the streets of Dhaka Saturday against the recent murders of people of their faiths by suspected Islamist militants.

Gay-rights activists, liberal professors and secular bloggers have also been among the victims of the killings.

Three Islamist militants were reportedly killed in a clash with police in Dhaka Tuesday, as national forces began their crackdown.

Bangladesh authorities insist there are no foreign terror groups operating in the country. Instead, officials have blamed local militants or the political opposition for the wave of attacks.

Though officially a secular country, Bangladesh's population is around 90 percent Muslim.

VOAs Bangla Service contributed to this report
Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri on Saturday pledged support for new Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, in a move widely seen by Western analysts as an attempt to limit the growth of the rival Islamic State militancy in Afghanistan.

Zawahiri's endorsement came in a 14-minute video posted online. In it, he described Akhundzada as the "emir of believers" and the "legitimate" head of a Muslim caliphate.

For its part, the rival Islamic State  staunchly opposed by Zawahiri and his followers  pledges allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The IS leader, who has ordered all Muslims to obey him, declared the creation of a caliphate in 2014 that includes large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Akhundzada's predecessor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, was killed last month in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan, near the Afghan border.

At that time, U.S. officials said President Barack Obama approved the strike because the Taliban leader was "an obstacle to peace" and was overseeing plans for new attacks on U.S. targets in the Afghan capital. Obama later called the killing an "important milestone in our long-standing effort to bring peace and prosperity to Afghanistan."

The drone attack  the first known U.S. strike against a senior Afghan Taliban leader in Pakistan's Baluchistan province  sent shock waves through the region, with Pakistan's Foreign Ministry calling it a violation of Pakistani sovereignty. Pakistani officials say they thought Mansour was in fact preparing to enter long-stalled peace talks with the government.

U.S. strategists have long argued that Pakistan's military and intelligence units provide safe haven for Afghan Taliban fighters. Islamabad routinely denies those accusations, despite the facts that Taliban leaders have long used the country's tribal areas as a refuge, and that the group's top leadership was based in the western city Quetta.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's renewed call for the country's women to forgo birth control and have at least three children has drawn ire from womens rights advocates and is being questioned by Islamic scholars and political experts.

We do not think that defining women over motherhood, and mulling over how many children they should have, or whether they should work or not, are among the main duties of the president," said Sirin Mine Kilic, the secretary general of a nationwide womens rights group, KADER.

It would be more useful if the president could mull over issues such as murders of women, child abuse, unemployment of women, and violence against women, she said in a statement issued to Turkish media.

Turkey currently has an average fertility rate of more than two children per woman, according to government data.

The statistics office said Turkey's population rose to 78.7 million last year, a growth rate of around 1.3 percent. The population in 2000 was less than 68 million.

'Incomplete' without motherhood

But that growth is apparently not enough for Erdogan, who wants to see an increased Turkish birth rate.

I would recommend having at least three children, Erdogan said, marking the opening of the new building for Turkeys Womens and Democracy Association this month.

A woman who rejects motherhood, who refrains from being around the house, however successful her working life is, is deficient, is incomplete, he said.

A few days earlier, Erdogan repeated a demand that Turkish women stop using birth control methods.

No Muslim family should engage in birth control or family planning, Erdogan said, calling on devout Muslims to have more children.

"We will multiply our descendants. They talk about population planning, birth control. No Muslim family can have such an approach," Erdogan said in a televised speech. "Nobody can interfere in God's work. The first duty here belongs to mothers."

Erdogan has two daughters and two sons with his wife, Emine.

Family decision

Islamic teaching supports marriage and having children, said Yasar Colak, the Washington Representative of Turkeys Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet).

But Colak also told VOA, "If parents can't live up to their material and spiritual responsibilities for their children, then Islam does permit birth control."

Recep Akdag, the Turkish Health Minister, said he encourages having children but not under government orders.

"This is an issue for families to decide, he said. Nobody can force people to have children."

Erdogan has annoyed many women's rights activists with his comments on women and motherhood in recent years. He once described birth control as "treason."

The Turkish Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology has slammed Erdogan's statements on birth control as "violations of women's rights."

Ayse Gunaysu, a prominent Turkish women's rights activist and author, told VOA that Erdogan is extremely sexist. He carries all the anti-woman characteristics of an Islamist."

But Seda Saribas, a young mother of two who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2006, said Erdogan is showing a positive stance on motherhood.

Family is very important for society, said Saribas, who recently was appointed to head the womens branch for Erdogans ruling party in the province of Aydin.

To increase the population of our nation is also important, said Saribas, a member of the city of Aydin's municipal parliament.

Demographic changes

Some analysts have suggested that Erdogan's views are motivated by changes in Turkey's demographics, which show an increase among Kurds and foreigners.

According to Tarhan Erdem, founder and director of the Istanbul-based KONDA Research and Consultancy Company, the ethnic Kurdish population in Turkey will outnumber ethnic Turkish population in 2040.

Ankara does not officially recognize the existence of any Kurdish ethnicity in Turkey, and there are no official data about the country's ethnic Kurd population. But, according to the CIA's "World Fact Book," Kurds make up 18 percent of Turkeys population; Turks make up about 70 to 75 percent, with the rest described as "other minorities."

Kurdish economist Tino Sanandaji told VOA that the Kurdish population has grown by 3 percent a year since the 1965 census, when Kurds represented 7.6 percent of the population.

"If the current trends continue," Sanandaji said, "Kurds are likely to become the majority population in Turkey within a few decades."
Two high school valedictorians in the southern U.S. state of Texas have revealed they are undocumented immigrants from Mexico.

Both have received college scholarships - one to Yale, the other to the University of Texas.

Larissa Martinez came to the United States in 2010 with her mother and sister, she said, to escape from her alcoholic and abusive father. The three now live in a one-bedroom apartment in McKinley, Texas.

"I am one of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows," the teenager said in her address to her fellow graduates who did not know about her status.

The Yale-bound student said what is often overlooked in the immigrant debate is "the fact that immigrants, undocumented or otherwise are people, too.... People with dreams, aspirations, hopes and loved ones. People like me."

Martinez also took a swipe at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump who has said if he becomes president he will build a wall between the United States and Mexico to keep out Mexicans. He has characterized such migrants as criminals and rapists.

"America can be great again without the construction of a wall built on hatred and prejudice," Martinez said in her address to her classmates.

Martinez said her family applied for citizenship shortly after arriving in the U.S. and have been waiting since then for their application to be processed.

Unlike Martinez, another valedictorian, this time in Austin, Texas, waited until after her speech to reveal her undocumented status.



Mayte Lara Ibarra shared the information in a tweet: " Valedictorian, 4.5 GPA, full tuition paid for at UT...nice legs, oh and I'm undocumented."

Ibarra says she came to the U.S. from Mexico illegally when she was about two years old, but has Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which allows children in the U.S. illegally to request deportation deferral. DACA does not, however, provide a path to citizenship, but does allow people to work and receive Social Security cards.

She has received a lot of criticism because she included a Mexican flag in her tweet about her status.

She told The Statesman newspaper "The only reason I used that emoji was to show that I'm proud of my heritage and to show that we can do great things."

"The reason I posted that tweet was to show others that you can accomplish anything, regardless of the obstacles you have in front of you," she told The Statesman.

Both students have received encouragement and criticism on social media. Some people believe the teenagers are breaking the law and prohibiting an American student from attending college. Others have praised the students' hard work.

Yale and the University of Texas have issued statements saying the young women's scholarships are not in jeopardy.
The United Nations, alarmed by a rise in amphetamine trafficking across Asia, is calling for Australia to play a larger role in combating the trade.



Officials say a surge in the production of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) has been evident in recent years even as trafficking of heroin, produced in the Golden Triangle region of eastern Myanmar, continues to flourish.



In 2015, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported seizures totaling 27,000 kilograms of highly addictive crystal methamphetamine  known as crystal meth or ice  across Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.



At the same time seizures of methamphetamine tablets totaled 286 million pills, while heroin produced from poppy cultivation in eastern Myanmar was over 10,000 kilograms. Seizures of chemicals vital to the production of such drugs are also up.



Jeremy Douglas, Asia regional representative for the UNODC, says criminal syndicates are shifting to major production of high purity crystal meth. He said authorities are seizing large amounts of crystal meth at Australias borders  airports, ports, couriers, coming through consignments and big shipments.



This is a big, big concern  its really flooding the region at the moment. Its highly addictive crystal meth. This is the big concern not just in Australian law enforcement, but New Zealand law enforcement, North American law enforcement are paying close attention to these developments, Douglas told VOA.



Australia and New Zealand are key targets of the syndicates due to the countries high incomes and drug usage rates.



Since late 2015 Australias Federal Police (AFP) have signed agreements with China and Thailand to boost cooperation against the trafficking of drugs into Australia.



The agreement with China linked the AFP with the Chinese National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC), Chinas anti-smuggling bureau (ASB) and the Guangdong Public Security Bureau (GPSB).



A similar task force agreement with Thailands anti-money laundering authority and narcotics control agencies is code-named Task Force Storm.



AFP chief commissioner Andrew Colvin said the task force agreements are very significant.



What were seeing increasingly are threats emanating from various countries that impact on Australia. So its in our interests to work regionally to help secure the region but also that has incredible domestic impact as well."

Colvin said the new task force with Thailand "will be very focused on human trafficking, money laundering, counter-narcotics in particular.



Thai narcotics officials and the UNODC say Australia's operational experience in combating drug smuggling can benefit its neighbors in the Association of South East Asian Nations. Officials point out that increased trade and looserborder restrictions under the ASEAN Economic Community create opportunities for organized crime to move drugs and precursor chemicals more easily across borders.

Australia should come and associate more with ASEAN as a bloc," said Rachanikorn Sarasin, a former ONCB deputy director and now an international adviser. "Australia is a good friend of ASEAN member states, so Australia can help ASEAN in this part. You have the capacity and technology  you can help or give advice or exchange experiences with ASEAN.



Rachanikorn said a China-initiated program for the Mekong region has already fostered growing cooperation within among Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.



UNODCs Douglas agrees Australian law enforcement could play a larger role in supporting the regions efforts to combat drug trafficking. He said U.N. support can help overcome any political obstacles that may arise.



The agreement that Thailand and Australia ventured into is really great. We encourage that kind of agreement. But it really needs to involve many, many countries at one time, he said.
Iraq's powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr asked his followers to stop attacking offices of Iranian-backed Shia political parties that he accuses of corruption, after authorities said they could resort to force to restore order.

Sadr's followers on Thursday and Friday stormed or attempted to storm offices of the Dawa party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) and the Badr Organization in five southern cities, according to the provincial authorities of Basra, Amara, Kut, Nassiriya and Najaf.

The provincial authorities did not report any casualties during the incidents.

Authorities "will stand up with force and firmness to deter the violators," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who belongs to Dawa, said in a statement on Friday evening.

"Pressure on the corrupt political parties has to be done in a peaceful manner," Sadr said in statement addressed to his followers, posted on his website Friday evening.

Dawa has led most governments formed after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, by a US-led coalition in 2003, with major participation from ISCI and Badr.

While Sadr also had ministers in post-Saddam cabinets, including three in the current Abadi government, he has led protests over the last four months demanding Abadi replace politically affiliated ministers with independent technocrats.

The cleric also promised earlier this year to punish those suspected of abusing their official positions to get rich.

Iraq, a major OPEC exporter which sits on one of the world's largest oil reserves, ranks 161 out of 168 on Transparency International's Corruption Index.

The dispute within Iraq's majority Shia community began turning violent when Sadrist protesters stormed Baghdad's heavily fortified government district, known as the Green Zone, for a second time, on May 20. Four demonstrators were killed.

Sadr's followers have been staging protests demanding anti-corruption reforms since February. His rivals see in the demonstrations an attempt by the cleric to dictate his views to the rest of the political class.

The Sadrists have not staged protests near the Green Zone since Abadi ordered an offensive on Fallujah, the stronghold of Islamic State (IS) group militants near Baghdad, on May 23. But they continued to demonstrate in other parts of the capital and in other provinces.

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Senior U.S. officials held candid discussions" Friday with their counterparts in Pakistan on the recent drone attack that killed the Afghan Talibans chief in Pakistan, straining already uneasy bilateral relations.

The prime ministers adviser on foreign policy, Sartaj Aziz, led the Pakistani delegation. The U.S. team included Peter Lavoy, senior director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. National Security Council, and Richard Olson, the U.S. special representative to the two neighboring countries.

The adviser conveyed a strong message to the United States that the May 21 drone strike was not only a violation of Pakistans sovereignty and a breach of principles of the United Nations Charter, but has also vitiated bilateral ties, said a statement issued after the meeting.

Pakistan, along with Afghanistan, China and the United States, was engaged in serious efforts to revive peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, but the drone strike has seriously undermined" those efforts, Aziz told the U.S. delegation.

Pakistani authorities contend that Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor had been about to agree to join the talks at the time he was killed in the drone strike.

Warning on future strikes

It was emphasized that any future drone strike in Pakistan will be detrimental to our common desire to strengthen relations, said the statement.

The U.S. drone attack killed Mansoor while he was in a vehicle traveling through Pakistans border province of Baluchistan, under a pseudonym, following a secret trip to Iran.

U.S. and Afghan officials have long maintained that Taliban leaders are freely using Pakistani soil for plotting and staging attacks in Afghanistan. Islamabad denies its intelligence agency supports the Islamist insurgency.

U.S. delegates again raised that issue in Fridays discussions.

In response to U.S. queries on safe havens for the Taliban, it was emphasized that Pakistan is already pursuing its objective of eliminating all militants and terrorists from its soil, the statement said, referring to Islamabads counterterrorism measures.

Pakistani officials conveyed to U.S. interlocutors their concerns about the presence on Afghan soil of fugitive militants of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, or TTP.

Pakistan also expects action by Afghan forces against TTP operatives in Afghanistan. These steps would also help to promote better relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan and reduce mistrust, noted the statement.

It quoted Lavoy of the U.S. delegation as reiterating that President Barack Obama was committed to improving relations with Pakistan.

U.S.-Pakistan ties 'relevant'

Despite renewed tensions, Aziz told reporters ahead of Friday's meeting, Islamabads relations with Washington are still relevant and important. He was responding to questions about deepening defense ties between the U.S. and Pakistan's archrival, India.

If their relationship with India upsets the conventional and nuclear balance in the region, it would affect our ties and would also be detrimental for peace in the region, said the Pakistani adviser.

Members of the U.S. delegation later met with Pakistan's military chief, General Raheel Sharif. They were joined by General John Nicholson, commander of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.

A statement issued after the meeting said Sharif expressed his serious concern about the U.S. drone strike and said that blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan was unfortunate.

All stakeholders need to understand Pakistans challenges with regard to a porous border, intertribal linkages and the decades-old presence of over 3 million [Afghan] refugees, Sharif told the U.S. delegates.

He also demanded that TTP militants and their chief, Mullah Fazlullah, be targeted in their bases in Afghanistan and reiterated Pakistans resolve not to allow Afghan and Indian intelligence agencies to foment terrorism in his country.

Officials in Islamabad allege the Afghan spy agency supports and funds TTPs anti-Pakistan activities and have leveled similar charges against India. India denies the allegation.
Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who has led a movement to derail Donald Trump's nomination, said on Friday he would not consider running for the White House.

In an interview with CNN, Romney said he will not vote for either Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, or Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election.

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Photo: Cassandra Hannagan/2015 Getty Images

Azealia Banks took to Facebook to issue an apology for her use of the word f****t, which she most recently employed  publicly, anyway  in a Twitter fight with Zayn Malik, along with racist insults. Shes since been banned from Twitter. The ensuing diatribe against UK rap in general ticked off organizers of East Londons Born & Bred Festival, which celebrates hip hop and grime music, where the rapper was scheduled to make an appearance. Whoops. Anyway, since shes still banned from Twitter, Banks used Facebook to apologize to fans and promise to ditch the F word.
Photo: Jason LaVeris/2016 Jason LaVeris

Christina Grimmie, a former contestant on The Voice, has died at the age of 22 after being fatally shot at a concert in Orlando, Florida, on Friday. Grimmie  who finished third during season six of the singing competition show on Adam Levines team  was shot while signing autographs for fans at a merchandise table following a performance with the band Before You Exit at the Plaza Live Theater. According to local NBC affiliate WESH, Grimmies brother immediately tackled the gunman  who was armed with two guns, two loaded magazines, and a large hunting knife  following the shooting; the gunman proceeded to fatally shoot himself during the struggle. Grimmie was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition, and passed away later that evening.

It is with a heavy heart that we can confirm that Christina has passed and went home to be with the Lord. She was shot at her show in Orlando and, unfortunately, didnt survive the gun shot wounds, a statement from her representatives said. We ask at this time that you respect the privacy of her family and friends in their time of mourning. Prior to appearing on The Voice, Grimmie achieved success by posting various pop covers on her YouTube channel, which lead to a release of an EP, Find Me, and studio album, With Love. Earlier this year, she released another EP titled Side A.

Update: TMZ is reporting that the gunman was a deranged fan who had a specific mission to travel from another city in Florida to Orlando in order to kill Grimmie. There is no apparent connection between the gunman and Grimmie; according to the Orlando police handling the case, he never attempted to get in touch with her over social media. The Plaza Live, the venue where the shooting occurred, has also released a statement that they are closely working with The Orlando Police Department and have suspended all activities and events at the site until further notice. Read the statement in full below.

Update: Police have identified the shooter as Kevin James Loibl of St. Petersburg, Florida. Loibl, 27, died shortly after fatally shooting himself during a struggle with Grimmies brother. A motive behind the attack has yet to be determined, and police are in the midst of searching Loibls home, computer, phone, and other personal belongings for information.
The city of Waco announced Friday that all boat ramps are closed on both the Brazos and Bosque rivers and Lake Waco until further notice.

Recent releases from upstream have the river flowing, and parts of the river walk are underwater. Water activities are not advised on the rivers.

In addition to submerged parks and boat ramps on Lake Waco, there is a lot of floating debris that could endanger anyone who gets on the lake.

The city will notify residents immediately as boat ramps and parks become available for use.

Blood/marrow donors

Carter BloodCare and Be the Match will conduct a donor drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, 100 Texas Ranger Trail.

The Be The Match bone marrow registry is seeking donors ages 18 to 44 who can give a DNA sample via an oral cotton swab. Blood donors must be age 16 or older who are not currently on antibiotics.

All donors need to present a photo ID card.

Donors will receive free museum admission and 10 percent off gift shop purchases made Saturday.

The drive was sparked by retired Texas Ranger Adolfo Cuellar, who was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, and is presently waiting for a compatible bone marrow donor.

For more information, call 405-2518 or email rock bridgerunner@gmail.com.

Downsville barbecue

The Downsville Volunteer Fire Department, 7701 S. Third St., will have its 36th annual barbecue fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Cost is $8 for a plate of brisket and sausage, potato salad, beans, pickles, onions, bread, dessert and tea.

The event also will include a raffle.

For more information, call 722-7052.

ServFest set for today

Lakeview Baptist Church, 125 N. Bermuda St. in Lacy Lakeview, will have a ServFest event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The free event will include hot dogs, a silent auction, a free raffle, blood-pressure checks, a gently used clothing giveaway, a kids corner (Slip n Slide, animals, games), a scavenger hunt for adults, and a water- balloon fight at 2 p.m.

For more information, call 799-1724.

MEND registration

The YMCA of Central Texas is conducting registration for MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It), a free evidence-based childhood obesity program that empowers 7- to 13-year-olds to reach a healthy weight with the support of their families.

The next session of the 10-week program will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning June 14, at the Waco Family YMCA, 6800 Harvey Drive.

Advance registration is required as space is limited.

To register, call Crystal Hernandez at 776-6612, ext. 210, or email crystal. hernandez@ymcactx.org.

Romance writers meet
A Waco real estate developer is on track to buy the abandoned Cotton Belt Bridge at the Brazos River and adjacent land and donate it for public trail use by Aug. 1.

Rick Sheldon and his wife, Lisa, have the 109-year-old steel truss bridge and riverfront land under contract with Union Pacific, and they plan to deed it to the nonprofit City Center Waco, said Mike Anderson, spokesman for Rick Sheldon Real Estate.

Lisa and Rick have a vision for the bridge, he said. They really think it will be a huge, huge benefit for Waco, for downtown and the east side. This is something theyre committed to.

In the short term, the donation would allow the city of Waco to let a contract late this summer on the $3.3 million east river trail running from Franklin Avenue to McLane Stadium. City officials have struggled to get an easement agreement for the sliver of railroad-owned riverfront between the bridge and Franklin Avenue.

In the longer term, the bridge could be renovated to become part of the trail system and a destination in itself, Anderson said.

A Sheldon-commissioned animation, which made the rounds on YouTube in mid-March, shows that vision in vivid detail. The video depicts a festive walkway along Mary Avenue that would lead to the bridge. The bridge deck would be expanded to allow bikes and pedestrians, benches, landscaping and even an ice-cream kiosk. The bridge would tie in to the east riverwalk on the other side of the river.

Anderson said the vision was inspired by the popular High Line walkway that opened on the west side of Manhattan in 2009, reclaiming an abandoned elevated freight line.

(Sheldon) was just amazed by how it has become one of the top tourist attractions in New York, he said.

Thats where Rick and Lisa got their vision for the conceptual drawing of the bridge. We see Mary Avenue becoming a major pedestrian-way to serve not just downtown Waco but the new downtown. It would tie in Magnolia and the new (Balcones) distillery.

Sheldon and his partners, Joe Beard and FirstCity Financial, own the food truck court at Mary Avenue and University Parks Drive and hope some day to lure a major development, such as a hotel or office building, Anderson said. But he said the rail line would benefit all businesses in that part of downtown.

Anderson estimated that the entire project could cost $4 million, including the environmental remediation of the bridge, which could costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. He said the city could apply for trail grants from the Texas Department of Transportation, which funded most of the east riverwalk, or from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Assistant City Manager Cynthia Garcia said she is confident Sheldons agreement with UP will allow the city to let the east riverwalk project by Aug. 29, keeping the project on course with state deadlines.

I think were in the homestretch, she said.

Garcia said the future use of the bridge will require much more discussion, but its a promising idea.

It makes sense, having a pedestrian bridge with access to both sides of the river, she said. Its really nice, because it follows Mary Avenue. When I first got here (in 2015) one question I had was, How do we get hold of this and open it as a pedestrian crossing? 

She said the Cotton Belt Bridge and the active UP bridge nearby are a beautiful part of the rivers scenery, and the Cotton Belt Bridge could be enhanced by lighting.

Megan Henderson, executive director of City Center Waco, said her board hasnt yet approved the donation, but she has hired a firm to test and quantify any environmental liabilities with the bridge.

A lot of promise

We are eager to play an active part in redeveloping the bridge, she said. Its hard to overstate our support for the riverwalk. . . . The proposed project is really an exciting one with a lot of promise. We want to make sure we proceed cautiously and in a way that keeps us in a solid ability to move forward.

Sheldon hired the Wallace Group to do both the animation and a structural assessment of the bridge. The engineering firm found that the bridge is likely suitable for conversion to a pedestrian structure based on its sturdy design and the good condition of the steel girders and concrete piers. The wooden railroad ties would be removed and the remnants of paint on the steel should be tested for lead, the report says.

The structure is a good example of a steel-truss bridge, which was the leading bridge design in Texas from 1880 to 1930, according to the Texas Historical Commission website.

The bridge does not have a plate indicating its age. The Wallace Group report and a previous Tribune-Herald story surmised that it was built as the Texas & St. Louis Railway, which reached Waco in 1881. The line, later known as the Cotton Belt or St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad, ran from Birds Point, Missouri, to Gatesville.

But historic newspaper articles, discovered by local rail buff John Linda and Waco-McLennan County Library librarian Sean Sutcliffe, tell a different story.

The Waco Daily Times-Herald reported on June 5, 1907, that the new Cotton Belt Bridge was dedicated that morning to great fanfare, including a performance by the Baylor band at the Cotton Belt station at Third Street and Mary Avenue.

The article describes how the track was removed from the old bridge, and it gives the dimensions of the new bridge: three 200-foot steel spans and one 50-foot steel girder resting on concrete masonry. The piers were set deep into the bedrock of the Brazos using explosives inside caissons.

The bridge could handle the heaviest trains then imaginable, with a moving load of 5,000 pounds per linear foot of bridge, according to the article.

This extraordinary heavy loading is greater than the bridge will be called on to carry for some time to come, the newspaper stated.

Linda, a Waco fire lieutenant, showed modern-day photos of the remnants of the old bridge piers, captured when the river was low.

Linda, 59, has a special love for the bridge because his grandfather worked for the Cotton Belt Railroad as a brakeman.

He used to do the run between here and Gatesville, so I grew up around it, he said.

Linda said he never got to ride on the train, because passenger service ceased in 1952, a year before the tornado destroyed the old Cotton Belt station.

He said hes eager to see a new chapter in the bridges history.

If that guy can restore it as a walkway and do what that plan shows, that would be great, he said.

Waco native Bob Sullivan went to work as a switchman for the Cotton Belt line in 1960 and retired 40 years later from Union Pacific, which had acquired the Cotton Belt system through a series of mergers. He said he thinks the Cotton Belt Bridge in Waco was used as late as the early 1990s, though it was long past its heyday by then.

He remembers when downtown and East Waco were a chaotic jumble of competing train lines, and Mary Avenue was bustling with freight business.

There were three tracks running down the middle of the road, said Sullivan, 79. Ive unloaded cars in every warehouse through there.

Sullivan has his own idea for a tourist attraction on the bridge.

They ought to put a glass-bottomed restaurant on it, he said. Theyd make a million dollars.

Glass-bottomed restaurant or not, Sullivan said hes glad to see the bridge getting some attention.

The history of the bridge is unbelievable, he said. They ran troop train after troop train out of Fort Hood right over that bridge. They carried 10,000 Japanese prisoners of war right over that bridge and down Mary Street. Its got a lot of ghosts on it if you could see them.
Two Waco police officers who are unavailable to testify Monday have forced the postponement of a hearing at which a biker arrested in the Twin Peaks shootout is seeking to disqualify McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna from prosecuting the cases.

The hearing, originally set for Monday in Wacos 54th State District Court, was rescheduled Friday for Aug. 8.

Houston attorney Abigail Anastasio, who represents biker Ray Nelson, filed the motion in March, saying Reyna and two of his top assistants, Michael Jarrett and Mark Parker, should be disqualified because they could be potential witnesses in the case.

Anastasio charges that Reyna overstepped his authority by commandeering the investigation on the evening of the shootout.

There is a big difference between advising and commandeering, Anastasio said after filing the motion.

Nelson, 42, is president of the Hill County Cossacks and one of 154 bikers indicted in the May 17, 2015, shootout at Twin Peaks in Waco that left nine bikers dead and more than 20 wounded.

They started calling the shots, Anastasio said. They were the ones who determined the course of the investigation, what steps to be taken next, without law enforcement having a significant role in that.

Anastasio amended her motion Thursday to assert that Reyna also should be disqualified because he is a named defendant in civil lawsuits filed by 13 bikers in federal court in Austin and therefore has a pecuniary interest in the outcome of the cases.

Reyna asked Waco attorney Brandon Luce, who until two months ago was an assistant district attorney in Reynas office, to represent his office in the motion hearing.

Luce filed a response to Anastasios motion on Thursday, challenging her allegations and saying she had not met the heightened burden to disqualify an elected district attorney.

Officers subpoenaed

Anastasio subpoenaed Waco Assistant Police Chief Robert Lanning, Waco police Sgt. J.R. Price, Detective Manuel Chavez and Detective Mike Alston to testify at the hearing. Price and Chavez are not available Monday, Anastasio said. She also subpoenaed Reyna, Jarrett and Parker.

The motion alleges that Reyna arrived at the Waco Convention Center after the shootout and changed the scope of the investigation by insisting that everyone linked to the Cossacks, Bandidos or any of their support groups be arrested and charged with first-degree felony engaging in organized criminal activity.

Before Reyna and his assistants arrived, Waco police and other agencies had questioned, identified and processed a busload of bikers and released them from the Waco Convention Center. After Reyna arrived, the remaining bikers went to jail, the motion states.

This interview with the district attorneys office changed the scope and course of the investigation, the motion alleges. The decisions involved were made not by the law enforcement officers, but by the above prosecutors (and possibly others within that office). The affidavit supporting arrest was not written according to the facts noted by any individual officer, but by the district attorneys office.
Nigeria's army says it is firing many senior officers accused of corruption and stealing billions of dollars meant to buy arms to fight the Boko Haram Islamic insurgency.

Army spokesman Col. Sani Kukesheka Usman says "quite a number" were sacked Friday, mainly major generals, brigadier generals, colonels, lieutenant colonels and one major.

He says some were handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly diverting billions meant to buy weapons. He says others played partisan roles in the 2015 elections.

Usman did not name those fired in a statement Saturday.

Among officers on trial for corruption is former chief of defense staff Alex Badeh.

President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed corruption for the previous government's failures to curb the Boko Haram Islamic insurgency centered in the northeast.

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Teachers from across the region headed back into the classroom Friday for lessons on financial responsibility and money management at the Education Service Center Region 12 in preparation for the upcoming school year.

About 30 teachers from nearly 15 school districts attended a one-day program, hosted by the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, called Teach the Teacher. It provides educators with new approaches for teaching money management to students.

Teachers participated in interactive lessons on a variety of topics  including credit, debit, savings, budgeting, taxes, credit scores, and identity theft, among others  and took away ideas on how to engage students at local schools.

I think this is very important, because our kids are just now exploring money management, Shatilya Brooks, an eighth-grade Exploring Careers teacher at Charles E. Patterson Middle School in Killeen. I was talking with some of my colleagues about it and this is something that they (students) need more exposure to, and having these outside viewpoints and bringing them into our classroom will really enforce the importance.

IBAT Education Foundation President Mary Lange said the instructional program was geared toward middle-school and high-school teachers and gave examples of how to start conversations about financial responsibility.

The research says that teachers themselves feel very uncomfortable talking about money so often, they dont even bring it up in the class and keep it at an economic level talking about macro- and micro-economics, she said. Kids really need to know that when they see a newspaper ad talking about a deposit down for a car, what that means, and we need to make it real to students.

Teach the Teacher was created to address the Texas Legislatures unfunded mandate that financial literacy must be taught in public schools, since teachers dont receive any type of formal training.

Several area banks support the program, including First National Bank of Moody, First National Bank of Central Texas, American Bank (Waco), Extraco Banks and Community Bank & Trust. Accounting firm Pattillo, Brown & Hill LLP also backs the program.
Americas Civil War was still a deep wound in 1866, when 18 former slaves formed what would become New Hope Baptist Church in Waco, with the help of Baylor University President Richard Burleson and the Rev. S.G. OBrien, then the pastor of the citys First Baptist Church.

Sunday, with generations filled with both good times and challenges marking the passage of time, the congregation that gathers at 915 N. Sixth St. will celebrate 150 years of Gods grace with special morning and afternoon services that may attract up to 250 people  about triple what New Hope sees for most worship services.

As might be expected, many of those who attend New Hope are well into their 70s and 80s. They can recall the churchs heyday, when many hundreds of voices sung hymns of praise that rung to the roof of the sanctuary that has sheltered worshippers since 1923, according to a historical marker on the grounds.

New Hope remains on solid financial ground because of faithful tithers and sacrificial giving, Pastor Richard Blanton said. But like other inner-city churches over the years, attendance has sagged as young people have moved away and older congregants have died, leaving vacancies in the pews not always easily filled.

Were trying to get young again, said Blanton, 63, a Dallas native who became pastor of New Hope five years ago. Every church has an ebb and flow, a life cycle. We are more senior than young right now, but we are endeavoring to change. Just Sunday before last, we had a young lady join our congregation.

Church members distribute fliers and invitation cards to nearby apartment complexes, and personally invite area residents to visit New Hope. The church also sponsors Vacation Bible School, hoping to attract youngsters who may take the Scripture lessons to heart and attend regular services, possibly with parents in tow.

We have a childrens church and some limited youth activities, such as visits to the circus and zoo. We would love to hire a youth director, Blanton said.

The bottom line, he said, is that the church cant stand still or rest on its laurels, even after 150 years.

Reach for the future

Our theme is to look in the past, live in the present and reach for the future, said Blanton, who remains a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force.

He received a degree in education from Baylor University, a masters in theology from Southern Methodist University and a doctorate in church administration from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Jocelyn Pierce, 58, who has attended New Hope Baptist for 35 years, said the congregation is getting older but is not faint of heart.

Were all pleased to see the church reach this milestone, and we believe the Lord has left us here for a reason, Pierce said. Back in the day, we would have 300 to 500 people here on Sundays, but you know Waco has a church on every corner, and a lot of our members moved away or died out.

She added, We have not had the stability we should have, but that has not stopped us. Were reaching 150, and still pretty lively.

Pierce described Blanton as the ideal combination of preacher and teacher who is very serious about what he does and holds us accountable for what he gives us.

Blanton himself calls his style unapologetically traditional, and his conservative approach extends to the music of the choir.

But Pierce said the mood remains lively, and members still often let fly with an amen when Blanton makes a point that hits home, or the heart.

Our services are liturgical with a touch of informality, Blanton said. We leave room for the moving of the Spirit.

Doris Wilson King, 78, said her mother was a member of New Hope when she was born, so you could say Ive been going there my entire life.

Same location

Whats amazing to King is that the congregation has been meeting in the same location in the same building for 93 years, with only minor repairs to keep it functional.

She laments the decline in membership at New Hope, saying for decades it was the church of choice among successful black professionals. For example, J.J. Wilson, longtime principal of A.J. Moore High School before the Waco school district was integrated, attended New Hope Baptist Church.

Their children graduated from high school, went off to college and stayed somewhere else, she said, adding New Hope may need to tweak its approach and liven up the services, including the music, to give it a more contemporary feel and to attract teens and young married couples.

Nothing against Baptist tradition, she said, but some of the more progressive churches have dropped that name and become non-denominational.

Asked about changing churches, King said, Im 78 going on 79. That would be almost sinful. But were going to have to do something. Keeping the doors open with this few people is very stressful and hard on the pocketbook. I do occasionally visit other churches, but New Hope remains my home.

Harriet Foreman, 79, said tears came to her eyes on Saturday, as she and other choir members rehearsed for Sundays services.

Its just not the same, Foreman said. Our music was a beautiful thing, either with musical accompaniment or a cappella. Not bragging, but we were good.

She can remember when Baylor invited the much larger choir to perform on campus, and when A.J. Moore graduation ceremonies were held inside the church. Doctors, dentists, teachers and business leaders would pack its pews and fill the balconies in the good old days.

Foreman has faith the church will rise again and prayerfully seeks the arrival of young, and even not so young, congregants.

New Hope on Saturday afternoon hosted the New Hope Heritage Exhibition, a collection of photographs and remembrances of its rich history.

Joining in the Sunday celebration will be two churches that grew out of New Hope Baptist Church. The Rev. George Harrison and the congregation of First Baptist Church NBC will take part in the 11 a.m. service, and the Rev. Nika Davis and the congregation of Second Baptist Church will take part in the service at 3:30 p.m.
German lawmakers of Turkish origin who have been threatened after parliament declared the 1915 massacre of Armenians a genocide have been warned not to travel to Turkey and will get increased police protection, media reported on Saturday.

The resolution in Germany's parliament this month labeling the 1915 killings by Ottoman forces as genocide has added to tensions between Berlin and Ankara.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that the 11 lawmakers of Turkish origin who voted for the resolution should be given blood tests, and has accused them of having "tainted blood" and of being terrorists.

The leader of Germany's Green party, Cem Oezdemir, who pushed for the resolution, has also received death threats.

Der Spiegel said the Foreign Ministry had warned the lawmakers against travel to Turkey because their safety could not be guaranteed. The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"It's unspeakable to know that it's not possible to fly there for now," Aydan Oezoguz, Germany's integration commissioner, was quoted by the magazine as saying.

Other lawmakers with Turkish roots have also cancelled business trips to the country, Der Spiegel said.

Separately, the Frankfurt Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported that the 11 lawmakers will now receive increased police protection and further security measures for both their professional and private activities.

"The threats against lawmakers of Turkish origin are unacceptable," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the paper. "Of course security measures will be adjusted if necessary."

He stressed, however, that the majority of the 3.5 million people with Turkish roots who live in Germany were "good neighbours" and said the perpetrators were "isolated cases."

Oezdemir told the FAS that he had received threats, reading: "At some point, your German friends will have forgotten that - we won't" and "We will find you everywhere."

He also called on Turkish groups in Germany to condemn the death threats. On Thursday, the president of the Bundestag said threats against individual lawmaker were attacks on the entire parliament.

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Several thousand demonstrators formed a human chain along the perimeter of a US Air Force Base in southwest Germany on Saturday in protest against drone operations by the United States.

The demonstration was organised by the alliance "Stop Ramstein - No Drone War", which says the Ramstein base transmits information between operators in the United States and unmanned drone aircraft in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Syria.

Police estimated 3-4,000 people had formed the chain close to the base, which serves as the headquarters for the US Air Forces in Europe. Organisers spoke of 5-7,000 people. No comment was available on Saturday from officials at Ramstein.

The use of drones is highly controversial in Germany, where an aversion to military conflict has prevailed since World War Two. Organisers say allowing data for drone deployments to be routed through Ramstein goes against the German constitution and want the base's satellite relay station to be closed.

Nearly 15 years after a drone first fired missiles in combat, the US military programme has expanded to become an everyday part of the war machine for carrying out surveillance and launching strikes.

President Barack Obama last month approved a drone strike in a remote area of Pakistan that killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour. US officials said he had been overseeing plans for new attacks on US targets in Kabul.

Critics say drones often miss their intended targets, can only partly relay what is happening on the ground and encourage warfare with impunity, waged by people at computer screens far from danger.

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But at the lower end of the spectrum, alarms bells should be ringing. Greater protection needed The poor performance of the majority of SMSFs points to a need for greater protections for those in SMSFs, whether it starts with the Productivity Commission doing a root and branch review of the sector, including whether funds with low balances should be prohibited from being set up. According to ASIC, in many cases, a recommendation for a retail client to set up an SMSF with a starting balance of $200,000 or below is "unlikely to be in the client's best interests".

It says: "The client may not be in a better position when compared to using an APRA-regulated superannuation fund." Matter of choice? The peak lobby group for SMSFs, the SMSF Association, argues that the choice to establish an SMSF and directly control superannuation should be left to an individual. It is a valid argument, if it were impacting only the individual, but it isn't. At the very least, if there is rock-solid evidence that funds of a certain size don't stack up, the government should investigate whether a banning order is warranted. The reason is simple: at the end of the day, the Australian taxpayer is underwriting super funds through tax concessions. If SMSF members blow themselves up, they end up on the publicly funded old-age pension.

Funds with less than $50,000  and there are believed to be tens of thousands of them - made negative returns of more than 15 per cent over seven years to June 2014. Given the high operating costs, including accounting and auditing fees, they will eat themselves alive. Hefty costs To put it into perspective, according to the latest stats from the ATO, SMSFs with $50,000 or less in assets had an average operating expense ratio of a staggering 12.1 per cent. SMSFs with more than $500,000 in assets had an average operating expense ratio of less than 1.4 per cent. Even those SMSF with assets between $200,000 and $500,000 on average didn't perform nearly as well as their APRA-regulated counterparts over three, five and seven years. Indeed over seven years, these funds, on average, had no growth compared with the APRA-regulated funds. The only conclusion that can be drawn is many SMSF members are being funnelled into SMSFs by financial advisers or accountants who are not acting in their best interests. It seems the lack of adequate consumer protections has made them fair game.

Some financial advisers and accountants have set up one-stop shops, offering financial advice, tax advice, SMSFs and mortgage broking. Accountant Pullen Pillay is being investigated by ASIC after he allegedly lost his clients up to $70 million in managed investment schemes that went wrong on a website that offers a variety of services including SMSFs. From July 1, accountants will have to be licensed when giving advice to set up a SMSF and will need to comply with the FoFA best interests' duty, the conflicted remuneration prohibition and the requirement to give a statement of advice. This is a welcome start but it won't stop accountants teaming up with financial advisers and getting referrals to set up SMSFs. ASIC has taken action against a number of spruikers and considers SMSFs a key area of enforcement "due to the growth in the sector, the potential for loss and the vulnerability of consumers", says an ASIC spokesman. Unlike retail and industry super funds, which are regulated by APRA, SMSFs sit outside the system.

Regulation needed It gets back to whether there should be more regulation. The Financial System Inquiry recommended that SMSFs be stopped from directly borrowing for limited recourse loans in the interests of system stability. The government did not accept the recommendation. FSI chairman David Murray said: "SMSFs' borrowing magnifies risk, notwithstanding the non-recourse nature of the debt." With more than 1 million members in SMSFs, many of them in hot sweats at the thought of limited-recourse loans being prohibited, it was little surprise that the government steered clear.
It is Labor's greatest fear: to repeat Kim Beazley's 1998 pyrrhic victory of securing the majority vote across the country after just one term in the wilderness, while still losing the election. To have attracted more voters than a dull and scandal-plagued Coalition, only to see it returned to office for what would be several more terms.

Yet that nightmare scenario is what Sunday's ReachTEL marginal seat numbers presage. The prospect that even if Bill Shorten somehow manages to win over the national jury on July 2, his ground campaign has failed in the individual electorates that count.

This contingency has been the clear and present danger for much of this drawn out election season. It explains why even as Malcolm Turnbull squandered his popularity, and then dropped behind during the campaign itself, there's been little panic on the conservative side.






Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford University, speaks to members of the media during a petition delivery calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters) Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford University, speaks to members of the media during a petition delivery calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters)

Activists hold signs calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters) Activists hold signs calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters)

Melissa Byrne, an organizer with women's right group, speaks before delivering petitions calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters) Melissa Byrne, an organizer with women's right group, speaks before delivering petitions calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters)

Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford University, speaks to members of the media during a petition delivery calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters) Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford University, speaks to members of the media during a petition delivery calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters)

Stanford law professor Michele Dauber speaks at a rally before activists delivered over one million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench Friday, June 10, 2016, in San Francisco (AP) Stanford law professor Michele Dauber speaks at a rally before activists delivered over one million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench Friday, June 10, 2016, in San Francisco (AP)

Activists hold signs calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters) Activists hold signs calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters)

Activists hold signs calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters) Activists hold signs calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench after his controversial sentencing in the Stanford rape case, in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 10, 2016 (Reuters)

Activists from UltraViolet, a national women's advocacy organization, hold a rally before delivering over one million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench Friday, June 10, 2016, in San Francisco (AP) Activists from UltraViolet, a national women's advocacy organization, hold a rally before delivering over one million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench Friday, June 10, 2016, in San Francisco (AP)

Activists from UltraViolet, a national women's advocacy organization, attempt to deliver over one million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench Friday, June 10, 2016, in San Francisco (AP) Activists from UltraViolet, a national women's advocacy organization, attempt to deliver over one million signatures to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench Friday, June 10, 2016, in San Francisco (AP)

Sexual assault survivor Chris Huqueriza speaks at a rally before over one million signatures were delivered to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench Friday, June 10, 2016, in San Francisco (AP) Sexual assault survivor Chris Huqueriza speaks at a rally before over one million signatures were delivered to the California Commission on Judicial Performance calling for the removal of Judge Aaron Persky from the bench Friday, June 10, 2016, in San Francisco (AP)
The family of Australian traveller Rye Hunt have spoken out, following the discovery of his body in Rio de Janeiro.

Mr Hunt's sister Romany Brodribb said the family were "understandably heartbroken" over the loss of the 25-year-old backpacker.

"Rye was the youngest member of our family and was known for being loyal, loving, generous, cheeky, and as a brother, totally infuriating," she said.
The raise was proposed Thursday by the social solidarity minister

The Egyptian government will raise state pensions by 10 percent from July, according to a presidential spokesman.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has approved a proposal to increase all pension schemes, which benefit 9 million Egyptians, by 10 percent, said spokesman Alaa Youssef according to MENA news agency.

The decision was proposed by the Social Solidarity Ministry Ghada Waly during a meeting Thursday with El-Sisi that also included Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy and Prime Minister Sherif Ismail.

Waly said the decision aims to set a minimum pension of EGP500 per month, with a minimum increase of EGP75. The measure will cost the state's coffers some EGP15 billion and benefit 2.6 million citizens.

During the meeting, El-Sisi requested that a new pension law be drafted that would overhaul the system, which many low-income citizens complain not provide enough money for their living expenses.

The Egyptian government is aiming to decrease the budget deficit in the 2016/17 fiscal year to 9.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from the current 11.5 percent, the planning minister said last month.

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by Adrian Gibson

He who comes into equity must come with clean hands. He who seeks equity must do equity.

Equitable Maxims

THE outcome of the higgledy-piggledy, directionless Constitutional Referendum on Tuesday demonstrably shows that the public believes that the governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has unclean, dutty hands and, given its shunning and circumvention of the electorates repudiation of the gambling referendum, there was much distrust, suspicion and disinformation.

Conspiracy theories abound and there were many who believe that this untrustworthy government had carefully and craftily hidden a number of agendas  in masterful command of the English language and syntax  in four questions.

It appears that some voters believed that not only did the questions say what they said, but that they also allegedly said what they didnt say they said.

Tuesdays results were a resounding rebuke of the governing party. If one sniffs the air, the scent of defeat still assaults the nostrils. This is yet another teachable moment, except that the pupils have demonstrated an inability to be taught!

The entire experience was contrived and contorted, not only for the people that voted yes, but also for those that voted no, for onlookers and all interested parties.

Although I had misgivings about Bills two and four, I voted yes across the board because I believe in equality. I gave my reasons in my column on Monday. That said, even as I voted in favour of the Bills, I knew that they would be overwhelmingly rejected!

Regardless of how one looks at it, this was a vote against the government. For the PLP, this was a political massacre. The chickens have come home to roost and the voting public are giving the governing party its just desserts. There are those in the public who have told me that they feel disrespected by the government and, many of those who brought the sweet talks and dreams sold during the 2012 general election, now view it all as a grand scam, a nightmare of epic proportions. There has been a lack of transparency and accountability.

The impending divorce between the PLP and the Bahamian electorate has been foreshadowed. Bahamians have sent an unmistakable message and rendered a vote of no confidence. I can hardly believe that this vote was merely an out-and-out dismissal of the Bills. There were other factors at play.

It is unfortunate that the Bills failed. However, I truly understand the issues people had with these Bills.

Whats more, some Bahamians were patronised and treated with disdain, cursed at and berated for believing what they did, and much of this was done by the people responsible for the educational campaign. People usually block you out when they feel attacked or threatened or disrespected, they no longer hear you. Condescension is simply unwelcome  anywhere.

Political interference was obvious. Who gave the governing party permission to donate taxpayers monies only to the Yes campaign but nothing to the No campaign? Are they suggesting that people who supported the No campaign dont pay taxes? That unfairness was also observed by the electorate and soundly rejected.

The suspicion around referendum processes was first created by Perry Christie, the PLP and pastors in 2002. Life has come full circle as the same suspicions the Prime Minister once created have now come back to hamper a referendum seeking to fulfil nearly the exact purpose of the referendum that he voted for and then against in 2002. This is the most unfortunate kind of karma, one that affects so many thousands of Bahamians who perhaps voted against themselves out of distrust for the Christie administration.

As a nation, we must take a cue from the Americans and introduce and implement constitutional studies in the primary and high school social studies/civics curriculum and also offer constitutional studies as mandatory course at the College/University of the Bahamas. This is of utmost importance. Bahamians do not know or understand their fundamental rights; many Bahamians dont understand their Constitution. At this point, that has been reserved for lawyers and judges only.

Disappointingly, it feels like the electorate turned down greater freedoms and fundamental rights. The public did not consent for the government to erase inequalities in the Constitution.

In addition to distrust for the government, any number of other factors were at play, ranging from a parochial outlook, political chicanery, misinformation, fundamentalist Biblical application and interpretation, xenophobia, homophobia, fear, an allergic disposition to change, misogyny, revenge for 2002 and the sheer determination of the No campaign to overcome the odds that were clearly stacked against them by the government. The results are a picture of an absolute rout. There was resentment from 2002 and clearly some people decided to sacrifice, rightly or wrongly, a noble right to equality in pursuit of the same.

Quite honestly, the minute the LGBT community begun to take leading positions on the Bills and the transgender personalities took to the television, the airwaves and the media, the Bahamian electorate became overcome by their fears. Progressivism became consumed by fear and mistrust. If anyone visited a barbershop or eatery or popular hangout, one could easily gauge the political temperature and determine that the Bills would fail. Bahamians decided to play it safe and vote no four times.

The government failed to heed the Constitutional Commissions recommendation to include a restriction to guard against same-sex marriage, one that reads paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to any law so far as that law makes provisions - (f) for prohibiting same-sex marriage or rendering the same void or unlawful. If the government had heeded this request, Bill four might have passed and they may have encountered little, if any, political and religious pushback. What a gross miscalculation!

Now that the fat lady has sung, I would like a breakdown of the funds spent on this referendum. I want it immediately and I dont want anyone to think I will forget that in the coming days and weeks. Whilst at it, I want an audited breakdown of the monies spent on the carnival.

I am afraid that given the rejection of the referendum, there are some in government who may engage in a run on the Treasury, trying to grab their last handful of loot and contracts before being kicked into the political abyss. I hope that Auditor General Terrance Bastian keeps his eyes on everyone  sleep with one eye open, sir!

I took a short cut through Bain Town a few days ago. I noticed groupings in the garb of the Yes campaign walking about and campaigning. As I was in a bit of traffic, I rolled my window down to listen to what was being said as I doubt those young men and women could convince my young son to put his shoes in the closet. As I listened, I was unimpressed and begun to wonder if they could even spell yes. They clearly were out of their depth with respect to explaining these constitutional changes and assuaging fears. It appears that they were likely hired because their MP, Dr Bernard Nottage, is the minister in charge of referendums and likely threw them a pre-election bone.

The referendum should never have been steered by the government. The government should have taken a neutral role, facilitated an educational process and organised the vote. Nothing more! Instead, the government became puppeteers of the Yes campaign and sought to starve the No campaign of funds.

There is no denying the impact of Rodney Moncur upon the campaign. Mr Moncur launched a vote no campaign branded as Save Da Woman Dem and was able to raise funds, open an office and galvanise support via his highly-rated evening talk show and rallies. Mr Moncur became a thorn in the governments side and he is a key figure that successfully campaigned for the defeat of the Bills, demonstrating his influence in the process.

How did Bradley Roberts know the results of the referendum before the Bahamian public? How is it that the PLP Chairman was conceding defeat?

Why didnt the minister responsible for the referendum, Dr Nottage, or Prime Minister Christie concede? How could a chairman of a political party, and one who holds no national office, be allowed to concede as if this was a run-off between the PLP and the Free National Movement (FNM)?

Who advised the chairman to throw in the towel? How do you concede a referendum anyhow?

There is something fundamentally wrong and disrespectful about this!

The fact that the referendum was not retroactive also affected the outcome, with many persons voting thinking and knowing that a positive outcome would not apply to their family member if such a person was over a certain age. Clearly, these guys did not think this through.

The referendum was a disorganised, unmitigated disaster. The Parliamentary Registration Departments incompetence and archaic methods were on full display on Tuesday night with their slow, drip-drip of results. I guess they will blame BEC; however, given the fact that it is daylight saving time and the polls close at 6pm, agents at the polls had ample time to begin the count. Whenever the Parliamentary Registration Department behaves like this, it creates suspicion and doubts and raises concerns that there are attempts to tief the election.

I read many comments where people expressed fears that, during the outage, ballots would be slipped into the ballot box under the cloak of darkness. FNM leader Dr Hubert Minnis was right to call for international observers at the next general election. Whats more, our control needs to move towards electronic voting. Our outdated, third world system must be left in the 20th century.

I wish to lodge publicly a complaint against ZNS. Why wasnt Darold Miller pleaded with and begged not to go on vacation during the referendum? We missed him. Please make sure Mr Miller delivers the general election results. Darold, I speak for so many when I say that you were sorely missed on Tuesday.

Yet again, we have missed an opportunity to improve our democracy.

Everything wrong with the referendum ought to be laid at Perry Christies feet. There was no statesmanship. So, when history weighs Mr Christie in the balance as it relates to his referendum experiences, his record will be 0 for 3 (2002, 2013, 2016). History will say that Perry Christie singlehandedly set back constitutional reform in the Bahamas more than any other person. The word referendum has almost become a sinful word in the Bahamas. And, for that, he should be ashamed.

Unfortunately, we have a government that is short on accomplishment. They find themselves with all of their signature programmes as failures. They have demonstrated that they think the electorate is unworthy of anything but contempt.

_________________________________________________________

First published in the The Tribune under the byline, Young Man's View, here

View Adrian Gibson's archive here

____________________________________________________

The views expressed are those of the author, and not necessarily those of WeblogBahamas.com (which has no corporate view) or its Authors.
The good news is that the cabinet has sent the law for organising media to parliament for discussion and approval, after reportedly it made slight amendments to the legislation developed by the 50-person committee, which is an independent committee of journalists and media personnel.

However, A beautiful thing is never perfect! Because the parliaments agenda is brimful, there are some expectations that it will not be able to discuss and pass the bill during the current parliamentary session. Perhaps it will be postponed to autumn.

This definitely means an increase in chaos and decline in professionalism within our media, which is working without a proper legislative framework or regulations, and only by some old laws that are not suitable because they do not legalise the private media and are not compatible with the huge developments in communication and media technology at present.

Of course, it is better that parliament discuss the new media law and make some amendments before passing it, because the 50-person committees bill comprises structural defects I wrote about.

The most significant are the following:

First, the bill granted a wide mandate of executive authorities to the Higher Council for Organising Media, the National Commission of Journalism and the National Commission for Audio-Visual Media without presenting guarantees and mechanisms for societal monitoring of its members.

Consequently, it does not prevent them from being transformed into a despotic few, or a financially and media benefitting few. I personally have legitimate fears regarding the choice of members for the three bodies from among the dinosaurs of journalism and media.

Therefore, I suggest appointing at least half of the members from young journalists who have spent at least 10 years practising the profession.

Second, there are no mechanisms for ensuring the three bodies are financially independent from the government. The bill states that the three bodies will receive annual financial aid from the state budget and percentages of licenses, permits and research and study earnings while ensuring that conflicts of interest do not occur.

This is a confusing matter and isn't defined by any rules. For how can we be assured that no conflict of interest exists for an authority providing licenses or research and training services in return for a financial percentage?

Third, the bill stipulates that the three commissions members be totally devoted to their work and freeze all partisan activity. But it does not clarify the matter of appearing in the media as guests, or whether media counsel can be provided or not.

These are matters of extreme importance in order to ensure that no conflict of interest happens.

Whats strange is that the bill granted each of the three bodies the right to set its own financial system, salaries and bonuses without reference to the restrictions of governmental rules and regulations. This raises questions about whether the maximum wage limit, applied to the government and public sector, will be applied on the three bodies' members or not.

Fourth, the bill discriminates between the private and public media, for it has focused on the status and rights of journalists working in the state-owned newspapers, radio and TV channels and disregarded their colleagues in private newspapers and satellite channels.

It has also granted the state-owned newspapers huge privileges, such as rights in investment, importation and others. These are activities surpassing the capabilities and expertise of private newspapers.

Moreover, previous experiences have proved the failure and corruption in most investment projects started by state-owned newspapers.

Fifth, there is exaggeration in setting financial preconditions for publishing newspapers and magazines, whether in paper form or electronic via internet sites. For it stipulated that the paid capital should not be less than three million Egyptian pounds if the newspaper is a daily, one million Egyptian pounds if it is weekly, EGP 500,000 if it is monthly; EGP 500,000 if it is an electronic newspaper, EGP 500,000 if it is a daily regional newspaper, EGP 200,000 if it is a weekly regional newspaper, and EGP 100,000 if it is a monthly regional newspaper.

This is for the purpose of guaranteeing the rights of those working in these entities. This argument is countered by another saying that it is possible to set up a fund to help workers in financially cash-strapped newspapers.

Sixth, the bill is severely restricting of new media for it stipulates that the capital for a digital TV station, or channel on the "web," is at least half a million Egyptian pounds.

It has also set fines that are not less than a quarter of a million pounds and do not exceed half a million pounds for anyone who provides unlicensed digital broadcasting.

Thus, the bill is encircling the new media and citizen's journalism. Moreover, it fights youth initiatives towards a free media on meager expenses that are able at the same time to resist the influence of advertisers and the hegemony of big media establishments.

Seventh, the bill opened the door to exceptions and discrimination among journalists for it stated that it is allowable to extend journalists' service in state-owned newspapers to 65 years, and also combining the posts of CEO and editor-in-chief in the case of necessity, without clarifying the nature and conditions of such necessity.

The writer is dean of the Faculty of Communication and Mass Media at the British University in Egypt (BUE).

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By WestKyStar Staff & Pam Spencer, Paducah Information Officer Jun. 11, 2016 | 07:30 AM | PADUCAH, KY

The third event in the Creative Collaborations series will be held Thursday, June 16 from 4 until 8 pm at eight different galleries in the Lower Town Arts District and downtown Paducah. The Working TogetherA Collaborative Exhibit of Artists exhibition highlights the diversity and creativity of the Paducah art scene by teaming local, regional, or international artists to create a new work together or share a common theme or subject providing an exciting evening of art. The event is free to the public and will provide participants a unique art experience and a chance to meet with 20 artists.Paducah Main Street Director Melinda Winchester says, The artists have created for visitors many pieces of unique art for this Working Together event. This is an excellent opportunity for the public to come out and leisurely enjoy Paducah talent, meet the artists, and take in the beauty of our historic Lower Town Arts District and downtown Paducah.Ephemera Paducah - 333 North 9th StreetPaducah School of Art & Design (2nd floor) - 905 Harrison StreetGallery 5 - 803 Madison StreetKijsa Housman Studio - 444 North 8th StreetPinecone Studios - 421 North 7th StreetTerra Cottage Ceramics - 514 North 7th StreetStudio Miska - 627 Madison StreetPAPA Gallery - 124 BroadwayPaducah Mayor Gayle Kaler initiated the creation of the Paducah Arts Advisory Committee to encourage the various artists and cultural entities to collaborate and create events that further promote Paducahs creative industry. The four events in the Creative Collaborations series resulted from the committees meetings with local artists, residents and businesses to gain input and ideas. The committee consists of representatives from Paducah Main Street, the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Paducah School of Art & Design, and various Lower Town artists and business owners.The fourth event in the Creative Collaborations series, Meet the Artists: A Celebration of Art & Community, will be Thursday, September 15 from 4 to 8 pm. The event will take place this year at the Paducah School of Art & Design. In 2015, this event united 50 Paducah artists at the historic Coca-Cola Plant. For this year, the plan is to build on that energy and draw together a larger collaboration of local artists to celebrate the art and community of Paducah.For more information about Creative Collaborations, visit www.paducahmainstreet.org or call 270-444-8690. Paducah Main Street is a division of the City of Paducah Planning Department.
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For sheer commitment above and beyond the call of duty, Isabelle Huppert has always been the actress of choice. Whether it's slicing her genitals with a razor in The Piano Teacher, sinking into hidden despair in The Lacemaker or stalking her rapist in her new movie Elle, she has always been willing to bare her soul and quite a lot more in the pursuit of art.

She is at it again here, in this epic, three-and-a-half hour mash up of three different versions of the legend of Phaedra, the woman in Greek and Roman myth who marries the murderous Theseus and burns with desire for her stepson Hippolytus. She screams, she shouts, she wears sunglasses and is winningly ironic; she crawls across the stage, simulates fellatio (endlessly) and waves her beautiful legs in the air, or spreads them wide as menstrual blood pours out. She sits still in a chair like a stranded doll. Her voice (in her native French) is sometimes rasping and sometimes subtly honeyed. She is staggeringly beautiful, magnificent and mesmeric.

At 63, she bestrides this Odeon-Theatre de L'Europe production, at the Barbican as part of LIFT, like a colossus. It feels very French, even though it is directed by the Polish Krzysztof Warlikowski. You either have to accept its artful, self-conscious pretension and go with the flow or simply reject it and write the entire thing off as a bit of European art house nonsense.

I chose to accept it, and although I was frequently irritated and occasionally bored, I was never less than intrigued. It looks stunning. Malgorzata Szczesniak's sterile set conjures a five star hotel while dwarfing the actors. Huppert, with her slim frame and slight limbs, seems to vanish into the pale walls as she bewails her fate. A great mirrored cube, with gauze walls, slides out from one side; one entire encounter between Phaedra and Hippolytus is played within its alienating frame.

Though on paper the action seems complicated, it is easy to follow. There are three distinct sections, effectively three plays. It opens with a song in Arabic and a girl gyrating as Huppert staggers on as Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, stylish in belted trenchcoat and dark glasses. The script is by Wajdi Mouawad and explores an alternate version of desire. The central section is a very Gallic adaption of Sarah Kane's Phaedra's Love, in which Huppert is transformed into the central figure in a grand guignol domestic drama, wherein Hippolytus is sulking in his room like a teenager and rejecting his step-mother's seduction not because he is pure but because he is disgusting.

The final part is based on JM Coetzee's Elizabeth Costello. Huppert, now in smart black silk shirt and trousers, is a sharp-tongued academic talking to an admiring TV chat show house about the intercourse between gods and mortals, and the way the gods envy our capacity to feel. Film clips illustrate her dissertation and then suddenly, devastatingly she slips into playing Racine's Phedre, a model of despair in the face of overwhelming passion. Andrzej Chyra, brilliant throughout, lends sterling support.

It is heart-stopping, a fitting conclusion to a weird but memorable evening of theatre. At the close, Huppert quelled the rapturous applause to tell us "All Europe loves you. Stay with us." Which was a fitting conclusion to an evening that springs from a very European sensibility, challenging but also invigorating to us uptight Brits.

Phaedra(s) runs at the Barbican Centre as part of LIFT until 18 June.
Last week I had the pleasure of participating in the conference organised by the Ministry of Social Solidarity to mark one year on the beginning of the Karama and Takaful social programs.

Both programs provide direct cash assistance to the poor, Karama to elderly and disabled people who cannot work and Takaful to the poorest families.

During the meeting, the ministry announced that the two programs now cover three million people in the ten neediest governorates, most of them in Upper Egypt, and work was underway to extend the programs to other eligible beneficiaries in the remaining governorates.

I have been a zealous supporter of these programs since the idea was first proposed in 2008 under then Minister of Social Solidarity Ali El-Meseilhi, who also championed it, but political conditions were then unfavorable and inadequate attention was paid to social issues.

The idea rose and fell in the priorities of successive governments and parliaments, until the government of Ibrahim Mehleb finally made it a reality. Having actually implemented the programs over the last two years, the Ministry of Social Solidarity deserves fulsome praise, since implementation is ultimately the biggest challenge and the true measure of success.

The programs are significant because they diverge from conventional pension schemes and proceed from a fundamentally different understanding: that social justice can be realised by providing a comprehensive umbrella of social protection based on redrawing the poverty map in Egypt, examining wealth and income data, building a comprehensive database of all cash, in-kind, and service support received by citizens, and then using this to draft a plan to deliver subsidies to those who need them and limit waste and corruption in social spending.

This new approach distinguishes the Takaful and Karama programs from their predecessors, making for a more targeted, fairer provision of social protection and giving future decision makers an instrument for the application of other social policies.

There are two important dimensions of this type of targeted program. First, direct cash support is not necessarily an alternative to the in-kind subsidies provided for years in Egypt. It is instead a complementary mechanism allowing cash assistance to go where it is needed.

Second, the principle of targeted subsidies for the poor, whether cash or in-kind, means accepting the periodic review and assessment of recipients circumstances, and excluding them if their conditions improve or the grounds for their eligibility no longer apply.

Otherwise, the protection umbrella would continue to expand, ultimately again bringing in people who need no support.

The shift from comprehensive support that makes no distinction between rich and poor, needy and non-needy, lies at the core of a much-needed change. The sad truth is that over the last two decades, the exponential increase in social spending to cover all forms of comprehensive subsidieswhich now account for 25 percent of public spendinghas not been matched by reductions in the poverty rate. On the contrary, poverty has continued to grow.

This trend cannot be corrected without moving from the concept of comprehensive social protection to targeted spending for poverty and the poor.

But the Karama and Takaful programs are a significant beginning, not the end of the road. Several challenges have yet to be addressed.

First, the programs require ongoing follow-up, revision, and review to remedy implementation problems. In addition, these programs cannot be funded in perpetuity by loans and foreign grants.

The state must devote adequate resources from the public budget to ensure their sustainability without being at the mercy of shifts in political tides and international relationsthe programs are a fundamental right, not a nonessential handout.

Moreover, in the longer term, we should not stop with these two programs. A social protection network must be based on sound, standardised data on all pension and support programs, up-to-date, accurate poverty maps, integrated social spending, and the provision of jobs.

Im pleased that the Ministry of Social Solidarity declared its intention to incrementally build on this system, including by reviving the school meal projecta major pillar of the program that requires a more in-depth look.

However, the greatest challenge is for the state to recognise the importance of popular and community oversight of social protection programs. No matter how hard-working and sincere officials are and regardless of the many regulatory systems, records, and instruments they devise, these programs will inevitably stumble and be corrupted and diverted from their goal if they are not subject to the oversight of parliament, civil society, parties, and associations that represent stakeholders.

Community oversight does not interfere with or obstruct the work of official agencies; it is a necessary, positive contribution and a realisation of every citizens right to know how the state is spending its resources and whether it is meeting its declared objectives.

*The writer holds a PhD in financial law from the London School of Economics. He is former deputy prime minister, former chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority and former chairman of the General Authority for Investment. This article was published in Arabic in El-Shorouq newspaper on Monday, 6 June.

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This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bryan Akindipe was standing in the lobby of his church a couple of weeks ago, waiting for his wife, Temi, and their two young sons, Aviel and Adley.

He was chatting with another parishioner who is also originally from Nigeria. During their dialogue, the man wondered if Akindipe was aware a number of grocery stores in Winnipeg were carrying Agege bread  a dense, appetizing foodstuff that is served with almost every meal in their native country.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bryan and Temi Akindipe at Arabelle's Bakery and Catering, home of the "Lagos Loaf' that's prized among folks in Winnipeg's Nigerian community. The fellow mentioned it was the only bread his children would eat, and his family was presently devouring five or six loaves a week.

You should have seen the look on his face when I told him the bread came from my place, says Akindipe, who, together with Temi, runs Arabelles Bakery & Catering at 1284 Archibald St., home of the Lagos Loaf, the name the couple came up with for their signature product.

He raced off to grab his kids then brought them back saying, I want you to meet the person who makes the bread you guys love so much.

Akindipe moved to Winnipeg in September 2003 to attend the University of Winnipeg. The son of one of his mothers friends was a student there at the time, he explains, and had nothing but praise for the city and the Portage Avenue campus.

Whats surprising is he didnt say anything about the winters, Akindipe says, pretending to shiver. The first time I experienced minus 20 I thought, OK, maybe that should have been the first thing he talked about.

One afternoon during his second semester, Akindipe noticed Temi sitting by herself in the library. Because he hadnt met many black people since arriving in Canada, he paused to introduce himself.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bryan Akindipe arranges the bakery's display case. It turned out the two had a fair bit in common. They were both from Lagos, a major metropolis of an estimated 16 million people. Both were in their first year of studies and both intended to go into nursing after earning an undergraduate degree.

The pair had such a friendly exchange, Akindipe recalls, by the time he had to leave and head back to class, Temi had agreed to join him for dinner the following week, when they could continue their conversation.

So the two headed out, got along famously and lived happily ever after, right? Not exactly.

She totally stood me up, Akindipe says, playfully poking his wife in the ribs. I went to the restaurant, waited 30 minutes and nothing. Not even a phone call.

(In her defence, Temi doesnt remember their rendezvous being set in stone. I was too busy with my schoolwork to even think about boyfriends, anyways, she says.)

In 2006, Akindipe was in his second year at the University of Manitobas College of Nursing. While strolling around the grounds one fall morning he spotted a familiar face.

Hey, Temi, he called out. Whatever happened to our date?

Hoping history wouldnt repeat itself, he asked Temi, a first-year nursing student at the time, out again. They tied the knot two years later.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Temi Akindipe

After graduating, Akindipe went to work as a nurse at St. Boniface General Hospital. Whenever he ran into ex-pat Nigerians  staff members and patients alike  he would ask what they enjoyed about their adopted country and what they missed about home.

Funnily enough, one of the things that always seemed to come up in regards to the latter was bread, he says.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Egg wash is brushed on some of the goods at Arabelle's to create a golden colour when baked. Most of the breads you get in Canada have no flavour, to me, because the idea here seems to be for the bread to be neutral and for whatever you eat with the bread  be it soup or chili  to determine the flavour, he says.

In Africa, the bread has its own distinct taste. So after hearing person after person tell me they rarely ate bread anymore for just that reason, it gave me an idea: I know how to bake; why dont I make what theyre looking for?

According to www.vegannigerian.com, Agege bread, so-dubbed for a suburb on the outskirts of Lagos, is loved for its dense texture and moreishly sweet taste. The websites founder, Nigerian-born chef Tomi Makanjuola, also writes, Youd be hard-pressed to find a Lagosian who isnt fond of it and who hasnt used it to mop up some peppery stew or steeped it in a mug of hot tea.

No matter what class you belong to, everyone eats the same bread and were hoping to introduce that mentality to Canadians, too.

For close to a year starting in 2011, Akindipe rushed home from his shift at the hospital and headed straight into the kitchen, where he often prepared bread until the wee hours of the morning. His template was the bread he grew up with, he says, but he was adamant about putting his own spin on it so the end-product would appeal to a wider audience than Africans.

I come from a science background so I spent a lot of time experimenting breaking the bread down and trying out different combinations of ingredients. I did that for months and probably gave away as many as 200 loaves to friends and family, saying, Give this a try and let me know what works or doesnt work.

He still remembers the night everything clicked. His mother-in-law was visiting from Nigeria, he gave her a couple of slices of his latest batch to eat with dinner and after taking one bite, she looked at him and announced hed nailed it.

Temi, who used to work at St. Amant, was on maternity leave with the couples second child in 2014. The Akindipes decided that would be a perfect opportunity to see if they could take Bryans creation to the next level.

They rented space at Knox Community Kitchen on Edmonton Street and with the help of Buy Manitoba, Temi began knocking on doors in an attempt to persuade store owners to stock their fare.

She knew she had a hit on her hands, she says, whenever managers were too busy chowing down to pay attention to her sales pitch. (The Lagos Loaf is available in 13 Winnipeg locations, including four Red River Co-op supermarkets. For a complete list, go to www.arabellesbakery.com.)

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Temi Akindipe prepares "Lagos Loaf" bread.

Akindipe still works full-time as a clinical resource nurse but Temi quit her job to run the bakery, which opened in February. Besides three types of Agege bread  white, whole-wheat and rye  the couple sells a variety of other goods, including cookies, meat pies and cinnamon buns.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Arabelle's Bakery and Catering on Archibald Street. One British chap from St. James makes the pilgrimage to Windsor Park at least once a week, Temi says, to pick up a half-dozen Scotch eggs for his lunches.

In Nigeria, bread is one of those things that brings everyone to the table  rich or poor, Akindipe says, seated near a blown-up photo of his and Temis hometown, which hangs on the wall near the cash register.

No matter what class you belong to, everyone eats the same bread and were hoping to introduce that mentality to Canadians, too.

Oh, about Arabelle, the name they chose for their biz: when Temi was pregnant with the couples second child, they were both so certain it was going to be a girl, they didnt bother coming up with a boys name.

We were going to call her Arabelle but when that didnt happen, I filed the name away on my phone for safe-keeping, Akindipe says.

A couple of years later, when we started tossing around names to call the bakery, we agreed starting a business is similar to having a child in lots of ways. You have to nurture it along, theres a tremendous financial commitment involved but theres joy and reward along the way, too.

So now when people ask we joke we have three children: Aviel, Adley and Arabelle.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The bakery sells three kinds of Agege bread -- white, whole-wheat and rye -- as well as other baked goods.

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bryan and Temi Akindipe
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This article was published 10/06/2016 (2329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STETTLER, Alta.  Some diesel fuel spilled by a tanker truck in central Alberta has reached the Red Deer River.

The Alberta government says about 25,000 litres of fuel went into a stream near Stettler that flows into the river. Communities downstream have been warned of the spill.

We can confirm that some product has reached the Red Deer River, Jamie Hanlon, an Alberta Environment spokesman wrote in an email Friday.

We have contacted downstream users on both the stream and the river, including municipal water treatment plant operators.

Hanlon said the government is conducting tests on shorelines to determine the potential effects of the spill and other tests are being done at other locations.

It was not clear how much of the diesel fuel is in the river.

The government said early morning assessments have not identified significant contamination.

But fish and wildlife have been affected in the immediate spill area.

The spill happened around 4 p.m. Thursday when the tanker truck rolled into the stream.

Emergency crews removed the remaining fuel from the truck and used booms and a berm to curtail the flow of water in the creek.

As a precaution, the water treatment plant in the town of Stettler switched to storage pond water, which has about a 10-day supply.

Niki Thorsteinsson, a spokeswoman for the County of Stettler, said they dont anticipate regular water treatment would be affected for a long period of time.

Were hoping that Alberta Environment, once they have some testing done, will be able to give us a better indication of what went wrong and how much contamination happened or didnt happen, she said.

Then well be able to gauge more successfully what the next steps will be for water.
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This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals is investing another $15 million into its Steinbach production facility even while the company is in the midst of a major debt-reduction program throughout its global operations.

The new money will go toward moving production of its biggest selling drug, Xifaxan, which treats cirrhosis of the liver, and Apriso, used to treat and prevent ulcerative colitis, to Steinbach. As well, additional investment will be made in new manufacturing technology to implement track-and-trace technology for global export.

Valeant CEO Joe Papa was in Steinbach for the announcement only 36 days after taking control of the besieged $10-billion company. It is in the middle of all sorts of regulatory and investor challenges that have seen its stock price lose more than 90 per cent of its value since last August.

Ian Froese / The Carillon Steinbach mayor Chris Goertzen (far left), CEO Joseph Papa (middle) and Provencher MP Ted Falk (right).

Papa referred to the Steinbach plant as a cornerstone for the company, which has a couple dozen production facilities around the world.

The plant was originally built in 1992 and has undergone a number of expansions. The company has spent about $240 million in operating expenditures over the years in Steinbach. It currently employs 420 people, and Papa said that number could grow with the new work being brought in.

The new investment, on top of about $10 million in capital improvements through the previous three years, is a further indication Steinbach has a solid position in the companys plans for the future.

This is our global centre of excellence for controlled-release medications, Papa said. It is one of our largest facilities, and it has a great team. Its well-suited to make Xifaxan, our largest drug.

The company released its first-quarter results earlier this week. Sale of Xifaxan accounted for US$208 million of the US$2.4 billion total sales for the quarter. (Sales of Apriso for the quarter were US$33 million.)

The company also has a smaller production facility in Laval, Que., and total Canadian employment of about 1,000 people.

Jacques Dessureault, president of Valeant Canada, said the Steinbach plant accounts for two-thirds of the Canadian production but is also the companys global hub for controlled-release medications.

This plant has huge capacity, he said. It can do massive batch-size production.

The day before it announced the new investment in Steinbach, it paid US$54 million to settle a civil suit in the United States over illegal kickbacks to doctors paid out by the former Salix Pharmaceuticals from 2009 to 2013. (Valeant acquired Salix, which makes Xifaxan, in 2015.)

My desire to join the company was to consolidate the business and continue to look to what we can do for the future Valeant CEO Joe Papa

Papa acknowledged the company has been receiving a lot of bad press lately, including allegations of buying companies and then jacking up drug prices to consumers and has had to appear before U.S. congressional committees.

In the meantime, the companys shares have dropped from $346 in August, 2015 to $30.80, its closing price on Friday.

Yes we have had some bad press, Papa said. My desire to join the company was to consolidate the business and continue to look to what we can do for the future. We want to stabilize it now, turn the business around and ultimately transform it to make a difference in patients lives. That is why I am here today. This is one of the very first steps to continue to show investment in the future.

Bloomberg reported this week Valeant is close to selling a large subsidiary in Egypt.

Papa said he figures it will take about three months to stabilize the business and then another one to two years to get some new drugs that are in development through the regulatory approvals and then another two to four years of organic growth before it gets back into acquisition mode.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Assiniboine Credit Union plans to close two of its downtown branches this fall and merge them with its head office on Main Street south.

In a letter sent to members of the branches in the Medical Arts Building on Kennedy Street and the Union Centre on Broadway, president and CEO Kevin Sitka said both branches will close Oct. 14. Their operations will be transferred to the head office at Main Street and York Avenue.

We continually examine our network to be sure that branches are not over-represented in any geography, Sitka said. The board of directors made the decision to close the Buffalo and Medical Arts branches, consolidating our downtown branch presence.

Sitka said the credit union first informed members of its intentions to merge the three downtown branches at its annual general meeting in April.

He reiterated the main reason is the board feels its no longer necessary to have three downtown branches, especially when two of them were within a couple of blocks of one another.

Another factor was the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries acquisition last year of the Medical Arts building, and its plans to renovate and expand the building.

Its not like each of our locations isnt important, he said. But this did allow us an opportunity to take a look at the downtown area and how we are providing services.

Sitka said the credit union expects to find jobs at its 16 Winnipeg branches for the 20 employees who will be affected.

In other news, members of the Austin and Portage credit unions voted to amalgamate their two institutions.

Our board and management groups put together a proposal that we believed would benefit our members, employees and communities  and with these votes, members validated that belief, Portage CEO Dave Omichinski said.

Austin board president Mike Vercaigne said the merger follows a trend in Canada. Credit unions large and small are increasingly seeing amalgamations as a way to respond to the rapid and highly competitive changes in our industry.

The amalgamation creates a new credit union with $525 million in assets, 17,500 members, and branches in Austin, Gladstone, MacGregor, Plumas, Oakville and Portage la Prairie.

The amalgamation will take effect Jan. 1, 2017, subject to regulatory approval.

 Murray McNeill
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This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Theres no doubt trade is critically important to the agricultural economy, particularly in places such as Manitoba where the productivity of farmers far exceeds the appetite of the resident population.

As the provinces Minister of Agriculture Ralph Eichler pointed out Tuesday in his presentation to the Senate committee studying agricultural trade, two-thirds of the food products manufactured in Manitoba leave the province.

Improved market access and fair trade rules are important.

However, a recent discussion paper released by agricultural economists with the University of Guelph highlights just how complex achieving that has become in world vastly different from the one envisaged when the first big agricultural deal was negotiated under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1995.

The so-called Uruguay Round was heralded as the start of a new era, largely because it introduced hard-fought disciplines to agricultural trade in the areas of market access, domestic support levels and export competition.

The agreement capped a decade-long trade war between the United States and European Union over global grain market share in which they used ridiculously high export subsidies to clear out surpluses  all the while driving down the export price for farmers everywhere.

Economists Douglas Hedley, Kamal Karunagoda and Al Mussell say there is now a new group of major exporters (such as India, Russia and Ukraine) and countries have become much more sophisticated in how they support farmers.

They argue the current framework for applying discipline to agricultural trade is an artifact of the policies of the EU, U.S. and Japan, which largely shaped the agreement that emerged from the Uruguay Round.

Agricultural trade has evolved significantly since the 1990s  today, we worry about natural capital, labour standards and competing claims/measures related to sustainability in foods. These all impact agricultural trade but were not contemplated in the trade policy framework of the Uruguay Round, they say.

Producer supports in OECD countries totaled $240 billion in 2014, which is not that much different than the levels paid out 20 years ago.

What has changed is the form of support. Market price support and payments made on farmers production have declined, but other alternatives are replacing them that are not so easily quantified or tracked.

Another shift has been in the countries offering support. Those countries still developing their economies see agricultural support as a fundamental part of their growth. India offers support to low-income farmers for inputs, which is exempt from the aggregate measures of support.

It is hard to argue that overall support to agriculture has really come down materially, the paper says.

These economists conclude the traditional methods for assessing agricultural supports and their impact on trade fairness are too porous to be effective.

For example, farmers using irrigation in the U.S. pay less than other users for their water. Should that be called a subsidy? Right now, it isnt. If farmers are not paying for the natural resource (water) at reasonable market rates faced by other users in the economy, then a subsidy exists, the paper says. Moreover, resources priced below rates that allow long-term sustainability of the resource results in eroding the natural environmental capital.

They cite two reasons Canada should aggressively seek a renewed and expanded framework for disciplining agricultural trade. Firstly, commodity prices are currently in a slump, which will put pressure on governments to increase their support to the agricultural sector.

Secondly, Canada has a lot to gain from trade rules that consider the trade impacts of concerns such as environmental performance, labour standards and animal welfare. Canadas supply management system is considered a subsidy, but what about other countries that support their industries through lax environmental standards?

Some of these issues are central to Canadas competitive advantage and interest in agri-food trade. A more meaningful set of disciplines on agricultural support is firmly in the Canadian interest, the paper concludes.

Laura Rance is editor of the Manitoba Co-operator and editorial director for Farm Business Communications. She can be reached at laura@fbcpublishing.com or 204-792-4382.
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This article was published 11/06/2016 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadas travel industry is getting ready to turn over a NewLeaf.

Stalled by regulatory issues in January, NewLeaf Travel Company is putting the finishing touches on some behind-the-scenes work and will be flying people across the country this summer.

Jim Young, president of the Winnipeg-based ultra-low-cost firm, said his team is testing a new credit card processing system.

Peter Power / The Canadian Press files Dean Dacko, Chief Commercial Officer of NewLeaf Travel, speaks at a press conference in the arrivals area of the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. As summer travel season gets underway, Canadians no doubt will be scanning the skies for bargain-priced flights.

I have the guys working overtime to get things ready. Were planning to be up and running in the summer with the same low fares and same great destinations, he said.

An announcement of NewLeafs official start is expected within the next two weeks.

NewLeaf made a big splash last June when it announced its pending arrival on the Canadian market with seven destination cities  Winnipeg, Halifax, Regina, Saskatoon, Kelowna, Abbotsford and Hamilton.

In January, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) announced a review of licensing regulations for indirect air service providers. NewLeaf, which had partnered with Kelowna-based Flair Airlines to provide the aircraft and crews, immediately suspended sales and refunded money to customers.

The CTA completed its review by the end of March and determined NewLeaf was not required to hold an air licence.

The regulatory environment for air travel is understandably strict, and because NewLeaf is technically a reseller of travel services, Young said the company has to be careful it doesnt portray itself as an airline on its website or in any promotional material.

We want to make sure were launching a really good service, one that everybody will be proud of, he said.

The on-the-ground turbulence isnt over, however. The Federal Court of Appeal agreed this week to hear out Gabor Lukacs, a Halifax-based air-passenger advocate, who contested the CTA decision. He will be filing a notice of appeal with the goal of having the case go to a hearing.

Im very pleased about this. This is a difficult case where the court has to check whether the government isnt overreaching its powers, he said.

Young said he didnt want to comment publicly on something before the courts, but he will be working in conjunction with the CTA on the matter.

The court did not say whether NewLeaf would have to put off its relaunch until the hearing.

But Robert Kokonis, president at aerospace consultancy AirTrav Inc., suspects NewLeaf may be trying to beef up investment before they launch again.

The airline business is a cash-intensive business, he said.

Kokonis said there is demand for discount carriers in Canada where base fares are low, but any add-ons, from luggage to seat selection, are considered extras and come with accompanying fees.

(Canada) is the only major aviation market in the world that doesnt have an ultra-low cost carrier, he said, noting a number of factors stand in the way.

We have a very high cost structure, fees, charges and taxes that scares away ultra-low-cost carriers. The successful ultra-low-cost carriers of the world in the U.S., in continental Europe and Asia, thrive on a very dense geographic area to offer flights.  Canada is very dispersed with not a huge population.

 with files from The Canadian Press
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 10/06/2016 (2329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  English Canada is one step closer to a gender-neutral national anthem after a dying MP managed to get himself to the House of Commons for a crucial vote on his bill.

Mauril Belanger, the MP for Ottawa-Vanier, was diagnosed with ALS last fall just weeks after he was re-elected for the eighth time. His health is deteriorating rapidly. He lost the ability to speak quickly and now uses a wheelchair.

In January he used an iPad digital voice app to introduce his bill to change the lyrics of O Canada from in all thy sons command to in all of us command. He introduced a similar bill in 2014 and it was defeated at second reading in April, 2015.

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press Members of Parliament applaud Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Belanger as his private members bill on changing the Canadian anthem is debated in the House of Commons Friday.

The Liberals and NDP have joined forces to try and get the bill passed in time for Belanger to see it done and are accusing the Conservatives of refusing Belanger that one accomplishment by blocking attempts to pass the bill quickly. They argue the bill has more than enough votes to see it pass eventually so all the Conservatives are doing by preventing swift passage is denying Belanger the opportunity to see it happen.

Their conduct thus far has not been appropriate in the circumstances, said Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. They think theyre standing up for a principle. What theyre doing is discriminating against a disabled person, and I think  I think thats very bad form.

The Conservatives say their objections are not about Belanger but about the fact most Conservative MPs have been told by their constituents to oppose the change.

Im thinking about the bill and our job that we have to do here as far as representing our constituents, Manitoba Conservative MP Candice Bergen said Friday. But I think all of us obviously feel  feel a lot of affection for Mauril and feel very, very sorry for what hes going through, what his family is going through. So I know its not about Mauril at all. Its just in terms of that its about  for me, its about the bill and being able to debate it fully.

Bergen said she is herself torn about the bills intentions, but has heard from many constituents who do not approve of it.

The bill was set for a vote at report stage Friday morning but, as the bills sponsor, Belanger had to be there for the vote to take place. The Liberals were not sure if that was possible, so on Thursday afternoon Liberal Whip Andrew Leslie sought unanimous consent to have the bill stand in his name if Belanger couldnt make it. Several Conservatives said no.

On Friday morning, Belanger arrived with medical aides, in a wheelchair, for the vote. It passed. The bill will now come up for third and final reading next week, and then go to the Senate for debate there. Belanger will have to be there for the vote next week as well unless the Conservatives give permission for another MP to sponsor it.

Attempts to change the anthems English lyrics have been made in Parliament three other times since 2001. As well, in 2010 Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in the throne speech plans to change the lyrics but the Conservatives received such a massive negative response about the idea, the government backed down just days later.

A poll last month found 62 per cent of Canadians support changing the lyrics.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 10/06/2016 (2329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a chaotic and horrific scene inside a popular Winnipeg restaurant. But the trail of evidence continued for several blocks away from the Salisbury House where one man was gunned down and another seriously wounded.

Patrol Sgt. Shawn Lowry of the K-9 told jurors Friday how he made a series of discoveries while trying to track a killer following the September 2012 attack.

I noticed members were already rushing inside, Lowry said of what was unfolding as he arrived at the Pembina Highway diner only moments after the frantic 911 call came in from a waitress. Lowry decided to take his dog, Griffin, and try to see if they could pick up a scent from the suspect, who was believed to have fled on foot.

Griffin detected a brief trace in the air, but it quickly evaporated. Lowry said thats likely because there was a belief the gunman had likely got into a vehicle.

But it wasnt long before their work paid off. Lowry found a Glock semi-automatic pistol and several rounds of ammunition that had been discarded on Stafford Street. After securing the evidence, Lowry then found a white shirt and two black gloves further down the street. All are believed to be connected to the double-shooting.

Devin Hall, 30, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder of 23-year-old Jeffrey Lau and attempted murder of one of Laus five friends who was sitting with him at the same table.

Jurors also heard Friday about gunshot residue that police analyzed from the gloves, along with the collection of shell casings and other evidence inside the restaurant. No fingerprints were found on the gun, but police did collect forensic evidence from other items seized.

Const. Susan Colleen Roy-Haegeman, a member of the identification unit, called it a significant scene, given the number of shots fired and damage to the victims and surrounding property. More than 70 different exhibits were collected.

Jurors have previously heard from Laus friend who was shot and wounded, along with the waitress who witnessed the attack. Both have been unable to identify the gunman because he was masked. Laus friend believed at least 20 shots were fired, while the waitress suspected there were as many as 50.

A short surveillance video was also played in court, which shows a gunman entering the restaurant and then quickly retreating after opening fire.

Lau was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. The other injured man spent more than three months in hospital recovering from serious injuries and undergoing extensive surgeries. His name is now protected by a publication ban. He told jurors earlier this week he believes this was a targeted hit against Lau, who was a known drug dealer.

The Crown has told jurors DNA evidence will play a big part of their case, which will continue next Tuesday with expected testimony from forensic experts.

www.mikeoncrime.com
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 10/06/2016 (2329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans seeking medical assistance in dying (MAID) are no longer required to seek permission from the courts under a new policy laid down by the province in the absence of federal legislation.

And, all members of a team assisting in a patients death will be free from prosecution in Manitoba as long as they meet certain guidelines, similar to protocols recently established in Alberta and British Columbia, a spokeswoman for the provincial Justice Department said Friday.

The new policy came into effect on Thursday, three days after Parliament missed a Supreme Court-imposed deadline to produce a new law governing assisted suicide. The contentious Bill C-14, an attempt by the federal Liberals to set out new rules on MAID, remains before the Senate.

It is difficult to say whether Manitobas new policy will be more or less cumbersome for affected patients than having to seek court permission. In recent months, three unnamed Manitobans have successfully applied to the courts for medical assistance in dying.

Their identities have been protected by the courts. Doctors, nurses and other medical team members participating in these cases have also been protected from prosecution by court order.

On Friday, responding to a request for information from the Free Press, a government spokeswoman, who asked not to be quoted by name, said lawyers in the provincial Justice Department will now review on a case-by-case basis medical assessments and supporting materials based on Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons guidelines, to determine whether a patient meets the criteria for MAID set down by a 2015 Supreme Court ruling.

If, based on the materials provided, Manitoba Justice is of the opinion that the patient meets the criteria, the relevant health care professionals will be advised that no prosecution would be commenced or continued under s. 241 of the Criminal Code (counselling or aiding suicide) for providing MAID services to that patient in accordance with relevant professional standards, the spokeswoman said in an email.

Neither Justice Minister Heather Stefanson nor Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen could be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Officials with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba were also unavailable.

A statement on the Colleges website notes that, as of June 7, there is no legislation that governs MAID, formerly referred to as physician assisted death. As such (the Supreme Court) criteria will apply to MAID, it adds.

The statement urges physicians who are asked to provide medical assistance in dying to consider obtaining legal advice.

The High Court ruled in February 2015 that it was not illegal for a physician to assist a competent adult to die where that person clearly consents to the termination of life, and has a grievous and irremediable medical condition that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to that person.

The court gave Parliament a year to come up with a new law, and later extended the deadline until June 6.

The federal Liberals passed a bill in the House of Commons that would have placed more restrictions on assisted death than the court had done. But it has yet to be passed by the Senate.

Earlier Friday, Lori Lamont, a senior official with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said in the three court-approved cases of assisted death in Manitoba, medical teams had been protected from prosecution by court order.

Now, the Justice Department is providing those assurances for medical staff.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 10/06/2016 (2329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Scientists from the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg werent used to seeing the effect their work has on people.

But during the last two years, as many of them travelled to West Africa to help diagnose Ebola patients during the worst outbreak of the virus in the world, they found out their work was more than appreciated.

The best 20 minutes of my day was the drive through Kailahun, (Sierra Leone) with the little kids yelling I love you, Paul Sandstrom, director of the national HIV lab, told the Free Press.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Biologist Allen Grolla (from left), Dr. Paul Sandstrom, Dr. Jim Strong, Dr. Matthew Gilmour, lab technician Yvon Deschambault and Dr. Heidi Wood stand beside a mobile lab at the National Microbiology Lab on Arlington Street. The scientists (except for Dr. Gilmour) were deployed to West Africa as part of the bio-response team and helped treat Ebola victims.

There were some reports foreign medical staff werent welcome during the outbreak because of misinformation and suspicion. Sandstrom and two of his colleagues from the lab said they never experienced that.

I was always exceptionally welcome, he said.

Sandstrom, Dr. Jim Strong and Dr. Heidi Wood talked to the Free Press last week about their experience during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. It has been almost six months since the last team from the lab returned to Canada from the outbreak zone, now that the number of cases of Ebola is almost zero.

It was an experience they learned from personally and professionally. The greatest reward was seeing the people their work was helping.

Thats not something most of us experience on a daily basis, Wood said. You feel like youre really making a contribution.

During an outbreak, one of the first calls the World Health Organization makes is to the lab in Winnipeg. It has developed a mobile lab  a pared-down version of the high-tech equipment they use at home  that can be packed into 16 boxes. Its one of the many contributions the lab has made in the global fight against disease. It allows for the rapid diagnosis of an illness in the middle of an outbreak, which helps guide everything from surveillance to contact-tracing.

Sandstrom said its rare that something a scientist does at 10 a.m. has an impact by noon, but thats the way it was during the outbreak.

Strong said it was his fourth outbreak since 2005. Winnipeg scientists have helped fight outbreaks of Ebola, the Marburg virus and the Rift Valley fever. In this outbreak, teams were on the ground in Sierra Leone and Guinea from June 2014 to December 2015. They conducted more than 3,000 tests.

It wasnt easy or well-organized. When the first team arrived, WHO officials werent sure if they were still needed. They spent two weeks being moved from place to place. They were eventually sent to Central Guinea, where the outbreak had started. Later, WHO officials decided the need was greater in Sierra Leone.

So we were loading all of our lab boxes into a couple of wooden canoes to take us across the river into Sierra Leone, Strong said.

In Sierra Leone, they connected with Doctors Without Borders and set up their mobile lab at one of their treatment centres. The arrival of the Winnipeg mobile lab allowed the treatment centre to test as many as 40 samples a day, quadrupling their capacity.

The (Doctors Without Borders) people were extremely happy to have us there, Strong said. Ebola looks like a lot of other diseases. It could be malaria, typhoid, shigella. Because they had a result within a few hours of drawing a blood sample, they could really focus their efforts on where they were doing surveillance.

Other than the occasional case thats been handled quickly, the outbreak is over. It killed 11,325 people out of the 28,650 people who contracted Ebola. The previous biggest outbreak saw about 425 cases and 225 deaths.

  

Seventeen years ago, the National Microbiology Lab first opened on Arlington Street. It remains the only level 4 containment lab in Canada, which is capable of handling viruses such as Ebola. Level 4 is the highest level of biosafety precautions for working with the most deadly agents.

The mandate is to respond to any infectious disease, said Dr. Matthew Gilmour, scientific director of the lab. The fundamental question we try to answer is to take an organism from an unknown state to a known state. You know what diseases it can cause, what traits it has, whether it has resistance to antibiotics or antivirals.

From anthrax to the Zika virus, HIV to pandemic flus, the lab has been at the forefront. It worked on the surveillance of the West Nile virus after it arrived in Canada in 2001, played a critical role during the SARS outbreak in Toronto in 2003 and identified the H1N1 virus during the 2009 flu pandemic.

Its scientists developed an Ebola vaccine that initial trials showed has 100 per cent efficacy. They also helped to create a drug to treat Ebola, known as ZMapp. Both were instrumental in bringing the West African outbreak under control.

Now public attention has turned to Zika.

Rare in humans and limited to a region around the equator in Africa and Asia until 2007, Zika made its way to the Americas in 2015 and is now considered a pandemic. Since 2015, it has appeared in 36 countries in North and South America. In Brazil alone, nearly 150,000 people have tested positive for it. With Rio de Janeiro set to host the Summer Olympic Games in a few weeks, concerns have mounted about the possible spread of Zika around the world.

While it causes only mild illness in most people, Zika can cause microcephaly, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development in a fetus carried by an infected pregnant woman. It has been linked to an increased risk of GuillainBarre syndrome in adults. Since last October, more than 7,800 babies were born with microcephaly in Brazil.

Lyle Stafford / The Canadian Press files Winnipeg scientists at the National Microbiology Lab created a mobile lab that was used at a Doctors Without Borders centre in West Africa during the deadly Ebola outbreak in 2014.

Zika hasnt appeared in Canada in mosquitoes as of yet. However, Gilmour says the lab got a jump-start on the virus three years ago when a traveller from Thailand arrived in Canada and became sick. He was tested for dengue fever, but the result was negative. Doctors were stumped, so they called the lab, which figured out he had Zika.

Gilmour said it is part of the labs mandate to have diagnostics to all the emerging diseases in the world so there is capacity in Canada to respond to anything.

Gilmour said because of the 2013 case, the lab had a live sample of the virus to use in developing better tests. As the outbreak grows, and demand for better and more accessible testing increases, the lab has given some provincial labs the capability to conduct one of the two Zika tests and is working with commercial manufacturers to make the other one more accessible as well.

As of Thursday, there were 114 positive tests for Zika in Canada among people who had travelled to a region where it is prevalent. One case was transmitted through sexual contact.

  

Strong, Wood and Sandstrom are slowly settling back into life at the lab.

I dont want to say I was depressed when I got back home, but in some ways it was a bit of a letdown, Sandstrom said.

No children line the streets to shout I love you as they drive to work in Winnipeg. When they finish a test that declares a patient cured, they dont see the patient get discharged in an heartwarming ceremony. In Africa, patients were given a certificate indicating they were cured as well as a change of clothes. They would be released from the high-risk zone ,and medical staff made a point of touching the patient to indicate they no longer had Ebola.

The discharge ceremonies were wonderful  definitely a high point in my career, Sandstrom said.

A ceremony that stands out involved the release of a boy who had lost both his parents to Ebola. He was ecstatic to finally be declared healthy and was able to go home with his brothers.

Despite a level of fear of Ebola in North America they say was unwarranted, their own friends and families were never concerned they might bring Ebola back to Canada. When they returned, they were asked to monitor themselves for symptoms for three weeks, but they were not quarantined.

None of the lab scientists got sick.

Wood said her biggest irritation was fear by North Americans.

We had nothing to be fearful of here, she said. The media really focused on the wrong region of the world.

While working conditions were tough  long hours, no days off, working in tents in 35 C weather and only basic amenities, cold showers and not a lot of food  all three say they cherish the experience and would do it again in a heartbeat.

If I was required, Id be back on the plane as soon as I could pack my bags, Sandstrom said.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Two children were injured Friday morning in a two-vehicle accident in Rollingstone.

Thomas Gallas, 71, of Rollingstone was turning east onto Hwy. 248 around 7:40 a.m. Friday when he struck the vehicle of Jennifer Mulyck, 47, of Winona as she drove east with two children, ages 6 and 8, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

The two children and Mulyck suffered non-life threatening injuries in the crash. Thomas Gallas was reportedly uninjured. June Morrison-Gallas, 61, of Rollingstone, a passenger in Gallas vehicle, suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Those injured were all transported to Winona Health, the Patrol said.

The Winona County Sheriffs Department and Wabasha County Sheriffs Office and Police Department assisted at the scene.

Four injured in Wabasha County crash

Four people were injured Friday morning in a Wabasha County crash.

Matthew Thoen, 45, of Ramsey, Minn., was northbound on Hwy. 61 around 8:30 a.m. Friday when he struck a vehicle that had been westbound on Wabasha County Road 30 and then attempted to cross Hwy. 61.

The driver of the vehicle, Kathryn Swanson, 41, of Wabasha and her two passengers, girls aged 14 and 15, all suffered non-life threatening injuries in the crash.

The passenger in Thoens vehicle, Cindy Adler, 42, of Ramsey, Minn., suffered non-life threatening injuries.

One injured in

St. Charles crash

Alcohol was a factor in a one-vehicle rollover in Winona County early Friday morning, according to the State Patrol.

Just after midnight on Friday, Christopher Florek, 20, of St. Charles was on state Hwy. 74 when his vehicle entered the ditch on a driveway approach and rolled.

Florek suffered non-life threatening injuries in the crash. Alcohol was detected in his system, the Patrol said.

The St. Charles Police Department and the Winona County Sheiffs Office assisted on the scene of the crash
Wold Architects and Engineers has been selected to perform the feasibility study for the future use of Winona public school buildings.

The feasibility study is the next step in the process begun more than 18 months ago to bring Winona School District educational facilities in line with current and projected enrollments and the changing demands of education in the 21st century.

The St. Paul firm was selected over HSR Associates of La Crosse. Both firms made presentations to the WAPS school board June 2.

Board members advocating Wolds candidacy cited its track record with the Winona School District and its success in helping pass more than 50 school referenda in recent years. Wolds presentation stressed the firms experience in building consensus in planning and moving forward with building projects.

Jay Kohner took note that the Wold representative had pointed out that the firm had experience in closing schools  a situation the board is likely to face in coming months. They know how to help us do that, Kohner said. People are going to want to know what will be come of that building. Thats part of consensus building and will help in a referendum.

Brain Zeller and Mohamed Elhindi objected to Wolds bid for the project  about $60,000  being four times HSRs $15,000 bid.

Supenintendent Stephen West said that Wolds bid included more extensive pre-referendum assistance and considerably more detailed analysis of the condition and potential for reuse of current buildings.

Ben Baratto observed that in the context of a $40 million annual district budget and a project that is likely to run $40 million, that money may be well spent.

Ultimately, the board voted 5 to 2 in favor of Wold, with Zeller and Elhindi dissenting.

As required by statute, the board formally accepted Elhindis resignation from the board effective July 21. At the April 21, 2016 school board meeting, Dr. Mohamed Elhindi announced that he would be stepping down from the board following the death of his son.

The board passes resolutions formally accepting Elhindis resignation and declaring his seat open for election in the fall.

I appreciate your support and cherish the moments I have worked with you, Elhindi said.
BENTON, Kentucky  Pastor Richie Clendenen stepped away from the pulpit, microphone in hand. He walked the aisles of the Christian Fellowship Church, his voice rising to describe the perils believers face in 21st-century America.

The Bible says in this life you will have troubles, you will have persecutions. And Jesus takes it a step further: Youll be hated by all nations for my names sake, he said.

Let me tell you, the minister said, that time is here.

The faithful in the pews needed little convincing. Even in this deeply religious swath of western Kentucky  a state where about half the residents are evangelical  conservative Christians feel under siege.

For decades, they say, they have been steadily pushed to the sidelines of American life and have come under attack for their most deeply held beliefs, born of their reading of Scripture and their religious mandate to evangelize. The 1960s ban on prayer in public schools is still a fresh wound. Every legal challenge to a public Nativity scene or Ten Commandments display is another marginalization. Theyve been steamrolled, they say, and misunderstood.

Religious conservatives could once count on their neighbors to at least share their view of marriage. Those days are gone. Public opinion on same-sex relationships turned against conservatives even before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide.

Now, many evangelicals say liberals want to seal their cultural victory by silencing the church. Liberals call this paranoid. But evangelicals see evidence of the threat in every new uproar over someone asserting a right to refuse recognition of same-sex marriages  whether it be a baker, a government clerk, or the leaders of religious charities and schools.

At a time when Americas divisions  right-left, urban-rural, black-white and more  spill daily into peoples lives, many Christian conservatives find themselves on the other side of the divide between us and them.

Theres nobody hated more in this nation than Christians, Clendenen preached on a recent Sunday. Welcome to Americas most wanted: You.

Evangelicals like those at Christian Fellowship are wrestling with their declining clout in public life.

The U.S. remains solidly religious and Christian, and evangelicals are still a formidable bloc in the Republican Party. But a series of losses in church membership and in public policy battles, along with Americas changing demographics, are weakening evangelical influence, even in some of the most conservative regions of the country.

Nobody would have guessed the pace of change. Thats why so many people are yelling we have to take our country back, said Ed Stetzer, executive director of Lifeway Research, an evangelical consulting firm in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Protestant majority that dominated American culture through U.S. history has dipped below 50 percent.

Liberal-leaning Protestant groups started shrinking earlier, but some evangelical churches are now in decline. The conservative Southern Baptist Convention lost 200,000 from its ranks in 2014 alone, dropping to 15.5 million, its smallest number in more than two decades.

At the same time, the Bible Belt, as a cultural force, is collapsing, said the Rev. Russell Moore, head of the Southern Baptist public policy agency.

Nearly a quarter of Americans say they no longer affiliate with a faith tradition. Its the highest share ever recorded in surveys, indicating the stigma for not being religious has eased  even in heavily evangelical areas. Americans who say they have no ties to organized religion now make up about 23 percent of the population, just behind evangelicals, who comprise about 25 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.

People dont have to be culturally identified with evangelical Christianity in order to be seen as good people, good neighbors or good Americans, Moore said.

Politically, old guard religious right organizations such as the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition are greatly diminished or gone, and no broadly unifying leader or organization has replaced them. In this years presidential race, the social policy issues championed by Christian conservatives are not central, even amid the furor over bathroom access for transgender people.

White evangelical voters remain very influential in early primaries, and they turn out at high rates in general elections. But they cant match the growth rate of groups that tend to support Democrats  Latinos, younger people and Americans with no religious affiliation.

No issue has more starkly illuminated conservative Christians waning influence than the struggle over same-sex marriage.

Evangelicals were all in with their opposition to gay rights starting back with the Moral Majority in the 1980s, said Robert Jones, author of The End of White Christian America. In the 2004 election, Americans appeared to be on the same page, approving bans on same-sex marriage in all 11 states where the measures were on the ballot. But by 2011, more than five in 10 Americans supported gay marriage. And now the business wing of the Republican Party is deserting social conservatives on the issue, largely backing anti-discrimination policies. Younger Americans, including younger evangelicals, are especially accepting of same-sex relationships, which means evangelicals have lost a generation on this issue, Jones said.

This issue is so prominent and so symbolic, said Jones, chief executive of Public Religion Research Institute, which specializes in surveys about religion and public life. It was such a decisive loss, not only in the actual courts, the legal courts, but also in the court of public opinion. Clendenen saw a lot of fear, a lot of anger in his church after the Supreme Court ruling.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump uses rhetoric that has resonance for Christian conservatives who fear their teachings on marriage will soon be outlawed as hate speech.

Were going to protect Christianity and I can say that, Trump has said. I dont have to be politically correct.

How to navigate this new reality?

Some conservative Christians are determined to even more fiercely wage the culture wars, while others plan to withdraw as much as possible into their own communities.

There is, however, a segment that advocates confidently upholding their beliefs, but doing so in a gentler way that rejects the aggressive tone of the old religious right and takes up other issues, such as ending human trafficking, that can cross ideological lines.

Clendenen is cut from this mold. Now 38, he came of age when the religious right was at its apex, and he concluded any mix of partisan politics with Christianity was toxic for the church. He said evangelicals are partly responsible for the backlash against them because of the hateful language some used in the marriage debates. I dont see the LGBT community as my enemy, he said.

Still, he uses the word persecution to describe what Christians are facing in the U.S., even though he feels strange doing so.

Preaching, Clendenen urged congregants to hold fast to their positions in a country that has grown hostile to them.

Dont give up, he said. Dont let your light go out.

Nobody would have guessed the pace of change. Thats why so many people are yelling we have to take our country back. Ed Stetzer, executive director of evangelical consulting firm Lifeway Research
Music has always been a big part of their lives with Harlan being a music director in Merrill, Green Bay, and Horicon and Carol a private organ and piano teacher. At present, Carol is a lobby pianist at Beaver Dam Community Hospital and Harlan plays organ and sings in the choir at St. Stephens Lutheran Church, Horicon. Both are on the board of the Dodge County Concert Association. Since retirement, they have had their own music ministry and performed extensively in Wisconsin and many other states. They were featured in various Daily Citizen articles most recently about their program: Musical Instruments of Bible Times. They participated in the 2015 Daily Citizen Valentine contest: Sharing a Love Story.
Thank you for your service.

Youve said that many times recently, and meant every word to every soldier. Thank you for keeping us protected. Thank you for your bravery. Thank you for your sacrifice. And once youve read Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach, youll also thank those who serve our servicemen and women.

Chickens are not ducks.

Nevertheless, chicken carcasses are what the U.S. Military uses to test its equipment to ensure that its safe from birdstrike, which describes those instances when flying bird (duck, goose, even starling) meets flying machine. Birdstrike kills more than just birds, so the military needs to know its equipment can handle feathered foestherefore, it uses a chicken gun to shoot pullets, not bullets.

And that, says Mary Roach, is most of what I have to say about guns. Instead of focusing on artillery and battles in Grunt, she focuses on the fight to keep our troops comfortable, hydrated, healthy, and alive.

While it might seem easy, for instance, to outfit many thousand people in identical clothing, what our troops wear is a kind of weapon. The U.S. government hires fashion designers to develop uniforms that are weather-appropriate, as fireproof as possible, and that can repel chemicals. Even the buttons are tested extensively: specifications, says Roach, run to twenty-two pages.

As for the vehicles troops use for transport, Roach says that engineers must constantly modify them for the safety of our soldiers. That often means that Strykers carry up to five tons of extra protection on their frames, much of it tested on the cadavers of people who serve without actually enlisting.

Military scientists know how to protect the soldiers hearing, and other um, equipment farther below on the body; says Roach, thanks to the transgender community, they know how to fix injuries there. Others strive to teach medics to think in the midst of chaos. They study diarrhea, sweat, bugs, stinky smells, and sharks. And they know that sleep is one of a militarys greatest defenses.

Camouflage is a familiar sight these days, and its usually worn by someone you thank for their service. For different reasons, the creators of camouflage deserve appreciation, too, as do others who keep soldiers safe. Grunt explains further.

Now, mind you, there are no vivid recreations of battles in this book, but author Mary Roach tells readers about the aftermath of battle. You wont get specs on equipment, but shell tell you about how science has improved on the gear soldiers use. What you will get, however, is a curious-minded tour through the science of war and real, sometimes gruesome but always fascinating peeks far beyond the barracks. And Roach does it with a delightfully lighthearted-yet-serious approach. Salute!

Supporting our troops is more than a verbal thank you. The surprise is that it also comes from laboratories, volunteers, manufacturers, and exhaustive research, and this book tells you how. If you love  or were!  a soldier youll want it, because missing Grunt would be a disservice.
The Columbus Community Veterans Memorial in Firemans Park continues to grow, with three new pavers honoring local veterans added before Memorial Day this year.

The new pavers honor Laurel Salzman, who served as a linguist in the Air Force from 1992 to 2012; William Bergerson, who earned a Purple Heart when he was wounded in World War II; and Major Kevin Theede, 7th SFG Airborne, who served in the Army from 1977 to 1990.

Willard Weiss, a Korean War veteran and past commander of the American Legion Lange-Ostrander-Hurd Post 62 in Columbus, is the chairman of the memorial, and John and Retta Kurth are secretary and treasurer.

Weiss son-in-law, retired Lt. Col. Eugene (Brownie) Ehlers of the Air Force, does the work setting the brick pavers, which are created by Pechmann Memorials of Madison.

Weiss encouraged area residents to stop by and see the memorial when they have a chance.

The memorial dates back to 1927, when a World War I-era cannon and plaque stood in honor of veterans from that war. The cannon was melted down during a World War II scrap metal drive. The memorial was reimagined and built into its current form in 2007, following the 2004 death of Capt. John Hans Kurth of Columbus, who was killed in action while serving in Iraq.

Brick pavers, which cost $100, cover the walking area of the memorial. They commemorate community residents whove served in all branches of the Armed Forces, listing their name, rank, branch served, dates served and other notable achievements.

Applications for new pavers are available in a box at the base of the memorial and also at the Old Garage Barbershop and Salon on Ludington Street. Applications and checks should be mailed to Weiss at 640 Farnham Street, #8, Columbus, WI 53925. Checks should be made out to Columbus Community Veterans Memorial.

While the new memorials square off the current block of pavers, Weiss said there is still plenty of room to add new rows.
At Home Again assisted living, located at 110 Stuart St. in Columbus, will break ground on a second building on an adjacent lot as early as next week.

The new building will be a designated memory care facility, housing residents who suffer from Alzheimers and other forms of dementia, owner Jerry Connery said.

Theres a need for this facility, Connery said. Our whole goal is to keep our residents here, so they dont have to move away when they get to a certain level dementia-wise.

At the present time, when residents develop memory problems and wandering becomes an issue, they need to move offsite to a secure memory care unit, which is hard on them, Connery said.

Now, if they have to move (from assisted living to memory care), theyll still know the staff and the management. It will be an easier transition.

The new facility will feature locked doors that are designed to prevent people with dementia from wandering off and will include 12 units. Each unit will have about 300 square feet of living space and its own bathroom, similar to an efficiency apartment but without kitchen facilities.

There will also be an outside courtyard and gazebo area that will allow residents to be outdoors in a safe, controlled environment.

At Home Again opened in Columbus in 2011 and was expanded in 2012. There are 32 units in the the assisted living building, including a combination of one-bedroom and efficiency apartments.

At Home Again is owned by Connery, his wife Patty, their son Andy, and Marty and Melissa OConnor.

The group also owns similar facilities in Rio and Cambridge. The Rio building is assisted living only at this time, but Connery said there are plans in the works to reopen another building at the site as a memory care facility. The Cambridge facility, which opened last October, is a combination of assisted living and memory care.

Connery said he expects the new memory care building in Columbus to be completed and ready to open by late September or October.

It will be a good fit for us and good for the city of Columbus, he said.
The impulse of some conservatives for self-destruction this year seems to have no limits. Many of the same people who paved the way for Donald Trump are now trying to excommunicate from polite conservative company the men in the best position to minimize the presumptive GOP presidential nominees damage.

Thats the only way to read the conservative journalists who are joining Democrats in denouncing House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for saying they would vote for Trump, albeit without embracing his rhetoric or all of his agenda. This has offended various Beltway grandees who are lecturing the two leaders that they have besmirched their good names, and for all time.

We can understand why the left takes this line, which is partisan and opportunistic. Democrats know that Ryan in particular doesnt share Trumps political style or his views on many issues, especially immigration.

But they want to use Trump as a battering ram to retake the Senate and House. Then they can go about fulfilling their Sanders-Clinton-Obama agenda of expanding the entitlement state without opposition. The swarm of tut-tutting progressive columnists want Trump to destroy the GOP.

The question is why conservatives would play along. Journalists on the right and left can afford to indulge their political preferences because they are only responsible for themselves. Political leaders have to consider the consequences of their actions for their institutions. For Ryan and McConnell, this means preserving GOP majorities as a check against either Trump or Hillary Clinton.

Conservative pundits say Trump has authoritarian tendencies, but then they should want principled leaders in positions of power to restrain him. This week Ryan and his GOP colleagues are starting to roll out their own agenda for governing next year. It includes tax, health-care and financial reforms, as well as measures to reduce poverty and restore Congressional authority.

This is smart politics, not least because it gives GOP candidates for the House and Senate something other than Trump to promote and talk about. Voters will be able to see that Republicans stand for something beyond Trumps passions.

Theres no guarantee Trump would agree to Ryans agenda, but theres no chance if Ryan publicly refuses to vote for him. The speakership is the second most powerful elected position in Washington. Wed rather have a free-trade, pro-immigration reformer like Ryan in that position than a Trumpian yes-man.

A GOP congressional majority is even more significant if Clinton wins. The wily McConnell knows how to use Senate levers to stop legislation and block judicial nominees. And with the GOPs narrow Senate majority in jeopardy, Ryans House may be the last barrier to a Nancy Pelosi-Elizabeth Warren-Hillary Clinton government.

It isnt clear what Ryans critics want him to do in any event. Do they really expect a House speaker to deny support to the GOP nominee, making the Trump-Ryan division a running story through November? Theres nothing like a bloody Republican civil war to dampen turnout and produce an election rout for the other side. As for a third-party run, no one has volunteered for that duty precisely because it has almost no chance of success.

Ryans endorsement doesnt include a vow of silence. In the last week he has joined other Republicans in criticizing Trump for saying a federal judge is biased against him merely because he is Mexican, saying Tuesday the remarks are the definition of a racist comment. He and Republicans in Congress can score their nominees excesses while still believing he is superior to Clinton.

The criticism of Ryan comes with particular ill-grace from the conservatives who seeded the ground for Trump. Many of the most devout Never-Trumpers have spent years fanning grassroots hostility against immigration and Mexicans.

They also blocked Ryans efforts to reach a compromise on immigration reform to secure the border while recognizing the needs of the U.S. labor market. Trump saw his chance to hijack their softer hostility with his wall and mass deportation, and now these conservatives profess to be shocked that he is taking his ethnic broadsides to new lows.

The Trump ascendancy is a dangerous moment for Republicans and conservative ideas. But unless the convention delegates in Cleveland stage an uprising and nominate someone else, Trump or Clinton will be the next president. Those who want to preserve space for better conservative politics should support politicians who share those beliefs, not engage in Trump-like purges.
From tragedy to triumph

A confluence of happenstance, luck, skill and science allowed vet to get embryos from a beloved show Guernsey after having to euthanize her.
US President Barack Obama has green-lighted a significant escalation of the war being waged by the American military in Afghanistan, US media reported Thursday evening.

The expanded role, approved by President Obama barely a year and a half after he proclaimed an end to the war in Afghanistan, includes vaguely defined authority to carry out air strikes and engage in ground combat, whenever US commanders deem such operations necessary to enable strategic effects on the battlefield.

The new guidelines allow greater opportunities for U.S. forces to accompany and enable Afghan conventional forces, both on the ground and in the air, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday.

U.S. forces will more proactively support Afghan conventional forces, Earnest said.

The decision came only a few days after a group of retired generals and senior diplomats, including former Afghanistan commanders David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal, issued an open letter to Obama urging him to delay a planned reduction in the deployment of US forces.

Ongoing discussions between US Commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the White House are likely to yield further expansions of the Pentagons operations in Afghanistan.

In the coming days, the White House is expected to expand the authority of U.S. commanders to strike the Taliban and do whatever else is necessary to defend the Kabul government, according to administration insiders cited by the Associated Press.

There is a broad desire across the Obama administration to give the military greater ability to help the Afghans fight and win the war, the AP wrote.

Judging from the formulations employed by the corporate media, one can only assume that the new war guidelines include authority to strike at Taliban sanctuaries on the Pakistani side of the increasingly tense and militarized Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In its characterization of the policy changes, the New York Times noted: Airstrikes will no longer have to be justified as necessary to defend American troops. United States commanders will now be allowed to use air power against the Taliban when they see fit.

American forces will also be permitted to accompany regular Afghan troops into combat against the Taliban, the Times wrote.

Though portrayed in US media as the outcome of months of debate, the decision to authorize expanded combat operations was essentially a foregone conclusion. The Pentagons plans to revive and expand the US war in Afghanistan, now in its fifteenth year, have been an open secret for months.

Washington is determined to maintain a strategic presence in Afghanistan, including its massive Bagram military base and a network of facilities throughout the country, which straddles crucial commercial routes connecting South Asia and China with the resources of the Caspian Sea Basin and the Persian Gulf.

After a decade and a half of continuous US warfare and occupation, waged at the cost of more than 2,000 US lives, at least $700 billion, and unfathomable death and destruction throughout Afghanistan, the Kabul regime remains so fragile that it can only be defended through a comprehensive renewal of the US war.

Afghan forces need air and ground support from our American ally on an indefinite basis. Afghanistan doesnt support any reduction of US troops, and their broadened presence is necessary in combating terrorism, Afghan government spokesman Shah Hussain said Friday.

With the US-backed Afghan government tottering in the face of Taliban offensives in the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, and Uruzgan and the northern province of Kunduz, the White House and Pentagon evidently concluded that no agreement produced by the Quad talksbetween Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the UScould satisfy the requirements of US strategy in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

In a deliberate ploy to scuttle the Quad negotiations, the Obama administration authorized the assassination of Taliban leader Mullah Aktar Mansour, carried out on May 21 in Pakistans Baluchistan province. Mansour was on the verge of agreeing to join the US and Chinese-led talks, Pakistani officials said Friday.

The arming of US officers with general authority to conduct air and ground raids against a Taliban insurgency that is rooted in Pakistans tribal areas, coming just weeks after the provocative killing of Mansour, carries ominous implications.

The strike on Mansour, launched just three days after US representatives vowed to seek a negotiated solution via the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) at the QCGs fifth meeting on May 18, has already strained US-Pakistan relations to the breaking point.

Mansours targeting has vitiated US-Pakistan bilateral relations, Pakistani delegates warned Friday, during talks with General Nicholson and US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Olson.

Just prior to Fridays talks, Pakistani foreign affairs official Sartaj Aziz warned that the time has come to review our relations with the US, saying that the killing of Mansour damaged mutual trust between Washington and Islamabad.

In declaring open season on the Taliban, American imperialism is playing with fire in a Central and South Asia geopolitical tinderbox that has already been driven to the brink of war by Washingtons anti-China Pivot to Asia.

A US offensive against the Taliban will inevitably draw American forces into combat along the imperialist-drawn Durand line, where the Afghan and Pakistani governments are engaged in a worsening confrontation.

In early May, Pakistani efforts to develop new fortifications provoked a standoff with Afghan forces, including the complete closure of the frontier for several days. Islamabad has lodged protests in recent days over alleged Afghan intelligence agents caught attempting the crossing while disguised as refugees. On Friday, at least 40 people were killed by a bomb attack in the Afghan border province of Nangarhar.
On Friday, June 17, Chris Marsden, a member of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site from Britain, will speak in Berlin at Humboldt University on the referendum for British withdrawal from the EU, and on the partys campaign for an active boycott.

Marsden will explain why both the Remain and the Leave camps are reactionary, standing for austerity, xenophobia, the destruction of workers' rights and militarism. Opponents of the EU believe that these aims can best be realised on a national level, while the yes camp are convinced that the interests of the ruling elite can be better advanced inside the EU.

The only progressive alternative to nationalism, social cuts and the threat of war is the unification of European workers on the basis of a socialist programthe struggle for the United Socialist States of Europe. The resurgence of class struggle in Europecommencing with the wave of strikes in France, Belgium and Greececreates the conditions for the realization of this perspective and gives it enormous urgency.

Friday, June 17, at 18:30

Humboldt University (Auditorium 2097)

Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin
In his online endorsement of Hillary Clinton to succeed him in the White House, President Obama declared that she was more qualified than any previous candidate for the presidency. A report Friday in the Wall Street Journal indicates that these qualifications include personal participation in approving drone-missile assassinations.

Clintons role in the chain of command leading to the incineration of thousands of people in Pakistan, most of them innocent civilians, is one of the secrets concealed in the long-running investigation of her use of a private email server while Secretary of State in the Obama administration.

The Wall Street Journal article reports that in 2011 and 2012, after a series of internal disputes between the CIA and the State Department over how drone missile strikes in Pakistan were complicating US diplomatic relations with the government in Islamabad, the State Department was given the right to veto missile strikes if their timing was considered especially provocative to the Pakistani government.

The US Ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, or another official at the embassy, would be informed of drone strikes in advance by the CIA, and would then consult with the State Department, going up the line all the way to Secretary of State Clinton, about whether to formally concur or non-concur in the action.

According to the Journal, such communications would normally pass through the internal State Department communications system, with Clinton given oral briefing and responding in the same way. However, there were some instances, usually when officials were on vacation or during holiday periods, or when the high-security system was too cumbersome and an immediate reply was needed, when an aide would send Clinton an email about an impending strike, for her response.

The Journal wrote: The vaguely worded messages didnt mention the CIA, drones or details about the militant targets, officials said.

These emails are apparently among those now considered top-secret by the intelligence agencies, although they were not so classified by the State Department at the time. As the Journal noted, The CIA drone campaign, though widely reported in Pakistan, is treated as secret by the U.S. government. Under strict U.S. classification rules, U.S. officials have been barred from discussing strikes publicly and even privately outside of secure communications systems.

Significantly, the Journal, whose editorial page is ferociously hostile to Clinton and treats her use of a private email server as a major criminal offense, reported that Several law-enforcement officials said they dont expect any criminal charges to be filed as a result of the investigation, although a final review of the evidence will be made only after an expected FBI interview with Mrs. Clinton this summer.

It has been clear for more than a year that the email controversy is being driven by sections of the military-intelligence apparatus allied to the Republican Party and seeking an even harder line in US foreign policy than that pursued by the Obama-Clinton administration. A series of leaks has kept the issue before the public to undermine Clintons political standing and, potentially, sabotage her campaign entirely.

What is remarkable about the latest revelation is that it does link Clinton directly to criminal activity, only not in the sense long alleged by her right-wing political opponents. The criminal activity is her personal participation in the campaign of drone-missile assassination, conducted by the CIA and Pentagon at the direction of President Obama, in complete violation of international law.

The Wall Street Journal account indicates that State Department opposition to specific drone missile strikes was related entirely to problems of timinga mass incineration coming on the eve of sensitive US-Pakistani talks or the visit of a top US official to Islamabadand did not represent any objection to the program itself.

The newspaper reported, Only once or twice during Mrs. Clintons tenure at State did U.S. diplomats object to a planned CIA strike, according to congressional and law-enforcement officials familiar with the emails.

As for the CIAs concerns about secrecynow given voice by Republican officials, from congressional representatives on up to Donald Trumpthe Journal account concedes that the drone missile program was widely publicized in Pakistan.

Despite being treated as top secret by the CIA, the drone program has long been in the public domain in Pakistan, the newspaper noted. Television stations there go live with reports of each strike, undermining U.S. efforts to foster goodwill and cooperation against militants through billions of dollars in American aid.

The language is priceless. According to this leading US newspaper, it was not the missile strikes themselves, spreading death and destruction, but the television reports about them, that were causing a political backlash in Pakistan.

As for the insistence on secrecy, this had a clear political motive. The CIA and Pentagon wished to keep the missile assassination program secret, not from the Pakistani population, who could see the toll in men, women and children incinerated and maimed, but from the American people, who were not to be allowed to know what the government of the United States was doing, allegedly in their name.
The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a splinter from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack in central Istanbul Tuesday, which killed seven police officers and four civilians and wounded another 36.

"The action was carried out to counter all the savage attacks of the Turkish republic in Nusaybin and Sirnak and other places," a statement declared, referring to Turkish army operations in the southeast of the country.

TAK warned foreign tourists who are in Turkey and who want to come to Turkey: Foreigners are not our target but Turkey is no longer a safe country for them. We have just started the war.

The BBC reported that Tuesday's attack was a sacrifice action, implying that it was a suicide bombing. This contradicts earlier reports on what is the fourth bomb-attack in central Istanbul this year, which stated that a remote-controlled device was detonated as a riot-police bus was passing by.

According to the Anadolu Agency, following the explosion, there were gunshots in the area, which was closed off to the public and media by police. An Istanbul 10th Criminal Court has issued a broadcast ban in Turkey on the blast. The ban covers all news, interviews and critique in print, visual, internet media and social media.

Another car bombing on June 8 hit the police headquarters of the southeastern town of Midyat, Mardin. Two police officers were killed and many others wounded.

Visiting the wounded in a hospital after the attack in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once more promised to continue our fight against these terrorists to the end tirelessly. His statement was reinforced by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who said, No matter what, the state of the Republic of Turkey will never ever make concessions in the fight against terror.

Chairperson of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) Kemal Klcdaroglu and the leader of far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) also condemned the attack, while Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), slammed the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government for failing to put an end to bloodshed. He blamed the government for creating the conditions for such attacks and called on the leaders of four parties represented in the Turkish parliament to come together at a meeting to put an end to the violence.

The PKK claimed responsibility for a similar May 12 car-bomb attack in Istanbul that wounded seven people. It has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and frequently targets passing police and military vehicles with remote-controlled car bombs in its attacks in the largely Kurdish populated southeastern areas of Turkey.

Turkish military and police forces have mounted a sweeping operation against the PKK for more than a year, during which thousands of people have been killed and some 400,000 civilians have been forced to leave their homes, while Kurdish towns go to ruin.

The latest terror attack will only accelerate and facilitate the drive of the Turkish ruling elite towards militarism and dictatorship, while confusing the masses. Immediately after the attack, Erdogan approved a law lifting the immunity of 138 lawmakers, paving the way for criminal proceedings against them.

The main target is the pro-Kurdish HDP, the third-largest party with 59 MPs, which has been consistently accused by Erdogan and his government of aiding and abetting the PKK. But other parties have also been opened to repression in order to pave the way for Erdogans plan to amend Turkeys constitution to create an executive presidency, giving himself dictatorial powers.

On the same day, the Erdogan government brought forward a bill to provide legal protection to soldiers involved in security operations against groups listed as terrorist organizations.

The proposal includes a range of measures increasing the authority of the soldiers participating in anti-terror operations while requiring the prime ministers permission to investigate or put on trial the commanders and the chief of general staff.

The bill would allow the Turkish army to participate in operations in central provinces, with a proposal from the Interior Ministry and a decision from the cabinet. A similar judicial shield was previously granted to National Intelligence Organization personnel, granting the prime minister the authority to halt all investigations into its officials.

These moves came a day after the recent wave of reshuffles in the judiciary, in which more than 3,700 judges and prosecutors who had made decisions displeasing Erdogan were replaced by the government, headed by Erdogans henchman, President Binali Yildirim, who replaced then Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in May after Erdogan forced him to step down.

Primary responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Turkey rests with the Turkish government and its Western allies, which have been waging a regime-change operation against the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad to which end they have gathered, organized, financed and trained Sunni-Islamist militants in a sectarian war that has devastated Syria and Iraq. It is this that has created the basis for the growth of Islamic State (ISIS).

The war in Syria, together with the anti-terror statutes, are also being employed for repression against ethnic Kurds, aimed at preventing the establishment of an autonomous Syrian Kurdish entity on Turkeys borders.

These twin aims often conflict, given that Washington and the European powers are keen to utilise the Kurdish Peshmerga military forces against Assad and are actively contemplating the partition of Syria. This has forced Erdogan into a series of pragmatic shifts, including utilising Islamist forces such as ISIS and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra against the Kurds. These shifts have in turn brought the AKP regime into conflict with Washington and Berlin, while Ankara's warmongering and invasive Syrian policy has brought Turkey to the brink of war with Russia. Last year, amid the escalating war against the PKK, Turkish air forces deliberately downed a Russian fighter in Syria.

According to official figures, thousands of PKK militants and some 1,000 security forces as well as civilians have been killed, while whole Kurdish towns have been destroyed over the last six months. Erdogan has responded with threats and bluster directed against his increasingly dissatisfied Western allies, who he suspects with some justification of conspiring to remove himin particular by seeking to cultivate Davutoglu.

Turkey is also gripped by growing economic difficulties, having witnessed a dramatic fall in investment, trade and tourism that is further provoking social unrest. The only answer of the Turkish ruling elite to its worsening social, economic and political troubles is to escalate its drive to militarism and dictatorship.
Asia

India: Thousands of Karnataka government employees hold one-day strike

Ignoring threats of imprisonment and heavy fines, over 500,000 Karnataka state government employees stopped work for the day on June 2 to demand equal pay with workers in the central government and the filling of numerous vacancies in various government departments. While work in government offices, schools and colleges came to a standstill, transport, hospitals and essential services were not involved.

A State Government Employees Association official said the strike was called after the government refused to meet with the union over its demands. The union wants 7th Pay Commission implemented and says that there was a 40 to 100 percent difference between state and central government employees wages.

Delhi University teachers bans continue

Scores of Delhi University teachers are maintaining their bans on the correction of undergraduate exams in opposition to the University Grants Commission (UGC) criteria to ascertain their academic performance. The Delhi University Teachers Association members began the action on May 24, after the UGC issued a circular calling for inspection of their academic performance.

Teachers said UGC amendments could lead to the loss of 5,000 jobs at the university and associated colleges, drastically worsening the pupil-teacher ratio. The new UGC norms are based upon the academic results of students, axing teachers jobs if students do not perform well. They also increase workloads. Associate professors direct teaching workloads would rise by eight hours a week. Teachers held a large on-campus protest on Tuesday and presented a memorandum to the university chairman.

Jammu Kashmir water utility workers end strike

Thousands of Jammu Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) daily wage and temporary workers ended an 85-day strike on Monday, following a meeting with PHE and government officials. PHE workers walked out in March to demand 35 months of unpaid wages, regular pay and job permanency. The government refused to meet with strikers and failed to organise alternate water supplies for residents in the region.

The government told PHE Workers Union representatives that administrative changes had been made to guarantee regular wage payments and plan the transition of workers to permanent employment. The outstanding wages were to be resolved through phased payments.

Indian government workers plan national walk out

The Joint Action Council, consisting of unions representing over 3.2 million Indian government employees, issued a notice on Thursday for an indefinite national strike, effective from July 11. The strike will include railway, defence, postal, income tax, customs and excise workers and is in response to the Modi governments inaction over a 36-point charter of demands by the unions.

These include an increase in minimum monthly wage, scrapping of the New Pension Scheme and restoration of the old pension system and rejection of the Bibek Debroy Committee report, which calls for privatisation of the railways.

The strike was previously planned for April 11 but called off by the unions after back room talks with the government.

Bangladeshi nurses attacked by police

At least 40 protesters were injured when police used batons and water cannons against demonstrating unemployed nurses outside the health ministers residence in Dhaka on Wednesday. Police lodged vandalism cases against 1,400 nurses the following day. The protest followed a rally on Monday that blocked the road in front of the National Press Club and ended with a march to the health ministers residence to protest changes in recruitment criteria.

The nurses began street protests on March 30, after the Public Service Commission advertised for 3,616 senior nurses. The nurses want the positions filled on the basis of seniority and merit, as in the past.

On May 1, the Bangladesh Diploma Bekar (unemployed) Nurses Association and Bangladesh Basic Graduate Nurses Society called off a series of strikes and protests after false promises from the health minister.

Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa nurses union calls off strike

Strike action by nurses at government hospitals in Peshawar was called off by the Nursing Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday after the government claimed it would address the unions demands.

Nurses walked out on June 2 to demand implementation of the new service structure previously agreed to by the government and which includes promotions and allowances. The issue of allowances was not resolved during negotiations. The government has frequently falsely promised to address nurses complaints.

The nurses demands were similar to those of protesting paramedics and doctors in the provinces government hospitals. The unions leading the strikes have prevented a combined struggle of the health workers.

Protest by Punjab teachers ends without resolution

The Punjab All Teachers Alliance ended a four-day demonstration by government school teachers outside the Provincial Assembly in Lahore on Monday after meeting with government officials. None of the teachers grievances were resolved. The union accepted government promises to establish a committee to investigate teachers demands.

The teachers action was part of an ongoing state-wide campaign opposing the privatisation of government schools. Teachers also want pay-scale upgrades previously promised by the government.

Under pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the Pakistan government has implemented austerity measures, forcing cash-strapped provincial governments to do likewise. The Punjab government has organised a public-private partnership deal and is handing management of public schools to the NGO-Punjab Education Foundation (PEF).

In the first phase, the government last month handed over 1,000 primary schools to NGOs that will run them in collaboration with the PEF. In the second phase, some 5,000 public schools would be privatised under public-private partnerships.

Islamabad government workers oppose job transfers

Capital Development Authority workers providing municipal services in Pakistans capital Islamabad demonstrated at Aabpara Chowk on Monday. They were opposing the transfer of large numbers of workers to the newly-formed Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation.

Workers claim that they do not have the same job security and benefits at the new entity and want the transfers stopped. About 75 percent of the workforce, or up to 10,000 employees, are affected.

The restructure is in response to pressure from the International Monetary Fund for the government to slash its budget deficit. As a result public services are severely affected, wages remain virtually frozen and payment of monthly salaries are often delayed by weeks or months.

Australia and the Pacific

New South Wales garbage collectors end strike without resolution

Around 90 garbage collection workers on New South Wales central coast, north of Sydney, ended a five-day strike on Tuesday over a new enterprise agreement with no resolution to major issues such as job security and pay parity for casual employees. The Transport Workers Union claimed it was closing down the strike in good faith, after the contract employer Remondis and the Central Coast Council agreed to meet over the issues on June 15.

Workers want a clause inserted into the councils tender for waste services that protect local jobs, existing workers and their conditions. In their dispute with Remondis, the workers also want clauses protecting current conditions if the council renews its contract in 2018 and for temporary outsourced employees paid on par with other depot workers.

The garbage collection workers fear that future contracts will force them onto general award conditions that pays nearly 30 percent below their current rate.

New Zealand call centre workers walk out

Dozens of workers at Sitels Onehunga call centre in Auckland walked out for three hours on Tuesday after their employer, the US-based company Sitel refused to offer them a pay rise and agree to fair treatment when they use sick leave. A representative from the E tu union said workers complained that Sitel supervisors time toilet breaks and use bullying tactics when workers are on sick-leave to get them back to work.

Almost all of the call centre staff work on behalf of insurance giant IAG, which has a huge share of the New Zealand insurance market.

French Polynesia airline strike ends

The three-week strike by 100 workers of French Polynesias domestic carrier Air Tahiti ended on June 4, after the government and airline agreed to negotiate with workers. Airline employees walked out on May 13 over fears of job and pay cuts due to falls in domestic travel. Unlike in France, there are no unemployment benefits in the countrys Pacific colony.

Airline management wants to reduce domestic flights to some regions from once a week to once a fortnight. This would cut jobs and cause major inconveniences for outlying island residents. Media reported that details of the strike settlement were not immediately clear.
Over 200 young people attended the Momentum Youth and Students (MYS) founding conference in Manchester on Sunday, June 5. Momentum is an activist network supporting the Labour Party that emerged out of the campaign for the election of Jeremy Corbyn to the Labour leadership last September.

Over 150,000 people joined Labour last year, including many youth, based on illusions in Corbyns ability to shift the political axis of this right-wing party of big business.

The meeting was addressed by a collection of Labour lefts and trade union functionaries, who also touted the supposed progressive credentials of the Labour Party. The main speaker was Rebecca Long-Bailey, shadow treasury minister in Corbyns shadow cabinet and MP for the deprived North West England constituency of Salford and Eccles. She boasted, A movement has been created and great things have and will come from it. We wont just tinker around with the consensus. Were a party that would change your life if you voted for it.

The aim of MYS is to try and recruit youth into the Labour Party and trade unions, with workshops held on organising young workers and defending the National Health Service (NHS) via the trade unions. Of Britains dwindling trade union membership, less than one in 10 are aged 24 or under. These organisations offer no way forward for youth and have systematically isolated and demobilised any working class opposition to the austerity agenda of successive Labour and Conservative Party governments.

Carline Hill, chair of the Labour Party youth wing, also spoke. It is exciting to speak to hundreds of people that are passionate about fighting injustice, ready to campaign and organise on issues that matter to them. Momentum Youth and Students is new, its autonomous, its ready to act--and it is exactly what the Labour movement should be encouraging, she wrote on the LabourList blog that day.

Hill speaks for the left faction of the Labour Party that recognises the urgent need to try to resuscitate Labour and the trade unions. These anti-worker husks are to be revivified with a gloss of autonomous paint and an injection of identity politics.

With unintended irony, she said, Young Labour is changing: we support Jeremy Corbyn and we are not just a career conveyor belt.

It is a fact of British political life that the Labour youth and student organisations and the National Union of Students (NUS) are training grounds for the next generation of Labour apparatchiks. Momentum is no different.

The other speakers were Rhea Wolfson, a Labour National Executive Committee candidate and trade union functionary, and Hannah McCarthy, the campaigns officer at Manchester Students Union. Both claimed to oppose the hike in tuition fees, which are set to rise beyond the current 9,000 annual rate due to the Tories higher education privatisation agenda. This year also saw the raising of interest repayment rates and the scrapping of bursaries covering the living expenses of the poorest students.

Hill lauded Labours education petition, saying, I am delighted that Labour have launched a campaign highlighting the cost to students and fighting the government proposals.

Jeremy Corbyn told MPs in the House of Commons that the government will get no support from our benches for a rise in fees. Labour is the last defence for young people who want to access the higher education that is demanded from young workers in so many industries these days.

In reality, Corbyn has acquiesced to the governments drive to convert primary and secondary schools to privately run academies. Under his leadership, Labour ignored his pledges to remove fees and reinstate grants--with a member of his shadow cabinet stating these would not automatically become policy.

Much of the conference was devoted to a discussion of identity politics, with special caucuses addressing campaigns advancing the interests of people who are disabled, women, black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME,) or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT).

Identity politics is a means of obscuring the critical class issues facing youth and promoting the interests of a narrow layer of affluent careerists represented by pseudo-left organisations such as Momentum. It is advanced by those seeking to acquire greater influence or positions in corporations, colleges and universities, the higher-paying professions, the trade unions and in government and state institutions.

Corbyn won the sympathy of many young people for his professed anti-establishment views and progressive rhetoric. MYS aims to exploit this mood to rally young people into the Labour Party, which faces a terminal crisis following its wipeout in last years general election. It claims that Labour can be reformed into a more open, member-led party, with socialist policies and the collective will to implement them in government.

MYS argues that Corbyns election as party leader is the means to this end, provided sufficient mass pressure can be applied.

The Labour Party cannot be reformed in the interests of the working class. It has been, since its inception, a bourgeois party devoted to the defence of British capitalism.

As the World Socialist Web Site noted on Momentums launch last October, Through his criticism of war and austerity, Corbyn sought to end the identification of Labour as just another Conservative Party that had damaged it so badly. But while this ensured his overwhelming victory in the leadership contest, Corbyns success has not changed the bourgeois character of Labour, which, for more than a century, has acted as the principal political opponent of socialism in Britain.

A Corbyn-led Labour Party does not represent a political alternative to the other parties of the corporate and financial elite. His track record as leader of the opposition is one of facilitating the Tory governments reactionary agenda and complete capitulation before the right wing of his own party. His programme is not socialist, but stands for the defence of British capitalism.

Aiding Momentum in its efforts to sow illusions in Corbyn and Labour are Britains various pseudo-left groups. The Alliance for Workers Liberty praises the vibrant Momentum movement and enthusiastically participated in the conference claiming it would help transform both Labours youth structures and the party more generally.

They call for a democratic MYS, adding, we will be advocating the class-struggle socialist politics we believe necessary to transform the labour movement to fight effectively for a workers government and a socialist alternative to capitalism.

By labour movement is meant the rotten Labour Party and trade union bureaucracies. A workers government is their name for a Corbyn-led Labour government. And their socialist alternative is nothing of the sort.

The pseudo-left work to prevent young people from making a political break with the old organisations and the nationalist, pro-capitalist programme on which they are based. They are tied by a thousand strings to the union bureaucracy and occupy well-paid senior positions within it. They provide the labour bureaucracy with a fake-socialist cover in order to oppose any genuine revolutionary alternative to the existing order.

Corbyn is the undeserving beneficiary of the mass social opposition of workers and young people that currently finds no expression in the Labour Party, or any part of the political establishment. Youth are bearing the brunt of the crisis of capitalism. The disastrous social conditions facing youth, including unemployment, insecure jobs, student debt, poor-quality education and cuts to public services, along with the growing danger of war, are creating a mass political radicalisation among young people, which can only be advanced by turning to the international working class on the basis of a socialist programme.

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UK White Paper escalates privatisation of higher education

[28 May 2016]
Germanys Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) is playing an increasingly prominent role in the NATO deployment in Eastern Europe, which is openly preparing for war against Russia.

As part of the current Anakonda 2016 manoeuvres, the largest NATO military exercise since the end of the Cold War, German combat engineers, along with British soldiers, built a 300-plus metre amphibious bridge over the Vistula on Thursday. A short time later, heavily armoured NATO tanks rolled over the bridge on their way east, towards the Russian border.

For days, the Bundeswehr web site has carried propaganda articles and videos documenting the move of German troops into Eastern Europe. They have titles such as, Exercise Anakonda 2016Minden Pioneers on the way to the Vistula; On the final straights to the NATO summit; Dragoon Ride IIDragoons ride into the Baltic; By convoy into the BalticAdvance to the Saber Strike exercise and Howitzers into the BalticThe transfer begins.

The reports provide an overview of the growing German contingent in the east. As part of the Persistent Presence manoeuvre, on May 30, the 3rd Battery of Artillery Battalion 295, under the command of Captain P., left for exercises and training in Lithuania. In the current naval exercise BALTOPS in the Baltic Sea, which includes a total of 45 vessels, 60 aircraft and 4,000 troops from 14 countries, the German Navy is involved with nine units, including the combat support ship Berlin, the frigate Sachsen and the P-3C Orion, a maritime patrol aircraft designed for hunting submarines.

The march diary of a certain Captain Bumuller of the 12th armoured brigade in Amberg provides an insight into the provocative Dragoon Ride II, described as a massive land march via Poland to Estonia, where the Bundeswehr is participating with 16 vehicles. According to media reports, the Bundeswehr is dispatching a total of 5,000 soldiers to Eastern Europe this year alone.

The historical and political significance of the German deployment cannot be exaggerated. June 22 marks the 75th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the attack by Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union that claimed the lives of 40 million Soviet citizens and was conducted throughout Eastern Europe as a war of extermination. Every square metre over which German tanks and soldiers are once again trampling recalls dark memories of the past crimes of German imperialism. The Nazis initially used occupied Poland as a staging area for the invasion of the Soviet Union. Later, they constructed their extermination camps there.

Following the defeat of Nazi Germany, and after the full scope of the Holocaust became known, Germany was forced to observe military restraint for a long time. This began to change with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification twenty-five years ago. In the last two years, the German ruling class has completely dropped its flowery post-war pacifist phrases. It has returned to an aggressive foreign policy with ominous parallels to that of 1941.

According to a report in Die Welt, a new Defence White Paper, which provides for the deployment of the Bundeswehr domestically and for other missions abroad, no longer describes Russia as a partner, but rather as a rival. Of particular concern to the German government is the increasing use of hybrid instruments for the targeted blurring of the boundary between war and peace, and the subversive undermining of other states.

This narrative has nothing to do with reality. Moscows militaristic behaviour is not progressive and increases the danger of war. But in Eastern Europe, it is not Russia that is the aggressor and that undermines states and blurs the boundary between war and peace, but the Western powers. In Ukraine, Washington and Berlin organized a coup against the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in early 2014, working closely with fascist forces. Since then, Germany has used the predominantly defensive reaction of Russia in order to systematically beef up its military and go on the offensive.

The decisions of the last few weeks to increase defence spending by 130 billion euros and the army by at least 7,000 soldiers are just the beginning. The stated goal of the German government is to gradually increase military spending to two percent of gross domestic product, as required by NATO.

News weekly Der Spiegel anticipated that Germanys defence budget would have to increase by five and a half billion euros year on year, by the 2024 target date. The magazine concluded, In the end, Germany would be the largest military power on the continent by far. Not all European neighbours will like that.

At present, the German offensive is supported by the United States. Only last weekend, the New York Times published an ode to the return of German militarism. It wrote: It has taken decades since the horrors of World War II, but Berlins modern-day allies and, it seems, German leaders themselves are finally growing more comfortable with the notion that Germanys role as the European Unions de facto leader requires a military dimension. All this comes perhaps none too soon, according to the Times. The United States and othersincluding many of Germanys own defense expertswant Germany to do even more for Continental security and to broaden deployments overseas.

Although Berlin is presently stepping up its defence spending within the framework of NATO, and is deploying its troops to the East as part of the US-led offensive against Russia, there can be no doubt that the future struggle for control of Eurasia, as well as the Middle East and Africa, will lead to violent tensions and conflicts between the imperialist powers, as happened before in the First and Second World Wars.

A current strategy paper of the German Council on Foreign Relations by Joseph Braml, published in business daily Handelsblatt on May 17, accuses the US of following the motto of the Roman Empire (divide et impera), dividing the world into blocs in order to better control them. The editorial culminates with the demand: Europe, especially the leading European power Germany, should in its own interest, prepare for the United States ever clearer concept of the enemy.

At the end of May, writing in Die Zeit under the headline What unites Obama and Trump, Theo Sommer railed against American forces in Europe. The main purpose of their continued presence is hardly the defence of Europe, he complained. Only the smallest part of their deployment serves the deterrence of Russia, with the rest aimed at the protection or assertion of American interests elsewhere in the world.

Sommer added: Without their upstream positions in Europe, without the ports, air bases, hospitals and command centres in Italy, Spain, Germany and Turkey, the Americans would be as good as operationally incapable in the Middle East, in the Mediterranean, in the Arctic. The same applies to Africa, he added, and one could also ask why Americas Africa Command was based in Stuttgart.

Sommer, the long-time editor of the liberal weekly Die Zeit, and Braml, formerly a legislative adviser in the US House of Representatives, have traditionally held a more transatlantic orientation. Their editorials are an indication of the ferocious tensions that are developing below the surface again between the post-war allies, as the imperialist redivision of the world enters a new and dangerous phase.
As the ruling elites in Australia and New Zealand prepare for war and deeper attacks on living standards, all the establishment parties whip up xenophobia and chauvinismdirected in particular against immigrants and refugeesto divide workers and divert attention from the responsibility of governments for the social crisis.

The campaign being waged by the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) for the July 2 election in Australia thus takes on great political significance, not only for Australian workers but for workers in New Zealand and throughout the region. The SEP is the only party that intransigently defends the basic democratic right of all workers to live and work wherever they choose. Its fight against nationalism in all its forms is essential to the building of an international anti-war movement of the working class to halt the accelerating drive to war.

While refugees, particularly boat people, have been the main targets of the Australian media and political establishment, Pacific Islanders and New Zealanders, the largest immigrant group, have also come under attack. There are roughly 600,000 New Zealanders in Australia, more than the population of greater Wellington (471,000). Generations of workers have crossed the Tasman Sea to settle in Australia and make their living in industries such as construction, manufacturing, mining and the public services.

During the 1970s, it was still possible to travel between the two countries without carrying a passport. New Zealanders could live in Australia indefinitely with essentially the same rights as citizens. Over the past 15 years these rights have been stripped away and New Zealanders have been subjected to discriminatory and increasingly brutal policies. In 2001, the Coalition government of John Howard removed New Zealanders eligibility for unemployment benefits, and abolished their direct path to Australian citizenship.

From 2005 New Zealanders could no longer access Australias student loan scheme. In 2012 the minority Labor government of Julia Gillard, backed by the Greens, removed their eligibility for disability support. Tim Gassin, chair of advocacy group Oz Kiwi, recently told Fairfax Media there were many horror stories of people disabled without support, single mothers struggling to support their children... living in dire poverty.

In 2014, the Coalition government passed a law, with Labors support, under which New Zealanders can be deported if they have been imprisoned for 12 months, even for minor offences. More than 300 have been deported since December 2014, including some who have spent most of their lives in Australia.

At least two New Zealanders have died while awaiting deportation. In April, 42-year-old Rob Peihopa was found dead at Sydneys Villawood detention centre, where he had spent 10 months awaiting deportation. While authorities claimed he suffered a heart attack, he had two black eyes and lacerations on his face. His family has accused the Immigration Department of a cover-up.

Last year, 23-year-old Junior Togatuki died in Goulburns Supermax prison, from what authorities say was a suicide. He had pleaded not to be deported from Australia, where he had lived since the age of four.

In New Zealand, the National Party government has tacitly endorsed the deportations, while the opposition Labour Party has made limited and entirely hypocritical criticisms of the policy. Successive Labour and National governments have been just as brutal in their deportation of overstayers from impoverished Pacific Island countries.

Both parties endorse Australias barbaric violations of asylum seekers human rights, including their detention at the Manus Island and Nauru prison camps.

The Greens support Labour and the anti-immigrant NZ First Party, which have led a xenophobic campaign to scapegoat foreigners, particularly Chinese people, for the countrys housing and social crisis. These methods are now finding their parallel in Australia in mounting attacks on Chinese investment particularly in land and housing.

The Australian and New Zealand ruling classes are polluting the atmosphere with nationalist propaganda to assist their preparations for war. The entire political establishment in both countries has signed up to Washingtons pivot to Asia and are being integrated into the Pentagons preparations for war against China.

In defiance of widespread anti-war sentiment, Canberra and Wellington have committed billions of dollars to purchasing new military hardware, at the expense of basic services. Hundreds of millions are being spent on propaganda glorifying the Australian and New Zealand role in World War I in a bid to condition another generation of youth to sacrifice for the nationthat is, for the interests of the corporate and financial elite.

Like the outmoded capitalist nation-state system as a whole, the border between Australia and New Zealand is completely irrational. As in Europe, freedom of movement is being restricted and migrants rights attacked even as the two countries have become more economically integrated than ever before.

Workers cannot defend their basic democratic and social rights, let alone halt the drive to war, outside of a political struggle to create a unified movement based on the perspective of socialist internationalism. That is what the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) is doing through the political fight of the SEP (Britain) in the Brexit referendum, the SEP (US) in the American presidential campaign, the PSGs intervention in Berlin state elections, as well as through the SEPs campaign in Australia.

The Socialist Equality Group (SEG) in New Zealand urges workers in Australia, New Zealand and throughout the region to support the election campaign of the SEP (Australia) in every way possible and in that way express your support for the building of a unified anti-war movement of the working class in the region and around the world. Apply to join and build the SEP in Australia and the SEG in New Zealand, or in countries where the ICFI not yet have sections, contact us and begin the task of building one.

Authorised by James Cogan, Shop 6, 212 South Terrace, Bankstown Plaza, Bankstown, NSW 2200.
A reactionary media and political campaign is unfolding in America around the sentencing of Stanford University freshman Brock Allen Turner for the sexual assault of a young woman following a fraternity party on campus.

The campaign reached new heights this week after California Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentenced the young man to six months in prison, which the media labeled excessively lenient, and an example of white male privilege and rape culture. Judge Persky is now the subject of a recall campaign initiated by Stanford University law professor Michele Dauber. His office has been inundated with threatening and abusive phone calls. A lot of them are extremely rude and are just horrible and horrific, deputy public defender Gary Goodman told reporters: I hope you die and your family gets raped, things of that nature.

One of Turners childhood friends, 20-year-old Leslie Rasmussen, a drummer in the indie rock band Good English, wrote what she believed was a confidential letter to the judge defending Turner, praising his character and calling the incident a misunderstanding. This letter resulted in Rasmussen being labeled a rape apologist, and the bands next four performances have been canceled by the respective venues.

The extraordinary intervention of Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday reveals the political interests that are motivating the media-orchestrated campaign. In an open letter to the victim, Biden solidarized the Obama administration with the campaign against the judges sentence. Biden proclaimed his furious anger at what had happened, praising the woman in the case as a warriorwith a solid steel spine.

Bidens intervention is bound up with the political calculations of the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign, which see it as an opportunity to refocus the national political discourse on gender politicsthe better to bury popular issues such as social inequality, which generated an unexpected level of support for Clintons rival Bernie Sanders and nearly cost her the nomination.

What facts are available about the Stanford case are hazy and disputed, as they often are in such cases. On the night in question, two students discovered 20-year-old freshman Brock Allen Turner with the 22-year-old woman on the ground near a trash bin on campus. The woman was partially undressed and unconscious, with Turner on top of her.

The woman, whose name has been withheld from the public, says she does not remember the encounter at all. In Turners version of events, the two met at a fraternity party earlier that evening, danced, kissed, and held hands. The subsequent sexual encounter, Turner claimed, was consensual. Both were extremely drunk. Certain social and cultural factorsimmaturity, alcoholism on college campuses, the phenomenon of fraternity partiesplayed, as they usually do in such cases, a destructive role.

Turner was convicted by a jury of three felony offenses. One may assume that the jury made a conscientious effort to follow the law and arrive at the appropriate verdict. Judge Persky, who heard all the evidence and presided over the entire case through trial, sentenced Turner to six months in prison.

In addition to the prison term, Turner will have to register as a sex offender. The combination of three felony convictions, a prison term, and registration as a sex offender has forever and catastrophically altered the life of this 20-year-old youth. His academic career has been ended. Apparently a gifted swimmer, he has no future as an athlete. Moreover, he has been the subject of an unrestrained nationwide hate campaignwith his name, face and home address plastered all over the news and social media for days on endand he has been denounced as a monster by the vice-president of the United States. Contrary to the claims of the media, Turner has not gotten off lightly.

When it comes to determining an appropriate sentence, it is the traditional responsibility of the judge to give consideration to a host of factors, of which the circumstances and severity of the crime are part of the equation. The judge may also consider the rehabilitation of the convicted individual and whether he or she will be a danger to society in the future. In Turners case, a number of letters were submitted defending the youth and praising his character. The probation officers recommendation was a sentence of a year or less. Apparently, before the case gathered its current momentum, the victim herself told a probation officer, I dont want him to rot away in jail; he doesnt need to be behind bars.

Judge Persky cited the defendants age and absence of any criminal record, saying that from the standpoint of rehabilitation, a long prison sentence would be counterproductive. The judge wrote, I think he will not be a danger to others.

The mountain of denunciations that have been heaped on Persky for this decision have centered on the 12-page inflammatory victim impact letter read during sentencing, which the media has unanimously declared to be wrenching and powerful.

There is ample room for doubt as to whether victim impact statements are even appropriate in a criminal prosecution at all. It is the state, not the individual, that brings charges against the accused. Jurors are continuously reminded in the course of a trial that their focus must be on the facts, and that their judgments should not be clouded by emotions.

In a 2004 scholarly article in the journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Bryan Myers of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Edith Greene of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs considered whether such letters are both irrelevant and so emotionally moving as to be considered prejudicial.

The campaign around the sentencing of Turner, it should be stated directly, is lacking entirely in anything that might remotely be described as politically and socially progressive. The feminist professors at Stanford University who have whipped up the campaign against Persky and who are screaming for a harsher sentence for Turner have not bothered to work out the implications of their positions and actions. The focus on victims rightsthe notion that criminal proceedings are intended to facilitate convictions and satisfy the victims desire for revenge rather than ensure a fair trial for the accusedhas been a trademark of right-wing legal theorists for decades.

The American political and media establishment has, through long practice, made a science out of turning tragedies into profitable sensations and political opportunities. The participation of self-described left and feminist and progressive figures in these right-wing campaigns, side-by-side with state prosecutors and the gutter press, only testifies to the disoriented moods that prevail in these circles.

The intervention of Biden, a leading representative of American imperialism, is deserving of special contempt. This corrupt and long-time bagman for tax-dodging corporate interests in the State of DuPont-Delaware, Biden now pretends to be deeply horrified by the incident that took place at Stanford. Where was his outrage when it emerged that American soldiersboth men and womenwere sodomizing and murdering Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, acting out their sadistic and bloody fantasies? Biden, Congress and the Obama administration have done everything they can to conceal these crimes. No one was reading impact letters from tortured men and their families when a Senate Intelligence Committee report documented widespread torture in CIA black sitesleast of all Mr. Biden.

As for Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic Partys presumptive nominee for the presidential election, she has devoted special attention to the campaign to abolish the presumption of innocence for men accused of rape. To every survivor of sexual assault, she wrote on Twitter, You have the right to be heard. You have the right to be believed. Were with you. She later more explicitly rejected the presumption of innocence: Well, I would say that everybody should be believed at first until they are disbelieved based on evidence.

Clinton should know something about how allegations of sexual misconduct can be used for political purposes. In 1998, Republican legislators organized the impeachment campaign on the grounds that Hillary Clintons husband was a sexual predator. Did Bill Clintons accuserssuch as Paula Jones and Jennifer Flowershave an absolute right to be believed? Hillary Clinton then defended her husband against his accusers.

At the time, the Socialist Equality Party opposed the impeachment campaignnot because we believed in Clintons innocence or approved of his behavior. Rather, we understood very well the reactionary political function of the sex scandal in the context of the Republican Partys attempt to destroy his administration.

Hysterical sexual violence campaigns, such as the one now underway with respect to the Stanford case, are designed to pollute the political atmosphere, prevent an objective and rational discussion of the most pressing issues of war and inequality, and obscure the basic class divisions in society.
A consulting group hired by Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), the school district for the city of Tampa, Florida, has recommended increasing class sizes and cutting 1,761 jobs as part of a larger effort to cut $404 million over the next five years. HCPS is the eighth largest school district in the country and educates more than 200,000 students.

All of the language in the report, authored by the Gibson Consulting Group, is based around cutting as much money as possible. Nowhere are there any considerations of the educational experiences of children or how these recommendations are going to improve the quality of the school district.

Gibsons main focus for cost cutting is increasing class size. The report recommends increasing the districts pupil-teacher ratio from 14.7 to 1 to 15.9 to 1. Meeting Gibsons recommendation would mean, therefore, severing the jobs of 1,031 teachers. The report notes that at an average salary and benefits of $64,246, this equates to $66 million [in cost reductions] per year.

For this recommendation and several others, Gibson compares HCPS to peer districts. In other words, Gibson is basing its recommendation on keeping pace with budget cuts in major school districts throughout the country, not quality of education or services provided.

The cuts also target clerical workers, who are more numerous compared to peer districts, according to Gibson. While the number of clerical workers in other districts in Florida have decreased in recent years, HCPS numbers have remained constant. Gibson suggests that this is at least partially due to voicemail systems being underutilized, and the use of manual processes for time and attendance. Implementing Gibsons recommendation would mean eradicating 156 clerical jobs, which they define as $6 million in annual savings.

For custodial workers, Gibson has made recommendations to make custodial work more efficient and force workers to cover about 30 percent more square feet on average than they do currently. This recommendation was based on industry standards for efficiency, not necessarily on what circumstances school custodians are faced with daily.

For transportation workers, Gibson recommends saving money by addressing the alleged problem of absenteeism among bus drivers and maintenance workers. The company suggests that HCPS current practice of providing one day per month paid time off for personal leave encourages absenteeism, and recommends that the district begin an educational program that will educate transportation workers on how much their personal time off hurts the ability of the district to save money. Gibson suggests, in particular, that HCPS encourage its workers not to take personal time off unless they are ill.

Since hiring Gibson in late 2015, HCPS has shrunk its budget deficit from $110 million to $4 million through a host of spending cuts. Nevertheless, the district still intends to use the report as the basis for further attacks on school workers.

HCPS chief of staff Alberto Vazquez Matos has stated that while they would like to avoid any types of layoffs, they are hoping that retirement and attrition can get them closer to the levels recommended by Gibson. While Vazquez insists that these are only recommendations and that nothing will be decided without careful consideration, it is telling that this report was released to the media before it was sent to teachers and other employees.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, district officials are meeting with labor union officials, and Vazquez has stated publicly that the Gibson study will guide a lot of these conversations, and Im looking forward to the conversations because the numbers are in front of us now. In other words, HCPS has more ammunition now to potentially attack jobs and frighten teachers and employees into submission.

Three teachers spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about the situation, but asked that their real names not appear.

Cathy, who has been with HCPS for four years and teaches special education, stated that more students in each class means more distractions, more behavior issues, and less learning. They say that this will benefit students, she said, but it wont if they are making classes bigger. A large class size is never going to benefit students. Cathy explained that when her class was split into two separate, shorter sessions last year, she was able to teach her students two times if not four times as much, even though she had less time with each half.

Cathy explained that her schools principal supports a class size of 15 in special education classes even though special education department specialists recommend no more than half that amount, or seven or eight students. There is a big gap between what administration thinks is acceptable and what the special education specialist thinks is appropriate, and that is a constant battle, she claimed.

Melissa, who has taught for HCPS for 14 years, said that a big factor that plays into the teacher-student ratio is the large variety of classes that aims to meet No Child Left Behind (NCLB). For example, she explained, we now have four levels of seventh-grade math, when we used to have only two. However, its a double edged sword because, of course, you do not want to leave a child behind, but the reality is that not every kid can be put into that box of 12 grades plus college. That is not the reality or even the dream of every kid. Rachel, who has taught many grade levels in several different schools throughout her 13 years at HCPS, stated that she actually read about the report in the newspaper before she received it from the school district. She explained that many teachers are already seeing negative side effects from a new behavior management system that was put into place this past year, and that larger classroom sizes will exacerbate that situation. [Teachers] are putting up with too much; our backs are against the walls. When asked whether having more kids in each class would make the situation worse, Rachel answered, Yes! You deal with negative behaviors so much more than you actually teach. Clearly, the more kids in each class, the more issues and fewer academic gains.

Rachel also commented on clerical workers who are having their jobs threatened. Those women work like dogs. They are so hard working! They deal with so much, with little to no pay. These people are especially needed in low income schools because they have no volunteers like other schools. She explained that much of the work that would normally be performed by clerical staff is instead performed by volunteers, yet the report recommends laying off even more staff.

When asked whether she thought the teachers union would put up a fight in the event that the district decides to follow through with the recommended cuts, she replied, The union will do nothing. They will talk about how terrible the recommendations are, but in the end nothing will happen like always. I am not a member, nor have I ever been. I do not feel like they do any good for me, and youll find that a lot of younger teachers feel the same way.
RICHLAND, Wash. -- Federal and state prosecutors have been working on a possible global plea in the case of a former Granger teacher accused
YAKIMA, Wash. - The Yakima Police department has announced plans to brief the media on its investigation into the fatal shooting Friday of J. 
Sitting shirtless in sweltering temperatures at a homeless encampment in East Yakima, Dee carved small melons into chunks that he handed to nearby friends.

Were just out here doing what we do: take care of each other  survive, said the 37-year-old.

Although Dee wouldnt provide his last name on this recent afternoon, he wasnt shy about sharing his circumstance.

He said a work-related back injury nearly a decade ago took away his ability to perform manual labor, plunging him into a downward spiral that led to life on the streets.

Hes among a group of more than 30 chronic homeless people who earlier this spring began taking refuge on a narrow strip of public property along Chestnut Avenue between Sixth and Eighth streets.

The encampment is folded into a residential neighborhood behind Yakima Neighborhood Health  which provides services to the homeless. Its blamed for attracting an unprecedented number of homeless people to the downtown core who have been accused of disrupting businesses, driving away customers, and urinating and defecating in public.

Recently, one homeless man was arrested after throwing rocks through the windows, glass doors and a lighted business sign for Santiagos Mexican restaurant on Yakima Avenue.

Video: Yakima business owners on the homeless camp

Not only has the encampment brought the areas long-standing homeless problem into sharp focus, it also has city officials scrambling to find an immediate solution to curb the health concerns and impacts to downtown businesses that are blamed on this increasingly more-visible homeless population.

We have to protect our downtown businesses, our outside dollars, said Santiagos owner, Jar Arcand. If we dont address it, its going to fester and grow.

Joan Davenport, the citys strategic projects manager, said the urgency has much to do with the public health concerns associated with the camp.

Neighbors and business owners have reported hosing urine and feces off their driveways and parking lots, she said.

The people who are there at the camp right now, they dont have any restrooms, they dont have running water and were concerned about the health concerns there, Davenport said. I worry about everyone hosing down the parking lot. I worry about everyone hosing down the driveway. I worry about that waste going down the storm drain.

A plan to relocate the encampment to one of five proposed sites has been tabled, and the City Council recently approved using up to $20,000 to provide portable toilets, hand-cleaning stations and other services at the encampment.

Both are short-term fixes to a complex problem that wont be solved overnight, homeless advocates say.

A lot of these people have been homeless for so long they dont want to go into a facility. They just want to be left alone, said David Helseth, whos leading an effort to erect a village of micro-houses for the homeless. But that project, deemed a long-term solution, is at least a year away.

So what do you do with this group of really chronic homeless that want to live that way? Helseth said. Thats the question.

The encampment

A walk along Chestnut Avenue reveals a subgroup of homeless people who long had remained mostly hidden.

About a dozen tents the residents say were given to them by Neighborhood Health line the narrow strip of property between the sidewalk and street.

On this day, a woman slept, sprawled between two tents under the trees. Others could be heard inside tents.

Farther down, Dee sat in the shade with three other men.

They say they use the restrooms at Neighborhood Health during the day, but that isnt an option once the office closes in the evening.

Dee said the group tries not to offend neighbors, but they have received some complaints. Police have told them to keep the area clear of trash, something they try to do, he said.

The group told some campers to leave after they refused to keep their areas clean and kept causing disturbances, Dee said.

Video: Residents of the camp

Were just trying to keep the peace with people because we got nowhere to stay, he said. Sometimes it gets a little rowdy out here. We try to police ourselves so the police dont have to come.

Although their presence bothers nearby residents and draws long stares from passing cars, it hasnt all been bad, Dee said.

Two women in a car slowly drove down Chestnut, handing the homeless cold bottles of water. One woman in the car asked if anyone had been missed.

A lot of people come by and stare at us, but then we got a lot of people who support us, Dee said.

Moments later, Jerome Edgerly and his wife pulled up in a car looking for their son, 51-year-old Jerry, who was sitting next to Dee.

I come to check on him every now and then to see if hes safe and everything, Jerome said.

Jerome said hes puzzled by his sons decision to be homeless.

I dont really know, he said. He was doing good until he got out of the service. He got into a relationship with a woman, and when they broke up (years later) it all went downhill from there. I try to talk to him and it doesnt seem to do any good.

Jerome said Jerry, who spent seven years stateside in the National Guard, doesnt have any mental illness.

He comes and stays a few days, and then hes gone, Jerome said.

Jerome, a longtime resident and retired chef, said hes never before seen such an encampment in Yakima.

I was surprised to see this, he said. I was driving through town one day and I said: What?

Crisis mode

Although the Chestnut Avenue encampment is the largest concentration of homeless people in Yakima, it doesnt account for all of them. Some have set up camp more discretely in nearby areas.

The number of chronic homeless in Yakima County has averaged about 80 over recent years. Last years Point In Time survey counted 72. Overall, there are more than 800 homeless in the county, but most of them are receiving some type of housing assistance, according to the survey.

The chronic homeless have always been hard to count because of the remote areas where theyd camp along the Yakima River. But that was before the county approved an ordinance in late 2013 making it illegal to camp overnight along the river. Authorities began uprooting camps the following year and the homeless were pushed into the city, where they began sleeping in parks and doorways, before being told by police to move along.

Many went into winter shelters when they opened at various churches in November, but then landed on Chestnut Avenue when the shelters closed in March.

Their presence downtown is frustrating business owners.

Blocks away from the encampment, Arcand complained about often finding feces around his restaurant, Santiagos. He flashed photos on his cellphone of feces that he had cleaned from his parking lot; he then walked around the side of his building and pointed to feces smeared on a wall.

I dont like having to come to work and having to clean up a dump at my front door, he said.

There are other problems that disrupt his business. Customers dining on his patio outside are often asked by homeless people for money or any leftover food, Arcand said.

Three doors down, Jason Eaton is remodeling a building where he plans to open a Pita Pit restaurant that will have outdoor dining as well. He hopes the homeless problem doesnt quell a renewed interest in revitalizing downtown.

I really feel that this is the best momentum Yakima has seen in a long time downtown, he said.

Responding to issues related to the encampment has been a scramble at best, homeless advocates and city officials admit.

Some blame Yakima Neighborhood Health for fostering the Chestnut encampment and using it as a political statement. Neighborhood Health is embroiled in a lawsuit against the city for blocking a homeless shelter and service center at the Roys Market property at 201 S. Sixth St.

Trial date set for lawsuit alleging Yakima council decision discriminated against homeless A trial date has been set for a U.S. District Court lawsuit brought by Yakima Neighborhood H

Yakima council calls special meeting on city manager, homelessness A contract with a new city manager and a proposal to create a temporary homeless encampment 

The city said the area was improperly zoned for the project.

Two years ago, Neighborhood Health opened a homeless services center in the Greyhound bus depot on East Yakima Avenue, within two blocks from Chestnut and its main office on Eighth Street. Business owners and some city officials have complained about the homeless congregating and even camping outside the depot.

This seems very timely why this is happening downtown, said Verlynn Best, president and CEO of the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce. I think you can logic it out. Im not trying to offend anyone or point any fingers, but really? Ive worked downtown here for 30 years and Ive seen homeless, but not like this.

Neighborhood Health Chief Operating Officer Rhonda Hauff disputes those accusations, saying her organization is filling a need that already had been present in the area.

The services at the depot did not attract the homeless, she said. The fact that the homeless are here is what attracted the services. I think the (homeless) clustered on Chestnut, before they were sleeping on porches, in backyards in many neighborhoods.

Proposed campsites

A temporary fix

In an effort to quickly address the health issue, the city agreed to allow Sunrise Outreach, a nonprofit Christian group, to operate a temporary tent city on city-owned property at an alternative site where those camped on Chestnut Avenue could be relocated until winter shelters open again in November.

A housing shortage, coupled with federal court rulings protecting the civil rights of the homeless, prevent the city from removing campers from Chestnut Avenue without providing them another place equipped with running water and restrooms.

There are five proposed locations: one near the Fair Avenue roundabout not far from Bobs Burgers & Brew; another near where Fair Avenue loops up to Yakima Avenue by Interstate 82; a third near the citys sewer plant and behind Kmart; a fourth near the old Tiger Mart convenience store on North First Street; and a fifth at South Second Street Park near where South Second and South Third streets intersect with Race Street.

We put this proposal together inside a week, so were trying to respond to the urgency of the situation as quickly as we could, said Sunrise Outreach Executive Director Dave Hansen.

But such a project needs roughly $118,000 to provide restroom facilities and tents.

Funding that the county receives for homeless programs could be used for the project, if approved by county officials.

I know its a tough problem and I know theres a lot of public outcry, Hansen said. But I know theres a lot of people in this community that want a good solution. Theres no way of getting around the fact that this is going to cost something.

 Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/philipferolito.
Sgt. Harold Sparks went missing in the Pyongyang region of North Korea in 1950. (Department of Defense)
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It could have ended much worse. A dangerous terrorist, who had just shot dead a number of innocent civilians in a restaurant, was sitting in the the family's living room, sipping a cup of water. But quick thinking and swift action enabled a young policeman to trap the terrorist and to save his family.

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It all happened on Wednesday night when a police investigator from the Central District accompanied his wife and her parents to eat ice cream at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque near their home. We were sitting on the bench, and suddenly we heard gunshots, explained Ofri, the policemans wife. We initially didnt realize that it was gunshots until we saw a lot of people running in our direction. We started running home to be in a safe place and so that my husband could get his gun.

We entered the building, opened the door to the apartmentand then realized that another individual was with us. We asked him who he was, and he didnt speak. He just asked for water, water.

The chair on which the terrorist sat

The couple, both 30, assumed the individual was simply a civilian who had escaped the scene of the attack and allowed the stranger, dressed in a suit, to enter the apartment. The policeman grabbed his gun and left the family inside with the unknown stranger.

He looked like a lawyer, and he was very frightenedtotally in shock. He was sitting in our home in the living room, and I brought him a glass of water. I didnt know he was Arab. He probably didnt speak because he didnt want to give away his accent, or perhaps because he genuinely wasnt able to speak. He was shaking. At first, he sat on the floor and literally couldnt lift himself up. We thought he was a civilian like us who escaped from the scene of the attack," said Ofri.

However, at this point, the policeman arrived at the scene and second terrorist was apprehended. When the policeman saw him, he realized that the suit that the neutralized terrorist was wearing looked familiar. Former Police Chief Assaf Hefetz, who happened to be Ofris father, said that his son-in-law understood that the man sitting in his apartment was probably the second terrorist. He immediately made the connection with the suits, and ran like crazy upstairs, Hefetz said on Thursday. This was an extremely professional thing to do. He was like a flawless machine. It was quick detective work to which he responded rapidly.

Scene of the attack (Photo: Reuters)

Ofri was waiting in the living room when the door opened. My husband came in with his gun out, grabbed the terrorist, lay him down on the floor, and arrested him, she said. At first we didnt understand why he was doing this to an innocent civilian who was so frightened. Then he said, He's dressed exacty like the second terrorist. The terrorist realized there was nothing he could do to try and escape.

Ofris mother (Heftezs ex-wife) praised her son-in-law for his actions: He was amazing, so restrained. Everything happened in the space of a few seconds. The moment in which he recognized the terrorist from the attack was wearing the same clothes as the person who ran with us to the apartment, he put his gun to his head and put him on the floor. My daughter called the police downstairs and said the terrorist is in my house. They came into the house en masse and jumped on him. One (of their rifles) fired a shot by accident. We were so frightened."

Itzik Aderi, a neighbor of the family, said that he saw a bunch of people gathering from his balcony. "Suddenly I heard loud noises," he said. "It was dark outside, and I truthfully could not see what what happnening but noticed people running very quickly. I heard cries of 'There's a terrorist here.' So a huge numbers of Border Police officers came."

Aderi added, "This is a little concerning when this happens beside your house," he said. "I didn't know that we have a policeman in the building. I feel more calm now."
The presidential race shifted to the nation's capital Friday, with Democrats executing a carefully orchestrated plan to unify their party around presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton.

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Her likely general election rival, Donald Trump, continued his months-long effort to win over the Republican base, with events wooing top donors and evangelical voters.

Clinton. Won the endorsements of her party's leaders. (Photo: AFP)

With the primary contests all but over, a series of top Democrats formally announced their support for Clinton, headlined by the glowing endorsement of President Barack Obama on Thursday.

Within hours, Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined that effort, both backing Clinton and signaling to many of Sanders' supporters that it's time to unite around the party's presumptive nominee. Clinton and Warren met privately for about an hour Friday morning at Clinton's home in Washington, intensifying speculation that the progressive stalwart may be tapped for the vice presidency.

"If you really want to electrify the base you've got to get somebody who's been speaking to the base and is going to turn the base out," said Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., one of Sanders' top supporters in Congress. He said he and other progressives would be thrilled if Clinton tapped Warren for her ticket.

Democrats in Washington are eager to unite their party against Trump and avoid a lingering intraparty spat. Primary rival Bernie Sanders, who's vowed to take his political revolution to their national Democratic convention in July, has been stressing his determination to defeat Trump, perhaps signaling that he may exit the race or at least shift his focus away from Clinton after the final primary election next Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Trump. A more inclusive rhetoric in recent speech. (Photo: AP)

On Friday, he retreated to his home in Burlington, Vermont, to plot his next steps.

Clinton, meanwhile, delivered her first speech since becoming the presumptive nominee, addressing advocates at Planned Parenthood, the women's health organization and abortion provider. The nonprofit was a strong champion of Clinton in the primaries, giving her its first endorsement in their 100-year history.

Describing Trump as someone who "doesn't hold women in high regard," Clinton launched into an unabashedly feminist attack on her GOP rival, arguing he would take the country back to "when abortion was illegal, women had far fewer options and life for too many women and girls was limited."

"When Donald Trump says, 'let's make America great again,' that is code for 'let's take America backward,'" she told the cheering audience.

Trump, who has also faced resistance from corners of his party, addressed a gathering of conservative evangelical voters at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's "Road to Majority" conference not long after Clinton spoke.

Facing criticism for suggesting a judge's Mexican heritage biased him in a case against the now-defunct Trump University, Trump struck a more welcoming tone.

"No one should be judged by their race or their color and the color of their skin," he said. "We're going to bring our nation together."

Reading mostly from teleprompters, he declared Clinton "unfit to be president" while vowing to "restore faith to its proper mantle" in the US.

Trump boasted of the support he received from evangelicals in the Republican primary and touted his opposition to abortion rights and commitment to religious freedom - issues he rarely discusses in other settings. Seizing on social issues, Trump claimed Clinton would appoint "radical" judges who would "abolish" the Second Amendment and "destroy the rule of law."

Elizabeth Warren. Could the outspoken Massachusetts Senator be Clinton's VP pick? (Photo: Reuters)

In a new dig against her email scandal, Trump proposed "tough new ethics rules to restore dignity of the office of the secretary of state" and challenged Clinton to drop her support for increasing refugee admissions and instead support "a new jobs program for our inner cities."

It was one of several examples of Trump's burgeoning populist attacks against Clinton, whom he painted as indebted to big money. He claimed her immigration, education and trade policies would harm working families and "plunge our poor African-American and Hispanic communities into turmoil and even worse despair."

He also accused Clinton of failing to understand the gravity of the risk posed by Islamic extremism, and faulted her for wanting to allow more Syrian refugees into the country.

"Hillary will bring hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of whom have hostile beliefs about people of different faiths and values and some of whom absolutely and openly support terrorism in our country," he claimed. Clinton has proposed allowing 65,000 Syrian refugees into the country each year.

His speech was interrupted by several protesters, including one woman who screamed "Refugees are welcome here!" as she was escorted out of the room.

Trump ditched the teleprompters for a rally Friday night in Richmond, Virginia, where he delivered a freewheeling monologue more like those he gave during the primaries. He claimed Clinton "hates" Obama. He insisted he was "the least racist person you'll see." And he repeatedly called Warren "Pocahontas," prompting some in the crowd to break out in Indian war cries.
At least 20 people were killed and scores wounded in twin suicide and car bomb blasts on Saturday in a Damascus suburb that contains Syria's holiest Shi'ite Muslim shrine, a monitoring group said.

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The Islamic State (ISIS) terror organization has claimed responsibility for the attack.

State media did not give further details about the bombings in the Sayeda Zeinab area, where at least three bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State militants have killed and wounded scores of people this year.

The attack's aftermath, Damascus, Saturday.

A Shi'ite religious cleric on the state-run Ikhbariyah TV channel said the car bomb blast was not far from the shrine area in the main al-Taen street.

The heavily garrisoned area is a well known stronghold of Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite Hezbollah group, a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Thousands of Iraqi and Afghan Shi'ite militia recruits who volunteer to fight against the Sunni rebel groups trying to bring down Assad's government normally come to the area before being sent to frontlines across Syria.

They say they come to Syria to defend the Sayeda Zeinab shrine from radical Sunni extremists.
The IDF demolished late Friday night the home of Murad Badr Abdullah Dais, the terrorist who murdered Dafna Meir in her Otniel home in January. Dais stabbed Meir to death in front of one of her six children.

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Dais' home was in the town of Yatta, near Hebron in the West Bank. Yatta is also the hometown of the two terrorists who perpetrated the deadly shooting attack at Tel Aviv's Sarona Market on Wednesday evening.

Dafna Meir. Killed in her home.

The IDF Spokesperson stated that Dais' home was demolished in accordance with government orders.

Dais' brother was seen Saturday morning, hanging a Palestinian flag on the home's remains. Palestinian officials have already promised to aid the family in building a new home.

The Palestinian flag on the demolished home.

The town of Yatta is infamous for being a home to extremists. Following the news of Wednesday's attack at the Sarona market, some people in Yatta celebrated, giving out candy and lighting fireworks.
A 16-year-old girl from the United States died on Wednesday from hyperthermia (heat stroke) during a hike with her summer camp in the Negev. The teenager was transported to the hospital following her displaying symptoms on Wednesday, and the news of her death was released on Saturday.

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The American was struck with hyperthermia whilst on a hike with other teenage girls in Ein Akev. Paramedics from Magen David Adom were called to the scene, where they provided first aid and transferred her directly via helicopter to Be'er Sheva's Soroka Medical Center.

US and Israeli flags at half-staff at the girl's summer camp

She arrived at Soroka already in critical condition, and the doctors there attempted to resuscitate her. After an hour and a half of attempts to save her life, she was pronounced dead.

The police are currently investigating the circumstances that led to the girl's death.
Ten firefighter crews from the Afula District Fire Station and other neighboring fire stations worked together to extinguish a large fire in Megiddo. Two firefighting planes helped the crews. After 6pm, the crews successfully took control of the fire.

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Police officers evacuated hikers from Megiddo National Park and the Ramot Menashe Park and established joint operations room with the firefighters.

Forest between Megiddo Junction and Musmus

The fire broke out in a forest between the Megiddo Junction and Musmus, an Arab village. The commander of the Afula Fire Station, Tefser Mickey Cohen, said that there had been a fire on Friday in the same area and there were fires in a number of new locations on Saturday

On Saturday, Shavuot eve, approximately 100,000 Israelis went to nature reserves and national parks. Most of them went to Yarkon National Park, Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, Gan HaShlosha National Park, Achziv National Park and Dor Beach.

Many Israelis also traveled to the Fisherman's Park near Zichron Ya'akov. The police there reported that parking lots had reached maximum capacity and asked additional citizens not to come.
DUBAI - The busy Dubai International Airport closed for over an hour after a drone flew into its airspace.

The airport says the closure disrupted flights for 69 minutes on Saturday. The airport, the world's busiest for international travel, reopened at 12:45 p.m.
While Israel's exports are currently facing difficulties, such as boycotts and competition, one field of exports is matchless, and global demand for it only continues to grow: the war on terror.

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Last week, Deputy Attorney General Raz Nazari completed the drafting of a bill to combat terrorism. This task was remarkably complex, as the facts did not cease changing, the challenges and requirements kept being modified, and time and time again, Nazari had to update the wording to adapt to the current situation and the recent wave of terrorism. For this reason, the work of drafting took no less than a decade and included hundreds of meetings with security officials, legislative and comparative judicial reviews, and 30 meetings of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

After examining the sweeping laws enacted in the USA following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Israeli legal officials opted for more balanced legislation. One of the key innovations in the bill is the recognition of the need to deal not only with terrorism itself, but also with so-called "terrorism support," which includes those who support and incite to terrorism.

One of the Brussels attack terrorists (Photo: AP) (Photo: AP)

For example, the new bill sets that, contrary to past laws, calls to carry out a terrorist attack will be considered an offense even if there was no "substantial probability" that an act of terrorism would be committed following the call. Further, the bill sets stricter punishments for crimes related to terrorism, expands the circle of transgressors to include anyone who trains, aids, and provides resources to terrorists, or even identifies with them publicly, and limits sentence-reductions for those convicted of terrorism.

Immediately after the final debate on the draft in the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee finished, Nazari made himself available to receive delegations of prosecutors from the US and France who had come to Israel to hear more about the legislative process, the dilemmas facing the Israeli Ministry of Justice, and the solutions found.

Raz Nazari (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

Nazari explained to all that the purpose of the new law is to provide the state with the tools necessary to deal with terrorism in a new world that is more technological and internet-based. He detailed for them the need to deal with sophisticated money transfers and with online incitement, and, with those challenges, organizing the use of sophisticated tracking mechanisms that may violate privacy.

Other senior legal officials, notably Supreme Court Presidents Emeriti Aharon Barak and Dorit Beinisch, are very desirable speakers in all matters relating to the legal handling of terrorism. If, in the past, the demand was mainly from the United States, in recent years, the subject has become more and more du jour in Europe, as well, which has itself become the target of many severe attacks.

A fortnight ago, Supreme Court Justice Emerita Edna Arbel gave a lecture at a judges' conference dealing with the legal challenges in handling terrorism. According to Arbel, the technological revolution, which includes multi-channel television, mobile phones and especially the internet, challenges anyone who tries to fight terrorism.

Edna Arbel (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

"The battlefield has changed, and so has the shape of the battle," she said. "The world of classical terrorism as we knew it has changed dramatically, and today, the scene of the crime is no longer the rally in the square or a procession with flags, but rather a post on social media. Today, the voice of incitement is spread to a large audience through tapping on a mobile phone or typing on a computer."

Arbel explained that it is impossible to prevent posting online, and any attempt by security forces to do will conflict with the question of violating privacy. "There is no escaping the conclusion that law enforcement officials will always be one stepor more accurately, several stepsbehind the world of terrorism," she said. She added that adapting the judicial system to changes and enforcement processes takes too long and requires cooperation amongst states and international organizations to create a common language for dealing with issues.

Arbel stated that the Israeli Supreme Court based the legal fight against terrorism on three principles: action within the limits of international and Israeli law, while using the tools approved by the court, such as "targeted eliminations" or "door knocking;" balancing the need to preserve security against the need to preserve human rights, by virtue of which torture in interrogations and kidnapping "bargaining chips" have both been forbidden; and ensuring the right of access to the Supreme Court for anyone claiming human rights violations.
Stockholm syndrome is a phenomenon wherein a captive identifies with his captor, the trauma creating positive feelings. Jerusalem syndrome is a rare phenomenon wherein tourist or pilgrims visiting the holy city stop communicating with the people around them and instead communicate with God and biblical characters. This syndrome is not connected to trauma, but rather to extreme psychological feelings.

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Netanyahu syndrome is a phenomenon that developed in recent years in the State of Israel: The inability to examine the status quo in a rational way, strong feelings of blind hatred, and conspiratorial paranoia toward the prime minister and his surroundings. And on the other hand, blind reverence and resorting to slogans without the ability to discern their deficiencies.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Reuters)

We will begin with the bottom line: Netanyahu acts as if he did not care. He says things and their opposite, works without a team of advisors, and does not try to make himself appear statesmanlike. He changed this past year, and no one in his party or among his political opponents in the coalition knows how to explain it. If Israeli politics had a logical rationale, it would speak to an ending, but Israeli politics do not have a logical rationale and there is no study in the world that will prove that something here is over.

A fitting discovery: I am a person who thinks that the time has come for Netanyahu to be replaced. I voted for him many times in the past and worked for him, but the time has come to replace him. A new leader needs to emerge in the national camp. There are a host of qualified individuals with charisma, ethics, and courage.

Netanyahu, the person with the most experience in his midst has done his part for Israel. Despite the terrorist attack (at the Sarona Market), our security situation is excellent (we do not face any existential threats) and our economic situation is good even though many people claim otherwise, and that is thanks to him. But our internal social situation has caused great concern for me, and that is also because of him. A time will come to say so long and thanks for all the fish, and that needs to be done with elections.

Here, I need to add one reservation: In order for this to happen, we must change the method of determining the prime minister, in which the prime minister serves a full term, without having to deal with the imaginary or real sins of the past, until a certain criminal level. Limiting the terms of the prime minister to eight years will prevent him from turning into a Kaiser. If it were this way, Olmert would have finished his term, and Rabin would not have had to retire during his first term.
News

Washington, DC - Friday at the White House, Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Munoz and Education Secretary John King will host 15 higher education public and private institutions from across the country who are standing with the Obama Administration as founding partners in launching the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge.

In total, 25 institutions have taken the pledge, including: Ancilla College, Arizona State University, Auburn University, Boston University, City University of New York, College of Saint Benedict, Columbia University, Eastern University, Howard University, New York University, North Park University, Nyack College, Raritan Valley Community College, Rutgers University (Biomedical and Health Sciences, Camden, Newark and New Brunswick), Saint Johns University, San Francisco State University, State University of New York, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, University of California System, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, University of Puget Sound and University of Washington. These institutions represent and serve more than one million students. More information about the pledge is available HERE.

Since the President took office, this Administration has been committed to reforming America's criminal justice system and expanding college opportunity.

In July 2015, the President highlighted the importance of reducing barriers facing people who have been in contact with the criminal justice system and are trying to put their lives back on track, and emphasized that a smarter approach to reducing crime and enhancing public safety must begin with investing in all of our communities. Right now, there are 2.2 million Americans behind bars, and more than 600,000 inmates are released each year. An estimated 70 million or more Americans have some sort of criminal record -- almost one in five of all Americans; almost one in three Americans of working age.

Too often, a criminal record disqualifies Americans from being full participants in our society -- even after theyve already paid their debt to society. This includes admissions processes for educational institutions that can make it difficult if not impossible for those with criminal records to get an education that can lead to a job. As President Obama has said, that's bad for not only those individuals, it's bad for our economy. Its bad for the communities that desperately need more role models who are gainfully employed. So weve got to make sure Americans whove paid their debt to society can earn their second chance.

Todays announcement provides higher education institutions and a broad array of coalitions with an opportunity to voice their support for the reforms needed to remove unnecessary barriers to college access.

By signing the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge, these higher education institutions are:

Demonstrating an ongoing commitment to take action to reduce barriers to a fair shot at a second chance, especially though an educational opportunity, including adopting fair chance admissions practices like going Beyond the Box by determining whether criminal justice-related questions are necessary to make an informed admission decision, and if so, whether these questions should be moved to a later part of the application process (e.g., after schools make an initial admission decision or after students meet the academic criteria), or whether the initial review of the application can be conducted without knowledge of the answers to the criminal-justice related questions.

Taking action in their local communities by supporting professors and students who want to teach or are teaching in correctional facilities and ensuring internships and job training are available to individuals with criminal records.

Setting an example for their peers. The Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge is available for more higher education institutions to sign on at this link. The Obama Administration will highlight these additional pledge takers later this year.

Last month the Department of Education released The Beyond the Box Resource Guide. The Guide provides information for colleges and universities to help remove barriers that can prevent citizens with criminal records from pursuing higher education. The guide also encourages alternatives to inquiring about criminal histories during college admissions and provides recommendations to support a holistic review of applicants. More information is available HERE.

Earlier this year, the White House launched the Fair Chance Business Pledge, a call-to-action for all members of the private sector to improve their communities by eliminating barriers in employment for those with a criminal record and creating a pathway for a second chance. Over 100 organizations have joined the pledge, including: American Airlines, The Coca-Cola Company, Facebook, Georgia Pacific, Google, The Hershey Company, The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, Koch Industries, PepsiCo, Prudential, Starbucks, Uber, Under Amour/Plank Industries, Unilever and Xerox. A full list of companies who have signed the Fair Chance Business Pledge is available HERE.

THE FAIR CHANCE HIGHER EDUCATION PLEDGE

We applaud the growing number of public and private colleges and universities nationwide who are taking action to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed, including individuals who have had contact with the criminal justice system. When an estimated 70 million or more Americans  nearly one in three adults  have a criminal record, it is important to remove unnecessary barriers that may prevent these individuals from gaining access to education and training that can be so critical to career success and lead to a fulfilled and productive life. We are committed to providing individuals with criminal records, including formerly incarcerated individuals, a fair chance to seek a higher education to obtain the knowledge and skills needed to contribute to our Nations growing economy.

These institutions put forth their pledges as follows:

Arizona State University (AZ)

Arizona State University is an institution committed to making higher education accessible to the millions of individual capable of doing college level work who want to better his or her life. This is why ASU is signing the Fair Chance Pledge. We must remove barriers to success in education and employment for everyone, including individuals with criminal convictions, who have demonstrated a commitment to academic and professional success post-incarceration. We as a nation must create opportunities for these individuals if we expect them to follow a different path than the one that led them to prison.

The innovation and mold-breaking that are hallmarks of ASU are all in service of this broad mission of inclusiveness and opportunity. Like our partnerships with Starbucks to make college free to all their employees and the launch of the open-access Global Freshman Academy, the Fair Chance pledge represents a belief that opportunities must be given for self-improvement to all those who are willing to expend the necessary effort and commitment. It is the key to the long-term success of our nation. Auburn is committed to its land-grant traditions of service and access through the rigors of academic study and a welcoming, inclusive campus community. The first priority in the Auburn strategic plan is enhancing student success and diversifying enrollment, and eliminating unnecessary barriers provides one avenue toward those objectives. Auburns reputation for providing a challenging and practical learning experience is strengthened through integrated academic and student life programs that equip students of varied backgrounds to become leaders in their professions and communities.

Auburn University (AL) Auburn is committed to its land-grant traditions of service and access through the rigors of academic study and a welcoming, inclusive campus community. The first priority in the Auburn strategic plan is enhancing student success and diversifying enrollment, and eliminating unnecessary barriers provides one avenue toward those objectives. Auburns reputation for providing a challenging and practical learning experience is strengthened through integrated academic and student life programs that equip students of varied backgrounds to become leaders in their professions and communities.

Boston University (MA) Boston University has a tradition of inclusiveness and service to the community that goes back to its founding charter. We believe in the power of education to elevate, nurture, and transform. BU has delivered college-level courses in correctional institutions since 1972, which makes our prison education program one of the oldest continuously operating programs in the country. While education is difficult to deliver in prison, we know that educations power to change lives is critical in prison. Today BU continues to offer a full Bachelors degree to incarcerated individuals and provides over $1,500,000 annually for scholarships, books, instructional and administrative support. We also support scholarships for the staff of the correctional institutions. Our program improves the climate within the correctional institution and helps prisoners obtain the intellectual leverage they need to revise their view of themselves and emerge from prison better equipped to contribute positively to their families and communities.

City University of New York (NY) CUNY strongly believes that educational opportunity is critical to helping formerly incarcerated people re-enter society with the knowledge and skills to become productive, self-sufficient citizens. Public dollars are saved by reducing recidivism, while safer communities are created. With CUNYs John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the lead, and working in close collaboration with Hostos Community College, programs have been developed to provide academic courses to inmates. The University currently operates the Prison to College Pipeline -- known as P2CP  through John Jays Prisoner Reentry Institute. This effort brings accredited courses, which are privately funded, to inmates at several New York State correctional facilities, and the University has plans to expand to other prisons.

Columbia University (NY) As an academic institution committed to inclusion and excellence, Columbia University has a particular responsibility to support enhancing access to college education and employment for those who need a second chance and, more broadly, for those from communities bearing the brunt of mass incarceration. Signing the Fair Chance pledge provides an opportunity to reaffirm the scope of Columbias commitment in these areas: Columbia is committed to policies and practices that ensure fair, equitable, and well-informed consideration of all prospective students and employees, including those with a criminal record. Columbia faculty teach in prisons, jails and, on the Columbia campus, in programs that make it possible for students who have returned from prison to continue their education and to increase their opportunities for employment. Columbia is committed to supporting the success of the members of its community who have experienced incarceration and to valuing their contributions to the vibrancy of our academic community and to the public discourse on criminal justice reform. Faculty, students, and staff across the University carry out research that advances the analysis and understanding of social issues that have contributed to and result from mass incarceration. Many members of our academic community are civically engaged in addressing those issues as well.

Cornell University (NY) Cornell University was founded on egalitarian principles of providing access to higher education for all academically-qualified students, and a practical vision of higher education dedicated to a land-grant mission of public service and engagement. Cornell strives to foster diversity in our student populations by seeking, admitting, and graduating students from all backgrounds. These values are consistent with the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge that encourages colleges and universities to commit to actions so that all American have the opportunity to succeed through pursuing advanced education. Cornell considers criminal history information of any applicant only in later stages of the admissions process and provides an opportunity for applicants to provide explanatory information. Once admitted, Cornell provides a supportive campus environment. We are proud to take action in our own region through the Cornell Prison Education Program, providing academic opportunities for incarcerated students, some of whom have been admitted to Cornell University following their affiliation with that program.

Eastern University (PA) Eastern University supports the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge and appreciates the White Houses efforts to ensure that our nations many returning citizens are greeted with opportunity as they return to their homes and communities. The Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge is consistent with Eastern Universitys history and practice of seeking to remove barriers to educational attainment that many of our neighbors experience. Over the years, Eastern has embraced initiatives, built programs, and sought partnerships that have allowed it to better provide educational opportunities to populations side-lined by the dominant practices of higher education. This creative activity reflects our commitment to values reflected in our motto, Faith, Reason, & Justice." In a manner congruent with those ends, we are dedicated to providing all individuals who seek an Eastern University education, including those who have been incarcerated, a fair chance at gaining the knowledge and credentials they need so that they may access the opportunities they seek. One expression of Eastern Universitys commitment to returning citizens is a June 2016 Conference on Reentry sponsored by our Center for Urban Youth Development, a City Councilman, several area nonprofits, and a church in Philadelphia. At Eastern University, embracing the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge is more than mere words. It is an expression of our history and core identity.

Howard University (DC) Since being chartered by the U.S. Congress on March 2, 1867, Howard University has been dedicated to researching and developing solutions to address the disparities and social ills that affect our communities, nation and the world, with a legacy of breaking barriers and creating opportunities. Through its admission practices, Howard University works to provide inclusive opportunity and an equal chance to all who are preparing themselves for postsecondary education. The University recognizes academic talent and potential, despite an applicants economic or social circumstances, and already provides a broad array of support services to help students successfully complete their higher education. Howard University instills in all of its students its time honored principles of In Truth and Service.

New York University (NY) At NYU, we believe in second chances and in the role of universities as engines of social mobility. We are also sensitive to the concerns about how equitably our justice system serves our society. NYU reviews all candidates for undergraduate admission holistically, and criminal conviction has never been an automatic bar to admission; every year, we admit applicants who checked the box. Even as NYU remains committed to providing a safe environment for our students, we think the modifications we've made to our admissions process -- in which applications' first readings are box blind -- are an important step in the right direction. And we look forward to continuing the dialogue, posing questions, and carrying out the research about the role and value of the box.

North Park University, Chicago (IL) North Park University in Chicago educates students for lives of significance and service. We believe that all people desiring a high-quality education deserve the opportunity. This has meant expanding the range of students we are educating, and expanding the support services we provide. Over the past few years we have been holding courses in a state prison. Several of those students have asked if, upon their release, they can continue their education at North Park. It is important to us that they can do so. We applaud the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge, and we will work diligently to create pathways for a second chance for people with a criminal record. We are delighted to join fellow universities in working to remove unnecessary barriers for a higher education and becoming places of hope and opportunity.

Raritan Valley Community College (NJ) Raritan Valley Community College, a major partner in the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons Consortium (NJ-STEP), is especially proud to applaud and to support the White House Fair Chance Business Pledge. As a mission-driven college of opportunity, Raritan Valley believes in the transformative power of education. In providing incarcerated students with a dynamic and innovative learning environment, in offering students the opportunity to earn an Associates Degree, and in building a seamless transition into a four-year college, we help to create that pathway for a second chance. We are honored to include these remarkable graduates as our alumni and as our most persuasive and eloquent examples of success.

Rutgers University (NJ) Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, has over 60,000 students spread across its three universities in Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick, as well as Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. For more than a decade, Rutgers has been building new strategies for providing higher education to people with prior criminal justice histories. Our seminal effort, the Mountainview Program, was a peer, on-campus, student community for students who have previously been incarcerated. It showed that a campus support system can produce substantial educational outcomes: more than 100 students enrolled, over 40 baccalaureate degrees to date from more than 6 different Rutgers schools, 6 masters degrees from distinguished institutions around the country, and Rutgers two most recent Truman Scholars. Today we host NJ-STEP, a consortium of New Jersey higher education institutions which offers dozens of college courses throughout New Jerseys state prison system, provides transition services to ensure that people released from prison enroll in New Jerseys colleges, and oversees the Mountainview communities now operating at all Rutgers universities.

Rutgers mission is to serve New Jerseys most promising students by providing educational opportunity, and to achieve that mission we make a special effort to promote educational access for students who come from previously excluded groups. Our three different universities offer a range of options for those with previous criminal justice involvement, and we particularly note that two of our universities are located in cities whose residents are at elevated risk of criminal justice contact. Our philosophy is to make college available to any New Jersey resident who can succeed academically at Rutgers, without preconceptions about prior justice system experiences. Once students with criminal justice histories are admitted, we work hard to make sure they are supported academically and personally while they study on our campuses. This, we know, is a key to success.

More importantly, we take pride in the degree to which theses students participate fully in our campus life, make contributions to the broader Rutgers community while they study here, and bring credit to themselves, to Rutgers, and to the State of New Jersey in the way they use their education to build successful lives after they graduate.

San Francisco State University (CA)

San Francisco State University applauds the growing number of public and private colleges and universities nationwide who are taking action to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed, including individuals who have had contact with the criminal justice system. When an estimated 70 million or more Americans  nearly one in three adults  have a criminal record, it is important to remove unnecessary barriers that may prevent these individuals from gaining access to education and training that can be so critical to career success and lead to a fulfilled and productive life. We are committed to providing individuals with criminal records, including formerly incarcerated individuals, a fair chance to seek a higher education to obtain the knowledge and skills needed to contribute to our Nations growing economy.

Founded in 1967, Project Rebound at San Francisco State University is a special support program for students transitioning out of prison and jail which has helped hundreds of formerly incarcerated individuals to earn bachelors degrees and beyond. Project Rebound is a proven model that reduces recidivism and empowers criminal justice-involved individuals through higher education. The CSU Project Rebound Consortium has developed a three-year plan to establish and expand programs for formerly incarcerated students across the CSU system. Each university plans to develop a campus-based re-entry program to help motivated individuals to prepare for college, apply for admission, enroll, persist, and graduate, ready to enter the workforce. Key objectives for the next three-years include: Build the capacity of CSU campus administrators, faculty and staff to serve currently and formerly incarcerated students. Create on-ramps between state and county correctional facilities and CSU campuses, and develop connections with reentry service providers to support student success. Identify and support enrolled students and help prospective students to prepare, apply, matriculate, persist, and graduate. Develop a data collection, management, and evaluation system to inform program development and to communicate program outcomes.

State University of New York (NY)

The nations largest comprehensive public university system, The State University of New York (SUNY), was established in 1948 to create opportunity and increase access to quality higher education. For individuals across the New York State and the nation who have a history with the criminal justice system, access to college can be a challenge due to requirements for disclosure of criminal records and other barriers - both real and perceived - throughout the application process. To combat this issue and bolster its commitment to providing educational opportunity for every New Yorker, a SUNY workgroup is consulting with campus and community stakeholders throughout the state as the 64-campus university system prepares to improve pathways to college for justice-involved individuals as recommended by beyond the box.

University of Pittsburgh, Bradford (PA) The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford community proudly supports the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge. We are fully committed to creating a mutually respectful, enterprising, and intellectually curious community of students, faculty, and staff who value and embrace diversity in all of its forms, manifestations, and expressions. This pledge only strengthens our educational partnership with Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McKean.

University of Puget Sound (WA) Puget Sound has adopted fair chance admission practices that include considering criminal justice questions only in the later part of a holistic read of all admission files, giving all prospective students an opportunity to explain criminal justice involvement and preparedness for postsecondary study, communicating clearly on the Puget Sound website (item 16) how justice and discipline involvement will be considered, and demonstrating a clear record of admitting students who have reported history of justice or discipline involvement. In faculty and staff hiring processes, contingent offers precede criminal background checks; results are considered in the context of the specific position description. We have a strong set of programs in support of campus safety, including prevention of and response to sexual assault. Our campus also supports the Freedom Education Project Puget Sound as a signature initiative in civic scholarship, which includes establishing mutual, reciprocal community partnerships to support justice-involved individuals and providing high quality liberal arts education at the Washington Correctional Center for Women. Twenty-three Puget Sound faculty to-date have taught in the program and a long list of students has served as tutors and volunteers, and  this summer  in a new internship program at the prison. The Race and Pedagogy Initiative, another signature initiative, has hosted campus-community summit sessions on race, education, and justice.

University of Washington (WA) The University of Washington is committed to reducing barriers and challenges to achieving a high-quality higher education  that is the foundation of our Race and Equity Initiative. The UW believes, fundamentally, that higher education allows individuals boundless opportunities. This is why the UW, through our faculty and graduate students, is a long-time active partner in University Beyond Bars and Freedom Education Project Puget Sound, which together recently applied for the pilot program allowing incarcerated individuals eligible for PELL grant funding to pursue BA degree completion. The UW leads by example in helping individuals put their lives back on track and investing broadly in our community through our Inner Pipeline Seminars, which includes a community practicum inside the King County Correctional Facility; through programs like UWs Mixed Enrollment Courses, where UW faculty teach classes combining students from campus and from inside a prison learning together; as well as on-going and expanded teacher training, volunteer teaching, and active research programs for greater collaboration to reach across prison walls and connect academic institutions, incarceration facilities, and incarcerated individuals to better understand challenges and develop better tools, training and assessments to support individuals for re-entry.



Additional signatories to the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge:
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Patna: Amit Kumar alias Bachcha Rai, the mastermind of the Class 12 Board merit list scam in Bihar, was arrested on Saturday after he surrendered before the police.

Rai is the director-cum-principal of the VR College in Vaishali district which is being investigated in the case.

According to police officials, Rai, who has been absconding, surrendered near his college in Vaishali and the police arrested him. Police will produce him in the local court by evening.

In the last 48 hours police had raided several places but failed to track Rai.

Meanwhile, former Chairman of Bihar School Examination Board Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh is still absconding, police said. Singh is a key accused in the case and has gone underground after resigning from the Board.

Earlier on Friday, five accused arrested in the case were remanded to 14 days' judicial custody by a local court in Patna.
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested Virendra Tawade, a Sanatan Sanstha activist in connection with the murder of Narendra Dabholkar in 2013.

Virendra Tawde, a doctor, associated with rightwing Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, was arrested yesterday from his residence at Panvel in Raigad district of Maharashtra. During the search, the agency recovered documents and phones numbers and e-mails which were scrutinised.

He will be produced in a Pune court today.

CBI sources said they had been questioning Tawade over the last few days to probe his role in the murder.

Anti-superstition activist Dabholkar, an Indian rationalist and author was shot dead by unidentified assailants while he was on a morning walk on the bridge near Omkareshwar temple in Pune on August 20, 2013.

He was murdered days after the Maharashtra government assured that it would introduce the anti-superstition Bill - opposed by many right-wing groups as "anti-Hindu." It was his campaign that led the state government to draft the Bill.

The CBI took over the case from Maharashtra Police and filed a First Information Report or FIR on May 9, 2014, on the orders of the Bombay High Court.
Panna: Tigress T-5 was found dead with injuries on her body in Madhya Pradesh's Panna Tiger Reserve on Saturday.

According to the reserve administration, injuries on her body suggest that the animal may have died in a territorial fight with another big cat.

Tigress T-5 was one of the first big cats brought to the reserve in 2009 after it lost all of its tigers.

T-5 was brought here from Kanha Tiger Reserve.
Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday denied that his government has issued a directive to school teachers in the state asking them not to wear jeans to work.

"No, there is no such order that has been issued by the state government. And, if someone has said anything like this, then we take it back, but no such thing has happened," Khattar told ANI.

As per the order issued by the office of the Director of elementary education, the district education officers have been asked to ensure that teachers do not wear jeans when they go to school or to the office of the education department.

While the four-line order said wearing jeans to work was not appropriate and the teachers should wear formal clothes, it did not attribute any particular reason for it.

According to reports the order reads, "It is observed that teachers of primary and middle schools come to schools wearing jeans. Further, they come to the office of the education department wearing jeans, which is not appropriate. Kindly ensure that teachers wear formal clothes in schools and not jeans."
Nagpur: In what is described as the country's first, a female infant with a severe genetic disorder and near-total missing external body skin, was born here early on Saturday, a doctor said.

"It's the first 'Harlequin Baby' in the country. The infant is born blind and the chances of her survival are uncertain," said paediatrician Dr Yash A. Banait, who was involved in the rare delivery along with obstetrician-gynaecologist Dr Prachi Dixit.

Born around 12.45 a.m. at Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, the first child to a farmer-couple from Wadi, the child is currently in the NICU and being attended by a team of medicos who were conducting a series of tests and investigations on the baby.

The child presents a sad picture with large parts of her body without skin and internal organs visible. Her palms, fingers and toes have barely developed.

There are two reddish swabs in place of her eyes and her nose is just two holes from where she breathes and ears are practically missing on her face.

Dr Yash Banait said such children have severely cracked skin which makes it difficult to maintain body temperature and they become prone to infections.

Renowned paediatrician Dr Avinash Banait said there was a similar case in Bastar, Chhattisgarh in 2014, but it would not be medically proved.

Besides this, there have been only around a dozen-odd such recorded cases in medical history since 1750.

The first such child was born in April 1750 in South Carolina, US, and there are reportedly around a dozen such cases recorded in that country.

One such child Nusrit Shaheen was born in 1984 to a Pakistani woman and four of her children had the same disorder and succumbed at an early age.

Another such male child was born in 2013 to a woman in South Africa and was given a slim survival chance, but lived more.
Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: A new survey suggests that India has over 72,000 cases of unrepaired cleft lip or cleft palate.

Infants in low and middle-income countries face significant barriers to treatment, leading to prolonged disfigurement, social stigma, speech impairment as well as trouble of feeding food that can result in malnutrition and death.

The findings showed that there are 72,637 cases of unrepaired CL/P in India. The percentage of individuals with unrepaired CL/P who were older than the respective target age group of 1-2 ranged from 37.0 per cent in Goa to 65.8 per cent in Bihar.

Safe, timely and effective surgery can result in successful outcomes, the researchers noted, in the paper published online by JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery. However, poor states like Bihar, with less health care infrastructure were found to have with exceptionally high rates for the surgery.

The rate of unrepaired CL/Ps ranged from less than 3.5 per 100,000 population in Kerala and Goa to 10.9 per 100,000 population in Bihar. Substandard nutrition and a lack of prenatal care are known to be the likely reasons for these congenital disorders.

(With IANS inputs)
New Delhi: Taking a dig at the previous UPA government for banning Govt employees to participate in RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami programs, the Sangh on Saturday said that move has been proved unconstitutional by courts in multiple cases.

Talking to ANI, Sangh's head of communication department Manmohan Vaidya said, "Banning Central government employees to participate in RSS programs has already been proved unconstitutional by courts in multiple cases."

"Banning RSS members to join Central government service is unjust and undemocratic. Such bans hardly affect RSS work and morale of Swayam sevaks. RSS does not work through state power or with the support of it. RSS works among the people, with the people and for the people," Vaidya added.

Vaidya's remarks come amid talks that government may withdraw a five decade old order restricting the entry of RSS workers in government services.

The Centre, by its 1966 order, had banned government employees from participating in activities of RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami.

However, the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami cadres may now be allowed to join government services as Narendra Modi dispensation on Thursday promised to withdraw a five-decade old order which restricted their entry in such jobs.

The move came after reports suggested that a Central government department had cited the same order and asked new recruits in Goa to give a declaration that they don't belong to RSS.

"The central government has not issued any such order recently. If any old order exists, we will review it in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs," Union Minister of State for Personnel and PMO Jitendra Singh told reporters here.

Official sources said the Home Ministry had first issued the order in 1966 making it mandatory for all new recruits to give a declaration that he or she does not have membership of either RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami.

As per the order, anyone having membership of RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami will not given any central government job.

The Office memorandum was re-issued in 1975 as well as in 1980 and circulated among all central government Ministries and Departments.

However, the order was not followed strictly and come to light when new recruits were asked to fill up a form in this regard in Goa recently.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other Union Ministers have always taken pride about their links with RSS.
New Delhi: The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is expected to take up India's application for membership at its plenary meeting in South Korean capital Seoul on June 24 after deliberations at a preliminary meeting in Vienna on the same remained inconclusive Friday.

While the United States made a strong push for Indias membership bid and most NSG members lent support to it, however, the opposition from China delayed any decision on the same.

China has been opposing India's membership bid saying the elite nuclear club should not alter criteria for specific applicants.

The 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group controls access to sensitive nuclear technology.

Meanwhile, India is hopeful that China will change its position when its application is again taken up at the plenary meeting in Seoul.

This view was boosted by the fact that several other member countries, which had been opposing India's membership bid, softened their stand in Vienna and indicated their readiness for a compromise.

A report in the Hindustan Times quoted sources as saying that India does not consider China as a roadblock to its entry into the NSG and believes Beijing will come around to supporting its membership bid.

The Times of India Saturday said New Delhi is refraining from openly criticising China over its opposition to India's membership bid, as it believes demonising Beijing would have a negative effect.

In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tashkent on June 23-24 ahead of the NSG plenary.

India is all set to become a member of the SCO after the grouping approved its membership last year.

China has maintained its position that countries like India who are non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) should not be made members of the NSG. And, if the criteria is relaxed for India, then the same should be done for Pakistan, which is Beijing's close ally.

During his recently-concluded five-nation tour, PM Modi had secured the backing of the US, Switzerland and Mexico for Indias entry into the NSG.
Chandigarh: Essel Group Chairman Dr Subhash Chandra on Saturday expressed his gratitude towards Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for supporting him in the Rajya Sabha polls which lead to the media baron's success from Haryana today.

Shortly after marking his victory, Dr Subhash Chandra addressed a press conference here and said he knows how to win a lost battle while adding that 2016 Haryana Rajya Sabha polls was between BJP and rest of the other political parties.

Hitting out at his critics, Dr Chandra said, "I never make big promises without any concrete base. During 2014 Haryana Assembly Elections, I said that I know the secret to win a lost battle and in 2016 Rajya Sabha polls I proved myself."

Further disclosing his wining secret, Dr Chandra said, "I personally called-up 76 out of 90 MLAs of Haryana and sought for their support."

The noted philanthropist further expressed his willingness to do something for the betterment of Haryana and its people while assuring that he would raise the issues in the interest of the state during his tenure in the Upper House.

"I would like to thank all 90 legislators (of the Haryana Assembly) and I would like to assure the people of Haryana that during my tenure in Rajya Sabha, I will work towards the betterment of Haryana. I was born and raised in Haryana, but my work took me across the globe. Along with keeping Haryana's interests in mind, I have to also keep the interest of the nation in mind," Dr Chandra told media after his victory was declared.

"Would like to work for Haryana and it's people. After this big win, my responsibilities have also widened. I would also be obliged if provided a chance to work for my fellow citizens of India," Dr Chandra said.

In a scathing attack over those who had speculated that Dr Chandra may win the RS polls by using his money power, the Essel Group Chairman said, "Believe me that they have been proved wrong because I did not spend much money except on accomodation."

"Lot of people have said earlier that Subhash ji has a lot of money and will win elections using money. All those are wrong. My people and I have spent on travelling and staying in Haryana Niwas, other than that I had deposited Rs. 10, 000, which I would get back. So I haven't spent much," he said.

Rebellion by Congress MLAs in Haryana helped BJP-backed Independent candidate Dr Subhash Chandra score a victory after at least 14 votes on Congress were rejected in the 90-member assembly.

There was high drama in the assembly complex and counting of votes was delayed for over two hours following objections raised by various parties.

Union minister Birender Singh was also elected to the Rajya Sabha. He secured 40 votes.

Dr Chandra defeated another independent candidate, Delhi-based lawyer RK Anand, who was supported by the INLD and the Congress. While Dr Chandra got 29 votes, Anand managed only 15.

The Haryana results were to be declared around 5 pm today but the counting process was delayed due to objections raised by the ruling BJP, the opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and some independents.

After scrutiny, the Election Commission declared 14 Congress votes as invalid - a key factor that led to Dr Chandra's easy victory.

"In today's elections Birender Singh and Subhash Chandra have been declared as winners. A total of 90 votes were polled, one vote was rejected during polls for marking wrongly. Out of the 89 votes, 13 votes were rejected during scrutiny and counting," Assembly Secretary and Returning Officer RK Nandal said.

Nandal further said that all MLAs were clearly informed about the instructions regarding polls, adding that it was mentioned that votes need to be marked only using the violet pen provided by the Returning Officer.

"If any other article is used then the vote is rejected," he added.

"12 votes were rejected as they were marked by unauthorized articles. Out of 14 rejected votes, 12 were due to unathorised makings used, one was blank and another was rejected during polls," he said.

Seven states went to polls today to elect 27 Rajya Sabha members.

These include 11 seats from Uttar Pradesh, four each from Karnataka and Rajasthan, three from Madhya Pradesh, two each from Haryana and Jharkhand and one from Uttarakhand.
Solan (HP): At least eight persons, including five women, were killed and 20 others injured when a private bus rolled 150 feet deep into a gorge near Darlaghat in Solan district, 50 kms from here, police said.

The mishap took place yesterday in which five persons died on the spot, while three others succumbed to their injuries on way to IGMC hospital, Shimla, said Darlaghat DSP Narvir Rathore.

Four out of the eight persons killed in the accident have been identified as Vikas (30) hailing from Bilaspur, Tripta (21), a resident of Mandi, Banarasi Mehto (40) from Jharkhand and Chauhan Singh (35) from Kullu district, while the remaining are yet to be identified, the DSP said.

The ill-fated bus carrying over 40 persons was on its way from Chirgaon in Rohroo area of Shimla district to Mandi when the tragedy struck.

The condition of five injured persons admitted to IGMC was state to be serious. The cause of the accident could not be ascertained but eye?witnesses said it occurred as the driver failed to negotiate a sharp curve.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Transport Minister G S Bali have expressed deep shock and grief over the mishap and extended sympathies with bereaved families.
New Delhi: Breaking his silence on latest revelations relating to the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta on Saturday said that the reports on top MHA officials partying in Pakistan's Murree during the strike are nothing but mere speculation.

"I don't know why reports are saying that we were holidaying in Murree hill station. All the MHA officials stayed at Murree for few hours because hosts had made arrangements," Madhukar Gupta told ANI.

Defending his Cabinet colleagues on allegations that they extended their stay in Pakistan's 'no-signal zone' Murree while Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists were attacking Mumbai, Gupta said, "As soon as we came to know about the terror strike, we spoke to whoever had to be spoken. Nobody knew 26/11 would happen. I was in constant touch with people back in India when the disaster struck. What are we trying to prove going into speculation eight years later? It is speculation whether our stay was extended because they (Pakistan) knew about 26/11. We had no inkling."

Gupta, who had led the Indian delegation to Islamabad, doubted Pakistan's intention as he said, "We felt a little odd as well, why were they (Pakistan's MHA officials) accommodating us in Murree? The 26/11 attacks in Mumbai clearly depicted duplicitous role of Pakistan and this is not for the first time that such incidents had happened.."

Gupta also rejected the claim that the absence of top officers of internal security at the MHA during the attacks delayed the decision-making process. "An under-secretary from the Home Ministry said that the control room was not manned in our absence. Then this was corrected. Information was conveyed that day. All kinds of things were said. For example, NSG arrived late. How could that have changed with my physical presence?

It is inaccurate that there was no signal in Murree. I got a call from India, who informed me about the attacks and told me to switch on the television."

On Thursday, a report on Times Now news channel claimed that nine top Intel bosses were taken to Murree to 'no network zone' to ensure that India's MHA control room was empty during the horrific 26/11 attacks. According to the channel, India was tricked into extending talks by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), so that the Pakistan-based terror group could finish its task in Mumbai.

The then Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta and his team had arrived in Islamabad on November 24, 2008, for the talks that were part of the eight-subject composite dialogue process. The team was to return home on November 26, but the Pakistani government extended their stay by a day.
Jambusar (Gujarat): Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia has an advice for Hindu men: Go home and worship your manhood.

For the outspoken VHP leader believes impotency has grown among Hindu men which has led to a decline in their numbers.

The Indian Express reported that Togadia made the controversial remarks on Friday at a gathering at Jambusar in Bharuch district in Gujarat.

The VHP leader said Hindu couples must have more children in order to tackle the growing numbers of Muslims in the country.

He listed love jihad and conversion to Christianity among the reasons behind dwindling numbers of the Hindu community.

Togadia said consumption of tobacco was also leading to impotency and called on the youth to give up the same.

The VHP leader, who is also a doctor, did not stop at this and showed a product prepared by him: This is a product that I have created. It is available for Rs 600, but Im giving out to you for Rs 500 here. Take this to your wife, ask her to mix it with your meals so that you remain potent and continue to produce children.

Togadia said increasing the numbers of Hindus would also help protect cows. If we (Hindus) increase our number, will anyone in Jambusar have the audacity to slaughter a cow? he asked.

It may be noted that Jambusar town has a 30% Muslim population.
Washington: The Indian government is going to be America's "great ally" and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.

In a major foreign policy speech here in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obama's policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.

"I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modi's leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length yesterday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas," Ryan said.

He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.

Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryan's speakership.

On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the Prime Minister's address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader.

A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi.

"I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. That's one thing that we need to nurture and grow," Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.

"And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, he's a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. He's bringing needed reform to the country," Ryan said, according to the remarks released by his office.

"That's the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon. That stands in stark contrast, I would argue, to the Obama foreign policy of the last eight years where we have neglected our allies and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries," said the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Except for his comments on India, Ryan slammed Obama's foreign policy.

"We know that this new Obama foreign policy concept, leading from behind, can now be declared an unambiguous failure. It is making us unprepared. It is reducing our military capability and strength," he alleged.

"It is confusing our allies and incentivising our adversaries. And all that does is tempt fate. So we are saying we've got to reset our system. We've got to restructure and reaffirm our foreign policy, in particular our military policy if we want to prevent these problems on the horizon from getting out of control," Ryan said.

In response to a question, he said Modi's address to the joint session of the Congress was a great day.

"So we just heard the prime minister of India at the Capitol Hill yesterday. It was a great day. He spoke before Congress and it was a great moment for the growing friendship between our two countries. The main reason I think this moment was so notable is that nowadays it's so rare," Ryan said referring to the bipartisan support that India-US relationship enjoys in the Congress.

"On the past seven years, our friendships have frayed. Our rivalries have intensified. It's not too much to say that our enemies no longer fear us and too many of our allies no longer trust us," he said.

In the Republican document on foreign policy and national security released by Ryan, the party said India and the US working together for betterment of the world.

"We must also embrace emerging partners that could help keep the peace in their region and beyond," the document said.

"India, the world's largest democracy, shares common interests with the world's oldest democracy, the United States and we must build upon that foundation to work together in shaping world events," it said.

As part of its objective of advancing American interest, the 25-page document calls for "deepening relations" with emerging powers like India.

The foreign policy document released by Ryan is also critical of the Pakistan policy of the Obama Administration.

The Obama administration failed to prioritise economic growth in its approach to foreign aid and development, preferring high-profile "presidential initiatives" and short-term responses such as loan guarantees and enterprise funds, it said.

"In places like Pakistan, the administration has made major investments in infrastructure but failed to accomplish the reforms necessary to create a positive environment for economic growth. Without reform, these initiatives will do little to improve livelihoods," the policy paper said.
Allahabad: Ahead of BJP's national executive meeting here, rival parties have announced plans for protests in the city though AAP has been denied permission for it, prompting it to move high court.

Congress said it will observe June 12, the day of commencement of the Prime Minister's visit, as 'Pol Khol Diwas' (Day of Expose) while its youth wing has announced a city bandh on Sunday.

BJP's rivals are hoping to take the sheen off the high-profile event being held by the saffron party here as it gears up for the Assembly elections which are less than a year away.

UPCC General Secretary Mukund Tiwari said, "We will hold meetings in all the 12 assembly segments of the district to expose the claims made by the Modi government which has failed to fulfill the promises made during the last general elections".

Congress' youth wing and its students' body NSUI have given a call for a city-wide "bandh".

Queried on calling a bandh on Sunday when most establishments are close, NSUI District President Jitesh Mishra said, "Many commercial establishments remain open on Sundays.

"Also, our stress is not on disrupting business but on making the common people aware as to how they are being cheated by the Modi government".

Aam Aadmi Party sought "permission" for staging a demonstration and waving black flags from a "safe distance" to protest the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit here.

On June 6, a letter jointly signed by Sanjay Singh, member of the Political Affairs Committee of AAP, and Shimla Shri, the party's national executive member, was submitted to District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar.

The DM replied in a letter that no permission could be granted for any type of protest demonstration during the PM's visit.

Unfazed by the refusal, Shri, who was also the party's candidate from Phulpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, has shot off another letter to the DM claiming that their stir was "in no way aimed at creating any hurdles in the way of the Prime Minister" and requesting for a "review" of the decision.

A petition has also been filed by the AAP leader in the Allahabad High Court challenging the district administration's refusal to grant permission for staging a demonstration.

However, the matter is not likely to be taken up by the High Court before Monday when the national executive meeting would be over, followed by Modi's public rally, after which he will depart from the city.

The ruling Samajwadi Party in the state too has sprung into action as its workers are working overtime to paste party posters on any wall or lamp post.

Moreover, nearly a score of propaganda vehicles, equipped with sound systems and huge LED screens, can be seen plying on the streets.

On the LED screens, capsules produced by the state's Information and Public Relations Department describing achievements of the Akhilesh Yadav government are on display.

Significantly, the Mayawati-led BSP is keeping a low profile so far.
Allahabad: With assembly polls due in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP leadership will brainstorm here on June 12-13 to chalk out a strategy to take power in the country`s most populous state next year.

The broad idea is to highlight the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in the last two years and the alleged corruption of the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh.

The Bharatiya Janata Party`s National Executive will be formally opened by Prime Minister Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday, followed by the presidential address.

BJP office bearers will meet earlier to set the agenda.

The two-day conclave is likely to pass a political and an economic resolutions, the latter focussing on agriculture.

"There is goonda raj in Uttar Pradesh under Akhilesh Yadav. The cocktail politics of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Congress and Rashtriya Lok Dal have ruined the state," BJP national secretary Srikant Sharma told IANS.

"We will be giving a call to end this goonda raj," he added.

The meeting will also discuss what the BJP says is the deteriorating law and order, corruption and misrule in Uttar Pradesh.

The Prime Minister will address a Parivartan Rally in Allahabad as soon as the National Executive concludes on Monday.

The BJP leader said the achievements of the Modi government would be highlighted, with special focus on the economy and agriculture and what Sharma described as the emergence of Modi as a world leader.

"Despite global slowdown, we succeeded in achieving GDP rate of over 7 per cent. In addition, Modiji has emerged as a `nayak` after the most recent five-nation tour," Sharma said.

The Allahabad meeting -- dubbed a "manthan" -- may come up with a catchy slogan for the UP electoral battle. This could be: "Mera desh badal raha hai, ab UP ki baari hai."

This is meant to counter the Samajwadi Party`s "Pure hue vade, ab hai naye iraade."

The National Executive will commence its meeting after Modi arrives and it will continue till Monday afternoon.

The gathering is taking place amid speculation that Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to be projected as the party`s chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh.

Rajnath Singh has denied the possibility. BJP sources said the issue was not likely to figure in Allahabad.

The BJP won an incredible 71 of the 80 seats from Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Two seats went to its ally, Apna Dal. The Samajwadi Party could win only five seats while the Congress managed two. The BSP was wiped out.

The BJP`s aim is to maintain that momentum and return to power in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh.
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday reiterated her resolve to carry forward the "mission and vision" of late Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for ushering the state into an era of peace.

The chief minister sought support from people to fulfil her father's unfinished agenda of peace and development in the valley.

Mehbooba started her election campaign by addressing roadside rallies in south Kashmir's Anantnag constituency.

"PDP has established clear political priorities and we would continue our struggle to seek resolution of the multiple problems...," Mufti said.

The by-election to Anantnag assembly segment, necessitated due to the demise of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, is slated to be held on June 22.

"The party established clear political priorities for itself and focused on them relentlessly to pull the state out of the morass of instabilities and uncertainties plaguing it for the past more than six decades," she said, adding, "with the unflinching support of the people PDP has emerged as a premier regional political force within a short span of 16 years".

She said the driving force for PDP's emergence as a robust regional force was the public support it has got.

"Without the people's support the party could not have achieved much, I compliment the cadres for effectively carrying the party's pro-people agenda to the grassroots ...," the chief minister said.

"We would continue to work towards accomplishing the vision of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to create a space of dignity, opportunity and prosperity for the people of Jammu & Kashmir, especially our emancipated youth," she asserted.

She told voters that like other parts of the state, her father always wanted to restore the historic glory of Anantnag, which has faced huge development deficit due to political neglect in the past.

"PDP is committed to the welfare of people as a part of the coalition government in the state, the party is working tirelessly to implement its welfare agenda," she said.

The first woman chief minister of the Valley sought "an opportunity to serve them and realize the dream of Mufti Sahab."
Bengaluru: The official website of the Karnataka police department (www.ksp.gov.in) was hacked on Friday, allegedly by Pakistani hackers, who pasted a Pakistani flag on the home page, causing embarrassment to the state government.

"Our cyber security engineers, however, restored the web site after removing the tampered home page and rectifying the glitch within minutes after detecting the hacking," a police official said on the condition of anonymity.

The hacker, claiming to be Faisal 1337 from Team Pak Cyberattacker, posted a Pakistani flag on the home page with a message below it, which read "Pwned! Hacked, shame on your security!"

"An inquiry has been ordered into hacking and investigation is underway to track the IP address of the hackers, who claimed to be operating from Pakistan," the official added.
Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Social networking sites Facebook and Google as well as video-sharing platform YouTube have received tax notices served by Pakistan's Punjab government.

Government has asked them to register by June 17 and pay for displaying Punjab-specific advertisements.

The Punjab governments Revenue Authority yesterday issued separate notices to YouTube, Dailymotion and a local website Mustakbil.com, in addition to Facebook and Google, asking them to register under the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act 2012 by June 17.

As citizens of Punjab are regular user of all such websites while individuals and companies get their advertisements booked on such websites they are liable to be taxed. The tax is justified when Punjab based companies are availing services of such websites, the department said.

As you are providing taxable services in Punjab you, therefore, are liable to comply with the rules under this jurisdiction, it said.

The government warned that action will be taken against the websites under rules, without any further notice, in case of non-compliance of first notice.

In case of non-compliance, the Punjab government will write to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to place a ban on the websites violating the notices, the government said.

(With IANS inputs)
Dhaka: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday vowed to hunt down those behind the recent targeted killings of bloggers and minorities as police detained over 3,000 people, including 37 suspected Islamists, on the first day of a nationwide anti-terrorist drive.

"Where will they hide in Bangladesh," Hasina asked during a meeting of the Awami League's Working Committee meeting, and warned: "No one will get away".

"It's not a tough task to find them. They will be brought to justice," Hasina told the meeting at her official residence, the Gana Bhaban.

"It's just a matter of time," added the Awami League chief.

Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque said the week-long drive was aimed at dismantling all terrorist outfits and their networks in the country.

On Friday, a Hindu monastery worker was hacked to death in Pabna district.

Alamgir Kabir, the district's police chief, said the motive behind the killing was not yet known.

Of the 3,192 arrested, 1,861 were held after arrest warrants were issued by court, police said in a media release on Saturday.

The decision to crack down on Islamist sympathisers was taken on Thursday, five days after the murder of decorated police officer Babul Aktars wife Mahmuda Aktar Mitu in Chittagong.

Mahmudas murder was strikingly similar to the attacks carried out by suspected Islamist militants on secular writers, bloggers, online activists and people of different religious views.

Bangladesh has been facing a surge in violent attacks in recent months.

A number of secular writers, bloggers and publishers were killed or seriously injured in attacks carried out by extremists since 2013.

The wave of suspected militant attacks since last year, which has left more than 30 dead, has put Bangladesh in the spotlight in the global arena.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for 21 of the attacks while al Qaeda has claimed most of the rest, according to monitoring group SITE Intelligence.

The government, however, denies the presence of the groups in Bangladesh and has blamed "home-grown" militants for the killings.

Condemning the killings in the name of religion, Hasina said that Islam does not permit taking anyone's life.

"What kind of religious practice is this killing of innocent people," she asked, adding that the attacks were aimed at spoiling religious harmony in Bangladesh.

She once again blamed the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and its ally the Jamaat-e-Islami for the recent killings.
Dhaka: The ISIS Saturday claimed responsibility for the killing of an elderly Hindu ashram worker in Bangladesh, as the Muslim-majority country reels under a series of brutal murders of secular activists and minorities by Islamists.

"ISIS fighters in Bangladesh killed a Hindu man in Pabna, in the north of the country," the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency said in a brief Arabic message, according to US-based SITE Intelligence Group.

Nityaranjan Pandey, 60, who was working as a volunteer for the past 40 years at the Thakur Anukul Chandra Satsanga Paramtirtha Hemayetpurdham Ashram, was murdered in Pabna's Hemayetpur Upazila yesterday.

Pandey was taking his routine morning walk when several machete-wielding attackers hacked him in the neck, killing him on the spot only 200 yards away from the ashram.

The ashram, named after a famous Hindu saint, draws large number of Hindu devotees from across Bangladesh and neighbouring India.

Pandey's murder comes within a week of killings of a Hindu priest, a Christian grocer and wife of an anti-terror police officer.

In February, militants stabbed to death a Hindu priest at a temple and shot and wounded a devotee who went to his aid.

In April, a liberal professor was brutally hacked to death in Rajshahi city. In the same month, a Hindu tailor was hacked to death in his shop and Bangladesh's first gay magazine editor was brutally murdered along with a friend in his flat in Dhaka by Islamists.
Islamabad: Pakistan has reached out to Mexico and Italy seeking support for its NSG membership bid, stepping up diplomatic efforts for its inclusion in the elite 48-nation bloc whose membership India is also eyeing.

"Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz spoke over telephone with Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu as part of Pakistan's continuing diplomatic efforts towards mobilising support for Pakistan's application for the membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)," a Foreign Office statement said here.

He highlighted Pakistan's credentials for the NSG membership with a view to seek Mexico's support.

The Mexican Foreign Minister expressed support for a non-discriminatory approach on NSG expansion to states which have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the statement added.

Significantly, Mexico had expressed its backing to India this week during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi there. The Mexican support followed that of the US and Switzerland. Japan too has expressed its support for India's inclusion.

"Adviser Sartaj Aziz spoke with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentilioni to seek support for Pakistan application for NSG membership. They had a very cordial exchange," Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria tweeted on Wednesday.

As part of Pakistan's diplomatic push towards mobilising support for Pakistan's application for NSG membership, Aziz had earlier this week also spoke over telephone with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

On Wednesday, Aziz also contacted Foreign Minister of New Zealand Murray McCully and Foreign Minister of Republic of Korea Yun Byung-se to highlight Pakistan's credentials for the NSG membership with a view to seek their support.

Pakistan's push to secure NSG membership comes at a time when India is also looking to secure membership of the elite grouping.

With the US pushing its case, India's bid for NSG membership has received positive indications from most of the member countries but China is still playing the spoiler by persisting with its opposition.
Allahabad: With an eye on the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national executive will begin its two-day meet here tomorrow which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah among others

Senior members of the Union Cabinet, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and members of Parliament will take part in the meet, which is likely to set the agenda for the Assembly elections in the state which are less than a year away

"I would have called it as sounding the poll bugle for UP assembly polls but for PM Modi's rally in Saharanpur last month

"Nevertheless, Allahabad has been the state's political epicentre and the place where stalwarts ranging from Jawaharlal Nehru to VP Singh have learnt their ropes. And a party meeting organised here will certainly have a catalytic effect on our efforts to bring about political change in Uttar Pradesh," says BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh, who has been camping in the city since Thursday

Shah, at a recent rally on the outskirts of the city, had stated "if there is one state which is responsible for helping the BJP get a majority in Parliament, it is UP" while party vice-president and in-charge for the state Om Mathur had said "many issues would be discussed at the national executive but the main focus would obviously be on the UP assembly polls due next year"

Enthusiasm is palpable among party foot soldiers as for the first time since its establishment three decades ago, the BJP has chosen the city for holding its national executive

Almost all the streets and roundabouts are dotted with billboards or posters welcoming Modi and other leaders to the city and exhorting residents to turn out in huge numbers for the rally which will be held on Monday, immediately after the conclusion of the meeting.
Islamabad: Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif has asked the US to target the hideouts of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants and their chief Mullah Fazlullah in Afghanistan.

General Raheel made the demand during a high-level meeting with Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and

US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson here yesterday.

In a late night statement, the army said Gen Raheel demanded to target Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and Mullah Fazlullah in their hideouts in Afghanistan.

"Raising the demand of targeting TTP and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, COAS reiterated Pakistan's resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies? efforts, especially RAW and NDS, of fomenting terrorism," it said.

It was the first visit of high-level officials from the US since fresh tension with Pakistan after the killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour by a CIA drone in Balochistan on May 21.

The army said the regional security situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.

"Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, Gen Raheel highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counter-productive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb," it said.

Raheel said all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergised with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.

He said all stakeholders need to understand Pakistan's challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over 3 million refugees.

"Blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate," he said.

He said Pakistan is committed to work for a long-term peace process for Afghanistan under the four-nation Quadrilateral Coordination Group framework, involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US.

Earlier, the high-level US delegation met the Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who warned the American officials of consequences for bilateral ties if attacks like killing of Mansour on May 21 were repeated
Beirut: Suicide bombers struck outside a Shiite shrine near Syria's capital on Saturday, leaving at least 20 people dead, a monitor said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The official SANA news agency said two suicide bombers, one in a car, attacked the entrance to the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, which is revered by Shiites around the world.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said at least 20 people were killed, including 13 civilians, and more than 30 wounded in the blasts.

SANA gave a toll of at least 12 dead and 55 wounded.

IS claimed the attack via its Amaq news agency, saying it was carried out by three suicide bombers.

The shrine, around 10 kilometres south of the centre of Damascus, is heavily guarded by pro-government forces but has still been the target of several jihadist attacks, including those claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Syria's official Al-Ikhbariya channel showed images from the scene of burned-out cars billowing with plumes of black smoke.

Firefighters battled to extinguish the flames as shop signs lay in the street.

The last attack on Sayyida Zeinab on April 25 killed at least seven and wounded dozens.

A string of IS bombings near the shrine in February left 134 people dead, most of them civilians, according to the Observatory.

And in January, another attack claimed by IS killed 70 people.

Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah cited the threat to Sayyida Zeinab as a principal reason for its intervention in Syria's civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

The shrine contains the grave of Zeinab, a venerated granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed, and is renowned for its glistening golden, onion-shaped dome.
Mexico City: Authorities in Guatemala say police have arrested two former cabinet ministers in connection with the alleged misuse of public funds.

The former officials served under ex-president Otto Perez Molina and allegedly bought him a helicopter using government money.

A national police spokesman said today that former Defense Minister Gen Manuel Lopez Ambrosio had been arrested. A UN commission investigating corruption in Guatemala said former Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla was also detained.

The two are alleged to have bought the helicopter as a personal gift for Perez Molina. They face charges of money laundering and conspiracy.

Perez Molina and his former Vice President Roxana Baldetti are jailed awaiting trial in multiple corruption cases.
Bogota: Thirty-seven South Asian migrants, including from India, without visas have been detained in Colombia after they were abandoned by human traffickers, officials said.

They were found near the town Riosucio that borders Panama after being "abandoned by individuals who transported them from one country to another," said the Colombian Navy in a release.

The migrants -- 36 men and one woman -- came from Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan.

Officials transferred them to the port town Turbo on the coast of the Gulf of Uraba, part of the Caribbean Sea. There they received food and medical attention before taken into the custody of migration authorities, said the statement.

Colombian officials have intercepted 322 undocumented individuals in Turbo, the majority Cuban, who are now in a shelter awaiting word from migration officials who will decide if they can stay, said Emelides Munoz, Turbo's government secretary.

Within the past 15 days more than 750 undocumented migrants have been arrested throughout Colombia.

The country has deported more than 6,000 people since the beginning of the year, arresting nearly 4,000 in Turbo and the town Capurgana, both close to the Panamanian border.

On May 9 Panama announced plans to strengthen border controls in an attempt to stem the migrant flow, including Cubans attempting to reach the United States via Central America.
London: The killing of British Muslim Islamic State (ISIS) terror suspect Mohammed Emwazi, referred to as Jihadi John, was on Friday at the centre of a new row after news reports raised doubts over his death in a US drone strike last year.

The British University Emwazi was enrolled in has refused to divulge information about him, claiming it would breach the UK's data protection laws as they have no definitive proof of his death.

The controversy arose following a Freedom of Information request to University of Westminster in London by the BBC.

The University management told BBC: "To date, no authoritative confirmation or evidence has been given to the university, or made public, that the student known to the University of Westminster as Mohammed Emwazi is now dead.

"Without any firm evidence or authoritative official confirmation that Emwazi is definitely deceased, the university maintains that the information requested remains bound by data protection restrictions."

The UK's Data Protection Act applies to living people to ensure fair use of information.

However, following an appeal by the BBC, the University's stance has also been been backed by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

It has issued a decision stating that "the commissioner agrees with the university's approach".

The commissioner's decision notice also argues that - presuming Emwazi may still be alive - releasing personal information about him would be "unfair".

It states: "Although there may be legitimate public interest arguments in favour of disclosure, the commissioner has decided that these are outweighed by the distress and upset disclosure could cause and the unwarranted intrusion into the private life of a young individual."

An ICO spokesperson said: "The FOI Act is designed to promote transparency and openness, but is also balanced to avoid the inappropriate release of personal information. Anyone who is not happy with a decision can appeal to the information rights tribunal."

Emwazi studied computer science at Westminster from 2006 to 2009.

Part of his academic file had already been leaked and published in the media.

But the University has refused to disclose his personal records on the grounds that he could still be alive, despite the fact that the US military said it killed Emwazi in a drone strike in the Syrian city of Raqqa in November 2015.

In December 2015, US President Obama named Emwazi as one of a number of leaders of the Islamic State group or operatives that the US had been "taking out" and "removed".

A University of Westminster spokesperson said: "We are complying with our legal obligations and the ICO decision confirms that this is the correct approach."
Tripoli: Forces allied with Libya`s unity government said Saturday they had recaptured the port in the jihadist stronghold of Sirte from Islamic State group fighters who are surrounded inside the city.

The forces also retook a residential area in the east of Sirte, the main IS base in the North African country, a spokesman for the forces, Rida Issa, told AFP.
Tripoli: Forces allied with Libya's unity government said Saturday they had recaptured the port in the jihadist bastion of Sirte, advancing rapidly against Islamic State group fighters encircled inside the city.

The fall of Sirte, the hometown of ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi, would be a major setback for the extremists who have also lost territory in Syria and Iraq where they have declared an Islamic "caliphate".

Apart from the port, the Libyan forces also retook residential areas in eastern Sirte, which for the past year has been the main IS base in the North African country, a spokesman for the forces, Rida Issa, told AFP.

The jihadists are now surrounded in a densely populated area of around five square kilometres (two square miles) inside Sirte where they are laying booby traps, he said.

Most of the city`s residents have fled but some 30,000 remain, Issa said.

After a month-long operation to close in on Sirte, the rapid pace of the advance by forces allied to the Government of National Accord (GNA) who entered the city on Wednesday has surprised Libyan authorities.

"The battle wasn`t as difficult as we thought it would be," one government official said. "Maybe we exaggerated their (IS`s) numbers?"

The UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said Saturday on Twitter that he was "impressed" by the "rapid progress" of pro-GNA forces.But analysts have warned the city`s fall would not spell the end of the jihadists in Libya, where they have fed on political and military divisions since the 2011 uprising that killed Kadhafi.

Foreign intelligence services estimate the extremist group has 5,000 fighters in the country, but its strength inside Sirte, which IS has held since June 2015, is unclear.

IS fighters tried to wrest back the port on Saturday in an attack that killed two members of the GNA forces, who repelled the assault.

A total of 137 pro-GNA forces have been killed and 500 wounded since the operation began on May 12, according to a medical official in the western city of Misrata.

Libya`s unity government forces have fought fierce street battles with the jihadists around a sprawling Kadhafi-era conference centre which once hosted international summits but now houses an IS command centre.

An AFP correspondent at the scene reported heavy street fighting on Friday about two kilometres (one mile) from the Ouagadougou centre.

GNA forces used tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, the correspondent said, while the jihadists responded with machineguns, mortar rounds and sniper fire.

"We are fighting between houses, on the streets, and we won`t back down before we eliminate them," said one GNA combatant, who declined to be named.

Warplanes have carried out air strikes around the conference centre and other IS positions inside the city, according to social media accounts belonging to the anti-jihadist operation.The operations command, on its Facebook page, said jihadist positions had been targeted by 150 air strikes since mid-May.

Formed under a UN-backed power-sharing deal agreed by some Libyan lawmakers in December, the GNA has been working to assert its authority but has yet to receive the official endorsement of the country`s recognised parliament.

The pro-GNA forces are mostly made up of militias from western cities, notably Misrata, and the guards of oil installations that IS has repeatedly tried to seize.

Emily Estelle, a North Africa and Middle East specialist with the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, said an estimated 2,000 fighters, primarily well-equipped Misrata militiamen, were engaged in the Sirte operation.

The Misrata militiamen took part in the NATO-backed uprising five years ago against Kadhafi, who himself was found and killed outside Sirte.

According to Estelle, "American and British advisers on the ground are likely helping" the Misratans.

The forces allied with the GNA said on Thursday they expected to announce the liberation of Sirte in "two or three days", after thrusting into the city centre.

"We`re encouraged by the progress they`re making," said US special envoy Brett McGurk, whose country has said it has small teams of special forces gathering intelligence in Libya.

GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj called Friday on "all military forces to unite in the face of our common enemy... and to join the victorious forces".

But Ahmed al-Mesmari, a spokesman for forces loyal to a rival government based in the country`s far east, described the GNA forces as "illegitimate militias, loyal to an illegitimate government".
Richmond: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has slammed US President Barack Obama for endorsing Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate despite being under "criminal investigation".

Trump, however, said he was ready to face Clinton in the November elections, which he claimed would attract the largest ever voter turnout.

"You have a President coming out and endorsing somebody who is under criminal investigation. Is this supposed to be the way the country supposed to be?" Trump told his cheering supporters at an election rally in Richmond, Virginia yesterday.

This was Trump's first public rally since Obama endorsed Clinton as Democratic presidential nominee against Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.

The rally at spacious Richmond Coliseum attracted several thousands people. But the arena having a capacity of 13,500 was more than half empty.

Trump said the rally was organised at a short notice of less than one day.

The real estate mogul from New York said he would make a major policy speech on Clinton in New Hampshire on Monday. To the cheering of his supporters, Trump described this as a "crooked Hillary" speech.

"There is so much corruption. If the system works, she is not allowed to run. It is really unfair for the other people," Trump said referring to a latest news report that an Indian American Rajiv Fernando was appointed to the important International Security Advisory board because of his alleged massive donations to the Clinton Foundation.

The Advisory Board advises the State Department on nuclear weapons and other issues of national security. Based out of Chicago, Fernando is a securities trader president of Chopper Trading.

According to ABC News, Fernando was a major bundler for the Obama Campaign, raising more than USD 500,000 for his re-election cycle. And before his appointment at the State Department, he gave between USD100,000 and USD250,000 to the William J Clinton Foundation.

Trump cited this as another example for corruption by Hillary Clinton. "He made a contribution of USD 250,000 and all of a sudden he's on this very important and vital board," he said.

Reiterating that Clinton should not be allowed to run for the elections, he said he is ready to run against the former US Secretary of State and exuded confidence of winning the election.
Collegedale (US): Officials say a small plane has crashed in Tennessee, killing two passengers and injuring two others.

Amy Maxwell, a spokesman for Hamilton County Emergency Services, said yesterday a single-engine plane crashed around 12:50 p.M. At the Collegedale airport. Collegedale is a city about 20 miles east of Chattanooga.

She said all four victims were on the plane, and the two survivors were airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center.

Tonya Sadler, a spokeswoman for the Collegedale Police, said at least one of the victims was in critical condition and headed into surgery.

Sadler said the plane was coming into the Collegedale airport when it crashed.

She said she did not know if anyone else outside the plane was injured or if there was property damaged in the crash.
London: In grand celebrations to mark her 90th birthday, Queen Elizabeth II sported a daring neon green outfit as she greeted the public, impossible to miss in her horse and open carriage, even past the thousands of viewers and hundreds of marching officers.

Celebrations began with the traditional Trooping the Colour, a spectacular display of more than 1,400 officers and men in their famous red jackets and black bearskin hats, with 200 horses and more than 400 musicians.

The whole royal family -- including young Prince George and Princess Charlotte -- joined the nation's longest-serving monarch on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for a wave to the people and an exhilarating flypast.

Princess Charlotte also made her first public appearance with the rest of the royal family, joining older brother Prince George and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The 13-month-old tot looked adorable in a pale pink dress with a matching bow pinning back her hair as the whole family -- including Prince Harry, Prince Charles, Duchess Camilla, the Duke of York and his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie -- greeted the gathered crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony

Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft used in the 1940s Battle of Britain took part in the flypast, capped off with the air force's famous Red Arrows flying with red, white and blue smoke in the trail.

In her younger years, the Queen would ride side-saddle on horseback to greet the public.

Her choice of colour for Saturday's outfit triggered a social media storm, with Twitter users celebrating the monarch's fashion sensibilities with "neon at 90".

The Queen's real birthday is on April 21, but official celebrations always take place on June 10, and often for a whole weekend.

Before the festivities, a new photograph of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who turned 95 on Friday, was released to commemorate their joint birthdays.

The pair attended a thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Friday, where they were joined by other members of the royal family and politicians, past and present.
Mogadishu: Shabaab jihadists in Somalia have publicly executed six men they accused of spying, including one they claimed helped kill their supreme leader in a US drone strike, the Al-Qaeda-linked group and local sources said on Saturday.

Four of the executions took place yesterday evening in the village of Bulofay, in the Bay region in the southwest of the country, the sources said.

Three of the men were shot by firing squad while the fourth, accused of helping the United States to kill Shabaab leader Ahmed Godane in September 2014, was decapitated.

"The Islamic court in the Bay and Bakool regions carried out" the executions of "four spies who worked for the US and Kenyan Intelligence Agencies," the group said in a statement on a pro-Shabaab website.

"Mohamed Adan Nur Hassan, one of the spies, was responsible for the airstrike that killed" Godane.

Two Kenyans were also executed yesterday in the Jubbada Dhexe region, also in the southwest, for allegedly helping to kill Shabaab leaders in Kenya, the group said in a separate statement.

It said one of them was accused of collaborating with Kenyan, British, US and Israeli intelligence services, while the other only with Kenya's secret service.

The Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011 but continues to carry out attacks on military, political and civilian targets aimed at undermining the internationally-backed Somali government.

In recent months they have claimed attacks on bases of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

The United States has in recent years launched numerous drone strikes against Shabaab leaders, including the strike that killed Godane.
Seoul: Thousands marched through central Seoul Saturday during the city`s annual Gay Pride parade, less than a month after a landmark court decision ruled against a homosexual couple`s same-sex marriage.

Some 2,000 police were deployed along the parade route as hundreds of Christians turned out to protest the event, chanting slogans and holding up one sign in English that read: "Homosexual is sin. Return to Jesus".

Despite the protest and minor jeering, the march proceeded largely without incident. Some 5,000 participants marched in the parade, dancing and waving rainbow-coloured flags as music blared from accompanying vehicles.

"Leave us alone to live our life the way we want to," said Ranny, a 29-year-old participant from the United Kingdom, who added that he was there "to celebrate and be happy for who I am".

The annual Gay Pride parade comes weeks after a lawsuit filed by a prominent gay film director and his partner seeking legal status for their same-sex marriage was rejected by a South Korean district court in the first case of its kind.

Movie director Kim Jho Gwang-Soo and his long-time partner Kim Seung-Hwan held a wedding ceremony in Seoul in September 2013 and submitted their marriage registration form to their local authority -- only for it to be rejected.

"I was disgusted. The court decision showed how backward this society still is despite the country`s economic development", a 22-year-old female student participating in the parade said of the court decision.

While homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, same-sex marriage is not recognised and the country remains deeply conservative about matters of sexual identity.
California: A California man was sentenced to 32 months in prison Friday for conspiring to skirt US sanctions against Syria by sending tactical military equipment to jihadists in the war-torn country.

Amin al-Baroudi, 50, a Syrian-born naturalized US citizen, pleaded guilty in January to purchasing tens of thousands of dollars` worth of tactical equipment, including night vision rifle scopes, speed loaders and bullet proof vests, destined for Ahrar al-Sham, an insurgent group fighting to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Ahrar al-Sham frequently fights alongside the Al-Nusra Front, Syria`s Al-Qaeda affiliate that has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, authorities said.

According to court documents, Baroudi and his co-conspirators traveled with the military goods aboard commercial flights to Turkey and then smuggled them into Syria.

Baroudi was accused of making two such trips in February and March 2013.
YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov responded to Azerbaijani presidents announcement that allegedly not only Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) but also most of the territory of the Republic of Armenia are historically Azerbaijani lands. Recently Aliyev made an announcement where he, to put mildly, distorting the history, challenged no more, no less ancient philosophers such as Strabo, Polibiosin, Dio Cassius, Plutarch, Ptolemy. He even tries to challenge the trustworthiness of the British encyclopedia and the "World history of the USSR Academic Edition by stating that not only Artsakh but the territory extending from Syunik to Yerevan is Azerbaijani land, Sharmazanov said, adding that there would be no necessity to refer to such a ridiculous statement if its author was not a leader of a state.

Sharmazanov quoted ancient writer Strabo as saying that the Aras River divided Armenia and Atropatene from the south.

Vice President of the Armenian parliament quoted a number of other ancient writers evidencing that Armenia existed at least thousands years ago and occupied a territory larger than the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh do it today.

He also referred to the scientific works of A. P. Novoseltsev, who, examining the works of aincient writers, told that not only Artsakh is an Armenian land, but also Utik (currently in Azerbaijan- edit.) and what do the Azerbaijanis do here?

Eduard Sharmazanov urged to turn to Wikipedia. Azerbaijanis  Turkic speaking people. And where is the motherland of Turkic peoples? Sharmazanov asked a rhetorical question, steppes between the Altai Mountains and Central Asia.

Sharmazanov reminded that a state called Azerbaijan emerged on the map in 1918 as a result of Turkish conquers. He advised the Azerbaijani president to examine one of the oldest maps existing today in Rome when he travels there. There he will see the borders of the Roman Empire together with historical Armenia and Artsakh, as well as Iran, Sharmazanov said.

Concluding his speech, Sharmazanov stated that the history does not forgive those who try to distort it, throwing them to a dump.
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. The NATO Mobile Training Team visited Armenia on June 6-10, press service of the Defense Ministry of Armenia informed Armenpress.

The team members were hosted in the Military Police of the Armenian Defense Ministry.



Bilateral issues of mutual interest and the further cooperation development prospects were discussed.

The sides stressed the importance of the training and the involvement of the Armenian military police staff in NATOs respective structures and in the peacekeeping divisions.

During the visit lectures, trainings were organized with the staff of the Armenian Military police over the NATO military police structure, the provision of the rule of law, the holding of the investigation, as well as the codes of conduct with the prisoners of war and internees.
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on June 11 visited the Russian Embassy in Armenia to congratulate Russian Ambassador Ivan Volynkin, the Embassy staff on the occasion of the national holiday of the Russian Federation the Russia Day.

The President wished all Russian people prosperity and success.

He participated in the special cultural event organized by the Embassy staff, press service of the Presidential administration informed "Armenpress".

Serzh Sargsyan also sent congratulatory letters to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

In a congratulatory letter to the Russian President, Serzh Sargsyan said with satisfaction the Armenian-Russian allied cooperation is always persistent both in the bilateral inter-state level, as well as within the framework of the international and regional unions. I am confident that we with our joint efforts can contribute to the further development of relations between our states, the implementation of the agreements which aim to ensure stability and security, the message reads.

In a congratulatory message to the Russian Prime Minister, the Armenian President stated that this special holiday is an integral part of the deep transformations of all sectors of Russia that are directed towards the welfare of the Russian citizens and strengthening the countrys role in the international sphere.
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia informs that a total amount of 3.77 million AMD damage caused to the environment was recorded within a week.

In particular, the natural world, air, areas of land protection were damaged.

The Ministry reports that illegal cases of hunting and fishing were also recorded.

Overall, within the period of sanctions imposed by the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia, 1.53 million AMD was sent to the state budget of the Republic of Armenia during last week.
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. Expert on Arabic studies Armen Petrosyan says Turkey may have played a role in targeting the Armenian community during the Aleppo shelling.

He said several structures in fact used the ceasefire regime which was established in Syria at the end of February, to organize new attacks in northern Syria. The ceasefire regime is not maintained in Aleppo, northern Syria. During this period a military aid was sent from Turkey to Jabhat al-Nusra and other groups.

During the recent 10-15 days intensive actions are being carried out in Aleppo against the Kurdish people, and several Armenian districts are being bombarded. Turkey has its signature here. Why Jabhat al-Nusra, which fights against the Islamic State, should attack the Kurdish people who also fight against the Islamic State. Thats why, it is obvious that Turkey solves several issues here, Armen Petrosyan said.

He said the military operations were intensified in the Armenian districts at the end of May causing both material and human losses. Yesterday, an Armenian also died by Aleppo explosion.

All this shows that a strong fight is underway in Aleppo, and the recent meeting between the Defense Ministers of Syria, Iran and Russia was aimed to make further steps in the northern Syria. It is obvious that it is an important territory for the Syrian authorities.

Referring to the military operations against the Islamic State in Syria, expert on Arabic studies Sargis Grigoryan stated that the military operations in the northern Syria enable the IS not to have border with Turkey.

It is not a secret that the financial, human, military assistance was coming from that border. But now, without that border, the IS in fact does not receive such assistance. The military operations against the IS are important in a sense that the group losses several territories and remains in insecure territories, Sargis Grigoryan said.

Turkey quickly tries to implement its plans. It is related to the fact that Russia and Iran will again become more active. Armen Petrosyan said Turkey perfectly understands this and wants to solve issues related to Kurds, as well as the Armenian community of Syria in a short period of time. However Kurds strengthen their positions, and Turkey fails.
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. An exhibition entitled Chinese elegant embroidery dedicated to the Chinese cultural days was opened in Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum.

About 40 works including embroidery flowers, animals, landscapes and abstract objects were presented in the exhibition.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Armenia Tian Erlong, Deputy Minister of Culture of Armenia Nerses Ter-Vardanyan, a group of MPs and guests were taking part in the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

Armenia and China have very good relations and these relations also develop in the cultural field. Talent and great patience is needed for the creation of these beautiful works. There is an Armenian word to describe these works, these works are divine. I hope this special exhibition will further strengthen the cultural relations between our states, Armenpress reports, Tian Erlong said.

Today we are taking part in the opening of this exhibition the works of which seem to contain dialogue, and only looking very closely to them, we can realize what thorough work has been done on them, Nerses Ter-Vardanyan said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Embassy in Russia issued a statement on elaborating the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglus comments where he recalled the UN Security Councils famous resolutions and threatened to restart the war.

The statement says Azerbaijani Ambassador with such interviews firstly aims to disguise Azerbaijan's failed military aggression unleashed against Nagorno Karabakh in early April.

There is no doubt that Azerbaijan initiated the aggression. In his latest statements the Azerbaijani Ambassador tried with every measure to forget his own words which he said after a few hours of the start of the large-scale military operations in the Karabakh conflict zone. These show that Azerbaijan unleashed the military aggression. And his further assurances are made only for his ignorant compatriots.

We once again recall that citing the UN SC famous resolutions with Azerbaijani selected comments on the separate provisions of the international fundamental law of the conflict settlement are considered as deliberate distortion of the existing documents within the OSCE Minsk Group. In this context, we suggest the Azerbaijani Ambassador to investigate the analysis of patriarch of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict negotiation process Vladimir Kazimirov which was published on Friday.

Such statements distorting the facts and the realities, as well as the comments by the Azerbaijani partners do not contribute to the current efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group aimed at the peaceful settlement of the conflict, to which Azerbaijan allegedly seeks.

Referring to the military solution of the conflict, we would like to once again remind that a long time has passed since Azerbaijan asked Russia to become a mediator for establishing the ceasefire in the conflict zone in 1994, and this was enough for Azerbaijan to be convinced that the military option is impossible. If anyone had such hopes, they collapsed in early April of this year. Therefore, it is illogical to make such a statement in Russia, especially when Russia once again demonstrates initiative to continue the negotiations for the peaceful settlement of the conflict, Armenpress reports, the statement reads.
SAS said it had not calculated how much money it was losing because of the strike, but financial analysts estimated it was costing the airline at least $1.2 million (1.06 million euros) a day

Around 20,000 passengers were stranded on Saturday after Scandinavian airline SAS cancelled 159 flights due to a Swedish pilots' strike and warned of another 220 flight cancellations on Sunday.

"We have done all that's in our power to avoid a strike, but we have unfortunately been unable to come to an agreement. Our main priority now is to take care of our customers and (we) are working vigilantly to do everything we can to assist passengers affected," SAS spokeswoman Karin Nyman said in a statement.

SAS flights flown by Danish and Norwegian pilots were operating as normal throughout the weekend, she added.

Sunday's flight cancellations were expected to affect another 26,000 travellers.

At Stockholm's Arlanda airport, passengers hoping to rebook their cancelled flights stood in long queues at the SAS ticket counters.

Travellers Chun Yang, Milli Chiang and Jimmy Hsu from Taiwan told news agency TT they were surprised to learn of the strike when they landed in Stockholm en route to Finland.

"Now we have to try to organise our trip to Finland ourselves, our travel insurance from Taiwan won't cover the cost," Chun Yang said after five hours in line and still far from the head of the queue.

Anna Antell, who was to fly to Croatia with her husband and two children, had no sympathy for the striking pilots.

"They already have good salaries," she said.

The walkout comes during a peak travel season, and has hit charter groups hard.

"Many flights are of course fully booked, so the chances of rebooking a flight are not the best. We're doing what we can to help in the best way possible and find alternatives for our travellers," Nyman told TT.

The strike broke out Friday at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) after the Swedish pilots union SPF rejected the mediators' proposal of a 2.2 percent wage increase, insisting instead on a 3.5 percent increase.

The employers' organisation however said that the pilots' overall demands, including employment contracts offering greater job security, would entail a 10 percent cost increase.

"We want our employees to feel secure in their jobs, but the pilots' wage demands are just too high. We can't afford to pay that much given the competitive (air travel) market," SAS chief executive Rickard Gustafson said Friday before the strike..

No date has been set yet for new negotiations.
Pemex CEO Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya speaks during a press conference in Mexico City, on June 10, 2016

In a historic first, Mexico's struggling state-run Pemex energy company will team up with private firms for a deep-water oil project, officials said Friday.

Pemex will "farm out" the $11 billion Trion field in the Gulf of Mexico, which has potentially 480 million barrels of light crude, said company director general Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya.

"For the first time in its history, Pemex won't assume the geological and financial risks alone," Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell said at a news conference.

President Enrique Pena Nieto pushed through a landmark reform in 2014 that ended Pemex's seven-decade monopoly, reopening the oil and gas sector to private investors.

One of the goals was to allow Pemex to join forces with other companies.

Pemex posted $30.3 billion in losses in 2015 while production has dropped from 3.4 million barrels per day to 2.27 million in 2015.

The company is making $5.5 billion in budget cuts this year, with delays in investments representing $3.6 billion of those savings.

The government is providing $4.2 billion in liquidity to help Pemex.
Reuters

With only days to go before unveiling a major strategic overhaul, Credit Suisse is racing to firm up sales of parts of its business that could reduce the amount of cash it might need from investors. The embattled Swiss lender is trying to recover from a string of scandals and lawsuits and could embark on a fundamental revamp to slim down volatile investment banking to focus on wealth management. Analysts estimate it could face a capital shortfall of up to 9 billion Swiss francs ($9.01 billion) -- depending on what it does to scale back its investment bank and how much it raises from asset sales -- to restructure, support growth and have a safety cushion.
Reuters

Microsoft Corp is stocking up on Chinese video game content to emulate Sony Group Corp's success with "Genshin Impact", sources said, solidifying China's transition from a land only of players to a hub of blockbuster developers. The U.S. software giant and Japan's vanguard of technology have for some years been offering big money to small developers to nurture programmes and licence titles, but the impact of "Genshin Impact" has added a sense of urgency, sources said. The action role-playing game from budding Shanghai studio miHoYo has generated billions of dollars since its release two years ago, and raised the bar in multi-player, cross-platform games - the type sources said Microsoft and Sony seek in China for their Game Pass and PlayStation Plus subscription services.
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
As per reports, CM Pinarayi Vijayan has replied to Governor's letter explaining that Balagopal's statement can't be interpreted as a comment against nationalism.
Good Morning Warren and Friends,



I feel like I'm part of the movie, planes, trains, and automobiles. It's been a hectic couple of weeks, but I'm back on my little hill in the Sierra Nevada foothills.



Stretch's friend, Scott, had to take down some old oak trees and called Stretch and offered him the wood. Well, that took care of that weekend. It took us four trips in a Toyota Tundra, towing a trailer behind us, but we managed to get enough wood for probably 4-5 years. Now I just have to find someone to help us split and stack it.





The cool part of hauling the wood was learning about 4Lo and 4Hi in the Tundra. It is my impression that if a person goes through three engines, it might be the way they drive, especially if that is out of the ordinary for that vehicle. If one continually overloads their vehicle, overloads the engine, revs it into the redline, you are going to wear out your engine. It is important to keep the RPMs low, take your time, baby your engine.



I understand why families have two different types of vehicles; we are constantly hauling and towing, but we don't want to use that vehicle for running errands around town. My neighbor, Sheri, is the same; she owns a Dodge Ram 1500 for hauling her horses, but she bought a used Nissan Sentra for around town. It can be a 20 mpg difference!



From the biggest vehicle to a mid-size SUV, the Toyota RAV4 Limited AWD. Everyone loved the black currant metallic color. It's a 4-cylinder functional SUV 2-row that opted out at $37,360 with an EPA fuel estimate of 22 city/29 highway/25 combined. If you want better mpg go into eco mode, more fun, go into sport mode.





Next I drove the Soul Red 2016 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring AWD. Both compact 2-row SUVs were 2.5-liter. The CXC-5 opted out at $29,870 and the EPA fuel estimate is 24 city/30 highway/26 combined.





Then down to a 4-door compact sedan, the Kia Optima SX Limited that opted out at $36,615 with EPA fuel estimate of 22 city/32 highway/25 combined. It's a turbo gas direct injection 4-cylinder.

Let's chat about cars.
News

Microsoft Releases FreeBSD 10.3 Image in Azure Marketplace

Microsoft published its FreeBSD 10.3 server image in the Azure Marketplace this week, representing yet another open source milestone for the company.

Organizations can now quickly provision and run FreeBSD 10.3 as a virtual machine Hyper-V guest on Microsoft Azure infrastructure using this image. FreeBSD is an open source Unix-like server maintained by the FreeBSD Foundation, but this FreeBSD 10.3 image was created and is maintained by Microsoft with permission from the Foundation.

"Microsoft is the publisher of the FreeBSD image in the marketplace rather than the FreeBSD Foundation," explained Jason Anderson, a principal program manager for Microsoft's Open Source Technology Center, according to Microsoft's announcement.

Integration Services Efforts

Microsoft has regular internal process for supporting operating systems on Hyper-V. This Integration Services effort creates device drivers for the hosted open source operating systems that tap Hyper-V, such as the various Linux server distros, as well as FreeBSD. Michael Kelly, a principal program manager on Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise team, explained how Microsoft's Integration Services works:

Because each OS family has its own device driver model, these drivers must be specifically written for each OS family. So there are separate device drivers for Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD. This collection of device drivers (together with some user space daemons for Linux and FreeBSD) constitute the Integration Services. For Linux and FreeBSD, these are what we call Linux Integration Services (LIS) and FreeBSD Integration Services (BIS).

FreeBSD is somewhat different than Linux in that there's just one release. It doesn't fork like Linux distros. "This means that Microsoft can deliver the Integration Services components directly to the FreeBSD community and upon acceptance, are included directly into the latest release of the FreeBSD operating system," explained Anderson, in an October Microsoft blog post.

In the case of the FreeBSD 10.3 image for Azure, Anderson explained that Microsoft took control to ensure uptime for organizations and to contribute to the Foundation:

In order to ensure our customers have an enterprise SLA (service level agreement) for their FreeBSD VMs running in Azure, we took on the work of building, testing, releasing and maintaining the image in order to remove that burden from the Foundation. We will continue to partner closely with the Foundation as we make further investments in FreeBSD on Hyper-V and in Azure.

Microsoft built network and storage performance improvements into the FreeBSD 10.3 image. It also added an "Azure VM Guest Agent," which communicates between the virtual machine and the Azure Fabric to ease the provisioning process, Anderson explained. Microsoft's support engineers are available to provide technical support for FreeBSD 10.3 on Azure, he added.

Microsoft also has created "ports" of some older FreeBSD versions that will run on Hyper-V, but they may be less robust in terms of performance and stability, Anderson suggested. Microsoft's past FreeBSD work also includes Windows Server Hyper-V integration.

Other Open Source Azure News

In other open source Azure news, Microsoft announced late last month that the Azure Marketplace now houses a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.8 "pay-as-you-go" image. It's designed to support Red Hat workloads on an hourly basis, along with paying Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine rates for Red Hat, according to Microsoft's description.

Microsoft has generally been embracing Linux of late as a business solution it can monetize, principally via its Azure compute infrastructure. Linux workloads on Azure infrastructure have been growing. Mark Russinovich, chief technical officer of Microsoft Azure, indicated earlier this year that "more than 25 percent of all virtual machines deployed in Azure are Linux-based, up from 20 percent just six months ago."

Microsoft also has integrated open source software into some of its products. For instance, this month Microsoft announced that the open source Apache Spark 1.6.1 was "generally available" for commercial use with Azure HDInsight, which is Microsoft's Big Data solution based on Hadoop technology. Apache Spark is an open source in-memory framework used for data analytics operations that's aimed at speeding up the querying process.

Microsoft also recently updated its Azure Redis Cache service, which is based on the open source Redis cache solution. The update includes a preview of an Azure Redis Cache import/export capability, which allows data to be migrated between cache instances. Microsoft also previewed the ability to upgrade from the Standard to the Premium service offering. In addition, PowerShell now can be used to run diagnostics on Azure Redis Cache.
Forces loyal to Libya's unity government fought deadly street battles with the Islamic State group in Sirte, as they pressed an offensive to capture the jihadists' coastal bastion. Clashes raged around the Ouagadougou conference centre, a sprawling complex that once hosted international summits in the era of ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi which is now used as an IS command centre. The loss of Sirte, Kadhafi's home town, would be a major blow to IS at a time when it is under mounting pressure in Syria and Iraq. From early in the day, forces aligned with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) pounded IS positions around the complex with heavy artillery fire. Warplanes also carried out air strikes around the centre and other IS positions inside Sirte, according to social media accounts belonging to the anti-jihadist operation. Two GNA fighters were killed and eight wounded and taken to a Misrata hospital, further east, the government said. An AFP correspondent at the scene reported heavy street fighting about two kilometres (one mile) from the Ouagadougou centre. GNA forces used tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, the correspondent said, while the jihadists responded with machineguns, mortar rounds and sniper fire. "It was a war with planes and artillery, but now it is street fighting," said one GNA combatant, who declined to be named. "We are fighting between houses, on the streets, and we won't back down before we eliminate them." Power struggles have prevented Libya's fledgling government and its allies from ousting IS from its Gulf of Sidra safe-haven for a year. The GNA, established in Tripoli more than two months ago, has been trying to unify violence-ridden Libya and exert its control over the entire North African country. Foreign intelligence services estimate IS has 5,000 fighters in Libya, but its strength inside Sirte and the number of civilians living in the city are unclear. - 'Crack pretty quickly'- The GNA forces apparently pushed their way from the west into the city centre, and the AFP correspondent saw dozens of 4X4 vehicles deployed along the way. A Libyan government official said "the battle wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be". "Their force has dispersed," said the official. "They (Misrata forces) have taken almost all the city now." The GNA on Thursday said it expected to announce the liberation of Sirte in "two or three days," after its forces thrust into the city centre. "We're encouraged by the progress they're making," said US special envoy Brett McGurk. "Once you have a credible force on the ground that moves against them, there is a chance that they could crack pretty quickly." GNA forces launched the Sirte offensive in mid-May and have seized towns, a power plant and army barracks before Thursday's advance on the city centre. But analysts have warned that recapturing Sirte would not end IS violence in Libya. "What will happen to all the forces mobilised against IS?" asked Mohamed Eljarh of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. "And Haftar's forces? There is a risk that they turn against each other," he said. Controversial General Khalifa Haftar is an opponent of the GNA who heads forces loyal to a rival government. GNA troops are mostly made up of militias from western cities, notably Misrata, and the guards of oil installations that IS has repeatedly tried to seize. On the GNA's Facebook page, prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj called Friday on "all military forces to unite in the face of our common enemy... and to join the victorious forces". But Ahmed al-Mesmari, a spokesman for Haftar's forces, told AFP that "the groups that are fighting IS in Sirte are illegitimate militias, loyal to an illegitimate government". Haftar's forces have reportedly stopped in villages south of Sirte and not advanced on the city.
The human gut is a complex and amazing system, and the more we learn about it, the more amazed we are. It turns out
Published On Jun 11, 2016 By Arun for Tata Tiago 2015-2019

A small hatchback has been the sensible first car for most Indians, from the excited teen to the nervous aunt to the ambitious grandpa. For a country where most people are buying a car for the first time affordable price tags and low cost of ownership while offering a durable all-rounder has been crucial. Over the years, the humble hatch has developed a connect with masses, which makes this a vital and difficult offering to ace. The 800cc Kwid was Renault's first crack at making a small petrol-powered hatchback for the masses. Going straight for the Alto 800's jugular is a bold move. Over the last couple of years, it has carved out a nice little niche for itself by being thoda hatke compared to the run of the mill hatchback. At the time this comparison was done the 1-litre engine-equipped Kwid hadnt been launched.

The other car here, the Tata Tiago, sits one rung above in terms of engine size but its aggressive pricing brings it within reach of the entry level hatchback customer. What helps is the fact that it looks nothing like the car it replaces and has a bag full of features to woo the buyer. In my books, the game-changing aspect about the Tiago is the asking price. The little Tata is priced so aggressively that it not only undercuts its rivals but a few of its variants even land squarely in the Renault's category. While this is an unequal battle in some ways, which car offers the best value for your money?

Exteriors

It's easy to see why the Kwid is so popular. Our market loves SUVs so much that a cute little hatch masquerading as one gets lapped up by the dozen. In terms of design it's all there. The beefy wheel arches, a generous dose of matte black cladding, aggressive lines on the bonnet -- these are from Page 1 of the 'How to design an SUV' handbook. The only element that tends to look lost in the overall scheme of things is the skinny tyres. The squared-off wheel arches give rise to a humongous wheel well that the skinny 13-inch wheels just cannot fill up.

The Tiago is a conventional hatchback, and doesnt try to disguise it. The 'Impact' design philosophy has given birth to possibly the cleanest design we've seen roll off an Indian manufacturer's assembly line. The attention to detail is commendable. The hexagonal detailing on the gloss black grille, the way the chrome flows through the headlamps into the bumpers, the cute spoiler spats and the blacked-out lower half of the rear bumper, all stitch together a neat, cohesive design. Also, the sheet metal is thick, the paint is lustrous and the panel gaps are mostly even throughout. The Tiago scores the first point over the Renault in terms of sheer build quality.

Interiors

The interiors have a similar story to tell. Once inside the Tiago, the first question that pops to mind is  Is this really a Tata?" Compared to the Indica, the Tiago feels eons ahead in terms of design, and, more importantly, quality. Our test car had the colour-coordinated side AC vents, which I think looks really nice. Tata does give you the option of customising more panels to match the exteriors, but we think the gloss black centre console and the beige-black combo on the dash look sober and contemporary.

The Renault, on the other hand, has an all-black cabin. The design is funky  something that appeals to the young. And it is immensely practical too  you get twin gloveboxes, a parcel shelf, loads of storage space in the centre and then some more in the door pads. It also gets a fancy touchscreen infotainment system with navigation (but only in the top trim). However, it is paired with just a couple of speakers, placed at the end of the dashboard. Audio quality and touchscreen response both are average at best.

The Renault is surprisingly spacious for its size. In spite of the compact footprint, the cabin is accommodating enough for four large adults. Moreover, the boot is rated at a mammoth 300 litres. That's 123 litres more than the Alto 800, and, get this, a full 96 litres extra than the Swift! Tata, on the other hand, has squeezed the boot space to 242 litres but treats its rear seat passengers better. Compared to the Kwid, the Tiago has better legroom and knee room. Headroom is more or less on par, and seating three abreast in either is a task in itself. Both are four-seaters at best, but the Tata is better at keeping occupants comfortable. The cushioning and bolstering is slightly better and the backrest on the rear bench is set at a relaxed angle. The driver gets a height-adjustable seat, a tilt-adjustable steering and an adjustable headrest  all of which the Kwid misses out on.

On the equipment front, the Tiago has the Kwid beat. For the extra money you pay, you get a comprehensive multi-information display, steering-mounted audio controls, all four power windows, a chilled glovebox and, lest I forget, a stellar 8-speaker audio system by Harman. I cannot stress on this enough: this particular system is possibly the best you'll find in a car under Rs 10 lakh. You can safely rule out the need for an audio upgrade.

Before I get on to how both cars run and drive, the six-footer that I am has to point out that the foot wells are cramped in both the cars. As a result, the left knee usually ends up leaning against the centre console while the right knee brushes against the door pad. Moreover, the pedals are closely stacked in the Tiago, which takes some time getting used to.

Engine and Performance

Let's take a quick look at the specs of the petrol engines:

Renault Kwid: 799cc | 54PS@5678rpm | 72Nm@4386rpm | ARAI Certified Mileage: 25.17kmpl

Tata Tiago: 1199cc | 85PS@6000rpm | 114Nm@3500rpm | ARAI Certified Mileage: 23.84kmpl

Being tiny petrol hatchbacks, there's minimal effort required to putter around the city in either of these. Both cars have a problem keeping their voices down. If they ever ran into my school teacher, I'm sure they'd get an earful. I lost track of the number of times people asked me if the Renault was powered by a diesel engine. The Tata is relatively quieter inside out, but some more silence would've been nice.

Now, the Tiago has the larger engine and is evidently peppier compared to the Kwid. There's a whole 31PS of power differentiating the two, and it is more than evident when you mash the throttle on either. It isn't all that happy when you do, though. In fact, both cars howl and protest if driven hard. Trot about lazily and the engines are more than happy to oblige.

On a flat surface, there's just enough torque in the lower rungs of the rev range to let you set off without going heavy on the accelerator. But the Kwid struggles on inclines, and matters get worse when it is packed to the brim. In comparison, the Tiago feels much better in this regard. Of course, you will have to work the throttle to get it up the hill, just not as much as you'd have to in the Kwid.

Ride, Handling and Braking

You can use a single finger to dial in steering inputs on both  the steering is that light! Coupled to the compact proportions, both make life inside the city, where you'll have to wiggle through traffic, make a quick U-turn or park in a tight spot, much easier. On a traffic-packed commute back home the Renault made me adore the power steering. It's extremely light and lets you exploit that tiny gap in the jam very easily. But when put through its paces, it barely lets you know what the front wheels are up to. It feels dead and vague, and more often than not, you have to trust your gut more than anything while cornering. The Tiago's steering is equally light at low speeds but weighs up much better as the speeds climb. It isn't too great at feedback either but is notably better than the Kwid.

Renault has got the ride quality almost spot-on. The Duster is the benchmark in its segment for its ride, and the Kwid is well on its way to set an example in its own class. For a small hatch with skinny tyres, the ride is supple. The setup is soft, which absorbs most of the little potholes at low speeds. At high speeds, the ride is slightly floaty which makes one feel disconnected from the road. While it can clock more with some huffing and puffing, I'd ideally stick to double-digit speeds when driving the Kwid. The Tiago has similar ride traits as well. Cushiony when slow, and slightly bouncy when fast. However, it feels more sure-footed than the Renault at high speeds. If we were going to primarily munch highway miles, we'd pick the Tata. It is more at ease and composed while doing highway speeds. Of course, with both, you will have to plan your overtake -- downshift and gun it if you ever want to get anywhere in a hurry.

Stopping power is more than adequate on the Tiago, and is a no-drama affair on most occasions. We could've done with a little more feedback from the brake pedal itself, but other than that, it's all good. However, with the Kwid, the tyres tend to lock up far too easily. A wider set of tyres is heavily recommended, not only for the added grip but for added stopping capability as well. Notably, the Tiago gets anti-lock brakes, which the Kwid skips. The Renault also skips out on a passenger airbag, whereas the one for the driver is optional. It is good to see that Tata offers dual airbags as an option on every variant, barring the base.

Verdict

If you are on an absolute budget, the Kwid makes for a sensible purchase. It is spacious, reasonably comfortable and easy to drive. That said, we wholeheartedly recommend picking the top-spec RXT (O) variant, for the safety net of the airbag alone. Now, the 1.0 litre variant of the Kwid is also on sale and would make for a great pick as it offers peppier performance. New Anniversary editions also up the cool quotient of the Kwid. But bear in mind, these will bring the price tag closer to the Tiago.

Now, let's boil it down to one single question: Is the Tiago worth the extra money? On an EMI basis, the top-spec Tata will cost about Rs 3000 extra compared to the top-spec Kwid. If you can shell that out, please do. The Tiago is a better package in every sense. It has the better engine, has more space, more creature comforts and most importantly, more safety tech. I'll repeat what I said at the outset: the best thing on the Tiago's brochure is the asking price. The Tata Tiago is more expensive but it is a more usable and appealing package, and definitely more value for money.

Renault Kwid

What we like

Space. A roomy cabin and a 300-litre boot is unheard of in this segment

Feel-good features: Touchscreen infotainment with navigation, digital instrument cluster

Ride quality. Among the most comfortable entry level cars you can buy

What we don't

Build quality. Quality of sheet metal and paint work is average at best

Brakes lack necessary bite. Tend to lock up way too easily

Skinny tyres do not offer much grip

Lack of passenger airbag and ABS, even in the top-spec version

Tata Tiago

What we like

Design. Clean, uncluttered and contemporary

Feature list is expansive: height-adjustable seats, tilt-adjustable steering, chilled glovebox, etc

8-speaker Harman audio system is the best we've heard in a car under Rs 10 lakh

Dual airbags and ABS available across all variants barring the base

What we don't
Talking Points:

- EUR/USD currently trades slightly below 1.1400 after breaking above yesterday

- Draghi speech in Brussels the focus in an otherwise quiet economic calendar

- GSI is a powerful big data indicator that can help you determine whether short-term trends will continue or reverse

The EUR/USD currently trades slightly below 1.1400 (at the time this report was written) after the pair moved higher yesterday, but follow-through might prove limited on a quiet economic calendar. The lack of major event risk could put risk trends in the spotlight again today, as the 10-day correlation between the EUR/USD and the SPX 500 is 0.77 at the time of writing.

With that said, Draghi Speaks at an economic forum in Brussels right on London open and may shake things up later. An otherwise quiet economic calendar, and low volatility may imply that technical levels could hold as we look to find short term trading opportunities using the Grid Sight Index (GSI) indicator.

Click Here for the DailyFX Calendar

ECBs President Mario Draghi is set to speak at an economic forum in Brussels at 07:00 GMT today, and could potentially provide some market moving comments. The market may be interested to hear Draghis comments on future monetary policy, after the ECB meeting last week seemed to have confirmed that the bank is in implementation mode of the stimulus measures announced in March. Interestingly, the meeting was held before the US Dollar plunge on the back a very weak NFP report. The Euro traded approximately 250 pips lower at the time.

US Initial Jobless Claims and Continuing Claims is set to hit the wires in US trading hours. The Initial Jobless Claims measure is expected to print 270K, higher than the 267K prior print. The Continuing Claims figure is set to contract slightly to 2171K versus the prior 2172K print. It might be interesting to see if the market gives more significance to the figures following the abysmal NFP report this past Friday.

The US Household Change in Net Worth (1Q) is set to hit the wires as well, but the figures' more macro implications might imply that short term volatility is unlikely.

EUR/USD 5-Min GSI Chart: June 9, 2016

The EUR/USD is edging lower heading into London open. The GSI indicator above calculates the distribution of past event outcomes given certain momentum patterns, and can give you a look at the market in a way that's never been possible before, analyzing millions of historical prices in real time. By matching events in the past, GSI describes how often the price moved in a certain direction.

You can learn more about the GSI here.

EUR/USD Technical Levels:

Click here for the DailyFX Support & Resistance tool

We use volatility measures as a way to better fit our strategy to market conditions. Neutral perceived trading conditions and reduces volatility might imply that technical levels could hold in todays trade, with the aforementioned event risk as a possible invalidation of that bias for a shift to breakout type trades. Close attention may be put today on risk assets movement, to help gauge the appropriate action on the pair.

EUR/USD 30-Min Chart With SPX 500 Overlay: June 9, 2016

The EUR/USD is pivoting around the 1.1400 handle, which could imply that a clear move away from the level may have importance signaling directional conviction.

The pair is edging lower at the time of writing and short term support might be found at 1.1388, followed by a support zone at 1.1379-1.1368. Another support zone may be found around 1.1350- 1.1340.

Levels of interest on a move higher might be 1.1415, followed by a resistance zone at 1.1430- 1.1450, and another resistance zone at 1.1467- 1.1483.

When price reaches those levels, short term traders might use the GSI to view how prices reacted in the past given a certain momentum pattern, and see the distribution of historical outcomes in which the price reversed or continued in the same direction.

A common way to use GSI is to help you fade tops and bottoms, and trade breakouts. Thats why traders may want to use the GSI indicator when price reaches those specific pre-determined levels, and fit a strategy that might offer a proper way to define risk.

Meanwhile, the DailyFX Speculative Sentiment Index (SSI) is showing thatabout 37.91% of traders are long the EUR/USD at the time of writing. The SSI is mainly used as a contrarian indicator, implying further strength ahead for the pair.

You can find more info about the DailyFX SSI indicator here

--- Written by Oded Shimoni, Junior Currency Analyst for DailyFX.com
My Bahamas Vacations Publishes Six New In-Depth Guides to Bahamian Islands

Full of the kind of detail and insights not to be found anywhere else, new guides cover islands ranging from anglers' favorites to secluded, uninhabited secrets, My Bahamas Vacations reports

--

My Bahamas Vacations published at http://www.mybahamasvacations.com six new, exclusive, in-depth guides to particular islands and cays in the Bahamas. Covering everything from the sprawling, secluded reaches of Mayaguana Island to the rich fishing grounds surrounding the Berry Islands, the new guides boast the kind of hard-to-find depth of detail and insider's knowledge that have already become hallmarks of the young site. Since launching in late 2015, My Bahamas Vacations has grown at a rapid pace, with visitors appreciating the way it so consistently offers up information and perspectives that cannot be found anywhere else. The site's six new guides will be of great interest to anyone who seeks to learn more about one of the world's most beautiful and popular vacation destinations.

"It has been a real pleasure welcoming so many new visitors to My Bahamas Vacations in recent months," site founder Sonnox James said, "As huge fans of the Bahamas ourselves, we thought it was time this fascinating, wonderful country gained a site that would do it justice. The initial response to our first guides and features was extremely gratifying and further strengthened our commitment to researching and publishing more unique new articles. With the six new guides that have gone up on My Bahamas Vacations in recent weeks, we think visitors are going to enjoy plenty of fascinating reading."

With its northern end lying only a short maritime trip from the southeastern coast of Florida, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas stretches 532 miles over a chain of more than 700 islands and cays. In addition to appealing tropical weather and easy access to the splendor of the surrounding ocean, the Bahamas encompasses everything from world-class luxury resorts to tiny islets where people rarely set foot.

My Bahamas Vacations was founded last year to give visitors insight into everything that makes this beautiful country so special and appealing. Early on, for example, the site's editors published at http://www.mybahamasvacations.com/atlantis-bahamas-resort/ a comprehensive guide to Paradise Island's $800-million-dollar Atlantis development, detailing the history and contemporary state of the resort and its thousand-plus rooms, dozens of restaurants and many further attractions.

Another major feature from the early days of the site at http://www.mybahamasvacations.com/bahamas-about-the-out-islands/ introduces readers to the Out Islands of the Bahamas, places where peace and tranquility more often prevail. Making it easier and more rewarding than any other website to learn about the country's impressively varied destinations, My Bahamas Vacations has grown quickly in the short time since its founding.

With the publication of a major new wave of guides to particular islands and areas, interest in My Bahamas Vacations is sure to rise even higher. Providing the kind of information that cannot be found anywhere else online, the new guides cover Great and Little Inagua, San Salvador, Mayaguana, Long, Ackins, Crooked, and Berry Islands, and more. The new My Bahamas Vacations guides are online now and freely available to all visitors, like the rest of the site's features.

About My Bahamas Vacations:

With an ever-growing collection of guides and features, My Bahamas Vacations makes it easy to learn about and plan a trip to one of the world's most beautiful and rewarding places.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.mybahamasvacations.com

Contact Info:

Name: Sonnox James

Organization: My Bahamas Vacations

Phone: 612-998-1589

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/my-bahamas-vacations-publishes-six-new-in-depth-guides-to-bahamian-islands/118971

Release ID: 118971

For more information visit r



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Class of 2016 Take a look at the accomplishments and aspirations of just a few of our outstanding seniors Ruomeng Zhang '16 and Professor of Physics Narendra Jaggi at the Student Research Symposium at the Spring Meeting of ISAAPT, April 2015.

Committed Faculty Help Zhang Forge Her Own Path

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. Looking back over her time at Illinois Wesleyan, Ruomeng Zhang 16 smiles broadly, closes her eyes and shakes her head.

I was afraid of everything, she recalled. Afraid to speak in class, anxious about my future, afraid of making a mistake.

A native of Zhangshu, a small city in Chinas Jiangxi province, Zhang 16 wanted to attend college in the United States even though she had never traveled abroad before coming to Illinois Wesleyan. She reasoned that a U.S. college would provide a great opportunity to make friends with American students, improve her English language skills, and immerse herself in American culture.

Zhang chose IWU based on her impressions of the Universitys teaching philosophy and campus environment. Almost immediately upon arrival, she discovered she was right: professors and students develop strong bonds at IWU, and those relationships were critical for Zhangs success.

Initially declaring a major in chemistry, Zhang said Professor and Chair of Chemistry Rebecca Roesner offered tremendous support and encouragement as Zhang struggled with English, cultural differences, and IWUs academic rigor. For financial reasons, she was determined to finish her coursework in three years rather than four, adding to her stress. I was very anxious about my future, Zhang said, recalling a difficult first year.

Then, after taking an introductory physics course, Professor Gabe Spalding encouraged her to add a physics major or minor. He told me I had talent and strongly encouraged me to study physics, she said. However, her decision to finish her coursework in three years made a double major impossible, so physics and chemistry faculty assisted her in developing an interdisciplinary degree in chemical physics.

I like to seek connections between different subjects, Zhang said. And my experiences in the interdisciplinary fields gave me a broad view of looking at things from different perspectives.

Zhang performed on the pipa at the Lunar New Year festival.

She found ways to make connections outside of the classroom as well. By the end of her first year, shed founded Cross-Cultural Connections, a registered student organization seeking to bridge the gap between domestic and international students, with the help of tips and suggestions from Outreach Librarian and Professor Sue Anderson. She was always concerned with my progress both in English and in my schoolwork, said Zhang of Anderson. And Zhang was often asked to perform on the pipa, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument, on occasions ranging from private dinners at the University Presidents home to the Lunar New Year festival on campus.

Zhang excelled in combining her love for chemistry and physics in research. She joined Professor of Physics Narendra Jaggis lab to study the physics behind two well known oscillating chemical reactions: Briggs-Rauscher (BR) and Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ). These two reactions are characterized by cyclic color changes. Even though the chemistry and physics of the reactions have been studied for over half a century, they are not completely understood, Zhang said. She and her lab partners designed techniques in hopes of developing a better understanding of these systems. When I was doing research with Dr. Jaggi, he guided me in learning how to think like a real physicist and how to push our project forward, she said. Zhangs work on diffusion coupled chemical oscillators won second place at the Illinois Section American Association of Physics Teachers Student Research Symposium in 2015.

Zhang also took part in an undergraduate research program at Princeton University last summer. In the lab of Greg Scholes, a leader in the field of energy transfer, Zhang investigated ways to substitute semiconductors used to make solar cells with organic compounds that can undergo singlet fission.

Artwork by the multitalented Zhang

I had a taste of what research would be like in graduate school and also became familiar with the academic environment at Princeton, she said. Still, she struggled in deciding whether to take a gap year or start graduate work this fall. Exhaustion was one factor, but Zhang said the biggest reason she considered a gap year was because of her deep interest in so many things.

And Zhang seems to have talent in many areas. An English professor who loved Zhangs short story on a post-apocalyptic world urged her to submit it for publication. Her drawings have won awards. And, as a student in Professor of Sociology Chuck Springwoods course Race, Racism & Anthropology, Zhang gained an entirely new perspective of American society. Springwood encouraged her to write a reflection of this perception for possible publication.

I deeply feel that arts and sciences cannot be separated, and I like both, Zhang said. All of the experiences with faculty from across the campus made me think I should take a gap year to travel and interact with people from different backgrounds.

In the end, however, after hours of conversation  with Spalding and Jaggi, in particular, discussing her truest passions and her strongest skills  she decided to enter the doctoral program in chemistry at Princeton this fall.

No wonder, then, that Roesner describes Zhang as exceptional in doing all this and graduating in three years. Elected to both Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies, Zhang graduated summa cum laude with research honors.

No longer terrified to speak in class, Zhang said she is now confident of her abilities, a change she partly credits to the many close relationships she developed with faculty and peers at Illinois Wesleyan. And she has some advice for other students:

By the time you graduate, I hope you can say proudly to yourself: I played hard, I worked hard, and I lived fully at IWU. I can say this today about myself.
An Ohio man who was wrongfully arrested, beaten by cops, and locked in a closet for four days was recently awarded $22 million by a jury for his ordeal.

According to The NY Daily News, Arnold Black sued East Cleveland police over his wrongful arrest and detainment that occurred in 2012, alleging a pair of officers mixed up his car with that of a suspected drug dealer and wrongfully took him into custody. One of the cops reeked of alcohol - and punched Black for messing up his night at the bar, according to the lawsuit.Black was pulled over in his green pickup truck in April 2012, at a time when the police were looking for a green truck carrying cocaine. Officers Jonathan OLeary and Randy Hicks pulled him over, and then Black alleged Randy Hicks punched him in the head, and OLeary didnt try to stop him. They brought Black to jail, but they chose to lock him in a storage closet instead of a jail cell, where he spent four days trapped inside the tiny space with no food, water, toilet, or bedding.After four days, the police let him out and Black was allowed to consult with a lawyer. Also according to the article, Two months later, a grand jury indicted Black on cocaine charges - even though police had no evidence to support the drug was ever in his possession. The case was later dropped, and Black filed his lawsuit in 2014. A jury in Cuyahoga County recently awarded Arnold Black $22 million for the four-day ordeal he went through.Chris Janish, CEO of Legal-Bay, commented on the recent news, Due to the vicious nature of these crimes, we stand ready to assist those who have been faced with police brutality, prison injury, or wrongful imprisonment. We want to remind victims or their loved ones who may find themselves in a similar situation that we are here to assist them today with getting their lives back on track immediately.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have uncovered a major reason why the Parkinson's-related protein alpha-synuclein, a major constituent of the Lewy bodies that are the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD), is toxic to neurons in the brain. The finding has the potential to lead to new therapies that could slow or stop progression of the devastating illness. The new research appears online in Science Translational Medicine.

PD is a degenerative neurological disease characterized by tremor, slowness, and gait and balance difficulties that affects about 1 million people in the United States. The symptoms are caused by the degeneration and loss of neurons in the brain, particularly those crucial for the initiation and coordination of movement.

"It's really exciting that we have found a mechanism we can target to create new treatments for this devastating disease," said lead investigator J. Timothy Greenamyre, M.D., Ph.D., Love Family Professor of Neurology in Pitt's School of Medicine and director of the Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (PIND).

PIND's goal is an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the study of neurodegenerative diseases and their mechanisms, with the aim of transforming cutting-edge science into novel therapies and diagnostics that directly benefit individuals affected by neurodegenerative diseases.

"With four different PIND investigators working together, the new study highlights the power of this collaborative approach," Dr. Greenamyre added.

Current treatments for PD can reduce symptoms, but they do not slow the inevitable worsening of the disease. To slow or halt illness progression, scientists must first determine why and how the neurons are dying.

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Degenerating neurons contain large clumps of a protein called alpha-synuclein. People whose cells make too much alpha-synuclein or make a mutated form of the protein are at high risk of developing PD because of the protein's toxicity, researchers found. Scientists also demonstrated that the accumulation of alpha-synuclein in PD is toxic because it disrupts the normal functioning of mitochondria--the tiny powerhouses responsible for generating a cell's energy.

In the new study, Dr. Greenamyre and his team--led by coauthors Roberto Di Maio, Ph.D., and Paul Barrett, Ph.D., both of PIND--used a well-established rodent model of PD to show exactly how alpha-synuclein disrupts mitochondrial function. They found that by attaching to a mitochondrial protein called TOM20, alpha-synuclein prevented the mitochondria from functioning optimally, which resulted in the production of less energy and more damaging cellular waste.

Ultimately, this interaction between alpha-synuclein and TOM20 leads to neurodegeneration, Dr. Greenamyre explained.

The researchers then confirmed their animal findings in brain tissue from people with PD.

"The effects of alpha-synuclein on mitochondria are like making a perfectly good coal-fueled power plant extremely inefficient, so it not only fails to make enough electricity, but also creates too much toxic pollution," said Dr. Greenamyre.

Using cell cultures, the research team also found two ways to prevent the toxicity caused by alpha-synuclein: gene therapy that forced the neurons to make more TOM20 protein protected them from the alpha-synuclein; and a protein that was able to prevent alpha-synuclein from sticking to TOM20 prevented alpha-synuclein's harmful effects on mitochondria.

While more research is needed to determine whether these approaches could help PD patients, Dr. Greenamyre is optimistic that one or both may ultimately make it into human clinical trials in an effort to slow or halt the otherwise inevitable progression of PD.
Cancer stem cells are like zombies -- even after a tumor is destroyed, they can keep coming back. These cells have an unlimited capacity to regenerate themselves, making more cancer stem cells and more tumors. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have now unraveled how pre-leukemic white blood cell precursors become leukemia stem cells. The study, published June 9 in Cell Stem Cell, used human cells to define the RNA editing enzyme ADAR1's role in leukemia, and find a way to stop it.

While DNA is like the architect's blueprint for a cell, RNA is the like the engineer's interpretation of the blueprint. That RNA version is frequently flawed in cancer. While many studies have uncovered pivotal DNA mutations in cancer, few have addressed the roles of RNA and mechanisms that regulate RNA.

"In this study, we showed that cancer stem cells co-opt a RNA editing system to clone themselves. What's more, we found a method to dial it down," said senior author Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Regenerative Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

The enzyme at the center of this study, ADAR1, can edit the sequence of microRNAs, small pieces of genetic material. By swapping out just one microRNA building block for another, ADAR1 alters the carefully orchestrated system cells use to control which genes are turned on or off at which times.

ADAR1 is known to promote cancer progression and resistance to therapy. In this study, Jamieson's team used human blast crisis chronic myeloid leukemia cells in the lab, and mice transplanted with these cells, to determine ADAR1's role in governing leukemia stem cells.

The researchers uncovered a series of molecular events. First, white blood cells with a leukemia-promoting gene mutation become more sensitive to signs of inflammation. That inflammatory response activates ADAR1. Then, hyper-ADAR1 editing slows down the microRNAs known as let-7. Ultimately, this activity increases cellular regeneration, or self-renewal, turning white blood cell precursors into leukemia stem cells. Leukemia stem cells promote an aggressive, therapy-resistant form of the disease called blast crisis.

"This is the first mechanistic link between pro-cancer inflammatory signals and RNA editing-driven reprogramming of precursor cells into leukemia stem cells," said Jamieson, who is also deputy director of the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego Health, director of the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic at UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of stem cell research at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

After learning how the ADAR1 system works, Jamieson's team looked for a way to stop it. By inhibiting sensitivity to inflammation or inhibiting ADAR1 with a small molecule tool compound, the researchers were able to counter ADAR1's effect on leukemia stem cell self-renewal and restore let-7. Self-renewal of blast crisis chronic myeloid leukemia cells was reduced by approximately 40 percent when treated with the small molecule, called 8-Aza, as compared to untreated cells.

"Based on this research, we believe that detecting ADAR1 activity will be important for predicting cancer progression. In addition, inhibiting this enzyme represents a unique therapeutic vulnerability in cancer stem cells with active inflammatory signaling that may respond to pharmacologic inhibitors of inflammation sensitivity or selective ADAR1 inhibitors that are currently being developed," Jamieson said.
Kennedy's disease leads to progressive muscle wastage. It is a condition that affects only men and it appears between 40 and 50 years of age. There is no specific treatment available. In individuals with this disease, muscle cells and motor neurons die over the years because they accumulate a protein that is mutated. Researchers at IRB Barcelona discover that this protein has a self-protective mechanism through which the deleterious effects of the mutation are delayed.

Knowledge of the minute details of the proteins that are linked to diseases is crucial if we are to discover therapeutic targets and thus pave the way for possible treatments. Such knowledge gains even more relevance when dealing with rare diseases that have received little attention and for which no treatments are available, such as the case of Kennedy's disease. This week Xavier Salvatella, ICREA researcher at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), in collaboration with scientists from the University of Florence (Italy), has described a molecular system of protection that involves the androgen receptor protein, a molecule that is mutated in patients with Kennedy's disease and which cause progressive muscle wastage.

The finding brings in-depth molecular insights that can lead to new studies and bring researchers closer to finding a therapeutic target for Kennedy's disease. The study has been published in Biophysical Journal, part of the Cell group.

In Kennedy's disease, the muscle cells and motor neurons -- the latter linked to muscle function too -- are damaged as a result of the accumulation of androgen receptor fibers -- a process that causes them to die. "Many aspects of diseases involving aggregates, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, are unknown. In this regard, Kennedy's disease is in a worse position because it is a rare condition," explains Xavier Salvatella, head of the Molecular Biophysics Lab at IRB Barcelona.

The onset of this genetically inherited disease occurs in late adulthood, affecting one in every 40,000 men and causing progressive deterioration of all muscles. Although not fatal, the condition is debilitating, and 20% of those affected eventually need a wheel chair.

Backed by funding from the "Fundacion La Marato de TV3" and a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council, Salvatella studies the sequence of molecular events that causes the aggregation of androgen receptors. He and his team seek to determine the regions of the protein sequence responsible for aggregation in order to identify valid targets to direct therapies and to prevent this process.

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Attacking the flanks of the protein

The mutation carried by those affected by Kennedy's disease causes a repeated and excessively long chain of a specific amino acid, namely glutamine, which impairs the activity of the androgen receptor. This protein, which activates the hormone testosterone, is responsible for triggering the genetic programme that favours the differential characteristics of men: more hair, deep voice, larger hands, etc.

During adolescence, and depending on the extent to which they are affected, boys with the mutation do not fully develop the male phenotype, but this is often not diagnosed. In a second stage, in adulthood, muscle degeneration begins. "It is known that the longer the polyglutamine chain, the earlier the onset of muscle atrophy. What we don't know and what this study helps us to understand is why the harmful effect is triggered when the length of the poly glutamine exceed 38 residues."

Thanks to access to one of the main Nuclear Magnetic Resonance facilities in Europe, located at the University of Florence, for the first time the scientists have studied the protein in a test tube. They have observed that right next to the glutamine chain there is a region comprised by four leucine residues that allay the effects of the mutation.

The leucine molecules favour the folding of the polyglutamine chain into a helix, a structure that prevents the chains from adhering to one another. However, the impact of the leucine molecule on the glutamine region is limited, and if there are many glutamine amino acids, the chains do not fold. Instead, they stretch out like rods, stick to each other, and end up forming a fibrous wall.

"We have seen that four leucine molecules delay this process. What would happen in the presence of six?" asks Salvatella. "Conceptually speaking, one clever way of delaying the aggregation could be to use drugs to strengthen the effect of the leucine residues that have so much influence on the mutation site that causes the protein to aggregate," reflects Salvatella.

Salvatella's work indicates that in-depth knowledge of the different protein sequences and how they affect each other may reveal new therapeutic targets. The IRB Barcelona scientist is engaged in several research lines devoted to Kennedy's disease. His studies involve the development of techniques and studies with mice and with chaperones -- proteins that bind to any protein that is about to aggregate. "This is the first article in a series in which we can slowly explain how we think Kennedy's disease develops and propose therapeutic solutions," he explains.

The Iranian researcher Bahareh Eftekharzadeh is the first author of the paper. She did her PhD at IRB Barcelona funded by an International "la Caixa" Fellowship and is currently doing postdoc work at the University of Harvard. Salvatella's lab also receives funding from the Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness, complemented by support from the ERDF and the Government of Catalonia.
A high percentage of children, teens and young adults with migraines appear to have mild deficiencies in vitamin D, riboflavin and coenzyme Q10 -- a vitamin-like substance found in every cell of the body that is used to produce energy for cell growth and maintenance.

These deficiencies may be involved in patients who experience migraines, but that is unclear based on existing studies.

"Further studies are needed to elucidate whether vitamin supplementation is effective in migraine patients in general, and whether patients with mild deficiency are more likely to benefit from supplementation," says Suzanne Hagler, MD, a Headache Medicine fellow in the division of Neurology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and lead author of the study.

Dr. Hagler and colleagues at Cincinnati Children's conducted the study among patients at the Cincinnati Children's Headache Center. She will present her findings at 9:55 am Pacific time June 10, 2016 at the 58th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society in San Diego.

Dr. Hagler's study drew from a database that included patients with migraines who, according to Headache Center practice, had baseline blood levels checked for vitamin D, riboflavin, coenzyme Q10 and folate, all of which were implicated in migraines, to some degree, by previous and sometimes conflicting studies. Many were put on preventive migraine medications and received vitamin supplementation, if levels were low. Because few received vitamins alone, the researchers were unable to determine vitamin effectiveness in preventing migraines.

She found that girls and young woman were more likely than boys and young men to have coenzyme Q10 deficiencies at baseline. Boys and young men were more likely to have vitamin D deficiency. It was unclear whether there were folate deficiencies. Patients with chronic migraines were more likely to have coenzyme Q10 and riboflavin deficiencies than those with episodic migraines.

Previous studies have indicated that certain vitamins and vitamin deficiencies may be important in the migraine process. Studies using vitamins to prevent migraines, however, have had conflicting success.
In a multinational collaboration, researchers from the Universities of Luxembourg, Ljubljana and Vienna have developed a new method to produce unique reflecting patterns that can be applied on valuable objects. As these patterns can't be cloned or copied, they could be used to identify products unambiguously in order to avoid counterfeiting.

In today's globalized and connected world, the ability to authenticate objects and people has become a security-critical business at many levels; personal, societal, and national. Object authentication is desirable, for instance, in the purchase of high-value objects. Buyers and sellers have a shared interest to prove that the goods that the customers receive are the same that they pay for, and not copies. Object authentication is of utmost importance in businesses that are threatened by counterfeited or cloned phones, sim-cards, debit-cards, and similar pieces of equipment. Sometimes, the object's holder is authenticated directly, as with passports, ID cards and badges. Currently in uptrend is the use of biometric authentication, such as fingerprint or iris recognition. Badges are mainly used to control access to high security areas, fingerprints mostly to open access to personal devices, such as a smart phone.

However, authentication strategies are not bulletproof: Objects can be forged, cards are regularly cloned, and even fingerprints can be stolen. The case of copied fingerprints has recently made the headlines, exposing a great risk with this approach: people cannot invalidate their fingerprints nor can they renew them, thus the stolen copies remain a threat indefinitely.

From this point of view, an attractive solution would be to have unclonable non-biometric physical tokens, which are as unique as the biometric elements in our bodies but available aplenty. For being commercially appealing, the production costs of such unique tokens need to be low. These features lead to the concept of Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs). These are objects that respond in a unique way to physical inputs of different kinds. For instance, they scatter light in unpredictable directions or sparkle with variable colors when illuminated, react with unknown delays or start up in random states when switched on. PUFs are nowadays inside microchips, ensuring that the silicon components come from an authorized factory. Much more rare are optical PUFs, generating a response to light input that can be captured by a camera in order to authenticate the item of value, to which the PUF is attached.

In a cross-disciplinary collaboration between the Physics & Materials Science Research Unit (PhyMS) and the Interdisciplinary Center for Security and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg, Dr. Gabriele Lenzini (SnT) and the group of Prof. Jan Lagerwall (PhyMS) propose an entirely new type of PUF, based on the peculiar optics of spheres of a so-called cholesteric liquid crystal. Thanks to the self-assembled periodic structure that is characteristic of this type of liquid crystal, the spheres reflect specific colors in the same way as do butterfly or peacock wings. With the help of photonics experts Prof. Irena Drevensek-Olenik (University of Ljubljana) and Prof. Romano Rupp (University of Vienna), the team carried out a detailed analysis of the optics of a large number of such spheres, finding that the spheres communicate with each other in unexpected ways. This communication by light gives rise to a unique colorful pattern that can be tuned dynamically by changing the way the spheres are illuminated. Because different types of liquid crystal spheres can be arranged randomly in a token, generated patterns that the authors postulate are equally random, therefore it is impossible to copy the token and its related set of patterns, rendering it highly attractive as a PUF to authenticate people or objects.

In their paper, published in the science journal Scientific Reports1, Geng et al. furthermore introduce a technique for ensuring adequate robustness of the spheres, such that they can be handled easily for preparing a PUF token, yet they are still delicate enough that an attempt to tamper with the token would break the spheres and thus invalidate the token. Moreover, they have developed a new method of annealing the spheres that drastically reduces production time, using a microfluidic process that can be scaled up at low cost. The authors discuss how this new category of PUF can be used in a variety of security applications, thereby aiding to solve a problem of great current societal importance.
Native Olympia oysters, which once thrived along the Pacific Northwest coast until over-harvesting and habitat loss all but wiped them out, have a built-in resistance to ocean acidification during a key shell-building phase after spawning, according to a newly published study.

Unlike the commercially raised Pacific oysters, Olympia oysters don't begin making their shells until 2-3 days after fertilization and make them far more slowly, which helps protect them from corrosive water during this critical development phase, said Oregon State University's George Waldbusser, principal investigator on the project.

Pacific oysters, on the other hand, only have a six-hour window to develop their calcium carbonate shell, and when exposed to acidified water, their energy stores become depleted. The larval oysters may get through the shell-building stage, Waldbusser said, but they often will not have enough energy to survive.

Results of the study are being published this week in the Journal of Limnology and Oceanography.

"This is a unique trait that allows native oysters to survive surprisingly high levels of acidification," said Waldbusser, a marine ecologist in OSU's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. "But they didn't develop that trait in response to rising acidification. It has been there for some time. It does make you wonder if there may be traits in other organisms that we're unaware of that may be beneficial."

In their study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, the OSU researchers measured the calcification rates of both Olympia and Pacific oysters for five days after spawning, taking measurements every three hours. Although other studies have looked at the effects of acidified water on adult oysters, this is the first time researchers have been able to pinpoint its effect on larval oysters in the shell-building stage.

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What they found was a seven-fold difference in the calcification rate. Pacific oysters put all of their energy into rapidly developing a shell, but the price of that investment is huge.

Native Olympia oysters developed their shells much more slowly, but seemingly at a lower cost.

"Pacific oysters churn out tens of millions of eggs, and those eggs are much smaller than those of native oysters even though they eventually become much larger as adults," Waldbusser said. "Pacific oysters have less energy invested in each offspring. Olympia oysters have more of an initial energy investment from Mom, and can spend more time developing their shells and dealing with acidified water."

The OSU researchers found that relative energy stores of young Pacific oysters declined by 38.6 percent an hour, and only 0.9 percent in Olympia oysters.

The study noted other interesting differences between Pacific and Olympia oysters. Native Olympia oyster larvae develop in a brood chamber, where the embryos take longer to develop. However, these brood chambers don't necessarily protect the young oysters from acidified water, since water is continually pumped through the chamber.

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To test how the oysters would do when raised like Pacific oysters -- outside the chamber -- the researchers conducted an experiment raising the larval Olympia oysters outside their brood chamber and exposing them to acidified water.

"Brooding was thought to provide several advantages to developing young, but we found it does not provide any physiological advantage to the larvae," said Matthew Gray, a former doctoral student in OSU's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and now a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Maine. "They did just as well outside the brood chamber as inside.

"Brooding does help guard the larvae from predators and some adverse environmental changes -- such as low-salinity events -- but it plays no role in protecting native oysters against acidification."

The research highlights this robust response to ocean acidification at this critical life-history stage of Olympia oyster larvae, a period which has not previously been studied. Past studies conducted by Annaliese Hettinger, a post-doctoral researcher in Waldbusser's lab, found that the Olympia oyster larvae are sensitive to acidification in the later swimming stage, and those effects can carry over to adult stages.

The current research may, however, have implications for the future of the commercial oyster industry, given that many of the problems seem to originate at this very early developmental stage. Cultivation of native oysters could help guard against catastrophic Pacific oyster losses due to acidification, the researchers say, or it may be possible to breed some of the Olympia oysters' beneficial traits into Pacific oysters -- either slowing the calcification rate of early larvae or producing fewer and bigger eggs.

The Olympia oyster, which is smaller than the commercially grown Pacific oyster, is prized for its distinctive flavor. Originally, Olympia oysters grew from Baja California to Vancouver Island, and are found sparingly in three Oregon bays -- Yaquina, Netarts and Coos Bay. During the height of these harvests in the 1890s, some 130,000 bushels of oysters were annually shipped from the Pacific Northwest to California and within 20 years, 90 percent of these native oysters had disappeared.

Researchers speculate that the remaining Olympia oyster populations may have succumbed to increased silt generated by 20th-century logging and mill operations, which either killed them outright or covered their beds and destroyed their habitat. They have not returned in discernible numbers to Oregon estuaries.
A new study in zebrafish suggests that irregular fluid flow through the spinal column brought on by gene mutations is linked to a type of scoliosis that can affect humans during adolescence. Found in humans and zebrafish, these mutated genes damage the cilia--tiny hair-like projections that line the spinal canal and help move the fluid -- and lead to a curvature of the spine.

The researchers found that when they repaired the mutated cilia genes, they restored cerebrospinal fluid flow and could prevent spinal curves from developing. If translatable to humans, the study could lead to a non-surgical approach for treating the condition known as idiopathic scoliosis, which has no known cause and affects roughly three out of every 100 adolescents. The research was published June 10 by the journal Science by researchers at Princeton University and the University of Toronto.

"This is the first hint of a biological mechanism for idiopathic scoliosis," said Rebecca Burdine, associate professor of molecular biology at Princeton, and a senior author of the study. "We hope this research will open up new areas of inquiry as to how the disruptions to normal cerebrospinal fluid flow can lead to spinal curvature."

Burdine's lab conducted the study in collaboration with a team led by senior author Brian Ciruna, an associate professor of molecular genetics at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

"Traditionally, theories regarding the biology behind idiopathic scoliosis have revolved around defects in the bone, cartilage or neuromuscular activity," Ciruna said. "The finding that defects in cerebrospinal fluid flow may be contributing to scoliosis came as a surprise. It is not a theory that had been put out there previously."

The study is the first to link spinal curvature to mutations in genes that govern motile cilia, which stick out from cells and make synchronous whip-like motions to push fluid through narrow passages such as the spinal column.

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Hazel Sive, a professor in biology at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was not involved in the study, is an expert in the use of zebrafish to study vertebrate development.

"This study is an important step forward in understanding events underlying spinal curvature," Sive said. "In an elegant set of experiments, the authors take advantage of the outstanding zebrafish system to define that cilia function and perhaps cerebrospinal fluid flow is required for normal spinal cord development."

Researchers in the Burdine laboratory had observed that mutant genes that disrupt cilia motility produce spinal curves in zebrafish as adults, although the work had not been published. "I've presented this finding for years, but didn't have a way to link this work to human disease," Burdine said. "Collaborating with Brian's group helped us make this link."

Previous research by Ciruna's lab revealed that mutations in a gene found in zebrafish and humans called protein tyrosine kinase-7 (ptk7) causes spinal curvature during a period of rapid growth that corresponds to adolescence in zebrafish. Published in the journal Nature Communications in 2014, the findings, suggested that the mutant fish could serve as a model for studying the condition. The researchers knew that the ptk7 gene plays a role in helping cells orient in the correct direction during embryonic development, but they didn't know that it also governed the formation of motile cilia.

To explore how ptk7 mutations lead to spine curvature in zebrafish, Curtis Boswell, a graduate student at the University of Toronto, examined the brains and spinal cords of fish with mutated ptk7. In brain regions known as ventricles, which sit at the top of the spinal cord, the motile cilia were sparse and malformed and the fish developed a brain-swelling condition called hydrocephalus, which is associated with loss of cilia function. Using fluorescent dyes to track the flow of cerebrospinal fluid through the ventricles, the researchers saw that the flow was irregular and slower than normal.

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When the researchers introduced a non-mutated version of the ptk7 gene specifically into tissues harboring motile cilia, the hydrocephalus disappeared, the cerebrospinal fluid began to flow normally and the spine straightened.

"We demonstrated that if we could restore gene function in the motile ciliated tissues, we could restore cerebrospinal fluid flow, and we could actually prevent scoliosis in these mutants," Ciruna said.

The researchers also tested other motile-cilia gene mutations to see whether they disrupt cerebrospinal fluid flow and cause spine curvature. Daniel Grimes, a postdoctoral research associate, and Nicholas Morante, a graduate student, both in the Burdine lab in Princeton's Department of Molecular Biology, studied four such mutations in genes called ccdc40, ccdc151, dyx1c1 and c21orf59. They found that all four gene mutations led to curvature of the spine in zebrafish.

The researchers found that the damage to motile cilia function occurs and leads to the onset of scoliosis during adolescence for zebrafish, a period of rapid growth. They took advantage of the temperature-sensitivity of the mutant c21orf59 gene, which can be switched on or off by controlling temperature. They kept zebrafish embryos at 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit), which switches the mutation off, so that the fish didn't develop embryonic defects.

The researchers then moved groups of fish aged 19-, 24-, 29- or 34-days-old to a tank set at 30 degrees Celsius (86 degreees Fahrenheit), which turned the mutation on and stopped cilia-driven spinal fluid flow. The fish that were switched to the warmer tank at 19 days, which corresponds to adolescence, formed spinal curves. However, fish that were shifted to the warmer tank at ages 24 and 29 days respectively developed milder curves, and fish shifted at age 34 days did not develop curves.

"Together with the Burdine group we defined a critical window for motile cilia function and cerebrospinal fluid flow in normal spine development," Ciruna said. "This window appears to be not during embryogenesis and not in adulthood, but specifically when fish are growing rapidly, in other words, fish adolescence."

Additionally, the development of spinal curves in these adolescent fish could be blocked by switching the fish back to the cooler tank. "This provides proof-of-principle that the development of severe idiopathic scoliosis spinal curvatures can be managed without invasive surgical manipulation," the authors wrote in Science.

Several additional lines of evidence point to links between motile cilia dysfunction, cerebrospinal fluid flow disruption and idiopathic scoliosis, Burdine said. For example, individuals with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a rare genetic disorder that causes defects in the movement of cilia lining the respiratory tract, have an elevated risk for scoliosis. Also, scoliosis is prevalent in humans with conditions such as tumors that obstruct cerebrospinal fluid flow.

The next step will be to understand the mechanisms by which disrupted cerebrospinal fluid flow causes the spine to curve, Burdine said.

"Now that we can study idiopathic scoliosis in zebrafish," she said, "we can begin to identify molecular pathways that are involved in spine curvature, and hopefully, find therapeutic targets to address this condition."
The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed for the first time that a combination of text messages and individual counselling sessions to motivate patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) to be more active resulted in improved patient-reported clinical outcomes. This type of behavioural intervention was effective at reducing daily sitting time by an average of more than two hours in RA patients, and also reduced their cholesterol levels.

Due to their disease, patients with RA tend to be more sedentary than the general population, which can have serious health consequences, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death. In Denmark, 67% of patients with RA do not meet public health recommendations for daily moderate and vigorous physical activity, and similar proportions of physically inactive RA patients are found in Germany (68%) and the United Kingdom (67%). Patients with RA already have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death, partly caused by the chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease itself, and partly by traditional risk factors, such as hyperlipidaemia.

Although exercise is known to have a positive effect on pain and physical functioning in patients with RA, pain often acts as a barrier against maintenance of a physically active lifestyle. A more feasible approach for improving health and well-being in RA patients would therefore be to focus on reducing sedentary behaviour and increasing light intensity activity, rather than solely concentrating on increasing moderate and vigorous physical activity.

"We know that behavioural approaches are effective in reducing sedentary behaviour in healthy populations," , said Miss Tanja Thomsen of the Copenhagen Centre for Arthritis Research, Centre for Rheumatology and Spine Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Denmark. Our findings support the introduction of behavioural approaches as an effective way to improve the health of rheumatoid arthritis patients, which may also be applicable in other populations with chronic disease and limited mobility," Miss Thomsen added.

75 adult RA patients with a self-reported daily sitting time greater than five hours and Health Assessment Questionnaire score less than 2.5 underwent a 16-week individually tailored, behavioural intervention that included three individual motivational counselling sessions with a health professional and regular text messages aimed at improving motivation to reduce daily sitting time and replacing it with light intensity physical activity. A control group of 75 healthy adult patients matched for other characteristics was encouraged to maintain their usual lifestyle. Daily sitting time was recorded using a wearable activity monitor.

After 16 weeks, there was a significant between-group difference in average daily sitting time in favour of the intervention group of 2.20 hours per day (p<0.0001, with a mean decrease of 1.61 hours per day in the intervention group; an increase of 0.59 hours per day in controls). Secondary outcomes that were also in favour of the intervention group included self-assessment scores of pain, fatigue, physical function and blood measurements of total cholesterol.
According to a new study by The University of Texas at Austin, increasing the diversity of pollinator species, including bees, flies and butterflies, can dramatically increase cotton production. The researchers estimate that in South Texas, the region they studied, increasing the diversity of pollinators could boost cotton production by up to 18 percent, yielding an increase in annual revenue of more than $1.1 million.

The research is published in the June 16 issue of the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment.

South Texas accounts for about 15 percent of the state's cotton production. Because pollinator populations and growing conditions vary across the state, it's difficult to extrapolate statewide. But the researchers say boosting pollinator diversity could be worth several millions of dollars to Texas cotton farmers.

Cotton is the world's most economically valuable nonfood crop. Texas alone produces 25 percent of U.S. cotton.

The researchers also examined what factors increase the diversity and abundance of pollinators in cotton fields. They found that the greater the area of natural land cover -- areas not used for farming or ranching -- within about 800 feet (or 250 meters) of cotton crops, the more diverse the pollinators that visit the plants.

Based on these findings, the researchers recommend several ways to increase the diversity of pollinators in cotton fields. Farmers can plant a row of wildflowers between rows of their crops or even on the edges of the crop field. In addition, farmers can introduce flowering crops into the crop rotation and reduce pesticide spraying, especially during the daytime.

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One of the most important implications of this research is that local government officials "can increase cotton crop yield by supporting habitat for native pollinators," said Shalene Jha, assistant professor of integrative biology and senior author of the study. This gives an economic impetus to municipal projects that protect biodiversity, such as permanent wildflower spaces.

"We've shown that there are multiple benefits to biodiversity," Jha said. "With the right management, cotton farmers can have higher crop yields and support native plants and animals."

In addition to Jha, the study's authors are Sarah Cusser, a Ph.D. candidate at UT Austin; and John Neff, director of the Central Texas Melittological Institute.

The researchers estimate that in Texas, the boost in crop yield due to increased pollinator diversity would translate to an increase in annual revenue of $108 per acre.

The study focused on 12 field sites representing a wide range of landscapes across South Texas, one of four major cotton production regions in the state. The researchers netted pollinators foraging on cotton plants and determined their abundance and diversity; analyzed geographic information system, or GIS, data derived from satellites and other sources to map landscape types; and conducted hand-pollination experiments.

The cotton plant, which produces large flowers that later develop into the white fiber for which it is known, is able to produce cotton without pollinators to a certain extent, mostly by using its own pollen. However, by introducing pollinators, the pollen from one plant is spread to others, and this increases cotton yield significantly.

One key reason that a large diversity of pollinators is beneficial is that cotton blooming does not perfectly coincide with the most active times of the European honeybee, one of the most common pollinator species. Therefore, having a variety of native pollinators would allow more pollen distribution -- a necessary step in production of the harvestable cotton bolls.

Despite the fact that preservation of biodiversity and the development of agriculture might seem at odds, this new research shows not only that they can coexist, but that both are necessary to have a healthy economy and ecosystem.
Robert Moucha, assistant professor of geophysics, and Gregory Ruetenik, a Ph.D. student in Earth sciences, have collaborated with Gregory Hoke, associate professor of Earth sciences, on a unique numerical modeling study that simulates changing terrain over millions of years. Their study shows that moderate changes in dynamic topography produce an erosional response in the form of increased sediment flux to continental margins (i.e., the rate of sediments supplied to margins by streams and rivers).

Their findings are the subject of an article in Terra Nova (Wiley Online Library, 2016), and have major implications for the study of geomorphology, geodynamics and climate.

"This kind of modeling contributes to our understanding of mantle convection," says Moucha, referring to the process in which heat from inside Earth rises to the surface. "By drawing on elements of physics, chemistry and mathematics, we can infer how Earth's surface evolution is affected by mantle convection and the interaction with various crust and surface processes, including the climate."

Erosional response usually persists long after dynamic topography, and is dependent on the interplay of uplift rate, rock and soil erosion and initial topography.

Dynamic topography is the resulting surface deformation, characterized by long, low-amplitude, wave-length undulations, driven by convection in Earth's mantle.

Because changes in dynamic topography occur over millions of years, geophysicists often rely on backward-in-time models to estimate global mantle flow and changes in dynamic topography. Evaluating these models, however, can be problematic.

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"Comparing backward-in-time models of dynamic topography with observed offshore sedimentary records is challenging," Moucha says. "The problem with this approach is that it's difficult to deconvolve the observed record into contributions from changes in climate, tectonics and dynamic topography. As a result, we get disparities in our comparisons."

To rectify the situation, Ruetenik and Moucha have constructed a landscape evolution model (LEM) that quantifies landscape responses to moderate changes in dynamic topography.

LEMs are nothing new -- geophysicists have been using the grid-like programs since the '90s to simulate fluvial and slope erosion -- but Ruetenik and Moucha have taken enhanced computing to a new level. Their LEM uses advanced mathematical modeling to show how processes such as climate, erosion and uplift influence the formation of river systems and drainage areas over large continental scales and tens of millions years.

This is in contrast to traditional LEMs, which are designed for regional studies and periods between 10,000-100,000 years, and, thus, are unable to capture large-scale changes in dynamic topography.

"Our focus here was to characterize the erosional response to changes in dynamic topography, in terms of the sedimentary flux to continental margins," Moucha says. "We also considered the effects of offshore sediment deposition and changes in precipitation."

A versatile scientist in large-scale geophysics and geodynamics, Moucha is interested in the topography of Africa, Norway and the southwestern United States and in long-term sea-level change along the eastern coast of North America.

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His new LEM utilizes a hypothetical continental that moves from east to west, across a 200-meter-high, 200-kilometer-wide dynamic topography dome. The purpose of the dome, he says, is to record erosion and sedimentation, as well as drainage basin evolution.

"We've found that moderate changes in dynamic topography modulated the erosional response of landscapes with pre-existing relief," Moucha says. "This results in enhanced sediment flux that can persist for tens of millions of years, as the landscape re-equilibrates. The response is maximized when moderate changes [in dynamic topography] are long-lived and erodibility is high."

He and Ruetenik also have found that the stream and river network is dependent on the direction of the wave of uplift sweeping across the landscape.

"Upstream propagation is more likely to reroute streams, whereas streams maintain their course when propagation is downstream," Moucha says. "This kind of research provides a roadmap for understanding the tectonic evolution of our planet. It also creates a framework for integrating independent geophysical techniques with geological observations."
Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to Norway this weekend to participate in the Oslo Forum, and will then travel to Finland, Latvia and Lithuania.

The Oslo Forum is an annual meeting focused on conflict mediation and resolution, Mr McCully says.

The Forum provides a further opportunity for New Zealand to push for the resolution of key global conflicts, building on our efforts in the UN Security Council, and to reiterate New Zealands calls for a greater global focus on conflict prevention.

During the two-day event, Minister McCully will meet with a number of Foreign Ministers and other participants. Attendees this year include US Secretary of State John Kerry, Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the EUs High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini and a number of high level UN representatives and senior conflict mediators from around the globe.

Following the Oslo Forum, Minister McCully will visit Finland, Latvia and Lithuania where he will meet his counterparts and other senior government representatives to discuss regional and global security challenges, as well as a free trade agreement between New Zealand and the EU.

SOURCE: Office of Murray McCully
TV news anchor Kyle Clark, from NBC's News 9 in Colorado, took to the airwaves this week to share a powerful story and a heartfelt apology - that he hopes will resonate among people with pets.

In the very personal and stirring segment, Clark describes an encounter he had on a hot day recently in a Denver parking lot. It was there that he heard the cries of a small dog trapped inside a car, left unattended to suffer in the scorching heat, and was compelled to try to help.

"I thought about putting a rock through someone's car window today," Clark says. When he saw the dog in the car, he called for assistance on behalf of the stranger's pet. But all that person did was laugh him off.
<p>SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment</p>

Yet another animal has died at SeaWorld. Bubbles, a short-finned pilot whale who lived at SeaWorld San Diego, has passed away, the company announced on Friday. She was the sixth animal to die at the marine parks since July.

Dodo Shows Odd Couples Dog Is So Gentle And Patient With Her Foster Kittens

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

While many of SeaWorld's animals die young, Bubbles, who was estimated to be in her early- to mid-50s, was the oldest pilot whale in a zoological park, according to SeaWorld. But while her life was longer than that of many of SeaWorld's marine mammals, it was just as unnatural. Bubbles was captured from her wild family off the coast of California in 1966, according to Ceta-Base, and sent to Marineland of the Pacific, a now-closed California marine park. She lived there for more than two decades, performing tricks for an endless stream of tourists. "It seems that Bubbles was born to be a superstar," SeaWorld wrote in a 2010 press release. "As a young 12-foot-long, 1,600-pound female pilot whale, she began her expansive career ... and was eventually given her own stadium and placed center stage. Her talent and allure made her an international superstar."

A trainer riding one of the pilot whales at SeaWorld San Diego | Flickr/mliu92

When SeaWorld purchased Marineland in 1987, it transferred Bubbles to SeaWorld San Diego. She would spend another 30 years at SeaWorld, performing regularly with SeaWorld's trained whales and dolphins. "Bubbles had been a member of the SeaWorld family for nearly 30 years," SeaWorld said in Friday's statement. "While Bubbles will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her, she has helped generations of park visitors gain a better appreciation for all animals and the ocean environment." Bubble is the latest in a string of animals to pass away at SeaWorld. Last July, an unnamed 3-month-old beluga calf passed away at SeaWorld San Antonio. In November, a 2-year-old beluga calf named Stella died at the same park.

One of the pilot whales performing at SeaWorld San Diego | Flickr/Steven Depolo

Trainers hugging a pilot whale at SeaWorld San Diego | Flickr/mliu92
Using Eurails Scandinavia Pass, I travelled from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Malmo and Gothenburg in Sweden, and on to Oslo and Bergen in Norway. Heres what I saw along the way:

1. Living the fairytale: Its touristy, but Nyhavn, Denmark  a 17th-century waterfront district in Copenhagen (visitcopenhagen.com) that was once home to alehouses and brothels  is lined with charming, colourful houses, where I kicked back with a beer on a terrace alongside the canal filled with wooden ships. Later, I passed by Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersens former home (No. 20), where he wrote The Princess and the Pea, on my way to Stroget  one of Europes longest pedestrian streets.

2. Cross this bridge: Its a quick jaunt from Copenhagens train station to Malmo, Sweden  literally just 35 minutes. It also involves travelling over the Oresund . . . or the bridge in The Bridge (the popular Scandinavian crime drama that has been viewed in 170 countries). About 80 per cent of the television series was filmed in Malmo (malmotown.com), with its picturesque city centre and medieval squares. Fans can walk in the footsteps of the shows characters with In-Sight tour guide Eva Roos Davidsson.

3. Fika time: The Swedes like their coffee and pastries  at least three times a day. Fika is a social institution here; the word, which refers to going for coffee, serves as both a verb and a noun. And its a social, leisurely affair  no to-go cups or laptops. Try Kalei Kaffe & Mat (facebook.com/kaleikaffebar ) in Gothenburg, which foodie guide Jesper Adolfsson says is one of Swedens No. 1 cafes and the one that really puts Sweden on the coffee map. Da Matteo (damatteo.se) is another fika hot spot.

4. Be in awe: The Oslo-Bergen railway (nsb.no/en/frontpage ) in Norway offers some of the most spectacular scenery in Scandinavia. Its often described as a mini Antarctic, used as a training ground for polar explorers. The railway runs up over the highlands between Oslo and Bergen, reaching 1,222 metres above sea level at Finse, and allows you to see some of the wildest nature accessible by train anywhere in the world  including the blue ice of the Hardangerjokulen glacier.

5. Ride a historic train: Its well worth the side trip to Flam on the Flam Railway, a spellbinding journey on an old-school train that winds its way from the Oslo-Bergen mountain station at Myrdal to the village of Flam on the edge of the Aurlandsfjord. I spent the night at the historic Fretheim Hotel, sampled smoked reindeer at the AEgir Brewery and, in the morning, caught a two-hour ferry ride through the fjords cut into snow-capped mountains on my way to Bergen.

6. Stay here: The neoclassical Hotel dAngleterre (dangleterre.com) is both a historic landmark and one of the most luxurious hotels in Copenhagen. The glamorous lobby and posh suites made me feel like royalty. And the Michelin-starred Marchal, run by Danish chef Andreas Bagh, is considered one of the best in the culinary capital; I nearly passed out when I tried the chateaubriand with truffle gravy. Theres also Balthazar, serving more than 160 varieties of Champagne, and a 2,000-square-foot tile-and-marble pool.

7. Eat here: Norway is undergoing a culinary revolution, reinventing classics as new Nordic cuisine. And Ekebergrestauranten (ekebergrestauranten.com) has it all, from gourmet fare made with fresh, local ingredients to a jaw-dropping view from its location in the hills above Oslo, overlooking the inner Oslo fjord. Equally awe-inspiring is the pan-fried hake with cabbage, petit pois, bacon and beurre blanc. Crispy cod tongues are a specialty here, but anything from the sea is a good choice.

8. Shop here: At DesignTorget (designtorget.se) markets in Sweden, a jury selects which objects will go on display each month  so its a great spot to pick up a souvenir from an up-and-coming Swedish designer. Every object sold in here is an object that you can actually make use of, said Gothenburg guide Erika Svenske, such as something to pump up the tires of your bicycle in a beautiful, stylish way. And whats more Scandinavian than that?

Vawn Himmelsbach was hosted by Eurail, which didnt review or approve this story.

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Its not every political leader who will talk about my 13-year-old self  especially when that younger self, that little girl, had been sexually assaulted.

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark carried the emotional consequences of a 1978 attack alone, in silence, for almost four decades. Until now.

When Clark decided to speak about the experience she was astonished to find how many women colleagues and friends had similar painful secrets. And she was surprised to find the impact that telling her own story had.

In an essay published this week in Vancouver, Clark said shed been flashed, groped, spied on as a young girl. But the most terrifying incident occurred in her hometown of Burnaby, on a sunny day, as she walked to her first job at a restaurant.

A strange man pulled me off the sidewalk into the bushes, she wrote. There was no doubt in my mind that he wanted to hurt me.

As he hauled her down a slope into dense shrubs, the attacker lost his balance, loosened his grip for an instant, and Clark escaped  running as fast as possible to the restaurant.

Then I went in, put on my apron, and got to work, she wrote. I never told anyone.

She didnt come to the decision to tell the story lightly, Clark told the Star in a telephone interview Friday.

In March, a Green Party MLA introduced a private members bill requiring B.C. campuses to develop and maintain policies to prevent sexual assault. It was intended to make it safe for those who had experienced sexual violence to make a report, to talk about it, so they dont have to live in silence and shame, Clark said.

It was as the premier opted to take the rare step of having her government support the bill that she decided I would have to be prepared to talk about my own experience.

I was going to walk the walk, not just say other people should do it.

Clark said the attack on her wasnt the most serious sexual assault by a long shot that any woman has experienced. Even so, she never spoke of it.

It was because I was ashamed, and it was because, at the time, I believed that nothing would happen.

Its funny, when you keep something to yourself for a long time its usually with the assumption it doesnt happen to other people.

But Clark came to learn how common it was. And she came to believe that remaining silent had the potential to harm other women.

Every time a little girl gets flashed, or gets groped, or gets propositioned in a bathroom, it allows her to think that this is just what happens when youre a girl, she said. Weve got to find a way to stop normalizing these kinds of experiences for young women.

So Clark spoke about the proposed bill in the legislature and later did a media scrum.

I thought someone would ask me in the scrum why I was so passionate about passing an opposition bill, which we really never do in British Columbia, she said. No one did.

Clark went back to her office and told a female staffer she wanted to talk about her experience.

She was the first person I spoke to about it, the premier said. And she was passionate about me doing it.

The woman was passionate, Clark said, because she had endured a sexual attack.

Then I discovered that there were a lot of women colleagues whod had a similar experience. And then I started talking to my girlfriends. And theyd had a similar experience.

I realized that this is something that is really common, that many women have just come to accept is just a way of life, Clark said. And I have this privileged position and a big voice by virtue of that and I decided to see if I could help make a difference.

Its about https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2016/04/11/for-victims-of-sexual-assault-theres-no-wrong-way-to-react.html changing attitudes END , making it safe for women to talk about these kinds of things.

As for that little girl who just went to work all those years ago and stayed silent, Clark said: I have forgiven my 13-year-old self.

I wish Id had the courage to say something then, she wrote. I do now.

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TORONTO Ontarios gaming authority could yet be on the hook for a claim by victims of a gambling addict who ripped off more than $4 million to feed her casino habit, Ontarios top court ruled Friday.

In a split decision, the Court of Appeal said the claim against the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation was not doomed to fail as a lower court had decided, and should proceed to trial.

This case illustrates, once again, the catastrophic social consequences caused by problem gamblers, those unable to resist the allure of a casino, the Appeal Court said in its ruling.

While the action is by no means certain to succeed, nor is it necessarily certain to fail.

Documents show Shellee Spinks, a law clerk in Hamilton, stole the millions from two estates and others by forging documents and selling estate assets. Spinks lost about $3 million of the money gambling at two Ontario casinos over a 14-month period between 2006 and 2008.

The two estates in question allege Spinks, who pretended to the casinos she was a lawyer, defrauded them of about $1.5 million. They sued the gaming corporation to recover some of their losses, arguing the casinos knew Spinks was a problem gambler and should be held liable for knowingly receiving trust funds, unjust enrichment and negligence.

However, Superior Court Justice Peter Hambly in March 2015 struck down the claim without a hearing on its merits on the basis that it was plain and obvious the lawsuit had no chance of success.

Among other things, Hambly concluded the casinos didnt know Spinks was gambling with trust funds or should have investigated. He noted many people lose money gambling, the casinos had legitimate reasons to keep the cash and the gaming corporation had no duty of care to problem gamblers.

The Appeal Court, citing complicated legal principles, rejected the conclusions.

Casinos cannot be expected to conduct an individualized assessment of each of their customers to determine the wisdom of the decision to gamble, Justice Gladys Pardu wrote on behalf of the majority. However, more may be expected when an individual is obviously addicted to gambling and out of control.

The court went on to say the novel claims at play deserve to be aired at trial so a court can properly decide whether it is fair to expect casinos to pay compensation for the steep social costs of gambling, and make judgments about the legal and policy issued raised.

In a dissenting opinion that ran longer than the majority decision, Associate Chief Justice Alexandra Hoy said she would dismiss the appeal. Hoy said the estates had never alleged the casinos actually knew Spinks was a problem gambler or was wilfully blind to that fact.

Hoy also said, among other things, that it would be unfair for the gaming corporation to have investigated the source of the money simply because Spinks held herself out to be a lawyer.

She said the claim had no prospect of success and agreed with Hambly that it should be struck.

Spinks, then 47, was given a four-year sentence in August 2010 after pleading guilty to 16 criminal charges.

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Perhaps youre cool to the idea of global warming  dont believe in climate change, or just dont care.

If youre a non-believer, read no further. This column wont try to win you over, because the world is moving on  and the temperature along with it.

But if youre merely indifferent (or still undecided) about global warming, the debate is about to heat up. Especially in Ontario.

How we deal with the details of global warming  the science, the numbers, the politics and, yes, the emotions  is itself the subject of heated debate at Queens Park these days: How do you engage a fickle public on public policy without veering off course?

Ontarios auditor general, Bonnie Lysyk, has her own world view on the global warming debate, publicly wagging her finger at the government for straying from the straight and narrow. Its not that Lysyk disputes climate change, merely the warm and fuzzy feelings the Liberals are trying to evoke in their latest television campaign.

You can see the ad for yourself on thestar.com.

David Suzuki tells an audience of kids that they will have to live with the consequences if grown-ups dont do something to curb greenhouse gas emissions. If we dont act now, the damage could be irreversible.

A narrator then intones, Be a part of Ontarios climate change action plan.

Lysyk announced this month that the ad should be banned. And shes still fuming that the government reined in her ability to censor such advertising last year.

Candidly, the latest TV commercial isnt to my taste. In my perfect world, there would be no television advertising, no squishy, feel-good ads promoting government policies, nor any partisan attack ads savaging political opponents in election campaigns.

Everyone would read newspapers to get straight news, or political columns for dispassionate analysis. Oh, and perhaps the occasional public service announcement on television to illuminate hidden truths with actionable information.

But thats just my quaint fantasy, one I wouldnt dream of imposing on people. Thats where I differ with Lysyk.

Im a words person, shes a numbers person. As skeptical as I am about government advertising, having criticized abuses for decades, I grudgingly accept that it has its moments.

Ever since the arrival of television networks  and, yes, YouTube  weve all had to adapt to a brave new world of emotional visuals and truncated conversations. With that comes the need for media literacy classes for kids, perhaps, but surely the rest of us grown-ups dont need an auditor general to shield us from the perils of passionate advertising.

Recent Ontario government commercials raising awareness about sexual harassment have won awards for their edgy and engaging approach. Whether or not you warm up to the latest ad on global warming, with its unabashedly emotional appeal, is a fair question.

But is it a blatantly partisan misuse of public advertising dollars, as Lysyk suggests?

The intent of the ad is to create a positive impression of government doing something versus being specific and providing people with information that they need to know and that they can do something with, she told The Canadian Press this month. I find it sad.

Hmmm. Its always a risky enterprise, if not downright foolish, for a mere print journalist to question an auditor generals judgment. Canada has a cult of public auditors, adored by our persnickety public for the way they so deftly defenestrate sitting governments, and deservedly so most of the time.

But even the best watchdog can end up chasing its tail.

Lysyk has been bristling ever since the government reduced her powers  brought in by the Liberals after they took office in 2003  to oversee public advertising. Ontario was the only jurisdiction in Canada to regulate government advertising so stringently, and it still leads the pack.

Yet the evolving grudge match has occasionally bordered on comical. Lysyks view is coloured by government ads that she thinks showed too much red (identified with the Liberal brand)  to the point that her office ordered that bricks be made more brown, and bright red apples or strawberries toned down in Ontario Foodland commercials.

Lysyk issued a special report last year warning of a deluge  not from climate change, but government advertising  and followed up again last December. Her latest riposte came this month.

Its quite the campaign from an auditor general, even if it veers from the straight and narrow. But in the larger campaign to mobilize the public against global warming, it strikes me that the greater peril is not that a television ad might seem too passionate (or partisan) as that it would be so boring as to go unnoticed.

Try explaining that to an auditor.

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Homicide investigators in Peel Region have recovered the gun used to kill 9-year-old Kesean Williams, of Brampton, in 2013 and said that the gun is also linked to a Toronto murder.

Williams was shot to death on Jan. 23, 2013, in his home at 51 Ardglen Dr., a co-op housing apartment in Brampton.

Police have yet to make an arrest in the case. They would not comment on when or how the gun was found.

The boy was shot in the back of the head through his living-room window while watching TV.

Officers say the recovered firearm is connected to another homicide in Toronto, but neither police force would say which one.

A $25,000 reward for information in this investigation is still being offered by Peel Police.

Keseans mother, Tanya Garvey, who was looking to save extra money for her two boys, moved her family to the apartment from a home around the corner just three days before the shooting.

This has been the most devastating heartbreak, Garvey told the Star in 2013. I dont know how to explain it in words because all I know is that I feel pain, pain that wont go away. I see the sun and Keseans not there to enjoy it.

Peel police are appealing to the public for any new information related to this incident. To leave a tip with the Homicide and Missing Persons Bureau, call 905-453-2121, ext. 3205 or reach out anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Related:

The gun pipeline: Kesean Williams mother shares her never-before-told story of his unsolved murder with the Star

Kesean Williams of Brampton laid to rest after 9-year-old shot in home

With files from Star Staff

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As many as 160 inmates at the Toronto South Detention Centre have refused a lockdown and mounted a protest this week, according to an inmate.

Now Sayd Jaweed said the inmates are going through hell as a punishment.

There was a standoff and they brought the crisis intervention team in and they got rough with everybody, said Jaweed.

According to the 31-year-old, on Thursday evening inmates refused to return to their cells for a lockdown and instead sat peacefully in the prisons yard as a demonstration against what he called inhumane conditions because of frequent lockdowns.

Jaweed couldnt be sure how many people participated in the protest, but said he was told everyone on the third floor took part  with four units of 40 inmates each, that means as many as 160 could have been involved.

Jaweed said he was on his way back from court when the demonstration took place otherwise he would have been locked up as well.

Its horrible, he said during a phone interview Friday night. The guards are telling us Youre lucky youre not upstairs right now because theyre going through hell. 

Late Friday evening Andrew Morrison, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Community Safety, issued a statement saying, The Toronto South Detention Centre was locked down last night after some inmates refused to return to their cells.

Morrison was unable to provide a figure for the total of inmates involved, but noted the facility resumed routine operations on Friday morning.

Monte Vieselmeyer, corrections division chair of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, explained it was a peaceful protest where inmates refused to be locked up had taken place.

Everyone was put back in their cells after a period of time and there were no injuries to inmates or staff, he said, adding that he wasnt sure why the inmates were protesting.

Jaweed said the reason for the demonstration was frustration with the frequent lockdowns inmates have endured.

Its all about lockdowns, he said. We dont get phone calls, we dont get showers. They dont let us out for days.

Jaweed said hes been incarcerated for 16 months. In that time hes counted 240 lockdown days.

Were for sure locked down four days each week and its sometimes more, said Jaweed.

The total number of lockdowns across Ontarios provincial jails have risen dramatically from 259 in 2009 to 900 last year.

Inmates at Toronto South, in particular, have complained about being frequently confined to their 12-by-8-foot cells, during lockdowns that can last a few hours or drag on for days.

While locked down inmates dont have access to showers, yard time or visits from family or lawyers.

This isnt the first time prisoners at the Etobicoke super jail have resorted to protests in order to have their voices heard.

Last summer inmates refused meals for three days in an effort to draw attention to their situation.

Vieselmeyer explained that although the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is going through a big hiring phase prisons across the province often have to declare lockdowns because of staffing shortages.

Weve been referencing it as a crisis in corrections, he said. There are many lockdowns where inmates are locked in their cells for longer periods of time than would be normal.

Meanwhile, at Toronto South, Jaweed said he was told inmates who participated in the demonstration were being punished.

The guards are tearing the whole place upside-down, taking everyones stuff, their clothes and leaving them all in their shorts, he said. They take their mattresses and leave them in their cells with the hatches closed. TVs are off, no phone, no showers for God knows how many days.

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Toronto Police have released security images of the suspect vehicle involved in the fatal targeted shooting of 35-year-old Sukhvir Singh Deo who died in an alleyway on Tuesday.

Police say they received the call for a shooting June 7 at approximately 2:50 p.m. at Cowbell Lane, an alleyway behind the Minto Towers south of Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave.

Deo was pronounced dead on scene by paramedics. Two suspects seen fleeing from the scene still remain at large.

Their vehicle is described as a black Honda Civic, model year 2001 to 2003, with distinct rims.

Police is asking anyone with information on the incident to contact police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

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A Windsor man is reportedly leading a Daesh-affiliated terrorist group in Bangladesh.

According to the Bangladesh newspaper the Daily Star, Tamim Chowdhury, who goes by the name Shaykh Abu Ibrahim Al-Hanif, is leading a group of militants in Bangladesh closely linked to Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Chowdhury, identified as Bangladeshi-Canadian by the Daily Star report, is originally from Windsor, according to Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral fellow in the Resilience Research Centre at Dalhousie University and expert on international terrorism.

He was definitely from Windsor. I spoke to a few people who knew him from the city. But not much else is known about him, Amarasingam said in an email.

The Windsor Islamic Association said they could not confirm if Chowdhury was heading a Daesh-affiliate in Bangladesh.

We can confirm that Tamim Chowdhury was from Windsor, though he was not a well-known individual in the community, WIA spokesperson Lina Chaker said.

The report comes at a time when Daesh and similar Islamic extremist groups have claimed responsibility for a wave of violence in Bangladesh, including the high-profile killing ofa university professor in April and a string of attacks on religious and secular figures this week  with several victims hacked to death in the street.

The Bangladeshi government maintains Daesh has no presence in the country.

In a recent interview with Daeshs English-language propaganda magazine Daqib, Chowdhury talks about what he sees as his mission in Bangladesh.

In it, Chowdhury says Bangladesh is strategically important for Daesh.

Having a strong jihad base in Bengal will facilitate performing guerrilla attacks inside India simultaneously from both sides, he says.

Though Chowdhury spends most of the interview boasting about his groups strength in Bangladesh, he also makes mention of its lack of numbers and lack of military strength.

The interview, which runs over eight pages, makes no mention of Canada.

Those in Windsor who knew Chowdhury are shocked by the news, Amarasingam said.

One of his friends described him as a nice guy who was generally pretty shy. He couldnt believe it when I told him the news, he said.

Chowdhury would not be the first Canadian to join Daesh. Young Canadians, mostly men, have left to fight for it and other Islamic extremist groups for years, including Damian Clairmont, originally from Calgary, who joined the Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate and rival of Daesh in Syria.

Clairmont was killed fighting in Syria in 2014. His mother, Christianne Boudreau, says she understands the pain Chowdhurys family must be feeling.

Youre trying to cope with an immense amount of anger, grief, so many different kinds of emotion, she said.

It affects absolutely everything in your entire life.

Boudreau has since started a group, Mothers for Life, which connects mothers who have lost their children to violent extremism in the absence of support by governments. Boudreau said she hopes Chowdhurys family reaches out to her or her group if they need support.

It doesnt matter what stage theyre in  whether they just realized hes gone (or whether theyve known for a while) . . . the amount of emotions theyre dealing with, and having to hide it, for fear of losing their jobs or being ostracized by the community . . . Its a very long, dark place to be.

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An arctic char lies on the sand beside an old canoe, a small steak carved from its side sizzling in a pan over the fire.

I havent been to camp in more than a decade, but this surrealist canvas, painted by my favourite camper, hangs in my living room and reminds me of the canoe trips we paddled together. But beyond the nostalgic trappings of youthful adventure, the work of art carries deeper significance.

Its a snapshot of a moment when honest work led to a deserved reward  and in this way its not just a memory, but a constant reminder that lifes challenges can be overcome.

Going out every summer, getting out of the city lifestyle and living a completely different way, looking back, it was really what I needed to get through, said Graham Robinson, 29, when we caught up at his studio recently. Im already a tense person. I would be a nervous wreck if I hadnt had those experiences.

Anyone who has carried a canoe more than 100 metres will attest that camping isnt all loon calls and magenta sunsets. Clouds of black flies, torrential downpours and blisters are hardships that make serenity more fulfilling.

The satisfaction of catching a fish and cooking it up for dinner is just one of those evocative moments captured in Robinsons art, which was almost lost after he quit painting and fell into a cycle of drinking and self-doubt.

Now images of paddles, packs and portages appear almost weekly on his Facebook page. Theyre part of a series called dry that has helped Robinson tap back into the inner strength he found on the wilderness journeys we shared and overcome his addiction to alcohol.

Its been two years since he picked up his brushes again, and he recently celebrated the first anniversary of his last drink.

Like many who were privileged enough to go to camp, I often say I wouldnt be the person I am today without those formative experiences. But in a society where mental health and addiction are becoming less taboo, the thought bears repetition: character forged in the wilderness will help anyone throughout life.

For almost a century, the Stars Fresh Air Fund has been sending kids into the woods who wouldnt otherwise have the chance. That week or two in the wilderness could very well change their lives  it did for Robinson.

Canoe trip is how I see personal growth. Its a kind of journey. Its something thats not really ever done. You just keep moving, he said.

I spent 13 summers at Camp Wanapitei and led Robinson on canoe trips ranging from eight to 24 days. We paddled in Temagami, down the Dumoine River and all the way to Waskaganish at the end of the Rupert River on James Bay.

I was forced to go my first year, said Robinson. My mum just said: Youre going to summer camp. I thought it sucked but when I got home all I wanted to do next summer was go back again.

The Graham I knew back then was a precocious teen with a wicked laugh. He was the loudest kid on the trip and gave every appearance of being totally comfortable in our group.

But he wasnt the same person back at home. Little did I know, but the rest of the year he was plagued by social anxiety and felt overwhelming pressure to fit in.

I felt like I was supposed to be a certain way. Even if I didnt feel like it, I felt like I had to be emotionally distant, arrogant, aggressive, he said.

After high school, Robinson went to Sheridan College in Oakville, where things got worse. He started drinking too much and not getting any work done. After three fraught years, he dropped out and started working Joe jobs at pet shops and cheap restaurants. He transferred to OCAD in Toronto in an attempt to get painting again, but it didnt work and before long he had dropped out for good and was drinking everyday.

Fate interceded in the form of his little brother, Callum, who confronted him about his behaviour in a way that triggered something inside.

He said: Youre a f-----g alcoholic, said Robinson. It hurt. He knew me so well; he could see that something was so wrong. He felt betrayed because he used to look up to me.

Robinson started attending AA meetings, but found them culty and turned back to his long-neglected art.

I knew I had to keep busy. Once I got into a painting, I couldnt stop. I got to experience flow: just really zoning out and experiencing creation.

Without paying much attention to it, he conjured images of camp  the fish, fires and friends of his youth.

I used to think it was lame. But its a huge source of inspiration. Its a huge reference for me to look back on and build on.

Robinson sees the metaphor of canoe trip in his subsequent journey. People can encourage you to stop drinking, but youre really on your own. Its like that on trip.

On a portage, he said, you suffer. You think you cant go on and throw the boat to the ground. But then you sit for a while looking at it. And before long, you pick it back up and push on.

Youre in a group, but youre not getting carried the whole way. You have to do your part. People need you.

Finding appreciation for that combination of self-reliance and being part of a team has helped Robinson get over his troubles.

I had a lot of that mental strength to push myself further. Its frustrating to think that I lost it for a while. But I got it back. It wasnt gone. I convinced myself I had lost it, but when I went looking for it, it was still there.

www.grahamrobinsonart.com Graham Robinsons work will be on display at Northern Contemporary Gallery, 1266 Queen St W, from July 23-31.

HOW TO DONATE

With your gift, the Fresh Air Fund can help send 25,000 disadvantaged and special needs children to camp. Our target is $650,000.

BY CHEQUE: Mail to The Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund, One Yonge St., Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6

BY CREDIT CARD: Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or Discover, call 416-869-4847

ONLINE: For instant donations, use our secure form at: thestar.com/freshairfund.

The Star does not authorize anyone to solicit on its behalf. Tax receipts will be issued in September.

Follow us at facebook.com/thestarfreshairfund and use #StarFreshAirFund on Twitter.

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Its a tempest in a scotch bottle.

With the announcement that the House of Commons has chosen a new official scotch  a 12-year-old Aberlour Highland single malt  some Canadian whisky distillers and experts are crying foul.

We have a vibrant Canadian whisky industry, said Davin de Kergommeaux, author of a primer on Canadian whisky and co-ordinator of the Canadian Whisky Awards, held each January. My question is, why is the government promoting imported whisky over our own?

Canadian whisky is getting such a good reputation. It surprises me that they (the Speaker, senators and MPs) dont feel the same.

De Kergommeaux said hes not alone in being angry. He said he is having trouble keeping up with all the tweets and emails about this slap in the face to the Canadian whisky industry.

My point is they shouldnt have to compete with scotch, de Kergommeaux said  it should be a made-in-Canada contest.

His sentiments are shared by Jan Westcott, chief executive officer of Spirits Canada, a national trade association. Its absolutely outrageous. What are they thinking? It makes no sense when Canada makes some of the best whisky in the world.

In fact, earlier this year Jim Murray, a British expert who publishes the Whisky Bible, named Canadas Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye as the worlds best whisky, said Westcott. Weve been making whisky here for over 200 years. Were older than the country. Dont you think a Canadian whisky should be representing Canadian Parliament?

According to the Speakers office, the Speakers Selection Scotch was chosen in a blind-taste test and a number of Canadian whiskies and international products were involved. The test was part of a traditional scotch tasting, said Heather Bradley, director of communications for the Office of the Speaker, Halifax MP Geoff Regan.

Senators and members of Parliament were invited to sample a variety of scotches by blind taste test, and to vote for their favourite, said Bradley. Speaker Regan insisted that Canadian whiskies be invited to participate.

The Speaker of the House, senators and MPs participated in the taste-testing after this years Burns Supper  to celebrate the Scottish poet Robert Burns  on Jan. 25. Bradley would not list which Canadian whisky producers participated in the contest.

The winner, which retails for about $65 for a 750-mL bottle at the LCBO, is described as a medium amber scotch with a palate that is persistent with a good intensity of apricots, caramel, spice, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla and toast completed by a long, warm finish. Most scotch connoisseurs agree that Aberlour Highland single malt is an excellent whisky.

It will be used at official functions and can be bought by parliamentarians for $75 per bottle with a special label, according to Bradley.

(For those that are confused: all scotches are whisky, but not all whiskies are scotch. Like champagne, which can only be produced in the French region of the same name, scotch  which is a whisky  can only be produced in Scotland. The same product, when made in Canada, is called whisky, so Regan would have been pushing the boundaries of his Selection Scotch if he had in fact picked a local product.)

The relatively young tradition of picking an official scotch dates back to 2003 when Peter Milliken, a Kingston MP and then Speaker, decided to import the tradition from his counterpart in the British House of Commons.

During his term as Speaker, Milliken choose two whiskies  a Talisker and a Dalwhinnie. The most recent Speaker, Conservative MP Andrew Scheer of Regina, selected a Glenmorangie. All three were traditional scotches.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that Donald Trump needs to pick an experienced running mate because he doesnt know a lot about the issues and strongly urged him to change course on his rhetoric.

In an extraordinarily frank interview with Bloomberg Politics Masters in Politics podcast, McConnell, who is on a book tour touting his autobiography The Long Game, also expressed broader concerns about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

He needs someone highly experienced and very knowledgeable because its pretty obvious he doesnt know a lot about the issues, McConnell said. You see that in the debates in which hes participated. Its why I have argued to him publicly and privately that he ought to use a script more often  there is nothing wrong with having prepared texts.

The Kentucky Republicans frustration with Trump has been clear, especially this week after Trumps tarring of Judge Gonzalo Curiel as biased against him because the Indiana-born former prosecutor is Mexican. Still, McConnell said he remains comfortable backing Trump.

For all of his obvious shortcomings, Donald Trump is certainly a different direction, and I think if he is in the White House hell have to respond to the right-of-centre world which elected him, and the things that we believe in. So Im comfortable supporting him, McConnell said.

But his attacks on ethnic groups and fellow Republicans need to end, the lawmaker said.

I object to a whole series of things that hes said  vehemently object to them. I think all of that needs to stop. Both the shots at people he defeated in the primary and these attacks on various ethnic groups in the country.

McConnell, perhaps the most careful and strategic politician in Washington, rarely goes off-script himself, and has been sending Trump the same message for weeks in hopes hell pivot to the general election.

McConnell said staying on script indicates a level of seriousness that I think is important to convey to American people about the job you are seeking.

I think hed have a much better chance of winning if he would quit making so many unfortunate public utterances and stick to the script, he said.

McConnell said he delivered that message in person when the two were in the green room together at the recent National Rifle Association convention in Louisville, Ky.

I said, Hey Donald, you got a script? and he pulled it out of his pocket. He said, You know I hate scripts, theyre so boring. And I said, Put me down in favour of boring. Youve demonstrated that you have a lot of Twitter followers and youre good at turning on a big audience. Now you need to demonstrate you have the seriousness of purpose that is required to be president of the United States, and most candidates on frequent occasions use a script. So well see whether thats something hes capable of doing.

Trump, of course, did just that when faced with the firestorm over his judge remarks Tuesday night  and Republican senators clearly would like to see more of the same.

McConnell meanwhile, dismissed the idea of Trump tossing out the partys orthodoxy.

Our nominee is not going to redefine what being a Republican is, he said. I think the platform will remain largely the same. In all of the primaries this year for lesser office than president, the so-called establishment figures have won almost every single race. These are people who believe in the basic core principles of the Republican Party.

While McConnell pronounced himself comfortable with Trump, he didnt sound particularly enthusiastic, but suggested Trump, at least, can claim the mantle of being the candidate of change.

I think the choice for many Americans is not a happy choice, he said. You look at both these candidates, both of them have very high disapproval ratings. I think a lot of Americans are not going be thrilled at the choice.

But this is the choice and I think, for me, and I hope for a lot of others, the question to be dealt with is this: Do we want four more years just like the last eight, or do we want to go in a different direction?

He wouldnt rule out rescinding his support of Trump.

Im not going to speculate about what he might say or what I might do. But I think its pretty clear and Ive been pretty clear publicly about how I think he ought to change direction and I hope thats what we are going to see.

And McConnell sought to separate his large flock of Republican senators running for re-election from Trump.

Senate races are big enough to rise or fall on their own, he said. Weve got a number of senators who will have the resources and the record to paint their own picture, he said.

McConnell predicted neither presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton nor Trump would have coattails.

You generally have coattails when people not only want to elect you but they want you to do anything you can do, he said, pointing to Ronald Reagans 1980 victory and Barack Obamas in 2008.

I think this is going to be a ticket-splitting year no matter which candidate gets elected president, he said.

McConnell pointed to his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, as the kind of voter Republicans need to appeal to.

Shes a first-generation immigrant who came here at age 8 not speaking a word of English  a woman on top of it  an accomplished woman on top of it, he said. Those are the kind of women voters that Republicans need to appeal to. Minorities, women.

He pointed to the changing demographics of the country, with white voters making up a smaller and smaller percentage of the electorate.

We are not going to be competitive in presidential elections appealing only to white voters and particularly writing off white women. So beyond the unfortunate part of the various things that our nominee has said, its not smart politically.

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WASHINGTONIts exceedingly improbable, but not completely farfetched: Dismayed Republicans could still dump Donald Trump and find a different presidential nominee at their national convention next month.

Once viewed as a political joke, the blunt-spoken billionaire has stormed to the cusp of becoming the GOP nominee. He has more than enough delegates to be formally anointed at the partys gathering in Cleveland.

But Trumps recent disparagement of a judge, claiming he was incapable of impartially hearing a Trump lawsuit because he is Mexican-American, has triggered talk of replacing Trump. Republicans were already divided over his past comments about Hispanics, women and others, and some leaders such as House Speaker Paul Ryan, are backing Trump but labelling his remark racist.

Heres the scenario for derailing Trump and why its unlikely  at least now:

THE MATH

Trump has 1,542 delegates, according to The Associated Press count, including 1,447 required by current GOP rules to vote for him at the convention. Thats well above the 1,237 delegates needed for the nomination and more than double the 559 of his nearest rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Measured another way, Trump has amassed 13.4 million votes in primaries, well above Cruz 7.7 million.

Those numbers add up to one word: Winner.

THE PROBLEM

Some Republicans think Trump cant win and will drag down the partys congressional and other candidates with him. Senate control  and less likely the House  are at also stake in Novembers election.

Such talk is limited, at least publicly. But its out there.

Sen. Jeff Flake said this week that Trumps denigration of the judge might spur talk of finding a different nominee. He noted that Trumps 70th birthday is approaching and said, Its tough to change. And he certainly hasnt shown any signs that hes going to.

What does Trump have to do or say for the party to disassociate itself from him? asked Rory Cooper, senior adviser to the Never Trump political committee.

And conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt said on his show that Trump should be dropped because the plane is headed toward the mountain.

THE CURE

One way to stop someone from winning a game is to change the rules.

Mechanically, if not politically, thats possible in Cleveland next month. The procedures governing the convention will be whatever a majority of its 2,472 delegates approve.

Current rules, which they seem likely to adopt, give the nomination to whoever wins a majority of their votes.

GOP rules experts say that to block Trump, one option is to set a higher threshold than he currently can reach, such as requiring a two-thirds margin.

That would only be needed for the first ballot. If no candidate wins the nomination by then, most delegates are free to vote for anyone in the second and succeeding rounds of voting.

Another option: Let all delegates immediately support whoever theyd like.

Though its widely disputed, some say current rules already let delegates support whomever they please. That would mean no changes would be needed.

The primaries are baloney and award candidates bragging rights, not committed delegates, said Curly Haugland of North Dakota, a member of the Republican National Committee.

THE PROBLEM WITH BLOCKING TRUMP

As torn as the GOP is, many believe booting him is politically unrealistic because it would intensify the partys rifts and is probably impossible.

Its too late, said Trump detractor and former presidential contender Sen. Lindsey Graham. James Bopp Jr., an Indiana convention delegate and rules expert, says disregarding Trumps primary victory and naming a different nominee would mean the destruction of the Republican Party.

Rep. Tom Cole said talk of ditching Trump at the convention was a Washington fantasy that would look like the party was trying to undo the will of the Republican electorate and pull off some sort of coup.

BUT WAIT

If Trump has a majority of delegates, does he really have to worry about rules changes that could deny him the nomination?

Probably not. But maybe.

Thats because by party bylaws, delegates are free to vote however they want on the rules, platform and challenges to delegates credentials. The only thing most must do is support the candidate they are pledged to and only on the first round of votes.

The danger for Trump: Many of his delegates  the numbers are unclear  actually prefer Cruz or perhaps other alternatives. If theyre persuaded to do so, perhaps by additional intemperate Trump comments, they can vote for rules changes that would open the door for a replacement.

But many say Trump has the delegates needed to prevail.

Its just not going to happen, said Randy Evans, a GOP national committeeman from Georgia.

Trump aides did not respond to emails and phone messages requesting comment.

Asked Thursday if he was open to the convention picking a different candidate than Trump, Cruz said, Im going to leave political punditry to the people who get paid to do it.

Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said the senator did not favour a challenge to Trump, saying, The voters made their decision.

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Hanoi Miracle Choir and Orchestra: When music changes life

The choir class begins with vocal training to help students improve their singing technique.

VietNamNet Bridge  Every Sunday afternoon, the Miracle Bus starts its trip around Hanoi to pick up students, who are residents of charity houses and social protection centers for orphans and poor children, before delivering them to the Korean International School, where the miracle of music is about to happen.

By early June, summer has officially arrived in Hanoi. The cloudless sky even keeps the heat outside annoyingly unbearable.

Yet, inside some art rooms on the second floor of the Korean International School in Hanoi, there is another kind of heat that I am sure will make you stand in awe.

That is the heat of motivation from some orphans or children of difficult background, who want to change their lives through music - something even a child from a normal family could not easily do.

The choir class begins with vocal training. Around 20 students stand in 3 rows trying to mimic the sounds made by their teacher in order to improve their singing technique.

Though those sounds are not familiar to Vietnamese, these children are still trying their best to take a deep breath, and from their stomachs, create high and echoic musical notes.

The choir class is part of the Miracle Choir and Orchestra in Hanoi, together with violin, drum and guitar classes, which about 80 children have currently joined. Seeing their happiness when learning, its hard to imagine all of the difficulties they face in life.

Nguyen Thanh Cong, tutor in the drum class, said, Though they are under-privileged children, they are nothing different compared to a child born and living in a normal environment. They are still very mischievous, naive and active. My only problem with them is, as they barely have any experience with music, I sometimes feel its hard to teach them about music knowledge. The only power other tutors, volunteers and I find to overcome such obstacle are enthusiasm, patience and our love for the students.

Tran Trong Khanh is another teacher in the guitar class. Though he only joined the project 2 months ago, Khanh cant help but appreciate the motivation from of young students.

He said, Though they are children, they dont have the same favorable living environment compared to the children I taught before. But these students learn quickly and they are really smart. What we give them here is just some basic knowledge about music and instructions on how to play instruments. It would be ideal if they can continue working with that. But that depends on their passion and ability. I just try my best to partly compensate for their difficulties in life with my teaching and my love.

Do Hong Trang, Head of Communications for the project and tutors to the violin class, recalls the awkward atmosphere between students and teachers during the first few classes.

She said, Some children started with openness and friendliness. But many others were quite scared and more closed. We have to gradually approach them, make sure of our presence whenever they need help, and continuously talk to them until they become more open to us.

Founded in Hanoi in 2013, the Hanoi Miracle Choir and Orchestra was inspired by El Sistema, a voluntary music education program in Venezuela.

The project aims to provide free classical music education to promote human opportunity and the development of impoverished children.

Park Sung Min, a Korean and co-founder of the project says these classes were a shared dream of him and his Vietnamese wife when they got married.

He said, Our dream is to help them through music. Its the first ever project in Vietnam so not many people know about it. At the beginning, we had to go to many orphanages and ask the children if they wanted to join us. But not many of them had seen this before so we had to tell them what the project is about and how good it is."

"We started with only 15 children and now we have 80. Yeah, it was hard at the beginning but as people can see the children are getting better and we are trustworthy, our project is getting bigger and bigger, he added.

The Miracle Choir and Orchestra is more than just free music classes. When Park Sung Min and his wife, Trang Trinh, started the project, they wanted to build a real family  a perfect environment for children to grow up and a kind of life that their students unfortunately do not have.

Teachers, tutors and other volunteers arent just some strangers standing in front of the whiteboard but have become real brothers, sisters and some close relatives to these children.

Nguyen Phuong Thao, a 11-year-old student in the violin class said, I am learning violin and it is fun. My teacher teaches me to play that instrument and how to read music notes. She even tells me stories. When I started, it was really difficult but now its much easier. I can play the song Happy Birthday by myself.

Nguyen Manh Quan is a 12-year-old student in the drum class. With an ultimate innocence in his eyes, Quan shares his modest dream to become a drums player in a cafe.

He said, I chose drums before I saw some drummers play on TV. Playing drums is really difficult but my teachers kept teaching me so now I feel its easier. I have two teachers, brother Cong and brother Thang, who I really love. They teach me to make great drums sounds and put them together to create a song. Now I can play many songs. I love playing a song called After all the best.

Music is recognized as an agent of social development because it transmits solidarity, harmony, and mutual compassion. It also has the ability to unite an entire community, and to express sublime feelings.

Via their lessons, the Miracle Choir and Orchestra wants to build in these under-privileged children self-confidence and equip them with skills to overcome difficulties in life such as self-discipline and teamwork.

Park Sung Min said, Learning music and learning an instrument are similar. In the beginning its very hard to learn new instruments or music notes. But the children keep practicing and practicing, and at some point, they perform in public. They can see people love them and thus, gain more confidence."

"They think: Yes, I did it! That is similar in social life too. Life for poor children is hard. But if they make efforts to learn skills for living, they can do it. They can do similar things in life as they do with music, he said.

Nguyen Thanh Cong also agrees that there is more to teach these children than just music.

He said, The best thing about this project is children with difficulties having the chance to experience and work with music. It helps them to stay away from the negative things in life. Music also helps them to express themselves and gain confidence for even later when they enter adult life.

During the last two years, with efforts from both students and teachers, the Hanoi Miracle Choir and Orchestra project has achieved many successes such as featuring on the Celebrating Vietnamese Tet show, or being honored in The Kindness program, both on Vietnams National Television Network.

They also performed in front of an audience of 2000 people with Nick Vujic, a famous motivational speaker characterized by the absence of legs and arms. Student Nguyen Hoang Quan recalls his first time performing in public.

He said, I have participated in the projects public performance and I was quite shaky and nervous at that time. But then I told myself to try my best and not to be afraid and I did it. In the future, I will continue to work hard so as not to disappoint my teachers and do good things for my country.

Violin tutor Do Hong Trang proudly talks about all the amazing events that the Miracle Choir and Orchestra have participated in: There are many events that invited us to perform. We also host our annual solo-concert titled Sing for Joy. We tutors and volunteers have to mobilize financial supports and donations ourselves. But we did receive a lot of help, especially from the Korean Cultural Center in Hanoi. There are many people and donors have supported us as well. They bought tickets and came to see our students perform at the Hanoi Opera House.

In the class, not only children are students. The Hanoi Miracle Choir and Orchestra is in fact a two-way learning project: as the children learn music, teachers also learn from them motivation, determination and braveness.

Park Sung Min said, Before I had never had any experience teaching these children. I just had my ideas about poor or orphan children. But I was wrong. They are just normal children. Actually by doing this project, I learn many things from them. It broke my fixed ideas about poor children.

Together with the El Sistema movement around the world, the Hanoi Miracle Choir and Orchestra tried to demonstrate that music education has the transformative power to change lives and can serve as a gateway to a better future.

By learning music and participating in various activities, these children can now understand the harmony between melodies and lyrics, between vocals and instruments  the same harmony between different peoples in life. A deep sense of value, of being loved and appreciated, and a trust in group and cooperation, will surely enable children from difficult backgrounds to feel that excellence is in their own hands.

Under-privileged children have a chance to study music with the support of volunteering teachers and tutors. The violin class (Photo: Miracle Choir and Orchestra) Teachers, tutors and other volunteers have become real brothers, sisters and some close relatives to these children. In picture were Nguyen Thanh Cong (C) with his students of the drums class. The Hanoi Miracle Choir & Orchestra marked its 2-year development with their very own Sing for Joy Concert at the Hanoi Opera House. Through music, these children can now understand the harmony between different peoples in life.

VOV5
It was a bad time for Sen. Cory Gardner to be caught in an elevator with a reporter. Donald Trump had just referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as Pocahontas  again  and the Republican freshman from Colorado was struggling to figure out how to respond.

I think people need to be treated with respect, and thats what weve demanded from everyone, he offered.

But was it racist?

Gardner clammed up. He politely referred further questions to his press secretary.

So it went for Republicans on Capitol Hill on Friday, forced to contend with yet another provocative comment by their presumptive presidential nominee  clambering for safety as Trump launched another boundary-pushing attack.

Get used to it, said Republican pollster Whit Ayres, a Trump critic. This is your life for the next five months.

The furor over Trumps assaults on the impartiality of a Latino judge had just begun to subside when he lobbed two tweets Friday morning responding to Warren, who had lambasted him as a thin-skinned, racist bully in a speech the previous evening.

Pocahontas is at it again! Trump wrote in one. Goofy Elizabeth Warren, one of the least productive U.S. Senators, has a nasty mouth.

No, seriously  Delete your account, Warren tweeted back. One of the senators supporters secured Pocahontas.com and redirected it to Warrens campaign site.

The real estate developer has repeatedly invoked the 17th-century native American figure to refer to Warren, an allusion to controversy about her heritage. The senator has said she grew up amid family stories about her Cherokee lineage, but that account has not been proved.

Trump began going after Warrens claimed ancestry earlier this year, responding to the senators repeated slams of him as a loser and a bully. Whos that, the Indian? he said at a March news conference when asked about Warren. You mean the Indian?

His swipes at her have intensified as the senator has emerged as one of his fiercest adversaries. On Thursday, she endorsed presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and the two women met privately on Friday.

The latest gibes come amid a weeks-long uproar over Trumps repeated criticism of U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel as biased and unfair because of his Mexican heritage. The claim drew a storm of denunciation, including a strong rebuke from House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wisconsin, who called it the textbook definition of a racist comment.

By comparison, the response to the Pocahontas remarks have been mixed and in many cases muted  a sign of how jittery GOP leaders are still trying to find their comfort level with his rhetoric.

Oh, I think its done in good humour, said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the organization charged with electing Republican senators in 2016.

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-South Carolina, normally a ferocious Trump foe, was similarly unfazed.

Its pretty funny, I thought, Graham said. I think what he said about the judge was racist. When youre talking about a politician, you got to be able to take a joke ... If this bothers you, you need to get out of politics.

But others were alarmed.

He needs to quit using language like that, said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, a member of the Chickasaw tribe and one of two Native Americans in the House. Its pejorative, and you know, theres plenty of things that he can disagree with Elizabeth Warren over, this is not something that should, in my opinion, ever enter the conversation ... Its neither appropriate personally toward her, and frankly, it offends a much larger group of people. So, I wish he would avoid that.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who is up for reelection in a state with one of the highest proportions of Native Americans in the country, also chastised Trump.

I just dont engage in personal insults  that is a personal insult, he said.

The Pocahontas line spurred chatter at former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romneys ideas summit Friday in Park City, Utah, where some attendees said they were aghast at Trumps many race-based lines of attack.

Stuart Stevens  the chief strategist on Romneys 2012 presidential bid, who, like Romney, has vowed not to vote for Trump  said the candidates use of Pocahontas to attack Warren was both racist and inappropriate.

If you said this in a sixth-grade class, the teacher would tell you, Dont say this, Stevens said.

This is a sick guy, and Americans are not longing for a president whos going to go out and use ethnic slurs against people, he said. Its amusing in the same way telling dirty jokes around a frat house can get laughs, but most people grow out of that. Its childish.

Romney told CNN on Friday that he was worried Trumps language could lead to trickle-down racism in the country.

When asked why he persists in calling Warren Pocahontas and what he makes of the alarm it has caused among some Republicans, Trump responded bluntly in a statement Friday: Because she is a nasty person, a terrible U.S. Senator, and it drives her crazy.

The Republicans should find it offensive that she scammed the system by faking her heritage, not that I am unafraid to point that out, he continued in the statement, which was provided by his spokeswoman, Hope Hicks. Actually, Goofy Elizabeth, her nickname, is far worse.

Pocahontas is the nickname of the daughter of a Powhatan chief who was kidnapped by the English about 1613. She converted to Christianity and married an Englishman, a union that is credited with bringing a lull to hostilities between the settlers and American Indian tribes. Her story inspired the popular 1995 Disney animated film of the same name, furthering perceptions of Pocahontas as a princess, although historians say much of what has been written about her is a romanticized legend at odds with the hardships she endured.

Stephanie Fryberg, an associate professor of psychology and American Indian studies at the University of Washington, said her studies have found that exposing native American children to images of Pocahontas lowered their sense of collective self-worth.

Mr. Trumps comments reinforce broad stereotypes of Native Americans as Indian chiefs, mascots and princesses, rather than contemporary people who are contributing to society, she said, adding: Hes not using the term in any way to be honorific. He using it to mock her.

Trump has repeatedly rejected the notion that he is playing to racial fears in his campaign. I am the least-racist person that youve ever encountered, he told The Washington Post on Thursday.

Trump has been accused of peddling native American stereotypes in the past. In 1993, he created an uproar at a House subcommittee hearing by testifying that organized crime is rampant in Indian casinos around the nation. At the time, the developer was fighting the expansion of gambling on tribal lands, a direct threat to his casino empire.

Ditching a seven-page statement he planned to deliver as too politically correct, Trump claimed that he could keep mobsters out of casinos but that Native Americans would not be able to.

That an Indian chief is going to tell Joe Killer to please get off his reservation is almost unbelievable to me, he said, prompting objections from lawmakers and indignant scoffs from the audience.

Trump also questioned the legitimacy of the Mashantucket Pequots, who operate the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.

They dont look like Indians to me, he said. And they dont look like Indians to Indians.

In 2000, he secretly financed newspaper ads in Upstate New York warning that a casino sought by the St. Regis Mohawk nation would attract criminals and drug users.

This spring, Trump has repeatedly tweeted about Warrens phony native American heritage. He tried out the Pocahontas line in a May interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who had asked about his feud with Warren. You mean Pocahontas? he replied.

He has continued to refer to her as Pocahontas on the campaign trail since then. A Cree reporter in North Dakota chastised him for use of the name, declaring, Thats very offensive!

On Friday, Trumps latest barrage left many Republican leaders squirming.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, ignored a question about his use of the name, delivering instead a long explanation about why she had to turn her attention back to a discussion about trade issues.

Im not going to enter into the daily visitation of Trumps comments, said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who warned earlier this week that the real estate mogul has a dwindling amount of time left to elevate the tenor of his campaign.

For his part, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, said he was withholding judgment. I havent seen it, he said of Trumps tweet. Until I see something, Im very careful.

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Its a disturbing practice most Americans probably know nothing about: On the day theyre born, all the fluffy male chicks born to egg-laying hens at hatcheries are gruesomely killed  usually by being run, while conscious, through what is essentially a blender. Thats because theyre useless to the industry: They cant grow up to lay eggs, and they werent bred to be the fast-growing chickens sold as meat.

But thats going to change. In what counts as huge news in the animal welfare world, United Egg Producers, the industry group that represents hatcheries that produce 95 per cent of all eggs produced in the United States, announced Thursday that it would end this culling of millions of chicks by 2020, or as soon as its economically feasible and an alternative is commercially available, according to the Humane League, which negotiated the agreement.

Whats the alternative? The main one is called in-ovo sexing, and it identifies the gender of a future chick inside a fertilized egg. The technology, developed in Germany and the Netherlands, will mean those male chicks will never be born  or ground or gassed or suffocated, the kill methods some hatcheries employ.

Other alternatives are also being explored, including one that would turn male chick eggs a different colour from those of females, Paul Shapiro, vice-president of farm animal protection at the Humane Society of the United States, said in a recent interview.

We are aware that there are a number of international research initiatives underway in this area, and we encourage the development of an alternative with the goal of eliminating the culling, Chad Gregory, the president and CEO of United Egg Producers, said in a statement.

The pledge follows a wave of vows by major U.S. companies  including McDonalds and Walmart  to switch in the coming years to eggs laid by hens that are not confined in cages. Those commitments are one pillar of a series of big, consumer-driven animal rights achievements in recent years, many of them in the farm industry.

But the male chick issue hasnt been at the top of the agenda of most animal welfare organizations, which have focused more on cage-free eggs. As Shapiro explained it recently, the males are the lucky ones compared to the females that go on to lay about 270 eggs each year in cages the size of a piece of copy paper.

Their sisters are still going to be slaughtered, but theyre going to spend 18 months in a cage where they can never spread their wings, he said. Eighteen months of unmitigated misery is far worse than what happens to these male chicks.

But the Humane League, a relatively new group thats also played a big role in pressuring companies to switch to cage-free eggs, evidently also decided to drill down on the male culling. Its statement, issued jointly with United Egg Producers, said it exclusively brokered the industry groups commitment to ending the practice.

United Egg Producers decision to support the elimination of newborn male chick culling is a historic tipping point and will prevent the suffering of hundreds of millions of animals each year, the statement said.

In 2014, Unilever, which owns Hellmans mayonnaise, among other egg-using companies, publicly committed to supporting the development of in-ovo technology and switching to it.

Whats become of that effort is unclear, however. A company spokeswoman told the Washington Post last month that the company was working with the Dutch firm In Ovo, but did not respond to requests for more information.

What is clear is that the United States may be among the first nations to do away with male chick culling. (Germany has pledged to end it by 2017, but the countrys parliament recently voted down a ban.) In a country thats hardly famous for humane animal farming practices, this is a big deal.

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HARBIN, China  Six years ago, Wang Huanming was paralyzed from the neck down after being injured wrestling with a friend. Today, he hopes he has found the answer to walking again: a new body for his head.

Wang, a 62-year-old retired gas company worker, is one of several people in China who have volunteered for a body transplant at a hospital in the northern Chinese city of Harbin.

The idea for a body transplant is the kind of thinking that has experts around the world alarmed at how far China is pushing the ethical and practical limits of science. Such a transplant is impossible, at least for now, according to leading doctors and experts, including some in China, who point to the difficulty of connecting nerves in the spinal cord. Failure would mean the death of the patient.

The orthopedic surgeon proposing the operation, Dr. Ren Xiaoping of Harbin Medical University, who assisted in the first hand transplant in the United States in 1999, said he would not be deterred. In an interview, Ren said that he was building a team, that research was underway and that the operation would take place when we are ready.

His plan: Remove two heads from two bodies, connect the blood vessels of the body of the deceased donor and the recipient head, insert a metal plate to stabilize the new neck, bathe the spinal cord nerve endings in a glue-like substance to aid regrowth, and finally sew up the skin.

For most people, its at best premature and at worst reckless, said Dr. James L. Bernat, a professor of neurology and medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine of Dartmouth College.

Some Chinese researchers are also concerned that the experimentation is going too far, too fast.

I dont want to see Chinas scholars, transplant doctors and scientists deepening the impression that people have of us internationally, that when Chinese people do things they have no bottom line  that anything goes, said Cong Yali, a medical ethicist at Peking University, referring to Rens plans.

Amid the medical and ethical uncertainties, Wang and his family cling to hope.

A medical procedure that sounds impossible may save us, his daughter, Wang Zhi, 34, said.

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Denise Turner Roth, head of the General Services Administration, stands on the grounds of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where she went to school as a child in the Districts Anacostia neighborhood. (Bill OLeary/The Washington Post)

Donning a hard hat and fluorescent safety vest, Denise Turner Roth led members of Congress through one of the biggest government construction sites in the country, the half-built Department of Homeland Security complex in Southeast D.C.

It was budget season in Washington, and Roth was three months into overseeing the nearly 9,000 buildings the government occupies nationwide. The hulking homeland security project was badly behind schedule and overbudget. Roth, as head of the General Services Administration, was working to resuscitate its prospects on Capitol Hill by slimming it down and cutting costs.

She rattled off statistics about her plan. By reducing its size by 900,000 square feet, square feet per employee could drop from 230 to 155. The total cost could drop from $4.5 billion to $3.7 billion. Fifty-two historic buildings would be preserved on the campus, a former mental hospital in one of the poorest areas of the District.

She knew the numbers cold. But she knew a lot more that she wasnt sharing.

Roth grew up during the 1970s and 80s in a series of cramped apartments in and around Anacostia that she shared with her mother, one of them two blocks from the wall around St. Elizabeths Hospital.

This was Southeast D.C. in the Marion Barry mayoral years, when the District made national news for its failure to restrain crime and poverty. House-flipping, boutique retail and the arrival of white people were decades away.

As a middle-schooler, Roth would sometimes go to a McDonalds that was across the street from the campus, and she knew what it was like to see patients from the hospital on the sidewalk, glassy-eyed and drooling.

Roth knew the boys on the stoop would cackle as she passed in her private-school uniform. She knew grown men to beat each other in the street.

In a town where touting ones hard-knock roots can be a badge of honor, Roth does not hide the fact that she is from Anacostia, that her neighborhood endured near-constant violent crime, that she sometimes did homework by candlelight when there was no electricity. But she does not volunteer it.

She does not hang a big lantern on that, said Dan Tangherlini, who worked with Roth under D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and then preceded Roth as the head of the GSA. There are some people who would have that story and would tell it every time that you saw them. Denise lets you find out.

A self-described introvert and nerd who is passionate about operations, Roth had an easier time keeping her childhood in the background before getting the call from President Obama. As a local official in Greensboro, N.C., she was married, had her son, forged a close partnership with the mayor and rose to city manager despite brutal public attacks from opponents.

When she was offered the chance to work for Obama two years ago, it culminated a climb from Anacostia to the highest ranks of government. Her job takes her now to the haunts she long ago left behind. Its an unexpected return, and she comes back with the expertise that could deliver 17,000 jobs  the sort of leg up the old neighborhood has never before seen.

My name is Denise Roth. I am the administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration.

[Pause.]

This is about the point at a cocktail party or a reception, after an awkward moment or two of silence, that Im asked Youre what? Whose administrative assistant? Oh, got it, youre the GSA administrators secretary.

 Roth, in her December 2015 commencement address at George Mason University

Roths path to agency director, one in charge of a $27 billion budget and 12,000 employees, mostly follows a typical Washington resume: high school on an elite suburban campus, college political science major, stint as a Hill staffer, then a series of escalating jobs in local government before getting called up by the feds.

Always a serious student, the work was never as hard as explaining herself was.

At her first internship as a teenager, she had to figure out how to dress for the office, borrowing a tweed suit from her brothers girlfriend even though it was summertime. In high school at Bishop OConnell in Arlington, Va., she discovered  despite having known only a few white people in her life  that she was among a handful of black students. As a staffer and campaign manager for then-Rep. Brad Miller (D) of North Carolina, she says, she was sometimes mistaken for an intern.

Roth, 42, said she doesnt take the mistakes personally. I dont carry myself as if I am some sort of high-powered person, she said. In interviews, she mostly reverts to short answers when discussing herself, unless there is a public-policy angle.

I think people havent seen people of color, women in some positions, she said. People orient you and have a picture in the minds of who is the boss and who is the CEO, and we need to change that paradigm so its not such a surprise.

Later she apologizes for not having more to say. Im sorry I just feel like Im not really giving you much to work with, she said.

She keeps returning to her career. After working briefly for the D.C. government, for then-Congressman James P. Moran (D-Va.) and for Miller, Roth came into her own professionally in Greensboro, a diverse city of 280,000 whose mayor at the time, Robbie Perkins, considered her a quick study who always did her homework. He proposed her for city manager, the highest-ranking non-elected post.

We called Denise into the conference room, and I told her we were considering her for the job, Perkins said. She sat straight up in the chair and she looked me straight in the eye and looked at all the council members in the room and then went through a list, One, two, three, four, five, this is what were going to do. 

She went into the situation with a plan, and thats pretty consistent with who Denise is, he added. She has a gift and vision for what is going to happen, and it doesnt happen by accident.

Mary Vigue, who worked as a deputy under Roth, remembers her intent on making services work better for residents  and impatience getting there. Heaven help the person who works for her who cant keep up with her, Vigue said.

Roths proudest achievements in Greensboro include launching a $65 million performing arts center scheduled to open next year and a 2.6-acre public park, both funded through public-private partnerships.

In North Carolina, Roth also met her future husband, Chip Roth, then a Teamsters official who now runs a Washington communications and lobbying firm. They had their son, C.J., now 6.

The hardest ordeal for Roth was managing a Greensboro police force rife with allegations of racial discrimination that burst into the open.

It was a really tenuous time in the citys history. There was a lot of turmoil with the police department, said Rashad M. Young, who preceded Roth as city manager and worked closely with her on police issues.

Critics of Roths police oversight came after her. A former police captain called her a corrupt, stupid liar in a letter to the city. A former council candidate called her a big-government, overpaid cog in the machine and rendered a photo of Roths face onto a picture of a stripper covered in money.

Roth can laugh at the jabs because she said they came from the periphery, far enough on the fringe that they didnt affect her work. She says she may even have a copy of the stripper art at home.

Youre always part of where you come from, she said. So I can always remember what it was like. It still comes back when I face challenges. In Greensboro, people ask, Hey whats she doing? And its, like, Ive had worse.

***

Imagine what it was like to walk to school in Anacostia in my uniform in the 198os. I was bombarded by negative messages: Who do you think you are? Why are you acting white? Youll never get out of here.

Follow Morris Road Southeast up the hill in Anacostia, past the school and the church, and a remarkable vista opens up  the river, then the Capitol, the Washington Monument and downtown. Its a view unmatched by any other neighborhood.

Today the school building is home to the Washington School for Girls, but when Denise Turner found sanctuary here it was Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a small Catholic school.

She lived in a two-bedroom apartment with her mother on Pitts Place for most of her time there, one of a half-dozen apartments they shared, sometimes with some of her brothers, her grandmother and sometimes a cousin or family friend.

During her childhood, the District became a national shame for its crack-cocaine markets, blighted commercial corridors and inept government, one that managed its finances so badly that the federal government took over. From the time Roth was in first grade to when she was in high school the murder rate ballooned every single year, hitting 482 homicides in 1991 (more than four times the number in 2014).

Newspaper stories about the neighborhood then were about crime: a woman killed by a stray bullet in her kitchen; a man spraying bullets indiscriminately at an apartment building; the high school teams tight end murdered in his front yard; police with semiautomatic weapons and wearing helmets and bulletproof vests storming homes in search of drug dealers.

Roths mother cleaned floors for a living and owned a car, but the lights werent always on, Roth said, and dinner sometimes consisted of a sugar sandwich. Her acceptance into Our Lady a few blocks away provided a refuge. She studied and stuck around with the nuns after school, baking lemon bread and putting on plays and dances.

But she still had to get there, and that meant walking up the hill in a gray and blue plaid skirt, matching sweater and socks or tights that drew ridicule from the public-school kids and the boys along the way. In the lot across the street from her apartment one afternoon, she remembers watching as an old man  in the pouring rain  was beaten by another wielding a cement block.

It was a constant feeling of insecurity, whether it was food, whether it was money, whether it was safety, she said. You know, it just wasnt solid. It wasnt solid ground.

As dysfunctional as the D.C. government was, when Roths mother got a break, it came from a Barry administration jobs program that landed her a position as a bank teller, which then led to a more senior position.

When Roth earned a partial scholarship to Bishop OConnell and was accepted to George Mason, her mother was able to relocate to an Arlington apartment to qualify for in-state tuition.

Roth tells colleagues and friends that the leg up her mother received helped to inspire her own interest in improving government.

One of the things Denise talked about was that watching the assistance that her mother got at that time helped her realize the effect that government can have on everyday lives, said Vigue, who remains in touch with Roth. I definitely think that story drove home for her the importance of that work.

At OConnell, Roth joined the dance team and was elected president of the student council. She never really looked back, until she moved back.

***

This is the heart of what I want to share with you today: It does not matter what others think about us.

What stands out most in my lifes journey is that what we think of ourselves  how we assess and develop and apply our talents: This is the only measure of who we are and of what we can achieve.

As GSA secretary, Roth oversees personnel still walking on eggshells from a conference scandal that ousted a previous administrator in 2012, as well as 375 million square feet of real estate in 8,800 buildings nationwide.

She is refocusing the agency as an economic catalyst, one that saves money competing for lower lease rates and sometimes brings jobs to communities in need  such as the one she grew up in.

In Detroit, for instance, rather than lease private space, the agency is buying a vacant building for $1 with the promise to rehab it.

Our mission is to find the best value, Roth said. If we are complacent with our space as it currently is, then were not doing that. We have the opportunity to reduce our square footage. We have the opportunity to get better pricing on leases.

Among her greatest challenges will be building a new headquarters for the FBI, which has been pushing to get out of the antiquated J. Edgar Hoover Building for more than a decade. Roth is trying to execute a land swap that some critics consider too complex or a poor value for the government. Private sector bids are due June 22.

The homeland security campus is nearly as prominent. When she inherited the project, it was a decade behind schedule and $1 billion over budget. The GSA has since slimmed the project down and won support from congressional appropriators. It is expected to bring 17,000 jobs to the neighborhood, the largest economic development project in the history of Southeast D.C.

Her colleagues in Greensboro were not surprised when she got the call from the Obama administration.

She obviously has a big job now, Perkins said, but she will have other big jobs in the future.

I always thought that Denise was a rising star and that her career would not at all end in Greensboro, said Young, now city administrator under D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser.

Working for Obama carries a particular significance for Roth, and she has briefed him a handful of times including in a February meeting on cybersecurity efforts held in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. She said she wasnt sure she would have come back for any other president.

When I heard his speech on race and how he talked about the balance of all of us having a role and responsibility in our communities, regardless of race, she said, that was moving at a level that I havent heard a president or presidential candidate talk about in some time.

When she and her husband began thinking about where in the District to live two years ago, she was pleased at how much more hospitable she felt D.C. had become for families.

Weve been pleasantly surprised at the places where you can find community and you can find shopping and places to play without feeling threatened, she said. The city itself has changed quite a bit.

But even when they settled on Capitol Hill  not three miles from where she grew up  she didnt return to her old neighborhood until recently. In heels and khakis, she walked Pitts Place and Morris Road up the hill to Our Lady. She saw the old apartments, the courtyard where she used to play, the walk to school. It was a bumpy trip down memory lane that she may not take again soon.

It was not an easy setting to live in. Revisiting that was not an easy idea, she said. It certainly was something that crossed my mind. I was going to go over at some point. In some ways, its a million miles away from where I am at right now.


With her husband in jail, Jessica Kilpatrick has to live her life with major support components (emotionally and financially) missing. (Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Jessica Kilpatrick was in the middle of a 10-hour shift at Burger King when she checked her phone messages. Right away she knew. It was the canned voice of the community corrections office ordering her in for a random drug test.

Jessica put her headset back on and tried to stay calm. She looked into a mirror. She was hot and greasy and smelled like a Croissanwich, but her eyes were clear and her mind was straight, unglazed by opioid painkillers. She had not missed a single day of work in 11 months.

Have a blessed one, a customer shouted from the drive-through, and Jessica, who was 33, hollered back in her raspy twang, You do the same.

She had learned in recovery to focus on the positive and not let the old voices get too loud, so on the drive to the courthouse later she thought of the calendar she kept at home on her nightstand. For every day she stayed clean, she marked another X.

Eighteen months so far, Jessica said, with both hands on the wheel. Eighteen months and a week.

But for every hopeful X, there was still the landscape beyond her windshield. Doctors in Alabama prescribe more opioid painkillers than physicians in any other state in the nation. The heavy prescribers are scattered across Walker County, and Jessica knew their offices. The pills are so enmeshed in the local economy that theyre traded for lawn mowers and school clothes.

Jessica passed the chicken plant where she had once deboned birds and pulled livers for $8.60 an hour, sometimes high on Roxicodone. For as long as she could remember, pills made the intolerable possible. Now, without them, she was a poor woman in a poor town with a swollen right foot from a 10-hour shift and a new key tag from Narcotics Anonymous that said Clean and Serene for Eighteen months.

Im terrified when I go in there, Jessica said as she stood outside the courthouse in Jasper.

Anything could go wrong on a drug test. Lost paperwork, a lab error, someones bad mood, Jessica was at the mercy of a system that was overwhelmed with addiction. This time she was told that there was no female on duty to collect a urine sample. It would have to be a saliva test. She followed a man to a desk.

Theyre saying tornadoes, he said, bringing out a saliva kit. Jessica stuck the swab in her mouth. They carried on their small talk, with Jessica garbling her words, until it was time to put the swab back in the see-through container.

The man leaned back in his chair. Jessica was at the edge of hers, staring at the container on the desk. A minute passed, then another. Jessicas cheeks went red. This ones sure taking a while, she said, forcing a smile. The mans chair squeaked as he reached for the container. Okay, were good, he said, dropping it in the trash.

She went out to her truck, one step closer to 19 months.

Everyone in this white, rural county of 67,000 has a theory about what happened here.

It was the global economy that took away the coal-mining jobs. It was Purdue Pharma marketing OxyContin as a less-addictive painkiller. It was greedy doctors who needed to pay for their beach condos in Gulf Shores. It was the druggies and scammers abusing the system. It was God being taken out of the schools. It was the government allowing Medicaid patients to get $800 worth of painkillers for a $6 co-pay. It was too few jobs and too many with headsets.

It was 21st-century America, a place so lonely for some that only pills could fill the void.

The void runs deepest in one group  white, working-class women in rural areas. In the past 15 years, their death rate has risen more sharply than any other demographic in the United States, studies show. Opioid drugs, alcohol and suicide have been the main contributors, with assistance from economic isolation, anxiety over a loss of security and the comfort offered by Purdue Pharma.

Here in Walker County, an hour northwest of Birmingham, the death rate for women 35 to 44 years old has increased by 170 percent since 1999, an analysis by The Washington Post shows.

Two generations of prescription painkillers have changed the way people die here. Even more, they have changed the way people live. Great-grandparents are now raising the children of addicted parents and grandparents. Four out of 5 arrests in the county are drug-related. Every week a local newspaper called Just Busted publishes the arrest photos, the exhausted faces on display in most minimarts next to the $14.99 synthetic urine products guaranteed to fool drug screenings.

Stuck in this landscape where she has spent her whole life, Jessica Kilpatrick drove home from the courthouse on a two-lane road. She had a splitting headache but feared aspirin might show up in her urine so she rubbed her temples. The employee discount hamburger on the seat beside her was for her husband. In four days, he was leaving for prison. Jessica had just found out.

They say God wont give you more than you can handle, she said as she turned into the driveway. Im beginning to wonder.

He was on the porch with a paintbrush when she came walking up. Honey, that door looks so good! Jessica said, kissing his cheek. And thank you for that laundry lamp.

Jeremy Horton wiped his hands with a rag. Jess, I cant believe this is happening, he said. My stomach is just wrenched up.

Nine years ago, while high on drugs, Jeremy robbed a Pizza Hut and a minimart by flashing a knife. He was charged with two counts of armed robbery, but the 2007 case languished in Walker Countys backlogged court system until January, when his lawyer called to say he should start getting ready for four years in prison. By then, Jeremy had been clean for a year and had a good job at an aluminum company. He and Jessica had turned a filthy $600-a-month rental property into a home with teal walls and scrubbed baseboards.

Im worried you are not going to be able to keep this house, Jeremy said as they leaned on the porch rail.

We are not gonna lose it, Jessica said, though she was not 100 percent sure. I got a housecleaning job lined up. And Im gonna be feeding Tylers dog, too, when he goes on vacation.

Jeremy ran a hand through his short silver hair. How did we end up at the point we did? he asked.

Jessica gazed out at the yard. It started long before she met Jeremy, beginning with a childhood set on edge by a violent alcoholic father. The only time she felt safe was when she was playing sports. During a high school volleyball game in the 10th grade, she injured her spinal cord and was prescribed OxyContin. By 17, Jessica was crushing and snorting the pills. With a copy of her MRI, Jessica said she could leave a doctors office with prescriptions for 120 Roxicodone pills in 30-milligram strength, 90 additional Roxicodones in 15 mg strength, and 120 blue bars of Xanax  a total of 330 pills with fresh refills in a month.

There were periods of being clean followed by relapse. Jessica got pregnant at 26 and had a daughter. But after a second trip to jail for drugs, she lost custody to the girls father. Her marriage to Jeremy was supposed to be a fresh start. They had two sons. But neither could stay away from using. One night Jeremy was home giving the boys a bath when he forgot what Jessica told him about always having the pajamas near the tub before running the water. He went to get them, and when he came back to the bathroom, the 1-year-old was underwater.

Paramedics revived the boy, but at the hospital they noticed bruised bite marks. Jeremy explained the bite marks were from his brother, but no one was inclined to believe him after the tub. Jessica showed up at the hospital so high she was stealing packets of sugar and ketchup. Soon after, they lost custody of the boys to Jeremys aunt and then Jessica started using heroin. In less than a year, her 30-year-old brother died of an overdose and a storage facility disposed of her lifes possessions for non-payment.

And then 18 months ago, she made a decision. I couldnt take one more day of hating myself, she said. She borrowed some clothes and caught a ride to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting.

Jeremy got clean, too, and they threw themselves into jobs and fixing up the rental house. They got a swing set for the yard. They put bunk beds in one bedroom and the other they painted girly mauve. Jessicas daughter, now 7, began visiting, but seeing the boys was more difficult. Jeremys aunt limited visitation to four hours every other Sunday at her house, and they still hadnt told the boys that their father was going to prison.

Jessica was still processing it herself. What would it mean for him to be gone and for everything to be entirely on her? In the morning, she read her daily meditations from NA, looking for illuminations, while Jeremy busied himself with home repairs. He brought in dropcloths and tools. Jessica figured it was good for him to stay busy. Were gonna need a shut-off valve for the toilet, he called from the bathroom. And a threshold for the door. And the tile.

Jessica stood in the doorway, her mind spinning on money and how she would soon have even less. What about a laminate floor? she asked.

I dont want flooring, Jess, he said, holding a measuring tape. Its just 29 extra dollars for a box of tile, with all the things we need?

She leaned in the doorway of the small bathroom. Well have to do that on down the line, she said, carefully.

Money was only part of the reason she was feeling overwhelmed. The other part was staying clean. Pills were everywhere, and she couldnt avoid seeing them. Planks and bricks and tabs, they fell out of customers pockets as they dug for their money in Burger King. From the drive-through window, Jessica saw a syringe on a car seat and a meth pipe on the floorboards. She knew who the dealers were, and after she took their wadded-up cash she went straight to the sink to wash her hands, afraid that an illegal substance might seep into her skin.

If she ran into someone from her old life, she made it quick. Miss Eleanor said dont spend more than six seconds with someone cuz any longer youll start entertaining ideas, Jessica said, quoting one of the few professionally trained people who factored into her day-to-day struggles.

The real Miss Eleanor was sitting behind the desk of a crowded room one evening when Jessica arrived with her notebook. In a system strained by addiction, Eleanor Powers was a part-time contractor charged with leading all the counseling classes in the countys drug court program. A 72-year-old African American woman, she looked out at the room full of white faces.

Good evening, she said. How was everyones week? More than adequate, I hope?

Jessica raised her hand. I been on an emotional roller coaster, she said. Jeremys being taken into custody. Im so afraid its going to change him. Im fearing it.

Im prayin for yall, someone said.

I am, too, said another.

Jessica explained how she was trying to stay busy, arranging a visit to the detox unit at the local hospital to help other addicts.

Dont allow yourself in service to be so focused on others, because your recovery is most important, Miss Eleanor said.

Yes, maam, Jessica said.

In the back of the room, a woman bounced a baby on her lap. Another volunteered that her husband had relapsed. He did good until he got back to Walker County, she said. Screwed him right up.

You cant blame Walker County, said a skinny young man.

People, places and things, you have to get away from them, Miss Eleanor said, knowing that few in the room had the resources to do that.

A woman in her 40s who worked at Chick-fil-A raised her hand. When we graduate, thats gonna be tough, she said. This here is a safe haven. The world out there is real scary.

Thats why completing this course will only get you to graduate, Miss Eleanor said. Youve got to make the changes within. That old adage, Association can lead to assimilation. I believe you can lead a horse to water.

But its hard, said a blond woman in her late 50s. Some people dont know no other way. I have to tell my own children not to come to my house because they are using. I can see it with my own eyes now.

They were all in the final phase of the drug court program. Upon graduation, the felony charge that brought them into the program would be dropped. For Jessica, it was too late; she was already a felon. She needed to graduate to show a judge that she was a fit enough mother to get her kids back. The problem was she still owed the county $2,600 in old fines. Until they were paid, she would be ineligible to graduate, and without Jeremys income, coming up with $2,600 seemed more remote than ever.

Well see you next week, she told Miss Eleanor at the end of the class, and drove to Burger King for the overnight shift.

Three days before Jeremy was to turn himself in, Jessica surprised him with a going-away party. Family and friends pitched in with food and liters of soda. Store-bought cakes crowded the counter as the two dozen guests, most from Narcotics Anonymous, juggled paper plates in the overcast afternoon.

The two youngest guests were 5 and 2, and on the swing set. Jeremys aunt had brought the boys over to say goodbye to their father.

Push harder, Mama, yelled Kaleb, 5, trying to go higher in the swing.

Kick your feet out, hon, Jessica yelled, giving her oldest son another heave.

Me, yelled Kyson, 2, who wanted another push.

Of all the things Jessica was worrying about, her ability to parent wasnt one of them. She knew she could do it this time. She worried about back-to-school clothes. How would she be able to pay for them? In the old days, it would have been easy. Twenty Roxi 30s for pants, shirts and shoes. Her friends in NA assured her that all parents sweated back-to-school expenses. But September wasnt so far away.

As the boys and their father charged into the blue room with the bunk beds to play a video game, Jessica followed but stayed in a corner, letting Jeremy have his time.

Were playing Spider-Man! Kaleb said when a guest wandered by the door. Its what Daddy taught me!

Jeremy, in work boots and a Crimson Tide ball cap, stood behind each son and helped with the remote control. Share now, let brother try it, he said, handing the controller to Kyson. Jessicas daughter, Makena, was on the floor next to the boys dressing up a white kitten. Jessica leaned against the wall, watching the scene she had always imagined.

All three of my babies, I tell ya, she said, smiling. But the afternoon flew by and finally it was time to tell the boys. The five of them went out into the yard, Jessica willing herself to go through with delivering the hard news.

Daddys gotta help someone for a couple years, Jeremy explained, kneeling in the grass, his hand on each of his sons shoulders. Daddy messed up, and now hes gotta help some people. But Mommy will still be here.

Kaleb, the 5-year-old, turned to Jessica. Is it the classes that help you fix your broken parts?

Jessica smiled, barely able to speak. Mommys not going anywhere, she said. Mommys not leaving again.

Daddy, when can I come home? Kaleb asked.

Son, as soon as Daddy gets all his broken parts fixed, Jeremy said, and Jessica had to squeeze her eyes shut. In three days, she would be alone, too.

On Jeremys last night of freedom, Jessica had to work the overnight shift. She got home at 4:30 a.m. and by 7 she was dressing for court.

Hey, Jess, will you come in here and get this necklace off me? Jeremy called from the bathroom. He had shaved his beard and hair to avoid catching lice as he did during his previous stay in the county jail. He wore a white T-shirt and white boxers so he wouldnt get cold when they took his clothes.

Jessica unfastened his necklace. The bathroom looks so pretty, she said, desperate for a distraction. The dog paced in nervous circles in the hallway.

The hearing was on the third floor of the courthouse. When Jessica saw her best friend step off the elevator, she rushed over. Paige Britton was a mother of four and a year into recovery from painkillers and Xanax. Its all right, she said, hugging Jessica, who was starting to crack. Seeing the women in orange jail scrubs and shackles gave Jessica a sick feeling of deja vu.

In the courtroom, she held Jeremys hand. His plea agreement called for four years in prison, but they were hoping the judge would send him to a work-release program instead. Do you think he knows how good we been doing? Jeremy whispered to Jessica.

After nearly a decade of waiting, it was over in 15 minutes. Jessica watched him walk to the bench. Details of the two 2007 robberies were quickly summarized. Jeremy gave a plain apology. The judge peered over his glasses. Its my understanding that youve done well, he said. But one has to pay the consequences. He had two hours to turn himself in at the county jail.

They got to the jail early, hoping it would show good faith and that someone might notice, but no one did. They stood outside the inmate entrance. They both knew what waited inside  a lot of dope and not a single recovery meeting of any kind. Tears ran down Jessicas cheeks. Jeremy held her face. If you got any problems with the house, call me, he said.

Then a corrections officer appeared. He jangled his keys. Ready when you are, boss, he said.

The Burger King on Highway 78 was lit up when Jessica arrived for her shift that night.

The broiler would need to be broken down and cleaned. The supply truck that was coming in around 2 a.m. would need to be unloaded. Jessica took pride in her job, but it was difficult to ignore what her life had become. She had no husband at home, no kids at home, no money in the bank and after pulling another all-nighter at work, she had to be at the courthouse at 8:30 a.m. for another drug test. She was alone. Slipping back would be so easy.

Welcome to Burger King, my name is Jessica, how may I help you? she said as a car pulled into the drive-through, trying to care about the answer.

A few minutes later, she looked up to see a small crowd at the counter. Five friends from her NA group were standing there. You cant get rid of us, can you? one woman joked. She was in her 30s, a hardcore meth addict as well as a dealer, and now had been six months clean.

Yall are so sweet, Jessica said. Is this for here or to go?

To go? another said. We aint goin anywhere.

One by one, they took their trays into the dining room. When they all had their food, they reached for each others hands. Jessica, one of them called toward the counter.

She didnt have any customers, so she went out to see what they wanted. They all stood in a circle together with bowed heads, and she decided to join them. They gave thanks for their food, for the fellowship and for having stayed clean for one more day. The six recovering addicts held onto each other, and none held on more tightly than Jessica, trying to make it to 19 months.


Wells & Barnes's "Seats of Power," on view at the Greater Reston Arts Center. (Greg Staley/Greater Reston Arts Center)

Every piece in Wells & Barness Seats of Power has a chair in it, but the objects can signify different things.

The centerpiece of the Greater Reston Arts Center show is Study for a Monument, which arrays 88 charred and battered chairs on one side of a wooden teeter-totter. Inspired by the Arab Spring and the Occupy protests, the assemblage resembles a cresting wave.

That imagery is even more apparent in Rising Tide, an embroidered silhouette in which chairs surge higher, unconstrained by the gallerys ceiling. But other works show burning thrones or plummeting chairs, invoking destruction and defeat.

Wells & Barnes are Gayle Wells Mandle and Julia Barnes Mandle, mother-and-daughter artists who live, respectively, in Massachusetts and Holland. This show includes work by each individually, as well the collaborations. The younger Mandle is the embroiderer, and also contributes photographs and charcoal drawings. Her mother offers mixed-media collage-paintings. Together, the team made the main piece, some small bronzes and photographic portraits of seared chairs.

In many of these works, gold stands for wealth and power, and fire damage suggests political violence. The show was conceived before ISISs barbarities, but it does anticipate the possibility of counterrevolutionary terror. The central piece is called a study, not just because its assembled differently every time its installed, but because popular uprisings are perennial. In the gallery, the teeter-totter cant move, but outside, the balance of power can always shift.

Wells & Barnes: Seats of Power On view through Satuday at Greater Reston Arts Center, 12001 Market St., Reston. 703-471-9242. restonarts.org.



Dan Perkins, "A Mountain," 2016, oil on canvas. (Michael Schiffer/Hamiltonian Gallery)

Alejandro Pintado & Dan Perkins

Local painter Dan Perkins has shown his work locally several times, but never with so compatible a partner as Mexico-born D.C. artist Alejandro Pintado. In Hamiltonian Gallerys Material/Ethereal, the two almost-realists contrast classical-style interiors and landscapes with geometric forms.

Pintados paintings depict book-lined studies modeled on those of 19th-century paradigm-shifters, including Charles Darwin. These spaces, rendered in Victorian gray-browns, are disrupted by outlines of polygons and polyhedrons. Most of these glow as though made of neon tubes, and some float in midair. According to the artist, the bright shapes symbolize the pursuit of knowledge. They also emphasize the illusion of representational painting. In Pintados works, drab backdrops and luminescent figures are plausible individually; together theyre eerily incongruous.

Perkins, too, interjects geometry into a naturalistic genre. His earlier pictures were almost-traditional landscapes, but framed in a way that proclaimed their artifice. The ones in this show often put triangles or diamonds atop the sun-dappled vistas, placing the artists gambits directly between viewer and subject. Both Pintado and Perkins pit hard-edged theoretical forms against softer real-world ones, and question which, if either, is more genuine.

Material/Ethereal On view through Saturday at Hamiltonian Gallery, 1353 U St. NW, Suite 101. 202-332-1116. hamiltoniangallery.com.



Soomin Ham. "Waterscape," archival print on view at the Torpedo Factory. (Soomin Ham/Torpedo Factory)

Soomin Ham

Photography promises to preserve moments forever, but Soomin Ham prefers distorted or decayed images  visual metaphors for misplaced memories and lost lives. The Korea-raised local artists recent exhibition at Flashpoint included vintage snapshots of her late mother, rephotographed through ice. Her Unseen/Expired revisits landscapes she shot on film years ago. For her show at Multiple Exposures Gallery, Ham printed the negatives with expired paper and developer and no fixer. Then she photographed the emerging (but soon to perish) images with a digital camera.

The mystery of the resulting black-on-black scenes is contrasted by a small detail from the digital picture, flipped from negative to positive by photo-editing software. These insets replace a bit of the shadowy photo print with a sunnier, if chilly, digital one. Ham chose the negatives randomly, she writes, but their subjects include shrines such as the Taj Mahal and the Washington Monument. The irony is that these edifices have endured, but the pictures of them have faded to black.

Soomin Ham: Unseen/Expired On view through June 19 at Multiple Exposures Gallery, Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria. 703-683-2205. multipleexposuresgallery.com.



NoMuNoMu's "Gift Shop" at Transformer. (Transformer)

Gift Shop

Transformers modest space isnt big enough for an Albert Bierstadt landscape or a Robert Motherwell abstraction, but it can hold another art-museum monument: a gift shop.

Organized by NoMuNoMu (a.k.a. Joseph Orzal and Nora Mueller), Gift Shop cheekily hawks affordable merchandise made or repurposed by about 20 local artists. The goods range from sidewalk-vendor mainstays (Kaliq Crosbys airbrushed T-shirts of Prince) to the kinky (Meagan Colemans pink ropes for the Japanese bondage practice known as shibari).

Among the found objects are the beckoning gold cats in the window and a pair of counterfeit Kanye West-edition Adidas sneakers from the Philippines (courtesy of Orzals mom). Some pieces were personalized by online services that print images on items such as towels, scarves and pillows. Wilson Butterworths craggy little $1 plastic busts of Ronald Reagan came from a 3-D printer. Justin Poppe builds clocks with faces that are manga-style comics panels. The D.C. Conspiracy makes actual comic books. There are also NoMuNoMu Gift Shop totes and T-shirts, which are limited editions. That makes them, in a way, artier than their National Gallery of Art equivalents.

Gift Shop On view through Saturday at Transformer, 1404 P St. NW. 202-483-1102. transformerdc.org.



Peter Kephart. "Dominican Sunset #11," Bonfire, water on cotton rag paper. (Peter Kehart/Zenith Gallery)

Peter Kephart

Judging from his Dominican Sunset series of accidental landscapes, Peter Kephart should paint just with fire. The West Virginia artist takes moistened cotton-rag paper and roasts it over hot embers, yielding subtle tan-and-brown patterns, except where hes covered the surface with blobs of starch. Those areas, when the paste is removed, glow with intense whiteness. The process produced some of the most distinctive work in Burning Brighter, Kepharts latest Zenith Gallery show.

Although the finished works sometimes evoke the swirling heat that sparked them, surrealistic landscapes are the most frequent result. Burnt paper represents earth, with watercolor hues added for sky and vegetation. This selection includes some dynamic paintings in which the scorches are augmented by blue only, whether to suggest a rush of water across a volcanic landscape or to underscore the charred swoops and star-bright highlights. These pictures heighten the effect without masking the violence of Kepharts process.

Burning Brighter: The Fascinating Firepaintings of Peter Kephart On view through June 25 at Zenith Gallery, 1429 Iris St. NW. 202-783-2963. zenithgallery.com.
Exceptional Excellent Very Good



(Goran Kosanovic/For The Washington Post)

This week we have the Stalker, an innovative pinot noir from Oregon; plus two Oregon roses; a zesty albarino from Spain and a solid, inexpensive chardonnay from France.

 Dave McIntyre

Roco Vineyards, the Stalker Pinot Noir 2013

  

Willamette Valley, Ore., $50

Winemaker Rollin Soles has crafted an innovative take on whole-cluster fermentation of pinot noir: He removes the grapes from their stems, but instead of throwing the stems, or stalks, on the compost heap, he dries them for seven to 10 days while the chilled grapes go through a cold soak. Once fermentation begins, Soles adds the dried stems back into the wine. He says this technique adds some tannin but mostly a voluptuous texture to the wine, without excessive woodsy stemmy flavors or aromas. Compared to his delicious Roco Pinot Noir made without the added stems, this wine has a fuller body (more mouthfeel) and a silky texture that complements the fruit. It also shows well several days after opening, suggesting it will age well in your cellar. Alcohol by volume: 14 percent.

Distributed by M. Touton Selection: Available in the District at Connecticut Avenue Wine & Liquor, on the list at the Grill Room. Available in Maryland at Cork 57 Beer and Wine in Bethesda; New Town Wine & Spirits in Owings Mills; Old Farm Liquors in Frederick; Wine Harvest in Potomac.

Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir Rose 2015

 1 / 2

Willamette Valley, Ore., $22

Vibrant and juicy with strawberry, watermelon and hibiscus flavors, this delightful rose captures the lovely fruit of pinot noir with an American ebullience and ripeness. ABV: 13.2 percent.

Distributed by M. Touton Selection: Available in the District at the Wine Specialist, Whole Foods Markets (various locations). Available in Maryland at Bay Wine & Spirits in North Beach, Bobs Sunoco-the Beer Cave in Callaway; Fishpaws Marketplace in Arnold; Old Farm Liquors in Frederick; Rosewick Wine & Spirits in La Plata; Wine Harvest in Potomac.

Great Value

Vina Taboexa Albarino 2015

 

Rias Baixas, Spain, $16

Think citrus  lime and orange zest  with peach and apricot flavors. This is delicious by itself, but deserves food: sushi, perhaps, or a seafood salad; even grilled calamari or salmon. ABV: 12.5 percent

Distributed by Dionysus: Available in the District at A. Litteri, the Mediterranean Way Gourmet Market, Modern Liquors, Rodmans; on the list at Cuba Libre, Sei. Available in Maryland at Balduccis, Bradley Food & Beverage in Bethesda; on the list at Tavira in Chevy Chase. Available in Virginia at Balduccis (Alexandria), Chain Bridge Cellars in McLean, Grand Cru in Arlington, Unwined (Alexandria, Belleview).

A to Z Rose 2015

 

Oregon, $17

Made primarily from sangiovese, this juicy, full-throated rose says, Summer? Bring it on! ABV: 13 percent.

Distributed by Country Vintner: Available in the District at Kogod Liquor, Magruders, Sherrys Fine Wine & Spirits, Whole Foods Market (P Street); on the list at Hanks Oyster Bar (Capitol Hill). Available in Maryland at Balduccis in Bethesda, Diamond Square Beer & Wine in Gaithersburg. Available in Virginia at Grand Cru in Arlington, Unwined (Alexandria).

Alain de la Treille Chardonnay 2015

 1 / 2

Vin de France, $12

This is solid, delicious chardonnay, suitable for casual everyday drinking or for parties. Dont look for oak flavors, just good clean fruit. ABV: 13 percent.

Distributed by Kysela: Available in the District at Magruders. Available in Maryland at Antietam Spirits in Boonsboro; Aria Beer Wine & Deli, Georgetown Square Wine and Beer, Talberts Ice & Beverage Service in Bethesda; Bethesda Co-op in Cabin John; Beers & Cheers in Germantown; the Bottle Shop in Potomac; Finewine.com in Gaithersburg; Franklin Liquors in Ijamsville; Grosvenor Market in Rockville; the Liquor Barn in Taneytown; Old Town Market in Kensington; Sniders Super Foods in Silver Spring.

Availability information is based on distributor records. Wines might not be in stock at every listed store and might be sold at additional stores. Prices are approximate. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor.
Wine has been made since biblical times. Oak barrels, glass bottles, corks and screw caps have defined modern innovation. New technologies can reinvent wine, the way temperature control allowed vintners to produce the crisp white wines we enjoy and demand today. But Rollin Soles thinks hes onto something no one else is doing.

Soles is a familiar name to fans of Oregon wine. He co-founded Argyle winery in 1987 with Australian wine legend Brian Croser, specializing first in sparkling wine, later adding pinot noir, chardonnay and other varieties. He left Argyle in 2013 to focus on Roco, the label he created in 2003 with his wife, Corby. Now hes excited about a new variation he has created on whole-cluster fermentation of pinot noir.

Bear with me while I indulge in a little wine wonkiness: Whole-cluster fermentation means the grape clusters are poured into the fermenting bins with their stems, or stalks. The stalks add tannin and structure to the wine, and some pinot noir producers favor this technique because pinot noir is a less tannic grape than others, such as cabernet sauvignon. Its actually an old winemaking method, as de-stemming machines are a relatively recent invention that helped winemakers emphasize fruit flavors in the wine.

Soles favors the modern method of de-stemming pinot noir, chilling the grapes and letting them cold soak  meaning the grapes slowly decompose at cold temperatures for a week or more until fermentation begins. This technique heightens fruit flavors in the wine and extracts color from the skins.

Ive always wanted to make wine that tastes of the vineyard, of fresh fruit, Soles told me during a recent interview via Skype. With whole-cluster, the wines too often tasted green and vegetal. I could only taste stalks.

Then one year, Soles traveled through the U.S. Midwest on a marketing tour with Dario Boscaini, a noted producer of Amarone, the powerful red wine from northeast Italy made from air-dried grapes. As he listened to Boscaini describe how he made wines from the dried grapes, Soles realized the stalks were left on the clusters, and they were drying, too.

Everyone focuses on the desiccated grapes and their concentrated flavors, but no one mentions the stalks, he said. Since they were drying, too, they may be losing some of that green, unripe character, he figured.

So in 2011, Soles experimented. Instead of composting the stems he removed from his pinot noir grapes, he saved them and dried them during the seven-to-10-day period the grapes were cold-soaking. Once fermentation began, he added the stems back to the juice.

I expected to get a lot more tannin in the wine while preserving the fruit, he said. And the tannin was measurably higher, about 20 percent. But when I tasted the wine, I noticed a voluptuous texture.

Soles bottled the wine as the Stalker. It has a similar character as the Roco Willamette Valley pinot noir, with black cherry fruit and subtle earthy tannins. Pinot fans will recognize both as Oregon wines. The Stalker is more voluptuous, with a fuller mouthfeel and texture that improves as the wine breathes over a day or two after opening.

Soles made only 100 cases that first vintage, and just 625 cases in the current release, 2013. Despite his enthusiasm for the results, he doesnt plan on expanding production beyond that level in future vintages.

Its a lot of hard work pushing those stems down into the grapes as theyre fermenting, he said wryly. But the effort is worth it.

Its exciting for me to come up with a completely unique way to ferment red wine, Soles told me. I never thought Id come up with something that I dont believe anyone else has ever done.
TEMPLE HILLS, 4700 block, Clifton Road, May 26. An employee reported finding a dog inside a vehicle that had been towed to an impoundment lot. A man also called animal management to report his car being towed with a dog inside. An officer picked up a 1-year-old, gray, female American bulldog mix, which was claimed by its owner May 27.

Among cases received by the Prince Georges County Animal Management Division.
Prince Georges County police identified two men who were killed in a double homicide in the Hyattsville area late Friday night, officials said.

Officers found the victims, 27-year-old Jesus Pacheco-Santos and 22-year-old Roberto Jimenez-Gonzalez, suffering from trauma about 8:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of Guilford Road, following a call for a welfare check.

Pacheco-Santos and Jimenez-Gonzalez died at the scene, police said. Investigators said they found the pair after someone reported that two people were in distress near a wooded area 200 yards south of the intersection of Riggs Road and University Boulevard.

Police did not provide any more specific information about the nature of their injuries. Neither man had a fixed address.
A half-full coliseum erupted into Indian war whoops as Donald Trump called a U.S. senator Pocahontas Friday at a rally here, where the mogul-candidate was back to his teleprompter-free ways.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee expressed tongue-in-cheek remorse for calling Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Pocahontas, a jab at her claim that she is of Native American descent.

Im doing such a disservice, he said, to Pocahontas.

Warren, whose heritage claim was questioned in her run for Senate, has been an outspoken Trump critic and is often mentioned as a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

[Trumps Pocahontas attack leaves fellow Republicans squirming  again]

About 200 people showed up to protest presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump at his campaign rally on June 10 at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va. Social video shows some of the protesters got into clashes with supporters outside and police detained five people. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

Trump made the remark in a free-wheeling, 55-minute speech, giving up the scripted version he tried out recently in a bid to look more conventionally presidential.

The crowd rewarded him with chants of Build the wall! and USA! USA!

The event drew about 6,000 fans to the 12,000-seat Richmond Coliseum. Trump noted that they had come together on about days notice. The rally also attracted about 200 protesters, whose clashes with Trump supporters outside led Richmond Police to detain five people, arresting one on a charge of disorderly conduct.

No KKK, no fascist USA, no Trump, the protesters chanted.

A confrontation broke out after a small group of Trump backers with Wall signs ventured into a crowd of protesters. Some started shoving and striking each other. Officers pulled at least two Trump backers over a barricade and led them away with their hands bound.

Inside and outside of the coliseum was evidence of the polarizing candidates unpredictable push and pull on voters in this key presidential swing state. Trump had drawn in some hard-core conservatives while repelling others. He had pushed an on-the-rebound Bernie Sanders voter over to Clinton. And he had turned a middle-aged guy with zero interest in politics into a passionate volunteer.

John Bloom, donning a Ted Cruz shirt and hat, found himself in the unusual position of protesting alongside people shouting to protect abortion rights and a bearded man wearing a sack and passing out flowers. He said a Clinton presidency would be better for the conservative movement, since he believes the billionaire businessman would cut deals with Democrats and sully the name of the conservatism.

If Trump wins the election and Democrats control Congress, America loses, said Bloom, a 54-year-old laid off ship worker from Newport News. There wont be any difference between him and Hillary.

Yet Trump won a hearty on-stage endorsement from state Sen. Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun), one of the legislatures most prominent Christian conservatives. Black, who made international headlines recently by meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, warned that Clinton would stack the United States Supreme Court with Marxists.

[The Virginia senator who embraces Assad]

Allison Maurer, 23, was among the young Bernie Sanders voters coming to terms with the Vermont senators primary loss to Clinton. She calls the former Secretary of State wishy washy and unprincipled, but doesnt want to help deliver Virginia to Trump.

I will most likely vote for Hillary, though Im cringing at the thought, said Maurer, who held a sign outside the rally calling for an end to misogyny and ignorance. Theres just no way in the world I would vote for Donald Trump. Hes going to regress this country.

Yet Trump had managed to get Lee Coleman interested in politics for the first time in his life. At 48, the free-lance sports photographer and IT worker from the Richmond suburbs has voted in just one presidential election. In 2000, he cast his ballot for George W. Bush at the behest of his very Republican father.

I was the last hanging chad, he said.

When Trump got into the race, a new world opened up for Coleman.

I used to watch a lot of Celebrity Apprentice, he said. I cant wait to see who he fires first in the White House.

Throughout his speech, Trump hit on familiar campaign promises, such as his vow to address illegal immigration by building a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico. Even the Pocahontas line is well worn.

But it was notable that Trump would revive the insult Friday  at the rally and earlier in the day on Twitter  because he was in the midst of a backlash over another racially charged comment, about the Mexican judge presiding over a fraud case against the defunct Trump University.

Trump has contended that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrants, is biased against him because of the candidates hard line against illegal immigration. Many Republican leaders have expressed dismay over Trumps comments, with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) calling them the textbook definition of a racist comment.

Trump did not repeat his attacks on judge in his speech. He did say that as president, he would address African-American and Hispanic unemployment. He offered no details beyond plans to tweak his campaign slogan: Make American Great Again  for Everyone.

I am the least racist person that youve ever seen, he said. I mean, give me a break.
The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot, known as STAR, in action. A supervised autonomous robot successfully performed soft-tissue surgery. (Sheikh Zayed Institute For Pediatric Innovation)

Having robots perform surgery independently may ultimately improve outcomes for patients, researchers say.

In experiments on pigs, surgical stitches made by autonomous robots were as good as or better than stitches made by skilled surgeons. The same may be true for human patients, according to Peter Kim, the studys senior author.

The main message is that by giving surgeons tools that are intelligent, whether autonomous or semi-autonomous, you can make outcomes better, said Kim, vice president of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Childrens National Health System in Washington.

[Live on June 14 at The Washington Post: Health practitioners and policymakers examine an evolving health care system]

Robotic surgery has become increasingly common, but currently available robots still need to be operated by surgeons hands. Autonomous robots would be more consistent than humans, Kim said.

No matter how steady a surgeons hands are, there is always some tremor, he said.

Using autonomous robots in some of the 44.5 million soft-tissue surgeries in the United States each year might reduce human errors and improve efficiency, surgical time and access to quality surgeons, the researchers wrote recently in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

To see whether robots could complete surgical tasks on their own, the researchers created the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR), which consists of a robotic arm, a suturing tool and imaging technologies. The robot uses a computer program informed by best surgical practices to determine where and how to place a stitch.

The researchers first tested STARs ability to stitch together two pieces of tissue harvested from pigs. The autonomous robot generally outperformed human surgeons, whether they were using robot-assisted or standard manual techniques. Then the investigators compared the skills of STAR and human surgeons for reconnecting an interrupted intestine in live pigs. The outcomes of the operations by STAR were consistent with the outcomes of a skilled surgeon.

Autonomous robotic surgery still has a long way to go,however.

Its something thats clearly exciting, but we need to see more evidence, said Keith Lillemoe, chief of surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, who was not involved in the new study. Lillemoe is not worried about being replaced by a robot, because so many surgical decisions cant be computerized, he said.

Surgery is no different than any other field, Lillemoe said. Technology can always make us better.
Patti Grace Smith, a federal official who was credited with helping build the regulatory runway for the nascent commercial space transportation industry, opening space travel to private innovators, died June 5 at a hospital in Washington. She was 68.

The cause was pancreatic cancer, said her brother, Douglas Jones Jr.

From 1997 to 2008, Mrs. Smith was associate administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration overseeing the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, with authority over the licensing, regulation and support of the commercial spaceflight industry.

She came to the FAA with little experience in aviation beyond the knowledge of satellites that she had acquired earlier in her government career as an official at the Federal Communications Commission. Her colleagues credited her with mastering the complexity of space travel  its perils as well as its promise  and with championing innovation while also safeguarding public safety.

For decades, spaceflight was restricted to NASA, the military, the government and large aerospace contractors, Eric Stallmer, the president of the Washington-based Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said.

Patti Grace Smith in 2014. (Dan Lamont /Strategic News Service)

Mrs. Smith, he said, ushered in new innovative companies that did not resemble the ones that had previously propelled rockets into space. Among the new entrants were SpaceX, started by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk; Virgin Galactic, started by investor Richard Branson; and Blue Origin, started by Jeffrey P. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com and owner of The Washington Post.

She was a real visionary about the commercial flight transportation industry and where it was going, and she was a very effective voice for the industry within government, said Bretton Alexander, a former FAA colleague of Mrs. Smiths who is now director of business development and strategy at Blue Origin.

In a statement, Musk said that Mrs. Smith helped lay the foundations for a new era in American spaceflight, observing that we are closer to becoming a multi-planet species because of her efforts.

The most dramatic moment of Mrs. Smiths FAA tenure came in 2004, with the successful launch of SpaceShipOne, the first private craft to achieve manned spaceflight. Before that trip, the Office of Commercial Space Transportation had licensed only unmanned rockets toting satellites or other materials to space.

Mrs. Smith observed the launch from a runway in Mojave, Calif. It was an unparalleled thrill, she later recalled in an interview with The Post.

It was also a regulatory entanglement, posing quandaries over what to call the craft  a launch vehicle or newfangled airplane  as well as who would oversee its flight trajectory.

Mrs. Smith, her staff of approximately 60 and other colleagues were credited with helping pave the way for SpaceShipOnes takeoff. Their contributions, The Post reported, included obtaining official recognition of the pilot as part of the flight safety system for the vehicle, a label that checked a bureaucratic box for the flight to move forward.

Patricia Camille Jones was born in Tuskegee, Ala., on Nov. 10, 1947. In high school, she was among the African American students who integrated Tuskegee and other Alabama schools, defeating Alabama Gov. George Wallaces pledge for segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.

She received a bachelors degree in English from what is now Tuskegee University, the historically black institution in Alabama.

She began her career in broadcasting before joining the FCC, where her roles included chief of consumer assistance and small business. She joined the Office of Commercial Space Transportation in 1994 and became deputy associate administrator the following year.

After her government service, she founded Patti Grace Smith Consulting, an aerospace consulting firm.

Her marriage to Gene Grace ended in divorce. Besides her brother, survivors include her husband, John Clay Smith Jr. of Washington; a son from her first marriage, Eugene Grace of Houston; three children from her second marriage, Stager Smith of Atlanta, Michael Smith of Temple Hills, Md., and Michelle Davis of Houston; a sister; a half-brother; and grandchildren.

Mrs. Smith championed space travel not only for its economic, military, disaster-preparedness, transportation and technological applications but also for its ability to awe and excite the imagination.

Is it inspirational? she asked a congressional subcommittee in 2009. Absolutely. Its essential. All you had to do was be in the desert in Mojave in 2004 and see the thousands of people who assembled there, young and old, from all over the country, all over the world, to see their eyes light up with the first flight of a private human spaceflight vehicle to know how exciting it is.
Alyssa Rosenberg writes about politics and culture on The Posts Act Four blog.

Almost half a century ago, when Hillary Rodham became the first student to speak at a Wellesley College commencement, she dismissed, 1969-style, the tired cliche of politics as the art of the possible. The challenge now, Rodham said, channeling what students graduating this spring might describe as her inner Bernie Sanders, is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible possible.

How poignant that speech seems today. Hillary Rodham Clinton spent the decades that followed being tarred as a sellout when she compromised  and a dangerous radical when she didnt. Making the impossible seem possible, and leveraging that possibility into reality, turned out to be far harder than 21-year-old Rodham imagined.

None of which is to say that anyone is required to like the path the eventual Clinton picked out through the minefields, sexist and otherwise, that she has navigated throughout her adult life. But consider the prices Clinton was asked to pay  and often did  for even the smallest gestures of independence, much less the more immediate, ecstatic, and penetrating modes of living she longed for on leaving Wellesley.

After all, scarcely a decade later, Clinton announced she would abandon her maiden name and identify as Mrs. Bill Clinton because polling suggested that going by Hillary Rodham cost her husband six percentage points when he ran for  and lost  reelection as governor of Arkansas. Having mildly mouthed off about her decision to pursue a career rather than stay home and host teas, Clinton during the 1992 presidential campaign found herself suffering the indignity of submitting a cookie recipe to a womens magazine, for a bake-off with Barbara Bush.

On the cusp of Clintons historic achievement, is it any surprise that even our fantasies of female politicians remain modest and constrained?

In Geena Daviss short-lived series Commander in Chief, a woman becomes president  not through a hard-fought election, but because she is vice president when her predecessor dies. On NBCs Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope (portrayed by Amy Poehler), a small-town Indiana Parks Department director with a crush on Joe Biden and dreams of elected office, paired raw ambition with endless rounds of gifts and thoughtful gestures. Knopes niceness made her hunger acceptable.

More recently, HBOs Veep edged the gender debate forward with Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a female president as calculating and flawed as the men who preceded her to the post. Meyer isnt a great president or a feminist icon, just a woman who gets to behave terribly, err constantly, lust openly, express boredom with policy  and can still make it to the White House. Clinton may eventually claim the same office that Meyer occupies on TV, but its still unimaginable that she would act with the same license or impulse. Thats probably a good thing for the country, but it says a lot about the difference between what kind of behavior voters will tolerate from men and from women who seek higher office.

Clinton could have decided not to run again, waiting for another cohort of women less shaped  or tainted, depending on how you see it  by the difficult conditions of the past to claim the power Clinton worked so hard to earn. Maybe if the first woman to earn a major partys nomination didnt have to put her political career on hold for her husbands, or didnt have to grit her teeth through Blue Room decorations and sex scandals to get to this point, she would be more purely inspirational.

Yes, the first woman to plausibly bid for the presidency arrives without the corona of hope and change that graced Barack Obamas 2008 campaign. Yet when the Associated Press called the nomination for Clinton, my breath caught in my throat. Other women may have hammered at the glass ceiling, but without Clinton, we would remain much further from electing a female president.

And when Clinton took the stage in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, she wasnt pointing to men as inspiration, as she did in her commencement speech: men with dreams, men in the civil rights movement, the Peace Corps, the space program. Rather, she spoke after a video that placed her assertively in the tradition of impatient, even militant, women.

Clinton chose a path through establishment politics that has not always allowed her to speak in the same revolutionary terms as those suffragettes, civil rights activists and transgender advocates. But for one night, at least, she managed to suggest that they shared a desired destination: a political system where the terms of debate and the policies they produced would be different because women got to shape them.

As Hillary Rodham told her Wellesley audience, recognizing the gap between expectation and realities . . . didnt turn us into cynical, bitter old women at the age of 18. It just inspired us to do something about that gap.

A commencement address  or a presidential nomination, for that matter  isnt the end of that. Instead, the 47 years since her graduation feel like a very long beginning.
Presidential adviser Yemane Gebreab of Eritrea presents his response to a report by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, in Geneva on June 8. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via Associated Press)

WHEN PEOPLE risk their lives to evade armed border guards or pack rickety boats at sea, you can be sure the conditions they are fleeing are frightful. This is as true for the persecuted Rohingya Muslims of Burma who set sail on packed vessels in the Andaman Sea as for the escapees who manage to flee the horrors of North Koreas prison camps. And it is true for people fleeing Eritrea, a country that won independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and has become a human rights disaster.

Listen, for example, to a woman who fled last year. Her husband had been arrested in 2009 outside their home, she told the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea . She went to the prison to find out why. For years, I was going once a week. I took food and some clothes. They never told me how he was doing. After a few years, the prison refused to take the food and clothes. She lost hope. I havent seen my husband in seven years and dont know if he is alive or not. I searched for him, but the authorities finally told me just dont bother coming back, theres no point.

She joined the flood tide of people leaving Eritrea and attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea on flimsy rafts and boats. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees , the global number of asylum seekers and refugees from Eritrea as of a year ago stood at 444,091, about 12 percent of the countrys official population count of 3.6 million. (Unofficial totals are 6 million to 7 million.) Eritreans accounted for 24.7 percent of all Mediterranean arrivals by sea to Italy last year, the largest number from a single country of origin.

An explanation is contained in the latest report of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry , published Wednesday, which found reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed against the population. The report urged a referral to the International Criminal Court. The crimes include indefinite national service, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance, persecution on ethnic and religious grounds, rape and murder. They are a powerful indictment of the rule of President Isaias Afwerki, who has been in power since 1991.

The U.N. Commission, which Eritrea did not permit to visit, conducted 833 interviews from outside and documented a general climate of fear. Many of the abuses are centered around the military in a heavily militarized society. Soldiers are conscripted, made to serve indefinitely in abusive conditions  sometimes as forced labor in state-owned companies. Torture is extensive and methodical in civilian and military detention facilities. Rape in military training centers, in the army and in detention is committed with impunity, and soldiers are not punished for rape in society.

The commissions report leaves no doubt why people would flee Eritrea. Committing crimes against humanity is a serious charge  and so are the abuses described in this devastating report. Those responsible must be held to account.
Of the fighting faiths that flourished during the ideologically drunk 20th century, anti-Semitism has been uniquely durable. It survives by mutating, even migrating across the political spectrum from the right to the left. Although most frequently found in European semi-fascist parties, anti-Semitism is growing in the fetid Petri dish of American academia and is staining Britains Labour Party.

In 2014, before Naseem Naz Shah became a Labour member of Parliament, she shared a graphic on her Facebook page suggesting that all Israelis should be relocated to the United States. She seemed to endorse the idea that the transportation cost would be less than three years of defense spending. When this was recently publicized, Red Ken Livingstone, former Labour mayor of London, offered on the BBC what he considered a defense of her as not anti-Semitic because a real anti-Semite doesnt just hate the Jews in Israel. Besides, Livingstone said, Hitler was a Zionist (for supposedly considering sending Europes Jews to Palestine) before he went mad. As mayor, Livingstone praised as a progressive voice an Egyptian cleric who called the Holocaust divine punishment.

Labours leader, Jeremy Corbyn, says he wants to cleanse Labour of such thinking. But Corbyn hopes to host at the House of Commons a Palestinian sheikh who calls Jews bacteria and monkeys and has been accused of repeating the blood libel that Jews make matzo using the blood of gentile children.

Leftist anti-Semites invariably say they hate not Jews but Zionism, and hence not a people but a nation. Israel was, however, created as a haven for an endangered people. Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, refutes the canard that hating Israel is not the same as hating Jews by saying:

Criticism of Israel is not necessarily anti-Semitic or anti-Zionist. When Sacks asks his audiences if Britains government can be criticized, everyone says yes. But when they are asked, Do you believe Britain should not exist?, no one says yes. Then Sacks tells his audiences: Now you know the difference.

It is very easy to hate, says Sacks. It is very difficult to justify hate. Anti-Semitisms permutations adapt it to changing needs for justification. In the Middle Ages, he says, Jews were hated for their religion. In the 19th and 20th centuries, they were hated for their race. Now they are hated for their nation. The new anti-Semitism can always say it is not the old anti-Semitism.

But it is. It remains, Sacks says, essentially eliminationist. It disguises its genocidal viciousness, insisting that it seeks the destruction not of a people but only of the state formed as a haven for this people that has had a uniquely hazardous history. The international boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, supported by many American academics, aims not to pressure Israel to change policies, as South Africa was pressured to abandon apartheid, but rather to de-legitimize Israels existence as a nation.

Sacks says that when bad things happen to a healthy society, it asks: What did we do wrong? A fraying, insecure society asks: Who did this to us? Sacks notes that although Jews were never more than 2 percent of Germanys population, this did not protect them from becoming the explanation for Germanys discontents.

In a conversation with a supposedly moderate British Muslim leader, Sacks asked, Does Israel have a right to exist within any borders whatever? The leader replied: Your own prophets said that because of your sins you have forfeited your right to your land. To which Sacks responded mildly: But that was 2,700 years ago and surely the Jews have served their sentence.

After World War II, Western nations strove to develop what Sacks calls a cultural immune system against anti-Semitism with Holocaust education and other measures. The immune system is not weakening in Britain, other than among Muslim immigrants and leftists eager to meld their radicalism with radical Islam.

Labours leader before Corbyn, Edward Miliband, who led the party in the 2015 general election, is Jewish, as was the Conservative Partys greatest 19th-century leader, Benjamin Disraeli. Former Conservative prime minister Harold Macmillan, who was educated at Eton, noted, perhaps regretfully, certainly indelicately, that Margaret Thatchers cabinet included more old Estonians than old Etonians. This was not anti-Semitism, just a jest too fine to forgo.

Seven decades after the Holocaust, some European nations have, remarkably, anti-Semitism without Jews and Christian anti-Semitism without Christianity. Britain just has a few leftists eager to mend their threadbare socialism with something borrowed from National Socialism.

Read more from George F. Wills archive or follow him on Facebook.
The backlash from Republican leaders against presidential candidate Donald Trumps racist remarks is welcome, if not long overdue, but there is more than a whiff of hypocrisy and disingenuousness in all this Im shocked, shocked outpouring of outrage [Trump: Judge remarks misconstrued,  front page, June 8].

Mr. Trump, after all, is only crudely voicing the coded racism of the Republican electoral strategy for the past 40 years: dog-whistle television ads, such as the infamous  Willie Horton and Jesse Helmss  white hands campaign commercials; racial and ethnic gerrymandering of state and congressional districts; enactment of difficult-to-obtain photo-ID voting requirements, reduction of early and Sunday voting and disproportionately fewer polling locations and machines in minority neighborhoods; and the blatant attempt to delegitimize and disrespect our first African American president, including the wink-and-a-nod response to the birther movement.

Mr. Trump is simply the ill-begotten fruit of the seeds planted and carefully nurtured by the Republican Party. The GOP is responsible for what it has harvested.

David M. Cohen, Chevy Chase
Debbie Ziegler holds a photo of her daughter, Brittany Maynard, a brain cancer patient who moved from California to Oregon to legally end her life in 2014. (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

It was inevitable that we would one day seek ways to kill ourselves with societys blessing.

California recently joined four other states  Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana  that allow terminally ill patients to commit suicide using doctor-prescribed drugs. Criteria under the California law include that the patient has a terminal disease, would likely die within six months, is of sound mind and can self-administer the medicine.

Thanks to medical advances that can extend life beyond what some find acceptable, resulting in unnecessary suffering, many think its their right to die with dignity using medications legally prescribed.

Its an easy-enough argument to understand. Theres a certain logic and humanity to the option of leaving life gracefully by ones own volition, as long as it really is.

Here, I should confess my own ambivalence. Basically, Id like to have the means to end my own life on my own terms when my body has clearly called it quits. Im just not sure I like the idea of the state and doctors lending a hand.

At least two problems seem obvious: Death dates cant be predicted with precision and are, therefore, speculative. How often have you heard that someone has three months to live and he or she is still around two years later? And medicine by definition means: (1) a substance to ease pain or other symptoms and (2) a science to prevent, treat or cure diseases.

One could argue that suicide medicine would relieve the pain of living through the final stages of cancer, as an example. But this clearly isnt what Merriam-Webster  or the Hippocratic oath  intended. The purpose of medicine is to prevent illness and to heal, not to end life when healing isnt possible.

Still, what are we to do when medicine can do no more? Or when treatment means prolonging suffering toward inevitable death? We are kinder to our pets, many would argue.

Perhaps I read too many dystopian science-fiction novels during my formative years, but theres something disturbing about asking doctors to help their patients die. Then again, weve already asked them to destroy unborn human life, codifying the legal right to terminate a pregnancy.

When the continuum of life  from conception to natural death  is interrupted as a convenience to ones individual concept of time (Im not ready to be a parent; Im ready to die), what else do we also terminate? Gradually inured to the metaphysical considerations of such actions, might we also be denying ourselves access to charity, compassion, empathy and love?

Unknowable in our calculations is what happens in the final moments of life. If Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, wasted away with terminal cancer, had decided to leave the party early, we might not have learned from his sister, Mona Simpson, that his final words were, after staring for a long time at each of his family members: Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.

I dont know what Jobs saw, but I think Id like to see it, too.

Troubling, too, is the possibility that some patients might feel obligated to commit suicide once the option is available, even though prescribing doctors are encouraged to tell patients they dont have to take the medicine. Many reportedly dont take the pills.

But a sick person might want to protect family members and think, oh, well, whats another six months? A lifetime, I should think. Cant life be made tolerable enough during this time to avoid making doctors and family members complicit in suicide?

Other questions seize the mind: Will the right to die ultimately be considered as just another facet of health care, as abortion is? And when do six months become a year? A novelist would propose that its just a matter of time before a glut of elderly people in poor health, who are by definition terminal, so overwhelm the health-care system that opting out becomes an expectation rather than a choice. This would be satire, right? And satire does not a slippery slope make, but laws do condition values. Oregon, which passed its right-to-die law in 1997, has the highest suicide rate in the country  35 percent higher than the national average, according to an Oregon Public Health report.

As more than a dozen other states consider similar legislation, it isnt irrational to wonder whether, in tampering with our medical culture of healing, we arent inviting unintended consequences that well live  or die  to regret.

Read more from Kathleen Parkers archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook.
THEY SAY time is money, and the adage rings especially true for members of Congress: Many of them  according to Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.)  spend almost as much of the workweek fundraising as they do debating laws or helping constituents. Mr. Jolly, with a Democratic colleague, Rep. Rick Nolan (Minn.), has introduced a bill to fix that. Their legislation does not purport to solve all of the countrys fundraising woes, but this is a case in which some change would be better than none.

Mr. Jolly estimates that Senate and House lawmakers spend an average of 30 hours a week at networking events and call centers instead of in the Capitol working for the people they were elected to represent. Under his bill, called the Stop Act, these representatives could not personally solicit campaign contributions  whether or not Congress is in session.

During a conversation with House leadership at the National Republican Congressional Committee early in his term, Mr. Jolly said, he was instructed to raise $18,000 every day to fill his reelection campaign coffers. But if a congressmans top priority is to raise money to get him back into Congress, and once he is back, the most important job is still to raise money to keep him there, when does the actual legislating take place?

Mr. Jolly, now running for the Senate seat that fellow Republican Marco Rubio has said he will vacate, has taken a pledge to practice what he preaches  and has less than $600,000 in campaign cash to show for it. Maybe that helps explain why the Stop Act has only 10 co-sponsors. Locally, Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) said he would support a gavel-to-gavel ban on fundraising but has not decided whether to support one that applies out of session as well. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) knocked the Stop Act as a distraction from what he considers the real campaign-finance reforms the country needs. House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) agreed.

Thats a false choice. Both Mr. Nolan and Mr. Jolly support other reform efforts, and there is no reason their bill should come at the cost of those  such as proposals to overturn Citizens United, or small-donor-empowerment programs similar to the one proposed by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.). And though the Stop Act would not eliminate big-money fundraising altogether, cutting the candidate out of the conversation would help reduce impropriety: A fundraising plea from the congressman with committee jurisdiction over a constituents livelihood carries more pressure than a call from a member of his volunteer committee.

In the NRCC meeting, Mr. Jolly told us, one member of the House leadership turned to Mr. Jollys deputy chief of staff. Your problem, he said, is that you have a new congressman whos going to want to . . . do all these things for his constituents. But his first job is to raise money. The problem, in other words, was that a freshman representative wanted and expected to do his job. The Stop Act could help all of Congress to start doing theirs.
Crumpled oil tankers lie beside the railroad tracks after a fiery derailment on June 3 prompted evacuations from the tiny Columbia River Gorge town in Mosier, Ore. (Gillian Flaccus/AP)

OREGON

Broken bolt caused ery derailment

Railroad officials say at least one broken bolt holding a rail in place caused the fiery derailment of a Union Pacific train moving volatile crude oil through the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon-Washington border.

Union Pacific spokesman Justin Jacobs said Saturday that the company filed a report Friday with the Federal Railroad Administration citing one or more broken bolts as the cause of the June 3 derailment.

Jacobs said the bolt is used in curved sections of track and that the company is not aware of any previous failures.

He said the company is in the process of checking similar bolts in curved sections of its 32,000 miles of track in 23 states.

No one was injured in the derailment, but the tiny town of Mosier, Ore., was evacuated.

 Associated Press

Charge is dismissed for refuge occupiers

A federal judge has tossed a charge of using and carrying a firearm in the course of a crime of violence for eight people involved in the occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that David Frys defense lawyer, Per C. Olson, argued that the charge be dismissed for his client and seven others, including Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight said at a hearing that the charge would be a close call for the court.

Olson said the men face less exposure to possible prison time if they are convicted on the remaining charges.

There is no minimum prison sentence for convictions of conspiracy to impede federal officers and firearms possession in a federal facility.

The Ammon Bundy-led takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge began Jan. 2 and lasted nearly six weeks.

 Associated Press

One of two escapees from Nebraska prison captured: One of two convicted sex offenders who broke out of a Nebraska prison this week was captured Saturday after an intensive manhunt, while the other remains at large, a Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman said. Armon Dixon, 37, jailed on a total sentence of 158 years for multiple offenses including sexual assault, drug possession and robbery, was taken into custody. The inmate still at large, Timothy Clausen, 52, was serving a 51-year sentence for crimes including sexual assault of a child. The two, wearing their prison uniforms, escaped from the Lincoln Correctional Center and stole a pickup truck.

Snake found in moving car in Arkansas: An Arkansas woman escaped injury and managed to safely stop her car after a four-foot-long rat snake came out of her dashboard and slithered across her feet as she drove on Interstate 49. Kelly Swisher said the snake first slithered back into the dashboard but then came back out and made its way into the back seat, allowing her to get off I-49 and out of the car.

 From news services
Mitt Romney leaves the funeral services for former senator Bob Bennett in Salt Lake City on May 14. (Scott Sommerdorf/Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

Mitt Romney warned that a Donald Trump presidency could normalize racism, misogyny and bigotry in the national conscience. Businesswoman Meg Whitman compared the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to Adolf Hitler. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) was asked, uncomfortably, how he could explain his endorsement of Trump to a young child.

Then came Trumps boosters, awkwardly imploring about 300 business executives and GOP establishment donors and strategists gathered here for Romneys annual ideas festival to unite for the fall campaign. In a stroke of defiance, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus declared that Trump and the GOP would win in November with or without you, according to attendees.

So went the three-day Romney-hosted E2 summit that concluded here Saturday in this luxurious mountaintop resort. The confab put on stark display the Republican Partys moral and philosophical divisions over its new standard-bearer and underscored the difficulty that Trump and allies such as Priebus will have to consolidate forces at the start of a general election in which Democrat Hillary Clinton is favored.

[At Romney summit, anti-Trump Republicans in exile ponder partys future]

Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier who was one of Romneys top funders in 2012, came to Park City seeking to galvanize his old friends to help him raise money for Trump. He likened the atmosphere here to the hit HBO series Game of Thrones.

I feel like Jon Snow, trying to get the Wildlings to team up with the kings of the castles, Scaramucci said.

Recalling what he told Romney loyalists, Scaramucci said: Your father just got slayed by your uncle, whom you dont really like, and your uncle is now in charge. Youve got the White Walkers descending from the north and theyre coming to hunt you and all the living. What do you do? Do you fight with your uncle or band together and fight the White Walkers?

Romney made clear he would rather fight his uncle, figuratively speaking. The 2012 GOP presidential nominee was emotional here Saturday as he delivered an impassioned case against Trump. He said the business moguls campaign rhetoric  the latest example being his accusations of bias by a federal judge because of his Mexican American heritage  is so destructive that it is fraying at the nations moral fabric and could lead to trickle-down racism.

I love what this country is built upon, and its values  and seeing this is breaking my heart, Romney told summit attendees, according to the Associated Press.

Trump punched back at Romney at his Saturday rally in Tampa, calling him poor, sad, Mitt Romney and a stone-cold loser.

Scaramucci and other Romney associates supportive of Trump, including Ron Kaufman, a longtime RNC member from Massachusetts, have pleaded with Romney to tone down his opposition in the interest of party unity.

If Joseph Stalin and Franklin Roosevelt could get together to defeat Adolf Hitler, we can end the schism in our party, Scaramucci said. Weve got to change the rhetoric and the nonsense thats going on in the party right now. We have to unify this party.

1 of 14 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  These Republicans refuse to vote for Donald Trump View Photos And theyll tell you why. Caption And theyll tell you why. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell General Powell said at a meeting of the Long Island Association that he would be voting for Hillary Clinton, a spokeswoman confirmed Oct. 25. Powell added in an interview that he picked Clinton because I think shes qualified, and the other gentleman is not qualified. Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Priebus, Scaramucci and restaurant executive Andy Puzder, another Romney ally raising money for Trump, were in Park City to try to build out Trumps fundraising operation, which got off to a late start and has been slow to ramp up. They sought to allay worries about Trumps discipline, electability and character  and even joked with prospects about overseas ambassadorships being available in a Trump administration.

Scaramucci said that summit attendees were going nuts about Trumps attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel but that he told them privately: I understand that sometimes when hes speaking it can send a charge signal. But Ive known him for two decades and I know his children. He is not a racist.

While Romney spent nearly a decade cultivating relationships with party benefactors, Trump is only now trying to attract major financial support, after largely self-financing his primary campaign. It was not until this past week that Trumps joint fundraising operation with the RNC had put together a full slate of finance events for June. By comparison, Romney had already raised $140 million in conjunction with the party by the end of June 2012.

Veteran fundraisers acknowledge that the Trump and RNC team has a dwindling amount of time to organize the kind of lavish events that are usually held to solicit six-figure checks, but the team is optimistic. Supporters think that Trump will attract a new cadre of wealthy figures he knows through his real estate developments who had never before given to the party.

[Ryan grilled at Romney summit as Meg Whitman compares Trump to Hitler]

Among Romney loyalists, however, the appeals from Trumps team have had limited success.

They would like to see a unified party, but if I hear anything consistently, its country before party, said Spencer Zwick, a Romney confidant and his former national finance chairman, who helps run the E2 summit.

That was the argument Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, made when she questioned Ryan about his endorsement of Trump and compared the candidate to fascist leaders Hitler and Benito Mussolini, according to attendees.

Texas businessman L.E. Simmons, a close Romney friend who helped raise millions of dollars for his last campaign, said he was in no rush to decide whether to support Trump.

He couldnt have done a worse job in his first month since securing enough delegates to claim the nomination, Simmons said of Trump. I think he missed a golden opportunity to pivot. Theres a lot of people who really want it to work, but theyre not going to say, Trump at any cost. 

Dan Balz in Park City and Matea Gold in Washington contributed to this report.
They have been friends and political allies for many years, a trio of Wisconsin politicians who found their way onto the national stage. But on the matter of Donald Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Gov. Scott Walker and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus cannot agree.

All three were in attendance at Mitt Romneys off-the-record ideas summit here in the mountains of Utah over the weekend. In microcosm, Ryan, Priebus and Walker underscore the agonies and the choices of every Republican leader in this time of Trump.

Their separate appearances were a reminder of how Trumps candidacy has divided the Republican Party and bedeviled its leaders. Their positions can be explained, though in a disjointed party, they all will find critics of the paths theyve chosen.

Priebus is the advocate, the party chairman trying to downplay the divisions, assure a harmonious convention in Cleveland next month and help the party to emerge united for the fall campaign against Hillary Clinton. His course has been clear ever since Trump clinched the number of delegates needed for the nomination.

Ryan is the unenthusiastic Trump supporter. He was a temporary holdout who eventually came around and announced his support, only to have his position undermined by the candidates racially charged attack on U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel. Trumps attacks forced Ryan awkwardly to denounce the candidate without retracting his endorsement.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) criticized Donald Trump June 7, for remarks Trump made about a Latino federal judge. However, Ryan said Trump is still a better alternative to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. (C-SPAN)

Walker is the symbol of Republican resistance, up to a point at least. Having been driven from the Republican nominating contest last fall by Trumps power as a candidate, he has backed away from an earlier pledge to support the partys nominee. Walker says that until Trump offers his apology or regrets for the attack on Curiel, he will continue his boycott.

[Ryan put on hot seat at Romney gathering over Trump support]

Priebus has spent the past year trying to negotiate a peace between Trump and the Republican Party. At the beginning, one of his and other Republicans fears was that Trump might eventually bolt from the party and run as an independent in the general election.

Last September, Priebus traveled to Trump Tower and persuaded the candidate to sign a pledge to support the eventual nominee, as others in the field had done. After that, Priebus never worried about Trump leaving the party. Now he wants the other candidates who signed the pledge to make good on it.

During the primaries, he withstood Trumps attacks on the nominating system as rigged, even though the rules were helping the New York billionaire. Then, as Trump plowed down one rival after another and swept the late-April primaries with a series of landslide victories, Priebus was faced with a different challenge. He needed to try to reconcile his party to the idea of Trump as nominee.

He rushed to declare Trump the presumptive nominee the night of the Indiana primary. Now he is running interference for Trump. When Romney told CNNs Wolf Blitzer here that a Trump presidency would mean trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry, trickle-down misogyny, Priebus rushed to Trumps defense. Respect Mitt and differences but couldnt disagree more, he tweeted. SCOTUS too important to lose for a generation. Lets stop this and unify.

Priebus told the group at the Romney gathering Saturday morning that Trump and the party will win in November, with or without you, according to someone in the room.

What Priebus has done as party chairman might be expected, or so was the case under all the old rules of politics. Trump played by new rules and won. If the chairmans role is to put the institutional party in the best shape possible to wage a successful campaign, did he have any other choice short of resigning the chairmanship? Would that have been more honorable?

Hes not yet the nominee

Walker has been resistant to Trump from the day he dropped out of the competition for the nomination. His decision to suspend his campaign last September came swiftly and with surprise, though he was struggling at the time. When he announced his decision, he said he was trying to help reduce the clutter of more than a dozen candidates so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. He urged others to follow him to the sidelines, to no avail.

In the run-up to the Wisconsin primary in April, Walker helped lead the opposition to Trump. He endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz and put the states GOP apparatus behind the Texans candidacy. That united opposition helped Cruz defeat Trump, although the loss proved to be only a minor speed bump in Trumps march to victory.

As a candidate, Walker had signed the pledge to support the nominee. Sometime after the Wisconsin primary, he said he would support Trump if the New Yorker became the nominee. But in the past week, he stepped back from that commitment.

Hes not yet the nominee, he told WKOW-TV. Officially that wont happen until the middle of July, and so for me thats kind of the time frame that, in particular, I want to make sure he renounces what he says  at least in regards to this judge. Walker told reporters here Thursday night that his position remains unchanged.

Common ground on policies

Ryans path has been far more tortured. Like other Republican leaders, he was quick to condemn Trump last winter for not denouncing the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists. In March, he delivered a speech to House interns calling on Republicans to be a party of ideas with a positive vision. Without naming Trump, Ryan drew a sharp contrast with the politics of anger that was fueling the front-runner.

When Trump became the presumptive nominee and others began to endorse, Ryan announced that he wasnt yet ready to do so. He wanted to hear more about what Trump stood for. His declaration was viewed as a principled stand and reverberated across the party. In a matter of weeks, he wrote in Wisconsins Janesville Gazette that he would vote for Trump. His advisers said that was effectively an endorsement.

The next day, he had to denounce Trump for the comments about Curiel. As the outrage built, he declared that what Trump had said was sort of like a textbook definition of a racist comment. But he maintained his support for Trump, saying they have more common ground on the policies of the day.

[Trump: Im the least racist person]

A day later, Trump delivered his victory speech at the end of the Republican primaries. The agenda he emphasized bore little resemblance to the priorities Ryan began to offer this past week. If they had found true common ground, it was not evident on its face.

When Ryan appeared at the Romney gathering on Friday, he was hit with a series of tough questions. Moderator Campbell Brown, the former CNN anchor and founder of an education news site, pressed him to explain his decision to endorse Trump and asked whether there was any line that Trump could cross that would force him to withdraw that support.

Ryan also drew a critical question about Trumps character and campaign of insults from Meg Whitman, the Hewlett Packard chief executive, who compared Trump to Hitler and Mussolini, a reference that caused consternation among some in the audience.

The attendees here included many Republican donors and fundraisers who are opposed to Trump but also sympathetic to Ryan. The speaker tried to explain his decision, noting that he was under pressure from his House members, many from districts where Trump is highly popular. His holdout put them in a potentially awkward position at home.

Each Republican leader will find ways to explain where they land on the question of yes or no on Trump for president. What seems justifiable today might be seen differently depending on whether Trump or Clinton has won the presidency. When those results are known, everyone will explain again why they stood where they stood  and will have to defend against the consequences.
A member of a breakaway faction of the Taliban guards a gathering in the Shindand district of Herat province in Afghanistan on May 27, 2016. (Allauddin Khan/AP)

In a remote area of Afghanistan, where thousands of years of hardscrabble tribal culture increasingly mixes with a resurgent Taliban militancy, this is how Fazl Ahmad allegedly died.

Local officials in Ghor province said one of Ahmads distant relatives was suspected of killing a former Taliban commander. In December, militants dragged Ahmad from his house and cut out his eyes in retaliation.

Ahmad was still alive and screaming when the attackers began carving the skin off his chest, leaving his heart exposed. Then they threw the 21-year old laborer off a 10-story cliff, officials said.

They skinned him alive, said Ruqiya Naeel, a member of parliament from the area.

The Taliban denied involvement in the grisly crime, the aftermath of which was documented in a recently circulated video and photograph.

But even so, Ahmads death is the latest in a string of violent acts across Afghanistan over the past six months. Rattled officials say the 15-year war has taken an increasingly brutal turn.

The amount of casualties, particularly with civilians, is a crime  a crime against humanity, a crime against Afghanistan, and a crime against our people, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said, somberly, in a meeting with reporters last week.

Since 2001, the United States has invested more than $100 billion building Afghan military and police forces, a judicial system and schools in hopes of moving the country closer to normality. But all that spending appears to have done little to slow a cycle of rage and revenge that has made Afghanistan one of the worlds most dangerous countries.

[Afghanistan hangs 6 Taliban inmates in face of increasing violence]

Horrific violence is nothing new in Afghanistan.

Public executions were common when the Taliban ruled the country in the 1990s, and tens of thousands of Afghans have been killed during the post-2001 Taliban insurgency. Afghanistan, like neighboring Pakistan, also has a long history of cultural and religious conservatism associated with violent retribution.

But analysts say the scale of the brutality continues to evolve as the Taliban becomes more fragmented and pushes out into additional areas of Afghanistan. Younger Taliban commanders also now operate more independently and are increasingly inspired by other brutal acts easily viewed on the Internet, they say.

Over the past month, after a U.S. drone strike killed Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, militant groups have hijacked at least five buses, dragging passengers into the road to execute dozens of them, especially if they or members of their families were suspected of being police officers or soldiers.

There also have been three recent deadly attacks on Afghan courthouses or judicial employees. Last month in Jowzjan province, a reported Taliban militant armed with an assault rifle shot and killed a burqa-clad woman for alleged adultery, according to a video of the crime posted to YouTube.

There are now tens of examples of public lashings, executions, and killings, said Abdul Jama Jama, a provincial council member in Ghazni province.

In recent days, the United Nations, Amnesty International and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission also have expressed concern over what they view as a hardening culture of violence here.

Brig. Gen. Charles H. Cleveland, chief spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said some of the recent reports of violence looked like the days pre-9/11. But he cautioned that the base line is pretty high for sweeping assumptions about whether brutality generally is worsening.

Still, Afghan officials and analysts are worried as the violence also expands into areas of Afghanistan that until recently had remained relatively safe.

A push by the Taliban, dominated by ethnic Pashtuns, into northern and central Afghanistan, where large populations of ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks reside, has proved especially destabilizing, officials said.

Once the Taliban settles into an area, its fighters often begin aggravating historical rivalries among ethnic groups as well as stoking more-localized feuds that in some cases have simmered for decades. That is another reason for the growing brutality, officials said.

They are changing their war tactics, said Shah Waliullah Adeeb, a former governor of Badakhshan province. They are trying to show people that the government is weak . . . and show that they are in charge.

But some analysts say that more fundamental  and dangerous  changes within the Taliban may be leading to greater upheaval.

[Taliban replaces leader killed in U.S. drone strike]

As the original leaders of the insurgency die, they are being replaced by younger commanders who appear less interested in maintaining ties to the local areas in which they are fighting. These fighters also are more connected through the Internet to the global ambitions of militant Islamic groups, which is resulting in some Taliban commanders attempting to borrow the fear tactics used by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

This month, for example, a group of Taliban fighters killed a high school student in Ghazni province by cutting off his nose and ears after accusing him of being a spy, local officials said.

The Taliban had always been the village homeboys, but I think that is changing quite dramatically, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior security and intelligence fellow at the Brookings Institution. But the younger generation is more accepting of violence, less remembering of the horrors of the civil war [of the 1990s], and much more socialized to the global agenda.

Other analysts caution that the recent violence is more a symptom of the broader Afghan culture, where a pattern of revenge and killing has been common and disputes among families or villages often have little to do with the war.

People want to settle old scores, said Najib Mahmood, a law professor at Kabul University. You can hardly find any house that does not own a gun because of the war, and people use a gun even for a minor issue.

That historical inability to break the cycle of revenge is one reason that human rights groups and European ambassadors were angered by Ghanis recent decision to resume executions of Taliban figures.

Last month, after a truck bomb killed 64 people in Kabul, the government hanged five Taliban prisoners. Since then, the Taliban has pointed to the executions to justify its attacks on the Afghan judiciary.

Some analysts also worry that President Obama made a mistake in ordering last months drone strike that killed Mansour, the Taliban commander.

They note that violence in Afghanistan escalated last summer after it was announced that the Talibans other former leader, Mohammad Omar, had died two years earlier.

They now fear that the trend will accelerate as new Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada seeks to consolidate his power.

Akhundzada is an Islamic cleric and the Talibans former top judge. But many analysts consider him to be even more rigid than Mansour, who was a former Taliban government minister who witnessed the carnage of Afghanistans civil war in the 1990s.

Mansour believed a terrible outcome for Afghanistan would be a protracted civil war in Kabul and the north, Felbab-Brown said. Many of the younger commanders dont have that restraint.

Akhundzada, in contrast, in the past issued religious edicts authorizing suicide bombings as well as Taliban-on-Taliban executions to deal with dissenters, according to Western intelligence assessments.

The Taliban under Haibatullah will become even more dangerous, said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Pakistan-based expert on militancy.

As a result, Kabul Universitys Mahmood predicted, Afghanistan will continue to slide even further away from the rule of law.

It will take decades to see Afghanistan become a normal country again, he said.

Mohammad Sharif and Sayed Salahuddin in Kabul and Aamir Iqbal in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

Read more:

U.S. widens war in Afghanistan, authorizes new action against Taliban

Taliban strikes in heart of Kabul in deadly attack on elite agency

Afghanistan paid 11,000 militants to lay down their arms. Now the money has run out.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Iraqi security forces rest at their base in the al-Haykil area near Fallujah on June 10. (Ali Arkady/VII for The Washington Post)

Iraqi forces radioed the U.S.-led coalition for air cover as they evacuated their casualties: One member of a police bomb-disposal team had been killed and two others had been wounded as they dismantled part of the complex network of booby traps on the edge of Islamic State-held Fallujah.

Another team pushed on, attempting to clear a recently secured neighborhood on the southern side of the city, the occasional explosion kicking orange dust into the air as part of the painstaking work. But a few hours later, that team was hit by an explosion as its members defused a bomb, and two soldiers were seriously injured.

Its one of the worst jobs in the entire world, Col. Arkan Fadhil of Iraqs special forces said after radioing for another team, this time a group of tribal fighters trained by the United States in bomb-disposal techniques. On Friday morning alone, Iraqi engineering teams had encountered 25 improvised bombs in a stretch of just 500 feet, he said.

The Islamic State has had more than two years to barricade itself into Fallujah, the city west of Baghdad that was the first in the country to fall to the militant group. After launching an offensive for the city last month, Iraqi special forces are now within two miles of the citys center, but extensive tunnel networks used by the militants and deadly roadside bombs are slowing their progress.

In a group of semi-constructed buildings on the citys outskirts, Iraqs elite counterterrorism forces have set up a makeshift base. Bullet and mortar holes pockmark the skeletons of unfinished concrete structures, where soldiers and police officers use unfinished rooms to lie down and rest, blankets laid out on the floor next to piles of sandbags.

The Posts Hugh Naylor is on the front lines of the fight to remove the Islamic State from the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The assault is being led by the military, police and elite counterterrorism forces, but powerful Shiite militias are eager to be involved, as well. (Hugh Naylor/The Washington Post)

Its a high-stakes fight for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, with the battle distracting from a political crisis that has brought regular demonstrations and seen protesters ransack parliament and his office, demanding reform. Iraqi commanders have also argued that clearing the city is a priority because of its proximity to Baghdad, just 45 miles to the east.

Lt. Gen. Abdulwahab al-Saedi, head of the Fallujah operation, pointed out the position of his men in the distance in the Shuhada neighborhood.

See the communications tower, he said. They are there.

The sound of machine-gun fire and explosions rang out. The special forces fighters from the police and counterterrorism units had reached Street 40, about two miles from the citys center on the southern side, he said. On Saturday, the Iraqi army also announced that it had recaptured two neighborhoods east of the city.

Its an important fight that no one expects to be easy.

Its considered symbolic for Daesh, Saedi said, using a term for the militant group derived from its Arabic acronym. It was the first city that fought against the Americans, and extremist Muslims have made it their shrine.

Nearly 100 U.S. Marines died and hundreds were wounded in a six-week battle for the city 12 years ago, their bloodiest fight of the Iraq War.

We want to show the Americans we are able to do it, but with their support, of course, he said.

Over his radio, Fadhil received word from the U.S.-led coalition that a medium machine-gun position had been spotted from the air.

Are they on the third building to the east? Fadhil responded.

They are on the fourth building to the east, came the reply in an Australian accent.

Can I call a strike on that, please? Fadhil asked.

A few minutes later, it came, sending a pillar of smoke above the city.

The Islamic State has built an extensive network of tunnels to hide from the strikes. Meanwhile, its fighters set fires to obscure their positions from the jets overhead.

The tunnels go right through the city, said Brig. Gen. Ali Jamil of Iraqs counterterrorism forces. They use them for transportation, away from the airstrikes, but also to ambush our forces, he said.

The warrens of tunnels have rooms and lighting, Jamil said. One that was recently discovered stretched for about a half-mile. The Iraqi forces do not know how far others they have found extend, because they blow up the entrances so the tunnels cant be used.

Some have been booby-trapped. This past week, an M1 Abrams tank was blown up. It either was hit by a large roadside bomb or driven over an explosive-rigged tunnel, Fadhil said. Whichever it was, the effect was devastating.

The Abrams was in three pieces, Fadhil said. It was a huge explosion. All four members of the crew died.

Soldiers hope the complexity of the barricades will ease as they move into the city. The area they are traversing now has been a defense line for two years. Barricades closer in are likely to have been put together more hastily.

Still, no one expects the city to fall easily. The presence of tens of thousands of civilians further complicates matters. The United Nations recently said that it thinks 90,000 remain.

Islamic State militants have gunned down people trying to flee Fallujah, according to Human Rights Watch and Iraqi officials. Meanwhile, pro-government Shiite militia forces have allegedly beaten and tortured detainees.

Saedi faces a challenge in keeping Iraqs Shiite militias, which have long encircled Fallujah, out of the battle. For them to enter the Sunni-dominated city would risk igniting sectarian tensions.

Commanders here said they think between 300 and 900 militants are in the city. But no one really knows.

Although some have managed to escape, for those trapped inside, it is a case of fight or die, Saedi said.

Mustafa Salim contributed to this report.

Read more:

Iraqis trapped in Fallujah face twin peril of Islamic State and militia fighters

The advance on Fallujah has slowed, and Iraqs Shiite militias want to step in

In fighting ISIS, Iraqs Shiite militias could ignite a sectarian mess

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Minarets share the skyline with office towers in downtown Tirana, Albania. Since the start of the Syrian conflict, the country has been grappling with the emergence of radical Islamist groups. (Joby Warrick/The Washington Post)

Ask Bujar Hysa about the charges that landed him in Tiranas cramped No. 302 Prison, and he spits furious denials. I never encouraged terrorism! declared the Muslim cleric, convicted last month of recruiting young Albanians for the Islamic State.

But press further and Hysa readily admits to supporting a kind of Islamic state  not in Syria, but at home, in Albania, a NATO member and close U.S. ally on Europes southern flank. Reflecting on his countrys future from the prisons tiny visitors room, he predicted that Albanians would inevitably replace Western-style governance with sharia, or Islamic law. Indeed, younger members of his flock were clamoring for it, he said.

Islam can coexist with other religions, but with democracy? No! the bearded imam told a reporter as a guard kept an anxious watch just outside the door. Anyone who says that sharia can coexist with democracy is a hypocrite.

It is precisely this sentiment that has officials on a war footing in tiny Albania, a country with 2.8 million people, but an outsize problem trickling in from across its rugged eastern border.

The Balkan enclave, nestled between the shimmering Adriatic and the high peaks of the Dinaric Alps, has a majority-Muslim population but a centuries-old tradition of religious tolerance and moderation. Yet even here, 1,200 miles from the fighting in Syria, the Islamic State has found a small but devoted following.





More than 100 Albanians have traveled to the Middle East to join the terrorist group, and a few have gained prominence, using the Internet to beckon their countrymen. Their call to Islamist militancy has been echoed by a handful of ultra-

conservative mosques that have sprung up in Albania in recent years, some of them built with help from Islamic charities and missionaries from Turkey and the Persian Gulf region.

[Cash-strapped ISIS fighters are selling sex slaves on Facebook]

Albanias government is aggressively pushing back. The parliament recently passed laws forbidding participation in the Islamic State, and the security services have cracked down on recruits making the trek to Iraq and Syria. Bujar Hysa, the imprisoned imam, was one of three clerics and six others sentenced last month to prison terms of up to 18 years for allegedly encouraging young Albanians to embrace violent jihad.

But these efforts are facing strong headwinds, including a current of radicalism welling up from the Levant and spilling through a Balkan neighborhood still scarred from the sectarian warfare of the 1990s. Extremist messages are finding fertile ground in poorer neighborhoods and villages, where official corruption is high and unemployment among young adults often exceeds 40 percent.

Border police are stepping up patrols for Islamist fighters traveling north to central Europe with Syrian refugees, though few of the migrants have dared to attempt Albanias dangerous alpine passes so far. We have high mountains to serve as partial barriers to their entry, Albanian parliament speaker Ilir Meta said during a Washington visit last month, but even mountains cannot stop this tide.

Albanian officials acknowledge that their most potent weapon against extremism  economic development  continues to fall short, as do Western promises of increased trade and investment with a country still mired in poverty 25 years after the end of communist rule.

Religion has never been the problem here; its education. Its the lack of a developed civil society. And its poverty, especially in the remote areas, Ylli Manjani, the countrys justice minister, said in an interview. When you have a situation where people feel hopeless, extremists can fish in that pool.

Statues of Joseph Stalin and other former communist heroes stand in disrepair in a forgotten corner in Tirana, Albania. Since the country acquired its freedom in 1990, religious groups and radical views have proliferated. (Joby Warrick/The Washington Post)

Rise of Wahhabi mosques

The very idea of radical Islam still sits uneasily in a country that has always worn its religion lightly.

For centuries, Albanians were an amicable mix of Sunni Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics, with a significant minority of Bektashis, a moderate Sufi Muslim sect that has its global headquarters in Albania. For nearly 50 years until the collapse of communism in 1990, the countrys Marxist leaders proclaimed Albania to be the worlds first atheist state, officially banning religious observances and persecuting imams and priests.

Among the persecuted was the Muslim grandfather of Ylli Gurra, a moderate Sunni cleric who today presides over a prominent mosque in Tirana, not far from statues honoring Skanderbeg, Albanias national hero and a 15th-century convert to Christianity.

[Poll suggests young Arabs less swayed by ISIS propaganda]

Gurra, wearing a tailored suit and sipping coffee in one of Tiranas fashionable outdoor cafes, credited his grandfather not only for his faith but also for his belief in embracing neighbors from different religions. Such acceptance, he said, has always been a staple of Albanian Islam  at least, until recently.

We have always been proud of being a country where you can practice your beliefs as you see fit, Gurra said. But the people who grew up under communism had little understanding of their religion. And now, after 25 years of democracy and freedom, some have trouble understanding the boundaries.

Foreign groups have been only too eager to assist in the countrys religious education. Starting in the early 1990s, Islamic charities, some with the backing of oil-rich gulf kingdoms, jetted into Tirana to begin building mosques and madrassas, or religious schools. The most promising young students were offered scholarships to study theology under the tutelage of fundamentalist clerics in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

In the past decade, Albanias larger cities have witnessed a proliferation of independent mosques, unaffiliated with the Muslim Community of Albania, the organization that presides over the countrys moderate-Sunni worship centers. New evangelical Christian congregations had cropped up, as well, reinforcing a growing sectarian consciousness that many Albanians say is alien to their culture.

Today, one of the biggest construction projects in Tirana is a huge, $34 million mosque funded in large part by the Turkish government. While few officials would publicly question Turkeys largesse, some privately expressed exasperation. Why a lavish new mosque in a country with so many critical needs, including schools, highways and infrastructure for Albanias promising but underdeveloped tourism industry?

Please, implored one senior official, we have needs other than mosques.

Trial of the clerics

Lately, it is not the mosques themselves that worry Albanian security officials. It is the messages, communicated by a small number of independent imams, many of them trained outside the country.

Fears about radicalization began building two years ago when the first waves of Islamic State volunteers began leaving for Syria, urged onward in some cases by local clerics. In some remote villages in southeastern Albania, young Muslims in their teens and 20s left home in clusters, sending word later that they had arrived in Iraq or Syria. Some joined up with all-Balkan combat units made up of Albanian and Kosovar nationals.

One Albanian fighter, Ebu Belkisa, a 32-year-old imam from the tiny eastern village of Leshnica, was promoted to a leadership post and then to Internet stardom, appearing in Islamic State videos under the nom de guerre Almir Daci to urge his countrymen to carry out terrorist attacks at home. Belkisa was later killed in fighting, but his widely circulated videos helped spur an unprecedented crackdown by Albanian officials on real and perceived radicals across the country.

[Many of Europes ISIS recruits have deep criminal roots]

Some of the most notorious mosques were closed or forced to change leadership, and many of the more outspoken Islamists were arrested. Among those caught up in the initial sweeps were Bujar Hysa and the eight other Islamists accused of encouraging congregants to support the Islamic State.

The trial of clerics became a public sensation, as the defendants shouted insults at the judge and accused the prosecutor of being a puppet of the United States. Still, Albanian officials, sensitive to accusations of religious persecution in a former communist country, have allowed the defendants to air their grievances in unfiltered interviews with journalists.

In an interview with The Washington Post in their Tirana prison, Hysa and two other defendants asserted that they had been railroaded by an Albanian government eager to burnish its terrorist-fighting credentials. Hysa recounted being arrested by an assault force of dozens of officers who burst into his house while he and young children were sleeping. His only offense, he said, was urging Albanians to come to the aid of Syrian war victims.

I made a public appeal for people to help Syrians against Assad  at a time when all the world was against Assad, including [President] Obama, Hysa said. But because it was coming from a religious person, they say I am a terrorist.

Moments later, Hysa acknowledged that it was not just his views on Syria that got him into trouble, but rather, a more fundamental conflict with the pluralistic society that Albanian officials are trying to build. Hysa claimed that a growing number of the countrys Muslims see Albanias system of government as irreconcilably at odds with their religion. Eventually, he said, Albanias experiment with democracy would be scrapped in favor of a benign Muslim governance that would allow other religions to continue to exist  as long as they agreed to submit to Islamic law.

We dont accept their democratic system, he said of Albanias government. We dont accept their [morality], such as their belief in marriage between women and women, men and men. We oppose action by NATO anywhere in the Arab world.

These, he said, are the main reasons we were arrested.

We have our own traditions

Exactly how many of the countrys Muslims share such views is unclear. Government officials and leaders of more traditional Muslim organizations insist that the number is quite small. Along Tiranas broad avenues, and in the sun-drenched tourist resorts on the Mediterranean coast, Muslim prayer caps and headscarves are rarely seen. Restaurants serve wine and traditional Albanian raki, or fruit brandy.

Manjani, the justice minister, says the country turned a corner with its quick action to stop Islamist recruiting. But he also acknowledges that the root causes of radicalism  poverty and foreign proselytizing  remain serious problems. And, despite assurances of help from U.S. and European officials, Albanians still are having to confront such challenges without significant assistance.

The real challenge is economic development, he said. We have to give these people jobs, because if we fail to fight poverty and ignorance, things will only get worse. Meanwhile, what we get from the [West] is the same promises for more training and more capacity-building. What does that even mean?

Gurra, the moderate imam, said members of his mosque still prefer the Albanian tradition of embracing the countrys religious diversity, sometimes even joining in the religious celebrations of their Orthodox and Catholic neighbors.

But lately, some of his members are asking difficult questions, he said, and Muslims from other communities have criticized him for publicly advocating religious tolerance. After the Islamic States terrorist attacks in Paris, Gurra joined clerics from Orthodox Christian, Catholic and Bektashi congregations in condemning the violence in a show of religious solidarity. But afterward, he received anonymous threats. Why were you with those people? one caller demanded to know.

Fortunately, there arent many people who hold such views, and theyre not going to win, Gurra said. I tell our people, We have our own traditions, and theyre Albanian traditions, not Arab traditions. We are all part of Europe, not just geographically, but culturally.

Read more:

How a British citizen became one of ISISs most notorious

One woman helped ISIS attacker; her friend turned him in.

Deadly trail: Tracing the path of ISIS recruits through Europe
Civilians and members of the Syrian army inspect the damage after an attack by suicide bombers in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab. (Omar Sanadiki/Reuters)

Suicide bombers struck close to Damascus on Saturday, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens more. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombings through its Amaq news agency.

There were reportedly three attacks carried out by suicide bombers. Aamaq said two attackers were wearing explosive belts while the third used a car.

Syrian state TV said the blasts in the Sayyida Zeinab area, just south of the Syrian capital, killed 12 people and wounded 55 others. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 20 people were killed and dozens were wounded in the two explosions.

It was the latest attack to hit the predominantly Shiite area in recent months. Sayyida Zeinab has been a frequent target of bombings in Syrias conflict, now in its sixth year.

The suburb is home to the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, one of the most renowned in Shiite Islam. The heavily guarded shrine to the daughter of the first Shiite imam, Ali, and granddaughter of the prophet Muhammad, receives thousands of Shiite pilgrims each year.

State news agency SANA said the first blast was caused by one of the suicide attackers with an explosive belt, while the second was the result of the one in a car rigged with explosives. SANA quoted Prime Minister Wael al-Halki as blaming the brutal massacres on Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which are the main supporters of the Syrian rebels trying to remove President Bashar al-Assad from power.

Saturdays blasts came as U.S.-backed fighters in northern Syria tightened their siege on the Islamic State stronghold of Manbij, where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped by the fighting. The Syria Democratic Forces, a predominantly Kurdish group, encircled the town after capturing dozens of villages and farms near the Turkish border.

The push toward Manbij slowed down because of fear for civilians there, said Mustafa Bali, a Syrian journalist who visited the front line. All telecommunications with the town have been cut, he told the Associated Press by telephone.

The Observatory said that most bakeries have stopped working in the town and that food is running out. It said airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition have killed 30 civilians, including 11 children, since the SDF began its offensive on May 31.

Manbij, one of the largest Islamic State strongholds in Syrias Aleppo province, is a way station on a key supply line between the extremists de facto capital of Raqqa and the Turkish frontier.

The United Nations estimates that 592,700 people live under siege in Syria, with about 452,700 of them under blockades by government forces.

In the central province of Homs, a 31-truck aid convoy from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent entered the besieged town of Houla on Saturday, according to ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek. The trucks were carrying food for 14,200 families as well as products such as mattresses, blankets, water pumps, hygiene kits, diapers and vaccines.

This past week, the United Nations said the Syrian government had approved access to 15 of 19 besieged areas.

Lifting sieges on rebel-held areas was a key demand by the opposition during peace talks that failed this year in Geneva.
Under the guise of rescuing the Detroit Public Schools (DPS), the Michigan state legislature has approved an education restructuring package, by one-vote margins in both the House and Senate, that represents a major escalation of the attack on public education in the city.

The passage of the bill early Thursday is the culmination of a conspiracy by Democrats and Republicans, aided and abetted by the unions, to safeguard the interests of hedge funds and other large investors at the expense of students and teachers. The $617 million package includes $467 million to pay off DPS operating debt and a paltry $150 million to fund the creation of a new district, Detroit Community Schools (DCS), that would take over education operations in the city. The old DPS would remain merely as a vehicle for paying off debt.

Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder praised the bill, calling it an unprecedented investment for the education of Detroit children. He is expected to sign it into law next week.

In remarks to the Detroit Free Press, DPS Emergency Manager Steven Rhodes also indicated his support for the legislation, although it provided less money to DCS than he had originally requested.

The $150 million allocated to the DCS would be a loan, not a grant, which the schools would have to pay back with interest. Only $25 million of that money could be used to refurbish the districts decayed and unsafe buildings. Meanwhile, all the tax money collected by DPS would be diverted to debt repayment, with none actually going to cover education costs.

The legislation provides for the establishment of an elected school board, but real power would be in the hands of a state-appointed Financial Review Commission. While the bill nominally ends emergency management of the Detroit schools, de facto state control would remain in place. The act confers new powers on the state school reform/design officer, who would hold many of the same powers as an emergency manager.

Education Achievement Authority (EAA) schools are returned to the control of DCS, but these schools will continue to pay lower salary and benefits to school employees, including teachers, for an additional two years. The EAA was set up supposedly to turn around low-achieving schools, but in fact has been used to further undermine public education.

The latest attack on education in Detroit follows seven years in which DPS has been under emergency management by state-appointed financial dictators. During that period the system has been bled dry, with the closure of scores of schools, the proliferation of charters, and savage attacks on teachers. Today there are just 46,000 students remaining in the DPS, compared to 150,000 in 2002.

The restructuring package contained most of the elements of the Republican-sponsored House plan. It beat out a Senate version of the bill that, while nearly the same in most features, provided somewhat more money to the new district, barred the hiring of non-credentialed teachers and created a Detroit Education Commission to oversee both traditional and charter schools. The Senate version was favored by the Detroit Federation of Teachers as well as initially by Snyder and Rhodes.

The bill enacted by the House contains a raft of reactionary features, including increased sanctions against teachers who engage in illegal strikes, and a requirement that salaries for new teachers are based on job performance and measurements of students performance, in other words a merit pay scheme. It also permits the hiring of non-certified teachers. In a move to bring the unions on board, however, the bill recognizes the DFT as the bargaining agent for the newly created DCS.

The bill will further accelerate the spread of charters within the Detroit school system, relaxing the few restrictions that currently exist. About 41 percent of Detroit students now attend charter schools. The Michigan Association of Public School Academies, a mouthpiece for the charter school industry, hailed passage of the legislation.

Further, the bill creates a community district accountability system that will annually assign a letter grade to each public school based on a point scale. Those receiving an F grade for three years in a row would face closure. This is aimed at accelerating the spread of charter schools.

The passage of the reactionary school restructuring package comes in the wake of the determined struggle by Detroit teachers to defend public education. Last month teachers carried out a two-day sickout after Rhodes threatened to withhold teacher pay after June 30, the day he claimed the district would run out of funds.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers did everything it could to divert and sabotage this struggle. The DFT shut down the teacher sickouts and attempted to channel the anger of teachers over intolerable conditions in the schools, including unsafe and dilapidated buildings and lack of supplies, behind pleas to the state legislature, Snyder and Rhodes.

Instead of opposing the whole framework of the assault on public education being carried out in the state, the DFT backed the version of the Detroit schools restructuring plan favored by Rhodes, Snyder and Senate Democrats. Like the House version, the Senate plan would have facilitated the spread of charter schools and paved the way for further school closures and attacks on teachers.

The attack on public education in Detroit has national implications. After decades of cuts under Republican and Democratic administrations, what was once one of the premier public school districts in the country has been reduced to ruins. Under terms of the new legislation, the DPS will be turned into nothing more than a debt collection agency for Wall Street. As for what remains of the public schools, they are to be transformed into charters for the enrichment of private interests.

Both major political parties, as well as the unions, bear responsibility for this situation. They insist that the debt to the banks is sacrosanct and that working people, students and teachers must be made to pay.

Despite its initial phony show of outrage over the passage of the restructuring plan, the DFT is indicating its willingness to fall into line behind the attacks on teachers now that its position as bargaining agent in the new district has been secured. Terrence Martin, the executive vice president of the DFT, told the Christian Science Monitor, Were disappointed in many aspects, but we remain steadfast and we are treading forward. The good thing is that we have a school district, and that we have school board. He continued, We are hopeful we can negotiate a contract with the new school board.
The Bury Your Gays trope came to a forefront this past television season when a multitude of LGBTQ characters were killed off shows including The Walking Dead, Empire and most notably, The 100.

Javier Grillo-Marxuach  who wrote the highly controversial episode of the CW show that killed off Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey), after she had sex with Clarke (Eliza Taylor)  spoke on a panel Saturday morning at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas, to address the trope, which is defined as killing off a gay character to further the story of a straight one.

Along with writers and producers from Shameless, Faking It and The Originals, Grillo-Marxuach discussed the progress of the TV industry in regards to the inclusion of LGBTQ characters, but first, he tackled the elephant in the room.

I think the failure was to recognize the cultural impact that would have on the context of the show, Grillo-Marxuach said.

Addressing the social media outcry, he noted that rather than pointing fingers, the bigger issue at hand is the discussion that resulted from the Clexa controversy.

The systemic failure to recognize it as an event of the magnitude that it had [outside the show] is the real subject of discussion here, Grillo-Marxuach said. When theres a bigger issue involved of perhaps if we knew, why did we still go through with it? I think thats a big issue.

Coming to his defense, Faking It creator Carter Covington applauded Grillo-Marxuach and The 100 writers for putting Lexa and Clarkes relationship on TV in the first place.

I feel like I have one of the gayest shows on TV so Ive earned the right to speak to this, Covington said with a laugh. I think whats getting lost in The 100 is that there was an amazing relationshipand that the death of one of these characters caused this huge rippleThis is storytelling, and I think The 100is being assaulted and in the end, I think theyre giving fans this amazing chance to meet each other online and on Twitter. Theres so much good the The 100 is doing for the community.

Story continues

Grillo-Marxuach chimed in further on the Twitter barrage  which included fans pleading him to sign The Lexa Pledge, though he explained I wont make promises I cant keep  and he commended fans for being so vocal and creating a place of social activism.

When the thing with The 100 happened and all the rage and fury came down on Twitter, the thing I was reminded of is when Caitlyn Jenner was on ESPN she said, give me your rage, I can take it, the writer/producer said, referencing Jenners acceptance speech at the ESPY awards last year.

I am grateful for the tidal wave that came down on me, Grillo-Marxuach said, adding, For the exposure and understanding that I received that people are willing to share stories and sometimes the rage, but also other emotions that come with itthe activism that goes on online is humongously important.

Panelist Carina MacKenzie, writer on The Originals, also applauded the loud Twitter noise, saying, This conversation wouldnt be happening without fans on social media. Im really glad that this conversation is happening at all, and thats because of the fans on a show thats a tiny little show on a tiny little network that has now changed the way we talk about television.

While the panel largely commended viewers for sharing their passion on social media, Covington did admit that hes received many really hurtful messages (I got accused of queer-baiting, he said). He warned the room of the poor impact that can result from such negativity online.

Im trying to put out what I think is the most positive messages out to the community Ive ever seen on TV, Covington said. I really wish we could change the conversation and become a glass half full fandomI just wish the conversation was more of gratitude so that people could be rewarded, and youre going to get so many more LGBTQ charactersIm really worried that its going to have the opposite effect of what fans want.

As simply put by Grillo-Marxuach, The same pen that created those relationships is the one that created the outcome that we see today.

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Stockholm (AFP) - Around 20,000 passengers were stranded on Saturday after Scandinavian airline SAS cancelled 159 flights due to a Swedish pilots' strike and warned of another 220 flight cancellations on Sunday.

"We have done all that's in our power to avoid a strike, but we have unfortunately been unable to come to an agreement. Our main priority now is to take care of our customers and (we) are working vigilantly to do everything we can to assist passengers affected," SAS spokeswoman Karin Nyman said in a statement.

SAS flights flown by Danish and Norwegian pilots were operating as normal throughout the weekend, she added.

Sunday's flight cancellations were expected to affect another 26,000 travellers.

At Stockholm's Arlanda airport, passengers hoping to rebook their cancelled flights stood in long queues at the SAS ticket counters.

Travellers Chun Yang, Milli Chiang and Jimmy Hsu from Taiwan told news agency TT they were surprised to learn of the strike when they landed in Stockholm en route to Finland.

"Now we have to try to organise our trip to Finland ourselves, our travel insurance from Taiwan won't cover the cost," Chun Yang said after five hours in line and still far from the head of the queue.

Anna Antell, who was to fly to Croatia with her husband and two children, had no sympathy for the striking pilots.

"They already have good salaries," she said.

The walkout comes during a peak travel season, and has hit charter groups hard.

"Many flights are of course fully booked, so the chances of rebooking a flight are not the best. We're doing what we can to help in the best way possible and find alternatives for our travellers," Nyman told TT.

The strike broke out Friday at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) after the Swedish pilots union SPF rejected the mediators' proposal of a 2.2 percent wage increase, insisting instead on a 3.5 percent increase.

The employers' organisation however said that the pilots' overall demands, including employment contracts offering greater job security, would entail a 10 percent cost increase.

"We want our employees to feel secure in their jobs, but the pilots' wage demands are just too high. We can't afford to pay that much given the competitive (air travel) market," SAS chief executive Rickard Gustafson said Friday before the strike..

No date has been set yet for new negotiations.
These actors are *for sure* returning to Greys Anatomy next year

These actors are *for sure* returning to Greys Anatomy next year

The 2015-16 TV season is wrapped for the most part, and even though its only June, were already looking ahead to the fall calendar. How will cliffhangers resolve? What do the writers have in store for us next year? And most importantly, are there any actors whose contracts are up that wont be returning?

Fortunately, we have some good news from Shondaland about Greys Anatomy: The majority of the actors plan to return for Season 13. Thank goodness, because were said goodbye to too many Greys characters to count  Derek, Cristina, Izzie, Mark, Lexie, the list goes on.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, returning for sure are Chandra Wilson (Bailey), James Pickens Jr. (Richard), Justin Chambers (Alex), and Kevin McKidd (Owen). Of course, we already know that Sara Ramirez, who played Callie, wont be returning. We miss you already, Callie.

These days, its extremely rare for a show to reach 13 seasons. Like, incredibly rare. But Greys is more than powering through. THR also reports that its set to finish this broadcast season as ABCs highest-rated drama in the 18-49 demographic. Not bad for a show thats started as a mid-season replacement in spring 2005.

Knowing that so many of the actors are in for next season makes us breathe a sigh of relief. After a particularly turbulent season, we could use a little calm around Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital. Well, you know. As calm as things can possibly get in Shondaland.

The post These actors are *for sure* returning to Greys Anatomy next year appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Kabul (AFP) - Afghanistan on Saturday hailed Washington's decision to expand the US military's authority to tackle a resurgent Taliban insurgency, saying the support will boost the capacity of struggling local forces.

The decision will allow US troops, who have been in a training and advisory role in Afghanistan since the start of 2015, to collaborate more closely with local forces in striking the Taliban.

"We welcome the US announcement of broader involvement in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan," defence ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri told AFP.

"We may not need more boots on the ground, but we need their advisors and we need them to equip our air force. Their involvement will increase our capacity in operations on the ground."

The US announcement comes after Afghan forces, beset by record casualties, desertions and troop shortages, suffered a string of setbacks last year at the hands of the Taliban.

The decision would expand the military's authority to conduct air strikes against the Taliban when necessary, significantly boosting Afghan forces who currently have limited close air-support capacities.

"We welcome measures taken by the US as our strategic partner to fight terrorism," said deputy presidential spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashimi.

In a statement the Taliban condemned the US decision, saying it would only prolong the conflict and vowed to press on with their 15-year insurgency.

Some 9,800 US troops remain in Afghanistan in an advisory capacity, down from a peak of around 100,000 in March 2011. That number is set to drop to just 5,500 by the year's end.

An American defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said despite the expanding role the US troops would still not be involved in direct combat.

Still, the new announcement is fraught with political sensitivities as it marks a departure from President Barack Obama's earlier commitment to end the grinding conflict and pull US troops out of Afghanistan.

Obama last month authorised a rare US drone strike deep inside Pakistan, killing Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a raid which highlighted an aggressive new push to target the insurgents.

"The US presidential election is coming up this year and Obama needs to show that the war in Afghanistan is still important," Kabul-based military analyst Wahid Taqat told AFP. "He cannot afford to let Afghanistan fail."
CAIRO (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in an online audio message, pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, who was appointed last month after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike. The veteran Islamist militant became al Qaeda's leader after U.S. Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, and he is thought to be hiding in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, having been based there since the late 1990s. "As leader of the al Qaeda organization for jihad, I extend my pledge of allegiance once again, the approach of Osama to invite the Muslim nation to support the Islamic Emirate," al-Zawahri said in a 14 minute recording. During its years in power, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and it has been fighting an insurgency since to regain control of the country. The authenticity of the recording could not be immediately verified. Haibatullah Akhundzada, Islamic legal scholar who was one of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour's deputies, was appointed a few days after Mansour was killed by a U.S. drone attack in a remote border area just inside Pakistan. Since al-Zawahri, an Egyptian doctor-turned-militant, succeeded bin Laden, al Qaeda has lost ground to Islamic State in the leadership of the global jihadist movement. Some Afghan insurgent commanders have broken away from the Taliban to pledge support for Islamic State, though it operates largely in Iraq and Syria, and is active in parts of North Africa. Al Qaeda was set up by Arab guerrillas who flocked to Afghanistan to fight Soviet occupation forces in the 1980s. It had thrived under the Taliban's rule before both groups were driven underground following the U.S. invasion that followed Al Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. (Reporting by Mostafa Hashem; writing by Amina Ismail; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
(Reuters) - Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, a powerful figure in state politics, was found guilty on Friday of using his elected office, along with his former post as chair of the state Republican Party, for personal gain, local media reported. After seven hours of deliberation, a Lee County jury found Hubbard guilty of 12 of the 23 felony ethics charges he faced, convictions that automatically removed him from office, according to Alabamanews.net. This should send a clear message that in Alabama we hold public officials accountable for their actions," state Attorney General Luther Strange said on his website. Sentencing for Hubbard is scheduled for July 8. He faces 20 years in prison, Alabamanews.net reported. Hubbards attorneys told the news website that they would appeal the convictions. Hubbard was indicted by a state grand jury in October 2014 on charges of using his elected office, along with his former post as chair of the state Republican Party, for personal gain. Hubbard helped guide Republicans to majorities in both houses of the state legislature in 2010 for the first time in 136 years before his indictment. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Mark Potter)
San Salvador (AFP) - El Salvador, ranked one of the most dangerous countries in the world, has nearly halved its staggeringly bloody monthly murder rate amid a fierce crackdown on fearsome gangs.

But analysts pointed out that the number of homicides this year is still above where it was the same time last year, and warned that the government offensive against the gangs needs to continue to break them apart.

Justice and Security Minister Mauricio Ramirez said Thursday that the "extraordinary measures" El Salvador has employed "have managed to reduce the crime rate by more than 50 percent."

Isolating gang bosses in prison, sending in elite troops and police to arrest gang members, and erasing gang graffiti from the streets of at least one town all appear to be bearing fruit.

Some 353 murders were recorded in each of the months of May and April, according to the Institute for Forensic Medicine.

While that is still high, it is significantly less than the 611 homicides in March, 644 in February and 740 in January.

However the total number of murders so far this year, 2,721, is still higher than the 2,188 registered for the same period in 2015.

That underlines El Salvador's notoriety as the country with the most murders per capita in the world outside of a war zone.

- Offense needs to be 'sustainable' -

El Salvador's government in April started its crackdown in a bid to roll back that reputation and to challenge the perception that it had lost control of swathes of territory to the gangs.

Ramirez acknowledged that "to maintain security and the positive results so far, we have to keep control over the penitentiaries," where gang bosses are now barred from receiving visitors and cell phone signals are blocked.

Juan Ramon Medrano, a university professor and analyst, told AFP that the first phase of the government's plan to reduce the number of murders "is working."

But, he said, "the current success is going to depend on keeping up a sustainable tactical offense over the duration."

Story continues

No let-up should be given in the efforts to bust the gangs' leadership and to prevent them winning back turf from the authorities, he said.

The head of the national police force, Howard Cotto, also said that, beyond the operations by the security forces, "citizen participation in prevention tasks, such as tip-offs," had an important role to play.

- Reliance on soldiers -

Part of the reason El Salvador has made progress this time against the gangs is that it has put thousands of soldiers onto its streets to back up the police.

The deployment helps to contain gang members, who are said to number around 70,000, of which some 13,000 are already behind bars.

The operations have resulted in the deaths of several gang members and the arrest of dozens on various charges.

"What is happening is a remilitarization of public security," an analyst, Roberto Canas, told AFP.

Under the urban operations and pressure of the joint army-police crackdown, the gangs "are changing" and in some cases are moving out to rural areas to escape the law enforcement heat, he said.

Jannet Aguilar, director of the Public Opinion Institute of the University of Central America, said the gangs "are being neutralized" but were not disappearing from the communities they lived in.

"The gangs are in a time of falling back. But recent history has shown that they soon manage to get around the application of the law, to be able to develop the illegal economy they thrive on."

A recent study by El Salvador's central bank estimated that the cost of the violence in the country to the state, households and businesses was $4 billion, or 16 percent of gross domestic product.

The government has allocated around half that amount over the next five years to finance its security plan, branded "Secure El Salvador."

Late last month, lawmakers approved a government bond issue worth $152 million which will go to giving pay hikes to the police, army and prisons on the frontline of the fight against the gangs.
Researchers have discovered a vast network of hidden cities laying deep under the lush Cambodian jungle near the medieval mega-city of Angkor Wat, in "groundbreaking discoveries that promise to upend key assumptions about south-east Asia's history," the Guardian reported in an exclusive on Friday.

Revealed: vast medieval cities hidden beneath the Cambodian junglehttp://trib.al/ifXMOzV

The cities range from 900 to 1,400 years old and at their peak around the year 1,100 may have made the Khmer regime in Angkor the biggest empire on the planet. The discovery, the result of high tech airborne laser scanning technology, also revealed "elaborate water systems that were built hundreds of years before historians believed the technology existed," according to the Guardian.

"We have entire cities discovered beneath the forest that no one knew were there  at Preah Khan of Kompong Svay and, it turns out, we uncovered only a part of Mahendraparvata on Phnom Kulen [in another 2012 survey]," Australian researcher and Siem Reap's Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient (EFEO) fellow Dr. Damian Evans, who led the study, told the paper.

"This time we got the whole deal and it's big, the size of Phnom Penh big," he added, referring to the capital city of Cambodia, which has a population of 1.5 million.

"Our coverage of the post-Angkorian capitals also provides some fascinating new insights on the 'collapse' of Angkor," Evans added. "There's an idea that somehow the Thais invaded and everyone fled down south  that didn't happen, there are no cities [revealed by the aerial survey] that they fled to. It calls into question the whole notion of an Angkorian collapse."

London University School of Oriental and African Studies professor and Southeast Asia expert Dr. Peter Sharrock told the Guardian the study reveals large population centers around "all ancient Khmer temples." Another professor, Dr. Martin Polkinghorne of Adelaide's Flinders University, added the findings challenge the notion of Cambodia during the Angkor decline as a "dark age."
London (AFP) - Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby announced that he backs Britain remaining in the European Union in a newspaper article Sunday, as another poll suggested the "Leave" campaign was pulling ahead.

Welby, the spiritual head of the Church of England and of the wider global Anglican Communion of 85 million Christians, said in a piece for the Mail on Sunday newspaper that he was in favour of "building bridges, not barriers".

"In no sense do I have some divine hotline to the right answer," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

"We each have to make up our own minds. But for my part, I shall vote to remain."

Welby is the latest senior figure to come out in favour of EU membership ahead of the June 23 referendum. The International Monetary Fund and G7 have also said Britain should stay in the bloc.

But the "Remain" campaign led by Prime Minister David Cameron appears to be struggling to make a clear breakthrough, less than two weeks before the vote is held.

Opinion polls currently indicate 50 percent support each for the "Remain" and "Leave" sides, according to an average maintained by academics at the What UK Thinks project which excludes undecideds.

A series of recent individual polls have appeared to hand the momentum in the race to "Leave".

One conducted online by YouGov for this week's Sunday Times put "Leave" on 43 percent, up one percentage point, and "Remain" on 42 percent, down one percentage point.

Welby argued that voting for Brexit would have a "negative" effect on Britain's economy and that concerns about immigration must be addressed "without succumbing to our worst instincts".

On Tuesday, the archbishop suggested the leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party Nigel Farage had been "giving legitimisation to racism" for "political ends" during the referendum campaign.

Farage denied the claim.

Britain's most senior Catholic, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has said he believes a vote to leave the EU would create "complex problems".
For all you snackers out there whos looking for something more than just your usual salted potato chips, heres a list of some new snacks from around the world! And at the end of it all, you can order some of them through our Airfrov travellers!

USA:

1. Twinkies Ghostbuster Edition

Image: Foodbeast

To celebrate the upcoming Ghostbuster movie, Twinkies released a special edition flavour thats filled with a neon gooey green middle. They might look like slime, but this Zesty Key Lime Slime Twinkies are a refreshing and yummy change that we hope wont get busted anytime soon.

2. Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Spicy Caramel Squares

Image: Ghirardelli

Imagine your regular semi-sweet chocolate square, but packed with some extra oomph! These spicy spiced chocolate squares lend a subtle fiery punch that lingers at the back of your mouth, creating a sweet yet savoury treat thatll leave you sweating for more.

3. Mentos Chocolate Caramel

Image: Mentos

This classic combination of caramel and chocolate just became a lot more portable with Mentos new creation. Think sweet orange spheres that melt away to reveal a sweeter milky surprise. Trust us when we say that just one will not be enough.

4. Reeses Pieces Peanut Butter Cups

Image: Reeses

It might be difficult to tell whats new from the name (hint: its in the pieces), but fans of Reeses will be able to get double the chocolate peanut butter flavour in every bite. The classic peanut butter cup now comes studded with mini Reeses pieces, so its double on flavour on all fronts!

Japan:

5. Coca Cola Sleep Water

Image: Coca Cola Japan

This famous beverage brand might be notorious for inducing sugar-rushes with its carbonated drink, but they just released Sleep Water in Japan which claims to help lull you into a deep slumber. This peach-flavoured drink comes filled with L-Theanine, a chemical that can decrease anxiety and stress levels, allowing to fall asleep with a peace of mind.

6. Pablo x Lotte Chocopie

Image: Pablo

Story continues

These ooey gooey cheese tarts are all the rage recently, and they just made it even more portable and accessible with the chocopie version. Now you can enjoy the cheesy decadence of the dish with a luscious chocolate exterior.

Join other Airfrov users who are requesting for it here!

7. Calbee Beef and Foie Gras Potato Chips

Image: Narinari

It is a common knowledge that potato chips are regarded as cheap junk food. But what happens when you infuse them with seemingly gourmet flavours? Calbee has recently released potato chips flavoured with beef and real foie gras flakes. Talk about fancy junk food.

8. Ritz Wasabi & Cheddar / Tarako & Cream Cheese

Image: Japantoday

The names of this new line of biscuits might sound off putting and weird, but the taste were surprisingly well received by reviews online. This unique blend of east-meets-west flavour is the perfect filling for the salty crackers of Ritz, with the mild horseradish kick from the wasabi and the fresh burst of seafood from the tarako (fish roe).

S.Korea:

9. Starbucks Pudding

  BM ()                      @maymaiden  . . # # # #starbuckspudding A photo posted by , ,  (@sorisorisorisori) on Mar 9, 2016 at 4:58pm PST

This famous coffee chain is known for serving up refreshing caffeinated drinks. But in Korea, they have started selling custard pudding served in adorable mini-sized Starbucks cup. Boasting two flavours, vanilla and cocoa, now thats one more reason to visit this renowned coffee chain.

Join other Airfrov users who are requesting for it here!

10. Banana Chocopie

Image: Koreajoongangdaily

Essentially deconstructing the flavours of a banana split, this banana flavoured chocopie comes with a banana flavoured marshmallow middle and coated with a layer of chocolate. Fans of this classic pairing has a new way of satisfying their craving with this new snack.

Join other Airfrov users who are requesting for it here!



Hong Kong:

11. KFC Flavoured Nail Polishes

Image: Adweek

This last item/snack falls in somewhat of a grey area. We are all familiar with KFCs addictive and sinful fried chicken, but what if the flavours are extrapolated and made into a line of edible nail polishes? You could technically eat it, and it would technically taste like your favourite snack. But is it actually a snack? Well well leave you to be the judge.

Is your tummy rumbling in excitement? You can certainly taste the international range of snacks, all without having to travel all. Simply put up a request like what other Airfrov users did, and let returning travellers purchase them for you!

Screen Shot 2016-06-07 at 8.35.39 pm

The post Around The World In 11 Snacks  New Snacks From Various Countries appeared first on Airfrov Blog.
The legacy and strength of Muhammad Ali lived on in the touching words of his admirers, friends and family members in Louisville, Ky., during his memorial service on Friday (June 10.)

Over 15, 000 people were present at the KFC Yum Center in downtown Louisville to pay their respects to the humanitarian and beloved athlete. Years prior, Ali put together his own service and handpicked those who spoke at the memorialBilly Crystal, Bryant Gumbel, Rabbi Michael Lerner and former president Bill Clinton shared stories of joy, love and admiration they have for the greatest.

Fans watched the political, spiritual and passionate service that summed up Alis life mission online. Thousands of local fans also praised Ali as he was carried in a black Cadillac through his childhood home and through the street named after him.

Pallbearers included Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Will Smith, who portrayed him in the Oscar-nominated film, Ali.

Check out a few eulogies from the memorial, including the tear-jerking words of Attallah Shabazz, below.

Billy-Crystal

Credit: Getty Images

Billy Crystal, Comedian

On their 42 year friendship: I couldnt believe it, my first time on TV and it was with Ali, he said referring to his infamous impersonation of the athlete. I couldnt stop looking at him. He was funny, he was beautiful. He was so much more than a fighter. After the skit, Ali called Crystal, his little brother. Heres the most famous Muslim man in the world, honoring his Jewish friend, he added. I had so many funny moments with him. On the moment of impact, it lights up everything around it. His intense light shined on America. We were able to see clearly injustice. Ali forced us to take a look at ourselves. He is gone, but he will never die, he was my big brother.

Lonnie-Ali

Credit: Getty Images

Lonnie Ali, widow of Muhammad Ali

On what Ali wanted the world to learn from his life: Muhammad indicated that when the end came for him, he wanted us to use his life and his death as a teaching moment for young people, for his country and for the world, she said. In effect, he wanted us to remind people who are suffering that he had seen the face of injustice. That he grew up in a segregation, and that during his early life he was not free to be who he wanted to be. But he never became embittered enough to quit or to engage in violence. It was a time when a young black boy his age could be hung from a tree. Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, in 1955, whose admitted killers went free. It was a time when Muhammads friends, men that he admired, like brother Malcolm, Dr. King, were gunned down, and Nelson Mandela imprisoned for what they believed in. For his part, Muhammad faced federal prosecution. He was stripped of his title and his license to box, and he was sentenced to prison. But he would not be intimidated so as to abandon his principles and his values.

Story continues

Natasha-mundkur

Credit: Getty Images

Natasha Mundkur, Council Member at the Muhammad Ali Center

On what shes learned from Ali: His voice echoed through through hers, through mine and she picked up the rocks that were thrown at her and she threw them back with a voice so powerful, that it turned that pain she felt in her life into strength and tenacity, she said. The 19-year-old was inspired by Ali after learning about him in school. She also learned to be strong after she was bullied for her race and religion. And, now that 8-year-old girl stands in front of you that Alis cries still shakes those waves today. We are to find strength in our identities. Whether we are black or white, Asian or Hispanic, LGBT, disabled or abled bodied. Muslim or Jewish, Hindu or Christian, his cries represents those who have not been heard and it validates that idea that we are to be conformed into one normative standard. That is what it means to defeat the impossible. Impossible is not a fact, nor an opinion, impossible is nothing

Attallah-Shabazz

Credit: Getty Images

Attallah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X

On Alis legacy: Muhammad Ali was part of a treasured fraternity, bequeathed to me by my dad, she said. She also shared Alis grief, who didnt get to speak to Malcolm before his death. A unifying topic was faith; an ecumenical faith, respect for all faiths, even if belonging to one religion or none, the gift of all faiths. He said: We all have the one God. We just serve him differently. Rivers, lakes, plains, they all have different names  but they mean the same thing. Doesnt matter if you are a Muslim or Christian or Jew  when you believe in God, you should believe all people are part of one family. Because if you love God, you cant love only some of his children. Having Muhammad Ali in my life somehow sustained my dads breath in me  51 years longer. Until now.

Bill-Clinton-Muhmmad-Ali

Credit: Getty Images

Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States

On Alis mission to never be disempowered: Finally after all the years that we have been friends, my enduring image of him is like a little reel in three shots: the boxer I thrilled to as a boy, the man I watched take the last steps to light the Olympic Flame when I was president, and Ill never forget it, I was sitting there in Atlanta, by then we knew each other, by then I felt that I had some sense of what he was living with, and I was still weeping like a baby, seeing his hands shake and his legs shake and knowing by God he was gonna make those last few steps, no matter what it took, the flame would be lit the fight would be won the spirit would be affirmed, I knew it would happen. And then this. The children whose lives he touched. The young people he inspired. Its the most important thing of all.
Much like her preferred presidential candidate, frequent provocateur Azealia Banks is backing off some of her most inflammatory statements. The Slay-Z rapper has posted an uncharacteristically thoughtful and apologetic message on Facebook, vowing to adjust her attitude and quit using the word faggot.

Ok, im never saying the word F****T ever again, Banks post begins. The amount of people that get hurt when i use the word vs. the amount of people ive said it to are just not worth it. Honestly This isnt a cop out, its just me realizing that words hurt. She goes on to apologize for disappointing fans, acknowledging that verbal abuse reflects poorly on her career.

While i may be immune to every word and be thicker skinned than most, it doesnt mean that i get to go around treating people with the same toughness, Banks writes, apparently failing to realize that lashing out at every slight is not the hallmark of a thick-skinned person. By using those words i paint a picture of myself that isnt the true me.

Banks change of heart comes one month after her Twitter account was suspended for a string of racist and homophobic tweets aimed at ex-One Directioner Zayn Malik. Previously, she called a flight attendant a f**king faggot, and came at former Alaska governor Sarah Palin with rape threats after mistakenly believing a fake Palin quote printed in The Onion.

It remains to be seen whether Banks attempt to wash her mouth out with soap will earn back her Twitter privileges. Read the full Facebook apology post below.
COTONOU (Reuters) - Benin stepped up security patrols and roadblocks and increased border security on Saturday in the face of a threat from Islamist militants, the army chief of staff and a senior security official said. A statement by the army chief of staff gave no details of the threat. West African countries are increasingly concerned about al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its allies. The groups have expanded a campaign in northern Mali in the last year to stage high profile attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. At the same time, Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which is based in the northeast of Benin's eastern neighbor Nigeria, has killed thousands in an insurgency that began in 2009. It has also launched deadly attacks in Niger, Cameroon and Chad. (Reporting by Allegresse Sasse; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Bill Rigby)
ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports

Sam Ehlinger officially becomes the starting quarterback of the Colts. If he fails or gets injured, Nick Foles will take over. And if Foles gets injured, the quarterback will be anyone but Matt Ryan. Ryan is done. Hes out. He wont play again, for reasons rooted in his contract. Put simply, once the team decided [more]
(Photo: Michael Stewart/FilmMagic/Getty)

By Kathleen Hou

Getting a tan is hard. If youre doing it the safe way, it can require marinating in the unpleasant odor of DHA and testing dozens of self-tanners, and then theres still a chance you could wind up looking like Donald Trump. Even tanning the old-fashioned way isnt as simple as laying out. You need the discipline to lay still like broccoli and the wisdom to navigate the fine line between tanning and burning.



Related: How to Get Flawless, Smooth Legs This Summer



Heres where leg makeup comes to the rescue. These tinted body lotions give you all the benefits of tanning  for one day only (or until your next shower). There are dozens of these bronze-tinted body moisturizers on the market, all which vary in shine, glitter, ease of use, and results. I tested eight  and here are the best and the worst.

Scott Barnes Body Bling, $42

(Photo: Roger Cabello)



Jennifer Lopez spent most of the 2000s covered in Body Bling, a body-shine product created by her makeup artist at the time, Scott Barnes. (They infamously had a terrible falling out in which Lopez accused Barnes of selling tabloid secrets.) She was contoured and strobed before either one was even a thing, and her body perennially gleamed thanks to this stuff. The good thing about Body Bling is that it will give you that exact glow. A little bit bronzes you without obvious sparkles or glitter, making you feel like you, too, were part of that infamous BAffleck yacht moment.

Related: The First Lady Who Made Her Own Contraband Makeup



But be warned: This glow is really intense, with a spotlightlike shine. Also, without a makeup artist on hand to reapply it every five minutes, the glow disappears, so you have to keep reaching for it again and again. It is the Sisyphus of body-glow products. And if you have white furniture or sheets, dont even go near them with this stuff. If you arent as olive-skinned as J.Lo, try the Platinum, which will still make you about five degrees tanner.

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Nars Monoi Body Glow, $59

When I was a teen pouring over fashion magazines, I read that Nars Body Glow was responsible for giving models a sexy glow on the runway. But what they left out is that this body oil will make you smell like youre living your best life on a private island  its scented with monoi oil, the indigenous oil to Motu Tane, the actual private island purchased by Mr. Nars following the sale of Nars to Shiseido. The formula is a bit sheer but not glittery. If you are naturally pale, this wont give you that much additional color. But it glows particularly nicely on those with olive or darker skin tones.

Votre Vu Silk Stockings, $34

This is a nice glowtion  glowy lotion  that goes on like an easy moisturizer, making it easy to make yourself four gentle shades tanner with very little effort. The formula isnt glittery, and it blends easily, even across the palest of skin. I really like this one because it blends easily, without any streaks, obvious sparkles, or excess shine. It also doesnt rub off or smell particularly strong. Start with this one if you are a leg-makeup beginner  you can see what it looks like tested here.

M.A.C Studio Face and Body, $27

Related: Heres How You Can Glow for Under $10



If you need honest-to-goodness foundation for your legs, this is the thing for you. I bruise like a tomato, and often wake up in the morning with mysterious greenish marks that I dont recall getting. This is what I dab on my bruised spots when I need to actually conceal  and not just tint  my bruises. It can be a little flat in texture, so its nice to blend with an oil or add any of these other body-glow products on top for a bit of dimension.

Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs, $12.99

This is the best drugstore option and a favorite of Kim Kardashian, who used it to cover up her psoriasis. It gives you that Kate Middletoninsheerstockingslook without making your legs look too perfect. While it has a sheen, it doesnt have glitter in it. Depending on what shade you use, it can make you look more tan (maybe a lot more tan), but it mostly evens out the skin tone on your legs. If you use the spray, make sure you hold the bottle at least six inches away from your skin so that the product comes out in a fine mist for even application.

Tom Ford Shimmering Body Oil, $98

Related: Shimmering Beauty Looks Inspired by Couture



This body oil is very, very, very sparkly, like Robert Pattinson in Twilight in a field. And it doesnt add much color. But I love it because it smells so, so, so good. It smells like hot skin in St. Tropez mixed with expensive coconut sunscreen on a yacht. This product falls under the category of ridiculously sexy Tom Ford products that offer little practical use in my daily life  one of my favorite categories of beauty products.

Charlotte Tilbury Supermodel Glow, $65

Since Supermodel Glow is a Charlotte Tilbury product, you can assume that its already been tried and tested on many of her famous clients from Amal Clooney to Kate Moss. Good job on the user-acceptance testing for this product, Charlotte, because its pretty idiot-proof. A tinted body lotion in ambery, glittery caramel, its dispensed via a roller to deliver what she calls that annoying Brazilian tan. A natural-looking Brazilian tan is not really within the realm of possibility for someone like me, whose foundation shades often contain the words honey or beige. But after rolling this slightly shimmery, totally non-sticky lotion over my legs, I did look annoyingly like Id been somewhere tropical for a couple days.

Pretty Peaushun, $29

Related: A Spanish Makeup Artist on American Beauty Risks



Legend goes that celebrity makeup artist Bethany Karlyn used to carry around a homemade Tupperware container of body makeup to photo shoots for clients like Tracy Anderson and Gwyneth Paltrow, until they urged her to make it a sellable product. She listened, and Pretty Peaushun is the result. If your winter felt like an endless series of Leg Days, youre going to love this. The dewy, tinted moisturizer glides over your muscles, making them look more toned and defined. Think of it as a much more subtle version of the pre-competition body-builder tan.



Compared to all the other products on this roundup, this really counts as strobing for your body  the formula contains actual light-reflecting particles that arent glittery. The only negative is that the effect isnt subtle, but your legs will look amazing, so who cares? It comes in several colors, requires little energy to blend, dries quickly, and doesnt rub off.

More from The Cut:

5 Tricks to Learn From the Adele Makeup Tutorial



How to Get Your Body Caftan-Ready for Summer



New Yorks Chicest 68-Year-Old Woman on Why Shes Happily Single



How 7 Models Hide Sweat in the Summer



22 Intimate Lost Photos of Marilyn Monroe


Note: This article is courtesy of Iris.xyz

By Rick Kahler

There he is, our South African guide whispered excitedly. About 200 feet away stood a black rhino, the rarest and most aggressive of the rhinos. The rhino focused his full attention on us as he repeatedly took a few steps and stopped. After several minutes, he moved so a bush blocked our view of him. Ok, he is using the bush as a cover and is probably going to charge. We need to leave. Start walking backward and keep your eyes in the direction where you saw the rhino.

As I started backing up as fast as I could, the guide barked in his loudest whisper, Dont run! If he charges drop to the ground; he wont trample you. I cant say I was comforted by this bit of information.

This experience taught me a rhino on the horizon represents a real and present danger. Ignoring it can result in paying a heavy price.

At this years FPA Retreat, one of the speakers was Michele Wucker, author of The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Respond to the Obvious Dangers We Ignore. She said that when it comes to financial planning and investments, rhinos loom everywhere. Wucker described these dangers as different from elephants and black swans.

The elephant in the room is something we see but no one is going to do anything about. Its not going anywhere, and we will construct our life to accommodate it. Common financial elephants that I see are adult children financially dependent upon enabling parents, a financially controlling spouse with a history of poor financial decisions, or a family member addicted to spending,

A black swan is unpredictable, something we dont even see. It can be the loss of a job, the sudden death of a breadwinner, or the collapse of a highly rated financial institution.

The grey rhino is something you know is stalking you. You know it is coming, but you dont know when. The trick to avoiding a rhino is recognizing and acting on the obvious dangers we ignore.

Click here to read the full story on Iris.xyz.

Story continues

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hurdles

Wall Street regulation may soon get a lot more expensive.

In his weekly "Greed and Fear" newsletter, out Thursday, CLSA's Christopher Wood wrote on recent commentary from Federal Reserve governors Daniel Tarullo and Jerome Powell, who said the big banks may have to bolster their balance sheets to prevent possible shocks.

It could mean that the banks that pose the biggest risks to the overall financial system would need to maintain even more equity to pass their stress tests.

Already, the Fed's stress tests cost banks up to $400 million every year, Wood said.

He argued that if regulation intensifies, even as the Fed expects banks to remain healthy enough to avoid a systemwide financial crash, it may be logical to bring back an act that was repealed over a decade ago.

The Glass-Steagall Act, passed in 1933 and repealed in 1999, prohibited commercial banks from simultaneously engaging in investment banking.

"Such deregulation only makes sense if banks are allowed to fail, or at least bank bond holders are forced to lose money," Wood said.

He added:

As it is clear that the current conventional wisdom of the Davos mob remains against allowing capitalism to work in banking, it follows logically that the business of deposit taking should be separated completely from investment banking using the term in its broadest sense, in what would amount to the re-enactment of a modern Glass Steagall.

But rather than taking that simple but fundamental step, the regulators keep adding on more and more rules when the only beneficiaries are the rising number of employees in the compliance compartment and the related apparatchiks processing stress tests."

One point is clear. The more dysfunctional these larger financial organizations become, the more likely that there will be a return to that old model in financial services before Big Bang. That was the private partnership where partners capital was at risk.

Wood isn't going as far as arguing that the big banks should be broken up. As Powell said, the aim of the proposal is to raise capital requirements to the point where banks themselves ask the question of whether they are too big.

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What Wood sees is a contradiction between more expensive regulation and the expectation that commercial banks should be freely engaged in volatile financial markets.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the capital-requirement change may be proposed later this year and likely won't kick in before 2018. But banks would have to start making the adjustments before then.

NOW WATCH: The Big Bang is not the beginning of our universe  its actually the end of something else entirely





More From Business Insider


Bindi Irwin is adorably gliding into her "rebellious" phase!

On Friday, the 17-year-old Dancing with the Stars winner Instagrammed a photo of herself behind a "do not enter"sign, proving that she has a bit of a wild side.

"Everyone always asked when my rebellious years would hit," she wrote. "Well, now you know."

EXCLUSIVE: Bindi Irwin Talks Support from 'DWTS' Family, Calls Boyfriend 'One of the Kindest People She's Ever Met'

Barring this one "rebellious" moment, Bindi is a responsible teenage conservationist. She works at the Australia Zoo in Queensland, Australia, where she lives with her mother and younger brother.

When she's not working, Bindi likes spending time with her boyfriend, Chandler Powell. She posted a sweet message to the wakeboarder on Instagram earlier this week, before she headed back home to Australia.

"[Three] weeks of adventure everywhere from LA to the Oregon Coast. I miss your puns and hugs but I'll see you again in a couple months. I hope your trip to Kansas is wonderful," she wrote.

Find out more about the Bindi's boyfriend in the video below.

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Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f113105%2fstevie

Stevie  a blind rescue cat  just so happens to be an expert hiker.

On April 26, Stevie  along with her human, Patrick Corr, and his twin brother, Eoghan  decided to make a difference by climbing Ireland's highest mountain to raise money for local animal shelters.

SEE ALSO: 16 cats that are absolutely terrible at hide-and-seek

According to Corr's recent blog post for Bored Panda, he adopted Stevie from a local shelter in Cork, Ireland about four years ago. Ever since, the two have wanted to "give back to the people who make it their lifes work to helping animals in need."

Corr, along with his brother and Stevie the cat decided to go on a sponsored hike up Carrauntoohil  a 3,406-foot mountain in County Kerry, Ireland  to raise money for local animal shelters in their area.

To further inspire others, Corr decided to record their journey and post it on YouTube to spread the message that though "sometimes life faces you with many obstacles and the way always isn't clear" we have to remember to "keep going" because "anything is possible."

In the video description, Corr explained that the trio set out on their journey after many months of planning and tons of support from family and friends. He wrote that they "took four cameras (including a Canon C100, Canon 700D, Polaroid Cube, Nikon Coolpix) with 6 bags of gear," and even ended up camping overnight after heavy fog obstructed their visibility.

Despite the obstacles, their trip was a success...

They met friends

They ate snacks

They enjoyed nature

As a result of their hike, they ended up raising over 1,500 ($1,700) for animals in need, like Stevie.

You can see the finished product, entitled, "Anything Is Possible" below:

Mashable has reached out to Corr for comment.
Beirut (AFP) - Suicide bombers struck outside a Shiite shrine near Syria's capital Saturday, leaving at least 20 people dead, a monitor said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The official SANA news agency said two suicide bombers, one in a car, attacked the entrance to the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, which is revered by Shiites around the world.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said at least 20 people were killed, including 13 civilians, and more than 30 wounded in the blasts.

SANA gave a toll of at least 12 dead and 55 wounded.

IS claimed the attack via its Amaq news agency, saying it was carried out by three suicide bombers.

The shrine, around 10 kilometres (six miles) south of the centre of Damascus, is heavily guarded by pro-government forces but has still been the target of several jihadist attacks, including those claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Syria's official Al-Ikhbariya channel showed images from the scene of burned-out cars billowing with plumes of black smoke.

Firefighters battled to extinguish the flames as shop signs lay in the street.

The last attack on Sayyida Zeinab on April 25 killed at least seven and wounded dozens.

A string of IS bombings near the shrine in February left 134 people dead, most of them civilians, according to the Observatory.

And in January, another attack claimed by IS killed 70 people.

Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah cited the threat to Sayyida Zeinab as a principal reason for its intervention in Syria's civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad.

The shrine contains the grave of Zeinab, a venerated granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed, and is renowned for its glistening golden, onion-shaped dome.
(Updates with protests against Temer)

By Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA, June 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's Dilma Rousseff said she would call a referendum on holding early elections if she is reinstated as president, an offer analysts saw as a bid to sway undecided senators to help clear her in an impeachment trial.

If Rousseff survives the Senate trial, expected to conclude in August, the Constitution would provide for her to serve out her term until 2018, although she would be scarred and in a weak position to govern.

Rousseff's proposal for early elections, which emerged on Thursday, is seen by many political analysts as a way out of Brazil's political crisis because it would subject a political class tainted by scandal to a popular vote.

Rousseff's supporters have questioned the legitimacy of an interim government led by her Vice President Michel Temer, which is governing while she is suspended for the duration of the trial.

Protesters took to the streets of several cities in Brazil late on Friday in the first widespread organized demonstration against Temer. There were no official estimates regarding the number of people in the protests.

Most participants were from leftist parties or from movements such as the landless rural workers. Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took part in one of the protests, in Sao Paulo. He called on Temer to step down.

"Temer, as a constitutional lawyer you know that what you did was not right. Give the power back to the people and to Dilma and try to gain the Presidency in the next election," he said.

Lula also criticized the anti-corruption investigations against him and said that if he felt provoked, he could decide to run for President in 2018. He has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Just one in 10 Brazilians view Temer's government positively and a majority want new elections this year, a poll showed this week. The survey also showed that nearly two-thirds of Brazilians support Rousseff's impeachment.

Story continues

"We must consult the population to rebuild a constitutional pact that was broken by the impeachment process," Rousseff said in an interview on Thursday on government television channel TV Brasil.

Rousseff told a group of senators and political allies on Thursday that she was open to the holding of a plebiscite for the country to decide new elections, the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper reported.

The leftist leader was suspended on May 12 when the Senate voted 55-22 to put her on trial for allegedly breaking budget laws. To block her conviction and definitive ouster she needs five more votes, or one-third of the Senate.

Temer's camp has opposed the idea of early elections, which would require a constitutional amendment by Congress.

A wave of scandals stemming from a corruption investigation at state oil company Petrobras have buffeted his month-old government and weakened the resolve to remove Rousseff among some senators who voted for the impeachment trial.

Business leaders and investors have praised Temer for picking a strong economic team led by former central bank governor Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles to rescue Brazil from a fiscal crisis and the worst recession since the 1930s.

But his popularity has been undermined by policy reversals and allegations by prosecutors - based on recordings leaked to the media - that members of his Cabinet and the leader of his Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PDMB) sought to obstruct the investigation into the massive graft scheme at Petrobras.

Temer has canceled a trip to northeastern Brazil, the first travel plans of his interim term, in order to personally deliver a proposed constitutional amendment to Congress on Wednesday, according to two presidential aides who asked not to be named.

The proposed amendment capping public spending growth is a centerpiece of Temer's plan to restore fiscal discipline and get a handle on Brazil's burgeoning debt load.

(Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassy and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Frances Kerry and Andrew Hay)
MILAN (Reuters) - The European Union will start disintegrating after Italians pick the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement candidate as mayor of Rome on June 19 and Britons vote to leave the EU four days later, the leader of the UK Independence Party was quoted as saying. UKIP's Nigel Farage told Italy's Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Saturday that British Prime Minister David Cameron should resign even if the 'Remain' camp won by a narrow margin in a June 23 referendum on EU membership. Bookmakers still predict Britons will vote to stay in the EU, while opinion polls have see-sawed - though one on Friday gave a 10 percentage point lead to the 'Leave' side, for which Farage is a prominent campaigner. "We can't lose this referendum ... there will be a Big Bang of British politics: nothing will remain the same," Farage said. He said he would "destroy the old EU", together with 5-Star leader Beppe Grillo. "On June 19 the 5-Star movement elects the mayor of the capital and changes Italy. On June 23 Britain leaves the EU and changes Europe. We will trigger a domino effect. After us, other northern European countries will leave, starting with Denmark," he said. "The EU is about to collapse, disintegrating in several pieces." Municipal elections in Italy last Sunday put 5-Star candidate Virginia Raggi, 37, in the lead to become mayor of Rome ahead of the candidate from Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD). The race will be decided by a run-off vote on June 19. (Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
By Lawrence White and Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) - The former CEO of a software company is suing RBS for allegedly conspiring to push the business into administration to benefit from its sale, court filings show, in the latest case to allege misconduct by the bank's restructuring division. Scottish businessman Neil Mitchell is seeking 128 million pounds ($184 million) in damages on claims that Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) conspired in 2007 with co-defendants KPMG and U.S.-based fund Cerberus Capital Management [CBS.UL] to sell assets of his company, Torex Retail plc, for below their value. Mitchell alleges RBS pushed Torex Retail into administration - a form of protection from creditors under which external managers from KPMG were brought in - in order to force its sale to Cerberus and so rid its books of a bad loan it was owed by Torex, documents filed at Britain's High Court of Justice show. Mitchell also alleges in the court filing that RBS and Cerberus conspired secretly to ensure Torex would be sold for below its value to Cerberus. The allegations include conspiracy by unlawful means, breach of trust and negligence. "We have thoroughly investigated Mr Mitchell's allegations and believe them to be entirely without merit. Mr Mitchell has chosen to issue legal proceedings which will be met by a full defense," a spokeswoman for RBS said.A spokeswoman for KPMG denied it acted improperly, said Mitchell's claims had no substance and that KPMG had applied to have the case struck out. Cerberus declined to comment. The claims once again focus attention on RBS's Global Restructuring Group (GRG), a division being investigated by Britain's financial regulator following claims by hundreds of small businesses which say GRG mistreated them or forced them out of business. RBS, 73 percent-owned by the UK government, asked law firm Clifford Chance to undertake an independent review of GRG, which found no evidence for the allegations. Britain's Financial Conduct Authority has hired firms Promontory Financial Group and Mazars to conduct its own investigation and produce a report, originally scheduled for the end of last year and now expected to be published in mid-2016. The regulatory inquiry comes as RBS Chief Executive Ross McEwan is trying to rebrand the bank as the biggest supporter of smaller businesses in the UK. The court documents name former RBS Chairman Philip Hampton and former Chief Executive Stephen Hester as among those who represented RBS in its dealings with Torex Retail. Hester and Hampton declined to comment.Torex Retail, which sold software for touch screen shopping tills, went into administration in June 2007 after Mitchell and other executives at the firm blew the whistle on fraud they had discovered within the company. (Reporting by Lawrence White and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Mark Potter)
Earlier this week, Steve Hernandez hugged his mother for the first time since 1995  21 years after Maria Mancia returned from work one day to find her home empty, her son and his father gone, leaving no trace of Hernandez.



No photos, no paperwork. Not even his ultrasound from her pregnancy.



Their reunion comes as the conclusion of a years-long abduction investigation, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office in California announced Thursday.



"We contacted the mother and she was overcome with emotion and very thankful," Karen Cragg, a senior investigator in the DA's office, said in a news release.



Cragg continued, "Our committed teamwork paid off and we finally found Steve. To be able to return him to his country and his mother is an indescribable honor."



Officials allege that Hernandez was abducted by his father, Valentin Hernandez, in 1995, during a period of turmoil in the relationship between Valentin and Mancia.



For years afterward, the only photo of Steve that Mancia had was one she sought back from her family in El Salvador, which she had earlier sent them.





California Mom Reunites with Her Son, 21 Years After His Abduction: She Never 'Gave Up After All These Years'| Crime & Courts, Personal Success, True Crime, Real People Stories

Investigators with the DA's Child Abduction Unit pursued leads over time and, during the course of their investigation, the DA's office also learned that Valentin had died, though the office has not been able to confirm that.



A warrant for kidnapping and child abduction remains outstanding for Valentin, according to the release.



 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.



In February 2016 they received a tip that a Steve Hernandez, an American citizen, was living in Puebla, Mexico.



"We weren't positive we located the right person," Cragg said in the release. "So we used a ruse and told Steve we were conducting an investigation related to the disappearance of his father.



"During the conversation, we found several similarities in his history that matched that of our missing boy."



After "extensive coordination and planning," the Department of Justice and Mexican authorities assisted in collecting a DNA sample from Steve; and on May 31, his identity as Mancia's long-lost son was confirmed.



On Thursday, the two reunited, with hugs and tears.



"She had never given up after all these years, but had accepted the fact that she may never know her son," Cragg said in the release. "Maria never gave up, and neither did our office."
HEARST1

Getty Image

Hollywood is a copycat league, which is probably the biggest reason why the true crime genre is now in and continues to grow. CBS decided that given the success seen by FX, HBO and Netflix in this particular realm that its now ready to jump in feet first.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the Tiffany network will develop a limited series focusing on Patty Hearst, the heiress to the massive Hearst publishing empire who was kidnapped from her home in Berkeley, Calif. in 1974 by a terrorist group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army. The search for Hearst would last more than 19 months and took a sharp turn when she came to not only sympathize with her abductors but ultimately join them. Like the O.J. Simpson trial some 20 years later, the case enthralled the country, playing out on network news throughout its length.

Related Links:





The as-yet untitled series will be scripted, placing it in line with FXs hit American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, which aired this past winter. CBS also plans to follow in the footsteps of unscripted true crime hits like HBOs The Jinx and Netflixs Making a Murderer with an anthology series that will examine one case per season, the first focusing on the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. Plans for that project were announced soon after NBC rolled out news of a Law and Order-esque scripted anthology series of its own.

Hearsts case was documented in a 1988 film directed by Paul Schrader and starring Natasha Richardson. Jeffery Toobin, who wrote the book The Run of his Life on which The People v. O.J. Simpson was based, penned another about the Hearst kidnapping, which is currently being developed into a film by the FX hits writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)
DAKAR (Reuters) - Chad's former ruler Hissene Habre has appealed against his conviction for crimes against humanity and war crimes, a spokesman for the Special African Chamber that conducted his trial in Senegal said on Saturday. Habre, 73, an ally of the West during the Cold War, was sentenced on May 30 to life in prison for rape and ordering the killing and torture of thousands of political opponents during his eight-year rule. "The lawyer's commission have submitted the paperwork for Habre's appeal," said Marcel Mendy, a spokesman for the Chamber, a tribunal created in 2013 by Senegal and the African Union for human rights crimes committed during Habre's rule. New judges will be appointed and the appeal will take at least seven months with no start date set, Mendy said. So far, the court has only tried Habre and the case marks a milestone for African justice. It is the first time in modern history that one country's domestic courts have prosecuted the former leader of another country on rights charges. Other such cases have been tried by international tribunals. The verdict capped a 16-year battle by victims and rights campaigners to bring the former strong man to justice in Senegal, where he fled after being ousted in a 1990 coup. (Reporting by Diadie Ba; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Helen Popper)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China must act quickly to address mounting corporate debt, a major source of worry about the world's second-largest economy, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Saturday.

David Lipton, first deputy managing director of the IMF, warned in a speech to a group of economists in the southern city of Shenzhen that companies' indebtedness is a "key fault line in the Chinese economy".

"Company debt problems today can become systemic debt problems tomorrow. Systemic debt problems can lead to much lower economic growth, or a banking crisis. Or both," Lipton said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks provided to Reuters.

China, whose economy grew in 2015 at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century, has been grappling with rising debt levels and overcapacity.

Last week, the People's Bank of China warned in its mid-year work report that the government's push to reduce debt levels and overcapacity could increase bond default risks and make it more difficult for companies to raise funds.

Lipton said corporate debt in China stands at about 145 percent of gross domestic product, a high ratio. He singled out state-owned enterprises, which he said accounted for about 55 percent of corporate debt but only 22 percent of economic output, according to IMF estimates.

Referring to other countries' experience, he said that China needed to deal with both creditors and debtors and to address governance problems in both the corporate and banking sectors.

"The lesson that China needs to internalize if it is to avoid a repeating cycle of credit growth, indebtedness, and corporate restructuring, is to improve corporate governance," he said.

(Reporting By Alexandra Harney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
YouTube sensation and The Voice Season 6 contestant Christina Grimmie was shot and killed Friday by a man carrying two handguns, two additional loaded magazines of ammunition and a large hunting knife, Orlando authorities said Saturday.

During a press conference on Saturday, Orlando Police chief John Mina described the assailant, who shot and killed himself during the incident, as a white male, 21 years of age.

His identity has not yet been released.

Grimmie, 22, was shot multiple times at The Plaza Live in Orlando Friday night as she signed autographs for fans after a concert. She was taken to a local hospital and within a few hours pronounced dead.

Also Read: 'The Voice' Standout Christina Grimmie Killed by Gunman After Concert

This white male approached her and opened fire, striking her, Mina said. Almost immediately, her brother, Marcus Grimmie, tackled the suspect to the ground. Shortly after that the suspect killed himself.

The suspect is not from Orlando and traveled to Orlando to commit the crime, according to police.

Orlando police detectives are meeting with Grimmies family today and will provide further details after that meeting.

Also Read: 9 Christina Grimmie Performances That Will Break Your Heart (Video)

Detectives are going through the suspects cell phone and computer in search of a motive for the attack.

Grimmie, 22, finished third during Season 6 of NBCs The Voice in 2014, competing on the team of Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine.

She burst onto the scene via YouTube as a teenager, racking up millions of views with her renditions of hit songs.





Detectives are looking at his phone and computer and hope to identify a motive. His name will be released later pic.twitter.com/FF7lNiNxY6  Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016

Related stories from TheWrap:

9 Christina Grimmie Performances That Will Break Your Heart (Video)

'The Voice' Standout Christina Grimmie Killed by Gunman After Concert

Teen Choice Awards 2015: The Complete Winners List
The shooter who fatally shot Christina Grimmie was possibly a deranged fan, according to Orlando police.



"That would be speculation, but that's what it's looking like," said Orlando police chief John Mina, in a press conference Saturday morning.



Grimmie, a 22-year-old alum of The Voice, was shot and killed after her concert at the city's Plaza Live venue late Friday night.



Police say that the killer was a 21-year-old white male who had traveled to Orlando from elsewhere in Florida with two handguns and a hunting knife to commit the crime. After shooting Grimmie, her brother Marcus (aka, Mark) tackled the suspect to the ground, and the suspect then killed himself. Police intend to release his name "in a few hours."







At this point, police are unsure of why the suspect shot Christina, but believe he came specifically to kill her.



"There's no indication that he knew her, we're looking into that to try and find a motive for the crime," Mina said.



Mina said police are combing through the suspect's phone and computer for more information.



Mina also praised Marcus for "almost immediately" tackling the suspect to the ground.



"Very heroic actions by Marcus to jump in, and definitely could have prevented further loss of life," Mina said.



He added that there were no extra police or off duty police officers at the venue, just unarmed security guards.



Grimmie competed on season six of The Voice, as a member of Adam Levine's team. The Marlton, New Jersey, native ultimately came in third.
DUBAI (Reuters) - CIA chief John Brennan said on Sunday he expects 28 classified pages of a U.S. congressional report into the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States to be published, absolving Saudi Arabia of any responsibility. "I think the 28 pages will be published and I support their publication and everyone will see the evidence that the Saudi government had nothing to do with it," Brennan said in an interview with Saudi-owned Arabiya TV. His comments were dubbed into Arabic. The withheld section of the 2002 report is central to a dispute over whether Americans should be able to sue the Saudi government, a key U.S. ally, for damages. The U.S. Senate passed a bill on May 17 allowing the families of Sept. 11 victims to do so, setting up a potential showdown with the White House, which has threatened a veto. Saudi Arabia denies providing any support for the 19 hijackers - most of whom were Saudi citizens - who killed nearly 3,000 people in the Sept. 11 attacks. Riyadh strongly objects to the bill. It has said it might sell up to $750 billion in U.S. securities and other American assets if it became law. Brennan called the 28-page section merely a "preliminary review." "It was found later, according to the results of the report, that there was no link between the Saudi government as a state or as an institution or even senior Saudi officials to the Sept. 11 attacks," he added. The Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence is reviewing the material to see whether it can be declassified. Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham, who co-chaired the congressional inquiry into the attacks, said in April that the White House will likely make a decision by June on whether it would release the classified pages. (Reporting By Ali Abdelatti and Noah Browning; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Paul Simao)
By Alexandra Ulmer

CARACAS, June 10 (Reuters) - Venezuela's PDVSA unit in the United States, Citgo Petroleum, and Aruba on Friday signed an agreement to reactivate a 235,000-barrel-per-day refinery on the Caribbean island, an investment designed to help process the South American's oil producer's extra heavy crude.

The Aruban government reported last month that the agreement involves a 25-year lease to allow Citgo to operate the refinery, after investments amounting to at least $1 billion.

The "Definitive Participation Agreement" framework signed in Caracas said that Citgo will invest in the refinery and that Aruba will foster a positive environment for foreign investment, but did not provide details.

"We have the financing, Citgo has gotten financing to start works we hope will last 12 months," PDVSA president Eulogio Del Pino told Reuters on Friday night, adding the funds came from "international banks" in a project finance scheme.

"In 12 months we'll be sending diluted crude from Venezuela there, we'll upgrade it and we'll have a closed circuit of upgraders in the Caribbean," added Del Pino, who is also Oil Minister.

Even though PDVSA's financial condition is weak amid low crude prices, its subsidiary Citgo enjoyed some relief last year due to higher refining margins, which would allow it to direct a portion of its profit to Aruba.

(Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Girish Gupta; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes killed 13 suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants on Saturday in the southeast province of Diyarbakir, military sources said. The rebels were spotted by an unmanned aerial vehicle in the Lice region, north of the provincial capital Diyarbakir, the sources said. Warplanes also struck PKK targets in the nearby provinces of Siirt and Hakkari and in some areas of neighboring northern Iraq where the PKK has bases, the army said. Two soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes with PKK militants in Hakkari province on Friday, the army said. Southeastern Turkey, home to most of Turkey's 15 million Kurds, has been wracked by violence since the collapse of a ceasefire in July 2014 and the PKK's resumption of its three-decade armed campaign for greater autonomy. The government says 7,600 militants have been "neutralised" in the fighting, while hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been killed. Opposition parties say between 500 and 1,000 civilians have also died. Turkey, the United States and the European Union all list the PKK as a terrorist organization. (Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan; Writing by Seda Sezer and Ayla Jean Yackley; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) together with fighters from the Manbij Military Council besieged the Islamic State-held town of Manbij on June 11, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Heavy clashes between SDF and IS continued around Manbij while the US-led coalition carried out airstrikes on Islamic State positions in west Manbij, local reports said.

Other local reports said that 23 people from one family were killed in coalition strikes in east Manbij.

These two videos were shared by a Kurdish news agency show military operations near Manbij. The first video is described as showing the SDF are 1km from Itihad university in Manbij.

The second video is described as showing coalition-backed SDF forces attacking Islamic State locations in Manbij.

200,000 civilians have been trapped in Manbij since Islamic State took over the city in 2014. More than 30 civilians were killed, including 11 children, since the offensive started on May 31, the observatory reported. Credit: YouTube/ANHA
Copa America:Vidal scores match-winner deep into injury time

What a thriller! Two-goal Arturo Vidal handed Chile a crucial Copa America victory after scoring the yearned-for match-winner against Bolivia 10 minutes into injury time.

Chile were under pressure after a 2-1 defeat to Argentina in their first match. The first period in Foxborough near Boston ended goalless even though the Chileans clearly dominated the match. Only 34 seconds into the second half Vidal opened the scoring, driving home from 10 yards after a cross from the left. Bolivia levelled it up after Jhasmani Campos' sensational free-kick on the hour.

Subsequently Chile squandered several gilt-edged chances. It was only after a controversial penalty, awarded no fewer than eight minutes into injury time, that Juan Antonio Pizzi's troops wrapped things up. Vidal netted from the spot to hand his side a last-gasp triumph. Chile cross swords with underdogs Panama on Wednesday at 2 am CET, and a draw would be sufficient to seal a berth in the last eight.
(Reuters) - Creator made a brilliant charge down the stretch to edge past Destin by a nose at the wire and win the 148th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, the final leg of U.S. racing's Triple Crown series for three-year-olds. Joining in a thrilling finish was hard-charging, Japanese-based Lani, who finished third in the 1 1/2 mile (2.4 km) race, one lap around the massive Belmont Park track in Elmont, New York. Creator, winner of the Arkansas Derby, came from far back in the 13-horse field on a track rated fast as jockey Irad Ortiz saved ground around the final turn before moving out in the straight. Creator paid $34.80, $14.60, $9.40 for a $2 bet. Destin paid $9.40, $6.20, while Lani returned $6.60. Exaggerator, the 6/5 favorite, faded down the stretch to finish 11th. (Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Andrew Both)
Simferopol (AFP) - The authorities in Crimea on Saturday unveiled a bronze statue of a heavily armed Russian soldier to celebrate the peninsula's 2014 annexation from Ukraine.

The slightly larger-than-life sculpture in Crimea's main city of Simferopol shows a soldier carrying a Kalashnikov and wearing rounds of ammunition on his chest. A small girl hands him flowers and a cat rubs against his legs.

The Russian troops in unmarked uniforms who took control of the peninsula in March 2014 ahead of a referendum were nicknamed the "polite people" by supporters because of their tight-lipped demeanour.

Kiev and Western countries have refused to recognise the legitimacy of the hastily held referendum backing Russian rule and punished Moscow with sanctions.

"We are opening a monument to our glorious Russian warriors -- to the modern Russian soldier," Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy to Crimea Oleg Belaventsev said at the ceremony, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency.

He said the statue shows the "strength, calm, confidence and politeness of our Russian soldiers."

The statue was designed by a well-known Russian sculptor, Salavat Shcherbakov. He also created a controversial giant statue of Prince Vladimir who brought Christianity to Russia, set to go up close to the Kremlin.

The sculptor told AFP that "the Russian soldier embodies the Russian army, while the little girl represents the Crimean people" and "the cat shows that peaceful life has not been interrupted."

"There was one aim: to defend people, so there was no bloodshed," he said of the Russian troops' role.

A Russian soldier who took part in the annexation posed for the sculpture, Shcherbakov said: "So we had genuine information about the events, what the atmosphere was, what clothes they wore."

The sculpture cost around five million rubles ($76,500) to create and install, he said.

The cost was covered by private donations, RIA Novosti reported.

Story continues

The statue stands on the Republic Square close to the parliament building.

Civil and military officials, Cossacks and Russian Orthodox clerics attended the unveiling as part of weekend celebrations for Russia Day on Sunday.

"There were a lot of people in high spirits with children. There was good weather, it was a real event," said Shcherbakov.

Crimea's leader Sergei Aksyonov suggested that the statue should be a focal point for wedding parties, which traditionally pose for photos in front of popular landmarks.
The Dallas Love Field Airport was temporarily locked down following an officer-involved shooting on Friday, June 10. Dallas Police released footage of the incident that shows a domestic dispute between a couple escalate into the man lunging for officers holding a rock. The man was arrested and taken to hospital, according to Dallas Morning News.

The shooting outside the airports baggage area panicked passengers inside the terminal and caused delays.

Security camera footage released by Dallas Police shows the incident. Credit: YouTube/Dallas Police
(Adds name of suspect and in stable condition)

By Lisa Maria Garza

DALLAS, June 10 (Reuters) - A policeman shot a man with rocks in his hands who charged the officer after vandalizing a woman's car outside the Love Field airport in Dallas on Friday, prompting a temporary shutdown of parts of the facility, police said.

Dallas police in a written description of the incident said the suspect, whom they identified as Shawn Diamond, 29, the father of the woman's children, had according to witnesses told the officer, "You're going to have to shoot me."

Diamond, who had a rock in each hand, later made a "quick approach directly at the officer" and the policeman fired his handgun, striking Diamond, the police description said.

When Diamond got up, still holding one rock, the officer opened fire on him again several times, police said.

In a social media video played on several broadcasters, five shots could be heard, followed by a volley of several more. Shouts of "get down" were heard and an officer with a pistol could be seen.

Diamond was transported to a local hospital where he was listed in stable condition, police said.

Video images of the woman's car showed broken windows and numerous dents but police said she was not hurt. She had driven Diamond to the airport so he could fly home to the East Coast, police said.

Due to the disturbance, which occurred outside baggage claim, some people entered secure areas without proper screening, Dallas Assistant Police Chief Randy Blankenbaker told reporters.

"The airport decided to pull everyone back out of the secure area and recheck them for security purposes," he said.

This created massive lines and the incident led to problems with flight schedules at the airport where budget carrier Southwest Airlines Co controls 18 of Love Field's 20 airport gates.

As of Friday afternoon, Love Field had the second-largest number of flights delayed of any U.S. airport after Los Angeles International, at 50 or 14 percent of its departures, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.com.

Story continues

Southwest temporarily grounded its flights at the airport for about two hours, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Bryan Armstrong, a witness, told CNN the man who was shot had a rock in his hand and police ordered him to drop it as he walked toward them.

The officer who opened fire will be placed on administrative leave, under department policy for an investigation into the shooting, police said.

(Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas, Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago, Jeffrey Dastin in New York and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by David Gregorio and Chizu Nomiyama)


Credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic

To many, Daniel Radcliffe will always be Harry Potter--he did play the iconic character for 10 years, after all--but with previews of the Cursed Child starting in London, he is wary to attend a performance for a very thoughtful reason.

"I could be completely wrong in this, but I feel like if I went to see it that night, there's going to be a lot of Harry Potter fans there in the audience obviously and would that then become a thing?" Radcliffe told E! News at the Now You See Me 2 premiere in New York City. "Would it be more about them watching me watch the show or would it take away from the show. I would never want to do anything that would distract or take away from the show." Always a class act, Daniel.

He's not ruling it out completely though: "I'm busy doing a play here at the moment, but I'm not sure," he added. The play in question is Privacy, an Off-Broadway production that will run from July 5 to August 7.

RELATED: Watch Daniel Radcliffe Dress Up Like His Doppelg?ngers: "I Look Like So Many Stern Old Ladies"

If you can't make it to see him take the stage in New York City--Now You See Me 2 opens in theaters this Friday.
We dont know how to feel about chocolate beef (yes, really)

We dont know how to feel about chocolate beef (yes, really)

Ever feel like combining two of your favorite things, say chocolate and beef? Yep, chocolate beef. And why not, right? Bacon seems to be combined with chocolate and desserts more and more, so why shouldnt beef be next? Well, youre in luck. A chocolatier in New Zealand has just created beef chocolates, wherein the chocolate is at least 50 percent beef. And, good (?) news  depending on how you look at it  the chocolate may be on the market soon.

Devonport Chocolates in Auckland, along with scientist Mustafa Farouk, created the new chocolatey sweet, reported Death and Taxes. But, theres a twist. The chocolate beef candies wont taste meaty and will have the texture of a Turkish delight  yum! We knew we could turn meat into different forms, but whether we could actually fool people by making it look like chocolate is what we didnt know, Farouk said. When you try it now, you dont know what youre eating.

Okay, so beef chocolate that tastes like chocolate, not beef. Studies have shown the positive effects of dark chocolate, so perhaps this invention will be a win-win  yummy chocolate + protein.

Unfortunately, if youre hoping to get a big protein boost from beef chocolate, youre out of luck. To make the confection. Farouk took a lean cut of beef, made it safe to eat, and took out the protein, according to Stuff. Then, horopito (an herb native to New Zealand) and turmeric were added and it was made into chocolate butter before being handed over to Devonport Chocolates for its chocolate casing. Interesting.

Yet even with most of the protein having been removed, some remained. An official nutritional analysis is not out yet, but Farouk estimates that one square could contain approximately 25 percent protein, in addition to zinc and iron. Not bad. Im in.

So far when we have talked to people about it, and they understand its advantages over other chocolates, they get very excited and I think its highly likely it will take off, Farouk said.

Story continues

If you happen to be in New Zealand, the chocolate beef treats will be at AgResearchs site at the Fieldays trade show beginning June 15.

Lamb and venison could be next, which Farouk is now researching, and while the chocolates certainly arent vegan-friendly, its hard not to marvel at what food science can do.

The post We dont know how to feel about chocolate beef (yes, really) appeared first on HelloGiggles.
The Hague (AFP) - A 22-year-old Dutch woman is being held in Qatar on suspicion of adultery after she said she was raped while on holiday there, her lawyer told AFP on Saturday.

The woman says she was drugged in a hotel, and that she realised she had been raped when she woke up in an unfamiliar apartment.

"She was arrested in March on suspicion of adultery, which means having sex outside marriage," which is outlawed in Qatar, lawyer Brian Lokollo said.

"She has nightmares, and is anxious and traumatised," he said.

"Depending on the day, she is very afraid, or very angry, or she hopes that a solution can be found."

A Dutch foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed the arrest but said the young woman, giving her first name as Laura, has not been charged.

Daphne Kerremans added that "the enquiry is ongoing" and that Dutch authorities are in regular contact with Laura.

The woman's lawyer said the case concerns a trip his client made in March to a Qatar hotel where the consumption of alcohol is allowed.

"She went dancing but when she returned to the table after the first sip of her drink, she realised that someone had added something to her glass," Lokollo said, and then "she felt very unwell."

The young woman remembers nothing more until the following morning when she woke up in a totally unfamiliar apartment "and realised to her great horror, that she had been raped," he said.

Lokollo said she managed to escape the flat and seek help before going to a police station where she wanted to file a complaint against her attacker but the police refused to let her leave.

"It is totally inhuman," the woman's mother, Marian, told Dutch television NOS as she held up a photo of her daughter with long curly black hair, who had gone on holiday for the first time without her mother.

In phone calls, Laura "tries sometimes to reassure me saying 'I will come back home soon', and sometimes she cries and cries...", the mother, herself in tears, said.

Story continues

The suspected rapist was also arrested but insisted that their night together had been consensual and that the woman had even asked for money.

"She completely denies these accusations," Lokollo said.

"She and her mother have also been pressured to have her marry her attacker," he added.

A court hearing is set to take place on Monday and the Dutch foreign ministry hopes a decision on whether to charge the woman will be taken.

A 24-year-old Norwegian woman who brought a rape complaint against her boss was jailed for 16 months in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates in 2013 for so-called indecent behaviour, perjury and alcohol consumption. She was later pardoned by the authorities.
Essential collaborators for scrambling showrunners, and feared arbiters of actors worth, casting directors are responsible for identifying talent, unpuzzling ensembles and launching careers. As the actors they cast enjoy the lions share of the Emmy limelight, we put three questions to the people responsible for leading them to the stage.

The Casting Directors

John Papsidera  Casual (Hulu)

Christopher Nolans go-to casting director since Memento, Papsideras previous TV credits include Prison Break, Carnivale and Reaper.

Carla Hool  Narcos (Netflix)

Hool worked alongside Carmen Cuba on Netflixs Pablo Escobar series, specializing in casting an ensemble of Latin talent while Cuba cast the shows lead roles.

Barbara Fiorentino  UnREAL (Lifetime)

Fighting her own distaste for reality TV, Fiorentino worked with co-creators Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro on the satirical dark comedy.

Mark Saks  Mercy Street (PBS)

Having cast everything from Elementary through The Good Wife, Person of Interest and Medium, Saks has been behind many of TVs biggest hits.

Susie Farris  Mr. Robot (USA)

Alongside Kim Miscia and Beth Bowling, Farris was instrumental in casting the USA Network hit, finding Rami Malek for the lead role.

Cody Beke  Master of None (Netflix)

Responsible for the casting of such acclaimed contemporary comedies as Broad City and Difficult People, Beke assisted show creators Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang in assembling their versatile comedic ensemble.

The Questions

Which has been the hardest part to cast in your career, and why?

Papsidera: Its always the small things that inevitably get put under a magnifying glass. On The Prestige and Inception with Chris Nolan were two Asian roles. One was a magician and one was a soldier. We looked forever for those roles. The smaller roles are the hardest thing to do because they need to be alive in a moment, and then leave.

Hool: There arent a big list of name Latino actors. The same ones always come upSalma Hayek, Javier Bardem, Antonio Banderas, Benicio Del Toro. Thats something Im trying to change. In Narcos, Juan Pablo Raba is a great Colombian actorhe plays Pablos cousin, and Ive known him for years but nobody would want to cast him because he was not a name. And now, after somebody gave him a chance, hes working like crazy.

Story continues

Fiorentino: One of the toughest roles that I had to castit was getting the actor that we wanted castwould have been Alex OLoughlin in his first series regular role on a show called Moonlight for CBS, in the role of Mick St. John. It was only on for one year, but he was an unknown from Australia. It was incredibly challenging to get the studio and network to sign off on him. It went all the way up the ranks to Les Moonves, who, Im told, when he saw his screen test, within fifteen seconds said, Cast him. Hes a TV star.

Saks: I would say that on Elementary, Sherlock was very difficult to cast because we needed to find somebody who took you away from the preconceived notions of Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch. Jonny Lee Miller was my single choice. If he hadnt fallen into place, Im not quite sure what we would have done.

Farris: Obviously, Elliot (Rami Malek) in Mr. Robot was a huge challenge. He had to be complicated and cerebral, and a loner, yet interesting enough and talented enough to carry the whole show. That was really tricky.

Beke: In Season 1 of Master of None, we had an episode that flashed back and forth between the adult parents of Dev (Aziz Ansari) in present day America and their life growing up as children in India. It was a very personal episode for Aziz, as it mirrored the real life story of Azizs actual parents. It was important for all involved in creating the episode that we stay as culturally authentic as possible. Part of that would require casting a small army of young Tamil speaking actors to portray (Ansaris father) Shoukath and his family growing up in 1950s India. Now, Tamil is a language that something like only 6 percent of the population of India speaks. The idea of finding young actors in the New York City area who spoke the language was incredibly daunting. We soon realized that wed have to cast non-professional actors to fill these roles.

How long does it take to know an actor is right for a role youre casting?

Papsidera: Once in a while, somebody will surprise you with a choice, but most of the time I think you know pretty quick when they come in the room. Im a big believer that you get a sense of somebodys essence most of the timeits a natural, instinctive thing that I really try and rely on.

Hool: I usually know pretty fast. Usually with the first scene. Its just a gut feelingIve been doing this for a while, so you just know when someones right for the role.

Fiorentino: A lot of times when someone comes into the room in that first audition, you just know. That being said, especially when youre casting a television pilot, a lot of people have to agree with that. Sometimes its more of a struggle to get everyone who makes those decisions on board with a particular actor.

Saks: It can vary, and its dependent on the size of the role, and how much the character has to do in a given script. For series regulars, where youre looking for someone to either carry a series or be part of an ensemble, I usually know after hearing them read for about ten minutes, and speaking with them. But callbacks are revealing as well. Sometimes in a callback well give them additional material to read, or well give them some direction, and things can snap into place.

Farris: Casting is pretty instinctual, so I feel like I have a sense pretty quickly if the person is wrong for the part; thats always the easiest to discount. Knowing that theyre perfect for the part generally takes a bit longer. You certainly know if theyre in the realm. I would say after the first couple of scenes that show various emotions, Im pretty much there.

Beke: By nature, Im over-analytical in most aspects of my life. I typically need to weigh all options on the table and re-watch an audition at least a few times before making up my mind. And often there are intricacies you pick up when watching an actor perform on video that you miss live in the room  for better or worse. Its hard for me to imagine how anyone did this job before the video camera was invented.

After the Oscar controversy shone a light on a lack of diversity, whats the role of a casting director in ensuring equal representation?

Papsidera: For me, it goes back to writers, showrunners and producers, because ultimately, we can open up that box, but they have to take the present. A lot of it comes down to whats on the page. It has to start there for it to really change.

Hool: I mostly do diversityI do a lot of Latin projects. In my case, sometimes I give my opinion and say, What if this role was Latino? But at the end of the day, its going to be the producers and the director who are going to decide who they want to cast. We do give our opinions and bring in actors who would fit the role, even if they were considering the role to be white.

Fiorentino: The very first television show that I cast was The Shield, and that was a beautiful landscape of diversity, so lucky for me, I kind of came from that place anyway. And when shows are either set in Los Angeles, especially, or New York, the reality is that these are melting pot cities of all kinds of people from all different ethnic backgrounds. You also want to be true to that.

Saks: Color-blind casting, all the time. Saying, Why cant this role be African American? Why cant this role be East Indian? I find most of the producers, studios and networks I work with are extremely accepting of that, and have been for a long time. Im always questioning my producers: What are the boundaries here? What would work best? What can we do, what cant we do, and why?

Farris: I think the casting director is just one of many who need to be cognizant of this. Certainly, were on the front lines. There is a really huge push for diversity by all the networks these days and I think its good. But its best when its organic, instead of shoehorned in.

Beke: Every show I work on takes place in New York, arguably the most diverse city in the world. Its vital that I help build a cast that accurately reflects the great diversity we have in the city. With a show like Master of None, diversity is a central theme of the show  its a great example of a show that comments on the issue, not only with the cast weve built, but also the stories its telling. A show like Broad City deserves so much credit for breaking down the antiquated preconceptions of what gender roles in TV should be. I feel very lucky that I have the chance to work on shows at the forefront of the discussion, shows that tackle these issues with both humor and sincerity.

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'Mr. Robot' Casting Directors On Season 2 Casting Additions And Sam Esmail's Penchant For Rediscovery

'UnReal' Slips In Second-Season Starter

'UnReal' Renewed For Season 3 By Lifetime
Reports from Marseille suggest an England supporter is fighting for his life after an attack from Russian fans ahead of their match on Saturday evening.

A video on Twitter showed an horrific attack on an England fan while he was lying in the floor, taking kicks to the head.

Russian 'ultras' have vowed to target England supporters during the tournament and although neither of the men in the video have been confirmed as the fan on the life support machine, the brutality of the attack is shocking.

Police used tear gas in a bid to disperse England and Russian fans as they rioted for a third successive day after Russians launched a running attack in the Old Port.

Reports claimed an England fan suffered cardiac arrest after he was chased and beaten by a band of Russian hooligans.

The man, who was resuscitated and rushed to hospital by French paramedics, is said to be fighting for his life.
People are loving Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling" and making it well known.

From Victoria's Secret Angels to offices in Omaha, Nebraska, to the entire city of Memphis, Tennessee, videos have hit the web of people celebrating life by singing and dancing along to the hit. But a clip tops them all.

Justin Timberlake Sings on Little Big Town's 'C'mon,' Pharrell Reveals

Thanks to the residents at Santa Marta Retirement Community in Olathe, Kansas, we now know there are few things in life that can make us feel better than old folks singing and dancing to J.T.

In a new video titled "'Can't Stop the Feeling' at 93 Years Old (a Justin Timberlake parody)" Helen, Judi, Ken, Kevin, Marg and Martha, Maricella in the kitchen, Bryan at the bar and Sam with the waitstaff, among others, all teamed up for a life affirming video that shows them all over the facility just getting down.

Justin Timberlake's 'Can't Stop the Feeling!' Hits No. 1 on Pop Songs & Adult Pop Songs Charts

The clip also acts as a pretty good advertisement for Santa Marta Retirement Community. It has to be said, this place has some impressive facilities with water aerobics, a salon, some sort of happy hour situation and even a pond with a goose. If you lived there, you'd be dancing by now too.

"I was asked just to come and dance. Dance and sing to a brush," resident and participant Judi Stradinger told Fox 4 Kansas City. "I thought that will be an odd thing, but I like to dance so that's how I got in it."

Watch the video here:
Islamic State fighters stormed a police base in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, killing at least six officials in a pre-dawn attack, months after the government claimed to have defeated the group.

The attack in Haska Mina district in Nangarhar, bordering Pakistan, comes a day after three worshippers were killed and 70 others wounded in a bombing inside a mosque during Friday prayers in the restive province.

"The district police chief Shah Mahmood was martyred along with five other policemen" in Saturday's attack, Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for Nangarhar's governor told AFP.

"Eleven Daesh fighters were also killed and seven others were wounded," he added, using the Arabic acronym for the group.

IS fighters are making inroads into Afghanistan, winning over sympathisers, recruiting followers and challenging the Taliban on their own turf, primarily in the country's east.

But in March Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced that the Islamists had been defeated after local security forces claimed victory in a months-long operation against the group.

The group also intermittently airs propaganda through a mobile radio station, which the government claimed to have destroyed in an air strike in February.

Militant strikes have recently increased in Nangarhar. Those killed during Friday prayers in Nangarhar's Rodat district included the prayer leader and a child, officials said.

"An attack deliberately targeting civilian members of a community praying together in a mosque can never be justified and highlights the perpetrators' intent to destroy lives, and spread terror among the civilian population," the UN said in a statement.

The Taliban, which is in a much stronger position than IS in Afghanistan, distanced itself from the attack and no other group has so far claimed responsibility.

American officials said Friday President Barack Obama has ordered the US military to tackle the resurgent Taliban more directly -- in tandem with Afghan allies, ratcheting up a 15-year conflict he had vowed to end.
Philip Breedlove civilian atlantic council

On Wednesday, at the Atlantic Council, retired four-star Air Force General and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Philip Breedlove spoke about the mounting tensions between Russia and the West as a NATO summit draws near.

At July's Warsaw summit, NATO leaders will convene to discuss the future of the alliance, the possibility of expansion, and overall strategy.

Taking questions from the crowd, Breedlove, who entered military service nearly four decades ago during the Cold War and spent four years as the commander of NATO, explained the successes of the alliance since the last major summit in Wales.

"Mr. Putin may actually be a bit surprised at how well NATO has moved forward with the changes that were started in Wales," Breedlove said.

"The progress is measurable and demonstrative in the way that we have exercised and the way that the alliance actually came together very quickly to do things many thought they would never do in building the VJTF [Very High Readiness Joint Task Force]," Breedlove continued.

Russia bombing syria iran russia

"Putins No. 1 goal is to crack EU or NATO ... We have shown him since Wales more unity," Breedlove said, adding that if Mr. Putin is able to break apart the EU or NATO... he gets everything else he wants."

But tensions between NATO and Russia are reaching alarming levels. Despite NATO's unity, an increasingly belligerent Russia has threatened military action against Sweden and Finland should they join NATO, and the US after one of its ships made a routine patrol in the Black Sea. Meanwhile, the US has positioned not one, but two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean in advance of the Warsaw summit.

Additionally, RAND Corp., through war-gaming and analysis, estimates that Russia's conventional forces could seize Baltic capitals like Tallinn and Riga in as little as 36 hours. Though Breedlove acknowledged the veracity of the modeling methods used by RAND Corp., he questioned the conclusion.

Story continues

Speaking first about NATO's success in deterring Russian aggression or advances, Breedlove contested the notion that NATO could not defend its most exposed members on the Eastern flank.

nato training

"We can defend if we get early, decisive movements from our nations and our NATO leadership. If we get in front of a problem, which requires good, fused intelligence, indications, and warnings, and the courage to make decisions based on those warnings, I believe we can defend," said Breedlove.

At this point, a question steered the conversation toward Russia's military doctrine.

The Russians speak about, write about, and train to use tactical nukes as a logical and understood extension of conventional war," said Breedlove. But building a war plan for NATO that projects strength, unity, and determination, yet also includes "off ramps" and "opportunities for deescalation" of conflicts is an "art, not a science," Breedlove conceded.

Instead, Breedlove firmly put forward that the US must open lines of communications with the Russians who have "talked themselves into a frenzy" regarding war and the use of nuclear weapons, as an Atlantic Council member put it.

Putin Missile

Breedlove stressed that NATO should take the lead in establishing communication: "We have to, in a very determined way, we need to establish quality communications with the Russians. If we wait for it to fall in our lap were going to fail."

Toward the end of the conference, Breedlove reaffirmed Obama's statement at the 2014 Wales summit that "we will defend every inch of NATO territory," stating that the commitment to honoring Article 5, which essentially treats an attack on one NATO member as an attack on all NATO members, is as strong as ever.

Russia does understand power, strength, and unity, said Breedlove, offering some hope for reconciliation for the two forces that find themselves in the most heated conflict since the Cold War.

NOW WATCH: JOHN MCAFEE: This is why the US is losing the cyber war to China and Russia





More From Business Insider


Four FCB legends:Van Buyten: Every day was perfect

The Sabener Strasse, usually a hive of bustle and activity, is quiet during the summer break, but that is no reason for boredom: there is the EURO 2016 and a quartet of legends at fcbayern.de. Four Bayern legends answer four questions each. Today's legend: Daniel van Buyten, who is 38 years old now.

fcbayern.de: Daniel, you finished your active career two years ago. What are you up to these days?

Van Buyten: It wasn't easy for me to retire, but at some point you just have to make the decision. We can't play until we're 50 after all. I work for Standard Liege now. I'm the president's right-hand man, I'm in charge of sport, youth and pros. It's a good step for me.

fcbayern.de: How strong are your ties to FC Bayern today?

Van Buyten: Very strong. I played for Bayern for the longest part of my career. It was always important for me to go on and play for a club where I was able to clinch titles. I then joined Bayern, a club where it's not just about success, but also the whole family. No matter how far I'm away from Munich this tie holds. They invite you, they inform you. I'm glad about that.

fcbayern.de: You wore the Bayern shirt for eight years. What is your most beautiful memory?

Van Buyten: Of course it's always nice if you win titles at the end of a season. The 2013 Champions League triumph stands out in that respect. But I have to say that every day of those eight years was perfect for me. I had a lot of fun, made many friends, had three children in Munich. I'm very proud of those eight years.

fcbayern.de: Who was your toughest opponent in all those years?

Van Buyten: Franck Ribery. When he joined us from Marseille it wasn't so easy to win tackles against him in training. He's a little older now... (laughs) Seriously, in the Champions League in particular it was a special challenge to encounter players like Messi.
[Photo: Getty Images]

Today, the Queens official 90th birthday was marked with the traditional ceremonial display: The annual Trooping the Colour parade. The event, which this year included over 1,600 soldiers and 300 horses, has been attended by the Queen every year of her reign - except in 1955 when a national rail strike led to the event being cancelled.

Its a very prestigious occasion and one that almost the entire royal family attends. While Prince George and Princess Charlotte were absent from the carriage ride along the Mall and the parade at Londons Horse Guards, the two youngest royals did show their support for their great-grandmother by appearing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, along with their parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as the Royal Air Force flew by.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and Prince Harry join The Queen and The Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the #Queenat90 RAF flypast. #HappyBirthdayYourMajesty A video posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Jun 11, 2016 at 5:35am PDT

For the occasion, George donned a Peter Pan collared shirt, trimmed with blue, which matched his shorts. According to reports, it was a replica of the oufit that Prince William wore at Prince Harrys christening decades ago.

Last year, he was carried by Prince William but this year the almost-three-year-old was trusted to stand beside the Queen at the front of the balcony and looked enthralled by the display.

Meanwhile Charlotte, now 13 months old, was carried by Kate and looked adorable in a pink, capped sleeve dress and matching shoes and bow. Perhaps the little princess couldve done with a set of baby-sized headphones, though, as she seemed a little disturbed by the noise.

While this is Charlottes first experience of the Trooping the Colour fly-by (she was only a month old this time last year), Prince George attended the event for the first time in 2015 and appeared to enjoy himself immensely.

Five Years Trooping The Colour: The Duchess Of Cambridges Ceremonial Style File

Kate, Zara, Eugenie And Beatrice Kick-Start The Queens Birthday Weekend In Style
BERLIN (Reuters) - German lawmakers of Turkish origin who have been threatened after parliament declared the 1915 massacre of Armenians a genocide have been warned not to travel to Turkey and will get increased police protection, media reported on Saturday. The resolution in Germany's parliament this month labeling the 1915 killings by Ottoman forces as genocide has added to tensions between Berlin and Ankara. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that the 11 lawmakers of Turkish origin who voted for the resolution should be given blood tests, and has accused them of having "tainted blood" and of being terrorists. The leader of Germany's Green party, Cem Oezdemir, who pushed for the resolution, has also received death threats. Der Spiegel said the Foreign Ministry had warned the lawmakers against travel to Turkey because their safety could not be guaranteed. The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "It's unspeakable to know that it's not possible to fly there for now," Aydan Oezoguz, Germany's integration commissioner, was quoted by the magazine as saying. Other lawmakers with Turkish roots have also canceled business trips to the country, Der Spiegel said. Separately, the Frankfurt Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported that the 11 lawmakers will now receive increased police protection and further security measures for both their professional and private activities. "The threats against lawmakers of Turkish origin are unacceptable," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the paper. "Of course security measures will be adjusted if necessary." He stressed, however, that the majority of the 3.5 million people with Turkish roots who live in Germany were "good neighbors" and said the perpetrators were "isolated cases." Oezdemir told the FAS that he had received threats, reading: "At some point, your German friends will have forgotten that - we won't" and "We will find you everywhere." He also called on Turkish groups in Germany to condemn the death threats. On Thursday, the president of the Bundestag said threats against individual lawmaker were attacks on the entire parliament. (Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Dominic Evans)
The shooter who fatally shot Christina Grimmie was identified as 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl, Orlando police announced on Twitter Saturday afternoon.



Police believe Loibl  who is from St. Petersburg, Florida  traveled to Grimmie's concert in Orlando Friday night specifically to shoot her. He allegedly arrived armed with two handguns and a hunting knife.





Man who shot and killed Christina Grimmie @TheRealGrimmie is

Kevin James Loibl DOB 03/10/1989 pic.twitter.com/2D7ZIDhXCa a Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016





Loibl allegedly opened fire on Grimmie during a meet and greet with The Voice alum after the show. Her brother, Marcus, tackled Loibl to the ground, and Loibl then allegedly killed himself. Police say Grimmie died from her gunshot wounds.







Police said in a Saturday morning press conference that he likely was a deranged fan.



"That would be speculation, but that's what it's looking like," said Orlando police chief John Mina.



"There's no indication that he knew her, we're looking into that to try and find a motive for the crime."



Mina said they were looking into his phone and computer for further information.



Mina also praised Marcus for tackling Loibl, as he may have harmed others.



"Very heroic actions by Marcus to jump in, and definitely could have prevented further loss of life," Mina said.
Currency prices go up, they go down, and sometimes they crash. And just like other financial markets, currency prices are not immune to volatility. Should you be hedging your portfolio against currency volatility?

Chaos Happens

The first argument in favor of currency hedged investments is that chaos happens. It can occur at any time in any place and although theres sometimes clues, nobody knows when it will exactly strike.

Argentina, China (CYB), and Venezuela are recent examples of nations that have suffered severe economic setbacks because of falling currencies. Although these countries may seem like far-away places that dont personally impact your finances, theres a valuable lesson to be learned. What is it? Currency weakness and worse yet devaluation, can occur at any moment to any nation, including countries that appear to have the semblances of economic stability.

Hedging Works (Sometimes)

In my latest weekly podcast, I talk about how currency hedged ETFs offer a convenient mechanism for investing in securities abroad minus foreign currency exposure. For instance, the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) provides exposure to Japanese stocks, but hedges currency exposure fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and the yen. If the yen is weak relative to the U.S. dollar and Japanese stocks are simultaneously increasing in value, DXJ would likely outperform Japanese stock funds that dont hedge yen exposure like the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ).

Despite the many theoretical benefits of currency hedging, there will be times when these strategies underperform relative to unhedged strategies. Luckily for currency hedging bulls, this hasnt been the recent case in many global markets.

Is your investment portfolio built right? TEXT 33444 and TYPE Portcheck to receive your free portfolio checklist

The chart below compares the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ) versus the unhedged currency Vanguard Europe ETF (VGK). As the chart shows, the two-year performance of HEDJ has been around 15% better compared to VGK. This two-year outperformance has been largely due to the weak relative performance of the euro (FXE) against the U.S. dollar.

Story continues

HEDJ vs. VGK

How to Properly Hedge

Its important to remember that funds and ETFs that hedge currency exposure are higher risk and tactical funds that carry higher fees compared to traditional unhedged equity funds.

More importantly, the proper and only place for owning currency hedged funds  if youre going to own them  is within the limited context of your non-core investment portfolio. As I teach in my online course, Build, Grow, and Protect Your Money: A Step-by-Step Guide, the non-core part of your portfolio always owns non-core assets, which currency hedged ETFs are.

When investors take a non-core asset like currency hedged ETFs and use them as core building blocks within their portfolio, trouble usually follows. Why? Because it increases your financial risk and forces currency hedged funds to perform a function they werent designed for. Its far better to avoid these headaches by using currency hedged strategies exclusively inside your non-core portfolio.


A New York bus driver is being hailed as a "hero" and an "angel" after he "didn't think twice" in saving one of his passengers, who is disabled, from his burning vehicle Thursday, WABC and Newsday report.



Jean Jeune, a father of three who immigrated from Haiti, told Newsday he's only been driving for the Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) for nine months. But he credited both his job training and God for the fact that no one was injured in the fire.



He said his Able-Ride minibus, part of NICE's paratransit service for people with disabilities, had passed its morning inspection and showed no problems during his shift, according to Newsday.



But it was while driving through Plainview, Long Island, en route to bring Cindy March to her home in Farmingdale, that the bus began to smell of smoke, according to the paper.







Flames soon shot from the engine, March's caretaker, who was riding with her, told Newsday. With the wheelchair lift inoperable, because the bus had lost power, Jeune acted quickly.



"For me, it was the only thing I could do: Get her out. Forget the wheelchair," Jeune told Newsday.





Related Video: Toddler Survives Nearly 14 Hours in Car Submerged in Icy Utah River





"He wheeled me to the front," March told WABC. "He got me out of the wheelchair and he carried me down the stairs of the bus."



"I remember him rushing to unhook me, get me out of the wheelchair because I was strapped in ... and he bear-hugged me and got me down the stairs," said March, who has spinal weakness and narrowing of the spinal canal.



Jeune brought her safely to the lawn of a nearby school.



"She was crying. She said, 'You are my hero,' " he told Newsday.



"I don't think I realized the magnitude of what he did until the principal said, 'You know, he saved your life,' " March told WABC.



Plainview Fire Department Chief Robert Salerno told Newsday "it will probably be impossible" to determine exactly what caused the fire, because of the damage to the bus.



The state's Public Safety Transportation Board is also investigating, NICE told the paper and the incident remains under active investigation, a NICE spokesman tells PEOPLE.



Able-Ride provides approximately 1,000 paratransit rides each week day, the spokesman says, and under its current management (which began in January 2012) had not had a fire before this one.



The spokesman also tells PEOPLE that NICE will replace March's lost wheelchair. (The PFD immediately responded to PEOPLE's request for comment.)



Jeune told Newsday he planned to return to work the next day. Nassau County will thank him on Monday, and will name the day in his honor.
Hillary Clintons presidential campaign is spotlighting the controversy over Donald Trumps now-defunct seminar program, Trump University, with a mock infomercial for the program which is the subject of a class action lawsuit alleging it was a scam.

The biting video released Saturday references recently-released playbooks which detailed how sales-people worked to convince potential clients, even those already in debt, to pay for the expensive courses. Advertisements for the programs featured Trump declaring instructors were handpicked by the billionaire mogul, but he later admitted under oath he was not involved in their selectionand the paltry qualifications of some instructors and student complaints are now the center of a court case.

Step 2: Pay for Trump University at the amazing price of everything you have, the chipper narrator says.

Trump, who has maintained the university was legitimate, and has promised to restart it should he emerge victorious in the ongoing suit, brought the case to the center of the campaign conversation two weeks ago when he launched an assault on presiding U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel.

Trump argued that the Indiana-born jurist of Mexican descent was out to get him, and should be disqualified from hearing the case because of Trumps call to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Those comments sparked GOP leaders to distance themselves from Trump, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan declaring it the textbook definition of a racist comment.

We guarantee youll give Trump U a glowing reviewbecause well make you, the ad continues, referencing reports that some of endorsements for the course may have been coerced.

Trump University was a massive scam and nothing close to an actual school, a Clinton campaign official said. Preying on the elderly, encouraging potential customers to max out credit cards and drain their savings, and making trumped up promises about how to profit off of the housing crisis.

The web video is part of the Clinton campaigns emerging effort to brand Trump as a fraud who sought to make money off the disadvantaged he promised to help  with the innovative spot designed to stand out amid the clutter on social media.
As evidenced by malls and the Facebook walls of your relatives, those divisive gibberish spewers known as Minions continue to rule America with an iron fist. (Orderly queue for your snappy political quips, please.) These yellow fellows remain ultra popular and now theres a 25-foot silo recreation of one of the mighty Minions.

minionssilo

WANE News Channel 15

The woman in the picture above with the slightly more cylindrical than usual Minion is Kathy Stark. Shes lived on this rural Indiana family farm for 37 years and the idea for this unlikely sightseeing destination was sparked by her husband Jim. Instead of giving the silo a regular paint job, Jim proposed over cocktails that they turn the silo into one of the scamps of Despicable Me.

Sadly, Jim passed away at 73 before the project could be put into motion. His agreeably unlikely vision for a striking silo design would be put into motion by Kathy and a team of family members earlier this year. As you can see, its a pretty remarkable brand of revamp. Its one that Kathy believes her late husband would be proud of.

I think hes up in heaven right now, Kathy said, laughing and pointing and saying: See that silo down there, thats where I lived. That was my idea. 

The silos become a bit of a tourist attraction with people in the area wanting to see the most farm-friendly Minion in the Hoosier State. Kathy shared with WANE some details about the people that have been popping by.

Weve had everything from low flying helicopters to a guy on his lawn mower that lived in Decatur several miles away that was pulling his wife and his kid in a cart, said Stark. I thought that was the topper until the other day the Ossian Nursing Home came by with the elderly.

So if you happen to have a low flying helicopter, a lawn mower (with cart attached) or a vehicle for transporting the elderly, theres something you may want to see in the vicinity of Ossian, Indiana. We suppose bikes, cars and tractors may be do the trick too.

(via Entertainment Weekly & Washington Post)
Wunder Capital solar

A common perception of the impact-investing industry  that is, investing for a cause  is that you have to make sacrifices to put your money to work for a good cause.

Bryan Birsic, the CEO of Wunder Capital says this is exactly the wrong way to think about it.

"Impact investors want to feel as though the positive impact their money has is a cherry on top, a tie-breaker, or whatever analogy you want to use," Birsic told Business Insider in a phone interview.

"They do not want to feel like they're sacrificing return," he added.

Wunder Capital, the Boulder, Colorado-based startup that Birsic founded along with Dave Riess and Sam Beaudin  all ex-pats from the New York City tech and banking worlds  is a testament to that philosophy.

Wunder connects investors with solar projects that need financing. It's similar to crowdfunding, except investors say they actually see strong returns.

"Wunder provides a hassle-free way for me to add solar to my portfolio without having to become an expert in the industry," Matt Harris, a managing director at Bain Capital Ventures commented on Wunder's website. "Plus, it provides some of the highest returns in the renewables sector."

How it works

For a minimum investment of $1,000, accredited investors  who meet certain income or net-worth thresholds  can put money into one of Wunder's managed funds.

The funds, in turn, are used to give commercial enterprises, like small businesses, warehouses, and schools, the loans and expertise they need to transition to solar power.

Then, investors get returns  from 6% to 11%, according to Wunder's website  from the interest on the asset-backed loans.

The funds are deposited directly to investor's bank accounts.

"It's like a solar index fund," Ilyas Frenkel, Wunder's director of growth, told Business Insider. "And solar is growing massively."

Wunder was started in 2014 and recently raised $3.6 million of venture capital in a Series A round in March, Birsic said.

Story continues

Early-stage clean-technology companies have struggled to raise venture capital in 2016, so it's a big deal that Wunder closed a successful round.

Primed for growth

Birsic says that Wunder's focus on solar isn't only for environmental reasons, though that's a large part of the company's mission. Commercial solar is primed for growth.

Bryan Birsic Co Founder and CEO Wunder Capital

From 2011 to 2014, the market for rooftop solar panels in private homes more than tripled, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

The story is similar for larger-scale utilities and manufacturers. The market quadrupled over the same three-year time period.

But Birsic notes that the commercial market that Wunder serves  the middle ground between private homes and utilities  only grew around 25%.

Costs are dropping as well. The SEIA reports that the cost of installing solar panels across all market sectors has dropped 73% since 2006, thanks to federal tax credits.

"We like to think that there's this big underserved need," Birsic said. "Commercial should have grown three times or four times that these other markets have, so there's a big opportunity in playing catch-up there. And it helps these businesses to go solar."

As the only firm that directly connects investors with commercial solar projects, Wunder is breaking ground in the industry. Other solar finance firms, like SolarCity and Sunrun, focus, for the most part, on residential projects, according to The Wall Street Journal.

It's important to note, however, that Wunder isn't a hardware company.

"Hardware is commoditized. It's done," Birsic said. "It's just a winner-take-all market, and you need a billion dollars to get down the cost-curve to even have a competitive manufacturing facility."

Wunder is situating itself in the "services layer," built on top of the increasingly cheap hardware, according to Birsic. Their expertise lies in the acquisition strategy, actually bringing in the customers and getting them to buy rooftop solar.

"More and more these days, coal is becoming alternative, and solar and wind are becoming mainstream," Wal van Lierop, a former professor at the University of British Columbia, and the CEO of Chrysalix, a clean-technology focused venture-capital firm, told Business Insider over the phone.

"The key is that wind and solar have become very, very competitive," Lierop said. "Prices are still coming down further, so its very attractive to investors."

solar energy panels

Simple hubris

And for those still jittery about clean technology based on recent news about companies like Sun Edison?

"Sun Edison was just too highly leveraged," Birsic said. "Frankly, they got way too aggressive with their financial engineering. They were building projects off their balance sheet."

In other words, Sun Edison's crash was a case of simple hubris, rather than a failing of the solar industry.

"When a lot of people think clean technology, they think about all those blow-ups that happened," Birsic said. "You can cherry-pick a couple of bad examples, but if you put together a basket of solar stocks over the last three to five years, you've done very well for yourself. This industry is growing really quickly."

Lierop agrees.

"Sun Edison is a typical story of leadership that went under because of its own operations  it grew too fast," he said. "It has very little to do with failure in the solar industry."

Perhaps the most interesting fact about Wunder is that many of their investors don't care about the environment. They just like Wunder's returns.

"We have investors that couldn't care less that solar is clean power," Birsic said. "They simply like the risk-return profile. Understanding that is really important for understanding how the impact-investing market can grow."

NOW WATCH: A tech company made a new type of solar panel that's about to turn the energy industry upside down





More From Business Insider


robot humanoid dress catwalk

The investment world has a new haute couture.

"The 'House of Quant' has firmly established itself as the hedge fund industry's most fashionable strategy due to its high quality product," Credit Suisse said in a recent note to investor clients.

The note is being cute here, but what it is describing is a shift in the hedge fund world toward quant funds, or funds driven by computers and mathematical models, as opposed to those funds that are driven by human traders.

"As Haute Couture, these funds create portfolios from an inventory of tailor-made fabrics or style factors, stitched together with highly calibrated tools," the note said.

This is a reference to so-called investment factors, which are things like yield (stocks that pay out dividends) or low volatility (stocks that don't move around too much). Quant funds often trade these factors, as opposed to sectors.

"Todays premier Quant funds have moved beyond the Size, Quality, Momentum style factors popularized by Barra/MSCI, instead creating their own factors as new raw materials to drive their investment process," the note said.

These funds seem to have momentum on their side, enjoying a strong performance in May, according to Credit Suisse. They're also proving popular with hedge fund investors.

According to Credit Suisse's annual institutional investor survey in March, investors in hedge funds favor strategies like quantitative-equity-market neutral, while they are negative on funds that bet on corporate bonds and global macro funds, which take broad bets on the economy across asset classes.

Quant funds have slowly been taking over traditional Wall Street jobs, with an increasing number of top-earning hedge fund managers being those that rely on computer programs than pure brains.

Institutional Investor just released its annual list of the top-earning hedge fund managers in May, and six of the top eight were quants. That includes Ken Griffin of Citadel, Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, and John Overdeck and David Siegel of Two Sigma.

Story continues

Leda Braga, the first woman ever to have made the cut to Institutional Investor's annual list, is also a quant, while Bridgewater Associates, the biggest hedge fund in the world, now has a former Steve Jobs lieutenant as co-CEO and wants to extend "the systematized decision-making" used in investing into management.

NOW WATCH: These mathematically-sound correlations make absolutely no sense





More From Business Insider


Tehran (AFP) - Iran Saturday condemned a Canadian judge's order for Tehran's non-diplomatic land and bank accounts in Canada to be given to victims of attacks allegedly carried out by Hamas and Hezbollah.

"This decision runs contrary to the international commitments of the Canadian government," said foreign ministry spokesman Jaber Ansari, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

"It is also contrary to the statements of the new Canadian government that it wants to normalise relations" with Iran, he said.

"Any normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two countries requires a revision of the extremist and erroneous policies of the Canadian government."

The judgment, obtained by AFP on Friday, awards a reported $13 million to the families of Americans who died in eight bombings or hostage-takings in Buenos Aires, Israel, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia between 1983 and 2002.

Hundreds died in the attacks.

The families, led by the parents of Marla Bennett, who was killed when a suicide bomber struck at a cafeteria at Hebrew University in Israel in 2002, had successfully sued the Islamic republic in the United States.

The US court found that Iran was responsible for training operatives of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah, as well as backing the groups financially.

But those judgments remain largely unpaid.

"Terrorism is one of the world's greatest threats," Ontario Superior Court Justice Glenn Hainey said in his decision.

"The broad issue before the court is whether Iran is entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of Canadian courts for its support of terrorism."

The Canadian lawsuits were brought under a law passed in 2012 that allows victims and their families to collect damages from state sponsors of terrorism.

Canada lists Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Iran did not defend either the US or Canadian lawsuits.

The ruling comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government seeks to re-establish diplomatic ties with Iran, and following Tehran's detention of a Montreal professor, Homa Hoodfar, without charges.
By Saif Hameed and Aref Mohammed BAGHDAD/BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr asked his followers to stop attacking offices of Iranian-backed Shi'ite political parties that he accuses of corruption, after authorities said they could resort to force to restore order. Sadr's followers on Thursday and Friday stormed or attempted to storm offices of the Dawa party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) and the Badr Organization in five southern cities, according to the provincial authorities of Basra, Amara, Kut, Nassiriya and Najaf. The provincial authorities did not report any casualties during the incidents. Authorities "will stand up with force and firmness to deter the violators," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who belongs to Dawa, said in a statement on Friday evening. "Pressure on the corrupt political parties has to be done in a peaceful manner," Sadr said in statement addressed to his followers, posted on his website Friday evening. Dawa has led most governments formed after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, by a U.S.-led coalition in 2003, with major participation from ISCI and Badr. While Sadr also had ministers in post-Saddam cabinets, including three in the current Abadi government, he has led protests over the last four months demanding Abadi replace politically affiliated ministers with independent technocrats. The cleric also promised earlier this year to punish those suspected of abusing their official positions to get rich. Iraq, a major OPEC exporter which sits on one of the world's largest oil reserves, ranks 161 out of 168 on Transparency International's Corruption Index. The dispute within Iraq's majority Shi'ite community began turning violent when Sadrist protesters stormed Baghdad's heavily fortified government district, known as the Green Zone, for a second time, on May 20. Four demonstrators were killed. Sadr's followers have been staging protests demanding anti-corruption reforms since February. His rivals see in the demonstrations an attempt by the cleric to dictate his views to the rest of the political class. The Sadrists have not staged protests near the Green Zone since Abadi ordered an offensive on Falluja, the stronghold of Islamic State militants near Baghdad, on May 23. But they continued to demonstrate in other parts of the capital and in other provinces. (Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Dominic Evans)
AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for car and suicide bomb blasts that killed at least eight people and injured scores in a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency said. The Sayeda Zeinab suburb contains Syria's holiest Shi'ite shrine and is a base for Shi'ite militant groups from Lebanon and Iraq who are on the side of President Bashar al-Assad in the country's five-year-old civil war. Amaq news agency said that in Saturday's attack, militants detonated an explosives-laden car in Sayeda Zeinab while two suicide bombers blew themselves up nearby. Syrian state media showed footage of wide-scale damage in a busy marketplace. (Reporting by Omar Fahmy in Cairo, Writing by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing of a Hindu monastery worker who was stabbed to death in Bangladesh, a monitoring service tracking militant online activity reported a day after the slaying. It was the third killing of a member of religious minorities in the mostly Muslim country that the group has taken responsibility for in the past week. The claim was carried by Islamic State's Amaq news agency, Site Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based monitoring service, reported on Saturday. Police said unidentified assailants attacked Nitya Ranjan Pandey, 60, while he was walking in the northwestern district of Pabna early on Friday morning. "He was found lying in a pool of blood," district police chief Alamgir Kabir said, adding that no one saw the attackers. Hundreds of suspects have been held across the country after police launched a week-long crackdown on militants after a wave of gruesome killings. In the past week alone, an elderly Hindu priest and a Christian shopkeeper were hacked to death - both of which Islamic State claimed responsibility for - and the Muslim wife of a counter-terrorism police official was also killed. Militants have killed more than 30 people in Bangladesh, including members of religious minorities, liberal bloggers and academics, since February last year. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for 21 of the attacks since its first claim in September last year and Al Qaeda has claimed most of the rest, according to SITE. The government denies either group has a presence in Bangladesh and says domestic militants are responsible. Five suspected members of the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen were killed in shootouts after the woman was stabbed and shot dead on Sunday. Last month, police announced 1.8 million taka ($23,000) in rewards for information leading to the arrest of six militants of Ansarullah Bangla Team, another outlawed group they believe is behind the violence. Analysts say a climate of intolerance in Bangladeshi politics has both motivated and provided cover for perpetrators of religious hate crimes. The government blames the growing violence on political opponents linked to Islamist parties, that it accuses of seeking to create chaos and prevent courts from going ahead with war crimes trials related to the 1971 war of independence. The opposition party denies the accusations. Hindus and Christians make up about 10 percent of Bangladesh's 160 million population. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
MILAN (Reuters) - An Italian newspaper has been criticized for distributing free copies of an annotated version of Hitler's "Mein Kampf" with a paid supplement to Saturday's edition. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Twitter that Il Giornale's decision to give away the copies of the Nazi leader's political treatise was "squalid" and expressed solidarity with Italy's Jewish community. Efraim Zuroff, director of the Israeli office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, was quoted as telling Corriere della Sera it was unprecedented for a newspaper to use "Mein Kampf" to boost sales, while the ANSA news agency quoted Israeli Embassy sources as expressing surprise. But Il Giornale, a center-right daily owned by the family of former premier Silvio Berlusconi, said the decision to distribute the edition of the text, which includes critical notes by an Italian historian, aimed "to study what is evil to avoid its return." Acknowledging the controversy in an editorial, editor-in-chief Alessandro Sallusti said nobody could suspect the move to be an apology for Nazism and the global Jewish conspiracy posited in the book written between 1924 and 1926. "The concerns of our friends of the Italian Jewish community, who always have and always will see us by their side ... deserve all our respect," Sallusti wrote. Il Giornale on Saturday started selling an eight-volume history of the Third Reich, with the annotated copy of Mein Kampf free for readers who buy the first volume. A 70-year copyright on Hitler's book held by the state of Bavaria expired at the end of 2015, prompting Munich's Institute for Contemporary History to re-issue it as an annotated version earlier this year in an effort "to thoroughly deconstruct Hitler's propaganda". (Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Helen Popper)
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Jaime King believes lessons about tolerance should start young.

The actress and mother of two recently launched a gender-neutral childrens clothing line which she hopes will inspire acceptance and self-expression among kids and adults alike.

Its interesting how weve created these social norms that are incredibly stifling for our children, said King of traditional kids clothing. Our children should be allowed to express themselves however they want.

King teamed with Singapore-based, Swedish designer Kristin Nystrom of Gardner and the Gang for the organic, gender-free capsule collection. There are dresses that boys can wear, pants for girls, and the patterns are not gender-specific either. Anything and everything can be for boys and girls.

THIS! You do indeed have a Lion Heart @gbeloved Love our Jaime King X @gardnerandthegang sweatshirt dress on you!!! Available now on @gardnerandthegang and retailers all over the world! #genderfluid #genderneutral #gglovesjk A photo posted by Jaime King (@jaime_king) on Jun 8, 2016 at 6:19am PDT

(We) get an opportunity to send that message to children and their parents that its OK, whatever you want to wear. Youre beautiful the way you are, said Nystrom in a recent interview.

King, who starred in the CW series Hart of Dixie, said that message is particularly relevant amid the on-going debate over bathroom access for transgender people.

Our intention is never to be political, but we are speaking inherently to what the issues are within the world and we dont shy away from that. Like the fact is, we have major issues in regards to whats happening with the transgender community, said King.

I have several friends that have children that dont identify with the bodies that they were born in and that was a big reason why I wanted to do this. And I have since received incredible messages from them thanking me for doing something that to me I felt was  my civic duty to do.

Story continues

King practices what she preaches by celebrating her sons bold style choices.

Yesterday he wanted red hair so he spray-painted his hair red with glitter, she said of 2-year-old James Knight. He chose these white sneakers with gold spikes. So he looked rad. And all the kids are like James Knight! James Knight! at preschool because he comes in looking like a total rock star.  Its really amazing how at like two years and 10 months this kid is really specific about what he wants to wear, but I love that!

_____

Online: http://www.gardnerandthegang.com

___

Follow Nicole Evatt on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NicoleEvatt
Dakar (AFP) - Court-appointed lawyers for former Chadian president Hissene Habre said Saturday they have appealed his life sentence for war crimes and crimes against humanity handed down by a special tribunal in Dakar.

"We formally made the appeal yesterday (Friday)" against the "unfavourable" verdict reached on May 30, Mbaye Sene, a lawyer on the defence team, said.

The 73-year-old ex-dictator, who had declined to address the court throughout the 10-month trial and refused to recognise its authority, was not consulted but that would not hinder the appeal process, according to both Sene and tribunal spokesman Marcel Mendy.

The verdict against Habre brought closure for relatives of up to 40,000 people killed and many more kidnapped, raped or tortured during his 1982-1990 term as president of Chad.

The case was heard by a special tribunal set up by the African Union under a deal with Senegal, and marked the first time a country has prosecuted a former leader of another nation for rights abuses

The court's spokesman said the appeal process is not expected to conclude before April 2017 as the judges first have to decide on the question of civil compensation lawsuits filed on behalf of the victims' relatives.

"The decision is expected on July 31, so it's after that decision that the judges who will sit on the appeals court will be designated," Mendy said.

Meanwhile, the lawyers chosen by Habre himself, who had boycotted the trial on his instructions, said they will hold a press conference in Dakar on Monday.

Known as a skilled desert fighter and often dressed in combat fatigues to fit the role, Habre fled to Senegal after his 1990 ouster by Chad's current President Idriss Deby.

For more than 20 years, the former dictator lived freely in an upmarket Dakar suburb with his wife and children.

At his trial, witnesses recounted the horror of life in Chad's prisons, describing in graphic detail abusive and often deadly punishments inflicted by Habre's feared secret police.

Victims were subjected to electric shocks and waterboarding while some had gas sprayed in their eyes or spice rubbed into their genitals, the court heard.
LONDON (Reuters) - A group of Britain's most eminent scientists have endorsed the campaign for the UK to remain in the European Union, saying that leaving could damage research. In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, published on Saturday, 13 Nobel Laureates including John Gurdon, Peter Higgs and Paul Nurse said the EU allows scientists to move freely and collaborate in ways that would be lost if Britain votes to quit the 28-member bloc. A referendum will be held on June 23. The scientists also say that European funding would be cut if Britain voted to pull out of the 28-member EU. "Brexit assertions that the Treasury will make up this shortfall are naive and complacent, given that successive governments have allowed Britain to languish well below the OECD and EU averages in its research investment as a proportion of GDP," they said in the letter. "Science...flourishes in environments that pool intelligence, minimize barriers and are open to free exchange and collaboration." Most polls ahead of the referendum have painted a contradictory picture, with neither side establishing a consistent lead. A British exit would have profound implications for politics and the economy in Britain and beyond. The "Remain" campaign has received the backing of many well-known business leaders, big companies and banks as well as institutions such as the International Monetary Fund. Its "Leave" rivals have attracted less support from the ranks of big business. However, on Friday billionaire entrepreneur James Dyson came out in favor of Britain exiting the EU, a significant endorsement for the "Leave" camp. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
(Photo: Yahoo Newsroom)

[Updated Saturday 11 June 2016 22:05: A statement from MediaCorp VizPro, the musicals organiser, has been added to the story]



A same-sex kissing scene in the Singapore staging of the musical Les Miserables has been removed following complaints.



According to the Media Development Authority (MDA), it will be taking action against this breach of licensing conditions, which could range from a warning letter to a fine.



The scene in question involved a brief kiss on the lips between two male performers during the song Beggars at the Feast. Its inclusion in the performance was not highlighted in the script when it was submitted for classification, said the MDA.

Following a review, the MDA said it advised the shows producers that the inclusion of the kiss meant that the production now exceeded its General rating, prompting the producers to remove the scene to avoid an Advisory rating. The scene has not appeared in performances since 3 June.



On 1 June, Facebook user Alvin Ng posted in the We are against Pinkdot in Singapore group, stating that he had watched the shows opening performance and observed a gay kiss that occurred in the second last scene (the wedding dance).



This was never in the original production but now its been included here, said Ng in the post, adding that he had written to the MDA to complain about the matter. He also encouraged others who had seen the musical to lodge their complaints, too, otherwise theyll keep pushing the boundaries.

A subsequent post by Ng on Friday (10 June) to the same group stated that he had received a response from the MDA, which said it would be following up on the matter.

Responding to the matter, Moses Lye, head of the musicals organiser MediaCorp VizPro, said: Beggars at the Feast is a comical scene during which the villain Thenardier makes fun of the wedding guests. He gives one of them, whom he describes as queer, a quick peck on the lips. The kiss was intended to be comic. On 3 June we took action and worked with the producers to adapt the scene.


Tripoli (AFP) - Forces allied with Libya's unity government said Saturday they had recaptured the port in the jihadist bastion of Sirte, advancing rapidly against Islamic State group fighters encircled inside the city.

The fall of Sirte, the hometown of ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi, would be a major setback for the extremists who have also lost territory in Syria and Iraq where they have declared an Islamic "caliphate".

Apart from the port, the Libyan forces also retook residential areas in the east of Sirte, which for the past year has been the main IS base in the North African country, a spokesman for the forces, Rida Issa, told AFP.

The jihadists are now surrounded in a densely populated area of around five square kilometres (two square miles) inside Sirte where they are laying booby traps, he said.

Most of the city's residents have fled but some 30,000 remain, Issa said.

After a month-long operation to close in on Sirte, the rapid pace of the advance by forces allied to the Government of National Accord (GNA) who entered the city on Wednesday has surprised Libyan authorities.

"The battle wasn't as difficult as we thought it would be," one government official said. "Maybe we exaggerated their (IS's) numbers?"

The UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said Saturday on Twitter that he was "impressed" by the "rapid progress" of pro-GNA forces.

France also hailed the advance and called for all political factions to unite against IS.

- IS Sirte strength unclear -

But analysts have warned the city's fall would not spell the end of the jihadists in Libya, where they have fed on political and military divisions since the 2011 uprising that killed Kadhafi.

Foreign intelligence services estimate the extremist group has 5,000 fighters in the country, but its strength inside Sirte, which IS has held since June 2015, is unclear.

IS fighters tried to wrest back the port on Saturday in an attack that killed two members of the GNA forces, who repelled the assault.

Story continues

A total of 137 pro-GNA forces have been killed and 500 wounded since the operation began on May 12, according to a medical official in the western city of Misrata.

Libya's unity government forces have fought fierce street battles with the jihadists around a sprawling Kadhafi-era conference centre which once hosted international summits but now houses an IS command centre.

An AFP correspondent at the scene reported heavy street fighting on Friday about two kilometres (one mile) from the Ouagadougou centre.

GNA forces used tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, the correspondent said, while the jihadists responded with machineguns, mortar rounds and sniper fire.

"We are fighting between houses, on the streets, and we won't back down before we eliminate them," said one GNA combatant, who declined to be named.

Warplanes have carried out air strikes around the conference centre and other IS positions inside the city, according to social media accounts belonging to the anti-jihadist operation.

- 'American and British advisers' -

The operations command, on its Facebook page, said jihadist positions had been targeted by 150 air strikes since mid-May.

Formed under a UN-backed power-sharing deal agreed by some Libyan lawmakers in December, the GNA has been working to assert its authority but has yet to receive the official endorsement of the country's recognised parliament.

The pro-GNA forces are mostly made up of militias from western cities, notably Misrata, and the guards of oil installations that IS has repeatedly tried to seize.

Emily Estelle, a North Africa and Middle East specialist with the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, said an estimated 2,000 fighters, primarily well-equipped Misrata militiamen, were engaged in the Sirte operation.

The Misrata militiamen took part in the NATO-backed uprising five years ago against Kadhafi, who himself was found and killed outside Sirte.

According to Estelle, "American and British advisers on the ground are likely helping" the Misratans.

The forces allied with the GNA said on Thursday they expected to announce the liberation of Sirte in "two or three days", after thrusting into the city centre.

"We're encouraged by the progress they're making," said US special envoy Brett McGurk, whose country has said it has small teams of special forces gathering intelligence in Libya.

GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj called Friday on "all military forces to unite in the face of our common enemy... and to join the victorious forces".

But Ahmed al-Mesmari, a spokesman for forces loyal to a rival government based in the country's far east, described the GNA forces as "illegitimate militias, loyal to an illegitimate government".
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f11295%2fmilkyway

People around the world are losing the night sky.

According to a new atlas of light pollution detailed in the journal Science Advances on Friday, more than 80% of the people on Earth live under skies polluted by artificial light.

About 99% of people in the United States and Europe live with some degree of light pollution each night, the study found.

SEE ALSO: Cloudy nights now make cities brighter instead of darker

"There is a cultural loss" when people can't see the night sky, Fabio Falchi, co-author of the new atlas, told Mashable in an interview.

For most of human history, people have been able to look up around the world and see the clouds of the Milky Way glowing above them, but now, one-third of the world's population is unable to see our galaxy's arms stretching out in the night.

"We've got whole generations of people in the United States who have never seen the Milky Way," said Chris Elvidge, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information in a statement.

"It's a big part of our connection to the cosmos  and it's been lost."

More than culture

The authors of the new atlas  which is an updated and more detailed version of a light pollution atlas published in 2001  used satellite data and more than 30,000 observations from people on the ground to compile the report which, in digital form, looks something like a heat map showing various places where light pollution is terrible and not so bad.

The authors found that some cities are so light polluted that the people living within them never experience a true night.

"The most light-polluted country is Singapore,where the entire population lives under skies so bright that the eye cannot fully dark-adapt to night vision," the study says.



Other parts of the world fare better, however.

Story continues

Image: Dan Duriscoe

The Central African Republic, Chad and Madagascar have the darkest skies, with about 75% of the people in those nations living under light pollution-free skies, according to the atlas.

Light pollution is about more than just culture.

Studies have shown that harsh artificial light can have an ill effect on wildlife and even human health. For instance, some trees are unable to adjust to seasonal variations due to artificial light, according to a 2009 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Baby sea turtles also have trouble finding the ocean under light-polluted conditions after hatching because they use the light of the moon to guide them to the sea  a light that can become difficult to find when confused with street lamps and sky glow.

Harsh, white light can also affect a person's biological clock and natural rhythms, according to some findings. (This is part of the reason people suggest that you put your phone away before bed.)

Light pollution from space

Perhaps some of the best examples of light pollution around the world come from humans living above Earth.

For years, astronauts have been taking photos of cities from space, unwittingly documenting changes in artificial light.

Images of Milan taken in 2012, for example, show a relatively dim, yellow glow coming from the city, but a later photo in 2015 shows somewhat harsh looking white light emanating from the city. According to a report by Tech Insider, the change coincided with a transition to more energy efficient LED lighting.

Many cities have switched from softer, yellow light produced by high pressure sodium outdoor lighting to energy-efficient LEDs, which can give off a harsher light. But using different, warmer LEDs could help mitigate light pollution, according to Cheryl Ann Bishop, communications director of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).

"I really hope that this study puts people on notice of the breadth of light pollution across the globe," Bishop told Mashable in an interview.

Milan in 2012

Image: NASA/ESA

Milan in 2015

Image: NASA/ESA

A light on the horizon

But there is hope for the night sky (and those that love it) yet.

About 18 states and the District of Columbia have laws on the books to help limit light pollution, according to a report published in May by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

New LEDs on the market are also energy efficient and give off a warmer light than the harsh, blueish light favored by many municipalities today, Bishop said, so the IDA is advocating for their use.

The IDA is also working to make sure that more generations can see the clear night sky by designating various parts of the world as dark sky preserves, parks, communities, reserves and sanctuaries to aid in the conservation of the night sky. The Grand Canyon was just given provisional status as a Dark Sky Park, for example.

Our mission to preserve and protect the canyon for future generations is important during the day  and also at night, Susan Schroeder, CEO of the Grand Canyon Association, said in a statement.

We are so pleased to support this initiative."
Mr. Tran Huu Dong and M. Tran Thi Tinh in Tan Phu hamlet, Tan Phuoc commune, Lai Vung district, Dong Thap province became widely known after delivering quadruplets in June 2012.The babies were named after doctors Tran Thi Minh Viet, Tran Thi Minh Nam, Tran Thi Minh Hanh and Tran Thi Minh Phuc.

Prior to that, the couple had two children, a boy and a girl who are now 16 and 13 years old. Dong said he and his wife were very worried when they found out that Tinh was pregnant with quadruplets because they were very poor. However, the local authorities and social organizationshave helped the couple raise the kids. The wife, Ms. Tinh, stays home to take care of the children while Dong is willing to do everything to earn money. Dong does not have a stable job. Caring of six children at the same time is not an easy task, Tinh said. She cannot do anything else excepttake care of the kids. Dong said he had to work hard to support his big family but for himthe quadruplets were a gift from god.

The eldest daughter, 16, has to work to assist her family. The second boy is now an eighth grader. The quadrupletsare going to school this September. The couple wishes to have assistance from society because their current income cannot pay for their schooling. The quadruplets look similar. They are always together, everywhere. They are only four but they help their mother do simple housework. The parents wanted to dress the kids the same way but they could not afford to buy clothes at the same time, so each kid wears different clothes and sandals. The kids go to bed at 10pm. In Vietnam, there have been two cases of quadruplets in recent decades, one in Hanoi and one in Hung Yen province. Quadruplets arerare. The natural ratio is 1/700,000 worldwide.




Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela's embattled President Nicolas Maduro vowed no referendum on ending his term would be held until next year, amid mounting pressure as the country teeters on the brink of economic collapse.

Maduro's opponents are racing to call a referendum before January 10, as a successful recall vote before that deadline would trigger new elections rather than transfer power to the vice president.

If the opposition meets all requirements with their bid to oust him, "the recall referendum will be held next year. Period," the elected leftist populist said.

For months now, Maduro has faced increasing hostility, with opponents accusing him of driving oil-rich Venezuela to near economic demise and launching a marathon process to call a vote on ousting him from office.

Maduro's comments came after the National Electoral Board (CNE) announced it would take fingerprint scans from June 20 to 24 to confirm the identity of 1.3 million people who signed the opposition's referendum petition.

The South American country's state-led economy has seen its situation veer from bad to desperate, with long lines for basic items such as rice or corn meal, looting and black marketeering now everyday scenes.

Seven in 10 Venezuelans want Maduro to go, according to polls.

"We must respect whatever the electoral authorities" decide, Maduro said at a pro-government event in Caracas.

- Too late for referendum bid? -

Opposition members have said that they want the vote to be held in October or November 2016.

But the president insisted that they missed their chance.

"If they had wanted to seek a referendum this year, they would have to have requested it by January 11 of this year, for them to have had enough time, if all legal requirements were met," Maduro said.

The referendum petition was submitted early last month.

Maduro said Saturday the government would be suing to have the referendum request itself revoked, filing such a measure at the Supreme Court on Monday. He maintained that fraud was committed, claiming that the rolls of signatures included 11,000 dead people and 2,000 convicts.

Story continues

Once 1.3 million signatures are verified, the opposition would have to gather four million more over the course of three days to trigger a recall vote.

The opposition maintains that the CNE rejected 600,000 signatures for reasons such as spelling mistakes. "There are 600,000 of us who cannot even go and validate our signatures," said Juan Carlos Caldera, an opposition liaison who communicates with the CNE.

In Washington, meanwhile, the Organization of American States announced late Friday a special session of its permanent council on June 23 to discuss the situation in Venezuela.

The meeting was called by OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, who warned of an "institutional crisis" in Venezuela that requires "immediate changes in the actions of the executive branch."

Protests, looting and violent crime have been mounting in Venezuela as the country reels from shortages of food, water, medicine and electricity.

On Thursday, police fired tear gas to break up a protest led by lawmakers in the opposition-majority congress, who tried to march on the CNE's headquarters.

A brawl broke out and punches flew when the protesters faced Maduro supporters.

Maduro blamed the violence on his political enemies and vowed to throw the "provocateurs" into prison.

- New looting erupts -

In a sign of growing unrest, new looting broke out overnight in Petare, a sprawling, impoverished neighborhood in eastern Caracas, when residents descended on two food delivery trucks and 10 businesses, carting off their stock.

"People are going out and looting because they're hungry. They can't find any food," said Robert Arcila, a 22-year-old who sells eggs on the street and was nearby when looters sacked a truck hauling sausages and cheese.

"All of Venezuela's crises are converging," said Amnesty International's Erika Guevara, the rights group's director for the Americas.

Home to the world's largest oil reserves, Venezuela has taken a punishing beating from the sharp drop in the price of crude, on which its economy is built.

It is stuck in a deep recession and its inflation rate is the highest in the world.

Exacerbating the situation, a drought has dramatically cut output at the country's hydroelectric dams, forcing the government to implement daily power cuts and close state offices all but two days a week.
Thats right, I just used the words swag in a headline, conjuring up my inner 13-year old. But its hard not to describe this Mazda 6 wagon a such. The stance, the wheels, the presence, the colorseverything about this car screams swag, for lack of a better word.

This lovely, lowered Mazda 6 hails from Japan (making it actually an Atenza), and its been lovingly tuned, giving it a more aggressive personality, and some handsome lines. The most noticeable new features being at ground level.

RELATED: See Photos of the Mazda Club Sport 6 Concept

The Mazda is fitted with Vossens Flow Formed Series VFS-2 wheels; 2010 on both the front and rear. Finished in an eye-catching gold, this car was one of the standouts at the Vossen owners meet in Japan this past January. And for good reason.

Though it is wonderfully prettyeven in stock formsadly, you cant buy a Mazda 6 wagon in America. Its a shame, Im sure there would be some amazing aftermarket specials for a car like that here in the U.S. For now, we have things like this to keep our wagon fetish satisfied.

RELATED: See More of the All-New Mazda 6




BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she would raise concerns about Chinese steel production and a new Chinese law that restricts non-governmental organizations during a pending trip to Beijing. Merkel heads to the Chinese capital on Saturday for the ninth time since taking office in 2005 and she is under growing pressure from German industry and rights groups to confront the Chinese more forcefully. In her weekly podcast, Merkel said she would address China's new NGO law, due to come into force on Jan. 1, 2017, and call for the work of all political foundations and other groups "not to be too negatively influenced". The legislation grants broad powers to Chinese police to question NGO workers, monitor their finances, regulate their work and shut down offices. Merkel said she will also broach the topic of the steel market, saying that the situation was currently "very complicated" for all EU member states as China produces 50 percent of worldwide steel. (Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Mitt Romney criticized the 2016 Republican presidential candidates at his summit in Park City, Utah on Saturday, faulting them for Donald Trumps rise because of how they handled the moguls candidacy.

Their biggest failure was attacking each other and not the frontrunner, Romney said during a Q&A with CNNs Wolf Blitzer, Politico reported. Just politically, I thought that move was not right for them.

Romney, who was the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, has been one of the most outspoken critics of Trump within the Republican Party during this campaign.

Read more: Read Mitt Romneys Speech About Donald Trump

Romney specifically faulted Texas Sen. Ted Cruzwhom he endorsed in Marchfor praising Trump too much early in the primary process, and criticized Ohio Gov. John Kasich for staying in the race too long and dividing the anti-Trump vote. Romney also said Jeb Bushs super PAC, Right to Rise, spent too much money attacking primary opponents other than Trump.

But the former Massachusetts Governor also gave Trump some credit for running an effective campaign.

He played it extremely well, he said, commenting on the way Trump tapped into voter frustration. It was a very effective strategy.

[Politico]
For budget-savvy travelers the only thing that makes a great vacation even better is knowing you got a great deal on it. And, while this may be the cheapest summer for travel, that shouldnt stop you from trying mastering these must-know tricks for saving money on airfare. [New York Times]

It's no secret that there's a healthy dose of competition between airlines-it's obvious when they roll out the best new cabins or the cheapest flight prices. But these specific airlines go beyond traditional competitors to serious rivalries-here, the airlines that hate each other the most. [Telegraph]

Unfortunately us humans tend to mess with nature, and while wed love to move passed that theres a museum bringing it all to light: The Center for PostNatural History. The Pittsburgh museum showcases all the ways humans have altered nature throughout the years. [Vice]

Thanks to a new website and booklet, tourists visiting France can get a glimpse into how people from their countries are viewed. The French Tourism Bureau release a Talking Tourist(e) guide to help locals better understand their visitors. From the shopping tendencies of the British, to the attitudes of Americans, heres how the French perceive you. [Telegraph]

Lindsey Campbell is the Associate Audience Engagement Editor. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @lyndzicampbell

This article was originally published on TravelAndLeisure.com
Brazilian actor Wagner Moura opened up about the level of commitment it took to portray notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar on Netflix's Narcos during The Hollywood Reporter's annual Drama Actor Emmy Roundtable.

"It was the craziest thing I've ever done. I didn't speak Spanish. I wasn't thin. I wasn't the obvious choice to play this character," he said of landing the role and learning a new language to get into character.

Read more: 'Narcos' Boss on Season 2: Viewers Will Be "Conflicted" Over Pablo Escobar's Death

Moura revealed that filming required the cast and crew to move to Columbia to shoot on location, which proved difficult for his family life.

"In the first season, I didn't want my family to be there. I had to be there alone, so it was also really tough and difficult, as it was difficult for Pablo to be away from his family all the time," he shared. "Now I feel more comfortable, so I brought them there. My kids are there learning Spanish and going to school."

Read more: 'Narcos': Everything to Know Before Season 2

On Narcos' first-season wrap, Moura explained that it took a lot of guesswork for the show to come together. "We didn't really know exactly what we were doing in the first season actually, I think," he said. "Now, production-wise, script-wise and character-wise, we are all more prepared."

Moura explained the difficulty of filming a series based on a story with a known ending. "We all know what's going to happen to Pablo Escobar," he told THR. "I felt like when I finished the first season, I had to finish [the series].  It's like accomplishing a mission."

More Roundtables featuring comedy actors and actresses, drama actresses, comedy and drama showrunners, and reality hosts and producers will roll out throughout June in print and online. Tune in to new episodes of Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter starting June 26 on SundanceTV, with the premiere of the Drama Actor Roundtable on Sunday, July 4. And look for clips at THR.com/roundtables with full episodes on THR.com after broadcast.

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Nashville beat the odds, becoming a rare canceled broadcast series to find a second life on cable. A day after CMT announced that it has picked up a fifth season of the country music drama series, from Lionsgate and ABC Studios, ABCS EVP Patrick Moran talked about the deal during the Peak TV panel at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, TX.

There are a lot of people that spend a lot of time looking at the economics of these shows, he said. Its a giant puzzle that you put all theses pieces together that you hope covers the cost of the show and a little extra. Its tricky when each one of those line items gets tighter.

Its never easy to take a broadcast drama and make it work on a cable license fee, especially when it is a smaller cable net such as CMT. The dual streaming next-day play on Hulu for Nashville will help as will the fact that CMT has ordered a broadcast-size 22-episode fifth season instead of the cable staple of 10-13 episodes a year. Still, it was a close call.

Im so happy we were able to keep [Nashville] alive but the economics were tight, Moran said. Im happy we were able to make this work with Hulu and CMT.

Nashville has a devoted fan following similar to other series that found new homes after cancellation including Longmire and Community. That helped, Moran said.

I do think if there is a certain degree of passion for some of these shows it helps in keeping some momentum and some traction, he said. But it is a complicated equation and you do feel the pressure of it not making as much money and costing more.

It is unclear if all regulars on Nashville will continue full-time. When budget adjustments are made as a series moves from broadcast to cable there often are trims, especially for a show with a large ensemble cast like Nashville.

Related stories

'Nashville' Picked Up For Season 5 By CMT With Next-Day Play on Hulu

Story continues

'Nashville' Eyes Season 5 Pickup By CMT

'Nashville' Signs Off ABC With 10-Week High, 'Wayward Pines' Slow Burner In S2 Start
Donald Trump Holds Town Hall In New Hampshire

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week for Donald Trump  one that allowed the "Never Trump" movement to emerge from the ashes with some much-needed newfound energy.

The presumptive Republican nominee prompted sharp criticism from members within his own party when he publicly argued that a US federal judges Mexican heritage made him unfit to oversee fraud cases involving Trump University.

The comments were strongly rebuked by House Speaker Paul Ryan and condemned from all sides of the party. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell went as far as to recommend the New York businessman use a script more often and pleaded with him to change direction.

And as the week went on, the Never Trump movement  the segment within the party that coalesced midway through the primary to prevent his nomination, but to no avail  grew louder and louder.

On Tuesday, Steve Lonegan, former New Jersey chairman for Ted Cruz's 2016 White House bid, said delegates attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland have a "moral obligation" to "break the rules" and stop Donald Trump from securing the nomination.

One day later, conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt echoed Lonegan, imploring the GOP to examine what it would take to change the rules so that it could dump Trump at the convention. He likened the billionaire to stage-four cancer destroying the health of the Republican Party.

Tim Miller, the communications director of an anti-Trump PAC and former adviser to Jeb Bush's presidential campaign, wrote on Twitter that the GOP should amend the rules to allow each delegate to make an objection of conscience to Trump on the 1st ballot.

And in Politico's Playbook newsletter, Mike Allen said the scenario was highly unlikely to happen, but said it was no longer unthinkable that establishment Republicans may seriously ponder a movement to deny him the nomination.

Story continues

Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Warren, Michigan

In conversations with Business Insider, some of the movements top leaders said Trumps comments had ignited new behind-the-scenes efforts to stop the real-estate mogul from becoming the partys standard-bearer.

I have had a number of donors and elected officials call me in the past 48 hours who were very adamant just two weeks ago that I should get on board with Trump. Now they are all looking for options realizing they really cant control Trump, said Erick Erickson, the former editor-in-chief of RedState and founder of the conservative website The Resurgent.

There are three different groups all exploring options on delegates, he added. They are in separate orbits and have not combined, but are now starting to talk to each other and make connections. One of those groups consists of Rules Committee members.

Republican strategist Rick Wilson, another "Never Trumper," told Business Insider it was hard for him to imagine a scenario in which the billionaire isnt challenged.

Barring some miraculous change in Trump's character and discipline, it's practically inevitable, he said. The party is terrified, from dogcatchers to US senators, and the sense it needs to happen grows by the day.

I know a few folks who were trying to set up the floor fight before he got to 1,237, and they've gotten very active again, Wilson added, referring to the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination on the first ballot.

Wilson noted that 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker had all been floated as possible candidates the party could nominate.

Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In NC One Day Ahead Of Primary

Trump's supporters, however, laughed off the talk.

Asked for comment on the movements latest efforts, conservative provocateur Ann Coulter joked that the Never Trump crowd will figure out whats happening about 10 minutes into President Trumps inaugural address.

That would be hilarious! she wrote in a follow-up email when asked if she thought GOP insiders might actually try to strip the nomination from Trump.

Even some prominent conservative figures averse to Trump's nomination cast doubt on the new plans.

"I haven't heard anything more concrete than idle and wishful musings!" Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, told Business Insider.

Romney said in a Friday CNN appearance a rules change was "not realistic." "I think changing the rules and denying [Trump] the nomination is not likely to happen," the former Massachusetts governor said.

Virginia Republican National Committeeman Morton Blackwell, a former Cruz supporter who sits on the RNC Standing Committee on Rules and now supports the presumptive nominee, also dismissed the idea of stopping Trump through a rules switch as a nonstarter proposition.

This stuff, obviously is titillating  but its not a serious thing, he told Business Insider in a phone interview. If the rules were changed in order to facilitate the nomination of somebody other than Trump, it would be only after a ferocious battle at the Rules Committee in Cleveland, followed by a ferocious battle on the floor of the convention.

He continued, explaining:

That has to be debated on the floor of the convention. It would be a terribly ugly fight. I dont think that those who want to change the rules will change the rules, but if they did manage to change the rules, it would badly split the party.

Blackwell said that he had faith there are enough people of good sense within the Republican apparatus to ensure it will not happen.

Its a fantasy, he insisted. The veteran RNC committeeman, however, left the tiniest sliver of possibility open that the unexpected could happen.

Well, its hard to say never, he said.

Ill put it this way," he added. "Rounded off to the nearest whole digit, its a zero chance. Maybe 0.00001%. Its not going to happen.

NOW WATCH: OBAMA: 'I am worried about the Republican party'





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A chat about the new, more diverse American TV family (think Fresh Off The Boat and Black-ish) took a turn to politics Friday at the ATX Television Festival in Austin. Norman Lear made the room roar with laughter when he said he views Donald Trump as the middle finger of the American right hand, a comment that came after fellow panelist Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal interrupted the conversation on diversity with one word, yelling, Trump!

The conversation quickly shifted back to the importance of diversity on TV, and how creators work to incorporate it into their shows. This is the moment, this is the golden age. Because its the moment were experiencing it, Lear said in response to a question about why its taken so long to talk about diversity in television.

I think when we get various ethnicities, its the patina that changes,: he said. Were all kids and parents and brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles or nieces or nephews. We share the same basic human conditions. My bumper sticker reads Just Another Version of You, and I think we are all just versions of each other.

Turning to Fresh Off The Boat creator/executive producer Nahnatchka Khan  who was on the panel with Lear, Rosenthal, The Real ONeals David Windsor and State Of Graces Hollis Rich)  Lear asked if she found her Asian actors feel a burden to represent something that hasnt existed on television. Khan responded in the affirmative, saying, Representation is everything.

The topic shifted to Trump again later in the day, during a special conversation with Lear and his goddaughter, actress Katey Sagal. Sagal asked Lear about fear and worries, and Lear said he didnt worry about the success of his shows, but then he jeered, I am worried about Donald Trump! He likened the issues in politics now to the issue he saw in the rise of television evangelicals, specifically the way they mixed religion and politics.

Story continues

He was so concerned at the time, in fact, he created a PSA about it. In it the subject says, Theres gotta be something wrong when someone tells you that you are a bad or a good Christian depending on your political view, adding, thats not the American way.

Added Lear: We have a common identity as human beings. We humans are capable of whatever another human is capable of. Just know that there is nobody that is so foreign to human beings from you, that you dont recognize the common humanity.

Capping off a talk that also included brief discussions about his stint in the military, being humble, and having no regrets in life, Lear ended his chat with a proposition. So, heres what were going to do. Were going to go out and shop for a big bed and were all going to get in it.

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'Once Upon A Time' Creators Talk Back To Basics Approach For Season 6 -- ATX Television Festival
NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) -- Top-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and unseeded Alison Riske of the United States won two matches each to reach the Nottingham Open final on Saturday.

The quarterfinals were washed out on Friday, forcing the players to make up on Saturday in the Wimbledon warmup.

After overcoming trouble in both sets to beat Ashleigh Barty of Australia 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7) in the quarterfinals, Pliskova raced past Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-2, 6-2 in 54 minutes.

Still, Pliskova decided she was too tired to play her doubles semifinal with sister Kristyna, and they forfeited.

She will play for her fifth WTA title on Sunday with a 2-1 record against Riske. The American will play for her second crown, in her second final of the year.

Riske, who won a minor tour event in Eastbourne last week, overcame Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-3, 6-3 in the morning, then returned to defeat Saisai Zheng of China 6-1, 7-5, taking it on her third match point.
A judge in Oregon has ruled that Jamie Shupe, a resident of the state who does not identify as male or female, can now legally be referred to as nonbinary. According to CNN, experts think that it's likely the first ruling of its kind in the state.

On Friday, Judge Amy Holmes Hehn ruled that 52-year-old Shupe's sex, which was male at birth and female after Shupe transitioned in 2013, could be legally changed to nonbinary.

Neither male, nor female ... but nonbinary http://bit.ly/1PS3uBM #Paris #France #News

Nancy Haque, the co-executive director for Basic Rights Oregon, told the Oregonian that the ruling represented a "momentous day for genderqueer Oregonians."

"It's really exciting for the courts to actually recognize what we know to be true: gender is a spectrum," she said. "Some people don't identify as male or female."

After retiring from the military as a first class sergeant in 2000, Shupe began transitioning to female in 2013. Soon it became clear that female didn't feel like an exact fit, either, so Shupe opted to go by "Jamie," a gender-neutral first name, in lieu of a pronoun.

"I was assigned male at birth due to biology," Shupe said. "I'm stuck with that for life. My gender identity is definitely feminine. My gender identity has never been male, but I feel like I have to own up to my male biology. Being nonbinary allows me to do that. I'm a mixture of both. I consider myself as a third sex."

According to civil rights attorney Lake J. Perriguey, Oregon law has allowed individuals to petition the court for a gender change for years  the operative word being "change".

But Shupe is the first in the state's history to petition for the "nonbinary" classification, and also the first to receive it, Perriguey said.
Paula Patton opens up about finding joy after divorce

Paula Patton opens up about finding joy after divorce

The gorgeous Paula Patton, who launched her acting career with the movie Hitch, finally opened up about her divorce from musician Robin Thicke, which took place last year.

ts been fun and interesting and Ive learned a lot about myself and a lot about a lot of other people and what I like and dont like, Paula recently told Essence.

The star of the new sci-fi flick Warcraft admitted shes back on the dating scene, but she says its been kind of strange. I met [Robin] when I was 15 years old, and I have no idea what Im doing. But its exciting; its so fun. Im having a blast, Paula says.

Even though shes back on the market, it doesnt seem like Paula, who has a six-year-old son, Julian Fuego Thicke, is in any rush to get too serious with anyone just yet  single life seems to be really good for her.

Its really nice, honestly, getting used to being alone, Paula says. Its freeing. Its scary at the beginning. Its really scary. But its something Im coming to embrace, knowing that thats really what it is now  learning to love yourself, enjoying your time with your friends and family, and then it will sort itself out. But I gotta figure all that out I think first. I have to learn that.

We love that shes using her alone time to better understand herself, because thats SO important. But Paula does see herself finding a man someday, and shes got her eyes peeled for a very specific type.

Somebody who really likes to have fun. I want a man, but I want a man that also wants to embrace his inner child. You know? Laugh. Have fun. Enjoy the momentI want to be happy. Life is too short.

Preach, girl! Were so happy to hear shes doing amazing after something that can be so heartbreaking.

The post Paula Patton opens up about finding joy after divorce appeared first on HelloGiggles.
(Adds details, background)

June 10 (Reuters) - Canadian energy producer Penn West Petroleum Ltd said on Friday it would sell its Viking light oil assets for $975 million to Teine Energy, which is backed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Penn West, which has come under financial pressure in recent weeks over its large debt burden, will also sell some of its assets in Alberta for about $140 million.

The Calgary-based company said the cash obtained from the sale of its assets would lower its pro forma net debt to about $600 million. It had C$1.86 billion ($1.46 billion) in debt as of March 31.

Last month, Penn West said it might default on its debt at the end of the second quarter, as a slump in oil prices over the past two years have hurt highly leveraged companies.

Reuters reported this week that Penn West had received at least four bids from companies for its Viking light oil assets, including Teine Energy.

Teine Energy said the deal would be funded by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and its existing credit facilities, according to a statement.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owns 77 percent of Teine Energy, a Saskatchewan-focused energy producer, and has been an investor since 2010.

J.P. Morgan Securities acted as Teine's financial advisor to Teine, while RBC Capital Markets advised Penn West.

($1 = 1.2777 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Diane Craft and David Gregorio)
By James Davey LONDON (Reuters) - British retail tycoon Philip Green has called for the resignation of the chair of a lawmakers' committee probing the collapse of the BHS department store chain he used to own, accusing him of seeking to destroy the billionaire's reputation. In March last year, TopShop-owner Green sold BHS to an investor group led by Dominic Chappell, a former bankrupt with no retail experience, for one pound. The 88-year-old business went into administration in April and is being wound down after administrators failed to find a buyer, threatening 11,000 jobs. BHS collapsed with a pension deficit of 571 million pounds, based on how much it would cost to fully address the shortfall between assets and future liabilities with insurance or a buyout. Britain's Pensions Regulator is investigating if BHS's former owners sought to avoid their responsibilities and should be pursued to make good the deficit. The lower house of parliament's Business and Work and Pensions committees are conducting a broader investigation, and Green is scheduled to give evidence at a joint hearing on June 15. In a letter to Frank Field, chair of the Work and Pensions committee published late Friday, Green accused him of "leaping to conclusions" before hearing evidence and indicated he might not attend next week unless Field resigns. "I am not prepared to participate in a process which has not even the pretence of fairness and objectivity and which has as its primary objective the destruction of my reputation," he wrote in the letter which was seen by Reuters. "I therefore require you to resign immediately from this inquiry." Green's missive was prompted by comments Field made to the Financial Times on Friday. Field told the newspaper his committee "would just laugh at him" if Green were to offer less than 600 million pounds to settle the pensions deficit. In his letter, Green told Field: "You are not the Pensions Regulator and you have no power over the Pensions Regulator. Anything to do with the resolution of the BHS pension issues is in their jurisdiction and not yours and your continued participation in the inquiry will serve only to obstruct a resolution." In a statement released on Saturday, Field did not address Green's resignation demand but said he was looking forward to seeing him on Wednesday. We appreciate that Sir Philip is trying to set up a deal for the pension fund, but 600 million pounds is the size of the deficit. Thats not jumping to any conclusion, that is a fact," he said. Chappell told lawmakers on Wednesday he accepted partial responsibility for BHS' collapse but said Green and the retailer's management should share the blame. ($1 = 0.7013 pounds) (Editing by Richard Chang and Mark Potter)
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates put catcher Francisco Cervelli on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a broken left hand that is expected to sideline him four to six weeks.

The Pirates also acquired backup catcher Erik Kratz from the Los Angeles Angels for $20,000, payable by June 30.

Cervelli left Friday night's game against St. Louis after breaking his hamate bone on a swing. He had surgery Saturday.

Cervelli is hitting .257 with 21 RBIs. Chris Stewart took over after Cervelli was hurt in the fourth inning.

Kratz joined the Pirates for Saturday night's home game against the Cardinals.

Stewart is expected to get the bulk of the playing time behind the plate.

''We have to make sure we keep (Stewart) in a competitive place where we can keep his energy strong,'' Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. ''He's never had to play seven days in a row, six days in a row.''

''We'll have to see what Kratz can bring us as well. There are people here who have some history with him. We know (Stewart) and we're going to look to him first,'' he said.

The 35-year-old Kratz made his big league debut with the Pirates in 2010. He also has played for Philadelphia, Toronto, Kansas City and Houston.

Kratz went to spring training with San Diego this season and was traded to Houston. He played 15 games for the Astros, was cut in mid-May and joined the Angels' Triple-A team.

Minor league right-hander Trey Haley was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, and left-hander Kyle Lobstein was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

In addition, right-hander Arquimedes Caminero was activated from the 15-day disabled list after recovering from a strained left quadriceps, and infielder Cole Figueroa was optioned to Triple-A.
President Barack Obama is a proud father.

The Commander-in-Chief watched his eldest daughter, 17-year-old Malia Obama, graduate from Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Judging from the pictures that were snapped at the event, POTUS proves that  political status aside  hes just a normal, loving dad.

WATCH: President Barack Obama Gets Choked Up During Malia and Sashas State Dinner Debut

Malias sister, Sasha  who rang in her 15th birthday on the same day  was also in attendance, along with their mother, First Lady Michelle Obama.

The president was asked to speak at the commencement ceremony, but politely declined the offer, hoping to just blend into the crowd and cry, The Washington Post reported. And thats exactly what he did on Friday, taking a seat with the other proud family members of the private school graduates. He even sported a pair of black sunglasses!

President Obama stands and applauds and then hugs Malia at her high school graduation ceremony. pic.twitter.com/KfgAtbktmE  meta (@metaquest) June 10, 2016

NEWS: Malia Obama Will Be Attending Harvard University Come Fall 2017

At one point, he made his way over to Malia, presenting her with a bouquet of white roses and a giant hug. He also stood, applauded and flashed a smile while his daughters name was called to receive her diploma.
Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince William, Prince Harry, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh watch as the Royal Air Force flies by. (Photo: Getty Images)



After the royal family paraded through the streets of the London on horse-drawn carriages for the Trooping of the Colour, an annual birthday celebration that dates back to the 17th century when regiments used it as a rally battle, they emerged on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to take in the rest of the festivities.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and Prince Harry join The Queen and The Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the #Queenat90 RAF flypast. #HappyBirthdayYourMajesty A video posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Jun 11, 2016 at 5:35am PDT

While Prince George and Princess Charlotte were absent from the carriage ride along the Mall, the two youngest royals did show their support for their great-grandmother to watch as the Royal Air Force flew by.

For the occasion, George wore a white Peter Pan collared shirt with a blue trim that matched his shorts. According to reports, it was a replica of the outfit that Prince William wore at Prince Harrys christening in 1984.



Prince William in 1984 at his brothers christening.



Last year, the 2-year-old was carried by his father, but, now in pre-school, he stood by his parents and the Queen at the front of the balcony and looked enthralled by the display.

Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince William, looking out at the large crowd. (Photo: Getty Images)



Meanwhile, Charlotte, now 13-months-old, was carried by the Duchess of Cambridge and looked adorable in a little pink dress with capped sleeves. She wore matching shoes and a bow in her hair. Perhaps the little princess couldve done with a set of baby-sized headphones, though, as she seemed a little disturbed by the noise. This is Charlottes first experience of the Trooping the Colour fly-by seeing as she was only a month old this time last year.



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One year old and already great at waving.

Princess Charlotte made a glamorous first appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony in London on Saturday, joining her family at the annual Trooping the Colours ceremony (the queen's birthday parade).

SEE ALSO: Prince George stayed up 15 minutes past his bedtime to meet Barack and Michelle Obama

And as far as celebratory appearances go, Charlotte seems to be a natural, greeting the hell out of her public.

Image: mark cuthbert/getty images

Image: mark cuthbert/getty images

Image: danny martindale/WireImage/getty images

Image: danny martindale/wireimage/getty images

Prince George, of course, remains adorable.

Image: danny martindale/wireimage/getty images
Dubai (AFP) - Bahraini Shiite opposition activist Zainab al-Khawaja, who was released from jail this week on "humanitarian" grounds, announced Saturday that she has left the country.

"It pains me to leave, but I leave carrying our cause on my back, and my love for my country in my chest," Khawaja, who left for Denmark where she also holds nationality, said on Twitter.

Her sister Maryam, likewise on Twitter, said Zainab left on Monday with her children after having received undisclosed threats.

Bahraini authorities said they released Khawaja, who had been held in prison with her toddler son since March, on May 31 because of her "humanitarian situation".

The Shiite mother had been convicted of insulting King Hamad by ripping up a picture of him, and she had chosen to keep her 17-month-old son with her in jail.

Judicial authorities ordered "the suspension of the sentence" for Khawaja.

She is the daughter of prominent rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is serving a life sentence for plotting to overthrow the Sunni regime.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights has said Zainab al-Khawaja was jailed for three years and one month on charges including tearing up the monarch's picture and insulting a police officer.
By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Students and rights groups plan to demonstrate at Stanford University's commencement on Sunday to express outrage over the 6-month jail sentence handed to a former student convicted of sexual assault on the California campus, organizers said on Saturday.

UltraViolet, a women's rights group, said it commissioned a plane to fly over Stanford's Palo Alto campus just ahead of graduation ceremonies with a banner reading, "Protect Survivors. Not Rapists. #PerskyMustGo."

The tag refers to Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who handed down what many consider to be an extraordinarily light sentence against former Stanford student-athlete Brock Turner, 20, for his conviction in a 2015 sexual assault.

In addition, Stanford students said on social media that they planned to carry protest signs as they walk toward the prestigious university's commencement.

Protest organizers from UltraViolet have said online they want to see members of the Stanford community speak out against the sentence. The aim is to strike a blow against a culture on college campuses that they say discourages victims of sexual assault from coming forward.

Turner's sentencing on June 2 gained international attention after a detailed letter that the victim had read aloud in court was posted online. It describes the devastation the woman felt in being sexual assaulted while unconscious after partying.

A Stanford law professor is leading a signature-gathering drive to remove the judge from office for handing down the six-month sentence even though prosecutors had recommended six years.

Santa Clara County Assistant District Attorney James Gibbons-Shapiro told the San Jose Mercury News that his office does not have a legal basis to appeal the sentence because the judge was authorized by law to mete out the sentence he gave.

Some students have said on social media they would protest at "wacky walk," a Stanford tradition where students in costumes hold celebratory signs as they head toward graduation ceremonies, where documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is scheduled to be the keynote speaker.

Story continues

Persky is legally unable to comment on the case because Turner is appealing his conviction, Santa Clara County court spokesman Joseph Macaluso has said.

Some media commentators have pushed back against criticism of Persky. At Slate.com, legal writer Mark Joseph Stern this week described the sentence as too lenient, but wrote that recall efforts against Persky threaten judicial independence.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Alan Crosby)
In 1966 Holding a puzzled expression, Rivers was clearly putting on a show while visiting The Ed Sullivan Show. CBS Photo Archive/Getty

Today, the legendary comedienne Joan Rivers would have been 83-years-old. The one-of-a-kind comedienne who passed away on Sept. 4, 2014 due to complications from throat surgery, was one of the first funny front women in her field. She started her career in the early 1960s and worked alongside comedic legends like Rodney Dangerfield, Sammy Davis Jr., and Don Rickles. With successes across many platforms, Rivers went on to earn a Daytime Emmy Award in 1990 for the popular The Joan Rivers Show.

From 2010 to 2014, Rivers hosted the hit E! Network TV series, Fashion Police. On the program, she used her comedic prowess to praise and poke fun at Hollywood celebrities and their fashion choices. Despite River's unfortunate passing, the E! show lives on with her daughter, Melissa Rivers, as replacement host.

In honor of Rivers's birthday and incredible career, we've rounded up the best vintage snapshots of the star from her many years in show business. See in photos below.
Five years after Rescue Me ended its seven-season run on FX, the firefighter drama had a reunion Friday at the ATX Festival in Austin, and it was as foul-mouthed as the show tended to be.

Aaron Sorkin can kiss my balls, co-creator Peter Tolan said almost right off the bat in reference to the fact that he, co-creator/star Denis Leary and executive producer Evan Reilly wrote a vast majority of the shows 93 episodes. Right on cue Leary quipped: You know what? Aaron Sorkin has kissed my balls.

Such was the kind of banter between the cast and crew of a show that always walked the fine line between humor and drama. The show takes place post-9/11 and deals with the effects the terrorist attacks took on the surviving firefighters of FDNY and their families.

This was really about not forgetting the first responders who died that day and their families and anyone else who was touched by that tragedy, Tolan said.

Leary said the idea for the show originally came from an idea for a film. His cousin and friend both became firefighters at the same time. So I had these two firefighters and their crews in my life and my cousin was killed with these other firefighters in a terrible fire in Massachusetts in 1999 and that was in me, said Leary, who played FDNY veteran Tommy Gavin. Id been through that experience, and I was going to write a movie about that.

He explained that after 9/11, his friends crew all came out alive. At that time they were all hanging around us, and thats when [Tolan] said to me, You know what? We shouldnt be thinking about it as a movie  we should be thinking about it as something that deals with a crew of guys after 9/11, because we were watching [my friend] and those guys go through that.

Holding nothing back, Leary added: Some guys were drinking their way through it, some guys were f*cking their way through it. Some guys were falling apart. Some guys were resigning and getting out of being an active firefighter. He said it was ultimately Tolans idea to do the show, adding, He said, This is f*cking interesting if we do these guys every week.

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Despite the often provocative nature of the show, the actors who were present all praised the environment on set, which they felt was fun and secure. Asked if there was anything she was asked to do on the show that she felt she couldnt do, Callie Thorne  who portrayed 9/11 widow and Tommys flame Sheila Keefe  said, It was more about if I feared something, I knew that if I came to you guys and said I cant do something  this was very important I think  that there would be a discussion, and you guys treated us as peers.

Tatum ONeal, who played Tommys sister Maggie Gavin on the show, seconded these sentiments. I was terrified too, but you get to set [with] Denis and Peter and Evan Reilly, you just fall into their arms of security, love and you know the talent is so big that you can rise to that occasion, she said. It was the best experience of my life working in film and TV.

The panel also featured castmembers Andrea Roth (Janet Gavin), Michael Lombardi (Mike Silletti), Larenz Tate (Bart Johnston aka Black Shawn), James McCaffrey (Jimmy Keefe), Lenny Clarke (Uncle Teddy), Adam Ferrara (Chief Needles Nelson) and John Scurti (Lt. Ken Shea).

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Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - President Dilma Rousseff, suspended from office pending her impeachment trial, has been called as a defense witness for a key figure in the Petrobras corruption scandal, court documents show.

The case involves Marcelo Odebrecht, the former head of a family-owned construction company who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the mammoth corruption scandal centered on the state oil giant.

In the decision by the investigating judge, Sergio Moro, Rousseff has been given the choice of either testifying before a judge or responding to questions in writing. The decision, filed on Friday, was first reported by Brazil's G1 news site.

Odebrecht is alleged to have told investigators that in 2014 Rousseff asked him for 12 million reals, or about $3.5 million at current exchange rates, to be passed on to her top campaign strategist and to the party of her then coalition ally and vice president Michel Temer, according to the magazine Istoe.

Temer, who later turned against Rousseff, took over as Brazil's acting president after Congress voted last month to try her for allegedly concealing government shortfalls using unauthorized loans during her 2014 reelection.

The magazine Veja separately reported that Odebrecht told authorities that Rousseff's reelection campaign was financed with undeclared funds deposited in foreign accounts.

Along with other big Brazilian companies, Odebrecht is accused of taking part in a corrupt network that paid off Petrobras executives and top politicians in return for inflated contracts.

The oil company is estimated to have lost more than two billion dollars as a result of the sweetheart deals.

Dozens of high-ranking politicians and executives have already been accused or prosecuted in the Petrobras case.

Two ministers had to resign from Temer's new interim government after the emergence of a recording in which they appeared to be criticizing the corruption probe in which they are both among the accused.

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Although Rousseff's impeachment case rests on charges separate to the Petrobras scandal, she was chairwoman of the huge company during much of the period that the scheme was unfolding and accusations are mounting that she played some role.

Rousseff's 2014 reelection campaign is alleged to have received Petrobras-related bribe money and senior members of her Workers' Party are alleged to have been heavily involved in the network.

On Saturday, Veja magazine reported that one of the biggest insiders, former party treasurer Joao Vaccari Neto, is preparing to sign a plea bargain with prosecutors that could result in further embarrassing allegations against the embattled Rousseff and her allies.

The Workers' Party veteran was sentenced last September to 15 years prison for taking bribes in the Petrobras scheme and according to Veja had previously resisted cooperating with Moro's office, saying that "if I talk, I will hand over the (party's) soul."

Rousseff's impeachment trial is currently scheduled to climax in August with a vote in the Senate on whether to remove her from office or allow her to return. According to that schedule, the decision would coincide with the Rio de Janeiro Olympics starting August 5.
Samsung's Gear Fit2

When you think fitness trackers, you probably think Fitbit. But Samsung wants to change that with its new Gear Fit2.

Part fitness tracker, part smartwatch, the Android-only Fit2 offers 24/7 activity tracking, as well as the ability to reply to smartphone notifications from your wrist. And at $180, the Gear Fit2 crams those features into a relatively inexpensive package.

I spent a week using the Fit2 at the gym, at work and while eating a ton of junk food at 3 a.m. and found its split personality equal parts helpful and overwhelming.

Design

The Gear Fit2 largely hews closely to your typical fitness tracker's design thanks to its sporty, rubberized band. But what sets the Fit2 apart from the likes of Jawbone, Fitbit, and Garmins offerings is its curved, 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display. Thanks to the curved screen, the Fit2 sat comfortably on my wrist and didnt rub against the back of my hand when I curled my wrist while lifting weights.

The Fit2's curved screen allows it to sit comfortably on your wrist.

The Fit2s band comes in large and small sizes and three colors: black, blue and pink. The tracker certainly isnt ugly as far as fitness trackers go, but its not attractive enough to pull off with a suit or formal dress.

Interface

Most fitness trackers either dont have screens, or use monochrome displays that are easy to read in direct sunlight and use little battery power. The Fit2, meanwhile, features a Super AMOLED screen thats so bright and colorful it almost looks like what its displaying is fake.

The trackers default home screen is its watch face. You can change the watchs look by long pressing it and choosing one of the available options. Swiping right to left from the watch face lets you view items including the calories youve burned, start a run, check the number of steps youve taken, see how many floors youve climbed, and measure your heart rate.

The Fit2 can measure how many stairs your climb.

You can drill further into each of these items by tapping on them to get a more in-depth look at your activity. For example, tapping on the calories burned screen pulls up a timeline of how active youve been in a set period of time. Similarly, tapping on the steps taken screen gives you a rundown of how many steps youve walked each day over the past week.

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The Fit2 can also receive notifications including texts, missed calls, and updates from third-party apps like Facebook, Slack and Twitter that you can then open on your phone. You can also reply to texts using canned responses or emojis.

Onboard apps

A button on the right side of the Fit2 let you move back a step in a given menu. Below that is a second button that lets you go back to the Fit2s watch face from any menu, or if youre already looking at the watch face, access the wearables apps menu. From there you can change the Fit2s settings, access its onboard music player (more on that in a second), view your 24-hour log, or begin tracking specific exercises.

The 24-hour log is particularly helpful, as it allows you to view your recent exercises as well as how hard your heart was pumping during your workout and how long you sweat for. If you ran, the feature will also provide you with a map of your route and the distance you traveled thanks to the wearables built-in GPS.

The Fit2 has several onboard apps.

Unfortunately, the sheer volume of information provided by the secondary apps menu and the various on-screen tracking features feels overwhelming and makes navigating the Fit2 a bit confusing. I regularly found myself swiping across screens and tapping the Fit2s side buttons repeatedly as I tried to search for a way to set the band to track my weightlifting exercises.

To manage the Fit2, Samsung requires that you download a separate Gear Manager companion app to your smartphone. From there you can do things like rearrange the trackers app layout, change watch faces, and manage which apps can send notifications to the band.

You can also get a more holistic look at your fitness level via the Samsung S Health smartphone app, which pulls in information from the Fit2. It certainly makes viewing items such as your steps, sleep activity and heart rate easier. But its yet another app and menu you have to navigate to use the Fit2 to its fullest potential, which only serves to add to the confusion.

Rocking and rolling

One of the Gear Fit2s most appealing features is its 4GB of onboard storage used for saving music to the tracker. You load your songs onto the Fit2 via its Android companion app and if youve got a pair of wireless headphones, you can listen to tunes and workout without needing your phone with you.

The Gear Fit2 can store music for listening without your smartphone.

This feature alone makes the Fit2 a solid wearable in my book, as it means I can run without wearing one of those dorky smartphone arm bands or having my handset bounce around in my pocket while running.

If youd rather keep your phone with you, you can use the Fit2s music player to control music streaming from your handset from apps like Google Play Music and Pandora. Samsung also worked with Spotify to develop a Gear Fit2 Spotify app that lets you browse playlists and favorite songs from your wrist.

On the move

I wore the Fit2 on and off for about a week and genuinely liked being able to view all of my fitness information at a glance. I do, however, wish there were some way it could provide me with a more accurate measure of calories burned while lifting weights. For now, all it can do is give you an approximation based on pre-set algorithms.

But to be honest, the only thing I really cared about was being able to play my music from the Fit2 to my wireless headphones. Seriously, its that cool.

In terms of battery life, Samsung promises up to four days of use on a single charge. I regularly got a little more than three days on a charge. And since charging the Fit2 on its magnetic charger takes next to no time, thats not too bad. Still, other fitness trackers, like the Jawbone UP4, can last up to seven days.

Should you get it?

At $180, the Gear Fit2 is an affordable fitness tracker with smartwatch capabilities, onboard music storage, and a gorgeous display. Its a solid device thats fairly attractive as fitness trackers go, but its overly-complicated menu coupled with the fact that its Android-only holds it back.

If youre in the market for a fitness tracker, dont own a handset named after a fruit and dont mind having to learn a complex interface, the Fit2 is a quality choice.

Read more:

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First-time VR user: 'I freaked out and lost all control'

Microsoft needs to change its mobile strategy or get out

How to keep your Facebook Live videos private

Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.


Credit: Courtesy

Since designer Gabriela Hearst debuted her namesake fall 2015 collection, editors make a point to clear their schedules and stop by the 2016 International Woolmark Prize nominee's presentation amidst their New York Fashion Week circuit each season. So it's fitting, then, that the creative's latest project with Tod's has garnered quite the buzz.

Together, Hearst and the Italian brand have designed a stylish menswear-inspired brogue slip-on that also gives back to those in need. Dubbed the "Love" shoe, the accessory, which comes in five calf skin and textured leather iterations, spells out "L-O-V-E" in Morse Code above its woven rope and rubber facade. Twenty percent of the proceeds from each sale will benefit Save the Children, a favorite organization of stars like Olivia Wilde, Jennifer Garner, and Dakota Fanning that helps underserved children across the globe.

Not quite sure how the item will look on your own feet? There's no need to fret. Hearst tapped photographer Hans Neumann to shoot A-list beauties like Fanning (above), Lauren Hutton, and herself (all in her killer designs, below), among other notables, in a series of marvelous portraitsl.

Check out more of the images below and visit store.tods.com to shop and give back now.



Credit: Courtesy



Credit: Courtesy



Credit: Courtesy

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Credit: Courtesy
Selena Gomez's stepfather Brian Teefey  who was Christina Grimmie's longtime manager  is mourning the loss of the late singer, whom he says was like family to him.



"Words cannot begin to describe the pain I am feeling," he tells PEOPLE in a statement. "I learned this business through the eyes of a father and Christina was like a second daughter to me. All I wanted to do was assist her in achieving her musical dreams while protecting her from the pitfalls associated with the business. I never could have imagined this horrific event being one of the pitfalls needing to be avoided."



Grimmie and Gomez's family had a special bond  aside from having Teefey as her manager, Grimmie also sang backup for Gomez and toured with her for her We Own the Night tour. The two were also friends.



Grimmie was fatally shot late Friday after opening for pop-rock band Before You Exit at the Plaza Live venue in Orlando, Florida. At a press conference Saturday morning, Orlando police chief John Mina said Grimmie was possibly shot by a deranged fan, who then took his own life after being tackled by Grimmie's brother, Mark. An investigation is still ongoing.







"As family, Mother, Father, and Brother made the ultimate family sacrifice to support Christina on her musical journey," says Teefey. "They did nothing but love her and support her as family the best they knew how, the only worry I want them to have at this point is that of recovery."









Teefey has set up a GoFundMe page "in Christina's honor" to assist Grimmie's family. "Grimms I love you, and miss you beyond comprehension," says Teefey.



On Saturday, Gomez tweeted her reaction to the news, sharing a photo of herself goofing off with Grimmie.



"My heart is absolutely broken," she wrote. "I miss you Christina."
By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Lotte Group, the country's fifth-largest conglomerate, and several affiliates on Friday, dealing a further blow to its hotel unit's planned IPO, billed as the world's biggest this year.

Hotel Lotte, one of the affiliates raided, cut the size of the deal to a maximum $4.5 billion on Tuesday and pushed back the listing to July after prosecutors launched a bribery investigation into a director.

Late on Friday, the group's Lotte Chemical Corp unit said it withdrew from the bidding for U.S.-based Axiall Corp, which went to a rival suitor for $2.33 billion, citing "the difficult situation Lotte has faced in Korea recently and heated competition".

About 200 investigators searched 17 locations including group headquarters in central Seoul and the homes of Chairman Shin Dong-bin and other key executives, local news agency Yonhap reported, citing the Seoul Central Prosecutor's office.

The raids mark a fresh bout of turbulence for Lotte, one of the best-known of the big family-run conglomerates, or chaebol, that dominate Asia's fourth largest economy, after it was rocked by a bitter succession feud last year.

A Lotte official, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Friday's raids had not been expected. It was unclear whether there was a direct connection with the bribery probe into Hotel Lotte.

Three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Friday's raids were part of an investigation into a possible slush fund. They also declined to be identified.

One person said prosecutors were also looking into possible breach of trust related to asset transactions among affiliates. Some executives had been barred from leaving the country, one of the sources added.

The Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office declined to comment.

A Lotte Group spokesman on Friday declined to comment on the reason for the raid, when asked whether it concerned a possible slush fund. He noted, however, that the situation was difficult given the IPO plans and Lotte Chemical's Axiall bid.

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"While cooperating with the investigation, we will do our best to operate normally," he said.

LISTING DEADLINE

A person working on the Hotel Lotte IPO, who declined to be identified, said bankers were awaiting further information.

"It complicates things considerably, of course," the person said. "We don't know what they were looking for, what they took."

At the very least, another delay in its listing plans looms large.

According to bourse rules, the deadline for Hotel Lotte to list is July 27, six months from the preliminary approval for the IPO. If it needed to refile its prospectus to warn investors about risks from Friday's probe, which appeared likely, it would probably not be able to meet that deadline, an exchange official told Reuters on Friday.

A Hotel Lotte spokesman said it was too soon to talk about any changes in IPO plans as investigations were ongoing.

Despite its name, Hotel Lotte's biggest money-spinner is duty-free shopping, which accounted for 86 percent of first-quarter revenue. It is the world's third-biggest operator of shops selling tax-free luxury goods and cosmetics to tourists.

On Friday, dozens of Chinese tourists queued as usual to access elevators to the flagship Lotte Duty Free outlet in the group's headquarters complex, as TV cameras waited for investigators to emerge from office doors around the corner.

South Korea is the world's largest duty-free market, and the bribery investigation is seen as a threat to Hotel Lotte's bid for a coveted duty-free retail license in downtown Seoul due to be awarded in a bidding process later this year.

FAMILY POWER STRUGGLE

Named after the heroine of an 18th century Goethe novel, Lotte has grown from its founding in Japan 68 years ago as a maker of chewing gum to a corporate giant with interests ranging from hotels and retail to food and chemicals. The group has annual revenue of around $60 billion in Korea.

But last year's highly public power struggle within the founding Shin family fueled resentment at the grip the chaebol hold over the economy. Some Koreans also criticized the group's close ties with former colonial ruler Japan.

Shin Dong-bin, the younger son of the group's founder, prevailed over his older brother to head the group.

Hotel Lotte's planned flotation of around 35 percent of its shares was intended to bring transparency and improve corporate governance at a group whose ownership structure is convoluted even by the opaque standards of South Korea's conglomerates.

Shin was in the United States attending an event at Axiall Corp, the Lotte Group spokesman said on Friday. He was due to return to South Korea next week.

His estranged brother Shin Dong-joo, who remains a shareholder in several companies, said in a statement that "huge problems with current management had once again come to the fore" and called for key shareholders to hold urgent talks.

Shares in Lotte Shopping, whose units Lotte Department Store and Lotte Home Shopping were raided, fell 1.6 percent on Friday. Lotte Himart, a consumer electronics retailer, dropped 2.1 percent.

(Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin, Se Young Lee and Tony Munroe in Seoul, Elzio Barreto in Hong Kong and Ritsuko Ando in Tokyo; Writing by Alex Richardson; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - At least seven civilians have been killed and eight wounded by shelling in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, a hospital official said on Saturday. He said the shelling had taken place on Thursday and Friday in residential areas close the frontlines in Benghazi, which has seen heavy fighting in some neighborhoods over the past two years. Forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar launched a campaign against Islamists and other opponents in Benghazi in 2014. Haftar's forces made substantial gains earlier this year, but fighting on the edges of the city has continued. A special forces spokesman, Fadel al-Hassi, said shelling over the past two days had come from the Sabri and Souq al-Hut districts in northern Benghazi, where Haftar's opponents have been holding out. The claim could not immediately be verified. Earlier this week jets pounded Sabri and Souq al-Hut and at least six men from Haftar's forces were killed in fighting on the ground. Libya has been in turmoil since veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi was forced from power in an uprising five years ago. A United Nations-backed unity government is designed to replace two rival governments that have competed for power from Tripoli and from the east since 2014, backed by complex alliances of armed groups. (Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
They were considered outsiders, both skilled in performing mathematical equations quickly, yet neither of them received a warm reception when they arrived at the laboratory. One was human and one a machine. But both Janez Lawson and the IBM she programmed were known as computers.

In 1952, Lawson had just completed her bachelors degree in chemical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. The president of her sorority and a straight-A student from a prestigious university, everyone expected greatness from the 21-year-old African American woman. Yet as Lawson perused the job board on campus, there wasnt a single engineering position open to someone of her race and sex, no matter her qualifications. When she applied to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, she saw the job of a computerthat is, a person responsible for the labs calculationsas a way to work in the field, even if she couldnt have the coveted title of engineer.

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At the same time that she was entering the workforce, so was the IBM 701. Thomas Watson, IBMs president back then, called the machine the most advanced, most flexible high-speed computer in the world. It was the first IBM computer available commercially and 19 of the new-fangled machines were making their way to laboratories across the country. Lawson commuted the 30 miles from her home in Santa Monica to Pasadena by car on crowded freeways, still under construction, and then down the dirt road that led into the lab. The IBM 701, on the other hand, arrived by airfreight, its 20,516 pounds of computing power traveling nearly 3,000 miles to reach its new home.

For an industry focused on advancing new technology, aeronautical laboratories in the 1950s were surprisingly slow to embrace digital computersand their reluctance was rooted in the societal implications placed on women in the workplace. A pervasive mistrust of automation paired with the view that computer programming was mere womens work had a lasting impact on American space exploration.

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* * *

In the first half of the 20th century, American laboratories frequently hired large numbers of human computers to perform the calculations needed to run their experiments. The laboratories that would one day become NASA, including JPL, started in much the same way, with a mix of mathematically minded men and women performing needed computations. U.S. involvement in World War II, however, shifted the dynamics, bringing women to the forefront of computing at academic and government research centers across the country. These computers analyzed data from thousands of tests, their work forming a critical component in designing early missiles, rockets, and military aircraft.

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Military research installations and defense contractors were the first to order the new IBM machine. As an army facility, although operated by the California Institute of Technology, JPL took advantage of their access to the 701 with the hope that it could speed up their calculations, now made urgent by the start of the Korean War in 1950. But still, when the IBM 701 arrived, the administrators felt they were taking a gamble. They couldnt be certain how the machine would shape their operation, even though they were willing to pay a monthly rental price of $11,900about twice the annual salary of an engineer and four times that of a female computer.

As soon as the IBM was unpacked and installed in its own room with a square footage rivaled that of the average American home, it instantly drew suspicion. Despite the computers reported 16,000 operations per second, the laboratory engineers wanted little to do with the machine. They dismissed programming the IBM, and preferred to put their trust in computers made not of vacuum tubes and steel wire, but of flesh and blood.

Even with its high price tag, the IBM came with no instruction manual. In order to program the machine, employees had to attend an IBM training school. Lawson was one of the first sent from JPL to learn how to work on the behemoth IBM computer. During her three weeks in the school, she became skilled in programming. She found her college calculus courses helpful as she learned Speedcoding, a computer language specifically built for the IBM 701 that was innovative in its use of floating point arithmetica strategy that allowed engineers and scientists to include very large and very small numbers in calculations and is now ubiquitous.

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To do her work, Lawson wrote her programs with paper and pencil and then brought her notebook to a keypunch, a device that looked like a small typewriter and that translated Lawsons handwritten programs into a series of holes punched into rectangular, cream-colored cards. Lawson then fed her cards into the 701. The output came out neatly in the computers included printer. She made sure to keep the original notebooks handy. She could always run the cards again, of course, but her handwritten notes were the real source code

She was a 19-year-old high school graduate but her skills were more valuable than the high-powered machines the laboratory had spent a fortune obtaining.

Despite the new technology, Lawson and her colleagues still did most of their work by hand. Part of this was rooted in the limits of the computer itself. A far cry from the modern silicon chip, the IBM 701 contained tens of thousands of germanium diode tubes that routed data from input to output. Each time a tube burned out, it took down the entire operation with it. Between flare-ups and a general distrust of technology, the expensive IBM 701 often sat unused.

Soon, another machine entered the womens midst: the Burroughs E101. The desk-sized computer was even less popular than the 701. Unlike the IBMs punch cards, the E101 used pinboard programming. Margie Behrens was just a teenager when she first tackled the E101, placing pins in the holes in the pinboards to run her numbers. They were eight pinboards and each one could hold 16 instructions. The computer could perform 4 multiplications or 20 additions per second. Burroughs boasted that the machine saves 95 percent of manual computation time! but Behrens found its operation painfully slow. For the women, machine was clumsy and prone to breakdowns.

Although both the IBM and the Burroughs were attempting to transform computing, neither of the machines were used the night America entered the Space Race. Instead, it was the human computers who were responsible for the calculations. On January 31, 1958, Behrens entered mission control. She was a 19-year-old high school graduate but her skills were more valuable than the high-powered machines the laboratory had spent a fortune obtaining. She and the other women in the room that night used mechanical pencils and graph paper to calculate the path of Explorer 1, Americas first satellite, as it tore through the sky and entered Earths orbit.

Once satellites were revolving overhead, everything at JPL changed. The laboratory was now dedicated to space exploration, becoming part of a brand-new space agency: NASA. With an expanded budget came new technology, and the 701 and Burroughs were considered merely relics as they were carted off, making way for a cutting-edge IBM 1620. The 1620 had its own air-conditioned room next to the womens offices with a name on the door reading, Core Storage. This wouldnt do, the group agreed, so they renamed the machine Cora.

While the engineers remained wary of the 1620, many still believing that computer programming was beneath them, the women quickly realized how valuable the machine was to calculationsa lesson that wasnt always learned easily. In the summer of 1962, while working long hours on the first missions to the moon and planets, for instance, they launched an un-crewed spacecraft toward Venus that started traveling wildly off course only minutes after the launch. With fear that the rocket might crash in a residential neighborhood, a safety officer made the decision to self-destruct the rocket. As upsetting as it was to see their work strewn across the Florida coast, it was even more disturbing to learn that the mistake could be traced to a single transcription error: A superscript bar accidentally had been left off when the handwritten guidance program was transcribed in Florida. That one mistake had spelled disaster and gave the women new respect for computers promise of accuracy.

* * *

Around that time, Sue Finley, one of the women computers at JPL, was fresh from her training in a new computer language, FORTRAN, designed to translate mathematic equations into code, when a male engineer told her, Your jobs will be gone soon. His intimidating words reflecting a rising fear of technology in the 1960s. The threat of machines could be seen firsthand among those that worked at the telephone switchboard. With the advent of automated operations, the number of switchboard operators fell 43 percent between 1947 and 1960. It was enough to make anyone working with computers nervous.

When I first learned about the early women computers at JPL, I assumed their work would follow a similar trajectory to those at other NASA centers, characterized by short careers, and with but a peripheral involvement in the science they performed. Yet while the technology kept evolving, these women remained constant. The more things changed, the more their expertise was needed to bridge the gap between a revolving door of digital computers, each more sophisticated than the last, and our exploration of space.

On August 27, 1962, the JPL launched Mariner 2, a second attempt at sending a spacecraft towards Venus. The women watched in the control room as the ship escaped Earths atmosphere and made its way to the neighboring planet, following a trajectory they had designed with both pencil and paper and their favorite digital computer, Cora. Four months later, the ship passed Venus, revealing the planets hot atmosphere, roughly 900-degrees Fahrenheit. It was, of course, just the beginning. Next, the women would help send the first lunar spacecraft, paving the way for Apollo. When man walked on the moon in 1969, it was, in part, thanks to the calculations of women.

Its now difficult to imagine a time when computers didnt dominate laboratories, yet the women who heralded their revolution have largely been forgotten.

Their relationship with technology continues to today. It developed as the group of women used early computer animation to guide the Voyagers through the solar system in 1977, marveled over their first laptops in the mid-1980s that weighed a mere 13 pounds, and in the late 1990s, wrote programs in C and C++ to send off the first Mars rovers, one of which, Mars Opportunity, still roams the red planet.

Perhaps no single employee demonstrates the longevity of this connection better than Sue Finley, whose job certainly did not soon disappear like she was told. Finley was hired in 1958, eight months before congress and President Eisenhower officially created NASA. Today, at 79 years old, she is NASAs longest serving female employee. Over her 58-year career there is scarcely a mission her work has not touched.

Still, hurdles remain. In 2004, the space agency degraded Sues employment, taking away her title of engineer and reducing her salary to an hourly rate because she doesnt hold a college degree. Finley loves her work, regardless. She is currently working on NASAs mission to Jupiter, and keeps a stash of aging graph paper in her office for hand-plotting trajectories, her long experience with computers prompting her to keep back-ups handy.

Its difficult to imagine a time when computers didnt dominate laboratories, yet the women who heralded their revolution have largely been forgotten. Lawson finally became a chemical engineer, and while her career far outlasted that of the IBM 701, the programs they created together form the basis for technology today. The programs the pioneers of JPL built have traveled across the universeeven, in one case, leaving it altogether. In 2014, Voyager 1 became the first man-made object to leave our solar system. But it wasnt just made by men. Stashed aboard the spacecrafts 40 kilobytes, soaring through the space dust, are the relics of a relationship between women and machines that span half a century.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f113335%2fsolarimpulse

The solar-powered Solar Impulse 2 airplane made it to New York City in the wee hours of Saturday morning, concluding the last leg of its United States trip in a bid to fly around the world.

The experimental plane  which runs purely on solar power  landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport at 3:59 a.m. ET after a four-hour and 41 minute flight from Pennsylvania.

SEE ALSO: Solar Impulse continues to make history, lands in home of the Wright Brothers

Before the plane came in for a landing, it flew around the Statue of Liberty, producing a stunning image of the American icon and Solar Impulse 2 by night.

We received very positive and heartwarming responses during our journey through the United States, because its a country of pioneers and explorers, Bertrand Piccard, co-founder of the project, said in a statement.

Piccard and fellow co-founder Andre Borschberg take turns piloting the craft.

The flight from Pennsylvania to New York  piloted by Borschberg  is the 14th leg of Solar Impulse's journey to circumnavigate the globe.

Solar Impulse 2 initially started its trip around the world in March 2015, taking off from Abu Dhabi and making stops in Oman, India, Myanmar, China and Japan before flying to Hawaii. But then they hit a snag in the plan.

The plane's battery was damaged during its journey, forcing the pilots to suspend their journey until April, when Piccard took off from Hawaii for a three-day trip to the mainland.

Since arriving in California, Piccard and Borschberg have piloted the plane through four other stops before arriving in New York City.

Solar Impulse 2 will now continue its trip around the world, flying across the Atlantic Ocean to North Africa or Europe before making it back to Abu Dhabi.
Soweto (South Africa) (AFP) - Hundreds of South Africans, including for the first time white apartheid era conscripts, on Saturday united to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Soweto uprising.

"They tried to march, they were stopped, they were killed, (but) today, the police are here to help us march," said cleric and ANC stalwart Frank Chikane as two policemen on horseback -- one black, one white -- escorted a procession of people into the stadium.

The uprising, in which at least 170 people were killed, was a turning point in the anti-apartheid struggle, bringing the injustices of the regime to the world's attention and paving the way for the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa's first black president.

"1976 - I was there as a student...," read one handwritten placard held up by a black woman in the crowd, as a group of Johannesburg municipal workers dressed in yellow work clothes sang and swayed in unison.

Apartheid era army personnel belonging to the South African Defence Force Association, also attended, dressed in blazers and ties decorated with the organisation's insignia.

"We are sad about what happened 40 years ago, we are sorry if people are still hurt. But... it is time we start with a new era," said association chairman Jan Malan.

"We can be apologising for 100 years, it is not going to change things. Let's take the symbolism of 40 years and let's start creating the South Africa we want," he said.

- Killed for a fist clench -

At least 400 people -- almost evenly divided between blacks and whites -- gathered at Orlando Stadium in Soweto township for the ceremony ahead of the main government-led commemorations due to be to attended by President Jacob Zuma on Thursday.

The former white conscripts, who were not deployed to Soweto in 1976, attended the commemoration for the first time. Former police officers who did take part in the crackdown however declined to be part of the ceremony.

Story continues

On June 16, 1976, security forces opened fire on black youngsters protesting in Soweto township against a government order that schools could only teach in the Afrikaans language used by whites.

Over the following three days, scores of people were killed, with some estimates putting the death toll at several hundred over one month.

Survivor Trofomo Sono, 59, said the students were taken aback by the security forces' response.

"We did not expect that somebody could just die from marching and a fist clench. But it happened, a boy died, children started running," he said.

Joy Rabotabi, 56, a former student and black South African businessman, said it was "unfortunate" the police who took part in putting down the 1976 protests boycotted the event.

"It is not contributing positively towards nation-building and reconciliation. We need to find a way to bring closure," he told AFP.

But he lauded the presence of the former soldiers at the event as positive. "Any step towards reconciliation and healing needs to be welcomed," he said.

- Old wounds remain -

Earlier a small group of around 100 ex-students, former conscripts, clerics and Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau marched from Madibane High School in the township to Orlando Stadium.

At the school a plaque was unveiled in memory of Abiel Lebelo, a student leader who was shot dead by the police during the protests.

"We are completing the journey the students could not complete," said the Reverend Frank Chikane.

In 1976, the students carried placards that read "Afrikaans stinks" and "To hell with Afrikaans" but on Saturday survivors waved placards reading "Unity in diversity" and "Let's all stand together as one".

Some relatives of victims of the uprising, however, stayed away from the event, a sign of still unhealed wounds amid frustration at post-apartheid South Africa's failure to meet expectations of many black people.

Divisions along racial lines still linger in South Africa, with most black people enduring worse education, housing and unemployment than white people.
Before Stephen Curry laced up to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers (June 10), his latest Under Armour offering, dubbed the Curry 2 Low Chef sneakers, made its way onto social media and unleashed a new level of comedy.

Its safe to say that the sneakers wont make it into the possession of a few spectators, but for the Golden State Warrior, that doesnt worry him. During a post-game press conference after Friday nights match-up, the sharp shooter answered a reporters question on whether or not he wanted to wear his latest kicks during regulation.

If I had them in the road bag I definitely wouldve worn them, show how fire they are, Curry stoically said to a room of chuckles. I love the nicknames, though, that they came up with, but I like em.

Curry addresses his new Curry 2s  https://t.co/ZdFdtpGpJJ  NBA TV (@NBATV) June 11, 2016

Currys brother, Seth, also likes his bros latest footwear, joining in on the Twitter extravaganza with his own promotion of the shoes.

I thought I had em looking straight last week  pic.twitter.com/DyxYxGscGK  Seth Curry (@sdotcurry) June 10, 2016

The Warriors currently have the advantage over the Cavs after they bumped up their stance in the intense series 3-1. Game five will take place on GSWs turf on Monday (June 13).

In the meantime, check out a few amusing and witty tweets below.

The Curry 2 lows do look like stability and a 700 credit score in shoe form tho. pic.twitter.com/2aNL2SgI1X  Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) June 10, 2016

The cops are on their way 3s pic.twitter.com/weHQTu0y3x  Q (@cientifiq) June 10, 2016

Cam Newton could learn something about sportsmanship from Steph Curry pic.twitter.com/EvdKH3p9SD  Andrew HammondAP (@ahammsportsgeek) June 10, 2016

Let me speak to your manager 5s. pic.twitter.com/v4KxNAxxQp  Sedulous Lee (@TonyLee_) June 9, 2016

Yes, officer. Right here. I saw everything 7s pic.twitter.com/XILBj2I6yi  Larry Beyince (@DragonflyJonez) June 9, 2016

Beyonces formation is disrespectful to police officers XXIs pic.twitter.com/G7plG5H3Jv  Desus Nice (@desusnice) June 10, 2016

You are awesome Internet, just awesome pic.twitter.com/m6aZKYSVu5  Forever Trill (@mccauley318) June 10, 2016

Make America great again 4s pic.twitter.com/2NTTsQoHh5  GUCCI WOMANE LAFLARE (@coldestwinters) June 10, 2016

I was told by Apple Care! pic.twitter.com/73kjRM3o6O  King Baby (@jasonjermaine) June 9, 2016
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for suicide and car bomb blasts that struck a Damascus suburb on Saturday near Syria's holiest Shi'ite Muslim shrine, and a monitoring group said at least 20 people were killed. State television showed debris, mangled cars and wrecked shops in a main commercial thoroughfare near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine, in an area where at least three bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State have killed and wounded scores of people this year. The ultra-hardline Sunni militants of IS, whose many foes are advancing on a number of fronts in both Syria and Iraq, are avowed enemies of Shi'ites, whom they consider a heretical group within Islam. State media said at least eight people were killed. But the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll had risen to at least 20, including at least 13 civilians, with the other victims coming from pro-government militias. It said the number was expected to rise because many of the scores of wounded people were in critical condition. Islamic State, also known as Daesh, said two of its suicide bombers had blown themselves up and operatives had detonated an explosives-laden car, according to the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Washington condemned the attack in the strongest terms. "This terrorist act demonstrates once again the inhumanity and brutality of all that Daesh does and all it stands for," he said. The Sayeda Zeinab shrine is a magnet for thousands of Iraqi and Afghan Shi'ite militia recruits who go there before being assigned to front lines, where they fight against the Sunni rebel groups trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Almost every Shi'ite militia fighter bears insignia on his combat fatigues with the words "For your sake, Sayeda Zeinab". SECTARIAN SPLIT The heavily garrisoned area near the shrine is also a well known stronghold of Lebanon's powerful Shi'ite Hezbollah group, an Iranian-backed movement that is one of Assad's chief allies. Non-jihadist rebels say Iran's strong military intervention on the side of Assad, alongside its backing of other Shi'ite militias, is fuelling the sectarian dimension of the nearly six-year Syrian civil war by drawing even more radical foreign Sunni jihadists into the country. Separately, U.S.-backed Syrian forces made new territorial gains against Islamic State on Saturday, moving closer to another of its major strongholds in northern Syria, according to the monitoring group. The Observatory said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), bringing together Kurdish and Arab fighters, were now almost 17 km (10 miles) from the city of al-Bab, an Islamic State stronghold north east of Aleppo. The SDF on Friday cut off the last route into the encircled town of Manbij from al-Bab after over a week of advances around that area, allowing it to lay siege to the large town from all directions, the monitor said.. In other frontlines in northern Syria, two rebel sources said Russian and Syrian jets stepped up their relentless aerial bombing of their positions in the northern city of Aleppo. They said fighters had overnight repelled a major Syrian army attack on the Malah front in an drive to reach the strategic Catello highway, which is the only route in and out of rebel-held areas. The army has for months sought to advance towards the highway to lay siege to rebel-held areas where over 400,000 people live. A convoy of aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross entered the rebel-held city of Houla in the province of Homs, the third besieged area to receive supplies in the past 24 hours, aid workers said. On Friday, aid convoys reached two rebel-held towns near Damascus, marking the first delivery of food supplies to Daraya since 2012, after the government granted permission for the trips, the United Nations said. (Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
New York (AFP) - The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft flew into New York past the Statue of Liberty completing the US leg on Saturday of a record-breaking bid to circumnavigate the Earth powered only by solar energy.

The plane, which is no heavier than a car but has the wingspan of a Boeing 747, is being flown on its 35,000 kilometer (22,000-mile) round-the-world journey by two pilots taking turns, Swiss entrepreneur Andre Borschberg and psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard.

"It's absolutely incredible," said Borschberg over a live video feed as the iconic statue lit up the night below him. "It's a dream here."

The light, slow-moving aircraft landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, one minute ahead of schedule at 3:59 am (0759 GMT) after a five-hour flight from Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.

Photographers in New York harbor captured the innovative solar-powered aircraft as it flew over the Verrazano Bridge, circled Lady Liberty and cruised the Manhattan skyline before turning south to land.

"I felt like a three-year-old kid looking at the Christmas tree, it was so beautiful," Borschberg told a news conference after landing.

It was the 14th leg of an east-west journey that began March 9, 2015 in Abu Dhabi, and has taken the aircraft across Asia and the Pacific to the United States with the Sun as the plane's only source of power.

The journey so far included a stretch of five nights and five days from Japan to Hawaii, which broke a record for the longest uninterrupted journey in aviation history.

But a third of the journey remains. From New York, the Solar Impulse team will attempt to cross the Atlantic, then fly through Europe and on to the Middle East back to Abu Dhabi.

The single-seat aircraft is clad in 17,000 solar cells. During night-time flights it runs on battery-stored power.

- Ditch fossil fuels -

It typically travels at a mere 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour, although its flight speed can double when exposed to full sunlight.

Story continues

Piccard, a balloonist who made the first non-stop balloon flight around the world in 1999, talked about the symbolism of the Statue and changing definitions of liberty during the course of history.

"In the 21st century I believe liberty is to get independent from fossil fuels and pollution," he told a news conference.

John Degnan, chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey which operates the airport, paraphrased US hero Neil Armstrong, who in 1969 was the first man to walk on the Moon.

"Today the solar impulse's effort is a small step for man but a giant step for clean air in our environment," he told a news conference.

Borschberg skimmed over Pennsylvania at an altitude of less than 3,000 feet (900 meters), descending to 1,500 feet (500 meters) as the plane crossed over the bays at the entrance to New York harbor.

Fielding phone calls from well-wishers and journalists during the flight, he said he could see the light grow denser and denser as he crossed out of Pennsylvania in the approach to New York.

The entrepreneur and engineer was also at the controls on its most difficult segment of the trip, a 4,000-mile, 118-hour endurance run from Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii.

But the journey has not been without problems. High tropical temperatures damaged the plane's batteries on the Pacific crossing, forcing its crew to take several months off to make repairs.

Borschberg is no stranger to adventure. Fifteen years ago he narrowly escaped an avalanche, and in 2013 he survived a helicopter crash with minor injuries.

The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft flew into New York past the Statue of Liberty completing the US leg of a record-breaking bid to circumnavigate the Earth powered only by solar energy.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc on Friday revised a nondisclosure clause in its customer repair agreements after a U.S. regulator took issue with the practice, while the electric carmaker's chief executive separately called most customer reports of suspension problems in its Model S sedan fraudulent.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on the offensive on social media, saying in a tweet that 37 of 40 suspension complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were fraudulent. "Would seem to indicate that one or more people sought to create the false impression of a safety issue where none existed," he wrote.

The NHTSA would only say that the company was cooperating fully with its review and that no suspension problems had been found "to date." Musk said the complaints were "fraudulent" because a "false location or vehicle identification numbers were used."

Reuters reported Thursday that anonymous individuals have filed a number of complaints of suspension problems on NHTSA's website, citing salvaged Tesla vehicles.

NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas said Tesla was cooperating "and NHTSAs examination of the data is under way. To date, NHTSA has not identified any safety issue with Teslas suspensions."

He declined to comment on Musk's assessment of the complaints. On Thursday, NHTSA had criticized Tesla for entering into a "troublesome nondisclosure agreement" with a Model S owner with a suspension problem.

On Friday, NHTSA said "Tesla has clarified the language ... in a satisfactory way, resolving the issue" of the nondisclosure agreements..

Alexis Georgeson, a spokeswoman for the California-based green car maker, confirmed the change.

NHTSA said Thursday it was reviewing reports of suspension problems, but had not opened a formal investigation.

Tesla has denied any suspension problems, saying extensive durability testing and review of customer issues "gives us high confidence in our suspensions."

Story continues

The possible safety defect in the Tesla Model S was reported on earlier this week by the auto-oriented website Daily Kanban, which cited owner complaints. The website linked to a Model S owner who wrote on a Tesla fan website that he had suspension problems and had received an email from an NHTSA investigator.

The owner said Tesla agreed to pay 50 percent of a $3,100 repair bill if the owner agreed to keep the arrangement confidential.

Tesla said Thursday the car with over 70,000 miles had abnormal rust and that the Pennsylvania owner lived down such a long dirt road that it required two tow trucks to retrieve the car. The owner said the car had only been on a dirt road once or twice, and Musk later conceded to the Wall Street Journal that Tesla had erred in saying the owner lived on a dirt road.

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said on Thursday that the agency was reviewing the nondisclosure agreements to see if they had impeded owners from making complaints.

Tesla said in a blog post late on Thursday that it "has never and would never ask a customer to sign a document to prevent them from talking to NHTSA or any other government agency." But the company said it often requires customers to sign a "goodwill agreement" with a nondisclosure clause when the company agrees to cover or discount repairs even if it is not responsible.

Tesla noted the agreement did not mention NHTSA, and said it did not intend to stop customers from communicating problems to the agency.

NHTSA said on Thursday it "learned of Teslas troublesome non-disclosure agreement last month. The agency immediately informed Tesla that any language implying that consumers should not contact the agency regarding safety concerns is unacceptable."

(Editing by Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio)
Elon Musk

Last week was typical for Tesla.

On the same day the company announced that its was reintroducing a cheaper version of its Model S sedan to satisfy surging interest in the brand, reports surfaced that the automaker is under NHTSA scrutiny for nondisclosure agreements for off-warranty repairs it asked owners to sign.

Great news! Alarming news!

Business as usual at America's youngest car company.

Tesla published a lengthy blog post on Thursday addressing the issues that were raised by reporting at the auto site DailyKanban. The post suggested that the publication might be serving short sellers of Tesla stock, an accusation that DailyKanban denied.

The whole thing has gotten quite messy.

But if you step back, you can see a theme  one that has been developing with Tesla for the past two years.

Reluctantly joining the auto industry

Based in Northern California with its roots in Silicon Valley, Tesla has always presented itself as being a visionary technology company. Palo Alto is far, far away from Detroit, geographically and psychologically.

And as much as the traditional auto industry has expressed considerable admiration for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk's achievements  Ford and GM know how hard it is to create a carmaker from scratch  Tesla has consistently sought to set itself apart and cultivate its own separate and at times cult-like and fanatically loyal customer base.

But as Tesla transitions from building around 50,000 costly luxury cars for a well-heeled tech elite to satisfying over 350,000 preorders for the Model 3, it's going to have to figure out what it really is: tech firm that plays by the secretive protocols of the Valley, or major-league automaker that is going to be spending a lot more time talking to the federal government about how it does business.

Tesla Model 3 Reveal

Tesla has brand goodwill to burn, but there's ample precedent for how that goodwill can erode  rapidly. In fact, automakers that have the best reputations are the ones in greatest danger of falling hard.

Story continues

In 2010, Toyota had just accomplished a long-cherished goal: It passed General Motors as the world's largest automaker.

But from the top of the mountain, all that Toyota could survey was the reputational apocalypse it was enduring as its sudden and unintended acceleration worsened, with at one point its CEO summoned to testify before Congress.

I wrote about this at the time:

[T]he climb often requires a distinct, unyielding philosophy, while setting up shop on the pinnacle requires something else entirely, like the ability to absorb some punishment. Companies that aim for cultish loyalty are vulnerable in this way. Apple doesn't respond well to customers criticizing its products. Toyota, likewise, doesn't have much experience being attacked. It just wasn't ready to handle doubt, dismay or the obliteration of trust.

Contrast this with the eight-decade reign of GM as the world's largest carmaker. Now there was a company that could handle hatred. There were times, in fact, when it seemed that GM didn't care what its customers thought.

The old, pre-bankruptcy GM was guilty of this; the new GM has largely shed that attitude. But the point remains: GM was completely accustomed to being hammered.

A learning process

Tesla has its naysayers, but for the most part, its run from plucky startup to  potentially  the most disruptive force in the history of the car business has been rapturously celebrated. Tesla doesn't need to advertise, but traditional automakers spend billions to market their vehicles. Tesla is special.

toyota

And like Toyota, Tesla isn't very good at fighting back in ways that work to its benefit. Business Insider's Myles Udland is right that blaming short sellers for bad news isn't a very savvy move.

Until Toyota began to realize the gravity of the damage that it was taking in 2010, it seemed oblivious to how its brand was being punished.

General Motors, by contrast, blended a certain amount of tough defiance into its own brand. This arrogance didn't always play well, but it also meant that GM saw a thick skin as a prudent aspect of doing business in an industry that had been built in a more bare-knuckled, mid-20th-century period in US history.

Obviously, Tesla isn't going to radically change its mojo, and there's no reason for it to. The company is going to continue to intentionally set itself apart from what will eventually become its rivals.

But at the same time, it would make sense for Tesla to armor up for future problems as it goes from being small and admired to large and, by at least a few people, hated.

NOW WATCH: Elon Musk admits that Tesla may not be prepared to meet demands for $11 billion in preorders for their new Model 3





More From Business Insider




Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Is it just us, or is this the best picture of Alexander Skarsgard's abs yet? The Legend of Tarzan actor's body has arguably always been pretty incredible, but his gravity-defying six-pack for the anticipated live-action reboot is taking it to a whole new level with the latest promo photo from the film.

Fans were first treated to Skarsgard's jaw-dropping body in previously released sneak peeks showing the 39-year-old hunk broodingly staring off in the distance with his washboard stomach on display, and again in a shot showing Skarsgard from the side sharing an intimate moment with co-star and onscreen love interest Margot Robbie.



Credit: Warner Brothers

RELATED: Watch the First Legend of Tarzan Teaser Trailer

Now, yet another picture of the shirtless actor in all his muscular glory has been released, and it's only making us that much more excited to see the David Yates-directed film, which hits theaters July 1.



Credit: Warner Brothers

In the latest image, the rain-soaked True Blood actor stares intensely into the camera, putting his entire ripped physique on full display in a pair of brown shorts as he roams the jungle.



Credit: Warner Brothers

The live-action adaption also stars Robbie as Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, and Jim Broadbent.
The idea of Gary Johnson for president is a lot less crazy than it used to be.

Johnson, the Libertarian Partys nominee for president, was an intriguing candidate in the 2012 GOP primary who didnt catch on. A successful two-term governor of New Mexico, he was never really taken seriously, thanks in part to the cable TV networks that refused to let him debate.

His attempt to enter the national conversation from the right  after governing as a Republican and running in the GOP primary  did not work. Democrats never got a close look at him, and Republicans looked at his wide-eyed, goofy demeanor and dismissed him simply as a pot-smoking kooky Libertarian.

But in 2016, the 63-year-old Johnson is a far more colorful candidate than presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and his lighthearted, sneakers-with-a-suit zaniness now appears rather tame in comparison to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trumps boasts about the size of his genitals and public threats against political opponents.

All it is, is name-calling between Clinton and Trump. How about an adult in the room talking about issues and the importance of these issues and how this country can move forward? said Johnson when we sat down Wednesday.

Hes entertaining without being offensive. Hes accomplished but doesnt have a whiff of corruption. Hes younger than both Clinton, who turns 69 in October, and Trump, who turns 70 next week. Johnsons social liberalism and economic conservatism are well suited for the current political climate.

All of this partly explains why Johnson is already polling near 10 percent after only recently beginning to campaign in earnest. If he gets to 15 percent or higher in most polls, hell be guaranteed a spot in the three presidential debates this fall, at least according to the rules set by the Presidential Commission on Debates.

It seems Johnson and his running mate  former Republican Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld  will get a more serious look this year than any Libertarian presidential ticket in history. And thats when the real test for Johnson will begin, if his policy positions are closely scrutinized and debated.

Story continues

For the record, Johnson doesnt smoke marijuana. He eats it. With that whole edible thing, I have an aversion to smoking of any kind. Health and wellness really is a critical part of my life, he told me. He said he wouldnt consume any drugs if elected president.

But Johnson  who will be on the ballot in all 50 states  is approaching the national electorate this year more from the left than the right. Hes appealing to Bernie Sanders supporters on the basis of his pro-pot, pro-gay rights, anti-surveillance views.

Of all the candidates left, running for president, I side most with Bernie Sanders, Johnson told Politicos Glenn Thrush this week.

Going after Sanders supporters makes sense. Many of them are loath to support Clinton, and even Trump made explicit overtures to them this week.

But the resistance to Trump among conservatives equals and probably dwarfs the distaste for Clinton among liberal progressives. Many on the right hate Clinton, are disgusted with the idea that they might have to vote for Trump to stop her, and are desperate for an alternative.

Yet the barriers for social conservatives to support Johnson are just as high as they are for liberal progressives, if not higher.

Johnson will have to convince progressives that cutting government spending by 23 percent, eliminating the personal and corporate income tax, payroll, Medicare and Medicaid taxes, and moving to a 28 percent consumption tax on goods and services  are good ideas.

But social conservatives are resolute on the issue of religious liberty, and Johnson has sided decisively with gay rights when discussing cases over the past few years in which bakers, photographers and others have declined to provide services for gay weddings.

Johnson is clear that social conservatism was one of the things that bothered him most as a Republican governor and presidential candidate. Being a Libertarian really is just so refreshing because I dont have to defend the Republican social dogma anymore, he told me. He even seemed to say he would not oppose the legalization of polygamy when asked pointedly about it on Fox News by Tucker Carlson.

And on abortion, hes moved further left than he was a few years ago. In 2010, Johnson told the Weekly Standard that abortion should be a states issue to begin with.

The criteria for a Supreme Court justice would be that those justices rule on the original intent of the constitution. Given that, its my understanding that that justice would overturn Roe v. Wade, he said then.

This week, Johnson said that legalized abortion is the law of the land, even though he still thinks Roe v. Wade should be overturned.

The law of the land is not Roe v. Wade. The law of the land is Casey v. Planned Parenthood. The law of the land is, is that a woman may have an abortion up to the point of viability of the fetus, Johnson said. The Supreme Court has defined the viability of the fetus as being able to sustain the life of the fetus outside of the womb even if by artificial means. I have no intention of changing the current law of the land.

Religious conservatives have expressed befuddlement that Johnson is not making more of an effort to win over a large group of voters who dont like Trump but see Clinton as radical on abortion and hostile on religious liberty.

At the very moment when social conservatives would be most open to libertarianism  the libertarian nominees are running against conservatives, wrote Tim Carney of the Washington Examiner. Social conservatives are homeless this election.

Johnson did make a distinction that may appease some whose main concern is being compelled to participate in a religious ceremony that violates the teachings of their faith.

The cake baker, if you want to use that as an example, is never compelled to decorate the cake, Johnson said. Under the First Amendment, the cake baker doesnt have to decorate the cake. They have to sell the cake, but they dont have to decorate it because [the] First Amendment would say, Ill provide you with the materials to decorate your cake. You decorate your cake, but I have to sell you the cake.

When I asked Johnsons campaign about a bill in the California legislature that Christian universities say would impact their religious rights, spokesman Joe Hunter said that Gov. Johnsons general view is that attempting to legislate religious liberty  on either side of the equation  is a slippery slope.

Johnson is a thrill-seeking endurance athlete. He has climbed Mount Everest, finished a number of Iron Man triathlons, and competed in a grueling 100-mile mountain bike race in Colorado several times. If he does not get elected president, he told me hed like to be in Canada a year from now competing in whats known as the worlds hardest mountain bike race, the Tour Divide, a 2,700-mile grind through the Rocky Mountains all the way to the U.S.-Mexico border, which starts every year the second Friday in June. In 2005, he suffered a horrible accident while paragliding in Hawaii, hitting a tree and plummeting 50 feet to the ground, where he landed on his back and suffered a burst fracture to his T12 vertebra.

I lost an inch and a half in height in that accident, he told me. During his recovery, Johnson began using medical marijuana.

I hate prescription painkillers. I hate them. It doesnt really do away with the pain. It just puts you into another state, Johnson said. I had a friend come by with me on the floor, day two, and she said, I can get you some marijuana to deal with this if you want. Ding, ding, ding, Please, please. It helped me immensely with my recovery from this accident.

Johnson was the CEO of a medical marijuana company for 18 months until this past January, and he makes a case for legalization of the drug because marijuana products medicinally directly compete with legal prescription painkillers, antidepressants that kill 100,000 people a year.

Its the kind of argument that could gain some traction. At the very least, its certain to get people listening in a new way to a candidate that, thanks to an already unpredictable year, suddenly has a door open wider to him than anyone thought was possible just a few months ago.
Protests against Brazils interim President Michel Temer took place across at least 18 states on June 10, according to national media reports. In a TV interview the previous day, suspended President Dilma Rousseff said she would call for a referendum on early elections if she were reinstated. The move is seen as an attempt to win over undecided senators to help clear her of impeachment.

This video is described as showing a protest in the capital Brasilia. Credit: Twitter/antonioajca
Thousands marched through central Seoul Saturday during the city's annual Gay Pride parade, less than a month after a landmark court decision ruled against a homosexual couple's same-sex marriage.

Some 2,000 police were deployed along the parade route as hundreds of Christians turned out to protest the event, chanting slogans and holding up one sign in English that read: "Homosexual is sin. Return to Jesus".

Despite the protest and minor jeering, the march proceeded largely without incident. Some 5,000 participants marched in the parade, dancing and waving rainbow-coloured flags as music blared from accompanying vehicles.

"Leave us alone to live our life the way we want to," said Ranny, a 29-year-old participant from the United Kingdom, who added that he was there "to celebrate and be happy for who I am".

The annual Gay Pride parade comes weeks after a lawsuit filed by a prominent gay film director and his partner seeking legal status for their same-sex marriage was rejected by a South Korean district court in the first case of its kind

Movie director Kim Jho Gwang-Soo and his long-time partner Kim Seung-Hwan held a wedding ceremony in Seoul in September 2013 and submitted their marriage registration form to their local authority -- only for it to be rejected.

"I was disgusted. The court decision showed how backward this society still is despite the country's economic development", a 22-year-old female student participating in the parade said of the court decision.

While homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, same-sex marriage is not recognised and the country remains deeply conservative about matters of sexual identity.
Belgrade (AFP) - Thousands protested in the Serbian capital on Saturday, accusing the authorities of theft and violence connected to plans to redevelop a popular area of Belgrade.

Protesters chanted "We will not be ignored" and "thieves" at the rally against the $3-billion (2.7-billion euro) deal with an Abu Dhabi-based developer to transform part of Belgrade into an upscale housing and shopping complex.

Demonstrators took aim in particular at an incident on April 24 in the arts and nightlife district of Savamala, where several buildings were demolished in the night by mysterious masked men.

Organisers said some 15,000 people joined the march, which went off without violence. Police put the number at 4,000, though journalists at the scene said at least double that number of protesters had attended.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who unveiled the waterfront project in 2014, has branded the masked men "idiots" for their behaviour, but said the buildings had been scheduled for demolition.

The agreement signed with developer Eagle Hills aims to turn parts of Savamala and surrounding areas into nearly two million square metres (21.5 million square feet) of malls, offices and apartment blocks.

The centrepiece of the project is a 200-metre tall Dubai-style tower.

Backers of the project say it will regenerate a rundown area, while critics allege a lack of transparency and public consultation, fearing the development will be of little benefit to most Serbian citizens.
Istanbul (AFP) - Three suspects held over an attack in Istanbul this week claimed by Kurdish rebels that left 11 dead have been remanded in custody, the Dogan news agency reported Saturday.

A total of 12 people were held over the bombing of a police bus in the heart of Istanbul on Tuesday. Six of the victims were police officers and the rest civilians.

Nine were released and three remanded, accused of being "members of an armed terrorist organisation", attacking the state and pre-meditated murder, Dogan said.

Militant Kurdish group the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) -- seen as a splinter group of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) -- on Friday claimed responsibility for the Istanbul attack at the start of the city's peak tourism season.

The TAK said the bombing was revenge for operations by the Turkish army in the Kurdish-dominated southeast and reaffirmed a warning that foreign tourists should not visit Turkey for their own safety.

Meanwhile the PKK claimed another attack that took place in the southeast on Wednesday. A suicide car bombing at a police station left six people dead including a pregnant policewoman.

Turkey's new Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who has adopted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hardline against the rebels, on Saturday urged young members to quit the PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara, Brussels and Washington.

"Let's put an end to clashes, let's take peace, fraternity and solidarity as far as possible," he said during a speech in Istanbul.

On Friday two soldiers were killed and four others wounded in clashes with the PKK in Hakkari in the restive southeast, the army said.

Over 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding an independent state for Kurds. Since then the group has narrowed its demands to greater autonomy and cultural rights.
Mitch McConnell

Mitch McConnell hasn't always backed the Republican nominee for president.

During an interview with Business Insider last week to promote his newly released memoir, "The Long Game," the Senate majority leader explained why he didn't back the GOP's standard-bearer more than a half-century ago.

It was 1964. Barry Goldwater, an Arizona senator, was the Republican nominee.

Goldwater was, to that point, viewed as the most conservative candidate to win the nomination, triumphing over a swath of candidates who opposed his views.

McConnell said he was an admirer of Goldwater when he was president of the College Republicans as a student at the University of Louisville. But he said he grew "upset and angry" at Goldwater when he voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, becoming one of just a handful of Republicans to do so.

"I was upset about that because that was sort of the issue of my generation," McConnell told Business Insider.

He ended up casting a vote for Lyndon Johnson, Goldwater's Democratic opponent, who won reelection in one of the biggest landslides in presidential history. McConnell said he later regretted the vote but couldn't get himself to cast a ballot for Goldwater after his Civil Rights Act vote.

Barry Goldwater

"I was upset and angry at Goldwater," he said. "Anyways, it made it, down to today, much more difficult for Republicans to attract African-American voters."

During the 2016 election cycle, the biggest question posed to Republican lawmakers such as McConnell has been whether they will support presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, who has made a series of divisive remarks toward Muslims, Hispanics, and women.

The at-times inflammatory remarks have caused fear among some party members over whether they will be able to attract those groups' votes in the fall and in future elections.

In an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC's "Meet the Press," McConnell condemned Trump's recent attacks against Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over cases involving the Manhattan businessman's now defunct Trump University. Trump has derided Curiel for being of Mexican heritage, saying it causes him to view Trump unfairly because he's "building a wall." Curiel was born in Indiana to Mexican-born parents.

Story continues

"I couldn't disagree more with what he had to say, McConnell said. "I don't agree with what he had to say. This is a man who was born in Indiana. All of us came here from somewhere else."

He would not, however, say the comment was racist when pressed by Todd.

"I think the party of Lincoln wants to win the White House," he said. "The right-of-center world needs to respect the fact that the primary voters have spoken."

On Tuesday, he delivered a much more stern address aimed at Trump during a Capitol Hill press conference.

The Kentucky Republican called on Trump to "start talking about the issues that the American people care about and to start doing it now."

"In addition to that, it's time to stop attacking various people you competed with or various minority groups in the country and get on message," McConnell said on Tuesday. "He has the opportunity to do that."

NOW WATCH: MITCH McCONNELL: Biden is better than President Obama at this key skill





More From Business Insider


Jeffery Toobin Matt Winkelmeyer getty

CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin told Business Insider that Donald Trump's rise to become the presumptive Republican nominee has fostered a "bizarre situation" in which many of the party's top leaders have declined to support him.

"He is despised by many of the most prominent people in his own party," Toobin told Business Insider on Friday.

"Mitt Romney was the nominee four years ago: not supporting him. Jeb Bush, George W. Bush, the last Republican president, not supporting him," he added. "We're in a bizarre situation."

Toobin believes things have only gotten worse for Trump and his relationship with the party since he began attacking US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over the civil cases against Trump University.

So will those in the party who appose Trump confront him at the Republican convention?

"Beats the hell out of me," Toobin said. "But it's going to be a lot better story than any political convention I have ever attended. I think the Republican Party is going to have to ask itself a lot of hard questions on how it got itself into this situation because Donald Trump is a very problematic candidate for president of the United States in the general election."

NOW WATCH: Trump is fuming over this attack ad from a pro-Hillary super PAC





More From Business Insider


Lima (AFP) - Keiko Fujimori may have lost Peru's presidential election, but her party's majority in Congress and her brother's political ambitions guarantee years of governing drama for winner Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

Kuczynski defeated Fujimori by such a razor-thin margin in the June 5 run-off that she conceded defeat only five days after the vote.

And when she did, Fujimori -- the daughter of an ex-president jailed for corruption and rights abuses -- was flanked by most of the 73 legislators of her party elected to Peru's single-chamber Congress.

Only 18 members of Kuczynski's party were elected to the 130-seat body.

Kuczynski, 77, and Keiko Fujimori, 41, are both center-right politicians. Both are also still dealing with the legacy of Keiko's father, Alberto Fujimori, Peru's controversial authoritarian president in power from 1990 to 2000.

Kuczynski was able to tap into that anti-Fujimori feeling and received key support from Veronika Mendoza, 35, a leftist lawmaker who came in third in the first round of voting -- even after he called her a "bitch" in early campaigning.

The political wild card in the coming years is Keiko Fujimori's younger brother Kenji Fujimori, 36, the ex-president's favorite child.

Kenji Fujimori was elected to Congress with half a million votes, more than any other lawmaker. He said before the run-off that, if Keiko lost, he would seek the presidency in 2021 -- then didn't bother to vote at all.

- 'In Keiko's hands' -

Kuczynski, best known by his initials PPK, "governs from the executive and Keiko governs from Congress. There is not one government, there are two governments," said former lawmaker and Alberto Fujimori spokesman Carlos Raffo.

"For the country to move ahead," Kuczynski's "inescapable responsibility" is to reach agreements with the opposition, he said.

"In practice, Kuczynski's government will be in the hands of Keiko."

Story continues

Congressman Carlos Bruce, from the president-elect's Peruvians for Change party, said the country needs "a cohabitation agreement".

"If we don't, the pendulum will swing towards the left" in the 2021 election.

However, Keiko Fujimori's strength in Congress may not be as solid as it seems.

"It will not be the cohesive bloc that it was" in the past five years under outgoing President Ollanta Humala, said political analyst Carlos Basombrio.

This is the second time Keiko Fujimori lost a presidential election -- she was defeated by Humala in 2011 -- and her party leadership may be challenged.

- The Kenji factor -

There are two factions among the "Fujimoristas": a group seeking to create a moderate party that engages in deal making, led by Keiko, and a populist, hard-lined wing closer to the policies of Alberto Fujimori led by Kenji.

Kenji Fujimori never acknowledged his father's guilt, and would likely release him if elected president.

His 2021 ambitions are clear evidence "of an internal crisis" among the Fujimori supporters, said newly-elected leftist lawmaker Marisa Glave.

He was ten years old when his father was elected president, and spent his formative years in the presidential palace, often pulling pranks and hiding from his bodyguards.

His father often took the boy on the trail while campaigning, and Kenji remains close to several of his father's advisers.

Like his father, the younger Fujimori studied agricultural engineering, but then went on to head a private security firm.

What he lacks is "political maturity," said Luis Benavente, with Vox Populi consultants.

During his first term in Congress "he did not introduce any important legislation, and wasn't even a spokesperson for his group," Benavente said.

Over the next five years, he must prove that he is qualified to aspire to the presidency, Benavente added.

Alberto Fujimori, a Peruvian of Japanese parents, was credited with crushing the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru leftist insurgencies during his presidency.

However, he was also mired in vote fraud and corruption allegations, and in his final days fled to Japan and resigned via fax.

Seeking a political comeback, Fujimori later moved to Chile -- but authorities there extradited him to Peru, where he was put on trial for rights abuses and corruption and sentenced in 2009 to 25 years prison.

His favorite child may have a good chance at Peru's highest office. Just days after Keiko Fujimori's defeat, "Kenji 2021" graffiti appeared on walls in working class Lima neighborhoods.
The Hague (AFP) - Turkey's Europe minister has admitted there is no chance of completing a deal on visa-free travel to the EU by the July 1 deadline, during a visit to the Hague.

The European Union agreed in March to offer Turkey visa-free access by July 1, increased aid and speeded up accession talks in return for Ankara controlling the flood of migrants crossing into Greece.

But Turkey has yet to fulfil all of the conditions laid down by the European Commission for the visa agreement, including changes to Ankara's anti-terrorism laws to meet EU concerns over human rights.

Turkey's European Affairs Minister Omer Celik admitted the July 1 deadline would be missed in an interview late Friday with Dutch broadcaster NOS -- the first official such acknowledgement by Ankara.

"If we are realistic, we are not going to achieve this date," he said.

Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka also said on Friday that the July 1 deadline was not feasible, a view widely shared in Brussels.

"But we think it must happen as soon as possible," the Turkish minister said.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last month that the visa exemption must be introduced by October at the latest. Ankara has threatened to scrap the migrant deal with the EU altogether if visa-free travel is not forthcoming.

Celik said he believed Turkey had met all the necessary criteria and that there was "no question of making any change that would reduce our capacity to fight terrorism".

Once Turkey has fulfilled the conditions laid down, the European Parliament would still have to give its approval to the deal.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes killed 13 suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants on Saturday in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, military sources said on Saturday. They said the rebels were spotted by drones in the Lice region. Warplanes also struck PKK targets in the provinces of Siirt and Hakkari and in some areas of neighboring northern Iraq where the PKK has bases, the army said. Two soldiers were killed and four injured in clashes with PKK militants in Hakkari province on Friday, the army also said. (Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan Writing by Seda Sezer; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
AMMAN (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Syrian forces made new territorial gains against Islamic State on Saturday, moving closer to another of its major strongholds in northern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory said the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), bringing together Kurdish and Arab fighters, were now almost 17 km from the city of al-Bab, an Islamic State stronghold north east of Aleppo. The SDF on Friday cut off the last route into the encircled town of Manbij from al-Bab after over a week of advances around that area, allowing it to lay siege to the large town from all directions, the monitor said. The Observatory said nearly 160 Islamic State fighters had died in battles with the SDF around Manbij and more than 20 SDF fighters had been killed. The SDF, supported by U.S.-led air strikes and American special forces, launched an advance earlier this month to seize Islamic State's last territory on the Syria-Turkey border and cut the self-declared caliphate off from the world. The SDF has said it is holding back from an immediate assault to enter Manbij out of concern for civilians. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Mark Potter)
DailyFX.com -

Talking Points

US Dollar Prices Advance Late Friday Against the Euro and Pound

USDollar Trendline Resistance is Found Near 11,980

A Breakout Below 11,798 Exposes Yearly Lows at 11,672

US Dollar bulls regained control of the market Friday afternoon, and now the USDOLLAR Index is set to close higher for the week. This reversal in price action late marks a significant shift in momentum, as the Index had initially continued to sell off after last weeks momentous NFP miss. Next week traders will be watching for Retail sales figures on Tuesday. This event is event is forecasted at 0.4% and depending on the outcome may directly influence the US Dollars move against other major currency pairs.

Looking for additional trade ideas for trading the US Dollar? Check out our Trading Guide

USDOLLAR Daily Chart

US Dollar Bulls Push Prices Towards Resistance

(Created using Marketscope 2.0 Charts)

Technically, the US Dollar Index continues to trade in a daily downtrend. However, prices have not printed a new Daily low from the year, since the May 2016 low of 11,672. Currently, price action is testing the most recent value of resistance near 11,902. This area is represented graphically as a 50% retracement in price from the May 2016 high at 12,006 to the most recent swing low at 11,798. If price action breaks through this point of resistance, it opens up the US Dollar Index to test descending trend line resistance found near 11,980.

Alternatively, if price action reverse at current resistance, it opens price action to resume trending downward. In this scenario, traders should look for the US Dollar to test the June swing low previously mentioned at 11,798. A move to this value would be synonymous with the US Dollar rallying against major currency pairs including the EUR/USD and GBP/USD.

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See Walkers most recent articles at his Bio Page.

Do you know the biggest mistake traders make? More importantly, do you know how to overcome the biggest mistake? Read page 8 of the Traits of Successful Traders Guide to find out [free registration required].

Story continues

Contact and Follow Walker on Twitter @WEnglandFX.



original source

DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.

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Thousands of peace activists formed a human chain along roads by Germanys Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern on June 10 in protest against US military drone activities carried out from the base. Ramstein is reported to be a key base for controversial US drone attacks overseas, and is the USs largest military base on foreign soil, according to Der Spiegel.

The Stop Ramstein campaign said 5,000 people took part in the human chain, but police estimated 2,500-3,000. Credit: Facebook/Kampagne STOPP Ramstein: Kein Drohnenkrieg
By Alexandra Ulmer

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, is close to reaching deals to boost Schlumberger's presence after the oilfield services provider said in April it would reduce operations because of payment problems, PDVSA's president told Reuters.

PDVSA, the exclusive operator of the OPEC country's vast oilfields, has run up billions of dollars in unpaid bills to service providers as a result of cash-flow problems. U.S. oil services company Halliburton Co in April also said it would begin curtailing activity in Venezuela.

Eulogio Del Pino, president of PDVSA, on Friday night said some of Schlumberger's operations had been reduced but added others were being reinforced. "There are 14 Schlumberger drills that will start operations soon under a different financing scheme," said Del Pino, without elaborating.

"And in the case of the (Maracaibo) lake rigs, we'll also reach a deal for a different kind of operation," he added, in reference to Schlumberger's very specific jack-up rigs that are crucial for production in the western Maracaibo area.

Schlumberger did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company in 2013 gave PDVSA a $1 billion credit line to allow it to continue delivering services despite the accumulating debts. It took a $49 million loss last year when Venezuela devalued its currency and a $472 million loss in 2014 for the same reason.

Schlumberger's decision to wind down operations heightened fears over Venezuela's oil operations, which are already suffering from lack of spare parts, a brain drain, crime and maintenance issues.

Venezuela's crude output fell to some 2.53 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2016, from 2.72 million in the same quarter of last year, OPEC data provided through "direct communication" shows.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Christina Grimmie has died after being shot at her Orlando, Florida concert late Friday.



"It is with a heavy heart that we can confirm that Christina has passed and went home to be with the Lord. She was shot at her show in Orlando, and unfortunately didn't survive the gun shot wounds," her reps tells PEOPLE. "We ask at this time that you respect the privacy of her family and friends in their time of mourning."



A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Grimmie's family.



Orlando police confirmed in a tweet that the 22-year-old Voice alum was wounded in the shooting and that two people were shot at The Plaza Live venue.







"The suspect, who police have not identified, then shot himself. The suspect is dead," authorities said.





Performer Christina Grimmie was shot at concert @ Plaza Live. Grimmie's brother tackled shooter Shooter shot himself pic.twitter.com/URpjXlrOdE a Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016

ORLANDO!! Come out to the show tonight at the Plaza Live! Starts at 7:30! pic.twitter.com/0D4mNupCTi a Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) June 10, 2016





Her brother tackled the suspect to the ground before the suspect fatally shot himself, authorities said in a press conference.



Grimmie, who was the opening act for the band Before You Exit, was signing autographs near a merchandise table when a man armed with two guns walked up and opened fire on her, police spokeswoman Wanda Miglio said in a press conference.





Police confirm performer Christina Grimme was shot and seriously hurt by a man who then shot and killed himself. pic.twitter.com/O0JSNLbSnA a Matt Lupoli (@mattlupoli) June 11, 2016

Story continues

CONT: The suspect, who police have not identified, then shot himself. The suspect is dead. a News 6 WKMG (@news6wkmg) June 11, 2016

OPD confirming two people shot at the Plaza Live. Suspect dead, one injured. a Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) June 11, 2016



Grimmie competed on season six of NBC's singing competition representing Adam Levine's team. The Marlton, New Jersey native ultimately came in third.



Blake Shelton took to Twitter to express the same shock and and disbelief as her millions of fans. "Just hearing about this.. Is this all true? Anybody know how she's doing?" Later, he tweeted "Praying."





Just hearing about this.. Is this all true? Anybody know how she's doing? https://t.co/f6mqVEelrS a Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) June 11, 2016













We are heartbroken. @TheRealGrimmie is a loved member of our family. Our thoughts are with her and her family. #PrayForChristina a The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) June 11, 2016

Please pray for @TheRealGrimmie. I can't even put into words how I feel. #PrayForChristina a AshleyTisdaleFrench (@ashleytisdale) June 11, 2016





#PrayforChristina quickly became the number one trending topic on Twitter as hundreds of fans expressed their support. The most recent Voice winner Alisan Porter and Ashley Tisdale were among those who tweeted following the news.
Auckland (AFP) - Wales despair at losing the first Test to New Zealand 39-21 in Auckland deepened Saturday with fears of another serious injury blow which may end the tour for star wing George North.

North was a standout performer for Wales, stepping around Julian Savea and forcing the All Blacks to replace their left wing early in the second half.

However, the Northampton Saints wing pulled up lame late in the game and coach Warren Gatland feared the worst.

"George has a hamstring injury and well assess him tomorrow to see if hell be able to play a further part in the tour," Gatland said.

As a precaution, Wales early Sunday called up teen sensation Giles Keenan and flyhalf Rhys Patchell to fly to New Zealand as cover.

Giles would replace North if needed while Patchell would be insurance cover for Gareth Anscombe and fullback Liam Williams who also suffered knocks during the Test, although Gatland downplayed the extent of their injuries.

If North is ruled out it will be a huge setback for Wales who have a mounting injury toll.

Scrum-half Aled Davies arrived in New Zealand a few hours ahead of the first Test to replace Lloyd Williams who suffered an ankle injury in training and will not recover in time for the remaining games.

He is the second replacement flown in for the three-Test tour after Aaron Jarvis arrived on Wednesday to cover for prop Paul James who was sidelined by a calf injury.

Even before the tour began, Wales were forced to leave behind flankers Dan Lydiate and Justin Tipuric as well as wing Alex Cuthbert because of injuries.
TORONTO, June 11 (Reuters) - Walmart Canada stores will stop accepting Visa Inc cards as the credit card provider charges merchants "unacceptably high" fees, the retailer said on Saturday.

Walmart has been unable to agree with Visa on an "acceptable fee," and will no longer accept the company's credit cards starting July 18, it said in a statement.

The move will not affect the U.S. stores of parent Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

A Visa spokeswoman said in a statement it offers "one of the lowest rates available to any merchant in the country" and said Walmart Canada's decision will have a negative impact on shoppers.

Representatives of Walmart Canada and Visa declined to address questions on specifics of payment terms.

A Walmart Canada spokesman said the retailer pays more than C$100 million ($78.27 million) in credit card fees every year, but specific transaction fees are part of "confidential agreements."

Canadian retailers have long complained about what they call the high interchange fees they pay credit card companies.

In 2014 Visa and MasterCard Inc said they would trim Canadian transaction rates to an average effective rate of 1.5 percent, after complaints about their fees almost resulted in government intervention.

Unlike American Express Co, which typically negotiates a flat fee with every merchant, Visa and MasterCard have variable fees based on the status of their different cards.

Small retailers, which usually have less power to negotiate transaction terms, have said that hurts them as they are never sure of the exact rate they will be billed between 1 percent and 3 percent on any given transaction.

Walmart Canada said stores in Thunder Bay in the northwestern part of the Ontario province will be the first to stop accepting Visa cards, and the change will then be rolled out "in phases" to the rest of the more than 370 Canadian Walmart stores.

($1 = 1.2777 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Bill Rigby)
By Ethan Lou

TORONTO (Reuters) - Walmart Canada stores will stop accepting Visa Inc (V.N) cards because the credit card provider charges merchants "unacceptably high" fees, the retailer said on Saturday.

Walmart has been unable to agree with Visa on an "acceptable fee" and will no longer accept the company's credit cards starting July 18, it said in a statement.

The company added it still hoped to reach an agreement with Visa.

The decision will not affect the U.S. stores of parent Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N).

A Visa spokeswoman said in a statement it offers "one of the lowest rates available to any merchant in the country" and said Walmart Canada's decision would have a negative impact on shoppers.

Representatives of Walmart Canada and Visa declined to address questions on specifics of payment terms.

A Walmart Canada spokesman said the retailer pays more than C$100 million ($78 million) in credit card fees every year, but specific transaction fees are part of "confidential agreements."

Canadian retailers have long complained about what they call the high interchange fees they pay credit card companies.

In 2014 Visa and MasterCard Inc (M.N) said they would trim Canadian transaction rates to an average effective rate of 1.5 percent, after complaints about their fees almost resulted in government intervention.

Unlike American Express Co (AXP.N), which typically negotiates a flat fee with every merchant, Visa and MasterCard have variable fees based on the status of their different cards.

Small retailers, which usually have less power to negotiate transaction terms, have said that hurts them as they are never sure of the rate they will be billed between 1 percent and 3 percent on any given transaction.

Walmart Canada said stores in Thunder Bay in the northwestern part of the Ontario will be the first to stop accepting Visa cards, and the change will then be rolled out in phases to the rest of the more than 370 Canadian Walmart stores.

($1 = 1.2777 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Bill Rigby and Steve Orlofsky)
(Adds new comment from Walmart)

By Ethan Lou

TORONTO, June 11 (Reuters) - Walmart Canada stores will stop accepting Visa Inc cards because the credit card provider charges merchants "unacceptably high" fees, the retailer said on Saturday.

Walmart has been unable to agree with Visa on an "acceptable fee" and will no longer accept the company's credit cards starting July 18, it said in a statement.

The company added it still hoped to reach an agreement with Visa.

The decision will not affect the U.S. stores of parent Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

A Visa spokeswoman said in a statement it offers "one of the lowest rates available to any merchant in the country" and said Walmart Canada's decision would have a negative impact on shoppers.

Representatives of Walmart Canada and Visa declined to address questions on specifics of payment terms.

A Walmart Canada spokesman said the retailer pays more than C$100 million ($78 million) in credit card fees every year, but specific transaction fees are part of "confidential agreements."

Canadian retailers have long complained about what they call the high interchange fees they pay credit card companies.

In 2014 Visa and MasterCard Inc said they would trim Canadian transaction rates to an average effective rate of 1.5 percent, after complaints about their fees almost resulted in government intervention.

Unlike American Express Co, which typically negotiates a flat fee with every merchant, Visa and MasterCard have variable fees based on the status of their different cards.

Small retailers, which usually have less power to negotiate transaction terms, have said that hurts them as they are never sure of the rate they will be billed between 1 percent and 3 percent on any given transaction.

Walmart Canada said stores in Thunder Bay in the northwestern part of the Ontario will be the first to stop accepting Visa cards, and the change will then be rolled out in phases to the rest of the more than 370 Canadian Walmart stores.

($1 = 1.2777 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Bill Rigby and Steve Orlofsky)
32 years ago this week, Madonna earned her first Top 10 hit with Borderline. With The Roots by her side, she performed a stripped-down rendition of the 1984 single on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night.

The song took on new life through a slowed down version that should appeal to Madonna fanatics as well as those who may have been historically turned off by her glossy pop aesthetic. Its always worth tuning in whenever anyone gets on stage with Questlove and The Roots. At this point, is there anything those guys cant do? Keep in mind this happened on the same night they slow jammed the news with President Obama. Amazing.

More from Pigeons & Planes
cancer cell

The world of cancer treatments is an explosive area, especially as treatments get more targeted.

But with that will come some big costs. The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics expects cancer treatment costs to hit $150 billion by 2020, up from $107 billion in 2015.

Enter a new potential side effect: debilitating cost. How do doctors and researchers factor in the costs that a patient is paying?

That's the kind of thing Dr. Derek Raghavan, president of Levine Cancer Institute at Carolinas HealthCare, thinks about a lot.

"We are spending more and more time thinking about cost for patients," he told Business Insider. He pointed to a study by University of Chicago researcher Dr. Jonas de Souza who uses the term "financial toxicity" to look at how much of a role finances play in a cancer patient's quality of life.

Cancer isn't just one disease: It's a whole group of cancers. It's gotten so big that whole companies are devoted to developing cancer treatments. IMS cites more than 500 companies that are developing cancer drugs. In fact, pharmaceutical company Novartis just split out its oncology business into a separate branch from its other disease areas.

And because it's so complex, there's a whole web of decision-making that needs to happen as cancer progress, while at the same time, newer drugs become more targeted and more specific. Here's how leading cancer researchers and pharmaceutical executives are addressing it all.

The questions to ask

Raghavan said there are two main questions he thinks about when determining how to treat a cancer patient.

"The first question is how much survival benefit will you get from the patient?" he said. "Three weeks? Not worth it. Three months, maybe. But probably not. If you're talking a year plus, that's a relatively easy one to solve."

But that three months gets a little complicated if it means there aren't any extreme side effects (either physical or breaking the bank). If that three months means seeing a major life event, like a holiday or graduation, it's likely worth it.

Story continues

"Everything is contextual. If you're dealing with an 83-year-old who's had a stroke and a coronary, and you can do something that's going to make them really sick, but will give them an extra three months, you'd have to be an idiot to say that's worth it to them," he said. "But you also have to ask them: What's important to them?"

Newer treatments, including the fast-growing field of immunotherapy (drugs that harness the immune system to better attack cancer cells), are seeing much better and longer survival rates, which is also where costs will factor in.

Adding one expensive drug to another

Within immunotherapy, researchers are trying to figure out how to get more people to respond to treatment. Take Keytruda, the drug that's credited with helping get President Jimmy Carter cancer-free after he was diagnosed with melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain. Only about 30% of metastatic-melanoma patients using Keytruda alone respond completely. That's still better than the average response rate of chemotherapy treatments on their own in cases of metastatic melanoma, but it's not 100%. However, companies think the solution may lie somewhere in combination with other drugs, potentially even other immunotherapies.

But the problem is these drugs can often be upward of $100,000 for a course of treatment, depending on how long you stay on the drug. Add that to another $100,000 drug, and the cost for such good results is a bit staggering.

Trials are already being run for combinations of two and even three immunotherapies at the same time. Beyond that, companies are looking at ways to pair drugs together to help them work better. For example, ones that target the programmed cell death 1 (or PD-1) receptor to essentially take the "foot off the brake pedal" in the immune system might be put together with other immunotherapies that activate the immune system in different ways. Or, those PD-1 inhibitors might be matched up with targeted chemotherapies, or other tools in the cancer-treatment toolbox.

Pfizer, which has a number of immunotherapy compounds in development and a partnership with Merck KGaA to develop the PD-L1 drug avelumab, said it plans to work closely with other areas of healthcare to set prices on combinations based on how well they work.

"I think that the concern that's being raised time and time again is more about the future and around combinations," Pfizer's global president of oncology Liz Barrett told Business Insider. "And I think when you start to think about that, that's where I feel like Pfizer's in a unique position, because we have the multiple I-O drugs and the targeted therapy drugs."

The questions left to answer

Before companies even get to that pricing question, there are a lot of unknowns still left in the immunotherapy world. Merck & Co., the company that makes Keytruda, thinks a solution lies in answering the question about where combinations are necessary, and where drugs like Keytruda can work the best on its own.

"We know for some patients, just single application or single modality treatment with a PD-1 antibody is enough," the company's senior vice president of clinical development, Roy Baynes, told Business Insider. But for those who don't, there are a few questions he pinpointed that need to be answered next: "Can we identify the group that is most likely to benefit from single-agent therapy? Next, who needs a combination and can we identify which combination?"

Ideally, the clinical trials that are ongoing or in the works will give researchers some hints as to what those answers may be.

NOW WATCH: A neurologist reveals what talking on the phone does to your brain





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Note: This article is courtesy of Iris.xyz

By LaRae Quy

After the terrorist attack of 9/11, FBI Director Robert Mueller required all terrorism leads coming into the FBI field offices be followed up, no matter how mundane or trivial. He was determined to prevent another terrorist attack from happening again. It put a tremendous burden on investigative resources and agents complained that chasing down bogus leads took precious time away from real cases.

As the spokesperson for the FBI in Northern California, I was briefed on all substantive cases in the event the media wanted additional information. One of them was a report from a local bank that their security personnel observed a male teenager selling drugs near their front lobby. The exchange was also on surveillance tape.

The teenager was carrying a large backpack, and when bank security walked by, they picked up a reading on their mobile biohazard sensors. Worried that the teenager might have an explosive device, bank security detained the teenager and contacted both the local police and the FBI.

It turns out that the teenager actually had been tested that morning for a thyroid condition, and the nuclear residue left over in his system had triggered the biohazard sensor. However, when the parents arrived they were furious at the security personnel and accused the bank of invading their sons privacy. Even though their son had been caught red-handed selling drugs, they threatened to sue the bank and contacted a lawyer to pursue the matter.

The parents were so clearly in the wrong that even their normally greedy and unscrupulous lawyer told them they had no case.

This entire incident illustrates exactly what is wrong with this country today: no one is willing to take responsibility for their actions. Instead of being horrified that their son was peddling drugs on the streets of San Francisco, they pointed the finger at bank security and blamed them because their son was caught!

Story continues

Click here to read the full story on Iris.xyz.

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ThousandEyes Mohit Lad

There's no question that venture money is tighter in Silicon Valley. And that means more startups are struggling to cut costs or are running out of money and failing outright.

Startups valued by their investors at over a billion are called unicorns because they were once thought to be so rare. In 2014 and 2015, money flowed so freely that unicorns became more like cockroaches.

In 2016, a few richly valued startups have hit rough patches.

While all of this sounds like a bad thing for the startup world, it turns out that many startup CEOs are happy and relieved about the changing environment.

That's because cash-rich startups can no longer poach their engineers by offering to double or triple their salaries and piling on bonuses and stock options.

One CEO told us that he had hired some engineers away from Google only to lose them to a cash-rich unicorn that offered them a $1 million compensation package.

Engineers getting CEO-like salaries

At the Rutberg Future:Mobile Summit, which is taking place in the Bay Area this week, a panel of other CEOs told similar tales.

One of them was Mohit Lad, CEO of ThousandEyes, which offers a service that helps troubleshoot network problems for companies using cloud-computing services.

"I feel good about a correction where companies can't just raise crazy money and throw crazy salaries at our employees," Lad said during a panel discussion at the show.

Lad has raised about $60 million for ThousandEyes so far, including a round that closed in February, after money started to get tight.

Blue Jeans Network Krish Ramakrishnan

He said that employees have gotten duped by the situation, too. Three of his employees got poached by a newly funded, cash-rich startup and wound up unemployed months later when that company couldn't sustain itself and raise more money in this environment.

Lad had to change hiring tactics during the boom.

"We never want to be the highest-paid offer that comes in. We want to be second best. I don't want them to come to the company because we're paying the most. I want them to come because it's a mission they believe in, and once here, we take care of employees so they are always happy," he said.

Story continues

The strategy has worked. One of his engineers was offered double his salary by a startup some months ago, but turned it down.

"He stayed and is doing well," Lad said.

Blue Jeans Network CEO Krish Ramakrishnan, who was also on the panel, agreed.

"For companies with strong fundamentals, this is the best thing we could ask for," he said. "Employees aren't moving to unicorns offering things like free massages."

He said that some engineers were being offered "CEO-like" salaries to join startups.

Blue Jeans offers a cloud videoconferencing service and has raised its fair share of money: about $175 million, including a $76 million round last fall  right as things started to get tight.

Ramakrishnan says that normal engineering salaries aren't coming down. The big, established companies like Google and Facebook are still paying top dollar and keeping competition high.

But the crazy double- or triple-salary poaching offers have abated, he said.

Bye-bye, copycats

Meanwhile, Dan Teran, CEO of Managed by Q, says that for startups that have good revenue growth and cash flow, investment is still available.

managed by q founders

It just takes more convincing to get VCs to bite. Managed by Q is a 2-year old startup for office-management services in New York like janitorial services, catering, snack stocking, and office supplies.

Teran has raised over $42 million, including a $25 million series B round that closed in April. One of its investors is Google Ventures who had backed a company called Homejoy, a similar marketplace for hiring cleaning and maintenance people. Homejoy closed its doors last fall.

"Google Venture had just had Homejoy eat the dust. It had raised a ton of money and really crashed and burned. The partners in the room grilled me," Teran recalls. "But we had strong fundamentals."

Since Managed by Q has become a buzzy startup in New York he says he's seen a handful of "copycat" competitors launch and struggle to raise money. And that's another reason "a tight market works to our advantage," he says.

NOW WATCH: Bumble founder: Here's what's seriously wrong with the growing trend in Silicon Valley called 'brogramming'





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Nuwan Pradeep took three wickets and did some serious damage to a couple of England careers as Sri Lanka fought to avoid a series whitewash in the third Test at Lord's on Saturday.

England in their second innings were 109 for four at the close of the third day, a lead of 237 runs.

Alex Hales was 41 not out, having been dropped on 19 and 39, with nightwatchman Steven Finn, missed on one, unbeaten on six.

England, 2-0 up in the three-match series, were rocking at 50 for three before first-innings century-maker Jonny Bairstow helped Hales add 52 for the fourth wicket.

Hales launched the innings with two fours in as many balls off Suranga Lakmal.

But he was dropped on 19 when Dimuth Karunaratne failed to hold a one-handed slip chance off paceman Pradeep.

However, it wasn't long before Pradeep had Nick Compton out for 19 instead.

Compton had been promoted to open in place of England captain Alastair Cook, after the left-hander suffered a knee injury fielding close in earlier on Saturday.

By his own admission, Compton needed a big score to secure his place.

But on his Middlesex home ground and one where a stand is named after his grandfather Denis Compton -- one of England's greatest batsmen -- he was caught behind tamely pushing at Shaminda Eranga.

England were now 45 for one and that quickly became 50 for three.

Joe Root (four) was bowled by an absolute shooter from Pradeep.

New batsman James Vince, like Compton, was seeking runs, albeit this was the Hampshire batsman's maiden Test series.

But Vince was out for a golden duck as he deliberately played no shot to a Pradeep delivery that nipped back down the Lord's slope and knocked over his off stump.

Bairstow, in at 84 for four in the first innings before making a Test-best 167 not out, survived the hat-trick.

But on 32 he too was clean bowled by Pradeep.

- Double despair -

Hales then saw a tough one-handed chance down the legside off Pradeep dropped by wicket-keeper Dinesh Chandimal.

Story continues

Worse followed for Pradeep next ball when Chandimal inexplicably failed to move for a Finn edge.

Pradeep ended the day with three for 25 in nine overs but his figures could easily have been better.

Earlier, England all-rounder Chris Woakes started and finished a collapse that saw Sri Lanka, 162 for one overnight, dismissed for 288.

That gave England, who made 416 in their first innings, a lead of 128.

Woakes, who took a wicket with his first ball Saturday, ended the innings with the opening delivery of a new spell when Eranga was caught in the slips.

Warwickshire all-rounder Woakes took three for 31 in 17.1 overs.

Sri Lanka resumed Saturday with Kaushal Silva 79 not out and Kusal Mendis 25 not.

But they both fell for their overnight scores as Sri Lanka subsided in the face of increasingly accurate fast bowling, with the overcast conditions making batting harder than had been the case on Friday.

"To come back and bowl them out for 288 was a very good effort," England fast bowler Steven Finn, who returned to form with three for 59, told Sky Sports.

The Middlesex quick added: "It felt a lot better and I felt back to being myself.

"Lord's is my home ground and it was nice to get that first wicket and relax into it."

England remain uncertain regarding Cook's fitness and Finn added: "Hopefully the captain will be able to come back tomorrow and bat and we can get an unassailable lead."

Woakes had Mendis lbw with his first ball Saturday before Silva was caught behind off Stuart Broad.

Kusal Perera (42) and Rangana Herath (31) checked England's progress with a seventh-wicket partnership of 71.

Perera's bold innings was particularly impressive as this was his first match in more than six months after a drugs ban was rescinded because of a botched analysis.

He was eventually caught behind after wildly slogging at James Anderson to start a slump that saw Sri Lanka lose all their last three wickets on 288.
fish stew lawton cooking

If you've ever been told that cooking "burns off" any alcohol in the food you're eating, be forewarned: That's entirely untrue.

Sure, you're not likely to get wasted nibbling on a small slice of tiramisu, but it's time to toss out that old story that you can eat foods with alcohol and ignore any of their effects on your blood alcohol levels.

As it turns out, many popular foods cooked with wine or liquor still contain alcohol.

But how much, you ask?

New Scientist deputy editor Graham Lawton decided to experiment on himself to find out. In a video, he eats several dishes, all of which have been sauteed, flambeed, or baked with booze. After each plate, he uses a hand-held breathalyzer to measure his blood alcohol content.

Check out his results:

Course no. 1: Chorizo flambeed with rum

Before he starts eating, Lawton breathalyzes himself. He's already at a 0.2 (0.02 in US measurements) thanks to having sampled some of the dessert he'd made earlier  a trifle with a touch of sherry.

Then, he dips into the appetizer he made, a rum-flambeed chorizo. It looks pretty tasty:

rum flambeed sausage chorizo

When he finishes the sausage, he tests his blood alcohol levels again by blowing into the breathalyzer. Here's his result:

sausage breath

Clearly, his blood alcohol level has gone up. Since it's too high for his BAC meter to calculate accurately, the device simply reads "HI." (We're not sure what kind of meter he was using or how accurate it was, but his readings jibe with a US Department of Agriculture report on alcohol retention levels using various cooking methods.)

"Believe it or not," says Lawton, "I'm already over the drink-drive limit, simply by eating that flambeed chorizo."

While that might seem extreme, we're assuming that Lawton also has an empty stomach when he starts the experiment, meaning that his gut was able to absorb the maximum amount of alcohol from whatever he consumed. That would explain why his BAC went up so fast. Plus, adding alcohol to a boiling liquid and removing it from heat, a process frequently used in making reductions for meat dishes, leaves close to 85% of the alcohol added to the dish intact, according to the USDA report.

Story continues

Course no. 2: Fish stew cooked with white wine

Lawton explains that his next course, a Portuguese fish stew, used 180 milliliters of white wine. The dish was then covered and cooked for 30 minutes.

"You might say surely then that there's none of the alcohol left," says Lawton. We'll see.

fish stew lawton cooking

Again, he finishes the meal and takes a pause to test his blood alcohol levels.

To his surprise, his BAC has actually decreased, measuring in at a 1.3 (0.13 in US measurements). That's because now that he has food in his stomach, he's has begun absorbing the alcohol at a slower rate. Still, this level is still far too high to legally drive.

Of all the cooking methods you could use, baking or simmering (as was likely done with this fish stew) removes the most alcohol overall, according to the USDA report. But 30 minutes of baking still leaves you with a little over a third of any alcohol you added to the mixture.

bac lawton cooking fish

Course no. 3: Sherry trifle with a silybum topping

Lawton says the last course is a traditional dessert made with sherry, but with an added twist: A whipped topping made with cream and silybum (milk thistle) liquor.

lawton cooking dessert alcohol

After a serving of the creamy dessert, he measures his blood alcohol levels again. Not surprisingly, they've shot back up to "HI."

silybum desert blood alcohol level reading

At this point, Lawton has food in his stomach, but not nearly enough to keep up with all the alcohol he's eating. Despite the obvious effects that his three-course-meal has on Lawton, it's important to remember that everyone processes alcohol differently. Everything from how much you weigh to how much you've eaten that day can affect how your body breaks down booze.

Looking for a cooking method that removes the most alcohol possible? Cooking or simmering a dish for 2 and 1/2 hours or more, the USDA report found, removes the majority (but still leaves a small amount). Keep in mind, too, that you can always substitute other liquids for alcohol if needed. Ginger ale works great instead of white wine, for example; tomato juice can be swapped for red wine.

Watch Lawton's full video below.

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Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f113519%2fgettyimages-514742700

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki joined the outpouring of condolences for 22-year-old musician Christina Grimmie on Saturday after she was shot dead by an unnamed gunman while signing autographs after a show in Orlando, Florida on Friday. After opening fire, her brother, Mark Grimmie, tackled the gunman, who then turned the gun on himself and died by suicide.

Shortly after tweeting a news article about the shooting, Wojcicki followed up with another tweet, saying she was, "stunned and saddened to hear the news about Christina Grimmie. A true talent and an inspiration to so many."

SEE ALSO: 15 YouTube covers that display the vast talent of Christina Grimmie

Grimmie first received mass recognition for her impressive vocal range and musical talent in 2009 on YouTube at the age of 15. Grimmie would often post stripped-down piano covers of current pop songs to her channel, which currently has 3,256,655 subscribers and 378,340,659 views as of this writing.

Comments on her YouTube channel were disabled sometime Saturday afternoon.

Following her rise to fame on YouTube, Grimmie later appeared on NBC's The Voice, on Adam Levine's team. She finished in third place.

Some users responded to Wojcicki's tweet, asking YouTube to highlight Grimmie's channel on the front page of the website. At the time of writing, YouTube has yet to honor that request.

Editor's note: The author of this post briefly worked with Christina Grimmie in 2011 as a post-production audio editor.
This is Americas favorite Mexican food chain, in case you were wondering

This is Americas favorite Mexican food chain, in case you were wondering

Whenever we get a hankering for a burrito, we always head to the same place: Chipotle. Which is why we were surprised when the Harris Poll released its brand of the year in the category of fast-casual Mexican restaurants, it wasnt number one. Or two. Or even three or four. Americas favorite Mexican food chain is actually Moes Southwestern Grill.

Eater reported yesterday that the Atlanta-based brand as benefitted the most from Chipotles recent struggles, getting a 5% increase in traffic. On the day that Chipotle closed all its stores for a safety check back in February, Eater reports that Moes took out a full-page to make sure everyone knew that they were open. Looks like it worked.

The rest of the rankings, based on 97,000 responses from United States customers, are just as surprising. Spots two through four are filled by Taco Bell, Qdoba Mexican Grill, and Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, respectively.

However, this doesnt mean its over, Chipotle. Well always love your rice and guac and who says we cant have more than one favorite Mexican restaurant? As long as the chips and salsa keep flowing, were happy.

The post This is Americas favorite Mexican food chain, in case you were wondering appeared first on HelloGiggles.
(Photo: Time)



By Benjamin Ang



The Singapore governments recent announcement that it will restrict Internet access in the public sector amid rising cybersecurity risks has sparked debate about how employees can maintain a high level of work efficiency under such conditions. An unintended consequence of the plan could be the increasing adoption of Shadow IT by public servants.



What is Shadow IT? It is not a dark art practised by computer programmers. Rather, it is the use of unauthorised services like Dropbox, Google Drive and Skype by employees when they lack the technological resources to work productively.



In a large organisation with many complex departments and tasks to handle, the deployment of Shadow IT is highly probable if public servants have limited access to the Internet. But this can result in the creation of new cybersecurity risks even as IT managers in the public service battle existing ones. As such, it is critical that the public service  Singapores biggest employer  manages these risks effectively to protect its IT infrastructure.



Certain local industries, such as banking and military, have established practices to limit Internet access for security reasons. Their employees use the Internet via computers that are connected to separate networks. These practices are similar to the public services plan, which will be fully implemented by May 2017.



The move is understandable when cybersecurity threats are rising at a rapid pace. In recent years, IT security experts have highlighted risks such as spear phishing, or fake e-mail addresses that mislead recipients into clicking on links with the intent of stealing passwords, and ransomware, a type of malicious software that can paralyse an organisations entire network. Industry reports have shown that Singapore is a prime target from hackers who create such malicious tools.



Highly secured systems are, however, not immune to cyberattacks. An Iranian nuclear plant experienced extensive damage to thousands of its centrifuges after it was attacked by Stuxnet, a malicious computer virus, between late 2009 and early 2010 even though it was not connected to the Internet.



To stay connected to the digital world and help the people they serve, public servants have to use the Internet to handle numerous tasks on a daily basis, ranging from research, procurement and training to inter-agency collaboration.



As such, many netizens have questioned if the public service can still achieve high productivity with the new curbs in place. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has commented on the issue, saying that it is about finding the right balance between security and productivity. If we make our system so secure, that it becomes a bother to use, the civil servants will either stop working or will find some way around it, Lee said.



If their productivity is affected, some employees might adopt Shadow IT to circumvent the curbs. They might use cloud services such as Dropbox or WeTransfer to receive large documents on personal devices and transfer them to their workstations.



Studies have shown that more employees around the world are using unauthorised IT tools. However, this could result in the unintentional infiltration of new cybersecurity threats. Employees might use personal devices or unsecured services to create documents and, in the process, cause malicious viruses to infect the entire system.



Public sector organisations should communicate with their employees and identify the unauthorised tools that are being used for work. They could either approve such tools for use or develop alternative solutions without compromising security and productivity.



By keeping an open mind and tapping the creativity of its employees as it transitions to the new IT ecosystem next year, the public service can take a significant step toward propelling Singapore to become a world-class Smart Nation.



Benjamin Ang is a Senior Fellow at the Centre of Excellence for National Security (Cybersecurity Programme), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He is also Education Chair of the Singapore chapter of the Internet Society.


Google's cheap, high-speed Fiber network is the internet we all need, but very few actually get. A lot of that has to do with the cost of running fiber-optic under streets and to houses, which involves a lot of messy manual labor.

One solution Google is looking at, according to Alphabet chairperson Eric Schmidt, is millimeter-wave wireless signals to cover the "last mile" to customers' houses.

DON'T MISS: Siri wont tell me whats happening at WWDC

Millimeter-wave transmission works a lot like Wi-Fi, but at a much higher frequency. This lets the signal car much more data (meaning faster internet), but it mostly works on line-of-sight. That means it wouldn't work well for Wi-Fi in your house or as a substitute for cell networks, but it's perfect for carrying a signal half a mile from a cable junction to a receiver on top of your house.

It's far from a novel idea: back in 2012, a startup called WiSpire in the UK started mounting transmitters to church spires in order to connect individual houses using millimeter-wave transmission (albeit, resulting in far slower internet than proposed by Google).

There's significant technical hurdles to work around, but the end result could be very interesting indeed. Having to run cables into houses to supply internet is one of the more archaic leftovers from the copper phone-line era. If cabling -- and the heinous installation fees that seem to come with wired internet -- could be ditched in favour of a small antenna supplying cheap gigabit internet, Google will have done something truly good for humanity.

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This article was originally published on BGR.com
You can now officially deck out your life in everything Mr. Robot. The hit hacker series premieres its second season on July 13, and USA Network has teamed up with New York City concept shop STORY to celebrate its return. The result? A curated in-store-only selection of tech-themed pieces and accessories inspired by the show (think the heart-shaped sunglasses worn by Carly Chaikin's character, Darlene, and the signature hat that Christian Slater's Mr. Robot is never without), all surrounded by arcade games and interactive displays that recreate the Coney Island headquarters of "fsociety."

Based on the idea of cultural disruption, the "Disrupt STORY" retail experience is certainly one-of-a-kind. The store itself is split into four categorized factions: the Founders, the Innovators, the Union of 1s, and the Expressionists--one of whom is none other than the show's star, Carly Chaikin. She painted an original work of art that's featured on a range of limited-edition merchandise for the installation. "I had been wanting to do a painting of the 'fsociety' mask for a while," the actress and artist told InStyle at the store's unveiling on June 6. "So this was the perfect opportunity."

Chaikin's painting is featured on a backpack, T-shirt, journal, and--the star's personal favorite--a pair of Stance socks in the collection. "I'm the biggest sock fan," she revealed. "My biggest nightmare in life is walking on carpet barefoot." The socks may be Chaikin's most-coveted item in the range, but the star made it clear that she's obsessed with each one of the pieces that displays her art. "I want one of everything," she said. "I'm going to buy it all, because I love it."

Scroll down for a peek inside the store, which will be open through July 24.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Several thousand demonstrators formed a human chain along the perimeter of a U.S. Air Force Base in southwest Germany on Saturday in protest against drone operations by the United States. The demonstration was organized by the alliance "Stop Ramstein - No Drone War", which says the Ramstein base transmits information between operators in the United States and unmanned drone aircraft in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Syria. Police estimated 3-4,000 people had formed the chain close to the base, which serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe. Organizers spoke of 5-7,000 people. No comment was available on Saturday from officials at Ramstein. The use of drones is highly controversial in Germany, where an aversion to military conflict has prevailed since World War Two. Organizers say allowing data for drone deployments to be routed through Ramstein goes against the German constitution and want the base's satellite relay station to be closed. Nearly 15 years after a drone first fired missiles in combat, the U.S. military program has expanded to become an everyday part of the war machine for carrying out surveillance and launching strikes. President Barack Obama last month approved a drone strike in a remote area of Pakistan that killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour. U.S. officials said he had been overseeing plans for new attacks on U.S. targets in Kabul. Critics say drones often miss their intended targets, can only partly relay what is happening on the ground and encourage warfare with impunity, waged by people at computer screens far from danger. (Reporting by Reuters TV and Caroline Copley; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Spacious 12

It's seven hours before DBGB Kitchen and Bar officially opens, but people are already seated in the restaurant's dining area.

They all have their laptops out, and a pair are holding a meeting at a bar table. It's because during the day, the restaurant doubles as a shared workspace.

That's thanks to Spacious, a startup cofounded by Preston Pesek and Chris Smothers to make use of empty restaurants by offering them up to freelancers and others without an office as an alternative to crowded coffee shops.



One customer on Thursday morning was Diana Montano, tour operations and project coordinator for Museum Hack, which provides interactive museum tours. She has meetings with her team members in the restaurant two to three times a week.



Sometimes they chat over near the bar. Sometimes they huddle in the private dining room and make phone calls in the sofa booths.



"I like the fact that it's not a typical office space  just white desks and walls," Montano told Business Insider. "I like the flexibility of using the restaurant space and feeling part of the city."

More than 2,000 restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn are closed before 6 p.m. every day, according to Pesek, who previously worked at the real estate management firm Fortress Investment Group. Smothers was a developer for a roster of startups.



"This is much better to conduct business meetings in a social way," Pesek said. "When a place like DBGB is closed until 5 or 6 p.m., it basically means an excess capacity that the city at large has. Meanwhile, in every coffee shop that you pass by, people are piling on top of each other with laptops."





Spacious 5

The rise of freelancer economy, coupled with more flexible working arrangements nowadays, is creating a vast demand for unconventional work spaces. We already saw the explosive growth of WeWork and newcomers like Mod, which offers cleansing juices and meditation reminders in its coworking space.



Spacious' founders think hospitality and consistency are important. To that end, they manage the playlist and music volume, set up their own Wi-Fi network, provide unlimited coffee (it'll be supplied by either Toby's Estate, Irving Farm Coffee Roasters, or Intelligentsia Coffee) and hire part-time hosts to take care of the members. Smothers, who is also a developer, built a platform that collects revenue and allows for an easy check-in.



Story continues

Spacious 10

Unlike the majority of coworking spaces, Spacious is not subleasing a space from the landlord. The startup charges $95 per month for unlimited access to all locations ($29 for a day pass), and gives a profit share to partnering restaurants every month. About 50 people have signed up for memberships thus far.



Spacious' more ambitious goal is to improve food culture by allowing restaurants to focus on what they do best. "If we can help relieve ground-level retail pressure, then restaurants can afford to take more risks with food, or the head chef can experiment more with new concepts," Pesek said.



It's pretty tempting to work in a restaurant when the kitchen staff is already prepping, and Pesek said that going forward they want to offer small eats and an exclusive lunch menu for members. The open bar is also an option.



Spacious 11

The startup had recently closed a round of fundraising from three venture capital firms, including Lerer Hippeau Ventures, BoxGroup, and SV Angel.



"We have the ability to scale quickly ... once we get an agreement with a partner, we can open in two weeks," said Pesek, citing the ready supply of Wi-Fi, cables, and coffee beans.



Spacious will add L'Apicio as its second location by end of June. There may be more options in Lower Manhattan and Williamsburg this summer.

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By Jonathan Barrett and Byron Kaye

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Air New Zealand (AIR.NZ) agreed to sell nearly 20 percent of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VAH.AX) in a deal that adds a second Chinese conglomerate to the carrier's boardroom, stoking debate over the politics of foreign investment in a key sector.

In a deal worth about A$260 million (133.42 million pounds)), Air NZ on Friday said diversified industrial firm Nanshan Group will buy most of its holding in Australia's second-biggest airline after Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX). Previously flagged, the sale cuts Air NZ exposure to a market where intense competition and low fares have hammered profit margins..

Virgin Australia last week agreed to sell a 13 percent stake in itself to China's HNA Aviation for A$159 million (81.59 million pounds), seeking fresh funds and access to China's surging tourism market in Australia's lucrative but fiercely competitive aviation business. Under the deal, HNA Aviation, the largest private airline operator in China, plans to lift its stake to 19.99 percent.

Neither the Nanshan stake nor the HNA deal require approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), which assesses purchases by non-Australian firm of more than 20 percent in a company. However, prospective Chinese ownership of just under 40 percent of one of the country's two biggest airlines quickly generated political debate.

Senator Nick Xenophon, an independent who could hold the balance of power in the Australian Senate after national elections on July 2, called on the FIRB to review the deals. With polls predicting a close result, the major party that wins may need to secure the popular independent's backing to pass legislation after the election.

"Obviously the Foreign Investment Review Board needs to look at that," Xenophon told Reuters in a telephone interview. "My issue has always been about Australian ownership and not targeting the particular foreign countries."

Story continues

Nanshan's purchase of 19.98 percent of Virgin Australia is comparatively small for a conglomerate with businesses sprawling from metals to real estate, with annual revenue of over 30 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) according to the latest Thomson Reuters data available.

But the deal will develop Nanshan's fledgling aviation operations, which include regional carrier Qingdao Airlines.

Virgin Australia investors welcomed the prospect of greater exposure to China traffic, sending shares up over 5 percent in midday trading to A$0.3, while the broader market was down 1 percent. Air NZ priced the sale to Nanshan at A$0.33 per share, and will retain a 2 percent Virgin Australia holding after completion.

In a statement, Virgin Australia said it expected Nanshan would nominate a representative for its board, joining an HNA representative. "We look forward to meeting with Nanshan Group over the coming weeks to discuss the proposed acquisition," the statement said.

The airline's share register will change dramatically as a result of the Nanshan and HNA transactions, with four companies controlling close to 80 per cent of the share register.

As well as the two Chinese companies, major investors Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) make up a foursome that will dominate the Virgin Australia boardroom, while Richard Branson's Virgin Group has a further 8.7 percent stake in the airline.

(Reporting by Jonathan Barrett and Byron Kaye in SYDNEY; Additional reporting by Rebecca Howard in WELLINGTON; Editing by G Crosse and Kenneth Maxwell)
A Monsanto logo is pictured in the company headquarters in Morges, Switzerland, May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

By Greg Roumeliotis

(Reuters) - Monsanto Co (MON.N), the world's largest seed company, has still not opened its books more than two weeks after it rejected Bayer AG's (BAYGn.DE) $62 billion acquisition offer but left the door open to a possible deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

The impasse shows that little progress in negotiations has been made since Monsanto on May 24 turned down its German peer's $122-per-share cash offer but said it was open to "continued and constructive conversations."

Monsanto has said that Bayer's offer "significantly undervalues (the) company and also does not adequately address or provide reassurance for some of the potential financing and regulatory execution risks related to the acquisition."

Bayer, however, has no plans to increase its offer without first reviewing Monsanto's confidential information, the sources said on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the talks.

The Leverkusen-based company needs access to Monsanto's books before it can decide whether it can pay a higher price, as well as offer a more detailed plan on how to address potential antitrust risks, the sources added.

Bayer also has no intention currently to go hostile with its bid, the sources said.

Monsanto, based in St. Louis, has not directly told Bayer that it is looking for better terms in order for it to offer the German company access to confidential information, according to one of the sources.

However, Monsanto's lack of engagement demonstrates that it not only views Bayer's offer as too low, but that it does not even consider it as a basis for negotiations, the sources said.

The situation did not change even after Monsanto held a regular board meeting this week to approve a quarterly dividend of 54 cents per share.

Bayer declined to comment, while a Monsanto spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal had reported earlier on Friday that Bayer had made a new takeover approach to Monsanto that was rebuffed, in part because it didn't include a higher price.

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Bayer's unsolicited bid for Monsanto is the largest all-cash takeover on record, according to Thomson Reuters data, just ahead of InBev SA's $60.4 billion offer for Anheuser-Busch in June 2008.

Global agrochemicals companies are racing to consolidate, partly in response to a drop in commodity prices that has hit farm incomes. Seeds and pesticides markets are also increasingly converging.

ChemChina plans to buy Switzerland's Syngenta (SYNN.S) for $43 billion, after Syngenta rejected a bid from Monsanto. Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N) and DuPont (DD.N) are forging a $130 billion business.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Arno Schuetz and PJ Huffstutter in Chicago; Editing by Paul Simao)
By Jessica DiNapoli and Jared Leone

NEW YORK/ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Reuters) - Gawker Media LLC, an online publishing pioneer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and put itself up for sale on Friday after a $140 million court judgment against it in a lawsuit brought by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan over a sex tape.

The move followed revelations that Hogan's lawsuit, along with several others against Gawker, were being bankrolled by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, an early backer of Facebook (FB.O) and a co-founder of PayPal (PYPL.O).

Thiel's involvement, which stemmed from his ire over Gawker's writings about him and his friends in Silicon Valley, raised alarm bells in U.S. media circles over the prospect of wealthy individuals using the courts to muzzle the press.

Gawker vowed to continue operating its seven websites during the bankruptcy process. Media company Ziff Davis LLC has entered an agreement to buy Gawker's assets for a little less than $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter, but that may be only the initial bid in a court-supervised auction likely to take place at the end of July.

"Even with his billions, Thiel will not silence our writers," Gawker founder and Chief Executive Nick Denton said on Twitter. "Our sites will thrive  under new ownership  and we'll win in court."

Hogan's lawsuit accused Gawker, Denton and former Gawker editor A.J. Daulerio of violating his privacy by publishing a one minute, 41-second edited video clip featuring Hogan having sex with the wife of his then-best friend, the radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem.

In March, a six-person jury awarded $60 million to Hogan, 62, for emotional distress and $55 million for economic damages. The jury then added another $25 million in punitive damages.

Gawker has vowed to appeal the verdict, and legal experts believe the company has a good chance of eventually having the award thrown out or reduced. But at a post-trial hearing in St. Petersburg, Florida on Friday, Gawker said it had just $5.3 million in cash on hand and faced massive legal bills.

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The judge agreed to postpone payment of the $140 million judgment while Gawker pursued its appeal, but required the defendants to put up their shares of the company as collateral to be held by Hogan's lawyers.

Gawker objected to having Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, hold the collateral and proposed a different arrangement, which the judge rejected. The company then filed for bankruptcy.

Gawker filed a separate lawsuit in bankruptcy court on Friday asking the judge to extend the bankruptcy court protections to Denton, Daulerio and other former and current Gawker employees.

The lawsuit states that Denton could be forced to file for personal bankruptcy if the lawsuits against him personally are allowed to proceed.

Denton owns about 30 percent of Gawker, according to the lawsuit. The company posted revenues of $49.9 million in 2015, according to the documents, and has grown at a compound annual rate of 24 percent over the past 3 years.

Gawker and Denton were influential forces in the development of online media, developing a direct, conversational and sometimes-slashing style that dispensed with many journalistic conventions and was widely imitated. Its eagerness to dish salacious gossip was often condemned, but it was also one of the few early digital publishers to build a profitable independent business.

Along with its flagship Gawker site, Gawker Media also publishes consumer websites Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Kotaku, Jalopnik, Deadspin and Jezebel.

Denton said in a prepared statement that he was "encouraged" by the agreement from Ziff Davis, which itself has a long and rocky history. Once a powerful technology trade publisher, the company went through bankruptcy of its own in 2008 and now produces consumer technology websites include AskMen, Computer Shopper and Geek.com.

"There's a tremendous fit between the two organizations, from brands to audience to monetization," said a spokesman for Ziff Davis. "We look forward to the possibility of adding these great brands -- and the talented people who support them -- to the Ziff Davis family."

It was not clear on Friday what other bidders might emerge. Univision, which is expanding aggressively in digital media, had previously been cited as a possible suitor.

A spokesman for Peter Thiel declined to comment on Gawker's bankruptcy filing.

David Houston, an attorney for Hogan, said: "We have every intention to continue to pursue our judgment against Gawker and to hold them accountable for violating Mr. Bollea's privacy whether it be in the bankruptcy court or any other court."

(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Jared Leone in St. Petersburg, Florida; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Tom Brown)
American cybersecurity activist Jacob Appelbaum, now under scrutiny by U.S. law enforcement, speaks at a 2014 conference on digital society in Berlin. (Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

A top online-anonymity service, a renowned hacker collective and a privacy organization employing Edward Snowden all recently broke ties with security researcher Jacob Appelbaum amid numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault.

Appelbaum, 33, is an outspoken privacy activist and confidant of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Rolling Stone dubbed him the American WikiLeaks hacker in 2010, a few months after Appelbaum filled in for Assange at the HOPE hacker conference, where Appelbaum gave a speech supporting Army private Bradley (now Chelsea) Mannings leak of more than 700,000 classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks. In 2013, Appelbaum vetted NSA contractor Edward Snowden for journalist Laura Poitras. He then worked with Poitras at Der Spiegel, where they pored over documents provided by Snowden.

On Saturday, the Tor Project, a nonprofit that maintains software for the anonymous-communication Tor web browser, announced Appelbaums resignation. Executive director Shari Steele wrote that Appelbaum, who had worked for Tor as a developer since 2004, stepped down after the nonprofit learned of sexual mistreatment allegations that were consistent with rumors some of us had been hearing for some time. Steele added that the most recent allegations are much more serious and concrete than anything we had heard previously.

This may have been a reference to a website where pseudonymous users allege that Appelbaum committed sexual assaults and intimidated victims from speaking out.

Appelbaum denied all of the allegations, issuing a lengthy statement calling them part of a plot to smear him. Vague rumors and smear campaigns against me are nothing new, Appelbaum wrote. As a longtime public advocate for free speech and a secure internet, there have been plenty of attempts to undermine my work over the years.

Appelbaum further claimed that he was the target of a fake website in my name that has falsely accused me of serious crimes and was prepared to use legal channels, if necessary, to defend my reputation from these libelous accusations.

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U.S. journalist and internet activist Jacob Appelbaum at a demonstration in support of freedom of press on August 1, 2015, in Berlin. (Photo: Britta Pedersen/AFP)

Two Tor staffers, Andrea Shepard and Alison Macrina, said they spoke to some of the people who accused Appelbaum on the website and vouched for their stories.

[The website is] related to something that started happening in earnest about three or four months ago, Macrina told the Daily Dot. People stopped being afraid to talk to each other about Jake. Thats how I heard from some victims.

Security engineer Leigh Honeywell, who said she was sexually involved with Appelbaum in 2006 and 2007, publicly detailed alleged abuse by Appelbaum. Honeywell wrote that he violated boundaries I set as though they were a game, particularly at times when I was intoxicated. There were a number of times I felt afraid and violated during interactions with Jacob.

Other members of the information activist community acknowledged that Appelbaums alleged behavior had been an open secret. This isnt new or recent behavior. Violet Blue, a journalist who said she has known Appelbaum since 2005, tweeted. Many of us are just surprised it took this long to come out.

Jake hated and threatened me because I wouldn't fuck him, and his humiliation/bullying tactics didn't work to make me give in. And because   Violet Blue  (@violetblue) June 8, 2016

-because I physically stopped him from harassing/trying to isolate and fuck a frightened female friend at a party. He was furious.  Violet Blue  (@violetblue) June 8, 2016

Asher Wolf, an Australia-based information activist who previously worked with WikiLeaks and organized events to teach people how to use Tor, told Yahoo News: There were whispers [about Appelbaums inappropriate conduct] for years. But it was only last year I heard allegations directly from people. The thing that is problematic is finding a way to work on [sexual assault] issues. Its a community that often distrusts law enforcement.

Values are undermined for a three-ring circus

Given the sudden volume and intensity of the allegations against Appelbaum, prominent members of the community are now calling for people who feel victimized to speak out.

The Cult of the Dead Cow, a legendary hacker collective to which Appelbaum has belonged since 2008, announced that it was troubled to hear the allegations of sexual abuse, manipulation and bullying leveled against one of our members, Jacob Appelbaum, aka ioerror. The group decided to remove Jake from the herd effective immediately and encouraged others with relevant testimony to come forward and work with authorities if appropriate.

We know that it may be scary, but we also encourage victims to contact their appropriate local authorities, the statement said. We understand the complicated relationship we all have with law enforcement, but there is a time and place for government intervention.

Wolf explained that while the hacktivist community avoids institutional governance, it also lacks any alternative mechanism for dealing with alleged sexual mistreatment or assault. In hackerspaces and activist communities, often the guidelines are not formalized and no one is tasked with implementing those standards, she said.

The result, a sort of responsibility anarchy, isnt working because vigilante action against serial boundary-crossers, harassers,  is also highly problematic, Wolf said. Theres a failure of leadership in formal organized spaces such as hacker conferences and working spaces.

Furthermore, according to Wolf, the halo of hero worship surrounding influential members of the male-dominated community makes it difficult for people to act on their accusations. Consequently, Appelbaum is merely the most high-profile example of a culture that has seemingly run amok.

We talk a lot about how ethics should underpin the fight for privacy, encryption and free communication. But often in the hero worship of media-pumped activists employed by NGOs, these values are undermined for a three-ring circus, a party culture or a bro-fest, she said. We see the same circle of individuals time and time again on the conference circuit.  To speak up [against alleged sexual assault] means taking on cliques linked to potential employment and support networks.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, second from left, at a 2011 news conference in London with Jacob Appelbaum, third from left. (Photo: Luke MacGregor/Reuters)

Vetting Snowden

Appelbaum played an underappreciated role in the Snowden saga, helping Poitras early on and throughout the initiative to receive and peruse an estimated 200,000 documents provided by Snowden in Hong Kong in early June 2013.

But now it seems that the organization closest to Snowden has seemingly disavowed Appelbaum.

The Freedom of the Press Foundation, originally created to raise money for WikiLeaks, dropped Appelbaum from its technical advisory board on Wednesday in light of the serious accusations made against him. Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald, the two American journalists who famously met Snowden in Hong Kong, helped found the Freedom of the Press Foundation in December 2012. Poitras began communicating with Snowden in January 2013.

At some point, Poitras, who had often worked with WikiLeaks and Appelbaum, asked Appelbaum to vet a then anonymous source. Appelbaum said that Poitras contacted him in mid-May, as Poitras was in the process of putting questions together and thought that asking some specific technical questions was an important part of the source verification process. On May 20, Snowden flew from Hawaii to Hong Kong with up to 1.7 million U.S. documents and waited to meet the Poitras and Greenwald.

From left, Trevor Paglen, artist, geographer and author; Jacob Appelbaum, computer security researcher, hacker and photographer; and Laura Poitras, documentary filmmaker, attend the Transmediale festival for art and digital culture on January 30, 2014 in Berlin. (Photo: Adam Berry/Getty Images)

In July 2013, after Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Russia, where he currently lives, Poitras and Appelbaum published an interview with Snowden. Also that month, Appelbaum explained that he decided to move to Berlin in case the authorities decided to target him in connection with Snowden. It turned out Appelbaum had coincidentally traveled to Hawaii in late March 2013, while Snowden prepared his massive data dump, and his high profile as Assanges right-hand man during the Manning leak made him wary of staying in the U.S.

Im in Berlin right now because I had the really f***ing awful unfortunate mistake of my whole life dreaming to go to Hawaii, to go swimming with manta rays and dolphins and like all this other like, you know unicorns and rainbows and all that stuff, right?  So I was in Hawaii for my 30th birthday, and 20 of my friends came.  The problem with data retention is it tells a story about you which is not necessarily true  but its made up of facts.  So lets say an analyst, looking at your data trail because of a grand jury, lets say related to WikiLeaks, or other things, lets say the largest national security leak in human history. Well, can you imagine what that analyst is thinking, now that Ive had the misfortune of finally living this childhood dream? Only to have two months later, a guy  being stationed in Hawaii, leaking these documents. So heres a great threat: I dont actually trust that my country is a safe enough place.  So I came to Berlin because I thought it would be a much better place to write about some of the things that are taking place now.

Appelbaum served as the lead reporter on several Snowden stories for Der Spiegel, including a report about the NSA allegedly tapping one of German Chancellor Angela Merkels cellphones. Another report discussed a top secret catalog detailing NSA hacking tools. Appelbaum also accepted an award on Snowdens behalf in Germany.

Snowden and Appelbaum officially became colleagues in March 2014, when Appelbaum joined the Freedom of the Press Foundations technical advisory board in March 2014. Snowden had joined Poitras and Greenwald on the board of directors in January 2014. Snowden, Poitras and Greenwald have not yet commented individually on the allegations against Appelbaum.

Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald accept the award for best documentary feature for Citizenfour at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015. (Photo: John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Yahoo News contacted Appelbaum, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Tor for additional comment but did not receive any responses.

These issues arent new or confined to one individual

For a decade, Appelbaum influenced the hacker scene and privacy community. He was a force of nature for Tor, the Cult of the Dead Cow, WikiLeaks and the people surrounding Snowden. But as of this week, most prominent members of the privacy-rights community are no longer Appelbaums allies.

We have been working with a legal firm that specializes in employment issues, including sexual misconduct, Tor said in the Saturday statement. They are advising us on how to handle this, and we intend to follow their advice. This will include investigations of specific allegations where that is possible. We dont know yet where those investigations will lead or if other people involved with Tor are implicated.

Meanwhile, some say Appelbaums downfall is casting a harsh light on a broader sexual mistreatment problem within the hacktivist community. What impact it has remains to be seen.

This isnt just about any of the allegations made recently, Wolf told Yahoo News. Its about the cultures that organizations foster, its about willingness to address these issues  not just in online missives, but also in physical gatherings.

Wolf added that the culture, including the organizations and individuals fostering it, must first realize that the problem goes beyond the disturbing allegations against Jacob Appelbaum.

These issues arent new or confined to one individual, Wolf said. Solving them requires an acknowledgement these issues exist, and leadership in action.
By Timothy Mclaughlin and Antoni Slodkowski YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's new government has been grappling with its first economic management crisis, as a weeks-long traffic jam of cargo ships at the country's biggest port threatens to scare potential investors away and choke off nascent economic growth. The bottleneck at the dilapidated port was caused by a spike in demand for goods as the opening up of the economy accelerates following a historic election win by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) in November. "Because of the general growth of the economy we are packed. The ships have nowhere to go," said Ma Cherry Trivedi, managing director of Ayuroma International, an advisor to Myanmar Industrial Port (MIP), where congestion has been worst. Myanmar boasts one of the world's fastest growing economies, expanding at 7-8 percent in the years since the military relinquished direct control in 2011. But its main port has changed little since the end of British colonial rule nearly 70 years ago - emblematic of ramshackle infrastructure that could hold back the foreign investment Suu Kyi needs to live up to sky-high expectations and remake a country impoverished by decades of junta rule. The number of ships docking in Yangon has doubled over the past decade and the number of containers has jumped fourfold, data shows, clogging up inadequate storage space, overwhelming sclerotic logistics systems and delaying deliveries. "We bring in the steel, the cement, everything you can think of...as infrastructure grows, which is the key aspect of any development in a country like Myanmar, you are going to see massive growth in imports," said Ma Cherry Trivedi. Western shipping lines are largely confined to a single creaking terminal within the port, because of reluctance to use other facilities operated by Asia World, whose majority owner Steven Law remains subject to U.S. sanctions. WORKING 24/7 The tipping point into a crisis came when MIP miscalculated the volume of incoming shipments before a three-week holiday in April, when the country largely shut down, shipping companies operating at the terminal said. That meant up to 10 ships faced delays of as long as two weeks to have their cargo unloaded, causing the biggest jam the port had seen in modern times. Industry sources said the hold up cost major shipping lines millions of dollars a week. "There was no proper cooperation between shipping lines, container storage facilities and terminal operators. Chaos," said Aye Lwin, Joint Secretary General of Myanmar's Chamber of Commerce, who was involved in efforts to resolve the jam. Myanmar's presidential office announced emergency measures in mid-May to tackle the congestion, including 24-hour port operation and customs clearance, and ordered daily reports from the ministers of commerce and transport. Some of the biggest shipping companies, such as Denmark's Maersk Line Ltd [APMOLM.UL], dispatched their own specialists to help manage the situation. By Thursday, the backlog had been largely cleared, Ma Cherry Trivedi said, although additional staff flown in by shipping lines remained in place, as did the emergency measures, to prevent cargoes piling up once more. Tatsuya "Ricky" Ueki, managing director at shipping company MOL Myanmar, said the port infrastructure has not caught up with the economic development of the country. "There's no easy way out of this, but billions of dollars in the country's development hinge on how aggressive the government is in solving the problem," said Ueki. The port jam underscores the challenges Suu Kyi's government faces to keep growth going and attract investment to a country struggling to compete with neighbours in sectors such as garment exports, which rely on accurate and timely deliveries. "Lead times are very important," said Jacob Clere, who works on a European Union-funded project to improve Myanmar's garment industry. "Taking a few days longer than those in the region, they (garment brands) will avoid Myanmar until the lead time is shortened." NOT SO SWEET Another factor contributing to the port disruption has been a crackdown by China on sugar smuggling, officials said. Up to 1 million tonnes of sugar is trafficked into China every year, experts say, mostly entering the country from India and Thailand via Myanmar. In March, just before the handover of power, Myanmar's outgoing government issued additional "re-exporting licences" to sugar traders, Aye Lwin of the chamber of commerce said. That meant that, just as port operations were closing down for the long April holiday, "four vessels came and discharged about 20,000 or 30,000 containers," said Aye Lwin. "These containers couldn't move for the time being, they were blocked." As China stepped up inspections, he said, "our cargo got stuck on the border. So a lot of containers cannot move and a traffic jam is formed all the way to the jetty in Yangon". "There should be quotas and some predictability," Aye Lwin added. "Our governments should talk about it. Otherwise, it's a total mess." (This story corrects company name in paragraph 3 to Ayuroma.) (Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin and Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Alex Richardson)
(Adds details about Goldman and other information sought by New York regulator)

By Suzanne Barlyn

June 10 (Reuters) - New York state regulators have asked Goldman Sachs Group Inc for details about probes into billions of dollars it raised in a bond offering for a scandal-hit Malaysian fund, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The New York State Department of Financial Services, in a letter sent late Thursday, asked Goldman for a report on its in-house investigation into the matter, as well as others by U.S. and foreign regulators, said the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

The letter to Goldman concerns state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined to comment.

The New York regulator has imposed a tight deadline for Goldman of June 14.

The fund at issue, which was founded by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 shortly after he came to office, is being investigated for money-laundering in at least six countries.

U.S. law enforcement officials are attempting to identify whether Goldman violated federal law after failing to flag a transaction in Malaysia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The probe concerns $3 billion raised by Goldman through a 1MDB bond offering. The focal point is whether the bank complied with the Bank Secrecy Act, the main U.S. anti-money laundering law.

Other information being sought by the New York regulator includes reports about suspicious financial activity that Goldman may have filed with U.S. and foreign authorities, and schedules for interviews or testimony by current or former Goldman employees by other regulators, the person familiar with the matter said.

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Richard Chang and Cynthia Osterman)
A Tesla logo hangs on a building outside of a Tesla dealership in New York, U.S., April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo - RTSGU3X

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc has agreed to revise its customer repair agreements to allow owners to report potential safety issues to U.S. auto safety regulators, a government spokesman said on Friday.

The U.S. National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), which on Thursday said Tesla had entered into a "troublesome nondisclosure agreement" with a Model S owner who had suspension problems, said on Friday it had confirmed "that Tesla has clarified the language ... in a satisfactory way, resolving the issue."

The California-based green car maker did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

NHTSA stated its concerns about the nondisclosure agreement on Thursday as it said it was reviewing reports of suspension problems, but had not opened a formal investigation.

On Friday, NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas said Tesla was fully cooperating with the suspension review "and NHTSAs examination of the data is under way. To date, NHTSA has not identified any safety issue with Teslas suspensions."

Tesla on Thursday denied any suspension problems, saying extensive durability testing and review of customer issues "gives us high confidence in our suspensions."

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said on Thursday that the agency was reviewing the automaker's use of the agreements to see if they had impeded owners from making complaints.

Tesla said in a blog post late on Thursday that it "has never and would never ask a customer to sign a document to prevent them from talking to NHTSA or any other government agency. That is preposterous."

The company said it often agrees to cover or discount repairs even if Tesla is not responsible and requires customers to sign a "goodwill agreement" that requires nondisclosure of the incident.

Tesla noted the agreement did not mention NHTSA and "has nothing to do with trying to stop someone from communicating with NHTSA or the government about our cars."

NHTSA said on Thursday it "learned of Teslas troublesome non-disclosure agreement last month. The agency immediately informed Tesla that any language implying that consumers should not contact the agency regarding safety concerns is unacceptable, and NHTSA expects Tesla to eliminate any such language."

(Editing by Chris Reese and Matthew Lewis)
Toyota trucks are shown for sale at a dealership in Carlsbad, California, U.S. May 2, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday it had told its U.S. dealers to disclose, at the time of sale, the identity of vehicles with defective Takata air bag inflators that will be subject to recalls by 2018.

After criticism by members of Congress, the automaker made public a list of vehicles with inflators subject to future recalls. They include the 2016 Toyota 4Runner and Lexus GX460 still in production. Dealers may also have in stock new 2015 Lexus IS250C/350C and Scion xB, and the 2015 Lexus GX460 and Toyota 4Runner, the company said.

Takata inflators can explode with excessive force and spray metal shrapnel. They are suspected in 13 deaths worldwide and more than 100 injuries.

Last month, Takata (7312.T) agreed to declare as defective, by 2019, another 35 million to 40 million U.S. inflators that lack drying agents in frontal airbags. To date 15 automakers have announced recalls of 16.4 million vehicles and worldwide nearly 100 million inflators have been declared defective.

This week, Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, urged automakers to fix the vehicles before sale or at a minimum disclose the issue before people buy cars.

Nelson praised Toyota, calling the announcement "a positive step for consumers. While I still think automakers shouldnt be selling vehicles with defective airbags, at the very least car buyers should know theyre purchasing a vehicle that will be subject to a future recall.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said at a Senate hearing on Wednesday that he agreed automakers should make the disclosures but said he lacked the legal authority to require them.

Last week, a report from Nelson said Toyota said it would produce 175,000 U.S. vehicles with air bag inflators that would be subject to recalls by July but did not disclose the vehicles.

The report also said Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI), Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) are also still selling new vehicles with defective air bags that will eventually need to be recalled.

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The vehicles are legal to sell but must be recalled by 2018.

The NHTSA said there have been no ruptures in any vehicles built since 2008. According to the NHTSA, the vehicles do not become vulnerable to exploding airbags without long-term exposure to high humidity. In the short-term, the agency says, they are safe to drive - and much safer than the older models.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Steve Orlofsky)
The UK voted its way out of the EU in a June referendum but the official divorce proceedings cannot begin until Britain starts procedures (AFP Photo/Philippe Huguen)

London (AFP) - Thirteen of Britain's top scientists signed a letter backing the campaign to remain in the EU Saturday after a dramatic new poll boosted the momentum behind the Brexit campaign less than two weeks before the June 23 referendum.

Nobel Prize winners including Peter Higgs -- after whom the Higgs Boson, believed to explain how matter acquires mass, is named -- and geneticist Paul Nurse said the loss of research funding would be one consequence of leaving the bloc.

"The prospect of losing EU research funding is a key risk to UK science," the scientists wrote in a letter published by the Daily Telegraph.

"Science thrives on permeability of ideas and people, and flourishes in environments that pool intelligence, minimise barriers, and are open to free exchange and collaboration.

"The EU provides such an environment and scientists value it highly."

Ahead of the June 23 referendum on European Union membership, the race is looking close.

An online ORB poll for the Independent newspaper Friday sent sterling falling after indicating that 55 percent of Britons want to leave the EU, compared to 45 percent who want to stay.

An average of the last six opinion polls by academics at the What UK Thinks project indicates the race is tied, with each side on 50 percent.

Senior figures in the main opposition Labour party are urging its leadership to step up their efforts to keep Britain in the EU.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist, has long been sceptical of the EU and has played a relatively muted role in the "Remain" campaign.

"Weave got to throw every vote at it," Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson told the Guardian. "We've got to redouble our efforts."

Appearing on a late night chat show on Channel 4 Friday, Corbyn rated his passion for staying in Europe at "seven, seven and a half".

- Richer outside EU? -

Britain's top polling expert John Curtice this week said that, while it appeared there was "a substantial body of evidence supporting the idea that 'Leave' have made some progress", this should be treated with caution.

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One factor behind the changes may be that the "Leave" camp is finding it easier to influence commentators since May 27, when a pre-vote period in which the government can no longer publish pro-EU analysis and statistics started, Curtice said.

Meanwhile, one of Britain's leading inventors, James Dyson, came out in favour of leaving the EU.

He told the Telegraph: "We will create more wealth and more jobs by being outside the EU.

"We will be in control of our destiny. And control, I think, is the most important thing in life and business."

Dyson is a billionaire best known for his bagless vacuum cleaners.

His company says its products are used in over 65 countries worldwide.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Germany's top selling weekly magazine Der Spiegel urged British voters: "Please don't go!" in a special pre-referendum issue.
A view of the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Suzanne Barlyn

(Reuters) - New York state regulators have asked Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N> for details about probes into billions of dollars it raised in a bond offering for a scandal-hit Malaysian fund, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The New York State Department of Financial Services, in a letter sent late Thursday, asked Goldman for a report on its in-house investigation into the matter, as well as others by U.S. and foreign regulators, said the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

The letter to Goldman concerns state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined to comment.

The New York regulator has imposed a tight deadline for Goldman of June 14.

The fund at issue, which was founded by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 shortly after he came to office, is being investigated for money-laundering in at least six countries.

U.S. law enforcement officials are attempting to identify whether Goldman violated federal law after failing to flag a transaction in Malaysia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The probe concerns $3 billion raised by Goldman through a 1MDB bond offering. The focal point is whether the bank complied with the Bank Secrecy Act, the main U.S. anti-money laundering law.

Other information being sought by the New York regulator includes reports about suspicious financial activity that Goldman may have filed with U.S. and foreign authorities, and schedules for interviews or testimony by current or former Goldman employees by other regulators, the person familiar with the matter said.

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Richard Chang and Cynthia Osterman)
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Taipei, June 11 (CNA) Hung Hsiu-chu (), chairwoman of the Kuomintang party, on Saturday thanked President Tsai Ing-wen () for her response to her Facebook post regarding an incident of verbal abuse against a "mainlander" veteran and called for concerted efforts to end hatred after a video showing prejudice against people who came to Taiwan from China during the retreat of the Nationalist government seven decades ago drew public condemnation.
One of Harper's 'accomplishments'Quebec will soon have its firearms registryQUEBEC  Bill 64, which requires the registration of long guns, was adopted on Thursday at the National Assembly, on the eve of the adjournment of the current parliamentary session.Since its filing, last December, the bill to provide Quebec with a firearms registry did not have unanimous approval among the population, particularly in rural areas where there are many hunters.The bill passed with 99 votes in favour and eight against. There were no abstentions.About a third of the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) caucus, seven MNAs, voted against the bill, as well as Sylvie Roy, a former CAQ member from Arthabaska, who became an independent.Premier Philippe Couillard imposed party discipline on his MNAs in order to pass the bill, but not the CAQ; their caucus was divided on the issue. Some Liberals and members of the PQ had reservations, but all rallied in the end, passing the bill.In a statement, the Parti Quebecois said it was proud to have contributed to the adoption of Bill 64.The law on the registration of firearms is an important measure that improves the safety of Quebecers, assured Stephane Bergeron, chief whip of the official opposition.The PQ also expressed pride for the changes the party spearheaded in the proposed legislation.
The judge overseeing the trial of a police officer charged with murder in the death of Freddie Gray has determined that prosecutors withheld information that would have been beneficial to the defense.Judge Barry Williams was visibly angry in the Baltimore court, but he did not dismiss the charges against police officer Caesar Goodson, as his attorneys had requested. Williams is giving prosecutors until Monday to disclose any other relevant evidence they have withheld. Goodson was the driver of the van during the arrest of Gray, 25, last year.Goodson's attorneys have argued that prosecutors withheld statements made last year by Donta Allen, a key witness. Allen was picked up by the Baltimore police van after Gray.In his original statement to police in April last year, Allen said he heard banging coming from Gray's side of the vehicle. He gave a similar statement in a separate interview with prosecutors a month later, but the state never turned it over as evidence to defense attorneys.Williams found today that prosecutors committed a Brady violation  after Brady v. Maryland, a 1963 Supreme Court decision requiring prosecutors to disclose evidence that would aid the defense  because Allen's May 2015 statement was deemed exculpatory evidence.The state doesnt get to decide whether or not to disclose information, defense attorney Andrew Graham said. The state sat on it for over a year. Its not up to them to make that decision. Even a small piece of evidence may make a difference. Its not fair to the defense.He explained that had Allens lawyer, who was present during the second interview, not stepped forward, the defense would not have known about it. According to Graham, Allens lawyer didnt come forward sooner because he felt his first obligation was to maintain his clients confidentiality.Chief Deputy States Attorney Michael Schatzow tried explaining to the judge that the prosecution didnt think the second interview with Allen was important, calling it a waste of time. Schatzow said his team didnt take notes during that meeting.Williams has given Schatzow until Monday to turn over any other evidence the state might be withholding from the defense not only as it relates to this case but also in the next four trials.Goodsons trial is arguably the highest-profile of the cases; he is the only officer involved in Gray's death facing a murder charge. Officer William Porter's trial ended with a hung jury in December, and he will be retried in September. Officer Edward Nero, who opted for a bench trial, was acquitted last month.
Houston man gets life in prison for 9th DWI conviction

Canadian Press Montgomery County Sheriffs Office Booking photo of Donald Middleton CONROE, Texas  A Houston man convicted of drunken driving nine times since 1980 has been sentenced to life in prison.The Montgomery County judge who sentenced Donald Middleton on Tuesday said the 56-year-old man is a habitual offender.Middleton pleaded guilty last week to driving drunk in a May 2015 traffic accident.Investigators say Middleton was arrested after he fled on foot after the wreck, ran to a store and begged the clerks not to turn him in.Prosecutors say Middleton has already served four prison terms for alcohol-related convictions.Above is a great example that SGI needs to take into account. Actually ALL License Issuers in Canada need to take heed and follow suit.Here is my point, The Criminal Code of Canada, states that driving under the influence is an indictable offence. So why is it treated so much as a misdemeanor? BLEEDING HEART LIBERALS. Oh they have a disease "ALCOHOLISM". I have diabetes and if I drive and my blood sugar is low, I can be charged under the same law, therefore, I make sure I have food and drink in my vehicle to keep my blood sugars in check. Now... a drunk driver hits and kills a kid, and he gets to walk free? A motorcyclist, is hit by a drunk driver, then according to the CEO of SGI, its because Riding a Motorcycle is Inherently More Dangerous. A woman I know was on her bike, hit by a drunk and high woman, that managed to park her SUV on top of the woman on her bike, got check this out for all you Bleeding heart liberals.... $3000 dollar fine... 3 year prohibition from driving. Hmmmmm now maybe its just me... I think we need to start setting a precident to get the point across.... You Drink, You Drive, You go to JAIL. I'm getting sick and tired of the whole "but its not my fault cuz I was drunk" attitude. You chose to drink, You made the choice to get drunk, You got in the car and drove after drinking, You choose to go to JAIL. Repeat offenders, be prepared to face the music. Its about time that the INJUSTICE system in Canada became the JUSTICE system.Here is my question to the readers on this forum?Am I being to hard and not caring enough about people that break laws? Am I being too intollerant of people that make bad and stupid choices? Maybe I should be the one in jail for being a law abiding citizen that has lost from these people. I think we as LAW ABIDING citizens need to start dealing with the real issues. If we need to build more jails so be it. Hell Use the prisoners to do the labour, I'm paying to house them anyway. Make them earn their keep. Well enough ranting for today. Have a great day all.
OMAHA  Plattsmouth High School students played leading roles in the states top theatre showcase of the year.

Plattsmouth teenagers appeared on the Holland Performing Arts Center stage Thursday night at the Omaha Performing Arts Nebraska High School Theatre Awards. The Blue Devils showcased their abilities in front of hundreds of audience members in the auditorium. Students from across the state came together for an event that honored the top musical theatre productions of the year.

Plattsmouth teacher and musical director Tyler Orvis said he was thrilled to see the Blue Devils perform in front of the statewide audience. He said the students earned the honor with their work ethic and commitment to the play throughout the school year. He said that dedication allowed the group to receive a memorable reward in Omaha.

It certainly was a wonderful experience to watch them on stage, in such a special setting, share the art they created, Orvis said. The pride I felt didnt come from the moment, but from the process leading up to the moment. The way in which our students continually embrace honesty and openness, and dedicate themselves to the telling of great stories will never cease to amaze me.

They pass these things along, and each class, each show, is an extension and progression of the unique culture created by all those that were once part of the program, students and staff alike. I am proud of the moment, indeed, but more proud of those, present and past, who have made it so.

PHS cast members performed a scene from the musical Sweeney Todd during the evening. Students who were in the play included Zach Prall, Josie Ptacek, Lucas Powell, Josie Ritzman, Carson Santee, Nolan Randall, Casey R. Scott, Alene Groenjes, Grace Roby, Angelina Stuhr, Bethany Leonhardt, Rose Ptacek, Teri Richt, Kylie Turner, Hannah Bowles, Sydnee Bell, Joshua Voogd, Shawn Leonhardt, Zakary Neumann and Cody Drap.

Mariah Glynn was stage manager and Brittany Wilke was a member of the stage crew. Tim Schreiber (organ), Parker Cundall (percussion) and Kayla Blinston (clarinet) all played in the orchestra for the musical.

PHS students learned in May that they had earned six nominations for their Sweeney Todd efforts. Plattsmouth was one of ten schools that received awards Thursday night in the Outstanding Musical Theatre Production and Outstanding Ensemble categories. Orvis and fellow PHS teacher Chris Work accepted the awards on behalf of the entire cast.

Prall and Josie Ptacek each received a pair of prestigious honors at the showcase. Both students earned Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role awards. Prall was one of ten award-winning lead actors and Ptacek was one of ten award-winning lead actresses.

Prall and Ptacek were also two of 12 Nebraska finalists for the National High School Musical Theatre Awards program. All 12 nominees performed together on stage for the audience. They also received medals for their achievements. Lauren Johnson of Bellevue West and Matthew Hakel of Lincoln Southwest were selected to represent Nebraska at the national awards showcase.

Orvis said it was a fitting end to the high school careers of both Prall and Ptacek. He said both were very deserving of the multiple state honors.

Josie and Zach are dynamic young people, both on and off the stage, Orvis said. On the stage, they bring a palpable sense of intensity and truth to every role, and, as an audience member, youre drawn to them. So, it was a thrill to watch them alongside some of the states top talent, sharing their gifts, and being recognized for the incredible work theyve produced.
MASON CITY  Bernadette (Loneia) Stalker and her daughter, Christiana Herrmann, will be starting a new venture July 11 with the opening of Eternal Harmony Wellness Center at 203 First St. S.W. in Mason City, site of the former Salvation Army building.

The duo will offer massage therapy, specializing in Reiki, reflexology, aromatherapy, hot stone and basic Western Swedish massage.

Stalker has been a massage therapist 20 years and is a Reiki master, providing what she says is energy source healing.

Hermann just graduated from Riverland Community College in Austin, Minnesota, and specializes in hot stone therapy, massage and trigger point therapy (deep tissue).

Starting out with school in Washington state, Stalker first went into reflexology and then added Chokra and crystal therapy. She enjoys helping people and likes the healing process of her work. Feng Shui, the flow of the space youre in, is another of her offerings.

She takes continuing education classes and notes that aromatherapy is popular now.

Like her mother, Herrmann enjoys helping people and views the profession as a healthy way to help. She says it really did change her life, instilling a lot of confidence by finally finding something Im good at. She has been manager at a McDonalds in Austin since November of 2009.

Before my daughter was born, I just decided I was going to do it, she said of massage therapy and its related facets.

She got a scholarship and started school in July, viewing the whole year as a series of opportunities.

Herrmann calls her mother a good resource and says they believe in the same lifestyle, which includes spirituality and being able to make positive change  a good health foundation for a lot of things, she says.

For Stalker, her mothers death in January led to a self-evaluation. She had been doing other things and decided life is too short to not do what Im passionate about. Her then-fiance and now her husband, Tom Stalker, found the former Salvation Army building, which they now own, and she is commuting from Austin.

As a Reiki master, Stalker says the Japanese technique for stress promotes healing through reduction and relaxation. She sees the technique as keeping you grounded, with a balance of the negative and positive  yin and yang  able to create healing energy.

Stalker also is a wellness advocate for doTerrea, which involves oil concentrates for healing. She said she has seen positive outcomes for migraines, high blood pressure and cholesterol, giving people the opportunity to learn and know theres an alternative to traditional medicine.

Excited about her new profession, Herrmann says hot stone therapy involves thermometers and lubricating with cream so the stones are not too hot. They are then tucked over places to be worked on. It just helps loosen muscles, she said. Cold stones also can be used.

Stalker wanted to bring this kind of business, usually found in bigger cities, to a smaller area, offering alternative ways to relax and ways that treat bodies differently.

She said she hopes people dont form an opinion without coming in, noting that the therapies help you heal from inside out.

Tom Stalker has been doing most of the renovation of the building after he finishes work at his business, Finish Line Motors/Exhaust Pros in Mason City. On target for the July 11 opening, renovation has included building rooms, working on walls and floors, and recently finishing landscaping.

Thank goodness he likes to work, Bernadette said.
FOREST CITY  Repairing the damaged brick and mortar at Forest City's City Hall is a slow process, said Ken Kaiser of Ken Kaiser Restoration of Des Moines.

"It needs to come off slowly so it doesn't come down fast," Kaiser said.

Kaiser's crew was working on City Hall last week. If the weather holds, the crew will be in town for the next few weeks.

The building's south wall has extensive damage around windows as a row of brick is bowing out. The sidewalk along the wall has been closed for a few months because city officials feared full bricks or chunks of bricks would fall.

The front wall is also damaged but not as severely as the south wall, Kaiser said.

"We're finally starting to make some headway," Kaiser said on June 1.

Weather and other jobs kept the crew from steady work on City Hall, Kaiser said.

Weather also caused much of the damage to the brick, Kaiser and Councilman Ron Holland said.

Cycles of freezing and thawing damaged bricks. Cracks formed to allow water to seep in which caused more damage. Even steel within the structure was damaged because it expands during freeze and thaw periods, Kaiser said.

"The building is 100 years old," Holland said. "It's going to need some repairs. Those repairs have got to be done."

Holland said the weather of 2015 with numerous freeze and thaw cycles accelerated the damage.

The city will spend at least $100,000 on the project. Kaiser's estimate was about $114,000. The city committed $125,000 which includes a contingency.

Holland said the roof will also need to be fixed. That will cost about $25,000.

Kaiser said the city will save some money by not having special bricks made for the exterior.

"I can have the bricks reproduced, but that can cost up to $3 a brick," Kaiser said. "Who wants to spend that?"

Kaiser will match the replacement bricks to the bricks on the exterior of the elevator addition to City Hall.

Those bricks will blend in well with the existing brick, Kaiser said.

"I think it will look nice where they will fill in (with replacement brick)," Holland said.

Some of the repair work is below existing brick.

The contractor is placing stainless steel spiral ties above the damaged bricks to hold undamaged bricks in place.

"We need to hold that brick in place above the stone we are taking out," Kaiser said.

The top of the building also has an edge that is crumbling in some spots. Kaiser will replace that edge.

Although the crew can use tools for some of the work, "we've gotta be careful," Kaiser said.

City Hall is not a registered historical building, but Kaiser said the same care needs to be applied to protect the structure and look of the building.

Holland said the priority is to repair the south side of the building. The front side may also be repaired this summer but "some work could wait."
MASON CITY  The Mason City Park Board will discuss a new policy Tuesday night that the Aquatic Center will not open unless the projected temperature for the day is 78 degrees.

Superintendent of Recreation Brian Pauly instituted the new policy as a way to save money.

He said he was asked earlier this year to cut $14,000 from his budget or produce $14,000 in additional revenue. He decided to try the new plan with the pool.

He said when temperatures are cool, attendance is low and the pool loses money because of paying staff and other expenses.

The pool opened for the season on June 3.

Park Board member Troy Levenhagen said he has heard complaints from constituents and decided to bring it to the board for discussion.

Pauly said he is open to suggestions and has other ideas if the board doesn't agree with the new policy.

In other business, Brian Hanft of the Cerro Gordo Department of Public Health will give a presentation on the Zika virus.

The meeting is at 6 p.m. in the board office at 326 Fourth St. N.E.

 John Skipper
ST. ANSGAR  With a love for creating art, Melisa Horst, 22, of St. Ansgar, has become an accomplished illustrator and painter. Horst has several pieces of her artwork on display at the Osage Public Library.

At age 15, Horst began illustrating childrens books, and at age 20 had her first childrens coloring book published.

Horst said she is mainly self-taught and her drawing techniques are inspired by Lee Hammond, John Stobart, Vicki Lord and Roland Roycraft, to name a few. She said she will sometimes pick up an art book to get ideas.

I also had several teachers encourage me to keep painting, said Horst.

Horst said her favorite media in which to create are pencil and acrylics. However, she is starting to experiment with watercolors. She also works in charcoal, chalks and oil pastels.

My favorite is paints, she said. There are more options, more colors, and I think it is more exciting to create by painting.

Her subjects range from portraits to nature scenes.

I like to draw and paint a little bit of everything, said Horst. I would like to do more people, but they are harder.

It really comes down to what catches my eye.

At age 15, Horst started illustrating childrens books for Rod & Staff Publishing.

I knew they were looking for more artists to illustrate, she said. So I sent in a few examples of my work. They sent me back something to illustrate. I sent it back. They liked what I did, and I have been illustrating for them ever since.

Horst has illustrated parts of two different book series for the company.

She said the company will send her a manuscript indicating the location and size needed for the illustration. Horst said it can take her as many as nine months, working part-time, to complete a manuscript.

In addition to her illustration work, Horst had a child- rens coloring book published in 2014.

My aunt was complaining there werent any good coloring books for kids, said Horst. I sent in a set of approximately 40 pages, very simple coloring pages, to a publishing company. They liked my pages and they turned it into a coloring book.

Horst said she is thinking about putting together another set of coloring pages for a second book.

What the future holds for Horst is unknown.

I havent figured out my place yet, she said. Im just a farm girl who likes to paint.
Camposol Holding Ltd. will hold a conference call announcing the first quarter 2016 results on Friday June 17th,2016. The telephone conference will be held at 10:00 a.m. (Lima) as described below.

Manuel Salazar, CEO, and Maria Cristina Couturier, CFO, will host the conference call presentation and a Q&A session at 10:00 a.m. (Lima).

To participate in the conference call, please use the following numbers:

London, UK Local +44 (0) 20 3427 0503

New York, US Local +1 646 254 3361

Oslo, Norway, Local +47 2350 0486

Chile National Free Phone 123 0020 9330

Colombia National Free Phone 01 800 915 7431

Participants will be asked for their name and conference ID.

The Camposol conference ID is: 5791584

Audio access for the meeting is available by dialing the above mentioned numbers.

To access the presentation webcast in connection with the conference call, please use:

http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/ocja9r3a

Participants are advised to log on to the service and check their configuration well ahead of the telephone conference commencement.

Please use the following link (that is also available from the registration page of your webcasts):http://edge.media-server.com/m/player/help/systemcheck.php?lan=en

If you are unable to participate in the call, a playback of the conference is available until June 24th, 2016 by dialing:

Replay - London, UK Local +44 (0) 20 3427 0598

Replay - US Local +1 347 366 9565

Replay - Oslo, Norway Local +47 2100 0498

Followed by replay access number: 5791584

For further information, please contact:

Jossue Yesquen Lihim, IR Officer

jyesquen@camposol.com.pe

Phone: +511 621 0800 - Ext: 7171

About CAMPOSOL

CAMPOSOL is the leading agro industrial company in Peru, the first producer of avocados and soon the first producer of blueberries in the world. It is involved in the harvest, processing and marketing of high quality agricultural products such as avocados, asparagus, blueberries, grapes, mangoes, tangerines and shrimp; which are exported to Europe, the United States of America and Asia.

CAMPOSOL is a vertically integrated company located in Peru, offering fresh and frozen products. It is the third largest private employer of the country, with more than 13 thousand workers in high season, and is committed to support sustainable development through social responsibility policies and projects aimed to increase the shared-value for all of its stakeholders.

CAMPOSOL was the first Peruvian agro industrial company to present annual audited sustainability reports. CAMPOSOL has achieved the following international certifications: BSCI, Global Gap, IFS, HACCP and BRC among others.

To learn more about CAMPOSOL please visit: www.camposol.com.pe
CHICAGO, June 11, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bermudas reputation as a quality jurisdiction was reinforced during media interviews, high-level business meetings, and networking events in Chicago heading into the weekends Louis Vuitton Americas Cup World Series.



Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5aeb8dde-4626-4b6f-adf4-4decf4cd869d

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3c169291-49ee-4743-9b71-8f893d73aa02

Economic Development Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons and Bermuda Business Development Agency CEO Ross Webber took part in several meetings and interviews as part of an ongoing advocacy campaign to differentiate Bermuda from other international financial centres and underscore its globally-respected record. Among the highlights, the Minister was a guest on The Opening Bell with Steve Grzanich show on Chicagos WGN radio station Friday: http://wgnradio.com/2016/06/10/the-opening-bell-06-10-16-what-bermuda-thinks-of-the-panama-papers/. Gibbons and Webber also held meetings with respected international economist Philip Levy of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Deputy Mayor of the City of Chicago Steven Koch.

It has been a genuine pleasure to meet some key Chicago figures and share information with them about Bermuda and what makes it unique as a business domicilewe appreciate their time and interest in Bermuda, said Gibbons, who was interviewed by Grzanich, a veteran radio newsman who anchors the early-morning business show geared to entrepreneurs and investors.

The Minister spoke to Grzanich about Bermudas quality reputation as an international financial hub, particularly in the wake of attacks on offshore centres related to the Panama Papers, as well as Bermudas global economic contribution, the islands reinsurance sector, its respected regulatory environment, and the Americas Cup 2017.

These were messages he and Webber underscored in fruitful conversations with both Deputy Mayor Koch and Dr. Levy. Chicagoan Koch is a former Wall Street financier who spent more than 20 years with Credit Suisse specialising in mergers and acquisitions and investment banking, before being named to his current post by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in August 2012.

Dr. Levy is a senior fellow on the global economy at the Council, a non-partisan think-tank that conducts research and influences public discourse on critical global issues. He previously served as a senior economist for trade for President George W. Bushs Council of Economic Advisers and was a member of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rices Policy Planning Staff; he currently is also a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

Gibbons and Webber discussed Bermudas advantages and challenges as an offshore centre with Dr. Levy, as well as the islands global economic contribution, worldwide treaty partnerships, OECD affiliations and historic beneficial ownership register, along with global economic issues and Bermudas historic relationship with the United States.

Koch, an avid sailor, invited the Minister and BDA CEO to his office at Chicago City Hall Friday afternoon, where they discussed Bermudas 2017 hosting of the Americas Cup and its projected economic benefits, as well as tourism initiatives and perceptions of Bermuda in the US.

Deputy Mayor Koch was very familiar with Bermudas blue-chip reputation and he recognised its elite status and the fact that in the financial community, Bermuda is thought of differently when compared to other offshore domiciles, said Webber. That was reassuring, and it pays tribute to the efforts Bermuda and its international business sector have made to ensure the jurisdiction is known as a quality brand.

Noted Gibbons: Chicago and Bermuda, despite their obvious differences, share many economic synergies, including a reliance on trade and tourism. The Americas Cup is also a strong connection, as Chicago was one of the contenders to host the 2017 event. Deputy Mayor Koch was gracious about Bermuda winning this honour, and we had an in-depth talk about the events economic benefits. We also shared useful information on mutual efforts to increase business investment and tourism competitiveness in both our jurisdictions.

The BDA also partnered with the BTA and Goslings to host a Bermuda networking dinner for Chicago-area corporate and tourism representatives Thursday night, including several former Bermuda residents.

CONNECTING BUSINESS



The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business here smooth and beneficial.
EMPOWERgmatRichC wrote:

Hi 2ndTimeCharm,



To start, a 710/Q47 is an outstanding score (it's right around the 90th percentile overall), so you should apply to any Business Schools that interest you. You've named some remarkably competitive Schools though, so you have to make sure that you have a strong OVERALL profile AND that you 'market yourself' correctly to each individual School that you apply to. As such, a retest is likely not necessary (although there's no harm in attempting it).



Your two Official Scores are remarkably similar, even after a year and additional study - this means that when you face the Official GMAT, you treat the Exam in a consistent fashion (you do certain things consistently well, but you make the same consistent mistakes). This is almost certainly NOT an issue of 'content knowledge' and answering "hard" questions - it's an issue of how YOU approach the Exam. To score at a higher level, you have to make some fundamental changes to how you 'work', including the Tactics that you use and the notes that you take when dealing with individual questions. You could very easily score higher, but at this level the GMAT becomes really 'sensitive' to little mistakes - and you're making a few too many on Test Day.



1) What Round are you planning to apply for?

2) Are you currently working with an Admissions Expert?



GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,

Rich

Thank you for the quick and detailed response!I am planning to apply to all 5 schools round 1. I am working with an admissions consultant and I think I have a pretty strong story.I am a Caucasian male with 4 years at matriculation of technology consulting experience at a big 4 firm. While this is a common applicant profile I feel that my story flows well and I have numerous extra curricular activities that support my goals.Through retaking the GMAT my goal is to increase my chances of getting accepted into one of these 5 schools with the remaining time I have left.Any advice is greatly appreciated.
A general contracting company has been found guilty of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and three counts of reckless endangerment in the death of Carlos Moncayo, a 22-year-old construction worker who was crushed and killed by an unsecured trench at a Meatpacking District construction site in April 2015.

The maximum penalty is a monetary fine of $35,000, rather than prison time. Still, advocates for immigrant workers said they are pleased with the verdict, which they believe marks the first criminal conviction for a general contractor in relation to a worker death.

"We are happy that justice was done for the family, and we are very confident that contractors will take heed on what not to do," Omar Henriquez, an organizer with the National Day Labor Organizing Network, told Newsweek.

"Today's guilty verdict should signal to the construction industry that managing a project from afar does not insulate a corporation or general contractor from criminal liability," said District Attorney Cy Vance in a statement Friday.

Moncayo, an Ecuadorian immigrant, was employed by the Long Island excavation contractor Sky Materials at the time of his death, working on 9-19 Ninth Avenue near West 13th Street, the former location of Keith McNally's restaurant Pastis.

A recent New York Times report found that construction-related deaths are on the rise, having jumped 53% last year to 324 total workers. The majority of victims have been recent immigrants, who often feel outsized pressure to work despite unsafe conditions, and even forge identification for fear of losing potential income on non-union construction sites.



Moncayo (via Manhattan DA)

Harco Construction was hired to manage and oversee the Pastis site, including the adherence to safety rules laid out by the New York City Building Code and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). While construction sites are legally obligated to fortify trenches that are deeper than five feet, Moncayo was assigned to a seven-foot, unfortified trench and proceeded to excavate it to a depth of 13 feet. According to the Manhattan DA's office, Harco ignored several warnings in the months leading up to the collapse.

Sky Materials has also been charged with manslaughter, and is awaiting trial.

The Department of Buildings issued stop work orders against both Sky and Harco in the aftermath of Moncayo's death. The DOB also mandated that construction workers report unsafe work-site conditions to their office, rather than solely the contractor in question.

Wilmer Cueva, 50, of Sky Materials Corp. and Alfonso Prestia, 54, of Harco Construction were also indicted in relation to the case, with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and reckless endangerment. Those cases are still open and pending.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 13th.
Hip hop legend Grandmaster Flash threw a joyous dance party in McCarren Park last night, with hundreds of people turning out to hear the pioneering producer and DJ scratch and spin for more than 90 minutes as part of the Northside Festival.

Most of those in attendance weren't even born when Grandmaster Flashwho was then teamed with the Furious Fivereleased The Message, the first rap song credited with having a social message and the one which introduced the genre to a much larger audience than previous house jams. No matter though, as everyone young and old had a blast moving to the (mostly) classic beats during to the rapid-fire set.

It was the second night in a row of free shows in the Williamsburg park courtesy of Northside, which hosted an even bigger (though much less dance-y) crowd on Thursday night to see the recently reunited Montreal band Wolf Parade. And the outdoor party continues all weekend, with benefit concertsmeaning you have to payfeaturing Conor Oberst and Kacey Musgraves on Saturday, and Brian Wilson performing Pet Sounds on Sunday.
Police say a man attempted to abduct a 6-year-old boy while he left Yankees Stadium with his family last month. Luckily, his father was able to grab the attacker and prevent him from being taken.

According to the NYPD, the incident happened on May 10th at around 9:27 p.m. The boy, Denis Acosta Jr, was walking in the vicinity of West 162nd Street and Jerome Avenue when the suspect approached him, picked him up, and attempted to put him in a black car.

The boy's parents were walking ahead of him as they walked to their car, according to CBS 2, while he walked with his 9-year-old sister a few steps behind.

The sister witnessed the attempted kidnapping: It looked like the guy was trying to put him in the car, and get in the car and leave, she told the station. "I really saw him right in front of my face happening. I was really scared. I couldnt move. I was frozen, just staring at him."

According to CBS 2, the boy's father, Denis Acosta Sr., confronted the suspect, jumped on him and hit him; the suspect allegedly insisted he was the boy's father, then briefly followed the family after they were able to wrest Denis Jr. from the car. The family attempted to get police to intervene, but the suspect managed to flee.

The suspect was caught on surveillance video, which you can see below:



The suspect is described as a male, approximately 30 years old and 190 lbs, wearing black dress shoes, a dark sweater, and a button down shirt underneath.

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 or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
Ever since the public found out that the Rivington House, a Lower East Side nursing home for AIDS patients, was doomed to become luxury condos, City Hall's stuck by the line that they are shocked, SHOCKED that the property was swapping out a nonprofit health service for real estate cash. Mayor de Blasio and his top officials claimed they had no idea that the restrictions mandating the property remain a non-profit nursing home were lifted in November 2015, and would never have let real estate interests trump the needs of AIDS patients had he known what was going on. But according to memos leaked to the Times, at the very least, first deputy mayor Anthony Shorris (who is, in fact, de Blasio's second-in-command) has known about the effort to lift the deed restrictionswhich netted the city $16.1 millionsince May of last year. The lesson, as always, is to never put anything in writing and communicate entirely through an elaborate system of smoke signals.

When the scandal over the Rivington House deed restrictions first broke earlier this year, Mayor de Blasio said he would have put a stop to the condo conversion had he known about any attempt to change the terms of the ownership agreement. "If [members of my administration] had informed me [of the agreement] I would've said 'don't do it,'" he told reporters back in April.

Still, the memos do imply that at least one high-ranking official at City Hall had some idea of what was going on.

One memo, from the Department of Citywide Administration Services that dates back to May 2015, informed Shorris that Allure Group, the company that owned Rivington House, sought to lift the deed restriction but only so they could run the facility as a for-profit nursing home. [Company owner Joel] Landau seeks to remove the restrictions but intends to use the property as a for-profit nursing home, the departments then-commissioner, Stacey Cumberbatch, wrote in the memo. The next step is a public hearing prior to requesting a mayoral authorization document. Allure Group, meanwhile, went into contract to sell the building to luxury condo developers that same month, to the tune of $116 million.

It's unclear whether Shorris knew about that contract, but at the very least, a second memo from July 2015, let Shorris know that efforts to remove the restrictions were going along smoothly and would be approved by the city's Law Department that montheven though officials at City Hall have said that Shorris did not know the city had lifted the deed restrictions on the property until late February of this year.

This newest turn in the saga isn't helpful for Mayor Tall, especially given that Preet Bharara is investigating whether the deal to lift the deed restriction came about as a way to reward a donor to de Blasio's not-a-slush-fund, the Campaign for One New York. Still, there's a kind of good news/bad news dichotomy at play here. The good news, as far as any criminal culpability is concerned, is that state attorney general Eric Schneiderman's investigations into other Allure Group nursing home sales to condo developers supports de Blasio's claim that he was actually misled by unscrupulous players who are less for-profit nursing home managers than they are for-profit nursing home selling managers (a third nursing home owned by Allure was also sold to developers last fall).

The bad news is that the case helps solidify the theory floated by the Daily News' Alyssa Katz that the mayor isn't necessarily corrupt, it's just that in his rush to transform the city, he's been correctly pegged as a mark by real estate developers. Which, you know, better to be naive than in jail, but that's still not the kind of thing that gets you re-elected (or gets hospice beds for AIDS patients).
BILLINGS -- Mule deer numbers in southeastern Montana have rebounded after a bleak and steep decline that hit bottom in 2012, prompting Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff to recommend increasing the doe harvest this season.

The populations are currently at 147 percent of the long-term average, said John Vore, Game Management Bureau chief, said in a Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Dillon on Thursday.

These actually are the good old days, echoed Region 7 supervisor Brad Schmitz.

That population increase is based on surveys in 14 trend areas spread across the prairie and rugged breaks of FWPs Region 7, a management area comprised of Garfield, Rosebud, Custer, Powder, Carter, Fallon, Dawson, Prairie, Wibaux and a portion of Treasure counties.

The decline

In 2012 mule deer numbers had fallen by as much as 55 percent in portions of Montana. By 2014 the Fish and Wildlife Commission had cut all mule deer doe B tags across the state, and prior to that had enacted about a 90 percent reduction in mule deer doe tags.

Biologists began seeing a rebound last year when they counted 91 fawns per 100 does, the long-term average was 73 fawns per 100 does.

Deer numbers are now higher than they were during years when nearly 11,000 B licenses were sold, read the commissions agenda item on the matter. Now is the time to apply additional antlerless harvest to avoid the unsustainable high numbers and wide population fluctuations of the past.

Vore said that criticism from some members of the public that the trend areas arent representative of the region were disproved when the department examined the movement of 1,100 collared deer across the landscape.

We know they move on and off those trend areas, he said. About two-thirds move up to 60 miles.

He said the surveys also reflect mule deer populations on habitat open to hunting.

So we are pretty confident this reflects whats going on with deer populations there, Vore added.

Flattening the curve

Mule deer populations are notorious for reaching a peak about every 15 years before declining. Vore and Schmitz said by increasing the doe harvest the department hopes to flatten out the peaks and valleys of those wide population swings.

To do that, the department has proposed increasing doe licenses from 4,500 to 7,500 this season. The agency is also proposing to allow the region to bump up the total harvest to 11,000 without coming back to the commission for approval if deer numbers remain high.

Allowing the region that flexibility provides game managers the ability to increase the harvest if game damage complaints increase, Schmitz said.

This system is extremely helpful for us biologically and socially, he said.

The proposal will go out for public comment until June 24 before being considered by the commission at its next meeting on July 14.

Balancing act

Schmitz explained the population decline and revival this way. Prior to 2011 there were a lot of older does on the landscape that arent as reproductivley proficient but that still eat a lot of browse. When those older deer died off and were replaced by younger, more fertile does, the population began to rebound.

The trick now is to keep the population low enough to ensure there is adequate browse on the landscape, Schmitz explained, while also respecting the tolerance of landowners who have to deal with more deer on their alfalfa fields.
Hundreds of Democrats in Helena have picked delegates to represent Montana at the partys national convention.

The Montana Democratic Party will send 27 representatives to next months national convention in Philadelphia.

Bernie Sanders, the winner of Montanas Democratic primary, gets 11 delegates through the first vote at that convention, while presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton gets 10.

Six superdelegates -- four at-large representatives and two party leaders -- were also elected Saturday. Those delegates, including Gov. Steve Bullock and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont, are free to vote for whomever they want at next months convention, though none has said which candidate theyre committed to.

Most of Montanas Democratic convention representatives were chosen at one of four caucus meetings held Saturday afternoon.

The Sanders Caucus for Western Montana, by far the best-attended gathering, needed nearly two hours to winnow down to four a field of nearly 50 prospective delegates, including plenty from Sanders' stronghold Missoula County.

All the hopefuls got one minute to make their case for why they should be one of Sanders lucky few Montana representatives.

Many said they thought the senator from Vermont still had a shot at the nomination and, eventually, the presidency, arguing they could help sway superdelegates committed to Clinton. One admitted he just wanted to plug his radio program.

Nick Lockridge, a Clinton delegate and the first Helena representative picked to go to Philadelphia, said he backed the former secretary of state because she would fight for minorities, women and reproductive rights.

For me, Hillarys been an institution, Lockridge said. Shes been a steady voice and, at the end of the day, shes the one whos going to represent everyone in the Democratic party.

Delegates from each caucus were scheduled to reconvene with around 200 party power brokers and state lawmakers to finalize superdelegate choices early Saturday night.

Earlier that day, a sparser crowd attended the partys platform building convention, which is aimed at articulating Montana Democrats stance on everything from collective bargaining to human rights.

That part of the convention wrapped up with little fanfare and well ahead of schedule, with only one failed motion proposed over more than two hours of polite debate.

Support for paid family leave policies and a state earned income tax credit program count among dozens of items added or reincorporated into the partys latest platform statement.
BILLINGS -- A judge handed down a 100-year prison sentence on Friday to a man whose homicide conviction came nearly 17 years after the crime.

Brian David Laird, 46, was taken into custody following the hearing at the Big Horn County Courthouse. District Judge Michael Hayworth placed no restriction on parole, for which Laird will be reviewed in 25 years.

Earlier this year, a jury found Laird guilty of killing his wife, Kathryn Laird, on July 31, 1999 in Fort Smith. She was found floating face down in the Afterbay Reservoir, less than a mile from the trailer park where they lived. Kathryn Laird had bruises, an autopsy noted.

Fridays hearing included testimony from two of Kathryn Lairds family members. Her sister, Sheri Harber, said that they had a tight-knit family, especially during holidays.

They destroyed the family, Harber said, referring to Lairds actions. There are no holidays. I couldnt pick up the phone and share life with my sister. We did everything together.

Mary Lou Little, Kathryn Lairds mother, said her daughter had dreams of being a veterinarian and could train any horse. Little had just finished visiting her mother at the cemetery when Brian Laird called her with the news that Kathryn had died.

It was just too devastating know that she died the way that she did, Little said. And that she had her whole life ahead of her.

During testimony, Harber and Little held up photos of Kathryn Laird and faced them toward Brian Laird, who sat quietly through the two-hour sentencing hearing.

The case of Kathryn Lairds death had gone quiet for years. It was closed in 2004 and remained that way until FBI Special Agent John Teeling began reviewing evidence. He said that a conversation he had with an assistant that year stuck with him.

She said they were closing a case on a murder that was very disturbing, Teeling said. She said the belief was Brian Laird, an attorney, had murdered his wife, and that she ultimately was murdered by putting his foot on her back, or his knee, and killing her in a body of water. And watching her drown.

In 2012, Teeling reopened the case. Under questioning from prosecutors, he spoke about the lengthy list of interviews he conducted in the case. In particular, he recalled speaking with a friend of Kathryn Lairds shortly before her death.

She was unhappy, sad and she made a decision that she was going to end the marriage or file separation papers, Teeling said.

The team of prosecutors, who were from the Montana Attorney Generals Office, repeated that point of motive  that Brian Laird became angry after learning that Kathryn wanted to leave him. Little testified to this as well, saying that her daughter had expressed this during a phone call.

Teeling estimated that hed spent as many as 1,000 hours on the case.

The catalyst in Teelings investigation came when two witnesses who had been overlooked years ago were interviewed. Eric and Kathleen Anderson were living next to the Lairds. The Andersons provided evidence that contradicted Brian Lairds story.

Brian Laird gave a brief statement on Friday.

I did not do this, your honor, he said. I still dont know how Kathryn died.

It was revealed at the hearing that Brian Laird had been seeing mental health professionals and had abused prescription drugs. Hed told different stories to different doctors, including that he saw Kathryn Laird die in front of him. He told others that it was a boating accident or that she overdosed on medication.

Defense attorney Sandy Selvey called this an extremely circumstantial case. He noted that the U.S. Attorneys Office had previously declined to file a grand jury indictment on Brian Laird, and the case was passed to the Montana Attorney General.

Its because his wife is gone, defense attorney Matt Wald said. He recognizes the loss to the family. No matter what anyone else thinks, he has felt the loss every day.

Brian Lairds attorneys requested a 40-year sentence.

In closing recommendations, Assistant Attorney General Brant Light spoke about the trials of Kathryn Lairds family while the case went cold.

Sixteen years knowing that the man that killed their daughter, their sister, was free to live life without any restrictions. All while they suffered.

Brian Laird had been convicted of an unrelated felony in Colorado in 2008.

After hearing the sentence, Little and Harber said that they suspected right away that Brian Laird had killed Kathryn Laird.

Even after the trial and conviction, did it give us peace? Harber said during the hearing. Maybe a hair. Its never going to bring her back. And its never going to give us what we wanted back.
DECATUR  Summer announced its definitive presence Friday with the hottest temperatures yet this year, which are expected to continue through the weekend.

High temperatures coupled with humidity made it feel like the mid to upper 90s in the shade, said meteorologist Heather Stanley of the National Weather Service in Lincoln. Today's weather is expected to be a few degrees warmer.

On Saturday, for a weekend in the summertime, people are going to need to pay attention. Make sure to hydrate, she said. Wear light-colored clothes and try to stay inside during the max heat of the day in the afternoon.

Caffeine and alcohol won't help, she said. Drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated.

The biggest concern is that the heat will catch people by surprise, as the weather has been sunny but not very hot for most of this month.

It's been so mild, I think we run the danger of being caught off-guard, she said.

Things should cool off during the week, with Decatur predicted to have a chance of thunderstorms on Monday through midweek.

Although summer was slower to heat up, attendance at Fairview Pool has been soaring, said Danita Deffenbaugh, recreation supervisor for the Decatur Park District.

I think one of the days last week was one of the top five busiest days I've seen in three summers, she said. Very busy, and not just with camps. Even after the camps leave, there's still a lot of patrons.

When lifeguards are not in the stands, they make laps around the pool and check on anyone who might appear distressed or overheated, she said. The pool sells water, Gatorade and slushies, and people can also fill up their own water bottles.

The American Red Cross encourages checking on family, friends and neighbors who do not have air conditioning, spend a lot of time alone or are likely to be affected by the heat.

If possible, bring animals inside. If not, make sure they have water and a shady place to rest.

Never leave children or pets alone in vehicles, even for a few minutes. The National Weather Service says a car can reach 99 degrees in just 10 minutes when the temperature outside is 80 degrees.
No place like home: Veteran, triple amputee gets new house here in New Braunfels
In 2015, Austria accounted for a mere 0.4% of Armenias trade with the outside world. In 2014, that number was 1.2%.

Armenia imports more from Austria than it exports to it.

In 2015, according to Armenias National Statistical Service (NSS), Armenia imported US$16.3 in goods and services from Austria and exported $2 million.

These figures are a substantial drop from 2014 when trade between the two countries amounted to $73.5 million. Armenian exports to Austria, nonetheless, rose by 45.6%.

Austria mostly imports aluminum foil from Armenia, and such imports rose 63.3% from 2014 to 2015.

Armenia mostly imports cars, cigarette paper, blood and medicine from Austria. But. As noted, Armenian imports from Austria have drastically dropped. In large measure, this is due to the fact that in 2014 Armenia imported $40.4 million in gold dust from Austria and almost none the following year.

Austria has basically invested a very miniscule amount in Armenia. So small is the amount in fact that the NSS doesnt list Austrian investment separately but includes it in the other investments category.

Armenias Ministry of the Economy placed Austrian investment in Armenia at a paltry $406,000 as of 2015.

Political and diplomatic ties between Yerevan and Vienna are, however, much stronger than the economic links between the two.

In 2015, the Austrian parliament recognized the 1915 Armenian Genocide, and in 2014 the presidents of Armenia and Austria signed a Declaration of Friendly Relations and Partnership.

In April of this year, the Development Fund of Armenia and its partner organization, the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria initiated a business conference on the sidelines of the seventh session of the Armenian-Austrian Intergovernmental Congress.

At the congress, Development Fund of Armenia Executive Director Arman Khachatryan announced that the agricultural, IT and renewable energy sectors were highly promising in terms of joint Armenian-Austrian business.

Top photo: Presidents Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia and Heinz Fischer of Austria (president.am)
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SPARTA  Michael Dewey robbed two young boys of their innocence and dignity after years of subjecting them to sexual abuse.

What he couldnt rob them of was their voices, Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger said Friday. They came into this courtroom and spoke about the vile and reprehensible things he did to them.

Dewey, 38, repeatedly and brutally assaulted the boys, sometimes after the threat of violence, Croninger said. Dewey earned and deserved the maximum 670-year prison sentence, he said.

I dont think Mr. Dewey could have committed a more serious offense, other than if he killed (the victims), Croninger said.

Calling it one of the most difficult cases he has presided over, Circuit Judge Todd Ziegler sentenced Dewey to 220 years in prison and 88 years on extended supervision.

Mr. Dewey is clearly a predator, Ziegler said. The trauma that he has caused them, theres no quantification for that. This is something that, unfortunately, will have lifelong impacts on them.

A jury on April 14, after a four-day trial and seven hours of deliberations, convicted Dewey of 36 sex offenses, including multiple counts each of sexual assault, exposure and child enticement.

Dewey, of Elroy, denies the conduct and plans to appeal the convictions. He did not react to the sentence or make a statement to the court.

The father of one of the victims told the judge that Dewey stole from the boys their childhood and their happiness.

Im begging, pleading, Mr. Dewey doesnt get the chance to see the outside world again, he said.

The public desperately needs protection from Dewey, a sociopath who wont accept responsibility for his conduct, Croninger said.

If given the opportunity to reoffend, he will reoffend, he said.

Croninger praised the victims for their courage in the courtroom and said a maximum sentence reassures them and all other rape victims who havent found their voices that the system wont tolerate sexual predators.

Defense attorney Thomas Rhodes called a maximum sentence absurd during his brief argument and asked Dewey serve 30 years in prison.

Dewey wont accept responsibility and makes excuses for his conduct, which includes a prior sex offense, Ziegler said.

Theres nothing to suggest that Mr. Dewey is going to change, Ziegler said. Its hard to find a case where there is more of a need to protect the public.
Chris Rickert | Wisconsin State Journal Urban affairs, investigations, consumer help ("SOS") Follow Chris Rickert | Wisconsin State Journal Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today

Its been the price point of reference for the Madison committee that last week got a big boost in funding for an independent review of the police departments policies and procedures.

As much as $400,000 in city money  87.5 percent of which is coming out of the citys rainy-day fund  will go to some lucky consultant. But thats only slightly more than what it cost to do a top-to-bottom review of the University of Cincinnati police, the committee has noted, and that department is much smaller than Madisons.

True enough, UCs department has about 100 police and security officers, while Madison has 460 sworn officers. Also true is that Madison police are far less troubled than UCs.

Those who have been keeping up with the tragic string of fatal shootings of unarmed black men by white police officers will know the University of Cincinnati police as the agency that employed the officer, Ray Tensing, who killed 43-year-old father-of-12 Samuel DuBose in July 2015.

Tensing was fired less than two weeks after the incident and is expected to stand trial in October for DuBoses death.

Just as DuBoses death sparked the outside review of the UC department, the fatal March 2015 shooting of Tony Robinson by a white Madison police officer is largely whats spurring calls for an outside review of Madison police.

Yes, both DuBose and Robinson were black and unarmed, but thats about where the similarities end.

DuBose was pulled over for not having a front license plate and was doing little more than starting his car when Tensing shot him at point-blank range.

Robinson, by contrast, was high on hallucinogenic mushrooms and had been reported for battering people when Officer Matt Kenny encountered him at the top of an apartment stairwell. Robinson allegedly punched Kenny in the head, knocking him into a wall, and continued swinging. Kenny fired seven times. State investigators deemed it a justifiable use of force. The black Dane County district attorney refused to charge him.

The review of the UC police was released June 1 and includes 14 findings and 25 recommendations for improving the agency. At my request, Madison police provided information suggesting it is already doing most, if not all, of the things the UC department was urged to do. (The complete Madison police response can be found with this column online.)

And then there are the other indicators of Madisons well-functioning police force  from its nationally recognized work with mentally ill suspects to the positive reviews residents have given it in surveys.

But there is one advantage the UC department has over Madison police: body cameras, which the prosecutor in Tensings murder case said were pivotal to charging the former officer.

Imagine the clarity that could have been brought to the moments leading up to Robinsons death if Kenny had been wearing a camera. Imagine the clarity cameras could bring to any police shooting.

According to a 2014 Madison police study, $400,000 could buy about 260 body cameras. And yet no one with any influence  from police to City Council members to local Black Lives Matter activists  is calling for that.
Janesville Police arrested 32-year-old Tarin D. Cottone of Janesville on Friday afternoon for an alleged sixth OWI offense after finding him parked in an intersection with his vehicle running.

Officials said that police were sent to West Burbank Avenue and South Oakhill Avenue in Janesville to check on a reported sleeping person in a vehicle just after 2:10 p.m. on Friday afternoon. When they arrived at the scene, Cottone was no longer sleeping in the maroon pickup truck, but his running vehicle was parked in the intersection obstructing traffic.

Cottone showed signs of impairment by narcotic drugs and was seen with a hypodermic needle in his lap, according to police.

Cottone was arrested for his admitted narcotic use and officers found marijuana and additional drug paraphernalia on Cottone after searching him, said officials.

Officials said that Cottone is in Rock County Jail facing tentative charges of a sixth OWI offense, possession of THC (marijuana), and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A 46-year-old Sun Prairie man was arrested Friday night after allegedly driving under the influence and striking a Sun Prairie police car.

According to Sgt. Ray Thomson, police received a report of a reckless driver near Highway 151 and West Main Street in Sun Prairie just after 11:30 p.m. The on-duty officer involved in the crash spotted the reported vehicle going eastbound on West Main Street as the officer was going westbound on the same street.

The operator of the reported vehicle, Douglas Smith, crossed into the officer's lane of traffic and struck the front driver's side of the squad car, said officials.

Officials said that Smith continued driving after striking the squad car, drove into a commercial parking lot, and struck a small tree and a building.

Both vehicles are significantly damaged, but neither Smith or the officer were transported to the hospital, according to Thomson.

Smith is facing a tentative second OWI charge and was cited for having open intoxicants in a vehicle, operating after suspension, inattentive driving, and for a hit and run, according to officials.

The accident was investigated by the Dane County Sheriff's Office.
WASHINGTON  With the surrender of House Speaker Paul Ryan to the Trump crusade, it is fair to wonder what the Republican Party stands for.

Ryans endorsement of Trump, which appeared in an op-ed the speaker wrote for his hometown paper in Janesville  rather than before a gaggle of reporters and newscasters with his arm draped around Trumps shoulders  was a white flag from the establishment opposition.

In his op-ed, Ryan explained that though he doesnt support all of Trumps ideas (brave!), hes confident a President Trump would support the House agenda. Moreover, Ryan felt his endorsement was needed to maintain a Republican majority in the House.

In other words, he caved, as most everyone knew he would after a respectable period of resistance.

The party has to stand united, after all. Because, as the Geico guy would remind us, thats what they do.

Next likely to fall will be evangelical Christian leaders, who are scheduled to meet with Trump on June 21. The expectation is Trump will promise to pick conservative Supreme Court justices who would restore the nations social order to a pre-Roe v. Wade, pre-gay-rights version.

If the purportedly devout can accept the ungodly Trump as the nations leader, then there really is nothing sacred. But, by God, hes better than Hillary Clinton, clamors the crowd.

To Trumps supporters, a billionaire with no governing experience, questionable business practices and secret tax returns would be vastly better than she on no substantive basis whatsoever. Most compelling of all is the belief that Trump would nominate conservative justices.

But this assumption is as conjectural as the belief in Trumps conservatism is wishful.

Theres no knowing whom Trump would nominate, notwithstanding the list of 11 judges he released last month, indicating the sorts of jurists hed select. The list was merely a guide Trump said he would use in making his selections.

In other words, what you see may not be what you get.

This applies as well to Trump, about whose policies we still know next to nothing. What we do know is Trump is a chameleon who changes his positions with the same conviction he takes to the wedding chapel. More hummingbird than flip-flopper, he flits from one position to another, rarely alighting anywhere for long. Oh, yes, I like this one! No, that one.

Is Trumps flexibility owing to a low threshold for boredom? Or does he perhaps suffer severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? Suffice it to say, if he were a Democrat, Republicans would be blitzing the airwaves with cartoonish ads featuring Trumps head on a hummingbird, his nectar-straw Pinocchio-esque. The possibilities are delicious.

This is not to minimize his appeal or to denigrate his fans, some of whom probably figure that underneath all the bluster is a solid chap who will hire the best people to figure things out. Others dont much care for policy-talk, anyway, and whatevers good enough for Trump is good enough for them.

Millions of others, contrarily, cant ignore Trumps tendency to be crude, rude and impetuous, not to mention disingenuous, contentious, simplistic  I hate (nuclear) proliferation!  and irresponsibly ignorant. And yet party leaders against their better instincts have circled the wagons around a movie character, not Chauncey Gardiner in Being There, as I once suggested, but Tom Hanks character in Big.

As youll recall, Hanks acts the part of a boy, who, having been granted his wish to be all grown up, suddenly inhabits the body of an adult. But still a child, he behaves as one. Fortunately, the worst thing Hanks character does is to behave so adorably that a grown woman falls for him.

Now imagine that the boy hadnt been a sweet child but was a spoiled brat and a bully. What sort of child-inhabited man might Hanks have been then? Kim Jong Un, North Koreas tantrum-throwing nuke-slinger comes to mind.

So does Trump, not that Im comparing the two, but you get the gist. Of all the carefully examined flaws in Trumps persona, the most concerning and potentially dangerous is his immaturity.

Like a child used to getting his way, he shouts, pokes, bullies, berates, pouts and parades. And thanks to him, the GOPs big tent has become a tough-kids idea of a party  peopled with hot dames, swindlers, gamblers, bosses, bouncers and thugs  and some, I assume, are good people.

At least now, Ronald Reagan can finally get some rest. The Republican Party has left him.
WASHINGTON  Before the lynching of The Donald proceeds, what exactly was it he said about that Hispanic judge?

Stated succinctly, Donald Trump said U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a class-action suit against Trump University, is sticking it to him. And the judges bias is likely rooted in the fact that he is of Mexican descent.

Can there be any defense of a statement so horrific?

Just this. First, Trump has a perfect right to be angry about the judges rulings and to question his motives. Second, there are grounds for believing Trump is right.

On May 27, Curiel, at the request of The Washington Post, made public plaintiff accusations against Trump University  that the whole thing was a scam. The Post, which Bob Woodward tells us has 20 reporters digging for dirt in Trumps past, had a field day.

And who is Curiel?

An appointee of President Obama, he has for years been associated with the La Raza Lawyers Association of San Diego, which supports pro-illegal immigrant organizations.

Set aside the folly of letting Clinton surrogates like the Post distract him from the message he should be delivering, what did Trump do to be smeared by a bipartisan media mob as a racist?

He attacked the independence of the judiciary, we are told.

But Presidents Jefferson and Jackson attacked the Supreme Court, and FDR, fed up with New Deal programs being struck down, tried to pack the court by raising the number of justices to 15 if necessary.

Abraham Lincoln leveled that eminent tribunal in his first inaugural, and once considered arresting Chief Justice Roger Taney.

The conservative movement was propelled by attacks on the Warren Court. In the 50s and 60s, Impeach Earl Warren! was plastered on billboards and bumper stickers all across Gods country.

The judiciary is independent, but that does not mean that federal judges are exempt from the same robust criticism as presidents or members of Congress.

Obama himself attacked the Citizens United decision in a State of the Union address, with the justices sitting right in front of him.

But Trumps real hanging offense was he brought up the judges ancestry, as the son of Mexican immigrants, implying he was something of a judicial version of Univisions Jorge Ramos.

Apparently, it is now not only politically incorrect, but, in Newt Gingrichs term, inexcusable, to bring up the religious, racial or ethnic background of a judge, or suggest this might influence his actions on the bench. But these things matter.

Does Newt think that when LBJ appointed Thurgood Marshall, ex-head of the NAACP, to the Supreme Court, he did not think Marshall would bring his unique experience as a black man and civil rights leader to the bench?

Surely, that was among the reasons Marshall was appointed.

When Obama named Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, a woman of Puerto Rican descent who went through college on affirmative action scholarships, did Obama think this would not influence her decision when it came to whether or not to abolish affirmative action?

I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasnt lived that life, Sotomayor said in a speech at Berkeley law school and in other forums.

Translation: Ethnicity matters, and my Latina background helps guide my decisions.

All of us are products of our family, faith, race and ethnic group. And the suggestion in these attacks on Trump that judges and justices always rise about such irrelevant considerations, and decide solely on the merits, is naive nonsense.

There are reasons why defense lawyers seek changes of venue and avoid the courtrooms of hanging judges.

When Obama reflexively called Sgt. Crowley stupid after Crowleys 2009 encounter with that black professor at Harvard, and said of Trayvon Martin, If I had a son, hed look like Trayvon, was he not speaking as an African-American, as well as a president?

Pressed by John Dickerson on CBS, Trump said its possible a Muslim judge might be biased against him as well.

Another inexcusable outrage.

But does anyone think if Obama appointed a Muslim to the Supreme Court, the LGBT community would not be demanding of all Democratic Senators that they receive assurances that the Muslim judges religious views on homosexuality would never affect his court decisions, before they voted to put him on the bench?

When Richard Nixon appointed Judge Clement Haynsworth to the Supreme Court, it was partly because he was a distinguished jurist of South Carolina ancestry. And the Democrats who tore Haynsworth to pieces did so because they feared he would not repudiate his Southern heritage and any and all ideas and beliefs associated with it.

To many liberals, all white Southern males are citizens under eternal suspicion of being racists. The most depressing thing about this episode is to see Republicans rushing to stomp on Trump, to show the left how well they have mastered their liberal catechism.
Appeals courts agree on concealed weapons ban restrictions: The Associated Press has this report.







Uber and Strippers Have Something in Common: Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg View.







The First Amendment Gone Wild: Online at Bloomberg View, law professor Noah Feldman has an essay that begins, In a decision that begs to be characterized as First Amendment gone wild, an appeals court has all but struck down a 1988 law that requires pornographers to maintain records showing that actors arent underage.







Constitution Check: Is the transgender rights case a big test for the bureaucracy? Lyle Denniston has this post today at the Constitution Daily blog of the National Constitution Center.







Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Duel Over High Court and Abortion; Democratic and Republican presidential candidates give voters starkly different choices in speeches to core constituencies: Janet Hook, Laura Meckler, and Beth Reinhard of The Wall Street Journal have this report. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google.







Why Judge Curiel May Be Donald Trumps Best Friend: Nat Hentoff and Nick Hentoff have this essay at Cato.org. And at his Litigation & Trial blog, Max Kennerly has a post titled The Details Of Judge Curiels Trump University Orders.







Federal Prisoner Who Blogged For HuffPost Has No First Amendment Rights, Court Rules; He was punished for writing about a secretive prison where he spent years in isolation: Cristian Farias of The Huffington Post has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued on Tuesday.







Cuomo v. Citizens United: Todays edition of The New York Times contains an editorial that begins, The Supreme Courts 2010 decision in Citizens United, which opened the floodgates to the buying and selling of elections, is a ruling Democrats love to deplore but nobody ever seems able to do anything about.







Gawker, Filing for Bankruptcy After Hulk Hogan Suit, Is for Sale: Sydney Ember of The New York Times has an article that begins, Gawker Media, under pressure from a $140 million legal judgment and facing a determined foe in the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is putting itself up for sale.







Court considers status of Pennsylvanias judge retirement age ballot issue: The Associated Press has this report.







Boyce F. Martin Jr., Liberal U.S. Judge in Seminal Cases, Dies at 80: This obituary, written by Sam Roberts, appears in todays edition of The New York Times.







Term went from sleepy to stunning: Robin Bravender of Greenwire today has an article that begins, A Supreme Court term that started off as lackluster for environmental law enthusiasts has turned out to be one for the history books.






The RNC is investing in fourteen states Saturday at 150 locations to activate over 5000 volunteers for training and voter contact. The effort is in coordination with the Trump Campaign, State Parties, and House and Senate campaigns across the country as part of the RNCs commitment to elect Republicans up and down the ballot.

CHICAGO - The Republican National Committee doesn't consider Illinois a competitive swing state, despite a Republican governor and a Republican U.S Senator, because the RNC's National Training Day doesn't include the Land of Lincoln.

Since the Spring of 2013, the RNC has been building an unprecedented permanent field operation to help protect congressional majorities and send a Republican to the White House, said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. After over 1,000 days of preparation and building community relationships, we are activating, training, and mobilizing thousands of volunteers in the first major organizing push of 2016. Donald Trump and the Republican ticket inherit a field operation that has already dedicated over one million organizing hours toward preparing for the general election, and a program that will be the largest and most robust data-driven operation in Party history.

The Trump campaign has been promoting a 15-state strategy, which, CNN says, includes Illinois - despite the last time a Republican presidential won in Illinois was 1988. Trump said in a speech on May 26, "I put so many states in play: Michigan being one. Illinois."

But the RNC isn't as hopeful as Trump is. That doesn't bode well for the struggling campaign to re-elect Republican U.S Senator Mark Kirk just under Trump on the November ballot.

In a press release Saturday, the RNC says they have "put an increased emphasis on training staff, organizers, and volunteers to ensure the party has the most prepared and professional operation in GOP history."

Individuals at all levels of the field program receive frequent trainings and refresher trainings, and Saturday's National Training Day is the first of multiple large scale National Training Days before November to test the capacity of the RNCs field program and train Neighborhood Teams. Future National Training Days will focus on reinforcing voter registration, persuasion, absentee ballot applications, and early voting training. Volunteers will also continue to learn how to integrate their canvassing efforts with a state-of-the-art data operation on which the RNC has spent $100 million dollars since 2013.

But Illinois isn't one of the states listed.

The RNC has had the permanent ground operation in place for over 1000 days, and currently has over 750 staff, including over 450 paid staffers in the field, months ahead of Election Day.

But not in Illinois.

National Training Day will take place in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Utah, Wisconsin - even deep blue California and New York.

But not Illinois.
WASHINGTON - There's a real need for positive inspiration among Americans these days, says Ben Sasse, a Republican senator from Nebraska. At a recent keynote at the American Enterprise Institute, he expressed that both Democrats and Republicans have failed and absent visions for the United States.

Senator Sasse advocates a vision for the future in which we talk seriously about the changing economy, and work to make the poor and middle class independent again.

This talk was originally presented as the keynote address at the AEI Vision Talks in Washington, D.C., on May 16, 2016.
The results of first, second and third degree examinations of Kakatiya University are expected to be released today on June 11. Students can check their scores at www.kuresults.in, once the results are out.

By India Today Web Desk: The results of first, second and third degree examinations of Kakatiya University are expected to be released today on June 11. The university successfully conducted the exam in the month of April 2016. Large number of candidates had appeared for these exams at various examination centres.

All those candidates who had given these exams, can check their scores at the official website www.kuresults.in, once the results are out.

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Steps to check the results:

Log on to the official website www.kuresults.in

On the homepage, click on 'Kakatiya University Degree Results 2016'

Enter all the required details in the provided fields

Click on submit

Your result will be displayed on the screen

Download the same and take a print out for future reference

(Read: Indian Air Force Entrance Test, AFCAT 2016: Check out the exam details here)



The entrance tests for admission into PG courses in Kakatiya and Sathavahana University commenced on May 28 and concluded on June 5.

About KU:

Kakatiya University was set up on August 19, 1976, to fulfil the aspirations of the Telangana people for higher education. The university was initially accredited with B+ grade by the NAAC in 2002 and reaccredited with A grade in 2008.

Read: UPSC releases exam calendar for the year 2017: Exam dates and details



Read: AFCAT 2016: Check out eligibility criteria



For information on more upcoming exams and results, click here.



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According to attorney Gian Luca Grossi, who represented the MoD at the lower court at Busto Arsizio, India lost out on a chance to not just secure a moral victory by being a party when the recent order came out but also monetary compensation.

New Delhi chose to not appeal against the accused and lost out an opportunity to seek monetary compensation.

By Jugal R Purohit: The Indian government after fighting hard to become a party to the Italian legal proceedings in their corruption case against defence conglomerate Finmeccanica and its subsidiary AgustaWestland, quietly quit the process in February 2015. In doing so, New Delhi chose to not appeal against the accused and lost out an opportunity to seek monetary compensation.

WHO ADVICED TO QUIT TRIAL?



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While justifying the actions of defence ministry (MoD), the spokesperson said the attorney general (AG) advised them in February 2015 and the ministry "proceeded accordingly". The MoD had earlier said the advice to quit was given by the solicitor general (SG). However, both these authorities denied ever giving such advice.

The trial concerned alleged bribes in a 560 million-euro contract awarded to AgustaWestland in 2010 to supply 12 VVIP helicopters to India.

INDIA DECIDED TO NOT GO AHEAD



The question that arises is what prompted the MoD's move to pull out? Speaking to this correspondent in his Milan office, attorney Gian Luca Grossi, who represented the MoD at the lower court at Busto Arsizio where the AgustaWestland trial went on from June 19, 2013 to October 9, 2014 said, "The MoD was civil party in the trial, in the first stage in Busto Arsizio. It came in only at the end of the first trial there. Then India decided to not go ahead with the appeal. The lower court gave a clear verdict saying there was impossibility of bribery. The MoD decided to quit the trial. I don't know why, but they decided to quit. I respect that."

When asked what did he advise the MoD, he said, "I think our advice was to stay on, stay inside also in the second degree at the Tribunale (Court of Appeal). I told them I was not confident (about their exit). It wasn't a very easy decision but 51 per cent I would have stayed against 49 per cent to pull out."

He added, "If I had the choice in my hands, I probably would've (stayed). When you make a choice, take a path, even if you find some problems in walking, you have to go ahead." In the sentence of the Milan Court of Appeals of April 7, 2016, the MoD is shown as a "non appelante" - a party which had not appealed.

According to Grossi, India lost out on a chance to not just secure a moral victory by being a party when the recent order came out but also monetary compensation.

"If you want your money back, you go to the civil court. If you want to secure reputation and restoration, then you go to the criminal one," he said. In effect, India went to the criminal court and opted against going to the civil one.

AG SEEKS TIME TO RESPOND



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When India Today TV approached attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, he initially sought time to respond. Responding days later, Rohatgi said, "I have advised the MoD on aspects pertaining to blacklisting of various companies under the Finmeccanica umbrella but in so far as the issue you are raising, I have no recollection of having done so."

Since in one of the responses the MoD had named the solicitor general as the one who advised them, he too was approached. SG Ranjit Kumar too distanced himself from the issue. He said, "The matter never came to me, nor have I given any advice."

Earlier, the defence ministry spokesperson had said, "Our goal in becoming a party in the lower court was to get access to evidence and documents. We did get that. Joining the appeal would not have yielded much."

ALSO READ: Mauritius cracks down on AgustaWestland link after India Today sting



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By PTI: Dhaka, Jun 11 (PTI) Bangladesh police have detained over 1,700 people, including some members of an outlawed militant outfit, as part of a crackdown to halt the wave of brutal attacks on minorities and secular activists by Islamists, officials said today.

A total of 1,740 people were detained after the top police officials decided at a meeting on Thursday to launch an anti-militant drive.

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On the first day of the week-long drive, around 1,600 people were detained across the country yesterday. At least 140 people were detained today from different districts in the wake of recent killings, The Daily Star reported.

Of the total 140 detainees, 88 are from Rajshahi district, 35 from Satkhira and 17 from Natore.

Nine enlisted militants were among the 88 persons detained from Rajshahi, the report said.

Eight of them belong to the outlawed militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) while another belongs to Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), said Shariful Alam, assistant superintendent of police in Rajshahi.

Bangladesh has seen a string of brutal attacks by Islamists on religious minorities and secular activists.

A 60-year-old Hindu ashram worker was yesterday hacked to death by ISIS jihadists while he was out for the morning walk, days after another priest was killed by the terrorists of the same outfit in the Muslim-majority nation.

The latest attack came just hours after police said they launched a nationwide anti-militancy drive, besides engaging elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh.

The security clampdown was launched a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised to intensify a nationwide anti-terror security clampdown.

In February, militants stabbed to death a Hindu priest at a temple and shot and wounded a devotee who went to his aid.

In April, a liberal professor was brutally hacked to death in Rajshahi city. In the same month, a Hindu tailor was hacked to death in his shop and Bangladeshs first gay magazine editor was brutally murdered along with a friend in his flat in Dhaka by Islamists. PTI MRJ ASK MRJ

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However, before being whisked away by the police, Rai said he was innocent and was merely being framed in the case.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Baccha Rai, key accused in the tainted Bihar toppers scam, today surrendered before the police after remaining absconding for almost four days. Rai, who is the principal of Vishun Rai College, surrendered at his college in Hajipur.

SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS



This came after Rai shared his plan to surrender before the cops with few local media persons. Massive security arrangements were made at the college premises and in the surrounding area. Patna SP Chandan Kushwaha, who is heading the SIT, was also present in the campus. However, police wanted to arrest Rai before he reached the campus.

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FAILED PLAN



Interestingly, all security arrangements made by the police fell flat when at around 1:30 pm, Rai turned up in a maroon colour Scorpio and surrendered. He was immediately pushed into another vehicle and taken towards Patna.

RAI CLAIMS INNOCENCE



However, before being whisked away by the police, Rai said he was innocent and was merely being framed in the case. He also denied having any links with Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, former chairman of Bihar School Examination Board.

"I am innocent. I have no links with Lalkeshwar Prasad. I know nothing about this scam," he said.

Meanwhile, police are still on the lookout for Singh, and have conducted raids in Patna and other parts of the state in an attempt to arrest him.

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